Strong yet flexible enough to fit its wearer's form nicely, leather goods are most often elegant rather than showy. Although leatherworking holds the most promise for those skilled in melee, one appeal of the craft is the fact that many jobs can equip leather equipment. It's time for another crafting interview, and this time the subject is leatherworking. Today's interviewee is a leatherworker with the mysterious name of "O.” --Hello! Thank you for taking time out of your day for this interview. Well then, let's start with the usual. What is your leatherworking skill level? "Actually, I just reached 100 last week! Clothcraft is at 60...blacksmithing at 56... I don'taru really do any other crafting..." --Why did you want to work with leather? "Umm, well, I've been an adventurer for a while now, and I never really used to do any synthesis, you know? I was just living on the money I got from selling crystals. Oh, oh, but…once I got a bunch of dark crystals and put them up for auction, but no one bought them and they came light-right back to me! My friends were giving me some advice, telling me that I could use them to make some weep-sheep leather and sell that for some gil. All I had to do was hunt for some sheepskin, so I decided to give it a go...and before I knew it, I was hooked on leatherworking, and took it alllll the way to 100!" --So that's how it was. You said you've been an adventurer for a while now. What's your level? "I'm a level 75 beastmaster... Oh, oh yeah, and a 72 thief! I usually hunt for materials as a thief..." --Your level is high enough to gather materials that are difficult to come by, but how do you think a new adventurer would fare at leatherworking? "I think it's definitaruly better to have a high enough level to be able to gather materials, a lot of which are dropped by monsters. A lot of the ingredients can't be stacked, and I make a lot of leather out in the field as soon as I defeat a monster that drops what I need. Of course, it's easier to shop at the auction house for cheap materials, but a lot of the things I need aren'taru available. Good leather is often snapped up by my many leatherworking rivals before I can bid on it!" --Is gathering ingredients difficult? "Up until around skill level 50, you can gather a lot of the materials you need if you just know the right places, so it's not so rough-tough. It's even easier with the thief ability "Treasure Hunter." It's a little more difficultaru after becoming a veteran, though, because a lot of the leather needed is only dropped by NMs (notorious monsters)! I hunt NMs alone sometimes…one of the benefitarus of being a beastmaster! One of the downsides, though, is that sometimes nobody-buddy is around when I'm in trouble and I end up face down in the mud…" --What leather products do you sell? "I used to make gil by selling leather, but once I became satisfied with my finances, I started saving leather to make other goods. Lately I've been aiming for HQ mantles and belts, but the NQ items I make are starting to take up spare space in my Mog House." --Why don't you try selling leather armor? "HQ body armor for lower levels sells well, so sometimes I make it, but unfortunately, high level armor just isn'taru all that hop-popular! I think it's just because rare armor dropped by monsters and artifact armor are very strong and more popular at high levels than equipment that costs gil. Still, I think that leather armor is really super-stylish! I don'taru sell all that much, but I do produce a lot of goods that other adventurers ask me to make!" --Have you used more money raising your skill, or earned more money selling the goods that you make? "I haven'taru exactly done the math, but I think I've made a profit! I get most of my materials from hunting monsters myself, so it couldn't have cost all that much to raise my skill." --Is there any item that you really, really want to make? "I like masks, so I really hope to see more equipmentaru like the tiger mask...items that nook-look like costumes! Also, I reaaally wish there were some consumable items I could make for more gil!" --And, of course, what is the most memorable item you have created thus far? "A byrnie. It was the first time I tried to synthesize something and lost every lastaru one of my ingredients! I tried again later and was successful, but even now I shiver-wiver whenever I use behemoth leather!" --Well, that's all we have time for today! Is there anything else you would like to say? "Not many adventurers wear high-level leather equipment, so wear it and stand out! You'll look like a superstar!" --Thank you! Ladies and gentlemen, that was O, small, cheerful, and...slightly menacing in a Panther Mask, bringing us an interview full of insights and a few amusing ramblings. I did not have the space to detail everything here, but I also had the honor of listening to stories of the tiny Tarutaru's heroic adventuring exploits, something I would have never guessed judging from his appearance. It's wild and rough adventurers like him who bring us the flexible leather goods needed for active lifestyles. text by Takashi and Asami Watanabe  Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita