Zajcica

The pink paladin nearly burst in excitement. She was actually being challenged by a god to battle of one of her most favorite hobbies! Cooking was probably one of Yuki's greatest passions and if she could beat Hestia at her own domain, imagine what she could make with that flame boosting her crafts. Yuki nodded to Hestia and gave her a challenging grin. "It would be an absolute honor to have a competition with a god domained with cooking and food. I gleefully accept your challenge Hestia. Do your best and I will do my best as well. We will see if I'm able to out do the Goddess of the Heart." Yuki said approaching the counter to take her position. "What are the rules of the challenge then, Miss? Crafting materials were laid out for them both to use. With the amount she had, she could make any dish that she wished to defeat Hestia. Relying on Japanese recipes would be the token to victory for Yuki.

The both of them headed through the gates and into the common area of Mt. Olympus. Not like it was some actual city, just buffer between different areas where several other named legendary gods and goddess worked on their craft and oversaw their domains. The paladin stuck close to Hestia. "There are several great chefs and connoisseurs through out Aincrad and I cannot help but invite them to Mt. Olympus to chat." Hestia admitted as they walked into her beautiful kitchen. It was spacious and magnificent to anyone well versed in cooking. "But, I did not summon you to come here merely to chat with me. Instead, I wish to challenge you to battle of the hearth. If you can beat me, I will bestow upon you a special ember that will make your crafts ever so resplendent. Will you accept my challenge?" Hestia closed the door behind them and went behind one of the clear polished counter, awaiting Yuki's response.

With the golden gates of Olympus now in view, the pink paladin wasted no time on finishing her trek up the mountain with a full blown sprint. At the gate's opening stood a woman cloaked in a robe. They stood patiently, awaiting her specifically to show. The woman stepped forward as Yuki approached her. "Welcome to Mt. Olympus, young one. I am Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. What brings you to our gates?" She asked, pulling the hood down off her head. Her red-ish colored eyes would look menacing on anyone but her. The goddess was even shorter than Yuki, who was dwarfed by many other players in the game. "I think you already know why I am here, Miss. I've come to see what for I was summon." Yuki gave her a smile, which she returned softly. "Right you are." She motioned Yuki to follow her through the golden gateway.

Even though the dirt path up the mountain provided easy scaling of the cliff-face, it still took much longer than she would intend to get up to the summit. The path twist and turns while heading up, and mobs even spawned while going up. Had to dodge those like the black plague if she wanted to make it up there. That made her wonder what the hell she was going to do if Hestia intended to challenge her to combat in some way. There's no way she would stand a chance against anything on this floor, she would die in an instant. Though, there was no actual recommended level for this quest it seemed, so perhaps that foreshadowed a non-combat situation. After about half an hour, Yuki finally found herself in view of the gates of Olympus. They were golden and beautiful, like any story would depict them. The girl took off in a lunging sprint, ready to see what Hestia had in store for her.

Day 6:

"Actually I set the language to English, not knowing the translation system had existed." The paladin scratched the back of her head. They were getting close to the town again, and that's where they would likely say their goodbyes. "I assumed most of the players would default to English, and since I'm already well versed in it, I didn't mind setting it to that." She explained. Maybe there was a setting that could activate Japanese voicing in her menu. She'd have to explore that at some point. The two girls walked through the safe zone barrier, back to town safe and sound. Yuki turned to the other girl and offered her a handshake. "Thank you again for the help. I dunno how I would've managed without you, even if you weren't inherently trying to help me. I am afraid this is where part ways, however. I have things I need to attend to and I'm sure that you are tired of listening to me ramble on. Maybe we'll meet again some time. Bai bai!" Yuki waved goodbye as she took off towards the town teleporter. @Hidden

Yuki was slightly relieved when she heard Mari's voice still behind her but she was still feeling bad about her inability to realize her own insensitivity. It seemed like Mari had calmed down now, which made it easier to come back to the real world, she turned to her companion. Unfortunately, she couldn't find the feeling to smile to her. Her voice sounded torn up and like she could start the wet-works at any moment. Holding it in as best as possible, she paths around the familiar question to apologize. "G-Gomenasai... I.. I had not realized how insensitive my motives were. Your words cut me deep. I want you to know that if you feel that you need help with your problems, I wont hesitate to be there for you, but no longer will I press you to speak to me about the subject. Y-Yuru shite onegaishimasu." The young girl folded forward into a bow. She seemed genuinely broken up about offending Mari. "G-Gryphon? Oh, right. I.. almost forgot. Y-Yeah, let's keep looking." The pinkette's mood seemed pretty deflated at this point. @Mari

Yuki sighed at the prospect of standing around again after just chilling on the side line with Cordelia while she fought that troll. However, it was the same deal as the troll Ugzeke, if she did do her headstrong, reckless bullshit she would most certainly die, especially with how much hate she could generate so easily. She looked down to Shiina, then back to Mari and Oscar. "Don't worry Mari, I promise you that I wont do anything reckless. Strict defense and reaction." Yuki opened up her menu and made sure what her items looked like before she gave her an answer. The girl scratches the back of her head. "I really need to expand my consumable slots. I don't have any skills for healing - yet - but I have two healing potions that heal one-fourth of my HP each. That's about it. What about you Shiina? Any healing abilities?" She looked down at the little girl with a smile. @Shiina@Oscar@Mari

Day 5 138845 CD: 6; LD: 1 Fail 1+5 138846 CD: 8; LD: 10 Uncommon 3+5 138847 CD: 8; LD: 7 Uncommon 3+5 138848 CD: 5; LD: 16 Salvage 2+5 138849 CD: 11; LD: 5 Rare 5+5 138850 CD: 2; LD: 11 Salvage 2+5 138851 CD: 5; LD: 18 Salvage 2+5 Exp Gained: 18+35=53 Mats used: -1

Yuki was absolutely speechless. How was she to respond to that without making matters worse. It felt like if she just sat here and tried to apologize she would only be sucking up to Mari. She just had realized how insensitive her side of it sounded compared to Mari's. She wasn't trying to be a hero or trying to suck up to Mari in any way, she just wanted to help. After a good does of words sowed with a hint of hatred - probably not directly at Yuki, but at how people tried to sympathize with her - Yuki clammed the [censored] up. Her words could really cut as deep as her dagger. She turned her back to Yuki, as if to say '-and that's that!'. Yuki stood quietly there thinking about what Mari just said. If she truly wanted to help Mari, should have to do it Mari's way, not the way she wanted to do it. The words came to her, but it was probably too soon. Her boots chunked under the grass as she continued her exploration, turning back only momentarily to see if Mari even wanted to continue. @Mari

Yuki also celebrated the girl's victory over the massive troll-like creature. She clapped lightly and called out to her. "Well done! That was quite the impressive displace, miss." The paladin followed up behind the other girl whilst continuing her clap. "Astounding indeed. You must be a front liner with that kind of strength to be putting that monster down a monster of that size on your own. Thank you for protecting us. I'll do my best to be more careful outside of safe zones in the future." An awkward laugh escaped her lips as she scratched the back of her head. "That being said, it's probably about time I head off this floor. I think I've seen enough for it for now." The girl made sure that she had all her gear in tow and looked over to Cordelia, who seemed to still be catching her breath a bit. "Do you happen to know which way is it to the teleporter, miss?" @Cordelia

Name: Ika Shoga Yaki Your Profession: Cook Your Rank: 4 ID: 138812; 138812-1 Roll: 11 Item Type: Meal Tier: 1 Quality: Rare Enhancements: Overhealth 2 Description: Stir-fried squid marinated soy sauce, ginger and mirin, served with steamed rice and green vegetables. Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19110-yuki-izakayaf22r4-cook-pk-accessible/?do=findComment&comment=600445 Name: Ika Shoga Yaki Your Profession: Cook Your Rank: 4 ID: 138811; 138811-1 Roll: 10 Item Type: Meal Tier: 1 Quality: Rare Enhancements: Overhealth 2 Description: Stir-fried squid marinated soy sauce, ginger and mirin, served with steamed rice and green vegetables. Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19110-yuki-izakayaf22r4-cook-pk-accessible/?do=findComment&comment=600445 EXP Gain: 49

Day 4

Yuki caught up to her a bit, trying to not look like a complete creep just treading behind her. The girl mentioned her efficiency in book-smarts and gaming, which was a pretty good skill set to boast for a game like this. Knowledge was the true power to getting strong: Knowing how to make a build and use it correctly was what MMO games were about. She was really regretting not having played more before she picked up the stupid Nervegear. "I have played some games before, but nothing like an MMO. I'd say I'm a pretty smart person, but I've always been exceptionally good at cooking and with English. I'm from Japan so I apologize if my accent makes my speech a bit unintelligible." Yuki said. "If you ever need food crafted, by the way, I intend to start a shop up there that will be orange player accessible." The pink-haired paladin gave Hidden a thumbs up and another light smile. @Hidden

The paladin paced behind the dark, hooded girl as she had the exact same destination. It was painstakingly obvious to Yuki that Hidden wasn't the best socializing with others, but she was strong in her own mind. "No, I'm pretty much a solo playing tank. I'm not very familiar with these type of games so I did what seemed logical and loaded up what should keep me alive. I didn't quite understand how sword arts and skills worked, so I just loaded up on armor and just survive. I'm not fighting alone though. I have some friends, and I have my family waiting on me to wake up. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect myself, and everyone I can, so we call see our friends and families again!" She smiled to Hidden when she looked back to the paladin. "Is that a satisfying answer to you? Some people have called me a joke. The front line is a serious place that inexperienced players like me shouldn't go anywhere near." She was reminded how she cowered to the giant burning tiger. That probably didn't leave a great first impression on her. @Hidden