HC: Pacifist | Ch. 206 - Rusty Mist

At first, Roth was still aware of what was happening around him, but after the fifth pair of trousers, he couldn’t hear anything anymore. Whenever Roth wasn't knitting, he felt fear and pain. Therefore, he couldn't let himself stop for even a second. There was only him, the wool, and the needles. At least, that’s what he wanted to believe.

Sometimes, the erratic shifts in temperature threatened to bring him back to reality, but he hid himself in his cozy, soft woolen garments and focused only on the motions of the needles in his hands. He finished producing yet another pair of wool trousers using the stockinette stitch. This design was more three-dimensional and it required a more complex series of steps.

Even so, he was becoming more familiar with the process and after warming up, he was getting better results.

Congratulations! You've successfully crafted [Wool Pants].

+750 ecotailor XP.

Wool Pants (Common)

Crafting Grade: B-.

Bottom

Item description: A pair of slacks that will comfortably fit any adventurer.

Item effects:

+50hp;

+4 wisdom;

+5 intelligence.

You choose not to do battle but pursue peace instead.

+10 righteousness.

The small notification at the end almost burst the bubble he had so painstakingly enveloped himself in, but before he could process it, he grabbed more fleece and kept crafting.

He was very comfortable with the knit stitch, but every time he shifted to the purl stitch, it messed with his flow, and his hands became clumsy. He had to perfect this technique, otherwise he wasn’t going to get any better at this. As an experiment, he crafted a few cloths using the purl stitch.

A purl stitch was just a knit stitch backwards. If he turned the cloth over, it looked the same as all those he had crafted so many times in Mario’s lab. The purpose wasn’t to get him more stats, however. He wanted to smooth out the edges of his technique and get more comfortable with the purl stitch.

*

Bolts, rays, and flames made the inside of the abandoned observatory look like a fireworks festival. Loki screamed as he threw every skill at Ticket Boy while running and flailing his claws. Jaw-Long jumped, tensing his every muscle. He was still in midair for a split-second, like a coiled spring building up energy. As Loki and his barrage of attacks arrived, Jaw-Long unleashed it all.

Meteor Punch!

The colossal release of energy battled against Loki’s own, but after holding for a moment, it gave, and Jaw-Long was sent flying. ColdHand cursed under his breath. Loki had been wary of Jaw-Long, afraid that the old monster was strong enough to contend with him.

The old man had bluffed beautifully throughout the ordeal, always keeping up appearances, even though he had already sent a message to ColdHand telling him that he was no match for how strong Loki was now. After this exchange, Loki knew he could wipe the floor with Jaw-Long. This would make things trickier.

Even though Jaw-Long couldn’t block this attack, fortunately, he bought enough time for MountainTop and Ogre to arrive, and they were already trying to push back Loki and keep him away from Ticket Boy.

Ticket Boy remained serene and calm throughout the ordeal, like a lone flower amidst a hurricane, peacefully knitting. The sight of such a tall, large man doing something so delicate only added to the weirdness of this moment.

“Any skills with pulls or walls. Help Ogre and MountainTop.”

Other warriors arrived a moment later and used whatever skills had pushback effects. Espers also used whatever skills could pin Loki down and prevent him from getting to the weird knitter.

Loki was out of control. He didn’t know if Ticket Boy’s move had been an accident or a stroke of genius. He had managed to taunt Loki in a way that no tank skill ever could. Loki was so angry now that he could only see Roth Taylor tailoring before him. Judging Loki’s anger not to be a feint, he called it.

“Espers. If you have long channels, now is the time.”

His boss started preparing a particularly nasty debuff that took a long time to channel. Other powerful espers, including ColdHand, joined in.

Ice Age!

The floor around ColdHand immediately froze, and he exhaled a puff of steam. His most powerful skill took one minute to channel and was easy to see coming. Only by relying on the protection of a reliable team did he dare even start channeling it.

Griffin has cast [Speedy Breeze] on you. Channeling is 20% faster for one minute.

ColdHand allowed himself the tiniest of smirks. He hadn’t even known such a skill existed, but he was glad to have it on his side for this battle. He noted it, though, in case they had a falling out with the Griffins soon.

Howling winds and fierce thunder filled the room, and for the first time since the battle had begun, the most impressive skill animations weren’t coming from Loki. The buildup of skills was a spectacle to behold.

Each of these skills was a priceless treasure and an important part of a guild’s arsenal. Epic skills didn’t fall from trees. He got [Ice Age] as a reward for the first clear of the Arctic Swallow Nest. It was one of the most difficult dungeons for level 50 players, and his guild had paid for this skill with sweat and blood. Every last of these powerful channels could change the course of a battle, and they were all being used on one target.

ColdHand couldn’t recall a gathering of giants like this, where so many powerful skills were activated simultaneously. BlueFire’s skill animation, in particular, was a spectacle to behold. Loki awoke from his single-minded attack, drawn by the powerful fluctuations coming from the different players.

“Pin him down! Only a few more seconds.”

The front-liners triggered taunt after taunt, using every skill possible to keep Loki focused on them. By the time Loki finally broke free, it was too late. The first skill to finish channeling was that of a hydrokinetic esper from Cerberus.

Tsunami Blast!

The sound of crashing waves drowned out every other sound in the room. Whirlpools of water shot up and entwined like threads in a rope as they all crashed on Loki, sending him flying against the wall.

-252

Even though the damage wasn’t too impressive, it was still a mile beyond what they were able to score on Loki usually. Additionally, even though much of the damage was mitigated, these powerful skills usually had bonus effects, in this case, a powerful pushback effect.

The next player to finish channeling was Kraken. The floor around him was melting as if he’d been leaking acid onto it. An eerie atmosphere took over the wet observatory, and brown lines spread through the walls like spider webs, making the building groan in complaint.

Rusty Mist!

The lines converged on Loki, making his whole body brown and his movements sluggish. This was his boss’ most powerful debuff, and the battle should become more manageable from now on. Rusty Mist had a chance to interrupt a target’s skill and came with a considerably slow debuff.

ColdHand discovered that the animation was over and unleashed the power of [Ice Age]. A large crack echoed in the room as if icebergs and fjords had shifted around the observatory.

Ice Age!

-281

Loki became a cube of ice. The last time he’d used this on a boss, he’d bought ten seconds for his team to pull itself back together. However, this time, the ice encasing Loki cracked almost instantly. His resilience was just too high.

Finally, it was the turn of BlueFire’s attack. BlueFire had been focusing all his flames into one compressed white-pearl sphere.

Rising Sun!

The pearl flew toward Loki, and ColdHand’s vision went all white. There was a massive boom as it connected with Loki. Once the dust settled, the sight of a disgruntled, blackened Loki with a yellow hp bar greeted them.

-612

-12

-12

-12

ColdHand allowed himself the tiniest of smiles. Finally, there was light at the end of the tunnel. He frowned as he checked Loki, burned, frozen, and rusted. Why was he so calm? Surely, all these debuffs were too much, even for him.

Loki grabbed a bottle from his inventory, and ColdHand recognized the consumable immediately. “Interrupt him! Quick! Don’t let him drink that!” MountainTop rushed toward Loki but bounced off an invisible wall that Loki had created.

“There’s still time. Attack the barrier. We can’t let him drink that cleansing potion!” All players started attacking the barrier frantically. Thankfully, it didn’t share the high resistance of its summoner, and the damage numbers they were used to seeing were a sight for sore eyes.

-2193

-1237

-1932

-1919

Unfortunately, despite their unrestrained barrage, it wasn’t showing signs of giving soon. Just how powerful was this skill? It didn’t even require any channeling time. Loki just finished drinking the potion calmly, and after a few seconds, all the debuffs they had painstakingly stacked on him disappeared.

ColdHand felt his gut twist. Hunting a powerful boss was already difficult as it was, but this was a player. He had treasures and consumables just like they did. To top it off, he wasn’t an ordinary player. This was the guild leader of Pegasus, someone with access to many powerful resources.

“Don’t lose your cool. We’ll just debuff him again. I doubt he has more than one such potion. Remain calm, and whittle down the barrier’s hp,” he messaged the team. This would be a long battle.

*

Roth returned to the stockinette stitch after crafting ten cloths using purl stitches. All he had to do was alternate between rows of knit and purl stitches. Roth got down to knitting the main body of a new pair of trousers. Roth skillfully shaped the pants, increasing the hips and making subtle decreases for a tailored fit. The knitting needles danced in his hands as the garment began to mirror the contours of his body.

After the main body was done, Roth worked on each leg separately. He was still using the system lines but was confident he wouldn’t need them after a couple more tries. He carefully followed the pattern, precisely knitting to create the pants' front and back.

Roth cast on additional stitches and worked on the inseam, closing the circle and bringing the legs together. He tightened the region around the ankles as he knitted down each leg. Once he was satisfied, he cast off, finishing the piece.

The pants were very loose in the waist, and Roth followed the system’s suggestion, using a thread to go around the waist and tightening it slightly. Once he was done, he received a notification.

Congratulations! You've successfully crafted [Wool Pants].

+500 ecotailor XP.

Wool Pants (Common)

Crafting Grade: B+.

Bottom

Item description: A pair of slacks that will comfortably fit any adventurer.

Item effects:

+50 hp;

+5 wisdom;

+5 intelligence.

You manage to craft even when there’s chaos and fighting around you.

+1 intelligence.

The results were slightly better, but he knew there was still a lot of room for improvement. As he inspected this pair of pants, he noticed that the first stitches of each new row were coming out wonky. His transition between stitches wasn’t flawless yet, and he seemed to take a few stitches to warm up.

More aware of his shortcomings, Roth decided to perfect his technique before crafting more items. As an experiment, he began alternating between knit stitches and purl stitches within the same row. This would force him to master transitioning between the two and hopefully elevate the crafting grade of the next items he made.

Roth inserted the right needle into the loop of the first stitch on the left needle from front to back. His right hand guided the needle through the loop, capturing the yarn with a fluid motion. The yarn gracefully wrapped around the right needle, temporarily embracing the existing stitch. Roth's fingers worked harmoniously, ensuring a connection that wasn’t too tight.

As the right needle emerged through the loop, Roth gently pushed the old stitch off the left needle, allowing the new stitch to settle onto the right one. The completed knit stitch was now nestled confidently on the right needle. He took a deep breath and allowed himself a smile. He had performed this motion thousands of times. It was comfortable and easy. It was time to practice his transition.

Roth's hands shifted clumsily as he inserted the right needle into the front of the second stitch on the left needle, now moving in the opposite direction from right to left. The motion felt unnatural and uncomfortable as if he were trying to write with a non-dominant hand. His needles looked like a driver who realized he had not taken a turn and swerved on a highway, barely making the exit.

The yarn slid between the needles. Roth’s trembling left hand tried to steady the left needle, providing the necessary support as the right needle moved through the stitch, but he pulled too hard, and the knot came out too tight. As he studied the result, he saw a confident knit stitch sitting next to a twisted, choked purl one.

He just needed to practice more. He took a deep breath and tried again.

Ch. 205 - How To Keep Yourself Distracted

INDEX

Ch. 207 - Rib Stitch