Steel

"I'll be relying on you to heal me then if things get dangerous my cute nurse." Steel said, showing that he trusted while at the same time flirting with her though he felt inwardly awkward about it as he wasn't used to doing it. "As for the AoE attacks, I think that won't be necessary at least for this quest. From what I found out, we will be having to fight some sort of mini boss but we'll probably be able to take it down in a few hits so no we're in no rush." Man, we're getting overleveled. I hope we can find some actual strong foes later on. It wasn't that he wanted to go headfirst into death but outside of these beginner quests, weak enemies wouldn't net a good deal of experience. Well, I guess we'll just go at our own pace. It'd be sad if we died due to carelessness after all. He thought to himself with a small smile. "As for the quest, we just need to go back to Lyle's place and pick up the package we need to deliver to that artisan. But first, let's finish eating."

"Thanks for your concern but I've grown accustomed  to this food by now." Steel said with a small smile towards her caring about him. "It'd be a lie to say that I didn't miss Japanese food but for now, eating something different is fine. Besides, we must remain at least somewhat economical for just in case. Though I won't mind going out to eat occasionally. As for cooking, I still haven't decided on it yet."

"Well, seeing how effective your gauntlets were when it came to that, I thought might as well use bleeding as well." Steel said in response as he began eating. "As for my armor, I went with thorns because it'd at least let me deal some damage even if I miss my attack." Which I did a lot on our last mission... Steel added that last part in his head. "So what do you think we'll be doing this time? We're supposed to be delivering Lyle's package to an artisan but they'll most likely have something else involved."

"Eh? What does amante mean?" He asked out of curiosity. Though Steel had his suspicions due to the blush on Reinka's face, he wasn't completely sure what it meant as he didn't speak a lick of Spanish. The fact that he could already narrow it down to Spanish was already a miracle.

"I've heard of a pretty good bar on the second floor from some of the other players. The food and drink is good and reasonably priced. Some NPCs seemed to be hinting at it too last time I was on that floor. So there could be something interesting up there." Steel said with a small grin. He then took Reinka's hand in his. "Now then, shall we go?" He said with a sheepish smile as he led her to the transfer gate leading to the second floor.

The two of them were now walking the streets of the second floor's main town hand in hand. "Just when I thought the amount of couples around would die down, they're back to being all over the place. I guess it is that time of year now." He noted, remembering that it was nearing White Day, hence why the couples were returning to the streets. "Though I suppose we're part of that crowd now." Steel said with a smile and a small blush.

Reinka all of a sudden walked into the bathroom, after asking her questions and then came back changed into her pirate princess outfit. (Steel would never let that go) "For my sword, the Shinshi Onimaru, I just upped the damage and added bleeding. For my armor, Dawn of the Samurai, I upped its defense and made it so that enemies will suffer some payback for trying to hurt me." Steel answered simply with a grin.

"And I brought food up here already." Steel noted pointing down at the food that he brought with him. It consisted of a normal breakfast, eggs, bacon, and other such found in western countries. Steel did wish there was some miso soup and rice though due to his background, and he was sure most of his fellow Japanese felt the same, but he wasn't a picky eater. "Come on, sit down and let's eat. A good day starts with a good breakfast."

Steel had just gotten back into town after dealing with his work for the day. At the moment, he was just messaging his girlfriend about meeting up to get something to eat. Though they were living together, they had gone their separate ways for the day, doing whatever quests or farming was out there.

Reinka, want to meet up at the fountain for an early dinner? I heard of a pretty good bar nearby. 

After hearing that she didn't eat at all before he eased her into it, he wanted to introduce her to more good food and drink in this world. After finishing the message, he unequipped his gear (not caring of people looking) and headed over to the fountain. Arriving there he thought how his clothes were a little too plain as they were practically the basic ones from the beginning of the game. It didn't look ragged or anything but still. I used to not think nor care about it. The events of that day really changed me... He thought to himself as he remembered the events that led him to his current relationship.

Steel got pelted all of sudden by the pillow, making him stagger a little before getting the pillow off of his face. "Right back at you!" He said with a smirk before throwing it back.

"Yeah, the blacksmith I ordered it from had finished it this morning so I went to pick it up." Steel answered in response. "I promised you didn't I? To get better equipment." He then went around to the bathroom to switch armor and weapon. Normally, he didn't care about people seeing him but he was respecting Reinka's wishes for him to not do that. He came back in the samurai looking armor and the straight bladed katana at his hip. "So? What do you think?"

"Yeah, we were going to continue those beginner's quest today remember?" Steel said after coming back in plain clothes. His prior equipment was just a single chest plate but eating breakfast while in a full suit suit of armor would feel weird. 

Steel had awoken from his slumber at the sound of a message being received. He began to gradually his eyes, wanting to sleep a little more. He wondered who was messaging him as he hasn't actually met too many people that would actually message him. Despite the carefree kind side he's been showing to Reinka, he was still generally a loner due to lack of social skills and sometimes just being blunt. Although now it seemed that would be permanently changed with Reinka around. He used a free hand to open the message and to his surprise, the gear he had ordered had already been finished and was ready to be picked up. Steel was now getting excited about this. Now with this gear, he would be stronger than before. He would have already rushed out by now if not for the weight on his arm known as Reinka. Is it weird that I've already gotten used to this? Steel thought to himself with a small smirk. He had originally been opposed to sleeping in the same bed as her for morality's sake but Reinka ended up convincing him otherwise. And now about two days later, Steel had just accepted it as normal, his arm being around the girl holding her close both due to intimacy and the lack of space on the bed. 

Steel carefully moved his arm and then body to get out of bed without waking up his girlfriend and quietly left the room to pick up  his gear from the Blacksmith. He had returned approximately 10-15 minutes later with his new gear in his inventory and some breakfast he had gotten from downstairs. Today, the two of them were to continue where they left off on the Beginner Quests. "Hey Reinka, it's time to wake up." Steel gently shook her, hoping the smell of breakfast would do the rest.

Steel had come back after hearing the request he had asked of the blacksmith were finished. He looked at the newly completed gear in awe. Steel was impressed. It didn't take him that long. "Man, this is awesome. Thanks!" He tried on the armor and sword, the latter giving it a few test swings. "Yup, this is a good one. Ah right I should pay you." Steel remembered there was a deal if he paid in materials so he decided to take advantage of it. "Let's see, with it being 50% off and I requested two, I would pay the price of one. So that'd be 7 Tier 1 materials right?" He then sent the amount required to the Blacksmith. "I'll definitely think of coming here for the next upgrade." Steel said with a grin as he walked out of the store ready for his next mission.

Obtained

- Shinshi Onimaru

- Dawn of the Samurai

Steel walked into the shop wanting to get something to boost his stats while he waited for his blacksmithing order to be done. For now anyway, he had decided on being more of an offensive tank. He had boosted his attack with the new weapon but now he needed accuracy. "Excuse me, I have an order if you have time to complete it." He said after filling in the form that was similar to the one he filled out earlier. "Would you like me to pay up front or later when I come back to pick it up?"

@Domarus

"So this is the place Reinka recommended me to." Steel entered the Blacksmith shop. It was the one Reinka had recommended to him and where she had gotten her gauntlets. And he had to get new gear to keep her from crying anyway about his lack of defense. He noticed forms that were meant for people to write down crafting requests. He already had in mind what he wanted so he began to write it down. Once he had finished he turned it in. "Excuse me, should I pay for them up front or should I pay when I come back to pick them up?" He asked the shopkeeper out of curiosity. It didn't really matter to him since he had enough already.

"Well, it sorta works. It doesn't completely capture the feeling of water but it gets close. Rather than use it for cleaning as our bodies don't get dirty, you're supposed to soak in it like a mini hot spring and get this feeling of refreshment." Steel answered in response. "The bath stuff is from the inn and seems to be unlimited. I guess that's rather game like. Though rather than cleaning, it's used to add scents to the bath and/or to your body."

"Okay then, I'll leave you to your devices." Steel let Reinka try and figure it out on her own since she said she would. Once the door was closed, he unequipped his armor, leaving his sword. Now that I think about it, isn't my armor just a chest plate? Perhaps when I get new armor, I should have it cover more of the body. Or does that not matter? He thought to himself as he drew his sword and got into a stance. He began to swing the blade, trying to ingrain the movements into his mind, as he thought about the day. There were so many mistakes he had made during their quest, especially that mutual tripping over fest between him and a boar. He had to get better to be able to protect those closest to him like Reinka.

Now that he was on that line of thought, he remembered the events that transpired today. I can't believe I managed to get a girlfriend today, especially in this situation. Well, I guess that's one thing I'd be thankful to this game for. Gramps and Atsuko are going to have a field day with this though once we get back... He could just imagine his grandfather and little sister bombarding him and Reinka with questions. It was then he remembered something Reinka had said earlier which then led him to further shock and panic. Good thing Reinka wasn't around to see it. Wait, didn't she say 'another celebrity' earlier? Did I end up dating a foreign celebrity? Steel continued to panic. Though he didn't pay attention to many foreign celebrities, nor did he do so in his own country, he knew how messy the celebrity related news could get. Well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it I suppose. Right now at least, she's just Reinka, the girl I met at that bar and adventured with.

Thread Completed

Steel and Reinka both gain

- 2 SP

- 400 col 

Both are from 2 pages of rp

"Player two huh? Though I wouldn't have it any other way." Steel said with a grin. "And when we get out of here, even if you go back to that hectic schedule without time for anyone else, I'd still go and find a way for us to spend some time together." He said with confidence in his voice. "Even if we end up in different countries at times, we can still use VR to spend time together."

"I'm not too confident in my looks or how reliable I can be but if I'm able to give you comfort and hope, that's good enough for me. You've also become someone dear to me that I can find comfort in." Steel said modestly with a warm smile. "I just hope I can continue to be that source of comfort from now onward."

After a bit more walking, Steel had led Reinka to the inn he had been staying at. This feels as though I'm bringing her to a love hotel.... Steel thought to himself with some inner hesitation. No, you must not let your mind wander! You must treat Reinka like a gentleman should! While he was having this inner argument with himself, he had brought Reinka up to the second story and led her to the room he was staying. "Welcome home I guess." He said with a light chuckle as they entered. Inside was a simple room with a single bed, a table with two chairs, and even what seemed to be a bathroom to the side even though these virtual avatars had no need to use one. "Want to take a bath or something?" He asked, revealing why there was such a thing in the first place. "Kayaba really is Japanese. He decided to at least put in some hot baths to let us refresh ourselves even though we don't get dirty." 

"I'm sure most of the design at least was done by him. It almost seems like a child's fantasy world that's been fully realized when that child became an adult." Steel gave his thoughts on the matter. "I could definitely get used to days like this, going on adventures or having fun just hanging around. I've already gotten quite comfortable being around you." Steel said with a small smile. In the back of his mind, he thought that they shouldn't grow too comfortable since they were still in a death game they had to beat but he let that thought pass for the moment as that would have ruined the mood at the time.

Taking it slow? What's she talking about... Steel thought to himself before he heard her say 'turn me down' which made his confusion turn into mental panic. EH!?! That's what she meant!?! I thought she had rejected that notion. Did I screw up in reading other people's emotions again!?! If he were a computer program, there would have definitely been a 'Steel.exe has stopped working.' showing up. Thankfully, this panic didn't show too much on his face but he was visibly surprised. Come on Takeshi, snap out of it! You have to face this head on and say what's on your mind! With that, he took a deep breath before answering.

"Sorry about freezing up there, I was just surprised since I wasn't expecting that honestly." He said with a sheepish smile before recomposing himself. "If you're really fine with somebody like me, then sure." Steel said with a smile as his hold on Reinka's hand became slightly firmer, as if never wanting to let go. "And yeah, let's just move at our own pace."

Now I'm confused. Steel couldn't help but think in his mind. First she rejects me, though that was a joke, and now we're holding hands and walking together like a couple. What does this mean!?! I will never understand girls... Although his mind was in a panic, he kept on a poker face albeit a slight blush was on his face. Holding Reinka's hand just felt natural though and it felt warm. "This place really can be peaceful sometimes. Haven't really noticed it till now since I usually ignored my surroundings." Steel said with a small smile.

"Kayaba really did do good work on this night scenery. It sets a nice mood. Though the stars are kinda all over the place and the constellations aren't there." Steel said, using his free hand to point at the stars as he chuckled a little at the game maker's obvious lack of knowledge in astrology and probably just put them in at random. Though perhaps it wasn't so obvious. Steel just happened to learn a few of the constellations in the real world and couldn't seem to find any of them in Aincrad's night sky. Well, he supposed people would at least know of the Dipper constellations. 

"Yeah, we'll be together for a long while. And even after we wake up, I'd end up finding you again." Steel said with a grin, having remembered the promise of introducing his sister to her and to explore another VRMMO with her. He then noticed her becoming flustered over trying to say something. He himself was already feeling nervous from the atmosphere she was giving off and she seemed to notice it too, telling him he was too nervous. Well, I'm nervous because you're nervous! Steel couldn't help but retort in his mind. Reinka gave up on saying what she wanted to say until later. "Don't worry, take your time. No need to rush." He assured her, not wanting to pressure her into saying what it was.

After a bit longer, the two of them had finished the rather large sundae. "Hahaha, I'm stuffed. That was a good meal." Steel said with a grin. Even if the dessert made things awkward, they had become comfortable with it. Steel had already paid before the food had arrived so they could just go. "Do you want to walk around the town a bit beforehand or go straight to the inn?" He asked.

Though I was joking, it looks like I've been turned down. Steel thought to himself with an inner nervous chuckle. He hadn't had much popularity with girls to his knowledge so he had kinda expected such a response. At least it seemed that she didn't hate him or feel disgusted with him so that was good. This was an example of him thinking of it both positively and negatively at the same time. Though he had expected it, it still made him a tad bit disappointed.

"I'll let you know if I need anything. And you can visit my shop whenever you want." Steel said with a grin. "If I become a blacksmith, I'll strive to make your best weapon or if open a restaurant, I'll save a seat for you. Well, you get the idea."

Steel opened his mouth to take in the bite Reinka offered him before getting another spoonful for her. "Hahaha, fun huh? That's one way to think about it. I guess it'll be a nice memory to look back on."

"Who knows? Perhaps I am." Steel teased back. "How about you? Have you fallen for me yet?" 

I'm confused, are they dating or not? Some of the onlookers couldn't help but question based on what was being said.

"I never planned on sacrificing myself. As I said, it'd make you sad right?" Steel said in response. "I'll counting on you then for the alchemy related stuff. And you can count on me for tanking and whatever job I end up choosing." He said with a grin. Though in the back of his head, he still wasn't sure of what to do for the profession skill.

Steel scooted in closer so that their faces were now just a little over a foot apart, making it easier for them to feed each other. Though initially shocked, Reinka seemed to find the situation hilarious and Steel couldn't hold his own laughter as well. "We've gotten ourselves in a rather peculiar situation. Can't say I hate it though." He said with a small grin as he held out the first spoonful he had gotten earlier out for Reinka to eat. "Now say ahh." 

"Fair enough, just be sure to tell me." Steel said in response. Now that I think about it, she could send me to that prison if she wanted to anyway with that anti sexual harassment thing anyway. Steel thought to himself as he recalled there being such a system. Only because Setsuko, another female player he had met in the past had threatened him with it during their first meeting just from being a couple feet away from her. It made him wonder why only the females got it. "And of course, I wouldn't do a thing without permission because I'm trying to be a gentleman."

It seemed Reinka was happy with what he said. There was even a look of romanticism in her eyes? Steel was confused about this. He also noticed the resolve behind the eyes filled with romance. Taking into account her personality, he figured it was about keeping him alive. "Just don't go sacrificing yourself for me. Just as you'd feel sad about losing me, I'd feel sad about losing you. Let's survive this together." He said with a small smile.

"You have a decent amount of strength, be confident." Steel said, reassuring her. "Besides, I said so in the beginning right? You're member #2, the first person I wanted to be part of my family. That's why you're my Vice Leader." He said this with a grin. "Oh? That'd be fun, though I hope it doesn't go too out of hand. I'm sure we've both met other players not in guilds right? We can try inviting them."

They had finished eating the main course and the waitress had come out again. "I hope you two love birds enjoyed the meal. It's time for desert!" She placed between them a somewhat large, yet still finishable, ice cream sundae with two spoons. Steel had figured Reinka didn't have too much of an issue sharing in this manner so he took a spoon and got a spoonful of ice cream to put in his mouth, only to be blocked. "I forgot to mention, you can only eat it by feeding each other." Steel went slightly wide eyed at this.

Steel crossed his fingers in head as he tried to get it to open. He wondered what would be inside though Steel was to be honest half expecting the chest to just fly at him and attack him. That's what happened last time. Instead, he just got a screen that showed him what materials he had received from opening the chest. Said contents included some extra money, some more materials, a rare ranked weapon, and two dishes of food. "Looks like I hit the jackpot huh? Looks like I won't be getting that last battle after all. Steel was almost a little sad but he took that as a sign that it was time for him to move on to more powerful gear. "I swear, I'll get stronger!" As a way of showing this, he dequipped his armor and weapon before walking back to town. If a monster on this floor attacked him, he could just use martial arts anyway. "Next stop, blacksmith!"

ID# 97935

LD: 15

Things Acquired:

100 col

5 materials

Rare weapon (unidentified)

2 Rare Consumables. 

Materials Found: 13

Thread Summary

1 SP (1 page of posts)

500 col (400 from 1 page, 100 from chest)

Unidentified Rare Weapon

2 Rare Consumables

13 Materials

Steel was still stuck on the random question he had thought up earlier and he hadn't been watching where he was walking. What was right in front of him and soon later below him was a treasure chest which he eventually tripped over. Steel hit the ground and after the initial shock, he looked over to see the treasure chest he had tripped over. "This again? Talk about dejavu." On the last quest he went on, he had found a treasure chest due to tripping over it. "Now I just gotta hope I don't get a mimic this time." He then gripped his sword. "At the same time though, I want one more fight with my current equipment before I switch my gear." His current gear had served him well but he needed new gear to have a better chance of survival. He still felt some attachment to it though. He now walked over to the treasure chest to try an open it.

ID# 97934

LD: 17 (+1) = 18

Treasure Chest Found!

Materials Found: 8

"Seriously how does this luck thing work?" Steel questioned himself as he got lucky out of nowhere again. "This really is going back and forth. Reinka's luck must have really done a number on my luck. Even that E rank luck which has been the bane of my existence has started to give in." He scratched his head on how one person's luck could be transferred to another person. Logically, it made no sense as there was nothing physical to transfer but he saw the results. Because of this, he was lost in his thoughts about it, trying to find the logical answer to his query. "Maybe it's the will power to not make Reinka cry? No that makes no sense either. Auggh, I can't think of any logical explanation for this!" He was tormenting himself over this odd and random question, causing him to not do anything for the next couple of minutes.

ID# 97932

LD: 15 (+1) = 16

Material Found!

Materials Found: 8

"Ah, that's not the issue. I thought I would be the one bothering you. I know you said it was fine earlier but in the back of mind, I couldn't help but feel that I'd hinder your quality of rest by sleeping with you." Steel explained his own worries. Also, isn't it rather inappropriate for a man and woman who are not married, not even dating to share the same bed? Steel's somewhat old fashioned way of thinking had also had him think this but decided not to voice it due to knowing that they have different cultures.

Steel couldn't help but feel flustered once again from what she said. She was just explaining her own reasons for choosing to go for being a healer and then she dropped that out of nowhere. Reinka seemed rather flustered herself. "I....also care about you and I want to keep protecting you. I don't want to make you cry again. Let's get stronger together." His own heart was racing somewhat as he spoke his mind. In his mind, he still thought she was being platonic with it due to self depreciation but he was still embarrassed.

"Yeah, forming a guild would be like having our own little family. That'll be fun. I wonder what sort of family we'll become?" Steel said with a small smile. "I'll be counting on you when that happens Vice Leader. I guess you'd be like the mommy in that situation." He said that last part in a teasing manner.

"Today is just on and off isn't it?" Steel said as he went from finding something to finding nothing again. He supposed it was the RNG not working in his favor at the moment. Today had been rather odd to say the least in regards to his fortunes. There were times he had large strokes of luck and other times where that luck fell short. It seemed that his luck was all unstable nowadays. Perhaps it was Reinka's influence. She had particularly good luck and thanks to a certain something she did, his own luck had gone from bad to out of whack. It was getting a little unpredictable. Though Steel lightly blushed as he remembered the event. He didn't expect it and he had practically no immunity to girls. He hoped he would correct that with his time with Reinka but at the same time, he kinda doubted it would change.

ID# 97887

LD: 10 (+1) = 11

Materials Found: 7

"I guess you could say that though honestly the quest itself was rather boring as the boars were too weak. The fun parts though were fighting the mimic and getting to know you better." He said with a grin. "You seem pretty tired. Bet you can't wait to sleep in a real bed for once. I still feel kinda bad about making it cramped with both of us on it." Though it was at her insistence, he still would have rather had her be completely comfortable.

"Oh? You're going the healing route despite being a pirate? Looks like you're embracing your princess side after all." He said with a teasing smirk as it was common for the princess type characters in rpgs to have more support or healing oriented skills. "Seriously though, what brought this on?"

"I don't think I did anything much. You were just able to pick things up rather fast." Steel modestly.

"I guess my luck is changing for the better?" Steel said as he scratched his head. He had somehow found another material while searching a random bush he chose while closing his eyes, spinning around and then pointing in front of him. I guess I really should follow what Reinka said in regards to luck. He thought to himself. His partner had mentioned how he should think about things in a more positive light and how he shouldn't think of it as bad luck. Not that he could really do that so easily but he could at least give it a try. Something about how luck was all in the mind. Though aren't there numbers involved in all of this? Steel thought to himself as he pocketed the material. "Now then, let's see where the next one ends up being? I hope I don't have to be out here for much longer."

ID# 97485

LD: 18 (+1) = 19

Material Acquired!

Materials Found: 7