Myth 7: Clothes make the Man or Woman?

Akaro in his second week at the forge has gotten proficient enough in repair that the durability loss was only about six. Repairing became a lot more easy with the amount he had to do in each day.

Like usual depending on his progress Melchior would change the price. The only difference now he was getting more money out of his own repairs. The price for repairs through him now were eleven copper to the disappointment of the cheapskate players and the enjoyment from his master's greed.

A new player who looked familiar came up to him. “I only have ten copper right now. Can you repair my gear and I will pay you back tomorrow with the rest after I go out to train some more.”

Akaro remembered that this was the first client he saw with Melchior the other day. Looking at Melchior, as if asking for what he should do, Melchior frowned and shook his head.

“Your repairs, your choice. It's still money in my pocket.”

Taking that as approval from his master he looked at the new adventurer.

“I see no problem with that. The agreement will be I will repair your sword for ten copper right now and you will pay back the remainder by tomorrow. Contract.”

The player had a message pop up on their screen that stated the contract and asked if he will accept.

The difference between making a contract with NPCs and Players was very apparent. As players get their own windows like skills and the like, his contracts also displayed in a new window. As long as the conditions were made verbal the window that will pop up for the other player will have an accept or decline. Although it made it easier to set contracts up, the downside is he couldn’t level up his inscribe skill.

“I accept!.” Elated the player answered quickly.

“I will give you a warning. If you do not pay tomorrow this skill states that a punishment will occur. I do not know what it is as no one has ever broken a contract with me.” Akaro warned the player.

“Understand. I will be back tomorrow to pay.” The player could not wait to start training again.

Seeing this scene, the cheapskate players were starting to think of ways to work the system.

“I'm so poor and I can't make money without a weapon. Please take five copper now and I'll pay the rest in two days?”

“I can pay you one copper today and the rest in four days?”

This continued and Akaro's contract proficiency was growing, albeit a slow progression because of simple terms for the contracts, but it was growing nonetheless. He was also seeing his speech stat starting to grow as well, as he was conducting deals with the players.

‘I’ll need to keep that growing this stat as I’m sure more Myth Weaver skills will use more speech.’

Hearing the news of the blacksmith apprentice who gave out payment terms, was a relief to a lot of new players who was struggling on making money on just hunting deer and rabbits and selling to shop owners.

Most of the new players were quite honest and followed the contracts to the letter. They would pay on time and there would be no issues. But the situation happened when one of the scam artists who only paid one copper decided not to pay Akaro back.

“GAAAAHHHHHH!”

A scream was heard out in the forest. That player learned quickly why Akaro warned everyone. The system's random punishment caused his armour and weapons to be unusable until the amount was paid back. A half naked player ran from the forest being chased by wolves that he would have normally killed but could not because he had no weapon.

Various players who tried to cheat Akaro fell to similar fates. Some were quite severe as they had more complex contracts. One player was struck by lightning and died. The weapon he had repaired dropped and was free game to other newbies. This then put a new reputation on Akaro as the demon blacksmith.

“He's a devil!”

“Do not sign a contract if you cannot pay him back! He's worse than the mob!”

“He's a hot devil. I'll sign my soul to him anytime.”

Were some of the comments that were being made. With the exception of the last comment most were negative. Although the negative comments increased, business was not affected because each contract was broken by the players and not by Akaro who was offering an alternative way to pay.

Ding

You have acquired a new title.

Demon Blacksmith

Reputation +100

Dex +10

Damage by Faith +5%

The new title worried made him frown once more. As he seriously could get hurt by players who have faith based abilities. He may not be an expert in math but just from the look of getting twenty-five more percent damage means it will hurt more. He decided as long as he didn’t anger any of the religions or players who are part of them he should be fine. Thankfully for him that the religious based classes have strict rules to what they can attack but there are many ways to find loopholes for these conditions as he’ll learn in the future.

Melchior however couldn't help but smile a greedy smile. The blacksmith master chuckled under his breath at the punishments that occur in front of him. One could say if Akaro was a demon then Melchior was the devil in this

'If they do pay him back I get money. If they don't they get punished and I have some entertainment. I love this boy.'

***

After another week of solid hammering in the off hours, Akaro finally turned the remaining impure steel alloys to knives without proper handles. The next step in the process was to sharpen them enough to be able to use. He had gotten a bucket of water and a grinding stone. Traditionally he would have more than just one grinding stone depending on what he was sharpening.

Drenching the stone in the bucket he took it out and placed it on a wooden ramp he constructed earlier that week. Grabbing one of the hundred he started sharpening. It was a slow process but he need to make sure the sharpening was even and did not damage the blade itself. Using water after every few grinds he cleared out any excess debris. One knife would take him twenty minutes game time to complete.

After the first knife a pop up message came up.

Learned Weapon Sharpening (Beginner Lv. 1 0%)

Enables the user to sharpen blade weapons using traditional methods.

Increases Attack power of the weapon by 2%

Decreases durability by 1.

Requires a whetstone.

Akaro smiled at the new skill. What he learned from new skills is that it decreased the time it takes to complete the same task manually. He enjoyed the relative ease this world gave thanks to skills he had to learn through continuous practice.

Picking up a new knife he placed it on the whetstone.

“Sharpen.”

He only had to do a few strokes to get the same result. Which took less than a minute to do. Akaro happy with the convenient skill, did not hold back and started to do the same to the rest of the knives.

His proficiency rose to level two but it was relatively slow for experience gain. Once more the lack of a proper associate class was impeding his growth but he continued anyway.

Before making the handles he had to inscribe them as per tradition for Japanese sword smiths. Even though they were knives and not swords Akaro still had a level of pride in them. They were of course the first things he made with his own two hands in the game world.

Taking out Belthazar's pen he pressed it against the metal.

“Inscribe on.”

Turning on the skill he could feel the high amount of mana starting to diminish as both the pen and his skill was draining it. He chose to just write the kanji for red on the handle portion of the blade. Akaro acted quickly as the longer he let the skill stay active the less mana he would have.

If properly calculated his mana divided by the mana usage and divided again by sixty seconds would determine how many minutes he could write. Being level twenty he had about two thousand and seven hundred mana and with his current focu stat he was able to regain eighteen mana per ten seconds.

Ding

Level up: Inscribe (Beginner Lv 4. 30%)

Mana up by 200

Dex up by 1

Noticing that his mana grew which increased his limit in terms of using the inscribe skill, he made a mental note to try and use this skill as much as possible.

The knives that were completed showed an etched inscription of the kanji for red but it was also dyed red due to the special ability of the pen. Red was the colour that was on his mind so it made sense that was the ink as well.

He still had a long time to wait before his mana replenishes itself as even though he can recover eighteen mana every ten seconds the drain of twenty mana per second cleared out his mana completely. Akaro knew in the game he played on the old system there were items that restored mana.

'Ether or elixir were what they were called.'

He did not know where he can get these type of potions so he asked the only person he knew in the game. His mother.

Akaro: Eomma. Where can I get mana ether or elixer?

Cooking Queen: Hmm you would have to go to a potion shop but it should be closed right now as it's after hours.

Akaro: Where is the closest one?

Cooking Queen: That would be to the other side of where you are. It should be called Alchemy Haven.

Akaro: Thank you eomma.

The chat feature made things easier in terms of contacting other players who are part of your friends list but it also allowed private conversations. Akaro once again gave the game praise for it's convenience.

Although he still had to wait a bit and he did not know what he can work on next. He was saving the other ore once he had the blacksmith skill to make sure his proficiency in smelting will not be hampered.

Melchior who was just finishing a tailor's scissors looked at his young apprentice.

“Stop loafing around and deliver this for me to the owner of Spool and thread.”

Ding

Delivery to the Tailor #1

Melchior finished the tailor's scissors for the owner of Spool and Thread and needs it to be delivered. He has asked you, his apprentice, to deliver the item.

Difficulty: E

Quest requirements:

Cannot refuse as it was a request from your master.

Failed if the item has broken.

“I will deliver it master.”

Quest accepted.

“I'm not done with you yet. Here are the needles they have also requested. Annoying things to make. Let her know I gave some extra at no extra cost. It would have been a waste of metal. That's all.”

Ding

Deliver to the Tailor #2

Needles that were requested by Melchior was also completed and ready to be delivered. Seek the owner of the Spool and Thread to complete this quest.

Difficulty: E

Cannot refuse as it was a request from your master.

Failed if the needles are not delivered or damaged.

Bonus rewards given for the remaining number of needles in the delivery

Quest accepted.

Simply nodding he took the box of needles as well. Akaro then looked at his master.

“Where is it?”

Melchior sighed.

***

At the Spool and Thread a plain looking female player was carrying bundles of thread and various fabrics to her work station. Although one could say she was plain, she was still technically of another race than human. This race were quite beautiful and although she didn’t attempt to accentuate it too much with her attire, she looked a lot more approachable compared to the more beautiful type known as the high elves. The player’s name was Serenity.

“Madame Orchid, when are we going to get the new needles?” Serenity asked her master.

“I spoke with Melchior earlier today. He's going to have his apprentice send it over.” Orchid replied.

“The grumpy old man has an apprentice!” A shocked elf said in disbelief.

Serenity couldn't believe that cheapskate would have an apprentice. One of her first quests was to ask the old man blacksmith to make a box of needles and she was given a sum of money and to try and negotiate the price. She made the mistake of letting him know how much she brought and when she asked for the price he said the exact amount. She completed her quest but when she returned she got scolded by Madame Orchid and informed her if she actually manage to talk the price down any left over copper would be her bonus reward.

She scowled at the memory.

“Rumour has it he's quite a looker. If the rumour is true I already have permission from Melchior to use him for the store.” The madame of the store hummed.

Serenity listened to her boss.

“I've seen handsome men. I will be the judge of that.” Serenity scoffed.

Madame Orchid only nodded in agreement as she could only trust her apprentice.

“I hope he get's here soon. I've been itching to try out a new look for leather armour.” Serenity tapped her foot eagerly.

Just then a familiar red haired young man entered the building.

Akaro who got lost as this location was in the vicinity in the more busier parts of the city was scowling. He had to avoid different swarms of female players and npcs while also trying to keep the box of needles intact. He thought he could put the quest items in his inventory but was then informed by the game that it cannot conduct that action. Due to that fact and the amount of women he had to avoid the quest can easily be a D class quest.

Using every skill he can think of that would help him with his situation he sighed as he also picked up new skills while being chased by women.

Ding

Learned Escape (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Helps user locate and perform escapes from locations and inconvenient situations.

Consumes 50 mana

Learned Balance (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables you to keep balance while moving on any surface.

Consumes 5 Stamina/second

Level up: Awareness (Beginner Lv. 2 88%)

Stealth stat +20

Looking at his apparel he found that he had many tears on his beginner armour. He repaired it with his skill before looking at the two people in front of him.

One had brown short hair that went to about her chin and she had a plain face with little make up on. She had a beige cotton button up top and what seemed like brown leather pants. She was holding up a piece of chalk in her hand and he then saw it drop. What caught his eye primarily was that she had different set of ears than a humans.

The other person was the most alarming to Akaro. Although he hid his surprise quite well but if anyone saw what he was looking at for the first time, they would scream out monster.

This person was not too tall but the muscles on her were as big as his head. The face alone showed heavy makeup and an orchid tattooed on the left side of the neck. He knew from a glance that this wasn't a woman. But he shook his head as the man was wearing a silk dress with floral patterns all over it.

“Who is the owner?”

Akaro wanted to get out as he started to hear the women outside who was chasing him earlier. The faster he could complete the quests the better.

The missing link said in a very shocking feminine voice replied, “I Madame Orchid is proprietor of this fine house of fashion. You must be Melchior's prized apprentice. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”

Akaro bowed as that was his go to plan whenever he couldn't muster any words right away.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“Wow so polite. Serenity introduce yourself.”

Madame Orchid looked at her apprentice.

“Se-re-ni-ty. You are being quite rude you know.”

The young woman had a gaping mouth open. She eyed Akaro from head to toe to head. She has never seen someone as handsome as he was. In her real line of work she would see many male models but none that can exhibit the natural look of the man in front of her.

“Nice to meet you Serenity.”

Akaro felt kind of awkward as the young woman just stared at him blankly.

Serenity eyes bulged out and started to tear up as she wanted to cry.

'WHY DID I HAVE TO MAKE MY AVATAR SO PLAIN!'

Serenity was kicking herself. Her avatar was plain as she did not want to attract attention to herself as her real face would cause quite a commotion in Korea and other places in the world. Although she didn’t want to be regarded as ugly, she chose a race that was still beautiful facially compared to the other races. Regardless of this fact the person in front of her was still waiting for her to say something.

“I...I'm sorry. My name is Serenity.”

Watching her bow so enthusiastically Akaro bowed back.

“My name is Akaro.”

“Now Akaro do you have the package that Melchior gave you.” Madame Orchard interrupted the two.

“Melchior wanted me to tell you that he gave you extra as to not want to waste metal.” Akaro relayed the message to the owner.

After handing out the scissors and box of needles to Madame Orchid, he received a pop up message.

You have completed Delivery to the Tailor #1

Health up by 100

AGI up by 5

You have received 2 silver

You have leveled up to 22

You have completed Delivery to Tailor #2

Health up by 100

AGI up by 5

You have received 4 copper for each needle

You have received a bonus 2 copper for each needle for not losing one

You have leveled up 23

Akaro smiled as he grew three levels bringing him to level 23. He focused all of the bonus stats onto his agility as they were the least growing stat for his character at the moment.

“Well I am going to head back now.” The redhead bowed.

“Just wait one moment young man.”

Stopped by Madame Orchid's massive hand, Akaro could not move at all.

“Papa did not tell you but there is another request that needs to be fulfilled.”

'PAPA!'

Akaro stared at the proprietor of Spool and Thread.

“We needed a young male to be used as a model for our new set of male armour and clothing we are revealing today.”

Ding

Measurements of a Model #1

The owner of Spool and Thread, Madame Orchid, has asked you to stay and model for her so she can create working clothing for male individuals. Also you will be modeling these clothes in her store’s reveal show.

Difficulty: E

Requirements:

Need to be male

Cannot refuse the quest.

“I will help...”

Giving in as Akaro did not have any other option. For some reason Madame Orchid was extremely strong and even if he tried to use escape he knew it would fail..

“Where do you need me?”

“Serenity. Show him to the measurement room. Then get his measurements.”

Orchid winked at her apprentice as she knew Serenity was already infatuated with the good looking man.

“Y...Yes madame.”

With a permanent blush on her face she guided Akaro to a room with one mirror. Taking measuring tape she started taking measurements.

'Wait I'm in the room by myself with him. I can use this for my advantage.'

“Please lift your arms and spread them wide.”

Akaro just followed what was being asked.

Serenity took the measuring tape and wrapped around his chest. In the position that she was in, she took it a step further and hugged him.

'He feels sturdy and warm.'

“Are you okay? You look sick.”

Concerned as he saw her face close up after her hug.

'She's really red.'

Backing away immediately she berated herself for not being professional.

“I'm okay.”

Akaro nodded and Serenity continued the measuring with a bit more professionalism.

Writing down the measurements Serenity gave it to the owner.

'It was fun while it lasted.'

Still standing with his arms raised he waited until the next instruction.

“You can relax now. I got all of your measurements.”

“Now what do I do?”

“You can just sit down and relax for a bit. We will start working on the clothing.”

Akaro found a seat and watched Serenity work with the fabric. She was prepping the pieces for Madame Orchid to sew. As he watched he noticed her face was smiling. She had the same look on her face that he had when he reads a book.

“You really enjoy working with clothes don't you? Your smile is quite pretty.”

Blushing up a storm she nodded furiously.

'He said I'm pretty. Well it’s not like it’s my real face he’s commenting on. I am using the elf race...’'

As she was overthinking his compliment, Akaro truly just commented on her smile. He really had no preference when it came to beauty. He liked it when women smiled honestly as it seem to be a calming look. Not the ferocious smiles he sees in the mob of women that chased him earlier that day.

“My such a smooth talker. Don't take my apprentice away. I just got her.”

The owner of the store joked and Serenity looked down hiding her blushing face and concentrated on her work.

Akaro then looked at the owner and asked the question that was bugging him for the last thirty minutes in game.

“Is Melchior truly your father?”

“Yup. I'm his beloved daughter. He married my dwarf mother and they had me.”

“That makes sense then. So you are a half dwarf?” Akaro inquired. Knowing that this was his master’s daughter he felt that he had to be at least to be polite although her appearance doesn’t match her gender.

“Yes I am.”

As the pieces started to fall together he continued his questioning.

“I have not met your mother. Is she around?”

“No she is at her homeland running our second blacksmith shop there.”

“So both Melchior and your mother are blacksmiths?”

“Yup. That's how they fell in love. Such a beautiful story of rivals turning into lovers.” Madame Orchid seemed to have hearts floating around her when she said this sentence.

“So why did you not become a blacksmith?”

“I liked pretty clothes since I was young. A delicate flower like me found my calling the moment I first wore a silk dress.”

'A delicate flower with muscles the size of watermelons!'

Of course Akaro kept that to himself. He had just verified that the owner was in fact a woman and saying things like that would be rude.

Serenity finished prepping all the material and handed it to her master.

The real work was going to be done in assembling the outfits by a master tailor. Orchid took the clothing and started sewing everything by hand. Even with her size and stature she was able to nimbly sew each piece together with such accuracy and finesse that you would not have believed she made it.

“You are definitely his daughter. You move with the same precision as master. It is quite awe-inspiring.” Honestly commented the redhead.

Akaro was truly impressed as he was also a craftsman. He may have not understood how to sew but he knew what she was doing would need a lot of practice as each sewed part was completely even with each pull of the thread.

“My my. If my apprentice did not want you I would have went for you.”

“M...MADAME!” Serenity exclaimed at her master’s statement.

“Do not worry. He is too skinny for my tastes anyway.”

Seeing the banter between master and apprentice Akaro smiled.

“You both seem close.”

“Did you know she showed up here and begged me to apprentice her? She was so cute I couldn't say no.” Madame put her hand to her cheek as she replied.

Like a mother praising her child Orchid responded to Akaro.

“Do you have your eyes on anyone Akaro? Are you taken by any chance?”

Watching her master ask the questions she wouldn't dare bring up, Serenity listened closely.

“Don't I have eyes on the both of you right now? I cannot be taken as I am here.”

Both had sweat drops on their heads at his response.

“No my young model. I mean are you in a relationship with any woman?” Madame spoke more directly to the dense young man.

“I have just gotten a new mother. I also have a stepsister and I'm quite friendly with my stepmother?”

'Hopeless.'

The both of them thought.

“Never-mind you just answered my question.”

Orchid gave a wink to Serenity.

“Um... Do you mind if we become friends?”

Ding

Serenity has requested to be your friend]Yes]No

“I do not see any problems with that. You both have treated me well.”

“Yay!”

Serenity blurted out before composing herself.

“Akaro I need you to stand in the middle of the room again. Going to put this on you to finish the last steps of making the clothing. Please take off your shirt.”

He immediately took his shirt off without any hesitation. Akaro had no reason not to trust what Orchid was asking him to do.

Serenity fainted the moment she saw his body.

“She's okay. You are quite a specimen. I'm surprised you do not have a lover yet. Or maybe you are a wolf in sheep's clothing.”

Akaro stared blankly at Orchid.

“Lovers is the terms for people who love each other and are in an intimate relationship. Some of the romance novels I have read indicated that. I have not felt those emotions with anyone.”

He openly admitted that he had read romance novels. It did not bother him as he believe any book could provide information.

“Not even growing up?”

Orchid was working on the clothing she had put on Akaro when she asked that question.

Akaro chose this time to explain a brief history of his past. She was technically his master's daughter so he did not mind sharing that information. Serenity was still passed out from over stimulation so he did not need to worry about her hearing his story.

***

The makeup that was on Orchid's face was completely ruined by tears that have fallen from her eyes.

“Poor boy.”

A sniffling Orchid who had just finished hearing his story commented.

Ding

You have once again told a story of your honest past. As Orchid learned of your past she felt sadness from your story. You have caused her to cry.

Level up: Storytelling (Beginner Lv. 3 10%)

Int up by 1

Wis up by 1

Luck up by 1

Speech up by 20

Art up by 20

Mana up by 100

Reputation up by 10

Akaro frowned a bit.

'I've made her cry. I've shamed jii-chan.'

Looking concerned at the crying hulk of a woman he got an answer from her.

“Do not worry. It is not like you hurt me you know. Women are very emotional flowers. Of course they will cry after hearing that. Can you take care of Serenity? I'm going to go to the powder room. Cannot go around looking like this.”

Nodding Akaro then put his attention on the sleeping girl. He mentally noted that you can sleep in game as well if you wanted to. Watching her serene face he smiled a bit at how she can just sleep on the floor.

'How do I wake her?'

Akaro then took his pointing finger and started poking her cheek.

“Wake up.”

Grumbling a bit of drool escaped her face. Serenity slowly opened her eyes and shuffled away like a crab from the kneeling red head.

'So embarrassing!'

After standing up and regaining her senses she looked at him. Serenity could only gasp as he stood up.

He was wearing a gold lined blue coat over dark brown leather armour that had a golden orchid sewed on it. The intricate buttons that were sewed on were also gold in colour. He wore dark brown leather pants that went really well with his outfit.

“Almost perfect.”

Orchid had returned with repaired make up.

“Your hair does not match the outfit. Blue and gold with your blood red hair clashes. Lucky for you I have just the thing.”

Orchid disappeared once more as she was looking for the item she mentioned. Various fabric and tools were being thrown and any sharp object was embedded into the wall.

'Her strength is no joke.'

Akaro inwardly commented as he waited patiently.

“Found it!”

Coming out of the other room, Orchid came back with a black haired wig.

“This will hide your red hair and it matches the outfit much better.”

Orchid put his red hair underneath some sort of hair net. Then placed the black hair piece on his head.

After putting the wig on he looked exactly like himself in real life much to his ire.

“Akaro-nim. Is that how you normally looked?”

“Yes.”

Akaro did not tell a lie but he was not aware he just made it a goal for Serenity to find him in person.

“Serenity you know I'll be using you for the female model. Hurry up and get ready.”

Serenity was about to do so when she got a message from the real world.

“I'm sorry master I have to leave now. Something important came up.”

She really felt bad but her real job needed her and she was actually running late.

“That's okay... I have another plan in place.”

Serenity logged off as soon as her master said that last sentence.

***

“Hurry Ru Hwa Young!”

A woman with glasses yelled.

“I'm so sorry Song Young Soon.”

A beautiful young woman replied. She had gotten out of the capsule and had quickly put on a dress.

“Aigoo! You always cause trouble for me. We are going to be late for the photo shoot!”

“Sorry manager.”

“Make sure to pack your bags after this shoot. We are going to Milan for the fashion show the day after next. Life of a famous model is sure is tiring. I should have just stayed working at the office.”

“You can't do that! You're my best friend! I need you.”

“If your fans find out how needy you are...”

The banter between the two women continued even after they left their apartment.

***

Chul-Moo was returning from fishing from the river not too far from the city. He was carrying the fish over his shoulder even though he could put it into his inventory. As the river water dripped from the fish with each step he took, he noticed that his back would slightly get wet due to it. He decided to unequip his training gi and just walked shirtless towards the restaurant.

As he entered the restaurant the chefs all looked at him as if he was crazy.

“Oi you idiot. Go to the back. You’ll scare away our customers!” Gaspar said reprimanding the young man.

“Yeah you’re right. Sorry hyung-nim.” Chul-Moo bowed with his apology which lead to the fish hitting the floor hard.

“Aigoo… Just bring it here already. Why you carry it instead of putting it into your bag still confuses me.” The head chef sighed as he requested for the fish.

“Hyung-nim, where’s my rival?” Chul-Moo asked as he gave the fish to Gaspar.

“Not entirely sure. When Melchior came by he said he sent him on a task to the tailors in the middle of town. You know that famous one?” Gaspar answered.

Chul-Moo shivered as a memory came by him. The owner of the establishment gave him his training gear after saying it was a thank you gift for showing her some eye candy. Although he was thankful for the free gear the look in her eyes scared him.

“Madame Orchard is one scary woman. She’s too strong, I remember she dragged me around to go on a date although I said no.” Chul-moo shuddered once more.

“Well she is definitely stronger than most of the knights here in the Four Swords kingdom. Now go and take a bath. You reek of fish. Next time use your bag to carry it here!” Gaspar again scolded the young man.

“Yes Hyung-Nim.” Chul-Moo said with a smile.

‘Hopefully you don’t get roped into any troublesome situations Akaro.’

***

Orchid looked at Akaro and placed both her hands on his shoulders.

“I have another favour to ask...”

Akaro tried to squirm away but could not escape.