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[PP-F1] Gotto Cover Oneself Up! <<Earning a Living>> (Shira) [Complete]


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Hataki was very grateful to Shira for the sword he was presented. He did not expect her to just give away a rare two-handed sword to him without any hesitation. Now, it was time for him to return the favour. But before that, he needed to finish his own Earning a Living quest. He decided he will become a tailor and craft Shira her armour. As much as he would have liked to do this by himself and then surprise Shira with his new skills, he decided against it because of two reasons: one, he didn’t want to leave Shira alone in this dangerous game, and two, he didn’t want to go material hunting alone. So, he sent her a message early in the morning, requesting her to meet him at the south entrance of Town of Beginnings.

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To: Shira

From: Hataki

Message: Hey! Good morning. Meet me at the south entrance of Town of Beginnings. I need your help with this mission.

After sending the message, he quickly got ready and rushed to the NPC tailor he had scouted the previous evening. This one was the opposite of Divon, the NPC blacksmith, both he and Shira had met the day before. He was tiny, short, and… aggressive. When Hataki approached the guy the previous evening to enquire about the quest, he almost threw a roll of leather right at his face for touching the plushie in display. “Keep your filthy hands off my plushie, you mongrel. You are here to learn tailoring? Looks like I’ll have to start with manners first.” Despite his attitude, the man seemed to know what he was doing, and Hataki wanted to learn from an expert. So… There he was, standing in front of Lamruil, the ruthless master tailor, as the neighbouring shopkeepers called him.

What are you waiting for? Go get the right materials first. Don’t you dare come back with one. Get at least two or three. Now, get out and give way for my customers,” he barked. Hataki gave an idiotic half-smile in response and walked to the south gate where he had asked Shira to meet him.

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Shira hadn't really slept all night, so early in the morning when Hataki's message arrived, she sprung out of bed, tidied herself up and was on her way to the south entrance. She reached there and rubbed her hands together, because there was a nip in the air. The cold didn't sting as much as it would have in real life, if she ventured outdoors as scantily clad as she was. He wasn't there. Having just made amends after offering up one of her rare crafts, she reminded herself not to call out on his tardiness. Instead, since she was already so close to the exit, she decided to use this opportunity to hunt for some more materials and maybe, if opportunity arises, she could kill some mobs too. She was in desperate need of mats, to keep her crafting skills in check. It had taken her a while to learn how to wield the forging hammer and she still wasn't perfect. 

She walked out into the fields, a little more bold with the extra health points she had accumulated and once again started scanning the area for the materials. She couldn't tell if it was the dim lighting or just lack of mats, but so far she noticed nothing shimmery. 

Spoiler

ID# 51125 results: Battle: 8 | Craft: 12 | Loot: 6 | MOB: 6

 

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At first, Hataki couldn’t find Shira when he reached the gate. For a moment, he was happy he hadn’t made her wait, but a swift scan of the area proved him wrong. She was there and she had wandered off in search of material. He walked up to her and apologized sincerely, “I’m really sorry. Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” Before speaking further, he inched closer to her. “I… never got to thank you properly for your gift. Thank you! And I hope to return the favour. I found this 'wonderful' tailor in town and he is kind of willing to help me become a tailor. I thought I could craft you a nice piece of armour.” After he finished the good part of the news, he rolled his eyes and went on to the drag part. “Obviously… Just like you, I have collect mats too and I really don’t want to do this alone. So, could you please help me find some mats and finish this quest?

If Shira did say yes, he would smile and thank her again before going on to look for the mats. “Maybe we can kill some mobs too this time, considering we have grown a little stronger, thanks to you.” He knew Shira enjoyed slicing up these digital monsters and if they could do that safely, it was well worth the effort. “I heard there are some wasps on this side of the forest. It is supposed to be stronger than the boar, so please exercise caution if we run into one. Don’t want us dead yet.

Hataki kept a lookout for those precious leather scraps as he walked into the woods, but couldn't spot anything.

Spoiler

ID: #51144 | Battle: 3 | Craft: 10 | Loot: 9 | MOB: 10

 

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Shira nodded gently. "Of course I'm willing to help you." she said to Hataki. "Honestly, you did help me a lot with mine, so I'm kind of returning the offer, and I'll call you out on your armor offer, I need me one of those." So far she was feeling rather  good about the day today, although she did want to find materials, there wasn't as much pressure on her head for them. She'd already crafted herself and her questing companion a sword since neither of them were interested in heavy armor, her job was done for the most part. But there was a small part in her which wondered if she could actually make a sell some of her material. It wouldn't hurt to make some extra col on the side. Of course, she also intended on relieving Hataki of his burdens by sharing any mats she found, if necessary. 

"You mentioned 'wonderful' Divon style wonderful?" Shira asked, jokingly. Although she had grown fond of her sweet lump of an NPC mentor, in fact she wondered if she could help him out in some manner later... 

Spoiler

ID# 51153: Battle: 6 | Craft: 9 | Loot: 14 | MOB: 4

 

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Hataki laughed out loud when Shira asked if his mentor was ‘Divon-style wonderful.’ “Skill wise, yes. Character wise, anything but Divon. I’m actually scared of introducing you to him. The way he speaks, you would probably have his head in less than a second and he would try that too. Good he is just an NPC.” Hataki still hadn’t recovered from the laughter. “But, mind you. Killing an NPC makes you an orange player, I think. Not worth it.

As boring as this material gathering rounds were, he had grown to look forward to them as it provided ample time to talk freely to Shira. As he walked around looking for leather, he pulled out his Nebula Cleaver, which he sheathed proudly in his back, and looked at it admiringly. “I really love my sword. Can't thank you enough. Orange is one of my favourite colour; preceded only by purple. What is your favourite colour, Miss Nakashima?” He deliberately referred to her real name because this question was directed to the real person and not the character Shira. He had this unexplainable urge to know more about Akira herself, which he was desperately trying to keep in check.

He turned towards her and looked at her curiously, waiting for an answer. He thought he saw a twinkle behind her. At first, he mistook it for the shine of her eyes, which he was very fond of; but a second glance confirmed what it was. He quickly walked past her and picked up the leather scrap he noticed. “There! One. At least one more to go; otherwise, he will chew off my head. Haha…

Spoiler

ID: #51173 | Battle: 2 | Craft: 2 | Loot: 17 | MOB: 5

+1 Mat

 

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"I honestly don't care about being orange as long as I haven't harmed a real soul" Shira said, smirking. This new NPC seemed like a challenge. But maybe Hataki could be exaggerating her reactions to NPCs or exaggerating the anger his NPC displayed in the first place. She didn't find the need to inquire any more about this man, she would be meeting him in no time. Hataki thanked her again for the sword and she felt rather pleased and filled with pride that she could create something someone else loved. She smiled, glad that the hard work had paid off. "Purple?" she laughed. "Purple was the favorite color of the queen bee in my high school..." She grinned. Eyeing Hataki's reactions carefully, he didn't seem to bothered. Shira needed to learn from him, perhaps that's why she possesed this inexplicable urge to keep pulling his leg. "My favorite color can be found on both our swords... Its red." She stated. She had missed the fact that he called her by her real name. "Hey aren't you not supposed to call me that? Or have we succumbed to the fact that this is our real world now?"

he had gone on to find a crafting material and mentioned how he needed at least one more. "Divon wanted even more than that, and for good reason too, if you're like me, which I hope you're not, you might need a stack." She advised.

Spoiler

# 51174: |Battle: 7|Craft: 12|Loot: 7|MOB: 8|

 

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“Well… It’s difficult to run shops and traverse around the towns when you are an orange player. That’s why I said it’s not worth it. Anyway… Just don’t kill him until he is done teaching me how to become a tailor,” Hataki said with a chuckle. It didn’t bother him even a little bit when Shira made fun of him based on his most favourite colour. He just laughed it off. “At least I didn’t say pink. Haha…”

Hataki was quite surprised with Shira’s questions as to why he was referring to her real name. “I thought that was obvious. My question was directed to Akira, and not Shira. I would like to know more about the real you. I have full confidence that we will get out of this game alive. And once we are out of here… I don’t know if you’ll have the time. So, I’m just using this opportunity to know you.” He had a sad smile on his face when he spoke of whether they would meet again at the end of this chaos.

“Yes… But I already have two mats from that previous hunt. A couple more here will make it four. I would think I’ll be able to craft something with four. If not, I’m just unlucky and I’ll have to come gather more.” But it seemed like he was lucky today. A casual scan around the area got him another leather scrap. “There!” He ran to it and put it in his inventory quickly. “All thanks to your luck.” He winked at Shira.

Spoiler

ID: #51241 | Battle: 2 | Craft: 2 | Loot: 20 | MOB: 4

+1 Mat

 

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"If we do get out of this game, which I also think we will... I will definitely find time for the guy who helped me through it..." Shira said sincerely. Sure she would be a little busy catching up on everything she's missed. "Besides, since I'm not an avid gamer, so I haven't seperated Shira from Akira really... We're mostly the same person." She added. Shira frowned, well could that mean that Hataki and Haru were different people? Should she address her questions to Haru then? He had more faith in his abilities, he hoped to finish the quest by using just about the three or four mats he had. Shira hoped that would be the case, this NPC sounded unpleasant and she didn't want to be in his presence. The tiny girl, thought about what Hataki just said, she wondered if he could tell her how to separate Shira from Akira. "Since you have played more... How are Hataki and Haru different?" She asked, learning a little bit about maintaining in game character, could be fun.

Spoiler

# 51244: Battle: 6 | Craft: 3 | Loot: 4 | MOB: 4

 

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“I’m glad to know you’ll still find time for me.” Hataki couldn’t help but laugh when Shira asked how his character is different from the actual person. “Well… I always play an evil character in RPGs. It’s not like a hidden desire that I’m quenching through videogames. In real life, I wouldn’t make anyone’s day bad. But I won’t deny that I like screwing up the balance in an MMO whenever I get the chance. It’s so much fun to watch the high and mighty scramble, and there is no permanent damage. But… Unfortunately, this game, by itself, turned out to be a permanent damage to every player just because they chose to play it. So… I’m just Haru. Hataki doesn’t exist; it is merely a name now.” For a split second, Hataki felt sad that he couldn’t play his character the way he wanted to but then realized there are more pressing matters at hand; like being stuck in it.

While they walked, he constantly kept a look out for any leather scraps he might find in the area. But, unfortunately, his luck seemed to have run out. There weren't any in his vicinity. "Let's try a different region. I don't think there are any more leather around here."

Spoiler

ID: #51309 | Battle: 1 | Craft: 5 | Loot: 5 | MOB: 3

 

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Shira found Hataki's story rather amusing. So he played the bad guys... It made her wonder how different things would have been if they had entered the game as contenders, as was supposed to be. She had a few more questions for Haru, but before she could answer them, she heard a strange buzzing sound.

Quote

Spawning one wasp.
HP: 8
Mitigation: 2
Damage: 4

Noticing it buzz towards the duo, she realized she didn't have time to warn Hataki about it. This could probably end badly. Hataki was a little behind her and first in line if the wasp attacked. Shira quickly dashed between him and the wasp. While making her dash she had already unsheathed her sword and was ready for slashing the creature through. As expected, her Star Slayer Sabre or S3 made contact and tore through the wasp. But Shira had underestimated the speed of the creature and before managing to destroy it, the giant wasp had managed to sting her shoulder.

Shira noticed her health bar lose 4 points... But the wasp was dead now, so the danger had been dealt with. "Ugh! I hate wasps." Shira exclaimed. "Where were we?" she asked.

Spoiler

# 51320: Battle: 10 | Craft: 10 | Loot: 20 | MOB: 7

Wasp damage: 4
Shira's HP: 12 - 4 = 8 HP
Shira's damage: 8 bleed damage + 2 basic damage + 2 Crit damage = 12
Wasps HP: (8+2) - 12 = -2 :: Wasp is dead.

Loot: One uncommon item. To be evaluated later.

 

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Hataki heard the buzzing sound too. But he was relatively slow to react. Before he could turn around and see what it was, Shira had already: located the source, unsheathed her sword, dashed towards it, and also killed it. He stood there, perplexed. By the time his hand had moved to unsheathe his blade, the entire fight was over. This is the second time she is saving my hide. I wonder if this party is more for my safety than hers. “Thanks! Again,” he said, blinking with an expressionless face. He sheathed his sword back and sighed. “You are too fast; and by the looks of it, the wasp was fast too. I suppose any quick surprise attack would kill me. Now… That is why we need the armour. Some damage mitigation and evasion should help.”

His focus on the mission at hand doubled. He thought if he had managed to craft the armour as quickly as Shira had managed to craft them their weapons, then she would have lost even less health. He tried not to show it, but seeing her health bar drop almost gave him a heart attack; however, it’s no secret that he is extremely paranoid, especially when it comes to her.

Maybe it was his boosted determination or it was just coincidence; he managed to find another piece of leather. It was rather well hidden under the shadows of small rocks. But, Hataki’s eyes didn’t miss it. “Another one! I think we are good to go now. These should be enough.” With that said, Hataki began walking back towards the Town of Beginnings.

Spoiler

ID: #51339 | Battle: 3 | Craft: 8 | Loot: 18 | MOB: 8

+1 Mat

 

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Shira nodded when he said he had found enough materials and followed him on his way back to town. She hadn't really saved his life, but she nodded when he thanked her. "Don't worry about it, I enjoyed using my creation and yes armor would be good..." She added watching her heath points regenerate slowly. "Too bad we don't even get to milk this game for what it's worth... And stay... in character" She noted recalling that Hataki said something to the affect, that this game was a curse to everyone who had joined. Although they could have spent the time whining about how bitterly unfair things had turned out to be, Shira was more interested in knowing how Haru usually played his characters.

"So you'd have made Hataki evil? Had our lives not been on the line? What were you going to do with him?" Shira asked inquisitively. "Bet you wouldn't be helping me then, would you? I'd be on my own and we'd probably be competing, like I'd assumed when we got into this thing." Though she enjoyed company, the dark haired girl would have probably enjoyed ruining Hataki's evil plans even more. She'd never be able to deny some healthy competition, nor a chance to prove her worth against alleged evil. She'd be the Jedi to his Sith and it'd be rather amusing to play that out. "Do you think there are still people who risk being evil in this game?" Shira added.
 

Spoiler

# 51409: Battle: 9 | Craft: 6 | Loot: 3 | MOB: 10

 

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Hataki began speaking in a very calm, genuine tone. “There is no competition. And no! I would have helped you. Even more in fact.” His expression suddenly changed to a playfully evil one. “In the end, I would have just robbed everything and fled.” He finished that sentence with a mock evil laugh. But all the fun fled from his face when Shira asked him if there are people who dare to be evil in this game despite the circumstances. “Unfortunately, yes. I’ve heard some players have refused to believe that this is a death game and have resorted to killing other players for fun or gaining an in-game advantage. Worse, there are some who do believe death here means death in real life and still go on to do it because there is no one to police them. Apparently, few good guilds are rising against this threat. But… Lost people are lost.”

A few minutes after walking into the town, they reached Lamruil’s workshop. “Back already?! I hope you have enough leather boy. Don’t expect me to help you with material. I’m not giving you even the scraps I throw,” Lamruil spat at Hataki. His gaze then shifted to Shira, and all of a sudden his demeanour changed. He pushed Hataki aside and greeted Shira warmly. “Welcome young lady. Are you here to make a purchase? Please take a look at my wares. They are all of great quality, I assure-” Before he could finish, Hataki cut in. “She is with me.” And as expected, Lamruil went back to his original nature. He frowned and mumbled something before walking into his workshop. “Come in. Let’s get this over with.”

Hataki didn’t even ask if Shira was allowed in. Since he didn’t say anything, he assumed she was and walked in. Just like Divon’s, Lamruil’s workshop was marvellous too. Wow! “Stop day dreaming boy. Get your leather to the tanning rack, tan it and then take it to the cutting machine, cut it to shape and finally sew it. If you do all that right, you should be getting something. I’ll be out in the shop. If you have questions… don’t bother me. Figure it out yourself.” And with that, he was out. Hataki stood there with his jaw dropped. It took him few seconds to collect himself, but he finally put it all together. Tanning rack! Yes… And he started the process.

Surprisingly, it all came to him naturally; especially because the game did all the tedious work for him. His leather was tanned decently, then he cut it to his measurements and finally took it to the sewing machine. He was aiming to craft a set of leather pauldrons for himself. He placed the leather on the machine and whirled the sewing wheel. And voila! A solid, classy-looking pauldron was right in front of him. "Hey! Look... I did it! I did it!"

Spoiler

ID: #51393 | Battle: 6 | Craft: 11 | Loot: 12 | MOB: 2

Crafted Rare Leather Armour!

 

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Shira was pleasantly surprised. Hataki sure was luckier than she was, or more skilled. He already had his item. Before he could make a move, she used her lightening quick pace to already be in his NPCs teacher's face. Shira had endured less from the man than Hataki had for sure, but the girl wanted to be the one to stand up for her friend and let this guy know what a skilled partner she had. "Hey you, yes you." She said when the vendor turned around. "Your apprentice has made a nearly perfect item, on his very first attempt, you should be eating your words." The man didn't seem to care much and turned around again to attend to his shelf. "NO! Look at me. Did you? Did you? Make a nearly perfect item on your first attempt?"

With that he turned again and sighed, as if in slow motion, he raised his eyebrows and continued dusting the raw leather he was holding in his hand. "No girl, I did not, in fact, make a near perfect item." He said. She stared at him, jubilant. Then he spoke again, with a menace that crept into each slow, deliberate word. "I made a perfect item on my first try." he finished. Shira was a little crestfallen. "Nonetheless, I know this is good enough, you must certify him and let him go now." she continued with a slightly diminished sense of pride in Hataki. "Oh no no, you don't decide when he goes... I do... Tell him he is to stay here till he makes a perfect item." He finished returning to his work. "Fine." she said out loud. "Whatever." She muttered rolling her eyes. 

"Get up, we're getting out of here. The old geezer just wants you to sit around, I'll have none of that. He's gone to do something and I noticed a back door, lets go have ourselves some fun... We'll come back in a bit, he'd probably have forgotten our faces..." She said "Well yours at least." she muttered under her breath, unsure if that egotistical man would forget the face of the young girl who attempted to bruise his pride.

With that, too fast for her own good, Shira was already out the door, having beckoned Hataki too follow. The door opened into another region of the grasslands, previously unexplored. She wondered if she'd find some more of her iron ore here...

And there was the shimmer and there was her mat.
 

Spoiler

# 51398: Battle: 5 | Craft: 9 | Loot: 20 | MOB: 9

+1 Mat

 

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Hataki was still admiring the piece of equipment he had crafted while Shira and Lamruil had a row. He barely heard anything; so, he was surprised when Shira took off from the back door. He placed the pauldrons on top of the sewing machine and rushed after her. This guy has got a nice backyard. The grass was long and green, and the sun shone on his face brightly. “Woah! This is beautiful.” He turned to look what Shira was doing and just as he suspected, she had an iron ore in her hand. He shook his head with a laugh and laid down on the grass. “Ah… This feels really good.” He shielded his eyes from the sun and grinned widely. All this felt very real. “Hey… Come here! Lie down with me,” he called out to Shira.

Spoiler

ID: #51400 | Battle: 5 | Craft: 1 | Loot: 1 | MOB: 2

 

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Shira looked at Hataki oddly, lying down on the grass isn't what she had in mind when she mentioned fun. Shira didn't really have anything in mind actually, she just didn't think lying down was the way to go about it though, until she tried it. Reluctantly, she knelt besides Hataki and awkwardly let herself fall to the ground. The sun didn't annoy her eyes as much and the sky was a crisp blue. The grass was moist and soft and it felt peaceful. In the excitement of what Hataki had created, she'd forgotten all about what he would have done had this game not been a matter of life and death. He was lying there, perfect victim, eyes closed and all. "So you'd help me, use my luck and then take everything and run huh?" She said straight faced, probably no one would be able to tell where this was going. In retaliation to his would-have-been thieving, she plucked out a blade of grass and assaulted his ear with it, poking it in...

Spoiler

# 51403: Battle: 7 | Craft: 2 | Loot: 14 | MOB: 8

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Hataki was grinning and whistling with his eyes closed when Shira inquired about his usual play style. He had no idea as to what was going to follow. So, he was extremely startled when he felt something make his way into his ear. “GAH!” He rolled away screaming and then laughing. “Why you?!” He noticed that the grass was very moist and had water droplets at the tip of them. So, he held a handful of grass and slashed it towards her, making the water splash on her face. “Take that.” He kept doing that with both his hands continuously, laughing all the while. “Where’s the fun in playing a boring goody-two-shoes character when it is so much satisfying to play an evil one?” When he was done, he knelt up and breathed heavily. He looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun again and noticed something shimmering behind Shira. He leaped over her, just to startle her, and grabbed onto the material.

Spoiler

ID: #51406 | Battle: 5 | Craft: 1 | Loot: 17 | MOB: 6

+1 Mat

 

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She wiped away the dew drops from her face and some bit of dirt that had come along with the grass. She squinted her eyes at him. "Wait wait, there is something in my eyes she lied." Since this was a free for all she didn't mind cheating a little bit. The unfortunate thing was, he didn't fall for it. While she decided her next move, which unless she acted out of impulse, usually took a while... He leaped towards her, actually over her, to grab a piece of material. "Hey!" She protested. "That mat was behind me, so... it was mine." She joked, mock fighting seemed to be a good way to pass time. She looked around in haste, trying to find something else to attack with. "I order you to return it to me, otherwise there will be hell to pay." she said grinning widely, still planning her next move.

Spoiler

ID# 51407: Battle: 10 | Craft: 10 | Loot: 7 | MOB: 8

 

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Hataki laughed and rolled away from her. He stood up and taunted her. “It’s all yours if you can catch me.” Saying that, he started running around the field, dodging her. “Technically, I spotted it. So, finders keepers. But, I’ll make an exception. You just have to catch me and it shall be yours. Think you are up for the challenge?” He kept taunting her. Unfortunately for him though, while he was busy trying to rile her up, he did not watch where he was going. As he walked backwards swiftly, he bumped into some…one. He turned around to find a fuming Lamruil. “Playfighting? I thought you were here to learn tailoring. And who said you can be on my backyard. Inside! Now!” he barked. Hataki wasn’t least bit guilty. He walked past him and then stuck his tongue out at Shira. Lamruil followed him and kept muttering something incomprehensible. “Alright… Let’s see what you have managed. Hmm… Well… Not really great. But I suppose that’s all I can expect from someone who doesn’t know the meaning of hard work. One good item and it gets to your head. You’ll never make it in the market with this attitude. Anyway… That’s not my problem. I certify you as a beginner tailor. Now, get out of my face.”

Hataki didn’t have to be told twice. He gestured to Shira and quickly walked out of the shop. “Maybe I should have thanked him. You know… He is my teacher after all.”

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She was at the brink of catching him when the NPC reappeared in the frame of his backdoor. When the guy started barking, Shira decided to linger in the backyard. Giving it one last sweeping glance for any materials she could seek. Just near the door, she found another material lying around. Stealthily she went and made it hers. She wondered what if they'd just been picking up materials this NPC lost? Had they just stolen. She didn't see any sort of penalty or warning on her, so she assumed what he didn't know wouldn't hurt anyone.

But if that guy did ever find out, Shira could bet that his suspicions would lie in Hataki or her direction. At least he didn't ask him to craft anything more. This had taken lesser time, or maybe time just flew by... Shira was happy they both had a job now, a mechanism of earning a little on the side. "Congratulations!" She said. "So what's the plan now, you make us some armor and then?" She asked, ever living in the future, never present in the present.

Spoiler

# 51408: Battle: 8 | Craft: 4 | Loot: 18 | MOB: 6

+ 1 Mat

 

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