[SP-F1] <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>> Raz Knows How to Do This Already

[Razum-dar 0]

It had been such a long time since Endilix had saved his life. But it hadn't been so long that Raz had forgotten the debt he owed to the man for doing so. But it was frustrating, because Raz had no idea where Endilix had gone, and why he had left Raz behind. Raz groaned as he slithered off of Endilix's couch in his bar, meeting the floor with a soft thud. Raz had taken to living in the man's bar, seeing as Raz had nowhere else to really go, and he hoped that if he stayed here Endilix would, you know, come back. But that hadn't been the case for months, at the very least. Raz wondered if Endilix had forgotten him. It made Raz sad to think that may have been the case. But Raz had no way of knowing for sure. He continued to muse to himself like this as he lay on the floor, before finally muttering, "Maybe Raz should do something useful for once..."

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz slowly made his way to the door after dragging himself off the floor. "Raz is so lazy. Raz just wants to go back to sleep on the couch." For a moment, he had considered doing just that, when he heard shouting from next door. It was surprising to hear any sound coming from Emerath's shop, as the man had been incredibly silent for quite a long time. There were often times when he wondered if anyone was there at all, but Raz would always see the fire in the window, and the firewood on the doorstep after it was delivered. Blinking, Raz moved his feet forward, shuffling across the wood floor of the bar he was staying in as he lurched against the door, putting his ear to it to listen outside without opening the door. But it wasn't just one voice, it was two identical voices he heard shouting outside. Had his mentor also come home? That would explain Emerath's anger.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz continued to listen to the little spat between them. It almost sounded like Emerath and Endilix were going to come to blows, but Endilix pleaded to enter the shop, and Emerath seemed to agree. Raz breathed a sigh of relief as he slipped out of the door he leaned on, and knelt down to the welcome rug in front of the bar's door. Raz looked around to ensure that nobody saw him, before slipping the key out from under the mat and locking the door, checking again and slipping it back under. Raz had watched Endilix grab the key ages ago, and thankfully had never thought to remove it once Raz knew the secret. Maybe Endilix hadn't cared. Realistically, Raz didn't care either, so long as it gave him a place to sleep. Despite the breeze, Raz could still hear words being exchanged within Emerath's shop, and the man thought to beat a hasty retreat before their little brotherly spat ended.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz pulled his jacket closer to his chest as he made his way further into the chilly city that was at the center of Floor Four, and despite the thick leather he found himself shivering. When Raz had decided to make Floor Four his home, and by that meaning he lived in Endilix's abandoned bar, he had decided to get a nice leather jacket to protect him from the chilly air. What Raz hadn't realized though, was that leather seemed to be really bad at actually blocking the cold air. Despite this though, Raz was satisfied that it made him look cool. So that was good enough. He also wore tight fitting leather pants, and had basically dressed himself up like a greaser besides one feature of his wardrobe that stood out. Raz had begun to wear a mask. One of those fancy masquerade type ones. Raz supposed that no matter that Endilix had been gone for ages, a part of the man had still managed to rub off on Raz.

[Razum-dar 0]

The mask idea had stemmed from Endilix always talking about being some superhero type character. But not a straight up tights wearing superhero. Probably something you saw in anime. Immediately Raz conjured up the image of Tuxedo Mask for his mentor every time he talked about this. And so when Raz went out shopping, and saw the mask sitting on a display, he couldn't help but get it. He knew that nobody knew who he was anyway, but it was that small part of the man who saved his life that he kept with him, and perhaps in Raz's mind, it helped him feel like he was partway done with paying off such a debt. Even if he knew it really was a debt he could never repay. Raz gave a sigh as he thought about this, his breath puffing out in front of him as he walked. Before he knew it, his thoughts had led him to the Teleport Gate.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz followed behind another player who quickly clambered onto the gate and shouted their destination before disappearing in a blue light. Raz did the same, finding himself teleporting to the Town of Beginnings, where he was relieved to feel the sun on his face. He unzipped his jacket and shook it a bit to loosen it up from the stiffness that it had become thanks to the cold. "A lovely day to do... something," Raz said as he looked around at the hustle and bustle that was the first floor. "Good to know that Raz didn't miss anything. Still seems as lively as ever," he muttered as he stepped down from the gate and started to wander the streets a bit aimlessly. "Raz hasn't done any quests. Raz's mentor never was one to do those. Stupid Endilix. Raz needed those quests," Raz continued to mumble under his breath as he searched through the streets for something to do.

[Razum-dar 0]

As Raz walked, he remembered that there were a set of starter quests that he had never actually gotten around to doing. He wasn't entirely sure if this was Endilix's fault, or if it was the fault of him being lazy, but he would probably blame Endilix anyway because that was easier, and it didn't mean that it was Raz's fault. So, in the Town of Beginnings, Raz found the nearest bulletin board, and picked up the quest and coordinates for Zackariah, the "helpful and friendly alchemist". Raz scoffed. All these MMO gimmicks and shoe horned NPCs. Raz got picked up by some players and was taught how to steal to stay alive, and then almost executed when he hadn't done good enough. Where was this helpful and friendly alchemist then? Raz spit on the ground in disgust. But he would do the quest anyway. He could use the experience and probably the rewards.

[Razum-dar 0]

As Raz found himself at Zackariah's alchemy lab, and walked inside, he was almost immediately overwhelmed by the activity. Despite that SAO had been ongoing for such a long time, there were still so many new players doing these early starter quests. Though, to be fair, Raz was not one to talk. Here he was, along with them, doing the starter quests. Raz sighed to himself, and walked up to Zackariah, explaining, "Look, let's get this over with. Raz is here to do your silly quest that he already probably knows how to do, just so that he can profit and move on, yeah?"

Once Zackariah was done talking to the last person before Raz, he turned to the young man, gave a chuckle, and said, "Yes, of course. Oh, you new adventurers always say the darndest things. Here, go gather me some materials from outside the city, and once you have five of them, I'll teach you crafting!"

[Razum-dar 0]

Razum-dar scoffed at the alchemist, before grunting and accepting the quest given to him. Thankfully for Raz, the alchemist's shop wasn't too far from the edge of the Town of Beginnings, what with the quest being a starter one and all. So Raz quickly made his way to the edge of town and set about looking for the stupid materials the alchemist said he should be. Well, that the quest said he should be, in any case. Did it matter too much? This was all dumb. It wasn't like Raz ever even wanted to craft anyway. Endilix never had, even if he had become a cook. He was a cook in nothing more than title alone.

Raz fumed silently as he looked around for the plants that Zackariah's quest said he needed. Thankfully it didn't take long, as he bent over and pulled a green leafy plant from the ground and pocketed it. "See? Nothing to it," Raz said to himself.

** Gathering Attempt **

Spoiler

• ID: 110394
  • LD: 17 (Success)
• Quest Materials Gathered: 1 of 5

Edited December 12, 2018 by Razum-dar

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz looked around him to see plenty of other players searching for their own materials. Raz considered if he should be the type of jerk to try to undercut them for the materials they found. Raz had been trained as a thief by his original captors, he had some experience when it came to grabbing things right out from under others' noses.

Raz frowned, as he then saw Endilix frowning at him from wherever the man was. Raz's brow furrowed in annoyance, as he considered just how much effect the man whom he owed his life had had on him. He grunted, and then just decided to get down in the dirt and dig around for another leafy green plant. Thankfully, he found one, once again proving just how easy this quest was. No matter how much Raz told himself that this was a starter quest for babies, he still wished it was harder.

** Gathering Attempt **

Spoiler

• ID: 110395
  • LD: 16 (Success)
• Quest Materials Gathered: 2 of 5

Edited December 13, 2018 by Razum-dar

[Razum-dar 0]

As Raz dug down in the dirt like all the other low level babies around him, he grunted and groaned. He was annoyed. He was better than this. Endilix wouldn't have done this, he wouldn't have suffered through it just for the EXP. Would he? Actually, the more Raz thought about it, he probably would have. But then why hadn't Endilix taken Raz to do this? Stupid Endilix, stupid quest, stupid dirt. Raz was just getting frustrated, especially now that he wasn't finding anymore of the stupid greens that he needed to find. He looked around and it looked like the area that he was in had been picked clean by all the others, and they were now moving to new areas. Perhaps Raz should do  the same. But he needed to find a spot without any other babies, so that he could get his stuff without them taking it all.

** Gathering Attempt **

Spoiler

• ID: 110396
  • LD: 10 (Failure)
• Quest Materials Gathered: 2 of 5

Edited December 13, 2018 by Razum-dar

[Razum-dar 0]

Upon making his decision, Raz wandered off to a more remote part of the fields around the Town of Beginnings. Remote was arbitrary, of course. There were still plenty of other people running around, gathering or killing boars or the like. But Raz figured himself successful since most of those others were quite a distance away from him. It would be good enough, he supposed, as he bent over and began to dig in the dirt again. He felt foolish digging around in the dirt. He would much rather be killing boars like the other people were, but that wasn't what the quest wanted. He wished it had asked for boar pelts to make potions though. He should talk to Zackariah about that when he got back. It would make the quests more fun. Raz simply wasn't the gatherer type.

Either way, he found another leafy green and gleefully pulled it out of the ground.

** Gathering Attempt **

Spoiler

• ID: 110408
  • LD: 18 (Success)
• Quest Materials Gathered: 3 of 5

Edited December 13, 2018 by Razum-dar

[Razum-dar 0]

It didn't take long before Raz had found yet another leafy green in the fields, and as he checked his count, he was almost finished. At least the gathering wasn't taking very long. There was a bit of relief in that. He had worried he would walk out into the fields and there would be one green every mile, meaning he would have to walk ages just to find what he was looking for, but here they were popping up every few feet. Now all Raz had to do was find one more, take it back, make a stupid potion, and then he could move on to more useful things with his time. Did he mention that this quest was for babies? He felt like he needed to make it clear how much he hated that prospect. He found himself wishing that thievery gave him EXP, but also counted him lucky that it hadn't actually resulted in an orange tag or something.

** Gathering Attempt **

Spoiler

• ID: 110409
  • LD: 16 (Success)
• Quest Materials Gathered: 4 of 5

Edited December 13, 2018 by Razum-dar

[Razum-dar 0]

And that was it, the last material of what he needed. Razum-dar quickly yanked the leafy green from the ground, and then turned on his heels to head back to Zackariah immediately. The sooner he got this done and over with, the better off he would be. He tried his best not to break into a run, but he may as well as been, for as fast as he was walking. Raz nearly busted the door down entering Zackariah's shop once again, and many of the others stopped to look up at him.

Raz smiled. He liked the attention. "Raz got your materials, old man. Now, tell me how to make your stupid potion so that Raz can move on with his life." Zackariah seemed a bit surprised by Raz's entrance, but quickly reverted back to his friendly smile and demeanor, before directing the young man to a nearby alchemy bench.

** Gathering Attempt **

Spoiler

• ID: 110413
  • LD: 16 (Success)
• Quest Materials Gathered: 5 of 5

Edited December 13, 2018 by Razum-dar

[Razum-dar 0]

As Raz looked over the equipment in front of him, he frowned. It all looked so complicated and windy. But Zackariah explained how to make a potion, and Raz tried his best not to blow a blood vessel from frustration as he explained. "You see, you simply turn on the burner, but some water in the beaker, and then once boiling you put the greens in there. If mixed correctly, the potion should turn a light green and have a faint minty smell."

Raz grunted in response to Zackariah, before doing as the man said. He lit the burner, grabbed some water and poured it in, and in a few moments it was boiling. Raz unceremoniously dumped the greens in, and then took the stirring stick and mixed it all together. Through the means of video game magic, the greens mixed with the water and converted to a light green potion, just as the alchemist had said.

** Crafting Attempt **

Spoiler

• ID: 110414
  • CD: 9 (Rare Quality Success)
• Objective Complete

Edited December 13, 2018 by Razum-dar

[Razum-dar 0]

Zackariah watched over the red haired man, more than a bit impressed that he had managed to get it on his first try, and with a better than average success even. Zackariah picked up the beaker, and gave it a good smell. "Yes, that is certainly a minty smell, as expected. And a bit stronger than usual. I think this could be used to heal some more serious wounds. I'm impressed, young man!"

Zackariah smiled, and Raz looked back to the man, both in shock that he had done it so quickly, and more that he had done a great job of it. "W-wait," Raz stammered, "you mean to tell Raz that it was really that easy?" Raz took a step back from the bench, and frowned, "Well, maybe this crafting thing isn't so bad. Maybe Raz will give it a try someday properly. Raz doesn't think he'll do alchemy though. Making badass weapons is better."

[Razum-dar 0]

Zackariah laughed at Raz's comments, and said, "Ah, that's the spirit, young man!" Raz nodded back to the older gentleman, and then Zackariah seemed to walk off and that was going to be the end of that. But before he got too far, Zackariah turned and said, "Oh wait, one more thing. Since you were such a great help to me, would you mind helping out a friend of mine? Lyle Tealeaf has been waiting for a package from me. If you could take it to him for me, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm just so busy with all these newcomers!"

Raz sighed, of course, there it was. Of course he wasn't done. But when the quest continuation popped up on his UI, he accepted it with a grumble, and then said, "Sure, of course. Raz will do this so he can get the stupid rewards he was supposed to get when he finished the potion."

[Razum-dar 0]

Zackariah nodded to the young man, and produced a package from his coat, before handing it to Raz. Raz took it and popped it into his inventory as Zackariah continued about his business. No sense in lingering here, Raz figured, as he pushed his way out of the alchemy shop, and followed his map to the location given to him by the alchemist. "Lyle Tealeaf. Wonder what he'll be like," Raz bemused as he walked, before arriving at what appeared to be a blacksmith's shop.

Raz looked at it, at the simple anvil sign hanging from above the door, and saw the smoke pumping out of the chimney. He saw a few other adventurers coming and going. Still babies, but at least like Raz they had graduated to baby level 2. That was something at least. For all intents and purposes there were certainly less others here, and Raz couldn't help but wonder why. Did it mean, danger?

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz licked his lips anxiously at the idea of danger, before pushing his way into the store. There were a few others lingering, looking around, and but Raz went right up to the white haired man hammering away on the anvil in the middle of the shop. "Hello, Lyle Tealeaf?" Raz asked, and the elderly blacksmith looked at Raz, curious. "Raz is here to give you this package, from Zackariah," Raz explained, before popping the item from his inventory and handing it to the blacksmith. Lyle laughed and smiled, before saying, "Ah yes, I've been waiting for that old coot to get back to me about this. Now I can properly oil my swords!"

Raz gave a polite chuckle and said, "Okay, so can Raz have his rewards now? He's been waiting forever for them, you see. He was hoping that you would help him out. Do you think that would work? Did Zackariah give you something to give Raz?"

[Razum-dar 0]

Lyle raised an eyebrow at the young man, before saying, "Oh, you young adventurers are always so impatient. Here, here, something for your troubles!" Lyle waved Raz off, as the quest completion window popped up in front of the red haired man. He quickly accepted, and his rewards were deposited into his inventory, and Raz was just ready to turn and leave when another window popped up. Raz groaned and looked at it as Lyle said behind him, "Oh, but before you go, might I trouble you for some assistance young man?"

Raz whirled back around and said, "Is there something in it for Raz?" Lyle squinted and gave Raz a stern eye, before finally saying, "I suppose so, young man. Though I do miss the days when adventurers were simply content in doing a good deed. Now it's rewards this and quests that... you know back in my day..." and that was about when Raz started to tune the old man out, as he waited for some actual instructions.

Quest Complete!

• 3 SP
• 400 Col
• 1 40 HP Recovery Potion
• 1 +1 Damage Potion
• 1 +50 Max HP Potion