[SP-F1] Tedious Quest <The First Few Lessons Are Free> <COMPLETE>

[Shinji 0]

What am I supposed to do now that I am trapped here for God knows how long? Where do I even begin?

These are the thoughts running along Shinji's mind as he looks out the window, the morning sun risen since three hours ago. He found a new purpose to live when he heard the dreadful announcement from Aincrad's creator and god that all players here will be trapped for life until they are able to beat the 100th floor. Some took their own lives in response, thus prompting their Nerve Gears to fry their brains in reality. Some sank into emotional misery. Others formed their own armies and wasted no time in advancing to higher floors. Overall, the situation was initially painful to endure.

Not so for Shinji, as he found that life in his Earthly home gets a bit boring from cycling the same routine over and over for one year. Plus, with loneliness still in his heart, he found something that might be able to distract himself from that. Purging evil, witness magic, see the unexplainable, et cetera. However, the burning question is, where does he still start?

Spoiler

Stats

Level: 1 -- HP 20/20 -- Energy 2/2 -- DMG: 5 -- MIT: 9

Skills

Sword Art: Two Handed Straight Sword (Rank 1)

Two Handed Weapons (Rank 1) (+3 DMG)

Equipment

Spoiler

Name: Big Sword

Appearance: https://www.darksword-armory.com/wp-content/uploads/1970/01/two-handed-sword-herald-series-2209-10.jpg

Item Type: Two Handed Straight Sword

Tier: 1

Quality: Uncommon

Enhancements: +1 DMG

Description: A greatsword with a black handle and silver hilt. The starting sword for new players.

 

Spoiler

Name: Iron Cuirass

Appearance: https://cdn0.rubylane.com/_pod/item/1524904/2179C-141/France-late-19th-century-small-astonishing-pic-1o-2048%3A10.10-73-f.jpg

Item Type: Heavy Armor

Tier: 1

Quality: Uncommon

Enhancements: +1 MIT (-9 DMG)

Description: A simple iron cuirass that only provides protection for not only the torso, but vital organs as well.

 

Spoiler

Name: Starter Healing Potion (5)

Item Type: Potions

Enhancements: +50 HP

Description: A small vial containing a red liquid, capped by a cork. Restores health at a decent rate.

 

 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

Tired of being idle in his room in a local inn, Shinji dons his iron cuirass and straps his greatsword to his back, then heads out of the building. The first thing he wants to do is to level up early, so reluctantly, he follows a marker leading to the first quest. A fetch quest. A boring kind of quest. Why can't NPCs fetch s**t for themselves? Aren't there combat NPCs they could hire to fend beasts off them? Is this really the video game of the future?

Shinji lets out a deep sigh. Unless he wants to die early from more powerful monsters in other quests, it's probably best if he starts slowly. Soon he is close to an alchemy lab, a sign depicting a flask with smoke trailing from it hangs above a wooden door. Shinji slowly pushes it open and steps in, looking around to see dozens of bottles, lab equipment, potions, furniture, and an NPC in the form of an old man called Zakariah.

Here's the quest giver I suppose, he thinks to himself as he approaches the man, who turns around and look at him with a smile.

[Shinji 0]

"Here to buy my potions, young man? Or do you perhaps...want to run an errand for me in return for free potions? They will be very helpful in your early adventures, I assure you," says Zakariah while he retains his small smile. 

Free potions? Not bad. Shinji could get plenty of those to survive. He nods slowly to the man and speaks in a soft voice, "What is it that you need, sir?"

Zakariah stands up and offers his hand to Shinji, who shakes it firmly in return. He sits back down as he explains that he just needs five herbs that are found in a couple of flowerbeds at the grasslands outside the walls. Two nettles and four belladonnas. As a reference, he shows Shinji pictures of said herbs from a book about alchemic ingredients.

"There are boars and wolves that you must watch out for, son, but with that sword of yours, I am sure you can dispatch them easily. Don't rush, just be careful and take care of yourself."

Shinji bows respectfully to the old man as thanks for his advice, then steps out of the door and walks all the way to the Starting City's gates. Maybe this quest will be a breeze for him.

[Shinji 0]

The walk to the flowerbeds is short if uneventful. Today's breeze cool Shinji's head, relieving him from the heat of the morning sun. At one point he comes across an area scattered with boars grazing the grass or sleeping, but he provokes none of them as he wants to get this done as quick as possible. As he keeps referring to his map and its quest marker, he finds that he is close to the flowerbeds and exits the display.

Shinji looks ahead at his destination as he finally arrives, the flowerbeds are riddled with beautiful flowers and herbs, a lot of them ripe and ready to be picked for future use. He kneels down and brushes his hand along the flowers in an attempt to search for nettles and belladonnas. He wonders what kind of potion would require both of those, as well as its effects.

ID: 135514 -- LD: 15 (Found 1/5 Material!)

First nettle found! That was easy, he thinks to himself. Putting it into his inventory, he keeps brushing his hands along the different areas of the beds to find the next herb.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135515 -- LD: 5 (No Material found)

It doesn't take long for Shinji to realize that it'll take some time to find the herbs he needs. A lot which he found don't look like nettles or belladonnas as depicted in the book shown by Zakariah. This is the part he hates. Having to waste a lot of time trying to find something in vain in a goddamn fetch quest. Sometimes Shinji takes a break and sits by the flowerbeds, staring at the distance, thinking of his former life. But no sooner than five minutes later, he gets back to his work, confident that he'll make it at best before noon, or hell, evening.

Sometimes Shinji catches glimpses of a boar or two approaching his vicinity, but as he isn't in the mood to attack them for the time being, they mind their own business, grazing and wandering around all day while snorting randomly like the pigs they are.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135516 -- LD: 1 (No Material found)

As the search for nettles and belladonnas are growing in vain, Shinji starts to resent this stupid quest, wondering what the hell he is doing here in the first place searching for something that might not be common in an area like this. Is Zakariah even correct about the two flowerbeds inhabited by said herbs? Maybe some kind of dementia he is suffering and he gave Shinji the wrong location, or worse, hoped on the wrong person who is barely starting in Aincrad?

Shinji shakes his head to shake off any negative thoughts he harbors towards the NPC, seeing that he sounds kind hearted and just want a little help to complete his own work. His stomach rumbling isn't helping much either, as he hadn't had breakfast or last night's supper yet. He wasn't in the mood for food before, his starvation replaced with depression. He wasn't sure if the wet pillow he laid on was the result of his sobbing last night, or maybe he is just imagining things.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135517 -- LD: 7 (No Material Found)

While Shinji keeps looking for the herbs, he lets his mind being occupied by his past life. Memories of his teenage self playing an MMO game fills his brain. The dating systems, the equipment, the anime-style graphics, all of those appealed him back then. He would go around and fulfill quests, slay numerous creatures, make his character stronger, and even better, managed to find a player that became his in-game date for a short while. Life was bright that way.

It is at the age of 17 when, combined with the pressures of exams, he found the overall game grindy and boring to play. There was nothing much to do after being strong enough to take down some bosses or so. Even his in-game date left for unknown reasons. Perhaps she too was tired of the monotony. As if that wasn't enough, the playerbase was declining, owing to a fact that the developers weren't very active in the game's recent developments, and they thought that they probably ran off the money and abandoned their project for good. So they reached a dead end and got no choice but to leave.

Sad, but this moment did left Shinji a new impression on MMOs in general.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135518 -- LD: 10 (No Material Found)

He later found that MMOs those days were boring to play, much like his first MMO game. All you do is grind, fetch, level up, craft, repeat. It sounds fun when playing in a group, but even so, he thought that too will become stale and groups will disband as a result. Basically, there wasn't any interesting premise or content to look into. And he wasn't willing to play as such even if he finishes all of the games that he owned.

When he heard of SAO's upcoming release though, he was curious of it being the first Virtual Reality MMORPG, as well as the Nerve Gears. The virtual reality part is enough to convince him that this game might be worth a try. After all, instead of just pressing keyboards and staring at the screen while waiting for his character to finish slaying or gathering, he could actually do this for real. He would be able to see Aincrad in his very eyes, hold an actual sword, and actually make the effort of slaying monsters. Just like reality.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135519 -- LD: 13 (Found 2/5 Material!)

As Shinji takes a break from flashbacking, he notices another nettle sticking out among white flowers. Relief washes over him in an awesome wave as he picks it up, inspects it, and puts it into his inventory. Now to look for belladonnas.

Resuming to his nostalgia as he makes the search, he simply asked his parents for a bit of extra money just for the Nerve Gear and a copy of SAO. They sent that to his way. After much patience, the game was officially released at a later date, and Shinji went out of his home just to line up in a game store he used to frequent for said copy. The line was pretty long and for a moment, his optimism was slightly drained as he was worried that all copies of the game in the store might be sold soon. Fortunately, another box of those arrived, and thanks to that, he was able to purchase it and rushed straight home to delve into his new fantasy.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135520 -- LD: 16 (Found 3/5 Material!)

Oh, a belladonna. Good good, this is getting a bit better, Shinji thinks to himself as he picks it up and continues to search among the flowerbeds, still thinking of his first day in Aincrad while sometimes become aware of his surroundings in case of an attack.

The first time he enters Aincrad, he was given starting COL and Materials, as well as a weapon and armor of choice. He picked a two handed straight sword as he isn't fond of shields as he used to. If you are heavily armored from head to toe, they are nothing more than dead weight even when the armor doesn't feel cumbersome and its weight spread evenly throughout the body. Plus, a two handed weapon deals greater damage than one handed variants, so that's a plus, especially if you want to finish a fight sooner.

As his armor, Shinji chose a simple iron cuirass. It may only protect his chest, but at least it ensures that his vital organs are safe and sound behind the metal. He was later teleported to the Starting City, and he was filled with awe as he looked at the blue sky, the buildings and the players. He even took a big sniff to see if he was actually breathing Aincrad air.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135521 -- LD: 5 (No Material found)

For a while he was walking along parts of the town, browsing merchants, checking out lodgings and maybe a few players here and there. He thought it was great that the shops sell a lot of equipment and items that players need, but it is the not so great quality that slightly sets him off. Maybe good for newer players, but he imagined that they won't help much in further levels.

The rest of his day was spent on resting, checking the functions of his menu, and wandering around the grasslands outside the walls. It was a refreshing walk, and he remembered himself sitting on the grass to look at a pretty area with a lake and a rainbow, both visible from his distance. He felt a moment of peace, and he smiled to himself brightly. Perhaps this game won't fall into the hellish realms of boring MMORPGs.

No sooner than two seconds after he stands up, he was suddenly teleported into the central square of the Starting City as the sun sets. Aincrad is about to fall into another kind of hellish realm: a permanent death game with permanent consequences.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135522 -- LD: 12 (Found 4/5 Material!)

Two out of three belladonnas found at the corner of the second flowerbed. Just one more and he'll get this over with. Shinji looks up the sky to see the sun moving close to the center of the sky or so. Noon is approaching, it seems. He resumes his work,  but now slightly sweating thanks to the memory of his first day. He gulps.

When Shinji looked around him, he was both confused and unnerved that all players were seemingly sharing the same fate as his. Panicked mutterings were heard as some discovered that the logout button, or rather its option, weren't functioning. Shinji checked his own logout button too, and noticing the blank box, his nervousness heightened. It continued to grow as a gigantic hooded figure appeared in the sky, speaking in a male voice. The figure welcomed his guests and explained that as a feature, SAO will be their new reality. If they die here, their real bodies will also die thanks to Nerve Gear's brain frying system. They will be trapped for eternity unless the 100th floor and its final boss were beaten. Only then escape is possible.

No sooner after the announcement was made, madness erupted in the square.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 1334423 -- LD: 1 (No Material found)

Some were crying, some were silent and dumbfounded of the new revelation, and others expressed deep anger towards Aincrad's cruel god. Shinji quickly walked out of the square as he tried to make sense of this, but to no avail. Should he accept this or not? Will the 100th floor even be beaten? What will his parents think of their missing son?

As he walked around, at a loss on what to do, he witnessed a lot of players committing suicide through falling or even with their own weapons, a few in the fashion of a seppuku ritual. Even though the stench of death may be absent in Aincrad's world, he thought he could still smell it. It felt nauseous.

He stopped at the gate of the Starting City, some players already advancing to the front lines for the upper levels. His mind conflicted with the choice of embracing this deadly but fantastic world or the opposite and end his suffering.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135530 -- LD: 9 (No Material Found)

He thought of his NEET life on Earth and compared it to this new life he was going to face. The former was peaceful but gets gradually monotonous and...lonely. Miserable even. Meanwhile in here, it is dangerous, yet adventurous, and there are more things to distract himself from his depression. Plus he gets to live in a fantasy world. What's not to love aside from imminent death?

Shinji takes a deep breath and gazes at the sky. He knows that the path ahead will be arduous, yet he made up his mind to just embrace Aincrad since there is no chance of escaping anyway...for now. The first goal that came to his mind is to be stronger so he can slay monsters easily. His own fantasies took over his mind for a while as he saw himself as a ragged knight swinging a large greatsword to a monster and get soaked in its blood as evil is purged in his hands.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135531 -- LD: 16 (Found 5/5 Material!)

And there it is. The last belladonna he needs is finally found. Wasting no time, he picks it up and immediately dashes for the city. On the way, he checks his inventory and ensures that he collected the right kind and amount of ingredients for Zakariah. After confirming so, he continues to head for the gate and soon got back into the Starting City.

It is getting a bit more crowded in the streets as players of all ages and stature stroll around for equipment, food and lodgings. Some hang out in some parts of the city, especially the central square, engaging in either casual talk, arguments or plans related to beating dungeons, farming, maybe crime in whispers...

Shinji's face remain expressionless as he makes his way back to Zakariah's lab. As he arrives and opens the door, he notices the old man drinking some sort of tea, sitting on his work chair while awaiting for his errand boy's arrival.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

"Have you got them?" asked Zakariah as he smiles upon seeing Shinji's return. The latter nods and swipes his finger down to bring up his inventory and summons the nettles and belladonnas. Zakariah gleefully chuckles as he receives his ingredients and give Shinji a sincere smile.

"Come, have a seat beside me. I'll prepare you some refreshing tea. You must be exhausted," said Zakariah as he stands up and pours another tea from a glass kettle into a new glass cup. He offers this glass to Shinji, whom accepts it and takes sips of the liquid. Mm, sweet. And a bit cold too.

"And now, young man, I shall allow you to make a potion for me using these ingredients. Do not worry about mistakes, I will teach you all the way from start to finish," Zakariah explains as he prepares a mortar and pestle, a boiling cauldron and the ingredients.

"Finish making this potion for me and I promise," continues Zakariah, "I will hand you some of my potions for free. What do you say, young man?"

Shinji simply nods and stands up after finishing his tea. Just one potion and the quest will be over. That's it.

[Shinji 0]

ID: 135533 -- CD: 7 (Success!)

Making this potion is actually darn easy when Zakariah's instructions are being followed closely. It is only Shinji's first attempt yet he succeeds in crushing the belladonnas in the mortar with the pestle, adding a base ingredient and nettles together into a cauldron, boil them for a while, add in the crushed belladonnas, and boil them again. Finally, Shinji takes an empty vial and carefully pours the finished potion from the cauldron into it while it is still boiling.

Zakariah claps gently as he says, "Wonderful, wonderful! Have you been studying alchemy before, lad?"

Shinji nods, "Well...a bit."

A bit as in he read a bit about medieval alchemy in the real world and have played a minigame of such in a medieval game. Zakariah nods.

"I see," he remarks. "Well, here are my potions, lad. Five of these red ones restore your lost vitality, this orange one temporarily extends said vitality, and the black strengthens you more, enabling you to hit harder with your weapon."

Shinji takes these potions and examines them one by one, all sealed in the same small vials, each potion of different effect sporting different colors as mentioned by Zakariah. He keeps them all in his inventory, thinking that it is wise to use them only in dire situations.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Shinji

[Shinji 0]

"Before you leave, young man, please take this," says Zakariah as he hands Shinji a package wrapped in paper, bind with red ribbons. Shinji examines the package closely, it is described by the game as "A sealed package addressed to Blacksmith Lyle Tealeaf."

"Take this package to my friend, a blacksmith named Lyle Tealeaf," explains Zakariah. "Send him my regards. He lives not far from the central square, you know you are at the right place when you see a sign hanging above the door. It depicts a full helm with feathers, you see. Do you understand?"

Shinji nods as he listens to Zakariah's orders, hoping that this is the last thing he'll do to end this fetch quest. Zakariah nods with a smile as he hears Shinji's thanks.

"Go on now, and stay safe out there. Have a nice day!" says Zakariah as he waves goodbye to Shinji, whom returns the wave with his own in return.

[Shinji 0]

Close to the square, a full helm with feathers sign above the door. That is the info Shinji remembers as he makes his way to the blacksmith's shop, package in his arms. He notices a few more players carrying other packages, possibly from other quests.

The square is now flooded with more players, different voices of chatter fill the atmosphere as Shinji passes by the square. A lot of them have seemingly adjusted themselves to Aincrad a day or two after the god's announcement, though some are still trying hard to cope with their new lives. Shinji heard such people in the inn he is staying. One wailing about wanting to go home. Another ranted about SAO's creator or how weak people are in this game. Some also coped by drinking more alcohol, though being drunk is impossible since alcoholic effects aren't replicated to the brain, so they make believe that they were really drunk the more they drink.

Some unfortunately found the game to be a perfect opportunity to do evil with little to no retaliation, so player killers existed in a short time. There are also rumors of...illegal services done underground somewhere in Aincrad. That was when Shinji head to bed as soon as he heard somebody talking about them. He had enough.

Soon he arrives at the blacksmith's shop, and upon looking up to see the full helm sign above a wooden door, he knows that he comes to the right place.

[Shinji 0]

The door opens and Shinji steps in to be greeted by hot air and the sounds of roaring flames. The shop is cluttered with smithing tools and a large furnace, opened windows provide the interior with natural sunlight. Standing near the furnace is an old man reheating a blade over and over until it glows orange in color, then suddenly it is quenched in a trough of water in a barrel. As the smith takes notice of Shinji, he puts the blade away and smiles at him.

"The package is from Zakariah, yes?" says the smith.

Shinji nods and hands it to him, whom then sets it aside on a table. The smith nods at Shinji and introduces himself as Lyle Tealeaf.

"I make the weapons and armor that you see everywhere in the local markets. Though I may not be able to forge advanced equipment as I used to, I am still strong enough to forge equipment that are just strong enough to protect the fresh ones."

Shinji nods as he listens to Lyle, and soon a window pops up informing him that his first quest is now over and he receives some COL and experience as rewards of its completion. Finally!

"Are you available for help young man? I am running low on materials to forge my weaponry. I understand if you aren't, and I have no rush in forging it either. But will you agree to help?"

Nope. No more fetch quests for now. Shinji frowns and shakes his head.

"S...sorry, as much as I want to, I'm afraid I have little time for that, for I have other appointments to tend to," he says while bowing respectfully to Lyle.

Lyle simply nods and says, "If you say so...but should you change your mind, feel free to come back here. You have noticed my sign, yes?"

Shinji nods.

"Good," continues Lyle as he gets back to working with his latest blade. "Well, good luck to you, boy. Stay safe!"

And with that, Shinji makes his exit and breathes a sigh of relief as he heads back to his inn. Screw being an errand boy, let's slay the beasts already!

 

THREAD COMPLETE

400 COL

1 SP + 2 Quest SP = 3 SP

5 Tier 1 Health Potion (+40 HP), 1 Tier 1 Damage Potion (+1 Damage) and 1 Tier 1 Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP)