(SP-F1) Earning a Living - It's Time to Get Crafty

[Xanward 0]

Xanward roamed the streets of the city, as usual. Today would be different though, he decided. It was time to actually do something in this world. No more sitting around sulking because the Beaters and lead party were clearing the floors of this world, and there was no way that he could stop them. He shook his head. That was a silly thought. Even if they could beat the 100th floor, who knew if they would be free from Sword Art Online like the Game Master had said. It was a troubling possibility, given the opportunity he had in this world, but one that needed rattle around in his mind at the present time. They had cleared what, nine floors? Nine out of one hundred in a year. There was no reason to worry about it now.

 

It was during this thought process that Xanward stopped paying attention where he was going. The sun shone in his eyes for only a second, but nonetheless he walked into something solid, which cried out, and Xanward stumbled, reaching out to catch himself before his hand wrapped around the thin chain of a necklace.

 

It was a moment later, when Xanward found himself face first on the pavement when he realized that he had an elegant looking necklace in his hand. Well, it had probably been more elegant before he had snapped the chain. 

 

He looked towards the mass he had walked into, and saw a middle aged woman with auburn hair. She did not have a status above her head, so she must be an NPC, at least. It was a calming thought, until she began to scream at him. "Look at you! Walking around like you own the entire damn city! Do you see what you've done to my necklace? My mother gave that to me!"

 

Xanward, startled at the NPC's outburst, was at a loss for words, and she continued to scream, her voice reaching a high shrill. "Now what do you expect me to do that you've ruined my mother's necklace? You lillyliver toadbrained cur! You will have to fix it! Right now!"

 

Then something curious happened. A screen appeared before him:

 

Quest: Earning A Living - Artisan 

Will You Accept? Yes | No

 

Xanward had never seen a quest in Sword Art Online before, and he figured there could be little danger in a quest given by one of the first floor NPCs. He dragged his hand over the screen for a second, and then pressed yes. He chuckled, which only drew more anger, it was time to earn a living.

[Xanward 0]

When Xanward pressed yes, an objective window appeared before him. Repair her mother's necklace and return it to her. There was no more information present. "Lovely. How exactly do they expect to repair this?" Xanward muttered.

 

He looked at the woman,"I will return with your mother's necklace in one piece again for you soon. Do not worry."

 

The woman spit."You better! If you're not back soon, I'll know you stole it, and I'll call the guard!"

 

Xanward walked away from the NPC, ignoring her comment. There must be a jewelry store somewhere in the Town of Beginnings where he could have the chain fixed. He continue down the road, towards a district of the city where many shops were present. There were merchants, and blacksmiths, and armors plenty, but Xanward was unable to locate anyone that dealt in jewelry. "Lovely. Just lovely. Everyone is too busy trying to do the most damage or reduce their damage taken to deal with jewels."

 

He felt a tap on his should, and he turned to see a young girl, another player by the status over her head. "There's a jeweler two roads to the west," she said.

 

"Oh, thank you."

 

Xanward continued on through the streets, heading west at the other player's advice. It was nice to see that player's were willing to help each other in Sword Art Online. It was often thought that players would only look out for their own skin, so they wouldn't perish in life, but Xanward had rarely seen that. It may be because I am still on the first floor, Xanward thought, many of the players fighting to survive, for other's hope, are on the ninth floor by now. Things are probably much different there.

 

A small shop rose into his vision. A little building, rather dirty looking, but they had jewelry and other crafts hanging in thei windows. He had finally found a lead in his quest! Who knew what kind of reward it would provide him. Hopefully a new weapon, some money, and a ton of experience. Unfortunately, Xanward knew that nothing was that simple in Sword Art Online. Clearing the floors would be easy, and he would have lost his fantasy world by now if it was.

 

Xanward walked into the shop, and he was greeted by an older, rough look man. Not the sort you would expect to be making fancy jewelry and crafts, but from scanning the shop around him, Xanward knew the man must have some talent - even if it was under appreciated compared to the crafts of the armorer and blacksmith.

 

The storekeep's eyes follow Xanward as he walked towards the counter. "What can I get you, lad?"

 

Xanward placed the broken necklace on the counter. "I need to fix this for a quest I just received. I don't have any Col, but I was hoping you'd make an exception-"

 

The man laughed at Xanward and slammed his hands down on the counter. "You think you're the first person to walk into my shop asking for free work, as if my crafts aren't as valuable as anyone elses? If I had a Col for every one of you, I could move my shop into a larger space!"

 

Xanward frowned and felt his face redden. This had been a silly idea, walking into a shop expecting something for free because he had no money. The man sighed. "Judging from the look of you, you must be a low level player. I don't know what you've been doing this last year, but I'll give you a chance. Outside of town, go hunt some boars. Bring me any gold ore they drop, and I'll teach you to repair this necklace. That way you can raise your level, learn a way to make some Col, and hopefully not get yourself killed. How does that sound?"

 

Xanward nodded. It was quite an idea, but it was a good excuse to venture out and raise his level as he had wanted to. "I accept."

 

The man scoffed."Good, lad. Now hurry back before I change my mind!"

 

At a running pace, Xanward took off towards the edge of the town. 

[Xanward 0]

As Xanward walked outside the Town of Beginnings, he took note of his surroundings. The fields around him were mostly grassy planes, with small outcropping of trees. He had only walked from town for twenty minutes or so, looking for boars to kill as he had been told, yet he hadn't run into any so far. He found it hard not to admire to sky as he was walking about. It was such a beautiful day, and a few birds flew overhead under the shining rays of the sun. It was then that he had the thought to search some of the nearby tree outcroppings for many herbs that might be of use. Certainly they wouldn't be helpful for this quest, but perhaps he could trade them to an alchemist for some potions. In other games he had played, it was almost always beneficial to stray from the path, explore, pick every plant imagineable, and then go on a crafting spree. Sword Art Online limited him to one profession though, so he'd have to rely on other players. It was actually an incredibly smart choice from a game design perspective, but terrible inconvenient for Xanward at the moment. "Hell...in other games if I found an herb right now, I could just craft it right here, regardless of profession."

 

Xanward searched high and low under the roots of the trees for some type of herb, but he was unable to locate anything. Disappointed, he continued his original task of searching for the boars. Screw it. I'll get a healing potion when I go back to town.

 

------------------------

 

(Rolled a 1 on the d20 (loot) dice.)

[Xanward 0]

Xanward's morale was low. He had been searching for a few hours now, and there was not a sign of the weak boars. Certainly he had seen a few other monsters, but he avoiding them as soon as they appeared in his vision. He was being cautious. "Well...I guess it's time to return to town," Xanward sighed.

 

An hour and a half later, the city came into view on the horizon - and so did the boars. The way the hills rolled, they had not initially been visible the way he had walked out into the field. "You've got to be kidding," He muttered.

 

This was the kind of thing that would have caused him to toss aside a game. Although, normally after 10 minutes, he would have asked someone in chat where the boars are. He was glad that Sword Art Online didn't have a giant line telling him where to go exactly. It was odd, loathing something but also enjoying it.

 

He crept up on the boars and grinned. Time to finally get that ore that he had been looking for. Why the game assigned ore as loot to boars didn't matter to him at the moment. He drew his dagger, and as setting sun cast on the blade, he charged.

[Xanward 0]

Xanward charged the boar, his hand clenched over the grip with the blade to the side. This method of fighting was useless for stabbing, but it made stabbing quickly quite easy; it also gave it an alright chance to block. His blade sunk into the boar's flank, and Xanward felt his heart fill with glee. This was his first fight, and he had already made his first hit! He had heard attacking in Sword Art Online could be difficult when you were first learning, but Xanward wasn't seeing it. He watched as the boar's health bar dropped to yellow and stayed at the half-way marker. This fight would be a cinch.

 

 

----

Roll ID: 9071

BD: 6

CD: 9

LD: 2

MOB: 5

 

Xanward hits for 2 damage!

 

Xanward HP: 7/7

Boar HP: 2/4

[Xanward 0]

Xanward's hit seemed to anger to boar. Steam fell from its nostrils as it kicked at the ground, throwing its tusks about in the air as it snarled. Then, predictably, it ran full-force at Xanward. He was prepared for this. After all, in games, when you attack a MOB it usually agros to you. He brought his blade up, deflecting the tusk that thrust at his chest while he rolled out of the way.

 

The boar, having missed its target, looked about, seemingly confused. It was then that Xanward struck again.

 

----

 

Roll ID: 9071

 

 

BD: 6

CD: 9

LD: 2

MOB: 5

 

The boar misses!

 

Xanward HP: 7/7

Boar HP: 2/4

[Xanward 0]

Hoping to end the battle quickly, Xanward swung wildly at the boar. Unfortunately, Xanward now saw what people meant when they talked about the difficulty of combat. His great overestimated the force he would need with this swing, and his dagger blade knocked helplessly against the beast's strong tusks. The outcome was not all bad for Xanward, however. Entangled with Xanward's body and blade, the boar found it difficult to swing its head around to gore Xanward. The two were locked together in a battle of life and death.

 

-----------------

 

Roll ID: 9073

 

 

BD: 4

CD: 10

LD: 2

MOB: 4

 

Xanward misses!

The boar misses!

 

Xanward HP: 7/7

Boar HP: 2/4

[Xanward 0]

Xanward managed to wrestle himself free of the boar, and swing around ontop of the creature. He dug his legs into the beast's sides and smirked. "This is what you get for trying to maul me!"

 

He slammed his blade down into the beasts skull and quickly rolled off the creature as it exploded into a rainbow of pixel. Xanward looked at his UI, and then looked perplexed. "Hmm...I seem to have leveled before that fight. I didn't even notice. Sword Art Online seems to award experience for exploration as well. Maybe it's not so bad I got so lost."

 

He laughed, and then remembered to look about for any loot that the beast had dropped. That was the entire reason he was here after. Where the beast had died, he found the ore that he had come out for, as well as 20 Col. It was his first material and his first money. He felt joy pumping through his veins, as well as excitement. This is why he was glad to be trapped in this death game. The thrill of this new world.

 

----------

 

Roll ID: 9074

 

BD: 8

CD: 9

LD: 15

MOB: 1

 

Xanward hits the boar for 2 damage!

 

Xanward HP: 7/7

Boar HP: 0/4

 

Xanward loots 20 Col and 1 material

 

Total Loot for Thread:

-20 Col

-1 Material

[Xanward 0]

The fight with the boar had made Xanward confident. Perhaps it was to a fault, but he felt relatively safe from player killers right outside the gates of the Town of Beginnings. Surely they had more lucrative kills than some lowbie. He eyed another boar, and began a slow walk, just outside the boar's agro range. I might as well kill some more. There's no reason not to. I'll need more materials eventually anyway. Save myself the trip. He thought.

 

Xanward walked into range and pulled the boar's agro. "Come get me!"

 

The boar charged at Xanward, but Xanward deftly side stepped the blow. As he dodged, Xanward carved the blade acrossed the boar's back - a solid hit! This was too easy.

 

-----------------

• Rolled a 8 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 7 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 11 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 16 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Xanward hits the boar for 2 damage!

 

Xanward HP: 7/7

Boar HP:2/4

 

 

Total Loot for Thread:

-20 Col

-1 Material

[Xanward 0]

Xanward was ready to collect his loot again. The materials. The Col. It was exhilarating. Unfortunately, while he was thinking of loot, the boar caught him off guard. It tusk grazed Xanward's side. Xanward cried and and held his hand to his side, then he remembered himself. That would have hurt a lot more in the real world, and he would be bleeding. He would be fine. After the battle, he could eat and heal himself. No need to worry. Xanward tried to lunge at the beast, catching it off-guard as it had him. The blade narrowly missed the beast's skin. The boar looked Xanward in the eyes, seemingly gloated that it had hit him, and Xanward had not been able to retaliate.

 

-----------------

• Rolled a 4 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 8 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 12 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 18 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Xanward misses!

The boar hits Xanward for 1!

 

-------------------------

Xanward HP: 6/7

Boar HP:2/4

 

 

Total Loot for Thread:

-20 Col

-1 Material

[Xanward 0]

The boar sought to press its advantage. It kicked its front right leg into the ground once, and then broke into an all out ramage at Xanward. It was a decent strategy, mused Xanward, but its predictable and left the beast exposed. He took the dagger, and then he tossed it at the beast as it ran at him in a straight line. The blade embedded itself in the beast's skull, and the boar exploded into a shower of pixels. Xanward walked to where the boar had perished, and picked up his dagger and another material item. It seemed that throwing knives in his free time came in some handy, at least. It probably wouldn't have mattered if he had just stabbed the fur-covered bastard, but this was more fun. He laughed. He was truly happy for the first time in a long time.

 

-----------------

• Rolled a 8 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 6 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Xanward hits the boar for 2 damage!

 

-------------------------

Xanward HP: 6/7

Boar HP:0/4

 

Xanward loots 1 material!

 

Total Loot for Thread:

-20 Col

-2 Materials

[Xanward 0]

When Xanward slew the boar, he almost didn't notice. As he was checking his map of the way back to town, he was now level three! He was pleased at his progress on the quest. Perhaps he wouldn't be trapped on floor one as long as he had thought.

 

After Xanward returned to the shop, he found that the storekeeper was still in the same place that he had left him. Xanward placed the two pieces of ore on the counter and grinned. "I've returned, exactly like you said!"

 

The storekeeper looked annoyed, and then amused. "So you did. As I promised. I'll teach you how to repair this necklace. The first step," he said as he took out a box from under the counter and pulled out a piece of bronze ore,"is to double check what material you actually need to repair something, regarldess of what your customer, or in this case associates, tells you. The chain is made of bronze, not gold."

 

Xanward frowned. The entire bloody thing had been a test, which he'd failed. At least he had two materials for his own uses later, as the shopkeeper seemed to have his own stockpile of bronze ore. The shopkeeper motioned Xanward to come behind the counter."Now lad, you'll find that by melting the ore and removing its impurities, you can fashion a pure bar of whatever material it was. From that point, you must fashion the bar into whatever you desire."

 

Xanward nodded. That seemed to make sense, although it wasn't really needed with the crafting system in Sword Art Online. Unless, it took into account for what the shopkeeper was lecturing in, but he doubted it. The shopkeeper continued,"Now then lad, I want you to take one of these ore and craft me a bronze chain ring. Once you do that, this necklace will be good as new. We'll just have to attach it to the existing chain."

 

The shopkeeper transferred the ore to Xanward, and Xanward opened his menu. After scrolling for a minute, he found the professions section in the UI, and he selected the artisan. The system warned him that selecting this profession would be final and could not be altered, but Xanward persisted. Within the menu, Xanward found the option for a bronze chain and selected it. His ore appeared before him, shimmered for a moment, and then transformed into a chain. He looked at the shopkeeper, who looked at him indifferently. "Well lad, you've made an entirely new chain. We only needed a link, but they'll work. I'll just replace the entire thing."

 

Xanward nodded as the shopkeeper removed the old chain and attached the new one. He thanked the man for teaching him and giving him a profession. "Aye lad, don't worry about it. Just try to not get yourself killed, aye? I hope ta see you around."

 

Xanward left the shop in high spirits with the repaired necklace. He could finally finish this quest!

[Xanward 0]

Xanward was surprised the NPC woman still in the exact spot that he had left her. I guess when she said she would be waiting there for him there exactly, she was coded to be very literal. He bowed to her, trying to improve upon the impression he had left her last time. Perhaps she would yell at him less. "I've returned with your necklace, my lady."

 

The woman sneered at him. Perhaps politeness wouldn't improve her actions towards him after all. "Then hand it over! I don't have all day to sit here and wait for you, you know!"

 

Xanward sighed and handed the NPC the repaired necklace. She eyed it for a moment, and then looked at the chain rather intently. She looked at Xanward, then the chain, Xanward, and then the chain. She sighed softly and seemed satisfied."I guess you've done what I've asked you. Thank you for your help. Honestly, the old chain was nearly broken anyway. I suspect it would have broken day's end anyway."

 

Xanward raised an eyebrow. What was with people today? First the shopkeeper had tested him, and now even the NPC had tricked him into fixing her necklace. At least there would be some reward out of this, right? A large amount of experience perhaps?

 

The woman held out her hand to Xanward. "I want you to have these. I found 'em, and I have no use for them." With that, she walked off. Xanward looked at his inventory to see what he had received. 

 

 

You've received 5 materials. Quest complete!

 

Xanward couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't received any experience or coin. Only some materials, that he only needed now that he had a profession, because he had chosen to go on this quest in the first place. What a cruel twist of fate. 

 

Exhausted with the turn of events and the day's fighting, Xanward set off to find an inn to rest in for the night.

[Xanward 0]

Quest Complete:

 

Obtained:

 

-Artisan Profession

-20 Col

-7 Materials (2 from fighting, 5 from quest reward.)

-2 Skill points? (I don't know if it's 1 for completed topic, and 1 for completed quest. Or just 1 for the topic)

 

Question:

 

-Do I receive 400 Col for a page of roleplay, or would that only have been if this had jumped onto a second page?