Chapter 357: Brooke’s Thank-You Gift, Leah Chandler’s Abnormality

A fight that lasted over half an hour took a lot out of them. So, Faye Yardley had Willow Yardley prepare some more good food for Lucy White and Brooke.

Brooke feasted on Faye Yardley’s raft, finally rubbing her belly as she sprawled in a chair, sipping a hawthorn digestive tea.

"Thank you for your hospitality, big sister," Brooke said, pulling a gleaming silver whip from her Storage Bracelet and tossing it to Lucy White. "I broke your weapon when we were fighting. You can have this one."

Lucy White hmphed, but she still took the whip and went outside, happily cracking it a few times before returning.

You could tell from the look on her face that she was very pleased with her new weapon.

Then, Brooke took out a blueprint and handed it to Faye Yardley. "This is for you, big sister."

Faye Yardley accepted the blueprint. When she looked down, she saw it was a High Level Longbow Forging Diagram. She thanked Brooke with a smile, "Thank you. I like this gift very much."

"I’m glad you like it." Brooke then said sheepishly, "It’s just that I can only forge High Level Weapons right now. Once I advance past this stage, I’ll be able to create blueprints for even better weapons."

"Well, I hope you have your breakthrough soon. Then the next time we meet, I’ll be able to say I know the great Master Brooke."

This made Brooke burst out laughing, and she giggled so hard she couldn’t stop.

Not long after, Brooke said her goodbyes and left. Her small wooden boat disappeared from sight in less than five minutes.

’Is there really no catch to this event?’ Faye Yardley murmured to herself. She decided to open the World Channel to see how everyone else was faring.

"Sister, look at the whip Brooke gave me. It’s amazing!"

Lucy White proudly handed the silver whip to Faye Yardley, as if presenting a treasure.

The moment she took it, a system notification appeared.

[Light Dance: A whip meticulously forged by High Level Blacksmith Brooke and further enhanced by Master Gideon, granting it superior attack power and flexibility.]

Faye Yardley weighed it in her hand. ’Basic Martial Arts truly is a jack-of-all-trades,’ she thought. It even included whip techniques. She leaped off the raft and onto the surface of the sea, performing a full whip form.

The whip sliced through the air with such force that everyone on the raft could hear the sharp crack.

When she struck the surface of the sea, it carved a deep furrow in the water, sending up two symmetrical walls of spray.

After finishing the Whip Technique, Faye Yardley returned to the raft and handed the weapon back to Lucy White. "It’s a magnificent whip. And it has a beautiful name: Light Dance."

A huge grin spread across Lucy White’s face. "If I’d known Brooke was this generous, I would’ve pulled out a little less of her hair earlier."

Eamon offered a different opinion. "She probably only gave in because you fought so dirty. Otherwise, she didn’t seem like the reasonable type."

"Huh? That’s a thing? Is she a masochist or something?" Lucy White was completely baffled.

Faye Yardley said, "Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a case of ’you don’t know someone until you fight them.’ Plus, you and Brooke are around the same age. She broke your weapon, so she gave you a new one to make up for it, and it was also a chance to show off her superb forging skills."

Hearing this, Lucy White nodded in understanding. "You’re right, Sister. Eamon, if you spout any more nonsense, I’ll shut you up myself. Next time Brooke visits, I’m going to tell her to teach you a lesson."

Eamon: ...

The group bantered for a while longer. Then, after saying their goodbyes to Faye Yardley, they all went their separate ways to handle their own tasks.

Now that she was alone, Faye Yardley had the system open the World Channel. ’Lucy White interrupted me earlier,’ she thought. ’Now that I have some free time, I can finally take a proper look.’

She didn’t forget to take out her fishing rod. As she watched the chat channel unfold before her, she also pulled out a glass of iced fruit juice to sip on.

[AHHH... Has anyone else run into a little girl, maybe ten years old with her hair in two buns? She’s a total Demon! I was just trying to be nice and asked if she wanted to come aboard my raft. Not only did she laugh at how pathetic my raft was, but she also asked how someone as ugly as me had the nerve to invite her. I could take the roasting, but then she...]

[What did she do? Spit it out! Don’t tell me you hit the character limit for your message?]

[She... She came back and beat me up again! She’d already knocked me down, and I was about to crawl back into my shelter, WAHHH...]

[Starts a fight over a single disagreement? Wait, you didn’t say all that out loud, did you?]

[At least she’s straightforward. I ran into a scammer. Someone tricked me into trading a great weapon I’d just luckily found for a piece of junk.]

[That’s on you for being too greedy. My experience was different. I traded a common dagger for an Intermediate longsword and called it a day. The other person was perfectly polite and left without any complaints.]

[Speaking of which, has anyone actually met Master Gideon himself? I’ve been watching the channel, and it seems like everyone is just running into his disciples.]

[That’s true. Anyone met the man himself? Speak up!]

[How can you all be so picky? I haven’t seen hide nor hair of even one of Master Gideon’s disciples, and you’re complaining?]

[Is this encounter system just super unfriendly to people with average luck?]

[Heh heh... you think it’s any friendlier to someone like me, with a Luck Value of 3?]

’Surprisingly little useful information this time. Maybe because it’s still just the afternoon?’

Faye Yardley set her empty cup on the table, then lifted her fishing rod. An Iron Treasure Box came up with it.

’A great start,’ she thought. ’Not bad at all.’

She cast her line again, continuing to fish for treasure boxes. Since the World Channel didn’t seem to have any useful information at the moment, she closed it.

Her attention turned to her private chat group.

To her surprise, Kyle Lewis was asking the others if they knew anything about Logan Langdon.

Faye Yardley: @Kyle Lewis, why the sudden question about him? Did something happen?

Kyle Lewis: Group Leader, you’re online! My mom said she wants to move to Logan Langdon’s island. I tried to talk her out of it, but she won’t listen. I don’t know what’s gotten into her; it’s like she’s been bewitched.

Zephyr Sterling: Huh? Why isn’t Ms. Chandler considering Yardley’s island? Did he make her some kind of promise?

Kyle Lewis: I think so. My mom didn’t give me the details. She got angry and shut down when I told her I wasn’t going with her. She’s never been like this with me before.

Faye Yardley: Everyone has the right to make their own choices. Ms. Chandler might just feel she gets along better with Logan Langdon. Or perhaps he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. An offer that might even have something to do with you.

Kyle Lewis: If it had to do with me, she would’ve just told me. But she didn’t say anything.

Faye Yardley: So, has she gone to his island already?

As she typed this, Faye Yardley pulled up her friends list. Leah Chandler was still there, which at least meant she hadn’t made the move yet.

’Should I ask her about it?’

’But wouldn’t I seem too nosy if I just asked her out of the blue?’

In the private chat, Kyle Lewis had already replied: Not yet. My mom told me to think it over and that we’d talk about it properly after the event is over.