Aquan

Aquarian began looking at the ground, focusing on the grass and weeds underneath his feet rather than the words that Chase was saying. He was hearing everything the man said, it just started to affect his demeanor. "I.... The most I have in the ways of combat is my sword. It has some enchantments on it that you get from beginning the game. Other than that I do not have anything for combat wise," he pauses, looking up at Chase, "If you do not wish to join me and Valentine on the quest that is okay. I understand that my lack of skill and experience can put you and others at a disadvantage." Idly, his hand was messing with a loose string while he was talking, but his face did not show much of being uncomfortable. "I'm willing to take point on the fight, considering it is only one monster, and hopefully it goes quick. If one of you two are willing to take the brunt of the damage, I should be alright." He sighs softly and looks at Valentine. "If you do not want to come along that is fine. I can always wait and come back when we all agree that I can actually do it." He looks a bit anxious at that comment.

While talking, he is slowly making is way out of the city with the group, going towards the destination of the quest to fight the monster.

Earning a Living: Cook
Crafted Item Eval

Link to Post: Here
ID: 177403 CD: 9
Materials Used: 1 Tier 1 Material Gathered from Earning a Living Thread
Crafted: Tier 1 Uncommon Snack: Loot Die Enchantment
Description: Berry Smoothie: A dark purple smoothie that tastes like raspberries and blueberries

► Loot Die
Cost: 1 Slot
Cap: 3 Slots
Effect: Gain +(1 per slot) to the LD. Effect lasts for one thread.
Applicable to: Snacks, Desserts

Aquan quickly accepted the Friend request and began reading over the information. There was a lot of game info and player info about the owner and the leaders of the guild, information that he would not know until he actually joined and began communicating with others in the guild. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he would fit in well with the guild. He hit accept anyways, knowing that in the long run the guild would help him out greatly with getting better in the game.

The pair arrived in town and Aquarian made a b-line for the kitchen. He quickly got through the beginning narration of cooking, but he was getting a bit nervous. His first crafting attempt did not make much of anything, and failed before it was completed. He sighed and began crafting another item. Luckily, this one came out better. It was a medium sized Blueberry and Raspberry smoothie. He beamed at Valentine and picked up the item and put it in his inventory. "Thank you Valentine! his is going to help a lot. I'll see you around? I will be requesting your help at a later date." He nodded and left the restaurant, now equipped with a shop.

ID: 177402 CD: 2
ID: 177403 CD: 9 [Uncommon Snack: +1 Loot Dice]

Mats: 5/5

Crafted Item: 1/1

Rewards:

Aquan:
3 SP (2 From Thread, 1 From Quest)
Cook Profession
Uncommon Snack: +1 Loot Dice
Standard Cook Shop
8 Tier 1 Crafting Materials (3 From Gathering, 5 From Quest)
200 Col

Valentine:
2 SP
200 Col

"That is true I suppose. I'm glad you hold happiness with this man instead of just depression." He nods, not really sure what else to say after that. Luckily Valentine began talking about the guild so he had an easy distraction. "Honestly," he began after Valentine was done talking, "I am interested in the guild. With gathering and crafting becoming more of my focus in this game, it would be nice to have that group to support me through it." He smiled and nodded again, signaling the end to that comment.

Aquarian wandered around for a moment, still scoping out the are for possible materials. Luckily for the both of them, he found one in a bush. This time it was a collection of raspberries. "Got the last one!" He called with his face in the shrubbery. He quickly pulled out the materials and put them into his inventory. "Well, with that done, time to move on to the crafting part of this quest chain. Shall we head back to town?" He smiled and already began walking to town.

ID: 177401 LD: 17 + 1 = 18 [1 Material

Mats: 5/5

Crafted Object: 0/1

Aquarian was starting to feel a bit out of his depth. While Valentine seemed to be under leveled in comparison to Chase, Aquarian was still leagues below Valentine. "I... Not much. And my name is Aquarian, but you can call me Aquan. I'm unfortunately still first level, but I am trying my best to work towards a higher level. I've been harassing Valentine every day to do quests with me, so I am working towards it. I can primarily do looting/ support things, but I will also be double dipping into DPS and status effect territory. I am focusing on support and looting right now so when I'm a decent way down that path I'll be switching over. I may..." He begins to ramble more about his build, his words slowly tapering off to the point where his ramblings are now in his mind.

After a moment of this, he comes back to the two of them. "So unfortunately, not much. Hopefully in the coming days that will change." He smiles and nods to Chase. "Now it seems like the two of you have done this quest before? I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I'm willing to take point in combat... as long as I have the two of you there as well." He looks a bit nervous, but not by much.

"Oh that's really interesting. I don't know much about the fantasy aspects of Dragons and that mythos, but Western dragons are really cool. I would have hoped for something a bit more.. Eastern? I don't know, that just sounds more interesting and entertaining." He shrugged and continued to walk with the man. It was nice to have someone not comment on his rambling, but to almost encourage it and continue to converse with his mental tyrants.

As the two came into viewing range of the dragon, Aquarian resisted the urge to run to it and study it. "Oh my God it is adorable. I'm glad I'm not fighting." He began to look over the dragon and make mental notes about what it could do, the weight, basically all the base biological information he could get from it. He stopped when Valentine unleashed his attack, never seeing someone deal that much damage to something. "Wow.." He muttered and saw the chunk of health leave the Dragon's health bar.

Aquarian's face drop as the man said he was in mourning. He never had to deal with much of that in his life. The only funeral he remembers was from when he was younger. His aunt passed away and he was flown half way across the world with his parents in order to attend the funeral. At the time he did not know what was going on, he was only 6 at the time, but he knows that loss can really affect someone. "I'm sorry for your loss, It's commendable that you were able to get through it and continue helping those around you." He places a hand on Valentine's right shoulder.

He smiled a bit and removed his hand from the man's shoulder, happy that he possibly made the right move in a social scene. He listened to what Valentine said and he nodded along about the guild. "Well, if the guild would be willing to have me, I do not see a reason why I shouldn't try and join. It would greatly help my growth and development in the long run. How many members are there in this guild?" He asks and cocks his head with the question. "And, is this guild primarily crafting? Or are there other things that they do?"

Editing

ID: 177396 LD: 1 + 1 = 2 [No Material]

Mats: 4/5

"Nice to meet you again, Calcifer the Knight." He nods and replicates the bow, but very awkwardly. He cocked his head in confusion at her surprise when he found a material component. "Yes I found something, this area is littered with items." He pauses to listen to what she is saying. "Skills in the wilderness? I did not know those existed. Do you just mean you're getting better at material gathering? Because I can understand that. So far I've had good luck with it, but no promises for how it will turn out in the future. Now I wonder if there could be a wilderness skill? I wonder what you could do it with, maybe track elusive monsters? Trap and hide better in the wilderness? Oh maybe.." His rambling slowly gets quiet as his words go mostly inwards as his thoughts.

When the mention of help and services, Aquarian snapped out of it. "Actually I'm doing something similar to what you're doing. I was given a quest to go hunting for materials to give it back to someone. Strangely it is the same as the Earning a Living quest, just with a different guy. Have you taken that quest?"

ID: 177392 LD: 5 + 1 = 6 [No Material]

Mats: 1/5

He nodded along to what the man was saying. "Okay, so materials are sort of universal. That's nice. Makes it easier for resource transfer. I'm hoping my cooked item works out well. I'm not sure what buffs I want to put on it, but whatever it is, I will definitely be needing it. What did you create for your first item? I'm not sure what items you can create as a performer, but I'm assuming they can directly affect players and also the monsters that hear them as well. I wonder what kind of sound the songs would be. Would it be traditional medieval music or... I'm rambling aren't I? I normally don't catch myself rambling. Just how my brain works." He blushed, something that was rare for him to do. "And I don't know much about crafting guilds. I know they exist in other games, but I didn't know they existed in this one. I definitely wouldn't be opposed to being apart of a crafting guild. I'm not sure exactly how much help I could be at my level right now. I mean I could definitely work my way up to a suitable level... I'm beginning to ramble again, Jesus." He laughed a little.

ID: 177356 LD: 9 + 1 = 10 [No Material]

Mats: 4/5

Aquarian offered a small wave as well to the man as he approached. "No worries Valentine. I was only waiting about 5 minutes. I appreciate the help you are offering. I know I can only do so much. I also sent a message to the rest of the guild. Perhaps we will get more than just the two of us?" He paused and nodded, the conversation kind of drying up for a moment. "What were you tracking? If you do not mind me asking as all. I didn't know tracking was a part of this game. I know hunting and gathering obliviously are, but beyond that I am not that experienced. I wonder if you could become a trapper and hunt livestock. That would be interesting, of course you would have to create your traps, get the supplies for them, and hope your animals will run over said traps. You could create metal ones, but that sounds...." His ramblings continued as he thought to himself about how you could do a trapping profession in SAO.

He looked over to see a third member of their group show up, someone he thought was a stranger, but was apart of the guild. He noticed a small nod from the man and he nodded back, hoping that was the best response to that. "Are you here to help?"

"Well here I go.. Again." Aquarian muttered to himself and walked out into the woods. He had seen a lot of this floor so far. He had worked on a couple of quests, and even met some strangers while getting chased by the wild boar. All in all, he liked this floor because it was safe and it seemed easy for him to find materials. Thus, when he received the quest from Zachariah to find 5 materials and bring them back to craft, he felt like he had already done that.. because he had. "This quest seems very similar to the earning a living quest I worked on with Valentine a little while ago. That's strange, huh. I wonder why the game created two similar quests both to teach the players how to gather and craft. It would make sense if the tutorial just had you gathering materials instead of also crafting with them. Maybe this will be a bit different? I'm not positive as to how it could be, but there is a big chance that it is. Maybe we are suppose..." And he was lost in his own little world again, not really paying attention to much other than his thoughts.

After a moment he spotted a young girl, recognizing her as one of the people who were running from the boar. He walked over to her and offered a small wave. "Hello, not sure if you remember me. I saw you running from the small boar in the woods near here a bit ago? I'm Aquarian. Are you looking for materials too?" He cocked his head when he asked the question, idly reaching down and picking a material off of the ground and putting it into his inventory.

ID: 177355 LD: 13 + 1 = 14 [1 Material]

Mats: 1/5

@Calcifer

Aquarian could not help but smile a bit and offer a wave when he saw Valentine approaching him to offer his help. "Hey! It's been... like a day?" He smiled a bit brighter and walked up to the man. "Thank you for taking time out of your day to help me. I haven't done a whole lot since we saw each other so my level is not high enough to even think about soloing this monster. Let alone a dragon. I wonder what kind of dragon it is... Could be based around the Chinese and Japanese mythology. Possibly follow the DnD mythology..." And again he was lost in his head, theory crafting what type of dragon it is and what it could do based on what it is based around.

After a moment he came back to reality. "So, you ready to go? I'm ready to stand back and let you handle it. Also, what have you been up to lately? After our last quest together I haven't done much. Hoping to find more people to hang out with other than just you." He paused, thinking over his words for the first time in forever. "Not saying you are bad company, but only having one person to hang out with constantly is not the best thing in the world."

He nodded and began walking away from the area, towards a different part of the forest. He felt his eyes cataloging the vegetation around him. He was wondering what species of tree they could be. What shade their leaves turn, and the amount of water the trees usually take in order to stay alive. After at least a good minute or two of his mind rapidly running around trying to figure out the species, he decided to come back to the game.

He nodded along to what Valentine was saying, taking his own moment to think about what he might do for his build. "I think I'm going to go Support/ DPS. My entire skill set back in the real world came from going out into nature and the world, gathering and documenting things, and bringing back whatever I can find. So I think I'll stick with looting and material gathering, hopefully that means I can become and asset to myself and also other people who do crafting. I'm not sure how easily cooking materials will transfer to other professions thought. Maybe it could..." He was then lost in his head again.

After a moment of silent contemplation, he rummaged through some patches of grass, finding a couple mushrooms that counted as a material. "I got another one! Just need one more right? Then we can head back and I can cook?" He looked at Valentine for an answer.

Aquarian yawned a bit as he explored the First Floor. He had grown accustom to exploring to first floor and enjoying the nature that surrounded him. He already felt pretty at ease on this floor with the multiple outings he has had on this floor.

Recently he heard about a possible boss that was on this floor. That greatly intrigued him because there was a big chance for some experience, but he was also excited to see what the game considered a major boss. He knew dragons and other creature were going to exist, but what kind and what mythology they may depict is a whole other story. "But who do I even ask?" His hand was already going towards his friends list. He felt bad for asking Valentine every time he needed help with something, but he knew that Valentine probably would be the only person who could easily come to his aid and help him out. Aquarian quickly sent a message and walked towards the center of town.

"Well... Now what." He muttered to himself as he walked around the second floor. He had already started to break his way out of the "newbie" world that he had been stuck in for a while, but it was still taking him some time to keep his bearings in Aincrad. He decided to give the third floor a try in exploration. If for anything, it was nice to walk around and see different floors. 

This time, he ran into a couple NPCs that might be able to give him something to do. He wandered into a shop where a couple began discussing different types of armor and needing materials for it. He smiled and accepted the quest immediately, hoping to get things that could help protect him in the long run. "Even if I don't use it for long, it can at least help me get a few levels up." He shrugs and leaves the shop, looking around the city and taking the sights in. He paused and looked around, realizing that this was going to be combat. "I should ask for some help." He wondered for a moment about who he could ask, scrolling through his almost empty friends list. He clicked on Valentine and decided to send a message to him, asking for help.

A minute later, worrying that he may not answer, he decided to message his guild as a whole, seeking for some help from the guild. Hopefully someone will answer.

Aquarian nods as he listens to the man talk about his profession and what takes part in it. His eyes opened a bit wider when he mentioned getting a lyre from a Greed God. Okay.. A lot more fantasy than I expected. He also gained a small smile as Valentine talked about putting their hearts and experience into the music and songs they create for the players to use, reminding him slightly of his parents talking about their work.

He lost his smile a bit when Valentine mentioned the crafting portion of the quest. He expected to cook and create something through the quest. The only real problem to that is, well, he did not know how to cook in this game. While that was obviously what the quest was for, the system in which the game would do cooking is something he was a tad nervous about learning. He shook his head a little and looked at Valentine. "I think maybe this area is picked clean, shall we go to a new area to look?" He cocked his head and looked at the man. "Also, what kind of build have you created for yourself? I can not tell by just looking at you."

ID: 177349 LD: 10 + 1 = 11 [No Material]

Mats: 3/5

Falling back into Valentine's arms made him blush just a little. It was a very foreign sensation for him. Back in the real world he had never had a romantic relationship with anyone. While he was aware of his homosexuality, he was never able to explore a relationship with a man.

Just as quickly as that new sensation washed over him, it was gone. He felt himself get dropped and he nodded to Valentine, looking around the forest. "I don't see how finding crystals around a lake would help you perform better. I feel like you would have to write sheet music or find instruments. The sheet music would be a tad bit difficult because the game would then have to register what sheet music is and go into the system and record each and every piece of music that is created by the music. Not to mention all the instruments.." He began to trail off again as he continued to search for the elusive materials.

Well they were not as elusive as he expected. Aquarian held up a small bundle of Basil, entering it into his inventory. "Wow, you really know you way around the forest. Even if you didn't do this quest, I'm already 60% done with this quest." He smiled at the man.

ID: 177306 LD: 17 + 1 = 18 [1 Mat Gathered]

Mats: 3/5

Aquarian was quickly making his way closer into town when he spotted more players confused. Running for shelter, running for others, or running out of the city. He decided to make his way to the plaza, hoping someone can give some sort of idea. The black tar-like rain continued to fall on the cobbled paths of the city. Aquarian wiped some from his brow and flung it on the ground, this foreign creation of nature making him very uncomfortable.

His eyes darted up when he saw someone he recognized, Valentine. The man who brought him into the guild and also helped him with some early adventuring. "Valentine! Hey!" He called to the man, running up to him. He held a bag over his head to block some of the rain. "This is not natural right? Rain is clear, blue, and sometimes acidic. Do you have any idea what is going on?" He looks at the higher-leveled player with intense worry on his face, looking around the panicked town square. "Should we head for a different floor?" He asked the man another question.

"Oh you're a performer? That is surprising. You seem more like a tailor or a blacksmith. And a combat ukulele would be interesting, not sure about the practical aspects though. I mean if it was metal studded.." He began to trail off thinking about what you could do with a ukulele like that, his mind and his mouth both rambling.

After a few seconds he comes back from his mental tangent. "I mostly picked cook because I was taught how to cook with a lot of foreign ingredients. I'm not sure how mystical a lot of these items will be, but I decided. 'Hey, why not.' Even though I cook with things that are across the globe." He rambled a bit more as the two of them approached a tree. At the mention of eggs, he felt a bit bad. "Eggs? From a nest? Wouldn't the bird be upset?" He paused, "Well this is a game... I guess." He frowned a little and accepted Valentine's help. He put his foot in the man's hands and pushed off of them, looking into the tree. He turned slowly and spotted a couple eggs. "I'm sorry." He muttered and plucked them from the nest, the material icon appearing as he entered them into his inventory. "Okay, I have collected 2 of 5."

ID: 177304 LD: 18+1 = 19 [1 Material Found]

Mats: 2/5

"Thank you Valen- Val! I apologize if I call you by your full name. I'm used to using scientific terms for, well, everything!" He smiles at the man and looks around a bit while listening to the man. Valentine mentions he took a different quest and he starts to study the man, wondering what profession he took. He was not aware of many of the professions so it was difficult to really put his finger on what he could be.

His eyes lit up a bit at the mention of looking for fruits, vegetables, and plants that he might be looking for out here. This is perfect! This is literally what I did in the real world! Maybe this wont be so bad. His smile carries over from his thoughts. "Perfect! I am a Horticulturist by trade so this shouldn't be too bad." At the mention of a bush he quickly went towards it, beginning to rummage through it. "Now I wonder if the same properties of blueberry plants carry over into Ain- found it!" Aquarian raised up his arm from the bush, holding a piece of a fruit with a material tag on it. "I wonder why the cook couldn't do this, it is very easy." He thought out loud, not really talking to anyone in particular. "So Valentine.... Val. Where to next? Also, what do you do?"

ID: 177295 LD: 19+1= 20 [1 Mat Found

Mats: 1/5

[+1 to the LD roll from Searching Rank 1]

Aquarian was spacing out slightly, staring at some insects, wondering if the bees had different species here in Aincrad. He was jolted from his analysis when he received the message from Valentine. He gained a small smile as he slowly got up, looking at the coordinates and putting it into his map. "Okay... Time to meet someone new! Hopefully this works out well." He smiles and sets off to meet his soon-to-be Adventuring partner.

Aquarian showed up to the spot and looked around, spotting Valentine quickly. "Hi Sir! I'm Aquarian but you can call me Aquan." He offers a warm smile and extends a hand for him to shake. "I just need to get 5 material, so this should not take long. You seem a little bit stronger than me so I'm assuming that you have done this quest before? If not that would be a bit strange considering it's one of the first quests you are told to do... Anyways, shall we get started?" Aquarian does not seemed phased at all by his rambling.

@Valentine

Aquarian could feel himself begin to get nervous about the changing of day to night. He knew that he was bottom of the barrel when it came to level and ability, so being caught out here alone could mean the end of him. That pin prick of fear began to grow in his chest and before long, he was fast walking around the woods, trying to find his way back to town. Did I turn here? No.... I saw a sunflower and went towards that instead.... Wait was there a squirrel around here I was talking to? Of course it's gone, it's a NPC animal.... Was still nice to talk to him though. He quickly lost his way.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily depending on the view point, he ran into some other people. First of which was a young girl plowing through the woods. She seemed very panicked. After her came another woman, looking both panicked and on the hunt for vengeance. "Huh, Ma'ams are you-" The snort of a boar cut him off. "Oh a Sus Scrofa! I haven't seen one of you since I've been here. You're so-" Another snort came from the wild boar, kicking at the dirt, then charging at him. "Oh no." 

Aquarian soon joined the two other women in running, his panicked faces mimicking theirs. His eyes fell upon a man and a strange creature, which made him halt for a moment. "What are you!?" He bent down and looked at the small shark-esque creature. "I knew there would be fantasy creatures but- oh right I'm running. Hello sir." He looked up and waved to the stranger before running again, almost tackling a lady in the process. "So many people. Hi, Hello. There's something chasing me and two other women. Goodbye." He sets off running again.

@Calcifer

"Oh Dear, I'm lost." Aquarian's eyes darted from tree to tree, unsure of which one he studied and which one he just passed. While he is usually very attentive and able when it comes to finding his way, today was definitely an exception to that rule. He blinked and looked around the forest and just decided to sit down. "I wont find my way any easier if I'm running around blindly." He muttered and looked up into the canopy, something his parents taught him to do at a young age.

He tried his best to study which leaves went to what tree, and what tree they could be best depicting from the real world into this virtual reality. He picked up some leaves around him and started to study them. He looked over the plant's vein like structure in the leaf to move nutrients around. He was lost in his own little world for a while.... a long time. By the time he noticed the daylight fading, he was already comparing multiple leaves and trying to see which leaf went to what type of tree. "Oh... It's dark. Oh dear." He muttered and stood up, wiping the dirt off of his butt.

@Minako@Calcifer@Vandrin@Kimi

Aquarian finally decided to explore some of the other floors other than Floor 1 and Floor 22. He picked on the 7th floor because it did not seem threatening enough luckily. "Okay, now what to do." He muttered to himself, looking around the expanse of the city. He began walking towards the town edge when he looked up to see a storm starting to roll in. He smiled softly to himself, excited for the idea of some rain and to see the environment in a wetter climate. 

However, when the ink-like rain began to fall upon his arms, he quickly high tailed it back to the city center. His eyes darted to the other people who looked just as, or more so concerned than he was. Everyone was starting to come together in the city center, talking amongst themselves about what is going on. He looked to see if he recognized anyone from his guild or the few friends he has made, but unfortunately he was not seeing many people just yet.

Aquarian is startled by the message he received on his screen. Being in a guild was very new to him. Valentine invited him to the guild only a few days prior and he had not thought much about it since then. However, the notification on his HUD screen made him consider going. On one hand, I only know Valentine and it would be strange for me to just show up without him, especially because I do not believe he has mentioned that he invited me to the guild. However.. I can meet people! I can make friends!

Aquarian's Golden Retriever-like brain won out when he thought about making friends. He packed up anything he had on him, which was not much, and started his way towards the 22nd floor. He had not gone up this high before in Aincrad yet. He has only really been on the first floor and even then he has not explored much. He called out the floor on the teleportation pad and felt a soft amount of anxiety growing in his stomach, but he pushed it away. 

"Wait... I haven't even met Freyd!" He complains quietly outloud. How am I going to find him... I guess I'll just wander and- wait the Guild hall is on the map. He sets off for the guild hall. Aquarian comes to the large structure and the anxiety peaks a bit before he enters in a small room. "Hello? I'm here for the meeting? I'm new so.... Yeah. Hello?" He calls out into the guild hall.