Aster

They had done it. Truly, the idea mentioned in passing, a plan that seemed to have been formed on a whim, had been announced as a reality. And as reclusive as the ginger girl had become in her virtual life, the word 'library' was the one that would surely cause her to peek her head out of her dusty old alchemy shop. "God, you'd think you saw a sign for the exit door. Can you slow up even a little?" The chestnut-haired Koal had to break into a short job to catch up to the bespectacled girl that walked with hurried strides to the teleport plaza of the first floor. Despite her smaller stature and shorter legs, Aster seemed to move at a pace just annoying enough that Koal had to put in extra effort to keep up with her. And of course, weaving between their ankles and darting along to match their pace, bright orange fur that matched his owner's hair twitched with Reginald's tail while the curious fox gave an occasional sniff at the ground and the air around them.

"For the last time, you can stay back at the shop if you're going to complain." The British youth frowned with a lack of patience for his attitude. She called out the name of the nineteenth floor's main settlement once she'd reached the center of the teleport gate, whisking hers and her familiar's avatars away to the higher floor. After a moment to get her bearings, Aster set off to find the building that was supposed to hold this Aincradian Library, with a scowling Koal following shortly after her.

Trading out the following:

@Teion
2x Potion of Safeguard (96442, 96442-1)
2x Major Potion of Damage (96935, 96940)

@Jomei
1x Potion of Safeguard (96656)
1x Major Potion of Damage (97212)
1x Major Crystal of Health (96944)

@Hestia
1x Potion of Safeguard (96855)
1x Lesser Potion of Damage (90226)
1x Major Crystal of Health (97204)

@Ruby
1x Potion of Safeguard (96856)
1x Lesser Potion of Damage (96850)
1x Major Crystal of Health (97204-1)

@Telrenya
1x Potion of Safeguard (96856-1)
1x Major Potion of Damage (97214)

Name: Major Potion of Damage
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 6
ID: 96935, 96940, 97212, 97214
Roll: 12
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: +3 Damage
Description: A high-tier potion that increases the user's damage by three points.

Name: Lesser Potion of Damage
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 6
ID: 90226, 96850
Roll: 11
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: +2 Damage
Description: A basic potion that increases the user's damage by two points.

Name: Major Crystal of Health
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 6
ID: 96944, 97204, 97204-1
Roll: 12
Item Type: Crystal
Tier: 3
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: +135 Over-Health
Description: A third-tier crystal that drastically increases the user's maximum health.

Rolling

ID#: 97208 | CD: 1 | LD: 12 - Critical fail
ID#: 97209 | CD: 5 | LD: 3 - Fail, no salvage
ID#: 97210 | CD: 3 | LD: 17 - Fail, salvage
ID#: 97211 | CD: 8 | LD: 5 - 1 Uncomon T1 Potion
ID#: 97212 | CD: 12 | LD: 10 - 1 Perfect T1 Potion
ID#: 97213 | CD: 8 | LD: 16 - 2 Uncomon T1 Potions
ID#: 97214 | CD: 12 | LD: 1 - 1 Perfect T1 Potion
ID#: 97215 | CD: 2 | LD: 5 - Fail

+36 EXP

Rolling

ID#: 97199 | CD: 1 | LD: 20 - Critical fail
ID#: 97200 | CD: 2 | LD: 19 - Fail
ID#: 97201 | CD: 11 | LD: 16 - 2 Rare T3 Crystals
ID#: 97202 | CD: 2 | LD: 2 - Fail
ID#: 97203 | CD: 4 | LD: 18 - Fail, full salvage
ID#: 97204 | CD: 12 | LD: 16 - 2 Perfect T3 Crystals
ID#: 97206 | CD: 1 | LD: 4 - Critical fail
ID#: 97207 | CD: 2 | LD: 3 - Fail

+28 EXP

Submitting for Re-evaluation:

Name: Balanced Cauldron
Your Profession: Blacksmith
Your Rank: 7 - Provisional Master Blacksmith
ID: 59858
Roll: 11+1=12
Item Type: Tool
Quality: Perfect
Tier: 1
Enhancements: +1 Crafting Die
Description: A large black cauldron. The finish is smooth and well-polished. Allows better results from Alchemy creations.

Into:

Name: Balanced Cauldron
Your Profession: Blacksmith
Your Rank: 7 - Provisional Master Blacksmith
ID: 59858
Roll: 11+1=12
Item Type: Tool
Quality: Perfect
Tier: 1
Enhancements: +1 Crafting Attempt
Description: A large black cauldron. The finish is smooth and well-polished. Allows higher yield from Alchemy crafting.

Rolling

ID#: 96935 | CD: 12 | LD: 1 - 1 Perfect T1 Potion
ID#: 96936 | CD: 4 | LD: 6 - Fail, no salvage
ID#: 96937 | CD: 6 | LD: 8 - 1 Uncommon T1 Potion
ID#: 96938 | CD: 6 | LD: 8 - 1 Uncommon T1 Potion
ID#: 96939 | CD: 4 | LD: 6 - Fail, no salvage
ID#: 96940 | CD: 12 | LD: 11 - 1 Perfect T1 Potion
ID#: 96944 | CD: 12 | LD: 4 - 1 Perfect T3 Crystal
ID#: 96945 | CD: 3 | LD: 14 - Fail, half salvage

+44 EXP

Name: Potion of Safeguard
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 6
ID: 96442, 96442-1, 96656, 96855, 96856, 96856-1
Roll: 12
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: +1 Safeguard
Description: This high-level potion completely negates the damage of the next successful attack to the user.

After shooing the protesting brunette out the door to collect the rest of the materials she would need to complete the ridiculous order she'd received from an earlier acquaintance, Aster sighed yet again. "Might as well get to work with what I already have. Now let's see here..." The ginger turned back around to her work space, taking out a piece of paper and pencil to scribble down the notes she needed. "Let's see, she said six players... For these roles, that would mean that I'd need at least this many of the first tier..." She was muttering under her breath, jotting down totals and estimations as to what it make take to reach the goal she needed.

ID#: 96849 | CD: 7 | LD: 5 - 1 Uncommon T1 Potion
ID#: 96850 | CD: 10 | LD: 1 - 1 Rare T1 Potion
ID#: 96852 | CD: 10 | LD: 8 - 1 Rare T1 Potion
ID#: 96853 | CD: 2 | LD: 8 - Fail
ID#: 96854 | CD: 5 | LD: 15 - Fail, Salvaged
ID#: 96855 | CD: 12 | LD: 3 - 1 Perfect T1 Potion
ID#: 96856 | CD: 12 | LD: 16 - 2 Perfect T1 Potions

+39 EXP

Aster ran a hand through the ginger bangs that hung over her forehead, pushing the hair back only for them to fall back into place as her palm ran along the top of her head. "What in the actual hell are you screaming about, woman?" A voice filled with irritation was pointed at her as Koal emerged from the doorway that separated a small side room from the main displays that sat mostly empty.

Aster scoffed at the boy's nonchalance. "Oi, make yourself useful. I need you to pick up some materials for me on the fifth floor. I've suddenly got a lot of crafting to do." She groaned.

ID#: 96643 | CD: 6 | LD: 6 - 1 Uncommon T1 Potion
ID#: 96644 | CD: 1 | LD: 7 - Critical Fail
ID#: 96645 | CD: 8 | LD: 14 - 2 Uncommon T1 Potions
ID#: 96646 | CD: 2 | LD: 10 - Fail
ID#: 96653 | CD: 8 | LD: 10 - 1 Uncommon T1 Potion
ID#: 96655 | CD: 1 | LD: 3 - Critical Fail
ID#: 96656 | CD: 12 | LD: 4 - 1 Perfect T1 Potion

+27 EXP

"Are you serious?!" It was a rarity for Aster to raise her voice at all, but the small girl's incredulous exclamation might very well have shaken the dusty shelves on the walls of her alchemy shop. Her brows narrowed behind her black-rimmed frames, amber eyes darting over the words displayed on the message hovering in front of her for a second time. Once she had accepted the meaning behind them, Aster let out a long, breathy sigh and slumped back against the front counter where her trusty recipe book lay open. "This is going to take forever... How can she expect so many of these so quickly?"

ID#: 96439 | CD: 11 | LD: 15 - 2 Rare T1 Potions
ID#: 96440 | CD: 7 | LD: 19 - 3 Uncommon T1 Potions
ID#: 96442 | CD: 12 | LD: 16 - 2 Perfect T1 Potions
ID#: 96443 | CD: 7 | LD: 11 - 1 Uncommon T1 Potion
ID#: 96444 | CD: 4 | LD: 15 - Fail, Salvaged
ID#: 96445 | CD: 11 | LD: 15 - 2 Rare T1 Potions
ID#: 96446 | CD: 5 | LD: 3 - Fail

+35 EXP

"Oi, for the last time, if you break anything I'll have you paying for it two times over." The ginger huffed, not taking her eyes off of the leather-bound book resting open on the counter in front of her. It wasn't until the soft chime of the bell above the alchemy shop's front door rang out that her attention was drawn away from her notes. "Mm? Oh, right," Her accent was clear enough even with the few words she spoke. The girl pulled a few potions from a scarcely-stocked shelf to her left, placing them on the counter in front of Ryo. "These should do the trick."

Traded to @Ryo:

• [Perfect] Major Potion of Damage
• [Perfect] Major Potion of Damage
• [Perfect] Major Potion of Damage
• [Rare] Lesser Potion of Damage

"Ahh, it was the same for me, too!" Aster's interest seemed to genuinely peak when Morgenstern described a library, recalling the study that she would spend so much of her time in back home. "I'm not picky, so I would read about practically anything. Of course medical texts ending up being a large focus of mine..." As she mumbled out the last few words, her hand finally parted from Velnia's scaled head to adjust the position of her dark-rimmed glasses before it would fall back to her side as she continued walking.

"Publish our own books?" Aster echoed with a hint of incredulity. Was such a task even possible here? After a few moments of thought, the ginger supposed it wasn't such a strange thought. After all, she often took plenty of notes for her research, and the leather-bound pages littered with recipes she often poured over back in her shop was essentially a self-written book. "An interesting thought..." She said in a small voice, amber eyes drifting towards the blonde man as if to gauge his reaction before she would agree to this little project they'd come up with on the spot.

(ooc: next post is 60, fine by me to close it up)

"Goals?" Aster echoed, having taken a few extra moments to register the question that had been directed to her. The girl frowned in thought. "Honestly, no. At first, I just wanted to be useful. But I'm not a fighter, and alchemy isn't nearly as interesting or rewarding as I thought it would be." She explained with a sour expression. "I'm still only mid-range in level, and that's being generous." She let out a small sigh and picked up her shoulders, the edges of her ginger hair swishing lightly with a shake of her head. "Really, it's hard to tell what's more worth it to pour my time and effort into." The words left her in a defeated tone, but she continued on with her tangent for a short while longer. "So I suppose you could say I spend most of my time researching instead. Mainly looking into different materials for alchemy recipes, but I'm not picking about what I study. Just trying to find where I best fit in the scheme of things."

@Morgenstern

Following after the two players, Aster cocked a brow at their playful exchanges. Amber eyes darted from one health bar to the next, noting the identical emblem that rested above each and she was reminded that the blonde and the noirette were guildmates. More than that, they seemed more friendly than most players she had taken the time to observe. At the latter's recount of a boss battle that had gone poorly, Aster couldn't help the frown that worked its way over her features. Her hand hesitantly reached up to the indigo dragonling resting on her shoulder, her fingers continuing to move idly after they had glided over the top of Velnia's scaled skull.

One thing was for certain: she wasn't intending to change anything about the skills she had invested in. If she could, she would take back learning the Martial Arts skill, despite not having put any skill points in it. Perhaps if she continued pouring herself into recovery and support skills and paired it with a higher alchemy level she could eventually justify a build that was void of damage. She followed the duo as they all trekked back towards Snowfrost, keeping quiet halfway as a result of feeling out of place, and half because her mind was too busy with checklists and suppositions to force conversation.

'Look who's talking.' Aster held her tongue before the thought aired itself. The ginger was pouring herself over a large leather-bound book that rested atop a workbench in her alchemy shop on the first floor. While the place was rarely, if ever, open for business, she still spent much of her time there. And it seemed Koal had taken a liking to the space, much to her chagrin.

"Your entertainment is not my problem." She said matter-of-factly, not taking her eyes off of the printed pages laid out in front of her. She suddenly felt a small nudge on her ankle as Reginald brushed up against her leg, his bushy orange tail twitching lightly behind him. "Oh, don't encourage him." Aster scolded the fox familiar and sighed. Her eyes traveled past the rim of her glasses to the edge of the table, where a simple flyer rested. Koal had waved the announcement of a holiday party in her face earlier, and she had promptly disregarded it. Her amber eyes stared at the piece of paper, brows narrowing slightly at Koal's continued urging.

Aster was visibly pouting as the duo approached the armory on the fourth floor. Reginald trotted along happily through the high piles of snow, occasionally hopping into particularly high mounds and splashing fresh powder onto the ginger's boots.

It was all Aster could do not to fall back into the thick piles of snow at her feet. That fight had been exhausting, irritating, and had it not been for the experience she had received she would have considered it a waste of time as colossal as the icy beast itself. The small ginger began to trudge through the now-empty snow-covered plain to join the other two players on their way back to Snowfrost when the purple dragon appeared seemingly out of nowhere, gliding down and perching herself upon Aster's shoulder. She was surprised at the dragonling, and flinched slightly in reaction to the familiar's sudden affection. She took on a small smile, similar to one that would appear when Reginald might brush up against her leg.

Adjusting the dark-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, she spoke up with more than a hint of annoyance in her voice as she chimed in on the conversation. "Really, I was under the impression a boss like this would be a bit more intimidating." She lightly scoffed, her volume dropping into a bitter mumble. "Makes me wonder how practical a healing build is, honestly." In an attempt to dismiss the aura of negativity that surrounded her, Aster let out a small sigh and gave a shake of her head, short orange hair swaying gently as she did so. "But I agree on getting out of the snow."

Even with so few details shared between the two, it wasn't surprising to infer their very different upbringings. She had caught glimpses of just how different of a world she lived in growing up behind the walls of her prestigious schools and family library. 'Danger' was practically a foreign concept to her, save for how it was described in the text on a page. It was no wonder she had opted for the build path she had in SAO, and how she typically kept to herself on the first floor while other players risked life and limb to clear the floors of this hundred-level tower.

The small boy scurried off down the streets of town, taking a couple of turns while the trio followed after him. Still facing away from the other two players, Koal's expression shifted in a slight discomfort. "All good, man." He said simply after Thorsten's apologies.

Down an uninteresting-looking alleyway, the child crouched down beside a silver, metal trash bin, reaching his hand behind it to retrieve what looked like a slightly heavy, leather-bound book. Its only defining feature was the design of a few meaningless 'runes' detailed on the front cover, and Aster's eyes widened as the boy turned and handed the book to Koal with a grin and both hands outstretched. The brunette took the item, reaching his other hand forward to ruffle the boy's hair. As he pulled back, the most subtle of movements resulted in the boy's fingers curling around a few coins that had been placed in his hand.

Koal turned to face the two behind him, wearing a small smirk as he moved forward and handed the ginger girl the book. "Here, don't lose it again." His scolding elicited a huff from the girl as she took her recipe book back and wrapped her arms around it, holding the item close to her chest. "Oh, err, thank you!" She realized the young boy had already turned and began to scurry off down the alley to be on his way. With a small sigh, and refraining from interrogating Koal about the whereabouts of her book, Aster turned to Thorsten with half a smile. "Well, thank you for the accompaniment. Since we're in town, were you interested in taking a look into one of the profession quests?"

Just as they had entered the last stretch, each of the players' next attacks fell short. Aster could do little else beside hope for another lucky status effect to proc, but as she followed up for another strike, Avalanche denied her the possibility. She mistimed the duration of her earlier paralysis, and the glacial giant managed to lift its heavy leg before the ginger girl could reach him again. Her jaw clenched, skidding to a stop in the piled snowfall before having to change her course to avoid getting herself crushed beneath the solid block of ice as it crashed back down to the earth.

Her heels dug into the ground as she darted off to one side, losing her balance after she had cleared the breadth of the monster's 'foot' and it collided with the ground to kick up plenty of loose powder. "Bloody--!" Aster held her tongue from slipping out a curse at the frustrating situation, instead letting out a low growl of irritation as she picked herself up to her feet again. Patting her hands against her clothing a couple of times to dust the cold snow away in a slight huff, she hurriedly moved to a safer distance to look for another opening, if the creature would live that long.

ID#: 91276 | BD: 5 - Miss!

[12] @Morgenstern  1024/1134 <> 81/100 | 7 DMG | 8 Holy | 134 Mit | 40 BH | 1 Def. Para | -1 EVA
[8] Itzal 1,220/1,220  <>  21/122
[6] Aster 340/340 <> 20/34 | 3 DMG | 27 MIT

<<Avalanche>> (Bleeding (12 DMG) 1/2) 58/850 HP | 75 MIT | 2 Freeze | +50 BD:9 | +100 BD:10

Aster cocked a brow at the attempted experiments Thorsten recounted before a small snicker escaped the ginger. "Not the safest of reactions to play with, no." Her amber eyes drifted to the side as she continued another comment in a smaller, almost disappointed mumble. "Even if I got my hands on that stuff, my parents wouldn't give me two minutes with it." She brought up a hand to adjust her glasses, once again out of habit as the vanity frames hadn't shifted their position in the slightest. A tiny frown worked its way over her features, recalling the reason she had chosen the profession in the first place. "Well, alchemy seemed like the next best thing, since there really isn't any ma--" The girl faltered as she caught herself thinking out loud. "Err, that is, it-it seemed to suit me the most."

"Hey hey, I work plenty hard as it is!" The boy with chestnut hair then protested their dual-colored acquaintance's advice. By this time, the trio had practically reached the city gates and, without elaborating any further on his defensive statement, Koal slid a hand into his pocket and slid pair of white irises over the sparse crowds of players populating the Town of Beginnings. Without coming to a complete stop, the boy eventually spotted what he was looking for and continued walking forward, approaching a smaller boy, likely fitting into the demographic of the youngest age group of Aincrad's players. "Hey kid, you seen a boring-looking book around here?"

The child had stopped in his tracks when Koal approached, shifting his attention and staring up at the teen. Shortly after being presented the question, his eyes lit up in understanding and a wide, toothy grin stretched across his face. "Yeah, yeah! This way!" The boy scurried off, and Koal gave another glance over his shoulder to make sure the two 'nerds', as he would have called them, were still following along.

'Oh God, don't give her praise.' Koal held his tongue before the thought escaped him. Behind him, Aster's eyes nearly began to sparkle before they closed and her chin tilted half an inch higher. She needlessly adjusted the glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose as a smile grew on her face. "Well, that hasn't got much to do with these things." She said, the compliment easily going to the ginger's head as she took the potion back and deposited it into her inventory once more. "Honestly, if there was half as much to know about making potions as there was in actual chemical reactions, it would at least be more interesting." The corners of her mouth turned down in a dissatisfied smile at her last comment, but she dismissed the thought with a small shake of her head.

"Ah, they seem to put all such things behind some kind of quest." Aster waved a hand through the air as she collectively referred to the game's designers. "You can find an Alchemist NPC in town, the whole thing is child's play." She explained briefly, conveniently omitting any information on other professions that she lacked the knowledge on.

At the mention of his name, Koal glanced over his shoulder. Catching sight of the difference in height between the two players behind him, he couldn't hold back a snicker as he faced forward again. Paying no mind to the fact that the brunette was only a bit taller than the ginger girl herself, the boy gave a small shake of his head at Thorsten's question. "Ehh, I know a thing or two. Can't say I have a fancy 'job' of my own, though." The corner of his mouth hooked into a smirk. "Nah, that's too much work."

A steady breath escaped Aster's lips, forming a thick cloud of fog in front of the ginger's face before it dissipated into the frosty air. After their last strikes, Itzal's voice cut through the harsh winds and the healer heard him call out what he estimated for his damage output. 'Two more attacks...' She repeated, her eyes running over the hulking ice construct in front of them. "Right then, just keep at it." She muttered under her breath, serving as her own encouragement.

The teen drew in a sharp breath through her nose, the chilled air biting at her throat before it entered her lungs. Urging herself forward once again, she kept her arms tucked close to her sides until she was beside the colossal, sliding to a stop among the piled snow. As she prepared to throw her fists forward against the monster, the familiar crackle of lightning caught her attention. As the effect of her handwraps came to life, a smirk spread itself across the alchemist's face. 'About time!' She thought as her arms extended forward at the same time. When her knuckles made contact with the solid surface, the lightning danced from her forearms to Avalanche's body, darting up along its frozen limbs as the paralysis and bleed effects immediately kicked in.

ID#: 90743 | BD: 9 - Critical Hit!

(1 DMG Minimum) (Bleed Triggered!) (Paralysis Triggered!)

[12] @Morgenstern  1074/1134 <> 81/100 | 7 DMG | 8 Holy | 134 Mit | 40 BH | 1 Def. Para | -1 EVA
[8] Itzal 1,220/1,220  <>  23/122
[6] Aster 340/340 <> 21/34 | 3 DMG | 27 MIT

<<Avalanche>> (Paralyzed 1/1) (Bleeding (12 DMG) 2/2) 70/850 HP | 75 MIT | 2 Freeze | +50 BD:9 | +100 BD:10

rolling

Taking a few steps to the doorway that led to the main shop area, the boy with chestnut brown hair leaned his upper body past the opening, hanging on to the wooden frame with one hand. His white irises immediately fell upon Jomei's taller, more nervous figure and Koal cocked an eyebrow. "Yo Ace, this guy wants to buy something." He turned his head and called back into the room he hung out from.

The sound of a chair's legs scraping against the wooden floor as the girl sitting in it stood in sudden irritation reached through the shop. "I've told you not to call me tha--" Aster had walked through the doorway behind her acquaintance, though she froze when her eyes fell upon the third player in the shop, as if she hadn't actually expected someone else to be present. "A-Ahh, sorry." She mumbled, her accent only slight as she nudged at the plastic frames resting over the bridge of her nose.

"If you keep teasing him like that, he's going to bite you." The ginger girl's flat tone barely made it past the book she had buried her nose in. The Alchemist was in the process of jotting down some notes, while her newly-acquired 'companion' sat himself on her counter. Koal had been keeping himself entertained by seeing how many times he could poke Aster's familiar in the middle of his fur-covered brow. Each time the teen's finger made contact with his skull, Reginald gave a distraught shake of his head, and his bushy tail began to twitch.

When the sound of the oak door swinging open reached their ears, Aster didn't even seem to notice. After realizing that the ginger girl wasn't planning to get up from her notes, Koal let out a huff and pushed himself from his seat.