[PP-F1] Reawakening. <<The First Lesson>>

[Kylissia 0]

                        What a mystery Miryu was becoming...and that tremor, it actually happened. This girl would need protection one way or another. With all that was happening, it was too much to be a coincidence. Something was going on...and Miryu happened to be the only one who saw the mysterious armored figure that the wolves from earlier had ran from...and if that tremor rumor was true, and Kylissia wasn't imagining things...would Miryu somehow be mixed up in it all? Being an amnesiac, she's not likely to know how she may be connected if that happens to be the case. All that would be left to do if this odd thought crossing Kylissia's mind turns out to be true, is to guard her and guide her...as she'll need to figure it out because it would be coming for her.

        Outside the Cartography shop, Wulfrin was waiting. Miryu would let him know what she'd learned. "Wulfrin," Kylissia began. "Could you come with me for a quick moment? There's something I need to discuss with you before we begin." She requested. She looked to the other two girls. "We'll be right back." She assured, before bringing her arm around Wulfrin's shoulder and nudging him to move away from the current vicinity with her..

                     Once the two pinkettes were out of earshot and sight, Kylissia would ask a question, a solemn, concerned expression on her face. "Did you happen to hear or feel a tremor, by any chance? There happened to be one several hours ago, even the NPCs seem to be talking about it, and even mentioning odd structures coming out of the ground." She would wait for a response before continuing. "Strange entities, odd structures, unexpected tremors...and soon after the tremor, an amnesiac enters the Town of Beginnings..." She continued, noting her observations. "I worry for Miryu. What do you make of it all?" She asked.

[Wulfrin 0]

Wulfrin waited outside the map maker's shop for his female companions to wrap up. He finally decided to process what he had experienced on the way here. Miryu seeing odd apparitions could easily be explained by the malfunctioning Nerve-Gear, but what about the tremors. In his numerous trips down to Floor One, he hadn't witnessed any tremors, nor had he seen any monsters outside the usual mobs in the fields. He was keeping quiet for now, as the group had other things to focus on. Unless the trouble came knocking down their door, Wulfrin was going to keep his mind on helping out the girls first. He'd investigate the odd occurrences later, and if needed call on Freyd, Morningstar, or Nari if the problem seemed to be too much for himself. 

"Wulfrin," Kylissia began, snapping Wulfrin from his thoughts. "Could you come with me for a quick moment? There's something I need to discuss with you before we begin."

"Sure," Wulfrin replied. Kylissa excused the duo and led Wulfrin out of earshot. She explained the findings in the shop, as well as expressing concerns for Miryu.

"Yeah I felt them," Wulfrin replied. "I've been keeping quiet for the sake of the group, as I feel whatever is happening might be well above your capabilities at the moment. I haven't seen anything out of place yet, but I was planning to do a more thorough scouting of the floor after we wrapped up. Worst case scenario, it's some type of new big event meant to terrorize the stayers that take refuge on this floor. In such a scenario, it would probably be best to get some higher leveled players down here. I know a few that helped me get where I am now. My suggestion, unless it comes to us, let's not go actively seeking the danger. Unknown fights with level ones could lead to a very permanent game over. Let's get to Zackariah and get y'all on your gathering mission."

[Almina 0]

                                    Kylissia took Wulfrin aside for some kind of discussion. Almina had no idea why this was necessary, but regardless, Almina needed to kill a few seconds, if not more. Almina began thinking of what she could do. "What could I possibly talk about with an Amnesiac...?" She wondered. "...Maybe I could teach her a few functions of her menu, like the messaging system!"

              With that, her eyes lit up, and she looked over to Miryu. "Your menu's gonna become very handy to you throughout your adventures. You can use it to access your inventory, manage equipment, swap equipment in the blink of an eye, and more!" She explained, before pulling up her menu to give an example. "I know you've figured out how to pull up the map, but I wanna make sure you're handy enough with the other functions to make sure you're ready. Of course, there are other neat functions, like sending and receiving messages, sending party invites, and even taking screenshots!" She added. She continued to explain and demonstrate, then a *Click!* noise could be heard from Miryu's Menu. Almina chuckled. "Did you just take a screenshot?" She asked. "It's ok, I don't mind!" She said, in hopes of avoiding any discouragement. "If you'd ever like to take a look at it, you can go to your saved screenshots by touching that button at the bottom right of the screenshot camera!"

    What happened next was unexpected, however. "Oh...!"

[Miryu 0]

                      Kylissia took Wulfrin aside, and after some awkward silence, Almina decided to help Miryu figure out her menu. She seemed to recall how to work the menu, despite having forgotten it even existed. Was it some kind of 'second nature' or something? So much for her to figure out...

           Almina would explain the functions of the message and screenshot systems, and with the tap of a button, *Click!*
    Almina would recognize that Miryu had taken a screenshot out of button curiosity, and help her to view it, saying it could be seen at only the tap of a button.

               As she accessed her screenshot view, what neither player expected was the sight that entered both players' vision.

Spoiler

 

 

                               Miryu already had screenshots. Did they make sense? Absolutely not. A strange feeling stirred in Miryu, but nothing that could help her at this moment...and this was only the first page of screenshots. Miryu decided not to go any further, and simply closed her menu, dumbfounded at what it was that she just saw.
                   When Kylissia and Wulfrin returned, Miryu had only one thing to say. "Apparently I have screenshots...problem is, I can't make heads or tails of them."

                     There was nothing left to discuss, so it was time to head for Zachariah's shop. Miryu hesitated before opening the door, but once she did, the smell of alchemical brews and ingredients would nearly assault Miryu's senses. At least it was a fairly pleasant scent. “Oh, hello," Greeted the shopkeep, who must have been Zachariah. He glanced over to the party as he continued. "Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supp...lies.” He trailed off as his gaze soon fixed towards Miryu. His eyes narrowed somewhat, his expression somewhat confused. "...I'm sorry, have we met before?" The man asked. Miryu blinked, not sure what to do. "Um...have we?" She asked, clueless. Zachariah got up from his work station, and walked over to Miryu. "Just a moment, let me get a good look at you..." He requested. He brought his hands to her face, tilting her head around as if he was hoping to jog his memory. after ten awkward seconds of this, he stepped back, a puzzled look on his face as he stroked his long, snow white beard. "My apologies, I must have been mistaken, either that, or it's not coming to me yet...nevertheless, I'd like to request something of you, if you're fine with it. Would you gather a few materials for me? Flowers, herbs, rare woods, whatever you can find outside the city walls. I promise I’ll help you fill your order as soon as you return. In fact, I would be willing to show you how to do it yourself.” Came his words. Miryu nodded her head. Maybe, if this NPC knew something, he might be able to help.

[Kylissia 0]

                                         Wulfrin gave his theories and stated his concerns. that was all Kylissia needed to know. "Thank you for your thoughts, Wulfrin. It's good to know that I'm not alone in my concerns not just for Miryu, but the scenario as a whole."
          When the two players reunited with the other half of their party, Miryu mentioned her screenshots, and how she couldn't make anything out from them. "If you can't decipher them now, keep them. They might come in handy later, maybe they'll help you to remember something important, so I'd highly suggest that you don't delete them." Kylissia recommended, hoping that these screenshots might be able to help her at some point. She did not see the screenshots, but she might ask to see them later, just in case.

                         A mystifying scent awaited the players when they entered the shop. Zachariah greeted the players, but trailed off when he seemed to show a trace of recognition...but not for Wulfrin, who everyone knew had taken the quest before. While it was likely that due to the nature of the quest that he simply wasn't paying him any attention, it puzzled Kylissia that Zachariah seemed to wonder if he'd met Miryu before. This was concerning. What happened prior to Miryu arriving at the Town of beginnings as an amnesiac?

[Wulfrin 0]

"If you don't mind," Wulfrin said with budding curiosity at the mention of mysterious screenshots as the due regrouped with the others. "I'd like a copy of those screenshots. We can worry about them later though they aren't important now. I do agree with Kylissa though, don't delete them just yet."

The familiar scent of Zackariah's many brews filled the air. As usual Zackariah addressed the new players with interest. Wulfrin did notice an oddity however. Zackariah seemed to have some recognition of Miryu, though that should be impossible as she had only left the Black Iron Palace a few minutes or so before Wulfrin found her. Nothing was adding up with that girl. First she was completely new to the game, when even the stayers that dwelled in the Town of Beginnings at least knew where they were. Then there was the amnesia. He had heard the NPCs talking about strange occurrences on the walk to Zackariah's shop like Kylissa had mentioned. The tremors were odd for Floor One, as the closest he had felt to those were the ones caused by Terra Firma on Floor Five. There were too many oddities at play. Now there were NPC's that seemed to know Miryu and she already had screenshots, presumably from the various floors of Aincrad. 

"Wulfrin my boy?" Zackariah must have been trying to get his attention for quite a bit, as he had made his way out from behind his counter and placed a hand on Wulfrin's shoulder. "You look troubled. The fish not biting like they usually are?"

"No sir," Wulfrin responded, returning back to his usual cheerful self. "I've just had a rough day. Things are weird today."

"How's the search into Dorian's little problem?" Zackariah asked.

"Oh you know," Wulfrin replied with an embarrassed smile. "Still haven't found the person who owes him." Wulfrin always hated this part. Since he hadn't completed the entire chain, any NPC that he had previously approached always asked how the search was going, and basically calling out to the new players he was escorting that he had not finished the tutorial quest line himself.

With the introductions completed and the quest handed out, Wulfrin led the group out of Tolbana. He kept one hand on his sword the entire time, simply out of caution. Normally he walked with a bit more of a relaxed stance, especially to his favorite fishing spot near the base of the mountains, by the river, but something told him this trip would likely not be a pleasurable one. The walk was tense, mainly due to Wulfrin constantly scanning their flanks, but it ultimately went without an issue. Just as the many times before, the fishing spot was calming with not a dangerous mob in sight. Wulfrin, still not wanting to put his guard down completely, pulled out his fishing rod and cast it into the lazily moving river. The bobber moved up and down with the slow waves.

"We're here," Wulfrin said with caution, gesturing to the slightly wooded area. There were plenty of wild flowers, rocks to turn over, and tree hollows to look in for the necessary materials. No hostile mobs usually traveled into this area, but Wulfrin wanted to take no chances. "Normally I'd say search until your heart's content, but with everything that's been happening proceed with caution. I'll be keeping an eye out for hostile's, but if you see something suspicious call it out. We don't need to be tackling things alone right now."

 

* * *

Fishing attempt
Rank 2 Fisher
ID: 220479 | CD 7 | LD 16 | Critical Catch | +16 exp

+1 Material

Open Fishing Chest
ID: 220480 | LD: 13+1 = 14

Items
T2 Perfect Armor/Shield | IDs: [220480a]
T2 Rare Armor/Shield | IDs: [220480b] 

* * *
Rewards This Thread

+16 Fishing Exp
1 Materials

T2 Perfect Armor/Shield | IDs: [220480a]
T2 Rare Armor/Shield | IDs: [220480b] 

Edited March 21 by Wulfrin

[Miryu 0]

       Kylissia and Wulfrin both suggested that Miryu should avoid deleting the screenshots for the time being. Wulfrin also asked for copies of the screenshots, but this confused her. What use would he have for these? These were landscapes, city locales, biomes of many kinds...exactly what even is this situation? Miryu blinked. "What could you possibly be able to do with them, even if I sent them to you?" Miryu asked, confused and tilting her head to the side.

               With the trip to the locale being surprisingly peaceful, Miryu felt somewhat at ease, even if Wulfrin did not. Now that the players were at the gathering location, now it was time to search for alchemical materials...like that patch of flowers, one of them stuck out a bit, being of a different shape, pattern and color than the rest. Miryu looked at it from a few angles, circling it carefully and moving slowly and cautiously as to not trample any of the other flowers accidentally. Miryu then shrugged, grabbed the plant at the base, and pulled it right out. The plant shattered, leaving the flower behind...suggesting that only the flower itself had alchemical properties.

Well, that was one down, what's next?

 

ID# 220664 LD: 15(Found 1 Material!)

Materials Found: 1/5

Edited April 9 by Miryu

[Almina 0]

        Miryu had a whole set of screenshots already. Excluding the one she'd just taken of Almina, there were no less than twelve that appeared on Miryu's menu screen. Wulfrin and Kylissia returned, and upon learning of this, suggested that Miryu keep the screenshots for the time being. If Miryu was an amnesiac, that would at least explain why she already had screenshots, though it wouldn't explain how she's level one after having been to who knows how many places in Aincrad, given the variety of environments in the screenshots. Even if Miryu was carried, there still wouldn't be any logical explanation for her to be level one. "Miryu, forgive me for my confusion here, but...exactly how are you level one?" Almina asked. "If you've been to all these places, then how...why...? It...it makes no sense, what happened?" At this point Almina was asking herself this, since an amnesiac without a memory to her name wouldn't be able to answer that.

                 Zachariah's shop would soon be entered, but unlike the expected scenario, the NPC seemed to have some recognition of Miryu. Now Almina was really worried. It all just got more and more confusing. "Miryu..." Almina thought. "What even happened, what did you do?"
    There had to have been something. Her level didn't add up with the scenarios, nor did the screenshots. 



             Then there was the trip to the gathering location. Almina was glad that Wulfrin was ready and willing to protect, for Almina was now focused on trying to figure Miryu out. Nothing was adding up, and now she wanted to find out why. Lost in her thoughts, she puzzled over the possibilities until Wulfrin announced the players' arrival. Wulfrin would begin fishing, and Miryu would circle one flower that stood out from the rest in the patch, before plucking it and obtaining a material. Almina then wondered if the other flowers counted, despite being of potentially lesser quality? Almina picked one, it shattered. Almina picked a bunch in one grasp, they shattered...so clearly those flowers were non-material, and thus being improperly picked will destroy them. "Ok, let's see, what else is around...?" She thought.

 

ID# 221821 LD: 4+3=7(found nothing)

Edited April 9 by Almina

[Kylissia 0]

                     The conversation between Wulfrin and Zachariah gave some mild spoilage of the quest's plotline, it would seem that Zachariah was not the borrower. Nevertheless, the conditions of the quest would still need to be cleared. There were now far too many questions regarding Miryu, and Kylissia wondered exactly what happened...but there was not enough that Kylissia knew about Miryu and her predicament that would allow her to form a solid theory on the situation. The girl was an amnesiac, so regardless of whatever she'd done before, it was clear that she had little choice but to start over from scratch. Kylissia could only hope that she hadn't drawn the ire of anything too dangerous prior to her amnesia.

                     Thankfully, the trip to the gathering location would prove to be peaceful, and there were plenty of potential alchemy ingredients scattered around the area. Miryu found one sticking out like a sore thumb as an odd bloom out in a flower patch. Almina tried to see of the common flowers of the patch counted, but it looked like that wasn't the case. Kylissia spotted a strange looking plant from the corner of her eye, and upon plucking it, it appeared to be a medicinal herb of sorts. There's one, only four to go.

 

ID# 222002 LD: 11+3=14(Found 1 Material!)

Materials found: 1/5

Edited April 10 by Kylissia

[Wulfrin 0]

"To be honest Miryu," Wulfrin said with a sigh as he pulled out his fishing line. "The best case scenario is nothing. Worst case is I find the locations and something jumps out and tries to kill me. Either way I'm hoping that if I can find those locations, assuming they exist in Aincrad, and maybe find an answer as to why you have amnesia."

Wulfrin watched his bobber dance across the waves of the swift flowing river. This was a norm for him, fish at river while newbies get their materials found. Usually the trip was a peaceful one, but this time it was different. Wulfrin's mind was constantly running through countless permutations of what could be causing both the random fissures, random phantom mobs, and most importantly Miryu's amnesia. He felt a tug at the line and by sheer muscle memory at thins point pulled the line from the water and collected his spoils, a whole lot of nothing. As he recast his line he scanned his band of newbie players.

"Don't go too far," Wulfrin said as he returned to the river. "Also if you see anything dangerous before I do, get my attention. I'm taking no chances today."

* * *

Spoiler

Fishing Attempt
Rank 3 Fisher | Success CD 7+ | Chest LD 11+ | +1 LD when opening chest
ID 222000 | CD 6 | LD 10 | Fail
Nothing Found

+3 Fishing Exp

 

Edited April 19 by Wulfrin
Not Rank 3 fisher. Adjusted when double checking rewards.

[Miryu 0]

             Miryu had some mild confusion as to why Wulfrin thought that a worst case scenario would be something jumping out and trying to kill...but if hostile monsters could appear in those locations, why would Miryu have possibly taken the time to take a screenshot of the area? Did it really make any sense?

    Regardless of that, he seemed to hope that answers to Miryu's amnesia would be found in those locations. Well, that might be possible...if Miryu was the one to come along, that is. What could random locations even mean to someone who's never been there before? Miryu didn't recognize the screenshots either, so perhaps she'd received them from someone else? The whole screenshot topic wasn't making any sense, what could it all mean?

 

     After plucking that first material, Almina failed to find anything useful from the common flowers, and Kylissia found a medicinal herb. Miryu walked a few steps, then spotted a simple plant attached to some kind of brown lump. When Miryu pulled at it to investigate, she ended up pulling out not simply a plant, but a plant with a thick, complex root. The plant shattered, but the root remained. That's another material. Three to go.

 

ID# 222068 LD: 20(Found 1 Material)

Materials Found: 2/5

Edited April 19 by Miryu

[Almina 0]

   Wulfrin warned the three girls no to go too far, so that if anything dangerous came up, he could protect them. "Don't worry, Wulfrin, we won't!" Almina assured.

   What she could not assure, however, was that she wouldn't drift off within sight. From a search around the floral foliage to a gaze into the sky, she saw clouds in all kinds of shapes and sizes. as her imagination became active and her walking began to slow, the skies slowly turned from blue to gray, from gray to dark gray, then from dark gray to a dark, grayish crimson...and with a flash of nonexistent lightning, a storm passed, then receded, leaving a darkened night sky with a gleaming blue moon, the sound of roaring echoed within her mind as the embers of fire danced within her vision...

       Snap back to reality, oop, there goes gravity-

 *Flump*

       Almina had neglected to watch where she was walking, and had slipped on a round fruit and landed on her back. The fruit shattered, so there was another chance gone wrong. Maybe next time she'd try not to get too caught up in her imagination to the point of seeing things that no one else saw.

 

ID# 222859 LD: 5+3=8(nothing found)

Edited April 19 by Almina

[Kylissia 0]

          If Kylissia really wanted to go beyond just surviving here in Aincrad, she would need to set goals for herself. First, she would need to get herself a statistical foothold and get herself situated, and find a build that suits her both in skill and aesthetic. Then, she would need to do what adventurers do: Seek out to carve a legacy by fighting against evil wherever it can be found. Killing monsters, looting treasure, helping those in need...once she manages to do enough of that, she might not need to grind as much if she could get herself into a stable position in life, where she wouldn't have to go too deep into adventuring to stay financially afloat and live comfortably in the process. Life in this game wouldn't be easy, certainly not at first. It would take time, planning, and effort.

...Now if she could just make some quicker progress in identifying possible materials with alchemical use...

 

ID# 222871 LD: 3+3=6(nothing found)

Edited April 19 by Kylissia

[Wulfrin 0]

Having failed his previous attempt, Wulfrin resigned himself to relaxing by the rolling river. Occasionally a fish would jump, causing him to peak out from behind his closed eyes at the sound of the plop. There was another reason he had decided to relax in the grass. He was attempting to sense the strange tremors that had been rumored. So far they seem to have subsided, but who could say if they were truly over. As he lay in the grass, the cool breeze almost lulling him to sleep, he heard his companions growing exceedingly frustrated. All he could do was snicker lightly under his breath. Truthfully he knew the answer. This group was about three times the size he normally brought through, so likely all the obvious materials were being picked clean before the others could spot them.

"Try being a little less picky," Wulfrin said as his line tugged once more. He heaved the catch ashore and looted its extended inventory. Now he understood why Freyd had picked up the hobby. "Zachariah doesn't really care what you bring back. the quest is literally just fill your pockets until the system says your done."

* * *

Spoiler

Fishing Attempt | Rank 2
Success CD 7+ | Chest LD 11+ | +1 LD When Opening Chest

ID: 222872 | CD: 10 | LD: 11
Success Chest Found

Opening Chest
ID: 222873 | LD: 16+1=17

Results:

+1 Material
16 Fishing Exp

Unidentified T2 Perfect Weapons (2) [222872a][222872b]
Unidentified T2 Rare Weapon (1) [222872c]

Total Materials This Thread: 2
Total Fishing Exp This Thread: 35 exp
Items Collected This Thread:
Unidentified T2 Perfect Armor/Shield [220480a]
Unidentified T2 Perfect Weapon [222872a] [222872b]
Unidentified T2 Rare Armor/Shield [220480b]
Unidentified T2 Rare Weapon [222872c]

 

Edited April 19 by Wulfrin

[Miryu 0]

            Miryu's search continued, while the other two seemed to begin having trouble. Kylissia was looking but had not found anything other than that one herb, and Almina had ended up looking at the sky and slipped on a material that then shattered. She wasn't very lucky, was she? Miryu looked in front of her to find an odd bloom, same color as the grass around, but was definitely a closed bloom with possible alchemical uses. Miryu gripped it with two hands and pulled it out. Wulfrin remarked about being less picky, that any material will suffice for the quest.

     "Who knows, what can help may even seem out of sight or mundane at first." Miryu chimed in, examining the closed green blossom. "But there's a use for it somewhere, somehow, even if we don't even realize it yet." She added. That was now...about three materials? So now she only needed to find two more, right?

 

ID# 222874 LD: 11(Found 1 Material)

Materials found: 3/5

Edited April 19 by Miryu

[Almina 0]

        Almina sighed when she realized she hadn't managed to get her hands on a single material so far. Wulfrin then spoke up, suggesting to "be a bit less picky". Almina blinked. There were three players who all knew this, heck, Almina had experimented with the common flowers trying to see if they'd qualify for materials. On top of that, there were three players searching, so all things considered, this task would be easier said than done.

          She got up, and looked for anything that popped or contrasted to the local environment in any way...ah, like that blue mushroom over there. She made her way over to it, and pulled at the base of it. Oddly enough, this mushroom seemed to be the type that gets its roots in deep, as Almina struggled to pull it out. With difficulty, then one final strained pull, the mushroom finally popped off of where it was growing. "Whew...that's one!" She remarked.

 

ID# 222875 LD: 8+3=11(Found 1 Material)

Materials found: 1/5

Edited Thursday at 01:31 PM by Almina