Embers

The girl checked her quest log, and true enough, there was one labelled 'Medicine of the forest'. It didn't look too hard, just a basic combat quest. Go to place, kill monsters, kill a boss monster, go home. The quest itself was a rather odd one, if the girl recalled correctly, it involved killing some monsters before the boss rocked up. Now the levels and such of the boss, she didn't know.But, there was something she knew. She wasn't dying for this kid. If this quest was beyond her, she was leaving him to die. Harsh maybe, but she had no intention to die for some kid. 

"Yeah i see it Kid...hmmm, na, Kid doesn't work for ya" She was mostly speaking to herself, rolling several words around trying to find the one she thought best described him. "Well, it doesn't look too hard, but i ain't doing the heavy lifting for ya, got it? You do your part, and i'll keep an eye on ya" She would help him, unless it became clear the quest was beyond them. At that point, he was on his own. It wasn' that she didn't care for his life, it was that she put more value on her own thatn his. 

Despite his assumptions, the 'winner' for their duel didn't please her nearly as much as it should have. The reason being she hadn't won nothing. She'd been allowed to win, she hadn't won on any merit of her own but rather, because Stryder had allowed it. Of course, this did set in another idea. She wanted to win. A duel against Stryder, one where they went full out against each other, and she absolutely crushed him into the dirt. Right now, that is what she wanted. Of course, this was some time away from occuring, but in time. He'd fear her. 

She unequipted the pendant, throwing it across to the Kid. "Its all yours Kid, something tells me its more something some girl in some fru-fru skirt than a guy..." In typical Embers fashion, she couldn't have just said nothing. Oh no, then it wasn't her. If there was something on her mind, no matter how rude, obvious or irrelavant, it was coming out. That's the cost of playing with fire. 

The girl had closed her eyes to relax. She would hang around here for a little bit, maybe have a drink or two, before finding some monsters to murder. In that order. She had her first drink arrive when she heard someone else walk up to her table, and she opened an eye. It was the kid that had been crying when she'd rocked up. What the hell did he want? She let out a huff as he bowed? The hell was that for? Was that someone that was normal, or just this kid being weird?

At his request, the girl rolled her eyes. Was everyone on this floor really that whimpy they can't even talk without stuttering?! The glare that he recieved was not a friendly one "God what is with this bloody stammering crap?" She asked, not moving from her seat "I mean damn kid, grow some bloody backbone will ya?" The girl let out another sigh as she took a long drink "This medicine thing, its a quest, ain't it?"

@Ichi

Despite being outnumbered 3 against 1, Embers put a lot of her focus on Domarus and his fight. For the main reason that, with her armour, she felt very confident that these little wasps simply wouldn't be able to kill her. Her assessment seemed correct as, while they did swarm on top of her, she took a grand total of only 3 damage. Her armour paying off it seemed. 

She noticed he was looking at her oddly, as if she'd made an error. While it did open him up to an attack, it did make her remember something. She had access to Three Sword Arts, only only Whirlwind. She quickly checked her list, and true enough there was her third. AoE. Those three letters explained everything to her. He had been looking at her oddly, because she'd opted to using a single taret, when she was outnumbered, instead of using an Area of Effect Sword Art. 

The Wasps attempted counter-attack had, however, made them come nice and close to her Scythe, which lit up as she called on Smash, the Area of Effect Sword Art. She spun around, and brought her weapon in a wide upwards motion, connecting with all 3 of them. The one she'd hit before exploded into pixals, and the other two backed away a little. The girl grinned a violent grin. One more hit like that, and they would be gone! 

Embers kicked open the door to some restaurant on the first floor, her boot being part of her armour. The girl looked almost like death itself, sleek black armour that covered every inch of her, minus her face. On her back at a Scythe, a single blade, black at the night sky. Truly, if death existed, this girl was as close to it as possible with her armour. Her face however, was anything but dead. Her bright red hair, her glowing amber eyes, all exploded with emotion and life. The cocky grin that consumed the left part of her mouth did nothing to hide this also. Embers looked at the peopele in the place as she kicked her feet onto a table and leaned back on her chair. 

The first sight was of some kid...crying? She knew, for her own sanity, she should simply just leave it. Who cared it some kid was crying? It wasn't her job to care, she was here to try grab some experience. After all, she had her Scythe and her armour, what wasn't there to do? She threw a glare at the one who was crying, gods was everyone on the first floor a coward? This wasn't the first time she'd found someone crying on the first floor, and if the girl was entirely honest with herself, it pissed her off. Crying achieved nothing. If they were gunna mope, at least get something done with it! 

@Ichi

Watching Domarus fight this bug, it was something else. She'd seen battle within the game, and had often compared it to how she fought in the real world. However, Domarus moved with such fluidity within the game, movements her mind said were impossible. Then again, he WAS fighting a giant ass wasp so maybe realism was too much to aim at. Once again, he used some Sword Art to deal the core of his damage. It only confirmed in her mind, Sword Arts were how you fought. Regular attacks were not ideal, and energy consumption...Would have to be tracked to ensure you didn't burn through everything straight away. She looked at her weapon. Despite both fitting the category of 'Two-Handed Battle Axe', Embers weapon was actually a Scythe, which looked like the weapon of the Reaper itself. And her armour's now black colouring didn't make her look all-too friendly. 

She had been about to jump at the main boss, right as three smaller Wasps arrived onto the battle. Domarus pointed her at them, and the girl grinned. Much like a weapon, she had been given a target and, without a moments hesitation, she dived forwards. She knew a single Sword Art that was effective, and spinning around, her weapon connected. The Scythe cut half the HP out of one of the Wasplings, and the girl lept back with a grin. These three little' things, couldn't get to her. And with her Scythe, they were dead. 

The girl grinned at Stryder. She knew that he'd allowed her to hit him, so it didn't 'count' as much as she'd prefer. But on the other hand, it was a successful connection so she did have that going for her. She moved her battle-axe onto her shoulder as she let out a loud laugh "Oh God that felt amazing! To just finally HIT something with this damn axe!" She said loudly, leaning backwards and into a tree. Her weapon finding its way to resting up against the same tree as she looked at the Kid. If she wanted to play this game, she needd two things. Items and levels. One of them wasn't too hard, the other was. 

"Finally, damn that was a good hit. These Sword ARts, my god they're fun to use...." She did let out a huff as she remembered she only had access to three, but that would improve in time. "I presume, once i get some more ranks into this weapon, i'll be good to crush anything before me..." It wasn't so much a question as, well, a warning perhaps. Or just a statement. With Embers, it was sometimes impossible to tell what veiled as a threat. 

A...two handed Battle-axe? Embers was somewhat surprised to see he had the same weapon style as her, before remembering that there was a limited number of styles and a clash was going to happen one way or the other. The wasp itself was...well, a LOT tougher than what had been stated in the quest and, in that moment, she was relieved she'd brought Domarus with her, unaware he'd allowed the boss to be this strong. 

Sitting back to avoid any aggro, she watched as he moved forwards, using a Sword Art to kick off the fight. And one that seemingly dealt a significant amount of damage, given the leg that feel off the wasp. But, as she watched, she did indeed learn. 

'Starting fights off with Sword Arts...Hell, it seemed all players rely on Sword Art attacks to get anything done, with any weapon style. Seems like its the more effective form of damage, if you can land it' That was the first piece she now knew about combat. Sword Arts were an absolute must, which meant more than she liked. She'd been to put SP into the skills, make them stronger, but also have the energy to use them. Sword Art Online had so much to learn, and she only liked to learn on the job.

The girl grabbed her Battle Axe, and looked at the Giant Wasp, and had an idea. Agression, she understood. She had another player explain, in detail, it to her before. So, she waited. She would wait until Domarus had secured at least 2 hits, then she'd leap in. Because, despite wanting to watch, Domarus had indeed hit the nail on the head. Despite knowing the dangers, Embers was NOT someone to pass up a fight. 

After being picked back up after her failed attack, the fire within her blood erupted and her cocky grin consumed the left side of her mouth. She watched Stryder, once again, making it easier for her to hit him. She knew he was being 'kind', letting her get used to combat. Of course, that didn't stop her from being mean. Without even a word, she sprinted forwards. And that look in her eyes, was one of death and agony. She made it in close, and that's when her weapon lit up. Her attack wasn't a basic strike, this was a Sword Art based attack. The one she picked up was Whirlwind, the only Sword Art she could use that dealt damage. And, if she remembered right, it did its damage two times over.

The first blow connected into Stryders' cut, while the shockwave of the attack blew him backwards. She placed the weapon over her right shoulder, and grinned. "There we go, just perfect..."

Embers was getting angry at the stupid boar that simply refused to die. She paced in front of the monster as she plotted her next move, and opted to simply repeat history. She knew her Sword Art, Whirlwind, had the damage to kill the boar in a single blow. Whirlwind was fantastic, as it did its damage twice over and, even armed with the starter Battle-Axe, it was enough to wipe it out. Of course, her issue was a lack of being able to hit it. She huffed as she heard Telrenya yell? She looked over and saw the blonde girl being successful in killing the boar, and Embers grinned. There it was, finally that girl was growing some damn backbone! 

"Nice shot T!" She yelled out to her party member, right as the boar struck her in the knee. Of course, angry it had WAITED until she looked away, Embers charged in and, once again, used Whirlwind. But this time, the blow connected and the Boar Pup exploded. "Hah! That's what you get! Attacking me when i'm talkin' to someone, talk about rude!" She yelled at what was now a dead line of coding. And a pop-up screen that said she'd recovered a Boar tusk. It took her several moments to remember that was why she was out here in the first place, and accepted the loot. One down, two more to go. 

The girl was still pleased about her newest weapon, as it sat on her back. The Scythe just spoke to her, although why, she had no idea. But she was in no place to reject such as weapon, and it now sat on her back. She took the time to look over the entire raid party, and make her own judgements.

Stryder, or 'The Kid'. She knew him well enough, and sorta trusted him not to kill her. The splitting of groups, he was with Telrenya, as well as the blue-haired blacksmith. She worked out the blacksmith was a healer from before. Embers glared at her, she'd better keep Telrenya alive, or she'd join her in the grave. She enjoyed the company of the Rapier wielder. 

And her party involved Hei, the Harem Kid. Crow, the bird, and Aster, the ginger. Aster was their 'healer', and actually, they lacked a proper tank. She knew Crow and Hei were probably the 'toughest' of the 4, meaning they'd have to do it. For the weaker bosses, that very well might work. But the harder ones, well, who knows. Maybe someone will go down in a blaze of fire? While she didn't want anyone dead, she was curious was player death looked like, and felt like. But this was one experience Embers had NO intention of ever discovering first-hand. 

Was he right about having to plan ahead to survive? Yes. Did that mean she HAD to listen to him? No. Despite how smart it would be, she would go her own way as she always had. If he happened to be along with it, then congrats. But she wasn't bothered if she was honest with herself. Other people  come and go, the only constant was herself. She did commit what he said to mind however, as it may be useful when it came to picking up a familiar. Maybe, when it came to that, she could get his help? Given he had a familiar on his shoulder, it would make sense to consult first. Just incase. 

"Honestly, the 'safer' option is to kill it instantly" She said in reply to his appoach to the boss. While he was right and she Did want to let out some pent-up agression, there was a simple reason behind her decision. The boss possed some-what of a threat, while a monster would pose a lot less. But there may be one other reason. "I wanna see you fight" She said, feeling no need to keep this information to herself alone "I've only seen a few players fight, call it learnin' on the job" There was no other reason behind it. She wanted to be safe, and wanted to see the fighting style of another player. 

She snorted at the Kid as he started lecturing her on how to fight. She'd fought more battles in the real world that he could dream about, yet...This stupid game made it impossible for her to get anything done! She had to improvise, had to listen. But that didn't mean she had to like it. She looked at her axe, then her target. Calm, yeah, like she could do calm...

"Ok...Ok calm..." She said to herself. So far passion had failed her, so maybe he was right? Maybe she needed clarity over anything else? She took many deep breaths, and slowly, she changed. The fire died down dramatically, and soon, no longer stood a girl who would snarl and yell. But rather, a seemingly charming young girl who would catch every gaze with a smile. She charged forwards, and took aim once again. Of course, during her charge, her lack of fire meant she was far more easily distracted. And the hooting of an owl caught her gaze, meaning instead of swinging, she simply ran INTO Stryder, knocking him down while she remained upright. Since it wasn't an 'attack', 0 damage was dealt. 

"Yeah....Screw calm" She said. In the moments after he got knocked down, the girl he'd seen, was gone. Back was the fire, the cocky grin. The kinda person who would punch you for the sake of it, the girl Stryder knew as Fire. 

The Anger rolled off Embers, all of it directed at the Boar Pup that just stared at her with angry red eyes. It was a stand-off, sorta. Except one was a wild animal, the other was a tall female wielding a Two-Handed Battle Axe with the look of murder on her face. She let out another yell, her weapon lighting up as she used Whirlwind yet again, hoping to crush the boar before regenerting her energy. Of course, that plan relied on her landing the blow. A task she failed as the shockwave of her attack crashes into the ground. The boar attempted to strike her, but the girl simply deflected with her large weapon.

"You're a damn boar! How the hell can i NOT kill you!" She yelled at the monster, loudly. It was almost as if she sounded offended it hadn't died to her, Which from any stand point, would be dumb. How could she get angry at someone not dying when she wanted it too. But despite that, she huffed angrily. 

The fact that it wasn't even her fault she was 'missing' made her even more pissed off. She wasn't unskilled, but rather, this game made it impossible for her to land a proper blow. She let out a frustrated growl at that knowledge. She would need items, or something like that, to help her take aim now. But, she'd also need a way to hit her targets damn hard. Eh, right now, in this forest, there was nothing that could be done. And besides, she had the Kid as target practice. 

She charged in once again, this time NOT calling upon a Sword Art and just going for a regular old attack. Her charge was on point, and even her swing would have been perfect. But, once again, she mis-judged the distance required to hit her target and it missed his chest by just an inch, having done another wide-arc swing.

"Damn stupi...." She didn't manage to finish her sentence before slamming her weapon into a tree over and over and over out of frustration. Her words also got rather colourful, and involved the brutal death of a man at her hands before feeding them to horses. 

Heavens above, why was there so much onto just a damn pet! 6 seperate styles, each with their own advantages and consequences. It was far more advanced than she had thought, and the look of frustration was some-what obvious. This all required planning, something she loathed. A frustrated huff escaped her mouth as she went over the information that had been dumped on her. Out of the 6 different classes of Familiar, only four really stood out to her. Damage, Protection, Accuracy and Healer. However, the issue with that is she had no idea what numbers they had to help her. What other abilities she'd get, what armour style she'd settle on. In this video game, planning was needed, and she loathed it. 

"I'm not even sure what i'll pick" She replied to his statement about what she'd pick. She knew what he'd select for her. Fighter, to increase damage. It was a choice that did scream to her, after all, the more damage you dealt, the quicker you kill it. And had this been her first days in SAO, she'd of done it. But, there was more to this damn game. She'd been having a lotta issues Hitting her target, meaning maybe getting something to ensure she was hitting her target was important also? The healing and protection, while nice, might not be needed. Her armour was going to have mitigation, and she knew of the ability Battle Healing, that would heal her once she had more points to put into it. 

"I'll have to see, a Fighter sounds great to hit 'em harder...But on the other hand, the last few times i've fought, i've been struggling to Hit the damn things...Urgh I hate this planning crap!" The girl's outburst was rather colourful, including a lovely promise to create a tree out of the limbs of those who made the game "All this crap sounds like it needs a ton of bloody planning. I presume all the numbers and crap are on my menu right?" She opened her menu to check the skill sets. She knew that she was supposed to use these numbers to ensure her best chance of survival. However, she, like always, just wanted to wing it and see what happens. Hadn't gotten her killed yet....then again, she wasn't in life-threatening situations too often in the real world. Minus those mountain hikes...

So he KNEW how his armour impacted other people huh? Interesting, althought why he was so concern with how others say him, frustrated her a lot. It was something she had learnt, Long ago, not to bother caring about. The opinions of others, while they could be useful, often times serves to cripple you. If Domarus was so concerned about how others say him, if that was how he pulled value out of himself....She snorted at the idea. The only person Embers lived for was herself, and everyone else could burn for all she cared. Still, it was up to him what value he put on others. She knew she didn't care what others thought of her, but others, well, no one was perfect. She knew she shouldn't have expected him to burn like her, no one she'd ever meet did. 

The girl took a closer look at the dragon on Domarus' shoulder. This was the second time she had Familiars explained to her, and she was still somewhat confused at the specifics. But the general wasn't that hard to work out, even for her. If you got a familiar based around combat, it would make her even harder to beat. She would worry about what kind later. "If you're willin'" She replied to his offer of help. She did find it, somewhat odd, how helpful he was being. She had a feeling he wanted something from her, but what? Eh, she'd worry about it later. "So if i get a familiar that does somethin' like Damage increase, or such, then i can ensure the rest of my equipment is suited to helping me" The girl went silent as she tried to think about it, what 'buff' would benefit her style best? She had....No idea. "So you think that a damage Familiar is best? Or just what you prefer?" So far, she'd met a variety of Familiars. Namely one that helped with protection, and another that did energy regeneration. How many familiar types exsisted?!

After successfully slaying her first boar, the girl was somewhat let down that it hadn't dropped one of the tusks. Still, the fact she could wipe out the monsters in a single swipe meant this quest, for her, would be rather simple. Of course, that was for her. She watched her ally engage on her own boar, and fail to land a blow. She looked at Telrenya, and wondered if she should offer help. But opted against it. The first being that the Boar had also failed to land a blow, additionally the girl seemed to have some sorta shield to protect her. While she knew she didn't know what the shield did, it was better than what she herself had. 

"Havin' fun over there?" She called out as she eyed up another boar, and grinned. She charged forwards once again, and as history repeated itself, channeled the Sword Art 'Whirlwind' once again. However, it played out differently this time. The Boar ducked under her swing, causing the girl to miss. And due to the large nature of her weapon, she was unable block the little boar from running into her. She swore violently. "You little Crap! How dare you hurt me!" She yelled at the monster she had been trying to kill in a single blow. 

So this is where Bluey lived? Damn it was cold! The 4th floor just didn't mix well with Embers, and the girl hurried to where she was aiming for. The blacksmith store. She'd shared a raid with the girl, and gotten her weapon, Scythe of Anguish from her. Of course, it had been a 'gift', but gift or no gift, she needed armour to protect her. She'd spotted what she wanted before, and now, she had enough to purchase it. 

The opened the door to the store, only to stare at the pup barking at her. Was this....the girls familiar?! Why did everyone have one! She walked to the desk, where the tired blacksmith greeted her. 

"Yeah i got something i could use. That armour, Reaper. I'll purchase that" She said bluntly, sending the 700 col price to the blacksmith straight away. Ember was ember, and spared no time with formalities. She knew what she wanted, and would get it.

 Sent 700 col to Eatos

The girl was, in comparason to Domarus, rather ignorant. She had no fear of assassins, nor was she aware of how dangerous her companion was. She assumed he saw himself a some hero, a view from her that was only supported by the armour he put on which looked like something those knights used to wear years back. She had to put effort not to snort at the sight of it. Values such as chivalry, in her minds eye, were pointless. What ultimately mattered, at the end of the day, was how strong you were and why you fight. There were days where nothing else mattered.

"Doesn't suit ya" She comments lazily as she walked alongside him, glancing at his armour. "You look like the kinda guy who doesn't need some shiny armour to prove a point" Was she complimenting him, insulting him? Honestly she wasn't too sure. She said what came to mind as she watched him put on that armour, nothing more. Maybe she was too cynical, maybe her fire had turned dark too recently? Who was to know. She pointed at his Familiar that perched itself on his shoulder "Huh, you got one of those things...What's it do?" She mostly understood familiars, they were tamed monsters that...helped. Somehow. She had nothing more than that. The kid she'd helped before mentioned it, but she hadn't been entirely listening to him if she was honest with herself. 

The girls finally reached the open plains, where there sat many boars. Embers had to assume that they were all targets, meaning she just had to hack enough of them dead before she got what she needed right? She grabbed the weapon on her back, and smirked. Of course, that's when she heard the other girl finally speak up. She said that she was fine, although, Embers did find her too much of a snowflake. Oh well, there was time to save her yet! 

"Well Tel, something tells me we've got plenty of boars to kill" She said, a smile at the prospect of a fight. That's when she Finally spotted the weapon of the other girl. A...Rapier?! She shouldn't have been surprised if she was entirely honest with herself though. It seemed like her sorta weapon. 

The girl lifted the Battle Axe up with both hands, stared at the Boar in question. And charged right at it. As she charged in, her weapon glowed and she spun, swinging her weapon in a wide arch at the Boar Pup. The blow connected, as her Sword Art, Whirlwind, hit its mark and the boar exploded. The girl let out an all-mighty yell of victory, and even spun around. She was so elated that she'd killed the boar in 1 hit, she'd missed that she had failed to recover any tusks for the quest. 

He was right, and it annoyed her. Her level limited her in so many ways...Once she had all the levels she needed under her belt, oh that would be a glorious day indeed. Everyone would bow or burn, either of she didn't care which. But that was some time in the future, as for now her challenge was to simple grab every level, every quest, every bit of armour. Once she had all of that, she'd cleave her way through Sword Art Online. 

She opened her eyes as Domarus suggested they get going, and the girl nodded. About time she got moving, that quest was only gunna get done with action. And as much as sitting at a bar was a familiar pasttime, she had spent enough time in bars already. She grinned cockily at the male, unaware that she was somewhat, dancing to his tune, not the other way around "Damn right i wanna get going, the sooner i do this quest, the sooner i can grab me my armour" She said, as she stood up and stretched her arms out. She had been about to start walking, when he mentioned she Hadn't said her name. 

"Oh yeah, i forgot. Its Embers" She spoke lazily, admittantly she had forgotten to introduce herself, but things got escalated she she just sorta forgot. Names were imperfect things anyway, sometimes you don't need a name. Just a reason. 

Telrenya was still with her eh? If she was entirely honest with herself, she was somewhat surprised. The girl seemed like a nervous system, so she had expected, like many times before in the real world, for this kinda gal to be intimidated by her and sorta vanish when she wasn't looking. It's what happened often enough that she was used to it. But not bothered. She understood that some people just didn't burn as brightly as her, and they were the ones that just couldn't handle the flame. Was it fear the other girl held towards her, or something else? It was moments like this that she wished she was smarter, then maybe she'd be able to figure it out. But, no such luck. 

The red-haired girl started walking out towards the plains, where she knew those boar things would spawn, only to die at her hands soon. She threw, yet another, lazy look over her shoulder towards the blonde girl. Was she still so afraid of something? "Oi Tel, you all good? Somethin' bothering ya?" She asked. She couldn't stand it when people were like this, little damn snowflakes. If she had to drag this girl outta her shell, kicking and screaming, she'd do it. That was what you paid when you played with Fire, when you let Embers in. 

Journal

Materials: 0

Col: 800

Embers like to consider herself a very good reader of people, but she had no idea the depth of Domarus' mind. She saw herself, through him, as just a reckless girl who he felt a somewhat desire to help. It somewhat frustrated her, but with the level system being the way that it is, there is nothing she can do but just work on levelling up and making herself a force to be reckoned with. Unlike Domarus however, Embers was rather simple. What you saw was what you get, a loud-mouthed girl who would burn everything that tried to stop her. Which is both a treasure, and its own curse. 

"You could 1 shot it eh? Damn" She leaned back on the chair, taking a breath "I'm mostly just asking for help cause, if those little buggers turn on me, even i won't last long agains' em" She admitted. It was less the damage dealt, and more just tanking the damage. If they're not hitting her, she had time. Issue is, without any proper armour, they would easily kill her. While the option of going back to the first floor and doing the boring quests was there, she did like the idea of burning through some of the harder quests just to get an early lead in terms of levels. 

The deal, as he worded it, was...Interesting. Although why he was striking it with her did perplex her. She was low levelled, so what could she offer him outside of a body when she could handle monsters? She looked at him with a small amount of suspicion, before shrugging. "I'm working on better gear, got some blacksmith working on a weapon and armour. Just gotta grab the col to purchase it honestly" she admitted, although it wasn't entirely done. She also could use some trinket to improve her stats, but a problem for another time. She gave Domarus a sly smirk "But, as for teaming up, i'd say we've struck ourselves a bargain" She said casually as she closed her eyes. 

In her mind, she was in control. Domarus would owe her favours, ones she'd call on for raids and quests when she needed the help, If she needed the help. If she'd known just who she was dealing with, maybe she'd of backed away. But the bargain has been struck, and Embers had, once again, charged into a lions den.