[F8-SP] Scrounging in the trees

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Benjamin finished up another run of potions, still trying to finish up the last big order he had gotten.  His house in Florenthia gave him a good view of the forest outside of town, and it was about time to put it to use.  He picked up his notebooks, flipping open his list of what he needed to grab, and headed to the kitchen for a snack.  A quick check of the drawers got him a couple of materials, which he put together into a small sandwich for himself as he went out.  The kitchen was already proving itself to be a great addition for all the late night snacks he made. 

After grabbing his shoulder pack while he was there, he picked his familiar Sebastian off the table.  The foot and a half long caterpillar lazily complied, and snuggled its way into Ben's scarf in short order.  With the floor open in front of him, Ben knew it was time to start on his hike.  Hopefully it would be a quiet one, and he could just gather up his materials in peace.  Without fanfare, he headed down the dirt path out of town, and into the forest beyond. 

Spoiler

"Filling" room buff used. 
Used 3 [T1] materials to create a snack (Loot (2))
Benjamin used the item immediately

Total LD buffs- +3 LD from item, +2 LD from search skill, +2 LD from temporary buff = +7 LD total

 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Benjamin Bookworm
wrong type in stats block

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

The forest near town was at least fairly sparse- it would be a while until Ben got to the thick bunches of trees that would be further in.  Right now, there were plenty of fields of flowers and grassy rolling hills to look at, though with a lot of trees across them, though this was about as clear as you could expect from anywhere of the giant forest that made up this floor.  He stopped along the way a few times, grabbing a flower or herb here and there to add to his pouch, already starting to pick up a pretty good haul. 

What do you think Sebastian, should be make this a bit of a longer walk today? he asked his familiar.  Sebastian responded by rolling over a bit where he was sleeping, either as an answer or to catch a bit more sunlight.  Yea, I think so too.  It would be good to have a nice long break from working for a bit. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99915
Loot die 17+7=24, battle die 9
Found 3 materials [T1]

3 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Sebastian gave out another coo as he settled in on Ben's shoulder, letting him do his thing with finding materials while he slept in the scarf.  Honestly Sebastian, you've napped all morning.  And while I was busy working so hard on potions too.  I really picked a kind of useless familiar, huh? Ben said as he gave his worm a pat on the head.  He kind of really liked the little guy, all things considering.  But he still hard materials to find. 

The pickings were still good in this area, at least so far.  He had already gotten all the materials he had used in the kitchen, and then some, so it was already profitable.  But with the amount of materials he used every day, he would need to be more than just a bit profitable- he needed a big enough haul that he could take a while off to just make things, and level up his crafting skills enough that he could make good things. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99936
Loot die 20+7=27, battle die 5
Found 2 materials [T1]

5 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

His orders had been coming in at least, which was better than before.  It seemed a lot of players just tried to kill the enemies really fast, without relying on support items or on any healing or buffs in combat.  Apparently things were really well set up for players to do so, though as they got to the higher floors, that may not stay the case forever.  And with people's lives on the line, it would be a lot more comfortable if they had some extra healing items when they got to that point.  Especially crystals, as expensive as they were to make, given how easily you could heal on the fly with them. 

Ben added another couple of flowers to his pack, a steady stream of success so far.  The fields out here were rarely used for gathering, so they tended to be pretty full most of the time, and that was how Ben liked it. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99951
Loot die 18+7=25, battle die 1
Found 1 materials [T1]

6 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

The trees were getting thicker as he moved further away from town.  Despite the fact that he had walked these paths a bunch of times before, Ben was still pretty nervous about being alone in the woods.  He could handle a few monsters, just by being high enough level to soak the amount of hits, but there was always the problem of not having enough combat skills to kill anything, which meant he could be swarmed if he did anything stupid or dangerous.  Well, there was always going to be risks, no matter what he did in this game.  That was the nature of it. 

He was so lost in thought that he didn't have a chance to find anything, and just kept his eyes on the tree lines, wondering what this floor would have in store for him today.  And so, he forged ahead to see what that would be. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99952
Loot die 4+7=11, battle die 6
Found 0 materials [T1]

6 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Sebastian woke up a bit as he crossed into the tree line, making some hungry noises when he did.  Ben, with a roll of his eyes, grabs a branch off of the nearest tree to hand to his familiar.  Honestly, he spoiled the little insect sometimes, but it was too nice to have company to do otherwise.  Plus Sebastian seemed so happy, so that counted for something. 

Ben actually decided to pick a few extra leaves off of the branches for his familiar.  It would be easier to get that done now than when they were in a quiet spot, rather than waiting for when he was checking some bushes for Sebastian to start complaining again.  None of these were anything that would be useful at all for crafting with, so it was taking up a bit more time than he was comfortable with.  Well, it couldn't be helped sometimes, could it? 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99953
Loot die 2+7=9, battle die 3
Found 0 materials [T1]

6 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Continuing on into the woods, that is once he managed to pick enough leaves that his familiar was ready to behave for a while, Ben picked his way down the path again, on the lookout for more materials.  He didn't see much ahead of him, but they were out there.  Well Sebastian, are you full now?  Ready to use that nose of yours to help out with the searching? he asked his sleepy little caterpillar.  Or you can just curl yourself back up in there again... why did I even try to put so much effort into finding an assistant. he sighed.  This was going to be a bit of a long day at this rate.  Well, the good news is that things could only get better from here on out for him.  Or at least that was his theory- maybe things would just be bad for him all day.  *sigh*

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99954
Loot die 5+7=12, battle die 7
Found 0 materials [T1]

6 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

The first few big bushes were up ahead, while Ben started searching through.  Here was the part of this search where he would start to get some big stashes of materials to add to his pack.  He had to, if he wanted to keep on crafting.  The first bush had nothing in it.  So did the second one.  And the third.  Ben really needed to start putting more skill points into gathering and treasure hunting- as much as having some battle support skills was nice, this was supposed to be his main thing.  And if he couldn't search for materials very well, what good would he be without the crystals he could craft?  All of the other players had much better combat and sword arts than him, so he just had his items.  His luck had to turn around today, or he might as well stay back in town for the rest of the game. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99954
Loot die 7+7=14, battle die 2
Found 0 materials [T1]

6 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben continued checking the areas ahead of him, having enough experience by now to be able to see which of the plants and clearings would most likely have something of interest to pick up, and which to not bother wasting his time on.  A few bushes here, and a few shady areas there... and nothing.  After he went through the tenth bush in this area, he hadn't gotten a single material.  Maybe that meant that someone else had gone through here recently, and taken them all?  Or was this part of the forest just not good for gathering from? 

Well, as disappointing as that was, he didn't have anything else to do but move on.  He opened up his HUD, checking the map of the area, and started planning a different route to take.  Maybe the change in scenery would bring him to someplace that had more things for him to gather, or even just avoiding the dry area he was in right now.

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99975
Loot die 1+7=8, battle die 5
Found 0 materials [T1]

6 materials total found

Seriously?!

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

As he picked his way along the unfamiliar path, a slight case of nerves started to rise up as he did so. He was much more used to everything going as he planned it than detours like this, and did not like when plans changed.  As he went down the new path he was forging, he picked up a couple of new materials almost immediately.  The change in his route was worth it.  Now he just had to keep going until he had enough for another week of crafting- with every time he leveled up his skills there, the number of materials he needed just kept getting higher and higher.  He would hit the spot where he needed a break to let his supplies start to fill up again quite soon, but he had already gotten more messages from orders coming in today.  There was no way he would slow down now. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99975
Loot die 16+7=23, battle die 6
Found 3 materials [T1]

9 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

The new route he was walking down seemed to be covered in more flowering trees and bushes than the previous one he had picked out.  Ben didn't mind the looks, and actually enjoyed the extra color that they gave him as he went along, but usually flowers didn't have as many places to look for materials around them as larger trees and bushy areas.  Granted, some of the flowers could be materials themselves, and he could always find a few in the fields, but not usually the big jackpots of loot that he was shooting for.  And when you walked along gathering as much as he did, efficiency was the key to success.  Especially when you needed the materials in a hurry.  Ben hoped he would be able to get all that he needed from here and get back to his workshop tonight in time for him to do some more crafting tonight.  A long break was nice, but players needed their healing items. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99984
Loot die 12+7=19, battle die 5
Found 2 materials [T1]

11 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben started reviewing the lists of different items he would have to make when he got back to the lab.  As much as these materials would help out with what he needed, he might actually have to hop up to the tier 2 floors in a couple of days before too long.  Healing potions were based on the tier, and he had players who needed the bigger healing items before too long.  Hopefully at least a few of them would pay in materials... though he also needed the col to upgrade his lab.  This was the curse of not being able to farm on his own. 

Still he had to stop and admire the flowery field that he was in.  They were awesome to look at- even if they were pretty useless for his gathering.  He needed to try and find out the best way to balance these needs of his. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99984
Loot die 2+7=9, battle die 10
Found 0 materials [T1]

11 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

As he moved along, Ben kept his eyes open trying to find some more good places to search.  As much as one spot of wooded trees looked like another, there were differences.  He hadn't been able to find out all the differences quite yet, but he would.  He just had to keep working at it, keep on learning, and growing. 

Of course, what he was learning right now was that these flowers were not very good areas for searching in.  This is why he hated taking large detours like this- you never knew where you would end up, or how good in actually would be.  Steady, reliable tasks was what he wanted.  Except in this game everything came down to chance. 

He checked on his familiar, who was still sleeping soundly, nestled inside of his scarf.  At least one of them was having fun out here- somehow.  That spoiled worm could have fun anywhere. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99984
Loot die 4+7=11, battle die 6
Found 0 materials [T1]

11 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Of course it would be nicer if the spoiled little worm would crawl out here and actually do something once in a while.  Days like these he felt as if he were just talking to himself again.  It isn't as if he would be much help, but it would be nice to have someone else here with him.  Walking the support path was a pretty lonely one- it seemed everyone else was busy fighting and slaying monsters while he was out picking at leaves.  But if it meant that more players would live through this nightmare, he was willing to do it.  Online games like this were his home, and he would make sure to protect those playing. 

He managed to pick a couple of more bits and pieces as he went- every little bit helped, even if it wasn't a big bunch like he had hoped for.  And the colorful flowers in the clearings were really starting to tick him off since it meant he had a lot less stuff to gather. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99989
Loot die 10+7=17, battle die 5
Found 2 materials [T1]

13 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

As Ben continued along, he figured that he was just heading into some more flowery fields.  This was less helpful, as he had wanted the dense trees and brush.  With a sigh, he leaned down to pick up another flower, adding the single bit of material to his shoulder bag, as Sebastian woke up and leaned out of his scarf to say hi.  Hey there, finally awake?  Well, you're just in time for us to find nothing.  These open fields are terrible for searching through, and the map didn't show any of this on it.  What do you think about that.  Sebastian answered by leaning down and munching on some of the flowers on the ground.  Yea, that's pretty much how I feel about this area too. he said as he stood himself up again, brushing off some grass from his pants.  Well, as long as we keep moving we are bound to find someplace better eventually. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99990
Loot die 15+7=22, battle die 1
Found 1 materials [T1]

14 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

The trees had started to get thicker as Benjamin walked along.  Hopefully this would mean that he had a better chance of finding Better bunches of materials as he kept going, he thought to himself.  And sure enough, the next couple of bushes were full of usable materials.  Well Sebastian, it looks like this may not be a complete waste after all.  We might even have enough materials here to last us the week if it keeps going like this.  Wouldn't that be nice?  He knew his familiar was not really listening, and just kind of sitting there on his shoulder, but it was good to bounce some of his ideas off of someone.  As he shook down the next few bushes to continue looking, he gave the caterpillar a few extra scratches on the head.  He ws a good little guy to have around, even when he was being frustratingly useless. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 99996
Loot die 19+7=26, battle die 5
Found 2 materials [T1]

16 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben continued checking the bushes as he went along, hoping to find a good haul.  And it looked like the next set of bushes provided that.  He pulled one material after another out, filling up his pack with good crafting items.  At this point he had to stop and begin to transfer a few of them to his inventory, making room to start gathering more.  He still only had enough for another three days right now, which was less than he wanted.  But he could make up for it with a bit of luck pretty soon.  He still had the goal of getting enough to work for a week without stopping, but six or so days would work as well. 

He got back up afterwards and started to stretch out.  He had already walked a fairly good distance, and didn't have a good idea of how long it would take to get back to town afterwards. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 100041
Loot die 16+7=23, battle die 7
Found 3 materials [T1]

19 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Benjamin still had the number of orders in the future on his mind as he finished stretching.  He had been having some bad luck at his lab lately- maybe it was because of how he was getting used to the new setup.  And maybe it was because he still needed to finish upgrading it before it would work as well as he wanted it to.  He sighed, knowing that he would not be able to find out the answers soon.  Once more he really wished that this game came with a FAQ- at least one that he didn't have to write himself.

He picked through another couple of bushes, and added another load of materials to his pouch.  Maybe if he kept on steadily picking bits like this, he would have enough for the week by the time he was done.  Or maybe not, who knows with the luck that he was having. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 100042
Loot die 16+7=23, battle die 1
Found 1 materials [T1]

20 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Benjamin walked on forward, but was a bit distracted as he did so.  His familiar was not liking the constant movement of him bending down to check the bushes over and over.  It seemed that he wanted to just sit back and take a nap while Ben worked, but the constant movements were getting in the way of it.  He sighed.  The annoying little caterpillar was fed and comfortable, but still complained.  Look Sebastian, I'm getting some really good supplies from here.  Could you just, for once, settle in and let me work.  Sebastian harrumphed in response, still annoyed.  Well, I can't stay still, or we won't get any extra potions at home.  And you like eating all the leftovers, don't you?  So just lie back and sun yourself while I move, and we'll be back home soon.  OK?  That seemed to satisfy him, and Sebastian curled in, his grip getting a bit tighter as he settled in closer while Ben continued searching. 

Spoiler

Gathering roll ID 100060
Loot die 15+7=22, battle die 3
Found 2 materials [T1]

22 materials total found

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben pushed his way through some more of the bushes, finding himself near a very thick few patches of brambles.  It looked like a good spot for him to start searching for something hidden around here.  The game had lots of spots that were good for hiding treasure chests in, and it seemed Ben had stumbled across one now.  He tried to push his way into the vines, but the thick thorns kept on digging into him as he did so.  The painful pokes quickly added up, and Ben did not like it.  Neither did his little familiar, who growled a bit in annoyance as Ben tried to look in there.  He decided quite quickly that it wasn't going to be worth it, even if he did manage to force his way into the area.  Maybe he could go around, find another entrance and whatever was inside of there.  Maybe something good.

Spoiler

Search for a treasure chest
Loot Die 100064
Roll of 6+7 = 13, Nothing found