[SP-F1] Earning a living. (Complete!)

[Greg Baxen 0]

After returning from the fields of Floor one after hunting alongside Lily and Aramail, Greg opted to attempt the quest <Earning a Living> which would allow him to take up a profession as a Blacksmith. This, of course, would allow him to not only craft better swords for himself, but better weaponry and armor for others (Greg, of course, planned on using Light Armor, preferring to be agile, but wanting to do more damage than with a mere dagger. That's why he picked the 1-Handed Straight Sword for his weapon.) Now if only he could find a mentor. Greg looks around for an NPC to teach him...

[Greg Baxen 0]

After a few hours of searching, Greg finally came across the NPC he had been looking for, and asked for his aid in learning. The Blacksmith was happy to oblige... for a price, of course. In this case, Greg had paid most of the Col that he had earned in hunting mobs earlier on in the day to pay for the tutoring in the art of Blacksmithing. It was going to be tough, Greg figured, but he couldn't give up.

[Greg Baxen 0]

The first part of training to be a Blacksmith was the theory of it, learning how the system works, and how to raise your chances of success in crafting. Greg listened intently to the NPC's lectures and took notes. He'd need to remember in the future if he's going to become a skilled Blacksmith. Once the NPC was satisfied, They were to move onto the next step of the lessons.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Continuing on from the lectures about the system, the next lectures to make note of were on the Tools used. Typically, a hammer is used to forge items made via a Blacksmith's. These can also be enhanced to improve the chances of success on crafting, and it also raises the magnitude of the success. Sometimes, Blacksmiths can create items that are greater than most mob-drops, sometimes. This applies to all professions, though the equipment is different. Again, Greg listened intently and made notes.

[Greg Baxen 0]

After learning about the tools required to forge weaponry and heavy armor, Greg learned about the third most important part after tools and skills as a Blacksmith- The Materials. Typically speaking, Metal Ingots are usually used in creating weaponry and heavy armor, though other materials, such as scales from a Dragon or the bones, horns, tusks or claws of a monster may be used instead. The rarer the material, the better your chances of making a powerful item.

[Greg Baxen 0]

The lessons were getting more and more difficult. Greg was made to identify materials on sight and explain what types of equipment they'd be good for. Scales of a Dragon would make good heavy armor due to their high resistance to damage. A Venom-tipped claw would make a good dagger as it would not only strike fast, but be able to poison the victim of the attack. Metal Ingots are the most variable of all materials, since they can be molded into different shapes.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Then, the Blacksmith caused Greg to undergo practical assessment, by forging various items under supervised conditions. The first task was to forge a dagger made out of iron. Greg quickly got the hang of it, considering that a dagger is not a large or complicated weapon, and Iron is a simple yet reliable material. When Greg finished, he presented his work to the NPC and the NPC smiled and nodded. Greg smirked. he was getting somewhere! At this rate, he would be a Blacksmith in no time!

[Greg Baxen 0]

The Second practical assessment threw a particularly nasty curveball at Greg- he had to forge another iron weapon, but in this case, a Spear. Getting the Spearhead forged was the easy part, but Greg struggled with getting the shaft of the spear straight. If it was curved, the spear would be difficult to thrust with. Greg realized at this point what the 100 Col cost was for: paying for materials lost in the process of learning. Eventually, he managed to pass it, after a long and tedious effort.

[Greg Baxen 0]

The third practical assessment was another piece of Iron Equipment, but this time, a shield. Once again, Greg didn't struggle too much, as shields are typically simply shaped (They're usually rounded or close to rectangular.) The only bit Greg really struggled on were attaching the straps to allow the shield to fit on one's arm, but he eventually got it after a bit of fiddling around. 'I can do this' Greg thought to himself, as he prepared for the fourth assessment.

[Greg Baxen 0]

If you guessed that Greg would get another difficult assessment for the fourth assessment, You'd be correct. Greg had to forge an Iron Chestplate. To say that Greg messed up a lot here is an understatement, with errors ranging incorrect shoulder length to accidentally touching heated metal for a second (Ouch!) to being too small. Eventually Greg got it down after a whopping fifteen attempts. The assessment was hard for him and a bit painful too. He was nearly there, though, he could feel it...!

[Greg Baxen 0]

For his fifth assessment, Greg had to forge a Rapier. Again, made out of Iron. It's a fairly easy material to come by, so of course it'd be used for practice. Greg, having already dealt with getting metal straightened while hot before, struggled significantly less when forging the Rapier's blade, the Hilt was a bit more troublesome, as Greg was unsure what shape to make the guard. Eventually he decided for a circular shape, since it would allow the hand to be close to the guard, where it would offer the most protection to the hand. Once again, he had passed the NPC's test.

[Greg Baxen 0]

His sixth Assessment had Greg forge a War Hammer out of, you guessed it, Iron. This time, getting the shaft was the easy part. The hard part was getting the head of the hammer. It was a difficult one. If you forged the hammer head too unevenly, the head would end up weighing the hammer down in a certain direction. While this would increase striking power, it would also make the hammer more cumbersome to carry around, and thus not worth it.

You also had to attach the head just right, or the same problems would arise. Greg got the hang of it after some trial and error.

[Greg Baxen 0]

For his seventh assessment, and what he hoped would be his last, he had to forge a Katana. This one was very awkward for Greg, because he kept curving the blade too much or too little, and again, he occasionally put his hand too close to the smoldering metal. It took Greg a grand total of ten attempts to get the curvature of the blade just right. The hilt, he found, was a piece of cake, though. The NPC smiled. Greg had talent, but it was only latent. He had to work to unlock it, and just having him forge weapons and armor under supervised conditions was only going to take him so far.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg's eighth assessment was a variant of the War Hammer assessment, only this time he had to forge a Battle Axe. He suffered similar problems to getting the War Hammer down, except this time he also had to watch the curvature of the Axe's blade. Too curved and it wouldn't be good for hitting foes. Too straight and it would be too easily blocked. Greg exercised more precision in this particular craft because he risked cutting himself and that would HURT (He's in a safe zone so he can't lose HP without being in a duel, but he wouldn't like to accidentally lose a finger and have to wait for it to regenerate). He eventually got it after seven tries.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg's ninth assessment was a breath of fresh air to him. He had to forge his specialty weapon, a One-handed Straight Sword. Needless to say, since he got making the metal straight from his time forging Assault Spears, forging both hilt and blade were easy to him, especially since he has a clear image in mind as to what the weapon should like like. After all, he uses them! It only took him one try. Greg sighed and wiped his head. He needed a break, one which his teacher was happy to oblige in.

[Greg Baxen 0]

As he was resting for a bit, Greg went over what he had learned so far, and it astounded him. He'd not only learned the systems behind forging weapons in both game and real life and what materials are good for each weapon, but the specifics of crafting per weapon-type, too, not to mention materials to look out for, as well as using the forging hammer, which the Blacksmith had kindly lent him.

[Greg Baxen 0]

For the tenth assessment, Greg had to craft a sewing kit. This wasn't particularly hard, Greg thought, as the needles were basically spearheads, except much thinner. He got it in about four tries, as the needles had to be about even, he quickly learned. The blue-clad apprentice blacksmith was focusing on making sure he learned everything he could. 

[Greg Baxen 0]

The NPC had seen enough. Greg had proven he had the resolve and diligence to become a Blacksmith. However, did he have the skills to hunt for the materials required? Greg would have to go out into the fields and gather simple materials. Specifically, some Stones and Some Boar Tusks. Specifically, two of each. Greg recieved the quest notice and accepted. All he had to do was slay some Boars and gather some stones.

With this, Greg ventured off to the fields.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg opted to start by gathering the stone required first. Obviously, this was for the head of the hammer. Searching for two decently sized (but not incredibly large) Stones, Greg eventually found what he was looking for and searched for some Boars to hunt. Eventually, he came across Two Boars who snorted and glared at Greg, bloodlust clear in their eyes. Greg responded by bringing his Sword out and preparing to attack.

"Let's do this. Battle Start!" Greg says as he prepares to attack.

The Boars aren't very large, but they aren't runts, they're slightly larger than average, so Greg charges towards one and attempts to thurst his sword into its head to kill it in one without damaging the Tusks.

ID: 16550- BD 9: Critical Hit! +1 Damage!

He unfortunately fails to, but he does managed to bring the Boar's health down to the red. In repsonse, the Boar Rushes Greg!

ID: 16550- MD8: Hit! 1 damage!

Greg grunts in pain as he's forced back a bit, but doesn't seem to be harmed too much.

 

Greg: [////// ] 12/13.

 

Boar A: [/   ] 1/4.

Boar B: [////] 4/4.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg, taking the intiative, strikes at Boar 1 again in an attempt to finish it off!

ID: 16551 BD1: Critical Failure...

Greg's strike goes clear off the mark, however and he ends up tripping over his own feet. Boar B takes this chance to strike to cover for its weakened bretheren while Greg is vulnerable!

ID: 16551 MD9: Critical Hit! +1 Damage!

Greg grunts as the Boar rams headfirst into him and tosses him backwards. Getting up, he grimaces as his health bar dips a bit more.

 

Greg: [/////  ] 10/13.

 

Boar A: [/   ] 1/4.

Boar B: [////] 4/4.