[F1-SP] The Third Lesson is Also Free...

[Frank 0]

After having delivered the package from the NPC blacksmith giver, the artisan girl named Hannah had asked Frank to return in the morning, needing help with a series of tasks. Frank, returned the next day, exactly as he had said he would. So far, these simple beginner quests had taught him quite a lot about the game mechanics, and he was sure he would continue to learn if he followed suit. He walked briskly through the Town of Beginnings until he came to a plaza, passing through this plaza and down an alley-way, it suddenly opened up into a grove of green, seemingly hidden inside the city. The girl sat high above in the trees where, nestled on a branch, she furiously drew a picture into a sketch-book. "Oh, hohohoho", she sang out. "I am so glad you have come Frank. What I need done, is certainly no easy task."

[Frank 0]

Folding her sketch-book closed she drew her knees up, turned to sit on the branch, and then with a slight push, hopped down from the tree branch and delicately landed in front of Frank. It was then, seeing her land, when Frank realized that she actually was wearing no shoes on her very delicate feet. Moving out across the stone of the walk-way, she led Frank to a bench in the shade. Taking a seat, she motioned Frank to sit with her.

Sitting in silence for a few moments, Frank suddenly felt very calm. In fact, he didn't think he had felt this calm since starting this game. It was just something about this area, the greenness contrasted with the stone architecture, the cool feeling in the air, it all was very serene.

"What I need from you Frank, is going to be very dangerous. It will involve risking your own life. Let me explain..."

[Frank 0]

Pulling out the bag Frank had delivered yesterday, she carefully unwrapped the item held within. It was a shiny, gold ring. "You see, this ring is beautiful.", she said with wonder. "However, it is incomplete. It lacks a gemstone. That is what I require you to retrieve, a gemstone of equal beauty, so that I may craft it, place it, and finish this most wonderful ring. The type of gemstone I require is held in a cave, far to the east. Deep inside this cave are any manner of creatures, and no doubt it will be dangerous there. If you can retrieve this gemstone for me however, I will provide you with one of the pieces from my private collection. Will you do this for me?"

Frank listened to the entirety of her request before standing quietly. Dropping his hand to the hilt of his one-handed battle axe 'Bleeder', he quietly answered her, "I'll be back by sunset."

[Frank 0]

Making his way across the stone court-yard, he found himself on the major street of the Town of Beginnings. This particular street was crowded with many vendors, all of whom wanted to hawk and sell their many wares to players and other NPC's alike. However, Frank had no time for them today. Walking bristly past them and through the crowd he arrived at the main gate for leaving through the eastern half of the city. Here, the activity was different then before. The air here was filled with tension. Nearest the gate were wooden wagons where raid groups were making their final checks and preparing to head out into the wilds. Some of these parties held very heavily-armed individuals who were no doubt going on some dungeon raid, while others were clearly more social in nature no doubt just doing a bit of material gathering in the nearby plains. Frank was alone however. He had always been alone leaving the Town of Beginnings and he was going to continue to be alone on this next mission. Stepping forward, he walked through the large wooden gates and left the city...alone.

[Frank 0]

Stepping into the Cave it was as if the day had gone from day to night. It would be hard to hit anything here, if he was attacked, and that thought was a disconcerting to Frank. Who knew what other treachery he may face here? A bad fall, or getting lost deep in this cave? The Monument of Life showed the players that their were many ways to die within Aincrad, not all required a monster to slay you. The problem was they only found out about some of these ways by others players names appearing on that monument, meaning that they had died themselves. It was horribly twisted. Putting his hand on the wall, Frank began navigating forward, very carefully. Stalagmites and Stalactites hung from the ceiling and floor, looking at them Frank could never remember which was which as he had always preferred to keep his exploring above-ground.

[Frank 0]

Navigating through the darkness was a slow, and deliberate process. He could feel the ground sloping downwards and he traveled what felt like miles as he went deeper underground. Finally, after much travelling, the cave opened up into a large room filled with large rock deposits, a flowing stream which ran east to west through the cave, and spooky, haunting, glowing moss hung from the ceiling. It was still dark, but now Frank felt he could see his hand in front of his face, just not much beyond that. The walls had a strange star-filled look to them and as Frank neared, he could see that it was actually gem-stones poking through from the rock, reflecting their own individual array of colors; red, blue, violet, emerald green, it was all quite beautiful. However, Frank had come for a purpose, a specific jewel in particular and these were all tiny gemstones, much too small for crafting.

[Frank 0]

Pushing through the cave, Frank crossed the quickly-flowing stream and pushed on-ward. As the walls and the ceiling began curving downward, Frank could tell he was nearing the back of the cave. As no other doorway had made itself apparent, Frank could only assume this was the end of the line. As he rounded the next rock precipice jutting up from the earth, finally his task came into view. Ahead of him, on a rock pedestal, rested a magnificent jewel of exquisite beauty. Stepping forward, Frank pulled the jewel from its base. The cave, the very earth, then reacted to his task with violent disapproval. The ground below his feet began to tremor, while the ceiling above began to shake so roughly that the loose rocks from above came crashing down.

In front of him, one of the largest rock piles in this area, suddenly rose, lifting itself into a massive monster of rock, with giant, green emeralds where its eyes should have been. Opening a giant maw of its mouth while rocks spilled forth as if they were spittle's of saliva, the creature then bellowed, "PUT IT BAAAACK!!!!".

Frank had no time for fear, he knew what was coming next. Reaching down he reacted quickly, drinking a Safeguard Potion which was given to him after completing the previous lesson quest. Readying his battle-axe Bleeder, Frank leaped forward through the gap between them to engage in combat with his behemoth of a foe.

[Frank 0]

Frank powered up his new sword skill, feeling the energy flow through his arm and seeing his blade light up a cool blue in the darkness of the cave. His arm now trembling from the energy, he swung his blade, it leaving an arc of light through the air as he did so, but unfortunately his axe head was unable to find an impact. The creature roared and smashed it's giant stone fits into the earth as a response. "PUT IT BACK!", it continued to wail. Reaching up at one of the giant support beams for the Cave, the creature pulled and heaved with all its might toppling the structure and sending the massive stones down on-top of Frank. Luckily the Safeguard potion he drank had provided a glowing shield which protected him from the damage. If it hadn't been for that, he would have surely been gravely injured. Readying his blade, he prepared for the next round of combat.

ID 111023 BD 3 -1 LowLight = MISS! MB 8 - 2 = 6 HIT! Safeguard Mitigated! CD 7 Recovery +1

Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 6/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 20 / 20 | 50 DMG First Strike / 5 DMG No Critical Strike Damage

Edited January 1, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Frank lunged forward again, this time raising his shield in his left arm and his axe in his left, as the creature attacked him he yet again built up the energy for his sword skill Hack. Once he had a steady humming he knew he was ready, moving from rock to rock, Frank ducked under the first fist thrown by the large, rampaging creature. With a loud, SLAM, it forcefully hit the side of the cave wall. Frank, after ducking this blow, moved in with his axe and swung at the creature, unfortunately his was ill-prepared for the second fist which caught him on his blind-side. Crushing him, he was sent flying and landed nearly fifteen feet from where he just was. This low-light fight was going to be tough, Franks eyes were already beginning to strain from trying to peer through the darkness. Frank lifted his shield in the dark and prepared for the creature to attack again.

 

ID 111024 BD 2 -1 LowLight = 1 MISS! MB 9 HIT! Critical! CD 4

Frank - LV 4 74/80 HP | 5/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 20 / 20 | 50 DMG First Strike / 5 DMG No Critical Strike Damage

Edited January 1, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Feeling the healing warmth of his shield eminate down his arm, Frank felt the regenerative properties of his Regen enhancement going to work and bumping his hit points up several points until his bar showed green, perfectly healthy, once again. Once again he was thankful for having spent the money on a shield with healing properties, though even he had to admit it hadn't been the first choice when he was considering his options, but sometimes a whim pays off, and this shield, Silver Lining, had paid off more then he could count. Not only was it healing his health points but it provided a nice tick to his energy which would help him continue to attack the creature with sword arts. Unfortunately, he missed his next attack, but also, so did the creature. Swirling around in the darkness, Frank could see the rock beast moving around, but he couldn't see it clearly. It would come in and out of his view, and he would have to focus to see its shape.

ID 111026 BD 1 MISS! MB 6 - 2 EVA = MISS!  CD 11 Recovery!

Regen (1/2)
Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 4/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 20 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 1, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Tightening his grip around his blade, Frank yet again began activating his Sword Art skill. While charging it, he moved around the Cave, moving from cover to cover. He knew the rock creature was on the far end of the cave and he needed to move into striking range if he was going to be effective. As the massive monster neared, Frank ducked and rolled from a giant hand slapping the ground where had just been. Not hesitating, Frank jumped atop the arm and ran up it, towards the shoulders of the beast. As he neared the top his sword skill was ready; the game manual had said it was all about timing so Frank concentrated on getting his timing right this time. When he felt it was the right moment he lashed out, striking his foe across the chest as he fell. His weapon Bleeder, ripped chunks out of the boulder creature, wounding it seriously. Unfortunately the landing was harder then Frank thought it would be, and the wind was knocked out of him we he hit with a thud. The rock beast in a frenzy had picked up a large boulder with its left hand smashed it down on Frank, dealing even further damage. Still, Frank smiled a bloody smile, he knew he had gotten the best of that exchange.

"Come on, you want some more.", he smirked.

ID 111030  BD 9 CRITICAL! (3 + 1) x2 Hack = 8! MB 10 CRITICAL!  CD 12 Recovery! No Bleeding Damage, Bloodless Creature!

Frank - LV 4 73/80 HP | 3/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 12 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 2, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Frank sprung to his feet and charged his energy into his axe yet again, he was beginning to like the feeling it provided. Swinging forward, his arc of light broke the darkness but the he wasn't able to make contact with the Guardian. As it retreated, it took a parrying swipe at Frank which his shield Silver Lining was easily able to deflect. The silver sheen on the shield increased as it provided the healing benefits of Regen yet again. Stepping back, Frank retreated into the darkness while his shield was held up and at the ready. He had no rush to finish this battle, thanks to his life restorative properties of his shield, time was now his advantage. Patience, Frank had always exercised great patience when he was at war, and this was just another war to Frank. This rock guardian was just another enemy trying to keep him from his family.

 

ID 111031  BD 5 MISS! MB 7 - 2 EVA = 5 MISS!

Regen (1/2) +10HP
Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 2/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 12 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 2, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Frank continued his backwards retreat into the darkness... as he did so the Rock Guardian would lash out at Frank by hurling stones through the darkness, though the creature must be as blind as Frank was as none of the stones even came close to hitting. It was entirely possible now that Frank thought about it, that the creature couldn't see well. Many cave-dwelling creatures actually had resoundingly poor eyesight, this may just be another example of a creature which had been in the dark for far too long. Frank even began to wonder if the creature had been here with the jewel all along, or did it move into this cave for solitude. Perhaps the creature and jewel were both older then the mountain itself, he would never know the answers to these questions however, as he was left with no choice but kill this beast. He once again attacked with his sword skill Hack and did great damage to the beast, but this would be the last time he used his ability until he had time to re-charge his energy.

 

ID 111032  BD 7 - 1 LowLight = 6 HIT! (3 * 2 Hack = 6) MB 2 MISS!

Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 1/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 6 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 2, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Neither Frank nor the creature seemed willing to engage now, instead both crept back into the cover-providing darkness, back into places from which they could try and attack the other from. The creature was ferocious, but he was feeling his wounds too certainly; Frank knew it was only a matter of time. A war of attrition, that's what they had called some of his military operations in the real world too. You would hit the enemy, take out their supplies, fall back into the jungle or desert or whatever climates hiding positions, and then when the enemy attempted to re-supply you would hit that too. Stealing the enemy's food and ammo, you would use those very weapons against them, as nothing would demoralize a force faster than knowing the enemy is eating while you were literally starving. Frank knew all about patience, and he would continue to exercise his renowned patience even now.

 

ID 111033  BD 6 - 1 LowLight = 5 MISS! MB 4 MISS!

Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 1/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 6 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 2, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Frank reached out with his left arm and placed his hands on the cool stone wall of the cave. It was moist from the splashes of the water from the quickly-moving stream. The scent of the wetness, the moss which was growing on the stones, the cool earth, was an invigorating feel to Frank. He loved that feeling of being close to the Earth, close to something so natural. Something else not entirely natural was quickly leering down at Frank, bright emerald green eyes peered at him through the darkness, staring intently at the side-pouch Frank had placed the jewel in. As the creature neared, Frank swung out with his axe, but was unable to do more then bounce off the rocky creature. A poor impact, frustrating, Frank thought to himself. The creature then swung out with it's massive fists, but Frank was able to outmaneuver it and used  movement between several rock piles as cover.

 

 

ID 111047  BD 3 MISS! MB 2 MISS!

Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 1/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 6 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 3, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Darting between the rock piles, Frank rolled faced a rather large gap from one pile to another, with only a seconds thought, he knew he had no choice. Turning and breaking free just as the rock pile he had been hiding behind violently exploded into a thousand tiny rocky fragments, Frank sprinted towards the next set of cover. Three seconds away, Two seconds away, too far away, he mentally thought to himself. As the creature's giant stone fists looked to slam Frank into the ground, Frank did the only thing he could think of, he hit the dirt and rolled as acrobatically as he could. Narrowly, the attack against him just missed and Frank reached the set of rocks safely. Even though he couldn't even think about attacking right now, Frank could feel his shield enhancement kick in, and slowly restore a tiny fraction of his lost energy. Looking at the amount of energy he now had, Frank smiled. 

ID 111048  BD 1 MISS! MB 6 - 2 EVA - 4 MISS! CD 10 Recovery!

Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 2/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 6 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 3, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Frank sunk his blade into the creature, finally finishing it. Exhausted, he was. Tough battle, it was. Still, he was glad it was over. The rock guardian had been one of his more harrowing fights, he hadn't ever been so forced to turn, move, roll, dodge, and maneuver in such a tight and hazardous space before. The cave walls only made this place feel that more claustrophobic. It seemed that every time he had found cover, the rock creature didn't just find him, but obliterated the cover he was hiding behind, rendering it completely useless. In fact, looking around, Frank wondered how much longer the fight could have gone on and still gone his way; the creature had destroyed most of the useful cover, and in an open field, that behemoth of a monster would have had the advantage no doubt. He had expected danger, but this was jarring even for him. A creature which physically tried to smash and to crush you, to break your bones, it wasn't just death, it would have been a violent death. Frank was finished though, the creature defeated. Rising from his crouching position, he shook the feeling and decided to carry on.

 

ID 111049  BD 7 - 1 = 6 HIT! (3 * 2 Hack) = 6 MB 9 DEAD! CD 7 Recovery!

Frank - LV 4 80/80 HP | 2/8 EN | 3 DMG | 2 BLD | 2 EVA | 2 RGN | 1 RCV
Cave Guardian 0 / 20 | 5 DMG

Edited January 4, 2019 by Frank

[Frank 0]

Looking around, Frank took it all in; the cave clearing was cool thanks to the flowing stream, and it was actually quite peaceful now that it was quiet. Looking down, Frank pulled out the bag he had placed the jewel in and silently pondered why the creature had worked so hard to win it back. It was certainly beautiful but the creature hadn't just been mindless, it had been filled with rage that Frank possessed it. And down here, in the depths of this cage, it was almost like a trap had been set. Frank wondered how many other players had come down here to retrieve something so simple, and yet had been unable to defeat that Guardian. Were they really dead both in the game and in the real world?

Standing up, Frank made his way over to the entrance from hence he had came. The opening however, was now blocked by rubble from the fight. Frank was now faced with having no way out.

[Frank 0]

The large stones were immovable, they wouldn't budge even slightly when Frank tried to move them. He didn't possess a pick-axe so cracking them was never going to be an option, he silently considered to himself. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds coming from the quickly-moving stream. It bubbled and the moving water rushed through the cave; that meant two things, first that it was going somewhere, probably deeper underground from what Frank could tell, and second, that it came from somewhere. Looking at the size of the opening, their would be room for Frank to move up the passage while keeping his head above water. It wouldn't be easy fighting the flow, but he didn't have a choice; this was his way out. Jumping into the stream, Frank felt soaked immediately, and cold, but he slowly made his way up the cave, swimming here and there and making sure he was comfortable with his pockets of air before moving forward to find the next one. He never pushed himself too far at one time, as a military-trained diver he knew that was how one would get into trouble. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Frank ducked into the water, pushed through the final bit of rock, and lifted his head where it rose, and continue to rose until it finally broke the surface of the water outside of the cavernous walls. He had made it outside! Swimming to the nearest shore, Frank crawled up it and pulled out his map, even more luck, he wasn't far from the Town of Beginnings. Setting off, he made his way.

[Frank 0]

"Oh, hohohohohoho", the young woman laughed and laughed after having asked Frank recant the tail of his cavern exploration. "And I bet you came out, just like a fish." She had said when he told her of his emergency swim up the river-stream and emergence into the lake. The pair were standing now, back in the courtyard with the beautiful greenery, it still a stark contrast to the stone architecture of the Town of Beginnings. "Still, you did well Frank; to pass the trial and retrieve this item. Please, allow me to show you the work of an artisan".

Taking the jewel the young woman crafted it into a finely piece of jewelry, however, this item was not meant for Frank, and she instead pulled out both an amulet and a ring and told Frank that he may choose one. Frank carefully examined the properties of both items, picking the ring for its accuracy enchantment, Frank was satisfied with his reward.

 

Quest Complete
Rewards
3 Skill Points (1 Base + 2 Quest)
400 Col (One Completed Page)
1 T1 Ring with +1 Accuracy

Edited January 4, 2019 by Frank