[SP-F1] It's One Way to Get Started «The First Few Lessons are Free» (COMPLETE)

[Balmung 0]

11:01 AM, By the Gates in the Town of Beginnings

Balmung had been stumbling around the city in search of anything to do. Recently, he had been on an excursion or two beyond the city walls and was beginning to feel competent in his abilities to not die immediately in the wilderness, at least on the first floor. He had heard some of the people that he'd encountered talk about quests and how they were getting rewards and it seemed just like the sort of thing that he should seek out. Balmung would not allow himself to fall behind all the other "greenies", as someone he knew had once put it.

It was about this time when happened upon a large bulletin board in a square by the city gates. The board itself looked to be used extensively, covered in so thick a layer of tacked on slips of paper that you could no longer see the board's surface. Balmung was puzzled as to how he had never come across this holy grail of quests before. Perhaps his lack of awareness really was as bad as everyone seemed to so rudely point out.

He thought to himself how maybe he'd a quest to slay a dragon and save a princess and how he would be showered in Col and Mats for years to come. Balmung quickly realized how foolish this idea was. He was still only level 1, and resources were so limited in this world that there's no way a quest would set a man up for life. He decided to lower his expectations considerably and began to scan over the quest board looking for something that wouldn't get him killed or be a total waste of time.

That's when Balmung came across the slip of paper which held the information for a quest called «The First Few Lessons are Free». It looked easy enough, and the rewards for the quest didn't look totally useless. He decided this would be the one. This would be the first quest which Balmung would complete in this world, and this would be his first step into a better life inside this land of virtual torment.

He pulled the paper off the board, which instantly replaced itself with an exact copy. A small chime played as a notification appeared before him reading "Quest Accepted".

Edited July 13, 2017 by Balmung

[Balmung 0]

Balmung once again looked over the directions written on the slip of paper he had pulled from the quest board. He was sure he was following them correctly, but even though he tried his hardest, he kept coming up in the wrong area of the Town of Beginnings. He sighed as he walked back towards the quest board to begin following the directions for another try.

He followed all the streets listed on the paper, double-checked each time he made a turn onto a different street, and once again he came to the same area, no workshop in sight. Out of frustration he crumpled up the paper, turned around, and hurled it at the cobblestone-lined street with all his might. It was at this moment he realized he had been following the directions perfectly each time, but had never bothered to look around once he got to the end of them. He let out a sigh as the wad of paper burst into innumerable gleaming polygons of light and a notification appeared telling him an item had been added to his inventory.

Balmung walked up to the workshop and knocked on the door. The voice of an elderly man called out from within, instructing him to step inside. He pushed open the tall door and walked into Zakariah's workshop.

"Ah, a young man with an unfamiliar face has come. No doubt you came here to inquire about my request which I hung up a few days ago in town," said the old man, his long white hair and soiled clothes striking a somewhat peculiar image.

The workshop was alive with colors and scents. Various liquids of varying hues were contained in vials, phials, and flasks, all made of glass. Some of them were boiling over small bluish flames. Some were running through long tubes that stretched, twisted, and wiggled all around. Some were slowly dripping from a suspended container into another just below. It was a wonderland of alchemical delight.

"Uh... yeah... I am Balmung. I came to assist you with your quest. So, should I start mixing some of these liquids together and try not to blow up the place? Are we going to make potions that can transform me into a dragon or something? Oh, do you think we can make elixir that can set my sword ablaze, old man?!" replied Balmung, quickly becoming more excitable as his lips flung forth one stupid question after another.

[Balmung 0]

The old man shook his head in disappointment and said, "I don't know where they find people like you, but at least you're eager... I suppose that's some benefit."

Zakariah dusted some of the filth off of his garments as he stepped out from behind one his workbenches and approached Balmung. The closer he got, the more the detail that went into designing NPCs such as him became apparent. From his stringy white hair, to his wrinkled, swollen hands, to the liver spots that dotted his thin, rumpled skin. It was astounding to Balmung how lifelike this bundle of data appeared, especially in the way he spoke and acted.

The alchemist went on, "I am not in need of someone to perform such bizarre tasks, and frankly, you lack the skills necessary to use any of my equipment. What I need for you to do is to go beyond the town's walls and look for five ingredients that I need to finish my current work. Do you think you can handle this simple of a task?"

Balmung tried to hide his disappointment with so mundane a task. Honestly, he didn't expect much going into this quest, but he did expect something a little more exciting. Perhaps fighting a bear in the woods to harvest its teeth and claws. Or scaling some sheer rock cliff to obtain a rare flower that only blooms once every five years. Balmung supposed that going into the field and gathering five completely ordinary Mats would be fine though. After all, this was just his first quest. There would be plenty of time for journeys of unimaginable grandeur on down the road.

"Yeah, old man, I'll go get your stuff. I'll be back before you can bat your eyelashes, so don't be going and doing anything, alright?" said Balmung as he turned and exited the workshop, headed for the fields outside the Town of Beginnings.

[Balmung 0]

Balmung once again found himself in the peaceful plains outside the Town of Beginnings. He had been here a few times before, and the gentle green grasses and lazily drifting clouds were always a calming scene. But he supposed that shouldn't dally for too long. He did tell Zakariah that he would return soon with all the necessary Mats in tow. Balmung thought about how easy of a quest this would be as set about looking for areas that would yield the best results.

He settled on starting in an area that was clearly overtaken with thick and gnarly weeds. Surely a patch with such thick vegetation would produce something of usability. And as he combed through the thick blades of grass and tough leafy weeds, he found himself somewhat surprised when he actually came across a redish herb that looked like something an alchemist might grind up to make a potion out of.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86622
LD: 17
Results: Acquired 1 something for the quest

 

[Balmung 0]

Balmung decided there was little use to look in the same place over and over again, so he set out to find another location that might produce as favorable of results as the last one. He walked around the wide open plains for a bit before coming across the fallen corpse of one of the few trees that dot the landscape. It was overtaken with moss and decay. Surely, he thought, there must be something here that that old fogey could use in his work. And so Balmung crouched down and began to pick through the remnants of the old rotting log, occasionally pushing his hair to the side as the light breeze would cause it to shift and obscure his vision. 

It did not take long for Balmung to realize that his efforts would be fruitless. With a dissatisfied look on his face, he stood up and brushed the dirt off his knees. He guessed it would be better to search elsewhere than waste more time on this hopeless log.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86624
LD: 5
Result: I fail. lol

 

[Balmung 0]

Still feeling confident from his first find, despite the second being a bust, Balmung continued to roam the fields in search of those materials which Zakariah requested. Since the log was a bust, he decided it was best to broaden the scope of his search and walk out into the plains a little farther. Balmung eventually came across a slowly trickling stream. The air around the small body of water was a noticeable degree or so cooler, and the plants growing around it were a luscious green hue, even more pleasant to gaze upon than the average grasses that carpeted the plains.

Balmung decided to take off his boots and dip his feet in the water. The cool water moving past his ankles was relaxing. He laid back and began to lazily pick his fingers through the tall growth around him. Although he didn't find anything that could be taken back, Balmung thought to himself that this time spent relaxing was reward in itself enough.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86625
LD: 8
Result: Nothing again. I be fail.

 

[Balmung 0]

17:41 PM, The Plains Surrounding the Town of Beginnings
Balmung awoke to the discomforting feeling of a fat caterpillar crawling across his face. He reached up and picked it off of his face, choosing to carefully place it on a nearby leafy plant. He shook the grass from his hair and wiped the drool from his mouth as he sat up and looked around.

He was still by the same small stream that he had come across earlier. He remembered lying in the grass and soaking his feet in the water as he relaxed from all the walking he did earlier, but he didn't remember falling asleep out here. Truly, this stream was a great place to sit around and be lazy, but Balmung realized that he had already wasted too much time doing nothing.

He pulled his boots back onto his feet and stood up. He stretched and yawned, casually admiring the weak sunbeams that broke through the evening clouds and illuminated the peaceful plains. Soon he was on the move again. He still had 4 more ingredients to find for the old alchemist, Zakariah, and he had bragged earlier that he would get them back in no time at all. Balmung thought to himself how it didn't really matter since he was only an NPC, but even still, it was shameful that he allowed himself to fall victim to his tranquil surroundings.

Balmung decided to follow the stream for a ways and look for other tall plants along the way. He paused every so often to comb the leafy vegetation over, looking for something that might qualify for the quest. He paused at a particularly vibrant patch, picking it over more carefully than the rest. There he found a potent looking herb that he quickly snatched up and stored in his inventory. He was now on to find some other place to look for the three remaining materials.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86628
LD: 13
Result: Thing #2 for the quest found.

 

[Balmung 0]

Balmung strayed away from the stream, as he began to get serious about finding the final three items to complete the quest. He decided the stream was too much of a distraction, and it was time to find somewhere else to search for the ingredients required by the old man. And so he set out over the gentle rolling plain, in search of some leafy growth that stuck out to him as a place where he might find such things.

Balmung eventually came across a series of viney plants that creeped along the ground, entangling itself around the stalks of upright growing plants. Hidden beneath the leaves on this viney creeper he found berries. Balmung decided to inspect these berries more closely, and came to find that these blue, fleshy orbs would indeed qualify as an ingredient for the alchemist, so he pulled a few off and continued along his way. Now only had to find two more materials for the quest.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86629
LD: 14
Result: Balmung found thing #3!

 

[Balmung 0]

Balmung continued his excursion across the plains of the first floor. The small, gentle breeze that constantly blew across the fields had picked up enough to cause the untrimmed grass to rustle as the blades rubbed past one another. Looking out over the vast openness, this gave these plains the appearance of a great, green ocean as the grass seemed to move like the calmly rolling surface of the sea. This pleases Balmung as he strode along through the plains, parting this grass sea as he went.

Eventually the tall man's soft blue eyes locked onto some unique looking shrubbery not too far off the course that he was travelling. It had long, blade like leaves with serrated edges, and the whole plant seem to express a color closer to that of steel than that of bush. He had definitely not come across such a plant before, and decided that it could be worth giving a closer inspection.

As he ran his fingers down the lengths of one of the plant's leaves, he got the feeling that he was touching some sort of polished metal. This was definitely a peculiar plant indeed. He knew nothing of what this shrub could be, but perhaps it would be of some service to Zakariah. He plucked a large leaf from the plant and decided to look for areas closer to the Town of Beginnings, since he now only had to find one more ingredient for the alchemist.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86630
LD: 16
Result: Thing #4! One thing remaining!

 

[Balmung 0]

As Balmung neared the gates to the Town of Beginnings, he came across a spot that he had previously looked over when he first set out of his excursion earlier today. It was a hollowed out tree stump, covered over in moss, vines, and lichens. Surely, a trove of nature such as this one would contain ingredients abound. He lightly chuckled to himself as he took long, hurried strides over to it. He just knew that this would be his last stop before returning to Zakariah to deliver all five ingredients that the alchemist had requested. He was so close to completing the boring request that he could taste it.

As Balmung inspected the stump over and over, he quickly, and very irately, came to realize that this stump had nothing to offer him. In a fit of anger he unsheathed his sword and began wailing on the stump, sending splinters of wood flying into the air with each swing. When he grew winded, he tired of beating a defenseless stump and returned his blade to its scabbard. He muttered hushed curses to himself as he walked along the outside of the town's walls, hoping to find some form ingredient nearby without having to walk back out into the field.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86331
LD: 6
Result: Nothing here. Time to get angry and look somewhere else.

 

[Balmung 0]

Balmung basically sprinted along the plains just outside the Town of Beginnings. The simple task that had been given him by Zakariah the alchemist was starting to become a thorn in his side. Balmung had held on to the hope that this quest would have some interesting twist to it once he got out into field, but it was now apparent that it was just as dull as it first seemed. There were no monsters guarding some rare flower that needed to be slain before he could retrieve it. There were no hermits out in the wilderness that he needed to appease before they gave him the directions to some secret grove. There weren't even any pretty girls out in the fields today for him to shamelessly gawk at while he pretended to pick through the tall grass near them. In Balmung's book, this whole quest had been a major bust so far.

In his hurriedness, Balmung failed to see a large root protruding from the ground before him. As he took a long stride over it, his hind foot got caught on it and he was sent tumbling. As he recovered himself, he looked down at the root in anger, his hand reaching for his sword once more. However, the HUD alerted him that this was a collectable item, and so Balmung mustered up the patience to give it a quick inspection before he unleashed his fury upon it. 

To his surprise, he had just found the fifth and final ingredient that the alchemist needed.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86632
LD: 13
Result: Thing #5 found! Time to return to Zakariah.

 

[Balmung 0]

Balmung was ecstatic to have finally found the fifth ingredient that the alchemist NPC had requested. He was sick and tired of wandering around the plains of Floor 1 doing little more than looking for mildly interesting plants and then proceeding to Be disappointed when more than a handful of them were merely placed there to be decorative. He now understood why so many people used to complain about the dreaded fetch quests in the MMOs that he never bothered to play. Balmung felt as though quests like these were most likely just a time waster to eat away at person's life until they either died on the inside or went insane. He was certainly considering giving in and doing the latter.

Nevertheless, he headed back to the safety of the Town of Beginnings walls, the five ingredients in tow. He was now ready to give these materials to Zakariah and move on to the next quest objective.

[Balmung 0]

19:35 PM, Outside Zakariah's Workshop
Balmung did not need the directions from the request to find the workshop this time. He had traveled the correct streets to get here no less than five times earlier today before realizing that he had went the right way on each of those attempts to find it. It would have been maddening to think about, had he not just spent the entirety of the day afterwards searching through mostly useless plant life on the very vague instructions that Zakariah had given him once he found this place. And that would have also been maddening was he not overcome with a feeling of satisfaction after finally finding the last of the ingredients.

Feeling confident, he took a big stride forward and pushed open the door to the workshop. He was dead set on completing this quest to the best of his abilities, and he would not let his frustration from earlier get in the way of a job well done.

[Balmung 0]

"Ah, it seems you have finally returned. I seem to recall that you mentioned it would take you no time at all. It is on the verge of dusk now, my boy. Perhaps you should have kept a little more pep in your step as you were searching for the things I needed," spoke the old man. "Now, you did succeed in finding all of the things that I asked for, didn't you?"

Balmung looked directly at the NPC that was Zakariah. With every fiber of his being he wanted to shout at the man and tell him how great a distaste that he had for his little runabout that he tried pass on as something important to warrant calling a quest, but he managed to withhold his feelings by take a deep a breath. Truly, thinking back on it, he could have been doing the same thing that he had done when he first started playing the game. At least this quest gave him a reason to be outside the city walls for nearly an entire day. Perhaps there was something to these simple little quests after all.

"Yes, my dear Zakariah, I have the ingredients that you sent me for right here. Now mind you, I did have to walk all over the countryside and back again to get these, so I do hope that these were really that important in the completion of whatever it is you have been working on." replied Balmung, trying to seem as though he was at least a little irate about the dullness of the quest thus far.

Balmung cycled through his menu and transferred the items he had scavenged over to the NPC. With a chime, a notification appeared before him and alerted him that he had completed the first objective of the quest.

[Balmung 0]

Upon receiving the materials, Zakariah said, "My boy, now it is time for me to complete my work. And for that, I will need your help once more. Are you ready to offer your assistance again?"

Balmung was ready to do anything to finish to this quest. Although he had gained a small appreciation for these sorts of things now, he was still ready to move on to more exciting adventures than helping an old man do something he was perfectly capable of doing on his own. But nevertheless, Balmung was going offer his assistance to Zakariah, at least one more time.

"I've come this far, so why not go ahead and finish it out," said Balmung, who then asked, "But what is it that you need my help with now? Did you already misplace those ingredients that I just handed you?"

"Young man, I am not quite that senile yet. It would do you good to give me at least some benefit of the doubt. But regardless of that, what I need for you to do now is to fashion for me a potion which will restore the vitality of its drinker."

"So... you want me to help you make a health potion?"

Zakariah sighed and said, "If you must put it in such words, so be it. Yes, a health potion is what I need you to create for me. You gathered more than enough supplies for this, so do not be afraid of messing up a time or two before you get it right. You can make use of all of my equipment, and I will give you some guidance on how you should get started."

Balmung knew nothing of alchemy, and he wasn't particularly interested in learning much about it either, but if this is what it took to get him closer to the reward then he would do his best.

[Balmung 0]

"Now, Balmung, do try and focus. If you let the leaves brew for too long before transferring the syrup to a separate flask then it will be too thick and seed grains will not dissolve properly. And do mind the temperature at which you boil them, you don't want to evaporate all the liquid off those leaves, the smell will be horrible!" instructed Zakariah, as he tried to show the young warrior the basics of preparing a restorative concoction, "Oh, and another thing, pay special attention to which phial contains the seed grains and which contains the pyrite flakes. I can't tell you how many times novice alchemists make that mistake."

"I-is that a big deal then, old man?" asked Balmung, not really sure of what he was doing.

"Oh, yes. That will make the difference between creating a stable mixture that will take the healing properties, and creating one that will almost indefinitely explode and take both you and I out with it. Very nasty situation, my boy."

"So, making a big boom boom is a no no. Got it. Is there anything else I should know before I start mixing these things together?"

"Did I remind you to take care of the temperature?"

"Yes."

"Good, it is a most important factor, Balmung."

Balmung sighed and tried to get a grip on what he was doing. Perhaps he wasn't cut out for this after all.

[Balmung 0]

Balmung looked over the mass of alchemical equipment before him. Never before had he dealt with such a complex set up of fragile instruments. He would have to ensure that he used extra caution not to damage anything. Balmung thought about that or a second and then realized it probably didn't really matter if anything broke or not. This was the workshop of an NPC. The game was probably coded in such a way that everything here would respawn if it was to be accidentally, or purposefully for that matter, destroyed.

Gaining a bit of confidence from that thought, Balmung began his attempt at creating a health potion. He kept in mind all the things that Zakariah had point out as he got started. He first wet down some of the leaves that he had plucked earlier. Letting them take in an excess of water would cause the stomata to open and make it easier for the syrup to from he began to boil them. While the water that he would later add the leaves to was being brought to a boil, he began pouring the seed grain into a mortar and grinding it to a fine powder with the pestle.

Once the water began to bubble, he added a handful of leaves and watched as the syrup began to form almost instantaneously. When Zakariah demonstrated earlier, it took exactly three minutes for the syrup to reach the correct viscosity, but the heat would need to be turned down within one minute of adding the leaves. This gave him enough to dilute the solution that Zakariah had made of crushed berry pulp. It was vital that it not be so concentrated as to overpower the other agents that would it would be combined with.

After he had prepared the three primary agents necessary to grant the wanted effects of the potion, he plucked a small round stone from a pouch and dropped it into a flask. This would be the stirring stone that would make sure all the components would be mixed together well. Balmung then poured the syrup from the lightly boiling brew of leaves. It slowly trickled into the bottom of the flash, glazing over the stirring stone as it poured. Next he would mix in the berry pulp solution, which he had diluted to a fraction of its original potency. It was thinner than the syrup, and so quickly settled to floating on top of it. Where the two liquids touched, a reaction had begun, and golden syrup and purple solution began to change into a homogenous green fluid.

Balmung began to slowly rock the flask in a circular fashion. The stirring stone rattled around as it was thrown around the flask. Variations in the speed of revolution caused it to climb the walls, and then to sink back lower. With passable technique, Balmung was able to stir the mixture until it had fully reacted and was now a single green fluid. This meant it was time to add the pulverized seed grain, which would dissolve into the fluid and add the final component needed to turn this strange concoction into a potion of healing.

Still keeping up the revolving of the flask, he inserted a funnel into the mouth of it and began to pour in the dust of the seed grains. At first, it simply settled into the fluid, polluting the pristine green with an innumerable abundance of hazel specks. As the revolution grew faster, the specks began to disappear, breaking down and being absorbed into the fluid. The liquid within the flask began to glow faintly, and in an instant and a flashing of light, the flask of questionable fluid had been replaced with a health potion of rare quality.

Spoiler

Roll Results

ID#: 86634
CD: 9
Result: Balmung created a rare health potion!

 

[Balmung 0]

Balmung proudly displayed the newly crafted healing potion for Zakariah to see. It took a little over five minutes to make, and Balmung had to admit that the whole process of doing so was the most nervous he had been since he started playing this game. He hoped that all his future endeavors would be at least this successful, but thinking back to his day before now, that was probably asking a little bit much.

"My word, young man, you've created a magnificent potion for your first try. Why, I've seen full-fledged alchemist themselves produce less satisfying results. Please don't mark alchemist of the list when you go to decide on an occupation." said Zakariah, his words fueling Balmung's ego to reach a new height.

"You know, old man, five minutes ago I would have said it was impossible for me to make such a creation, but looking at it now..." Balmung paused for a minute, admiring his handiwork before saying, "I definitely think that my doubt was unnecessary."

Balmung opened his menu and transferred the healing potion to Zakariah, which completed the second objective of the quest, prompting a chime and a notification.

[Balmung 0]

"You know, Balmung, you've done an excellent job of helping me," said the NPC, Zakariah, "Perhaps you could do me one last favor. I assure you that this will be quick."

Balmung looked the old geezer in the eye and thought it over for a minute. This was definitely the last objective to this quest... well, probably. He'd already come this far with the quest, why not go the final mile and finish it out. It's not like he could get back all the time he spent working on it today.

"Well, Old Man Zakariah, I don't have much else to do, so why not," he said back to the NPC, "What do you need me to do this time?"

"I have a package for one of my dear friends who lives nearby. He's a blacksmith by the name of Lyle Tealeaf. I just need you to deliver it to him and then you'll be finished all of my requests."

"Considered done, old man."

A notification flashed before Balmung, alerting him that an item had been added to his inventory. He bid Zakariah farewell and exited the workshop.

[Balmung 0]

18:48 PM, Outside of Lyle's Smithy
This was the final stretch of the quest. Balmung had arrived at Lyle Tealeaf's smithy after departing from Zakariah's workshop. He realized that he was becoming much more accustomed to traveling around the Town of Beginnings, and this was surely a good thing. A day ago he would have had no idea where he was going, but after his confused hunt for the workshop this morning, he had covered much of the town and learned many of the streets. Luckily, his journey from the workshop to this smithy was a simple one, and he remembered passing the shop several times earlier that day. Maybe he wasn't as hopeless as he appeared.

Lyle Tealeaf was busy at work carrying the pieces inside that had not sold that day. The fire in his forge had already been smothered out, and his anvil had been washed clean. Much like the rest of the town, Lyle was calling it a night and calling it quits for the day. 

Balmung strolled up to the man and caught his attention by saying, "Excuse me, but you are Zakariah's friend, correct?"

"Why, of course I am, sonny!" said the blacksmith, obviously tired from hid work but trying his best to sound cheery, "Did ya need something from me?"

"Well, I actually had something to deliver to you," said Balmung as he opened his menu and produced the package that Zakariah had given him.

Lyle took the package and thanked the swordsman.

"Well, sonny. I'm calling it a night, ya see. Thank ya for giving me this package from my old friend. I'll tell ya what, come back tomorrow and I'll have a job for ya," said Lyle as he headed inside his home, carrying the last piece of his wares in one hand, the package in the other.

A chime sounded once more and a notification popped up before Balmung alerting him that he had cleared the quest and detailed his rewards. It wasn't the ideal day, but Balmung couldn't deny the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction after completing his quest. He looked forward for more days like this one in the future.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Balmung