Kotori

The walking was getting tedious after a while, honestly this was ridiculous for a game like this. So for sake of her completing something with all this wasted time, Kotori thought of the bright idea to collect materials. Could sell them or exchange them for some kind of thing, if people still do that? I did. She started searching the surrounding bushery in her search for at least five or so materials to use in other things. Doesn't seem like this area had anything, she couldn't find anything.

ID# 71909

LD: 11 + 1 = 12

Kotori exhaled, a little relieved. The monster wasn't anything of worry, although it was a little jarring to lose almost half of her health in one hit. Her hand jittered back and forth as she, with difficulty, despawned her dagger. Her eyes glanced all around, searching for any sort of movement. The monster had asked for help, but she wasn't sure if that meant anything. 

She shied away from being in Bhairyuu's eye-sight, a little bit wary of being stared at. Kotori was contemplating outright leaving the floor for the lower ones, maybe floor 4. Every single crackle, bubble popping and groan made her glance in that direction, becoming a little tense. This wasn't for her, she should've left and come back when she had gained levels and became slightly stronger. "No, he hasn't.."

Kotori's eyes glanced around the vivid, lush jungle as she walked around, unsure of where exactly one needed to go to do this quest. There was no specific NPC to go to in order to activate this quest, well like a quest-giving NPC, this NPC just appeared. The directions weren't that clear and there weren't many landmarks that she could go off and neither did the players who told her. This was sorta annoying considering it was just some stupid skill that was pretty easy to get considering the doppelganger didn't have the enhancements. her weapons did nor could he do much damage since he just used a weird sword arts. So for this to have so much navigation and walking as a part of it, it was just an annoyance. She wondered what else besides copying her stats could the copy duplicate as well. Her personality? Memories. Probably not, that would be kinda insane if it could. She continued to walk forward, knife in hand.

The gargantuan roared with anger as its health lowered trememendously from Hydra's previous attack, the damage more than half of its HP. "YoUu wilL SuFfErrr.. gReatly..." It moaned before calling out for assistance. Its melting arm moved to swing at Hydra, however, its current state made it stumble and miss, horribly. "Noooo..." It groaned.

Kotori saw that with just another hit like that from Hydra, the monster would be defeated. She was unable to do anything that would hurt it enough to slay it, but she should could still try. But her hands trembled slightly as she tried swinging and she missed her target, just barely. She moved back, trying to stay low again in case the monster attempted to attack her instead after.

ID# 71741                                                                                                                                                  

MD: 1

ID# 71742                                                                                                                                                  

BD: 3+4=4 (+1 ACC)

Monster's HP: 86/240 (10 Mit, 90 DMG)

[H:2] Kotori's HP: 150/240 (Energy 19/24)

[H:0] Sey's HP: 220/220

[H:2] Hydra's HP: 480/480

As the trio approached the gates, a sickening groan emanated from the lava and volcano below them, bubbles appearing and popping rapidly, more than before as the ground began to shake beneath. A burning, molten-rock hand gripped the floor nearby, pulling itself up as a ghastly, lava creature showed its ugly face. Its skin was made out of molten rock and lava, its face dis formed in such a way that made it appear as the scream. "Reeeturn the slab... or suffer my cursee." It moaned, slowly moving towards the three and blocking their entrance. 

ID# 71724                                                                                                                                                                                                

MD: 9  

DMG: 99 (+1 because critical )

Monster's HP: 240/240 (10 Mit, 90 DMG)

Kotori's HP: 141/240

Sey's HP: 220/220

Hydra's HP: 480/480

The monster hands deform into a whip-like structure before lashing out at the closest person it sees, Kotori. It hits multiple time before hitting her to the side.

Kotori curses as she is hit, before getting up with some difficulty. The creature had cut her health by a third already, although it wasn't in the yellow just yet. She should've just in town really, she wasn't nowhere near strong enough to fight such a creature. Although, she wasn't going to go down without at least trying to fight. And just maybe, a sword art could work. Which is what she did. Although, she barely nicked it in the end, even with her strongest sword art.

 ID# 71724

BD: 5+1=6 (1 ACC)

(Infinite) 6 x 5 x 1 = 30 - 10 Mit = 20 DMG

Monster's HP: 220/240 (10 Mit, 90 DMG)

Kotori's HP: 150/240

Sey's HP: 220/220

Hydra's HP: 480/480

Kotori went ahead first, walking towards the gate to lead them both towards it. "Ehh, I dunno about that. And my balance is pretty good so I'll be alright. I'm sure." She took out a bottle water, drinking some of along the way to the destination. She should probably check back on her cafe and see if she could try to open it up again. It was a possibility, although a lot of cooks had popped up that probably made better than things than her. And were more advanced.

"Again, I don't mind. And I can do some damage if so monsters do appear so I'm not too weak." She spawned her dagger effortlessly and holstering it, keeping it ready for her to use. "I could use some experience as well, so that's a plus." She wasn't content with where she was after all this time and she really did need some leveling up. Her eyes glided over to Sey, for his answer.

"Yeah, floor six was it. Don't know how I'd forgot that." She muttered, although her mind wasn't really focused on her memory and just in general of some memories on the fourth floor. Some were good.. others not so much. They felt so long ago but also felt as if had happened yesterday. Bit of an oxymoron, in a way? I don't even know it fits the definition for it, but whatever. 

She wasn't too sure about leaving the safe zone as well it was safe and she wasn't particularly strong. Although, if things went bad, she could remember her way back. "I don't really care so much really."

She nodded, staring at the ground below. Calling it rations is a little too generous. Pretty, pretty easy to get food and it wasn't even needed. Hunger wasn't a game feature, thankfully so. "That was pretty obvious, considering there's no walls or anything and I heard about players dying like this. Kinda wish I was back on floor 4, that's one of the nicer one's here. And floor 3? Wait, which one is the giant forest again?"

She wasn't too sure if Sey was just responding to the other guy about why he has a spear as a weapon or he was able to read minds, although it was probably just the former. "Talking to Hydra over here, but okay." She started tapping at the floor with her shoes as she scrunched up her nose. Weird how the two both answered each other's questions, were they like synced or something? "Was talking to him when I asked that and why not get something that'll evade regardless of whether you're in true danger or whatever? I could go to floor 1 and get hit by boar, but not be in much danger. Still rather avoid it." Peter was his name. Maybe she shouldn't have put her first name as her username, probably common sense not to. Too late now anyway. And now it seemed another person wanted bread as well. Kotori tossed a bread in Hydra's direction, deciding to stop being charitable.

Kotori stood back a little, staring at the bright-orange cursor above the boy's head to signify that he had killed another person. This kid killed someone, as clumsy and awkward as he appears? Wonder how that even managed to happen, although he could be putting up an act. No, no, she wasn't gonna start thinking like that again, that way of thought let only to bad things and she had enough of those. "You shouldn't be slow if you are attacked though." She was hoping to try to up her evasive skill, something that felt better than just being able to tank a hit. Better to dodge than be hit at all. "What's your real name?" Getting hit still lowers HP unlike dodging. Although, there did need to be people to take hits so she wouldn't be struck hard. Definitely better that it was them and not her.

"Pretty sure this is the bread that you get from the beginning, its not like this has some special healing property or whatever. I mean if you want too.. suree." She said, her eyes looking off to the side. She had 9 more loaves which meant if he did actually pay in return, maybe she could find herself up in col. Not like she couldn't make anymore, although it had been a while since she was in her store and she didn't remember that well how to make it. "You know, just because its a bad place to put a bakery doesn't mean there won't be a NPC bakery which I'm not sure is a thing, but I'm positive it is. Anyway, think fas-" As she threw the bread to Sey whilst speaking, she stopped as another player crashed into him. The foot that she was leaning on slid back on its heel as she stepped back from the two. "Don't lose your head trying then." She said with a bit of a smirk.

"Hey there! Sorry to interrupt, but... They have a bakery up on this floor?"

Kotori stuffed the rest of the bread in her mouth, chewing before swallowing and then opening her mouth to speak. "No idea, have bread on me." She muttered, wiping the crumbs off her mouth with the palm of her hand. "Did you want some or something? I still have some more on me, I think." Judging from what he said, he could either be surprised because this place was a crap hole or because he was hungry or something. Asking him if he wanted would clear that up and also probably make her feel a bit better for actually being a bit nice for once.

The smell was just annoying to get a whiff of, although it was more than just a whiff at times, along with the uncomfortable heat that was present because of the volcano underneath. It was a bit annoying and a little jeopardous entering Vulcan Village since it was a possibility that if she didn't watch where she was going, she could fall down and die. The smell of rotten eggs just made the whole experience bad, although she was only here to see what quests were here that she could try her hand at once she managed to reach a level where the quest could actually be completed by herself. She wanted to ask some players that had taken the quests what was it like because solo players that take quests sometimes end up dying, something something boars on floor 1. Although, the enemies on this floor were way worse and dangerous than a boar. As well as constant boiling and crackling sound magma still in the volcano down below. Wiping a few stray brown strands out of her eyes, she sped up her pace and entered the town. 

Biting out of a loaf of bread that shestill had from the starter kit that was recieved back during the beginning of the game, Kotori made note again of the weird choice of clothing the NPCs wore. A mix of metal and cloth didn't exactly sound like something comfortable or sensible. Odd choice of design, both in clothing and now that she thought about it, the village itself. Large metal cables holding the town above certain death didn't scream amazing. Surprising that Akihiko didn't just make the whole town sway just to mess with everyone there. That would make it so she wouldn't dare come here. She wanted some sort of reason not to pass ever through here as the smell was just an annoyance.

"Cold." was all that was said as a girl stepped onto the snowy grounds that was floor 4's most prominent feature, aside from the many shops that laid residence in the snow-filled winterland, one of those shops being owned by this not really mysterious player. It had been weeks, no, months since she had actually set foot on this floor, the place chock-full of memories for her. Of course, some of the contents of these memories weren't as nice as she would like to have remembered, but there would be no point in dwelling on past events. In fact, she'd much rather wonder about the future that would lay ahead for her. As the female player took to walking slowly throughout the safe zone, every footstep making a small imprint of the frosty ground below before being covered up by the perpetual snow that tormented the region, she began to wonder about lives and well-being of those she knew. Perhaps they are still doing exactly as they were months before or perhaps they took on another job. Maybe even they may have passed from this virtual world and from the real world. No, morbid thoughts wouldn't do her any good. There was the chance they may be on this floor, at this very moment. That could be a certain outcome. This was the mentality she had as she trudge on forward. The thoughts of the brown-haired girl with hazel eyes that glazed over as she became lost in thought.

(OOC: I'm going to assume you mean Kotori as the girl you bumped into and if I'm right, just to confirm, she has dark brown hair and hazel eyes.)

Urbus. The second floor of Aincrad's resident city, full of bustling players and NPCs. It was a perfect place to set up shop. Of course course as her own cafe was situated on this floor although she hadn't actually cooked anything for some time. She wasn't here to return to that profession, she had just managed to teleport herself to the region and decided to walk around as a sort of relaxing walk. It wasn't really much to her decision as she was only doing so because there wasn't much else to do in her tiny social world that pretty much contained her and her only. The floor itself didn't change much at all, only few new shops opened up here and there. It was very crowded however, it was only a matter of t- "Oof!" A boy seemed to come out of nowhere as she stumbled a few steps forward before regaining her balance. The boy immediately saw his mistake and apologized. He also extended his hand out although she was nowhere near the ground in any way. Nevertheless, it was an honest mistake and she decided to calm any anxious feeling by speaking. "I'm fine, you didn't mean it."

The jungles of Aincrad, which were located on the sixth floor, was an odd place to be when not involved in other business. It was amazing how few times Kotori herself had gotten herself up to explore the floor itself and this was including the fact that she had been trapped in SAO along with so many others for so long that this was mind-blowing in itself. It truly was one of the underrated places to exist and explore, it wasn't as if it was that dangerous if a person had just a bit of equipment on them. Of course she was long past that stage of being doing little damage and having low health to worry about, she could manage fine on her own. There wasn't much to however in terms of quests and rare item that could be located on the place in question, even the game itself made it seem a floor that a player could never go to and be perfectly okay never visiting it. Then again this could be the case for floors in the future and even a few that had been unlocked. That wasn't important, what was really important was her beginning to enter the jungle and leaving the safe zone. Her dagger had been equipped and she had health potions enough to last her day, not to mention a bit of determination on her side. She was prepared although it wasn't as one needed to prepare to be on the floor, it was just something that occurred. She of course didn't expect anybody to find her or see her, this floor wasn't really one people traveled on often. 

This outcome was to be expected, her a little bout of solitude was nothing but that. A small temporary moment till the next time a group of people formed. There really wasn't anything to it, although she still felt a bit of an annoyance. This was especially because she had temporarily forgot that people were still a bit quirky in their own rights and it was just their personality to do so. A female voice ordered the two players to make themselves visible to her and although Kotori was tempted to respond that the girl could do the same and the problem would be solved, it would be easier to avoid conflict. She knew who was speaking, it was a certain girl with a few quirks inside her as well and had an issue with others being friendly simply because in her view being high-leveled meant being dangerous to confront, although there was a few truths to that viewpoint. This too however would cause conflict if brought up and gave another reason as to why keeping her thoughts to herself was just pure bliss. The girl stepped forwards as her eyes began to start adjusting to the darkness to see a younger boy running up to Kiru with the intent of knowing who she was. "Hey." was all she could offer as a sort of greeting, the two of them didn't really have much of an friendly relationship, at least from Kotori's side. Still, she could only assume that's how the other felt about them. Moving past relationship problems, the young boy who introduced himself as Alex seemed to be a bit high on the naivety and awkwardness scale which Kotori deducted from speech alone. She could only assume he was a low level himself as there wasn't much equipment on him, maybe he had decided that being scared on the first floor wouldn't do anything for him and was looking to become stronger. She would need to step him aside and talk to him about a few things if Golden and Kiru didn't so first. 

Kotori would be lying if she had said she wasn't expecting any players to find her at all, it was something that couldn't be avoided when a game had nine thousand something players scattered in eleven floors, in fact she would be surprised not to have been seen. Of course, now it seemed she would rarely meet new people as she heard the voice of another person speak towards her. She turned around to find herself gazing at a boy that left off with her on bad terms, which left a sudden queasy feeling her gut as she now had to apologize for actions. However it seemed the boy was more interested in why she was up at the current hour it was. There wasn't really anything to it at all, she just was awake at these hours. Sleep was something she seldom did often as it wasn't as if fighting was tiring at all, so she found herself awake for many hours on end. "I'm always up this late.." She answered with a hint of melancholy underlining her answer. She could've brought up the fact that he was walking around this late, but there really wasn't any point in doing that.

Now that Kotori had gotten that out of the way, she decided to speak once more since there were words that needed to be spoken and if she didn't say them now, she would regret it for years to come. "I'm sorry about that day when I yelled at you, I didn't really mean those words anyway, I just was scared for that girl's life. I honestly understand if you don't want to forgive, I hate myself too so don't worry about that. I just wanted to apologize." She finished before staring back down at her hands. It wasn't as if she could save anyone and Oikawa knew that as he was dead now. She blamed herself for his death as she could've been a bit more proactive in helping him in battle and then he wouldn't have left her behind. She could only assume that he died in battle, he wasn't one for suicide. Brushing those thoughts aside was what she decided to do next as dwelling on what could've been doesn't make anyone feel better, she had to focus on the boy in front of her at the moment.

As the cold dark night began to settle into place to indicate the changing of phases from day to night, a female with the hair the color of oak was only just beginning her little adventure outside the safe zones of Delilah Village and into the Forest of Wavering Mist. This player was fully aware of the all the dangers and possible outcomes of this trek and still decided to go ahead with it, simply because this was one of the only ways she could her minds off recent events. There was no other way besides combat and exploring to do this so here she was. The other reason Kotori was giving the okay signal for this was because she no longer cared about her safety and well-being, so if she died, well so be it. Of course she wasn't suicidal or maybe she was, she hadn't fully decided on it and probably was not going to attempt it, but she just couldn't care much if that health bar dropped to zero. Nothing was going to stop her and she was going to do this.

Light footsteps dissipated into pixels as the pale girl continued onwards, her dainty little fingers grabbing her dagger tightly although her palms did not become sweaty as they had become accustomed to the tight grip-hold. Her grim frown lingered on her face to reflect her current outlook, there wasn't ever anything to be happy about. Not anymore. Kotori didn't feel any pity for her current situation, this was only to be expected in her life and it would never change, it was just how it was. Moping around did nothing but make her weak and crying wouldn't change anything except for people who temporarily seemed to care. Bottling emotions seemed to be appealing to her as she could just ignore her feelings and her days wouldn't be spent idling doing emotional actions. It didn't matter what others said, this is what she was doing.

There wasn't much action going on inside the forest, odd since she had recalled being told mobs spawned more at night although it could've been just a rumor or she just happened not to run into many. Then again she wasn't really searching for monsters at all. Nevertheless, there had to be a reason for the lack of feral animals to fight although she couldn't put her finger on it. Although, the night was still early and she had plenty of time before the sun rose and the influx of players began to flow throughout all the floors. Time. She had lots of it. Hopefully tonight wouldn't be a waste and she could keep her mind off things permanently. 

The information recieved from the words spoken from the two players and the realization of what she was becoming was beginning to take its toll on Kotori as she grasped her head as a person with a blinding headache would on instinct. Her tiny fingers traversed her hair while her right palm kept the knife she possessed against her temples while the girl stumbled backwards. What was she doing, acting like a threat and becoming hostile over absolutely nothing? No, they had been stalking her, that was a perfectly good reason to defend your own life. A rush of thoughts filled her head as the her pupils danced crazily around in the white of her eyes as she stared down at the frosty snow. "J-Just GET AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING I'LL REGRET!" She shouted with a tone of caution underlining the blunt words. Immediately afterwards, she made a mad dash towards the trees, trying to escape the two and herself although the latter was impossible.

Almost instinctively, Kotori materialized her dagger and gripped it tightly mid-air as she rotated on her heel to stare at the direction of the voice only to find a player behind her with the first thought of the girl having been stalking her. Instantenously her eyes slanted as a fury filled her very being and her only logical move was to point her weapon and extended her arm as so her dagger's tip would almost touch the other players's throat. It was a young girl, most likely a few years younger than Kotori herself with pigtails as the design for her hair. A little teenager who thought she could sneak up on an unsuspecting player although it failed because a boy decided to greet her. "What the hell do you think you are doing? I can kill you where you stand just for stalking me like you did although I'm feeling a bit more merciful than usual so I'll give you a minute to explain yourself or I'm going to stick this knife so deep down your throat, you'll s*** iron filings. Also, its a shame that you didn't finish your sneaking as it seems that boy over there know you or am I wrong? Now explain." She ordered while keeping a slight eye on the male player who made his and the girl standing in front of her's presence very clear.

Floor four. The floor she made her first stand and met a variety of players who she would call friends.. a few months ago. Kotori was alone once again and this time it seemed to permanent once more. How was it that in the matter of days she had found herself in a life that was exactly like pre-SAO. No, she had always been living that life, there was just a hiatus in between. These thoughts filled her mind silently as she trenched through the light snow-like substance, ignoring the possibility of death or being attacked as she passed from the safe zone to the wild. In fact, she slightly hoped something would attack her so she could let out some her rage on it and calm down although that didn't likely whatsoever. Her brown bangs continued to sway side to side as the frisky wind blew through the frosty wonderland before she let out a light sight. There was nothing appealing anymore about this floor as it had outlived its initial appeal although she still couldn't pin the reason down. What reason was there anyway though, it didn't lessen her now apparent hatred the for the cold air or the white substance that covered the land and trees. 

"I'm so sorry."

That was one of the tics that Kotori never understood or could reason as to why one would do or say such a thing to another. What good was an apology for the inherent sadness of another being, especially when the apology was uncalled for. Unless she was wrong, Lessa wasn't responsible for this outcome nor was she the one to tell her the bad news. "You aren't sorry and you shouldn't be at all. I'm not sorry at all, if he decided to die without even saying goodbye, why should I care about him anymore.." She slowly rise up as the bangs of her oak hair covered her vision as she continued to speak. "He.. w-was weak if he couldn't even do that. Although there was one thing he did and that was showing me life never changes. For once I thought I didn't have to be lonely anymore, have friends and live a normal life under the pretense of having a normal life before SAO. I was so wrong. So unbelievably wrong. This is a wake-up call and now I know I can't do that. The only thing I can do now is get out of this f****** game and be alone. So please, don't try to convince me out of this. Or so help me I will kill everything in a mile radius just because I can." The girl finished as her dagger appeared suddenly before she curled her fingers around it, showing she meant what she said.

The colorful jungle were a gorgeous sight to behold indeed as the young girl stared deeply into the floor's rainforest, as if the revelations of what had occurred to her no longer matter and the traumatic experience like a faint memory that a person tries to keep a grasp on, but never fully reaches. Her metaphorical shell grew thicker and bigger as it slowly crept its way towards the feelings and emotions, evidence of Kotori trying to bottle up her various emotions as way to cope, unable to see the dangerous short and long-term effects that she could cause to her psyche by doing such a thing. However, common sense wasn't present at that very moment to stop her from doing it so her eyes appeared more and more lifeless as she sat there with no expression. However, her self-destructive nature wouldn't stop there as the other half of her mind couldn't fathom a situation in which Oikawa could die and leave her with no closure at all. 

There was no room for thinking as the girl continued to kill herself on the inside by constricting her feelings so there was no reaction when she overheard the sound of another player speak towards her. "Hi Ko." The woman spoke and after a few moments, Kotori knew who was there. The guild leader, Lessa, an acquaintance so to speak had found her in a way she had long forgot about; tracking. "Yes." she said in response without even making eye contact whatsoever.