[SP-F1] <<Earning A Living>> The Search For Hill Root

[Emerath 0]

Emerath made his way down to the first floor. He had learned his lesson about doing this quest on the fourth floor last time, despite that he was adjusting to the climate. Besides, he liked the first floor, and the materials he gathered here were generally plentiful and easier to get without risk of death and dismemberment. He went to the alchemist NPC he had first gotten this quest from, and took the quest, but the repeat today came with a twist. He had to find the Hill Root. The wonderful root that he used to make his Golden Hearts. He didn't like the idea that he'd have to give it up to the NPC if he found some, but hey, he wasn't sure. Maybe she'd end up giving him some more? Emerath was hopeful, as he left the town gates in search of the quest item and extra mats besides.

[Emerath 0]

Emerath started his adventure out in the hills. It was a simple thing, finding materials, but finding Hill Root was a rarity. Which, he never really understood until he had used it to make such an amazing potion. The Golden Heart would always have a special place in his heart, simply because it was the first perfect quality item he had ever made. He had managed to replicate the process since, and he was satisfied by the results, and had since begun to expand his horizons. But the Golden Heart always stayed near and dear, and he liked the idea of finding more Hill Root to make even more of them. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite as lucky yet, but he pressed on.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37681
• LD: 3 + 1 (4) (Failure)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath was in a good mood today, as he continued to walk along the rolling hills, watching boars and wolves run around living their coded lives. Occasionally a player would come by and beat one up, and Emerath would stop and watch with interest. He considered seeing if someone wanted to party. It was an odd thing being alone out here, since he had been spending so much time with others. It seemed like any time he wanted to be alone, he even ended up around friends or new acquaintances. Emerath shrugged and shook his head, as he watched another player kill another boar and it exploded into a flurry of pixels. He started to walk off as he noticed something yellow barely sticking out of the ground next to his foot. He looked at it with a gleam in his eye, as reached down and pulled out the Hill Root that he was searching for with a smile. That's one. But I need much more.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37682
• LD: 18 + 1 (19) (Success) +1 Crafting Material (1)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath walked along, admiring the Hill Root that he had found. He had remembered the first time he had ever found the stuff. He had ended up tripping over it like a dunce, but it had turned out to be the best trip he had ever experienced. He had come a long way since then, and it was silly to think of his days as a low level player and the mistakes that he had made. He chuckled under his breath at himself as he pulled up his menu and placed the Hill Root into his inventory. As he walked along, he really hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, and next thing he knew his foot was caught and he was falling forward with a bit of a flail. After landing hard on the dirt, he groaned and turned over to see that he had caught his foot on some more Hill Root. He couldn't help but chuckle at himself, I guess some things never change...

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37684
• LD: 17 + 1 (18) (Success) +1 Crafting Material (2)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath made his way back to his feet and grabbed the Hill Root he had found, before shaking his head and smiling. He was a bit more lucky than the thought he was, even if he was still clumsy. All in all, he was certain he could find plenty of Hill Root at the rate he was going, and so he wasn't sure why he was even so worried to begin with. He continued to walk through the fields, enjoying the nice day and the success he had already found. As he walked he kept an eye to the ground to make sure he didn't trip anymore though. He'd like to continue his string of success. He didn't really want to continue a string of clumsiness to achieve it, however.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37685
• LD: 7 + 1 (8) (Failure) (2)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

It was such a relaxing day that Emerath almost just wanted to lay in the fields on the first floor and fall asleep. He never did that enough, sleeping. He was always going and going and going. Despite that he was just a digital avatar in a virtual world, he still felt drained. It was most likely mostly mental drain, due to the taxing events that had been going on around him. He supposed he never got physically tired. But his mind did need rest. He was staring at the clouds as he thought about this, and he could see shapes forming, almost looking like little sheep in the sky. He absentmindedly began to close his eyes as he walked. And then he tripped again.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37688
• LD: 14 + 1 (15) (Success) +1 Crafting Material (3)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath groaned as he lay face first in the dirt. He was certainly awake again, as he rolled over onto his back. He sighed, he had been taking such care to watch the ground, and then of course the one moment he gets careless he falls on his face. Slowly, he sat up to see that he had, in fact, tripped on more Hill Root, and he cursed the game designers a bit for making it such a dangerous material to gather. But as he looked at it, something dawned on him. This Hill Root was huge! He scrambled over to it quickly, as he looked it over. He wrapped his hand around it and gave it a hard pull from the ground, pulling out way more than he had expected. This has got to be worth at least two Hill Roots. Talk about a lucky trip!

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37690
• LD: 20 + 1 (21) (Success) +1 Crafting Material (4)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath was quite proud of his finds so far, as he walked along with a smile. He even started to whistle a bit at the way the day was going. It was relaxing to take a break and just go looking for mats sometimes. Something he never got to do very often. The most recent events all ran through his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more he wondered where exactly he was going with all of this. It wasn't a bad thought, but it was still an odd one. He had been acting far more social than he usually ever did, and Emerath wondered what had made this the case. Perhaps it was because his brother had closed up after "settling down". Emerath shrugged, I shouldn't be thinking about these things too much. The day is far too nice for that type of thing.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37693
• LD: 3 + 1 (4) (Failure) (4)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath had found himself walking in a primarily straight line, to the point that he was now reaching the point of almost heading into the forests surrounding the hills of the first floor. He stood outside the forest and looked into it. I don't think I'll find any Hill Root in the forest. Probably best if I turn back and start heading back towards the Town of Beginnings. And so he turned on his heel, and started to walk back, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that walking back in a straight line would probably not actually yield much results, considering he had already cleared the way. And so, Emerath started walking off in a completely different direction out into the hills.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37710
• LD: 9 + 1 (10) (Failure) (4)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath continued to wander across the countryside, watching all the animals do the same. He almost felt as aimless as them, now that his luck had begun to dwindle, and the longer he went without finding anything, the more tired he seemed to get. It would only be a matter of time before he just decided to lay down on a nearby hillside and fall asleep. But, the more Emerath thought about that, the more he realized how counter intuitive that would be to his quest. He shook his head to try to wake himself up a bit, and rubbed his eyes. Maybe he could find a nice pond or something to wake up a bit as he wandered around.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37711
• LD: 3 + 1 (4) (Failure) (4)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Sure enough, Emerath was beginning to nod off a bit as he walked. Admittedly, the same sights over and over weren't really all that exciting, and he appeared to have hit most of the Hill Root on the way out of the city, and walking along through the hills randomly didn't seem to be offering up nearly as much. He sighed as he snapped himself back awake again and looked to the sky. He gave himself light pats on the face to try to wake himself up a bit. He needed something more interesting to do, but he felt like fighting little boars would end up just wasting more time than it would help. And so, he continued to trudge along. At this point, he was just as hopeful as that pond as he was for some more Hill Root. Whichever came first he supposed.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37712
• LD: 12 + 1 (13) (Failure) (4)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath had slowed down considerably, trudging along. He felt like he was bogged down, and he was starting to think that the level at which he pushed himself really was taking far more of a toll than he had ever considered it to. His eyes were practically closed as he walked along. He hoped he didn't accidentally walk into a boar and aggro it, but a part of him at this point didn't even care. He just wanted to lay down in the grass and sleep away the rest of the afternoon. The Hill Root seemed like it wanted to help with that, as Emerath tripped over it again. This time, he managed to keep his footing, however, as he stumbled forward but caught himself from falling over. He turned around to see the culprit, and his heart leapt with joy. For a moment, he had worried he wouldn't find anymore for the remainder of the day.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37719
• LD: 15 + 1 (16) (Success) +1 Crafting Material (5)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath was certainly feeling a bit better now that he had managed to find some more Hill Root, but he was still tired. Nothing but rest would really change that. But he had to press on, and find the end of this. He knew he had enough Hill Root to satisfy the NPC and the quest, but he felt like there was still more to do. And that was when Emerath finally passed by the pond he had been looking for. His eyes lit up, as he walked over to it, and got down on his knees next to it. He looked into the reflection presented by the calm waters, and he couldn't help but be a bit sad from what he saw. He looked tired, and haggard. Emerath was starting to think he had been pushing himself too hard after all. I think after this is all done, I'm going to just go into hibernation for a while....

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37732
• LD: 3 + 1 (4) (Failure) (5)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath leaned over the pond, and splashed his face with the lukewarm water that had been basking in the sun. He felt himself wake up from the shock of the liquid hitting his skin and face, and he gave a bit of a gasp as the reverberations of the shock to his system went through all of him like a vibration. He rubbed his eyes of the water, before repeating this process once or twice more and then shaking his head. His hair was a bit wet now along with his face, and he had no towel to speak of, so he thought he'd just stay this way. Might be more conductive to finishing his quest anyway. If his face was wet maybe he'd stay awake better. He chuckled to himself as he got back to his feet and shook his hands of the water on them.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37734
• LD: 10 + 1 (11) (Failure) (5)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath was feeling better after his stop by the pond, and he thought since he did have enough Hill Root for the quest, he would go ahead and head back to the Town of Beginnings and collect his reward. He was hopeful that the day's rewards would be worth it as he made his way. He really didn't have to repeat the quest again right away, though he had a feeling that if he wanted to stay on top of crafting this needed to happen more often than it already did. Or he just needed to gather in general more often. Emerath sighed, Just not enough time in the day...

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37736
• LD: 1 + 1 (2) (Failure) (5)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath began to make his way back to the town, still avoiding the groups of boars that spotted the countryside. He was not even remotely worried about fighting, he just didn't want to spend the time doing so. But his avoidance seemed to work in his favor, as he noticed another Hill Root sticking out of the ground on a nearby hill. He made his way over, rather satisfied that he had actually managed to find one without tripping over himself to get it. Perhaps he was getting better at this gathering thing. He just needed to practice a little, was all. He chuckled to himself. Hopefully someday, I won't even need to worry about missing any loot. I'll just be able to find anything and everything.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37738
• LD: 20 + 1 (21) (Success) Crafting Material +1 (6)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath pressed on towards the city. He could see it beginning to come up on the horizon again. He gave a bit of a sigh. He had been successful, but not nearly as successful as he might've otherwise hoped. But, he was satisfied that his choice to put skill points in Search & Detect had helped pay off a little bit. He smiled at the thought that his decisions were slowly making a difference given what little time and effort he was able to provide at all times. It had certainly been an interesting road so far, but not all for naught. He put his hands behind his head and looked to the sky again, letting these happy thoughts flow through him as he neared the end of his quest.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37739
• LD: 13 + 1 (14) (Failure) (6)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath was pretty much at the point that he figured as he neared the city he wouldn't find much more Hill Root, though that didn't stop him from looking. Any extra at this point would just be a happy surprise. Emerath was satisfied with the haul, though he felt like he should be disappointed. Honestly, he was more happy that he would be able to craft again today, and at least one day of crafting was still a step forward. He was very close to being capable of being able to make crystals, and Emerath was excited at the thought of being able to make teleport crystals for him and his friends and family should any dangerous situations arise. That's what made all of this worth it. Even if it was a bit boring and tiresome.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37741
• LD: 9 + 1 (10) (Failure) (6)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

Emerath watched as the city walls grew bigger and bigger. He was getting fairly close now, and honestly close to the point where most of the lower levels would have gathered any good materials. Emerath always found that the farther out he went, the better chance he had of finding the mats he sought. That was general MMO logic though, and Emerath was glad that it applied to SAO as well. He liked to have additional knowledge and experience carry over and help him out. Unfortunately, at times like this when the quest was ending and he had to head back to town, it did little good unless he got very lucky and grabbed a spawn that another player hadn't caught or that had respawned right after they left. Still, the chances were slim.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37746
• LD: 12 + 1 (13) (Failure) (6)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath

[Emerath 0]

As Emerath walked up to the gates of the city, he gave one last check around him for the somewhat elusive Hill Root. He couldn't say completely elusive due to the fact that he had managed to find quite a bit of it, but it was still mostly elusive, as it wasn't exactly plentiful. But what mattered is that it was enough. He wasn't able to see any, however, though he had expected this. He shrugged and made his way into the city proper, looking through his menu as he headed towards the NPC shop where he would go to turn in the quest.

OOC Material Gathering

• ID: 37756
• LD: 2 + 1 (3) (Failure) (6)

Edited November 7, 2015 by Emerath