[SP-F1] Cheating the System <<Earning a Living: Merchant>>

[Andromeda 0]

"Owww...!" That went straight to the head! If she had any more brain cells left to lose-- And her second thrust... sailed right past it and she was left, very purposefully, waving her weapon at thin air. Thankfully, the goblin had lost its balance with that wild swing and sort of collapsed into an angry, growling little heap in the corner. Serves it right, An thought grumpily. She was just here to quickly grab some stuff for a profession quest and she was taking way too long just because of these stupid goblins!

She grabbed her rapier and scrambled to a stand, using the momentary lapse to recompose herself. "Billy, I hardly feel like I'm cheating the system," the silver-haired player grumbled to no one in particular. "No, I feel like the system's cheating me! What was with that 'profession growing with you' crap? You never said starting this off would be way too much work!!"

Spoiler

ID: 128407 | BD: 3 | MD: 1

An: 18/20 HP | 0/2 EN | 5 DMG | 18 MIT | 3 LD

Goblin 3: 5/10 HP | 3 DMG

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

Alright! An tried to psych herself up. She even hopped on one foot and then another. She could do this! The pesky little thing that was only defending its goods because it has a family to feed you monster was practically half-dead already. It was hanging onto life with an HP bar that was the equivalent of one basic attack, considering the past encounter. She could do this! 

Let's think a bit simpler. Maybe she was just feeling overwhelmed by it all. She just needed to poke it with the edge of a pointy stick!

An thought oversimplifying the combat in her mind would work. Well, An thought wrong. Apparently, rapiers don't do well against clubs because of how flimsy they were - if they ever were to directly clash weapons, the club would always win out because of the sheer weight of the weapon and the power behind its strike. 

An didn't know why she was just realizing this now. 

Spoiler

ID: 128547 | BD: 1 | MD: 8 | 3 - 18 = 1 DMG to An

An: 17/20 HP | 0/2 EN | 5 DMG | 18 MIT | 3 LD

Goblin 3: 5/10 HP | 3 DMG

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

Goblin held club with its right hand. Which meant left side - her right - had to be less defended. Going by her earlier realization, maybe it did take more than just trying to poke a pointy stick at it. Less staying in one place to meet the little bugger's blows, more moving around to attack it on its left side. Pretty simple! Somehow, it sounded easier than her oversimplification earlier - it was more specific and she had a better idea of what to do, a better goal, perhaps. Her teachers always told her to break down big goals into smaller ones she could then think of a process to attain, to specify the scope and limitations of her research... and it all applied nicely to this situation.

Now, her problem was the execution. 

Oh, boy.

An was glad the goblin was starting to tire out from all the combat; it wasn't as sprightly as it had been earlier. A quick evasive maneuver which she somehow managed with her current lack of composure and awkward stances and two thrusts of her rapier. Her weapon embedded itself into the goblin's midsection and with a startled cry, it was dead. 

It did the exploding thing and the girl was left staring at the loot it had dropped, still holding her rapier in the same position.

A big, goofy smile grew on her face and she cheered.

She could hardly believe that it actually worked!

Spoiler

ID: 128775 | BD: 7 | 5 DMG on Goblin 3

An: 17/20 HP | 0/2 EN | 5 DMG | 18 MIT | 3 LD

Goblin 3: 0/10 HP | 3 DMG

ID: 128776 | LD: 12 + 3 = 15 | CD: 9

LOOT:

• 190 Col
• 6 T1 Mats
• [x2] T1 Rare Armor
• T1 Rare Trinket

UNIDENTIFIEDS FOR QUEST:

• T1 Perfect Light Armor
• T1 Uncommon Shield

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

An didn't waste any more time. She stooped down and grabbed the nearest item which happened to be a heavy battleaxe that she tugged at once, twice, internally voiced her frustration over, then proceeded to give up and open a menu that dumped it straight into her inventory. Why didn't she just do that in the first place, you asked? 

...
...
...
...

She didn't know either. 

The clumsy newbie was out of the cave in a jiffy. She didn't even bother to look back and check if any goblins came in after she left, An was done with that area and she wanted out! Going back the way she came, she passed the rocky region that made up the distant expanses of Floor 1 and then the much safer grasslands, and she heaved a sigh of relief as soon as her feet touched the invisible divide between the safe zone and the world outside.

Home free!

Smiling to herself, she ventured back into the safe zone and followed the roads back to Billy's shop. She was going to have a word with that little kid.

Spoiler

ID: 129043 | LD: 4 + 3 = 7 | CD: 4

LOOT:

• 190 Col
• 6 T1 Mats
• [x2] T1 Rare Armor
• T1 Rare Trinket

UNIDENTIFIEDS FOR QUEST:

• T1 Perfect Light Armor
• T1 Uncommon Shield
• T1 Uncommon Weapon

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

An unceremoniously dumped all of the requested unidentifieds on the counter.

"Wait, hey, don't do that!!" Billy yelped. It plodded in from the back room and quickly, carefully, lifted the weapon and then the shield. An watched with curiosity as it ran its small hand over the wooden surface of the counter beneath. Checking for dents? Finding none, it heaved a sigh of relief then turned to face her with an uncharacteristically meek expression. "Really, ma'am, please don't do that again."

"What?" she grumbled, still annoyed at how difficult the "simple" task of finding unidentifieds had turned out to be. "We need it for identifying?"

"Not really." Billy hopped onto a stool and leaned forward, propping its elbows on the counter. It pouted, as if it didn't want to explain - but then it looked at An's curious expression and started to talk. "It was here when my grandpa started the shop. And then when my dad took over, and then when it was passed to me. They got mad the last time I broke an old vase; they'll be mad if I break this too."

How... normal for a child its age, despite how precocious it was in other aspects.

"Where are they now?"

"Grandpa is too old. Dad and mom are both..." Billy slid forward and glumly rested its chin on its arms. It didn't say anything any further.

Suddenly, An didn't feel like berating the poor thing for sending her on that troublesome quest. 

Wasn't this an NPC? Lines upon lines of code that was made to look human. But... then again... it looked so much like a regular little kid that it was growing difficult to draw the distinction. It was difficult to be completely sympathetic but difficult to be stone cold at the same time.

"I'm sorry..." She shifted her feet uneasily.

"Okay!" Billy clapped its hands together. Back to business, the gesture silently implied. "I promised to teach you, so let's start. Pick one from the three and I'll teach you how to identify it."

An blinked. Then she nodded and eagerly picked up the light armor. Of course she would start with that, she was itching to see if it would be useful to her! With both... player and NPC putting the previous conversation aside, Billy guided her through identifying the item while reciting the other basic parts of being a merchant. It turns out, as long as she had the skill (which the NPC granted to her for the time being), all she needed to do was bring up the menu, tap an option, wait for the loading bar to reach a hundred percent, receive her enhancement, and then repeat the process until all enhancement slots were filled out. Simple enough, but the loading time meant she would have to invest at least half an hour a day for it.

The last loading bar disappeared after a message indicating a 'success,' and crimson eyes glinted with delight as she held up her new piece of light armor.

Fully usable, too! 

An thought her luck was looking good. She admired the cloth in front of a mirror as the NPC remained on its stool and clapped at her achievement happily.

"Now practice some more on the other two and you're good to go!"

Spoiler

IDENTIFYING

T1 Perfect Light Armor
ID: 129370 | LD: 18 [Mitigation]
ID: 129371 | LD: 9 [Light Momentum]
ID: 129372 | LD: 16 [Mitigation]
Result: [x2] Mitigation | Light Momentum

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

An picked up the rather plain-looking shield from where she had carefully laid it down with the floor along with the sword after that conversation earlier. The more intrusively curious part of her wanted to see what would happen if she annoyed this NPC more, but Billy's downcast expression had been enough to deter her. Somehow. Even though the little kid in front of her was just a bunch of code. It was weird that way.

"So, Billy," she began instead. It was still seated on the stool behind the counter, swinging its legs and watching her closely as she worked. "Does that mean you're handling this shop all by yourself?"

"Gramps comes to help sometimes," Billy chirped. "He's around whenever it gets busy and he tells me where to buy the materials when we're running out."

So he was basically doing most of it?

"That... sounds a bit too busy for a kid." Really, if that responsibility had fallen on her shoulders when she was young - even if she did love what she was doing - there would come a time when she'd be completely burnt out and looking for someone else to take over. Some things were only good when they were done as a hobby! "Are you sure you should be out teaching others this stuff though? On top of that, you're doing a lot!"

"Mom and dad..." Billy cast its gaze down and stopped swinging its legs. "They were nice people. They used to hold classes for people who wanted to be merchants like them. They could even teach a big group in one time. It's amazing! I can't even handle more than one!" 

She finished identifying the shield. Mitigation. Not like she was expecting anything better from an equipment piece with only one slot. She handed it to Billy, which it placed on its lap as it continued to talk. "It's practically a part of the family business. So I thought I had to take over somehow!"

"Maaaybe be a bit more honest about how difficult it is to gather stuff. Just a suggestion."

Spoiler

IDENTIFYING

T1 Uncommon Shield
ID: 129793 | LD: 16 [Mitigation]
Result: Mitigation

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

Onto the last weapon now, then she would be finally, truly, home free! She placed the weapon on the counter and opened its menu, immediately commencing the identification process. An turned it over in her hands as she worked, but her mind eagerly strayed. After this, she would run straight back to her inn room and soak in the bathtub for a good few hours. Maybe even fall asleep in it. Sleeping in the bathtub was always the best feeling in the world! And then, she'd sleep in tomorrow. She wanted herself rested up: looking around for potential locations for her workshop was guaranteed to be a hassle, she first needed to narrow her options down to the floors whose safe zones she liked, and then take a look at the available lots, and then consider location, potential foot traffic, rooms, price...

"But do you have the time to play with the other kids?"

An important question.

"That's kid stuff," Billy scoffed. Then she realized, a bit too late, that this was probably a kid of around eleven to thirteen. Aka, that weird stage where everyone treats you like a kid and you absolutely hate it because you want to be a grown-up already... or as grown-up as teenagers were, anyway. An felt that. She lifted her gaze sheepishly from the weapon. The small NPC had turned away from her and swung its legs, though the wistfulness in its expression was quickly became apparent when she looked closely enough. That was quickly discarded as soon as it kept talking. "While they're out playing, I'm here running my family's business! I'm sure that once they get a bit older, they're gonna be like--" It crossed its arms and swung its legs a bit faster, speaking in a lower pitch. "'Oh, if only I worked and studied like Billy did.'"

The little kid spun around and pumped his fists with vigor. 

"I got this early a start, I'm going to be the best merchant in Aincrad when I grow up!"

"Ehhh? But if that's your goal, aren't you being too nice to your potential competitors?" An commented innocently. "I've read a lot of books where the apprentices surpass the mentor in the end. It's inevitable!"

"At least I'm smart enough to only teach you guys the bare basics. There's no way I'm telling you things I, as a competitor, would not want you guys to know!" 

Her red eyes shimmered.

Was that a challenge? 

...
...

One pop-up notification and the weapon was identified. An barely spared the enhancement a glance before she tossed it to the little boy. Obviously, she was keeping the light armor for herself and as per their agreement, Billy wasn't in the position to complain.

"And that makes your introductory lesson," the little merchant cheered. "Now that you've learned the basics, it's up to you to find out the rest yourself. It might be hard, but I know you can do it. Props to you for sticking it through to the end, but I really swear that nobody else encountered the goblins like you did! Been nice meeting you, ma'am."

He stuck out a hand for her to shake.

An didn't take it. Billy faltered, blinking up at her with curious eyes.

"...ma'am?"

She had thought back to the hint of regret in the merchant's eyes when she mentioned playing with the other kids. That wasn't any good; even she went out to play no matter how busy she was and she was supposed to be a grown-up herself! An reached forward and ruffled her little mentor's hair with a grin.

"It's been nice meeting you too. Would you mind if I came by sometimes?"

There was a small, tentative spark of hope in the little boy's wide eyes. Then he shook off her hand with a pout.

"I told you, I'm too big to play!"

"It's fine." The silver-haired player smiled innocently. "We can do grown-up stuff like sitting down for tea and talking business."

A pause. Billy looked at her and her smile. Then he realized and he smirked right back.

"Sure we can, but I won't let go of my trade secrets that easy!"

They shook hands and An left the shop with a small smile.

One quest done, an unlikely NPC friend(?) made, and a lot more stuff added to her mess of a to-do list. There was also how much her routine would change with her new profession too. Where would things go from here, she wondered?

***

Andromeda

• 2 SP
• 1,590 Col
• 6 T1 Mats
• <<Merchant>> Profession
• Standard <<Merchant>> Shop
• Identified Item [evaluation link]
• [x2] T1 Rare Armor
• [x1] T1 Rare Trinket

 

Spoiler

IDENTIFYING

T1 Uncommon Weapon
ID: 129793 | LD: 14 [Bleed]
Result: Bleed