The Memoirs of Alef

"I was born under unknown circumstances. My father is a complete stranger to me, and my mother can be one of several people in an unnamed village somewhere in the vicinity of Alefguard. Oh my god, I just realized I'm named after the planet!

My childhood was a very typical one. I was raised as a farmer but had a strong desire to pick up a sword. All my teachers at school had a strong relationship with me in one way or another. Some were tough but fair, others offered excessive praise, and one constantly hit on me. They always made me feel special, even to the detriment of my classmates. Teachers often forgot most of their names, despite me sitting in the back leftmost seat in the room. Around middle school, it started to make me uncomfortable.

My hair had been a strange color - a hue of red or yellow, depending on the light. I tried to dye it black every week, even though it would always wash out in a day or two. My female classmates always brought me homemade lunches, and they'd have a battle royal to see who'd feed me first. When I started eating alone, it only made them more ravenous. I started spending my free time on the roof. The wind would always blow, and it felt like I belonged here, so I started living in a closet. Why did the world revolve around me?

And then the world changed. A dragon began to rule the world. Across the planet, rumors of imminent death shook the people to their core. But a legend in the ruling state of Tintagel spread at this time. It spoke of a descendant of the Legendary Hero, Luto, would relive their ancestors' journey. The King called for any able bodied warrior to meet him. Something inside me compelled me to go, but I didn't want to. So I ran in the opposite direction of Tintagel. I crossed deserts, mountains, and seas only to arrive before the King. Curse this round planet!

The King repeated the legend, and the chancellor informed me about the kidnapped princess, Laura. With no other path to tread, I accepted my role as Main Character...

And so I battled the monsters and demons around the castle. For reasons no one's ever explained to me, dead bodies drop money. I saved up the gold from slimes and bats to buy the basics sold at the village store. The townsfolk "suggested" I should visit the village of Garintown to the northwest. En route, I discovered a cave. At the bottom was a tablet written by the Legendary Hero, Roto. It reiterated the legend and told me of their magical equipment that only their progeny can wear. Oh no...

Garintown is home to a Silver Lute, but it's behind a locked door. Rather than find the remote town that sells them, I traveled south. I saw a mountain cave near Tintagel, but I couldn't walk to it from there. After crossing a bridge, which are magical barriers that stop demons from crossing, I fought much harder mobs than before. They pushed me to my limit, but my Heal spell and desire to return to a town kept me alive. Fear is a survival skill! When I was strong enough, I found the Mountain Cave!

I'll never understand why so much gold was down here. I get the iron shield, but why the cash? There was also an entire army of mobs down here that I continued to exhaust myself against. There was nothing of note down there, but it set me up for this journey.

Going south was terrifying, so I traveled east. There's the village of...Lot nestled in the forest. They have better equipment, so I made myself stronger! I also enjoyed the hot bath. A lonely wife's mother told me her son-in-law ran off to find the village of magic keys, allegedly in the south! There's a poison swamp on either side of a channel, but the Marsh Cave sprawled beneath. There was totally nothing there. Further south, beyond a mountain range, was the town of Rimuldar. The key witch was hidden, and I needed to sneak around the town's moat to find her. The keys are surprisingly cheap! I also saved a relationship while there and was told the location of the Fairy Flute in Lot. It's just before the bath.

I returned to Garintown and found the secret passage to Garin's Tomb. The top two floors contain mobs that can be found outside. But the bottom basement was a horror show. I did a lot of running, herb abuse, and Healing, but I got to the Silver Lute. The priest on the Temple of Rain north of Lot wanted that. So I went there, and he gave me the Rod of Rain. A person in Rimuldar told me about the Rainbow Bridge I can make. With this Rod and the Stones of the Sun, which I found under Tintagel, I am able to create a rainbow!

Before I went to Rimu, I dared to travel south from Garin. It was a long and terrible walk, but it was worth it. Not only did I kill a metal slime (legitimately), but I found the Fort Town of Cantlin. It was defended by a Golem, but I overheard a man talking about the Fairy Flute being its weakness in Lot. There's a vendor for everything here, as well as a man living off his grandfather's money. Before the desert town was destroyed, his grandfather left Luto's Armor under a tree. I backtracked there and got attacked by a Demon Knight! I don't know how I won. I think I have magical time traveling powers! With enough Fireball spam, though, I won. I feel empty inside, but I killed a powerful demon. I checked the tree behind it and found the armor of legend! A priest with a painful floor also told me the location of a medal. It was a terrible clue... Lastly, this town had an incredibly powerful shield for sale. I killed metal slimes and a few gold men until I had enough money to buy it. I had to leave the Fire Sword, but I'm in no harm now! All I need is that sword. Oh, and maybe find that princess chick."

...

Welcome to an early Dragon Quest month! I decided to get a quick start because I don't think DQ1 is long. I'm nearly done with it, so it's shorter than I thought. I'm really enjoying it, though. I expected the plot and characterization to be nonexistent, so I'm not disappointed. I like that the first dungeon is optional, but I'll do some mandatory (and some less so) stuff tomorrow!