He seemed comfortable with her rather awkward tangent, a sign that either he was a bit on the loony end himself, or she was finally starting to learn to explain things better. "I see, so you took magecrafting? I think that's the one where you can make magical tools yourself, right? Must be nice. You won't need to go to someone to make a grimoire or rod for you, you can just work on it yourself." With a soft giggle, she pulled out her unusually large book of spells- though, she could probably only read half of it herself as she thought it over. "This was made for me by the king of Astorea himself, before a patch came to change the system. This bunch of pages is my treasure. You'll surely be making an even greater treasure for yourself someday soon, Jace. I'm sure of it!"
"Yeah. I'm very wary at the items the NPC stores will offer me, so I decided to take this mastery to make my own tools and clothes until I get some better equipment from loots and quest rewards. Besides, it's better than making something from yourself instead of others. Maybe I can open up a shop for any mages and sorcerer players around here!" While he was new in the MMORPG and VRMMO genre, he was no stranger to its mechanics. He played an RPG with a shop and crafting simulations before and he hoped that his skills there would translate well in Terrasphere. As for her large book of spells, he was surprised at not only the appearance of it but also the creator of this item. "K-King of Astorea? Is he an NPC for the game's lore or a player?" From what her explanation, he doubted that an NPC would give her some kind of a unique item like that. He even doubted that she got it as a quest reward or something. "More importantly, what patch are you talking about?"
"His name is Astor...Something. He's a player, if I recall. I don't really know the details on Astorea being built, but I'd heard shortly after I'd ordered a book from him that he was actually royalty of the 'player kingdom'. It was pretty early on, to be honest...And I still barely understand how or why he was willing to do the job for me" Laughter left her as she spoke, but she wasn't finished quite yet. "At the tim, he happened to be the most recommended magecrafter I'd heard of, and I don't have such skills. Maybe next time, after I have the necessary goods, I can ask you to help me. A rod would probably be good help too, after all. I'm thinking of trying every kind of magic item possible, just to see how they each affect me, and what they're like to use."
That might explain why this Astor person was called a king in this game. Still, he was impressed at how a player completed some kind of quest or event just to create his very own kingdom. Not to mention that he was a recommended magecrafter in the game so far. This made him wish that he can be like him in terms of his crafting mastery. Smiling at the thought of it, he knew what his goals in this game right now. To have his own tools and armor with his crafting, to start his own Magecrafting shop, and to move his character's story forward in the world of Terrasphere. "Well, I do need to increase my Magecrafting mastery first before I can make you some magical tools you might need. But if I do, you'll be the first one to know about it."
It wasn't hard to understand someone being impressed by a player like Astor. She'd barely spoken to him, but she could tell he was rather important in various ways to the world now, even if he was still a regular person like they were in the real world (if he was, that is. For all she knew, he was the president!) Part of her wondered about who people she knew online were in real life. This man was clearly hoping to become a reliable person in the game, skilled in making tools for others. "What made you choose magecrafting, anyway? I mostly originally took on magical tools because I thought it was the best way to use my magic, but I ended up working on music after a while...They're both equally convenient in different ways. Kind of amazing...But choosing a craft, that's pretty hard labor, isn't it?"
Why, indeed. Of course, he didn't choose it for show and crazy crafting. "What's wrong with hard labor? If you don't work for something, you may never able to earn your wish. That's what my cousin said to me when I'm in my lowest peak. Besides, it's no fun for me to just buy something from the NPC stores like that." However, what he said was the half-truth. He tended to be very observant at any he felt important with something and he has a habit to note down everything. Also, he wanted to make an early-game equipment for the build he was planning. "In fact, I'm wanted to make my income through a magecrafting business. Although, I don't know how many players took upon the mastery than me and King Astor."
"It's not bad to have a crafting skill. It depends a lot on your personal playstyle and things like that. For me, I like crafting usually, but my goal with this character was making a nature fairy...I know you can take up additional masteries as you grow. I think you get up to five...Maybe I should take a mastery that involves crafting too. Artisan maybe? I think that's woodwork...That's kind of nature-fairy like, right?" Her words were blurted out in bursts of awkwardly chopped up statements, her natural struggle to deal with people overwhelmed by her need to blabber and think aloud. As Jace was kind enough to listen, she made sure to do the same with a smile. "I dunno if there's a ton. I didn't see that many around, but it's possible they're just hiding from me. But either way, I'm sure you'll be a great magecrafter someday. And when you are, I'll be sure to buy lots of tool upgrades from you! It's a promise, kay?"
Oh, he didn't hear about obtaining two more masteries until now. Guess that means he will able to grow his character even more than he can imagine with just his starting masteries as well his chosen three. "Somehow, I can say it makes sense. But you're right. Depending on our playstyles, we can either rely on shops to obtain our equipment or rely on ourselves with our crafting skills. It depends on what kind of character we can grow into." Jace smiled at @Harveste's words. Magecrafting was originally not his main focus, yet it just made him change his mind about it as he felt he might able to help out other mages and casters with his Magecrafting Mastery. And with Harveste in his friend list, he felt that she might be his regular on some tool upgrades. "I promised. Until then, we just have to work hard and grind our characters to achieve it. Besides, the sky's the limit in this virtual fantasy world."
His agreement with her words made her small smile feel a bit warmer on her face. Unlike her, her seemed pretty certain until she noted the other mastery slots of what he wanted to do in this game, but even learning there was more to do didn't stop his confidence and drive to work hard. His words had touched her, though humoring her in the process. "That's the spirit! Just keep doing your best! You don't have to think of it as grinding though, you know. That just makes it sound boring...Games should be fun! Though I guess that's just part of my play style as well, thinking that way...I still hope you'll have a lot of it, though!"
Oh, he did forget that there are some MMORPG that has an in-game lore through quests. Maybe he might try to discover one through a quest or event. "Yeah, I can say the same for you. I might even make a journal of the story and lore that I will encounter in here so I can have fun decipher the mysteries surrounding it." As he said this, he slightly chuckled at this as he scratched the back of his head and blushes. "Oh, there I go again, blathering about recording and deciphering. I guess RPGs really bring out the lighter side of myself, huh?" Yeah, he had to admit that he is an RPG lore nerd. But in his honesty, that's why role-playing games was very addicting to him, even as a mature prodigy like him. It was also another way for him to bring him out from his shyness. "Anyways, if you want to team up with me or hang out, just leave a voicemail or a PM, okay? I still have some classes on Monday and Thursday afternoons and a night class on Friday, so I might be free on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays."
His friendliness towards her was well received, his idea of taking notes on lore doubly noted in her mind. A part of her wished to blurt out a thank you for the idea, but the other half said that might just make someone angry, since it implied she wanted to take his idea. She found a workaround to be just as honest as she liked, but she seemed to stutter a bit while managing it. "Maybe when we meet up next time we can compare our lore notes. We might figure something amazing out we wouldn't have found out without working together. It works great for writing too!" Taking a mental note of his schedule that he explained, the seeming child didn't know how to respond. He went into great detail of his days and the times he was busy, showing his organization skills that definitively beat her own. "I don't have a set schedule most of the time, but...I'll PM you whenever I can then, and we can set it up together that way. I'm not good with phones to be honest, but I like writing letters to people. And maybe during our PMs you can tell me more about your classes sometime. I'd love to learn about what you're studying. Just...Don't study too hard, okay? All work and no play may make Jace a dull boy, after all. Balance is key!" Her own insight made her laugh, grinning towards him with the so-called irony. "Now if I just learned to do that myself, we'd be all set."
Jace smiled at her reply, now happy at the realization that she was also interested in the game's story and lore like him. Not to mention that they may able to discover something just by sharing their notes with each other. Sure, he made some friends at the gaming forums when it comes to sharing party strategies and walkthroughs, but he never made friends who wanted to share the lore behind the game's setting. It's not only that she shared the same interests as him. The fact that she offered to have conversations about his classes made him even more happy at this. He even chuckled at @Harveste's joke about his workaholic schedule. "Well, if I work all day and play less, I would have gotten bored with the same routine every day. I'm just happy that this game exists in the first place." Sure, the origins and the reason behind that strange commercial was vague. But without it, he wouldn't able to discover a new way to play an RPG video game. Satisfied with this conversation, he then spun his staff and stored it on his back sheath before he turned to Harveste. "Well, I should get back to training then. I can't grind a few levels without training myself to pronounce these incantations right. And don't worry, I will try to follow the tips you gave me."
Jace laughing at her joke helped her self esteem a bit, considering she had a miniature inner monologue about how she really shouldn't talk about balance when she barely did anything most of the time lately. Having a differnet kind of thought was never bad when you were demeaning yourself, wasn't that right? "Learning about the stories of others can make you think more about your own in different ways. I always like games that have interesting lore and concepts to explain the way the characters act. It's why I've always loved old school RPGs, too. The lore lends to the character's lives and leads to a discovery of the story's richness." He wanted to return to his training, and she could understand that. Learning incantations had been difficult to her as well, at least for a small while. "It's kind of funny really...We're given innate sense for the language of the world, but somehow. incantations are always a lot more difficult to work with despite that. I'll be rooting for your hard work to pay off!" A sound rang in her ears, startling her. Right, she'd set an alarm for herself of some sort, somehow. How had she done it again? And better yet, how did she turn it off? "I should get going anyway. I finally got myself a house plant and the game has actually been helping me keep track of watering it. I've started singing the same songs offline to it as I do for spells here. Does that show I play way too much?"
He wished he played an old-school tabletop version of RPG, but Jace can agree on the interesting story and lore just like the games of old. Besides, every role-play has to have a story to play along. That's why he was drawn to the RPG genre and the fantasy worlds in the first place. Not only that, it's another reason he wanted to participate in the story events to gain knowledge about the lore. He then gave the Faerin a thumbs up to her as a sign of agreement. Learning another language especially with the fictional ones can be difficult, but that was another reason why learning was very enjoyable for him. "Yeah. I'll be rooting for your achievements in here as well." Upon he heard her time with her singing to a common houseplant, he just chuckled in a lighthearted way. "I doubt it. Though, I did blurt out a skill from that RPG fantasy game. It's kind of embarrassing when I think about it. But that's the sign that you're enjoying the game like me, right?"
Being told he was rooting for her, the girl felt a warmth in her cheeks as she scratched at the back of her head. "Not really sure you'll have much to look forward to there, but I appreciate it. We'll have to work together to make sure both our goals come true! Though maybe I should actually have some concrete ones first..." Her words were sprinkled with intimidated laughter at her own lack of confidence showing. She wanted to become stronger, but really, what did that mean? What was her motive in this world? She was still trying to find her way, just jumping into any encounter she could. "It's true, I do rather enjoy it here. It's a place I can experience a lot of things I normally wouldn't, after all...Is that enough for a goal though? To just try everything once?"
