Neopolitan

The sun was getting lower by the second, now halfway past the horizon. The worry that Neo had been putting off was now at the forefront of her mind and was consuming all other thought. She was still on the lookout for ingredients, but was picking up the pace a little bit in hopes of making it to the Town of Beginnings even sooner. Though she desperately didn't want to be searching for two days, it seemed as though she wouldn't have any other choice.

Though I guess it makes sense for things not to be that common, I would hope that they would at least make this feasibly possible. I've been at this for an entire day and barely have anything to show for it. It seems they even developed the mechanics around being trapped in here with how long it takes me to do things that should be relatively easy.

As the sun began to touch the horizon, Neo's worry tried to break into the thoughts of the restaurant with mild success. Neo realized she had been lingering for some time now and needed to keep moving. She wasn't moving too quickly as she knew she wouldn't make it by nightfall, but kept a consistent pace that would make sure she didn't tire herself out should she have an encounter before returning back. She was still looking for ingredients, but Neo was beginning to doubt if there were anymore out here. Though she had found some earlier, it appeared that they had stopped spawning now.

How could I be so reckless, getting so absorbed in my thoughts. Next thing I know I'll do that while fighting and end up dying of absentmindedness. Even if that didn't look to bad when written, it would not be the best of ways to go.

The back of Neo's mind continued to worry. Less so about finding the materials at this point and more so about how late it was getting. The sun was dipping lower and lower into the horizon and the Town of Beginnings was still yet to come into sight. It would likely be night time before they made it back at this rate. However, Neo kept herself occupied with the ever-present thoughts of opening her shop.

I would probably want to have some sort of theme with my food. I'm not sure what to go for though. With a Latin name, that won't really culturally tie me to a specific place, though Mediterranean food probably wouldn't be a bad idea. I could go with some basic breakfast and brunch meals. Or just have fun and make some of everything, the possibilities are only limited by what the game has to offer after all.

Neo was beginning to run out of details to consider, and there was still a lot of ground to cover before she got back to the Town of Beginnings. The back of her mind that was worried about finding ingredients was hoping that she would find them before getting back, but the forefront of her mind was still consumed with ideas of her future.

Once I open the shop, what should I do? I'll need to make a constant menu, something for people who don't need anything too specific to order off of. It would certainly be nice to try and create one of everything, but that's just not humanly possible. Of course, I don't know how fast the game's cooking is in comparison to real life. I just hope that if it does take as long as real life that I can prepare multiple things at once as well...

Though the girl was very talkative, Neo was fine with it. Seeing as she didn't contribute verbally to the conversation, people would often fill the gaps in with as much talking as they could. She nodded at the request to shorten her name and realized how easily her username shortened to her real name.

I probably should've picked a better username, though I guess when we're all trapped in a game together I don't really have to worry about security.

At the compliment about her hair, Neo bashfully smiled. No one at home really liked her hair, they always thought it was to draw attention without speaking. As the white-haired girl started to slow down her talking, she suddenly picked up again and once again began to drag her somewhere to relax. Neo didn't offer much resistance, just let the girl lead so she didn't go the wrong way. When they slowed down, they were near a fountain with a nice stone ring as well as benches surrounding it. And as the white-haired girl sat, she followed suit.

She certainly can be a handful, but it feels nice to finally have some bliss. With the energy about her, I can so easily let my worries sit behind as I enjoy a happy moment.

After waiting a little bit, the blacksmith came out. He gave a pleasant greeting and named his price. He seemed very confident in his work, which meant that Neo could expect good effort put into it. After being told the price, Neo opened up her inventory and grabbed four materials. She wasn't familiar with what was a fair price, but 4 was certainly a low number and she felt assured she would get something valuable from it. She put the four materials on the counter, nodded, and proceeded to look curiously through the shop as she waited patiently for the smith finish her order.

It'll be nice to have something custom made, and I do think it will turn out quite nicely.

I have (mostly) shamelessly used Neopolitan from the RWBY series. Though I have changed around character traits, image and idea is a copy.

Neo's pace slowed to a crawl, barely moving forward through the nothingness of the area. And though she was aware of her slow down, she had begun not to care. Though she thought about speeding up and looking for more materials, it felt nice to slow down and enjoy dreaming about what her shop would be like.

Tacet Cibum, where our toast is as golden as silence. That certainly sounds like a place I would want to eat at. Makes it sound like a nice quiet place to relax and get a bite to eat after a long day of work. It would certainly fit with the location that I want for the restaurant, though it could be sending the wrong message. The motto does make it seem a little like the place is meant to be in complete silence. I guess that wouldn't be too bad though. If people were silent, they would probably better understand my position. Though it would be a bad idea to enforce any such restriction as that could make me lose customers.

The monotony continued on ever more, but Neo still was yet to care. She had become so totally engrossed in thinking out the details of her restaurant that she had lost feeling for the tediousness of her search. She could've gone out and begun fighting, but decided instead to spend her time contemplating every little minutia of detail.

I want the name to have some meaning, but probably not that obvious of one. I could use another language, then I could have a simple meaning that would still sound interesting.

Neo began to reflect upon what she could remember. She had taken Latin before, but she hadn't practiced it since she had become trapped in this death game. Thankfully, she had never had too much trouble remembering words, as she never had to memorize their pronunciation for speaking.

How about... Tacet Cibum. Yeah! Silent Food. It's simple, sweet, and still sounds interesting.

As the monotony continued to eternity, Neo slowed her walk unconsciously. The sun was getting lower and lower as time crept along, but Neo was unaware of it. She was fully enveloped in the development of her shop and didn't care for what may be around. In the back of her head, she knew that she should be searching as rigorously as possible for materials, but she also remembered that there were no materials to find in this flat expanse last time she passed through and decided she may as well enjoy dreaming while still in this flat expanse.

What would be a good motto? Something that is simple, but still evocative. Maybe make it a slight pun or joke. Let's see, silence is golden, and toast should be as well. I've got it! Toast as golden as silence. Now I just need to figure out a name for the place, maybe something along similar lines.

The plains stretched even further, and Neo payed attention to none of it. She was carelessly lost in her own thoughts now, only passively searching for ingredients now. She was trying to figure out as many details about her shop as possible, and forgot that she needed these ingredients so she could learn how to the craft she was going to open the shop for.

I don't want a crowded city, that means that people will be rushing in and out. I want people to feel relaxed when they enter. On the other hand, I don't want a town in the middle of nowhere or people will never find me. Well, except the kind of people who like finding little backwater places that may or may not turn out to be diamonds in the rough. That would mean a town that's rural but has decent foot traffic would be best. Become a nice place for locals, but still be accessible to any random passerby.

The plains seemed to stretch wider, making the already large expanse of nothingness even larger than before. Neo didn't really take notice though, she was debating where she would like to put her restaurant. And though she had some idea of where to go, she was still uncertain if she could get what she wanted.

First thing I need to think of is environment. What kind of climate do I want? Temperate would be best. Too dry or too wet could effect the quality of food that I make, or at least make it harder to take to floors of other climates. A bit colder would also be a good idea. I don't want frozen, but a bit of chill will be well offset by an oven. That would probably mean some sort of mountainous or foothills region would be best. Now what kind of town would be the best place to set up shop?

The plains once again were seemingly endless. There were no landmarks in sight and nothing was popping up above the grass. Even if there were ingredients to be found, they were not making an effort to be seen.

...I also need to figure out where to put my restaurant. I could put it on the first floor, but that seems like the obvious place to put it. Besides, I want the place itself to be nice and the Town of Beginnings is full of misery. I guess I'll need to figure out what floor I want to go for. I don't think I'll go past floor 10 though, that will probably be too high of a level for me. And anything above that would be almost certain death. If I'm going to set up on another floor, I'll want to figure out what I want in a location besides just being nice.

The monotony of the plains was unfaltering. Nothing changed about its landscape, nothing but simple grass could be seen to the eyes reach. Neo was falling deeper into her thoughts, though she did try to ensure she was still being observant in case something that wasn't flat grass did pop up.

I could probably use being a cook as a good way to make connections. Maybe I could try to provide for the front lines? No, that wouldn't be a good idea unless someone already knew me. They probably wouldn't  trust someone that just popped up to help them. Besides, I'm going to need an escort to and from the boss room just to stay alive if I cater to them. Hopefully, I can attract some good customers early on and get them to help me along. Not that I even know enough players to determine good customers from bad ones.

The hills had started become less prominent and fade into the flat plains of monotony that Neo had crossed earlier that day. Once again, this flat area was seemingly barren. Though the ground was covered in grass, it was the only thing preventing this space from becoming a flat expanse of nothingness. As Neo crossed it, she once again began to get lost in her thoughts. She was careful this time and didn't let her thoughts consume her a stop her search.

I need to get more items, and probably make some friends as soon as possible. However, I'm not sure how well I can friends with these new people. At home I always had someone that knew me well enough to help me communicate with someone new, but here I don't know anyone that could do that for me. I guess that means that  I'll need to work that much harder or just wait until people can start understanding someone who doesn't speak.

The music had become so entrancing that Neo had lost all sense of thought. She hadn't even noticed that the song was over or that all the boys started to swarm the girl. She snapped out of it and turned to leave when there was suddenly a tug at her arm. The girl she had just been watching was pulling her away from the crowd that had formed around her.

She probably needed some sort of escape out of that crowd.

Neo didn't offer any resistance as the white-haired girl directed her towards a much calmer area. They soon stopped and the girl let go of Neo's arm. After listening to her request, Neo just nodded with a kind smile resting on her face.

She seems nice and all, I'm just not sure how well I can really make friends. Everyone at home knew I didn't speak, but here I have no one I'm familiar with to act as my translator with someone new.

The time was beginning to grow late, the sun three-quarters through the sky now, and Neo was still yet to find any new materials.

The game really doesn't want me to finish this quest it seems. It is almost like it's being content with starving me of resources. I should probably start heading back to the Town of Beginnings now if I want to make it there by a quasi reasonable time. I just hope that I'll find the rest of the materials on the way back, I definitely don't want to be searching over the course of multiple days. If I have to though, I certainly will.

Neo turned to her left, walked a little ways more, and then turned to go back to town. She wanted to make sure that all new ground was being covered this time. Even if it was possible that plants could've spawned on her path after she left, it was better to play it safe.

The feeling of monotony may have been gone, but in its place was now the feeling of tediousness. Having to continue looking through the same area again and again was wearing on Neo's nerves.

I wish I could find some other way to get these ingredients, but I doubt that there is any other way. I should've stayed with that old man and figured out how to fish, things may have been a lot easier that way.

While lamenting about not figuring out how to fish, the ground continued to roll into an expanse of grass. There may be other types of land on this floor, but they were certainly out of sight by now. By now, Neo was starting to wonder if she should turn around and backtrack to the Town of Beginnings.

I should go a bit farther, it couldn't hurt. None of the mobs around here are hostile so I can just keep going as far as I need to.

Neo had been window shopping for some time. While there were many NPC shops available in the Town of Beginnings, all the things they offered simply looked good. Neo was about to give up looking for a new blade when a sign caught her eye.

The Blazing Typhoon, certainly a fitting name.

She looked into the shop and noticed that the smith had a discount for beginners. Happy at the thought that people were willing to help out new players, Neo walked into the store. She rung the bell and noticed a request form.

It would be nice to have something I can call my own, better than trying to find a weapon to fit my tastes.

Neo filled out the request form and waited for the blacksmith to show up.

More determined than she ever was before, Neo continued to search through the plains of the first floor. However, her searches were once again becoming much less fruitful. This was in part due to her now inspecting every plant that wasn't plain grass. She had become unsure as to whether things were actually just there for decoration or could actually be gathered as ingredients for her quest. The game certainly didn't seem to be creating a consistent pattern yet for Neo to use. She kept searching as the sun once again crawled high into the sky. And though the heat beat down upon her like a drum roll, Neo kept pushing on in hopes of finishing this as fast as she possibly could. At the very least, the plains were becoming less boring as elevation changes became commonplace. Not enough to provide shade, but enough to provide a feeling of progress.

Neo continued to be engrossed in her own thoughts and ended up sitting down. When she did go to sit down, she suddenly felt something poking into her legs. She cleared her head, getting rid of the pipe dream-thoughts, and looked down at her feet. She noticed a strange plant poking up between her legs that had the interact action popped up for her to use. Tilting her head in curiosity, Neo grabbed at the plant. It dissipated and went into her inventory as another ingredient.

Strange, I don't even know what this plant is useful for. I certainly don't know it as something that is commonly edible, but I guess the game knows best.

Shrugging it off, Neo got back up and decided to continue her search, the monotony had finally been broken and there was now wildlife that she could see sprinkled throughout the plains.

Okay, back to searching this place.

Neo had become so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't realize that she had stopped moving. Her mind had become so consumed with possibilities she had begun to neglect the task at hand. Her mind flew to thoughts of being on the front lines, praised as a hero. As much as she understood that these thoughts were unlikely to become true, it still felt nice to entertain them and dream about it.

Being on the front lines, I'd dash in and save someone in the nick of time. They would be on their last shred of health and I'd finish off the boss, killing it in the last moments before it could strike. It would be glorious, no one would expect it and all would be praising me as the boss rewards showered over me to signify the defeat of the toughest boss we have yet to face, a creature all feared except for me, I would become the most popular person in the game, I would...

The monotony didn't stop, and it didn't look like it would be stopping. The grass brushed against Neo's shins, but she didn't feel it. Everything was beginning to blend into a single constant picture, only interrupted by the small change in height walking gave her. The grass remained unchanging, almost feeling like a looped video.

Maybe I got stuck in a loading screen, that would certainly be interesting. Though that would be terrible if I died simply because I crashed the game. That could be an interesting way out though. What would happen to you if the game crashed, he certainly didn't bother to take that into account. Maybe it would kill you like if you removed the NerveGear, or maybe crashing the game would prevent that feature from occurring. Either way, I doubt that this is the game crashing, just me stuck in plains with no end in sight.

The plains were turning into a monotony, filled with the same pattern of grass over and over. There was no discernible difference between one patch of land and the next. The only way Neo could tell that she was moving was by seeing her own two feet going forward. There seemed to be no end, Neo would look up to the horizon and see only more grass. Maybe it was her getting tired, or the game wasn't rendering, but one thing was certain, there were no ingredients to be found nearby.

You would think that there would be more, but I guess the developers couldn't make this easy could they. They just had to torment us by putting quest items tantalizingly out of reach. Give one and then stop all others from showing up.

Neo debated heading back to town and call it a day, but steeled herself and decided to keep searching as best as she could.

 Neo had just returned from the lake, having completed yet another quest, and was tired from her journey back. She considered going to get a bite of food to eat, when she noticed a crowd gathering in the central plaza. Neo pushed her way to the front to see what the commotion was about. The commotion was puzzling, as it couldn't be a fight and none of the NPCs were interesting enough to draw a crowd. But when she got to the front, she was mesmerized in an instant. In front of her was a girl, not much younger than her, dancing around to an NPC's music. The girl had such grace in her movements it was hard to pull one's eyes away. As she watched the girl dancing, she saw a green icon above her head, with the name Sunova hovering by it.

Strange, I wouldn't think that many players would want to dance, especially in a place filled with so much despair.