Mari stepped through and entered the second floor, and appeared at the top of the Peak. With a steadying breath, Mari took out her notebook and sacrificed 500 credits to begin the recording of the Lore.
The familiar scroll and quill appeared, though it was now empty, With a deep breath she started to read aloud.
"In the aftermath of the Heart's destruction, the once balanced ecosystem of the Forests was shattered. Each fragment of the Forest Heart embodied the essence of a different season, Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall.
The Summer fragment radiated the hazy heat of the sun and was vibrant with life and energy, but without its other parts, the power struggled to find balance and burned too bright.
The Winter fragment, encased in ice and frost, held the chilling ache of solitude, longing for warmth to thaw and return to a whole.
The Spring fragment, bright with blossoms pulsed with the promise of new beginnings and growth, though it too was unstable and yearned for a return to stability amidst the cycles of life it presided over.
The Fall fragment, cloaked in the colors of fading leaves and gentle winds, found no more piece in tales of nostalgia and acceptance, it sought the harmony it remembered from when it was whole.
The only way to free the star and restore the heart is to gather each fragment and bring them to the Peak, there as night falls the stars still in the sky shall gather their power and restore the land to what it should be, and free their fellow star."
The second she finished a bright light blinded her, it took several blind moments of panicked blinking for her to regain her sight, and when she did she was once again startled by how alive the world around her now appeared.
Mari twirled around slowly, from the top of the Peak she was able to see most of the ocean and all four of the season islands. A loud moaning song reached her ears and Mari ran to the edge to look down at the water.
A large Serene Leviathon leaped from the water, and when it crashed back down a titanic wave splashed sending the smell of saltwater all the way up to Mari. She couldn't help but laugh in awe, back on earth she had only seen whales on video, but she imagined it was a similar experience of awe.
Once back in her workshop, Mari got her reward for finishing her lore quest, an additional 600 credits, which made up for the sacrifice of making it. Flipping open her notebook she checked the corresponding bullet point off and decided to check out the Inhabitants tab next.
Characters!
+Quest Givers
+Inhabitants
+Customization
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Clicking on Inhabitants pulled up a new screen with several new options to explore.
Inhabitant Base Form
* Humanoid - 1000 credits
* Hybrid - half of both original base forms
* Creature - 500 credits
* Elemental - 700 credits
Current Credits: 1,090c
Mari wanted to know more before she moved on, either way, she didn't have enough credits to make both an Inhabitant and the other quests on her to-do list. It would be smarter to do the other quests first, save up credits, and then make an Inhabitant.
Mari checked off the Inhabitants bullet point in her notebook then returned to the Characters screen and selected Quest Givers. On the first floor, she had gone with Customization, but she was curious about what was offered on the premade Quest Givers tab.
Quest Givers
+ Floor 1 Aesthetic
+ Floor 2 Aesthetic
Mari frowned in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean," She sighed and clicked on Floor 2 Aesthetic.
Floor 2 Aesthetic
* Quest Givers are randomly generated based on the current aesthetic of floor 2.
* Water Sprite: A tiny being made from pure water magic, looks like a glowing blue orb of water. Mischievous, playful. Quest: Find the 4 Heart Pieces, and bring them to the Peak. Reward: Basic Enchanted Sheild: A metal shield with a slight Water affinity +2% to Water magic -15c
* Sea Ghost: A ghostly aspiration of a drowned male sailor. Solemn, Serious. Quest: Find the 4 Heart Pieces, and bring them to the Peak. Reward: Basic Enchanted Sheild: A metal shield with a slight Water affinity +2% to Water magic -15c
Mari hummed as she thought it over, in the end, she went with the Water Sprite, it fits better with what she was building the floor into.
As Mari marked the Warrior's Quest as finished in her notebook she checked her current count of credits.
1175 credits, still not quite as many as she wanted to have to start experimenting with the Inhabitants but the other quests would end up costing too much so she returned to the Inhabitants tab and looked over her option one more time.
Inhabitant Base Form
* Humanoid - 1000 credits
* Hybrid - half of both original base forms
* Creature - 500 credits
* Elemental - 600 credits
Current Credits: 1,175c
Mari really, really, wanted to make a mermaid, and that would probably mean selecting hybrid and paying 500 credits for the humanoid base and either 250 for a sea Creature base or 300 for an Elemental base.
Mari groaned and forcibly clicked on Hybrid, a new screen appeared with three mini boxes. The other three bases were listed on the upper right and she quickly caught on to what she had to do.
She dragged the Humanoide option over to the left box and watched as the center gained a grey genderless Humanoide figure. Mari's eyes shot over to her credit count and sighed in relief when it was still 1,175 credits, that meant she could play around with the different options till she landed on the form she wanted and then pay at the end.
With the humanoid base chosen, Mari decided to experiment with the Creature base next. Clicking on Creature opened a list of all the basic creatures she had unlocked, scrolling through she decided to start with a Scorpionfish because of their venomous spines and unique colors.