Grand Quest Offline

Unfortunately Caim had no luck in appraising his armor. He just couldn't really get his head around appraising, so perhaps raising it up wouldn't be such a bad idea. Vero had a different idea. Using the [Observe] Skill, and thus saying its name to do so in a normal tone, as she looked at the Black Cestus put up a different window. It gave no info on stats, but just the following two windows.

Cestus: A pair of black Cestus. Seem a bit sturdy, but its hard to tell what sort of secrets they hide.

This Skill is not compatible with this task

It seemed like the Observe Skill was more for analyzing and examining living, moving targets rather than items. All she got from that was a bit of obvious information based upon its appearance and a window telling her that using it to examine the Cestus was not the way to go. Whether or not it was the same for other items was a different story, but for now it didn't work. After their bit of talking the door would open and Red came out with a brown scroll in his hand, the magic knight closing the door behind him.

"Sorry for the wait" he stated, holding the closed scroll up. "I managed to get you guys a Quest. Lemme read it off to you so that it'll be added to your Quest Journal". He unfurled the scroll and held it at half arm's length, reading the contents aloud to them now in a sort of 'narrator' style fashion that was more or less him somewhat joking around judging by the small smirk that was on his face as he read the scroll to them.

"Recently the farms outlying the Town of Clearwater have come under attack by a pack of rather savage wolves. Livestock have been stolen and devoured and a few of the guards and even some beginner Adventurers have died to this pack of wolves. We request the Adventurer Guild's aid in eliminating the wolves. We also request that you find the reason behind their strange savagery as they have never been this aggressive before". He stopped his narration for a moment to inform them of something.

"Adventurer means 'Player' by the way in roleplaying/villager talk". He had lowered the scroll for a moment before looking back at it and beginning his reading of it once again.

"Witnesses reported that the leader of this pack is a white wolf has a paw with an 'X' shaped scar upon it. If the pack is eliminated a reward will be presented. An even bigger reward will be presented if you figure out the cause of their savagery and put an end to it". After that he closed the scroll and the following window appeared.

The Quest 'Savagery of the Wolves has been created'

[Accept] [Decline]

They had been given a new quest. If they declined the Quest, nothing would happen except the window disappearing. If they did Accept the quest the following Window.

Savagery of the Wolves
--Issued By--
The Adventurers' Guild

Objectives
Eliminate the feral Wolf Pack
Find the source

--Reward--
3 XP
Other Rewards to be Determined

--Failure Penalty--
Possible Garnered Dislike from Villagers
​

​
It seemed like all quests had failure penalties, which was an interesting concept if quests could be failed. "The Quest should be in your Journals now, so we will keep the Scroll here" stated Red as he put the Scroll into his pouch for safekeeping. "Quests are pretty interesting in this game. Unlike other games, where every single player could potentially be the" he raised up his hands for air quotes "be the one who defeats the same lich in the same tower or something" he put his hands down now.

"Quests come and go. Most can only be done once unless the situation around them allows them to be repeated. So there can't be 5,000 people who completed the same quest to defeat the same lich. That lich could only be defeated once and then be dead. The world of this game..." he paused, a grin on his face, "isn't like a game's stagnant, non-changing world. It is always changing, and entering it isn't like entering a game world, but a whole other world... its pretty amazing".

"Anyway, do you guys have any questions before you go on your way?" asked Red.​
 
As Zan walked about the town, he would feel the thrum and life of it around him. Sure it wasn't super packed or busy like a city, but it felt alive. As before it was impossible to tell who was an NPC and who was a Player. As Redd stated before, one could take on any role or do anything they wanted in this world. As Zan walked and looked around on one particular, slightly quieter street, his eyes would catch a sign out of the corner of his vision.

Hanging from the roof of the awning was a simple wooden sign outlined in red paint. It read in black letters that looked like some fantasy language, but read as Japanese to Zan for some reason, "Gemkil's Metal-Crafts". The building itself was on the corner of the street he was walking upon and just a small bit smaller than the others around it. On the front of the building is a small porch with an awning supported by a couple rather well maintained wooden pillars. Some small cobblestone steps lead up to it from the road that Zan was on.

The porch itself looked like a rather well organized work area. There were about twelve racks on the walls, a couple of them had some decent looking weapons on them. No Greataxes though were out, but that didn't mean they didn't have them inside of the building itself. There were two furnaces and near that an anvil. On the awning was a man wearing various leather pieces and a blacksmith's robe with a pair of goggles upon his head that were most likely meant for smithing to keep ash and cinder from entering his eyes. He was a bit skinny, but had some muscles on him.

He appeared to be talking to someone, but their appearance was hard to tell. The person was a bit short and was wearing a leather cloak with a hood, but that was all Zan was able to tell about them. Again it was hard to tell who was a player and who was an NPC, but this was a blacksmith's shop and it wasn't like Zan wouldn't be able to approach and perhaps ask for a weapon. The shop look pretty well kept and probably had some good stuff inside. He could either stop here, or move onward to try and find a different place, but without knowing the town that could take forever.
 
Raijin restless leg was shaking so much, it looked like it was spasming. He had one question that would make or break the ideas he had in his head. "How is the animal training mechanic in this game work? Do we have to beat them down to low health pokemon style, or do we have t try talking to them, or what? And if you get a creature, can they fight for you, or is it just a status symbol? Where should we go at and what should we buy in preparation for our first quest? And finally, do you have any advice for this quest, being a veteran and all you must have some words of wisdom." Raijin didn't want to just rush in to this quest blindly, especially when death meant having to start everything all over again. He was going to get as much info as he can out of this guy as he could.
 
Caelis nodded in agreement with Raijin's question. This was something Caelis was curious about as well, but Caelis' interest was a bit different. He added to Raijin's question and said "Sorry to butt in, but is it also possible to perhaps have or convince NPCs to join you as companions? I'm not talking just about animals but humanoid NPCs/enemies kind of like in the Megami Tensei series where you could convince demons and enemies to join you in your adventures." Caelis then read the quest more carefully and thought about the things that the group may need. There was a larger reward for figuring out why the wolves were being so aggressive. That meant that they would most likely have to follow the wolves. It would likely help to have a hunter/tracker among them. He continued to ask "Also, are there mercenaries that can be hired? Either NPC or player? We probably want someone who is familiar with the terrain in the area and is good at following tracks."
 
Caim cursed quite audibly "fuck it." And puts the armor back on, his smile faded for just a moment before he looked up "Ah cool a quest thanks for looking out for us Redd." He says getting up and clicking the accept window. He looked through the description one more time "Or it could just mean that we weaken one and follow it to the lair where some demon or baddy, like either an npc warlock or something like that is controlling them. Then it would be as simple as beating the crap outa them and maybe getting some more gear....speaking of more/better gear we should probably find decent arms and armor from the blacksmith and other shops, as well as healing items." He says as he get's up and stretches "Damn it all though I thought my appraisal was good enough for noob armor at least." He says chuckling "Oh Redd something I wanted to know is if we get our strength, dex and melee weaponry up would someone like me be able to wield a greatsword with one hand without a penalty or at least with a reduced penalty?" he asks, he already had a build in mind, hopefully the game had a greatsword like the one he was thinking of in it...if not he'd go for a warrior with powers attuned to strength and the body or something.
 
"You guys sure have alot of questions don't you?" Redd chuckled, a grin forming on his face. "I like that". He began to walk now, beckoning for them to follow him. "Well lets answer them, but do so in a place where we can sit, as it'll take a little bit to answer all of them". If they all followed, he guided them through a door in the lobby in the left hand-lower corner of it. The room he took them to was pretty simple. Some chairs, tables, and a counter towards the back and a door behind it. The room looked like a miniature tavern of some kind.

"We use this room whenever we decide to hang out and have parties" stated Redd as he gestured to one of the larger tables in the room. "Believe it or not, Arthur, that RPer officer I told you about, is a really good cook. You don't meet many people who willingly get the Cooking Talent". He waited for the others to take a seat as he went back to that counter and the door behind it, entering it. When he came back about thirty seconds later he was holding a pitcher in one hand and a wooden tray balanced atop the other with a brass cup for each of them.

He placed the tray of cups and pitcher upon the table, the brass pitcher having water in it. "Figured you guys might be thirsty. Just like in the real world, you can get both thirsty and hungry in this game. Go too long without food or water and your abilities start to be reduced and eventually you just straight up die". He poured himself a glass, inviting the others to do the same. "Of course, like in the..." he stopped himself for a moment and chuckled. "Second thought... just consider this to be a 'real world' of its own, it'll be alot easier that way and answer many questions".

After a chug of water he set his glass down. "Now then, time to answer your questions. Yours first, since its the easiest" he pointed to Caelis. "As I mentioned before, assume that this is just another "Real World" and your questions will be answered. You can do anything you want, and that includes convincing enemies, players, or NPCs to join your party, as they are all 'People' who can be 'Spoken' to as you would do so in the real world. As you rank up your Negotiation Talent and raise your CHA, you will find it easier to talk to people and persuade them of things. I don't know if you have felt it already, but these 'Characters' of ours are no mere characters. They're like..."

He stopped for a moment, scratching his chin as he tried to find an adequate explanation. "Real bodies so to speak... real bodies that belong to us that can grow stronger, gain new skills, etc. Anything that your 'Character' can do is something that you are able to do since you are the Character, not just a model with some numerical statistics attached to it. So yes, you can hire someone or speak to someone. You can speak to anyone and hire anyone, if you can manage to persuade them to join you. Now as for your problem of tracking..."

He reached into his pouch and pulled out his Adventure Journal, laying it on the table in front of himself as he began to flip through it. "Aha, here it is". He remarked as he began to read from it. "The Survival Talent is good for that type of thing, so either get it yourself or find someone else who has it. You can find a Talent Book for it in almost any Book Store. Its strange that you don't start out with it though. Like the Disguise Talent, its also considered a Novice Talent, like the ones you are start off with".

"And speaking of Talents, this answers your question Raijin". He flipped a couple pages in his journal before he found what he was looking for. "See, this is why your Adventure Journal is one of your most important items. Lets you go and look back at anything you learned, making it easier to remember and catalog information". After that remark he began to read and speak.

"So for Animal Handling. Lets you calm, tame, and/or train feral creatures, that is creatures with an INT of 1. Those are considered feral. You don't do it like Pokemon either. Pokemon is about using spheres that brainwash creatures you just beat up into liking you, its pretty dark if you think about it. Especially with several Pokemon whose Pokedex entries reference killing children, dead children, or taking children to hell. If someone started to beat me up with a sword, I would rather destroy them then join them, and I am pretty sure a wolf would feel the same way. Anyway... I digress".

"Its not really... talking to them, per say. You have to sort of calm them first if they are trying to eat your face. After that, you have to try and tame them somehow, make them want to follow you. Its pretty hard to do and is not a one day process of getting them to like you in an instant. Unless you do really well of course. You'll naturally get better as you raise your Charisma and rank in said Talent, as I mentioned before. We are the Characters in this case, so when they would get better at something, so would we. I really don't know much more about animal handling than what I have in my Journal though, aside from how there are some forms of magic or spiritual powers meant controlling or taming wild beasts". He closed the journal now, putting it back into his belt pouch.

"As for buying, I already have one thing covered". He reached back into his belt pouch and pulled out a tiny bag, gently emptying its contents onto the table. Inside of it were four, small gems. They seemed to have a small light in the center, but the rest of their surface seemed dull. Regardless, they still gave off a faint light from the center.

"Luckily we had some in storage. These are Revival Gems. More accurately these particular gems are Flawed Weak Revival Gems. They are pretty rare, but not as rare as the better versions. These will revive you upon Death with 25% of your HP, but apparently according to their description they weaken you somehow and drain 50% of your XP. Your Level doesn't go down, but you will have to get more XP again to catch back up to where you were. Its still better than dying though at least. Just keep it in your Inventory to have it work. And don't worry about payment, we just ask that you complete this Quest in the name of the Adventurers Guild Clearwater Branch. That's really it. We are kinda stretched for manpower over here, especially with the Anniversary Event in two days".

After that he grabbed the bag and just stuffed it back into his adventure pouch, letting the four players each take one of these Flawed Weak Revival Gems. "As for other things... I recommend some armor, rations, and possibly a better weapon. Not much else that you can afford with the starting money... if you found more money though then I recommend getting a larger or sturdier bag first, since you can't go wrong with expanding or protecting your Inventory".

He then looked towards Caim, a small chuckle escaping from him. "And finally your question. Heh, its been a while since I talked this much, but still, this will probably be the most important information that I have told you yet. Shame that Axe guy left. I understand wanting to be a Solo Player, but at your level going Solo is incredibly dangerous if its your first time playing, unless he decides that he just wants to grind weak mobs for a long time..." He sighed a little, shaking his head.

"Anyway, I am going to teach you about Builds, since it relates to your question" he looked towards Caim again before speaking, giving them a moment to prepare, not that their adventure journals wouldn't record this useful information unless they had changed its settings already. "There are two types of Builds. I am not talking about Archetypes that people categorize themselves into like Mage, Archer, or Martial Artist. Nor am I talking about play styles such as DPS, Support, or Healer. I just mean how a person builds their character".

He held up one finger. "The first type is the Focused or Stacked Build. This is where you just focus on getting to a place quickly so that you can quickly become stronger. This includes focusing on leveling up and just putting your Stat and Talent points where they need to go to get the abilities you want as quickly as possible and then continuing to focus more on just developing those. The pros of this build are that you can begin to take on tougher challenges a bit more quickly and aren't at the risk of staying weak for periods of time. The cons are that you'll miss some of those smaller advantages that come from taking things slower like Stat or Talent Grinding".

He then held up a second finger. "The second type is known as the Spread or Slow Build. They focus on multiple things or perhaps just go slower. Instead of just quickly going to quickly build up power, they prefer to remain weak and instead build up potential". He looked towards Caim now, lowering his hand. "You asked if building up your DEX and STR would allow you to wield two-handed weapons one-handed. Well when you reach the 25, 50, 75, and 100 point marks in your Stats you reach what players call 'Stat Milestones'. Spread/Slow Builds live off of these".

"When you reach these milestones, you will gain a certain Skill, or very rarely Skills, based upon your current ability set and how you have been playing. So you do get to choose for the most part if you aim towards it. Focused Builds will just go to these milestones to get a little something nice without much regard. Slow Builds, on the other hand, prefer to slowly build up all of their abilities. They may keep their Stats at a certain level as they build up their abilities. These 'milestones' for them become more like snapping points as once they have built up enough, they hit those milestones in one or multiple Stats at the same time or level up their Talents to maximum and usually gain some pretty powerful or very unique abilities. So the pros of Spread Builds are that you will build up alot of potential for incredible boosts. The cons are that they are risky. You are deliberately keeping yourself weak to build up potential, so if you actually want to get anywhere you either have to take things slow with either easier, but smaller XP or put yourself in incredible risk. Its because of this that they don't always focus on leveling either, sometimes preferring to Skill, Stat, or Talent Grind instead to build up more potential since for them leveling isn't the most important thing".

"Now you can do one or the other. There are no classes or options like that to select. You just go and do it. You can also mix, going spread at certain points, focus at another, or you could just do some mixture in between. I really can't tell you how to build it, because in the end there are limitless options for you to pursue". Finally he stopped, having made sure to give pauses or moments for them to let the knowledge sink in despite it being recorded in their Journals.

"Phew~" he stated with a sigh. "That, was alot of talking. But I am sure that it was helpful... nah, I am confident that it was helpful, because I am a fountain of knowledge". He grinned a big, confident grin as he sat back in his chair, arms behind his head. "Anyway, I am sure that you guys aren't just in the talking mood and want to get out there and kick some ass. So unless you all have anymore questions, we can get out of here and I can guide you to where you need to go".
 
Vero accepted the weak revival gem with a thank you. She stashed in it in her belt pouch for easy access. Red was being awfully nice to them, which made Haruko rather happy. It was always a great experience meeting friendly people in games. She sat on the edge of her seat and listened intently to him speak.

The information he gave made Haruko think. There were so many possibilities in this game. Just building a brawler character that focused on beating up enemies didn't look so interesting anymore. She could try out crafting talents, or even animal handling! Haruko began to regret her choice of status point distribution. What was done can't be changed. She just had to make do.

"That sounds really cool. Like really, REALLY cool!" Vero said when he finished. "I can't wait to get started! Oh, but first I need to go to the weapon or armor shop, and the book store. And I need to buy food."

The large woman stood up from her chair, nearly knocking it over, and headed for the door.
 
Caelis nodded as Red explained and gave answers to everyone's questions. It seemed like there truly were unlimited possibilities in this world. Caelis drank some of the water that was offered to him. He didn't really feel thirsty per say, but if not drinking and eating led to adverse effects, then it was a good habit to occasionally drink and eat something. So, he might as well start now trying it build that habit. When Red finished talking and Vero got up to start getting ready for this quest. Caelis got up as well and said "Might as well start the quest now. We know the basics of what we need to know and we can figure things out on the go. Anyways, I'm getting a bit tired of just sitting around. I want to see what's available in the stores and what we can do with our characters."He took one of the stones and put it into his pouch, and began to walk towards the exit as well.
 
'This is one of the reasons why I love VR,' thought Zan as he "felt" the "life" of the town. It was impossible to tell who was an NPC and who was a Player by looking at them, but Zan figured he could tell which was which by talking to them. While walking around Zan, he looked down a slightly quieter street. His eyes barely noticing a sign in of the corner of his vision. There was a simple wooden sign hanging from the roof of a building's awning. The sign had black letters that appeared to be a game language, but he could read as Japanese, for some odd reason "Gemkil's Metal-Crafts". The building was a little smaller than the ones around it, and was on the corner of the street. At the front of the building was a small porch covered by an awning, which was supported by a couple wooden pillars, that looked to be rather well maintained. A few small cobblestone steps lead up from the road he was on up to "Gemkil's Metal-Crafts." Instead of being a place to sit and relax like most porches this one appeared to be a organized work area. On the walls were about twelve racks, which a few had some decent looking weapons on them. Sadly there was no Greataxes out on the porch, but maybe there was some inside of the building. Also there was two furnaces and an anvil near them. There was a man who Zan guessed to be a blacksmith, based on his outfit. The blacksmith looked like he was talking to someone, but the person's appearance was difficult to tell. All Zan was able to tell was that they were short and was wearing a leather hooded cloak. Like how it was with everyone, it was difficult to tell who was a player and who was an NPC. This was the first blacksmith's shop that Zan had found, so he decide to walk up to the porch. He figured it was best not to interrupt their conversation as that could led to a fight with someone who was probably a higher level. Zan figured with his size they would notice him pretty quickly.
 
As Zan got closer he would be able to hear the rather serious conversation between the blacksmith and the hooded figure. It was still hard to tell what this figure looked like. Again, only that they were around five feet or so, give or take. Still, while the figure's appearance may have been hard to discern, their conversation was not once Zan got close and waited for his turn to see the Blacksmith.

"-- And you're positive the thief left this behind?" was the first part of the conversation that Zan was able to catch, the speaker being the hooded figure. This person had a soft, quiet voice, but these two didn't seem to notice him as they both were looking at an object in the cloaked figure's hand. It appeared to be a small dirk, but any other distinguishable features were not available to Zan's eyes.

"Yea. They left this behind on accident when I managed to grab their belt. Unfortunately that was all they got before I fell unconscious. When I awoke, they took not only Sensei's enchanted Smith's Hammer, but several enchanted weapons and armors he had been working on. We really need that hammer back or business will suffer. I don't really care what happens to the thieves who took it nor the other weapons. If you can just bring back the hammer ill reward you".

The figure seemed to tap the air in front of him for a moment, probably checking a window or something. So the cloaked figure was most likely a player who just got a Quest while the blacksmith was probably an NPC, but it was still hard to tell on that regard. "Alright, ill get it back" The figure deposited the dirk into a belt pouch he had on and then proceeded to walk right past Zan and then down the street. It was thanks to a bit of keen listening that he was even able to accidentally eavesdrop on the conversation. That, and the fact that the two didn't notice him when he had walked up despite his size.

The apprentice smithy, which was a reasonable assumption from his usage of the word 'sensei', turned to face Zan, scratching the back of his head. "Ah... sorry bout that. Was taking care of a bit of... business". He sighed a bit now, before clapping his hands together. "Anyway, welcome to Gemkil's Metal-Crafts. My name's Tolk. My sensei isn't here right now, but if you still need something I'm pretty sure I can help you out"
 
Raijin nodded at Redd, thanking him for answering his questions as well as for the revival stone, taking one before following the other two out. He was going to practice animal taming on some weaker animals before he tries to go for his main target. The alpha of the pack. With that in mind, he opened his status window and put his final talent point into Animal Handling. As he walked, he began to think, since they all were taking this quest together, then Vero would need to be in their party.

"Yo Caelis, you should invite Vero to our party, if she's going to be questing with us for a bit. Also, I'll be following her to the stores, as I want to see what kinda goodies I can get for 40,000 Sens."
 
When Zan got closer he was able to hear a rather serious conversation between the blacksmith and the hooded figure. Zan still couldn't tell what the hooded figure looked like, only that they were about five feet tall. Though the hooded person's appearance was unknown to Zan, what was left of their conversation was clearer to him.

"-- And you're positive the thief left this behind?" said the short hooded person, with a soft quiet voice. The two didn't notice Zan as both of them were looking at what appeared to be a dagger of some kind in the cloaked figure's hand. Zan listened with curiosity to their conversation.

"Yea. They left this behind on accident when I managed to grab their belt. Unfortunately that was all they got before I fell unconscious. When I awoke, they took not only Sensei's enchanted Smith's Hammer, but several enchanted weapons and armors he had been working on. We really need that hammer back or business will suffer. I don't really care what happens to the thieves who took it nor the other weapons. If you can just bring back the hammer ill reward you," said person who Zan now thought to a be an apprentice of a blacksmith.

The person who was wearing the hooded cloak seemed like he tapped the air in front of him for a moment, most likely this person was a player and was checking a window of some kind. The player seemed to have just gotten a quest from the apprentice, who was probably a NPC but Zan wasn't 100% sure on that. "Alright, ill get it back," said the player depositing the dagger into a belt pouch. Then the player proceeded to walk right past Zan and down the street. Zan was luckily able to accidentally eavesdrop on the conversation. Also the fact that the two didn't notice him when he had walked up despite being so big.

The apprentice turned to face Zan, scratching the back of his head. "Ah... sorry bout that. Was taking care of a bit of... business". He sighed a bit now, before clapping his hands together. "Anyway, welcome to Gemkil's Metal-Crafts. My name's Tolk. My sensei isn't here right now, but if you still need something I'm pretty sure I can help you out"

Zan removed the rune etched copper ring, which he got from the beginning dungeon's reward room, from his sack and the strange amulet he got from the beginning quest's boss's corpse. "I need these two items appraised," said Zan to the apprentice blacksmith, "Also do you have any Great Axes and heavy armor?"
 
"Hmm... ill do it for free as a courtesy". He looked at the two items curiously before gently taking them from Zan's hands if Zan allowed him to do so. He walked to a work table and set both of them down. He walked inside, after unlocking the door, and then came out a few minutes later with a small, oak box. He placed his goggles over his eyes and from the box removed a small, slightly glowing rock. He seemed to be working some process as he removed a mortar and pestle and started to grind up the rock into dust.

He sprinkled the dust over the items. For a few moments nothing happened. A few seconds later though there was a small blink of light from both items, it just lasting for a moment. It looked like something, yet nothing great at the same time. This blacksmith was probably seeing alot more though as he adjusted his goggles a bit while seemingly looking at the items while scratching his chin in a pondering manner. He seemed to nod, putting his gloves back above his eyes before closing and locking the oaken box.

"Well at first I thought that this ring" he held up the ring before handing it to Zan "was just a regular Copper Ring that someone etched a Rune into. The rune itself means 'Might' in the Runic Language and this one has a bit of magic in it. Should make you a small bit stronger when you wear it. Its an amateur enchantment though, so it can't be enhanced. It'll sell for a neat little sum though if that's what you're looking for, since even weak enchanted Items are rare. I estimate... about 10 to 20 thousand Sens".

He then held up the amulet, examining it for a few more seconds before passing it to Zan. "That right there though... is a bit more unique. Its Teglin made and has some of their strange magics in it. he specifics elude me, but its nothing harmful. I think this enchantment can make objects you carry lighter, but you may want to seek a Seer or Wizard's second opinion though, or perhaps Gemkil-sensei when he returns". As he spoke he adjusted the goggles to fit more comfortably on the top of his head, thinking for a moment as he did so. "Other than that though, you possibly have yourself a nice trinket there".

Upon recieving the Copper Ring from Tolk a window would appear in front of him.

Item has been successfully identified. Adventure Journal updated.​
​

Copper Might Ring

This ring has been etched with a magic rune meant to imbue one who wears the ring with strength. +1 STR while worn. Cannot be enhanced.

Rarity: Slightly Uncommon

Possible Value: 10 - 20,000 Sens.​
​

"As for equipment..." he suddenly placed the goggles back over his eyes for a moment, looking Zan over. The lens in them shimmered for a moment as he looked Zan over. "A rookie huh" he muttered before lifting the goggles back to the top of his head. "If you're looking for cheap, you've come to the wrong place and may want to seek the Clearwater Arms Shop on the other side of town. This shop sells both generally stronger and more unique items and takes orders for custom tailored arms, weapons, and metal accessories. However..." He stopped and walked back inside of the shop.

A bit of rummaging could be heard from within, and not but twenty seconds passed before his voice could be heard from within as he came back out. In his arms he carried a pretty sturdy looking suit of armor that, just from appearance alone, looked stronger and nicer than what he was wearing already. He set it down upon the table, it making the rather sturdy looking wooden display table creak a small bit.

"This is a rather popular piece of Gemkil-sensei. The insignia" he tapped the front of it "is his signature that he puts on his work. A suit of bronze scale mail, made a decent bit sturdier with iron in various places without adding too much weight. It might be a bit too heavy for you at the moment unless that amulet of yours does what I think it does. It costs 75,000 Sens if you'd like it". The price was incredible, much more than Zan had. Perhaps he didn't have too much money after all, or just didn't have enough money to afford what looked like a very nice piece of equipment, especially for his level.

"Unfortunately we don't have any Greataxes... as the ones we did have were..." he stopped for a moment, then looked at Zan again for a few moments, losing the hesitation he had now in continuing to speak.

"Stolen. I noticed you standing there and don't know if you heard, but this shop was robbed. They stole several very valuable weapons and pieces of armor as well as Gemkil-Sensei's mystic hammer, which is how he makes such incredible equipment. The cloaked rookie you saw here went to go see this town's Seer to seek information on the thieves. Help that person return my hammer or perhaps even get it back yourself and I'll personally ask Gemkil-sensei to forge for you a powerful Greataxe and pay for it myself".

A window appeared before Zan now, it reading the following and having two buttons at the bottom. One read 'Accept' and the other 'Decline'.

The Quest 'The Hammer's Theft' has been created.

[Accept] [Decline]​
 
"Hmm... ill do it for free as a courtesy," said the apprentice as he looked at the two items curiously before taking them from Zan's hand. Tolk walked to a work table on the porch and set both of Zan's items down. Then Tolk walked inside, unlocked the door, and came out a few minutes later with a small wooden box. Tolk placed his goggles over his eyes and removed a slightly glowing small rock from the wooden box. Tolk appeared to be doing some kind of process as he started to grind up the rock into dust with a mortar and pestle. Tolk then sprinkled the dust over the Zan's items. A few moments later there was a small blink of light from both items, just lasting for a moment. Tolk was probably seeing move than Zan. Tolk adjusted his goggles a bit while seemingly looking at the items, scratching his chin like he was pondering something. Tolk nodded putting his goggles back on his forehead before closing and locking the wooden box. "Well at first I thought that this ring," said Tolk holding up the ring before handing it to Zan, "was just a regular Copper Ring that someone etched a Rune into. The rune itself means 'Might' in the Runic Language and this one has a bit of magic in it. Should make you a small bit stronger when you wear it. Its an amateur enchantment though, so it can't be enhanced. It'll sell for a neat little sum though if that's what you're looking for, since even weak enchanted Items are rare. I estimate... about 10 to 20 thousand Sens".

Zan nodded as he listened to Tolk.

Then Tolk held up the amulet, passing it to Zan after examining it for a little. "That right there though... is a bit more unique. Its Teglin made and has some of their strange magics in it. The specifics elude me, but its nothing harmful. I think this enchantment can make objects you carry lighter, but you may want to seek a Seer or Wizard's second opinion though, or perhaps Gemkil-sensei when he returns". Tolk adjusted his goggles to fit more comfortably on the top of his head, thinking for a moment as he did so. "Other than that though, you possibly have yourself a nice trinket there."

'God dammit,' thought Zan, when Tolk told him about the amulet, 'Just if I would have put on that amulet, I would probably have that axe.'

After getting the Copper Ring back from Tolk a window appeared in front of Zan.
Item has been successfully identified. Adventure Journal updated.
Copper Might Ring

This ring has been etched with a magic rune meant to imbue one who wears the ring with strength. +1 STR while worn. Cannot be enhanced.

Rarity: Slightly Uncommon

Possible Value: 10 - 20,000 Sens.
Zan closed out of the two windows as he placed the two items into his sack.

"As for equipment..." Tolk suddenly placed the goggles back over his eyes for a moment, looking Zan over. The lens shimmered for a moment as he looked Zan over. "A rookie huh" he muttered before lifting the goggles back to the top of his head. "If you're looking for cheap, you've come to the wrong place and may want to seek the Clearwater Arms Shop on the other side of town. This shop sells both generally stronger and more unique items and takes orders for custom tailored arms, weapons, and metal accessories. However..." He stopped and walked back inside of the shop. A bit of rummaging could be heard from within, and not but twenty seconds passed before his voice could be heard from within as he came back out. In his arms he carried a pretty sturdy looking suit of armor that, just from appearance alone, looked stronger and nicer than what he was wearing already. He set it down upon the table, it making the rather sturdy looking wooden display table creak a small bit.

'Looks like some good armor,' thought Zan.

"This is a rather popular piece of Gemkil-sensei. The insignia" said Tolk as he tapped the front of it "is his signature that he puts on his work. A suit of bronze scale mail, made a decent bit sturdier with iron in various places without adding too much weight. It might be a bit too heavy for you at the moment unless that amulet of yours does what I think it does. It costs 75,000 Sens if you'd like it". The price was much more than Zan had, but within grasp, if he sold the some of the things he had.
"Unfortunately we don't have any Greataxes... as the ones we did have were..." Tolk stopped for a moment, then looked at Zan again for a few moments, losing the hesitation he had now in continuing to speak. "Stolen. I noticed you standing there and don't know if you heard, but this shop was robbed. They stole several very valuable weapons and pieces of armor as well as Gemkil-Sensei's mystic hammer, which is how he makes such incredible equipment. The cloaked rookie you saw here went to go see this town's Seer to seek information on the thieves. Help that person return my hammer or perhaps even get it back yourself and I'll personally ask Gemkil-sensei to forge for you a powerful Greataxe and pay for it myself".​
The Quest 'The Hammer's Theft' has been created.

[Accept] [Decline]
Zan nodded and said, "You have yourself a deal," as he clicked [Accept]. Zan quickly calculated how much more Sens he needed to buy the armor, which was 31,000 ¥, and how much he might earn from selling some of his items, which would anywhere from 40,000 ¥ to 50,000 ¥. "Also where would it be best to sell these [Weak Teglin Healing Potions]," pointing to the horns on his belt, "the [Copper Might Ring], and this [Bronze Chainmail], if you don't mind telling me." ​
 
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Vero, Caim, Caelis, and Raijin set out with a goodbye wave from Redd. He decided to let them go on their own mainly because he had a couple of things he needed to take care of and he figured that the rookies didn't want their guide for everything. Of course, before they left he gave a final tidbit of advice. "Don't be afraid to ask people questions if you're stuck on where to go". With that last piece of parting advice, the group would now head out into town to begin their quest preparation, focusing on that rather than exploration of the town.

The two priority destinations were a place to purchase Equipment and a place to purchase rations, since both of those seemed pretty important and would probably be the most affordable. With just a bit of wandering, the group soon was easily able to stumble upon the market district of the town, which seemed to be quite large. There were various shops and stalls all about. It wasn't much longer until the group stumbled upon a store called Clear-Water Adventurer Arms. The language looked like a typical fantasy one, but again they could read it as they would Japanese, since that was the default language setting for them.

The building itself was two stories and looked like a house, a large stone chimney atop it letting out a bit of smoke, a fire probably going on somewhere in there. It looked like a pretty general, but nice, shop.

The inside of the shop itself looked rather typical. A door on the western wall as they entered that probably lead elsewhere in the shop. There was a sign upon it that said 'Do not Enter'. A counter was in the center of the room they had just walked into by walking into the entrance. Behind it was a door, but also a rather large, burly looking figure. There were various weapons on racks on the walls behind him, but also around the store there were weapons on shelves or racks as well as armor, shields, and other forms of general weaponry or armor. 'No the Shop does not sell bombs, nuts, or sticks, so stop asking'. This is what one sign, for some reason, read that was hanging from one wall.

Aside from the large amounts of weapons, there were other things as well on some of the shelves around the decent sized store. There was rope, spades, and many other different forms of tools that looked useful to any adventurer. Above the counter was a sign that read off the varying forms of supplies that they sold and their prices, so the group would be able to get some other adventuring supplies, including Rations. A day's standard rations were apparently 500 Sens.

Haruko already had the strange Black Cestus and Leather Armor, so she possibly could save her money for something else and easily be able to purchase several days Rations to save them for later.

Raijin needed both armor and probably a better weapon. The other machete sold for 2,500 Sens if he was willing to sell it for that much, but the shopkeeper wasn't going to go up on that. According to the owner, it was in pretty bad shape, as was the other one that was hanging from his waist. Some standard quality Studded Leather Armor, if he wanted a bit of defense without lowering speed too much, would cost 10,500 Sens. An Iron Short Saber, if he wanted a simple arms upgrade, cost 15,000 Sens.

So if he sold both Machetes he would have 45,000 Sens and be able to purchase both the Armor and two new Sabers and still have 4,500 Sens left over for a couple days Rations and perhaps a few other basic things, or just save his money for later. His previous bronze short saber only would sell for 2,000 Sens, less than the machete. That is, if he wanted to part with it of course.

An Iron Longsword cost about 12,000 Sens for Caelis. Bronze Chainmail, which was the heaviest armor that he could wear that would provide the most defense for him since his STR was low, cost 15,000 Sens. This shopkeeper was actually a player who had used the Observe Skill on each of them when they came up to buy things. So Caelis would have extra money to buy other things if that was what he wanted like a Shield or a second weapon, although the man recommended a Bronze Buckler to him for 6,500 Sens, give him some extra protection without hampering his movement too much. His Bronze Longsword sold for 3,250 Sens.

For Caim an Iron Bastard Sword was an upgrade for him. It cost 20,000 Sens. If he wanted a Iron Greatsword though that would instead cost 32,000 Sens. It looked much stronger than the Bastard Sword though, but also alot heavier. He already had armor, so he wouldn't need to get an upgrade of that unless he wanted one. His current weapon would sell for 5,500 Sens.
 
The moment Zan clicked 'Accept' he would have seen a window appearing stating that his Adventure Journal had been updated, then another window appearing after that one, explaining the details of the quest he had just received.

The Hammer's Theft

Issued by
Tolk, Apprentice of Gemkil

Objective(s)​
  • Meet up with the cloaked rookie player to obtain information (Recommended)​
  • Obtain information on the location of the thief.​
  • Recover Gemkil's stolen Hammer​
  • Recover the stolen arms (optional)​
Completion RewardsGreataxe forged by Gemkil
5 XP​
​


"Ill buy the ring from you for about 15,000 Sens, as here we buy and sell Weapons, Armor, and most metal or leather Accessories. As for the chainmail..." he put his goggles back over his eyes and looked at the chainmail as Zan wore it. "A decent piece..." he muttered, tapping it with one of his fingers a few times. "8,500 Sens". With that he put his goggles back upon his head. It seemed like they probably aided him in examining or appraising equipment in some way or another with how he pulled them down over his eyes alot.

"Since you are so willing to go on this dangerous endeavor to return the hammer, I will give you a discount on the armor. Those potions probably wouldn't get you much, if anything at all, since Teglin shamanic brews like those aren't really meant for human consumption. I can get a bit of use out of them though. If you give them to me though, along with the Ring, Chainmail, and 40,000 Sens ill give you this armor". He gestured to the armor now as he said this.

It seemed like a good deal, considering that he would only get about 23,500 here for the Armor and Ring and it was indeed possible that his appraisal of the potions didn't necessarily give the value people were willing to buy them for.

​
 
Right after Zan clicked [Accept] an alert popped up saying that his [Adventure Journal] had been update. Zan closed the alert and a window took its place.
The Hammer's Theft

Issued by
Tolk, Apprentice of Gemkil

Objective(s)
Meet up with the cloaked rookie player to obtain information (Recommended)
Obtain information on the location of the thief.
Recover Gemkil's stolen Hammer
Recover the stolen arms (optional)

Completion Rewards

Greataxe forged by Gemkil
5 XP
Zan read the window's information then closed it.

"I'll buy the ring from you for about 15,000 Sens, as here we buy and sell Weapons, Armor, and most metal or leather Accessories. As for the chainmail..." said Tolk as he put his goggles back over his eyes and looked at the chainmail as Zan wore it. "A decent piece..." Tolk muttered while tapping Zan's Chainmail with one of his fingers a few times. "8,500 Sens". Then Tolk his goggles back up on top of his head. Zan figured that Tolk's goggles were probably enchanted and helped him with appraisal in some way. "Since you are so willing to go on this dangerous endeavor to return the hammer, I will give you a discount on the armor. Those potions probably wouldn't get you much, if anything at all, since Teglin shamanic brews like those aren't really meant for human consumption. I can get a bit of use out of them though. If you give them to me though, along with the Ring, Chainmail, and 40,000 Sens I'll give you this armor," said Tolk gesturing to the armor Zan was wanting to buy.

Zan kind of stroked his chin a bit, while thinking. Zan decided it was a good deal. "I accept your deal," said Zan. Zan doffed his [Bronze Chainmail], took the [Copper Might Ring] out of his sack, removed the [Weak Teglin Healing Potions] from his belt and sack. He also took out his money pouch and then the required ¥.​
 
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Tolk took up the ring, Armor, and Potions that Zan gave to him and put them inside before walking back out to Zan. When Zan removed his money pouch and opened it up to take out the necessary amount of money something strange happened. A window would appear before him, asking him how much he wanted to take out. Saying the amount and reaching into the bag now he pulled out four gold coins, each of them having the number 10,000 etched onto him. Despite him pulling out only four of them, the weight of his money pouch considerably lessened and the bulged to nearly full money pouch now had a mere 10th of the weight it once had.

It was probably the game's way of making collecting money much easier. Even it had moments where it had to be a game and not be inconvenient, or otherwise people wouldn't want to play it if everything was like it was in real life. He collected the coins and put them into the pouch on his belt. "Alright, the armor's yours", not that Zan couldn't have ran off with it while the man was storing stuff inside, although he wouldn't have gotten far. "I hope you put it to good use, its good armor, although..." a small chuckle elicited from him as a smile formed upon his face, "I really hope that you don't have to use it though".

After that was said and done, Tolk pointed down the street the same way the cloaked player went. "Anyway, go that way and take a left. This town's Seer is the last shop at the end of that street. The cloaked player went that way and it takes time to Divine things, so you should be able to easily catch up. Anyway... I better get to work, see you later". The blacksmith went back inside of the shop for now and came out with a couple of swords. He put his goggles back on and began to sharpen them at the grindstone now, leaving Zan to do whatever as the loud sound of stone grinding on steel could be heard as he sharpened the blades, some sparks flying from the process. Despite being a mere apprentice, he was good at what he did.

With a direction to follow, Zan could go after that other player and hope to gather information, as the quest said it was recommended, but that probably also meant having to team up with another player since the other player probably wouldn't be too happy if Zan just came in and tried to steal their quest. Plus on top of that, doing so would just be plain rude anyway.

It was either that, or try to find a different way to get information, but with no leads whatsoever that would be next to impossible. So his most viable options were to either go after this other player or find something else to do.
 
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Tolk took the copper ring, chainmail, and potions that Zan had given to him and Tolk put them inside, before walking back out to Zan.

After Zan removed his money pouch and opened it up to take out the required amount of Sens, something different happened. A window appeared in Zan's field of vision, asking him how much he wanted to take out. Zan said, "40,000 ¥." Then he stuck his hand into his money pouch, Zan pulled out four golden coins, 10,000 etched onto each of them. The weight of his money pouch dropped an insane amount, even though he only pulled out four coins. Zan was happy that the game didn't make you count each every Sens. It made transactions so much easier.

Tolk took the coins and put them into a pouch on his belt. "Alright, the armor's yours, I hope you put it to good use, it's good armor, although..." Tolk made a small chuckle as a smile formed upon his face, "I really hope that you don't have to use it though."

"What would the point of getting armor, if I didn't have to use it," said Zan. Zan donned his new armor. Also Zan removed the Telgin Amulet from his belt pouch and put it on.

After the deal was done, Tolk pointed down the street the same way the cloaked player went. "Anyway, go that way and take a left. This town's Seer is the last shop at the end of that street. The cloaked player went that way and it takes time to Divine things, so you should be able to easily catch up. Anyway... I better get to work, see you later". The blacksmith went back inside of the shop.

Zan nodded his head and said, "Thanks for the information and the armor." Zan decided to head towards the town Seer using Tolk's directions.
 
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When Zan put on the strange amulet, as there would be no way to wear the armor otherwise, he didn't really feel any different. When he donned the armor though what should have made him barely able to walk didn't weigh him down as much as it should have. Both his armor and the axe he had felt just a bit lighter. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make them less of a burden than normal. If anything, a window had appeared reading the following the moment that heavy weight appeared on his body. He was much, much slower than before.

Your AGI has been reduced by 4 due to Armor Penalty.

Your DEX has been reduced by 2 due to wearing Armor with a higher STR requirement.
He still had 6 points to spend, so he could probably get more STR, AGI, or whatever else was needed to actually be able to move better in such incredibly heavy armor. Regardless though, Zan could still move with the incredible weight upon his body, and the Seer's was his next stop. It would take some time getting used to this new even heavier armor. Of course, it wasn't just his speed that was hampered, but because it was a bit more weight than he could handle, despite the amulet, he felt his other forms of movements being effected as well, as the window stated his DEX had suffered a blow due to not having enough STR.

Unfortunately the STR requirement, with the amulet on, was in ??, but was most likely reduced, meaning just a couple points would cover it. That, or four points would get him to the original STR requirement that it had before the Amulet had been put on. Still, he could wear the armor now at least and could move in it, so points could be worried about later.

The Seer's shop was a bit obvious. It had a sign on it that showed a sort of 'third eye' type symbol upon it and nothing else. The purple swirl in the eye and aura around it gave it that sort of mystical feel and the building itself was a round, wooden house that was actually more normal looking except for the purple door with a red frame.

Upon entering the house he would encounter a small shop. There were all various forms of curiosities, trinkets, and even bottles lining the shelves on the curved walls with various glass cased tables filled with other strange trinkets. Some of them were actually glowing. Towards the back was a typical shop counter with the cloaked player sitting on the shop floor side. Behind the counter was another person who had most of their features covered by a cloak, only theirs was a bit more obvious in nature.

One could see a bit more of this woman's face though, including her eyes and a bit of blue hair. By the time Zan had come in though it appeared though that the conversation was wrapping up as the cloaked player was reaching within their cloak, rummaging for a few moments before pulling out a money pouch. It looked a small bit different from the one Zan had. It seemed a bit bigger in overall size and even seemed to look nicer to, but the weight from the looks of it was probably not much more than what Zan's was judging from swelling of the wallet.

"10,000 ¥" Was what the person uttered as they reached into their money pouch, pulling out one coin and placing it on the counter.

After that a "Thanks" was spoken by the cloaked figure as the dirk from before was picked up and retrieved by the cloaked player, it being nearly impossible to tell where the player put that or their money pouch since they had the cloak on. It had been resting on a pillow that had been placed on the counter between them, two bowls of shimmering, blue fire having been placed on each side of the pillow. It was clear that some form of ritual had been conducted possibly.
​
"Well I would like to offer you a protective charm again, but it seems like another one has appeared for your quest, just as I foresaw". ​

Her brown eyes were looking right past the cloak figure and back at Zan's now, as if gazing into him for a few moments. Could perhaps diviners see the future in this game, or just be able to see things happening in other ways. The player, having seen the woman fortune teller looking right past them, turned around at also saw Zan at the entrance of the store. The player stood up and walked towards Zan, this person's strides somewhat swift. Once the player was about ten feet from Zan was when the player began to speak.

"You're the player I passed before..." The player was clearly slightly on guard judging from the bit of distance. "Unless you're here to see the Seer or are here to shop then I can assume you're following me. What do you want?" It was clear from the tone of this person's slightly quiet voice that there was mistrust present.





​
 
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