Caelis was excited when he finally left the dungeon. Apparently, the treasure in GQO was in a different area after the boss. He had admittedly been dissapointed, and thought that they had passed the chests or something earlier in the dungeon. Caelis walked to the normal chest and opened it so that they could examine the contents. He then also walked to the other chest with the brass lock. It couldn't have been pure coincidence that the key they found was also brass. Caelis took the key and tried to open the lock to open up the chest.
When Haruko pressed the 'Y' button on the window, the crystal would turn into the same shadowy essence the beast was comprised of and flow into the lock. The currently white shining lock now shone black as the entire chest shook heavily for a moment. Then, after it suddenly went silent in the room, the lock vanished and the chest popped open on its own. Inside of the chest were two items. The first was a sash like one would wear on a martial artist's Gi and the second was another pair of cestus gloves.
This pair was completely black and, upon lifting and/or touching them, felt quite light. They looked alot better than the current Iron Cestus that she was wearing, but whether or not they were actually better was another story. Unfortunately with no way to identify the items as of yet, Sasha would have to wait on that and just trust that these two items were really good, or take them to someone after she left this dungeon who could identify and appraise Items.
If there was nothing else to do, she would then exit the dungeon. Upon exiting she was bathed in a white light and her surroundings were pure white for half a minute. After that, when standard visibility returned, she would find herself standing now in a small clearing instead surrounded by trees. It was a bit different from the previous clearing they were in. That same voice would suddenly speak to her again, but this time more or less in her mind rather than from all directions.
"Congratulations traveler, thou hast entered mine world. I wish thee luck on thine future adventures in this grand world of mine. This world... known as Ithelia".
The voice went silent after that and a window appeared before her, then another window after that.
You have completed the quest 'Trial of Beginnings'. Your Adventure Journal has been updated.
10,000 Sens
+10 XP
Choice Reward
[1] [2] [3]
1 Small Minor Healing Potion.
[Accept]
There were three buttons at the bottom of the reward window and a button below that reading 'Accept', meaning she would have to choose which reward she wanted. Luckily clicking on each of them to select them actually provided their information to her, meaning she wouldn't have to risk a gamble on this.
The first was a bronze ring with three runes engraved equidistantly apart on the outside surface of it.
Ring of Basic Protection: A ring imbued with basic magics of protection and defense. +1 Defense, +1 Constitution, +1 Resistance. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The second was an oval brass pendant with a red crystal inside of the circle of the oval.
Amulet of Minor Strength: A special crystal is inside this amulet, one that has been refined through a special process to increase the physical strength of whoever is holding it. +1 STR. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The third item appeared to be a pair of basic, but well crafted, pair of boots.
Boots of Minor Grace: A pair of boots blessed by a minor wind spirit to allow one to move faster and more gracefully. +1 Acrobatics, +1 Accuracy, and +1 Dodge Defense. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The other reward after that, aside from the Sens, XP, and choice reward, was something called a Small Minor Healing Potion. Pressing her finger over that gave her this description of it.
Small Minor Healing Potion: A feat of elementary Alchemy, this very weak, but still prized, elixir is capable of restoring wounds the moment its consumed. Heals 25 HP per dose. Contains 2 Doses.
Rarity: Uncommon
Once she chose her reward and clicked 'Accept' a small box would suddenly materialize before her feet. Inside of it was a small pouch filled to bursting 10,000 Sens, whatever reward she chose, and the small minor healing potion, which looked exactly like the three potions she already had, so it was highly probable that this was what they were.
She would now have plenty of time to do a quick assessment over everything she had, or perhaps proceed onward, the only thing in this small forest clearing being a sign and a man wearing a set of rather impressive, bright red armor. He saw Haruko standing there, after she had gotten her reward all situated in her inventory, and walked up to her, offering a friendly wave.
"Yo. Do you happen to be new to this game?" he asked in a very friendly tone of greeting. Judging by his armor and demeanor, he was definitely not a new player.
Inside of the first chest was again more money. It wasn't inside of a bag, the coins were more or less just in the chest. Just pressing his finger to them, fortunately, allowed him to instantly see the total. 30,000 more Sens. So that would be 10,000 for the each of them, plus atop the coins were three small vials holding a slightly pale red liquid. They were indeed potions, but whether or not they were healing potions was an entirely other story.
After that he would use the Brass Key on the second chest. The moment he put it in and turned it, a click could be heard as the lock and key shone white for a moment, before vanishing into nothing. Inside of this chest were three more of those potions and a suit of what appeared to be chainmail made from bronze. Rather basic, but still very useful, rewards.
Caelis distributed the money and the potions evenly among the group. An additional 10,000 sens for everyone, two potions each person and finally there was the chainmail. Caelis looked at Raijin and said jokingly "You might want this considering how much you got smacked around. Anyways, I don't intend to be a tanky character, so you guys can figure out who should get it. I'll see you guys later." Caelis didn't want to be encumbered by the armor since it would weigh him down and strength wasn't his forte. In fact, Caelis wasn't sure if he could even equip it right now. So, he didn't want any heavy armor yet. Thus, he headed for the exit.
As Caelis walked, he then remembered. He had leveled up. Caelis opened up his stats and looked through them. There were a lot of stats that he wanted to raise, but he only had 3 points. After spending some time, he finally decided. He raised INT, STR, and SPI by one each. For talents, he raised his observation and Knowledge. With that done, he closed the window and then finally left the dungeon.
Raijin, after having followed Caelis out of the dungeon, gave the other player a slight glare as he brought up the thrashing that Raijin had been given. The glare was made the a bit more intimidating due to the fact that Raijin had decide to put his mask on again, which covered the lower half of his face.
"Hilarious, but heavy armor isn't my cup of tea either. That means it's all yours, Caim, make good use of it, and try to get your internet connection fixed so we don't have a repeat of today, okay?" Raijin said before opening up his stat menu. After taking a moment to consider his play style more carefully, as well as looking at how his stats were at the moment, he decided to raise VIT, STR, and LUC, as those were all things he had desperately needed, if this dungeon had shown him anything. For talents, he put one into Melee Weaponry, and saved the other one for later. Finally, he decided to appraise the potions they had all been given, as they had no idea what they were at the moment.
Caim smiled at Raijin "Thanks, I will, and yeah I don't know what happened everything just blacked out for a second, I'll have some people look into it." He says and equips the chainmail right away. He also took the money and potions checking his own out as well. Well now they were in the real world of GQO he couldn't wait to really strike out, he had a love-love relationship with games made by Bethesda and From Soft as well as many other developers and he couldn't wait to see what GQO had in store for them, granted the fact that you die it's a fresh new start was intimidating but that just meant it's time to play even smarter than he ever had.
Haruko extracted the items from the chest gleefully. This game appeared to be rather generous with loot. She had been playing for little less than an hour and had already pilfered through multiple chests.
She put on the sash that was practically tailored for her character. As for the new weapon, Haruko considered putting them on but decided against it. She stored it in her sack for now.
Leaving the dungeon, she found herself in a forest clearing. An announcement told her that she had completed the trial, and welcomed her to the world. It was a pretty good introduction to the game, she thought.
For completing the quest, a choice between three rewards were presented to her. She chose the ring in the end, valuing survival in this hardcore game where death was permanent. She put it on upon receiving it. As for the rest of the items, they went into the sack and belt pouches.
While she was busy with sorting out the items, a player approached her. His appearance told Haruko that he was a veteran player. In the very least, more experienced than herself. He greeted her.
"Perhaps." Haruko answered, practicing a small measure of caution. "My name is... Vero. I take it you've been playing for a whole."
When Caelis had spent his points and pressed the 'Accept' button he would feel a change go over him. With his INT increase he literally felt smarter, the SPI increase made a strange sense of internal power growing stronger appear, and the STR increase made him feel stronger. It was strange. It wasn't like increasing a number in a game, but as if he was actually strengthening his own living body and mind. Not only that, but with the increasing of those two Talents he felt his powers of Observation grow as did the scope of his knowledge.
While none of those things were at amounts to write home about, it was still an incredible feeling. Pressing a button to instantly grow and change in various ways. People did say that was one of the amazing feats of realism that they made in this game, something that other VR games couldn't compete with. As if to reward his efforts as well, a window appeared before him after the change followed by two more. This was a bit different than the previous ones of its kind.
Through practice with and the raising of your powers of observation; two new abilities to better employ them, Observe and Search, have been created.
Observe (Lv 1: 0%) (Active): You know how to observe others to garner basic information on them. When using this Skill on a target basic information on them will appear. The amount of information you can scan from a target depends upon what they are doing and a number equal to 1 + Observation Score. To Level: Use, Gain information, Use your own natural powers of observation.
Search (Lv 1: 0%) (Active): You know how to carefully examine your surroundings in order to find their hidden secrets. When you use this Skill, your Observation Score for searching the area around you will go up by 1. However; you move more slowly as to better examine your surroundings, reducing Movement Speed 50% and Dodge Defense by 50% against things that would catch you unaware. This Skill will automatically deactivate if you enter combat. To Level: Use, Find things, Find very well hidden things
Whether or not this was soley due to his Observation Talent becoming 5 or the stuff he did earlier in the dungeon was not explicitly explained. Regardless, two very useful Skills appeared before him, ones that would no undoubtedly become very useful in this game.
Raijin also decided to allocate points. He felt the same changes Caelis would have, only in different areas. He felt both stronger and tougher as he buffed up his STR and VIT. There was no feeling that came from changing LUK other than perhaps a sense of being luckier, but that wasn't really a feeling one could feel. He did feel that he was a small bit more proficient with the blade he wore on him, which was also nice. Unlike Caelis, he didn't gain two new Skills, but the increases were nice.
Unfortunately Raijin had no idea what the potions were whatsoever. Just from getting a look at them he could tell that he had absolutely no idea whether or not they were even potions at all. They could have poisoned for all he could know, or possibly even explosive. It was clear that identifying items was not his area of expertise whatsoever, as it could have also been just slightly colored water. He really had no idea whatsoever what was in the two vials that he had been given. This realization, fortunately, came within a moment of trying instead of the normal amount of time one would spend examining something, which was a good thing as he nearly dropped one of them during the few moments he was examining them.
As Caim equipped the chainmail he could feel the encumbrance of it upon him as it reduced his AGI by 3 from just wearing it. Unfortunately, without an appraisal, there was no telling how much protection it gave. Still, he could tell that it definitely gave protection, so wearing it would be worth something for now. He was also the only one who didn't allocate any points and most likely decided to save them for now. After everyone was situated they exited the dungeon.
The three of them ended up in a forest clearing where three things other than them were present. A sign at the northern edge of the clearing where a slight path between the trees could be seen, a pretty tall, muscular looking girl who looked like a new player judging by her standard getup, and another player in some very sturdy looking crimson armor.
Before they could take in too much of their surroundings, that same voice would suddenly speak to her again, but this time more or less in their minds rather than from all directions. It also spoke to Zan as well, the player who had rushed ahead solo, as around a few moments before the three of them appeared he appeared as well, having cleared the dungeon around the same time that they did, possibly a bit earlier.
The voice spoke into the minds of the four of them.
"Congratulations traveler, thou hast entered mine world. I wish thee luck on thine future adventures in this grand world of mine. This world... known as Ithelia".
The voice went silent after that and a window appeared before her, then another window after that.
You have completed the quest 'Trial of Beginnings'. Your Adventure Journal has been updated.
10,000 Sens
+10 XP
Choice Reward
[1] [2] [3]
1 Small Minor Healing Potion.
[Accept]
There were three buttons at the bottom of the reward window and a button below that reading 'Accept', meaning the four of them would have to choose which piece of equipment they wanted for themselves, not having to share this reward with anyone. Luckily clicking on each of them to select them actually provided their information, meaning they didn't need to risk any gambles.
The first was a bronze ring with three runes engraved equidistantly apart on the outside surface of it.
Ring of Basic Protection: A ring imbued with basic magics of protection and defense. +1 Defense, +1 Constitution, +1 Resistance. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The second was an oval brass pendant with a red crystal inside of the circle of the oval.
Amulet of Minor Strength: A special crystal is inside this amulet, one that has been refined through a special process to increase the physical strength of whoever is holding it. +1 STR. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The third item appeared to be a pair of basic, but well crafted, pair of boots.
Boots of Minor Grace: A pair of boots blessed by a minor wind spirit to allow one to move faster and more gracefully. +1 Acrobatics, +1 Accuracy, and +1 Dodge Defense. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The other reward after that, aside from the Sens, XP, and choice reward, was something called a Small Minor Healing Potion. If they pressed a finger over it that gave this description of it.
Small Minor Healing Potion: A feat of elementary Alchemy, this very weak, but still prized, elixir is capable of restoring wounds the moment its consumed. Heals 25 HP per dose. Contains 2 Doses.
Rarity: Uncommon
Once they chose their rewards and clicked 'Accept' a small box would suddenly materialize before her feet. Inside of it was a small pouch filled to bursting 10,000 Sens, whatever reward she chose, and the small minor healing potion, which looked exactly like the vials they already had, so it was highly probable that this was what they were.
The man in armor looked past Vero, a bit surprised as first one player wielding a greataxe appeared, then as three others appeared. He interrupted their decision making, not that they couldn't continue while he spoke, as he looked at them. "Hey are you guys new too? Or are you logging back in after logging out?" He seemed a bit curious for some reason, but by the tone of his voice he seemed trustworthy. Plus, judging by his armor and the rather nice looking red longsword he carried on his hip he seemed to probably be a much higher level than them, so if he had wanted to kill them he probably could have done it already.
Leveling up quite literally felt good. The response was instantaneous as Caelis put in the stat points to his select areas. It felt good, but in the back of his head it was actually kind of concerning. Caelis could imagine that some people would become addicted to leveling up and spend their days trying to get the rush that you get from assigning points to the stats. When the three finally did leave the dungeon, they came across a strange sight. Another new player was talking with an obviously more experienced player. Although the experienced player seemed friendly, Caelis couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious. This area appeared to be the beginning zone for new players since there was that female player. Yet, this experienced player, or maybe even a NPC, came here for some reason, knowing that this is where new players spawn after the first dungeon. So, Caelis was a bit tense. Still, Caelis wasn't sure if they could stand up to the guy and he didn't want to start fights. First, he said "Observe" and then approached the crimson clad man while trying to assess him.
Caelis cordially replied "Yes, we are new. My name is Caelis. It's a pleasure to meet you." as he offered his right hand to shake hands.
Instead of claiming the quest reward right away, which probably wouldn't go away so the window could outside of his vision or closed for now, Caelis used his new Skill, [Observe]. Upon using it a window would appear in front of him. Naturally one couldn't really mutter or mumble skills beneath their breath, so it was a bit audible to all of the players. The window gave no information other than the following.
Skill Failed.
The failed Skill attempt meant one of two things most likely. The first could be that he was too high of a level to target with the Skill, which meant that the group probably stood no chance against him. The second could be that the Skill just didn't work like Caelis thought it did. The first one, however; was more likely given his garb and the sword on his hip that, despite it being in its red sheath, still looked much better and stronger than the one Caelis had. That was something that could be told from its white handle alone.
"Its a pleasure to meet you both", replied the armored swordsman as he reached out and shook Caelis' hand. His handshake was firm and he didn't hold back or hesitate, as trustworthy handshakes should be, despite customs of the country he currently lived in being one where one primarily bowed upon introduction. Not that handshakes weren't a thing either. After the handshake ended, he then responded to Vero's question. "And yea, I have been playing for quite a while, since this game came out actually. This is my fourth character since then actually" the player gave a laugh at the last part. "So while I am a veteran player, I am no veteran character that's for sure". He scratched his head, before looking back at all of them. He seemed like a rather friendly, laid back individual.
He was also a PC, as NPCs wouldn't use game terms like 'veteran character' or identify themselves as a 'veteran player'. Nor would they mention anything about the game coming out.
After his laugh and head scratching he looked at all of them for a few moments. "Still, it was hard to tell whether or not you guys were new. You usually don't get equipment like that from the mobs in this place, since the mobs here are just wolves, boars, and other common forest creatures. Not exactly your Dragon Quest slimes in terms of strength, but not really carrying around armor, belt pouches, or iron weapons either". He gestured to the armor that Zan and Caim were wearing and the Iron Cestus that Vero had upon her hands. "Well, regardless" he clapped, changing the subject. "Let me address why I am here".
He pulled off the gauntlet on his right hand and upon it were two rings. His index finger had a gold ring with a strange red gem in it and his ring finger had upon it what appeared to be a signet ring. He held his hand forward, so that they could better see the insignia upon it. The ring itself was silver and had a tiny gemstone in the band. The crest upon it was what appeared to be a map with a walking stick and sword crossed over it. It was very well made. "I am a member of the Adventurer's Guild, one of the few remaining Original Guilds left in the game. One of the things we do is help new players understand the game and get the hang of things. If there are still alot of questions you may have I can take you guys to the nearby town and answer them on the way".
It seemed like he was willing to help the players get the hang of the mechanics of the game, which there were probably alot that still weren't very understood considering their performance in the dungeon. Not that they did bad, they just tried to do several things without understanding how those things work.
"This isn't your typical MMO after all, although I am sure that you all already understand this".
Raijin enjoyed the feeling of leveling up, it was a very intoxicating feeling. 'I could definitely get addicted to this feeling.' He thought to himself before taking a look at the red wonder vet. This guy was obviously high level, but he seemed nice and friendly, ands came from a guild that helped newbies like them out. Raijin nodded towards the guy who had ran in solo once he noticed him, then turned towards the reward selection screen, which he had been ignoring for the moment, thinking what he could use. Easy answer was all of it, but since he could only choose one, he'd go for the boots of minor grace, as he had already leveled up his defenses and attack power, so it seemed better to get something that complimented his agile play style better. Plus he needed the extra accuracy as well.
After making his selection, he turned to introduce himself to both the vet and the other newbie, a rather muscular looking girl with strange looking gauntlets that seemed more offensive than defensive.
"Well, like Caelis said, we're new to the game and would definitely appreciate your assistance. My username is Raijinslayer, but you can just call me Raijin, or any nickname you can come up with that I don't find annoying. Anyways, a few questions for the vet and for the only girl here. For the vet, How's the PvP in the game, and how can I avoid it? Are there PK'ers? What types of things can we do in town once we get there? What is your name? And finally, What is the color of night?" Raijin had a small grin on his face, not that anyone could see it since he was wearing his mask, when he asked the last question, just a test to see how savvy this guy was. Turning to the girl, he continued his questioning.
"As for you, I would like to know your name, and if you wouldn't mind, what are those things on your hand? Strangest gauntlets I've ever seen. And don't let the mask fool you, I am one of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. Scout's honor." He held up his right hand with his left hand over his heart, keeping a serious look for 3 seconds, before he hunched over in a fit of chuckles. "Sorry," he said after he caught his breath, "but I just couldn't help myself. I sounded absolutely ridiculous. Seriously though, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Raijin put out his hand for either of them to shake, he didn't care who.
When Raijin clicked the picture and pressed 'accept' to say that he had chosen his reward the window would close and he would feel the sack upon his back get a small bit heavier. The reward, unlike with Haruko, was directly deposited into his sack instead of into a box that appeared on the ground before vanishing.
"Nice to meet you. Ill call you Raijin, since I already know a guy named Rai. My name is ReddKnight, but you can just call me Red". Red shook Raijin's hand after he had stuck it out, then after that greeting was out of the way he decided to answer Raijin's questions. "There are indeed PKers and PVP can happen anytime, anywhere, and anyplace. Just like the real world you can do anything anywhere. Climb on buildings, go behind item shop counters, cast attack spells in the middle of town, etcetera. You could just whip out your sword and go berserk if you truly wanted to". He drew his sword as he said thisto demonstrate his point. It was a longsword, a very well made one at that, and the blade was a brilliant crimson with runes etched along the center of the blade.
"Of course" he gave off a small chuckle as he sheathed his blade, not meaning to frighten them if he had done so unknowingly "that doesn't mean you should do anything anywhere, especially in towns. You can get arrested by players with the authority to do so or by NPC guards and thrown into jail for days unless you pay a fine or offer to do services to atone for your crimes, which is recommended as days go by in this game in Real Time. If you're crimes are severe enough you could be executed and if you avoided either paying your dues or your execution a bounty would be posted on your head".
"As for the nearby town..." he scratched his chin, thinking for a moment. "This game doesn't have any linear progression. Its not 'go to this town, do quests here, move on to next' like it is in other MMOs. Its pretty much free reign from here onward. Now this town is known as a beginner town since its near a beginner starting point, but that doesn't mean its full of rookie stuff. The town isn't too big though unfortunately, but it still has the basics. So what you can do depends upon what you want to do". He gave a nod, thinking that his explanation was satisfactory, but then had another thing to add judging by the 'aha' expression that momentarily appeared on his face.
"You could skip the nearby town, also known as Clearwater Village, which is near the Clearwater Forest which is where we are, and make your way for a bigger place. I don't recommend it though, since the roads are dangerous to rookies like yourselves. Its the reason why I make rounds here every now and again to guide rookie players who start here, as there are multiple starting points all over all five of the continents, to the nearby town while showing them the ropes".
"So" he smiled, gesturing to the road ahead. "You guys have any more questions? If so, we can take care of them on the way to town if you're interested. You have that starting 10,000 Sens of yours to spend, so you could probably get another piece of equipment or two... unless you already did that of course and just came back here to grind". He looked to the two wearing Chainmail and to the Iron Cestus. "Or did you find that stuff just lying around?" He seemed to truly have no idea that they all just came out of a dungeon and completed a quest.
While Raijin took the time to talk with the two strangers, Caelis worked on dealing with the windows that popped up before. He had completed the first quest and now apparently had the choice to pick one of three possible rewards. He thought about the choices, and ultimately chose the third option. The first option would help if you were a tank, but Caelis wanted to avoid getting hit in the first place. The second choice was nice, but he already had the torc around his neck. So, the third made the most sense to him. He picked the third option for the reward since it made the most sense to him at the moment.
He then said to Red "Let's start walking, and we can continue to talk. Can you tell us about the basics that we should be doing from here on? Maybe some common knowledge of the game? I know you mentioned Original Guilds. I assume that there's numerous guilds. What can guilds do in this game and which ones are the ones that we should know of?" Caelis remained silent about how some of the new players seem to have equipment that most new players don't get. It appeared that most players didn't go through the same dungeon that they had gone through... otherwise Red wouldn't be confused about the equipment that they had on them.
Zan was going to have to leave the giant axe behind, sadly. He also did not find out what the key was used for. His only option left was destroy the "heart" of the dungeon as the random voice called it, and complete the quest. So Zan smashed the crystal, he swung at it three times before it broke apart. Right after the crystal was destroyed, a bright light filled the entire room. A window appeared in Zan's vision for the "hundredth" time.
You have cleared the dungeon by yourself. 5 XP Earned.
Then Zan closed the window and another one appeared.
Solo Dungeon Clearer: You have cleared a Dungeon all on your own and have grown a bit tougher from the result of the difficult task. +5 HP
Zan's visibility finally returned to normal, yet again. He discover he was now in a small room with two chests, one to the left and one to the right. There was also a door that had light coming underneath it from whatever was behind it. The chest on the right looked like a normal chest. There was a small skull shaped brass lock on the other one. Probably where the key Zan found goes. The room seemed like a standard reward room, but just in case Zan checked for traps. After checking for traps, Zan would open the chests up and take their contents, before leaving through the exit.
Zan found all of the traps on the chests. He found all 0 traps. Of course, that is what one would say if they were in some sort of unforgotten realm(s) or something, but he wasn't. Instead he was in Grand Quest Offline. Regardless, the already unlocked chest held just a seemingly basic reward. There was a little bag filled to the bursting with 10,000 Sens. It was probably just easier to leave the bag behind and dump the money into his current Money Pouch since the bag would just take up more Inventory space, which was obviously limited in this game by the bags and pouches you carried.
The second reward was another Healing Potion like Zan had. The good one, not the crappy one that really only worked on Teglins. It seemed like they were quite valuable and a bit rare, which was to be expected as survival in this game was supposedly incredibly difficult. When he unlocked the other chest with the Brass Key its lock and the key shone white for a moment, before the lock detached itself from the chest, both it and the key vanishing from existence. Inside was only a single thing. A small, copper ring with a small rune etched on the inside of the band. Not much else really.
After that, Zan would find himself outside of the dungeon in a small forest clearing. At first, it was just him, a sign on the side of the path onward, another player in crimson armor with a blade on his hip who appeared to be much higher in level, and a tall; muscular girl who this veteran player was talking to. Not but a few moments after Zan appeared, the three others he had left back at the original clearing had appeared. A voice also spoke into Zan's mind and it said the following.
"Congratulations traveler, thou hast entered mine world. I wish thee luck on thine future adventures in this grand world of mine. This world... known as Ithelia".
After that, a window appeared. Followed by one other window.
You have completed the quest 'Trial of Beginnings'. Your Adventure Journal has been updated.
10,000 Sens
+10 XP
Choice Reward
[1] [2] [3]
1 Small Minor Healing Potion.
[Accept]
There were three buttons at the bottom of the reward window and a button below that reading 'Accept', meaning the four of them would have to choose which piece of equipment they wanted for themselves, not having to share this reward with anyone. Luckily clicking on each of them to select them actually provided their information, meaning Zan wouldn't need to risk any gambles.
The first was a bronze ring with three runes engraved equidistantly apart on the outside surface of it.
Ring of Basic Protection: A ring imbued with basic magics of protection and defense. +1 Defense, +1 Constitution, +1 Resistance. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The second was an oval brass pendant with a red crystal inside of the circle of the oval.
Amulet of Minor Strength: A special crystal is inside this amulet, one that has been refined through a special process to increase the physical strength of whoever is holding it. +1 STR. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The third item appeared to be a pair of basic, but well crafted, pair of boots.
Boots of Minor Grace: A pair of boots blessed by a minor wind spirit to allow one to move faster and more gracefully. +1 Acrobatics, +1 Accuracy, and +1 Dodge Defense. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
The other reward after that, aside from the Sens, XP, and choice reward, was something called a Small Minor Healing Potion. If they pressed a finger over it that gave this description of it.
Small Minor Healing Potion: A feat of elementary Alchemy, this very weak, but still prized, elixir is capable of restoring wounds the moment its consumed. Heals 25 HP per dose. Contains 2 Doses.
Rarity: Uncommon
---
After Caelis chose his reward he would feel his sack and belt pouch both grow just a small bit heavier. Not much, but just a bit as the Items he got from his Quest Reward appeared in them. Not only that, but the 10 XP he received also caused him to be greeted with a window.
Your Level has gone up by 1.
He had leveled up once again, meaning he would have more points to spend either now or later on, which was always nice. After Caelis had made his choices, the group, at least those who were willing to follow Red and whoever else wanted to get advice on the game, down the path in the forest. He was reasonable in his assumption that all the players didn't go through the Trial of Beginnings, since Redd did seem to be a little curious as to why some of them had slightly better equipment than what rookies regularly started off with.
"Well the most important thing you would need to know is fighting mechanics, but we can get to that later. Don't know who, or what, you might have already fought to get that stuff unless you found it lying somewhere, which would make the most sense, but this game has some unique and very real aspects of battle that others don't have. Again though, we can get to that later when I can better demonstrate everything. We can go to the Adventurer's Guild base that's in this town and I can show you there. Its one of the few remaining Original Guilds, so it has bases all over the entire world". Again, Red had mentioned the adventurer's guild as he put his gauntlet back onto his hand.
On his back, for anyone looking at his back, was a pretty large looking, and very sturdy, bag. It looked like it could easily fit all of the sacks that they had in it plus more, but it looked quite heavy as well. On his belt was a slightly larger belt pouch on his left, with his sword sheath and sword on his right side. Next to the sword, however; in a loop on his belt was a small, red and gold metal rod with a red gem on the end. It was about a foot long and had some ornate metal designs to the piece the gem was held in.
"Ill start with some basic game mechanics, then move onto the subject of guilds". It was a good place to start, as knowing how to play the game would be nice. "First a differentiation between Talents and Skills. That's something that always confuses new players, mainly because the 'Talents' seem more like a TTRPG system rather than an MMORPG system. Skills are obvious. They are your special attacks, spells, and other knacks or abilities you possess. They come in three types as well". He held out three fingers to count each one off as he listed them, continuing to talk as they walked.
"Active Skills. These say 'Active' next to their name. Now alot of the aspects of this game are activated with Voice Commands. To view your Skills, just say 'Skill Window'". Judging from how he was explaining these things, it didn't seem like this was his first time explaining it to people as it sounded like he was running through a list of things to explain rather than seeing what they knew, which made sense for efficiency. "Active Skills you speak their name to activate. These and any other Skills can be renamed though and people do so for various reasons. Passive Skills are always active, so you don't need to worry much about them. They'll level on their own".
He raised up the third finger now. "Then, there are the Special Skills. These you need to read very carefully, as they usually either have special circumstances of activation and may not need you to say anything or have multiple forms of activation that require you to say multiple things. There are other types as well, so its always a good idea to carefully read the descriptions of your Skills, regardless of whether they are Passive, Active, or Special". After that he paused for a moment, making sure that everyone had got what he said.
"Talents, on the other hand" he now put his hands back at his side, "are what confuse most rookies. There are no buttons. This game is very much like the real world, so whatever you can do you just... do it. That's what Talents are. For instance, you don't need to say 'Climbing' to climb a tree or a wall or 'Acrobatics' to perform fancy flips". He walked over to a slightly smaller tree and, using its branch and trunk, managed to pull himself up with relative ease. "You just do it!" He grinned, before jumping down from the branch with a flip, landing right in front of them on his feet, somewhat surprisingly agile despite his heavy looking armor.
"Same goes with any other Talent. Sleight of Hand, Observation, etcetera. For appraise, just examine and look over an item. Observation, just examine something or search around, using your senses to aid you. Melee Weaponry? Swing around a sword or a stick. This game... is very realistic. These Talents that belong to your character feel like your own. Of course, you'll get Skills that utilize these Talents, but otherwise... consider these Talents as things you can do in the real world. You know everything your character knows and can do everything they do, as if you are them, as you'll be able to tell when you Level Up your Stats and Talents or l". He stopped, heaving a content sigh as he looked up at the sky through the treeline above. "Its an incredible feeling which is part of the reason why this game is the greatest VRMMO of all and one of the greatest games ever".
After taking a moment to take in the sky above and a breath of air, he moved on to the next topic. "Now as for Guilds. I mentioned that this game is incredibly realistic. Its not just the game though". He stretched his arms out to emphasize his next point. "Its the entire world!" he shouted gleefully with confidence. He seemed to really like this game. "This entire world is always changing, always moving. Its people, the environments, the creatures... all of them are so alive. Its sometimes hard to tell whether or not is a person or an NPC as the NPC's talk, feel, and act like real people. They remember you and you can get to know them and they have their own lives. Of course... if you kill anyone, or anything, in this world it is gone forever. This world is very, very realistic".
He stopped himself there though, clearing his throat as he realized he was rambling on and probably sounded crazy. "A-Anyway..." he paused to clear his thoughts before continuing. "When this game first came out the Cities, Guilds, Towns... everything was run by NPCs. Over time though many of these original, NPC run or own things eventually became ran or owned by players. You see... when I mentioned that this world is always changing its the players who change it to. A player can become a king, build cities, make his own institute or guild. So many of the old Guilds had either gotten disbanded or changed to something else thanks to player involvement. These other Guilds aren't as big as the original ones though since really the only thing you need to make a Guild is just to get a bunch of people, cause Guild in this case can also stand for group. You don't need to register or anything. You could even have a two person guild if you wanted to, although you won't get far in a guild like that" Redd took a moment to chuckle at his own little quip.
"The Original Guilds are the most important, but there are other important ones as well that you should both know of and watch out for. There is the Adventurer's Guild, which takes care of various quests and other problems through both player and NPC requests. We also help out rookie players and are pretty big in the world with not really any known enemies. There is also the Asalia Magic Institute, the Merchant's Road, and the Gilded Hammer. They are pretty important Original Guilds to. There are several others that I don't really remember off the top of my head. I have their information in my Adventure Journal if you ever want to look". He pulled out a somewhat well packed looking, leather and wood bound journal from his belt pouch. It was similar to the journals they had in their bags, but this one looked a bit sturdier and had many more pages obviously.
"By the way, your Adventure Journal is one of the most important items you have. I suggest you guard it well as it will contain any and all info you come across including any Quest details you obtain. Also Information Hunters will try to steal them as they are a type of Criminal Player, or CP, who try to find those with valuable information and steal their journals to sell to Information Brokers. They don't kill though. They usually just threaten people or use stealth to steal them. You shouldn't worry too much though as they are a bit rare". He hoped he hadn't unnerved them as he sort of scratched his head, let out a small whistle to try and clear the mood, and then looked to the others.
Zan discovered that was no traps. The unlocked chest contained a little bag filled to the bursting with 10,000 Sens and a [Weak Minor Healing Potion] which Zan already had one of. Zan took out his Money Pouch and dumped the Sens from the little bag into it. It seemed like they were quite valuable and a bit rare, which was to be expected as survival in this game was supposedly incredibly difficult. Zan took the strange amulet you got from the Boss's corpse out his belt pouch and placed the [Weak Minor Healing Potion] with the other one. He then placed the amulet into his sack. Zan unlocked the other chest with the key he received from the boss. The lock and key shone white for a moment, before the lock detached itself from the chest, both it and the key vanishing from existence. A small copper ring with a small rune etched on the inside of the band was all that was inside the chest. He placed it in his sack, as he decided to wait to try to appraise it.
After leaving the reward room, he appeared in a forest clearing. There was a sign near the forest where a slight path in the forest could be seen. Also there was a new female player based on her equipment, and another player in some red armor, who was most likely not new to the game. Before Zan could observe his surroundings, that random voice came out of nowhere, but it sounded more inside of his head instead from all around him. Zan also noticed three new players behind, that must have just finished the quest.
"Congratulations traveler, thou hast entered mine world. I wish thee luck on thine future adventures in this grand world of mine. This world... known as Ithelia".
After the voice stopped talking a window appeared in front of Zan.
You have completed the quest 'Trial of Beginnings'. Your Adventure Journal has been updated.
Before Zan even opened the window, he closed it, because he basically knew what it was going to say. Then another window appeared.
10,000 Sens
+10 XP
Choice Reward
[1] [2] [3]
1 Small Minor Healing Potion.
[Accept]
In the windows there was three buttons at the bottom and one further below them saying [Accept]. Zan hated the quest rewards were you had to choose. He clicked [1] which then a window with information about the reward appeared.
Ring of Basic Protection: A ring imbued with basic magics of protection and defense. +1 Defense, +1 Constitution, +1 Resistance. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
'Maybe this one,' thought Zan as he reading the info. He closed the window and clicked [2], opening another window.
Amulet of Minor Strength: A special crystal is inside this amulet, one that has been refined through a special process to increase the physical strength of whoever is holding it. +1 STR. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
'If I need more STR, I'll use a stat point, so this reward is a no,' thought Zan. He exited out of the window and pressed [3].
Boots of Minor Grace: A pair of boots blessed by a minor wind spirit to allow one to move faster and more gracefully. +1 Acrobatics, +1 Accuracy, and +1 Dodge Defense. Cannot be enhanced.
Rarity: Uncommon
'Hmmm,' thought Zan, 'Which one, which one to choose.' Zan choose the first reward and pressed [Accept]. Zan felt the weight of his sack increase from the rewards. Also he was greeted by a alert that everyone loves to see.
Your Level has gone up by 1.
Zan decided to wait to use his points, which he got from leveling up.
"Well the most important thing you would need to know is fighting mechanics, but we can get to that later. Don't know who, or what, you might have already fought to get that stuff unless you found it lying somewhere, which would make the most sense, but this game has some unique and very real aspects of battle that others don't have. Again though, we can get to that later when I can better demonstrate everything. We can go to the Adventurer's Guild base that's in this town and I can show you there. Its one of the few remaining Original Guilds, so it has bases all over the entire world," said Red.
"Yeah, I already got the fighting system of this game pretty much down," said Zan in response to Red. Zan continued to listen to Red, must of the stuff he already figured out. Some stuff like the about the Guilds and how the world works was new info to him.
"Blah, blah, blah."
Red took out a leather and wood bound journal, like the one Zan had in his sack except it was bigger and better made. "By the way, your Adventure Journal is one of the most important items you have. I suggest you guard it well as it will contain any and all info you come across including any Quest details you obtain. Also Information Hunters will try to steal them as they are a type of Criminal Player, or CP, who try to find those with valuable information and steal their journals to sell to Information Brokers. They don't kill though. They usually just threaten people or use stealth to steal them. You shouldn't worry too much though as they are a bit rare," said Red.
'Hmmm,' thought Zan, 'Looks like I will of some people to kill if they try to take mine.'
Caim was following them quietly listening to the vet explain the various systems of the game. This guy was powerful definitely and the way he talked about their arms and armor, did people not get the same rewards from quests? He shrugged and continued on listening, he enjoyed this kind of atmosphere really, where he could sit back so to speak and learn something new. "So Redd, you were talking a bout people stealing our adventurers journals if they think it's worth it? how would we keep an eye out for that just in case someone does try?" He asks speaking for the first time. "Sorry my name's Caim he says putting his hand out while they walked.
Redd shook Caim's hand in return with his metal gauntlet, as he had on armored gauntlets on both hands. Not that the glove part for the palm was made of metal, but still. Regardless, a firm handshake nonetheless. "Nice to meet you" replied Redd as they shook hands. After that bit of introduction was over, Redd decided to address Caim's question. "In reality" he surmised as he thought for a few moments, an expression of thought upon his face before that said thought came to him very quickly.
"All you can really do is be observant. Information Hunter CPs usually keep an eye out for bigger journals or perhaps those who stand out in certain ways. The Observation Talent is one people always try and level up as it raises your powers of Observation and is the natural enemy of anyone who levels Stealth or Sleight of Hand as they more often just slip the Journals from your bags rather than use force. Information Hunter CPs prefer stealth rather than battle most of the time. Plus..." he paused for a moment, as to not ramble on and on.
"Observation is just a generally useful Talent. At Rank 5 you automatically get the Search and Observe Skills which are very useful in and out of combat. These two Skills are incredibly useful in any scenario. Observe lets you learn enemy/ally information while Search makes it easier to search areas, but it reduces your speed though". Redd would give them all a few moments to let this new info take hold before he spoke again.
"Anyway. This goes for any CP. The best way to avoid them is just to not try and look flashy. I mean..." he sort of sighed for a moment, scratching the back of his head. "You shouldn't look over your shoulder every second. CPs are sort of uncommon, and when they are its usually in shady areas. So don't worry too much about CPs, especially at your current level. This game is meant to be enjoyed, so enjoy it". He gave a grin, not wanting them to feel all paranoid about the game.
"So, CPs aside, are there any other pressing questions that need answers to, or shall I just speak more about unique game elements or other stuff like that. Or will we just chat for the sake of getting to know one another".
Caelis responded to Red "I don't really have many more questions. Although, here is one. Is there some sort of friend/PM system in place in GQO? If you don't mind, I would like to send you a friend request so that if I have questions later then I can ask you." As he said so, Caelis opened up his stats once again. He thought about what he lacked in his character at the moment, so he would put one point into LUC. He also placed another into STR and finally he would save the last point for now. For his talent, Caelis added points to Focus and Performance.
