>>6051229
>Take on more dangerous jobs in order to afford a more expensive wedding (Courage +2)
No love option yet? Also how do these stats affect things? Will there be rolls?

>>6051229
>Take on more lessons in the guild so you can take on more well paying jobs reliably. (Knowledge +1, Reliability+1)
Spending money on a wedding is hoe shit.
Getting knowledge to get better jobes in the future to provide a good life is what's more important.

>>6051229
> Spend time getting to know Chouxcreme better (Chouxcreme affinity +2)
We're back!

>>6051248
>We're back!
I'm out of the loop, what is this?

>>6051253
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Al-Kimia

sorry forgot to link to the archive

>>6051254
Ah neat, see I tried looking your tag up in the archive but I didn't see anything pop up!
I'll read over this before voting for anything else, but I still stand by the shit I said about building a proper future!

>>6051229
>Take on more lessons in the guild so you can take on more well paying jobs reliably. (Knowledge +1, Reliability+1)
Get the foundation good, then take on the tough quests!

>>6051254
Welcome back OP! You're back just as you said you would be. Remember how I suggested Magical Vacation and Magical Starsign as games with food-named characters in them? Well I found this other one recently
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afcgAi5eZEQ
Never played it yet, don't know if I will. Maybe you might be interested for the food gimmick alone?

>>6051274
love the comfy feel of that game. I don't usually play games past the ps2 era of video games.

>>6051307
You should pirate more games you want to play, provided your computer can run them

>>6051229
>> Take on more regular jobs in order to give Choux the best wedding you can afford (Reliability+1, Chouxcreme affinity+1)

>>6051229
>Take on more lessons in the guild so you can take on more well paying jobs reliably. (Knowledge +1, Reliability+1)
Glad to have ya back.

>>6051229
> Spend time getting to know Chouxcreme better (Chouxcreme affinity +2)
If our main character is going to get married, he needs to take steps to know his future wife

>>6051240
Courage

>>6051242
>>6051274
>>6051399
Lessons

>>6051248
>>6051557
Affinity

>>6051399
Reliability

Writing now. Vote's closed.

>>6051229
>>6052378
Sure, you were getting married soon. However, that didn't mean that you had to run yourself ragged or destitute yourself to plan an extravagant wedding.

Instead, you looked to the future. You took on extra lessons at the Glinting Silver so you can take on better missions so you can provide for both your present and future family.

The Glinting Silver guild had a large selection of martial arts to choose from. You were partial to knife fighting yourself, so you perused their catalogue of knife fighting techniques.

There was the Shadow technique. It was an all or nothing technique that relied on being able to flit in and out of your opponent's reach. The technique relied heavily on speed and its tactics relied on another party member to reliably tank hits. There was a reliance on good teamwork for this technique.

Another technique was the Rage technique. This was both a tanking and damage dealing technique that dealt a lot of damage while ignoring the enemy's attacks. A truly dangerous technique to bring to bear.

The last knife fighting technique that the guild had was the Flowing Metal technique. This was a difficult technique to master and required one to enchant knives with some kind of metal alchemy so that the knives returned after being thrown. A significant portion of the lessons were practical ones, meant to nurture a metal Soul Knot in order to work.

What technique do you learn?
>Shadow
>Rage
>Flowing Metal

>>6052399
>Flowing Metal

>>6052399
>Flowing Metal

>>6052399
>Flowing Metal
This sounds cool

>>6052399
>Flowing Metal

>>6052399
>>Flowing Metal

IT'S BACK EVERYBODY

File: tumblr_b700034787fda8f401(...).jpg (57 KB, 600x600)

57 KB JPG

>>6053210

>>6052399
>Shadow

>>6052685
>>6052550
>>6052441
>>6052429
>>6052420
>>6053210
>>6053214
>>6053216

Although there were many knife fighting techniques available at the Glinting Silver, you managed to narrow it down to three. Of course, of these three techniques, you decided on learning the Flowing Metal technique.

It provided you with range that normally isn't possible with mere knives, and you finally get to learn what the hell this Soul Knot business is about.

A couple of months ago, you met a girl named Framboise while on a mission and she used something called a Soul Knot to perform alchemy. This wasn't mere magic, but actual alchemy! Quite frankly, you're excited!

When your lessons were finally starting, you're glad to see a familiar face. You'd gone on a mission or two with Langoustine before and he's a stand-up character. He's all too eager to be a sounding board for anything you don't understand during the lessons.

As for the lessons themselves, they were difficult and your day is packed. You're glad you have money saved up from a couple of missions, because learning Flowing Metal was a whole day affair.

The lessons were divided into close combat, ranged combat and practical alchemy. Of these three, the practical alchemy was the most difficult for you since you have no idea what the hell alchemy actually consists of. Langoustine was willing to help in exchange for help on the close combat lessons, but even Langoustine's help can only go so far.

So far, the Alchemy you'd been taught consisted of refining monster viscera into medicine. You're not really sure how it's meant to connect to the other lessons involving Flowing Metal, but apparently it's crucial to consume this medicine to prepare your body for the more mystical aspects of the practice.

What do you do?
>Langoustine is inviting you to hunt down some Iron Scales, in order to refine their lungs into medicine
>Compensate for your lack of understanding by perusing the Glinting Silver's library
>See if you can source some Iron Scale Lung from Chouxcreme
>It's been a while since you actually talked to her, but seek out Framboise for alchemy help.

>>6053428
>Compensate for your lack of understanding by perusing the Glinting Silver's library

>>6053430
IIRC, aren't we barely literate?

>>6053428
>See if you can source some Iron Scale Lung from Chouxcreme
>It's been a while since you actually talked to her, but seek out Framboise for alchemy help.
Bring the babe if we're going to meet alternate waifu options. Avoids pre-wedding drama.

>>6053447
You can read, but there's some difficult Alchemy words that you need to learn because this is totally out of your wheelhouse.

Most of your literacy is invested in daily stuff like budgeting for your household.

>>6053447
+1

>>6053428
>It's been a while since you actually talked to her, but seek out Framboise for alchemy help.

>>6053428
>>See if you can source some Iron Scale Lung from Chouxcreme

>>6053447
Library

>>6053447
>>6054251
Chouxcreme

>>6053447
>>6053587
Framboise

someone suggested an interesting compromise so let's use that.

>>6054843
>>6053428

After having so much trouble with the actual Alchemy you're supposed to be studying, you decide to consult an expert. Framboise was pretty generous with her usage of alchemy on the one mission you shared with her, so you decided to ask for her help.

Of course, finding her so you can ask questions was a bit of a task. Because of her Soul Knot, she was in a couple of different guilds. Soul Knotted people were in high demand.

You do eventually find her, but it was more of a coincidence rather than any skill on your part. It was a morning before you had your lessons and Framboise was looking through the guild's catalogue of missions. You could easily spot Framboise due to her striking red hair and exotic outfit.

“Hey, Framboise!” You say, tapping her on the shoulder as she perused the mission catalogue.

“Oh, hey, umm…” Framboise takes a moment to remember your name. “Marron, right? We were on that mission with the rats,” she says. Although it seems that she was more reminding herself than you.

“Good to meet you, this morning. I've been looking for you, actually,” you say.

“Oh? Were you looking for a mission partner, by any chance?” She asks with a glint in her eye.

“Oh, erm… No, but I was taking some lessons and they need us to learn some Alchemy. You seem like an expert.”

This causes Framboise to laugh, sort of like an “Ohohohoho” sound. “I'm hardly what you'd call an Alchemy expert. But I'm willing to help you. How about you visit the Baie compound on the weekend. Tell the guards that you're visiting Framboise Baie and they should let you in.”

The week passes quickly as you've been anticipating getting to partake of Framboise's knowledge.

Of course, you bring Chouxcreme.

>>6054858
“You sure this is wise, Mar? The Baies aren't nobles… but they're rich and you hardly get that rich in Tarrasque without stepping on a few toes,” Chouxcreme cautions.

“Framboise was nice, though…” You retort.

“That's hardly what I– Nevermind. You're so pure, Marron. Never change,” Chouxcreme says with a smile.

The guards take a moment to examine your credentials and comes back with Framboise. It took a bit, but you'd hardly complain when Framboise is taking time out of her weekend to teach you.

“Oh, Marron! Sorry it took so long. I didn't realize our lessons were today and I was hardly presentable. …Who's your lady friend?”

You introduce Chouxcreme and Framboise to each other. Framboise seems to be especially taken with Chouxcreme, praising her delicate pale skin and doll-like features. It was enough to make Chouxcreme blush.

“And it's not some kind of Bloodline feature? Truly? Some girls really have all the luck! Ohohohohoho!”

Framboise takes the two of you to her house. It was actually bigger than your family's apartment and you're surprised to know Framboise lives by herself. Although, you're getting less surprised by the minute as you get to witness more of Framboise's bombastic personality.

She starts the lesson by shuffling a pack of cards and having you and Chouxcreme draw a card each. Apparently, it was some form of divination. Your card indicates the “Fertile Earth” while Chouxcreme's card indicates the “Frigid Ice”.

“Well, that's hardly a surprise. After all, your elemental affinity dictates a lot of things. Hair color, even your preferences for fashion. So, I do have some bad news for you Marron. Your affinity for earth means that you need to consume more of the metal element in order to properly form a Metal elemental Soul Knot.”

She starts drawing some symbols on a chalk board, then makes some complicated-looking computations that make your head spin.

“The formula they gave you at the Glinting Silver is pretty basic. The lungs of an Metal-elemental monster usually forms the basis of a Metal-elemental concoction… but add the large intestines, and combine it with the pancreas or stomach of an Earth-elemental monster, you can get more elemental energy per dose of medicine. That should be more than enough to get you that Metal-elemental Soul Knot.”

Mhhm…

Mhhmmm…

You don't get it!

But Chouxcreme certainly does! She'd absorbed Framboise's long-winded explanation like a sponge to water. You can see a twinkle in your soon-to-be wife's eyes.

“Oh yeah, I totally get it. These lessons are certainly easy to understand for lay people like us… But how are we going to pay you for these?”

“Hmm! I don't know! Money would be nice, but your husband there is a pretty good fighter. Maybe we can all go on a hunting trip together… there's some magma monsters deep inside Tarrasque that make for useful potions and I'd love to get my hands on them.”

>>6054859
“Inside Tarrasque? Isn't Tarrasque warded?” You ask.

“Well, the surface of Tarrasque is, but you know how Tarrasque is rumored to be built on the shell of a giant monster? We'll be going inside that shell.”

>Offer to pay with money
>Offee to pay by hunting monsters inside Tarrasque
>Offer to pay by helping Framboise with something less dangerous.

>>6054860
>Offer to pay by hunting monsters inside Tarrasque
Fighting married couple is a trope I don't see enough of, especially when it goes far in a story, and without any tragedy or NTR in any way. I'm tired of all these fanfics and light novels and doujins doing the same stupid shit for the sake of tragedy boner or literal cucked fetish. So boring!

>>6054860
>>Offee to pay by hunting monsters inside Tarrasque

>>6054860
>Offer to pay by hunting monsters inside Tarrasque

>>6054860
>Offee to pay by hunting monsters inside Tarrasque

>>6054860
>Offer to pay by hunting monsters inside Tarrasque
Adventure awaits! And I believe we voted to be a bit of an adventure-junkie, albeit a low-key one?

>>6055369
>>6055135
>>6055077
>>6054993
>>6054901
>>6054860

Since Framboise is offering, you might as well bite. You fought monsters for a couple of missions before, but you've never been underneath Tarrasque. You're curious about what goes on inside the gigantic monster shell.

You all agree to meet up again in about a week, during which you continue to hone the moves of Flowing Metal. With careful practice, the Flowing Metal's techniques are burned into your body.

During lessons, Langoustine is your sparring partner and even he reacts at the fast pace you're mastering Flowing Metal. Despite this, it feels like you're still missing something– the Soul Knot associated with Flowing Metal still hasn't manifested despite your best attempts at brewing the formula. Quite frankly, you're getting a bit sick of consuming monster guts.

Soon, it's time for you and Framboise to meet up. You bring Chouxcreme along because you like the idea of fighting alongside your fiancee. Chouxcreme brings along her mask, wearing it so she doesn't breathe in the dangerous miasmas that churn in the underground.

You learn that the little widget you got from the Glinting Silver serves as your equilvalent of that mask, and you fix the little pendant near your neck. You feel the effects of the miasma lighten almost instantly, stopping you from getting lost in the depths.

Framboise joins your party soon after, with her own token for warding off miasma in the form of a pair of ruby earrings.

How does it go? (Roll 1d20, best of 3. DC 15)

Rolled 5 (1d15)

>>6056284
Rolling!

>>6056304
Wrong die size. Should be a 20, target number is 15.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>6056318
Whoops!
>>6056284
Rerollan

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>6056284

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>6056284

>>6056329
>>6056481
>>6056532
C U R S E D
It's so fucking over bros

>>6056556
>>6056532
>>6056481
>>6056329
>>6056318
>>6056304
>>6056284

The monster hunt was in unknown territory and you'd prepared accordingly. The first layer beneath Tarrasque was full of Darkrats, which you'd expected. Even without using the Flowing Metal art, you and your crew had managed to dispose of the foul monsters rather handily.

You grew confident. Perhaps over-confident.

As your party approached the second layer, the knee-sized Darkrats were replaced by magmatic monsters. Rather than use the darkness like the appropriately named Darkrats, the Magmatics had glowing veins of magma flowing on the surface of their skin.

When enraged, the Magmatics would spit out glowing globes of magma. However, the speed at which they spat their breath weapons out was rather slow and they were easy to dodge.

The Magmatics could only shoot one or two magma blobs before running out of ammo, signaled by the lack of glowing veins on their skin. However, that didn't mean that they were defenseless.

Magmatics were larger than Darkrats and looked like a mix between a large dog and a reptile, with wicked claws and teeth. It would be a fatal mistake to underestimate one just because its breath weapon ran out.

Attracted to the sound of battle, it was near impossible to fight only one of the foul beasts. Whenever you beat one, one or two will take its place, hoping for an easy meal.

Despite your caution in fighting them, you'd still underestimated them and slowly your party was overwhelmed by the constant stream of Magmatics.

As the number of Magmatics incresed, you only managed to escape with only three Magmatic corpses and several injuries to your party, unable to carry more without overencumbering yourselves and leaving you vulnerable to the monsters’ constant assault.

Hopefully, three will be enough.

Returning to Framboise's abode, she teaches you the important parts of the Magmatic monsters. They were halfway between Earth elemental and Fire elemental, which meant that their heart and small intestines for fire and pancreas and stomach for Earth were useful.

Even in the Earth organs, there were traces of fire elemental energy, and vice versa for the Earth organs. These trace energies would lower the efficacy of the potions made from these parts. In order to purify the energies if they're not being used, they needed to be steeped in certain solutions, which Framboise was happy to provide.

Framboise said that despite the hunt being a bit of a bust, she'll still earn a tidy sum for refining the ingredients you managed to harvest.

She offers to hunt with you more again in the future.

What do you do next?
>Schedule another hunt with Framboise
>Take it easy and recover from your wounds by doing some woodworking
>Train and consume potions with Langoustine
>Go on a romantic date with Chouxcreme
>Recover your funds by doing some guild missions

>>6057480
>Train and consume potions with Langoustine

>>6057480
>Go on a romantic date with Chouxcreme
Failed to get that many corpses. Succeeded in lasting a while and kicking ass together

>>6057480
>Go on a romantic date with Chouxcreme

>>6057480
>Go on a romantic date with Chouxcreme

Sorry for the lack of updates. My vacation ended and I have a lot of tasks that have piled up.

>>6058974
No worries, it happens. Take your time.

>>6058974
Take care. We will still be here

>>6057480
>>6057494
>>6057504
>>6057660
>>6057665


While you were studying the Flowing Metal forms at the guildhall, you heard an interesting rumor. On one of the spires that dot the surface of Tarrasque, there is a restaurant. The spire that the restaurant is on has a natural enchantment as a result of the Alchemical Miasma that flows within Tarrasque.

The enchantment makes it so the moon looks several times bigger on that spire than it actually is, allowing you to see the delicate shapes on the moon's surface. It's all very romantic and you got the idea to invite Chouxcreme to eat there.

Chouxcreme lives with a couple other girls in an apartment near the Wooden Mask Merchants’ guildhall. Your courtship with her had been unusually long, which made it all the more important that Choux not move in with your family too soon, lest rumors circulate that the only reason you two are getting married is because you got her pregnant.

Her roommates were a rowdy bunch.

“Choux, is that your fiance?”

“He looks cute”

“You better watch out, CC or I might steal him”

They were pretty noisy and nosy in equal measure.

For your date, Choux had dressed in a white dress. Although she usually dresses pretty simply, there's something different about her tonight that you can't quite figure. Whenever the light of the moon hits her dress just right, you can just vaguely make out a sparkly pattern. It's certainly a nicer outfit than you've seen anyone wear.

Quite frankly, you're speechless.

“I take it the gaping mouth means you like it?” Your fiance chides.

“You're beautiful, Choux. Not just tonight, I mean. You're always so…” Your voice trails off as you struggle to find the words. Perhaps if you were more educated, you'd know better words to describe Chouxcreme with. You can feel your face almost turn luminescent with how much you’re blushing.

“You sure know how to make a girl feel special. I better get my nails in you deep before someone tries to snatch you away,” she laughs.

You make your way to the rumored restaurant. There wasn't a menu, but rather you had several courses as the enlarged illusory moon rises overhead.

It was a fun night, if a bit pricy. You also learn a lot about Choux, and why she chose to join the Wooden Mask Merchants rather than stay in her hometown, Tres.

The numbered towns along the Carp River were always prone to bandit attacks and she wanted a different life than living in fear of bandits… So she chose the adventurer life. At the very least, if she ever decided she wanted to settle down back in her home town, she'd have the combat experience to defend herself.

You also shared why your courtship had taken so long before you proposed and you bonded over the shared experiences with the bandits.

>>6059731
Soon the night was over and you had to deliver Choux back to her apartment. It was an uneventful walk, thanks in part to the low crime rate because of the presence of three different major guilds in Tarrasque.

The next day however, was a bit of a conundrum.

It seems that you'd spent a lot of your budget taking Choux to that romantic date. Your mom has a job as a seamstress and can take over the finances for a bit, but as the oldest male child, that doesn't feel too good for your pride.

Luckily,

>Your friend from the Glinting Silver, Langoustine has a job that needs two people
>Framboise is hunting some rare monsters in the woods around Tarrasque
>A wealthy patron has commissioned furniture after seeing some of your work in the guild market

>>6059732
>Your friend from the Glinting Silver, Langoustine has a job that needs two people
More guild cred
Also even though the money's low from the date, it was worth it. I wonder how the plot will develop next

>>6059731
>why your courtship had taken so long before you proposed
Wasn't it just "I wanted to get my family secured in the city first after the bandits happened"?

>>6059732
>Your friend from the Glinting Silver, Langoustine has a job that needs two people

>>6059732
>Your friend from the Glinting Silver, Langoustine has a job that needs two people

>>6059732
>Your friend from the Glinting Silver, Langoustine has a job that needs two people

>>6059951
>>6059882
>>6059837
>>6059814
>>6059798
>>6059731
Langoustine was a coworker. In fact, you think you haven't interacted with him at all outside of work. He's almost always on a mission, and when he isn't, he's taking lessons at the Glinting Sillver. What a workaholic!

During one of your sparring matches, he suddenly asks you if you're interested in a job.

The gist of the mission is that they're rebuilding a residential area that got infected by miasma. They need some adventurers to help fix the leak.

Coincidentally, you're a bit strapped for cash right now, and the pay for the job is pretty good. You're eager to accept.

Langoustine gives you the details of the job and the two of you meet an old Alchemist. The old Alchemist has a device that condenses alchemical miasma into monster cores and it's your job to kill the monsters before they escape into Tarrasque proper.

“Umm, why can't you just destroy the Miasma directly,” you ask.

“That's because Alchemical Miasma has momentum. Without the killing ritual, the Miasma will come back,” the old Alchemist explains.

You're not really sure how that makes sense, but from what you know about Alchemy from Framboise, Alchemy does tend to be a little obtuse.

Please roll 1d20, dc 13. Best of 3.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>6060897

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>6060897
COME ON

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>6060897

>>6061034
>>6060921
>>6060905
>>6060897
You don't really know what to expect, so while the Alchemist is setting up, you go through the motions of Flowing Metal to warm up. Langoustine takes up a position on the opposing side of the room and is ready in the first stance of his fighting style.

Done setting up, the Alchemist pulls out a crystal that looks like the same kind as the Waypoint Quartzes.

He releases the crystal and you expect the crystal to drop. However, a scant few inches above the ground, the crystal arrests its fall

Five bowls float around the crystal, filled with various herbs. They cycle through the elements, burning and turning to ash, then the ash becomes metallic and so on. With each cycle, the transmutation of elements becomes faster. Each phase that passes, bits and pieces of the transmuted herbs are absorbed by the crystal.

The crystal begins to glow a bright white light, then that light slowly turns sickly and purple.

Drops of purple fluid condense on the crystal– the liquid form of Alchemical Miasma.

The drops of fluid turn into monsters.

You solidify your stance.

Unlike normal monsters which are mutated animals, these monsters are made of pure Alchemical Miasma. You expected them to be tougher…

You move through the motions of Flowing Metal, your father's knife gripped in your hand. The stone-encrusted knife slices through the monsters like butter.

Unlike the Magmatics you fought before, these monsters were a cakewalk.

Langoustine is having a harder time dealing with the monsters. For a moment, you consider helping him out. However as the battle continues, your work friend seems to find his momentum.

You finish moving through Flowing Metal and reset your stance, ready to deal with more monsters.

The flow of miasmatic monsters continues. Although they were weak individually, there were a lot of them and the sheer number of miasma monsters were starting to tire you out.

You condense the movements of Flowing Metal, in order to use fewer motions. You make small corrections and optimize your stance. You even mix up the motions, going back to the third stance after doing the seventh.

As you refine the motions of your fighting style, you can feel something building up in your body. The mastery of Flowing Metal combined with the drugs you've been refining form into a knot within your soul… The Metal Soul Knot!

Almost in the same instant, the crystal's sickly purple glow turns back to white. You've done it! The area is purified!

The Alchemist congratulates you and Langoustine, though Langoustine seems a bit disappointed for some reason. Well, that's whatever. You get paid and the impending financial crisis is averted.

>>6061844
The Stygian season approaches. It's the time when trees slumber and work is supposed to slow down. However, paradoxically, as the Stygian season approaches, things in Tarrasque seem to get more busy.

What do you do?
>Ask Chouxcreme if there are any preparations you need to do for the Stygian season
>Langoustine seems down in the dumps for some reason. Check out why he seems bothered.
>Check out what end of the year events Glinting Silver has to offer.

>>6061846
>Ask Chouxcreme if there are any preparations you need to do for the Stygian season
The wedding is soon, but when is ADVENTURE? Are we in a training arc for the time being?

>>6061846
>Ask Chouxcreme if there are any preparations you need to do for the Stygian season

>>6061846
>Ask Chouxcreme if there are any preparations you need to do for the Stygian season

>>6061846
>Langoustine seems down in the dumps for some reason. Check out why he seems bothered.
I for one care about our sad lobster bro.

>>6061846
>>Ask Chouxcreme if there are any preparations you need to do for the Stygian season

>>6063156
>>6062816
>>6062067
>>6062013
>>6061858
>>6061844

In your old village, things tended to quiet down as the Stygian season approached. It bothered you somewhat that things were getting busy instead of winding down, so you decided to ask Chouxcreme about it.

“Oh gosh! I knew I was forgetting something. I haven't told you about the beast tides.”

Beast tide was a term you've heard used before. As the Stygian season reached its peak, resources in the Miasma-infested forests dwindled and monsters would come out and start attacking people. Of course in your home village, that meant only the occasional beast attack.

“So you see, beast tides are so different in Tarrasque than in Carp River. The monsters are attracted to the miasma underneath Tarrasque so there tend to be a lot of extermination missions during this time. The economy really gets going!”

You can practically see Lucre signs in Choux's eyes as she explains how much magic potions go for at around this time, since the price of true Alchemical potions are a bit out of peoples’ price range.

The residential district you live in isn't close to the borders of Tarrasque, so you don't have to do any special preparations to keep your family protected. However, your little brother Aubergine is starting to get interested in fighting monsters.

It'll still be a couple of years until he's old enough to formally train in fighting, but it probably couldn't hurt to teach him a little bit.

What are the special preparations you make for the Stygian season?
>Use your Soul Knot to brew alchemical potions.
>Start teaching Aubergine how to fight
>Take on some special harvesting missions for plants that only grow during the Stygian season.


(Sorry for the late update. I was busy over the weekend because it was my aunt's birthday)

>>6064611
>Use your Soul Knot to brew alchemical potions.
If we're training lil bro to fight, it shouldn't be in the single most dangerous time of the year.

>>6064611
>Use your Soul Knot to brew alchemical potions.

>>6064623
+1

>>6064677
>>6064633
>>6064623
Buying up some alchemical ingredients was an expensive endeavor. However, if Chouxcreme was right about the price of alchemical potions, you're about to make bank.

Your mom was a little worried about you spending so much money so close to the Stygian season, but she's trying her best to trust your intuition.

In your apartment, you couldn't do any alchemical transmutations, lest you flood it with miasma. Thankfully, the Glinting Silver has alchemical laboratories you can purchase time on that have all of the proper safety features.

You just so happen to meet Framboise at the lab. It's surprising because her lodgings at the Baie estate has its own laboratory.

“Oh, hey. You here to take advantage of the rush for alchemical potions?” Framboise asks.

You nod your head. You mention that you unlocked your Soul Knot recently and were thinking of putting it to good use.

“Oh yeah, the first Soul Knot is the easiest knot to get. I hope you don't expect to develop further Knots to be as easy as your first,” Framboise cautions.

You decide to ask her what she's doing here when she has her own laboratory.

“Oh, this is just a mission I'm on. They need someone with a Soul Knot to make sure the lab doesn't explode from all the chemicals.”

“Oh, potions can explode. Duly noted,” you say, approaching this whole endeavor with more caution than you originally intended.

What kind of potion do you want to make?

>Simple Potions (Lowest grade of potion, difficulty of 12)
>Intermediate Potion (Middling grade of potion, difficulty of 15, Explodes on a roll of less than 5)
>Complex Potion (The highest grade of potion you can currently make, Difficulty of 17, advances your Soul Knot on nat20, Explodes on a roll of less than 10)

>>6065381
>Simple Potions (Lowest grade of potion, difficulty of 12)

>>6065381
>Complex Potion (The highest grade of potion you can currently make, Difficulty of 17, advances your Soul Knot on nat20, Explodes on a roll of less than 10)
Few men reach greatness by playing it safe.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>6065392
+1
Check

>>6065381
>Simple Potions (Lowest grade of potion, difficulty of 12)

>>6065387
>>6065392
>>6065451
>>6065644

Anyone care to tiebreak?

>>6065381
>Complex Potion
Let it ride.

>>6066849
>>6066261
>>6065644
>>6065451
>>6065392
>>6065387


Alright guys, Roll 1d20, best of 3. Target is 17 due to choosing the complex potion

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>6066960

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>6066960

File: FB_IMG_1717081419808.jpg (103 KB, 1068x848)

103 KB JPG

>>6066972

>>6066975
I am bring great dishonor on thread. Now do seppuku.

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>6066960
Oh dear

>>6067099
Well, at least we didn’t explode.

>>6067346
Unless the 1 critfails us.

>>6066960
QM, while I know this luck of the dice, I would like to note that losing after some random anon from the QTG came in to break the tie and pick the trickier option stings just a little more than if the actual players had chosen this course.

>>6067466
Yeah... Not feeling too great about that.

>>6067735
>>6067466
>>6067346
>>6067099
>>6066999
>>6066975
>>6066972
>>6066963
>>6066960
>>6066849
>>6066261
>>6065644
>>6065451
>>6065392
>>6065387
>>6065381


You start preparing the materials for your potion. You aren't really sure what you're making, but you've received a couple of lessons from Framboise.

The laboratory at the Guildhall is well stocked with cauldrons and burners of different makes and materials. You aren't really sure if it matters since the cauldron is just the cooking vessel. You pick a fair sized one just to be safe. Small enough that you can cook smaller batches of potion, but still large enough to contain the plethora of potion ingredients you want to add.

You've only made simple potions before, to help develop your Soul Knot, but your lessons with Framboise taught you that more complex potions are easy to create by adding onto the base potion. So you start stacking ingredients on top of each other.

The cauldron glows with a pale white light as you stir the potion with a wooden spoon… only to reveal an unusable black sludge when the light dissipates.

You double check your calculations. Your basic knowledge of alchemy tells you that this particular recipe should work… but it didn't. Perhaps you did something wrong while heating or mixing it? If so, you try again with a gentler flame. Your second batch also fails

Your frustration with your potion must have been obvious since Framboise slides up next to you and asks what you're doing.

You show her your calculations and… Oh dear. That face she's making certainly isn't a good sign.

“Okay, as both an alchemist and a person from a merchant family, this recipe is really painful to look at. You're going to waste so much money on…”

Framboise goes on a long tirade and shows you just how wrong your calculations are. She goes over your recipe in red, doing her version of alchemical calculation. By the end, nearly the whole paper you've been using has been covered in tiny red alchemical notation.

“You know, just because you developed a soul knot, doesn't mean you qualify for potion making. You're going to poison someone if you don't educate yourself on Alchemy.”

You got scolded pretty badly by Framboise and you get the feeling that she'll remember your folly. At the very least, you get a batch of workable potion by the end that would at least let you break even from all the ingredients you wasted.

….

The end of the Stygian Season is approaching and your marriage in the Azure Season is on the horizon.

>>6069268
Work has been slowly piling up as the Stygian Season is now in full swing. You've got some mandatory quests to finish.

>The new residential district is in need of some preventive maintenance… Investigate what needs doing and use your Alchemical abilities to do it. (Difficulty 13)
>The prey monsters have gone into hibernation, sending their usual predators to go into a frenzy, attacking civilians. (Difficulty 15)
>A rare Eisdeer has been spotted near Tarrasque. It's at the height of its power during the Stygian season. Claim its corpse for the Glinting Silver. (Difficulty 17)

>>6069269
>The prey monsters have gone into hibernation, sending their usual predators to go into a frenzy, attacking civilians. (Difficulty 15)
Please let the dice let us win for once

>>6069269
>The new residential district is in need of some preventive maintenance… Investigate what needs doing and use your Alchemical abilities to do it. (Difficulty 13)
More alchemy practice!

>>6069269
>The new residential district is in need of some preventive maintenance… Investigate what needs doing and use your Alchemical abilities to do it. (Difficulty 13)

>>6069269
>The prey monsters have gone into hibernation, sending their usual predators to go into a frenzy, attacking civilians. (Difficulty 15)

>>6069299
>>6069368
>>6069469
>>6069535


I'm gonna tiebreak based on who reach the tied vote first since you guys werent a fan of how I broke the tie last time.

1d20 best of 3, dc 13

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>6070244
come on...

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>6070244

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>6070244

>>6070250
>>6070252
>>6070265
>>6070244
>>6069268

After your last mishap with Alchemy, you decide to read up at the Glinting Silver's library. Honestly, it's still all a bit beyond you, but at the very least, you've got the basics down so you won't be making any silly mistakes.

You head to the job board in hopes of putting your new knowledge to use and you're in luck. There's a mission about the preventative maintenance of a waypoint crystal. That was one of the topics you learned about from your romp in the library.

You take the mission and head to the guildhall's market to buy some materials, then head to the lab to mix up some reagents.

Heading to the lab, you find that the person in charge today is Framboise again. You go say hi and ask her why she's pulling shifts again.

“Well, there aren't too many people with Soul Knots that can help with the Alchemy, so I usually pull a couple shifts of being the lab technician. It's good, regular work since it can be a hassle to sell alchemical potions sometimes,” she says. “By the way, you DID read up on Alchemy, right? I don't want to see you wasting ingredients again,” she says sternly.

You tell her that you did, in fact read up on Alchemy and you'd taken on a new mission to put your knowledge to use.

“Oh, Waypoint Crystal maintenance, eh? That's pretty basic. Doesn't matter what kind your Soul Knot is, good choice.”

You kind of want to follow up what she meant by that remark, but you do have work to do so you get to work on the potion.

By the end, you have a nice Waypoint Potion. It's clear like water, but viscous and sticky.

“Good job! That's a perfect Waypoint potion,” Framboise commends.

You thank her and then head to the residential district to apply the potion. The Waypoint crystal glows in a rainbow of colors as it absorbs alchemical miasma and transmutes it into normal air.

Job done, you head back to the guildhall to collect your reward.

You're back in the black again, in terms of finances! The upcoming wedding is going to cut into that a bit, but at least you won't be relying on your mom's finances for your wedding. That would be a little embarrassing.

The Stygian Season has ended and it is now the Azure season. It is the season of new beginnings as trees exit their hibernation and start to grow new leaves. Are there any special preparations you want to make for your wedding?

>Write your own vows
>Prepare a gift for Chouxcreme
>Prepare invitations for your friends at the guild
>Write-in

>>6071419
>Prepare a gift for Chouxcreme
Handmade gifts are our live language.

>>6071419
>Prepare a gift for Chouxcreme

>>6071425
+1

>>6071425
+2

>>6071638
>>6071427
>>6071426
>>6071425
>>6071419

Although you may not be able to afford expensive wedding gifts, there was one thing you were always good at. That was making woodcrafts.

And so, you set out to buy a bit of shopping for materials. You managed to get a good deal on lacquer by buying the materials yourself. You'd never made actual lacquer before, always buying it pre-made. However, since you know some basic alchemy, you suppose that it's not that different.

You get to work carving your gift for Chouxcreme. Your siblings saw you making it and teased you about it, but you warned them to keep it a secret and not mouth off about it when your fiance visits.

What you settled on was a beautiful goblet with a swan motif. It's perfect for Choux's all-white presentation, as well as a reference to her beautiful long legs. The neck of the swan curves tastefully around the rim.

As for the lacquer, you begin to mix it up over a low flame. The heat gently coaxes the materials to bond together and… Isn't this usually the point where you use your Soul Knot to influence the concoction?

You figure that there probably isn't much harm to doing so as the materials you bought are fairly inert. Plus, it would mean a lot that you literally put your soul into your gift for Chouxcreme.

The lacquer glints with a silvery light.

You paint the lacquer onto the wooden goblet. Although much of the glow has gone, the goblet maintains a low glow, even in the dark. It would certainly be a good gift for your ladylove.

— Mere weeks later at the turn of the seasons, it is the day of your wedding.

Due to the state of your finances, the wedding was modest. You finally got to meet your in-laws, although they were only in Tarrasque for a short time.

You can attest to the fact that temporary housing is expensive here, and it wasn't exactly proper etiquette to propose your family live together even if only temporarily.

As for you, you don't have much family left. It's sad that your father won't get to see you married, but you hope he's looking out for you, wherever he is.

Oh, also you'd invited Framboise and Langoustine, because they were the first friends you made in Tarrasque.

As you exchange your vows do the customary dance, you present your gift to Choux. The goblet you made glowed white in the dim torchlight of the chapel.

“Wait a minute… Marron, did you buy me an Alchemical Artifact as a gift?”

Chouxcreme could not hide the surprise and joy on her face.

You don't quite understand what it was about your gift, but both Langoustine and Framboise shared her surprised look.

We have come to the end of our time together. See you all in October.

>>6074131
Damn big timegaps. But if real life is that loaded then I can't blame you. Take care QM and be sure to archive this properly!

>>6074130
Our guy made a whole-ass alchemy artifact from scratch as a wedding gift. Their minds are going to be blown when they find out he didn't buy this. We barely broke even with the alchemy fuckup earlier but we still got a decent wedding no matter how modest it ended up.

>>6074232
Yeah, sorry about the time gaps. I have to time them with my work stuff.

>>6074232
We're a man of quality, if not exactly of means.

>>6074131
Thanks for running, OP!. See you then! Don't forget to archive.

>>6074130
Thanks again for running this, QM.

Thanks QM, it was good albeit short