Marius

     Things have seemingly been going better for this old man as of late. Not only has he managed to find a way to ensure that a source of income was being made for himself but he had even gone as far as to open his own shop! Sure, he might not have been doing all that well with the shop at the moment but that was alright. It was just one of those things in which he was going to have to continue working harder and harder until he could come out on top. Not being all that great at crafting things was only a minor setback at this moment. In fact, it was because of this low success rate with his shop that he had been dwelling on what step to take next would be.

    If he could recall correctly, there was supposedly another quest in which he could undertake that would allow for him to gain further assistance in matters along this line. "While I may be wrong, I am almost certain that it should be around here... " Marius had heard rumor of a quest appearing on just about any floor if one were looking in the right places. Said quest was supposed to allow for someone to tame themselves a familiar! Having a familiar would go quite well with his plans for the shop. All that he had really needed to do now was track down the NPC for this quest but... he was having a bit of a hard time going at it at the moment. "C'mon... I'm wandering about in the <<Stone Valley>> and I can't track her down? If she was going around on the first floor, it would only make sense for her to be here. This is just too much."

[09/23/2021]

[09/22/2021]

[09/21/2021]

Purchasing the following item(s):

• Spyglass (x3) | 800 Col

Total: 800 Col

Décor

Backroom

 Storage

Wares

Custom Order

This small shop has a rather bare appearance from the outside. The walls of said building are built of the typical stone 
in which most other shops in this district happen to be. In fact, the only way that this shop even seems to stand out 
amongst its peers is via the massive glass windows that seem to peer into it. It is through these windows that one can
 truly see where the difference lies between this shop and the others. While peering in through these windows, one is 
capable of taking in the strange setting of the shop. It seems to be primarily covered in moss and water and honestly 
looks quite abandoned. It wouldn't be too surprising if one were to have thought that the shop itself had been 
closed down. However, there does happen to be something located 
within that will grab ones attention at the very least.
A single piano sits centrally located within the building and on the bench beside that piano? A quiet, elderly merchant.
[♫]

Seeing as how he had now obtain the Performer profession, Marius had decided that he was going to need to gather a few things to assist him in his career. Of course he had known that he was going to need to open up a shop at the end of the day but before that would happen, he had figured that it would be best to acquire an aid of sorts for his newfound career. Thankfully, from what he had heard out on the town, the general merchant likely had exactly what he had been looking for. "Alrighty then. So what kind of thing is going to be useful to me in the recording studio? Perhaps some kind of microphone or magical guitar pick?" A sly smile would begin to slide across his features as he had recalled a movie from his youth about a magical guitar pick... A pick of destiny, if you will. "Well, enough kidding around I suppose." With that, Marius would wander about the shop for a bit until he had finally come upon what he had been looking for. While it may not have been a magical guitar pick or a microphone, it had indeed been something that would prove useful. A set of headphones that would help him find the appropriate wavelength for his recording crystals. Sure it was still likely that he would fail in his attempts in the future but with an item like this, he could at least ensure that he was getting some bang for his buck. "I'll take this." A few moments of flickering through pop-up menus later and the item had successfully become his own.

Having completed the crafting process, Marius couldn't be happier with himself. Not only had he managed to succeed in completing the quest but he had gone on to make an item of rare quality! Sure it had been a tad embarrassing when it came to the first attempt but his follow up attempt was as good as he was going to need it to be. That was all that had mattered. "Heh. Sure am glad that I managed to pull through with this. The process may have felt as though it was taking forever but I sure kicked this quests butt!"

Just as Marius was about to turn about to show Landon his work, the musician had begun to speak up. "Performing's not for the faint of heart, kid. Takes guts, hard work, and talent. But from where I'm standing, you've got it all. Knock 'em dead." It was with these words that a window would pop up before him. It had simply stated at the top, Congratulations! It was clear now that the quest had been fully completed. Not only had the congratulations been an indicator but the quest rewards appearing had been as well. 

Quest Rewards: 

300 Experience Points
<<Performer>> Profession
Successfully Crafted Item
Standard <<Performer>> Shop
(5) Tier 1 Crafting Materials

"I suppose that that is really all that I was going to need to do for this, huh? I'm glad that I managed to come out on top here but man.." Turning his attention back towards Landon and away from the quest rewards, Marius would allow for his smile to grow larger. "It sure was quite a bit of hard work to get to this point. Don't you worry though, Landon, I'll be sure to become a master Performer. Just you wait." And with that, Marius would accept the quest rewards before heading on out of the shop and on to his next task.

SUBMITTING A NEW CRAFTED/IDENTIFIED ITEM FOR APPROVAL

• Shop Post: N/A
• Transaction Date: N/A
• Cost of Transaction: N/A
• Crafter's Profession: Performer
• Crafter's Rank: Rank 1 - Musico Primo
• Item Name: Invigorating Tune
• Item Tier: 1
• Item Type: Consumable
• Item Rarity: Rare (2 Slots) 
• Item Enhancements: HP Recovery II
• Craft/Appraisal/Obtainment IDs & Rolls:  198683 & Quest Link
• Item Description: A large recording crystal about the size of ones hand. It almost has the appearance of a cassette player. Upon activation, it creates a red beam that shoots directly into ones ears, acting as headphones. It's the invigorating melody that plays through these headphones that heals those that use them.

Having taken the time to appropriately go over every punctual detail on crafting, Marius would eventually come to the moment in which he was going to need to actually craft things. Thankfully it wouldn't require a ton of materials to really get things started. The ones that he had previously collected should be enough to not only craft an item but have backup materials incase things were to go wrong. With that in mind, Marius would immediately set out to craft some kind of consumable support item. He would start by placing each and every material that he had gathered for this quest on the table. From there, he would immediately begin to separate one from the pile and would than pull out a small work hammer. "Alright... So at this point, if I got this right, I should only be able to make support items. Given that I am just starting off, I should probably go for something along the lines of an HP Recovery item, right? I mean, not dying is definitely something that would help anyone. Myself included!" 

Figuring that an HP Recovery item would be for the best, Marius would think of the kind of item that he had wanted to craft and would double tap a microphone that had been sitting on the counter. This would allow for a pop-up menu to appear directly in front of Marius. From there he would select the 'Production' option. Upon doing this, the material that he had set down would begin to glow alongside the microphone itself. "Do you mind if I borrow your lute for a moment?" Without a second thought, Landon would allow for Marius to borrow his lute. This would allow for Marius to record an invigorating tune with sweet lute riffs! Naturally, Marius would hand the item back to Landon once he had been finished. Or at least he would have if it wasn't for the fact that his slick tunes were too much for the material to handle... Unfortunately, upon this first attempt, the material that had been slowly transforming into a recording crystal had combusted into pixels! 

"Ahahaha..." A bit of an awkward laugh would follow this failed attempt but it wasn't enough to deter the elderly gentleman. He was just going to need to give it another go. And just as he had done as much, the material itself would fully transform into a recording crystal with the faint appearance of a cassette player. It had reminded him a bit of a walk-man and didn't quite look like a typical recording crystal. This very fact had been hilarious to the older gentleman. 

Having heard the good news from Marius, Landon would seem come from behind the counter of his shop and would begin to approach the old man. "Ah, good. You're back. I managed to finish up my work so I suppose that it's time to meet in the middle." This was what Marius had been looking forward to since he had come to Landon's shop. What kind of crazy things was he going to show him as a trick of the trade? Sick guitar riffs? Perhaps a singing technique? Nope. It was nothing like that. With a strum of his lute, Landon would begin to motion towards the counter nearby. "You are going to need to go ahead and craft an item to prove your worth. Show me what you've got!" 

At first, Marius honestly wasn't quite sure what it was that he was going to need to do. He had been a tad... confused as to he was supposed to actually go about crafting anything? The fact that Landon didn't exactly tell him anything all that helpful was honestly making it even more confusing for him at first. That was when the system would pull up a small menu that displayed what it was that he was going to need to do. At least the game had been looking out for him... "Alrighty... Here I go."

Taking into account that he was now going to need to head on back Landon's little hole-in-the-wall shop back in the <<Town of Beginnings>>, Marius would rise from the ground and begin to head on back. As he had done so, he would brush alongside his backside so as to clear away any sort of debris that might have remained after falling. Thankfully there hadn't been anything other than a small amount of water. "I'm so close now! Soon the world shall come to understand the true nature of a support character. I'll be able to buff and debuff my enemies while remaining sturdy and capable of defending others thanks to my heavy armor skill. I sure hope that Erebus will be happy about it."

It didn't take too long for Marius to make his way back to the shop. Upon entering he had heard the same rock song from before. Admittedly, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of music he was have playing once he opened up his own shop. It would likely be something along the lines of what Landon had playing but maybe not exactly the same. No reason to cause any issues with the NPC that is going out of their way to help him after all. "Landon, my friend, I am finally back! I know that I was away for quite a bit of time but thankfully I have come bearing good tiding and gifts." 

All that Marius had needed to come out on top of this quest was the final Tier 1 Material to be collected for Landon. If he could succeed in this attempt than he was going to finally be able to head on back to the rockstar and assist him a tad further. Then he would finally be rewarded with the Performer profession! He was so close to his goal that he could taste... or perhaps that was the salt water in the air above the pond. "C'mooooon Fishies!" It was a good thing that his grandson hadn't been around at the moment because he had been acting a tad embarrassing overall. At least he was enjoying himself though. With that final material finally being needed, Marius would hurl the lure farther than he ever had before, allowing for it to soar through the air until it would ultimately plunge into the depths of the pond. 

About ten minutes or so would pass as he had been idly waiting for something to grab ahold of the lure. "This is... not as exciting as I thought that the final throw was going to be. Honestly though, I should have expected that this wasn't going to be the final th-... What in the?!" Before Marius could finish his sentence, the Small Konpeito Sack that he had attached to his belt would begin to glow! This glow would extend out towards his fishing line and would follow along until both his body and the line had been completely shining pink, much like the little candies inside of the sack. "W-what exactly is going on? The item didn't say anything about this!" 

As sure as could be, with that light now shining all across both his body and the fishing line, a fish had been attracted to the lure that had been placed within the water. A heavy tug would pull on the hook and Marius' eyes would somehow shoot even wider. He hadn't been expecting this whatsoever so it had completely caught him off guard. "A.. a fish!" It had taken everything that he had in him to secure the line appropriately and to than reel the damn thing in all the way. Once he had managed to do so though, he had finally retrieved the final component that was needed for this quest. Taking a moment to fall back onto his behind, the old man would bellow out a bit of laughter. None of this had been what he had been expecting but at least that part of the quest was finally over. Than again... It wasn't all bad. 

This old man didn't plan on allowing these fish to clown him as often as they had been. If they had been clown fish than that might have been a different story but seeing as they weren't, he had completely and utterly refused! "I've almost completed everything that I came here for. C'mon, just let me reel 'ya in 'ya darn fish." Hoping not to lose another one, Marius would cast his line out towards the pond and wait. He could more or less remember where that last fish had escaped off to. While the fish may not have been too stupid to fall for such a tactic again, it was entirely likely that it had been stupid enough to do so. Honestly, with how advanced the AI in this game were, anything could happen when it came to this.

Several minutes would pass by as Marius would wait for a fish to come to the line. It didn't quite seem as though the fish had been as dumb as he had thought but that was a good thing. At least it would be in the future. Knowing the extend of the AI would always prove useful at some point. "Well... that one seems to be a bust. Oh well." Just as Marius was about to begin to reel in the lure though, another fish would swim from the depths of the pond and would immediately latch onto the hook! The old mans eyes had gone wide at this and he would continue to reel in the fishing line with as much vigor as he had before. Thankfully this one had managed to stay attached to the hook until it had been successfully caught. "Yes! Just one left!"

Hoping to try and get through this eventually, Marius would continue along with this line of work. The line of his fishing pole had been cast out towards the pond and the lure had simply bobbed just beneath the surface of the water. It wasn't much but it was honest work. "It's only a matter of tiiiiime, before the fishes come iiiiin~" On this account, he had indeed been right about it only being a matter of time. In fact, they had come even quicker than he had anticipated! Yet another fish had begun to snake its way through the pond and towards the lure that had simply been waiting for its prey. Of course this lure had been the prey of the fish and vice versa! Would he be able to get the fourth material with this attempt? One could only hope....

Much like the previous time in which he had managed to catch one of these fish, this current fish had been a tad suspicious about the lure itself. It was almost as though it had seemed too easy for them? Not one to properly be in the mindset of a fish, Marius had maintained his steady gaze upon the fish and would wait for it to grab ahold of the lure. If that were to happen than he had planned on reeling the fish in with all of his might yet again... It was just than that the fish would grab ahold of the lure! He had managed to secure the prize that he had been waiting for! Reeling it in with everything he had, Marius had truly, genuinely believed that he was going to succeed here. Before he could fully reel it out of the water though, the fish would free itself from the hook attached to the lure and had sped off deeper into the pond. A truly unfortunate moment... "Damn. And I really thought that I had that one."

 Continuing along with his whistling while standing, Marius would continue along with this rather repetitive activity. It was slowly becoming something that he was getting used to doing once again and that at least had some level of comfort for the old man. "I wonder how effective I'll be at gathering materials and the likes in the future, once I manage to reach the final professional level of fisher? Of course I still need to acquire the profession beforehand but... Eh. I really should have started off with that profession to be honest but it is what it is, I suppose." The lure would continue to bob idly along in the water for several minutes and unfortunately nothing would really come of it. That was alright though. By this point, Marius was becoming rather used to this. He was just going to need to try and find ways to make it easier for himself in the future is all. 

"I refuse to let these failed attempts get me down. Someday I shall become a master fisherman! Or angler? A grandmaster angler!" Having talked some motivation into himself, Marius would prepare himself for some hardcore fishing. He wasn't about to lose to all of that self-doubt! In an attempt to make things easier for himself, Marius would rise from his position on the ground and than hurl out the fishing line once more. "C'mon 'ya little fishies. Come to papa~" It was only a few moments later in which another fish would come darting on over towards his lure. "That's right... Let's go!" The fish had seemed a tad suspicious about this lure for a brief moment but decided to take the bit of it anyways. Just as its mouth had been hooked, it had begun to flail about and try to escape but Marius wasn't about to let that happen. Rather than allow for that to happen, this old man would plant his feet firmly on the ground and begin to reel the darn thing in with all of his strength and vigor! This would lead to another successful catch and a rather smiley Marius. "All right! Just two more left and I can return to Landon!"

Hoping that this recent successful catch would turn into a steak of luck, Marius would continue to do what he had been doing up to this point. He would allow for his lure to be cast back into the pristine waters of the pond and would wait for something to come of it. Several minutes would go by in an instant and while Marius had still been hopeful, he could tell that it was more likely that he wasn't going to succeed here. It might have been this wavering faith in himself that had begun to scare off the fish but that probably wasn't the case. Unfortunately, this attempt was going to be yet another swing and a miss. Fishing just didn't come as easily to him in this game as it had in real life. It was just a tad... difficult. Not that that was going to completely discourage him or anything. With enough work put in, he could become a masterful fisherman! If anything, all of these attempts were only pushing him further towards desiring such a future for himself.

Perhaps he was simply going about it all wrong? This was supposed to be a gathering quest, sure, but it was also supposed to be a quest in which he would become a performer. Someone that is capable of buffing and debuffing enemies and allies alike. This was said to be done through support crystals but what were those crystals really? Songs. Maybe he should try incorporating said songs into his gathering attempts? It sounded rather silly but it was something that he was keen on attempting. "Right, well, how did that one song go?" After casting his line back out to the waters of the pond, Marius would begin to whistle a jaunty tune. He was attempting to replicate the rock song that had been playing back at Landon's shop but it wasn't quite the same tune. That being said though, it had seemed to be working! From just beneath the surface of the water, Marius would watch as a rather large fish had begun to swim closer to the lure. Whether this was actually from his whistling or simply from having been waiting for so long, he wasn't quite sure, but at the end of the day it seemed to be working! A few moments later and the fish would attach itself to the hook, thus allowing for Marius to reel it in and collect his second out of the five materials. "Nice..! Now let's just hope that this keeps up."

A soft sigh would escape from the elderly gentlemans lips as he would attempt yet again another bout of fishing. It had been well over an hour now and he had still been doing just terrible at catching anything. In that way, it was much like real fishing! Not that that had been a good thing of course. If he was having this much trouble with fishing now, could he really ever make a career out of it? And would he ever really be able to become a performer if he couldn't even acquire the appropriate materials for himself? He likely would be able to but at this rate, it was going to take him quite awhile. "Whether I am cut out for this or not is something that I am going to have to find out over time but... man, I really should have come here with someone. Doing this all on my own is quite... boring." Of course, much like the other attempts, this attempt would cease to bare any fruits. 

A few thoughts of switching over gathering methods had swam through Marius's mind for a bit but it wasn't really like it would have changed anything. From what he could tell, the chances of gathering said materials were likely going to be the same no matter the method. In fact, the only thing that would have been any different would have been the danger rating of said gathering attempt. Of course it was likely possibly for him to dig up some kind of monster at some point if he wasn't careful but... It likely wasn't that big of an issue at this moment. "Welp.. Here I go again," he would say as he were to hurl the lure back into the pond. Hopefully something fruitful would come of this attempt. It shouldn't be all that hard, right? WRONG! Even with any benefits in general, the act of gathering was a rather difficult one! Another ten minutes had gone by and he was still sitting out here, not catching much of anything at all.

Yet another attempt would be taken as Marius would cast the lure back out into the pond. He was really beginning to feel as though this method of gathering wasn't really up to par with getting rid of monsters. In fact, it was beginning to feel like it was more work than anything else. Of course that was always how fishing had felt. Sure it had been a distraction from the world itself, or virtual world in this instance, but it definitely took a lot of time overall to accomplish. "I... really am not too sure how well this whole fishing thing is cut out for me. It's a tad disappointing that I'm not doing much better at this but I suppose that it is what it is. I am simply going to need to invest in better gear in the future. Perhaps a better rod? Or bait and a more alluring lure? Well... I'm not even really sure if anyone sells anything like that." Shaking his head a bit from side to side, the old man would try and return his focus to the task at hand. Of course, as was becoming the usual, nothing would really come of it. Not even with his fancy loot increasing item at hand.

Hoping to try and acquire another material at this point, the old man would cast his lure back into the water. Last time might have simply been a fluke or perhaps just a bit of bad luck. Surely he would be able to come out on top this time! "C'mon Marius, you just need to try and do what you did back in the real world. Y'know, become one with the fish. I am one with the fish, the fish are with me. I must feel the heart of the rod. Become one with it and convince these fish to come a bitin'!" None of this would actually help Marius of course. If anything, all it had done was serve as a distraction from the sheer embarrassment of how poorly he had been doing at fishing at the moment. Alas, much like the last time, there had been no sense of activity for the next several moments. Ten minutes would go by and nothing would really come of it. Ten minutes after that and there had still been nothing happening. A hefty sigh would escape from his lips as he would reel in the lure and prepare for his next attempt.