[SP-F1] Taking it Slow

[Gorou 0]

Gorou aimlessly wandered through Starting City on Floor 1, not knowing what he should be doing this exact second to aid in escaping Sword Art Online. As much as it hurt him to admit it, Gorou knew he was still very weak and inexperienced compared to most other players trapped in this game. The only reason he survived this long was because he refused to leave the safe area, under the impression that the officials would find Akihiko Kayaba one day, and have him shut this game down. It’s been months since the game started however, and any hope of that happening had faded.

 

“I wasted too much time waiting.” Gorou groaned quietly as he continued to walk across the city. He stopped in the middle of the road and looked up into the sky. “There's no other way is there?” he thought scratching the back of his head. Since it’s been this long, he had no doubt in his mind that the only way to escape this game was to beat it. Upon realizing this, Gorou nodded sharply and started running towards the south gate. Gorou didn't know how he'd help in the efforts to escape, but he did know that sulking and waiting wouldn't do anything productive.

[Gorou 0]

Gorou gazed out into the fields once he had reached the gates. He was slightly apprehensive about going out, because he had heard how many players had died trying to defeat the “weakest” enemies in SAO. The boars weren’t to be taken lightly since they had cut so many players lives short. He saw a small group in the distance, and decided that if he stayed out of their range, he'd be able to go about his business without any problems. Gorou wasn’t certain that he’d want to tangle with one just yet with how low his HP and level was at this moment, and so opted to simply gather materials.

“Gotta start somewhere.” He thought to himself as he started walking on the dirt roads that lead out into the grassy plains. He figured that he could give these materials to a craftsman and get some much needed items to help him take down his first monster, or maybe he could even take up a profession himself and make them himself. “It’d be great to be self-sufficient.” He noted mentally, before his attention was brought to some bushes in the distance.

“Maybe there.” he mused, thinking it was as good a spot as any to start gathering materials. He got down on his hands and knees, and began to rifle through some leaves and twigs.

ID# 53244

LD:19

+1 MAT

After a few seconds of rifling, Gorou felt something in his hands and with a grunt, yanked it out of the bush. It was a stick covered in dark brown bark. Gorou was going to toss it away initially thinking he had failed in gathering materials but then some text had popped up, and labelled the item "Strong Stick".

"Huh... I guess I succeeded." Gorou said upon rising to his feet, somewhat dumbfounded due to the lackluster item he had just gotten. He twirled it around in his right hand before putting it into his inventory. He supposed that he shouldn't complain, as he had just gotten an item right off the bat. With this reasoning he nodded, and started walking to another bush in the distance. "Keep this going."

Edited March 26, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou got down on his hands and knees once again, intent on finding some more materials. He didn't know how lucky he'd be in getting another one straight away, but he felt good about his chances after finding that stick just a few moments ago. Leaves and twigs rustled as he dug through them with slight effort and enthusiasm.

ID# 54245

LD: 17

+1 MAT

Gorou's hands felt a clump of something solid and rigid this time. It was pretty heavy as he tried to get it out of the large bush so he had to stand up and pull with great effort to get the item out. He clenched his teeth, and grunted sharply as he yanked the clump out. Leaves were torn, and twigs snapped, but Gorou managed to get the item out. When he got a look at what he had, his eyes narrowed. "Stone" was all the text had said when he inspected the gray mass closer.

"Well... sticks and stones." he thought, thinking that it was somewhat cliche' for him to gather these items one after the other. He groaned at the game's joke, after putting the rock into his inventory. Despite his annoyance, he figured that he could take these items to blacksmith and make a stone tomahawk, or something similar. Whether it'd be better than the iron hatchet he had currently equipped would be yet seen. He shrugged and continued to walk across the grassy plains in an effort to find another decent gathering point.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

As he walked, Gorou began to wonder if his efforts to find materials would be in vain. Maybe there were some other players out there doing some actual good in clearing floors and bosses, and he wasn't really needed for floor clearing. That wasn't a very nice thought, and he shook his head roughly to banish it from his mind. "Where did that come from?" he grumbled outloud, and let out a muted chuckle. Everyone needs some help now and again. If he grew stronger and got his level up, he'd be able to join the push and make some use of himself in this game. He just has to stay motivated. Despite him continuing on through the plains, he still felt some lingering doubt as to how helpful he'd be in the back of his mind.

Gorou eventually came to another set of plants that looked like herbs. He wasn't an expert on game mechanics or crafting, but he was somewhat certain that herbs were an essential item for cooking. "Wonder if these would these help?" he wondered as he got down to pick some of them up.

ID# 53276

LD: 20

+1 MAT

Gorou let out a half-smile as the item text "Basic Herb" popped up. He nodded, and knew that he was doing something right here. He placed the leaves of green into his inventory. He briefly wondered what he was so worried about earlier, seeing as his material gathering was coming along without a hitch. With three materials in his inventory, Gorou felt some sense of accomplishment and continued trekking through the grassy plains on the look for more of these green plants.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

After a few minutes of walking, a small field of herbs appeared before Gorou, to which he was thankful for. He wondered why there weren't any other players about harvesting items here, but he supposed that he shouldn't complain. "Maybe they're off training or fighting on the front lines?" he asked himself quietly. His mind still lingered on the fact that he was still a very low level, the lowest in fact. A sense of worthlessness had crept up on him, and he had suddenly felt the need to plop down onto the grass. He found a small shady area underneath some a small tree, and decided to take a short rest.

He didn't like this feeling. In the real world, he was an able-bodied worker that could land just about any job he wanted to if he wasn't picky, and that gave him a sense of purpose. Here in SAO, however, he was this weak nobody that would probably sooner get killed by a stray boar, than do anything to help out on the front lines. If his grandfather could see him now, he'd have bet that the old-timer would've been disappointed. He was almost there. He'd have gotten enough funds to go to college, get some training and later take over his grandfather's repair shop, but then this happened. "The one time I stop working to enjoy a little game..." he groaned as he attempted to sit up again unsuccessfully. "I need a nap." he sighed.

Edited March 27, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

"Wade." a sparse, but familiar voice called out to Gorou. He stirred only slightly in his slumber, and tried to find a blanket in which to cover himself in an effort to go back to sleep. "Come on, time for work!" the voice called out with more volume, causing Gorou to spring up and look around for it's source. He lazily surveyed his surroundings but noticed that he was outside for some reason, and not in his old house with his grandfather. "Gramps?" he quietly asked no one in particular apparently, upon seeing that he was still alone. All he saw was grassy plains, dirt roads, and a bright blue sky up above. He wiped a small tear out of his eyes after letting out a lengthy yawn, and remembered that he was still trapped in this death game. "Right, right... Still here." he groaned, before rising to his feet.

The sun was still high in the sky, so Gorou doubted that he slept for long. He briefly wondered where that voice could have come from, and decided that he was having a short dream, or was just hearing things. "No reason to dwell on that" he reasoned mentally, and opted to just forget about it. After stretching out his arms, he decided to get back to gathering herbs and other materials. That patch of herbs he had seen before he passed out looked promising.

ID# 53380

LD: 6

Or at least he thought that it looked promising. Gorou shuffled around the patch of herbs, and attempted to yank one of the green plants out of the ground to no avail. He managed to pull a stalk out, but it immediately exploded into bright blue crystals in his hands. He wiped his brow, and let out an annoyed grunt at the failure. "Well... Next plant then."

Edited March 27, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

"There, that one looks good." Gorou nodded, upon seeing a plant that bore some resemblance to the herb he had in his inventory. Maybe he was just tugging on the wrong type of plant earlier, and needed to focus solely on a single type to gather effectively. He felt like that was a good idea, as he began digging through the plant's roots and attempted to free it from the ground.

(roll and edit)

ID# 53381

LD: 3

When the plant had gotten loose Gorou attempted to put it into his inventory straight away, but it immediately burst like the one before. His eyes narrowed, and he clicked his tongue in response. That was another failure on his part, and he was starting to feel that there was definitely something to gathering items successfully that he had missed. "What did I do earlier..?" he said to himself as he scratched the back of his head in confusion and sat on the ground cross legged for a moment.

"Once more." he stated when his eyes caught another herb just a few steps away from where he was sitting. He dusted his pants off once he got up and started walking towards the lone herb with both hands extended menacingly

Edited March 27, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou dug into the ground vigorously. He wouldn't allow another failure and tried his hardest to gather the seemingly fragile materials he sought after.

ID# 53414

LD: 3

Immediately after plucking one of the herbs from the ground, Gorou held it close to his face to examine it. He watched it intently, hoping to see the item text pop up, and confirm that he had indeed gotten the material. "Come on... don't burst." he mentally urged the herb. After a moment of staring, the herb appeared to stay intact. Gorou let out a sigh. "Guess that worked." he said as he tried to place it into it's inventory, only for it to burst into crystals the second he relaxed.

He blinked once, as the blue specs dissipated into the air, and practically mocked him for letting his guard down. Gorou slammed a clenched fist into the ground, and groaned. "Stupid game."

Edited March 27, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou got up off the ground, and decided to do a little exploring to get his mind off of his failure to gather herbs. He needed to cool his head, and find another spot that could hide some items. The bushes that he gathered from earlier seemed to have been a better spot for such a task, so he'll have to keep an eye out for more as he walked. He decided to keep to the roads as he made his way across the area, they should generally be safer than walking through the high grass where boars could catch him unaware.

There was a pleasant breeze as he walked, which had Gorou surprised. The way SAO emulated the real world was pretty accurate. Even the way the wind blew the grass was realistic. If you compared the two together without the game world's numbers and floating letters, he doubted anyone could tell the difference. Despite the constant threat of death, Kayaba did a good job here. "This hell sure looks a lot like paradise." he stated somberly, as he continued his stroll.

Gorou eventually found his way to a large lake that sparkled due to the midday sun. There was a dock in the distance, which looked like a good spot for someone to fish, but seeing as he didn't have a rod or the appropriate profession yet, he wouldn't be able to make use of it. "Maybe there's some other place to gather stuff." he noted. He surveyed his surroundings, and wandered some more.

 

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou spotted some deposits of stone nearby the lake's shore, and scratched his head quizzically. "Maybe there..." he mumbled, approaching the rocky patch. He kicked around some pebbles and was slightly doubting there'd be anything of use around here. He shrugged, and decided to dig around regardless of his gut instincts however. Gorou got down on one knee, and began sifting through the ground carefully.

ID# 53584

LD: 5

After brushing the rocks around for a few minutes, and there being a lack of items in the ground, Gorou rose up. "Guess not." he stated as he dusted off his pant leg, and began heading towards another deposit. There were a few more mounds of stone here and there, so Gorou rationalized that he'd find something eventually.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou approached another deposit and rolled up his sleeves, getting down on a knee once again, and using his left hand to dig through the rocks.

ID# 53585

LD: 12

Sifting through the stone didn't appear to be working for the moment, until Gorou managed to grab chunk of it. It looked fairly sturdy, almost like ore, or another mineral, but it was totally brittle. Gorou gave the item a light tap to test it's durability, and make sure that it was indeed a successful gathering. The stone immediately cracked however, and crumbled in his hands. The familiar blue burst of crystals shortly followed, to which Gorou sighed, feeling slightly frustrated.  "Well... at least I know there's something here." he mentally noted. He was feeling foolish digging through the rocks, not knowing if there'd be anything, but now that he had some confirmation that there was in fact something here, he felt some increased resolve. "Gotta keep at it."

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou gave his knuckles a quick cracking as he walked to yet another deposit or stone. There was definitely some ore around, his last gathering attempt revealed that. Ore would no doubt be a precious material, and be instrumental in creating a new weapon for himself. Gorou crouched down and searched vigorously. He needed to get at least one clump of ore to be content.

ID# 53586

LD: 2

The masses of stone Gorou collected into his hands immediately crumbled and fell back into the ground. His eyes narrowed as this happened, and he let out a click of his tongue in annoyance. There was nothing here in this pile, and that irked Gorou. He slammed his fist into the ground, before getting up. "Crap." he grunted.

He got up once again, and looked out into the lake, that was still sparkling brightly due to the sun that shone overhead. It looked to be sometime in the afternoon probably just after lunch time. The sudden growling in his stomach confirmed this suspicion, and Gorou winced in response. Deciding to take a break, Gorou walked over to the dock and found an unoccupied bench nearby that looked to be inviting him to sit.

Gorou plopped down, and leaned back into the bench with his legs spread outwards. He didn't know why he was feeling so exhausted. It was just a game after all, and his body was at rest in the real world. The fact that he was feeling hungry came across as strange to him as well. Did he actually need to eat, or is this just a simulated experience? His stomach then growled yet again, and ceased his musings. Remembering that a starter pack had been given to him, he opened up his inventory and took out some bread. As it materialized in front of him, Gorou immediately grabbed it with both hands and dug in.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

His bread tasted like cardboard, and the texture was weird. If felt like he was chewing through a sponge, and Gorou had to quickly down a bottle of water to force the bread down. "Gross..." he said with disdain, as he tossed the bread over his shoulder with it bursting into crystals the minute it hit the boardwalk of the dock. "Worst thing, I've ever eaten." he grumbled again, and put both hands into his pants pockets in a huff. Gorou felt he wasn't the best cook in the real world, but even he could've cooked up some better grub than that. Maybe if he got his hands on some boar meat here in this game he could grill it up, and make some bacon. He'll have to see if there was a quest that entailed cooking after he was done with his gathering.

"Gah." he grunted. His stomach growled loudly upon thinking this, and Gorou mentally slapped himself for doing so. Now wasn't the time to be worried about food. Focusing on survival should be the first priority. He reminded himself that this was just a game, and that his current hunger was just a simulation, nothing more. In an effort to forget, Gorou got up off the bench and decided to start making his way towards a small forest in the distance. Maybe there'd be some more plants he could gather in there. "More herbs, and hopefully some berries, at least." he winced as he walked, holding his stomach. He felt Kayaba was a total jerk for his all too real simulations.

 

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou walked through the forest for a few minutes before finding a small field of yellow and white flowers. He wasn't an expert on botany, but he was almost certain that these were daisies. The way the sun shone onto the field was quite mesmerizing. Lines of golden sunbeams went through the leaves of the trees above, causing Gorou's eyes to widen due to such a sight. "This is..." he mumbled. He wanted to say lovely, but stopped himself mid-sentence. He shook his head for having such a thought, and started walking into the field of flowers. He gazed upon them for a moment, then crouched downwards to see if he could pluck one from it's roots.

ID# 53590

LD: 17

+1 MAT

With a gentle tug of his hand the white flower left go of it's base, and came into Gorou's possession without any problems. He couldn't help but let out a half-smile upon seeing the item text "Pale Daisy" materialize before him. "Seriously...?" he mumbled in disbelief as he held onto the daisy and gave it a whiff. He didn't know what to expect the flower to smell like, but when he did he smelled a pleasant and sweet fragrance. "This is by far the girliest thing I've ever done." he mentally chuckled. "Gramps would kill me."

 

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

He decided to hang onto the daisy for the time being, and placed it by the stalk onto his belt rather than his virtual inventory. Gorou figured it'd be a nice good luck charm while he was out here. Maybe it'd ward off whatever was out here long enough for him to gather a few more things. He decided against plucking anymore flowers off of the field, thinking it'd be a shame to ruin it's image. The fact that they had spawned so neatly together was pretty mind boggling. "I'll just look for some other place." he said out loud as he continued down a dirt road, deeper into the forest.

It didn't take long for Gorou to spot something he sought after. After walking up a small hill some bushes revealed themselves at the end of the dirt path, and on these bushes were berries of various colour. Gorou immediately rushed towards them, rolling up his sleeves to pillage these bushes of their fruit.

ID# 53591

LD: 1

However, Gorou was too eager in his advance, and promptly slipped. He landed face first into a bush with a crash, getting twigs and leaves stuck into his hair and clothing. When he got up, his face revealed some blotches of blue, and black. Putting a hand up to his face to examine the goop that clung on it. "Huh..." he grunted as he took the goop into his fingers and brought it in his mouth to give it a taste. "Blackberry... Ow." he winced after the blunder.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou quickly wiped his face off with his sleeve, somewhat thankful that there wasn't anyone around to see his blunder. He got up on his feet, and carefully approached the berry bushes this time. He gently extended both hands and began trying to free some off of their host plant.

ID# 53592

LD: 16

+1 MAT

He managed to gather quite a few berries into his hands, and since they didn't disappear or burst into crystals he assumed that he was successful. He held out a small pouch that was fixed to his belt and gathered the berries together. The item text "Blackberries" was shown, and Gorou noted that a bundle of three berries counted towards being a single material's worth. "That's fair." he nodded.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou continued taking out the berries one by one, until he had a bundle of three. He was careful because he didn't want them to burst into crystals. He wasn't sure if being so cautious in gathering materials worked, but he didn't see any other way to improve his chances so he simply kept at it. He'd definitely want to figure out how to improve his chances the right way eventually, though.

ID# 53593

LD: 13

His caution didn't seem to matter in the end, however since the berries he had gathered began bursting into blue crystals one by one, until they were all gone. "I guess being careful doesn't do anything?" he wondered. The next batch he'd gather would be done more quickly and with less effort to test this theory out.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

True to his word, Gorou began gathering the berries as fast as he could. He grabbed the first and yanked it out violently without regards to the plant, which lost a branch due to how rough he was. He knew this world was entirely fake, and a simulation, but this felt somewhat wrong as it went against everything he was taught in the real world about jobs needing to be done carefully and perfectly. He didn't mean to slow down, but once he remembered his grandfather's words, he had started to. He picked the last two with great caution, and concern for the plant it came from.

ID# 53597

LD: 18

+1 MAT

That had seemed to do the trick, as Gorou managed to gather another bundle of berries. He wiped his brow, and was glad that his grandfather's principles were working even in this death game. After placing them into his inventory, Gorou decided to give it one more try having seen that there were still a lot of berries to go around.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

Gorou decided to try picking a few of the bunched up berries that were pink in colour. They were closer to the ground hanging on tinier plants and each one looked like a cluster of many smaller berries. They reminded him of the raspberries that grew in the real world, only they were pink. The man got down on his hands and knees, and attempted to gather them carefully, making sure not to damage the plant. "Gotta make sure there's a place for some to grow back." he mused.

ID# 54125

LD: 4

The minute he loosened one of them from their host, they burst and dissipated into the air in front of him. "Shoot!" Gorou let out a soft grunt in response. The plants appeared to be fickle, and uninterested in wanting to give Gorou anything worth keeping.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Gorou

[Gorou 0]

"Once more." Gorou stated, as he approached the small plants yet again, and started digging through them. Gorou thought that perhaps taking the entire plant by the roots would be more effective in getting one material. To be sure that he wouldn't take too much, and ruin the plants here, he'd only take a couple out of their foundation. "Can't be too wasteful." he thought as he gently dug into the ground, and began tugging.

ID# 54126

LD: 18

+1 MAT

The plants effortlessly loosened their grip from the soil below, and came into Gorou's possession. It appeared he was right with his idea to take them entirely. The berries clumped together into a single material and went into his inventory. He took a look into his satchel and noted all the materials he had gathered. Seven in all, to which he felt pretty satisfied about. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand even though he wasn't sweating. It was a habit that he couldn't grow out of. "Pretty good job, Gorou." he said to himself as he started walking out of the forest.

The sun was starting to set as it loomed over the horizon, causing the sky to turn an orange hue, so he took that as a cue to start heading back towards Starting City. He unrolled his sleeves and took his axe in hand just in case something was nearby. He felt the caution was unnecessary however, as the dirt path he followed was entirely clear of monsters.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Gorou