[SP-F1] <<The Third Lesson, Is Just As Free>> (Zuel)

[Zuel 0]

Zuel would lay the band out in front of Hannah that he received from Lyle. Hannah would inspect it further before placing it back down before them both. "As I mentioned before this is only one of the materials I will need in order to craft the ring. The other material is a very rare gemstone that is located deep in a dark cave just north of here. Since the cave is dark it makes it impossible for me to go there myself and retrieve it, I need your help. I will reward you of course so what do you say?" A conformation window would pop up before Zuel asking him if he would wish to accept the quest. He would carefully think about it and go over the quest details before pressing the accept option. He would give the NPC a nod after accepting. Hannah's face would light up again as she smiled and marked a point on his map for the quest location. "Excellent! Just be careful I have heard of some going to the cave before to retrieve the gem only not to return." Zuel took this information as that there would be a difficult enemy or enemies in the cave for this quest. He would gather his things and begin to venture to the cave.

[Zuel 0]

Making his way through the Town of Beginnings once again, Zuel would head for the gate that would lead him to the cave. At this point a lot of the shock of what has happened has began to subside and some player began to make a living in the town. But Zuel had no intention of waiting around for someone else to complete this game. If he was going to make it through this death game he was going to have to make his way there himself. After checking his inventory he would make his way outside the gate where the main road was that would lead him to the the outskirts of the town and the cave. Zuel would tend to stick to the road not trying to venture far off so that he wouldn't encounter any unnecessary battles that would dwindle his health or energy in any way. Bringing up the area map, He would check his location and decided it was time to leave the road and head toward the direction of the cave entrance. He had timed it so that it would be almost night time when he reached the cave so that after he was finish it should almost be bright again as to make sure he could make it back safely. Making his way through the plains and avoiding enemies Zuel spots the cave in the distance. It was time to start the quest. 

[Zuel 0]

As Zuel approached the Cave he would check the surrounding area for potential guards or enemies, but to his surprise there was nothing. This definitely seemed strange to him since most caves in mmorpgs were usually guarded or had enemies around it, especially if it involved a quest. Determining that it was safe to go in and entered the dark cave not knowing what might be waiting for him inside. Right as he entered he was given a debuff that reduced his accuracy by 1. This would be a bit problematic for him since this game was already pretty unforgiving on its accuracy for the earlier levels of the game. Whatever the case he had no choice if he wanted to obtain the material so he could get the ring from Hannah. The cave was pretty barren for the most part, having no enemies or any signs of things to interact with. Again Zuel was a bit confused at why there wouldn't be anything guarding such a valuable material especially since it was part of a quest. Zuel began to calculate possibilities of why this may be the case coming to the conclusion that the Gem would be guarded by a single powerful enemy. Just as he realize that possibility he would see something shinning in the cave in a more open area from the rest of the cave. There sitting atop  a rock formation that almost looked man made was the gemstone that he was searching for. 

[Zuel 0]

Zuel would be hidden behind a rock wall that was right before the room where the gemstone was. It seemed like an obvious beginner trap to just run up and take the gemstone but it didn't seem like anything would happen if he just waiting around. There were still no enemies in sight and the room appeared to be empty beside the jewel. Zuel would draw his blade as he slowly entered the room and carefully approached the gemstone. although this was only the third quest he had done in the game it had a much different atmosphere than the last and a greater sense of danger making him much more weary of his surroundings. Finally Zuel would reach the gemstone as he inspected it a bit thinking of the possibilities of what would happen if he were to just take it at this moment. There was a very high probability that it would trigger a fight and that would be the climax of the quest. With no other options Zuel would pick up the gemstone adding it to his inventory. As soon as he picked up the gemstone as he predicted it was a trap. The room began to rumble as the ground beneath him would begin to move. Zuel quickly leaped backwards as he was now faced with a giant rock Golem that was labeled as Cave Guardian. This was the true test of the quest as Zuel readied his sword to combat the guardian. 

[Zuel 0]

The Golem towered over Zuel having his full attention on him because of taking the gemstone. There was no running from this thing, his only option was to take it down. Zuel would begin to run around the Cave Guardian to try to get it into a blind spot before trying to launch an attack on it. He had to keep in mind that because of the dark cave this is accuracy was reduce so this fight was going to be a bit harder than the previous ones. The Cave Guardian was covered in crystals leading Zuel to believe they may be his weak point, as the rest of him was nothing more than rock. After circling for a bit he was face with the back of the guardian and decided it was time to launch an attack at the crystal on his back. Zuel charged in taking the opportunity to drive his sword at full force into the guardians back crystal. As Zuel deduced the crystals on its body was it weak points and proved be an extremely effective attack as the guardian cried out as he landed his blow trying to retaliate by swinging 180 degrees to attack Zuel. With enough time to react Zuel managed to jump the guardians attack as he would push off him to re position himself further away from him so he could plan his next attack. 

Spoiler

Round 1

ID: 103840

BD: 10  (Critical +2)

MD: 1 (miss)

     Zuel: 100/100 l  9/10

 One Handed Straight Sword attack: (5 base) +2 = 7 (-1 EN)

     Cave Guardian: 13/20 (-7) 

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Zuel

[Zuel 0]

Not knowing if he was going to continue to out maneuver the guardian for the rest of the fight Zuel through it would be wise to use his Safeguard potion that he received from the quest before to protect himself and gain information on the guardian's attacks. He would quickly pull it out and drink the potion just as he did his character model would glow for a seconds applying the safeguard buff to him allowing him to protect himself on the next successful hit. The guardian now closing the gap forces Zuel to react quickly now running toward the guardian sliding underneath him as the giant golem would bring its rock fist at him barely missing him as it slams into the ground. The only spot Zuel could attack was the guardians underside which was nothing but rock. Taking the opportunity to test his theory he swung his sword as he slid passed and as expect his sword wouldn't cut through the rock and forced Zuel's sword to recoil forcing him back. It seemed the only way he was going to damage the guardian was to aim the at crystals on its body. He would re position himself behind the guardian and ready himself for another attack.

Spoiler

Round 2

ID: 103841

BD: 1  (Critical miss) (-2 EN)

MD: 1 (miss)

     Zuel: 100/100 I 7/10 EN (-2 EN)

     Cave Guardian: 13/20 

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Zuel

[Zuel 0]

Zuel now positioned behind the guardian went on the offensive once again charging straight at it as before. He drove his sword into the back crystal of the guardian doing critical damage to the golem as it cried out again and retaliating by swinging from above. Zuel with his sword still stuck in the crystal tried to quickly pull it out but it was to late as the guardians fist would come smashing down upon Zuel pinning him into the ground a huge dust would appear around the area covering him completely. As the smoke cleared Zuel would be standing there unharmed as the Safeguard potion had protecting him from any damage. He noticed that the boss had also lost a buff as well that increased his damage time 10 realizing without the safeguard potion that could of done massive damage to Zuel. A bit relieved that the boss wouldn't be hitting as hard and Zuel landing 2 very successful hit before he had taken a single point of damage that his strategy was working. Zuel could tell that the guardian had become a bit more sluggish, tipping Zuel that he had inflicted at least more than half the HP of the Cave guardian. A couple more hits and he will have the Golem down.

Spoiler

Round 3

ID: 103848

BD: 10  (Critical hit +2)

MD: 8 (hit)

     Zuel: 100/100 I 7/10 EN ( -0 HP)( - Potion of Safeguard)(+1 EN)

 One Handed Straight Sword attack: (5 base) +1 = 6 (-1 EN)

     Cave Guardian: 6/20 (-6) 

50 (on first successful hit only)/ 5(Does not gain bonus damage from crits)

Edited August 1, 2018 by Zuel

[Zuel 0]

Zuel continued with his strategy as he began to circle the guardian once again to get behind it. The guardian was very slow moving giving Zuel the advantage in this fight since with only a one handed sword equipped he was able to move quickly. After getting into position once again Zuel leaped into the air slashing downwards on the crystal instead of driving his sword through it so he wouldn't get stuck again. This proved to be a smart decision as the guardian reacted the same way as before after crying out he would try for a hay-maker on Zuel once again. Zuel now prepared for it quickly dodged backward, the attack missing him completely. His piercing glare would would continue to focus on the golem as it began to become enraged rapidly flailing its arms around which caused rocks to come out flying everywhere. Zuel would quickly dodge the rocks waiting for his next opportunity to strike but it was hard to approach it while it was flailing wildly like that. He had to come up with another plan if he wanted to finish it off. 

Spoiler

Round 4

ID: 103854

BD: 8 - 1 = 7 (hit)

MD: 1 (miss)

     Zuel: 100/100 I 8/10 EN

 One Handed Straight Sword attack: (5 base)

     Cave Guardian: 1/20 (-5) 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Zuel

[Zuel 0]

As the cave guardian continued to rapidly attack throwing rock after rock all around the Zuel would continue to dodge them before deciding he just needed to land a final hit on him and should go for it. He began charging forward slashing rock after rock to get to the golem leaping into the air once again to try to attack a gem on the guardian's body. Just as he was about to land the attack on the golem a flying rock would come from the side of Zuel hitting him on the side causing his attack to miss the gem and hit the rock part of the guardians body dealing no damage to it. Zuel is then send flying across the room barely managing to recover by landing on his feet. That was the first successful hit that the guardian had landed on him. "5 damage huh..." It was the hardest hit he had felt so far but it was going to take a lot more of those to take him out. If the initial hit of the guardian would of landed on him it would depleted half of Zuels health. It seemed that the quest were designed so that the potion would protect the user for this purposed exactly. He would smirk to himself before standing up again to try to come up with something else to finish the guardian off.

Spoiler

Round 5

ID: 103855

BD: 3 - 1 = 2 (miss) (-2 EN)

MD: 6 (hit)

     Zuel: 95/100 I 6/10 EN (-5 HP) (+1 EN) (-2 EN)

     Cave Guardian: 1/20 

50 (on first successful hit only)/ 5(Does not gain bonus damage from crits) (5)

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Zuel

[Zuel 0]

Not wavering in the slightest Zuel prepares to finish him off again. although the Cave guardian was still enraged it was only going to take one more hit to finish him off. Zuel noticing there was a gem atop the guardian's head that was not being targeted by the flying rocks Zuel made that his target. He would charging in one final time dodging and cutting through the incoming rocks. He would leap up once again using the rocks to leap from one to another before he was higher than the guardian going for one final attack on the guardian. The Golem would take action trying to knock Zuel away with an powerful uppercut. But Zuel wasn't deterred at all finishing his attack forcing his sword right through the gem on the guardians head as its attack would stop as it was right about to hit Zuel. The Cave guardian would let out a cry before shattering into light as it dissipated. Zuel that was holding onto the guardian where his sword was stabbed into began to fall from the height he was at falling landing on his feet as he put his sword away after defeating the powerful enemy. 

Spoiler

Round 5

ID: 103856

BD: 7 - 1 = 6 (hit)

MD: 6 (hit)

     Zuel: 95/100 I 6/10 EN (+1 EN)

One Handed Straight Sword attack: (5 base)(-1 EN)

     Cave Guardian: 0/20 (-5)

50 (on first successful hit only)/ 5(Does not gain bonus damage from crits) (5)

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Zuel

[Zuel 0]

Zuel would pull out the gemstone in his inventory only to have it turn into rubble after a second inspection. He would toss it to the side as left behind by the guardian was the real gemstone that was inside of its hard body. He would walk over as a confirmation window would appear before him to accept the loot. He would hit approve taking the gemstone into his inventory and a complete would appear on the quest, now all that was left was to hand the quest in to Hannah. Zuel would navigate through the cave reaching the outside. It was still dark outside it seemed that he had miss calculated a bit and finished the quest much sooner than he had anticipated. He had barely lost any health from his fight with the guardian so it was probably safe for him to travel at night but decided to spend the night outside the cave since there were no monster that spawned there anyway. He would lay back holding the gemstone above him as he looked at it and its quality. Now having the final material he can get his ring from Hannah he thought before falling asleep. 

[Zuel 0]

Only a few hours later Zuel would wake up and gather his things before heading over to the main road. It was the morning now so the sun was out making it a lot safer to travel through the area. He would reach the main road and began his course for the Town of Beginnings, noticing a lot of other players now out in the field grinding monsters for experience and loot. It seemed a lot of other players also got the hang of the game after some days had passed from the launch of the game. As Zuel traveled he began to recap about all the different things he had learned so far about sword art online and it was that knowledge that lead him to his outstanding victory over the Cave Guardian, but there was still much to learn. As he made it back to the Town of Beginnings he would walk through the trade district and saw other players crafting and working on their professions. Before now Zuel hadn't even given it a though but it might be a useful skill to have if he wished to continue into the later floors.That was a thought for later because now he needed to hand in the quest as he made his way to the tree opening where he had met Hannah the first time.

[Zuel 0]

Moving away some tree branches Zuel found himself once again in the tree opening. He sees Hannah still painting away as he approaches her from behind to see what she was painting. Once again it was another painting of the golden dragon she had saw before the game had launched to the players. "Still painting that dragon?" He asked to her from behind. Hannah would jump a bit as she would turn around quickly to see who it was. She sighed in relief as she saw it was Zuel as she gave him a smile. "You really like to sneak up on me huh?" Zuel would take out the gemstone and place it in front of Hannah. Like a little kid to sweets she jumped up and began to inspect the gemstone. Her eyes glistening  at the sight of it looking back over to him. "I can't believe you got it! And this quickly you were barely gone a day. You must be very capable!" He would shrug the compliment off folding his arms as he looked at her. She would look down putting the gold band next to it. "I am sure you want me to reward you right away. I can craft a couple of rings please choose the one you wish for me to make for you."

[Zuel 0]

Just as she finished her sentence an quest completion screen would appear before Zuel. Giving him the option to choose between two different equipment a ring that enhanced his accuracy by 1 and an amulet that increased his evasion by 1. It seemed that there we set up as one for offense and one for defense. Seeing as how the last quest had reduced his accuracy there was no telling what other quest or areas may have the same effects. Also being to land more hits in the early stages may prove to be more useful than dodging. It was a bit aggressive but his choice was clear. Zuel would select the ring and hit approve. Right as he did Hannah would get to work fiddling with the materials and melding them together to create the ring. The process didn't take more than a couple seconds and the ring was complete. "Its done!" Hannah would inspect her work before blushing a bit and putting her hand out to hand it to him. "Here you deserve this." Zuel would take it from her with a light smile as he equipped it immediately. "I am sure you have other things to do today. I have another request if you wish to take it. I will be waiting here when you are ready to hear me out." It seemed the quest chain was not yet complete but she was right Zuel did intend to do something else before accepting a new quest right away. He headed back to the Town of Beginnings trade area.

[Zuel 0]

After reaching the market he would see many different shops and districts where people could learn professions. After he finished these chain quest he was going to learn a profession so he wanted to learn a bit more about them so he wanted to visit each other the districts of the ones he was interested in learning. The first district he planned on visiting was the Blacksmith's district the profession he was the most interested in learning about. He would read in the manual about blacksmiths and the description read. "Blacksmiths can create a wide variety of weapons, armor, and shields. Their crafts and the stats they provide are essential for taking on strong enemies. The tier level, types of items, and number of daily crafts they can make vary depending on their rank." Zuel found this to be the most suited for him and entered the district looking around at all the different players crafting away creating high quality weapons and armor that would be very useful. After looking around for a bit he decided to head to the next district. 

[Zuel 0]

Zuel would look at his map and find the location of the Alchemist district as his second choice would of been to become an alchemist. Opening his manual again to reach about what it had to say about Alchemist. It read "Alchemists create enhanced potions and crystals to allow players to heal and buff their status both in and out of battle. Some of these items take a turn in battle to use, so plan your usage wisely. The tier level, types of items, and number of daily crafts they can make vary depending on their rank." As besides creating gear that could be use to increase his combat stats he could also create a variety of potions that would also give him and his allies some buffs as well. The potential for the different kind of potions you can usually make in mmorpgs all have their uses and would also be a great choice for him when it came to a profession. But Zuel didn't want to make a hasty decisions there were still other professions that looked interesting to him and wanted to make sure that he had seen all his options before making a decision.

[Zuel 0]

After looking at his map Zuel made his way to the Merchant district where he saw many npc's and players trying to sell a lot of basic useful items that would come in handy. Col was the currency in Sword Art Online and if you want to get stronger and purchase useful things than becoming a merchant would be a great way to get useful items as well as make a decent amount of money. Although Zuel wasn't sure how big of an impact Col played just yet in most mmorpgs if you had a lot then you could use it for mainly anything you wanted so a merchant was a viable option as well. In the Beginners guide it read. "Merchants offer a stock of basic items, have the ability to identify equipment, and can "junk sell" unwanted items. The items they can sell from their general stock and the tiers of items they can identify vary depending on their rank." The thing that interested him the most was the "Identifying equipment" part of the description. He wasn't quite sure what that meant yet but I am sure it was a way to inspect the stats of certain equipment that aren't noticed by anyone without the skill.

[Zuel 0]

The final profession Zuel was interested in becoming was an Artisan. The profession description in the beginner's guide was "Artisans create charms, gems, trinkets, and other intricate works of art. Their accessories provide a wide variety of buffs from utility, to combat, to crafting. The tier level, types of items, and number of daily crafts they can make vary depending on their rank." This was another profession that could enhance his combat capabilities by the form of items and equipment but didn't seem quite as appealing as being a blacksmith. After thinking about all the options Zuel decided that being a blacksmith would probably benefit him the best. Being able to continuously craft gear that would be useful to him as he leveled would keep him from hitting points where it would be hard for him to continue without better equipment. But before he could do that he had to finish these chains of quest. With completing his analysis on all the profession and deciding on one he felt it was time to continue on the next quest as he headed back to Hannah. 

[Zuel 0]

After traversing the town for a bit Zuel finally found himself back to the open tree area in the Town of Beginnings where Hannah was painting once again. He approached her making himself known without sneaking up behind her like he had done the last two times they met. She look to him greeting him with a smile. "I am guessing you are ready to hear out my request then?" Zuel would nod as he would walk up to her. "Excellent I am sure it will be useful to you as well!" Hannah would rifle through her things before pulling out an parcel showing it to Zuel. "I need this delivered to the fisherman Pete down by the giants lake nearby. It is a bit to heavy for me to carry all the way down there myself. I am sure he will reward you if you do so what do you say?" She would smile at Zuel before he would take the parcel. He just needed to deliver this to the fisherman Pete and he will have completed the third quest. With the Parcel on his back he made his way on the map where the fisherman will be. 

[Zuel 0]

Zuel would continue to follow the map until he could see a giant lake in the distance. The sun would reflect off of it as the water would glisten and sparkly lightly from it. It was another example of just how well made this world was and how beautiful it was as well. But Zuel didn't have time to focus on the graphic designed he still had a quest to complete. He would make his way down to the giant lake where he saw a dock. There was an older man fishing there who had to be pete since there was no one else around. He would approach the man as he looked over to Zuel. "Yeah? What do you want?" He would look to Zuel as he pulled the parcel out and reviled the fishing pole underneath. "Ah! I have been waiting for this! Thank you for delivering it to me." His tone would change completely once seeing the rod. He would take it from Zuel and inspect it a bit. "This is just what I needed to catch this damn fish! But it still might not be enough." He would look to Zuel with a grin. "You look like a strong guy! How about you help me out? Don't worry I got something in it for you too. So what do you say?" Just as he finish a new quest box would pop up in front of Zuel to accept a new quest. Zuel would read over the quest details before hitting Approve.