Act 2: Gathering in Nagaran
ACT 2 Gathering in Nagaran
“Mother, what’s with that face?”
Ark grumbled as he gave So-mi a strange glance. That’s right. The female inside the shop was So-mi, Ark’s mother. By the way, it was because of that face that Ark committed the sin of not recognizing his mother. When his mother had used New World’s character creation process, she had transformed into a teenage girl.
“Looking young and pretty is never wrong.”
….. That was his mother’s answer.
“Then you managed to manipulate the game’s character creation process.”
“Was it difficult? Don’t you just have to scan an old photo when the message appeared? Scanner? At any rate, when I scanned the photo my character was programmed automatically. Wait? After thinking about it, my feelings are a little hurt. Even if my face de-aged 25 years, how can my son not recognize me? Mother is sad. Even Roco recognized me.”
“I previously saw the album with Mother in it. You looked so pretty that I had to remember.”
“Oh, Roco is also pretty.”
So-mi stroked her head and Roco acted like a ca.t. Ark had also thought that So-mi’s face was slightly familiar. But how could he remember it from a photo in an old album shoved into the closet?
“I don’t know. Mother just looks like a high school student. It is like a scam.”
Ark pouted while murmuring. However, So-mi ignored it and turned around.
“Who are the people with you? Your friends?”
“Oh, you are Ark’s mother? My name is Bread.”
Bread laughed boldly and approached.
“It must be tough for a beauty like you to raise a monster like Ark.”
“Your fool, this is from a 25 year old photo.”
“Hmm, this guy is still naive. I don’t want to hear such lousy words. Despite it being 25 years ago, the features can still clearly be seen.”
“You’re a good friend. You are called Bread? Please continue spending time with Ark in the future. Despite him being older, that child still doesn’t know things like that.”
“Hohoho, I’ll teach him.”
Bread laughed and hit his chest. Ark sent him a sour look but the atmosphere had become more harmonious because of Bread. But Sapjil and Ulmeok’s faces had fallen. There was a reason for their expressions. They hadn’t had good experiences with the people associated with Ark. Sapjil still had the memory of being beaten by Isyuram, JusticeMan and the rehabilitation members. Unlike her outer appearance, Roco also had a personality of steel. Therefore in their heads, ‘acquaintances of Ark= dangerous people.’
‘The person who appeared this time is Ark’s mother. Despite being a woman, I can’t be reassured. Wasn’t she the one who created Ark’s personality? If she gets mad and shows her true personality then she might be much scarier than Ark. It would be nice to have a break from swollen eyes.’
Thus the two of them hid in a corner, not even daring to breathe loudly. While they were trembling, Roco suddenly remembered something and asked So-mi.
“But Mother, wasn’t there something you want to give to me a while ago?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
So-mi then took something out of her bag.
“Winter is coming soon. It is interesting that we can even feel the coldness of winter in a game. Hohoho, at first I thought the room was cold and even checked the temperature of the boiler. But it was on its original settings. So I thought of you guys and prepared this. I actually came here because I wanted to give this to you directly.”
The things which emerged from So-mi’s bag were gloves and scarves. But the gloves and scarves were different from the ones found in general stores. The overall shape was similar but the gloves and scarves had flashy patterns on them. When Ark received it, an information window popped up.
-Wool Gloves (4th class product, Deluxe)
Armour type: Gloves (Clothing)
Defense: –
Durability: 40 /40
Weight: 3
User Restriction: –
Gloves made using high quality wool. The gloves are a relatively plain style but it is possible to feel the skill of the craftsman through the simple needlework and neat finish. The particularly noteworthy part is the hand stitched embroidery on the back of the gloves. The precise pattern of the eagle flying will give courage and compassion to the users.
-Wool Scarf (4th class product, Deluxe)
Armour type: Scarf (Clothing)
Defense: –
Durability: 40 /40
Weight: 4
User Restriction: –
With the ability to wear it as a hood or a scarf, it is a stylish scarf made of wool. The part which goes around the neck is so fluffy and warm that it is possible to feel the meticulous care the creator put into it. In addition, the small eagle design on the end enhances the style. The eagle embroidery is so close to perfect that the person can wear the scarf with pride and courage.
‘Huk, what is this?’
Ark’s eyes popped out at the information window. The gloves and scarf Ark received had a 4th class ranking. In addition, the sewing option only appeared when the sewing skill reached intermediate. She had only started the game yet So-mi’s sewing skill had already reached intermediate? That was not the only surprise. Gloves and scarves were naturally cold resistant. That was why users bought them during winter. Style was also an option attached to clothing. However the numerical values this time were no joke. Originally the gloves and scarves had an average cold resistance of 15%. But these ones had 30~40%? The cause of this was due to the S rank completion rate. In fact, sewing was a general purpose skill since it was easier to learn than the special production skills like alchemy. It also had a low failure rate. If created roughly than a completion rate of B would come out. But this part which made this skill special was the fact that it was extremely difficult to get a completion rate above A. In order for users to reach a higher proficiency, they needed to create 100 items with an A rank completion so most of them gave up at the advanced level. Yet this wasn’t an A rank product but an S rank!
‘Hasn’t my mother only been playing the game for 3 months? Furthermore, what is this embroidery option? I’ve never seen anything like it.’
The eagle embroidered on the gloves and scarf was marvellous. He had seen clothing dyed different patterns but this was the first time he had seen directly embroidered clothing. And it was also the first time he saw an additional option attached to clothing. No, he hadn’t even imagined it until he saw it. And the additional option added 20~30 courage!
“Do you like it? I’ve checked it several times but this is the embroidery option that people like the most.”
So-mi spoke casually. But it wasn’t something that could be spoken about that casually. It was natural for users to like the courage option. Not only did courage increase resistance to states like ‘fear,’ it also increase damage and attack speed. So the stat was similar to a joker type which could affect different abilities. However, finding courage attached to clothing was extremely rare! Yet So-mi had no idea how big it was that she attached it to gloves and scarves.
“It’s strange, when I embroider the eagle design I fail one in every three attempts.”
‘Oh my god, then she has a 60% chance of attaching this option?’
If other tailors heard So-mi say that so casually then they would’ve been overcome with depression. However, there was another reason Ark was baffled.
“Uh, Mother, this is…..!”
Roco’s eyes shone like a lantern at the unexpected gift. It was an S rank luxury item so of course Roco liked it. The problem was the design of the gloves and scarf! Ark had received blue clothing with red embroidery. Meanwhile Roco’s items were red with blue embroidery. That’s right. Ark and Roco had received a couple set consisting of gloves and scarves.
“Two people who get along should wear things like this. Oh, is it not in style these days? You don’t like it?”
“D-d-don’t like it? Wah, thank you Mother!”
Roco embraced So-mi tightly while trembling. Ark was inwardly uncomfortable but he couldn’t express that. No, these were presents that his mother put effort into making so he couldn’t find fault with them.
‘Isn’t this a pair of gloves and a scarf created by Mother?’
Ark remembered the times in the past when So-mi created a sweater and a scarf for him. When did it stop? It was probably when the sweater and scarves that had a price tag started to look better and cooler than his mother’s. And when did his mother start buying it from the department store instead of making it for him? How did his mother feel then? He felt a strange feeling in his chest as he looked at the gloves and scarf.
‘And seeing Mother acting like a normal person……’
When So-mi first started the game, she couldn’t even walk but now she had managed to ride a horse to Lancel. After arriving at the store, she had acted like a healthy person. Although it was in a game, seeing So-mi walk around casually caused unspeakable emotions inside him. In fact, his mother didn’t talk about the game with him. It was probably because she wanted to surprise him with this visit.
“Ah, that’s right!”
Then So-mi seemed to remember something and reached back into her bag.
“Actually I’ve also packed things for other people.”
“Other people?”
“Yes, for Detective Gwon and the other rehabilitation members. And these are for your pets. Since they are children you frequently talk about. Give these to the children. I’ve heard about their sizes from Roco so it should fit.”
“You even made some for my summons?”
Ark looked on with amazement as countless wool clothes emerged. For JusticeMan and the rehabilitation members, she had prepared 11 sets of gloves and scarve