A few minutes after our introduction to the girls, we decided to follow them to their shop. At first, I expected that they had the usual standard stand that most players used when opening up a vending store. But when we arrived, I was surprised to find that it wasn’t at all what I imagined. On the outside, it looked like a small shack. But upon walking inside through the curtains, I saw many rolls of fabrics, two tables on each side, and some toolboxes near the chairs behind the tables. It was a setup that you could find in real-life tailor shops if you ignored the shack's size. Still, I’m impressed at how she made this her base of operations for her crafting business. But Star's shop aside, we decided to take the time to sit down and discuss what she is offering to us.

As I sat down, I asked, "So if I can understand completely, the catch is that you want us to use some materials that we gathered for you to make our new equipment, correct?"

"Exact-o-mundo. I'm not lazy when it comes to my combat [Masteries], but considering that I have to keep up with so many orders and my tendencies to want to help out newbies around town, I doubt I’d have enough time to get out of town and hunt monsters along with farming the materials I need for my future crafts," Star explained as she sat in front of the table while spinning a pair of scissors around her right hand. "It doesn't help that my real-life obligations also hamper most of my playtime in this game, and then the added fact that I have to keep Annie out of trouble until her brother gets back."

As much as I question her decisions for her plans in this game, I had to admit she does have a good point. Due to our obligations to study and go to school early every day, our time in is very limited and we had spent most of our time for the last few days selling and crafting items for many players just to earn some [Lapi]. Heck, most of our ingredients were starting to run out due to us not being able to hunt monsters and gather herbs and other items. So I ca understand Star's situation very much.

"Thankfully, I have a full free schedule ahead for today, so I can take and start on your orders immediately. It might take a few hours or so depending on what kind of armor and materials you provide. Unlike other crafting [Masteries] like [Cooking] and [Alchemy], armor crafting doesn't have the [Mass Production] ability, and the steps on making a single armor without a menu are more complicated, to the point that you need basic knowledge on real-life sewing and leather-making. Thank goodness, my grandmother's pestering on teaching me about sewing saved me a lot of trouble in grinding [EXP] to my crafting [Masteries]."

At that moment, something about her words makes me a bit curious. "Well, didn’t you try to use the crafting menu at all? You did say that using your [Mastery] without a crafting menu is complicated and time-consuming."

"I did try to make leather armor using the menu during my first foray into the crafting scene. Problem was, not only were the stats similar to store-bought armor, but the bonuses I got were useless to my current [Mastery] build. It was only after I crafted another armor without the menu that I managed to get the better stats and bonuses this time. I guess that by not using the menu, you’re able to control what kind of effects, additional defense, and stat bonuses you could use and achieve by using any kind of method you often use in real life. And even just deciding on material or the amount of what you use without the reliance of recipes can highly affect the item's quality and effects in general."

Control the effects and bonuses? Now that I thought about it, I did make that delicious rabbit steak without using the menu and Kazu made some potions that not only boosted my stats but had a delicious flavor that reminded me of a lot of fruit juice. Looking at what Star had told us so far, I doubt that our luck and our current experience on this expertise in the game might’ve had something to do with producing these high-quality items and food. Maybe the game's crafting system had some sort of risk and reward mechanic, which works depending on how much you rely on the in-game recipes and crafting menu. "Did you try the same thing with your other crafting [Masteries]? Without any recipes or the menu, I mean."

"Not exactly. The only crafting [Mastery] I have is [Tailoring]. But a few days ago, Annie did make an accessory for me using the same method I've been using." Star then pulled something out from her pocket and showed it to both of us, revealing it to be a bracelet that had with heart and flower charms. On the outside, it seemed to be poorly made, which didn’t surprise me considering it was made by Annie. But upon checking its description window, I was quickly surprised to see its effects.

[Charm Bracelet]

[A chain bracelet that usually carries several jeweled charms that not only personalize its appearance but to bring luck and joy to those whoever wears it.

Quality: 13

Bonuses: +15 Luck

Crafter: ]

As I had thought, the quality is on par with the items that Kazu and I made. But still, I can’t believe that a 10-year-old girl made this bracelet without any help from a crafting menu or in-game recipe all by herself. Even Kazu is somehow amazed at the sight of the bracelet despite its amateurish appearance. "You made this by yourself? I can't believe how skilled you are with this kind of stuff."

Just as he said this, I noticed that Annie's face starts turning red before she averts her eyes away from Kazu. "T-Thank you... A-Annie often makes some arts and crafts after class... I-It's the only thing Annie can do in here until Big Bro comes back. B-Besides, Annie isn't the best crafter like Big Sis."

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Kazu just responds with a smile as he approached her slowly and placed his hand over her shoulder. "Don't sweat it. Besides, you successfully made your very own bracelet in . That's something you can be proud of."

"A-Are you sure?"

Kazu nods in response as I see him give a sincere smile to Annie. "Yep. Take it from me, I’ve had to work hard to gain something I want. Whether it’s in school or this game, I have to earn what I want fair and square."

"Fair... and square, huh..."

I had to admit, Kazu can be pretty wise at times, especially for someone his age.

"Annie's crafting skill aside, the point is that doing without the crafting menu seems to give us more control and advantage as to what kind of bonuses we get with our crafted items. Though to be honest, I don't even know why they placed that kind of a mechanic in the game." Star added before she shrugs. "If we wanted to get things done quickly, they could have just refined the crafting menu to help us control the quality and effects that we want to add to our merchandise."

"You have a point there. But don't forget, this is a virtual reality game. I think they only added that mechanic to help out new players who are still learning the basic gameplay and give them a boost if they don't have the time to craft with their own hands, and also to give off a bit realism in this world. I also think they put those mechanics into the system to encourage players to not rely on the crafting menu so much," I spoke up as I turn to Star. While I wish that’s true about the crafting system's mechanics, it’s simply a theory that I came up with alongside Damon a few days ago when we talked about its existence. "Either way, all we can do for now is to make use of what the developers have given us and run with it."

Star sighs and nods to me. "You're right. Complaining about it right now does no good for us." She then stands up and raised her right hand in front of her, at which I guess that she was opening up her menu. "Besides, you guys seem to have already decided on my offer. Don't worry, even if I decide how to craft your new equipment based on the materials you give me, I will still give you control on what kind of bonuses and effects they’ll have, and I'll do everything in my power to complete them as fast as possible. Sound good for you?"

I sure did and I figured that Kazu is thinking the same thing. "You bet. Consider us your very first regular customers." It wasn't an exaggeration. Besides the bear pelt we obtained from the [Wild Bear], we gathered some boar pelts and ant skin peelings to sell them for money. However, thanks to needing to run our food and potion stand, we didn't even have the chance to do so. Thankfully with Star's offer, we found another use for them: to have them made into something useful. But before we could show them said items, a new pop-up window appeared in front of me.

[ wants to be friends with you. Accept?]

[YES] [NO]

"Don't worry about it. You can think of this as my business card and a contract rolled into one. Besides, a crafter and a salesman must have good trust and communication with their customers no matter what." Proof of trust between a seller and customer, huh? She was a shrewd woman when it came to business and honestly, she wasn’t bad at it. It did make me wonder what kind of studies or job she was doing in real life. With that, I quickly accepted the request, a sign that I accepted the "contract".

She then makes the same request to Kazu and he accepts as well. Annie then approached him and I noticed she is blushing intensely red again. Not only that, she seems to say something to him, but I can’t make out the words due to her low voice. To my surprise, Kazu nodded at her and gave her a small smile. I have no idea what she just said, but I'm guessing that she was trying to make a friend request to my brother. To be honest, I’m not exactly surprised at that, considering how kind Kazu acted towards Annie during their first meeting. I guess that she had taken a liking to him. And not just an ordinary liking between friends or trust between seller and customer kind of thing. Rather, it resembles a first meeting scene that you might often see in those corny teen drama shows or high school romance anime. In any case, I hope that both Kazu and Annie would have a good relationship soon.

With that aside, we brought out most of the items we had gathered so far to Star. And as she sees each of them, her stoic frown slowly changed into a sly grin. "You farmed a lot of pelts and peelings. I can make something out of this, but I still need to know what kind of combat [Masteries] you have so I can get a full grasp on your characters' fighting styles. Is that okay?"

I raised my right eyebrow, confused at her sudden request. "Uh... Okay? But what for?"

"Duh, to decide what kind of armor your [Masteries] build is. You know I'm the one who decides on how your equipment is made, and I can't just give heavy armor to a squishy mage and agile thief. Not only that, I might add some interesting stat bonuses and effects that could boost your abilities and attacks a little. Annie can also craft some accessories for you two that can aid you even further. Isn't that right, Ann?"

I turned around and see Annie stands up as her face turned red again. "I-I-I..." She then hung her head to hide her face as she fiddled her fingers. "I-I guess. I-If it's for Kazu, t-then I can try and make one for Kazu."

Damn, that's one way to make a girl more socially awkward in front of her crush. I’m not the only one who picked up on this, but seriously, Star didn’t need to pressure her cousin to pursue her crush. "Alright, just give us a few hours and we'll have your brand new armor and accessories done in no time."

I smiled in response, knowing deep down she and Annie would do a great job. "I hope it will. Good luck and we'll see you later."

"Good luck to you, too, Annie and Star! I know you’ll do great!" Kazu said as he joins up with me before we left their mini-tailor shop. Considering what he said to Annie, I have a feeling he just gave her a motivation to help out her older "sister" and more importantly, do what she wants to do in .

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Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 11

[Woodcrafting] Level 2

[Swordsmanship] Level 10

[Cooking] Level 4

[Wind] Level 9

[Physical Enhancement] Level 3

[Hunting] Level 10

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Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 10

[Thunder] Level 11

[Wind] Level 7

[Alchemy] Level 12

[Magecrafting] Level 1

[Magical Affinity] Level 11

[Scribe] Level 1