Something-or-Anothers: Tales of the Confused Adventure's Shenanigans

Sage only grinned as they left when Sanz seemed to get snippy over his high school life. He was the one who took the dig at her first. If he was going to take shots at Sage's school life, she'd only return the courtesy. Both of them waddled over to the forest, Sage carrying most of the things. She didn't really know anything about forest, plant life or making fires. She set up at first, but she was finished before Sanz even started setting up the fire. Though, as she watched him, he was scowling more... then more. And MORE. Wow he was getting really upset. Or confused. Sage still couldn't tell the difference between his expressions yet. She was sure by the end of this, she was going to be a Sanz pro.

"These cards..." Sage half said. Oh, he meant the guild cards. "Oh did you know we levels twice last night?" Sage asked Sanz, "I spent the points this morning myself. There was one red and one yellow. Which doesn't help us now since what we need.. is green." Sage said, pointing a finger up as if she was making a really good point. "Right? To make a fire? Though looking at what you just did, we can easily cook." Sage said wtih a shrug, "I can.. tell.. somehow."
 
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Sanz let out an exasperated sigh at the pile of embers. Even if it was usable for cooking, it was still a failure in his eyes. Was that what fighting would have been like if he didn't invest in combat skills? The thought was frightening.

"Yeah it'll work for now... doesn't mean I'm happy with it. If you want to start cooking go ahead."
The mention of leveling up did cause Sanz to actually pull out the card he had been cursing just a minute ago. Maybe he could fine something on there that would--

Huh.

"...It looks like all that gathering I did this morning was good for something besides finding supplies. I also have a green point on here." The red and orange points were easy to deal with, Sanz didn't even have to think about them. A pair of flashes came from the card.

Your fist skill has increased, you now deal more damage with your fists and gauntlets.

Your physique skill has increased. You can take more damage without consequence.

The last point... Sanz felt it was far more important to expand what he could do in that section than improving what he had already learned. He started to cycle through the options while Sage worked on their meal. If they were going to be cooking for themselves to try and save money, he'd need to be able to create a sustainable flame at the very least. What options were there? Alchemy? Possibly, but that would likely require its own reagents to perform, and based on his experience with fantasy stories tended to be more explosive than controlled. Smithing required a roaring fire, maybe that would give some kind of option, in addition to its obvious benefits? Possible, but there was no guarantee, and Sanz didn't want to waste his points on 'maybe's. Wait... there was a wilderness skill?
...
Screw it, that had to be the one.

You have unlocked the wilderness skill. Your ability to navigate in wild places has improved. You can also procure basic amenities while not in towns or cities.

Sanz could almost feel the change come over him. Looking at the pathetic coals in their fire-pit, he could see the mistakes that had been made, and how he could improve them. A quick glance around also revealed ready kindling and fuel for the fire. Almost as if it was highlighted against the backdrop of the forest.
"Well that should help."
 
"What? You got three skills? Seriously?" Sage asked and then sighed, "Geez. Now that I think about it.. between the two of us, do we both really need a cook skill?" Sage asked Sanz. Sage had no idea how Sanz got the third skill. She fought more wolves then him! Plus she tried to sell the wolf to the guild, not successfully admiditly. Sage sighed and pulled up the rosemary and ran her finger over the stem to force the leaves to fall off into the plan before pulling out the two eggs and starting to crack them into the pan as well before putting it over the fire, "Ok. We should really try and divide our skills more evenly and stuff. If certain skills help with certain things, you know?"
 
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"I suspect both of us are used to cooking our own meals. And I don't think either of us were debating the long-term impacts of our utility choices."
While they had thought through, in some detail at least, what to do regarding combat abilities, Sanz hadn't spared much thought for what would happen beyond combat. Using games as a reference there had probably been a mistake. They glossed over or skipped just about everything that wasn't related to the storyline or combat. Here, they had to deal with the ramifications of being homeless and paid by the job.

Sanz stepped towards the fire and added a few twigs into the coals, and thankfully he was able to coax an actual flame out of it. It was still somewhat clumsy and difficult, but he no longer felt like his mind was trying to pull knowledge from a void.
"You're not wrong... but the sheer volume of possible skills is impossible for just two people to cover. At least if we wanted to actually be decent at them."
The man shook his head and pulled his guild card back out.
"Okay, as far as utility goes I have cooking, herbology, and now wilderness. So currently I'm good at making sure we can survive if we don't have access to a room in town for some reason. Though it won't exactly be comfortable. What about you?"
 
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Sage wondered, how did her skill bluff work? It was something that.. helped her lie. Sage admiditly had a problem with lying at times. Sometimes, she just found so much humor in lying and made a very large game out of it. Like how many lies can she get out before people caught on? How ridiculous could she tell a lie before someone disbelieved her? In the end, when she was caught, she'd laugh it off as a big joke and everyone would laugh with her. But, she didn't want to lie to Sanz. She had to create a meaningful bond with this guy, even if he was a bit of a touchy asshole.

"Cooking and Tailoring." Sage lied with a grin. White lies will be fine and she would see how Sanz reacted to the life. She was still a bit confused on how the bluff skill worked in general. Would Sanz sensed she lied? We'll she still get away with a lie?
 
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"Tailoring?"
Sanz raised an eyebrow at the statement
"Are you trying to be a house-wife? Actually... that could work. I've already got a set of skills that are more suited to gathering materials than crafting, so I could gather what you need to use those skills. We wouldn't have to buy extra sets of clothes if that were the case, and you might even be able to sell them for some extra cash."

The more time they spent in this world, the more Sanz felt like he needed a spreadsheet for the two of them. They needed to balance out their skills so that they could survive combat, finish quests, and actually live life outside of finishing job requests. And of course the 'skills' weren't some vague definition of their experiences, but a quantifiable number that grew in increments. It was going to take a while to get used to this.
"Have you tried tailoring anything yet? I do have those fibers that you could test with."

Sanz spoke while pulling one of the pink fruits out of his bag. He would definitely eat whatever Sage was cooking, but it had been a long morning without anything in his stomach. He took a big bite... and immediately made a face.
"What the--"
It looked sweet. And it was to a point, but it tasted like a cross between a lime and a strawberry. And the texture was almost the exact same consistency as that of a plum.
"That was not what I was expecting."
 
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"I was lying." Sage half said after Sanz spazzed out about her taking tailoring. She didn't really want to, but she guessed that did sound like a good skill to have. If they want to be good at anything, then they would really need to split the ideas, but if spent one point for every new ability, they would never get better in some abilities.

Sage put a hand out a bit, "My other skill is actually bluff. I was thinking spy when I was putting my points in. You know? So, like, when I lied just now, did you feel any tingling or something?" Sage half asked. Though Sanz seemed really amazed by the food, making Sage way more curious. "You know.. like you sensed I was lying or something? Not sure what the bluff skill would be used for... just thought a bunch of social skills would be nice to take."
 
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"...oh... of course you did."
Sanz didn't look away from the card in front of him as the words came out. They weren't angry, at least not in the traditional sense, more like they were just dead in the air. Of course Sage had picked the skill that let him lie. Of course he had used it on Sanz for kicks. Why would he feel betrayed by that? It was just what Sage did.

The man forced himself to think logically for a minute. Having access to a suite of social skills could be useful. Maybe Sage could start negotiating for lower prices on items, or additional quest rewards. There could also be any number of social situations where Sanz would prefer not being the one at the center of attention--so it was probably for the best.
"Well to answer your question, no I didn't feel anything special. I just believed what you told me."
Sanz took a few more bites out of the fruit he had grabbed, and looked through the skills on the card. He needed to know what skills were necessary, and what he should focus on.
 
Sage hummed, "When I was picking.. I guess a class, I thought someone who was like a spy would be cool. You know? But I was really curious how the skill worked because I haven't used it yet. But I promise not to use it on you. Well, anymore. I just wanted to see if you felt something or whatever." Sage said with a small sheepish grin, "I thought charisma skills would have been really cool to take." Sage said. "But, I guess those skills are not very useful right now. Maybe I should have gotten something better."

Sage flipped the eggs in the dish and pulled out the two bowls she got, splitting the eggs as evenly as she could and put them in each of the bowls. To try and make it up to the boy, Sage handed him the bowl that looked like it had more. She hoped he didn't get all bla every time she pulled a prank on him. Honestly, the stick in the ass had to come loose hanging out with her. She might actually lose her head if she always walked on eggshells.
 
Sanz looked down at the bowl in front of him and let out an exasperated breath. Did he like that Sage had tested the skill by lying to him?

No.

Had the lie been pretty harmless?

Yes.

Was Sage still the only person he could confide in that they were from a different world?

Yes.

He'd just have to live with it... at least until the man lied about something that really mattered. If and when that happened, he and Sage would have words. Or if the man decided to pathologically lie about many, many little things, then he'd head it off. The eggs were given as something of a peace offering, and he accepted it.
"Well, the social skills won't be useful if you don't use them. Lord knows I'm terrible in social situations even before the whole 'skill system' thing, so it's for the best that one of us has them."
Sanz dug into his eggs. They tasted just like regular farm-fresh chicken eggs... albeit about two or three times the size. Which wasn't a bad thing, this would actually hold him until they finished a quest.
"These are good. Let's hope there's more quests that offer stuff like this as rewards."
 
Sage sat down and dug into her own eggs. Things that could make her useful. That was indeed a question she really needed to as herself. Cooking was fine, but she took it because she liked it, not for any thought of it being useful. The same with bluff. It was almost like an impulse buy. Something she saw at the window and took it without thinking. "Maybe we should really think out the skills we take from now on. Yeah.. we can keep doing whatever we want, but I think we'd make it further as a team if we did something that helped us push forward as a team. I'm not sure how to buff my skill unless I went around actually just lying to people. Oh, maybe we can cheese the skill and I can just tell you random lies all day." Sage said with a grin.
 
Sanz had taken to scrolling through all the skills in the green section of the card. It was definitely far more varied than the weapon and armor skills, but they didn't fall completely beyond the conventions that seemed to structure this world similar to a game.
"You're not wrong... we already discussed this with combat, but these utility skills are a whole different beast. It looks like we'll need to each pick a general idea for what we'll do... I could focus on gathering materials and survival, or I could try and grab some skills that would let me craft what I gather. But I doubt I could focus on gathering, crafting, and survival. At least not for the immediate future."

The man set aside his plate and looked back at the fire, his mind mulling his and Sage's immediate problems.
"For now... we'll probably have to work out some kind of daily routine to grind our skills. I don't know about lying on a regular basis... but if you keep cooking you should get experience that you can spend on bluffing if you want. I mean, I got that green exp from harvesting plants all morning. We can go out and do one quest each day, and then any time that is left over can be spent on activities to boost our utility skills. Speaking of..."
Sanz pulled his bag up with a more serious expression on his face... not that Sage had seen him give anything other than a serious expression since they'd arrived in this world.
"We should get back to the guild and pick a quest once you're done eating. I'd rather not be trying to find our way back to town in the dark like we did yesterday."
 
Sage chuckled and start to pull the empty bowls and pans, stacking them together, "Need something to clean this, then I am right there with you. I still hurt a bit from the fight yesterday though, so let's not jump into another big fight?" Sage asked Sanz with a small sigh, "I hope you know I am the opposite of a dog person. I really don't want to fight more wolves or any variant of dogs. Let's do something like... sloths." Sage said. She started behind Sanz are they went home, snatching one of the fruits from him as well.
 
"We'll have to see what is available. There's no guarantee as to what will be on that job board that we can actually do. Though... we have gained a few levels after that encounter, so theoretically we should have more options. And that trend should continue."
Sanz helped Sage pack up before the two of them headed back into the town. Sage's comments on his dislike of dogs was a little unexpected. Though it did at least explain part of why he had been so wary of the last job.

"For me at least, reward is going to be the ultimate deciding factor. We don't really have the luxury of being choosy until we have proper gear and consistent housing. Then maybe we can finally work on our actual goal, killing the demon king."
 
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"Yeah, I would say that goal is likely on hold until we know where we are putting our heads down and if we're going to eat the next day. I guess with your gathering skill, there is a slim chance of actually starving to death. I guess if I get a few more charisma skills. I can try bartering. Let me look at more charisma skills and just let me spend most of today lying to people." Sage told Sanz, we'll see how it goes.

Though as they walked into the guild hall, Rhea was inside of it, looking at the quest board with an inquisitive expression.

"Oh hey, look. Rhea. That cutie." Sage said with a flity grin, "Oh hey, maybe we can join someone else's adventure?" Sage asked, "We'd make friends, gain levels and not be just the two of us." Sage said, thinking she sounded pretty logical.
 
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Sanz initially made a face at the thought. It's true that if they split the workload with other people, the quests would probably be easier--but they would also have to split the reward. Given their current situation, he didn't know if they could afford to do so. The only thing that stopped him from refusing outright was when he thought about the skills she could bring to the party.
Healing magic.
He and Sage thus far didn't have any means to quickly recover from battle, magical or otherwise. In fact, the two of them had no magic to speak of. And after the battle last night...
"Go ahead and ask her, just be nice about it. I don't think she has a thick skin or a sense for sarcasm."
 
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Sage chuckled and then approched Rhea, "Rheeaaa, hey."

Rhea jumped a bit and looked at Sage, "Oh, Sage. Hi." She said almost shyly, hiding behind a paper she had taken off the board.

"What are you up to?" Sage asked Rhea, leaning against the board.

"Oh, well you see, my brother is busy with another party right now. They didn't need another healer. So I said I'd stay here today." Rhea said.

"Wow, you know if would be cook if you came with us instead! We're just about to pick a quest and go out ourselves!" Sage mentioned, "Sanzy and I." Sage motioned to Sanz a little ways away.

"Yes! I wouldn't mind. You two look a little heart already though, should I heal you?" Rhea asked.

"I don't know.. kind of depends on how healing works." Sage said, rubbing her chin lightly as if she was in a deep thought.
 
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Sanz was listening in on the conversation as Sage babbled away. They had both refused Rhea's help monetarily, and his initial thought was to do the same here... but on the other hand if they kept taking injuries, even small ones...
"I mean, if you want to work together it's going to come up sooner or laterl."

To say Sanz was slow to trust another would be an understatement--but he had a sneaking suspicion that this girl didn't have any ulterior motives... and that if she did she would be really bad at trying to hide them. Sanz sat down at one of the tables nearby to continue the conversation.
"It looks like you were already looking at a quest."
 
"I mean, I can... but you guys can't go on this quest with me." Rhea said looking at them. She put the quest back on the board, "I mean, you just started yesterday, so I doubt you've leveled up to me." Rhea said.

"What do you mean?" Sage asked Rhea.

Rhea took out her guild card and held it up.

"Damn, level 12.." Sage said.

"In order to keep adventures from going anywhere too dangerous too low of a level, people can only go to quests that average the party's level. So.. at level 7. We can only go to a level 10 quest or bellow. W-which I don't mind!" Rhea said.

"I see, but the pay will still be good right?" Sage said with a grin, "And if we fight stronger enemies, we can gain experience faster?" Sage asked again.

"Well, yes. You can.. but I'm not a fighter." Rhea commented.
 
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Sanz walked up behind Sage before karate-chopping him on the top of his head. Not very hard... but hard enough to hurt.
"Before you get too excited about higher-level quests, I'd like to remind you that the wolves we fought yesterday were recommended for a level of five. Do you really want to go off and fight monsters for a recommended level of double that?"

The man took a long look at the job board. While Rhea was a higher level than them, it seemed like she was going to function as a support rather than a fighter. So while he and Sage would hopefully be less injured at the end of it, they would have the same attack ability as last time. Maybe there was something on the board that wasn't quite so combat-focused? But on the other hand they needed to fight in order to get stronger. The man decided that shooting for a quest between level 5 and 7 would probably be their best bet at success without too much trouble.

"There is something up here that's a level 6 quest. Looks like someone has a problem with..."
That couldn't be right--it had to be just bad hand-writing right?
"Slimes?"
 
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