Chapter 11: Two Artisans

As Irim appeared in the Spider Forest, some users recognized him.

“It’s Rice-nim!”

“Wow~ Rice-nim. This is my first time seeing you in person, nice to meet you.”

“Whoa. Totally surprised. Is it real? Whoa, it’s real.”

“Rice-nim! When are you starting business? I want to eat lizard skewers!”

Irim was quite flustered by the sudden crowd.

Unsure how to respond to the people’s welcome, Irim sent an awkward smile and drew the Sturdy Horn from his waist.

Then, he stabbed the surrounding Claw Lizards with it, killing them one by one.

He intended to prepare more food before the boss raid.

Since Irim silently hunted mobs without saying a word, the crowd dispersed again.

Claw Lizard carcasses steadily piled up in Irim’s inventory.

In the midst of that, a screech! sound reached Irim’s ears.

Turning his head, he saw a Claw Lizard trying to crush a Red Baby Spider’s head.

Since Irim was allied with the Red Queen Spider, he couldn’t just ignore the scene.

Irim swiftly dashed in and stabbed the Claw Lizard’s death point.

Stab!

Krruk!

The Claw Lizard slumped.

The Red Baby Spider, saved by a hair’s breadth, shuddered and approached Irim.

Then, it extruded a bundle of thread and left.

It was the drop item ‘Sticky Spider Web’, which could only be obtained by hunting Red Baby Spiders.

Irim examined the item’s information.

[Top-Grade Sticky Spider Web]

-The trap laid by red spiders to hunt prey. This spider web is extremely sticky and elastic, making it hard to break. Couldn’t something be made with this?

“Hmm. Did that guy give it as thanks for saving him?”

He appreciated the gesture, but Sticky Spider Web wasn’t suitable as a cooking ingredient.

Irim pondered whether to pick it up or not, then put it in his inventory for now.

Because even if it seemed useless now, it might have a use somewhere.

After that, Irim diligently hunted Claw Lizards.

But instead of hunting indiscriminately like before, he focused on those attacking Red Baby Spiders.

Because in this world, achievements were given for repeating special actions.

After hunting like that for a while, 60 Claw Lizard carcasses and 50 Sticky Spider Webs piled up in his inventory.

“Phew. Should I stop at this?”

As Irim sat down in a suitable spot and prepared to butcher the Claw Lizard carcasses to make them edible.

A voice called out to him.

“Um, Rice-nim.”

Turning around, someone stood there with a slightly dissatisfied face, looking at him.

But the face seemed familiar somehow.

Irim checked his ID.

Eater?

Eater looked at Irim’s feet and let out a deep sigh.

“Ah, my shoes.”

Only then did he remember.

Eater was the user who unnecessarily approached when Irim accepted the Red Queen Spider’s quest and got killed.

He had dropped the shoes then, and Irim picked them up and wore them.

Recalling the incident, Irim quickly tried to take off the shoes to return them.

“Ah, you’re the owner of the shoes? Sorry for wearing them without permission. I’ll return them…….”

“Forget it. Those are bound items.”

“Bound items? What’s that?”

“You don’t even know what bound items are? Is this your first game?”

“Yes. It’s my first game.”

“Whoa. What kind of national treasure are you?”

Eater blinked in surprise and explained about bound items.

“Bound items become exclusive to the person who picks them up and equips them. Now, no one but Rice-nim can wear those shoes.”

“Ah……. I see.”

In short, even if Irim returned the shoes, Eater couldn’t wear them.

“And I have another pair I’m wearing. That was a spare. But were you really going to return the shoes?”

Eater asked.

“Yes. I might not meet you, but if I did, I planned to give them back.”

“Then why did you wear them?”

“If someone else picked them up, they probably wouldn’t return them even if they met Eater-nim.”

“Dude, are you cosplaying a good person right now?”

“Cosplaying?”

Seeing Irim’s expression as if he didn’t understand what cosplaying meant, Eater shook his head.

“Forget it, whatever. Since it’s like this, wear the shoes well. Sigh. Anyway, I’ll have to spend money again to gather spider webs. For lizard hides, I can skin from carcasses others hunted, but…… Sigh. If I knew this, I should’ve gotten some combat skills. Tsk.”

Eater had no combat skills.

So he had to buy crafting materials from users.

The problem was that users tried to sell them too expensively.

Eater grumbled and was about to leave Irim’s side.

At that moment, Irim called Eater back.

“Eater-nim.”

“Why?”

“I have quite a lot of lizard hides and sticky spider webs, I’ll give them to you.”

Anyway, he didn’t need the sticky spider webs.

Lizard hides could be obtained immediately by butchering Claw Lizard carcasses.

At the unexpected words, Eater was dazed for a moment and asked.

“How many do you have?”

“About fifty each.”

Fifty would be more than enough even after making shoes.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You’re just giving them to me?”

“Think of it as payment for the shoes. I don’t need them anyway. How many do you need?”

“Well…… To make one pair of shoes, you need two lizard hides and two spider webs, but actually, failures happen a lot, so I need at least twenty each generously.”

“Then I’ll give you twenty each. I’ll give the spider webs first. The lizard hides need butchering!”

“Okay.”

As Irim handed over twenty spider webs, a smile appeared on Eater’s face for the first time.

“Heh. Giving this for free. Rice-nim, now I see you’re really a learned person…… Gasp.”

Eater, looking at the items received from Irim, gasped.

“What’s wrong?”

When Irim asked, Eater swallowed dryly and asked.

“Um, Rice-nim. Where did you get these spider webs?”

“From Red Baby Spiders.”

“Huh? Even if you beat those guys all day, all you get is Sticky Spider Web.”

“Yes. It is Sticky Spider Web.”

“No. This says Top-Grade Sticky Spider Web! This is my first time seeing it!”

Eater said excitedly.

“Uh…… Is that so?”

Irim thought they were all the same spider webs and didn’t pay much attention.

But it seemed like something remarkable.

Apparently, the spider webs obtained by saving the spiders were of higher quality than those from hunting them.

“With this…….

I might be able to make much better shoes.”

“That’s great. Wait. I’ll make the hides right away.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Irim took out twenty Claw Lizards and skinned them one by one.

When the dagger in his hand swept over the Claw Lizards’ bodies like the wind, clean hides were produced quickly.

Watching Irim’s ghostly hand movements, Eater was in awe.

His skill is on a different level from mine.

Eater had been self-sufficient with lizard hides.

It was possible because most people didn’t collect carcasses after hunting.

He approached lizards killed by others and diligently skinned them, but there were always many damaged parts.

However, the Claw Lizard hides produced by Irim’s hands were almost free of tears or damage, perfectly clean.

Eater’s mouth gaped at the hides stacking neatly beside Irim.

[Top-Grade Claw Lizard Hide]

-Claw Lizard hide is light, sturdy, and elastic. A skilled person could make something with this.

Top, top-grade!

Following the spider webs, the hides were also top-grade.

Irim quickly made twenty lizard hides and handed them to Eater.

“Now it’s done, right?”

At Irim’s question, Eater nodded as if entranced.

Then, after pondering for a moment, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“Um, Rice-nim. Are you in a hurry right now? Do you have to go somewhere?”

“I do have to go somewhere, but not immediately. I plan to make some food first.”

“Ah, then can I make shoes next to you? With these materials, I feel like amazing shoes will come out…… I’ll definitely succeed in making two pairs with these and replace Rice-nim’s shoes too. This way, since I received more, I can’t just wipe my mouth and leave.”

“I’d be grateful if you do that.”

Irim accepted Eater’s goodwill without refusing.

Actually, if Eater hadn’t proposed first, Irim planned to ask.

That’s why he handed over the top-grade materials freely.

Ordinary people usually repay about half of what they receive.

“I’ll definitely succeed.”

Eater vowed and started making shoes.

Irim watched for a moment, then skinned the remaining 40 lizards and began making skewers in earnest.

The sight of the two sitting side by side, butts together, one cooking and the other crafting shoes, was a truly rare scene in the world of Real, where most were obsessed with combat.

“Huh? That’s Rice-nim over there.”

“Who’s next to him?”

“Dunno. Cooking together?”

“Not cooking, he’s sewing?”

Spectators gathered one by one around Irim and Eater.

One made delicious food that made mouths water just looking, and the other concentrated all his nerves, stitching the leather one seam at a time.

For some reason, the sight of those two healed the hearts of other users tired from combat.

One group even lit a bonfire and sat around nearby to watch them.

Seeing that, others also lit bonfires and gathered to chat amiably.

Before long, the area around Irim and Eater became a rest spot where combatants came to take a break.

Unaware of that, the two were deeply immersed in their respective tasks.

In the midst of that.

“I, I did it.”

Eater’s excited voice flowed into Irim’s ears.

Eater shyly presented the shoes he made to Irim.

On the outside, they didn’t seem much different from the one Eater dropped before.

But when the info window for the shoes appeared, Irim stuck out his tongue in amazement.