Blueberry

Setting her drink down on the table, she would take another bite of her pastry. As Koga questioned her boss, she would nod. "Yep, bossman. He came to see me once and made me come with him to fight a snake. I almost died and he seemed upset with me afterwards." Her words spoken distastefully. Freyd and her didn't get along well at all. She listened to him to keep him from coming back and forcing her on another unwanted adventure. However, if she could figure out how to work this NIGHT person... maybe she could figure out how Freyd worked. 

"I'm not pretending, I'm just acting differently. Most people are fine with me acting normally, but others prefer someone quieter or just someone who will listen. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember and it hasn't been a problem before. It's not a problem to me at all, I just like that I can be friendly back with me. If you don't think they're friends with me because of that than you must not have that many friends." Taking another drink, she would continue to casually explain her thoughts. "Friend's choose you because they like your personality. So if they don't like me, I can just change it." 

As Koga would tease her, she would ignore it and answer honestly. "I'm not bribing you to be my friend, I'm giving you food so you stay." She would roll her eyes after the word to show how obvious that should have been. Seriously, this guy was a little air-headed but she couldn't berate her friends. He would tell her that the dessert was not bad, and she would nod approvingly. Her desserts needed to be the best. It was obvious to her that Koga wasn't a sweets person, the first time they had met he hadn't taken too much of the sweets she brought. Now... airship boi with glasses? He's took a lot. There was no worries about keeping him around. 

As the nighttime girl became the topic, Koga would assure her that while she wasn't necessarily friendly she was a good person." She reminded me of someone else... my boss. They just had the same look to their eyes. I wasn't able to make bossman my friend and it was obvious that NIGHT didn't like me either." Twiddling a strand of strawberry hair around her finger, her eyes wouldn't meet Koga's. Instead, her gaze was off and appeared distracted. "I wanna be friends with everyone, but I just never met anyone like them in the real world. I don't know how to act around them to make them like me." Blue's acting abilities were unnatural, but if she didn't know how to act then it was pointless. Blue would then open into her menu and pull out two items. A bottle of water and a small white piece of plastic. Upon further inspection, it would resemble that of a Kool-Aid flavoring dispenser. The liquid inside blue, the flavoring rather obvious. Adding the flavor to the drink, she would take a sip before placing the cap back on. 

"Koga huh... I'll try my best to remember that." She made a mental note of the name. Koga was a very simple name, but that is where it was at fault. A more... exciting name would've been easier to remember. Taking a cookie out of one of the several pockets of her jacket, she would take a bite of it. A few crumbs would inevitably fall onto the floor of the forge. "Well, good for her. I don't practice making normal food so the difference in skill from desserts is night and day." She would state this in a matter-of-fact tone. As Koga grabbed the two of them a pair of seats, Blue would kindly take the offer and sit on the chair instead. 

"So do you randomly pop into all your friend's workplaces, bearing sugary gifts?"

"Workplaces? No, I just go where I can find them. I'm terrible at looking for things. Especially people! I have a friend from the real world and I haven't seen here since almost the start!" A nervous chuckle broke her character for a moment, but a chipper voice would quickly pick back up the slack. "But I bring all my friends snacks! It makes them happy so it makes me happy. I've made quite a few friends in Aincrad: but several of them only once. If I bring food to a place, they'll be more likely to stay and be my friend. I've met so many people at various parties and I never see them again. It's nice to have found the spot where a person comes back to." 

Finishing another cookie, Blue would be the next to ask a question. "Is your NIGHT a nice person?" 

As usual, in fact as exactly as at his party, Koga answered her the same way. To this, she would simply restate her original sentence. "Until someone wants to actually tell me what it is, you're a Frying Pan Boi." Koga seemed rather apprehensive to her visit. "What do I want? I have to visit friends every so often! If we didn't talk, we wouldn't be friends silly!" Handing him a bag with an assortment of cookies, she would slide her small behind onto the counter. As he searched through the bag, he would skeptically as her if the snacks were poisoned...

And he would receive a firm knock on his head for it. "Don't you ever disrespect dessert like that again. I didn't make these for you to go:" Scrunching her face to be as insulting as possible as she impersonated Koga, "aRe tHeSe PoIsOnEd?" Turning her head away and pouting, she would fold her arms. "I'll think twice about bringing you desserts again." 

With a sigh, she would just turn her head to Koga and say, "It's okay, I'll forgive you. I just need to train you better. Your typical friends are like little miss dark and moody huh?" That girl held the same aura that Freyd had. It was a personality type she hadn't learn to conquer yet. Someday, she would figure out to befriend them. "She seemed cool but I bet she doesn't give you snacks!" 

Blueberry

The air was cool and crisp on the First Floor. It was earlier in the day, the sun hadn't even reached its peak in the sky. The back-alley's, unlike the bustling city, were much quieter. Few made their way along the stone road to reach the buildings here. All was calm...

Until suddenly, the Blueberry nation attacked. 

A noisy knock would pound on the door of the Blacksmith's shop. The door would suddenly open followed only by a trill voice filled with glee. "Oh Frying Pan Boi!~" A pink-haired player covered from head-to-toe in blue apparel would enter the shop. Flicking her hood off her head and onto her shoulders, a pair of electric blue eyes would search the scene. "I brought you some snacks!" she called out to him. "I mean, I also brought myself snacks but that's besides the point."she would mutter afterward. Frying Pan Boi's reckoning had come, the question remained: Was he prepared?

Astreya continued to compliment Blue's sweets which was nice but Blue already knew how good they were. Making desserts was all she had done until someone had decided to throw her out into the middle of the field in front of a snake. Then, she almost died for it. Since then, she had randomly been grouping up with some players and healed whoever ended up needing it. Steadily and very slowly, she had been rising in level to keep her higher ups happy. That way she could keep the surprise visits to a minimum. 

Astralin? Was that what she had heard was the blonde's name? She must've been making a mistake as it was very close with the other girl's name. "Carefree Magpie... I think that sounds familiar. My shop is in Taft as well. Though, if this 'friend' is this good at making desserts than I will have to keep getting better at it. I only make desserts so if someone is better, then I nobody will eat what I make and I won't meet people!" A dessert shop served to bring people of similar interests to her. Much easier than hunting the floors for friends. 

"Best Friend? Finally, a  worthy opponent. Our cook-off will be LEGENDARY!" A fist of determination rose into the air as Blue's voice rang out throughout the party. 

"Ooh, level twenty-one? That's pretty close to me!" Blue would exclaim to Astreya. "I still bet you're better than me though... I don't like hurting this so all I can do is heal." Nodding to affirm that to herself, Blue would hush as she waited for more words to suddenly cling onto.

@Astralin @Astreya

"You know that's not my name, right..." The pink-haired player simply shrugged in response. "I don't really recall you ever telling me your name~!" She would tease the man. "Add me to your friends list, it'll be easier that way. I know too many names to keep track of the new ones." It was true, Blue had made a habit of making too many friends, it was hard to stay up to date with all of them. She enjoyed positive reaction too. That was why her phone in the real world had been stuffed full of contacts. Now in Aincrad, she hadn't been keeping a lot of friends in her list. Why? She kept forgetting what name to add. A lot of the usernames were all spelled weird. Few people had simple usernames to add.

The girl beside her began defending her food but Blue would reply in a manner unlike her usual bubbly voice. "No no, I understand. I shouldn't have assumed anything." This world of Aincrad was different than her hometown. Everyone acted so much differently. Normally, the amount of energy she brought in was enough to liven up the room. In Aincrad, it just got her funny looks. Her normal attitude that everyone had loved before just wasn't enough anymore. If she wanted to make more friends here she would have to adapt her social style. The "Life of the Party" just didn't work here. 

The aroma of pies and cakes caught her nose. Was everyone just bringing sweets? It wasn't that she had a problem with it but there was nothing else for anyone to eat. Only she herself that she she knew of lived solely on a diet of sweets. "Did you make them yourself?" She would ask @Astralin calmly.

It seemed not everyone was a fan of her work. The pink-haired player turned as a sudden head-splitting voice filled the air. Turning, Blue simply frowned as the girl spoke. What was she angry about? Blue had simply upgraded the previous palette, the food made by NPC's were simply a joke. "I... I br-" The girl tried to get her words through, but the newcomer was unrelenting. "Monopoly? This isn't about money." The girl replied plainly. The girl didn't hear it though as she quickly began to storm off. 

The sudden outburst gathered a lot of attention and brought many individuals over. The first was a girl who's face seemed familiar to her, although she couldn't quite put anything to the face. Unlike frying pan boy, this girl didn't remind her of any qualities that stuck out. Although, the girl seen the light as she popped one of Blue's pastries in her mouth. "That's why I brought th-" 

"I'm sure your gifts are very well appreciated, but on behalf of the other guests, I would refrain from performing that again."

The voice was calm and collected but just as cold. A dark tracksuit covered the woman's body with arms folder over one another. Taking a step back away from the girl, Blue would hide her first impression of the woman. The demeanor reminded her a bit of Freyd. The same unfriendly aura almost radiated off of her. Was she another of the 'unfriendables'? No, Blue would at least give it a shot. She wouldn't deem this woman a hopeless cause just yet. 

"I'm sure you'd be disappointed too if your hard work and effort went unrecognized, wouldn't it?"

Thinking inward, the pink-haired player began to ponder the situation. Were people actually upset that she had improved the food? Maybe they cared less about the food itself and more about the effort put into making it? What a bunch of weirdos. She hadn't shared many sweets in the real world so this was something she hadn't encountered before. "You.... You might be right. People would be upset if their work went unappreciated." It was a baffling thought to her but it sorta made sense when she took food out of the equation. 

Another voice, Frying Pan boi's. Flashing him a smile, he would continue by lamenting his pie. "Apple? Blueberry is so much better." Upon his request she would frown. "I make dessert because I like too. If I changed the flavor I wouldn't like doing it anymore. Gonna have to me a little more... convincing than that Frying Pan Boi!" A giggle would follow her words. 

The blue slime suddenly bounded off the floor and onto her shoulder. Giving it a glance, she would begin telling the surrounding people, I'm surprised he listened to me in the first place. It was probably because I was telling him to eat and normally I have to tell him not to. All I know is that I fed him some cookies on Floor One and ever since he's just been following me around. I don't know how but he hasn't left yet. I found a page in my stuff about him and I can't read his name either." 

Opening her inventory, she would flick through items and information until she found the weird name. Spinning it so that it displayed the name would be readable by those around her.

<<Fraz-Urb'luu>>

Closing it, she would smile. "I call him Frazberry!" 

The eleventh floor was home to Blueberry, and it was safe to say that when it came to desserts: it was her stomping grounds. So when she seen @Astreyapicking up desserts from some random NPC with a cart in the street instead of walking into Sweet Teart.... It was enough to provoke the girl. Flipping the sign on the door to "Closed♥", Blue would immediately grab an assortment of vanity items that were once to be saved for her own enjoyment and scurry after the girl.

***

Blue would follow Astreya to a random house where they were accepting an assortment of people inside. Stepping up to the door, she would see a vaguely familiar face. She couldn't even attempt to put a name to it though. "Oh, hey its frying pan boy. Good to see you!" Disregarding if he welcomed her inside or not, she would step past him to continue her mission. She was here for a reason, and she would see it through. Electric blue eyes scanned the area until they once again rested on her target. She was setting the dessert down on a table. Walking up, she would pop one of the cakes that Astreya brought into her mouth. Bland and dry. Forcing herself to swallow instead of spitting out the food, it would take her a second before fixing the mistake Astreya made. "Frazberry, get rid of it." Detaching and expanding from a dark-looking spot on Blue's neck, a small blue slime would land on the dessert table. The creature would examine the desserts before quickly consuming each of them. Blue would watch as the foods(plates included) would dissolve inside of the creature. Making rapid small claps, Blue would applaud the creature. "Good job Fraz!" The slime would bounce onto the floor and begin looking around at the people as Blue began to replace the missing desserts with her own. The upside: They were better than the old. The downside: It was all blueberry flavored. 

A smile of satisfaction spread across the girl's face. Another day was saved. 

As much as she pushed the dial, nothing seemed to happen. At least, not on her end. The pink-haired player simply watched as the goldilocks character took charge and made commands. 'How is the flower three? It was totally on that carpet.' A pout rested on her face as the ginger-haired player came and took her position. Was it really working?

Standing from her crouched position on the flower, she would make up her mind to move directly north. The compass, where had it been in the previous room? Had it been on the cover of the books she threw?  Her metaphorical short-sightedness had missed the compass on the wall entirely. 

Moving the final dial to its rightful place, the pink-haired player would set the world into motion.

[North Dial - 4]

Correct answer.

The group made their escape to the shrinking room and were immediately accosted with a new puzzle. Solving things was never Blue's strong suit. In fact, she always had done her homework with friends that solved everything. The downside of having so many friends to rely on is that she always would rely on them and never develop her own skills. Now, surrounded by strangers, who was there to really rely on? Tall, dark, and pretty? No, if she continued asking for her help now, the woman would assume Berry was using her. There was no hope that she would be useful here.

"I uh-" 

Shouting from an older gentlemen would peak her interest. Was there anything she had noticed up til now? Well, she had thrown the books right? There wasn't a book symbol. Taking the three remaining symbols in, only one would peak her interest. Flowers! The carpet she sat on while plucking them had been filled with red roses right? Did that have something to do with the puzzle?

"I'm gonna try this!" 

The flowers was the last room and 4 was the last number right? That had to be it! Unless she completely missed everything. Pushing the dial over onto the number, she would try with all of her might to force the dial in. 

[SOUTH DIAL - 4]

Incorrect entry. Puzzle reset.

Blueberry watched in horror as the blue slime began to dissolve the books one by one, caring not for her instructions. Groaning, she placed her hands on her hips and waited for a moment. The slime seemed to have no intention to stop. Grabbing on the top shelf and placing her feet on the bottom, she would begin to climb to get a good view of the top shelf. 

A upset pout on her face as she looked the slime, the blue gelatinous creature would stop for a moment to look at her. At least before ejecting a small metal object at her forehead at top seeds. Surprised by the sudden smack, the girl let go of the shelf and fell to the floor below. Laying there for a moment, she looked to where a small metal key laid on the ground. Where had Frazberry gotten this? Was it up on the bookshelf? Pushing herself up, she would frown at the bookshelf before looking to the girl who stood by the key holes. "Hey! You're the one taking these right? You can have this one!" Tossing the key to the girl, Blue would turn back to her shelf that was now void of any books. They accomplished whatever goal they had set out to do. 

"Does it seem less echo-y in here than before?" 

202797 LD:10 Key Found!
Key given to @Lilik

Tearing through the books on the shelf, someone she didn't know of called out to her offering assistance. "I can find some way to get up there but thanks!" Despite having cleared half of the shelf, none of them seemed to lead to a secret passage. It looked like people had found four keys to the locks but honestly, why would people lock themselves in the room? This looked like the kind of room in which you would lock from the outside. A secret room needed a secret entrance!

Beginning to whisper, seemingly to herself, the girl would say, "Hey Frazberry!"  From the small dark blue shapes that lined her neck popped off a blue gelatinous figure. Expanding until he was about the side of a bowling ball, a question mark would form on top of the slime's head. "Do you think you could make a stool for me to reach the top of this shelf?"

A moment would pass as the slime would simply stare at her. An agitated symbol appeared on its head, replacing the question mark. Hopping up onto the shelf, the creature would simply begin eating the books. "Wait wait! you have to pull them, not eat them!" The untrained slime would pay her no regard. .

202794 LD:5

Scrambling through the hatch as she followed the main group into a new kind of area. As she was last in, the hatch would suddenly close behind her. Jumping from the sudden noise, she would notice they were locked in. As others began to take a peek around the area they were just in, Blue began became amazed at how luxurious it was. 

The orange-haired player, who Blue may or may not have noticed before, offered up the exit. Tapping a finger on her chin, she would shake her head. Then, speaking in a very confident voice she would argue, "Hmm, I think that might be a distraction. I've seen enough movies to know that one of these books is a secret compartment!" Placing herself in front of the shelf, she would begin tearing them from their places. Surely one of these was a secret lever right?  That's when someone spoke up as they had found a key. That just was there to distract them more right? 

202778 LD:13. No key. 

Successful in the mission to assist the quiet child, Blue would pour the seeds into her small pumpkin bucket. "There you go! I really hope it helps you do whatever you wanted to do." The quiet child nodded. "Thank you, i'll let you take what you want for helping me out." The child began to showcase various items. Quickly choosing two of the sparkly drinks, Kuni would smile before continuing to pick up the various seeds around the areas. "thank you for the drinks! I hope they taste good." Putting them in her inventory, she would give a wave to the child and walk off. 

Blue wouldn't be drinking the sparkling drinks provided to her until a little bit later. Drinks like these needed food to compliment it or else it would just be a waste. What would go with it? A cake? Perhaps that was just a bit too much. Maybe use it like milk and cookies? There was endless possibilities. 

Purchasing  Bottled Vigor (x2) for 60 Seeds
+6000 EXP

Seed Counter: 60 Total
• OP-F1 | Together, now! -> 31 Seeds
• PP-F7 | That's not a Gummy Worm! -> 17 Seeds
• PP-F1 | Weeding the Variants -> 12 Seeds

Beginning her walk back, the slime would not end its pursuit. It bounced happily after her, in search of more of the delicious sweets she had offered it before. Time passed, and she had completely returned to the Town of beginnings. She would turn as she reached the safe zone barrier. "Alright, this is where you go on home. You can't follow me through here. Maybe someday I'll bring you something else to eat." Turning, Blue would continue through the city and back towards the teleporter.

Standing on the platform, her eyes would turn and become filled with surprise. The slime somehow made it in. "Hey! You're gonna get in trouble, go back on home! That's where I'm  going!" The slime merely bounded onto her shoulder before shrinking itself and attaching itself to a small area of her neck. Now, the only indication of the mob was a small patch of highly-condensed slime. Blue doubted anything could even hope to pierce it. Bringing her hand up to touch it, she felt the vibration of the mob responding to her touch. "Fine, I guess you can stick around. Eat anything I don't give you permission to though and I'll find a dish to make with slime as the main ingredient!" 

The slime merely looked at her, a question mark forming on its surface. That was definitely new. She didn't know that slimes could express themselves through emoticons... or whatever they were called. "Who do you think you are huh? Aren't you supposed to be out there trying to kill people or something?" The slime didn't have a response. Groaning, Blueberry tried to throw the creature away. It stuck to her hand with its fluid body. as if to prove it point of what it wanted to do, the creature hugged the side of her body and hardened. Trying to wipe it off was fruitless now. Now, the creature was serving as a shiny blue liquid that had thickened over her side to create what was almost like skin. 

"Fine, you can come with me if you get off. It looks weird. Not like you can follow me into towns. No monsters allowed there." The creature ripped itself from her skin, taking any hair she would have had with it. Nothing left to do besides go home now right? Slime bouncing behind her, she would begin the walk back to the safe zone. Honestly, a much wasted trip in the first place. She couldn't blame Kura though, she hadn't told him that she had planned on coming back. 

Berry and her new companion would continue their adventure, Blue opting to just carrying the creature. It hardly took two hands to carry and was surprisingly light. She supposed it was mostly comprised of a liquid but what kind of liquid was slime even made from? That was a question for someone else, she wasn't even smart enough to try and figure out the answer. Besides, she was looking for Kura. There didn't really seem to be any sign of him and Blue and the slime were starting to get near where she had parted from Kura in the first place. The nepent would've respawned by now right? Why didn't she hear any fighting. She hoped he was okay. 

Sighing with the failure of her mission, she looked down at the slime. "Well, it doesn't look he's here. I'm going to home now. Enjoy the rest of your day." Setting the creature down on the ground, she would turn and begin to depart. She had only gone two feet before her mission failed. Latching onto her legs, it would begin to spiral up her thighs and then body before stopping at a rest. "Yo, not cool. You can't stay with me. You're a monster." 

Walking away, she would continue her search for Kura. She had gotten quite a ways before the music crystal that was playing shattered. Weird, why would the crystal have undergone enough stress to break like that. That's when she heard the noise. A hopping noise. Turning, she would find that the blue slime was continuing to follow her. Eyes squinting, she would point accusingly at the creature. "I don't have anymore more because you at them all remember? Go away, shoo!" The creature didn't listen. 

Sighing, Blue walked over to turn the slime around but her plan backfired quickly. As soon as she touched the creature it began to wrap its way up her arm. For a moment, her entire arm was completely engulfed in the blue slime. For a small moment, it would harden there before pushing its way up. 

Blue only knew where the creature was from the new weight that rested on her head. Putting her hands up to lift it up, she would face the creature towards her own face. "Fine, I guess you can help me look for Kura. Someone's got to take the blame for him not getting a snack and its already going to be hard enough to convince him." 

Blue was immediately overjoyed and sprinted over excitedly. "Wow! Look at you! I've never seen such a cute monster before!" The slime hopped in response, its body vibrated with the music that sounded through the air. In fact, the slime almost seemed to purr with it. However, it quickly became bored and began munching on the patches of grass in front of it, the grass dissolving within it. "ew, grass? You really shouldn't be eating that. Too bland." Reaching into her pocket, she would produce a few of the cookies she had grabbed from her shop.

Holding it out for the creature, it would seem to ponder it for a moment before completely engulfing her hand. A tickling sensation would spread through her hand as it was inside of the slime. It almost felt like pop-rocks in your mouth. While her hand remained fine, the cookie was much worse off. Dissolved in seconds, the slime backed away taking a look at her. Then, it assaulted her pocket, grabbing the bag containing the rest of the cookies she had brought. "Hey! No, those are for Kura, leave them alone!" She pushed it away, but it was too late. The cookies were gone. "That wasn't nice! You might be cute, but you're rude!" And so, the girl got up and began to move away. 

Familiar Tamed

Blue skipped towards the exit but slowed to a stop after seeing an interesting looking NPC sitting at the gate. Adorning and odd fashion and having green hair was interesting enough, but butterflies seemed to just flutter around her. Stepping closer, Blue couldn't help but notice that she had a strange aroma. "Hey, who the heck are you? I'm Blueberry, but you can just call me Blue or Berry." The woman turned with a small smile. "Oh, just a woman who is in love with nature. Care to learn?" The woman offered her some strange food pellets. "Uh, no. That doesn't look tasty." Pressing the blue circle of whatever popped in front of her just then, Blue continued forward, song still shaking the air. 

Now, back to business. Where was Kura? Was he still hunting the same nepent or had he gotten bored and gone home? She wouldn't know until she looked right? It was there that she seen it. A small blue slime. 

LD: 6+1(Lantern) + 3 (Finding Ring)  + 3 (Food) + 2 (Song) = 15 Familiar Found

Grabbing and munching on a Palmier, blue quickly decided to change her clothes to become lighter. Keeping on her jacket, she would put away her pan and bracelets, and opt for a ring and lantern. Her eyesight seemed to enhance considerably doing so, capturing the less-obvious sounds and sights of Aincrad. What was she doing again? Oh yeah, she was hanging out with Kura. She had better get back down the first floor and see how he was doing with his hunting. Maybe he was hungry? She had better bring him some snacks too!

***

Returned to the first floor, the pink-haired girl skipped merrily through the streets, heading towards the outskirts of the amazingly large city. The largest city on Aincrad right? Taking up most of one of the largest floors available. It was probably like that so all the players could fit here when there was no other unlocked floors. Made sense to her at least. 

Switched Equipment to:
True-Light Lantern: +1 ACC, +1 LD, Negates Darkness | Does not count towards Caps
Finding Ring: +3 LD
Blue-Blazer: MIT II | EVA I

On her walk, Blue bulled out a small crystal that she had grabbed a while ago from the guild vault. The item had seemed to have sat there and gotten dusty. She was told that the item was to play songs, and Blue couldn't help but be interested. Now a sweet and soothing voice reverberated through the air, turning the heads of several nearby wild animals. Maybe they liked the song? Continuing her walk, Blue actually managed to get back to the city and to the teleport gate. The noise of the song caught onto the wind and made it almost seem like the wind was blowing to the beat of the song. Crazy what music does right?  

Teleporting back to Floor 11, she quickly shuffled through the streets and came to the small corner where her shop was located. Rummaging through the supplies, she grabbed the less-fresh desserts and added them to her inventory. 

-Used: Lemon Blueberry Palmier - 199440: +3 LD Food