PP - F3 Grab Them Mats! (7th Day of Hunting/Gathering) (Reusririausuir)

[Calrex 0]

Calrex stood at the gates leading out of the third floor settlement of Delilah Village, wearing his casual combat gear. Around his neck was the Ocean's Defense necklace, while on the back of his hip was strapped the Grand Blade.

 

"Hm...yet another day of gathering materials. Well, at least Reu's coming along this time. Hopefully we'll have more luck checking around on this floor compared to the first and second floors. I might have picked those areas bare for quite some time."

 

He gave a small yawn as he waited for his companion to arrive. Once he did he would equip his armor in preparation for their trip.

[Reusririasuir 0]

Reu finished devouring one of the Straw-Kiwi Cheesecakes he had recently purchased from Oske's Bakery. A testament to her cooking skills, the item was delicious. Checking over his pm's again, Reu dug up the one from Calrex, titled Grab Them Materials. Reading it over, Reu suddenly stood up in surprise and, with a mouthful of cheesecake, screamed "I'm LATE!". Rushing out of the Inn, he raced down to the teleport center in the middle of town and stepped inside the stone monolith. "Teleport, Delilah Village!"

 

Materializing, Reu suddenly realized that he had gone to the third floor. He hated the third floor. Or rather, he hated the elves of the third floor. Being a topic too long to rant about, Reu would pass his hatred off of the elves as he simply 'believed they were an overused game mechanic'. Still he was already here, and it was the best plains floor with the exception of the rolling fields of the first floor, a floor Reu had already surpassed, and so he felt it prudent to find his comrade Calrex as soon as possible.

 

Moving through the town, he finally found Cal at the meeting place, looking at his in-game timer he noticed he was only a few minutes late. Hoping his tardiness wouldn't be noticed, Reu walked up and greeted his ally.

 

 

+2 LD Bonus from Straw-Kiwi Cheesecake / Source

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex turned to face the person coming at him he recognized it as his teammate Reu as he gave a nod, "Hey Reu, you're just in time! Alright, if you're all set let's get moving."

 

He made a quick series of swipes on his menu, summoning the Grand Chariot armor around his body before nodding, turning and heading out into the fields.

 

ID: 17478

Loot Dice: 14 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 17

 

Almost immediately after they left the gates he found a strange flower that seemed like it would be good for making dyes due to its deep vibrant color. He quickly plucked it and added the flower to his inventory, "So how have things been with you? Caught any interesting fish lately?"

 

Total: 1

 

Danger Level (Goes up by 1 with each 1 on the LD, causing an encounter when it reaches max):

Calrex: 0/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

Reu found himself almost comically turning towards his right because Calrex had stopped so suddenly. He had thought they were headed out a bit farther, but Calrex had already spotted a pretty valuable flower and was in the process of collecting. Damn, he's good at this.

 

Reu crouched down, and started searching the area himself. Seeing a similar variety, he collected one himself. As they pocked their finds, the pair made slight small-talk. "Oh my fishing stand has been doing alright. It took me a LONG time to restock on materials and so that really hindered my progress. I actually need to focus on my profession again. I've got a few items there you should check out sometime. Oh, and send some of your lower-leveled guild mates! I have some of my old equipment for sale that they might want."

 

"Hey Cal, what's it like being in a guild, in Absolute Pin?"

 

 

ID 17675 LD 22 (16 + 2 Dog Tags + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

 

Total: 1 

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 0/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Calrex 0]

ID: 17677

Loot Dice: 6 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 9

 

After finding the flower to be used as a material Calrex tried scanning across the rest of the immediate where the flower was, only to turn up nothing. He got to his feet and dusted off his hands, "Darn, I guess there's no more of that flower in this area. I guess maybe I found an outlier in the general distribution of the materials."

 

"Any luck Reu? I think we might need to head a little further out after this if we're going to increase our chances of finding more materials."

 

Total: 1

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 0/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Well, so far I'm not finding much either. What do you say towards us punching out to the Forest of Wavering Mist? Most of this floor has been picked clean already, but with our night vision skill, we should be able to explore more of the Forest then others have so far. The danger level will be higher there obviously, but between the two of us I'm confident in our combined strength."

 

"Or if you'd like we could trek across the field of flowers and to the mountains on the far side of this floor. You can't scale the mountains, but the field of flowers runs right up to their base, and so we might find something patrolling along that area."

 

"Really, it's all up to you man."

[Calrex 0]

"Hm...with our strength we should be alright striking out in the forest, so let's go ahead and move in that direction."

 

ID: 17678

Loot Dice: 11 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 14

 

As the two began to make their way towards the Forest of Unwavering Mist Calrex thought he spotted another flower like the one he had picked previously. As he approached it he got into viewing distance before moving on, as the flower was damaged from what appeared to be bugs or some other sort. The petals were either missing or damaged, not suitable at all for materials.

 

Total: 1

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 0/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

Stepping into the Forest, Reu consciously noticed the air chill. It was an exact barrier, but when you entered the Forest, you knew it. At the same time, Reu's night vision activated and his world became a green highlight. Unlike his real life experiences with Night Vision, Reu much preferred SAO's version. There were no depth perception issues, and it was stronger then you would expect. Glancing over at Calrex, Reu could see his eyes glowing; he was also looking at the world with his night vision skill.

 

Stepping deeper into the forest, Reu looked at the moss clinging to a nearby tree, but sadly, it didn't show up as a collectible material. Quietly, he moved on. The sound of branches snapping under his feet, Reu slowly moved deeper into the forest.

 

ID: 17679

Loot Dice: 9 (3 + 2 Lucky Trinket + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

[Calrex 0]

ID: 17680

Loot Dice: 11 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 14

 

As the two entered the forest Calrex made note that Reu had also activated his <<Night Vision>> skill, nodding as he scanned around. The fog in the forest was heavy as usual, so Calrex made sure to also use his <<Reveal>> skill to see partially through the trees and other areas as if they were transparent, keeping an eye out for any ambushes lying in wait.

 

There appeared to be something useful at the base of a tree, but as he got into range of it the object he was looking at crawled away. It was a small sized beetle, and since it had crawled off there was no way he was going to get it, "Hm...still nothing so far. We might need to go a little bit further in to have better luck."

 

Total: 1

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 0/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Ok, let's press on then."

 

As the pair walked deeper into the forest, they did so walking a cobblestone path which ran next to a small stream, barely a trickle, until finally they found the source of the tiny stream. Ahead of them was a small cobblestone bridge leading over the stream, but just beyond the stream was a giant stone carving of a demon. The carving's open demon mouth was the source of the stream, and while at one point it may have had quite the flow, now it was barely a steady stream leaving its mouth. In time, the flow may even dry up completely. Moving in close to the statue, Reu looked down close at its base. It appeared to have something growing along its basin. Reaching down, Reu tried to grab it but was unsuccessful.

 

ID 17682 LD 11 (5 + 2 Dog Tags + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

 

Total: 1 

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 0/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Calrex 0]

ID: 17683

Loot Dice: 1 (Search and Detect + 2 / Item +1) = 4 (+1 Danger Level)

 

As Calrex followed Reu to the small demon statue he was unable to locate any other items. However, his <<Reveal>> skill did allow him to make not of some unfamiliar movement at the edge of its viewing range. If it hadn't been for the skill allowing him to see through the combined thickness of the dense tree clustering and heavy fog whatever had made the movement probably would have gone unnoticed.

 

"Alright, heads up Reu. It looks like we might have some company closing in soon. I'll let you know where they might be coming from."

 

Total: 1

 

Danger Level: 

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Right."

 

Wordlessly, Reu continued searching. He knew he could trust Calrex with covering his back. Dropping to his knees, he looked at mushrooms growing on the ground, to see if they were salvageable. Sadly, they were not. The heavy fog now was increasing, even with their skills, the pair would need to be careful to not get separated.

 

 

ID 17684 LD 11 (5 + 2 Dog Tags + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

 

Total: 1 

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Calrex 0]

ID: 17685

Loot Dice: 5 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 8

 

As Reu continued searching along the ground Calrex decided to make his searching area higher up, searching along the trunks of the trees and such of similar height level for any items. Unfortunately nothing seemed to be of use. He didn't even have to inspect them to know that they either were not useable or were a part of the environment.

 

"The fog is definitely getting thicker. I'd best keep track of our location."

 

He glanced over in the direction Reu was searching, confirming his teammate as the two continued looking around.

 

Total: 1

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

Turning back to the fountain, Reu decided to see if there was anything in the soft soil. Digging his hands into the wet earth, Reu slowly tilled the soil, searching to see if anything was there. Sadly, nothing seemed to be there. Disappointed he didn't find any fishing bait, Reu stood up and turned to Calrex. "Maybe we should try checking another area? There doesn't seem to be as much here as I hoped."

 

 

ID 17686 LD 14 (8 + 2 Dog Tags + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

 

Total: 1 

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Calrex 0]

ID: 17687

Loot Dice: 7 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 10 (My goodness these rolls! XD)

 

"Yeah, I think we might want to head towards the fields. From what I remember there's a couple of rivers that run nearby it. We might be able to find you some bait over there."

 

With that he quickly scanned around one last time, seeing nothing. With that he pointed in the direction they needed to go to exit the forest.

 

"Huh, I guess this gathering trip is gonna be off to a slow start then."

 

Total: 1

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

Making their way back out of the forest, Reu breathed in the cool air. Feeling the sunshine coming down on his skin, he slowly walked up to a large boulder that was taking up space in the field of flowers. Looking underneath it, he found several large insects. They were grasshoppers, but about the size of your foot. Grabbing the pesky critters, Reu added them to his stockpile.

 

After doing so, he stopped, shut his eyes, and stood still feeling the warm sun across his skin. "Man, I can't believe we're in a game. Are we still in a game, or has this become real life?"

 

ID 17690 LD 18 (12 + 2 Dog Tags + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

 

Total: 2

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Calrex 0]

ID: 17692

Loot Dice: 2 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 5

 

"Well, I guess we could say right now it's a little bit of both. I wouldn't be surprised if our minds have gotten accustomed to the game so much that it treats our avatars like our real bodies."

 

As they exited the forest Calrex watched as Reu managed to find a couple of insects to serve as bait. He gave a quick look around to see if there was anything of use, but so far there was still nothing useful for his purposes.

 

"I just hope that once we get out of this game that we won't have to go through a lot of rehabilitation to get our minds accustomed to real life constraints again." 

 

Total: 2 (Calrex 1 / Reusririausuir 1)

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

"That's true, if you think about it, we're all in some sort of inactive state. We're probably being kept alive by liquid diets and intravenous solutions...but if we get back, we'll need months and months of physical therapy. I mean how long have we been here already...it's worrying. We've been here all this time and we're only about to break through to the 11th floor..." Reu let the words hang in the air.

 

Looking around, he thought he saw some fungi growing on a stump. Looking closely, he saw it was a bracket fungi. He knew it was extremely valuable to alchemists, and so he made sure to harvest some. "And you know Calrex, it's only going to get more dangerous going up. If we lost some of our strongest players, assaulting new floors will seem almost impossible. I mean we have only a handful of us fighting on the front-lines, some of whom are really pushing their luck to be doing so."

 

"I mean take you and I for example, you're much stronger then I am, and for me to try and keep up with you is reckless at times. But if I don't, you'll continue to pass me and move on to higher floors in order to be the first to complete the rare quests, if you don't, YOU'LL get passed in strength. But if you push too fast, you and the several of the other stronger players could find themselves without enough support, and one bad day and you could all die...without your strength, we'd be set back months trying to get stronger, not to mention the lack of leadership your deaths would cause..."

 

ID 17690 LD 20 (14 + 2 Dog Tags + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

 

Total: 4 (Calrex 1 / Reusririausuir 3)

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Calrex 0]

ID: 17765

Loot Dice: 12 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 15

 

"Yeah, you're right. We really need to strike a balance and find a way to repopulate the front lines. Even with the floor raid right now there was only enough people to form one whole party. While all of them are fairly strong, I still worry if they're able to make it through without taking any losses. The previous floor had even more people, but because they let two other lower level players in the ended up losing said players."

 

As the two continued searching Calrex found a strange fruit growing from one of the small bushes along the way. It seemed to be a cross between apples and blueberries, but he grabbed a bushel anyway and added it to his inventory.

 

"In any case, I hope that at least the few guild remaining might be able to help with bringing up the new players to level. I know you've definitely grown by leaps and bounds, and so have a lot of the other people I've met here, but there if you all could be at where I am at I would probably rest better at night knowing there are so many of us more than capable of fighting on the front lines."

 

Total: 5 (Calrex 2 / Reusririausuir 3)

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 0/3

[Reusririasuir 0]

Walking up to one of the nearby trees, Reu paused. "Hold on a second, I want to see if I can reach this." Pointing up, Reu pointed out something which looked suspiciously like a mango which was hanging from one of the higher branches on the tree. Crouching down, Reu jumped himself in the air, reaching for the bottom branch.

 

Grabbing a hold, Reu did a pull-up until he was able to swing himself up onto the branch. Really wishing he took off his armor first, he continued climbing. The path up the tree was much easier then the initial jump was, and Reu clamored the rest of the way fairly quickly. Finally, Reu figured he could reach the mango. Stretching himself out, Reu felt his fingertips grace the fruit until finally, he had it wrapped in his hand. Plucking it free, Reu suddenly heard a loud groaning from the branch he was standing on.

 

"That's not--"

 

SNAP!

 

"BAM!" The sound of Reu hitting the ground echoed throughout the area.

 

"Heh, I got it." Reu said jokingly, as he added it to his inventory.

 

 

ID 17768 LD 19 (13 + 2 Dog Tags + 2 Search + 2 Item Bonus)

 

Total: 6 (Calrex 2 / Reusririausuir 4)

 

Danger Level:

Calrex: 1/3

Reusririausuir: 1/3 (For making a ton of noise when he fell out of the tree)