[SP-F1] Fullmetal <<Earning a Living: Alchemist>>

[Sure 0]

'Well, that's a good way to start!' Sure clasped the shimmering Golden Acorn, harvesting the very first item of the day.

His objective was simple; Gather 5 crafting materials and take them to back to <<Evangeline Calora>>, Master Alchemist and the stepping stone NPC for those looking to brew potions and crystals. Usually, the profession quest was the first he'd try to complete in an MMO. After a startling realization that gathering wasn't quite as simple in Sword Art Online as most other games, however, Sure had put it on hold until learning a thing or two from a fellow player.

Armed with an approximate knowledge of how to make out shiny things from a distance, he took to the forests outside the city walls only a few days post his previous visit. And with one-fifth of the task completed already, he was beginning to doubt it would take long at all.

ID: 103833
LD: 16 (1 Material : 1 Total)

Edited August 1, 2018 by Sure

[Sure 0]

With all the misfortune he and Pick had last time, Sure wasn't feeling hopeful about taking on a gathering quest so early. A lack of funds meant he wasn't able to scrounge up any luck-enhancing items and was still very much at the whim of the cosmos, relying on blind luck and minimal strategic planning instead.

Amazingly, he was able to find another material hanging from a nearby tree; A pristine Apple ripe for the taking. Picking and stashing it, the quest helper refreshed and the '1/5' morphed into '2/5', signifying he was just under halfway there. 'So I was right,' he thought, reminiscing on the other day. 'That other player must have swept through the whole area, almost certain there was nothing here before.'

The more he thought back on it, the more he understood how stupid he'd been previously. Staying in an area where a skilled gatherer was working was always going to end horribly, but to do so in the evening when most players were coming back from a loot-filled adventure was guaranteed misery.

ID: 103834
LD: 20 (1 Material : 2 Total)

Edited August 1, 2018 by Sure

[Sure 0]

A mere ten steps from the last, a tertiary apple swung merrily from a tree. "What is going on?" He pondered aloud. Sure was starting to reconsider his mindset towards material gathering and its perceived difficulty, realizing it to be the third he'd collected in such a short space of time. Maybe luck really wasn't on his side the other day? Or, the more likely option, he was simply having a streak of luck that would come to a bitter end soon enough.

Whatever the case, he pressed on, setting off on an adventure through the ivory forests of the first floor. Given that it was so early in the day, he didn't expect to see any other players nor monsters that lurked at night, a fact that put his mind at ease for the moment. Fresh new gear was at the ready if something were to come up, not that he was actually prepared to make his first real mob encounter in the game.

ID: 103839
LD: 18 (1 Material : 3 Total)

Edited August 2, 2018 by Sure

[Sure 0]

As with all good things, his streak of luck had come to a bitter halt, marking the end of the steady stream of materials. As far as he knew, Three-in-a-row's were statistically improbable in the world of SAO, especially for a beginner of his caliber. Taking it in stride as a small victory, Sure decided to move on to the next location in his fictional list; The tall grass that he and another played stumbled upon during the last visit. A treasure chest was discovered with ease previously, so, if his recent fortune was anything to go by, the chance of finding another was very real.

"Crap," he exclaimed, inventory opening with a simple gesture. Something felt off from the offset for the man and he finally discovered what - the new armor and weapon he had made weren't equipped, leaving him vulnerable to ambush from mobs and potential players. Realistically, he knew the threat of anything attacking him were slim in these forests, but he wasn't taking any chances.

ID: 103919
LD: 14 (No Material : 3 Total)

Edited August 4, 2018 by Sure

[Sure 0]

As expected the area was rife with materials, a clear-cut sign that no looters had been in the area that day. Another apple dangled from a low-hanging branch and was an easy pick-up for the novice. 'Four outta five already? It's been- what, ten minutes? No way this takes more than another ten to get over with.'

Sure pondered what to do for the rest of the day. Originally he'd planned to be out in the field for a few hours, including the time it would take to get back and craft another item. 'I could take another quest? Mm, then again, I'd have to go back to town to find one. May as well just take a new one after handing this one in... Ugh.' In a normal MMO, Tully always took on way more quests than he could properly chew. The heightened stakes of Sword Art Online meant he wasn't willing to hoard potential SP and get a bunch of rewards at once - completing quest individually maximized survivability.

ID: 104036
LD: 17 (1 Material : 4 Total)

Edited August 5, 2018 by Sure

[Sure 0]

Satisfied, Sure sighed. "And that... Is that." The last material, yet another apple, faded from existence and into his inventory, triggering a chain of events in the HUD. <<Gather Materials (5/5)>> was replaced with <<Return to Evangeline>> in the quest helper, and the final objective loomed below it; <<Craft an Item>>. 'This is really it: A job, crafting items, making money... Keeps on feeling less and less like a game.' Reading the last one caused him to shift uncomfortably. As real as it felt, he was struggling to accept the new reality for what it was; A game. Handing in a quest and getting rewarded for it was something you could only do in RPGs and MMOs. To physically do it himself meant irrevocably accepting SAO as reality.

Some moments later, however, he managed a smile. It wasn't logical to be held up on some neither him nor any other player could change any time soon. What's to keep him from enjoying the experience?

ID: 104056
LD: 16 (1 Material : 5 Total) <<Quest objective complete!>>

Edited August 6, 2018 by Sure

[Sure 0]

Roll placeholder

ID: 104078
CD: 5 <<Fail - Material Destroyed!>>

Edited August 6, 2018 by Sure