Soredell

After about half an hour of travelling, Soredell finally arrives to the location Lyle mentioned. Apparently this place had <<Boar Pups>> spawning here, but as far as he could see, he didn't see anything. Just grass and trees. "Seriously? Might as well wait for them to spawn." Soredell mutters to himself as he props up against a nearby boulder and slides down, using this time to rest before the next mobs spawn. About 5 minutes later, Soredell notices some rustling in a nearby bush. As Soredell gets up, he sees that behind the bush is a <<Boar Pup>>. "Alright you dumb mob. Let's finish you off quickly." Soredell mutters as he readies himself. The pup notices this, and charges at Soredell, with him effortlessly side-stepping the pup's attack. Raising up his sword for a single cut that would easily kill it, he slashes down his blade smashing into the ground and leaving a cloud of dust. To his surprise, the boar managed to dodge out of the way before the attack hit. "Not bad." Soredell mutters as he prepares for his next attack.

While some things have changed during Soredell's time in Sword Art Online, other things would stay the same. In this case, that would be Soredell getting lost in the Town of Beginnings. It was difficult to traverse through the seemingly endless sea of players and NPCs alike, which resulted in Soredell getting lost several times. It does take him some time, but eventually, he comes to the exit to the Town of Beginnings. From here, it was just a simple walk to the plains where the boar pups were supposed to be. Then again, pretty much everything about this quest was simple, at least for Soredell and where he stands. With that, he begins his trek towards the plains. During his travel along a lonely dirt path, he notices something shiny in the grass nearby. Walking over to inspect it, he notices that it is indeed another material. He quickly looks over the material before he sends it to his inventory and continues the journey to the fields. 

Soredell walks into the store, it being the same as before the first time he came here, what now feels like an eternity ago. At the back is the NPC he needed to see: Lyle Tealeaf. As Soredell closes the door, Lyle lifts his head up, previously engrossed in his work. "Aye lad! Come over 'ere will ya? I'm busy working so I can't exactly leave my work right now." he calls out to him across the store. Soredell obliges, making his way over to him. "I believe you wanted some assistance with something?" Soredell asked, remembering how this NPC had wanted some assistance with something. "Aye lad. I'm currently working on armour and weapons for adventurers such as yourself, to protect them out in the world, but I'm running a bit low on supplies and I can't leave the shop. So, I need you to get the materials for me. Does that sound good?" Lyle asks, a pop up for the quest appearing in front of him. "Sure why not?" he says out loud 'Hell, I need the experience.' he thinks to himself. "That's a good man. What I need is 3 Boar Pup tusks. They're found in a clearing outside of town, and they're easy enough to kill. It shouldn't take ya too long I don't think." Lyle says, before getting ready to get back to work "Good luck! Come back when you have the materials on you!" he says, before going back to work, Soredell leaving the store. Outside of the store, Soredell notices yet another material next to the door. Strange seeing materials in towns, but doesn't matter, it's Soredell's now. With that, Soredell heads off.

Name: Ornate Wakizashi

Your Profession: N/A

Your Rank: N/A

ID: N/A

Roll: N/A

Item Type: Weapon - Curved Sword
Tier: T1

Quality: Rare

Enhancements: 2 Slots - Damage (Adds +(1 * Tier Level) base damage for every slot used. )

Description: An ornately designed wakizashi. It honestly looks like a priceless artifact in the real world, but here, its a beautifully designed wakizashi, sharpened enough to deal more damage than a regular curved sword.

Post Link: [F3 - PP] <<Search for the Hoya>> [Completed]

Name: Coat of Daggers

Your Profession: N/A

Your Rank: N/A

ID: N/A

Roll: N/A

Item Type: Light Armour
Tier: T1

Quality: Rare

Enhancements: 2 Slots - Thorns (Deals X * (7 * Tier Level) damage when Mob/Enemy hits a non-critical hit on you, where X is amount of slots used. This ignores damage mitigation.)

Description: A trench coat with sharp iron filaments carefully woven into the coat. It feels cold and sharp to the touch, and rubbing your hands too hard on the coat will leave you with cuts across your hands. Any attacks on the user wearing this coat will result in the attacker taking damage themselves.

Post Link: [F3 - PP] <<Search for the Hoya>> [Completed]

Name: Damage Mitigation Potion

Your Profession: N/A

Your Rank: N/A

ID: N/A

Roll: N/A

Item Type: Consumable - Potion
Tier: T1

Quality: Uncommon

Enhancements: 1 Slot - Damage Mitigation (Removes (9 * Tier Level) points of damage from every hit to you for every slot used.)

Description: Just a simple damage mitigation potion. Nothing special about it.

Post Link: [F3 - PP] <<Search for the Hoya>> [Completed]

With a flash of light, Soredell appeared back on Floor 1. There were still many new players, all too scared to venture out into danger, but there aren't as many as the last time he was here. But he wasn't here for them. He was here for the quest. The quest was only a short trip away from where he was, in the Town of Beginnings, and assuming there's no interruptions, like someone trying to rob him of his quest items, he should get there relatively quickly.

As expected, the trip to where the quest is located is found takes very little time, the stroll going by very quickly, at least in Soredell's mind. On the way, he finds something hidden in an alleyway. A material. Who would leave a material here? Didn't matter now, its Soredell's now. Before long, he's arrived, where the quest is supposed to be located at the NPC Lyle Tealeaf's smithy. He opens up his menu to confirm the quest location, and to his relief, he's in the right place. "Alright. Let's get this out of the way quickly." he mutters before stepping inside the building.

<<Combat Stats>>

Since Soredell took the <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>> quest, he'd grown as a player, and as a person. He'd taken on harder quests, dungeons, even event bosses, getting better gear, leveling up, and generally learning more and becoming a better player. As a person, he'd definitely noticed a change in his personality, being the kind of person who needs to take charge. But sometimes, its important to get back to roots, back to basics...

As Soredell rested on a bench on a higher floor, he scrolled through his quest list. At the bottom, he noticed one that he never completed... Or at least, never started. A beginners quest called <<The Second Lesson, Is Also Free>>. It was a pretty easy quest, at least at his level. But regardless it still gave modest rewards. Some uncommon gear, a potion, and some experience. Experience was always a good thing to have more of. You can never have enough experience. Anything that gifted him SP would help him get to the front lines sooner. "Well, I might as well take a break and do these. It should be a nice change of pace." Soredell says to himself before heading off.

((OOC: I guess I'll go next? @Shield))

Soredell drops his stance as Beat swiftly dispatches the remaining statues. When the last statue explodes into a cloud of pixels, Soredell sheathes is katana. "I don't get it, this is a low level mission, why do we have so many high leveled mobs fight us? If other players get caught up in this, it'll spell trouble for them." he says, starting to write down a note for later, reminding him to tell someone about what happened. "Anyways, lets just finish up this quest and move on to the next one." he says, following the others. During their search for this item, Soredell asks "Just what the hell is it we're looking for exactly? Something called the <<Hoya of Minos>>. I hope its worth it..." he says, continuing to follow. During the search, Soredell notices an old, yet usable piece of metal on the ground. Picking it up, he dusts it off a little bit before banishing it to his inventory with his other materials.

He does notice Teion finding what appears to be a hidden path through the wall. "Another path? This certainly doesn't seem like its part of the mission. We'll finish up the quest and get the rewards before we go on. We can go back here after this quest is done." he says to the others.

Soredell couldn't help but give a small smile at Shield as he talks about his and Beat's past. It was good to know that there were some who weren't alone here. "You two are lucky to have each other as a support. I got no one here. The friends I was living with didn't want to get a NerveGear until later. In hindsight that probably saved them, but I will admit, it gets a bit lonely, even though that's where I'm most comfortable. Sometimes its nice to go and talk to someone, know that there's someone there who has your back, someone you know. Its a miracle that even a real life introvert like myself has managed to stay sane this whole time, and not off myself." he says. As he looks around he notices yet another object that can be used as a material. Without any second thought or thorough looking, he picks up the item before it disappears, being sent to his inventory. He then gets back up and has a stretch. "How's everyone going for energy and health? If we're all good we should keep going. I'm sure there's more mobs that we need to deal with." he says to the group.

@Anemone

Soredell looks around the area, making sure the area was clear before heading back to where everyone else is, taking a rest before moving on. On his way back, he fiddled with the ring on his finger <<Sin of Greed>>, and he noticed a useable material on the ground. He picks the rock up, with its own glowing blue moss before sending it to his inventory. "Interesting." he mutters to himself before returning to the group. He props himself up against a nearby wall and slides down into a sitting position, resting for a little bit. "This may be a game, but I personally wouldn't eat glowing food." he says, chuckling before pulling out the glowing moss-covered rock, inspecting it.

He only really half-listens to the conversation the others are having, before he himself puts his two cents in. "I've seen too many people fall because of overconfidence, and not just in SAO. Sometimes it's cost them everything, and I had to be there to watch them try and put their life back together, or even help pick up the pieces. Here, I hear stories of players getting to cocky in dungeons and dying. There isn't any second chances here. Screw up and its all over." he pauses, looking up towards the group. "Believe me when I say I admire your carefree attitude, considering the circumstances we're all in. I don't expect you to to be on your guard 24/7 like me, but just be careful. It never hurt anyone." he says.

@Anemone

I'm more in favor of @Shield's suggestion on changing our method of advancement as opposed to a small timeskip. RPGs are supposed to take a long time to progress through content, I realize that. The main issue I see is the longevity of the site. Many members both new and old will get tired of waiting to hit the next floor and will leave. I've witnessed this happen before. We want to progress things along, but not at the expense of our experience role playing and adventuring, since that is the point of the site.

We need to make efforts in closing the gaps between high and low level players to give an experience that is fun and challenging for everyone regardless of where they are at in terms of level. This is really important for events and bosses as we see a whole spectrum of levels in players in events. Although I have not experienced this myself, I feel like finding map fragments for floor bosses takes too long, and there needs to be a quicker way of getting there to keep players who are at the level of fighting bosses can fight.

As I mentioned, the imbalance in levels and by extension power is quite evident. Higher level players are able to easily carry lower level players and they are rewarded for it, but it leaves lower level players with little opportunity to get stronger themselves through the means of items and weapons.

There is a lot more a could write, and much neater too if it wasn't past midnight and I wasn't sleepy. To summarize, echoing what Shield said, we need to change how we progress as opposed to just skipping forward.

As Soredell watched Shield turn, he saw behind him the 4 golems about to unleash hell on him. Before he could say anything, the golems begun their assult on Shield's back. But he didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't react. Instead he just answered his question as if they were in any normal conversation. "Uhhh...." was all Soredell could say as he stood there amazed at Shield's response. He knew he was a tank, and could take several hits, but he didn't think he would be THAT good of a tank. He blinked for only a moment, but by then, they had exploded into a shower of bright, light blue pixels, having being kicked to death by Beat. All Soredell could really do was roll his eyes and move up. He knew these guys were more than capable fighters, and they were carrying him, and their confidence, or perhaps cockiness was further proving their point. Still, it never hurt anyone to be careful, ESPECIALLY in a game like this. "Well, at least until the next mobs show up, you can talk stats now. Knock yourselves out, maybe then I might get last-hit bonus." he says to the group with a cocky grin of his own, simply intended as a bit of teasing of his own.

Soredell wasn't prepared for this. He didn't expect much higher leveled mobs to appear on a low level quest. If this continued to happen, there would be more low level player deaths. They needed to take these statues down, and then they can worry about anyone who takes this quest later. Going up to one of the statues, who attempts to slash at the legs, but to his surprise, it was agile enough to move out of the way of his attack. Worriedly, he falls back, being the second time he has failed to do damage to these things. "This isn't part of the quest!" He calls out to everyone. Looking around, they're all very capable of dealing with these things. Shield being able to tank their attacks without losing any health. "Don't get too cocky! You might be able to tank these things but just be careful Shield!" he calls out to the tank. He didn't doubt his ability and role as a tank, but that didn't mean he couldn't show some concern to them.

Soredell had moved back up to the counter after leaving some time ago, patiently waiting in line for whoever was in front, someone he didn't recognize. He'd probably seen him somewhere before but for the moment he couldn't figure out where from. Didn't matter now anyway, he had an item to collect. Walking up to the counter, he sets up the trade. <<Wanderer's Eyes>> for <<Sin of Greed>>. It also helped that with his previous payment of his 1 T1 material he didn't need to pay any further than trading back the loaned item. "Alright. <<Wanderer's Eyes>> for <<Sin of Greed>>, an no further payment as I already paid you with the T1 material earlier." he says, initiating the trade, both players getting their respective items. "Thank you for you effort @Domarus. I appreciate it." he says, before pulling out another piece of paper. "You're probably going to hate me, but I'd like to make another order, all the specifics are on there. Since our last meeting, I got some more materials for you to use. I can pay with either these 2 T1 materials, whatever Col I have on me, or both if necessary." he says.

+ Acquired <<Sin of Greed>>
- Returned <Wanderer's Eyes>>

Soredell didn't even have a chance to make a move before the first Minotaur was slain in a matter of seconds. One would think that on a quest it would be more of a fight than what Soredell had experienced. Then again, it was an easier quest compared to others. Right as the first Minotaur was slain, Soredell blinked in a moment of confusion at what just happened, before putting his sword back in its scabbard. "That was... actually quite underwhelming and honestly, a little disappointing." Soredell says, turning to the party. "Alright, lets press on-" he says before being cut off by more roars. Turning back he sees several large statues approaching the group. Unlike the weaker mobs from the quest, these things were serious business, and he didn't think that these things were part of the quest either. Soredell manages to dodge out of the way from their attacks, although he realized that Shield's voice attracted their attention. As he dives, he attempts to slash at even one of the Minotaur, but misses. It wouldn't matter as Soredell begins to retreat to the others. "Where did they come from!?" he cries out.

Soredell watches as Beat and Shield make their own attacks against the golems, now it was his turn. He charged at the first golem, having taken more damage than the others. It would be better if he had helped in getting that one out of the way anyway. With one swift, drawing strike of <<Cruento Reaver>>, he was greeted with the familiar spray of red pixels coming out of where he left his slash. With a satisfied smirk, he retreated back to his comrades, so at least he was near them, and not surrounded by these murder golems. "Probably not the best time to be talking right now guys!" he calls out to both @Anemone and Beat, in the middle of a conversation. "Take down the golems first, then we can talk stats. Wouldn't want something to happen to us because we were distracted right?" he says to the group, getting into a defensive stance. Only then does he realize the irony in his actions. No matter, he had a job to do, and mobs to kill.

Soredell readied himself as the event was about to begin. He was grouped up with lower level players, people he had an obligation to look after. There was no time for introductions as the event was underway, and each group had began attacking their targets. But right as the fight began, it all went to hell. The first group of other low level players weren't doing too well, with one of them being brought into the red, and another one turning into nothing more than a cloud of pixels. And if Kayaba wasn't lying to everyone on day one, then that player, whoever and wherever he was, is now gone.

Soredell grit his teeth in pure, unwavering hatred. Hatred to these bulls for ending this player's life, and hatred to Kayaba for getting everyone into this mess in the first place. Not soon after members of the group he was in began their attacks, some missing, others hitting but not doing quite so much damage, he charged in. "Get the lower levels out of here!" he yelled out to the others, before charging straight at Nato. The bull had no opportunity to dodge the incoming attack, as he made a single, fluid, drawing strike across Nato's body, and he was greeted with a slow downpour of red pixels, indicating the very helpful bleed effect. "You want to dance beef jerky? Well then come fight me!" he yells at Nato before moving back, weapon in a defensive position, preparing for the likely retaliation.

Soredell nods to @Teion as she arrives for the quest. After doing one final check over to make sure he has everything he needs, he turns to Shield saying "No questions from me. Lead on." before following the group towards the forest where apparently this minotaur is located. The journey into the forest was quiet, Soredell not really initiating any sort of conversation with the others, opting to take in the scenery around him. During the walk, he spots something lying on the ground. Moving towards it, he picks it up and dusts it off, finding that he is rewarded with a material. He smiles before sending it to his inventory, knowing it'll be used sooner or later. He hears Beat talk, and turns to respond. "Nothing much honestly. Just being going through the grind, levelling up, trying to get to the Frontlines, the usual." he says, before remembering something about the two. "So Beat, Shield, how have things been for the two of you?" he asks.

As soon as Soredell had gotten the message, he made his way to the requested meeting point, but not before sending his own message to Shield in reply. "I'll see you there. I sure as hell am not missing this." . This time it was Floor 3, for the mission "Search for the Hoya", a mission inspired by the Greek myth of the minotaur. He had seen a fair share of minotaurs in this game, so he hoped that these minotaurs would look more significant, and do the tale justice. Arriving in the town he runs out of the teleport gate, heading straight for the meeting point. As he runs, he tries to keep a look out for any materials, anything of note, but for now, no dice. Eventually, he gets to the meeting point, seeing Shield and Beat already present. Slowing his pace, he says "Hey you guys, we waiting on someone else or is it just us?" he asks.

<<Combat Stats>>

<<Combat Stats>>

==========

Soredell nodded to the others as they had decided on which path to take next. A dungeon. First one he's done, lets hope it won't be his last. He goes through his inventory, making sure everything he needs is equipped, getting his newer gear equipped if it isn't already. "Ok, lets do this." he says as they make their way into the cave.

It doesn't take too long until something pops up. After all, what fun would it be if there wasn't some kind of trial that the party had to deal with? The trial for today was 4 stone golems, programmed and ready to kill. Pulling out his new katana, he allows Shield and Beat to make their own moves against these foes, before charging in himself. He charges into the center of the golems, swinging himself and the blade in a circle on his heel, slashing at each target. Unfortunately for him, it seemed to do very little damage. But at least it was better than nothing. With that, he retreats back to where the others are, waiting for their next move.

Soredell watches as another player comes in asking for items, gets their items, and leaves. All before him. Turning back to @Domarus, he pulls out his inventory while saying "Yeah, I really need that ring I'm asking for. Helps me search for items, which could work in your favour if you need materials. How about, at least until I take up a profession, I use this ring in looking for materials for you. Does that sound fair?" he says, transferring his one and only T1 material to Domarus. "Well, ask and you shall receive. Here's one more crafting material, and its the only one that I have on me. You can use that to craft. Hope its worth the cost and the wait." he says, bringing down the menu now that he is done using it. "If you can get that completed soon, that would be greatly appreciated." he says, going back to mindlessly browsing the available wares.

- 1 T1 Material given to @Domarus

Soredell was passing through Floor 11, running some needed errands before his next outing, whenever that was. Soredell was unfamiliar with the layout of the 11th floor, only venturing as high as floor 18, and even then, only for a short time before leaving. It doesn't take him long to finish up the errands, and before long he is walking back to the teleport circle in town. On his way back, he notices there is some commotion nearby, players moving in. It wasn't a boss or event, he would've gotten a notification. He goes to where the other players are congregating at. Upon arriving, he meets an NPC at the entrance, letting most players through. No one seemed to be dressed up in any way, all of them just wearing their regular gear. He too makes his way inside, hearing something about a wedding from the man. "Wedding? I wonder who's-" he mutters to himself before seeing exactly who it was, and it sure as hell wasn't who he was expecting. At the alter of the outdoor service is none other than @Shield, looking embarrassed as all hell, almost angry. And nearby him is @Beat, talking to an NPC. He had too many questions running through his head. Were these two really getting married? If so, why? How did these other players know about this? He recognizes @Dominion and @Miss_Mestophales from some events that he participated in, the other, @Atzo was someone he didn't know. Going up to @Shield he taps him on the shoulder and says to him "Hey, just what exactly is happening here?" 

Soredell was passing through the area when he noticed an increasingly growing crowd of players nearby. Curious and joining in on the pack mentality, he followed the other players, ending up towards the back of the group currently, but he assumed he wouldn't be at the back for too long at the rate that players were joining in. He listened in as best as he could at the briefing for this event of sorts, but he could only hear so much. Something about three bulls attaching players? And the last bull mentioned was the lowest level. Probably best that he go and fight that thing. Looking around, he saw that he wasn't the lowest level player present. Other players still looked relatively new and fresh, with fresh gear. Looks like he had to help them out, make sure they don't die. Making his way to the front, with his new gear on him, he goes up to Hikoru and says "If no one else wants to take up the role, I can lead the lower level players against Nato. Its about time I took some responsibility and lead." he says, before turning to the rest of the players. "If anyone would rather lead against the bull Nato, tell me, otherwise, I can fill that role." he says, mainly addressing the lower level players, the ones not able to fight the higher level mobs.

=======

<<Combat Stats>>

Well, looks like people were all for the idea of travelling as a party and looking for any mats along the way, hopefully something more. This was all indicated by @Beat accepting his party request. That just left @Anemone and @Shield to follow suit and do the same. It would just be safer and easier for all of them if they did anyway, so they know who and where everyone is. Continuing to look around on the ground in the area, he tries to find anything that even vaguely resembles a material. It doesn't take him too long until he sees something sticking out of the ground. Digging it out, he pulls out a large piece of ore, gold in colour, before sending it to his inventory. As he gets up he feels Anemone graze past him, catching her. "Oh, jeez. I'm fine, but are you ok there?" he asks her.

Soredell smiled as Teion's response to his request, her saying that it shouldn't take too long to complete. "Got it, I'l just hang around here for a little bit until its ready. Just be sure to call me over when its done." he says, deciding to take a wonder around the store to pass the time. There's very little change to the place since he was here last, when he got <<Jade Dragon>>. The only real difference on this occasion is that there seems to be quite a number of players coming and going from the store, each of them ordering something, or picking up an order. Good to know that business seemed to be going well for Teion. Eventually she calls him back with his new sword in hand, <<Cruento Reaver>> its blade reflecting red light onto him. "Thank you Teion. Have a good day." he says, taking the item, paying the right amount of Col and waving goodbye to her, sure that he'd see her again sooner or later.

+ Acquired <<Cruento Reaver>>

- Paid Teion 1000 Col