Beat

Beat thought for a moment, trying to think of anything else he might want. He had certainly acquired a decent amount of funds from the dungeon Rain had carried them through and the blue haired player did seem interested in working. He figured it was due to a desire to fill her shelves. Even if business was good, full shelves indicated a good work ethic and skillful craft. Beat reached over and took another order form from the end of the counter as he smiled at her.

"That seems like a fair price, consider it a deal. If you're looking for work, I do have one other thing in mind."

Beat quickly filled it out and slid it over to her. She seemed skillful, so it would likely not be any harder than his first order, but she seemed eager for the work and Beat was certainly in need of the item. 

"One of these would be really helpful too. Farming without one seems like a bad idea."

- Order Form -

ID # 74346: LD-19= mats! 4/5

Having traversed the lake, the two players were now circling the lake at top speed, somehow ignoring the fatigue in their legs. If Beat had been able to think of anything of than catching his prey, he might have thought of the fact that virtual muscles did not necessarily have virtual fatigue and anything he felt was likely just a figment of his preconceptions from reality. Beat's eyes opened wide as he finally got his chance. The player running from him stumbled on a sinkhole, giving him the opportunity he needed to kick in the afterburners and pounce. 

"You're miiiiine!!!" 

He landed harshly on the player, straddling him him and glaring into his eyes. The player was a young man who was clearly exhausted after running at top speed for 10 minutes. Beat held his hand out. 

"Give. Me. My. Herb." 

The player gasped for breath as he opened his menu and reluctantly gave Beat the herb he so desired. Beat added it to his inventory and stood up. He turned back to where Shield was and began walking.

"Thank you."

Id # 74342: LD-1 = miss

His mood much improved, Beat began to dance a little bit. It was mostly just random movements that he put to whatever song was in his head, but he was making good headway on something he was sure he would hate, so it made this stroke of luck feel even better. As he continued to hum to himself, he circled Shield, his singing stopping as his comrade asked him a bit of a philosophical question. 

"Hmm...that's a good question...I guess we'll be pretty gross if we ever manage to get out of here."

He would hardly have time to wait for a response as he spotted another item. He walked towards it at a leisurely pace and as he got near it, another player walked by and snatched it up right in front of him. Beat's singing stopped and a vein began to rise from his forehead as he went to chase the other player down. He ran after the player at full speed, gaining zero ground, but managing to keep pace well enough.

"Get back here!!!"

ID # 74340: LD-18=mats!

Beat was now humming to himself, actually beginning to not mind the simple task of plucking up herbs and delivering them for a reward. He had forgotten what low level quests were like and was a little surprised at how much he didn't mind them. To be fair, they were appropriate for his level, so it wasn't like he was max level, cleaning up quests he had missed for lack of better things to do. Shield and Beat had left Crossreign due to lack of interest, but that was after they had done everything there was to do in the game. Beat changed his song again. 

"I'm bad! I'm bad! You know! ya know!" 

Spotting yet another herb, Beat performed a front flip, grabbing the herb in the middle of his rotation. He opened up the menu once again and placed the item inside for safe keeping. He only hoped his luck would hold out, though he was slightly disappointed that he wasn't getting to sing his tunes of mockery. 

3/5 mats

ID # 74338: LD-20= mats!

Beat continued to mock the quest in his own, unique style: butchering songs from the real world and spinning them to tune of "this quest sucks..." A few verses later, Beat could be heard singing actual lyrics from real songs that just happened to suit his purposes of mocking the quest. 

"I tried so hard and got so faaaar, but in the end, it doesn't even maaaaatter!" 

By this point, Beat had lost himself in his singing, though he remembered to stay focused enough to keep his eyes peeled for the herbs that would end his 'suffering'. He turned on his heel at the end of a verse and managed to catch sight of another herb. He swooped down and plucked it from the ground, added to his inventory and went along, through the field. His eye were peeled for his targets as he actually quieted down, the present drop rate satiating him somewhat. 

2/5 mats collected

ID # 74336: LD- 15 = mats!

"Okay, well let's keep an eye out for spawns. It's floor one, so if something does spawn, it shouldn't be a problem, but you never know." 

Though combat would be preferable to this chore...

Beat's only way to maintain his patience during tasks like these was to either play music or complain endlessly about it. He had learned how to keep it down to a mutter, at least for a while, so Shield was spared the gripe-fest that was Beat's farming woes rant, for now at least. Beat was managing to amuse himself by mocking the quest in song. 

"Oh this quest is dumb. This quest is dumb. Oh this quest, oh this quest, oh this quest is dumb." 

to his surprise, he found one of the herbs the quest said would qualify and quickly snatched it up, the quest progress counter in his menu indicating that he had indeed made progress. 

"Only four more to go...."

"AH!" 

Having been startled by Shield's outburst, he took a few steps backwards, straight in the strange assortment of plants at the front of the shop. The plants took offense and quickly began to wrap their tentacles around Beat. 

"What the? Get off me!" 

Beat flailed to wrench himself free, and to his satisfaction, the vines quickly let go, satisfied that he was not someone attempting to attack them. Beat glared at the plants for a moment before looking at Shield, an indignant expression on his face. Before he could scold his partner, however, he stopped to admire the new shield they had recently found on floor five. He smiled and gave a whistle of approval as he forgot his frustration. 

"That shield is looking nice! Anyways, the old man in here wants us to go outside the city and farm materials. You've already got the quest too, so I say we gets this over with." 

Farming mats outside of combat was easily Beats least favorite thing to do. To him, it ruined the immersion factor of the game, but since the game was now real life basically, he saw no reason to not earn an easy skill point or two. When they reached the fields outside of the city, Beat quickly went to work, wanting to spend as little time as possible on this quest. 

"Okay, let's get this over with."

To Beat's dismay, he was not able to find anything in the initial area where they had begun their search. 

"Pfft figures..."

ID #74334: LD- 7 = no mats

Beat ran through the forest, having heard a rumor from another player that an artisan shop was settled in the woods on floor 2. He had been searching in the woods for about an hour and thirst was beginning to make itself known as Beat stopped at a small creek. He knelt down and scooped the virtual water into his virtual mouth, still impressed by how real everything seemed. He had already begun to have difficulties remembering that he was in a game at all. His life being literally connected to the game probably furthered the immersion effect of Sword Art Online. Looking up, he saw something in the distance, through the trees. With his thirst quenched, he took off, towards what he would quickly realized was a building. He approached and entered through the front door, glad to have actually found what he had been looking for. 

"Hellooo"

He called into the shop as he explored the interior of the shop, enjoying the unique decor. He examined the spear in the middle of the shop for several minutes before walking up to the counter and greeting the shopkeep. 

"Hi there. I was hoping you could make something for me." 
 

He slid a piece of parchment across the counter to the man, hoping everything was in order as he began to open his inventory in preparation for the price. 

Beat sorted through his menus as he waited for Shield to meet him in front of an apothecary shop titled 'Zackariah's'. It was a fairly average looking shop from the outside, though a variety of odd looking plants off various sizes grew out of a flower bed under the large, front window of the shop. Beat was making considerations as far as future gear builds, deciding what would be the best way to fulfill his role as DPS. He muttered to himself unconsciously as he scrolled through the menu, not really using the information it contained, but rather as something to keep his hands busy while he thought. 

"There are quite a few options, but this seems to be the most effective unless..."

People passed him on the cobblestone street without a second thought, his mutterings not being too far from the norm in a place where the majority were fighting for their lives everyday. The pressure often drove people crazy, though in Beat's case, he just couldn't sit still and think at the same time. 

Beat had received a tip that a good artisan with reasonable prices had a shop the eastern district and he was pleased to see the location of 'Birdie's Crafty Creations' right where the information broker said it would. He opened the door and smiled at the chimes that played as he walked in, his eyes scanning the shop. I appeared to be messy, but Beat could understand that art didn't always have time for cleanliness. The calming music was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the city as he replied to the woman's greeting.

"I'm looking for something in particular, but for now I think I'll just browse. Thank you."

Beat did exactly as he said and took his time enjoying the music from the phonograph as he browsed her limited selection. Such a small inventory usually indicated one of two things: Business was good or her work was not good. Beat assumed it was the former given the shop's reputation. He turned to the counter and approached, a friendly smile on his face as he spoke warmly to the artisan.

"Hi there, I was hoping to have a ring made. I didn't see it in stock, so I have an order form here."

With that, he would slide a piece of parchment to the artisan, hoping everything was in order, prepared to render payment.

- Order Form -

ID # 74332: LD-2 = no mats

Rain's eyes narrowed as the heat from the boss room escaped as quickly as it could, blurring the image of the room with waves of heat. As they entered, Beat was grateful for the potion Rain had traded them. The heat was sweltering and he could tell that a normal human being would succumb to such elements quickly. His eyes quickly fell on the gigantic Lizard King and his ever larger axe, his heart beating quickly as he tried to contain a mixture of excitement and fear. His gamer and survival instincts were struggling for control at this moment. 

"This is a boss?....amazing...."

He watched as Rain charged forward, dropping the boss's health by more than half, but he quickly saw the boss's counter attack coming. Call it combat instincts. 

"Look out!" 

It was too late, the boss managed to belt their companion all the way across the room and in front of them, kicking sand up everywhere. He strained to watch through the cloud of sand, looking for Rain's health bar. Finally, the sand cleared and Rain's only somewhat depleted health bar became visible. Beat let out a sigh of relief as he could already predict the outcome of the fight. He simply cheered Rain on, anxious to see the rewards from the dungeon.

"Finish him Rain!"

ID # 74328: LD-10 = no mats

Beat paced around the room in front of the boss door, wondering what was in store for them once that metal door swung open. He had not managed to get into the beta for Sword Art Online and none of the testers had released any information. This was likely due to a legally binding agreement from the testers, but Beat doubted if he would have shared anything if he had gotten lucky enough to get into the testing phase.

Even if I was a tester, I don't think anything would have prepared me to put my life on the line. 

He gave the room a quick search while he was pacing, deciding to hope against hope that something of value was simply lying about. To his dismay, there was not and his streak of poor luck continued. He looked to Rain as he walked back to the group and sat down. Shield had asked the question that was running through his mind as well, so he simply held his tongue and awaited the veteran's response.

ID # 74325: LD-4 = no mats

Hearing the end of the battle, Beat gave the pack one last look through, turning it upside down and dumping its contents onto the dungeon floor. Sadly, there was nothing left other than items that didn't even have item tags in the game, as if they didn't even belong there. It was certainly an enigma and something that definitely spoke to the daunting task of project the size of Sword Art Online. Who could blame Kayaba for not cleaning up every last legacy artifact from the beta testing stages? 

I wonder if I could make a living selling beta-artifacts. Sounds boring through. 

He answered Rain call to him and caught up, staring up at the boss door in awe. His heart began to beat faster as he wondered what would need a door that large and heavy to contain it. It certainly set the tone appropriately. 

"Man, they certainly know how to build up tension for a boss fight!"

ID # 74320: LD-11 = no mats

Beat stood back and watched rain's devastating attack hit hom, sending the Lizard Elites reeling and more than halving their HP bars. He made a fist pum as he cheered their guide on. 

"Nice one! They felt that for sure! Now end it once and for all!" 

Beat was a little sad that he couldn't get involved effectively in these combats, but he also understood why and that, eventually, he would be just as strong, if not stronger, than the spear wielding wanderer who had decided to help two lowly level one players that day. 

You know what? Screw it, next round I'm swinging. Need to feel what combat really feels like.

It had been far too long since Beat had been able to swing at something and he figured a lizard Elite was just as good a target as anything else. His hands tightened on the handle of his sword as he readied himself. 

ID # 74312: LD-17 = 1 T1 Mat found

Beat usually had a hard time keeping his eyes from wandering on occasion, no matter how much attention he was actually giving to the situation. The only time his eyes never wavered was when he was in combat. During down times like these, his attention rested on their carry as his eyes would occasionally scan the debris from his search of the pack, hoping to find something he missed and threw out of accident. His attention was diverted by a rock landing by his foot, directing his attention to a useful looking spool of thread by coincidence. He looked to his comrade and smiled widely. 

"For sure! It seems wrong to just step on everyone to get ahead with no regard for anyone else after we get to the top." 

He picked up to spool of fabric and added to his inventory, causing the counter for materials to now read '2'. He gave Shield a grateful salute before standing up, ready to continue, assuming Rain was.

ID # 74310: LD-9 = no mats

As beat continued to toss junk through the dungeon, littering the place with nameless items that he was beginning to wonder were even game objects at all. He wondered if maybe Sword Art Online had used a bag style inventory system like Crossreign in it's beta phases and later done away with it. This pack possibly represented an older version of the game they were all now stuck in. Beat's head rose once again from the pack and he beamed at Rain. 

"I don't think pride like that has a place in this game. Not at the level he and I are at. Everyone can use a helping hand to get them started, especially when their lives are on the line. If you're offering to donate some materials, I would graciously accept." 

Beat set the pack aside for the moment to fully pay attention to their conversation. Rain had more than earned his respect and the least he could do is mind his manners while Rain was resting. He gave Rain a gracious bow out of respect for his offer. 

ID # 74308: LD-9= no mats

Predicting another rest so they could be ready for the boss, Beat lifted the pack off of his shoulders and threw it down in front of himself, making a loud clank and rustle as the contents of the bag shifted. He sat in front of it and stuck his and arms inside, rummaging through everything in a thrid pocket of the pack. 

"Jeez, how many pockets does this thing have? It really is too bad there isn't a use for packs like this here."

 Crossreign's inventory system used bag and packs that players were actually responsible for carrying around. They had no weight and could be safely sat down during combat, but it was always a struggle in the beginning to have enough bag space to hold everything you needed. Bags were a high level crafting recipe and the mats weren't cheap. 

"Hey Shield, can you imagine finding a bag like this at level 1 in Crossreign?"

ID # 74301: LD-14 = no mats

Beat had managed to arrange the pack in front of himself so that he could actually walk while going through the contents of his fortunate find. He rummaged through the pack, throwing out useless items, despite a few looking somewhat interesting. He peeked up from his pack once Rain warned them to stay back and took a position back and off to the side. If he was going to join in on the fight, he would need to wait until their guide had sufficient aggro, assuming the creatures lived that long. 

"No problem, last time they died before we really had a chance to jump in safely. do your thing!"

Satisfied that he would be safe and out of the way, Beat finished searching the compartment of the pack. Finding nothing else of interest in the second pocket, he closed it up and adjusted the pack so he could continue rummaging through the seemingly bottomless pack of junk. 

ID #  74294 result: LD 16= mats!

Beat listened as the two of them talked, diving back into his newly acquired sack of goodies. he had emptied the first compartment with no luck and now moved on two a second compartment. The section contained what appeared to be various tailoring supplies, causing the newbie to smile in glee at his success. 

"Paydirt..."

Beat pulled up the info menu on a small roll of fabric, it read |T1 fabric 1x|. He smiled and placed the item in his inventory, causing the materials counter on his character sheet to move to '1'. He would make note to remind himself to find out what materials were useful for. He assumed it was a crafting system, much like the kind that could be found in other MMORPGs. With Rain sounding ready to go, he hoisted the pack up and over his shoulder, knowing that there was more to be had from the pack. 

"Ready! Let's go!"

Beat got to his feet and casually explored the room, their voices echoing off of the stone that he cound be practically anywhere in the room and still here the two of them clearly. He was never one to rest for long, especially in a place where danger lurked around every corner. He kicked something soft as he walked, having not been paying attention.

"Hm?"

Looking down, he saw what appeared to be a traveler's pack. He knew it couldn't belong to a player since their inventories made it easy to carry any number of items without encumbering themselves. He figured it was a random spawn from the game itself. He cautiously opened the bag and began to go through it, ears still trained on the conversation. The first compartment of the pack seemed to contain spoiled food and various trinkets of no real value. He looked up from the pack and spoke to the wall, knowing his voice would carry well enough. 

"Yep! It was a game called Crossreign. It was a lot like this one actually, but the graphic weren't as good and the realism was of a lower quality. Pretty it wasn't as big as this one either. What about you Rain? Is this your first VRMMO?"

Beat nodded in agreement. The lizard Warriors had managed to deal some damage to their friend and pushing too hard as a carry was never a good idea. Besides, if rain went down somehow, they would be guaranteed to fall. He walked up to the chest and examined it, seeing no way to open, just as rain had said. Giving it a swift kick, he returned to the party and sat down, leaning back a propping himself up on his elbows. He smiled as he responded. 

"Hehe yeah. Not used to being on the receiving end of a carry. We definitely owe you one Rain." 

Beat meant what he had said and had every intention of repaying the debt someday. He had no idea how lonmg it would take to get to a point where he could be useful to a player of rain's caliber, but he would make sure he made it to that point. 

ID # 74263 result: 17 LD = Treasure Chest found! 

Beat resolved himself to stay behind, knowing all too well how a successful carry worked. The lowbies stood back and loot while the higher level player clears mobs and bosses. It was an odd feeling to be on the other side, but he appreciated the opportunity to see high level play first hand. He had trouble keeping up with all of it, but he managed to follow Rain's usage of a Sword Art. something he had yet to do himself. 

Incredible...

As one of the Lizard warriors were blasted back by Rain's display of power, Beat's eyes did what they do best, pay attention to small details. Somewhat hidden in shadow, Beat caught a glimpse of a large, decorative box that he hoped was a treasure chest. The lizard men stood in the way, however, and he would need to wait until after the battle to see what treasures lied in wait for them. 

Beat's brow rose as he saw the trade window open, showing the cooldown potion in the window. He accepted and retrieved the item from his inventory. He held the bottle up and examined the bottle for a moment before uncorking the container and swallowing it's contents. The flavor was palatable, not unlike diluted kool-aid, but the best part was the refreshing effect the liquid had on him as he felt it run down his throat. It refreshed him completely, the fatigue from their recent ordeal decreased greatly. 

"Not bad! Thanks!" 

Beat took everything in as they traveled around. Exploration was something he had missed. Crossreign had not offered anything he had not explored and exploited in such a long time, he had forgotten how nice exploration was. He pulled out his menu again and began exploring the features, looking to find anything else he might have gotten from the quest, not that the skill was not reward enough. 

"Hm? What's that?"

Beat looked to his left and spotted a dark opening one of the sand dunes. Upon approach, it appeared to be a cave entrance. He looked to Rain with an inquisitive expression.

"This wouldn't be our dungeon would it?" 

ID# 74256 result: 20 = Intermediate Dungeon

Beat fell from his over-extension, the shock of the comparison of his vision to how the fight with the boulder had ended stunning him for a moment. He quickly refocused and righted himself, standing back up and smiling as the congratulatory message appeared. He looked to the victor of their race and gave a thumbs up. 

"Well done. I feel like we've been here before at least once. haha!" 

He quickly opened his radial menu and scrolled through his skill list, eyes widening as he saw a new entry. He smacked his forehead as he moaned at how obvious it should have been. 

"Oh my god! I just got the Martial Arts skill! How did I not see that coming?!"

After calming down, Beat turned to Rain, who had halved the time that the quest would have taken at the very least. At his mention of the 5th floor and a dungeon delve Beat calmed down, anticipating a high degree of danger. He and Shield were only level 1, so they would be trusting their new friend with their lives. He saw no reason not to trust Rain, but the decision was a heavy one when he considered the potential risks. He placed his hand on his stomach and closed his eyes for only a moment before smiling and nodded to Rain in affirmation. 

"I'm in! Let's kick some monster butt!"