raab

Welcome to the site, man. Looking forward to seeing you around!

"Man...didn't really think I was gonna' go out like this. Hehe...not at all."

Raab flicked his eyes towards the «Health Gauge» floating above his head, then towards the three bars floating above the small pack of «Dire Wolves» standing before him.

Two...three...three...to my five...

"Now that's just not gonna' add up..."

Raab could feel his wrist begin to tremble. As he looked down to his hand, Raab realized that his knuckles had turned white from how tightly he had begun to grasp the handle of his shield. Taking in a deep breath, Raab attempted to calm himself. It was no use getting so worked up over the situation, and getting any more riled up was only going to hinder his standing in the battle at hand. Taking in another deep breath, Raab was ready to continue his fight.

Almost as if he could sense Raab's silent acceptance of the situation, the first wolf came lunging at Raab with more ferocity than any of the previous attacks, though the menacing nature of the assault did not faze the stalwart adventurer in the slightest. Raab narrowed his eyes, waiting for the precise moment to strike out at his opponent.

Just like the first time...c'mon...!

...

With professional speed and finesse, Raab repeated his pivot-motion counter-attack, intercepting the wolf's lunge and slamming the edge of his own shield in the creature's jaw. The strike left the wolf incredibly weak, as its health gauge reflected a nearly depleted bar colored deep red. The wolf whimpered as it returned to its companions, the two full-health monsters snarling at Raab for his insolence as a player and fighter.

Raab couldn't help but smirk. He was down, but he sure wasn't out.

» Battle Result:

[ Raab ]: 5 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 1 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 3 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 3 HP

Raab was beginning to feel the stress of a real combat situation. There was no telling what could happen in the heat of battle, whether it be an unexpected burst of creative combat, a complete lack of battle competence, or the skill of the opposing warrior. Raab couldn't help but feel uneasy as the wolf continued to snarl, lapping at the air before him as if he could already taste the blood of this unsuspecting player on his lips. Raab gulped while simultaneously tightening his grip around the handle of his shield, attempting to read the wolf's movements. However, what the creature did next, Raab did not expect.

The wolf reared its head, looking as if it were about to let out a powerful howl into the early dusk sky. As the call rang out across the field, Raab couldn't help but feel even more uneasy. It was only up until this point that Raab realized that he had no idea what kind of skills these creatures possessed, let alone what kind of damage they were truly capable of. It seemed that his early spurt of beginner's luck had finally wore off, leaving him nothing but his wits and his lousy wooden shield.

"Oi, oi! Cut that out, ya' here?!"

The wolf let out a quick bark in response, snarling while it prepared for another booming howl. Not giving it a chance to complete whatever skill it was attempting to channel, Raab sprinted towards the wolf with all his strength, stopping just short of the creature while wildly swinging his left arm, all clad in wooden shield, across his chest and towards the wolf's head once more.

...

But it was too late. Just as Raab began his attack, two more «Dire Wolves» leapt from the tall grass, the first swiping at Raab's ankle, the other catching Raab's shield in mid air while leaping across the road. Noticing that he had lost another point of health, Raab quickly wrenched himself free of the wolf's grasp and retreated a few meters down the road from the newly formed pack of creatures that had come to completely ruin his first day on the job.

"Alright...so this got much worse."

» Battle Result:

[ Raab ]: 5 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 2 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 3 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 3 HP

"I do not have time for this!"

Raab clenched his teeth, furrowed his brow, and burst towards the «Dire Wolf» in a show of immense courage. Perhaps it was a mistake, letting this frustration get to him so quickly and so easily. Yet, in the heat of battle, who could blame the young adventurer? As Raab grew steadily closer to his target, the opposing wolf readied itself for its own attack, letting out a fierce snarl before setting down the path towards his most recently met prey.

As the pair met, Raab planted his feet in a wide stance, causing him to skid across the ground a few inches before completely losing momentum. Once his footing had been regained, Raab took his own wooden shield by its iron frame, grasping it on either side. As the wolf lunged for it's attack, Raab brought the shield down with all his might, hoping to catch the wolf in mid air and slamming it into the ground in one fluid motion.

...

[censored], too fast, too fast!

Rather than catching the wolf in mid air, Raab greatly overshot the momentum of his own shield, causing the wolf to simply bounce off the shield and return to its battle-ready stance. The force of the wolf's attack, however, caused Raab to shoot backwards, the player landing firmly on his behind a few feet away from the point of impact. Without a moment's hesitation, Raab leapt to his feet and brought his shield to the ready.

"Well...that could have gone worse."

» Battle Result:

[ Raab ]: 6 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 2 HP

Moments after Raab's stunning counter attack, the wolf was already on its feet, though it took its time removing itself from the tall grass after the strike it took to the head. As the beast sauntered back to its original position, Raab fell back into his own defensive position. Raab's gaze narrowed on the «Dire Wolf», trying to predict the creature's next move so that he might better prepare for its attack. Raab certainly got lucky the first time around, but would he be so successful when facing the wolf's second assault?

"Well? You waiting for an invitation or what?"

Raab smirked, tightened his grip on the shield's handle, and waited for the wolf's response as if the virtual beast could actually understand Raab's taunt. Falling victim to its primal nature, the wolf bore its teeth and lashed out at Raab once more. The player noticed that the attack mechanic was nearly identical to the first, which meant there was only one thing to do.

"Wait, wha-?!"

Before Raab could make his counter, the wolf pounced with an unnatural burst of speed, slamming itself into Raab's shield with all its weight. The force of the attack sent the dueling pair to ground, giving the wolf enough time to lash out at the defenseless player. While Raab attempted to block the follow up attack by rolling over onto his back, the wolf managed to sink his teeth into the player's left arm. In a fit of frustration, Raab pushed back at the wolf, sending it rolling down the path away from his compromised position. Raab quickly got to his feet and re-entered his defensive stance, noticing that a single health point had been plucked away from his «Health Gauge».

"Oh...oh no you didn't."

» Battle Result:

[ Raab ]: 6 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 2 HP

"Alright, show me what you've got!"

Raab quickly removed the wooden shield from his back, placing both of his hands on the leather-bound handle so that he could achieve the best possible grip for his defensive position. Raab noticed that he had already bent his knees, leaning into his shield slightly as if he were already to willing to accept whatever assault the «Dire Wolf» had in store for him. It was at this point in time that Raab also noticed a small green bar hovering just above the wolf's ears sporting small "3/3" symbol on the far left side. Raab also took a moment to notice his own green bar, though this one had a "7/7" symbol rather than a "3/3"

"Alright...so these must be the «Health Gauges»..."

It was at that moment the wolf leapt forward, letting out a ferocious growl as his massive jaw gnawed and gnashed at the air in front of him. Caught off guard, Raab quickly rose his shield in an attempt to block the incoming attack.

Come on, Raab! You've got more in you than this!

Raab clenched his teeth, opened his eyes, and let out the fiercest battle cry he could muster.

"I won't let you sink your teeth into this guy, pup!"

Instead of bracing for the impact, Raab took the weight off of his front foot so that he could better maneuver with the large hunk of wood this game was passing for a starter shield. Raab than removed one of his hands from the shield's handle, placing his left shoulder flat against the back of the should and his free right hand on the weapon's side.

"Take...that!"

As the wolf came into striking range, Raab threw all of his weight into the shield, rotating it 90º out from his body so that the weapon caught the side of the wolf's face. The makeshift attack connected, sending the wolf flying into the tall grass once more. As the creature sailed through the air, Raab noticed the «Health Gauge» above its head start to shrink, its once vibrant green hue slowly morphing into a dank mixture of yellow and green. The bar was now only two-thirds of the way full, leaving Raab with a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

» Battle Result:

[ Raab ]: 7 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 2 HP

"Alright...so if we're looking at it like this..."

It was getting to be late afternoon and Raab had just begun his trek out of the «Town of Beginnings», clutching a list of simple alchemic materials in his left hand while simultaneously accessing the «Floor Map» from his personal character menu. While Angelica revealed very little information as far as item drop zones, chest spawns, or even monster locations, Raab was self-sufficient enough to venture into his «Beginner's Guidebook» to learn some useful information about Floor-1.

"So this is it, huh?"

Raab let out a sigh of relief as his travel brought him to what he believed to be the «Field of Crossroads», a large grassland area inhabited by low-level monsters. The field housed two large roads, one stretching off to the small town known as «Horunka Village», a small settlement used primarily as a hunting outpost for low-level players. The other road seemed to branch off towards a dungeon known simply as «Tolbana». The location was marked with a special symbol on the «Floor Map», though Raab didn't seem particularly concerned with this area. If anything, he was sure to find another player or party at «Horunka Village» that might point him in the right direction.

"Whelp. Might as well get this show on the road!"

Stifling back a chuckle caused by a misguided pun, Raab began his travel to Horunka. Knowing that it was going to be a while before he even came close to the village, Raab decided to remove his «Beginner's Guidebook» from his inventory to see if there was any other sort of useful information the game had to offer.

"Alrighty, then...[F-1]...yes, yes...«Field of Crossroads»...inhabited by..."

Raab froze as he heard a menacing snarl erupt from the tall grass to his right. The young adventurer's heart sank as he turned to meet his first real opponent in his time playing «SAO»...

"God damn...«Wooden Shield»..."

» Battle Result:

[ Raab ]: 7 HP

[ Dire Wolf ]: 3 HP

"You are going to have to earn your keep somehow, hmm~?"

"You've...got to be kidding. Really."

"If you're going to be working for me you must wear the proper employee a-ahhhh-ttire~"

"Gyuh..."

Raab lazily waved his hand in the air before him, causing a small white window marked «Inventory» to wink into existence. The player's grim expression gave off a particularly unsettling aura as he slowly scrolled through the short list of items.

"«Beginner's Bag»..."

"You've a-ahhhhh-lready past it! You inventory's default setting orders items alphabetically."

"Shi-..."

Flipping his wrist upward, Raab couldn't help but let out a pained groan as the item came into view. The «Apothecary Assistant's Cap» was the final piece of a special «Clothing Set» designed specifically for Angelica and anyone affiliated with her growing business. Before equipping the headgear, Raab quickly tapped the «Display Item» option on his personal inventory menu. Not a moment later, a bright-purple cloth cap materialized in the air before the amateur player. A virtual breeze picked up in that moment, lifting the cap into the air [but not before Raab could immediately hop up and [censored] it from its sudden ascent].

"Remember to equip the weapon made available by your «Beginner's Bag». You never know what you may find out in the wilderness."

Raab rightfully nodded in agreement, shuffling through his inventory until the «Beginner's Bag» became available. Reaching into the small storage compartment, Raab exhumed the only valuable piece of equipment worth noting.

"A...uh..."

"They gave you a shield, eh?"

Angelica sized Raab up with a quick glance.

"Well. I'd much rather you have a shield you barely know how to use than a blade."

Angelica smiled with her odd assortment of crooked teeth, patting Raab on the head as she escorted him to the edge of the street.

"At least this way you wont hurt yourself."

"Gee...thanks, miss."

I think that we should maybe set level requirements and limits on each level, just so that people aren't taking advantage of easier bosses while at the same time protecting lower level players from biting off more than they can chew.

Just my two cents on the matter.

"You really have no clue, do you..."

Angelica released Raab's hand, stepped back further into the shop to a large mahogany counter. The lumbering woman scuttled underneath what looked to be a hinged section of the counter, ducking into a cabinet and rifling through all sorts of rubbish before finally exhuming a stone bowl and tiny rock.

"Everyone in the world of «Sword Art Online» has the choice of specializing in a number of skills, both combat oriented and non-combat oriented..."

Angelica looked up towards Raab, her hands moving in a flurry of calculated movement.

"Many players decide to jump right into combat, busting their way to the front lines without a single thought as to how they would support themselves throughout their «Profession» in «SAO»..."

Without breaking her gaze, Angelica tossed even more ingredients into the stone bowl, then proceeded to tap the bowl with the end of the small rock that she recently produced.

"Smithies and Tailors are far too common in this day and age...it takes real finesse to become a Grand Master Alchemist."

In a flash of bright light, the contents of the stone bowl combined into a beautiful peach-colored crystal, the item falling into the outstretched palm of the shopkeep.

"Interested?"

Raab blinked a few times.

"Well sure, if you're just going to give me the item..."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

Angelica's playful attitude, while all in good fun, seemed to rub the young girl player the wrong way. Raab quickly glanced towards the mysterious blue-haired traveler, her face beet-red in embarrassment, teeth clenched from a sort of blind anger that could only be remedied with a turn on her heel and a quick escape out the front of the store. Raab couldn't help but do a double take, looking first towards the door, then to Angelica, then back to the door, sighing as he realized his one hope for camaraderie in this enormous world had just fluttered through his finger tips.

"Cold feet, hmm?"

"Eh...what, lady?"

"Oh, oh nothing...that girl seemed to be in a bit of a rush."

Raab sighed, shrugging nonchalantly as he began to aimlessly peruse Angelica's shop.

"She seemed nice enough. Guess she had somewhere to be?"

Raab's slow-moving advance around the store's perimeter led him to a large cupboard filled with a vast assortment of colored phials, each with their own unique viscous fluid tumbling about in their glass containers. The whole cabinet looked to be something of a fireworks display, color exploding every which way. However, as Raab reached out his hand to open the cupboard, a meaty, leathery hand came shooting out to meet it.

"And just what do you think you're doing...boy?"

"Oi, let go of me!"

Raab attempted to wrench his hand free of his captive's grasp, but she was a lot stronger than she looked.

"If you have any intention of touching my «Potions» and «Crystals», you best have the Col to back up your grimy little fingers."

Potions...? Crystals...?!

"What are you talking about?!"

Have a wonderful trip! I hope the time away serves you well.

"Who-whoah!"

What had just occurred was so shockingly quick Raab could hardly assess the situation. A young girl, looking to be in her younger teenage years, with a sleek mop of dark blue hair had taken Raab's hand and had dragged him halfway across the city to a small shop littered with a bizarre array of ornaments and knick knacks. As the strange girl forced her way into the shop, Raab managed to catch the name on the sign hanging just about the top of the outside doorframe...

Angelica's Apothecary...

The girl's pace ground to a halt as the pair of adventurers ran into what looked to be a wall of pitch darkness, illuminated by only the faint twinkling of various ethereal lights that seemed to be much further off in the distance. What sort of peculiar...thing was this?

"Ah-haaaaaaaaaaa~!"

Raab spun around, shield at the ready in hopes that whatever creature that had made such a horribly grotesque noise would not cut his Health Points to 0 in one hit.

"Welcome to Angelic-ahhhhhhhs! I...am Angelic-ahhhhh."

Raab couldn't tell if the gigantic mass of woman that had entered the store was an Non-Player Character or a Player Character, but whoever she was she was one of the most disgusting looking individuals Raab had ever had the displeasure of encountering. Angelica, in all her abysmal glory, was rife with pock marks and warts, and her skin was leathery and burt by the hot sun of Aincrad. She looked not quite unlike a cross between a witch and a gypsy, though she was twice as mysterious and five times as eccentric.

Angelica quickly pushed past Raab and the mystery girl, waltzing right up to the dark wall that had stopped their progression into the store.

"It seems you caught me on my lunch break. What can I do for you two today, hmmm?"

Angelica removed a large iron key from her cleavage, placing it into a small keyhole at the bottom of the dark wall, twisting it, then subsequently lifting the stained-glass gate that blocked unwanted access to Angelica's merchandise.

"You two aren't star-crossed lovers, are you? I might have a love potion if you want to fix that, honey..."

Angelica batted one of her thick eyelashes, winking at Raab, undoubtedly causing the player's stomach to turn instantaneously.

Perhaps this girl would know what to look for...

"Hnnnnnnng!"

"Ah...still getting used to that."

The adventurer who had just entered the «Town of Beginnings» looked around the bustling city, eager to begin his first adventures with a newly formed party. The virtual sun was shining high and bright over the central metropolis, blinding the newcomer for a second before his hand rose to shade his eyes. The young gamer was still getting used to the utter "realness" that was SAO, an alternate universe whose programming was capable of replicating sensual reactions almost perfectly. This was something that the player would have to get used to, and he was only going to overcome this unsettled feeling through familiarity with the game.

"Nothin' I can't handle, that's for sure!"

Equipping his most charismatic demeanor, the player made his way to the town square with great speed, hoping that today would be the day that a party would take him in.

"Yeah...great."

"Come on, guys! I promise I won't fall behind."

"Get lost, newbie."

"Sorry, kid. No space for rookies."

"I'm working on my crafting skills! How's about I be the resident craftsman, free of charge?"

"With that low level? Please."

"And with what mats? We can craft better items on our own."

Raabs's brow furrowed in confusion.

"M-...mats?"

"This kid..."

"...really is hopeless."

"Stop wasting our time, man. Let's get out of here, guys!"

Exhausted and defeated, Raab slowly sauntered over to the nearest alley where he could skulk with his back to the wall in peace. It seemed that even in his seemingly successful short career, there was still a lot he had to learn about what SAO had to offer. Having only played for a week or two, Raab had no idea how to go about collecting materials, let alone how to combine them into useful items. If only there were some sort of player helpful enough to point Raab in the right direction.

Miaki, Shark, pleased to make your acquaintance.

This warm welcome is really uplifting; cheers, everyone!

Very nice to meet you. If you're interested, I'm actually looking for a party to climb the tower with from floor one. If you're available, we should set something up.

Your helpfulness is 100% appreciated. You rock!

Hello everyone.

Name is Raab. SAO is rad. Let's RP together.

Link to journal is on my profile. Looking for RP partner to start at Floor 1. Open Thread or Quest Thread.

Looking forward to my stay here.

Profile

• » Username: «[R]aab».
  » Real name: Watanabe, [T]etsuo
  » Age: [T] 2[2] || [R] 1[7]
  » Gender: [T||R] [M]ale
  » Height: [T] 6' [3]" || [R] 5' [10]"
  
  » About:
  
  
  • Man-child extraordinaire Tetsuo Watanabe is a simple, fun-loving individual who hasn't quite broken his long-standing marriage to virtual entertainment. With the release of the virtual-reality hardware dubbed NerveGear and the long-anticipated MMORPG Sword Art Online, Tetsuo found himself hankering for a taste of the cutting-edge. Having recently completed an extended stay at University, Tetsuo has found himself with quite a bit of free time, time enough to include SAO in his daily routine.
    
    This being the first virtual-reality-based game Tetsuo has ever encountered, the eager young gamer decided to take a more passive role in his gaming experience, choosing to "roll", as it were, as an alchemist. Understanding the dangerous nature of the game, Tetsuo felt it best to learn the base mechanics of the NerveGear before venturing out of Floor 1.
    
    After bout a week of hardcore gaming, Tetsuo found the NerveGear controls to be second-nature, leaving the "newbie" brimming with an amount of warranted confidence. It was in this moment of ultra-pride that Tetsuo decided that he was going to take his career in SAO to the next level: acquiring armed-combat skills. Having spent a good amount of time honing his alchemic knowledge, Tetsuo figured he would earn gold enough to pay for new equipment and perhaps even combat tutoring. Either way, Tetsuo, or «Raab», as his few online "friends" know him, was going to find players willing to party up and brave the wilderness of SAO with a half-incompetent rookie player.
    
    Tetsuo's avatar, Raab, remains in the "Town of Beginnings" waiting for another player to place their stake in him. The wait for a party has only further worsened Tetsuo's lust for adventure in this new world that only recently opened up before him. Who's to say what kind of grand exploits he might accomplish...or would it just be another video game?
    
    » Appearance:
    

» Virtues:

. Confident

• Tetsuo has a very strong sense of himself and it shows in his obscene capacity for confidence even in the most grim of situations. As a personal belief, Tetsuo finds that anyone is capable of achieving any goal with the right amount of resources and dedication. As a way of gaining an amount of self-respect, the young gamer attempts to spread this kind of thinking to other people and players he meets.
  . Loyal
  
  
  • Tetsuo finds loyalty to be an extremely coveted virtue, even in situations where the perpetuation of loyalty to a particular party might be harmful to oneself. This makes Raab the player an extremely valuable asset to any party; more often than not, Raab will find himself risking himself for the benefit of his party. Although this is a dangerous method of gameplay, Tetsuo believes that he can garner respect with ease and at a faster rate with this kind of play-style.
    . Determined
    
    
    • Tetsuo rarely backs down from a challenge, and should he fail, the sting of defeat serves only to spur the hungry gamer to achieve greater heights. As a person and player, Tetsuo devotes 100% of his effort and attention to the game during play. In addition to this, negative attitudes from other players rarely phase the stalwart adventurer.
      
      » Flaws:
      
      . Selfish
      
      
      • One negative outcome birthed from Tetsuo's rampant confidence and determination is a deep-seated sense of entitlement that, at times, overcomes his almost profound sense of loyalty. Tetsuo understands that in the end, everyone is out for themselves. The best he can do is limit that selfishness to the point that the impact of his courageous deeds outweigh the ramifications of his more selfish acts.
        . Stubborn
        
        
        • While Tetsuo attempts to maintain a generally-open world-view, he is not easily convinced and more often than not will incite arguments over the most trivial of circumstances. This labels Tetsuo as something of a "hot-head", though that period is usually short-lived and rarely un-remedied. Players who can't accept Tetsuo's knack for being a hard-head would not do well in the same party.

      . Manipulative

      One might say that Tetsuo's realist sensibilities come into play through gaming, many of which cater to the manipulation of other players to achieve personal goals. While this manipulation never actively serves to physically or mentally damage his party members, Tetsuo's play style maintains an "only what's best for me" attitude; while Tetsuo professes unwavering loyalty to the party, one might find the user Raab bouncing between many parties, each offering their own particular benefit towards Tetsuo's cause.

      Profession: [Not-Applicable]

      Skills

      Non-combat:

      » [Medicine Mixing]: lvl [1]

      Passive:

      »

      Combat:

      »

      Weapon Skills :

      »

      Inventory

      Weapons/Tools:

      » Wooden Shield: A simple shield made of wood.

      » Throwing Pick Set: A starter kit for aspiring knife throwers.

      Items:

      » Chemist's Goggles: A pair of protective eyewear.

      Biography

      Roleplays

      » [OP-F1] Open World Ruminations

      » [PP-F1] Earning a Living [Profession Quest]

      » [PP-F1] Toilsome Travels: Trouble of the Hood

      » [PP-F5] The Traveler [Extra-Skill Quest]

      Relationships

      » Watanabe, Setsuka -- [Non-Player] Tetsuo's younger sister. 17 years. First-year at University.

      » Watanabe, Ryou -- [Non-Player] Tetsuo's younger brother. 13 years. Last-year at Primary School.