Marius

Feeling a tad overconfident in his fishing abilities now, Marius would rather quickly cast the hook back out into the pond. "This should be easy.. Much like back before the game, huh? Hahaha." Several moments would go by and nothing would happen as far as Marius had been aware. The lure would simply bob back and forth atop of the water as he had been waiting. It was... almost an entirely abysmal experience to watch compared to his last attempt. "This... doesn't seem right. Was I simply to eager beforehand? Must have been a lucky attempt..." Whether it had been a lucky attempt or not had been something that Marius would never truly come to know but when it came to this attempt, he had surely known that his luck might have just passed. It was a truly unfortunate moment in his fishing history. After about ten minutes or so, Marius would begin to reel the lure back in while shaking his head a bit. He may not have been successful at this moment but he was definitely be so at some point... Right?

Now that Marius had decided on fishing for not only his secondary profession in the future but his current gathering method, he would begin to traverse a bit farther into the territory of the Plains in search of a pond of sorts. He had heard of various ponds being spread out throughout the plains from several other players in the past and as such, it felt as though it wouldn't be too hard to come across one. Thankfully, he had been correct in this assumption! Not even fifteen minutes in and the old man had successfully managed to come upon a rather stunning pond that had spread throughout a rather large area overall. Elevated platforms of land had been spread above the pond and continued to pour water into the pond itself, thus allowing for small rainbows to form. It was truly one of the most beautiful things that he had seen on this floor. "W-wow... I'm really going to have to come out here more often."

A soft smile would begin to take place upon this old mans features as he had taken the time to remove a fishing pole from his inventory. It had simply been a vanity tiered item and wasn't really all that effective in general but there was time to acquire a better pole in the future. Hopefully, that is. Regardless of whether or not they would have the time for it in the future though, Marius would finally take a seat and cast the hook and its bait out into the waters.

Several moments would go by as Marius would wait for anything below to take a bite of the hook.. and just as quickly as that, a fish would grab ahold of the hook itself! It was amazing to Marius just how quickly he had managed to grab ahold of something! Would he be able to keep ahold of it though? And had the time itself been sped up by the loot percentage increasing item in his inventory? While he may not know the answer to the latter, he had most assuredly learned the answer to the former. This was found out simply by Marius yeeting the fish out of the waters and into his inventory! "Heh~ One material down and four more to go."

Seeing as there was no need for Marius to acquire a mount of some sort, he had simply decided to walk around the Plains themselves. This was the prime location for beginner characters to farm low level monsters and admittedly it was one of the things that Marius himself had wanted to do at this very moment. Unfortunately he was going to need to focus rather solely on this quest for now. It was too dangerous for him to try and farm various monsters on his own, even with his MITIGATION being factored in, so he was going to need to instead try and obtain the materials in another way. "Let's see... If we take looting monsters for their materials out of the equation than the two other ways of obtaining materials will have to be gathering and fishing. I believe that both of those were also to be considered professions in their own right as well so I really am going to need to choose between the two of them. Hm.." There had most assuredly been benefits to both but Marius was an old man and honestly fishing had seemed far more appealing to him than gathering had. Of course slaying the beasties had been even higher on the list when it came to it but it just wasn't a viable option right now. "Well, fishing it is!"

Pushing past the tiredness that had previously been lying within, Marius would eagerly begin to nod his head in agreement. This was the beginning of something new for him and that had been enough to prepare him the the arduous journey that lie ahead. "Right, of course!" He would quickly press the accept button for the quest acceptance display that had appeared before him while continuing on. "Retrieve some materials for 'ya. I can most certainly do that." It was with that that Marius would turn about and begin to head on out of the shop. He was going to need to try and obtain some materials but... from where? Recording crystals weren't exactly the kind of thing that one would be able to make with typical Tier 1 Materials, right?

There wasn't really any other thing that Marius could do here but try things out and figure it out that way. It was likely that the materials were indeed the same but... Well he was going to have to find out on his own. That said, Marius had to decide on how exactly he was planning on finding the appropriate materials. "Well, let's see, there are a few things that I have to bear in mind when it comes to gathering materials. I should theoretically be able to gather materials in general simply from slaying monsters and collecting their loot, fishing up some of the materials, or perhaps even gathering them out in the field from things like plants and what have you. In addition to that, if I am remembering correctly, I'm not goin' to be able to find anything like that while in a safe zone or a settlement or anything like that. So... I suppose that I am just going to have to try and find some materials outside of here?"

It wouldn't take terribly long for Marius to flicker through the menus and come upon the map of the areas that he has traversed. From what he could tell, there were a few good locations that might offer some insight as to where he could dig up some materials. There was 'The Stone Valley' and the 'Plains' for sure. The Stone Valley had been calling to him for some reason but it was likely safer to just stick the the Plains for now. It was the closest to the <<Town of Beginnings>> after all. "Right, well, I suppose that I am off for now.. The Plains it is!" He would than depart from the walls of the <<Town of Beginnings>> and out into the Plains that had resided just outside.

Although it may not have been long that Marius had been within this virtual world, the elderly gentleman had come to quite a realization... He was going to need to try and find a means of survival for himself and his grandson! The duo, like so many others, had found themselves in a situation in which they were going to need to try and get by until the floors had been completed but how on earth were they going to do that? Adventuring and clearing the floors sounded like it would certainly be of use to everyone but this old man just wasn't confident enough to try and do such a thing at this time. He needed to get stronger for sure but on top of that, he was going to need to help ensure that as many people could survive as possible. How was he going to do this, you ask? Well he was going to do his best to obtain a profession that would benefit many!

It is for this reason that Marius now finds himself outside of a hole-in-the-wall music shop that is rumored to be the location of a profession-giving quest. With a tired sigh, the old man would begin to push open the door to this hole-in-the-wall music shop. "Well... Here we go!" Of course, the frantic roll of a rock song greets him upon entering the shop. It was a rather catchy tune that he had immediately found to be rather invigorating. Such masterful lute playing tendencies!  Just as he had begun to ask himself how anyone could accomplish such a feat on a lute, the musician would step into view. The enormous man finishes the chorus, rakes a hand through his pointed white hair, then grins at the old man. "I take requests!" 

The thought of requesting something from this man had certainly come to Marius but now wasn't the time for that. No, he was here to become a performer!  It was when Marius had been explaining this that Landon, the musician, gives a deep, hearty laugh. "Not the kind of request I was expecting, but yeah, I'll help. Problem is, I've got a few more orders to fill, and I'm getting low on recording crystals. If you go pick up the mats I need, I'll finish up my work, and we can meet in the middle. Deal?"

In preparation for a future quest, Marius had begun to wander about the first floor's Town of Beginnings. They had recently decided that they had wanted to take up the art of crafting but that was likely going to require assistance from another. People themselves were far too unreliable and as such, this old man had figured that he might as well go and gain a familiar as an assistant. The main issue with that was that he had heard tales of how hard it is to tame and train a familiar! That being said, he really didn't want to stress himself out with such a thing. The best way to bypass that situation is to acquire some kind of bait for the beasts and that is precisely why he had come to this shop.

"Hello, Hello. I was hoping to acquire some of your finest familiar bait. Y'know, something along the lines of pheromones or what have you that would grab the attention of a beast!" As he had spoken his thoughts aloud, this kindly old man would find that his gaze had settled upon something akin to what he had been looking for. It had been some kind of bottle of balm? It certainly looked a tad strange but that was alright. At the end of the day, it's the mechanical benefits that the item provides that he had come here for. "Right, than. I shall be taking this..." The old man would squint his eyes for a moment while reading the text before speaking it's name aloud and proceeding with the transaction. "This 'The Star's Collide." Having transferred the funds over, Marius would than nod once to seemingly no one before heading on out.

After having traversed through the Town of Beginnings several times over, Marius would eventually come across a small store that had gone by the name of 'The Evening Star.' He had heard the rumors of this place quite awhile ago but had never managed to take the time to come down here. Now that he was here though... he wasn't quite sure how to feel. The setting of the store had been rather shady overall but that was likely for a reason, right? Right? 

Regardless of whatever the truth behind that situation had been, Marius had been here on business. He had to try and ensure that he would leave with something beneficial to his newfound purpose. If he intended to become a crafter like so many others, he was going to need to find something that could aid him in said cause.

Taking a moment to look around the shop, the elderly man would nod several times over.  The various bits and bobbles that had been spread about the store had seemed to have some value but they weren't quite what he was looking for. At least... not at first. After quite a bit of searching, the old man would finally lay his eyes upon a small cloth pouch. It wasn't something that he had understood at first but the stats behind it? Now those were something that he had understood. "Perfect. This is exactly what I was aiming for. I'll just... leave the col here for whoever runs this shop so... Thanks for your business! I'll be sure to stop by again!" With that he would purchase said sack and head on out.

With his grandson having prompted the acceptance of the quest, Marius would nod as confirmation to the NPC. At this, Dorian would nod in response and go on to speak a bit further. "Excellent, I knew I could count on you! You might start with Zackariah, the alchemist. He's often doing projects for the town, so it may have been him that borrowed the money." It would seem as though things were finally getting underway. Or at least they would be once he had managed to figure out where this Zakariah's abode had been located. "I'm not quite sure that that will be necessary, Fly-... Erebus. ALSO, I am not as old as you make me out to be..." Without dwelling too much on that fact, Marius would take a moment to play around a bit with the visual interface. Most of the important information that Marius was going to need had been at the upper left corner of his field of vision. Things like his username, visual hit point guage, level and numerical hit points had all been there but not what he had been looking for. The local time had been at the bottom left as well. If that wasn't going to help than he was going to need to try something else.

Figuring that he would get farther with the touch interface, Marius would call forth his main menu window. He would do so by extending the index and middle fingers on his right hand together and swinging them downwards in a straight line, parallel to the axis of his avatar. A ringing sound would begin to play through his mind and the menu would than successfully appear. "Hm... Try doing what I just did and open up your main menu window. I've shown you how to do this in the past, remember? This is how we became friends in-game." Having assisted his grandson to the best of his ability at the moment, Marius would than proceed to filter through the five category options before selecting the maps/quests option. "For future reference, you can usually survey the area under the field map sub-menu. We've traveled around the map often enough to be able to pinpoint our directive from this location." And pinpoint they had as Marius would begin to head off towards the designated shop. "Come along Erebus." It didn't take too long for the duo to ultimately arrive at the apothecary of course. "Well... Here we are." 

Upon entering  Zackariah’s shop, the duo were met with shelves and shelves of colorful potions in various vials and jars. “Oh, hello," comes the distracted greeting from behind the counter. A man with a long, snow-white beard glances up from a bubbling cup of sweet-smelling purple liquid. "Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supplies.” Light comes into the man's dark eyes, a lightbulb going off to signify a brilliant idea. “Would you gather a few materials for me? Flowers, herbs, rare woods, whatever you can find outside the city walls. I promise I’ll help you fill your order as soon as you return. In fact, I would be willing to show you how to do it yourself.”

As unfortunate as it was for Cathal, it would appear as though the time had come for him to step up and begin to work towards becoming a true protector for his grandson. Or.. should he call himself by his username now? Marius did have a certain ring about itself so... It shouldn't be that hard to remember. With that matter taken care of, Marius would turn his attention towards his grandson and offer him a curt nod. "Right... I suppose that it is time for us to get started on things now, Fly-... er, Erebus. So what exactly do you think that we should do to get started?" While it might have just been convenient timing, it was around this time that a voice would begin to call out from behind both himself and his grandson.

"You there! Stop, please!" Immediately, Marius would turn about to try and locate the source of the voice. In doing so, he would take note of the fact that a man had begun to approach the duo with long, purposeful strides. "Pardon me, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable." It had been rather clear to Marius that this had been an NPC. Giving the NPC his attention, the man would heave a quick sigh, adjusting the monocle over his right eye. "My name is Dorian, and I am the mayor of this town. As part of those mayoral duties, I issued a small loan to a member of the community a few months ago. Well, the time to collect had come around and I-" Flustered, Dorian systematically runs his fingers over his perfect mustache. "You see, I've forgotten who it was I loaned the money to. Terribly embarrassing, I know, but I am a very busy man, and I cannot keep track of everything that happens. I'm sure you understand." With a wave of his hand, Dorian continues, "Should you be willing to track down the loan recipient for me, and collect the col, I would be eternally grateful. Just, maybe don't let anyone else know I forgot who the loan went to?" Honestly unsure of how to answer at this point, Marius would turn his gaze towards his grandson and quirk an eyebrow while posing a single question to him: "What do you think?"

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The response that Zackariah had given Marius had outright shocked Marius. This AI in particular had seemed far more advance than anything he had previously worked on himself! The speech recognition and conversational analysis that the AI had maintained was certainly a notch above most games. It almost seemed as though the AI itself had been aware. Certainly a strange thing for him to encounter, but something that he should probably focus more so on when he has the time. With his grandson currently sleeping, there was only so much time left before he would need to return to him. With that thought in mind, Marius would go on to tell Zackariah that he would retrieve the materials for him and would then head on out of the building. From what he could recall overhearing in the square, there had been some should be some kind of garden on this floor that would produce materials in which he could retrieve. It would take him the better part of an hour or two before realizing just how large the Town of Beginnings had been. Realistically, he probably should have asked someone for help along the way, but he just couldn't muster up the courage to bother anyone with such a thing. After all, he didn't want to be a nuisance to any of the other players. Eventually though, he would find himself out of the Town of Beginnings and on the road heading out towards the forested region of the first floor.

Simply from getting a better look at the old man before him, Marius would ascertain the fact that this NPC had found himself to appear rather troubled. Curious about whether or not the quest was capable of being picked up while the NPC had appeared in such a state, Marius would begin to approach Zackariah, whilst placing a hand on the mans shoulder and simply asking, "Is something troubling you friend?" Upon doing so, the golden <<!>> that had been residing over Zackariah's head had begun to transform itself, the tip of the exclamation mark tilting and curving until it had appeared as so: <<?>>.  Marius hadn't really taken much time to associate with the NPC's of this world as of yet, given how much his focus had been on his grandson, so learning about the start of a quest had been rather new for him. Thankfully most of the information pertaining to such matters had already been placed out in a guide for a majority of the players. With tired, yet exuberant eyes, Zackariah would turn to face Marius and simply begin to shake his head from side to side, as though unsure of something.

From here, Zackariah would begin to speak up in a somewhat hushed and confused tone. "Hm..? Yes, yes. I am supposed to be brewing potions and offering teaching on how to do so, but it seems as though I've run out of materials to do so.. Would you perhaps be willing to gather some for me? I can't exactly pay you but I can reward you with knowledge. Does that work for you..?" Recognizing this as the start of the quest, Marius would simply begin to nod to the man before realizing that he should probably speak a vocal command to accept the quest. "Of course friend. I'll look around the first floor for a bit and see if I can gather any materials for you. I'm relatively certain that there is a garden somewhere around here anyways. How many do you happen to need by the way?" For the most part, the continuation of his conversation past the point of accepting the quest had been a test of sorts. He hadn't been sure of how advanced SAO's AI had been and figured that he could put them through the loops for a bit and learn a bit more about how they operate. Given the response that would follow though, Marius had found himself a bit caught off guard. "Ah, yes! Thank you, thank you. I would appreciate it if you could bring me back five Tier One materials. Just head on out into the wilds and bring them back for me. Make sure you keep yourself out of combat whilst out there. Who knows what kinds of things could be found in the wilds?"

After having pushed his way into the old man's workshop, Marius would begin to take in the scenery that would lay before him. For the most part, the old mans workshop had been rather cluttered with supplies, beakers, and other such testing apparatus's simply strewn about the shop itself. It was a bit of a mess, but honestly, Marius had been used to such a cluttered work space. After all, he himself had been an old man in the work industry so there were a few comparisons to be seen straight away. In addition to the many things strewn about the workshop however, there had been a simple man of true significance within his sight. There, before him, had stood a simple old man, with an appearance not entirely unlike his own, with a golden <<!>> currently residing over his head. 'This must be the quest giver.' With a slight sigh, Zackariah would begin to rub at the back of his head whilst growing closer to the NPC. As he had begun to do so though, Zackariah would begin to turn towards Marius with a slight smile on his face and tired yet exuberant eyes. This might not have been all that significant, but from what Marius could tell, there was some serious detail that had gone into this NPC. 'Oh? I suppose I should keep an eye on these NPC's..? Maybe I can learn a bit more about the games Artificial Intelligence in doing so, which could certainly help me further my own work once I get the boy and myself out of here.

Unfortunately for Cathal, it would appear as though the time had come for him to step up and begin to work towards becoming a true protector for his grandson. Or.. should he call himself by his user tag now, Marius? After a brief moment of inner consultation, he would decide that it was indeed easier to simply go by the tag that others would see in place of his name, so he would go on to introduce himself as such when the time would come. Regardless, Marius now had a job to attend to and there were a few ways to get started with that endeavor. In order for him to protect his grandson, Erebus, he was going to need to level up and get stronger, and as such, he would start by doing so via taking on a quest. From his understanding, the most local quest that he could find at the time would begin somewhere within the 'Town of Beginnings.' The information pertaining to this quest had been rather well known by this point in time, thankfully, so for the most part he knew where it was that he was going to need to go. Given that fact, whilst his grandson would be sleeping, Marius would head on out and begin to make headway towards the quest giver, an old man NPC named Zackariah. It would take him a bit to find the proper location, given how little he had actually explored the Town of Beginnings previously, but he would eventually make his way to the outside of the shop in which the quest could be given. Acknowledging the sign that would indicate that this had indeed been Zackariah's workshop, Marius would proceed inside.