#they are probably the least prepared adventurer whenever they meet other guild members

[reallyghostlypost]

Marlon, where's my cape?

It seems cloaks/capes are considered basic equipment for adventurers. And it seems that at least the cloaks are given by the guilds to every member, considering they all look the same. They basically act like uniforms, only in different colours to show which guild an adventurer belongs to.

So, why doesn't the farmer get one? (Aside from meta reasons, like can't force the player to wear one and that custom clothes are generally being pretty buggy.) It's not like there are too many people in the Pelican Town's guild and not enough cloaks for everyone. I'm pretty sure the other adventurers noticed the famer's lack of 'standard equipment' too.

The rumours that start from this might actually explain why the other adventurers are so rude to the farmer. If they believe the farmer didn't accept the cloak from Marlon it could show that the farmer thinks they are too good to be lumped with the other adventurers. Or that the farmer isn't serious about becoming an adventurer, ready to go back to working on the farm as soon as things become too hard/dangerous.

Or, it could look like Marlon doesn't want to give them a cloak, marking them as not actually an adventurer, just someone accepted into the guild to fill an empty position until a better fighter comes along. Imagine adventurers whispering to each other that even Marlon can't wait for the new recruit to die already, and it should happen soon enough considering Marlon didn't even bother to fill the paperwork for assigned official equipment.

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

The snowy mountains of Dragonpierce

Crystal icicles can be nice to look at, but they are a pain to deal with. The mountains would be a good place to explore some more if it wasn't for the sheer cold. I applaud Connie and their friends for braving the cold and spending a good part of their vacation time here for team building activities.

Dragonpierce is one of those places where looks can be deceiving. Appearance wise it looks like any other snowy place. But when you step inside it's brutal, to say the least. Amber, Bennett, and Xiang are the real MVPs for keeping us from freezing to death with their pyro powers.

It's a shame, really. I want to explore more of the mountains - it really is a fascinating place that's full of resources we can use at the camp. The glacial gyroids were a nice find along with various plants and berries I've never seen before. But the risk is too much, especially for non-seasoned outdoors people like us. I doubt even an experienced adventurer would want to set foot in the mountains without at least three backup plans or something.

Connie and Pai are back again with their team for another retreat. Things have been going a lot better for them, especially now that they have more allies as well as no immediate threats looming ahead. In fact, it's been a little slow as things outside their control has forced them to put their main mission on hold for a bit. Though that doesn't make Connie any less busy, especially now that they're moving up ranks with the Adventurer's Guild so they're up for a promotion soon.

Turns out it's a good thing we planned this adventure because it's been a while since the original team last hung out all together. Luci and Amber have stepped back a bit to focus on the Knights so they've been eager to meet up with Connie again. Noelle, Seraphina, and Xiang have been stepping up the ranks as well, becoming part of Connie's main team for missions. Xingqiu and Bennett have been helping with the new recruits as well as building up their skills.

In terms of combat, Pai says they've improved by a lot. It also helps that they have more members as well as the fact that Noelle and Seraphina are powerful healers. They still have a long way to go in terms of being in the same league as other seasoned adventurers so that's something for them to keep working towards.

Not too long after Connie and the gang first visited the camp, Xingqiu's best friend Chongyun offered his assistance. He's a psychic exorcist with telekinesis and cryo powers. Connie had ran into him a couple times before, tagging along with him on investigations regarding reported sightings of evil spirits.

The next teammates to join were Meggie and Di, both who work at a bar/cafe. Meggie's a friend of Amber's from Stone Bridge, a neighboring town of Bonsai. Meggie is a bartender/astrologer who just moved to the city in hopes of a new start. She says she's not too keen about being a bartender but she has to pay rent somehow - she refuses to monetize astrology, something she takes seriously. Connie says whether you believe her or not, she does possess strong intuition when it comes to reading people.

I have to say, some of her observations about me were spot on. I barely know her and she managed to get a glimpse of me just by reading the stars. I don't know too much about astrology - and it's not something I want to overly look into - but I like to have an open mind. Even if astrology isn't real, I believe some people are highly intuitive - it's a trait that you can't hone in on, you either have it or don't.

Di is a waitress who's from Spring Valley, not too far from the city. She comes from a family of hunters and is a master archer with the power of stealth on her side. She's quite young so Connie has kinda unoffically adopted her. Apparently she's been going through some stuff at home, so that's why she started working at the bar despite being underage. It's not an ideal situation, particularly due to the fact that alcoholism is a thing in her family so obviously she tries to avoid falling into the same path. No wonder Connie wanted to take Di under their wing.

Then along comes Lan, a renowned captain/pirate who's traveled around the continent at least three times so far. She came to the rescue after a mishap with explosives temporarily put Connie out of commission. Apparently someone at the Adventurer's Guild thought it was a good idea to set off explosive barrels at a high cliff to extract some ores. Lan happened to be around the area when Connie literally landed in her arms.

Lan hardly spends time on land as she's always out on the open seas, so she's kinda a legend around these parts. She said she heard about Connie from Xiang as they often write letters to each other, so she was hoping to meet the honorary hero one day. And so fate decided to literally hand Connie to her, which is quite funny.

I mean, imagine falling off a high cliff and landing right in the arms of this badass pirate captain? If that happened to me, I wouldn't know what to say or do.

And finally, there's the newest team member, a conqueror of demons named Xiao. He's basically an immortal being who has been protecting the land for thousands of years, often lurking in the background. Pai never expected him to offer his assistance considering that he usually avoids interactions with others. Connie was surprised too, though they had been working together a lot since having to defend the city so that's probably why he decided to stick around.

Considering how he keeps his distance from mortals, it's also a surprise that he came along for this trip. He does admit that the only reason he reluctantly joined in was to take the opportunity to observe the team, which makes sense. Pai says he's been helping out a lot in terms of improving team combat skills so that's why he needs to know how well everyone fights and what needs to be worked on.

While the others are off doing various activities, Xiao stands in the sidelines, watching over everything. He seems like the type who takes their responsibilities seriously, the kind you shouldn't mess with at all unless you have a death wish or something.

As for this gyroid event, we're gonna use the gyroids to forge weapons designed by Luci, Xingqiu, and Connie. With the team growing and moving up in the ranks, they're in need of more advanced weapons. Noelle's claymore is pretty worn out while Di's bow isn't exactly meant for combat. Connie still has their trusty sword, but it'll be in need of upgrades later on while Xiang's looking forward to switching out her old polearm for something more sturdier. According to Connie and Luci's research, glacial gyroids can produce a range of high quality weapons. In short, it's something to take advantage of as forging weapons is expensive and hard to come by.

While the mountains of Dragonpierce are hard to navigate, Connie says it's nothing compared to the snowy mountains on the outskirts of Starcatcher and Bonsai Harbor. Over there, you can freeze to death if you're poorly prepared, so most adventurers avoid it like the plague. The sheer cold is strong enough to knock you out if you don't have adequate warmth, not to mention the fierce monsters that roam about. As a result, Connie rarely takes commissions to go there, but it's not something they can avoid entirely, not with their standing as of now.

I don't think I'd survive the mountains over there - Dragonpierce is already pushing my limits. I get that Connie and the others want to collect gyroids, but using the mountains for combat training seems a bit risky. Though it's kinda in the middle of nowhere so I guess it makes for a good training ground. Something about the extreme cold helps to put them in the right mindset? I mean, there's other places where they can train that doesn't involve them risk freezing to death but then again I know nothing about fighting and stuff.

I have to say, it's cool to watch them show off their combat skills and powers. Connie's come a long way as a leader - that's what I call growth! Pai continues to cheer on from the sidelines while offering commentary once in a while. I wonder if one day she'll join in on the field too but I feel like that's asking too much of her.

As much as Connie and Pai are thick as thieves, Pai can be a bit exasperating. Maybe that's why she gets along well with people like Connie and Jamie as they both are kinda jaded and have a low tolerance for bullshit, therefore they can keep her in rein. Also, it's funny whenever Connie roasts Pai because let's face it, she had it coming. Like Pai, we love you, but sometimes you need to step back and be quiet.

It's fun seeing them train and figure out their team dynamics. Like how Xingqiu and Chongyun work well together by coordinating their powers to freeze enemies. So naturally, Connie and Xiao want to utilize that. Xiang, Connie, and Lan also make a deadly combo with Xiang's pyro combined with Lan's electro causes an explosion. Throw in Connie's wind storm and you've got your enemies cornered in a pyro and electro tornado.

At the campsite, everyone's got their own thing going on. Amber's gliding around as usual, practicing her archery as well and bringing fruit for us in the process. Lan, Seraphina, and Xiang have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen and they really like spicy food. I mean, they literally eat hot chilis like it's nothing - it's kinda scary. I though Rika was crazy when it came to spice but I think these three are in another league.

It's a shame. really. Because if it weren't for the intense heat, I would be able to enjoy these dishes more. They taste good but the spice...why must I be weak?

Di and Noelle have taken an interest in finding materials like plants and rocks. They're really good at discovering new stuff like unusual seashells that contain iron that can be extracted or poisonous weeds that can be used to make potions. Di has her methods of handling dangerous plants safely by infusing her arrows with cryo and shooting at them to temporarily make them safe to handle by putting them into a bubble until they can be stored away.

Bennett and Xingqiu have been showing Chongyun around the camp, teaching him a bunch of stuff in the process. Apparently he doesn't go out much so things like camping is completely new to him, so he needed some time to get comfortable. He comes across as a serious person, kinda innocent and naive though, but dedicated nonetheless. I think with Xingqiu around and Connie keeping everyone in rein, he's been able to loosen up a bit.

Pai's been having fun - she's either off doing her own thing and getting into some sort of trouble or bothering someone. It seems like the others have joined in on roasting Pai when she finds herself in a mess that she caused. It's also nice seeing Connie loosen up too, probably since they've gotten comfortable in this unfamiliar world. Pai says they've been making friends and allies left and right - from ordinary citizens to people among high rankings, even some gods as well - it's pretty wild actually.

Of course, Connie remains humble and shrugs it off as it's nothing. They say the high ranking people are just like everyone else, but as for the gods, it's best to exercise caution and expect the unexpected. Also, Connie's at the point where if they hang around certain places for too long, then one of their new friends will whisk them away on some adventure or job. It's only happened a couple times so far but Connie has a feeling that as time goes on, it's gonna become a regular thing, much to Pai's frustration. Connie says they don't mind too much - at least for now.

Since the gang will be coming back in the future for another camp event, I wonder how much things will change by then. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Connie's friends as well as hear more stories about their adventures. I just hope no one insists on doing combat training in Dragonpierce again - unless they're gonna collect gyroids too.

Either way, I think I'll pass on the freezing mountains - I think that's one area I don't mind putting off exploring for a long while.

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Taking our sweet time (seriously, there's no need to hurry)

Whenever life gets too much to handle it should be socially acceptable to say fuck it and peace out for a while. I get that constant procrastination isn't good but sometimes you really need to step back and take a goddamn break.

You don't have to take on the world all at once - in fact you don't have to do anything at all just to feel worthy of something. It's the little things that matter and your worth shouldn't be measured solely by your achievements. There's nothing wrong with being average - or even below that - what should matter is that you're happy and doing what you like.

At least that's what I'm hoping to get across to Pai and her adventuring companions. From burnout to things not going as planned due to factors out of everyone's control, they are definitely in need of a break.

Pai's stepping into the world of perilous adventuring after running across Connie, a wanderer who's made a name for themselves in Bonsai Harbor. Connie's from another world, having been separated from their sibling. Along the way, they saved Pai from being eaten by a slime crystal monster, so now Pai feels indebted to them. They haven't known each other for too long but they act like old, playfully bickering buds.

While trying to find their footing, Pai suggested seeking help from the Knights of Windwail and the Adventurer's Guild. Then they got wrapped up in adventuring, world quests, and earned the status of honorary knights. Along the way they came across other adventurers from the Knights and the Guild, forming their own adventure team.

Amber was the first friend Connie and Pai made at Bonsai Harbor. She was the one who taught Connie how to use a wind glider as well as the ins and outs of the city. As an outrider of Windwail and master pyro archer with ties to the Adventurer's Guild, she got them covered. Pai says that they're lucky they ran into Amber as she knows a lot about pretty much everything Bonsai Harbor. It's fun listening to her talk about her home, the other team members, and their latest adventures - she's basically the group's spokesperson.

The second friend they met is also a knight, Captain Lucien, also known as Luci to friends and elders. He's a well known swordfighter with piercing cryo powers that can freeze anything for a short time. Luci was a big help for Connie and Pai when they got cornered by fireball slimes. In return, the duo offered to help him retrieve a stolen katana, which resulted in them discovering other lost weapons and earned the trust and respect of the head of the Windwail Knights.

Noelle and Bennett were next to join the gang of adventurers, coming to them at the right time by chance. Connie, Pai, Amber, and Luci were ambushed on the outskirts of the city while on an investigation when their reinforcements came to the rescue.

Pai summoned Noelle by accident as she happened to be nearby when things were going south. Noelle is who they call a maid without a master - meaning she does things like cleaning, cooking, and running errands for pretty much anyone who calls for her. Rumor has it that one can easily summon Noelle just by calling out her name to the wind, which is what Pai did. As a fighter, Noelle can summon a geo shield that provides healing powers when activated, plus she's got a badass looking claymore sword that's not only great for fighting off enemies, but also for mining and destroying obstacles.

Bennett also happened to be nearby when the gang was attacked. He's an adventurer with pyro powers who hasn't had too much luck in recruiting members for his group. He's a good fighter, but for some reason things never really work out in his favor, so that's why no one seeks him out. It's a shame because he's a sweet and likable guy but his bad luck overshadows the good. Up until meeting Connie and Pai, he was considering giving up as an adventurer because he wasn't getting anywhere. Then he heard Pai screaming for help and came running along.

Since Noelle and Bennett didn't have anything better to do, they decided to tag along. Noelle still gets summoned once in a while, mainly for menial tasks that don't take too much out of her day. Of course, with the gang being all the way over here at the camp, they're all on vacation from their jobs - most for the first time in years, if ever.

It's a good thing Pai dragged them out here because they all deserve a vacation. And not only that, they deserve regular vacations - time where they can breathe and do nothing without feeling guilty. Given what they've all done over the past several weeks, it's no wonder they're feeling burnt out.

After saving the city and earning the status of honorary knights, Connie and Pai set out to explore the nearby city of Starcatcher. Before heading off, they gained another member - Seraphina the idol of the Windwail Church. She's got hydro powers and the ability to heal. She was the one who helped Connie sneak into the cathedral basement to retrieve a cursed artifact and came to the rescue in the nick of time by healing the gang during a showdown with a monster terrorizing the city.

At Starcatcher, the gang met up with Xingqiu and Xiang. Connie and Pai had met Xiang earlier when she was visiting the harbor and helped her gather ingredients for a cooking contest. Connie was hoping to run into Xiang again in the near future so as soon as they arrived at the city, they went looking for her. Apparently they just missed her as she was out on another culinary adventure.

Then Connie and the others were caught up in commissions there, getting familiar with the city. While searching for a rare book, they met Xingqiu, a descendant of a once prosperous family who helped the gang get through the red tape for intel. He's a master swordfighter with hydro powers that can form powerful whirlpools. Pai and Luci were a bit skeptical of him as he seemed to pop in and out whenever he wanted without explaining, but in the end he earned their trust.

Xiang finally met up with the gang not too long after they finished a mission involving finding jade fragments in the ruins. She joined just in time to help take down a bunch of ruin guards, except that didn't go so well. The gang barely made it out alive before having to retreat and Sera and Noelle's healing powers can only help so much. So they decided to put that off and focus on other missions.

But then the quests started to pile up as more of them were beyond their scope. According to Luci, all of them are capable fighters - on their own. As a team, their biggest problem is that they're too slow, especially when it comes to fighting large monsters like ruin guards. The problem lies with efficiency - the team lacks coordination. That, along with the group not being the most prepared or equipped - the latter is something they're trying to fix - is what's dragging the team down.

Though, to be fair, no one really knows what they're doing. After all, Pai and Connie met by chance and their team just kinda fell together. We don't know if we're getting any closer to helping Connie reunite with their family, which is the main reason why they're going on all these missions. As for the others, they're just there for the ride, not knowing exactly what they're doing either, but are more than happy to help when needed.

I have to say, I'm flattered that Pai decided to take Connie and the others all the way here. I don't know where Bonsai and Starcatcher are other than really, really far out there. Pai doesn't really come out here much - I think she only comes to see Jamie, so I'm guessing that's how she knows about the camp. I also heard it's not easy to travel from where's she's from as they're pretty much like different dimensions, making it even more impressive.

So far, I think the break's been helping out a lot. It's been nice getting to know the others and just hanging out with them. Again, it's kinda sad that most of them had never taken a vacation before, so the idea of leisure took some getting used to. Aside from introductions, we mostly steered away from talking about quests and missions.

Noelle, of course, enjoys running errands. She likes collecting fruit, fish, and bugs, and getting to know the campers. Noelle kinda reminds me of my mom as she finds doing things like cleaning relaxing. It's not surprising that she likes speed cleaning videos as they can be satisfying to watch. I wouldn't mind watching videos with Noelle sweeping the cabin or scrubbing the counters - she makes those tasks look fun!

Amber's into hiking and climbing into high places where she can jump off and glide. She's teaching me and Daisy Jane how to glide and it's a bit terrifying, though I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I think that's the closest I'll ever get to flying!

Now that she has a lot of free time on her hands, Amber wants to make custom gliders for the team - and for me, Daisy Jane, and Isabelle as well. They look hard to make, so the fact that they can be made by hand is impressive. All of Amber's gliders are handmade and it takes a special skill to not only make a glider that looks pretty but also functional. She used to take orders for custom made gliders before things got too busy so she's glad to be getting back into it. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Seraphina has been getting into impromptu jam sessions with the campers, putting on a little concert every night so far. She's got a lovely voice with a pure sweetness I find endearing. Being out here at the camp has helped her get back into singing so she hopes the nightly concerts will keep her going. Her love for poetry shows through her lyrics as she has a way with words and evoking emotions through imagery.

She says the camp kinda reminds her of Bonsai Harbor, particularly the meadows, which probably explains why she's inspired to sing again. As much as she enjoys adventuring, she misses her home a lot. Still, Seraphina knew what she was signing up for when she wanted to tag along with Connie and Pai. While her roots are in Bonsai Harbor, she wanted to take the opportunity to explore the world around her. If it wasn't for Connie and Pai, who knows when she'll get another chance to do so?

Luci, as expected, took some adjusting to the whole idea of leisure. He's not what they consider the workaholic type - in fact, he's pretty lax - but he's the kind of person who's mind is usually on work mode. He's task oriented, always thinking about getting stuff done, preferably without too much time and effort. It's understandable that he wants the team to be in tip top shape by practicing their fighting skills and coordinating their efforts, but it's not healthy to be constantly focusing on that. After all, the main reason why they're all here is to get their minds off that.

While there will be fighting practices eventually, for now it's best to take it easy. According to the others, Luci's not one to stress out over things, so the fact that he is starting to get a little bit stressed is a warning sign. He was a bit restless and fidgety at first, but he's in a completely unfamiliar place and not doing any adventuring or knight stuff for the first time ever so it's understandable. In a way it kinda feels like post grad life when you're pretty much done with school forever and now you don't know what to do with yourself.

Like Noelle, Luci's been running errands and hanging with the campers. He's been trying a bit of everything - hiking, fishing, bug catching, gardening, building furniture - he's a jack of all trades. So far, he's been enjoying all these activities, especially crafting stuff with Reese and Cyrus. In fact, when he got a look at Daisy Jane's gyroid designs, he wanted to join in on the fun too!

Looks like the adventure team's gonna be back at the camp for a gyroid event (or more) as Noelle, Amber, Xiang, and Seraphina want to design stuff as well. So there's potential for many more visits, which will be amazing!

Xiang's been cooking up a storm - figuratively for the most part. Thankfully, since it's outdoors, damage was minimal - though it's fire so while it wasn't that bad, the potential for disaster was high. Thankfully Seraphina and Xingqiu quickly put out the fires so crisis averted.

She's the kind of chef who likes experimenting in the kitchen, coming up with the most unusual recipes. Apparently the slime creatures they fight off leave essences that can be edible, so she keeps vials of them. Fire ones are spicy, wind ones have a dry, bitter flavor, icy ones are kinda minty with a hint of honey, water ones are umami - it's interesting to learn about. Other unusual ingredients Xiang has on hand are ground up boar horns, jade sparkledust, snowflake ash, and clearfish scales.

Don't let the unusual ingredients fool you - most of her food is not only edible, but also delicious. There's a reason why the gang isn't worried about starving if stranded in the middle of nowhere. Xiang can even make dirt edible - something which she's trying to do but hasn't figured out yet.

Xingqiu has taken an interest in gardening, which is perfect because I have been once again neglecting my garden. Maybe neglecting is a strong word but lately, other than flower events, I haven't been planting much. I'm trying to keep up with that but it's so much effort, especially trying to cross-pollinate for rare flowers. Xingqiu considers himself a novice when it comes to planting flowers but he's already got much better luck than me with getting rare seeds. I think his water powers have something to do with the blooms coming out more vibrant and full than usual.

He and Noelle have also been into taking interior decor classes with Lotte at the Happy Room Academy. Speaking of that, I've kinda fallen behind on those classes too. Sunny's rank is Legend while I've been lingering at Master - I didn't even know there was a Legend rank until Sunny told me.

Well, just because I run the camp doesn't mean I can do everything. I've tried, but as the camp grew, I had to learn how to prioritize. While I can put in some time to gardening and catching up with Happy Room Academy classes, they're not something I really want to do. As for gardening, I kinda have a love-hate thing so tending to that feels more like a chore than a fun activity. I'm not the best at gardening and I'm okay with that.

As for Connie, they've been working nonstop since meeting Pai. They've kinda fallen into the leader role by default and as a result has been under a lot of pressure. They mentioned feeling a bit guilty, like being miscast in a role or something. There's also the fact that Connie pretty much started from the ground up, so they worked extra hard to earn everyone's respect as well as be able to fight in combat on the same level as the others. They've done so much in such a short time, Pai was right in trying to get them to slow down.

Like Luci said, they're all capable fighters, but as a team they still have a lot to learn. To put it bluntly, compared to other adventurers in terms of combat and strategy, they're pretty average. All of them admit they're a bit of a mess - then again, who isn't? As much as they have accomplished together, there's always a voice in the back of their minds questioning whether they could've done better. And it's not just themselves, it's also the societal pressure to not only do well, but to exceed and be the best. While that tries to be a motivating message, it does more harm than good.

That brings me back to my main point - you don't have to be exceptional at what you do. It's a message I'm still learning myself, especially since I grew up in a culture where I'm told that I'm not trying hard enough if I'm not constantly pushing my limits. Despite what society wants you to think, it's okay to be average, to just be.

After all, none of them chose to adventure for status and prestige - they're pretty much here because they seek excitement and want to help Connie. As for Connie, they never expected to become somewhat a hero in Bonsai Harbor and Starcatcher, they just wanted to help others. So what if they stumble more than fly? Just because all of them can't take down a massive monster doesn't make them less capable as adventurers - it just means combat isn't one of their strong suits yet - and that's okay. After all, they're still getting to know each other and such.

For now, we're all just gonna take our sweet time just chilling out. Self-care's important, but sometimes we get so caught up in everything else that we put ourselves last.