Pinball

Setting initial values...

Col and Materials tracked in the COL/MATS section of my journal:

http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/15041-pinballs-journal/?tab=comments#comment-521214

Totals: 

Col: 400 

T1 Mats: 0 

T2 Mats: 0

T3 Mats: 0 

The town whizzed past him as he ran, and he was at the Blacksmith's area in what seemed no time. "Ah, there you are, lad," he said upon Pinball's arrival. "I was worried something bad had happened." Pinball shook his head, out of breath from his run. "Nah," he replied. "Here." Pinball turned in the quest, transferring the Boar Tusks to Tealeaf. "Hah!" the blacksmith exclaimed. "Good lad," Tealeaf said, smiling wide. "Now, about your reward..." A small screen appeared in front of Pinball, with two options. He could either choose a Tier One weapon with +1 dmg, or a Tier One armor with +1 MIT. Well, I already have a weapon with a damage enhancement... Guess it's the armor, then. He clicked the button, and the Quest Complete screen popped into his vision, highlighting the rewards for his effort. "Nice," he breathed, smiling. Waving goodbye, Pinball left the blacksmith to his own, now intent on finding a place to go over his rewards in privacy. 

"Yes!" <Boar Tusk> recieved! "Finally," Pinball exclaimed happily, "I'm finished!" He jumped up and down, excited by his success. "I've finally done it," he said, breathing heavily. He could hardly believe he was finally finished. It had only been an hour, but that one hour seemed like an eternity. In fact, it almost was an eternity, seeing as he didn't have much time to level up. He wanted to be up in the frontlines as soon as possible, and these quests were the first steps to be climbed. The blacksmith, he thought suddenly. I have to get back to the blacksmith! And with that, the young man raced out of the fields, back towards the town with the old blacksmith who was to give him his rewards. Pinball raced through the plains, ignoring the boars and boar pups he dashed by. He didn't have to worry about them anymore, and he could sure as hell outrun them. "Yes!" he yelled out once more, intent on letting the whole first floor know that he was finally finished with the Second Lesson. 

ID# 89347

LD: 16 (Success!) 

<Boar Tusk> recieved! 

3/3 <Boar Tusk> recovered.

One more strike, one more critical hit, one more Boar Pup in it's grave. "Jesus Christ, how lucky can you get," Pinball exclaimed upon dealing the critical hit. I barely even tried that time! He was indeed getting lucky. His strikes were getting more practiced, he was not making as stupid mistakes anymore. "No more tripping over pebbles for this guy," he boasted, thumping his fist against his chest. He let himself bask in pride for a while, celebrating his most recent string of successes. The only question now is: "Did I get that blasted Boar Tusk?" Shaking in anticipation, he covered his eyes. Still covering his eyes, he took a kneel and stabbed his dagger into the dirt, where it sank in with a dull thump. Oh please, oh please, oh please, he thought. Please let this be over with now. Come on, I believe in you... He removed his arm from his face, and read the results...

ID# 89346 

BD: 10 (Critical Hit!) MD: 3 (Miss!) 

COMBAT: 

HEALTH/STATS: 

Pinball took a seat in the snow, which might not have been the smartest choice for his health. It was freezing out here, and sitting still was in no way going to make that better on him. But then again, he was pretty tired from the walk here. Either way, he sat and watched the gathering, more than a bit pleased. Pinball might not be the most optimistic person out there, but seeing people group together like this gave him hope. Just for a moment, he let himself be happy. He only knew Stryder, Hei, and Eatos, and even then not really as friends, but by the looks of things, he would have more than one oppurtunity to change that. After a while, he stood, shook the accumalated snow off his body. With a smile, he nodded at Stryder. "I'll be taking my leave now. See ya!" Pinball trudged out of the gathering, and made his way back to the town, feeling cold and warm at the same time.

<Boar Tusk> recovered! greeted him upon the examination of the rewards screen. "Yes!" he yelled out loud. Only one more left to go, then I can finally call it quits. Hopefully, the next boar would drop another Boar Tusk, so he could finally return to Lyle Tealeaf. "Alright, alright, alright," he repeated, trying to calm himself. This would be his second sucessful quest, and for Pinball, that meant the world. He was getting stronger. More experienced. Faster. All because he had the dedication to get it done. He made an assumption that the quest line would continue after this, and that excited him even more. If it continued, he would attempt to get it done the same day. It was more than a bit ambitious, but he couldn't help but think about how great it would be to get these quests finished. "Alright, If I'm lucky, this is the last boar pup I have to deal with all day."

ID# 89306

LD: 14 (Success!)

<<Boar Tusk>> recovered! 

2/3 <<Boar Tusk>> recovered. 

Out of Combat Healing: 

EN- 4/6- 5/6

The next Boar Pup was much like the rest. It's strange behavior, a mix of cowardice, aggressiveness, and passiveness confused Pinball. Most of the pups seemed to be aggressive, until they got hit. Then, as if summoning up their courage, they would attack again. Pinball didn't feel like dealing with that again. He gripped his Emerald Shiv, activating <Round Accel>. "Hasta la vista, baby," he muttered, before releasing the Sword Art and wreaking havoc on the Boar Pup's body. Two large slices in the boar, and it shattered into pieces. A bit overkill, Pinball thought gloomily. He imagined himself in the boar's position, getting attacked by some higher level player. Pinball realized, that with one smug comment, he would get one-hit killed by any frontliner. He gulped, and then shook his head. He would get there, so that nobody was a threat to him anymore. He would be the strongest, if not one of the strongest, and that was that. "Right," he said, examining the rewards menu... 

ID# 89305

BD: 10 (Critical Hit!) MD: 9 (Boar Pup is DEAD) 

COMBAT:

HEALTH/STATS 

No items recovered. With a shrug, Pinball dismissed the rewards screen. It wouldn't do to get discouraged. Quests were all about dedication, it seemed to him. Pinball absently stared at his dagger for a bit, thinking about nothing in particular. Maybe he was thinking about nothing. Or maybe he wasn't thinking at all. It wasn't clear which, not even to himself. But nothing has to be something, since nothing is a concept. Right? What if nothing really is nothing, and nothing is just a human construct to help them understand what nothing is. He kicked the dirt, aggravated about nothing and it's implications. Pinball couldn't even keep up with his own thoughts. He looked up, away from his dagger, out at the plains. The breeze was ever so gentle, the trees and grass swaying so peacefully in the wind. It was too perfect. Beautiful, almost. The only thing keeping it from achieving that beauty for Pinball was the grim situation of the game. He longed for reality, for the real world. For school, for television, from writing. "Back to work," he growled, the melancholy thoughts of home only worsening his anger.

ID# 89304 

LD: 3 (Failure) 

No items recovered.

OUT OF COMBAT HEALING:

HP: 57/60 - 60/60 

EN: 5/6 - 6/6 

"Come here, come here..." he muttered as the boar rushed at him. At the very last possible second the teenager pounced, his dagger nailing the Boar Pup square in the forehead. A momentary pause, and the mob shattered into a million pieces. Dead, quick as that. "Well, that's that," he said with a huff. One more boar down. As he sheathed his dagger, Pinball took a moment to think about his choice in weapon. I really can't do this anymore. I don't know why I thought a dagger would be a good idea... He took a crouch, grunted. I'm going to get a rapier... and some kind of shield, with light armor. The combination of the three gave him the impression of a fencer. He had spent many afternoons back in Florida, where he would watch tournaments on television. He would always imagine himself in their shoes, except instead as a brave warrior, fighting dragons, saving the princess. "Cheesy stuff," he said aloud, now a bit disgusted by the thought. 

BD: 10 (Critical Hit!) MD: 1 (Miss!)

COMBAT: 

HEALTH/COMBAT: 

Pinball, taking sight of his foe, rushed in, throwing caution to the wind. His knife let a long, thin, red gash across the Boar Pup's side. Pinball paused after his attack, and found the Boar Pup's tusk had left a rather large gash in his right leg. "Christ," he muttered. It wasn't that serious, and his HP wasn't even half way depleted, but taking damage in general greatly unsettled Pinball. He shook his head, cleared it. He had barely struck the enemy, in retrospect. He was going to need to get rid of this dagger soon, it wasn't exactly up to Pinball's standards. He took the few seconds he had left before the Boar Pup once again engaged to contemplate his future options. I like the idea of a rapier and shield combo, he had the time to think, before the boar whipped around to face Pinball. "Let's finish this." 

ID# 89299 

BD: 5 + 1 (ench.)= 6 (Hit!) MD: 9 (Hit!) *<Boar Pup> does not deal critical dmg. 

COMBAT: 

HEALTH/ENERGY:

Pinball scanned the rewards menu... And lo and behold, he had recieved a quest drop! "Yes!" he rejoiced, pumping his fist in the air. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" He was running in circles now, a huge smile plastered on his face. "Alright, some good luck on my first try," he huffed, his grin still present. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought? Nah, he thought. Just beginner's luck. Knowing SAO, it'll be actual hell to get anything from here on out. He shrugged, still smiling from his most recent success. It didn't matter, he was making good time. It was 7:54 in the morning now. "Shouldn't be too long. After this, maybe I'll just go and finish this questline once and for all." Picking up his bright, green knife and putting it in it's sheathe, Pinball charged into the fields once again, eager to confront his next opponent. 

ID# 89298 

LD: 18 (Success!) 

<<Boar Tusk>> recovered! 

1/3 <<Boar Tusk>> recovered.

Out of Combat Healing: 

Pinball:

HP- 57/60 - 60/60 

EN- 5/6 - 6/6 

One last thrust of the dagger, and the Boar Pup was no more. It was a critical hit, but one that was totally unnecessary for the kill. The Boar shattered into pieces with the chime of bells, and drifted away on the morning breeze. "Such a cheesy line," Pinball muttered, reflecting on his inner thoughts. He hadn't been writing lately, mostly because he didn't have anything to write with.. He was pretty sure there was some type of the journal he could buy to write, but even then, he would probably be typing with a keyboard instead of writing with a pen. It would not be nearly the same as a good, old fashioned, paper and pen writing session. He sighed, all previous cockiness now lost. Pinball took a crouch, and, thrusting his dagger into the ground, took a breather. Please let me have gotten my drop... This is a long process I am not in the mood to go through. 

ID# 89272

BD: 10 (Critical Hit!) MD: 1 (Miss!)

Dmg: 1 (base) + 1 (ench.) + 1 (rank) + 2 (Crit) = 5 dmg! 

<Boar Pup> is DEAD 

Pinball: HP- 57/60 EN- 5/6 

Boar Pup: HP- -3/5 <DEAD> 

The Boar Pup grunted, shook it's hind leg, and charged Pinball, squealing with a bloody passion. "C'mere, you," Pinball grunted, darting down and stabbing the Pup as it neared him. Shocked, the boar let out a pained shriek. Pinball jumped back, and the Boar Pup ran back a bit, and circled a tree, it's eyes never leaving the teenager. Pinball chuckled. "You'd be cute, if you weren't trying to kill me. And ugly." Pinball laughed some more, and the boar kept circling the tree. "Alright, alright" he said, raising his arms by his side. His dagger was still in his grip, but Pinball was more relaxed now, and so the knife hung loosely in his hand. "Let's finish this up. One more swipe, I reckon?" It was a rhetorical question, of course. 

ID# 89258

BD: 7 + 1 = 8 (Hit!) MD: 3 (Miss!)

Dmg= 1 (base) + 1 (rank) + 1 (enhancement) = 3 dmg 

3 dmg dealt to <Boar Pup> 

Pinball: HP- 58/60 EN- 5/6 

Boar Pup: HP- 2/5 

"What a waste," the boy muttered darkly. He hadn't spent too much time in the fields, but the fact that he hadn't been doing what he was supposed to be doing the entire time made it seem like a grievous loss. He shook his head, and without another word, rushed the Boar Pup in front of him. The sudden movements, coupled with the Pup's shocking speed and ferocity must have been what knocked Pinball to the ground. Either way, Pinball quickly came to the conclusion that he had made a mistake. Weird how the things you do in the moment seem like good ideas... and only later you realize that it was not, in fact, a good idea.  He cursed angrily, then rolled away from the raging Bull Pup, his dagger gripped tightly in his hand. "Alright buddy, you'll get yours," he hissed, putting himself into position, readying himself for the next clash. 

ID# 89257

BD: 1 (Critical Miss!) MD: 9 (Critical Hit!) *Boar Pup does not recieve bonus dmg 

3 dmg dealt to <Pinball>

Pinball: HP- 57/60 EN- 5/6 

Boar Pup: Hp- 5/5

(OOC: I forgot to actually use the LD to recover the boar tusks. So, I'm going to treat every post before this as a LD failure, since to me I feel like it's easier to just write more than go back and edit all of it. My fault for not remembering the details of the quest, lol) 

Before moving on to the next boar, Pinball checked his quest progress. He expected to be more than halfway finished with the quest, but what he saw instead sent a chill down his spine. "Zero... zero out of three boar tusks? What?!" He slapped his head, Lyle Tealeaf's words echoing in his head. "Oh my God! I was supposed to be looking for boar tusks!" Pinball, infuriated, kicked the dirt. He was raging about, stopping only after punching a tree. "This is... this is..." Entirely your fault, idiot. He had gotten so cocky with himself too. Pinball, in his arrogance, must have dismissed the blacksmith's information much too quickly, eager to get the quest over with. In doing this, he sets himself back quite a bit, now having to go back and fight boars until he recovers these items. "This... is going to take a lot longer than I thought." Feeling mad and stupid at the same time, Pinball trudged back into the plains, where he had found the spawning point for the Boar Pup's not too long ago. 

The boar was charging at him with full intent on doing damage, and it seemed like Pinball wouldn't be able to do much about it. Unless...

Pinball was in a sitting position when it happened. Acting out of instinct, he threw himself forward, somersaulting forward. He came up with his knife out... and impaled the boar pup on the end of his dagger. There was a momentary pause, and the boar pup shattered into pieces, the light blue polygonals drifted away in different directions. All that was left was Pinball, the breeze, and his thoughts. It took a while for the teenager to realize what had happened. Things like this barely happened to him, seeing as he was a lanky highschooler left without a modicum of athletic prowess. He stood up, brushing off his pants, and grabbing the knife, which he had dropped in the dirt immediatly after the kill. All that he could say was, "Wow." He took a second to catch his breath, and then searched the area, looking for his third, and final, target. 

ID# 89135

BD: 9 (Critical Hit!) MB: 2 (Miss!)

Pinball: HP- 60/60 EN- 4/6 

Dmg: 3 base + 1 crit = 4 dmg!

Boar Pup: Hp- -2/5 <DEAD>

Pinball, eager to finish the fight, rushed the boar, his knife held straight out... which must have put him off balance, when the boar barreled into his legs. Both Pinball and the boar tumbled into the dirt, face and all. Pinball was the first to recover, his face rather red, though whether from the fall or the embarrasment of getting sent into the dirt by a clumsy, ineffective tackle, nobody could be sure. Just to double check, Pinball's head flashed left and right, making sure nobody was there to watch his extravagant fail. This clash, he decided, was the polar opposite of the boar he killed in a single swing. In the previous fight, he had finished as gracefully as a dancer, while in this fight, he felt like a child would after tripping up on a loose stick. He pulled himself up, only to find that the boar had already recovered, and was glaring at him menacingly. Miraculously, neither Pinball nor the Boar Pup had sustained any damage. Although, the way the boar charged at him told Pinball that his luck may very well soon run out... 

#ID 89134

BD: 1 (Miss!) MD: 1 (Miss!) 

Pinball: HP- 60/60 EN- 4/6

Boar Pup: HP- 2/5

"Easy Peasy!" the teenage boy shouted, his dagger a shining blur in the morning light. The bright green knife cut through the boar, and with a squeal, the pup recoiled. Backing off, Pinball almost felt bad for it. Then he remembered the mobs weren't living things. They were bits of code. Nothing in this reality was real. Not even his own body. He took another step back, his knife held loosely in his hand. He wasn't losing nerve, he was losing interest. Interest to keep going, despite the dour situation he found himself in. He took a breath. "That's not how I was raised," he told himself. Saying it aloud made it sound even more true . Pinball raised his dagger, and prepared another strike. "I'll keep going. For now, at least." As the boar pup recovered from it's shock, so did Pinball, and the two faced each other once again. 

#ID 89132

BD: 6+1= 7 (Hit!) MD: 1 (Miss!)

Pinball: HP- 60/60 EN- 5/6 

Dmg: 3 base

Boar Pup: HP- 2/5

Pinball lay there a second, staring at what was the "sky" of the first floor. He didn't think, he didn't move, just stared into the void. He didn't feel much of an emotion. He felt rather empty, upon further inspection. He sat up, covering his knees with his arms, now staring at the grass. What am I doing? he thought absently. The grass swayed in the morning breeze, but he knew that the grass wasn't real. Neither was the breeze. This world's sky, grass, air, water. All simulations. Pinball decided that he hated it. But there was nothing he could do to change it. He shook his head. All of these moody thoughts were really bringing him down. What was it all those life coaches said? He couldn't remember. He had hated life coaches anyways. It all seemed so strange now, these thoughts. Of the real world. Of reality. His concept of the word was changing, and sitting around wasn't helping. With sudden energy, he jumped to his feet, forgetting the entirety of his recent inner-monologue. "Please, whatever higher power is out there, please let me get this done early, so I can find a safe place to sleep."

Mid-stride, Pinball realized it wasn't even noon yet. He stopped, checked the time. Only 7:38 in the morning, and Pinball was running around like a fool trying to finish a quest. In light of this realization, Pinball took a step back. "It's been a while since I've really taken a look at myself." But the thought of digging into even his own psyche struck him as a daunting task. It was the rare man who could truly take a look at himself, and be content with what was there. He let out a small sigh, and, with a thump, dropped backwards onto the ground. He chuckled to himself. You've been sighing a lot lately, he thought. When did that happen? Is it tiredness? Or something else? He pushed these thoughs aside, instead opting to gaze at the sky. The sun was rising, but he wouldn't get to see it reach it's peak. That was the privilege only of the 100th floor, and nobody, not even the front liners, had that privilege. Never thought I would miss the sky. Strange, the things you miss. 

In my opinion, a wipe with the release of a new, better system,  might be best. It fixes most problems with the site, mechanics and otherwise, although it's more than a bit unfair to all the people who invested so much time into building their characters. 

Pinball nodded at Spencer with a smile. "Don't worry too much about your level, It won't be 1 for long." If you survive. Pinball followed Thorsten with his eyes, quickly noticing the way he held himself. To Pinball, he seemed relaxed. Almost too relaxed. He connected this with how calm he acted in general, and  deducted that the relaxation in his movements may be a bit of a facade. He'd seen people like this in the real world before. Wooing you in with their elegant manner of speech and friendly movements, only to cast you away when they were done with you. At least, that's the type of person Pinball believed him to be. Thorsten was an interesting case, and Pinball openly accepted that he may be very wrong about his judgement. Even so, Pinball was none too trusting of him. He kept his distance from both Spencer and Thorsten. When asked by Thorsten how he got here, he didn't answer, instead shrugging and mumbling a slurred, inarticulate response. Spencer's response seemed friendly enough, and he acknowledged that with a small smile. Looking to Thorsten again, he asks, "How about you? What are you doing out here?" 

Upon further inspection, it became quickly apparent that Pinball didn't have much to fear. They seem friendly enough. Still, careful. He walked forwards, much more confidently now, and took it in. The first thing he noticed was the man's eyes. Two different colors, a rarity by all means. He took a second to look the man up and down, still wary for any hostile movements. His dagger still tightly gripped in his right hand, Pinball jumped a little at the greeting. Pinball nodded towards Spencer, acknowleding his greeting. "Hey," he said tightly, slowly sheathing his dagger. His eyes rapidly darted between the two of them, soaking in every movement. Jesus, I probably look like a nervous wreck right now. Pinball visibly relaxed then, letting out a sigh and scratching the back of his head. "Sorry if I seem a bit on edge," he explained. Pinball's unintentionally slurred his words together, betraying his tiredness. "Can never be to careful with these kinds of things." He offered his hand to each of them, nodding in turn. "I'm Pinball. Nice to meet you, Spencer." He offers his hand the man with the cool eyes. "Nice to meet you as well, Mr...?"

Pinball had been fighting boars, his green dagger a bright emerald blur as it striked. He was mid-kill when he saw two people on the other side of the field, talking. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, and his gut told him to make his way over towards them. He knew they probably hadn't even noticed him yet, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were people he would want to talk to. He was far enough away to the point where he could only make out the most obvious details on their person. "Well, can't have too many friends," he muttered, nervously gripping the handle of his dagger. Worst case scenario, they kill you, the morbid thought pushed itself to the front of his mind. He couldn't deny it. After all, there was a damn good chance they would try to kill him. Despite this, he bee lined it to the tree, the open field stretching out all around him. The openness of the field, he hoped, would let them make their intentions clear as he approached; either they rush out to kill him, or they turn out to be friendly, and he can look back and laugh at out paranoid he's acting. It would also help him run away, as it was an open stretch, and there was an absurd amount of people who liked to play hero, even after all the deaths it caused. He disliked how his only escape plan relied on someone running out to save him, but nonetheless, he set himself to the task. The sun blaring down on him, his dagger in his hand, Pinball started towards the tree and the players, countless grim possibilities playing themselves out in his head. 

With Stryder's reply, he felt he'd made up his mind. Here was someone who wanted to help, and when he saw he couldn't help, he tried even harder. It was admirable, really, how Stryder had taken initiative in that way. Except it won't really make a difference in the long run. The pessimistic thought came quickly and without warning, and just as quickly Pinball pushed it to the back of his head. Stop moping. Maybe you can learn a thing or two about kindness from this guy. Pinball nodded, understanding. "It's all good. Was just wondering, is all. If you don't mind, I'd like to join the guild as well," he said, tapping the pommel of his dagger. "I really haven't done much, let alone done much to help people. If you'll have me, I think I'll join." Pinball finished, and shivered as his spine tingled. It wasn't from the cold, but rather from the weight of the decision. It was going to change his life, and possibly many more. Maybe, just maybe, this guild would be able to make a difference. Pinball nodded, sure now, and awaited Stryder's response.