Floofy

At first, Sakoda was shocked at his offer, but she soon figured out that as her mentor, he would want her to be properly armed. "Thank you sir! But how do I go about buying items? And what should I be looking to get, in terms of buffs and stats?" She tried to get a look at just how much Col he would lend to her. She would probably need a better weapon, and maybe an amulet or other piece of jewelry. Of course, it all depended on how much he would give her for the items. She didn't expect too much. Enough to just get a higher leveled item or two, surely. If she was calculated with her spending, she could even use some of it for their dinner! After all, it would be expected of her to spend as much as she could, as she would be repaying him later. 

A long silence passed between the two of them before Sakoda finally broke it with a cheerful laugh and asked "Are you hungry? I bet I could get you a meal somewhere, if you'd like!" Opening her menu, she examined how much Col she had. It wasn't a lot, but surely it would be enough to get them both something to eat. If not, she could always just resort to the free bread. Assuming, of course, that Domarus wasn't shy about making her provide dinner for them. Given how he treated her, however, she could guess that he wouldn't mind paying for food, or even just going without. Had she even seen him eat since meeting? Thinking about it, she was pretty sure she hadn't. Even while learning more about how the game actually controlled, he hadn't been eating.. Had he? Was she so focused on her studies that she payed no attention to it? Was she putting too much thought into all of this? Most likely.

"My motivation?" She tilted her head. She hadn't really thought about it, but strangely enough she had an answer. "You would think it's because I want to go back as soon as I can, right? But I don't. I disliked my life in the real world. I was overlooked, unnoticed. Nobody cared for me until my obsession with this game began. Here, I can start over. I can be a stronger person. I can show everyone that I am not just another girl in the world. That if I wanted, I could kill my worst enemy!" As she said that, Domarus noticed what appeared to be a sign of possible blood-lust glinting in her eyes. As soon as it appeared that, it was gone. Was it even there at all? How deep did this girls personality truly go? "I want to be an assassin to show that if you overlook me like you do in the real world, you'll regret it. I want to be a support to show that I'm not cold, that I can be helpful. I'll watch your back when you need it." She looked up at Domarus with the same determination that she showed after their first quest together. "That is my motivation. That is why I fight.That is why I will become stronger." It was like a whole different person was talking now. The cheerful and bubbly attitude seemed to have vanished, replaced by ferocity and what seemed to be... something else.

@Domarus

She nodded, realizing that's why he was always gathering materials from his familiar. Honestly, she thought it was just because he had OCD or something, and didn't like out-of-place items. Now that she thought about it though, that made little sense and she felt silly for using that as reasoning. "I would love to do alchemy with Keres! We can help each other out and everything too!" Sakoda's eyes beamed with excitement at the prospect of having a partner to work with. She couldn't even begin to imagine the kinds of potions the two of them can create together, and the potential that they had would greatly benefit Domarus once they were properly trained. She even began to generate ideas for some potions that she could create. Outside of the standard healing potions and buffing potions, she could make nearly anything her heart desired. Poisons, drugs, you name it! Oddly, harmful potions came to her mind first before anything...

OOC: How do you check your word count @Domarus

Sakoda nodded as he explained to her about jobs and familiars. "I'll do Alchemy then. Potions being commonly used means people will often need them." She nodded again to herself. She started to wonder what a good familiar would be for her, but decided not to dwell on it too much. She would cross that bridge when she got there, after all. "Alright, so what do I gotta do to start my job as an alchemist? Gather materials?  Apply for the job?  Slay a specific monster?" She asked several more possibilities, clearly eager to start. She didn't know why, but she felt like Domarus could help her with anything, and she felt so comfortable asking him questions. Maybe due in part because he saved her life, or maybe just because she was so bubbly today. Either way, she had plenty of questions and she hoped he had just as many answers for her.

Sakoda nodded. "Yes sir, I trust you." As far as Sakoda knew, there was no reason to believe Domarus would manipulate her for wrongdoing. She fully believed Domarus had her best interests in mind, even though in truth he planned to make her share his interests in the end. "I think I'll become an Alchemist, sir. What do you think?" Sakoda had started getting the habit of asking Domarus his opinion before making choices, it would appear. She really did seem to believe that Domarus knew what was best for her, and she wanted as much help as she could get from him. After all, she didn't know how long he would be here to help her improve, and she needed all the input she could get from him. Maybe if she was lucky, he would lead her all the way to the front lines. Heh, wishful thinking, anyways. She'd be lucky to survive to floor 10.

As she listened, she nodded. It seems she would need to get creative with her aspirations. Until then she needed to figure out which of the listed jobs she wanted to undertake. Likely, Tailor or Alchemist would benefit her the most. However, if she chose to be a Blacksmith, Chef, or Performer, she could trade the things she creates for light armor and potions, and crystals too. Closing her eyes to think, she hummed softly to herself. "What would you think I should choose, Domarus sir?" Currently, she leaded towards Alchemist. The items that she would make would be far more disposable, and as such she would need plenty of them, but as a Tailor she would be able to constantly have the best armor that she needs. To her, it was a rather tricky choice to make.

"Yes sir. I was actually thinking about starting the quest soon anyways. I'm hoping that there's some kind of like.. Familiar/Pet Store Owner or something" she chuckled. "Although, thats rather unlikely, so I'm thinking about being an Info Broker. What are your thoughts on it?" With Domarus' knowledge likely exceeding her own, she wanted to know if there was something that she missed that would benefit her when deciding her living. Even if she couldn't deal with Familiars, she would continue her research on them regardless of the job she ends up with. As she waited for Domarus to respond to her, she opened up the quest list and looked at the details for Earning a Living. "Seems like a pretty easy quest.." She said to herself. Reading further details, she wondered how Domarus would train her while she undertook the quests tasks.

Sakoda was sitting at a table, eating a slice of bread nearby. As she ate, she read up on the basics of the game. She finally learned how to increase her level, and was now at level 6. However, she still hadn't allocated any SP into skills yet, as she wasn't sure how to start becoming her "supporting-assassin". She planned to get Domarus' input on it, once she felt that she was comfortable with the games systems. Taking another bite of her bread, she began to wonder what Domarus even had planned for her, now that she was his apprentice. He would probably have her complete the rest of the starter quests, to get her going and to increase her level further, but she couldn't be sure. To be fair, it was a reasonable guess. Looking up from her studies, she watched as Porvos brought a chunk of ore over to Domarus, and wondered to herself if she just didn't see these things because of her level, or because of her attention span.

She smiled and nodded, walking to the town with him and turning in the quest item. Upon doing so, she requested that a Leather Coat with 1 evasion was made for her as per the reward. She accepted the item once the NPC had it prepared, and equipped it. Walking outside of the shop, she bowed to Domarus once again. "Thank you so much for your help! Without you, I would certainly be dead now. I truly do owe you my life, and if there is anything I can do, call me up. Even if it's something as silly as delivering an item!" She looked up and started laughing. She cleared her throat and became serious. "I WILL become strong, Domarus. I swear I will!" A thought then occurred to her. "I should repay you for helping me with the quest! Maybe next time we meet, I can cook you a meal or something? I'm sure I can cook something simple for you! I got to head back to the inn now, otherwise I would do it here." WIthout waiting for an answer, likely because she just assumed he would say yes, Sakoda ran off to the inn, waving back at him.

Blushing and nodding, Sakoda bowed to Domarus, muttering a soft, "Yes Sir" before walking behind him and following his lead "You're right. I need to pay attention. Im sorry for being careless, both during the boss and now." She didn't sound sad when apologizing, and even looking at her one could see that she wasn't sad but rather determined to become better. She may have to relearn who she is, but she would be willing to do anything to show that she can be strong, like Domarus. perhaps there was more to this innocent little girl than meets the eye, and surely Domarus sought to bring that out of her, and make that the true Sakoda. or, if that didn't work, he would just try to create a new Sakoda out of this broken one. Either way, he had her in his grasp now, and she was completely unaware.

She nodded as she listened to his words. "Ya, I guess that's true.. but you also saved my life! I can trust you." She grinned, hopping over a rock that she would've tripped over otherwise. "Besides, if you REALLY wanted to know about me, you'd try and force it out of me by threatening me. Bad guys aren't clever like that," She giggled, completely ignoring the fact that she had avoided an obstacle that she should have had no idea even existed. "But I do see what your saying. I can't trust everyone so easily, or else they'll use my trust to get me to do things for them." A few steps later, she stumbled over a root that had grown over the path, causing her to fall backwards onto her rear.

Sakoda blushed at being called 'mistress '. It certainly want a title she felt like she had earned. "No need to call me mistress" she chuckled, before accepting the drop from domarus. As they left,  sakoda noticed domarus appears to be thinking.  "Are you wondering about me? I mean,  real life me?" It was a total shot in the dark, but she couldn't think of what else could be occupying the mans mind, considering recent events. "Don't worry, I don't mind sharing!" She said running ahead of him, turning around to face him and starting to walk backwards. As she did, she seemed to gain a skip in her step.  How did she even know where she was going? She could easily walk into a tree like this,  yet she seemed to be confident in her backwards walking abilities. 

@Domarus

Sokoda bowed, grinning happily. "Thank you, Domarus sir! I'll do my best!" She looked up to Domarus, excited to start her training. She knew that with Domarus' instruction, she would become better than she could imagine! "O-Oh! The Quest, I almost forgot!! It's ok that you killed the boss, ya? I can still gather the reward?" Honestly, she would be ok with being unable to complete the quest. Part of her wanted to come back once she was stronger and avenge herself. The other part of her didn't want to relive her near death experience, but that was more of an irrational fear considering she would be stronger the next time she came. "Oh, thank you  Keres! Sorry, I almost ignored you there." She bowed apologetically to Keres.

For a while, Sakoda watched him in awe. This reaction was not one she expected from the man she had met this morning, but it was what she needed to hear. Domino is right, I can't give up like this. With a look of determination now ignited in her eyes, she took his hand and grinned. "Thanks, Denmark.. I mean, Domarus. I needed that. You saved my life today, in more ways than one!" She paused for a moment, as if considering something, and then spoke up again. "I owe you my life." She looked at him in the eyes "Domarus, sir.. I may not be very useful now but please, allow me to..er....serve you, I suppose?" She shrugged, unsure of how else to word it. She felt like she owed Domarus a great deal for what he did for her, and wanted to show her eternal gratitude. "i promise I'll become strong! Like you! Teach me how to survive in this world, Domarus sir... Teach me to be strong." she bowed her head, nervously awaiting the reply.

@Domarus

She blushed, embarrassed. "I...didn't think about it" she looked down, trying to hide her shame. She hadn't even thought about her low level being an issue. How in the world did it slip her mind? Either way, her forgetfulness had almost got her killed. If she wanted to survive, she needed to pay attention to those kinds of things. She couldn't just throw herself at any fight and expect to be ok. "I'm really sorry, I didn't...I thought that..." Sakoda's hands balled up into fists as she started to cry. She had made a fool of herself in front of her new friend and mentor. "I'm such an idiot!!" She shouted at nobody in particular, mainly at herself. "I should've known I wasn't ready! I should've stayed in the Town of Beginnings!!" She yelled, slamming her fist into the ground in frustration.

@Domarus

She nodded, listening to Domarus as he spoke. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward. "I'm ready." This was it, her first official battle. This would be her moment, where she proved that she wouldn't lose to this world. She would fight, and become strong! Drawing her spear out, she focused her attention to the Dark Elf in front of her, watching it for any signs of aggressive movement. Suddenly, she rushed forward with the intent to drive her spear into the opponent, but at the last moment the elf moved aside and smashed the hilt of its sword into Sakodas back, causing her to crash to the ground and dropping her health by nearly half. I missed, and it did so much damage to me... she thought to herself. Perhaps she wasn't ready for this after all. Two more strikes like that, and she would surely be killed.

"Err... I think I can take it... What are the stats compared to mine?" She looked at Domarus nervously. She did feel confident in her own abilities, but that would only stand up for so much, when the other factors are numbers. The Dark Elf numbers could be significantly bigger than her own, so all the skill in the world might not save her if she got killed in one hit. She needed to approach this cautiously, in order to reduce the risk of getting hurt. Once she knew the comparison of her stats vs. the boss, she would make a firm choice on how to approach the battle. She did want to fight alone if possible, though. It would help her level up as well as give her further combat experience. In the end, if she couldn't handle it, Domarus would be there to protect her.

She smiled brightly, showing to Domarus that she had come to fully trust him. For Domarus, she would be an easy one to turn to his desires. As long as he didn't give her the idea that what he wanted was for the wrong reasons, she would follow him. "I would love to join your friends! Are you all in a guild? Or is it just a party?" How many of you are there?" Her curiosity was overflowing again, as she wanted to know everything she could about the group that she wanted to be a part of. all the while, she kept thinking about familiars, and who she would want as a companion. Perhaps a feathered dragon? That would be interesting... Either way, she would figure it out before beginning the quest. Speaking of quests, she wondered how close they were to the boss. They had been traveling for some time now, after all

@Domarus

"Familiars? uhhh... to be honest, I haven't even thought about one for myself. I wouldn't even know where to begin!" She laughed, surprised that she hadn't even thought about what kind of familiar SHE would want. She looked up as he asked her about fighting. "Well, really the only thing I've fought are the starter Boars. I've been doing my best to avoid combat, because I don't want to get....I don't want to lose all of my HP. I try to fight only if I have support, but with how everyone acts around me... Lets just say I haven't found many parties and guilds asking for me to join them." She frowned, thinking to herself for a bit. She might as well tell Domarus why everyone avoids her, if she wants to styick with him for a time. "Everyone thinks that I'm a Beta Tester, or even a Beater, because of my knowledge of SAO. I never actually got into the Beta, so I dedicated my time to learning everything I could before the official release." She sighed, before continuing her story. "Anyways, because of that, everyone avoids me and thinks I lie when I try to tell them Im NOT a Beater. I've resorted to interacting with NPCs for conversations, and as you can imagine that gets repetitive rather quickly..."

@Domarus

She smiled and nodded, trusting Domarus at his word. "So looks like Im going the spear-wielder route. Thanks for telling me about the skill thing though, I'll keep that in mind!" She bowed to him as a sign of respect. It was funny, in the short time she knew him, Sakoda had begun to see Domarus as a teacher of sorts. Perhaps after this quest, she could ask to stick with him for some time and learn from him? It would definitely up her chances of survival, having someone like him around to not only teach her and train her, but to even act as a bodyguard if she needed it. Little did she know that this was likely playing right into Domarus's hands to manipulate her, and use her as a weapon for his own gain.

As they continued their travels, Sakoda realized that he asked her another question before, and she wasn't even paying attention to it. "Hey Delirious, what was that other thing you asked me about?" She asked, once again butchering his name. That might take some time for her to pin down the correct pronunciation. At least Domy was kind of close.

@Domarus 

"You're right, SAO does have different lore compared to other games. For all I know, Elves are the Barbarians of this world!" She laughed at her own humor, before turning her attention to Domarus' next question. "I actually started with the spear, until I can start building up my list of skills. After that I might look for a different weapon, but for now I feel that the Spear is pretty versatile and can keep me at a safer distance than a sword." As she spoke, she followed Domarus, trusting him to lead her to the boss. If he wanted to turn on her, there wouldn't be anything she could do about it. Even so, it isn't like she had anything of value. There was no value to killing her, other than marking you as a murderer. And that's not exactly a benefit, is it? At least, not that Sakoda knew. "Uhhmm... Hey, Domy? There isn't a benefit of being a murderer here, right?" She was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear his last question.

@Domarus

"right-o!" Sakoda nodded and approached the blacksmith who gave the quest. Mostly ignoring the dialogue, due to her experience from only having NPCs to talk to on floor 1, she accepted the quest once she could and turned back to Domarus. "Alright, all set here! There aren't any pre-required items or anything like that, so it should be a pretty straightforward quest overall. The boss is a Dark Elf, right? Should be rather interesting, I think. Elves are normally archers right? Bow wielders? That means when it comes to close combat, they normally result to knives and daggers, although sometimes they'll have swords. Normally not though, since the extra weight weighs them down, and elves are usually very agile. Anyways, I'm assuming you know where the boss is right?" Sakoda ended her overflow of information with a rhetorical question. Of course Domarus knew where the boss was. He was the one who knew about the quest to begin with, after all.

@Domarus

She listened intently, interrupting once, "I KNOW familiars aren't normally 'drops', but this is clearly not your normal MMO, is it? I want to learn everything I can about every hidden detail surrounding familiars. If there is some super rare familiar that can only be found through drops, I want to know about it.Yes, it will take a very long time to complete my studies, but we may also be here for a very long time. Besides, I haven't seen anyone else going around cataloging these things, so I might as well be the one to do it! The most valuable info broker is the one who knows what nobody else does, after all." Sakoda smiled, beaming with pure dedication to the task she had set for herself. It then occurred to Domarus that she had been taking notes as he was speaking. At some point, she had pulled out a notebook and started writing down important things he was saying. Another thought rose up. With how long its been since SAO released, surely Sakoda would have made friends by now. Yet here she was, by herself and at one of the first floors. How had she not found a guild, or even a party yet? She certainly didn't seem to be the solo type, with how upbeat she was.

@Domarus

She gasped as she finally noticed Rhozarth "OH MY GOSH!! Where did you find him?! You MUST tell me!! I've never seen any familiar like this before in all of my studies!! Is he from a later floor, or perhaps a hidden dungeon? Or maybe even a rare drop?! I MUST know how and where!" It quickly became apparent that she was interested in familiars and how to obtain them, due to her overly excited nature suddenly exploding onto the scene. With how fascinated she was with the mans companion, it's a wonder she hadn't taken note of it sooner. "Oh, you can tell me all about it on the way to the quest! C'mon, lets get going!!" Sakoda declared, suddenly bursting with energy and excitement.

@Domarus