[PP->SP-F1] A Late Start! <<The First Few Lessons are Free>>

[Andromeda 0]

In hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have spent half a year examining how NPCs interacted.

She thought they were funny things. Programmed to be nothing more than an added flavor to the fictional world of SAO or the occasional quest and exposition dump - players often saw them as less advanced constructs than they actually were. They were made up of different faces, voices, and had one of many personality types assigned which controlled how they reacted to certain prompts.

They were also programmed to have memories of some sort.

"Big sis!!" Upon exiting the old alchemist's settlement, the silver-haired player threw her hands up and laughed as a bundle of energy pounced at her legs, clinging to them and holding her in place. The small NPC smiled up at her with childish admiration and excitement gleaming in its bright eyes. "Are you going on another adventure today? Can I come? Can my brother come, too? Oh! What if we play hide and seek again? Our game from the other day was fun!"

"Sorry, sorry~. I can't today." Resting a hand on the child's soft hair, she lowered herself to its level and gave it an apologetic smile. "Big sis is heading out of town and I'm sure your mother wouldn't appreciate it if I let you tag along. Besides..." Nearby, the 'brother' it mentioned - an NPC that appearance-wise looked to be her age - glowered at her. It had been fun throwing a pebble at it when she was first gauging the extent of prompts their programming allowed for them to react to (conclusion: they were not your typical dumb NPC who would glitch out or walk past without batting an eye at an unexpected action from a player), but that had certainly earned her its disapproval and some dirty looks from a few nearby players. Not the nicest thing to do, she had to admit, but in the end, they were just programs. She was free to play with them as much as she liked. "I don't want to get in the way of your playtime. I'll just bring something back for you, alright?"

Her smug red gaze fixed on the still-glaring NPC, and she stuck her tongue out playfully as the smaller child ran back to it. And now - the same girl who had thrown a pebble at him had the affections of his little sibling. It was not something she did on purpose, but she still found it funny, watching the two walk away with one passing her suspicious glances and whispering harshly, "I keep telling you, she's a fake. She'd lure you in with her friendliness, and..."

An rolled her eyes and listened no more.

Humming a little tune to herself, she got up and headed for the opposite direction. She had grown rather attached to the pair - not in the way one would be attached to a friend, but in the way one would be attached to their favorite pillow. She continued strolling down the streets of the Starting City, deviating from the main road at one point to take a shortcut that led straight to one of the city's main exits. Equipping her leather chestpiece atop a sleeveless white blouse tucked into a short red skirt, she played with the D20 the pretty red-haired artisan had crafted for her yesterday. Covering her bare arms were the long sleeves of a mahogany-colored jacket, and she had her rapier in a sheath strapped to her belt. 

Even with the dense, confusing layout of the Town of Beginnings, she had every road and every placement of the settlement's various houses and establishments memorized. She knew the secret routes, the entrance to the sewers which apparently lacked the protection of the safe zone above it and house mobs she didn't even dare to touch, and the products often sold in markets. Not from a photographic memory of any sort, but from exploring it the same way she had explored her family garden's hedge maze.

But in her 'adventuring,' two-something years and twenty-something floors had come to pass.

Golly.

An adjusted the straps on her boots and tied her hair in a loose ponytail. She nodded to the town guards as she passed the gate - leaving the safe zone for the first time in years. Her heart skipped a beat. From anticipation, but not the fearful sort. She breathed in and smiled. The core of an MMO was its open world and the quests and adventures it offered. By fully devoting herself to exploring the safe zones - which were still interesting in their own right - she had, in a sense, limited herself to less than five percent of the overall experience.

Five percent wasn't what she came for. She wanted more.

So here she was, making her first search.

What lay in wait for her, she wondered?

[ooc: @Hazado. Tagging the account that messaged me but you can bring any of your characters, I'm not really particular to anyone. Also, I'm keeping this thread open for two more people to join! ;3
Next post from me will come either after 24 hours or after the two slots have filled. Nice to meet you all!]

Spoiler

ID: 119092 | LD: 4 + 3 = 7

Quest Objectives:

• Fetch 5 T1 Materials (LD 11+).
• Craft a Healing Potion.
• Deliver a package to Lyle Tealeaf.

********************************************
LEVEL 1
20/20 HP | 2/2 EN | 2 DMG | 18 MIT | 3 LD

SKILLS

1. Rapier -- Rank 1

EQUIPPED

• Starter Rapier -- T1 Vanity -- The most basic of basic weapons. Doesn't even deserve an image reference cause it's gonna get replaced real soon.
• Starter Light Armor -- T1 Rare -- [x2] Mitigation -- A leather chest guard that offers minimal protection to the wearer.
• Dice of Blessing -- T1 Perfect -- [x3] LD --  [reference] The modern adventurer's mark of providence or misfortune - depending on how much Lady Luck likes you. The trinket itself is an acrylic D20 painted brown with gold numbers and an attached chain that allows it to be clipped onto the user's clothing. When thrown, it often lands on '20'.

BATTLE-READY INVENTORY

• [x3] Starter Healing Potions -- Heals 50 HP

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by Andromeda

[Hydravion 0]

"Kids one at a time please, I know you all want to say Au revoir to your favorite teacher, but I have to get some outside... and only I can go you all have to stay here until I get back chérie," Hydra said as the kids from the orphanage grouped around her. Hydra was the so-called mother of the church for some and other she was just a very nice teacher who helped a lot and was a great cook. It was really something these days as the Kids from the Church seemed to be very happy every time Hydra came to the orphanage. The kids here ranged from all kinds of ages, from 8 to 15 and somehow even a bit above as most that did not want to go out or did not feel safe at all. Once it was all done with her greeting 5 kids stayed behind, the twins Eito and Emi about the age of 11, Akito a shy boy from the age of 13, Kimiko a girl from the age of 9 and Maro a boy from the age of 14. 

Standing in front of Hydra Eito and his twin sister Emi stood before her, "Miss Hydra, you are coming back right, we want to hear more thing," Emi aksed happy, whereupon Hydra nodded yes patting the girl on the head. A small tug on her arm was from Akito, the shy boy who never talked with anyone except the people still here. "Miss Hydra, Can u bring a flower for me?" he asked Hydra with a smile. "Of course Mon chéri, I can do that for you, it is no problem at all, the green and white one right," Hydra said to Akito as he nodded yes. Maro stood just there crossing his arms, "Hey Maro dear, make sure to watch Kimiko would you," Hydra said to him, as a response from both Kimiko and Maro they blushed but Maro nodded "It be alright, I'm the strongest here," He said with confidence. Hydra looked at all the 5 kids and smiled happily, "Well I should be off now, Need to see if I can find some items I needed, And I will bring back your flower Akito no worry, Au revoir" She said before leaving the church door into the main settlement.

walking to the gate was no big deal at all and not any second later she already got there, Wearing a light blue battledress, and from the same materials, a kama as some people would call it. with no weapon on hand and just a small blue kite shield on her left arm, she walked over to the gate passing the guards and all. She looked a bit and spotted a young girl with silver hair as it almost reminded her of a guildmate but she had pure white hair and was shorter. "She looks fresh wonder what is up," She said low to herself as she walked up to the girl. "Hello dear, new to the outside world?" Hydra asked the girl standing there who really seemed to be new to this whole wilderness in front of her. "You got a, nouveau visage, Fresh face look all written over you," Hydra said leaning a bit down to her the girl's eye hight. "Oh mon Dieu, where are my manners, I'm Toshiko Yasmine Aris or Hydravion, but call me whatever you like. Ravi de vous rencontrer, nice to meet you," She said standing normal again and extending a hand to properly introduce herself

[Dustin 0]

Taking a stroll through the city was nothing new to Dustin, the sights and people made doing it a blast. His hand reached down as he picked up and apple from a stand not far from where he was, tossing it to the NPC and smiling. Everything was as it should be. His blue sweatshirt with his hood up, the wind blowing gently and the sun shining brightly; it was the perfect day and Dustin was gonna take advantage of it. He pulls out a cinnamon stick and pops it in his mouth, the roll of bark separating his lip from his bottom set of teeth and the spice instantly setting in. “Hello Roger, how’ve ya been?” He asks his old pal as he walks past him opening his bar. “Can’t talk, gotta run.” He chuckles, taking off in a sprint through the streets.

He used to do this all the time, but recently it’s become easier to avoid unprecedented events as he had become faster. He shot up in the levels and had decided to check out this floor to see what was up, check the taverns and make sure his shop was still his.

As he ran through the streets, his movements fluid and almost professional. He jumped over a table with ease, landing on a fence and jumping up to the rooftops. The nearest gate wasn’t that far, and he was trying to get better at this free running thing. Why not set a goal for yourself Dustin? Maybe if you can get to the gate without falling you’ll be catching up to Pinball. Maybe your skill will improve as well. A playful smirk tugs at one side of his mouth and his eyes narrow, there was no stopping him now. His legs started moving at and incredible rate, pushing him across the shingles and over the alleyways, even across a street once. A few flips and tricks were sprinkled in to his gauntlet of drops gaps and jumps to add a little pizazz.

On the last building before the gate the boy notices a familiar face and his legs drop from under him. He lands on his butt and slides down falling to the ground and landing gingerly on his feet. “Miss Aris-San, is that you?” Somewhere amidst the commotion his hood had fallen to reveal what used to be his blue mop of hair, which was probably a surprise to the former teacher of his as last she saw it was brown.

(OOC: hope you don’t mind I dropped in to have a little fun)

[Andromeda 0]

Herbs. 

Herbs, herbs, herbs. The quest giver had told her to gather some of it so it could give her a lesson on alchemy and some obligatory rewards later, but it didn't really tell her what type she should look for. An regarded the open fields spread out in front of her, brow furrowed in concentration. "...So literally anything that's an herb is okay." The NPC's explanation didn't make matters any less vague when she asked - geez, and she would've learned more about Aincrad and its environment too - and she could only attribute it to falling victim to its preset limitations which was most likely the result of game designers not wanting to over-complicate a beginner's introduction to foraging by limiting its required quest material to a single herb that could take ages to find.

But hey, in her opinion, the search made up for most of the fun. And the experienced players would have spoiled it for the lazier newbies, anyway. 

Spotting a clump of materials with her <<Detection>>, An visibly perked up. She moved over to a patch of small plants growing alongside the town wall and carefully pulled them up. Agrimony, she quickly recognized upon seeing its yellow flowers. She shook off the rock particles still clinging to the plant's roots and dismissed the material to her inventory.

One down!

That was easy. But there were four more to go and she wanted to venture out a bit further. She stood and summoned her map, chewing on her bottom lip as she decided where to go next. The low-leveled portion of the forest region was only a short walk away and she figured she had better chances at finding herbs there as compared to the lake region.

Like, duh.

She must have stood there for too long, as she heard someone call out to her. Turning her head away from the window, her red eyes fixed on the source of the voice. With her blue outfit and (probably unintentional) vocabulary in French, the woman who had approached her gave off the impression of a flight attendant - even though An had never really seen one in person before. 

An blushed at the woman's inquiry. Her cluelessness was that obvious. "A bit. I've looked over the scouting guild's map, but..." She cut off and made a small, frantic waving gesture with her hand. Then she turned a deeper shade of red. Any other day, and she would not have cared if she was new to something. That was a natural part of the learning process! But today was not any other day, and this entire SAO thing had been going on for two-something years. "But it's a lot different from actually being out here."

The woman went on to introduce herself and An, finding more comfort in a simpler topic, thought it natural to reciprocate. "I'm Harriette Denver, or Andromeda in-game. But for simplicity's sake, just call me An!" She shook the woman's hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Miss..."

A guy with bright blue hair and a matching hoodie arrived and called out to the blonde as An was still deciding what to call her. Hydra? If she could recall correctly, it was a Greek serpent... thing, and also the name of a villain organization in some popular movie. Not the nicest thing to be associated with.

Blue called her Aris. Aris it is!

"So, Miss Aris and... what's your name, Blue?" Once she had his attention, An brought her hand up and made a small, circular gesture with her finger, mimicking twirling her hair. It was by no means a mocking gesture. She was genuinely curious about his odd hair color. "What are you guys doing out here? Questing?"

[ooc: Keeping this open in case one more person wants to join.]

Spoiler

ID: 119299 | LD: 15

Quest Materials: 1/5

@Hydravion

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Andromeda

[Hydravion 0]

Hydra Smiled with thousands and nodded as she talked about the scouting maps a bit, "Yeah, they have that effet, effect, but I know most of this floors safe routes away from any boars or other creatures that move around here, I'm not a fan of fighting them. More of a Guérisseuse, healer," She said with a smile as the girl introduced herself with a full name and her in-game name, "Formal one she is," Hydra said low with a smile on her face. "Well An it is then, Vraiment ravi de vous rencontrer, It is nice to see some kids want to try and go out but I always worry about it, But If you want I can ..." She paused by hearing a voice not far behind her turning around looking to the voice that was yet so familiar to her.

Turning around she saw a guy with a familiar stature and voice but the hair did not match at all, "Mister Salyer, you daredevil of a boy," She said with a laugh as she looked to Dustin walking over to him and helping him up from the ground. "Well Dustin, seems you changed, still going after ton amour, your love, Ryoko?" She said smiling before turning around, "An this is Dustin my student, Dustin. This nice girl is An, a new adventurer," Hydra said with a very teacher-like tone in her voice. Looking at Dustin for a second she smiled, "de toute beauté, He fits my armor color now with his hair," she said holding her hand in front of her mouth almost like she was thinking. Knowing herself better she knew she was an out-loud thinker. 

"Ooh well, No dear I'm here to find some materials for cooking, the kids back at the orphanage are very happy I always cook for them." She said to An to answer her question about what they were doing here. "I would love to say I'm here to level up, but to do so you need to fight monsters and I'm not a big fan of fighting any of those monsters out here, or anywhere," she said with a smile on her face.

[Dustin 0]

His teacher instantly brings up Ryoko and Dustin blushes for a moment, hiding it behind his wrapped hand. “I don’t really think that’s your business.” He fires back, words filled with bite. She had always been a bit of a pushy teacher, but she always knew how to get the info she wanted. Dropping his hand as his face fades back to its normal color, he extends a hand toward the girl he didn’t recognize. “I’m Dustin... but you already knew that.” He smiles innocently as he pulls his hand back whether she shook it or not.

After a quick rummage through his inventory, he pulls out a cookie and offers it to the new girl, taking another out and biting through the cookie with a smile.

After Miss Aris-San explains that she’s a pacifist to the girl Dustin smiles. “No need to worry about that, I can take care of us three. Especially if we stay on this floor.” His fist comes up and clenches tightly, and his ring on his right hand becomes extremely visible. A small silver ring that contrasted greatly with the blue wraps that seemed to glow. It had something to do with a night on a mountain with his two friends, but that story was just between them. “And don’t worry, kickin’ butt is what I do best.” A playful smile crosses his face as he thinks for a moment. Just given the fact that Miss Aris-San was helping meant she thought the girl needed it, especially since she stopped to talk to her on her way to cook for the kids. “I’m sayin’ I wanna tag along.” A short chuckle escapes, “If you’ll let me, of course.” He explains.

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs let out a low mumble as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her pants. She needed to think. But that was the only thing she’s been doing for the last damn week— cooped up in her damn shop with the blinds shut.

It wasn’t healthy, thank God she knew that. She needed the fresh, virtual air. Too much has been on her mind, and it was at the point where it felt like her bloody head was going to friggin’ explode.

So there she was, looking like some kind of high school student who just pulled a damn all-nighter— which is the equivalent to looking like doo doo. She wasn’t sure how long she had walked or where she was walking, but she walking at least. It was better than being dead.

An unfamiliar shade of hair caught her eye. She’s seen bright hair, but damn, that’s the brightest hair she’s ever seen. She was sure that the player must’ve changed it during their time in the game— because that was definitely not natural hair. Kirbs squinted at the player before widening her eyes in surprise.

”Dustin?”

@Dustin @Hydravion @Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

Dustin... Salyer. She assumed the former was his username and the latter was his surname, with the way Aris addressed him. The two didn't seem like they had planned on meeting here today but they weren't mere acquaintances either; the friendly woman called him her student and prodded him about his... love life? An giggled at his reaction, though a part of her knew she wasn't supposed to have heard any of that. "Harriette Denver, but here I go by An." Quickly changing the topic with her reintroduction, she smiled warmly as she shook the boy's hand. "...I feel bad knowing a part of your real name while you don't know mine."

He was blue. Blue hair, blue hoodie, blue handwraps. It reminded her of a certain type of jellyfish.

"So you're a teacher, Miss Aris?" An had dropped Dustin's hand and was now hyper-focused on the woman who had called him her student. Her red eyes held a spark of excitement that was usually uncommon in teenagers who'd just heard the word 'teacher.' Or anything related to school. But hey, two-something years without it kind of makes you appreciate even the most boring things. "Say, what do you specialize in? Do you still hold lessons?"

As they were conversing, Dustin silently offered her a cookie.

"Oh. For..." An cut herself off and turned a slight shade of red. Of course it was for her! Why else would he be holding it out? Still, it had been out-of-place enough for her to have questioned it. She looked at him, then at the tempting-looking treat, then decided to indulge herself without any further hesitation. "It's good~." A pause. She finished the rest of the cookie in record timing and had to hold herself back from asking for more. "Thanks! Where did you get it?"

The silver-haired player's attention wavered long enough for her to spot another patch of herbs nearby. "I'm here to take the first lesson quest. Everyone I asked said it a good starting point." An tapped her fingers on her rapier sheath thoughtfully. While she had been ready to say goodbye and skip off to finish her quest after exchanging a few niceties, she was having second thoughts. And then there was Dustin, asking to tag along. An paused to think a little more, then she nodded. "Sure, we can party up!"

Someone else approached and An quickly recognized her as the artisan who had crafted her trinket. Though she was drawn to the more vibrant person of their group, and it didn't seem like she had spotted her yet. "Heyo, Kirbs!" she greeted, remembering the artisan's player name from the PM the other had sent her. "Thanks again for that item! I'm putting it to use today."

[ooc: Tag @Hydravion. We hit the party limit, so I turned this into a PP. Thanks for joining!]

Spoiler

ID: 119577 | LD: 14

Quest Materials: 2/5

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by Andromeda

[Hydravion 0]

Hydra smiles as it seems that Dustin has not changed a bit gifting out cookies and snacks as always like he did most of his years. Looking at An she smiled, "Well I have just been a teacher for a year before I became Dustin's Homeroom Teacher, But I highly skilled in France, and a bit of Math, and some European History as I'm part France," She said with a smile on her face giving Dustin a little rub on his head and smiled to him as well. "But I try to keep my old life as good as I can, teaching is not hard around here but the modeling part maybe a bit harder," She said.

Listening to the girl as she spoke Hydra laughed a bit as she got the cookie from Dustin, a normal sight to see someone react a cookie from him back in the day. "Ooh comme c'est mignon de toi," She said low, what that meant, 'ooh, how cute of you' for those who did not speak France. It has also been a nice sight to see her old student again be it a bit different then, but still, it was something she loved about it even if she had lost some of the people she knew.

"The First lesson, ah the one and only quest I have really completed here. Maybe I should as my dear for some help she would love to hang out again for sure," Hydra said low as she spoke about her girlfriend she met in the game who has a lot more fighting spirit in her then Hydra ever could. "It be nice to look around with people, it can be quite nice to have a talk here and then," She said smiling to the girl.

Looking behind her as she hears someone call out to Dustin, a red-headed girl with a lot of energy "Bonjour, And you are another one of my dear Dustin's friends?" Hydra asked the Girl who An memtions as Kirbs. "Oh cute, that name makes me think of that retro game Kirby, loved the Pink blop ball," she said low as she heard the name. with a smile, she did a small bow to Kirbs, "Well hello, I'm Hydravion or Toshiko Yasmine Aris, It up to you what to call me," She said to Kirbs smiling like a mother

[Andromeda 0]

"A m-model?" An practically gaped at Aris, the string of conversation about the woman's primary(?) profession quickly left behind in favor of a rather interesting fact she'd mentioned in passing. Made sense. She was pretty and had the... physique for it, but a teacher and a model? Somehow, those two didn't go too well together. Her students must have felt awkward, seeing their teacher in fashion magazines - a not-so-academic pursuit, all things considered. But who was she to judge? An herself wanted to be something most would consider out of the ordinary. Eventually, she recovered from her surprise and looked up at the woman with some admiration. "I was just a bit surprised. So you have two jobs. In all honestly, I think that's really cool! I don't believe in the idea of limiting yourself to only one passion either."

 

As she remembered the rest of Aris's words, there was a part that brought a wistful smile to her face.

 

"Keeping your old life, huh? I haven't really done much of that," An admitted with an embarrassed laugh.

 

Kind of made her want to hurry everything up. Kind of made her want to push for the frontlines so she could assist with the effort in any way possible.

 

"With that out of the way, how about we start to head out further?" An suggested softly. Aris agreed to tag along with her. So did Dustin, right after he introduced himself. She opened her menus and sent the two - plus Kirbs - a party invite. "Just some easy gathering. You looked like you were going the same direction," she quickly explained to the other player who might still not be on the same page as them. "Any of you know where the best places to gather these quest materials are? Frankly, I don't have much of a clue of the outer areas..."

 

She would follow whoever gave their suggestion, trusting that the other players in the party knew their way around. There was the woman who claimed she knew the safer areas in Floor 1, Dustin who claimed he could handle mobs for all three of them - which Aris did not disagree with, and the artisan who crafted her item.

 

Yep. In this team, she was the noob. 

 

Along the way, An stopped to pull up a patch of herbs she'd located. She inspected the materials in her hands for a short moment before she ran to catch up with the others. "It really is easier to find materials along this route," she commented cheerfully. The silver-haired player dismissed the materials to her inventory, satisfied with her progress. "So, what do you guys do in your free time? I mean, we're here 24/7... it can't just be leveling, right?"

 

[ooc: tag @Hydravion. Skipped Dustin and Kirbs, but they're still free to post in this round if they want to.]

 

Spoiler

ID: 121287 | LD: 9 + 3 = 12

Quest Materials: 3/5

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by Andromeda

[Hydravion 0]

An seemed to be quite impressed by what Hydra our would I say Aris did. But it was just all up to luck on her side for the most part of her life. "Well I'm a full-time teacher as Dustin knows and while I say I'm a model myself my father would disagree with that statement. If it was up to him I would have been a model full time as He wants to set his little girl in the spotlights but I kind of like the teacher life. See My father is a photographer for some magazines so it's just a bit on the side," She said to An as she seemed to still surprised by the fact that Aris was quite a busy person.

Aris snapped out of her talk as it seemed like An wanted to move on and gather some more, remembering the place She got her the materials self she smiled and nodded, "Well not far some here is a quite calm place with lots of flowers and a small hill where you can stand looking over the flowers. Between them, there are easy to get herbs for this quest as well on the way to this place there are quite a few to find left and right just sitting on the side. The items I'm looking for now is a Red Lilly flower honey, It is quite tasty and very rare to find so I was heading that way already so If you want to go there follow me I guess." She said opening her inventory and looking at the thing she needed for her cooking list, most things she already had and it would mean she could get that honey very easy.

Looking up from her inventory and looking at An she nodded as she said that is was easy to find them and Aris could not disagree with her at all so no matter where you go these Herbs are not as rare as the honey Aris needed now. When An asked about what they would be doing 24/7 she smiled holding her hand to her chin. "Well, Mostly Cook and keep an eye out for the children at the church. Also, I'm seeing if I can get to teach them something over time and see if there is something to buy once I go and do some shopping for myself. But yeah... I mostly just am just the keeper of the children in this game so yeah, I also maybe keep an eye out for my old students, there are a few in here that still walk..." She stopped in her tracks and remembered the group she was officially going to keep an eye for out, the Game club from her school, the one she supervised, it was quite long ago and even some that Dustin also knew... they are no longer here. "Well... yeah Enough about me," She said with a weak smile thinking of how she failed her duty as a teacher that day.

@Dustin @Kirbs @Andromeda

[Dustin 0]

Dustin smiles as he follows the two women, and their banter reminds him of the real world. Everyone always surprised Miss Aris-San was a teacher and a model, (you should’ve seen how the other boys in her classes reacted...) A small smile crosses Dustin’s face as he looks at the ground while they start talking about what they do in their free time. “Eat, sleep and take care of my slimes. This game is kind of a dream world for me so I savor every moment of the glorious fights while I can.” He of course leaves out the one other thing he does in his spare time, as that usually bums people out and kills the mood. “Oh, I explore sometimes. That’s always fun. Going out and seeing the world we’re trapped in reminds you that it’s not so bad in here. Say what you want about Kayaba, but he managed to make a masterpiece.”

He walks up to his teacher, close enough to carry on a private conversation and smiles at her. “Ya know, my friends would’ve loved to have seen you in this game. You were their favorite teacher. But I failed at my job, so don’t feel bad.” He gives her a super wide smile, like that of a child and a thumbs up. “They wouldn’t be that mad at you, so long as you carry on their memory.” He turns back to the new girl and smiles politely.

”So miss, you never told us what you like to do for fun.” He reminds her, taking a bite of a cookie and walking backwards confidently.

@Kirbs

[Andromeda 0]

A... red lily flower honey. Redlilyflowerhoney. Flowers made honey? It sounded more like a tongue twister than an actual in-game item but with the sheer amount of in-game items there were, who would even care about giving them all pretty names? "I guess it's something that goes into food," An thought out loud. "So what makes it different from regular honey?" She trailed after the mentorly woman with Dustin just a few paces behind her; Kirbs had opted not to join, a bit of a letdown since An thought now would have been a good time to learn more about the friendly artisan. 

 

"So it's like managing an orphanage," the silver-haired player summed up with a pleasant smile. It was just like a teacher to be working with kids even in this situation, and the thought reminded her of the small NPC she had interacted with a little while earlier. "I almost forgot. Some kids actually ended up playing this game, huh?"

 

The mood sort of dropped. Even when An's gaze had strayed to the leftmost portion of the path in search of materials, she could hear Aris's warm voice lower by a margin. 

 

Her old students... players who would be Dustin's age?

 

The third member of their team had sped his pace to walk alongside his teacher and An quickly changed the topic. "Say, what sort of item would a kid at maybe around ten want to have?" She glanced around, but nothing in particular stood out to her. An had siblings, but often it was her getting coddled with gifts and not the other way around. "Something that we can get out here, I mean. I kinda made a promise."

 

Turning back to Dustin, he would be a little surprised to see that she had nodded her head in agreement where most players would have found contention. "This is a pretty world. People say we've been here for three years and we're still finding new things at every turn. It's kind of amazing that this was actually made by people..." she sent a quick glance at Aris and only remembered to be inoffensive at the last second. "--we were fine without the death game part though."

 

She looked around, brushed her hair to the side, and continued as usual. 

 

"I explore a lot, but only within the safe zone. Aside from that, hum... some players actually published their own books here, so I read those too."

 

[ooc: @Hydravion @Dustin, Kirbs is out of the thread.]

 

Spoiler

ID: 122753 | LD: 3 + 3 = 6

Quest Materials: 3/5

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Andromeda

[Dustin 0]

Dustin turns to the small band of merry travelers which was apparently shrinking by the moment. As they made their way into the woods the other two had sort of broken off to do their own thing. The boy was never good at small talk, but he could figure this out he was sure of it. “When I was ten I would’ve wanted a new weapon of some sort. A small one that I can carry but strong enough to kill a monster.”

He looks around for any animals and smiles when he finally sees one. The monsters on this floor were too weak for him to even get loot from anymore. In fact, that was true for the monsters all the way up to floor five. Anymore he just caught himself just watching them move around and live their lives. It was like bird watching back in the real world, or tracking an animal to it’s home when hunting. Of course, it was nothing like this in the real world, Dustin was much better at the art of the hunt back home.

[Andromeda 0]

"A small weapon that's strong enough to fight a monster... then, a dagger it is!" And that was final. Bright red eyes shone with interest as she looked around. It was just the two of them left now, weirdly enough, the woman who had initially offered to help her had offered her polite goodbyes and went on her way. Off to gather from another part of the forest, she said.

But where in the world was she going to find a dagger in the middle of a forest?

Maybe it was alright that Kirbs never joined them in the end. So she couldn't witness An completely failing her searches even with her dice equipped. Internally, she apologized to the image of the redheaded crafter in her mind for failing to live up to the pretty trinket she had made at her request... But she was going to push through! An didn't motivate herself to buy an LD trinket and then take a beginner quest for nothing! 

That didn't mean she couldn't complain a bit though. 

"I don't get it." The girl had her cheeks puffed out in frustration as her crimson eyes returned to its normal hue. "We're in the middle of the forest and I can't find herbs. Is there a special trick to all this or something...?"

[ooc: @Dustin. Hydravion is out of the thread due to inactivity.]

Spoiler

ID: 127703 | LD: 4 + 3 = 7

Quest Materials: 3/5

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Andromeda

[Dustin 0]

A dagger? Dustin would’ve preferred a sword at that age, short, ornate but durable. He always loved blades and weapons, his pops taught him to make small knives too. He wasn’t very good at it but he could make one if he needed to. As they continued it was taking longer than Dustin had previously thought it would. It was weird, Dustin completed this quest no problem, (or so he thought despite it taking forever) why was she having so much trouble?

Soon An had started getting fed up. Of course it was taking forever, they hadn’t even reached the prime spot yet? Dustin never went there either, in fact he went the exact opposite direction and slept a few times. “There’s a spot by the garden not far from here, someone I know says it’s the best spot for this quest.” He smiles as he takes point through the brush and sticks.

”So An... you go on any adventures before this one?” He asks, like this isn’t literally called the beginner quest line. It was the first adventure Dustin took too, and he hated it. So much in fact that he never did the second one. That [censored] threw him for a loop after he was trapped in game, and now he knows better than to trust a girl who treats him like crap...

sort of.

[Andromeda 0]

Maybe what everyone else meant when they said this quest wasn't hard by any means was that it wasn't deadly, unless you were the ultra noob who went out and tried to aggro a boar when you were at level freaking one. That was definitely not An. She would never do that. But she digressed. Returning to the subject of the difficulty of the quest... An was literally in the middle of the forest. And no matter how brightly her eyes flared with her reactivation of <<Detection>>, she couldn't find one freaking herb among all the brush.

"Hm...? Oh! That would be nice," she said, almost distractedly. She followed after the friendly player as they cut through the brush and she ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. Chancing a glance back at where they came from, she confirmed that Ms. Aris really did not choose to go along with them. Her crimson eyes rested on the back of the boy leading her. "Um, not to sound rude, but... wouldn't you have been better off going with Ms. Aris? She's your teacher and well, I guess I'm just a lost newbie. Ahahaha..."

Yeah, this must be completely boring for him.

An wasn't the most accustomed to working with people, even moreso being just helped by them, so if he looked back at this moment, it was obvious in her red eyes that it was a sincere question.

"I think this entire world is an adventure in itself!" They left the brush behind and An dusted off her clothes with a bright smile. So this was it? It didn't look too special but maybe... "I've been exploring the safe zones all the while. You know, just trying to catch every detail, every area or event that might normally be overlooked... do you know how many things players usually miss? I'll claim that it's hundreds! For example, did you know that if you played all the pianos in the only music shop of Floor 13, a hidden compartment would open? Things like that. There's more than you might think!"

Spoiler

ID: 131112 | LD: 3 + 3 = 6

Quest Materials: 3/5

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Andromeda

[Dustin 0]

Dustin smiles at the question and turns back to tilt his head and think for a moment, walking backwards all the while. “You can’t make new friends unless you’re willing to be bored every so often.” He looks back at her and continues. “Besides, this is fun, and I have a really weak guild member who I go on tons of quests with, so this is nothing.” He spins back around and continues walking through the woods. She needed the garden area for the abundance of materials, but not so close that they get the bonus.

Her answer to his question made him think. Yeah he missed the majority of things in the town, but he was sure she didn’t know about the stuff outside of the walls. “Yeah, I agree with you there. But you won’t get the full experience unless you venture outside the walls. Hell, I rarely go into towns anymore, except to teleport to a different floor.” He says, spinning around again to walk backwards, but this time a childish light fills his eyes. “Like on this floor, there’s a small hill where you can sit to see a beautiful sunset. I used to go there everyday, but now I only go once or twice a week. But on every floor the twilight looks different. On floor four, aka the worst floor, the snow glistens in the sun, but the blue night sky is reflected in the snow, so it becomes a wonderful dance of cool blues and yellow glints of light, like the night sky.” He laughs a little, before pulling out a cookie and taking a bite.

[Andromeda 0]

"Ah," An's eyes sort of glazed over. "So you are a bit bored."

That was... fine, she guessed? She was just as bored. But the difference was, she was the one who had to take and turn in this boring gathering quest and he was just tagging along to protect her. She eyed him again. Though she had intended the exact opposite, An wasn't exactly subtle about it. "Ehehehe. A ton of quests? That's funny. Wouldn't they have leveled up by now?"

Guild member. So he had a guild. That might explain the friendliness. Only the most sociable and/or skilled people got accepted into guilds, right? 

An wasn't the most interested in guilds. She felt as if the commitment would just tie her down... unless she found a full-fledged adventuring guild that she could somehow get into. So she didn't ask, but that was also because she finally spotted a bright yellow smudge in her vision.

A material!

"Be right back!"

She scurried off as if it was going to disappear if she arrived a second too late. I mean, who could blame her? She hadn't had many successes the past few times. Dipping down, she gently freed the roots of the herbs from the soil, dismissed them to her inventory, and checked her quest tracker with a satisfied smile. One left. An returned to Dustin, grinning brightly. "Yeah, I can't say anything to contest that. Lots of interesting things can be found in the safe zones, but I can only keep to the same old places for so long before I get sick of it, you know? What I've been doing in the safe zones now, what I've been finding out... I want to do the exact same outside!" 

The silver-haired player took a few steps forward and tossed a glance over her shoulder, red eyes glimmering with excitement.

"How is that floor the worst? I mean, the way you described it, sounds like a pretty rare sight."

Spoiler

ID: 131739 | LD: 14

Quest Materials: 4/5

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

✦ ✦ ✦

...?

Strange. It felt like she'd been walking for a while now. An tried to make sense of the current Aincrad time displayed at the bottom part of her HUD, but when that peculiar feeling remained, the silver-haired player simply shook her head and went on. She was one measly material away from finishing the first stage of a beginner quest -- which was then the first in a line of four tutorial missions... oh, she'll get there when she needed to! There was an absurd amount of things stacked on her list before she could start having her big adventures, but thinking of them only made her even more determined. She couldn't just get what she wanted all the time -- she thought, as her search failed to yield any of the alchemist's requested materials.

An crested a hill. She looked down at the fields stretching from between the Town of Beginnings to her vista, the small moving spots in the sea of green that could only be the roaming boars, and she turned to gaze almost longingly at the lush forests and mountain regions further into the combat zone -- places she only kept to staring at, for now. A soft wind sent blades of grass and wild petals fluttering past her as she descended back into the safer area. The clear blue sky was starting to turn orange; she was sure she would come across some herb she could pick on the way back.

Spoiler

Searching: Quest Materials
ID: 146895 | LD: 3 + 3 = 6 

Quest Materials: 4/5

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Andromeda