Winik

Winik stated at the other player. 'Why is he inviting a total stranger that accidentally sat me to him on a quest,' he thought. ' Maybe he's one of those weirdos who make friends with anybody and everybody once they're in the game. But, beggars can't be choosers.' 

Winik extended his hand to the other player. "I'd love to join you, if you don't mind watching out for a greenie like me. If it's not an issue, I'd like to love to the end of this death game," he commented cheerily. 

Winik watched the other player for reactions. Back in the real world, he was told he was charming. That he had a certain charismatic air to him whenever he wanted to get something done. Hopefully that carried over when he got stuck here. If not, he doesn't know what he'd do.

ID: 84633

LD: 9

Winik settled back on his haunches, draping his arms over his legs.  He sighed heavily before falling onto his back and lying there spread eagle.  He looked up through the branches of the trees he was under, watching the dappled light dance through the air.  "I'm having no luck over here.  Do you think we have enough?," he called out to Anemone, rolling onto his stomach and propping his chin on one of his hands.  He stared across the field at her, watching her work. He witnessed her running her hands through the grass, seeming to pull all these ingredients out of thin air.  She was really good at this, probably been at it for a long time.  For the first time, he wondered what the colors and emblems on her gear meant.  He was sure he saw something similar on another player that was wandering through the Town of Beginnings. "I don't want to rush you if you feel like we don't have enough."

"You're doing a world better than I am, " Winik called to her.  "This is my first time even finding something and it was all luck on my part." He didn't want her to feel discouraged, she was doing him a favor by helping him and he was grateful for the help.  He was excited for of the prospect of opening his own place and he couldn't wait to get to work.  Suddenly a thought struck him, however. "Excuse me, Anemone?  Do we need cooking utensils in this world?  Is it like the real world?," he called to her as he continued to shift through the foliage. 

ID: 84631

LD: 8

His hands came across thorns and sticks, rocks and bugs, but no mats.  He swore under his breath, cursing the random number generator for his luck.  "I just want to look good in front of people. Why is this happening to me?," he muttered under his breath.  He just wanted to get some materials so he can show the world his skills.  Slowly, he stole a glance over his shoulder at Anemone.  Maybe she was having better luck than he was.  It sure seemed like it.

Winik grit his teeth, he was going to end this thing once and for all.  He swiveled on his heel, his blade a deadly arc of flashing steel.  He knew that without the system helping him he'd only be inflicting minimal damage, but he didn't care.  He was mad now.  His honor and pride were both wounded, his embarrassment was at an all time high.  He talked big, but where was that getting him? Nowhere, that's where. With his teeth bared, he brought his blade to the boar in its deadly arc.

ID: 84630

BD: 3

MD: 10

Winik swore under his breath as he watched the blade swing through the empty air above the boar.  "What the hell?!." he swore loudly.  His momentum carried him forward, the boar appeared to be almost grinning.  It lowered its head before bringing it up viciously.  The tusks tore into Winik's stomach and it threw him through the air to crash into the earth behind it.  It let out a series of squeals, they sounded like laughter to Winik.  This just led him to lose his temper even further.  "Why does the RNG hate me so much?!"

Winik - HP: 8/20 | EN: 0/2 | DMG: 2 (- 5 from Boar Critical Attack) (-2 EN)
Boar - HP: 4/10 | DMG: 3

'Here's to not letting him down,' Winik thought to himself.  He pushed himself back to his feet, snatching his sword off the ground as he stood.  He swung his sword slowly back and forth, moving the blade in small circles as he flicked his wrist.  Suddenly, he readied his stance, raising his arm above his head.  The blue glow of Vertical took over and Winik rocketed across the ground towards the boar.

ID: 84627

BD: 4

MD: 9

And of course, the RNG was not in his favor and he ended up embarrassing himself again.  His blade flashed through the air, biting into the dirt next to the boar's head.  The boar squealed angrily before running its head into Winik's gut.  'Critical hit,' he thought, bracing himself against the sword buried in the ground.  'He says something and of course I had to go and ruin it.' He felt himself redden in embarrassment, not wanting to look over and see the disappointment on his trainer's face.

Winik - HP: 13/20 | EN: 0/2 | DMG: 2 (- 4 from Boar Critical Attack) (-2 EN)
Boar - HP: 4/10 | DMG: 3 

[+1 Minor Health Potion]

Winik took the small, red flask into his hand.  He stepped back from the boar, taking his attention off of it for the time being.  He held it up to the light before shrugging and pulling the top off with his teeth.  The cool potion slid down his throat, eliciting a sigh from the knight in training.  His eyes flickered to his HUD, taking in the fact that his HP was rising back to 20/20.

ID: 84624

BD: 1

MD: 6

Winik had his attention off of the boar, thinking he was out of its aggro field, he wasn't.  As he held the potion to his lips, the boar charged him once again.  The blow took him at the knees, knocking him off of his feet once again.  "You know, I'm getting real tired of being thrown to the dirt by a filthy, stinking pig!," he screamed at the boar.  Of course, the boar didn't understand him but that's just semantics.  Even after getting his life back up, it was knocked down again.

Winik - HP: 17/20 | EN: 1/2 | DMG: 2 (+ 15 from potion, - 3 from Boar) (+1 EN)
Boar - HP: 4/10 | DMG: 3 

Winik angrily raised himself to his feet, stabbing the blade of his sword into the ground angrily.  It sank much further than the last time and he wasn't minding the durability.  He was mad, this pig was making a fool out of him. 'How the hell am I supposed to be a tank if I keep getting blown off my feet!,' he thought to himself angrily.  He grit his teeth, his eyes lit up with a wrath fueled by embarrassment.  'I'm not going to let this damn pig get the better of me!,' he promised himself.  He readied his sword again, preparing himself for another attack.

ID: 84622

BD: 10

MD: 6

The boar swung back around, coming for the young knight to be.  He prepared himself, turning his sword down into a plow guard.  The boar careened  into him, gashing his leg as it charged past.  Winik took the blow, watching as his health dipped past the halfway point.  He grit his teeth and rushed after the boar, running parallel with the rampaging beast.  With a roar of anger, he brought his sword up.  To his surprise, it began to glow a bright blue and he felt something take control of his arm.  His blade swung down, striking the boar across the neck for a Critical blow.

Winik - HP: 8/20 | EN: 0/2 | DMG: 2 (- 3 from Boar) (-1 EN from Attack)
Boar - HP: 4/10 | DMG: 3 (-4 from Winik Crit Attack)

ID: 84620

BD: 6

MD: 10

Winik grit his teeth, pushing himself to his feet with the help of his sword.  He swung around on the boar, which was now chewing grass off to the side like nothing mattered.  He returned his sword to the ox guard, and again charged at the boar.  He dropped his arm this time, leveling his sword at his waist and going for a horizontal backhand slash.  Winik watched as the red pixels flew from his successful hit.  His eyes widened and he cheered, raising his arms into the air.  

He really shouldn't have been celebrating so merrily, however.  His attack did minimal danger and the boar looked p***ed.  It squealed with indignation, charging at Winik before leaping through the air.  The tusks bored into Winik once again, this time landing a high critical.  Winik was blown off his feet, being sent tumbling backwards head over heels through the dirt.  He stabbed his blade into the ground, eyeing his HP bar wearily.  It was dropping a lost faster than he would like.

Winik - HP: 11/20 | EN: 0/2 | DMG: 2 (-5 from Boar Crit) (-1 EN from Attack)
Boar - HP: 8/10 | DMG: 3 (-2 from Winik Attack)

ID: 84618

BD: 4

MD:9

Winik followed after the green haired player, clenching the hilt of his sword uncertainly.  'I really don't know what I'm doing,' he thought. 'I'm just going to embarrass myself.' Together the duo made their way into the fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings.  Boars could be seen ambling around aimlessly, just waiting for the first person to draw aggro on them.  

Winik sighed heavily, looking warily at Hirru.  'What's he going to think when he finds out I'm a complete noob at this?,' Winik pondered to himself.  With a deep breath, he set about settling himself before trying to face his first adversary.  He looked up at his HUD, checking to see his current HP and EN levels.  'Okay,' he thought. 'I don't have enough EN for any of the sword arts, so I should just try my look with a regular sword strike.' With his course of action in mind, he took another deep breath followed by a long exhale.  He settled his feet shoulder width apart, keeping himself on the balls of his feet.  He settled his sword into the ox guard position, his arm raised and his sword held horizontally by his head.  With a roar of determination, he charged at the boar, swinging his sword down as hard as he could.  Just as expected, his blow missed and the tip of his sword buried itself into the dirt of the field.  The boar squealed with indignation, spinning to glare at Winik with beady red eyes.  Winik gulped as the boar pawed the ground, a sudden squeal erupting from its throat as it made its move.  It charged at Winik, the animal's tusks digging into his gut before throwing him threw the air and to the ground.

Winik - HP: 16/20 | EN: 1/2 | DMG: 2
Boar - HP: 10 / DMG: 3

ID: 84610

LD: 18= [+1 Tier 1 Mats]

Winik deadpanned, his jaw dropping at what she said. "20 mats? I haven't found a single one since we started," he cried our incredulously. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to calm himself down. With a heavy sigh, he dropped his arms to his side. "Well, I guess you're right. Especially if what you said about them being currency is true." He straightened up, a look of determination blossoming in his eyes. "I'm going to look over here," he said, pointed to a close of trees. 

He set off at a small jog, sweeping his eyes around the ground. He really wanted to prove he wasn't useless, he didn't want her to have to do all the work. He dropped to his knees, rooting through the fallen foliage slowly. After several minutes of this, his hand brushed against something new. Gently, he moved leaves away and found a small patch of mushrooms. His eyes brightened and a smile split his face as he carefully picked it up. He held his prize over his head and called out to Anemone, "I found something! Finally!"

Winik jogged to the entrance of the Town of Beginnings, he'd overslept and now he was running late. "Why do I always do this to myself?!," he cried to the winds, pushing himself to run faster. "You know, this would be a lot easier if I had the Sprint skill," he muttered to himself. He screened around corners and burst through crowds. Angry voices were raised after him, but he wasn't about to stop now. Finally, he rounded the last corner to his destination. He skidded to a stop, coming to rest in front of a player standing there. 

"Sorry, *huff* I was late. *huff*," he panted out, bent over with his hands on his knees. He took a moment to compose himself, before straightening to his full 6' height. He smiled warmly and held out his hand to the other player. "I'm Winik, the one who messaged you. I'm so happy you decided to help me out."

Winik watched as he typed away at the interface in front of him. 'I hope he doesn't see my as a bother,' he thought to himself. 

"What kind of person is your friend? I just don't want to be caught off guard if he comes and joins us," Winik said with crossed arms. 'This man is really kind to a new player. I wonder why,' he thought. He didn't want to dwell on it too long, that'd make for a headache he wouldn't want to deal with. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding it was better just to let it go.

Winik's head began to spin when Aereth started naming off so many game elements. Regen he could understand, the others not so much. They weren't used on the game's he used to play. "Any help you can give a greenie like me is a God send," Winik stated cheerily.

@Aereth

ID: 84606

LD: 10

Winik held his hand over his eyes, shading them so he could see better. The other was wrapped around the branch, trying to anchor him as solidly as possible. "Anemone? You see anything? Because I'm coming up with a lot of bupkis," he called from his perch.

Winik sighed heavily, rolling off to the side and off the branch. The arm that anchored him was now gripping the branch and swinging him. He let go, sailing through the air until he crashed into the dirt below. He straightened, dusting himself off and turning to her. "I'm sorry, but I'm fuzzy on the requirements for the quest. How many mats do we have to find?"

ID: 84594

LD: 3

Winik watched as she searched through the grass on her hands and knees.  He turned away quickly and searched through the grass the same way.  He ran his hands over the blades of grass, finding rocks and sticks but nothing that he could even conceive as a culinary ingredient.  He groaned heavily, putting a hand to his forehead.  "I really need to commission someone for some items to add buffs, or pick up a new skill.  This is a lot harder than I would have thought."

He stood from the grass, dusting his pants off.  He inclined his head from side to side, letting loose a few satisfying cracks.  He stretched his arms high over his head, his shirt riding up slightly.  Winik knew his stomach was showing, but he wasn't embarrassed.  He took care of himself and he knew that there was nothing to be ashamed of.  He eyed the tree, an idea popping into his head.  "I'm going to climb up and see if I can see anything," he called over to her, before crouching and springing up into the branches.  

Winik heaved himself up, before shimmying down a thicker branch so he could look out over the grassy fields.

ID#: 84592

LD: 9

Winik tried to copy Anemone as closely as he could.  He felt like a buffoon, with his head turning from side to side as he looked. He watched her closely, trying his best to make sure he wasn't making a complete fool out of himself.  "I don't know if I'm doing this right, Anemone.  I don't have any searching or detection skills equipped.  Never thought I'd have much use for them," he called over to her.  With his eyes scanning all around him, he failed to see the branch of the tree he was headed straight for.  He collided with the branch at full force, knocking himself off his feet and onto his rear.

He rubbed his head, groaning as he felt the wave of embarrassment roll over him.  Looking around, he found nothing near him.  He sighed, but looked up curiously when he felt Anemone push the strawberries into his hand.  "Thank you so much, I would be lost without you hear," he said honestly.  "I just want to get better at this, but I can't do that without a good teacher beside me," he stated, looking at her with a wide smile.

Winik released her hands, blushing slightly at his social gaff.  He lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly with his eyes closed.  He tried to stay as close behind her as possible, trying to keep his bulk between her and the crowd.  Every now and then a person slipped past his guard and bumped into her, and in these moments he would raise his hand and try to steady her.  The smell of all the different foods lingered in the air, causing his stomach to growl loudly.  He began to drool slightly, his mind wandering as she was talking.  'Wait,' he thought. 'Greek food?  Does that mean her restaurant is Greek?  Isn't that the one with all the yogurt and mint? Oh, and roast meats.  That sounds great right now, I could go for some grub.'  Lost in his own little world, he absentmindedly began grabbing all the different samples.  As he stuffed his face, he heard her mention the name of a tank on the frontlines.  'Shield? Obvious, but maybe he owns it,' he thought.  "If you can get some tips from him, I'd be thankful," he mumbled through a half full mouth.  He had the decency to blush when she turned around, he probably had food stuck to his face.  He swallowed noisily and ran the back of his arm across his mouth.  "I'll do just that, thank you," he mumbled as he strode quickly over to the NPC.  A few moments later, he returned with an updated Quest Log.

Winik smiled at her, dropping his hand to his side. He tilted his head to the side, grabbing his left bicep with his right arm before talking.  "I want to get to the frontlines, but not out of a sense of responsibility," he spoke softly, dropping his head back to look up into the sky.  "I just want to be at the forefront, be one of the first to see the new mobs and get the new items.  As a tank, equipment is important and in all my past games I've played, I had great equipment just because I was able to stay at the front of the pack."

He dropped his head back to a normal level, locking eyes with the young woman.  "Back home my mom owns a grocery store, so she never had time to make us meals."  He smiled sadly, looking down at his boots.  "Do you know how tired you can get of instant ramen and microwave meals?"  He chuckled softly, bringing his eyes back up to meet the woman's.  "I taught myself how to cook just so we could get a good meal in our stomachs.  The only hard part was learning between school and working at the store with mom.  And ever since I started, I wanted to own my own restaurant, maybe even a nice noodle shop would have been good enough."

He thought momentarily, his eyes lighting up as he remembered what she said about the available professions.  "Wait! You said you were a cook?! They have those here?!  I want to do that, I read in the forums from the beta testers that you could own buildings.  That means I can own my own restaurant!," he cried out excitedly.  He grabbed both of her hands in his, holding them in front of him.  His face was split by a wide grin, his eyes sparkling with child like excitement.

Winik straightened his slumped shoulders when he felt the tell-tale tapping.  He turned around, looking for the one who did it before his attention was drawn downwards towards the petite female.  He blinked slowly, her words taking a minute to process.  Finally, they sank in and his face split into a wide grin.

"Yes, I'm definitely need the help," he said, cheerily.  With his right hand, he gestured to himself and spoke, "I'm still only level one and have nothing to my name really.  I'm a budding tank, but even then I lack the necessary equipment to be any good."  Once he was done gesturing to himself, he took her hand and gave it a single, solid shake.  "I'm Winik, you don't have to call me sir if you wouldn't like, Miss Anemone."

He took a moment to look her over, not sexually, but instead a look over to check her equipment.  His bad habit kept getting the better of him, but he couldn't help it.  He really liked the gear that was available in games.

Winik sighed as he pinned a flyer to the request board.  "Maybe someone will come by and see this," he muttered under his breath.  He rested his left hand on his sword hilt as he turned and walked away.  A small breeze blew through, rustling the new piece of paper pinned to the sign.  "Help wanted.  Anyone and everyone is invited to assist.  Looking for partners to lead some quests or explorations as I learn the ropes of Aincrad.  I'm a budding tank and am sorely lacking equipment.  If you can help, please do not be afraid to contact me.  Signed, Wink."

"If you could get them to give me some pointers, it'd be a big help," Winik chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with his empty hand. His other arm swung back and forth lazily, tracing the tip of his sword through the dirt. "The problem with tank builds are there reliance on good gear and, well, I don't have any gear other than the starting set." 

He swung his blade up and sheathed it in one move, crossing his arms over his chest. "I need to find myself a good armor set and a nice shield. A nice sword is a great bonus. I prefer armor sets myself, they usually have some sort of bonus. But the cohesive look is appealing to me. In the last game I played, most of my gear gave me life on hit or drew aggro within a certain percentage from damage."

Winik sat there with his head in his hands, lost on what to do.  He let his mind be wrapped in its own melancholy until he heard a voice speaking aloud next to him.  "Hello Mate, names Stryder," pierced through his thoughts, taking him aback and surprising him.  'Is he talking to me?!,' he thought, slightly panicked.  He tried to keep his composure as he turned his head to answer.

"Hello, I'm Winik," he spoke aloud, hoping he was talking to him.  He really didn't want to make a fool of himself.  He looked the player sitting next to him over, taking in whatever details he could.  The player's dark coloration and thin build was a stark contrast to himself, but that didn't make him any scarier than any other total stranger.  "I hope I'm not bothering you," Winik continued.  "I didn't notice you sitting here and I just needed somewhere to rest my feet."

Winik leaned back against the bench, letting the breeze that was running through lift his hair off of his forehead.  'Sucks to be on a floor higher than what I can handle, but I'll manage.  I always do.'

@Stryder

"I'm going with a tank build. I've always played the cornerstone of my team's formation," Winik explained, holding his left bicep with his right arm. 

He watched as Aether unleashed a sword art, staring in awe. 'I wish I could do that,' he thought. He glanced down at his sword before dropping his arms. With a heavy sigh, he slowly pulled his sword from its scabbard. A faint rasping could be heard as the blade freed itself. 

He settled back away from Aether, his blade dangling from his hand. "In the last game I played, I was the resident sword and board tank. Nobody was able to get through my defense." Winik smiled at the memories, remembering his old friends he left behind. 

"What build are you? I don't see any heavy armor or a shield to deal with mitigation."

Winik brightened up, his smile returning. "I would love that," he said jovially. "As you can see," he said, gesturing to himself. "I've only got starting gear and I don't even know how to use the sword arts."

He settled back, resting his left hand on the hilt of his starting sword. To him, the gesture felt natural, like it was a part of him. Why wouldn't he feel that way? He's been dreaming of a situation like this since he was a little boy, to be out fighting monsters with nothing but a sword and his good looks. 

Winik looked Aereth over, his jealousy starting to get the better of him. 'He has such good equipment and all i have is this noob gear,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe if I stick with him I could get some decent heavy armor or a shield. Definitely need to look into a new sword.'

It took all his will, but he was able to tear his eyes away from the gear in front of him and for his happy go lucky nature to shine through once again. "Any help you can give me is much appreciated and truly valued."

Winik took the offered hand, pulling against the player to get himself back on his feet. He vent over and dusted himself off, before rubbing a hand against the back of his head and smiling sheepishly. 

"Sorry about that. I thought I heard something and I guess I wasn't paying any attention to where I was placing my feet," Winik said apologetically. He offered his hand out to the player, introducing himself. "I'm Winik, I'm kind of new to all of this."

Winik smiled at the player, tilting his head and closing his eyes. He didn't understand the significance of the man's cursor color, but he didn't really care either. He seemed nice enough.

Winik tried to settle his weight on his other foot, when he felt all of the player's stuff around his a new still. He did his best to keep his composure as he tried to kick it off. He felt himself heating up, he wasn't always this clumsy and he felt extremely embarrassed. 

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," he muttered as he knelt down and tried to extricate himself. God, this was embarrassing. 

Winik strolled down the street, his armor and equipment marking him as a new player. He knew that he was getting in over his head by coming up to the third floor so soon, but he was anxious to catch up to everybody. He had aspirations to be one of the best tanks on the frontlines and he knew sitting around on floor one feeling sorry for himself wouldn't do him any good. 

His head turned side to side, taking in the scenery. He wanted to get some new equipment, but his reserves were sadly dry. As he walked, he smiled at the player's passing by. Maybe one of them would have some tips for him, something to help him out. 

With a heavy sigh, he settled down on a bench outside the inn and rested with his elbows in his knees. "Well, if I can't join them just yet I'll just watch and wait," he muttered to himself.