[SP-F01] Fetch Quests! <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>>

[Cosi 0]

Log Entry One- Questing Time

Today I finally decided to stop skulking and do something in this forsaken game. I wandered around the Town of Beginnings for a while- nothing new there- till I was waylaid by some old guy named Zackariah. He was your generic quest giving NPC from any generic rpg: old, looked like a wizard, annoying, and completely obsessed with getting items he was too lazy to go get him self. So I decided to be a pal and help out the helpless wizard and go a-questing. Nothing much came from it but hey 1st level quests are like that. Still, this is how it goes...

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Cosi walked toward the gate to the Town of Beginnings and stopped a mixture of fear and excitement rising in his chest, but mostly fear. He stared out on the expense waiting before him. It was idyllic: green grass, rolling hills, a blue cloudless sky...ahh... and probably full of monsters waiting to kill him. Cosi hated this game already, not only because if he died he... well died, because it looked so nice when it killed you. 

He sighed, "Well here goes nothing" and stepped outside...

 

[Cosi 0]

...And he didn't explode, thank the Random Number Gods or whatever. Still, being outside of the walled Town of Beginnings was kinda terrifying but hey its a game what else was he supposed to do: sit on his but forever. 

Cosi strolled the open fields breathing in the wonderful, clean, virtual air and sighed. It sucked being in a game. The outside world was so much more real but that didn't matter because some idiot and programmed the game to fry anyone's brain who tried to leave or who died. That idiot was... who ever made this blasted game, Cosi didn't care to remember. 

Now what was he supposed to be looking for again?

Spoiler

Roll ID: 102565

Result: 10- Fail

Yeah, Cosi couldn't remember for the life of him what the old guy wanted. Guess he'd just keep on walking around till it came to him or until he go eaten by a giant monster. Or a small one. he wouldn't put it past himself to get killed by the smallest monster in Aincrad. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

So he kept walking, strolling over green hills and past babbling brooks- why were they always babbling because they honest to goodness were, why couldn't they burble instead- by small shrubberies and by all means avoiding any large, medium, or small beasties. He just wanted to find the crazy wizard's stuff- whatever it was- and go back to the Town. Still he had to remember what the old guy wanted. Wasn't it something about... health potions? Flowers went in potions... right?  

Spoiler

Roll ID: 102567

Result: 4- Fail

Yep, those flowers definitely didn't go in health potions because they were obviously buttercups. And buttercups were poisonous much to Cosi's chagrin. So Cosi kept looking, and looking, and looking. He was mainly thinking and not looking for whatever the old guy wanted because...well...he couldn't remember what the old guy wanted. Man, he really should've paid more attention to what the wizard wanted. Cosi was used to having whatever he was fetching to be glowing or something like in all other rpgs. Cosi shrugged, guess its a bit more lifelike then others.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Maybe Cosi should go back and ask the old guy what he wanted again. Then again he was already outside and would eventually stumble on whatever crafting ingredient was needed. Still Cosi dreaded to think of what the outside would be like at night but he'd started in the morning so that shouldn't be a problem. 

So Cosi wandered and wandered some more, not really thinking of anything. Actually that was a lie, he was thinking of home, of his parents, and sister, and baby Ryan, and gosh how Cosi hated being stuck it this game! Everyone was so far above him- literally the world was honest to goodness floors- and he was terrified of getting offed by some monster because unlike every other game Cosi had played death was final.

Wait was that something important and material looking?

Spoiler

Roll ID: 102567

Result: 6- Fail

Nope, no that was not. That was actually a... completely normal rock.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Well back to being lost in thought. Cosi looked out over the fields of green framed by the blue sky. It really was picturesque. He wonder who had programmed and coded it all. Probably the idiot who made and designed it all. Cosi hoped someone would stab that guy in the chest someday but right now he had to find the dumb potion ingredients. Wasn't it a root of somekind? Maybe he should check some of those little shrubberies. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 102572

Result: 2- Fail

Nope nothing but dirt, mud, poking bush fronds, and the wrong kind of roots under those shrubs. Cosi pulled out twigs and needles from his sleeves as he continued walking, and walking some more. Man, if all this game was was walking Cosi might just take a long walk off a short pier or something because he couldn't stand the tedious nature of it all. He was definitely going out to kill monsters next even if that might get him killed. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Alright, time to actually find stuff...hopefully. Cosi decided to jog to break up the monotony. He was still in view of the Town of Beginnings but he didn't care if he found a monster anymore. He just wanted to find the root, or flower, or whatever material the old man wanted so if he stumbled upon a monster he'd kill it and keep on searching. The reward for this quest better be worth the effort but considering it was the first quest he ever got in this game it probably was just some potions or whatnot.

Spoiler

Roll ID: 102573

Result:15- success

+1 T1 Material

Wait, was one of the o so sought after and treasured...ummm...Cosi actually still couldn't tell what it was. The only reason he knew it was one of the materials the old wizard wanted was because it was listed as quest item in his inventory. Literally, the thing looked like a small onion bulb except it was pinkish purple. Guess Aincrad couldn't be totally lifelike.

1 down, 4 to go.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

On to find more. it looks like the purple onion quest items were...well planted in the ground by the banks of the babbling, no you know what Cosi was going to call them burbling brooks from now on, the burbling brooks. Maybe they needed lots of water. You never knew with virtual and most likely magical plant life because as with everything made up it all depended on the creator's prefence.

So he continued  down the brook looking for more purple onions. such a strange day...

Spoiler

Roll ID: 102576 

Result: 1- Fail

And no, there were no more blasted magic onions on this or the other side of this river. Curse the Random Number Gods, for they were not with him today. Cosi still needed to find four more of the fancy flora and then go back to the bearded wizard and complete the quest. Unless there was a second part to this quest, which there probably was, but heaven's forbid there was a third part....

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Cosi swore under his breath as he again searched the banks of a third river. No more purple onions. Dang it. At least the scenery was nice, except that he had been staring at it for half the of the blasted day! 

Cosi breathed out and kept looking through the mud for those mystical bulbs that would grant him that oh so sweet SP. If only there was a way to improve the chances of finding those onions. There probably was at higher levels but Cosi was still level one and had honest to goodness nothing so no dice there. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 102577

Result: 19- Success

+1 T1 Material

Ah hah! There was another one of those elusive purple bulbs sticking out of the loose mud. Finally another one! Now he was one step closer to completely the quest and by one step closer Cosi meant that he still needed to find three more. Three more ninja onions. *sigh*

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Cosi blinked as his eyes focused. He must have fallen asleep. Which was quite understandable considering Cosi had been searching from morning til...mid morning. Okay so he hadn't been searching that long but still the sound of the burbling brook and the soft grass had been so enticing. So Cosi had took a quick nap. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, then got up. Time to start searching again. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103850

Result: 4- Failure 

And more fruitless searching. Cosi swore these things should have been easier to find. Guess he was just unlucky.

Cosi shrugged and kept going since there was no sense in wallowing or standing around doing nothing. He continued walking through the open grasslands, past burbling brooks, and over bridges. He was straying further from the Town of Beginnings but there didn't seem to be too many enemies around. He did spot some boars a ways off but he stayed clear. Cosi didn't want to get into a fight just yet. 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Cosi's mind began to wander again. He wondered how many other people were out there, still on the first floor. People who, like him, were too worried or scared to go outside the walls of the Town of Beginnings or to brave the higher levels. Cosi sighed. Probably not that many. Everyone else probably saw this as a game, easy to beat and easy to survive. Cosi however deep down was scared. In the real world, Cosi had been a pro-gamer but he's style of play was different then any other gamer. While most just had an inborn talent and ability for games, Alec, Cosi's real name, needed time to get good at a game which meant countless deaths, failures, and losses. If Cosi wasn't careful in this game and played as he always did he'd end up dead. and nevr seeing his family again...

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103859 

Result: 14- Success

+1 T1 Material

Cosi kicked at the sand and silt and sighed. No magical purple onions here. Actually wait, No! there was one here! Finally he was up to three!

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

He wondered what everyone else's thought process about Aincrad went. He wondered how they mustered up the courage to go out into this hell hole of a game. They couldn't just want to escape. That couldn't be there only drive because...well it was Cosi's only drive and he had hidden in the Town of Beginnings for a month. 

Cosi sighed. He just hoped he could struggle along, fight, learn, not die, and by the end someone else would beat the last floor and he could go home.

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103864 

Result: 5- Failure

Cosi continued down the river so lost in thought he didn't even bother to look for more onions. Not there were any to find because his luck had been rather bad this entire trip outside of the town.

Stupid NPCs, Cosi thought as he climbed out of the riverbank, can't get their own dumb magic ingredients. Had to ask hapless adventurers to go risk their lives and probably get killed just so they could make a couple potions. And again Cosi thought to himself, This better be worth it.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

But still on he walked, avoiding monsters, not seeing any other players, and searching for mystical, magical, purple onions. Over hill, passed streams, and across bridges, all while getting further from the Town of Beginnings. Cosi wondered if there were any other settlements on the first floor, anywhere else safe for players to go, or did you have to try and scale the ranks and climb the floors. Quite literally in fact because this place was one big tower. One massive, hulking tower full of players, NPCs, and an absurd amount of monsters. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103869

Result: 16- Success

+1 T1 Material

And there was one more onion. Wow, his luck must've been turning around. Cosi had found two in relatively quick succession. Now he just needed one more than he could return to the old, bearded wizard and get his reward. Though Cosi expected that there would be a second part to this simple if time consuming task.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

So Cosi surged on sensing that his quest was coming to an end, hopefully relatively soon. He continued searching the riverbanks and scouting for the elusive, mystical onions. Alec hated onions and so did Cosi, plus he doubted these purple ones would taste any better than real ones. Also he doubted just as much if the game would let him eat quest items. Best not to try lest he consume one and have to find another. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103870

Result: 13- Success

+1 T1 Material

And thank goodness for his senses because there was the last magic onion! Sweet success! It brought tears to his eyes which was not caused by cutting onions. Nope Cosi was trying very had to keep his treasured quest items in pristine condition, although he didn't think the game would allow that...
Oh well time to head back to the crazy wizard who wouldn't plant his own garden and grow his own magic onions.  

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

As Cosi headed back though something stopped him, Maybe he should try and find a couple more of the magic purple plant- was an onion a plant or a root?- whatever. Because they were probably used in other potions and whatnot... salads perhaps? Cosi shrugged to himself. Anyways, it would probably be worth the time and effort if he found a couple more onions. at least Cosi hoped it would be worth his time. He swore if these things were only used in this quest he would kill the breaded wizard. Which the game probably wouldn't let him do. Still he would try to. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103872 

Result: 19- Success

+1 T1 material 

Haha his luck was going strong! There was one more of the nasty purple roots... tubers. Cosi shrugged, he didn't care what they were as long as they were useful and he hoped they were. Well, he'd keep searching a little while longer, hopefull find one or two more, then he would head back to Zachary or whatever the NPCs' name is.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

And so he continued to head back to the Town of Beginnings, but to still keep hunting for more mystical, glowing, purple onions. He keep his eyes open, looking along the riverbanks for more of the quest items hoping that he'd spot one, possibly two more. 

It was about noon now which was surprising considering how far Cosi had gone. He could barely see the walls of the Town of Beginnings from where he was. Thankful he hadn't seen many monsters except for a couple boars which he had given a wide berth so as to not draw aggro. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103874 

Result: 15- Success

+1 Tl Material 

Wow! The Random Number Gods must be smiling on him today because he spotted another one nearly right away, its leafy green top sticking out of the mud. Cosi quickly ran over to it and picked it up. Sweet, sweet crafting materials. Cosi wondered if he kept finding these things if he could sell them, become a merchant or something. It might be a go way to make some cash but Cosi doubted his luck would last much longer.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Pressing his luck, Cosi decided to continued to search because there was really no harm in doing so. It was high noon, he was nearly one hundred percent sure they didn't lock the gates to the Town of Beginnings and even if they did he wasn't too far from the town.

So Cosi continued along the meandering stream, walking along the bank and still looking for those magic, purple onions. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103876

Result: 9- Failure 

And nothing what so ever. Looks like his luck had run out. Guess he should head back to the Town of Beginnings and maybe he'd find one more onion. So he started heading back. Back over the hills, through rivers, and past the streams to grandmother's house he went... actually he just went back to the Town of Beginnings. Cosi doubted there were grandmothers' houses out here. And if there were any and he saw them Cosi would probably run the other way because they couldn't be good in a game like this.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

And so Cosi walked, and walked, and walked some more because gosh darn apparently he had walked far from the Town of Beginnings. Cosi thought to himself, guess having something to distract you from the monotony of walking, like searching and collecting magic onions, really speeds up the time. But he had to get back and finish this quest so he could get whatever potions the old wizard would give him as a reward so Cosi didn't stop. But he didn't stop looking for the onions either.

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103879 

Result: 20- Success

+1 T1 Material

Sweet there was one more! Guess his luck was still going strong after all. But he should still go and get the quest done. There was no point in collecting all these purple onions if he didn't go and complete the quest. So Cosi continued to slog his way back to the Town of Beginnings and to the old guy who would be rewarding him so handsomely for the magic onions that Cosi had so painstakingly found.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Cosi

[Cosi 0]

So after a little while longer of walking over the green grasslands of floor one, Cosi has back at the main gate of the town, back to safety. Cosi entered moving past the countless NPCs and other players accepting and finishing quests and headed to what's his face's workshop. It was near the center of the Town of Beginnings, off the beaten path but still noticeable. Mostly because the entire outside of the shop was a bright blue. NPCs had weird tastes.

The breaded old guy-ah, Zachariah was his name, he knew cause it was floating above hi head-  was waiting outside his shop. As soon as the wizard saw Cosi he beckoned to him, "Welcome back brave traveler! Hve you brought me the ingredients I requested" then not waiting for Cosi to respond, "Good, good. Then come inside please. I've got one more task for you."

"okay," Cosi said to himself, holding a handful of purple onions, as the old man quickly shuffled back inside of his shop. So Cosi followed still holding the onions. 

 

[Cosi 0]

Once inside Cosi saw the old man rushing around his shop gathering bottles and flasks, heating water, and gathering other dried ingredients.

"Uhh do you want these onions mister?" Cosi asked cautiously, not wanting to disturb the man.

"But of course" He responded, not turning around, and suddenly with a pop the onions disappeared from Cosi hand appeared on a cutting board, 

"Come here young man" Zachariah said beckoning Cosi closer, "I'd like you to help me make a potion, just to show you the ropes" 

Cosi silently groaned to himself of course it was potion making but he nodded to the old man and approached. 

"Good, good," he nodded to himself, "let me demonstrate for you" and in a flash he grabbed one of the onions, sliced it up, but it in a bottle of boiling water, let it sit for a second, added some other herbs, and suddenly- poof- the bottle turned into a bright red potion.

"Now you try," Zachariah said. 

Cosi simply nodded a little dumbfounded. How had the old guy made it so fast.  

[Cosi 0]

But Cosi tried anyway. He cut the onions, added them to the boiling water, and added the herbs to mix, all while Zachariah coached him through the motions. He swore it was harder then it looked and it had looked hard when the wizard had done it so he'd be surprised if he got it on his first try. He mix the mixture and then hoped for the best. 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 103884 

Result: 3- Failure

The potion turned into a sad grayish, purplish thick tincture. Cosi sighed. He felt about as disappointed as the potion looked, but the old man merely picked up the failed mess, tossed it into a bin and handed Cosi another purple onion. 
"Try again lad," Zachariah said. Cosi took the onion and set to work. 

This was no different then any other game. You played, tried, failed, but sonner or later you would succeed. And that feeling of success was everything. It lifted hopes and raised spirits. it pushed Cosi to keep going. And so he did.

Edited August 2, 2018 by Cosi