Shizua

(It's getting late, more like it's 2 years late amirite)

"Wow, you're right.." Shizua glanced towards the darkened sky outside, showing the game's equivalent to a starry night. Twisting her gaze back to the crimson-colored player, the much more plainly dressed girl gave a quick nod of her head, before reaching out to take hold of Macradon's hand. She would motion to the exit of the restaurant the two found themselves inside, taking a step forward and waiting for her current companion to follow. There were two paths before them; one to the left, and one to the right. The left led off into a smaller plaza, and the right led back into the large one they came from, which had lost some of it's player population since the two came from there to the building they were currently in.

Shizua gave her shoulders a quick shrug as she looked towards the outdoors. "I supposed I could try, but to be honest, I haven't explored that deep into the place myself." Adjusting her glasses, the girl leans forward in her chair. "In terms of design, it seems similar to the Town of Beginnings, but with a more centralized feeling. There's a bit of a plaza, and the low amount of NPCs and actually buildings makes this a lot less dense in terms of how many people come here." She explains. "It's almost like a tourist attraction, in a way. There's a few nice spots, but they're mostly just stone plazas with a few benches. Though, it is quite pretty, in my opinion." After saying this, her eyes flick up to the much higher leveled player, waiting for a response.

(This thread is almost 3 years old ayylmao)

"Yikes.. Level 5, eh..? Well, I suppose this isn't supposed to be an easy game, considering we all are at risk of death.." Shizua thought on this for a moment, looking up to @Macradon as she let out a quick giggle at his reference. "Well, then, I suppose I should get to work, in that case. I'm pretty close to that already. Though- I suppose I'll still have to be careful above all else.. I'll see what I can do- gear or otherwise- to get up to par with everybody else." With this, the glasses-clad young girl leans back in her chair to contemplate things while waiting for a response from the man sitting in front of her. Her eyes seem to wander a bit, losing focus with the 'real' world as she drifts off into her own little world for a bit.

Shizua gave a short nod to Macradon as he winked and promised to help her. "I suppose that's that, then. Thank you, Macradon. Your help will be greatly appreciated." She thanked the much higher leveled player, readjusting both herself in her chair, and her glasses on her face. "You probably know about this, but what levels are safe to fight against for my own?" She raised the question, tilting her head to the side. "I've played some RPGs where you have to face enemies a few levels below you, some where you have to face ones a few higher, and some where it's more of an even split. What have you found out in your time here?"

As Mack handed Cherry Blossom towards Shizua, a look of surprise bloomed on her face, taking in the unique appearance of the weapon. "Wow.." She said, her hands reaching out to take hold of the weapon. Something that many didn't know about the young girl, who was notable for her very average appearance as a Japanese teen, was her affinity for unique and odd looking weapons and other trinkets, which originally stemmed from her collection of old video game accessories when she was younger.

"..I like it." She said with a grin, her gaze turning back from her new Naginata, to the giver of such a gift. "Thank you, sir." She said, taking a step back to offer a bow to show her thanks to the smith. When she came back up, seeing that she now had a little bit of space between her and everybody else, she gave Cherry Blossom a short twirl. An excited grin followed when she found it to her liking.

Shizua was surprised when the small bear cub approached her, and, after seeing what had happened to Row, she was a bit concerned for her own balance. However, it was quite a cute little cub, so she decided to chance it, and pick it up off the ground. The young girl bent slowly over so that she could wrap her arms around the bear, and hoist it up. Surprisingly, she was able to keep her balance, and lift the bear up. However, she seemed to only be able to do this for a short amount of time, before needing to set the bear back down on the ground. In this time, she also managed to slip it another bit of the food that she was hiding from everybody else.

Shizua resumed waiting patiently in the back of the line. When she reached the front, and by extension Mack, she laid out her request. It was a bit basic, as she was in possession of very little equipment. A Heavy Breastplate with Thorns and Damage Mitigation, and something that fit under the designation of a Two-Handed Assault Spear, with Accuracy and Bleed. "..Are Naginata possible..?" She asked.

Shizua remained quiet for the most part, opting to listen to what Mack was saying, rather than actually saying anything herself. After the large statured smith finished his explanation and invited what was basically a crowd at this point indoors, the lady followed at a slightly slower pace than everyone else had, since she had to offer a piece of food to Chewie. She made sure to give it to him at an angle, so that she could conceal exactly what it was she had fed to the bear. Afterwards, she turned back to enter the shop behind the rest of the low leveled players without a peep.

Being ever curious, Shizua of course had some questions about what exactly was going on. However, she also realized that most of the questions that first popped up would likely be answered quite quickly, so she opted not to ask them, even if she was left with a confused look on her face. A few seconds passed as she looked around the shop, deciding to slink over to a corner to avoid making any middle ground more crowded than it likely was.

Shizua stumbled around the fourth floor as she stared at a note. Having been sent on a strange 'mission' of sorts by someone by the name of Chewie. She had been lead up from the first floor, which she had been looking for a reason to get away from anyway, up to the fourth. On said floor, her clues led her, somewhat quickly, to a man wearing a reddish cloak. As she approached the man who she would likely find out to be @Mack, her eyes occasionally darted down to the note, then back up to what was in her line of sight. After a few more steps, she noticed two others; Ignavus, and Aereth. She was not sure which of the three she was supposed to be searching for, so she simply stood in place once she got close enough, looking around at the group with a hesitant look on her digitalized face.

Shizua seemed surprised to learn that Macradon had gotten himself ahead by eighteen levels all on his own. Thus far, she had only gotten as far as a few generic enemies around the Starting Town with the help of a couple of other players. "Wow.. All on your own? That's pretty impressive." The young player said, nodding her head, while the thought rolled in; Would she be able to make it that far? Shizua usually didn't like to give up, but she would if the stakes were too high. As it stood right now, death did not, in the slightest, seem like a good option. Then again, neither did staying inside a tiny little apartment on the first floor. She figured she would need to find a nice place in between dead and bored to death. "Well, then.. I think I'm in a position to take you up on your offer, Macradon."

(3 months later..)

"Damn.." Shizua let out a sigh of nonsuccess. "..Probably makes sense that there's no items like that, I guess.. Why give someone an easy route when you're watching them fight for their life?" After the young lady said this, she went silent. This stretch of quietness was due to the fact that she perceived her comment to have came off in a morbid fashion. Once a bit of time had passed, the quiet was broken by Shizua attempting to respond to Macradon's last statement. "Do you think so? I mean, it sounds easy enough, but.." She trailed off for another few moments. "..Hm. I suppose I'm being too pessimistic about this, aren't I?" The woman reached up to push her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, and afterwards closed her eyes for a few brief seconds. After they reopened, she waited for a response by idly picking up another bite of her food.

10 hours ago, Opal said:

I'd like to think of myself more of a writer than a role player. But I guess that tend to goes hand in hand. In honesty, I understand having a relaxed and stress free word count for individuals who are short on time and can not make a productive quality post for another. However, I feel if we really wanna challenge our minds and explore writing as an art rather than a term of power, I think the WC should be upped to 500 words per post. This is obviously a intimidating number for those who can barely squeeze in the 150, but I think the new counter as of now is reasonable sufficient. 

Instead of looking at it as a displeasure, look at it as a challenge for yourself and be a better role player! 

If the minimum is upped to 500 I won't rp here anymore.

150 is way too much. It forces people to fill their posts with white noise, rather than detail. 50 is too little, but 150 is too much, so 100 should be 'just right', as it was with Goldilocks.

(150 is way too much for a minimum word count, though. It forces people to add blankness to their posts. 100 or so would've been better.)

(Edit: My entire 150 words got removed, have no idea why. Will fix soon.)

(Oh gee, raising the minimum requirement for no reason.)

Shizua seemed to react a bit different than Macradon had whenever he talked about death. Where he seemed to just shrug it off, the girl's eye contact broke, and she averted her gaze for a few moments, it eventually returning whenever he changed the subject. "Low level quests? You mean like that one quest I keep hearing about..? It's, uhm.." Shizua cut off for a second, looking up to the ceiling as she thought for a few moments on the name. "..Earning a living?" She asked, looking back down from the ceiling to Macradon. As she did this, her hands raised to take another bite of her food. "Hm.. do you think this game has items that increase how much EXP you get? Those are always some of my favorite items in RPGs.." She says, trailing off as her thoughts shift back to the mechanics of the game. It was so much different compared to most MMOs and RPGs. 

Shizua harrumphed when Macradon said that people were already in their twenties. "Ugh, this game really doesn't throw you any bones, does it..? You have to get out there and work super hard for everything.." She took another bite of her steak, listening to his offer. "Hm..? You mean, like, a high level quest, where we can both get a lot of experience?" She asked, sitting back for a few moments.

(Pretend there was no literal 9 month break inbetween posts kthx)

"Really..?" Shizua actually seemed quite intrigued by this bit of information. "I'm not behind? So, does that mean you're ahead, than?" She inquired of Macradon. "Or is it more a case of everybody is all spread out?" She seemed to ask a flurry of questions, however one after the other, she forgot about the previous one. "I wonder if that means there's a chance for me to be able to catch up.." She asked herself, looking down to her steak. "Hm.. well, hopefully it does, at least."

"Let's go!"

Shizua stepped outside the large gates of the beginning city, staring at the large, open fields of the first floor. Her mind immediately started hopping from question to question. Where should we go first? Is my sword enough to take on the monsters? What kind of monsters will there be? Should we stay close to the gates, or find a nice secluded space to wait for spawns? Of course, she had no answers, but with the way her mind worked, she didn't mind not having an answer quite yet; there was plenty of time to figure it out. Turning back around, she motioned for the three other people in her party, plus Seul, to join her.

"You don't want to join the party?" Shizua asked Seul, thinking it a bit strange. "Alright.. well, if you want in, just tell me." She said, flipping around to look at the rest of the group. She threw her fist forward, pumping it in the air as she smiled. "Alright, sweet! Let's get moving, everybody. These fields aren't gonna clear themselves!" She said, turning around towards the open gate. She took a deep breath as she moved forward, and outside the gate.

Thread Complete
All Players +1 SP

(Thread Part 2: Electric Boogaloo coming soon.)

Shizua listened to the suggestions and offers of her leading the party, and she quickly agreed. She usually wasn't one to take the lead unless asked. "Uh.. yeah, of course, of course." She nodded, lifting her finger up and swiping it down. Her menu came up, and she navigated quickly to party section, tapping a few panels and buttons to send invites out to the people that had offered to join her. A few windows would pop up in front of them, asking to confirm joining her party.

Six people. Cygnus, Zandra, Emblem, Seul, Khrysaor, and Shizua herself. She turned first to Seul, who had popped out of nowhere. "Of course, no problem~." She then turned quickly to the next person, Cygnus and the rest that had gathered. "Of course, you can all come. Shall we.. create a party, or stay separate?" The young woman asked, reaching to adjust her glasses. She was definitely excited to start building herself up, but this death game had already been on for so long, she was worried she would never be able to catch up.

Shizua looked a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of Emblem. Giving a short bow, she spoke. "H- hello! My name is Shizua, and I assume you.. know this person already." She suggested, turning a bit as she heard someone approaching her location.

Shizua turned her glance from Cygnus and Emblem over to Zandra, her expression changing. She seemed to be a normal player, so the lady was none the wiser. "Oh.. hello, my name is Shizua.. This is Emblem.." She motioned to the blonde. "..and, uhm.. I don't know his name." She admitted sheepishly, turning back to the dark headed woman. "Of course you can come, the more the merrier!"

Shizua seemed to hop back a little as she was spoken to, being used to the idea of talking to people, however not so much the act of doing it. "A- ah, yes. Well, sort of. I'm looking for people to party up with, I'm going to go out hunting. I'm.. only Level 1 right now, so it's.. going rather slowly, but I'll get there eventually..!" She says, an enthusiastic look in her eye. "I'm.." She pauses for a second, remembering to use her player name over her real one. "..Shizua. Who are you?"

Shizua stood quietly by the southernmost exit to the Starting City, as many players did when they were looking for someone to form a party with. She was one of these people, having nothing on her but her sword in her sheath, and her beginning gear on her person. Had this been the real would, Shizua, or Nishi, in this instance, would likely have a hood up and over her head, however staying in her own world just wouldn't cut it here.

Quietly, she waited for someone, anyone, to ask what she was up to or she could help them. She was hopeful, yes, but she was shy. However, there was something about this situation. Something about being on par with everyone else, something about being the first to begin exploring a brand new world (one hundred new worlds, to be more specific), that actually seemed to inspire Shizua to get on the ball and start training to take on Sword Art Online.

Pushing her glasses back into place, Shizua looked up to the crowds walking along the path, raising a hand up into the air and waving it happily to everyone. Some wore looks of fear, due to having to risk their lives to get out, and some wore looks of disbelief, not wanting to believe the fact that someone had trapped them inside a video game, of all places, but the young girl smiled to them all the same.

"..Eighteen..? Damn it.." Shizua smacked the table lightly, before looking back up at Macradon, and moving a hand to push her glasses back into place. "E- er... sorry... I'm.. I'm still level 1.. How.." She sighed. "...How could I be so far behind..?" She asked to nobody in particular, just seeming to be venting at this point. "This.. I... It just doesn't make any sense.." She picked up her utensils, cutting into the steak and taking a bite.

Thinking for a moment, Shizua gave a soft shake of her head. "No.. just a little grinding.." She said, thinking about that trip. It only really ended in a bunch of virtual blood and cuts. "..and a little failing." She added on. "Um.. if you don't mind me asking, Macradon... what level are you...?" She didn't want to sound rude, but she also wanted to know about how far behind she was. How could she have lagged behind so much? Was she a bad fighter? Was she just not made for this? It was a lot to think about, and it was only depressing Shizua.