[SP] <<Earning A Living>>

[ErinVyce 0]

For the most part, life had been relatively easy on her, the first battle she took part in was aided by a wonderful healer who she was still friends with today. At least she hoped she was, to be honest she hadn't met her again since that day but considering she was so kind enough to offer up these wonderful trinket she took it as a everlasting sign of friendship. Recently though, that girl's generosity weighed upon Erin making her guilt ridden that she wasn't able to offer anything in return as a thanks. It was clear to her now that she had to make it up to her in some way. The days passed by though with her still being undecided in the professions, performers, chefs, alchemists all alike came and went from the city making their daily col and here she was relatively poor and still undecided much like the way she left her high school. "When did life decide to be so hard," She grumbled strolling in front of the blacksmith's shop. As she stood by she gave three loud knocks before pardoning herself as she asked, "Messieur are you there?" She then realized that his shop hadn't been locked, maybe this wall all part of that quest she had taken on for making her keep in game. 

Edited November 19, 2015 by ErinVyce

[ErinVyce 0]

A loud clamor was heard from inside as she had creaked open the door followed by a few unpleasant words of rage. A large man was standing at the furnace having just knocked over a vase that was filled with a wide arrangement of spears and pole axes unlike she had ever seen. "Darn it whoever is out their just come on in and sit your rump down on that chair I will be with you in a second." As he said this the then grumpily pulled on to gloves that seemed to be highly heat resistant. Both hands slipped over opening the furnace and sure enough he popped out a beautiful new sword in a matter of moments. This hadn't been anything like the documentary she read on the formations of weapons such as katana and the like. Those she knew had multiple folds and were quite difficult to temper to perfect. Fumes and smoke bellowed out into the room which made the man wheeze loudly placing the weapon upon the table now as he began patting his beard and blowing the smoke out from around his face. "What do you want!" He shouted only getting a glimpse of the young beautiful girl after asking so rudely.

[ErinVyce 0]

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt least of all while you were working sir," obvious flustered, Erin's features would have shown. As she now sat in her rather silly uniform crossing both legs in her miniskirt now as if attempting to hide herself behind more of herself. Erin's head also dropped parallel to the ground in her chair to reveal just how apologetic she was of the situation she had placed the old blacksmith in. After a few minutes of pause she looked back up toward the smithy and would ask her question to him. "I can't apologize enough but I was hoping that you would take me on as your apprentice so that I can earn my keep in this world." On further inspect she realized that this man hadn't been a player at all and yet she was still acting as if he was. Everything seemed so life like in this world it was hard to tell NPC's from PC's sometimes.

[ErinVyce 0]

The blacksmith began to gawk for from the young lassie who had now befallen before his eyes. She was a sight for his sore smoke blinded eyes as she slowly grew closer to the girl and had a gentle grin through the whiskers on his face. "Well of course I don't mind at all beautiful," his hand reaching up and pinching one of her cheeks in a rather grandmotherly fashion. After having his way with her cheek he gripped her hands and began dragging her about his quaint shop now explaining the life story of all the various weapons he had made to this point. "See that one right their that was specially made for a high rank player who has since that day never come back so my only guess is that either he got something better or he died on the front line." He twirled her so that she was now spinning on her tippy toe like a ballerina. Sadly for her she had no such grace or form. He laughed though none the less as he then continued to point out a great hammer he had created. "Back in my day you couldn't have taken me away from that beauty we use to slay all types of beasts.

[ErinVyce 0]

"Gahh," she jumped from now being grabbed by the man, she still hadn't grown accustom to touch particularly in this game as it seemed so realistic like that of the real world. She then was thrown froward now spinning like a dim on her heel. The world was flying past her so quickly that she was beginning to feel a bit nauseous by all of this. "C-can we just slow down for a bit?" She said now feeling like a cartoon where their eyes were rolling about in their head from the dizzying display. She was feeling a bit light headed as she barely heard a story that he had spoken about the various wears of his trade. "I was hoping to become a blacksmith not a performer," She then collapsed upon the ground still feeling a bit sick. She lied their for a few seconds before his large mitts reached down and plopped her comfortably in a chair beside the furnace.

[ErinVyce 0]

"Ho-ho-ho," his laughed echoed through the establishment causing Erin to feel a bit more observant as the laugh was quite deafening. "No their isn't any rest in here young lady just work and work and work. Come on we need to get preparing in your apprenticeship and the first thing that every apprentice needs is to dress properly I mean look at you." He said pointing at her uniform before offering his though, "You look like a silly little school girl. He gave her what appeared to be a new variant of the same clothes she had but these ones were specifically more jumpsuit like in nature he began to twirl his mustache happily and pushed her into the back room. "Now go on and get yourself changed so that the real work can now begin.

[ErinVyce 0]

She felt herself being manhandled once again this time gently smacking her rump till she was fully inside the storage area where their was one solitary light for her to change by. "Umm do npc's realize that is merely a matter of swapping outfits in and out through the user menu?" She shook her head before clicking it up and looking at the outfit. The pixel's of her old clothes evaporated into the air leaving behind and her hair now was down and let loose. Perhaps this was a good luck for her and profession it was quite cute on her. Shrugging it off she then stepped out from the storage back into the clearing of the shop. The blacksmith had apparently left a list that was attached to the furnace.

• High I am in the corner taking a nap why don't you go ahead and work on cleaning the shop until I'm ready to teach you the wears of the trade.

"Wait what he expects me to clean all of this?" Looking about the shop she could tell that everything was dust covered to some extent and smoked as well. "I really wish they had some air freshener now int his game.

Spoiler

Image seen below of outfit.

 

[ErinVyce 0]

She walked over toward the NPC who was sleeping on a kot sound sleep, "Is this really how this quest is even suppose to work?" She began to ponder whether or not she would fail if she woke him up without having complete all of the chores that she had been issued. As she approached the bearded man rolled over and yawned out a horrendous stench that was almost tangible. Erin held a hand across her mouth and nose before yelling into his ear. He didn't even flinch and no remark on the quest being failed showed up. "Gosh he must be programmed to sleep like a rock," she murmured now turning back to the shop and spied a broom and duster. Erin had nothing better to do after all not like she was strong enough to go out on her own. Stepping about the piles of suit she grabbed the broom and began sweeping up all the dirt that he had tracked through his shop. 

Two hours pass with her sweeping up and bagging up the dirt to take out of the shop.

[ErinVyce 0]

Erin had just finished moving the last bag out to the alleyway behind the smithy and collapsed feeling a bit tired from the strenuous labor that was already needed. "Sheesh did he never clean out this place was a complete and total mess." She gasped wiping some sweat from her brow, it was interesting that they managed to include so many realistic things into this game such as exhaustion. The mind was a trick business, suppose that was the reason she was trapped in here to begin with. Lying against the wall of the building she would rest before smiling and pushing herself back up to her feet. "Welp like he said have to get all this done, I wonder if by the time I finish polishing the weapons that he will magically wake up from his slumber or something?" She peeked through the crack of the door, surely enough he lied their still passed out. "Ugh, this better not be one a sham and merely seeking a maid to clean out his shop. At least that wasn't the outfit he picked out ... french maid stereotype would not be something I would like to keep pushing."

[ErinVyce 0]

The shop still was lacking in luster after all the sweeping, "Hmm perhaps I should also mop down these floors, after I finish polishing all of these weapons making them look suitable for selling." She hopped off to do just what she had said, a rag in one hand and a special ointment that she had spotted by the furnace it said that it was good for finishing the polish on all weapons. She looked to the daggers, they were the lightest and thus would be the quickest to get done. She rubbed down the blades with a long waxing stroke once, twice, three times? She continued rubbing away at each dagger for what felt like hours to her, in reality though it was only a matter of minutes that it took to finish polishing up the display of knives that he had collected over his creating. "One type down, only four more to go," She groaned realizing that this wasn't going to be an easy day, "Why couldn't they have at least made something for easy and cheap music in this world." Her head slung over in a depressed fashion. Come to think of it why wasn't he worried about customers showing up? She strolled over to the shop door and noticed a sign in the window. It read, CLOSED. "I'm not even going to get to work on my customer service skills ... I suppose that is for the best though I probably would just make them think everything in here is worth their col."

[ErinVyce 0]

"Ok, focus which ones we gonna polish now, Axes, Hammers, Heavy Armor, or swords." She thought about this for a second and then looked to the vase that she had put back up with spears. "Were those just for decoration then? I didn't see them in the inventory list for the store." A puzzled expression furrowed on her brow as she eyed the spears. That was a question to ask him when he had awoken but for now the snores of the man was the only lullaby that echoed through the air. It wasn't a pleasant sound, in fact after watching a few videos online way back when, She recalled that the tone and resonance that it seemed to mimic was that of a man who had been a worker in a mine. "Perhaps he was based off of an older miner, but does that mean that he is gonna have a shortened life span because of all the soot and sulfur that has accumulated in his lungs." As she aimlessly contemplated the lifespan of the NPC she stopped realizing that she had finished off the polishing of all the blades. One of them was exceptional in beauty, a sword with a neon green trimming and was said to have a power boost in damage.  She envied it's beauty and the craftsman's skills to design such marvelous weapons.

[ErinVyce 0]

She grinned pleased with her work, her hands gently grabbing each blade and placing them back into their cases for display. The glass so clear that both of them glistened by the lights in the building. "The list is getting closer to completion." Eyeing the rest of the displays she nodded, "No way am I going to let all of you get in the way of me earning my way in this world as a masterful blacksmith." She was still speaking to herself before she fully grasped this, "And their isn't anyone around to congratulate me on my accomplishments." Laboring away for an NPC's shop didn't seem like the right way to get the reputation but this was what the job had as the methods for mission complete, but lets be honest how much more work did he expect her to do? Groaning rather displeased she slid over to the next display with cloth and stool in hand. Stopping as she held the rag up against the dirty armor, "This won't do at all." Standing up she then walked back over to the furnace and grabbed the bucket to clean it off.

[ErinVyce 0]

As she stood over the bucket she would wring the water and then smack it against the side, each progressive hit making echoed with a loud smack. The smith still sat slouched there now slipping off of the kot. Half his body on while the other being propped up by his head. Just his pose was enough to bring a smile to her face, "I can't believe that he is so angry with his workings and yet so peaceful while he slept." She giggled before pulling the rag back out and stumbling over to the rest of the displays now having developed a methodology to tackle them in a quick fashion. It took a while, but the hours passed quickly as she hummed along to her favorite song that was playing in her head. A french tune that had been played is a classic movie. Looking at the World through Rose Colored Glasses. As the day lingered on she finally came to the end of chores she lied their now slouched over a display case.

[ErinVyce 0]

A loud groan and then silence finished her completion of the tasks that the smithy had set up for her. Her head was laying against the clean glass, eyes fluttering from exhaustion. "Please tell me that I'm going to get to the actual training now," sighing she looked over toward the Blacksmith, she blinked rather confused and wondered what his name was. All this time she saw him as just the blacksmith that put up the mission for helping her earn her profession but after cleaning all his weapons she sorta developed personalities and feelings that she felt were put into the creation of them all. Her eyes fluttered shut as she continued to think about all the stories she made, "W-well if he is gonna sleep then I might as well get some shut eye as well."

As she lied their against the glass she began to feel herself drifting in and out of consciousness dreaming about how life had now fused into this video game world. She wasn't certain if it had all been a dream or just her imagination but she swore she had a future sight of her own success in this business. Adoring crowds of her craftsmanship lining up at her shop and begging her to make them weapons that will then be named in history as boss slayers. A smirk slipped across and then a gentle smile her lips making kiss marks onto the glass as she happily lied their. Meanwhile however the NPC had awoken and was preparing on the wake up call after inspecting all of the girls work.

[ErinVyce 0]

Norman eyed the girl as if she was his own daughter a proud smile that she had succeeded beyond his wildest expectations but cleaning was a long deal away from becoming a blacksmith. As the glare of the weapons in the cases however shone brightly he was rather surprised before rereading his sign that didn't explicitly say to polish the weapons. He grinned and nodded his head, Erin showed great promise even in the eyes of the NPC. "This one is going to be known by many so long as they are willing to see her brilliance. As her continued to stumble about the shop though he looked back at his old spears that hadn't been touched, "She even was wise enough not to touch them." He walked over and now knew that it was time to begin the real training. He stepped up right behind the blonde and smirked before gently placing both hands onto her shoulders lifting her up. A bit of drool was dangling from her mouth which made her only seem all sweeter.

[ErinVyce 0]

What was to happened next could only be said as a personalize earthquake that would startle the living bajeeze's out of her. Both hands were clamped her firmly between both his arms and then the blonde girl was shaken to and fro, fro and to. She sounded like she had been on a roller-coaster as her voice picked up into a terrified gurgling. Norman finally stopped shaking her only to let her get her bearings before letting out another loud chuckle right into her left ear. "Ho-ho-ho, nice to see that you have awaken sunshine and after working so hard." He continued to bellow out chuckles before poke her forehead with a burly pointer finger. "No sleeping on the job now we get to the real rigorous training. He wasn't completely convinced that she was awake so he would smack her firmly on the rear which was sure to wake up any frazzled girl.

[ErinVyce 0]

"Ga-ah-ah-ah-ah," she grumbled eyes shooting open as she felt herself being constricted on both side and shaken rather drastically. She felt like her head was being rattled about like one of those bobble-heads that people use to get made in the image of their most favorite baseball player. Everything became quite blurry as she was jostled about uncertain of weather this was an earthquake in the real world or not or maybe just in game. It finally came to an end though much to her poor eyes disbelief. "Oh gosh I think I'm gonna be-" A piercing shriek interrupted that though as she jumped to her feet from feeling a hard smack against her avatar's behind. She quickly looked about to see the blacksmith grinning stupidly at her. She scowled at him before saying, "Didn't your parents ever teach you manners when dealing with a lady?" 

[ErinVyce 0]

"Now, now you were the one who came to me for lessons remember beside this isn't like how it was back where you grow child. Here the only manners you need are those that temper the flame of your furnace and the steel of your blade." Smirking wildly now with both eyes squinted from the enjoyment of seeing her displeasure in all of this. He merrily hobbled over to the storage room and looked about grabbing some materials before returning back to the flame. He lobbed them in, coals that were to keep the flame nice and hot. "Now I want you to feel this," He smiled coaxing her over to stand beside the furnace. As she did just that he would hold up her hands a safe distance before saying. "These are the best types of flames you can hope to get in this business so make sure that you buy the right materials. Now I need to show you the different types of molds."

[ErinVyce 0]

Erin blinked rather shocked, "Wait really I am finally going to learn things relevant to the trade?" She stood their still a bit confused and awestruck that she was being given the opportunity. She might have kept standing their if she hadn't been called upon by Norman, "R-right?" Speedily shuffling across the ground she now stood before the furnace, she squirmed awkwardly in his arms as he held out her hands to the flame. "P-please can we stop touch-" interrupted however by his lessons she would go silent still feeling uncomfortable in his grasp. She looked at the furnace and felt the heat of the flame against her avatar and realized that this was a lesson in itself you can't simply make any fire they needed to be coaxed to just the right temperature. She then felt herself being shuffled off once again much to her displeasure. She was being dragged along as if she was nothing more than a doll in the arms of a child.

He might as well have been carrying poor Erin like a suitcase as she dangled both arms and legs. Being lugged about like a child by her father till they were now faced with a large amount of concrete shaped molds. "Now," he said placing her back upon her feet I need you to wheel one of those in for me. I don't care to much what type of weapon you want to make but I will show you whichever version you choose." The NPC stopped dead in his tracks as he now awaited her next command as the quest was nearing it's end. After she would have picked one he would have wandered off to the fire and begin pumping in more air to feed the flames.

[ErinVyce 0]

Erin was just about to beg the NPc to stop picking her up when he froze, "Ummm Norman?" He repeated the line that she was to pick her poison so to speak as not a single one of the molds was small enough that she could have ever managed to lift them up in the real world thankfully things were a bit different hear. She grabbed a simple dagger mold and watched as Norman took a fixed path through the door till he now worked the bellows. A pleasant smile greeted her and nodded her on as if to tell her to place the slab down on the required location. "Right," she said emptying the inventory of the mold she had just place into it. A metal steaming liquid of metal was inside the furnace which was being motioned to be grabbed now or within the next few seconds that way it would go bad. She hastily grabbed the tongs and plucked the bucket from the flame. The mission log changed which told her to pour the metal into the mold. Obeying it like a robot she then saw the raw material of the blade swap to a working table.