Tailoring in Colonial didn’t require much actual hand use. Your tailoring skills, dexterity, quality of materials and recipe, dictate what you can make and how well. Once those items are in place, it’s a matter of activating the skill and waiting for the progress bar to finish. Gladis Corp had paid a substantial amount of money to give their crafters an advantage. One of these was the ‘work-for-stat’ ability. Whatever stat Nix focused his time and energy on, would start to rise. He also had the advantage of choosing a tier 3 skill right away. Becoming a tailor as a regular player required two subskills to be maxed out first, hunting and leather-making.

Nix used another stack of white canvas. White canvas was a good material for pants, gloves, and jackets. It had the advantage of being a 50 level task, so it made his skill climb into the 60s rather quickly. It didn’t hurt that he had dozens of stacks of 20 white canvas. The top row of his inventory served as his tailoring platform. The tool went in the second slot, base material in the third, thread or strings in the fourth and add-ons in the fifth. Nix didn’t know what the first slot was for, it was grayed out. There were three additional slots for miscellaneous items. After these were in place, you could safely close your inventory. Your hud would give you a readout of four things. What you were making. The quantity you could currently make. Your odds of a normal completion and your chances of a special completion. Nix’s hud read. [Item] Canvas Jacket, [Qty.] 25, [%] 49, [Special %] 12.

He activated the task and left his room to get some dinner. The progress bar for 25 completions barely moved.

Hyai smiled when he came down the stairs. “You going to have dinner?”

The Inn was quite crowded, from the armbands that many customers wore, he gathered that these were the Salamander hunters. Nix nodded, “what’s on the menu?”

“Lamb chops or beef stew.”

“I’ll take the lamb. Hey, what do these armbands mean?”

Hyai lowered her voice and stepped closer. “It’s their guild band. The SG band stands for Sea Gators. They are a huge guild in Escavar. There are a few other guilds, but they removed their bands in the interest of safety.”

“SG would start trouble?”

Hyai nodded, “be careful if you run into them.”

“No worries.”

One of Hyai’s employees delivered his food a while later. Nix assumed she was too busy cooking to mingle with customers. The lamb was spiced perfectly and he enjoyed every mouth-watering bite. He tipped the waitress when he finished and headed out the door. It was fairly brisk, the last few minutes of sunlight turned the sky pink.

Nix walked aimlessly, enjoying the walk until he arrived at a familiar shop. The sign overhead read ‘Kyla’s Guns’.

Kyla was a young woman barely out of her teens. She had red hair that she tied up in twin braids. Her freckled face seemed plain, but when she greeted Nix with a smile, he decided she was pretty. “Welcome to my shop! I’m Kyla.”

“Hi, Jonie recommended you. I brought a rifle today, it just doesn’t fit me well.”

Kyla gave him a warm smile. “Jonie’s name is worth a ten percent discount.”

“Jonie, Jonie, Jonie, Jonie.”

Kyla’s laugh made her beautiful. “Forty percent? Can I take my words back?”

Nix nodded, she reminded him of his sister. “Sure, fifty percent and I’ll forget everything.”

“That’s a tough bargain.” Kyla held out her hand. “Let me see your rifle.”

She clucked her tongue in approval when Nix brought it out. “Finisher is a good choice. I can customize it for you. Let’s say for three hundred credits.”

“That will work.”

[Kyla has requested to add you to her friend’s list. Do you accept?]

Nix grinned at her. “Yes. Becoming friends already? Am I that friendly?”

“You are actually. You need to be on my friend list so I can customize your rifle.”

Nix moved toward the weapon rack while he waited. Customizing required friends. He opened his inventory, the canvas jackets were all finished. His skill had risen to 72. The first square that had once been grayed out now had a question mark over it. Clicking it showed him an image of Kyla.

Kyla looked up from her workbench. “Sorry, customizing takes a long time with guns.”

“No worries.” Nix took a seat next to the window and opened his inventory. He clicked on the first slot and added Kyla. In the second slot, he added a ‘fine silver needle’. The third slot was ‘fine red silk.’ The fourth was ‘red nylon thread.’

[Customer] Kyla, [Item] Red Silk Dress, [Qty.] 1, [%] 19, [Special %] 4.

Nix activated the task and watched as the taskbar slowly wound down. It took four attempts before he was successful.

“All done Nix.” Kyla was holding the rifle in both hands. “Please check it out.”

Finisher Rifle: Unique

Description: This rifle has been

customized for Nix. Accuracy and

power have been increased.

Crafted by Kyla.

Nix aimed at the wall, the feeling of awkwardness was completely gone. “Woah… this is really nice.”

Kyla winked at him, “then I will triple my price.”

“Would you take a barter?”

Kyla nodded, “It depends on what it is. I could use some raw materials, rare woods, things like that.”

“Oh… How about this?”

Red Silk Dress: Unique

Description: This beautiful

red dress has been custom

made for Kyla. It’s knee-length,

pleated and backless.

Crafted by Nix.

Kyla stared at the dress, her pale skin blushing. “I… let me wash my hands!”

She walked over to her sink and washed her hands carefully before rinsing them off and drying them with a new towel. “Okay, let me see it.”

Nix watched her hold it up, her hands caressing the cloth. She nodded to herself a few times before finally looking up at him.

“Two thousand credits Nix, not a credit more.”

Nix shook his head, “That’s way too much. The dress for the rifle.”

“What? That’s crazy Nix! This is beautiful… And it’s custom made for me.” Kyla shook her head, “I’m robbing you at two thousand credits, but it’s all I can afford.”

Nix put the rifle in his inventory. “Sorry, I insist and you can’t make me take it back.”

She made a face at him, “now you’re being a stinker.”

“Maybe so. Thanks for the rifle.” Nix walked out the door, leaving a speechless Kyla holding the dress. Stinker… that’s what his little sister Lisa would call him. The memory warmed him as he pulled up his hud and found the location of the Burly Bear.

The Burly Bear was designed similarly to the Kindled Spirit. The decor was a bit more rustic and the Inn Keeper was a fat bald man named Hooper. “I’m afraid we don’t have any rooms stranger. I can feed you though.”

“He’s with me, Hoop!” Sila was sitting by herself at the bar nursing a pint. She smiled when she saw Nix. “So you made it, have a seat.” Sila patted the barstool next to hers.

He glanced at Hooper, “a pint for me please.”

Hooper nodded, “coming up.”

“I was afraid the noob would get lost on the way here.” Sila leaned closer, the sweet smell of alcohol told him that she had been drinking for a while.

Nix wasn’t bothered by the teasing, by any accounts, he was a complete noob. “Help me out a bit then.”

“First questions first, you a Dub or Stasis?”

Nix shrugged, “explain those terms.”

“Do you log-off at night? Or are you in a stasis pod where you can play for extended periods?”

“Oh, Stasis. Hey, how do I add friends?”

“Use your hud and key the person’s name.”

Nix brought up his hud and activated the small keyboard. He slowly typed in Sila and then Hyai.

[Sila has agreed to be your friend.]

[Hyai has agreed to be your friend.]

“See that? Easy.” Sila tipped back her mug and drained it.

Nix watched her and took a drink of his.

“Sila!” A voice from behind them called out.

Sila grimaced when she looked at the speaker. A strikingly attractive blonde with blue eyes. “Oh.. Hello bitch.”

Nix coughed several times and tried to in vain to hide his amusement by taking another drink.

The blonde approached them, she ignored the woman and placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s your name handsome?”

“I’m Noob, nice to meet you Bitch.”

Sila spat half of her drink onto the bar. Her face turning red while she alternately coughed and laughed. Hooper who had been standing behind the bar quickly turned away from them, but by the way his body was shaking, it was clear he was laughing.

The blond woman’s face showed no expression, but her eyes hinted at rage. “Why are you with a man Sila? Everyone knows you like women.”

Sila threw an arm around Nix’s shoulders. “Correction. I like women and some men.”

Uninvited, the blond sat on the other side of Nix. “I’m Trista.”

“Pretty name, I’m Nix.” Since she wasn’t being hostile, he had no issue with being polite.

“Where you been Nix?” Sila still had her arm around his shoulders, “I thought you’d be ready for some drinking after fighting Bulo.”

Nix shrugged. “Are you good at appraising?”

Sila nodded, “I’m very good at appraising.”

“Okay, give me a minute.”

He loaded up his last task, but switched Sila’s name into it and replaced the Red Dress with Red Lingerie.

[Customer] Sila, [Item] Red Silk Lingerie, [Qty.] 1, [%] 14, [Special %] 2.

Nix activated the task and waited. It took seven tries before it was successful. Nix pulled the lingerie out of his inventory and held it up.

Sexy Red Lingerie: Unique

Description: This sexy nightwear

as been custom made for Sila. It’s

low cut and very short.

Crafted by Nix.

Sila stared at the lingerie, her mouth opening and shutting without any words coming out.

Trista was staring at him, “I’ll give you 5 thousand credits for one just like that. I’ll double it if you can make matching underwear.”

“What? You can make women’s underwear?” Sila grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs, she pushed him into her room and slammed it behind them.

Nix grinned at her. “That was rather aggressive.”

“My appraisal for the lingerie is around five thousand credits.”

Nix tried to keep the greed out of his eyes. “That much?”

“Yes.” Sila starting undressing, stopping after she removed her shirt and pants. She had an impressive body that anyone would stare at. “These are the only underwear you can buy in Colonial. They are as uncomfortable as hell. Always riding up and chaffing tender areas.” She paused for a moment and caressed the silk with one hand. “I’ve 20k, you can have it for 2 sets of underwear and the lingerie.”

Nix started setting up his queue to make custom underwear for Sila. He clicked on four pair, she was a friend after all. “I don’t want to take all your credits since we are friends, 4 pairs for a 10k and we are good.”

She nodded and slipped her clothes back on. “Let’s go back down and drink some more. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Sure.”