Episode 8 - Baking And Breaking
Episode 8 - Baking And Breaking
Ninth day in the Month of Cypress (November 9) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Medai
Sunset's alarm woke her up. She had slept straight through the night and felt rested. Mostly. It was more like she had blinked, closing her eyes as she laid down and opening them to the alarm. She figured the fatigue she felt was going to be a constant, at least for a while. A simple side effect of their stressful situation, to frame their quandary lightly.
"How did you sleep‽" Konpeito immediately asked.
"A little loud for this early in the morning," Bladescape replied with a groan. "But I slept well. Ready to go. You?" She regretted that question. It was a common courtesy, but Pinkie Pie was not known for making good small talk and Konpeito had already proven to have the same issue. It was a loaded question to ask her.
"Well, for the most part, I was skipping through the candy apple forest, but then the marshmallow peeps swooped in and took me to the dark chocolate witch. I had to fight my way out of her clutches with nothing but a straw and cup lid! I woke up right as I escaped."
Bladescape saw Diemond shrug, unsure how to help Bladescape.
"I calculated our projected leveling," Knightstar stated from the table she was sitting at. Most, if not all, of the inn rooms came with a table and two chairs in the room.
"Good," Bladescape nodded. "I would love to see that, but after breakfast."
"That I can agree with," Knightstar nodded.
They met the others, who were also exiting their room at the same time, and they went to the tavern for a simple meal.
Bladescape looked over the data Knightstar had compiled. Natora took a look afterwards.
"How high did you get in levels during the beta?" Knightstar asked Natora.
Natora shrugged. "It was only out for a month and I didn’t dive like some of the others, but over that time, I only made it to level ten. Ten was a push. I played plenty, but I didn't do any serious level grinding. So far, we have been more efficient in that regard. I doubt we can stay more than another day in the area without losing our momentum, so we should look for more quests and then head out to fight the goblins."
"Statistically speaking, I agree," Knightstar replied.
"Then we know what to do," Bladescape said. "Knightstar, take Diemond with you. I'll be in charge of Konpeito. You four can split up how you think is best."
"As much as I would like to follow that plan, I think we need to adjust parties again," Natora said. "I’m the most vulnerable, as well as Thunderborne. I should take Diemond and Knightstar, you can take Malus and Doom. That gives us a tank, a shield, and two damage dealers. You and Konpeito should be able to handle things with just Malus for a shield."
"That is logical," Bladescape said with a nod. She swiped up her menu, and ended her party. They set up the new parties and departed.
Bladescape and Konpeito entered the bakery, looking for any form of quests or work. They found one, but it was a cooking quest. Konpeito accepted the quest without thinking and skipped into the back to help the baker fill his orders.
Bladescape sighed and sat down on a chair in the front. She pulled out her book of memories and began to thumb through them. As she read them, they were helping her to remember the lessons she had been taught. Outside of her initial examination, she hadn't had an ounce of privacy. She didn't want the others to know about her memories. They would worry in the wrong way. She wasn't crippled and she had the answers in her hand and head.
The bell chimed as the door was opened. Bladescape looked up from her book to see her friends. She quickly slipped it under her leg before they could catch her reading it.
"Told y'all they would be here," Malus taunted.
"Yeah, yeah," Thunderborne griped. Thunderborne handed over a few pieces in col for losing the bet.
"I assume by the lack of Konpeito, that you found something?" Natora asked.
"A baking one," Bladescape explained. "Help the baker essentially. Konpeito is putting her skill to good use, but I'm not able to do anything. I also don't want to leave her unattended."
"Why don't I stay and watch over her, while you go out with the others?" Doombunny offered.
"Level grinding is often referred to as hunting,” Natora absentmindedly stated. “Because we are, well, hunting the monsters."
Bladescape stood up, keeping the book pinned on her thigh, blocked from view. "Sure, that sounds good. Konpeito is looked after and we continue to move forward in our levels." It was easy to be last and stash her Book of Memories back in her menu without the others noticing.
They headed east and quickly found more goblins. The fighting was fast and fierce. Bladescape found herself needing Malus' shield most of the time. They hadn't condensed their parties after the split, but the six of them were staying together. Weapon Defense was a great skill, but it was not the same as a shield. It worked in a pinch, but it was an active defense you had to set up. A shield was passive, you just had to keep it in between you and the enemy.
Killing the goblins quickly became routine. They had seen the handful of attacks the goblin AIs had, so their tactics reflected that. They were quickly learning to read how the AI would attack by the goblin's starting position. Switching became easier too.
Bladescape switched, cutting a red path along a goblin’s shoulder as it uselessly rammed its spear into Malus' shield. Malus swung her hammer, triggering a skill, and knocked off the last of its HP.
Bladescape was on the far flank, exposed, as a goblin charged her. She triggered a Weapon Defense skill and blocked its sword. As she triggered Horizontal, her mind slipped to the crappy iron sword it had in its hand. That was where the skill was released to — the sword. It connected and the sword shattered from the blow. Bladescape immediately set up a downward cut before she entered the delay. It sliced open the goblin. Malus finished it off.
Chaining sword skills was a difficult thing to do, and risky. As long as the initial motion was started before the delay kicked in, the skill would trigger. With their limited number of attacks, each having a very different starting point, it wasn't easy to get the weapon into position before the delay froze them. It also left them in a longer delay, a steeper penalty for chaining the skills.
Bladescape wasn’t sure if the others noticed that she had shattered the sword. She would keep it quiet for now and look at other ways to exploit weak points. Eliminating an enemy’s weapon could be useful, but it wasn’t the right time to throw another thing onto the pile to learn. Bladescape would see if it panned out before trying to teach the others.
They stayed in combat for a little while longer. It didn’t allow them to get their drop screens until their next break. As the last goblin in the area was abolished, the fanfare played as both Knightstar and Bladescape leveled up.
“What gives?” Thunderborne asked, looking at her menu. “Why didn’t I level up with you guys?”
Knightstar had an immediate explanation. “That is because while we have been staying as a group, we have been in two different parties. I completed the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest which gave me XP, but no one else. We have changed up party compositions over the past few days, but even if we hadn’t, each party isn’t necessarily killing the same number of monsters as the other is. It isn’t equal. In fact, an MMORPG is primarily fueled by that inequality, which drives players to strive to become better than the others. Without it, there would be no interest in the game, no matter how amazing the world, story, or mechanics was. Our XP levels are not that different and it certainly won’t change our performance.”
The fanfare played as Malus leveled up. “I didn’t do nothin,” Malus said, hands up in innocence. “Y’all saw that, right?”
“You didn’t, but Konpeito is in your party,” Knightstar explained. “Parties share XP. I postulate that it will be rare for us to be split up like we are; half a party involved in a quest, while the other half is out in the field, hunting. It seems like she is either done, or just finished a specific task.”
Bladescape was looking at her stats while she listened to Knightstar’s explanations. She was already feeling her competitive side being ignited by the fact that she was a level above Thunderborne, one of her most competitive friends. They were sliding from survival to living, which meant she could get competitive so long as it didn’t threaten to hurt them as a group. Bladescape glanced at her skills to see how competitive she could get. Several more had been unlocked, including Two-Handed Sword. For now, it didn’t matter because she didn’t have a weapon to use. Hopefully Medai would have one in their shop.
“We should consider improving our gear,” Bladescape said. “Several members just added new equipment skills, and currently, their equipment doesn’t reflect that.”
“We are bringing in a decent amount of Col,” Natora said, thinking. “We have to be careful, smart about our finances, but that does mean we need to be well equipped so we can hunt in more lucrative locations, which often means stronger enemies, and proper gear is important to staying out in the field longer and reducing potion use. I am concerned about upgrading some of our weapons, specifically if we are going to be switching weapon Skills soon.”
“Not to make a fuss over anything,” Diemond said, pausing to make sure she worded things correctly. “Well, I need gear, that isn’t negotiable, but I also need materials to level up sewing. We are not a guild yet, and even if we were, I don’t know how it would work financially, for funding projects, or contributing our drops.”
“The best method is what you get is yours,” Natora said. “Honesty is appreciated, but the fact is, none of us can see what the others got in the drops unless we are physically peeking over their shoulder. When we get to the bosses, things get interesting. You will start to get weapons and other big items dropped.
“From what I understand, guilds will automatically skim some of the col earned in drops by the members, so that the guild can make larger purchases like housing and such. Yeah, we should maximize what we sell through my skill, but I will give that sale back to you. Buy the weapons or items you need to get your job done, fighting or crafting. We all will end up with something outside combat that we do and spend our excess col on.
“Blade, your thoughts?”
Bladescape looked at Natora. She was half surprised she was asked, but then not. She had taken charge, and had the plan, even when Natora knew more. Bladescape looked at the others.
She nodded slowly. “Friends stick together and help each other, but we don’t get to determine the drops we get. The game engine deciding is more or less random. There are more factors than what we do behind the scenes in the coding. I’m sure we will go hunting for crafting materials for a specific member, and of course then we will be giving them those materials, but for the regular day to day, you get it dropped, it's yours. No need to do anything about it. We don’t know what you got and we shouldn’t ever pressure anyone to declare their drops.
“Yeah, if you start using a new piece of equipment we will know. If you want to share, share, because rare items are cause for celebration and we are friends, we should be building each other up, not getting jealous. But there shouldn’t be an obligation to report your drops, especially if we know someone, or multiple people, will struggle at not getting lucky.
“But our goal isn’t items, it’s XP. You maintain your gear, you upgrade as you want, but even as a guild, I don’t see why the guild should pay for those. I doubt we will make that much as a guild. From the games I have played, more or less you get the same thing as everyone else, even the MMORPGs. The probability that anything we are hunting will have something valuable or rare is low."
"You never know," Natora said. "But I would agree. These guys have nothing special. The col they drop is the best thing."
"Well, we may not officially be a guild, but should we be pitching anything in now?” Diemond asked. "To one of us as the treasurer?"
"Not yet," Bladescape said. "We barely have any cash coming in as it is. We are sparingly using it for lodging and food, and risking it with equipment, maintenance, and potions, but until we can create a guild...well we need to focus on our individual performances and upgrades first. Besides, if for some reason, we don't become a guild, I would rather not have to go through the books to redistribute the funds. I don't think that will happen, because I know you all, but if something bad happens...well until we are official, we should not be worried about it at all."
"Blade, have you checked your skills list?" Natora asked.
"Yes," Bladescape nodded. "I did right after my level up."
"What about you, Thunder?" Natora asked.
"Uh, no," Thunder said. "I didn't level up. Thanks for rubbing it in."
Natora rolled her eyes. "Thunder, you were also increasing your One-Handed Sword Skill, even without making it to a new level. They are separate factors and scales. You can't be much further behind me."
"So what?" Thunder asked as she swiped her menu up.
"I think you have Rapier unlocked," Natora stated.
"Oh," was all Thunderborne replied. She definitely did.
"Like I said," Bladescape said. "When we are done for the day, we need to look at equipment upgrades."
Goblins respawned around them, ending any further talks. The others leveled up soon after. By the end of the day, they were all solidly on their way to Level 8.
Back in Medai, they headed to the bakery. Inside, they found a bored Doombunny sitting on a chair.
"Is she still baking?" Knightstar asked, voicing all of their surprise.
Doombunny shrugged. "At some point, the quest ended, but it allowed her to use his kitchen, so she has been in a baking fury since then. I leveled up though and I know I heard her level up as well."
"Good," Bladescape nodded. "Malus, as the strongest of us, would you please drag, or carry, Konpeito to the general store as soon as possible."
"Roger that," Malus said with a nod and a grin.
"Come on, Doom," Bladescape said, extending her hand to her sitting friend. "Let's go look at equipment that might be relevant to you. We all are going to be looking at upgrades."
In the shop, they had a two-handed sword. It was significantly better than her starter sword, but that was no surprise since it was a different weapon class. It was a nameless iron claymore. Bladescape also found a dull red wool shirt that had higher stats than her starter shirt. She bought them both, along with new boots and leather gloves to replace her cotton ones. It was a nice bump in her defensive stats. Her starter breastplate and brown half coat were still usable.
The others pitched in to help Konpeito and Doombunny get upgraded. It had cost them, but everyone was in their weapon and armor classes and the best they had available. Knightstar, Diemond, and Malus now had chainmail shirts to go with their leather jackets. The rest got the same wool shirts, but in different colors. Natora took orange, Doombunny got a navy blue, Thunderborne chose a lighter blue, and Konpeito chose a green shirt. Tan and black were the colors they didn’t choose.
Natora and Thunderborne also got weapons. Thankfully, once a Skill was unlocked, it couldn't be lost. Removing their starter weapon Skill meant they restarted at 0 for their respective weapon Skill, but they could switch to the newly unlocked one without needing a free Skill slot.
Konpeito hadn't unlocked Two-Handed Axe yet, since she had spent the day baking, but she bought one anyway in preparation. At most it would only take her a day of fighting to unlock it. Cooking had apparently been raised a good amount over the day.
The upgrades left them with very little cash. Diemond bought what she could, but it wasn't much. It was a bolt of cloth and more thread. She made several shirts out of it. Nothing she would ever let anyone wear.
Dinner was fresh bread that Konpeito had baked, as well as cheese and a round of cheap ale.
"Unless more players come here overnight, I think another day here is wise," Natora said while they ate. It was an open statement, but Bladescape knew it was directed at her.
"I agree," Bladescape nodded. "Another day fighting goblins. Besides, Doombunny has a new and untested knife. She should try it out. I'm sure she will notice a difference."
"Okay," Doombunny agreed. "I'll try it. I'll do my best, for Angel and the others who are missing me. All I thought about today was them. I am willing to fight to see them again."
It sounded good, but Bladescape heard the slight quiver in her friend's declaration. She was scared. Then again, so was Bladescape. They all should be afraid. Fear was natural. Being crippled by fear was a problem, but fear helped keep you alive.
At bedtime, Bladescape took the floor. It was a lot better with the sleeping bags. They had a decent amount of padding. For the bed, Malus was tired from the hard work as a tank, and Doombunny was better off with a comfortable bed to curb her anxiety. Konpeito could likely sleep anywhere and had no problem claiming a spot on the floor.
BLADESCAPE: Level 7 — One-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense
NATORA: Level 7 — One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiations
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 7 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor
MALUS: Level 7 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor
THUNDERBORNE: Level 7 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint — Acrobatics
KONPEITO: Level 7 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense
DIEMOND: Level 7 — Mace — Shield — Sewing
DOOMBUNNY: Level 7 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit
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Interesting that you cannot see what drops party members get. In most settings I would agree that the guild should not be responsible for the equipment of individual members, especially with a personal loot system.
However, this is a life or dead situation and everyone getting out depends on clearing the game. I'd argue that making sure the raiders are as well prepared as possible, via levels, equipment, consumables and whatever else might give them an edge, should be one of the main priorities of the guild.
11585978
Life and death does not stop egos. None of them are getting anything special or abnormal at this point. They will celebrate what they need to, but the important part is minimum standards for equipment. The thing about SAO is that, specifically later on, you can put the same materials into the forge to make the same weapon, back to back, and it will not only come out with a different name, but different stats. Similar, but not the same. The higher tier items become one of a kind. You're basically splitting hairs at that point, so not worth it.
A good amount of progress on the skills front. I wonder who will be the first to get a named item?
11586049
You will have to wait to find out!
At least they know about this now and not at a later date.
She wasn't trying to be rude Thunder.
11586152
Sassy RBD/Thunder is fun!
The border is glitched
11591304
Thanks. I'll have to fix it.
They're making plans to save up and get better equipment for the long haul.
11595108
Yes, lots of strategic planning. For survival. lol