I... "when did things change? when did this stop being a game?" I will live. I will win.N O X|LVL. 1Trickster[EXP: 0 / 100]|Status : [ NORMAL ]|HP :████████████████████100%[250/250]|Count : 734|Total : 3960 Oh, no... It was happening already. A loud call was beckoning forth his name. He knew it would happen soon, they had gone over this previously in another game, but... She was already looking for him. Nox pulled his hood down farther and lowered his head as he hurriedly kept moving along. His acquaintance was a persistent girl. A fiery youth in both body and mind, she was quite admirable, but… it was just… her brazen personality sometimes clashed with Nox’s quiet and reclusive approach. Not that he minded her company… He was just still settled on laying low was all. She had yet to see him, so he assumed that his appearance was still a mystery to her. That was good. He quickly turned opposite the direction of the raucous shouts. Though, in doing such a sudden movement, he found another female player to his front, suddenly stumbling to the ground. A cute little squeal escaping her lips. He was certain it was his fault, and was to apologize, but before he could, she was already up, bowing and apologizing. Nox was a bit… uncertain with the situation, so he merely stood there, looking at her. He hoped he didn’t come off as rude, but he was quite unused to such a situation. It was quite fun, though, really. She was all flustered and such, it was rather amusing. He smiled a bit before looking back, making sure that his compatriot was not yet on his tail. “Sorry again. I’m just starting out… and… I got a little excited.” Her voice was a bit soft… or maybe his hood slightly dampened the audio. He shifted his cloak so that his face was a bit more visible and merely smiled back. “I…” His voice trailed off a bit when he saw a bit of a large crowd forming in the square. A duel. Already. It was only the first day of launch. It was a bold move, to say the least. Truthfully, a bit of Nox wanted to watch the duel. It was an impressive display, and it wasn’t a natural occurrence, by any means. But he was sure he would only feel contempt at his own ineptitude. For beginning players, there was definitely something about the way that Heavy-Armored man carried himself. Nox wasn’t particularly sure, but he wanted to keep out of that man’s radar. He briefly looked back at the girl before him. “You need to stop apologizing. I’m sorry, it was my fault. Um, I’m a new player, as well, as I’m sure most everyone is… Uh… Pleased to meet you.” He raised his right hand out from under his black cloak, and offered a friendly gesture. While Nox had no intentions to scrounge for friendships, he wasn’t totally averted to becoming familiar with players that he was sure he’d meet again one day. He had no doubt that this journey would be one of length. He’d even go as far as to say that maybe he’d fall on the wrong side of someone’s favor one day in this world. It was all a part of the game. Secretly, he had hoped that that man who had just currently won his duel of impressive display would not be one of those who would be against him. There were numerous players here in the Town of Beginnings. The golden-eyed, raven-haired youth was only one of many. There were players across the yard that seemed to be forming a party. There was that girl who was boldly calling his name, trying to find him. There was this girl before him, who seemed so kind and light-hearted. There were so many players, and they all were different. With the diversity amongst them, it was inevitable that one day there would be alliances and rivals. Nox’s own soul slightly ached in that he didn’t believe that he would find himself among any. He himself wasn’t the type who would put his own being out there, exposed. All he could do was hope that he didn’t start having people grow to dislike him this early. People like this girl; he hoped would not mind his existence. “Oh, also, my name is Nox. Sorry...” His uncomfortable tendency towards other people was immediately obvious as he could not look directly at the girl’s face, and he uneasily rubbed his head with his left hand. What a guy…
[ OOC: Ugh... not good post is... not good... I'm tired... Dx ]
Winevy
Aquos Dragoa
Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 3:11 am
Tremont (half) listened to the extremely talkative giant with whom he had formed a fellowship in to find vast riches. Vikings! Well. Tremont had really never learnt very much about Vikings at all. He understood the gist of it. They were big Nordic men who were famous because despite being really good at raping and pillaging they were also some of the most advanced people for their time period or something like that. However most of Tremont's learning in history had only been about things like the Sengoku period in Japan and also about the Romans and Greeks who had such an influence on the modern world that to not teach about them would be mad. He could probably tell you a thing or two about Oda Nobunaga though that learning was long gone by this point. Oda was a demonic samurai who used twin pistols right? Something like that. He could also probably tell you a thing or two about Julius Caesar. He was a man who rode on elephants and wore red shoes. Something like that. Also wasn't there something to do with the Ides of March?
However Tremont was an adult man. He was used to politely nodding at the conversations of people who he knew to be stupider than he was and nodding politely at a 'conversation' like this was even easier. Just making sure to pick up the main points. So that he might fully appreciate the circumstances in which this merry band had placed him. The key words he found were. Viking, Kaaz, Axe and Mushrooms. He had managed therefore to fully understand exactly where the conversation was going. Even if he hadn't read Vinland Saga too much himself it had won an award a few years back and Tremont had went out of the way to try at least the first few chapters. He could very barely understand where the conversation was headed based on his short time with the Manga and had the slightest feeling that some of Kaaz's knowledge may have originated from such a place though he could not fully place this doubt. Indeed maybe Kaaz truly spent his days researching the sites where Vikings had landed. Perhaps he even dreamed of Vikings sailing to the isle of Japan and picking him up so they could all go raping and pillaging together. Now there was a scary thought. Finally when Kaaz actually offered him the chance to speak back verbally as had been insisted 'the proper way to do so'. Tremont decided he would say his piece. Maybe he would even drown out this strange man child thing. He was pleased however that he had not been teased for calling himself a Berserker Warrior. In fact though Kaaz may have been somewhat annoying he seemed like a well meaning sort of guy. Not the type to judge others nastily unless they were being cruel first and despite his failings someone who was making a genuine effort to be well liked. He was not a person who was very easy for Tremont to hate. Even if Tremont wished to drown him out a little bit he didn't wish to hurt his feelings now. It probably also wouldn't make him very popular if he immediately chastised some child for his own enjoyment.
"Ah. Yes I see what you mean. I am very much so alike to a Viking Berserker I agree." He definitely wasn't going to even be as good at this as Kaaz. Whereas Kaaz could ramble on about all subjects history and Viking Tremont really only knew about spreadsheets and power points these days and what good were those in a conversation about RPGs, weapons and history? Well some. He could definitely make a very nice spreadsheet which measured the different 'DPSes' of individual weapons but ultimately he had found a battle he could never win. The battle against Kaaz to spew nonsense everywhere like a champion. No, like Ultimate Kaaz "When I was creating this character I think the berserker Viking was definitely something I was thinking about though it's a shame I can't get the horned helmet." He smiled and then laughed to try and get across a friendly feeling. Truly an effort in vain. Kaaz would probably fail entirely to pick up on the fact that was what his smile intended to convey unless he was sitting down with some special cards for it.
The portly man decided to carry on the conversation about their characters within the games. "So I see you use a spear." He further observed to see the ridiculous amount of armour which this warrior also wore. He was a tank through and through. You'd probably have less chance of hitting him and doing any meaningful damage than knocking him off the edge of something. Considering this Tremont considered duelling Kaaz. It would be good experience for the both of them to get used to the system and the different commands and such. They may even gain levels if they did something like so. "With that sort of heavy armour I bet you're a force to be reckoned with. What say you? Shall we duel for a bit to get a handle on this system before we head out to kill whatever lives in the fields?"
As he was saying this he once again pulled up the menu. The little white panes with the yellow dots to indicate that it would open a sub-menu. He flicked through until he got to the duel open pressing the button gently. It was a strange feeling for something floating in the air much akin to a balloon to give resistance back to him. The menu felt like some sort of mix between a pane of glass and a balloon in fact. Truly virtual reality was disconcerting. In fact in the hands of the wrong person there was no doubt this world could be used for torture and all sorts of evil. Indeed what would it be like if someone created a torture program for the NERV Gear? What stopped them from using this machine to get the truth from people? To entirely psychologically destroy them. For a brief moment Tremont became completely aware of the evil this machine could be used for but then discarded the thought. There must be safety precautions right? No way these would be manufactured if they could be so easily abused like that.
"What kind of duel do you want to do Kaaz?" Tremont said as he removed the axe from his back. Bringing it to rest beside him with a 'ker-clunk' on the floor. Not quite the crashing sound Tremont would have liked but it was something he could work with. "There's one hit mode where the fight is decided by first blood" No doubt that Kaaz would have something to say on the matter. Probably about Gladiators this time. He seemed to be some sort of history lover as far as Tremont was aware. "Or we could duel to the last hit point. Slightly more dangerous if we had poison effects but arguably more fun. A real test of our abilities. I think we should go for this one. Any problems with that?" Tremont's hand hovered over the 'Start Duel' button on his menu. Although Kaaz was not required to accept he'd probably appreciate being able to decide whether or not he wanted to duel at all. Maybe he was just in the mood for pig slaughtering and that was okay too. Pig slaughtering was a rite of passage in any good MMO. Like killing wolves and taking their hides or finding five items on the floor.
Quests were really awful things to be honest. The idea of a duel right now was much more appealing. Two great men. Fighting it out. Sweating like beasts. Why the thought of these two monsters clashing together in a tornado of blood, sweat and tears. It gave Tremont the shivers. He would've grabbed his shirt and pulled it open slightly right that second while posing with another figure floating behind his back but lacked the shirt and figure for such a thing. In essence Tremont was excited.
☓ LEVEL: 1 | ☓ HP: 250/250 | ☓ GUILD: NONE | ☓ WORDS: 1199 [7,394] "Someday when I finally go home I'll be waiting for you..."
As the other player accepted the party invite the young axe wielder noted the second health bar which now hovered under his own in the upper left of the screen, he noted the name of his new found friend as well hiding close to the health bar indicator. He nodded at his new found friend as the chocolate skin man wished to look for more party members before leaving the Town of Beginnings and trying their hand at killing some boars and maybe questing if they could find some. "Alright Seraphi, we'll search for a few more members before leaving this place, lets keep a lookout" he explained with a nod, his wavy mess of white bobbing on his head as he did so. As if fate had intervened he heard a man call over the crowd for a party, before he could get to him however it seemed he got meshed in with the wrong crowd and he issued a duel. The man he was facing off against was supposed to be an Alpha Tester and Menma could feel his gut turning-- which was remarkable for a video game to simulate --as the man was ready to fight this experienced player. He watched the duel in awe as it went by, they were both good, probably better than him but the man who had been looking for a party was so obviously better than the other. The way he moved so fluidly in this game made Menma gape in disbelief, needless to say the battle didn't even last very long before the obvious victor emerged as the man searching for a party. This guy made the young snowy haired boy want to become so great at this game, he seemed to move with such control, the very same control that he lacked. The reason he picked a light armor heavy axe set was so he could go in chopping blindly but judging by the duel that had just taken place doing such was silly and he'd find himself dying a lot more than winning in fights. He would have to better himself through training and learning the mechanics of the game, he had no experience with any weapons let alone an axe in real life but he did have his fast track and field legs to depend upon in this game. He needed to defend and attack accordingly and something told him that if he and this male who had just dueled were in a party together he could learn a lot from him. Even though they used different weapons his whole style of fighting was refined and he seemed very confident in himself, the same confidence that Menma lacked, this man would be the perfect role model to shape himself from. So it was decided then that the young warrior would take his chances with recruiting the man who had just won what looked to be the first duel in the beta and with such ease he made the entire game look easy as could be. Of course he knew better than to think that, he had seen gameplay releases on the internet and saw how easy it was to mess up and die from your actions, the higher level monsters in floor two and three were no joke, even if the first floor was relatively easy to complete from what he had seen.
Menma made his way over to the man who had been searching, he could see the party screens covering his character and was a little worried that he had been to late, if he sent a party invite the same way the rest of them did he'd never get noticed properly. So it was decided he would come face-to-face with this monster of a bladesman, it was sort of strange but he was more excited to speak with the man than nervous about it. Most would be after seeing such a display but the young dark eyed boy was more hypnotized by the moves and swings this man so elegantly displayed, a true graceful fighter was in his vicinity and he planned to have him with his new friend Seraphi and himself. Upon closer inspection the man was a giant and no mere toddler like he was, he had to be in his early twenties and a good five or six inches taller than he was which was insane really considering he was about five foot eight in height. Still he was more in awe than intimidated by the presence of this giant within the game, it just made him want to party with this man even more than before, he was sure to get far without dying as long as this person had his back. Menma was nearly face to face with the statue of a man, well by nearly it really meant he was right in front of him barely visible by flooded party invites around the man, he was up to the mans shoulders in height which made him crane his neck almost straight upward to see into the eyes of his soon-to-be party member. "That was an amazing fight, he didn't stand a chance" the young boys voice explained to the man hidden behind screens, he wasn't really sure how to ask this man to join his party yet so he didn't start with that. Although if he thought about it this man was actually asking to join a party so he really could have started with the words along the lines of 'join me, join me!' but it felt sort of childish. Perhaps he was trying to act older than he truly was to impress the man, he was always worried that the older people in video games would look down on him for his age, height, and voice, being young and playing MMORPG's was never easy for him. Many people wanted nothing to do with little kids who played internet games thinking they had no skill or tact in the games, which was mostly true, even Menma wasn't very good at the games, he was better than most but not quite good enough. "My friend Seraphi and I would be glad to have you in our party, I know this game doesn't have any classes but I guess you could call us a rogue and berserker, we could really use a knight of your caliber to tank and teach us how to play, it looks like you know what you're doing" he explained rubbing the back of his cotton colored hair in embarrassment. Yet again he had made himself sound weak by pointing out his weakness before his strengths, honesty was going to be the death of him but in all seriousness he did wish to learn from this man, he was a powerhouse player by the looks of things. Maybe Menma was just being a little naive but he did want this guy on his side opposed to letting him walk off with another party, he'd do anything to make sure this man was with him and his group, he was no leader but how hard could it be to coordinate a party of three.
☓ PARTY: 「Seraphi」« Online »
Typhlobasia
☓ EXP: 0/100 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ☓ STR: 10 [0] | ☓ DEF: 4 [20] | ☓ STA: 5 [0] | ☓ AGI: 6 [0] | "... So then our cherished moments can be frozen in time"
Seraphi blinked as he stared at the shorter child before him, the white messy hair was becoming slowly etched into his mind so that he could later find the boy in the crowd. Knowing how Carter was normally it was not impossible for him to forget the other person he was partied with. When the child seemed to agree with Seraphi's idea the child had continued on to talk about looking out for another member of the party, he would just glance about curiously himself, taking notice of a tall male with dark hair, he would see the male get into a battle. Green eyes narrowed in agitation as he would look away, he hated people like this guy, the ones that garnered for attention everywhere they went. They were like dogs without a bone to him, something no one wanted to say anything to due to some irrational fear and other such things. Being a psychiatrist had its advantages in analyzing things like this, the man obviously wanted to be the center of attention so he started a fight and then demanded to become part of a party, normal prima donna actions. Like a cheerleader doing her best and out doing the top cheer leader to become everyone's friend and stuff, typical personalities of that sort. Whilst ignoring the dark haired man that Menma had taken an interest in Seraphi had felt a tug on his clothes, looking slightly surprised he would turn his attention to the culprit that had made physical contact with him.
Green irises held the other person's gaze as the kid would look up at him, he had apologized for interrupting and then continued on to ask for a party invite, Serpahi looked contemplative of the child before him, he was unsure what to say to the kid about joining the party, since Carter wasn't exactly the friendly type nor much of the "I adore company" type he couldn't really tell the child yes or no. Taking a moment to act like he was thinking he would stare at the child, evaluating how useful the boy would be, he was kind of scrawny and tiny, had those big doe eyes and seemed to be quite young. From his prior actions and how he was acting now it was obvious to Carter that the child was more of the timid type, preferred to stay in his own comfort zone, where ever it may be and from the child's obvious out of character actions he had either imprinted on Seraphi or Menma, wanting to be in a party with two taller people. Then the thought of the child mistaking him for being the mothering type flitted into mind, he quickly denied such a thought, otherwise the kid would act a bit more attached no? Looking between the kid and where he saw Menma disappear off to he would scratch his cheek, "I don't think we would deny another willing member. So yeah, we probably don't mind letting you on board kid. I go by Seraphi. What's your name?" he'd question directing most of his attention on to the child before him. Some of his attention was diverted towards Menma and the attention seeking male, he was quiet as he heard Menma mention that he and Seraphi were friends. That was incorrect.
At this point Seraphi's gears were turning as he thought of how to ******** around with his new self proclaimed 'friend' at the moment there wasn't much he could do to these two considering he barely knew them at the moment so he couldn't get under their skin and pick at their fears. It would take a little while, but he was start to make evaluations again, Menma seemed like one of those imprinters as well, looking for a strong role model of some sort and apparently the child thought "tall, dark and mysterious" fit the bill. Right. Menma seemed to be kissing up to the male as well, not from what he heard but more by the body language Menma gave off, the poor kid, probably would be disappointed if the man didn't turn out to be so great. Turning his attentions back to the child before him he would decide to explain what was going on, "Waiting for that kid and....a possible new member to come over here, I personally don't want to be in the attentions of others so I'm keeping my distance." he'd rattle off some not at all bothered by explaining that he hated being focused on or in the spotlight. It was better he stayed out of the bright sun and resided in the shadows after all, that's what thieves were good at. Practice that type of thing now and he wouldn't have to worry about doing recon and gathering info later on in the game, especially when it came to getting competitive.
Quote:
Word Count: 814 Total Word Count: 4053 OOc:
Skills
Cor Contritum
Raider
Offline
Aquos Dragoa
Offline
Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 3:18 pm
Words: 748 ||| Total: 1444
Who in the world was this girl? For someone loud mouthed and just standing there yelling with no problem she no doubt ably had no problem in being the center of attention. Anyone who thought that would be wrong. Psiren, generally was never in the center of attention, she just more so didn’t care what people thought and would do as she pleased no matter what would be said about her. And no, she also was not doing this little calling out for Nox for attention either. She honestly wanted to go play this epic new game with him. Sadly, it would appear that Nox would not have such a desire. He would not reply to her call. Deep down, it kind of hurt to think of this possibility. Psiren had honestly thought, since neither of them would know basically no one in this new game that he would be wanting to find her as soon as possible. After all, he was not the social type. Hell, it took her a while before he tolerated her decently in other games. How that happened, would be a tale for another time.
Truth was, it most likely was just his shyness that prevented him from replying. It was that very thought that dominated Psiren’s mind. Maybe this action was too spunky for him. In other games she had done it, but the difference was, those other games weren’t virtually real. Biting her lower lip she did not falter. Her crimson eyes hunted through the crowd from her view on the boxes like an eagle searching for a mouse in a field. There! Far off on the other end of the street a male appeared to hide his face deeper within his hood and turn off in the opposite direction she was in. Nox! It had to be him. No one else had reacted that way to her random call. Why would they? They weren’t him after all.
Pushing down on her left foot Psiren intended to leap off the boxes and rush into the crowd in order to get to Nox before her disappeared but, fate would not have her plans go so smoothly. The boxes underneath her with the sudden movement become unstable and therefore their movement to the ground began. With no solid support to perform her leap, the girl’s body would land with a hard thud on the cobble stone street, while the boxes crashed down next to her. By some miracle they did not land on her. Other players in the immediate area chuckled and teased her saying stuff about her not lasting long if she was clumsy. Half of it Psiren didn’t understand, the other half she didn’t care to hear. She had something important to do. Catch up with Nox before she couldn’t find him.
Hopping onto her feet as soon as she landed, Psiren jumped up and down frantically trying to see over the crowd to catch a glimpse of Nox’s cloak. After the fifth jump she managed to spot something and dashed off in its direction only to find herself unable to go much further. There was a large and tight crowd circling a duel between two players. Great… just what she needed. Jumping up again she wasn’t able to see far above this crowd. She was slowly losing sight of him. Squishing in and out of people Psiren ignored their irritated grunts and complaints. She needed to get through; they would just have to deal with it. With one final squeeze she tumbled out of the crowd as the fight subsided and the cause of the commotion asked about parties. Talk about a show off…
With Nox no one in sight and no idea where he went Psiren sighed as she just stood in the center of the street. ”I guess… I can find him later…” Looking left to right the female player would try to figure out what to do know that her initial plan of successfully finding Nox was ruined. There were various options. She could try to join a party, or go on a quest, or go out and fight monsters to get her level up a bit. Decisions, decisions. What was she going to do?
Perhaps as she stood there debating, Nox would come to actually find her but, she knew he was the solo type so it would be understandable if he didn’t. Sometimes people liked figuring out the game first before joining up with people.
Justin was tired from writing songs all day. Even though the band was temporarily on a short break because they just finished a concert promoting their new album, their manager still wanted some songs ready to hit the studio before the tour kicked off in a few weeks. His sister was off at friend's house because she didn't want to inconvenience him. Finishing up the last song by writing the notes in for the guitar part, he looked over to the bag of things he bought from the nearby electronic store. "Well then, here goes nothing..." He opened the Nerve Gear box, set it up, and then inserted the disc in the necessary disk slot. He sat there for awhile, trying to remember how to start up the game... and then he decided to read the instruction manual. "You've gotta be kidding me! That's beyond cheesy." He chuckled at reading the appropriate command to activate the game. "Well if this is the only way to do it, I guess I have to... LINK START!" Gosh he was glad Hibiki wasn't home to laugh at him for this. The lights began to start up and Justin's heart rate began increasing at the pure excitement of the occasion. He ended up on a small platform of light, with a set of options in front of him. Selecting the language he wanted the menus to be in, he was taken to a second platform.
On this platform there stood a replica of a human body. The character creation screen. He wanted to look different from the other people in the game, but still not immediately be found out as to who he was in the real world. He picked the same height and weight as himself and put in the same build too. But that was where he wanted the similarities to end. He made his skin slightly darker, so he looked as if he had been at the beach for a day, but got stuck on the facial features. He wanted something that didn't look like him at all in that aspect.Sitting there for a few moments, got an idea of what he wanted. He made the hair slightly disheveled and snow white and the eyes a dark red. Looking through all the mouth options, he began to get bored. They were ordinary, and ordinary wasn't going to cut it for him. He began mashing the button until he came upon an interesting option: Jagged teeth. Selecting that, and the starting equipment, and all that was left was a name. Justin thought for a moment and almost put 'Takeshi', his Japanese name, but decided against it. So he used his band's name: Caligon. With that he was finished with the character creation and he entered the world with a flash of light.
Walking around the town, he held his head high, making sure the hood on his cloak was off his head. Everything here seemed so real. He felt one of the buildings and instead of air or plastic or something weird, he felt real concrete. Even that gritty after feeling was there. In other words, it was freaking awesome! He smiled at the thought. He looked a bit weird smiling, he noticed while looking in a glass window, but it was alright with him, not to mention he looked really cool. Maybe he would design an outfit like this to wear on stage to promote the game, if he could get the gig to work out. He especially loved the yellow and maroon in his outfit, it worked perfectly. Continuing his walk, he noticed a girl who appeared to be looking for someone else.
"Excuse me, but who are you looking for? Maybe I can help."
It was a little bit of a strange sight to say the least. The giant of a man standing motionless for others to see in the middle of the area was a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle going on around him. A soft sigh escaped his lips once more as his eyes remained shut to avoid seeing all the party invitations he was receiving and definitely filling up in front of him. Although he would be the only actually able to read each invitation’s content with his head tilted towards the sky other Players would see the screens popping up and blocking his face from sight. He knew full well all the invites he was receiving by the slight rings and beeps of notifications filling his head. It was rather amazing how things were done in this virtual world. On top of hearing the chatter of other Players speaking out, Mugen could hear the noises of the realm he now resided in. The sounds of birds chirping, water flowing, and wind blowing were all present here as they were in the real world. It was, needless to say, breathtaking. Just to make sure you remembered that you were in a virtual world, there was subtle music playing in the background that most would not notice because by default the music was set very low. Mugen’s own preference was that he rather enjoyed the compositions crafted for this video game so for himself he could audibly hear the masterful music playing.
Since Mugen had stopped moving so abruptly he was kind of in the main road forcing everyone to swerve around to avoid him. Sort of. The voice of another interrupted whatever train of thought Mugen was riding on and drag him out of the clouds and back into this virtual reality of Sword Art Online. This voice was much clearer than any of the voices he had been quietly listening to and the game administrator recognized that a Player had finally approached him. The armor clad male stopped the sporadic movements of his right hand and with a few swipes of his fingers dismissed his personal Player menu to focus on dealing with the floods of invites he continued to receive. As the tall individual slowly opened his crimson eyes it humored him just a little bit to see just how many invitations he actually received. Sure he expected a lot, but he also expected people to fear his skill if not more so than wanting him to join up. As he continued to stare upwards the staggering number of invitations requesting him to become part of other parties blocked him from seeing the overflowing blue sky which he had been admiring mere moments ago. The twenty something male made no noise of complaint as he stretched out one of his armored arms and began to deal with all the various invitations to clear up his vision. It was amazing how idiotic people could become in a game at the sight of a strong Player. Although he wasn’t really reading the invites in depth as he declined each and every one, his eyes caught bits and pieces of what some said. Some promised wealth, others promised fame, some were even as audacious as to promise power which he would assume meant they were hackers of some sort. They must have never dealt with a VRMMORPG, because there was no way to hack the system from the inside unless you accessed a systems panel or, like himself, had administrative powers to access the game administrator menus from your personal Player menu. It took a moment or two, but eventually the long haired man removed all the obstacles impairing his vision and gazed up at the azure sky that enveloped the heavens above him.
As he withdrew his hand from above him and back to his side Mugen simultaneously lowered his gaze and in turn his head to finally see who it was that spoke to him. The other who spoke to him was shorter than himself, but that was nothing to be surprised at. Most people were shorter than himself in real life, especially in a place like Japan, so Mugen was used to it seeing as his avatar had been specifically designed to match his real life self. The first thing Mugen noticed was the stark contrast of the other’s hair compared to his own. It was a short and spiky mess of snow white hair which crowned the other’s avatar quite nicely. As they continued to speak the older male could tell that this Player was definitely younger than himself, maybe not a lot but definitely younger. It didn’t bother him one bit to work with Players that were younger than himself, it only bother Mugen when they were the arrogant type the younger generation seemed to be getting themselves known for. This individual in question was far from that and was in fact just what Mugen had hoped to find with his little display of skill. He was a player who recognized their own weakness but did not shy away from it and was willing to build himself. Most who realized how weak or powerless they were would either run continue to run away from their problems or seek the strength of others with no intention of becoming stronger themselves. Although he was inexperienced, Mugen could see the potential of the other and would be more than gladly willing to help him draw it out. His face remained calm and collected despite his growing eagerness to see his other future party members.
The swordsman crossed his arms across his chest once more as he let out a small chuckle. “You are definitely a funny one,” he responded. “Berserker? Rogue?” He could assume what kind of Players they were with something like that. From the fire in the other’s eyes he had to be the Berserker of the party and most likely the party’s leader. This probably meant that he was similar to that Hatch fellow he had disposed with earlier. He probably was strong and fast, but reckless and lacking sort of actual skill. Although this would probably be enough to deal with anything on the first floor if he expected any sort of progress he would have to break that habit before it even started and develop a actual style of fighting. The other being a Rogue probably meant that they were the fastest of the group with light and precise attacks. Mugen could not see anyone particularly close to this other who seemed like a ‘Seraphi’ so they might have gone to recruit others. Then again, as a Rogue they might also be hiding away from his vision. The Argus employee could see why the developers and particularly his boss would not want any sort of classes in this game. It was very much like a double edged sword. Although it was nice to be able to know your party at a glance, it would also prove disadvantageous if your opponent knew what kind of Player you were and how to deal with it. His eyes glanced at the two handed blade sheathed at his side and paraphrased what the other had just said about himself. “A knight to tank huh? I guess that’s a pretty good way to describe who I am right now…” Mugen’s voice trailed off as he remembered something else he had planned for the launch of this game. His somewhat stoic visage broke into a gentle smile as he spoke. “Sure, I’ll join your party. I also don’t mind teaching you what I can,” his speech was interrupted by his own laugh. “Just go easy on me all right? I may not be the best of teachers, but I will do my best.” It was hilarious how he could say something like ‘go easy on me’ after he overwhelmed his dueling opponent mere moments ago. As soon as he received an invite Mugen would follow him back to his fellow party member ready to get out in the field for training. As the heavily armored man awaited for a party invite from this shorter cloud colored crowned individual Mugen let his mind wander for a moment. From talking to his future party leader it reminded him that he had another goal aside from creating a guild. Since there were no official classes in the game, one was not limited to a specific weapon or set of skills. With perhaps a tinge of arrogance Mugen had the simple but overwhelming goal to be able to wield multiple, if not all, weapons found within the game. He had forgotten to stop by a weapon shop on the way over since he had been in such a hurry, but perhaps after he partied and trained with this fellow he’d double back and use all the Col he had to purchase the weapons. After that his name would begin to hold truth – infinity.
Mugen ignores other random requests for parties and willingly joins Menma's party. Also he is reminded of his two in-game goals, to form a guild and to master all the weapons.
Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:27 pm
Hotaru was slightly taken aback by the seriousness of Nox's voice. She almost apologized on reflex again, but stopped herself. It probably was getting really annoying. She just didn't want to give everyone the wrong idea about her. If she wasn't trying to be mean, then it would be terrible for someone to try to think she was. "Oh... right... Launch today and all." She said, her voice slowly diminishing to a level barely over a whisper by the end. With the duel it was kind of hard to believe it. Hotaru pulled her attention away and slipped some of her blue hair behind her right ear and put the hand out to meet Nox's. "I'm Hotaru. And you should take your own advice." She said smiling after hearing his two 'sorry's. He was almost as bad as her. There was a bit of a silence after the handshake. Hotaru wasn't much of a talker usually and by the look of it the boy she was talking to wasn't either. If she was being her normal self she would've walked away already. But in almost all cases, MMOs tended to be more fun when played with other people, so she should make an effort to meet people. But sometimes, solo players were understandable too. If you were only playing to be the strongest, other players would probably slow you down. She just hoped Nox didn't think like that.
Her thinking brought her out of the conversation. Then she remembered. "Nox, huh?" She asked, repeating his name. "When I was running around there was a girl shouting your name, maybe you should check that out?" Her eyes unfocused from his face and she leaned to the left a bit to look at the crowd behind Nox. She didn't hear any more shouting. Hotaru shrugged, then looked back to the man. He still wasn't making eye contact. The girl stifled a giggle; it was kind of cute. Basically the only males she'd been around were her brothers, and they were extremely outgoing. It did sometimes get annoying though.
ooc: yeaaaah, mine's not so great either. and they will probably be like this for a couple days, i just got my wisdom teeth out and the pain medication makes me a little loopy. xP
☓ LEVEL: 1 | ☓ HP: 250/250 | ☓ GUILD: NONE | ☓ WORDS: 1624 [9,018] "Someday when I finally go home I'll be waiting for you..."
The behemoth of a man before him was quite the spectacle, tall and lean with hair which was darker than black in a way, or at least it felt that way to him as if it were something akin to midnight. Menma was like the day to this mans night, the moonlit expanse of universe to his endless depth of night, it felt as if they were destined to be working together. That was when the young snow fox was alerted to the burning embers of this mans soul, as his eyes descended from the heavens to bore upon him he felt the burn of his gaze wisp at him and scorch his entire being. His eyes were fiery and threatened to engulf anything they wished in flames but at the same time there was a kindness to them, the warmth of fire, as dangerous as the hot red could be it also saved many lives with that very same warmth. He did not feel the burn of the flames but the warmth of the hearth as these eyes came at him and he knew right then that this man only had good intentions. He didn't want to admit it but Menma believed himself to be a good judge of character, he was always very perceptive in that way and could usually pick out bad from good with little effort. As the large figure seemed to take in all he was saying and let out a small bit of laughter and a comment on his little monologue, referring to how he gave each player classes, it made the young snow white feel a little embarrassed. However he came back to tell him how accurate his assumptions were about him, which made him almost smile, cracking out that half-smile the only thing he could really muster nowadays ever since his heart had lost a piece of its puzzle. As soon as the titan agreed to the forming of a party he opened his player menu and navigated to the part option sending a party box to the new found ally. "We've got a good group forming, I can feel it! I promise I won't let you down" he explained with slight uncertainty, however he like many others who would play this game would learn as time went by. This new life would become his second persona, maybe even outweighing that of his real life, everything in this world seemed so much easier to cope with and he had monsters to vent his frustration upon. Either way he wouldn't drag down his new found companions, he'd lead them-- for the time being --as best he could during this beta test and hopefully find them once the game was fully released. He really wanted to find his place in this new world because he still felt like a piece on the board that didn't quite fit, although he knew with time he would find where he belonged within this vast new world he was immersed within.
Menma was happy to hear that this man was willing to teach him what he could about the world of Sword Art Online, he wasn't sure he'd be able to fully utilize the games mechanics without a tutor of sorts. At least this man seemed to understand how to navigate his way through the game by the looks of how he battled, Menma probably would have been dead even with the person he had fought, or escaped close to death. His way of fighting was far to rash and reckless, but maybe by watching this man fight he could better himself and make him more viable to his teammates and less of a burden. He wanted to be able to support Seraphi and the rest of his party the best he could, he really didn't want to let anyone down anymore, the last thing he needed was more people disappointed in him. At the swordsman's next words Menma blushed and turned his head away slightly, the elder man joking with him brought this rosiness to his cheeks and a warmth in his chest. An almost idle parental joking, the very same he had missed out on growing up with his father constantly working and his mother, his mother... not being there for him as he reached his years filled with the most hardship. With his hands clasped behind his back he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet before kicking at the dirt timidly in an almost playful fashion, only to shake his head and regain his self control. This world wasn't home and he couldn't be clinging to people and hoping for them to treat him the way he wanted to be treated, depending on people could be a grave weakness if not kept in check. Trust and dependence were far different from one another and he couldn't afford to mix them up and find himself stabbed in the back or left to die at the hand of mobs, to him this game was real and everything needed to be taken in stride. "Hah! think of me as a spectator, I'll just watch and learn and you won't hear any scolding from me!" he explained the pink in his cheeks now faded as he had cut off such feeble emotions as parental affection, this man wasn't even old enough to be his father and far too little was known about him, his weakness of getting overly attached to people must remain dormant so he didn't find himself hurt by those he thought he cared about once, it happened far too much in the other world for him to bare it here as well. The hands once clasped behind his back were now at his sides as he waited for the other player to accept his invite, his posture was refined from many years of true Japanese schooling, his legs strong and wanting to run freely once more in the grasslands where he planned to go next.
As the man accepted his party invite Menma felt accomplished having such a promising party at his side, maybe one or two more people would do it before he moved on to the next area and trained with his new found party members. The owner of the titan-like build, midnight hair, and flaming eyes which constantly seemed to be branding him had a name, Mugen, a new addition, a new face to help him through his adventure. First thing was first he needed to go back and find Seraphi so they could move forward with their journey, the assassin had to be around here somewhere, hopefully the two adults he was now partied up with would have no trouble getting along with one another. "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu-- let's go find Seraphi and see if we cant go find some quest and mobs to level off of, maybe one more member as well" he explained, his Japanese roots showing from the slip of the tongue he just had, something so natural he didn't realize he had even done it. With that said the young boy set out motioning for the giant clad in armor to follow him as he navigated through the crowd with ease, although the server was filling up now and the beta testers were flocking in by the dozens. As he searched the mob of people he was able to spot the long raven-black hair of his party member and the glint of emerald that his gaze gave off as well, he was with somebody as well. As Menma closed in he got a better look at the person accompanying his companion, a young blond male who looked even younger than he, with icy blue eyes and a small stature that was below even his. He'd probably come up to their new additions chest if he were lucky enough, somebody so small and young playing such an advanced game-- and as a beta tester! he must be wealthy and not here by a stroke of luck as Menma was. He caught a bit of the couples conversation and realized this young snake wished to follow them as well, it seemed they had found the missing link in their party more quickly than expected. The young male knew what it could be like being so young and playing an MMORPG, it was tough to find parties who would tolerate children so he decided quite quickly that this boy would be joining them also, he was the perfect fit to the party of two older men and two younger boys. Menma had caught up with the party with Mugen undoubtedly following him, he was nearly in between the two players as he exchanged a glance with the blond boy and gave a curt nod of approval. "As my fellow party member Seraphi said we'd be happy to have you join us, here" he opened his player menu and went to the party tab, now getting a feel for inviting and swiftly going through the menu thanks to having to send invites so many times. He soon had the screen in front of the face of the young boy, an invite to the party the four would soon share, now they could head straight to the grasslands to level up. Enough dilly dallying around the Town of Beginnings, they needed to push forward-- soon they would all be in the first floor exploring its depths and secrets together as a group. The idea of working together was something that Menma had always enjoyed and the people he had joining him from now on seemed like a bunch he would like to work with, they could go far together he could feel it.
████ The apartment was dark until Artemis opened the door after unlocking the front door. The cold rooms became filled with warmth and life after she flipped the light switch in the den area of her apartment, and Artemis kicked off her dress shoes and slid off her medical coat. She yawned as she grabbed the door knob to the closet near the front door, and pulled out a coat hanger. She took time to place the coat on the hanger and fasten the coat buttons to make sure the coat did not fall off.
████ Moving from her close after she placed the hanger back into the closet with the coat on it, Artemis put on some slippers and walked through the den into the kitchen. The slipper bottoms squeaked and cracked softly as Artemis walked across the titles in the kitchen over to the refrigerator, and pulled open the door to feel the coldness from inside. Within the door, there was some condiments and other food products, and on the shelves of the refrigerator, there was two gallons of liquids: tea and milk. She looked down to the bottom shelves inside and found the soda boxes of various drinks and grabbed a quick can out. She popped open the can with ease and drank from the can pretty fast. "Man… I haven't had any caffeine all day", Artemis said with a relaxed sigh and walked back into the den. She looked toward the light blue couch that matched with the only slightly darker blue walls that she had painted just last week. Her floors were a nice lightly brown wooden floor with a small rug just under the brown coffee table.
████ Artemis sat down on the couch and looked at the television. She felt like watching television, until she remembered the Nerve Gear with a new game she just bought. She finished her soda fast, and ran into down the short hallway into her room. She had a queen size bed with a computer desk just across from it. The bed was on the far wall away from the door and the computer desk was a few feet from the door to the bedroom. She had pictures of her mother on the wall along with the many kids from the shelter she helped. On her computer desk, there was some little toy crafted by the children from the shelter. A few were little dogs, and a few were small cats. She smiled at the thought of the children and touched the toys gently.
████ Artemis turned to the Nerve Gear on her bed and set up the equipment to start playing Sword Art Online. She smiled and put the head gear. "Time to play this game and relax a bit", she said in a whisper, and laid down on the big queen bed. She took time to enjoy the comforter that was very thick and warm. She had even took the time to get a giant pillow to help keep her comfortable whenever she did work on her case studies. She pulled the pillow beneath her back and got extra comfortable.
████ "Link start", Artemis said with a whisper, and the world around her vanished into bright colors. Words appeared before her as they tested each of her senses. The language setting appeared and selected the appropriate language for Artemis. Soon after the language was selected, the login screen appeared, and right after, the words "Welcome to Sword Art Online" appeared. Once within the game, she detailed her avatar completely how she had dreamed her self. She was tall, blonde with red eyes, and a very womanly body. She selected her weapons, her skills, and her stats. Once satisfied, she finalized the character and the prompt for her in game name appeared. "Azra", she typed in to the command prompt and nodded.
████ Soon, Azra appeared in game into the Town of Beginnings. "Wow", she gasped with excitement and her eyes widened. She looked around the Town of Beginnings and saw the many different ways to go around the town. She looked around and saw many other players just like her beginning new characters in this game. This is going to be great, she thought as she started walking around the area, looking at the floral area around the initial spawn. She noticed the area around the spawn was a big circle with tons of pillars. Wow, these guys got really detailed with this game, she thought with a look of awe at the surroundings. She ran outside of the giant circle and found one of the main roads. She looked at the many buildings and just looked around with a dumbfounded look on her face. "Where should I go…", she thought curiously as she continued to walk down the main road, seemingly heading towards the main market area. She looked at the many stalls, and found many items clearly out of her price range. What should I do…, she thought as she walked around the market area.
The starting commotion that was happening not too far from where they were soon peaked his interest, but it was thanks to his shortness that he was not really able to see the things that were going on. However, the game did allow all of their senses to fully function in the virtual world, so he could even hear the faint whispers and hear says of the people who were walking about, particularly of those who were drawn closer to the scene. Apparently, someone had just started a fight, a duel in the streets of the Town of Beginnings. It's pretty early for a duel. The one who started the duel must know this game so well already, the thought instantly passed his mind. He was just curious as to why a person would start a duel in the middle of the town and draw so much attention to themselves, when the fact is that it was still too early and there wasn't really much to it. Basically, he simply imagined the duelists bashing each other on the head with either a club or a mace, but that was just a product of the childish fictions he has stored up inside his head .That said, of course, taking into account of his age.
Caeruleus would look around in an attempt to find something that would help him get the leverage he needed - a boost in height was in order, but sadly, there was none. Although, standing there was that six foot green eyed giant, he could not just ask the man to carry him up so he could see. After all, they were only acquaintances as of now, and not even close enough friends to have him do that. He felt a little disappointed that he was not able to do anything to see it, and whilst his attention was focused on the forming crowd, a small frown of disappointment would grow on his young, youthful face. "I can't see. I'm not tall enough,"he would muse sadly as he would look away from it, and up at the gigantic man in front of him, now looking rather upset. He would pout his lips and appear as a young boy who was about to have a tantrum. That, of course, was not happening, since he knows well in his mind that it would not make a difference if he threw a fit. More over, he was not even angry - just, simply, disappointed by the fact that he was probably the shortest player around town. It was sad, but it would have provided the surrounding players something to laugh about.
The gigantic man would go on about his request to join the party, and Caeruleus would smile to have heard that his request was somehow granted. They, or at the least part, the gigantic man known as Seraphi, would agree. Success. "Thank you. I go by the name of Caeruleus here. It's nice to meet you, Seraphi,"he'd reply gleefully, cheerfully and playfully cocking his head to the side. He was not always as cheerful, but as of now, he was, and so he could not just help but smile and be glad about now, and being accepted into a party which looked fairly decent. Although he did not know of their actual capabilities yet, he assumed that they were slightly more capable than him, of course, having such sturdy looking bodies to aid them in battle. Then again, it was a game, so most probably, their avatars were just for show, and that their real skill would have to depend on the statistics of their characters. The thought passed his head, but halfway through the thinking process, he dismissed the thought. He wanted to get into the game, yes, but not in the manner that his mind was telling him to. He was strategic and analytical, and his thinking was fast paced, however, the whole idea of being inside the game - Sword Art Online - was for fun, so it dawned on him that he should be enjoying himself. No stress, especially since the game itself was non-competetive, still in the beta testing phase, and because he thought that he would rather have fun that be stressed out.
Seraphi would take the time to briefly explain himself and say a little something as to how he worked with other people. To Caeruleus, Seraphi seemed to be a little passive, and his image was surely something that did not give him that idea. The gigantic green haired man appeared to be dangerous and menacing, paired with his dark skin and glaring eyes, but maybe it was only some sort of avatar preference, or something. It did not whatsoever reflect the meaning behind his name; which is "to be a high ranking holy entity", since his dark complexion made him all the more intimidating and less like an angel... Well, all according to his childish imagery, as supposed. Seraphi told him to wait here for a while, because a companion might be coming back with another addition to the party. It seems as though everyone was looking for a party member to go adventuring in this world with. Well, it was a very big world after all, so it was kind of good to know that he, along with Seraphi and the two other party members, would not have to venture alone. It was a good chance to make new friends, too, although, they did not really know each other outside of the game. For some reason, a comfortable feeling would envelop Caeruleus as he would think of having to become actual friends with the lot of them. The emotion was unfamiliar to him, since the reality was that he did not really know how to approach people without coming off as a bit of an air head. Even if he was trying to be nice, people see him as a threat in real life, and perhaps, the the greatest factor that would or could be attributed to this was his social status; one that is of wealth and power, plus, belonging to a family which had sponsored the production of the game itself. This, he found out only recently, and it is for that same reason that he was allowed to go through beta testing without even having to pay for the game and the console. All of a sudden, a thread of discomfort slowly wound up around his body, somehow keeping him from moving as the thought passed his mind. What would they do if they found out that his family party sort of owned the game itself? He wondered, and was thrown into untimely contemplation.
An unfamiliar voice of a man did, however, manage to break him free from the rope which tied him so to discomfort. He looked up, and he would find dark blue eyes glaring at him. The tall man clad in dark blue armor and brown leather wrist protectors; the one from before. Snapping back to reality, he would shake his head and give him a nod of approval whilst forcing a smile upon his face. He did not want to be awkward. Standing right next to him would be an unknown man. The man was also tall, and practically towering over him, having sleek black hair and piercing red eyes. His skin was white, but not as pale, and about him heavy, foreboding air seemed to flow. Caeruleus stared at the man, ocean blue eyes investigating him as if they were seeing right through. He looks... Strong. The young boy found himself at a loss for words, and was only placed back into reality once more by the appearance of an ivory white panel right before his face. One of his feet jerked back to take a step, and his eyes would fall to the panel of ivory white, and ebony black text - a Party Request. Slowly being brought back to his senses, he would raise his right arm. Yes. He would tap on the holographic panel screen, and it would retract and shrink out of view with a peculiar tone. Clicking the option 'Yes' had allowed for the names of his party members to be displayed at the upper left hand corner of his line of sight. Yes, he was in the party now.
Three more names dropped down below his own name, indicating their levels and the status of their hit points. All of them were green. Seraphi was the third on the list, and the first on the list was Menma - supposedly, the leader of their newly formed party of adventurers. Last on the list would be the name 'Mugen'. He stalled for a moment before moving to look at the younger of the three, the boy with the cream colored hair and dark blue eyes. And from him, again, his gaze would shift back to the person with sleek black hair and piercing red eyes. His brow furrowed in curiosity, and he remained silent as if confused, hand cupping his chin. His free hand, however, would be raised to point, the index finger of his hand now directed at the younger man."Menma?" he would utter in an interrogative tone. His hand would move sideways as he would, and he would now point to the older man with red eyes. "Mugen. I think I guessed it right this time,"He would say, before putting his hand down. It was a guess, something which he did to simply get the thought out of his mind. The young blond then bowed his head to the two afterwards, and proceeded with introducing himself,"Anyway, my name is Caeruleus. Thank you for letting me join your party,"he said with modesty.
He would raise his head and turn around now only to realize that the surrounding crowd was nearly dispersing, and with that, the outsides of this town was surely, slowly being flooded by players who are getting ahead of them bit by bit. He had not realized this until now. A rising get feeling from his stomach would fire up his mind to an alerted status, however, his disposition remained unchanged."I'm sorry to ask, and I might seem to come off as a little bit hasty, but the other testers are slowly moving out of the square and into the field. I think we should get going before the killing rate overtakes the spawn rate of the monsters outside," he suggested calmly - point being that their might be a point where the spawn rate would not be enough to provide them a good amount of monsters to hunt, because the players are taking down monsters at a much faster rate. However, he was sure that he made his point clear. He wanted to start as soon as possible, and perhaps, be able to catch up to the front lines with their own party of four people."So, shall we?
LOCATION:•• Town of Beginnings. ACTIVITY:•• Forming a party.
Idol Teen
Typhlobasia
Shiro no Kitsune
Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 2:45 pm
Even though Kaaz had graciously, and as prompted to in a social situation, given the “talking stick”, in a manner of speaking, to the Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont, not being able to spew forth a waterfall of wisdom and knowledge to fight against ignorance made him slightly twitchy. Certainly, Kaaz wasn’t being rude, at least not to his perception and knowledge. He was still listening to Tremont’s response; as a result it was completely acceptable and not rude for his eyes to wander about the Town of Beginnings they had been spawned into at first. There certainly was a lot to take in about this world, though how much the fantasy setting would grind with Kaaz’s expectations of realistic settings that at least obeyed the laws of physics would remain to be seen. He knew that if something really, really went against basic common sense that was not explained properly enough by magic or some sort of magical gizmo, Kaaz would be very dissatisfied. While others might be able to wave it away with a “fantasy setting” or “it doesn’t have to be realistic, it’s just a game after all” or “well if we did that, things would be unbalanced and some people would have advantages over others”, Kaaz wanted – no, needed – things to make good and proper sense.
So he wondered about how much damage he could possibly do to the stalls and the walls of the town around him if he decided to assault them with his heavily armored self. Did physics work properly in this world? Would the NPCs react if he ruined their shops? Could he even steal items? Fortunately for himself, the people around him, and the NPCs, Kaaz managed to restrain that curiosity and tendency to test and destroy the world around. After all, his name color might change to a different color if the system thought he committed a crime and there was still a chance he would get scolded by some being who possessed a great deal of authority over the game world. He did not want to be scolded, being yelled at was unpleasant and people who yelled at Kaaz were always too loud and made him cover up his ears in response to their yelling. This being a virtual reality, he certainly did not want to deal with consequences, something that was really quite telling wasn’t it?
Suddenly, something Tremont said clicked within Kaaz’s brain. Viking Berserker…. Horned helmet? Did this here Tremont think Vikings actually wore horned helmets into battle and on their raids? That was quite the fallacy there! Kaaz felt a welling up of need to enlighten Tremont of the proper information regarding Vikings but he felt a bit conflicted. He had been told over and over and over and over again and again that it was rude to interrupt someone else when they were speaking. Yet. Yet! This was not something Kaaz could so easily overlook! If Tremont would react like his teachers did when Kaaz interrupted them when they misspoke, so be it. This information was just that important to know. Yes, Kaaz would right the wrongs of the altered past people mistook for the truth nowadays. He would not give in or back away in the face of adversity. With that thought raging in his mind, Kaaz coughed lightly then began his spiel:
“Actually, Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont, Vikings did not adorn helmets with horns. The very idea is actually quite silly and impractical for even regular Vikings, not to mention it’d be costly, never mind for the very elites such as the Jomsvikings. No, the idea that Vikings wore horned helmets actually came from a whole slew of misunderstandings, Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont. Greek and Roman writings spoke of a northern tribe who wore horns in their helmets; however these horns would have been used for ceremonies and rituals and not actual battle. Not to mention these tribes of people predated the Viking Era by about a century and thus could not have been Vikings. However, when the Greek and Roman writings were translated by scholars during the Renaissance, they falsely assumed the Northern tribe in the writings referred to the Vikings. No, Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont, you would make a fine and proper Viking with a hornless helmet.” Having revealed the proper information to Tremont, Kaaz felt a feeling of relief at bringing knowledge to yet another person. The idea that perhaps Tremont was only joking about the horned helmet did suddenly cross his mind though. The man claimed he had the Viking Berserker in mind during character creation, perhaps he was actually quite knowledgeable about the Vikings too? Oh well, if that was the case Kaaz was sure their band of raiders would become quite prosperous in the future. Though it would also need to grow too.
Seeing Tremont’s… what was it, a smile? Seeing Tremont’s smile, Kaaz followed the basic rules of etiquette and politely extended the muscles around his mouth in an upwards fashion to recreate the same motion. Chances were that it appeared unnatural, forced, and possessing a certain off-ness that was sometimes disturbing. This was simply because Kaaz was not used to smiling at all. Some of the people he interacted with at school told him that he did not need to smile at them when they smiled since they were such good friends. The truth was Kaaz, during his middle school phase when he sought social acceptance that was never to be, had gotten counseling from the social worker about facial expressions and then he had done his own little research. It seemed that a smile was supposed to appeal to him and increase attraction, platonic or otherwise, and appeal. And it would naturally do that without any words. Kaaz was blown away by the amazing power of the smile right then and there! It said many things, could be used in many ways and even in a manner that would be repulsive to the average person. So Kaaz had begun to practice his own facial expressions until high school hit, middle school sickness passed, and he stopped caring about fitting in with everyone.
A good point was brought up though, their Viking party would need to grow and as Tremont asked Kaaz about dueling, Kaaz began to look around for potential party members. Of course he was still listening to Tremont. It would be very useful for Kaaz to get a hold on the combat system before fighting whatever beginning monsters lay out there due to the uniqueness of Sword Art Online. And since he had gone with the heavier, staunch tank build, he would need to get used to others. Though Tremont was fat, he was not wearing much armor – haha, the fat man was shirtless! – and would likely be much faster than the fully armored, equip load maxed, zero Agility Kaaz. In fact, just a quick glance around told Kaaz that most people would be too. It seemed as though only a few took the Heavy Mail and Leggings set and opted for Light armor instead. Quite like that blond female right there with the leather cloak and what appeared to be armor with straining around the chest. A closer inspection of her revealed the possession of a rapier, easily seen from the hilt and thin blade. Kaaz recalled his comments earlier about the rapier and its inability to really damage him, though the shirtless Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont might be in trouble if it pierced his unarmored torso. At least assuming his Axe didn’t smash the rapier to pieces. Not that Kaaz really knew if weapons could be broken.
”Hey Tremont, look over there. That woman has a rapier. Though a fine civilian weapon, that weapon likely would not stand up to par against other military grade weapons such as pikes or axes. Since it was geared more for civilians and dueling, I wonder how capable it is of piercing armor, even light chain mail. Of course, since you are not wearing armor I would suspect it would deal quite a succession of blows against you but if you manage to enter a Berserk state you could likely ignore the damage temporarily and bring about a great deal of harm to the user. I wonder how effective the set up the blond lady with strained chest armor would be, don’t you?” Kaaz made the observation out loud in the same monotonous, almost disinterested tone he always possessed. Far from the case though, he was curious now about that. In fact, it was immediately obvious that his fighting style and that of the Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont’s would be vastly different. If Kaaz wanted to review Sword Art Online like a proper critic, which he always strove to be, he would need to become acquainted with the differing fighting styles. A spear, an axe, and then if he could observe a light and what would normally be easily shatter-able sword at work he could make the proper recommendations to his friends and others. Perhaps even get paid for such a review. And was it not his obligation as a Beta Tester to observe anything and everything for potential bugs, glitches, and unbalance or things that did not make sense? ”Let us add that nice lady, Azra, to our party to increase our effectiveness when we encounter monsters outside of the Town of Beginnings we are currently present in.” Azra floated above her head so Kaaz could only deduce that was her name.
”While I would also look forward to entering the fields outside of town to combat the monsters that abound, it is necessary to become acquainted to the fighting system too, is it not? Especially if we Vikings are accosted by an enemy wishing to bring us ill or harm and if we are to plunder and pillage like proper Nordic raiders of yore. Indeed, let us engage in honorable combat before we wander into the killing fields together in jolly cooperation.” Kaaz responded, thinking carefully out loud about his decision to duel Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont right here and now. Looking at the short man who appeared roughly 18 inches shorter than Kaaz, if Kaaz had bothered to stand up perfectly straight without slouching so much, Kaaz decided it would be a good experience indeed. Though his rippling muscles bulging underneath his heavy metal armor did make it seem quite mismatched. ”Fighting until one hit-point is quite dangerous and would require some time of rest before we could safely venture out to fight basic monsters lest one of them defeats us in one hit. However, as you say Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont, deciding the duel on first blood would end quickly. I admit it would be interesting to see whether your speed and strength would manage to triumph over my range advantage I possess over you. Yet I feel it would not be too fair since my defense is quite formidable, leading to your victory even if you did not manage to damage me. Let us take the middle ground and compromise in this one, Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont. I, Ultimate Kaaz, will accept your challenge of a Half Loss Mode Duel where we fight until half of our HP is gone or one of us surrenders. This would appear to mean at least 125 points of damage would be dealt for victory. We would still have enough hit points to immediately head out to the fields and combat the pigs and other monsters of this world if we are frugal and careful about it. Thus, this is the best method.”
Upon completing the assessment Kaaz gave towards the mode of dueling they would engage in, he turned around, walked away ten paces, then re-pivoted to face Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont. Motioning his hand in the proper “Accept Duel” gesture, he leveled his Beta Assault Spear towards Tremont and waited for his opponent to charge forward as he inevitably and most likely would. By being a slow tank, Kaaz felt it would not be helpful for him to charge in and give up his significant advantage, though if Tremont became reluctant to charge into Kaaz’s superior range, he would slowly advance until he could corner Tremont somewhere and then use his Long Range attacks to keep the man trapped. Unfortunately Kaaz had not yet looked into his map to find out the locations of alleyways since he had become so overcome with amusement when he had seen Tremont to fully integrate with the system. ”Let us begin, Berserker Axe Warrior Tremont.”
There was certainly something just a little tiny bit odd with Kaaz. Tremont was getting a feel for it now. This child was somewhat strange. Was it the way he talked with such a monotone that seemed to suggest he had no interest and yet spouted such endless knowledge in a way that you'd expect with fervour from anyone else? Was it the absent look and the long stare that wasn't particularly 'deep' but somewhere between glazed over and disinterested? Or was it the untimely laughs and the obviously strained smile and very easily apparent lack of social skills. Seeing just one of these characteristics in what was very clearly a teenage boy of some description would not have been too unusual but for all three of them to be present at once. Tremont was tempted to comment on this fact but he felt it wasn't particularly tactful to ask about someone's personal problems. Instead he nodded politely while Kaaz laid on all this important information upon him. Once again he only took the most important bits. Basically what Kaaz had said in an extremely roundabout way was that Vikings didn't actually wear horned helms. Well you learnt something new everyday Kaaz thought to himself in private. There was no shame in being corrected on something like this.
"Very interesting." Tremont replied to it all. There was really very little else to say. It was interesting but the fountain of words didn't allow for any real interjection unless Kaaz had decided that one had permission to talk. Indeed Tremont always had to hurriedly make his point and say his piece before Kaaz was once again on the go. This time talking about something brand new which had gained his attention. A young lady, woman, girl. It was really impossible to tell before they opened their mouths the exact age or even gender of the strange creatures who inhabited this world. On that note Tremont thought for just a second that he certainly would not like to get into any sort of 'sexual encounter' while in Aincrad. How awful it would be to... well. That was a topic for another day.
"I see. I'll invite her to our party." Tremont brought up the menu quickly as now his compatriot had switched yet again onto another subject. This guy. This guy! He just couldn't keep his thoughts straight. One moment he was looking at pretty girls (it was probably a girl though aesthetically he could understand why a man may choose to play as a girl. Purely aesthetically of course. There was no deeper meaning to it.) and then the very next he was continuing on with this duel after explaining Tremont's error in understanding Vikings. That was another thing that seemed odd about Kaaz. He had very little in the way of an attention span. Perhaps he should have noticed that sooner when Kaaz was simply looking about while he explained himself. Kaaz was very much a man of the moment despite his clearly obsessive fascination with Vikings.
Quickly as Kaaz was explaining the rules of the duel Tremont gave a shout to the lady across from them. "Miss Azra?" He shouted. Trying to be as polite as possible about inviting a total stranger to a party. He didn't want to give the wrong impression and was pretty sure that not wearing a shirt and being as fat as he was didn't help with this. Still. He would persevere. "My friend here..." He strained friend somewhat in apprehension. Were they friends? They'd really only just met but if Kaaz was as awkward as he seemed to be Tremont was sure that he'd be happy for someone to call him a friend. He knew what it was like to be a kid. Admittedly in a very different time having been born in 1997 but nonetheless he knew that life could be hard when you were unusual and only a kid.
"He would like it if you joined our party. Would that be okay Miss Azra?" In advance he sent the party invite. She probably wouldn't want to hear about the thoughts of Kaaz on her weapon so it was best to resume and begin the duel immediately. "I'm sorry but I'll talk to you later it looks like we're duelling now." Instantly he regained his posture and brought himself into a fighting pose. His axe was in front of him but also across his body so as to deflect any blows. However this was a bad match up. His axe had decent length but nothing like the spear. In addition to the small piercing blows made it harder to block. Though he had more surface to block it off he simultaneously the spear could get through smaller gaps in his defenses. In the hands of someone slow it was a force to be reckoned with combining light weight, high power, length and piercing power into one almighty weapon. It was a small blessing that it was required that the weapon be held in two hands. There was nothing stopping a spear being used with a shield so this must have been a design choice.
In addition Tremont knew he had superior speed. His stats were basically designed in such a way that he would be both fast and strong. A shocking difference from how he looked no doubt and one that would throw off any first time fighters. His defenses were woefully weak however but he had taken that to increase his chances of complete damage mitigation over partial. What kind of fool would go for incomplete damage mitigation over partial he felt? Well Kaaz had certainly been one and he was looking pretty fearsome right about now. Was it possible that the game was poorly balanced enough to allow complete mitigation through defenses at the early levels? Tremont certainly hoped not.
"I'll let you have the first move then." Tremont said. Deciding he'd size up his opponent's speed and attacking power. It was possible that had all of Kaaz power been spent on defenses that this would simply become a battle of attrition. In which case Tremont had already formulated a plan on how to fight Kaaz.
Nareik headed into town and headed straight towards the butcher shop that has sent Nareik the quest. Nareik only knew the way because of a shine he could see and had read about it in the manual about completing quests. Nareik ran into some rather crowded areas as he pushed his way through, it seemed like the game was getting more and more testers now. Nareik noted to himself that he needed to find someone to make friends with after he completed these quests. Eventually he made his way to the butcher shop and walked in with a light jingle. "Hello there," the butcher called from the back room, presumably slicing meat. "Hello, I recieved a quest to get 'Frenzied Pig Meat'?" Nareik called back opening his menu and pulling it out. "Ah yes, yes thank you, I'll be with you in a moment," Nareik heard back. as promised the man walked out, wiping his hands and walked over to the counter where Nareik had set the meat. "Looks good, thank you so much," the butcher said happily and pulled out a small pouch for Nareik's reward. Nareik opened the pouch as soon as he exited the shop and found 500 col and a small note that read 25 exp. Nareik smiled at this and pocketed the col before heading towards another little sparkle he saw.
Nareik came to a fountain park and thought about checking the bulletin board for any more quests. He walked up and scanned over several of them and found one to his interest, 'Hazard Elimination'. All it said was to kill twenty blue slugs in the caves at Primero Beach. He took touched it gently and heard a small ping as the quest was accepted on on his list. Nareik also noticed a handwritten leader. He quickly skimmed it and found it was of a sick mother who wanted to get well for her daughter. Though he knew it was just simple programming, Nareik couldn't help but feel sadness for the mother and her daughter. He quickly tapped the letter and gained the quest 'Save a Life'.
After seeing no more quests that interested him, Nareik proceeded towards the familiar quest destination. He passed though the crowds, pushing and shoving this way and that, and occasionally coming to a complete halt. In the end he made it in one piece. He stared at the building the had an odd smell about it, and Nareik assumed it was the animals. Nareik pushed the door open and was greated by a stronger wave of the stench and a friendly "Hello." "Hi, I came to make a contract," Nareik said looking over a woman working here. he auburn hair tied back into a pony tail that flowed down to about her mid lower back. Nareik thought it looked nice, but would still change a little bit. She was a thin woman covered in what Nareik assumed to be wool clothes and a leather apron. "Ah yes hello, a young familiar user," the woman said as she rummaged around looking for something. Nareik guessed her to be maybe late twenties early thirties. "Well for novice, we have a selection of four, a teeny turtle, a mini monkey, a baby bunny, and a small stallion," she told Nareik and pulled out four sheets of paper with their statistics. Nareik looked over them carefully. He eliminated the bunny and turtle quickly, he thought they wouldn't be as cool, and between the stallion and monkey, he chose the monkey. He liked monkies, fun cute and playful. Nareik signed the pact that formed the bond and the paper jumped and shifted and became a small monkey. Nareik smiled at the little animal and cooed, "Hello little fella." It looked light a little ball that resembled the head of a monkey, but either way, Nareik was happy with it. It rose up and moved to Nareik's right shoulder. Nareik thanked the woman and headed out. As soon as he was out, he opened his menu and found a notice. It was for an event that was starting soon. Nareik smiled as he read about it. "This sounds like fun," he said and closed his menu. He began heading for a square where he'd find a teleportation gate and he'd wait until the event started.
"Link. Start." Those were the last words Ren spoke in the real world. Soon a rush would come over his body and his eyes would shut, but he felt like they were wide open. All he could see was white, nothing else. However it wouldn't take long before short beams of every color in the color spectrum came flying at him in almost endless numbers. As Ren flew through the barrage of rainbow poles, a voice could be heard. It was hard to concentrate on but Ren was able to hear words along the lines of 'aural sensory function' or 'smelling sensory successful'. Ren chalked it up to the five senses were being calibrated and everything was going smoothly, returning his attention to the flashing beams of light. As he was enjoying the light show, the screen went blank and Ren was directed to the character creation screen.
Not one for much creativity, Ren would proceed to create a character that looked like himself in real life, with a few minor differences. The face, Ren had chosen to be a bit more feminine, but the hair stayed the same shining silver. Ren would make the eyes a grey-ish color, thinking it'd be too common to have blue eyes. After the creation was done Ren was asked to input a name. Again, with creativity lacking, Ren used his last name as his handle. "Koyuki." Ren stated, and a ping sounded off in acceptance of character name. A rush of wind blew over his body, making Ren cover his eyes to prevent anything from hurting.
Before Kyouki opened his eyes, the wooshing sound had ceased adn was replaced by the clatter of a busy market. Foot steps were sounded off coming from metal boots, market owners were hollering out about their goods for sale, other people were talking and laughing. Koyuki opened his eyes only to confirm what his ears were hearing. Koyuki had materialized in the market place of a place he would learn to be the Town of Beginnings. After a few 180 degree turns, Koyuki took everything in slowly. The sound of all the noises, the smell of the baked goods, the feeling of the wamr sun beating down on him, all of it was surreal. Koyuki would begin to explore the town, only to stop in front of a mirror and to his surprise, his face wasn't there. Only the face of his character was there. Amazed, Koyuki ran his fingers over his face and was surprised to feel how real the skin felt, almost like this was in fact real life. Koyuki grinned in excitement. Pulling away from the mirror, Kyouki began to admire his new body. The clothing he was wearing impressed him, he felt like he really was a thief. Shaking his head in disbelief, koyuki made his way to continue exploring the town.
