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[SP-F1] <<Earning a Living: Performer>>


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Wandering the streets of the City of Beginnings, Haltar was thinking of a way to earn some money.
<To become stronger, I will definitely need money. It would be nice to have a shop, but what could I sell...>
There was plenty of shops in the market district, and many were similar, selling the same type of goods. It would have been really hard beat the competition. Sighing, Haltar turned a corner on a secondary street that he never took before, hoping to find some inspiration. At that moment he began to hear a very pleasant melody in the distance. Intrigued by the melody, he decided to look where he came from to know who was singing it. He turned another alley and found himself in front of a small study. Haltar entered trying not to make noise, but the door bell betrayed him. In the study there was only one woman, who was singing behind the counter, making the room resonate with her voice. As soon as he heard the bell, she stopped surprised, then smiled at the new customer.
"Hello there, I do hope you enjoyed my singing. My name's Alyssa, how can I help you?"
For some reason, Haltar found himself blushing. "Er, hi, I'm Haltar... Actually I was just curious, I heard you singing from outside..."
The girl laughed softly. "Oh, really? Well, thank you for coming anyway. I love singing for others, and since you are here, would you like to learn how to bring enjoyment to others in terms of singing? I would love to help you."
She smiles and beckons you closer, the studio that she is in is a quaint one, with not much in it. Her modest work station shows in her modest looks, but she is still beautiful.
"Now, I will start to record a song, and you can watch me and take notes on how to sing, the vocalization of words is key in making a good product."
She smiles and reaches for a crystal, but notices that there are none there.
"Oh no! I have completely ran out, would you be a dear and gather five materials for me? I can still sing, but making a recording crystal will only work with materials. Thank you very much."
"Oh! Yes, of course, where can I find them?"
After explaining where to find some particular minerals in the prairie, Haltar walked towards the city gates.

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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Only when Haltar reached the main road did he realize that he didn't know where to go to get the materials needed to make a crystal. He stopped abruptly in the middle of the street. <What a fool! And now what shuold I do? I wouldn't want to have to go back...> Fortunately the street was full of passers-by and merchants. <I will try to ask them first, someone will know where I have to go.>
He then asked directions to the nearby merchants, who told him of a point on the prairie, not too far from the city, where there was a pile of rocks from which it was possible to extract minerals. Haltar then started towards the city gate with a brisk step.
Finding the rocks was not difficult, as they were large and close enough to be visible as soon as they came out of the city.
As he approached, he saw a glitter on the rock in front of him. Arriving there, I notice a small purple stone. Removing it from the boulder, it disappeared, leaving a message for the material collected.
<How lucky! Well, I'd say this is the right place> he thought with a smile.

Roll ID: 116195
LD: 20 (Found 1/5 Minerals)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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The rocks were at least ten meters high, forming a small wall of rock in the middle of the plain of Floor 1. It was a somewhat strange vision in the midst of all that green, but at least it broke the monotony of the landscape. Furthermore, if that point were not present it would have been difficult to collect the gems needed to make the crystals, unless you hunt for monsters. Maybe that was why there were so plenty of minerals. Immediately after finding the first one, Haltar found one nearby. It was well embedded though, it took more force than before to pull it out.
<Maybe I should have taken a pickaxe or something? It didn't seem necessary to have a tool to collect materials... But then again, this game is quite realistic, except for the menus that appear in midair> Haltar thought as he continued to examine the rock wall.

Roll ID: 116197
LD: 19 (Found 2/5 Minerals)

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No matter how much he tried to observe another gleam in front of him, Haltar didn't see anything useful. Apparently that place was well known among players, because the wall now seemed to be completely bare. He didn't know if the materials would regenerate over time, probably yes, otherwise he wouldn't have known how to say that those two gems he had collected were still there. However, there was nothing left to do there.
<Here, my luck is over... Better try to move a little.> Haltar moved to the other side of the rock, hoping it hadn't already been looted by someone else. If so, he probably should have looked for another place, and who knows how long it would take. Not that he had anything else to do, but he didn't want to make that NPC wait too long... She was really too pretty to be an AI.

Roll ID: 116198
LD: 1 (Mineral Not Found, 2/5 Gathered)

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As he walked around the rock to see if there were any minerals on the other side, Haltar thought for a moment about the NPC who had given him the task. For some reason Haltar got speechless as she asked the favor, going out to retrieve the materials. He would certainly have done it anyway, since he intended to get a job to buy better equipment, but the way he did it bothered him. Even though she knew that girl was an AI, she had been so realistic that it made him blush.
Behind the rock, as he suspected, there was nothing left to collect. Sighing, Haltar said goodbye to the possibility of finishing the job in a short time.
<And now, where do I go? Hmm...> Looking around, Haltar noticed another group of rocks, similar to the one near him, a couple of hundred meters away. He set off, already thinking of all the road he would have to take on his return.

Roll ID: 116570
LD: 4 (Mineral Not Found, 2/5 Gathered)

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Another thought came to Haltar as he walked on the prairie: if he had met an NPC on the street, would he have been able to recognize it, or would he have mistaken it for a player? He remembered Turing's test, which he had studied at school years ago: a test in which a person spoke with an AI, without knowing if he was a real person or not. In the case he mistook the AI for a person, the AI would pass the test. Who knows if an NPC from this world would have been able to pass the test? After thinking for a moment, Haltar shook his head. No, he couldn't do it. It would have been enough to ask a question not inherent to the game, and it would certainly have failed.
It took him a few minutes to get to the rocks he had seen from afar. Once he reached them, however, they seemed to be as bare as those they had seen before. The quest seemed to get more complicated by the minute.

Roll ID: 116571
LD: 2 (Mineral Not Found, 2/5 Gathered)

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Finding the stone wall completely empty made Haltar a little irritated, who walked to the boulder with a firm step. "Oh no, you can't be empty! Now you have to give me something!" he said aloud, beginning to check closely every corner of the rock.
It would have been a problem if he didn't find anything. He would not have known where to go after this, he would have to go back to ask for directions, in the city or to some passing player.
After a while Haltar managed to find another gem stuck in a cavity. "Ah ha! Here you are at last! Come on... Come on out..." he said as he fumbled with the mineral until he managed to extract it.
He had this habit of talking to himself when no one was around. Probably if someone had passed by there he would have thought he was crazy, but he wouldn't even have noticed it, as he was engaged in his business.

Roll ID: 117092
LD: 17 (Found 3/5 Minerals)

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Examining it closely, the wall appeared much more jagged than the previous one, full of cavities where the hand could easily be inserted. Perhaps the wall could even be climbed. Haltar looked up: the wall was at least three times his height. Maybe going up would have been easy, but he wasn't sure he could get off without hurting himself.
He shook his head after a second. He wasn't there to do some climbing, and he wasn't even very trained, he would risk to get hurt. Although, perhaps up there he could have found more materials.
Before risking the climb, he examined the wall from the ground, slipping his hand into each hole. He found nothing in any of the crevices that the rock offered, so he moved to the back of the rock as not to leave anything behind before trying to climb to the top.

Roll ID: 117094
LD: 8 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

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Turning around the rock, Haltar finds nothing.
He decides to try to climb.Haltar turned around the rock, checking every cavity as he passed by. He completed his way around without finding anything new. The boy puffed thinking of how much time he was losing: he was beginning to lose patience.
<Ok, at this point I could try to climb it up to the top. And maybe I can even calm myself down a bit, before losing my patience and leaving.>
He studied the wall for a few minutes, to make sure he had a simple route both to go up and down. He didn't have to climb many meters, but in any case better safe than sorry. Then he began the climb by climbing slowly, being careful to find a secure hold before taking the next step.
<I hope that falling is not as painful as in reality, otherwise I would be risking a lot! But if I can stand a monster attack, I should have no problems with a fall of a few meters ... I hope.>

Roll ID: 117568
LD: 3 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

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Climbing is quite simple, thanks to the natural grips of the rock.
However, as he ascends, Haltar cannot see any other mineral.
He is therefore forced to climb to the top to find something.The climb turned out to be safe, thanks to the numerous natural holds provided by the rock. After a few steps, Haltar was at midway of the climbing. After finding a fairly comfortable position, the boy tried to look around, leaning over to see if there was any extra mineral nearby. He saw nothing new though, so he was forced to climb even higher.
<Dammit! I bet there are much better places to pick up materials than this. But no, I had to listen to the NPC, who knows how many other people will have said about this place! I have to find better places if I want to do this job in the future, otherwise I will have a very short career.>
It didn't take long to get to the top of the rock. The top was a plateau illuminated by the sun, with the same irregularities on the wall. Haltar paused to catch his breath before continuing his search.

Roll ID: 117569
LD: 1 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

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As soon as he felt rested enough, Haltar stood up and began to look carefully through the cracks in the plateau, hoping to find what he had not been able to see from below. He made sure to look at every single hiding place, even with the sun that dazzled him and made it difficult to search, but even here he found nothing new. He was starting to run out of options: he had scoured the whole area, and it was halfway up the plateau. By now it seemed clear that this place had nothing more to offer.
"Please, please, I don't want to stay out here all day looking for some stupid stones... Come on, there must still be something around, I can feel it..."
He talked to himself to try and make himself hopeful, but he didn't really believe in what he was saying. He would not have been able to tell if all this made him more discouraged or frustrated.

Roll ID: 117818
LD: 9 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

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After a period of time that seemed an eternity to Haltar, he came to sift the whole plateau on which he was. He had found no new gem yet. When he realized he lost a lot of time in vain, he wanted to scream in frustration, but he barely didn't. Instead he sat on the edge of the plateau, fuming with anger and with his legs dangling.
"How can it be that hard!? It had to be full of gems here!" He sat there grumbling for a couple of minutes, then lay down looking at the blue sky and the slowly flowing clouds. "... And now, what do I do? I have no idea..."
While trying to get a good idea to get out of that situation, a noise from below interrupted his thoughts. He sat down to see what was happening, and noticed a boar approaching the rock where he was. Intrigued by this fact, Haltar lay down on his stomach to observe him secretly. The boar came to the rock, then began to scratch it with his fangs, as if looking for something.
<What is it looking for?> After a couple of seconds, Haltar had an intuition. <That's who takes the gems! Not other players, but wild boars! Maybe they eat them? In any case, I want them!>
Crawling backwards so as not to be seen, Haltar began to descend from the rock, descending from the opposite side, so that the animal could not see him.

Roll ID: 117819
LD: 7 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

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Once he came down from the rock, Haltar tried to hide behind the bushes that grew nearby, to go around the boar and come up behind him. The boar seemed busy scratching the rock, not noticing the presence of Haltar.
Just when he was almost there, however, Haltar put his foot on a twig that broke with a clear noise. The boar stopped abruptly and looked around to find the source of the noise.
<Damn! Well, it doesn't make sense anymore to hide now. Attack!> Haltar stepped out of the bush behind which he stood, drawing his saber and loading it with his Sword Art, glowing green. The animal however, being a few meters away, had plenty of time to notice the boy and dodge to the side, then charge to counterattack, hitting Haltar on the leg.
"Ouch! Ah, so that's it, prepare for payback then!" Haltar said, taking the blow.

Roll ID: 117923
BD: 4+1 = 5 (Miss)
MD: 8 (Hit) 3-9 = 1 DMG (Minimum)
Haltar Dhrim - 19/20 HP - 0/2 EN
Boar - 10/10 HP - 3 DMG

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Looking at him closely, the boar seemed to be a little old. His coat was a bit shaggy. He was studying Haltar moving sideways, waiting patiently for his move, as if he already knew how to move.
Haltar tried to hit again, this time with a horizontal cut. The animal was quick to jump back to avoid the attack, and immediately returned forward trying to catch the boy off guard, but he managed to move sideways in time, finding himself with the rock behind him.
The fight would be long. Haltar snorted, thinking of the effort he was making just to find some stones. <Hmm... This boar is too smart, I'm not going anywhere in this step. We try with a slightly different approach> he thought, and changed his guard position, turning a little to the side, keeping the left side forward, with which he held his saber. Then he started taking steps back and forth, humming, and getting ready for the next attack.

Roll ID: 117925
BD: 3+1 = 4 (Miss)
MD: 3 (Miss)
Haltar Dhrim - HP 19/20 - EN 0/2
Boar - HP 10/10 - DMG 3

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Continuing to go back and forth, Haltar tried to make some feints in order to disorient the wild boar, preparing for the attack. His opponent kept a safe distance, avoiding to get tired and staying out if his reach. Then, hoping to catch the boar off guard, Haltar tried a lunge jumping forward. His enemy jumped back to dodge, then he started forward again to counterattack, as he had done before. Haltar, however, expected such a move, and dodged by turning on himself and moving to the side, coming to the side of the boar, easily avoiding the attack and taking the advantage position.
<Great! From this position you have no way out, now get ready to get hurt!> he thought triumphant, anticipating the moment when that shrewd boar would have been defeated and will release all the precious gems he had collected.

Roll ID: 117929
BD: 3+1 = 4 (Miss)
MD: 2 (Miss)
Haltar Dhrim - HP 19/20 - EN 0/2
Boar - HP 10/10 - DMG 3

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Haltar dropped his sword on the beast, sure now that the shot would surely have hit the mark... and instead his target ran forward, leaving him to cut the air! That animal certainly knew his stuff! Was it possible that those gems had other powers, besides being useful for the job of Performer? No, that's not possible, there can't be an object that can empower monsters in this way. Especially a stupid boar like this! Yet that same boar seemed to make fun of him. In that moment he had turned back to him, rooting satisfied, and getting ready for another attack. Once again he threw himself forward, and once again Haltar merely stepped sideways, like a toreador. But the fight was not going at all as expected, at this rate he would stay there until evening. He stood for a few seconds to catch his breath, looking for a solution to get out of that situation.

Roll ID: 117939
BD: 3 + 1 = 4 (Miss)
MD: 3 (Miss)
Haltar Dhrim - HP 19/20 - EN 0/2
Boar - HP 10/10 - DMG 3

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While observing his opponent, Haltar had an idea about how he could fool him. It was a risky choice, but he could have caught it by surprise. He then tried to taunt the boar in order to attack him first.
"Come on, you old pig! Aren't you fast enough to hit me? Come on, I'm right here!" he said opening his arms, as to appear helpless to him.
The boar grunted angrily and answered charging the boy. This time, however, Haltar did not move. He stood where he was, taking the full blow. As the boar arrived below him, he lowered his saber downward, sinking it into the back of the boar. The animal screamed in pain and suddenly flinched, writhing, while the boy still stood where he was, watching him with a bold smile.
"Eh eh, this time I got you. So, what are you going to do now? Do you want some more?"

Roll ID: 117947
BD: 10 + 1 = 11 (Critical +2) - DMG: 2 + 2 = 4
MD: 7 (Hit) - DMG: 3-9 = 1 (Minimum)
Haltar Dhrim - HP 18/20 - EN 0/2
Boar - HP 6/10 - DMG 3

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The boar was suffering from the blow just inflicted by Haltar. The weight of the age made itself felt, and now he was now moving more slowly and breathing harder than before.
Haltar saw an opportunity to finally close this clash. <Now he is no longer able to dodge easily, I have to hit immediately!> And he threw himself forward, pulling a slash from top to bottom.
The boar jumped back, but it wasn't fast enough and the blade hit him on the snout, wounding him with a deep cut between the eyes. He threw another cry of pain, then charged forward with the force of despair, hitting Haltar's leg who was forced to take step back because of the impact. It was a matter of time now, and finally the boy would have won. He almost felt sorry for his opponent, he had fought very well. But he needed the prize he would give him, he could not spare him.

Roll ID: 117950
BD: 10+1 = 11 (Critical +2) - DMG: 2+2 = 4
MD: 7 (Hit) - DMG: 3-9 = 1 (Minimum)
Haltar Dhrim - HP 17/20 - EN 0/2
Boar - HP 2/10 - DMG 3

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The boar, now seriously injured, jumped aiming at Haltar's head, but he defended himself with a slash from the bottom upwards, hitting the beast in flight. The boar exploded into a thousand iridescent fragments before his eyes.
<Finally, I did it! It took me a lot of time, but in the end I will have what I was looking for...> The victory popup appeared in front of the boy, with the list of objects collected. It took him a second to read it. After doing that, he stared in astonishment.
"Whaaat!? Nooo! It's not possible! Not even a damn gem!" After all the effort he had made, that old pig hadn't rewarded him with even one of the gems he needed! He would have kicked him, if only he had still been there; instead he was forced to stare at the void, frustrated by the time lost.
"At least, among the objects obtained there is a weapon that seems interesting. I cannot use it immediately, but I will have to have it evaluated by a Merchant first. I hope it is something useful, otherwise I will have to exchange or sell it."
Haltar sighed, bitter. Then he turned his attention to the rock the boar was digging. With its tusks, the boar had scratched the rock. He looked friable at that point, maybe he could find something useful by digging.

Attack - Roll ID: 117952
BD: 6+1 = 7 (Hit) - DMG: 2
Haltar Dhrim - HP 17/20 - EN 0/2
Boar - HP 0/10 - DMG 3

Loot - Roll ID: 117953
LD: 18 - CD: 4 (+40 Col)
Loot: 30+40 = 70 Col, 1x T1 Rare Consumable, 1x T1 Rare Weapon

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Searching in the place where the fight had just ended, Haltar took a sharp stone, slightly larger than his hand, so as not to ruin his sword. Then he approached the hole that the boar had just begun to dig and continued his work, trying to hit the finer points to remove larger pieces of rock.
It was not at all as easy as it seemed: the stone was not as sharp as a tusk, and it was not hard enough to break the rock easily. Using the sword, however, was out of the question for the moment: he didn't want to ruin it for such a task.
"Next time... I'll come here... I must... absolutely... take a pickaxe... with me" said Haltar as he continued to dig in search of some other gem. For the moment, however, he had still not been able to find anything. If he had a clue that this quest would have been so difficult to complete, he would have come better prepared.

Roll ID: 117954
LD: 2 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

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