[SP|F1] <<The First Few Lessons are Free>> The Beginning

[Hisa 0]

"I'm too goddamn young to give up and rot in this godforsaken game!" she shouted, visibly agitated after waking up for the what felt like the millionth time, about to repeat her daily routine again. As Hisa leaned back, falling on her bed, she stared at the ceiling in frustration. "Even Katoka ventures out, trying to advance and help beat this mmo. Why am I so scared?" she grumbled. 

Fearing that her only close real life friend would find out that she was a coward at heart, the anger within her grew with every passing moment, before it got the better of her. 
Never one to hold back when enraged, she kicked a nearby chair with all of her strength, sending it flying against the wall where it unceremoniously bounced off, causing a system message to pop up 'Immortal Object'.
This was the final straw. She had to change something about her situation before this place would drive her crazy. 

Amidst a incredibly long string of cursewords aimed at the chair, Hisa finally gathered her courage to at least complete the tutorial. Opening the questlist, only a single one was selectable for her"<<The First Few Lessons are Free>>". 

[Hisa 0]

Packing nothing but small snacks for the journey, she left the tavern and made her way to the the first questgiver, a npc named Zackariah. Walking through the Town of Beginnings, felt eerily real. The smell of the food offered at the stalls she passed, the wind ruffling her hair, the warmth the sun emitted, everything reminded her of her journeys before she was trapped in the virtual world. Shaking off any doubts that started to form, she focused at the task at hand and soon arrived at her destination.

Upon arriving, Hisa knocked on the heavy wooden door. A male voice answered. "Please come in.". Without hesitation she entered the building. An old man was already waiting for her behind the counter. "Hello little girl, how can I help you?". Memories of students making fun of her for being short shot into her conciousness but she forced a smile. "Hello sir, I heard that you offer lessons in basic crafting in exchange for ingredients." "Indeed I do. If you want me to teach you, please bring me 5 of these" he said, pointing at flowers laying on the counter. As she investigated them, an item description popped up that simply called them 'T1 Materials'. 

She nodded at Zackariah which set off the 'Quest Accepted' prompt, accompanied with the quest objective 'Go fetch five(5) Tier one materials and give them to Zakariah'.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

Taking the quest jingle as a starting signal, she left the workshop and made her way to the town gates. Blinded by being reminded of her height, she ignored everything on her way, making no attempt at hiding her mood. Uttering "I'll teach him not to call me small after I'm done with this quest and he's no longer essential, I swear to god." before her trail of thought was interrupted by the city guards wishing her safe travels.

That was when she realized, she was about to leave the confines of the Town of Beginnings, the area that protected her from harm. Knowing that if she turned around now, she could never forgive herself for not at least having tried, Hisa took a step forward. 
'Safe area left', a message that sent shivers down her spine, but she wasn't about to give up now, if Katoka could do it, so could she.

[Hisa 0]

Calling it the wild area appeared unjust, it was beatiful and serene, at least at first glance. Plains, floating islands, rivers, lakes, it would make for a great vacation spot if a location like this existed in real life. She could not let the view slow her down though, there were materials to be gathered and col to be made if she wanted to join the adventurers ranks. 

Hisa figured that what she was looking for might be located next to rivers, so she crossed the field until she arrived at the stream closest to her.

"Jackpot!" She immediately spotted the flower she was looking for and picked it up. A satisfying jingle signaled that the quest progress updated to '1/5 T1 Materials'. 

With the gathering spot gone, she had to look for a new location. The hills looked promising so back to the road and up the hill she went.

 

1/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

With her eyes fixated on the ground, she searched every inch of the mound she was standing on. Spending roughly ten minutes circling the area, she noticed another one of the flowers hiding in the shadow of a tree. Placing it into her inventory updated the quest progress yet again, '2/5 T1 Materials'. "If I keep going at this pace, I will be done in no time!" The uneasiness started to slightly fade as  nothing attacked her and she could just freely explore the zone.

Taking another look around, Hisa felt herself wondering if the developers might have put one or two flowers right next to the path outside of the city gates to give new players some immediate success, this was a tutorial after all. Deeming it worth a shot, back to the road and down the hill it was, this time searching the grass left and right of the trail. 

 

2/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

"Please don't betray me video game knowledge." she uttered while inching her way along the trail, darting her view left and right to not miss a spot. But alas, even after half an hour, there was no flower to be found. "I should have figured." escaped her lips when she reminded herself that this game was marketed as a hardcore VRMMORPG for the truly dedicated. They wouldn't just hand out fetch quest items. It would have ruined their reputation if the beta testers got the impression that the game was too easy.

With that option ruled out, she had to find a new location, but first it was time for a snack. Hisa walked back to the tree in whose shadow she found one of the flowers and sat down, grabbing a sandwich out of her inventory. Eating it, she took some time to figure out possible spots where more flowers could be hidden. The quest progress still showed '2/5 T1 Materials'.

 

2/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

After finishing her meal, she wiped herself clean with her sleeves before she got up, patting off any crumbles that fell into her lap. With her eyes set on a mountainside, that should be about an hour of walking away, she set off.

Traveling along the every inclining trail, Hisa's hike took her over a small brook and along the edges of a grove, where she stopped for a second. It felt colder and it was an eerie sight, darker and gloomier than the rest of the zone. She figured that this place must hold the monsters of this zone.

Without a weapon or armor she wasn't willing to tackle that kind of challenge yet and continued walking, looking for any signs of flowers on the outskirts of the thicket. Staying alert at all times at to not get surprised by a wild beast that could be darting out from between the trees. 

 

2/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

Having left the thicket behind her, the mountainside was right in front of her. The trail transformed into an assortment of dirtpatches and rocks, which led her to start climbing up the less dangerous side of the ridge.

On her way up, she was thankful for all the sports she did back in the real world. While her strength didn't fully translate into the game as it would have given her a stat advantage, she could still employ the techniques she acquired.

The ascent also didn't cause her to fatigue, which gave her plenty of time to think. She wondered what happened to her parents and her body, where she was right now and if she would ever be able to escape this virtual prison. Coming across bird nests, she peeked inside in the hopes of the animals having used the flowers she was looking for to build their homes. Most were empty but all were made from regular sticks and foliage so she continued on her journey to the summit.

 

2/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

Having scaled the mountain she was greeted by a rather flat, lush field of wildflowers. She believed that one of those had to be a T1 material. She crawled throught the field, investigating every single flower she could see but there were just too many. Hisa had to rely on her eyes, every other approach would use up too much of her time. Scanning the field as thorroughly as she could, none of the special flowers could be found. 

"Goddamn fetch quests." she mumbled before turning around, approaching the edge of the peak, looking down. It was a rather sizeable drop, not enough to kill her but also not safe either, at least given her real life experiences. She had always wondered if fall damage existed and now was as good a time as any to figure it out. 

 Stepping back a little as she took deep breaths. Determined to not let this game freighten her more than it should, she leapt.

 

2/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

The impact felt unnatural. A sensation shot through her body, not pain but not comfortable either. It was the game signaling to her that she just took damage. Checking the combat log revealed the exact amount '8 Damage | Source: Falling'. Looking at her hp bar confirmed it, 12/20 HP remaining.

"So this is what getting hurt feels like in this world, it's not as bad as I exptected it to be." she thought, looking at her body, the only sign of the event being a slight red glow eminating from her legs. She also spotted something else while looking down. Her mood brightened significantly as she, by coincidence, landed right next to one of the flowers. 

Eagerly placing it into her inventory, she heard that jingle again, the quest progress updated to '3/5 T1 Materials'.
Being over halfway done fueled her enthusiasm, "Maybe the one next to the lake respawned already, I should check".

 

3/5 Quest Items

HP 12/20

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

Heading to the lake she noticed that it was already afternoon, she had to be faster and find the last two before the sun goes down. Looking for these at night would be pretty much impossible. She also worried that mobs would spawn freely at night, this zone might become dangerous. 

Approaching the water, something glistening in the sun caught her eye, the flower had indeed respawned. Wasting no time she picked it up, updating the quest progress to 4/5 T1 Materials, before turning to the other spot she found one, next to the tree.

Venturing up the hill she already thought about what she would do with the quest reward. Buy some equipment, maybe even a trinket. Since Hisa never paid much attention to the pricing of these items and had no idea what she could actually afford. All she knew is that her climb demonstrated that her techniques translated into the game, so she would look into martial arts gear, as she had years worth of experience in fighting with her hands and legs.

 

4/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

A sigh of disappointment escaped her as she didn't find what she was looking for. Wondering if the spawning is randomized, she investigated the nearby area.
Even after spending some time atop the hill, Hisa couldn't find a flower. Considering her options, it was either checking every previous spot that yielded a material or figuring out what she missed. 

An idea sprang to mind. There might be a flower hidden underneath the small platform over the narrow river she crossed a while back. She figured that this would be a difficult enough hiding space to draw out the players sense of exploration.

Now no longer calmly walking but jogging to race the fading sunlight, she approached the wooden bridge. Hisa slid down the sides into the brook and waded through the shallow stream until she was beneath the structure, almost knee deep in the water. This again blurred the line between game and reality, as it felt cold to her, despite her knowledge that this is only a simulation.

 

4/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

Investigating the patches of grass that lined the edges, she hoped to find the last material she needed. After the sunlight has almost faded she caught a glimpse of something glowing, it was a flower. Gathering it, caused a system prompt to appear 'Item requirements met, return to Zackariah'. 
She darted out of the water immediately, sprinting towards the city. Hisa was never afraid of the dark, but who knows what dangers spawn once the sunlight was gone. 

Half an hour later, the Town of Beginnings was in sight again. With the moon already visible, she reached the gates. 'Safe zone entered', interrupted the flow of the chat window, otherwise filled with players either offering their crafting services or arguing about which barmaid was the cutest. Sighing at the cesspool that was the first floor chat, the sense of familiarity calmed her down. Eventhough it was not perfect, she was home again. 

 

5/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

Despite it being dark, she had little trouble finding the workshop again. From the distance however, she could already see a sign on the door. "Oh no." she uttered. Standing in front of it revealed the message 'Closed until 8am'. "You can't be serious.". Her temper fired up immedtiately. Shouting "You really made me go out into the wild to search for your stupid flowers only to close when I return?" as she reeled back, unleashing a punch at the door. 

'Immortal Object', popped up, followed by an immediate "Goddamnit!" by Hisa.
With no chance of getting into Zackariahs shop at this hour, she returned to the inn, glaring at every passing npc and player who asked if she was okay, given the enraged expression on her face.

When she arrived at the inn, she immediately went up to her room, slamming the door behind her before she laid down to rest for the night.

 

5/5 Quest Items

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

Hisa woke up by the sun blinding her through the window. Determined to finish this quest, she got up, got dressed and left the inn. On her way to the workshop, she paused from time to time, to look at different equipment offered by the craftsman. She concluded that there was a way to use martial arts in this game, as there were wrist and ankle bracers on display.

Upon arriving at Zackariahs workshop, the sign was no longer there. Her knocking was answered with the familiar "Please come in".
When she entered, the npc greeted her with "Welcome back little girl, have you gathered the materials already?". She replied with an annoyed "Yes I have, old man, here they are" before placing the gathered flowers on the counter.

"Very well, now I will show you what you can do with these, watch me do it first and then repeat." 

 

Quest items given to NPC

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

She watched Zackariah closely as he grinded the flowers down and funneled the powder into a vial with water before placing it over a small fire. He then carefully turned the vial sideways as to heat the concoction evenly. 
After 3 minutes had passed, he quenched the fire, swirled the mixture around after which it turned into red.
"This is how you make a health potion, now try it yourself."
Hisa grabbed a vial, the flowers she gathered and got to work. Crafting required patience, not something she was known for and thus she struggled a little. She didn't grind it into a very fine powder, nor did she heat the mixture up slowly. Even after all of these mistakes, after she was done, the mixture still changed color. It now being a dark shade of pink instead of red proved that it worked, albeit not resulting in the same quality Zackariah had achieved.

 

Potion crafted - Uncommon Quality

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

After analysing the potion, Zackariah smiled at her "Very well done.". With a sigh of relief she expected the 'Quest Complete' system message appearing but instead it updated as the npc continued "Now, could you help me once again?". "I am not going to collect more flowers." she blurted out before immediately apologizing "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude.".
"Don't worry, I have all the materials I need. The favor I would like to ask of you is to deliver this package to Lyle Tealeaf, a local blacksmith."

As Hisa touched the package, it dematerialized, and reappeared as an entry in her inventory, when the quest objective updated 'Locate Lyle Tealeaf and deliver the package'. "Great, a fetch quest followed by a delivery quest." escaped her, answered with a confused look by Zackariah. "Don't worry about what I say, I sometimes talk to myself", she explained, forcing a chuckle "I will deliver your package."
 

Package recieved

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

After leaving the workshop Hisa found herself with some spare time on her hands as Lyle's smithy was not open yet. Although she was tempted to peak into the package, the fear of the quest failing as a result was too great so she left it untouched. 

The only productive thing she could think of is to find out how to unlock martial arts, as it was still greyed out in her skill list. When pointing at it, 'Clear <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> to unlock' popped up. This quest was located on the second floor and she was not yet comfortable to venture up there, but she noted it down nonetheless. 
She also looked at other skills, but found herself always returning to martial arts. With this, she would no longer be unable to defend herself.

The second thing she looked into was healing. Having played support characters in other mmorgs, the system in SAO seemed very different. There were barely even healing skills available, but she figured it would not hurt to get one.

 

Package in Inventory

[Hisa 0]

Time flew by as she read up on all the skills and weapons available. She also found out that there are armor skills, which was very interesting to her as she only ever saw stat bonuses on them in other games. 
When she checked the ingame clock, it showed 10am. This meant that the smithy had opened. Deciding to finish this quest sooner rather than later, she closed the menu and mader her way through the city.
When she heard a hammer slamming down and saw smoke coming out of a furnace atop a sizeable building, she knew she found the right place.
As the door was open, she entered, a wide array of swords and heavy armors on display. Eventhough they looked fairly powerful, a check revealed that they were all starting items, barely worth anything and not granting any stat boosts. "Typical of a mmorpg to have the npc smiths sell only crappy equipment" she thought while approaching Lyle.

 

Package in Inventory

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa

[Hisa 0]

"Hello there." she shouted to overpower the sounds of metal hitting metal. "Hello there adventurer, how may I help you?" Lyle answered, pausing his work, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.
"I'm guessing you are Lyle Tealeaf?" 
"Yes I am, why do you ask?" 
"I have a package from Zackariah for you." Hisa explained before placing it on the counter.
"I have been waiting for these, thank you very much."
"Could I ask you a question?"
"Yes of course."
"I see you specialize in heavy armor and blades, where would I need to go for light armor and martial arts equipment?"
"To be honest, there is no town merchant that can sell you anything better than what you already have. If you want better equipment, you will either have to buy it off of another adventurer or craft it yourself."
"I see, well, thank you anyways, have a nice day."
"Wait, before you leave, I could use your help as well."

 

Package delivered - Quest completed

Spoiler

Quest Rewards:

- 5 Tier One Health Potions of Rare quality. (+40 HP)
- 1 Tier One Damage Potion of Uncommon quality. (+1 Damage)
- 1 Tier One Over-Health Potion of Special quality. (+50 HP to maximum HP for remainder of thread)
- 2 SP + 1 (Page) + 1 (Quarantine Bonus) = 4SP
- 400 col

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by Hisa