[SP | F1] Weeding the Garden <<Secret Medicine Of The Forest>>

[Katoka 0]

Taking her final steps over the threshold of Horunka Katoka was met with the familiar pop-up message of entering a safe zone, letting out a sign of relief she began to take in her surroundings. While she was over leveled for the area, the blonde still got the chills when outside of the safe zones by herself. The town she was in was fairly small, much smaller in comparison to the Town of Beginnings, and from what she heard of Tolbana it was smaller than that as well.

From the information she had gathered at the guild hall she would need to find the only two story house in this area to find the NPC to start the quest. Judging by the way the houses were laid out, it would most likely be in the center of town, also it wasn't hard to miss the only tall house in the area. The samurai placed her left hand on the hilt of her katana and followed the cobblestone street deeper into the settlement.

Spoiler

Name: Katoka
Level: 17
HP: 340/340
EN: 34/34

Stats:
Damage: 8
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 2
LD:1
BLD:12
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Mumyou Sandanzuki (T1/Perfect/Katana) | BLD 1, DMG 2
Armor: Shinsengumi Yukata (T1/Perfect/Light Armor) | REC 2, EVA 1
Misc: Rabbit's Foot (T1/Perfect/Trinket) | ACC 2, LD 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 4]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions*3
Sand Armor Potion - +27 MIT (no stacking)*1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Basic Training: +1 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Katoka 0]

It didn't take long for Katoka to arrive at the two story house, it was a small village after all. She knocked on the door lightly and then opened it, peaking her head in. It was your fairly typical fantasy house with a bit more high end items here and there. "Hello?" she called out as she entered fully, "Anyone home? I came because I heard someone was in need of assistance." she closed the door behind her and stood in the entry way as she heard footsteps from a nearby staircase.

A striking woman in her mid to late 30's appeared, she was gorgeous but it was clear she had not slept well recently. "Ah yes, please miss. I am in desperate need of help." she said when she saw the small samurai. "My daughter is sick and is in need of medicine from a monster in the nearby woods. Please, help us." A prompt opened in front of Katsumi to accept the <<Secret Medicine Of The Forest>> quest, to which she accepted. The woman let out a sigh of relief and thanked her profusely, she told her of the location and of the creatures she would need to hunt. Plant monsters that were very dangerous. Katoka wasn't worried though, with her high level these creatures would be no issue.

[Katoka 0]

After saying her goodbyes, Katoka left the small town and ventured out into the woods. She checked her map of the area to make sure she was headed in the correct direction and double checked her gear; once she was satisfied she continued on the trail leading into the woods. While she walked the dirt path the little blonde's mind began to wonder, thinking of the road shed been on so far and how far she had climbed in level.

She felt like a different person, like the scared little anxious girl that she used to be was completely gone. Now when she was with Ruler she felt more confident, when she was with Hisa she felt a burning desire to compete, and with Vie she had felt the need to protect and watch over her, not that she needed it of course. Katoka giggled to herself at the thought of her friends scolding her for being to too overprotective of them and let her mind wander a bit further.

Edited September 3, 2020 by Katoka

[Katoka 0]

Arriving at the edge of a clearing Katoka surveyed the area, there were plenty of trees that circled the clearing making it easy to distinguish the spawning area of the creatures. Thankfully there were large rocks and fallen logs here or there that would provide necessary cover in case she needed to find a place to hide. After she felt she had taken the time to take in the area she stepped out of the trees and into the grassy area.

This seemed to cause a reaction in the system because in the distance two fairly large plant monsters to spawn, they were taller than the blonde, but then again most players were too, and they had large gaping mouths that flapped open and closed exposing their sharp teeth. Their vine arms wiggled and waved as they crawled around on their legs that grew from the stalks supporting them. The sight of them made Katoka cringe, "Disgusting." she muttered under her breath as she placed a hand on her sword hilt.

[Katoka 0]

Taking a deep breath the samurai drew her sword and assumed her fighting stance, she was still a ways away from the creatures aggro range but she wanted to have some time to collect herself and get into the right mindset. After clearing her mind she dashed forward and began to charge up her sword skill Tsumuji Guruma in order to aoe hit the two bulbous plants at once. Despite her training she was still a novice at using these skills and wished she had more luck in getting hits.

Sliding to a stop in between the two mobs she released her queued up skill and lashed out at the over grown weeds letting out a "Seyaaaaahhhh!" the monsters barely had the time to turn towards her before they were both cut deep and long by her blade. When they both shattered on the first hit Katoka was surprised at first. Normally it took her a few tried before she could really hit her opponents. She felt she would have done better in terms of her technique but overall she was pleased. But with that she knew that the boss was next, and it had a lot more health than the two small fries she just dispatched.

Spoiler

Nepent 1: 7/7 | 3 DMG | MIT 0 << HIT
Nepent 2: 7/7 | 3 DMG | MIT 0 << HIT

Katoka | HP:340/340 | EN:29/34 | DMG:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:2 | LD:1 | BLD:12 | REC:2

Edited September 3, 2020 by Katoka

[Katoka 0]

Resuming her previous stance the blonde watched at a new Nepent spawned, this one however had a large red flower atop it's head. She took a deep breath again and exhaled, she still felt calm and collected. Katoka was still far enough from the boss that it hadn't noticed her yet, this gave her time to watch it's movements for anything that was different from the previous two. Nothing seemed out of place aside from it's flower, this set her at ease. With that she assumed a different stance and queued up a different skill before rushing in to meet her next foe.

The Nepent Variant quickly took notice of her and when she released her skill it managed to dodge wit ha speed she hadn't accounted for. Taken off guard the girl barely managed to dodge the plants tendril arms when it swung at her. "Damn!" she cursed as she tucked into a roll and jumped back up to her feet, sliding to a stop just out of reach. "Don't lose your nerve now Katsumi!" she chided herself.

Spoiler

Nepent Variant 1: 15/15 | DMG 10 | MIT 5 << MISS

Nepent Variant 1: 15/15 | DMG 10 | MIT 5 >> MISS

Katoka | HP:340/340 | EN:28/34 | DMG:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:2 | LD:1 | BLD:12 | REC:2

Edited September 3, 2020 by Katoka

[Katoka 0]

Katoka kept out of the reach of the creature's vine arms that were whipping around wildly, she shook her head and began to look at her surroundings. They had shifted positions near a large boulder, one that she could use to her advantage. A wolfish grin spread across her lips and the samurai darted to her left and up the side of the large stone, all the while charging her sword skill. Once she reached the apex of her climb she kicked off the surface and let the system guide her blade towards it's target.

There was a satisfying combo of up and down cuts followed by a final thrust, causing the mob's hp bar to drop extremely fast. The monsters exploded into polygons around her and Katoka returned her katana to it's home before doing a small victory dance. Remembering that she had to search for a particular item after killing the boss she began to look frantically for the dropped loot. Thankfully she managed to find the item and added it to her inventory, "That was almost too easy. Then again, the recommended level for this quest was only ten." she said aloud to herself as she made her way back to the town.

Spoiler

Nepent Variant 1: 15/15 | DMG 10 | MIT 5 << HIT

LD 11 + 1 = 12 Success
<<Nepent's Ovule>> Acquired 

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by Katoka

[Katoka 0]

Returning back to Horunka took less time than it had to get to the spawn location, thankfully when she had arrived back at the large house the woman she had run into previously wasn't hard to find. Katoka pulled the quest item from her inventory and offered it to the woman, she took it graciously. "Oh thank you so much!" she sobbed, "This is exactly what my child needs." she cried more and the samurai wanted to comfort her, but didn't wan't to set off the harassment code of the system.

A pop up window opened in front of her and declared the quest completed, with a sigh of relief she accepted the rewards and exited the house. "Now, there has to be some sort of food place around here right?" she said placing her hands on her hips, "Surely they don't expect me to travel all the way back to the Town of Beginnings for some grub."

[Katoka 0]

It took a bit of searching but there was a place selling food after all. It took a bit of wandering but Katoka had managed to find a house that had a sort of stall built on the outside that a few people were eating at. She sat down and was handed a menu by a gentleman that was cooking already. It didn't take her long to find what she wanted, "I'll take the pork belly ramen sir." she said handing it back to him, her grunted in response. The man was bald, not balding but a clean shaven head, and in his mid thirties probably. He seemed like someone that was rough on the exterior, but actually very caring. She could tell by the soft look in his eyes that her was a good man.

There were two other individuals eating, a pot bellied man and a younger woman close to her own age wearing a headband around her head. The man was focused on his steak and the woman simply sipping her tea and reading a book. The samurai didn't take much notice past that as she watched the cook prepare her meal, "It still amazes me the detail in their actions. I swear sometimes I can't tell that these people aren't real." she thought to herself.

[Katoka 0]

The steaming bowl of ramen in front of Katoka was making her mouth water. Taking the chopsticks next to her and separating them she thanked the cook and began to eat. The blonde let out a sound that would have gotten her arrested, the satisfaction she received from just one bite was like nothing she had experienced so far in Aincrad. After finishing hwat she had in her mouth she blushed and looked around her, the other man seemed unfazed, however the woman was glancing at her slightly but quickly went back to her meal. "Odd, she doesn't have a player cursor above her head." she thought to herself.

Katoka finished her meal but kept an eye on the woman for a bit, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to jump out at her. Just as she finished and paid the cook she saw the women get up to leave. She walked around the side of the building out of sight or no more than a few seconds, as Katoka peeked to see where she was headed she say that she was gone. "How... Strange?" she said out loud, "I'm sure it's nothing though."

[Katoka 0]

After the the odd NPC Katoka decided to take a walk around town for a bit to clear her head. "I've come a long way." she thought. "The last quest I did solo was... First lessons?" she giggled a bit remembering how she had fallen asleep multiple times while searching for those stupid plants. Thankfully there weren't any PKers around that low, otherwise things would have went much more different.

Now she had a guild full of amazing people, gear much higher in stats than she could ever afford on her own, and friends that she knew she could call on in a moments notice. She was beginning to feel confidence, something that her anxiety had kept from her for a long time. She might even get to participate on the frontlines before too long, "Definitely not in time for the floor 25 boss fight though. That's way too soon." she said aloud while petting a cat that had shown interest in her nearby.

[Katoka 0]

After taking time to give plenty attention to her new cat friend, Katoka continued her walk around the town again. For how small it was she was surprised by how much was actually in the area. She imagined that many of the players that ventured here didn't take the time to explore the area much when they were done with their quest and to be honest, she wasn't much different. It just felt right at the moment to walk around and really appreciate the time that went into the building and the villagers that lived here.

As she approached the edge of town she noticed two buildings that had a narrow gap between them just wide enough for a person to walk through, poking it's head out of the alleyway was what looked like the cat from earlier. It looked at her and tilted it's head slightly, letting out meow before retreating into the narrow walkway. The blonde narrowed her eyes and followed, peaking around the corner to see the cat sitting halfway down the passage.

"You trying to show me something?" she asked the cat. It meowed again and started walking deeper into the alley.

[Katoka 0]

After a few minutes of crawling through tight spaces and weaving in and out of other buildings Katoka was beginning to wonder if this cat was just on a stroll to wherever it pleased. It did keep looking back and waiting for her when it got too far ahead so she still felt a need to follow. Finally she managed to crawl under some crates that were stacked oddly and found herself in front of a bathhouse. The blonde saw the orange tabby sitting in front before it climbed up the side of the building and into an open window, this is where she noticed the sign for the business.

"The Orange Tabby Bathhouse? A bit on the nose there huh?" she said aloud before she entered. The outside was the same as all the other architecture for the town but the inside was slightly Japanese. This made her feel more at home as she talked to the woman at the front desk and payed to use the bath. The excitedly payed and took the towel and other items the receptionist gave her and hurried to the women's side of the bath. It had been a while since she enjoyed a good soak in bathhouse, her tub back at home just wasn't the same.

[Katoka 0]

The women's side of the bath had cubbies with baskets for you to place your clothing and other personal effects in before you went in. Katoka instead just unequipped her items and placed them in her inventory where they would be safe. After stripping down completely she wrapped a towel around herself and entered the bathing area. It wasn't large, there were only three bathing areas and the large bath of hot water. Thankfully there wasn't anyone else around so the samurai began to wash herself before entering the water to soak.

She started with her hair and moved on to the rest of her body, making sure to scrub well enough and get all the grim off. Of course there wasn't really much considering she was still in a game, but it felt like she had a days worth of dirt and monster slim on her. After a quick rinse to get the soap off Katoka hurried over and began to lower herself into the water, she let out a loud and content sigh when she fully entered the hot bath up to her neck.

"This is the perfect way to end the day." she said aloud.

[Katoka 0]

Warmth spread through Katoka's body as she marinated in the bath water, she felt her aches and pains melt away and it was like heaven. After a few minutes of brain melting relaxation, the blonde's mind began to wander. She thought about soon inviting some people over to her house so have a nice day off, maybe they could play around or just gossip a bit. This idea pleased her immensely, it was great having an actual home to go back to at the end of the day rather than trying to find space at an inn.

Maybe she could have someone over, just the two of them, and they could enjoy a nice dinner alone? Her face, already flush from the heat, turned even more red. "Would she even want to come over? After all, it would practically be a d-d-da-" she couldn't get the word out. So instead she lowered herself into the water more until her mouth was submerged briefly. Popping back up a moment later Katoka shook her head to clear her mind. "We'll come to that bridge later, friend party first. D-d-date later..."

[Katoka 0]

After a few more minutes of back and forth with herself, Katoka finally emerged from the bath and began to dry off while returning to the changing room. She opened her game UI and re-equipped her clothing and katana before exiting back into the waiting area. The woman behind the reception desk bowed and offered her a cold glass of milk, which she graciously accepted. "Some nice milk after a hot bath, the perfect combo to make your chest-" she stopped and looked down. Food and drink didn't have the same effect as it did in the real world. "Damn it, at least it tastes good."

She downed the milk, which was pleasantly sweet, and thanked the woman before exiting the building. It looked like she could follow another a nearby path that would lead her in a different direction than she came. Before she started off she saw the orange cat that had lead her here before, she patted it on the head as thanks for the bath and set off back into town.

[Katoka 0]

It didn't take Katoka long to return to town, it seemed like the bath house was not as far off the beaten path as she originally thought. Taking note of it's location to share with others just in case, she looked around the area to get her bearings. That was when she saw the same woman with the headband from the restaurant again, this time she was looking around as she walked as if she was making sure no one was following her before she slipped between a few houses out of sight. It struck her as odd how out of place she was in this town so she followed, thinking that maybe it could lead to side quest of some kind she decided to follow. She quickly hurried across the street and slipped in between the same houses, trying to catch up to the woman. The samurai needed to be quiet if she wanted to remain unseen, so she crouched down as she reached the edge of the building. There, at the edge of the forest, stood the woman talking in hushed tones with someone the blonde couldn't see.

[Katoka 0]

Straining her eyes and ears to see the new addition, Katoka decided she should try and get closer to the two. She looked around and saw a pile of chopped wood that belonged to one of the nearby houses and crept close to it, taking care to remain quiet she hurried behind and listed again. This time she could hear them, however what they spoke wasn't any language she was familiar with. It was strange, it almost didn't sound human, but was that possible? In theory it could, Katoka knew there were other humanoid races in game but she had no idea they didn't speak Japanese or any other language from the real world.

Peaking around the pile of wood she tried to get a better look at the second person, they sounded male and by the looks of the outline she saw earlier they seemed to be tall. As the blonde looked this time she saw they were indeed much larger than the woman and something about them seemed different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

[Katoka 0]

Continuing to watch the two, Katoka deduced that they must have been arguing about something. They were both gesturing angrily quite a bit and the woman threw her hands up and let them fall to her sides in defeat as she man shook his head. The woman then pointed at the town and to herself as if saying she was just fine but the man closed his eyes this time and turned from her, shaking his head still.

The samurai still couldn't put her finger on what was off about the man other than the way he spoke. The woman sighed again and removed her headband, placing it in her pocket, reveling something that finally clicked in Katoka's mind. She had pointed ears. They both did. The two before her were elves, and if the blonde was right the woman had been scouting the town for something. In her shock the small woman slipped from her position and fell out in the open with a thud alerting the elves of her position. They turned around with a start and both quickly slipped into the woods before she had time to get back up.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka raced towards the woods and attempted to follow the elves but they were already gone before she had even reached the trees. "Damn. What were they even doing here? Are there even elves on the first floor?" she asked out loud as she walked back to town. "I wonder if Cardinal is writing something new, or maybe they are glitched?"

Deciding that she was done with her day in Horunka the samurai made her way back to the main road that would lead her to the Town of Beginnings. "Maybe Freyd knows something about weird NPCs. I feel like if anything he would know." she said opening up her game menu to send him a message. SHe typed out a quick summary of what happened to see if he knew anything about elves on floor one and possible bugs in NPCs and then sent it his way.

"Time to head home, I'm getting hungry and I'd like to relax a but more with a good book."

Vanity Tag: @Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

Thread Summary:

4 SP (2 quest + 1 page + 1 event)

400 Col

Edited September 17, 2020 by Katoka