“And so, after losing all my suppliers, I was forced to close up shop,” Gelvin said. "I tell you, you young kids are so lucky. Opportunities just dry up as you get older, and you have an entire island full of untapped potential.”

  Lukey’s mind was still as he watched the shell oil slowly drip into the pan. Strangely enough, he found this strangely therapeutic: watching the oils fall through the wire and stick to the top, only to condense into large globs and fall into the pan below. His mind focused on it, and it was like the entire world didn’t exist.

  Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t listening to Mr. Potsbury’s story. It only meant that it would take a moment to register in his mind.

  “I’m sorry that the alchemist’s guild did that to you,” Lukey said, finally recalling the conversation.

  “It’s alright,” Gelvin sighed. “Ambition is reserved for the young after all. If the alchemist’s guild needed more supplies to support young talents, there’s nothing I could do to stop them.”

  Lukey went back into a still mindset, and Gelvin continued with another story. Lukey was only passively listening, but he made sure to focus at least somewhat onto the old man’s story.

  This was something Lukey had done for a long time now, this state. It was a large part of why people called him unfocused and lazy. Instead of paying attention to what he was supposed to be doing, he would always focus his thoughts on things that didn’t even matter. He even learned to fish by applying this mindset to the water.

  There had been many calls for him to correct his mindset and to change and try to be more focused on things that mattered. It didn’t work for two reasons: he couldn’t change, and he didn’t want to change.

  No matter how hard he tried, focus was always drawn to something else, even in classes where his teachers were giving some important lessons on the way the world worked. Oftentimes, in class, he finds himself looking out the window for no reason, watching the wind blow through the leaves of the strange plants that are outside the classroom. He wasn’t particularly interested in plants, but he found a strange serenity in watching their movements.

  His instructor, however, was never amused.

  Lukey didn’t care though. Most of his life was spent trying to manage a hundred things at once in his mind. All the lessons from school, worrying about his getting a class, and enduring the lectures from all the adults telling him to ‘straighten himself out.’ It was all clutter that he hated dealing with. Fortunately, he was well suited to handling multiple things at once, but once in a while, he needed moments like this.

  Moments of serenity.

  “Alright, that looks good.” Gelvin said, interrupting Lukey’s serenity. “By the way, I’m sorry I didn’t ask earlier, but what is this for exactly?”

  “Waterproof clothing,” Lukey simply answered. “The weaver in town says she doesn’t have the materials for waterproofing. I need something that makes water glide right off, and this oil has the best chance of doing that.”

  “I see,” Gelvin said. “In that case, you would need a waterproof dye, something that will sink into the fibers of the clothes. Tell me, what color would you like?”

  “Color? Well, I don’t really have a preference.” Lukey said.

  “Really? In that case, let me prepare something special as payment for all these materials you’ve brought me.” Gelvin said.

  The elderly alchemist then prepared a small contraption that looked like a metal sphere. At the same time, he took out a bucket that was filled with clear water and placed the bucket on the ground in front of him.

  After that, Gelvin ran out of the room and down the hall, and Lukey could see he was going into his shop. After a few patient moments, he came back with a bottle of iridescent, viscous liquid that shimmered with blue and red hues.

  The alchemist opened the sphere and dumped the bottle's contents inside, then he took a pipette and measured a small amount of shell oil from the bowl. Gelvin then used some kind of art, because the pipette glowed for a moment before he squeezed the contents into the sphere and closed it.

  “Had to purify the oils a bit before I mix,” Gelvin explained. “Don’t worry, this won’t take long.”

  Then, Gelvin placed the metal sphere in the bucket. He took a stance, and Lukey watched as the water began to move. It slowly began swirling in the bucket, and the sphere followed suit as it began to rotate with the flow of the water. After starting out slow, the water began speeding up, causing the sphere to spin in the whirlpool that Gelvin created. Occasionally, the alchemist would even make the water wash over the sphere, causing it to turn and spin on a different side.

  Lukey watched the process quietly, committing everything he saw to memory. Alchemist was a class with the water attribute, like fishermen. The old man was a bit eccentric, but his control over the water was incredible. Lukey didn’t even think this was an art, because he had far too much control over it. Instead, this was likely just manual control, which only made it all the more impressive.

  After a long wait, Gelvin finally stopped and picked the sphere out of the water. After opening up the top, he connected it to the machine with tubes and placed the bottle on the ledge. After activating it, the machine sucked the contents of the sphere out and processed it before spitting it out into the bottle.

  “Like it?” Gelvin asked. “This machine performs some extra processes like heating, cooling, and measuring. Of course, I already finished the dye, but this machine just raises the quality up by several degrees. I got it from that importer girl for a hefty sum; I had never used a machine from Novus before, so I didn’t know what to think. Now, I use it for everything!”

  “Are machines like this common there?” Lukey asked.

  “Of course they are!” Gelvin said, giving him an ‘isn’t that obvious?’ look. “It was the entire reason humans migrated to Novus.”

  This piqued Lukey’s interest, since he never saw anyone from Vetus use something so advanced. Before Lukey could ask him to elaborate, however, Melvin moved on from the subject.

  “This is done. Now, do you mind helping me with one of the barrels?” The alchemist requested.

  Lukey obliged the alchemist, helping to lift one of the barrels onto the contraption beside the door. It was quickly strapped in, and Lukey watched as Gelvin poured two substances inside: a bottle of orange dye and some shell oil. The contraption was turned on, and the barrel began shaking ferociously as the contents inside were mixed. After a while it stopped, and Lukey worked with Melvin to remove the barrel.

  “There!” Melvin stated in celebratory fashion. “The bottle of dye and the barrel are both yours as payment for the shell oil glands. I imagine the weaver will pay you nicely for that barrel of dye. As for the bottle, tell her to use that when she makes your clothes.”

  Lukey picked up the iridescent blue-red bottle and turned it in his hands.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Pretty… What do you call it?” Lukey wondered, captivated by the shimmering dye.

  “[Iridescent Sea Tiger Dye],” Melvin answered. “Now with waterproofing qualities. I’ve been looking for an excuse to use this, and now I have one.”

  “Nobody wanted it?” Lukey asked cautiously.

  “They all said it was too gaudy,” Melvin sighed, “but don’t let that distract you from what it took to make this. The ingredients alone would make it far more expensive than what you could typically afford.”

  Lukey nodded and pocketed the dye, then placed his empty bucket on top of the barrel. He then used both hands and lifted the barrel of dye up and began making his way out of the shop.

  “Thank you for everything!” Lukey called out to Melvin. “I’ll be sure to visit this place when I need more dyes.”

  “No, thank you, Lukey! With these new oils, I’ll be able to make many new dyes!” Malvin said.

  With their goodbyes said, it was time for Lukey to get some new threads.

  …

  At the other end of Tranquil Waters, a bouquet of luxe was walking down a sparsely populated street. Six poorly clothed luxe women were following two more composed figures that were guiding the group towards one building in particular.

  On the right was a disciplined luxe that had deep green skin and brown lines, along with a shining golden flower on her head. Her face contained a stern expression, with deep golden pupils that scanned her surroundings. Her ponytail, composed of deep green vines hung down to the small of her back and swayed with her steady movements.

  The commanding luxe wore golden armor, consisting of golden disks that covered her chest and a skirt made of fluttering golden plates, all tied around her muscular hourglass figure with golden chains. As for footwear, she wore gold strapped sandals with shin guards and a slight heel in the back. Finally, around her wrists were golden bracelets, which caught the sunlight as she walked.

  On the left was a noticeably more fashionable luxe, with an orange bloom on her head and a puffy, knee-length dress woven with orange petals. Instead of her usual sandals, she chose to wear her golden high heels, made from actual gold and tied using chains. She only wore these shoes on special occasions, and a meeting with a matron was a very special occasion.

  “I’m surprised that there would be any luxe this far from the Emerald Expanse. How do you like living here, Ginevra?” The matron asked.

  “Oh, it’s wonderful, Matron Chrysanthia! My home village is next to a beach like this one, so island life suits me just fine. It’s a bit isolated here, but you can’t get much nicer materials anywhere else.” Ginny excitedly explained.

  “That’s wonderful. I’m sure that if the Golden Threads learned of what you could make here, they would love to set up an outpost here on the island.”

  “The… the… the Golden Threads!?” Ginny squeaked nervously. “Well, I’m sure that the guild would love that, but perhaps you should talk to the emperor of the island if you want to arrange something.”

  The Golden Threads was the pride of the luxe. Creating the most beautiful clothing to be worn around the world. It was the main reason the luxe were so well recognized by the human kingdoms, and the reason they were welcome just about anywhere. The guild’s master and its leaders were all very discriminating about new styles and advancements, so if a new type of clothing were developed, they would be the first to know.

  “Understood, and before I forget, let it be known that I do appreciate you helping to make new clothes for the girls who were captured. I still find it fortunate that those barbarians took my armor along with their cargo as treasure instead of throwing it away like they did with everyone else’s clothes. Otherwise, I would’ve been stuck in those unsightly rags.” The matron explained, tilting her head at the fashion victims behind them.

  “Ugh, don’t get me started. The clothes were a nice gesture, but these islanders really don’t realize what a crime it is to be dressed like that. Don’t worry. With the help of these girls, we’ll be able to make enough real clothes for everyone in the shelter.” Ginny said, attempting to reassure the disheartened luxe behind them.

  After a dozen or so minutes of walking, they finally reached ‘Ginny’s Island Apparel.’ However, standing in front of the store was someone nobody expected to see. He was sitting on top of a barrel in front of the store, head sunken in palms from boredom. He was dressed in a green vest and slacks, and upon seeing the group, he jumped down from the barrel in excitement.

  “There you are!” Lukey said. “I finally got that waterproofing material you asked for, and you weren’t even here!”

  “Waterproofing? Wait, you mean you finally got it?” Ginny excitedly replied. She was practically bouncing on her heels before finally realizing she had company with her. “Ahem, sorry. Lukey, this is Sona Chrysanthia, matron of Seafoam Village. Ms. Chrysanthia, this is Lukey, a fisherman with Ocean’s Bounty.”

  “I’m aware,” Matron Chrysanthia stated. “He was one of the men who discovered us. Quite frankly, I’m still surprised how two fishermen could rob the dominion and get away with it, but it just shows how little I know of your strange class.”

  “I feel the same way,” Lukey chuckled. “I only got my class around a week ago, and I still haven’t seen how all the arts work. Who knows what I could be capable of in the future?”

  “Only a week ago? Well, that is impressive,” the matron said, her voice laced with amusement. “Then again, progress is dependent on opportunities. I assume you’ve had ample opportunities to level thus far?”

  “Yes, I have, ma’am. As a matter of fact, I want to have Ginny make me a new waterproof outfit specifically for some new missions I’m going to do soon.” Lukey confirmed.

  “Well, a waterproof outfit? Now, that would be interesting,” the matron exclaimed. “Well? Go on, Ginevra, let’s not keep the young man waiting.”

  By the sovereigns... Don’t tell me she’s at that age.

  Being a matron meant spending a lot of time leveling up and working on your class, which left very little time for other activities. Because of this, many matrons reach maturity without ever having children, which would involve procreating with another plant species or a human. This resulted in some matrons having… urges, to say the least.

  She’s probably just teasing the kid, but still, that’s just gross.

  Ginny pulled herself out of her disgust and guided everyone into the shop. Ms. Chrysanthia followed right behind her, along with a bushel of luxe, and finally Lukey with the barrel in tow.

  “Ginevra, why don’t you finish the young man’s order before starting with those outfits? With all these hands it shouldn’t be too much trouble, right?” The matron suggested with a hint of motive in her voice.

  “Alright, I suppose. Girls to the backroom! Lukey, can you bring that barrel with us?” Ginny ordered.

  “Sure, but one more thing,” Lukey said, then handed Ginny a bottle of iridescent dye. “The alchemist prepared that especially for my outfit, so can you use it?”

  Ginny looked in confusion at Lukey, then the bottle, before eventually deciding to use [Inspect].

  Ginny looked at the bottle in awe. Colors like this were the kind rich folk purchased on a whim to strut about in custom-made clothing. The dye had no other purpose besides making clothing look stunning, so many people never bothered to purchase it. The more attractive dyes were also incredibly difficult to make, and the cost alone made it so that they weren’t profitable to sell on a large scale.

  “Incredible…” Ginny muttered before breaking out of her trance a moment later. “Alright, I’ll use it, but I still need the barrel to be brought to my workshop.”

  Lukey immediately answered her request by hauling the barrel through a doorway in the back. The doorway led to Ginny’s weaving room, where she had her loom set up along with a dyeing vat. It wasn’t much, but for now it would have to do. Lucia had more equipment like this that she bought in anticipation of more people coming to the island, so it wouldn’t take too long to prepare more machines.

  “Lukey, set down that barrel next to the dyeing vat and come with me. I need to take some measurements before we start.” Ginny ordered.

  Lukey nodded in understanding and followed as Ginny pulled him out of the room, much to the dismay of the many luxe inside the room.

  …

  “Okay… Make this a little tighter, cut the material from that side… Maybe lengthen the arms a bit here and there.”

  Ginny was concentrating furiously on the sketch before her, determined to get this outfit planned out before she began. The other luxe, all weavers themselves, were working to give suggestions as they helped draw up the schematic for the outfit.

  Normally, Ginny would just go for a general fit, as she did with most mass-produced clothing. Now, however, she was using an iridescent dye for her clothing, and she was determined not to waste it on an outfit that would be exchanged for something different after very little use.

  After a few final alterations to the design, it was ready. A full-body woven suit specially made for diving underwater. It hugged the body in a way that gave no loose material and covered up everything besides the hands, feet, and legs as a form of protection. Finally, it was thin and light enough to be worn underneath other clothing and armor, so the person would never have to take it off.

  Ginny was determined to make something spectacular as payment for Lukey’s help. Not to mention the opportunity to demonstrate an entirely new form of clothing to a matron and later get recognition from the Golden Threads.

  Alright… Let’s begin.