[PP-F1] The Clouds are My Boat (Esper)

[Kasier 0]

“Alright then, if we are going to go material gathering, I suggest we get started now. Time is flying by as we speak and there is no time to waste. Bring your coffee if you want to but let’s head out now. In terms of a good material gathering location, I suggest going to the dark forest because there are a lot of apples scattered there and lots of players are really afraid of going there. Be careful to only stay on the outskirts when we do the material gathering there because going deep inside the forest is really dangerous due to the amount of mobs that inhabit the area within the forest.” Kasier said.

Sure, if they had a strong damage dealer, than such an issue would not exist. However, since both her and Esper were extremely weak on the damage sense, they would probably be unable to do so. With a sigh, she waited while Esper finished off the coffee that almost matched her skin tone before standing up, waving to the waitress and the chef as a symbol for her gratitude before walking out of the door into the bright sunlight that immediately blinded her, causing her to cover her eyes with her hand, providing shade for her eyes.

Along the way, Kasier remembered something important. Sure, the guild hadn’t been created yet but it was still a suitable time for her to approach and maybe even recruit a few members for the upcoming guild that she would join. Indeed, this will be the new big thing and they would need as many members as they can. Ever since the break of Azure Brigade, there hasn’t really been a standout guild… Now, there will be, and it will be a guild by the name of Twilight Spectrum. “Oh, by the way, have you been planning on joining a guild early?” She asked, looking ahead as she led the way.

[Esper 0]

"I understand! Going into the forest is suicide without the right level and statistics. I trust you'll guide me in the right direction." Esper seemed to recognize the maneuvers when it came to being cautious, but yet, she still felt something strange on the inside. Maybe it was just because of the talk concerning PK'ers. The more she tried to rid herself of the thought, the more obvious it became that it would stay even longer. Thus, she was forced to accept it, and leave it aside. After all, she was being asked another question. 

"A guild? Oh, well, see, I haven't even gotten that far yet, so I guess that hasn't been a priority of mine.....But it does sound interesting, and I'd like to make a few friends. Always better to have teammates when you need them, than, well, you know." For a second, Es pondered on the single possibility of joining a guild. Alas, she didn't like to assume, so she kept it to herself, and waited for more detail. It could've been an innocent question, after all.

[Kasier 0]

Soon, Kasier had arrived at the <<Black Forest>> and so had Esper behind her. She remembered how much the place spooked her out in the beginning of the game and to this date, it still sort of date. However, she was now unafraid to go inside, unafraid to seek out of adventures within the mysterious forest that so many low-leveled players had died in. She had sworn to never die within that forest and she had fulfilled her promise to herself. Now, she was leading someone else to it, into the dark forest that she had feared since the first day of the game. Perhaps it was symbolic that now, she felt free to go inside at will.

“Well, if you are interested, a couple of friends and I have been thinking of starting a guild. We’re all from level ten to level twenty, the highest level being level eighteen, I think. Currently, we have two scouts, one healer, and one tank. The tank is definitely higher leveled than you so I believe he’d be willing to teach you a bit about tanking. Although the guild hasn’t been set up yet, it’s going to be soon. I’ll just ask you right now if you want to join the guild. I won’t rush you for an answer so I will let you think about it clearly before giving me an answer.” Kasier said, completely serious about the question.

Soon, after walking into the outskirts of the first floor, she looked up to see that there were quite a bit of apples that she can simply jump up and obtain. However, since Esper was newer than her, she’ll just observe her do it for now. She knew that nothing in this game is as simple as it appears to be, and this includes picking apples from trees that aren’t even that tall. “Okay, so, see if you can find a good apple and then pick it out of the tree. If you do it successfully, then the apple is yours.” Kasier said.

(Roll Dice and see what if you for LD. If it’s >15 then you get the material. Be sure to link the dice to the actual post instead of the whole thread.)

[Esper 0]

Esper listening carefully to Kasier's words. About a guild, and the tank that was much higher in level and experience than her. It was definitely awestriking. The thought of learning from someone, hand-to-hand what it took to become something she aspired to be, was as cool as having a teacher instruct her in the real world. She loved to learn in school, soaking in knowledge like a computer. This could be quite similar. "A guild....I mean, I'm nowhere near level ten yet, so I'd most likely hold you guys down, at least for a while. Once I understand how to do things in this game, or rather, survive, I'd love to. But as of now, I don't think joining would be a good idea, on your guys' part. I'll think about it, like you said, though." It was a lot to soak in, for sure. Guilds had rules and conducts, and requirements, from what she understood. They varied greatly between individual guilds, yes, but this alone was a subject that she wasn't pursuing, or didn't plan to pursue yet. 

The apple tree that they met wasn't too tall, and Esper nodded in affirmation as Kasier pointed her in the right direction, and told her how to do it. "All right, let's see....This one." She said, attempting to pick the first apple she saw. As soon as she put her fingers around it's base, and pulled it from the tree, it materialized, and disappeared, nothing more. "I think that one was a failure, yes? Should we try again, then?"

ID# 66107 results:

LD: 8

Edited August 17, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

ID: 66108
LD: 11 @Esper

Kasier nodded, the girl had made it clear that it was not of her best interest to join a guild at the moment. However, Kasier would make one more push before giving up and if it works, great. If it doesn’t so be it. If someone doesn’t want to do something, there is no point in forcing her to do so. “Well, our guild is mainly revolved around leveling up and helping lower-leveled players as well as take them to dungeons so they can speed up progression. Of course, if you don’t want to join, I wouldn’t force you to do so, just remember, you are welcome at all times to join our guild.” Kasier said, smiling.

For now, she would focus on material gathering as well. She, too, needed some new gear for her own build since she had yet to complete it as well. With a smile, she nodded again, “Yup, gathering materials can be really challenging.” She said, reaching up for an apple of her own. This one had been just a bit higher than the apple that Esper had went for. Kasier smirked, reaching up and jumping but in the end, she had failed to grasp the apple completely and she had failed.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Kasier

[Esper 0]

"I think I understand what you're saying. And I can't deny my interest for leveling up, and dungeons sound as interesting as it does terrifying. I'm a starter player, so joining a guild really should be one of my priorities, if you think about it. Like you said before..." She ended her sentence here, as she reached for the next apple within range. It met her palm, fitting just neatly as it touched her hand. She pulled, and the apple came with it. A small notification informed her of the receiving of the apple, and she dismissed it without hardly a glance. "Lower level players are most susceptible to death....Huh, a perfect success. Maybe my luck isn't terrible after all." Her eyes averted back to the girl, but then to the tree again. "I'll join your guild, when it's made, of course. And for what it's worth, we'll be seeing each other more often then. I have a debt to pay too, so don't go running off on me." She voiced this with a short chuckle, soft, and barely audible. But her look changed. She seemed at ease, like she was talking to a close friend in the real world, in her room. She remembered how that was, the comfort of home. Maybe she would find something close. The guild, perhaps.

ID# 66109 results: LD: 20

+1 MAT

Edited August 18, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

ID: 66141
LD: 3 @Esper

Kasier smiled as she realized that the woman no longer spoke with her with a hostile tone of voice. Indeed, it appeared that Kasier had managed to find favor in the girl’s sight. She had also managed to convince the girl that joining a guild wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because it surely helps the player with progression. Leveling up was not something that could happen in one day no matter how hard you work. Becoming high leveled consists of lots and lots of different training sessions compiled in order to help with the increase of a player’s skill and allow him or her to gain experience in the mean time. Sure, joining a guild does not guarantee immediately results, but with a guild such as the Twilight Spectrum, results will be seen as long as one participates in the guild quests and tasks that are open to all levels. "Ok, I'll message you once the guild is set up."

Kasier nodded once more as she saw that Esper had managed to obtain an apple and hence, she had obtained a material. With a smirk, she began to speak, “See what I mean about this game mainly being about luck? A low-leveled player can find a material but a player that’s a level of me might struggle to get the same material.” Kasier said, “It’s kind of like the saying in real life, ‘Being at the right place at the right time.’” She referenced, looking around to see if there were more apples that were available for her to simply grab out of a tree and put into her inventory as a material. Soon enough, though, she realized that there were nothing of her reach in the area. “Let’s go over there.” Kasier said, pointing to the east side of the forest. There might be more materials in that area.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Kasier

[Esper 0]

"The right place at the right time. Yeah, I've heard that term before. It applies, it seems. Luck is a horrible thing to rely on, though. That's why this game is unfair at the start, I suppose." Esper acknowledged her command without words, only nodding once, lowering off of her tippy toes, since she was trying to see if she could reach just one more. Unfortunately, she was just slightly higher than five feet, so being short definitely wasn't paying off at a time like this. No matter though, she thought, since she was following the taller girl. Unlike herself, she knew what she was doing. Esper quietly traced Kasier's path, her arms folding flat against her chest as she found little to nothing else to occupy them with. "......................" 

Though she spoke little, her mind was in fact quick at work, but this was normal. Already I've made an acquaintance or two. I'll join their guild, and we'll grow stronger together. I'm only just starting, but I have a good feeling about my future here, with these people. The good ones, that work as a team, that help others so to be helped in return. Of course, this is only a partial example of what it should be. But with time, I think things will change. I'll change too.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

ID: 66161
LD: 10 @Esper

Kasier smiled when she saw that the area was in fact, swarmed with apples. Here, there should be plenty of materials and if they were to spend the rest of the day here, there was no doubt that they would be able to get enough materials. Kasier, honestly, had no need at all for materials at the moment considering the fact that she had more than fifty stored in her inventory at the moment. She had stored so many materials in order to purchase a lot more equipment. Col is really hard to obtain for a healer so Kasier naturally had to resort to the use of materials when she had enough to purchase a piece of gear.

With a sigh, Kasier looked up to see an apple there, waiting for her to pick. She then extended her body as far as it can go to hopefully grab it but she was unable to do so in the end. With a sadder sigh this time, Kasier began to speak, “Yup, so, are you going to start a shop already? Or are you just going to use these materials to buy yourself some equipment?” She asked, looking around once more.

(Be careful of the minimum 150 words per post rule)

Edited August 18, 2016 by Kasier

[Esper 0]

Esper followed Kasier nimbly, hardly keeping a wide distance between the two. It was, in fact, in her best interest to stick close, and getting lost would only double the danger she'd be in without someone. But she listened in on the question, drawing her answer out of the correct response. "No, I don't plan on opening a shop yet. Perhaps I might, but before all that, I want to gather materials for the purpose of barter. Y'know, it's probably easier to gather these materials right now than it would be for me to harvest col from mobs and such. I couldn't even kill a boar as of the moment." She muttered a soft laugh, scratching the back of her head meekly. "Besides, I've heard there'll be some RGKs coming up, and I'll probably be taking one of those, along with an acquaintance of mine. That should throw my level up a little, and maybe I can get some good amounts of col. Maybe a special item, who knows?" 

Being shorter than Kasier, Esper was only able to reach a lower apple due to jumping up, and just barely grabbing hold. Now, due to the game processing her success or failure, the apple would not drop, effectively suspending her a foot or two in the air for a moment. Unfortunately, as she expected, she lost grip of the apple, and thus the gathering resulted in a failure. "Grr....."

ID# 66168 results: LD: 6 = Failure

No Materials Gained

Edited August 18, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

Kasier smiled as she watched Esper reaching up for an apple. She had noticed the girl’s considerable short difference from her and well; the girl’s height wasn’t exactly helping her with reaching for apples. What was suitable for Kasier to try and obtain might not be as easy for Esper to do the same. She should’ve known this when she chose the area that she had wanted to search materials in. In the end, though, Kasier had made a mistake and in all honesty, she had no desire to move due to her laziness. There were plenty of apples lying on the ground and some of them were good to use as materials.

“I think you mean RGQ’s. I just call them randomly generated quests. But, you can’t really rely on them since they are ‘randomly’ generated. If you are lucky to get one, you should probably go for it but don’t expect to find a randomly generated quest every day. They do help you with level progress though. Oh, by the way, feel free to grab apples that had fallen to the ground if you can’t reach the ones on the trees. A lot of the ones on the ground are actually surprisingly usable as materials.”

Edited August 19, 2016 by Kasier

[Esper 0]

Esper's eyes widened slightly as she spoke, making the point that RGKs were in fact actually RGQs. An innocent mistake on her part. Her memory really was out of whack... "Oh..Is that so?" With her error corrected, she exchanged a short giggle, bonking her head with a closed fist, but only gently. "I can be so forgetful sometimes. My mind doesn't do well with recollection lately, so it seems. But I understand what you mean." While hearing her recommendation about the apples on the floor, she chose to spare the verbal reply, instead crouching, one knee touching the ground. "Like a lot of things in this game, you can't really rely on random quests, hence the term given to it. So other things are relevant to the purpose of leveling up, and getting stronger, blah blah blah~"

Esper picked up apple after apple, tossing the ones she saw unfit to the side without a mere second glance. She thought about them for a little while, in the process. If unusable materials were, well, unusable, then why haven't they shattered yet? Is it just the state between it's decay, where it's simply awaiting its end? Likely. "Ah, what about this one..." While it suffered minor bruises due to its collision with the ground, the apple was fine. Thus, Esper accepted the item, submitting it into her inventory with a little chime, indicating that she did so. "That's a success. Phew."

ID# 66182 results: LD: 17 = Success!

+1 MAT

Edited August 19, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

ID: 66198
LD: 18 @Esper

All this material gathering remind Kasier of the endless days that she had spent doing material gathering and only material gathering. Those days had been stressful and she really didn’t appreciate it. However, all hard work pays off and now, she had about fifty materials from doing <<Earning a Living>> multiple times as well as gather materials all day when she first became active. In fact, most of her experience probably came from repeated completion of <<Earning a Living>>. For a healer, the best method for doing material gathering is to repeat <<Earning a Living>>.

With a sigh, she began to speak, “Geez. You have such good luck in comparison to me. By the way, if you are looking for a way to get good materials in no time, you should complete <<Earning a Living>>. It’s a repeatable quest and upon completion, you actually get materials as a reward. The first time that you complete the quest also grants you a profession. Yeah, I did that quest a whole lot when I first became an active healer.” She said. For her, she couldn’t do any combat in material gathering but doing non-combat material gathering hadn’t been that bad either. With a smile, she arose and grabbed onto an apple, tugging it down and claiming it as her own. “Yup, looks like I got one as well.”

+1 Materia

Edited August 19, 2016 by Kasier

[Esper 0]

While listening to Kasier, Esper rummaged through the apples on the ground, seemingly more and more disappointed by the apple. She had little to say for the moment, so she kept silent while she thought. It definitely was convenient to get materials as a reward. She would have wished she knew about that earlier, she'd have started it then. But since that wasn't the case, she valued the knowledge, and nodded once. "That definitely sounds useful. I'll get on the quest as soon as I can. Having a profession isn't my priority, but I'd enjoy getting it on the side, just to avoid having to do it on another occasion. It's like hitting two birds with one stone. But how much material do you get upon completion, exactly? And once you've beat it, do the rewards decrease after the initial clear?" She saw these as valuable, and rather critical questions, since she considered that once you got the profession of choice, and you wanted to clear the quest again, it would be a little odd to get another profession ontop of the one attained previously. Unless of course, it was to replace one profession with the other. Still so, the question begged an answer. Her knowledge was limited in the subject, anyhow.

ID# 66203 results: LD: 4 = Failure

No Materials Found

Edited August 19, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

ID: 66214
LD: 11

Kasier smiled. The girl was asking questions just like how she had expected Esper to react. The dark-skinned girl had proven to be very curious, and intellectual. Her intelligence of random facts was probably enough to make Kasier very jealous. However, Kasier had been more active in this game than the girl had been so far and hence, she knew a lot more information regarding the secrets within this game. Her eyes looked at Esper as she went ahead and looked at the ground for apples. It was a lot easier to sort through them but basically, it was more challenging to find something on the ground that is actually usable as a material.

Kasier opened her mouth in order to begin her answers to the question that she had asked her. “Ok, well. The rewards that you get from the quest are random. Basically, you need to be lucky in order to get the materials upon completion. At least that was what I thought. I remembered it being very lucky for me. The first time I completed it, I got thirteen materials, the second time resulted in eleven materials. But yeah, just pray that you get super lucky and get a load of materials. I think you can get from one material up to twenty if you are lucky.” She finished, jumping up to get one more apple but the result was only failure for her.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Kasier

[Esper 0]

"Hah, one to twenty, huh? Let's hope my luck isn't too horrible. Kayaba'll be getting a hell of a complaint if I get one lousy material." Once more, a smile would seize Esper's lips. She couldn't help it, and she hardly knew why. It wasn't exactly the statement that made her smile, or even the topic. She was just, happy. She was going to get through this game, and she knew exactly how. It wasn't about surviving, after all. It was about living. She had a friend to thank for this realization. And live she would, with friends to protect. Going home alone would never do, even if she had such a chance. Betrayal was in fact one of the worst things one could do. Especially now, when choices were critical.

"So just to keep our chat interesting, let's talk about something else, yeah? Something less focused on the game's luck. I think I understand how miserable it is by now. I'll let you pick the topic. It'll be fun, promise." Her words came off with a purr, as her smile grew just a little wider. She'd been thirsting for a chat that made her feel normal again. All the talk about the game was overbearing, and almost annoying. She needed time to balance out the odd ends. Too much information in one day would effectively drive her up a wall. Of course, you'd never hear her use this metaphor. She might say that driving up a wall is a strange thing to do. But as she waited on Kasier, Esper found a clean, preserved apple, and pocketed it without a word.

ID# 66218 results: LD: 17 = Success!

+1 MAT

Edited August 20, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

ID: 66224
LD: 1

“Haha, I guess I have been blabbering on way too much about the game’s luck huh. Well, I guess I’ll change to a random topic. What’s your most favorite thing that you have seen in this game so far? The scenery? The Details? What do you like so far into being active in this game?” Kasier said. She had been hoping to ask the question. In fact, she had practically asked the same question to lots of different players but each of them had given her a different answer. And each time that she was asked this question, she always answered the question with a different answer of her own.

“For me, I think the sky is my favorite part. Lots of times when I go out for material gathering, I would find myself lying on the ground with my hand beneath my head and my hair spread out freely on the ground. Sometimes, I wish that I would be able to fly around freely as well. Fly all the way to the sky where freedom is not restricted and ride on the clouds. Sometimes, I would imagine that the sky is the sea,”

Kasier stopped speaking as she realized that there was an apple on a tree that she can pick easily. With a smile, she went up and grabbed it only to realize that the other half of the apple was rotten, making it invalid as a material.

“Sometimes, I would imagine that the clouds are my boat.”

[Esper 0]

Esper listened to her answer with a good amount of interest, seeing as she liked other's opinions. And while she might not have understood the 'clouds being her boat' part, she clearly considered the rest. She herself wished that she could touch the highest reaches of the sky. It was an untouched beauty here, where the air was no man's sky. Pristine and pure. "The sky is probably the most interesting thing I've ever laid eyes on. It's the barrier between us, and the rest of the universe and it's inhabitants. But the sky alone isn't what I like most about this game so far. It's the stars. I've studied the stars in the real world for three years, I know where every constellation will show, where it will move within years, and so on. The nebulae, the planets that shine amidst the delicate pearls dotting the world. And sometimes, I look to the stars, and imagine that my parents are looking down on me. Watching me live, because that's what I promised I'd do..." Esper eventually stopped looking through the apples, instead looking over to Kasier, an innocent smirk traced across her lips. "But I guess thats why I like these stars. There aren't any constellations that I can make out. It's all new, and it gives me the ooportunity to make constellations of my own." Her response had led her to distraction, and thus she searched rather little, yielding no results in terms of materials gained.

ID# 66231 results: LD: 3 = Failure

No Materials Found

Edited August 20, 2016 by Esper

[Kasier 0]

ID: 66232
LD: 5

Kasier’s red, amber eyes stared straight ahead once as she listened to the girl’s speech. It seemed that the girl’s parents had passed away, moved on to the next life and left her in this world. Kasier didn’t want to enquire about the details. Death wasn’t something that should be asked about. Of course, the girl hadn’t directed said that her parents had passed away but when Esper said that she imagined her parents looking down on her from the sky, she had naturally assumed that her parents had moved on. With a sigh, she walked on; this only made her realize that there were people who were a lot less fortunate than her.

“Geez. The conversation has taken quite a turn, hasn’t it?” She said, rubbing her eyes in tiredness. She hadn’t spent such a long time doing material gathering in quite a while and now, she found it quite tiring for her to get material gathering done effectively. Once more, she looked around, hoping that there were easy materials waiting for her to pick out of the trees. Her eyes scanned around the surrounding area and when she saw that there was indeed an apple hanging off a tree, she went for it. However, like usual, she had failed to place a firm grip on it when she jumped. As a result, she had failed to obtain the material.

“Well, it’s been a good day and nice talking to you, Esper. Here, let me add you to my friend’s list so I can contact you when need be. I’ll be sure to inform you when the guild starts so keep an eye on your private messages ok?” She exclaimed, opening her menu, clicking on a few buttons and finally sending out the friend request for Esper to accept. “For now, though, I feel quite tired. I should head back now. Do you have a place to stay the night?”

Edited August 20, 2016 by Kasier

[Esper 0]

Mildly regretting her response, Esper found it of little use to worry, and accepted her comment with a nod or two. She herself was getting tired. She hardly rummaged through the apples, instead just barely looking with her eyes, the fatigue of the day making her reaction a bit slower than usual. But she stood, and brushed off her knees, whilst Kasier proposed the friend request, and recommended that she pay attention to her private messenger. "O-Oh, yeah, I'll do just that. I can't wait for the guild formation, I'm quite fond of joining now. Now where's the accept button..Ah." She pressed the button, submitting the request, a little chime emitting from her interface, thus forming a small circular indication, depicting Kasier's portrait. Now they'd be capable of contact from far away. Convenient. "Jeez, who needs a phone when you've got a holographic interface system. Anyway, it's been an amazing night, and I'm glad we met. I'll be in touch. Oh, also, you don't have to worry about that. I've been doing fine in the capital square." 

Esper chuckled softly, taking a step or two closer, only to raise her right hand. No, not for a handshake, but a high five! "I guess this is farewell for now, yeah? Up top!"