Benjamin Bookworm

The hanging vines were the first thing he checked on the new grove that he arrived at, and he watched as his little familiar decided to crawl up one of them to reach the top of one of the tree branches, curling up on top of it and munching on the leaves growing out of the vine. 

Ben was fine with his familiar's choice- after all, it kept him out of the way while he reached up and picked one flower after another off to load up into his bag. He then checked the leaves that Sebastian was eating, bringing up their stats to see if they were useful at all- and finding nothing. Well, not true- you couldn't really tell with everything in this game, but there was always SOME way to get use out of an item. But for the recipes he was pursuing, there wasn't anything he needed at that moment for these items. Which for today's search was practically the same thing. Unless he wanted to carry bags of all sorts of useless items along with the useful materials he was gathering.

And as he went back to work- after giving his familiar Sebastian another scratch under the chin first of course- and continued to get a big haul as he finished off the current patch of flowers. He idly wondered exactly how fast they would be re-spawning, and quite glad he didn't have to worry about taking too many for the field to regrow. That was one of the benefits of everything here going by video game logic- though he would trade all of that to just be back home again in an instant.

"Well at least you're finally behaving there. See how much faster things go when you're not trying to chew on everything?" he asked, packing his bag up for the next section of flowers, hopping over one of the ledges in the garden area as he headed towards one of the groves of trees, the flowering vines that ran off of it looking like a good place for him to search next.  As long as they actually were useful in crafting at least.

9/4/2020 crafting

*Works on some more potions today*

-8 [T1] mats, +7 [T1] Uncommon Potions, +6 [T2] Rare Potions, +94 xp

Ben breathed a sigh of relief- it seemed like ages since he took a bit of a rest, and Sebastian was getting a bit restless with the delay. Maybe he would get a bit luckier now that he was better rested.

But those thoughts would not do anything unless he continued to grab what was at hand- in this case a group of the flowers that he had previously piled his bag full of. After all, he knew they were plentiful and useful, so why not grab as much as he could?

"Looks like we really did get a bunch from here. Hope it'll be a big hit with the front liners..." he said out loud, letting Sebastian listen in as he worked, pushing another bag full of alchemy materials into his inventory to make more room. The caterpillar just sat and watched as he worked, not really caring about things he wasn't allowed to eat. It must be such a simple life to worry about nothing else except for that, but Ben still had work to do.

Item sent to Pinball! [Emerald Shiv]

Thanks for the loan, it helped out a lot on the early floors. 

As he moved along to the next place to search, he took in the sights a bit more, making sure he was on the right path and not passing by any places while he was distracted corralling his familiar. 

"Looks like we have another patch to go through- maybe we behave this time?" he asked Sebastian as he approached a new patch.  Some sort of yellow petaled thing with orange spots that he couldn't recognize.  Maybe even something that didn't have a real world analogue, since they could put just about anything in the game they wanted. 

At least Sebastian behaved while he was searching this patch (if you called sitting on his shoulder and sulking behaving), and it was full of a goodly amount of crafting materials for him to use.  And at this rate, he would be able to fill his bag up quick enough for the next boss fight.  At least if Sebastian refrained from jumping around in the patches of flowers that he was trying to pick his way through. 

Ben shivered when he heard about the dungeon map. "Yea, I don't think I want to do a dungeon at all.  I know some of the others players I party with would be worried about me if I took that kind of risk." he said with a dry chuckle as he put his map away again. 

"I'd be up to coming along to help farm some of the monsters on the floor though- and I can bring the heals so we can keep going through them fast." he agreed, excited to be going on a farming run.  He couldn't do them himself without any real weapon skills, so the influx of cor would be a welcome addition to his supply.  "Though I don't have very many other buffs to add right now- I'd have stocked up if I had known.  Um, maybe we could use a damage increasing potion to move quicker through the minions?" he asked, holding up the one type of buffing potion he thought to pack today and offered it to Oscar.

@Oscar

Ben just kind of stared at the destruction of the bear in front of him, in awe at what just happened.  "That... you just took that thing down in two hits.  The bear that I couldn't even damage with how tough it was, and would eat someone my level in a couple of bites.  I don't know what to say about that except it was AWESOME!" he exclaimed. 

"Though, um, I guess that wraps the quest up early, doesn't it?  We found the bear, we killed the bear, and now we drink to celebrate.  Maybe with bear themed mugs.  I'm certainly ready to be the one buying if you're up for it." he said with a laugh, glad to be checking quests off of his list like that.  "Though I am surprised it didn't have any loot or anything- I guess it's just the quest rewards for us.  Plus all the delicious XP we're getting." he said, still high on the excitement from the fight as he pulled open his map to look up the quickest route back into town. 

@Oscar

At the next patch of flowers, Sebastian jumped right in and started chowing down on the daisies, running around everywhere as Ben looked at him in disappointment.  "Didn't we just talk about this Sebastian?  I can't harvest anything while you're doing that." he scolded his familiar.  Unfortunately, it took him a few tries to actually pick him back up in his state of excitement, and in such a state trampled over most of the flowers in the patch.

"Well... looks like I'm getting nothing out of that patch of flowers.  Seriously..." he groaned.  "Well, now you lost the right to choose where we're going next.  I'm picking the next path."

Which was all well and good, but he couldn't help but give the destroyed flower patch one final longing look.  Even though he knew it would respawn in a few minutes- maybe longer- it was still sad to see good materials go to waste like that.  "Come on Sebastian- you're following my lead this time."

3/4/2020

*Sits down to work on another batch of items*

-9 [T2] mats, +6 [T2] Uncommon Salves, +4 [T2] Rare Salves, +4 [T2] Perfect Salves, +105 xp

Item received - Cobalt Heart

Thank you so much!!

Sebastian poked his head around, looking at each of the patches of flowers and trying to decide, though he had such an abundance of choice that he was having trouble.  Ben let out a light laugh at his antics.  "OK, how about we just head down one row at a time?  You can take as long as you would like with each patch as we move." he offered to the excitable little guy, who answered by stuffing another mouthful of the purple flowers into his mouth before crawling his way down the path. 

Of course, Ben picked his familiar up and carried him over to the next bunch of plants- a rocky outcropping with a bunch of daisies in front of it- before letting him down to eat his fill.  And grabbing a handful of the brightest ones for his own use- he was glad at how the gatherer skill highlighted the best ones to pick to add to his own supplies.  He was filling up his pack quickly at this rate. 

"I think it's a bit more than just an angry bear- that thing's a beast!" Ben shouted out shakily as he backed away.  Oscar had managed to take the enemy's attention, and didn't need any healing just yet, so he was pretty much out of the fight for now.  The boss monster couldn't be stunned again just yet, and still had way too much damage resistance for his attacks to hurt it. 

Plus, if he got another critical hit in, the now angrier bear would be trying to chow down on him.  And he did not have the defenses to soak those hits. 

"I've got healing and stuff ready if you need it- just move in for another big hit!  You can finish him!" he cheered, watching as Oscar took half the HP off of the stunned enemy in one blow.  If he hit with another attack like that, it would be over- but now the Kumatetsu was moving again, faster and stronger than before.  It might be a bit harder to land a solid blow this time around.  "I hope you can finish him..."

@Oscar

+ 1 EN
No attack action

Stats:

[2]Oscar 940/940 HP | 81/92 EN | 16 DMG | 2 ACC | 3 EVA | 61 MIT | 24 BLD [Activates on BD8-10] [Hate - 2]

[1]Benjamin 440/440 HP | 40/44 EN | 3 DMG | 1 ACC | 3 EVA | 5 MIT [Hate - 1]

Kumatetsu:
HP: 141 / 300  <STUN IMMUNE - 2 turns>
DMG: 100   MIT: 25   ACC: 0   EVA: 2

"Sounds like it's going to be a tough time getting everything ready with the crafter we have..." Ben started, before being distracted by something out in the woods.  "Huh, looks like something is out there-"

With a mighty crash, the path ahead of them opened up with a crash, as a tree fell forward across the path, knocked over by a large bear, stomping onto the path on its hind legs and letting out an angry roar as it treaded forward towards them.  "OK, looks like we found the big guy!" he shouted as he swung his dagger at the beast, jabbing it in the side and knocking it unsteady for a second as he leapt back to get some distance- his blow didn't even scratch the bear's HP.

"Switch!  Oscar, it's time for some damage!" he shouted as he let his partner have an opening, their previous conversation put aside for the heat of battle.  The best he was going to do was to was to stun and distract it for a bit while Oscar did the real damage for now.

Attack Roll - ID#137097 (Side Bite Sword Art)
BD - 9 + 1 - 2 (EVA) = 8  Target hit!
- 5 EN
Deals 1 damage
Enemy is STUNNED

Stats:

Benjamin: 
HP - 440 / 440
ENG - 39 / 44
Hate - 2

Oscar:
HP - 940 / 940
ENG - 92 / 92
Hate - 0

Kumatetsu:
HP: 299 / 300  <STUNNED>
DMG: 75   MIT: 50   ACC: 1   EVA: 2

Sebastian put up the unhappy, pouting look for another few seconds before he crawled back over to the thicker flower packs, where the places Ben could pick materials from were not.  Which was good enough for them.  Ben let out a chuckle at his antics- he really was a good partner, even if he was a bit of a head strong pain sometimes. 

He finished picking through the current patch of flowers, a bit disappointed in how little there was in this patch.  But at least he got more out of here than he would usually get from his searches. 

"OK Sebastian, you finish up so we can move onto the next patch of flowers.  Unless you want to try something else?" he asked, getting an angry noise from Sebastian that told him his familiar really wanted more flowers.  "Well, you have yours tastes little guy.  Pick which patch you want us to go check out next, and we'll get to it." he answered with a smile, looking around for their next target. 

Sebastian was quite happy with his new meal, and wasted no time in chowing down on anything that he could find.  Unfortunately, he kept on bumping into Benjamin as he was gathering up materials, and trying to steal some of the more useful ones.  "Sebastian... slow down.  You're gonna give yourself a stomach ache.  Not to mention eating everything I'm trying to grab.  You do remember why we're here, right?" he scolded the little guy, pulling a few of the remaining items away from his grip and back into his pouch.  And giving his familiar a disappointed frown as Sebastian protested, wanting to get back to eating indiscriminately, before settling back down. 

"We can both get a lot more done if you stick with eating the flowers, and I get the gathering materials.  You remember how much you enjoy helping out making those potions, right?" he asked, giving the pouting worm a bop on the head as he cheered back up.  They needed SOME limits if they were going to work together on this quest. 

After a bit more looking around and trying to decide, Sebastian finally settled down from his initial excitement and pointed (well, leaned his body in one direction) over towards a patch of purple, well, violets he thought.  All this time he had been working with his alchemy skill, and he still couldn't tell flowers apart very well. 

But, this was a video game, and he didn't need to tell them apart to gather them up.  So he headed over there, putting an excited familiar down onto the ground so that he could eat his fill on, hopefully, whatever wasn't able to be used for alchemy.  "OK bud, dig in while I work." he told Sebastian as he worked- this patch had enough good materials in it to start filling his bag with a gusto now, and he was going to take advantage of it as much as he could. 

At least until his familiar passed out from stuffing himself so much, and his bag was too full to carry any more. 

At the entrance to the field of flowers (or Blooming Garden as the quest log called it), Ben looked around to find the first area that he should search through. 

"Any preferences Sebastian?" he asked his very excited familiar.  The little guy was distracted by all the flavors of delicious foliage all around him, and Ben gave him a minute to look around and figure out which one looked the tastiest.  And picked a few more herbs from the entrance while that was happening- it wasn't the thickest patch of materials, but it was good enough to start out with.  Besides, his little worm familiar was happy enough to be out here, and he wasn't going to spoil his fun.  Sebastian always helped him out with crafting already, so he felt like doing something for him.

After packing his newest finds into his pack, he got up and gave Sebastian a scratch behind his antennae, listening to his happy chirps as he decided on what he wanted to chow down on first today. 

As he walked through the town, Ben pulled up his quest log and popped open a quest he had done several times before, watching a new dot highlight on his map.  He had been to the garden this quest took him too several times before,  but the materials there respawned fast enough that it would still be full each time he got there.  And with that in mind, he made his way to the gates of town and down the road to where he was going. 

The walk to the 'garden' went smoothly- no monsters on the road, and no players in the area it seemed.  Just him and his familiar. 

He walked up to the gate of the area, taking in the sights.  It was a large field of flowers of many different colors, spread out in a section of the woods with very few tall trees around.  The ones that were looked like the kind you'd see in the suburbs- healthy and tame looking.  The whole place seemed just a lot safer. 

And even when he took the first few steps into the area, he already was able to spot a few loose herbs sitting by the entrance, which he quickly added to his pack.  Today was going to be good. 

Ben gathered up his supplies back at home.  He had been on a few different raids with his friends lately, but some days he just felt like working on his own.

Well, almost on his own.  His faithful familiar, Sebastian was draped over his shoulder, ready to head out on the long journey ahead. 

Or just lying there watching Ben work in the kitchen while waiting for something else to happen- he was a hungry caterpillar after all.

Right now though, he was working on one of the Ultra Luck Hot Dogs he had purchased, adding mustard and relish on top of it- it wouldn't be a true Chicago dog without it. "OK Sebastian, let's hurry up- we want to get as much done as we can today.  This buff will only last until nightfall, and I want to get it's worth." he told his silent companion as he finished up, chowing down on the finished product and watching for the buff icon to pop up.  Once it did, he grabbed his readied bag and raced out the door, ready to go.

[Used Ultra Lucky Hot Dog, used 'Filling' buff. +4 LD for thread]

Once he left his house on the 9th floor, Ben headed into town, taking in the view of the forest from his yard as he went.  It was a good choice to build here, and relaxing on his days off, but today wasn't one of those days.  Today he had work to do, and he breezed his way past the empty town square, not bothering to see who else was up this early in the day.  And once he hit the teleporter, he was gone in a flash.

The town of Taft was on floor 11- not in the front lines, and not low enough for new players to be hanging around.  Most days it only had a handful of hunters coming in and out for quests, and today wasn't much different, especially this early.  The sun had barely crested over the trees by now, so most people would still be in bed. 

REWARDS

SP: 
Dazia and Benjamen  3 SP  (3 pages complete) + 2 SP (Quest) = 5 SP each

Col:
Benjamin: 300 Col (2 pages /2 players)
Dazia  300 Col (2 pages /2 players)

Item:
<<Hoya of Minos>> gained by Dazia

Ben headed back to Oscar's hot dog stand. "Hey bud, looking to grab a few of the bigger hot dogs until you can make the lesser versions I ordered.  Hope the crafting has been going well!" he called out, putting the col in the cash box while wrapping up the hot dogs that were ready.  These would be very good for hunting down more materials that he desperately needed.  And he'd have extra for his friends to grab as well. 

Though it hurt his pocketbook, he was going to get the best items that he could get for the long haul item gathering quests.  The combined buffs would bring his LD through the roof for them. 

3 x Ultra Lucky Hot Dog [3 Loot Die] - 3000 Col

Ben nodded- he was worn out from the maze as well, and risking themselves while they were exhausted was not going to help anything.  "Yeah- I could use a good meal and a nap after all of that.  Plus I have to get back to my work shop soon enough- the next floor boss is coming up fast, and I need to finish up my work before then." he said with an exhausted smile. 

"With all the work these quests are... I'm glad to have the both of you here with me.  It's been nice." he said as he got up and brushed himself off. "I don't have any quests coming up later, but there should be a few more as we go up the floors.  If you ever need a healer to tag along, I won't hesitate."

"Also... if you need any help finding your sister too.  I know it's family stuff so I won't pry otherwise.  Just... be careful."

@Dazia

(OOC, will put wrap-up post tomorrow)