[PP-F1] Cooking Conundrum [Earning a Living: Cook] (Valentine)

[Aquan 0]

"So... What am I doing exactly?" He cocked his head and looked at the café where he needed to accept the quest for [Earning a Living: Cook]. He heard about this quest from a couple low levels and decided that he finally needed to get around to doing it. "It'll be an adventure!" He told himself as he got up the gusto to take the quest. Preparing to actually take the quest was starting to worry him just a little bit. He enters the restaurant and begins the quest dialogue. It was nice to have someone talk back at you, and no matter what you said, they would not get upset with you unless it was coded in. He was then pulled into the kitchen and started listening intently to what the woman was saying. He got excited about doing some hands on action with the ingredients, but that would all have to wait.

"Oh you ran out of materials? That's very surprising for a restaurant," he paused, "but yeah! I can get some! For a place your size you'd need more than just 5-" He was cut off by the audio going again, pushing him to realize that he was talking to a fake person. "Oh right, not real." He laughed at himself and walked out of the building. "Okay.... Now I go!" He was about to set off, but it felt strange to him. He was used to having someone around when he set off into the great unknown, but now he was alone. While he favored being alone more than people, he knew that he needed social interaction other than the NPC. 

Aquarian finally decided on putting up a help posting in the town, hoping that someone would answer it soon, he was antsy to get out and explore!

@Valentine

Stats:
HP: 20, EN: 2, DMG: 1
Item Equipped: Rare Tier 1 1HSS, 1 Paralyze, 1 Bleed

[Valentine 0]

Valentine was perusing the help boards. He was off for sometime while Grimm was busy.  Since being promoted to the same division as his lover his workload became more busy. Valentine had to pay constant attention to the help wanted boards. One could often gleam tidbits of information if they just paid attention to what was posted. He also kept his ear to the ground for talent that could be recruited into the guild.

When he was informed of a low level player seeking company on an job gaining quest he almost overlooked it. Normally he would not try to help with such a tedious quest. When he found out the quest was for someone to advance to a <<Cook>> profession he had to check it out. Getting in good with a cook could only provide benefits. The consumable classes had the greatest growth potential out of most of them. As a performer he understood the value of one time use items.

Valentine sent a message through his interface.

Quote

Hello!

       I have recently accepted your request for company. If you do not have a place to meet for the standard materials. You can feel free to meet me at [XX.YY].

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             From. Valentine

 

 

Spoiler

 

Name: Valentine

• Level: 17
• HP: 340/340
• EN: 34/34

Stats:

• Damage: 10
• ACC:3
• EVV:2
• MIT:5

Equipped Gear:

• Weapon: <<Dastardly Poker>> ( +3 DMG/2HAS)
• Armor: <<Cloudskin>> ( +2 EV, +1 Regen/Light Armor)
• Trinket: <Eye of Horus>> ( +3 ACC/Pin)

 
Items on hand:

• Debuff Crystal- Hypnosis (II), Lullaby (I) (ID:172666)
   

Skills:

• 2 Handed Assault Spear [Rank 4]
• Light Armor [Rank 1]

 
 

Valentine | HP:340/340 | EN: 34/34 | DMG:10 | MIT: 5 | EVA:2 | ACC:3 | REGEN: 1

 

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Aquan 0]

Aquarian was spacing out slightly, staring at some insects, wondering if the bees had different species here in Aincrad. He was jolted from his analysis when he received the message from Valentine. He gained a small smile as he slowly got up, looking at the coordinates and putting it into his map. "Okay... Time to meet someone new! Hopefully this works out well." He smiles and sets off to meet his soon-to-be Adventuring partner.

Aquarian showed up to the spot and looked around, spotting Valentine quickly. "Hi Sir! I'm Aquarian but you can call me Aquan." He offers a warm smile and extends a hand for him to shake. "I just need to get 5 material, so this should not take long. You seem a little bit stronger than me so I'm assuming that you have done this quest before? If not that would be a bit strange considering it's one of the first quests you are told to do... Anyways, shall we get started?" Aquarian does not seemed phased at all by his rambling.

@Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Valentine gave a warm smile. After his quest fighting his inner demons and dealing with the god of the sun, Valentine had a lot of subtle changes that compounded into making him a new person. Laughter and joy came more easily and was readily expressed. "Please to meet you Aquan. My name is Valentine but you can feel free to call me Val." Val gave a quick response before moving on to the main topic.

"Yeah. I took my profession quest some time ago. I took  a different one from the cooking quest. Which Aincrad should be thankful for. I still know the basics. There is a forest not far from here. We can look for the materials for the quest there. Things like fruits, vegetables, and even rocks you could use for spice should be found." The information he was spouting was things he learned from all the other people taking the quest. As they steadily made their way towards the forest. Val suddenly pointed towards a bush that looked familiar "That bush for example is either blueberries or spiders. Feel free to check."

[Aquan 0]

"Thank you Valen- Val! I apologize if I call you by your full name. I'm used to using scientific terms for, well, everything!" He smiles at the man and looks around a bit while listening to the man. Valentine mentions he took a different quest and he starts to study the man, wondering what profession he took. He was not aware of many of the professions so it was difficult to really put his finger on what he could be.

His eyes lit up a bit at the mention of looking for fruits, vegetables, and plants that he might be looking for out here. This is perfect! This is literally what I did in the real world! Maybe this wont be so bad. His smile carries over from his thoughts. "Perfect! I am a Horticulturist by trade so this shouldn't be too bad." At the mention of a bush he quickly went towards it, beginning to rummage through it. "Now I wonder if the same properties of blueberry plants carry over into Ain- found it!" Aquarian raised up his arm from the bush, holding a piece of a fruit with a material tag on it. "I wonder why the cook couldn't do this, it is very easy." He thought out loud, not really talking to anyone in particular. "So Valentine.... Val. Where to next? Also, what do you do?"

ID: 177295 LD: 19+1= 20 [1 Mat Found

Mats: 1/5

[+1 to the LD roll from Searching Rank 1]

Edited November 8, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

"Believe it or not I am a performer. I make music that grants aid to various aspects of the game. It  is kind of like granting a bard subclass except it requires me to have the songs ready in advance. As a combat ukulele is not a thing." Valentine paused as he toyed with the thought. "It would be cool if it was."

Valentine continued speaking as he helped search. "As a horticulturist this or Alchemist would be the best job. You chose well. Cooks can improve their cooking by the materials gathered. They are pretty similar in the short term. Alchemy just does not care about flavor." Valentine was imparting the collected knowledge with ease. Val believed if players could grow they would have an easier time making it through the game as well. Information that was not classified with his guild could be shared without repercussion. If the man showed decent skill Val could even invite him into the guild. He stopped at a tree he recognized.  "Here. I can give you a boost. I think this tree has a birds nest. The eggs count as an ingredient."

[Aquan 0]

"Oh you're a performer? That is surprising. You seem more like a tailor or a blacksmith. And a combat ukulele would be interesting, not sure about the practical aspects though. I mean if it was metal studded.." He began to trail off thinking about what you could do with a ukulele like that, his mind and his mouth both rambling.

After a few seconds he comes back from his mental tangent. "I mostly picked cook because I was taught how to cook with a lot of foreign ingredients. I'm not sure how mystical a lot of these items will be, but I decided. 'Hey, why not.' Even though I cook with things that are across the globe." He rambled a bit more as the two of them approached a tree. At the mention of eggs, he felt a bit bad. "Eggs? From a nest? Wouldn't the bird be upset?" He paused, "Well this is a game... I guess." He frowned a little and accepted Valentine's help. He put his foot in the man's hands and pushed off of them, looking into the tree. He turned slowly and spotted a couple eggs. "I'm sorry." He muttered and plucked them from the nest, the material icon appearing as he entered them into his inventory. "Okay, I have collected 2 of 5."

ID: 177304 LD: 18+1 = 19 [1 Material Found]

Mats: 2/5

Edited November 9, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

Valentine let Aquan down by dropping his arms and allowing the man to fall into them. After Aquan was properly oriented he placed him down like a hot knife. He did not mind picking the guy up to help. Valentine just did not like touching people more than necessary. He knew how to keep a professional distance. It was easier when he remembered that his lover could pound him if he was mad. "You are finding the supplies quickly. I gathered information about the quest but not all information could be accurate. My quest had me at the lake looking for crystals that I could use. One thing the job quests have in common is finding supplies."

The forest had a myriad of sounds around. A few monsters were present but Valentine worked as a deterrent of sorts on floor 1. The creatures would not stand a chance so they merely left. "If you want to look around for a moment you can. I should try to limit my help so you get a more natural feel of the quests. I will keep you safe. So you do not have to worry as much."

[Aquan 0]

Falling back into Valentine's arms made him blush just a little. It was a very foreign sensation for him. Back in the real world he had never had a romantic relationship with anyone. While he was aware of his homosexuality, he was never able to explore a relationship with a man.

Just as quickly as that new sensation washed over him, it was gone. He felt himself get dropped and he nodded to Valentine, looking around the forest. "I don't see how finding crystals around a lake would help you perform better. I feel like you would have to write sheet music or find instruments. The sheet music would be a tad bit difficult because the game would then have to register what sheet music is and go into the system and record each and every piece of music that is created by the music. Not to mention all the instruments.." He began to trail off again as he continued to search for the elusive materials.

Well they were not as elusive as he expected. Aquarian held up a small bundle of Basil, entering it into his inventory. "Wow, you really know you way around the forest. Even if you didn't do this quest, I'm already 60% done with this quest." He smiled at the man.

ID: 177306 LD: 17 + 1 = 18 [1 Mat Gathered]

Mats: 3/5

Edited November 9, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

Valentine gave a reflexive smile at Aquan. "It is more in depth then that. The crystals are a material used for recording. Similar to a CD or tape. It holds the songs that performers make for use. Instruments can be made but sheet music is pretty unnecessary here. I was given an enchanted lyre by a Greek God. So there are always supplies and stuff out there. A performer turns their experience and hearts into songs. The songs touch the heart of the audience. It is why only performers can have an impact on NPC monsters even when a lot of other jobs cannot."

Valentine listened as Aquan thought he was sixty percent done with the quest. "Usually the collection is a hard part of the quest for some. Others, who have help and are naturals at finding stuff breeze right through. The challenging part for even more people is making it pass the crafting portion of the quest."

[Aquan 0]

Aquarian nods as he listens to the man talk about his profession and what takes part in it. His eyes opened a bit wider when he mentioned getting a lyre from a Greed God. Okay.. A lot more fantasy than I expected. He also gained a small smile as Valentine talked about putting their hearts and experience into the music and songs they create for the players to use, reminding him slightly of his parents talking about their work.

He lost his smile a bit when Valentine mentioned the crafting portion of the quest. He expected to cook and create something through the quest. The only real problem to that is, well, he did not know how to cook in this game. While that was obviously what the quest was for, the system in which the game would do cooking is something he was a tad nervous about learning. He shook his head a little and looked at Valentine. "I think maybe this area is picked clean, shall we go to a new area to look?" He cocked his head and looked at the man. "Also, what kind of build have you created for yourself? I can not tell by just looking at you."

ID: 177349 LD: 10 + 1 = 11 [No Material]

Mats: 3/5

Edited November 9, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

"Yeah. Sure. This area could use some time to refresh." Valentine almost reached out to grab Aquan's hand. It was a reflex embedded in him from being with Grimm often. Valentine was glad he caught himself. His senses was telling him that Aquan was that was as well. He did not want to give the man the wrong impression. Valentine was a man that was faithfully committed.

He gave it some thought. Recently he had a solo quest he told no one about that could change his future. He was hesitant on taking it as the quest would change how he operated. "I am currently built towards damage dealing. I can deal a lot of damage for my style in a short amount of time. The only difference is my future prospects is leaning more towards support. So you can count me as a support character with okay DPS capabilities." It was a fair evaluation of himself as far as he was concerned. "What about you? How are you planning for the future?"

[Aquan 0]

He nodded and began walking away from the area, towards a different part of the forest. He felt his eyes cataloging the vegetation around him. He was wondering what species of tree they could be. What shade their leaves turn, and the amount of water the trees usually take in order to stay alive. After at least a good minute or two of his mind rapidly running around trying to figure out the species, he decided to come back to the game.

He nodded along to what Valentine was saying, taking his own moment to think about what he might do for his build. "I think I'm going to go Support/ DPS. My entire skill set back in the real world came from going out into nature and the world, gathering and documenting things, and bringing back whatever I can find. So I think I'll stick with looting and material gathering, hopefully that means I can become and asset to myself and also other people who do crafting. I'm not sure how easily cooking materials will transfer to other professions thought. Maybe it could..." He was then lost in his head again.

After a moment of silent contemplation, he rummaged through some patches of grass, finding a couple mushrooms that counted as a material. "I got another one! Just need one more right? Then we can head back and I can cook?" He looked at Valentine for an answer.

Spoiler

ID: 177353 LD: 18 + 1 = 19 [1 Material]

Mats: 4/5

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

Valentine was finding Aquan intriguing. The more he looked at him the more he felt that Aquan could get along with the other members of the guild. As well as his people skills he displayed fine judgement when it comes to material gathering. "The materials between profession varies. If worse comes to worse it could be traded for Col to trade for other materials. Things like recording crystals can be remade for use with foraging and alchemy with ease. The recording crystals could be used in cooking but rarely. As it could be broken down for spices but it becomes wasteful."

Valentine listened as he was spoken to. "Yep one more ingredient and we can start to head back. It would be great to see what you can make. I think new chefs are really only allowed to make snacks. As your skills grow it becomes easier and easier to create. Have you thought about joining a crafting guild?" Valentine was attempting to probe Aquan. He could see if the guy showed interest in the guild before trying to rope him in.

[Aquan 0]

He nodded along to what the man was saying. "Okay, so materials are sort of universal. That's nice. Makes it easier for resource transfer. I'm hoping my cooked item works out well. I'm not sure what buffs I want to put on it, but whatever it is, I will definitely be needing it. What did you create for your first item? I'm not sure what items you can create as a performer, but I'm assuming they can directly affect players and also the monsters that hear them as well. I wonder what kind of sound the songs would be. Would it be traditional medieval music or... I'm rambling aren't I? I normally don't catch myself rambling. Just how my brain works." He blushed, something that was rare for him to do. "And I don't know much about crafting guilds. I know they exist in other games, but I didn't know they existed in this one. I definitely wouldn't be opposed to being apart of a crafting guild. I'm not sure exactly how much help I could be at my level right now. I mean I could definitely work my way up to a suitable level... I'm beginning to ramble again, Jesus." He laughed a little.

ID: 177356 LD: 9 + 1 = 10 [No Material]

Mats: 4/5

Edited November 9, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

Valentine was finding Aquan amusing. Like a nervous little brother. As an only child he always contemplated how it would feel to have a sibling. Well technically his mom had a newborn when he entered so technically he would be an older brother. That would mean his little brother was able to walk now and babble a bit. As Val was loosing time in the game he would not be surprised if his dad was replacing him.

"My first craft was a rare grade music crystal. It healed others by invigorant their spirits. I believe the grade can be influenced on all sorts of factors. As I was in mourning at the time the ability to release sadness was transcribed into the song. The type of music really varies. Pretty much any song could be replicated from the real world. It sounds crazy but is possible with persistent dedication. The wide array of available music allows some crafters to specialize in a genre. It is the same with cooking. Some cooks make hotdogs while others pursue the deserts." Valentine smiled making sure not to interrupt Aquan before continuing. "The guild cares more about the growth of a crafter. As long as you are dedicated you can produce a myriad of great results."

[Aquan 0]

Aquarian's face drop as the man said he was in mourning. He never had to deal with much of that in his life. The only funeral he remembers was from when he was younger. His aunt passed away and he was flown half way across the world with his parents in order to attend the funeral. At the time he did not know what was going on, he was only 6 at the time, but he knows that loss can really affect someone. "I'm sorry for your loss, It's commendable that you were able to get through it and continue helping those around you." He places a hand on Valentine's right shoulder.

He smiled a bit and removed his hand from the man's shoulder, happy that he possibly made the right move in a social scene. He listened to what Valentine said and he nodded along about the guild. "Well, if the guild would be willing to have me, I do not see a reason why I shouldn't try and join. It would greatly help my growth and development in the long run. How many members are there in this guild?" He asks and cocks his head with the question. "And, is this guild primarily crafting? Or are there other things that they do?"

Editing

ID: 177396 LD: 1 + 1 = 2 [No Material]

Mats: 4/5

Edited November 10, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

Valentine did not think too much about it when mentioning Sage. "It was a long time ago and the wound healed nicely. He was a good man and he always encouraged me to be better." Even after death the man had a influence on his heart. Whenever Valentine found the scum that betrayed them. Well he would cut the man down then and there. "Besides no one can mourn forever."

The fact that he was asking questions showed Aquan had an interest in the guild. "Honestly I cannot recall. The Firm is a relatively large guild. While I say the guild is for crafting it does a lot more than that. We do raids, quests together, and all the stuff you could expect out of a guild. My strength increased quickly just being a part of the guild. It is a decent place to exchange crafts with as well. If you need something in particular it would not be impossible to find in the guild compared to elsewhere." Valentine gave a smile of satisfaction when talking about the Firm.

[Aquan 0]

"That is true I suppose. I'm glad you hold happiness with this man instead of just depression." He nods, not really sure what else to say after that. Luckily Valentine began talking about the guild so he had an easy distraction. "Honestly," he began after Valentine was done talking, "I am interested in the guild. With gathering and crafting becoming more of my focus in this game, it would be nice to have that group to support me through it." He smiled and nodded again, signaling the end to that comment.

Aquarian wandered around for a moment, still scoping out the are for possible materials. Luckily for the both of them, he found one in a bush. This time it was a collection of raspberries. "Got the last one!" He called with his face in the shrubbery. He quickly pulled out the materials and put them into his inventory. "Well, with that done, time to move on to the crafting part of this quest chain. Shall we head back to town?" He smiled and already began walking to town.

ID: 177401 LD: 17 + 1 = 18 [1 Material

Mats: 5/5

Crafted Object: 0/1

Edited November 10, 2020 by Aquan

[Valentine 0]

"You can feel free to check out the guild. You can join it if you like or leave if you do not. The guild is not as restrictive as you would expect. We usually hold no prisons unless you do us wrong. " Valentine sent some information over to the potential recruit. Where to go to join and necessary stuff like that. As well as Val's personal guild information as a letter of referral. He sent a friend request to round it off.

Valentine did not forget the purpose of the quest as the last ingredient was gathered. "It was great that you managed to find all your supplies. We can start to head on back to the kitchen now. The test of your true skills will be in your ability to make a snack." He followed Aquan back to the town out of curiosity of the quest. He had never been in a cooks kitchen before. They were common but walking into a space where you knew no one could be counted as peculiar.