7000 is definitely suspicious. i hoard a lot and even i only have like under 2000 of any refined plate or crystal.
I don't have safety mode so i can summon familiar just fine so I don't know what it is
probably a hacker did that
the game has a lot of tutorials along the way so as long as you read through what the npc says you shouldn't be too lost. the game is very story driven so I would start off with an explorer, do the recommended quests and then try other characters. If you start off with like, cadena or luminous off the bat you'll probably be confused as to whats happening.
Probably the first cake and pie event. I think was max level on my nw which was my main at the time and when 120 was max. I hadn't yet made the decision to change mains so I had a lot of time to collect pie pieces. I still have the lotus leaf chair and the musical note chair from that event.
I also liked when grandis was first released and I know most people find it a grind but I liked exploring the new area. It was so beautiful and the bgm was amazing.
Not anything specific but I just fondly remember all the times I just had fun in my own weird way with buddies. I still do it now but it peaked in 2015/2016 and hasn't really been the same.
