Airi

@Husky. He introduced himself as Husky. Where had she heard the name Husky again? "That's a Siberian Husky. I'd like to adopt one someday," one of her friends once said when they passed by a pet shop. "They're very loyal guard dogs, and--"

Unrelated!

"Probably," said Airi. He wasn't saying anything else and the awkward silence had dragged on for far too long. She kept her eye out for the Mentor NPC. Around this time, it should be standing on the spot right beside her. "Though, unusual as the scar on your face is, I doubt I could remember your appearance just by seeing you somewhere. Without talking to you, I mean. But we both don't remember anything, so doesn't matter, right?" She spotted movement, and noticed the Mentor NPC finally making its way to its usual spot. It was taking its sweet time and greeting the other NPCs who passed by though. 

She turned back to Husky. He looked pretty strong and she was talking to him right now, and asking didn't hurt. Unless he was a particularly grumpy person, which she highly doubted. "Say, are you heading out the safe zone today? I'm going to take the profession quest and some company would be nice. I'm way above the floor's level at this point, but having extra insurance is always good, right?"

The afternoon streets of the first floor's Town of Beginnings were full of players, busy and idle alike, as always. Though, as the red-haired girl who walked past merchant stalls with no particular goal in her mind noted, the front liners who frequented the first floor were all missing. So today's the day of the 20th floor boss meeting? She looked around once more for the high-leveled players who wore their flashy, T2 gear everywhere.

Finding none of the stronger players, the small girl gave up on her search with a sigh. What a pity. Today was her free day, a day wherein she wouldn't leave the safe zone or accept any quests, and she was hoping to meet some new people--preferably the ones who would be useful to her (aka the strong players who would be willing to teach low-leveled players about the more advanced stuff in the game). But, looking at the players she passed by, there was no one she was interested in approaching. Most of them were in groups and inserting herself just felt wrong, and the ones who were by themselves looked a bit too unfriendly. 

She wandered through the streets of the town's shopping district for a bit longer, occasionally looking at the goods the NPC stalls were displaying--only to pretend looking at the items while listening in to conversations that sounded a bit interesting.

(OOC: Apologies for the low-quality post. Been out of the writing mood for a while)

The small girl sheathed her curved blade like Aoda did, but rested her hand on its hilt so she had quick access to it in case of an emergency. "It was more of a rhetorical question," she began. The dark-haired teenager had apparently taken the joke literally (but considering his smirk, maybe he wasn't too serious with that last statement of his). "But you're free to try, Senpai!" she said, placing emphasis on the rhyme. It was easy to tell from her playful tone that she didn't mean any of it. "Let's wait for our energy to regenerate first before taking on another mob though," she said, her voice taking on a more serious note.

Not wanting to waste time, she activated her search mode and scanned her surroundings for materials. Adding a few to her current amount would always be helpful. While she didn't have a profession now, she knew that once she took a profession and began crafting (with her horrible luck), she would be needing a lot. Finding none, she scanned her surroundings again and received the same results. Airi deactivated her search mode and turned back to Aoda. "How long until your energy goes back up to full?"

She tilted her head to the side and tried her best to recall their short conversation while they were both in the safe zone. Then she remembered. He'd told her about his level and other necessary details right before they began heading towards the town exit. Level four, one rank in the curved sword skill but probably going to switch to a katana like most initial curved sword users did, and going DPS. To be sure, she repeated those bits of information in her head a few more times as she pretended to search for materials.

Well, that was careless of her, she thought once she was sure that those pieces of information were now seared into her memory. How could she have forgotten such important details? But she already knew the answer even before she asked the question. It was her inability to focus on more than one thing once outside (or leaving) the safe zone. Usually, she would have memorized or written down any type of information right after hearing it, but since she was mentally preparing to leave the safe zone when she heard about his level, she didn't get to do any of the two. Yet another reason for her to train her multi-tasking skills.

Airi looked around for nearby mobs, and finding none, shifted her focus to the ongoing conversation with Cyrus and hastily prepared a response. "Maybe when we're both a higher level," she agreed. "With our current level gap, I wouldn't be able to do much damage against the mobs that would drop loot. And yes, I remember your level now." She then paused to think a bit about his question with her experience in the combat system and answered honestly. "I have the knowledge, but not the experience. Though I'm pretty sure I can take on anything that's my level in this floor. Speaking of, my energy's done regenerating. What about yours?" 

The man (@Husky) had a deep, familiar voice and was friendly enough, but he didn't seem to recognize her. Perhaps he was someone she had met during her first few days, when she wasn't listing every single detail down in her notebook. Or maybe it was just a misplaced sense of deja vu. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. They didn't know each other now, so they could go through the obligatory first-conversation stuff, even though they'd probably had a similar talk months ago. "Well, I guess they're too focused on going back to their real lives to spare time to explore the fun parts of the game," Airi murmured. "I can't say that I don't relate with them, though." She was about to say more, but then the NPCs on the stage began their last performance.

The Mentor NPC the other players had mentioned was on the stage this time, performing with the others. It was a middle-aged woman, with various accessories adorning her body and a beautiful singing voice. And, considering the louder cheers of the NPCs standing around them as the performer made its appearance, it was apparently the 'star of the show'. The song it was singing had a cheery vibe like the others, but still had its own lyrics, chords, and tune; and as far as she knew, it was an original. She listened further, paying full attention to the performance until the NPC stopped singing and the instrumentalists played the last notes.

The performance ended and she turned to the man she was supposed to be talking with. She hoped that he still had interest in conversing with her. She was a high enough level for this floor's mobs, but the game had a reputation of being unpredictable so leaving the safe zone with a companion was always recommended. "So which one are you? Clearer? Explorer? Or both?" Airi asked as she shifted her attention to the man she was talking to. It was a personal question, but she had made her previous questions sound more like rhetorical questions than actual questions. To be sure, she stated that fact clearly with her next statements. "You don't have to answer though. It sounded cool in my mind and I just had to say it," she said with a sheepish expression that said no lie (but in all honesty, it was completely intentional). With that first (second?) impression over and done with, she went straight to her first point. "I'm Airi, by the way." she said, deciding to obscure all further details until she knew the other player better. "You seem a bit familiar, though I don't recall your name. Think we've talked before?"

The next song started and Airi kept her notebook in her inventory, allowing herself to enjoy the music a bit more before she would go straight down to business. Like the other songs that were performed beforehand, it had the same cheery and upbeat theme, and made clapping and singing along really tempting. But she wasn't doing it. It felt too much like singing along to music videos. She didn't even like doing that. The red-haired girl shifted her focus from the song slightly to observe her surroundings. The NPCs in the crowd were going through their pre-programmed routine of clapping their hands to the beat and sometimes cheering whenever the main singer hit a high note. She began to notice some players doing the clapping part too, but most just watched with impressed smiles. 

If this game was a normal game, a game where they all had the ability to log out, it would've made a good strategy for convincing the players that it was the best paid game out there. The musical performances were being done on a side street, a place players normally wouldn't run past while doing a hasty exploration of the town. In a way, it makes them think that there's always more. More to be found out, more surprises hidden in the corner, and more small secrets to be discovered. It makes the game feel almost real, like they were really in another world and there was so much to explore. And there was also the performers. The musical performances were just being done by mostly nameless NPCs, but she was pretty sure that they would've been eventually replaced by Vocaloids, artists wanting to make a name for themselves, and projected versions of popular artists (or the real people themselves). The NPCs were placeholders, basically, something that had probably been there since the beta testing. She narrowed her eyes slightly, as the performers began dancing a foreign dance she didn't recognize. Things like that really made her think: did the game developer intend to make SAO a death game in the first place? Or did he just get that idea after the successful beta?

The performance ended, and so did her thoughts. The lack of excessive background noise made her resume her focus on her goals. She realized that standing in the middle of a cheery crowd with a thoughtful expression, might not look very good. And thinking too much about the game and what it could've been didn't really give her any new and valid information since she was merely a player and there was no way to talk to the developer. So she decided to do something that would get her real rewards. While the NPCs were setting up the stage for their last song, she turned to a player (@Husky) whom she vaguely recognized and made small talk. "Nice performance, don't you think?" she commented, her first impression (second?) would be friendly and approachable as always. "It kind of makes me think how long all these small details took to program, and how much of these things are still left undiscovered."

Bright and lively morning, filled with the sounds of cheery music and clapping. In a certain street in the Town of Beginnings, a red-haired girl stood amidst a small crowd of NPCs and players alike and smiled slightly as she listened to the sounds of various musical instruments being played. This might be one of the few things she liked about this game, she thought as she watched NPCs singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments on a hastily-erected wooden stage. Because if she tried hard enough, it almost felt...real and nostalgic in a way. It almost felt like she was standing in the big performance hall of her school and watching her fellow classmates perform after her turn on the stage had just finished. Maybe it was the music, or the cheerful expressions on the performers' faces that almost looked genuine. Listening to music (especially the well-composed pieces) always made her a bit sentimental after all.

She hummed along quietly with the main singer as it sung the last lines. And the musicians played the last notes and the song ended, the air around her turning quiet. Too quiet. The NPCs exited the stage and some stayed behind to prepare for the next number. With the lack of music to distract her, she was quickly brought back to reality and remembered why she came here in the first place. According to the NPC who managed the inn she was staying at, there was a Mentor NPC here: one that teaches players about a certain profession. The one that she was looking for was, obviously, a Performer; and completing its quest would supposedly award her with the craft profession. She brought a notebook out of her inventory and looked over her hastily scribbled but still readable notes. Two more song numbers, then the NPC would be approachable. She would just have to wait until then.

Not all of the division leaders were present, but Eatos pointed out the ones that were. There was Atzo, the guild leader with a wolfish appearance, who was handling two players at the same time. Cannot be approached, obviously. She hadn't gotten much of an impression of him yet, but he seemed accommodating enough. Maybe she would get a chance to speak with him later. Then Eatos mentioned Hydra, the head of the Information Division. He was missing, but his right hand, Stryder, was present and currently standing idle at the side of the group. The red-haired girl glanced at the two players Atzo was handling once again and wondered why he didn't just let the Information Head's right hand take over one of them.

The two combat division leaders came next. Vargas, a blond-haired man with a fox's tail, leaded the tank division. He didn't look very...tanky, at the moment, but he probably just had his heavy armor unequipped. The animal appearance that he was sporting seemed like a trend among the guild members, though. Two people: a girl with fox ears and a dark-skinned girl with a feline appearance came to her mind. They would definitely fit in here. Aoda leaded the DPS division. He was a good damage-dealer but it was still somewhat unexpected. Both of them weren't speaking to anyone and just stood to the side like Stryder did. They were clearly expecting a lot more interested players than this.

Eatos introduced herself as the Rank 1 in her division and looked over her shoulder. Airi followed, until her gaze landed on Solomon. Really? She almost didn't believe it when the Rank 1 member introduced the man as the Advisors leader. Because the last time she saw him, he was babbling complete nonsense and drawing weird images on the ground and had to be assisted by Hei. Did he remember it, though? She decided to introduce herself and do a quick check. "I'm Airi, the Advisors Division's new member, if you would approve. I look forward to working with you." As she was speaking, the red-haired girl dropped into a formal curtsy. "Have we met before?"

In all honesty, Airi didn't expect a compliment to come flying in her direction once she finished the boar off. He struck her as the more silent type, even though he showed himself to be quite talkative at first. More specifically, the type that wouldn't engage in any unnecessary talk once outside the safezone. Sounds better. Then Cyrus asked if they should try something stronger, a mob that would drop loot for the both of them. Which meant, a mob that was a bit higher than his level. She didn't really know his exact level, but it was definitely a bit higher than hers. It was like a high-risk, high-gain situation, and she was almost reluctant to say yes. But she didn't want to look like a coward, and he would be tanking anyways.

"Sure, we can try a mob that would drop loot," Airi responded, after a few more moments of consideration. "With our level gap, you would have to take most of the damage though, would you be alright with that?" She stopped talking and turned to look for materials like he was doing, but a question suddenly surfaced in her mind. "Speaking of level, I don't think you've told me yours yet. Would you mind telling me that? So I would at least have an idea of what type of mob we would face."

While waiting for his response (she wondered if he would even give her a specific level, some players were quite touchy about other people knowing their exact level), she looked through the virtual terrain and resumed her search for materials, keeping Cyrus in her line of sight. Unfortunately, her search yielded nothing and with a small sigh, she turned back to Cyrus. The silver-haired player had already found some. She then noted that she was looking in a completely different direction than he was and decided to try that direction out once they have walked a bit farther. 

The red-haired girl couldn't suppress a giggle as Aoda and the boar missed each other's attacks...again. Then as the mob was preparing another one of its unsuccessful attacks, the higher-leveled player called out for her to attack. She would attack without his encouragement either way. Was he developing a strategy or something? Maybe. Airi didn't ask. It would take too much time for him to explain and she could hardly do anything but fight while they were in the middle of combat. Having an inability to multitask in stressful situations completely sucked.

Like...right now. She spent too much time thinking and now the boar was pawing the ground, close to attacking once again. But Airi didn't give it a chance. She rushed toward it, closing the distance in less than a second, and brought her blade down. And watched as it burst into red pixels. Critical hit. She backed away from where the mob had been standing before it disappeared and a message box popped up in front of her, detailing the loot and experience she received. Well, wow. She really didn't expect that to happen. If anything, she was so sure that she was going to miss again.

Airi looked over the message box quickly and then closed it, turning to Aoda with a playful smile. "Hey, why is it that I land a hit whenever you shout out encouragements?"

The guild invite appeared in front of the small girl and she eagerly reached out to tap the 'Accept' button. She let her attention wander to Eatos for a moment and caught a flicker of doubt flash in the guild member's eyes. Who or what was the blue-haired girl doubting though? She almost hesitated, but tapped the 'Accept' button anyway. Then another message box replaced the guild invite with the words: 'You are now a member of the Emerald Harbingers'. "Thanks for letting me join," Airi smiled, a positive aura seeming to surround her. Then she remembered to ask something, which should really have been asked before she even joined. "Also, who's the leader of the Advisors Division? And the leaders of the other divisions?" 

With that said, she began to pay a bit more attention to the people around them. She still couldn't tell which ones were the guild members and which ones were not. A few people she knew were here. Lee, inquiring about the guild and maybe going to join the tank division (judging by the appearance of his armor). Airi had to admit, she was a bit happy he would join. He always knew how to make a good joke and on top of all that, he was a friendly and helpful person. Then...there was Hei. Oh dammit, why? She never liked the man's personality. He was too formal for her liking. It would've been an attractive trait back in the old times, but now, it was a bit weird. She spotted Solomon, or maybe someone who just looked like Solomon. Inquiring or a guild member? She didn't know. He was an amnesiac mess when she last saw him, but she couldn't really blame him for that.

Then there was Aoda, a player she had met and killed mobs with. And one of the first witnesses of her extremely bad luck in combat (he was pretty nice about it though). He was standing quietly to one side, as if waiting for someone to approach him. Guild member, probably. Most of the players inquiring all had to approach someone from the guild in order to gain new information. She stared for a second too long, then turned her attention back to Eatos. The people she didn't know yet took priority. Maybe she would just approach once she was done meeting everyone.

While Sakoda was handing over her delivery, Airi looked over the quest rewards. All of them were potions: one increases HP, another increases DMG, and five of the typical healing potions. It was a nice and fitting reward for a first quest, though she had hoped for a bit more. They spent the whole morning and afternoon gathering (and failing to gather) materials, after all. She looked up at the virtual sky and closed her eyes. Well, what mattered the most was that she got stronger after all. And she met a new person in the process. Thanks for the harvest.

Her quest companion finished and was now walking back to her with a cheerful grin. "Like the rewards?" Airi asked, turning her attention to Sakoda. Though she didn't give the other girl much of a chance to reply. "We'll continue with the second quest tomorrow. Meeting point is right here, where the quest giver is. Send me a PM once you're ready, okay? Or if you don't want to go, you can just inform me through PM as well." With all that said, she thought it unnecessary to stay longer and engage in idle conversation. She already had enough conversation while they were doing the quest together. "I'll be leaving now. You should rest up. I heard the second quest involves combat." She then waved goodbye to Sakoda and turned, walking back to the inn.

- Thread Closed -

Quest Rewards
 5 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40HP)
1 Tier One Damage Potion. (+1 Damage)
1 Tier One Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP)

Summary
Airi: 600 Col + 5 SP + Quest Rewards
Floofy: 600 Col + 5 SP + Quest Rewards

The young girl's eyes roamed the grasslands, looking out for materials she could pick up while the silver-haired man beside her looked for a mob they could attack. But before she could locate any, Cyrus spotted a lone boar and called her attention. He called her 'Red' and said something else that she didn't quite catch in a tone that sounded a bit playful. Airi didn't respond verbally since she didn't hear what he said (she really had to fix her inability to multitask outside the safe zone), but she unsheathed her curved blade, slipping easily into a battle-ready stance, and nodded at him.

The man charged forward and she followed suit, pacing herself so she would be just behind him once he attacks. He attacked the boar from its blindside and it gave out a surprised grunt, clearly it didn't expect the attack. Airi quickly observed her surroundings, then activated her only effective Sword Art, <<Rage Blow>>. There were no other mobs around, and she wanted them to take the least damage possible. Right after Cyrus finished his attack, she went in close and dragged the sharp tip of her blade horizontally through the boar's side. The mob let out a dying squeal and burst into red pixels. Critical hit. Well, she didn't expect that. Airi looked back at Cyrus. "My energy's spent, but that was a pretty good warm-up," she informed with a hint of a smile on her face.

"This will take an hour to finish," Airi sighed in response, with a ghost of a smile on her face. She watched as Aoda and the boar missed each other's attacks again with a slight amusement showing through her normally calm expression. At least he wasn't being relentlessly attacked by the mob while he missed all his attacks. She almost rolled her eyes at the thought of comforting herself with the worst possible outcome of their current situation. "Hey, I think my luck's getting contagious." 

With that joke made and quickly pushed aside by her, she immediately took action as the boar stopped and seemed to glare at the dark-haired man. Yeah, we want this fight to end too. But her terrible luck was determined to ruin all her attacks against the mob (or maybe every mob she'll ever fight), and she found herself tripping over nothing and using up a few seconds to re-balance herself. But once she found her balance, the mob had already recovered and was up and charging at Aoda again. 

A few more players arrived, but Airi didn't pay much attention to them. For now, she was focused on her conversation with the blue-haired guild member. Eatos gave her a more-detailed description of the advisors division and she found her interest in the Emerald Harbingers rising. Yes, they were new and a tiny bit desperate for members since they were all here, spending their valuable time recruiting low-leveled players into the guild. But they held potential. A lot of potential.

They served as some sort of all-rounder guild that focused on helping players level up, unlike the other frontline guilds she had heard of which were comprised solely of fighters and tanks or which only cared about clearing the game. It was either one or the other. They were organized well, with how the guild was divided into divisions (and she sensed a few more divisions being added to accommodate their guild member's needs eventually) and with how they selected a leader for each division instead of having the guild leader manage each and every one. She also particularly liked how Eatos emphasized that no one held absolute power over the whole guild, unlike the traditional ones where the guild leader's word is law. She had to admit, she was a bit impressed with the guild's founders.

"Despite being a bit new, your guild's very organized," Airi began, hinting at what she was getting to. "Well, I made up my mind now. I'll be joining your guild." Then she paused for a bit, quickly deciding if she wanted to drop the 'floater' idea or not. She didn't really have enough levels and skills to effectively help the members of the other divisions, so she decided to drop it for now. But once she finished building her core skills, she would ask. Another reminder to write in her notebook. "And I'll join the Advisors division as well."

The red-haired girl nodded, passing the food stall she had recommended (did it have caramel apples, though?), and took the lead once again. She listened to her quest companion's musings with slight amusement as she turned the last corner. "I guess you'll just have to stick to the information broker thing. " Airi commented, slowing her pace down to signify that they were getting close. "I haven't heard of a way to trade familiars yet. Or maybe people are just not willing to let go of their pets."

She stopped in front of a forge where an old blacksmith NPC was working. It hammered away at a metal blade that was glowing from the heat. Beside the NPC, a few finished blades lied on a stone table, maybe waiting for pick-up. Speaking of blades, she heard that the second quest in the series would award her one. Airi hummed thoughtfully as she attempted to confirm its validity in her mind. She then turned to Sakoda and said: "We're here. We just have to talk to the NPC and give him the box of healing potions. And we'll get the rewards." 

Without waiting for a response, she proceeded forward and stood in front of the stone counter. She already knew, from the other girl's personality, that she would be asked to go first since she was the one who led them both here. The blacksmith sensed her presence, left the sword on the anvil, and made its way to stand behind the counter. "How may I help you?" it asked. Airi brought the cardboard box full of healing potions out of her inventory and showed it to the NPC. "Delivery!" she exclaimed, with a hint of a cheerful tone in her voice.

The NPC accepted the item, causing it to shimmer and disappear from the counter, and said: "Thank you for bringing the items." A pop-up dialogue appeared in front of her, containing the words 'Quest Accomplished!' and a list of the rewards. Airi looked over the quest rewards as the NPC began speaking once again. The words he said, she didn't actually catch, but another pop-up dialogue appeared with the words 'Will you accept the quest?' and two choices. The next quest. She pressed decline, for now, and turned back to Sakoda. "Your turn."

(OOC: @Floofy I'll close the thread in my next post, so wrap things up)

"Hopefully," Airi said as she stood back and watched Aoda successfully land a hit on the boar. But would it be alright for her to take the loot? The more experienced player had dealt the most damage and took the attacks, and she only managed one successful hit that hardly dealt anything. She didn't bring that up, however. "But with my luck, it'll probably drop nothing but col and experience once we kill it." 

The mob was down to 3 HP now, and could be easily killed by a critical hit from her. If she managed to land it. She waited for the boar to attack (which it missed, thankfully) before going in from the side, like she always did, and swinging her curved blade. She wasn't even surprised when it the boar stepped out of her range, causing her to miss. Yeah, she didn't want to be a DPS player either.

The guild member she was talking to had suggested the advisors division, which was good because it was one of the divisions that Airi was interested in. As she said before, influence. "Well, can you tell me more about your suggested division then?" she asked, hoping that type of information wasn't withheld from players outside the guild. Maybe it was, since the blue-haired girl had only given her a general description. So far, she was planning on joining the guild, but she wanted to learn as much as she could first. She didn't want to join one day, dislike it, and leave the next. So she was delaying the big decision, long enough for her to really make her mind.

Then an idea popped up in her head. Not a very brilliant one compared to her other ideas, but she decided to bring it up with Eatos anyway. There was no harm in telling, after all. "Also, does your guild allow floaters? Like players who won't join a specific division, but would offer help to any division if the need arises."

She hummed thoughtfully as the girl who had introduced herself as Eatos explained the different divisions of the guild. So not everyone was given access to the information trade. That was somewhat reassuring. Information was valuable in this game, and you can't just give it away to people who would pay high prices for it. She hoped she wasn't the only one who knew that. And the guild, despite it being new and lacking members, seemed pretty organized. From the view of an outsider, anyway.

Then she began considering the divisions. She definitely wouldn't be in the combat divisions. She wasn't planning to be a tank or a DPS. The advisor division made the decisions for the guild, which she liked to an extent. It would give her a better influence. But it sounded like a division only people of high rank could get into. The information division however, she was the most interested in. But Eatos didn't know much about that specific division, and she wasn't planning to be a scout. So where are healers supposed to go?

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier as well," she dipped into a graceful curtsy. "My name's Airi, and it's a pleasure to meet you." Then she straightened and proceeded to the main point. "I'm a bit interested in the information and advisor divisions. But out of all divisions, what do you think would be the best one for a player aiming to build support?"

The young girl watched as her companion missed his attack and almost felt a slight twinge of worry as the boar attempted to retaliate. Almost. She watched the boar miss with a blank, calculating gaze. With Aoda's HP, he can take five normal hits from the mob. They needed to end this fight before that happens. She wouldn't want to be branded as that one low-leveled player who let her teammate die. Granted, it wasn't the worst thing that could happen to her, but it would definitely decrease her credibility as a player aspiring to play a support-role.

The boar turned away long enough for her to dart in and attempt to land a hit. It noticed her before her blade grazed its flesh and effectively dodged the attack. Airi stepped back as the mob pawed the ground, grunting at Aoda. "When we get out of this battle," she began, her voice taking on an exasperated tone. She didn't use if. It would only decrease the mood, which completely defeats the purpose of her talking. "I'm going to buy equipment that increases accuracy."

A blue-haired girl was the first one to respond to her inquiry. The girl then proceeded to ask her about what she wanted to know. She was pretty sure she made her intentions clear when she asked about the Emerald Harbingers, but a confirmation was always nice. They wouldn't want to waste their time giving away information about the guild to people who weren't interested in joining anyway. 

The red-haired girl was just about to open her mouth to reply when the man she had originally addressed decided to speak up and give information about the guild. No coordination. His guild member had just asked if they wanted to know more about the guild, and here he was, giving it all away before anyone could reply. But for now, she just decided to assume that he was responding to another person. Specifically, the man she recognized as Lee, who was also interested in the guild. She hadn't heard what Lee said, after all.

He introduced himself as the guild leader, which she found a bit unusual. Usually, guild leaders aren't the ones out gathering new members, even if their recruiter wasn't available. But a new guild was a new guild. While the guild leader was speaking, she took a quick look at him, taking note of his features. He had hair as red as hers (the first man she had met with red hair so far), golden wolf-ish eyes, and was wearing some vanity item that gave him wolf ears and sharp fangs. She also examined the features of some of the players who looked like they were guild members. One had fox ears and a bushy tail. Why was everyone so obsessed with animal appearances lately? She decided to look over it some other time.

The guild leader introduced himself as 'Atzo' and spoke of the guild's goals. So they were an information guild, after all. Just a more open one. She was a bit interested on how they would be able to manage the outflow of information with so many inexperienced players as their members. Not everyone knows how to keep information to themselves, after all. Or maybe only the higher-ranked members would be the only ones doing the actual information trade. "Do you have a recruitment process, then? Or would you just accept anyone who wants to get in?" 

A small girl made her way through the busy streets of the Town of Beginnings. In her hand, she held a notebook which contained a copy of a guild advertisement and directions to the town square. The Emerald Harbingers, they called themselves. From the name of their guild, it was easy to tell that they were either a scouting guild or an information guild. Maybe the former, since information guilds tend to be more picky with their members and their recruitment processes were well-kept secrets. And information guilds normally weren't so vague with their advertisements (if they even posted any). 

They had posted a notification in some bulletin boards. They were accepting players of any level and of any build. And then listed below is a place, a date, and a time; for all who are interested in joining. That's it. No information on their recruiters or what they specialize in. No 'For more information, please contact ###'. She could tell that they were fairly new, and that they were far below the level of the frontline guilds. However, she was interested in joining. After all, being in a guild meant having more contacts, more players who would be more than willing to help her in a quest, and a wider access to information. They could achieve things parties of solo players can't achieve by themselves. They have a guild inventory, which means that they could share items and col.

They were new and inexperienced in the 'guild' department. While she preferred the more experienced guilds who would normally consist of frontline players, she wouldn't mind joining a small one first. She could work her way up the ranks easily and once the guild rises in power, she might just be a holder of a high position or a member with a high reputation. She could leave at any point if she wanted to, with a good excuse.

The red-haired girl reached the end of her long walk and found herself in the town square. It wasn't very populated and it was easy to tell which players were from the Emerald Harbingers. Because at the center of the square, a group was quickly forming. She kept her notebook in her inventory and approached the group of players with her hands behind her back. She spotted Hei among them, but the other players were unfamiliar to her. She stopped near a red-haired man who looked like he was the guild's recruiter. "Good morning. Would you all happen to be members of the Emerald Harbingers?"

Dropping the Healer Path card was apparently the best thing to start with when it comes to asking other players to team up. She knew healers were rare, everyone else wanted to be a DPS nowadays and most players think support roles can only work in a team and are completely fragile by themselves, but they were definitely in-demand due to their rarity. So she decided to take that path and make herself widely known as a potential full-support character. Eventually, she would be getting level boost after level boost, since full-support characters like her were rare and very-much needed in the front lines. 

Airi smiled to herself as she recalled her plans while following behind Cyrus. She liked to think she was a good planner. They neared the town exit and she quickly equipped her curved blade (which hadn't been equipped while she was talking to him, walking around safe zones with swords equipped felt weird). Then she quickened her pace so she was walking beside the older player. Cyrus wasn't exactly the most trusting person. She noticed that with his initial reaction to her offering him help. He wanted to decline before she told him that she wanted to take on a support role. It even showed in how frugal he was with information (whereas she gave away a lot; false information, that is). So therefore, walking behind him outside the safe zone, even with her level being significantly lower than his, wasn't the best idea.

They left the safe zone, and Airi suppressed a shiver, the pleasant expression she had maintained melted away. But she kept her blade sheathed and her expression calm and blank. To her companion, she would look like she was merely focusing on her surroundings, completely alert. There were no mobs in view yet, so she decided to look for materials instead. It would always be nice to have some, even if she didn't have a profession yet. While still paying attention to the person walking beside her, she looked around. At one point, she stopped to examine a clump of plants that usually had flowers which could be picked and used as materials for crafting. Freshly picked. There were still many players in the first floor, after all. She then straightened, dusted her short skirt, and sped up her pace to catch up with Cyrus.

Airi nodded along as the girl named Sakoda agreed with her previous statements. Then the red-haired player beside her asked her if she knew where she was going, with a slight blush on her face. She wondered what that meant. "We're almost there," she responded. She pointed to an intersection meters away from them. "One left turn, go straight for a few blocks, one right, and we're at Lyle Tealeaf's place." She recited from memory, something which she had picked up while listening in to a few players conversing about the first beginner quest.

Her companion asked if she was getting hungry and Airi thought for a bit. She wasn't really hungry. And she honestly wanted to decline so she could finish the quest as fast as possible. And maybe get ho--back to her inn and get some sleep. But usually, if a person asks if someone's hungry without them showing any signs of hunger beforehand, that meant that they were hungry as well and wanted to know if it would be alright for them to buy some food. That's what she learned from experience, anyway. But there was no telling if the same applied to Sakoda, so she settled for a neutral response. "I want to finish the quest quickly and I'm not that hungry, but there's a food stall on the way to the NPC's place. Come on, let's speed up." 

She quickened her pace without waiting a response, Sakoda would follow her since she was the one who knows the directions anyway, and turned left. She headed forward, passed another intersection, and slowed her pace in front of a food stall. She turned around to look at her companion. "Here. I don't know what they sell, and there might not be any free food. But you can check." 

(OOC: @Floofy)

Airi sensed a conversation ender while Hei was talking. About time she moved on to someone more interesting. Seriously, that Hei guy was boring. He spoke in an all-too formal manner and did all-too formal gestures, something most people from the higher class do to flaunt their high education. But he did the boring and extremely unnecessary task of talking to Solomon, which she guessed was some sort of plus point for him. And he had sent her a friend request first. Which means that he trusts her after only an hour of talking to her (and after her doing one favor for him). The gullible ones were the easiest to get. So definitely a plus.

"No problem," she said in a friendly manner that gave none of her negative thoughts away. "I got a notebook too. I guess I'll just take notes and stuff with it? Either way, it would be pretty useful." 

(OOC: Yep, close the thread in your post.)