[SP-F1] Learning to Cook <<Earning a Living>> (Completed)

[Kotori 0]

A profession. Long since the start of SAO, Kotori wondered about the possibility of opening a shop and selling goods to various players. She never acted on this desire, but it was still a nagging feeling to do something. Once she started venturing out of the safe zones and actually fighting monsters, it came back. Finally, after about a year of not doing anything about, the girl decided she was going to take up a job and become a cook. Her first impression of the quest was one of a shock, it seemed quite simple. All a player really had to do was go around and find materials, a person didn't even need to fight any monsters to do that. Sure, it would take up a lot of time to go around material searching, but it was much more safer than fighting other creatures.

 

The girl walked up towards the NPC, asking to start up a quest to receive a profession. Choosing to become a cook, the NPC said that she would need to collect materials before actually being able to become a cook. Simple, she thought and she went on her way. Her eyes looked around at the fields. She would need to collect materials by hand. She couldn't go into the grass fields and expect something to use that could be made into something edible. She would need to go into the forest and collect some berries or something similar to that. It was at this point that Kotori realized she would have a really long and boring day.

[Kotori 0]

Quiet. That was one way to describe the forest as Kotori entered it. The only noise she could hear was the sound of leaves and grass rustling, each ignorant of the other. It was odd how quiet it was compared to the noise level of the starter city. It wasn't important though, what was important was that she hurry up and find something edible. A berry plant stood out from the bushes, oddly as if to say "Over here!" The girl gently walked over towards the berries and started to pick them. Except, she couldn't. The berry plant's cursor said immortal object which meant these weren't really berries, they were just part of the scenery. Just great. She would have to try again later, maybe the next time would be better.

 

ID: 17197

LD: 4 [3+1]

 

List

0/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

The girl looked around for another object that would be considered edible in her search of food. That was the problem. For a forest of this size and for a game of this magnitude, a person would think there would be a lot of food so that VRMMOs would be liked much better for being able to taste items. Most of them items in the game weren't actually that good and a person had to actually cook if they wanted to be able to eat something that was tasty. She couldn't find a single thing in the entire area and it made her a bit down on her situation. This really was going to be long day if she couldn't even find a single material. Kotori headed out to a different section of the forest and decided to scavenge elsewhere so she would have better luck.

 

ID: 17227

LD: 5 [4+1]

 

List

0/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

It was really luck that Kotori needed all along considering the moment she moved to the next area of the forest, she was able to spot out dozens of different fruits, berries and other objects. Her eyes spotted a bush of wild blueberries that seemed to sway with the wind as they stood there, silently awaiting. The girl ran over to the bush and began to pick each and every one of the berries before putting them all in one bag and storing that bag in her inventory. That was one material, although she would need to keep this streak alive if she wanted to become a cook fast and quickly. Now it was time to search for another edible object so that she could head back over to the NPC and the finally end this quest. It was still pretty early since the sun wasn't even directly above her yet. She had a lot of time to start picking so she was going to take her time efficently.

 

ID: [17228]

LD: 21 [20+1]

+1 Material

 

List

1/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

It was a one time occurrence after all since all the food that Kotori touched was labeled immortal object. It was yet again another failure. This was starting to get repetitive and she could see why there wasn't that many cooks or other profession holders in Aincrad. Still, she couldn't lose hope at all. The girl resented having to do this over and over again, a battle against a few mobs wasn't looking like such a bad thing at the moment. She was also very tempted to send a PM to Oikawa, asking to help her out on this material farming job. What didn't make sense was that the NPC couldn't just give her the shop and then she would need to get the materials herself. At least then she would have a better time since she could set up the store the way she wanted to so. The brunette headed off towards a different forest area, hoping to find more success somewhere else. 

 

ID: [17229]

LD: 13 [12+1]

 

List

1/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

Kotori gave a grumble when the new area turned out to be barren as well. At this point she wasting valuable time that could be spent doing something else. The only good this was doing for her was giving her EXP to level up, although not even much anyway. Her attempts were basically futile and all she could do was hope for one good scavenge out of every other bad one that she found herself doing. Nonetheless, there was no use in whining about not getting what she wanted, she just would have to keep on trying and trying. Soon she find another material. Soon.

 

ID: [17235]

LD: 2 [1+1]

 

List

1/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

Soon it was indeed. Kotori managed to find a wild plant of iceberg lettuce in between all the bushes and various other scenery objects. It looked ripe as well and if she was going to make food, she would have to adjust to the fact that many people would like salads or other healthy objects. Material was material and she needed a lot of those if she was going to have succesful shop. The girl didn't want to have to continously go on trips and quests just so that she could get more cooking items. It was best to have enough for a long time in stock and then simply restock all the time, that way she would never run out. Grabbing the plant by its stem, she was able to forcefully remove the entire plant. Coughing from all the dirt that was brought out, Kotori inserted into her inventory and went off in search of more edible things to gather.

 

ID: [17260]

LD: 19 [18+1]

+1 Material

 

List

2/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

Kotori gave a weak smile at the realization that the entire forest was mostly made up of immortal objects or inedible food. She had expected for a game that allowed cooking as detailed as it was, she would be able to cook anything she found and make it into something that was presentable to eat. It was in fact the complete opposite. At first she thought she was just having a bad day or was unlucky or just plain bad at material collecting. It turned out it wasn't her fault. Nothing in the area was useful to be cooked and if she didn't wake up and smell the flowers, she would be all day long. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try just a few more times. Maybe success will prevail if she tried just one more time. Still, it bothered her how little food she had collected. At this rate it would take days for her to finish the quest.

 

ID: [17262]

LD: 8 [7+1]

 

List

2/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

"No materials here, no materials there, no materials anywhere. This is getting really annoying now. Honestly, I didn't know it was this hard until I tried this out. Should've asked Oikawa about his earning a living quest, would have saved me all this work." The girl ranted as she grew more and more mad at the situation at hand. Paradoxically, her anger made her want to work harder and harder because she more effort in finding materials. It was an odd set of circumstances indeed, although at the moment she still only had two materials after about two hours spent just going through the forest and trying to find the needle in a haystack full immortal objects and inedible foods that plagued the first floor's forest.

 

ID: [17264]

LD: 10 [9+1]

 

List

2/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

Kotori decided to just sit down and rest for a bit. Maybe she had looted the entire area for all its worth, but she just needed a little bit of relaxation. Sure it wasn't back-breaking work like fighting mobs, but it was still tiring at the very least. Behind was a bush of berries, but upon examination, it seemed they were fake as well since they couldn't squish at all. Giving a light sigh, the girl simply looked up in the sky and just watched. The grass below her cushioned her like a warm soft bed, which felt odd but still nice. She never really got to enjoy moments like these anymore, it was person this and person that. Just so much drama over all. She felt almost as if she never wanted to move from that spot. Maybe she would've had she never met a few certain people. Soon, it would end though. Soon indeed.

 

ID: [17526]

LD: 5 [4+1]

 

List

2/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

Back to work again it was. Kotori was getting in the rhythm of berry picking and food gathering, it seemed in no fime she would be a professional at it. It seemed that her little break was helping her out as almost instantaneously she found a small mushroom hanging about under the shwde of an oak tree. She wasn't sure if fungi really did grow like that, but it would still work as nothing else was being found and it would go great with the health buffs she was intending to make for customers to purchase. She was already getting all giddy about actually being a cook that she wanted to tell Oikawa about it, but that would wait for another time.

ID: [17541]
LD: 20 [19+1]

+1 Material

List

3/13 Material

[Kotori 0]

Kotori was on a lucky streak at this point, her searching found her another material that would aid her on her attempt to finally end up as a cook. It was a bush chock full of blue berries, each of them swaying in the wind independent of each other. It was a sight to behold and she was grinning at the fact that she could find another material in as much time as she did. She needed to keep this up if she wanted to finish this quest up soon.

ID: [17629]
LD: 21 [20+1]
+1 Material

List:

4/13 Materials

[Kotori 0]

"No more materials, no more food. Nothing at all, nothing at all." Kotori started to ramble about her returning lack of materials, only 4 so far out of the 15 items she needed to collect to the finish the quest. Four was okay, but at the moment she wanted to be far ahead of this measly number instead of still having to scramble around for hidden loot. Still, she was about one third of the way there and if she kept on trying she would end up with all the necessary materials. The girl gave a light sigh as she continued on her quest, a quest of very boring properties indeed.

 

ID: [17852]
LD: 9 [8+1]

List:

4/15 Materials

[Kotori 0]

"Bum bum bum bum.." Kotori started humming out of nowhere as her search of loot continued on with no success at all. She wasn't getting mad, now she just used to not finding anything. It wasn't so bad either, the area around her was just so beautiful! The trees were so lush and the sounds of nature just appealed to her for some reason. Altogether, the quest itself was not annoying her anymore, once she had all her materials she wouldn't need to worry about having to collect more for a long time coming. The girl just continued on strolling around, soon she would get what she wanted.

 

ID: [17940]
LD: 14 [13+1]

List:

4/13 Materials

[Kotori 0]

Kotori gave another light sigh as her most recent attempt failed yet again. Maybe this would teach her to level up certain skills next time she was going to set out on a quest by herself. When she was using her skill points, she didn't know that she might one day have to search for stuff on her own, but still. She should've planned her skills ahead of time instead of wasting them on something she didn't even fully understand yet. The girl continued on her a long walk, mentally beating herself up over not utilizing her points like she should've done when she first got trapped in this stupid game.

 

ID: [17942]
LD: 8 [7+1]

List:

4/13 Materials

[Kotori 0]

Kotori's luck seemed to be finally working as she located some chestnuts hanging low from a few small trees as she approached. The trees weren't very tall of course be of how the game mechanics worked so she just barely able to reach them as she picked a few out and then put them inside her inventory. "Now to keep this up and get the most I can out of this barren forest!" she exclaimed as she went out in search of more and more materials so that this quest would be finished by nighttime.

 

ID: [17946]
LD: 16 [15+1]

+1 Material

 

List:

5/13 Materials

[Kotori 0]

There would be no luck in this part of the forest as it was just a large patch of daisies and wildflowers with an opening in the trees, almost as if the area Kotori was standing was a sacred ground. It most definitely wasn't because there were evidence of players being here recently since there was trampled grass in the shape of footsteps and the bushes looked beaten. "Eh.." the girl said with a shrug before heading out to find edible food. It wasn't the end of the world, just a stop in her busy material searching quest to become a full-blown cook. The girl wondered what she could name her shop once she opened it up. Still, she wouldn't be able to name anything if she kept dwelling on the unimportant so she ignored that thought.

 

ID: [17947]
LD: 8 [7+1]

 

List:

5/13 Materials

[Kotori 0]

Another pleasant surprise showed itself in the form of walnut tree, oddly following the material collecting of chestnuts just a few minutes ago. Kotori picked them with ease before taking a small stop by said tree. She laid her weary head against the hard trunk of the tree and just relaxed a bit. This was turning out to be a very productive day, maybe more so than any other day where she had fought by herself or other people in general. Maybe if she did this all the time, she wouldn't need to worry about being underleveled compared to all her friends, especially Oikawa. She could possibly catch up to him in levels, but that would take some time. Still, it was worth a try.

 

ID: [17950]
LD: 15 [14+1]

+1 Material

 

List:

6/13 Materials

[Kotori 0]

Kotori smirked with happiness in her as she found a bush of wild raspberries swaying in the wind. At this moment, the girl was halfway done with the amount of materials she needed to collect before heading back to the NPC. Still, she needed to do all she had done the entire day again if she wanted to finish this quest and that made this encounter bittersweet, metaphorically and literally. The girl picked up the berries and then went on a mad dash to find more and more materials. The sun was no longer above her as it was now on its way towards the horizon although the girl still had a lot of time to finish her hunt.

 

ID: [17961]
LD: 20 [19+1]

+1 Material

 

List:

7/13 Materials

[Kotori 0]

Kotori gave a light sigh as she found herself with nothing in the new area she was located in. It was so utterly barren that she couldn't be bothered to stick around any longer at all. Her goal was to get her materials by nighttime and places like this would just slow her down. The girl went into a light stride, she needed to go find other places where she could actually find viable materials, not the junk that filled these rare places in the forest. Hopefully she would have more luck in the next area and if not then, in the area after that. She just needed to be lucky in general, but it didn't seem she was at all.

 

ID: [17990]
LD: 11 [10+1]

 

List:

7/13 Materials