[1F - SP] <<Earning a Living>> - Completed

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

<<Earning a Living>>

This quest takes place on Floor 1
This quest is repeatable
This RP will not count in the benchmark

Description: Every player, to survive in this death game, must make some form of Col. For some, they just hunt mobs. For others, they may earn a living and take up a profession. may meet During your search for a profession you meet a friendly NPC who will train you with your profession. You will have to material hunt and craft your item, or receive a free basic item from the NPC (such as an instrument or fishing rod for performers or fishermen.) Profession options and guides can be found here. Each profession's enhancements guide can be found here.

 

Requirements:

-At least two [2] Pages (21 or more posts)

-RP can be PP or SP

-You may have assistance, however only one player may gain their profession and the materials rolled for at the end by a Moderator

-Repeatable for Materials only


Rewards:

1. A title relating to your profession
2. The ability to open up a shop in the 'Merchants and Shops' section.
3. 1 extra Skill Point
4. Extra materials (rolled by Moderator whether GM or PST with Loot Die upon topic completion)

 

Recommended Level: 2

It had been a whirlwind to say the least since Akihiko Kayaba had closed his trap on the thousands of unsuspecting players, and in that time, many had managed to settle down and find a life for themselves. As Shield wandered through the streets of the Town of Beginnings, he peered through the stray strands of his shaggy hair to see the merchant district stretched out before him.
Dozens of carts and stands and small shops lined the road. Some were manned by lower level players, others were clearly seasoned gamers who had tons of experience under their belts. Some could have even been vendors in real life, judging by the superb layout of their shops and the keen skills at running a business.

And me?

"Where do you fit into it all?" croaked a gruff old voice. "That's what you were thinking, am I right?"

Shield wheeled around to find a man sitting behind the counter of an open-air stall. There was a glint in the eyes of the elderly gentleman peeking out from under long, bushy eyebrows. He beckoned to Shield, who stepped closer.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

"Can I help you?" Shield asked, coking his head to the side and crossing his arms across his chest.

There was an odd air about the man. He didn't seem to have any sort of wares. He was just an old man sitting in a little lean-to of a stall. White wisps of beard clung to his chin much a seasoned version of Shield's own unkempt whiskers.

This must be an NPC. Otherwise he would have items for sale. He could be an information dealer of some sort, but he comes across as more of a tinker than anything.

"Some company would be lovely," replied the old man, who produced a stool from behind him and set it on the ground next to the stall. "Sit. It won't Bite."

Sheild shrugged and took a seat. If this was a quest, it was at least hearing about the details before deciding whether it was worth his time.

[Shield 0]

"I hope you don't mind my asking," Shield began stiffly, unsure of whether he needed to say anything in particular to initiate the appropriate quest dialog. "What is it you sell? Your shop seems empty."

With a wry smile, the old man leaned in close and put a withered hand around the back of Shield's shoulder, dragging him closer so that their noses were less than an inch apart.

"I was going to say the same thing about you," answered the wizened old man. "You looked lost, wandering along the stalls, looking on without any actual interest in mind..."

A look of genuine worry broke out across Shield's face, his eyes now very focused on the cloudy blue eyes that were fixed on his own.

This is clearly an NPC, but it either has very sophisticated AI, or it just happened to strike it rich flagging down the right passer-by.

[Shield 0]

The old man chuckled to himself and sat back into his chair, releasing the newcomer. He took out a short pipe, tapping it a few times to pack the leaves before striking a match and lighting the contents. With a few puffs and an aromatic expulsion of smoke, the voice croaked once more.

"To answer the question you asked, though," the old man continued, "I am a mere merchant. I sell the little things that get people by, at least on occasion, but my passion it seeing the hidden potential in that which you already possess."

Shield looked down at his namesake that hung on his arm, pulling up its menu to see the words "locked item" staring back at him. He could definitely see the appeal in such a profession. If not for the mechanical purposes behind discovering new effects on existing items, there was something exciting about seeing a new aspect of something that someone had not seen before.

"And how exactly does one become a merchant?" Shield asked, leaning in closer to the wrinkled merchant.

[Shield 0]

As the lined lips of the old man puffed on the stem of the pipe, a corner of them pulled back into a half-grin. The plan black cap that covered his apparently shiny head shifted, and he absentmindedly straightened it.

"So, you interested in learning a craft then? I thought as much."

The hand closest to Shield ditched the smoldering match that it had held and reached into the corresponding pocket. It produced from the depths of the woolen pocket two small items. The first was a small dagger of iron. The second was a small brass item, conical in shape, with the tip cut short and a lens on either rounded end.

"This is a simple jeweler's loupe," he explained, handing it to Shield, who held it uncertainly with his fingertips. "See what you can tell me about this dagger."

Shield accepted the ring as well, looking it over before pulling up its specs.

"It's an uncommon. One slot of Accuracy."

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield
(originally wrote it as a ring, but those aren't a thing on the appraisal charts)

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 74631 results: Craft: 10 - Success! New slot discovered!

Loot: 7 - +1 Accuracy

The crackly laugh that issued from the merchant's throat was like something translated from a gramophone needle. Wiping tears of mirth from the corners of his great, long crows feet, the old man returned his gaze to Shield.

"Anyone with eyes can see its spec sheet. Use the loupe."

He gave the old man a look and a shrug before turning back to the rung. Stiffly, Shield clamped the meat of his cheek and the top of his brow down onto the loupe to hold it in place as he focused his eye on the ring. Sure enough, three golden dots appeared in the bottom corner of his vision, chasing one another from left to right as if someone over the internet were in the process of typing him a message. A small message popped up beside the dots.

[ Spend 1 Lv1 Material to proceed..]

The hairs rose on his forearm, and he felt a small thrill building in his chest. Shield blinked once to accept the cost. The dots resumed their blinking for a few more moments before a golden exclamation mark exploded into view in the center of the loupe, listing out new details.

"It has another slot!" Shield practically shouted. "Accuracy level 2! It's now a rare dagger!"

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74635 results: Craft: 3 - Failure. Item locked!

"Don't stop there, my boy! Don't stop there! See if there's another!" the old man whooped, which sounded more akin to the cawing of a crow than to anything human.

He did not need telling though. Shield was already sacrificing the necessary materials to find out if anything else was hidden away on the now not so simple dagger. With the dancing of those same little dots and a moment of waiting where the world seemed to disappear beyond the narrow scope of the rounded lenses that he looked through, there came a red flash and an animation of a pictograph padlock slamming shut.

[Item Locked!]

It was the same notice that he had seen on his shield. His heart sank a little.

"Locked, is it?" said the old man, laying a hand on Shield's shoulder, causing the adventurer to jump, almost having forgetten that he had company.

"What?" he blurted, sitting up and taking his eye off of the little looking glass. "Oh. Yes, it was."

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

The dry tongue of the weathered merchant clicked a few tuts of disappointment before taking the dagger back from Shield and handing him a couple of materials to replace what he had spent.

"A shame, that, but it happens to the best of us. For an unskilled craftsman, you did well. Not everyone finds anything noteworthy on their first appraisal," said the old man. "Demitrius."

"Sorry?" Shield asked, his forehead furrowing a little.

"My name, my boy. My name is Demitrius."

Shield clapped a heavy hand to his forehead, trying to snap himself out of his haze at such a shockingly thrilling experience.

"I'm so sorry. Shield. My name is Shield."

Reaching out his hand to grasp the wan, ghost-like hand of the old man, the two properly greeted one another.

"An apt name for a stalwart hero," creaked the vocal cords of the aging gentleman. Shield suspected he said this to any character who had more than a couple of skill points in combat skills. "Would you like to try again?"

Rolling

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74637 results: Craft: 8 - Inconclusive. Try again!

Nodding vigorously, Shield barked a hasty "Yes!" before remembering his manners. It wasn't that he was afraid to hurt the feelings of an NPC, but it was still out of character for him to be so exuberant. It had been a long time since he had been this excited about anything. He was sure that his more animated colleague, Beat, would not let him live such an outburst down.

With a chuckle like wind chimes, Demitrius reached into the folds of his coat and took out a pair of gauntlets, setting them on the table in front of him.

"See what you can make of them. I'll do the easy part for you. They already have a slot of +1 damage."

Shield nodded and returned the loupe to his eye, squinting at the items as he turned them over in his hands. He paid the cost and waited. This time, though, instead of a conclusion, they simply asked for a second material.

"What does this mean? More materials needed?"

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74639 results: Craft: 8 - Inconclusive. Try again!

"It means what it says," Demitrius replied. Shield could almost hear a shrug in his voice. "Sometimes, you just have to keep looking until you find a conclusive answer."

This was not the result Shield had been hoping for, but regardless, his resolve was unshaken. He took his eye off of the glass and blinked, getting his bearings before making another attempt. With a deep breath, he returned the instrument to his eye and refocused.

Another material required. Another material paid. Another material wasted.

Shield frowned.

"Don't worry, stalwart Shield," Demitrius cackled at the look of disappointment on the younger man's face. "Life is a journey, not a destination. You're going to have to get used to those results. I'll cover you on materials. Pay no mind to that."

Undaunted, Shield nodded, not even bothering to remove the lens from his eye before continuing. Result or not, this process was a fascinating one, to be sure.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74642 results: Craft: 10 - Success!

 Loot: 17 - +1 slot of Damage

"Ha!" Shield shouted, standing up and practically turning the little stall over.

He had to grab the upright that held the little lean-to roof in place to keep the whole thing from tipping into the street.

"Sorry about that," Shield said, removing the loupe from his eye which he only just realized was still clamped in the muscles surrounding it. "It's a rare, though! Another slot of Damage!"

Demitrius was too busy laughing to hear the apology, slapping his knees as he cackled with a dry and crusty bout of guffaws. His frail looking hand waved through the air to bat the apology away.

"I haven't seen someone this excited by appraisals in ages," the old man practically sobbed, drying the wet edges of his smiling eyes. "Well, don't just stand there creating more of a scene! Sit back down and finish the job! Can't be stopped 'till the item's locked!"

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74643 results: Craft: 3 - Failure. Item locked!

Shield nodded once again, settling himself back into place as he tried to ignore the handful of people that had stopped to stare at his outburst. Despite his forehead burning with the sudden attention, Shield was too eager to find out more about the scuffed, though now rare, gauntlets in his hands.

After getting settling back in his seat and focusing his eyes once more, he accepted the charge of another material, only to see the same disappointing message he had gotten immediately after discovering the hidden quality on the dagger.

[Item Locked!]

With a heavy sigh, he leaned back on the back legs of his stool, lowering the loupe from his cheek, which in the real world would have easily been sore by now from holding the little brass tool for so long.

"Locked again," he said, handing the gauntlets back to their rightful owner once again. "Oh well."

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Demitrius accepted the gauntlets, turning them over and taking mental note before stowing them. His eyes returned to Shield, regarding them with the same careful intensity as they had the unarmed weapons a moment ago.

"You know, you don't have anything to be ashamed of," the old merchant reassured him. "You've improved both of the items you've looked at. That's a perfect record so far. Not too shabby."

Demitrius replaced the materials that Shield had spent, returning to a forward facing position and regarding the street in front of him.

"There are some people who find adventure out in the wilderness, slaying monsters and hunting for treasure," Demitrius said thoughtfully, running his fingers through his beard. 

"And yet here we are," Shield chuckled to himself. "We're looking for adventures and discoveries and treasures right here in our own back yard, so to speak."

Without turning to look at him, the old man tapped the side of his squat nose and pointed at Shield, as if to say 'now you're getting it.'

 

[Shield 0]

There was a long silence, and at first Shield was not sure whether he was supposed to say something or not. He glanced over to Demitrius and saw that his eyes were out looking at the street, watching the various people wander by. His eyes were dim with age and the clouded films that time had painted over them, but there was something behind them that seemed beyond simply robotic or programmable.

Shield decided to follow suit, turning his eyes towards everyone, he studied them all. Slowly, each face started to come into clearer focus, not in a literal sense, but in a sense where it began to sink in just how real everyone was.

"They're all alive and well, despite being wrapped in their virtual world," Demitrius said softly, barely audible under the hum of the busy street. "It's easy to forget that each of them is more than just a set of pixels. Those people are still breathing."

Shield nodded, not taking his eyes away from them, as if it was important that he looked at every single one of them, to give their existence just a little more weight and a little less reason to doubt that they were real.

"And you think that it's important to stop and take note of that from time to time," Shield said, completing his thoughts.

"You catch on quick," Demitrius croaked. "Both when looking through the loupe or looking with your own eyes."

[Shield 0]

"Can we continue?" Shield asked.

There was a playful little smile that Demitrius had been hiding and threatening to intrude upon his lips. At this display of eagerness, it broke out in full, stretching all the way from one dangling earlobe to the other.

"Someone has certainly caught the spirit of adventure," the wily old codger said. "Try your hand at this one."

He held out his hand and a great two-handed sword appeared in it, point down in the dirt, leaning against the old man's palm. He tilted the hilt towards Shield, who took it eagerly and examined it, looking at the obvious details. It was a beautiful make, though incredibly simple, however, this was actually what made the design effective.

"One slot of accuracy," Shield observed aloud, looking it over.

"But you already see more than that," said the old man.

"One doesn't get into these sorts of games without having an appreciation for weaponry," Shield laughed. "It's not elaborate or decadent, but it would be extremely well balanced and maneuverable. Good distal taper. Weighted in the pommel to counterbalance the long blade... Even a child could handle this sword without too much difficulty."

Demitrius nodded, his eyes still preoccupied with the street. Shield took this as a sign that he had made his point, and the adventurer turned his loupe onto the sword.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74681 results: Craft: 8 - Try again

The golden particles that ran across the bottom corner of his view traced their path for a few moments before once again requesting an additional material. Shield persisted, acknowledging the request. The blade he held was light, which any good sword should be, and while it did not stand out in any way, that was what made it extraordinary. Because it was so expertly designed, it did not need to catch the eye. It did its job, and better than any flashy sword ever would, at least in the real world.

"Keep on looking," Demitrius crooned.

Without even removing his eye from the jeweler's tool, he knew that the old man had not even looked away from the street.

What an interesting and puzzling NPC this man is... There must be some explanation for how and why he is the way that he is. I have never heard of a mere non-player being so interactive and insightful.

 

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74682 results: Craft: 6 - Try again

Try as he might, if there were any complexities to this blade, they were not making themselves apparent. Another notice came up, and again, Shield acknowledged the request and continued to stare into the loupe.

"Are you focusing on the sword, or are you trying to unravel the mystery of the old man?" Demitrius asked.

Shield pulled the loupe from his eye and gawked at the figure beside him. Beneath the bent and grizzled surface, there was something unmistakably strange going on.

"How-"

"If I told you how I am aware of my oddity, it would spoil the mystery behind the oddity itself."

The ripe old man gave Shield another grin, his clever old eyes staring back steadily into Shield's bewildered ones.

"I'll tell you what," Demitrius said, holding up his finger to silence any further attempts at questions. "If you can discover two hidden properties on an item, I'll tell you why I am how I am."

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74683 results: Craft: 10 - Success!
Loot: 18 - +1 Damage

With wide-eyed intensity, Shield returned to the sword, gladly paying the material cost to learn its secrets. Not two seconds later, a notice popped up, emblazoned with a golden exclamation point.

"Ha!" exclaimed the apprentice merchant. "Rare quality, +1 Accuracy, +1 Damage! I'm half way there, old man!"

The wicked little smile was back, and once again threatening to take over his deeply canyoned visage. Eyes still forward, Demitrius nodded, rocking slowly in this stool as the street bustled on in front of him. If an NPC was capable of exhibiting pride, that is exactly what Shield saw on his face.

"You're half way there, but remember it's all or nothing. Lock the item, and you start over," teased the crackly old voice.

He was right. Shield had already been here twice before, and both times he had locked the item before discovering a second slot.

Just relax. Focus. One thing at a time.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74684 results: Craft: 11 - Success!
Loot: 4 - +1 Keen

Shield sighed, setting down the loupe and putting the sword on the table in front of them. He leaned back slightly onto the back legs of his stool.

"Well, tough luck, kiddo," chuckled the merchant. "I guess I'll just have to carry my mystery with me."

Now it was Shield's turn to grin, his lips cracking into the biggest smile he had experienced in all of his time in Sword Art Online.

"Shows how much you know, wise guy," Shield quipped, picking up the sword. "+1 Accuracy, +1 Damage... +1 Keen. Perfect quality."

Handing off the swihander, the old man looked at him in astonishment before exploding with laughter, clutching his stomach as he rocked back and forth on the stool, leaning on the hilt of the sword to keep his balance.

"You sly devil, you," Demitrius croaked through spasms of laughter. "You just had to try to get one in on me, didn't you? Well, serves me right for being so ornery I suppose."

Edited January 19, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

It took a solid minute for Demitrius to calm down enough to stow the sword and replace Shield's spent materials. As his breathing, raspy though it was, finally returned to somewhat of a normal cadence, he let out a sigh. His eyes darted from one person to another.

"Well, to call me an NPC would be accurate, though not a complete description."

He took a long time watching the passersby, seeming to be picking his words very carefully. Eventually, he shook his head and took a deep breath, plowing on with the explanation despite seeming uncertain of his word choice.

"I am a game developer, or at least what's left of one."

Shield turned to him, stunned. His eyes were wide, and his thinly bearded jaw hung slack.

"A developer?" Shield hissed. "As in you were partly responsible for the creation of Sword Art Online? But I thought you said-"

"One of many who was, yes. And you're right. I did say I was an NPC. I'm getting to that," Demitrius went on. "You see, I found out several months before the game was to be released that I was dying. Cancer. Inoperable. It happens, I suppose."