Chapter 10: 10, Fluffy Teamwork The Birth of the Lucky Rabbit Robe
As I set the materials in the system, a guide appeared with instructions on how to cut them. It's much more detailed than during practice!
"Regenerate! Fairy Wish! Slip Guard! Speed Up!"
While receiving Phoebe's supportive magic, I began cutting and sewing. However, when I got to the rabbit hide, the fluffy fur obscured part of the guide's line, making it hard to tell where to cut and sew…
"Lena, you need to sew that part in a zigzag!"
"Got it!"
As the guide became obscured by the thickness of the fur and my hands paused, the guide was highlighted at Phoebe's instruction, and the sewing resumed.
"Is this good?"
After stitching to the end of the guide, a system screen popped up, displaying the completed item's stats.
**"Little Rabbit Robe
Attributes: None
Status: Defense +1, Magic Power +3
Special Effects: Increased Luck (Great), Cold Resistance (Great)
A white rabbit robe created collaboratively by Lena and Phoebe. It offers minimal defense but keeps out the cold with its fluffiness and grants good fortune. The hood features rabbit ears, and there's a hole in the back for fairy wings."**
"Wow, it's so fluffy!"
"I want you to try it on. Oh, is there something like a changing room?"
While watching Phoebe fluff up the robe, I asked the leader. Suddenly, Phoebe shimmered with a white effect, and the plant outfit she had been wearing vanished, revealing the rabbit robe instead—no changing room needed.
"I've never seen an NPC change outfits before," the leader remarked, silently observing Phoebe.
The white rabbit robe, paired with her blue hair and wings, looked fantastic. Watching Phoebe twirl with joy made me feel that all the effort we put into making it was worth it.
"Hehe, thank you, Lena! I'll take good care of it!"
"You're welcome! I'm really glad to see you so happy about it." It truly makes me happy to hear someone value what I've created—no one has ever said that to me besides my sister…
"Hey, since we're at it, why not make some rings? Neither of us is wearing any, and that seems like a waste. If we craft two together, we might get some great special effects out of it. Plus, we can use ore to make rings, so let's give it a try!"
"Yes, let's do it!"
"I'll help you, Lena!"
Feeling upbeat and inspired, I enthusiastically responded to the leader's suggestion and pulled out my crafting table. It's said that crafting and sewing are best done at the same workstation, so I checked the recipe right there.
"Minimum required materials for crafting 2 rings:
2 ingots or ore."
Since the platinum ore I received isn't enough on its own, I decided to use the topaz and silver ore I found during our cave exploration as well. I didn't worry about how ore transforms into rings—if the system allows it, then it's possible.
"Regenerate, Fairy Wish, Slip Guard, Power Up, Speed Up, Element Boost!"
Phoebe eagerly cast her supporting spells, and I continued to work steadily. As I polished the materials, I watched two rings take shape. I carefully embedded the topaz into one of the rings to ensure it wouldn't fall out.
"They're done!!"
A masterpiece that can be understood through intuition and sensation!
"Fairy and Blacksmith's Ring x2
Attribute: Wind
Status: Magical Power +5
Special Effects: Resonance Increase (Large), Location Sharing, Attribute Resistance (Minor), Destruction Resistance, Theft Resistance, Unavailable for those who do not meet conditions, Cannot be copied.
A collaboration by Lena and Phoebe, this ring, embedded with a topaz, signifies that the depth of a bond is not always equal to its duration. Available in fairy and human sizes, it can only be worn on the left hand of the two of them."
The resonance increase enhances resonance skills, while location sharing allows those wearing the same ring to see each other's positions. Might this ring be particularly compatible with Phoebe, who cannot use the friend system? The resistances imply that it cannot be stolen or broken, and the inability to copy it raises the question: is there a technique to duplicate it instead? But limiting it to the left hand… an engagement ring? No, perhaps I'm overthinking it…
"Wow! It's so beautiful! Lena! Let's put it on right away!"
With that, Phoebe slips it onto her left ring finger, while I place mine on my left index finger. Wait, Phoebe, that ring is… I was about to say, but she looked at me, face flushed.
"Lena-san!? Are you putting the ring there?!"
"Uh, could it be that fairies wear engagement rings on their left index fingers...? By the way, humans wear them on the left ring finger…"
"That's right, fairies wear their precious promise rings on the left index finger… What should we do about this?"
When I conveyed this, Phoebe glanced at her left hand, flustered... She was adorable, but her reaction made me shy as well.
"What is this, a couple's comedy act? I heard you two just met yesterday, right?"
I deliberately let the leader's voice wash over me, ignoring it for now. I decided to keep the ring where it was, figuring it probably wouldn't fit on my middle, thumb, or pinky fingers anyway. I needed to change the subject!
"Um, Leader! Can you teach me an efficient way to level up?"
"Well, hmm... Lena, it would be good for you to find money-making strategies too, since you probably don't have much, right?"
"I only have my starting cash."
In this game, defeating enemies doesn't yield money; it seems the norm is to earn it through quests, crafting, and selling materials.
"Then you might want to hunt treants in the Autumn Forest near the next town. The wood from those treants is always in short supply..."
"Um, does that Autumn Forest have bugs? If so, I'd like to go to a different leveling spot."
If possible, I wanted to avoid any creepy crawlies.
"Ah... If you hate bugs, how about the Spirit Soul Ruins? The core from the golems there sells for a good price, and while their experience isn't as high as that of the treants, it's still quite decent. Either way, we need to cross the Jiten Mountain to reach the next town, which is informally referred to as Two Town because of its long official name. I'll give you a map with directions."
I was handed a piece of paper with directions. So, Jiten Mountain and the ruins of the earth spirit... I'm curious about the next town too, and I definitely want to go.
"The next town? I'd love to check it out!" I said.
"Sure, let's head to Jiten Mountain!"
We still had plenty of time, and as for armor, the looks might not be great but the performance exceeded anything I could get here. Even though the shovel was basic equipment, it was much more powerful than what I started with, so I should manage.
"Oh, a lot of enemies at Jiten Mountain use poison—do you have any countermeasures?"
"Uh, poison... no, I don't."
Honestly, I was relying on Phoebe for healing, and I could really use some healing options of my own. The shovel's special effect lets me take damage for Phoebe, but I wasn't sure if it would protect against status effects. It'd be wise to prepare some antidotes.
"I've got antidotes for sale—we have plenty in the team stash," the leader said, and a shop system window popped up in front of me.
Antidotes were selling for a reasonable price; I could buy about 20 if I spent all my money. As the leader of Lily's team, there was no way they'd be overcharging. After all, they'd given me a gift worth much more than all my savings.
Without hesitation, I bought 10 antidotes and, just in case, grabbed 7 healing potions that were also for sale. In the end, I was completely broke.
I had done everything I could here. Let's get moving to Jiten Mountain!
"Thanks for your support! Keep pushing through the mountains!" With the leader's encouraging words echoing in my mind, I made my way back to the town entrance.
"So, this is Jiten Mountain," I thought as I followed the map given by the leader and the signs along the way. I hadn't encountered any enemies on this path.
"Lena, your dad must be an incredible blacksmith!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm doing my best to catch up to him," I replied, our conversation prompted by Phoebe's curiosity about our parents' professions. Since Lily knew more about my mom's work as a manga editor, the focus quickly shifted to my dad.
"Lena, there's an enemy up ahead!"
"What? That's a snake…"
At Phoebe's warning, I immediately readied myself for battle. Emerging from the underbrush was a purple snake, vividly signaling its venomous nature with its skin tone. I swung my shovel at its head, but it dodged and sank its fangs into my right leg. With my gym shorts providing no barrier, its teeth bit deeply into my flesh.
"Ugh!" The unpleasant sensation of the bite and the creeping poison flooded through me. With a quick thrust, I struck the snake with my shovel, killing it instantly. But then, a sharp pain shot through my left leg.
"Wait, there's another one!" The realization hit me as I noticed a second snake behind me, having been bitten. I swung my shovel again and took it down without issue, but its venom was the real problem. I quickly downed a vial of antidote I'd purchased to counter the poison.
"Recover, regenerate!"
"Thank goodness; when there are multiple enemies, avoiding the poison is tough…"
Not noticing the snake behind me could be a serious issue…
"Phoebe, the fun chat ends here. I have to focus if we're going to scale this mountain."
"Got it! I'll keep an eye on our backs; you concentrate on what's ahead!"
"Thanks! Let's make it over this mountain together... Just try not to fall off my shoulder as we pick up the pace!"
Phoebe slid out of my chest pocket and gripped my shoulder; I appreciated it more than I could say.
Staying in one place too long would mean we'd run out of antidote, so I shot off down the mountain path.
After a few minutes of sprinting, I encountered not a snake, but a frog—about the size of a dog and quite unsettling.
"Monkey behind us!" "Roger!"
As I swung my shovel around, aiming to crush the frog, I suddenly felt something make contact first, and in my line of sight, a monkey wrapped in a red effect vanished before my eyes.
"One more hit!"
I swung my shovel down, now engulfed in the power of resonance, and smashed the frog! Red effects burst everywhere.
"My shovel's on fire! Thanks for the enemy alerts, Phoebe! I feel like I can move freely now!"
"Thanks, Lena! Great job in battle!"
I took a moment to catch my breath before dashing off again. The map indicated that a boss awaited at the summit, and defeating it would lead us to the next town; however, it seemed there was no way to detour.
"Are we about halfway there?"
"Yeah, but we can't let our guard down just yet. Let's stay alert! If holding on to my shoulder is getting tiring, just let me know and we can take a break."
"Got it! I'm good for now, but please keep an eye on your stamina too, Lena!"
As I listened to Phoebe, I started running again. We fought sporadically along the way, but after about 40 minutes, we finally reached the area before the boss fight. A sign politely declared that a boss battle awaited us ahead—was it made by another player like us?
Before getting to the boss, we were ambushed by three snakes, and one dropped down unexpectedly from a tree, poisoning me and dealing some damage. I ended up using two antidotes.
"Phew, I'm glad I managed to keep seven antidotes before the boss fight... At this rate, I shouldn't run out during the battle."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone