Adhuin makes me choose between different types of fabrics. He has all he needs for the job. Aren't kimonos meant to take hours upon hours? But maybe the System did something to reduce those times.
His tent is small but seems to be the perfect fit for him. There is a table that contains all types of tools: needles, scissors, and threads. On the right is a small display of fabrics of different materials, and on the left is a series of clothes neatly folded on top of a box.
I end up choosing one that allows for a similar pattern to the one I had before being thrown naked into the dungeon. Red and black, flowery pattern, a nice sash to fasten it.
To think I am choosing female clothes like it is a natural thing for me.
"Okay, it will take me a while. You can return to the fire. This one is free!" He says.
"Thank you..." I still feel bad for accepting it... I should try to buy some stuff from them...
I go out of the tent when I cross paths with Lazuli.
"Ah!" She jumps and blushes when she sees me.
"Ah, you are Lazuli, right?" I ask her.
She is very pretty up close, and she has freckles. There is a small scar in her left cheek that I just now noticed.
"Y-yes... I am..." She seems nervous for some reason. Her voice is shaky, and her ears are pressed against her skull. Her tail is wrapped around her left leg.
I am not sure how to continue the conversation. There is a pause that seems to drag more than necessary. I feel observed by her, like she is inspecting every fiber of my being
"Uummmm..." She breaks the silence. "Excuse me for this... But you are a Vulpin like me..."
"Y-yeah... We are..." The way she said it makes me feel like she is having a hard time grasping the concept.
"Oh! S-sorry... I stopped talking... Is just that... This is the first time I meet someone of my kind." She presses her hand on her lips, like trying to contain herself.
"Ah... Well, we are quite rare in these parts..." I comment.
"Can I ask you... Where is your village?" Her ears flatten when she asks that question.
"I don't really have one... I have been traveling for a long time."
That is a partial truth. Your character is just thrown into the game in the middle of nowhere. No past, no connections, just made to be whatever you want it to be.
That is a weird concept, isn't it? Even if I were transmigrated into this world, Amber just spawned for me as a vessel to be able to play this game.
"Are you looking for a Vulpin village?"
"Yes... I have been trying to locate one since I was a child... I was hoping you would know of one as we seem around the same age... Maybe you knew something."
"I know about one..." I reveal. "But it is on the other side of the Nothing, in the northern hemisphere, close to the Deep Caverns."
The Deep Caverns, or the place that Aurelia supposedly governs, is a series of mountain caverns.
"R-really?" Her eyes seemed to light up.
I nod. "Yeah, it is hard to find without a guide, though."
For a few moments, I thought of offering myself, but I did not. I cannot be an acting hero and helpful to everyone; what I did today was just a moment of chance.
"I understand... I will ask Lars if we can move there... Ah! Right!" Her ears perk up and her eyes go wide. She probably remembered something. "I came here to ask you if you need any decorations."
"Yes! Say yes!" Karina appears beside me, without missing a beat.
"You greedy spirit!" I say while I turn towards her.
"Hey! I deserve it!"
"Who are you talking to?" Lazuli asks.
"Just... An annoying spirit that follows me everywhere, insisting on decorations for my sword."
"You finally decided to accept my existence as someone!" Karina's tone of voice was too condescending.
"Don't make me use you know what!"
"Y-you pervert!" She covers herself with her hands, and her face turns pink. "Who told you you could use those perverted methods on me?! Just wait until I can make you squirm, too!"
"What kind of spirit do you have...?" Lazuli looks at me worried. Probably wondering if she should escape from me at any moment
I would do it too if I saw someone fighting with an invisible being. I just sigh from the frustration.
"I have some precious gems." My attention returns to Lazuli. "Maybe you can check them?"
In her tent, there is a small table with a few gem-cutting tools and a series of sigils drawn on the surface. I lay Bloodless on it, and I take the precious stones I have found so far.
Lazuli starts to check them. She seems to focus hard on what she is doing, inspecting each stone with her hands and pulling them closer to her eyes.
"Mmm... You have a couple of amethysts, sapphires, and rubies... But none are in perfect shape." She comments while holding another one.
She moves through them before moving to check Bloodless's handle. She takes the sword up and starts to observe it.
"Excuse me... But... Why do you use a sword?" She asks, her ears go flat and her voice is a bit shaky.
"Huh? Ah! Well, it has some strong enchantments that work for magic." I often forget... But maybe she cannot see Bloodless stats without identifying it first.
"You know, I am the kind of girl who enjoys being flaunted around," Karina says.
You are not my girlfriend, you know?
I keep that one to myself, I just look at her side-eyed while I feel a vein pulsing in my forehead.
"M-maybe I can give you some more MP and Elemental damage... But the other gems would only increase melee attack and elemental penetration for attacking with it... I won't take l-long"
"Mp and Damage are fine, thanks." I say to her.
"M-maybe your companions could use those gems too... If you send them my way... If you want, of course!"
I nod at her, smiling.
With precision, she uses her tools to prepare the stones. The process is faster than I imagined, and she slowly get a blue stone and a green stone into an oval shape.
Then, on the table, she places it back and starts to focus magic on the wood surface. The sigils and symbols starts to shine green.
This is very similar to the animation in the game when the player or an NPC works on setting Decorations.
After a few moments, two slots for stones appear on the handle, and she glues the already prepared stones on them.
[Bloodless gains]
[+1000 MP]
[Increased Elemental Damage]