[F1-SP] Getting to it <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>>

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Some would call it a late start. In truth that was an understatement. Two years and some odd months had passed since the game had started. In that time almost a quarter of the floors had been cleared and hundreds if not thousands of players had died. So many people had taken to fighting, arming themselves and charging forward to face new enemies and new challenges. Still many more had stayed put, waiting for others to clear the game for them. It was safer in the town of beginnings. Everything one would need could be found here, so there was no real need to advance. It was, at best, a place to survive. But what kind of life was that? Dallas had finally had enough. Sure she had said that before and attempted to venture out, only to be scared back, but this time was different. Now she wanted to see new things, achieve new goals, and actually be more than a beggar on the street waiting for daily rations. That's why she had taken this quest, wasn't it? It would give her a little experience in the world, and was supposed to yield a few things to aid her during her start-up. Hundreds of people had completed it, which was reassuring, to say the least. If anything it meant that she should be able to accomplish her tasks and get started. 

She had been referred to this quest by a friend who had long since advanced and been defeated many floors up. He had insisted that if she were serious about leaving the first floor, she complete all the starter quests first. The added XP was worth it. He had given her lots of good advice. Find a familiar, watch out for orange players, be aware of Mobs, among other lessons. For the while that she had known him, he had shared stories of other floors, and his adventures. To this day they had stayed with her. 

She sighed as she entered the little house where "Zachariah" resided. He could sometimes be found in other parts of the town, but she had been told he was consistently found here. It helped knowing where he was, no point in wasting any more time in a fruitless search. 

"Ah, A visitor. I wonder if perhaps you could help me with a little task. I'd be willing to reward you for your time."

An elderly fellow spoke from behind a table littered with vials, potions, and ingredients. He looked kindly if not a little absent-minded as he peered over his glasses at her. She had seen him before, his daily routines had crossed her path several times over the years. She knew his character background placed him as the town's alchemist. He had spent years working for the people creating potions and tonics to aid the people here but had grown feeble in his advanced years. He often spoke of how hard it was to acquire materials in his old age. She also knew the first bit of his quest was nothing more than to venture outside of the town and collect materials. Easy.

"Uh sure. Yeah. I'd love to help." She said taking a deep breath and stepping forward. 

Zachariah smiled and nodded "Right, well I need materials to make potions for the blacksmith. Would you be a dear and venture out past the edge of town and find some for me? I would myself but my old bones won't carry me that far. I need 5 Materials." 

Dallas nodded affirmatively before speaking. "Right. Just 5? No problem. I will be back soon." As she finished speaking a notification popped up stating that she had accepted the quest. Zachariah had started to speak again, but she was not interested in hearing what he had to say, she had things to do and little time to do them. Instead, she turned briskly and left the house, while his words trailed off behind her. Odds are she would be back before he finished speaking.

"Right so the edge of town is that way. That's where I'll go." She said out loud to no one in particular before heading off.

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

It didn't take Dallas long to reach the wall. It never did. In the years she had spent here, she had learned her way around, including NPC schedules and shortcuts. Not that she was in that much of a hurry, She just happened to be eager to start. To simplify things, this first part of the quest was not going to require combat. Instead, she simply had to search for things. Mushrooms, berries, roots, or anything that would appear as a material would suffice in this instance. 

Near the exit to the town stood a lone guard. She had seen him many times, and without fail he would warn her of the dangers of the outside if she ventured too close. Once she had even sat and listened to what he had said, but now his words seemed to fall on deaf ears as she swept passed him. She didn't need to be told about the boars or the wasps that prowled the fields and forests of the first floor. They wouldn't be much trouble, not yet anyway. Besides, if she stayed close to the town she would be fine. For some reason, Dallas waved lazily over her shoulder as she left, knowing full well that the gesture meant nothing to the programmed NPC that had no doubt returned to his post. 

She sighed again once outside the town and took a quick look around. Both to the left and to the right were open fields. After a brief deliberation, she decided to head to the right which in this case meant she was going south.

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Dallas took her time walking along the wall at first. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but suspected an option to harvest materials would appear when she found something, that was how it worked in other games right? No one had ever actually explained to her how this worked, not that she had ever actually asked. But since literally, everyone had managed it, it couldn't be that hard. Not far off she noticed several rocks sticking out of the ground at an odd angle. That would be where she would start.

Dallas proceeded to investigate the rocks but found nothing of interest. It was then she realized that she actually had no real idea what she was looking for. Would it be just a notification pop up saying something was there? Would she actually see something to pick up and interact with? And if so what would it be? Mushrooms? Berries? A stick? Suddenly this seemed like a larger task than it actually needed to be. To complicate matters further Dallas suddenly realized that she might not even be able to identify something since she had little idea what things would look like. This would prove to be more frustrating than she had anticipated.

 ID# 119742 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 8

 Loot: 7

 MOB: 8

Edited July 23, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

All she had to do was find five materials. Not too hard a task. Not by any standard. Especially when some quests required the death of boss tier characters. She could do this. Dallas lowered herself to all fours as she began to search around the rocks for anything of any use. The idea that she might look silly crawling around these rocks hadn't occurred to her, instead, she was determined to finish this quest as quick as possible regardless of what it took. 

Perhaps she needed a little more research before starting this. After all, there were so many variables that she hadn't accounted for. She even considered for a brief moment, heading back and flagging down another player for help. That was until her hand touched something. There at the tips of her fingers sat a small patch of mushrooms. In an instant, she grabbed the mushrooms and jumped up. 

"YES... YES... FRONTLINES HERE I COME." SHe shrieked excitedly as she jumped up and down. This was it. The crucial first step in her quest to get out of this game.

 

Quest Materials +1

 ID# 119824 results:

 Battle: 7

 Craft: 9

 Loot: 20

 MOB: 9

Edited July 24, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Finding those mushrooms was certainly great for her confidence. If anything it pointed her in the right direction and gave her a good idea of what this quest entailed. With renewed vigor, she deposited the mushrooms into her inventory and dropped back to her knees to keep looking for more materials. It seemed the trick was to get right down into it, and really look for things. This didn't bother her at all. In truth she preferred this method, using her hands, and actually feeling around to find things. Somehow it felt more natural for her. She hoped to find more, continue this lucky streak. She even grinned at the idea of finding something else so quickly. 

A few moments passed before her fingers felt the familiar sensation of mushroom caps. She had done it again, found a few more. These ones looked similar to the ones she had found, but retained a slight blue color, while the others had been more of a maroon. Again she excitedly grabbed the small caps and placed them into her inventory. She was enjoying this, the search, and the feeling of success when she found what she was looking for. She even felt a little upset that she had waited so long to start this. Had she done this from the beginning she might have actually been somewhere by now. She might have even saved a life or two.

Dallas was even more determined to get through this. 

 

Quest Material +1

 

 ID# 119826 results:

 Battle: 3

 Craft: 12

 Loot: 18

 MOB: 8

Edited July 24, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Two down. At this rate, Dallas would be done before lunch. She smiled as she continued to crawl around the patch of rocks. So far the mushrooms had been found under the larger rocks that stuck up at strange angles, so that would be how she would continue her search. Her fingers seemed to move expertly over the stones as she felt around for anything else that could be harvested. Dallas even floated the idea that maybe she would harvest materials like this as a means to make col after the quest was done. It seemed easy enough, and good crafting regents always seemed to be in demand.

Dallas carefully slipped her hand under another rock and quickly recoiled it. Something under the rock had felt cold, wet and slippery. It was for lack of a better word, slimy and gross. She frowned in disgust and stood up, shaking the excess moisture from her hand. Perhaps the slimy gunk was harvestable, but it was not something she had any interest in touching again, so for now, she would find nothing and move on to a different spot. It wasn't at all discouraging for her, in fact, she still felt excited. The idea that she had cleaned out this spot, for now, was rather exhilarating.

 ID# 119827 results:

 Battle: 9

 Craft: 9

 Loot: 2

 MOB: 4

Edited July 24, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Once her hand had dried off, Dallas took another look around. One of the advantages of being finally able to see was that she could spot places of interest from a distance. It definitely made things easier than trying to tap her way along until she found something. Not far off, a small patch of shrubbery was growing. Its dark green leaves stood out against the light green grass of the field. It even looked as though there were berries growing from the brush. This would no doubt prove to be another great place to continue her search. The only downside was that she was now venturing further away from the safety of the town, and stood a better chance at being attacked. So long as she was careful though, it wouldn't be a problem.

Dallas didn't waste any time before heading over to the brush to try her luck. As she approached she did notice that there were indeed berries growing from it. They were various shades of red, ranging from dark almost blood red to bright neon red. She wondered if they were beneficial or toxic, and made a note to ask when she was done with the quest. 

Despite her best attempts to reach the berries, Dallas would soon find herself thwarted by several large thorns she had failed to notice upon her initial arrival. While they did not deplete herself, they did prevent her from being able to retrieve any of the berries that sat deceptively out of reach. She chuckled gently as she reassessed how best to acquire her prize.

ID# 119829 results:

 Battle: 3

 Craft: 9

 Loot: 7

 MOB: 2

Edited July 24, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Dallas Circled the brush looking for a weakness in its thorny defense. She even prodded the branches with her sword attempting to cut a patch clear. It was then she noticed that several berries had fallen to the ground and now rested just under the brush. The thorns were still there, but maybe if she were careful, she could reach under and retrieve some of them for herself. At the very least it wouldn't hurt to try. With that thought, she got down onto her hands and knees again and began to stretch out her arm to try and retrieve some of the crimson berries she sought.

Carefully she stretched out her fingers, trying carefully not to touch the thorns that sat so dangerously close to her arm and hand. Luckily her careful approach would yield results, and she managed to retrieve one of the berries from underneath. It was no bigger than a golf ball and firm in her grasp. In many ways, it felt like it could be used to throw at someone if she were so inclined. She would not be doing that however as she needed this to finish her quest. Perhaps another time. She quickly deposited the berry into her inventory and continued to try and find another berry.

 

Quest Material +1

 

 ID# 119830 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 7

 Loot: 19

 MOB: 6

Edited July 24, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

It wouldn't be long now. Soon Dallas would complete this quest. It was her first quest, and her first steps into a bigger world. She smiled wider with each success, three of them now. With the berry deposited she stood up to look around. While it had been her most recent acquisition, the berry had proven troublesome due to the large thorns that protected them. She considered a different alternative, something unique and a little easier. From somewhere in her memory a conversation surfaced. She had overheard an adventurer mentioning something about... Butterfly wings. He had said that they could be used for potions. She wasn't sure why, or how but something about the dust on their wings was potent in basic potion-making. She would try catching a few of those, and if that  failed she would return to the berries and mushrooms

Not too far off Dallas spotted a butterfly near a patch of flowers. It floated delicately between the flowers without much concern for the girl now sprinting towards it. She moved as quickly as she could, closing the gap between her and the insect before pouncing on it. It must have looked rather silly to see a grown woman pounce on a butterfly, but she was not concerned with appearances now, not when she was getting closer to completion. 

When she finally landed on the ground with her hands tightly clenched together. Inside was the butterfly she had actually managed to capture. She could feel it squirming in her grip for a moment before an option to store it in her inventory appeared. Dallas grinned as she did just that bringing herself to four materials harvested. 

"Right, one left now."

 

Quest Material +1

 

ID# 119885 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 4

 Loot: 17

 MOB: 7

Edited July 24, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Dallas stood up smiling triumphantly. She was so close now before too long she would be able to head back to Zachariah and move onto the next phase of this quest. All she had to do was find one more ingredient. This was great. She looked around again, looking for any sign of other butterflies or anything else for that matter she might be able to use. All she needed was something, anything to finish this phase. There was no reason why she wouldn't be able to complete this now. She had had doubters in the real world, and for a while, she thought they were right, but if only they could see her now.

Unlike last time, however, nothing seemed to be immediately present. There were no new outcroppings nearby, no shrubberies, and no signs of insects she might collect. It was just her and the things she had already found. Perhaps she would do well to go back and continue farming the spots she had discovered. Given that she was so close to finishing, Dallas made a choice to turn back and search through the first rock outcropping again.

 

ID# 119921 results:

 Battle: 1

 Craft: 3

 Loot: 5

 MOB: 5

Edited July 25, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Dallas cast her gaze upwards, raising a hand to cover her eyes from the sun that now blinded her. As nice as it was to see these things again, she had become so accustomed to a world without sight, that now she wished she could turn it off. Her eyes could be so distracting, every bright light, every movement, everything new did well to distract her, steal her focus, and make things more difficult. On top of that, she found that the sight of things could be discouraging to her if something simply looked too intimidating she might not proceed. It was strange that now after all this time she viewed sight as a handicap in its own way.

After a moment she lowered her eyes and hand, before proceeding tp the rocks. If she were lucky she might find another mushroom.

Upon arriving back at the rocks she dropped to her hands and knees and began to feel around with her fingers, under the rocks again. She knew what she was looking for, that soft round mushroom shape. She even expected to find one right away. Seconds later her fingers touched something wet and slippery. Strangely though it felt like whatever it was actually moving. She hesitated a moment before reaching deeper and making a grab at the mystery object, pulling her hand back with a shriek as it moved and exited the rocks on its own. A frog had been seeking refuge from the early morning sun and had been disturbed by her sudden grabbing. It had emerged so quickly that it had startled her, causing her to fall back, while it stared with bug-eyed displeasure from the rock that it had landed on, before hopping off to find a new hiding spot. Dallas could feel her cheeks turning red, and she hoped no one had seen her be frightened by the frog.

 

ID# 120050 results:

 Battle: 3

 Craft: 4

 Loot: 10

 MOB: 2

Edited July 26, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Dallas sighed again as she sat on her knees for a few moments. She wasn't second-guessing herself, or her desire to be out here. She was just trying to figure out a better way to do this. so far she had been moderately successful, and it had been ok. But there was more to this, and if she did this right she could better help herself and others. Farming materials had to have a more efficient method. Perhaps she would return to this idea later, for now, she had a rock crevice in front of her, whos amphibious defender had left leaving it wide open for her, and she was not going to waste the opportunity to shove her hand blindly into some hole like that.

She smiled at the way she had mentally described the situation, before leaning forward and reaching her hand back into the crevasse. Inside it felt damp, and slimy like it had before, with a distinct lack of moving things, which was comforting in a small way.  Sadly this would not prove much of a help as, despite her best efforts, Dallas was unable to find anything of any value in this particular spot. Maybe she had cleaned it out earlier, and the items took time to respawn. If that were the case she would not find anything else here for an undetermined amount of time.

 

ID# 120051 results:

 Battle: 2

 Craft: 3

 Loot: 3

 MOB: 

Edited July 26, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Dallas was not one to be easily deterred however and she quickly found herself crouched on her knees in front of another hole, reaching eagerly into it in hopes of finding another mushroom to pick. At this point, she would only need one. One anything. It didn't have to be a mushroom. It could be collectible slime, roots, even bugs. anything that could be used in a potion would work. She even leaned in, pressing her shoulder against the rocks to reach further in if need be, but still, there would be nothing to be found. Perhaps there was more to this item respawn theory than she had originally given thought to.

Another sigh escaped her lips, this one had a slight tone of frustration as she scanned around for another place to search. Perhaps returning to the berry bush was a better idea. Dallas made the call and stood up and walked back over to the thorn bushes. There appeared to be many berries still left, she would just need to be careful in collecting them. 

Edited July 26, 2019 by Midnight_Lace

[Midnight_Lace 0]

Dallas approached the bush again. It was funny how inviting it looked from a distance. But this time she knew the truth. Waiting for her and anyone else careless enough to just reach in, were hundreds of long thorns. She assumed that pricking herself hard enough on them might actually result in damage, and of course, that assumption led to the question, "Had anybody died while picking berries?" Of course, she wasn't worried, after all, she had, not long ago, managed to gather a berry with no damage, so it could be done. She knelt down beside the bush and began looking for an opening to reach into.

Success. Dallas found a break in the thorns and nestled neatly within reach was a single berry. She smiled to herself as she reached in and picked the berry with ease. Once collected she recoiled her hand with the berry and placed it into her inventory. She had completed the first part of her quest, collecting five materials to be used for crafting. Her excitement was tangible now as she jumped up with excitement.

"YES, YES, YES... I DID IT" 

She shrieked with excitement as she began running full tilt back towards the city gate. 

 

Quest Material +1

 

ID# 120138 results:

 Battle: 3

 Craft: 5

 Loot: 13

 MOB: 5

Edited July 27, 2019 by Midnight_Lace