[SP - F1] <<The First Few Lessons are Free>>

[Cyrus 0]

This was the first quest Cyrus had ever done since coming to SAO. The young man decided to do some investigating in the area first before taking on the mobs of the world. This investigation led him to his first quest. Some old looking NPC was giving out a fairly easy gathering and crafting quest. Ideally this wasn't his preference when starting out a new game. But the fact that he could die in this world made him reasonable and cautious. So he decided to take on this simple task choosing to use this method first to level up before testing his battle prowess against the floor one mobs. It would be a tragic end to fall to a simple blob all because he wasn't ready. And so Cyrus found himself outside of the town of beginnings searching for materials. This would be a fairly boring task but he would try to make the most of it. 

[Cyrus 0]

There was a plus side to his gathering however. He was able to explore the immediate area of the town and possibly scout some spots to return later when he was finally ready to swing his sword around. A curved sword was never really too appealing to his style. But there was the rumor that a katana could be acquired later. That source of information was fairly reliable and he had see one in a shop. So gaining one was among his short term goals right along with clearing the first level. Breaking his train of thought his attention was returned to searching for the materials requested of him. When searching to local area didn't cut it he attempted to comb through the local flora instead hoping that it would yield better results. With some patience his searching began to yield results. While looking through a nearby tuft of grass he found one. 

ID# 80269 results:

Loot: 13

Edited March 23, 2017 by Cyrus

[Cyrus 0]

Cyrus was half tempted to do a solo celebration for his small victory but he had to successfully repeat this process fourth more times. Rather he would save the celebrating for when he was finished with the quest and got the real rewards. The quest materials were meaningless outside of this job so there was no need to get too happy. Instead of looking in the same area he decided to put some distance between himself and the grass he just scouted. He wasn't exactly sure how the loot rules worked for the game yet. So there was the possibility that the chances of him finding material in the same place twice was lower. Instead of wasting his time to test out that theory he found a moderately sized tree and began checking around it's base for additional materials. Patience would be the key to his success. Rushing would be his downfall.

[Cyrus 0]

The search around the base of the tree continued for a moment as there was a lot more grass. All of this vegetation could only mean that there was a steady source of water some where close by. That would be his the next thing Cyrus looked for. He was quite interested in seeing some of the local fauna. There were wolves and boar so far from what he could tell. There would obviously be some fish since fishing was a skill you could acquire. The way the game was built he was quite sure that if he would a body of water it would be interactive. He probably wasn't going for a swim today but it would be nice to know where he needed to go if he did want to check out the water. His searching came to an end when he found another quest material in the grass.

ID# 80271 results:

Loot: 20

Edited March 23, 2017 by Cyrus

[Cyrus 0]

This strategy seemed to be working. Either that or he was just really lucky. He hoped it was the former of the two. Luck would run out eventually. Turning away from the tree his eyes scanned the horizon trying to study the lay of the land. There were some lush darker green heading in the southeast direction and so he would follow his instincts. It was very possible that the coding in this game wasn't that specific and that grass was just generated randomly in different shades of green. However following a theory was a lot better than a guess and check method. And so he started a small walk from the tree further towards the southeast. There were more mobs in this direction also seeing as it led further away from the town. This would mean that things would be getting increasingly dangerous if he continued down this path.

[Cyrus 0]

For now Cyrus was sticking to keeping his distance. It seemed like if he kept enough distance from them then he was more or less safe. The only thing was that the mobs never stayed in one place. They would often move to mimic actual animals. So the young hero stayed alert keeping track of the smallest of movements as he moved into taller grass. There was a slight rustle in the grass and it made him pause until he realized it was just the grass moving in the wind. With a sigh of relief he continued deeper into the grass slowly. As he moved his shoulders and legs brushed against the grass moving things around. His eyes were alert to keep an eye out for any loot that he might pass over by coincidence. There was the faint sound of splashing that alerted Cyrus to the presence of water.

ID# 80281 results:

Loot: 1

Edited March 23, 2017 by Cyrus

[Cyrus 0]

It apparently wasn't going to be that easy to just stumble upon some loot. So now he was actively searching the grass just as he came upon the bank of a lake. It was calming to just be out near the water. That is until he remembered the circumstances of why he was there. Walking along the bank the sandy shore made it easier for him to spot things. The water was clear also but he started along the bank and walked along it searching for any of the materials. Checking his HUD briefly he confirmed that he was still within the search area where the quest material could be found. For a moment he was almost sure he walked out of bounds without even realizing it. The recon he did of the area proved to be worth since he didn't have to keep checking his HUD to make sure he was still following the quest. He almost walked right past the material for a moment. If he wasn't paying attention he would have missed the shining material symbolizing quest material.

ID# 80290 results:

Loot: 11

Edited March 23, 2017 by Cyrus

[Cyrus 0]

Now that he was more than half way done with the first part the anticipation was gnawing at him. All he had to do was find two more quest materials and he could be on his way. Searching and gathering was getting rather boring for him. Action is where he thrived. The man was half tempted to approach a nearby mob down the shore and attack it. But he knew from the beginning that he would need the self restraint to just follow along with these type of easy quests at first. He could then spend his point on his skills. When he was finally ready to fight he would be a threat to these level 1 monsters rather than a chew toy. The search continued and he knew he could find more material against the pale colors of the shore easily. And once again success found him with his type of thinking. This was not the first game he played years of experience was helping him now. 

ID# 80319 results:

Loot: 13

Edited March 24, 2017 by Cyrus

[Cyrus 0]

It was finally down to the last material he had to grab and it would finally be time to get out of the damn fields. Gathering materials had to be the most boring part of a RPG. It made it even more boring that he was alone at the moment. Frankly it was for the best at the moment. If his trust had been placed in the wrong person early on it was possible he could be stuck right now. No, he needed to be sure of his choice whenever the time came to trust somebody enough to travel with them. Solitude would drive him crazy though. Besides he had grand plans that needed to be followed down to the very last detail. So of course his choice of who filled these very important roles would have to be very precise. A brief look over the area revealed one more material. This meant his searching part of the quest was now over and he could finally move on. 

ID# 80731 results:

Loot: 16

Edited March 29, 2017 by Cyrus