Mina

Nope... not now. Her feet trudged heavily among the soil; she groaned as she made her way to the next bush, carefully bending down and searching through the leaves. Just 2 more to go, 2 more <Red Herb> needed and she'll be done with this quest. But hold on a second.

"If the quest's titled <<The First Few Lessons are Free>> ..." How many more quests were there. Mina stood up, realising that what she had accepted a chain quest. "Let's hope that there won't be any more herb gathering, shall we?"

Resuming her search, she spotted the <Red Herb> deep within the many other leaves. Carefully making her way in, she brushed the soil and tugged at it, a pop-out sign appearing, signifying that it was a success. "Just one more to go... one more and I'll be done." 

There was hope at completing this by daybreak. "I can do this!"

With renewed energy, Mina skipped towards the left of the bush spawning area. She had cleared the last of the herb bushes in the center area with that last success, and she had to move on. However, this area left her digging and brushing for almost thirty minutes before actually finding one. 2 more <Red Herb> items. Can she pull another success off this time? 

Tugging on it, she made sure to pull it out as carefully as she could, only to find that familiar sight of items breaking into a million pieces. By now, Mina was used to failure, and the young woman simply shrugged and moved on to the next bush. When will she ever finish this task? There were not many herb bushes left anymore, and if she didn't gather the last 3 by then, it meant that she'll have to find another spot, which also meant more time wasted.

Wiping off her sweat, how is it possible to even sweat here, Mina turned towards the next herb bush, determined to gather the remaining 3 <Red Herb> items. Giving up was not part of her dictionary, and within this death game, giving up to her meant giving up her life. She certainly didn't want that. Looking at her hands full of soil and grime, she was once again, amazed by the replication of the real world into the game. Why did the creator turn it into a disaster then? She'll never understand. However, going into SAO, even if it became a death game, was the right choice for her. She'll never want to miss out on such an amazing place like this.

Finding another <Red Herb> item in another bush, she pulled it out carefully this time round, dusting the leaves free of soil and dirt. There it was, a successful gathering, which meant that she only had 2 more items left to gather. 

"This sucks."

Who'd knew that gathering 5 herbs would be this difficult. Furiously stomping the ground, she let out a huge sigh. When was she going to complete this quest? The quest was beginning to get repetitive and boring, and there were still 3 more <Red Herb> items to gather. "You little piece of red shi-" she groaned, picking up a stone on the ground and tossing it into the bushes, the leaves rustling in this silent night. Not believing in her fate, she moved to the next bush.

"Let's do this again." Searching through the leaves with her fingers, finding yet another red stalk, she pulled hard, the item giving way again once more, disappearing into thin air. Maybe yanking it wasn't really going to help. Mina was slowly beginning to lose focus, her energy level draining from the tough work she did for the past hour or so. 

Walking along the streets of <<Town of Beginnings>> Mina seeked a place where she could buy an item to increase her combat skills. Turning around a corner, she spotted a familiar emblem. There were rumors spreading in town of a famous shop named "The Painter's Stones" and the emblem she saw looked exactly like what players had described. "Well, there's nothing to lose anyway."

Stepping into the shop, she was greeted by a person, who seemed to be a player. Smiling, Mina stated that she'll take a look around before deciding on anything. The place looked fully decorated, meaning that it had a great reputation. Filling up the order form on the counter, she handed over to the player attending to her, also asking whether the owner of this place was present.

"Teleport, Delilah." The third floor was open for quite a while now. While Mina had never been there, there were rumors spreading about a low level quest, akin to the quests in the first floor, and which can grant you an equipment as well. This greatly piqued her curiosity, and she was off to her virgin trip on the third floor. Her view turned into white light after the teleport command was given, and seconds later, the light faded out and she found herself in a town looking something straight out of a medieval fantasy. Lush flowers filled the fields, the hustle and bustle of players and NPCs giving life to the place. This certainly was beautiful.

Mina found herself walking towards the center of the town, the cool forest breeze gently waving through her hair. Just then, a female with blonde locks came towards her. "Excuse me, are there any quests around this town?"

"Well, I just came here not too long ago," Mina replied matter-of-factly, stating that she, too, had no clue about the third floor. "But I've heard rumors that there's a low level quest which pays with a good equipment." 

Word has it that a small village located northwest of <<Town of Beginnings>> offers a quest with an insane weapon for players at this level. Wandering through the streets of the city and talking to NPCs and players who were currently there, she gathered information on this quest herself, which was titled <<Secret Medicine of the Forest>>. Sadly, nobody knew what the quest was about or what the weapon was. Was it myth or fact? Well, the only way to know was to actually travel to the village, <<Horunka>> itself.

She had never traveled there before, the furthest only going towards the herb bushes a few kilometres away from the woods. For a Level 1 player like her, the village was actually too far out, and with nobody to rely on at this point in time, the risk was a huge once, especially when dying in this game meant that she'll die in the real world as well. But if she didn't try, if players didn't try and kept living from day to day in <<Town of Beginnings>>, then there was no point in living life here in Aincrad. The frontliners were already working hard, and she had hoped to join in the ranks as well. 

Going towards the plaza, she switched out from her vanity dress into her combat armor, her one handed sword handing over her shoulder in a black scabbard. With black hair, black armor and a black sword, she looked a sight in the middle of this brightly colored town. Scanning her surroundings, her eyes caught sight of a man in a white hood, leaning against one of the buildings a few metres away from her, and who seemed to be looking straight in her direction. "Knew I'd get stares with my choice of color..." Shrugging, she moved towards the gates of the city, stepping out into the grasslands once more.

@Stryder

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. Keeping these words in her mind, Mina kept herself from lying on the grass, which seemed like a soft bed for her at this point in time. This was just a small step towards greater heights. There were a hundred floors to this place. If she gave up at floor one, what would be the rest of her in the future?

Standing back up on her two feet, she worked her way into another herb bush, finding a <Red Herb> after minutes. Just then, a thought came into her mind. What if, instead of carefully pulling it out, she yanked it instead? Two times she pulled it out carefully, and two times it resulted in failure. If the probability of gathering was the same, then yanking it out wouldn't make much difference, would it. It'll be a time saver as well. 

Holding it by the stem, she yanked it hard, the <Red Herb> easily giving way, breaking into shards. Okay, maybe that wasn't a good idea after all.

2 out of 5 amongst the 4 herb bushes she worked on. That was a 50% chance. Mina's mind, as a straight A student, often had subconscious mathematical processes in it. However, she didn't read into things deeply, usually brushing just the surface. Combined with a hunch, it would pull her through move through difficulties and to think on the ball. Eyeing the wild boars nearby to ensure her safety, she waited till they moved further away from her, before she began searching the next herb bush.

As usual, the <Red Herb> appeared in her field of vision almost instantaneously. Abundance, as the old man Zackariah stated, although with that 50% chance, she was unsure whether she'll be able to pull it off this time round. Though in this case, it was pulling the <Red Herb> out of the soil. Repeating what she had done, she pulled it out, the item breaking into pixels the moment it came into fresh air. “What the-"

"Please let there be one..."

Mina moved to the next herb bush, just right beside the one she had pulled up from the soil. How long did these herb bushes respawn anyway? Looking at the bottom left corner of her visual field, the current time now was 2am, which meant that she had been digging roots up for the past hour, and there were only 4hours left till daybreak. Aiming to finish by then, she pulled up her black sleeves once again, fingers searching through the bush until she spotted a familiar red color.

Moving her fingers meticulously, she tugged at it, before pulling it out with a soft grunt. This time, the <Red Herb> stayed in her hand, the pop-up showing that she had collected the second one out of five. Pumping her fist in the air, she mouthed a soft, “Yes!” before placing the gathered material into her inventory.

The spot here was indeed good. Already clearing 2 bushes, and with 1 <Red Herb> found, the 20 or more bushes here was certainly able to produce 4 more <Red Herb> materials. Looking around to see if the boars spotted her, which they didn't, Mina moved in deeper towards the central area, where she believed that there'll be a higher chance of snagging one. Once again, she searched among the leaves, finding a red colored one, then tugging at it, removing it from the soil. "Please let this be a success..."

Blue pixelated crystals scattered into the night sky, the moonlight gleaming brightly onto her empty hands and her sculpted features. Yet another failure. "Are you kidding me? Seriously..." Mina slumped on the floor, wiping the sweat off at her face. Maybe her luck just wasn’t that good after all. “Come on, girl, you’re better than this!” Groaning, she got up, and moved towards the next.

The first herb Mina found dissipated into beautiful pixels when she placed it into her inventory. Feeling pleased with herself, she kept up the momentum, moving towards the next bush and searching through the leaves, trying to find a red one amongst all the green. The sensation she felt from brushing, the color and smoothness of the leaves, and even the veins on it as well, all of it seemed to replicate real-life, and it was a wonder how the creator managed to do it in the first place.

Finding another <Red Herb>, Mina tugged at it gently, easing it out from the soil, but to her dismay, it broke into pieces once the last bit of root came into the sunshine. “Damn it,” she cursed under her breath, sighing. What she said about this being easy had clearly backfired. Thankfully, she was alone, and there was no one to mock at her plight. With that, Mina dusted the soil off her hands, and moved on to the next one.  

Accepting this quest, and @Stryder will be assisting me!

On the outskirts of the city, the boars looked huge and scary, but in reality, they were only Level 1 mobs. Mina, slightly shocked by their appearance, placed her hand on the hilt of her blade, slowly avoiding the aggro radius of the mobs, while making her way towards the herb bushes. If Level 1 mobs were already this intimidating to her, how was she going to fare against higher level mobs on the floors above?

Finally reaching the herb bushes, which were indeed abundant compared to the spots just right outside town, Mina glanced behind her, taking a quick look at the boars who didn’t seem to be that interested in the player. She imagined them as various types of pork dishes: braised, stewed, grilled, fried… reducing her own fear of them, but also feeling her stomach growling at the thought of food. “Damn, is it possible to be hungry in a virtual world?” she chided herself. “Alright, time to concentrate.”

Moving towards a safer spot, she pulled up her sleeves, searching the bush right in front of her, a <Red Herb> appearing right in front of her eyes almost instantly. “Well, this is easy.”

Making a beeline towards the gates of the city, Mina took a quick look at her navigation. As told by Zackariah, there were quite a few places where the quest materials, <Red Herb> could be gathered, the nearest one right outside the city itself. Further into the wilderness, there was a spot that was quite abundant in <Red Herb>, but there was also the risk of being attacked by one of the boars out there in the open. “If this is a beginner’s quest, the loot parameters of gathering a <Red Herb> should be the same, no matter which spot I go to. The only difference that this ‘abundance’ would make will be the spawning rates of the herb bushes,” Mina mumbled to herself, walking briskly along the street. Should she take the risk and go further?

Turning a corner, she found the entrance/exit of the city, guarded by two gatekeepers, who were burly and menacing. Stopping just right before the exit, she opened up her equipment window, changing her vanity dress into her <Dark Leather Armor of Heavy Speed>, whilst equipping a <Draining Blade>, which appeared on her back with a pixelated glint, both the sword and scabbard. Brandishing it lightly, getting used to the weight, she sheathed it back, stepping out of the gates into the grasslands stretching far towards the horizon, moving towards the further spot. That was the choice she made, both fighting and gathering, killing two birds with one stone. 

Thank goodness he did. “Yes I am. You must be a new player?”

“Yes.”

“Then you must be here for one of my lessons.”

A quest pop up appeared right in front of her, titled <<The First Few Lessons are Free>> with options of accepting or declining the quest. The beginner’s handbook was certainly helpful. Tapping on the <Yes> button without any further thoughts, the quest marker above Zackariah’s head turned into an accepted one, and he began to follow his scripted dialogue. Mina listened intently, not wanting to miss out on any important stuff.

“So, I just need to gather the 5 materials on the outskirts of the town?”

“Yes”

“Alright, then I’ll be back shortly.”

Gathering materials through non-combat. It was an easy job, but she still had to be alert for any wild boars in that area. She had witnessed the amount of damage these boars could do, especially sudden charges, which caused quite a few deaths to players who were unsuspecting or thinking that these boars were just critters. At level 1, players like Mina were considered critters to the mobs as well.

Stepping out of the house, she breathed in the cool, night air, wondering what condition her real-life body was in. The streets were empty now, as it was the middle of the night. But it was going to be a long night for Mina.

Did she not spoke loudly enough? The old man, conforming to the standard NPC appearance among all the many RPG games, was at first surprised at the sudden intruder, but continued on with his chores, walking towards a table. Holding a potion bottle filled with red-liquid in one hand, and a test tube with green in another, he mixed the two liquids, the resulting solution bubbling, gleaming with a sparkle before settling down.

“Potion making huh…” Mina mumbled to herself, her eyes gradually making out the shelves in this small, cozy place of this old man. The quest marker above his head still blinked and spun, signifying that the quest was still unaccepted, and Mina decided on a sharp cough to get his attention, prompting him to turn towards her direction once more. 

“You must be Zackariah,” she repeated, albeit a little louder this time, praying that she’ll get a reply in return.

Following Hei into the back of the workshop, she saw, perfectly on the desk, the armor she was looking for. A dark leather tunic, looking sturdy yet lightweight. Hovering her fingers over, she checked out the item's status window. It was a <Rare> armor, with enhancements to MIT and EVA, exactly what a DPS user like her needed. "Dark Leather Armor of Heavy Speed..." she mumbled to herself. Even the name struck a bell within her. She had to get this. 

Turning to Hei, Mina eyed the armor once again, before speaking to him. "This's exactly what I'm looking for, you actually do have it in stock! May I have it?" She bowed profusely, showing appreciation to the tailor standing before her.

Going through the streets of the starting city, <<Town of Beginnings>>, under normal circumstances, it would be a surprise to see desolation among the beautiful buildings and the azure sky. But the situation Mina in was not normal. Not at all. She, like the thousands of players in this city, couldn’t believe her eyes when the Log-Out Button which was supposed to be there, had disappeared. And then came the teleportation to the town plaza, and the dreaded announcement made by the creator himself turned cheerful players into sorrowful messes. This had to be a dream, or so she thought, when she saw some players running out into the plains, wanting to escape their fate, but only meeting their demise as their bodies turning into millions of polygons and breaking apart from the wild boars’ charges. She then ran back to the plaza, finding an empty bench and slumping on it, wondering what to do with her life from now on.

After hours of feeling lost, Mina finally overcame the shock and realized that if she needed to escape, if THEY needed to escape, they had to do something about it. Flipping the beginner’s handbook open, she read through everything carefully, and that the first step to freedom was to embark on a quest called <<The First Few Lessons are Free>>. It was a beginner’s quest, it seemed relatively easy, and it paid well with items needed for the trip back out to the real world. Putting the coordinates on her map, she followed the route, stopping in front of a small wooden house with round windows. The time now was 11pm. Mina would be sleeping by now, but today, tomorrow, or in the near future, it’ll be a while before she can sleep peacefully again. Peeking inside the window, she saw the unaccepted quest marker on an old man, rocking in an old, wooden chair. Rapping the door with her knuckles, Mina then turned the door handle, stepping into the dimly lit house, the old man surprised at the stranger who barged into his place. “You must be Zackariah.”

"Oh hi there!" Mina got a slight shock at the man who seemingly got up from nowhere, but then she saw the table full of sweets and a cup of tea. Chuckling to herself, she stepped forward giving a bright smile and formally introducing herself before taking a look at his wares. To her dismay, the items were good, but not what she wanted to equip for herself.

"Say, do you have anything light and sturdy? Something that won't hinder my combat skills but still giving a good protection. I'm thinking of fighting to get myself out of this game as soon as possible. High hopes, I know, but one can dream, right?" Mina asked Hei in a nice and gentle manner, hoping that he'll be able to give her what she wanted.

OOC: @Hei I've filled in the form below! Thank you so much!

Mina wandered about in the Town of Beginnings, the reality of her situation striking her hard. She need to leave, to improve herself and level up, but with her current armor, things were surely going to be hard. Walking into the streets of the market, she searched left and right, looking for a place that sold good armor, greatly decreasing her percentage of dying in this game. It was midday, but one was not to be found. Sighing, she turned a corner, her eyes making up this sign in the far distance:

On 3/29/2017 at 9:53 PM, Hei said:

Special offer! 50% off for members of the Emerald Harbingers. 100% off for new players! With a second sign underneath reading: Just one free piece per person, for players below Level 15.

Was it sheer luck that she stumbled upon this place? "That's a complete steal!" she mumbled to herself. Well, it wouldn't hurt to take a look inside, right? Edging closer to the place, she cleared herself of any doubts, before stepping inside. 

"Um... Hi? I saw the sign outside and was wondering whether I could get a good piece of armor... "

Set B "DPS" Package

Name: Draining Blade
Item Type: 1H Straight Sword
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare 
Enhancements: +2DMG
Description: Upon selection of the DPS package, a dark sword curving slightly at the edge dropped into her inventory.

<<GENERAL INFORMATION>>

Profile:

Username: Mina
Real name: Myoui Mina (名井 南)
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Height: 1.63m
Weight: 46kg
 

About Her:

Being in a relatively well to do family, Mina was brought up elegantly, a model straight-A student who was also well versed in the performing arts. A relatively quiet person in real life, she only mixed around in a small clique of her own and was introduced to MMORPG via one of her friends. The open-world idea and avatar suited her, nobody knew who she was, and she could become another person in game while hiding behind her beautiful avatar she painstaking created and trained on her own. As long as she kept her good grades up, her parents didn't mind her gaming addiction, which turned deadly on the fated day of Sword Art Online's release.

It was the world's first ever VRMMORPG, and the virtual world she saw through the beta players eyes on the Internet enticed her. She wondered how she'd fare inside, playing the game not behind her computer screen, but as her real-life self. The idea of it scared her a little, but the view she saw was too amazing, and she decided to queue a day before with all the geeks and nerds looking to buy the same game and the NerveGear as well. Managing to snag a copy, she took to her bed, sipping a cup of water before starting the game. Who'd knew that it would be a long time before she ever got up from the bed, if she ever could.

Virtues:
Hardworking
As the saying goes, "Hard work beats talent" and that is what Mina is, a hard-worker. She tries her best at everything, be it schoolwork, gaming, or ballet. And in this case, the game needs a hard worker in order to defeat the bosses and escape from it.

Tenacity
Tenacity is a very strong trait in her. Even when she falters or when things doesn't go her way, she's determined enough to continue on, breaking her own limits one step at a time. Due to this, any obstacles seen in her way is just another stepping stone for her to improve as a person.

Ambitious
Being a goal-oriented person, she strives to become the best in anything she does, rarely sitting still and waiting for things to happen. She prefers to create opportunities and execute them herself. Mina gets a sense of satisfaction through achieving her goals, and it greatly minimizes the fear and anxiety she has during the process of doing so.

Flaws:
Introverted
As an introvert, Mina usually prefers to keep to herself, fading in or moving away in large crowds because she just doesn't want to be noticed. Preferring to do things alone, it makes things hard for her if she is told to work with a large group all of a sudden.

Stubborn
Tenacity is one thing, but stubbornness is another when Mina only wants to do things her own way instead of compromising to other people. Even if there was an easier way, if Mina's fixed on doing it the hard way, then the hard way it is.

Distrust
When "friends" of Mina only became friends with her because of the monetary benefits that she can give them, Mina slowly became less trusting of the people around her, instead relying on herself to get things done. She's overly suspicious of things, and it can sometimes bug her for days.

<<IN GAME INFORMATION>>

Profession:

Skills:
Non-combat:
»

Passive:
»

Combat:
»

Weapon skills:  
» 1H Straight Sword (RANK 1)
Effects: +1 Base Dmg

Armor skills:
» 

Inventory:
Weapons/Tools:
»  Set B "DPS Package"

• Weapon of choice, of Rare or lower quality
• Vanity Armor of choice
• (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)
• 2,500 Col and (10) Tier 1 materials
• 3 SP & 400 Cor, 5 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality, 1 Tier One Damage Potion. 1 Tier One Over-Health Potion
• Spoiler

  Name: Peregrine's Eye 
  Profession: Artisan
  Rank: 7
  ID:  90749
  Roll: 12
  Item Type: Ring
  Tier: 1
  Quality: Perfect
  Enhancements: +3 ACC
  Description: A black, metallic ring with engravings and a small ruby embedded in the middle, which glows during combat.

  Post link http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/13298-f1-artisan-rank-7/?page=7

<<IN GAME LOG>>

Roleplays:
 

Relationships:



Story Thus Far: