Seul

The plan was simple. Fighting all three little nepents at once was far too risky, thus he'd isolate the targets and pick them off one at a time. This would also give him time to rest should he suffer any damage. It wasn't as flashy an execution as maybe some of the other players would do, but for a rogue the slow and steady path was often the one that kept one alive out in the field. There'd be no reward for dying. No, killing the nepents one at a time was the only logical course of action. getting in over his head was the last thing he needed at the moment.

It didn't seem like Seul had any problem partying up with random people. This was only the millionth time he had done it and he firmly believed it provided the fastest way toward meeting new allies. That being said, he hadn't ran into any who wished intentional harm upon him. At least not yet anyway. If he did, he figured he'd be able to talk his way out of it anyway. The rewards of approaching new people were proving to be more beneficial than detrimental. "Works for me."  He stated before opening up his menu only for a party invite to appear in the other player's field of vison seconds later.

Seul has invited you to his party!

Accept?

Yes ( O )            No ( X )

The picture provided with the quest helped a great deal as Seul had no idea what a 'Little Nepent' would have looked like without it. For a plant it sure wasn't like the average one you'd find in your grandma's garden. These things looked quite nasty with gaping mouths lined with teeth and alluring flowers on their bodies. He was glad he hadn't decided to take on the quest to slay them at an earlier time as doing so probably would've resulted in his death. But with two extra levels under his belt the little nepents would be somewhat easy to dispatch.

Once again, Seul was off on another grand adventure. This time it was into the depths of a forest to locate the special ingredient used in a certain type of medicine. The job seemed easy enough. The item in question would drop once he finished off the right monster and the creatures on the first floor no longer held the same intimidating presence that they once had. This mission would prove to be a good test of his newfound strength in the face of a legitimate life or death battle. His pace quickened as the sun seemed to be falling in the difference and being out in the wilderness at night was not something that particularly appealed to him.

I think I can handle this one solo now.

"It would seem that we're both out here for the same thing." He started. "If we joined forces we'd probably have much better luck than if we worked apart." The suggestion was a simple one but the ability to work with others was a treasured skill in the world of Aincrad. If they split their mats by the end of their search surely they both would've walked away with a hefty profit. It really was a winning situation on both their parts and Seul couldn't help but smile at the male while awaiting his response. 

Beggars can't be choosers. xD I'm happy that anyone showed up at all.

No Longer Naked!

Description: Your friendly neighborhood Seul is in the market for some new gear but is too poor to afford anything worth having. Upon learning that there's a quest which awards a new piece of armor for completion, he is eager to accept it. Only problem is the mob for the quest is too powerful for him to fight on his own and survive. That's where you come in! Please help with completing the quest so that he no longer has to fight naked!

Fulfillment requirements:

• Make sure Seul doesn't die-
• <<Worn out Welcome>> Quest Requirements.

Aid Allowed: Duuuuuh.

Rewards:

• Eternal Friendship
• 1 SP (Thread Completion)
• 200 COL (From splitting the COL at the end of the thread)

Repeatable: Nah.

His speech actually worked? Seul never thought of himself as being much of a motivationall speaker, but he guessed some things just had to come from the heart in order to get the point across. But it was amazing! Though her expression hadn't changed much, the little girl finally accepted his company. He brought a hand up to scratch the back of his neck and ease the embarrassment of having been so flashy in his display. "Haha... Thanks." He said with a sheepish grin plastered across his face. Finally he'd have allies to rely upon. The thought only renewed his resolve to become stronger quickly so that he'd be able to pull his own weight in the group. "I'll do my best to protect you both." He said, somewhat cringing at the fact that he was starting to sound like a lame shonen manga hero.  

It took a moment for the directions to sink in. Until that moment, Seul hadn't used his dagger for much more than carving tally marks into the sides of rocks. But this fight was real. He wasn't too worried considering his role would be kept to a minimum, but that didn't change the fact that threats still, quite literally, hung in the air around him. Upon drawing the weapon from its scabbard he raised his arm almost instinctively, while gripping the small knife in a backhanded style. Making sure to take a step behind Takao first, he nodded his compliance with the plan. "Let's do this."

REWARDS:

400 COL

2 SP (1 for Quest + 1 Completed Thread)

Performer Profession Now Available!

Ability to Open a Shop Now Available! 

Staring down at the ocarina, he figured there was nothing really to lose. If he couldn't play it he'd simply stop. After the show he'd get a new haircut, or wear a mask, or live off in the woods as a hermit. Seul gently brought the end of the ocarina to his lips and almost like magic began to play in sync with the rest of the band. He had no idea how, but it was likely with some sort of assistance from the system. He didn't sound too bad either. The crowd was eating up the music and he could practically smell the Col rushing in once he opened his own shop. The band played all afternoon and into the night and once the last song was done, he  stood proudly alongside the band, taking bows and waving to those members of the crowd who called out to him.

The band later informed him that this would be their last night in town and that they'd be heading to other places around Aincrad for a while. It was great that Seul got the opportunity to learn under them and as a parting gift they had even recorded the last song they played together for him. The day felt like a major step forward toward his path to becoming stronger. At least now he had a way of making money, assuming anyone bought from him that is. But come on, who wouldn't want to hear his music? He was the next rising performer after all. 

Minstrel nodded at him before turning to address the crowd. "Welcome ladies and gentleman, we've got a great show for you that we know you'll enjoy! We're gonna kick things off with our first song now." The crowd cheered in unison and the other band members finished tuning their instruments just as Minstrel finished talking. Then the song began. Each member knew exactly what to do all save for Seul that is. He looked around nervously while the others seemed to be hyper focused on what they were doing. Did they really expect him to play?

He approached the stage halfheartedly, with ocarina in hand. This was the final test. How he would mange to pull this one off was beyond him. All the luck in the world couldn't make up for a lack of talent. He took what he assumed would be his final gulp of air before ascending the stairs and taking a seat at the far back of the stage where hopefully, only those in the front row would be able to see him. The band members all silently exchanged looks almost as if they were communicating telepathically. What exactly did they expect from Seul? Even if he could somehow play the darn thing he wouldn't know any of their songs!

Making a break for it seemed like the only plausible course of action Seul slipped the ocarina into his pocket and made a mad dash for the exit only to be greeted by a roaring, twice as large as the one that had been there earlier. It shouldn't have even been possible for such a crowd to amass in such a short amount of time, but there it was staring him in the face. The band members calling out to him from the stage didn't help the situation much either. There wasn't any escaping this. He was doomed to be a laughing stock for the remainder of his days, which hopefully wasn't long given how bad his playing was about to be.

Minstrel responded with a careful nod before dropping his next piece of information. "You may keep the ocarina... If you first use it to play a show alongside me and the band." The deal was enough to make Seul back out right then and there. Play with the band and on stage no less! The idea was preposterous he didn't even know how to play. Minstrel could see how nervous the thought made the boy so he gave a reassuring smile before making for the wagon's exit. "Don't worry. Once you're up on stage you don't have to think about it really. The music just sort of takes you."

He mulled over countless string and horn instruments, but not seemed to fit his needs. Not until he saw it. Upon one of the wagon's shelves sat a small flute-like instrument. It was perfect. Seul was immediately drawn to it and picked it up to examine it further once Minstrel entered. "Ah, I see you've taken a liking to the ocarina." Yes, now he remembered. It was called an ocarina. He recalled playing a game back in the real world once where a hero with elf-like ears had one of them and figured it to be the reason why he was drawn to it. "I can have this?" He asked, obviously failing at trying to hide the excitement in his voice.

The interior of the wagon was surprisingly roomy. Seul guessed it had to be to accommodate all the band members and their instruments. Scattered around the wagon's floor were instruments of all shapes and sizes, some of which he doubted actually existed outside of the game. Nothing really stuck out to him. For the type of character he played he wanted something that would be small and able to be used at a moment's notice versus something larger that, despite being in the inventory, he felt wouldn't be able to  be transported as easily.

Carrying his prize back into town secured in his inventory, Seul approached the group of performers once again before revealing the recording crystal he cultivated. "That was honestly too easy." He gloated while shooting Minstrel a prideful look. Minstrel seemed impressed as he probably didn't expect the boy to return as soon as he had with the task complete. "Well, now that you've obtained your crystal it's time to record. But first you need to pick out an instrument since it'll be hard to make songs without one." At that the man pointed to the wagon beside the stage and indicated for Seul to go inside to procure an instrument.

ID# 33030 | LD: 15 (YEEEEEEEEEES) | +1 Mat

With a mighty swing Seul plunged the end of his dagger into the rock just beside a small chunk of crystal. Surprisingly, the blade cut through the stone like a hot knife through butter and he managed to almost effortlessly remove the crystal with ease. It fell to the ground by his feet and he simply scooped it up in his palm before placing it in his inventory to bring it back to Minstrel and the gang. What he wondered was if Minstrel just had spare crystals lying around why did he force Seul to go out and scavenge for one. It wasn't particularly hard this time around but there was no guarantee that next time would be as easy. If that's what he was attempting to show him then the NPC had failed miserably.

The day certainly had taken a strange turn. Less than an hour ago Seul had been complaining about how nothing interesting seemed to be going on. Now he was outside of town and on his way to dig through the dirt for some guy he had just met. Life was just strange like that. He carefully walked along the outside wall of the starting city until he came across a large rock in the place where Minstrel mentioned it'd be. Embedded in the rock were small crystals that shone when the light reflected off them. Surely this must have been the spot for cultivating the materials he needed. Without a second thought he drew his dagger from its scabbard and approached the stone.

"Not so fast!" Minstrel called while swatting away the boy's hand that was trying to swipe the crystal from his grasp. "If you want recording crystals, you'll have to go and hunt for them. There should be a spot not too far away from the city where you can gather some. Try to get at least one and bring it back here, alright?" He said with a smile. Seul nodded a response. He had never actually tried gathering materials before, but it was bound to happen eventually. After pestering Minstrel further to learn the exact location of the gathering spot, he set out for the town gate.

"Alright, where do I sign up?" He asked with renewed interest audible in his voice. At the acceptance of his fate, Minstrel let out a cheer followed by the cheers from the rest of the band who seemed so eager to the point where Seul was certain they were going to start playing some sort of victory fanfare to celebrate the birth of a new performer. A quest window appeared before his eyes aptly named 'Earning a Living' and he quickly dismissed it with the accept button. Now that he was on the path to becoming a performer the real challenge was going to be stocking up on those recording crystals. The only problem was that he had no idea where to get them.

"Ah, that's where you're wrong kid."The man said before reaching into his pocket and producing something he had stashed away. At first glance it seemed like any other crystal Seul had seen up till then but upon further inspection it was something he didn't expect: A recording crystal. "You see, a performer's song is not just for fancy toe tapping. No, our songs hold great power and are valued across the land by all. We possess the ability to aid, heal and debuff through song and keeping our songs at one's side could mean the difference between life and death; more so than any piece of armor could." Minstrel did raise an interesting point. What other professions lacked was versatility. A blacksmith would always forge a piece of armor or a weapon, but as a performer one could craft items to cover a multitude of situations. With that line of reasoning he would be able to make money from a broader audience rather than those who only sought him out on occasion.

"Wouldn't it be nice to make a ton of money?" Seul's attention zeroed in on the man's words like a hawk about to [censored] its prey. He was unbelievably broke, even for a level one player. With no method of earing Col he didn't expect much in terms of buying food or upgrading his gear any time soon. Having a little extra cash flow would've been nice but was unrealistic until he bothered to find a way of obtaining a profession. If this man held the key to earning some easy Col he was all ears. "How exactly would I do that? Only the blacksmiths, tailors, alchemists and other professions are able to do that."