World’s Cutest Alchemist

“Are you that excited for today?” Luna asked as I happily bopped my head and knitted.

“Huh? Does it show that much?” I tilted my head.

“…You look like a kid excited to open presents on Christmas day.”

“Hehe, well, I’m just extremely curious about what the gauntlet is going to be like.” I replied. Yes, today was Sunday. It’s been about a week since I started knitting and I’ve at least gotten past the newbie phase of knitting.

If there was a proficiency system, I’d have leveled up!

“I won’t spoil you then.” Luna smiled, “We’ve got about another hour until we can enter the event.”

“Mm.” I nodded, “Anything I need to know before then?”

“Hm…” She pondered for a moment, “You should probably have the anonymous mode on. There’s a low chance, but it’s not impossible for someone to identify you as ‘Raccoon’ in the event.”

“Got it.” I waited a moment before asking, “But, what would that look like? I know how it works for replays, but how would it work in real time?”

“There’s different modes you can set: Full-body, mask, pixelated, and censored.” Luna explained, “Full-body would completely black you out—like a silhouette. No identifying features will be shown except for the unavoidable like your height and hair; Mask will just have it look like you’re wearing a mask to others—have you ever seen those fancy masquerades they show in movies? It’s kind of like that. You can choose the type of mask you want.

Pixelated is a bit more simple, it’ll simply pixelate your face. Think of how people censor things on those videos you watch; And censored…There’s a black or white bar of heaven that covers your eyes.” Her voice trailed off a bit at the end there and my mind immediately thought of some certain examples.

“…I see.” I nodded in understanding, “Do you use anonymous mode?” I asked.

“Sometimes.” She nodded, “I’m not famous like a certain someone but I do attract attention.” She said with a hint of pride, “If I don’t want to be annoyed, I just use full-body mode. It doesn’t change anything for the user, only for observers.”

“You are an eye-catcher.” I nodded in agreement, then paused for a moment and deliberated on what type of mode I wanted to use.

Full-body mode would make certain that no one would figure out that I’m Raccoon. But it could also confirm that I am Raccoon.

People who had studied my replays would know my silhouette. Even if there’s a thousand other climbers who look like me in there, some people can spot their idol like a needle in a haystack.

Mask mode sounds fun. I could treat it like a Halloween party.

Pixelated sounds boring and looks completely unaesthetic.

And censored…Well, that’s off the table.

“How does it affect photos?” I asked after a moment.

She paused before answering,

“It’ll show as the mode you select.”

I nodded and returned to deliberation.

I, very obviously, wanted to take photos with Luna while I’m there. It’d be my first tower event and the way Luna made it sound, it’s kind of like we’re going on a date. If anonymous mode would ruin the pictures…It might be better to not do it at all?

Truthfully, I could care less about Raccoon’s identity being exposed. It’d just be a hassle—which is why I avoid it.

I could see it online too, I’m getting talked about less and less. Within a few months, I’ll probably fall into obscurity. The only thing really keeping my fame afloat are my potions—which I’ve stopped selling since about a week ago.

Everyone’s already thinking that Raccoon’s leaderboard climb has ended. That the 5th floor is simply impossible for a production class like me without combat skills.

I don’t have a desire to prove them wrong. No, rather, I simply don’t want to abandon myself.

Anyways, I digress. I’ve made my decision.

“I’m going to use mask mode.” I said.

Luna’s eyes widened a bit before replying,

“Are you sure?” She asked, “It won’t censor anything else about your body except what’s covered by the mask and your profile. People who identify you as Raccoon would get a lot of info—your blonde hair, porcelain skin, and other features will be exposed.”

“Mm.” I nodded, “I don’t really care—I care more about taking photos with you than hiding some poorly kept secret.” I replied with a smile, “Oh, unless you don’t want to take photos…?”

“No-no, I do! If your fine with it then…I’ll also choose mask mode.”

“Hehe.” I giggled.

I already had an idea in mind for the type of mask I’d wear.

…

After stuffing the last bit of yarn I could fit into my backpack, I headed to the living room. Luna was sitting on the couch, already dressed for our outing.

When I opened my bedroom door, Luna turned her attention to me. Her eyes widened a bit before she spoke,

“You are…wearing something new...very different than your usual attire.” She mumbled.

“Hehe,” I giggled and did a little twirl, “I wanted to dress up! How is it? Do I look good?” I asked, leaning towards her.

Her eyes darted around me as she quickly nodded. Did I hear a gulp?

True to her words, today I was completely dressed up like a doll. I even styled my hair. I was wearing a gothic lolita off-shoulder dress; I bought this quite a while ago but never had the chance to wear it. So I figured today’s date would be the perfect opportunity.

I also spent quite a lot of time tying my hair. The video I found called this style ‘space buns with hair down’.

Honestly, if I had silver hair I could pass for vampire—the true ancestor even! Should I bring a parasol? Hehe.

Overall, it took over half an hour to get my current look. And seeing the expression on Luna’s face made it all worth it.

“Hello?? Earth to Luna~” I teased, waving my hand in front of her darting eyes. “Are you surprised?”

“Mm…” She nodded, eventually gathering the courage to look at me, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress.”

“Right? I usually wear skirts or shorts. It feels a little weird but I’m liking it. Ah! But I’m doing the one forbidden thing that teachers told us was illegal!”

“What’s that?” She tilted her head.

“I’m revealing my shoulders! Don’t look!” I covered my bare shoulders with my hands, putting on my most embarrassed expression.

“Pfft!” Luna burst out laughing before shaking her head, “You lewd girl! Where’s your shame?!” She played into the bit.

“Hehe, but…” I stood up straight and boldly revealed my shoulders, “It’s okay if it’s you…”

“Pfft?!” She spat out and quickly turned away to hide her reddening face, “Stop! Stop! Enough!” She cowered out.

“Hehe, so, do you like my hair?” I asked, stepping back, “I just picked a popular style I saw online.”

After a few deep breaths she turned toward me, and nodded,

“It suits you.” She said, “Honestly, now I feel a little under dressed. If I had known you were going to look like a doll, I would’ve dressed up more.”

“Eh? You always look good no matter the outfit.” I replied. Luna was wearing a casual attire—jeans and a tee. If she wore a hat and face mask, it’d be like one of those undercover celebrity outfits.

“That’s true but…” She looked over my attire.

“Hehe, don’t sweat it~” I took a seat next to her, “I like how you look right now.”

“Mm.” She nodded, “So, what’s in your backpack?” She asked.

“Oh this?” I unzipped the backpack and proudly presented it to her.

Inside was was packed with yarn—red, white, blue, yellow, green, balls of yarn of various colors filled the bag. You could mistake me for a yarn seller with how much yarn was in my bag.

“…” Luna stared blankly at the yarn before turning to me, “…Yarn?”

“Yep!”

“…Are you going to knit even while we’re there?”

“Yep! The grind never stops!”

“Fine, whatever.”

“Mm?” I tilted my head. “Anyways! Is it time yet?”

“Two minutes.” Luna replied.

…

Two minutes later, I was met with a system notification appeared in front of me.

[ElectricTypeMouse has invited you to join her in the tower event ‘Gauntlet’.]

[Y/N]

“Oh! I got it!” I said, immediately clicking ‘Yes’.

“Good, before you accept let’s confirm that we’re ready-”

Her voice cut off as the scenery changed. It felt just like how it did when I entered a floor. Except this time, instead of seeing the ever-familiar plains, I appeared in the middle of a plaza. Next to me was a silver-haired girl glaring at me with a slightly opened mouth.

“Hehe, so this is a tower event?” I ignored her blazing glare and looked around.

We were in some sort of town from the medieval ages—gray flagstone was used as pavement. The sky was bright blue with clouds dotting the atmosphere. The buildings around us looked rustic, stone chimneys with smoke blowing out of the top of them scattered various roofs.

People were scattered around the plaza, some in groups, some alone. One particular building that looked like a bakery had a crowd of people entering with empty hands and leaving with bread.

This place is really beautiful. I wonder if this is what it’d be like to be in the 1600’s? With Luna’s and I’s looks, we’d definitely be nobility—royalty even.

“Ahem, quickly turn on anonymous mode.” Luna snapped me out of my thoughts.

Noticing the mouse mask on Luna’s face, I chuckled before quickly activating the setting.

I requested a specific type of mask: A black domino mask. Black covered around my eyes looking a little like eyeshadow. The only reason I chose this type of mask was because it reminded me of the cute markings on a raccoon’s face. And pulling out my phone and turning the camera to selfie mode, I was right to choose it.

I looked extremely cute!

“Hehe!” I involuntary giggled, taking a few selfies.

“You…” Luna stared at me before smacking her palm against her forehead and shaking her head with a sigh, “…Just how has your identity not leaked…And just how did I not know sooner…” She mumbled incorrigible words.

When I looked at her, I saw that her mask had changed from a full-covered mouse mask to a white domino mask.

“Oh! We’re matching!” I smiled, sidling next to her and taking a few photos.

After I was sufficiently satisfied, I took a step back before finally asking,

“So, what is this? Does the fighting happen here?”

“No,” She shook her head, “This is the town. The actual gauntlet itself doesn’t start for another few hours—this is like the pre-show.”

“Mm…? Explain, teacher!”

“Haah, sure. C’mon, follow me first.” She started to walk towards a building, I quickly walked alongside her.

When I interlocked our arms, I notice her flinch a bit and glance at me,

“I don’t want to get lost in the crowd.” I explained with a smile.

She nodded in understanding and we continued onward.

The building we entered was actually a cafe, there were a lot of people sitting at their respective tables and the barista was wearing a modern barista’s outfit. There was a blue dragon logo on her apron.

“Hello! May I take your order?” She asked as Luna and I approached the counter.

“Um…Do you have hot chocolate?” I asked, briefly glancing at the menu behind her. There was way too much words on that thing—like just what is a mocha grande cappuccino whipped frosted blah blah blah? That sounds more like witchcraft than a drink name.

“We do! And what size would you like, miss?”

“The biggest!” I replied, motioning with my hands.

“Got it, and would you like whipped cream added to it?”

“No, thank you.”

She nodded and turned to Luna

“And you, miss?”

“I’ll have the same.”

“Two grande hot chocolates, no whipped cream coming right up!” She smiled and a holographic screen appeared before us.

[2x Gr Hot Chocolate]

[Total: 1,500 Points]

Luna swiftly tapped on the screen and soon the screen changed to say ‘Payment Processed’.

“Woah…” I mumbled in awe. I was already forming quite a few hypothesis about this place.