Post by Kris on Jan 11, 2014 8:20:30 GMT
*Dip*
*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*
*Dip*
*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*
Such sounds could be heard coming from the side of a bookstore, to be more precise, it was where the cashier of the store was located. An old, wooden counter stood there, with no obvious attempt to hide the youth that was sitting there, who appeared to be concentrating hard on copying what appears to be a map of the surrounding areas of the town. However, although Kris appeared to be flawlessly copying the map, the truth was that he wasn't really thinking about each nook and cranny on the map, but rather slightly admiring the fact that his body knew what to do the moment he intended to make a copy of the map in front of him. His artistic ability wasn't exactly top-class, but if a stranger just looked solely at the way his hand fluidly moved from point to point, not even pausing for just a second, and creating a perfect replica of the map in front of him, one might think that his artistic ability is off the charts, which wasn't the case in reality.
What would one be doing in a bookstore, and an old bookstore at that, one might wonder. Logically speaking, normal people would go to the more modern libraries and bookstores if they wanted books to read. Kris also thought about that initially. However, this was the post-apocalyptic of the MMO Elder Tales, or what appears to be Elder Tales anyway. Modern libraries and bookstores, with bright electric lighting, cool air conditioning, and librarians as well as bookstore clerks to aid one in finding the desired books simply didn't exist anymore in this time and age. All that were left is just old bookstores.
A while before, while Kris was pondering about the uses of his Scribe sub-class, he manipulated the menu to look at the in-game description of his class.
"Scribes handle all sorts of tasks when it comes to physical documents. Their primary ability is to create virtual copies of any document by simply having an available reference. This allowed a small population of scribes to take up roles as lawyers by writing up and officializing contracts. One of their greatest applications, however, is in their ability of cartography. By observing their surroundings, a scribe can record their environment in the form of maps, which allows them to navigate the world without any fear of getting lost. Their power serves as a compass, making them very common companions when navigating through fog or on the high seas," Kris read out the description softly to avoid causing trouble for other people, while thinking what it could mean.
In short, Scribes are like photocopy machines that uses hands instead of machines. Also considered to be the middleman in terms of finalizing business and lawful procedures, and a living, breathing, walking map. So I guess anything to do with paper comes under the Scribe area of expertise, thought Kris, coming to a conclusion quickly. He paused in front of an old bookstore that he nearly walked past. It was the first bookstore he had seen in a while after walking around town. Most People of the Land preferred to set up stalls to sell food and other products, but books were more delicate things that couldn't simply be placed out in the streets, so he had not set his eyes on a book for quite some time. He looked at the store name. «Nereus's Bookstore» and in small print, «Seek and ye shall find». He suppressed a laughter. Trust the store to be named after a knowledgeable being in Greek mythology. Had he not read a certain novel series back in the real world, he might not even have any idea what the name meant.
Opening the door, he could hear the soft jingling of the bell from the top of the door. It reminded him of some small cafes back in the real world, where an electronic bell would ring to signal the arrival of a new customer. Of course, the bell he was currently hearing was a real, metallic bell that was probably getting rusty but still able to make some noise, but it served its purpose. "Oh? It's rare to see a young one such as yourself to be drawn to a place like this." A voice rang out from somewhere to Kris's left. Turning his head, he looked and saw an old man, presumably in his fifties, sat behind a counter, reading a book so old it might crumble at any moment. He smiled. "Well," Kris began to say, "there aren't a lot of bookstores in town, and I need information."
"If its information you want. I've got some here. However, the books with more information are in... Hmm, you look like you have some time on your hands. How about helping out this old man in his bookstore?" Although his voice was pleasant sounding, and the old man appeared to have the air of a scholar about him, Kris could infer that he was unexpectedly shrewd. Purposely dangling an essential piece of information just out of his reach, it was such an obvious bait. But one that he had to take. "Alright, you win, old man," said Kris, quickly agreeing to help out without further ado. He had a feeling could probably spend all day playing mind games with this old man, or was it the other way around? But regardless, he needed to find out more about this world, and that unknown place that had more books would probably have the information he needed. Since this was an old bookstore, there might be essential information here as well, so there was not much point in playing mind games and exchanging pleasantries, and getting straight to the point instead would be the wiser choice.
It turned out to be an unexpectedly simple request. Just work at the bookstore as a part-time job for a while. So much for the mind games, or maybe it was just the old man's personality, something that the People of the Land gained since the «Apocalypse», a unique feature that was not seen when Elder Tales was just a game. Apparently, not many people came around to this bookstore nowadays, with most people focusing on their business in the city or their farms of crops and livestock. Only some old people, and several young, hopeless romantics would come here now and then to get some novels from the past. He didn't recognize any of the titles, which proved that the people here had a radically different culture from that of in the past. He was also told that he had to find nobles and sages to get more books, but currently he, as a beginner, couldn't really encounter them that easily. Due to that, he still had a lot of free time on his hands, which he was currently using to make a simple copy of the map in front of him. He intended to level up his sub-class while he was working here, while taking breaks now and then when there were customers and when he simply wanted a break. If he thought about it in modern terms, it was a pretty sweet deal. Good working hours (he is part-timing, after all), good pay (in terms of rewards, in this case, information and a chance to level up his Scribe sub-class, as well as some gold), and an overall slack job due to the low number of customers. It was pretty hard to find this kind of job in the real world, yet it existed here, in another world. Some things never ceased to surprise him.
Touching the piece of parchment that he was copying the map onto, his fingers brushed against the imperfect, rumpled edges, and the coarse texture of the paper as well. I've got to figure out how to make higher quality paper. This just won't do, thought Kris, thinking of the smooth paper that he was familiar with in the modern world. Maybe there will be something in here that might help me figure something out... He glanced around at the books within the bookstore, which made it look like an impossibly tough task to accomplish. If perhaps... If only I had someone with a «Maid» or «Housekeeper» sub-class, it would be so much easier... That thought trailed off as he resumed his copying of the map.
Word Count: 1403
*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*
*Dip*
*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*Scratch*
Such sounds could be heard coming from the side of a bookstore, to be more precise, it was where the cashier of the store was located. An old, wooden counter stood there, with no obvious attempt to hide the youth that was sitting there, who appeared to be concentrating hard on copying what appears to be a map of the surrounding areas of the town. However, although Kris appeared to be flawlessly copying the map, the truth was that he wasn't really thinking about each nook and cranny on the map, but rather slightly admiring the fact that his body knew what to do the moment he intended to make a copy of the map in front of him. His artistic ability wasn't exactly top-class, but if a stranger just looked solely at the way his hand fluidly moved from point to point, not even pausing for just a second, and creating a perfect replica of the map in front of him, one might think that his artistic ability is off the charts, which wasn't the case in reality.
What would one be doing in a bookstore, and an old bookstore at that, one might wonder. Logically speaking, normal people would go to the more modern libraries and bookstores if they wanted books to read. Kris also thought about that initially. However, this was the post-apocalyptic of the MMO Elder Tales, or what appears to be Elder Tales anyway. Modern libraries and bookstores, with bright electric lighting, cool air conditioning, and librarians as well as bookstore clerks to aid one in finding the desired books simply didn't exist anymore in this time and age. All that were left is just old bookstores.
A while before, while Kris was pondering about the uses of his Scribe sub-class, he manipulated the menu to look at the in-game description of his class.
"Scribes handle all sorts of tasks when it comes to physical documents. Their primary ability is to create virtual copies of any document by simply having an available reference. This allowed a small population of scribes to take up roles as lawyers by writing up and officializing contracts. One of their greatest applications, however, is in their ability of cartography. By observing their surroundings, a scribe can record their environment in the form of maps, which allows them to navigate the world without any fear of getting lost. Their power serves as a compass, making them very common companions when navigating through fog or on the high seas," Kris read out the description softly to avoid causing trouble for other people, while thinking what it could mean.
In short, Scribes are like photocopy machines that uses hands instead of machines. Also considered to be the middleman in terms of finalizing business and lawful procedures, and a living, breathing, walking map. So I guess anything to do with paper comes under the Scribe area of expertise, thought Kris, coming to a conclusion quickly. He paused in front of an old bookstore that he nearly walked past. It was the first bookstore he had seen in a while after walking around town. Most People of the Land preferred to set up stalls to sell food and other products, but books were more delicate things that couldn't simply be placed out in the streets, so he had not set his eyes on a book for quite some time. He looked at the store name. «Nereus's Bookstore» and in small print, «Seek and ye shall find». He suppressed a laughter. Trust the store to be named after a knowledgeable being in Greek mythology. Had he not read a certain novel series back in the real world, he might not even have any idea what the name meant.
Opening the door, he could hear the soft jingling of the bell from the top of the door. It reminded him of some small cafes back in the real world, where an electronic bell would ring to signal the arrival of a new customer. Of course, the bell he was currently hearing was a real, metallic bell that was probably getting rusty but still able to make some noise, but it served its purpose. "Oh? It's rare to see a young one such as yourself to be drawn to a place like this." A voice rang out from somewhere to Kris's left. Turning his head, he looked and saw an old man, presumably in his fifties, sat behind a counter, reading a book so old it might crumble at any moment. He smiled. "Well," Kris began to say, "there aren't a lot of bookstores in town, and I need information."
"If its information you want. I've got some here. However, the books with more information are in... Hmm, you look like you have some time on your hands. How about helping out this old man in his bookstore?" Although his voice was pleasant sounding, and the old man appeared to have the air of a scholar about him, Kris could infer that he was unexpectedly shrewd. Purposely dangling an essential piece of information just out of his reach, it was such an obvious bait. But one that he had to take. "Alright, you win, old man," said Kris, quickly agreeing to help out without further ado. He had a feeling could probably spend all day playing mind games with this old man, or was it the other way around? But regardless, he needed to find out more about this world, and that unknown place that had more books would probably have the information he needed. Since this was an old bookstore, there might be essential information here as well, so there was not much point in playing mind games and exchanging pleasantries, and getting straight to the point instead would be the wiser choice.
It turned out to be an unexpectedly simple request. Just work at the bookstore as a part-time job for a while. So much for the mind games, or maybe it was just the old man's personality, something that the People of the Land gained since the «Apocalypse», a unique feature that was not seen when Elder Tales was just a game. Apparently, not many people came around to this bookstore nowadays, with most people focusing on their business in the city or their farms of crops and livestock. Only some old people, and several young, hopeless romantics would come here now and then to get some novels from the past. He didn't recognize any of the titles, which proved that the people here had a radically different culture from that of in the past. He was also told that he had to find nobles and sages to get more books, but currently he, as a beginner, couldn't really encounter them that easily. Due to that, he still had a lot of free time on his hands, which he was currently using to make a simple copy of the map in front of him. He intended to level up his sub-class while he was working here, while taking breaks now and then when there were customers and when he simply wanted a break. If he thought about it in modern terms, it was a pretty sweet deal. Good working hours (he is part-timing, after all), good pay (in terms of rewards, in this case, information and a chance to level up his Scribe sub-class, as well as some gold), and an overall slack job due to the low number of customers. It was pretty hard to find this kind of job in the real world, yet it existed here, in another world. Some things never ceased to surprise him.
Touching the piece of parchment that he was copying the map onto, his fingers brushed against the imperfect, rumpled edges, and the coarse texture of the paper as well. I've got to figure out how to make higher quality paper. This just won't do, thought Kris, thinking of the smooth paper that he was familiar with in the modern world. Maybe there will be something in here that might help me figure something out... He glanced around at the books within the bookstore, which made it look like an impossibly tough task to accomplish. If perhaps... If only I had someone with a «Maid» or «Housekeeper» sub-class, it would be so much easier... That thought trailed off as he resumed his copying of the map.
Word Count: 1403
