[SP-F1] The First Few Lessons are Free

[Nocturn 0]

Noct swiped his menu away as he awoke. His alarm, only audible to himself, stirring him from his slumber. He yawned, and ran a hand through his hair as he pushed himself to sit upright. His back ached from the cobblestone. He was homeless, at least for now. And until he was a high enough level to take the quest that allowed him to get a crafting skill, he was stuck with no way to make money meaning he couldn't even afford nightly stays in any of the Inns or Taverns. Sleeping outside took a lot of getting used to. He was pulled away from his comfy world of pillows and sheets, and trapped in this hellish game. In the real world, he had money to spare. He barely had to save cash to get the nerve gear and it's launch title.

But Noct was determined to get at least started in SAO, even if it meant doing the unthinkable. The tutorial quests. He shuddered at the thought of countless pop up messages, and berating voices repeating the same line of dialogue over, and over, and over again. He rubbed his eyes, wiping the sleep from his eyelids, and forced himself to his feet.

[Nocturn 0]

Finally standing, Noct gave another yawn and another stretch. His back made several noises, as his arms crossed each other above his head. He adjusted his clothing as he opened his menu. Going through the several drop down menus, he found his map icon. Selecting it brought up a small holographic HUD element that showed his location, as well as the surrounding area. Since he was in town, all of it was revealed but most of the area outside of it was hidden by the fog of war. Everything he hadn't seen before or hadn't seen yet was greyed out. Noct was actually surprised at how much he could see. Guess it was the fact that the first floor was mostly open plains.

Scouring the map he found what he was looking for, a small scroll, with several player icons surrounding it. It was the beginner quest, where everyone started. Players that had a basic understanding of MMO's, or beta testers all skipped the quest line, preferring to get to the good farming spots before they were flooded and over farmed by players. Either way, he needed to start there. The quest gave minimal rewards, but having those was more than enough.

[Nocturn 0]

Noct followed his map, weaving in and out of alley ways and through shops with two entrances. The streets were horribly crowded, filled with players either too scared or too weak to go outside the walls. He clenched his teeth at the thought of it. He had only just now decided to go outside of the walls, months after being trapped in the game. The frontliners were already on what now, floor twenty-two now? He ran a hand through his raven coloured hair. He'd catch up eventually. Him leading a valiant team. A group with brave warriors, cunning strategists, and skillful healers. All with him at the head. He would have his team of hand chosen elites, eventually. First he had to be able to lead them properly, and in order to do that he had to be not living on the streets.

Finally making it to his goal, Noct say several players crowded around the first NPC. Overhearing conversations he made out that the first part of the quest was repeatable. So players could do the quest for easy Col, and just redo the quest the next day with little risk and little reward. Only reason that they would do it was simply for a bed to sleep in. Noct fantasized about his old bed, with it's custom pillows and fine sheets. He shook his head, and made his way through the crowd.

[Nocturn 0]

Forcing himself to the front, Noct found himself in front of an older gentleman. The man was clearly an NPC, but was almost indistinguishable from a real person. His hair and bear were silver in colour, although his brows were still a deep brown. His shirt carried various stains, and his scent was worse then Noct's own. And Noct slept on the streets on Aincrad. Holding back the urge to pinch his nose, Noct reached out and tapped on the quest icon hovering in front of the man.

"Ah! Hello there young one." The man said. "I'm Zachariah, a humble alchemist. And I'm in need of hand, if you would be so kind." The man said, in a high pitched voice. Almost as the voice actor was trying to be old, rather than was old himself. Annoying voice aside, Noct nodded his head agreeing to give the man a hand. Zachariah clapped his hands together, his sleeves sliding down his arms. "Perfect! Now, I just need a few more materials to make some potions. Being frail, and old has made me hand gathering them almost impossible. If you could go out into the plains and fetch me some, I'd be happy to lend you my knowledge." Noct rubbed the back of his head. Of course the tutorial quest was a fetch quest. He had played other games before, it they all blended into the same mess. Go to a place, clear it of bad guys, loot it for items. Everything was like that now a days.

[Nocturn 0]

Noct attached his spear to his back. He doubt he would need it, but on the off chance he did, he'd like to have it at the ready instead of having to dig through all of these damn scrolling menus. He cursed at himself, whilst fumbling with the games menu. It was pretty to look at, but a hassle to actually use. Noct groaned as he walked through the city. The sun had come up fully now, and people were running about, bumping into one another and the chatter rose from barely audible to that of a stadium within hours. Noct longed to get out of the city for a change of pace, rather then just sit inside it's alleyways.

Outside of the city gates, the quest marker had him march along the outside wall for a ways. For himself, a young man, was fairly difficult. Slipping on the wet grass, and uneven terrain Noct could see why Zachariah would have someone else fetch his materials. Noct had just a little more to go before he would reach the area where the quest wanted him to start looking for the materials.

[Nocturn 0]

After reaching the designated area, his hud appered with a quest tip guide, showing him the area in which the materials could be found. He ran another hand through his hair. Today was going to be a long day, he could just tell. These kind of quests in MMO's took the longest, which is why he avoided them to begin with. He just couldn't do the solo commitment for the first twenty four hours being a semi grind quest, in which everything was handed out to players like candy on halloween. And on that thought, he got to searching. Quickly he was awarded with one of the quest items. If the rest were like this, he wouldn't be out here in the fields long.

ID: 82904
LD: 15
Materials: 1/5

[Nocturn 0]

Another step into the field, and yet another material was found. That was rare, or so he heard. Finding materials was always a chore, or at least that's what everyone else told him. And by told him, he meant told other people so that he could eavesdrop in. The fastest way to earn info was to get it from the source of those who experienced it first hand. The only risk that he encountered with that method was the personalization of the reports. People would exaggerate greatly, and sometimes even downright lie to make their situation seem worse then it was. At least the people seeking for pity and attention, which annoyed him. to an extent. What annoyed him more was that he understood why they would want the attention. 

ID: 82906
LD: 19
Materials: 2/5

[Nocturn 0]

Lost in the thoughts of his own mind, Noct sat down. The grass brushing his hands as he leaned back, enjoying the feeling of the bright seemingly summer day. He didn't know if the first floor had other seasons beside 'nice' weather all the time. The nights were cool, at least cool enough to leave morning dew on everything when the sun rose the following day. Noct lied down, resting his arms behind his head as he gazed up into the sky. Various clouds dotted the blue landscape. Noct took in the air through his nostrils, enjoying the sweet aroma of the flowers that were scattered around him.

ID: 82920
LD: 3
Materials: 2/5

[Nocturn 0]

Noct closed his eyes, letting the gentle breeze wash over him. He felt his body relax, and his limbs loosened. Thoughts of future quests grew in his mind. And idea forming into his mind. As soon as he was leveled up to the point of the front lines, he'd get a group together. Not just any group, but the group. People who gravitated to him for some mystical reason. He be voted in as their leader, and with the help of everyone they would go on all sorts of adventures. Noct opened his eyes and stood up, brushing the loose brass from his person. Those were a fool's dreams. Nothing like that would happen to a real person, and he'd be a fool to believe that it would happen to him.

ID: 82928
LD: 10
Materials: 2/5

[Nocturn 0]

With a newfound resolve, Noct bent over picking up another material. That made three, which meant he only needed two more before he could pack it in. And the sooner the better. He grew tired of dreams of the future, and needed to focus on the present. He had completed sixty percent of his goal, and he wasn't going to stop there. He would complete this quest and move onto te next one, and the one after that. And with that momentum he would rise to the top.

ID: 82932
LD: 20
Materials: 3/5

[Nocturn 0]

Despite looking the tall grass for what he needed, and already having a grasp of finding what he needed to he couldn't see another material near him. Perhaps a different location would provide better results. Noct walked a few feet, heading into deeper grass in an attempt to find more materials. The grass came up past his ankles, like a lawn that hadn't been mowed in weeks. The tall grass made seeing the ground tough enough, let alone anything that hid in it.

ID: 82933
LD: 9
Materials: 3/5

[Nocturn 0]

-rolling-

ID: 
LD: 
Materials: 3/5