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

[Kanaoki 0]

A huge yawn distorted his face, as he slowly opened his eyes. The curtains did a decent job at stopping the sunlight from entering his room, but a single ray sneaked its way through and managed to dazzle him, so he groaned and thought how nice it would be to have shutters. After turning away from the sunlight he took a glance at the clock that was situated in the righthand corner of his vision and sought. 
It's late enough to stand up and go for a walk, and maybe I can get some breakfast, before moving out again. Level two is nice, but I have to grow stronger, if I want to do anything meaningful. he thought while slowly climbing out of his bed, cautious to not hit his head at the low ceiling. Once he was up, he quickly changed into his gear, using the equipment tab of the character menu, and had a look at the mirror to check if he looked like a respectable fighter.

The reflection that eyed him up, just a she did, looked good. The long black hair leaned onto its shoulders, framing the slender face, the wiry body covered by a heavy plate armor made from layers of dark grey pieces, accented by orange specs of rust that were part of the armors design. His left arm was left free, as if something had ripped this part of the armor, and the green jacket, that reminded him of his school uniform was visible here. On his hip a well crafted sword with blue accents appeared and he felt he was ready to leave for some adventuring and made his way out the door into the narrow hallway that led out of the Smashed Apple.

Wordcount: 292

Stats:

Spoiler

Kanaoki| Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 7 | ACC: 1 | MIT: 12 | LD +3

Equipped Items:

• Monarch | Tier 1 Perfect Two-Handed Straight Sword | DAMAGE II | ACC I
• Tough Armor | Tier 1 Rare Heavy Armor | MIT II
• Crystal | Tier 1 Perfect Trinket | LD +3

Battle-Ready Inventory:

• (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

Skills:

• Straight Sword | RANK 2/5

Quest:

Spoiler

Quest Rewards:
Remember: these rewards are given to all participants completing the quest for the first time. They are in addition to the standard thread rewards. Be sure to track your potions somewhere (a spreadsheet, your journal, etc.).

• 450 Experience Points
• 500 Col
• 5 materials
• An Assortment of Potions:
  • (5) T1 Uncommon Health Potions: Heals 5% of Maximum HP.
  • (1) T1 Uncommon Damage Potion: +1 DMG for an entire thread.
  • (1) T1 Uncommon Overhealth Potion: Adds 5% of Maximum HP to users Maximum HP for a thread.
  • (1) T1 Health Potion, quality is based on Crafting Results.
• Unlock <<The Second Lesson>> Quest

Requirements:

• Must roleplay speaking to Dorian to receive the quest.
• Must roleplay interacting with Zackariah.
• Gather 5 materials
• Return to Zackariah with the materials.
• Craft a Healing Potion of Uncommon or greater quality.

 

[akiko 0]

Slowly Akiko opened her eyes and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she stood up and slowly walked to her window. Even though her room was in the attic she had enough space for herself, sometimes being small seemed to have its own virtues. She pulled the curtains aside to let in the light of the day and opened the window for some fresh air. Down in the streets of the town she could still see the shadows of the night and in the distance the sun had only just started to climb up behind the small hills. Akiko inhaled the nice fresh air and turned to the mirror, grabbing the hairbrush in front of it.
She combed the knots out of her shoulder long, soft, orange hair, her brown eyes following her every move through the mirror. As her hair was al fluffy again she put on her red framed glasses and started to change from her sleepwear to outdoor clothing.

The very first quest was only searching for items another player had told her, so it wouldn't be to dangerous and it should be okay, that she had neither an armour nor a real weapon to defend her besides the starting gear
She finally choose long dark grey trousers combined with something similar to hiking shoes, a light brown long-sleeved shirt and a brown vest. With her approvingly nodding to herself she left her room, on the hunt for some food before she was ready to start the day.

As she reached the room for the breakfast in "The Smashed Apple" she was alone, seemed like she was an early bird again. The innkeeper, Jasper, poked his head out of the kitchen "Morning Akiko, do you want the usual?" he asked as Akiko nodded. Shortly after she had taken a seat Jasper already came out of the kitchen, two toast with peanut butter and jelly on a small plate and a glass of milk "Thanks mister" Akiko said and started eating like a hungry wolf. 
Mid eating she heard steps walking down the hallway and as she looked up she smiled "Goowdmowning Kanaowki" she greeted him with a mouth full of peanut butter jelly sandwich.

Wordcount: 368

Stats:

Spoiler

Akiko| Lv. 1 | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 4 | ACC:  | MIT:  | LD 

Inventory:

New Character Bundle: 

• Set D | Support Package
• 2,000 Col and (25) Materials

Equipment

• Vanity Axe
• Vanity Heavy armour 

Consumables

• (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by akiko

[Kanaoki 0]

Arriving in the taverns main room he was greeted by one of the few other players he had met regularly, and with a smirk he waved her a greeting. She has beaten me to being the first one again he thought, as he checked the clock again, just to be sure it really was that early. Whit a sigh he dropped on the chair next to Akiko and answered her good morning by saying "Good morning to you as well Akiko, and please stop calling me Kanaoki. Haven't I told you more than enough, that it's just Kana."

Then he turned his head to look towards the kitchen, and smiled as he saw Jaspers head peeking out. As he didn't want to call across the not to big room, he stood up again, walked over and asked the innkeeper "Jo Jasper, do you remember the soup I described to you last week? I'd really love if you could get the needed components, so we can have some of that this evening. And for now, how about some egg and bacon, I need a good basis for heading out today" and as he finished his order, he patted the sword at his hip. Then he returned to the table and once more turned his attention to Akiko, watching how she munched down on the pb&j sandwich she had ordered. For a moment he thought about how someone looking that cute and childlike could be in her mid twenties, but he quickly shook of those thoughts and instead asked "So, what's your plans for today? Anything special you're doing, or just the usual?"

Wordcount:271

[akiko 0]

"Sorry" Akiko said as Kanaoki told her not to use his full name, again "I will try to" Happily she continued munching on her sandwich as Kanaoki ordered breakfast for himself.
Soup for dinner? Sounded great! Akiko thought by herself she hadn't had soup in a while as Kanaoki's question brought her back to the table, away from the memories of her last good soup. "What? My plans for today?" she thought a short moment, if I tell him maybe he wants to join me? "I was thinking to start the beginner quests today, I have earned some col and commissioned an armour and a shield yesterday, maybe I am lucky and one of those things is already finished and ready for pick up" she quacked with a smile "It sure is time for me to finally do something too" She paused for a moment to drink some of her milk "Kana, you don't have some free time by chance? I was thinking maybe you want to accompany me? I heard the first quest was something with searching but together it is more fun than alone, don't you think?" 

While Akiko was talking Jasper already had come out of the kitchen to bring Kanaoki his breakfast and the bacon sure smelled delicious, careful she eyed Kanaoki and the bacon, ripped an equal sized piece of her pb&j sandwich and quickly switched it with a stripe of bacon and munched it away "So?" she said with an innocent face looking up to Kanaoki "what do you think? Want to go on an adventure together?" 

 

Wordcount: 263

Edited October 15, 2022 by akiko

[Kanaoki 0]

"Oh, nice. I did the same about a week ago." Kana said, doing a little pose so she could get a better view of his new equipment. Then he added "I don't know about this quest, but I was going for some adventuring myself, so why not. And if there really is a quest like that, gaining a little bonus experience while stocking up on materials sounds good." And just like that, his plans had changed from simply walking out and getting a better understanding of the battle mechanics to a full on quest with a friend. He was just thinking how lucky he was, when he noticed some movement on his plate and was to slow to stop Akiko from stealing part of his breakfast.

He released a sigh, his brown eyes rolling as he looked into Akikos played innocent face and shrugged, before he finally answered "That's not so nice of you. You can't just take my bacon and believe I wouldn't notice it. But aside from that, I would be happy to join you for this adventure. And I even got some more good news for you." The last part, he added after a short pause, and with a smile in his face. But before he would tell her, what that surprise could be, he had to eat his breakfast, so he started with the scrambled eggs and some toast, then he took the beacon that was left, and in the end he munched on the piece peanut butter jelly sandwich, she had placed on his plate, murmuring about how he didn't like sweet breakfast.

Wordcount: 268

[akiko 0]

As Kanaoki showed her his new equipment "Woah" she said with shining eyes "It does look good on you and about the quest, just look at me. Since I only have the starter gear at the moment I won't be able to fight or protect so it will be collecting and searching for the start"

After she had finished the "traded" bacon he looked at her. Akiko kept her innocent look on her face "You only had six stripes of bacon to begin with" she said with big round, definitely not played, innocent eyes "You have some good news for me? Did you find a job or something?"
As Kanaoki continued his mission of deleting the breakfast Akiko pulled a pencil and sketchbook out of her inventory to distract herself while he was busy. She tried to remember the faces of her siblings as she started to sketch small ovals for their faces, adding more and more detail each time. As Kanaoki finally had finished his meal it felt like her youngest sibling was looking at her from this small sheet of digital paper, a sad smile hushed over her lips as she put the book and pen away and looked back to Kana, "Are you ready to accept a quest and search for some materials?" She asked him with a small smile and begun to get up, she was small, but not to small to not see a difference the moment she stood up even though it only may be two or three inches. 

 

Wordcount: 255

Edited October 25, 2022 by akiko

[Kanaoki 0]

While eating his breakfast he listened to Akiko, who told him he hadn't had any more bacon to begin with, but he was quite sure she had stolen some of his plate. But that wasn't a major concern, as the food was still just of the basic npc made kind. He was okay with the somewhat bland taste of it, but he had heard, that players that learned the cooking profession could actually create food that tasted as good as real one. While thinking about that, his mind wandered and he saw all the good food he missed from the real world, but his daydreaming was interrupted, when Akiko asked him, if he had found a job. Kana was quite confused, as he hadn't heard what she was referring to, so he shook his head and took a moment to think about what it could have been. Then it clicked, and when she started to stand up, definitely waiting for him, he got up too and finally said. "Okay, let's get going to get this quest. And in regards to the good news I got for you." he paused just a moment and continued, "I went on my first adventure last week, and I got some loot, which included an axe. I can't really use it with the skill I picked, but you got an axe for starter gear, so I thought you might like it. I just have to go and grab it from the appraiser to see what it does" 

Wordcount: 262

OOC: As agreed with staff, the Item was gotten in this post and can be used from now on, as the evaluation is approved now.
@akiko can trade the item with me in her post

Spoiler

Item Name: Butcher's Axe
Item Tier: 1
Item Type: Axe
Item Rarity:  Perfect
Item Enhancements: Damage II / Bleed I (+2 DMG / +12 BLD per 2 turns, on Crit)
Item Description: A hand axe with a rough serrated edge.  Not much use for chopping, but it will rip a chunk out regardless.
Purchase Post

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Kanaoki

[akiko 0]

As she stood there waiting for Kana to get up to he started to talk again, agreeing to start the quest and  telling her about the good news he had for her. Kana told her from the adventure he was on and that he had found some loot and that one of the items was for her. Akikos eyes sparkled as she heard, that he had an axe for her "Are you sure you want to give it to me and not try to sell it for some profit? I mean we aren't even really friends..." she asked happy but also a little bit unsure and muttering she added "...and I maybe just stole some bacon from you..." 
She looked at him and it seemed, that he really was for real, she would get her first real weapon. Akiko made some small, joyful hops before she quickly hugged him "Thank you" and then turned around to walk towards the door. Still with a smile on her face she opened it and looked around, the streets started to get lively but in the corners you could still see the sleepiness of the night.
Turning on her heels she looked back at Kana, holding the door open for him "Are you ready?"
As she walked fully out of the door she stretched once again and took a deep breath, today had to be a good day, if it already started like this and hopefully she could soon give Kana something in return for the axe he had found, maybe some bacon? Or something more useful once she had found a job and maybe even a little store where she could sell things.

 

Wordcount: 280

[Kanaoki 0]

As Akiko asked him, if he was sure, he nodded and smiled at her, answering her question with a simple "Don't worry, it's not like there are many players who would by something like it. And those that could use it probably have just as little money as we do." 
The next thing he saw was the small woman jumping up and down and rushing in for a hug, that was to fast for him to really react to. He was to say something, but she had already turned around and walked out the door, asking him to follow her.

As they had planned to go out and get some basic questing done, he soon followed her into the still empty streets. The air was fresh and he let out a yawn, as he stretched his armes and looked around, wondering where they would find this quest Akiko had talked about. Not sure where to go next, he opened his inventory and a moment later a book appeared in his hand. This was the players guide some higher level players had created, and as it was a collection of information for newer players it should hold the information he needed. Quickly skimming through the quest part of the guide, he found out, that there was an NPC giving out the quest, wandering the area around one of the smaller parks. "Okay, I found where we need to go" he informed Akiko and signed her to follow him. 

They had to cross quite some distance within the Town of Beginnings, but soon they reached the small park with the fancy looking fountain, and before the could start the search for the NPC, he had already found them. The stylish clothed man approached them with long, purposeful strides, calling out "You there! Stop, please!" followed by a  "Pardon me, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable." Kana immediately stops and looks for the voices source, and as soon a she sees the man, the man heaves a quick sigh, adjusts the monocle over his right eye and continues. "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 ran his fingers over his perfect mustache.

Wordcount: 307

@Almina I stopped before he has mentioned the quest, if you want to barge in on the conversation this would be a good moment I guess. 
Feel free to Include the rest of his text in your response

Edited November 1, 2022 by Kanaoki

[Almina 0]

A tree was always different from a roof, but it was a neat spot nevertheless.

It had been a bit of a morning. First, Almina woke up only to fail at getting back to sleep, resulting in her simply getting herself ready for the day. She didn't know if she could properly defend herself without a piece of defensive equipment, aside from just trying to dodge, but better safe than sorry, right? She would change from her sleepwear into her everyday safe zone outfit, a simple white shirt paired with a knife pleat skirt and hoodie jacket, both a rose pink in color, along with a pair of white ankle boots. She would then place a cute, cream white beanie surfaced with soft fuzz onto her head. Sure, there were better ways to equip clothing, armor, and/or accessories, but since it was morning and she was the only one in the room, why not keep this real world habit going in case she manages to return? That was the endgoal of getting through this, wasn't it? Brushing and combing her hair in this game was too easy, though...

 

After getting herself ready for the day, she notified the innkeeper of her leave, and walked out. Even on mornings like this, it was often crowded in this town, so Almina needed to find a spot that was easier for her to get a grasp on her surroundings. She saw a tree near a fountain, and decided to climb it. She would then look off into the sky, and once again witness this virtual world's similarity to her own world that she originated from, in how the colors of the sky change and blend whenever the sun rises or sets. In this case, it was the sunrise...past that, actually. "Will I re-encounter all my troubles here....or will my life always be filled with them?" She thought to herself. "This world itself is going to be full of troubles, that's what a game normally is, after all...but this time, I'm actually in it, and death is final, permanent for my actual self as well as my avatar in this game, which now looks exactly like me, even the hair color is still mine..." 

She pondered over the thoughts a little longer, before getting herself situated once more in order to leap.

She would jump down from the tree, landing right into an ongoing conversation between an NPC and a pair of individuals who were probably players, judging by the green cursors above them. One player was a black haired man wearing old-looking armor, with spots of rust and wear. Was its durability running low? The other was a girl with soft orange hair, who wore a simple outfit with a vest. That particular clothing she wore might be more accurate to the game's setting than Almina's.

The NPC would continue speaking, despite any surprise that the Cardinal system would have allowed him for Almina's unexpected arrival, if it would allow him at all. "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, the NPC would continue. "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?"

A quest prompt would appear in front of Almina, as well as the other two players, but Almina should probably introduce herself to them first. "Hi, I'm Almina." She greeted, with a bright smile on her face and a friendly waving of her hand. "I didn't exactly mean to intrude on anything, buuuut if you don't mind an extra party member, I'd be happy to tag along!" She added.

 

Wordcount: 651

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 1

HP: 20
Energy: 20
Base Damage: 7(SS Rank 1[3], White Blade[3])
Mitigation: 0
Accuracy: 0
Evasion: 0
Loot Die: 3(Fuzzy Beanie)

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

 

Skills:

Straight Sword 1(4 SP)

 

Equipment:

[T1]White Blade(Straight Sword, 3 DMG)[Equipped]

Rosy Outfit(Vanity)[Equipped]

[T1]Fuzzy Beanie(3 LD)[Equipped]

 

Consumables:

Starter Healing Potions(Restores 50 HP) x3

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Almina

[akiko 0]

Akiko looked curious at the flustered major with his perfect moustache, even if this was only a game the expressions looked real it was creepy and fascinating to her. She followed Kana and listened to the NPC who was telling them the start of the quest. As he told them about the loan he had to collect but forgot who he had lend it to Akiko heard a flump next to her. As she looked to her side she could only see pink for a moment, it seemed that this girl had just jumped down to them from the tree next to them. The mayor had finished his speech and with a smile the girl introduced herself as Almira. Baffled Akiko had to blink a few times before she was able to answer her "My name is Akiko and I guess nice to meet you?" she quickly accepted the quest before she continued "You sort of scarred me... About tagging along, if it is okay with you Kana I don't mind having one more in the party" with the last part she turned to Kana "And I think I forgot to accept the axe from you, maybe I was too excited to start my first quest with someone and did forget to take it..."

After she received the axe she looked back at Almina "Will this be your first quest? You look just a little bit like me, a beginner who hasn't really stepped out of the town till now" she once again looked her up and down, her clothing screamed cute and Akiko wasn't sure about the white boots. Do things get dirty in this game? And if so, can it be cleaned? A question she might soon have a answer too.

 

Wordcount: 293

Accepts axe from Kanaoki

Spoiler

Item Name: Butcher's Axe
Item Tier: 1
Item Type: Axe
Item Rarity:  Perfect
Item Enhancements: Damage II / Bleed I (+2 DMG / +12 BLD per 2 turns, on Crit)
Item Description: A hand axe with a rough serrated edge.  Not much use for chopping, but it will rip a chunk out regardless.
Purchase Post

 

[Kanaoki 0]

Kana had been watching the major with his stylish beard and monocle, while he had told them about the quest and soon enough a quest popup had appeared in front of him. He was just ready to accept, when he noticed another player jumping - he furrowed his brow for a moment, thinking that that was kind of strange - right next to them. The Girl wore an outfit that would have been a good fit for a normal day in the city, but seemed out of place to him now, as it didn't have any fantasy aesthetics at all, and he wondered where he could get normal outside world cloths like that, but then his train of thoughts returned to the strange appearing of the girl.

Soon enough she introduced herself as Almina and asked them if they were okay with her tagging along. So she must have listened in on the major giving them the strange quest, and Kana wasn't seeing any way having another player come along would hurt, so when Akiko said that he was the one to decide, he smiled and greeted her, sending a party invite. "Nice to meet you Almina, I'm Kana, so ignore the name above my head spelling Kanaoki." he smirked a little and added "So let's go and get some questing done. Who wouldn't love being the loan enforcer for his first quest ever?" With this said, he thought a little more about the oddity that was the quest they had just accepted, and soon enough he noticed the quest log had some more information, telling them to look for some guy called Zackariah, just as the major once again raises his voice and said "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."

Well, with that said, it was no surprise, the information had been in the quest log, and by looking at the map that was attached to the quest, Kana quickly found the way they would have to take to reach this Zackariah guy, so he turned to the others, noticing that he had a notification, telling him that Akiko had accepted the trade request he had made earlier. With a single head shake he looked at Akiko, who now was the owner of a spooky looking butchers axe, and ignored what he had just been about to say, to instead ask both of the girls, if they were ready to go.

Wordcount: 394

[Almina 0]

At first, both players were taken aback by Almina's sudden arrival, having literally jumped down from a tree.

Guess jumping from places one climbed up to wasn't normal either...even if they were of sensible enough heights to survive, or in a safe zone like this.

The girl seemed baffled as she introduced herself as Akiko, before noting that the sudden arrival startled her. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to literally jump into the conversation...and here I am..." Almina responded, her hands behind her back as she slowly tilted to the side. Akiko didn't seem to mind Almina tagging along if it was fine with the other player, who would introduce himself as Kana, while also asking her to ignore the name above his head spelling Kanaoki.

...But the thing was, Almina didn't see any names above the players' heads, just cursors. Maybe this player was still used to other MMOs where usernames and/or character names displayed? And in such a case, if Kanaoki was his username, why did he introduce himself as Kana? Was it a nickname, or was he just going by his real name? Almina decided to not ask about it...for now.

"Nice to meet you too, Kana." Almina responded as she accepted the party invite Kanaoki had sent her. She then accepted the quest prompt that was still in front of her. Akiko asked if this was Almina's first quest, that she seemed to be a beginner. "Yep, first quest I'll be taking, I guess!" She responded with a smile while scratching the back of her head. 

Under normal real world conditions, Almina would be internally panicking and trying to find a way out of such an obvious level one plot hook as this, but this was no world for the normal and Almina had made the conscious decision to stop hiding and start fighting, so oddly enough, she felt at ease. Kanaoki made a remark having to do with the premise of the quest that the NPC seemed to be giving. "Heh, I bet that all the possible individuals that could've borrowed will need us to do something for 'em before we get to figure out if they did borrow the money or not." Almina guessed. "Who knows what we'll really be doing?" She added with a shrug, her smile refusing to fade. "Well, I'm ready when you are!"

 

Wordcount: 394

[akiko 0]

Still happy about the axe she just got Akiko listened to Almina "I heard some higher levelled player talk about the quest from the major and the annoying collecting parts of materials, so I think we really have to collect some sort of things to get all the answers we need and just as he said, he doesn't know who he lend the money too so we probably need to speak to many NPC's on the way" as she had finished the sentence she opened the quest log and read the description and found a small map, leading the way to the shop of this Zackariah "I think I know where this is, I saw it on my strolls through the town, I will lead the way if you don't mind" Akiko looked at both of them, Almina was already ready to go and Kana looked like he was ready too.

Akiko lead the small group through the narrow streets until they reached another small marketplace, the smell of freshly baked bread filled the air and pigeons were searching for some crumbs around the few benches in the middle of the place. Akiko stopped to look around, searching for a potion shop, there it was, next to a small street leading away from the marketplace "I think I found it" she said and walked towards the dark door.

A sweet smell greeted her nose as she pulled the door open and a small bell made a soft ringing sound. The wall were covered in shelves filled with various vials, jars and colourful potion bottles and behind the counter stood a man with long, white hair and a beard, looking at a cup filled with a bubbling, purple liquid “Oh, hello," he greeted them slowly looking up "Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supplies.” he said with a small sad smile as he suddenly looked happy, as if he just had 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.” he told the group with a big smile.

 

Wordcount: 329

 

[Kanaoki 0]

Once both girls had accepted his party invitation, Kana smiled at them, happy to have such nice company. He hadn't been great with people out in the real world, and all the time in the Town of Beginnings hadn't had helped him with this, so this felt really like something special. But the moment went by fast, and they returned to the quest at hand. Almina mentioned that thought the quest probably was created in a way, that they had to do smaller tasks for all those people that might have had the money, and once they followed Akiko to the Alchemists Shop, it was clear that she was right. The elderly looking alchemist with his long hair didn't even let them ask about the money, before he asked them to collect some materials and maybe craft some potions, which triggered the questlog to update and the new quest read:

<<Zackariah's Materials>>
Leave the town and gather materials to use and craft some potions
Material gathered: 0/5
Potion crafted 0/1

Kana quickly read the updated quest info and without waiting for the others confirmation he answered "We aren't here to order potions, but it doesn't hurt having some more potions on hand, so we'll accept your offer." The man's smile grew even wider, as he sent them back out of his laboratory. Looking at the others, Kana opened the map to see where the next exit was, and made his way towards the towns exit, asking them to follow.

The gate that lead out of town was huge enough for ten people to walk next to each other, and Kana felt small as he left the town once more. In front of them were the green flats and small hills, that surrounded the Town of Beginnings, and not to far from where they were, the first mob could be seen. These boars were passive mobs, so there was no danger from them, as long, as the party wouldn't attack them, and even if they attacked, Kana knew his armor was strong enough to reduce the incoming damage to nearly zero. His gaze wandered around, looking for some place that looked like it would hold materials usable for brewing potions, and indeed there was a group of young trees not to far away. "Look over there, this seems to be a good place to start our hunt for what ever we find to put into potions. Does anyone of you know, what exactly we are searching?" He asked, as he lead the group there, looking for plants and soon found a flower that started to glow in his vision, showing him that it was lootable. Once he picked it up, the quest updated to 
Material gathered: 1/5

Spoiler

[ID: 209985] [LD: 9+3 = 12] --> Material Found
Total Loot: 1/5 Materials 

Wordcount: 459

Edited November 16, 2022 by Kanaoki

[Almina 0]

As the players followed Akiko to reach the Alchemist's shop, some thoughts began to run within her mind. With a game like this...who knows what she'd be up against. She'd heard of the first few types of monsters and how it was unwise to underestimate them, but if the lowest level creatures could be a problem, how much worse would the real threats be? Almina saw herself clutching a weapon, as a big brute of a beast lunged at her. The scene slowed as Almina saw herself swinging her blade towards the monster...

Snap back to reality, oop, there goes gravity-

Flump.

Almina came to her senses after landing on her back. She looked in front of her to realize she'd stepped and slipped on a stray fallen potion bottle on the ground. Oops.

Almina simply blinked twice as she saw the quest info update. As Almina had guessed earlier, there were little tasks that had to be done for this particular individual. Problem was, she had little clue as to what the context was, other than it was clear the shopkeeper needed the players' help, of course. "Sure, we'll gladly help out!" She said to the shopkeeper after getting back up. For starters, she might as well deal with the empty bottle on the floor so no one slips and flips over it on the way out, let alone anyone else who entered have to put up with such things.

Awkward moment aside, there was progression in the quest, and it was time to get moving. ...Except Materials came from outside the safe zone, so Almina would access her inventory to equip her weapon, causing its belt and scabbard, with the blade inside, to appear around her waist. Better safe than sorry.

 

The first monsters in sight were boars. Based on the mild glares they gave, they seemed to tolerate the presence of players as long as they didn't get too close. Guess the trio of players had that going for them, at least. Kanaoki asked if anyone knew what the players were looking for. If the target items were alchemy materials...well... Almina lifted her hand to her chin as she began to ponder aloud. "Alchemy ingredients tend to depend on the game and its lore. Usually it's mostly plant material, occasionally featuring some kind of product from animals or insects, depending on whether or not they actually have something to do with what's being worked on. Alchemical potions tend to be a fantasy science of sorts, certain things carry properties that can be restorative, beneficial, or harmful, and have more potent effects when processed in certain ways." With that explanation, she would smile and proceed to say, "So, it seems that it might be simple to distinguish materials from common objects of the environment, so the tricky part may just lay in finding them in the first place."

Almina would begin poking around in a few bushes and pull out a sweet smelling, bright red berry. When her progress changed by one, it was a confirmation in her mind that this little fruit had alchemical properties. "One down." She mused.

 

Wordcount: 522

 

ID# 209986 LD: 18+3=21(Found a material!)

Edited November 23, 2022 by Almina

[akiko 0]

With her freshly updated quest Akiko followed Kanaoki out of the shop, giving a short glance to Almia, for someone who jumps from trees she seems to be rather clumsy, a small, friendly smile run over her lips, just like my younger siblings...

 As they reached one of the exits of the town Akiko stopped for a second, she never had left the town before it felt kind of strange for her to go out now, after nearly two years of sitting around behind the safe walls of this big city. After a deep breath she stepped out of the safe zone. In some distance she was able to see a group of boars who seemed to be something like friendly, still she didn't want to get to close to them, at least not as long as she had no armour to protect her, even though this is the first floor and still close to the town, too much DMG would be fatal.
She followed the two to a small group of trees, enjoying the wind in her hair and the sound the grass made because of it, the air smelled quiet different, fresher, clearer and deep down she felt the curiosity to explore this world. Akiko shook her head to clear her thoughts and focus on the quest, seeing the smiles on the other twos faces it seemed like they already had found something.

After some time of looking around Akiko found a promising tree stump in the shade of another tree, she remembered the real world and how she often was able to find useful things around such an area, as she walked closer, carefully looking around for anything that could help by brewing a potion she sadly soon found out, that this only was a tree stump, even though there were no items she could find the stump looked quiet nice, she would try to remember this place, some time she could come back here to draw, it was quiet and not to dark.

 

Wordcount: 337

ID#210023 LD: 6 --> found nothing

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by akiko

[Kanaoki 0]

Kana was happy, that he was out in the green fields with these two lovely companions, as he wasn't a huge fan of gathering quests. He had never liked this type of quest design in normal video games, and not being able to hover the mouse over material deposits that were designed to look really different from the rest of the game world, to see if it was lootable didn't help this disposition. So when Almina started talking about what she thought, he was sure she must have played quite an amount of other games, to come to an understanding of the underlying system. "That sounds like it should be true for this world as well. I just wished, I could see those properties to make it easier to find what we are searching." before he continued, he pulled out the plant he had gathered so far and showed it to the others "This is one of those, I already got lucky and found something, so if you see plants like them, take them".

The next minutes he started to rush from bush to bush and from tree to tree, hoping to find something like the plant he had found, or maybe some berries or apples, but he wasn't lucky this time. Soon he started to get frustrated and randomly kicked some stones lying around. When he hit on, that was the tip of a larger one, he stumbled, as a text appeared, calling it an immovable object. "Nice one game, I understand and will stop" he mumbled with a frown on his face that didn't leave until he looked at the others wandering around.

Spoiler

ID: 210035
LD: 5 + 3 = 8 --> nothing found

Wordcount: 275

Edited November 28, 2022 by Kanaoki

[Almina 0]

Life tip, not all flowers should be smelled like roses...that is, if you're living in a fantasy environment where anything can happen.

Kana would remark on the explanation that Almina had given, saying that although it indeed seemed to be the case, he'd only hoped he could see the properties of such things so that he knew what to look for. "It could be for the sake of immersion." Almina theorized. "Due to the game's lifelike nature, we might have to figure out the properties ourselves." She added, as she began to recall certain games where one had to experiment with trial and error to make things, or how alchemy in games like Skyrim required experimentation with the alchemy ingredients to discover effects to be used in potions. Kana would pull out a material that he'd found, so that if Almina and Akiko were to see them, that they could take them, knowing they were alchemy materials. "Thanks Kana, I'll keep that in mind!" Almina said with a light smile. Almina looked around, and saw an odd flower growing beside some kind of mushroom. Almina didn't know if either would be helpful...so she decided to get a whiff of the flower's scent, and-

There she goes, faceplanting into the foliage.

 

Was Almina asleep, or was she daydreaming again? She wasn't seeing the first floor, that was for sure. She saw a hill coated with dark grass, and it appeared to be dusk. There were figures on the long, wide hill, practically silhouettes from their distance. Other figures looking like people began to emerge and enter view. Within the sky was a red star...wait, that wasn't fire, that...that star seemed to be one of...blood? What was Almina even seeing? Soon, the closer figures at the bottom of the hill began to...change. They twitched, they shook, their limbs pulsed, and then they began to twist and morph...into something else. Almina could only watch in horror as the lower figures transitioned from humanoid figures to bestial monstrosities, until unrecognizable...

 

Almina woke up in a fright, jumping out of the foliage she'd fallen in. The flower and mushroom were no longer in sight, and she noticed a critter of the floor's endemic life collapsing into a slumber of sorts. It must have eaten the two odd plants. Poor thing...

Almina backed away slowly, there was no way she was gonna smell that flower again, even if it was actually the mushroom's doing. Better safe than sorry.

 

ID# 210072 LD: 2+3=5(nothing found.)

 

Wordcount: 412

Edited December 5, 2022 by Almina