[PP - F01] «The First Few Lessons Are Free»

[Tyonis 0]

Approximately 2 years ago, in the «Town of Beginnings»,

Steven Barnett - Tyonis - pushed through the panicked crowds after the frightening announcement. He shoved his own fear and concerns to the far back of his mind and slipped into his 'combat' mindset. His mission was clear: survive, beat all 100 floors, and escape from Sword Art Online. By now, his friend would be off his 24-hour guard duty shift and he'd soon discover what happened. Tyonis had keep faith that his fellow Soldiers would take proper care of his body while he was trapped in here. There was no use worrying about it - he had to do what he could from his side of the conflict.

As with every war, his first order of business was to equip himself properly and gather intel. He quickly donned a basic heavy armor set and a two-handed spear after selecting them from the «Basic Starter Package» giftbox. Of all the weapons SAO lauded, Tyonis felt an affinity for «2H Assault Spears» because he was used to fighting and training with a rifle and bayonet. He figured his IRL combat skills would translate well into SAO. He honestly wasn’t sure, but weapons familiarity did wonders for his morale.

Next came the starter quests. They offered easy gains to strengthen his character and much needed information about how to manipulate the game world and the system. A Soldier needed to be familiar with his equipment - to the point where he could reliably use it in pitch-black darkness and under heavy enemy pressure. This was just the first step in that process.

He made his way to «Zackariah», a local NPC he’d read about in the informational booklet written by the beta testers...

Word Count: 287

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

Spencer was at a lose for words. Not just for the world that he was in, but the world he could no longer leave. He bit his lip and stopped himself from hyperventilating, which was proving to be really difficult task for him to do, but he was able to manage it all. He fought his way through the crowds of scared people and came to a slightly open clearing, looking around for a moment. He turned to see a man entering a building, a place he recognized to be the beginner quest area. The man seemed to be someone who had a bit of his life together for a moment, and Spencer decided that that might be someone to interact with. He was hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could get a sane friend from all of this, but Spencer was wasn't the best at making friends, so this was going to be his first push for it. Spencer entered the building slowly and looked around, seeing the quest giver, and also the man standing there. "H-Hello there, I'm glad I can see someone else a little more calm and coordinated than the rest."

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis spun on his heel after he accepted the quest. The young man didn’t seem overtly hostile. On the contrary, he had an expression Tyonis had seen countless times before: a civilian with a cloud of fear hanging over him. He considered leaving the blonde to his own devices: Tyonis was on a mission, a civilian would only slow him down. He was about to step past him when he remembered a Soldier was only as good as his squad. And he sorely lacked one here. Moreover, the blonde was speaking ENGLISH. Tyonis was acutely aware he’d be unable to communicate with 99% of SAO’s playerbase since they all spoke Japanese. It didn’t seem like an issue at first, but that was when he didn’t know he’d be trapped in a death-game. While he could speak some Japanese, clear and concise communication was important on the battlefield. Any language barrier was practically asking for a death sentence.

In what appeared to be a slow and agonizing fashion, Tyonis straightened his back and nodded.

“Name’s Steven - Tyonis,” he corrected with a small, reserved smile. “I was about to start the beginner quest chains. But it’s a goddamn relief to hear someone else speak English! We can party up if you want, so you’re British?” Tyonis observed, trying to find some middle ground. He’d served with some NATO coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, so he could pick out his accent.

Word Count: 201

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

Spencer did not how to take the body language the man was exuding when talking with him. The man didn't seem hostile or angry, but seemed almost irritated to have someone infiltrating his own little bubble. Spencer was put a bit off by his personality, but luckily the man didn't stay too Hostile for long. The man offered his name, which was nice to hear that the man was going to actually talk to him. He talked about how happy he was to hear someone else talking English, and also how he was going to start the beginner quest. Tyonis even guessed his accent from his first phrase. "Yeah I am British, and you haven't met people speaking English? A lot of people I've met have been. Eh, oh well. I think I might start that quest a bit later... Oh! And I'm Spencer." The man blushed and smiled, rubbing the back of his head. He seems nice enough, hopefully this can keep going well. He thought for a bit, then looked at him, the man seemed to be in a hurry. "Do you want me to let you go? Or would you want some company?" Spencer was fighting against his Social Anxiety with every inch of his body, hoping to god that he could have a normal conversation with someone.

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis recognized Spencer’s social aversion after a few exchanges. He had his fair share of experiences - being transferred from place to place meant you had to learn to make friends and adjust quickly. And no matter how many times the army moved him, it was always a chore to break the ice. Tyonis smiled a bit broader when Spencer began to speak more freely, although it was easy to see he was still reclusive. Tyonis figured the young man would grow out of that one day. 

After all, Steven was just like he was - antisocial, lacking in confidence, and shy. Two deployment into active combat zones changed Steven’s personality, though. One simply stopped caring about stomach butterflies after surviving harrowing life-or-death experiences. Little did Tyonis know that Spencer would also learn to come out of his shell in the coming years.

Tyonis sent Spencer a «Party Invite». Sure, Tyonis could probably do these quests faster solo, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want the company. And two pairs of eyes were always better than one when on the lookout for danger.

“Yeah. Let’s head on out. I want to get a headstart on this before the rest of the crowd comes out of their shock.”

Word Count: 211

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

Spencer started to feel a bit more at ease with the man, considering he was smiling and Spencer started to smile too. 'Thank god I'm starting to make possibly my first friend, and it seemed to be someone who was fine with talking and hangung out with me. Hopefully he doesn't possibly run away when he, well if he, finds out that I'm gay.' Spencer ended his mental worry's with accepting the party request that Tyonis sent him. 

Tyonis started to go out and begin the quest, and Spencer was thrilled to start it, getting out into the world and doing something with his life at the moment. "S-so... Tyonis. How old are you? I can't really tell from what you look like. I'm 18 myself. Also, how did you know that I was British? Not many people can pick up on my accent." He smiled and looked at the man, he was intrigued to get the answers back, basically because this was the first man he met and made some sort of friends with. "Also, what kind of build are you going for? I think I want to do a Healer/ Tank type. Lije a paladin almost."

[Tyonis 0]

 

“Oh, I was overseas for a bit. I’m actually enlisted in the US Army,” he answered with a shrug. There was no harm in telling Spencer about his real life occupation, and he doubted the blonde was some kind of homegrown terrorist. “I met some British servicemen and women when I was getting shot at over in the Middle East. You Brits aren’t half bad and you have better MREs. Meal, Ready to Eat, by the way,” he clarified fondly. “I remember we were out and about and a Brit offered me a hot [censored] cup of coffee in the middle of an early morning firefight. I still wonder how he pulled that out of his ass…”

Tyonis listened intently when Spencer began to outline his character build on the way to the quest location. It was good food-for-thought. Honestly, Tyonis hadn’t really given much time to think about his own path. “I didn’t think there were classes in SAO.” He prodded playfully when Spencer spoke about becoming a Paladin then shrugged when prompted for his own character build. “I’m… er leaning on practicality. Spears were the go-to-weapon up until firearms were developed. Swords may look cool, but IRL they were nothing more than sidearms - something to use if you lost your spear. And I’ve had some… experience with a mounted bayonet, so it seemed like a good fit. I guess I’d fit best as MT or OT.”

There was honestly not much in the way to get lost and the quest text was pretty straight forward. Soon the pair were outside the Town of Beginnings. Despite the heavy atmosphere, it really felt like he had entered a world where a single blade could take you anywhere. It was… liberating compared to the many restraints of normal human society, the army even more so.

“Let’s start searching for the herbs. We’re looking for the ones with red leaves and orange flower petals. They should stand out since most of the brush is so green.”

Word Count: 336

ID: 102232

Loot Die: 3 (Fail) 0/5 Found.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

Spencer walked with Tyonis and Heard him start to discuss the British people and how good they were at sometimes. He smiled, proud slightly at his ethnicity. He talked about the war and he listened, he knew nothing much about combat. "You have a way bigger advantage than I do when it comes to this game. You are more used to combat, I'm here just walking around with a mace and no idea what I am doing, which sucks more now that I am talking." He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. He will definitely be a good friend to hold on to, considering he already knows a bit about fighting, and he seems to be okay with my company, that is... for now. Spencer came back to reality as Tyonis discussed spears and different types of weapons, even bringing up the thought of there not being any other classes. "Classes wise they 'aren't' any, but you can build your build around a single idea. Like DPS, Hate generation, things like that. And I never thought about using a spear, mace seems more my style."

Spencer walked for a bit longer, scanning the forest ground for any other colors, but green seemed to be the only color that he could find. He frowned a little bit and looked at Tyonis. "Do you plan on getting a shop or a pet? I heard you can get those."

ID: 102233 LD: 1
(0/5) Mats Acquired.

[Tyonis 0]

“I’m just like more reach with my weapons," Tyonis explained after sparing a glance at Spencer's mace. "I wish there were bows and arrows in SAO. I’d have picked that up in a heartbeat,” Tyonis admitted with a shrug. Fighting at range was what he was trained most in, after all. Sure, he was a capable melee combatant, but hand-to-hand combat was mostly irrelevant IRL when you could just blow someone’s head off at 300 meters. Plus, he had gone bowhunting once or twice, so he reasoned it wouldn’t be that difficult to use in SAO.

“...Oh found one. Any luck on your side? I have a feeling we are going nowhere slowly. Might need to go deeper into the woods…” Tyonis looked beyond the clearing and into the woodline. If he closed his eyes and listened, he could pick out the sounds of insects and animals. He licked his lips at the idea of fighting - of flexing his virtual muscles, so to speak.
 

Word Count: 150 (Ha, right on the money).

ID: 102234
Loot Die: 19 (Success!) 1/5 Found.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

"Oh I would much rather having a bow and arrow other than a mace. I'm not even sure why I chose a Mace, but too late now I suppose." He laughed and looked at his weapon re-sheathing it. He thought about how he did Archery with his dad. He was, meh, at it. He assumed that in SAO, it would be a bit different and would be a bigger hit box, also easier to hit the monsters. He ended his thoughts when he saw that Tyonis had gotten his own Material. "Thank god we got one, I have a feeling that searching for material is going to be the death of me, which is something I'm definitely not look forward to." He smiled and sighed in defeat, searching a bit more for the herbs.

"You seem to have traveled the entire world. I've just been to England, then moved to the United States. I mean I went to Canada before, but that was short and not that fun. I can't speak french so trying to converse with some people really sucked. All I know is sign language." He shrugged and stretched his fingers, thinking about all his sign language classes that he took, he missed going to those classes, but he knew they would get out of this game soon.

ID: 102235 LD: 8
(1/5) Mats Acquired

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis exhaled in relief as their luck seemed to turn around when they both found an herb at nearly the same time. He continued to sift through the brush as they conversed. He kept his head on a swivel, however, always alert and on the lookout for danger. 

“You know, at this rate, we're going to have to turn the herbs into something. Wonder how that’ll go? I’m not exactly bees' knees at arts and crafts IRL,” Tyonis joked. “I’d rather gather and harvest. It was always my best way of earning money in other MMOs.” He paused when Spencer commented about his lifestyle.

“Well, the Army’ll send you where they need you. I’ve really only been to the Middle East and Japan, obviously. It’s been fun. And it’s been real, But it’s never been ‘real fun’ if you catch what I’m throwing.” He chuckled then shrugged off Spencer’s self-incrimination. “Sign language is an important and high-demand skill,” he countered. “Don’t sell yourself short without actually trying to sell yourself first.”

Word Count: 173
ID: 102236
Loot Die: 2 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

"Oh god. I don't think paper mache exists so making those herbs will be more trouble than it is worth." He laugh with Tyonis, the man discussing other MMOs. It occurred to Spencer that he hadn't really played many other MMO's, other than Neverwinter and FFXIV, those were the only two that he had ever played. Once I get out of this game, I'm going out and playing more games. He sighed and thought about the real world for a little bit, then Tyonis started to talk about where he used to be stationed for the military, and talking about how he didn't enjoy it that much. "At least you can consider this game as almost like a vacation? Might be nice to relax a bit and De-stress from everything that was getting to you in your life, that is what I''m considering this to be, it helps me cope with the idea of being stuck here.." He bit his lip and looked down. "Sorry for making this kind of sad, not sure why I brought it up. And thank you for defending Sign Language, not many people realize how much it can help you in your everyday life." He smiled and looked at Tyonis

ID: 102237 LD: 6
(1/5) Mats Acquired

[Tyonis 0]

 

“It’s fine,” Tyonis waved off both Spencer’s compliment and the melancholy atmosphere. “I've got to remind myself that not everyone’s a combat vet IRL, so we all have our own limits about what we can and cannot handle.” He looked back and the «Town of Beginnings». There were finally some people starting to shuffle out of the city. Adapt and overcome was a core tenant for any Soldier. These Players would also have to develop a similar mindset if they wanted to accomplish anything.

“Besides, hunting the good stuff in a bad situation is how I get through the worst of times,” he agreed with a grin. “I never thought about SAO as a vacation, but it damn might as well be one! I could think of worse things to idle my time away on.” He shivered as a number of horrifically boring Army duties came to the forefront of his mind.

“So Spence,” he called out, trying out a nickname in an attempt to dispel any remaining awkwardness between them, “What are you doing with your life? Aside from being trapped in here, I mean.”

Word Count: 189
ID: 102238
LD: 6 (Fail) 1/5 Found

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

"Yeah, being in your line of work, there must be a lot of things you are happy to not have to deal with at the moment." It almost made him shiver at the thought, seeing the things on television and in movies is one thing, in real life it is a whole different story. He checked under a bush and heard Tyonis speaking to him again, but this time used a nickname. He smiled and laughed a bit when he heard the shortened version of his name. Tyonis asked him what he was doing with his life, and he thought back to starting college, he almost wished to be going to class. Remember Spencer, no student loans when you are trapped in a mental prison. He almost laughed at the grim thought, but decided to answer the solider instead. "Well, I was going to College for History, I want to be a Historian, and minoring in American Sign Language, doing interpreting jobs on the side to help make money for college, my parents were not the most well off people you have met." He shrugged, his financial situation didn't really both him anymore. "How about you Soldier Guy?.... Okay that was a bad nickname... Ty? Yeah Ty. So Ty, other than the Military, what did you do to spend your time?"

ID: 102239 LD: 9
(1/5) Mats Acquired

[Tyonis 0]

“Yeah, no kidding,” Tyonis agreed then pushed the list of IRL army duties he would have to accomplish out of his mind. No use worrying about that now. Future Steven could deal with that. What was his commander going to do? Rip the NerveGear off his head? ‘He might actually do that,’ Steven thought grimly then sighed. At the very least, there’d be a ton of make-up work he’d have to do and many, MANY hours of remedial training. Spencer caught his attention once more as he began to explain his own life. 

“College, eh? I majored in Business Administration. Ended up joining the Army when I couldn’t find a job. Go figure. It was the most expensive piece of toilet paper I’ve ever used!” He laughed. “Ty, eh? Gotta admit, this is my friend’s account and user info, but sure, why not? As for what I do in my free time? Hookers and blow.” He said with as much seriousness as he could muster. After a moment he chuckled. “When I'm not making it rain at the strip clubs, I hike and sightsee. Gotta take in the world while the Army still sending me places, right?”

Word Count: 198
ID: 102240
LD: 9 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

Spencer smiled a bit when he accepted the nickname that he made for him. He also began to talk about his college degree, which made him chuckle a bit when Tyonis insulted his own degree. He listened on and stood there almost shocked with the seriousness that the man mustered when telling him his hobbies. He quickly blushed brightly and laughed, thinking the man was being serious. "Hiking can be really fun. I used to do it a lot, but as I grew up my schedule got more and more insane. Still tried my best to get out when I could." He shrugged and frowned a bit, he was already starting to miss home. He forced those thoughts away, he was not in the mood to look upset around this man he had only recently met. "I also love to write and read, even though I'm [censored] at writing. I mostly try to write songs or poetry, but that is a hobby I lost recently, I was too self critical for my own good." He shrugged a bit and looked along the side of a tree, hoping to god that they could find the other four of them. Spencer Smiled and held up a Herb. "Look what I found!"

ID: 102241 LD: 15
(2/5) Mats Acquired

[Tyonis 0]

 

“Reading is good. Did a lot of it when I was in the Middle East. Internet there sucks ass, so I had to live off of single player VR games and what and books and TV shows I could download,” Tyonis explained. “Cherish your college years, Spence. Becoming an adult is seriously overrated.” He warned with a chuckle. “Got any good poetry pieces you want to recite? I’ll listen, but I can’t promise I won’t try and thrust this spear in between my ears if it’s too cringe-worthy.”

He grimaced when Spencer showed his next herb. “Ah. I see how it is. You’re RNG carried. Great. I think I need to reroll. My hidden luck stat blows,” he complained, staring up at the sky, holding up his hands in mock frustration. “Oh blessed RNGesus, please listen to my humble, pious supplications and grant me thy favor!”

With dramatic poise, he shoved his head into the nearest bush.

Word Count: 158
ID: 102242
LD: 7 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

Spencer was really starting to enjoy the conversation between Tyonis and himself, the guy seemed to be really light-hearted and able to hold a conversation pretty well. When he made mention of College, he was honestly very, very excited to go off to college, it was a big step in his life, and he really wanted it, like really bad. He nodded in agreement to the adult hood statement, then chuckled with a bit of nerves when Tyonis threatened to stab himself in the head if any poetry he heard was really bad. "Oh god, putting me on the spot. Hmm... I can't think of anything at the moment. Usually takes me a bit to really write anything. The most recent thing I wrote was a song that I'm halfway proud of. The verse and the chorus don't really match up that well." He shrugged a bit at the comment, there was nothing he could really do about it at that time.

Tyonis's dramatic reenactment of his sadness of the RNG system made Spencer almost Pee from laughing. Seeing a Tall, build solider, stuff his face into a bush after cursing at the gods really made Spencer loose it. After a moment of laughing, he blushed brightly. "S-sorry, from my angle that was super funny." He smiled and blushed harder. As he turned, he spotted a different color, and not just from the spots of his anxiety and laughing mixing together to form them. He slowly picked the Herb and placed it in his bag. "H-hey I found one, you can take your head out of that bush now."

ID: 102243 LD: 18
(3/5) Mats Acquired

[Tyonis 0]

“Heh, don’t worry about it,” once more, Tyonis waved off Spencer’s concern. “Life’s not worth living if you can’t laugh at yourself every once in awhile. Funny stories and a good sense of humor are the spice of life!” He paused and scowled at the bush as he pulled himself out from it. “In case you are wondering, god is dead because there wasn’t an herb in there.” He declared, as if his method of proving an almighty deity was beyond question. “I have discovered SAO’s true function. I’d like a refund, a metric [censored] ton of money, and one of those mail-order Japanese waifus.” Tyonis held out his arms, as if expecting to showered with praise and reward. When it didn’t happen he shook his head and feigned dejection.

“Confirmed: Kayaba Akihiko has no sense of humor.” He looked around as if expecting the GM of SAO to pop out of nowhere. “I know you can hear me you prick! GIVE ME MY MONEY... AND A WAIFU OF MY CHOOSING!” Tyonis hollered out at the sky then pushed into another bush.

Word Count: 165
ID: 102244
LD: 2 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Tyonis

[Spencer 0]

"I guess you are right, always need to be able to laugh at yourself." He smiled, Tyonis seemed to have a good personality all the way around, Spencer picked a pretty good first friend. He had to stop himself from busting out laughing again when Tyonis proclaimed god dead, he also had a really good sense of humor. When the man started asking for money and Waifus, he tried thinking of how to respond. "Hmm.. Money would be nice, but what would the male version of a waifu be? A Husbando? That's just annoying to say and think of." He laughed and shrugged, searching a bit more. Tyonis screaming at the sky also made Spencer chuckle a little bit, pushing some brush aside. "Kayaba probably abandoned us, 10,000 people, I would think, is way too much to handle all at once. And waifus seem too hard to program, gotta settle with finding a lovely lady or man in this game." He just realized that Spencer outed himself to this man, and he didn't really care. Go me! I was able to out myself to a stranger and not be super embarrassed or reserved about it. He felt proud of himself and continued to look around. "Were you with anyone before this game started?" He was hoping he wasn't pushing any boundaries. While Spencer was worried about what he was saying, he seemed to have found a herb. "Also Ty, we only need one more." He smiled and held up the herb.

ID: 102255 LD: 15
(4/5) Mats Acquired