[PP-F01] <<The First Lesson>>

[Marius 0]

As unfortunate as it was for Cathal, it would appear as though the time had come for him to step up and begin to work towards becoming a true protector for his grandson. Or.. should he call himself by his username now? Marius did have a certain ring about itself so... It shouldn't be that hard to remember. With that matter taken care of, Marius would turn his attention towards his grandson and offer him a curt nod. "Right... I suppose that it is time for us to get started on things now, Fly-... er, Erebus. So what exactly do you think that we should do to get started?" While it might have just been convenient timing, it was around this time that a voice would begin to call out from behind both himself and his grandson.

 

"You there! Stop, please!" Immediately, Marius would turn about to try and locate the source of the voice. In doing so, he would take note of the fact that a man had begun to approach the duo with long, purposeful strides. "Pardon me, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable." It had been rather clear to Marius that this had been an NPC. Giving the NPC his attention, the man would heave a quick sigh, adjusting the monocle over his right eye. "My name is Dorian, and I am the mayor of this town. As part of those mayoral duties, I issued a small loan to a member of the community a few months ago. Well, the time to collect had come around and I-" Flustered, Dorian systematically runs his fingers over his perfect mustache. "You see, I've forgotten who it was I loaned the money to. Terribly embarrassing, I know, but I am a very busy man, and I cannot keep track of everything that happens. I'm sure you understand." With a wave of his hand, Dorian continues, "Should you be willing to track down the loan recipient for me, and collect the col, I would be eternally grateful. Just, maybe don't let anyone else know I forgot who the loan went to?" Honestly unsure of how to answer at this point, Marius would turn his gaze towards his grandson and quirk an eyebrow while posing a single question to him: "What do you think?"

Spoiler

Marius | Lv. 1 | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | LD: 0

Equipped Items:

• Warhammer | Tier 1 Vanity Two-Handed Warhammer
• Breastplate of Wrathful Protection | Tier 1 Rare Heavy Armor | MITIGATION I | THORNS I

Battle-Ready Inventory:

• Healing Potion (3) | Tier 1 Starter Potion | HP RECOVERY I [+50 HP]

Consumed Items:

• N/A

Skills:

• Heavy Armor | RANK 1/5
  • Mod: 8 MIT

Misc. Buffs:

• N/A

Battle Effects:

• MIT: 14
• Thorns: 9 Unmitigated Damage

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by Marius
Fixing Mitigation to the appropriate numbers in Battle Effects and Armor Skill

[Erebus 0]

With a sigh as well as a shrug, Ererbus gave the mayor a quick glance then turned to his grandfather. "Well this seems to be our starting misssion  our tutorial to this new world. So if anything this is the perfect way to get used top the world around us and the town structure. As strange as it is a Mayor not having any records of who he or she lends money to it seems like a good first mission. Only a shame it probably wont involve any combat." He turns to the mayor with a big grin. "Ok Mayor , we accept your request to track down this person." Erebus turns back to his grandfather "Up for a little search mission? Should be easy enough being a beginner mission. Question is will there be like an arrow pointing in the direction" Erebus turns around with his back to the two and looked around while saying so. "Or maybe a mini map?" He then looked up and to the left and right. "Hmm nope dooesn't seem to have anything like that. That means..." He then turns to the two again "We will have to rely on detective work to solve this one. soo...grandpa..you're from around the time of Sherlock Holme. What would he do first?" Erebus likes to poke fun at his grandpa not out of disrespect but moreso to get a reaction more of a friendly jabbing. He loves his grandfather more than anything or anyone. Even adventures. That said his grandfather is not just his grandfather but also a friend he can rely on and now an aly he can rely on in batte and survival in this new world. 

[Marius 0]

With his grandson having prompted the acceptance of the quest, Marius would nod as confirmation to the NPC. At this, Dorian would nod in response and go on to speak a bit further. "Excellent, I knew I could count on you! You might start with Zackariah, the alchemist. He's often doing projects for the town, so it may have been him that borrowed the money." It would seem as though things were finally getting underway. Or at least they would be once he had managed to figure out where this Zakariah's abode had been located. "I'm not quite sure that that will be necessary, Fly-... Erebus. ALSO, I am not as old as you make me out to be..." Without dwelling too much on that fact, Marius would take a moment to play around a bit with the visual interface. Most of the important information that Marius was going to need had been at the upper left corner of his field of vision. Things like his username, visual hit point guage, level and numerical hit points had all been there but not what he had been looking for. The local time had been at the bottom left as well. If that wasn't going to help than he was going to need to try something else.

 

Figuring that he would get farther with the touch interface, Marius would call forth his main menu window. He would do so by extending the index and middle fingers on his right hand together and swinging them downwards in a straight line, parallel to the axis of his avatar. A ringing sound would begin to play through his mind and the menu would than successfully appear. "Hm... Try doing what I just did and open up your main menu window. I've shown you how to do this in the past, remember? This is how we became friends in-game." Having assisted his grandson to the best of his ability at the moment, Marius would than proceed to filter through the five category options before selecting the maps/quests option. "For future reference, you can usually survey the area under the field map sub-menu. We've traveled around the map often enough to be able to pinpoint our directive from this location." And pinpoint they had as Marius would begin to head off towards the designated shop. "Come along Erebus." It didn't take too long for the duo to ultimately arrive at the apothecary of course. "Well... Here we are." 

 

Upon entering  Zackariah’s shop, the duo were met with shelves and shelves of colorful potions in various vials and jars. “Oh, hello," comes the distracted greeting from behind the counter. A man with a long, snow-white beard glances up from a bubbling cup of sweet-smelling purple liquid. "Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supplies.” Light comes into the man's dark eyes, a lightbulb going off to signify a brilliant idea. “Would you gather a few materials for me? Flowers, herbs, rare woods, whatever you can find outside the city walls. I promise I’ll help you fill your order as soon as you return. In fact, I would be willing to show you how to do it yourself.”

[Marius 0]

     A few moments had passed as Marius had awaited an appropriate response from his grandson. He was hoping that his grandson was accept the quest given that they were in a party together. Unfortunately, it didn't quite seem as though his grandson had much to say in the matter. If anything, it had almost seemed as though his grandson had suddenly become.. disinterested(?) in the matter entirely. In what had seemed like no time at all, his grandson had gone on to leave the party and would end up heading on out. "A-are you sure that this is what you want to d-" The door to the shop would close shut before Marius could finish his thoughts. His grandson was now gone and he was left standing there, alone, with a pop-up menu now awaiting his response. 

     The entire ordeal had been rather embarrassing overall and honestly, Marius had been worried that he had done something to upset him. Unfortunately there just wasn't anything that he could really do to stop his grandson at this point. That being said, Marius had wanted to ensure that the duo could survive in this death game and as such, he was going to need to kick things off on his own. He would accept the quest, the pop-up menu would disappear, and than he would turn back towards Zackariah. "I... suppose that I'll be the only one taking on your quest. Consider those materials to be gathered." From there, the old man would head on out of the shop.

Spoiler

Word Count: 256

Spoiler

OOC: Unfortunately my friend isn't quite sure if they will be continuing on the site so I suppose that I am just going to need to complete the thread on my own. Hope that is okay.

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     Having received his instructions from the NPC, Marius had begun to head on out of the shop. Not just that but he would take the time to worm his way out of the <<Town of Beginnings>> itself. From what he had understood, it would have been safest to attempt to acquire the required materials in the Plains just outside of town. It wasn't too far away from civilization so he shouldn't get lost and it was said to contain the lowest leveled monsters, which would assist him in certain developments given that his main specialty at the moment had been his armor.  "Alrighty. Now I am just going to have to try and dig up some flowers and herbs and the like. That shouldn't be too difficult to find out here, right? It... likely would have gone a bit easier if I had some company but that is alright. I will just have to try and be enough to protect the both of us." Slightly and uncomfortably patting himself on the back, Marius would nod to himself. "You've got this."

Spoiler

Word Count: 180

 

[Marius 0]

     A good twenty minutes or so would pass as Marius had wandered about the <<Plains>>while trying to find any sort of suitable material. He had more than likely encountered several instances of materials up to this point but had walked straight passed them, given that he really wasn't quite sure what to look out for. Flowers, herbs, rare woods, and thinks of that manner? That could have been anything really. "I suppose that I should probably just try and see if one of these flowers that are out and about in the <<Plains>> are just decorative or if they are materials, right? So I should just..." From there, he would simply kneel down in this heavy armor and attempt to click on the flower. He was hoping for a menu to appear before him and offer him any sort of interaction. The real question here was... would he really be able to get what he was looking for with this?
     To the old mans surprise, as he had knelt down and attempted to find some sort of pop-up menu, one would appear as he had tried to tap upon the flower! "Oh! So this is all that I really have to do, huh?  If this is the case than I should be able to be done with this in no time!" Thankfully the flower that he had knelt down to fiddle with had happened to be one of the kinds of flowers that would be helpful for a quest like this. Did he perhaps have a knack for this sort of thing? Only time would tell.

Spoiler

Word Count: 266
ID: 198924 | LD: 13
Materials Gathered: 1/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     Figuring that he would perhaps have a bit of an easier time when it comes to this whole gathering thing, Marius would walk around for a bit longer while searching for any particular flowers that had stood out. It wasn't the easiest task in the world given how many flowers had actually existed in the <<Plains>> themselves but one had to do what they had to do. Sooner or later they would come across another flower that could be gathered for this quest. It just wasn't going to be at this very moment. Despite having found a suitable material in the first instance of him searching with relative ease, Marius was now having a bit of trouble finding anything that would work out for him here. Every time that he had thought that he had found himself one such thing, another player would come along and pick it for themselves. A completely understandable action given that everyone here had wanted to survive. "No need to let this get you down old chum. We'll find ourselves all of the needed materials in due time."

Spoiler

Word Count: 183
ID: 198925 | LD: 7
Gathered Materials: 1/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     Several more minutes would pass as this old man had traversed across the <<Plains>>. As he had done so, he would not only be keeping an eye out for the materials that were needed for the quest but on the players that had joined him in this death game. It never should have turned out the way that it had but it ultimately wasn't something that he could have known was going to happen. Even if he could have stopped all of this from happening, how would he have gone about it? Not that it mattered at this point. No... While he couldn't have changed anything before all of this had happened, he could most assuredly go out of his way to work on ensuring the safety of those that still live. Become a support character in a sense. Yes, that was what he was going to do. It wouldn't be easy but those were his overall plans for the future. The only question than is how is he planning on doing this? Well, it would come to him eventually. Of course it is thanks to these very thoughts that Marius finds himself a tad too distracted and doesn't end up realizing that he had already crossed several possible materials. Unfortunately, in this moment of time, he just doesn't acquire what he had set out for.

Spoiler

Word Count: 226
ID: 198926 | LD: 2
Gathered Materials: 1/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     Having come to the realization of the fact that he had been drifting off into his subconsciousness a bit, Marius would stumble a bit. "W-wait... What was I just doing? I shouldn't be dwelling on such things and spacing out while out in a field such as this! This isn't a safe zone and if I had been caught unawares... Even with my proficiency in heavy armor, things could have seriously ended in a rather terrifying manner. I'm glad that I managed to catch myself before something like that could happen." Trying to shake off that worry that had slowly begun to creep up his shoulders, the old man would continue on.
    With things being as they were at the moment, Marius was going to need to focus a bit more on the task at hand. He couldn't risk getting killed off and having his grandson face this world on his own. Or leave anyone to such a task, really. That said, any time that he had come across any sort of flower in the next several minutes, Marius would immediately kneel down and try to gather it as material for the quest. It's too bad that those flowers were more so for visuals than for anything else.

Spoiler

Word Count: 208
ID: 198927 | 10
Gathered Materials: 1/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     As disappointing as it was for him to have to admit, this whole gathering materials thing had really been far more difficult that Marius had anticipated. It didn't really feel like it should have been this difficult overall but... maybe it just was this way? Not too sure on what to really do here, Marius would take a moment to make a mental note on how he was going to be needing to acquire some kind of way to make things easier for himself in the future. Maybe they had something along those lines in a shop? An item that could increase the drop rates of any such items that may or may not be acquired. Honestly, only time would really tell if he could acquire such a thing. 

    That wasn't really the thing that he would need to be focused on at the moment though. More and more time would be spent on his journey across the <<Plains>> as he would continue to search for any sort of indicator of where to go but unfortunately there just wasn't really anything here that could help him at the moment. Perhaps he should attempt a journey out towards <<The Stone Valley>> and hope to find something out there? It was a more dangerous place to be for sure but that didn't exactly steer this old man away. If anything it had left him feeling encouraged to venture forth and overcome this trial. "It may be called the Stone Valley but I'm sure that I can find something out there. Maybe some rare herbs or woods. That is supposedly the primary location for a quest about medicine, after all." 

Spoiler

Word Count: 277
ID: 198928 | LD: 2
Gathered Materials: 1/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     It may have taken far more time for Marius to get to <<The Stone Valley>> than he had anticipated but that was alright. It was but a brief moment in the grand scheme of things, really. Especially considering the fact that he was likely going to have a higher chance of finding the kind of materials that he was going to need out here than back out in the <<Plains>>. "Although I don't know all that much about that medicine quest that was supposedly out here at some point, I am  aware of the fact that there are entire forests out here. It honestly would have been an easier time for me overall if I would have started out here but I was just trying to play it safe. For Erebus' sake." 

     Now that he had actually found himself walking about within one of the many forests that had inhabited this valley, Marius would take the time to search about for any sort of materials that would be useful for his grand venture. It was maybe about ten minutes into this search that he had come across a very beautiful tree that stood out from the rest. It was almost peculiar in a sense and for a moment, Marius was really beginning to hope that it wasn't a monster of some kind. After some poking and prodding at the tree though, he would come to discover that it wasn't something that had needed to be worried about. It was just a typical tree from the looks of it. Such a claim was easily confirmed by tapping at the tree and obtaining a pop-up menu. Not only was this a normal tree... It had happened to contain a rare type of wood that could easily be used for the quest that he was on! Without even a second thought, Marius would acquire the lumber for himself and prepare himself for the next three materials that had needed to be gathered.

Spoiler

Word Count: 329
ID: 198929 | LD: 15
Gathered Materials: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     "I'm sure that things will be a lot easier for me now that I am physically in a forest. Or at least easier than things would have been back out in the plains." A simple nod would occur as Marius had thought on this fact. He had been feeling a bit more confident when it had coming to this gathering mission for the most part but that was when the doubt had begun to creep in. "Than again, it is entirely likely that this will make things much harder than they had been back out in the plains. Here, where everything is a flower or a plant of some type... It might just end up having me encounter some kind of plant type monster or running into things that are purely decorative."

     The doubt that was creeping in would only continue to grow stronger as he had meandered about through the forest. It was something that had concerned him overall, given that it was likely that he might have just sentenced himself to death by coming out here, but it hadn't completely crushed his spirit. Not as of yet. "I'll just try and focus on the task at hand and hope that it can keep me aware of my surroundings enough to not get into any sort of trouble."

Spoiler

Word Count: 219
ID: 198930 | LD: 7
Gathered Materials: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     Not quite sure whether or not he will be able to find things with a sense of ease while out and about in this forest, Marius would decide to just try and ignore the bad thoughts while continuing on. A few more minutes had been spent while searching in the immediate area but to no avail. Hoping that another spot would contain something of use, the old man would push past that spot and proceed deeper into the forest. More than anything else, more so than not completing this quest even, Marius had feared encountering something deep in the forest that he wouldn't be capable of fighting. Given his proficiency with his armor and the likes, he was almost certain that he could withstand a few blows. The main issue here was that he had no real way of injuring any monster that dared to show its face to him. Hopefully nothing like that would occur while he was out and about... Of course it was thoughts like these that were impeding on his progress of tracking down anything in particular.

Spoiler

Word Count: 181
ID: 198931 | LD: 8
Gathered Materials: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     As unfortunate as it was overall, Marius was having quite a bit of a difficult time tracking down the appropriate materials. Sure there had been all kinds of plants and the like surrounding him but that honestly just kind of made things more difficult for him. "Was it... a bad idea for me to have come out here like this? Alone and in an area that I haven't really explored before. It's honestly not too reassuring but I suppose that it should be okay. The key word there being should." Idly shaking his head from side to side, he would continue to search about in vain. There was nothing that he could gather within the immediate area. Really just things that seemed to be for decoration. It was troubling but it was what it was. Hopefully he would be able to come across someone or something eventually that might be able to help him. He was really going to need to try and find a way to make these kinds of things easier on himself.

Spoiler

Word Count: 175
ID: 198932 | LD: 9
Materials Gathered: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     With each search, the old man would begin to grow more tired. It had felt as though he had been wandering about on this quest for hours upon hours but at most it had only been about an hour of searching with maybe forty minutes worth of traveling. At least it wasn't dark out quite yet. It was only a matter of time before things would end up like that for him though so hopefully he could find what he was looking for before that happens. "Well... If I am going to be stuck in a situation like this than I might as well try and make the most out of it in the meantime. That being said, I wonder what kind of profession I should try and take up in the future. I'm thinking something that would ensure that I can aid both myself and others. I was hoping to maybe be a blacksmith but I believe that that market is practically overrun by a singular faction at this point. Maybe... a performer? From what I can remember, they seem to be kind of missing from the market at the moment. I'll have to look more into it when I get back from this quest."

Spoiler

Word Count: 206
ID: 198933 | LD: 7
Gathered Materials: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     By this point, it had honestly begun to feel as though fighting against the mobs of the first floor might have been of better assistance to the man. Sure it was dangerous but the more that he had thought about it, the more that he had realized that he could have managed to have acquired some loot from said monsters. Those mobs might have been able to drop a material or two, surely. Not like he was capable of finding a mob on his own in this thick canopied forest. It would have to be something in which they found him. Again, this was the kind of thing that would have been far easier for the monster themselves. After all, with how loud the clanking of his armor had been, it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if they were to come across him. For now though, no mobs had managed to find him and he had yet to find another material, yet again.

Spoiler

Word Count: 164
ID: 198934 | LD: 9
Gathered Materials: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     While continuing to shake their head from side to side, despite the obvious lurking threats, Marius had decided to continue on with their trek deeper into the forest. Sooner or later he would come across what he was looking for. Until that moment, all that he could really do is look about and hope that something works out for him. Every now and then he would take a moment to peruse a chunk of his immediate surroundings, hoping to track down what he had set out for, but it never had really ever led to anything. That was okay though. Time was passing and with each passing moment, his chances had increased. "Oh little plants... I know that you are hiding from me and I can almost understand why but sooner or later, you shall be in my clutches. All that I can say to you about this is... be warned."

Spoiler

Word Count: 151
ID: 198935 | LD: 9
Gathered Materials: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     In an attempt to try and shroud his mind from those perturbed invading thoughts, the elderly gentleman would begin to whistle a relatively jaunty tune. The very action itself was likely going to attract the attention of anything in the immediate vicinity but that wasn't even something that he had been considering at the moment. A few more instances of searching would take place as he would meander about through the pines surrounding him, his hand idly double tapping every other tree that he had been close enough to brush up against. Unsurprisingly, none of them had been what he had been there for. It was almost starting to feel as though there wasn't much to be found out here. Perhaps another forest in and of itself would serve as a better source of materials? It was entirely possible that that would be the case. With that thought in mind, rather than sticking it out and wandering about again, Marius was head for one of the many exits out of the forest.

Spoiler

Word Count: 172
ID: 198936 | LD: 5
Gathered Materials: 2/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     Having meandered from out of the forest and back out into <<The Stone Valley>>, Marius had begun to let out a slightly relieved sigh. If he had stayed in that forest for much longer than he was likely to go stir crazy. "I... suppose that most of that forest has been tapped for resources for the time being. Maybe it'll naturally restock itself later on or just happens to be one of those locations that is very limited in what it has to offer." With a slight shrug, the elderly man would push on towards another nearby forest. Thankfully there had been one not all that far away. Even with how large each floor seemed to be, things had seemingly been situated in an appropriate distance of one another.

     Eventually Marius would find himself entering woods of another forest. The immediate surroundings didn't seem to be all that special but that didn't mean that there wasn't anything more interesting farther in. It was with this mentality that he had pushed deeper into the forest. Maybe about another twenty five feet in and he had managed to spot a flower that stood out amongst the weeds of the area. Leaning down to give it a look, he would double tap the item and a pop-up menu item would appear. This had been it! Another material that he could acquire for the quest had finally shown itself to him! Without further ado, Marius would accept the item into his inventory and proceed onward. "Maybe the gatherable herbs are all near the entrances of these places? It would be a weird way to have designed this floor but I suppose that it is always an option."

Spoiler

Word Count: 283
ID: 198937 | LD: 17
Gathered Materials: 3/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius

[Marius 0]

     Hoping to test this method of only finding materials near the front of each forest, Marius would begin to scout out the area surrounding the outer layer. It didn't seem to be proving all that useful at first but he had only just begun. There was still further evidence to attempt to gather so he would continue to do so while digging around for actual materials. "While I may not have come across anything as of yet, I am sure that I will encounter something to prove my point eventually. Of course if I can't manage to do so than that just means that I'll have to head further into the forest. I suppose that this warrants investigation though. Just like work back in the old days, before this death game, huh? Ahahaha." It was a little surprising that he hadn't encountered any of the mobs up to this point though. They must have been just missing one another time and time again. Or perhaps there just weren't any mobs to encounter straight away thanks to the other players. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what was going on there.

Spoiler

Word Count: 189
ID: 198938 | LD: 8
Gathered Materials: 3/5

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Marius