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[F27 - SP] The Winter Fox Assistant Smith | <<Training Your Friend>>


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Nari couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly Yuki had managed to settle into her shop. Although the fox seemed most comfortable in the frost covered lands of Floor Four, Yuki had snuggled into Nari’s forge without any hesitation. She was…well, Nari found focusing on her craft much more difficult with the little fox around – not that she was complaining, in fact it made the entire forge more homely in her mind.

Nari had spent much of the morning tidying around the forge, picking up the few tools that had been laying about, collecting her materials and just generally organising the workshop to better meet her needs. Yuki had done little more than sit on the anvil and watch, content to remain in place while Nari wandered to and fro.

The little fox eventually let out a large yawn, which to Nari signified that she was getting tired of the entire game of watching Nari’s work. Unable to deny her new companion, Nari placed down the hammer she had just picked up – letting it come to rest on her workbench’s tabletop, a good distance away from where she had planned on placing it.

“Alright then, you’ve made your point. What do you say we go get something to eat, then find some entertainment for the remainder of the day?” Nari held out her arm towards the anvil, waiting for the fox to respond. Yuki wasted no time – leaping across the open air, and using the proffered support to skitter her way up onto Nari’s shoulders, where she curled around her neck, her feet softly grasping onto Nari’s soft violet dress – her armour stored away for later use. Nari gave a final twirl, the shin-length dress flowing around her as she did so.

Glancing down, she had to take a moment to admire the cloth – it wasn’t perfect, but it was a decent representation of something she had once owned in the real world. Although the shoulders scrounged where Yuki had driven her claws in to hold herself, it was otherwise a perfect fit to her frame.

Smiling to herself, she gave the forge one final glance over before making her way to the doorway, pausing only long enough to turn off the few lights found within the shop.

“Right…now to find something to eat…” Nari glanced left and right, looking up and down the street she stood on. She had opened her shop here in order to be closer to the frontlines – which, as it was, was as close as one could get – but she hadn’t yet spent much time exploring the city. ‘Well, here’s our chance!’

 

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Nari-Lanreth | Lv. 6 | HP: 120/120 | EN: 30/30 | DMG: 7 | MIT: 18 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | LD: 0

Tier 2

Equipped Items

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Wølf Fang Blade [One-Handed Straight Sword; Perfect] A hand and a half blade with a silver cross hilt, the blade itself is coloured a dark blood red that glimmers in the light. The hilt, wrapped in a black leather, is long enough for two hands to hold, with a small silver round pommel on its finishing end.

| Enhancement: Keen [2 Slot] | Effect: After a successful attack, gain +(1 per slot) BD. Keen expires once you exit combat. Cannot be used to cause a critical hit.)
| Enhancement: Bleed [1 Slot] | Effect: Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 deal (12 * Tier) unmitigated bleed damage each enemy turn for 2 turns. Bleed damage does not stack, but can be refreshed. The highest tier of Bleed damage overrides lower tier versions; cannot be overridden by lower-tier versions.

Frost of Defiance [Heavy/Plate Armour] Glittering with a hint of ice blue colour, this plate armour has a near-frozen appearance to it, as if ice rests on its surface at all times. Along its edge lines are a shifting ice blue and dark purple colouring, seemingly drifting in and out between the two colours with no clear path.

| Mitigation [2 Slots] | Effect:  Prevent (12 * Tier) damage from successful attacks against you.

Lanreth's Defender [Heater Shield] Black outline with a dark purple interior, red howling wolf painted in the centre.

| Enhancement: Thorns [1 Slot] | Effect: Successful non-critical attacks against you deal (9 * Tier) unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Only activates on damage dealing, melee attacks.

Battle-Ready Inventory

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Arrowhead Brooch | Tier 1 Perfect Trinket | Accuracy III

Music Box | Tier 1 Perfect Trinket | LD III

Weapon Skills

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Straight Sword Skill
Rank 5
Passive
Effect: +7 DMG

Armour Skills

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Heavy Armor
Rank 2
Passive
Effect: MIT + 12. You can only benefit from one armour skill at a time (the respective armour type must be equipped). Your evasion is capped at 1 enhancement slot and you take -1 to Stealth Rating per rank.

 

 

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Word Count: 437

 

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Nari found herself wandering the streets of Ronbaru without any real direction or purpose. Yuki, curled up on her shoulders, seemed content to simply relax and watch the few people they passed, and the reflections found within the windows of the buildings lining the street’s sides. Nari could see the little snow fox’s eyes and nose constantly moving anytime she glanced towards the fox, or reflected in the windows of the buildings around them – constantly watching and alert, yet Nari felt it was more based upon an interest in what was around than anything else.

Nari took some time to check a few of the vendor stalls that she passed – glancing in windows, or eyeing the wares out on display tables – but nothing truly caught her attention as being worth purchasing. Hours slowly dwindled by as she and her new companion strode through the market area and began wandering through what appeared to be more residential areas. She glanced about – but it took her some time before she realised that some of these homes were actually for sale.

She stopped – taking stock of where she was, and making a note of it so that she could eventually return to maybe purchase a home of her own one day. ‘It would only make sense, wouldn’t it? It’s near the shop, and well…this floor is kind of homely, even in the perpetual darkness…’

She glanced at the fox still wrapped up on her shoulders. She wondered if Yuki would like a home here. There was no snow, but at least it wasn’t that desert land that they had visited on their way up here – Yuki had certainly not enjoyed that land.

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Word Count: 279

 

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As the two wandered the floor’s residential area, Nari began pointing out the different types of homes to Yuki – checking the fox’s reaction to what was pointing out, and making a note of what the fox seemed to like or dislike. She wasn’t entirely sure that she was reading the reactions right, but she also had nothing to base off of to say she was wrong either.

Eventually, she came to the end of the area, and found herself facing an open garden area. Glancing around, she saw very few others out and about, and decided that relaxing for a while might not be a bad idea. Finding a cozy spot slightly out of the way, Nari settled into the grass, leaning back against a small tree. After a few seconds, Yuki unlatched herself from Nari’s shoulders, jumping down and skirting through the grasses, rolling around almost playful like.

The small fox stopped every once and a while, as if checking to see if Nari was watching. Slowly, Nari’s sneaking suspicion began to morph into a true question – ‘Wait…she is checking to see if I’m watching.’

Curious as to what would happen, Nari pulled forth some minor treats from her inventory, waiting for the moment that Yuki rolled again, before tossing the treat to the small fox as soon as she stopped and glanced at Nari. Immediately the fox repeated the motion – and Nari tossed the treat once more.

 

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Word Count: 239

 

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‘Well, that’s…that’s an interesting development. I wonder if you can learn any specific tricks…’ Nari spent a while playing around with Yuki – attempting to teach the small fox a number of different tricks and games. It didn’t take long for Nari to run out of treats to provide for Yuki – but the small fox didn’t seem overly upset, willing to continue so long as Nari gave her attention for doing so.

Nari had lost track of time as she played with Yuki in the park – the everlasting darkness giving no sign of the day slowly passing, and as such it was many hours later that they wandered back to the shop. As they entered, Nari suddenly stopped, gasping.

“We completely forgot to pick up something to eat!” Sighing heavily, she turned back around and made her way a few doors down to an NPC bakery, grabbing a few pieces of bread and assorted sweets – nothing like the player made stuff she had encountered and come to prefer, but edible nonetheless.

Mumbling a half-hearted apology to Yuki, she wandered back into the forge, finding a seat at her workshop table and spreading out the food. Yuki crawled down from her shoulders, taking her pick of a few of the sweets, pulling them aside and nibbling away as Nari quickly devoured what was left.

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Word Count: 222

 

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Once her meal – if it could be called that – was completed, Nari turned, facing the forge around her. She had begun cleaning up before they had left, and the hammer that she had simply tossed aside suddenly caught her eye. Moving to it, she picked up the hammer, hefting it in her left hand and feeling the weight of it. Glancing towards the anvil, she thought about how much more work still needed to be done around here.

‘But…perhaps I should try crafting a piece or two. I do need some more stock for the store…’ She couldn’t argue with the voice in her head. The argument was sound, she couldn’t very well run a shop with nothing to sell.

The sudden scampering of Yuki up her shoulder gave Nari a fright – causing her to fumble the hammer as the fox’s movements startled her. Catching it, she glanced at the small creature on her shoulder, about to give it harsh words for what it had done. She stopped short however, noticing how the fox’s eyes seemed trained on the hammer.

Something about the focus made Nari wonder…shrugging internally, she moved towards the anvil, picking up one of the materials and focusing on an image in her mind. She lifted the hammer, preparing to bring it down when the fox nudged her arm. Curious, Nari lowered the tool, waiting to see what the fox would do.

ID203470 | CD: 9 | Training Familiar | Success!

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Word Count: 235

 

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Yuki nudged her arm once more, as if trying to get Nari to raise it again. Uncertain, but willing to experiment – she didn’t really have anything to lose doing so – she lifted her arm again. The fox nudged her again, this time almost seeming to attempt to push her arm sideways slightly. Nari gave in, shifting her arm slightly outwards.

The movement seemed to please Yuki, who settled back into her shoulder. Unsure what it all meant, Nari let the hammer fall, bringing it ringing down on the material. Slowly, the piece began to shift and form – taking the form of the image that she had held in her mind. Raising the hammer again, she let it fall and impact the materials once more.

Nari’s eyes opened in surprise as the materials suddenly shifted into the form of a spear, ice blue at the tip. She glanced towards Yuki, curled up on her shoulder, her eyes closed and – Nari could almost swear a look of content on her little fox face.

‘You’ve been holding out on me, haven’t you…?’

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Word Count: 179

 

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Spending a little while longer working through the forge with Yuki, Nari eventually felt the work beginning to get to her. Determined not to waste more materials than absolutely necessary, she put away her tools and collected the small winter fox. Donning a light cape for warm, as well as her arms and armour, she strode out into the darkness with the fox clutching onto her shoulders, determining that she should head into the areas outside of the city in search of something to continue her craft – for what better activity was there for a blacksmith than finding the materials required to continue one’s ability to work?

Leaving the city behind, Nari followed a pathway out into the wilder lands, tracing her way along for a while before diverging into the brush beyond the path itself. On her shoulders Yuki kept her nose tucked into Nari’s collar, but Nari could see from the corner of her eye that the fox remained alert of everything around them.

As she wandered, Nari kept an eye out for any of the shiny bricks that signified the materials she needed, bending down once and a while to inspect anything she came across.

ID: 203483 | LD: 12 | CD: 4 | Material Search | Failure [+3 EXP; 3/49EXP]

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Word Count: 198

 

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 Although there was no immediate success in her search, Nari was content just to walk through the brush with Yuki on her shoulder, the small winter fox’s presence somehow calming and comforting her. She chatted with the fox as she went – an entirely one-sided conversation about her work, explaining about how she had begun her craft as a blacksmith and was continuing it in the hopes of one day opening a successful business to provide to the frontliners.

Although it provided no response in a verbal manner, Nari felt as though the fox somehow understood her, and that the faces it was giving her were non-verbal responses of their own kind. There were no words between them, but Nari felt as though the fox was somehow sending waves of approval and – maybe? – love to her, although she knew she’d never be able to prove it.

As she continued along her path, her voice chattering non-stop, she kept her eyes open for anything she could use. Although her focus was limited, and she doubted she’d really find anything while out on this walk, she was just happy to be spending the time with Yuki – the comfort of her own voice, and not others, something that made her truly happy.

ID: 203486 | LD: 14 | CD: 10 | Material Search | Success (2 materials) [+8 EXP; 11/49EXP]

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Word Count: 208

 

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She felt herself jump with glee as she found not one – but two of the shiny bars laying in the grass, hidden just at the bottom of a smaller tree. She knew that the foraging skills she had learnt would come in hand, but she hadn’t expected it to be this helpful.

Holding the bars up so the fox on her shoulder could view them, Nari felt her face break into a large smile, the happiness almost radiating off her. She stared at the bars for a few moments, her tongue continuing to work even as her mind paused to take in the success she had.

“See? Not one, but two! This is so worth it, right Yuki?” The fox gave a slight chittering in response – likely just annoyed at the noise Nari was making, but she took it as a sign of agreement. “Right well, let’s keep looking!”

Putting the bars away in her inventory, Nari continued onwards, scanning for any signs of more materials to be found – her grin stuck on her face as she carried on.

ID203488 | LD: 18 | CD: 10 | Material Search | Success (2/4 materials) [+8 EXP; 19/49EXP]

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Word Count: 179

 

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Her gleeful laugh echoed around her as Nari pulled another two bars from the underbrush. She couldn’t believe her success – it had taken so long before to find anything, and now here she was bare minutes into her searching finding not one, not two, but four bars of the precious materials. She danced around the forest area gleefully, careful not to shake Yuki loose, but allowing her enthusiasm and excitement free in the movement.

The fox eventually dislodged itself from Nari’s shoulders, clearly preferring the less shaky ground over her shoulders – at least for the moment. Nari came to a halt, smiling at the fox as it stared up from her at the ground beneath her.

“I’m sorry Yuki, it’s just…this is amazing! Look at how much we’ve found already!” The fox’s nose scrunched at the woman’s words, as if making a show of responding to her words. Nari figured that Yuki wasn’t too impressed – especially if its free ride turned into the worst possible rollercoaster in existence.

Kneeling down before the fox, Nari stored the materials before offering her arm for Yuki to crawl back up. “I promise it’ll be more comfortable going forward, okay?”

Yuki sniffed at her for a moment, hesitating as if to say, “it better”, before scurrying up the offered arm and settling into place. Content – if only for the moment – Nari pushed onwards, determined to see just how high this collection score could go.

ID: 203490 | LD: 3 | CD: 6 | Material Search | Failure (0/4 materials) [+3 EXP; 22/49EXP]

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Word Count: 240

 

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Knowing how lucky she had been to find the four materials in a row, Nari let the lack of success pass for a little while. She remembered how hard this had been in the beginning – and now here she was already finding what had originally taken hours in just moments.

Poking around at the underbrush as she went, Nari wondered what she was going to make with all the materials she had found. Her recent attempts had been…well, mediocre at best. She needed something big – a piece worthy of her store’s forefront display. Something that would draw in the frontliners, and all the others of Aincrad.

She knew that straight swords like her own were popular, but she had also seen an assortment of other weapons and armour across the many players she had passed in her travels. Even shields had been more common than she had expected, and she found that as she walked, her mind provided images of numerous different possibilities – creations that she catalogued to return to at a later time, when she was able to truly sit down and devise a plan for crafting her wares. For now, she needed to focus on finding the materials – otherwise she wouldn’t be making much.

ID: 203492 | LD: 14 | CD: 12 | Material Search | Success (2/6 materials) [+8 EXP; 30/49EXP]

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Word Count: 206

 

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She felt the excitement building in her again as she found another two of the shiny metallic looking bars, and had to resist her urge to dance around once more – forcing herself to restraint, if only for Yuki’s benefit. Dropping the bars into the inventory, she reached up and scratched Yuki beneath the jaw, getting a slight moment of what almost sounded like purring from the little fox.

Nari glanced about, making sure that nothing – or rather, no one – had approached her little area of luck and glee. Seeing nothing of interest, she put the worry out of her mind, turning her attention back to finding everything she could. She was overwhelmed with enthusiasm over all the success that she had been having – realising just how worthwhile that simple forager quest had been. She found the irony in the situation – how she had wondered at the point behind something so…well, not useless – but not something she would’ve assumed worthwhile in the beginning.   

ID: 203495 | LD: 17 | CD: 7 | Material Search | Success (2/8 materials) [+8 EXP; 38/49EXP]

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Word Count: 162

 

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As she continued to find more and more materials, Nari wondered if this would somehow come back to bite her – perhaps she would run into a nest of something, or maybe another player who knew this was a good foraging zone. Still…she knew that she was currently hitting the jackpot, and because of her success – she wasn’t willing to give up quite yet.

Pushing on, she realised that this must be what it felt like to win in a casino, or a lottery. ‘It’s no wonder people get hooked on these games of chance…it’s…it’s so overpowering. I feel like I can’t stop – like I don’t want to stop. Ever.’

Knowing it was perhaps silly, she pushed deeper into the underbrush, determined not to let this chance slip away. Even if she did run into something dangerous, she could always just run – escape was always an option, even if only just barely. ‘Plus, so long as Yuki’s here…’

She raised her hand and gave the little fox another scratch as she thought about her presence on Nari’s shoulders. Although so tiny, the little familiar was such a comfort to Nari.

ID: 203496 | LD: 11 | CD: 9 | Material Search | Failure (0/8 materials) [+3 EXP; 41/49EXP]

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Word Count: 189

 

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The underbrush constantly pulling at her armour and clothing – as well as slashing across her face – Nari was surprised that she was able to even put any focus into searching for the shiny materials. She was also surprised that Yuki had remained silent for the drag through what had turned out to be a bad idea – not a squeak of complaint coming from the tiny fox.

She stepped out of the underbrush on the opposite side, making a promise to herself that she wouldn’t repeat that venture. She could still feel something sticky in her hair, and she figured she need a bath – or several – before she would feel clean again.

“Well, should we keep going a little bit longer?” A quick squeak from the fox was all Nari needed for confirmation, before she began poking and prodding around the bases of the nearby trees, hoping to continue getting lucky in her new favourite area.

ID: 203497 | LD: 20 | CD: 12 | Material Search | Success (2/10 materials) [+8 EXP; 49/49EXP]

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Word Count: 155

 

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“Aha! See! What did I tell you! This place – this place is the gold mine!Nari dropped her two newest materials into her inventory, glancing around the field again. There was more to be found here, Nari knew it – she just had to go find it all, and she would. She definitely would find everything there was to find here.

“Come on Yuki, we can’t just stand around here talking all day, we’ve got some major foraging to do here. Before this area like…resets or something. We need to collect everything we possibly can – think about all the materials I’m going to find here!” She realised her voice was carrying a hint – well, maybe more than a hint – of excitement as the words spilled from her mouth. She paused – thinking for a moment, wondering if she was maybe overdoing it a bit.

‘Nah…I’m fine. It’s just a bit of enthusiasm to gain success, right? No harm to it!’

ID: 203498 | LD: 9 | CD: 7 | Material Search | Success (0/10 materials) [+3 EXP; 52/149EXP]

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Word Count: 158

 

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‘Figures. Just when everything was going so well…’ The voice sent a burst of sadness through her mind and heart, as her search turned up nothing in the immediate vicinity. For a brief moment Nari felt herself ready to give up – a stupid, childish feeling. She pushed it aside, forcing her enthusiasm to return and bringing her focus back to the task at hand.

‘I need to understand that I won’t always have success, but that doesn’t mean that I immediately give up – I need to retain that drive, that focus to succeed. It’s the only way I’ll make it…make it out…’ The voice cut off as her thoughts turned to the fact that she was still trapped within this game. There was nothing she could do to change that now, and thinking about it would do nothing but bring sadness and depression to her – something that she didn’t need at this moment.

Driving away the thoughts, she forced herself to think only of finding the materials she needed – promising herself that she would give it another couple of tries, at the very least.

ID: 203499 | LD: 15 | CD: 12 | Material Search | Success (2/12 materials) [+8 EXP; 60/149EXP]

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Word Count: 184

 

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‘See? Sometimes you win some, sometimes you don’t. But just keep trying, and…it’ll eventually work out! That’s all you need to focus on, so long as you can, keep going.’ The thought pushed through her mind as she reached up to give Yuki a few quick scratches. She wondered just how much longer the little fox would be patient with their outing, before she would be forced to return back to the shop.

She glanced around herself, not quite sure how much time had passed – the eternal darkness definitely made it harder to track the passing of time due to the lack of transitioning light. But Nari was sure it hadn’t been more than maybe a couple of hours at the very most.

‘We can go a little longer, then.’ She nodded – mostly to herself – before continuing on with her now more calm search, resigned to finding what came, and letting everything else simply fall into place.

ID: 203500 | LD: 12 | CD: 10 | Material Search | Failure (0/12 materials) [+3 EXP; 63/149EXP]

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Word Count: 157

 

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Nari’s quick search of the area turned up nothing further. Giving one final glance around the area, she decided that perhaps it was time to start heading back. She peered through the darkness, for a moment worried she had lost her way – before noticing the damage she had caused to the underbrush that hadn’t quite returned to its original form yet.

Following the path that she had created, she tracked through the brush and foliage, taking time to watch out for anything that may have reset as she went. She wasn’t expecting to find much of anything, but she also knew that an attempt not taken was an attempt lost.

“We’re headed back Yuki, and maybe we’ll grab a quick snack or treat once we get back, what do you say?” She queried the fox as she continued to push her way back along the original trail, hoping that the promise of a nice treat would be enough to appease her companion to suffer through the less than enjoyable path they had to take.

ID: 203501 | LD: 11 | CD: 9 | Material Search | Failure (0/12 materials) [+3 EXP; 66/149EXP]

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Word Count: 174

 

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She wasn’t surprised at all that her quick glances around as she forced her way through thick brush brought up nothing – she would have been far more surprised if she had found something. Between the darkness, and then the coverage of the foliage itself, it was nearly impossible to see anything beyond the tips of her fingers, and for a few moments Nari thought that perhaps she had accidentally fallen into a whole or some other abyss.

Just as she was beginning to question her whereabouts, she suddenly popped out from the foliage, finding herself beneath the trees once more, clear of the underbrush that blocked out all sight. Although it was still dark, it felt brighter than where she had been just a moment before. Shaking off the branches and other bits that had managed to get caught in her clothing and hair, Nari began trudging back towards the main road, determined to get home without any further issues – but, just in case, watching for those nice shiny bricks that she had come out here for.

ID: 203503 | LD: 13 | CD: 8 | Material Search | Success (2/14 materials) [+8 EXP; 74/149EXP]

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Word Count: 177

 

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Her attention as she walked back towards the city were caught by a sudden collection of shinning, and she couldn’t help but sidetrack momentarily to collect the materials that had been so kind as to draw her away from her path for their very collection.

Not one to look a gift horse in the eyes – she was fairly sure that was the saying – Nari took one final glance around before deciding to call it quits. Happy with everything she had managed to find, she made her way back to the city, ready to make good on that promise to Yuki about finding the snacks that she clearly deserved for all her patience.

“Yuki, I think you and I are going to do fairly well for ourselves here, if we can keep this up…” She turned and smiled softly towards the little fox. “Which, for you, means more snacks and treats. Of course.”

The little fox gave a squeak of excitement, and Nari paused in her step for a moment, trying to determine if the creature had actually understood her words. Shaking her head – it wasn’t possible, right? – she decided it was a problem for another day.

Large grin across her face, Nari made her way back into the city, ready to find the next adventure that the two would spend mastering, no matter how long, nor how hard it was.

ID: 20350? | LD: 16 | CD: 6 | Material Search | Success (2/16 materials) [+8 EXP; 82/149EXP]

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Word Count: 230

 

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