Ryo

Ryo hacked a cough as he continued to laugh, his hand slapping against his leg. The previous feeling of dread and unease was washed away and gone replaced with the fun jovial energy of the pairs laughter. "I can't believe that you just, used it!" He said, cackling. "Hestia must've been livid!" He said cackling some more. The drink was hitting him fairly well at this point. He was never a heavy drinker outside of the game, but he had never drank this much. He didn't exactly believe the manga or shows that showed how easy going people became. Ryo covered his mouth with a fist as he kept his

What was this feeling in his chest? A sense of pride? Overwhelming fear? No, it wasn't anything like those. He felt those before, in good places in his memory and in bad. He knew what those felt like, this was new and different. He gripped the handle of his katana, feeling the silk dig into his palm. His breath hung in the air as the temperature drastically dropped. He could see his HP drop slightly, but the cold didn't bother him. He had experienced colder on the fourth floor, and here was on the twenty-ninth. He knew what this feeling was, it was excitement. His limbs weren't shaking, yet he

Ryo stood still as he was used as a handle to make sure the laughing woman didn't fall over. He looked up, not making eye contact with her, or her companion. Just looking for, something or someone to get him out of this situation he put himself in. When the laughing ended a few seconds later, though it felt like an eternity, Ryo adjusted his clothing and let the woman speak. Ryo rubbed the back of his neck, as he was invited to their group. "If it's no problem. I would love to actually." He said as he opened his menu and would either send them the request, or accept the invite himself. "He's g

Did she not know? Had she even been drunk before, or at least tipsy. The revelation have sobered him up somewhat at the least, making more easier to understand his slurring. “Tel, we’re getting drunk.” Ryo said, before letting out a small laugh. “I didn’t think it was possible but this quest seems to unlock that ability, to drink. To drunk. To get drunk.” He said repeating the failed part of his sentence until it was correct. Ryo nodded, thinking. “I could always sent a message to Jomei. He’s a front liner and he could come get us, oh wait.” Ryo said absent mindedly before giving an apolo

"Hisaschmia! Niiiiiice!" Ryo said, slurring the words a bit. " I've never been, but I've got some cushions who live there. They're kinda boring, don't really play the schame games I do. They juscht want to keep playing the schame game over and over again. Well, I guessch the jokesch on me." He rambled, letting out a laugh. He raised an eyebrow when she mentioned that she was a student. "Teaching schounds scho cool. I remember my teachers, and they were pretty neat. Schaped me into who I isch today." He said, letting out a small burp as he ended his sentence. He nodded his head and listened to

Ryo watched as hands moved. It was, sign language. At least, he thought it was. The monotone voice in his head startled him, and caused him to look around a bit until he realized it was the game's translator. "Oh I see. The game auto translate any language. Interesting." He thought aloud, thinking back to when he was testing it with Teion. "Wait, not my type?" He said, it finally clicking for him. His face went red and he quickly waved his hands in front of him. "No no no, uh not like that kind of drink. I mean, it's a desert town so drinks just sound more appetizing?" He said, fumbling over h

Ryo smiled back. "I'm from Tokyo." He answered. "Got a pretty cramped apartment, but it made do. Maybe I'll get some serious cash from the eventual lawsuit." He said letting out a laugh. When he stopped laughing, he turned his attention to Tel to listen to her. Ryo nodded along, as he noted about her brother. "So like, no video game experience before all this? Talk about jumping into the deep end." He said giving another chuckle as he finished his drink. The room was now definitely warmer, and he felt a little dizzy. Not like, the room was spinning but like if his entire body fell asleep and

The fifth floor, again. Why? It was hot, and arid, terrible on his hair and skin. And the sand, gods the sands. It was course, and rough, and irritating. Ryo turned his boot sideways, pouring a healthy amount of sand from it back onto the floor. And it got everywhere. Why did his girlfriend choose this floor? It had to be because it kept people away from bothering her, but she was over that now. Right? He let out a sigh, as he slipped his boot back on. Maybe he should invite her to his home, maybe offer to help relocate her shop so he didn't have to visit this hell hole of a floor. At least it

Ryo sighed as he thought about the question. "So a lot of people are gonna say the hardest thing to make is gonna be something stupid. Like the pufferish, or a souffle, or wellington. But the hardest thing to make is eggs." He said, matter of factly. "Everyone likes a good breakfast food. But everyone eats them differently, with different amounts of seasoning and sauces, and what not. Some like scrambled, some swear by over easy, but no one can agree on what's what. It's like a steak." Ryo said, trying to get his point across. "And for favorite thing to make, I am a big fan of making ramen. It

Ryo matched the strength of the handshake. "Jae. Nice." Ryo said, repeating the as she had repeated his. Making sure he had pronounced it correctly. After not being corrected, Ryo assumed he was correct. Ryo nodded, as he thought back on the quest. "Well, Zamek moves really slowly. So we'll have plenty of time for conversation." He said. "Then there's the sandstorm that hits, then a few bandits attack, and that's basically the quest." He said going over the quest synopsis. He didn't go into much detail mostly because he couldn't remember, that and he didn't want to spoil everything that happen

Ryo set his glass down and leaned back a bit, stretching his spine. Ryo nodded. "Yeah. It's made with honey and yeast. I think this one had some wildflowers and berries. Not my usual, but it's alright." He said, stretching what little knowledge he had about brewing. He turned to her and smiled large when she asked if he was a cook. "I am!" He said excited. "I've really only made some mix drinks before. Not so much into full blown brewing. I can make some simple syrups, and know how to properly use the shaker." He said, miming the actions. He pointed to the glass. "Didn't you already drink

Slightly out of breath Ryo chuckled. "No no, I get it. I'm glad it's over. Hopefully the reward is worth all of-" He motioned to the dark greens and clouded everything. "Whatever that was." He said, not wanting to return to this floor anytime soon. At least returning to the bar was going to be easy enough. But stepping inside the bar again didn't reveal anything new. Still broken tables, rotten booths, and dust heavy in the air. "Well, place is still abandoned. Wonder what the reward is." He thought aloud. However, two glasses sat on the bar. Those were new. "Well, well. What do we have h

This floor sucked. First the entire wave of people get trapped on it and jumped, and now this quest happened. Did the developers just, quit? Did they opt to make this quest as not interactive as possible? He groaned as he lifted a heavy crate. "Right, I got this one. You get that one." He said, juggling the crate to get a better grip on it. The heavier, larger crates did require the both of them to move them, but after they moved that one and turned to get the last of it. The ship was gone. Ryo stared at the open sea where it once was. Tel said everything that he was thinking. This development

Ryo looked over and winced from the heavy hit that Theo had received, hell Ryo wasn't even sure if he'd be able to dodge that attack. "Nice shot Theo! Now get up and move! The enemy isn't going to always stand there and let you shoot it." Ryo said, attempting to be firm in his teaching. He looked over at Teion who had mentioned that getting damaged didn't hurt. "That's true. Getting hit doesn't harm you, but it's a double edge sword. In the real world, pain is what could keep you alive. Here though, that basic response is gone and it allows you to do incredibly stupid things." Ryo said, readin

Ryo shook the sand from his boot as he sat on the edge of the cart. How he detested this floor. He always hated the sand. It was coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it got everywhere. But this was the floor that his girlfriend lived on and if she wanted to live here, well he would have to visit from time to time. The easiest way to travel was to pick up a quest, and walk with the NPC. It cleared the way of random spawns, and made the journey quite easy. Slow, but easy. Ryo placed his boot back on his foot before stepping off the cart and back into the hot desert sun. If he wanted to ge

Not a damn person on board. How's that for things. Ryo nodded as Tel said she'd check below deck. "Good call. I'll check up here and see if I can see anything." He said making his way further onto the deck. Opening a cabin door and stepping inside he could make out details from the dimly lit lantern. It swung slightly, partly from the waves crashing into the ship and from the harsh winds breaking through what holes there were in the walls around him. Regardless he was thankful to be free of the wind for the most part. However he wasn't thankful was the smell. It smelled, old and wet and alive

It was clear that someone had spooked her. And it was probably something they didn't want to get involved with. Ryo nodded when she mentioned the place gave her the creeps. "Yeah, the creeps isn't exactly how I would describe it." Ryo thought for a moment thinking of the words. "More like this place makes me feel like a panic attack is coming at any moment, but never does." He said, satisfied with his description. "Knowing the barest minimum of Lovecraftian horror, probably for the best that we're alone for now." He said, not wanting to think of the unthinkable creatures that could assail them

Floor Eleven was a nice floor, in comparison to the others at least. A nice beachfront, decent city, and generally few NPC's that would randomly bump into him. Peaceful, was a word that came into mind. He put on his usual gear, his katana attached to the obi around his waist. "Pennyworth," He said calling out to his digital butler. "I'm heading out into town I'll be home later." He said. Stepping out into the bright sun he felt the warmth against his skin as he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the rays. The sea air tickled his nose as he made his way down the path. His trail led him into

The air between the two was heavy, and not just from the area. It was never easy to talk to someone new, let alone talk to them about relationship issues. Doubly so when your own was going well, and that you had brought that up. "Yeah, something to do besides breathing dust and feel like something's watching me." He said, taking another glance around the area. Seeing nothing, he accepted the quest himself and followed Tel outside. The wind had died down a small bit thankfully, no longer threatening to throw Ryo aside or unmake his hair. Small blessings on this floor it would seem as pulli

Ryo smiled at the mention of Teion. "She's doing pretty well. She's finally starting to grow out of her 'Ugh, I live in the desert leave me alone' phase, so that's something." He said, mimicking Teion as he spoke. "But it's really nice to see her growing out of that shell." He said. "How Tel been? Oh, I know you guys should come down sometime. I'll cook everyone dinner and we can make it a double date." Ryo said, unfamiliar with the relationship that Jomei and Tel had. Dropping the conversation, Ryo listened to Jomei and Theo theorizing about what it could be. Jomei brought up the idea o

He locked eyes with the woman, and could instantly see that he instantly messed up. "Oh, I uh-" He stammered. "Shit." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry." He said quietly, knowing that he had messed up. Way to go idiot, brag about your healthy and stable relationship to a woman who is struggling with her own. What was he supposed to say next? How does he follow up the nuclear bomb of a conversation starter? He sighed as he struggled to find another conversation. He finally managed to muster a sentence out. "Man, can't believe I was able to shove my foot into my mouth this fast. Usua

Ryo lessened his stance, and tilted his head. Did, he get the name wrong? Shit. The door locked behind him, then unlocked again. Not really enlisting trust in this event. "Wait, play?" Ryo looked around a second time. The menus, the snacks, the small group of people, the lighting. Shit, this was a dungeons and dragons thing wasn't it? Ryo couldn't believe it, nor hide his embarrassment from his face. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Shit. Sorry about that, things have been stressful recently." He said, trying to explain himself. He gave a formal bow. "Please, excuse my behavior. I am honored t

The samurai watched the woman in both amusement and abject horror as Kismet began her song and dance. He let out a small smile as it continued. He had to fight an actual laugh when she was interrupted. Ryo shook his head slowly. "I agree. Posing would bring an entirely new level to your introduction." He said, agreeing with the woman. Ryo gave a slight bow. "By my honor, I will make sure that Lady Kismet make it home alive." Ryo said, offering some reassurance. Ryo approached the group. "Right then." He said. "I'm pretty strong, so I'll make sure that if we run into anything too dangerous

Ryo looked up and around, as if investigating the sky itself. Tel was right, no safe zone. A bit dangerous but this was a little past a quarter of the way. Made sense to throw in some challenge. His focus returned to finding shelter. The wind thrashed against Ryo, his loose clothes thrown about his body whipping around his contour. His hair despite being tied up was threatening to come undone. And if he valued his vision, he couldn't allow that to happen. Stepping inside the bar, it was very clear that things had taken a turn for the worse. What little light came in through the windows re

A strange letter had found its way into the samurai's inventory. Less so his digital inventory, and more along his belongings. Someone had planted it. At first he was afraid it was old ghosts come to haunt him, but it didn't seem to be the case. Instead of threats or promises, it instructed him to meet somewhere at a specific time. He had half a thought to toss the letter aside and ignore it entirely, but it intrigued him enough to keep him thinking most of the day. Who was it that planted this letter on him, and what did they want with him? The instructions bade him to the first floor within