[SP-F1] Jorentos and <The First Lesson>

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

Jorentos | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 1 | MIT: 1 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 1 | LD: 1

It was quest-searching time, and Jorentos was in full swing. He had to keep his focus on moving forward, and couldn’t dwell on the grim reality of what had happened. 

If I want to survive here, then I’ll have to get stronger, Jorentos thought as he rushed around Tolbana looking for NPCs, with others doing the same. About an hour into searching, a old man with a monocle approached him, walking with purpose. 

"Pardon me, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable. 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. 

"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 continued.

"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?"

“Your secret’s safe with me! I’ll track it down for you,” Jorentos agreed, happy to have found a quest.

"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." Dorian said with glee, and Jorentos nodded, pulling up his menu and searching the map. A match pinged about one hundred meters to the east, and Jorentos booked it, eager to get it completed. 

Zackariah’s shop was a quaint little place on the first floor of a two-floor building, with oak wood walls and a door with a weathered handle. Jorentos opened it and stepped in, being met with multiple shelves of colorful potions. 

“Oh, hello," came a distracted greeting from behind the counter. A man with a long, snow-white beard glanced 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.” 

“Nah, man, I’m here to see if you borrowed some money,” Jorentos waved his hands in front of him, not wanting to get sidetracked. Zachariah, however, didn’t seem to register what Jorentos said and sat in silence. After a few seconds, he started to repeat his speech. Jorentos, annoyed that he wasn’t getting anywhere with this guy, sighed and took on the extra quest. For all he knew, it could be a part of the quest.

“Actually, I’ll gather the materials with you,” Jorentos relented, and a bit of text was added to his current quest marker. It said <Gather materials for Zachariah> and listed the amount he had currently. At least it had been a part of the quest. As geared up as he would ever be, Jorentos made his way out of the building and headed towards the south gate, which was about a ten minute walk. Walking into the rolling plains that covered most of Floor 1, Jorentos got searching for the materials. 

 

Edited May 23 by swordandpens
changed title

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223270 | LD: 9

This quest had been a lot harder than Jorentos had anticipated. Even after a half hour of dedicated searching, he had found nothing. The soft grass below his feet had only yielded occasional leaves and seeds, but nothing he needed for the quest. Jorentos had wondered earlier if he had been looking in the wrong place, but had quickly abandoned that line of thought; it didn’t make sense for a quest in a town on the first floor to require another skill, especially a quest that had come to him.
By this time, the sun had started to fall below the mountainous horizon, and night would soon be upon the first floor of Aincrad. Most of the other players he spotted had cleared out, likely turning in for the evening. Searching in the dark had worried Jorentos, but he figured he would just have to find the herbs before then.

 

Edited May 23 by swordandpens
Character

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223271 | LD: 13

Luckily, the next 30 minutes had yielded him one material. This had given him a boost of confidence, and he put his head down and continued searching. It was a bit weird, but his hands would never truly get dirty. Since it's a video game, it made sense, and it wasn't like he was complaining; he hated getting dirt on him or working on plants. But Sword Art Online conveniently removed the worst part of landscaping and foraging. 

There were still sprinklings of sun left just above the horizon, though it would pass down in a few minutes. The temperature had dropped a bit, as well as the amount of players around him, making him move faster to keep warmth. On that note, he had noticed some discrepancies between how this game worked and how real life did. His body moved mostly the same way, but one thing that stood out to him was buoyancy in water. Swimming was weird and harder to do, and due to the possibility of death, most players he had met opted to avoid it. He was a bit bummed out as he liked swimming, but he was opting to do the same.

 

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223272 | LD: 19

The sun had gone down at this point, and only the lingering light remained. But he had found another material. He was on a roll! There was no way he would stop now. He didn't know how Luck worked in this game (or if there even was a Luck stat, to begin with), but stopping when you were ahead like this was a bad omen everywhere except gambling. Another bit of luck he had was not running into any enemies. Of course, it had partly been his own skill in avoiding them, but at any point, they could have just spawned right in front of him and then he would have been screwed. Luckily, the only enemies on the plains were boars and the like, so the risk was never high anyways. Jorentos wondered when he would get an unarmed fighting skill. He had been avoiding paying an info gatherer for it because of their costs, but that might be what he'll have to do.

 

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223273 | LD: 10

His luck had seemingly run out (in contrary to his earlier thoughts) as the next half-hour yielded no search. It frustrated him, but it was not enough to make him give up. The sounds of the wind rolling over the plains served as his own little symphony, it's calmness only increasing his fatigue. But he pushed it away and kept searching. If he could endure getting a red belt in Karate, then this was nothing. 

By now, the sun and it's lingering light had completely gone, leaving the stone ceiling coated in a mixture of the moon's light and a stark darkness. Jorentos had barely any light to go by, making his search increasingly more difficult. It would have made it better if he had someone to talk to, but he hadn't had any luck there; it seemed his luck was running out in all facets of life here. 

 

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223274 | LD: 5

Jorentos' frustration grew along with his fatigue as he desperately looked around. And he had thought this was going to be an easy aside to his quest. But he should have expected this much. Fetch quests have been a staple of RPGs for as long as they've been a thing, so this is about par for the course. But, at the very least, in those RPGs he wasn't having to physically search for the items himself.

Quickly scarfing down some cheap bread and water, he took note of his body's feeling as he did. And it brought up a question in his mind: where had the food gone? He had felt the physical sensation of it going past his throat, but even in real life you don't feel much after that. But he couldn't actually have a stomach here, since he never had to use the restroom. He wasn't complaining; using the restroom is just a time waster.

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223275 | LD: 16

His hard work had paid off, and he had found his third material! He was over halfway done with the quest now. Only two more left. By this point, all the other players had left, with Jorentos spotting only three in the last hour. But, with the relatively small launch of Sword Art Online, that was to be expected. Most were probably on the higher floors, and the people down here didn't want to beat the game or risk themselves. It was a sad thought, but they had already given up; in their minds, if the frontline didn't beat this game, then they would just die.

In that moment, the weight of everything ahead of him threatened to crush him, their hopelessness. But with great effort, he pushed it down and away. There was no time to worry about that, and he would only psych himself out and perform worse.

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223276 | LD: 13

He had regained his previous luck, manifesting in him finding his fourth material. Only one more to go and he could leave and sleep. Jorentos had never been so excited to return to an inn room before, but he figured getting stuck in Sword Art Online would do that to you. It wasn't like he had a bad setup either, as Tolbana was a very comfortable town with affordable rates. There wasn't as much people, which was a bane and a benefit. Even with the little people left in the Town of Beginnings, some streets still felt too crowded. But due to the smaller size of this one and the distance, fewer came out this way. 

But Jorentos didn't have much in common with other players, especially since a lot of them were Japanese teenagers. He could essentially speak fluent Japanese, only missing out on the nuances that come with being a native speaker. But his features and age stood to separate him from most people. He would have to hit an inn at some point and work to change that. 

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

Spoiler

ID: 223277 | LD: 11

He almost yelped with glee as he grabbed the last one. His fatigue had been thoroughly pressing him for the last two hours, and he felt like he was barely conscious. Taking a gulp of water and chewing some cheap bread, he made his way back to Tolbana. He saw his next objective, but figured it could wait until he had gotten a night's sleep. It's not like the NPC's were going anywhere anyways.

He woke up around noon, having slept in to compensate for staying up late last night. His room had a window overlooking a fairly busy street, and he saw it bustling with players. Getting up out of the bed, Jorentos dressed himself and headed out of his room, looking to get some breakfast. He decided to opt for bread, as it was easy to carry and he liked it. It being the cheapest option was a bonus. 

Once he was done with breakfast, he made his way back to Zachariah's shop, where he was greeted with the same distracted greeting as before. 

"Oh, hello. Looks like you've gathered the necessary materials. Come here, let me show you how to craft," he said, ushering Jorentos over and giving him a tutorial. Luckily, there wasn't any actual potion mixing he had to do; it was all handled by the System. 

Spoiler

ID: 223278 | CD: 7

His first attempt yielded a Rare Healing Potion, which he gave to Zachariah. Zackariah held it up, examining it. "You did a fantastic job," he finally declares, offering Jorentos the items. "Now, was there anything else?" 

"Yes, actually. I was here to see if you had been the one Dorian had lent money to," Jorentos explained, happy to finally get back on track. Zackariah chuckled, shaking 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!"

"Thanks for the tip!" Jorentos said, walking out of his shop and heading on his way.

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

After walking around for thirty minutes, Jorentos realized that he did not have a good handle on this place at all. Navigation had never really been his strong suit in the first place, but he had underestimated just how confusing Tolbana was. As much as he hated to pull himself away from continuing to the quest, he would need to learn the city. It felt wrong, putting off his quest like that, but Jorentos figured this would save a lot of time in the future.

From what he could see, Tolbana was the second-largest city on the first floor, with a bit of distance between it and the Town of Beginnings. What stood out the most to him was the white-walled windmill towers and the ampitheater, which echoed Ancient Roman ruins in it's build. He was on his way to the <Fountain Square>, which had the largest fountain in Tolbana.

[swordandpens 0]

Arriving at <Fountain Square> a few minutes later, he thought the view was pleasant. He had never been a "beautiful views" type of guy, and this fountain definitely wasn't going to change that. A few players were gathered here, and they were pretty amazed with it. 

"Good for them," Jorentos said to himself as he looked at it a little longer and then turned to leave. As he did, though, someone called out to him. 

"Hey, American, wait!" The voice said, and Jorentos stopped. He had seen only one other American in his entire time here, and it hadn't been in this town. He turned around, and saw two people headed towards him. It was a boy and a girl, no older than 18, and were about his height. They must not have reached their growth spurt yet. When he thought about them being stuck here, it made him a bit dour. 

"What's up?" Jorentos said as they got closer. 

"We need one more person for this quest, and you seem like you know your way around," the boy said with confidence, even though it was the exact opposite of what he said. 

"Sorry, I'm already on a quest. Besides, I'm learning my way around, too," Jorentos said, motioning with his hands. 

"Come on, just hear us out!" The lady piped in. He was going to say no, but the looks they were giving him now were pathetic, and he didn’t want to just stiff them. 

"Alright, let's go to an eatery, then. I'm hungry," he said, letting them lead the way. 

Edited May 23 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

They led him to an eatery which roughly translated to "The Nozzle and Boar," which he assumed to be partly a reference to the fountains. I guess they like to keep to a theme, Jorentos thought, sitting down at a table with them. 

"By the way, I'm Jorentos," he said, nodding his head. The boy rolled the name in his mouth and tried to say it. Jorentos stepped in and shortened it. 

"You can shorten it to Joren, if it's easier," he said, to which the boy nodded, relieved. 

"Well, I'm Takahiro, and this is my sister Kotemi. We were going to do a quest involving some monsters, and you look like you can fight," Takahiro said, striking Jorentos as surprisingly forward for a Japanese person. But this incident changed people like that. 

"Well, I do know how to fight, but I've never fought here, so I'm not sure how much I can actually help you," Jorentos said, shrugging. As he did, an NPC came by and they paused the conversation to order.

Edited May 26 by swordandpens

[swordandpens 0]

Their server had stepped back for no more than 5 seconds, but then came out of the back with piping hot food, enough that steam was still coming off of it. Jorentos was amazed for all of a second before realizing where he was. Of course food would come out that quick in Aincrad.

"I don't know any more about fighting than was in the Beginners Guide. In fact, I can't even be sure my actual fighting experience will even apply here. The only enemies I have seen so far are boars, and I can't exactly put them in a headlock," Jorentos said before diving into his bread and soup. It was a wonderful chicken broth and a soft wheat loaf, a far cry from the hard black ones he had been eating. 

"Well, it's pretty easy! You just have to hit and dodge. Those boars are scary at first, but they aren't very fast," Takahiro said, mimicking the motions with his spoon before going in for another bite.

[swordandpens 0]

"That's not the part I'm in the dark about, it's utilizing skills and the game's mechanics that are stumping me," Jorentos said, a bit curious if Takahiro had even listened to him the last time he spoke. 

"Well, those are easy! How about this? We show you how to use skills, and in return, you join us for our quest," Kotemi said, to which Jorentos sighed. He took another bite before speaking. 

"I can't promise you that. I already have an ongoing quest, and I'm on that one until it's done," Jorentos said, finishing his meal and putting it to the side, where the server NPC already was to pick it up. 

"Well, treat us to this meal, and then we'll teach you," Takahiro flashed the smile of an amateur negotiator, and after a bit of thinking, Jorentos relented. 

"Ok, you have a deal. At least this place isn't too expensive."

Edited May 26 by swordandpens