Chapter 12: Rani, the Little Crafter

‘What should you do if a little girl is holding a hammer?’

The answer.

Just watch quietly.

“Aren’t you supposed to take it away because it’s dangerous?”

“How would you take it away?”

Despite appearances, she’s a High-grade laborer.

“Hehe! Good materials! You guys, Rani will make them pretty for you!”

Look at her.

Clutching the Ironclad Turtle Shell Fragment and Core tightly.

Anyone can see she’s a crafting laborer.

Name?

[Laborer Resume]

[Name: Rani / High-grade]

[Specialty: Item Crafting]

[Daily Wage: 10 Lower-grade Magic Stones]

Rani.

A full-fledged High-grade.

Same rank as Arthur.

Wage is…

Hmm.

More than twice Arthur’s.

The old men were right after all.

Skill is the future, huh…

“Wow, a sword? Really?”

“Sword? Yeah! Rani can make anything!”

“Awesome!”

“Just bring the materials to Rani!”

“Ma-te-ri-als…? What’s that?”

“If there aren’t materials, even Rani can’t make it!”

Still, maybe because she’s also High-grade, she got along quickly—unlike with Robin.

But…

“Rani? If you really have the materials, can you make a sword good enough for Arthur?”

She’s High-grade, so her standards should be high.

Arthur’s current sword is pretty good, too.

“Yep! Should I make one for the Labor Management Office Head too? Rani can do it!”

“Wow, I yield! Boss, you first!”

“No… I don’t really have a use for a sword.”

“Come on, first!”

Yeah…

You use it.

But no matter how I look at it, it just doesn’t match.

Height, face, even her speech.

She’s just a kid through and through…

‘Can she really make a sword usable by Arthur?’

Look closely.

Her hood is big and slips down.

Meanwhile, she’s gripping that hammer tightly in her hand.

“Uh… that’s Rani’s…”

No, no.

I’m not taking the hammer away.

Just staring at it.

Anyway.

She can make swords for now.

‘What about other things?’

I asked.

“Super strong swords! Super tough armor! And if the Head needs something, just say it—Rani can make it all!”

“Something I need?”

“Yep! Rani will make everything for you!”

Oh, come on.

She’s still a kid.

‘How does she know what I actually need to make?’

Even better, “Isn’t there something you can’t make right now? Because you’re short on materials.”

“Yeah… but these are good materials!”

Ironclad Turtle Shell Fragment and Core.

She calls them good materials.

Of course!

They’re drops from the Monthly Boss.

The problem is…

There aren’t enough of them.

“You need at least two or three, right?”

“Yep!”

“Hmmm…”

2-37H.

I can gather them, but not right now.

‘What should I do?’

[Specialty: Item Crafting.]

Then without materials, she can’t make anything, right?

Hmm…

‘If I lure her into a Fixed Team, will she join?’

I want to call her back once we get the materials.

Okay.

Let’s ask.

“Uh, well, for today…”

“Ugh…”

What?

‘I haven’t even finished speaking.’

‘Why the sad face already?’

‘Oh’.

‘What is she looking at?’

Her eyes are fixed on the Ironclad Turtle Shell and Core.

“I said… I’d give those! I said you could use them…!”

Huh.

Now her eyes are even watery.

No…

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t give them…”

I’m not going to use them anyway.

I shyly offer them, and she smiles again.

When I quickly take them back…

“Ugh…”

Sad face again.

‘What is this?’

Her mood swings wildly in an instant.

“Now she really seems like a High-grade.”

So far, I’ve seen only two High-grade or above laborers.

The foreign guy, Arthur, the literal embodiment of MVP.

And Robin, the king of laziness.

Compared to them, a little pink-haired girl hammering away?

It felt a bit bland…

Yeah.

This feeling feels familiar.

This is what a High-grade laborer is like.

We finally came to an agreement.

Monthly Boss materials can wait for another opportunity.

Today?

***

“I’ll take everything out of the inventory, so if you can make anything, please do.”

She came all this way; might as well see what she can do.

I opened the inventory and emptied it out.

Rani?

“Kyaa! Nice!”

She came over, beaming excitedly, but fell silent when she saw the contents.

Sorry.

I didn’t know either.

The inventory was full of bundles of spider silk, broken Wolf Fangs, wolf pelts…

Just junk.

Well, I didn’t farm this stuff myself.

Other laborers brought it and dumped it in as is…

But…

‘Can she make anything with this?’

“Head, do you need anything?”

“Hmm…”

‘Need something?’

That’s vague.

I’m not going to the tower or anything.

If I had to say something I needed…

“Oh, I wish my Request Points would increase faster.”

“Request Points?”

‘There’s no item that raises Request Points, right?’

No.

Even if there were, giving her junk and telling her to make something would just be useless.

“I just asked what you need…”

Saying that is embarrassing.

“Hmmm.”

Oh dear.

She’s seriously thinking about it.

I’m not trash…

I was joking—just make anything.

“Head! Can Rani use Magic Stones too?”

Phew.

Decision made.

Magic Stones are fine.

“Yeah. Use them if you need to.”

Okay, she said, “Hmm! I’ll give it a try!”

Clenching her fist tightly, she gathered the materials and went to a corner.

Then.

Thunk, thud, thunk, thud, a lively rhythm echoed.

‘Could she really make something proper?’

Nah.

No matter how High-grade she is.

Nah, surely not…

“Tada!”

Damn.

She actually made it.

***

“Gloves? No way you can make gloves with those materials?”

“Rani tried really hard!”

Yeah…

Anyone can see the effort.

‘But how’s the performance?’

Let’s take a look.

[Gloves Woven from Wolf Pelt and Spider Silk]

[A masterpiece by a skilled craftsman.]

[Durable and comfortable.]

[Increases attack power when worn.]

What?

‘So, durable, comfortable, and increases attack power?’

“Rani, are you a crafter or a mage?”

‘How do you make something like that out of junk?’

“Awesome, right!”

“…”

I touched them.

Oh…

They’re soft yet tough.

‘How is this possible?’

Really amazing.

“Good?”

Arthur is satisfied too.

But.

“Wow, your hands. These are better!”

He likes the gloves he’s wearing now better.

Makes sense.

The materials used here were too poor.

Then what?

I don’t have a use for them anyway…

“Head! Let’s sell these and buy better materials!”

‘Sell?’

‘Rani, are you a genius?’

Honestly, farming materials is best.

But since I’m curious, let’s list them.

[Item Trade]

Entered and put them up for sale.

Price?

I don’t know the market price…

Let’s just let buyers decide.

Set it as an auction.

Minimum bid…

“Still, I think we can get about 20 Magic Stones? Gotta pay Rani’s wage too!”

“Right! Rani worked hard!”

“Exactly!”

Set it to 20 Magic Stones.

Close it, and it should start automatically.

I closed AwakenerNet.

“Tada, I made this too!”

Huh?

Rani hands me something else.

‘What’s this?’

Looked at it.

[Request Point Double Scroll (One-Time Use)]

‘Huh?’

‘What???’

***

Request Points doubled.

Honestly, I just said that on a whim…

‘But it worked?’

[Request Point Double Scroll (One-Time Use)]

Of course, it’s one-time use.

But.

“No way that can be made with those materials?”

“I used a little Magic Stone…”

Ah.

Right, she said she used some Magic Stones.

But using a little Magic Stone and getting double Request Points is a huge gain, right?

“How many?”

“507H!”

‘Did I hear wrong?’

‘Didn’t she just say 50?’

No.

She said just a little…

“With about 50… and! I don’t have materials right now!”

‘Could she read my expression?’

She immediately starts to get the hint.

“No, it’s okay.”

High-grade laborers might have big hands.

Yeah…

And honestly, it’s not a big hit.

I get daily Requests and run dungeons, and have tons of Lower-grade Magic Stones.

“Request Point double for 1 million won…”

No.

It’s expensive no matter how you look at it.

Expensive, but not impossible to make…

In the end, there’s only one answer.

“Rani, if you have other materials, can you use fewer Magic Stones?”

“Yeah! That’s right! If you give me a lot of materials, I don’t need Magic Stones! If you give better materials, Rani can increase the number of times I can make!”

Crazy.

She’s seriously amazing.

Hearing this, I got curious.

She basically turns junk into items.

So then…

With really good materials.

Especially if they’re from Monthly Bosses?

Okay, decision made.

“Rani, want to join the Fixed Team?”

Missing this is a guaranteed regret.

I threw the question straight out without hesitation.

First meeting.

Barely even talked.

She’d probably say no.

Phew.

‘How should I lure her?’

“Okay!”

‘What?’

‘That easy?’

‘Why?’

“Head! You didn’t say anything against me using Magic Stones! And it looks like I’ll get lots of materials! Making items with good materials is the best thing in the world for Rani!”

[Registered in Fixed Team.]

[Rani (High-grade)]

Ha.

‘Maybe it’s just my imagination.’

She shines.

Yeah.

‘What if my mood swings a little!’

Rani can be like that!

“Just trust me! I’ll bring lots of good materials!”

“Head, you’re the best!”

Of course, I’m not the one getting the materials…

Other friends will bring them.

For now, okay.

We’ve added her to the Fixed Team.

I want to give her something to show appreciation…

Arthur likes coffee.

Robin liked meat.

‘What about Rani?’

‘She’s a kid, so maybe something sweet?’

“Oh, right.”

There’s a bag of candy I brought from the cafeteria at lunch.

So, I pulled it out.

Ah…

It’s nurungji candy.

‘Do kids these days eat this?’

I don’t think I did back then…

Eh.

That’s a bit much.

I was about to put it back.

“What’s that?!”

“Hey… that’s not yours, Arthur. You got coffee.”

“Then it’s Rani’s?”

Her eyes sparkle.

I can’t not give it to her now.

Let’s give it a try.

If it tastes bad…

I’ll give her something else next time.

I opened it without much expectation and handed it over.

“What is this?! Rani, I’ve never had this before! My mouth’s dancing!”

Huh.

Better reaction than expected.

If she reacts like that to nurungji candy, she’d cry over fruit candy.

“Boss? Did you get one too?”

“It’s Rani’s!”

You guys… what kind of life have you lived…

Got it.

Don’t fight.

I’ll prepare candy from tomorrow.

The next day.

“Head! Rani’s here!”

“Arthur’s here too!”

***

I called both Rani and Robin at once. Rani waits.

The rest…

“… A-rank?”

“Yeah. With Robin and Arthur, it should be fine.”

The target is an A-class Dungeon.

From what I know, the higher the dungeon grade, the more Request Points you get.

[D-rank gives 100, F-rank gives 30.]

[C-rank?]

Up to 200.

The downside is I’ve never been to B-rank or above.

No Requests came for those.

‘Why is there an A-rank dungeon Request today?’

I can’t pass that up.

I even called Robin just in case, so I’m not worried.

[Request Point Double Scroll (One-Time Use)]

First time challenging an A-class Dungeon.

Using the double scroll on top of that?

The reward.

Already sounds delicious.

So, let’s go.

[Dispatch Laborers]

Dungeon

Arthur, Robin depart.