Tyonis

Approximately two years ago,

After turning in Lyle Tealeaf's kill/fetch quest, Tyonis was promptly given the next quest in the chain and told to see Hannah the Artisan. Apparently she was situated in one of the city parks. He relayed this information to @Spencer before consulting the beta tester instruction guide and explained that this particular quest also had a boss battle. Tyonis licked his lips in excitement. The last Boar Pup encounter wasn't really thrill-invoking. He was hoping that SAO would provide him with some quality combat mechanics and this sounded like the perfect way to see them.

Without dying, of course.

"Well Spence, looks like we are heading deeper into the town. The book says she'll be in one of the larger groves so it shouldn't be too hard to spot." After only a few minutes of searching, they came across the woman, focused on painting a tiny dragon perched on the trunk of a tree. "Is that a dragon? No. No way. This is a safe zone." Tyonis muttered before handing off the parcel to the NPC. She then informed the pair that they'd have to go into a dark cave nearby and retrieve a gemstone so she could finish crafting a ring. 

At this point, Tyonis had grown numb to fetch quests, so he simply accepted the quest prompt and guided Spencer to the cave. 

"It's dark as hell. You think there's a Night Vision Skill?" 

Word Count: 240

As Tyonis entered the shop, the first thing he noticed was the smell. It was absolutely heavenly. A stark contrast an NPC's shop, which were mainly pretty but, like their food, had no real impact on the senses. He sat down in an empty chair and couldn't help but chuckle at the restaurant's slogan. "Silence is golden, eh?" He asked out loud. He'd decided on what he'd have after a few moments of scanning through the menu. He opened up his Friendslist and sent Neo a message to get her attention if she hadn't already heard him enter.

Word Count: 128

Total Cost: Golden Garlic Bread(800)x1= 800 Col.

If Neopolitan's earlier display of superhuman strength and agility shocked him before, this was like straight lightning into his system. To watch a man leap over 20 feet off the ground and knock a car-sized super-bug out of the air and pummel it into the ground was awe inspiring. Thankfully, Neo's Sword Art demonstration had numbed the surprise somewhat and he was able to refocus after a few breaths.

"That works!" Tyonis charged forward. He lacked Mars' raw speed and most likely his raw strength, but he would be damned if he couldn't carry his own weight in a party he requested. Once he was within range of the Wind Wasp Queen's downed flank, he shifted his grip from center-hold to long-staff in a «Pre-Motion» to activate the «Heft» Sword Art. His weapon began to glow and his arms blurred as he released the attack, seeking to cut open the monster's side.

He felt a satisfying resistance against the weapon's edge as he sliced across. He saw a trailing of crimson flash across his screen, indicating he'd gouged out a decent chunk of digital flesh.

"Neo!" He called out. Tyonis had managed to drop to one knee just as the paralyzing «Post-Motion» of his Sword Art took effect, allowing Neo to use his shoulder as a vaulting surface if she needed to get more height and possibly strike the Wind Wasp Queen's head.

Word Counter: 226

Reward Summary:

Tyonis: 

» 3 Additional Skill Points (60 Posts)

» 600 Col (60 Posts)

» 150 Col (Treasure Chest)

» (2) [Rare] Tier 1 Consumables (Treasure Chest)

Neopolitan:

» 3 Additional Skill Point (60 Posts)

» 600 Col (60 Posts)

» 150 Col (Treasure Chest)

» (3) Tier 1 Crafting Materials (Treasure Chest)

» (4) Tier 1 Crafting Materials (Gathered)

Tyonis smiled ruefully at Neo's denial. "Well, if you ever reconsider, let me be the first one to know, all right?" He tried then turned his gaze to the sky. It was then he saw it: a Blood Hawk. It was said there were only two on the whole Floor, a male and a female. The female would hunt, so this was her. It swooped down and Tyonis made to move toward it but realized it where it was going: across the lake. Knowing he couldn't cross the distance in time, he simply stood transfixed as it snatched a large fish in the shallows and flew off. He continued to watch it until it vanished over the horizon.

"My luck is good enough to let me see one, but not good enough to get me close enough to tame it. Damn." He took the last bit of jerky, the one he was saving for the hawk, and chewed on it. "Well," he hopped off the boulder and made a decent splash. "At least I know where she hunts. Next time, she'll be mine." He put his hands on his hips. "Came out of this with a new friend though, so it wasn't a total wash!" He restated. "C'mon, let's head back Neo. I wouldn't mind stopping by your restaurant. I'll even pay full price the first time."

Word Count: 227. Thread Complete. Quest Postponed until further notice.
ID: 102587
LD: 18. Blood Hawk spotted but unable to be tamed due to distance and timing.

Tyonis opened his mouth to speak to Tsu. He really wanted to ask how the hell she managed to to turn into a human-frog hybrid and how that could effect her mental state when she did finally get out of the game. In the end, he decided to adopt a wait and see approach. He opted to lead them to what he heard to be the Queen Wasp's spawn point, although it would have been easy to assume such, since the buzzing in the air was getting to be annoyingly loud. Tyonis could even feel the breeze made by the giant wasp's rapidly beating wings long before he actually saw the creature.

With his spear, he bushwhacked through the underbrush until they came across a suspicious clearing. On the other end of it was an impossibly large wasp's nest. In and out squeezed a giant wasp the size of a mini-van. Tyonis caught the NPC's name as it darted in and out of its nest.

"The Wind Wasp Queen. Looks like its still building its nest. We should attack before it finishes and starts spawning Adds." He paused and looked at the party behind him. "Any of you have a Molotov cocktail? That nest looks real flammable. Otherwise, we can just... charge I guess?" He shrugged. "Neo can jump real high and I have sinking suspicion that Tsu can match her. Both of you aim for the wings, bring it to the ground and we can engage it from there."

Word Count: 216

Reward Summary:

Tyonis: 

» 1 [Uncommon] Tier 1 Light Armor | +9 Mitigation

» 1 Potion of Safeguard that can only be used in the Third Lesson is just as Free.

» 2 Additional Skill Points

» 200 Col (20 Posts)

» 1 Additional Skill Point (20 Posts)

Spencer:

» 1 Additional SKill Point (20 Posts)

» 200 Col (20 Posts)

"Heh. Thanks. I try, I really do," Tyonis trailed off, recalling how much effort he really put into being a Soldier. Was he going to reenlist after SAO? He still wasn't sure, honestly. The idea of being trapped in here wasn't as bad as he first thought. It was far more liberating living in Aincrad than it was being a Soldier for the US Army. He shook his head and packed away those thoughts. Future Steven could worry about his reenlistment. He had to escape out of this game first.

"I'll probably do the same and grab a Master's Degree in Underwater Basketweaving," Tyonis answered with an entirely too serious expression. He laughed a moment later and pushed open the door to Lyle's workshop. Turning in the quest was a simple affair and he was once more referred to the next NPC in the chain.

"Well. Two more quests left!"

Word Count: 153

"Is that right?" Tyonis said as he read over Neo's message. "That's obnoxious as hell. I was hoping we could just chop down every single tree in this god damn forest and build a staircase to Floor 100." Tyonis joked. Then out of sheer curiosity threw a rock as hard as he could at the nearest tree. the «Immortal Object» prompt popped up almost immediately. "Well, that really sucks." He shook his head and jumped on top of a large boulder, doing his best to peer out into the sky and forest canopy. He'd give this little outing a few more minutes before calling it. Maybe his luck would turn around.

"So Neo, do you actually want a familiar too? I could help you get one later," Tyonis offered. He wouldn't just take a familiar and leave her with nothing, after all. Next time, he could come better prepared for both of them. As it was now, he had little hope of any success.

Word Count: 165

"Well, I mean I think there is a story of some sort, actually," Tyonis mused. "I've read each Floor has its own storyline going. Supposedly, there's a war against elves and treants on another Floor," Tyonis highlighted with a shrug. "How well written it is I am unsure. But I guess I shouldn't judge Kayaba's ability to write on the tutorial questlines. Almost all MMO tutorials suck, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt." He led Spencer through the town back to Lyle's workshop. The city streets were crowded once more. Many Players had either begun to recluse themselves against the walls in the fetal position or had embraced their new world and all its challenges. The stark difference between both types of people lent an air of class division that Tyonis disliked.

"Damn. I may have to live on the lower Floors and help these people when I'm not out grinding." Tyonis mused out loud. He was brought out of his thoughts by Spencer's question. "I joined right out of college, about 5 years ago. And if it looks like I'm better than I am, all it takes is a little bit of confidence." He smirked. "Believe yourself to be greater than what you are and, here is the important part, make it that image you see in your mind real. Otherwise you're just an asshat that's pretending at greatness."

Word Count: 202

"Er. Neo. Neopolitan. Miss Neo. Lady Neopolitan. About those discounts..?" Tyonis hedged when she gave him a very vague reply that could only be construed as a half-hearted 'maybe.' He wore a smile as he did so, though, glad to break through the girl's thoughts and elicit a smile. Hopefully, one day, he'd get to hear her speak. It'd be nice to hear her voice, if just once. Tyonis finished skipping the last handful of lake rocks then dragged himself out of the water and over to a bundle of cattails. Trying his luck, Tyonis grabbed the lot by the stems and yanked as hard as he could. He couldn't help but grin as he held up a handful of cattails only to have them shatter into polygons and be replaced by the all-to-familiar failure to gather message.

"Damn you Kayaba," Tyonis muttered under his breath and stocked out of the water. He feigned irritation, but it was only because he needed to get a better view of the land.

Word Count: 173
ID: 102564
LD: 1 (Fail)

"Well," Tyonis checked his stat window. His HP was just starting to turn Yellow. Before long, he'd have died by death to 1,000 cuts. "Learned something new: all monsters will deal damage to you, with a minimum of 1, regardless of your Armor. That might be important for you, since you intend to tank. You'll need every point of HP." Tyonis informed, catching the tusk and adding it to his inventory. The quest objective window came up and after a brief read through, he closed it and motioned for Spencer to follow him.

"Well this was a really straight forward kill-collect quest. Just gotta go back to Lyle and turn in the Boar Tusks." Tyonis shuddered. "We have two more of these tutorial quests to go through. Hopefully they aren't as tedious." He shook his head. "Who am I kidding? Of course they're going to be tedious. Kayaba is many things, but a great story writer he is not."

Word Count: 161

"You know Neo, even if I come out of this empty handed, I'll still be more than happy to help you out." Tyonis said out of the blue. He tried for a multi-rock throw this time and tossed out 5 rocks at the same time just to see if he could skip them all across the entirety of the lake. Only one made it. "It must be difficult for you, since you can't easily communicate," he continued. "But don't worry. I can handle difficult. So don't ever be afraid to reach out and ask me for something." He said, turning to face her fully. "No one should have to face this," he motioned to the world around them, "deathgame alone." He paused and leaned forward, hands on his hips.

"Besides," he grinned. "I can't say I'm being entirely selfless. After all, you're going to give me discounts at your restaurant, right? We call those friend-freebies over in America."

Word Count: 161

From behind him, Tyonis heard Spencer roll on the ground, indicating something had gone wrong. This was a situation he'd encountered many times before and out of sheer reflex, he knelt down and pivoted on his heel then swung horizontally, relying entirely on his hearing and his martial awareness to strike at the Boar Pup A. Tyonis' instinct was rewarded by a satisfying feel of melt carving through flesh as the spear struck true. What should have been a spray of blood and entrails was replaced by a shower of red-tinted polygons as the Boar Pup exploded. Tyonis finished his 360 degree flourish by completing the spin to face Boar Pup B once again.

"Got a tusk out of that one!" Tyonis announced with a victorious grin. "You holding up all right Spencer?" He asked, more to draw the young man away from his missed attack and refocus on the final monster.

Word Count: 152

Tyonis could tell Neo was thinking long and hard about something. But since it didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it, Tyonis let it pass, basking in their mutual silence. He continued to skip rocks, trying to see how he could manipulate the trajectory of his throws in ways only possible within a video game. He briefly wondered what other glitches Players had found in their time here. Tyonis was no game tester, but he was sure someone had found some loopholes to exploit. That was always the way of things: humans would always find ways around their current situation - intentional or not. He just hoped Kayaba had a decent sense of humor. On the other hand, the man would probably just smite those exploiting Players with microwave-induced death. 

The thought of it made Tyonis scowl dangerously. Once he got out of this, he'd do everything in his power to ensure Kayaba Akihiko paid for his crimes. There could be no other alternative.

Word Count: 168

While on his little Tutorial Quest Grind, Tyonis had come across a simple Field Boss introduction quest: «Secret Medicine of the Forest». Though he had little interest in learning extremely basic combat mechanics, the quest offered a decent amount of Skill Points for such an easy sounding task, so he opted to get it done before lunchtime. He managed to make it to the edge of the treeline when he noticed another Player standing near the enemy spawn point.

"Yo," he began, one hand raised in greeting. He took note of her one-handed spear and smiled, twirling his two-handed one and slinging it over his shoulder. "Good to see another spear-lover. Not a lot of us out here. Everyone always wants to use swords. Go figure - it's in the title, right?" He said, trying to break the ice with a little joke. "Name's Tyonis," he introduced as he got within hand-shaking distance. "So, you also doing the Quest? We could partner up and hit the thing until it dies. It'd be safer that way, too."

Word Count: 179

Quote

Tyonis

Level 04
» 80 HP
» 8 EN
» 4 DMG
» 2 ACC
» 0 EVA
» 17 MIT

Equipment
» [Perfect] T1 2H Assault Spear: +2 ACC | Bleed
» [Uncommon] T1 Heavy Armor: +9 MIT

Battle Ready Inventory:
» (5) Starter Healing Potions (+50HP)
» (5) [Uncommon] Tier 1 Health Potions (+40HP)

Skills
» Rank 1 | 2H Assault Spear
» Rank 1 | Heavy Armor

Mods
» None

Items Used
» None

"Easier said then done, Spencer. Remind me to increase my Accuracy Stat or something. This is getting obnoxious." He complained then leveled his spear as the Boar Pup A came charging straight at him. This time, Tyonis' spear crashed satisfyingly into the side of its head. He felt the spear enter the Boar, stopping it in its tracks. Tyonis had suffered some minor damage from the impact, but he ignored it in favor of dragging his spear out. The Boar Pup looked dead on its feet and Tyonis called out to Spencer: "Finish it off!" He then turned to the remaining Boar Pup. He was really hoping that Spencer's Luck Stat was better than his. Tyonis had given up on his own luck hours ago. Once more, he leveled his spear and set his feet, waiting for the Boar Pup B to charge at him again.

"C'mon! Drop your tusks for me! I don't want to spend all day slaughtering your family tree."

Word Count: 166

Tyonis sported a look of victory when Neo didn't get his reference. "I guess I win at this game of charades, then, Miss Champion? By the way, it's Captain Jack Sparrow, of the Black Pearl," he clarified, trying to mimic the accent but failing miserably. "It's a really famous movie in America. When we get out," he added with a knowing grin, "I'll mail you a copy when I get back to the States." He promised both to himself and her. They'd both escape from this game and return to their lives. For better or worse. "Want to try and learn how to do it?" Tyonis asked as he did another, slower coin knuckle turn. "A friend of mine taught me in Afghanistan. You run out of things to do pretty quickly when you're trapped in a desert for a year or so." He explained as he flipped the Col coin up into the air with his thumb.

Word Count: 155

Tyonis eyed Tsu for a long moment, the surprise of having her croak replies was finally starting to wear off. "Does she... have an issue with speaking?" Tyonis hedged at last. "Because if she does, I can keep a message window open so she can type instead." He was seriously starting to wonder about SAO's limits when it came to affecting the Player's minds. First, Neo could speak, and now this girl was speaking entirely in frog and even had an extended tongue to match. He was pretty sure that magic wasn't a central theme in Aincrad so he was curious as to how she'd managed to transform into a human-frog hybrid. 

He also mentally noted that he should have been more shocked about that. Consequence of living in an fantasy world, he supposed. At this point, nothing could phase him now.

The other man seemed to be familiar with Tsu, so Tyonis assumed she would be fine enough to join. He exuded a confident presence, and it was clear to see he was of a much higher level. Tyonis wondered if that confidence would translate out into the real world, but he banished that notion. The real world didn't matter and wouldn't matter until the game was cleared. When prompted about Neo, Tyonis motioned toward her. "This is Neopolitan, a friend of mine," he introduced with a smile. "She'll be coming too. And yes, we should head out before anyone beats us out there." He sent all four of them a Party Invite without much more fanfare. If they would accept, he'd start to guide them out into the forest, where the Wind Wasp Queen was rumored to spawn.

Word Count: 276

Tyonis grinned victoriously at making the normally composed woman blush. It was honestly cute. If he ever had a little sister, he wouldn't have minded if it were someone like Neo - even if she were mute. He mentally added. But he noticed her contemplative gaze while they skipped rocks in various fashions. He also did his best Captain Jack Sparrow impression but taking out a Col coin, acting drunk, and doing tricks with it in between his fingers. Eventually, he just had to ask, so he opened up his menu and began to type out another message

Quote

Ice-Cream Girl,
A Col for your thoughts? 
Your drunken friend,
Captain Jack Sparrow

He continued playing with his coin and posed with one foot mounted on a rock like Captain Morgan would on a barrel of his rum. He was hoping to elicit some kind of response just as she would read the message, hopefully a positive one that would break her out of her rumination.

Word Count: 165

Tyonis nodded thankfully at Spencer, thinking it was completely intentional that, rather then attack and hit, Spencer was herding them closer to Tyonis for him to strike. He readied himself as the Boar Pup A backed off fearfully from Spencer only to edge into his own attack range. With a lunge, he struck out with his spear, hoping to slay the boar in a single move. 

Unfortunately, Tyonis' thrust bounced off the creature's hide, surprising him. He leaned forward a bit too much, overextending his body and practically tripped when his strike went awry. With a curse, he got back onto his feet just to see the two remaining boars charge at him. Out of reflex, he held his spear at the ready to guard, only to feel a slight tingling when both Boars rammed into him, scratching at his health bar. 

"Tsk. Annoying fuckers!" He clicked his tongue and readied his spear to counterattack. 

Word Count: 150 (Nailed it)

Tyonis watched Neo come up and skip two rocks at the same time. He raised a brow and whistled appreciatively at her little display. He attempted likewise but threw one of the rocks at a sharper angle. When they hit each other and the water at the same time, they split off in a Y shape. The subsequent ripples looked beautiful. "Huh. The things you can do in this game are pretty awesome." He commented while leaning back and chewing on another piece of jerky. Truth be told, this jerky was the same one he was going to use to try and tame a Blood Hawk. He only had a few strips left, so once he ran out, they'd have to go back. 

"This whole thing seems like a wash, anyway. I need to prepare better. We'll give this another few minutes or so." He said out loud, giving voice to his thoughts. But he turned to Neo and grinned, the jerky strip sticking out the corner of his mouth. "At least I met someone interesting out of it. Not a rare spawn familiar, but a very close second." 

Word Count: 184

Tyonis stepped into the shop with no small amount of trepidation. Businessmen and lawyers were among the people he hated the most in real life, so he had no small prejudice against them in Aincrad either. But, he'd come in urgent need adventuring supplies. There was simply no way to get around the fact that he was ill equipped for survival and treking out of the safe zones. He could do for a little bit of time, but he wasn't willing to risk his livelihood on a chance he didn't have to take.

"Hello?" He called out. "I'd like to make a purchase request: 1 Spyglass, 1 Tent, 1 Teleport Crystal, and 1 set of Custom Ambition Tools for a Blacksmith."

Word Count: 119

Total Cost: 880(Spyglass)+440(Tent)+880(Teleportation Crystal)+Custom Ambitions Tool(880)=3000 Col

Tyonis saw Spencer approach once more out of the corner of his eye. He step-sided a bit out of Spencer's path and allowed him to freely maul the next Boar with his mace. There was a grotesque and realistic crunch and squeal followed by a not so realistic lack of blood and gore. Tyonis shook his head to refocus on more important matters than SAO's strange attempts at maintaining their ESRB rating. With Boar Pup C on its last legs, Tyonis made to finish it off with a sweeping slash, gripping his spear like a long-staff and swinging with all his might. Like before, his arms blurred with superhuman speed, but this time, his kinetic vision was able to keep up and he was able to maintain a better sense of control.

He just hoped he'd hit, at this point. That and his abysmal luck would start to turn around.

Word Count: 153
 

Refreshed and ready for the day, Tyonis pulled himself out of the small bed in the backroom of his workshop. As always, he started the day off by burning away his crafting attempts for the next 24 hours. With a flick of the wrist, the forge was alight and warmth quickly spread through the room. The morning mist that managed to leak through the windows vanished along with any clinging desire to sleep. Though he didn't exactly need to, Tyonis thought it best for his mentality to get into proper character and equipped a Vanity blacksmith crafting outfit. With his mindset firmly in place, he went over to the workbench and opened his menu. Today, he'd try his hand at making a mace and rapier to gift to Spencer and Neopolitan.

Word Count: 128
Date: 09JUL2018
ID: 102510, 102511
CD: 4 (Salvage) LD: 6 (Fail), 9 (Salvage) LD: 16 (Success)
EXP: +4