GetComfy

~~ Template ~~

~~ Enchancements ~~

Mason nods his head.

The master cook had spent a better amount of the day teaching Mason a bit of what she knows - enough to get him started anyways. To be fair, he already had some experience with something like this, but having further assistance in this game would be great. But as the day slowly comes to an end, he must eventually put what he learned into practice. And so he shall!

Green tea! Except, well... It's not the meal the chef was quite looking for. Nonetheless! It fulfills her standards and lets him complete the quest! How neat! Perhaps he should put a bit more of a twist on it though... Hm. Let's add this, and then let's give it a try... Mason takes out a tiny spoon to test the liquid, appreciating the warm feeling he got from it. Yeah. He's definitely keeping this for the shop.

Though maybe later. He's kind of tired, ehehe~

~~ Quest End, Collect Your Rewards! ~~

Thankfully, the developers are so kind to make it easy to find this shop once you're outside. I hate this city...

Mason pushes through the backdoor, thankful for the warm aroma greeting him once more. The woman that tasked him with this task seems to almost jump up in excitement, rushing over to the not-a-hobo and grabbing his still dirty hand! "Welcome back! You did well, didn't you dear? Let's wash up so we can make this meal!" Mason just tiredly smiles. It was a long day for the normally relaxed boy, but he's reinvigorated by the fact that he gets to cook. "Ehehe... Alrighty~!" He rolls up his sleeves and put on an apron as he deep cleanses his arms and hands. He also takes the time to clean up as well, getting any dirt off his face, making sure his clothes are all clean as well. 

Then he starts to lean onto the countertop, ready to listen...

"So, first things first, you get started by..." 

So it was a shiny after all! Didn't even have to dig for it. That is quite... Pog? Is that how they say it in the twitch world? Right. It is very pogchamp.

Mason bends over and picks it up to investigate the shiny... Hm? Is this... Is this a potato? He can totally make fries with these - do we have fryers? That would be upsetting if we don't have fryers. They're like the staple tool for a good meal! Usually anyways. Instant ramen is pretty nice as well. Bah. Whatever ends up happening with the potato, he's just glad that he no longer has to try and gather any more for the day - after all, that means he can finally finish this quest and do something more productive than well, trying to gather material that might not even spawn in the first place.

That just means he can finally go back into the city - Wait... That means I have to go through the long winded path again.

Noooooooo~

Unfortunately, his luck in digging in that direction ran out. It's fine however, because he just got the one material he needed from that hole! That just means he has to dig another hole - or in another direction - to acquire the final material needed for this quest! Aha! He knew his luck was getting better! Nothing to stress about after all! Menial tasks are nothing against the Great Comfy Boi himself, Mason Zheng! Except he should probably stop monologuing in his head and actually get to work.

Mason swiftly climbs out of the hole and starts looking around the clearing as he tries to look for a shiny. That way he doesn't have to dig another hole - or well, know the next place to actually dig another hole. Either way works, he's totally fine with that. He should stretch a bit more though, that's a lot of work and bending over for something so light. Technically anyways, because fighting things is typically more hard than actually gathering something.

...

Oh! Is that a shiny?

Once he had dug through enough, it seems that he had hit another soft material, though it's definitely not dirt. Alright, let's pull at it! He starts pushing his hand through the dirt, trying to reach for the almost vegetable like material- And he firmly grasps it! Nice! Now to pull it out without damaging it... Slowly. Carefully. Push the dirt aside while you do so. Do not think about all the effort you'll have to put into cleaning your clothes because you couldn't do anything smart enough that wouldn't require you to get dirty. Nonetheless, after some time, work, and wiggling, Mason finally pulls out the vegetable.

Is this... Another carrot thing? It looks like a carrot thing. This'll be useful for the quest. And for later. Whatever he uses it for, it just means he's one step closer to acquiring all the materials he need for the quests! Though... maybe he could do with less carrots.

+1 T1 Material!

Mason starts digging as hard as he could, but he's not exactly acquiring anything in this spot. Maybe he's just off a bit? Alright, let's just continue digging through until he can't exactly break it anymore. Left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand- YEOWCH! His fingers hit something hard, and it's definitely not going anytime soon... That just means he has to go to the side then! He starts pulling at the sides, but he's not even that deep to begin with - and that's probably because the developers didn't want them actually digging below the world and breaking the game. Then again, he could really just, y'know, get a tool.

Honestly, it's not worth testing but something interesting to consider! Perhaps when he gets some supposed friends, he can share these thoughts with them and have interesting conversations about these kind of topics! Surely they'll appreciate these thought-provoking comments, no?

Aha! I found something! Isn't this good for the eyes?

Mason found some... carrot? Thing? It looks like a carrot. It might be a carrot. It could be a carrot. He could test its carrotness, but he really doesn't want to waste the material. He'll just trust in the carrot thing's carrotness and continue digging. With all the dirt he's digging up though, it seems like he's not going to break through any further... Welp. Guess he has to relocate and start digging elsewhere! Though... What is he going to do with all that dirt that's been displaced? ...

I'll just pretend that nothing happened there.

Thus, the messy one starts to wander over to another spot that looked very diggable that can potentially hold some material! Though he starts to stretch again, arching his back so he DOESN'T throw it out somehow- Is there a doctor in Aincrad? That might be good if someone in the game actually has a medical license.

+1 T1 Material!

God, I thought I saw something shiny there! Why are things shining when they're not even loot? ... Bah. Whatever. At least it's a good sign that loot is starting to show up.

Phew. At least he can take a seat now - he ended up in this clearing that's mostly clean of grass and other what not. That just means there's a good sign for good soil with veggies and such. That just means he has to start digging through the dirt! Alright. Let's get started. Nothing wrong with getting a little dirty. He flexes his fingers a bit to start stretching, then immediately starts diving into the dirt. Roots would be nice to pick up, now that he thinks about it... Yeah. Alright, he has a lot of things that he can find! 

This is only the first spot that he'll dig into intensively, he's very certain that he had spotted another that can be dug into.

Just go with the flow. It'll surely start looking up for him sometime soon, right? Riiiight?

Though at least he's out of the dense forest now. That's good. Though it would be nice if he can ACTUALLY FIND MATERIALS. Whatever. He has the patience of a saint. He can wait. Though, where should he go to relax for a bit? Hm... Being next to lake would be nice, but perhaps some of the hills in the plains would be just as suitable. Hell, it would be a nice place to nap while he waits for his luck to get a bit better for the next few hours. 

Decisions, decisions, and all the time in the world to make them. Hell, he can even start to think about the future! Like, forming a party, opening up that shop, what kind of things he wants to make... Ooo, a change in clothing? That might be neat.

As he circles back through the forest once more, he soon realizes that he must've been traveling through the paths that have the least loot. There's no way he hadn't found something useful by now- Actually, this could actually be those fake open world games, y'know? Big world, full of nothing. It certainly feels that way when he spent this amount of time just looking for some stupid ingredients- You know what? Maybe I should just gather tea leaves and go back to the kitchen and make tea. Or coffee. Whatever I can find. Any more time spent trying to find more ingredients than I have to is a bad idea. 

Whatever, he'll certainly find something sometime soon. Hopefully. You know, if I had friends, this would be less awful than what it is now. Nonetheless, his morale won't get destroyed! In the end, he'll definitely succeed without any trouble at all. Aaaaaaany. Trouble.

Mason starts to walk through the path, not quite spying anything that's worth gathering.

And like he expected, nothing at all. He's actually tempted to just find some mob and trying to grab mats from that. Is that something he can do? Or is it at a specific level and area? Hm... Something to test when he's much more ahead than how he usually is right now. Nonetheless, definitely something to keep in mind for later- They probably drop Col right? Yeah. That'd be worth it. Extra col for when he needs to purchase things. Though... He might be getting too deep into the forest. He should probably start circling back around the forest before he gets too lost.

Mighty unfortunate that he STILL hasn't found what he's looking for. He suddenly regrets not packing any gathering skills for this. Mistakes have been made, and thus it shall be a lesson learned for later. Probably. He honestly might just forget.

... Drool starts to spill out of his mouth as he does his best to keep conscious. Though, something sparkles in his peripheral - surely that's something! Alright! The abnormally messy fellow gets up from his seat and walks toward the shiny thing. Then he realizes said shiny thing was no thing at all and was incredibly useless. This... is unfortunate. He was comfortable earlier, but now he's not.

...

He just collapses onto his knees, utterly defeated. This was much more difficult than expected. He should've... He should've invested more into gathering materials. It wouldn't have been as painful if he did. Yet here he is. Suffering. It'll... It'll end sometime soon, right? He'll surely get everything that he needs to get, right?

...

Nope, he definitely won't any time soon. But staying at the stump probably won't get him anything either. Perhaps he should start traveling again? Yeah. Let's go down that path then.

Discarded Roll 150679 - Used Wrong Character PepeHands

Mason is honestly trying his best here. Falling asleep in potentially dangerous territory is the worst possible idea anyone could have. Like. The worst. But he can't help himself. It's not like he's doing much anyways, and his sleep was rudely awakened earlier... Alright me, please stay awake, me. Can't fall asleep here, me. It seems like it worked... Mostly. His eyes are still halfway closed, but at least he's looking around for threats AND materials. Is he even strong enough for enemies in this area? That would be concerning if he's not...

Whatever. It'll probably be fine. If not, he can just run away, y'know? He's a particularly fast guy after all. He's also pretty lanky, so there's no way anyone could hit him! ... Man, he's kind of lonely. Alright. After this mission, I make friends. That's the plan... How do I make friends? Where would I make friends? ... This is much more difficult than I expected.

Mason just closes his eyes as nothing continues to stand out at him. Really unlucky, huh? Well. That's fine. He's patient.

...

Hm hm hmm... Hmm... He just starts humming to himself as he lays down on the stump. You really can't get this anywhere else. Or so he thinks anyways, he hasn't been outside much in real life sooo... Welp. A mental shrug as he continues to relax on the stump, all the tension in his body leaving once more. Now, what ingredients should he be looking for? Eggs? Vegetables? Fruits? There would be some around here, right? He can certainly check once he's done relaxing at this stump. Though relaxing at the stump is quite nice: he really doesn't want to get up from where he's resting.

...

Yaaaaawn. This is booooooring. What is with all these low level quests being this boring? What is with his luck?

Bwaaaaaah, this sucks.

Nothing. Why can't the forest be more densely populated with things I'm looking for? 

Jeez... At least the walk was nice. After all, he stumbled upon a small lake while following this neat little path! He swears that if the forest wasn't so foresty, the lake would so be shining. It might even be filled with a bit of fish - kind of like something in Stardew Valley - Oh? Is that a stump? That'll be a good place to rest for a bit. With a yawn, Mason begins to walk over and practically plops down onto the stump. He throws himself back so that he's now laying down on it.

Bleeeeeeh. Who would've thought a death game could've been this boring.

He just helplessly kicks his feet as he stares into the leaf covered sky. Huh. This stump lined up pretty well for some nice shade. A neat camping spot if he had friends.

Another tea leaf for him to use later! Wonderful-

Wait, wasn't he supposed to be gathering material for the cook? Um... Whoops. Alright! The next few materials he's going to gather should actually be, well, the things the cook needs... What did she want to make again? ... Uh oh. New plan. Time to improvise some ingredients that can be used in any dish. Hopefully.

... Will this really be fine? Hmm... Yeah. It'll be fiiiine. Anyways, perhaps deeper into the forest will give him what he needs- Oop! Is that...? Yeah, that sounded like movement. I gotta avoid that... Mason begins to take the long way around the sounds he heard - he wants to avoid players and mob alike without having to well, y'know, sneak. He found another hidden path in the forest! Huh. Let's take this one then, but not too much deeper. He doesn't wanna risk being underleveled in dangerous territory...

+1 T1 Material!

Damn. Nothing there.'

Yeah. He's definitely going off the path for materials. This path just has nothing for him to gather from, probably because earlier players had went through it earlier. Nonetheless, Mason isn't feeling too bad. He can spend all the time he wants trying to gather all the necessary materials he'll need for the quest...  Huh! This tree is rather nice! So is the forest! Man. Next floor should be really good. Now... He has to think about what he wants the shop to be like... Yeah, he definitely wants the shop to look a certain way.

Hm... Actually wait. Will he remember the path backwards? Knowing the developers... They might actually make the path outwards difficult just for the hell of it. Oh dear... Yeah, he'll have to remember the path lest he wants to get lost... Is there an auto mode? That'd be great. Just autowalk and gather everything he needs.

Ah. There it was!

A sneaky one, aren't you? Hiding behind some foliage as if I wouldn't recognize you... Seems like green tea is the plan for today! Having picked what he was looking for - and thankful that this game is very generous with what grows where - Mason begins to wander off again deeper into the forest. Not only that, but his gathering skills don't seem to be too bad either! Confidence surges as he is certain that his plan of action is indeed the correct plan of action. Anyways... Time to continue keeping an eye out in this forest.

You know, I expected the forest to be worse than the plains. This is honestly a pleasant surprise!

Wahey! There was a path after all! He could take that path and look for materials there - though maybe going off the path would be better... Hm... Let's see where we go, this lush forest will surely have things out anywhere.

+1 T1 Material!

Alright. Well. Time to put in some good 'ol honest work.

Mason begins to roam the area, looking for unique herbs that stood out to him, as well as any leafy greens that he wants to pick up for the kitchen- Oh? Is that something? Let's see- Nope. It's not. Alright... Lets keep going. Unfortunately the leafy green that stood out to him was no leafy green at all, thus incredibly useless for what he was looking for.

Hmm... Is there a better area for this? There has to be... Alright. Deeper into the forest perhaps? Though, he should be careful about any mobs that might show up... Though they might drop good loot for something like this? Hm... That might be worth testing later when he's not... Well, like this. Anyhow, he's definitely looking for any herbs that he wants to keep in stock for later- Is there an inventory limit? That'd be slightly concerning if there was. Bah. Whatever. He can find out later.

And here we are. Back again.

Thankfully, the path outwards from the restaurant was much easier than the path inwards. Another thing to note is that this time, the quest material that he's picking up is no longer dumb alchemical reagents and instead more useful things! Like herbs. And eggs. And other plants. Preferably herbs honestly, because he has a plan. After all, he DOES want to bring in some experience from real life, doesn't he? It would make life a lot easier, and it'll definitely make it even comfier.

Anyways, the destination is still a little ways away and he's still a slow walker nonetheless... Though the scenery is still gorgeous regardless of the fact that he's seen it before. It's quite breathtaking... I wonder what the other floors are like...? If the rest of the floors are like this.. Yeah, he's definitely gonna find some good spots when he can. Nothing beats anything like this.

Coming into the NPC restaurant... Wow. His eyes begin to sparkle as the rich aroma of the kitchen practically fill his soul. It's almost like.... It's almost like home. A smile unconsciously forms on Mason's face as he accepts the quest, not quite caring about the fact that the woman is now dragging him back into the kitchen. Much like the sense of wonder he had gotten in the front of the restaurant, the kitchen was just as good, if not better. All the chefs doing their thing: cutting, stirring, frying... Hell, he even spies a bit of baking in the corner! This kitchen has it all!

He shifts his gaze over to the woman - who is clearly an NPC but he doesn't really care, his sense of wonder tells him to listen - as she speaks to him. Mason was almost ready to mentally note down the first step but then... "Sorry about this, this never happens, but the cooks have officially ran dry of materials. Go get me five more ingredients, will you dear?" 

Welp. Now he has to play a fetch quest before he can actually get into making something. Fun.

Hm hm hmmm~ Where are we going, nobody knows - except for the developers that thought that this would be funny.

Currently, Mason is humming to himself as he follows this long winded stony path that is seemingly spiraling throughout the city. It's like the yellow brick road! Except not as fun and exponentially more annoying. Some time had passed since the beginning of the game, so it was interesting to see all these players almost acclimate to this game world. It's quite inspiring to be honest. After all, that just means they'll give their all in trying to live life as normally as they can in this game - albeit still fighting to get out of it as well. Perhaps he'll join them eventually, but it definitely won't be anytime soon. Especially not without friends- Speaking of friends, have I made any recently?

Mason holds up his fist as if he was going to count the people he met and interacted with. This proceeds to lead into the next few minutes of him just staring at a closed fist as he makes his way over to the quest location.

... Mason slowly opens his eyes as he sits up. Another loud yawn as he begins to rub his eyes again. That was a good nap. He falls right on his back as he stares up at the clouds once more, thinking about what he was going to do today... What was he going to do today? Hrrrrm.... What's with this weight on my chest? The messy fellow takes his other arm to feel for it and - Right! This was one of those wayfinder thingies! It was for that quest he was gonna do today! Welp, time to get a move on then!

...

He's kind of comfortable right now though... Does he really wanna put that much effort in so early in the day? It's only... what, two, three pm? He could just chill here until the city is less lively... Nah. It'll be fine. Mason kicks upwards onto his feet as he goes to brush off all the dirt and leaves on him. Gotta do SOME personal maintenance after all.

"Bwah!"

What a rude awakening! Someone ended up kicking the tree and he just... fell out! Who would do such a thing? Why would they do such a thing? He was just sleeping peacefully... Mason just proceeds to lay there, contemplating everything that got him to this point in life... He slowly blinks. Then he blinks again.  An even slower blink now. The not-a-hobo yawns tiredly, lifting his arm only to cover his eyes once more from the blinding sun. Whatever. I can just sleep on the ground, it's still pretty comfy after all... He closes his eyes as his breathing starts to slow. Ten... Nine... Eight.... Seveeeen... Siiiix... Fi- Zzz... Zzz... He didn't even finish counting down and he fell asleep.

Honestly, anyone that saw this would think Mason was crazy, but for Mason, this was the life. Plus, that just means he can sleep anywhere comfortably - which is the best. Except for when he was supposed to be doing a quest today.

Whoops.