[OP-F1] Scribbles on the Paper

[Alexander Webb 0]

No, that's not it either... the teenager thought as he sighed, crumpling the paper into a messy and inky ball, and tossing it to the other side of the table. It bounced off of the wall and landed next to an empty cup, alongside a large number more papers balled up in the exact same way. He set the quill down in the inkwell, and crossed his arms, huffing out a short breath as he looked at the blank parchment in front of him. He had thought that writing it down like he did back in the real world would help him think, but so far all he was accomplishing was getting his hands covered in ink, Gotta hand it to the Akihiko, there's no workarounds or exploitable gear that's gonna give me an edge... Looks like I need to come at this from a different angle...

 

The gamer looked around the tavern he sat in, decently populated, which figured for the starting town, but not exactly crowded. He looked for any adventurer types that might be in there with him. Unlike most of the other players, he was still at level 1, having not decided on the build he wanted to go with yet. In other games, he'd usually just take the skills that sounded cool and play by ear, he always saved some points so he could buy what he needed when he needed it. But for SAO? No, that sort of style was going to get him killed, and fast. Lex decided that if he was going to do anything, it was being cautious. He waited for a few weeks to pass before he did anything, finally deciding on the longsword for his specialization. He liked the weight of them, as well as their durability, just felt better to him to swing a longsword than a scimitar or greatsword. He hoped to see someone who might give him some inspiration. You can find it in the simplest of places, after all.

[Kotori 0]

If there was one thing that a certain noirette loved to do more than be with a certain someone, it was reminiscing about her time spent as a low-leveled player roaming the various taverns and inn that made up Starter City. It was something she often did since it reminded her how weak she still was and how much she could do if she just put her mind to it. Nevertheless, Kotori had been found sitting silently in one of the booths of a lonely tavern, staring ever so quietly outside a window. Her dagger was on the bottom of her right hand, spinning in a circle as her palm slowly swirled along the dainty wooden patterns that made up the oak table.

 

Her raven-coloured hair was not tied up today, she had decided against and instead wanted it to flow behind her head to allow it some air. It was lonely, yes, but it was so nice to be able to just be by herself. She couldn't have been the only feeling that way at all and turning her head she saw a variety of players by themselves. One in particular stood out with outstanding clarity, someone she couldn't take her eyes off. It wasn't hypnotizing, he just seemed so young and naive. He was a tall fellow at that, most likely a foot taller than herself although she was a bit short for her age. He seemed to be worried, then she noticed the mess that had grown upon his table. A bunch of crumpled paper balls were laying about all over the place. Maybe he was planning something or maybe designing something. She knew this boy wasn't a NPC because of his cursor so she could only wonder what he was doing. Kotori could always just go over there and ask him. No.. She would wait a bit before interacting at all. Maybe he would notice her for a change.

[Ashrah 0]

The flagon of ale smelled rich, hopsy, and deep. It tasted rich with notes of caramel and an aging process that belied the programmer's love for the drink. Tobias understood long hours spent slaving at a job he hated, as four years of his life were spent dawdling away the time at a nine to five job. That was at an end now, of course.

He almost loathed the desire to go back to his boring life. It was strange that a game like this could make you appreciate the things you left behind; and to Tobias it was unnerving how easy it was to lose yourself in the world of Aincrad. He was Arc, now, despite all his best efforts to tell himself otherwise. That was how people knew him, what they saw when they met him, and what they called out when they needed him.

Not that he had any allies to speak of.

Another long, biting sip crawled down his throat and emptied into his digitized stomach. The filling nature of the drink felt more real than it had any right to. His expression became one of digust rather than content, so he pushed the flagon away curtly.

Others gathered in the tavern, though he could hardly say whether or not they meant to drown their sorrows or pretend this was their life, now. He never asked. Instead, he watched a golden sun bleed away beneath a sunken horizon through the door. "Days like this," he grunted lowly.

A soft sigh escaped him. Arc folded both hands on the table in front of him and bowed his head, both eyes closed. "Mom," he whispered, "I'm sorry for being a useless kid. I should have tried harder to be a better son. All I could do was run, and look where I am now."

He shook his head. "I wonder if you're there, watching my comatose body wither and age while my mind is trapped inside this hell." When he looked up, the other two were still seated there, but they seemed intent on their own assortment of activities. Just as well. I'd rather they didn't hear all that.

"You're probably not," he finished as the barmaid took his drink back and it disappeared behind the counter. It dissolved in the distance into splotches of data, and he almost regretted parting with it. Almost.

"It'd be more than I ever did for you," he commented.

[Alexander Webb 0]

Lex went to dip the quill in the ink once more, having gone through another few shreds of paper as he drew lines and wrote words that would make a math professor's chalkboard look skimpy. He heard nothing but a "clink" noise as the tip hit the bottom of the small bottle, pulling the feather  back out, it was dry as bone, "You've gotta be kidding me," he moaned aloud as he pulled an unopened well closer to him, and uncorking it, dropping the feather in it as he looked over the work on the page in front of him. Barely even a build, needing more luck than a leprechaun on Saint Patrick's day. He closed the window with the rare drops cataloged inside it, knowing that it was all just wistful thinking when he put that together.

 

Another one bites the dust, he thought while tossing the paper aside once more, Lex stood up his legs having fallen asleep what feels like hours ago, the numbness turning to that prickling feeling when the blood flow starts up once more. He walked up to the bar with his empty glass, getting a refill on the water he had downed in the first few minutes of his session. While the game loaded in the new water, he gave another passing glance around the bar, one thing in particular catching his eye, a girl sitting on the other side of the tavern. A player named Kotori, black hair, quite a few levels higher than he was; she was a pretty girl, which only made it odder that she seemed fixated on him alone. She was sitting by herself like he was, not doing much of anything, so she wasn't here with anybody. He waved awkwardly at her before averting his gaze, not wanting to make any more of an idiot of himself than he had to. He had already gotten some weird looks from everyone else when they walked past him.

 

Lex grabbed the cup, and returned to the seat, pressing the fluffier half of the quill to his cheek and letting a sigh go as he started outlining boxes again, checking over his shoulder every few minutes to see if that girl was still looking at him.