Denas Adventuring Journal

Before we start, I'd like to clarify that I shall be writing as if this were an actual journal of my in game character. Expect to see plenty of quests and role-playing as I write about his adventures and impressions on the Maple World and its inhabitants.

Now without further delay, let's begin.

Spoiler: Entry #1

Today I finally arrived on Victoria Island.
I spent half of my time on the ship thinking about what I left behind and the other half thinking about what path should I thread. I always wanted to play with magic, but also dreamt of vanquishing evil with a sword.
In the end, however, I choose the path of the bowman, for I posses excelent sight, a steady hand and I value accuracy over raw power, what good is the power to shatter boulders if you can't hit your adversaries with it?
I hurried to Henesys as soon as I disembarked.

Arriving at Henesys, I went straight to meet Athena Pierce.
She said I had potential, gave me a bow and taught me the fundamentals of being an archer. Then she requested me to leave the city and hunt some Slimes, in order for me to master the skills she taught me in actual combat.
With bow in hand, I left eager to prove my worth.


On my way towards the eastern hills, I was approached by a scientist named Bruce.
He requested some mushrooms spores and caps, it was a bit sudden but I thought they would be on the area, thus I accepted his request.


When I arrived at the hills, I could see several slimes scattered about and a few Shrooms as well. I fulfilled the Slime quota and immediatly reported back to Athena, only for her to ask me to hunt even more Slimes again and again...
But the training bore fruit, I even managed to accurately fire two bolts at the same time.


At least for the final training session, Athena had me hunt some Ribbon Pigs for a change.


As I returned to Henesys once more, Bruce came asking for a update on his request.
Embarassed, I admitted I had forgotten. But promised to collect his items, right after my report to Athena.


I headed west of Henesys and hunted Orange Mushrooms until I had enough caps.


And at last, delivered them to Bruce, whom was so happy he almost forgot to pay me.
Or maybe he was just messing with me...


I plan on fufilling more requests from the people at Henesys, before moving on to the next town. But I can't help wondering where should I go next...

 

Spoiler: Entry #2

Today was quite the workout.
It all began when I heard people talking about a sick woman named Maya seeking some weird medicine.
As a good adventurer, I sought her out and offered my aid.

There she told me about her condition, how she tried many medicines to no avail and her hopes that this weird medicine might help her recover.
When I asked where one could find such medicine, she told me to seek a sailor named Teo at Lith Harbor.
I was surprised to learn that the medicine name is literally Weird Medicine.
Off I trotted to Lith Harbor.


Finding Teo was easier than I thought, getting him to hand over the medicine however...
At first he was saddened to hear about Maya's sickness, he spoke as someone who knew Maya for a long time.
Even so he was not willing to give the medicine away.
He had me go to Perion, have Sophia make a sparkling rock and bring it back to him.
I would not want this guy as a friend.

Arriving at Perion, I went to meet Sophia.
I asked her to make a sparkling rock and she gave me quite the list of necessary materials...
Of course it would not be so simple...


I climbed to one of the tallest points in Perion to meet Manji.
When I asked about the Arcon's Blood, he replied with scorn.
But at least he gave me a chance, should I prove my worth by slaying 40 Zombie Mushrooms and returning with their charms, he would give me the Blood without a second thought.
I shall leave it for last.

When she heard I would be hunting nearby, Ayan, a girl adopted by the locals, approached me with a request.


And so did Blackbull.


Thus I headed east, to fufill both requests and gather the leaves Sophia needed.

The Stumps were tough, but slow.
Perfect for target pratice.
I tried to pinpoint their weak spots and managed to score a bullseye occasionally.


As I hunted I spotted a mysterious sword stuck on a rock.
After a couple minutes staring, I attempted to take it out, to no avail.
After staring at it for a few more minutes, I resumed my hunting.


After a while I had everything I needed.
Thus I returned to Perion and told Ayan the Stumps were gone.


And handed over the materials to Blackbull.
He rewarded me with a shield.
I have no use for a shield, but I suppose I could sell it... Somewhere far from Perion...


Back to Sophia's list.
I had the leaves, next item on the list were octopus legs...
How does one produces a sparkling rock??
Well, I suppose it's not for me to know...
I heard that Octopus gather on Kerning outskirts, so I marched there, tracked the Octopuses and hunted them until I gathered enough legs.


Then I had to gather the squishy liquid.
I knew where to find Slimes.
I returned to Henesys, but as soon as Bruce spotted he excitedly approached me.
He revealed that long ago, he and his daughter were attacked by a huge mushroom monster and were separated.
Bruce then said that part of the reason of his research on mushrooms was to undestand what happened that day and hopefully locate his daughter.
Recently his assistant reported seeing at Perion a girl, whom not only resembled Bruce's daughter, but also lost her memory.
The girl in question was Ayan, when I told him I knew her Bruce's begged me to deliver her toy sword, hoping it would help her remember.
It would be heartless to refuse, besides I would later return to Perion anyway.


Thereafter I hunted Slimes until I had 5 liters of squishy liquid.
It was satisfactory seeing them fall so much easier than last time.
I am indeed growing stronger.

Then it was time to head over to Sleepywood.
I knew Sleepywood was a dangerous place, so I bought up some supplies.
What I did not expect, was to find the laziest guard guarding such a dangerous place.
He wanted a salad, some Stirge wings and several Jr. Necki skins to make a healthy dish to his mom.
Just what kind of dish is that?!
I said I would do it for him, if he made it worth my while, he complied.


I decided to take care of Luke's request first.
But things did not go as planned.
I had a hard time trying to aim at the Jr. Necki, as they are so fast and small.
Their habitat is a bad place to hunt with ranged weapons.
Seems I still have much to learn.
Luke's request had to wait.


The downside of being an archer is that you cannot shot at point-blank range.
The Zombies were resilient and gathered in large groups.
I had to use the terrain in my favor and pick isolated targets one by one.
It took some time, but in the end I gathered the 40 charms.


Triumphant, I show the charms to Manji.
He admitted having underestimated me and gave me fufilled his promise.
At first I thought of Manji as a jerk, but he's got honor.


Then I gave all the materials to Sophia.
She was surprised that I actually gathered it all.
But she needed some time to work on it.

In the meantime I searched for Ayan.
I said her father was looking for her, she did not believe until a showed her toy sword.
Then all her memories came back, she anxiously wrote a letter and requested me to deliver it to her father.


I returned to Sophia.
She had just finished.
Finally my odyssey is at an end.


Back to Lith Harbor, I spotted Teo where I last saw him.
As soon as he laid eyes on the stone, he was willing and eager to make the trade.
For his sake, this medicine better work.


At last, I was back at Henesys.
On the way to Maya's house, I meet Bruce and gave him Ayan's letter.
He was thrilled as he read the letter, then he offered some money along with his eternal grattitude.
After that he began to pack his stuff, to meet his daughter.
I never saw a man so happy in my entire life.


At long last I returned to Maya with the medicine in hand.
She was surprised that I got the medicine, especially after I told her my odyssey.
I gave her the medicine and she gave me a fair reward.
I hope this medicine works, otherwise Teo is gonna hear of it.


Whew, I'm exhausted.
Being an adventurer is hard work, but it is definetly worth it.

 

Spoiler: Entry #3

Before venturing through more dangerous places, I should visit every major hub of Victoria Island.
From Henesys, I went eastward until I rached the harbor of the ship (or would it be a submarine?) known as Nautilus.

As soon as I reached the harbor, I saw a pirate name Abel crawling on the ground.
When I asked him about it, he claimed to be looking for his glasses and that he is "legally blind" without them.
I offered my help, he told me to look next to the watchtower, for his colleague Bart probably took them.


While the glasses were not in plain sight, I did not expect to find them on the first bush I searched.
Then I returned the glasses to Abel.
He pratically transformed whe he put the glasses on, I did not think glasses could make such an impact on one's appearance.
Then he thanked, as now he could go fishing.


Afterwards, I entered the Nautilus and began exploring the ship/submarine.
The Nautilus is much larger than one could guess by looking on the outside.
When I descended into the lower corridor, I immediatly noticed the floor was flooded up to the knees!
Was the ship sinking?! For a second I panicked, then I noticed the water wasn't rising.
Still it was worrying, I looked around and I found several patched holes and a pirate named Bonnie struggling to hold them!


Even more shocking was the huge shark stuck to the wall!


However, amid all that chaos, a certain pirate named Baine, seemed to be more concerned about listening to a noise in the wall.
When I approached him, he asked me to use a stethoscope to listen to a strange noise on the wall.
I said it was probably the shark stuck to the wall right next to us, but he insisted it was something entirely different.
Sighing, I listened with the stethoscope and as a matter of fact there was a noise unlike anything I have heard so far, it was hard to describe.
The noise had me so unsettled, that I forgot about the issues on the lower corridor and agreed to help Baine investigate it.

First he had me ask Bart if he saw anything strange.
And turns out he did.
He gave me a log with a detailed report of what he saw.
Turns out Bart is more disciplined than he looks.


I rushed to Baine and gave him Bart's daily log.
He muttered something about a spy of the black magician, I had forgotten just how supertitious pirates are.
Then Baine said he needed evidence in order to report the situation to Captain Kyrin or Muirhat and once more, requested my aid.


Off I went to hunt pigs and snails in a vain attempt to aquire evidence...
And guess what?
One of the snails indeed dropped a suspicious token.


But still, it is probably a prankster mage passing off as the Black Mage.
After all, if the Black Mage existed he could summon much more powerfull spies while leaving no trace behind. And unless the Nautilus has some arcane treasure, I think his attention would be elsewhere.

I presented the token to Baine, now he is adamant about the Black Mage.
He filed a report and asked me to deliver it to Muirhat, stating that since I did most of the work I deserved most of the credit.
At least we agree on this part.


Thus I tracked Muirhat and delivered Baine's report to him.
He seemed to be more down-to-earth than his fellow pirates, however he too believed the Black Mage was behind this incident...
He asked me to take care of the spy and so I departed to the spy supposed hideout.


Surprisingly, it did not take long for me to find the culprit.
And it indeed looked like a spawn of darkness.
However it fell way to easy to have been a spawn of the Black Mage.


Then I reported back to Muirhat.
He praised me more than I thought he would and told all the pirates onboard about my deed.


The pirates partied in my name and called me The Hero of the Nautilus.
However I do not feel like a true hero.
A true hero... I wonder what makes one a hero?
Is a hero a savior or a destroyer?
Was I called a hero because I saved the Nautilus or because I destroyed a creature of darkness?

 

Spoiler: Entry #4

The following morning.
I was about to depart from the Nautilus, when I heard Mrs. Reade complaining about not being able to clean the Nautilus.
Since I was the reason of yersterday party, I felt I should offer my aid and so I did.
She grinned and said would be most grateful if I could gather ribbons from Ribbon Pigs.
Off I went to the pig farm, hunt pigs again.
From now on, I shall stockpile certain items, instead of selling them outright.


Some time later.
I had Mrs. Reade supples in hand.
I gave her the ribbons, and went on my way.

But then, I heard some ranting from the kitchen.
As I entered to investigate, I spotted a shark roasting in a huge oven!


And a talking panda dressed as a chef, rambling about pigs having raided the kitchen!
A talking panda working on a kitchen is definetly not something I was expecting to see on my journey,
Then I spoke to him and he introduced himself as Tangyoon, apparently he came from a far-off land called Mu Lung, ought to make a note of visiting that place someday.
He explained that yersterday some pigs snuck into the Nautilus and ate their supplies and asked me to teach them a lesson.
The same crew that spotted a "spy of the Black Mage" allowed a bunch of pigs to enter their ship/submarine and eat their food, peharps they were all drunk from yersterday party.
Off I went to hunt pigs once more...


Once the deed was done, I let Tangyoon know.
He was impressed with how fast I did it, saying I am more experienced than I look.
I certainly have experience in hunting pigs...


Afterwards I made my way to Ellinia the town of magic.
Ellinia is different from everything I have seen so far, the entire town consist of several houses, built on gargantuan trees, connected trough branches, platforms, bridges and ropes. The whole place "smelled" of magic, no wonder it is the training grounds of the magicians.
As soon as I arrived, one of the fairies called out to me.
Her name was Wing, she wanted me to gather some ingredients for a potion of some sort.
I already expected to meet some unpleasant people on my journey, but I did not expect that a fairy would be among them.


At least she stayed true to her word and paid me well.
I hoped helping her would improve her attitude, but I suppose it was too much to ask...


Another fairy, Arwen, also requested my aid.
She wished to leave Ellinia without fear of being ambushed by Green Mushrooms.
She promised to pay me with a rare valuable item.
Worth noting that Arwen is much kinder than Wing.


Thus I departed to the depths of the forest.
Off to hunt as many Green Mushrooms as I could find.


Once the Mushrooms were nowhere to be found, I returned to Arwen.
She was most grateful and rewarded me with a piece of ice that never melts.
Arwen claimed it was a very special item for fairies.
I suppose it takes powerfull magic to make ice that never melts.
Even though I have no use for it now, it might come in handy some day.
I shall hold onto it.

Then I headed north, on route to Perion.
On my way I meet an archeologist named Winston, whom seemed concerned.
When I offered to help, he eagerly accepted.
Winston had 2 requests: To recover the fossils some monsters stole from him and to gather seedlings from Ghost Stumps.


Getting those tasks done took some time.
And once I finished, Winston then asked me to deliver the fossils to Dr. Betty at Ellinia.
Off I set to Ellinia once more...


As soon as I arrived at Ellinia, once more.
I found Dr. Betty and gave her the letter and the Fossil Box.
Then she requested me to gather some plant fossils.
It was easy, but boring.
But then, she had one more request.


I was hoping this time I would be doing something fun.
However Betty asked me to go all the way back to her home, on the outskirts of Henesys, to pick up a Stuffed Drake Skull (how does one stuff a skull anyway?) from her daugther Anne.

When I arrived and asked Anne for the skull, she interrogated me.
It is a good thing to be cautious, but some questions were ridiculous.
Like the color of the book her mother was holding? Seriously? What if she started reading a new book?

Only when I returned, did Betty warn me of her daugther cautious nature.
She said she should have given me a letter.
Would have saved me some trouble.


Then she requested me to deliver her report to Dr. Winston and gather some supplies for him as well.
After a considerable time hunting for these supplies, I finally got them to Dr. Winston.


Today I learned that an adventurer's life is not always thrill and glory.
People hire us when there is something they cannot do or they are simply not willing to do.
Still, once I become a veteran adventurer I hope to do less chores and more glorious quests.

 

Been thinking whether I should change the way I post entries.
Instead of posting an entry as (mostly) a day of mapling, would post an entry as what would be an in-game day. Doing so would make the entries more immersive, but some entries would be considerably shorter and less interesting than others, also a single post could have several entries.
I've written this post as a test, feel free to share your thoughts about it.

Spoiler: Entry #5

Today I have finally arrived at Perion.
The village did not change much since my last visit, I hoped to find a few jobs here.
Of all people, I did not expect Manji to be the one with a request for me.
He was concerned because a group of strangers came requesting his aid a while ago, they did not reveal anything about themselves, however.
Manji turned them down, but it has been weighing on him since.
View attachment 48354

Thus he asked wether I would be willing to go in his stead and I complied.
He said he needed to test me first, it was way easier than hunting the Zombie Mushrooms, since the Dark Axe Stumps are tough but very slow, I could shoot them down safely from a distance.
As I returned, Manji confirmed that I was apt to aid them.
He then told me to return once I was ready to depart.
I still have to visit the major hubs in Victoria Island, so I shall return another day.
View attachment 48356

I wonder what those strangers wanted...
As suspicious as they seem, I cannot help but feel compelled to seek them...

Spoiler: Entry #6

Today I have arrived at Kerning City.
Or perharps I should say what remains of the city, the outskirts were clearly part of a larger city once.
Not to mention there is literally a sign on the wilds.


Kerning was different from all other hubs I have visited so far. Several of the buildings were empty, yet I could always see people sneaking around in some corner or another.
Upon noticing my aimless wandering, one of the locals called out to me. She introduced herself as Nella and said knew a lot about the city and its inhabitants, she offered to sell me information for 1000 mesos.


I was skeptical at first, but it turned out to be a wise investment.
Nella held her end of the bargain, she helped me get my bearings, introduced me some useful contacts and even got me a few jobs, though they were simple chores...

After all those boring chores, I was watching the sunset at the roof of a building, when a boy approached me with a request.
He fled from home and now wished to go back, however he feared his father would beat him to a pulp, as soon as he saw him.
Thus he requested me to go soft him up first, his father is Chief Stan of Henesys.
I was bound to return to Henesys sooner or later, besides I am curious to hear Stan's version of the story.


At the end of the day, I decided to take shelter in an abandoned hospital which was said to be haunted.
I believed no one would bother me there...
I did not expect for a ghost to actually show up.


I remembered what my father told me about ghosts.
In cases where they do not know that they died, they tend to roam the place of their death or a place which held a strong a attachment.
They perceive the world differently, often seeing the environment as it were when they still lived.
They tend to react badly to being told they are dead, it is better to leave them to figure it out by themselves.
I was not sure if this was all true or not, but still it is better to stick to the uncertain than to nothing at all.

The ghost then asked me for a mirror, so she could see if her surgery went well.
If my father were here, he would urge me to not get involved and leave.
But I find it cruel to leave someone wondering and waiting eternally.
If there was something I could do to help her rest, I would.

I wandered in the hospital, until I found a broken mirror.
I took the mirror to her and that's when she realized...


Desperately, she requested me to gather several charms of the undead, so she could live again.
I highly doubt it will work, but I knew better than to point it out.
I promised to gather the charms, and I intend to fufill it.
That was also my cue to take my leave, I would not relax with a ghost staring at me.
I found another place to sleep.

Tomorrow I shall be heading to Lith Harbor.
I intend to brave the Sleepywood after a stop at Henesys.

Spoiler: Entry #7

Not much seems to happen at Lith Harbor.
No wonder it is often forgotten by adventurers.
The only job I could find there was to gather some rare flower at Sleepywood, a fisherman named John wanted to gift his wife with it.


Afterwards I bought some supplies and then spent the rest of the day resting.
Travelling is more tiresome than it seems, especially when you travel mostly by foot.

Spoiler: Entry #8

As soon as I reached Henesys, I requested an audience with Chief Stan.
I was surprised to see that Alex did not exaggerate on his personality.
He was indeed grumpy and arrogant.


I was not in the mood to go pig hunting, AGAIN.
Alex request shall have to wait.
I departed to Sleepywood as soon as possible, off to gather the flower and the charms.

Spoiler: Entry #9

Once more, I stood at Sleepywood.
I started by going trough the Ant Tunnel and hunting Zombie Mushrooms and ripping of their charms, until I had enough.
It took a while, but it was certainly easier than last time.
Witnessing the results of my training is very satisfying.

Aquiring the flowers was not dangerous, but it certainly was troublesome.
There were no monsters in the area, however I took my sweet time searching for the flowers.
When I finally spotted, they were at the top of a rocky cliff.
I had to climb a tree close to it and then jump into the cliff.
I got bruised a few times, but at last I had the flowers in my hands.

Fortunately, there is an inn here at Sleepywood.
After a good night of sleep, I shall depart straight for Lith Harbor.

Spoiler: Entry #10

Not much happened today.
I gave the flowers to John, he was most grateful and said something about the flowers living up to 100 years.
If that were the case, Sleepywood would probably be filled with such flowers.
He rewarded me and I went on my way.

Spoiler: Entry #11

I have arrived at Kerning just past noon.
As I passed trough the subway, I heard a girl sobbing and complaining about having lost something.
I approached her, presented myself as an adventurer and asked her what happened.


She then requested me to go to the subway and retrieve a coin.
I told her that would be like searching for a needle in a haystick, more details were needed.
She then said the coin was outdated and showed me where it fell and told me where to look.
Normally, I would turn down such a request, But there was plenty of time until sunset and I thought the ghost would not show up until then.
So it was a good way of killing time.

When I finally returned to the surface, with the coin in hand, it was already sunset.
I returned the coin to Shumi, she was relieved and explained me why the coin was so special.


She then paid me for my trouble and said she would also put in a good word for me.
Then it was time to visit Niora Hospital once more and deliver the charms to my ghostly client.

I entered the hospital, walked to the room where I met the ghost and there she was.
When I revealed a bag full of Undead Charms, for a moment she was so happy, but then she realized that even if the charms worked, she would be living like a zombie.
She then apologized for making me go trough all this trouble, she gave me an Old Raggedy Cape and said she would never forget my aid.


And then... She simply stood still at the corner of the room.
I walked off and in again, she was still there.
She seemed deep in thought.
This is not how I though this would end.
I hoped doing her request would help her depart to the afterlife.

I am not sure whether I should wear this cape...
But I suppose a ghost gratitude is certainly better than a ghost resentment.

I also have this weird feeling that I have forgotten something...

 

Spoiler: Entry #12

As soon as I woke up and left the building I met Alex, the runaway kid.
He immediatly asked whether I spoke to his father.
I told him, his father made some ridiculous demands just for an audience, then he begged me to take care of it as soon as possible.
Sighing, I promised to do it today.
Unwilling to walk all the way to Henesys again, this time I paid a cab.


First I hunted Rubbon Pigs until I had enough Ribbons.
After a short while, I had enough and then rushed to the Sleepywood.

As I braved the Ant Tunnel, I spotted several bounties scattered about.
Since I would be facing those monsters on the way, I took the bounties.


Convinently there was also a bounty for the Evil Eyes.


Then I hunted all those monsters until I hit the quota for each.
It was dangerous and tiring, but satisfactory.


Afterwards I reported my deeds to The Rememberer.
He did not ask for proof of my work, he said he could see that I have indeed slain all those monsters.
He rewarded me well for my efforts and motivated me to grow even stronger and hunt more dangerous monsters.


Then I went to the inn, where now I write this entry.
And soon I will get some deserved rest.

Spoiler: Entry #13

After waking up and having a good meal at the Sleepywood Inn, I marched to Henesys, with a bag full of ribbons and tails of Evil Eye.
Then I paid another visit to Stan and we had a long talk.
In the end, he agreed to welcome Alex back home and gave me the Old Gold Watch that once belonged to Anna, Alex mother.


Still at Henesys, I heard an interesting rumor.
Pia was hiring and adventurer to hunt the oldest snail the maple world.
Now that is the sort of rumor that precedes an epic adventure and a pocket full of gold!
I rushed off to see Pia.

Pia excitedly told me about the Legend of the Snail.
Supposedly the shell of a really old snail has the power to make wishes come true. That seems highly unlikely, but I agree that it must have some special properties and I AM looking forward to face a legendary monster.
Pia promised to reward me by splitting the shell, I shall have some of the mages in Ellinia analyze it, worst case scenario it should it fetch a nice price among collectors.
Then Pia directed me to Jay, whom could provide me with more information.


Jay told me the author of the book, Alloy was his great-grandfather.
I was not expecting that.
He told me a bit about Alloy, then directed me to his mother, Mrs. Ming Ming.


As soon as I asked about Alloy, Mrs. Ming Ming asked if he did something.
So surprised was I to know Alloy is still alive AND active! Perharps there is some true to the Old Snail shell, after all.
Then she showed me a letter she recently received from him, boasting he made friend with a fairy, Wing no less.


Before going to Ellinia, there was something I had to do...
I returned to Kerning and gave Alex the good news together with his mother heirloom.
He thanked me a lot and gave me a pair of earrings, I do not know what I was expecting from a runaway kid short on cash, but oh well...
I believed he would rush back home, however he did not seem in a hurry.
I seriously hope he did not want that heirloom just to pawn it...

Spoiler: Entry #14

Upon sunrise, I picked a cab to Ellinia.
Then I had the (dis)pleasure of speaking to Wing.
I was surprised that she actually said some good things about Alloy.
Alloy seems like quite the character, I hope to meet him someday.
Also seems like the Old Snail is called Mano.


But when I asked about Mano, of course Wing would not give the information for free...


After running an errand for Wing, she told me where I could find Mano.
Then I picked a cab to henesys.

Once there, I told Pia all about it.
She was way too eager about it and even muttered about having mano's Shell all to herself.
At the time, I considered backing out on our deal.


From Lith Harbor, I walked along the beach until I reached the place.
Then I headed through the thicket and spent around two hours searching for a huge snail, I finally spotted it!
I readied my crossbow and prepared for combat.
The fight with Mano was easier than expected, the only nuisance were the many snails that appeared to aid Mano. But besides that, Mano was extremely slow and lacked ranged attacks.
I simply kept shotting until Mano went down.


With the Rainbow Shell in hand, I rushed back to Pia.
She took the shell from my hands and when I remembered her of our deal, she came up with a pathetic excuse to keep the shell all to herself!


Furiously I demanded compensation for my services, but she turned her back whispered something inside the shell and then...
What happened afterwards was so hilarious that my fury ceased immediately.
She turned into a snail!
I cannot remember the last time I laughed so loud!
Once I was done laughing, I turned to Snail Pia and said: "At least the shell fufilled my wish."
Then I left, very satisfied with my reward.

 

Spoiler: Entry #15

I have grown a lot since I first came to Victoria Island.
Even Athena Pierce said so.


She offered to test me, should I pass she would promote me and teach more powerfull techniques.
I accepted immediately, Athena gave me a letter and instructed me to meet an associate of her on the way to Sleepywood.

Once there, I presented the Athena's letter to... Come to think of it, I never got her name.
After reading the letter, she explained me the test.
All I had to do was to hunt some monsters and gather 30 Dark marbles from them.


She took me to a deep part of the Sleepywood.
There I hunted Evil Eyes, but those were stronger than the ones I hunted a few days back.
The terrain did not allow me to hunt from a safe range, suppose it was part of the test, I had to dive into the fray and shoot them down one by one, before theey closed in.
Still, it was nothing I could not handle.


Once I gathered enough Dark Marbles, the instructor congratulated me, gave me medal and told me to show it to Athena Pierce.


Athena was not surprised to see me holding the medal.
She told me that until now, my training was the very fundamentals.
To go further, I has to specialize in either the Bow or the Crossbow.
Without second tought, I choose the crossbow. It is a weapon that deserves more love, compared to the bow it lacks speed and range. However the sheer power alone makes it worth it, not to mention it is much easier to aim with the crossbow.
After a long training session, Athena gave me a book detailing all the techniques a crossbowman could learn.
She then inspired me to grown even stronger and use my power for a good cause.


I believe that it is time to leave Victoria Island.
Manji did request me to aid some strangers in a far away land, tomorrow I shall meet him.

Spoiler: Entry #16

After a long journey, I finally arrived at Ariant, the Jewel of the Nihal Desert.
Or so I thought, until I walked across the town and witnessed the misery of its inhabitants.
No wonder that group travelled so far requesting for help.
I considered talking to some of the locals, but it was clear I was not welcome in Ariant.
Conversations ceased when I aproached, I could feel several glares as I passed.
Until at last I found someone whom was willing to give me the time of day.


Byron, kindly explained to me the situation in Ariant.
Ariant should be a very rich city, thanks to the fact that lidium can only be found here, however the queen imposes cruel taxes upon the folk and wastes it all on vanity items.
That added with the usual hardships of living in the desert, plus the fact most of the locals never got to leave Ariant, made them very wary of outsiders.
Fortunately, one can become a citizen of Ariant very easily.
I expected I would ahve to prove my worth hunting some monsters or help the locals with some supplies.
Turns out all I had to do was to drink water from the city oasis.
And in fact it worked, I could already feel the glares ceasing.
Then Byron welcomed me to Ariant.