[F01-SP]<<Earning a living: Performer>> A song to heal old wounds

[Valentine 0]

It was another day that Valentine was slogging through the town. The world seemed more gray as he wallowed in sadness. The current Valentine was  stony faced as he moved sluggishly. A voice sounded on the street catching his attention. The song sounded like a lament and jubilee at the same time. It stirred a pleasant feeling in his very heart that made him feel when he all but forgotten how. Valentine could not help but follow the sound of the voice to a decent looking studio to the right of him. A lady was wrapping up her song before she turned and looked at him. It felt as if she could see through him and his stony face.

The lady gave him a soft smile before speaking  "Hello there, I do hope you enjoyed my singing, I love singing for others, and I see you are here, would you like to learn how to bring enjoyment to others in terms of singing? I would love to help you."  She smiled and beckoned Val closer, the studio that she is in is a quaint one, with not much in it. Her modest work station shows in her modest looks, but she was somehow still beautiful. "Now, I will start to record a song, and you can watch me and take notes on how to sing, the vocalization of words is key in making a good product." She smiles and reaches for a crystal, but notices that there are none there. "Oh no! I have completely ran out, would you be a dear and gather five materials for me? I can still sing, but making a recording crystal will only work with materials. There should be some usable ones in the lake if you do not mind wading in the water. Thank you very much." Val did not give it much thought as he accepted her quest. Having a crystal to sing to him would not be bad, he somehow felt that this was a start to a new life. He left the studio and made his way to the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

Name: Valentine
Level: 1
HP: 20/20
EN: 2/2

Stats:
Damage: 4
ACC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Tubsir>> ( +2 ACC/2HAS)
Armor: <<Vanity>> ( Light Armor)

 

Kept Items:
 (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

 

Skills:
2 Handed Assault Spear [Rank 1]

 

 

[Valentine 0]

Val made his way over to the crystal clear lake. The lake was pretty large and hide a wide variety of fish and people around. He made his way over to one of the shallower stone pools. He unequipped his boots as to make himself look less weird as he worked in the sun. The site of his spear would be a deterrence to would be attackers in an area as busy as this lake. Val knew where to look as he came to this lake with Sage before, back then sage even pointed out the type of crystal like rocks that spawned. The lake had multiple uses for beginners as wild animals spawned not too far away. Cuffing his pants he entered and let the water cover his toes, he angled his spear as to allow him to bend over more easily. He picked up a rock that caught his sight and peered at it. The rock was clear as if formed out of water that hardened. It was the first out of the materials he was looking for.

 

ID# 171094       LD: 18

Mat: 1/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

 

The rock was placed back into his inventory before continuing on. Small fishes darted around his leg as he moved, they played around him in an underwater dance that would captivate a lesser man. As a man on a mission Val was completely committed to finding the needed materials like he was supposed to. It was a shame that he did not stop to enjoy it, the process could have been as fun as the end product. Not that he was bothered by what he was doing, busy work was often times even easier for him as it kept him from overthinking. He picked up a few more stones to examine them but none of them were what he was looking for, some were too big, others even had a weird shade that he was told would mess with the quality. He could only place the stones back before moving on to find what he would need.

 

ID# 171095     LD: 2

Mat: 1/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Val was shifting through the entire pile with the upmost of care without finding one. He was going to move on when a little green fish caught his eyes. It was swimming in a circle as if it was chasing its own tail fin. Derpy animal things such as the moves the fish was pulling gave him slight happiness. It reminded him of a time before SAO when him and Sage would watch animal planet. One of the few joys he had in his previous life. Val was not noticing how it was the first time in a while he could remember what green looked like. The song stirred him to remember and it created a domino effect in his heart. When he leaned closer as if to watch the fish he noticed a crystal right next to it. It was a decent size and perfectly passed his scrutiny. He placed it in his bag before looking back in the direction of the fish.

 

 

ID# 171096  LD: 16

Mat: 2/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The fish was just swimming about as if Valentine was not a disturbance at all. Val may have been out of it often but he still heard rumors. A small part of him wondered if the fish was one of those tamable beasts. If it was he would not mind taking it along with him as a memento, it would be an interesting pet as far as he could tell. Even if he could not take it into battle, as he never heard of a battle fish type pet. He shrugged the thought aside as he continued with his quest. It would do him no good to continue to think about it as he had things he needed to do. He moved his legs through the water as he moved to a fresher looking part of the small pool, away from some of the others on the lake. Spotting a crystal as he moved and packed it back up with the rest of his things.

 

 

ID# 171097   LD: 20

Mat: 3/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The area he was in was a bit deeper. It had less people but it did not mean others were not present. A small child half swam over to where Val was looking. The little boy looked pretty brave as he made his way through the water. Val was sure the kid was an NPC as it was too unlikely for a child that small to have made it into the game. Val gave what he believed to be a reassuring smile to the boy, it would have been nice if his facial muscles followed what he was thinking. The kid looked up to see the man with a spear and waved at him. As if seeing the inner smile the man did not make and was unbothered as he enjoyed himself. He held his breath and swam underneath the two and a half feet of water. As Val continued to look for suitable crystals to store for his quest.

 

 

ID# 171098 LD:  11

Mat: 3/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The water was feeling nice on his feet as the sun beat upon his skin. SAO may be life like but it was only that at the most life like, the game could not completely replicate or chose not to replicate all the human sensation. The sun may have been hitting him but it was not uncomfortable even the water would be warmer or colder.  At the most Val would hazard a guess to say that the ambient temperature all around his body rarely changed even if it seemed like it did. He picked up a stone that looked decent enough. The quality was on the slightly better side and it had a decent shape to it. The crystal was not as clear as he would have liked as it had a light twang of cerulean to it. It would not be noticeable unless one looked closely at it. The slight difference only made him hesitate but for a moment before he stored it with the rest.

 

ID# 171099  LD: 20

Mat: 4/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

 

Val could not help but wonder How many crystals did the lady actually need? He was not hard pressed to find them and his meticulous nature and insight allowed him to find them fairly fast. Even now he was looking at one and found his fifth crystal. Val managed to find five in the span of an hour, he was not sure how often people found the crystals, but he figured they should not be as common as he was finding them. Val was debating about heading back to the studio before he decided to see if he could find a few more. If today was a good day to farm for materials he felt like it would not hurt to look some more. He was setting a goal for himself to find eight as it was a better number than five. If he found ten that would be best but he did not want to drain all the resources in the lake.

 

ID# 171102     LD:20

 

Mat: 5/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

 

Val was absorbed into inspecting a stone when a large splash sent water onto his outfit. The temperature was fine and it was not like the water had any effect on him. He was just mildly annoyed at his concentration being broken until he saw it was the kid. His heart softened as he believed it was nice and the nature of kids to be able to smile and have fun like that. He could only wish that he was young he was able to go out and about and have fun like the kid was enjoying when he was young. The closest he had to being joyful was when he was with Sage. It was too bad his mom was removed from the picture in order to take care of his baby brother. While his dad just never bothered to pay him attention. Val could feel his mood turning sour and decided to focus back on the task at hand.

 

ID# 171103  LD: 9

 

Mats: 5/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Valentine felt like humoring the playful little tike. He kicked up with his legs to splash water back at him. The little kid smiled a dazzling gleam of white on the teeth that he had in his mouth. The mother looked up in shock and slight fear, she could have been worried Val was going to do something until the kid hugged his leg. Valentine's facial muscle would have shown a slight twitch if anyone was looking closely. It was if a semblance of a smile was trying to break out of the prison called his face, before it was brutally beaten back inside.

"I hope you are not bothering the young man." The mom spoke to the boy with a tinge of worry in her voice.

Val looked at her squarely before opening up his rarely used mouth. It was probably a couple of days since the last time he spoke. "No Ma'am he is doing fine. Just having a bit of fun."

 

 ID# 171104  LD: 7

Mat: 5/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The mom gave him a once over before going back to watch. The lake was busy so any disturbance would be picked up and dealt with. Val figured the mother kept a peace of mind because of how busy it was. Val would take the time to play and splash with the kid as long as he had a moment to. If did not take him long to look at a rock to determine if it would work as a crystal.  When the kid noticed what Val was doing he was even nice enough to help, he would move in the water and show Val some rocks that he thought was cool. It was a shame that not of the rocks the kid brought was what he was looking for. Not that he would have taken it from the kid. Val put away a crystal as he looked over the next batch the small munchkin brought.

 

 

ID# 171105  LD: 18

Mat: 6/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The rocks the kid brought over were a wide variety. It was impressive in the fact that the rocks should have been more than he can carry, but he shouldered it with a smile on his face, as he brought the stones to Val. The kid collected a few decent stones that Val believed could be turned into jewelry. While Val did not believe the kid to have been hurting for money he still felt like it would be cool to mention. "If you take that one to a artist he can make a pretty jewel for mommy." 

The kid smiled at Val innocent and joy painting his features. "Okay. I will give this one to money and this one to big brother." The stone he gave Val was a small Jade piece. It was not big enough to be shaped but made a fine token of friendship. Val was too kind then to just throw away a piece of trash given to him with pure intentions.

 

ID# 171106  LD: 8

 

Mat: 6/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Val put the rock away and forgot about it. Given the chance he would drop it off to the bank later and completely forget about it. His items slots were limited. The only reason he took it was to be polite and he actually likes the kid. Unlike the deadbeat father that Val grew up with he always imagined himself as a warm and caring person when it came to the little ones. "Alright, I will keep this one and give you this." Val had fished up a small and cute rock as well, this one had red flecks in it that should remind the kid of himself. Not that he cared if the kid kept the rock or not. He was giving it to the kid out of habit as Valentine was raised to always return gifts when possible. His face did not show forms of human emotion as he went back to checking out the water for crystals.

 

ID# 171125   LD: 6

 

Mat: 6/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

As Val went back to searching not too much time passed before he found another. His rate of searching was remarkably slowed as he dealt with the little kid, still Val did not stop and was making progress. As soon as he got one more he was going to make his way back to the lady to complete the quest. While it did not have a time limit he was anal retentive about finishing the quests on his list. It was part of the reason he hated multiple chain quests. As he would not care about anything else until the chain was done. Heavens forbid if it led to another chain quest after it was done. Val had no doubt the sadistic Cardinal system would not have things like that in place for him. It was why he rather stay indoors if he did not need to come out. Once he started something it would be hard if not impossible for him to stop.

 

 

ID# 171136  LD: 18

Mat: 7/5

Edited October 7, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

"Big bro!" Val looked at the kid speaking to him. "We are going to leave soon. My mom has to make dinner." The kid was telling him about his impending departure. Val pet the kid on the head and start to walk him out of the pool. His mom smiling as they left, she had grown used to Valentine's presence, and knew the young man had no bad intentions after seeing him play with her son. The little boy was picked up into his moms arms, he waved as he left with his mom leaving Val alone.

Looking around Val noticed that the lake was getting empty as people left for dinner. As he missed lunch he should have been more hungry then usual. He did not mind it too much as he planned on eating when he was done. He felt as if he could find the last crystal to meet his goals in a couple of moments. Besides it would not help him to look when it got too dark out.

 

ID# 171142 LD: 10

 

Mat: 7/5

Edited October 8, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The sky was heading to the other side of the sky. Val was out here since noon and spent a fair amount of time between playing and searching. As the sky would take on a golden hue in a couple of hours he should have been nervous that he would not find anymore. Instead the renewed silence and concentration allowed him to hasten his efforts as he made his way into a deeper portion of the lake. It would be harder for him to pick up a stone that he needed on purpose but increased his chances. The area would be more deeper than the shallow pool from before and was at the limit of what he could do. Any deeper and he would need a swimming skill at the best case scenario. Worse case would be getting attacked by a lake monster as he went under and plunged towards the lakes depths.

 

ID# 171145    LD:6

 

Mats: 7/5

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

 

An increase of stones did not mean he would be able to find them. Maybe it was the fact that Valentine kept himself at a higher standard when it came to goods compared to others. He was still having a hard time finding the last stone to meet his quota. A lesser man would have already said screw it and leave. A couple of times Valentine could have sworn other people did come to search for stones before leaving in frustration. As Valentine was not one to let his frustration get to him all he could do was continue to search for more stones. He was stubborn enough to find the stone or die trying. The only reason he bothered to live after his tragedy was because it was what Sage had wanted. If not he would not have cared if the system turned his mind or even body into paste.

 

ID# 171147  LD: 5

Mats: 7/5

Edited October 8, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

"Excuse me sir? Are you Valentine." Val looked up to see a young lady speaking to him. She was could be considered pretty if you are into that kind of thing. If he was a straight man maybe he would have hit on her. All he could do was give a nod as he was not even bothering to speak. He did not speak much and spoke even less to strangers he did not wish to get to know. "Lady Singular wanted me to check if you are okay, you have been gone for a fair amount of time and she was worried. She has the needed stones now and wish to sleep early. So even if you could not find any she requests for you to come back so she have the song ready for you."

The mysterious messenger made sense. Val was unsure if NPC's could message each other like players did. So he figured he should be wrapping up as to not keep the Lady waiting.

 

ID# 171149   LD: 1

Mat: 7/5

Edited October 8, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Val was giving the pool one last check as he was making his way out. While he wanted to stay and search for one more he did not want to keep the lady waiting. She was the one that needed them in the first place and as long as he had some to show for it should be okay. When he was back on land he re-equipped his foot wear. It would just look weird for him to travel without it. He made his way back to the studio with the stones in bag at a brisk pace. The young assistant lady must have been a messenger as she was gone when Val reached the studio.

"I was wondering if you were going to make it back sometime today. I managed to get some stones but if your brought any it would be even better I can teach you how to use them. I have a belief that you will be a fine Performer one day."

 

 ID# 171154   LD: 14

 

Mat: 7/5

Edited October 8, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Lady Singular gave him a few pointers on how to sing and use the crystal. To say Valentine was nervous would be an understatement. If a person could read him easily they would notice that his face was stonier than usual. As if it was somehow possible and displaying itself in the hardness of his features. Sage told him he had a great voice and would be a good singer, Val just never had the time to do it. Singing was not exactly a skill a young master was allowed to display it was considered effeminate and more for the ladies. Still he was trained to finish a quest till the end he opened his voice and allowed a song to flow out. The song he was singing was made up of memories. How it feels to heal after a loss and how color could return to a formerly grey world. If asked to recall Val would not be able to remember the lyrics to what he sung. Only that it was a tad heart wrenching with an undercurrent of warmth.

 

ID# 171155    CD: 11    LD: 16

 

Mats: 6/5

Edited October 8, 2020 by Valentine