[PP-F1] <<The First Few Lessons are Free>> (Blood, Pick) [Complete]

[Thicc 0]

Bates stood up, his hair fixed perfectly, just the way that he's used to already. He stared coldly at the woman who had approached him, wondering why she, out of all people, were the one who had first come to ask for his services. Somehow, the girl had managed to read who he was, and how he is just from a few simple lines of dialogue, but like always, he had no words to say, and he had no questions to ask. The girl had come to him to ask for him to do something, and as a result, he will follow the order exactly as it was given. He could remember the exact words that were said to him, which was crucial so he can follow the orders exactly as it was told to him. Bates saluted, letting down his hands and concentrated on the words of the black-haired girl who he met yesterday night.

[Blood 0]

"You need to get stronger. I'm assuming that the last time you've never exited the safe zone because no one has ever told you to do so, right? I'm afraid that won't do if you are to stick around with me. We need to get you stronger, and that means you must start from the beginning, do you understand?" Blood began, staring sternly at the man who had now somehow become a soldier who was here to do her bidding. She had only spoken to him because she needed an assistant for a specific quest, and he was the only one around who looked quiet and strong enough to do anything.

Now, he was quiet, but not strong. He was far from it, in fact, he has never fought a boar before. However, he has the potential to become exactly what she needs, and she knew that his power would be enough to serve her during the time she spends in Aincrad.

[Thicc 0]

Bates nodded before saluting, symbolizing his willingness to accept the order. He accepted all orders, especially when given from a powerful source, and this was the person that seemed as powerful as anyone he'll ever find in a video game like this. Bates' thick hair puffed up before he looked over to the side of Blood to see a green-haired Mohawk man. Without speaking, Bates raised an eyebrow. The man did not seem like someone Blood would work with, and he was extremely confused by his existence. Nevertheless, he did not talk to him, or ask him any questions as it was not his position to do so. 

Instead, he began to walk, knowing that the easiest quest to do, and the quest that everyone should do at the beginning of their leveling process is the beginner quests, and without speaking, he began to walk in that direction with his head held back straight.

[Blood 0]

"Hey, where do you think you're going, friend? You might be just a bit bigger than me, but you ain't got the power to just leave like that. Do you know what Blood even wants you to do?" Michael blurted out, to Blood's annoyance. Michael is the one with the least power here, and yet he has the loudest, and biggest mouth. Blood sighed, giving him an evil stare, shutting him up before following Thicc, or Bates, as he would like to be called.

"He knows exactly what he's doing. Just follow him and help him out by keeping him company throughout the beginner quest that he's going to be doing." Blood exclaimed, watching as the man, Bates, continued to walk in the distance. "He might not be as strong as you now, but he will be in no time, so you better not get on his bad side. I'm going to go somewhere else for now."

[Thicc 0]

Thicc watched as Blood left by peeking behind his back, wondering why the woman had left him with this stupid, weakling - Michael. He sighed, walking straight towards the quest location that had been given to him by the Blood. He didn't know what he had to do, but the quest giver would give him enough instructions so that he won't be confused with what he needed to accomplish. Now, he just needed to deal with Michael for the rest of his time doing this quest.

Michael walked up to the man, already beginning to flex his muscles. He was used to it, flexing that is, but he's not used to someone who had an even bigger figure than himself, and he's out here to prove that even though Bates had a big body, Michael was the one who is the strongest out of the two. "Hey you, you think you a hotshot by not talking huh? I don't think we're gonna get along very well."

[Blood 0]

Blood pretended to go away, but she wasn't about to do anything like that. Blood decided that she would rather follow the two and see what will happen rather than leave the two to their own thing. She wanted to see if this new person would actually follow through with the orders that he had been given despite the fact that the person who gave the command wasn't directly with him. So far, it seemed that he is doing pretty well considering the fact that he's still going to the quest location. However, she didn't know whether he would give up once he's given a difficult task. Maybe she'll ask him to kill himself, but that's a risk, because he might prove to be a valuable minion under the command of her hands. With a mindless robot like him, she is sure to be able to use him as a tank.

[Thicc 0]

"Looks like we are here, buddy. I did this quest too, so you are going to have to get inside and talk to the Zachariah guy. He'll give you some tasks to accomplish, and once you complete them, we'll be done here and over with this quest. Let's get this thing done fast, and then we can maybe go grab a drink or something, buddy. What do you think?" Michael said, pointing to the bearded man who was working in the workshop.

"No thanks, sir. I do not drink." He responded, walking up to the white-haired alchemist who had been creating a gigantic heavy one-handed sword for a strong player. 

"Hello player. Here for the first beginner quest? Well, I'm here to get you started with this amazing game. You are going to have to go to the first floor wilderness and get some ores for me. Once you get that done, come back, and I'll teach you how to craft."

[Blood 0]

ID: 101985
LD: 9 (Fail)

Blood decided that she was too bored to continue watching the two players as they go on their journey to gather more materials. She too, needed materials that would be useful to herself when the time comes where she must craft poison for herself and she needs more equipment eventually, so she might as well get her hands on some materials for herself too. She knew that it would be harder for her because she's not doing this quest, and she's pretty sure that it's easier for players to get materials if they were in the process of completing this particular quest. Of course, she couldn't confirm, but this is what she thought after her experience with the quest and then after her material gathering sessions after the quest. Blood sighed, failing to spot anything as she stepped into the wilderness. She couldn't put her full attention in material gathering because she needed to keep distance from the other two.

Materials: 0

[Thicc 0]

ID: 101993
LD: 4

Bates sighed, forcing the noise that is being caused to him by this annoying stranger. The man was truly being extremely annoying, and Bates was not happy that he had been left with someone like him. He would much rather prefer Blood's silence, but if that's what he was left with, he would just have to do. Besides, this Michael character can probably just tag along and try to be useful. He can just let everyone know where they are, because that's certainly a good thing, and he can probably help him out with spotting materials. It didn't matter though, because he will probably do one of those things, and not the other, and the outcome would probably not be favorable to Bates. He sighed, looking over at the entrance of the mine that was rumored to have a lot of iron ore that the alchemist could use. Since there was nothing at the entrance, he would have to walk inside for things instead.

Materials: 0

[Blood 0]

ID: 102065
LD: 7

Blood watched as the two big guys squeezed into the opening of the mine shaft. Inside, there would be plenty of ores for them to mine, but she would take the challenge and try to find some materials outside. It would be far harder for her, but that's fine, for she just wanted to take her time and get some material gathering done when she had the time to do so. The inside of the mine, if she could remember, was far wider than the opening, so the two would have no problem inside. She sighed, looking around for anything on the outside that she can conveniently grab and claim as her own, but as far as she could tell, there were nothing even remotely close to anything that she could use as a potion maker. Potion... more like poison. There were apples around, but that's not the stuff that she was looking for.

Materials: 0

[Thicc 0]

ID: 102067
LD: 18

Immediately, Bates recognized an iron ore on the side of the wall that literally brightened as he approached it. It seemed that Michael had seen it too.

"Bah haha, that was quite slow of a reaction time on your side buddy. Blood would not like that, if you ask me, so you better get your butt moving and get this material gathering session done fast and over with. I don't know about you, but this place is way too small for my likings, and there's no where that I can flex my muscles on, so you better hurry up and finish this thing before I run out of breath, or my muscles run out of oxygen." He blurted out, spamming with his mouth as Bates got out the pick axe given to him by the alchemist, digging the ore out of the wall and claiming it as a quest material.

Without a word, he continued on, leaving Michael slowly recognizing that he had moved on.

Materials: 1

[Blood 0]

ID: 102072
LD: 12

Blood carried on, hoping that she can find something nearby that she can use, but not really believing that it's a possibility. She found that it's actually quite hard to find anything that can be useful in this world, so material gathering is actually quite a challenge even when it seems like there are a whole bunch of materials waiting to be discovered on the first floor. This is actually not the case, and Blood had found out the hard way when she first attempted to go material gathering. Blood sighed, lifting her black hair so that it didn't cover her face. It was at this moment when she spotted something in the distance. Two blackened figures conversing amongst each other. It seemed like they were conversing, but she didn't know about what. Blood slowly crept closer to the two figures, watching as they continued and leaning as close as possible to them without alerting them to her presence.

Materials: 0

[Thicc 0]

ID: 102085
LD: 14

Bates wondered exactly why an alchemist would need something like ores from a mine, but he didn't question it, because that's who he was. It was probably something that was related to an unique potion that the alchemist was trying to make or another small little thing. His job was not to think about the details like this. He had been given a quest, and he would fulfill the conditions of the quest no matter what, even if the quest details were just that tad off. Bates sighed, listening to Michael as he began talking about his own muscles when he suddenly saw a shine on the side of the wall that had was walking past. He had found another material, and he was one step closer to the quest completion. It wouldn't be far before he would gather all five. When that happens, the quest would practically be complete.

Materials: 2

[Pick 0]

"Aye. I got what you are saying. Look, I'm going to get you the materials, but it ain't gonna be easy since I don't have much materials at the moment. I need to level up first, before I can get materials easily for you all. I am a pickpocket, but this game doesn't really let you do something like that, so you're just gonna have to bare with me, alright? We can talk about business after I get these materials." Pick said, apologetically. The truth of the matter is, while he had promised multiple people that he would be able get materials onto their hands, he didn't have the party to level up and get the skills that would make it a lot easier for him to do so. Because of this, he is getting a lot of people coming to him and questioning whether he has the materials or not, and he can never tell them no, so he just tells them to wait a bit more for their own turn. Normally, they get angry and walk away, but this time, the person was not having any of it. "Look, you said you could get it to me by today. How long do I have to wait?"

[Blood 0]

Blood saw that the guy was someone that she recognized. She too, had been promised materials, and as an alchemist, she definitely appreciated the guy's effort to provide with free materials. However, she did not need him giving materials to other people, and she saw this as a great opportunity to come in and take charge. She could recruit him to be part of a three-way triad between herself and Thicc, and although Blood would want him to focus on material gathering skills, he would eventually evolve into a support or a healer. Blood nodded... he could prove to be a crucial member of her party if he was willing to join up with the forces of evil. Blood took out her katana, and rushed in front of the man with her blade held high in the air. "You go, or I force you to go." She snarled, eyes unblinking as her stare of death continued to be placed on the man's eyes. With a look of disgust and anger, he turned away and walked off into the distance. Blood sighed, putting away the blade.

[Thicc 0]

ID: 102186
LD: 18

While the other two players were taking their time getting to know each other, Thicc was hard at work, following the orders that Blood had given him. He was still very salty that Michael had been the partner provided to him for this particular task, but if he was to cause harm to this green-haired loud mouth, then Blood would not be a very happy woman. He sighed, keeping his back straight as he continued to work hard at gathering materials for this beginner quest. He kept looking for these alchemist ores that he should be very easy to find in this cave, and without question, the ores stood out in the darkness. With one glance, Thicc caught sight of multiple ores on the wall and easily, he used the pick axe that he had borrowed to obtain the ores. With that, he was more than half way done with his part of the quest, and soon enough, he'll be able to claim his first set of skill points.

Materials: 3

[Pick 0]

"Thanks so much. By the way, I think I know you... Oh wait, I promised you that I would be able to get some materials on your hands too, right? It's a shame that I don't have any with me at the moment. Perhaps you could take a rain check too?" Pick said, scratching his blonde, messy but youthful hair. "Even though it's not raining right now, you can come back later right?" Pick finished, looking at Blood, but realizing that she already heard what he had said before she interfered. With a nervous chuckle, Pick began once more, with more fear in his voice due to the intimidation that the woman gave off. "Ok, ok. I'll be honest with ya. I don't have any skills that allows me to get more materials easier, and since I already made those promises, I can't get time to find people to help me with skill points, since I have to do my best to get more materials even if I don't have the ability to do so. "Perhaps you could help me out then? I wouldn't mind tagging along with ya and getting all the material gathering skills.

[Blood 0]

"Actually, that's what I want to talk to you about. You join us, and we get you the materials you need. I know you aren't much into the ways of killing and the sorts like that, so I won't force you to do any of that. If you join up with our party of criminals, though, I'll ensure that you level up high enough to get the materials that you need to pay these people. I'm not sure why you would want to give these materials away freely, but it's not my right to question your motives. All I know is, it will get you some good relationships, and that will help me if I associate myself with you." Blood exclaimed. She had a way of speaking, and the voice she possesses can be both demanding and passionate at the same time. It wasn't a threat, but it was delivered like one, and the result was to intimidate this character, Pick, to join up with her. With him on her side, crafting would become much easier, and with more potions and poisons available to her, killing would become much easier as well.

[Thicc 0]

ID: 102197
LD: 9

Thicc sighed, looking around once more in the same place. However, he could not spot anything that was remotely of use to him, and he was not happy that his streak of getting materials had ended. Now, he must be patient, but it was hard to keep calm and get patient when the guy next to him was constantly spam speaking with information that was completely useless to him.

"Ah, finally, your streak of good luck has ended. Don't worry about it buddy, this is the game that we live in, and this is the game that we have to deal with. Sometimes, failure leads to the best success, and that is what you must learn during your time here. I know that you used to be a soldier or something... just make sure that you don't get too serious, that would be bad....."

From there, Thicc blocked out the rest.

Materials: 3

[Pick 0]

"Great! That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I'm not out here trying to get those materials without any help, and although you look evil as hell, I think we can get along with a mutual relationship. What do you think?" Pick exclaimed, "But first, I sense a treasure around here some where. Let's test my luck out real fast, shall we?"

ID: 102198
LD: 9

"Huh, looks like my luck in real life just isn't the same as my luck in this game. I guess we'll just have to improve that luck eh? I think you aught to help me get those beginner quests done, since I'm still on stage one, and I don't have much experience with me at all. We're starting from the beginning, and I suppose you should show me exactly where to get this quest started." Pick said, allowing Blood to walk ahead of him. "And while we're at it, let's introduce ourselves to each other first, since we never really had a formal one."