Socks—Another's Treasure

They literally gave me the exact same item when I made this character the first time. It was obviously bugged, being that none of the Fae races even wore socks. Unless they changed something...

I opened my Grimoire to my passive abilities page. Yup, it was still there:

Legacy of the Druids (Fae Alliance Faction Buff): you are blessed with your connection to Yyr, the world upon which you stand, +1 to all stats so long as your foot slot remains unequipped (scales with level).

That was the reason most Fae characters went without shoes, only very few high level items are worth losing that buff over. Seemed practical anyway. As a Pixie, my feet were super petite and delicate. Behemoths on the other hand had great, bestial paws; Satyr's had hooves and Dryads didn't wear any clothes at all.

So now you understand my frustration over receiving these socks. Was I really supposed to trade +1 to all stats for 1 armor?! I mean, they weren't even cute, and I honestly couldn't tell if they'd even been washed!

They couldn't have given me some cotton or linen cloth, or some wood and a whittling knife? I couldn't believe they didn't fix this bug...

I stormed over to Puca, who also doubled as a general goods vendor. "Hey, can you at least give me a couple pieces of copper for these?!" 

"Yuck!" he turned away, protecting his face from the socks I was holding up. "Throw those over there if you aren't going to use them!" he pointed to a pile of equally ragged looking socks. 

Great. They gave use useless items we couldn't even sell, so everyone just threw them in a giant pile by the door? What kind of idiotic nonsense was this?

"Hey, wait a minute!" I demanded with my shrill Pixie voice. "You're the one who gave us these starting kits! Why would you bother giving socks to Fae characters? Why not give us something we can actually use?"

"Dear adventurer, please be assured that all Adventure Starting Kits, though randomized, are uniquely tailored to your individual needs based upon your chosen class and Kraft," answered Puca. 

He had a serious air about him. 

Was I was offending him with my accusations?

Either way, this was clearly a waste of time. With an incredulous hmpf! I turned and stormed over to the pile. As I held up the Barely Used Fuzzy Socks over it, ready to let go—I had a sudden epiphany. 

Hold on a second...

"You said I was supposed to get these socks?" I asked, turning back to Puca.

"Of course," he answered with a faint smile. 

Hmmm.

It was starting to make sense. "So not just anyone can get socks from that kit, just Doll Makers?"

"Weaver's too," said Puca with an unreadable expression. 

With my suspicion confirmed, I opened my Grimoire to the General Abilities page. Sure enough, I already had an ability there.

Salvage: destroy an item of white quality or higher for a chance to obtain materials for your Kraft.

I inspected the socks again. Just like with everything, whenever I focused on the item, a display containing its name and information appeared in the space around it. It was kind of like hovering your cursor over something in-game. 

The name of the item was in white, denoting its quality. That meant that they did have some potential use other than merely selling it to a vendor (as opposed to grey quality items). That, compared to the fact that these couldn't even be sold, was a dead give away.

I salvaged the socks.

Salvage successful: 1 Piece of Cottony Fluff.

Achievement Unlocked: Another's Treasure—congratulations adventurer, you are the first in realm to realize why we would give socks to Fae Creatures ;)

Winky face? 

"We"?!

To be honest, that was a little unsettling. I couldn't remember ever getting any achievements when I played this game in my last life. Besides, if this was a real world, and not just a game, then who would be in charge of such things, if not the developers?

I glanced over at Puca, whistling along with the dreamy atmospheric music. Now that I thought about it, was he just an NPC giving me preset answers, or was he actually conscious?

I really didn't now much about this world after all, despite my familiarity with it.

I debated over whether I should probe Puca for more info. But I doubted he would know much about meta topics like that. 

That would kind of be like asking your homeroom teacher "what's the meaning of life?" Maybe they could give you a phenomenal answer, but that would open the doors to a much longer and deeper discussion than I wanted. Right now I had more pressing things at hand.

I turned to the pile of discarded socks. 

Despite everything, I found myself smiling. I can't believe I'm the first one to figure this out!

Pair by pair, I picked them up and salvaged them.

Salvage Failed: Ruined Fluff (sell price: 1 copper).

Well, at least I had an entire pile to try... also, it was nice to know I'd get to sell the useless scraps I got from failed salvaging attempts.

It continued like that as I made my way through the pile. It seemed there was a 50% success rate. Hopefully it would increase together with my Kraft level.

I was near the end of the pile when I finally got a new result.

Salvage Successful: 1 Square of Woven Cotton.

New Kraft Schema Unlocked: Sock Monkey.

A new doll making recipe! 

But wait a minute—Sock Monkey?! 

Wasn't that more like a teddy bear than a doll? 

I did my best to swallow my disappointment. Although it wasn't what I was hoping for, it was better than nothing. I'd just have to grind my Kraft skills until I could make something better.

At least now I knew the game wasn't bugged. They deliberately gave me those socks in hopes that I could connect the dots and realize I was supposed to salvage them, which would then give me my first doll making schema.

I opened my Grimoire to the Kraft Schemata page, and saw the only one available:

Sock Monkey: create a low level minion to fight and work for you until dismissed. Able to gain experience and level up to gain new abilities.

Starting ability: Snuggle Punch. May not hurt (does 0 dmg) but it sure is cute :D

With nothing else to do, I created the Sock Monkey. I'd never actually made one before, even in my other life. The socks I did use were to make little girls and boys, but even that was rare. Being Japanese meant that we mostly made our dolls out of wood. We had sock monkeys like they did in the west, just maybe not as popular.

Anyway, this one I made looked more like the western version. Really he looked more like a pig. Or maybe a dog?

Sock Monkey Successfully Created—Kraft Quality: sloppy.

Sloppy quality, eh?! I guess that explained why he looked a little weird. It was my first time making one, after all. I shouldn't have expected to make a perfect new Kraft right off the bat.

Actually, now that I thought of it, I should count myself lucky that my Kraft attempt at making him didn't fail altogether. The sock pile was gone, so I would have been out of luck and without a doll. I guess I have my racial passive to thank for that:

Childlike Fascination (Pixie Racial Passive):

+10 Kraft skill in Doll Making.

Doll Minions under your control have +1 of every stat

I turned the finished doll over in my hands. He was still kinda cute. He had pink and white stripes and was made of super fuzzy material. They must have been some little girl's socks. 

Hmmm. The Sock Monkey had three empty equipment slots: main hand, neck, and chest. It meant that I could gear him with an amulet, gown and weapon. Maybe then it could even prove itself as a useful servant.

How was I supposed to turn this thing on, anyway? 

As I wondered this, the description appeared around the doll. The Activate button was grey, meaning I couldn't select it. As I wondered why, a note appeared beneath it: 

Must be bound with Lost Soul in order to activate.

Hmmm. I got out my Grimoire, and found Lost Soul in the misc. section. 

Lost Souls can be bound with various krafted minions, such as dolls. Requires Binding Circle, Empty Vessel, Lost Soul and an Animator to preform the ritual.

Oh right. Animators were a Paintress specialization. They specialized in bringing inanimate objects to life, as I'm sure you could guess. 

I let out a sigh. 

There was no choice but to look for help.