Aster

Rocking back and forth on her heels, Aster returned to the bulletin board in the Town of Beginnings once more, waiting patiently after re-posting an identical request. As if the girl had nothing better to do with her day, she idly scanned the players that walked by, hoping that one might request her assistance in their party.

"Hm?" Aster mumbled a response over her shoulder. The girl had been eyeing a rather tall tree for a few seconds, debating the thought of trying to climb up it before eventually deciding against it. With a small shake of her head, Aster turned her attention to Stryder for a brief moment before giving the boy a small nod. "Alright, I suppose." Her accent lightly touched her words. While the ginger had only claimed one material in her search so far, she hadn't kept track of the raven-haired player's progress.

"Ah!" Aster let out a tiny exclamation as her eye caught on another herb amongst the grassy plain. The item seemed identical to the first she had obtained, and when the girl walked over and crouched down beside it she took a moment to inspect the item. A quick glance over of the dialogue window that appeared over it confirmed that she had found another herb she could use with her alchemy skill. With a small smile, Aster reached out and plucked it from the ground, depositing the item into her inventory as it vanished from her fingers.

@Stryder

Material Gathering:

Aster was grateful that the snow piled up around them did not behave exactly as the real thing. The virtual powder crunched beneath the weight of her feet as she walked forward, but the game didn't seem to go so far as to register the heat of her body against the cold environment. Without the Survival skill, she was forced to bring a coat to the icy floor, but her normal-looking shoes didn't look like they were designed for the wilderness. The girl was only thankful the snow that clung to her clothes didn't seem to melt and sink in to meet her skin.

While the group moved forward, Aster listened patiently to the explanations. She recalled her participation in an event boss some time ago in which her healing was focused on a single player--that person must have been a 'tank'. "Mm, got it." She mumbled an acknowledgement while she absorbed the information. 'So everyone plays a part, depending on which skills they choose.' She surmised. Still, it was hard to imagine that some people were willing to build their avatar to be able to take more damage. The thought of volunteering to be a player that received all the hits from the enemy nearly sent a chill down her spine. Perhaps she was just a coward, but that wasn't something she was ashamed to admit. There was a reason she chose a role and a build that could practically merit the term 'pacifist'.

@Morgenstern

Watching the snow on the surface displace while the dragonling burrowed underneath it, Reginald's head bobbed and swiveled. The fox watched Velnia's movement for a moment before bounding towards where he predicted she would move, which was usually the wrong direction. His paws sunk a bit into the snow when he landed before he repeated the motions.

Aster, choosing to ignore the ruckus her familiar was causing, nodded in response to the questions. "That's right." She agreed with Itzal's recollection. "'Fraid I'm not much for dealing damage." She admitted. The raven-haired man seemed to be going over all of their roles, and the ginger perked up when he addressed her again to ask for her understanding. 'DPS' was an easy term--she'd heard it enough times in the past to look the acronym up. 'Scout', was straight-forward, so she only hoped it wasn't a misnomer. 'Tank', however... "Does that mean you attack slowly, but with more power?" She tried to use the functions of military tanks to aid her deduction. It seemed like a plausible term for that type of character, albeit rather specific.

Once the introductions and initial conversation had come to an end, Itzal had begun putting together a plan of action. Aster nudged the edge of her glasses, remaining silent while the scout spoke and followed along when the group began to move.

@Morgenstern

Reginald's paws sunk into the deep snow with each step, making it difficult for the fox familiar to navigate the fourth floor. Hopping over the higher piles of snowfall alleviated the problem somewhat, but there was still plenty of white clinging onto the fur on his chest and shoulders. Before Aster had the chance to exchange pleasantries, Velnia was already excited to be reunited with the fox. The alchemist gave a small roll of her eyes while Reginald poised himself to pounce into the snowy pile after the dragon's head emerged from it.

Itzal motioned to the blonde-haired man that had approached them, causing Aster to turn her attention to Morgenstern and offer him a small curtsy in greeting. "Pleasure to meet you," She responded politely as always. The girl held her tongue from wondering aloud what the raven-haired scout meant by the word 'tank'. The term sounded familiar, and after a few moments of recollection the ginger drew the meaning of the term from a book she had read a while back in her research.

@Morgenstern

A steady breath exited through her nose, akin to a sigh. Aster continued looking around for other materials as they walked slowly through the fields outside of the safe zone. Her amber eyes stared through the lenses of her glasses, scanning side to side along the ground. Although she had perfect "vision" in Aincrad, she felt too different without the frames resting on her face. It wasn't long after she had first logged into the game before she had visited an artisan on the first floor to craft her a pair of vanity glasses she could wear.

Her attention was grabbed when Stryder suddenly fell to the ground, but the girl didn't have the time to ask if he was alright before the raven-haired player was back on his feet and flashing her a grin. Aster cocked an eyebrow, averting her gaze after a few moments so as not to be rude. 'Odd...' She thought simply, but soon dismissed the topic from her mind. The healer hadn't found any materials since the first herb, but there was plenty more field to search through. While she was grateful that there was an option to obtain materials that didn't involve fighting monsters, it certainly could be tedious.

@Stryder

Material Gathering:

(ooc: @Yuurei if you wanted to go before me just let me know and I can change/remove my post. I figure posting order is pretty flexible until we start the quest.)

The ginger tilted her head as she watched the raven-haired player fall to the ground. He didn't seem to be hurt, which left her wondering why he would want to sprawl out on the hard sandstone when the sun was beating down on them from overhead. The girl was just deciding if she should call out to him when his head turned towards her. Aster flinched slightly, not expecting her observation becoming noticed.

When Stryder quickly ran over to the girl, Aster nervously pushed up at her glasses before giving him a small nod in greeting. "Oh," She took in his words and considered them a moment. She had heard the booming voice of what she assumed has been another player, but hadn't paid the words much attention. 'Something about helping out with a quest?' She recalled vaguely. Realizing she had been invited along, Aster reflexively looked down to the empty space beside her ankles as she would have silently asked Reginald for his opinion. Realizing the fox was probably enjoying a nap on her shop's countertop, the girl gave a small, thoughtful frown before another nod of her head. "Alright, I'll come along." She agreed with a small smile.

@Hirru @Stryder

Aster let out a small yawn as her arms stretched over her head. "Mornin', love." The ginger rubbed at her eyes as she greeted the orange fox curled up at the edge of her small bed. The side room of her alchemy shop was just large enough for the piece of furniture and a bit of space left over between the door--nothing luxurious, but it beat sleeping on the wooden floor. Moments after she had picked up her glasses from a small side table and put them on, a notification appeared in front of her. Though her glasses had no function inside of the game, she felt strange without the accessory on her face.

Curiously, Aster opened up the message she had received and her amber eyes scanned the writing. "Itzal? Ah, the man with the dragon!" The girl quickly recalled. "Reginald, what do you say to playing with your dragon friend today?" She asked with a smile, swinging her legs to the side and standing up with another stretch. At her words, the fox familiar immediately perked up, uncurling himself and twitching his tail back and forth in silent excitement. "Shame I don't have the cooking skill. I could just make myself a nice cup of tea in the morning." The girl pouted to herself.

Twenty minutes had come and gone before Aster arrived at the meeting place Itzal had specified. The ginger spotted the scount and his dragon, giving the pair a small wave as she approached them. "'Ello!" She greeted simply, accent coming through with the single word. Beside her, Reginald trotted along, giving a small hop every now and then over the thick layer of snow covering the ground.

Aster pushed open the wooden door to one of the shops that littered Fortaleza. The ginger healer stepped out onto the cracked sandstone with a small sigh, quickly bringing her hand up to hover in front of her face and shield her eyes from the sunlight that beat down on her. She was alone today, the presence of the orange fox that typically weaved through her ankles was oddly non-existent. She had business on the fifth floor, and she didn't need Reginald getting himself lost in a storm. Besides, the familiar was oddly picky about which floors Aster took him to. While he loved jumping around and burrowing holes in the piles of snow on Floor Four, Five was another story entirely.

Aster scanned the area, nudging the edge of her glasses with the tips of her first two fingers while she looked for the NPC that issued the quest she needed to complete. She had already given a look around Armadillo before making the trek to the next settlement over. As her eyes traveled briefly over the figures scattered throughout the town, Aster caught sight of a familiar face--Stryder, if she recalled his name correctly. She watched the raven-haired player for a bit with curiosity. He seemed to be searching for something himself, and the ginger's eyes followed after him.

"Hm?" The players had made their way outside of the city when Aster's amber eyes glanced over to Stryder. "Oh, this floor actually." She answered matter-of-factly. The fox in question trotted along beside her, taking little interest in their surroundings. "Out past the fields that surround the city, there are more trees that make up a bit of a forest area." She continued to explain, her hands motioning aimlessly in the air in front of her as she spoke.

The pair had only been outside of the safe zone for a few minutes when Aster perked up and knelt to the ground slightly off from the direction they had been heading. The girl had spotted a familiar herb growing among the tall grass, and when she pulled the item from the earth the system notified her that she had obtained a crafting material. Satisfied with such early results, the ginger pushed up her glasses and deposited the item into her inventory. She only hoped that her luck wasn't fleeting

Material Gathering:

Thread Complete!

• Aster:
  • 2 SP (1 page, 1 quest)
  • 200 col
• Itzal:
  • 2 SP (1 page, 1 quest)
  • 200 col
  • (4) T1 crafting materials
  • <<Essence of Steel>>

Aster and Sey walked back towards town at a much calmer pace than they had when reaching the fortress. Either the monsters that had spawned before were tied to the quest, had an exceptionally long respawning time, or they just got lucky. The players' journey was uneventful, and mostly quiet. The alchemist was glad for the break; though she got satisfaction from excelling in her healer role, she wasn't too fond of combat in general. If only she could use her skills outside of fights, spending her time in some sort of hospital inside the city where players could be healed from their injuries away from the stress of battle. Alas, the game's design was not her own, and life in Aincrad seemed to be either entirely peaceful or thrilling with very little in-between.

When the party reached the edge of Snowfrost, Reginald regarded Kyu with mild interest, as if the fox were hopeful to meet the wolf again. Perhaps she would oblige him with a game of chase if they did. Aster would give Sey a nod and a quick thanks, both for the escort and the invitation to the quest, before telling him she had really ought to get back to her shop, but she hoped to see him around.

Thread Complete!

Aster brought her hands together in a small clap in front of her chest. "Brilliant!" Sey's words had the gears in her head turning. The girl moved her left hand through the air to open up her menus, selecting a couple of options before a friend request window would appear before the white-haired man. "Consider me an on-call healer, if you'd like! I also own an alchemy shop on the first floor." She seemed eager now, certainly not an experienced businesswoman, but establishing a symbiotic relationship with other players was exactly what she needed, especially with her building strictly as a support player.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Aster looked back to the entrance of the icy fortress, spotting the two familiars. Reginald seemed more calm than usual, possibly just an aftermath of the battle. While the fox was more than a handful at times, he seemed to have specific instances in which he would, thankfully, behave himself. Her amber eyes drifted up to the snowy fields that would stretch back to Snowfrost, recalling the monsters that had spawned on their path here. "First off though, I don't suppose you'd be willing to help us back to town?"

Aster felt the need to dust off her handwraps, as if the lightning effect of its paralysis ability had left some sort of residue. Sey made quick work of the boss' remaining health point, and with the monster defeated the ginger pulled the sleeves of her white coat back down to her wrists. Aster smiled at the white-haired player's praise; something she had been so used to receiving had been strangely absent in her life in Aincrad. There were no longer any tests for her to ace or tasks to perfect that would earn her praise from authoritative figures. Listening to the tone of pride in Sey's voice filled the girl with a sense of satisfaction that had been missing for quite some time.

Though she had no intention of holding the man to his word, the thought of curling up with a book, a nice cup of tea, and some crumpets had Aster's stomach turn with a feeling she could only classify as homesickness. Her smile had faded slightly, but she did her best not to linger on the pointless emotion. "Well thank you, kind sir." She offered the man a small curtsy with the exchange. "You weren't half-bad yourself. Now then, are there any other terrible kings that need slaying around here?"

"Now, that actually sounds quite nice!" The girl smiled. She had yet to encounter anyone in Aincrad who gave her a hard time for her accent, Sey being the only player who would know where she was originally from. Surely, if she was obligated to speak to people more often than she chose, the girl was certain she would have received a remark here or there. She already looked younger than her age, leaving her more prone to being disregarded as a child, one of the few things that would get Aster riled up.

"Well, I suppose it fancies you enough that I can give this another shot."

With the Night's King well into the red and Sey's passive health regeneration kicking in, the ginger was beginning to feel much more confident. A terrible flaw of hers, the girl had come to the conclusion that they would be victorious and therefore the fight did not warrant any further analyzing, planning ahead, or caution. With that, she hurried around so as not to get herself caught by the idle swinging of the King's massive axe. She took in a deep breath just as the sparks of orange electricity began dancing around her wrists and arms. Aster landed a strike against the creature's side, bracing herself as the lightning traveled from her weapon to course through the King's body.

Combat Results:

"Oh, dear..." The ginger gave a small shake of her head and the man's casual explanation. The King would land another attack against him, which made her course of action clear. She would have liked attempting to paralyze the monster again, or perhaps try to apply her weapon's bleed damage; if she recalled correctly, the mitigation that he mentioned wouldn't hinder those types of damage. Clearly, her attention was needed elsewhere, and the teen hurried over to Sey once more to heal him. "Well, since this doesn't cost me anything, we should be okay in a battle of attrition." She reasoned, trying to ignore the fact that her healing ability had a chance to fail. She pulled her hands back once Sey's health bar was well back in the green. "Shame we can't break for tea." The girl lacked confidence with her joke, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly in a smile.

Combat Results:

The girl gave a nod at Itzal's explanation of the quest's objective. From what she knew so far, quests seemed to be very straightforward, many of them requiring the players to slay one or more creatures and simply collect their reward afterwards. Not that Aster would complain about the simplicity, but it did certainly pose an inconvenience for her build in particular.

They reached their destination just as Aster saw the party invitation appear before her. The girl pressed the button to accept, giving the raven-haired player another small nod as he prepared for combat. The ginger pushed up the sleeves of her white coat to her elbows, revealing the entirety of her white and orange handwraps. Aster watched carefully as Itzal unleashed his attack, lowering her stance slightly as she prepared to follow-up. The scout's attack left the creature in the yellow, under half it's total HP. His next attack may very well finish it off, but the girl still felt the need to contribute regardless. Dashing up to the snow beast, Aster felt the surge of orange-tinted lightning as it began to dance around her arms and wrists. The girl gave the monster a single blow, connecting with a closed fist while the electricity jumped from her weapon to the creature itself. Its health bar only took a measly two points of damage, but two status effects appeared below the display.

• ID# 83079
  • BD: 9 - Critical Success!
    • (1 Base) + (1 Critical) = 2 DMG
    • Paralyze Activated - Enemy's Next Turn
    • Bleed Activated - 12 DMG / 2 Turns

@Itzal:  1,140/1,140  <>  103/114
Aster:  300/300  <>  29/30

Snow Beast:  105/250 - Paralyzed (1), Bleeding (2)

Aster took a few tentative steps backwards, watching the battlefield carefully as Sey dashed into the fray once more. He and the Night's King exchanged blows once more, both of their health gauges dropping considerably. The white-haired man's exclamation grabbed her attention, amber eyes flickering to her party interface to see the source of his frustration. His energy bar was nearly depleted, and the girl assumed he wouldn't be able to continue with any more hard-hitting attacks until it was replenished. The ginger frowned--perhaps this fight was going to take longer than she had anticipated. 'As long as my healing skills feel like working,' Her thought trailed with a touch of sarcasm. When Sey's feet touched the ground again, Aster dashed in towards him. The soft white glow on her palms returned, allowing a sense of relief to wash over her as she restored the spearman's health. There was still a sizeable amount missing once the skill had run its course, and Aster forced herself to move back to a safe distance. "Now's the time I wish I carried some energy-restoring items." The girl mumbled, making a mental note for the future.

Combat Results:

Aster looked over the party invitation that appeared in front of her before selecting the option to 'Accept'. She was surprised to hear Stryder admit that he wasn't prepared for higher floors, considering herself a rather low level having gone up to the fifth floor. Regardless, many players required a party to truly feel safe outside of the city's borders, and she was hardly an exception.

"Oh, Aster." The girl brought one foot back behind the other in a small curtsy at her introduction. 'Emerald Harbingers...' The name echoed in her mind. Perhaps that was the name of one of those 'guilds' that had been explained to her a few days' past. "And this here is Reginald." She added on, motioning to the fox beside her. "Staying on this floor is just fine." She gave a small nod before turning once again to leave, this time making her ways towards the city's eastern gate. The fox paused a moment, staring up at the black-haired player before tilting his head to the side and silently following after his master.

Despite the absence of real pain, Aster instinctively winced when the King's attack hit Sey. His comment shortly after getting back to his feet had the ginger nod. She was careful not to get herself too close to the monster, dashing across the room while steering clear of the King's reach in the event his axe decided to come down on her next. The girl tried to activate her First Aid skill once she had gotten close. As the white-haired player got back to his feet, she reached out to heal him, but hesitated once she noticed the absence of light around her palms. "Augh, not now..." Aster muttered under her breath, pulling her hands back and giving a sidelong glance to the King in the center of the room. "Sorry, hold on just a bit longer." The defeat was evident in her voice; the game seemed to always throw her a curveball once she thought she finally had a grasp on its mechanics. She was only thankful the man's health wasn't critical. In the worst case, she could give him some healing potions, but since they were designed closer to her own level she doubted they would provide much.

Combat Results:

'Interesting.' Aster was intrigued with the man's personality. His explanation of a guild as a club made more sense, though she thought it a bit silly that the game would implement such a function with limited features. From the limited information she had about guild mechanics, it sounded rather lackluster, though she pushed the thought aside after making a mental note to look more into it later. Itzal's mention of a guild functioning as a family was a bit odd and uncomfortable. The girl didn't have a strong sense of family as it was; non-existent in Aincrad and more of obligation and expectations in the real world. Her experience with friendships was typically based off of a need or mutual benefit rather than just desire. Still, the ginger didn't want to let herself get too cynical.

She felt odd leaving Reginald, but tried to keep herself from worrying over it as she and Itzal began to walk.

"Aah!" The ginger girl had squeezed her eyes shut to brace herself against crashing backward into the icy floor. With the small window of time that her mind had to process information, she tried to remind herself that she wouldn't actually feel pain. Before Aster's back would slam against the ground, however, she felt a different force holding her up before pushing her back upright. Her eyes flickered open before landing upon the white-haired player with a teasing look on his face. She blinked, her senses quickly coming back to her as she resisted a sour expression at his use of the word 'stupid'. Intelligence and wisdom were clearly two different things.

Aster gave a small shake of her head before giving a half-smile. 'Well, he doesn't seem too cross with me. She thought, her attention turning back to the King. The creature was still frozen in place, small flashes of lightning occasionally dancing around his body to denote the paralysis still in effect. With Sey's attack, the girl turned and hurried to distance herself from close quarters before the monster would be able to move again.

The sound of the boy's voice caught her attention, causing Aster to turn back towards Stryder and listen to his request. "Oh, hmm." She gave a thoughtful look before glancing down towards the fox at her heels, as if to confer with the familiar before making a decision. Reginald simply looked back up at his master with the same blank expression the fox always wore. After only a second or two of consideration, the ginger gave a nod in agreement. "All right," A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "I could certainly use some myself." She admitted, shifting her weight as she then considered which direction they should be heading in. "Will we be staying on this floor, or were you planning to move to another?" She quickly followed-up with her inquiry, hesitating in her movement until she had a confirmation of where they needed to go.

A smile grew across Aster's face at his proposal. She was a bit inwardly confused as to why he offered he a deal so heavily in her favor; the girl didn't understand what he stood to gain from taking her along on quests where she wasn't necessarily needed. Still, Itzal seemed like a friendly person, so she wasn't going to insult him by questioning it. When he continued on to explain how guilds worked in the game, Aster's eyebrows furrowed slightly first in comprehension and then in confusion. "So...people just get together and say they're a guild? I guess that can be useful..." She mumbled with a couple of light taps on her chin. The healer pushed up on the frame of her glasses before dismissing her thoughts. "Well, I've already kept you for a while, if you want to get going,"

She turned her head to search for the two familiars, not having to look for long before she spotted the small dragon looping around in the air. The pair had moved on from chasing to entertaining themselves with tricks, it seemed. Reginald was intent on jumping high enough to make it through one of the 'circles' Velnia made in the air. "And if you're really okay with us tagging along." She added on after a small chuckle escaped her.

"Ah, right." For a moment, the girl had forgotten about the 'energy' resource. Though she had read up on them, she had never used any Sword Arts due to her lack of weapon skill, and therefore had little worry for energy. Aster had only taken a single step after Sey began to walk forward into the throne room when the battle suddenly began. The healer gave a start as the King came crashing down before them. Wielding an obsidian axe, the monster stood tall and imposing, easily towering over the both of them. "Sey!?"  She called out as the white-haired player was knocked in the air. Amber eyes darting to the health bar that hovered beside him, she was surprised to see it was still well in the green. Yes, he could easily four more hits of that strength. Aster turned her attention back to the icy king, her hands balling into fists. He hadn't called for it, but...maybe this was her opening.

The ginger widened her stance, having to only take a couple of short paces to bring herself close enough to the monster to strike. Pulling back her left hand, the moment her fist made contact with the King, a spark of orange-tinted electricity crackled, dancing around her forearm. The lightning strike surged from her weapon to the monster, unleashing a force on the impact point that Aster wasn't expecting. The girl's arm--along with the rest of her--was pushed away and she let out a yelp of surprise as her loss of balance caused her to fall backward.

Combat Results: