[F1 - PP] Guild Bonding Time [First Few Lessons Are Free] (Grimm Reaper)

[Aquan 0]

"I suppose I can do this quest now. Don't have much going on, and need to get some more experience. I hope I can hold on to the materials like I did when I got my profession." He muttered and accepted the quest. He knew from other low levels that this quest leads into a chain, and it can be a bit tedious. He did not mind it much, knowing that he would eventually get it done and over with and get some more experience to level up. "Now, should I do it alone? Or should I do it with someone." He instinctually thought of asking Valentine for help, but knew that he could not help him that much with the quest. He thought that it might be a good bonding experience for the two of them, but with how many quests they did together he thought that he might let the man relax before harassing him for even more assistance.

He thought on the guild for a moment, deciding to ask Grimm, someone he did not interact with much, but was also close with Valentine. He frowned slightly, thinking about their relationship, being the only other men he met that are interested in men. He quickly ignored that emotional thought and drafted a message to the man.

Hello Grimm, we have not gotten a chance to interact between the two of us. Would you be interested in adventuring on the first floor? I have some quests I need to do.

He quickly finished the message and sent it to the man, taking a stroll through the city while he waited for his response.

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald was just lounging around at home with Valentine a nice long book in his hands, something about the species variations of the birds on some fictional island within the game, not an interesting find for anyone that wasn't Ozwald, but he seemed to be completely and lawfully attached to the book. The ding of the system was the only thing that could bring Ozwald away from how finches beaks would evolve to adapt differences depending on what level of the forest they lived on. Ozwald read the message from Aquan, he knew him, but not incredibly well only meeting him through Valentine. Putting away his book Ozwald stood looking over at his sleeping lover "I should leave him a note" Ozwald thought to himself before doing just that.

With all of that being settled Ozwald responded to the message very simply. 
Where are you?
Ozwald knew based on his level that the first floor was most likely, but making sure was the best idea.

Spoiler

Name: Grimm Reaper
Level: 28
HP: 560/560
EN: 56/56

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 2
Accuracy: 3
BLD:24
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Razor's Edge(Tier 2/Perfect/Handwraps)[Bleed 2][ACC 1]
Armor: Rogue's Gambit(Tier 2/Perfect/Light Armor)[EVA 1][REC 2]
Misc: Two Sided Coin(TIer 1/Perfect/Trinket)[ACC 2][EVA 1]

Skills:
Martial Arts [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Hiding [Rank 2]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter [Rank 2]

Mods:
Martial Arts Finesse [Rank 3]

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(+50 hp)*3
[T1]Health potions(rare)(+40 HP)*5
[T1]Damage potion(uncommon)(+1 DAM)*1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Hiding): +1 Rank to the Hiding skill.
Basic Training: +1 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]

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.
 

Edited November 19, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[Aquan 0]

Aquan did not expect to get a message back as fast as he did. He looked at his HUD and quickly began writing a respone.

I'm on the First Floor in the Town Square, I'm just walking around, it should be easy to find me,

Aquan sent the message and looked around the area. The players and NPCs alike were not moving a lot, and it was not that crowded. The first floor became less and less crowded as the days went on. More people begin to level up and leave the area behind. He was excited for that to be him one day, but he knew he still had a long way to go before he could get to that point. Aquan looked up at the sun again and relaxed, feeling the virtual rays keep his body warm. "I wonder if the leaves and the plants take in sunlight and keep themselves living. I have not seen much evidence of things altering and changing, so hopefully things stay the same. There is a beauty in a never changing color that stays with this floor. It does get a bit tiersome to look at every single day, but hopefully I'll get a change of scenery one day. Maybe after this quest chain I can finally get myself out of here." He continued to talk to himself.

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Spoiler

LD: 5 + 2 = 7
Aquan natural detection = 10
Result: Fail

Making his way from the estate that he shared with Valentine Ozwald found himself at the teleport gate on the fourth floor. Calling out the name of the town of beginnings Ozwald was teleported directly to the town square of the first floor. quickly picking Aquan out of the crowd based on what he knew about the man which was mainly just that he was tall and blonde. Deciding now would be a perfect time to practice his stealth Ozwald tried to blend into the crowd that was around the town square before reaching Aquan. Sadly the man seemed to spot him before he got close enough to spook him. "Hello Aquan right?" Ozwald asked his british accent as strong as it always was. Facing the much taller man Ozwald got flustered, he was not only bad around people, he was much worse around people who could easily dwarf and overpower him. 

Edited November 19, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[Aquan 0]

Aquan turned to look at Grimm, smiling and nodding to him. "Yes I'm Aquan, nice to see you again Grimm." He looked around a little bit. "Shall we get started? I'm not sure how long all of this materail is going to take, hopefully not all day. Besides this is a chain quest, so don't feel like you have to stay with me the entire time." He nodded to the main, making sure he knew that he was not required to be with him through all of the quests.

He walked out to the outskirt of the town and began his search. He remember at the beginning of his rise in levels, Valentine helped him out by pointing out where some materials might be and where others might be hidden. He began to look in those areas, hoping to find something. Luckily he did. Aquan quickly scaled a tree and plucked a piece of fruit from the branches, putting it into his inventory. "So," he tried to make conversation, "what do you usually do from day to day?"

ID: 178203 LD: 14 + 1 = 15 [1 Material]
1/5 Mats

Edited November 19, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald was once again upset that he had to stare upwards at the man he was talking to, why did every single person he had to encounter have to be a giant. Either way Ozwald didn't let that show through, keeping up his warm and cheery smile. "I have nothing to do today so I don't mind helping a friend out." Ozwald truly didn't mind, Aquan seemed like a nice and proper fellow, so spending the day with him would be a nice way to spend it. Watching the giant of a man climb the tree Ozwald was surprised to see how agile and spry he was. "Most days I'm out leveling with Chase or Valentine, you caught me on a lazy day." Ozwald's voice was always chipper and that didn't change while talking to Aquan. "How about you, what's the daily life of Aquan like?" Ozwald asked, making small talk because there was nothing that he could do to help the lower leveled adventurer on this specific quest, just glad to be providing him so modicum of company on one of the more boring quests that the game had. Ozwald had been in his place a few weeks ago, Chase had caught him right after he finished his first quest, helping him with almost all of his quests after that, and Ozwald was glad he could do the same for this newcomer.

Edited November 19, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[Aquan 0]

Aquan hopped down from the tree, brushing off any leaves or pieces of dirt that might be clinging to him. Aquan was surprised to hear a more chipper tone from Grimm. His attire made it seem like that was not his personality. He thought for a moment on Grimm's question, looking down at the man. "Hmmm, Usually I walk around the floor. Looking for possible low level quests. I like to analyze and look into different things that I'm doing to see how it relates to its real-world counter part. Like the leaves, animals, and the weather. Beyond that I just go out looking for materials, fight incredbily low level monsters, or ask others for company on quests. Like you. I've also asked Valentine on a number of occasions to assist me. The first quest I ever did was with his assistance. That is how I joined the guild." He nodded at the end of his statement.

A couple minutes later of searching, Aquan returned to Grimm. "Is Chase apart of the guild? My interactions with him before made it seem as though he was not, but his icon makes it seem as though he is. I have only interacted with him a couple of times but he comes off as cold towards the guild."

ID: 178220 LD: 5 + 1 = 6 [No Materials]

1/5 Mats

Edited November 19, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald was glad to see that someone else other than him was looking into all of the ways that this game world differs from the way that the real world works. "Oh, if you are into things like that than I may have a book you would be interested in."  Ozwald pulled the book that he was reading earlier out of his inventory. "It is a boring read, but it is about how the different monsters on the island evolved on the different floors specific ecosystems, It is probably just lore and doesn't actually exist, but it is interesting if it is something you like." Ozwald knew that most people didn't have such a fascination with those things as he did, but the way that Aquan seemed to be so analytical made him think he might share a small part of that passion. "Chase? Oh he has some rocky history with the guild. I don't think he likes them very much. But he is a consultant not a member." Ozwald didn't know the actual beef Chase had with Firm Anima, but he knew more than some people.

[Aquan 0]

Aquan's eyes lit up at the mention of the book. "I... Yes I would like that very much." He smiled brightly and looked at the book. "It's interesting that they created a lore book like that. I never heard of anything like that being created before. I'd love to read it if you are willing to let me read it." He smiled and looked at the man. At the mention of Chase's name he calmed down and nodded along to what he said. "I met him a couple times and he distanced himself from the guild. It's confusing because he still responds to guild messages, but refuses to take part in it. There must be something holding him to the guild. I obviously don't know him well enough to even begin to put my finger on it, but it still does not make much sense. I suppose he still wants to help out, but still..." He shook his head, ending his verbal tyrant.

After a moment of fruitless searching, he turned to Grimm, debating on asking a personal question. "How long have you and Valentine been together? I've only known him a little bit but ever since I knew him, he's mentioned you two dating."

ID: 178221 LD: 6 + 1 = 7 [No Materials]

1/5 Mats

Edited November 19, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald was very glad to hear that Aquan would be interested in the book "Yeah, I wouldn't have expected it either, not really something you see very often in games like this, but I am glad" Ozwald said before handing the book to aquan to take with him, Ozwald was mostly done with it anyways, and he was always glad to share his hobbies with his friends. "Yeah, Chase was the first person I met when I started actually going out on quests and he has helped me out a lot, he may seem rude and standoffish at first, but he is a nice guy when you get to know him." Ozwald was a personal fan of Chase, he would definitely not have gotten as far as he had in such a short of time without him. Ozwald was now doing the same for Aquan and he was glad for it. 

Ozwald was only slightly surprised by the question that Aquan had asked, it wasn't too surprising seeing that Aquan knew Valentine though. "Me and Val, I think just a few weeks now. But it feels like a lot longer." Ozwald's eyes lit up a little when talking about valentine, he would never had expected to find someone in this world, and Valentine was an amazing guy, even if they were very different people

[Aquan 0]

Aquan gladly took the book and thumbed through a few of the pages, skimming the materials. I'll have to read this later. He thought to himself as he put it into his inventory, thinking it might come off as rude if he ignored his gathering partner and just studied the book for a few hours. He nodded along to what he said about Chase. His lips curled up into a smile when he began to talk about Valentine and the relationship he had with him.

He felt a small ping of jealousy grow in his chest, but he quickly ignored it as soon as it started to grow. "I'm happy to see relationships still working in a world like this. I do not have much, well any, experience in relationships in the real world so it is unique to see relationships flourish in an unique and fabricated world." He paused and took a deep breath, smiling and picking up a small bunch of fungus from the ground, marking it as a material. "How long have you been in Firm Anima? And what is your experience with the guild?"

ID: 178223 LD: 16 + 1 = 17 [1 Material]

2/5 Mats

Edited November 20, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald smiled, the smile on his face was as always what defined him most, a smile full of warmth and love for everything around him. Ozwald was smiling so brightly right now due to the fact that his newfound friend enjoyed the gift that he had given to him. "I have to say, I have always been a bit of a [censored]." Ozwald joked around, but it wasn't really inaccurate he had had his fair share of lovers. "I am sure any girl would be lucky to have you." Ozwald said what everyone always said when people can't find someone, but he meant it Aquan was definitely a catch that was for sure he seemed sweet and smart. "I joined Firm Anima hmmm, maybe a week before getting with Valentine, maybe a month ago. I joined because Raidou, the guild leader, said he would hook me up with some free loot if I did." Ozwald was being honest in answering Aquan's questions, not holding anything back. "But I never meant to join a guild, I honestly wanted to make my own. Still kind of do." That dream hadn't died, but for now he was happy where he was.

[Aquan 0]

Aquan paused and laugh a little bit, then a little bit. He blushed from the laugh, but continued to laugh for a few more seconds. "S-Sorry. It's just weird for people to mention me being with a woman... I'm gay. I'm assuming just like you and Valentine. But I appreciate the sentiment." He laughed a bit more and sighed, looking around for materials while he was with the man.

He bent down to grab a small bunch of mushrooms while he continued to listen to Grimm. "I primarily joined Firm Anima because Valentine depicted it as a guild that could help me with crafting and creating items. Also for assistance in leveling up and a community. He did tell me that there would be some free items that I could get my hands on if I needed to, which is definitely helpful. I think I might look into it soon in order to acquire some items to get a familiar. Hopefully it is easy for me to get one if I do go down that quest path. I'm not sure what I would get for a familiar though, I'll figure it out eventually though. Do you have a familiar? Or any interest in one?"

ID: 178232 LD: 17 + 1 = 18 [1 Material]

3/5 Mats

Edited November 20, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald smiled, he liked making people laugh, whether it was because of something he said or something he did, on purpose or not, laughter was one of his favorite sounds, and Aquan's was definitely one to be happy about. "Oh I didn't know, interesting." Ozwald was surprised to hear that another man here in Aincrad was gay as well, Looking at Aquan in a new light, he couldn't see any reason why no guy would be after him, he was tall, he was handsome, and he definitely looked classy. Ozwald shook his head slightly, admiring other men's looks was probably something that his lover would frown upon, and he didn't want to make that a habit by any means. Ozwald chuckled again at the mention of a familiar. Aquan probably couldn't tell because the hood mostly covered him, but Ryoto was currently laying completely across Ozwald's shoulders. 

With a slight whistle Ozwald called for the reptilian bird to get up and land on his outstretched forearm. Leaving a few white feathers in the air, the white chicken like creature landed on Ozwald's forearm cocking its head curiously. "Aquan this is Ryoto." Ozwald gestured towards the bird, it was the size of a cat, with the body of a more raptor like chicken covered in white feathers, a toothy beak coming out of its face with a long scaly green lizards tail. Ryoto was a cockatrice and to Ozwald he was the most adorable creature ever, Valentine tended to disagree though. "Ryoto meat Aquan."

[Aquan 0]

Aquan smiled a bit brighter when Grimm smiled. He was happy he did not make it awkward when he mentioned his sexuality. His parents did not have an issue with it, seeing it in tons of different animal species, but people didn't always have a good response with it. Of course he wouldn't have an issue, he has a boyfriend. Another small twinge of jealousy rose. Not that he was dating Valentine, but that he was dating in general.

His mind was swayed as he saw a small rock on the ground labeled as a material. He quickly smiled and picked it up. He looked over at Grimm when he introduced his familiar, his eyes going wide. "You..." He ran forward and looked at the creature. "I don't even know what you are and I already love you." He began to furiously swipe through the book Grimm let him borrow to find the creature. "I love the name Ryoto, how did you think of it? What kind of animal is Ryoto? Male or Female? What do they eat? What was the biome like? Was it easy to catch them?" Aquan begins to rapid fire questions at Grimm.

ID: 178233 LD: 11 + 1 = 12 [1 Material]

4/5 Mats

Edited November 21, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald was enjoying himself, he hadn't expected to meet anyone inside of this game that shared his interests in both taxonomy and the evolutionary lineage of the animals inside the game, but here his was. The taller man was exactly that, he seemed to have all of the interests that Ozwald himself had, and that was definitely nice.

Ozwald stood waiting for Aquan to finish grabbing the rock that he was grabbing for a material, arm out in front of him, Ryoto was sitting on his forearm, idly picking at his feathers. Ozwald was startled at the sudden burst from Aquan, but it was not an unwelcome one. Chuckling Ozwald did his best to answer the flurry of questions that the blonde man brought his way. "Ryoto means dragon, and I thought it would be funny to name him that." Ozwald was glad to see that someone other than himself also enjoyed the reptilian bird that was perched on his forearm. "He is a cockatrice, a dragon like chicken said to have the ability to paralyze mortals, but he hasn't done that yet. He is actually a lot like a vulture, he prefers to scavenge for food that is less than fresh and eats it along with the bones. I found him in a forest, but that doesn't really seem natural for him, with the kind of food he eats, along with the fact that his flying is clumsy at best, I would have expected him to live in a savannah much like a roadrunner, he is an odd one for sure. Oh, and at the site of free food he became friendly real quick." Ozwald tried to answer all the questions that were asked, but there were many, so he didn't know if he had succeeded.

[Aquan 0]

Aquan nodded constantly as he listened to Grimm tell him about Ryoto. He held back the urge to write everything down, thinking that might be a little too much. "Ryoto is fascinating. One of the only good things about this virtual world is you can experience unique flora and fauna up close and personal." He bent over a little bit to look at Ryoto, his eyes running over the creature's body. "Well, I love him already. Ryoto is great." He nods and laughs a bit, a blush forming on the upper parts of his cheeks.

Aquan took a soft sigh and looked around the ground near him. He was in a bit better mood after meeting Ryoto and consistently finding material to finish this part of the quest. Not to mention, he now found his last material. Aquan picked up a small piece of Rosemary from the ground, the game registering it as an item. "Shall we head back Grimm? I have found my 5th material." He holds up the 5th material before putting it into his inventory. He checks the quest log for what to do next and he heads off for town with Grimm in tow. "Was finding Ryoto as a familiar difficult? I know in the near future I will be going out to get one, I just worry about it taking a long time."

ID: 178645 LD: 14+1=15 [1 Materials

5/5 Mats

0/1 Crafted Items

Edited November 25, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald completely agreed with Aquan's statement for he too felt that really the single best part about being trapped in this world was all of the unique creatures and plants that he was able to come across. Smiling Ozwald whistled again signaling to ryoto that he could go back to hiding beneath the hood that was attached to his armor. "I am glad that you like him, most do not seem to like the feather and scale combination as much as I." Ozwald watched Aquan pick up his final ingredient which meant that the pair would be returning back to the village in order to craft the potion that the old man wanted Aquan to prepare. "Was he hard to get? No not really. He just ate the food out of my hand and kept wanting more, now training this dense foul to listen. That is a much different story." Ozwald followed along beside Aquan as they made their way back to the beginner village. Ozwald couldn't help but think how similar this was to how he had met Chase.

[Aquan 0]

"Feather and Scales are definitely an unique combination, but that does not make them unsightly. Orange and Blue both make up the awful color Puce, but also make up a sunset on the sea." He smiled and looked at Ryoto and Grimm. The pair continued to the city as he mentioned the difficulty in getting Ryoto. "I hope the training is not too difficult. I am worried about finding the animals. I'm used to many varieties of fauna in the real world, and know how to get close to many of them. However, I have never tamed any creature that was not already a pet, and this game probably will not be equitable to the real world technique of bringing animals to you. I hope I can get a weasel, otter, or a Pine Marten. They are all fast moving creatures, they are adorable, and.... yeah I just think they are cute creatures." He smiles and blushes softly.

The pair went into the crafting station and Aquan got to work. He was slightly used to crafting now with being a cook. He began to craft up the potion and was surprised that he made it right the first try. "Not the best, but hey. Here you go." He hands it to Zackariah and nods to the man, finishing that quest. "I suppose that is 1 of 4 done. Shall we start the next one?"

ID: 179505 CD: 5

5/5 Mats

1/1 Crafted Items

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Aquan

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald was enjoying himself on this adventure, it was one that he was not expecting to have so much fun on with it being one of the beginner quests, but Aquan and Ozwald shared more in common than Ozwald would have guessed at first. The man that he had accompanied was a bit awkward with people, but he had an amazing mind, and evidently shared a love for the flora and fauna of the world they found themselves trapped in. "It wasn't hard trust me you will do fine. With it being a game, honestly all I did was take out the meat and offer it to Ryoto. In the real world, a scavenger creature such as the cockatrice I call my own would avoid larger creatures like myself at all costs rather he would pick off small carcasses of animals that had already passed." Ozwald wasn't sure if that explanation helped at all to relieve his taller companion, but it was the best that he could do.

Ozwald waited while Aquan made the potion that Zackariah requested, which did not at all take long. "Of course, I will let you lead the way." Ozwald said in response to the last question that Aquan had asked.

Spoiler

Thread Rewards

• 4 SP (2 quest, 1 page, 1 event) Aquan, 2 SP (1 page, 1 event) Grimm Reaper
• 400 col Aquan
• 5 Tier One Health Potions of Rare quality. (+40 HP) Aquan
•  1 Tier One Damage Potion of Uncommon quality. (+1 Damage) Aquan
•  1 Tier One Over-Health Potion of Special quality. (+50 HP to maximum HP for remainder of thread) Aquan