Sozen

[iD: 10461]
LD: [15] (Success)

After another break for some bread and water, Sozen delved deeper into the shadowed forest, until he came across a patch of what appeared to be Carrots sticking out of the ground. But perhaps more importantly to Sozen at the moment was the sight of another Forest Boar, this one slightly larger than the last, rooting around the vegetables. If I can take down this boar as well, then I get at least two Mats out of this field, maybe even more if I'm lucky. I just have to strike swiftly and quickly. With that thought, Sozen rushed out of the trees towards the Mob, which quickly turned and squealed as it attacked in kind.

-1 Bread

-1 Water

+1 Mat

Sozen: 11/11

Deep Forest Boar: 6/6

[iD: 10459]

LD: [2] (Nothing)

Still elated from his first victory, Sozen barely minded that his searching for the next hour didn't turn up anything. Later on, he'd admit to himself that he hadn't been looking that hard, focused more on watching for signs of Mobs. If his first battle had been such a success, surely his next opponent would be as exciting. But for whatever reason, he hadn't seen any more Boars during his foraging.

Leaning against a nearby tree, Sozen took several deep breaths as he tried to settle his heartrate. "I...I did it. I beat a Mob." A wide grin spread across his face, and (while he would deny he ever did such a thing if someone asked him later) he was soon leaping about the clearing like a madman, yelling out to the sky "Did you see that, Prophet?! Did you see me prove my strength in your world? I am Sozen, and I am strong! I will live in this world, and I will continue to grow!"

Sozen then fell to his knees and closed his eyes. "I am alive, and I will continue to live. I ask you, send me your Constructs, let me prove myself time and time again. Let me become stronger, so that when I reach the end I can stand before you without shame, knowing that I have used your gift of this world to it's fullest."

Slowly he got to his feet, then grasped his hammer and pointed it to the clouds. "I dedicate this victory, and all victories to come, to you, Prophet. I swear to give this world my all, and to persevere and prosper. In honor of you, I so swear."

With that, Sozen gathered the loot from the fallen Mob, checked his inventory and almost let out another cheer at discovering he had leveled up, and set out back into the forest.

Sozen slowly edged around the rim of the clearing, keeping a wary eye on his opponent. The Boar turned to follow him, red eyes gleaming before it tensed up, then charged forward.

[iD: 10452]

BD: [10] (Critical, +2 DMG)

MD: [4] (Miss)

LD: [17]

At the very last moment, Sozen leapt to the side, and the Mob's snout met a large tree with a resounding crash, sending leaves fluttering down in the clearing. As the Boar staggered back, Sozen let out a roar and swung the hammer with both hands at the back of its head, and the Mob crumpled to the ground before dissipating in a burst of polygons, leaving only a Loot screen behind.

(+1 Mat, +25 Col)

"Well, at least you'll have plenty of fuel for the oven by the time I manage that. Let's try some Apples again."

[iD: 10451]

CD: [12] (Perfect)

"And once again, we have... not-burnt apples?" Sozen stared in disbelief at the plate on the table, where half-a-dozen Grilled Apple slices rested, each dusted with cinnamon and a honey drizzle.

"Um. Are they supposed to look like that?" He slowly reached out and tapped the edge of the plate, half-expecting it to disappear with another 'Failure' message.

Turning around, Sozen saw a brown Boar with red eyes and ratty brown hair, glaring at him. Above it's head he could see the title 'Forest Boar' and a full HP meter of 5. Snorting, the Mob hoofed at the ground and prepared to charge.

Figures, I managed to get through all of yesterday without fighting. Only 'fair' that we start out today with some combat. Sozen readied his hammer and quickly ran over his option. I've got a decent amount of HP, and at this level the Mobs have a damage base of 1. I'll be ok for one, maybe even two criticals, but I can't push my luck since I'm still under-equipped and don't have any healing items. I'll fight, but if my HP drops below 5 then I'm getting out of here, should be able to withdraw without pulling the Mob too far. Resolved, Sozen leaped forward to try and get the first blow in.

[iD: 10449]

BD: [9] (Critical, +1 DMG)

MD: [8] (Hit)

The player and monster clashed, a hammer swinging down and tusks slashing up. Sozen grinned as his weapon smashed into a weak spot behind the Boar's head, and winced as the creature's tusks left a glowing orange groove in his side. Both drew back, Sozen to readjust his grip on his hammer and the Boar to squeal in anger. A good start. Now I just have to keep it up.

Sozen: 8/9

Forest Boar: 3/5

The next morning saw Sozen striding back into the forest, a determined look on his face. Foraging yesterday wasn't that productive, but by the Prophet I am going to make progress! Maybe I can focus on bushes and smaller plants today, see if they are more common than fruit trees.

[iD: 10438]
LD: [17] (Success)

The change in focus proved to be the right choice, as Sozen quickly found a small patch of watermelons in a clearing. Excellent! It looks like I'm in favor today! He soon had a large specimen in his inventory, ready to be cooked when his store was open. Things are looking up for me!

(+1 Mat)

That was when he heard the crunch of a twig behind him and a loud snort.

Stepping into the forge, Sozen took a moment to look around before nodding in satisfaction. I can see why Oikawa's the blacksmith of Square One, these are some good pieces. Among the large number of weapons and armors that lined the walls and counter of the store, a metallic glint caught his eye, and Sozen wandered over. Hanging from a peg was a silver shield, with engravings of the moon's phases along the edge.

"Now that is definitely something that I could use. Let's see, it's a Good Weapon, which means it costs either 350 Col, or... 1 Mat? Now that I can afford!" Grinning, Sozen turned to the counter and looked around for the owner, but didn't see anyone. Not wanting to take anything without personally paying for it, he shrugged and filled out an order form for Oikawa to find when he returned.

 

Name: Lunar Eclipse I

Item Type: Heavy Shield

Quality: Good

Enhancements: None

Shop: Gurando Foji

Description: A silver shield engraved with diagrams of the lunar cycle. A cosmetic upgrade to a basic shield.

Payment: 1 Mat

 

"Hopefully I can get this soon, it'll really help with fighting Mobs." Checking to make sure the form was visible on the counter, Sozen turned and walked out of the store, pointedly ignoring the golden hammer hanging near the door. Don't even bother looking at that, buddy. No way I can afford it just yet.

[iD: 10404]

LD: [10] (Nothing)

Finally, Sozen gave a quiet sigh of disappointment. Well, I don't think I'll be able to find anything else today. I'll just head back to ToB and find someplace to stay for the night, try this forest again tomorrow. At least I found something, maybe I could trade it for some equipment... The player checked to see he hadn't dropped anything, and headed out of the forest.

"Alright, I'll keep trying then. Let's see if toast is feeling kind to me by now."

[iD: 10363]

CD: [2] (Failure)

"Nope, still looks like coal. I don't know what I'm doing wrong here, toast should be simple! I've got to keep trying before I can serve anything to a customer."

[iD: 10343]

LD: [2] (Nothing)

Further still into the forest Sozen went, looking for anything that looked even slightly familiar. Apart from the Apples a while back, he had had no luck at any sort of clearly edible food. And if he didn't want to eat what he had gathered, he needed to make a "go/no go" call sooner rather than later. 

"Alright, bread and fruits haven't done so well. Maybe just prepping a snack of cheese and crackers?"

[iD: 10290]

CD: [11] (Rare)

With a *ding*, the scattered collection of crackers and cheese cubes in front of Sozen suddenly formed up into a neat little tray, with a sprig of thyme resting on top. The player was left dumbfounded.

"I... I did it? Finally? Um, I mean, of course I did it! Only a matter of time."

Nodding to the Guild Leader, Sozen accepted the Friend Request and waved the 'Accepted' message away. "I appreciate that, Leader. Thanks."

As the others in the group got started on their own jobs, Sozen moved a few rocks to a clear spot away from the tents, and started to set up a fire-ring. Whether or not the others foraged anything that would need to be cooked over a flame, Aeternum was out getting the firewood. Getting a fire-ring ready for his return would mean they'd have a blaze to mark out the campsite and shoo away the evening chill sooner rather than later.

I'm curious to see what they find around here. If this is a good hunting floor I might just come back later to gather cooking materials.

[iD: 10288]
LD: [1] (Nothing)

Sadly, Sozen's good mood at finding something didn't last long, as the next hour of searching proved singularly unproductive. Shadows were growing longer, and Sozen was growing more and more concerned that he wouldn't find anything else before he ended foraging for the day. He wondered how the other shop owners kept up their supplies of Mats. Did they focus on fighting Mobs over looking for simple Item spawns, or did they know another, easier way? Sozen resolved to ask around the guild when he got a chance.

"Ok, you've got this. You can manage to make some friggen Sliced Apples, Sozen. Just open the menu, select the recipe, hit 'Craft', and-" Sozen closed his eyes and winced as he hit the button.

[iD: 10286]
CD: [1] (Epic Failure)

Maybe Sozen made something edible, or maybe it was another failure. The truth will forever be lost to history, as whatever the result was, as a certain Panda chose that moment to wake up, see some food, and eat it before Sozen opened his eyes again.

"... it's a disaster, isn't it?" Sozen dared to look at the counter. "Huh? Where did the apple go?"

Sozen nodded to Olympia and adjusted his grip on his weapon. "After you then, miss. I understand that the Boars are passive Mobs and will only attack after being attacked. I'll hold back until you've selected a construct to fight, then move in to assist."

"I'm still quite a few floors away from the Prophet, sadly. An in any case, I wouldn't want to meet him just yet. A player of my low level, seeing the Prophet in person? That would just be embarrassing." Sozen attempted a haymaker of a strike, swinging with both hands.

[iD: 10271]

BD: [9] (Critical, +1 DMG)

"Another blow for me!" Sozen stepped back raised an eyebrow at his opponent. "I may lose if you so much as scratch me now, but I feel pleased with my performance this battle. Thank you for a most enjoyable match. Care to 'finish me off'?"

Sozen HP: 3/5

XWuZHeAR HP: 12/17

[iD: 10269]
LD: [15] (Success)

Finally, after hours of searching, Sozen came across a small grove of apple trees. Most of the fruits were not ripe yet, but he was able to pick out a few red fruits. So satisfied was he that he'd found something familiar, he decided to have one or two as a snack. One or two turned into three or four, and before Sozen knew it he was down to barely enough for a small snack. Cursing, he packed away what was left and promised to not touch it until he was out of the forest.

(+1 Mat)

[iD: 10257]
LD: [9] (Nothing)

A short hike through the forest later, and Sozen had still not found anything edible. Just tree after massive tree that blocked out most of the sunlight and left the forest floor obscured. And while he was still couldn't even be called a Beginner Cook, he new better than to try and serve wood as food. Although maybe he could pass it off as an exotic dish? Sozen considered it for a bit, then shook his head and tossed the idea aside. For all I know, I'd try to cut down a tree and it'd turn out to be a Field Boss. No thanks.

"Alright, let's try some simple Sliced Apples. That should be an easy enough little snack."

[iD: 10253]

CD: [3] (Failure)

"Wh- 'Apples Burnt'?! How did that even happen, I wasn't anywhere near the temperature setting!"

Pausing to take a sip of water and a bite of bread, Sozen glanced at the shadows cast by the huge trees. Need to be sure to not let my guard down. The Mobs here are even tougher than the floor below, and even now I'm not equipped to take them on. If I see anything I should probably just run and cut my losses. I can always come back later. After taking a moment to brush off some crumbs, Sozen continued to forage.

[iD: 10252]
LD: [4] (Nothing)

Still, nothing looked edible in the part of the forest Sozen was in. It seemed that he would be here for a while.

-Bread

-Water

(All credit to Baldur for the pun)

If I'm going to make some Col as a cook around here, I'm going to need some Mats for when I open up. Sozen was wandering the dense forest of Floor 2, keeping an eye out for anything that looked edible. I mean, right now I'm so unskilled that I'll burn most of my starting Mats, so I'd better stock up now. So, let's see what I can scrounge up around here.

[iD: 10246]
LD: [8] (Nothing)

Looking around for a while, he was disappointed to not see any plants that he recognized. And since I don't want to serve anything poisonous to my first customers,I'd better stick with what I know. Apples, potatoes, that sort of thing.

"I know, I know. Just frustrated that I can't get this simple thing right. Maybe if I try a different type of bread..."

[iD: 10236]

CD: [5] (Bad)

"Nope, now it's too under-cooked to serve. Maybe I should just give up on toast and try something else." Sozen pushed the loaf of bread aside and started scrolling through the Basic Recipe list.

Sozen grimaced at his failure. Here he had come to this lady's store to ask for instruction and help out in return, but he couldn't even cook a piece of bread!

"Ok, maybe the third time will be the charm..."

[iD: 10227]

CD: [5] (Bad)

"Gah. Still not edible. But at least you can tell this used to be toast. If I trim off some of the edge, I might be able to try this piece again."

"Alright, another try then. Maybe this time it'll be edible."

"Aaand it's charcoal again. This bread mocks my attempts to cook it properly. I order you to become toast!" Sozen dropped the second mistake into the trash and grumbled.