[PP-F3]The Art of the Brew <<Earning a Living>> (Piera)

[Brice 0]

Brice can't help but  chuckle a bit Once Piera is finished explaining the "exploit" to him. "Thanks for the advice. I'll  have to check thhat out another time. It's a good thing the NPC's don't actually have a mind of their own. I bet they'd get pretty mad if that were the case." Brice acknowledges the fact that they should try to find a few more materials before heading back to the shop. "Alright then. I don't think it would be too hard to find a couple more materials." He sees that, while he was talking, Piera made a failed attempt at picking some flowers. "Well dang it. Maybe we should check somewhere else nearby. I'm not too sure if there's much else around here. Here, it looks like there's another patch of flowers over there." Brice heads toward a small cluster of trees around a patch of flowers and other plants. Though, on closer inspection the plants seem to have been chewed up and eaten by something, assumeably by some kind of wild rodent. He sighs. "Well that stinks. At this rate, this whole quest will be looking for materials."

>ID: 32351 LD: 14

[Piera 0]

Piera grimaced as Brice mentioned that it was good NPCs didn't have a mind of their own. "Mad...might be a word. I can't think of how many games are based on 'rogue AIs'. Let's just hope that doesn't happen in SAO. That's the last thing we need." The brunette shuddered slightly at the horrifying thought. Sighing at her failed attempt to overcome her height challenge, she glanced back at the teen and nodded in agreement. "Yeah it's usually best to move on to a new area when you think you've fully explored one."

Walking over to where he gestured, the alchemist's nose wrinkled as he said that it stunk. "Probably literally too. Not that I want to get close enough to find out." When he lamented that the whole quest would be looking for materials she laughed. "Probably. At least until you actually get to try crafting something. Better get used to it." She clapped him on the shoulder before continuing, "And even when you finally get to craft, you're not guaranteed to succeed. Just gotta hope for the best and learn from your mistakes."

[ID: 32356] [LD: 12+1=13] [Total Materials: 0]

Edited September 22, 2015 by Piera

[Brice 0]

Brice hadn't noticed it until Piera mentioned it, but there was a bit of an odd scent where he was. "Yeah. The area does smell a bit... ripe, I suppose. I hope that's just the plants' netural scent... and that I didn't step in anything." Brice stands up and is about to check elsewhere, but stops when he hears an aggressive snort behind him. He turns to find an enraged boar behind him. He hops back while unsheathing his blade. "Looks like we found who was snacking on the herbs here." He begins his attack, but feels some sort of force pulling him. Remembering what had been told to him about this, he allows the system to take over. He dashes at the boar and slashes the boar with lightning speed, making a "V" shape. The slices seemed to nearly cut clean through the monster, instantly killing it before it could strike. He looks at his information window to see what he had won fron the battle. "Would  you look at that. Look like I've got enough materials to head back to the shop. I even found a bit of Col to boot."

>ID: 32377 BD: 6 +1 MD: 9 LD: 16

>Brice: 8/8 Used: Rip Ravine

>Boar: 0/4

Victory

+2 Crafting Materials

+20 Col

[Piera 0]

Piera laughed lightly at Brice's comment before assuring, "I don't think that's possible. I've yet to see any droppings of any sort and players certainly don't have that problem, thankfully." It was odd and yet not surprising that Kayaba hadn't implemented a human waste system in their avatars. Not like most games added in that feature anyway, just odd to take such a rudimentary thing out of one's life. Took getting used to at first. The brunette's eyes widen as she hears the telltale snort of a boar and whirls around, thankful to only see one of them. Smiling, the alchemist stepped away to give the teen room as he lashed out at the mob, finishing it off in one blow with a flashy Sword Art. "Nicely handled." She complimented before tilting her head as he stated that the kill gave him enough materials to go back to the shop. "Awesome, that didn't take long at all. Let's head back then." This time, she lead the way back into town, navigating the twists and turns of the Starting City before arriving back at Agatha's shop. The middle aged alchemist raised her head from measuring some sort of powder and upon seeing Brice walk in, offered a soft smile of recognition upon seeing the quest holder. "So you've returned. Any luck gathering those herbs?"

[Brice 0]

Brice chuckles at the alchemist's remark. "Thanks. I'm glad it didn't take as some as I thought it would. Let's head on back." Brice agrees. Once they get back to the shop and Agatha asks about their progress, a confirmation window opens up in front of him. He presses continue, seeing that he had collected the necessary mateials. "Oh, wonderful. Now we can get started. This is actually perfct timing. I was meaning to restock some inventory." Agatha opens up a small gate that leads to behind the counter and becons them behind. "Now if you'll folow me, I'll show you around and give you the do's and don't of alchemy." Brice folows along with the woman. "Come on. Let's go."

Edited September 23, 2015 by Brice

[Piera 0]

Piera smiles as Agatha lead them to behind the counter where all the 'magic' happened. The grey haired woman had a secret sort of smile as she beckoned them inside her personal work area. "Now then, let's start with the basics dear." Piera leaned against the wall as she watched the senior alchemist retrieve a large mortar and pestle. "These are the tools you use to grind up materials to use in potions and crystals, a mortar and pestle." She held up each tool upon saying them before adding, "Occasionally for the tougher ingredients you'll need to cut them up or squeeze the juices out. Sometimes the juices will help with the process but others it can make it worse. Depends on the dose and type of recipe." She shrugged good naturedly.

"After you have the materials prepared, hm...no." Agatha seemed to pause as she realized that she had skipped a step. "Usually it's best to start the cauldron first. Putting in the water or any other solution that you think what you're trying to prepare might call for (though water usually works fine as a base) and then lighting the flames." The middle aged woman turned to the side and gestured to the medium sized cauldron she had set up with a stove underneath to set firewood and other kindling to burn.

"Once it's nice and hot then you can add your materials and stir. Every recipe takes a different amount of cooking time and stirring length. But once you determine that it is done, hmm....best to start out small." Agatha surveyed the teen for a moment with a motherly smile and nodded. "It will be a while before you'll be able to try the crystallization process, but I can see that you'll get there. For now stick with potions. Once you determine that it is done, simply carefully ladle it into a phial and you should have yourself a potion. Of varying quality."

The alchemist's smile grew and her eyes danced with humor, causing Piera to chuckle lightly. "Why don't you give it a try now dear?" The woman urged, offering her work space for Brice to use.

[Brice 0]

Brice looks around the crafting room in awe. Everything in there was amazing, from the plants hung up on the wall to the different concoctions around the room. He listens intently to Agatha as she explains te basics about the tools and general instructions, nodding along to show he was listening. When the woman offers for Brice to give it a try he walks over to her work station, opens up uis menu, and takes out an assortment of herbs. He chuckles. "I just hope I don't fail too badly." Although it sounds lie he's being arcastic, it feels as if there is some sencerity to his words. He lays them on the table and begins to chop them into smaller pieces. Continuing with the procedure, he places all of the herb into the mortar he had been given and begins grinding them up into a very fine powder. Then he begins to mix them into a small pot of water.

He must have misjudged the contents of the pot being water because soon after he began mixing the herbs in, they reacted with the liquid and exploded it all over his face. "Eww. Dang it." Brice begins to wipe away the substance. "Well..." Brice begins laughing. "I guess this is pretty much to be expected from a beginner like me. I gues I'm gonna have to practive and study more."

>ID: 32652 CD: 5 LD: 1

>-1 Crafting Material

[Piera 0]

Piera smiles kindly as Brice hoped that he wouldn't 'fail too badly'. "You'll do fine, even if you fail, you can try again." She reassured the teen before watching him carefully as he started the crafting process. It seemed to be going well at first until he began stirring the mixture which caused a mild explosion. Laughing lightly, the brunette grabbed a rag that was laying on the counter before helping him wipe away the ick on his face. "That happens sometimes. Maybe try lowering the flames a little? Some ingredients are a bit more temperamental than others. Give it another go though. You won't be able to complete the quest until you make a usable potion. If you run out of mats we can go searching again. You should still have two left or so, right?"

[Brice 0]

Brice is surprisedthat Piera came to help clean him off and, in shock, blushes a bit. "Oh, um... Thanks. I'll try that. Lowering the flames that is." He says all this with a clear bashful tone.Cearing his throat and turning back to the table, he repeats wht he had done before. He takes out some herbs, chops them up, and grinds them in the mortar. When he lights up the fire, he's sure not to let the flames burn too strongly. As he goes to pour the ground herbs into the pot, he does so carefully and slowly. This time, insteal of splashing him in the face, the liquid in the pot begins to change color to a pale red. As this is happenning, brice turns to Agatha and she nods to him in confirmation. She hands him a small container which he then fills with the fluid. He look over to the two alchemists with a big, proud smile on his face.

>ID:32762 CD: 10

>-1 Crafting Material

>+1 Uncommon Potion

[Piera 0]

Piera couldn't help but smile a little when she saw Brice's blush and bashfulness and took a step back to give him his space. "Take your time." The brunette stated easily, busying herself with looking around and lightly touching various plants while glancing at the teen's actions out of her peripherals. He seemed to be doing well, she could tell that he had the care and concentration to be a good alchemist. Her neck craned when she saw the color of the solution in the cauldron change color and watched as Agatha gave him an empty phial for him to fill and she grinned back at Brice when she saw the finished product. "You did it! Congrats. Looks like a fine healing potion. Soon you'll be cranking them out like nothing." Piera held up an open hand in an offer to high-five before a new quest menu popped up in front of the light haired boy, informing him that he completed the quest, <<Earning a Living>> and listing his rewards. It was then that Agatha spoke, "I can see you'll make a fine alchemist one day dear. Now all you have to do is find a place to set up shop! I wish you luck." The bespectacled young woman smiled at her words and nodded back at the teen.

[Brice 0]

Brice goes ahead and high-fives the alchemist. "Thank you so much. I can't wait to really get started." He looks over his quest rewards. "Wow. I just leveled up!" Jus as he had said, Brice had sucessfully leveled up to level three. "Now I might be able to start farming for better items and materiald up on the next floor." He claps his hands together. "Oh! Maybe I'll start up my shop first." He puts the potion he had made into his inventory and looks to Piera. "So what do we do now?" Brice  is obviously exited and happy at completing his first quest.

<Quest Complete>

+1 SP

Achieved Alchemist Profession

[Piera 0]

Piera grinned at Brice's enthusiasm and her eyes lit up as he declared that he'd leveled up. "Whoa, congrats!" When he spoke of farming for better items and materials on the next floor she nodded. "I think you could handle floor two. It's usually best to be a couple levels above whatever floor you're going to be fighting on. Even double the floor level when it gets higher. Just to be safe. If you need help doing another quest, grinding for levels or mats, just message me or someone else in the Velvet Room. You're family now." She assured the teen. Chuckling lightly as he wondered about starting his shop, the brunette replied, "I guess now you go set up your shop. Do you know what floor you'd like to settle on? Don't worry too much about being stuck on a lower floor, you can always change location later. Just takes time and effort to transport everything and find a new empty shop." It was amazing to see the boy so ecstatic, causing her to remember when she first became an alchemist herself. It was also just nice to see such innocent joy in the death game.

[Brice 0]

Brice smiles back at his friend and newfound alchemist companion. "Thanks a bunch. I can't wait to get everything started up. Oh, and thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to keep everything in mind when setting up." He begins to head out of the shop, stopping for a moment to be sure that Piera was following him. Once he's sure that he isn't leaving his friend behind, he continues out the door. "So, do you have anything big planned for later on? I don't really have much else planned other than farming a bit and maybe doing a quest or two." Opening his map while still walking, he heads in the direction of the nearest bulletin board to check for quests. "Unless something else comes up, I've got nothing in particular planned."

[Piera 0]

Piera nodded at what the fair haired teen was saying as he walked before turning her head and waving at Agatha, who was simply staring at them with a soft smile. "Thanks for the help."  The older woman chuckled lightly and raised a hand in farewell as she replied automatically, "Always happy to help dear." She then set about doing whatever it was she had been programmed to as the two players left her shop. Closing the door behind her, the brunette considered the question Brice posed her. She'd like to get to know her new guild member more...but... "I actually should be getting back to the shop soon. I've got a lot of preparation and crafting to do for the people that will be fighting the eleventh floor boss. Including Lowenthal." She mentioned, speaking of their guild's leader. Her face took on a somewhat distractedly worried pinch before she forced it to clear as she posed with a smile. "I'll be free around noon tomorrow though. Really every afternoon/night unless someone else kidnaps me. I like to take care of most of my daily crafting in the morning." Putting her hands behind her back and tilting her head with soft smile she asked, "Rain check?"

[Brice 0]

Brice is a little saddened that his friend would have to head away now. But understading why, he says, "Aww. Well, that's okay. If it's for a boss battle, that would be the first prioority for you. Maybe I'll try to make some items for the team as well." He pauses for a moment when Piera mentions that Lowenthal would be in the boss fight. "Hmm. So the leader is going to be fighting as well. I'll have to wish him luck the next time I see him." The new alchemist chuckles at his friend's remark about getting kidnapped. "Duly noted. I'll keep that in mind so I don't disturb you too much." He smiles back at her  question. "I don't see why not. Well. I gues it's for me to get going. I'll see you later." Brice walks off into the distance of the town, looking for something new to do.

[Brice 0]

Results:

+2 SP

Achieved Profession: Alchemist

GM Roll: ID# 33583, LD 18

Mats: 18