[SP-F1] <The first Lessons are free>

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

The town of beginnings. Everyone took their first steps in this game right here. It had become symbolic to people in that sense. It was the only place in the whole game that literally every single player had been to at least once. In that sense it was special. To Sigurd it was the opposite. Every player had been here, but many had not left. The town of begging is what she had come to know it as. It had reached a point now where one could not walk down the road without someone asking for col, or gear. And if not the beggars, the militias were out extorting loot from the few players trying to leave or better themselves. This town was a terrible place and she was happy to be preparing to leave it. 

Sigurd planned to exploit the beginner quests. They had a level cap on them, meaning that many of the players who had advanced quickly had lost their chance to get them. She however was still low enough to fully take advantage of the tutorials which was exactly what she intended to do. She was now fueled by her victory from the previous day so to say she was excited to get this going was an understatement. 

She needed to find an NPC named Zackariah to get this going. Luckily she had known where he was for some time now. He had a workshop in the first town. It was easy enough to find, and as Sigurd rounded a corner it fell into view. She quickened her pace, eager to get started knowing full well that this quest came in multiple parts. On top of that she still needed her career quest to do before she could consider moving herself up out of floor one. With just a little effort she would be done all of this fairly easily.

She entered the workshop and was instantly greeted with the smell of burning ingredients concealed in a thick haze of smoke. She coughed loudly as she closed the door behind her and approached the NPC quest giver.

 

Gladecover_Witch Stats as of the start of this quest

Level 1 - HP 20 - EN 2

Witch Robes - 2 mitigation (+18), Evasion +1

Bone Bleeder - Paralyze 1, Bleed 2

Lucky Ravens Foot - Loot Dice +3

Edited October 21, 2020 by Gladecover_Witch
Added Starting stats and equipped items

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

As Sigurd neared the man in the shop he held up a hand to stop her. He hadn't actually looked up from his work, but had only moved to stop her. He was leaning over a workbench, a dropper in his other hand as he leaned carefully over a set of vials. He was moving slowly, deliberately, trying to make sure he got things exactly right. A moment later a single drop emerged from his dropper and landed perfectly in one of the vials turning the blue liquid it contained clear as it seemed to swirl around on it's own inside its vial. "No, no no..." He muttered as he straightened himself up and looked down at his work bench. "It's all wrong. But i'm close, so very close. Ah yes, Hello there." He turned his gaze upon her now and she took another step forward. "Are you here for my assistance in learning the basics of Sword Art Online?" 

Sigurd nodded "Y-y-yes I am" She took another step but stopped when he held out his hand again. "First thing's first. You need to learn how to forage for crafting materials. You'll have to venture outside of the walls for this one. Scattered around the fields are plants that can be salvaged for just this occasion. You'll need to collect five materials for me and then I can teach you how to craft a potion. It's really quite a simple task, so I have faith that you can achieve it."

Sigurd nodded again, pulling up her map, and noticing that a large location had been highlighted just outside the town. That was where she would find what she was looking for. Like the NPC had said, it was really quite simple, and she was eager to get started. Without another word she turned swiftly and left the workshop.

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

As she exited the building Sigurd pulled up her map again. She didn't need it to find a way out of the city, that she knew already, instead she wanted to take a look at the highlighted area again. She began walking, all the while zooming in and out of the map screen. The area in particular that had been highlighted was one she had visited many times. There were a few rocky outcrops that were good for sitting on, as well as quite a large supply of wild plants growing in abundance. Now that she thought about it, more than once the option to collect materials had appeared before her, and she had always dismissed it, thinking it to be a waste of time. If only she had known then that that would have been great practice or even a sustainable source of income, she might have started harvesting a long time ago. Still though, better late than never. That was something her mom used to say to her. She had always rolled her eyes at that kind of wisdom, buy now she was starting to understand it a little better.

Her pace quickened as she neared the city gates, in a few moments she would free of the confines and crowds that the starting city offered. A chance to breathe, to move un obstructed, and begin her search. She knew there were always players prowling around out here, hunting materials, fighting monsters and occasionally trying to rob other players, so she made a mental note to keep her eyes peeled. Last thing she wanted was to be drawn into a needless fight. It was like that on other floors, but down here there was a sense of desperation, people too afraid to risk their lives up there, so they preyed with extra viciousness on the weaker players who lingered. She was not going to be a victim.

Outside the walls it was just as she expected. A beautiful day. The weather was wonderful, blue skies with a gentle breeze pushing a few clouds lazily across the sky. On days past, she had lingered out here, laying in the grass and watching the world go by. Today though she had purpose and there was no time to waste on idle fancies.

 

Edited October 21, 2020 by Gladecover_Witch

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

Sigurd set out to work without hesitation. There were plenty of places to search, and she started with a nearby bush. She meticulously went through its leaves, taking her time to inspect them. She pulled one from the bush, turning it over in her hands. It was green, and felt slightly gritted to the touch. It was a strange plant, but even with the plucked leaf, nothing came up to harvest materials. Still that didn't mean this was an entire dead end, there were other parts of the plant worth checking. She dropped the leaf and it turned to pixels and faded away before it even hit the ground. She lowered herself to her hands and knees and began poking around the vase of the bush. She was now looking for roots or even mushrooms that might have material value. Though despite her efforts, nothing could be found. This would not discourage her though, she had planned for setbacks, and knew that not all materials were easy to find. She would just need to keep looking.

 

Gladecover_Witch

LD 5+3=8 Fail

 

 ID# 174196 results:

 Loot: 5

Edited October 21, 2020 by Gladecover_Witch

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

She continued to root around at the base of the bush. Around behind it, hidden away in the shade of its leaves she spotted a mushroom growing on it's own. It was a few inches high, with a white stalk and a red cap. It even had some white spots that reminded her of a video game she had played once. Sigurd chuckled as she remembered that when the player made contact with the mushroom, it would make them grow, and give them an extra point of damage when getting hit by an enemy. Something about that memory struck a cord with her, as potions did have the ability to restore health, so to did the mushroom in her memory grant an extra health. She reached out her hand to touch the mushroom, when a notification popped up stating that the mushroom was harvestable. Her grin widened as she collected her first material. So far this was easy enough, one down, 4 more to go. Then it was a simple matter of going back to the workshop and crafting with the NPC. 

 

Gladecover_Witch

LD 8+3=11 Success

1 T1 Crafting material obtained

 

ID# 174198 results:

 Loot: 8

Edited October 22, 2020 by Gladecover_Witch

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

Her search continued along the bottom of the bush. Sigurd was fueled by her success and determined to find more. But it seemed that this bush had only had the single mushroom growing under it. That was no bother, as she hadn't expected to find everything in one spot. Certainly the system had safeguards to prevent that from happening. That was why other players would farm areas, moving along until Materials respawned back in other locations. She had listened in to a few of these conversations, and a few of the successful node harvesters would brag about finding hundreds of materials a day. She assumed they would sell them for profit as there were limits on how many crafting attempts one could make a day. She had wanted to try that herself, a get rich quick scheme so to speak.

Once satisfied that she had scoured the bush entirely, she got up and began scouting a new place to search. She knew one item to look for and would make certain to keep her eyes peeled for more of those red and white mushrooms like what she had found before. Not far off there was a rocky outcrop that looked promising, and after a quick check of her map she determined that it was within her quest zone. 

 

Gladecover_Witch

LD 4+3=7 Fail

 

ID# 174199 results:

 Loot: 4

Edited October 22, 2020 by Gladecover_Witch

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

Sigurd started off towards the rocks. Her mind was racing now as more ideas came to her. It wasn't just plants and mushrooms that could be harvested for potions. There were certain insects, and animals as well as animal parts that could be collected as well. She would have to rule out the animal parts as those came from fighting enemies and her quest specifically stated that she was not to collect materials from battle. That meant it was anything she could immediately collect and add to her inventory. The no work required type of things. Now that she thought about it, there had been a river running through the quest zone. that would be a better place to search.

She changed course and within a few minutes the river was in sight. It wasn't even a river so much as a wide stream, It was gentle and had many trees growing along its bed. It was a nice place, and more than once she had observed people fishing in it, though she doubted there was much to catch in it. Still, it was a great place to waste a day. 

At the rivers edge she knelt down, looking into the waters. They were clear and inviting, and on any other day she might have considered resting her feet in it. Today was different though, and she needed to look for more than a nice place to relax. She didn't spend long looking when she caught sight of a salamander. Even better, it was a harvestable material. She smiled and quickly added it to her inventory.

 

Gladecover_Witch

LD 17+3=20 Success

T1 Crafting material obtained

 

ID# 174200 results:

 Loot: 17

Edited October 22, 2020 by Gladecover_Witch

[Gladecover_Witch 0]

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