SAO: The Trials In My Head O/A4

Favorite Active Character?

Aubrey Dye	14.3%	[ 2 ]
Tetsuo Hayashi	14.3%	[ 2 ]
Aruda "Alder" Shiro	28.6%	[ 4 ]
Kyuusei Nakiato	0.0%	[ 0 ]
Arashi Junsei	14.3%	[ 2 ]
Nagisa "Friska" Wakahisa	7.1%	[ 1 ]
Yutu "Ryder" Akari	21.4%	[ 3 ]
Kanti Masuro	0.0%	[ 0 ]
Total Votes:			[ 14 ]

[CheeTeme]

Ria Kendrall
________________________________________
( Idol / Cloaked )

The edge of a sword held ready near her abdomen and the first words out of his mouth was criticism for trusting a random player? Ria’s smile did not change or falter, and neither did her body or her stance. She was still ready to jump away from him if necessary, but it would be pointless to respond to such a comment. She would simply let the suggestion fade away. This stranger was right about a possible stalker being more dangerous than him. Perhaps he was even right about the risks of walking up to a stranger. It didn’t really matter now though. I mean, with an introductory sentence like that, Ria seriously doubted he was actually going to be a threat to her. It was more likely for someone dangerous to not say something that might put Ria on guard. Not that Ria suddenly trusted this stranger. Not at all. If Ria had even the slightest suspicion about this man, she would be gone without a shred of hesitation.

Seeing the man put his weapon away and sigh did help ease her mind, but her outward appearance would not reflect this. She would just appear to be casual and happy, not physically appearing to have been worried at all. Sure she thought she was being followed just now, but finding someone else would theoretically make her relax, and this stranger really didn’t do anything threatening, so why would her idol mask feel threatened? The feeling of being scolded would actually make “idol Ria” feel more at home.

"450 Col, paid up front. That will get you an escort back to town. Otherwise you're on your own."

Ria’s smile immediately turned into a mouth gaping open with an expression like someone had just said something offensive and almost painful. She almost lashed the proposal straight to the ground, knowing very well that was overpriced for someone of her level to afford, but she visibly caught herself from speaking and held that grumpy expression for a moment while thinking. Honestly, how would he know she’s only level 2 anyhow? And Even though Ria was acting shocked, it was normal for people to start at a higher price than usual if they thought they had an advantage on the situation. It’s just good business. Ria would do it too if she was trying to sell information to people she thought desperately wanted it.

Another playful smirk took over Ria’s expression, “I have a fun idea that I bet you’ll like a lot more, since it would mean giving you even more money than that just in the next half hour.” She paused for a moment just to smile at him then continued with her explanation, “The town is actually pretty close. It would not take us very long to walk there. Let’s pretend for a moment that there is no one following me, and there are no monsters on the way to the town. I will pay you right this second, 200 Col just for simply walking me to the town. Just walking. It would be the easiest 200 Col you’ve probably ever made in this game. Now there is of course the risk that someone could be following me. And I’ll be honest, I might have just been seeing things. I’m just skittish like that. Just the fact that you are walking with me would likely keep away any killers or thieves. Easier to just wait till I’m alone again or change targets. Now, if we do get attacked by a player, ambushed by a player, or a player tries to steal something from us, then if I live through the event with nothing getting stolen from me, then I will give you every last coin I have. That would be a total of 472 Col in your pocket. That’s even more than what you are asking for. If no other player disturbs our short trip, it will still be the easiest 200 Col you’ve ever made. Now here’s the really fun part that I think you will like. You know as well as I that between here and the town, there will be nothing but level 1 mobs that both of us should be able to kill in a single swipe since they get easier and easier to kill as you get closer to the town. You wouldn’t even have to lift a finger while walking me back, I could take care of all the monsters for you. But where’s the fun in that right? Heh. So what I propose is after I give you the 200 Col right now for walking payment, we then have a little competition. I may not be as strong as you I’m sure, but I’m pretty fast. And I bet you that I can kill those little mobs faster than you since they will all be one hit. I will use my wakizashi, and you may use your sword or a similar close ranged weapon. We will head straight for the town with no detours, and for each monster that pops into our path or tries to attack us, I will have a mini race with you to be the first one to kill the mob. When we reach the town I will give you 10 Col for every low level mob we naturally stumble across that you can killed before me, until I run out of money that is. So basically you get 200 Col for walking a short distance, we can have fun competing to kill low level mobs on the way back to town, and I will give you every coin I have if you do end being my knight in shining armor.” Ria leaned even closer to him while still playfully smirking at him, “Now doesn’t that sound like a lot of fun? You do find easy money fun right?”






Username: Bria Engel
Level: 2 (almost 3)
Health: 82%
Stamina: 17%
Company: Akuma
Primary Skills: Agility, Sneaking, Listening, Tracking, Pickpocket, Detection
OOC: if he accepts, we'll talk more in ooc about the outcome of the competition

[Sypher-Anthem]

▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ "One should always strive for Greatness
XXXXXXXAnd I won't stop until I've achieved It! ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄

XXXX╔══════════════════╗
XXXXXXKyuusei Nakiato Lv: 4
XXXX╚══════════════════╝

Kyuusei's Theme ^^

"Well of course. You could never sit still for very long." He would say not really wanting an argument to break out now. He'd only just met up with them and the last thing he needed was the most temperamental one to run off again.

"Why can't you just say it normally, You were worried about us" Arashi would say grinning like they'd just met after one of there business classes. Despite the type of people he hung around, Arashi had always proven himself to a be a good friend. At the very least more trustworthy than some other in his "tax bracket".

"Yeah, I'll say that when you admit it first." He would say in a joking tone to his long time friend as he tossed an arm around his shoulder. While Arashi went up to Emi to initiate the quest Kyuusei would go into the party menu and adjust the formation to include both him and Friska. The party was automatically updated and Arashi would start back over, throwing an arm around the long haired male as he spoke.

"Looks like were going to be together for the next day or so"He would say, the armor on his legs making a clink sound with each step he took. The four of them had grouped off in twos and he went to speak again this time in a hushed tone. "So how's it you and miss I can see again have been together this whole time?"

Looking over at the two of them he would sigh and put his arm around Arashi's shoulder before speaking quietly. "A literal ton of patience."" he would say throwing on his best tired expression. Not that his time with Aubrey was that exasperating, but it was a new experience not only walking Aubrey through the game mechanics as well as how to handle things from a non blind perspective.

Location: Town Fountain
Company: Aubrey, Arashi, Friska
Mood: Relaxed
Status: Normal
OOC:

Hp: {▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇}xx✞ ✞ ✞xxStamina: {▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ }

[Waffle Cones]

★ Kaede "Nyxiris" Ito ★
Level 1 - <<UNSPECIFIED>>
Nyxiris ██████████████████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Readying the next pick she pulled her arm back above her shoulder, the pulse of energy from the sword art began to fill her arm. Building pressure as familiar as the tide slowly rose up her arm. Her eyes locked onto the slowly decaying wolf flowing it as it prepared for it's next charge, her line of sight slowly selecting it's desired target. In this specific sword art relied on time in order to deliver a more powerful strike with greater accuracy.

However, time was a tricky thing in an MMORPG, players entered a state of adrenal release and everything would slow down. Mere seconds held more moments than they knew and cooldowns often drove players crazy, it must be ten times more annoying when the game was this close to real life. In these moments the wolf had once again tried to move in on the young apothecary. Her eyes and arm felt the mixture of the fluxuating energy and not a moment too soon. Nyx let her arm free of the initial input action and an <<Aimed Shot>> lodged itself in the wolf's mouth interrupting the wolf before it could bite.

Quickly grabbing another <<Throwing Pick (Lesser Herbal Poison)>> from her bracer Nyxiris quickly threw it without an input action. The game had nothing against free hand battle, but when it came to that it was either skill or chance. Nyxiris was far from a fighter, but she made good guesses sometimes. This guess found it's way and created a unihorned wolf. With its beast's angry eyes and bared fangs the joke obviously was lost as the pick in its skull.

The fight was going swimmingly! She'd hit the wolf, avoid him for a little while and then let him drop dead. She had already gotten down from the tree and hit him with two needles which should put him down, but who could argue with safety? The poison was slow, but it lasted longer than animal toxins which were potent, yet had the flaw of less damage overall and it was exceptionally difficult to gather the reagents required to create the toxin.

Perhaps it was just the energy from doing so well so early in the morning, but Nyxiris could only smirk as the second wolf jumped at her from the side catching her unaware. The second wolf more than likely waited in order to avoid getting in the way of the other wolf, but skirted around to look for a lull when she was unprepared for a defense. Struggling to free herself from the wolf that had her pressed against the dirt the girl could only take minor damage from the claws that pressed into her shoulders, the jaws would be the most dangerous thing until the first wolf found its way over. Things had certainly changed...


Wolf 1 ██████████████████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 3☠
Wolf 2 ██████████████████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Location:: The borderlands of the forest and plains.
Company:: Alone-ish
OOC::

[The Crimson One]

Tetsuo Hayashi

Akuma

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Well, sounds like his initial offer was definitely overcharging. How was he supposed to know that she couldn't afford it? Of course the price would have been high for anyone, but he hadn't been expecting it to be almost all of her Col. Now he felt kind of guilty for the price...even if he really shouldn't. Of course her counter offer was quickly taken into consideration and then discarded. Not for how much he'd make off of it, but simply because he didn't agree with the concept. It seemed too...flippant to him, as if they were still simply within a game. Their current reality, he felt, should be taken more seriously than that.

"You never know what the game might throw at you, even in a supposedly safe area. Your 'contest' holds too much risk, if we happen to be unlucky. I'll simply take the 200 col, plus first rights to any loot."

Yes, he knew the offer was lower than he'd make with her idea most likely, but suck is life. Besides, he honestly didn't want to drain her of ll her Col. The 200 was still more than he had already, and could go towards getting himself better armor or something. As for the loot...maybe it was time to find some crafters to 'invest' in to get better equipment out of them later. But that was for later. For now, offer made, he opened up his menu and sent her a party invite, assuming that she'd be accepting the deal.

Then, as he turned to walk in the direction of town, a thought crossed his mind. They still had not even introduced themselves. Odds were his in game name was in the party invite, but an introduction was still polite after all. Plus he hadn't paid enough attention to get her name at any point either. So he spoke, glancing back towards her as he did.

"I am called Akuma, by the way. What would your name be?"

Yep, that's right, he had no idea who she was or even that she was famous in the real world. Oh well. His name given, or at least his in game name, and hers requested, he once again turned in the direction of town. This time, starting to pay attention with his Detection skill as he began to move forward.

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Level 4
HP: 100%
Stamina: 100%
Location: Somewhere Outside of Town
Company: Ria

[fearabyss]

†xxxxxx★xxxxxx†xxxxxx Ҟɑɲϯi ✘ Ɱɑϯsuɍø

╔══════════════════╗
M o n k ✘ L e v e l 3
╚══════════════════╝

☆★☆★
Where: Outside of Inn
With: Ryder, Fortuna
Mood: Cautious and Terrified
☆★☆★

A muffled grunt sound from behind the pillow that hit the monk in the face with all the groggy strength of a thousand temperamental young ladies. He let out a laugh and as the cushion slid down his face and smiled to himself at what he believed to smile coming from Ryder as she turned to hide it. Although she was still hiding her identity and being as cautious as ever to give no hint of the truth, he was glad to see that she felt more comfortable around him compared to when they had first met, even her abuse was more lighthearted. He began to think maybe today he'd drop the hint that he knew the truth to help her drop the tireless charade, but Ryder's hard slamming of the bathroom door made him cringe and forget the thought. She'll come around when she's ready...

As Ryder washed up he took the opportunity to go through his inventory to asses his drops and everything he had gotten in the past week. He scrolled through all the miscellaneous mob drops he had decided to keep as ingredients for potion brewing, although he had yet to use the kit he had picked up, and filtered out everything he could sell off at the market. He swiped to his apparel HUD and tapped his outfit for the day, a large robe and pants, simple but effective. He figured out that less clothing hindered him less while battling, especially with his more dexterous fighting style, his robe allowed him to hide his weapon as well as leave him free to apply the necessary finesse to it. With more time to spare he began to read the public announcements regarding the front lines meeting. It seemed the larger guilds and stronger players were planning to work together to clear the dungeons more efficiently to reach the top faster. Kanti agreed with the notion that working together could only increase everyone's chances of escaping the game, but he couldn't help but feel the politics of any sort of counsel would eventually lead to its downfall as the big guilds fought for leadership. Something he would rather not get caught up in if he could avoid it.

He continued to read other announcements until Ryder came out of the bathroom and made the challenge to sell of their drops. He barely had time to close his HUD before the girl had dashed out the door. He laughed to himself and nodded as the girl called back their meet up spot and proceeded to step over to the window. He had learned a few times that he couldn't catch Ryder after her head start out the room, and decided to take a different route this time. He opened the window and climbed out onto the roof of the inn, looking down at the early bustle of the inn and market in the distance. Pulling his chain whip from his sleeve he threw it straight towards a nearby tree and flicked his fingers up on the chain, making the chain wrap around one of the high branches. Ensuring it was secure he saw his companion scramble out the door of the inn and shouted to her,"Not this time Ryder!" he called as he jumped from the roof and swung down like Tarzan, even making the call as he did.

He hit the ground running and was a few yards behind Ryder as he tried to keep pace and close the gap, laughing as he went. Maybe today was the day he would be treated to breakfast rather than having to treat, though he really didn't mind and kind of enjoyed the girl's excitement of getting something so simple very time. His laughter suddenly stopped however as he saw Ryder yanked to a stop by some strange girl who decided to lecture her on walking to avoid hurting another player. Honestly getting bumped by the female would be much more preferable compared to the wrath he felt would soon arise in her at being:

1) Man handled to a stop
2) Being lecture at
3) Being stopped and lectured to by a complete stranger
4) Getting in the way of her free breakfast

The monk slid to a stop a bit past the two females and quickly approached, shaking his head and trying his damnedest to tell the strange girl with his eyes to let Ryder go quickly to avoid any further trouble. "Uhh hey, I wouldn't advise you not do that to this one. Believe me it will not end very nicely."

■■■■■■■■■■ ▄▄▄▄▄ 100% Healthxxxxxxxxxxxx ■■■■■■■■■■ ▄▄▄▄▄ 100% Stamina

Ooc: I apologize for the absence and hope everyone is well.

†xxxxx†xxxxx†xxxxx†xxxxx†xxxxx†xxxxx†xxxxx†
☪ ═════════════════════════════ ☪

[Always A Lark]

«Ryder»
〈 Yutu Akari 〉xx
X
HP【▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓】
X
Stamina【▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓】

•.• ● •۰• ● •۰• ● •۰• ● •.•

X

There were few things that Ryder enjoyed more than feeling the wind as it tugged at her cloths as she rushed along going out her business. Today was not an exception, as the feeling of the damp air catching and dragging at her cloak almost made up for the light spattering of cool rain drops against her face. Almost, being the key word there, as those pesky little drops still managed to put a sour edge to her formerly brightening mood. The cold, damp feeling of the humidity in the air, coupled with the beginnings of a spitting rain nearly had the petite girl turning around and heading back to the in before she even made past three shops. However, the promise of a warm meal being payed for out of someone else’s pocket spurred her on, driving her towards her destination even faster.

The sound of Kanti’s voice coming from above her was not something Ryder was expecting, and the sudden yell that followed was almost enough to make her fall flat on her face. She stumbled, slowing momentarily as she glanced back over her should just in time to see her partner come swinging down from the roof of the inn behind her. She felt her jaw go slack, eyes stretched wide before snapping her mouth shut and turning around to sprint away from the monk who had just very effectually closed the distance between them. She was a little shocked to say the least, and more than a little convinced that her partymate was quickly proving to be the biggest idiot lunatic she had ever met, but she would be damned if his little exhibitionist stunt made her lose her free meal. He was close enough now for her to hear his foot falls, and that meant it was crunch time for the smaller girl as she redoubled her efforts at keeping in the lead. While she had been putting all of her energy into maxing out her agility and stamina during their time in the field, she had not been putting quite as much effort into her liner speed abilities, and while they were still fairly high, she was not as confident in her ability to outpace her taller male companion while running in a straight line.

The sudden feeling of being yanked beck by one arm was as unexpected as it was painful, as Ryder had not even noticed the other girl in her path past her being a physical obstacle to be avoided. So the indignant squawk of pain and surpassed coupled with the clumsy stumbling halt that nearly led to her ending up face first on the ground the action caused only enraged the little axe wielder even more. Not bothering to pause to hear what the other girl was saying, never mind think though her next action, Ryder turned on the girl holding onto her arm, her once determined but jubilant expression now twisted into a mask of vindictive rage that seemed very out of place and jarring on her delicate features. She jerked her arm hard, back and away from the dark haired girl, as she turned while bringing her now clenched fist up and aiming a wild swing at the general vicinity of the slightly taller girls head. ”Get off!” She barked, not caring in the least if her punch landed as she just wanted to get this retched woman off her arm as quickly as possible so she could move to square herself off with this stranger and launch a proper assault on this wretch who had the audacity to grab her in the street and then talk down to her like a child.

She almost looked away at the sound of Kanti’s voice, but it only served to remind her that this woman had just interfered with her race. Which, by default, also meant that she had just gotten in the way of her free breakfast, a fact that only seemed to enrage the tiny girl further. Instead Ryder growled, the sound unbiddenly making its way out from the back of her throat as she stomped stepped into the other girl’s personal space, now bent on getting right in her face, and jabbed a finger at her sternum. ”Who exactly do you think you are, huh?” she sneered, absently giving her head a quick jerk to try and right her hood that had slipped back a bit while she had turned after her almost fall. It didn’t do much good, the vibrant red fabric now hardly falling to her mid-forehead and exposing more of her face than she had let it in weeks. She felt a sudden swell of panic, but she ignored it in favor of staring the girl in front of her down. Kanti had yet to make it into her line of sight, and while he had heard him from close by she didn’t know how close he actually was and doubted that he could see her face if she couldn’t see him. Besides, she would rather gouge out her own eye than duck her head right now because she was furious, because it was early, starting to rain, had just essentially lost a footrace and now that she thought of it, she was pretty damn hungry too.

This was just not shaping up to be a good morning.

X

•.• ● •۰• ● •۰• ● •۰• ● •.•

X
X
X

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
Level « 4 »xxxLocation « Outside the Inn »xxxCompany « Kanti & Fortuna»xxxMood « Lying, Raging »x
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
Ooc: I left her stamina bar full for this post only because i figure they're in town, and if they don't take damage in the town they might not lose stamina that way they would in the field..???

[Cthulhuchuu]

xxxxＬＯＧＩＮ： xxxxxxxxxFriska
xxxxＰＡＳＳＷＯＲＤ：xxxxx✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻

xxxxxxxxxxxxx. . . L O G I Nxx S U C C E S S !


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxconnecтιng тo ѕerver . . .

As the hands come to her face Friska stood there and took it as if it were a normal gesture. This wasn't anything new, being use to Aubrey and her odd habits. She kind of enjoyed the soft touch, like a cat getting its face rubbed, though she'd never say it. That would be weird! After Aubrey was done petting her face Friska was pulled into a hug that she gladly returned. Even though it had been her fault, she missed the company of friends.

Sitting herself on the fountain she grinned at her good friend, "Of course!" A pop up on her HUD caught her attention as Kyuusei merged the two parties, bringing both this and Aubrey's health bars into view. She had so much she wanted to ask her, but she also knew time was of the essence. Swaying her feet off the side of the fountain Friska fidgeted, "This quest, chain quest, is probably going to take all day. There's a front line's meeting also taking place in this town today, so.. it'd be impossible to do both. I'm guessing you guys were gonna ignore that and just go about the quest, right?" She scratched her cheek in thought, "If that's the case we need to get going soon. We're going to have monster mobs spawn more than we're use to, granted we're a larger party.."

At this point she was more so just talking to herself. She wanted to get to their destination with little to no trouble, and the best way to do that would be to avoid as many mobs as possible. That being the case they'd need to minimize aggro range, but it wasn't as though they could run on top of each other. Letting out a sigh her shoulders relaxed and she got to her feet, "We could either travel two in front, two in back, trying to balance our power in a grid-like formation.. Or we could travel in a line, one after another, and try the counter and switch technique when we encounter a spawn. Or, maybe we could do both.. use the grid formation and switch with the person behind us.." Again, talking to herself.

Looking back up from her feet she glanced back and forth between Arashi, Aubrey, and Kyuusei, though avoiding eye contact with the last one. "So. . Who's ready to get this show on the road, eh?" She pumped her fist in the air, attempting to give the group some energetic encouragement.

Location: Town of Beginnings || Current Objective: Play it safe. || Who I'm with: Arashi, Aubrey, and Kyuusei || Level: 3

[CheeTeme]

Ria Kendrall
________________________________________
( Idol / Cloaked )

Ria’s smirk actually dimmed a bit as once again the man’s first response was neither positive, nor relating to what she had just asked him (in this situation if easy money sounded fun). I mean, Ria was absolutely a cautious person, but this guy, he needed to get laid; relax a bit. At least that’s the thought that crossed her mind. In her opinion if they were going to run into a random dangerous mob on the way, it would happen whether she is paying him for it or not. Was she going to say that to him and explain that it would still be better to get some money for such random occurrences if not even ask to on top of her offer also get all the natural drops? Hell no! If he wanted to settle for less, then by all means! Ria beamed up at him with a smile, “Deal! I accept. Thank you very much.” Ria bowed her head a little in thanks to be polite. She wasn’t sure if he was bad at haggling, impatient, too slow to keep up with what she was saying, or simply a nice guy that was just testing her or something by asking for such a high price at first. But clearly it didn’t matter that much to him now so Ria was game! Ria would place her bets on the guy being impatient and uptight. Who knows, maybe I can get him to relax on the way back to town.

As the man turned to start walking Ria happily turned to walk with him. Her eyes only briefly took a quick glance around the area before turning her back to it. She would be keeping an eye out with her own detection skill as well. Ria did not know what his detection skill was at, but hers could only be considered average for someone of her level. That would change later, but she’s been a busy girl these past two weeks. With a gentle smile Ria opened her HUD to begin a trade with him for the 200 col as agreed. With the same smile she declined his party invitation without hesitation. She did not act as if she was sorry for it either. She simply replied to his introduction, “It’s very nice to meet you Akuma. My name is Ria Kendrall.” She used her real name and not her username simply because she wanted people to see her and recognize her for her real name. If people associated her face with her actual username, it could accidentally aid people finding out who she is when she is cloaked (given they ever figured out her username while she was cloaked). Not even allowing a chance for her more famous actress name to click, she continued, “And I’ve declined your party invitation. Considering we don’t really know each other, I’m sure you could agree that being in a party together could only increase the chance of one of us purposely ditching the other in order to get free loot from the dead party member. And since you seem to be quite the fan of safety, I’m sure you will agree with me.” With that last faintly teasing statement Ria’s eyes flicked up to meet his, then she went back to looking forward. She wasn’t trying to be mean, just playful.

After a few minutes she did feel like having casual conversation. She looked up at him again with a smile, “Akuma, if I may...What is your occupation? In Aincrad of course. The reason I ask is because I’ve been here for two weeks, and I still can’t seem to find an occupation that suites me. I can hold my own in combat enough to survive or get away, and I can contribute to a group just fine, but I don’t really feel like combat all hours of the day is very...I don’t know. Just thinking about constantly trying to fight for my life makes me feel more frustrated and more cornered the harder I try to progress. Pure involvement in combat as an occupation doesn’t seem to be good for me. I need something else if I’m going to keep my sanity. I’ve looked into all the possible crafts I can think of, but I’m terrible at most of them. I think the only thing that brings me peace is being with other people, making them happy, seeing them smile, making them excited and feel joy instead of fear or anger. I like to relax them, or encourage them to fight harder. But you don’t make money from talking to people. So I need a job that lets me interact with people but still keep my head above water financially.” Ria still looked straight at his eyes, whether or not he at any point looked back at her. “What do you do? Do you have any ideas for me?”






Username: Bria Engel
Level: 2 (almost 3)
Health: 88%
Stamina: 38%
Company: Akuma
Primary Skills: Agility, Sneaking, Listening, Tracking, Pickpocket, Detection
OOC:

[Always A Lark]

«Ryder»
〈 Yutu Akari 〉xx
X
HP【▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓】
X
Stamina【▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓】

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Ryder had fully expected to have her hand smacked away by the taller girl, just as she had been fully prepared for it to be followed by angry words or even a fist. She had not been expecting the sudden, two handed shove to her shoulders that sent her reeling backwards, or the pressure on her throat and the inevitable fall that followed as she caught her foot in her too long cloak while trying to keep herself upright. She went down gracelessly, landing hard on her rear and nearly tipping backwards with the momentum of her fall, only just managing to get her hands on the ground behind her to keep herself from ending up flat on her back. She was so caught off guard by this turn of events that all she could do was gape after the other girl as she zipped away, melting into the steadily forming crowd as more and more players began filling the streets to go about their day.

It took her a half a heartbeat to go from gawked after the girl in shock, with eyes wide and jaws slack, to enraged and when it happened there was an audible ‘click’ as her mouth snapped shut and she bared her teeth in a snarl after the stranger who had already vanished from view. She sat a moment longer, stewing on dull throbbing in her tail bone and the cold dampness that was starting to seep into her cloths, before she fisted her hands into her fabric of her cloak that was pooled around her and surging to her feet. She took a step forwards, blue-green eyes narrowed to gleaming slits as she glared at where the other girl had disappeared. The struggle to restrain herself from charging down the street and after the other as obvious in her posture, but Ryder knew it would do her no good. Following the girl and giving her the beating of a life time would only cause more headaches. As satisfying as it would be to have been able to hand that wretch her a**, it probably would not be worth the orange player icon she would be undoubtedly end up sporting and then the subsequent good samaritan quest chain she would have to complete after. She settled for muttering vicious obscenities under her breath as she regained her composure and made a point to dust herself off in a quick, almost violent manner.

She huffed a bit, and crossed her arms over her chest in a final show of defiance even with the other girl undoubtedly now long by now. “This does not mean you won, Kanti. We’re just going to have to…” she started to grouse, her expression softening if only marginally as she went to look over her shoulder at her companion, before her words died on her lips and her eyes widened finding the only thing obstructing her view of the monk was her own hair, gleaming pale and ashy in the weak morning light. She could feel blood to drained out of her face, her expression going from irritated to horrified in seconds. She stood frozen for a moment, body going ridged as terror welled within her turning her blood to ice and making her stomach drop. She made a mad grab for the hood of her cloak, fingers scrambling desperately at the fabric where it pooled around her shoulders, and yanking it back up and over her head and down over her face.

She left her hands fisted in the fabric of her hood, holding it taught down over her face, and fought the urge to bolt right then and there. This was it, she had exposed herself, her lie, and there was nothing that could be done to take it back. Dread and shame weighed heavily on her, making her chest feel tight and her stomach clench. She had know, in some respects, that this day would have to come eventually, and she had fully intended on telling Kanti at some point that she was indeed a she but she just hadn't figured out how to do that yet. She had started to put it off, and for good reason, because how can you even begin to broach such a topic with someone you were literally fighting for your life next to every day.

'Oh, by the way, I was totally kidding when I said I had a d**k. Surprise!'. Yeah, that would totally work and not get her dropped on her a** in the street or worse. She mentally groaned and hunched her shoulder in response. She reweighed the idea of running away, momentarily tempted before her pride flared up the left a foul taste in her mouth at the idea of such cowardice. Sometimes being proud and stubborn meant having to suffer through painful situations that Ryder would have much rather let slip by from a cozy hiding place under a rock. This was shaping up to be one of those times, and as much as she would have liked running away and never looking back she had made her bed and now she had to lay in it. She just needed to trust that everything would work itself out in the end. She could explain everything if given the chance, really she could, it would just be horribly painful and awkward

Swallowing hard, the small girl forced herself to turn back, very slowly and with much effort, to her companion with a deep breath and a deliberate unhunching of her shoulders. She let her hands slip from the edges of her hood, fingers clenching in the fabric for a moment in indecision before she forced herself to relent and let her hand fall back to her sides. She studied the ground for a moment longer, brows furrowed and a lips pressed into a hard line, before steeling her nerves and peeking up at Kanti with an imploring expression and a tiny 'heh' that came out more like a wheeze than a laugh. She opened her mouth, having a million different things to say to explain away her treachery but after a second of open mouthed silence the only thing that fell out was, "Uhh... Surprise..?"

X

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Level « 4 »xxxLocation « Outside the Inn »xxxCompany « Kanti »xxxMood « Terrified & Shameful »x
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Ooc: Hope this is okay. I wasn't too sure how to get them out fo the situation with Fortuna without a little puppeting, but I tried not to do too much. I can always change it if you would rather, Love.

[The Crimson One]

Tetsuo Hayashi

Akuma

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So she decline the party invitation? Odd, but doable. Not thinking much about what her reasons might be, outside of what she stated, he instead just accepted the trade and continued walking on in silence. Her name sounded vaguely familiar, but he didn't know from where, and it honestly didn't matter that much. What mattered was keeping an eye out for monsters as they traveled, and keeping his current paranoia about the game in check. Oh, how he wished he could find a bottle of good sake somewhere in this blasted 'game' and spend some time relaxing with it.

For a few minutes they just walked in silence, before Ria spoke up again, her questions derailing his own thoughts. What was his 'job' in this world? Combat was obviously part of it so far, but it was like that for everyone who planned to keep moving up the tower. He explored a lot as well, but that didn't really make him an explorer or a mapper at this point. He'd just gotten paid to help Ria as well, which could put him in a mercenary style role, but as much as the money from it could be good he wasn't certain he wanted to take that path either. Hmm. This was something to think about. In the meantime, Ria probably expected a reply, not just silence while he thought.

"Honestly? I'm uncertain as to what my 'job' would be right now. I'm still trying to find my own path in this new world, I suppose, and I can't help you as much if I'm lost myself. Still, by talking to people you gain knowledge, and that knowledge is always worth something. Perhaps you could find your own path there."

This topic was making him feel philosophical, which honestly just made him want the sake more. Heavy thoughts were always easier to process while sipping at a cup under the stars after all. Plus, all this thinking was distracting him from his surroundings, even if it had been quiet so far. He had already lost one group of people he had traveled with though, because they were careless, so he thought his paranoia to be understandable.

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Level 4
HP: 100%
Stamina: 100%
Location: Somewhere Outside of Town
Company: Ria

[Norse Battle Cats]

Theme: Eleven Kingdom

tab tab Just when life had started to seem to sort of normalize and people were finding their place in society the game would change things up by adding more quests into the mix. There was plenty for anyone that looked. Though it would seem that the most common would be a chance to improve ones skill set. In a way this was a god send as things were starting to take a turn and resources were wearing thin. The survivors would need to make it to the second floor and fast before what can only be described as an economic depression would hit. For that purpose, a small group banded together. These people were putting their life on the line to forge ahead searching for the key to the next level. This group would call themselves the Front Lines respectively.

tab tab As our story continues we learn that the Front Lines have not only found the dungeon but have also in recent days found the boss chambers. They need to gather strength to defeat the king that slumbers there so that they may move on to the next level and begin the next chapter of the game.

tab tab The clock tower would chime seven times to signal the hours. Few people were already wake and most of those were making their way to the tower arena. Normally this would be a place that people would have duels at, however this would be the place for a important meeting. The one that would not only debrief the masses on how the expedition was going but also rally up new troops to wander forward. The meeting was open to all, however not many usually attended as it was early in the morning.

tab tab There in front of a small crowd stood a small group of three. A young woman that had long hair and heavy armor, a young girl that looked no more than twelve years old, and a young man that had little armor but was holding a map. As the clock chimed it's last chime the young man would turn to face the group and the two girls stepping behind him.

tab tab "Greetings to everyone that made it this morning! I personally would like to thank you all for making the time to be here." The young man would start in a positive and uplifting voice. Those that were just getting in would shuffle to a seat and the chatter would quiet. "I am sure that may of you have heard the Front Lines have made outstanding progress, but this wasn't with out a heavy loss. Let us take a moment of silence to remember and honor those that we have lost to get here." He continued ending on a more somber tone, lowering his head to acknowledge the fallen. Many in the crowd follow and do the same. There was even a small sniffle from someone in the crowd.

tab tab As the meeting took place a small crowd would grow not far from there where the main NPC Emi typically stood. It would seem that she had some quests to give out and if anyone knew anything they knew that the easiest way to get what you need in this game is to do quests.

tab tab Now that the initial shock had dissipated everyone was slowly setting into their own agendas and making their own choices that little would they know, greatly change the world that they think that they know.


xAwekeningx

Arashi

Sypher-Anthem

Kyuusei

Innocence The Sin

Friska
Coda

O h F o x F e a t h e r s

Ryder

Fearabyss

Kanti

The Crimson One

Akuma

Waffle Cones

Nyxiris

[xAwakeningx]

xxxxxxxx Patience how Kyuusei could have THAT much patience Arashi could never really understand, the male would probably rather shoot himself then put up with that for so long. "Well as long as your still sane that's all that matters" the male said with a chuckle, he would possibly go further and make a joke toward Kyuusei but he cut himself off before he voice it now wanting to cause any sort of strain unintentionally this early in the party. before he could question the male any further Friska walked back into the middle of the group and seemed to take a leading role as she merged the two parties.

xxxxxxxx Patience As Friska explained the increase mob spawn she also explained the party make up. "We could either travel two in front, two in back, trying to balance our power in a grid-like formation.. Or we could travel in a line, one after another, and try the counter and switch technique when we encounter a spawn. Or, maybe we could do both.. use the grid formation and switch with the person behind us.." and while both of those were sound formations, Arashi spoke up with a suggestion of his own, " I'm a little partial to a diamond shaped pattern. Kyuusei in the front, You and her in the middle and me in the back" he visible motioned to Friska but only referred to Aubrey as 'her' not acknowledging any any other way " This keeps damage relatively equal and provides a larger area of vision. But either of the other two work just fine." he said as a small group started to form around a large man near Emi 'Must be the Front line meeting' he thought to himself.

xxxxxxxx Arashi motioned toward the large group to the right of their smaller group "There is the Front line meeting up to you guys whether we are going to sit in or not I'll follow the group" he said with a quirky smile 'Not like I can stray away i'm not so good on my own anyway' he thought to himself as he stood near Kyuusei.

Health: ██▌██▌██▌██▌██▌██▌██▌
Stamina: ██▌██▌██▌██▌██▌██▌██▌
With: Friska, Kyuseei, And that b***h.
Mood: Lets go
Ratatat

[Norse Battle Cats]

XAubreyXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXThe Amaurotic Distiller
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▶ [ I was BLIND... ]

It was nice to see their faces again; to see that they were okay. It would almost seem that the others had felt the same way. Almost. There was a certain one that didn't seem to thrilled but in all fairness the feeling was pretty neutral. After the way that he had abandoned her and all things considered was Aubrey really in the wrong for holding a little disdain? She noticed that he completely skipped over her and didn't even greet her. That was fine. Aubrey knew that Arashi was a closer friend to Kyuusei and that they had some catching up to do. While it did irritate her a little, Aubrey wouldn't make anything of it as she continued to just enjoy being around her old friend. It was strange, but just being around Friska made Aubrey feel a little more at ease. It was something familiar and someone that she felt that she could rely on and in this world those were rare things to be treasured.

A small message would appear in the corner of her eye stating that the two parties had merged. Aubrey would dismiss it with a wave of her hand just before Friska would begin to suggest a game plan. Her travel plan was to have a common square pattern with two in the front and two in the back. However, it would seem that the all knowing Arashi would have a slightly different plan. His idea was to travel in a more diamond formation having the strongest member in the front. To Aubrey this just sounded dumb and his reasoning that it would "equalize damage" was just as stupid. The game just didn't work like that. Aubrey's frustration would only grow as it would seem that Arashi was purposely going out of his way to just not acknowledge that she was there or even remotely valuable. Aubrey's face would wrinkle a bit in frustration though she waited until he was finished to voice her opinion.

"While the idea is sound, I strongly believe that it won't be the most effective and will certainty not equalize any damage. Arashi, you of all people should understand that we all have different defense and agility stats. What is a mere scratch to you and Kyuusei is a more heavy blow to Friska and I. In Friska's idea we are able to deal more initial damage that may cause the enemy to flinch giving us a lead in battle. It also allows the switch battle and defense system more easily allowing us as a party to function stronger as a team should one of us sustain heavy damage." Aubrey said making a light jab at Arashi while pointing out the hole and stating that (at least to her) Friska's idea seemed more practical.

"What do you think Kyuusei?" Aubrey question turning her attention towards him. As a part of the party, his opinion was just as strong. It would be unfair to not hear his thoughts. She had learned so much from him that it was hard not to really respect him both as a partner and as person.


[ ...but now I can SEE. ] ◄

◆ Floor: 1- Town of BeginningsXXXXXXXXXX ◆ Company: Kyuusei, Friska, Arashi
◆ Thoughts: Don't even with me.
◆ Level: 3XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ◆ Status: Perfect

[fearabyss]

†xxxxxx★xxxxxx†xxxxxx Ҟɑɲϯi ✘ Ɱɑϯsuɍø

╔══════════════════╗
M o n k ✘ L e v e l 3
╚══════════════════╝

☆★☆★
Where: Outside of Inn
With: Ryder
Mood: Shocked, Careful
☆★☆★

The monk stared in uncertain curiosity at the scene that was unfolding in front of him. He had expected to blink and see the unknown girl's throat bared between Ryder's teeth, or some other sort of violent scene to that extent, and was more surprised to see the Ryder be shoved to the ground and the girl zip of like a rabbit into the crowd of people. "H-hey! Wait you.." he began to call before seeing it was too late and the girl was long gone. That was certainly an interesting sight. It's not everyday you see a stranger pick a fight with somebody only to bolt the off all of a sudden. Considering they were in the town safe zone there wasn't much need to worry, although he wondered what the extent of the thief class was in safe zones. Something to look into next time he got the chance. He heard his partners denial of his 'justly' assisted victory and chuckled to himself. "I think it's obvious who would have--" he began to retort as he turned back to Ryder, only to find a lovely female face where a cloak hood should have been for all the world to see. He stood frozen in silence along with her with a dumb smile on his face for what seemed like days as the moment processed completely through his mind and his features melted down into an "Oh, s**t" agape shock.

Ryder quickly made to hide her face back behind her hood, but the h-bombs of truth had already been dropped. There was no going back now. Or so he thought seeing as pretending that he didn't see anything would probably be worse than the current situation. Although he was well aware of Ryder's femininity, it was obvious that she wanted to milk the charade as long as she could until the right time. Who could blame her, this certainly wasn't the easiest subject to deal with in an normal manner. The next eternity passed and Kanti felt he should say something to break the terribly awkward silence, but the words didn't seem to want to leave his mouth nor form together coherently in his brain. Before he could say anything the girl turned back and broke the silence for him. "Uhh... Surprise..?"

Alright this is a delicate situation that you have spent minimal time preparing for and needs to be handled with the utmost delicacy as to not cause any unnecessary tension. Just. Be. Cool. "Wooah whaaat~You're a girl? This is so crazy and unexpected, I had no idea..." Good job champ. Well now there were only two options to left to him: Continue with his D-rate middle school acting skills or just come clean. In one instance Ryder could potentially freak out and run away, if not destroy him where he stood, and in the other instance she could be relieved OR get angry that he knew the whole time and destroy him where he stood. Better go with latter. He let out a deep sigh to compose himself and think about the right thing to say. "Actually...I've known for a while now to be honest. I realized it a few days after leaving the first town...You're not the best actor,no offense" he said and let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched at his head. "I'm sure you had you're reasons for keeping it secret, but you should know I think it's totally fine that you're a girl. Really." He spoke genuinely as he made his way toward the girl. "I mean you're still the same Ryder right?" he smiled and gave her a friendly tap to the arm. This certainly would be a change in dynamic for the two as they continued the game, if they even continued together at all, but he really felt his his partner's true identity made no difference in his opinion of her. She WAS still the same short tempered little spit fire that had his back when needed and could be relied on.

■■■■■■■■■■ ▄▄▄▄▄ 100% Healthxxxxxxxxxxxx ■■■■■■■■■■ ▄▄▄▄▄ 100% Stamina

Ooc:

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