Dustin

Dustin smiled at the girl. He found himself doing that a lot, it was nice, but weird. "I would never. The only prank I would pull on you is buying you a cake that... I shouldn't say." He says, grinning. Dustin looks at the two cakes and tries to remember which one he made taste bad. Well this is no good. He says and reaches over towards the cakes, unknowingly grabbing the cake he had bought that tastes bad. I'm a great prankster, I know exactly what I'm doing. He takes a bite of his cake and winces. "Eww, I grabbed the wrong cake." He laughs and looks at her, tears in his eyes. "I tried to make one bad. I would've given you mine after you ate yours" He wipes his tongue. "I guess I picked the wrong one." He says, giving her the other cake to the girl. "Don't worry, I won't ask for any." He says, standing up and sitting on the end of the branch she was on. Dustin smiled at her and sat back, forgetting he had nothing to lean back into. His body falls back and slams into the ground. "Ow, I should've leaned forward." He laughs.

@TheLegend27 

Dustin charges up his sword art. He points his blue glowing sword at the flower in front of him and smiles. "You're gonna die." He steps forward and tries to slash the monster but misses. "That was my fault. My joke wasn't good enough." He says to Enna as he ducks under the whip flying at him. "What can I say next time. Nah, it'll come to me later." He says, rubbing his chin. The player had been thinking so he moved back next to Enna. "You better stay away from the flowery boy over there. He's mine." He says, removing his cloak. "Time for you to shine, Fury's Hand." He says, charging up his next sword art and pointing the sword at the Nepent. "Let's toss some salad... Dang it!" He says, stopping his sword art. "That's two, I'm out of it today." He says, still trying to think of something to say.

@Ennakai

Dustin takes a step out into the field. The field was empty when it came to players. There were some low level boars over to the right of them. There were some wolves far out in front of them. "Who do you want to fight first. I kill boars all the time, so you should pick them. They're way easier and like a gateway target." He says, pointing over to the boars. He nods over to the wolves. "Of course, if you want a better challenge, there's always those wolves over there." He says, grinning. Dustin was bored of fighting by himself, but he didn't care who he fought. It almost wasn't a challenge to stay on the first floor anymore, but Dustin liked killing monsters there to get materials. "I suggest the boars. They're slower, so it'll be easier with your rapier." He says. Dustin always ignored the stats when it came to small fights like that. He knew the stats of every monster after the first hit, but he didn't care. "I personally would pick the wolves. They look to be higher levels, so I's assume they're more difficult." He says, grinning.

@Kimihito

"I'm glad I invited you too." He says, smiling at her smile. He stands all the way up and splashes her back. "You can't splash me and expect to get away with it." He laughs, chasing her through the pond. After a bit of running Dustin gets out of the water and just watches the sky. He wanted Poni to lay next to him, so they could watch the clouds, but the clouds almost never looked cool, so he didn't invite her to sit next to him. "You know, If it weren't for you, I would've just been moping around the Town of beginnings right now. Thanks." He says, smiling at the girl in the water. His smile continued when he laid back down and looked back at the sky. "You know, I brought back cakes." He said, moving over to the tree they had slept by and patting the branch she sat on. "They were expensive so eat them up." He says, smiling at her. He didn't mind the cost, so long as it makes Poni smile, he doesn't care.

Dustin wakes up and feels something on his arm. He looks down at his arm and a horn pokes him in the face. “Oh yeah, I went on an adventure.” He says rubbing his forehead. “Hey Poni, wake up.” He says. If he didn’t wake her up, it might be weird. He props her up against the tree and walks back to town, leaving his sword in the tree next to her. This was so she would know that he didn’t go far.

A good 2 hours pass and Dustin is headed back to the clearing and sees the water. “Hey Poni, the water feels great, hop on in.” He shouts. Dustin wanted to spend the whole day with her, as she was a good friend and incredibly nice. In the water Dustin sits at the bottom thinking about his brother. Man, explaining that to her was harder on me than I thought. I guess I’ll have to live with it. His chest begins to feel tight and he swims back up, gasping for air. He unequips his shirt and sits in the pond with the water up to his neck. “Come on in, the water’s nice.” He smiles at the girl.

@TheLegend27

“Don’t worry, we’ll only go as far as the field right outside of town.” He says. That was where Dustin farmed to get where he is now. He would spend hours there every day. It was his favorite pass time. “Don’t worry, If you have my back, I’ll have yours.” He laughs. He likes to have someone’s back in a fight. Even if they don’t have his, he’ll help people. He hates people who just go around, ignoring all the problems that aren’t theirs. Dustin likes to meddle in problems that aren’t his own. But not too much where it’s weird. It’s how he was taught. “Hey, if we see people who need help, we’re helping them. It doesn’t matter if we die, what matters is that we help people.” He turns and smiles, “No players left behind. Rule number one of being awesome is never let a player die.” He walks towards the exit of town.

@Kimihito

“No, save your bread. I’m not hungry.” He says. “Look, I understand. I used to be he same way.” He adds. Dustin was not lying, he used to sit and wait for stuff to come to him. “Hey, why don’t we prove that you can do something? If it gets too dangerous I’ll help you, but if not, you have to promise you’ll stop moping around in the town of beginnings.” He says. Dustin hated when people hid in the town of beginnings. If you don’t fight then you’re wasting time, not only for yourself but for those people on the frontlines. “I’m gonna give you a tip. Find something to fight for, it might just make you the best fighter in the game. I fight to one day see my mom again.” He clenches his fist. “I already missed my brother’s funeral.” He looks at the player. “You have to fight for a reason, not just to fight either. That mentality gets people killed.” He adds. This was Dustin’s burden, he didn’t want to dump it on this kid. “Sorry if I bummed you out. Let’s go prove your worth.” He smiles.

@Kimihito

Dustin points to himself and smiles. "The name's Dustin." He says. "I used to be like you. Scared, hiding on the first floor because you can't guarantee you'll survive. But I saw that some people needed help, so I did it. I helped them and now it's easy." He chuckles. Dustin wasn't always so chipper, having seen his brother get murdered in front of him. Dustin flicks Kimihito in the forehead. "Whether you think it or not, a weapon is an extension of its user. Are you saying your sword is better than you?" He asks, Dustin was mad at this point. Why couldn't people understand the number one rule of sword play? "Kid. I have something to tell you." Dustin says to the player who is the same age as him. "The sword isn't great on its own, It's the user who makes the sword great. If you didn't know that then of course you don't deserve that sword. Preschoolers don't deserve swords." Dustin says.

"And nobody deserves swords, we have to do our best to earn them." He says, crossing his arms. "I was taught that in grade school, when my father started teaching me to use one. Eventually I was hunting bears with a sword." He says. Dustin was taught to fight in a harsh environment, and him being a teenage boy meant he was stubborn. "I'm not happy because I like being here. I'm not happy because I'm out there fighting. I'm happy because I'm trapped in a tough situation and those are my favorites. The best part is, I don't have to do it alone." He says, looking up at the sky. "We're trapped in a game from hell, but we're trapped here with 8,000 friends." He says. "Nothing unifies people better than a common enemy."

@Kimihito

"Is the bread here that good?" Dustin asks. Dustin was in town headed to his shop. His shop being on the first floor meant Dustin was down here a lot. The player draws his sword and Dustin recognizes it. I know that pose. That's the "I hate myself but one day, I'm gonna do something about it pose." He smiles. Dustin used to do that pose a lot until he started adventuring again. Now he just loves swords. "Hey, I like your sword, does it have a name?" He asks. Dustin loves swords with names. They are his favorite topic. He draws his sword and grins. "This her is my baby. She's helped me a lot in the past 2 years." He chuckles. "Her name is Fury's hand." He hugs his sword and spins around. Dustin didn't care what people thought, you tend to like the thing that has saved your life on more than one occasion. "So I'm assuming you don't go out and adventure much do you?" He asks, trying to make a conversation.

@Kimihito

Dustin smiles. I couldn’t possibly ask for anything more from her. I’m glad I met her. He looks at her and pats her head. “We’ve got a long day tomorrow.” He says, looking into her eyes and blushing. Dustin was happy. He was content just sitting there with her. He lays his head back, with her right next to him and looks up at the branches above. “You’re awesome.” He says, yawning. I could get used to this, but I can’t get too comfy, I shouldn’t fall asleep here. He starts to close his eyes, his head feels heavy and leans to the side of his body until he tips over. His head lands directly on her shoulder and he begins to snore. The player had fallen asleep, and couldn’t do anything about it. To him, it meant he trusted her to catch him, whether he knows it or not. He shifts his weight, falling towards the ground, not even waking him up.

@TheLegend27

"When I first started this game, My brother would always follow me around." He says, looking down at his hands. "He was always so nice." He looks at her with nothing but sadness in his eyes. "One day, we were in the woods. A player cut us off and told us to give him all of our stuff." His heart starts to race. Dustin had never told anyone this story before. The man was only looking at the ground at this point. "My brother, being super nice, offered to give the man half of his stuff, if he'd just leave us alone. The player denied him and threatened him." Tears rolling down his face, Dustin looks at her. "I drew my sword, and rushed at him. The player knocked me back." He clenches his fist. "Then the prick's friends showed up. They killed him. Right there, in front of me." He drops his head. "It was my fault. I managed to fight them off after that, but I failed. That's why I'm nice. He was the better person of us, and I aspire to be just like him." He looks at her again. "That's why. That's why I need to be nice." He says.

Dustin thinks about what the girl had said before climbing onto the branch. "What? You would rather sleep where?" He asks. That's unusual. I don't know how I feel about it. I'm not gonna say no if she offers to, but she probably won't. "That's the story of Dustin. I'm a failure, trying to be useful in this world." He says, looking back at the sunset. "Also, I like the sweatshirt." He holds up his fist for a fist bump.

@TheLegend27

"You're a little tiny genius aren't you?" He asks, walking over to her. "I am an expert fighter. You, Pick... Wait, I've never seen you fight." He says, turning to the short girl. "But, you. You are rather wise. No matter the similarities, fighting is unique to every soul. That's why any fighter, no matter how good, can be defeated." He smiles at Pick. "You could be the best fighter in the world and lose to a child with a stick." He draws his sword. "Everything I kill with this sword isn't bad at fighting, I'm just better." He grins. I have to get stronger. I can't just go farming boars anymore, I have to kill the bigger monsters. He smiles and moves back to sit down. "I'm already paying anyways, might as well not even try." He sighs, fidgeting with his sword. He taps his feet and sways his upper body. He starts to hum and dance a little. "I can't wait to kill Kayaba, and I don't mean in Aincrad." He says.

@Artemis @Pick

"This is my humble abode." He says, moving his hand from left to right. The flowers in full bloom, the sun shining orange through the trees. "Sorry about throwing you into the pond, It was the quickest way I could wake you up." He smiles. He rubs the back of his head, and laughs. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I swear, I'll make it up to you." He points to the horizon. The sun was now a reddish color. This was the only time he had ever let someone see the sunset from his spot. Dustin sleeps in this spot at night, because he doesn't have his own place. "After this, we're gonna sleep for real. You'll sleep up in the tree and I'll keep watch." He says, "This time I won't so much as look at you." He laughs. The player looks at her and back towards the horizon, sitting against a tree. "I hope you don't hate me, I didn't mean anything by it. Besides, I'm letting you sleep in my bed." He points up to the branch she's supposed to sleep on. "Oh shoot, I meant, you're taking where I usually sleep, that sounded so weird." He said, blushing and flustered.

@TheLegend27

Dustin jolts up a few minutes later and smiles as his friend lays there and sleep. "Hey sleepyhead." He says, flicking her lightly in the forehead. "I guess I'll just let her sleep." He says, picking her up again. His eyes quickly shift up to the corner and he notices he only has a half hour until the sun sets. "Sh*t, I'd better go." He says, rushing forward. No way am I missing this opportunity. He runs through the field and reaches the forest. He has fifteen minutes left. I can make it. He steps forward, immediately rushing through the trees.

He has 3 minutes left and the sky has already turned a touch orange, so he throws her in the pond in the center of the clearing. "Hey, wake up, it's almost night time." He says, kneeling down and extending his arm to help her out of the water. "Would you like some help ma'am? I'd be glad to assist you." He smiles, his hand almost reaching her. He extends his hand just and inch further and boops her nose again, "You can't see the sunset from in there silly." He chuckles, keeping his arm outstretched.

@TheLegend27

"This place, it's beautiful." He says, picking her up. "It'll be faster this way." He says, running out into the fields. He covers great distances in a short time, but this was different. He didn't want to rush this, He wanted to take as much time as possible. He slows down to a walk. "I don't want to get there too early. It's boring if we're there for hours." He says, looking up at the time. We have two hours 'til sun down. He sets her down, "Let's take a break, My legs are tired." He says, rubbing his leg. "I lied, I just didn't want to have to walk slowly. We'll head there again soon. It's not that far." He says, smiling at the girl next to him. He lays back and looks at the sky. "You know, I don't have that many friends, I'm glad you came along." He grins. "That's why I invited you to my own secret area." He says, laughing and rolling on his side, closing his eyes. He lays there and eventually begins to snore.

@TheLegend27

Dustin presses his back up against Enna. "Hmm, I guess you don't know me. I'll bite though. Let's do this, but if take even 1 damage, my plan is over." He says. He's an info broker, so I'm assuming he knows what he's talking about. Dustin drops his hand and it touches Ennas leg. "Ahh, oh sh*t" He says, jumping away and falling backwards out of the circle. He's trying to gather his thoughts when all of a sudden a whip flies out at him. Moments before the vine hits Dustin, he throws his arm over his face. "That was my fault. You're plan is down the gutter though. Unless." Dustin looks at the ground for a second. "Stay there." 

Dustin jumps up and runs towards the rock a meter or two away. He stops a foot or two short of the rock, turning quickly. "Come on, you big bumbly idiots." He grins. When the flowery dumbos make their way over to Dustin, he turns and runs up the rock. He reaches the top of the rock and jumps back, flipping into the circle. "Now it should be easier, they're in front of us and I won't accidentally touch you again." He says, holding his sword straight out, pointing it towards the flowers. "This time we wait until they start their move here." His eyes turn red, like at the end of the last time they adventured together. A grin climbs upon his lips, "Then we'll strike like lightning." He laughs.

@Ennakai

Dustin scoops another spoonful into his mouth when she asks him a question. "I don knuh." He says, with his mouth full. Dustin never learned proper manners, his family never made that a priority. He was taught to be nice and help others. He swallows the unusually large spoonful and continues. "Usually by now I'm in the fields hunting boars. But..." He begins to rub his chin for a minute. Dustin had just been out in the fields before he met Poni, so he didn't feel like killing more boars. "How would you like to see this gorgeous spot I found?" He asks. Only two other people have ever seen it before. "If I take you there, you have to promise you won't tell anyone about it." He says, looking her up and down. "And you can't be wearing that. There's gonna be water." He says, removing his armor so he's just in a blue sweatshirt and tan pants. The boy smiles, "I'm not gonna show you anything yet." He says, grabbing her wrist and running off. "This place is so cool if you're the nature type like me." He says, running through the town. When he holds her wrist, their difference in height becomes way more apparent. He stops abruptly, "You're a small person. That's awesome." He says, patting her on the horns.

@TheLegend27

[8-30]

ID: 105290

CD: 4

LD: 1

ID: 105291

CD: 3

ID: 105292

CD: 7 (uncommon quality success)

ID: 105293

CD: 11 (Rare quality success)

ID: 105294

CD: 3

Dustin pulls out a material and starts to hit it with the hammer. "I can do something right this time hopefully." He says, hitting the material. He had been doing nothing but practice for that past few days. It's not in his wheel house to be selfish, so he rarely ever did anything for himself. "I hate making this stupid sword. It sucks, I need some better gear to make this easier." He says, breaking the first material. He fails another time before making a successful attempt. "I have to sell this sword." He says, opening the sword's stuff, and sees +1 Damage. Then he makes a sword with +2 Accuracy. The first sword was a red sword with a black cross guard. The second sword was Blue with a white Cross guard. "The gemini blades." He smiles.

+14 EXP

-5 Materials

"Frozen... yogurt?" He asks. Though he had visited his dad's family in america a few times, they always talked about ice cream. "I'll try it. But it better be just as good as ice cream, or you're paying next time." He crosses his arms and makes a pouty face. He tried to hide his smile for as long as he could, but couldn't manage more than a minute or so. I can't make her pay, even if it's not as good, I'll pay next time. His smile, back in its original state, grew twice as big when he saw the frozen yogurt coming out. He excitedly turns to the girl sitting across from him, "It looks better than ice cream." He grins maniacally at the treat in front of him. This looks so good. Man, how did she know about this stuff? She's so frickin cool. "Hey, you're pretty cool, ya know that?" He says, in a less chipper tone than before. Not depressing, just a tad bit more serious.

A smile crosses his face and he gives her a thumbs up. "We're gonna be grade A friends, you got that?" He says. He leans in and boops her nose, "You better not forget that, okay?" His body moves back and he laughs. It'll be nice to have a new friend. And who knows, maybe she'll help me clear the game. He pulls out a rock and stares at it, like it had been connected to someone he'd lost.

@TheLegend27

Dustin runs in, making his way to an open table and sits down. “Miss, we’re ready.” He says, getting the waitress’s attention. He can’t the anticipation. This is the moment he had waited two years for. His hands start to pat the table as the waitress walks over to the pair and Dustin starts nodding. “This is it. I’m so ready for this.” He smiles as he orders the ice cream.

the waitress looks at him and says, “I’m sorry sir, we’re out of ice cream today.” Her words cut Dustin like daggers. He sits there, motionless, staring at the waitress with absolutely zero expression. His head slowly looks over to Poni, his eyes reading “what do I do?” After a bit of awkward staring at Poni, Dustin mutters a few words. “Get whatever you want Poni, my treat.” His eyes move to the table. “All I wanted was ice cream.” His head drops and slams into the table.

@TheLegend27

“Then we’d best head out, and by the by, my dad was from around there I think. It was either there, or Ohio.” He says, scratching his chin. It’s really been so long I can’t remember. He begins to walk around, looking for any kind of signs. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know where the nearest cafe is, would you?” He asks, scratching the back of his head. He chuckles and leans in to whisper, “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, I have no idea where the ice cream is or what it tastes like. I’ve never had ice cream.” He stands back up, turns and starts to walk off in a random direction. His head sways as he starts to hum his favorite song. His legs move with the best of the song and he starts to dance, never missing a beat.

The players brown eyes settle on a sign in front of him. More like a sign he’d walked directly into while doing his little dance. His face lights up with elation as he jumps up and grabs Poni’s shoulders. “We did it! Do you know what this means? I can try ice cream!” He hugs the significantly shorter player and runs into the cafe. “I finally get to try it. What should I get?” The boy asks.

@TheLegend27

Dustin notices her accent and tilts his head. “Do you speak English?” He asks in English. Being half American, Dustin learned English when he was young, one of the many things his father taught him how to do. He had practiced his English everyday and became rather skillful at his pronunciation and fluency. “I guess it helps to be half American.” He says, smiling. “And woah, where did you get those horns? I didn’t even notice them until I started talking to you.” He says, poking the horn and chuckling. “I must’ve been right about you, my instincts on who’s fun and who isn’t are on point.” He mentions. He pulls his hood down and laughs. “Wanna go see if there is ice cream around here?” He asks. Dustin doesn’t do the whole having fun outside of combat thing, ice cream is the only thing he likes other than sword play.

@TheLegend27

Dustin walks around in the town of beginnings and looks around. I need a new person to adventure with. I don’t have many friends and adventuring alone is dumb. He makes his way to the teleport gate and climbs up on top of the structure. The player pans his brown eyes over the crowd and sees a girl. To most people she would only stick out due to her appearance, but he noticed her because she was incredibly short. “Hello!” He shouts from atop the gate. Dropping down and landing awkwardly, his cloak covering his head, the boy runs over to the tiny girl and smiles at her. “You look like you know how to have fun around here.” He says, completely ignoring the fact that he just made a fool of himself. “The name’s Dustin, wanna hang?” He says, pointing to his chest with his thumb, smiling with the confidence of a kid who’d never lost anything.

@TheLegend27

Dustin grabs Enna's shoulder and smiles. "I'm gonna trust you to have my back here. I'll have yours too, so no need to worry." He laughs, running off into the distance. His sword held tight in his hand, this was where Dustin felt most at home. Fighting along someone he trusts, this made him happy. He loved the rush he got from combat. "Hehe, now this is gonna make for an awesome adventure." He says, jumping off of the rock towards the Nepents. He rolls and stands up, slashing at the first flower he could. He misses slightly but he ducks under the monsters attack. "You take the other one. I'll take the bouquet of lame." He says, "You know, this is the only way I ever have fun, fighting with friends, killing monsters." His face locked on the Nepent in front of him, facing away from Enna.

Dustin pulls his hood down and looks at Enna, "We should do this more often. I would love to help you get stronger. Plus, gotta help you get your info." He smiles, turning back to his friend. "You're a cool enough guy to spend more time with. And once I get this whole hating the real world thing under control, I'm gonna clear this game. I want you to tell me how." He says, in a tone so serious no one had ever heard from Dustin before. He still avoids making eye contact with the purple haired player. "But whatever you do, don't go and die out there." He says.

Combat:

ID: 105288

BD: 2

Dustin's attack misses

MD: 1

Nepent's attack misses

Dustin: 160/160 HP | 14/16 EN | 5 DMG | 14 MIT | 1 EVA | 0 keen | 0 ACC

Nepent: 7/7 HP | 3 DMG

@Ennakai

Dustin looks at the NPC and smiles. "I think you might have just gotten yourself a loyal customer, you seem to know your stuff." Enna grabs Dustin's hand and he gets a bit confused. Wait, what? Why? How? When? What? "Enna, you can't just grab my hand like that. I told you last time, give me a warning." He says, blushing.  He walks towards the man in the village and smiles, standing in front of the quest giver. "We're here to help. I'm gonna get that medicine for you." He turns to Enna, and they begin walking. "Does my favorite info broker have any data on the monsters we're gonna be killing? Or are we gonna have to gather it ourselves?" He asks, the last part draws a grin across his face. Looking around, Dustin realizes he's lost, and turns to Enna, "Hey, do you have any idea where we're going or are you winging it too?" his eyes close and he stands up, arching his back in and pointing to himself. "No need to worry, I'll kill those stupid plants by myself if I have to." He smiles at Ennakai.

@Ennakai