[SP-FL1]<<The First Few Lessons Are Free>> (Complete)

[Anthium 0]

 William ran a hand through his thick reddish brown hair as he settled into the seat towards the back of the tavern in the town of beginnings and sighed. After sorting himself out with the madness that spread amongst the population of the game trapped in the square being told that until they had cleared every floor of this game. This brought a small smile to his lips as he idly stroked the beard he'd been growing...what was it now? Five, or six months ago? Hard to remember, but he knew that the long slightly curly length of hair that covered his lower face and dropped a few inches below his chin. Glancing around he saw a few players still garbed in their standard gear and talking in either hushed tones, or having animated conversations varying from anger to humor. This many people locked together wouldn't take long for personalities to either settle or explode in this climate and the level of stress placed on them. His green eyes landed on a bulletin board and he chewed his lip tapping a thick finger on the table top curiosity digging in and making a home in the base of his skull. Knocking his knuckles on the table making up his mind as he got up and walked over.  

Edited April 4, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

Walking over the bulletin board shows several neatly posted advertisements that reminded him of several that he had come across in previous games. He tapped on a sheet and a prompt opens up on his interface and shows off italic script for a relatively low level mission as is typical of  all fantasy adventure games and read the flavor text quickly getting the general idea of what was being asked. Seemed this Zakariah was in need of someone to gather herbs for his potions and chemical works just had to go and gather the required herbs and bring them back to him. Bill hit the accept tab and turned around slowly to avoid bumping into anyone who may have moved up behind him as he was moving away from the board. Nothing easy about a wide six foot man moving through a throng of this size and with everyone trying to gain valuable experience and in turn extending their already precarious life in this world. 

[Anthium 0]

Exiting the Tavern was simple once he was away from the bulletin board and set off down the rod leading out into the fields and wood lands around the town and outlying settlements. He gloved fingers stroked his beard thoughtfully as he walked pondering over what exactly the NPC was after with these materials. With a shrug he walked out into the grass and knelt down scanning the dirt and scrub looking for anything that may pop up in his vision as possibly useful for alchemy. Shifting his position he looks over and a blue set of small flowers lit up slightly as he looked over them.

"Alright, seems this shouldn't be too hard to find similar plants to these." His grin was wide as he gently pressed down the grass and indicated the flowers and brought up a system prompt. Tapping the gather tab the plant shimmered and  small bundle of herbs dropped into his inventory. This was turning out to be very similar to any other MMO he had ever played. Gathering seemed to be a simple matter of search and gather which would be easy.  

 

#79867

LD- 15 (1 Material gathered)

[Anthium 0]

Shifting his weight he looked about thinking that more of the same should be near by. Eyes narrowed he scanned the grass as it wavered in the sparse breeze and crouch walked through the grass. After a few more minutes he'd covered a five foot by five foot square and still nothing prompted him and he let out a small sigh before standing. Glancing back and forth his fingers scratched his scalp before walking slowly onward to see if he could find more else where. Unlike most established MMO's Materials where most herbs were confined to a area and most together in groups of five or nine possible collectibles. Here it seems that here the materials were generated randomly and could be in abundance, or on the other hand scarce as hell. Standing now he kicked a small rock before walking with his eyes focused on the ground and the promise of more materials.

#79868

LD- 10 (Nothing gathered)

[Anthium 0]

 Shifting over another dozen. or so feet offered more of the same calf high grass and random stone and dry earth, but no real sign of the required ingredient. Just when frustration was about to grip his nerves and push him into fury the screen glowed slightly as he glanced over a small shrub and there they were. He let out a small sigh and hit the gather icon to add these to his inventory and his lips twisted in a slightly frustrated frown as he stood up. Pulling on his beard gave him a contemplative look as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he walked further on wondering just how scarce these materials were. "I hate fetch quests." Grumbling like two stones caught in a blender his boots spreading and folding grass under their thick soles as he continued to hunt.

79869

LD 12 (1 Material Gathered) 

[Anthium 0]

 Hunting for these materials went from an exercise in keen eye sight to a test of his patience. Shifting the tall grass every feet feet in his ever widening circle offered no fresh plants, or flowers that glowed with the outline if in game interaction. Heaving a sigh he kept at it fighting off boredom and irritation in equal measure now as seconds turned to minutes and then into hours. With a growl he rubbed at his face and grumped as he continued to pick through the tall grass like an archaeologist sifting through sand for bones of long dead reptiles or dead civilizations. The unfortunate thing being that this particular desert kept its treasures hidden with a jealous fervor. Did not help his case that these things were on the small size and hard to see among the sea of green.  

79870

LD 2 (No Material found)

[Anthium 0]

Puffing out a breathe he kept sweeping his hands through the grass parting and moving on. He could only imagine how foolish he looked doing this, but then again it wasn't like he was a noob in a beginner...area...damn it all. Fingers curled into his hair and pulled slightly feeling his impatience get the better of his judgement pitching him into the urge to break something. Massaging the irritated patched of his scalp he looked around and noticed he'd come to a clear space of dirt and stone which he lowered himself onto to rest and collect himself. Looking at his heads up display he wondered why there were no obvious signs of where he could find these specific items for the NPC. Nice of Kiba to include these low level pieces for everyone to attempt to get some easy experience points and not have to worry about getting eaten by the games monsters.

80396

LD 7

[Anthium 0]

Crossing the road, or path as the case seemed to indicate he continued his search. With each passing moment his determination waned a little more and his ire grew in equal measure. He looked about trying to determine where he had started out from, but could not separate any certain spot and let out another aggravated sigh. With this level of sporatic peppering of these flowers or whatever this guy needed for his crafting. This was by far the most trying exercise in patience and the rate he was going it would be a tragic failure if he had to spend his whole day out here for just two piece out of the five the alchemist needed for his project. 'I hope the pay out is worth this headache I'm developing trying to gather these stupid flowers.' These thoughts gathered and swirled dangerously as his stomped towards the tree line. 

80399

LD 4

[Anthium 0]

Walking into the woods seemed like the next step in this ludicrous adventure if you were drunk enough to even call this an adventure, or even put it withing spitting distance of it. He shaded his eyes with one hand and scanned back and forth before stepping around the first tree and was surprised to find what he was looking for. Squatting down he gathered up the ingredients and looked around tapping out a random beat on the tree trunk. So far it was almost impossible for him to figure out where the flowers would spawn of be found in abundance. Or maybe that was the idea rather than do like blizzard and the ingredients set in clusters and readily spawned for them to just pick them up. 

80400

LD 16 (1 Ingredient gained)

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

The light was minimal in the shade of the trees which made him slightly uncomfortable, but he was certain that these flowers probably grew in less sunlight than normal. As if to prove this theory he stepped around another trunk and was rewarded with the flowers growing in the midst of the roots. With a short laugh he let the materials gather in his inventory and noted he only needed one more. This had eaten up a massive chunk of his day and that was irritating beyond reason, but then such were the way of low level quests. It was just finding these flowers were starting to tip over into tedium and just wandering was a waste. Didn't help that the map wasn't worth much in this instance, but so long as he kept gathering he'd be able to endure it.

80973

LD 17 (1 Material gathered)

Edited April 4, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

Stepping around and over the over grown roots proved to be a  it of a hassle as his boots were too big to navigate some of the places easyily. More than once he'd slid and cracked his head against a tree trunk or root adding to his frustration. Thankfully he didn't really feel the sharp impacts otherwise he might have taken up cutting down the trees in a fit of rage. A thought struck him then about how the system was designed to keep the person from feeling the damage of the game in real life. Keeping the nerves from spasming from every impact definitely helped separate the player from the virtual, but at the same time could possibly lead to a feeling a immortality to some degree. Such desensitized methods kept the flow going, but with the threat of death should you drop below zero meant you were dead in the real world.

81018

LD 1 

Edited April 2, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

Anthium smacked a meaty hand against yet another tree as he kept looking. This was slowly forming into a pattern as he kept walking through the woods. After falling enough to make him want to rip his beard out was enough to make him take some deep breathes and just take a moment. There had to be another flower either here close or back out where he had started. 'Just one,' he thought raising one finger as if admonishing the trees 'one stinking flower is all I need.' Failing to find the coveted ingredient anywhere close he walked out of the trees with a look of bitter disappointment.

81019

LD 1

[Anthium 0]

Back tracking through the woods was mind numbing as each spot was in fact empty. The little hope he had was flickering as he walked back out into the fields and took up his sweeping search. Thankfully none of the monsters were anywhere near him as he kept sweeping aside tall grass and peering around bushes. After several minutes he threw up his hands in frustration and even hefted a rock and chucked it in a random direction. Rubbing his face he trudged back to town vowing to come back later. As he neared the gate he caught sight of what he was after and sighed with amusement. There right next to the gate was the last piece he needed to go to the alchemist. 

81020

LD 19

Edited April 2, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

William felt a great sense of relief as he walked back into town and noted the darkening of the sky. Who knew that gathering those materials would take so long to accomplish, but with the utter lack of a tracking system it was utterly up to the system to not only place what was needed, but for the player to persist regardless of outcome. Pushing back into the inn he set up in a room for the night and fell asleep after a few minutes staring at the ceiling. His restless mind turning over what his friends were doing right now, and how his family was holding up with his sudden entrapment here in this virtual prison. With that his brain immediately compared this to anime like Deadman Wonderland, or worse what this would mean for when they finally got out of this world. Envisioning government secret agencies snapping up people for questioning and possible experimentation were some dark thoughts to fall asleep to.

[Anthium 0]

Waking was a slow drawn out process as his mind clicked into place. Sitting up and looking about with bleary eyed incomprehensible weariness scanning the spartan room he was staying in. Stepping out of bed he equipped clothes and equipment before heading downstairs to the bustle of the morning crowds. Leaving the inn he headed in the direction of Zachariah's shop and got an idea of how the city was laid out. The shop wasn't that hard to find and pushing open the door he was met with the sight of shelves and tables stocked with crystals and other alchemist equipment. Beakers, elymbus, and all manner of chemical do dads one could want. Zachariah was no where to be seen so William browsed the wares on display and felt the acute lack of col in his wallet as he saw the beautiful master craft crystals on display meant for high level players and assorted campaigns into the more dangerous areas of the game. 

Edited April 2, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

"Impressive aren't they?" William stood up from where he was looking at the damage crystals behind safety glass and turned toward the voice. Zachariah was in his twilight year to be sure with stark white hair and facial hair. Even though it was long it was well maintained compared to the clothes and smock he wore that were singed in places and stained with gods knew what chemicals he used to make his wares. William stroked his own beard and stepped up to the counter easily placing the package of materials on the counter.

"I saw your post in the inn and came to see what you might be offering." He kept his tone light as if the whole idea of him wandering around for hours to get these materials hadn't tested his patients to the limit. Zachariah rubbed his hands on a towel on his belt and picked up the materials opening a window to examin what he had. After a moment of contemplating sounds the alchemist nodded and waived for him to follow. "Come on back," his voice was amused as he lead William back into the lab "a lot of you youngsters have been through here recently. Never though so many people would be so eager to help an old man out with his work."

[Anthium 0]

 Zachariah pushed open the back room door and motioned for William to enter before shutting the door. Taking up one wall was a complex mix of alchemist tools and arrangements that sizzled and bubbled with a variety of colors and threads of steam waiffed from a few. To his left was a set of shelves filled with times of every size, spines marked in runes, or common tongue. Along the right wall were drawers and jars of materials that was impressive to William even though this was only a first floor shop. 

"Go ahead and sit here," Zachariah pulled out the worn stool "I have to tend to another project and need you to mix another for me." William cocked an eyebrow and shrugged settling onto the stool and looked at the weird assembly of tubes and such. Zachariah set a small stack of materials at his elbow that looked like the stuff he'd just brought in.

[Anthium 0]

 William looked over the assembled beakers, viles, burners, and drips. Taking up the first of the materials he gave the whole thing a curious once over trying to figure out how to go about doing....anything with this thing. Strangely enough he eventually saw the menu indicator and opened the window with the typical alchemy set up where he just needed to place the materials. This took a lot of the guess work out of the process, but still was more like skyrim where you selected two ingredients and mixed up until you either had a potion, or ran out of materials. There was series of gurgles and mixing happening as he watched and the drip filled up a container with a greenish liquid until it formed a small crystal.

"It would appear you've crafted a decent health crystal," Zachariah came over stroking his beard and nodding "you have some skill it seems, but nothing too impressive." William felt a prick at his pride until Zachariah turned an old man smile that mildly reminded him of his grandfather back home.

81201

CD 8 (Rare success)

Edited April 4, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

 Zachariah picked up the peach colored crystal and watched the light play through the the healing crystal and made an appreciative sound before setting it aside. He moved over to the shelves and pulled down a hand full of crystals and set them side in a small bag then pulled a wrapped parcel from another shelf and tapped it with a calloused fore finger. "I have another favor to ask," His voice was mild and a smile creased his lips and forehead "If you could take this package over to Lyle Tealeaf I'm sure he'd compensate you." William picked up the crystals and set then in his inventory and nodded his appreciation of the new survival tools and took the package from Zachariah. It was slightly heavier than expected and then slid it into his bag "Sure, where would I find Lyle anyways?" William leaned against the counter and eyed the old man curiously Zachariah took to stroking his long white beard pensive and then nodded. "Lyle is the local black smith and if you take this package to him I'm sure he can reward you with either a weapon, or armor of your choice." Upon leaving the shop William felt a sense of accomplishment even with the level of frustration he went through getting the materials, but crafting the potion wasn't hard. "Now, where do I find that blacksmith?"

 

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Anthium

[Anthium 0]

William stepped along the cobbled streets as he chewed on a fresh sandwich. Crumbs drizzled his beard as he walked down the market lane towards where the black smith was said to have his forge. He felt a sharp pain in his heart thinking of Zachariah and how he had reminded him of his own grandfather. A small chuckle escaped his lips thinking of the old bastard and his war stories and odd advice working on cars in the garage. Even though the elder had lost all of the hair on his head the beard he had grown was to his chest and salt and peppered with his years and braided into two forks like some old time viking. His elation fell swiftly into melancholy thinking of family he might never see again and the possible death that dogged his steps in this game. 

Edited April 7, 2017 by Anthium