Arabelle

"Really? Never heard that before. If we're talking inspirational quotes, the best I can think of is something that went along the lines of... 'If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.'" Arabelle hummed, turning them around so they were heading deeper into the woods. There wasn't much she was worried about here. Mobs were basic, maybe there could be a player killer lurking but that was hardly the case in Floor 1. Low-levels had just as much importance as her weekly Pinterest mail. You know: largely ignored, sometimes she took a closer look but forgot about its contents quickly, and rarely had the potential to show something that was actually good? Anyways, what she meant to say is that the higher levels, most especially the ones actively clearing the game had more priority! And PKing a level 1 player with 20 health was a really, really weak flex. So, not many edgy kids in Floor 1. "Can be applied to this topic, right? Solo players aren't held back by their slower teammates, but risk a lot more in exchange. And, doesn't really work out in the long-term. Biggest reason people level is to fight to bosses way up there, right? Those things can only be beaten with raid groups, and I've heard of a bunch of quests where you could die if you're not with a team. That's a long ways away, though!"

She gave a dismissive wave of her hand and stood on her tiptoes, reaching up for a fruit hanging from a low branch. It came up too short. She gave a small pout and jumped. The branch sprung up as she tugged on the fruit and snapped on its stem. Arabelle brushed off a few leaves that had fallen on her head and dismissed the item. "Huginn, then. I already know someone called Shiro." Was she going to tell him now? What her link to him was? She pondered over it for a bit, then ultimately rejected it. Maybe it would be fun to mess with her best friend's boyfriend(?) a little more.

His next few lines had her thinking: 'man, this guy is totally depressing!' He was just as bad as Mishiro,  way back in the first few months of the game. For some reason, the socially inept and somewhat... sad? (she gave off that vibe often though) girl had thought it appropriate to apologize whenever she so much as lightly teased someone. Or even when she opened up to someone she was in the process of getting to know. It was a part of everyday conversation, and it took her months to get that in her head for some reason! And now this guy was apologizing for asking an honest question. 

Birds of the same feather flock together...? But! - and here, Arabelle's head was starting to hurt - relationships required some form of diversity. Person A offered something good and unique [something Person B did not have already] to Person B, and vice versa. Sooo.... she looked back at Huginn, scrutinizing the boy's blank expression. Maybe even searching for something that wasn't there. But to be honest, someone who offered nothing was better than someone who'd already made her cry twice. Arabelle averted her ashen gaze and looked around the forest for more materials with her usual smile. 

"Mm, like you said. I was alone and you were, like, right outside the NPC's place, I guess?" she replied innocently. "I know someone like that. They think with numbers and logic rather than emotions. I get along with them a lot so maybe I just ended up naturally drawn to someone like you! Hehe~."

@Huginn

"I am so gonna treat myself to some good pancakes later," Arabelle announced, to no one in particular. It had been less than two minutes since she left Pinball behind and already, the lack of sound was starting to get to her. "Maybe I'll buy some for Pin, too. Maybe even make it a date. I wonder if he likes pancakes. That person liked pancakes and they're pretty similar, I guess." She paused, listened for movement. The child at the back of the cave had stopped crying, probably heard her approaching footsteps and froze, waiting for her to reach it with a mixture of fear and anticipation. But who was she kidding? It was an NPC. "Pancakes, pancakes~."

She paused again and her ears picked up a sharp, rushing sound followed by heavy, frantic footsteps. Arabelle stopped walking and turned around. "Pin, are you-- oh, sh*t!!" The only thought she could register was 'that did not sound cute at all!' before the boy collided with her and knocked her to the ground, and somehow... he fell back, too? She wasn't that heavy though. The small purple-haired girl groaned and opened her eyes to see the Giant Bat that Mister Frontliner was supposed to kill ages ago harmlessly swoop overhead.

Blessing in disguise?

The quest mob's attention was still on her somehow, or it would not have flown all the way here. Arabelle slammed the blunt end of her weapon's shaft against the ground and pulled herself up. "You did not hear that. Just kidding." She pulled useless Mister Frontliner up by the wrist and smiled innocently as her eyes briefly locked with his. "Reallyyyy, I didn't know you were so forward, Pin~. But that's to be expected. Anyone would fall for a cute girl like me." Arabelle let go and turned to face the Giant Bat that was somehow still alive. "Well, whatever. I feel the same way, and stuff like that. Annoying bat first."

The safest thing to do at this point was to withdraw from combat and pray to the dice gods that Pinball wouldn't take hours to land that final hit, and go off and find the kid herself. But that wasn't what she wanted to do. The safest option was always the most boring one. "Shi-chan." The green blade of her scythe flickered and a Sword Art activated as she rushed the airborne mob which had dipped down low enough for its attacks to reach a person of short height. With Shikama Douji held up, blade facing forward, Arabelle skidded underneath the Giant Bat and swung her scythe in a downwards arc, effortlessly leaving a long red cut along its midsection. 

She came to a full stop behind the mob and held up a peace sign. "Better kill it this time around!" Then she turned and made for the back of the cave.

@Pinball

"Heh. Don't take it too seriously. I'm not raising a red flag or foreshadowing anything... Nope! Definitely not!" But, disappear again...? That was an odd way to put it. Arabelle casually bent down to pick a few berries - outlined in the yellow color of a quest objective in her detection - and laid them out on her hand, examining them closely. The quest material split into data fragments as she dismissed it to her inventory and turned back to Huginn, her red eyes holding a slight hint of thoughtfulness. "Yeah. This game really makes it easy, doesn't it? The Battle Axe's first rank had me struggling against the most basic of basic mobs but once I invested enough to reach the second, I could easily..." Shikama Douji appeared in her hands and she swung her weapon (no, not at Huginn, she didn't want to scare off her best friend's boyfriend, even if he didn't know who she was yet), its blade cutting through empty air with a sharp hiss. "Slice through them like butter!" She relaxed her grip on her scythe and sheathed it at her back again. "Pretty sure most of the high-leveled players have thought that. Not with mobs, but with players. And that's not even considering the game's effect on people's mental states and their moralities..."

"Whatever. That part's complicated. This game makes everything complicated. Remember when everyone just logged in and wanted to have some fun?" Arabelle sighed and spun around, looking for more. "People react to things like these differently, so it's hard to generalize. But! Here's a bit of a dilemma. With everyone having enough power to kill you, the first conclusion you'd arrive at is that you can't trust anyone. But with that danger being present, you can't go solo ride the whole time, right? It's just reckless and arrogant, kind of. We don't exactly have the skills to detect nearby players or the enhancements to endure a higher-leveled player's attacks. Dunno, just my opinion." The small purple-haired girl looked back at Huginn and while her usual smile was ever-present on her face, her singsong tone took on a slightly more serious note. "You can't exactly trust anyone but doing everything alone doesn't give you a better chance at surviving either. Troublesome, isn't it?" Noticing that her quest companion hadn't gathered any materials yet, she turned and pointed further out into the fields. "Let's go further out? Maybe we'll have better chances." She started walking and looked over her shoulder as an afterthought. "I know I was talking about usernames and stuff earlier, but call me Arabelle. Everyone calls me that, and someone as friendly as me can't possibly have any enemies~. So with that said, what should I call you? Shiro or Huginn?"

@Huginn

"I'll go," the quiet boy behind her volunteered, right when Arabelle mentioned her best friend's username. She set her empty glass down and quickly looked over her shoulder with a small smirk. Huginn looked somewhat resolved to join the party (that was as much as she could tell from his unreadable expression anyway), and a moment after, emotion - confusion and a bit of hesitation? - flickered across his face. Oooh! That was... a lot of unrealized feelings she was detecting there. Satisfied with the way things were going, Arabelle hummed to herself and swung her legs as she turned back to the bartender, ordering her last cup of orange juice before the party set out for the fields.

"You can get drunk. But, big difference is: it's all in your head. I don't know if players still consider that as being 'drunk' since it was never due to the alcohol in the first place, but~," Arabelle spun around on her stool and poked the cute, fluffy boy with a totally uncharacteristic love for beer on the forehead. She smiled. "You look a bit woozy to me. We're gonna be fighting stuff later, are you sure you don't want to order some water? You know, counter the beer's Placebo Effect with another Placebo Effect? Do things even work that way?"

The small purple-haired girl turned around, finished the rest of her drink, and hopped off her stool. "Mm. Not my secret to tell. Ask her later, and she'll tell you if she feels like it," she promised with a conspiratorial wink. Then she turned to Kirbs, who was a lot quieter here than when she was with Dustin. That didn't discount the sass though. "Hey, why are you counting me in? I was being good to myself and drinking nothing but orange juice!" Not that drinking alcohol would change anything anyway. She'd already tried a few hard drinks... a long, long time ago and they hardly had an effect on her. "Alright, everyone! Let's get going before Bell decides to order another!"

"Mm?" Arabelle spun around on her bar seat to face the source of a familiar, toneless voice: one she'd heard maybe just a few days ago and didn't really expect to hear from so soon. Huginn. What a neat coincidence. Just when she was about to introduce someone nice to Mishiro. Unfriendly tsundere personality or not, maybe those two were really made for each other! She still remembered the way they smiled at each other last Christmas, after all~. The small purple-haired girl propped one elbow on the counter with a sweet smile. "Oh, you mean this guy?" Carefully, she reached out to the glowing ball of blue light that was hovering curiously before her and cupped it in her gloved hands, drawing it close. A pleasant sort of warmth spread through her palms as she gave it a gentle push towards the boy. "There you go. So, what brings you here? And..." She leaned to the side to check. "Alone? You know, if you're looking for company, you could always give a certain someone a call. Wink, wink."

Yes, she actually said that last part out loud. Arabelle giggled and spun around to face the bar once again. "Oh, also. Neo, Huginn. We're doing this kind of experience farming thing. Right, Bell?" She nudged the boy seated beside her with an expression that basically said: 'you better take the guy in, too. I got lots of shipping to do,' then looked over her shoulder at Huginn. "A bunch of people are going, and I can say that most of them seem trustworthy. Also, Shiro-chan's coming along. She's waiting at the first main intersection south from here, sooo..." 

She didn't finish that thought and instead returned to lazily swirling her plastic straw around her drink.

Meanwhile, the cute boy beside her was downing his drink like it wasn't 10 in the morning. Arabelle drank from her orange juice (it was never alcohol, hard drinks didn't suit her cute and innocent appearance) and watched him order another with an amused smile. Already, he was starting to come a bit... loose, speaking in a louder tone and asking Arabelle about something she'd spoken to him about literally a minute earlier. "Yeah. Her name's Mishiro. She can't come to the plaza but she should be somewhere around the first intersection, south from here." 

"Then, Shiro it is! It's a bit confusing having to call two people 'Shiro,' with the only difference being an honorific at the end, though..." The girl tucked her hands behind her back and averted her gaze, her lips forming a small pout; a cute, deceiving expression that any ordinary man would have fallen prey to. Did Claude count as an ordinary man? Arabelle thought for a bit, then dropped the angry-cute expression once Shiro turned away. As she expected. Her attempts at breaking the ice or just generally getting a reaction weren't working. But from what she could recall from the Christmas Event... both he and Mishiro were smiling. Future blackmail material knowledge update: apparently, her best friend liked the difficult type. She blinked, a bit taken aback when he approached her again and offered her a small, white flower. Nah, bruh. Mishiro probably already likes you, bruh. "Charming, aren't you?" Arabelle took the flower and twirled its delicate stem between her gloved fingers with a small smile. 

Her gaze moved to the upper-left field of her vision, where his name and HP bar now appeared underneath hers. "Huginn..." she read out loud, following behind the boy. "Huh. So 'Huginn' is your player name and 'Shiro' is either your real name or a completely different name you chose to go by." Arabelle searched the area and once again drew a blank. She turned to Shiro and smiled. "Smart. Did you already know that giving out your player name is much more dangerous than giving your real name? I mean, there are a bunch of things people can do if they have your username. Pretty ironic, right?" In most online games, it was the reverse. A semi-transparent menu appeared in front of her and she deposited the quest material into her inventory. "Well, whatever caution you had was pretty much thrown under the bus when you accepted my party request. Not to say that what you did was wrong or anything. You probably figured I was too nice and cute to be a threat. And you got that right. I don't care about anyone's username. But, hypothetically, what would you have done if I was secretly an info broker?"

[ooc: tag @Huginn arabelle grabs huginn's material.]

"Come onnn," the small purple-haired girl urged. "Didn't you promise me to go on that gathering trip last Christmas? I mean sure, promise still stands, but when is it happening? I can't farm mobs with you if our level gap's too big, and I'm pretty sure I'm ten levels above you right now!" Oh, man. First time she'd ever said that to someone, and it felt so good. Like she was somehow taller than she was right now (*cough* 4'11" *cough*), and she was looking down on those puny low-leveled noobs. Hehehe... "Anyways, point is, I'm starting to focus more on leveling up right now so you should leave your shop from time to time, too!"

Not like Mishiro had the option to refuse. Currently, they were heading towards the central plaza of the Town of Beginnings, and Arabelle had an iron grip on her best friend's wrist. Wielding a big, heavy scythe sure had its benefits! "Ah, by the way. I almost forgot. Fortunately - unfortunately - we're not gonna have some quality one-on-one bonding time." Because they would totally end up slacking off. "I noticed a poster in a shop earlier, some guy looking for teammates. So, we're gonna help him and get you a social life in the process." And she came prepared. Arabelle had her usual light armor set, consisted of a Japanese schoolgirl/military uniform with her usual pair of white gloves. Her hair was pulled up into a braided ponytail, held together by a large, red ribbon; and an empty scythe sheath rested at her back. She smiled and pulled out a rolled-up poster from her inventory tossing it to her friend. "Consider it a favor, from the bestest best friend you'll ever have. Also, the meeting place is the central plaza. You can... stay behind, if you want. We'll come get you later."

They parted at the intersection nearest the plaza. Arabelle lingered in the area for a few more moments before she turned and headed for the meeting spot alone.  

As always, there were many players milling about the plaza. Most of them were in groups and some brooding by themselves, but whatever the case, they seemed to have already forgotten that this was the exact place where Kayaba had made that declaration that started their nightmare. Arabelle thought back to the girl she had left behind at the intersection. Giving her a sweet, but resigned smile. She tilted her head up to look at the sky that at some point had been covered in red. "Geez, Shiro-chan. Your and Claude's gloominess is rubbing off on me." And she cupped both of her cheeks and psyched herself up, looking at the people around the town square. One pair, in particular, seemed to be looking out for people, so she approached them. "Oh hey, Kirbs. How're you doing?" She gave a friendly wave to the redhead she'd met in the Christmas event. Thanks to one of her lovely guildmates, there had been a bit of a misunderstanding between them, but it was all cool now. Then she turned to the snowy-haired boy who she could only describe as soft and cute. Like a cinnamon roll with very squishable cheeks. Oh my~. She could think of one person who dug that type and she was waiting outside the plaza. Better hurry this up! "And hello to you too, stranger. My name's Arabelle. Are you the person who put up those requests?" She transitioned to a soldier-like salute, though her playful smile made her seem less of a rigid person. "Level 9 DPS player, at your service!"

[ooc: dragging along the inactive @Mishiro. stats will be posted later, if needed.]

"What, you'd rather have a cute, fragile girl like me run around a dark cave alone? Pinball. You. Meanie." Contrary to her words, she took off her attention from the fight as her teammate launched himself into the air, long enough for her to assess her immediate surroundings. Part of her worried that he was going to just up and leave her in the middle of combat like that dumb blonde did the other day and she would again be left alone fighting mobs way above her level, but... how could she put it? She didn't really care. "Not behind us, nor ahead of us. They must've taken a wrong turn." And there was only one fork in the path they had taken earlier. Etherial seemed like a low-level, but she had the much stronger Reinholt, so... They were probably going to survive without Pinball's help. "Players at Reinholt's level solo this quest all the time."

Pinball landed beside her. One mob down, the other at full HP. So even someone at his level was having difficulties with the darkness of the cave... "Kill them now, huh?" she teased softly. Arabelle focused on the remaining Giant Bat's outline and chased after it as it dodged the spear-user's attack. Directly underneath the flying mob, she swung her scythe in an uppercut and tore through its right wing. The mob fell to the ground, <<Paralyzed>>.

Arabelle felt the boy's calculating gaze on her and the Christmas familiar lazily floated over, as if it was examining her too. It was a cute, playful little ball of blue flame and she found herself wondering if her hand would pass through if she tried to touch it. Or if it would end up roasting her glove. "Don't concern yourself over it. I'm honestly a bit over-leveled for this whole tutorial thing so if anything, you're gonna be the one holding me back." The small purple-haired girl sped a few paces forward and spun around to face him with a teasing smile. "Just kidding. The RNG would probably end up failing me this time around, too."

Then she heard him chuckle. The boy pulled his familiar close to him somewhat possessively, and his attitude seemed to shift slightly. Did it have something to do with her friendlier response or the little ball of light floating by his shoulder, she wondered. "Well." Arabelle dropped back and matched her step with his. She paused for a bit, then she cleared her throat, proceeding to do her best impression of the quest NPC they had both spoken with earlier. "A wise man once said: self-awareness is the first step to improving oneself!"

It was her roundabout way of saying 'it's fine.'

"Mm? Pardon? I thought you said your name was... Shiro?" Arabelle had to do a double take and a quick memory check to reject the assumption that this 'Shiro' guy was secretly her best friend, trolling her for all those times Arabelle teased her. First and most important point of all, her friend was just not that type of person. "Arabelle." The red ribbon at the back of her head bobbed as she nodded at him. So... if Mishiro and Shiro ever got together, would that mean their ship name would be Shiro x 2? She almost laughed out loud. "I know someone with a similar name. She's my closest friend, and I call her Shiro-chan." - Calling one Shiro and the other Shiro-chan would be confusing as heck though! - "So, what should I call you? Shiro-kun? Or something shorter, like Shi?" - No wait, she knew someone named Shi, too! - "Sh... How about 'sugar'?"

A whopping five minutes. New record for Arabelle! ...Not really. When she first met her wonderful guild leader, she had it done in two. She giggled to herself and made a dismissive wave with her hand. "Just kidding," she said softly. But it was mostly intended for an added point to her defense, in case her friend ever found out that Arabelle had met her boyfriend/love interest/whatever they were. 

They passed the invisible boundary that separated the safe zone from the outside and Arabelle materialized her scythe. A bright red color seeped into her ashen eyes as she turned her head and searched her surroundings for materials. Few mobs, no materials. Her gaze instinctively went to the upper-left field of her vision. "Oooh, almost forgot! Here." She opened her menu and swiped over a party request to the boy named Shiro. "Just a precautionary measure. Mobs in this zone are generally never aggroed unless you attack them first, but I'd like to know immediately if my teammate's HP starts to drop."

[ooc: tag @Huginn]

Man. The boy slowly rose to his feet and Arabelle took a step back to allow him more space. She maintained her hopeful, innocent smile as he moved toward the shop door, and then paused to answer her question like it was simply an afterthought. What a nice, friendly guy. And here she thought she'd gotten a bit lucky, finding a somewhat familiar face right when she was looking for someone to take the quest with. Instead, she ended up finding Generic Edgy Teenager with a Superiority Complex No. 23. "Ah, clues?" Well, Mister Detective. To anyone passing by, you totally looked like you were crying. The small purple-haired girl hummed and pressed two gloved fingers against her lips. She was already here, so she might as well impart some beginner's knowledge. "It's simple. Most of the quest NPCs on this floor are pretty generic. Either you say you want to learn something from them or you ask if they need help with anything. None of that complicated dialogue choice stuff you find in VNs."

The boy disappeared into the shop and Arabelle must've been feeling really lonely (and a bit curious) today as she idled around the shop front and waited for him to come back out. He did, then he thanked her formally whilst walking backward - we get it, you're supposed to be cool, but watch where you're going! Then he turned around and walked away. Which left Arabelle wondering just how her friend got along with someone who gave off that type of first impression. Well... in situations like this, there was only one reasonable conclusion! She tilted her head to the side and mumbled to herself, "A tsundere, probably...?"

"Say," the boy would turn to find that Arabelle had caught up to him. She smiled innocently, walking alongside him with her hands tucked behind her back. "You got that quest from the old man too, right? Well... we're heading the same way, so how about doing it together?"

@Huginn

She barely registered the boy's warning as the two Giant Bats charged straight for her. With a surprised squeak, Arabelle instinctively brought up her scythe's large blade to protect her head. That was dumb. Totally dumb. That scout would've had a field day hearing about this. After all those things she learned - she just had to go and make the very basic, beginner's mistake of running straight into an area without (double-)checking for enemies first. She grit her teeth and faced the two bats, outlined by her detection, and braced herself.

 ...Except the attacks she had been expecting never came and she slowly lowered her weapon to find that the mobs had sailed over her head, favoring the other, (unexpectedly) much louder target. She didn't even need to duck. 

For once: praise their one-foot height difference.

Arabelle spun around, finding only Pinball standing protectively in front of her with a very basic-looking staff in hand. It was just the two of them. In a cave. That happened to be really dark. Oh my~. But where were the others? "Aaand they're blocking the only way out. Lovely." She glanced up at her HP and back at the two mobs they were facing. They were pretty high up, but she figured that would change if they turned their attention to her. Two hits should be the limit... "Meh. Good enough. Hey, Pin. Don't chicken out on me, okay?"

If Pinball was stressed from her recklessly running into the depths of the cave earlier, then this one would be on a whole different level. She darted past her teammate and firmly positioned herself in front of the two flying mobs. Normally, even her large weapon couldn't reach that far (hint: short arms), but with her energy full... close enough! "Shi-chan." Two powerful swings from the scythe-wielder carved an 'X' into what seemed like nothing but empty space - until she paused and the shock waves generated from her attacks cut through the air, completely missing one and slicing through the skin of the other. Arabelle turned back to her teammate with a simple smile. "Seems my aim was a bit off. Your turn."

Upon seeing something out of place, the small girl's sprightly steps slowed. There was someone curled up beside the quest NPC's door with a bright little cloud floating above their head. His black hood was drawn over his head and he had his head down so from her angle, she couldn't see his face. If she were to approach him right now and add in some rain (or that weird camera filter that layers a light shade of pink over everything), it would make the perfect, cliche boy-meets-girl scene. Arabelle giggled quietly to herself.

There were some people passing by, and they spared the boy some curious, maybe even a bit concerned, glances before walking away. Sheesh. Cry somewhere else where nobody can see you. I can almost feel the secondhand embarrassment. Arabelle passed him, ready to offer that sound piece of advice then push the NPC's door open and disappear into the shop (points for drama!), when he raised her head as he heard her steps and she saw his face. Now that she got a closer look at it... That cloud thingy - the Christmas event familiar - and the appearance she vaguely recognized. Right from when Mishiro abruptly cut off their conversation and ran off to meet a boy. From what she heard, they walked around the festival together after she and Claude totally ditched her decided to go home early.

NANI?!

The awesome, witty dialogue she had prepared for this moment evaporated and Arabelle simply averted her ashen gaze. She stepped into the shop and closed the door behind her. Yeah. She wasn't even surprised now. Her best friend was totally into the edgy type.

"Sa-lu-ta-tions, old man!" She grinned and gave a friendly little wave with her hand. "Remember me? I'm here to retake the quest."

"Ah, young adventurer! You're back again. And I see that you've gotten stronger since our last meeting," the generic tutorial NPC responded enthusiastically. Gotten stronger? The only difference was the armor she had equipped. "Yet you're still here to learn some of the basics are you not? A wise decision! A warrior from old once said..."

"I-understand-all-the-quest-objectives-so-I-accept-the-quest!" Arabelle blurted out without pausing. Tutorial NPCs and their endless babbling. Video games made this mistake a lot, in an attempt to introduce players to the world's lore right off the bat. The NPC only gave a pleased smile and nodded as a window appeared in front of her with the words 'Quest Accepted.' "'Kay, thanks. Bye-onara~!"

The impatient girl was out of there in a jiffy. 

The boy was still there. Geez. Go off and cry to Mishiro. Aren't you guys friends or something? Then she'll finally get over that stupid crush and look at someone else instead. Well, whatever his problem was, he was still her friend's friend. So they weren't complete strangers who have no relation to each other, at least...? "Hey," Arabelle greeted simply. He would look up and see a small girl dressed in a black military uniform lined with neon green - no, not the traditional one, the one they always use in anime; short skirt and schoolgirl-esque style and everything - standing beside him with gloved hands tucked behind her back, as if she were hiding something. Then in accordance with the somewhat childish, immature feel her appearance gave off, she continued with a playful smile. "Somehow, I have a feeling I would be lying if I said 'it's not everyday I see someone curled up in the streets like that.' This game really makes those types of things seem like a usual part of life by now. So? Did that NPC's ramblings scare you off? Or did she end up turning you down after all?"

@Huginn

After that embarrassing mistake the other day (namely, the first dragon quest she took with a few of her guildmates), Arabelle decided that now was the time to stop lazing around and start leveling up. She'd joined a guild, and even if it was on a whim, she supposed she still needed to do something and pull her own weight. Guilds were made for people to help each other, and if she kept endlessly lagging behind, even Stryder would notice.

Quote

From: Mishiro

I'm busy with my shop. Ask someone else.

"I swear you're just copy-pasting that!" the small girl fumed, dismissing the PM window with a flick of her hand. Her uptight friend had used the same excuse when she asked her out that other day in the tavern with Dustin, and then when she asked her out on New Years (not New Years Eve, that was a complete trainwreck), and then when she asked her if that gathering trip was going to happen anytime soon. Apparently not. "I guess girls really change when they start getting popular with the boys~," Arabelle thought out loud with a slight hint of pride in her voice. She remembered the Christmas Festival and the moment her friend left their group to approach a cute boy. Who would've known her boring friend actually got game?

She locked her shop door behind her and took a few steps forward. The black-green skirt of her military-like uniform flared as she spun around to briefly glance up at the tall, narrow three-story building that currently served as her home in Aincrad. Then she turned around and with a semi-transparent window showing a map of the main settlement hovering in front of her, she went on her way. The first thing in her appropriately named Operation Pass-The-Other-Girl's-Level-and-have-her-favorite-guild-leader-look-her-way-instead was to retake that tutorial quest. She'd already taken it before and it had been the most boring thing in existence, so she flunked it on purpose to play around with her much more interesting companion. He never learned about that, so asking him to help her this time around was out of the question. And so were her guildmates. She would never tell them straight out that she hadn't even done the first tutorial quest yet. Still, she needed that SP bonus, and this was the easiest thing (with a level-limited SP reward) on the list. 

She didn't need anyone's help on a simple gathering quest. But as she walked, she couldn't help but think about how awfully quiet it was. 

@Huginn

So now the responsibility of dealing damage rested solely on her new favorite guildmate, Dustin. That was perfectly fine. His attack from earlier took off a large chunk of HP from the dragon hatchling and going by his current level, he should have enough energy for a few more hits. So - Arabelle's eyes narrowed as she circled around to the dragon's left side while the tanks on her team positioned themselves to the right and held its attention - why is he dealing less damage this time?! Was his level lower than she thought it was after all? Did he burn out somehow? Was he using a much weaker Sword Art with a guaranteed stun? That didn't make sense. The Other Girl's level and Mitigation, as annoying as her general attitude towards things was, should be high enough to tank a bunch of direct hits from the dragon. Her performance in the gathering mission the other day - even if all she did was <<Howl>> lamely off into the distance and panic everytime she was attacked - was the source on this.

Mace missed her <<Stun>>. Gryas let out a <<Howl>> and called out for her to attack. Arabelle reversed her grip on her weapon and didn't hesitate. The dragon lifted its wing and she quickly ducked underneath it - oh god, if it folded its wing now, I would be toast -  and ran along its exposed side, the sharp end of her scythe's blade cutting through its flesh as she passed through. Upon reaching the end, the small purple-haired girl stopped and whirled around. She bent her legs, gripped her scythe tighter, and launched herself into the air, delivering a crippling strike to its back. 

1 DMG. <<Paralyzed>>.

She hopped off the incapacitated hatchling, slightly dissatisfied. Well, if she couldn't deal more than one damage per attack, the best she could do now was follow up on Mace's failed stuns and help keep their tank alive by making him take less hits.

"What, don't have any trust in me?" Arabelle teased upon sensing her fellow guildmate's hesitation. Figures. She was well aware that she didn't really come across as the type who was good at making strategies... or taking anything seriously for the matter. But this fight had been going on for too long, and she figured it was time to take a small risk and speed things up. The risk, being her not landing the final hit and having the Merfolk commit suicide by Thorns. The small girl spun her scythe in her hands and slammed blunt end of its handle against the ground. A faint greenish glow was beginning to coat its blade. "That's no good, Dustin. Didn't they teach you that guildmates are there for you to fight alongside and trust? Besides, when it comes to plotting out fights, I think I've learned from one of best!"

More like she watched from the sidelines while he gave orders. But that was enough, right? The blade began to glow a brighter green. Dustin critted against the mob - <<Paralyzed>> it, too; she took note of that for later - so one of her weakest Sword Arts should do it. "Don't jinx me, Dustin," she continued with a smile. "Jinxes are always bad. Come on, Shi-chan!" Taking her scythe in both hands, she sprinted forward, following through on Dustin's attack with two powerful swings of her own.

Aaand she missed. By overestimating the reach of her scythe once again, combined with all the pressure she had been feeling with landing one last hit some stroke of terribly bad luck, she'd completely missed a <<Paralyzed>> opponent. Arabelle felt heat rise up her cheeks as she laughed nervously and distanced herself from the Merfolk that was now recovered from its status effect. What in the flipping - Dustin really did jinx it! Jinxes are the worst!! Arabelle cleared her throat, still clearly embarrassed. "And in other literature, they call it foreshadowing." She glanced at the other mob, already at low HP. Damn, she was too slow with killing this one. Part of her had already accepted that there was a small chance of her landing the last hit on the first Merfolk, but she decided that they should at least try. "You guys keep attacking the first Merfolk, but as much as possible, try not to kill it!"

The Nepent Variant made one last desperate attempt to maintain its safe distance from her before it was promptly sliced in half by the scythe's large blade. It gave a screech as its virtual body split into two and the broken halves fell to the ground, later dissolving into blue data fragments. 

Arabelle listened for nearby mobs and sheathed her scythe. She tapped the window that had appeared in front of her, raising its brightness.

Quote

×1 Nepent's Ovule

And another, as soon as she dismissed the first.

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Quest Completed!

"After all that sh*t, it better have." Arabelle opened her settings, switched over to the display section, and ensured that the default brightness of pop-up windows was still at its lowest settings. She closed all the windows and glanced back at the spot where the Nepent Variant had died, her ashen gaze holding an uncharacteristic coldness. Then she turned around and began the short trip back to the safe zone.

She was never taking a quest with that dumb blonde ever again.

The damn thing was still alive and kicking. Literally. Arabelle reversed her grip and attempted another attack - a basic slash this time, that tiny sliver of HP couldn't possibly withstand a successful non-SA attack - and was flung back by its flailing vines, the Nepent Variant's last desperate attempt to create some distance between them. She slammed her scythe against the ground, pushed herself up and flipped in the air, landing heavily on her feet with a wince. The girl leaned against her large weapon, its handle buried firmly in the ground, and let out a long, shaky breath as she paused to regain balance from her numb legs.

How long had she been fighting this thing since that lovely friend of hers left? Wearily, she pulled her scythe from the ground and faced the quest mob. "One basic hit, I think... Come on, Shikama Douji," she said in an undertone. Combat was normally a bit fun, at least it was a nice change of pace from the usual routine of running around the safe zone, pretending to explore places she'd already completely mapped out in her mind, and meeting people she knew she'd forget about in a few days. But this - "I want to go back already..."

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ID: 111552 | BD: 4 + 1 = 5 | MD: 6

Arabelle | HP: 20/40 | EN: 0/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [-10 HP] [-2 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 1/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG |

The simplest explanation she could give was one word: echolocation. Hence, the constant annoying noises it made and how it was able to detect her even as she tried to create the illusion that she was charging at one side (the whiz of a rock) when she was actually at the other. It was perhaps the first time she learned that much about a mob's behavior through experiencing it herself and she felt a glow of pride warm up her chest. That scout would definitely be so proud of her! she gushed internally.

Alright. Enough celebrating. Ignoring the vines that had hit her while she was distracted, Arabelle backed away and disappeared into the forest, where the mob followed. A series of clicks. She stood between two trees and the mob approached. Another series of clicks. She hid behind the large trunk at her right, and suddenly spun at her heel. Click, click, click. The Variant sent its arms flying to the right of the tree she had been hiding in, possibly anticipating that she had kept running. But, no. She appeared from the left and her boots crunched against dead leaves scattered across the ground as she sped toward the Nepent with a maniacal laugh. An opening! Finally, finally, finally! "You're mine! Shi-chan!"

There was a satisfying sound as her scythe's glowing blade sliced through the Nepent's undefended side.

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ID: 111551 | BD: 5 + 1 = 6 | MD: 6

<<Whirlwind>>: 4 * 2 = 8 - 5 = 3 DMG

Arabelle | HP: 30/40 | EN: 0/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [-10 HP] [-2 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 1/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | [-3 HP]

She uncorked another potion and drank it. The empty vial shattered as she tossed it carelessly to the ground. Safe! Okay, so maybe that distraction wasn't loud enough, but - no, it had whizzed past its ear (or where she assumed its ear was). When you take off one sense, like sight in this situation, it was generally agreed on that the other senses would be heightened. So the sound it made must have been enough of a - Arabelle deflected one vine with the handle of her scythe and leaped over the other, sprinting toward the other end of the clearing. The Nepent Variant followed behind her, making annoyed clicks with its mouth as it lashed out at her once again. 

To which she darted to the side and let the vines harmlessly crash into the ground she had previously been standing on. The plant mob withdrew its arms, clicking and screeching with its mouth, and it turned to face her once again. Arabelle blinked. Oh. Of course it had to be something as simple as that.

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ID: 111550 | MD: 2

Using 1 Starter Healing Potion (+50 HP)

Arabelle | HP: 40/40 | EN: 1/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [+50 HP] [+1 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | 

 

[-1 Starter Healing Potion]

Energy back up to 2. Arabelle kept her distance from its arms and circled the Nepent Variant, trying to find a good angle to attack from. All the while, the quest mob constantly shifted on its roots to face her with its mouth opening and closing to produce a series of annoying screeches and clicks. She grimaced. How was that gross thing even seeing her? It didn't have eyes! Oh. She quickly searched her surroundings and found an average-sized rock just a few steps away from where she was standing. God, this is so f*cking troublesome. But if she wanted to land a good hit-- The rock whizzed past the mob and on the other side, Arabelle reversed her grip on her scythe and thrust its blade against the roof of its drooling mouth.

The Nepent wasn't even the least bit distracted. Her attack was blocked by its vinelike arms. For a moment, Arabelle held her ground and struggled, pushing the blade forward, until one of its arms let go and lashed at her. She broke apart from the mob a moment too late and landed some distance away, covered in cuts.

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ID: 111548 | BD: 4 + 1 = 5 | MD: 8

Arabelle | HP: 10/40 | EN: 0/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [-10 HP] [-2 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | 

 

With her energy spent on that failed attack and basic attacks being basically useless against that Quest Mob's mitigation (she'd clearly been relying on Spangie and her much higher damage output too much), she was stuck running around and dodging the Nepent's attacks while waiting for her energy to regenerate once again. Arabelle was almost embarrassed to admit that it wasn't too hard now that she had been engaged in combat long enough to recognize the Nepent Variant's repetitive attack pattern. It kept away from its opponents' striking ranges and used the sharp leaves at the end of its long arms to cut them but if a player got too close, it would change tactics and throw them.

It looked gross and its Mitigation was extremely annoying, but other than that, it was generally a beginner-friendly mob. "And that's one thing to add to my collection of useless knowledge," Arabelle groused. The Nepent sent its arms flying at her and she deflected one with her the blunt side of her scythe's blade before backing away quickly.

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ID: 111547 | MD: 1

Arabelle | HP: 20/40 | EN: 1/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [+1 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | 

 

Now she was getting a bit ahead of herself.

Arabelle stood still and glanced up at her energy. Any minute now... The blue bar slid back up to its halfway point and she moved. A bright green glow surrounded her scythe's blade as she charged forward, closing the distance between her and the Nepent once again. Fighting defensively wasn't really the best thing to do. She was getting a bit impatient, and if her estimates were correct, the annoying quest mob was one critical Sword Art away from being defeated. Now within striking distance, she ignored the mob's vine attack even as it hit her and left two long slashes, instead pivoting on her heel and releasing her weapon's energy with a large, upwards swing.

...which promptly missed because she'd overestimated the reach of her weapon. And forgotten just how short her avatar's arms were. Arabelle grimaced, pulling back from the mob whose screeches and clicks now started to vaguely resemble the sound of mocking laughter. Damn it!

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ID: 111546 | BD: 4 + 1 = 5 | MD: 8

Arabelle | HP: 20/40 | EN: 0/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [-10 HP] [-2 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | 

Well, it didn't do any damage, as expected. She'd hit it with the blunt side of her scythe's blade, right at the part where its head (body? or both?) connected with the roots that served as its feet. But it did succeed at keeping the angry Nepent Variant at bay as she stood up and dusted off her military-like uniform, which had gotten a bit dirty after her previous stunt. The latter part was totally important, okay?!

"When I get home, I'm taking a long, long shower," Arabelle grumbled, taking her scythe in both hands once again. The quest mob recovered and scuttled forward, sending its arms flying towards her once again. It was the same old pattern and she retreated backwards while swinging her scythe, deflecting its vines with the blunt side of her blade. Most of it anyway. One got through her 'defenses' and left a long slash across her torso. She glanced at her energy - she needed one more! - and leaped back. "And I'm removing that person from my Friend List. And blocking her forever. Yeah, that sounds nice."

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ID: 111545 | MD: 7

Arabelle | HP: 30/40 | EN: 1/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [-10 HP] [+1 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG |