Katagawa

Hokori had been hanging around the first floor for longer than she would've liked. Of course, that wasn't all bad. She could still get a fair amount of experience here, and helping others meant bringing more people to the higher levels. The game did seem to hold people's hands for the beginning, but she knew how tough it was starting in this game all on your own. Many people wouldn't even be able to share it with friends and family back home. As sad as it was, she knew she had to carry on.

There seemed to be some sort of meeting going on near the teleport gate, but Hokori was unable to figure out what it was for. It seemed like it was a large group of people gathering to go fight or do a difficult quest. Though she may have been able to do it, Hokori felt as though she would be more of a burden than an actual help to others. Instead, she was content to sit on a bench and organize her inventory for the millionth time. As confusing as the menus were, they were lacking in functionality. "I would kill for a sorting system in this inventory screen," she muttered aloud.

@Etherial

Hokori watched as Theo got immediately very excited about having someone to go questing for her. Even though she didn't have experience, she was pretty sure that she could keep the little girl defended from harm. It would take a bit more effort to do that and attack, but it meant that she wouldn't have to have someone's death on her hands. The girl talked about the queset, and Hokori tried to piece together what she knew. "I don't know what they are, but it sounds like some sort of plant. Likely going to be imbued with animal intelligence and a thirst for human blood. Depending on the type of plant they are from we should either be wary of some tangling vines or getting swarmed by them. That means my AoEs will be useful, but the tangling might make it a little hard to protect you completely." Hokori caught herself planning out loud. She put a smile back on her face, trying not to bring the girl's hopes down. "We should be able to do it. That village won't get the medicine themselves now, would they?"

@Theodosia

Letting out a mental sigh of relief that she hadn't scared the girl, Hokori listened as the girl rambled on for quite a little while. Once she had calmed down, she just smiled back at the girl and gave her her own username. Her tone was a little too casual for her tastes, but she had been quite uptight with her language for most of her life. "It's great to see someone like you still having this much boundless energy. My name is Katagawa, people tend to call me Kat though." As she spoke, Hokori considered the little offer the girl had given her. She had known that there was another quest for her to do on this floor, and it sounded like one of the ones she had yet to do. As long as she could protect the girl, there shouldn't be an issue with letting them tag along with her. "As for your quest, I could come help. I don't think I've done it myself, and it shouldn't be too hard. Most games make the beginning quests really easy so beginner's like you and me don't get frustrated." Not that anyone trapped in a game for two years could really be considered beginners, but it was something to help assuage the young girl.

@Theodosia

Hokori had been wandering about for some time now, with little reason to be doing so. Though she had been trying to help players still getting their feet wet in this game, she should really be making sure that she could keep helping them. Most of the people she had met were now passing her up in level as she remained at the bottom of the ladder. There was no grand plan to become the best, but she knew she wouldn't be able to help others if she was unable to help herself. Heading towards the exit for the Town of Beginnings, she noticed a little girl who was pacing in front of the gate. Perhaps they were waiting for someone, or possibly considering something quite brash. Either way, she approached the girl. She was tall, buy there was that glow of innocence about her. In fact, Hokori wasn't that much taller than her, no more than half a foot. "Hello, do you need any help?" Though her heavy armor and large blade resting horizontally across her back may have been intimidating, Hokori tried to keep her voice as gentle as possible.

All the more reason I should probably change up how I'm playing this game.

@Theodosia

Hokori continued to wander around the hilly fields on this floor and she was eventually able to find herself a material to collect. After making sure that it was actually a material and incremented the quest counter, she returned to see that Ryo had already found her fifth material. Though she gave words of reassurement, Hokori didn't really listen. She did however, give some kind words back. "It doesn't matter whether or not you got them faster. What matters is that we'll both get them eventually. We're under no time limit or risk of death right now, so I don't mind if this takes all day. The only issue we will have with this taking so long is that much more time it takes before we can offer our support to those clearing this game for us." She showed the material that she had gotten. "It took a while for me to get this far, but at least now we'll be able to be closer to our goal."

@Ryoko

Hokori continued to look around, though there was little that she was actually able to find in the fields. It seemed as though the amount of materials that could be found was significantly lower than the times she had been here before. It was honestly quite strange. Perhaps there was just too much farming in the game and it was lowered. That seemed unlikely. Unless there were notes she had never seen before, she had never heard of their being a patch to the game. It was honestly a miracle with how well the game was running. The number of players in here simultaneously is staggering. And though it is a sad fact, the more people that died meant the game would be able to run smoother and smoother. Perhaps one of the few silver linings to be found in this game.

@Ryoko

Still not finding any materials to gather for herself, Hokori turned to talk to Ryoko. Of course, what she instead saw was the girl having face-planted into the dirt. It was an embarassin sight, and Hokori quickly turned her gaze away from it. Once Ryo had managed to gather herself, she would approach and placce a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry so much about it. Happens to everyone, I would think a bit more while otehrs were getting used to the game. It's what gravity will do to people." Perhaps if there was some sort of flight mechanic they could avoid this, though that would severaly go against the setting this game seemed to have. In the end, she felt is was more just a way to make sure that plaayers didn't try to cheat the system and shortcut to the top of Aincrad. Another safeguard in place so she couldn't break the system.

@Ryoko

Hokori decided to take a short break from all of the hunting and gathering they were doing right now. It had already been quite some time and she still only had two materials to show for it. The game was definitely being quite mean to them at this point. She sat on the grasses of the second floor and decided to try and talk a little bit with Ryoko. It wasn't much, but it was something to help pass the time as she waited for her energy to recover some more. "It most certainly isn't. Though I don't seem to have the best of luck when it comes to gathering materials. I hoped that one day I would've been able to find plenty, but that day has yet to come." She stood up once more, unable to bear sitting around and not doing anything right now. "Let's just hope there's a few more materials we can find laying around. I'd rather not be out here all day."

@Ryoko

Hokori watched as Ryoko continued to miss the Boar. It was slowing the two of them down, but wouldn't be the end of anything. She quickly charged in with her spinning attack once more. The boar barely stood a chance as she managed ti slice clean through it. Amazed at the games effects, she quickly took a look at the rewards. Thankfully, there was actually a couple of materials in there. "Do you mind if I take the materials, as you're nearly done? I'll give you the consumables in here if you'd like them." Ryoko seemed to be a reasonable person, so hopefully they would be able to just make this quest go as fast as possible. She had still not gotten any materials until now, so she had a lot of catching up to do. "Let's take a short breather before we go find another mob. Maybe there's a few more materials hiding around here."

It weas nice to be able to chat a bit more casually with someone. Of course, it was still not the best for her. Ever since she had gone to university, she had longed to be able to have a conversation with other women. The few that were there at the university with her were either just there to find themselves a man to latch on to, complete airheads who got in on parent's money, or both. She gave a cursory glance aroudn the area. "Guess it's about time we call it here I guess. I hope to see you around sometime in the future." It would be good to see how the two of them were progressing. She wasn't going for the fastest route of progression, but she was trying her best not to continue to fall behind. Divying up the resources they found as best as possible, she turned away towards the Town of Beginnings.

Reaching down to grab one of the items marked as a material up off the ground, Hokori quickly came back over to where Black was. She laughed along with him at his own witticism. "I don't doubt that, though there would probably end up being someone who would best you with no experience and only the game's systems. Who knows, maybe if there are VRMMOs after this we can look for a gun based one and we can give it a try." It was nice being around a guy who was actually nice to her for once. Though she was still being treated like another guy for them to hang out with, it was at least not encroaching into the weirdness of those who wanted to have it both ways. Perhaps the two of them could work together more often, though she decided to save that conversation for a later date.

@Black

Though Ryoko missed her attack, Hokori quickly followed up with another of her spinning attacks. The wasp was able to quickly get its stinger through to her armor while she powered up and hit her for some damage though. It reflected some of it back towards the creature as she landed her own attack, dropping it precariously into the red. "You should be able to finish it off Ryoko, if not I'll get in the way and let it attack me." Hopefully the creature would die as it attacked her and she would be able to finish it off that way. It wasn't a guarantee but it was the best idea she had. She was mostly just worried that the creature would still drop little to no loot for them. The fact she was still yet to get a material was disconcerting to say the least. Perhaps it was just a bit of a bug in the system.

(corrected your energy because I forgot to do the out of combat refill of it

Though the compliment from Black didn't go unheard, Hokori decided it would be best to ignore it for now. It was likely meant just to be heard by him anyways. She sheathed her sword across her back once more, letting it rest horizontally along her back. "I mostly want to hold back to let you get used to the system more. You've been doing great, but I don't want to create any sort of dependency. We all need to get strong if we want to escape this death game." She listened more to Black as he talked, gently resting herself against a wall. She could hear her mother's voice in her head, saying how un-lady-like she was being. Of course, that voice got drowned out rather quickly like the breeze through her short hair. She had long given up trying to be feminine for her mother when she was constantly teased for being the girl in the college. "I guess they just have some lucky drops. Though I'm probably going to be a bit broke myself if I decide to refund my skills."

@Black

With the blockage cleared, monster defeated, and gem pocketed, the two were able to make their way out of the cave and back towards safety. "Well, you're the one who has to turn it in. Though I'll walk with you. There's another quest after that as well if you'd like my help." Hokori walked with Rithe back towards the Town of Beginnings, making a bit of small talk along the way. She was hoping that she would be able to bond with Rithe a bit more, though could tell they weren't the open type. Once back in the grove, she let her turn in the quest and watched as she received the same ring that she had when she finished the quest. Either it was a guaranteed reward or luck that they got the same thing. She received a parcel as well to take to what she knew to be the old man at the lake. If they wanted her to, Hokori planned on accompanying Rithe on the last quest for the beginners/ After that, she would be able to help her really start moving forward in this game.

Thread Summary:

Without waiting to see if the other goblin was even attacking, Hokori laid her blade into a flat spin and shattered it as well as she had the previous one. She nodded towards black, seeing that he had finished off the one in front of him as well. "Let's take a short rest so we can get back some energy. Shouldn't take too long, but I'd rather be ready for the next fight and not run out of the stamina to attack them with." She was a bit sad that she wasn't able to get all of the loot she had hoped for, though she wasn't able to delegate the last two goblin kills to Black. "I should probably hold back a little bit, shouldn't I?" she gave a short laugh, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. Though the lack of loot was sad, she at least knew that the both of them would be safe.

Hokori grunted as she landed from another dodged attack of the goblin. "Let the attack guide you, the game will assist in your targeting. Don't just rely on whatever training you have." Though she had had no experience whatsoever coming into this game, she was able to work harder and use the game's assists to her advantage. She noticed that there was two more goblins approaching them and were starting to close in. She quickly made her way around Black to get their attention. Hopefully he would be able to finish off the second goblin while she kept the third and fourth off of him. She unleashed a sword art at one of the goblins, and realized that she ended up spinning it to death. It shattered as it hit the wall. "I'll keep this one off of you, make sure to take the one you're on out! Try to get the last hit, we'll get better rewards"

Though unsure just what was happening behind her, it sounded like Rithe was doing fine taking down the golem. She was able to move rocks out of the way with relative ease, slowly clearing a path back towards the entrance. She couldn't tell how much progress was being made because of how dark it was in the cave, but she could feel that rocks were moving away. Seeing Rithe come to join her, Hokori gave an exhausted nod towards her. She seemed to turn back towards where the golem was, and she looked behind her quickly to see the rock monster crumble into pieces. "Good... job... Rithe." Her energy was being depleted from moving the rocks, but she could still talk. The game may not actually be exhausting her, but she could feel the effects as if they were real. "Let's... get out... of here... shall we?" She put her hand on her knees for a short moment to catch her breath before going back to clearing rocks.

@Rithe

Hokori was doing her best to keep the goblin that was here on her, but there was not much stopping it from parrying Black's attack. without waiting for it to change directions, she quickly smacked it in the back of the head with her pommel. It didn't take it out, but did draw its attention back towards her. She was able to make sure that as it struck at her, her blade was ready to intercept it. Black shouted out that there was another Goblin headed their way. It seemed it wasn't quite ready to jump into the fight thankfully. She made a mental note to engage it as soon as she could. She didn't want Black to have to take the attack from it if she could help it. "Try not to engage if you can help it. We can take this out first and then make our approach on the next group."

Hokori watched as Black was able to take down the first of the goblins, and quickly dodged out of the way of the other. It seemed that the talisman she had gotten was actually really nice for this combat. Though it meant she couldn't get the spikes from her armor to hit them when they did connect, they were very rarely able to make that connection. "You finish off the second one, I'll try and keep him off of you!" She didn't want to take down the creature herself, but she was able to make sure it didn't turn its attention towards Black.  Once he mentioned their being another camp, she made sure not to leave her back unguarded. It may hinder her evasiveness a little bit, but she would avoid getting stabbed in the back when more showed up. It seemed that they were going to be here grinding mobs anyways, so more goblins coming shouldn't be a problem.

Cosi had gotten a decent hit in against the fish while she was still drawing her weapon. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to grab it. She was able to quickly charge up her sword art, which launched her into a vertical spin over the fish, repeatedly slicing it. As the fish shattered into pixels, Hokori found herself falling into the water. WIthout so much as the chance to brace she was sunk into it. THankfully, she was able to tread water even with the heavy armor. She spat out a bit of water and hoisted herself into the boat. Once back at the hut, the old man thanked the two of them and they were given the quest complete propmpt. It seemed that there was no more quests in this line. HOkori offered her hand for a shake. "Glad we could work together. I hope to see you around some more soon."

Hokori watched as Black narrowly missed taking out the first goblin, and was unable to get to it herself now. Thankfully, it seemed to be still be focused on her. As such, she was able to dodge out of its way. She quickly began to spin herself at the other goblin, hoping to leave the first for black to finish off himself. It would be much better if he could get the rewards from it and not her. Thee second goblin was thrown back by her attacks and completely stunned as well. She turned her attention towards dodging the first goblin's attacks to let Black get in some hits of his own.

Let's just hope that he can land a hit. I'm hoping I don't end up killing these things by accident myself. Of course, this tinket is making it very hard for them to hit me for whatever little amount of damage they can. I don't think it will be a worry until they lose interest in me. That shouldn't happen unless he somehow hits them without killing them.

The two were able to get away from the immediate area without too much trouble, and Hokori was taking a breather by the river while Black looked for more materials for himself. She knew that she should probably start learning to craft sooner than later, but had yet to get around to doing the quest for a profession. As he talked about looking for a chest, she skipped a rock into the river. The mud started to twist a little bit from the splash of her failed attempt and revealed something that seemed to be glinting in the shallow water. Hefting it up, it appeared to be some sort of chest. "You mean something like this," she said, calling Black over. She waited for him to come over, so that the two of them could open it together. Whatever was in it though, she was intending on splitting just like the rewards from the mob they had taken down moments ago.

@Black

Hokori was glad that Black was still hanging back and letting her grab their attention first. As she spun up her sword art once more, she managed to knock away the first goblin into a stone wall. It's health bar dropped fairly low and she decided it would be best if she left it to him. He would probably get better rewards for killing it than her and then they could split it up. For now, her focus was on keeping the second goblin on her. It took a swing at her, and though her trinket kicked in, it seemed as though her heavy armor was slowing her down considerably. The blade connected and the reach was enough that the creature didn't take any damage in return. Making sure to keep it away from Black, she positioned herself between the two goblins so as to prevent them from attacking her twice in the front.

While looking for materials, Hokori was able to talk a little bit with Ryo. It wasn't much, but still something to stimulate her mind. "Glad to see you're doing better with the heights around here." She smiled as Ryo talked about just wanting to kill the boar instead of being scared of what was around them. Then, she heard the warning come from Ryo. Hokori didn't turn around, instead opting to grab her blade still on her back and charge the sword art from there. If she did it just right, she would be able to land the hit without turning around to face the boar. She watched as the concentration skill was used up and she felt the increased awareness it gave. Smiling once more, Hokori broke into a spin that flipped her around as she smashed her sword down on to the boar in front of her. It was stunned for a little bit, but it wasn't going to go down that easily.

(Corrected 2 ACC to 1, had a miscalc in my stats)

The bee soldier went in for an attack against her once more, and this Time Hokori was able to dodge out of the way. As she did, she charged up a sword art and swung her blade behind her. The blade barely clipped the end of the stinger and she got the behind the back kill. Though it may have looked impressive from the right angle, she knew just how close she had to have gotten. There was a little sign that put another of her skills on cool-down. Thankfully, she would be able to disengage from this fight. Picking up the rewards she turned away from the other bee soldier. "Come on, let's get out of here. I don't have the energy to cover you against that other Bee soldier. I'll split the rewards with you as best as I can once we're back in town." Hopefully, Black would trust her enough that they could get out of this sticky situation.