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[PP-F1] Arts and Crafts <<Earning A Living>>


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The starting city, the place she had spent most of her time in since that horrible announcement that changed everything. After having been told that they were stuck, some people seemed to have immediately gone out to level up, while others just kept themselves within the safe-zone, waiting until they gathered enough courage to finally leave the walls. Skye was one of many that just roamed the streets of the starting city for a while, not really knowing what they wanted to do. At the start, she still was hopeful, hopeful that they'd quickly beat the game and she could get out as fast as humanly possible. But that hope slowly crumbled, getting smaller and smaller as the days passed. She kept herself busy by just having a nice time with fellow cowards, mostly spending her time in inns and all that. Though she did everything to distract herself and have a good time, Skyler slowly stopped seeing her surroundings as a beautiful city with lots and lots of lovely people in it, instead of viewing it as a prison. This prison had one slight problem though: it had a giant hole that allowed everyone to escape whenever they wanted. She could've left at any point, but she didn't. Why? Fear, that's why.

What was once the one and only place where she felt comfortable, was now nothing but a boring old city that she wanted to get out of. Now that she had gathered enough courage, she was finally ready to leave and go enjoy the virtual world, regardless of how dangerous it might be. But first, she had to do something, a very important quest (at least for her).

Earning a Living

She had heard of the quest before several times, becoming more and more interested every time she heard of it. Instead of collecting col by constantly murdering virtual beasts, she could also just earn a living with a successful shop, something that sounded like a much better idea. She wanted to keep her amount of time outside of the safe zones to a minimum, as she always felt uncomfortable outside of it for a very solid reason, the possibility of dying. Having a shop would allow her to be productive while also staying safe, which is obviously a great deal. That's why, right now, she was making an attempt at finding an artisan to start the quest with. 

 

You'd think that someone who has spent so much time on a floor would be able to at least be capable of finding at least 1 Artisan's shop, but apparently, that's a task that's too hard to complete for Skyler. She had never really paid any attention to shops, mainly because she didn't really have any money to spend. She was 90% certain that she had walked past an artisan at least once or twice, but she couldn't really remember where. So now she was just roaming around, awkwardly inspecting the buildings with the hope of soon finding an artisan.

 

After roughly 15 minutes, an amazing idea popped up in her head, why wouldn't she just ask someone? There were plenty of people around, so she had a great chance someone would be able to locate a nice little shop run by a friendly NPC. Without hesitation, Skyler walked up to the closest (what seemed to be a) player she could find, tapping his shoulder as an attempt to make him turn around. She quickly conjured a smile on her face before asking her oh-so-important question.

 

"Excuse me, but do you know the location of an artisan's shop that happens to be NPC run?"

 

@Fell

 

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Lotte hadn't been much of a fighter in his real life, in the sense he was referring to now at least. Sure He was built tough...mentally but as far as physical prowess went, he was lacking. And so it was no surprise to anyone who knew him that he hadn't done anything near fighting in the new death game, but it had been a long time since they had been thrust in to this life that is not of his own path, and that annoyed him. The fact that only a fifth of the game was yet to be completed was annoying, but he had no room to complain, after all he had only sat in the same town they all spawned in since it began, who was he to complain. But that "if you want something done do it yourself" was really beginning to catch on these thoughts, Lotte needed to take his situation in his own hands. Lotte needed to become strong enough to pave his own path out of this game and it all started with... 

"Excuse me, but do you know the location of an artisan's shop that happens to be NPC run?"

Lotte was thrown out of his thoughts as he felt a tap and then a voice after. Turning around he saw a girl a few inches shorter than he was, she had too of still been a teenager although, he had been a short while ago as well. Sometimes Lotte thought of himself as an older adult than he was and often times judged age more than he should of due to his past. The question was simple and the fact that it was accompanied by a innocent smile threw Lotte in a better mood than he had been a short moment ago. However Lotte couldn't help but laugh, the girl didn't look strong so she had to of been in his situation, but she didn't look dumb either so the fact that she had walked right past the very thing she was looking for shocked him.

As Lotte pointed to the direction he was facing, directly in front of him. "Yeah there is one right there." Low and behold a wooden sign that was hanging over the front door read "Craft'N Creations". Lotte could see how the girl could miss it, the sign and building itself were exactly vibrant as most others around the area, but still...

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A laugh wasn't something Skye saw as a valid response to her question, not really knowing why it could be considered funny as she had asked a really normal question. This soon became a little more understandable though, as it appeared she had walked right past the location she was searching for. Did she feel stupid? Kind of, but she didn't blame herself for failing to notice that stupid little sign. It's as if they made it so small on purpose just to make life harder for everyone. On the positive side, she had finally found an artisan that would probably be willing to teach her the basics of crafting in SAO, something she was really looking forward to.

After having given the shop a quick glance, Skye let out an awkward laugh while scratching the back of her head, something she often did when feeling nervous or slightly uncomfortable. In this case, her own stupidity had made her feel not-so-great and just ever so slightly embarrassed. "Wow, can't believe I didn't see that" she said, her eyes aimed slightly up as the stranger was a bit taller than her. "Well, thanks for your help. Bye." slightly raising her hand, she performed a quick wave before turning around and heading towards the shop, just to turn around after a few steps and head back to the stranger. She had just realized something quite crucial, the fact that she was alone and about to start a quest that would most likely need her to go out of the safe zone to collect materials. Though people had told her fighting wasn't a part of the quest, there was still the possibility a rude boar or wolf (The only two mobs she had actually seen so far with her own 2 eyes) would come right after her. She was fine with leaving the safe zone alone, but fighting, even if there was just a tiny chance of it actually happening, wasn't something she would solo. Definitely. Not. So, the first and only solution Skye's brain could quickly think of was asking the stranger for help. Was it normal to ask a completely random person to just help her? Not really, but she was too impatient and lazy to go and get someone else to help her.

After having gotten back to the stranger, Skyler quickly asked her question, not really sure how he would respond. "Excuse me, but would you be interested in joining me on a quest? I could really use some help, I'll even give you half of the reward."

Skye didn't really care about the reward, she just wanted to be able to start a shop, so nothing else was that important.She hoped that the stranger would be alright with tagging along, otherwise she'd be forced to search for someone else.

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Lotte watched as the girl turned around to walk off after receiving the answer she was looking for, it seemed just like an other interaction Lotte had had up to this point with another player, short.  And as she walked away Lotte turned to walk the other direction as well, go on about his day as he had done after so many other short engagements like this. But unlike others, as he turned his shoulder he heard the girl speak out again even after having just said bye. As she spoke he half listened more so ready to leave for it was clear she had her own plans, and he didn't wish to follow. But he understood what she said, and whatever her gains were from him tagging along mattered little to him, it was his own thoughts that propelled his answer.

"Might as well, don't have anything better to do." 

It was a quick and short response, he hadn't actually done any quests yet but knew he needed to start. While a quest that didn't involve any fighting wasn't exactly the ideal start that he wanted, it was a easy way to ease into the game considering he'd yet to properly play it. While the girl had mentioned giving Lotte half the reward, it mattered little to him, it was obvious the quest she was doing and he knew the rewards as he had seen and heard of it from others. And materials didn't matter much to someone who cared little to actually go about crafting. However the experience would be nice of course, and could grant him a bonus cushion to his stats for when he did start actually fighting. However there was still one thing left unsolved that couldn't be as such if he was too accompany her on the quest.

"Names Fell, you?" 

Lotte wasn't used to doing normal greetings, most of the time it was a "nice to meet you sir" to some partner in their business or another important person, he rarely had ever done such a straightforward and quite boring greeting. Lotte stuck out his hand as he said the words too shake the girls hand, consciously thinking to use a little less firm grip than he normally did so as not to hurt the girl, if it was even possible here.

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Skyler was pleasantly surprised after hearing the stranger's answer. This meant she wouldn't have to waste even more time searching for someone else, which was great! She could focus on gaining her profession now, not about the small possibility of getting into a 1 v 1 fight with some stupid boar. With an honest smile still stuck on her face, she responded. "Alright! Thank you, again." A quick chuckle followed, proving that she was really happy with him tagging along.

"My real name is Skyler but you can just call me Skye if you want." Skyler replied after Fell had introduced himself. She thought his name was rather odd, but that occurred quite often within the gaming world. Skyler usually just shuffled around her real name's letters and using the outcome as a nickname, but a lot of people seemed to prefer other methods to choose their names. She had absolutely no clue how on earth someone would think of Fell, but it sounded nice. It was also rather convenient that it was short so she wouldn't have to scream out an insanely long name if one of those rude monsters would come after her. Anyway, the moment she noticed Fell stuck out his hand, Skyler grabbed his hand a shook it. "It's nice to meet you, hope we can get along"

Now that she had gone through the usual introduction, it was time to actually start the quest. To do so, she would obviously have to walk to the store first, so that's what she was going to do right now. She wasn't alone though, so it was most likely a good choice to quickly give Fell a little information about what they were about to do. "The quest we're going to do is called Earning a living, so we need to head to that artisan's shop so I can get our little adventure started." Right after saying that, Skye turned around, ready to finally head to her destination. "Let's go~" She cheered as she started moving towards the shop at a rather fast pace. She couldn't wait to finally start her first quest.

 

 

 

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Skye, it was an cool sounding name, and kinda matched her considering both here and the sky looked rather peaceful and innocent, if that was even where it came from. She was a different girl from the start, few times did people actually say "i hope we can get along" that was kinda the unspoken statement between every person you met, but she wanted to make it clear apparently. Of course Fell hoped they would get along as well while on the quest, it would make the time that passed more bearable, but considering his future plans she didn't quite seem like the kind of partner he was looking for, she didn't seem ready to kill the beasts out of the safe zone. However on another viewpoint she would be a good friend if she was trying to become a crafter, she could be a valuable ally to have in regards of obtaining items. For now he really just wanted the extra experience given through the quest, the rest came after.

Lotte simply nodded to what the girl had originally said, and only did the same again as she began to walk towards the store he had pointed her towards. It was off putting, how cheery Skye seemed to be considering their situation. Too Lotte there wasn't much to be cheery about, he didn't walk around looking depressed but he didn't exactly go around cheering about doing simply activities, it just seemed weird. But either way as not too make the situation awkward he simply put his hands in his pockets smiled and followed along. Of course Lotte knew what the quest was, but it was a lot easier to just keep his mouth shut and let her do the talking. 

"so why are you just now deciding to become a crafter" Lotte asked, he figured the answer was probably pretty clear, she was tired of being useless. But there was always a chance something else had sparked something in Skye, and he was just too nosy not to try and find out. He himself of course had little reason to even change his ways and become a fighter, he was simply bored and tired of being weak, maybe she was the same.

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Why was she just now deciding to become a crafter? Well, there were several reasons for that, first being that she formerly didn't really know about the quest. When she did find out about it, she avoided it as she knew she wouldn't be able to complete it, considering that she would have to go out of the safe zone (at least that's what people told her). She really didn't want to put herself into a dangerous position, as she knew she would most likely not make it alone. Even after people had offered to help her, Skyler preferred to just stay safe and make the best out of the situation up until she would be forced to leave. Her reason to do the quest now wasn't because she was forced, though, it was because she wanted to get out of the city as it was making her feel miserable. As time went on her interest in crafting grew as well, so eventually it became very tempting to do the quest. She wasn't going to spout out all those reasons though, instead just deciding to keep it simple. "Well, I've always wanted to become a crafter, but that meant having to go out of the safe-zone to gather, which I was quite scared of. I've kind of gotten over that fear now though, which is why I'm doing the quest." Skyler said as she proceeded to walk towards the shop. It was still quite a long answer, but much shorter than naming ever tiny reason that made her decide to start this quest.

Just a short while later, Skyler arrived at the shop's entrance, walking straight in as the door was already open. The interior of the small shop wasn't exactly spectacular, just white walls, a white counter and several glass boxes scattered around with mostly jewelry and what seemed to be lucky charms. The wall behind the counter was covered with simple but well-made paintings, which was quite interesting to look at. How the shop looked didn't really matter though, all that did was the NPC and what she needed Skye to do.

A female NPC was standing behind the counter with a sweet smile on her face. The woman seemed to be over the age of 65, as her face was rather wrinkly and her hair was completely gray. "Hello there, how may I help you?" the woman said as Skyler walked towards the counter and stood in front of it. "Hi, I was wondering if you could teach me how to craft?" The woman's face lit up, seemingly happy about Skye's question. It was as if she could really feel emotions, which was sadly not true. "Definitely! If you could collect a few materials for me, I can show you the basics." as her sentence ended a small screen popped-up in front of Skye, showing the specific requirements for the quest. They would have to collect a total of 4 flowers, each needing to be a different colour, that would afterwards most likely be turned into dyes to paint with. Skye quickly clicked accept. "Thank you" she replied, to which the woman simply nodded.

After her lovely chat with the NPC, Skyler turned towards her companion. "Could you maybe lead the way to the fields? If I do it we'll most likely get lost." Skye laughed, knowing all too well that there was actually a chance of them not finding the exit if she wat put in charge of directions.

 

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Lotte followed Skye into the building she needed to go in to start the quest, having heard her reason he wasn't exactly impressed. Skye had simply gotten over a fear of being out in the dangerous fields? It wasn't likely and it made Lotte worried for their future endeavors, he didn't want a partner that would run away on the first mission that he was actually planning to do, he needed a more controlled partner, hopefully he was wrong. As the two girls exchanged quick words in front of Lotte he looked around the room, it was possibly the creepiest room he'd been in, the walls were completely white, the counter in turn as well, and it had paintings that reminded Lotte of his grandparents when he was younger as well as some fancy but old looking jewelry, it just didn't have the best vibes surrounding it.

However it was short lived for the two were quick to leave, Skye seemed not to know how to exactly get out of the town which seemed quite hard because the walls were visible through the streets if you simply tried to find it. But nonetheless it was easier to simply do as asked instead of trying to point out somewhat pointless thoughts that wouldnt get the two any closer. And so with that Lotte left the building and walked the way they had came from, leaving towards one of the main entrances of the starting city. Lotte had walked around to frequently to forget the layout of the city, he had a good memory and it was all quite visual appealing for the most part, compared to the city he had lived in at least. And for Lotte the better looking the easier to remember, maybe it was why he liked to be able to design his own games and situations, he could make them appealing. 

The fact that Skye had just recently developed a stronger backbone and was now able to travel out of the safe zone kept nagging at Lotte's conscious. Lotte of course didn't have much room to question considering he was finally getting of his lazy butt, it didn't make the worry go away though. "So were traveling to a dangerous place, and you once were to scared to go out there anyway, why the change of heart. It seems off that you simply have the guts one day that you didn't the last. How can i trust i wont be left alone?". It was a valid question, and while it may draw a negative output, it was a question he simply needed to be answered for his own well being.

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