“This… my clothes?”
For a while, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the armor that had appeared from the magic circle.
A white leather jacket coming down to the knees, a black top that looked easy to move in.
And among them, an H-line skirt in the same color as the jacket, which was stealing my gaze the most.
Only then did I let out a sigh and clutch my head.
“Why did it have to be a skirt….”
I should have been suspicious from the moment they said item appearances change to match one’s body type.
Of all the countless clothes out there, why did it have to be a skirt?!
Whether they knew how I felt or not, Naira and Veronica exclaimed in excitement as they looked at the clothes I had created.
“Wow, this is so pretty! Hurry up and try it on. I think it would suit you so well.”
“That’s right! Only you could pull off clothes like this, Ian! Huff, huff…. Not being able to take a picture is such a shame. I should really capture this and keep it forever. Ah, I feel like I’m going to get a nosebleed.”
“Uh… this kid was tougher than I thought. Anyway, I want to see it quickly too, so hurry up and change.”
I squeezed my eyes shut at their voices.
Because if I didn’t control my emotions like this, I would have wanted to flick their foreheads.
And no matter what, did they think I would wear a skirt?!
The materials were so good it nearly brought me to tears, but this was going to be sealed away.
On my pride as a man, if I wore this before clearing the game, I didn’t deserve to call myself a man.
Then, Hastan’s voice was heard from in front of me.
“Ooh…. This is an incredible item. You’ve made something amazing. Check it once.”
Even if it was him… no, no matter whose praise I heard, I had not the slightest intention of wearing those clothes.
Telling a man to wear a skirt? Absolutely not.
However, at the words “incredible item,” “amazing thing,” my hand was naturally checking the item information.
I wasn’t going to wear it, but checking the information was fine, wasn’t it?
Since it was mine anyway.
And so I checked the item information….
At that moment, my eyes widened more than ever before.
[Lord of the Tempest]
A top-grade leather armor set woven from the Forest Lord’s leather and World Tree vines.
The potential dwelling within the materials has been unleashed to its limit, effectively protecting the user.
Agility +3, Stamina +3, Physical Defense +40, Magic Defense +35
Blessing of the Tempest: Reduces ranged projectile damage by 10%
Spirit of the World Tree: Increases resistance to status effects by 20%
“Holy shit, this is insane.”
It had nonsensical stats to the point where curses flowed out of my mouth without realizing it.
Physical and magic defense that rivaled plate armor despite being leather armor.
Stat bonuses equivalent to two levels.
And even special abilities that looked incredible at a glance.
My heart pounded fiercely at the overwhelming performance, enough to make the Mark of the Savior I had to wear in Area 2 look like trash.
Because there was probably no gamer in this world, including me, who could refuse an item like this.
But….
‘Still, the skirt is a bit much….’
I had revealed my face, and unintentionally exposed myself, but I absolutely couldn’t accept a skirt.
Because it was the last pride I had left as a man.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to wear it?”
“Well….”
I couldn’t bring myself to answer at Naira’s words as she nudged me from the side.
Right when I was fiercely torn in my mind between the gamer and the man in me,
a hand appeared over my shoulder and reached for my clothes.
“Then can I take this? I’ll pay you generously….”
“…I’m going to wear it.”
Before Naira’s hand could touch it, I hugged the clothes to my chest, got up from my seat, and went into a nearby changing room.
A man’s pride?
It had already been over two months since I lost it anyway.
Women are allowed to go back on their word.
And so, currently.
I ended up facing Emily’s party wearing the new armor.
“Wow, amazing. Ian, what’s with your outfit?”
“Oh, it’s so pretty!”
Embarrassed by their applause and exclamations, I awkwardly scratched my cheek.
“R-really? Haha….”
Honestly, I couldn’t deny that it suited me.
Because even I, who was clueless about clothes, could see it was breathtakingly beautiful.
Besides, unlike what I had thought, the skirt was a style with pants underneath.
Even if others could see it, if I thought of it as pants, it wasn’t very embarrassing.
I probably would have worn it even if it was a real skirt.
I couldn’t let such a broken item rot in my inventory.
In the meantime, Emily, who had approached my side at some point, touched my clothes and spoke.
“You made this yourself, Ian? The finish is really amazing. You can tell it’s a good item at a glance.”
“Yes. I was lucky in many ways.”
“As expected. You must have succeeded at that minigame.”
“Huh? You didn’t succeed, Emily?”
“Unfortunately, I got caught by the time limit. My mind suddenly went blank. Not just me, but they all failed midway too. Still, the performance itself is better than store-bought ones.”
Emily tapped her armor, her defensive gear made from materials obtained in Area 2.
Naira’s weapon was the same.
Their equipment looked different from when we had parted.
And as Emily said, they were noticeably better than the previous store-bought ones.
But if asked whether they suited their wearers as well as my armor… honestly, I couldn’t say so.
To think that difference was due to success or failure in the minigame.
I could once again realize how lucky I had been.
Because if the memories of school life hadn’t come to mind then, I would have failed too.
But….
Looking around, I suddenly felt something strange.
“Did something happen? There are more people than during the day.”
“A festival called the Birth Festival is being held, apparently. It’s total chaos because of it.”
“Now that you mention it….”
The Queen had said to prepare a festival after seeing the Boss.
At that time, I was too focused on the Boss to pay attention, but it seemed that festival was what Emily called the Birth Festival.
“Ah, right!”
I had forgotten something important, now that I thought about it.
Looking at everyone who was surprised by my voice, I said,
“I found the Area 4 Boss.”
***
Level 1 player Eric, who remained in Area 1, Starria, was living a treadmill-like life today as well.
It had already been two months since he was trapped in the death game called Arcadia.
In a situation with neither dreams nor hope, the only thing he could do was scrape by day after day with grind quests that gave a little gold.
Truthfully, he didn’t even want to do that, but without money, he wasn’t allowed to eat or sleep.
And what came when those basic needs weren’t met was death.
Eric had seen many people die from hunger, unable to endure the cold, over this time.
Then shouldn’t he go out and fight?
Unfortunately, Eric didn’t have even the slightest courage for that.
He merely lived on with vague hopes that someone would save him like this.
And so, today as well, on his way back to the lodging after receiving a pittance of about 20 gold and holding a hard loaf of bread in his hand—
“Yo, heading home?”
“Rosa? What brings you here?”
Before Eric’s eyes appeared a woman with reddish-brown hair, Rosa.
“Do we have to have a reason to see each other? I just came because I was bored.”
Rosa was a friend he had known back in reality as well.
Thanks to that, Eric, who had received a lot of help from her, had somehow survived until now.
The daily quests he received were obtained through her suggestion as well.
However, Rosa was now a bit awkward to deal with unlike before.
Probably because the face and name from when he had been a man were still vivid.
Since that friend had suddenly turned into a woman, he didn’t have the confidence to face Rosa properly now.
Of course, regardless of that, Rosa approached Eric very naturally and put her arm around his shoulder.
Seeing her friend’s stiffened appearance, Rosa secretly bit her lip.
“Want to grab a meal together after a long time? You must be tired of eating only that bread.”
“I don’t have money.”
“Then this… big sis will buy. Let’s go.”
The pause between “this” and “big sis.”
Eric smiled bitterly as he inferred the word that would have originally gone there.
No matter how many times he thought about it, it was such a cruel system.
Why had such a nonsensical restriction been created?
At the moment he tried to pour out silent rage toward the unknown existence, the sound ringing out from Eric’s stomach brought the two back to reality.
In the end, Eric blushed and had no choice but to accept Rosa’s proposal, and the two headed to a nearby tavern.
The steaming food and cool drink he tasted after so long were truly nothing short of heavenly.
But Eric, who had devoured the food in a hurry, began to worry once he was somewhat full.
“By the way, are you okay? This must have cost a lot….”
Because it looked like food that couldn’t be bought even with a whole week’s wages.
He was afraid his friend had made a dangerous resolve.
But Rosa sent a confident wink and tapped her own chest with her thumb.
“This much is fine. I’ve started going out to hunt these days.”
“What?!”
Eric was so surprised he almost fell backward.
“Are you out of your mind? What if you die!”
Arcadia was a death game where if you died, the real you died as well.
He didn’t want to lose his only friend in such a place.
But Rosa waved her hand.
“Hey, it’s fine. I won’t die. We’re hunting weak things in a group, so where’s the danger?”
“But if by some chance something happens….”
“Hey, what comes out around here are just rabbits, so it’s really fine. At worst, it’s just a slightly bigger rat.”
Moreover, if she took the risk, a great reward awaited.
“Hey, and the money-making efficiency of hunting is really good. I have money left even after buying all this. Why don’t you seriously think about it too?”
“No thanks. I don’t want to die.”
“You probably would. Still, let me know if you change your mind later. I can at least add you to the party.”
No matter what she said, Eric had absolutely no intention of going outside the city.
No matter how much he was ridiculed as a coward, his own life was the most precious.
“By the way, did you hear the news? Area 4 opened this time.”
“I know that much. Everyone was talking about it.”
Thanks to that, it was true that Starria was more vibrant than before.
Just the fact that areas were steadily being opened gave people hope.
But why had she brought up Area 4?
Eric looked at Rosa with questioning eyes.
She said with the same playful smile she had in reality.
“They say a festival is being held there this time. Want to go?”
After the teleport function was unlocked, players could freely travel between areas.
In fact, some people had even traveled to other areas.
But Eric had never gone to another area before.
That was because….
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
“The whole area is a city, so they say it’s not dangerous. And apparently players are competing or something against each other. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
They certainly say that watching a fight is the most entertaining spectacle in the world.
Especially in a world with almost no dopamine like now, even street fights drew large crowds.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t interested.
But…
“Didn’t you say you were hunting?”
“My party members all went there. So I’m thinking of going too. Honestly, you’re curious too, right? How well those crazy bastards fight.”
People often called high-ranking players crazy bastards.
Because they couldn’t understand those who fought on the dangerous front lines with their lives on the line.
At the same time, he was curious.
Just how strong were those who fought with their lives on the line?
He wanted to see with his own eyes.
In the end, Eric had no choice but to nod.
“Then it’s decided that we’re going.”
And the next morning.
Starria Square.
“There are so many people.”
“I guess everyone is going to Area 4 for fun.”
Eric and Rosa, waiting in the teleport line, clicked their tongues at the sight of the long line of people.
They hadn’t known so many people would go to see the festival.
But it would be a waste to turn back like this, so the two endured the long line.
And so their turn finally approached.
“Teleport, Tedumaya.”
A fierce torrent of light enveloped the two.
And the scenery that unfolded before their eyes shortly after was:
“W-wow…. This is….”
“Area 4….”
A city where nature and civilization coexisted, Tedumaya.
And numerous dark elves welcomed their visit.
“Welcome to the Birth Festival, outsiders.”