[F01-PP] <<Earning a Living>>

[SketchSkirmish 0]

Spoiler

Level 1
HP: 20/20
EN: 2/2
Gear:
Karambit: (Starter) [1ACC][1DMG]
Battle Ready:
3 Starter Potions (50 HP)
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Sketch left the artificer's shop and the worn, wooden door slammed shut behind him as if the old man himself pushed a sense of urgency to the task.

'Five materials,' Sketch mentally repeated. He pulled up his UI and flipped through his menu to produce the Player's Guide. As he poured over its contents, he threw the tip of his thumb between his teeth for a nibble.

"Materials... Materials... Materials..." he mumbled to the raised brow of higher level players walking by. He came across several notes about the mechanics for material gathering. It broke it down into a few groups between just searching the area for usable material, killing critters, or stumbling upon a chest of sorts. The latter sounded like it were the more difficult of the three. He popped the book back into inventory and flipped to his equipment. As he stared at the lack there of, he let out a sigh.

"Combat doesn't seem like a smart idea either..." Sketch dismissed the windows with a wave and huffed. His head of wavy brown hair turned toward the grand archway leading to the fields.

"Good a time as any." And he began for the exit.

Edited February 25, 2021 by SketchSkirmish

[Zajcica 0]

No better place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the front lines than putting yourself as fast away from it as possible. As Yuki was making her way to the safe zone barrier, she caught the sounds of another repeating a single word over and over. Materials. They were looking for the materials in the beginning quest? Thinking about it, Yuki never even finished those starter quests. They would probably deny her for any rewards by now, but with her time off she was looking for people to potentially help as they leveled up. If they were going outside the safe zone, she could even look for materials to make more food for the front lines anyways.

"Combat doesn't seem like a smart idea either..." Yuki over heard as she walked to the man from behind and gave him a light tap on his shoulder, needing to reach up high just to do so. "Then you should bring someone who can ensure your safety, like one of the top five toughest tanks?" She said with a smile, munching on her ice cream covered in fried pancake batter.

---

Yuki Consumes LD III | Deep-Fried Ice Cream

Yuki Activates Vengeful Riposte

Spoiler

Name: Zajčica
Level: 68
HP: 1360/1360
EN: 136/136

Stats:
Damage: 18
Mitigation: 81
Accuracy: 3
BH: 68
LD: 7

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Trap of Argalia (T3/Perfect/THAS): DMG III
Armor: Red Omomori (TL/Perfect/Trin): LD III
Misc: La Black Luna (TL/Perfect/Trin): ACC III

Skills:
One-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 1]
Heavy Armor [Rank 5]
Two-Handed Assault Spear [Rank 5]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Parry [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]
Block [Rank 5]
Extended Mod Limit III [Obtained]
Searching [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:
Concentration
Familiar Mastery: Defender
Survival

Mods:
Athletics
Stonewall
Rampart
Vengeful Riposte
Emergency Recovery

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal*1
Immolation+2*5
Ration+2*4
Deep-Fried Ice Cream | LD III*10

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Tasty: Turn 2 identical food items into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +2 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.

Scents of the Wild:
Yamata no Orochi Statue: +1 Loot Dice for a thread

Wedding Ring:

[SketchSkirmish 0]

Sketch felt the tap on his shoulder. His muscles tensed and head snapped over his shoulder.

'The heck?'There was nothing. He snapped his head to the other side, remembering that old fashioned trick of misdirection used in High School and back at the office in the real world.

'Nothing? Am I losing it?' He checked the other side and actually spun around. It wasn't until the color of pink slipped low into his periphery and his head adjusted to the difference in height.

There she spoke, the culprit, covered in ice creel and smiling. Sketch looked up beyond her, over her, and nearby.

'Where is this kid's parents?' With a raise of his brows and shake of his head, the green eyes snapped right back down to this newcomer.

"Tank you say?" A chuckle bubbled up from within despite the urge not to. "Uh... are you offering to escort me?"

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

The skeptical look that Sketch gave Yuki was pretty common. She had been walking around with only clothes on since Night forced her to take a break. Seeing every inch of floors that she could just walk around on without fear. Since her encounter with Endilix, she wasn't going to keep her level a secret. "I'm not offering, I'm saying that you need a tank. You're a noob, it's clear." She says clearing her throat. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to start leveling though, but you should do so as safely as possible."

Yuki would open her menu, and just for a quick glimpse, Sketch can see the reverse wording on her screen. 'Level: 68' Soon, a request would hit his own terminal to join her party. Name: Zajcica. After the request was accepted or denied, she would hand him an extra bowl of ice cream and a red charm. "You're looking for materials for one of the stupid quests where it's hard to find them, right? Here, these will make it insanely easier. Just equip the charm and eat the ice cream. If you think it's poisoned or something, go ahead and eat it before we leave. You can't gain status effects in the safe zone."

Spoiler

Zajcica gives Sketch:

Deep-Fried Ice Cream | LD III Dessert
Red Omomori | LD III Trinket

 

[SketchSkirmish 0]

"Noob," Sketch scoffed. He paused, then shrugged. "Fair enough."

'I mean, she's not wrong, but to just come out and say it.... Wait--'

The menu appeared with her name, invite request, and basic stats: health, stamina, level...

"Woah," Sketch looked beyond the party menu with a skeptical look. Were it not completely insensitive to ask, we would have inquired her age. He pulled his head back behind the menu and hit the accept button to make it disappear all together. Shortly after, she presented him with some items. He took them from her reluctantly, one of which was actually food.

"Thanks?" he stowed it away temporarily, not entirely sure he needed either, and cautiously looked over the girl for the umpteenth time.

"Alright, alright. Why are you doing this for me? I mean, you don't know me. You don't owe me anything that I know of. If you really are one of the top five, what're you doing on the first floor?" He had tons of questions. It just seemed all so opportune, but if it turned out just to be good karma playing in his favor, who was he to deny it?

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki, began to walk towards the safe zone barrier, passing through it as she walked through. "I don't know you nor do I owe you anything, you're right. But, should I be a dick and let you suffer? Possibly walk out there to be attacked by a group of mobs so that you can mercilessly be torn to shreds?" Yuki continued to slip bits of ice cream and batter into her mouth. "This game isn't fair for anyone involved. I've established myself to be a calling for those that want to become stronger. A rally to the hearts of those who would stop letting this game step on them and do something about it, or are you one of those who simply sees every front liner as a douchebag who doesn't care about those below him? I'm doing what I'm doing because I want to."

The paladin stepped through the lush fields and activated her searching skill, but it seemed nothing spawned this close to the barrier. "Hurry up, night will fall if you take too long out here."

---

Materials: 0

failure

[SketchSkirmish 0]

Spoiler

ID# 183831 :Battle: 2Craft: 3Loot: 2MOB: 3

Failure

Zajcica quite literally went off. Considering her height and soft appearance, her words were jagged and crass. The point of her words seemed focused on individualism, but the lackluster emotional involvement still kept Sketch hesitant to completely disarm himself.

"I don't recall slinging an insult," he quipped back. She continued past him toward the exit. It felt like pity-- a self serving need to casually helping a weaker player as though it were something to pass the time. He was some animal or pet that needed help crossing the road. His face scrunched up in disapproval and he begrudgingly followed. His longer legs made catching up to her less than an effort.

"Rally or not, I'm not about that kind of he/she/them nonsense between me and you. You choose to hit the field running, I chose to adapt to a different way of life before heading out. Frankly, I'm bored of playing house. It's time I contribute something or at least find a challenge while we're stuck here." Sketch breached the walls with her. It wasn't his first time, but he could count the number of outings on his hands over the past two years. For the most part, this close to the city walls was just as safe as inside the walls. With leveled players always having increased traffic near towns, all it took was a cry for help and a blade would show up.

Not that Sketch ever put himself in that position.

"Listen, I didn't mean to strike a chord. If you want to help me on some starter level quest, thanks. I didn't mean to type you as some heartless monster. I'm just some nobody skimming though the Player's Handbook. Figure people like me are a bother for people who know what they're doing."

@Zajcica

Edited February 25, 2021 by SketchSkirmish

[Zajcica 0]

"That's the kind of thinking that keeps you well and breathing." Yuki said as Sketch summed up his short little speech. The paladin would continue her way to the outcrop of forest not too far from the safe zone of the Town of Beginnings, a place where she found herself spending hours collecting materials for quests in the early stages of her leveling. "I'm glad that you don't see front liners as heartless monsters. There are some lower level players that thing we keep to ourselves because we think they're ants under our boots. It's not true. Front liners are people who started out the same way that you're doing right now. Everyone went through hell to get to where they are now while those people complaining sit in wallow down here that nothing is happening. If everyone in this game was working together, perhaps we wouldn't be only 1/4th of the way from clearing the game after 8 years in here. Or maybe we'd all just be dead together." Yuki admitted bluntly.

Very casually, almost without looking, the paladin would reach up to the low hanging branch above her without even looking and grasp an apple in her hand, moving it into her inventory. She then returns to eating her ice cream.

---

Material: 1