Soren and Hira, Men of the Trades
[spoili]
After finishing his typical morning routine, Soren looked over to his books, and thought of the work he had accomplished on his own thus far. See, I really don't need to be with a group of angry Gamers.
Stopping as he was about to adjust how one of his tools was sitting in his toolbelt, he recalled one of the other Gamers wearing a toolbelt as well. The Gamer he had pity on, the adult that Rei bullied. Maybe, just maybe, he is in a similar boat to myself. Could be he is crafting as well, could be he has some ideas as well. Could be that Soren could find both an ally, and a friend, in the other Gamer. I'll send him a message and see if he would be up for meeting after I finish school today.
"Personal Message, Hira Chikara" Soren used the PM function again, then typed away. "Hey, would you be up for either some crafting, designing blueprints, or fighting some skeletons, today, after 4pm?" He stopped, reading over his message once more, "send" he nodded, he felt it was a good idea.
~~
Hira had been up for about a half hour or so when he suddenly saw a Private Message come to him from another Gamer. He recognized the name that sent the PM. Soren, who was a quieter person. They didn't interact much and their fighting ability was more than good enough. He was intrigued by the other Gamer since they seemed so much more reserved than everyone else. He wondered what was hiding inside that shell of his, if it was a shell at all.
Hira spoke to respond to the PM. "Reply." He typed out, "I'd be happy to meet with you to do that! I actually happen to work in construction, so blueprints are something I'm used to seeing! I'm sure designing one would be no problem at all! I'd be fine to do anything that'll help us progress, whether that be fighting or learning how to craft things. Where do you wanna meet to do all of this?" He looked over the PM once more to make sure the wording wasn't aggressive or too know-it-all-ish. He thought it was fine and said, "Send."
While he waited for a response to come, he got onto his phone and logged into the game he liked to play with his coworkers. If he could get one dungeon done before he left, then he'd be happy. Of course, this was just for fun, so he wasn't really taking this dungeon run seriously.
~~
That was fast. Must be a morning person, or getting ready for work. Soren read the PM he received, Sending a quick response back, "The park in port island, I'll head over as soon as I am done school, I'll bring draft paper and what I have thus far." sending the message off, Soren grabbed his rucksack and put a few books in it, not wanting to waste space in his inventory. Then he used his inventory to store his current projects, and blueprints, as they would not be the kind of things that a student should possess.
~
Hira read the message and sent back a short message to let Soren know that he agreed. "Reply. Alright. Sounds good to me. See ya at 4. Send." He did the dungeon run a singular time. As he finished, he smiled and laid back on his couch in his tiny apartment. He closed his eyes for a moment and thought about what his life would've been like if he had stayed with his Father. It would've been atrocious, but this. This was something much more fulfilling for him.
He got up and went to work, putting on his toolbelt. It was time to go do his daily work grind. The biggest boss monster was yet to come, his boss. He headed to work and thought about what he might do with Soren once he was done with work. He got excited and that pumped him up for his job.
----
As soon as he finished work, he headed over to the park. He opened an empty pseudospace and started training with his hammer. Now was as good a time as ever. He had an hour before they were supposed to meet up anyway. He messaged Soren before he started his practice and said, "I'll be in a pseudospace working on my Great Hammer Use talent when you get here. If you can come into the pseudospace, then go ahead. If not, I'll come out and we can do whatever we need to." With that, he began his Hammer practice for an hour.
~~
Ignoring the message till he was done school, Soren read it on his way to the park. He was doing his best to get there as fast as he could. Time was a precious commodity, one he did not like to waste dilly-daddiling. He sent a simple message of "On the way" as he hurried along.
As he got to the pseudospace, he found that it was silent, with the exception of hearing Hira training with his hammer. It was a nice change compared to the last time he walked into one. No skeletons jumping them. Yet.
"Sorry for the wait." Soren took in a deep breathe, he had run the distance from where he got off to the park. "Inventory." He wasted no time, taking out all of the things he had worked out so far, the blue prints, the papers to make more designs and concepts, and two bottles of water he happened to grab at school for this. "I couldn't bring the machines I use, as my parents might think I we got robbed if they suddenly vanished for a day." Soren stepped back from his work, revealing a partially made Kite Shield, and bits and pieces from his grenades, with their blueprints, along with the blueprint for a small hand cannon. "I would of had a grenade by now, but it sort of...prematurely went off." He forced a chuckle.
~~
Hira saw the message from Soren that said he was on the way, but just ignored it while he practiced with his Hammer. As Soren entered the pseudospace, he didn't notice. Soren suddenly spoke to him and it almost spooked him. "Oh!" He turned around as he saw Soren. He apologized for the wait and Hira responded with, "No worries. I found something to keep me busy." He gestured to the hammer as he moved closer to Soren.
Soren brought out all of the items that he had been working on. Now, what do we have here?[/s] Hira knew he would be no help in drafting blueprints for things of this nature, but he did know a little bit about electronics. He had to work alongside electricians at times when building homes and he picked up a few things while he watched them work. However, he was sure he couldn't complete the design himself.
"Soren, like I said, I work in construction, so there's not much I can bring to the table with these kinds of designs. I don't know how to make a blueprint for a weapon, much less a hand cannon. If you asked me to design that shield, sure. I could tell you where you should reinforce places, but anything electronic and my knowledge is… Less than exquisite. I'll still try and help, but I can't promise that we can finish any of these." Hira looked at the partially built kite shield and it was interesting that he was trying to build something like this. Did he want to use a shield himself? Or did he want someone else to take it from him? He was interested to see what he'd do with the shield. "Might I ask what this shield is for though? Do you plan to use it?"
~~
"You use big tools and work in an industrious field, you have more hands on experience and can give a valued opinion on functionality, and likely knowledge on where to find some materials and about the quality of said materials." Soren valued that Hira was straightforward with what he couldn't bring to the table, a bit disappointing, but it was great that he didn't shy from it.
"The internet is a great source for how to make most of these things, but I question some of the materials they suggest, books can dispute which are better choices, you have seen what metals can take for stress, I'm assuming." Soren paused for a moment, he really did just jump in assuming Hira knew a lot. "Really, any input or suggestion is welcome, it's my first time making most of these things." Picking up the partial shield, "This is to provide cover when I am using the grenades. No use in having something with a bang if it takes myself out in the process. Not to mention, I am finding making these sort of things rather fun. Once I am done, I'll likely keep at it, making more armour, and weapons, and trying to mix what I know about electronics, and magic in the mix."
~~
"That's a fair assumption of my skills. I do know a few places where you can get some cheaper materials, since I've had to go with a coworker to get some metal plating for houses sometimes." However, he thought it was odd that he was trying to copy the traditional grenade in a way. The internet was probably going to tell you how to make older, less effective copies of the modern grenade. Hira didn't know much about explosives, but he suddenly had a memory pop back into his head. When he was in high school, he had to take a chemistry class to graduate. During that class, the teacher had shown them a video about explosive metals that react in water. Hira wasn't sure that this was the kind of thing that Soren might've wanted, but maybe it was something that could point him in the right direction.
"Soren, I think I remember there being some kind of metal that reacts with water to create an explosion. And if you were going to create an explosion, you'd need a sturdy, slightly brittle metal. And if you were going to use the metal that reacts with water, than you'd need a metal container that wouldn't react with water or the explosive metal. Hmm…. I'd probably try something like copper, silver, or iron. Those are probably your best bets. Although copper is a little too malleable… I'd say Silver or Iron. I don't deal with those metals much, but if you make… A ¾ inch tube with it and you can find a way to get the metal and water inside without touching, then I'd say you could do it. For the shield…" Hira mumbled a few things to himself, trying to look at the blueprint and what measurements he had for the thickness and height. "What did you make this shield out of?"
~~
"Hmmmm…" Soren looked picked up his blue prints, He hadn't thought of using materials that reacted with water for the grenade, it could make it easier to get the material, as opposed to right now where he had to buy a few things so that they could cause a reaction when mixed together, "I'll try to make a few the way you suggested as well, and when they are both done, I'll test them, I'll let you try them as well if you are up for it when the time comes."
Placing the grenade parts and prints he had already back into his inventory, he quickly sketched out a concept based on what Hira had said, "Something like this then?" Looking more like a pipe grenade, Soren was pleased with the idea. Alright, that methodology could also make smoke grenades if I subbed the material.
"The shield is primarily made of hardwood, oak to be precise, with the metal i am using on it is just plain iron. I use copper more for electrical trinkets, so I felt that would be a waste, and the precious metals are a bit…" Soren rubbed his fingers together while wearing a frown, "Pricey, you know?"
~~
When Soren extended the offer to try the grenades once he was finished interested Hira a lot. He nodded in response to this extension. He was also surprised how quickly Soren had drawn up a draft for the grenade that he suggested he make. When he showed him the design, he was impressed with how practical the whole thing worked. A pipe bomb-of-sorts that would probably do more damage due to its increased size. However, that might mean he had to get more material to put into the bomb.
"Try shortening the size of the grenade a little bit. The explosion will probably be more concentrated if you do that. And you also won't have to buy as much material. As you said, it is expensive to buy precious metals. Copper is also not a metal I'd suggest for a shield or anything that keep you safe from explosions or other uses of force. Iron is definitely a good bet. If you're going to make sure that this shield stays in use, keep the reinforcements from the iron toward the outside of the shield and weave the iron pieces across the front in a tight 'X' formation. It might look a little weird and you're going to have to get some substantial iron, but it should be more than good enough to withstand some heavy blows. The nicest part about the grenades with water is that the explosion won't be fire-based, so it won't be able to singe or burn your shield. If you're gonna go with the other grenades, even if they're better, you need to watch out for that. Other than that, I think that would probably be enough to make a quality shield. At least, from what I know about reinforcements and the like."
~~
"Thank you." Soren bowed respectfully to Hira, before putting the rest into his inventory. Leaving out just water bottles. "That should give me a bit more insight on how I should tweak those." He tossed the second bottle to Hira before taking a swig from his own. "Is there any projects you are working on or would like to use in this Game we now call life?"
~~
"No problem Soren. It was actually fun for me to think about this stuff. And, unfortunately, I'm not working on anything. I'm just trying to make myself more useful by training the skills I've gotten. I got a skill called 'Guard' and it really helps with defending against attacks. I have a feeling I'll be taking some substantial damage for the team. Not that I'm uncomfortable with the tank role, but I feel like I could be doing something more, you know? The one thing I really want is some sort of healing ability. I guess I'll have to ask Rei about how I can obtain one of those. Healing abilities are usually super helpful in games, especially when you're taking a lot of damage as a tank. I don't like using items because it seems like a waste of resources. I always feel like I could use them some other time. Well, I've also never felt threatened for my own life when playing a game, so I guess I don't get desperate enough to use them." Hira pondered on this for a second, but then knew that he'd pop a potion if he needed it to survive. "Anyway, since I've helped you with your blueprints, do you wanna fight skeletons? I think that'd be the best way to help me right now." He opened his water bottle and took a drink. It was surprisingly tiring, coming up with ideas and helping with blueprints.
~~
A guard skill? I'll likely pick that up at some point, it seems like a simple, yet useful skill to have. "Just do what comes naturally, or what you want to be" Soren shrugged, "If you want to be the Paladin, be the Paladin. If you want to be a Hero…" He paused after the word 'Hero' left his lips, "Then go for it." He smiled looking at Hira's bright blue eyes, they had a glimmer that Soren's did not.
"But yeah, I'm down for smashing some bones. I've increased my strength, and given our weapon types, we should be able to breeze through them."
~~
Hira smiled slightly as Soren told him to do what he wanted. But then Soren's pause after the word 'Hero' cued him in that something was wrong. However, it seemed Soren didn't want to press the issue. He looked him in the eye and there was a smile on his face, but it didn't match his vocal expression. Hira decided not to talk to him about it. They didn't know each other well enough to talk about personal issues just yet. They had barely met. They were basically strangers, yet they bonded over the making of grenades and fighting. How strange.
"Sounds go-" Hira had suddenly realized that weapon type did play a part in enemy combat. "I just realized that I hadn't even thought about weapon types while in combat. But I've raised my Strength as well. This should definitely be a piece of cake!" He smiled widely as he got himself up, using his hammer as a support. "Now, let's go!"
~~
"Sounds like a plan." holding his hand towards the sky, like they had the previous time they had all gathered in that very park, "We will split the drops 50/50 after we finish, just pick everything up after we finish beating them, sounds good?" Awaiting a response before he continued, Soren then changed it to a Skeleton Pseudospace.
~~
Soren made the comment about the drops and Hira nodded in response. "Will do." Hira readied himself before Soren changed the pseudospace.
~~
After Soren finished cracking down the last skeleton from the first batch, he turned to Hira, "I assume that you picked up at least one 'bone' right? Time for you to make the pseudospace." The fight didn't last nearly as long as he had thought it would. The difference a few points in strength and using the more effective weapons he supposed. "If the next batch is just as quick, you up for a spar as well?"
~
After they finished the combat, Hira smirked. This was a lot easier than the fight with the Goblin that he encountered when he first gained this power. Ah! That was right! He still had to fight that Goblin! He'd definitely be ready for the Goblin this time around. A weapon with plenty of attack power and now he had more health to deal with the Goblin. "I did happen to pick a few up. And now I guess I can finally summon the skeletons through the pseudospace, huh?" He held the bone up and summoned a new pseudospace with a new batch of skeletons. "After we finish this, I'd be happy to spar!" As he finished this statement, he rushed toward the group of skeletons.
~~
With Hira bringing this group of skeletons to an end, Soren tallied the bones they had remaining. Rei didn't let them keep any of the items when they all trained together, so this was the most drops that Soren had ever had. He looked forward to finding out their purpose.
"So, 5 bones, two each, and the winner of our sparring can take the remaining one?" Soren felt it was a generous and fair way of deciding the last one. If he got it, it was far as Hira used one, if Hira got it, it was fair as Soren got one previously which let him get the pseudospace.
Taking a battle stance, Soren held his Mace in his left hand, and had his mechanical arm ready as well. Block with the weapon, smash with the fist.
~
Hira couldn't accept the offer that Soren had given him regarding the bones. They had worked for all 6 and Soren deserved an equal share. Hira had decided to use one of his 3 and that was his choice. "You don't have to spar me for the last bone. We both worked equally for those six. And I already used one of the three I earned. So you deserve to keep the three that you earned and I'll take the rest of my share that I earned."
Soren was battle-ready within a moment of saying this, which made Hira smirk. "Ready to go, are we? Guess I need to get ready to go as well." Hira held his hammer in a stance that he felt was strong. He slowly moved toward Soren, examining how he was holding his mace. He was at a disadvantage, having a one-handed weapon when battling with someone that had a two-handed weapon. At least, that was his opinion. He'd make sure he wouldn't lose this battle. He moved quickly to Soren to strike.
~~
Soren expected to deflect the first strike, but that didn't happen as planned. He had never sparred against someone wielding a two handed weapon, and a heavy blunt one at that. Soren's arm wasn't able to resist the sheer weight behind the strike, causing his weapon to be pushed back and taking damage from the strike made against him.
The only solace Soren found was that heavy weapons usually took time after a strike, taking this in mind, Soren took a step back, trying to figure the best way to take Hira down.
~~
Hira felt his hammer come down on Soren and didn't feel bad about hitting someone this time. This is what it took to train. Soren would come out better for it and so would Hira. He'd continue his assault, except that he wanted to train his Guard skill as well. "Come on Soren, let's see what you got!" He guarded himself, readying himself for his assault.
~~
Soren chuckled through his pain, "Not much at this point." Soren tossed his Mace to his other hand, and charged at Hira, Can't go on the defensive against him. Soren raised his weapon and went for a rib strike.
~~
Hira quickly moved his hammer in the way of the mace headed for his ribcage. "C'mon, you've got more fire in you than this. I know it. Reach deep down and beat me!" Hira was going to slam into Soren's side with the blunt side of his hammer. "C'mon!"
~~
Soren took the strike, gritting his teeth on impact. And sliding across the grass "You're right," Changing his grip on the Mace again, and noticing how he slide on the grass, Soren went for a risking move, Charging at Hira, then diving into a slide and striking his leg with his mace. "I do!"
~~
Hira was almost surprised when his hammer slammed into Soren with such force that he fell and slid on the grass. However, that was not going to deter him. He was going to get Soren to bring out the fire that rested inside of him. He could see it coming, but he didn't see Soren's strike coming. He didn't expect the slide-attack for his legs, but he gritted his teeth as the mace dug into his leg. But this was the time for Hira to make the finishing blow. He raised his hammer above his head and planned to slam down onto Soren.
~~
Seeing the Hammer above him, Soren moved fast, and threw his mace at Hira as hard as he could. Not the most practical use of the weapon, he had to admit, but using things abnormally was something that Soren would always try to use to his advantage.
~~
Hira swung down and missed his target, who then proceeded to whip him in the side with a flying mace. He breathed in through his teeth, trying to displace the pain with the pressure of air between his teeth. "Now you have no weapon. You better hope you can hit me hard enough to finish me." Hira knew that this would hopefully egg Soren on. He wanted to see him get angry, get desperate. He wanted to see what he would do. He charged at Soren and readied his hammer for a swing right into Soren's side.
~~
"The thing about Fire, you never know what it will burn!" Soren grinned. He was enjoying this sparring match much more than the last one he had, it was hurting a lot, yes, but he was pretty sure that Hira wouldn't murder him if he fell and needed to use his second wind. Cocking his metal fist back, Soren charged as well.
~~
Hira swung his hammer back, readying his momentum for a powerful strike, when all of a sudden, he saw a shadow above him. It almost seemed as if a hawk was flying right into the center of his vision and he felt cold, hard metal smash right in between his eyes. He fell like a sack of bricks and yelled out in pain. However, despite how painful it was, he was happy. Soren had beaten him. And he was glad, since it showed that Soren got a fire in his soul. He wanted to see what Soren's expression was after this. He was sure that the expression was the very thing he was looking for when he seemed like he was full of emptiness earlier. This experience filled that hole and Hira was happy to lose to someone who he helped.
~~
Soren had lept at just the right moment and punched Hira right in the face, the element of surprise clearly being in his favour today. Looking at his hand as he stood above the impressive sized man, Hira had let out a yell, an expected response given what had just happened. Well, that was more entertaining than I thought it would be, Soren cracked a smile, He certainly got me going. Holding out his left hand to help Hira up. "Well played."
~~
[/spoili]
Arriving on time, Soren looked at the other gamers, taking mental note of their levels. I Wonder if they all just fought skeletons, or just physical training the whole time? Like Rei, Soren too was curious to find out what skills the others had developed during there time. Not to mention that he didn't really know all the skills that the Gamers who had been part of the Goblin group had even.
Soren held the packet in his hand, turning it to see the backside, and opening it first to see how it was made. A rather simple way of explaining some things, though talking likely would of been just as easy as making this...Maybe He likes making pamphlets? Soren looked at Rei, cocking his brow with a mixture of confusion and intrigue.
Taking his time to read over the pamphlet, many things caught Soren's attention. I knew that these bones could have a greater use! Magic that utalizes item drops, If I could somehow manage to get that to work with a gun, or another machine, maybe even my own hand? One of my favourite video game characters can do a similar thing! His eyes shone brightly as his mind traversed the plains of innovation. But I can't neglect the idea of fusing magic with machine, enchantment could provide many opportunities as well...Almost nothing could bring him down, ideas racing, his heart pumping, the magic pages alone filled Soren with glee. A way to make his craft better than before.
As he continue to read though, things just went downhill. Spiritualism? Divine Power? Those things held no place in Soren's mind. Or did they? He was about to turn the page dismissfully, then he paused. In some games, almost everything has a Deity, meaning their could be a divine smith, architect, or artificer. It might be worth looking into I suppose. Mentally shrugging, he continued on his read.
Finishing his read, the first thing Soren did was open up the windows to get to and accept the other quest.
So in short, he set a baseline he wants us to achieve, and unless he has a personal quest that isn't shared with us. Either he cares, he has an objective, or just doesn't want to have a guilty conscience when one of them dies.
Hira spoke first, a simple question, though to Soren at least it seemed clear that Rei did want them to say what they could do and what they wanted to learn.
Things started to tense up a bit after that though...
The gamer ability was hindering Aiko apparently, and she seemed to disagree with the notion of broadening her skills. Majima was clearly up to something, weither it was trying to put himself in Rei's good book, if it existed, or it was showing defiance towards Aiko, Soren was not sure. Rin then went on to explain to Aiko why it was a good idea and then made an insulting declaration, before things went back on track, with people stating useful bits of information, concerning what they want to learn, and people they have met who are connected to the abyss.
Soren couldn't let that comment go though, "The only thing you beat us all in, is unnecessary ego." Walking to stand beside Hira, Soren opened his inventory, and pulled out his shield. slamming his first creation to the ground with a thunk, he looked up to Hira, flashing a smile and shooting him a thumb up. He then proceeded to pull out two grenades from his inventory. Offering one to Hira, and then delivering one to Rei. "I've been working with my tools, levelling mechanics and engineering, these are the first two of my products that I have made." opening his window for his current skills, he began to list them, "Mana flow, second wind, night owl, knowledge, mechanics, engineering, psuedospace creation, focus, mace use, novice explosives handling, and..." He stopped for a moment as he spent the 5 ap to unlock a new skill, "Shield use."
Going back to where he left his shield standing, "I'd like to learn both Enchantment and Materia magic. Also, is there a skill to appraise? I would like to be able to judge the materials I use better."
