Hataki

Hataki couldn’t help but laugh when Shira asked him to not do ‘that’ again. At least now she understands how I feel when she is being reckless. “I’ll be fine. I’ll regain the health by the time we reach the Dark Elf. Let’s not stop,” he said, in retaliation. But Shira had already gone scouting the area. He just stood there, leaning against the nearest tree with folded hands, waiting for her to return. He ran his fingers through his hair, dishevelling it further, and began whistling his favourite songs again. He constantly monitored his health bar, which started replenishing slowly after a few seconds. “Hey! Let’s go. My HP bar is almost full,” he shouted in the general direction where Shira headed. When he got no response, he opened the map to look where she was and headed towards her direction. Once he was in her range, he would call out to her, “Shira! Let’s go. Come on!”

“Yes, you are trained in the sword arts. But you still need it more because you are the reckless one among the two of us,” he said, winking at her. “And don’t worry. I’m not going to roam around in these rags for long. I’ll craft myself something too… eventually.” And that’s when he noticed the wolves. He went ahead and attacked it first, knowing that Shira will follow and finish the fight off. She needed her to not lose any HP until they reach the Dark Elf; she is the muscle in this quest. That is why he chose to attack first, holding the wolf’s attention on him. And he is going to continue doing that until they reach their target.

“Relax! We had the element of surprise. I was just taking advantage of it,” he said, in a matter-of-fact tone. He then turned towards the next wolf that was blocking their path. The moment he turned, something pounced on him, biting into his shoulders. “Argh!” Hataki felt no physical pain, but seeing the green of his HP bar retreat was scary. He hit the wolf’s head with the hilt of his blade, pushing it away and then followed with a heavy slash through its guts. The wolf was thrown up in the air due to the momentum and then disintegrated into blue dust as its HP bar dropped to zero.

“Phew! I think our way to the Dark Elf is clear now. Let’s go,” he said, sheathing his sword casually.

Of course, Hataki did shake his head in disbelief when Shira said she could fight groups of mobs, now that she has an armour equipped. That is exactly why I’m around. To stop you from doing such silly things. He didn’t say it out aloud. Lately, Shira had been a little annoyed around him. She had her reasons, and furthermore, she also mentioned she hasn’t been sleeping well. So, Hataki could understand the friction between them. Anyone who is in this mess is allowed some leeway to feel frustrated and needs to vent it out somewhere. It is better him than her going out into the fields alone and getting into trouble.

“This way,” he said, in response to her question, and led her towards the Dark Elf’s location marked in his map. Hataki shook his head when Shira inquired if he isn’t equipping any armour. “No! Could craft only one useful item. And yes… I’ll try to stay away from direct fire.”

The Dark Elf’s location marked on the map looked like it was close, but the path leading to it was extremely wound. From afar, he noticed a couple of wolves patrolling the path they had to cross. “I suppose we will have to deal with these before we get to the Dark Elf,” he said, unsheathing his sword and preparing for battle. 

He gripped onto his Nebula Cleaver and dashed towards the closest <<Wolf>>. Before it could react to his presence, he had slashed across its body, dealing some damage. Hataki’s attack pushed the wolf onto the nearest boulder; he turned around and stood ready for the next attack.

Hataki stood there waiting for a response from Shira, which he got after a couple of minutes. A few more minutes and she was there, seemingly excited over the first combat mission. But of course, she doesn’t know the details yet. As usual, he greeted her cheerily, “Good morning… Sleep head,” he added after seeing her yawn and rub her eyes. “The mission is to kill a dark elf and bring the material it is guarding back to the armour smith in town. If we do that, he said he will craft us an uncommon armour of our choice. And here are the mob details. The information was available for free over the network,” he said, opening his menu and showing her the details of the <<Dark Elf>>.

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<<Dark Elf>>
HP: 12
DMG: 9

“As you can see, it has no mitigation. So, with our new weapons, we have a chance of defeating it easily. However, exercise caution because its damage is 9. So, if it hits us twice, we are dead.” He didn’t want to scare her, but at the same time, he needed to emphasize on the gravity of the situation they are getting into. “Let’s go get this mission over with. The rewards are decent.”

“And Shira… Before we go, equip this.” He accessed his inventory and took out the Leather Jack of Retribution he had crafted that morning. “With that on, it shouldn’t be dealing much damage to you,” he said with a smile, handing the armour to her.

Name: Leather Jack of Retribution
Your Profession: Tailor
Your Rank: Rank 2
ID: #52014
Roll: 11
Item Type: Light Armor
Tier: Tier 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: +1 Damage Mitigation; +1 Thorns
Description: An intricately designed leather jack. A thin layer of rugged chain-mail is sandwiched between two layers of thick leather. Hence, it not only protects the user from damage, but also inflicts damage on those who dares to attack them.

Hataki promptly came back to do his crafting for the day. He hoped he will be able to complete his orders today. "At least one, please!" He prayed to the Number Gods before beginning to tan a piece of leather.

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Craft 1
ID: #52188 | CD: 2
Fail.
+2 Exp [Total: 28 Exp]
-1 Mat

Craft 2
ID: #52189 | CD: 9
Good item crafted!
+3 Exp [Total: 31 Exp]
-1 Mat

Craft 3
ID: #52190 | CD: 11
Rare item crafted!
+6 Exp [Total: 37 Exp]
-1 Mat

He still couldn't complete his order. But at least he crafted a rare item; in any case, he was done for the day.

Hataki was in the mood to explore that morning. Instead of taking the usual route to his shop, he took the roundabout, but a more interesting, one. One particular NPC shop caught his attention. The sign read, 'I craft your armour for FREE. Just give me the right material.' Amused, he walked into the shop to find Griswold and Hanna. The couple gave him a warm welcome. “Welcome! Welcome, my friend. What can I do for you?” Griswold inquired. “I’ll give you the mats and you will craft my armour for free?” Hataki asked, scepticism clear in his voice. “Yes! You are right. But… The catch is, I don’t craft with any material. Depending on your preference, I have a special ore or leather that I need before I can craft it for you. And a word of caution: those mats are sure to be protected by those pesky elves.” Oh… So, this is a quest? And he was right; a quest indicator popped up. “Alright…” He decided it’s about time he started doing these quests and focused on levelling up. Shira had been upset lately with his "too-safe" approach to this game and demanded some action. Well... If action is what she wants, action is what she shall get. Besides, she worked hard on these weapons; there is no point if it isn’t put to use. He tapped on the accept quest button and his quest log was updated.

Immediately after that, he sent a message to Shira:

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To: Shira
From: Hataki
Message: Found a quest we can do; not much danger. Meet me at the north gate. :)

Hataki then thanked Griswold and made his way to the north gate, where he would wait for Shira before proceeding.

Shira’s ‘nothing’ was more hostile than Hataki expected it to be. It was almost like she had found even more reason to hate him while he was gone to get drinks. The poor man didn’t know that, actually, was the case. He turned to Niklaus, who seemed to look dispirited. What could they have spoken about that made her angrier towards me? For a moment, he thought Niklaus had said something about him to her. But he quickly realized they barely knew each other and he had no reason to do such a thing. Unless… He likes her and wants me out of the way. Hataki dwelled on that thought for quite a while, giving Nik sceptical glances as he sipped on his tea. Eventually, Hataki’s optimistic side took over and he chose not to blame Nik and hold a prejudice against him simply out of speculation. Maybe she is just upset with the rain.

Unfortunately though, Shira only made it more difficult for him to stay positive. Asking him how much she owed him was quite offending. They had shared several meals before and this question had never come up. She had crafted him his weapon for free and he was planning on crafting their armour. So, offering to pay for some tea was just an outright act of spite. It has always been ‘we’ and ‘ours’ and she very well knew it. He was about to snap right then and ask her to stop, but he realized that’s not going to work. So, instead, he just took a deep breath and responded calmly. “The usual. A ‘thank you’,” he said, without looking at her.

The silence began to feel awkward. This is the first time that had happened between them. Luckily, Nik broke the silence with his question and Hataki was glad. “My story is the usual. Avid gamer. VR enthusiast. Couldn’t wait to get into this game. She, on the other hand, has never played any videogame before and is here because of me.” Hataki really wasn’t in the mood to elaborate and thought he would let Shira do that if she wanted.

As usual, Hataki woke up early in the morning and headed to his shop. He had a couple of orders and he hoped to get it done as soon as possible; especially before he runs out of material. He had also taken five mats from Hakai, so, he felt highly responsible. He opened the shop, wore his Apron of Aspiration and got to work.

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Day 4

Craft 1
ID: #52012 | CD: 6
Bad item crafted.
+2 Exp [Total: 21 Exp]
-1 Mat

RANK II REACHED!

Craft 2
ID: #52013 | CD: 4
Bad item crafted.
+2 Exp [Total: 23 Exp]
-1 Mat

Craft 3
ID: #52014 | CD: 7
Good item crafted.
+3 Exp [Total: 26 Exp]
-1 Mat

He could not complete his order today. He wouldn't give up though. He will come back the next day and try again.

Unlike usually, Hataki was greeted by the innkeeper with some predisposition. He had always been nice to Hataki; he wondered what was bothering him. I mean… His tavern is full. If anything, he should be at least mildly happy. But Hataki’s internal question was quickly answered. “Could you ask your lady friend to go change into something dry? I don’t think my cushions can handle all the moisture,” he whined. Hataki rolled his eyes. Seriously? Shut up you lump of binary digits. He wanted to say it out aloud, but he didn’t. “Look… I’ll pay for the repair costs. Just don’t mention it again. Now… Do you have something hot to drink?” At the mention of payment, the innkeeper went back to his cheery self. “Of course! Of course! I’ve brewed my own special tea this afternoon. Would you like to try it?” he asked, expectantly. “Sure! Give me three cups of that,” he pulled out some COL from his pockets and laid it on the counter. As he waited for the innkeeper to fill three cups with his special tea, Hataki rested his arm on the counter and shifted slightly to look at Shira. She seemed to be having an interesting discussion with Nik. He wondered what they were talking about.

“There you go! Three cups of my special tea and some complementary crisps,” the innkeeper said, pushing a plate towards him. “Thank you!” Hataki said in response. He carried the plate with the tea and crisps back to their table. “The innkeeper was nice enough to give us some crisps for free,” he said, putting the plate on the table and taking his seat again. “So… What were you guys talking about?” he asked casually, popping a crisp into his mouth.

"Yes! That is very possible Miss. And I'll get to work on your gauntlets the minute I reach rank 2, I promise. Please come back in a couple of days to collect your order," he said in response to Hakai. "Also Miss, if I craft a perfect item with less than five mats, I'll return whatever is left. Not really in this for profit." With that, he took the bag of materials Hakai placed on the counter and went back to his crafting station. He first needed to get to level 2 and then craft a perfect item. This sounded like a tall order, but he was confident he could do it. He took another piece of cloth and got to work.

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Day 3

Equipped: Apron of Aspiration (+1 EXP per craft)

Craft 1
ID: #51799 | CD: 3
Fail.
+2 Exp [Total: 17 Exp]
-1 Mat

Craft 2
ID: #51800 | CD: 4
Fail.
+2 Exp [Total: 19 Exp]
-1 Mat

Shira’s response didn’t offend Hataki, but he was a bit sad that she didn’t understand his concern. She is skilled, maybe much more skilled than he ever can be in wielding a sword. Heck! She managed to save Hataki twice before. To add, she is smart and lucky. Hataki denied none of it. But he feared these recent successes would get to her head and she would eventually bite more than she can chew. And his doubts were confirmed when she calmly said she would have taken on a pack of wolves had she encountered them. Now, that guaranteed death. He wanted to retaliate but decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was create a scene in such a crowded tavern with a girl in wet clothes. He would have this conversation with her again, when they are alone. And she gets a stack of healing and teleportation crystals, he made a mental note, as he already knew what the outcome of such a conversation would be. He doubted she would stop taking risks.

Nik posed a question while he was still mentally calculating how much COL it would cost to stock up on those crystals. He lost track of the calculation and decided to do it later. “Oh... We are just level 4. We have been playing very safely. I’m currently working on crafting some armour for both of us before we try something more challenging,” he responded. His gaze automatically turned towards Shira. Her clothes were still wet and Hataki had no change of clothes either. He wasn’t sure if she felt very cold because he had never experienced being drenched within the game. Nevertheless, he thought a hot drink would do her some good. “I’ll go get us something hot to drink.” He then rose from the chair and walked towards the counter.

Hataki took the seat opposite to Nik after the handshake. Although Hataki didn’t empathize with Nik about losing time in the game (since that’s all he would have done even if he wasn’t stuck in here), he could understand how much of a problem it was for others. “Yeah… Everyone is losing track of time. Some even losing themselves,” he added sadly, reminded of all the player killings he had heard of. Nik then introduced himself, breaking Hataki from his morbid thoughts. Almost immediately after, the tavern’s door opened and he saw Shira walk in. Completely drenched. Hataki shook his head in disbelief. This girl… He was about to say something along the line of how she could catch a cold, but stopped himself when he realized that’s not possible. He started to notice he really cares a lot about Shira and his brain goes devoid of logic in her presence. He wasn’t sure whether he should embrace that change or shun it. After all, she is in this mess because of him. Maybe the feeling wasn’t mutual.

As Shira sat down, he began his lecture. “You really should stop getting obsessed over those iron ores. I said you could borrow what I have and if that’s not enough, we will buy more. What made you think it was a good idea to go out there alone? What if you had gotten lost in the storm and ended up amidst a pack of wolves?” He may have sounded a little annoyed, but it was mostly concern.

Hataki was slightly flustered when Nik addressed Shira as ‘love.’ He knew he was over reacting. In fact, he didn’t understand why he is reacting at all. If he chose to flirt with Shira, it’s his choice and Shira would deal with it however she liked. However, that reasoning did not make him very comfortable. He realized he wouldn’t be very happy if Shira chose to flirt back. So, instead, he chose to believe that Nik was just being friendly. He had to keep repeating that several times in his head before he could calm down though.

The system had given several clues to the upcoming rain but Hataki missed them all. He has been living in this inn since day one and had personally requested for thick, opaque blinds for his room. He felt most comfortable in the darkness. It was something that accompanied his avid gaming. Dark rooms, large screens, and surround sound was how he enjoyed videogames prior to the VR era. And thus, when he left the room to go check on his tailoring shop, he was taken by a rather annoying surprise. It was pouring down outside and he really was in no mood to get drenched. He frowned and walked down to the tavern. There seemed to be a lot more players in there than usual, thanks to the rain. The NPC innkeeper seemed quite pleased. Hataki crossed the crowd and walked to the nearest window. “Nope! No way I’m getting out there,” he muttered to himself with a sigh. He turned around and saw a young blond sitting alone despite the crowded state of the tavern. Well… No one is a stranger in this game. He walked up to him and spoke casually. “I wonder how the weather is in the real world.” He then extended his arm and introduced himself. “Hataki.”

Name: Apron of Aspiration
Your Profession: Tailor
Your Rank: Rank 1
ID: #51608
Roll: 12
Item Type: Clothing
Tier: Tier 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Ambition (+1 EXP for every craft)
Description: A simple black apron that is to be worn before working on your craft so that it keeps your attire clean. At the center of it, it has a badly drawn doodle of a brown-haired guy and a black-haired girl smiling and holding hands.

Donating 6 mats.

@Hakai

Hataki was sitting on his chair and reading the Guidebook to know more about crafting and the stats involved when a customer walked in. He was excited to greet his very first customer. "Hey there! Welcome. What can I do for you?" he would ask, politely. Her request made him sad. "Ah... I'm so sorry Miss. I am, unfortunately, still a beginner tailor. I can't craft leather equipment until I become an apprentice tailor. Right now, I can only stitch clothing. But... If you are willing to wait, I can do your order within two or three days." Hataki was extremely sad that he had to reject his very first order, but he did not have an option. "Also Miss, I don't think you can get 27 Mitigation in a Tier 1 leather armour. You see, the cap on Mitigation enhancement is 2. And with 9 points per slot, you can only get 18." He would wait for Hakai's response before going on to practice his crafting.

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Day 2

Craft 1
ID: #51608 | CD: 12
Perfect Item Crafted!
+8 Exp [Total: 14 Exp]
-1 Mat

Craft 2
ID: #51609 | CD: 2
Fail.
+1 Exp [Total: 15 Exp]
-1 Mat

Hataki wandered the third floor markets in search of a good merchant. He was hoping to get his newly crafted Cloak of Plunder appraised. Maybe there is another hidden trait within this cloak. That will just be perfect! Nevertheless, he didn't have his hopes high. He knew it was all a chance thing and the cloak could even possibly get locked. He was willing to take the chance though. I would never know if didn't try. It didn't take long before he found a shop. It was small, but looked attractive with the green and red paintings. Furthermore, the name of the shop was witty. He smiled and walked in. "Hello!" he said, looking around to see if there was anyone. If Hikoru was there, he would continue. "I'm a budding tailor. I crafted a cloak this morning and would like to appraise it to see if it has any more enchantments." Something struck him then. Something that he should have thought about before stepping into the store. Can I afford this? "Umm... How much would it cost? This is the item." He took the Cloak of Plunder from his inventory and showed it to Hikoru.

Name: Cloak of Plunder

Your Profession: Tailor

Your Rank: Rank 1

ID: #51435

Roll: 11

Item Type: Clothing

Tier: Tier 1

Quality: Rare

Enhancements: +2 LD

Description: A dark blue cloak with ornate golden borders that cover the user from neck to toe. It is made of a thin and soft, velvet-like material.

That morning, Hataki had travelled to the third floor to meet a NPC broker. He wanted to rent a small place to run his tailoring shop, and he wanted it to be close to Shira's. It didn't take long for the deal to be settled. He found the perfect little place to begin his business in the game. He thanked the NPC and walked into his shop. As he expected, it was completely empty except for the essential tools of tailoring and a chair. "Well... I suppose I need to furnish it myself." But to do that, he needed Col, which he knew he won't make if he doesn't craft and sell. So, he got right down to business.

Thanks to his earning a living quest and a few other times he had gone material hunting with Shira, he had a decent amount of leather and cloth to begin crafting. He took a long piece of cloth and began work.

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Day 1

Craft 1
ID: #51435 | CD: 11
Rare Item Crafted!
+5 Exp [Total: 5 Exp]
-1 Mat

Craft 2
ID: #51436 | CD: 6 | LD: 2
Fail.
+1 Exp [Total: 6 Exp]
-1 Mat

Welcome to Hataki's Knits & Sews!

Price List**:

On Display:

Requests:

Sale/Gift Logs:

“Thank you! And once we have our armour, we should actually work on improving our light armour skill. Otherwise, it is useless and we do not get any benefit from it. I think we need to level up a little further before we can do that. There must be a few easy quests that we can complete now that we are of higher level. We should look for them. But right now… Let’s just celebrate. Drinks on me. To the nearest inn.” He walked towards the closest inn with newfound vigour. He was happy that he had become a tailor and is now capable of crafting armours for both himself and Shira. He would start that the next day, along with finding a way to open a shop.

~Thread Complete~

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.”

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.

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.