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


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The sun kept warming the air in the clearing, making Haltar feel the full weight of the summer day. He was digging in a space not sheltered from the sun, and after a while he began to feel the heat on himself. But he wasn't going to give up easily. The missed prize that he should have taken by the killing of that boar had irritated him a lot, and now he was determined to find what he needed, whatever the cost.
For a moment, he thought he saw a gleam in the hole that was beginning to spread. He then began to hit the rock with greater force, trying to widen the hole where he had seen that glitter. When it was big enough to put his hand in, he saw nothing useful. Maybe the sun had pulled him a bad joke. Sighing, Haltar wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, then resumed digging at a steady pace.

Roll ID: 117955
LD: 6 (Treasure Not Found, 3/5 Mineral Gathered)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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Time continued to pass slowly. No sound could be heard in the clearing, except for the cicadas that had come out of the ground to enjoy the sun, and for the constant scraping of the stone on the rock wall.
Haltar continued to dig the rock wall where he was. By now the hole he had created was the size of his head, but there was still nothing in it.
Perhaps it was a mistake to dig where the boar had started. Maybe he had already gathered everything that was there. He stopped for a moment to decide how to continue his research. He moved a few feet away, moving under the trees of the clearing, to shelter himself from the sun.
He studied the rock from afar, hoping to see something he had missed from close up, a clue of some sort that led him to find some other crystal.

Roll ID: 117956
LD: 1 (Treasure Not Found, 3/5 Mineral Gathered)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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Looking at the rock from afar, as he sheltered from the afternoon sun, Haltar thought of an idea that could be brilliant.
<The top! Being exposed to rain and other weathers, perhaps the most friable rock has already been removed, and I should be able to dig more easily!>
He had no idea if he would find something or not, but at least he would have worked more easily. He approached the rock again and climbed it where he had already passed before. Since he already knew where to hold on, it took much less time to climb to the top than the first time. Then he looked at the plateau he was on. He was right: the water, the wind and the cold had dug furrows in the rock, making it more irregular than on the walls. Looking inside, however, he found no crystal ready to be extracted. Resigned, he sighed and took his stone from the pocket where he had placed it. He would have to work hard again.

Roll ID: 117957
LD: 9 (Treasure Not Found, 3/5 Mineral Gathered)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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Haltar began to dig at the points most consumed by the weather, following the conformation of the rock to do as little effort as possible and remove as much debris as possible. He did not stop at one point, but struck at the points that seemed about to come off, so that he could remove blocks of rock with a few blows. He was able to quickly remove most of the first layer of earth, but even so, he found nothing useful. Besides, the sun beat down even harder, of course. He stopped before he wanted to, sitting on the edge of the plateau, watching the prairie stretch out before him. Little grass grew in that area, and later in the direction in which Haltar was looking, there were small pyramid-shaped rocks protruding from the ground.
<Since so far I have found nothing useful here, I could try to look there ...> he thought, and after a few minutes he came down from the rock to walk towards the ones he had just seen.

Roll ID: 117958
LD: 2 (Treasure Not Found, 3/5 Mineral Gathered)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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The rocks he had seen from the plateau were not too far away: Haltar arrived there a few minutes after descending. The area was almost completely devoid of vegetation, only a few shrubs grew between one rock and another. Some of the rocks still reflected the sunlight, sending small reflections. Haltar smiled to himself: the place promised well. He then took his stone and began to hit the first rock in front of him. the top came off easily, but offered nothing new. He continued to dig the rock until more than half arrived. But he found nothing useful. He then moved on to the next one to continue his work. After a while he arrived at the same point with the second rock, but found nothing there either.
<Never once is easy... and here there is not even a little shadow. If I take a sunstroke to look for crystals, it's really the height.>

Roll ID: 117959
LD: 3 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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As he continued his slow and incessant research work, Haltar began to think about what he should bring the next time he would have to do something so boring as to look for more material for his future job.
<Well, first of all I'll need a hat. With this heat it is already so much that it is able to stand up. And a lot of water, I will need a big bottle full of fresh water.> Hitting the rock, a splinter wounded his hand. Letting out a groan, he paused for a moment, bringing his hand to his mouth to stop the wound. <And then, he also needed a pair of gloves, and a pickaxe. That, above all.> He hadn't found anything yet, but at least thinking about the list of things he would need kept him busy and didn't make him feel like time passed.

Roll ID: 117960
LD: 7 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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Haltar was beginning to feel his arm a little sore, so he decided to stop for a second. But since he couldn't waste time sunbathing there, he passed among the rocks he hadn't seen up close yet, hoping to find something interesting. Perhaps, with a little luck, he could have found a crystal already in the open, which he could have taken without further effort. That place was really strange: the rocks were all more or less the same shape, and were arranged so as to form a square grid. It almost felt ...
<A cultivation of rocks... Well, if it were really so, it would be really strange.> It was not an impossible thing: after all, he was in a game, where everything could happen. But the idea of a being who cultivated rocks, planting small stones like seeds and waiting for small mountains to sprout was a really funny thing. He kept mulling over that thought as he examined the rocks.

Roll ID: 117961
LD: 12 (Mineral Not Found, 3/5 Gathered)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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He had now looked at all the rocks, when at a certain point Haltar noticed a familiar glitter in front of him, purple in color. He approached the rock in front of him with a small click. There, partially hidden by the earth, was a small crystal.
"Ohhh! I found a ripe fruit!" Haltar exclaimed aloud "Let's pick it up now!" The passage, however, was too small. Haltar then pulled out his trusty stone and began to dig around the crystal gently, for fear of damaging it and making it disappear into many small polygons. If it had happened, he might as well give up and go home. Fortunately, with a few strokes the earth gave way and the crystal broke free. Haltar picked it up and saw it disappear into his hand. Satisfied, he continued to dig on the same rock, with slow and precise strokes, removing little land at a time. Perhaps that was indeed the right time, he told himself.

Roll ID: 117962
LD: 20 (Found 4/5 Minerals)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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Haltar's precision work repaid him after a few strokes, revealing a new crystal. Haltar picked it up as soon as he saw it. As soon as he disappeared into his hand, he began to jump with joy. "Woohoo! Finally, the last one I needed! Now I can finally go back!" As soon as he stopped, however, he felt his head spin a little. Euphoria gave way to worry. "Hmm, better go to the shade before someone else has to pick me up from the ground." He then walked towards the clearing from which he had come. As soon as he arrived, he sat in the shade of one of the trees nearby and rested for a moment. At that moment, a light breeze began to blow, bringing him some relief. As soon as he felt quite rested, he got up and continued his journey back to the city.
<Well, the worst is over, I can finally return to civilization. And the first thing to do before starting to create something with Alyssa, will be to ask her something to drink ...>

Roll ID: 117965
LD: 18 (Found 5/5 Minerals! Now back to Alyssa)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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After about half an hour, Haltar arrived at Alyssa's store. She was arranging the shelves behind the counter when he opened the door. Alyssa finished fixing the last things, then turned and saw that the boy she had asked to bring the materials had finally returned. "Great, you're back! You took quite a while, was it difficult to gather them?" As Haltar approached the counter, she went into the warehouse behind the store, and after a few moments she came out with a pair of glasses jug full of fresh water. "Here, drink, you'll be tired I guess," she told him with a gentle smile. Haltar's eyes lit up at the sight of the jug: he immediately took a glass to pour himself some water. "Thank you very much, really! I really needed it!"
After having cooled off a bit, Alyssa took the crystals Haltar had collected and quickly examined them. After a while she smiled with satisfaction. "Well, I think they're good. Now we can start working. Come with me, we'll do it in the back." That said, he pushed aside the curtain that divided the store from the warehouse to let him pass.

Haltar entered the warehouse of Alyssa's store. It was a not very large room, but very neat and clean: some wooden crates in the corner, a closet at the back of the room, next to the back door, and a table with a couple of chairs in the middle. On one of them, there was a guitar. Alyssa took the guitar and sat down in her place.
"You see, to create a song you have to be able to create a melody, but the most important thing is to be able to give an emotion. It's because of it that a song remains in a person's heart."
Then she closed his eyes, and began to sing a melody. It was a sweet, relaxing song. Haltar stopped to listen to her better. Somehow, that song made him feel less fatigued.
When Alyssa stopped singing, she looked at Haltar and smiled.
"Is it better now? Songs can do this and more, it depends on the melody and the singer. The Crystals serve to record them and amplify their effects." She braced the guitar better and began to tune it. "Now try it, okay? I'll accompany you with the guitar. If it's a good song, we can record it in a Crystal."

At Alyssa's invitation, Haltar approached the table where she was sitting, standing up, thinking of the melody to be sung. Meanwhile, Alyssa took one of the Crystals that Haltar had collected, and placed it in the center of the table.
<Hmm, which one should I sing... It's not the first time I've sung anything, but I wouldn't know which song to choose.> After a moment of hesitation, he decided to try repeating the melody he had heard a moment earlier from the girl.
He concentrated for a moment to remember how it was, then closed his eyes and began to sing it. As the melody resounded in the room, Alyssa accompanied him with some guitar chord. The crystal began to light up, as if to absorb the notes around him. When Haltar finished, he opened his eyes and saw that the crystal was still faintly glowing. After a few seconds, however, the light faded and faded, and the crystal simply returned to reflect the light in the room.

"Hmm, apparently it didn't work... Don't beat yourself down, it's not easy to do it the first time!" Alyssa assured him. "Come on, let's try again. Try putting more passion into it. You can change the song if you want."

Roll ID: 118210
CD: 9 (Salvage) - LD: 18 (Materials Salvaged)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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  • 2 weeks later...

Seeing the first attempt fail demoralized Haltar a bit, but Alyssa's words comforted him. "You're right, after all it's a new thing for me. Okay, let's try again. I'm gonna change the song." he answered. Alyssa nodded and waited for his song to start.
<Ok, let's try a different approach. These Crystals will be used to get different effects, so maybe I should sing a song that remembers that effect. For example, if I wanted to create a healing effect, what should I sing about? Hmm...> After reflecting for a moment, Haltar chose a song and began to sing it. It was a solemn melody that could have been sung in a church. It was actually a song he had heard in another game, and it was the theme associated with a white sorceress, so it should have worked. Instead, after a minute, a sudden CRACK! was heard. Haltar stopped abruptly and opened his eyes, finding the Crystal on the table split into several pieces.
"Oh dear! This time it didn't work at all..." Alyssa said a little embarrassed. Then she looked at Haltar with a curious expression. "This melody just doesn't work. What were you thinking about while you were singing it?"
Haltar explained his reasoning to her. When he had finished, Alyssa gave her a sympathetic look, then got up from her chair and put her guitar down.
"You know, this job is a little more difficult than the others. It is not enough to collect the materials and build an object, it is also necessary to put passion in what you do, otherwise it doesn't work. What I mean is that there is no melody that will always work, you have to find one of your own, with which you express an emotion."
"Maybe it's better if we take a break. Go out in the city, take a walk and find inspiration. When you're ready, you'll find me here, okay?"

Roll ID: 118211
CD: 9 (Salvage) - LD: 9 (Salvage Failed, 4 Materials left)

Edited by Haltar Dhrim
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