[SP-F1] Earning a Living...

[EliasChurch 0]

<<ACCEPT>>

"Hahaha! If you think you have what it takes lad, you're more than welcome!" A bear of an NPC by the name of Darius belted out his approval of another of Aincrad's citizens becoming a Blacksmith like himself. Slapping down on Eli's shoulder, Darius continued, "Right well, first we'll find out how well you handle my forge before you get yourself one. Sadly, I've just ran out of the materials you'll need."

"...Oh..." Eli muttered with feign alarm. As RPG's go, adopting a professional can never be a simple process.

"Don't worry lad! You can scavenge what you need from some monsters by the Ore Mound. Turtle-like creatures eat the unrefined ore and process the refined materials into their shells. Bring back a few of them and well get you smithing in no time!" As the two conversed Darius highlighted the Ore Mound area on Eli's map. It wasn't close by but Darius intimated it would take less than a day to procure the necessary materials and cover the travel.

"South west..." Eli mumbled to himself, his eyes drawing up from the floating screen to a mini-mountain in the distance. "Okay, thanks Darius, I won't be long."

"Sure lad, take your time. I ain't going anywhere. Just keep yourself safe, they're a dangerous lot those turtles. I mentioned that didn't I?"

Great...

Eli focused on the sound of grass crumpling under his foot rather than Darius belching his incessant laughter.

[EliasChurch 0]

Though Eli had been in the starting field not 10 minutes before, this was now in fact his first steps toward the goal. He was poised to take down a wild Boar before remembering his experiences with the Beta and the availability of crafting from materials dropped by mobs and quickly found the NPC Darius to start it.

With dust crunching under his boots Eli quickly found what he suspected to be the very same lone Boar as last time. Not one to leave things unfinished Elias drew the Greatword from his back and paced calmly toward the creature. Only stopping in his tracks when the Boar noticed his presence, Church paused to give the scene some atmosphere before charging with the blade poised. "Hmph!"

---

Eli : [5/5]

Boar: [2/2]

[EliasChurch 0]

The weight of the weapon seemed all too real in Eli's hands and the timing of attacking was thrown off by how slow and ungainly he felt. Dammit! Too slow... The Boar's screeching seemed mocking as it dashed harmlessly under the swinging metal before making a tight turn and charging once again, this time with pain in it's eyes.

---

Eli: [5/5]

Boar: [2/2]

[EliasChurch 0]

The Boar leapt and crashed directly into Eli's chest. The force of the blow sent Eli crashing to the ground, thankfully however any real sensation of pain or loss of breath was only a familiar tingling. Elias quickly composed himself and dashed to reclaim his lost weapon before facing off again.

"Okay, easy now..." A quick glance at his HP showed the beast did more damage with that attack that he would have liked. Enraged slightly, Eli moved forward again and swung to drop the Greatsword down on the Boar's head. See how you like it!

---

Eli: [3/5]

Boar: [2/2]

[EliasChurch 0]

Elias smirked with satisfaction as the creature fell in two before bursting in a shower of light. A small screen popped up displaying the won XP and Col, as well as <> [x1] for good measure. "Nice. Not what I'm after, but I won't say no..."

They seem stronger than in the Beta...I wonder if anything else is different... If one Boar could nearly kill him, would could those Turtle creatures do? Eli resolved to grind on the way to his desired location before turning up to a gun fight with a knife.