Victor

The girl's quips did naught to sting Vic. He shrugged in a nonchalant fashion and smirked up at her. "All right, miss, I'll follow then." he said spreading his arm to gesture the indicated path. He had no qualms about any chivalry, if this young lady wanted to take risks in his place, he was all for it. "I suppose you can heal Itzal while he scouts on, and I'll jump in when necessary." he added, suppressing his sadness at being the last man, simply because that meant if anyone or anything tried to sneak attack, he might have to take the brunt of the damage if he didn't evade in time. But there was the added benefit of being last in line if things went south after Itzal found these ogres. "Also, good to know you find me handsome and area as concerned about my face as I am." He finished with Kaiser and then turned towards the boy. 

He looked at Itzal who claimed he was ready when they were, the brown haired boy cocked his head and stared into the blue eyes of his aquaintaince. He seemed unsure, Vic wasn't as edgy simply because he felt prepared no matter what was thrown at the trio, but Itzal didn't seem to share their confidence. The eighteen year old was eager to start things off at this point. "Yep, we can fall into formation once we're deeper in." he corroborated before strolling on. "Something bothering you mate?" he said scouring the boy's stance. 
(sorry about the delay, been really really busy.) 

(OOC: Hunie isn't joining this thread, Victor is, could you edit Baldur, I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding, could I assume the question was for him? If not lemme know and I'll edit.) 

The boy wrapped his coat tighter around his lean frame as he trundled through the snow carpeted fourth floor. His breath materialising into a condensed cloud in front of him. The boy grew tired of suppressing her shudder, so he let his body shiver lightly. It was safe to say this was one of his least favourite floors despite the picturesque pristine white scenes. He followed the footsteps of his ever-familiar crew. The brown haired young adult, realised that except for Cygnus, he hadn't really had a conversation with any of the others in this little cohort. With that thought he shuffled forward, leaving trails in the snow, in his wake, instead of the neat prints. Gasping he caught up with one of the two Katana wielders. "I'm trying to go DPS... I'm really behind most people though, wasted a bunch of time, trying to figure this damn game out." He said, with gritted teeth, but ensuring that there wasn't any hostility in his tone. 

The girl seemed much more interested in the other boy she had found, so Vic just shrugged and decided to cease his advance, at least for the time being. The boy smiled in kind at Itzal as they shook hands, while in the back of his mind he sized the boy up. The kid seemed like the happy go lucky kinds, Luke couldn't have found himself stuck with a more boredom inducing pair. But obviously, Vic showed nothing but an amorous behaviour of agreeability. He listened to the girl explain once again what the quest entailed and he resisted the urge to interrupt her, by summarising it faster.  After she was done, and in an absent minded fashion reintroduced the pair, he just smiled to himself. Itzal decided to give his two cents on the matter, the plan was to scour the forest for the base of the ogres.

"They're dumb all right." Vic reiterated, chuckling at the boy's joke. "And slow too... Which I think would work well for us." He said in a pretentiously thoughtful manner, the truth was he had already had his suggestion planned. "I'm not exactly sure of the skill set you're working on," he said politely, his chin indicating that he was talking to and about the girl. "I'm guessing you've gone for a set that will aid in scouting?" He added now turning to Itzal. "I am going for DPS, so by logic, I think Itzal should head in first, because he'd have the easiest time in locating the beasts, I'll follow, in case the ogre's don't let him dance around the campfire, I can attempt killing them with his help... and yours." He finished turning towards the girl for the last bit, he was sure his words might have made the girl feel as though she was rendered useless, but he hoped he could salvage the situation with some chivalry. "Wouldn't be too happy letting a nice girl like you trundle into battle first." He added with a very genuine looking concerned smile. 

"Ogre clearing?" Victor asked, more to himself as the gears in his mind whirred. He had a little information on ogres, in this particular quest, just like he had overheard, they were creatures of the night. "Well I can sure assist you with that miss." He said with a short bow. Victor was just playing a role of the charmer, he lacked the will to spend all this time with her and be the usual snob that he was. Plus the teen was tired of the lack of women in his life at least his SAO life. It was only fair, they were in a death game, there were far bigger and pressing matters at hand, but the boy had to try. This girl seemed malleable enough, she wouldn't make a bad person to have around. He scanned in a cursory manner, the way she went for her weapon the way most would, but the ease with which she put it away, without too many questions, was rare in times like these. 

Over-trusting girl who looked about his age... She was ripe for some pretentious affection if she gave the right signals, Vic wasn't too much of a pursuant, he hadn't had much practice over the years, mostly the girls came to him, but it was about time to hone his skills. His thought wandered from how to deal with the ogre, to the black haired girl. That's when she'd gone onto to find someone else, lurking about. Vic's hand slipped into his coat and closed over his dagger. But then it turned out the girl knew the other player. "Itzal is it?" Vic asked with a raised eyebrow, when the other guy asked who he was to the girl. "I'm Victor, pleased to meet you." he said jutting out his hand for a shake. "Just aiding with a quest, would you like to join us?" he said. 

The boy watched eagerly as the two monsters spawned. He observed intently as the others began their strikes. While the lower levelled guy didn't really feel the urge to prove himself, he wouldn't lose the opportunity to set himself apart if he was presented with it. The other three whittled down the health points of the monsters. Based on the current formation, it was the blonde boy, Emblem's turn. But Victor could see the health points of the blue minotaur standing at about a third of it's bar. The color of the bar was now a lovely light tinge of orange, just sitting their ripe for Vic's picking. Not quite willing to waste time with Emblem's shenanigans, the boy decided to break their haphazard formation and rolled towards the blue guy. He rolled pretty far in, almost crouching near it's underbelly, but before the creature had time to react, Vic unsheathed his dagger and quickly carved a triangle into it's underside. Within seconds, he was over. His health bar depleted, in seconds flashing various shades of orange and then a deep red, before disappearing. Soon the creature was nothing but a memory, leaving blue pixels in it's wake... Satisfied with his work Vic leapt out of the way so the others could have their way with the red monster. He hoped finishing this mob off justified him skipping Emblem. 

(OOC: We already discussed it's ok to skip Emblem for the time being through messages, I just used that for my post, I hope it's ok xD) 

Takao wasn't too impressed by Victor's feat and Vic wasn't surprised by that. It was a low level floor, Takao no doubt had seen his fair share of many scarier mobs while scouting for the front lines. The brown eyed boy just sighed. His temporary companion, agreed with his statements in a nonchalant fashion. He didn't have much time to respond adequately, plus he had no idea what to say to an almost disinterested agreement. He once again ran his fingers over the glyphs in the wall, wondering if anymore secret flaps would reveal themselves and possess any treasures in the mini caverns that they were covering. "'Tis about time we ran into the boss, isn't it?" Vic asked with a little curiosity and little concern. He was sure Takao could handle whatever this dungeon sprung on the duo. There was a aplomb in which that boy conducted himself, one that gave an impression of repetition and a lot of practice. "Let me know, just in case you need anything..." he offered, out of mere formality and politeness.  He nodded again, when the other guy said he needed to swap weapons for the second time. "More damage? I'm guessing..." Vic asked, interested in the tactics employed. 

Traipsing down the first floor, Vic was in the mood to decimate some easy to kill boars. He needed to pass some time and maybe collect some easy to obtain materials for his business. He upturned a jagged looking rock, convinced it might harness something special... Unfortunately upon extraction is prediction was proved wrong. Tossing the infernal thing to the side, he got up and ventured on. However, as the strolled through the rolling hills adorned with bright green grass, his eyes fell onto a settlement in the distance. The area was either previously unexplored, or this was a new addition to the first floor. In either case, the boy was mildly curious and wished to to check it out. Victor made his way to the structure keeping his eye out for any mobs he might encounter. Upon not finding any, he made his way closer to the camp and spotted a girl standing in the middle of it. With dark hair and bright eyes. He cocked his head and eaves dropped on the conversation. Upon hearing the NPC offer the quest, being in the vicinity he too accepted the notification. Then he made his way to the girl. "Well, you're lucky that there happens to be another right here, interested in taking this quest as well... Are you ok with doing this with me?" He asked politely, it was just a formality, whether she said yes or no, the boy was here to stay in either case. 

Before Victor could respond to Takao again, he heard a strange sound behind him. He frowned and turned to find a monster that had spawned right beside him. There wasn't even time to throw Takao a glance for help. Victor gulped the fear that had crawled up his throat. His face however betrayed nothing but calmness. Very slowly he reached for the small dagger concealed in his belt. In a swift motion, he whipped it out and sliced the monster in front of him. It had raised itself a little, perhaps in order to slam its sandy body into Victor. But the Vic was faster. Four quick swipes right across the monsters underside.

Before his body had time to fall, it was already blue shards. Vic's heart was pounding in his chest , but his little victory stretched his lips into a smile. "Well, I guess it's luck like this that let's people feel they can handle bigger adversaries." Victor sighed the smile fading. The boy slipped his dagger back into it's designated sheath, indicating that unless necessary again, he would let Takao handle things. "I stick by not taking risks unless its absolutely necessary." The boy said with a small sigh, collecting the meagre items the mob dropped. But somehow, he had had the taste that had led others down dangerous paths, he found his mind in a conflict and wondered if Takao's words defined him too. 

Upon reaching his friend, Victor sighed. He had taken a small break to set up his shop which also served as his home here on SAO, which meant he needed it to be somewhat perfect. Apart from that, he also needed it to be cost effective. Since his business had not really kicked off, it didn't make sense to spend on furniture before he had earned his profits. Painstakingly, the boy had spent time talking to NPC after NPC, to see if they could do him some personal favours. He had learned that this itself was a high price, he had to wrought many lies to get what he wanted... In any case, in all this time, Cygnus hadn't only caught on, but probably surpassed Victor in level. "I have decent gear, so we won't need to make any stops on the way, what do you have in mind that we could do? I've heard of some unique quests with simple tasks, not too dangerous, probably worth a shot..." Victor said shrugging.  

The appearance of the tunnel as Takao tore through the monsters, would be akin to a dance club. Clubs and discos were something Victor was no stranger to. The brown haired boy had rarely ever engaged in the act of dancing though, he was dragged there by friends and other girls. Apart from ballroom, which his mother had forced him to learn in his early teens, Vic didn't really know how to dance. Had the events that were unfolding near him, not been life threatening, he would have probably allowed himself to participate in a different kind of fluid motion. His glowing weapon adding another dimension to the bright colors. The two brown haired boys could have probably taken on more monsters that way as well. But alas, this was a game of life and death and till Victor wasn't prepared he would do nothing. "Well, honestly... People shouldn't engage in such things callously, especially not in Kayaba's fantasy world... I wouldn't unless I had someone like you helping, or unless I was sure I had crunched enough numbers to be someone like you." He replied simply. The boy then turned towards the wall, swiftly repeating the motion that he'd performed earlier to see if it would reward him with something again... It did. He collected it and waited for Takao to make his next move. 

Takao's boredom with the events was palpable. Victor too felt a sense of lethargy take him over, he flopped behind Takao, sticking to the wall. He attempted to read the glyphs that were engraved onto the walls that made the tunnel. They looked like ancients runes, but nothing that he could decipher. There were some carvings of fishes and waves, some that looked like stick figures of birds. The boy ran a finger over them, his curious mind attempting to decode the walls in vain. Though he read nothing, the wall glowed and small piece of it broke away, to reveal another interesting looking stone in a little hole. He collected the stone and shifted his gaze towards his acquaintance.  

He noticed Takao had trundled on ahead, from the glow of his weapon, it was evident that he had just engaged the first set of monsters that the dungeon had unleashed on the duo. He tiptoed closer, but not close enough for the monsters to notice his presence. By now, it was no surprise for Victor to see him clearing the mobs with great speed. Once the mobs were decimated, Vic walked closer to Takao, combat definitely did not arouse any interest in him. Finally, tired of the monotony Victor decided to break the growing silence. "I bet you do this very often, why don't you just say no to those who come asking for help?" Vic asked simply. 

The boy followed the higher levelled teen quietly. Victor could tell Takao had seen this act too many times to be fooled by it. In retrospect, it was perhaps too simple a plan to gain this high levelled players trust. Victor could see the most dull minds with this trick up their sleeves. While he could safely say that none of the words he spoke were lies, he didn't need to bring all these things to Takao's notice, especially with the added request of helping him. Victor could almost see Takao's daily routine being filled with low-levels like him badgering him for help, while perhaps he was too nice to say no, he definitely didn't enjoy the routine anymore. Victor scolded himself mentally, for his lack of foresight when it came to this player.

Though the job got done, the possibility of a repeat looked bleak. His dark eyes were set on Takao's back as the gears in his brain whirred. Was there still a chance to salvage the situation? He wondered. As they left the Quest area, he was presented with the usual quest completion notification. They moved towards the teleportation gate, and within a matter of seconds were engulfed by the sweltering heat on the first floor. Victor considered the possibility of just levelling with Takao, without going back on his word. He kicked up sand in a meagre attempt to salvage something worth using in his workshop. The boy had no luck, but hoped that near their destination he'd be able to at least find some sand paper to better wooden shields and things. Soon they arrived, and he nodded at Takao's instruction. "Should be good to see how this works..." he said, simply. Still constructing the right way to bring to Takao's notice that Victor understood his plight. 

Sure enough he heard the sound of padded feet. Victor kept his eyes shut in a resolute manner, eager to see what this person was attempting to do. The sound of the steps got closer. He opened his eyes just a crack. Through the micro slit that opened between his eyes he could see a pair of starter shoes. He rolled his eyes in his socket, the movement well hidden under the paper thin skin that covered his eye balls. He hadn't made his way too far into the game, but he was still better off than those who sat in the town of beginnings. At least he had conducted research, those players were fearful and occasionally they would try and venture into the game, occasionally, like in this instant by preying on other slightly higher level players while they made the mistake of resting. The boy just sighed and waited some more. 

The walk to the destination was rather eventless. He witnessed a small argument between some players in the main area of the town. Something over some equipment, Vic passed them by without a backward glance, his chocolate brown eyes rolling. Initially, he had found such events amusing and worth the time he spent, observing them. Now to stop by, seemed tedious and unrewarding. It was always the same things; My equipment is better... I'm of higher level... Come duel me, how dare you steal my col... Topics along those lines are what caused a rift between players. A lot of the people here seemed to be on a trip to prove themselves better than the other, Victor didn't care for such things. The brown haired boy, did want to climb higher, but only because he was aware of tactics that escaped the notice of even the most seasoned gamers. He had learned early in life, that you need to obtain a certain status, before your ideas are valued, and the boy needed others to listen. In the time he had spent doing his research in the game, he had begun to understand Kayaba's psychology, which he believed was the key to finishing this game. He shuffled past players and NPCs alike to finally spot his acquaintance by the inn. He walked up to him and placed his palm on the man's shoulder. "Cygnus." he said with a nod. "Its been a while." 

Victor resisted the urge to let his smirk be tainted with condescension and replaced it with sincerity instead. He let the boy have his turn too. "Hm." He semi-grunted at the dark haired player, with small nod in his direction. It wasn't exactly an appreciating nod, but he couldn't ignore his presence completely. The brown haired boy was sure that wouldn't make a great impression on the girl either. Helios hadn't inflicted too much damage on the boulder, so he turned towards Kooh again, "Try it like this..." he said, angling himself in a manner that allowed for the full momentum of his body to be transferred into his punch. He wasn't sure if the game took such things into account when it calculated the damage a person inflicted onto another mob, person or item in this case. "I wonder is it just this block or can other things around be destroyed too." He said, punctuating his statement with his blow and then nudging the girl in a friendly manner to have another go. 

@Kooh @Helios

The boy sighed, he found a shady tree to sit under. This was a common sight that he noticed on warm days. As he crouched and sat against the rough bark, he recalled how he had judged those who picnicked in the dappled sunlight. Victor had found them to be wasting time, his actions were hypocritical, but he termed it as growing wiser. The boy had understood the value of taking a break, besides he wasn't an all sacrificing martyr, the boy was a planner and to think things up he needed peace and quiet. Basically, Victor found a well rounded excuse to mask his double-standards. He slid down lower, placing his hands underneath his head as a cushion. While he looked relaxed, his mind was whirring and he was hyper aware of his surrounding. The boy knew lying like this was an open invitation for some stupid player to try something stupid, but he could use the distraction. 

The boy had finally managed to sneak out of the area which was patrolled by the bees. He might find a few more stripped menaces, but they were probably not the aggressive ones related to the quest. Soon enough, he received a notification, announcing that he had earned a level up and that he had completed the quest. Lazily the boy tapped his finger onto the yes option, to accept his rewards. Victor shrugged, the monotony of his time here was already riling him up. While he preferred to make friends only based on need, he was usually surrounded by people based on the commodities he owned. Here in the world of SAO, his meagre in character possessions and his wit were the only things up for offer. While the former's existence could be proved, the latter, despite being far more precious, was something that could be missed by people. Victor sighed, boredom clouding his ambition. He scanned the area for useful object and upon finding none, strolled on. 

The party had moved onto to go search for the minotour, Vic trailed behind the others, rather tired of seeing the same faces but rarely ever accomplishing anything with them. He had hoped that today would be different, but this search seemed endless. They all were lost in this labyrinth. Even though, there were apparently others, in this party, who had already completed this quest before, they were still having trouble locate this mob. he trudged along, with his hand in his pocket. One would think that was a causal stance, but in his pocket, he held onto the hilt of his dagger, with a tight grip. In case anything appeared, he was ready to strike it down. It was good to see that Cygnus had taken the lead on this, he seemed like an amicable and generally sorted man. Also, he seemed to be the kind that Vic could manipulate with ease when the need arrived. He still wasn't sure of the japanese boys and then there was that girl who wasn't here so far... Then there was that blonde kid, Emblem, who didn't quite get off on the right foot with Victor... nonetheless he strolled on, keeping is disappointment away from his face.

The trees around here, seemed to be rich in this sap. The next tree Victor knelt against, looked promisingly similar. But this time, the sap wasn't oozing out the way it did the last. So he fell to his knees, released his dagger from it's cover and then lightly sliced the knotted root. Within seconds the root secreted the lime colored substance. Vic's face contorted as he was met with an overwhelming stench too. Perhaps the tree didn't like being mutilated in order to release this substance. Or at least, the game was designed that way, perhaps to dissuade players from harming structures around them in order to obtain what they needed. Victor shrugged, as long as the tree didn't trigger the spawn of some immortal guardian of nature, Vic could handle the stench.

The ice monster, that was larger than its small army of elemental, loomed over the two boys, casting a light shadow over them, since there wasn't much light it could block, the floor was a dimly lit one. He took a few steps back as Takao geared himself, preparing to strike. From what he had witnessed, he could predict that the battle on such a floor would be a short one. He had little idea of the precise numbers, but Lucian could calculate with vague percentages. Yet, when all it took was one swipe from the green-eyed boys weapon, for the monster to relinquish its hold on his virtual life, Victor was slightly surprised. The large ice monster, with mismatched blocks for limbs couldn't even endure one hit. Victor grinned, this game, could be virtually risk-less if he stuck to his careful path and worked with the numbers. The boy would have to raise his standards in order to reach such heights. He made a mental note to recalculate things and readjust his equipment in order to ensure maximum damage at later stages, with minimum risk. Takao offered to let him join on a higher floor. While Victor had his reservations about the increased risk, this could prove fruitful for understanding the game better. "Sure... Why not?" Victor said simply. This guy didn't look like he could be fooled with charm and buttering, so Victor kept any unnecessary dialogue to the minimum.

The jade eyed boy was jaded. Had Vic been the sensitive kinds, it would have pained him to see this kind of lifelessness mar his accomplice's face. There was a slight down-turn to the edges of Takao's lips. While no code in SAO allowed the boy to look battle-worn as he truly was, the expression in his eyes betrayed his boredom with the repetitive processes he engaged in. "Well, I guess you're right. I've noticed there is no true skill required here... Unfortunately. Its all finally a game of numbers and a little bit of luck." Victor said shrugging. The thing that was worth admiring, was not the fighting skill the guy displayed, simply because there was very little of that, but it was the sheer discipline with which the frontliner had repeated these battles and quests, to fire up his in-game statistics. But clearly, it had been at the cost of something, some sort of happiness. "My real life reflexes have helped me a little, occasionally..." Victor said "To evade these monsters, but even that can be statistically altered with lucky charms or something..." the boy added, rolling his eyes. If Takao wasn't going to have the time to engage in conversation later. Vic would just have to make-do with as much he could squeeze out of the boy now.

When he actually received the brew she had concocted, he was surprised, he didn't expect her to genuinely not ask for the smallest thing in return. Maybe she just wanted players indebted to her, maybe she would come down and ask for favors in return later... That was always a legitimate possibility. If he was going to be indebted to her, he had to check for the authenticity of the product. He had no way of doing that, until he added it to his inventory. So he did and then thanked her. With a wink towards the older player, Cygnus, he casually strolled away. He walked a some distance, to ensure no one was peering into his inventory and examined its statistics that would change upon consuming the potion, which were visible in his player interface. They were a genuine produce. At this point, Victor was just unhappy that he had to share with other players, simply because he had not been quick enough to approach the make shift stall and simply claim them all for himself. Victor's skepticism had not worked in his favor. He ambled back to the stall for a bit and stood around to see other customers who had come to take potions from the dark haired girl, mostly to keep an eye out for what kind of potions were the others favoring and to notice the kind of builds the lower levels were going for.

Victor watched the jade eyed boy decimate the monsters with ease. Witnessing that gave birth to something green within him. The boy struggled to embrace the achievements of others. Just to be safe, Lucian had spent time to consider all the unknown variables in the game, before stepping into the arena. The time he took to complete that task was enough for several others to gain a leg-up. While he felt safer it was at the cost of being a well known frontliner. By the boy's assessment, that could change soon if he took some measured steps. He would probably never be the absolute best, but he could climb high enough to be among the elite members some day. The game progression had been a lot slower than some of the avid gamer base had expected. If the boy remained focus, things would fall into place. Victor stretched "This is almost too easy for you, isn't it?" He asked his companion nonchalantly. While he wanted to convey praise, he also didn't want to look like he was boot-licking. "Gotta sit and chat with you about the game mechanics you employ, I think it could come in handy..." He said, in attempt to set up a foundation for some sort of a stronger acquaintanceship. "If you've got the time, of course." He said, tipping his head slightly in reluctant admiration.

When he moved to the next tree, he noticed the root had another layer of that gooey green stuff that the boy had collected before. Victor picked up some more of it, still hiding from the swarm of buzzing bees. The trees were yellowing. He reached out and held onto a low hanging branch, as the tree shook, he was showered with leaves and some small petals. The boy's smirk deepened, this wasn't such a bad place to be as long as he kept himself alive. Victor took very measured risks, leaving virtually nothing up to chance. Once he had almost assured his survival, he enjoyed the game. There were no nagging parents here, or girlfriend and best of all, no whiny sister. The only thing he had to do, was stay wary, he was sure the game couldn't be that easy to decipher completely, that there must be some other hidden surprises just waiting to spring up on him from around the corner. 

The boy decided to try and sneak past the angry bees. He could spot a few now, they were rushing towards the area where their Queen had been, probably for instructions and thus. Maybe Vic was giving these digital creatures too much credit, perhaps they didn't feel anything at all. These mobs could just be, an amalgamation of pixels, just programmed to attack any player that came within their aggravation radius, while also maintaining a sort of schedule just to keep up appearances. So far, the stealthy boy, just simply slipped by. He stood behind a tree and noticed a funny green liquid oozing out from the roots. Intrigued, he decided to examine it, upon doing that he realised it was something that he could use to temper the hide that made light armor. He scooped up some of it and it was added to his inventory. Satisfied with his new find, he wondered if there was more of it to be salvaged around there.