[PP-F1-NK] <<The First Few Lessons are Free>> (Floofy)

[Airi 0]

Thankfully, her companion managed to land the hit. The boar, however, decided that it didn't want to die in vain, so it kicked at Sakoda, also dealing five damage to the player, before exploding into pixels. The pop-up window appeared in front of Airi, detailing the drops. "I think it's too low-leveled to drop actually anything aside from EXP." Airi told her quest partner. "But don't worry, we'll grind loot from the stronger mobs sometime soon. Maybe after we complete the beginner quests or something."

She went to stand beside Sakoda and started leading the other girl back the way they came, into the safe zone. Thankfully, there weren't any mobs in the way this time. Airi hoped they wouldn't respawn soon. She didn't want to end up fighting them again. If they did, they won't be able to get back before sunset. She sighed. She may have to start focusing on stuff that increased accuracy, if they would be of any help. "Right, let's get back. I think we can squeeze the second quest in before the day ends if we hurry." 

Spoiler

HP: 18/20

(OOC: @Floofy I don't think the mob I just spawned would meet the loot minimum requirements, so you won't be getting the consumable. Other than that, everything's good)

Edited March 25, 2017 by Airi

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda nodded in agreement. They we're done with the 'hardest' part of the quest now. Once they had turned in the berries, they only had a few minor things left to do before they would be able to begin acting as productive SAO players! This caused her to think about what she would do for a job. Would she work her way to the frontlines, or would she hang back? She could try work as a blacksmith, or maybe even a chef. It didn't do much good for her to worry about it now though, so she stopped thinking about it. Everything would work out once they got to that point. "We'll heal out of combat, right?" She didn't want to go through more fights with a fourth of her health missing. It would certainly be an issue, but then again maybe they healed upon a level up? Either way, she should probably figure out how it worked.

(OOC: @Airi ah ok ty <3 )

Edited April 4, 2017 by Floofy

[Airi 0]

"Yeah, we will," Airi checked her health and saw that it was full once again. "The beginner's guide said 3 HP per 15 seconds, I think. Or maybe the time's a bit longer. But anyways, we won't be fighting any more mobs. Hopefully. Just try to keep out of the boars' way."  They were beginning to approach the town entrance already and the red-haired girl began skipping playfully, reaching the safe zone in a few seconds.

Stepping into the safe zone gave the feeling of finally getting home after a tiring work day. Except the safe zone wasn't home and they didn't come home from a tiring work day. Airi stretched and relaxed her senses. It was safe now, she would take no damage here, and she could finally focus on her companion (whom she hadn't taken her eyes off of, even as she was fighting the boar). From most of her responses, Sakoda seemed to be a nice person who lacked a bit of love. She wasn't the type to suddenly turn and stab an ally in the back, as Airi had observed, and was already pretty protective of her. Her companion was the type that could be easily swayed with affectionate words, Airi noted as she turned a corner and stopped at the quest giver's house. It would be easy to get this one's trust. 

The young girl knocked on Zackariah's door and it was opened for her after a few seconds. "I have your materials." Airi took a juniper berry out of her inventory and showed it to the NPC as proof. "And there's four more, where it came from." As she expected, it triggered the NPC to say the next lines of the quest dialogue, which she promptly ignored as she gestured for Sakoda to present her materials as well. As she was doing so, a trade window opened and Airi sent the 5 materials to Zackariah.

Spoiler

HP: 20/20

Gave: 5 materials to Zackariah the NPC

(OOC: @Floofy Let's try to reach 60 posts, so we get more rewards)

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda walked up next and presented her quest items to the NPC, whom she had started calling 'Zacky'. She also ignored the next few lines of dialogue, as she sent the items to the NPC. "Glad that's finally over," Sakoda told her new friend. "Did we get any rewards for the task, or will we have to finish the rest of the quest first?" She asked, hoping to at least get some Col to spend the night at an inn or something. If anything, to get herself something to eat. Being on the first few floors meant you didn't have a lot of money a lot of the time, so any chance to have some extra was always nice. As she thought about this, it occurred to her that she hadn't even looked at Airi's stats or anything, although she figured she wasn't much stronger than herself, seeing as she was just starting the quests.

"Do you want to keep going on these other tasks too, or should we call it a night?" She asked Airi, on top of the question about an early reward. If they kept going, it would mean finishing the quests sooner, but they would also get tired from being up later. If they called it quits for the day, they would be well rested, but would probably be spending the next day on the quest. Honestly, Sakoda was ok with either choice, which is why she left it up to Airi to decide.

[Airi 0]

"Let's keep going. It's still pretty early after all," Airi responded, looking up at the sky. "That way, we can do the next quest tomorrow. And faster progress." She looked back at her companion. "I mean, if you're alright with staying here a bit late. What time do you usually go to your inn?" The NPC invited them inside and she stepped into the rather spacious house, breathing in the scent of herbs. There were small glass bottles filled with colorful liquids everywhere. On shelves attached to the walls of the house, below a table that looked like a brewing station, and even piled on top of a chair. She saw a wooden door behind the brewing station that maybe led to a bedroom. She paused and took a moment to appreciate the game's extremely detailed graphics. How long did all of this take to make? Then her thoughts took a dark turn as she realized that the gamemaker had been working all those long years just to trap and kill people inside his game.

Zackariah guided her to the brewing station thing and showed her how to make a healing potion by making one by himself first. Airi didn't listen to the dialogue, and instead watched him work. She didn't need his explanations to know what he was doing. He finished brewing the potion, a weird green liquid that looked completely slimey and gross, and told her that this was a healing potion. Airi blinked at it and decided that there was no way in hell she'd be drinking that stuff. Okay, she'd drink those stuff if she lost HP in combat, but it didn't look edible. It probably tasted bitter and metallic. The red-haired player then took her place beside Zackariah as he began preparing another potion and began doing the steps herself.

She placed a juniper berry in a mortar and tapped the bowl with a pestle. The material shimmered then turned into a fine, crushed dust. No actual crushing involved on her part, and it took only a few seconds to complete. She then poured the dust into an old-fashioned cauldron, along with other ingredients and liquids which she didn't recognize, and turned on the heat and waited. A pop-up message showed the word 'Crafting' and what looked like to be a loading bar underneath. A few seconds passed, and then pop-up message displayed 'Success!' 

Airi poured the concoction into a small glass bottle and presented it to Zackariah with a triumphant smile directed to her quest companion. "Marvelous," the NPC began. He then placed her Healing Potion inside a cardboard box along with a few others, filled the empty spaces with what looked like the in-game equivalent of bubble wrap, and then pushed the box towards her. "Now please deliver this to Lyle Tealeaf. He's located at the forge in the other side of the town. He'll have a reward for you." Eagerly, Airi nodded and kept the delivery in her inventory and looked at Sakoda. "Your turn. I'll wait for you so we can walk to the forge together."

Spoiler

ID: 80398 | CD: 11 (perfect quality success)

Help Zackariah in his workshop by crafting a Healing Potion ACCOMPLISHED

(OOC: @Floofy)

Edited March 26, 2017 by Airi

[Floofy 0]

Watching in awe at first Zacky then afterwords Airi, Sakoda could only be nervous about her own attempt at making a potion. She didn't feel very confident in her own abilities, but she reminded herself that it was mostly done by the game. Very little actual skill would have to come from her, just her numbers.. of course, given her luck with the berries, this may still take some time to complete. Following Airi's example, she got a juniper berry,, put it in a mortar and got the pestle, tapping the bowl like Airi did. However, very much NOT like Airi, she completely destroyed the berry, leaving almost nothing to use in the actual potion. A pop-up appeared in front of her, displaying "FAIL" in red letters. Groaning, Sakoda feared this would happen and got ready to try again.. and again... and again... Maybe she should tell Airi to go on ahead?

 

Spoiler

ID 80402 | CD 2 (FAIL)

(OOC @Airi

Edited March 26, 2017 by Floofy

[Airi 0]

Meanwhile, Airi had resorted to staring at the potions that decorated the shelves of Zackariah's home. She attempted to pick one of them up, but then realized that the small glass bottles were completely stuck to the shelves. Well, of course. It was either superglue the potions to the environment or program the NPC to kick people who tried to get free stuff out of their house. She stood back and noticed the big letters: 'FAIL' in front of Sakoda. "You'll get it soon," Airi said offhandedly with a reassuring smile. She then turned back to the potions and started examining them closely.

She was delighted to discover that they all displayed what each of them did. One potion increased damage. Another was a potion that brought the drinker back up to their full health. And yet another increased accuracy. Accuracy. The red-haired player stared at the dialogue pop-up intensely, remembering her extremely terrible luck in battles, and reconsidered getting an alchemist profession. 

(OOC: @Floofy)

Edited March 26, 2017 by Airi

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda sighed and nodded, pulling out another berry and trying again. This time, the NPC tried to coach her through the steps. Sakoda, however, ignored him and proceeded to work on her own. This time, the potion came out as a success. Beaming with joy, she handed it in and completed the task, setting herself up for the next one. Zacky hands her the package to be delivered, and she moves over to Airi. "Hey I got it! I'm all set to go and finish this quest!" She looked up to see what Airi was examining and recognized a few potions from her SAO studies. Some of them were new to her though, and were likely implemented recently, before the official release. She wondered what kinds of potions she would use in her time here, and if there were any unique potions that could come in handy. Maybe there was a potion that would increase her chance of taming familiars?

 

Spoiler

ID 80501 CD 9 (Rare Quality)

Task Complete!

(OOC @Airi

Edited April 4, 2017 by Floofy

[Airi 0]

Airi heard Sakoda's explanation while she was examining yet another potion that gave an accuracy buff. Would the alchemist profession be worth it, after all? After one last look at the potions lining the shelves, she straightened and began inching towards the exit, waiting for her quest companion to follow her. "Great!" she exclaimed with a small smile. Inwardly, she was thinking differently. She knew that she needed the contacts, but she already at least had some people who would be useful to her and to be honest, something which would take her only half a day to finish took up the whole morning and afternoon. Was doing her quests with another player all the time worth it?

"We'll just have to give the stuff to the blacksmith now," Airi continued, stepping out of the door and holding it open for Sakoda. It was things like these that majorly slowed her down. Should she attempt to do another quest line by herself? The risks were higher, but she could finish it a lot faster. Either way, it was something she would have to think about another time. "Oh, and keep the box in your inventory. It's way better than lugging it around."

(OOC: @Floofy)

[Floofy 0]

"Good idea, Airi!" she opened her inventory and put the box in it. "So where does the blacksmith live? Once we deliver the box the quest will be complete, right?" She looked around the town, getting her bearings and trying to remember the location of the blacksmiths on the floor. "You seemed rather interested in those potions. Are you thinking about becoming an alchemist or something?" Sakoda turned and smiled to her companion. Personally, she was hoping to get some kind of creature tamer job or something. A job that would allow her to tame familiars and sell them to players as companions. It would be nice to be able to supply players with friends and company while they were all trapped in here. Maybe she would specialize in certain creatures, like dragons or griffons! She couldn't help but smile at the possibilities, forgetting that Airi couldn't understand what she was thinking about.

 

(OOC @Airi

Edited March 27, 2017 by Floofy

[Airi 0]

"Not really an alchemist," Airi replied as she began leading Sakoda in a direction that she knew led to the street where most of the blacksmiths were located. Truth be told, she wasn't really that interested in crafting professions. They took a lot of time to master and sitting around in a shop and waiting to make sales just didn't appeal to her. But it was an easy way to make money, so she might as well take one and tinker with it later, when she has the free time to do so. 

"I think that there are too many alchemists in the game as of now," she informed the girl walking slightly behind her, referring to the information she had received from some of her in-game "friends". "Maybe I'll be taking one of the professions that only a few people have taken, so there would be a bigger chance of getting buyers. So far, it's either a fisherman profession, or a performer profession. What about you?" 

(OOC: @Floofy)

Edited March 28, 2017 by Airi

[Floofy 0]

"well, Im wanting to become a beast tamer. I'm fascinated by all the animals in the game, and I want to tame as many as I can! I even want to work on an encyclopedia of sorts on all of the creatures, where to find them, their abilities, and how hard it is to tame them! I'm thinking of naming it.. 'Mythical Beasts and Where to Find Them!' Sounds good right?" She smiled, feeling so clever about the name, although feeling like she heard it somewhere before. Oh well, she would probably think of a better name by the time she starts working anyways! "Im hoping to make connections with info brokers so I can get better details about each floor and what lives there. The game would be completed by the time I explored everything by myself" Sakoda started laughing at the idea of exploring each floor top to bottom by her lonesome.

(OOC @Airi horray for references :P

[Airi 0]

When Airi had asked Sakoda what she wanted her profession to be, she didn't expect the girl to say 'beast tamer'. As far as she knew, it wasn't a profession and everyone can become a beast tamer if they wanted to. They're limited to only one familiar though. She wondered if the girl walking beside her knew of that fact. But her 'Mythical Beasts and Where to Find Them' idea sounded good and the players that were a bit behind the front-liners would probably buy the books at any price that wasn't too high since it would be useful. Heck, maybe even the front-liners would buy them, just so they could know more about the mobs in the game.

She decided that Sakoda, in fact, held a lot of potential to be useful if the player followed through with her mob encyclopedia idea. For one, girls like her always give friend discounts. And selling such a useful book would eventually lead up to Sakoda being a well-respected player with a lot of contacts. With her encyclopedia and her potential reputation, she was a future gold mine of information. Airi wondered why she even began doubting teaming up with her. "Well, that's interesting. The beginner guides the beta testers made could only be so useful after all. Even the stats of the mobs now are very different from the information in the guide." She walked a few paces and turned a corner, then continued talking. "So do you know what you want to build? Right now, there's four main categories: tank, scout, DPS, and healer. Which one do you think you would choose?"

(OOC: @Floofy)

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda had to think about that question for a bit. Honestly, she was vying to be some sort of assassin/healer hybrid, but she wasn't sure how she would build that. "Well, I'm thinking that I would try to mix attack and support, as an assassin healer?" she shrugged, not sure if she was explaining herself very well. "Like... I want to be able to slip behind the enemy and damage them, but then be back behind my team and healing them and providing buffs." She smiled, trying to act like she knew what she was talking about. In truth, she's never heard of anyone being a hybrid unit like that before, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to pioneer it! After all, it would make her all the more valuable of a teammate if she filled a role that nobody else in the game ever had. Doing quick damage, then being protected by her team before the enemy could retaliate. It was a near perfect combination!

Edited April 4, 2017 by Floofy

[Airi 0]

An assassin healer. Or basically just a healer that has stealth and deals high damage. Airi was looking to be a healer herself, aiming for a full support build actually. She had heard that the front-liners lacked healers and most of the players who were trying to catch up preferred building DPS, since it would speed up their progress. With a DPS build, they can solo quests and dungeons that supports normally can't since they lack damage and defense. But it would all be worth it in the end. "Oh, that sounds cool. Then I guess you'll have to grab the stealth and the first aid skills sometime soon," she commented. "Also, try to get another weapon if you want higher damage. I heard that more weapon skills means more base damage."

Then since Sakoda had told her what she wanted to be, Airi decided to do the same. "I'm planning to be a healer, as well. But I'm not going to deal as much damage as you with your assassin-healer hybrid. I'm going to focus more on support and crafting once I reach the front lines. And if I do need to do quests solo, I guess I'll just buy a weapon with a Paralyze enhancement, so the enemies wouldn't get any hits in." 

(OOC: @Floofy)

[Floofy 0]

"Thats a good idea! Paralysis does last a really long time, so that would be a good enhancement to keep with you." She viewed the surrounding areas, wondering where they would find this blacksmith at. "I guess you know where to go, right?" Sakoda asked, blushing. She had been here for a while, but she never memorized the layout of the town. In truth, she spent most of her time in her room at the inn, or doing odd-jobs for people so she could afford the room.She never really moved around much outside of finding new places to eat at. Speaking of which... "Hey, you getting hungry?" She herself wasn't very hungry, but she didn't want to be rude to her companion. She knew that if she were hungry, she would want to stop for a bite, but she wouldn't want to interrupt a task for it. If neither of them were hungry, then it wasn't an issue either way.

Edited April 4, 2017 by Floofy

[Airi 0]

Airi nodded along as the girl named Sakoda agreed with her previous statements. Then the red-haired player beside her asked her if she knew where she was going, with a slight blush on her face. She wondered what that meant. "We're almost there," she responded. She pointed to an intersection meters away from them. "One left turn, go straight for a few blocks, one right, and we're at Lyle Tealeaf's place." She recited from memory, something which she had picked up while listening in to a few players conversing about the first beginner quest.

Her companion asked if she was getting hungry and Airi thought for a bit. She wasn't really hungry. And she honestly wanted to decline so she could finish the quest as fast as possible. And maybe get ho--back to her inn and get some sleep. But usually, if a person asks if someone's hungry without them showing any signs of hunger beforehand, that meant that they were hungry as well and wanted to know if it would be alright for them to buy some food. That's what she learned from experience, anyway. But there was no telling if the same applied to Sakoda, so she settled for a neutral response. "I want to finish the quest quickly and I'm not that hungry, but there's a food stall on the way to the NPC's place. Come on, let's speed up." 

She quickened her pace without waiting a response, Sakoda would follow her since she was the one who knows the directions anyway, and turned left. She headed forward, passed another intersection, and slowed her pace in front of a food stall. She turned around to look at her companion. "Here. I don't know what they sell, and there might not be any free food. But you can check." 

(OOC: @Floofy)

Edited March 31, 2017 by Airi

[Floofy 0]

In all honesty, Sakoda wasn't too hungry, and told Airi as such. "I was just curious to see if you wanted to stop for a quick snack." she told her, smiling cheerfully. They passed by the food stall, continuing on their way. "I've been thinking though.. about my profession. What if I'm unable to keep maybe familiars with me at one time? It would be hard to keep a business going when my stock is limited to like one or two companions. I would have to either constantly be out taming for a client, or I would need to act as an info broker, telling people where they can go to find certain tamable creatures..." She frowned, thinking of all the possibilities that she may need to entertain. "Perhaps theres a way to turn familiars into items, so I can store them until someone is interested in buying one? Or perhaps I can...rrm, no, never mind that wouldn't work..." Sakoda sighed. There clearly were a lot of options on how she could run her profession, but which way would be most effective, not just for her but for her customers as well.

 

(OOC: @Airi

[Airi 0]

The red-haired girl nodded, passing the food stall she had recommended (did it have caramel apples, though?), and took the lead once again. She listened to her quest companion's musings with slight amusement as she turned the last corner. "I guess you'll just have to stick to the information broker thing. " Airi commented, slowing her pace down to signify that they were getting close. "I haven't heard of a way to trade familiars yet. Or maybe people are just not willing to let go of their pets."

She stopped in front of a forge where an old blacksmith NPC was working. It hammered away at a metal blade that was glowing from the heat. Beside the NPC, a few finished blades lied on a stone table, maybe waiting for pick-up. Speaking of blades, she heard that the second quest in the series would award her one. Airi hummed thoughtfully as she attempted to confirm its validity in her mind. She then turned to Sakoda and said: "We're here. We just have to talk to the NPC and give him the box of healing potions. And we'll get the rewards." 

Without waiting for a response, she proceeded forward and stood in front of the stone counter. She already knew, from the other girl's personality, that she would be asked to go first since she was the one who led them both here. The blacksmith sensed her presence, left the sword on the anvil, and made its way to stand behind the counter. "How may I help you?" it asked. Airi brought the cardboard box full of healing potions out of her inventory and showed it to the NPC. "Delivery!" she exclaimed, with a hint of a cheerful tone in her voice.

The NPC accepted the item, causing it to shimmer and disappear from the counter, and said: "Thank you for bringing the items." A pop-up dialogue appeared in front of her, containing the words 'Quest Accomplished!' and a list of the rewards. Airi looked over the quest rewards as the NPC began speaking once again. The words he said, she didn't actually catch, but another pop-up dialogue appeared with the words 'Will you accept the quest?' and two choices. The next quest. She pressed decline, for now, and turned back to Sakoda. "Your turn."

(OOC: @Floofy I'll close the thread in my next post, so wrap things up)

Edited April 3, 2017 by Airi

[Floofy 0]

She walked up besides Airi, and the NPC's attention came to her. "How may I help you?" it asked again. Like Airi, Sakoda brought the potions from her inventory and presented them to the blacksmith. "Delivery for you!" She exclaimed, feeling cheerful that the quest was over now. The NPC once again accepted the item, as it shimmered and disappeared from the counter. The NPC recited his "Thank you for bringing the items" line and a pop-up appeared for Sakoda. She glanced at the rewards, mostly to make sure there wasn't a bug or something that would cause anything to not appear in the list, and then closed the window. As she was examining the rewards, the NPC had begun speaking again. Sakoda had actually spaced out and only came back to her senses when the next dialogue box appeared, offering the next quest. Chuckling at her own air-head, she declined the quest for now before looking back to Airi and smiling cheerfully.