"A quest?" Aya says listening to the old woman. A quest window pops up, alerting Aya just as the basic quest did the previous day.
[Beatrice has a quest for you, do you accept?]
[Yes/No]
Aya selects the yes button watching as the quest details pop up with more information.
[Quest
Beatrice wants you to forage some herbs in bloom forest for her.
***
Rewards
Health Potion Recipe (Common)
Roast Rabbit Recipe (Common)
????
***
Moon Points x500
Gold x2
EXP ????
***
Status: Limited Quest
Rank: D]
Aya wonders what the missing space could be but quickly forgets about it when she notices the two gold. Knowing how valuable it was, it surprises her to see it included in a quest that seems so beginner like. Another thing that caught her attention was the fact that this was a limited quest. A beginner area like Bloom Haven should have been cleared out by now.
Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, she hits the final confirmation button making Beatrice clap her hands in glee.
"Wonderful!" The old woman says. "Ever since my daughter left, no one has come by to help me pick herbs." Beatrice explains. Aya nods in understanding, she can't help but remember her frail old grandmother she loved so much.
"Of course, I'll help." Aya says. She opens the current quest tab again to read the instructs and finds that the description has changed to give more information about the NPC.
[Beatrice the herbalist is in need of some common herbs from the Bloom Forest, you will need to venture deeper into the forest to get these herbs]
Aya closes the tab.
"I think I can handle it no problem. Where is Bloom Forest though?" She asks, as far as she knew Bloom Meadow mostly had horned rabbits so she figures she would be fine if the area was similar.
"It's just past the Bloom Meadow dear." Beatrice replies. Aya nods.
"I'll be back with your herbs soon Beatrice."
The old woman claps her hands again, glad to finally have some help around the area.
"I really appreciate it, my girl. Be safe out there." She says. Aya's character nods. After bidding the woman farewell she runs towards the large entrance gates, greeting the guards as she does. Once again Aya finds herself in the Bloom Meadow.
On checking the quest one more time she begins her walk trying to find the new area.
"It's probably going to have new enemies." She says, walking through the lush green grass of the meadow. While walking Aya decides to take a moment to observe the beauty of the game.
Just like in real life, a gentle breeze flows through the area, ruffling the tall green grass and shaking butterflies into the air, around her little creatures scampered about while a bright blue spring sky soared above her. It was easy to see how much love and effort was put into the game, it all felt so life like even through a screen.
Her peace is interrupted when she's suddenly attacked by two horned rabbits she dispatches with ease.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Hm, this is getting easier." She says, watching Yvlena sheath her sword. She carries on, encountering a few more rabbit pairs on her way to Bloom Forest.
[Yvlena is now level 3]
The game tells her, Aya takes note of her increased strength and health points before closing the status window and moving on. After walking through a darker path Aya suddenly finds herself in a new area surrounded by tall trees which blocked out the sun with a thick canopy of emerald leaves, small streams of sunshine flow in through some patches in the leaves.
The title lets Aya know she's in Bloom Forest.
"Wow, it's so beautiful here." Aya says running deeper into the forest. Two rabbits assail her and Aya prepares to fight, she notices something different about these particular horned rabbits which causes her to pause and deeply examine them. Rather than white fur and a single horn atop their head like in the Bloom Meadow, these rabbits had grey fur and two horns putting them at a higher level than the previous ones she'd encountered.
The rabbits attack together, causing 12 damage to Aya's HP.
"What! Come on, just from those small rabbits?!" Aya growls, she grows nervous, biting her lip as she weighs her option. All of a sudden the enemy seemed so strong.
"Should I go back to the meadow and level up?" She says to herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have the skills of higher level adventurers who were able to discern a creature's level by looking at it, Aya could only guess they were about her level or a little higher.
Deciding to continue on she attacks, doing 11 damage to the rabbit to the enemy, unfortunately, she doesn't manage to kill it. The two rabbits attack again this time causing 13 damage to Aya's character.
Aya who's determined not to lose here, attacks again, hitting the same rabbit she previously dealt damage to. It dissolves into particles. The last rabbit casts a spell
[Horned Rabbit cast Carrot Shot]
The spell hits, doing 5 damage. Aya slashes again, landing a critical hit and one shotting the horned rabbit. It dissolves into particles and Aya can finally collect her reward.
[Yvlena Acquired
EXP: 50/110
***
Rabbit Fur x2
Rabbit Hyde x2
Rabbit Meat x7
Carrot x1
***
Moon Point x50]
"Carrot? Well I guess that makes sense, they're rabbits after all. I guess combined with meat I could make some sort of stew." Aya says. Checking her stats she finds that her HP had fallen. The rabbits had done a total of -30 to her and she would have to find a way to heal before she would be able to continue on with this tough quest.
"I guess the damage was worth it for the experience points, I could probably hit level 5 by the end of this quest." She says
[Use Potion?]
(20 HP will be restored)
[Yes/No]
Aya selects yes watching her health rise back up, the potion didn't fill it up completely but it was enough for now.
Pressing on with the quest, she continues her journey when suddenly she's attacked again by a new enemy. Recognizing the canine-like appearance and orange fur.
"A fox!"
The creature doesn't give her any time to think and attacks with force causing Aya to yelp and nearly jump out of her seat in fright at the sudden movement. The fox was fast, way faster than she expected from a beginner area. It deals 8 damage causing Aya to panic.
"This is so much harder than the meadow!" She laments. Steeling her resolve she attacks it head on, wanting to clear the enemy and get the EXP so she would be able to progress.
To her surprise she lands another critical hit, slaying the fox in one go.
[Yvlena Acquired
EXP: 68/110
***
Fox Pelt x1
Fire Stone (Low grade) x2
Fox Tail (Herb) x2
Fox Glove (Herb) x2
***
Moon Points x100]
"Look at this loot!" Aya says reading through it.
Another window pops up.
[Herbs Gathered
Fox Tail: 2/5
Bloom Lilies: 0/5
Star Root: 0/5
Luna Orchid: 0/5]
"The quest window? If only there was a way to know where to get each herb." She says. While walking through the forest once more she suddenly notices a glowing thicket of brightly colored flowers, Aya approach cautiously in case any enemies stood nearby.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Common Spice (Herb) x2
Fox Glove (Herb) x2
Fox Tail (Herb) x2]
"Fox tail is the easiest out of the bunch I guess." Aya says. The Herb quest window pops up again to tell her she had almost finished collecting all the Fox Tail required for the quest. "Now if only I can find the others." She grumbles.
Opening up the help menu, Aya looks for a guide to assist her with the task at hand. She clicks on the crafting section prompting an animation to play.
"Hello and welcome to the crafting guide, crafted items are a huge part of the Moon Valley experience. Items, recipes, and ingredients for crafting can be gotten from Chests, Foraging, and Monster drops! With these, you can fulfill quests and even create items for later use or sell them in our auction house. The possibilities are endless." The animation ends, leaving Aya with more questions.
She clicks on the Foraging guide.
"Foraging: gather resources and crafting materials from the wild. This is a general skill but only certain classes can truly make the most of it. Crafting/Production sub classes are able to unlock a Foraging skill tree that allows them to take their observation and appraisal to the next level." The guide says.
"Are you kidding me, that didn't answer any of my questions." Aya says growing annoyed with how vague the instructions were.
"Although difficult on PC, you can walk your character up to plants and try to pick them, one can also get special items to assist."
"They are shilling this VR to no end." Aya says quirking her lips in amusement. With the animation done Aya decides to try out the instructions given.
"So I just walk up to a plant?" She says, doing as the guide instructed. She notices a bush of flowers and immediately walks up to it. Her character Forages through and returns with a bunch of herbs for her.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Fox Tail (Herb) x2
Luna Orchid (Herb) x2
Bloom Lily (Herb) x2]
The quest window pops up again and Aya is pleased to see that she's gotten at least two of the four spots filled.
"Reminds me of when I used to pick flowers with Mom." She says. The elf girl goes around inspecting all the bushes she can find until she completed the Luna Orchids. Wondering where the rest of the flowers on the list were she then recalls she had to actually fight some monsters before she would be able to get some more things.
"Ugh, I wish someone could do the fighting for me while I picked the herbs." She says. "I'll look up some classes tomorrow maybe there's a class like that." With her stats, Aya didn't consider herself the strongest fighter but somehow she was managing.
"Just like in real life, I suppose. I should at least try to become powerful in a game if I can't do it out here." She laughs a bit, moving her character to search out some monsters for her to battle. It doesn't take long for her to encounter the same rabbits as before.
After beating them and two foxes, Aya receives another level up screen.
[Yvlena is now Level 4]
"I knew I would level up again." She checks her stats as usual and finds herself stronger both within the game and as she sits at her table playing. Leveling up reinvigorates her too.
"It's a bit strange, I feel so connected to Yvlena." Aya says. Checking the time she notices it's 11:30 pm, late enough that she feels the aches from work begin to affect her.
"I'll finish the quest tomorrow." She decides.
Aya yawns, lifting her hands above for a deep stretch. Her shoulders pop, relieving some of the aches she had picked up from work and slouching in front of her computer.
Logging off, she shuts down the PacBook, closes the lid, and rises from the table to climb into her bed.
Hopefully, she would get a good night's rest