Chapter 233
Well, this might be sudden, but have you ever experienced failing to strengthen an item and having it disappear?
To cut to the chase, I have.
In fact, in FBO, failure is an inherent part of evolving material items—and the common knowledge is that failure equals item loss.
---
"Alright, this is where the real challenge begins. Are you ready, Yami-san?" "Of course, Guild Master! With my entire being, I will perfect this material!!"
Before us lay the fruits of the spirits' labor over the past week.
Neatly organized and arranged, these were the necessary items.
Crossing my arms, I surveyed the overwhelming array of materials—some of which couldn’t even be obtained in the southern continent—and exchanged determined glances with Yami, the high-ranking dark spirit.
Then, with a firm grip, Yami—whom I’d recently started calling "Yami-san" out of convenience—seized the materials with three hands.
"You understand, right, Yami?" "You know what happens if you fail, right, Yami?" "If even a single piece of the fabric we painstakingly made for Amina-chan disappears, you’re dead, Yami."
The three Thunder Sisters, who had perfected the Starry Silk at the center, glared at Yami-san with dark circles under their eyes. Their bloodshot eyes only added to the intensity, and even I felt a chill despite not being the target of their pressure.
"I-I know! I want Amina-chan to wear an incredible outfit for her live performance too!! We’re comrades!! I would never cut corners!!" "『『『Good.』』』"
The simultaneous pressure made the moment tense.
Yami-san straightened his back to the limit, glanced at me, and with a look that said, "I’m counting on you," I nodded.
I’d spent the past week tirelessly hunting Rise Cocoons, too.
I had no intention of letting that effort go to waste.
And since coming to this world, I’d learned that gathering materials was far harder than it had been in the game.
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"Let me explain the process of evolving Starry Silk into Lunalight Silk. First, prepare the base liquid. Then, the materials—"
Like some cooking show, I started by listing the ingredients, but each one was the result of the spirits’ hard work.
I’d already explained their roles, but to ensure nothing was missing, I pointed and checked each one.
"First, Holy Light Water—a drop item from the Shining Slimes in the dungeon the dark spirits challenged." "A monster we defeated while wearing our sunglasses." "Finding them is easy since they’re always glowing, but fighting them head-on is tough."
Holy Light Water, a magical liquid more potent than standard holy water effective against undead and ghosts, was a drop from Shining Slimes, Class 5 light-attribute monsters.
In this world, slimes were formidable foes.
Their viscosity reduced physical damage by 90%, and they had resistances based on their attributes, making them dangerous if you didn’t account for weaknesses.
For this, I’d assigned dark spirits—the most effective against them—to exploit the advantage and rush through the dungeon to the boss.
Though they had high physical resistance and decent magic resistance, the double damage from dark attributes allowed us to brute-force our way through and secure enough drops.
"After thoroughly washing this, we place it in a giant inch-moving pot purified by the light spirits. We’ll add Starry Silk later, so measure carefully." "Got it, it’s in." "Channel magic into the alchemy stove’s burner to maintain a steady flow." "How strong?" "A bit above low, but below medium." "Precise adjustments are key."
When handling materials, cleanliness is crucial.
Simply washing isn’t enough—residual water or detergent can contaminate the pot and interfere with synthesis.
To prevent that, we meticulously washed and then magically purified everything.
We even wore protective suits to ensure not a speck of dust contaminated the process.
The Thunder Sisters did the same, and the room itself was sterilized in advance by a high-ranking light spirit.
"Next, grind this Dark Spirit Stone in a mortar." "Right."
All tools were prepared the same way.
Yami-san tossed a Dark Spirit Stone from his spirit corridor into the mortar.
Normally, an alchemy table could mix everything at once, but that would be too rough.
For standard crafting, time-saving methods work, but this was different.
Thanks to Yami-san being a high-ranking dark spirit, we’d obtained high-quality spirit stones—Class 5 for this step.
We’d even found some Class 7 stones, but "too much is as bad as too little."
"Done grinding."
Pre-grinding might seem efficient, but over time, the mana dissipates, reducing them to mere grains.
The key was adding freshly ground material to the pot.
"My part’s done too."
While Yami-san crushed the Dark Spirit Stone, I’d been grinding a Light Spirit Stone—Class 4, weaker and less abundant.
"Mix the Dark and Light Spirit Stones at a 6.5:1 ratio, then add it to the pot. Use the scale and spoon there—140 grams of mixed powder per liter of Holy Light Water."
The stones’ strength and ratio were critical.
For a single-tier upgrade, approximations would suffice, but maximizing a Class 4 material’s potential left no room for waste.
"Understood."
The crushed spirit stones lost mana by the second, so we measured and mixed swiftly, producing a dark-gray powder.
"Now, add it to the pot." "Right."
I gave instructions, and Yami-san executed them.
"Stir slowly to distribute the mana evenly. Eldest Sister, take over this part." "Leave it to me. I’ll mix it perfectly."
Evolving metamor items solo to the highest quality is brutally difficult.
Even with alchemy table automation, current setups demand manual precision.
"What’s next?" "Grind this fossilized moon starfish into powder, then mix it with..."
If we’d had Class 8 Doppelganger Mimic Liquid from Foam Dungeon, this step could’ve been shorter.
But Foam Dungeon only dropped up to Class 7 materials.
The boss could yield Class 8, but even high-ranking spirits would face extreme danger.
With safety in mind, we couldn’t risk it.
Even Class 7 materials were perilous for spirits to gather.
Thus, we had to aim for the highest possible quality using safer, lower-class materials with precise balancing and combinations.
In this world, cutting corners wasn’t an option—only patience and precision led to success.
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"Whew. The prep’s finally done. Once the mana stabilizes, soaking the Starry Silk in this will synthesize it into Lunalight Silk." "Three hours just to get here... I’ve used a lot of mana."
After numerous preparations—mixing eighteen materials and performing alchemy for three hours—the target product was complete.
"But the results speak for themselves. As expected of the Guild Master." "I’ve never seen an item like this. As expected of the Guild Master." "That pale glow is beautiful—like moonlight. As expected of the Guild Master."
『Luna Factor』—the base liquid for the "Luna" series of alchemy materials.
Even cutting no corners and working efficiently, the fatigue and time investment spoke volumes: this was a Class 6 material.
I took a deep breath, exhausted from the focus this required.
With better materials and equipment, we could’ve saved time—without Yami-san’s alchemy table, we’d have had to modify one from scratch.
"The glow will brighten as it stabilizes. Right now, it’s only at 40%." "How long until stabilization? Depending on that, we might prepare for the next step." "About twenty to thirty minutes."
So far, flawless.
If this continued, we’d have enough Lunalight Silk for two outfits per party member.
And from there, Sunlight Silk—one per person—wasn’t just a dream.
"Let’s leave Sunlight Silk for tomorrow. It’ll demand even more focus than today. For now, we concentrate on Lunalight Silk." "Don’t get careless, Yami." "Don’t get complacent, Yami." "Fail here, and you’re dead, Yami." "Why are you all so hard on me!?"
Complacency is the enemy—especially when things go smoothly.
A 90% success rate still means a 10% chance of failure.
And that 10% can’t be ignored.
I wasn’t defending the Thunder Sisters’ pressure, but I’d once lost rare materials by slacking off when things seemed certain.
"It’s because you’re getting careless." "Even you, Guild Master!?" "'Just gather the materials again' isn’t acceptable. Failure here is unforgivable—a sin worthy of banning you from Amina’s concerts for ten years via Guild Master authority."
That item had a drop rate so low it took nearly a month to collect enough.
After finally nearing the ultimate gear, a careless mistake destroyed everything.
The shock had been paralyzing.
My eyes probably looked hollow as I recounted that trauma—an experience that, ironically, skyrocketed my alchemy success rates afterward.
"Alright! Everyone, this is the real deal now—give it your all!!" "Failure is not an option." "A ten-year concert ban would be fatal." "If anyone screws up, I’ll hold a grudge for a thousand years. If I fail, I’ll become a shut-in."
Seeing the seriousness in my eyes, Yami-san and the sisters’ expressions shifted.
I hadn’t meant to threaten them—just to light a fire under them.
After thirty more minutes of observing the Luna Factor...
"Shouldn’t it be ready now?" "So pretty." "Yeah." "Amazing."
The liquid emitted a serene glow, like the full moon on a clear night.
"Yes, it’s stabilized. Now, carefully soak the Starry Silk." "Right." "Yami, it’s up to you." "Yami, we’re counting on you." "Yami, please."
The Thunder Sisters carried the Starry Silk as Yami-san gingerly lowered it into the pot.
Once everything was in, he sealed the lid and took a deep breath.
"Here goes." "「「「...」」」"
The tension was palpable.
Under our watchful eyes, Yami-san placed his hands on the alchemy table.
"Alchemy!!"
As he shouted, the pot shone brilliantly.
When the light faded, he hesitantly lifted the lid—
"Whoa!"
—revealing cloth bathed in a gentle glow.
The moment a Class 4 material became Class 6.
The birth of Luna Silk.