Echoes of Aincrad Town of Beginnings — Hub Guide
Arriving at the Town of Beginnings
After defeating Centrigolem and Ilfang in the prologue, you enter the Town of Beginnings — Floor 1's primary safe hub and the demo's central loop point. Enemy combat disables inside town borders, letting you manage inventory, upgrade gear, and accept missions without interruption. The layout is compact enough to learn in one pass, but each service unlocks on story flags tied to Main Terminal progress.
Orient yourself from the central plaza: the inn and Chest Orb cluster on one side, merchants and smithy on another, and the Main Terminal quest board facing the north field exit. Use this page when the in-game map labels feel sparse or when you forget which NPC handles Growth Points versus crafting.
Inn and Chest Orb
The inn serves two functions: resting to restore health and stamina for free, and accessing the Growth Points menu for Cardinal Rank upgrades. Resting also acts as an implicit save checkpoint — demo players should rest before every field mission. Growth Points allocation is explained in depth on our Growth Points guide.
Adjacent to the inn, the Chest Orb provides shared storage for overflow items when your personal inventory fills. Deposit crafting materials before Mission 4 dungeon runs so new loot does not hit cap mid-fight. The Chest Orb does not replace consumable quick slots — keep Healing Crystals on your character for boss attempts.
Smithy — Upgrade and EX-MOD Synthesis
The smithy unlocks shortly after your first Main Terminal turn-in. Here you upgrade equipped weapons using Floor 1 materials and synthesize EX-MOD modifiers into open slots on your gear. Demo progression caps upgrade tiers and mod slots, but the full loop — craft, upgrade, synthesis — is playable before Wrathful Shrewman.
Visit the smithy between every numbered mission once materials allow. Mission 3 cave chests supply shards needed for meaningful upgrades before Violet Fencer elites. Mechanics and recipes are covered in the Smithy & EX-MODs guide and build planning on EX-MOD Setups.
Item Seller — Consumables and Stock
The Item Seller stocks Healing Crystals and Luminous Talismans for col earned from quests and enemy drops. Prices and restock timing shift after major missions — buy crystals before Mission 2 wolf hunt and talismans before the finale. Full item stats sit on our Consumables page.
The Item Seller does not sell weapons in the demo; weapon upgrades remain smithy-exclusive. Pre-order Proto-Elucidator gear claims through the full game bonus menu, not this NPC — see Pre-Order Pack.
Main Terminal — Missions and Story Flags
The Main Terminal hosts the bulletin board where you accept demo Missions 1 through 4 and the finale quest. Golden markers activate only after interacting with the terminal NPC. Turn in completed contracts here to unlock the next mission, partner tutorials, and smithy tiers.
North of the terminal gate lies the field exit toward Ayoth and broader Floor 1 content mapped on our Floor 1 Areas page. Mission step order is spelled out on the Demo Missions walkthrough. After Mission 4, the terminal flags the Wrathful Shrewman dungeon — prepare talismans and crystals before accepting.
Related Pages in This Section
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I spend Growth Points in town?
At the inn after resting. The Growth Points menu opens from the innkeeper dialogue, separate from the Chest Orb storage interface.
When does the smithy unlock?
After early Main Terminal progress — typically following your first mission acceptance or turn-in. If the smithy is locked, advance the bulletin board quest one step.
Can I leave town without accepting a mission?
Yes for free exploration of nearby fields, but story missions require Main Terminal contracts to update objectives and unlock checkpoints.
Where is the Chest Orb relative to the inn?
Next to the inn entrance in the same plaza cluster. Look for the glowing orb interactable prompt.
Does town layout change after the demo finale?
The demo ends after Wrathful Shrewman with town unchanged. Full game may expand services post-launch.