[PP-F21] Gatherers of light (Green Blade)

[Macradon 0]

Standing at the teleportation plaza of the 21st floor, Macradon was fully clad in his full plate armor, covering his entire body in finely crafted steel plates he made himself. In his back a very large sword strapped on a harness to keep it steady. He was awaiting someone, someone he had written a few messages with after reading the bulletin boards about material gathering. He wasn’t too sure who would need a bodyguard at situations like this, but it seemed like it was a low leveled player since they needed a bodyguard to roam safely on the 21st floor. Macradon would exhale deeply and await the appearance of this other player that he weren’t too familiar with, not even knowing what the person looked like. He would just have to rely on his senses and make a guess that his client would notice the man standing in full plate, that this person would be the one to be a bodyguard.

Appearence:

Spoiler

 

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone had just walked into Floor 21 from the teleporter after messaging someone who had responded to her post on the bulletin board. She had just gotten her hands on the Hands of Duplication from the raffle at the festival she had just went to. The festival hadn't been anything special or exciting, but at least she got the equipment. She figured using her new equipment would help boost her reputation and get her some nice materials for her future black smith shop  at the same time. There was only one problem, she was far too under levelled to go on her own material hunting in the upper floors.

As Kotone took in the sights of the floor as she walked around the cavern town, she tried to find the player she was supposed to go material hunting with. It only took her a few seconds to notice the player standing in a full suit though, so she walked right up to him and gave a small wave. "Hello, you must be Domarus right? I'm the one you messaged about the material hunting." Kotone asked, looking up a little bit.

@Macradon

[Macradon 0]

Macradon did not have to wait long before he was confronted by a girl, somewhat around his age, maybe a bit younger. He would reach up to his head with both of his hands and doff his helmet, revealing his alabaster white hair and crimson eyes. He would shake his head a bit and place his helmet under his left armpit. He would smile, close his eyes and tilt his head down slightly. He shook and then locked eyes with the girl “I think you mistook me for someone else, no, I’m Macradon” he said with a smile “But I do know Domarus, maybe you had some other meeting with him or something” he said with a light chordle and would straighten up his body again. “Well, shall we venture out into the fields and get some materials?” he said with a smirk and would gesture with his right arm towards the gate out of the town.

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone already felt like a bit of an idiot after introducing herself. She had just called Macradon "Domarus". She had gotten them confused, since she had just met up with him recently. "Sorry, I got a little tongue tied there. I just was with Domarus recently and I sort of blurted that out. Anyway, nice to meet you Macradon. Just call me Kotone." Kotone explained, correcting her mistake. It wasn't all that bad, but it just irked Kotone a bit that this was her first impression for Macradon.

Kotone nodded at Macradon's suggestion to go out of the town and get their materials. "Yes we shall. Is there anything in particular you are looking for? I've never been on this floor, so I'm guessing you know it far better than I do. So lead the way if you want." Kotone said getting a small grin on her face as well.

@Macradon

[Macradon 0]

A small chordle escaped his mouth as the girl excused herself for what had just happened. “No need for the apology, it happens” he said with a smile. After listening to the apology, Macradon would reply back “Nice to meet you too, Kotone. You can call me Mac, not to be confused with Ma-” he said, cutting himself off for just a second “-ck” he finished off his sentence. Oh yeah … I can’t really use that catchphrase anymore, since Mack ain’t around lately “But yeah, Mac is fine” he said, trying to put up a smile like before. “Well, let’s see … what do you need these Tier 3 materials for anyways, can low level players even use them? I’d like to buy them off you, or perhaps trade in other Tier materials for those you discover?” he asked, since having Tier 3 materials at a low level wasn’t really anything you’d want to use your resources on.

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone listened to Marcadon introduce himself and nodded. She didn't know any player named Mack, he was probably another one of the top players. "Alright Mac, I'll call you that from now on." Kotone said, forming a small smirk.

Mac had then asked her what she needed the materials for, if she could even use them. "Well, I plan on being a blacksmith so I can make my own weapons without having to buy them. I just am trying to stock up on some Tier 3 materials so I can make my weapons as soon as I'm able to." Kotone explained.

She looked around her surroundings for a few seconds and blinked a few times. She had blanked out on where she was for a few seconds, but she remembered quickly and it was hardly noticeable. Kotone remembered something she had heard about this floor, so she decided to bring it up. "So, after we finish gathering enough materials, do you want to go to the hot springs? That's the only place I know of on this floor." Kotone asked.

@Macradon

[Macradon 0]

A smile and a thumbs up would appear as Kotone would correct his name “Sounds fine by me” he said. Listening to her reasoning for the material gathering, Macradon would raise an eyebrow as he would scan over the girl in front of him, looking at her attire. “Well, that makes sense … but there’s probably a long way before you can utilize your Tier 3 Mats … just my thought. Are you already above level 50?” he would ask, as that was where Tier 3 equipment was unlocked for the players. “If it’s because of a misunderstanding of the equipment tiers, I’d love to exchange your Tier 3 materials for some Tier 1 or 2 materials that you could get to use” he said, offering a small deal.

Kotone would ask about the hot springs to what Macradon would nod with a smile “That sounds like a great idea” he replied and would think of places to look for materials. Thinking about the surroundings, Macradon would think of places with low amount of monsters and doff all of his armor, placing it into his inventory as well as donning all of his casual clothes, ready to venture out into the wilds, though still keeping his big sword on his back. “Let’s get going, then” he said with a smile as he venture out into the wilds.

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone blanked out again, but caught herself before it looked like she wasn't paying attention. "No, I'm not even close to level 50. Sure, I'll just trade mine to you then. I don't really mind. I don't need the materials that badly." Kotone said in response. She wasn't going to making anything with tier 3 materials for a while then. She had a real long way to go until she could do that.

Kotone nodded when she had heard that Macradon liked the idea of going to the hot springs. She had been worried for a second that it would have sounded a little bit noobish. Kotone didn't have anything else to say, so she watched Macradon doff his armor. "Alright then, lead the way, I'll be right behind you." Kotone said, fixing her hair a little bit. She followed Macradon and stayed closely behind him as they went out of the safe zone and into the wilds.

@Macradon

[Macradon 0]

On their way to the hotsprings of the 21st floor, Macradon would activate his Search and Detect skill and begin to scan the area. A green-yellow-ish tint covered his eyes as the search enhancing skill would take its effect. Looking through thin walls and tree bark, somewhat being able to look down into the ground and possibly reveal material to be found. “So, what brings you to the 21st floor? Why didn’t you choose another place to go than here?” he would ask the girl, still looking around on the ground and around him, scanning the area for possible Tier 3 materials. The 21st floor was quite the floor to venture to when you weren’t even Tier 2 yet, and it was still dangerous for Macradon to really do much against monsters alone up here, so having a low leveled player would only be even more dangerous. He suddenly stopped up as he spotted a cluster of some kind of plant like gem, much alike what a pearl is in clams and oisters. He would walk over to a cluster of big bioluminescent mushrooms and reach in between them and grab ahold of the solid objects and pull them out. 4 glowing rocks, each in their own color ranging in different shades of green and blue. He would put them away in his inventory and continue their walk towards the hotsprings.

ID: 89124
LD: 7+5+3=15, Materials Found!
Materials Gathered: 4x T3 materials

@GreenBlade

Edited October 4, 2017 by Macradon

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone followed behind Mac closely and was slightly startled at first when she saw a green tint cover Mac's eyes. But she realized it was just the Search and Detect skill right away and didn't get herself worked up. She looked around as well, hoping to spot some stones or any kind of material for that matter. It was most likely going to be stones, so she kept an eye out for those. 

Mac had then asked her why she came to this floor in the first place, and Kotone crossed her arms and thought about. She had already almost forgotten, this happened a lot too, which was starting to bug Kotone. "Um, I just came down here since I figured this would be the best floor to get tier 3 materials. Also I kinda wanted to come down here for the hot springs. It's sort of like saying it's a business trip, even though you're mainly there for fun." Kotone answered.

Kotone looked around some more, and spotted some red glowing stones next to some rocks. "Nice, I found some too." Kotone said as she grabbed two of the stones, as the others were way too hard to pull out. She put them in her inventory and kept on walking, heading straight back to behind Mac.

ID: 89131
LD: 20, Mats Found

Materials Found: 2x Tier 3 Materials

@Macradon

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by GreenBlade

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would ponder upon it, it was quite peculiar. She was a new player, or at least someone who wasn’t too familiar with how the game worked, since she wanted Tier 3 materials, but could probably not even use them herself. The statement was clear, but macradon felt that there was something between the lines, something about this field trip disguised as a business trip. He wasn’t too sure about this though, it was but a theory, but it was a pretty sound theory for now. “Well, I don’t really mind at all, I’d like to visit the hotspring myself, so taking this trip is just as advantageous for you as it is for me” he said with a smile. He wasn’t paid to do this, it was a voluntary mission he had put himself into, and he didn't’ want to be paid either. A light exchange of Tiered materias was more than enough for him to feel fine with this. Makign yet another small stop, Macradon would find another cluster of materials that would add more to his collection.

ID: 89133
LD: 18+3+5=26, Materials Found!
Materials Gathered: 8x T3 materials

@GreenBlade

[OOC: Going to bed now]

Edited October 4, 2017 by Macradon

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone continued to follow Mac and giggled a little bit when he said that it would be just as advantageous for him to take this trip as it was for her. "Alright, I'm glad you understand. I was a little worried for a second that I sounded lazy for wanting to come to the springs. I just needed a break from everything. If I'm gonna die in this game, I might as well enjoy myself from time to time." Kotone reasoned.

Kotone was glad to have someone with her, as she was able to talk with at the springs. Kotone looked around some more after seeing Mac find another cluster of materials. It only took a few seconds for her to spot some green stones on a wall. "I found more, these kind of look like emeralds." Kotone said as she put the green stone in her inventory. Once she did that, she walked ahead of Mac and started to walk backwards in front of him. "So, has anything interesting happened to you lately?" Kotone asked.

ID: 89146

LD: 16, Mats Found

Materials Found: 2x Tier 3 Materials

@Macradon

Edited October 5, 2017 by GreenBlade

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would smile at the girl and say “Everyone needs a break once in a while, even frontliners. And some frontlines take breaks beyond what would be thought of as a break, more like retiring” he explained. Many of the veteran elite frontliners had stopped coming to the frontlines because of what has happened, Macradon understood their reasoning, but he thought it was a waste. They had given up instead of helping everyone go further. Listening to the question Kotone asked him, Macradon would be silent for a while. What has recently happened for him wasn’t a pleasant thought, it wasn’t good to talk about, it was best to be kept in secrecy. “Uhm …” he would say after being silent for a while. “ … I … “ he would try to think of something, but nothing really major came to his mind, so he would try to see if something else had happened “Uh … I helped find the boss room on this floor” he said with a fake smile, as it was true, but not really that special as it used to be. To get the bad thoughts out of his head, Macradon would look around, looking for materials, and he did find some, grabbing them and putting them away.

ID: 89155
LD: 8+5+3=16, Material Found!
Materials Gathered: 12x T3 materials

@GreenBlade

Edited October 5, 2017 by Macradon

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone nodded her head and turned back around and continued to walk normally. "So some frontliners just flat out quit? I always thought being at the top would be fun. I take it you're not one of the ones that have quit yet, right?" Kotone said as they continued. As they walked on, there started to be a slight fog showing up around their feet. The hot springs were too far from here now if fog was showing up.

Mac was silent for a bit after she asked what he had done recently, but he eventually just said he helped find the boss room. "Oh, that's it? I guess it's been slow times for you lately then. I get it. That happens to me a lot in and outside of the game." Kotone said in response and started to look around for materials. Thanks to the fog on the ground though, she couldn't spot anything. "Either it's because of the fog, or it's just that this area has already been picked clean." Kotone commented.

ID: 89156

LD: 3, No Materials Found

@Macradon

Edited October 5, 2017 by GreenBlade

[Macradon 0]

Kotone’s mind was innocent, it hadn’t been touched by the vile poison that was the frontlines and what it entails. Ignorance is a bliss they say, and Macradon agreed at the moment. It everyone who weren’t in the frontlines knew how much chaos it has been in and the state of the frontlines right now, I think panic would spread like wildfire in a forest covered in gasoline. “Well, you can call it quit, yet. They have their reasons and I support their decision” Macradon would reply, forming the best sentence he could that would not give everything away. He would nod his head at the last bit and smile “Aye, I’m still one of the top players, doing my best to clear the game” he said with a smile and raised his hand for a thumbs up towards Kotone.

Ignorance is bliss, and not telling Kotone what had happened was probably for the best, it could end up looking wrong and Macradon would taint the guild’s name, which was indeed not in his intentions. “Yeah, sometimes the frontlines are slow and not much is happening other than fighting cool bosses that guards the passage to the next floor. The few frontline guilds that are on the frontlines are also doing their best, at least I trust them to do so, since they’re technically my colleagues, and I don’t want anyone to drag anyone down” he said.

The place was indeed getting foggy, or perhaps steamy. It probably meant that they were getting close to the hotsprings. He would look around with his Search and Detect that would highlight suitible materials hidden in the area, and it made gathering materials much more easier for him, which he was delighted about. Macradon would feel some kind of slop going upwards, which would make sense that the hotspring's fog/steam would fall down from the top of where the hot springs were. On the way up, green outlined crystalline object were spotted under some rocks, dug down beneath them. Macradon would approach the small formation of rocks and push them aside and begin digging. Another cluster of materials was found and Macradon would put them away. "If you invest in skills like Gatherer and Search and Detect, finding materials is going to become a breeze for you" Macradon said, continuing the walk.

ID: 89173
LD: 11+3+5=19, Material Found!
Materials Gathered: 16x T3 materials

@GreenBlade

Edited October 6, 2017 by Macradon

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone nodded in understanding to Mac. "So they aren't just quitters. Okay. That's all I was concerned about. All of us would be doomed of the frontliners started dropping like that. I'm not really one to talk though. Since I'm just a beginner." Kotone said as she continued to walk.

Mac then went on to agree with how things were getting a bit slow other than fighting bosses. "Yeah, that's what I figured. In the real world, I played in this online clan for a game, but things were slow for us too except for occasional tournament. I wonder how they're doing without me..." Kotone responded, but started to trail off.

Kotone shook her head and recollected her thoughts. "Sorry about that, I sorta blanked out there. Anyway, yeah, I wouldn't want to drag anyone down either." Kotone said. She tried to looking around for more stones, but the steam was really thick, and she couldn't even see her knees at this point. "Yeah, search and detect would definitely be helpful in this thick steam." Kotone commented as they continued to walk up the slope.

ID: 89174

LD: 12, No Materials Found

@Macradon

Edited October 6, 2017 by GreenBlade

[Macradon 0]

They did not have to walk for long before the fog and steam lifted from the area and they would begin to come up to the top of the … hill? Macradon wasn’t sure how far up they were, if it was a tall hill or a small mountain, but probably around that height. As they got up to the hot springs, multiple natural holes were spread out across the flat surface of this place. “Looks neat” Macradon commented upon the scenery presented to them. He would open up his HUD and exchange his current clothes for a towel that hung from his hips and down, just below his knees. “I’m gonna go in!” Macradon said and would make a small skip and land in the nice warm water. He had chosen one of the larger of the natural pools where a good handful of people could be in. The nice feeling of warm water over his body was very relaxing. Macradon would sink down into the water some more and exhale deeply with a pleased tone to it. “You should try the water, it’s really warm” Macradon said with a very mellow voice.

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone couldn't tell how high they had walked up either, but the steam was a bit higher now. The water and everything around looked great though, and the glow from some of the stones in the cavern ceiling made everything seem more relaxing. The water looked so clouded thanks to the steam, it was almost impossible to see anything below the surface.

Kotone opened her menu and took all her clothes and got a towel out. She wrapped the towel around her waist and stepped into the springs as well. "Ooh, the water feels like the perfect warm. I can almost feel my worries going away." Kotone commented as she leaned back a little bit and sank into the water. Now that she was in the water, the relaxation did not disappoint. She unwrapped the towel and placed it on the side of the hole they were in, knowing that neither of them could see below the water. "Back in the real world, I used to visit my grandparent's house once a year. We would always go to the hot springs there, and this feels exactly as it did then. Have you ever been to hot springs before?" Kotone asked as she started to close her eyes.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would smile at Kotone, he had never been in a hot spring like this before in the real life, he had been a hot spring before on the 4th floor with the Vice Commander of his guild, but that was a long time ago, back when Mack was actually present. Macradon would fully lean back with his lean, slightly muscular, arms over the edge of the small warm pond and look up at the sky like ceiling with its many different colors from different fungi and crystalline lights. “To be honest, where I come from back in the other world, we don’t have hot springs, we don’t have mountains either. The only fancy ‘spring’ I have been at was just a small river of clean spring water, nothing that major about it” he explained, sinking a bit under the water, letting it cover up over his mouth. He would let his arms slide back down into the water as well, leaving only his nose and above stay over the water. He would close his eyes for a short while and exhale deeply in enjoyment. “This is fantastic, I’m glad I took up here with you” he said to Kotone.

[GreenBlade 0]

Kotone opened her eyes back up and stared up at the ceiling of the cavern. The glow was almost hypnotic in how it made her stare. The glow from the stones was just so relaxing to look at. The fungi on the ceiling helped the glow really stand out as well, since the fungi was a little bit darker than the stones.

Mac had then told Kotone that he didn't have anything like a hot spring back in the real world, and Kotone sighed. "Well, at least you had the river, it's better than nothing. My grandparents' spring wasn't exactly paradise either. They were very traditional, so we were never allowed to wear clothes in the water. Plus, unlike the spring here where you can't see me underwater, the water was clear as glass. Sure the water felt nice, but it was very uncomfortable." Kotone explained.

Mac said it was fantastic here, and Kotone smiled. "I'm glad you came here with me too. The springs just aren't the same without someone to enjoy it with. So thanks." Kotone thanked as she started to scoot a little bit closer to Mac.

@Macradon