Sword Art Online-Encroaching Shadows

Chapter 2

Dec 1st, 2022

Character creation had been a headache to say the least. Sword Art Online boasted a skill list that seemed to stretch into eternity. Upon first creating your character you were afforded two base slots. A third was unlocked at level 6, another at 12, then 20, and finally every 10 levels after that. You could change skills at any time, but the penalty was that you would lose all progress on the skill you chose to drop in favor of another. In essence it was important to stick with what you chose and work towards unlocking further slots to increase your skill range. This was even more important now that the game had become deadly.

Jayce looked over the two he had settled on when he first began. <<One handed swords>> and <<Mixing>> were the two he chose. All skills gained experience through use beginning at 0 and working all the way up to 1000. Along the way new attacks were learned for weapons, or recipes in the case of crafting skills. It was just one more reason why dropping a skill was a serious matter. Starting over was a setback that could take large amounts of time to recover from.

He set the small glass vial down on the desk and looked at its contents closely. After setting the crude looking <<Beginner Mortar and Pestle>> down he touched the vial with his finger bringing up the item details window. The blackish blue liquid inside had settled and remained motionless as he inspected the <<Lvl. 1 Contact Poison>> carefully. Arranged further along the table were a few other vials of different colored liquids.

The <<Mixing>> skill allowed for the crafting of potions, tonics, elixirs, and on a more aggressive side, poisons. It was a skill that Jayce had always enjoyed in other games although it usually was called <<Alchemy>> or something similar. Potions were always an in demand item for all levels and more than once he had made a fortune off the craft. That had been the plan when he first created this character. Now that things had changed he spent the morning hunting the creatures outside the Town of Beginnings and his afternoons collecting plants and sorting through materials the creatures dropped on death.

At this stage in the game the recipes he had access to were very few. He could only create the most basic of potions and poisons which in the grand scheme of things did not add up too much. What it did provide, however, was valuable experience to the skill line which would allow more effective concoctions. Unfortunately, with higher level recipes meant higher material requirements. Materials that could only be found in higher level environments or off more dangerous creatures.

With a long sigh, Jayce gathered the vials and equipped them to the open slots on his belt. After a few moments to prepare himself mentally he turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind him. He had already paid the innkeeper for the night so there was no danger of anyone taking the room while he was gone. The <<system>> prevented such things from happening so it was one less thing to worry about.

He descended the stairs onto the landing at the bottom that opened into the main tavern section of the first floor. Numerous tables were scattered throughout the establishment lit by the soft glow of candles and a hearth burning in the center. It reminded him that back home it was December and as if on instinct he pulled his cloak a little tighter around his body. NPC patrons chatted idly on specific speech patterns meant to emulate a social atmosphere. A number of players also sat at tables together perhaps discussing their day, or the more common, reminiscing about the real world.

Jayce walked quietly along the wall until he reached the door of the inn and opened it, exiting out into the night of the Town of Beginnings. Already his heart was beginning to speed up. Right about now he should be locked up in his room trying to sleep. Content that he had survived just one more day. Tonight was different, however. He pulled a small book out of his inventory and flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. A detailed description including pictures of a plant called <<Amberthorn>>.