Zuekin

Zuekin noticed that she looked to be in a hurry but agreed to sit down anyways. When she did sit she mentioned something about an errand and asked if he knew there wasn't any pain or fatigue "yeah I know there isn't any pain in this world or fatigue but you do have mental exhaustion" he stopped to think what he should say next "but it's still a good idea to take the time to sit down and enjoy the moment even taking a couple of minutes to meditate is good for your mental health, I mean what's the point of living if you don't enjoy it you know what I mean" when he finished Zuekin put his hands on top of his head and rested it on the back of the bench so he was looking up at the sky. After a few minutes passed by he remembered that she mentioned an errand "so you said something about an errand do you want any help with it"

@Inanna

"Me break a promise, never in a million years, why would I ever do that" he gave a slight chuckle at his own response in his mind there was no reason for him to ever break a promise. He also took notice of the fact that Inanna was smiling and giggling alot he figured it was a girl thing since he didn't know anyone of the opposite gender except for his Master back in the real world and she wasn't a good example. Zuekin was starting to get a little tired not from the running but from the encounter with Inanna and the pressure in his head that would kick back up every time he looked her in the eyes, so he looked back at the bench he had crashed into and walked over to it "hey let's sit down after that fall you might want to I'd rather you not hurt yourself" he called back to Inanna and sat down on the bench motioning for her to sit down next to him. "Unless you would rather us lay back down" he honestly meant this as a joke he didn't realize that would mean them getting up close and personal again. He was not putting any kinda meaning or ulterior motive behind it. By this time anyone who had seen the incident had already grown bored of it and carried on with there day.

@Inanna

When she went to get up she pushed on his chest to get herself up which didn't bother Zuekin in the slightest he has had much heavier objects on him when worked out so it did little to phase jim. As she got to her feet she made a small joke about trying to help him up and saying how he would likely pull her back down "well at least you would have a soft landing" he joked as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. Now that they were both standing Zuekin could actually see who he had ran into this girl stood just a little shorter than him just about to his chin her head was a deep crimson, her eyes shared the same color as her hair, around her neck was red rose choker moving further down she had on a black corset and mini skirt that left little to the imagination, as if that mattered to Zuekin though the only thing he ever imagined was his next fight. His observation was interrupted by the fellow player introducing herself as @Inanna and asking for his name. "Its a pleasure to meet you Inanna" he stopped as he remembered how his mentor taught him to great a woman, he took her hand in his and leaned over giving it a brief kiss before returning to his normal relaxed self "my name is Zuekin (zoo-kin) the future strongest player in Aincrad!" 

 "huh, what do you mean having fun" Zuekin now broke eye contact with the lady as she pressed into him to analyze the situation she was on top of him he was holding her and she was rubbing his shoulder..... even as thick headed as Zuekin was he definitely knew what this looked like and they were starting to draw attention to themselves as people turned there way "oh, I'm sorry but do you mind getting up I mean I could just as easily pick you up but that would be a little rude" he waited for her to respond. While he did he took the time to remove his hand from her hair it was strangly soft he hadn't touched a girls hair before well not that he could remember anyways and took his other hand off her back but only a little his hand still hovering over her skin just in case she decided to stay put he would be able to pick her up easily enough. 

@Inanna

When she looked at him with that smile the only thing hey saw were her eyes not because he couldn't see the rest of her but because of her eyes their color reminded him of someone but he couldn't remember who for the life of him. When she spoke he broke out of his trance a bit to reply "you weren't in the way I just didn't see you there I was out for a run and I kinda ran into you so to speak haha" he gave a small chuckle and returned her smile, but every time he looked at her eyes he kept getting this feeling that something was missing they tugged at the back of his mind but he just couldn't place them then he felt a familiar pressure build in his head it was what he used to get when he tried to remember things from before the orphanage or when he saw things that had some kind of connection to his past the pressure was supposed to be a sharp pain but due to the games pain nullifier program it replaced it with that pressure instead, but when it happened he accidentally hugged her a little closer with the hand on her back.

@Inanna

Zuekin had been running around the town of beginnings all morning attempting to get in a little exercise for the day even though the game kept the players bodies in the same shape and look as when they first came in to this world he was wearing his tight workout shirt that showed off his well toned body with a pair of lose shorts, he still enjoyed the feel of a good run with the wind in his face and the beating of his heart, and CRASH!!!!

As he turned the corner of one of the buildings he caught a glimpse of a woman right before he ran into her full force with no time to slow down he had a split second to grab her threw himself under her and closed his eyes bracing himself for the impact before hitting the ground and slamming into a bench, above it popped up the words immortal object meaning it couldn't be damaged our destroyed. When he opened his eyes all he saw was red 'is this blood....' he moved his hand through it feeling the texture of it 'wait there's no blood in here' and then he froze eyes wide open as he realized it was the woman's hair that was on top of him the one had just ran into "uughh, I'm sorry about that I didn't see you until it was to late" he paused for a moment before continuing "I tried to keep from hurting you by absorbing the impact" as he said all this he didn't realize his hand was still in her hair and the other one holding her lower back from when he grabbed her. 

@Inanna

"I can understand that in some cases you have to defend yourself and the day may come when I will be in that position, but I plan to stop that from happening to anyone else" Zuekin noted that Vigilon trailed off on his last sentence, but realized where that was heading and didn't feel that it was the right time to ask about something personal like that so he held onto it in the back of his mind till it was time. Zuekin hadn't even noticed how far they had walked while him and Vigilon had been discussing player killers until they reached the base of the mountain "that was quite quick" rather than stopping while he spoke he just pressed onward up the winding mountain path. "Hey I've got a question for you, even if u don't know much any information you could provide me with would be greatly appreciated" a paused a moment to let that sink in not turning around or stopping in order to keep the pace they were at "what do you know of unique skills" as he spoke his foot landed on a lose rock and about fell backwards but luckily caught himself and regained his footing before continuing the treck up the mountain "that was too close a fall from this height would surely spell doom"  

@Vigilon

Zuekin waited patiently for Calrex to respond but before he could another player joined their conversation by giving him a word of warning about the frontlines. While he listened to the frontliners ( @Hikoru ) advice Zuekin sat there arms crossed over his chest 'so this is the floor raid meeting, well that explains why they are all here.' When he finished Zuekin responded "thanks but sadly I won't be participating in this raid I'm just here to see what kind of planning goes into these raids and to give any kind of assistance I can." After Zuekin finished the man walked away towards another player sitting away from them.

Once the other player left @Calrex piped up telling him that this was the floor raid meeting 'i guess he didn't notice the other guy when he told me' he then went on saying this would be a good learning experience for him and he should stay and listen "sounds like a good idea to me like I told the other guy I just plan on giving any help I can offer" he held one hand open and the other in a fist "be it words or action." As soon as he was done speaking the woman on stage called for attention.

As she spoke she mentioned of the area the fight would take place it was on a beach and it had holes in it most likely caused by the boss itself. As he thought about that a distant memory surfaced of him on a beach as a kid with the sun's rays beating down on him and the sand in between his toes while he watched small crabs crawl out of holes on the beach he yelled back at two older people on beach chairs under an umbrella, but as quickly as memory came it faded into black. When he blinked again he was back sitting on the stone stairs at the raid meeting with a small pain in the back of his head 'what the heck was that and who were those people' he wondered while he continued to listen about the floor boss she said that it could supposedly use both fire and ice attacks.

When she finished giving everyone the rundown on the raid boss she suggested that they talk about the preparations for the fight. Zuekin was the first to stand and walk up to the stage to speak his mind. When he reached the stage he looked at the other players and took a deep breath before speaking "before I start I would like to introduce myself, my name is Zuekin the future strongest player in Aincrad, and I look forward to working with all of you in the near future, but for now I can only offer my words as assistance to this fight" he waited for about a minute or two before continuing "from what I've heard so far about this boss it would seem that careful preparation is in order especially when this boss might be able to use fire and ice attacks I'd recommend everyone participating in the fight would need to get the snowfrost item drop from the avalanche quest that lets you reduce burn over time damage by half, it might also be a good idea for some of the higher dps's to use weapons with a slot in phase in case the boss has a mitigation boosting ability, and lastly how she described the holes in the ground gives me a sketchy feeling that it may spawn minions so make a contengency plan just in case it does it's better to plan for any surprises beforehand than making one up on the fly." When he finished he just stood there waiting for any responses to his lengthy speech.

@Hestia

As he settled into his stance he decided to use a style of kung fu that was perfect for this kind of fight that he had learned from one of his master's old friends from China that visited often, it is known as Wing Chun it had a nickname sort of but zuekin couldn't remember it it was something to do with spring he thought, but the style focused on fast arm movements and strong legs but he used it particularly for one of its forms of blocking which implemented the use of the strong points of the body for blocking and then delivering a series of rapid strikes to the body, arms, and neck of the opponent. As soon as he set up the blight was charging it moved to strike at him with a head on attack but zuekin used the back of his hand to guide it off course and instead of it hitting him square in the face it grazed the side of his helmet doing a single point of damage and activating his thorns. Before it shattered into pixels he landed two quick strikes to its chest and then it disappeared back into the digital void or wherever mobs go when they die.

Zuekin had been sitting at a cafe near the teleport plaza on the first floor enjoying his morning tea and observing the players that came to and from it. He hadn't seen anyone that looked too interesting, mostly just low level players making there way out and on to the higher floors for the first time, and a few more experienced ones that looked like they belonged on the frontlines coming back probably for the vast number of shops that littered the town of beginnings. 'hmm, looks like today is going to be another long day' Zuekin thought as he took another sip of his tea it was sweet but not due to sugar but because of a few drops of honeysuckle dew he had picked up from a vendor.

After he finished his tea he got up and went to leave but before he could turn and start on his way something caught his eye it was mop of blue hair coming from the teleport circle it was @Calrex 'well that makes six players that look way to high level for this floor I wonder what they could be up to' with that Zuekin began to follow Calrex and the others about five minutes of tailing his suspicions were confirmed as they all slowly entered the old outdoor theater Zuekin followed suit and entered as well. When he entered he took a moment to look around seeing the other players most of them in there battle armor Zuekin himself was wearing his workout shirt and loose pants he hardly wore his equipment in town and he hadn't been planning on fighting today. He noticed Calrex by himself on the stone seats 'might as well say hi I mean what could possibly go wrong' walking up to Calrex he waved at the ultramarine knight casually "hey Calrex long time no see what brings you down to the first floor?" He said sitting down next to him waiting for a response.

"Thank you for your compliment on my tea and your welcome i mean it's the least I could do." as he finished his tea Zuekin put the items back into his inventory for safe keeping "as my Sensei always said learning how to brew a good cup of tea takes time and patience two of the most fundamental things a Martial artist needs to become great." Saying it In his best impersonation of his master. When he finished packing up the items he turned back to Calrex "but, to be honest with you I think she just didn't want to make tea" he stood there at first with his regular persona until he it was broken with a small laugh that was followed up with more. When he stopped laughing he looked back at Calrex once again "Once again, thank you for your help against the Wasp Queen, if I had gone in there by myself I might not have walked back out" giving a small nervous chuckle "but, I have been thinking and I want to see if you wouldn't mind helping me with some of the high experience quest's in return you can have your pick of the items and I'd make tea afterwards" Zuekin outstretched his arm in the form of a handshake "how does that sound?"

              (Thread summary)

@Calrex

Any other lawful goods out there 

'Amazing' that was how he could only describe what happened next as Calrex quite literally blew chunks of the wasp away with every stroke of his spear until all that remained was pixelated shards of the once royal wasp. "I guess that does just about do it" with that Zuekin began to walk back to the entrance of the cave "man that sure was alot of fun i mean did you see when i kicked that thing in the the face" reenacting the moment by jumping up and kicking the air where the wasps head would have been "and then when you literally just blew it away aahhh that was so cool, man fighting gets me so pumped" he said as they reached the cave entrance "hey maybe one day we'll be able to have an awesome battle against each other just for fun though aye" turning towards Calrex as he spoke "but in all seriousness though I'm very grateful for your help on that quest, I still wish I had something to give you for your help" and that's when he remembered about the herbs he got from the market a couple days back "oh I know!" He almost shouted as he began to search his inventory looking for the herbs, his tea kettle, and small Bunsen burner "how would you like a cup of tea?" He didn't even wait for an answer as he pulled out the items setting the small burner on the ground and turning it on, he then set the kettle on top and took out a water canteen he kept on hand just for such an occasion and fed the liquid into it. After he was finished with that he brought out a small bag of finely ground herbs and set it in the water, the bag they were in allowed for the water to pass through it but didn't let out the herbs themselves. "And now we wait if you don't mind Calrex I'm going to take this time to meditate" as soon as he finished he sat down in his usual position and began to drift off into thought. It took around thirty minutes for the burner to get the tea to a boil and the familiar whistling filled the air breaking Zuekin's meditation "ahh it's ready" he said grabbing two cups from his inventory he turned off the burner and took the kettle in hand making sure to grab it by the padded handle so he wouldn't burn himself and poured the glasses as he did the smell of fresh tea filled the air. "Here you go enjoy" he said with a smile as he gave Calrex one of the cups "man there is nothing better than fresh tea, well except for a good fight, hahaha." He laughed as he sipped his tea it was naturally sweet very soothing. 

Zuekin knew he was right he needed to get the Martial arts skill so he could up his damage but for now he had other things to worry about as the overgrown bug dislodged itself from the wall and started making its way towards calrex. He said something Zuekin couldn't quite make out but his ears did catch on one word 'aggro' an thats when Calrex banged on his shield for the second time but this time something was different about it, it didn't seem to be as condensed as it had been Zuekin had no idea why it was but it didn't really matter. The next thing he saw was the wasp attack Calrex, he immediately looked at the health bar above his head expecting to see it move but it didn't even budge 'did that thing even hit him, I'm pretty sure it hit him..' interrupting his thoughts was the sound of an explosion not a very loud or large on but enough of which it got his attention, looking back at Calrex and the wasp he noticed a little smoke coming of the stunned creature that was now below half health 'so he has thorns too but it would seem his is some kind of blast type' not wasting anymore time Zuekin ran up behind the mob and jumped up landing a solid kick to its head pushing it a few feet away from them and landing next to Calrex "that's some pretty lethal thorns you got there how did you get it to do that?" pointing a finger at the Wasp's smoldering thorax.

"Well that's a neat trick" referring to how Calrex equipped his shield as he marched up to the the over grown wasp and smacked his spear against his shield resulting in a shockwave that seemed not only to get the Queen's attention but also shake the very cave they were in "ok now that's pretty cool but watch out for her" but it didn't matter the wasp had swung to wide and got it's claw stuck in a stalactite. Zuekin didn't even wait for Calrex to say anything he just moved on instinct he pressed down on the rocky floor of the cave with his back foot with enough strength that it cracked slightly from the pressure "your mine" he said as he pushed off the ground picking up bits of stone and rock from the launch as he neared her he pulled his fist all the way back aiming for the bit that connected it's head to it's torso but the wasp lowered it's head just in time to get a face full of Zuekin's heavily armored fist. The force from the impact was enough to break her free of the stalactite but sent her flying into a wall with a loud thud "ha gotcha" landing back on the ground safely Zuekin turned to the bluenette with a grin "not to shaybie for a newbie huh?"

Zuekin had just bought tea leaves from a nearby stall vendor for his meditation and was on his way to the outskirts of town when he crossed paths with a fairly large group of players all standing outside of some alchemy shop 'i wonder what all of these people are doing here' he wondered as he tried to maneuver through the crowd but he didn't seem to be bothering anyone as he pushed passed player after player that was until he tripped over someone's feet and fell face first into a girl standing in the midst of the crowd bringing both of them crashing to the ground. 'come on is this how I'm meeting everyone now by running into them' as he picked himself back up and brushed himself off he looked down at the girl she looked to be a little older than him but maybe that wasn't the case either way he reached out a hand to her to help her up "sorry about that miss I didn't mean to run into you honestly" after he apologized he took a moment to look around seeing that people were starring at them "nothing to see here just an accidental collision move along people" that seemed to work to some extent as people turned there attention back to whatever they were doing before. Turning back to the woman he had ran into he continued "I really am sorry about that if there is anything I can do to make it up to you let me know" he gave her a warm smile hoping she would forgive him.

"Ok then we will do it your way I'll attack while you'll defend" he said responding to Calrex's suggestion. His concern for his wellbeing was refreshing to say the least, the only other person he had met like him in his life was his mentor Mitsuki she had been a kind yet strict teacher always pushing him to his limits and then pushed harder it was thanks to her that he is what he is. Coming back to the present Zuekin heard the bluenette inform him that he should be able to see the cave now "ok then let's find it" using the hill they were on he scanned the surrounding area. Zuekin didn't see any signs of a cave 'if I were a cave where would I be' looking around again he still saw nothing 'huh, I'd think that it would be easy to spot this thing on top of this hill' and then it hit him maybe they couldn't see it because they were standing on it. Zuekin moved down to the base of the hill began to circle it, and sure enough nestled in a steep part of the hill was an entrance to a cave "well look at that we were standing on it the entire time" stopping before going to close to the entrance he gestured for Calrex to take the lead "let get this started shall we" with that he entered getting the first look at this feild boss and it wasn't disappointing in the least heck its size was the most impressive thing about it, it was at least twice his size "at least it's not disappointing."

((OOC- hey you roll for the mob since you are last))

@Calrex

As he listened to everything Vigilon said his face slowly started to change back to its cheerful demeanor as a smile crept across it. "Your right there are a lot of things people miss when the rush through a floor and there are a lot of people that need help, I'm glad there are other people like me that want to help those who need it." By the time he finished Zuekin had a goofy smile on his face and what Vigilon said next made him laugh, due to there situation it was kinda funny "once again your right you do only live once that's why you should enjoy it I mean yes this place is a prison but that isn't going to stop me from having fun and meeting new people and yes I do believe that people should help others stay alive that way they can get out of this place too." But what he hadn't realized was that Vigilon was leading up to something that he wasn't expecting.... player killers "I know about pkers and to tell you the truth I hate them I hate that they take from us our friends and our most precious gift life I hate that there are people like that I wish I could stop them but I'm not strong enough yet." Taking a deep breath to calm himself he continued "that's why I want to become the strongest so I can use that power to save everyone I don't care what happens to me as long as everyone else is safe I'll do what ever it takes"

@Vigilon

While Zuekin waited for the man to respond he enjoyed a small breeze that drifted by closing his eyes and tilting his head back a little, even as Calrex answered his request Zuekin did not make any sign of moving until the breeze passed "well thank you Calrex not just for helping me out but for your help with everyone before me" after Zuekin responded he went back to enjoying the wind that was until the bluenette said something that caught him off guard 'he wants me to take on the dps roll, crap I don't have the Martial arts skill yet I've mostly been using the thorns on my armor to deal damage crap, crap, crap' after he was done mentally scolding himself Zuekin turned towards Calrex to respond "well you see I don't have the Martial arts skill yet the wraps I have are for accuracy currently, I have been using my thorns to kill monsters but if you want me to I can still take the lead if you want, but what we could do for the first attack we could let it hit me once then we can switch then when my health is back up we switch again and repeat the process if it isn't dead already, sound good." And then he said something even more surprising this time about him needing to be careful with his wish and that it is a heavy burden carrying thousands of lives on your shoulders "don't worry Calrex I'm prepared to carry that burden even if I have to do it alone I will."

@Calrex

Zuekin had been looking at the notice board searching for any low level players in need of a tank for a few minutes,  and he had seen a couple of requests but none of them seemed to be what he was looking for "enough" he said in a low voice taking a step back from the board and shaking his head "ok the next on I see I'm foing" this time he unintentionally spoke loud enough that anyone near him could hear. His eyes scanned the board again passing over material and some missing persons notices until his gaze crossed over a request for hell on a quest it read.

Hello everyone! Grimm here. I need some help with a quest, specifically one called "Secret Forest of Medicine". I'm too low level to take the quest alone. I'll be waiting outside of the town where you get the quest by the road. Thanks.

"I guess that will do" turning away from the board he started towards the exit of town "now to find this Grimm character" as Zuekin exited the town he could see two figures waiting, one sitting next to a lamp post and the other leaning on the stone wall next to the road. He walked within earshot of them before asking the obvious question "hey are one of you guys Grimm?"

@Ghost

Zuekin sat down in the grass in a meditation pose but not to meditate but listen as Calrex gave him all of his opinions and facts from Zuekin's armor to the difference between an ordinary field monster and a field boss. He even bluntly told him that his healing factor would probably not be enough to keep up with the boss's damage output. He didn't answer right away not because he didn't want to but due to the fact that the bluenette wasn't finished he continued to confirm that he was a tier three but not just that, he was one of the highest level players in Aincrad currently. 'wow this guy is no joke' he thought as he continued to listen as Calrex told him about the frontlines and that he had been in over a dozen floor raids. 

"Ok, first I want to say how awesome it is that you have stuck it to Aincrad for so long, and second" Zuekin stood up for this next part clearing his throat before continuing "since your one of the highest level players if not the highest then what I'm about to ask of you may be a little tedious but would you mind helping me out I can't pay you to be honest but I can pledge you my service, when I get high enough in level I will join you on the frontlines." Stopping to take a breath and pointed right at Calrex "for I strive to become the strongest player in Aincrad and use my power to help save everyone in this world and to do that I will need to surpass you and everyone close to your level of strength" 

@Calrex

Sounds good now we just wait for @Grimm to start the topic 

Well I'm lvl 1 but I've got 8mit and Regen with thorns

Sure just start it and tag me

"Well Thanks for all of your help Calrex" so all Zuekin had to to do was go back to town find the NPC accept the quest and go kill the elusive bee easy enough. He was about to leave again when Calrex asked something that surprised Zuekin a little he wanted to know what level he was but it didn't seem like he was hostile at least not towards people so what's the harm "I guess it's only fair since you have already told me so much let's see where to begin well I guess the best way to start would be my level of course I'm level one though, but don't let that fool you my stats let me easily take down any mob that spawns on me due to my level thanks to my thorns plus my rank in heavy armor and my Regen I can fight four at a time and they still couldn't kill me" hopefully he would be satisfied with that answer Zuekin decided to sit down in a meditation position and take a moment to enjoy the view since he was going to be here a little longer "hey so if I've pieced this together correctly you are a high teir three" taking a moment to let him answer before he continued "if you are do you fight on the frontlines and if you do what is it like"

@Calrex