[PP-F1] Trading fortunes <<Earning a Living>> (Raun) [Complete]

[Victor 0]

Having conducted his research on how this game worked Luke was finally ready to step out of the shadows and start playing. The boy felt a little safer that there were people around him who were strong enough to help out if he needed. He knew he'd have no trouble convincing someone to tag along on small quests and odd jobs. His first quest had presented itself, with a friendly old man offering to teach him how to open his very own shop. Victor had accepted the 'Earning a living' quest, within moments after the conversation he had with the NPC. His goal was to collect certain materials that would help better the quality of items. The teen had played enough games to know that by now there would be zones fringing the town, that were relatively less dangerous. Given the time it took for him to conduct thorough research the observing, it could be assumed that eager players would have wiped out the mobs near the safe zones. All that was left, was to find someone he could take with him, just as a precaution. A cursory glance was swept across the streets of the town. The landed on a distraught looking player with dark hair. He made his way towards the haggered looking fellow. "Hey there, you look a little upset. Can I help you with something?" he asked with a pliant and sympathetic smile plastered on his face. When you need something, always make an offer first.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

It has only been a couple of days since Raun joined the game; however, the fact that he had acquired absolutely no clue as to where Sophie was, was rather worrying. Nevertheless, it wasn’t like he was going to give up. He began the day with as much optimism as he could muster. Find as many players as possible and ask about Sophie. However, after talking to over a dozen players proved to be of no use, Raun couldn’t help but feel sad. He reminded himself that there were about ten thousand people in the game and it would take some time to find his sister. Just about when he was about to pick himself off the bench he was sitting on, a young teenage boy approached him. “Hello! Thank you for asking. I’ve been looking for my sister. Have you ever seen a blonde girl with sea-green eyes? She is about five feet four.”

[Victor 0]

Once the older player mentioned that he was looking for his sister, Luke resisted the urge to casually swat aside such petty problems, Victor however put on his best concerned face. "Oh! When did you last see her?" He inquired with enough sympathy and curiosity lacing his words, to make him sound interested. Before answering his question, the fellow went on to describe her. "Er... That's a very generic description..." Victor said thoughtfully, as though straining his mind to recall such a stature. Mostly, Luke was just trying to find a way to lure the player out of town with him. "But, someone once told me of a few NPC's on the outskirts of towns who kept track of player databases, maybe they could help you find her?" Victor said, masking his simply wrought lie with enough doubt inducing vagueness to escape judgement, by tossing it aside as a unfortunate rumor, when the time arrived.

"Come on! We mustn't waste time, I'm sure your sister wants to see you too." He said, now letting an adventurous, encouraging voice take over. With that he began weaving his way through people, occasionally throwing a backward glance to check on his new acquaintance. Soon he was teetering at the edge of the Town of Beginnings. While he waited for the other player to catch up, one who's name he hadn't bothered asking so far, (but he put that on his to do list) he was already searching the surroundings for possible materials. Perhaps I risked sounding too impatient this time... But I need to venture out further. Luke mused, upon not noticing anything significantly helpful in bettering the quality of items.

Spoiler

ID# 61881
LD: 2
No material Found.

 

Edited June 20, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

“Back in the real world. I joined the game after I realized she is caught in it,” Raun said with a soft sigh. “And yeah… I’ve heard that a lot. Unfortunately, I don’t know how much more I can describe her appearance. At least not in here with all these weird fashion,” he said, pointing at his crappy medieval-style starter gear. The rumour about an NPC keeping a database sounded rather odd to Raun. How is he going to know who I’m talking about? I’m guessing he will require her username? If I knew her username, I could contact her directly myself. What’s the point, then? Unless… He keeps a record of our real names. Raun doubted that would be the case because he was in the game and he doesn’t remember giving his personal details anywhere in the signing up process. And he assumed his sister would have done the same. Nevertheless, Raun wasn’t one to give up a lead over scepticism. Moreover, it wasn’t like he had a better idea. “I hope there is one and he has some way of finding people without knowing their name.”

Raun smiled at the stranger’s encouraging words and followed him out of town.

Spoiler

ID: #61899 | Battle: 2 | Craft: 11 | Loot: 10 | MOB: 5
No Material Found.

 

Edited June 20, 2016 by Raun

[Victor 0]

"Ah man! You never got to see her in the game at all?" Victor asked redundantly and in a pretentious distracted manner as he scanned the area for more mats, but it could pass off as him looking for the said NPC. "In a way its good we all look like are IRL selves, at least you have something to go on." Victor said, trying to make something out of nothing. Luke was just happy so far his plan had worked. After looking around for another couple of seconds his eyes cought a stone with a certain gleam. Before he could inspect it he had to reel out his apology. "Dang! He's supposed to be right here, kind of like a watchman or gatekeeper, from what I've heard, guess it was just a rumor, I'm sorry." Victor said, trying to look apologetic, failing and just settling for good old disappointed, briskly he picked up the stone and extracted something special from it, that he suspected would help him in his ventures. He turned to Raun, still wearing the look of concern. "Anything else we can use to find her?" 

Spoiler

ID# 61907
LD: 15
+ 1 Mat.

 

Edited June 20, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

“Yes! That is good… Otherwise, with an unknown username and an unknown face, it would be impossible to find her,” Raun said, shuddering at the thought. There was no sign of any NPC in the area they were heading to. Despite coming here expecting it to be a fruitless lead, Raun couldn’t help but be disappointed. The poor man didn’t suspect for a second that his new companion might be lying; he saw no reason for it. At least, that was the case until he saw him pick up materials. Raun began to wonder if that was his objective all along, but quickly shook of his sceptical side and assumed an idealistic approach. This was a very hard thing for him to do and required a lot of practice. Being the firstborn son in the Hunter family, his father always taught him that everyone around them were out to get them at the sight of slightest weakness, and he had good reasons to say those words. His mother, however, taught him to see everyone as potential friends and not threats. Torn between these conflicting ideals, the young man always oscillated between caution and trust towards all strangers. This time, his mother won and he decided not to jump to any conclusions regarding Victor, which, from the looks of it, he will regret later.

“I have nothing else… All I can think of is ask around and go to major events, hoping to find her amongst the crowd. Had I planned this a little better, I might have had her in-game username. But I jumped into the game too hastily and didn’t research her gaming history.”

Spoiler

ID: #62112 | Battle: 5 | Craft: 6 | Loot: 10 | Mob: 6

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Raun

[Victor 0]

He eyed the other player who seemed to be scanning him in a similar manner that Luke usually looked at people. The boy let it slip, but he realized that his impatience was probably making things evident. He nodded in agreement with what the dark haired player suggested. "Yes, events would be a good way to go indeed, just asking around may take a long long while..." He added thoughtfully. Victor wasn't sure if the player entirely bought his story or not, but he was really trying to work on how to explain his slightly erratic behavior. He let his brown eyes scan the area once again, looking for his material, that's when it struck him. "This really isn't good..." He said sympathetically and poignantly. He then went in to explain how he could help. "Oh but wait, if you want I can really help with asking around and getting the word out actually." The boy said, in apparent excitement. "I'm actually training to be a Merchant. From what I've gathered Merchants see a lot of NPCs and players alike and so far they're a rarity." He said, as if he'd found a complete set of solutions for the man's problems. "I'll definitely let customers know that if they find a girl matching your description they should ask her about you, I could also possibly run into her and send her your way!" He finished, a smile plastered on his face.

Spoiler

# 62116 LD: 6
No mat found.

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

“Well… Most events occur on the higher floors, and to get there, I need level up and acquire better gear. So, this has become an optimization problem where I need to do just the right amount of grinding to reach the higher floors as soon as possible. However, since I don’t have all the variables, it is rather difficult to arrive at any definitive conclusion; especially because this is a freaking death game… I’m getting there though. With all the data from the Guidebook, other players, NPCs… I should be able to figure this thing out. It’s all Mathematics after all.” As he finished speaking, he noticed Victor scan the area again, possibly looking for more materials to collect. Frankly, Raun saw nothing wrong in it even if this was his plan all along. It’s practical. And no one guy wants to admit he is scared to go out alone.

Raun’s suspicions about Victor completely vanished the second he offered to help spread the word. He began to like the guy and was genuinely impressed that he was willing to help him even though they had just met. “That would be wonderful! I really appreciate it. If there is anything I can do for you in return, I’ll be more than happy to do it,” Raun said, excited that his chances of finding his sister just increased by several folds.

Spoiler

 ID: #62121 | Battle: 5 | Craft: 8 | Loot: 9 | MOB: 4

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Raun

[Victor 0]

Victor had stared down at the guy while he made all his calculations. It reminded Luke of himself. Maybe these two would actually get along. Victor was pleasantly surprised. His offer to help after he became a merchant helped matters, a lot. He could see the calculative gleam fizzle to spark into a hopeful glint. Boy, oh boy, this guy really wants to find his sister. Luke thought. He probably could've and would've helped. But he wouldn't, Maybe if it was a brother things would have been different. Sisters, sisters were, unfortunately, evil incarnates in his book; whiny, stupid, demanding, unfair, pampered, simpering princesses, Luke thought of a string of words to describe his sister, each normal word punctuated with a swear. Victor doubted that he'd actually dedicate time in letting every customer know about some boring story of some long lost sister. It would come in handy sometimes though, for the kinds who seemed very sweet and empathetic. The kind that would be likely to visit his shop again if they believed that he was empathetic and generous.

Raun offered to do something for Vic in return. Debt: 1-0 in my favor. He thought happily and it had cost him nothing. "Oh no, don't worry about it... It's my pleasure, if my sister was lost in a death game like this, I'd need help too." Vic said in a polite manner, lying through his teeth. He didn't have another choice, he couldn't reveal his true intents. But he could just bring them up in an off-handed manner, so Raun knew what he was meant to do. "Besides, I just started out, I was busy gathering data too, can't be too safe." He said with a small smile. "At the moment, I'm just trying to collect some things this NPC Merchant asked me to collect, so I could stop training and finally open my own shop." Vic announced, hoping that Raun would kindly offer to help him on this quest, by whatever means necessary.

Spoiler

# 62136 LD: 17
+ 1 Mat

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

When Victor mentioned collecting materials and completing the Earning a Living quest, Raun offered to help immediately. He had done that quest to become an alchemist before and he knew what a drag it could be. “Let me help you collect those materials. And, also, I’m an alchemist; still a beginner one. However, if you are ever in need of any potions, feel free to ask.” Raun figured this is the least he could do in return for his help with finding his sister.

Looking around, he noticed the familiar grasslands stretching outwards from the town. He hadn’t had a very good experience the last time he stepped into the tall grass. Also, he wasn’t sure what level Victor was and didn’t want to put him into danger either. “Let’s stay around town. There are vicious things hiding within the grass. And it’s really not worth fighting them for a couple of materials. We can find the same amount or more right here, in the safer spots."

Spoiler

ID: #62170 | Battle 7 | Craft: 1 | Loot: 14 | Mob: 5

 

Edited June 25, 2016 by Raun

[Victor 0]

*"Thanks a lot." He said for the offers the other player made. "If you find something that you don't need and think it might help me, it'll be great, if i find something that might be a good potion ingredient, I'll give you a shout, I've heard its good to try different parts of the variety of plants we have here, they've got some interesting properties." Victor added, imparting some of the excess information he had gathered on his quest to decode SAO. "I've heard potions are great for improving your damage output and they help boost other stats for sometime as well." Victor nodded. "We could try do a barter system of sorts, I could try giving you something you might need as well." He said, just pretending to be fair, although Luke thought the idea of helping find his sister would be debt-inducing enough. In his head he began listing the services he'd be able to offer as a Merchant and realized he too had access to some basic potions.
He nodded to the dark haired player about staying safe.

Spoiler

# 62196 LD: 4
No mat found

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

“No problem!” Raun said, while still scanning the area for potential loot. “Yes… Potions and crystals seem to be the game-changing variables. I chose it mainly because I can keep a good stock of health potions. Don’t want anyone dying when I’m around. But unfortunately, I’m not yet at that level.” The young man crouched and started turning rocks to see if there were 5any underneath. After finding a bug under the fourth one, he gave up. “I’m glad the potion recipes do not have bugs in them. At least the ones I know. Even though it isn’t real, I’d be pretty grossed out with that in what I drink.”

“You mentioned gathering data. I have been doing the same too for a while. We should share our data; it’ll make things faster for us.” Raun was still busy trying to find something and wasn’t looking at Victor while speaking. He trusted the man the minute he offered to help find his sister and saw no reason to keep a close watch or make any character judgement.

Spoiler

ID: #62199 | Battle: 9 | Craft: 4 | Loot: 8 | Mob: 5

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Raun

[Victor 0]

When the dark haired player had suggested that they stay cooped up in the safe spots, Luke appreciated the calculative player's mindset. It looked like he had finally found someone like himself, although Luke prided himself on being just a tad bit better. "Before I tell you what I've found, introductions are in order, especially if we ever want to trade, don't want to lose a guy like you. I'm Victor." He said, praising his new ally's assumed loyalty. Unfortunately before introductions were completed a boar spawned about two meters away, the moment  laid eyes on the two players as a group they began charging towards the dark haired player. Having had a little experience fighting boars before Victor jumped in between the player and the mob. He was sure, that he'd survive even if it did manage to hit, being level six and if he killed it, Raun would be further indebted, it was worth the risk. His jump was a little miscalculated though and before he had a chance to run his dagger through the boar, hit him hard in the chest. With all the mitigation, Victor lost just 1 HP, so it was still worth it. Luke responded by slicing the mob with three slashes till they it relinquished its hold on the imaginary life and burst into blue pixels. "Phew! Looks like I'm a little richer now." Vic mumbled.

Spoiler

ID# 62201 results: BD: 10 (8+2) ; MD: 6 (9-3) LD: 19
(Can't gain crit with accuracy and can't evade crit hits)

Victor:
HP: 24
Dmg: 6
NRG: 6-3=3
Mitigation: 9
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2

<<Wild boar>>
HP: 12
Dmg: 6
Mitigation: 3

 

Victor Attacks! SA used: Tri-pierce
Dmg: (6)*3*1= 18 dmg AoE
<<Wild boar>> HP = 0/12 (18 dmg - 3 Mit = 15 dmg) dead!

<<Wild boar>> Crit!
Dmg: 6+2= 8
Victor HP: 23/24 (8 dmg - 9 Mit = 1x4 default dmg)

+ 60 Col (5*12) + 2 Mat (bonus+normal) 

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

Raun stood up and turned around to introduce himself. Halfway through his turn, he noticed something appear to his left. He swiftly reached for his curved sword and was ready to unsheathe it and engage the charging boar. However, before they could reach him, his companion jumped between them and stopped the boar. The boar ramming into him barely depleted his HP bar, while his quick slice with the dagger shattered it instantly. Raun was rather impressed with Victor’s quick movement. He put the half-unsheathed sword back in and thanked the brown-haired teen. “Thank you Victor! That was very smooth. I’m guessing this game isn’t the first place you engaged in physical combat?” he asked.

“I’m Raun, by the way,” he said, walking up to him and holding his hand out for a handshake. “And my sister’s real name is Sophie Hunter,” he added. If this man was going to help him find her, he should know as much about her as possible. Although, in retrospect, he wondered if it was a good idea to give out his family name so easily; but he felt he didn’t have much of an option.

Spoiler

ID: #62214 | Battle: 5 | Craft: 9 | Loot: 12 | Mob: 8

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Raun

[Victor 0]

"Pleased to meet you Raun and don't mention it. I think we're all safe now." Vic said with a seemingly genuine smile. "And no it isn't, I keep trying to offer people a chance to train with me, but they keep denying it, one was even convinced that his sword would make him do things... Which is fair to a point, but some extra moves up your sleeve could go a long way." Luke added, in a thinly veiled attempt to offer Raun a chance to train with him as well. When the boy casually gave up the real name of his sister, Vic was surprised.  "I take you haven't played much bef-" he started, in order to warn Raun that it was a bad idea to introduce people with real life names, but just then another boar spawned. "Nope, I think we're sitting in the middle of a spawn point, I'll take care of it, but let's head to town after. I guess I've done enough to prove to that old NPC that I'm ready to finish my training." The boy said with an eye roll. This time the slow boar hadn't quite noticed the players, which gave Vic time to plan his attack. He executed a complicated swirling move with ease finishing the mob up in a matter of seconds, this time, not even giving  it a chance to attack him.

Spoiler

# 62215 results: BD: 11 (9+2) ; MD: 0 (3-0) ; LD: 17

Victor:
HP: 23
Dmg: 6
NRG: 1
Mitigation: 9
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2

<<Wild boar>>
HP: 12
Dmg: 6
Mitigation: 3

Victor Attacks! (Crit!) SA used: Tri-Pierce
Dmg: (6+1)*3*1= 21
<<Wild boar>> HP = 0/12 (21 dmg - 3 Mit = 18 dmg) dead!

<<Wild boar x1>> Miss!
Dmg: 0
Victor HP: 23/24

+ 60 Col (5*12) + 1 Mat

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Raun 0]

“You are right. Actual sword arts cost energy and when you are out of it, it is just your reflexes that will save you. No amount of training in here is going to make anybody physically stronger, however.” He said, reminding himself how everyone’s muscles will be wasting away in the real world while they try to grapple over levels and loot here. Victor questioned his gaming experience after he revealed his sister’s real name. Before he could respond, another boar spawned and Victor was already ready to take care of it. Raun had seen what he could do, so he wasn’t worried at all. He just nodded in response and waited for him to get it over with. Once he was done, Raun began walking towards the town. “To answer your question before… No. I’m not into gaming. My sister is. I just followed after because I couldn’t sit and watch her lying lifeless in the hospital bed. And… I also feel like she resorted to gaming because my parents and I didn’t give her the attention she deserved. If something happened to her, I would never be able to forgive myself.”

Spoiler

ID: #62225 | Battle: 4 | Craft: 1 | Loot: 18 | Mob: 2
+1 Mat

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Raun

[Victor 0]

"The boars interrupted us so much." Victor stated, then he paid careful attention to the details Raun was willing to spill, the guy didn't seem all that naive, Vic had just done a really good job of making Raun believe that he was trustworthy. "Its brave of you to follow her." He replaced the word stupid with brave to remain polite and in the guy's good books. "I try not to think about what's happening to us back in the real world. I'll miss the body I had, used to train for martial arts..." Victor said jovially, in attempt to lighten the mood while explaining to Raun where he got his reflexes. The brown haired boy started back towards town, once again keeping an eye out that the other player was following, soon they were back inside and safe. "By the way, I'm a safe bet, but you really shouldn't go around telling people your sister's real name, its not a done thing in multiplayer RPGs, especially not as unsafe as this one, when we get out of here, that is sensitive information." Vic informed, this time in a sort of serious attempt at being helpful, also he'd rather have this information remain special, just for him.

[Raun 0]

Raun contemplated on Victor’s advice about revealing real names inside the game. He didn’t see how it could be of harm. Those who knew her in real life already knew she was stuck in the game. And those who are in the game won’t really benefit much from knowing her real name even outside the game. If they tried something funny with Sophie Hunter, it would be a death wish. So, he simply shrugged in response. “I see more benefit than harm in revealing it, frankly. At least in her case. If they do know who she is, they already know because of her face. If they don’t know who she is, they will know to stay away from her once they put a name to the face.”

“Besides… How else are you going to confirm if the blonde girl you are talking to is actually my sister? Like you said, her description is very generic.” Once they reach the merchant, Raun would wait outside and browse the wares while Victor finishes the quest.

[Victor 0]

Victor wasn't about to argue this, if he wanted to put his sister's privacy in jeopardy that was his call, but he made one last statement about it. "Have you tried searching for Sophie, or Sophie Hunter and a few other permutations of it?" He asked, without actually waiting for response. "If you have already and it didn't turn up anything, I'm assuming your sister chose a fake name, maybe she wanted that privacy, maybe not..." He said ambiguously. "But you're right, it makes sense to have the information, I'm assuming Raun is your real name?" He didn't need an answer, from what he'd learned of the boy he was sure of his assumption. "I guess that too is to make sure in case she looks for you she can find you." Victor added with a sigh, he resisted the urge to shake this guy out of this, he was spending too much of his sharp mind to protect someone else, but he didn't that urge could work in his favor someday. He had led Raun to where the Merchant quest NPC's shop was. The old man was sitting on a stool right outside it. "Ah! I take it you're back with what I asked you to look for?" the man said. Luke excused himself from Raun and had a quick conversation with the NPC, the man explained how he was to trade and how using the things he found, if he was lucky and skilled, he could improve the gear people had. He was offered the quest completion window, which he accepted without haste. Eager to change to topic he said "Looks like I'm a merchant now."

[Raun 0]

“I tried a few combinations. None seemed to work. Haven’t covered all the combinations yet, though.” Raun ignored his comment about respecting his sister’s privacy but kept it in his thoughts. Maybe he is right. But right now, I only care about finding her. After all, our faces are revealed. What’s in a name? “Yes! My real name is Raun.”

While Victor was conversing with the NPC, Raun browsed the wares out on display. While none of them looked great, they were still better than what he wore. I really have to get better gear. Once Victor was done with the quest, Raun congratulated him with a smile. “Well done! Now that you are a merchant, let’s get to information sharing?” he asked politely. If this man proved useful in finding his sister, maybe he can do some favours for him in the real world. That is, if they all get out of here alive.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Raun