[PP-F1] My name is Bender, insert clever title. <<Earning a Living>> [Ratatosk]

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

Having wandered around the first 4 floors and seeing the many shops, tents, and stalls of goods being made and sold, or in a good few cases given kindly to low level players, by other players, Nikodemus decided that his next best step was to get a profession himself and begin working towards making items to help like the others. Having been a Blacksmith in the real world, Nikodemus decided after some thought that taking that profession would be best for him in here. Despite the differences between the real world and Sword Art Online, Nikodemus was sure he would best be suited as a blacksmith, and all other professions would fail for him. Hearing of a blacksmith NPC who trained others in the Town of Beginnings, Nikodemus returned to the first floor starting area and began his search for the Blacksmith.

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

After searching from shop to shop and bugging a large assortment of players and NPCs alike, Nikodemus had finally found a lead on the Blacksmith. Having been directed by an NPC to a small worn down brick building on the far end of town, Nikodemus found himself face to face with the Blacksmith's shop. A small tattered and worn wooden sign hung on rusted chains above the door, the name of the shop was burnt into the wood but had faded so much from time that it was dull and hard to read. "The Iron Hammer." Nikodemus read aloud as he stood on tipped toes and squinted hard to make the faded letters out.

 

Looking around the buildings front, Nikodemus was unsure if anyone was still there and occupying the shop. A dark sooty dust covered the windows and stained them in such a way that even with hard rubbing, the glass would still be smudged and hazy to look through. Sighing, Nikodemus turned the small handle to the door and began to open it, the squealing creak of hinges peeling through the air as he swung the door open. As light flooded the inner building, Nikodemus walked in slowly and looked around the shop with caution and careful steps to prevent any floorboards from creaking. As he scanned the shelves and wooden racks, old rusted iron weapons sat perched or hung haphazardly from old split wooden pegs and the occasion rusted hook. A thick layer of dust and soot covered everything Nikodemus touched, and the air was dry and saturated with the same particulate as what covered the surface of every inch of the shop.

 

With a sigh of disappointment, Nikodemus turned and began to walk from the building. As he passed by the nearest shelf, something whizzed past his lower left arm and stuck hard into the wooden rack, splitting the old wood and pinning a portion of his shirt to it. Hearing the thud and then feeling his shirt catch, Nikodemus looked down to see a small iron dagger sticking from the rack with his shirt pinned beneath it's point. With a yelp he tore himself free and spun around to face the counter. Bringing his shield from his back and up to his face, he scanned the room looking for the assailant who had thrown the knife.

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

As he scanned the dimly lit room, Nikodemus finally saw a stocky man with graying hair standing just behind a large wooden pillar behind the counter. A door, one Nikodemus knew had been closed when he first surveyed the room, just behind the man hung open at an angle and the smell of coal and hot metals wafted into the room. The man cleared his throat and then slammed both hands upon the counter and began to yell. "So, what the Devil are ye doing here disturbin' me for? Ye come in here, makin' an awful racket, snoop around, and then don't even have courtesy to buy somethin' or ask about specials! So, what's yer excuse?!" The man's face was flushed with anger and his hands gripped the counter in a white knuckled rage as he chewed Nikodemus out.

 

Eyes wide, Nikodemus stammered and waved his hands before him. "N-n-no excuse s-s-sir! I-i-i was looking for a Blacksmith who teaches others to become blacksmiths! I am so sorry for the intrusion and noise! I was told this was his shop an--" As his explanation came forth, the man behind the counter stood straighter and his expression cleared slightly. With a sigh, he ran his hands through his hair and shook his head before laughing a hearty guffaw. "Ah-ha-ha-ha! Oh young man. It is I who should be apologizin'. I thought ye were one of them window shoppin' types who come in, mess the racks up, and then leave without so much as a 'Oh, how d'ye do Smithy? What be the price of this here item? Could we maybe haggle that down a bit?' or anythin'. It's been months since one of my weapons have even been touched, so I am a tad bit touchy with it all. I am sorry for that. Now, if yer here to learn to be a blacksmith, then I will happily teach ye what ye need to know, but ye will need to do some gatherin' of materials first before I will. Ye'll be findin' that the materials needed will come from Boars on the outskirts of town. Go gather some and then bring 'em back here and I'll show ye how to make things with 'em and get ye goin' on yer path to being a blacksmith"

 

With that, the Blacksmith returned to the back room and the sounds of metal clanging began to ring through the shop. Nikodemus took a deep breath and then left the shop and began heading towards the town exit. He'd need some help doing this task. While he had some new gear and was better equipped, he was still weak and would not last long. He stopped just short of the gate and began to look for any player who was leaving the safezone to go boar hunting.

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk held his blade up high and stared at the tip. He threw up an apple and sliced it in half midair, turning what's left of it into slices of adorable kitten shaped apple slices. The blonde chomped on one of them, "Time to go boar hunting, it's always been boring without apples." His equipment was weak, but that wasn't stopping him from doing anything. As long as his HP didn't hit zero, he was fine. "Oh? Another player, must be hunting too." Ratatosk lazily walked over to Nikodemus and greeted him, "You up for some boar hunting kid?"

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

Seeing a young man approach him and ask if he was going boar hunting, Nikodemus nodded furiously. "Yes. I am in need of some materials from some boars. I will happily make a deal with you if you assist me in gathering the materials! I'll give you..." Nikodemus rummages around his pouch and produces a good sized potion vial full of red liquid. "...This. It's a Tier 1 health potion from Zandra's Pharmacy. It will heal you for 20 HP. And, the first good quality item I forge, I will happily give to you gratis as well!" Nikodemus held out the health potion and his free hand in an attempt to shake on the deal.

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk took the potion in his hand and knew immediately that it would save his life in a dire situation. "Alright, we have a deal, but I'll need to take momentary rests from time to time if you need materials. I'll do the initial attacks, and you'll finish them off to get your materials. I'm level five so I won't get loot from monsters like that, but you will. C'mon, let's do this." He spun his sword around and spotted a boar, "Who's taking the first hit on it? You, or me." Ratatosk thought of it for a while, it should be him to do the first strike since he was the one with the higher level. "Get ready to strike after this!" The blonde's blade turned a bright blue color as he lunged forward at a boar, "Let's see how well you hold up!" The sword art Snake Bite was put into use, turning the boar's HP into a couple of tiny slivers.

ID# 53092

Battle 10

(I'll just call you Niko)

Niko: 8/8 HP, 2/2 Energy

Ratatosk: 20/20 HP, 3/5 Energy

DMG: 2 + 2 (Crit) x 2 = 8 Overall

Boar: 3/10 HP, 3 DMG, 1 MIT, 0 ACC, 0 EVA

Edited March 24, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

 

"Agreed! You swing first, I'll clean up!" Nikodemus smiled and followed Ratatosk and engaged the boar with him. Seeing Ratatosk activate his sword art and swing into the boar, Nikodemus prepared himself to strike and readied his shield. Seeing the mobs health drop to almost nothing, Nikodemus charged in at a run. Bringing his axe around and swinging it in a sharp arc, following up with his shield, he was rewarded with the axe biting down into the boars shoulder deep, followed by the sound of bone breaking. Knowing he wouldn't pull the axe free and roll away in time, Nikodemus tightened his grip on his shield and rode his momentum in and smashed into the boar hard. Upon contact with his shield, his <Thorns> effect activated instantly and sent an amplified damage buff outwards into the boar. In less than an instant, the remaining health bar on the boar dropped to 0 and then boar shattered into pixelated data, freeing Nikodemus' axe once more.

 

 

 

 

Niko: 7/8 HP, 1/2 Energy

Ratatosk: 20/20 HP, 3/5 Energy

DMG: 2 + 14 (Thorns) - (1 Mob MIT) = 15 Overall

Boar: 0/10 HP, 3 DMG, 1 MIT, 0 ACC, 0 EVA DED (1 material)

 

 ID# 53095 results: hit | mob hit

 Battle: 7 Craft: 4 Loot: 6 MOB: 8

Edited March 25, 2016 by Nikodemus_Blackwood

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk gave Niko an approving smile, "Good job, I think we can take on at least two boars at a time now, once your health points reach four you can take a break." The blonde drew the aggro of two boars in the field by throwing rocks at them, of course he got the first strike and missed! "What the? [censored]!" The boars hit him cleanly, one doing a crit and the other hitting normally. His HP went down pretty quickly, it was halfway from being zero. "Crap, switch!"

 

ID#53100

Battle 1

Mob 10

ID#53101

Mob 8

Mob DMG: 3 (+2) + 3 = 8

Ratatosk: 12/20 HP, 2/5 Energy

Niko: 7/8 HP, 1/2 Energy

Edited March 25, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

Seeing the miss and hearing Ratatosk yell "SWITCH" Nikodemus nodded and ran in swinging at one of the 2 aggro'd boars. Swinging down hard, he ran his blade down the boars left flank and cut a slight gash down it's side. Seeing the health drop slightly, Nikodemus smiled but knew it wasn't going to be a fatal blow. Feeling a slight tug, his smile faded as he realized the boar had hooked his right left with it's tusk and was in the process of knocking him off balance. The hit was soft and felt like a simple punch so his <Thorns> didn't register the hit, but it was still enough to drop him by 1 point of health.

 

As his right leg left the ground, his right followed suit and he was sent sprawling face first towards the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a few spatters of dirt going outwards from a hoof. The second boar had circled around and was coming at him at an angle. cursing aloud, Nikodemus put his shield arm out and thrust the rounded buckler face into the dirt and attempted to hoist himself up high enough that the boar would sail under him. As his body rose slightly up, he realized to late it was fruitless and now his shield was to far extended to deflect the boars attack. Gritting his teeth, he felt one of the boars tusk graze his armor and slice past his extended arm, leaving a cut just above his wrist where it slid by. Landing on the ground and rolling to his feet, Nikodemus spun on the spot and brought his shield up in a defensive position, and held his axe behind him ready to strike again.

 

 

 

Ratatosk: 12/20 HP, 2/5 Energy

Niko: 5/8 HP, 1/2 Energy 

 

Boar 1: 3/5 HP, 3 DMG, 1 MIT, 0 ACC, 0 EVA (Loot eligible)

Boar 2: 5/5 HP, 3 DMG, 1 MIT, 0 ACC, 0 EVA (Loot eligible)

My DMG 2 (+1) - 1 = 2

Mob DMG: 3 (2) + 2 - 12 (mit) = 2 (base damage of 1 per boar)

ID# 53102 results: Me crit | boar 1 Crit | boar 2 crit

Battle: 9 Craft: 11 Loot: 7 MOB: 9

 

Boar 2

53104 results:

 Battle: 3 (Ignored) Craft: 7 Loot: 7 MOB: 9

 

Edited March 25, 2016 by Nikodemus_Blackwood

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk raised his blade and used the sword art Snake Bite on the first boar. It happened quickly, the boar was destroyed and disappeared in a rain of crystals, but the second was in rage. In order to avenge its fallen brethren, it'd have to charge at Ratatosk with the intent of killing him. "Looks like the first one's down, oh [censored] the second one! Switch!" The second boar hit him and his health points were on the verge of going into the orange zone, "Quick, finish him off!"

ID# 53187

Battle 8

Mob 6

DMG: 2 x 2 = 4

Ratatosk: 9/20 HP, 0/5 Energy

Boar 1: -1/5 HP, 3 DMG, 1 MIT, 0 ACC, 0 EVA (Loot eligible) Dead

Boar 2: 5/5 HP, 3 DMG, 1 MIT, 0 ACC, 0 EVA (Loot eligible)

Edited March 25, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

 

Once Ratatosk had yelled switch once again, Nikodemus ran in once more with his axe swinging in a sharp arc. With a yell Nikodemus crashed into the boar hard and swung at the boars thick neck. His axe came in at a wrong angle and bounced harmlessly from the boars tusk. With thud of the boar's tusks against his armor and shield, his <Thorns> effect activated and sent a shockwave of damage through the boar, shattering it into digital pixels. Standing up and shaking off the damage, Nikodemus took deep breathes and smiled at Ratatosk.

 

"We should rest friend."

 

 ID# 53197 results: Me fail | Mob hit

 Battle: 2 Craft: 8 Loot: 8 MOB: 6

 

 

Ratatosk: 9/20 HP, 0/5 Energy

Niko: 4/8 HP, 1/2 Energy 

DMG: 14 <Thorns> - 1 = 13 overall

~~Boar 2: 0/5 HP, 3 DMG, 1 MIT, 0 ACC, 0 EVA~~ DED (1 material)

Edited March 26, 2016 by Nikodemus_Blackwood

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk gave an approving smile, "Yup, that was a pretty decent run. While we're not in combat we should search for materials to get as many as possible. Our health points and energy still go up even if we look for materials, so let's get to it." The blonde went on a search around his area, the grass was a very good place to find materials because some were just that visible to the naked eye. "Let's see here... Grass, grass, oh, what's this?" He held up a material and looked at it. "Nice."

ID# 53199

Loot 15

+1 Material

Ratatosk: 12/20 HP, 2/5 Energy

Edited March 26, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

"Ok. Let's take a look around." Nikodemus sunk down low to the ground in a strange crouch and began to sift through large tufts of grass. After a moment, Nikodemus thought he saw something shine beneath a few roots that the boars had been eating.  With a joyous exclamation, he snatched it up and held it high. "YEA!!!! I found somethin-- Er... Nope. Just a stupid rock." With a sigh of disgust, Nikodemus dropped it back into the tuft of grass and moved on to the next one grumbling. As he searched here and there, Nikodemus watched his health tick up by one point ever so often.

 

 

ID: 53200: search fail

 

Loot: 9

Edited March 26, 2016 by Nikodemus_Blackwood

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk laughed at Niko, "Nice catch bud, now we can turn that into a sword!" His words were obviously not serious, he was trying to mess with him. "I think I remember that there was a certain trick to doing this, first you have to have an accessory equipped and then also have a certain skill, but that's for people who specialize in gathering materials. But you could get them much faster just by hunting monsters." The blonde spun his sword around and used it to dig in the dirt for materials, "Looks like I found another one."

ID# 53223

Loot 16

+1 Material

Ratatosk: 15/20 HP, 4/5 Energy

Edited March 26, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

Digging a bit into the roots of some smaller vegetation, Nikodemus tore a few smaller bushes from the ground and shook them out, finding nothing but dirt and small pebbles. Moving a little further down from their last battle area, Nikodemus smiled as he saw signs of things having been through recently. He began to dig into the tall grass and bushes pulling everything he could from their tangled begs and examining it closely. After a few minutes of this, he signed and gave up with that area finding nothing but a potion bottle cork and some more pebbles. "Bah! I am not a gatherer by nature. Seems the game knows this! I'm going to try around the tree over here. Atleast my health is going up still. Maybe another 10 minutes and we'll both be full health." Nikodemus smiled at Ratatosk and moved closer to the large tree nearby.

 

 

ID# 53225 results: fail.

 Loot: 2

Edited March 26, 2016 by Nikodemus_Blackwood

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk sheathed his sword and spotted another two boars. "Let's not engage until we are at full health, even though I have more than you, you could still die. Though you will survive more hits than me, but don't worry about that." He searched for materials in a patch of grass close to their fighting area, "Let's see here, what's this? A material? Or no, hmmm..." Taking a closer examination of it, the blonde set it down and let it shine in the sun. "Ah, I see, so you aren't a material after all."

ID# 53227

Loot 9

Edited March 26, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

 

"Agreed. I am about 2 or 3 points away from full health. Once we're fully healed then we can find some more boars and see what we can get from them." With a smile, Nikodemus began searching around the large tree and in the tufts of grass here and there. Grumbling occasionally as he went from area to area, he would occasionally toss a small shard of glass, rocks, roots, and even the occasional twig or small branch. With a grunt, he finally gave up and sat down beneath the tree for a moment and watched his health slowly refill point by point. A smile spread across his face and he leaned his head against the tree mumbling about rainbow colored birds and happy squirrels playing together.

 

ID# 53661 results: Fail

 Loot: 8

Edited March 28, 2016 by Nikodemus_Blackwood

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk fully recovered from all his wounds and helped Niko on the search. "Nah, now that I think of it, monsters are still too dangerous. Just stick to material gathering, there's a higher chance that you'll die when you fight boars." He knew the experience all too well, the other day he tried to take on four boars but nearly died. "Here, it's easy. Just look on the ground and you'll find something, only fight monsters when you have good accuracy and Mitigation."

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

Nodding slightly as the last of his health ticked up and became green. Stretching within his heavy armor and popping the joints in and our of socket, Nikodemus then stood and decided to take one more look about the tree and whistled a broken disjointed tune. His eyes darted from left to right as he scanned the ground with meticulous sight. Wishing he had a charm or trinket that gave him some increase to his search skill, he shrugged slightly and then noticed a gleam from the corner of his eye. With a quick fluid motion, Nikodemus hooked his armored boot under the object and jerked his knee into the air bringing the item from it's resting place and into the air. Seeing a material he smiled and snatched it from the air and pocketed it with the others he had gotten from boars. "Well, We can continue searching. I don't mind either. I just need to get some things so I can be trained as a Blacksmith. Hopefully the old man will make use of the couple items I find."

 

ID# 53753 results: Success. +1 Material.

Loot: 16

Edited March 28, 2016 by Nikodemus_Blackwood

[Ratatosk 0]

Ratatosk looked at Niko and gave a thumbs up. "Well done. If you'd like, I'll be going monster hunting soon, and I could give you all the materials I earn. It's not a big deal really. Oh, and one more thing I need to tell you." He stared into his eyes with seriousness. "You're not like the other people I've met. Most others are so claimed protectors or some other bull[censored] like that. They take things way too seriously and can't let loose, I hate people like that." The blonde looked at the sky and saw a beautiful sunset. "We should finish that quest soon."

OOC: After I post again, let's complete the thread

Edited March 29, 2016 by Ratatosk