“Th-this is…”
When Ye Bai produced the cloth pad, Dilina’s gaze froze. Her entire attention was instantly captured by the fabric, and she instinctively stepped forward.
“The Weaving Clan’s craftsmanship, as promised.”
Without hesitation, Ye Bai handed the 【Exquisite Cloth Pad】 directly to Dilina.
The cool, flowing texture sent a shiver through her fingers, and Dilina trembled uncontrollably. She cradled the cloth pad with utmost reverence, carefully spreading it open in her palms, struggling to steady her shaking hands as she examined every single thread and intricate pattern.
Ye Bai and Lucy watched silently from the side, not daring to disturb her.
It took a long while before Dilina finally snapped out of her trance, realizing the dim lighting around her. She lifted her head, glancing briefly at Ye Bai and Lucy waiting patiently before hurriedly apologizing, “Forgive me, I was… lost in thought.”
Yet even as she spoke, her eyes betrayed her, drifting irresistibly back to the black fabric in her hands, unwilling to look away for even a second.
This was the first time Ye Bai had seen the usually poised and graceful shopkeeper so utterly discomposed. With an amused smile, she suggested, “Since we’ve brought it back, why don’t you take it to your tailor shop and study it properly?”
“Y-yes, of course…” Dilina’s cheeks flushed with excitement as she reluctantly tore her gaze away and looked at Ye Bai. “Thank you… Lord.”
That final word—*Lord*—no longer carried the playful teasing it once had. Now, it was spoken with genuine sincerity.
【Advanced Tailor ‘Dilina’ requests to join your territory. Accept?】
【Yes】
Ye Bai smiled and confirmed the choice. After watching Dilina hurry off with the fabric, she bid Lucy farewell and left the herbalist’s shop.
She made a quick stop at the nearby marketplace, confirming that the traveling merchant hadn’t arrived yet.
Ten in-game days had passed since her trip to the Divine Realm, so the merchant should return within the next day or two. The next wave of refugees, however, wouldn’t arrive for another fifteen days. By then, she could upgrade the territory to Level 4, transforming White Night Village into White Night Town.
The jump from village to town would bring massive changes—a significant leap in both production and living standards.
“Greetings, Lord!”
“Good day, Lord!”
As she walked toward the Tree of Genesis, Ye Bai observed the thriving settlement. The villagers she passed greeted her enthusiastically, their fervor making her—technically just a village chief—feel like a grand lord.
‘Grand Lord’ Ye Bai waved back in acknowledgment before finally reaching the Tree of Genesis and placing a hand on its bark.
【White Night Village】
Lord: White Night
…
Health: 95
Sanitation: 92
Happiness: 95
*Huh?* Only now did she realize just how high the happiness level had climbed.
Recalling the villagers she’d seen earlier, merrily hauling barrels of ale in wooden carts, Ye Bai’s lips twitched. *So that’s why the happiness is so high…*
With all three key stats steadily above 90, she opened the villager menu and confirmed that loyalty had risen to over 80 across the board.
Loyalty represented the villagers’ goodwill—it grew steadily as long as their needs were consistently met.
Among the list of names, a few stood out in bold, marking the territory’s professional class.
A quick scan revealed two new additions since her departure.
One was, of course, the newly recruited Dilina. The other, surprisingly, was Vider from the blacksmith’s shop. Ye Bai had estimated his promotion to a full-fledged professional would take another five or six days, yet he’d managed it in the ten days she’d been away.
This unexpected development made her pause. After a moment’s thought, she recalled Felix—the Sunblood descendant she’d sent to the smithy. *Was this just luck, or does Sunblood lineage have hidden benefits?*
Regardless, having a blacksmith ready ahead of schedule was undeniably good news. It also meant the energy crossbows she’d bought from the traveling merchant could finally be crafted.
She’d prepared the required materials long ago—refined copper and iron from the smelting yard, and the branchwood from the merchant. Without delay, she ordered the blacksmith to begin mass production.
After handling miscellaneous affairs, Ye Bai checked on the barracks. Ten in-game days had passed, and the thirty militiamen had completed a third of their training. At this rate, they’d be fully trained in another twenty days.
Once everything was settled, Ye Bai logged out and gulped down a nutrient pack in the real world. Her five-day trip to the Divine Realm had left her starving—her first real hunger since arriving in this interstellar era.
Fortunately, the level-ups in the Divine Realm had strengthened her mental resilience, so the hunger didn’t affect her much.
As her mental power grew, she could feel her physical body changing too.
A glance at the countdown showed the spaceship would reach the Illusory Sea Star System in two and a half real-world days—five in-game days.
After downing the nutrient pack and freshening up with a cleansing service, Ye Bai logged back into the game, timing her return for the next in-game day.
Not long after reconnecting, as she was about to visit the Merchant Guild, a radiant light suddenly erupted from the tailor shop in the industrial district.
【The advanced tailor ‘Dilina’ in your territory has had a sudden flash of inspiration during her research, advancing to become a ‘Master Tailor.’】
【The villager ‘Calvin’ in your territory, while observing, has had a sudden flash of inspiration, advancing to become a ‘Tailor.’】
Immediately afterward, a long-absent server-wide announcement blared:
【Congratulations to White Night Village for nurturing its first Master-level professional!】
At the same time, Ye Bai received a notification from the achievement system.
【Achievement Unlocked: Master-Class Talent】
【Title Obtained: Hall of Tailors】
The dual system messages left Ye Bai momentarily stunned before she processed what had just happened.
Because Dilina had joined the territory while still an advanced tailor, her overnight study of the Weaving Clan’s fabric had pushed her to Master rank—and the system credited White Night Village with her breakthrough!
Even Calvin, who’d been working in the tailor shop, had leveled up to a full-fledged tailor just by witnessing the event.
Master rank represented the pinnacle of a profession. Most legendary-grade equipment was crafted by Masters.
Dilina had previously made the Crocodile King’s Bracer for Ye Bai, but she’d admitted it was her magnum opus. Now, as a Master, her chances of creating high-tier legendary items would skyrocket!
I don’t know if Dilina had previously trained as a master tailor in Melo City, but Ye Bai put herself in the other party’s shoes for a moment—if a high-level talent she had nurtured was poached like this, only to immediately break through to the rank of Grandmaster afterward…
The sheer audacity of reaping such rewards made Ye Bai’s conscience twinge with a hint of pain.
However, that twinge vanished the moment she saw the effects of the [Hall of Tailoring] title:
Special talent attraction increased by 10%; attraction for sewing and weaving-related special talents increased by 20%; efficiency of the territory’s tailor shops boosted by 50%; production level of the territory’s tailor shops raised by 30%.
“Oh-ho!” At the sight of these effects, Ye Bai couldn’t help but let out a cheer before immediately changing direction and dashing toward the tailor shop.
Just as Ye Bai arrived near the shop, the radiant Dilina happened to step out, brimming with confidence.
[You have completed the quest ‘The True Weaving Clan.’]
The long-awaited personal quest notification chimed in at that moment. Ye Bai now turned her gaze to Dilina, whose information was fully visible to her as a citizen of White Night Village.
**Dilina**
**Status:** Owner of Melo City Tailor Shop, Member of the Weaving Guild, Citizen of White Night Village
**Level:** 50
**Class:** Grandmaster Tailor, Water Element Mage
**Stamina:** 150/150
…
**Loyalty:** 100
**Satisfaction:** 100
That’s right—her loyalty was maxed out at 100. Completing the personal quest meant fulfilling Dilina’s lifelong ambition. From a non-citizen perspective, this would be the equivalent of a flawless ‘life-and-death bond’ level of affection. Now that Dilina had joined the territory, it was reflected as loyalty.
And then there was that golden, gleaming ‘Grandmaster Tailor’ under the Class section—Ye Bai couldn’t stop grinning.
“Congratulations, congratulations!”
She wasn’t just congratulating Dilina; she was congratulating herself.
Combined with the First Lord’s bonus, she could now practically guarantee that every wave of immigrants would include special talents.
There was nothing left to discuss—now was the time to capitalize on these effects and aggressively develop the territory’s weaving industry!
Dilina stepped forward with a bright smile, graciously accepting Ye Bai’s congratulations. Gratefully, she said, “Thanks to the fabric you brought back, my lord, I was able to fulfill a long-cherished wish and finally break through the bottleneck that had held me back for so long.”
Then, curiosity flickered in her eyes as she added, “By the way, I couldn’t help but notice… what you gave me wasn’t just any ordinary Weaving Clan fabric. Even now, I haven’t fully unraveled all its secrets. It must have been a rare treasure even among the Weaving Clan. What was its original purpose?”
“Uh… I’m not entirely sure. I found it in a treasure vault.” Ye Bai hesitated, then decided against mentioning that the fabric had originally been used as a cushion for the Tome of Death.
Dilina nodded in immediate understanding. “Of course. Such a masterpiece would naturally be carefully preserved in a treasure vault.”
Ye Bai: “…Right.”
That piece of fabric was indeed worthy of being stored in the treasure vault of an ordinary faction—except Dilina had no idea that the ‘treasure vault’ Ye Bai had visited wasn’t just any ordinary one… but the hoard of an Ancient Dragon.
