u/EthernaIl

6316 days ago was when I first logged into RuneScape through the web browser. It was a silly looking game a friend told me to play. I went through tutorial island like most others, and after leaving I met this cook in desperate need of a cake for an event, this is where my journey began all those years ago.

Before I knew it I explored most of the free world, or so I thought. Silly and clueless, the pop-up off danger terrified me of the wilderness, and although I sneaked in a few steps I ended up seeing a player with a skull and headed and sprinted out never to set in again until many years later.

In the end I never figuring out how to open that locked door besides the cooks guild, until a kind stranger gave me his key. The world just felt so endless.

I wasn't an active player, at least not for a long time. I came back every so now and then, whenever a new seasonal event popped. Always wanting to unlock those silly emotes, the give thanks turkey, the snowman dance, a spiderweb cape and many more memorable left me always wanting to collect more like the loot goblin I was.

After I missed one of those seasonal events, and no longer having all my emotes I stopped playing for a long time. And a few years passed before I ended up seeing the game again in videos from YouTube, seeing all the cool bosses I never was able to do I returned. Coming back to my account, I thought that I had gotten pretty far "Surely I had some skills at level 80, so I can fight those bosses!" Low and behold my highest level was 57 Firemaking.

Darkscape came out just a few years later, which drew me in with those increased experience rates. Low and behold, when they shut it down the casket that was given to me pushed my little account by leaps and bounds, into the 70-80s. And before long, Magic was the first skill to reach 99, thanks to a silly goblin called Yelp and the alteration that followed. But all that experience from the goblin and the casket left a bit disappointed in it all. It wasn't a journey as much as it was a daily login and handouts.

So I did something silly, and started my own ironman journey 2023 days ago. Once more leaving the tutorial and once more helping that cook in need. Over the years I slowly worked towards completing all the quests, getting distracted left right and center with no goal of ever maxing. Bossing was of no interest as I just didn't understand it and only went to kill k'ril when a kind guy in my guild decided to spend some hours to help me get my first mage t70 mage pieces.

With the quest cape obtained, I set my sight on the task system, a beautiful middle goal that would leaves you base 90s at the end of it. And half way through, necromancy release. With it, my interest in pvm. It's a combat skill that felt dumbed down enough for me to understand, not like all the other combat skills that I already had in high 80's with all the basics/enhanced/ultimates scattered throughout the skill tab that I just couldn't wrap my brain around.

Necromancy is a skill that caused me to start at the beginnings, not at whatever middle ground I was after leaving the game every few months. Learning the very basics, learning rotations made combat fun for the first time. And being able to work towards t90's felt exciting, it wasn't locked behind some scary boss that I had no hopes of defeating with my level of skill. Before I knew it I was standing before Zuk, and with it, my first understanding on how defensive's functioned.

With a bit more confidence, I finished up task master and decided to challenge Rasial. Figuring out just how useful Debilitate and Reflect are. And now with most of the solo-able bosses defeated, and still a bit spooked about trying group content. I returned on one big mission, one that suddenly got so much closer as I lost track of time, that I had never even expected to get to. And that, was to max.

As of today, I have maxed. Finished my last skill where it all began for me 6316 days ago, I made one final cake in the way I made my first all those years ago. Although it's a sham that I can't share it with the cook that started it all, it is now time for me to find a place to rest.

Having walked through those coveted doors into the max guild, I see no better place to sit down than on throne on the very top. For that, I require just one more journey.

I am glad I got to experience this long journey, and look forward to all those silly grinds that I'll get hooked on as I work through the achievement lists.