[PP/F1] Nature's Treasure

[Vie 0]

(OOC: Continuation of this encounter)
 

The redhead accepts the party request that impedes her vision in large letters, and off they went. The door of Chase's shop slams shut behind them as he appears to have difficulty with the lock for a small amount of time. As the two exit the shopping district, Vie jumps from stall to stall bombarding each shopkeep with millions of questions about their wares. When one went silent, she would jump to the next and stare at the merchandise as if inspecting it with a keen eye. She did this around an absurd amount of times as they wandered towards the center of the city. Finally, they reached the teleportation gate a bit later than she would've preferred. As they wait, the redhead finnicks in her left pocket that contains the new trinket she bought what seemed to be mere moments ago easing her anxiety about the absent blonde. Finally, she swipes through the menu and DMs her guild mate, 
 

Quote Hey Katoka, we're still meeting up today for the quest right? Met a friend along the way, I think we'll head to a cafe. Meal's on me! c:

Clicking the send button made one the most satisfying noises in the game. When the reply doesn't come immediately, she appears anxious. Now exiting the menu, she contemplated how long they'd spend on this quest. It was easier than most, the point was to gather as many materials as possible- and she had just invested in a new skill that may help that she was dying to try out. "She should be here soon so let's preoccupy ourselves," She spoke to the male, only just realizing that she had led him around like the pied piper. "Would you like to sit down at a cafe somewhere?" She questioned, staring at all the different sorts of restaurants dotted about the huge city that felt rather small. 

 

Spoiler Vie | Lv. 10 | HP: 200/200 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 2 (1 base, 1 skill) Equipment Weapon: Rapier [Vanity] Armor: Light Armor [Vanity] Trinket: Wabi-Sabi [LD III] Skills One-Handed Weapons [R1] Fishing

[ChaseR 0]

Chase silently followed along, both him and Blizz looking at Vie with mostly a blank expression alongside some amusement. "She's really energetic, huh...", the boy shrugged to himself and watched her jump ship as soon as each merchant got tired of her questions and antics. "At least someone looks to be having fun.", he finished the train of thought and went up to the plaza, looking at her send a message before hitting him with an offer to a cafe. Honestly, he'd barely visited shops other than his own but that was mostly because he hated them.

Albeit reluctantly, he nodded at her with an awkward, obviously forced smile. "Sure. Lead away.", blue responded and stuffed his hands in his jacket's pockets. Blizz had gotten tired of sitting balled up on his shoulder and took the liberty of climbing atop his head, seating himself on it like a hat. Chase seemed not to care all the same, and he remained quiet mostly because the only cafe he knew about was... hers. "H-Hell no I'm not going near her again if I don't need a thing...". How flustered he was at the thought showed, though without reason to go along with it. Unless Vie could read his mind, that is.
 

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 25
HP: 500/500
EN: 50/50

Stats:
Damage: 12
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
REC:2
PARA:1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Sky Slasher>> (T1/Perfect/2HSS): DMG II; PAR I
Armor: <<Sky Blue Apparel>> (T1/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I; REC II
Misc: <<Warm Earmuffs>> (T1/Perfect/Trinket): ACC III

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
T1 Mochi (LD +3)*1
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*2
Spyglass (2/3)*1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by ChaseR

[Katoka 0]

Katoka got a pin and saw she had a message, when she saw it was from Vie she excitedly opened it. They had planned on meeting up for the material gathering quest so she had already been waiting for a message to arrive. Sitting in her room at the inn Katoka typed out a message to reply to her friend.

Spoiler

Food and a quest as well? Now I'm extra excited!
I'll be there shortly.

She felt a bit nervous, the last time they had done a quest together it was a bit dangerous, but it wasn't the thought of danger that made her heart beat fast. Looking down at her hand she blushed and stood up quickly. "L-Let's go then!" she said aloud to herself, marching out of the room and out into the town. She was beginning to get familiar with the layout of the Town of Beginnings, despite being called a town it's size was more that of a small city. It's sprawling buildings and alleyways tended to form maze like corridors inside the large protective wall surrounding it. She did manage to make her way to the marketplace where she saw a familiar redhead bobbing about from vendor to vendor with a blue haired boy in tow.

"Vie!!!" she called out and waved to her friend as she ran up to meet with her.

Spoiler

Name: Katoka
Level: 12
HP: 240/240
EN: 24/24

Stats:
Damage: 4
Mitigation: 9
Accuracy: 2
LD:1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Curved Sword (T1/Rare/Curverd) | (+2 Dmg)
Armor: Samurai Yukata (T1/Uncommon/Light Armor) | MIT 1
Misc: Rabbit's Foot (T1/Perfect/Trinket) | ACC 2, LD 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions*3
Sand Armor Potion - +27 MIT (no stacking)*1

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Vie 0]

Vie felt rather indecisive of where she wanted to have the meet up exactly. Giving her full reigns was likely a bad decision as it would take a while of comparing pros and cons of each cafe to really find what felt right to her. As the redhead sort of wandered around in clear contemplation of where might be the best place to have them introduce themselves to each other, the blonde that left them waiting for a bit had appeared, running towards her. Though she hadn't held her arms out similar to a mast, her eyes twinkled in such a way that indicated to the redhead that she either wanted or needed a hug. As she approached, Vie wrapped her arms around the back of Katoka's torso using the momentum of the sprint to spin the petite body around. While it might've been scary that her feet were sort of mid-air, Vie was holding onto her as if in some form of desperation.

As the spin came to an end, she murmured "Missed you Katoka," A hint of sadness was in her voice as if she had been without someone very dear to her for a lengthy amount of time. Holding her close for a lingering moment, she finally lets go of the embrace while slightly embarrassed that she had acted like that in front of the male. 'I hope he didn't get the wrong idea...' She turned back to him, still a little unsure as to where might be the best meet up point. An awkward silence passes, "Anyway, let's head to a nearby cafe. I hear this one's good," she points to an eatery she had never heard of before, trying to salvage the conversation. It was a two-story building with outdoor seating, mostly white though accented with dull browns and bright reds. Pillars that had no function, wooden support structures that seemed to dissect main panels into visual segments for no actual reason but aesthetic... All finished with a panel of semi-dark wood likely cut and painted in brighter lettering as if to match the color scheme. It seemed newer than most, yet clearly aged in its own way. She shuffles towards it in a hurried fashion, not pleased with being stared at by passerby as if some sort of circus act after the encounter with the blonde haired woman. Her internal reflection on the situation marked her as stupid for displaying such behavior publicly on top of the action being in front of someone she hadn't even known that well quite yet. She worried about whether the blue-haired boy found her to be strange... Finally, the bell rang as they entered the creaky wooden cafe.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase was silent during the encounter, watching the two with the same plain expression. He only averted his gaze to the side to look at the pangolin, which had slid back down on his shoulder, before the two nodded at one another, as he already knew what question to start off with once they got settled down in the cafe. They began to march towards it, entering and looking around for a seat. The boy pointed over to a table that looked good enough for the three, and once they were all sat down properly, he coughed dryly to clear his throat before making his first and probably last attempt at socialising.

"So when did you start dating?", he asked with the same forced smile as before, which to his dismay, might have made him look a bit more sarcastic than he intended to. Blizz was uncomfortable and once more started climbing the side of his head, soon finding itself atop his head plopped down like a hat of sorts over his earmuffs. Bringing his hands in front of him, he rested his chin on them and shifted looks between the two, feeling the short silence become more and more tense as time went on.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka was startled at first by Vie swinging her around and embracing her, but she hugged her tightly back and felt surprisingly warm. Her face flushed as she enjoyed their contact, "I-I missed you too." she whispered in reply. They separated and she introduced herself to the blue haired man, bowing politely and smiling. He was rather quiet and it seemed like something was on his mind, but he didn't act particularly hostile so she wasn't put off by him. Following Vie to the cafe the group found their seats at a table and the man coughed a bit and asked, "So when did you start dating?"

Katoka turned bright red and steam practically shot from the top of her head, "W-w-w-what?! W-we aren't, we're friends! And and-" she covered her face completely with her hands, she had only known Vie for a short amount of time and wasn't even sure if she like women the same way that she did.

[Vie 0]

The interior of the shop was mostly a beige color, windows covered by white curtains that blurred the outside world and lamps that emitted just the right amount of light allowing visual adjustment from exterior to interior easy. Vie orders three oolong teas after a brief interaction with the greeter, and the three gather around the table the blue-haired male pointed out.

ChaseR attempts to break the silence and make conversation, "So when did you start dating?" This question was met with complete confusion and profuse embarrassment. Each of their faces grew a scarlet tint, Vie sort of averted her gaze at the clock just past his head counting down the minutes that would allow her to go hunting for materials instead of having to deal with the complicated social situation at hand. "F-Friends... We're friends," the girl attempted to explain complete with hand gestures as if the male didn't understand the language he otherwise seemed fluent in. The idea of being with Katoka had been an appealing one in all honesty, but the redhead didn't want to rush into things...

She adjusted her position on the chair and cleared her throat. "More importantly," she changed the topic of discussion, "Chase, this is Katoka." She gestured to the blonde woman sitting beside her, "And Katoka, this is Chase." She points to the blue-haired male... The waitress breaks the introductions with a tea kettle and a few raku chawan-looking mugs. Glancing around at the group, she asks if anyone wanted any sort of food. "Can I have a blueberry scone?" Vie orders one of her favorite pastries, allowing others to request whatever they desired as well.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase's smile faded away to reveal his unamused expression once more, staring at Vie as she cleared everything up. He didn't do much but give a small nod, letting out a sigh and dipping his head in just slightly before offering a very small smile. "I see. Sorry.". This time his reaction and expressions felt much more genuine than the last, a lot less forced. The boy almost offered his hand only to be interrupted by the waitress arriving. He gave an almost aggressive, annoyed glance as he narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head, seeming more defensive than anything. What was worse was his pangolin following a similar pattern, although it was pretty much just copying his player.

"Tea's enough.", he muttered and reached to the kettle, pouring in some for himself. As long as he didn't have to interact with any shopkeepers longer than he should, he was fine with being in a shop. "Blueberry scone..? So cooks can emulate tastes from the real world..? Scratch that, these two... How long have they been strolling around anyways? If Vie wanted a trinket, she must still be new, right?", the bluehead's inner monologue got started, before he quickly opened his menu once he'd settled the kettle down and invited Katoka to the party.

[Katoka 0]

After the embarrassment subsided a bit, though her cheeks were still a bit pink, Katoka ordered a scone as well. She had never been to this cafe before and didn't want to wast too much time looking over the menu. Accepting a mug of tea, she accepted the party invite as it pinged in her UI. The blonde was still a bit unsure of Chase, he was a man of few words it seemed. Trying to break the silence Katoka asked, "So what all does this quest entail? I like to have the details worked out usually before going in so I can properly asses things." she sipped again at her tea waiting for their pastries to arrive. The tea had a nice smooth taste that warmed her body all over, it always surprised her how well the cardinal system translated her senses, it will probably take her a while to get used to it.

[Vie 0]

Vie felt glad that the male in front of the two was capable of real emotions- not relying on a false mask all the time. It was relieving to know that he wasn't that upset with them for some unknown reason and may actually care about their feelings a little. After the small amount of time spent contemplating, the blonde intercepts the silence. In response to Katoka's question, the redhead's lips part and a variety of words leak out, "For the quest, we're essentially in search of either a Garden or a Courtyard for crafting materials. I happen to have my newly acquired fishing skill, so I may be able to go that path- but I'm unsure whether splitting up would be best. What do you two think?" Posing the question, she picks up the tea cup in her hands and takes a long sip out of the mug. Finally the waitress returns with their variety of pastries, discreetly passing the black book containing their receipt inside to Vie in order for her to later transfer over the funds. As the employee takes her leave, the girl uses a knife to both split the scone and slather the blueberry preserve onto a slice of it. After preparing the slices, she takes a bite into one of them clearly delighted at its taste as a smile spreads on her face.

[ChaseR 0]

"You just bought a trinket from me.", the bluehead reminded Vie, giving her a blank stare and remaining quiet for an awkward amount of time before he opened his mouth to talk. He'd have proceeded normally if he didn't see Blizz' tongue beginning to reach towards her food, moving his body further back on the seat and raising a hand to pet his head silently. "... Ahem. You're still new. Let's not.", he not-so-concisely got to his point, crossing his arms once Blizz had settled down and was no longer trying to steal her food.

"I don't want you two in danger.", Chase continued as he cupped the tea in his hands and took a sip, letting out a deep sigh. "Seeing as she bought a looting trinket, it can't have been her first, but... She probably doesn't have someone like Shay around to guide her. I've just started though, I don't know what would suit her best. Or her friend over there... Kartoni or something.", his inner monologue picked back up, and while it kept him preoccupied, his pangolin had gracefully stealthed down from his body and onto the floor, making his way over to Katoka and tugging at her yukata with his claws, letting out a low croaking noise.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka nodded along with their conversation, breaking off small bits of the scone and putting them in her mouth. The pastry was delicious but she was too nervous to prepare it as meticulously as Vie had. It seemed that Chase was concerned for their safety which she was glad for, despite how quiet he had been he did seem like a nice individual. "Well with this being a gathering quest I think that we should be out of danger here on the first floor at least. Vie and I have gained enough levels that the weaker mobs here should pose little issue if we were attacked somehow."

Katsumi felt a tug at her yukata and looked down at Chase's familiar, "Awww, hey sweetie. Do you want a bite? Is it ok if I give him a bit?" she asked patting his plated head lovingly. She already had a piece in her hand ready to slip to the pangolin.

[Vie 0]

"Just because I bought a trinket from you doesn't exactly mean I'm new, I could've gotten one from many other places. I figured I'd help local businesses, is that such a bad idea?" Vie felt sort of betrayed, glad yet upset at the same time that the blue-haired man rationalized the situation in such a way. "What's the point of tagging along if you don't want to do the que--?" her mouth is slightly ajar and mid-sentence as she watches a claw emerge from underneath the table...  The girl stared daggers at the beast as it tugged at the blonde woman's attire with its claws making strange noises. As Katoka didn't seem disturbed by the familiar's actions, so she returns to what had still bothered her. After the pause, her mind returns to what Chase had said as well as his now folded arms and stubborn behavior, "It's not like we're THAT incapable... We're not exactly girls in distress. Besides, it's the 1st floor for crying out loud!" She exclaims in sort of a whining manner, having been here plenty of times- she had even traveled to floors above! She felt more capable than she had ever been before, the idea that someone would think less of her merely because she bought a T1 trinket from them upset her, 'maybe player shops aren't the best decision to enter after all,' She thought while clearly frustrated, eating the last delicious bits of her scone without spending much time to savor it...

Edited July 30, 2020 by Vie

[ChaseR 0]

Chase snapped out of it as soon as he heard Katoka speak, moving his hand to check on his shoulder or atop his head. "T-Tch, I can't get my mind off of him for a second...", he sighed and nodded at the blonde. "Yeah, he'll settle down. Go ahead.". He then turned his head to look at Vie, frowning and looking down at the table with some slight guilt on his face. "... So it's not your first game too..?", the bluehead asked looking slightly discouraged. Considering this was not just his life now, but also the first game he'd ever decided to play, this whole experience was overwhelming enough that he hardly got out on his own until a few levels above the duo, around twelve or so.

"I never called you incapable.", he tried to excuse himself with a growing frown, unsure what to say as he half-closed his eyes and winced a bit. How skillful he was with words certainly didn't do him any favors in situations like this, as Chase had no clue what to say. "I just... T-Tsk...", with a flinch the boy went quiet, leaning back on his seat and closing his eyes with a defeated expression. "D-Damn it... I fucked up."

[Katoka 0]

Katoka was a bit startled by Vie. She fed Chase's familiar and let her companion finish. She understood being upset when it came to being a girl in an mmo, especially when the males tend to treat you like you're stupid. She placed a hand on the red head's shoulder, "I don't think he meant anything by it Vie-chan. He seems concerned for our safety, which is appreciated." she smiled sweetly at her friend, but turned back to the boy across from them, "However no, this isn't either of our first games. Assuming so is a bit rude but I think we can look past it, right Vie?" she said patting her on the head a bit. She leaned in to Vie's ear rather close and covered her mouth with one head to whisper just loud enough for her to hear, "Don't get upset over him, we're both much cuter anyways." she giggled a bit and sat back in her chair.

"So where is the closest gathering spot Blue Boy?" she asked Chase as though the whole situation hadn't happened.

Edited July 31, 2020 by Katoka

[Vie 0]

She realizes how wrongly she had snapped at him merely because he seemed to look down at them both as lower level players with care, she too looks at the table as if she had done something drastically wrong. She'd never gotten that irritated with someone before, the girl almost felt like some sort of spirit must have taken control of her. With the help of Katoka's comfort, her frustration at herself lifted. The blonde haired girl's comment about her being cute made her cheeks turn a light shade of scarlet as she thought, 'I know you're c-cute...' Her inner voice even stuttering from the compliment, glad that she was considered to be attractive in her eyes. As her mind gets interrupted by the girl's voice once more, she stifles a laugh at the nickname "blue boy," remembering vague childhood memories of Little Boy Blue despite originating from a Japanese Orphanage.

As her companion begins to change the subject, Vie excuses herself to transfer the necessary col for the bill over, "I'll be right back, hope you don't mind if we take the conversation outside so you can show us the way," she spoke over her shoulder as she approached the counter and began to talk their server at the cash register that was placed there only for aesthetic purposes. It took a while of fiddling with her UI before she finally left the restaurant to join the party.

[ChaseR 0]

As Vie got up to pay the cashier, he let out a sigh and walked out with Katoka. Before the redhead had enough time to return, he looked at the blonde with a frown and thought at least an apology was proper. "I'm bad with words... And games. This is my first. So I thought maybe yours too.", he explained rather shortly, offering a small smile before looking to the side to see that Vie had just exited the shop. With a cough to clear his throat, he was about to reveal all the good spots for searching around for materials before it hit him- "... I've only farmed in the eleventh floor.", he admitted, furrowing his eyebrows and crossing his arms as he began to tap his foot on the ground.

Although, even if he hadn't farmed here, he had seen a few good looking spots left and right when wandering across the vast plains for the first quests and then some. "I have an idea though. If you're ready, let's go.", he invited the two to follow behind him, hoping that little red wouldn't be angry with him any further. Chase already felt like he'd put in his fair share of awkwardness with what little he had said.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka watched the red head head over to cash register, it seemed that she had managed to diffuse the situation before it had gotten out of hand. Letting out a sigh of relief she turned to Chase, "I accept your apology, but next time just ask. You don't want a woman as an enemy, trust me." she smiled and lightly punched him in the arm, "Don't worry about this being your first game newbie, you've got two veteran gamer girls to take care of you now." she laughed and it felt nice to be able to joke around. Having such normal interactions with people was a step in the right direction to living a normal life here.

When Vie returned Katoka gestured forward to Chase, "Alright then, lead the way." she turned to her red headed companion, "Chase-kun here thinks he knows a good hunting spot." she looped her arm through Vie's and put her other fist up in the air, "Let's goooo!"

[Vie 0]

After the slight difficulty, the bell hung on the door chimed as Vie exited the building to join the two. Katoka put her arm through hers and each were ready to go on their adventure- the redhead paused for a moment and bowed slightly, "I'm... sorry about earlier. I'll try harder to keep myself in check in the future." She murmurs, each syllable difficult to hear though she hoped the gesture would be received well as if indicating that the words spoken were genuine. After a moment, she returns to her upright state, wondering about how the normally anxious blonde had turned into such an enthusiastic person. "I- Uh..." An awkward scrambling of words fell out as she felt close yet far from the person next to her all at the same time. She was definitely happy the girl had chosen to act in such a way, this shown by the slightly abnormally red cheeks... Vie was also quite confused by the act though, nonetheless she spoke "Lead the way!" She spoke in a joyful tone, throwing her fist up into the air as well. The girl was glad to be adventuring with Katoka once more, as she followed in Chase's footsteps.

[ChaseR 0]

Although it seemed as if he'd take quite badly to the light punch, he ended up actually smiling in return wider than he had up to now. For once in his life, especially here of all places, when someone learned just how bad he could be with words, gestures spoke the loudest. He laughed slightly even, giving a nod and waiting until the redhead was out. Taken aback by her apology, he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head and give a low, awkward chuckle. "I-It's alright, I'm bad with words. It's my fault as much as it's yours.", he quickly tried to brush the matter off, starting to eventually lead them out of the town.

Seeming rather lost at first, he began to lead them through small paths of dirt here and there until the trio wound up in a courtyard. Out of pure habit, now that he'd finally approached the area, he raised a hand as if to keep the other two further behind him and took his sword out from his sheathe to hold it in front of himself. It didn't take more than a glance around before he dropped his guard, seeing as the concrete jungle- or rather forest- that they were into was devoid of monsters, by the looks of it. "... We're good. The only places I've seen with materials are gardens before.", Chase continued, turning around and realising that he might have acted in a way to make them feel as if he was looking down on them once more.

"I'm a tank. I take the lead. Or will, when I get more skills.", he quickly tried to excuse himself with an awkward grin, feeling the little weight that his pangolin was on his shoulder jump off, turning around to see the blue mammal run straight towards a pond. "Hm?", the bluehead cocked an eyebrow and walked towards him, seeing just how deep the pond was. It was quite big, too. Something moved inside, but... He was just surprised at the details the game went to for even side-areas like this. "Materials should lay around somewhere here... Just gotta find them. If I see a monster, I'll come help right away. Not because you're weak, but because I don't want anyone's health to drop. Okay?", he suggested with a frown, the muscles on his neck slightly pulled and tense from the reaction he was expecting to possibly get.