[PP-F1] Moving up in the Business World <<Earning a Living: Appraiser>>

[Yona 0]

Yona knew she wasn't ready for the tougher parts of the investigation that Krysta's party was up to, so she needed some time on her own to train herself up to about near Astralin's Level at least. Due to the mysterious phenomena going on, she should start her training with something simple so that she would be less likely to get swarmed by mobs outside the safe zone. Hopefully, she'd be able to catch up quickly so she could return to the investigation.

If Yona was gonna get anywhere, she had to be more than a scavenger in the wilds. But what else could she try? She was clumsy with the forge, kept poking herself with the tailor's needle, wasn't delicate enough to be an artisan, she wasn't the best with potions unless a quest required it, she was a mediocre chef at best, as she found herself incapable of performing the key actions for making enhanced food(how does that even work?), and despite her sense of style and pretty voice, she didn't seem capable of writing her own songs, let alone winding up as a Bard from Dungeons and Dragons just by choosing performer as a profession. So what else could she try? Well, she recently heard from the grapevine about Appraisers, who could identify a looted item's enhancements, sometimes coming across something unique... With a glint in her eyes, and a smirk on her face, she began seeking out a teacher for Appraisers. She came across an NPC who knew a potential mentor's location, and marked it on her map.

When she arrived, she could clearly see that this NPC had wares for days, maybe weeks, or months, even! The NPC emerged from a rack of scrolls, greeting Yona with a smile of pearly whites as shiny as that bald spot on his head. If there were nice-looking scavengers of the Business World, he was clearly one of them. "Why Hello, what is it you're looking for today?" 

"I'm looking for someone to train me in the art of Appraisal, and I was directed to you." Yona revealed. The NPC scowled. "I don't do anything for free." He shot back. "Obviously. You think I didn't know that?" Yona responded. "Is it a Col Payment, or do you need me to fetch something for you?" The NPC seemed to be in thought for a short moment as he looked Yona up and down. "Well knowledgeable, straight to the point...seems to have a little potential...hmm..." He muttered to himself. Then out loud, he said, "Tell you what, you bring me the items, I'll show you how to identify them." With that, Yona would nod in agreement and be off.

 

She would be on her way to the safe zone's exit, 'cause items to appraise could only be found outside the safe zone. She ended up getting distracted by pulling out that weird vial of <<Blue Essence>> and staring at it, wondering what the hell it was. She shook her head, she couldn't seem to tell. Maybe one day, She'd find the answer.

Until then, she would be doing simple stuff like this, all just to prepare herself for the journey ahead. She was somewhat nervous though. If the Monster Overpopulation that those three were investigation was even on this floor, would she still have a hard time out there?

Well, there's only one way to find out.

@Hirru

 

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 6

 

 

HP: 120

Energy: 30

Base Damage: 10(CS R1[7], Sharpened Wakizashi[2])

Mitigation: 6(Moonshard Veil)

Accuracy: 0

Evasion: 2(MoonShard Veil)

Loot Die: 3(Thuban's Eye)

 

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

 

Equipment:

[T1]Sharpened Wakizashi(Curved Sword, 2 DMG)

[T1]Moonshard Veil(Cloth Armor, 1 MIT, 2 EVA)

[T1]Thuban's eye(Trinket, 3 LD)

 

 

Consumables:

Teleport Crystal x1

 

 

Skills:

Curved Sword Rank 5

 

 

Extra Skills:

[None]

 

 

Mods:

[None]

 

Addons:

[None]

 

[Hirru 0]

In the absense of anything to do, Hirru had taken the rest of his time from the prepping for the front lines, to getting some long needed rest.  He was still on the move for more preparations, but he didn't have much else to do while traveling.  He could be appraising some weaponry and armor that he, Freyd, and Ariel had procured, but he didn't feel like it.  Everyone was already heavily equipped and had their own builds going.  It was only the hunter that didn't have what he wanted, and even then he had already made up his mind for the current raid.  He would be the support that they all called for.

Hirru had already talked to some people in the Firm Anima guild, about a new piece of armor.  They had sent him four individual pieces to be worked into a new holy / life armor piece, but the issue came to get them fused.  He only knew one specific blacksmith, the apparently legendary Macradon, but Hirru was still in bad place with him.  It would not be feasible to go to Mac.  It was then that he found a very particular individual with a very particular smithy.  He was on his way to said smithy when.

"Rune Scribe, I got something that might interest ya."

Hirru awoke from within the wagon of the Travelling Flame, the merchant shop that was conveniently placed within a moving vehicle.  It had come to an immediate stop, and when the hunter looked out from behind the canopy, he could see that they were on the outskirts of the first floor, just outside one of the towns.

"Merchant?  Why are we out here?  Koga's shop is on the.."

He checked his map to see his location.

"It's on the other side of this floor!?  Why are we here?"

"Some rare people to see, Scribe."

With that, the Mysterious Merchant, garbed in purple robes and belts galore, stepped off the stage coach and walked the rest of the way into town.  Hirru just sat there on the edge of the wagon while Elizabeth, the unknown variable of a reptile that pulled the wagon, was now stealing one of his rations.. again.

"So... now what?"

The hunter would notice someone coming out of the town.  A woman wearing some odd clothing, it seemed.  Well, the hunter had seen many different people in many different attire.  It wasn't much to say that it wouldn't be so strange to see, even on the first floor.  Were they someone that could handle themselves on this floor?  The hunter then realized that he was on the first floor himself, which meant any mobs would likely turn into a T4 variant.  Those were much more powerful than the regular mobs on this floor.

Throwing caution against the wind, Hirru waved over the young lady, hoping that they wouldn't seem to off put by a man with green hair, riding a wagon pulled by a semi-camouflaged chameleon.

@Yona

Hirru's stats
 

Spoiler

Hirru Lvl 31 (PL 40)

840 HP (+160 PL)
96 Energy (+16 PL)
1 Base Damage
3 Accuracy
1 Evasion
5% Battle Healing
122 Mitigation
1 Paralysis
32 Envenom

Shelob's Fang ...................... // +1 Accuracy, +1 Paralysis, +24 Envenom
Spirit of the Jade Dragon .......... // +2 Accuracy, +1 Evasion
Bulwark ............................ // +72 Mitigation
Blades Cloak ....................... // Vanity
Lun'Rael's Insignia ................ // Unique Vanity | 
Dimensional Backpack ............... // +1 B.R.I Slot

Battle Ready Inventory

<Teleportation Crystal> x1 ......... // Teleport to a town / out of a dungeon [Uses 2 posts: 1 for use, next to teleport]
<Favor of the Golden Dragon> ....... // +3 Luck Die
<Empty>
<Empty>
<Empty>
<Empty>

Skills

Heavy Armor ........................ // Rank 5: +35 MIT
Battle Healing ..................... // Rank 5: +5% HP each turn
Extended Weight Limit .............. // +2 B.R.I Slot

Extra Skills (Max 4)

First Aid .......................... // Rank 5: +20% ST-H / -15 EN
Leadership ......................... // Rank 5: Command the Front w/ Buffs

Skill Mods / Addons (Max 5 Mods)

Iron Skin (Add on) ................. // +15 Mit / +60 HP
Field Medic (Add on) ............... // +25% AOE-H / -15 EN / 3 turn Cooldown
Hyperactive (Add on) ............... // +3 EN Regen for 3 turns / -5 EN / 3 turn Cooldown

Large Pockets ...................... // B.R.I. slots each can contain 15 same type items
Barrier ............................ // -15% Dmg shield AOE / -15 EN / 2 turn Cooldown
Energize ........................... // +8 EN ST / -10 EN
Steadfast .......................... // +1 ACC AOE, -1 ACC self / -6 EN / 3 turn Cooldown
Press The Attack ................... // +(Target Tier) Dmg, -(Cumulative)Dmg / -10 En / 5 turn Cooldown

Housing Buffs

Rested ............................. // -1 EN for 2 uses
Relaxed ............................ // OOC HP regen 5*tier Rec EN after 2 turns
Filling ............................ // Increase food by +1 T1 slot
Multipurpose ....................... // +1 LD, Stealth, Dection, or Prosperity to 1 post
Practiced Angler ................... // +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Hirru
Fixing Practiced Angler buff

[Yona 0]

First there was the initial realization of the Monster Overpopulation, then there was the carry at the Tenth Floor which ended with a high level skeleton just casually knocking everyone, including Yona, aside. Not to mention there were those Essences that apparently had the old fashioned "Take one" rule, leaving Yona to only have that one, which was currently sitting in her inventory, like some kind of key item, simply because Yona had no clue what the hell she was supposed to do with it. ...And now there was this.

Yona wasn't put off by green hair, so it wasn't the person waving to her that caused her expression to appear as though she was off-put for the actual reason just so happened to be the half-camouflaged lizardfolk pulling a wagon. That was an unusual sight for her.

"What the hell? Is...is that a lizardfolk?" Yona asked, after about ten seconds of awkward silence and her expression.

She never thought she'd see a lizardfolk around here. ...Well, at least, one that wasn't a monster. She had a feeling she might encounter one as a monster in higher level floors, but as an NPC just casually pulling a wagon? Gotta admit, one of the few things she expected the least.

What a strange time this had all been so far.

[Hirru 0]

"Lizard.. folk?"

The hunter looked from the girl to what she was looking at.  His confusion became understanding as he saw that Elizabeth, a giant chameleon that had been the caravan's mount for as long as the hunter had known the Merchant, was now slightly visible, which only meant one thing.

"Liz!  You ate another ration, didn't you!?  You know you can't be eating the Merchant's stock when he's gone."

Hirru yelled out at the reptile, which scared Elizabeth and caused her to nearly disappear into the background.  A quick eye could easily catch her outline moving, and she was still attached to the wagon.  One could still go over and pat the reptile, if they so choose.

"Great, now I gotta restock AND comfort you too?"

The hunter walked over to the camouflaged reptile, and began patting it's backside.  It didn't take much to get more product, but that was still having to purchase stock from other places, and he forgot how the prices on this floor were.  They should've been fairly low, but that meant they were still low quality items for beginners.  He would then be reminded that he had a guest.    He turned back to the girl while groaning about the situation.

"Huh.. Oh sorry.  I don't know about lizard folk, but she is a big lizard.  At least, as far as I can figure."

He finished patting and comforting the giant chameleon before addressing the girl once more.

"I'm Hirru, appraiser of the Traveling Flame.  Did you need something, or did I distract you from your duties?"

[Yona 0]

This guy.

He had absolutely no clue what Yona meant by Lizardfolk, as if he had no clue what it was, yet he recognized the lizardfolk that was apparently stealing his rations.

Maybe he just didn't know the term, then?

He soon addressed Yona again, introducing himself as Hirru...an appraiser.

"Oh, wonderful," Yona thought. "Not even ten seconds outside the safe zone and already there's a potential rival in the Equipment Gacha."

Since Hirru had asked Yona about if she needed anything, she might as well answer. "Not necessarily, I'm just heading out to find some equipment. There's an um....a quest! A quest and I need three unidentified items for it." She explained.

As long as the dots weren't connected, there shouldn't be any trouble unless he wasn't the competitive sort. "I go by Yona, by the way." She added, introducing herself. "Any reason you're sticking around here? You just looking to do business, or are you one of those players looking into the weird shit that's going on around some of the floors, the rumors of Monster Overpopulation?" She asked.

[Hirru 0]

"Unidentified items?  I mean, I have a few myself, but if you're around here.."

The hunter tried to remember what was around here that would require that kind of quest.  If it needed unidentified items, it must be something to do with appraising.  Was the new appraiser quest on this floor now?  He remembered that he found the Merchant on the fifth floor, but it may just be a coincidence.  In the end, Hirru figured that they had their own agenda, and didn't want to pry any further.

"..Well, normally you can find them off of killing mobs, or finding chests.  Not much you'll find out in the wild, but quests are something different.  If it's telling you to find some out here, I would recommend looking out in the brush.  You never know if someone left something odd behind."

Hirru pointed out behind the wagon to the bushes and trees that Liz was trying to replicate through her skin tone.

"Nice to meet you, Yona.  Personally, I'm trying to find an acquaintance that owns a smithy on the other side of the first floor.  Although, I've found myself stranded until the NPC that controls the Travelling Flame gets back.  I don't properly own the shop itself, nor do I know how to make Elizabeth move.  I just appraise the unidentified items that I farm."

His interest in the situation seemed to peak a bit when some rumors were talked about.

"I'm not too sure on all that.  Been working around some other floors, and killing as many as I could.  Haven't really noticed that there were more of them, though."

[Yona 0]

"You mean I gotta scavenge for shit-quality items that someone else left behind? That doesn't sound too promising..." Yona remarked at Hirru's "advice". She was aware how RPGs and MMOs worked, and if someone dropped an item, it was usually because it was junk and the player had no use for it.

Hirru explained why he was here. Apparently he was more of an assistant to a merchant, appraising items he himself would find. He seemed to not be so sure about the whole overpopulation thing, claiming he hadn't been seeing more than usual. "Yeah, it is kind of odd, though. I first noticed when I almost got swarmed where I normally wouldn't get swarmed, then there was a lead over in the tenth floor, a player who looked like a Princess was willing to carry me through the trip, but it was like someone was already making their way through." Yona remarked.

"Then the party carrying me ran into this boy going by Vigilon, and barely missed an encounter with some 'Dazia' person...so I guess plenty of higher level players haven't been having too much of a hard time, and may even be clearing out the excess monsters, who knows?" She added. "Then again...I kinda felt like I was being watched...even before I ran into that skeleton guy, who completely whipped us all, even though we took no damage whatsoever."

It was kind of unsettling, to say the least. "But that's more than enough rambling, so I guess it's time to see if that hypothesis of yours holds water." She decided, before going to check the brush that Hirru had gestured to.

Within the foliage, she somehow spotted something in there. "...The hell is this doing here?" She remarked before pulling out the consumable she found. Seeing that it was unidentified, it could not be used until it was appraised.

 

ID# 201967 CD: 11, LD: 4(Found Uncommon Consumable)

Edited November 23, 2021 by Yona

[Hirru 0]

"It's either that, or kill mobs for it."

Hirru shrugged it off.  At least this quest seemed to be going in the right direction for the young woman, although she did seem to talk quite a bit about the oddest of things.  Overpopulation of mobs?  Players being name dropped like crazy, but the hunter couldn't make heads or tails of any of the names.  Must be trying to get up to the front lines.  He knew quite a few people were, but some liked more solitary lives.  He tried both, and could reasonably say that the depression from falling out from the front hit harder.  Although, that was all his fault anyway.  He preferred to stay with the gang, and venture forward.

When the girl seemed to be able to find something the hunter clapped.

"Good.  That's one down.  I think I see another one in the tree, over there."

He said while pointing towards an obscure tree upon a hill, which seemed to hug a small river that flowed through the area.  The hunter would then think of a wonderful idea, while the girl was doing her thing. 

He would go and fish.  Taking his rod and tackle out from the back of the wagon, the hunter walked over to the river and sat down.  The hook was baited, and he whipped the rod a bit to cause the line to go farther out into the water.  With this, he would wait, but not for long.  A sudden snag would pull upon the line, and the hunter would pull hard against it.  With a pull and a tug, something splashed out of the water, wriggling upon the hooked line.

"That's nice and quick."

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 51

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 201971] [CD: 9+1=10] [LD: 4+1]  Caught a fish!  +1 Mat / +7 EXP

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Hirru
Fixing Practiced Angler buff and exp

[Yona 0]

"...The Tree?" Yona questioned. "Are you serious?" She said while suppressing a laugh. Who would be stupid enough to just leave something in a tree? This was like some kind of odd scavenger hunt, this wasn't how looting worked.

Yona walked over to the tree that the player had pointed to. What kind of supernatural sight did this guy have that he could see an item through all those branches at a glance? Well, one way to find out.

Yona realized the hard way that she'd never climbed up a perfectly straight tree before, and it wasn't long before it started to get on her nerves. She kept making attempts to grapple the trunk and climb upward in order to reach the easier-to-climb branches, but each attempt went just as well as the last.

Forty failed attempts later, Yona resorted to a more forceful method for reaching the item. She drew her weapon, and hoped that this tree was not an immortal object. She unleashed her sword art upon the tree, and marks would appear where her weapon had landed. The marks weren't that deep, so this seemed like it would take some time.

Yona couldn't tell how long it had been before she finally dealt enough hits to get the tree to snap, and down it fell, shattering after it hit the ground. Yona's energy had depleted, so she would seem to be winded.

...of course, to add insult to injury, the item she was looking for, which turned out to be a weapon, fell a fair distance after being launched by the force of the tree's knockdown, and the blade sunk into Yona's backside.

Yona pulled it out, and to her, it looked like... 

"I just...sliced up....a tree....FOR THIS PIECE OF JUNK?!?!?!"

If her face was not enough to express her frustration, her outburst definitely would.

ID# 202357 CD: 1, LD: 8(found Uncommon Curved Sword)

Edited November 28, 2021 by Yona

[Hirru 0]

Hirru could hear the sounds of steel against wood, and wondered what the heck was going on upon the hill side.  A quick look back was akin to looking upon ones looming death, as the canopy of the tree that Yona had cut through was falling his way.  There wasn't much time, and he didn't have that much speed for evasion versus some other players.  He tried to get up from the river embankment, but he slipped.  Foot splashed into the water as he fell to the ground.  All he could do was watch as the trees limbs fell...  5 meters in front on him, shattering upon impact of the ground.   What did he think was going to happen?

The girl had found her second item, and Hirru had found nothing else.  He sighed a bit before looking back to Yona.

"Unconventional, but that'll do.  I can't really see anything else in the area.  Why don't you come over here?"

He repositioned himself while casting his line out once more.  There wasn't much time for fish to hit his line this time, and didn't hesitate to pull upon the line.  However, there wasn't anything on the line when he did.  Another one got away.

"Maybe there is something in the water that I could fish up, or you could too.  Well, you can do so if you get the fishing secondary profession, but that's on you."

Hirru looks back to the water while he hooks another piece of bait.

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 58

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 202435] [CD: 1+1=2] [LD: +1]  Nothing found | 3+2= 5 Exp

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Hirru
Fixing Practiced Angler buff and exp

[Yona 0]

Hirru gestured for Yona to walk over to the river, but then spoke of his own profession, which happened to be fishing. "Did...did you say, Secondary Profession?" She asked. "So, what makes the difference between primary and secondary professions? I assume it's possible to have one of each?" 

Secondary professions...Yona wondered if there was one she could pair well for either her build, or with her primary profession. Now all she needed, for the time being, was to find something else. ...But it wasn't like she could find something in the river without the fishing profession...or could she?

Her eyes darted around the waters, looking for anything that seemed off. When she locked eyes on something that looked out of place for a river, she knew just what remark to make once she shoved her hand in and pulled it out.

With a dripping wet consumable in hand, Yona let out an exasperated groan. "Even in a game like this, there's still an asshole out there who litters, messing up the environment."

ID# 202734 CD: 10, LD: 13(Found Rare Consumable)

Edited December 2, 2021 by Yona

[Hirru 0]

"The difference?  Mostly what you can do with them."

The hunter responded to Yona's question.  There wasn't much to say, as the differences were clear.

"The main branch of professions are all the crafters, those that can take materials and make equipment or consumables out of them.  Blacksmiths and Cooks are basic examples of those.  Merchants, or as it's known now, Appraiser, is kind of an oddball.  Instead of using materials and form something out of those, we use those unidentified items as essential material and a little col.  Secondary branch is for the gatherers.  There are only two secondary professions: foragers and fisherman.  These are more to find materials and other things.  They're basically over glorified gathering methods.  Heh heh."

He would cast the line back in while chuckling to himself.  Although the gathering professions were not that different than their normal gathering methods, they made up for it with a little something that can only be gained through fighting with extreme luck.

"The big thing between the two subs are these.."

Hirru pulls out two different materials.  One looks like a shard of something rather dark looking.  It seemed to emanate a dark demonic aura.  The second one seemed to shimmer and shine.  This one seemed to be a fish scale that glowed a silverish white, until looked at up close, where one can see the prism of different colors speckling the scale.

"These are the Demonic Shard and the Gleaming Scale.  These are high end materials that are needed to produce end game equipment.  The Forager can find shards, while Fishermen can find scales, but only after reaching top rank.  I'm still working on that myself."

He then pocketed his unique materials.  Didn't want a target placed on his back while being on the first floor.  Who knows if any ill could be brought about out here.  When he was finished, he pulled on the line to find that there was nothing there again.  He sighed.

"It's not always rewarding..  I prefer hunting properly than doing all this.  However, you can get some basic treasure out of fishing too, whenever the hook snags it.  Which is why I took it."

Hirru then reeled the line in all the way, and put the rod away.  He wouldn't be needing it any further than here.

"So, you've got all three unidentified items, huh?  What next?"

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 62

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 202738] [CD: 2+1=3] [LD: +1] Nothing | 3+2=5 Exp

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Hirru
Fixing Practiced Angler buff and exp

[Yona 0]

Hirru would explain the differences between the various professions, but Yona would do her best to avoid making any remarks on the ones she considered but just couldn't get down for the life of her. She avoided making any responses to Appraiser whatsoever, she didn't want this player to know she was on her way to becoming a rival in business. Hirru then explained how secondary professions worked, that they were simply better ways to gather materials...as well as the unique materials that each one was capable of finding. Yona's eyes lit up slightly. "Uh huh...so, what does each one do? Knowing what professions work well together might help me in the future." She asked.

Hirru then reeled in his fishing rod and asked what Yona was going to do next, now that she had all three unidentified items. "Um, what else?" Yona asked. "I've got what I need, so now I just gotta deliver these to the guy who asked for them! Yeah..." 

There was no need to say anything else, there was only the task ahead of her.

[Hirru 0]

"What do the Demonics Shards and Gleaming Scales do?"

The hunter asked inquisitively.  It seemed she was about to head out since she was done with what she needed to do.  The hunter shrugged and looked back towards the water.  Casting his line back out into the water, he gave a slightly exaggerated answer.  Yona would have to get going, if her quest was timed in any way, so he made it brief and simple.

"They're for upgrading your equipment into better versions of themselves.  Shards are for turning perfect quality into demonic quality, while scales can unlock the possibility to gain unique enhancements in equipment, if appraised through an appraiser."

He nods his head towards his rod as the bobber rested upon the water's surface.  Soon, it fell below the water line and the hunter had to pull hard.  Reeling the line in as slowly as he possibly could before a rather unusual sight would be seen, as a small chest could be seen dragged out of the water by the line.  A treasure chest was found, and it would not take long for the hunter to open it to find it's contents.  Two weapons of questionable rare quality and two consumables of rare quality.  He looked at them and thought about something.

"It's why I chose being a Fisher while helping in the Merchant's shop as an Appraiser.  Not only can I find treasure chests with appraisable items, I can find Gleaming Scales later on to find unique enhancements faster."

Hirru then waved to Yona.

"Sorry, I'm sure you're in a hurry.  If you see an NPC in purple robes near a merchant shop, could you tell him his scribe is waiting for him.  He's probably talking to some merchant or appraiser in town again."

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 67

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 202873] [CD: 10+1=11] [LD: 18+1=19] Critical Treasure Found | 8+2= 10 Exp

Opening Chest | Rank 2 = +1 LD to opening Fisher Chest

[ID: 202874] [LD: 4+1= 5]

• Unidentified T4 Rare Weapons (2) [202874a, 202874b]
• Unidentified T4 Rare Consumables (2) [202874c, 202874d]

 

Edited December 27, 2021 by Hirru

[Yona 0]

Hirru explained what the unique materials were for, how the shard could be obtained by foraging and could upgrade equipment quality, whereas the scale could be used to have an appraiser pull up a unique enhancement on an item.

And of course it would be this guy's reasoning for picking fishing, too.

Yona had a full idea as to what she would be going for, but now it was time to get back to the quest. "I see...yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'll keep what you said in mind, thanks for telling me."

Hirru then noted that if she ever spotted an NPC in purple robes, that she should say to them that their scribe was waiting for them...and that the NPC was probably talking to a Merchant or Appraiser...again?

Yona's eyes widened. "Oh, no..." Yona thought. She dropped all sense upon hearing that and so she ran. She ran right back into the safe zone. If this guy was right, the NPC might end up getting in the way of the quest. Yona had more than enough to do, she couldn't just stand around and wait if some NPC thought it could do whatever the hell it wanted. She wasn't gonna put up with any unnecessary delays if she didn't have to...right?

At least the crowds within the safe zone weren't as dense as usual. Hopefully she wouldn't encounter any delays once she reached the quest giver's shop.

[Hirru 0]

Yona seemed to be in much more of a hurry than he thought.  She had booked it well into the town.  The hunter looked on and shrugged.  It was none of his concern, he thought as he cast his line back out into the water.  The bobber would bob up and down.  Up and down.  Up and down.

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

Up and down the scales would go, as two men sat and talked.  Each of them would make a point, while the other would scoff and bark.  Although, it seems an argument, or worse a threatening mess.  In the end, they both would laugh, as the door would open to a young lass.

"Welcome, stranger!"

"Ah!  The young lass returns, and hopefully with a bundle of uncommon or rare items, no?"

The NPC Merchant for the quest would stand up and greet his newly found apprentice, as he gave a quick side eye to the other man.  The other man was an NPC of a middle aged man, wearing purple robes which covered some of his face.  He seemed to carry a large pack with him, though it was set aside for his visit.

"Heh heh heh!  Got some rare things to sell?."

"Not quite this time!  This girl wishes to be taught the proper ways of appraisal, not some hieroglyphic mumbo that some could teach."

The quest merchant would give a big grin before looking over to the girl.

"Are you ready to learn the art of appraisal?"

[Yona 0]

Well, so much for an attempt to get through this smoothly. Yona opened the door to see two merchants letting out a laugh...even though she could hear other kinds of sounds before she opened the door. They were probably trying to keep pleasant faces when the public was involved, which made sense, of course. 

The reason for what sounded like a heated discussion earlier was revealed when the quest NPC's words suggested there were multiple ways to appraise. Well, might as well just learn from the current master now, and try out new materials later...they were probably just different styles of appraisal, which meant no mechanical purpose, just aesthetic. Yona chuckled. "Hieroglyphic? That sounds ancient." She remarked, taking the quest NPC's side in this...if this was indeed what the discussion was about. She'd probably hear the other side of the equation anyway, but oh well. "Yeah, I'm ready."

 

The quest NPC would bring Yona over to where he did his work. "Now then, this is how an appraisal is done." He began, though it would seem that the words were towards more than just Yona, for the other merchant was still in the area.

He would proceed to show his appraisal method to Yona, and Yona watched his work thoroughly. "Right then, now you give it a try." The quest NPC said. Yona would keep what she saw in mind as she pulled out what she'd found.

When she did finish, she wondered why someone would have tossed away the rare consumable after all, for upon inspection, it wasn't bad. Less than ideal, but otherwise pretty good. The others, Yona didn't find very much use for. One was a consumable that was best when paired with a mitigation consumable, and the other was just some random ailment, and it's tier was too low to be practical. Maybe some clueless rando out there might want it though... Her eyes remained focused on the rare potion. "So...there's something else I might owe, I take it?" She guessed. The quest NPC thought for a short moment. "You choose one of those to keep, I'll take the other two as payment." He decided. "It's a deal. Thanks for teaching me, pleasure doing business with you." Yona agreed.

With that, their business here was basically done. She then remembered something important and turned to look at the other NPC. "Hey uh, your scribe is waiting for you." She told him before leaving the building.

@Hirru

 

ID# 202910 LD: 7(Protein)

ID# 202911 LD: 14(Bleed)

ID# 202912 LD: 20(Damage)

[Selected to Keep: Liquid Strength(2 DMG)]

Edited January 26, 2022 by Yona

[Hirru 0]

"Ah!  Thank you.  I'm glad my apprentice isn't just guarding Elizabeth."

The purple robed merchant said as he heard that his apprentice had been looking for him.  Walking over to the large pack, it seemed to be positioned in a way that the mysterious merchant could slap some buckles and clips.  Enough would be strapped to him before he was able to hoist it up.

"Leaving already old friend?"

"Ay, I got an apprentice of my own to get back to."

The quest NPC was quite surprised by the thought, as it's eyes widen by the news.  Who knew that someone else could read the runic language, if it wasn't translated properly, as was the way he trained his apprentices.  It's easier for the system to auto-translate everything once it has already made its choices.  However, the system that the mysterious one used was from the base runes themselves, where the process was not translated, and the runes were to be learned as they were being chosen.

"You have someone else that can read those old runes?"

"Studious boy, and inquisitive.  Not only that, but he has guts."

"Huh.."

The shopkeep waved his old friend off as the Mysterious Merchant passed through the doorway without near little resistance from the amount of stock in his pack.  He started back down the main road to the town entrance.

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

"Achoo!"

Hirru sneezed while still fishing up what he could.  He figured that he couldn't be getting a cold, as he didn't think he could in the game.

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 77

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 203116] [CD: 2+1=3] [LD: 4+1=5]  | Nothing 3+2= 5 Exp

 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Hirru

[Yona 0]

Well, there wasn't much else to do around here, and Yona was sure that the area directly outside the safe zone wouldn't have anything too dangerous right away...so she decided to just wait out there, the others might be returning soon. She might not have done any investigation, but what she did know, was that hardly anyone else seemed to notice anything off. Maybe that was something worth telling the others. She was an appraiser now, too, and she had an idea as to what she should pursue next.

Fishing sounded like a good choice, but she should get settled with what she had first. If she went too fast, she might crash and burn, and she wasn't gonna risk that just yet. 

Outside, she looked around her, trying to see if anyone else was currently heading back from a hunt or something. She didn't see anyone coming back just yet, but she did see someone by the river...that same dude.

...and he was probably on his way to becoming vulnerable from cold, judging by that sneeze that just happened.

"Good Lord, you're still fishing? Are you grinding or something?" She called out to Hirru. "Ugh, you're gonna catch something if you let yourself get too cold like that!" She added as she opened up her menu, and began scrolling through her inventory, looking for something that might help in this situation.

@Hirru

[Hirru 0]

"Huh?"

Hirru looked up to find that Yona had returned, and some time had roughly passed.  How long had he been fishing for?  He couldn't quite remember.  All he had been doing for the longest time was watch that bobber go up and down.. up and down.. up and down.  He shivered as he got himself out of another loop.  It was starting to become an ever growing thing with his fishing habits.  Hirru thought that it may be good to just fish at the ponds of Baldur's house.

"Oh hey there!  Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.  Did you get that thing you needed done?"

As he asked that, the purple robed merchant walked past them going towards the merchant's wagon and Elizabeth, the chameleon.  He would give the now visible reptile a small pat, which made the colors around it shimmer a bit.  She was definitely happy.  Soon the mysterious would call out!

"Rune scribe!  It's time to go!"

Hirru would start packing away his fishing rod and would make his way back past the bridge.

"I'm on my way!"

He would shout out before looking back to Yona.  He would give a small two finger salute.

"Well, Yona!  Thanks for getting the old man for me.  It's nice to have met you!  Hope we can do business some time.  Later!"

He would hop onto the back of the wagon, as the mysterious merchant would snap the reigns to make Liz head out towards the next town over, where his blacksmith friend was waiting for him.  At least he thought he would be.  He better be..

"Rune Scribe?"

A shout back towards him would be called out over the sound of the wooden wheels and creaky boards of the wagon.  It was the merchant trying to reach him.

"Yes?"

"Don't think I didn't recognize my own stock when I see it.  A curved sword?  A double potency damage potion?  My protein lunch for tomorrow?!"

Hirru's thoughts went back to how each time he pointed an area out to Yona, there was a sleight of hand.. or was it a tongue.. that would place items in their respective places.  It kind of made sense in the end, as these two were the hunter's merchant quest NPC's.  Of course, if they were still part of the quest, it would stand to reason that they would still act like they did back then, and help out those that seek knowledge.

"Uh.. about that.. Liz.."

"Not only will you need cash, but you'll need guts to buy back those items."

"Wait.. but.."

"Not enough guts, Rune Scribe!"