[F1 - SP] The First Few Lessons Are Free (Starla)

[Starla 0]

     Starla opened her eyes from what seemed like a strange dream. She looked up at the wooden ceiling, a commonplace view from her perspective. It's been the same for about 8 years. She sighed, looking at one of the few cracks in the ceiling. That crack had been there since the beginning of her journey here. It made her look back at her history, a life of luxury and innocent bliss. Only to be pulled into this world filled with traps and a world of enjoyment and fun displaced by a facade of the same things. In Starla's eyes this game had devolved into the kind of world which she despised, a world in which others live without choice and die on a whim. She resented the person who had trapped her within this pitiable existence. And yet, the only thing she could do was play into the creator's hands, moving with a singular goal in mind with the rest of the people trapped in this world. But... She hadn't done that at all. She was scared. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

     The dream which rocked her was one filled with magnificent actions, flying into battles and being the reliable hero everyone needed. She shed the feeling of physical comfort through money and possessions and traded it for a currency of friendships and trust. Imagining herself in that space, Starla felt her soul quiver. This was going to be enough to stir her into action. She was going to finally take the first step toward her long and, likely arduous, journey. Starla looked at the crack for a final time before deciding to head out. She slipped into her light armor, looking at a small mirror provided inside the room and checked to make sure she hadn't gotten any bigger. This was a game, but she still worried about her weight nonetheless. I mean... It had been 8 years, so she had grown accustomed to the life here... That was quite unsettling to her though. She had been away from her family and her acquaintances for far too long. It was about time she found some family and friends among the players here, but she would save that opportunity for another day. For now, the first quest was waiting for her.

     Starla walked out of her room a bit hesitantly. It's alright Starla, you can do it. It's just the first quest, how hard can it be? Starla closed the door behind her and made her way to Zackariah, whom she heard was the first giver of a quest. The older man was said to run a sort of potion shop and was helpful to all new players. The NPCs inside the game were so realistic here, Starla assumed that these people were actually people. Not that she didn't consider them that anyway. She could not imagine harming another person had they not first asked for it. Starla moved toward the NPC's shop and finally met Zackariah eye-to-eye.

     Zackariah was a sweet older man with a bushy white beard and blonde hair. She absolutely loved the color of his hair and wondered if there was anyone who specialized in hair dye in this world. It would have to be something she'd look into later when she had more Col. As she entered the shop, Zackariah immediately greeted her. "My word, what a beautiful young lady!" Starla smiled a bit, a bit of color washing over her. She was 22, so not exceptionally young, but she had spent 8 years in this world, so she could imagine she had finally bloomed into a great beauty. "And what a polite old man. I heard you might be in need of some assistance, so I came to you." Zackariah smiled at her remark. "As a matter of fact, I do! I'm in dire need of some materials if you wouldn't mind grabbing some for me! Just 10 should do for now. Once you come back, I'll also have you help me with some potions." Starla smiled and nodded as the quest window popped up for her. "I'll be back soon Zackariah!"

Spoiler

Name: Starla
Level: 1
HP: 20
EN: 2/2

Stats:
Damage: 2
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 0

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Keen
Armor: Evasion 1

Skills:
Light Armor [Rank One]

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

      Starla headed out to the field outside of the Town of Beginnings. She was hoping this would be an easy undertaking, considering that it was just finding some measly materials. Upon her first glance of the field, it seemed like it would probably hold plenty of materials. She assumed that the materials would glow or something if she got near them. And she hoped that there would be some indicator as to how she might find these materials, but sadly there was none. Starla thought there was some strange movement behind a particular patch of grass. It was slightly taller than the rest and a different shade of yellow. Maybe this was the material she was looking for? She tried grabbing it with her hands, but they simply phased right through it. "Huh?" Starla swung at it again, frustrated. Are you kidding me?! What a suspicious patch of grass! I won't lose to you! Maybe this was going to be harder than she thought.

ID - #183241

LD: 3

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Upon second glance, Starla found a little herb glowing on the ground next to the patch of grass she was trying to fight. She smiled and plucked it out of the ground. As she picked it up, a window was displayed. "Tier 1 Material Acquired!" She was happy and put the material into her inventory, but the fight with the patch of grass was nowhere near over. She kept an eye on the patch of grass as she went to look at another area. That grass must be a material, but it just wasn't ripe yet. Yes, that must be it. She looked underneath a rock and then quickly shot her gaze back at the grass. Still swaying in the wind without a care. I'm keeping an eye on you... I swear, that patch of grass is so very suspicious. If that isn't a material, I don't know what is. Nine more to go. Maybe it wasn't going to be as hard as she thought? Or maybe this was just a fluke. Despite that thought, she continued to look.

ID - #183242

LD: 18

1/5 Tier 1 Materials Found

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla fixated on that patch of grass so much that she failed to really find anything else. She decided to give up on it after really trying to will it into being a material that she needed. Guess it was just a weird patch of grass. Or maybe there would be some kind of secret reward if she completed the quest fast enough? This made Starla highly motivated to search as much as she could for other materials. She kept an eye on the patch of grass to see if there was anything that popped up, but there was still nothing there for the time being. She looked around and could barely focus because of the "hidden reward". Still nothing. She gave up on it altogether. Stop fooling around Starla, you've got to do this quest so you can get started! As she said this, an interesting rock appeared in front of her. Maybe this was the place she was looking for?!

ID - 183243

LD: 1

I did mess this one up by linking it to the previous post, sorry

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla looked at the rock, but sadly other than a peculiar pattern on the actual rock, there was nothing there. Starla sighed. She couldn't give up now since she had already found one material, but this was getting frustrating. Wasn't the first quest supposed to be so easy it's stupid? Starla shook her fist up at the sky, cursing the man who trapped her here. I swear to the almighty, if you changed the drop rates just to make newbies lose hope, I will personally beat you to a pulp you sad sack. Starla kept looking for materials, even if she felt it was in her best interest to stop. She knew she was going to get more frustrated, but she would just take all of her stored anger out on some monsters later. She was sure there would be a hunting quest for some early game enemies soon. At least... She dearly hoped there would be.

ID - 183244

LD: 7

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     As Starla continued to look, she found... Nothing. Again. Alright. Well... This was discouraging, but there was no need to give up just yet! There were still many hours in the day and Starla had a fire burning in her heart. She just dearly hoped the game would look favorably upon her and give her at least a few more. She needed ten, but even just a few in a row would be nice. It would help boost her confidence a bit. The chances of her not getting something must be pretty low. I mean... It is the first quest. There's no way it would be this hard. She saw a boar off in the distance and she clenched a fist. You just wait. I'm coming for you you fat boar. You will soon see the ugly part of my blade, but first... I must get these stupid plants. Starla looked around furiously. SOMETHING! PLEASE!

ID - 183245

LD: 6

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     As Starla looked around furiously, she accidentally kicked up a rock and stubbed her toe. "Owowowowow!" She sat down for a second and rubbed her toe. "Ouch, that hur-" She cut herself off as she saw a glowing herb that was smashed underneath the rock she had just kicked up. She quickly grabbed it out of the ground and got the same notification when she found a material as last time. "Oh thank goodness!" It seemed the game had looked down favorably at her after her seemingly angry ritual dance. Starla was far too prideful to do that again though. She would simply start looking under rocks since the game decided to do something fun like smash a material under a rock. At this fact, Starla was upset she hadn't figured it out sooner. The search continues... Will Starla's anger grow or will the game gift her another material?!

ID - 183246

LD: 20

2/5 Tier 1 Materials Found

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla looked around underneath rocks, behind patches of tall grass, and looked back to that colored patch of grass she fought earlier. It seemed like nothing was jumping out at her and when her anger was about to build up, she saw a familiar glow near the patch of strangely colored grass. Was it finally time for the grass to give her a material?! Starla approached it slowly, worrying that any sudden movement might scare the material away. She jumped toward the patch of grass and low and behold, a piece of grass was sticking out that was glowing. She carefully plucked it out of the patch before getting the notification that she had obtained another material. That was three down, only two more to go. It seemed it might take a bit longer for her to obtain the materials she needed to bring back to Zackariah. Starla laughed, looking down at the grass. “Eat that you stupid piece of grass!” Now the problem was finding another material.

ID - 183247

LD: 15

3/5 Tier 1 Materials Found

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla found herself celebrating the piece of grass she had found for a little too long. I mean, it was just a piece of grass, but to Starla it was so much more. It signified one of the first few steps she needed to take to move on in her journey. It was one of the first thing that she collected for a quest and so this piece of grass would always hold a place in her heart. At least... That's what the sentimental side of Starla would've felt. However, Starla wasn't feeling very sentimental currently. So she stuffed the grass into her inventory and gave it a quaint middle finger. Now that she had let off some steam, she decided to get back to her search in earnest.

     Upon searching for a while, it was apparent she wasn't going to find anything after coming down from her adrenaline high. She took a breather and let the materials hide for another short while.

ID- 183249

LD: 1

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     As Starla let herself take a breather, she felt her inner mind focus. She felt her consciousness extend outwards and she began to get a greater understanding of her surroundings. She began to focus on the grasses and the many rocks around her. She began to move around feeling her perception sharpen to a degree where if it could be given a physical form, it would be a deadly blade. She suddenly felt a need to turn around and walk a few meters forward and she gave in to the feeling. As she obeyed her intuition, she found a glowing plant not more than a few centimeters in front of her right foot. As she bent down to pick it up, she suddenly felt her weight shift and she dived on top of the plant. The focus she had built up left her and she was left with a smushed, but still recoverable plant. She grabbed it and frowned. "Ouch. That hurt."

ID - 183273

LD: 18

4/5 Tier 1 Materials Found

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla's earlier fall must have messed up some internal functions because after searching for the very last material that she needed, she was not able to find anything. She searched the usual spots. The strangely colored grass, the colored rock, the areas where she found the other materials, but still nothing. She hummed a little tune to herself as she searched for the last material. There was no need to hurry now since it probably wouldn't be long before she found the last one. I mean she basically started finding them one after the other. She would go a few minutes without finding one and then she would find one. There was a pattern now, so surely the game wasn't going to break the little pattern that it had going for Starla, would it? Of course, she couldn't be sure, but she hoped. She hoped from the bottom of her heart that she could get this last material and finally be rid of this accursed first quest.

ID - 183275

LD: 2

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla looked around once again, dearly hoping that there would be some hope that she would find the last material that she needed. However, the seconds she thought it might take her turned into a few more minutes and she hung her head low. Well I figured maybe I would get an easy way out of this one, but unfortunately... Gathering is much harder than it seems. Starla took a deep breath and tried to calm herself from cursing the game once more. How could one single material elude her notice for more than a few minutes? Starla took a moment to think back on the rest of the materials she found. Maybe she just came at a bad time? It seemed like the patch of grass would be a material yet it didn't yield a material until a certain time had passed. Maybe that was how the rest of the materials worked? Maybe this was a quest to test your patience! Oh no... She was likely going to fail. Darn.

ID - 183277

LD: 7

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla saw a glow out of the corner of her eye and when she turned around, she found another material! Excellent! She rushed toward it and before she could grasp it in her hand, she tripped over a rock and crushed it. But it should be fine! When she fell on the other one, it still glowed and she could still pick it up! Starla got up and smiled, turning to the spot she had fallen on and blinked. She looked down and there was... Nothing. The glowing spot disappeared and the plant with it. Was this some kind of cruel joke played on Starla? Who would do such a thing? Why was there such a mechanic to even ruin materials in the first place! Starla would make sure to care for her materials by putting them in her inventory, lest there was concern for her to ruin her materials.

ID - 183278

LD: 10

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla felt her soul leave her body a little bit as the material she just fell on disappeared. She put her face in her palms and had the urge to begin tearing at the ground. As she moved her hands off of her eyes and raised her hands to beat down on the ground, a material appeared right in front of her. She froze for a second, making sure not to make any sudden movements so she wouldn't trip and fall onto the material. She grabbed the material out of the ground and immediately put the material inside of her inventory. Thank goodness that that's over with. I can finally head back to Zackariah's shop now. Hopefully I don't have to do anything difficult after this. Starla got up and made her way back into Zackariah's shop.

     Starla saw a wide variety of people exiting to the field outside the Town of Beginnings. She had heard this was, by far, one of the largest floors in the whole of Aincrad. There were people who were adventuring, there were people who crafted different items, and some people who were just biding their time inside of the game. She had been among the third group, but she was hoping to be a member of the first soon. If things worked out well for her and she made some friends who could help her get into the front lines, she was sure she would skyrocket. She dearly hoped to make those kinds of connections.

ID - 183279

LD: 18

5/5 Tier 1 Materials Found

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

     Starla walked into Zackariah's shop with the materials in hand. She walked in and smiled to Zackariah. "I've come back with your materials! Took me a little while, but I'm here." Zackariah beckoned Starla to walk over to the table where he was working. "Excellent. Go ahead and set those down here." There was a small purple towel which Zackariah pointed at. Starla set them down on the purple towel and looked at all of the different things on the table. Flasks that contained various colored liquids, some bubbling and others completely still. "Wow... This is some impressive stuff." Zackariah laughed a little bit. "Would you like to try to make something?" Starla pursed her lips for a moment. It couldn't hurt. "Sure, I suppose I'll give it a try." Zackariah smiled and showed her the steps on how to brew a potion.

     However... The ideas went straight over Starla's head. As she tried to execute all the steps, she thought she may have forgotten a few things as the end result was a "fail".

ID - 183280

CD: 1

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

Post #16

     Starla looked over at Zackariah who was laughing heartily. "Here, let me help you a little bit. I was wondering how you might do on your own after hearing the instructions. But that's alright. It is exceptionally hard for your first time, don't get discouraged." Starla looked very discouraged. Starla was known for being a prodigy at whatever she would do, so this was highly frustrating to not understand something as seemingly simple as this. She looked at all the gadgets and flasks again and then decided. Okay maybe this isn't quite as simple as I thought. This is going to require a bit more work, but if Zackariah says I can do it... I should be able to do it. Starla listened to Zackariah's instructions very intently this time and he walked her through it this time.

     After some patience and effort, Starla finally got a potion made. It was only uncommon quality, which made her feel happy. At least she didn't make a common potion! She must have some skill at this kind of thing after all! Zackariah looked at the potion and smiled at Starla. "You did well. You know how to listen to directions well. I would just say watch out for making dangerous potions in the future lest you make your workshop explode." Starla now had almost no interest in making potions. She really really did not want to blow herself up.

ID - 183281

CD: 6 [Success! Uncommon quality]

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

Post #17

     Starla spent some time inside of Zackariah's workshop admiring the different potions and the skill in which he made potions. He masterfully altered the liquids within each flask and when combining them, he transferred them with grace. She had seen a few sommeliers in her day that worked with wine in the way that Zackariah worked with potions. When pouring them out into one another, he always made when flow elegantly and with poise. She was surprised that more people were not gathered to see the beauty of his work on display. Maybe it was a niche of hers, but she always enjoyed spending time around those who had intricate knowledge of particular subjects. Her tutors were always kind people and they had such passion for the things they taught. It truly inspired Starla to want to learn and to carry with her that passion in whatever she did. It made her wonder what might possess someone to create such an NPC. Who might have had such expertise to craft such a unique individual? Someone so well versed in the art of potionmaking that they could make it look almost effortless.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla

[Starla 0]

Post #18

     Upon observing him for a while, Zackariah's eye turned back to her. "Ah that reminds me. Do you mind doing one last favor for me?" Starla smiled. "Sure, you've shown me an art the likes of which I haven't seen in a long time. I suppose I owe you one last favor for that much." Zackariah smiled as he turned his head toward a large box wrapped in brown paper. "I actually owe someone a package and I'm a bit tied up making some last minute potions, do you mind dropping it off for me?" Starla immediately moved to pick up the package. "I'd be happy to. I'll come visit again sometime. Brew some potions when I'm around next time. I quite enjoy you doing your craft." Zackariah smiled and turned back to his station. "Very well. I will see you next time then. Do not tarry either, the blacksmith can be a bit impatient with his packages. His name is Lyle Tealeaf, you can find him if you just go down that path a ways. You can't miss him." Starla picked up the package and began walking. "Until next time Zackariah." Zackariah nodded as she left.

[Starla 0]

Post #19

     Starla carried the package down the road with a slight smile on her face. She was quite enjoying the first quest. It did take a little while, but it seemed like she was going to meet some interesting people. She hoped the blacksmith would be as entertaining as Zackariah was to her. Although Starla had a feeling that a man operating a forge would not have much appeal to her. Blacksmithing was always a bit of a gritty job and there was some trepidation from her in regards to getting dirty. It wasn't exactly a staple of hers to get dirty. She was already highly upset that some of her clothes had gotten dusted in dirt while she was out getting materials, but she decided to overlook it because Zackariah showed her his skill. Although it was somewhat fun to make a potion. Maybe she wouldn't have such a terrible time with the blacksmith. Or maybe they wouldn't even make her touch the forge at all. That would truly be something. She would be very pleased to not try and light herself on fire by accident.

[Starla 0]

Post #20

     Starla finally made it to what seemed to be a gritty little shop with an anvil on the sign. She assumed that this was the place that she needed to go in order to get this first quest all done with. Or maybe this was one of those super long quests that chained with a whole bunch of other stuff. If that was the case, she better get some good rewards for waiting and doing so many tasks for people all over the Town of Beginnings. She hoped that wasn't the case because that would likely take way too long. She might get discouraged and quit if things ended up getting too hard for her.

     Starla walked into the blacksmith shop and she handed the package to Lyle Tealeaf. "This package is from Zackariah. He sent me to deliver it to you." Lyle laughed heartily as he accepted the package. "About time that old coot got me this thing!" Lyle opened up the package to reveal a very shiny metal. "Now all I need are the rest of those materials... Hmm..." Starla got a notification that the quest she had done was completed. "You there young lady, would you be willing to help me?" Oh here we go again.

 

COMPLETE

Starla earns:

5 Tier 1 Potions of Rare Quality

1 Tier 1 Damage Potion of Uncommon Quality

1 Tier 1 Over-Health Potion of Special Quality

+ 2 SP (Quest Reward), + 400 Col, +1 SP (Thread Length Reward)

Edited February 19, 2021 by Starla