Sotarou

FLASHBACK

"C'mon, Sota! You're being rather rude to the guy!"

"It's an NPC. It's got a set programmed response guide. It doesn't do anything past what it was programmed to do."

Jarron and Sotarou stood there arguing between one another while this NPC, Zackariah, had just been standing there, waiting for a confirmation of the acceptance of the quest <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>>. It was a newbie quest... rather basic. From what he understood, it was just 'Go out and fetch 5 T1 mats, bring 'em back and we'll continue from there.' Simple enough to do. So why was Jarron making such a big fuss over NPC interactions...?

Jarron nodded profusely to Zackariah. "I am so sorry for my friend's rude behavior. We'd be glad to accept this quest and help you out."

The NPC was rather polite in its response as Sotarou and Jarron both pressed the 'Accept Quest' button on their respective menus. "Thank you for accepting the quest. You just performed one of the first basic actions in this world. The next one is to acquire 5 Materials on this floor. You don't need to fight any monsters at all. Nothing will harm you on this floor as long as you don't provoke it. Gather the 5 materials, and bring them back to me. We'll continue once you return."

Jarron nodded to the man. "Of course! Of course! We'll get those materials and be back before you know it!"

Sotarou pointed to the sky. "Uhh... it's getting late... we need to be logging out soon..."

Jarron smacked his own forehead, a look of shock on his face. "Oh crap! You're right! My Fiance's gonna throw a fit when she finds out I was on here all day! We should get out of here."

END FLASHBACK

All the excitement lately, Sotarou's been having to re-evaluate his decisions as of late... he's been rather... dogged in his choice of quests, picking ones that could possibly give him boosts in gear and levels... but there was only really one way to do that, and that was to do the starting newbie quests... the ones he'd been neglecting since he first found out about Kayaba locking everyone within a perpetual death game... why...? What was his end goal...? Was it to make the world aware...? Well, it certainly did that... but... as scary as all this was... Sotarou couldn't help but... at the same time... feel a sense of enjoyment... he wasn't about to feel enjoyment in death, but... aside from that, he was in another world...! One that had its own laws, its own rules... and while yes, some aspects were scary... like the threat of death and PKers... there were other aspects of this place that were awesome! That were lovely! That were great! If this weren't the case of death upon losing all your HP, he would probably enjoy this more! But that doesn't mean he didn't enjoy it anyway! But all this thought-provoking stuff wasn't getting anywhere quest-wise... he had picked up the first quest in what he learned was a quest chain of 4 quests back to back... he never did anything with it, but it seemed a good time to do it in any case...

(( Accepting quest <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>> ))

It was the next day. A good night's rest at the Inn was just what he needed. He still couldn't get over how realistic the need to sleep was in this game... it was really rather something... it was just a shame he couldn't be in his own bed... maybe when he could get more Col... but for now, he was a man on a mission! And he was going to find some help before he went gallivanting off into the forest...

But first thing's first. Even if this were a game world, he still needed to keep up his hygiene. And so, into the shower... while he stood there and soaked for a bit, his thoughts wandered back to his thoughts while he was fighting those Boars yesterday... this whole 'death game' business... was it really death for real...? Was Kayaba just saying that to make a statement about the state of video games as a whole...? It sounds like some sort of PR stunt that someone could have conceived to just make an awareness of things...

Turning off the water, Sotarou got dressed and made sure to grab his items... he had a few. He grabbed his Starter Potions... he hadn't needed to use them at all, it was weird... he thought that, this being a death game, he'd need to make sure he was better off with the healing... then again, he WAS kinda taking it easy, killing easier mobs and whatnot... suppose that's what he gets for his trouble.

He also made sure to equip the Jeweled Bee Brooch he had recently purchased from that Artisan... Sorry, J... but if I'm going to survive, if we're all going to make it out of here, we're all gonna have to work together... and that means, I'll be using your gift to me in reserve...

Well, apart from that and his usual gear, he was ready... more ready than he ever was. He stepped out of the hotel room and went to the center of town and did the hardest thing he's ever had to do... panhandle for help...

"Excuse me... I'm trying to complete this quest, and I'm having trouble finding the quest point... can you help me...?" He repeated this to everyone he could find... but everyone just ignored him and continued on with their day like it was nothing... but that wouldn't stop him. He would find someone if it killed him...

(( Starting quest again: <<Feeding The Enemy>> with the help of @Kirbs. Stats, Skills and Items below in Spoiler. ))

Sotarou shook his head at the blade. "Mine's already better. I'll go ahead and sell it to you. As for the Potions, I'll gladly take those... they will likely come in handy sometime down the road. Thank you again." 

Sotarou looked rather apprehensive as he entered this shop... he really hoped he wasn't turned away at all... he really wanted to get these items checked out... "Umm... hello? I-if anyone's there... I-I'd like to get these items identified please..." He set down a few items onto the counter and looked around at the shop a bit... 

@Dagger
Requesting Item Identification:
3 Uncommon T1 Consumables
1 Perfect T1 Katana
Ready with 1010 Col upon reply.

There were only a few more side areas with which to search in this cave... there were also some mining nodes... but everytime he mined it, they turned up nothing. So... no dice there. Oh well. That wasn't why he was here, though. He was here for that Wolf... and he kept his eye peeled...

(( ID 117838 - Loot: 12; No Familiar ))

Sotarou searched and searched and searched some more. But all he found was cave, cave and more cave. He had searched all of this cave... it wasn't here... so, he made his way back to the entrance. He found it and was ready to head out to the next area. But as he was about to head out to the next spot to look, he looked up- damn! Was it already getting nighttime!? He wasn't scared of the dark, so much as he was scared of the player killers that roamed the newbie zones at night to kill and get a laugh out of it... so, it was with a heavy heart that Sotarou took his leave and headed back to town. He scored some decent loot... but he could always have used more. Oh well. Such was life. He figured he'll try again tomorrow. But doing it alone was kinda grindy... so he'd just get with some other people and see about maybe getting it done quicker. He wanted to find that Wolf... that was the main thing. Yeah... a new day...

(( Tallied loot totals:
650 Col
10 T1 Materials
3 <<Unidentified Uncommon Consumable>>
1 <<Unidentified Perfect Weapon>>
1 completed page: 1 SP ))

(( Thread Complete. Please award Col and SP, then lock thread ))

It was time to finish off this Boar. So... he figured, might as well just strike as he had been, using Han'ei to strike once more as the Boar swung around to charge again... it was stumbling though, so it was on its last legs... it was getting close... Sotarou felt himself trying to slip into letting the system work... but he forced himself to stop! He closed his eyes... the world seemed to move slowly around him... it was... he couldn't describe it... but he seemed to... I don't know... see the world... see it around him... see it move... and even see the Boar... but his body could only move as fast as it normally could... it was infuriating... to see all of this... and only move normally... but as he opened his eyes, the world moved as normal, and he had a split-second decision of movement! The system couldn't compensate for it, so Sotarou took the opportunity to let his own movements kick in... as he struck the creature!

(( ID 117836 - Battle: 8; MOB: 9; Sotarou hits, Boar Crits ))

Sotarou dashed forward, blade extended outwards... he and the Boar both hit each other, the Boar striking a little harder due to it wanting to do something lasting... but... not so much... either way, Sotarou's strike ended it, the Boar exploding into loot again. Sotarou smiled... maybe the system wasn't perfect after all...! Or maybe it was J giving him a nudge in just the right way...! He liked to think of it like that, in any case... either way, Sotarou took stock of what the Boar dropped upon its demise now.

(( ID 117837 - Loot: 7; Craft: 1; Earnings posted below ))

As the Boar died, it dropped 4 T1 Materials, 120 Col and 1 <<Unidentified Uncommon Consumable>>. Such was the luck in his findings. Well, at least the boar was dealt with. That was the important thing. Now he could continue his hunt for that Wolf... there wasn't much more to the cave...

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          73/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 1/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>             -6/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

Renewed by his powerful strike, Sotarou readied another Han'ei to strike the Boar again as it charged around to attack him! He WOULD win this fight now! It was inevitable! And he loved it that way!

(( ID 117835 - Battle: 9; MOB: 5; Sotarou +1 Crit! Boar misses ))

His power was waning, though. The energy surge that kicked him over was still there, and it helped him deal a stronger blow... but he was quickly losing energy... and that was bad. So... he had to end the fight quickly. And of course, the Boar didn't get a hit in because the strong hit against it...

Or maybe that wasn't the case... maybe it was just how the algorithm made it appear. Maybe it had already rolled the result in the RNG tables, and it was gonna miss either way... and it just adjusted the physical appearance of what happened based on that particular roll... but then... was everything in here just dictated by RNG...? Were his attacks just manufactured by the system...? No. He wouldn't believe that! He was in charge of his own fate! No system could control him! He was in charge! HE was the one in control of himself! He stopped letting his body move how it wanted... that was NOT how he'd go with! He would NOT become a slave to the system! He would fight hard! And win on his own!

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          77/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 2/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>              4/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

And once again, it was another back and forth. The Boar did some damage, Sotarou did some more, it was a fight... but it was one fight that Sotarou was determined to win! And win he would, because he wouldn't give up! Not without a fight!

(( ID 117834 - Battle: 10; MOB: 2; Sotarou +2 Crit! Boar misses ))

"You hear me!? I'm not lyin' DOWN!" And his shout seemed to resonate with his blade, causing it to pulse with power... as his Han'ei seemed to explode with more energy than what he'd given it initially, causing a massive damage boost! The Boar, stunned by this strike, was unable to make any sort of retaliatory strike!

His thoughts went to home... home life, learning how to handcraft Katanas... they were never for actual use... more just for show and status... it was only the wealthy clients who could afford a hand-crafted Japanese Katana, made in the Dinosaur style... right now though, he was starting to miss that Dinosaur style... he just hoped he could get home one day... he'd never play a game again in his life...! But right now, he had to play THIS game to KEEP his life! Of course, he could just stay in Floor 1 and survive there... but... what would that accomplish? Hiding wasn't living... it was no better than dying... so instead... he focused on what he could do: fight... and survive.

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          77/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 3/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>             16/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

Getting ready for another attack, Sotarou looked on as the Boar got back to its feet and swung back around for another assault! It was gonna be another one of those fights, where he just had to rely on his normal attacks to finish it off, likely... unless he got his hits in here... even if the Boar hit him in kind, he didn't mind so much. He could take the damage for quite a while. His armor was doing well to hold up to the pounding. Either way, Sotarou readied another Han'ei as the Boar just ran towards him at full tilt!

(( ID 117833 - Battle: 7; MOB: 2; Sotarou hits, Boar misses ))

This time, Sotarou hit true! Maybe this wouldn't be SO much of a slog at least... his damage output was decent with his skill and blade... the accuracy he has doesn't hurt either... he just had to learn to trust the Cardinal System... the very system that held everyone captive... he had to learn... to trust a murder-death-kill machine...

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          77/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 4/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>             30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

That was actually a curious thought though... how were their bodies in the real world...? Would they be brought to the hospital and monitored, kept alive...? What about the people who died...? Who were killed in this death game...? Was it even really a death game...? Was J just walking around in the real world, glad that the reality of death in here wasn't real at all? It wasn't something he could think about for long, as that Boar was getting ready to strike again! Sotarou readied himself for the attack and readied another Han'ei to strike at the Boar, while the Boar did its usual thing: swing around and charge! They were nothing, if not predictable.

(( ID 117832 - Battle: 2; MOB: 1; Both Miss ))

This boar wasn't having the best of luck either, since it completely flopped over and failed to even touch Sotarou. But Sotarou was just the same, almost. He didn't lose his balance, at least. He just failed to hit because the Boar flopped. Ah well. Fails all around. Nothing to do but try again.

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          76/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 5/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>             40/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

And so, Sotarou took his stance and readied to fight the boar! As he made an aggressive move towards it however, the Boar started its fighting self as well! So it turned into a heated battle soon after! But Sotarou was in his element now! He was ready for this! And so he began with a Han'ei to start things off, while the Boar did its usual thing of charging forward and trying to gore the player who initiated Aggro with it!

(( ID 117831 - Battle: 4; MOB: 8; Sotarou misses, Boar hits ))

And the opening salvo wasn't all that entertaining... as the strike he made wasn't enough to carve, glancing off the Boar and dealing no damage... however the Boar got a neat little hit into Sotarou... it didn't really hurt, just wounded his pride! I mean, seriously! A low level mob like this managing to hit him when he couldn't get a hit in edgewise? Come on! He was better than this! And he would prove it! Not just to himself, but to J and to everyone else home, waiting for him to wake up from this nightmare!

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          76/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 6/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>             40/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

And Sotarou looked around for another node nearby, spotting it quite easily. These lower levels were littered with the things. And the mobs were all Yellow, so they wouldn't aggro on sight. Which was a good thing because near him was a Boar that was close enough to be within aggro range... wait, how are boars in caves now...? Ehh. Questions for later. Right now, he was just glad it hadn't spotted him- aaaaaaaand it had spotted him. Well, at the very least, it didn't attack... thankfully. So he took the time while he wasn't being accosted by the mob to try and gather from the node before he'd turn to it.

(( ID 117830 - Loot: 10; No Materials ))

This one wasn't as fortunate... ah well. Win some, lose some. And he was hoping to win some against this boar as he drew his Katana and readied for battle! Remember... don't focus... let the body move. Let it do what it wants to do. It's going to do so anyway... might as well go with the flow!

Sotarou looked around and it didn't take long to notice a material node. Guess he was right: caves were an abundant source of Material nodes! He made a mental note of that for the future... he just hoped RNG wasn't such a bitch in here now... otherwise, he'd have to just resort to monster hunting to get the stuff he wanted... But as it was, he figured he might as well try to get some more materials while his energy recuperated. And so, Sotarou pulled out that Pick and started getting to work on the node.

(( ID 117829 - Loot: 15; 1 T1 Material ))

His luck was with him again, as his pick hits solidly and spawns a T1 Material from the node! He was doing well! On to the next Node, while his eyes scanned the area for that Wolf again... it had to be around here somewhere... or maybe he was just deluding himself. Maybe Wolves don't behave like that in SAO. Maybe they'll just park it under a shaded tree. He'd check there at some point, but for now... he was in a cave and mining. Might as well look here. It was too bad he didn't ask Macradon about where he found his... maybe he could have checked there first...

(( ID 117699 - Treasure Result: Loot: 15+2 [Trinket], Treasure Chest found! ))

(( ID 117700 - Loot Result: Loot: 2+2 [Trinket], loot acquired ))

Sotarou was celebrating after his clean kill and suddenly tripped over an extended branch... as he did so, his face fell near another lifted branch, under which he found... a treasure chest! Well then! Suddenly treasure! He opened it up and inside... was 50 Col, 2 T1 Materials and 2 <<Unidentified Uncommon Consumables>>. He stowed the acquisitions away and continued his quest for greatness! And the Wolf. Of course the Wolf. But then again, the Wolf was part of his quest for greatness! And turning in this quest, <<Feeding The Enemy>>, would put him one step farther on that path to being great! Like Macradon!

Looking around for spots the Wolf might have gone, he found... another cave! This one was one he hadn't been to before... but the last cave had Material nodes... maybe this one had some as well! That, and it might also be a spot to find the Wolf. Again with the whole... hiding in a safe location and whatnot. And so... Sotarou began his delve into the second cave of the day!

Sotarou took a breath... steadying... calming... even as the Boar charged for him, he was calm. Still. He was focused... nothing could slow him down... he was... at peace... and peace was the way. Peace was the call. And in peace, he was all. He was his blade. He was the air around the blade... the Boar charging him... he was everything... and he was nothing... and with that... he swung his blade.

(( ID 117697 - Battle: 7; MOB: 7; Sotarou hits, 1 EVA, Boar misses ))

The wind parted from his blade, the blade found the Boar, the Boar moved to the blade, everything... was right... and so was the Boar's death, as Sotarou's blade cleaved into the beast, felling it and causing it to disappear into pixels.

(( ID 117698 - Loot: 1; CD: 3; No extra loot dropped ))

The beast dropped 120 Col and 4 T1 Materials. Sotarou smiled at that. More mats were always nice to have. Now... he had to continue looking for that damned Wolf... sun was starting to get high in the sky... it would start getting hot soon... and while this armor was light enough to move in... it was still metal. He was just glad he wasn't on a Desert floor... there's no way he'd survive there for long... not in this gear, at least. But he didn't let those thoughts guide him. Instead, he let his desire to beat this game do that.

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          80/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 1/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>             -2/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

And Sotarou was ready to end this fight here and now! Keeping his stance relaxed, he readied and activated ANOTHER Han'ei while the Boar, typically, charged around to bash him to death! Not like it'd actually do anything... but he definitely wanted to still end the fight quickly so he didn't empty his energy again. Though even if that happened, it wasn't the end of the world. It would just be a long, drawn out fight again. Not like it was gonna be hard... just lengthy.

(( ID 117696 - Battle: 3; MOB: 6; Both miss ))

Sotarou got a little too greedy with his strike this time... he was trying to swing while tensing up! It was throwing off his aim! No! Stop it, Sotarou! You must trust yourself... let your body swing for you. Instead of swinging with determination... swing with the thought of 'This is boring.' That's the mentality that he needed to have right now... and that's what he was going to do from this point on.

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          80/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 2/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>              8/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

And Sotarou continued his onslaught! He felt a little better about this fight, at least. He kept up his relaxing 'stance' and continued to just let the game do what it wanted to do! He continued using it to activate Han'ei properly, focusing on a point where the boar would be once more... This relaxation thing seemed to be working, at least. Why mess with a good thing? The Boar, of course, maintained its course and continued to charge forward.

(( ID 117695 - Battle: 9; MOB: 2; Sotarou Crits +1, Boar misses ))

Sotarou's strike hit true, actually stabbing the creature in the nose and causing a nasty cut! It didn't bleed, but it didn't need to! That was the beauty of it!  The blade's second strike crossed along a previously made cut, causing a little more damage as well! This was gonna be easier than the last boar, now that he had his groove! Relax, let loose! And just swing the sword! The Cardinal System would do the rest!

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          80/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 3/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>              8/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

It may have been repetitive, but that's what farming was: repetitive actions towards a single goal. In this case, it was experience and loot. So... Sotarou continued to fight this Boar. And he'd continue to fight these Boars as long as he couldn't find that Wolf. Wait... that felt like Deja'vu... has he been in this place before...? No, no. Dead memes. Don't indulge them... for now, he just focused on the battle. Another Han'ei for another strike against the Wolf. He just needed to relax... and let his body be his guide!

(( ID 117694 - Battle: 5; MOB: 1; +2 Acc, Sotarou hits, Boar misses ))

Sotarou's strike is good this time, and his hit actually throws the Boar off its stride as it seemed to fumble over before getting back to its feet and running around for another strike. He was getting the hang of this now. He was learning to let his body do what it wanted. The body knows what he wanted. So why fight it? Let it ride and let it slide! ... okay, never saying that again... that was utterly garbage!

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          80/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 4/8 NRG (+1)          <Han'ei>

<Boar>             20/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

Repetitive... It may have been repetitive, but that's what farming was: repetitive actions towards a single goal. In this case, it was experience and loot. They were the backbone of any MMO. If you wanted to get better gear, you needed money. Or for the enemy to drop said gear. Who knows! Maybe he could find some Accuracy gear! With that thought in his mind... Sotarou continued to fight this Boar. And he'd continue to fight these Boars as long as he couldn't find that Wolf, to get Col, to get gear, to get Materials, to get stronger!

(( ID 117664 - Battle: 2; MOB: 5; Both miss ))

Aaaaaaaaand of course, Sotarou and the Boar both miss their attacks... once again... geez, this was gonna take a while... lovely... well, at least the scenery was pretty. That's about all he could focus on at this point in order to not go stir-crazy! Though... maybe he WAS just going stir-crazy. Maybe all of this was a fever dream! No... he'd been hit a few times before this, and felt the pain. This wasn't a dream... no matter how much he wished it were, it was not.

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          80/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 4/8 NRG               <Han'ei>

<Boar>             30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

Let your instincts fight... Yeah... easy to say, harder to do... Welp... nothing to do but try again... again... he felt like he was saying that a lot lately... but it was true. If you fail at something, never just give up. Keep at it. Never stop! And that's what Sotarou was doing: never stopping! He'd come at the Boar again with another Han'ei to try and take down this beast!

(( ID 117663 - Battle: 8; MOB: 7; 1 EVA, Mob misses; Sotarou hits ))

The blade hits home, dealing its damage twice in quick succession! Sotarou felt better about himself now with that! He actually relaxed and let his instincts take hold! He was fighting less like a focused Samurai... and more like an MMO character! And that's something he'd have to get into the mindset of doing... all those long hours of learning how to swordfight, and the Cardinal System is supposed to take those skills and augment them within the system... but they're not doing it...! Instead, he's just... angling elsewise! Oh well... regardless of how he felt about the system, it wasn't like he could find Kayaba and tell him to fix it... hell, that's probably not the first thing he'd do anyway... shout in his face and tell him to log him out... well... maybe everyone else too... but mostly him!

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          80/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 5/8 NRG               <Han'ei>

<Boar>             30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

Well, with his energy recharged and his looking for that Wolf a bust here, time to move on to another part of the zone. It didn't take him long to move to the next zone, and by the time he did, he'd found... another Boar. Alone once again. It was still near the Town, so it was to be expected. He repeated the process of picking up a rock and hucking it at the Boar to get its attention. Once done that, the battle began again!

Sotarou let his body move how it wanted to again... it was tough, though. He was still used to trying to force a movement... but that's not what he should be doing. There was no time to think however, as he wasted no time in offense, using his Han'ei to strike while the iron was hot and the Boar was charging!

(( ID 117661 - Battle: 4; MOB: 4; Both miss ))

And once again, both of the attacks miss their intended targets... geez, Sotarou couldn't get a break! First he couldn't find the Wolf, then he couldn't hit this Boar... "C'mon, Sotarou... focus! Or... relax! One or the other! You can't have it both ways! So... relax! And fight! Let your instincts fight..."

- Health List -
<Sotarou>          80/80 HP || 9 MIT ||  5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 6/8 NRG               <Han'ei>

<Boar>             40/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG                                            <Boar Charge>

Okay. Energy recuperated, he got a success in finding a material... it was time to look for that wolf... being in this cave, he'd been looking around more for the nodes than he had been for the wolf... well... he might as well have been looking in the area he was in now. As good a spot as any... he focused on his good luck charm now, his Lucky Straights bracelet... and wished on it that he'd find the Wolf nearby... C'mon, J... I know you're lookin' out for me... help me out this one more time...

(( ID 117660 - LOOT: 5; Did not find Familiar ))

It was as if J was literally going "I'm not gonna make it that easy for you... you gotta work to get better at it! So... work hard, Sota!" Sotarou had searched the nearby area... but found nothing... lovely... guess it was gonna be one of those days... ah well. It was still early in the day. Plenty of time to search. And fight. And mine. And all that stuff! So Sotarou left the cave he had been exploring... he had searched everywhere in there, with no sign of the Wolf in there. Such was life. Geez... Floor 1 was really big, though... that Wolf could be anywhere here...!

Sotarou continued to the next node, thinking to himself Third time's the charm... c'mon... you can do this... He normally wasn't a believer of that sort of thing... but with how much his luck had been wishy-washy today, he hoped for all the luck he could get... he rubbed the bracelet he wore for good luck... the pearl in it shone from a nearby light source in the cave... some glowing moss or something... he wasn't any sort of botanist or alchemist, so he couldn't exactly do much with that... he just hoped he could get this material piece and at least have SOME victory in this cave...

(( ID 117659 - LOOT: 20; Gained 1 T1 Mat ))

The Node actually spit out a message now, indicating that Sotarou had gained 1 Material! Sweet! One more than he had before! What a day! At least, if he didn't find the Wolf, it wasn't a complete waste in here... he'd finally gotten a material. However... as he tried the other nodes in the cave, they were all empty as well... that sucked. RNG definitely had it out for him in this instance... but, nothing to do but move on.

Sotarou continued moving. He was keeping an eye out for that Wolf, though. Caves provided an ideal lookout for creatures running to shelter in order to recuperate. I mean, look at him. He was in this cave, recuperating his energy... though he had an ulterior motive: he was gathering materials so he could craft more items in his shop. But he definitely was still on the lookout for that wolf... He was hoping to find it and earn its trust... Macradon's Wolf was helpful, so he wanted one too! But for now, he was content with just farming materials.

(( ID 117657 - LOOT: 12; No Materials ))

Sotarou once again struck out on gathering Materials... and so, on to the next material node as he was almost back to full energy. His health had recuperated to full already by this point. Still no sign of the Wolf... maybe it wasn't here after all... no. He had to remain positive. The Wolf WAS here! He had to believe it was! Otherwise, the trip in this cave would have been pointless at this rate... his luck with these nodes certainly wasn't helping matters...