[PP-F1] Earning a Living with Lee

[Nocturn 0]

Noct rose from his sleep, his arms outstretched above him as he stretched away the stiffness of sleep from his body. He let out a loud yawn, signaling to everyone around him that he was now awake. The sun had yet to rise to completion and a thin mist hung on the ground as the temperature rose. Noct brushed the dirt away from his body. Having barely enough money to avoid potions, staying at an Inn was highly unlikely. Sure he had money now, but he could use it to get something worthwhile rather then a comfortable night in an inn. Though, the more he thought about it, the more tempting it became. But today was the day he'd change that. He did his morning stretches as he prepared his morning routine. He was going to get a job.

He had put a lot of thought into it. At first he was going to be an alchemist, and try to make some serious cash. But there were at least three alchemists on every street. Fighting for the lowest prices, and working non stop sounded like too much of a hassle. So he gave Performer a look over, but the only performer he could find explained that the skills and items he made weren't really all that good. So he looked again, for something with little market competition and relative ease with crafting. Perhaps Tailoring, or Blacksmithing. But both of those were found in spades, proof of that was found in the shop where he got his spear. Lines of people crowded these areas, and noct would have none of it. But, as he was looking for an alchemist the other day he noticed something. A distinct lack of accessory item shop. There were little to no Artisans around, and those that were had disappeared or had closed down. So, he decided that being an Artisan would be his goal.

The quest relatively easy ti complete as well. Find the start of it, talk to the NPC, grab a few things from outside the city, and head back. Nothing too complicated, just time consuming. Noct left his little alley in search of the quest board that gave out the desired quest. The sun had rose to completion by the time Noct reached his destination. He grabbed the paper, his quest starting. The quest was close enough to the NPC to begin immediately, so Noct hurried over to her. The NPC said that it needed a few rare gemstones from a cave not that far from the gates. Noct knew where the cave was from his previous exploits, but never explored it himself. Perhaps it would be a good idea to grab some protection, or a party member to increase his chances of survival. First person that came to mind, was on the third floor.

One small detour to the third floor Noct found himself outside of Piera's Potent Potions. He smiled as he began to walk in, only to meet himself. Well, not himself but his reflection. His face bounced off of the man's armor, and Noct reeled back more in shock then in actual force. "Ah, excuse me. I didn't see you there." Noct said, rubbing the back of his head. He looked the man over. Perhaps, he would be better suited for a combat scenario than Piera. Noct thought for a second. "I'm sorry. I'm Nocturn, or Noct. Are you a friend of Piera's?" He asked, fishing for information of the man in front of him.

@Lee

[Lee 0]

Lee stood in the middle of Piera's Potent Potions with a broom in hand the a small boar sitting on the other side of the room, resting on a blanket. Lee had freed himself for the most part of the day and with it, he was truly bored. He had already did a once over of his own shop and then found himself moved into her own and continued the cleaning. Though, it as well had become stale in its repetitive notions and now that he thought about it, he would stop sweeping. He wasn't even sure that dust was even a thing in the game. He would look down at the broom and then glare at it menacingly as it served little purpose aside from a prop. He would look over to the small boar that was passed out from doing literally nothing.

He would place the broom up and place his hands onto his hips and look around the store with an defeated sigh. It was then that his figure would shift slightly and it was not his own doing. The armored player would turn around to be greeted by a black haired player whom apologized to which Lee would raise a hand and shook his head "No, no, my bad. I'm kinda standing in the middle of the store." The man would then introduce himself as Nocturn and would inquire if Lee was an acquaintance to Piera to which he would laugh lightly "Yeah, you could say that. Name's Lee, a pleasure to meet ya Noc." Lee would then hold a hand out for a handshake.

[Nocturn 0]

Noct's ear perked at the mention of the man's name. "Lee." He mused the name in his head, knowing that he had heard it before. Not heard, seen. He had seen a Lee in the party when he was off questing with Piera. "Ah, you must be that same Lee. Too much of a coincidence to not be him. I take it you and Piera are close." Noct surmised aloud. His thoughts clouded his true purpose, and he shook his head realizing that and focused on his quest at hand. "Oh yeah, why I'm here." Noct pulled out the quest sheet of paper. "I'm needing to grab a few materials from a cave outside of the safe zone. I know where the cave is, I've just never explored it. Figured I should at least have someone around to watch my back as I stumble around." Noct said, explaining himself hoping that it would be enough for Lee to bite. "I'm aiming to become an Artisan of sorts. It seems easy to do, and there's not a whole lot of them around for competitive business." Noct mused, speaking his thoughts aloud again.

@Lee

[Lee 0]

Lee's brow would rise as he would reply that his name was one that he recalled to which caught Lee's interest. As Nocturn would continue on, he would state that Piera and Lee were fairly close which caused him to nod in agreement "You would be correct in that assumption." Lee would assume that he and Piera must have done a quest or formed a party for some occasion or she brought himself up to him which in all honesty was indeed a creep thing to do. Though, he would surely end up bringing this up against the brunette later on in jest and hope to get a rise outta her for it. Lee was brought back to the here and now as Nocturn would bring out a paper that he would deem important for a quest that he was doing and was aiming to get someone to go with him for safeties sake which, in all honesty, was actually pretty smart.

Most players just went out with parties of random people they found and hoped for the best without really thinking too far ahead. While Nocturn might have been aiming for Piera, Lee was now a default to which Lee would nod his head "Yeah, I have no problem with that and it should actually be fun. More so than just sitting around here." He would look off to the side and speak outward to seemingly no one.

"Babette, mere'." As he said this, the sounds of light taps would echo closer till a small boar would barrel around the corner and head toward the two players. Lee would crouch down and scoop the boarlet into his hands before standing up and turning back toward Nocturn "Babette, Nocturn. Nocturn, Babette." He would give the light introduction.

[Nocturn 0]

Noct clenched his open hand as a silent victory. Persuading Lee was surprisingly easy, easier so than convincing Piera a few days prior. Noct looked down at the small animal that was called, Babette. Noct kneeled down, and patted the small boar. "Hey there Babette, it's a pleasure to meet you." Noct said, smiling at the creature. It must be a familiar, seeing how small it was. He wondered if it would safe if it entered combat. But, with Lee around, Noct was sure that it would be fine. Noct stood back up, and turned towards the door. "Alright, the cave is just outside of town, and the path to it should be relatively clear of mobs." The raven haired man said.

Noct lead the way through the town, and down into the teleportation plaza. "So, how do you know Piera? Is she like, a girlfriend of yours?" He questioned, as they walked trying to make idle conversation as he did with Piera.

[Lee 0]

Lee was pleased that Babette was met with as much positive enthusiasm as she had ever since he had gotten her. It was definitely something he could find a bit of solace in that others liked her though, it wasn't his goal for her but it was a happy side effect. Nocturn would then mention that the area they were to be heading off to a cave that was located not that far off. Lee would nod his head in agreement "Sweet, that seems completely doable." With that, they began the journey to the teleportation area and Nocturn would then bring up Piera and what sort of relationship they held to which he would chuckle.

"Well, she would fall under the fiancée category currently. Aiming to get a wedding together rather than an overly rushed one. Though, we've upgraded each others status from significant other to significant lover." He would laugh at the thought of Piera hitting his arm out of embarrassment but at the same time, turning a nice hue of red. "How'd you two come into contact with one another?"

[Nocturn 0]

Noct felt a twinge of surprise hit him as Lee announced that he was betrothed to Piera. He let out a warm smile. "Congratulations on your engagement. I hope everything goes smoothly." Noct said, wishing the man luck with his future. He thought about his own future for a bit, how long he'd be stuck in this game. Whether or not he'd be able to find someone in the game, someone he'd be able to be with. Like Piera and Lee. Despite it being a death game, and countless players dying what everyone can only assume was a very real and permanent death, the two were happy. At least with each other, in that regard. Noct was so engrossed with his own thoughts, that Lee's question was almost missed. "Ah well, I was looking for some healing items. And Piera's was the word around town. I stopped in, showed my empty coin pouch, and she insisted that she accompanied me." Noct answered honestly. "She was decent at fighting things, but she seemed more support focused than combat. I mean, she forgot that her spear had bleed on it." Noct said, rubbing the back of his head. Now that he thought about, he seemed to have done more damage than Piera, despite her level difference.

Another brief walk from the teleportation plaza, they found themselves outside the safety of the city. Noct drew his spear, and used it as a walking aide across the plains. "The cave should be up ahead. ANything else you want to ask, before I lose myself in work?" Noct asked, joking slightly.

[Lee 0]

Lee would laugh lightly at the congrats on his own future "And I thank you for that. It helps that we have a few years behind the scenes of Sword Art but in the end, it does kinda push the envelope on the whole everyday is dangerous so enjoy the time together trope. Added to that, it was awesome seeing her face and in the end, isn't that why we do these things? For the personal enjoyment of ourselves?" He would chuckle to ensure that he was joking. Nocturn would then speak of the encounter with Piera and it seemed to be helpful, in a similar manner as to how he was doing right now.

Great minds and the like it would seem. As Nocturn would tell Lee about her role and that she wasn't even sure about her weapon's abilities, Lee accidentally let out a quick and loud laughter before locking his lips to try and hold the rest in "PFFFF.....I...I can see that and I'm not surprised. I'm not much on the side of damage but my damage mitigation is fairly high and I aim to let them kill themselves against my solid abs and status effects from my own sword." As the got close to where it was they wished to be, Nocturn would ask if everything was in order.

Lee would place the small boar on the ground and reach behind himself to take his shield in hand and pull his sword from the shield located on the inside "As ready as I feel like I want to be. Though, nothing too major should be popping up...hopefully. But we got this. We totally got this so yeah, yeah I'm ready."

[Nocturn 0]

Noct let out a forced chuckle as Lee bragged humbly about his mitigation, through the power of his abs. If only Noct could as confident as Lee, then maybe some things would be different. Noct never was one to be confident in his abilities, or in his tact, or anything else for that matter. Noct gritted his teeth and pushed on to his destination. Lee set his tiny Babette down onto the ground, and took up his post to guard. In retrospect, it was sort of embarrassing. Enlisting the help of a bodyguard from mobs or other whilst he looked for materials. Noct pictured himself as some NPC, giving out quests rather then taking his own. Noct stepped into the cave's mouth. The cave didn't reach that far back, and Noct could see the back of it barely, thanks to the sun's current light.

Almost immediately stepping into the cave, Noct had found one of the items he was looking for. He kicked it slightly, and it turned into a consumable itme. Yellow in coloration, and simply labeled 'Tier One Crafting Material'. He pocketed the material, and continued to look.

ID: 82769
LD: 16

Materials Found: 01

[Lee 0]

Lee would follow suit in the same direction as Nocturn as they would shortly come to the entrance of the aforementioned cave which seemed rather small which would hopefully make things quick. Nocturn would waste little time in looking around whilst Lee would aim to do the same though, Lee would take notice that Nocturn would find something almost immediately whilst Lee was unsuccessful. It was just the start so there was still plenty of time to turn things around though, with luck. Though, he found himself doing a lot of these little material gathering things but he never keeps. He would either give them away or they would find their way into his shop. He would give off a chuckle at the mental thought to which the tiny boar would use its nose to sniff around the cave, being the ever curious pig that she was, doing what she wished while still in the vicinity of the two players.

ID: 82830
LD: 8
MAT: 0+0=0

[Nocturn 0]

Noct strained his eyes as he stared at the rocky surface of the cave. His mind wandered, to different thoughts. A skeleton clad in armor, wielding a scimitar crawling from the depths on the cave's earthen floor. Sneaking up on him, and striking him down. His HP would hit zero, and his body would dissipate into blue crystals. He shook his head, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Why did that thought come into his mind just now? Perhaps it was just his imagination running wild, or flashes of a past life. Albeit it was something that he would never figure out, at least for the time being. Losing his mind in thought, Noct couldn't focus properly, and lost sight of anything that determined a material. "Damn, guess I was just lucky with that first one." He said, rubbing a hand through his black hair. "Hey Babette." Noct said, seeing the boar peek inside. "You see anything?" Noct half joked to the pig.

ID: 82832
LD: 7

Mats Found: 1

[Lee 0]

Lee had placed the bottom of his shield onto the ground to prop himself up as he glanced over the cave wall in search of anything that might stand out. So far, there was nothing but that really wasn't something that would have persuaded him at this point. Whilst he was in the mood for wall staring, Nocturn would speak up though not to him but to the small boar that was playing pathfinder. At first, the boar did not respond but continued to sniff around, snout shifting and occasionally raising a hind leg to scratch its side. It would then turn and once Nocturn was in sight, she would trot over, using her nose to skim over the raven haired players foot.

Whilst this was going on, Lee would glance down at the foot of his shield and lean over to take hold of a material that was resting there and held it up in acknowledgement "Found one! Also..." He would pause for a moment "How many of these do you need again?"

ID: 82834
LD: 20
MAT: 1+0=1

[Nocturn 0]

Noct stepped deeper into the cave, it visibly getting darker. He already had scoured the entrance to no avail, but at least he knew the spawn location of one. The cave had to have more of them, otherwise it would be a terrible spot to send a beginner for such a simple quest. Noct just hoped that his hard work would be well rewarded. Last thing he needed was to do all this work, only to get shafted in the end, His morral would take a serious blow if that were to happen. Unable to find anything, he let out a sigh. A cry of victory came from Lee as he held up a material, as he asked a question. Noct shrugged. "No idea, it just says a number and gives me an arbitrary percentage." Noct said, looking at his menu and his quest tips section. It seemed the quest was slightly tailored for the specific job that the person sought for, as well for each person. No two quests were the exact same, which made getting intel for the quest that much harder. "We'll just keep looking until it decides it's enough. Then we can go back, and I get to work. Been sleeping on the streets for far to long." Noct said to Lee, as he began digging into the rock wall.

ID: 82835
LD: 6

Materials Found: 1

[Lee 0]

The armored individual would let his hand lower as he would once again let himself rest on the tall shield as Nocturn would state that the specifics weren't all there. Lee's head would tilt to the side in bewilderment but he would then aim to remember how his own work related quest had gone. He would actually wonder as it was such a time ago that he actually could not even recall. He only remember getting the shop and that being it. He would raise a hand to rub the back of his head as he somehow hoped it would come to him in time. Nocturn would then speak about how he aimed to get to work as soon as possible in order to get off the streets "I know those feels though I'm sure you'll enjoy having a place to stay once you get your shop up n running." He would turn and was about to start walking back to where Nocturn was but heard something under foot and as he moved the metal boot out of the way and bent over, he would find another material.

ID: 82848
LD: 20
MAT:1+1=2

[Nocturn 0]

Noct let out a soft chuckle. "What I really want is a bed that doesn't give me spine problems at twenty." Noct said, rubbing the small of his back. The pain wasn't from his age, but from his poor sleeping conditions. He didn't trust his own strength to camp outside the walls, as some adventurers had taken akin to. With the risk of player killers hiding about, as well as mobs that get closer to the city gates due to the darkness of night. Noct focused his attention back on material finding. But to his surprise, nothing was to be found. Perhaps the place had already been looted by someone prior? He brushed some of his hair out from his face, more akin to adjusting it then actually moving it. "I'm convinced, there's nothing in the cave and the quest gave me faulty info." Noct said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

ID: 82902
LD: 3

Materials Found: 1

[Lee 0]

Lee would laugh at the comment about the mans spine to which he would nod in agreement "I can definitely get behind that." Lee would look around himself just a bit more before seeing no more noticeable materials so he would pick up his shield and shift to more of the center of the cave and bring himself to a knee as he would look across the ground. Nocturn would speak about how he thought the quest was rigged or broken in some way to which Lee would chuckle and comment "Now that would be messed up. Getting wrong information by an NPC of all things. This world is really gettin brutal if it is starting to come to that."

Babette would scratch her side with a hind leg and then, without rhyme or reason, would begin to run around in an oblong circular manner, kicking the occasional rock and slipping onto her side from time to time but with a few kicks in the air, she would bring herself upright and begin again. Lee would simply stare with a wide smile "It's the small things."

ID: 82948
LD: 2
MAT: 0+2=2

[Nocturn 0]

Again Noct would find nothing. The cave was proving more and more fruitless. Or, maybe he needed his glasses in this world after all. Piera had a set of glasses, but he figured that was because she was so used to them and not because she actually needed them. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, starting to get tired of turning rocks over, just to find more rocks. Noct could feel his determination slowly start to slip away as each passing moment become more and more aggravating. All he wanted to do was become an artisan. Not like it was any hard to do that, just becoming one was surely becoming a pain in his ass. He kicked a stone down into the depths of the cave, it echoing slightly against the wall. 

ID: 83340
LD: 14

Materials Found: 1

[Lee 0]

Lee would continue to look around his immediate vicinity and then over toward where Babette had been running and as he made his way over, he would reach down and pick up another material and then throw it up into the air, only to catch it on its way back down. He would hear the sounds of something at the other end of the cave to see that Nocturn wasn't having as much luck as he himself was having. Lee would make his way back and hold out a hand with the materials he had gotten thus far for the player to take "I ain't here for any materials myself so you can have these." He wondered what Nocturn would say, do or think about the offer. There were most people would would think it a thing of pride not to take the items...man did he not get the concept. "Think of it as a thanks so far for getting me out of the shop."

ID: 83462
LD: 20
MAT: 1+2= 3-3=0

[Nocturn 0]

Noct exited the cave, a defeated look hung on his face. He stepped past Babette, who made a small noise as he passed. Noct rubbed his neck, stretching it. "Well, there's always next time I guess." He said, cheering up some. Just being out of the cave was already a starting to make a big difference in his mood. Noct say the trade request come in, and Lee's small hoard of materials. Apparently the spot was outside the cave, not in it. He sighed, and accepted the materials. "Thanks. This should be enough for me to turn in. I'll be sure to give you a discount as soon as things pick up." Noct said, tallying up the materials in his inventory. He had just enough to turn in thankfully. Soon his money making enterprise would come to fruition.

[Lee 0]

Nocturn Has Accepted Lee's Trade

Lee would be pleasantly content that Nocturn had accepted the materials in which he would use to finish off the amount he needed to complete the quest. "Coolness, I await for the grand opening of your shop. Hopefully you get a lot of business, it'd be nice to have a friend in that line of work. Don't really know too many really good crafters aside from Piera." He would then turn his attentions toward his small female boar and snap his fingers and point downward at the ground in front of himself "Babette. Here. Now." He would say in a demanding and louder tone in which would cause the the boar to jump slightly at the loud call and come running and stop in front of him in order for Lee to pick her up, he would notice something in her mouth and pull it out to find it was another material to which he would pocket for himself.

ID: 83659
LD: 19
MAT: 1+0=1