[PP-F1] <Earning A Living> (Calrex) <Complete>

[Galilea 0]

Just within the first set of customer worn booths, riddled with the smells of ale and sweat, sat a pinkette whose current disposition could be interpreted as 'lost in thought'. She shifted through topics quickly as she dissected each issue thoroughly. That was until she came across what to do as a profession. The thought of working to gain Col was very reminiscent of the real world and real money. It seems even in games, you can't eliminate that aspect of an economy. Shifting in her booth, her thoughts spread like wildfire as the pondered over a course of action.

What were the professions again? Blacksmith, Tailor, Artisan, Alchemist, Cook, Merchant, Performer, and Fisherman if I recall correctly? Which one would be the most efficient? There's got to be a plethora of smiths and tailors, more than likely alchemists and cooks as well. Artisans, Performers, Merchants, and Fisherman would have to be on the lower scale if I had to guess. Hmph, though I may regret this later, making my own jewelry wouldn't be too bad would it? Hopefully not...

"Artisan it is then," mumbled the pinkette as she rose from the booth and made her way towards the door. Now to find an Artisan. As she begin to head out, her footing hadn't been as secure as one would hope as she began to stumble down the stairs and into the crowded streets of the Starting City. A collision was on her before she knew it. The last thing she saw was a flash of blue before crashing into the figure.

[Calrex 0]

"Alright...what was I doing on this floor?"

Calrex gave a small sigh as he put his hands into his jacket pockets as he wandered through the streets of the Starting City. The fact he was doing so always came as an odd circumstance to him, adding to the fact that he wasn't in the merchant district. He wasn't here to purchase equipment or gear from the shopkeepers that hadn't decided to move their storefronts to higher floors. Put simply: He was simply wandering around killing time.

"I could be spending this time on the upper floors training and getting stronger for the floor raid. So what am I...oof!"

As he continued along lost in his thoughts he suddenly felt something slam into his side, "Gah!"

The angle came shallow as it didn't knock him down to the ground, but instead off to the side, as if he had fallen off balance and stumbled. Unfortunately, it seemed that the layout of the area had played to his disadvantage. Before he could regain his balance he felt his foot catch onto the side of the fountain, sending the bluenette into the clear waters on the other side of the barrier. Calrex could feel his breath become blocked by the water as he quickly pulled his head out of the water, shaking his head as he stood up, "Well...that is certainly different. Now I know how Lowenthal felt when he first met me."

Stepping back out from the fountain he shook his head before wiping a hand up from his forehead back, his hair temporarily being held back by the dampness of the water, looking over at the person that had just crashed into him, "Hey you alright?"

[Galilea 0]

Dazed and seated, Lancelot rubbed her head before looking up to the person she had so energetically bumped into. His dampened hair was swept back as he addressed her and asked if she was okay. "My apologies heh. I'm fine however. What about you? Seems your rather drenched," she responded as she offered to help him out of the fountain. "Sorry about that. I have a million things on my mind as of late and none of them involve knocking people into fountains, I promise" she joked. Swiping through her menu, she offered him a pink shirt to use as a towel. "Here. You can towel of with this."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a friendly smile and waved off the offer, "It's quite alright. One of the good tricks in SAO is that your avatar quickly becomes dry again after swapping outfits. Give me one second."

Swiping a few times on his menu the bluenette's entire avatar was engulfed in a flash of blue light as he equipped the Grand Chariot II before switching back to his casual combat clothing. Even though only his clothes changed, his hair and face were also completely dried off in the process, "There we go, good as new."

Looking at his limbs to make sure no trace dampness remained he gave a nod, "In any case, sorry about that. I'm Cal..."

Taking a closer look the Ultramarine Knight traced through his memory banks as his mind landed upon a name, "You're Lancelot right? I think we met quite a while back when you and Jomei were fighting off some wolves."

[Galilea 0]

The pinkette blinked confusingly as she tried to put a match up the face before her and the name given. As she placed the shirt back in her inventory, the 'light bulb' went off in her head and she smirked as the name finally made sense. "Ohh that's right. Calrex, the uhh Ultramarine correct? Fancy meeting you here on the low leveled floors again. How are you and Teayre was it?" The girl interlocked her fingers and stretched out her arms as she loosened up. "Hey actually, while I have you. Mind helping me out with something? If I remember seeing it correctly, Teayre was an artisan right? Think she could help me with this <Earning A Living> quest?"

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, well that's really just a self title, Ultramarine Knight. I don't really have anything notable in terms of accomplishments, at least nothing no one else can't achieve without a lot of free time and consistent effort, heh. But yeah, Teayre and I are actually married in the game now. I think the last time I saw you the two of us were still just boyfriend and girlfriend."

Putting his hands into his jacket pockets Calrex listened to Lancelot as she inquired is his wife was currently available to assist her in the <<Earning A Living>> quest, "Unfortunately she's actually busy with some stuff at the moment, but if you need a hand I can help you out. From what I remember the quest is fairly simple and mainly requires some material gathering."

 

[Galilea 0]

"Ahh I see. Well congratulations first and foremost Calrex. It's relaxing to hear that there is still some beautiful things this world is capable of. It is unfortunate that she is indisposed at the moment however. Regardless, you mentioned being familiar with the quest and her profession right? If you could help me get started, I'd be more than thankful!" Cascading pink locks bounced as she pleaded with the bluenette to help her out. She hadn't a clue where to start or what she needed aside from some materials to try and craft with.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a friendly smile and a nod as the young woman standing across from him expressed her gratitude for his offer of assistance. Swiping on his menu he made sure his gear was ready before returning his hands to his pockets, "Of course, heh. In any case if we're going to get you going as an artisan we'd best get you started on a quest. If we head to the merchant district there should be a series of NPC shops you can enter. That should be where you can start up the quest."

Tilting his head in the direction they would need to go he turned and began to slowly move towards the alley that would lead them towards the district, "So you're looking to become an artisan? Nice choice. We definitely are in need of more of them."

[Galilea 0]

"Oh no need for that Calrex, I've already accepted the quest. I just kind of ignored everything the lady said in my excitement hehe." Going through her own inventory, she equipped an axe she recently acquired from an unlikely source, Zero of Azure. That alongside her shield, made her quite the Level 6 player. After confirming her own gear, she continued. "I remember her saying something about finding 2 or 3 ingots and using them to craft a 'Miniature Masterpiece' to show I understand how crafting works. So the question now becomes, where do I find some ingots?"

[Calrex 0]

"Oh, well nice job heh. I guess that means we're heading in the opposite direction then."

Turning a full 180 Calrex gave a nod as he directed her towards the gates leading out into the field zone, "Ingots we'll most likely be able to find in some of the nearby caves. I don't believe they drop off of monsters though, so we'll need to probably find them off of the environment. It should be too bad though."

As they exited out of the Starting City the bluenette kept his eyes peeled for any potential nearby monsters that they might draw the aggro of. However, as he had probably expected to some level, his high level was keeping any weak creatures from being attracted to their group.

"Once we get into the caves I'll go ahead and keep guard while you search for the ingots. From what I know they tend to spawn either in the walls of the cave or the ground below."

[Galilea 0]

"To the caves then," she murmured as Calrex lead the way out. Though she was quite familiar with the floor in general, she had yet to find any caves. However, this could also be due to the fact that she never ventured much farther than the forest on most occasions.

As the familiarity of the cobbled streets began to drift away, the unsettling fields of grass began to replace it. Many players stood about, either congregating on pointless subjects or swinging there weapons at boars that should've been long gone by now. She sighed, realizing that she has spent far too much time on these lower levels. Each day that passed, marked another day in her ridiculous calendar of being virtually useless to the overall point of the game: getting out.

Shaking her head, she opened her eyes to a remarkable find. The cave that Calrex had made mention of only moments ago. "It's a wonder I've never stumbled across it," she explained as she materialized her shield and hammer. "I'll go take a look inside." Ash she entered, the mouth opened up to a rather glorious cavern. Stalactites and stalagmites lined the floors and ceiling, giving the mouth of the cave teeth depending on your perspective. Glossing over the walls, she managed to spot a rather nice crystal blue ingot.  Neat, one down and two to go. Storing the item, she continued to look about.

ID: 48547 LD: 16 (+1 Material)

Edited February 18, 2016 by Lancelot

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as he watched Lancelot head inside of the cavern, standing guard at the mouth. It didn't seem like any monsters had yet to spawn and catch them by surprise. Giving a small exhale to center himself he looked back out on the expanse of the field zones, recalling back when he was still a level one player running around on this floor alongside Teayre and Oikawa. The trio had certainly come a long way since then, with Oikawa now being the representative of the Azure Brigade and Teayre being the head of Amethyst Descent. He himself had become the highest level player in all of Aincrad, an accolade that while to him seemed insignificant had somehow boosted his reputation.

"It's been a long time since the days I used the Anneal Blade. Yet somehow it seems not too far back. Strange..."

Glancing inside he made note his teammate had acquired one of the two items she was after, "Nice work! Just one more to go I'm guessing?"

[Galilea 0]

Her search pushed her a little deeper into the cave than she had originally intended. The ores seemed to be quite more elusive than the bluenette had originally let on; as she hadn't found an ore to match the one in her inventory. A faint voice drifted through the cavern, however, to the noirette it was inaudible. Passing off as whistling wind for her as she moved deeper and deeper. Scanning the ground surrounded by stalagmites, Lancelot managed to pick out what seemed like another ingot. Upon further inspection, she deduced it to be no better than a very shiny rock. Tossing it aside, a heavy escaped her lips. This is taking far longer than I thought.

ID: 48601 LD: 1 (No Material. Total: 1.)

Edited February 19, 2016 by Lancelot

[Calrex 0]

"Hm...I wonder if she might be having trouble in there."

Peering back into the cave Calrex saw that Lancelot had moved into an area of the cavern out of his immediate line of sight. To ensure that he didn't lose track of his teammates he moved a little bit further into the darkened area, moving far enough that the young woman came back into his view. With a small sigh to himself he turned back around, facing towards the exit. Even in the lessened light he had an easy way of determining if trouble was incoming: Any monsters large enough to be a potential threat were more than large enough to cast a shadow into the cave, with the light of the outside to surround their figure. As long as he was able to see changes at the entrance of the cavern, he could easily warn Lancelot of danger.

[Galilea 0]

Her gaze shifted from one rocky wall to the next. Glossing over every curved and indent the cavern walls had to offer. Red irises flicked back and forth, with every sweep. Hmm, maybe I'd do better if I moved back towards the front of the cave. Turning to make her way back up, another glint in the floor caught her eye.  Mildly excited, she inspected the item and and instantly became discouraged once again as she realized it was yet again, but another shiny rock. Tossing it as well, she continued back towards the front. Maybe she'd have better luck up there.

ID: 48732 LD: 4 (No Material. Total: 1.)

Edited February 20, 2016 by Lancelot

[Calrex 0]

Making note that Lancelot was starting to make her way back Calrex gave a nod as he kept watch, "I don't know if she actually got any training or equipment which boosts your chances of finding materials. Looks like she might be having some trouble because of that. These things can be a little bit tough to find, depending on if the spawning algorithm is actually in our favor this time around."

Doing a quick glance around the cave the bluenette stretched his arms, letting out a calming exhale before checking back on his teammate, "Any luck so far with the ingots?"

[Galilea 0]

"It could be better," mused the girl as she begin reach the mouth of the cave. Her axe loftily bounced  against her back as she wiggled the pouch out in front of the bluenette. "Managed to find two of them. I suppose that should be enough to craft right? Let's head back." Re-attaching the pouch to her hip, the noirette quickly began to lead the way back to the 'The Town of Beginnings'. "Thank you for accompanying me today Calrex. I'll make sure to put in a good word for you with Teayre," she teased as a mischievous grin formed on her lips.

ID: 48790 LD: 17  (+1 Material. Total: 2.)

Edited February 22, 2016 by Lancelot

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as Lancelot inquired about the amount of materials needed to continue her quest, "Yeah, you are correct. With two you should have enough."

Following behind the black-haired axe wielder the bluenette kept his hands in his jacket pockets, giving a small laugh as his cheeks tinged a slight red at Lancelot's joke about "putting a good word in" with his wife, "Heh, thanks. Although I would hope she thinks highly of me already, at least if she had chosen to marry me of course."

As they continued back towards the Town of Beginnings Calrex looked left and right to make sure no monsters had decided to become drawn to them all of a sudden. His hand calmly rested on the hilt of the Grand Blade II while they continued moving. At the same time Roc soared in front, as if looking out for the potential threats that Calrex was also peering around for, "So what's your plans in the game Lancelot? Are you going to try and join the frontlines, maybe just relax on the lower floors for a while?"

[Galilea 0]

Lancelot led the way as the two departed from the cavern like structure. The bluenette's cheeks flushed a bit at the mention of his wife, causing to Lancelot to grin even more. As Roc flew out ahead of them, Calrex inquired about her goals in the game. Her pace slowed, as she pondered the question. "I suppose, I like everyone else, wants to see this game ended. Though I'e just recently began my ascension to that goal, I don't plan on being weak for much longer. Though aside from quests like this, I prefer to work on my own. Most of the people I've witnessed nowadays are either over compensating idiots or self-righteous bigots. Feel free to replace those with more appropriate words. Regardless, my end goal is the same as yours, I just don't want all the distractions that come with it."

"Looks like we're back," mentioned the noirette as they managed to somehow proceed from grassy plains to cobbled streets in the matter of minutes. "Shops just around here. I should be able to craft once I'm inside."

[Calrex 0]

"Fair enough, the same here. Even when I was a lower level, I probably could have spent my time just taking care of a shop or resting in and inn until all hundred floor were cleared, but I wouldn't have felt right just sitting around while others were risking their lives to get us out of here. So I began to train alongside Teayre and Oikawa in order to try and make it to the frontlines and lend my aid. Now only a little over a year later and apparently I'm the highest level player in all of Aincrad, heh. I'm sure you would be able to catch up to all of us fairly quickly if you stay dedicated. If anything I know everyone will appreciate another artisan in our midst."

Upon arriving back in the settlement Calrex gave a nod as Lancelot stated she could craft once inside, "Sure thing. Well then best of luck. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can produce with the crafts, heh."