Chapter 50: Apprentice Seamstress

In other words, using arrow towers for defense isn’t an effective way to kill these monsters—it can at best assist in taking them down. The proper method should be to bring combat personnel along, or to build stronger offensive structures.

But clearly, Su You didn’t have access to any more powerful attack buildings, so she could only look for alternative solutions.

Su You spoke with genuine sincerity, and besides, the two brothers weren’t the type to be ungrateful… Even though they had paid for their room and board here, that didn’t mean they could simply ignore the help Su You had given them.

“Please, Lord Su, go ahead. I hope you don’t mind what just happened. I didn’t mean to hide anything—it’s just that Lake is a bit naïve, so I tend to instinctively protect him.” By “this kind of choice,” he naturally meant his habit of shielding Lake.

After saying this, Lyle let out a barely audible sigh.

With things laid out so clearly, even though Lake was a bit simple-minded, he wasn’t completely clueless. He more or less understood why Lyle had acted that way just now.

And because he understood, when Lyle called him a “naïve kid,” he didn’t protest, but chose to stay silent.

“I should have explained myself better,” Su You said after a pause, then got straight to the point: “This afternoon, I discovered a mine, but there are a lot of monsters there.”

With that simple sentence, she made it clear why she needed their help and what she wanted them to do.

Why?

Naturally, for the ore.

What needed to be done?

She needed their help to clear out the monsters.

The two brothers were adventurers who had traveled far and wide, passing through many territories. They knew just how crucial ore was for the early development of a territory—it was an essential resource for progress!

“There are ghostly skeletons over there. They’re not especially strong, but not weak either. I need your help. If you’re willing to assist, you can stay in the territory as long as you like in the future.” Ore was extremely valuable, and with enough of it, supporting two more people wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Besides, “supporting” them really just meant letting them live here rent-free. At most, she’d have to build another house.

As for food and clothing, that wasn’t included—they’d still need to work for those. So, no matter how you looked at it, Su You wouldn’t be losing out.

“Ghostly skeletons? I think I’ve heard of those…” The greatest advantage of adventurers was their broad experience. They might not be experts in any one thing, but they knew a little about everything.

It was good that they were familiar with these monsters—it saved Su You the trouble of explaining.

“Yes, ghostly skeletons,” Su You nodded, then continued, “You can think it over and discuss it before making a decision.”

Of course, Su You hoped they would help, but if both refused, there was nothing she could do—she couldn’t force them.

If that happened, she’d have to find another way to deal with the ghostly skeletons head-on.

In other words, she’d need to look for another breakthrough… It was just that she’d discovered the mine so late today that she hadn’t had time to explore further. Otherwise, she might have more options now.

“Please let us think it over. Tomorrow…” Lyle started to say they’d give her an answer tomorrow, but paused and changed his mind. “No, we’ll let you know before we rest tonight.”

Facing these monsters would require a lot of preparation, and whether or not they joined in would affect those preparations. Plus, Su You planned to act in the morning, so waiting until tomorrow for an answer would be too late.

“Alright.” With that, Su You gave them space to discuss.

Nearby, Dolly had been listening to their conversation, wanting to speak up but not finding the right moment. When she saw Su You approach, she quickly offered her help.

“Miss Lord, I’m not much good in a fight, but if you need, I can make some things for you.”

Although she was a repairer, repairing and crafting were closely related—in fact, the principles were very similar, and even some of the books used in training overlapped.

A skilled repairer might not be highly proficient at crafting, but they’d at least know the basics—and even those basics would be far beyond what an ordinary person could do.

In the past, Dolly would never have revealed her abilities so openly, but now that she’d joined the territory, even if her loyalty wasn’t especially high, she had a great deal of affection for Su You. So, hearing that Su You was going on an adventure, she offered her help without hesitation.

“Crafting? What can you make?” Su You had noticed Dolly’s talent for sewing, but since she didn’t have the sewing skill listed, Su You had assumed she’d never learned it. But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“I know some basic sewing. I’m not quite at the beginner level, but I can make some simple equipment.” The information panel only displayed skills at beginner level and above, but below that was an unofficial tier used by players for distinction: “apprentice.”

Above apprentice was beginner.

So, Dolly was probably at the “apprentice seamstress” stage—maybe even at the threshold of advancing.

Dolly, unaware of how much she’d revealed, continued after explaining her skills: “When I brought them food earlier, I noticed there were quite a few threads and animal hides in the chest. I could use those materials to reinforce your hide armor… That should help you withstand more damage.”

NPCs weren’t like players—they couldn’t see the stats, so they described changes in plain language.

For example, when Dolly said “reinforce,” she meant increasing the hide armor’s durability, making it less likely to be damaged.

As for “withstand more damage,” that was even easier to understand—she could use those materials to strengthen the hide armor and increase its defense.

“Alright, if you’re confident you can do it, I’ll leave all those materials to you.”

Su You was already prepared to act alone tomorrow, so since she couldn’t improve her combat power, the best she could do was boost her defense.

After all, offense and defense—you had to choose one. Even if Su You didn’t have a choice, she couldn’t just do nothing.

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