HC: Pacifist | Ch. 238 - Saddle Stitch
Added 2024-03-14 20:03:56 +0000 UTCKeith had seemed imposing while wielding the hammer at an impossible speed. But from the moment he picked up the long needle, the air in the room changed. “It’s time you learn the saddle stitch. It’s essential for leatherworking and creates a strong and durable seam."
Despite Keith’s awesome aura, Roth felt some of his confidence return when he saw the needle. He was pretty comfortable knitting these days, and seeing thread and needle was like coming home.
He glued his eyes to Keith’s hands as he demonstrated the saddle stitch in the hide. "Start by sewing that piece over the other two. First, insert the needle through the first hole from the outside, leaving a small tail of thread on the inside," he instructed.
Roth followed the directions, carefully guiding the needle through the hole and pulling the thread tight until the tail was snug against the leather. "Next," Keith continued, "you'll bring the needle back through the second hole, this time from the inside out."
Roth repeated the motion, feeling the satisfying resistance of the waxed thread as it passed through the holes. "Now comes the crucial part. You'll want to pull the thread tight, but not too much, to maintain a consistent tension across the seam. Good. Now, you just have to repeat.”
Roth nodded, his fingers deftly manipulating the needle as he worked. With each stitch, he could feel himself growing more confident.
“Good job. That’s it. Snug, but not overly tight.” Keith encouraged.
Stitching like this was much different from knitting. Here, he didn’t have to create a network of stitches but just let the thread go through the holes he’d punched earlier. In Roth’s opinion, it was much simpler. When the final stitch was in place, Roth stepped back, admiring the neat and even seam along the edge of the leather.
Congratulations! You've successfully crafted [Rock Lizard Leather Greaves].
Crafting Grade: C
+200 ecotailor xp.
Rock Lizard Leather Greaves (Common)
Item description: A piece of light armor that offers a modicum of protection. The leather chosen by the craftsman is thin but it will reduce some of the damage.
Item effects:
+3% damage reduction;
+3% movement speed;
+2 endurance.
Requirements: Rogue, level 10.
Congratulations! You’ve learned a new profession skill: [Saddle Stitch].
+2000 ecotailor xp.
Roth studied this new piece of armor. When he played New Earth, he used to wear leather armor all the time, so being able to make these greaves felt quite emotional to him. He enjoyed working with this new material. It opened up many possibilities.
The leg armor was basic and light, but where the two pieces of leather overlapped at the center, it was slightly sturdier, compensating for the materials’ thinness. He had missed a couple of stitches, and some holes hadn’t come out perfectly, hence the low crafting grade. Nevertheless, it was a success.
"Well done, nature’s weaver," Keith said, clapping him on the back. "You’re now ready to craft with leather!”
[Assemble the Greaves] complete.
Completion rate: B
Quest rewards: 1,000 ecotailor xp (+100 ecotailor xp); [Basic Softwood Hammer]; [Basic Stitching Chisel]; [Basic Leather Needle].
Bonus rewards: 3,000 Professional xp (+300 ecotailor xp); [Leather Greaves Patterns]; [Leather Helmet Patterns].
[Ecotailor Level Up!]
“Thank you, Keith. I also appreciate all the gifts,” Roth said, inspecting his new tools.
“No problem! You have a future in tailoring, and I know our friendship will benefit us both. I still have more techniques to teach you. Let me know whenever you want to deepen your knowledge of the craft.”
A floating window appeared with different techniques. He was now level 14 and there was one lesson about beveling and one about linen available. Even though he was curious, he was just too eager to experiment with light trapping.
“If you don't mind, I’ll learn these from you later. I want to master this technique before I move on to others.”
Keith nodded approvingly. “That's good. You spoke like a true artisan. You let me know when you’re ready.”
The man whistled while leaving the workshop and closed the door behind him. In the meantime, Lin woke up and jumped onto the table, inspecting the new scents and objects that had appeared while he was napping.
“What do you think, Lin?”
“Nyah, meow, average.”
Roth had to agree. The greaves didn’t look like anything special. “Just you wait. I’ll get better at it.”
The Leafies have leveled up!
+2 intelligence;
+3 strength.
“Oh?” It looked like his pets were doing well up in the garden! They had gained a second level since he had left them to forage. Two levels in one night. The good news just kept coming today. It hadn’t been easy to leave Hilsford behind, but it looked like everything was coming together here in Sapphira.
*
The Lord of the Acorn looked inward and assessed the status of the colony. His thoughts gained depth after the ten new workers emerged from their cocoons. Most of his thoughts were instinct, really, but he had enough computing power to make sense of the progress of all operations inside his castle while planning his next steps.
The ten new workers had their bellies full after eating some of the grass seeds and were already working on the latest chamber, a pantry. Keeping the food right next to the queen and the larvae was good for now, but the idea was to grow much larger, and it would make more sense to keep the nursery, the queen's chamber, and the pantry separate.
The nursery had been finished. Right now, the twenty new workers' larvae were already being tended to by the nanite nannies. Lord had pondered long and hard before finally deciding to risk breeding twenty more workers, doubling the burden on their food reserves.
In the end, what had settled it was all the food they had found near the castle. The area around their base of operations had much potential and ample resources. There was much more to be harvested. What limited the colony’s growth wasn’t resources but the ant power needed to collect them. Therefore, the Lord had boldly decided to double the number of workers.
With their castle better equipped and a new batch of workers on their way, it was time to fill the soon-to-be-finished pantry. In their second expedition, only workers went out, leaving the nanites to serve as gatekeepers, care for the young, and protect the queen. Workers covered the ground more quickly and could carry heavier loads making them better candidates to go outside.
The priority now was to release a blitz operation with all of the colony’s might to make the most of the plentiful resources in this land, flowing with milk and honey. The five nanites spared to be gatekeepers, assisted the workers in unlocking the closed gates. The workers started uncovering the previously dug tunnel. The soil had already been loosened from digging it earlier, and thanks to the power of the additional workforce it was much faster this time.
The debris-blocking tunnel was deposited in one of the waste chambers, conveniently close to the wooden gate.
“Deploy!” the Lord of the Acorn commended. The 20 workers were sent out at full speed, all at once. The previous exploration revealed their castle had been positioned in a fortified position, with plenty of cover. The litter of the oak tree shielded them from both flying and ground predators, allowing them to fulfill the two directives that their benefactor had given: hide and grow.
The Lord of the Acorn split the workforce into five teams of four and sent them out to search further this time. He ordered them to explore the area in a grid pattern and deployed teams to the northwest, northeast, east, west, and south.
“Food,” came the message from the northeast team.
“Food,” came almost simultaneously with the message from the south and northwest teams. As the Lord focused on individual ants’ perceptions, he found more feathery grass seeds. These were nutritious and easy to carry, and at once, the Lord had the troops return with the bounty. They brought it to the gate and left it with the nanites there, leaving them to carry it deeper into the colony while they set out again to retrieve more seeds.
The east and west teams had not found anything so far, but the rest of the teams were methodically bringing food to the colony: one seed, three seeds, five seeds, nine seeds. Soon, thanks to the bold leadership of the world and the greater number of workers, the expedition was already more successful than the first one. Everything was going without a hitch.
“Contact!” came the message from the west team. This was the first. All ants carrying food finished bringing the bounty back into the colony. The Lord called back the east team to reinforce the gate if the contact was hostile. The Lord focused on the individual perception of the west team and saw who their nearest neighbor was. As the mental images and scents were brought back telepathically to the Lord, his instincts immediately sent the command to fall back to his west team. They weren’t alone in this place.
*
The time had come to learn light trapping.
He turned over the leather greaves in his hand. He set one of them on the table and then fixed the other in place with clamps so it wouldn’t move. He grabbed the light trapping manual and checked the details for the most basic trap. It was a simple triangle. That was it. It didn't seem too difficult.
Opening the menu, Roth activated the system’s assistance. He didn't use it for knitting these days. Most guides agreed that relying too much on the lines and instructions generated by the system was a crutch that could hinder progress at higher levels. But it wasn’t like he had a choice. He was just getting started in this profession, and he was learning it without the guidance of a teacher.
As he engaged the system’s assistance, the floating shape of a red triangle appeared before him. He waved his hands around and positioned the floating symbol over the center of the greaves. He positioned it where layers of leather overlapped. That’s where the greaves were thickest, far from any holes or stitches.
Grabbing the laser with a trembling hand, Roth took a deep breath and turned it, pointing it at one of the triangle's vertices. All he had to do was keep a steady hand. Smoke immediately emerged from the leather, leaving a scorched mark. Roth quickly turned off the laser and felt the surface of the leather with his finger. He could tell that it had been dented inward. It barely had any texture yet, but it was a start.
“Cool,” he exclaimed. He would never have been able to obtain this result with wool. The scorched point's red triangle shape had slightly shifted from red to yellow. He needed to shoot the laser again at it. Roth turned the pen-like device on again to give the trap more depth.
As the laser burned the leather, the red triangle shape slightly shifted from red to yellow. Before he could get the system near the green, the laser burned a hole through the leather and left a mark on the table.
“What? But I was so careful!” He protested. He checked the details of the armor, and realized that it had dropped quality!
Congratulations! You've successfully crafted [Rock Lizard Leather Greaves].
Crafting Grade: C-
Rock Lizard Leather Greaves (Common)
Item description: A piece of light armor that offers a modicum of protection. The leather chosen by the craftsman is thin but it will reduce some of the damage.
Item effects:
+2% damage reduction;
+3% movement speed;
+1 endurance.
Requirements: Rogue, level 10.
Adversity was to be expected. He had always known that he would need to run many experiments to make this work. Thankfully, he had the other greave. He called on the game’s assistant again, marking the red triangle shape on the unscathed surface of the left greave.
This time, he was even more careful not to shoot the laser for long, only turning it on for half a second. Before he could get near the needed depth, the laser dug another hole in the leather.
He dropped the laser, frustrated. What should he do? The leather was just too thin! However, from all the materials that he'd seen in the auction house, this was the only leather that he could use right now. Even if he ran to Hilsford, he had seen shed snake skin before. It was even thinner than the lizard's. Just how was he going to make a light trap?
