Ariel - The Crowned Lion

She stopped in front of a shop, she could see there all kind of beautifully crafted swords, of different models, from english longswords with their arched (cross)guard to japanese katanas that had little to almost no (cross)guard, then she took a look a little lower and saw the prices of the items she let out a small sigh followed by:

"At this rate, I would afford this type of weapons after years and years with only gridding. I have to finish the [Tailor] training soon so that I can start my shop, at least i will be able to make better armor and stuff. Oh well, for now i'll continue my walk" and she started walking again admiring the shop frame displays.

As usual, Ariel walked around the market area of the "Starting City" she was tired of grinding and wanted a break.So she decided to do a little window shopping as usual. She walked around aimlessly like that a for a while. There were countless of items she would want but she didn't have col to buy them. With a sigh she continued he walk around the market approaching the part where most smiths opened their shops. 

Walks around the market place... and sees Sousuke's shop nearby. Curious she enters it thinking:"Yeah he did say he was a tailor..and that other thing about a free item". She goes to the counter and greets the people around, then almost shouts:

"Oi Sousuke nice place you have here! I wanna take you up on that offer now, if you have time...you know..free item for new players. I would like a pair of boots that gives me some more evasion and DMG *stares at another items description* what are Enhancements? oh what I just told you right? if you can't make a perfect item I can settle with a rare one that has only evasion"

 

Name: Combat Leather Boots

Quality: Perfect

Enhancements:+2 Evasion and +1 Dmg

Shop: INSERT LINK'>The Specialist Tailors 

Description: A pair of black army-like leather boots, that allows the user a steady footing and mobility in battle.

Diane starts inspecting the items and then says in a pleased voice. "Very good Ariel this will do just fine" then she goes to the front door and lock it while turning the "Open" sign backwards. Then heads towards a backroom door while beckoning Ariel to follow her. The girl starts following her and they end up in some sort of storage room. It was filled with materials and tools used for tailoring.
Then Diane stops and starts speaking: "Okay this is where I shall teach you my art, It will take almost all nigh. I hope you're not busy" And she started to take out stuff and handed Ariel some.
"This is going to be a long night huh? this will be fun...I hope" asks Ariel herself, while hearing that her previous hype started disappearing little by little.

The first cotton flower she sees is swarming with insects so she decides to try another one. Luckily she had where to choose from.

"I will return shortly madam" she responded making a small bow the leaving the store. She marked the place on her map, this was a golden opportunity for her. She felt excitement building inside of her.

"Who would've thought that tailoring can be so awesome" she said while rushing to the outskirts of "starting city".

Immediately after she left the towns premises she would see a boar and charge towards it.

ID: 6437

BD:8 MD: 5

Ariel (9/9)

Frenzy Boar(1/3)

Ariel rushed towards it and landed a successful hit on the boars head, but the boar was now pissed off and charged towards her blindly making it easy for her to evade.

ID: 6438

BD:4 MD:6

Ariel(8/9)

Frenzy Boar(1/3)

Trying again to strike the boar Ariel fails and gets hit by it .

ID: 6439

BD:4 MD:6

Ariel(7/9)

Frenzy Boar(1/3)

Kayla Tries to strike the mob again but fails miserably and gets hit, 

"Damn this things are harder to kill than they look"

Immediately realizing that she hadn't introduced herself Ariel responded hastily:

"My name is Ariel, nice to meet you madam Diana" after hearing that Diana looked at Ariel from head to toes before saying:

"Well you're not a complete mess regarding your wardrobe. Then turns around and begins her speech:

"Tailoring is one of the oldest professions here in Aincrad, you will find our kind in all the cities here and...*flavor text about tailoring history, after a while we reach the ending*... And like that I will instill upon you the secrets of our business. Are you prepared for such a feat? " Surprisingly Ariel found all that history interesting and wanted to know more so she responded in a timid tone:

"Yes, I am ready just tell me what I need to do" Diana let out a broad smile while replying:

"Very well then, as your first task you need to gather the required materials used for tailoring, firstly you should get 2 Cotton Balls from the cotton fields around Tolbana, then find 1 leather hide  from the <<Frenzy Boars>> around the "starting city". What do you say easy enough right? when you have all those items come to me and we can continue your training.

Ariel couldn't believe what she was hearing: "You mean I can make such beautiful clothing like this?" she said that while stroking gently the black dress beside her, it was made of silk and felt so soft upon touch. Could she really be able to make such beautiful dresses? from what she knew tailoring required discipline, attention and more important a steady hand to sew more easily. And those traits she already obtained in one way or another thru her training. It wasn't exactly the same but she thought that becoming a tailor could only help her, make her hand more steady and precise. So she responded happily to the NPC.

"Yes I would like to become a Tailor, please teach me, madam!" As she said that the question mark above the womans head disappeared and she responded:

"Okay then its settled. First thing you have to know is my name Diana."

Ariel was left speechless for a second, then regained her composure. While guiltily stroking her hair she answered to the shopkeeper:

"Um sorry, It's so beautiful that I would buy it, but i can't afford it...I'm..." she thought for a second how to respond to that then replied:

"..I'm new in town so I haven't had the chance to get a job yet" she truthfully responded. She figured out that if she talked again about the differences between NPCs and players, she would get ignored again. Like what happened with the performer. But she saw the shopkeepers face do a small twitch while she said the word "job". Then out of the blue a golden question mark appeared above the womans head. Her tone changed in a more cheerful one while saying:

"Well in that case why not make your own clothes. I can teach you the secrets of tailoring."

After a while the shopkeeper got irritated at the client for not even noticing her presence. While Ariel was looking at a beautiful black dress with a white rose imprint at the side, the shopkeeper approached the client as stealthy as she could, wanting to pay her back for the indifference she showed. Once behind her, she let out a greeting, almost shouting behind Ariel.

"Excuse me, can I help you with something? Perhaps you are interested in purchasing that particular dress?"

As soon as she heard a sound behind her, Ariel's reflexes kicked in as she turned around while taking two steps back. In the same she had her hand on the rapier's hilt, drawing it, then stopped midway. Behind her stood one of teh most beautiful women that she ever saw. The shopkeeper appeared to be in her mid 30's and had a slender figure, long black hair that flowed a little lower than her shoulders and a pair of deep-sea blue eyes. 

Watching the performer pack her thing and leave, she felt a bit of loneliness for some reason. But shook it off and continued her search even more determined to find a job that suited her tast. She walked around the market place for some time, when she suddenly stopped in from of a tailor shop display. The shop itself wasn't big but it had a impressive frame display, from fancy dinner dresses with frills to combat leather armor. She unconsciously walked inside bewitched by the beauty of the items and by the fact that she wanted to see more. In the inside there were even more such items. As the entrance bell rang, announcing her arrival, the shopkeeper welcomed her. But Ariel was too distracted to even notice and started examining the items one by one.

"I might take you up you offer as well:D" then she turns towards Marisa and asks:

"Huh?An alchemist, like those that turn lead into gold???? you could get rich really quick like that"reflecting for a moment and she then  says, in a low voice.

"Truth be told, I've been kinda wanting to be a tailor myself, but I don't know exactly how to get the job, or how to do it..never actually done something like that IRL."  she started playing with her hair, wrapping it around her finger while saying that.

Kayla thought about that for some time, while Canen was looking at her. She would enjoy to play at a instrument, out in the open streets, performing for anyone who was willing to listen to her. But the thought of her beginning training in another art beside fencing was too much for her. If she would seriously consider accepting it and start training on playing an instrument that would've mean she had to focus less on fencing. And even then who knows how much time it would take her to reach a decent level. So she looked Canen in the eyes and responded in a low tone:

"I'm sorry but I have to decline your offer, at the moment I must focus in my own art" but Canen didn't seem to mine simply replying:

"Its okay, you don't have to look so downed. If you enjoyed my song please come by every time you want, and I will play a song for you. I'll be waiting:D" and with that she finished packing her instrument and went towards a random direction.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of a question mark, Kayla unwittingly took two steps back while asking with a timid voice:
"you...you are a NPC? but the song just now..it was so beautiful. It didn't cross my mind for one second that you might not be a player."

The girl as if she didn't hear Kayla's question about her being a NPC, responded in a cheerful voice:

"Do you really think so? I practiced it day after day until I got to this level, now I'm trying to make a living out of it. But where are my manners, my name is Canen, thank you for your support." she then took a short break to take a breath of air and arrange her hair, then as if remembering something continued: "Are you by chance interested in becoming a Performer? I could guide you through the steps if you would like to be one as myself".

She listened to the song until it ended. Almost all the people from the crowd did.When it ended all present bursted into a loud round of applause. It lasted several minutes and some of them even called out for "Bis" (Latin: "second time") or "encore" (French: "again/some more") and she even heard "de capo"(Italian: "from the beginning").

"Huh who would of thought this game had players from all around the world, well who am I to say that...since I am half spanish myself" she chuckled at that thought and then she took some col from her inventory and placed it in a hat nearby the performer. As she got closer she saw a golden question mark appear above her head. 

Reaching the market area she was still amazed of this game. It felt so real to her, the colours, the smell, the sounds. Even though she was stuck in here like everybody else she felt a little guilty because she kind of enjoyed it...Enjoyed the chance to finally put her hard IRL fencing training to use, not only in tournaments or training with her father. Here she felt something different when she gripped the rapier.At first she went to the blacksmith in the square, but something didn't feel right.

"Well I have to at least listen to the other jobs NPC before finally choosing one right?" while finishing that thought she saw a woman playing the pan flute in the market. The song that she was playing reminded her of was a unusual version of "The lonely shepherd" from a old film she liked called Kill Bill. Even though the song was a modern variation it still attracted quite a crowd. So Kayla decided to stop and listen for a moment.

Kayla knew that most MMO's had a job system that allowed players to pick a profession so that they could have another source of income except grinding all day. So she decided to search the "Starting City" around for some NPC that could give her a job. The walked around the central square and saw a couple of Blacksmith NPC's. She approached them and asked them how she can become a smith herself. They started boasting about how noble and ancient their job is and so on... until they got to the job description and requirements she got bored and left them alone while saying

"Yeah if being a smith requires such a big ego and stuff I'm better off, without it." She continued her search in the city's market. Maybe here she could have better luck. 

''So what have you done so far guys, maybe I can help you out in some way.''

Upon hearing those words, she turned towards the new arriver:

"Yo nice to see you again Sousuke, perfect timing. We were going hunting..and leveling..and getting rich..and stuff. Do you by chance have a sword for this guy over here *she points towards Malakath*. As you see I got this sweet rapier from Arek and now I feel sorry for Malakath, maybe you can help me be at peace a little:D" she wanted to go test this sword immediately. Then the 2 new players learned the basics from the 2 elder players.

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Gold Gained: 400 col (20+ posts)

Each player, except Ariel, gains 100 col;

"Nice to meet you Marisa, my name is Kayla Ariel D'Sole, but call me Ariel. But I'm really surprised, when I first saw you I thought you were an NPC..sorry about that " she said with a bright smile after drinking from the glass in front of her, then turned towards the guys.

"I hope you'll forgive me, but I have no idea of the people you are talking about. Anyway what is this profession that you are talking about?"

She had played games with job system before, but didn't knew much about how things worked in this VRMMO. And she had to get all the intel she could before planning her next course of action.

At first she didn't notice the new guy, as she was focused on the sword she hold. It was a little heavier than the lvl 1 rapier and also it was better balanced and so nice.Then when Arek addressed him she snapped out of it and recognized the newcomer as Malakath grimm the guys from the cosplay cafe. Sheathing the sword she then slid it under he belt.

"Just look at that, perfect fit:Hehehe" then faced Malakath.

"Hello, I have no problem with you tagging along. This big guy is showing me the basics" she says that while pointing to Arek, then turn towards;

"So where to now sensei?" 

Seeing that she was invited in by the two, and didn't want to waste more time waiting to get seated, she responded:

"Sure I'll join you," and  went in after Malakath, without waiting a confirmation. She walked towards the table and sat across him. Meanwhile a waitress was already there with the guys orders, she then timidly asks the girl:

"Um, is it too late to order something to drink?" She then takes a better look at the waitress, she was dressed as a cute witch, the outfit was very detailed and even had a appropriate hat. Thing that made Ariel chuckle and say out loud what she immediatly thought:

"I always wanted to try cosplaying, at least once. But father didn't let me:(.he said it will distract me from training"

"If you have no problem lending me your sword, sure. I suspect this game has some kind of system imposed 'rule' where you can't really steal an item, does it?"

She says that while unstrapping the rapier from her waist and hands it to him. While looking at the blade in his hands she thinks:

"I hope I get a blade like that soon, but first I would have to lvl up...wait.... can I even equip that sword? he looks like hes a much higher level than me." then she timidly asks trying not to appear rude:

"Are you sure I can equip that? wouldn't there be a level restriction on items?" her question was natural since most games she played had items were level bounded or had some kind of stats requirement, so that a low lvl player can't equip items of higher level. Or if they could, the respective was almost useless to them.