Beat

Beat scoffed at Shield's challenge, his tone matter of fact as he held his hands out with an arrogant gesture.

"Simple, I suck at doing stupid quests."

Beat whistled to himself as he stayed just a little ahead of his tank, enjoying the trip by admiring the effort and detail the developers went into setting the mood for the beginners. His whistling stopped abruptly as Shield gave him and shove, causing him to stumble forward for a moment. He looked back and gave him a half-glare. 

"Hey, watch it meat shield. This quest can can take a day or 30 minutes, your call."

Beat smiled at the end of his quip, enjoying the playful banter. Shield's effort to reign him in a bit had worked somewhat, his attention now forward more consistently. As the boars came into view, a grin spread slowly across Beat's face. 

"See? This is cruel, not stupid. Cruel I can do for the right reward!" 

ID # 74433: BD-4=miss

Beat leaped into the air and aimed a flying drop kick at one of the pups that had managed to stay standing. His foot slammed into the dirt, blowing two of them off balance enough to cause them to slowly loose their footing and topple over. Beat's brow crumpled as he rolled his eyes. 

"Really...?"

Beat looked back and was glad to see Shield keeping pace. He had no reason to believe that he would be faster, but the difference in their builds would possibly lend one to the misconception that Beat was faster. Beat slowed down to allow Shield to catch up with him so they could talk, but he wasn't stopping for fear Shield wouldn't let him get going again. 

"You really think there is a sandwich making skill hidden in the woods on floor two? Tell you what, if you're right, then I'll give you the first rare drop we find."

He looked ahead, enjoying his time in the world he would likely be in for years. There was no way of telling for sure how long it would take players to clear up to floor 100, but he knew it wouldn't happen quickly, especially with how careful everyone would need to be now that their lives were on the line. He looked to Shield again as they were just clearing the city gate. 

"Look at it this way: it will probably involve a quest and quests give items and skill points. We don't have much to lose, I'm sure we can handle any monsters we find along the way." 

Beat, having rushed out of the Blacksmith's after completing the previous quest in the chain was happy that Shield had stayed and talk to the old man, receiving a continuation quest that played off of the first in the series. Beat loved chains like this, even if they started out by requiring them to be gardeners. He held his hand behind his head, looking up at the rooftops as they made their way towards the city gates. 

"Good call talking to the old man. Who knew this game had quest chains? Wonder what the reward is..."

Beat assumed that the reward would likely be a weapon or a piece of armor seeing as how the Alchemist had stocked them with potions after they had helped him out. It was simple logic that a gamer with any sort of experience would pick up on quickly. He scoffed as he thought back to the herb picking they had been forced to do. 

"Killing boars! Now that's what I'm talking about! Why couldn't we kill plant monsters? Nope sorry, you're level one, pick crap out of the ground and make some kool-aid! haha!"

Locking in stats for this thread

Locking in combat stats since entry of thread.

Beat's eyes followed Shield's gesture, landing upon the attractive blonde player dressed in black armor that made the level 5 martial artist a little jealous. He smiled as the cub peaked out and seemed to give them a gesture of greeting. He returned the gesture with a nod of his own then turned his attention to the woman they had met the night before. He smiled a little wider than usual as he spoke, excited for their adventure to begin. 

"I was born ready!" 

Shield's assessment wasn't wrong. He was normally the first to face a challenge head on and, usually, came out on top. He had a streak of over-confidence that tended to get him into trouble and it would have been his undoing a few times if not for Shield sitting him down and forcing him to listen to reason. Still, much like before with Rain, they had a high level player who was nice enough to assist them, despite the fact that they were severely under leveled. Any pride beat had in regards to being carried had been shoved away in favor of gaining power quickly and not dying. Beat stood up and made himself appear ready to follow Ariel's lead, excited to see more high level combat. 

Locking in character state since entry into thread

Beat glanced to Laslow's name tag as he acccpted the gentleman's handshake and, sure enough, his name was there. In all of the chaos that ensued after Kayaba's announcement, he had been solely focused on gaining strength, something he realized was a mistake. Relationships and connections were important when a game where death was designed into the game as a very real possibility and was also permanent. It certainly added an unwelcome level of realism to the game. He was pleased that Laslow was interested in training, something he was always happy to take part in. He gave Korrina a polite nod in greeting as she introduced herself, smiling before he spoke.

"Nice to meet you both. Training sounds like fun. I could certainly use the experience. What level are the two of you? I'm level 5."  

He wasn't bragging in the slightest, not that five levels was anything to brag about. He was simply establishing the strength of their group before deciding exactly how much to take on. Even training had its risks if one wasn't careful. 

"What?! Oh come on..."

Beat sprinted back into the shop and retrieved the package, annoyed that he had to listen to the entire dialogue from the NPC. He was convinced that Zackariah was punishing him for pushing him away when he tried to help Beat with the second potion. Grumbling he gave a hasty nod to the Alchemist and made his way to the Blacksmith's. He pulled his map up and simply followed Shield's icon until he arrived at the shop. He walked past his fellow party member and went straight in. 

"Let's end this..."

He walked straight up to the blacksmith at the counter and plopped the package on the counter. Lyle smiled and began to speak. 

"Ah, this must be from Zackariah. I appre-"

"Yep, bye!" 

Cutting Lyle off, he turned away, rolling his eyes and sighing in relief as he heard Lyle finish his dialogue and the quest reward screen appearing in front of him. He smiled weakly as he cleared the screen and opening his inventory to ensure the items had made their way in. Beat would wait outside the shop for Shield. 

"Now! Done. FOREVER!"

ID # 74390: CD-11 = Perfect

Beat fumed as he repeated the process once more, grinding the ingredients into a paste, mixing them together and producing a bright red potion in a rather ornate bottle. He looked at Shield's a held his up against his with a grin. 

"Not bad Shield, maybe some day you'll catch up to my alchemical prowess. Yo beardo! Check it!"

Beat brandished the vial at the alchemist who quickly grabbed his glasses to examine the potion more closely. He hummed had hawed at it for several seconds before look at Beat with a surprised expression of approval. 

"Well, I must say, given your first attempt, I would have not thought this possible. Well done lad, you may have a future in Alchemy. Return to me if you would like instruction. Now then-" 
 

Beat had turned away and gave his partner a satisfied look before strutting out of the shop. 

"Screw that quest!! Done forever!" 

Id # 74389: CD- 1= failure. 

Beat's tongue was partially out of his mouth as he used a mortar and pestle to touch the herbs they had gathers, magically grinding them into a fine paste in an instant. He had seen someone do a similar act of wizardry when cooking by dicing carrots in an instant by simply touching the knife to the carrots. It did break immersion slightly, but the alternative was a tedious job system, and the goal of the game was to be fun, not tedious. He mixed the ingredients together in the bottle, watching the herbs and empty bottle disappear and reform as a broken bottle that leaked a rotten substance onto the table, testing everyone's gag reflex. Beat's open hand covered his face as he heard a scoff from the alchemist who turned away as Beat gave him a dirty glare. 

"Say something...I dare you..."

Having decided he had sufficiently intimidated the NPC, he turned back to the table and prepared himself to give it another attempt, muttering to himself as he did so as the vile substance eventually despawned, much to everyone's relief. 

Hi Everyone! I joined last week but I just realized I never made an introduction! XD 

I've been RPing on forums like these for probably 10 years or so, mostly XIN RP forums if anyone knows what XIN is. I'm a pretty heavy sci-fi/anime geek and I'm pretty big into video games. right now I'm playing Final Fantasy XV, but also play World of Warcraft from time to time. Feel free to check out my journal and hit me up if you want to RP! :)

Beat walked towards the city gate, checking his menus and making sure he wouldn't run into too much trouble after leaving the safe zone. There was never any guarantee of safety, but the first couple of floors were considered fairly safe. Monsters were good training without being too dangerous and player killers rarely hung out this low dues to the lack of valuables to be had. It was fortunate that there were "safe havens" in this game, even outside of official safe zones. When he reached the gate, he heard a call from another player, turning, he saw who he assumed had been speaking. He approached and gave a small wave. 

"Hi, are you looking for someone in particular?"

Aside from Shield, Beat knew very few people in Sword Art Online. He did see some usernames that looked familiar from Crossreign, but with so many players, it was hard to tell who it actually was. Any allies one could make in a game where your life was completely on the line, the better. 

Beat smiled as he took off towards the city gate, his mind racing with the potential benefits of the new skill. If it was on the second floor, it probably wasn't game breaking, but it certainly warranted investigation. That was how they would rise to power, investigating interesting leads and using caution to avoid getting themselves killed. It was true that they were level one, but an info broker giving tips that would temp low level players to that floor would likely not give said tips if the risk was that great. As he broke into a jog, he looked back to see that Shield was still following. 

"How do you think I got to the top? There has to be some risk involved for it to be worth it. If it is, then that just means we get stronger that much faster!" 

Beat might have been using a little reckless abandon, but the journey's distance would require him to pace himself. Running full speed to another floor was not an easy feat. 

ID # 74381: LD-20 = finally over! [5/5]

Beat threw his head back and release and exasperated sigh of frustration at Shield's reminder.

"Agh don't remind me!"

Beat's ranting slowly subsided, his frustration emerging as low kicks that tore up the ground, flinging dirt and plants through the air. A smile formed on the 24 year old's face as he quickly began to become amused with the flying debris resulting from his somewhat skillful kicks. As he went, he began to experiment with various body positions when throwing the kick. he gradually worked up to a small series of kicks that seemed to form a combination, ending with a jumping kick that he directed into the ground, kick up and small wave a dirt and plants.

"This skill is pretty cool. I-Holy crap!" 

He quickly bent down and snatched up the last herb needed, having unearthed it with his most recent kick. He added it to his inventory and turned to Shield, cracking his knuckles as he made his way back to the city.  

"Done! Let's go! I wonder what happens if you punch a quest giver?"

ID # 74380: LD-7 = no mats [4/5]

Beat was enjoying their little duet as he continued to search, finding the task much less daunting than if he had tried to do this by himself. He wondered why he hadn't always played with someone else, even if just for the company. He shrugged to himself, deciding not to worry too much about it as he watched Shield potentially find something. He was happy until it turned out that Shield had indeed found 6 before he could find 5. His brow furrowed and he became indignant, throwing his arms up as he kicked a large divot into the ground. 

"Have I mentioned how much this quest sucks? Man, lemme tell ya, it sucks. Like, Hoover wishes it could harness this quest when making their vacuum's because of how bad this quest sucks!"

His rant turned into a grumble that he managed to keep somewhat hushed, but expletives tended to escape his mouth an extra kick of volume. 

ID # 74378: LD- 8 = no mats. [4/5]

"Very well." 

Beat let out a sigh, his gut tight from the tense conversation. He was in no mood to sing and he moved himself a little distance away to avoid having to speak to Shield again. He wasn't mad at his partner, but he was feeling the need to retreat from the thoughts and feelings that had been stirred. The lull in conversation created a deep silence, but for once, it was welcomed by the normally cheery Beat. Time would only tell if he would get to a point where he could look inside himself and understand what these feeling were. That was the beauty of running away from everything real, it worked a little too well. 

After a while, he managed to calm himself, moseying back over to where Shield was, smiling as he heard the man humming to himself. The tune was somewhat familiar, but he could not place the tune for the life of him. Still, he knew the tune and began to hum the same song along with the older player, the two of them working away in the fields, humming a familiar tune. 

ID # 74376: LD-13=no mats [4/5]

Beat continued to look at him, relieved that Shield had not investigated his meanings further, not that he would have necessarily had answers if Shield had pushed him. Beat definitely wasn't ready to deal with the disconnect from reality he had pushed himself into. He distracted himself from his own problems by contemplating his ally's. Whatever waited for Shield on the other side was more important than his own life. An sensation that felt like an empty hole began to emerge in Beat's gut, as if it longed for something to care about so much that he could lay his life and anyone else's life for it. He slowly shook his head and smiled, watching his partner continue to search for materials, despite having finished the current portion of the quest. 

"It's good that you have something you care about that much. Don't worry, I won't stop you from getting back."

Id # 74374: LD-1= no mats [4/5]

Beat remained facing away from Shield as he listened, the casual "newbie" quest that they had embarked upon suddenly much more serious. He could feel the intensity of his ally's words and could instantly tell that Shield had a lot to go back to when this was over. Beat was certainly stubborn and his limited real life interactions with people made it difficult to empathize with the plights of others. This game had placed him in a real life situation that he was simply not capable of comprehending yet. He was not mature enough nor wise enough to think outside of his own selfish motivations without serious contemplation, something he had been doing a lot of lately. At the very least it was too new for him to be able to say what he would do if he had the chance to end Kayaba's plot right then and there. His gut currently told him that he would choose to stay until he died. Worse yet, some part of him knew that his view was wrong on some level, that it wasn't okay to think like that. 

What a mess...

He lifted his head and forced a genuine smile, not wanting to spark a fight nor put either of them in a position of being alone in this world. If there was one thing he was good at, it was running from real feeling and emotion. Still, he did know that he did not want to die. He could smile honestly for that at least. 

"I want to live as much as you do, believe me, I don't take this lightly. I don't see us failing as long as we're working as a team."

He gave an assuring smile, hoping he hadn't angered his partner. 

ID # 74372: LD-3= no mats [4/5]

Beat chuckled at Shield's philosophical statement regarding his "other half." It was curious as to why someone would hold onto something that long, but maybe they were counting on Beat giving up first. If they had known who they and item-jacked, they would have never done it in the first place. He continued turning over rocks and plants with his sword, which was now more of an implement than a weapon to him. 

"hehe, yeah! He had no idea I don't give up. You would know that better than any one though. To be fair, this quest is rough enough without baddies jacking my finds."

He went back to his humming for a moment before Shield asked his second question. Beat had been struggling with that question since he had learned that they would possibly be stuck there for the rest of their lives. It frightened him, to a certain degree, that he found himself preferring the idea of living inside Sword Art Online forever over having to return to reality. His humming faded off as he considered his answer and he made sure he was facing away from Shield as he replied. 

"You mean if we get out? I'm not sure...I guess it depends on what happens in here. If I'm being honest, this isn't so bad. Real life sucks a big one sometimes." 

ID # 74370: LD-7 = no mats [4/5]

Beat was happy that they were having equal amounts of success more or less and cackled evilly when he was asked about the epic chase across first floor. He clenched and held out his fist as a sign of victory as he spoke triumphantly, his damp clothes a sign of his fight for a single herb.

"I did! I had to chase him all the way across the first floor though. We swam across the lake! Apparently muscle fatigue isn't a huge thing here. Definitely useful information for later. Now then, where were we, oh yes!" 

Beat's humming resumed, though his mood was considerably brighter, so it was actually quiet for the time being. He casually walked through the various patches of flowers and herbs, thinking it it was silly that it had to be special herbs and not any of the herbs he was trampling. His eye caught sigh of one that looked promising, but when he picked it, it had no id tag and was therefore useless to him. He scoffed and kept on looking. 

Id # 74368: LD -7 = No mats [4/5]

Finally approaching where they had been hunting before, Beat scanning the area with his eyes, the sun beating down on him as the cool breeze blowing across the grassy plains sent chills down his still soaked back. Daigo had thought about going into game development when he was younger, because although video game eventually became a retreat from reality for him, he had always had a passion for them. He supposed that the reason he never got into the development of the games he played was due to his ability to already earn a living off of just playing them. Having to deal with angry users wasn't really his cup of tea. 

Where did he go? 

Beat walks a ways, finding the places where Shield had searched the ground with his spear, until he eventually found him. He walked up and kicked at a clump of dirt, half hoping to get lucky.

"Hey! How goes the hunt?"

Beat exited the tavern door, his eyes down in thought, something his had been a lot of lately, which was a little out of character for someone who normally lived in the present. His mind hadn't quite gotten used to the idea of people carrying him and Shield through content that they had no right attempting. Normally, lower level characters were expected to have to grind on lower level quests and mobs, waiting until they could gear themselves well enough for the higher floors. In this game gear was just as important as experience, something they had little of at the moment. Beat was always a little suspicious of players of a higher level helping low levels since he had heard reports of player killers leading lower level players to their deaths. He just hoped Ariel wasn't one of them. He eventually made his way to the fountain where Shield was and sat down, giving him a smile. 

"Yo, ready to kill a monkey king and by that I mean watch a higher level player kill a monkey king?" 

Beat laughed at how silly it was that they could receive credit for a quest, but if it got them to them front lines faster, who was he to complain?

ID # 74366: LD-13= no mats [4/5]

The walk back was long, but it gave Beat time to reflect, another thing thing he didn't normally too very often. Normally he was busy trying to accomplish something before he absolutely had to go to bed or one of the other various responsibilities he couldn't completely retreat from in the real world. Sword Art Online had slowly begun to make him consider things he hadn't really thought of before. It was probably due to his virtual life still being a false extension of his real life, despite his attempts to escape it as much as possible. Now, this virtual life was as real as his real one with the same sort of consequences for mistakes and failures. They were likely going to be here for a long time and making a bad reputation for yourself would only make your life harder or, worse yet, killed. 

The frontlines are where I'm going, for sure, but I totally get why some people never leave the city...

.....I made a new post instead of editing the original I made for the roll....again! I swear I will slow down. I really apologize for this. Post above is the correct post and this post will not count towards the post count. 

taking with Ariel and shield

Beat nodded in understanding as the artisan walked to the back of his shop to work. He pulled up his radial menu and looked at the blank space where a profession would be and he wondered if Artisan would be the right profession for him to choose. His understanding was that a quest was required to unlock a profession and if you didn't like the profession you picked, you would have to repeat the quest to change it. Beat rubbed his chin as he considered the benefits. 

What I really need to do is figure out which one is more lucrative. Problem is that it's so hard get a grasp on the economy. Maybe I'll just pick something that benefits me and Shield the most.

Before he could consider it further, the artisan returned with bad news. Beat was understandably disappointed, but he understood that he had simply come and a bad time. Supplies were definitely a limited resource and it was a dangerous world out there. Beat smiled as he handed payment for the ring. 

"Seems wrong to not pay at least something after making you use up your materials. Here" 

Beat opened his menu and, after a few presses, A sack of col appeared in his hands, he took he ring as he set the money on the counter. He understood that he could have taken the ring for free, but it seemed wrong to not compensate him at all. 

OC: Accepting the ring graciously. :) Thank you!