[F1-PP] A saga worthy of song. I hope. <<The First Lesson>>

[Melodie le Breton 0]

Mel listening silently, nodding as Astreya explained it. "Maybe it is?" She suggested, though she sounded uncertain. It was not an aspect of the game she had researched beforehand, but even so... If a player decided to play the game as a mere farmer, how would that help them to escape the game? Not that she could judge a player for deciding to become one, especially since she spent her time till recently hiding in the Town of Beginnings chained down by her own fear and cowardice. "I was the quiet gamer girl back in reality. Go to school, do the best I can, come home, play games." She explained her own circumstances in return, now here they are, both trapped in this game together. 

"I'd appreciate that. Dying would really ruin my plans." Melodie responded with a nervous laugh. "I hope it is good. It's meant to be a rare weapon so we can only hope." In an ordinary game, the petite brunette usually loved the combat, the proper meaty challenge of a game. Yet, in this world, if she messed up with her sword skill, she might easily find herself dead, just another name stamped upon the wall. She could not die, but nor would she merely allow herself to be a prisoner, some damsel waiting to be rescued. She did the rescuing around here, not the other way around. 

"Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and manage to get them both soon." Mel suggested, turning her attention to the herbs. "I've encountered worse on other games though, even if this is the only one with perma death as a threat." She shook her head sadly as she failed to find another of the final two herbs. "You must have become really frustrated to take a profession around finding these things." Mel grumbled in her annoyance, to be stuck on one of the starting quests was just plain humiliating. 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 3/5

Roll ID #202935
LD: 8

[Astreya 0]

"Nothing wrong with that," the woman responded with a grin, interested to note that she was much like a lot of the other people that Astreya had met here in the game in that she was a gamer first and foremost and when it came to things like social interaction, she didn't quite have the same amount of experience that other people did.  Not that it was really a bad thing, per se, as it allowed them to develop other skills that weren't in the same vein as the popularity contest that was high school.  Not that Astreya had really had much issue on that front either- being all-but trained by her father from a young age to play chess, learn how to read people and so forth.  "Getting to have fun and do things was probably at least a way to relax and not be wound up on stress all the time," she responded with a slight laugh, even though she recalled her own difficulties at times.

At the girl's words, Astreya smiled, but once more it was a little strained, not quite reaching her eyes when the woman spoke of death.  "Yeah for sure.  I've got your back though!  No need to worry!" Astreya cheered, hoping that wouldn't ever be a risk that they'd need to face here on the first floor.  Astreya could one-shot most of the creatures here with a single strike, leaving them unbothered by them, and PKers generally avoided the first floor anyway.  Lots of the high-level folks hung around here now and then, and beyond that it was meant to be a safe zone. 

"Oh yeah?  There's more annoying things than, like, hunting for these herbs?"  she asked, genuinely curious.  "I played a few games, like, when I was younger.  Y'know like Jumpman and stuff?  But what sorta game gets, like, worse than this?" she asked, gesturing out toward the vast open field they were still traversing in.  "But you're right, Mel," Astreya spoke, shaking her head.  "This quest drove me totally crazy.  I gave Zackariah an earful when I was done, too," she admitted, even if it was an NPC and he'd barely reacted to that.  "But let me take a step back and let you gather, just in case I'm like, bad luck or something?"

---

Hunting Familiar 3/5

Edited December 31, 2021 by Astreya

[Melodie le Breton 0]

 Melodie shrugged her shoulders at that. Back in the real world there were far too many people who seemed to have a problem with her life revolving around video games. It was kinda funny now she happened to be stuck within a game. "Finding ways to relax and have fun is always important. Cannot always be all work and no play. You'll burn out." Perhaps at times, she put far too much effort into the fun part of life over work, but that could not be helped. She probably could class all that game time as training, preparation for this game, in hindsight anyway. 

"I trust you." Melodie told Astreya honestly. Perhaps for some it might be a little too soon for trust, but since if Astreya meant her harm she easily could have done it personally or waited for the Mobs to do their work. "Yeah this is a kind of fetch quest, but I find the escort quests are the worst ones." That was her opinion on it anyway, she found they restricted her play style and movements too much. "I doubt few games are worse than this one, at least in terms of consequences." She had not heard of any other games trapping and killing their players before SAO came out. 

"I cannot say I blame you. I would... But... I'm not one to draw all that attention by yelling." She admitted awkwardly, her self consciousness made her unwilling to let herself be the centre of attention. Mel chuckled and shook her head. "I'm sure you're not but just don't wander too far. I don't want to get blindsided by an enemy or anything." Another run of bad luck in the quest for this herb, but Mel needed only to take her time. Eventually, the odds would come into her favour, though she personally believed her life long look to not be merely bad, but worthy of an ancient curse. 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 3/5

Roll ID #202936
LD: 5

[Astreya 0]

As soon as Mel began talking about the concept of 'all work and no play' Astreya couldn't help but to laugh a little bit in response to that.  "Yeah that's what I kept trying to tell myself but, like, before I knew it I was adding something else to my plate.  I was so totally burned out, y'know?" she responded, shaking her head.  And it was true.  Between studying, chess club and practice, volleyball practice, cheer leading and then other side projects that she was working on, the young woman just didn't have any time for herself at any point.  It wasn't until she had gotten roped into trying out SAO that she had actually found out what 'relaxing' was for a time.  "But with, like, how much I've been pushing to get up to the front lines, it's totally just like a job, y'know?" the girl asked, looking to her friend.

At the mention of escort quests, the armored woman set a hand to her jawline, starting to think if she knew of any offhand, but she hadn't gotten to do that many yet.  "I'm sure there's gotta be like, one or two or something here.  But I haven't seen any so far.  So like, maybe by the time we have to do them, we'll totally be high enough level?" she asked, mostly amused about the whole idea of having to escort an NPC somewhere.  She imagined it wouldn't be fun at all, honestly, especially if the NPC did things that were against what was needed.

"No worries, I'll stick by close enough to smash any boars that think you look like something tasty," the woman offered with a slight grin, even as she noted that Mel wasn't able to find another one of the flowers.  She knew that it was frustrating, for sure, but at the same time, there wasn't anything she could do to help.  She could see other materials, but not the ones needed for this quest.  "If you wanna try looking further away from the Town of Beginnings, like, we can try that too?" she offered.

----

Hunting Familiar 4/5

[Melodie le Breton 0]

"Yeah I get that. My parents and some of my teachers were always on my case. You need more sleep, you should spend less time gaming and all the rest." Melodie rolled her eyes, recalling the different lectures she went through. In the online world, she felt like she belonged, felt as thought she was a someone, a somebody, a hero. That she was more than this petite girl Lily. 

"That's where I need to be. I am going to be a hero." Mel told Astreya. "It is a job true enough, but it is a vital one." Without those players willing to risk death in battle and struggle, all of them would still be trapped within the Town of Beginnings, eternal prisoners in this video game world. Once she hit the frontlines, Melodie would finally start to prove to the other players that she was more than some petite girl, she was a hero. She would prove to herself that she was not a coward. 

"Maybe. Assuming you want to hang round with me still by then." She joked weakly, worried that by then her friend might have moved on, choosing to leave her behind. Melodie wanted to hope she and Astreya might still be friends by then, but her self doubt already busied itself making attempts to undermine Mel's confidence in this budding friendship.

"Yes please, I'd rather hope that I am not tasty." Mel admitted, feeling her cheeks grow warm at being described as tasty. "That is probably for the best..." She tried to not sound too reluctant about it, but it might increase her odds of success if she ventured out further. One small step for Mel, one giant hope to not get murdered in a video game. She advanced on, pausing to investigate a nearby clump of flowers. She closed her eyes with relief, letting out a quiet sigh of joy as the counter ticked that much closer towards five. 

 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 4/5

Roll ID #202939
LD: 20

[Astreya 0]

"Ohmigod, yes," the girl responded, reaching a hand up to the side of her face in an attempt to show just how frustrated she was from that.  "I was told all the time that I needed to get more sleep and to stop doing so much but like, c'mon," she spoke, shaking her head in mild annoyance at the memory of it.  She was always pushing to get things done and everyone was always trying to hold her back, which was an incredibly frustrating situation for the young woman.  "Just let us do what we wanna do, y'know?" she asked, shaking her head.

At the mention of 'hero' Astreya couldn't help but to grin a little.  "I like that!  Hero!" she spoke, puffing out her chest and setting her hands on her hips in an iconic 'superhero' pose.  "We should totally both be heroes," the girl spoke, grinning slightly.  The idea of getting to be somewhat known in the upper echelons was an exciting one.  She didn't know if that was going to be the case, especially with how many were likely there.  But she had been noticed by both Freyd and Raidou... and Astreya knew both of them were on the front lines.

"What?  Why wouldn't I want to hang out?  Look, having fun and helping out is, like, so much better than just hitting stuff to level up, y'know?" the girl spoke, shaking her head.  "Besides, even if you don't think you're cool or fun or whatever, I'm totally having a blast talking to you," she spoke, grinning widely.  And it was true- she was having a lot of fun, even if it was just chatting, as far as she was concerned.

"I knew it!" Astreya cheered as she saw Mel kneel down to get another set of the herbs.  "Okay cool.  I think that like, just leaves one left, right?" she asked, looking at the other girl.  "Then we can turn this quest in and, like, get to the good ones!" she was about to step forward when a 'caw' caught her attention and Frosty dropped off a small bag of what looked like Materials.  "Hey cool!  Now I can spend more time doing that Performing profession," she murmured.

-----

Hunting Familiar Roll: #202940
CD: 3 (2 Materials)
LD: 1 (2 Materials)
793 Col
[Cooldown: 0/5]

Edited December 31, 2021 by Astreya

[Melodie le Breton 0]

"Yeah, it was really frustrating." Mel admitted, having found it difficult to express to both her parents and to just about any other adult figure in her life why she preferred disappearing online into just about every game possible. From the sounds of it, Astreya had been an incredibly busy individual back in the real world. "I suppose they wanted to help. In their own way." She suggested with a shake of her head, whether or not it actually helped or not she could not say. 

She blushed, knowing the emotion engine in the game would easily give away the expression. "Maybe. I've got to make it through the tutorial  thought first." Assuming she actually managed to get the final herb and then survive the short trek back into town. It sounded so simple, but then logging out was meant to be a simple and easy affair, so she was not going to take anything for granted. 

At the question, Mel found something very interesting about her boots. "I... I... Wel... Well." She began uncertainly. "I... I find that a lot of people... Once they get to know me, they... Don't really like me or they act like my friend but... They aren't." She explained awkwardly to Astreya, somehow she felt as though she might understand. If she did not quite understand, being from the sounds of things a rather social individual, she might grasp it better than the handful of people over the years she had confessed these feelings too. Her flush deepened at her friend's compliments. "You're too kind." Mel finally managed to respond after an awkward silence as she searched for something to say. 

"Thanks, fingers crossed we'll get the last one in no time." Mel declared, as she knelt down to try searching for the final one. "Sounds like a good plan." At the mention of performing, she glanced over. "Oh? What do you perform?" The brunette inquired, wondering and hoping that it might be polite to ask. Sadly no such luck on the herb front, but they were so close now to the end. 

 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 4/5

Roll ID #202944
LD: 3

[Astreya 0]

Astreya nodded slowly.  "I figure they were just, like, trying to do what they thought was right, but it's like.  Just because they know something doesn't mean it'll, like, always apply, y'know?" she spoke, frowning slightly.  Her dad was the biggest culprit of it.  The man was firm and unyielding in everything he did, and there were only a few moments where Astreya had seen actual warmth and kindness coming from him in her lifetime.  Not that he was harsh, or cruel to her, he was just emotionally distant and she'd just come to expect that from him.  "My dad kept trying to allude life to chess- so lame, I know- but like... Chess has set rules and boundaries and junk.  Life doesn't have those," she murmured, shaking her head.

She was going to comment on the girl's wishes to get through the tutorial (which Astreya agreed with.  This first quest was always so annoying,) but then the conversation took a slightly different turn when it came to the reason why Mel didn't think that Astreya would stick around, or want to remain friends with her.  The young woman frowned a little at that, her gaze on the other young woman for a long moment.  "I can get that," she admitted after a few moments, not really uncomfortable with discussing it, but she didn't want to make Mel uncomfortable with it, either.

"I've had lots of people I knew that I figured were friends and then like, they are until there's a chance to get ahead or some sorta benefit out of snubbing me then, well, they did," she finished a little lamely.  "I used to take it really hard, especially when I had a few friends that suddenly weren't anymore, but, like, I just held onto the friends that were really there for me, y'know?  My dad always said it was just 'cutting the fat' like I was some sorta social butcher," she admitted with a slight grin.  "But no matter how things mighta been before, right now, like, we gotta rely on each other to survive.  It's not just school grades or a boyfriend or something dumb, y'know?" she spoke.

However as she was asked about her performance, the girl gave a hesitant laugh.  "So...about that.  Like, I don't actually have much musical talent," she admitted with a grin, even though pink decorated her cheeks.  "I kinda just fell into it?  I'm still learning how the whole thing works.  I've got one that I did with the Profession guy's help but... that's all so far," she admitted.

[Melodie le Breton 0]

"Yeah... You're right." Mel said in quiet agreement. If they survived this adventure, or more accurately if she survived it, maybe the two of them would have a lot to talk about over a pot of tea. It might be nice to let out everything she had on her chest, she assumed it might be the same for Astreya too. "Yeah." She replied with a smirk. "So far as I know, the only rules life stands by is there are no rules." Even in this death game there were still rules, rules which restricted their talents and abilities. "You do?" Mel sounded quite startled by the fact. She just seemed so confident, so secure in herself, so certain. "You would be surprised by how many couldn't." She whispered sadly, everyone else believed making friends to be simple. But for Mel, she found it to be very difficult to do. With the exception of her new found ally, Astreya, who seemed able to get Mel to talk. 

She listened in silence as Astreya spoke. "I don't think I could deal with that. Heck, I'm still impressed you managed to get a boyfriend. Not that I am saying you couldn't get boyfriends. I... I mean I... I... I find it impressive that you are able to do something I can't." Mel awkwardly explained,  feeling as though she ere suddenly on the verge of a very large and very steep pit.

"You won't catch me performing." Mel assured Astreya with utter conviction. "I'm sure you are much better than you think. I'll even come and watch if you like. Though..." She glanced down at the ground before over to Astreya. "You might have to save me a front row seat." She chuckled at the joke at her own lack of height. "No such luck for that final herb yet." She confessed. 

 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 4/5

Roll ID #202951
LD: 2

[Astreya 0]

"Yup!  No rules at all.  Life does what it wants and we all just gotta, like, figure out how to survive it," she spoke with a slight grin before she paused, gesturing at the landscape around them.  "Y'know, kinda like this game I guess.  We just gotta survive no matter what it is!" she cheered, lifting both hands in her excitement.  Astreya was fairly easy-going, in most things, just letting things roll this way and that.  She enjoyed keeping things happy and upbeat when she could- it was far easier than trying to play serious all the time.  

Astreya gave a slightly sad smile at the woman's words then.  "Yeah.  I figure most of the people, like, that have difficulty figuring it out?  They're the ones that are the jerks," she spoke, the smile starting to warm a little.  "But people need to know what it's like on the other side too, y'know?" she spoke, giving a shrug.  "But I've been there.  Just trim the fat and move on.  Like, just totally enjoy your steak," she added, trying to keep the mood up.

At the mention of boyfriends, Astreya's smile widened a little and she shook her head.  "No offense taken!  I know what you're saying," she responded evenly.  "It's totally a wild world out there, y'know?  It'll land for ya!" she agreed, grinning slightly, even as she turned away from Mel for a brief moment, seeming to scan the horizon for potential threats.  In that time though, the girl's expression dropped for the briefest of moments.  "Besides there's like, totally a ton of dudes stuck here with us.  We've got a good shot!" she added.

"Once I get good at performing, maybe.  Right now I'm still, like, trying to figure out all the instruments," she admitted, shaking her head.  "But yeah!  Totally front row!" she agreed, pumping her fists a bit in her own excitement.   "I'll make a song about Mel and Streya, against the world!  Or maybe one about how much this quest stinks to find herbs," she mused, scratching at the side of her head with a small, almost exasperated smile at the situation.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Astreya

[Melodie le Breton 0]

"At least life in a video game makes sense and you can do practical stuff to guard against anything unexpected." Mel countered, in short the higher their levels, the greater their chances of survival. She glanced at her own level, the sooner she managed to get that number to rise... The better. Right now it was far too small and thus far too close to a potential death for her liking. "Sounds like a good plan to me." She agreed with Astreya. 

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah... You are probably right." Mel returned the smile, though it was half hearted and nervous, as if she were already expecting for it to have to vanish in a moment. She happened to be glad that Astreya managed to understand her previous sentence. "I'm glad you weren't offended." Mel knew from bitter previous experience that it was all too easy to accidentally offend someone with a slip up on words. It was part of what made making friends so difficult, a single miscommunication or even a misinterpretation could resort in disaster. 

"You'd think." She muttered grimly, recalling bitter memories from other games. "But then again this is not like any other game before." Not that Melodie was actively seeking romance. Survival, becoming a hero, beating this game were higher priorities in her mind, but all the same to experience love happened to be something she desired. Perhaps because so many of her favorite novels involved a romance plot. What she would not give for a good book in this game. 

"I'm sure you'll get it soon." Mel encouraged, wondering how long it might take in game to learn the instruments. At the mention of herself in a song, she shook her head. "No no, that's fine you don't need to make me a song." She had no desire to draw the attention of a crowd or others by suddenly appearing in a song. Suddenly, she leapt up into the air. "Yes! That makes five!" She declared. "Quick, lets get back to town before the boars try to kill us..." She paused before correcting. "Well me, but anyway let's go to Zackariah and get this quest over with."

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 5/5

Roll ID #202957
LD: 20

[Astreya 0]

"That's true!  There's rules and stuff that we don't get to deal with in the real world and all that junk," Astreya agreed, nodding along with the girl's words.  It seemed she was starting to open up a little bit, which Astreya was happy to see.  The girl was definitely a shyer sort, and that was always hard to have them open up.  The armored girl was a social butterfly and genuinely friendly to people, so she found that getting people to open up wasn't difficult so long as you were interested in what they had to say and could just be nice.  There were a lot of people that she had met (honestly not so much here, but in real life) that were just unnecessarily mean or misconstrued things or were just looking for a reason to take offense.  

At the mention of her being offended, Astreya couldn't help but to grin.  "No way!  You have to try pretty hard to offend me.  A lot of times people don't know how to say what they're thinking and so sometimes it comes out wrong.  As long as, like, you don't just take it at face value, and totally just try to get what the other person's trying to say, like, you can't really get offended, y'know?" the girl asked, mostly just trying to voice her own words in a way of agreement.

"Okay, okay.  I'll leave you out of it.  But I'm totally gonna make a song about these dang herbs," the girl noted, before Melodie leapt into the air, and Astreya grinned widely at her.  "All right!  Okay let's head back into town, track Zackariah back down, and then you get to use those herbs to like, actually make a potion.  I think it's supposed to teach you how some of the professions work?  I dunno- I didn't actually pick mine up until recently," she spoke again, sheathing her blade before beginning to head back toward the main gate.

"If you're gonna, like, do the damage thing, may want to consider Tailor or maybe Blacksmith?  Or maybe Cooking too.  Man there's a lot of options for a profession," Astreya spoke aloud as they walked, mostly just making conversation.

[Melodie le Breton 0]

"Yeah... I'm not looking forward to returning back to reality. It is going to be one heck of a shock to the system." Mel said, shaking her head. Going home would have it's great perks, such as not being killed by an Orc, but all the old problems were still there, waiting for her. No exp bonuses for dealing with those. "Oh." Melodie responded quietly. "I guess..." She was not really good with the people, but she guessed Astreya appeared to understand humans better than she did. 

"Thank you and yes, please do." She was fine with being left out of a song and also happy with there being a song out about this frustrating herb quest. She needed to get back now, with these herbs in order to finish the rest of it. "Yes, hopefully we won't run into too much trouble along the way." She doubted any hostile players would try to pester her with a higher level bodyguard. But still, the sooner she was back inside the safe zone, the better. "Fair enough, I plan to avoid picking one till I know for sure." Mel replied, there was plenty of time for that later. 

"Yes there is a lot. Some people like the cooking aspect of the game but it's not an avenue I'm going to look too much into." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders. "As long as I can find somewhere to have a nice pot of tea I'm good." 

She led the way back towards Zackariah’s shop, once there all she need do was craft the potion and then it should be simple as pie then. Give money to Dorian and next quest. Though, like everything else in this game and life... She doubted it might go so smoothly. No plan survives contact with tutorial quests. 

 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 5/5

[Astreya 0]

"Yeah...I don't really, like, know how I'll get back to a normal life after all of this.  Everything is totally all screwed up for me now," the girls poke, shaking her head slightly.  While she wasn't the biggest gamer, at the same time, there was very little actual 'game' that was happening here.  Much of it was just struggling to survive in this world, and that was also outfitted with the constant need to adventure, kill mobs and so forth to level up in order to survive the stronger stuff.  ALl of that was just to get to the Front Lines.  "Going back to, like, a life where I don't have to fight to survive seems really weird," the woman admitted.

Astreya nodded at the girl as they made their way over toward the gates.  "I wonder how Zakariah will appreciate it.  Granted as an NPC he might not care," the girl admitted, before they came through the gates and she grinned, glancing over at one of the unnamed NPC guards. "Hey Marv!" she called, waving cheerily at the fellow, even as he absolutely did not respond to her.  That was to be expected- the NPC didn't have any sort of script built in to respond to the players who spoke to him.  

"I don't think I'd ever do much cooking myself, but like, I do know that I really like to eat the food here.  Since the game counts whatever you eat as food, like, I've had so many cakes and pies and stuff," the girl admitted with a slight grin.  "Why eat healthy if I totally know have to, y'know?" she asked with a small bounce in her step. 

As they approached the building for Zakariah's shop, Astreya threw open the door, letting her friend in first.  "Good to see you again!" she called to the NPC as she followed Melodie inside.

[Melodie le Breton 0]

 Dying in game was something that filled Melodie with a nameless terror, but returning to the same reality she sought so often to escape also frightened her. The world would not be the same one she left when she logged into the game all that time ago. "What if they were lying to us?" Mel asked suddenly. "What... If we beat this game and then..." She trailed off, that they were merely stuck here. No way to ever escape, ever log out, trapped forever in an endless MMO. A world of swords and monsters, made of digital data their home till the limits of human technology on their bodies took their toll and it all came to an end. 

"He probably would not care or is programmed not to care." She responded, doubting the NPC was even aware. Just an automated quest line, though given the AI on the monsters in this game... She was not a hundred percent certain of that fact. 

"I understand that." Not that Mel had been very careful with her diet beforehand. It mostly considered of whatever could not get away fast enough and be dragged up to her lair to feast. Fortunately, her lack of sleep and high metabolism tended to balance out leaving her quite skinny and also small for her age. At least that was what her parents told her every time they caught her playing an MMO at three in the morning on a school night. 

She led the way as Astreya flung open the door. "Righto, I've got the herbs now how do I craft this potion"? Mel asked as she entered the familiar shop. "Let's hope we can make this quick then stop for lunch." She told Astreya, all the talk of food having stirred her appetite. 

 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 5/5

[Astreya 0]

At Melodie's words, there was an unfortunate gnawing in the bit of Astreya's stomach.  Not that she believed they were being lied to, of course, or that such a thing could even happen... but all the same, the fact that this was a thought she'd had as well, something to just make her doubt and second-guess, came up to the surface in her mind.  She felt the discomfort but swallowed it back down as best she could, putting on a brave smile.  "Naw, no way.  Besides, even if that is the case, we don't know that yet, right?  So, like, we can still hope for the future of getting out and going back to normal," she continued, giving the girl a nudge.  "Plus I feel like... if the guy made a game, and made all these rules, he'd like, stick to the rules he set, right?" she asked, mostly just thinking aloud.

As they entered the shop, Astreya just gestured to Zakariah, letting him handle the explanation for her companion.  Much like with the gathering of the herbs, there wasn't much that Astreya could actually contribute to this conversation, given that her own experience had been admittedly way way easier than actually trying to find the herbs at all.

"Oh man, I am like so totally down to eat," Astreya responded with a grin.  She knew there was a cake shop here on this floor that was pretty good.  It was run by another player who didn't much care for the Front lines, but he made some killer food and some really good sweets, too.  She could invite her new friend over and then Astreya could happily wolf down an entire cake.  Or two.  It had been a pretty long day doing some herb hunting.

[Melodie le Breton 0]

 Mel nodded slowly, forcing a smile onto her face and put on an attempt to look convinced. "Yeah you are right." Though from the sounds of her voice, she had her doubts. Not that it would stop her from trying to get to the frontline and helping  to clear the game. It was probably her own paranoia talking, of her not trusting in the offered way out. 

Melodie went through the dialogue with Zackariah, before starting on making the potion. After a few more presses and motions, she had a potion. This she gave over to Zackariah and whilst he was examining it, she glanced over at her friend. "I'm not making potions as a profession." She decided adamantly. 

After successfully crafting the potions, Zackariah holds them up, examining your work. "You did a fantastic job," he finally declares, offering you the items. "Now, was there anything else?" Once she explain your real reason for visiting, Zackariah chuckles and shakes his head. "Leave it to Dorian to forget something so important. No, I'm afraid it wasn't me that borrowed the col. You might try Lyle, the blacksmith. I've seen him talking with the mayor frequently the past month or so, and he's just up the road. I wish you luck!"

Melodie groaned at the next quest step. "Yeah, I'm getting hangry so we need to have a break. Turns out being scared witless works up an appetite." 

 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 5/5

Roll ID: 202959

Crafting Roll: 8

[Astreya 0]

The fact that Melodie didn't sound convinced in the slightest didn't escape Astreya, the woman giving a small smile at her friend's uncertainty.  She supposed that, at the end of the day, she couldn't really blame her.  They didn't have any sort of guarantee that what they were going to do at the Front lines was actually going to mean anything.  Sure, they'd been told that clearing the game would let them all go free...but who knew if that was really the case?  But she couldn't give into those doubts- Astreya had to keep that hope to keep her moving forward, so she tried to push it out of her mind, not wanting to dwell on it for any longer than she had to.

While she watched Melodie struggle through the potion-making, Astreya couldn't help but to grin slightly in earnest.  There was a sort of nostalgic feeling, watching her go through this.  She had found when she was struggling through the potion-making that Zakariah had been helpful, but as Mel finished, giving her decision that potion-making was not going to be her Profession of choice, Astreya couldn't help but to laugh out loud at that.  "Yeah, like, it really sucks," she spoke out loud, not at all minding that the potion-master himself could hear her.

She nodded at the conclusion of the quest.  "For sure!  We'll take a break and then if you're, like, ready, we can totally help you get out some of that nervous energy.  Lyle's quest has you going out to kill boars, so, like, we can see how well you're ready to do that DPS thing," the girl responded with a small grin.  "C'mon, I'll show ya my favorite cake shop here.  It's right near the front gates," she offered with a grin.

[Melodie le Breton 0]

"It really does." Melodie responded, though she was pleased with the result of the potion making lesson and quest. Plus she was still alive too boot, so silver linings and she made a friend. A high level friend with heavy armour. She turned to leave, grateful to Astreya for her help with this questline, even if she was not able to actively do the quest. Keeping the mobs away and keeping her alive happened to be an important enough role for Mel. 

"Time to get used to fighting." Mel attempted to sound determined, but she was immensely worried. What if she died? What if the boars killed her? Food first, worry later. "Yeah, cannot fight on an empty stomach. Lead on." She told her new best friend since she knew where she happened to be going. 

Level: 1
Tier: 1
HP: 20
EN: 20
Dmg: 4 (R1 Weapon Skill)
Acc: 2 (Gear: weapon)

Gathering herbs: 5/5

Roll ID: 202959

Crafting Roll: 8

[Astreya 0]

Astreya grinned widely at Mel as the pair began to make their way out of Zakariah's shop, and then from there, they turned, heading back the way they'd come in, heading to the gate.  "It's a little scary, but you mostly just fight the weaker ones so it's not too bad.  They like, they spawn in for the quest, so they're meant to be a little weaker.  You shouldn't end up fighting any of the, like, full-grown ones," the girl added, wanting to make sure that the girl was at least comfortable with the upcoming fighting.

"Plus this quest alone should give you enough to level, and that'll give you a pretty good, like, edge!" the girl cheered, before she waved at the player who ran the baking shop.  Astreya was likely one of the more common shoppers there and she grinned as she approached.  "But right now?  These apple turnovers are so good!" she spoke, leading her friend over to them.