[F01 - OP] Here I am...Again... <<Nature's Treasure>>

[Koga 0]

Spoiler

Koga
Level: 30
Health: 600
Energy: 60
DMG: 13 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 36 // ACC: 1
BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10 // LD: 3

Skills
>> [Rank 1] Curved Sword
>> [Rank 5] Katana
     // Ferocity
     // Precision
>> [Rank 0] Martial Arts
>> [Rank 2] Familiar Mastery: Fighter
>> [Rank 0] Survival

Equipment
>> T2 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [Burn // Blight // Cursed // Fallen]
>> T2 Demonic Light Armor <<Wrathful Bracers>>  [Cursed // Mitigation // Mitigation // Regen]
>> T1 Perfect Bracelet <<Woven Bracelet>> [Loot Die // Loot Die // Loot Die]

Battle-Ready Inventory
>> T2 Blank Dungeon Map
>> [50 HP] Healing Potions (2)
>> [40 HP] Healing Potion (5)
>> [DMG +1] Damage Potion (1)
>> T1 Uncommon Consumable <<Cupcake>> [Evasion] (1)

The First Floor was lovely. It really was. But dear lord, Koga was getting sick of coming down here every time he needed materials to fulfill an order for some Tier One player...honestly, he was just getting sick of gathering in general. It was just so...grindy...but hey, if that's what it took, so be it. Koga just hoped that the RNG gods would actually smile upon him for once. He always had the worst luck when it came to forging. Or maybe he was just a terrible blacksmith? Who knew. Noctua on the other hand...

Koga didn't finish the thought, pushing it out of his mind as quickly, and as forcefully as possible. Right, materials. Well, the mobs here had stopped dropping loot for him about twenty-five levels ago. Which meant Koga was reduced to scrounging around in the dirt in the hopes of finding something. Lovely. At least the courtyard around here was pretty. And full of bugs...

Edited October 12, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

"Scouting for potential areas to farm is a pain," Crozeph thought to himself as he entered Floor 1 "it's cruel to send my kohai somewhere to explore with her low stats for now so I guess I have no right to complain all the time" Crozeph scrolled through his inventory, it was a habit that never died even before Aincrad. Looking at his stuff and reading the names seeing how everything is inside his inventory calms him. Now the question is what should he do now? gather materials? eat in a tavern? the food cooked by NPCs are hit and miss. Crozeph didn't want to risk his taste buds now that he has a fiance who cooks really nice for him.

Enter the courtyard...

Crozeph looked around to see if there are corners he hadn't seen yet, he was observant but boy does he suck at processing most of the information that he sees "something, dungeon-crawling something something" he muttered to himself. What could this day hold for someone as lazy as him? perhaps nothing out of the ordinary and that is if the dice of fate permits.

	Crozeph [Level 53]   | HP: 1090/1090 | EN: 106/106   | ACC: 4 | DMG: 18 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 45   | FRZ: 1 | BRN: 1 I REC: 1 | BH: 30 | LD: 1   Total SP: 224   Allocated: 217   Remaining: 7
** Rank 3 Merchant - The Night's Watch ** WARNING: Mitigation cannot fall below 0! Consumed: Mochi LD II
Hide contents [Equipment] Regis Arma: Skadi Alter [T2 Perfect] -- Freeze +1 - Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 (1 slot) or natural successful attack rolls of 8-10 (2 slots) remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Frozen opponents lose any evasion properties. Striking a frozen enemy before the effect ends will end Freeze and deal an extra (12 * Tier) unmitigatable damage. [Must hit to activate the status condition. -- ACC +1 -- Burn +1 - Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 (1 slot) or natural successful attack rolls of 8-10 (2 slots) deal (12 * Tier) unmitigated burn damage each enemy turn for 2 turns. Burn damage does not stack, but can be refreshed. [Must hit to activate the status condition.] -- A huntress trapped in Dun Scaith, she survived and emerged victorious earning the respect of its ruler, Scathach. A huntress carrying the cold and harsh winter with her yet a ferocity likened to a flame now seen in her eyes. Skadi Alter combines two elements and fires it in one go should the wielder harness the same hunting instinct the huntress has. Either one would freeze in from its fierce flames or burn in its searing coldness. Cloak of the  Evening Bells [T3 perfect] -- MIT +1 -- EVA +2 -- "Once worn by a king or a monarch, whichever it was it doesn't matter for anyone who dons this cloak is tasked to take the head of anyone who dares to cross the line and kill, be it humans or monsters." A black cloak with fabric at the collar. It is worn to cover the dominant hand of the wearer and put up an air of monarchy. It can also serve as a protection against attacks though not as efficient as heavy armor but boast its lightweight features to add speed to the wearer. Ars Paulina -- Recovery +1 -- ACC +2 -- Description: "There is a time for everything and to that there is also an end but there is no need to fret for it is to be accepted." A pocket watch made by a powerful mage who possesses ten rings. This silver watch has no intricate designs outside yet its structure inside is powerful enough to restore energy and even make time dilate making its user see things slightly slower than the usual.  [Battle-Ready Inventory] Blessed Marble [+1 EVA +1 Life-Mending]         Dimensional Backpack Skills   Hide contents Mod Count: 3/8 Katana | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Finesse R3 -3 EN on SA > Precision +1 ACC Light Armor | Passive | RANK 4/5  > Athletics +1 base damage I +(10*Tier) HP Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 3/5 [+27 HP regen] >  Curved Sword | Passive | RANK 1/5 >  First-Aid | Active | RANK 5/5 >  Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3 >  Searching | Passive | RANK 1 +1 LD >  [Extra] Survival | Passive I +15 Regen OOC Meditation | Active I +10 EN Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3 +6 base damage Misc. Buffs   Hide contents  Relaxed | Passive | House buff >

[Koga 0]

And so the search began. Something Koga had never really understood was why random ingots, ore, and what not would randomly spawn in a city courtyard of all places. It wasn't like there were exposed ore veins out here. The ingots, he supposed, could be written off as falling out of carts and what not, but ore? Really Kayaba, just what were you thinking?

Koga figured he might as well just wander around, and maybe he'd spot something. It wasn't like he had the best of luck when actively searching anyways, maybe he'd have better luck when he wasn't actually trying. Ha, fat chance. Still, it was worth a shot. So the man paced around the courtyard, looking at whatever was there to see. A fountain here. A bush there. A flower bed. And some random high level player who wandered in. Maybe he was like Koga, looking for materials to fulfill an order. Time to people watch.

Koga sat down at the edge of a fountain and watched the newcomer lazily as he scrolled through one of his menus. Maybe he was a blacksmith like Koga? Or maybe a Tailor. Or a Cook. One thing was certain, he was a DPS player. Light armor, a curved sword. Definitely a DPS player.

Spoiler

ID: 172256
CD: 4 (1 +3) <<No Materials Found>>

@Crozeph

Edited October 12, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

Staring at his map, Crozeph could only tell places he's been too, perhaps unmapping the place and all its corners might do wonders for him and with that, he closed his map for now and began to survey his surroundings "fountains, buildings, some wide-open areas, I don't even know where to begin here I guess that can be worked out..." he turned his head and saw someone sitting by the fountain and by the looks of it, a person who might also be gathering supplies or materials for himself.

Crozeph walked up to him making sure the 3-feet long katana is strapped on his back so as to not cause any unnecessary sparks of fight. "Hey, you don't happen to be looking for materials too? this place seemed to have some so have you seen areas where you found materials already?" he asked him calmly but not sure whether his weary-looking eyes are making the guy uncomfortable. 

@Koga

Edited October 13, 2020 by Crozeph

[Koga 0]

Much to Koga's surprise the man he was watching began to approach him, and Koga reflexively sat up straight in response. The man looked up at the higher level player, and shook his head. "No, sorry. I mean, this whole place has better drop rates than anything else on this floor, but RNGesus doesn't really like me. Couldn't really tell you a specific place to look."

Koga gave the man another once over, if only to confirm his suspicions. Higher tiered gear...not dead yet...general lack of knowledge about lower floors...yeah, this guy was probably a dozen or so levels over Koga. "What brings you down here? Shouldn't you be farming up on Floor Eleven or something?" Koga asked, perhaps a little more bluntly than he'd intended.

@Crozeph

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph thought hard for a second, if the system hasn't been kind to him about the drop rates then Crozeph is much more screwed "now that doesn't sound good, we might be getting dragged in some kind of gacha hell" he said as he opened his message menu and began taking notes on one of his drafts "lower floors having high drop rates but RNG is really fickle" he types before closing it again. 

The player then switched his menu to his inventory and took out a mochi, he got it from Yuki's shop and with the item consumed, it should help the player combat the cruelty of the numbers. "Here, eat this, this should help you out more" he told him as he handed the mochi. "Me on lower floors? yeah sometimes have high tier materials and equipment can be a pain" he was sure that he had the right amount of materials back then but using high tier to create tierless items is a waste "plus I'm doing it for a friend and for my guild so there's that" he added. For sure everything will work out just fine and maybe he could team up with the person in the fountain "try it, the mochi tastes really good and my fiance made it."

handed Mochi LD II [+2 LD] to Koga
@Koga

[Koga 0]

"Gacha hell is pretty much life at this point," Koga said dryly. 'We? Who the hell does this guy think he is?' the man also thought to himself, 'I just met this guy. In fact, I don't even know his name.' Suddenly, the mysterious stranger was offering Koga some mochi. 'Thank you sempai, I am at your service, anything you need.'

"Thanks," the swordsman said, as he took the small frozen treat and bit into it. "Hey, this is really good." Koga popped the rest of the treat into his mouth and swallowed before speaking again. "A guild, huh? Which one?" he asked out of curiosity, "Is your friend in that guild?"

Koga had never actually been a part of a guild before. Although, at this point, that was probably a good thing. People had been dropping like flies around him since he started the game, and he didn't need anymore of that on conscience. Who knew that his being an anti-social loner would actually benefit society?

Spoiler

Koga received <<Mochi>>
Koga ate <<Mochi>> +2 LD

@Crozeph

Edited October 14, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

"I know right?!" Crozeph beamed with pride as the player liked the mochi "my fiance cooks really well, you should visit her shop if you want to have an authentic home-cooked meal," he told him as if he's trying to pitch something. Travelling can be a pain for him but foods he took from the shop of his girlfriend was his sanity potion, a simple reminder that no matter how far he goes around Aincrad he always has a home to return to.

The question about his guild and his friend was something he wanted to answer carefully and at the same time not sounds like "the one for the guild is separate for my friend, she's sort of afraid to come out of settlements alone so here I am looking for some, well not yet" he answered "about the guild, I'm from Jacob's Ladder and my name is Crozeph" he told him easily revealing his name.

@Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga had to make a conscience effort to not let any emotions show on his face. All this talk of fiances and making things for each other...this guy didn't know. "Nothing better than a homecooked meal." He said stiffly. Koga wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep his composure through this entire conversation.

"Ah gotcha. Good on you for looking out for your friend. Not enough people around like you these days," the swordsman replied honestly. "I'm Koga. Solo-player," he introduced himself, offering the man a hand to shake.

As the two wrapped up their greetings something caught Koga's eye.  A glint hiding just behind Crozeph. "No way..." Koga said as he peered around the man. "Looks like that treat's already paying off." The man got up and walked over to the glimmering object and picked up not just one, but two materials. The man looked at them and then his new friend. "I guess I got you to thank for this. And your girl," he said.

@Crozeph

Spoiler

ID: 172920
LD: 22 (17 +5) >>+2 T1 Materials<<

Obtained This Thread:
>>2 T1 Materials

 

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph couldn't agree more, he liked eating, in more ways than one. "Home-cooked meals are the best, I use to cook for myself and I had no luck having my own tastes so I really like those made by others," he told him. Somehow Crozeph couldn't help talking about food, maybe it was a better topic than talking about how they're trapped in here and everyone is in danger of dying. He could talk about that all day but it would also ruin his motivation, if he wanted to feel the dread and hopelessness of their current situation, he can just sulk in his shop at Yomi.

Crozeph replied with a handshake "nice to meet you, Koga, I was a solo player like you once until I got a taste of beef stew" he told him."Well that should make things easier for us or for you. I usually kill mobs to gain loot but nothing wrong with searching, it can get tedious at times but it gets work done too" a quick look around him was what he did, trying to think if something would really spawn in an open field like this where materials can be found.

@Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga chuckled a little at the man's comment about not being able to cook. "I feel that, man. I can make a couple dishes really well, but beyond that, you're better off trying to eat dirt." Okay, maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration, Koga wasn't an awful cook, but that didn't necessarily make him a good cook either. Most of the time, the things he made were edible...most of the time.

"Yeah, normally, I'd go around and hunt some mobs too, but I used to have some real good look around here just finding stuff lying around a ways back," Koga replied. Come to think of it though...why hadn't Koga gone up to Floor Six or something and just whaled on the mobs there for the materials...sometimes, his own stupidity astonished him. "I'm not really, looking for loot anyways," he added. "I'm a blacksmith. Someone ordered a Tier One weapon, and I just happened to be out of materials. And well...here I am...again."

@Crozeph

Spoiler

ID: 173311
LD: 9 (4 +5) >>No Materials Found<<

Obtained This Thread:
>>2 T1 Materials

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph nodded his head, surely Koga understands the woe of someone who can only cook for survival. He lived his life alone and so what others make for him is priceless. Perhaps the place was teeming with materials waiting to be found, Crozeph could only remember entering run ruined asylums, caves with creatures similar to chimeras, and forests with thick with alraunes eager to kill him.

"That sucks, running out of materials just when someone is asking for an order. If my merchant rank is high enough I could just sell materials to you" he told Koga. Maybe if he was not lazy doing identifications then his rank would've gone up faster than what he expected. Crozeph then pulled his katana from his back and revealed its blade, in one quick pull its fabric that acts as its sheathe was removed. Crozeph stabbed the ground and quickly pulled it up as if he was shoveling dirt and with that a material came out "that won't leave a mark" he said as he picked up the materials he dug out of the ground "sometimes they're easy to find and sometimes it's been eighty-four years and you still have few."

@Koga

ID: 173584 LD: 8 + 1 Searching + 2 Mochi = 11
x1 T1 material found

[Koga 0]

Indeed it was. It was also worse when you tended to take a net loss on your orders cause you somehow managed to make thirty five attempts at a single perfect item, and defy the laws of probability...Koga had the worst luck...the Fates must have something against him at this point, the way his life had gone thus far.

As Crozeph drew his sword, Koga reacted by reaching for his own, forgetting that settlements were safe zones. It wasn't until Crozeph plunged his weapon into the ground that Koga realized he wasn't about to try to kill him. When the man pulled a material from the ground, Koga blinked in surprise. "I...never thought of that before..." Koga also drew his sword now, and plunged it into the dirt. A little bit of digging later, and a material popped out of the soil. "How...how have I never thought of this?" He looked up at Crozeph with narrowed eyes, "Why keep that secret to yourself for so long. You should share it with the world."

@Crozeph

Spoiler

ID: 173670
LD: 12 (7 +5) >>Material Found<<

Obtained This Thread:
>> 3 T1 Materials

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph was surprised by how Koga reacted to him. It was natural for him to actually destroy the place, Crozeph could still remember looking for soft soil or suspicious rocks. He was never the type to simply pick things off the ground or pluck a fruit from a tree, he is eager to pillage a place just to be efficient with his material search or if the place was giving him huge doses of frustration.

"Um, well it's not really a secret though it's not common practice either unless we're somewhere mining shit," he told Koga as he saw a log on a grassy area. It was already far from being freshly cut but it's not hollow like the usual ones he saw. "I make it a habit whether I'm inside a building or out the open..." he took an Iaijutsu stance and began slashing on the log to which it gave him materials "...most of the time I raze or pillage a place if it's not working in my favor."

ID: 173749 LD: 14 + 1 Searching + 2 Mochi
x2 T1 materials found

@Koga

[Koga 0]

Crozeph was over here giving Koga ideas...As the other katana user split open a log, only to have some materials pop out of it, Koga began to realize he'd been doing it wrong all this time. Koga looked around for a moment, before spotting an oak tree. The man gripped his sword, and in an instant performed an Iai that cut all its way cleanly through the tree. As the once proud tree burst into blue pixels, a material fell right into Koga's hands. When Koga turned back to look at Crozeph, there was a giddy, almost manic look in his eyes. "Suddenly, gathering is much, much more entertaining."

Crozeph had created a monster.

"For some reason I was always under the impression that most things were considered immortal objects. I guess I was wrong," Koga mused, although, come to think of it, the amount of environment assets that had been destroyed during a fight probably should have clued him in.

@Crozeph

Spoiler

ID: 173962
LD: 11 (6 +5) >>Material Found<<

Obtained This Thread:
>> 4 T1 Materials

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph chuckled as Koga began doing what he did, it's like he unleashed something from someone. "Of course, there are immortal objects around here too. Despite that there are still places where you can actually cut down trees and destroy boxes," he told him. At first, that was what Crozeph is, he only picked materials from trees or killed mobs. The easter event taught him something and if he had to share it then he's more than willing to.

"Look on the bright side if you struck an immortal object that means there's a quest nearby, if you're unfortunate, a powerful monster" the good side of his explorations was uncovering places where immortal objects were markers for quest and monsters, sometimes he is fortunate to defeat them and then sometimes he is unfortunate because of encounters, like hoe he met Hidden. Crozeph gave a tree one good kick but it seems that it won't yield anything "like this one, not immortal but it doesn't have any to give."

ID: 174045 LD: 5 + 1 searching + 3 Mochi = 8 
no materials found

[Koga 0]

Koga walked over to another tree and listened to Crozeph as he chopped down the great block of wood. Two more materials popped out of the blue glowing cloud and right into Koga's hands. "Well, knowing my luck, it'd be a boss that practically belonged on a higher floor," Koga said, half-jokingly. In fact it wouldn't even surprise him. It was exactly the kind of thing that would happen to him.

Koga fell silent for a moment as his thoughts began to float back and forth between bosses and . "Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but your guild, Joseph's Ladder, right? How long have you guys been around. I haven't heard of you guys before." To be fair, Koga didn't keep up with the guilds very much. Usually they didn't hold any interest for him. They certainly had their own benefits but they carried a lot of risks too.

@Crozeph

Spoiler

ID: 174697
LD: 23 (18 +5) >>2 Materials Found<<

Obtained This Thread:
>> 6 T1 Materials

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

"Hah! truly unfortunate if you meet a boss" he replied. Crozeph never encountered something like that before, if Skalaugh was considered then maybe yes. Another unfortunate thing was that Crozeph didn't find anything on a bush that he just chopped to pieces. His proficiency with his katana was getting better, thanks to having a dojo to practice in Jacob's Ladder. 

"Joseph's Ladder? nah it's Jacob's ladder, Joseph's father." he told Koga "if my memory serves right about the basis of the name that is" Crozeph read of it somewhere but he just couldn't remember what chapter it was. "The guild is fairly new but the members are mostly front liners, it's not some kind of elite guild. Just that the leaders can be considered veterans of the frontlines who want to help players of all levels in any way they can" he wasn't sure if it was the right description of the guild. After all, he joined it because he wanted to help Baldur with his vision and it so happened that the best way to do it is by being part of Jacob's Ladder.

ID: 176198 LD: 3 + 3 = 6 no materials found

[Koga 0]

Koga sheathed his sword finally, he figured that the trees had had enough for one day, before going back to the fountain he'd been sitting at originally and returning to his seat. The swordsman leaned down and picked up a rock and started chucking them at one of the nearby walls of the courtyard as he conversed with Crozeph.

"Oh, right, Jacob, sorry," Koga amended. The way Crozeph described it, it sounded like a stairway to heaven, for sure. "That's some pretty heavy clout you got to throw around either way," he commented. "I can't imagine there's many frontliners who live long enough to call themselves vets." And yet, there was still another seventy five floors to go. It seemed like an impossible task. "So do you guys try to recruit low level players and newbies, or what? Or do you just lend 'em a hand whenever you see 'em, kinda thing?"

@Crozeph

Spoiler

ID: 177399
LD: 8 (3 +5) >>Fail<<

Obtained This Thread:
>> 6 T1 Materials

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by Koga

[Crozeph 0]

"Yeah we're always recruiting, I'm not a recruiter though," he told Koga who seem to exhibit a bit of interest on Jacob's Ladder "I can take you there or give you a map I saved in my menu, I tend to get lost exploring" he added. Now, what does that mean? will Koga join or he just wants to know things about guilds "meh, that's just me saying they're vets considering they've been present on most battles, I did join one and then I became wayward..." he gave a faint smile "even when I'm in a guild."

"We are always open to help or recruit, if you ever find yourself wanting to be part of a guild, Jacob's Ladder is always welcome plus..." he pointed at Koga's weapon "there's a dojo there, courtesy of my teacher, Baldur-sensei. He can help you improve or simply spar, whichever you want but as for me..." he raised a thumb at him "I just go around wandering, eating weird food, and helping out players."

Thread Summary

@Koga
x23 T1 materials
400 col
2 SP [Thread completion + 2.6 bonus]

Crozeph
x3 T1 materials
2 SP [Thread completion + 2.6 bonus]

Edited November 26, 2020 by Raidou
Approved via Raidou