[SP-F1] More Gathering <<The first few lessons are free>>

[Mint 0]

A loud, theatrical yawn welcomed the residents of floor 1 that were already awake, not many of them actually seemed to care all that much though. Aris sluggishly walked forward as he rubbed his eyes, his left hand eventually travelling to the front to make a screen appear in front of him through a simple gesture. The still tired boy did his best to focus on reading, coming to a stop as he did so to prevent himself from needlessly falling over. There he stood, in the middle of the road while reading information about some quest he had heard about before. Apparently, there was a kind old man that spent his time teaching low levelled players like him how to actually function properly, awarding them for coming to him. Aris hadn't been completely sure as to how said individual profited from such a thing but after a little bit of asking around, he did discover that Mr friendly old man asked people to gather materials for him. Having recently been scarred for life after having spent 2 hours to find a single material, Aris just hoped that he wouldn't be as unlucky as he had been before. Still, knowing that he needed to level up, the younger boy decided to take on the quest.

Only about 10 minutes later had Aris visited the man's humble abode, a small workplace that wasn't all too difficult to find. After Zakariah explained to him what he had to do, Aris quickly accepted the quest to get going. Not much of a conversation had appeared between him and the older individual, but Aris did find the man rather pleasant to be around, assuming him to be a very caring bundle of data. Having politely said his goodbyes, Aris went out into the grassland to search for a number of herbs he needed to find.

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Having only just recently left the safe zone, Aris knew his chance of finding something out of the blue would be rather small. Not only would other players quite easily see and collect the materials, the spawn rate would probably be lower to compensate for the lack of a risk. At least, that's what he told himself after not seeing even a slight hint of a herb, deciding to simply walk further into the 'dangerous' area in hopes of quickly managing to collect some plants. He was already thinking back to his awful first experience with the gathering system, still having vivid nightmares about that one, stupid pearl. It had taken so long that, upon having finally found the item, the relief of not having to search further wasn't even enough to compensate for the induced anger. Luckily, it was eventually worth it considering he did receive his title as Artisan. Though he hadn't much luck with crafting so far, Aris was sure he'd eventually get it right.

 

Spoiler

ID; 95971 LD: 7 nothing yet

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

On his way away from the large city walls, Aris accidentally managed to catch a glimpse of a small patch of some unknown plant. Interest and hope resulted in him quickly rushing towards it, quickly noticing that the plant confirmed to Zakariah's description. While he carefully removed the plant's usable parts, Aris received a small notification in the shape of a white screen, showing him that he had successfully found one of five materials! The young boy was extremely happy with his quick find, making today seem nothing like his first gathering trip. If he kept being this lucky, Aris would most definitely spend the rest of his day searching for his own materials after having finished the quest. That would be an idea for later though, as his first priority was to properly complete this lesson.

After having added the herb to his inventory, Aris got back up and started searching around the vicinity for any other hidden treasures.

Spoiler

ID; 95972

LD: 17!!! Material found

1/5 Materials found

 

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Perhaps the gods of this virtual realm felt pity for the young boy after having made him go through pure terror in his first attempt at gathering. Maybe the felt so bad, that they just magically made herbs sprout up around him, right where he could never look past them or potentially fail to spot them. Not even meters away from the first herb, Aris saw another one, a smile instantly appearing on his face. He felt excited, which was rather odd considering all he was doing was collecting flowers. In real life the young boy was not very interested interested in the wondrous world of flora, so being so happy about finding one was definitely a first time experience. Without hesitation, Aris added the little plant to his inventory before getting up again and furthering his search. Seeing as he already found two closely together, the low levelled mace-wielder decided it would be smart for him to stick around the area, testing his luck.

Spoiler

ID: 95973 LD: 20 Another one found!

2 out of five Materials gathered

 

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Checking his surroundings for another couple minutes, Aris sadly failed to see any other herbs. He didn't feel discouraged at all, though, since he had already found two materials in such a short span. Happy with his finds, Aris moved on further away from the town of beginnings, seeing a line of trees in the far distance. Unlike during his Earning a Living quest, Aris decided to go west this time in hopes of not having to see that stupid lake anymore. He had never gone into this direction, making it a new experience as a whole for the young boy. He prefered a forest over some random lake, though, so there was nothing to complain about right now. His only concern was the possible presence of more powerful mobs inside the forest, but he would just do his best to avoid them. Besides, now that he was level three, Aris could at least pack a bigger punch than before which was definitely a relief.

Spoiler

ID 95974 LD: 4 fail

2/5 materials gathered

 

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

It had apparently been a good idea to move forward since Aris was once again blessed by the sudden arrival of a small plant that Zakariah had asked for. Gathering it was a very easy task that didn't take more than a few seconds, allowing Aris to keep moving around. He mimicked his former strategy, looking around the Herb in case they happened to grow closer together. Sadly, he couldn't see all that much, causing him to decide to walk nearer to the forest. The young boy was a little nervous despite not having seen a single monster anywhere close to him. He just hoped that everything would avoid him, except for the materials of course.

Slowly but surely making his way towards the forest, Aris already internally discussed the way back to Zakaraiah's place. He wasn't very good at remembering or following directions, sadly managing to forget the exact location of the NPC's workshop. It luckily only took a quick appearance of his beloved interface to see a small dot on his map, indicating the precise area in which the NPC was staying.

Spoiler

ID: 95975 LD: 16 Success!

3/5 Materials Gathered

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Not seeing anything of interest in the surrounding environment, Aris made his way into the forest. Seeing as it wasn't the best weather, the place wasn't decorated with the beautiful green leaves and variety of birds/animals he was hoping for. Instead, it was just cold, both appearance wise and temperature wise. Aris, though taking a liking of warm weather over freezing to death, didn't care all that much. He would probably be complaining thoroughly if someone had been with him right now, but he didn't have a companion right now.

The 16-year-old would occasionally crawl down onto the ground to identify any bits of green he spotted, often misinterpreting random plants as the crafting material he was searching for. Aris wasn't exactly an expert at properly remembering how various pieces of flora looked, so it was only natural for him to make mistakes. His first moments in the forest didn't seem all too promising, considering he didn't find anything.

 

Spoiler

ID: 95976  LD: 4

3/5 Materials Gathered

 

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Just when he was about to internally announce the end of his short-lived searching spree, Aris found another material hidden carefully behind a tree. It had been a good hiding spot that the young individual almost looked over, but due to second-guessing himself, Aris managed to walk past the tree again and actually spot it. Happy to add another material to his growing collection, the young boy swiftly pulled the material into his still rather empty inventory. "One more to go" he mumbled energetically upon seeing a sneaky notification pop up again to show his progress. It was really uplifting to actually do well at gathering right now, and it made him start to see it as a sufficient way of gaining enough tools to craft at his own shop. Aris had pondered about engaging in combat several times, but, if gathering like this kept going well for him, he'd probably keep avoiding it until finding a party he could do it together with.

 

Spoiler

ID; 95977  LD: 18 Success!

4/5 Materials Gathered

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

The young explorer spent the following 5 minutes or so walking around trees and gently looking through other pieces of vegetation that could possibly be hiding the desired material. His sapphire blue eyes left not a single corner unravelled, sadly failing to notice any little herbs that he could quickly get a hold of. Having already found 4 of the 5 necessary materials, Aris wasn't even slightly annoyed though. He was pretty sure he'd successfully seek out his last herb within a short timespan, his former successes making him quite confident while he walked through the peaceful forest.  He still had yet to have been confronted by a mob, making this day even better than it had already been.

Despite not finding anything for an extended amount of time, the blond haired boy was still smiling brightly while he enjoyed the occasional chirpings of birds above him. His former fear of the forest had quickly been removed from his mind, now feeling comfortable enough to actually call it a nice trip.

Spoiler

ID: 95978 LD: 6

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Once another 5 minutes of no results passed, Aris decided to take a quick break. He knew that, if he kept going like he had done yesterday, the chance of it ruining his own mood would be terribly big. He wasn't really feeling any frustration yet, which was definitely a good thing, but he still wanted to take it slow just in case.

Aris's battle with his quick-temper was one that he had been fighting for a very long time, sadly never really winning. All he could do was stall it or quickly get it out his system by doing stupid things, but that wasn't really a victory to him. Besides annoying others, it managed to harm Aris immensely as well up to the point that he volunteered to go into counselling at a very young age. It worked reasonably well but, as mentioned before, did not suffice. Releasing a sigh, Aris shook his head as he laid down calmly on the ground, looking directly up into the branches.

 

Spoiler

ID: 95979 LD: 7 fail

4/5 Materials Gathered

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Wiggling around slightly to get into a more comfortable position on the grassy underground, Aris felt some weird lump underneath his back that was bothering him slightly. Assuming it might be just a collection of stubborn grass, Aris sat up and looked behind him, noticing a squished down herb that looked almost identical to the others he had found. In slight confusion as to how he had looked over it, Aris carefully observed the plant in case it was some sort of illusion or trap. It didn't take a long time for him to come to peace with his failure, as that was quite a regular thing for him, quickly picking up the still-living herb to finish his quest. A small pop-up quickly appeared soon after, indicating Aris was already done with gathering. "GATHERING COMPLETE, RETURN TO ZAKARIAH'S PLACE." it said, the young blond pressing the confirm button before quickly getting on the move. A satisfied, genuine smile was stuck on his face while he made his way back to the workplace, the simple mace held in his hand just in case.

 

Spoiler

ID: 96020 LD: 19

Gathering complete!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Slowly but surely, Aris travelled out of the forest, not catching the attention of any unwanted monsters. He was pretty surprised that, during his entire time outside of the safe-zone, he hadn't come in contact with even one of the mobs that his former caretakers warned him so thoroughly about. Speaking of them, Aris still had each one of them stuck on his friendslist, having received several messages regarding his location and such to which he didn't respond. He felt incredibly constricted due to them, even leaving the party he had been staying in together with the others. Aris, despite having mixed feelings about each and every one of them, knew deep down that they meant well. At least, that's what he thought and hoped because, if they didn't, they would've literally just been evil. 

Strolling across the field gave Aris another quick chance to look for more materials for himself, sadly failing to spot anything.

 

Spoiler

ID: 96021 LD: 1 LOL

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

The young boy kept walking back towards the town of beginnings, zigzagging through the field while he inspected any interesting flowers or rocks that might be useful. Sadly, anything that he could see was either not interesting enough or not achievable, simply being a decoration of the flat, regular area. He couldn't see anything as far as the eye could see, but Aris wasn't going to give up yet. He still had quite a way to go until he would reach the safe-zone, so he wasn't really in a rush. Nor was there an assigned time limit to the completion of the quest, though Aris did find it needless to say that he would finish it today. He wasn't going to have that old man wait for his arrival so long, not wanting to take up too much of the NPC's time. Besides, the young player also had several other things he still had to do today, meaning he would be careful with his time.

Spoiler

ID: 96022 LD: 8 Fail

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Taking one last try at trying to found something useful, Aris kept searching right until he entered the gate of the city. He still hadn't found anything, but the young boy knew he would still have time for gathering later on. For now, he would have to focus completely on finishing the quest, swiftly making his back to the assigned location that he just looked at on his map. 

Though a couple more NPCs and players had decided to show their faces to the town of beginnings, the streets remained relatively calm. It was still early after all, so Aris expected nothing else. He simple minded his own business while he followed the streets and alleys to the NPC's hideout on the corner of the road. Once arriving, Aris knocked on the door, taking a step back while he listened to the rustling inside of the thin walls. Within seconds, the older man opened the door, offering a smile as he spoke up. "Back already?" he said, to which Aris chuckled and nodded. "Yup!" he would reply, proud that he managed to get it done so quickly. "Good job, please come in." Zakariah made a welcoming gesture, causing the younger individual to walk inside, hearing the door close behind him. 

 

Spoiler

ID: 96023  LD: 1 LOL

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Soon, Aris would find himself sitting on a small wooden chair, bent over the worn off table that Zakariah used to put on the majority of his potion-making tools. It looked kind of like a laboratory, except really, really old and not even slightly technological. The young boy was not really all that keen on potion crafting, having only considered it due to popular demand of potions and such. Still, Aris found being an Artisan far too fun to not choose as a profession, resulting in him going for it anyway. Despite his lack of interest, it was still pretty nice to know how to create a potion.

The first step the young player was guided through was quite simple. All he had to do was take out the materials he had gathered, and use a mortar and pestle to roughen it up. Aris eagerly mashed up the collection of leaves, Zakariah showing a smile as he did so. "Well done, the next steps will be a bit harder, though" he would say, a slight cough making its way through halfway into Zakariah's sentence. The system apparently found it funny to make its NPC's occasionally suffer from such uncomfortable things to add up to the reality.

Following up the easier start, Aris slowly but surely made his way through the other steps. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but he heard the older man say "extracting" so that was probably as close as he'd come to the truth. Somehow, Aris's luck resonated into the crafting process, leading to a successful healing potion!

Spoiler

ID: 96024 CD: 8 'rare potion' success! 

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Having already intensively observed the red substance he just somehow managed to put together, Aris handed the small flask over to his temporary mentor. "You did well," he said, offering another smile before walking away to store the small portion of liquid HP. "All thanks to you, Sir," Aris replied, a giggle following up quickly. He was still sitting patiently in the chair he had originally claimed as his, almost soundlessly tapping his finger on the wooden table in front of him. He was waiting for the man to return and tell him what else to do considering he had yet to have seen the "Quest complete!" screen that was offered to him in Earning A Living. Curiosity got the better of him, causing the young boy to speak up before Zakariah had even finished storing the health potion in one of his dusty cabinets. "Is there anything else I need to do?" he would ask, while already partially knowing the answer. Without turning around, the NPC spoke up. "Oh, yes there is." was his reply, the old man struggling to bend over to pick up a small bag of some sorts. It didn't look all too secure, but it kept whatever was in there in place. Zakariah made his way back to the table, holding the bag in front of him for Aris to take it from him. The older individual had spoken up while walked to him, saying "I would like you to deliver this to a friend of mine." Aris carefully took the bag from Zakariah, getting up afterwards. "His name is Lyle Tealeaf, a local blacksmith. He won't be hard to find," he added, causing Aris to nod in return as an acknowledgement. "Okay. I'll do my best, Sir!" Aris offered another happy expression before he walked past the older man, waving at him while simultaneously starting to talk. An energetic "Goodbye!" left the blond player's mouth, receiving a humble and kind reply. "Good luck, Mint." the smiling NPC said, disappearing from Aris's vision once he walked outside and closed the door behind him. Time to finish this quest.

[Mint 0]

As determined as ever, Aris made his way through the now somewhat busier streets. His eyes were occasionally switching between his interface and the way in front of him, doing everything he could to not walk in the wrong direction. Still, the extremely intelligent Artisan somehow managed to take a wrong turn several times resulting in just simply wasting time and thus delaying the delivery. Aris just hoped the blacksmith wasn't eagerly waiting for the package to arrive, because, if it kept going like this, he would probably receive it in about a year and a half or so.

Though he wasn't exactly as easy to find as he had been told, Aris eventually arrived at the blacksmith, carefully walking into the open workshop. "Hello?" he spoke up, not seeing anyone in the surprisingly warm area.  the young boy took a few steps forward, looking around the room to see nothing but blacksmith tools and necessities

[Mint 0]

Having not received a reaction at first, Aris decided to call out again, his hands still tightly wrapped around the bag. "Is anyone there?" his eyes fell on a door at the far back of the workshop, possibly being the place where Lyle was currently at. After a slight delay, Aris heard muffled footsteps that within mere seconds could be loudly heard walking towards him, the young boy being greeted by a comparatively giant man that seemed to be in his later years much like Zakariah. "Greetings" he said, his voice lower than Aris had ever heard anyone speak. "How can I help you, young man?" the NPC was now stood directly in front of him, looking down at Aris like the little thing he was. The blond player estimated the NPC to be easily above 6'5", automatically making it someone to be wary of. Still, knowing that the NPC had no evil intent, Aris's reaction seemed unphased by the slightly intimidating appearance of Lyle. "I've come to deliver a package." the bag was already held in front of him, slightly upwards considering how tall the other individual was. Upon seeing the NPC reach for it, Aris swiftly added some more information. "It's from Zakariah." he would say, it apparently not being anything special since Lyle simply nodded and replied with "As expected, thank you" the giant of a man's hand landed on Aris's poor shoulder, a sheepish laugh immediately forming on his face. "No problem," he replied, looking up despite it being rather uncomfortable, "I'll be going now, though." his words caused the NPC to let go of him, offering a smile while he took a step back. "Actually, I still have something for you to do." Aris shot forward a confused look, waiting for the man to elaborate on his request.

Edited February 17, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

Engaging in a quick, unexpected conversation with the blacksmith, Aris listened closely while the older man explained his situation and why he was asking for help. Aris, not thinking he could fit in another quest today, decided to decline, for now. He clicked away the pop up while simultaneously informing the NPC, who merely told him to come back when he did have time. The blond player was pleasantly surprised, now knowing what he would be doing tomorrow.

Upon having successfully ended the conversation and politely said goodbye, Aris moved back to the grasslands for a quick peek around the area. Materials were still in high demand, mostly to be used for crafting new little trinkets he'd hopefully be able to sell. Sadly, Aris failed to find anything at first.

Spoiler

96078 LD: 5 fail

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Mint

[Mint 0]

The tremendous luck he had at the start of the day had apparently decided to take a leave since Aris couldn't find a single thing. Maybe it was just more difficult to find suitable materials for an Artisan in such a place, but that didn't make it any less of a defeat. He was sad that he couldn't gather some items for himself, but the quest rewards would most definitely make his day a lot better. He was now the proud owner of several potions, as well as another humble amount of col and EXP. Slowly but surely, the young boy would eventually rise up the ranks. Whether that was in terms of his crafting capabilities or strength, he didn't know yet, though he did prefer the former. Fighting still seemed a bit odd to him, not really liking the idea of slaughtering anything, despite the monsters all being virtual and vicious. He luckily was in no rush, so there would be plenty time for him to internally discuss the topic.

Spoiler

ID: 96079 LD: 2 awwww

 

QUEST COMPLETE

rewards

 

Spoiler

 

1. Questers will be rewarded the following items
   - 5 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40HP)
   - 1 Tier One Damage Potion. (+1 Damage)
   -1 Tier One Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP)

2. 2 Additional Skill Points

3. 400 col.