«Neo Aincrad» (Sword Art Online) [Closed]

[Takarashi]

_____________________________________

Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

_____________________________________

Infinite, unknown, terrifying darkness. To say that this is what the young man 'saw' would be inaccurate because he did not have senses. He could not feel his body, taste his mouth, smell the air, hear his breathing, or, indeed, see the world. He was back in the womb with his entire being waiting to be conceived. Or perhaps he was dead, and this was the fabled afterlife, with all concept of feeling having been stolen from him. None could say. This state was something his mind could not comprehend. Only once he simply, unquestionably accepted this foreign concept did the wheels of fate begin to turn. Life was slowly breathed back into his body. The young man opened his eyes.

The world before him was strange and beautiful. Large buildings, stone roads, a magnificent fountain, and a slew of other people filled his vision. Idle chatter and a gentle tune hummed in his ears. The scent of freshly baked goods was graciously inviting, and admittedly took some willpower to resist. The air was sweet as the countryside, away from all manner of automotive exhaust and cigarette fumes. Best of all, though, was the sense of touch. His entire body teemed with energy, and his muscles felt as strong as tempered steel. He poked the palm of his hand with each finger, finding that everything worked like it should. Somewhere in the distance, near a gigantic onyx palace, quiet fireworks dazzled the bright blue sky and displayed a message - Welcome to the land of «Neo Aincrad»!

[Takarashi]

_____________________________________

Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

_____________________________________

Everyone had their own preference with how they liked to start games. Some liked to explore and see the scenery, some liked to hit the ground running and tackle the nearest challenge. Personally, the young man had an affinity for tinkering with his settings. He liked knowing what tools he had at his disposal and what parts of the world he had control over, even in some small way. Remembering what one of the lab workers had told him, he used his right hand and swung it in a gentle chop. It was the common method, and in his opinion the most sensible method, for accessing the menu, but every game liked to do things differently.

The white haired swordsman flicked through the panels in a somewhat practiced motion. He'd played several VRMMOs before, so he had a general idea of how systems worked. Equipment, inventory, preferences, it was all pretty standard. With everything seeming in order, the only thing to check was the only loose item in his inventory, the «Strategy Guide». He tapped the icon, the menu vanished, and a small brown book materialized in his hand. He tapped the book once, waited, tapped it again, raised an eye brow, then opened it manually. "No text menu? How old is this game?" He mumbled. The young man had a calm, almost gentle voice, despite his somewhat mean appearance. Giving his head a shake, he strolled over to the fountain and took a seat on the rim. He began scanning the pages to see what there was to learn about this world, «Neo Aincrad».

[Takarashi]

_____________________________________

Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

_____________________________________

The longer the young man flipped through the book, the less impressed he was getting. "No magic. Locked exploration. No defined classes. No overdrive function? Seriously?" The young man snapped the book shut with one hand and ran the other through his colorless hair. "Ugh, this game already sucks." He groaned. What had he really been expecting, though? These sorts of 'research projects' were always some sort of half-assed idea cooked up by people that had no idea how things really worked. He was heavily considering just logging out right now and quitting. He exhaled a moment later, though, and shook his head. "No, I need the money. I'll just deal with it. Even if I'm just logged in I'm getting paid. But man, this blows."

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 1
HP: 240/240
Floor: 1

"Link START!"

In the Town of Beginnings, a young man with spiked brown hair held up by a white headband opened his eyes and stood up. He was astounded by what just happened. This is amazing. When you dive, it feels so smooth. And this town...Look at this place! Everything about this place was amazing and it all looked so real: the buildings, the water, even the NPCs looked strikingly real. And what's more, up in the sky was a message.

Welcome to the Land of <<Neo Aincrad>>!

These people sure knew how to throw a welcoming party. "...I wonder what I should do now. I guess I'll start talking to the NPCs and seeing what requests they have."

[Takarashi]

_____________________________________

Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

_____________________________________

The man with crimson eyes pulled open his inventory and put the «Strategy Guide» away. He could look at it any time, not that he really planned on it. Learning how to play a poorly made game was not his idea of fun. He could still wander around and take in the sights, though he imagined that would get old pretty quickly. What else could he do to pass the time? Maybe talk to someone? It was as good of an idea as any. He scanned the plaza to see what sort of people were around. "Looks stupid. Trying too hard. Make your hair pinker why don't you." He mentally chastised a number of players he saw wandering around. His eyes then fell on another guy that seemed a little more relaxed. His headband was a nice touch, too. Must have came with the hairstyle or something. With a small nod to himself, the white haired man slipped his hands in his pockets and strolled over. "Hey. Mind if I hang out with you for a while? I'm trying to get used to this place but it all feels kinda foreign." He said with a grin.

Gamebrain25

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 1
HP: 240/240
Floor: 1

"Huh?" Geki turned around when he was greeted by a guy with white hair and red eyes. At first, he thought he was a vampire, but upon seeing the icon hovering above his head, he realized this guy was a player. He must have tinkered with his settings a little for that look. "Sure. I don't see why not. The name's Geki, by the way. Oh, and...How awesome is THIS?!"

[Takarashi]

_____________________________________

Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

_____________________________________

"Thanks." The young man replied. His grin spread a bit wider as he listened to Geki talked. He was rather enthusiastic, but that wasn't a bad thing. "I'm Keiyo. Heh, yeah, the graphics are pretty nice. I was reading over the book they give you, though, and the systems are really outdated, or like, not complete. There's not even any magic. They have something called «Sword Skills», which is all right I guess, but I'm kinda disappointed. Oh, uh, if you wanna check stuff out, then lead on. I'll keep up."

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 1
HP: 240/240
Floor: 1

"I'm not surprised," Geki said to "Keiyo." "I guess that makes us beta testers then. Anyway, let's see how we can make us some money, Keiyo." Now take note that Geki hadn't even checked his menu to see how much money he had to start. But all that aside, the boy decided to take his new friend around town.

((I'm going to bed))

[Takarashi]

_____________________________________

Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

_____________________________________

"Beta tester, huh." He repeated aloud as he walked beside Geki. "Has a nice ring to it. I suppose the people that made the game only wanted to make something basic to test with anyway. I wonder if they'll develop it more as we're playing or what the deal is." Even if Keiyo didn't like the game mechanics themselves, he could appreciate the idea of making something just to test the waters. Get some real feedback from the players before bulling ahead with a project. It was a smart business decision.

((Sleep well yo.))

[Phoenix347]

╔════════════════════════════════╗
Location: Starting area
Actions: Exploring
Health: 200/200
Level:1
╚════════════════════════════════╝

Cale walked into the building with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't expecting something as simple as a game test to be in such a large and guarded building. Maybe he had the wrong address or something. As he walked in, he was given a quite welcoming, then brought to the testing room. It was an odd setup but he didn't think much of it after reading about it online. He finished signing their forms and paperwork before he got the chance to link in. He closed his eyes, before his senses vanished.

It was a strange startup, with colors, sounds and scents being thrown about before what he thought was a loading screen appeared. He finally logged into the game, as his character was created and spawned in the starting town. He was now Okiru, and he looked about, checking in all the game had to offer him before he ran to the closest quest giver and accepting. Everything here felt fluent compared to the other games he's played this was an entirely new experience. After gathering some quests to deal with later, he ran out of the town area and started to explore the surrounding area.
((OOC: I'm off to bed as well, and I wanted the image to be somwhere near 300x400, but the media option is being kranky scream ))

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 1
HP: 240/240
Floor: 1

After about a minute of asking around, Geki eventually came across an NPC woman who needed some boar meat. Frenzy Boars were common enemies on the outskirts of town. The key factor of this quest was that she needed three kills worth. With that, Geki led Keiyo to a grassy field just outside of town. And just as the woman said, there were wild Frenzy Boars grazing peacefully. "Guess I'll be first to test out the fight mechanics." Geki drew a rather basic looking sword from the sheath on his left hip while one of the boars faced him with eyes glinting red.

[Takarashi]

_____________________________________

Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

_____________________________________

The quests seemed pretty straightforward and basic, at least to start with. Keiyo merely nodded along with it, not being particularly involved. "Clock eight hours of this, get paid, go home." Was all he thought about this situation. He wondered precisely how the lab techs would assess their progress, given that MMOs tended to be open ended. Maybe it just all factored into the number crunching in some convoluted way. Still, there was a minimum pay grade, and they did state that even just being in the game was worth something to them. Keiyo didn't consider himself that much of a slacker, but he was really not impressed with what he was seeing, visuals aside. It seemed like a lot of time was spent on developing the environment.

When the duo made their way outside town, he had to admit that even the plain fields were pleasant. The bit of strange, raised landscapes he saw off in the distance offered a sense of wonder, too. He felt a slight tug in his chest, the desire to see just what was waiting out there, but he didn't fancy the idea of trying to work with these dated mechanics. He focused back on the situation at hand, and watched Geki draw his weapon. "Show that pig who's boss." Keiyo replied with a smirk.

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 1
HP: 240/240
Floor: 1

The Frenzy Boar pawed the ground cautiously, but showed no signs of making the first move. Apparently, this was the type of enemy that needed to be provoked first. That was fine. That gave Geki the time to open his menu and look up how his Sword Skills worked. Well, that seems simple enough. Geki quickly rushed at the boar and did a Horizontal slash, just as the Frenzy Boar lunged forward to attack. A single long cut was visible in the pig's side just before the beast disintegrated into orange pixels. "Hey! That was easy! Keiyo, you gotta try this!"

[Phoenix347]

╔════════════════════════════════╗
Location: Starting area
Actions: Exploring
Health: 174/200
Level:1
╚════════════════════════════════╝

Okiru finished his little exploration with little around the town aside from some plains and a forest the town was the biggest thing around here. He opened his quest log with a flick of the wrist, and checked what quests he had picked up. Aside from a couple simple 'kill this many _____' quests, he had 2 interesting quests he wanted to save for last; 'Honored Honesty' and 'Unintellectual Pursuit'.

He started off for the plains where the boars were spawning and he checked what skills he had to use. Only two for the moment, a basic attack and a charge up. He selected his first target before starting up the charge, pulling his rapier and holding it like he was going to thrust it before he shot forward and sliced up through it, taking half the health. He finished with a few of the basics, while also taking some health.