[F01-SP] three. <<Earning a Living: Gatherer>>

[NIGHT 0]

<<Earning a Living: Gatherer>>

it was for the item, she told herself. because there was little other reason to have gone out on an excursion any way else.

she'd excused herself, left the home on her own. a few more points chopped off their resting block, funded into a handful of skills. night hadn't thought [tracking] would come into handy so soon, however; and it wasn't on the thought that her destination would so easily be revealed to her, once she'd glanced through bistro's briefs, now offered on a daily subscription at a pricy col fee.

it was on the account that someone was following her.

she knew exactly who it was, and strangely enough what she was carrying, but didn't say anything as she continued down her path. something about the duo was unusual. not disheartening; in fact, knowing the pair got along better than she'd expected was something that should've soothed her soul.

	| NIGHT  | HP: 840/840 | EN: 142/142   | DMG: 24 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 44  | LM: 2 | PRLYZ | ABS. ACC | LD: 4  | BH: 25 | Stealth Rating: 5
[notes]: mega slime farm for +10% exp.
[Examine]  | equipment Cosmic Devourer -- [ Paralyze I | Natural successful attack rolls of 9-10 remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties. ] -- [ Absolute Accuracy | +1 ACC. Attack rolls of 1 no longer automatically miss. ] -- [ Accuracy I | +1 ACC. ] Tracksuit of Unfathomable Fashionability -- [ Mitigation I | +24 MIT. ] -- [ Light Momentum II | +2 ACC on an unsuccessful attack. Buff is removed on a successful attack. ] Silver Crescent Necklace -- [ Accuracy II | +2 ACC ] -- [ Evasion II | +2 EVA ]  | battle-ready inventory - - - - - - - - -  | skills Skills mod count: 7/7 2HSS | RANK 5/5 ferocity, stamina CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 3+1/5 tracking BATTLE HEALING | RANK 3/5 EXTENDED MOD LIMIT ENERGIST FAMILIAR: PROFESSION extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING blindside, vanish, surprise attack-t [CS] METAMORPHOSES  | consumed buffs Spoiler statue KUMATETSU | +1 DMG consumables - - - - - -  | misc. buffs Spoiler housing Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests. paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 10% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +3% EXP Gain.

[NIGHT 0]

birds of a feathers flocking together? no, they were enemies the first time they'd met. but they were still cut from the same cloth. for exactly what reason had they decided to team up today?

for some reason, noticing their close presence, night couldn't help but feel envious, if only a tinge, as she struck out on her lonesome. through the trees, a sharp turn at a distinctively out-of-place boulder, and she knew she had the right location.

none other than another earning a living quest.

it was almost as though cardinal wanted to subject them to herb picking hell.

"oh, hello," lyle tealeaf v2 spoke, to night's chagrin, greeting her as she entered the clearing's confines. it was circular, bushes lined neatly to border the tiny alcove. from above, sunlight was filtered in through the mass of leaves, canopy thick but unevenly clustered, raining some spots obviously with light and others to wither in shadow.

[NIGHT 0]

the player sulked as she approached the other. yeah, sure. she had a name. so did everyone else in aincrad. but she had to remind herself not to get too close to any more structures in one way or another. it was easier to be hardy alone.

"i didn't think anyone would find me here," came tealeaf-2's further prompting. the npc was sat squat in one position, one leg folded onto another, leather-bound journal in hand. the cloak was eye-catching, and night blinked the familiarity of it away.

a pot of something that smelled delicious was set on a small, dimming fire.

night continued to stay silent. she wondered if cardinal would ever catch the hint, and to that thought, the entity's eyes seemed to sparkle. "i suppose it was bound to happen, one way or another. tell me, are you here to learn how to harvest from the land?"

[NIGHT 0]

"yes."

only the briefest of words were to be exchanged for night to keep her composure. the presences she'd felt were still, now. she hadn't taken any turns earlier to throw their pacing off; it'd be worse if they'd gone missing and she'd have to look for both of them, take them under her care. bloody busybodies watching her every move.

tealeaf-2 chuckled, and night wondered if it was intentional. "so she speaks," the construct chided back. the player huffed in return, hands stowed further into the pockets of her tracksuit; they'd been hidden there from before, and now night was determined to keep them there, somewhat offended by the npc's demeanor.

surely, anyone's judgement would've considered her to be a quiet, bratty and uncooperative child.

"i suppose even a word will confirmation would do," the gathering instructor continued, book closed in her lap. she raised a hand, beckoning night to step closer.

[NIGHT 0]

reluctantly, night followed her instructions, frown worn all the way to giovanna's side.

a large bag sat nearby, on a tree-stump much lower than the one the npc was sitting on. bulbous; the holder almost looked like it was about to spill from its contents, and yet when night peered towards its opening, the bag's insides was completely dark. the construct dipped into it with a wrinkled hand -- night saw in it hard work that she was bullied by the system into believing had been done, had been made real -- and within a few seconds, she fished out a brass compass.

it was much larger than she'd expected.

night wondered if she should inform bistro of the oddity in the npc's retrieval of the key item.

"here," tealeaf-2 mentioned, and night made further revisions to her mental report when the npc offered it to her, locked between a thumb and three fingers. "this was what you were looking for, wasn't it?"

[NIGHT 0]

the [cursed compass].

night felt the curse should've lied within the quest itself. she took it, fingers trembling as they always did coming close to contact with another stranger, but this time she shook further from the system's knowledge of her workings. her hidden intentions.

giovanna smiled. when she pulled away, night found that the trinket was hers.

"as long as you bring it back," giovanna said, "you can borrow it."

well, that part was obvious enough. on the other hand, cardinal's certainty of her movements was something to be of concern, at the very least. night glanced back up at the woman after examining the bauble over, accidentally meeting her sights. for a moment, a question flashed into her mind. an apology spilled from her lips instead.

"sorry."

on instinct, the player coupled it with a curt bow of her head. then the regret sank in; she was treating the construct like an actual person, a proper elder.

[NIGHT 0]

fuck. not again.

giovanna seemed to snicker softly to herself; a kind, soft laughter. wise. almost all too knowing. or maybe that was night's imagination playing tricks on her.

"i don't need to ask if you were here to learn from me," she clarified, "if that was indeed what you were wondering."

shivers went down the player's spine. giovanna continued. "only a few humans have visited me thus far, but their agendas seemed to line up. i'm assuming you are one of the summoned to reunite the castle?"

lore that went over her head. was this new? night only stared blankly back at the woman. it was enough for cardinal to usher in another chuckle, and a wave of a tattered hand. "that look alone tells me enough."

the player wondered if she was expected to banter back. the entity was humanlike, sure. but exactly how much so?

and could she kindly keep her interactions to them at a minimum? having to look after one was hard enough work as it were.

[NIGHT 0]

when night took her gaze off the woman, it fell back onto the light trinket in her hands. it fit in her palm well; the player was expecting something smaller, from guesswork alone. she tried to think of a way to justify her leave without seeming rude -- being silent had its caveats, after all.

but giovanna said aloud what both of them were thinking for her. "you know, if you stay here all day, those herbs are never going to be found."

right. and she'd never get her hands on that shard she was looking for. night could feign sheepishness; looking incompetent in front of some nobody was easy. she mouthed an excuse under her breath, any ounce of surprise on her face drained away to resolve into a scowl, and at the npc's nod of approval, she started to saunter off towards the clearing's exit.

after a few steps, she caught her respect for the other. another tally for her personal offense board.

[NIGHT 0]

her first instinct upon leaving the clearing was to grasp hold of the compass in her hand and turn her head towards the interlopers hot on her trails that day.

they hadn't moved. or, rather, they seemed to be prepared to move. almost as though they were stuck in discussions rather than actively observing her movements.

night wondered if that was enough reason to let them continue tailing her the entire time she'd planned to be out. she decided otherwise, stepping towards their location at a gentle pace.

the figures in her senses went still. and then, a flurry of activity. the player couldn't tell which way they'd gone, and neither did she believe their presences had split up at all. with a sigh, the woman shook her head and turned around. under her fingers, she felt the needle shift in careful a swirl.

in which direction was this item pointing her towards?

 | id: 188050 | ld10 cd10

[NIGHT 0]

the problem lied within analog items, truly. night was always one to be efficient at technology, by way of trial and error, or simply having more free time than most her peers to have gone tinkering with digital items and platforms than otherwise.

real hands-on stuff, however; the player could never get behind. which colour indicated north, again? was it the red of the needle, or was it the blue?

she bet her col on blue. when she started one way, the needle shifted again, and the woman watched it in awe and dissatisfaction.

she compromised by going down sideways of where it pointed to. it seemed to make the most sense; there was the possibility of both directions being correct, which meant double the chances of her stumbling onto what she was supposed to find. bet cardinal didn't expect her logic, two steps ahead, to have come into play in beating the system's rules, did it?

 | id: 180051 | ld9 cd6

[NIGHT 0]

bistro: i am weeping for you.
bistro: sincerely, i hope you know how much of an idiot you are for coming to that conclusion.

night: -_-

at least she'd gathered the courage to ask after about 10 minutes of walking alone. had it been a whole hour, she would've expended all of her energy, and perhaps may not have found the morale to continue searching after all. night groaned, audibly, alone this time in the forest, pushing the boundaries of her search limits for any signs of her familiars.

she didn't realize how boring it would be to look for this 'rare item'. and it didn't help that, despite the system knowing who she was and what she'd set out to do, she still didn't know the difference between a wallflower and a weed.

(wait, were they both the same thing? in that case, it only served to show how inexperienced she was at the herb gathering process.)

 | id: 188052 | ld2 cd1

[NIGHT 0]

her thoughts went back to the two bumbling fools who were tailing her from before. not that she needed their presence. not that she wanted it, either. but it would certainly be more efficient to have two pairs of discerning eyes that could scout around for the item she sought.

also, if they actually got lost, night would have to end up hunting them down anyway.

with the use of [tracking] all she had to do was focus and their location would be made known to her. she started in their direction, keeping the compass in her hand in check-- it seemed to be pointing in the red, this way, and night knew immediately how much she hated bistro for having been right.

wasn't her fault she never got to play with compasses in full. and the short class they had on the subject of them and magnets were mostly for experimental and knowledge's sake. information like that could've easily fallen to the way side, and night would've never known for the better.

id: 188053 | ld3 cd5

[NIGHT 0]

but back to the present. night was getting close to her destination, now. and the couple seemed to be fleeing...

not if she could help it, this time. though the one she pursued was faster, the player had the advantage of unpredictability on her side. she felt her feet leave the ground when she advanced in one direction in a rush; in the direction she was heading, she would cut off her target in a matter of time.

--she changed her direction. no matter. night would follow. dodging the trees in her way was the most difficult part of the equation, and if she could only get rid of that factor, catching up and having them play into her hands would've been child's play.

maybe.

night wasn't a master manipulator or something, but she could get by in trying to spring some sort of a trap. at least, she was sufficiently certain--

id: 188054 | ld11 cd6

[NIGHT 0]

had she slowed, it was only because the player had decided to ascend a tree instead. her targets continued sprinting, of course, but night had a better route for herself now. what was it she'd always been told? gamers never looked up?

time to find out if cardinal itself did, then.

night's footwork was quick; she'd pulled out her weapon if only to make sure she wouldn't throw herself too far forward in a misstep or due to speed. its blade found purchase in a bark on occasion, the woman struggling to fling herself forward without compromising on her haste.

her targets slowed down eventually. came still, before shifting slowly.

night waited, measured the distance between her and her targets. when they'd stopped completely, she returned her sword to her inventory, lunging out at full speed--

--now.

and she sprung herself out of the trees, the network of branches and a shower of leaves to desecrate the ground with--

id: 188055 | ld18 cd7 | demonic shard found.

[NIGHT 0]

-- only to find out that [tracking] was indeed accurate, too much so, and that in night's catapulting, she hadn't stopped to think about how she was about to ambush her prey safely for herself or for them and--

"shit!"

"mew!"

"wh- night?!"

the tumble forward she took was everything painful, as far as the game could push her. her body numbed. her lungs hurt. but in the end she was down on the ground, soft and safe, only but the pulsing of her health bar in the upper-right corner to tell her she should've been more careful, the absolute moron.

night refused to open her eyes. she knew if she did, something terrible would befall her. she thought about the cursed compass, and wondered if it was still in her inventory, or if it had fallen out of her hands during the skipping process. she gave the metal in her hands a squeeze, trying not to move too much.

[NIGHT 0]

she found something soft instead, underneath the supposed trinket in her hand. she peeked an eye open -- the compass was definitely still locked away in her clutches. she'd just managed to pulse against her construct's hand was all.

the player nearly groaned when she'd noticed she'd fallen into another cliche. or fallen into day entirely. or fallen, haplessly, again, at all. instead, she picked herself up, noticing a tiny shroud bounce forward to come and inspect the duo in their rolling act.

"owwowowow..."

day but winced when her companion stood; horridly convincing. arguably so. the android's gaze went from inspecting the player over with a glance -- night wasn't keen on watching her do so -- to resting onto nyanko, the sole survivor of the fall who'd gone untarnished by digital scrapes and auxiliaries of nature.

"nothing bad happened to you, huh?"

"meep!"

"that's good," day purred, gently rubbing the kitten's forehead with a finger.

[NIGHT 0]

somehow, night couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy, watching her familiar grow cozy with the enemy.

"--you," she began, trying to interrupt their system entity bonding time. the duo turned to her, eyes expectant, and night wasn't sure where else she could look now. where once her sights would rest on one corner or the other, now she just felt trapped between them. and double the attention...

she growled just to steal a bit of control back from herself with hostility. "you two--" night corrected herself, "--were following me earlier, weren't you?"

to that accusation, day seemed to shrivel up in regret. and nyanko appeared to squeak back at her in frustration, waddling up close to night.

the player thought she heard the entity breathe 'traitor' the moment she picked up the cat in adoration.

"okay, yeah," day started, looking particularly shifty, trying to pick off the grass from her hair. "maybe i did do that. sure. ...but it was for a good reason, really...!"

[NIGHT 0]

again with the stalking. night should've put an end to this from the moment it began at the town of beginnings, but she didn't want to make a scene then, and the thought of nyanko being present in her midst had somehow slipped the gemini's antics from her mind.

before night could start again with the lecture, her alter brought forth a darkened piece of glass. it was like obsidian, tinged with a hint of ruby that glowed in the palm of her other's hand.

the player stared at it for a few seconds. her eyes dropped to the compass in her hand.

the red side of the needle was pointed in its specific direction.

night just stared at it quietly, unable to bring herself to look at day in the eye.

"you were looking for this, weren't you?"

day didn't need the contact. all she did was place the item on top of the compass in her hand. its needle spun around in a frenzy.

[NIGHT 0]

"mrrr!"

nyanko chimed in, as though to confirm their ordeal. great. the two eyes that were upon her were starting to work their magic again. the woman let out a sigh, allowing the compass and its material to fade away into her inventory before repositioning her hold on nyanko.

"when did you two get so close...?" she muttered, still upset at the turn of events.

she pressed the familiar close to her chest, and sullenly offered her pinky over to her other. "don't do that again," she warned; had it been another time, there would've been a proper weight behind her words. now they just felt empty.

day but brightened as she locked her own digit around night's. the player tugged her along, annoyed, keeping her eyes straight down the forest floor.

"see? it's not so bad to have me around all the time."

"don't push your luck," night said, shooting a glare over her shoulder.

[NIGHT 0]

they ended up at the entrance of the clearing once again. and though giovanna had been neutral towards the discovery of yet another demonic shard, the fact that night had managed to walk away successful with her hunt was the surprise to the system.

of course cardinal would know she was weak at its directions. the player took it awfully as she stood in place, waiting for the woman to finish her laughter.

"well," tealeaf-2 managed to say, wiping a tear from her eye. in her hands now was a bowl of stew; the wood it was made from was rosy in colour. "all's well that ends well, i suppose. you get to keep what you've sought to find."

"though i'm surprised you hadn't found anything more than that."

night blinked, tired, but nodded at her accusation once more. because it was true, the entire point of the quest was to herb pick. and the best she did was pick herself off the ground after an amazingly unnecessary fall.

the compass exchanged hands. night gave the woman a curt bow and an excuse to leave once again.

when she drifted away from the clearing, the entities were waiting for her with bright eyes and a smile, one tiny black cat locked in the hands of a glowing star.

night followed them. she didn't have anywhere else she'd wanted to go.