[FL1 SP] Doin' Time <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>>

[Rosary 0]

Valerie had to act.

She had been stagnating for the entirety of her life on SAO, but now things were starting to get desperate. Funds at the home were getting low, and if she didn’t help to do something soon, the children in her care would not be able to eat, and she could not have that. Her protective instincts kicked into high gear when it came to children, and just like her very own girls at home, this mama bear would not stand by and watch the little ones go hungry. No, she needed money and she needed it now.

That’s how it all started. Val assessed the situation and she headed out the door, leaving Martha, the sweet elderly woman who also looked after things at the home in charge of the children while she was gone. The dark haired woman ran her slender fingers through her long, wavy hair as she repeated the same word under her breath.

“Money…”

 

Rosary activates Yui's Grace

Rosary earns an additional +1 SP 

5 total/ 4 remaining

Spoiler

Rosary

Lvl 1 Health: 20 Energy: 2

Skills: Rank One OHSS

Weapon: Little Bits +2 DMG

Battle Ready Inventory: (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

But how exactly was she supposed to get it? It'd been weeks since the pub had goven her a shift, things had been slow around there recently. She didn't have a profession where she could just start pumping items out and selling them at random. Not that she'd be good at thar anyway since it would take her a while to become proficient in such a thing. So what was left? 

"Come on Val, think..." she said as she ran her small hand through her long, dark hair. 

"Quests!" She piped up. Her voice loud enough to have several passer-byers give her an odd eye for shouting such a thing outloud.  

Quests were a thing weren't they? Of course they were. Every damn game had some kind of storyline for a character to follow to earn currency and level up. But how could she find such things. Never before had she even bothered to look. 

[Rosary 0]

It took her a moment, but the woman remembered that she had been given some type of beginner's guidebook some time ago that was written by those already making their way to higher floors. What was it? 24 now? She could hardly remember such things when she had mouths to feed and they were far too young to look out for themselves. She pulled the book from her inventory and began flipping through it until she found what she needed. Turned out that there was an entire series of tutorial quests for someone like her. 

"Perfect," she replied as she snapped the book shut and made her way to find this npc who would help her.

Twenty minutes and several wrong turns later, Valerie foubd herself outside of the shop belonging to the NPC Zechariah. She opened the door, and went inside. She did not take a look around at the place, she was too focused on her mission. All there was now was to get things going.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

The older gentleman NPC stood behind a counter looking at her a if he had been expecting her to show up. "Creepy, but alright," she sighed. There was no time to think about the odd intricacies of such a game. The only thing Val need worry about now was getting this thing going. Approaching the counter, the NPC began to implore her for her assistance. He made a lot of words at her to which she listened to none of it. 

"Come on guy! Just let's go. I've got places to go and people to feed." 

Zechariah gave her a bit of a stare down and harshly spoke again " Alright impatient one, here you go." A screen popped up asking if she would like to accept the quest. "Why yes thank you quest box, don't mind if I do!" She said as she pushed the confirm button. So far, so good. 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

Valerie followed the instructions and followed the cursor on her map. She’d been lead to a small field of flowers just outside of town. It was a beautiful day; mid-afternoon, and not a cloud in the bright blue sky above.  The tiny flowers that dotted the ground fluttered about in the gentle breeze that swept over the open space. It was really nice here; the kind of place that the kids would love to have a picnic at. But there would be no picnics if she could not earn money to get them food. The soft smile that was painted across the woman’s lips slipped away as she remembered today’s excursion was no sightseeing tour.

Back to business…

What was it she was looking for exactly? There were all sorts of flowers here, so how was she supposed to know which of them she needed? She scanned the grass until a little green symbol popped up over the little blossom.

“So you’re what I need huh?” She said and gathered the flower up and added it to her inventory.

 

ID 138339  LD: 17    Success!

1/5 Materials

Edited March 20, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

The flower that she held between her fingers was rather pretty. Tiny, blue, the petals so thin she thought that if she touched them they might wilt away from the oils upon her hands. She was not entirely sure just how far the game metrics had been taken so she did not want to wish damaging the delicate little thing. She placed it carefully into her inventory and began to look for more. Valerie kept her dark eyes focused on the ground below, her eyes darting here and there as she kept a look at for more of the minuscule blue flowers. She crept carefully through the grass checking for the flower before she stepped across. She would take no chances on finding one and then ruining it by smashing it all up. She was likely going to need to do something to it to turn it into a potion but she figured the system would only count her find if it we whole. A second flower fell into her sites and she added it to her inventory with the other.

 

ID #138340   LD:14     Success!

2/5 Materials Collected

Edited March 20, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

Things were looking good so far! She hadn’t been looking all that long and already she found near half of the flowers that she needed. But like with anything, all that could change in an instant. What if only a certain number of the flowers bloomed at any given time or even faded away after a certain time of blossoming? Then she’d be working against many annoying variables. Her best hope would be that the gaming system metrics for the little flowers were static. It was entirely unlikely however seeing as everything in the game had so many working parts behind it. In this way, the game was entirely too realistic.

Valerie combed through another couple feet of grass but had not yet come across the thing she needed. “Maybe I’m pressing my luck…” she said softly as she continued her search. Turns out, her luck had not yet run out and she procured yet another of her potion ingredients.

 

ID # 138341     Success!

3/5 Materials Collected

Edited March 20, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

As hypothesized, Valerie was correct. After having found several flowers quickly, it appeared that now, there were none. She combed through the grass going from one end to the clearing to the other, but nothing registered. There was nothing else to do but wait. She fell back into the grass and stared up at the sky above. The sky was clear and there was only bright, endless blue. A breeze rustled through the heather and it tickled her face as it brushed against her cheek. It was quiet where she was. No sound of the town, nothing off in the distance, not even birds. Not even the sound of her breath. She wondered if somehow the system were muted. Was there even a way in her control panel to do that? She opened her HUD and clicked around in it. There wasn’t anything that she could see that would allow her to stop the sound.

Maybe in truly was that quiet out here.

ID # 138342   LD: 5   FAIL

3/5 Material Obtained

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

More time went by. How much? Who knew?  Some time. Not long enough for the woman. Cool down times for games were often ridiculous. She remembered watching her oldest waiting for twenty or thirty minutes just for certain mobs to respawn. Maybe there would be the only flowers she would find today. “That couldn’t be…” she told herself. This was a beginner’s quest. Maybe a quest on like floor 55 would be like that, but not here on the ground floor. Unless…

“Unless…” Val said aloud and sat up.  “Unless that weirdo in the sky that day meant for it to be like this. That not all of us would succeed even here…”

She paused bringing her hand to her face. “What an entirely frightening thought... if he meant to kill many of us off here.”

Well, she wasn’t going to die. She was going to figure this out, get the kids some food, and then find someplace safe for them to go. First, she needed the damn flowers to come back. Looking around, she saw none, YET.

 

ID #138343    LD: 10      FAIL

3/5 Material Collected

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

The woman glanced around her once more but it was still the same. There were no little blue flowers in sight. It was a strange feeling, being held hostage by something so small. She plucked at the grass idly. What else could she do at a time like this but continue to wait. She began to broaden her view to what was actually around her. The clearing she sat in was elevated slightly. The road she came out of town on extended off into the distance. It wound through the countryside which was slightly hilly with thick patches of trees. It was a very pastoral scene. She half expected to deer or other gentle wildlife appear from the tree line and bounce through the open fields. But no such luck. She wondered if she should explore the area. Maybe there were farms or orchards nearby that she might be able to secure some food for the children.

 

 

ID # 138344    LD: 4     FAIL!

3/5 Material Collected

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt for me to go for a little bit…” She said as she got up off the ground finally. There were no little flowers, no blue ones anyway. She dusted herself off and slowly began to make her way down the hill. It seemed the little carpet of flowers also trailed down along the side of the hill. This was an exciting prospect as it now meant she had a larger area to scour for the very thing she’d need, only two more. Just two more little flowers and she could make that old merchant’s potion and be on her way to the next thing. There were little orange flowers, purple one, even light pink, but no blue. Not yet.

“Not yet…” she kept repeating herself.

If she kept saying it then, eventually it would be yet and then she could be one more flower closer to her goal.

 

ID: 138346   LD: 6   FAIL

3/5 Materials Collected

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

“Oh… Flower!” Val said as she snatched up one more for her collection. Four, there were four now. Just one more to go! The woman did a couple of bunny hops and doing so, lost her footing and slipped down the hillside on her butt. She lay at the bottom laughing as she got back up. Normally [censored] like that would bother the woman, but there was something fun in this. She was questing. A Quest! Years of nothing, and now, here she was, taking her first steps into the game to a life outside of the safe confines of the wall. It would be a lot easier to make money if she weren’t solely based in the Town of Beginnings. She had often considered the same in the outside world, relocating in order to make a better living for the girls. Before SAO she and her oldest had talked about it a bit, but nothing ever got past the discussion stage. But maybe in this place, it was worth taking the time to think about.

 

ID # 13847   LD: 14     SUCCESS

4/5 Material Collected

Guess the dice are nicer when I’m not rolling for girf….

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

So apparently Valerie’s writer had a real hard on for causing herself trouble. Once more she tried rolling for girf, and once more the dice told her “Bitch, no. Just stop,” thus proving once again, that the SAO roller really does not enjoy being used to roll for girf. But I digress and now, so to Valerie and her dilemma.  

Fortune seemed to have abandoned the woman as there was a shortage of flowers again. Val raised her fist at the sky (and to her writer) and shook it angrily. “I JUST NEED ONE MORE, PLEASE STOP SCREWING AROUND!”((Point taken Val, no more screwing around, promise.)) “Thank you,” she said to nothing and no one. Her intentions now made clear she hoped that her chain would stop being yanked on and she would find that last flower so she could get to potion making. “Just one more…” She pleaded again.

 

ID 138348    LD: 10    FAIL

4/5 Materials Collected

Val’s writer promises to stop playing with the dice roller in insidious ways.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

And just like that, her prayer was answered.

Not but five feet in front of her in a circle of red tipped little clovers stood the tiny little bloom. It was right there, and even marked out for her as if Fortune took pity on her and said, “Look here, dummy.” 

“Oh thank goodness!” She plucked up the last of her ingredients and kissed the damned thing before shoving it in her inventory and running back up the hill and back onto the path which lead her back to town.  After three wrong turns and two helpful NPC’s later she found herself back at the shop.

Valerie practically kicked the door down, much to Zachariah’s shagrin. “No need to break my shop. Come on in and shut the door behind you. No need to behave like a barnyard animal.”

“Sorry…” she apologized and gently closed the door behind her and then tip toed across the floor as to not cause more trouble for herself.

“I have the flowers…” Now what do I do?”

 

ID 138349    LD:18   SUCCESS

5/5 Material Collected

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

“And now?” Zakariah repeated, “Why, now, you come with me and I show you how to craft a potion.”

She followed behind the old man to learn what she needed to do. He showed her the process and it was a lot more involved than she has anticipated. “Alright, so you want me to throw these little flowers in the mortar and smash them up with the pestle until the flowers begin to release their coloring?”

“Exactly,” the man said and gave her a nod.

“Okay, simple enough.” She went to town smashing the little flowers up like she was making mole. The woman was quite used to working with said items given they were used a lot in Mexican cooking.

“This good?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay, so now I just need to distill it like so.” She continued on.

 

ID # 138352   CD: 2    FAIL

 

Though she’d followed directions, her potion did not turn out. “Damn it,” She sighed.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

“It’s really okay madam, just try again.” Zakariah then produced another set of flowers. “You mean to tell me you had what I needed all along and you made me go on that fun hunt for these little suckers?” The NPC just gave her a smile. “Well I’ll be damned… I’m getting trolled by an NPC,” Val laughed.  “Well alright then.”

She got back to work making her concoction. Once more she ground the little flowers into a purplish pulp and carefully added it to the distillery. She gently heated the liquid and strained it much more carefully than she had the first time.

 

ID # 138363   CD: 7      SUCCESS

Created 1 Rare Quality Potion

 

She had done it! Her careful preparations lead her to create a rare quality potion. “Not bad at all. The man said as he held the potion up to the light checking its clarity. Not bad at all my dear. Maybe you’ve the hands of an alchemist.”

“Perhaps,” she said. A serious profession might be able to afford her a better life for the children in her care.  “Is that all then?”

Edited March 21, 2020 by Rosary

[Rosary 0]

“Not quite,” the old man said as he shook his head. “For my part yes, you’ve done what I’ve needed you to do here; however, I’ve another task for you before you’ve completed this quest series.”

“SERIES?” Val shook her head. “I just wanted to make a quick buck and you’re telling me there’s more to do before I can get paid?”

“Paid? Oh, you mean col. No dear, this series of quests gets you good that get you  items that will help you to make questing easier so that you might earn col….”

“You’ve got to be shitting me…” Val interrupted. ((This was a common phrase that would pass this woman’s lip many, many more times before her story ends. Please get used to it.))

“I assure you I am not doing this… what is it your saying… shitting you. There is something else that I will require of you.

[Rosary 0]

“Okay, so then tell me what I have to do?”

Zakariah had checked the potion again for clarity as Valerie went on  her little rant.

“Are you quite finished?” The man spoke once she was done, and placed the blue vial of liquid into his inventory. “If you’re done, I can explain to you the next task in your adventure.”

“I’m done,” she threw up her hands in resignation. “So what now?”

“I have a package for you to deliver to Lyle Tealeaf. He is the black smith not too far from where we are now. You are to give this to him and it is my understanding that he will have something for you to do.”

“Does it pay col?”

“Most likely not.”

“Didn’t think so. Alright give me the package.”

The elderly gentleman stretched his hand out to her offering her a small pouch. She took it and glanced up at him and their eyes met. They were dark like hers, but seemed infinitely wiser by the glint in his eyes.

[Rosary 0]

Zakariah smiled at Valerie and gentle patted the back of her hand and then stepped back to clear the way for Rosary to leave.  Val took a few steps forward and then stopped in her tracks. She turned back around and faced the man once more.

“Can you tell me something?” the brunette woman asked.

“How can I help you?” he replied.

“Do you know anything about what’s going on around here? About this game are there any ways around certain things in the system that might make it easier to survive here.”

“If you want to survive and that’s the only thing you want to do. Then you’re safer here in town. Out there, you have a chance of dying, a good chance. Every day more and more names show up on the monument. You could leave it to those players still climbing, but if there are not more to join their ranks, their numbers may dwindle before too long and you all may end up dead.”

[Rosary 0]

“True enough,” She agreed. Perhaps it was time to be proactive in this war. While she did not like the idea of putting herself in danger that she might not come home to her girls, it might be the only way that she might get to go home to them.

“Thank you Zakariah, I’ll be heading out now.”

“Good luck traveler!”

Valerie shook her head and set back out of the shop. She walked along the path checking her map every few minutes to make sure she was still going the right way to see thing Mr. Tealeaf something or another. Yet again, she’d managed to miss her turn and she back tracked and still ended up down yet another alleyway leading her from her destination. “I wish I had a tour guide…”

Another 15 minutes and 3 more helpful NPC’s later she ended up outside the shop of the blacksmith, Lyle Tealeaf.

“Knock, knock, sir. I have a package from the old guy at the potion shop,” She said and entered his workshop.