Andromeda

EVALUATIONS

Name: Cube of Rejuvenation [#124724]
Your Profession: Merchant
Your Rank: 1
Roll ID: 130712 | 130713
Roll Result: 8 | 4
Item Type: Trinket
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Recovery | Keen
Description: A small green cube dangling from a silver chain. From time to time, the user feels a small wave of energy wash over them, restoring their EN by 1 or making it easier for them to land a blow on an opponent they've already struck. It's a thing that is definitely not magic.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18519-f1-r1-merchant-pandoras-wares/?do=findComment&comment=589003

-----

Name: Armor of Taunting [#127956]
Your Profession: Merchant
Your Rank: 1
Roll ID: 130714 | 130715
Roll Result: 15 | 7
Item Type: Heavy Armor
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Mitigation | Taunt
Description: True to its name, it has some sort of unknown special property that ensures the opponent would be extra pissed at you. Oh, and here's some protection against the attacks that are sure to come your way.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18519-f1-r1-merchant-pandoras-wares/?do=findComment&comment=589003

-----

JUNK SALE

• Starter Light Armor -- T1 Rare Light Armor -- [x2] Mitigation -- A leather chest guard that offers minimal protection to the wearer. [200 Col]

Total to be received: 200 Col

--She shoved the last of the overfilling crates into a corner and... done! After what felt like weeks of work, An was finally done setting up shop! The silver-haired player admired her work and internally cheered.

But why on earth did she even have this much of a mess for her shop? She was a newbie, barely even level fifteen, and she shouldn't have this much junk lying around! The silver-haired player tilted her head in deep thought. Then she couldn't think of anything and chalked it up to some random antics she just didn't remember. She had a job - and she actually felt herself glowing with pride as she thought that; it sounded so mature!! -- now and it was time to actually get to work!

An made her way over to the table at the back and took out two of the items she had looted from the goblin cave earlier.

Seated on a sturdy branch with a hand holding onto the tree trunk for support and a dango stick dangling between the fingers of another, An admired the hard-earned mountaintop view of Floor 2's lush green valleys and interconnecting river systems. She was feeling pretty proud of herself! Today was the first time she climbed up a tree without falling on her butt even once... Today marked the first time she finally saw the top of Floor 2's mountain for herself... An smiled, obviously in a good mood.

And whenever An was in a good mood, she was in a helping mood.

Crimson eyes caught sight of a player climbing up the mountain with the same sort of focused resolve about them as someone on task. And another, following right after. The two spoke and where they were standing... happened to be just beneath An's tree. And she was just as hidden as a player whose hair color was a very distinctive silver can get.

"Hm?" She wasn't trying to hide though. Not again. Her voice carried over to them and An leaned forward with interest. She smiled brightly down at the both of them and her eyes shone with interest. If she cleared this quest, that meant EXP, and more EXP meant she could reach higher levels and explore more places! "Hello! Are you guys here to take the quest? I just stopped by without any real intention to, but do you mind if I joi-- Eeeeeeep!"

In her excitement, the girl had leaned too far forward, flailed her arms about uselessly when she realized, and fell the few meters she had climbed - headfirst into the brown-haired boy with a scream only those typical annoyingly useless female anime characters could muster.

They crashed to the ground with a rather comical thud.

[ooc: this is arabelle! tagging along with this alt instead of the main account.]

A dungeon...! An's eyes sparkled with curiosity; she had believed him immediately. She'd never been to a dungeon before - had never even seen the entrance of one, only heard of them from Leah, and even the very thought of being near one was an excitement to the amateur adventurer!

"Doesn't look like the usual dungeon," she casually remarked. An followed him closer to the hole, as if it was the most natural thing to do. It was only when he brought his map up again did she think to elaborate. "I mean, usually, it's a thing with a flashy, distinctive entrance, right? A big door or a cave with statues in front of it. In other games, I mean."

They looked down at the hole in relative silence. Wondering. How on earth was someone supposed to get down? And yes, she was wondering with him. 

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," An recited confidently. "If you can't figure something out, it's better to charge in without a second thought! ...with a Teleport Crystal on hand, of course."

She lifted a foot, hanging it over the hole with a casual smile. As if she hadn't just suggested the option that was practically suicide - if they were unlucky enough.

"Are you going in? I've just been exploring this place without a goal in mind. Want a teammate?"

Something about the way she looked at him eagerly suggested she wouldn't take no for an answer.

STORAGE

MYSTIC ESSENCES: 3

[storage:]

About to have a picnic with three people who had just been complete strangers a few moments ago. And yes, she was still onto that. Was this really a normal thing? Was she just severely lacking in experience on the social side of things? She didn't think so much about it though, this new experience was kind of exciting!

"Hm... I'll take some udon. Not picky with the flavor either, all of them are good!" 

Then as it turned out, she didn't need to recite her order. An didn't mind leading Nora around and when she put some more thought into it, the Shior's suggestions made sense: it was safest to always have a companion outside the safe zone, Yukiro had an orange crystal, and Shior was strong enough to defend him if something unexpected happened. An nodded admiringly. That was so smart of her! But, if that meant Shior was staying to protecr Yukiro and Nora was obviously a bit more inexperienced than her... did that mean it was up to her to do the protecting?

An felt a small glow of pride at being entrusted with that role. She had to suppress excitedly shaking her rapier in its sheath - it was a habit she picked up lately.

"I have a rapier."

She touched its hil and - oops, now she was doing it.

"And I finished the merchant profession quest, but I haven't really set up shop yet." Which she was really supposed to be working on now, but a person could only go on organizing and doing shop duties for so long until they got completely sick of it. Being a merchant was never on her to-do list anyway... "Ahahaha. It's a lot harder than I thought, actually."

The silver-haired player stood up and tossed a glance at her companion.

 "Let's go. Don't want to keep any of us waiting for food." 

As they bade the other two goodbye, An took the lead as they left the clearing then went back to the paved path that led out of the forest. "Delilah's a pretty place. Not my style as much as the other floors above, but pretty nonetheless. Do you know that anyone who's into botany would be having a total blast here?" Her skirt and half cape flared as she spun around with a bright smile. "Flowers, herbs, trees... I feel like with every garden I look at, there's a totally different species planted in it. So, look closely. I'm honestly surprised anyone could just pass all of this by."

Once they were out of the forest, An stopped. She turned her head to the left, and there, past a sea of green grass peppered with the yellow and pink hues of wildflowers, a large wooden house stood in the distance.

"So that place is closer than expected," she mused out loud. An kept walking down the path though, and she gestured for Nora to follow. "We'll pick something nice up from there later. But that would have to be after we buy the main course. Let's go."

Soon enough, they reached the town of Delilah.

✧ Pandora's Wares ✧
grandmaster merchant
 

       > identifications.
       > rerolls.
       > junk selling.

Amid the large establishments and market stalls of the Town of Beginnings' trading sector is a small wooden building that has certainly seen better years. Weathered walls that have long since lost their varnish and have permanent grooves marked into the wood and wavy glass window panes, providing a distorted peek into the shop's interior, which are positioned at either side of the battened and ledged door are the first impressions one could glean from the outside of the shop. On a newly-bought sign bracket hangs a medieval-styled sign bearing the shop's name in simple calligraphy. 

Another sign is posted at the door:

Open on Monday to Saturday
8 PM to 11 PM

You enter the shop. Immediately, you are greeted by a musky scent - the sort of thing that would remind you of old bookstores, if you've ever been to one - and... frankly, to call it a mess... is an understatement. For one reason or another, the interior of the store is littered with a vast assortment of items, of varying purposes and sizes and also too many to name: stacked and propped against wooden shelves and cabinets, stuffed into crates, and some you even have to step over as you make your way to the back of the shop. Is this place still undergoing renovation? Why is it even open in such a state? You wonder if this store - or the storekeeper - is something you can even associate the famous "Pandora" to.

You turn a corner, almost surprised to see that this area has a better sense of order. A silver-haired girl who doesn't quite seem to have a handle of things yet looks up from behind the counter with an eager smile.

"Welcome! How may I help you today?" 

[ identifications and rerolls: ]

[ junk sale : ]

Name: Rugged Leather Jerkin
Your Profession: Merchant
Your Rank: n/a [profession quest craft]
Roll ID: 129370 | 129371 | 129372
Roll Result: 18 | 9 | 16
Item Type: Light Armor
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: [x2] Mitigation| Light Momentum
Description: Contary to the amateur merchant's belief, this light armor was crafted by the goblins themselves. It is made of fibre leather and a few frayed edges imply a rather clumsy craftsmanship. But it's light and covers the important places, and the merchant insists it's completely fine to wear!
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18151-sp-f1-cheating-the-system/?do=findComment&comment=587037

Onto the last weapon now, then she would be finally, truly, home free! She placed the weapon on the counter and opened its menu, immediately commencing the identification process. An turned it over in her hands as she worked, but her mind eagerly strayed. After this, she would run straight back to her inn room and soak in the bathtub for a good few hours. Maybe even fall asleep in it. Sleeping in the bathtub was always the best feeling in the world! And then, she'd sleep in tomorrow. She wanted herself rested up: looking around for potential locations for her workshop was guaranteed to be a hassle, she first needed to narrow her options down to the floors whose safe zones she liked, and then take a look at the available lots, and then consider location, potential foot traffic, rooms, price...

"But do you have the time to play with the other kids?"

An important question.

"That's kid stuff," Billy scoffed. Then she realized, a bit too late, that this was probably a kid of around eleven to thirteen. Aka, that weird stage where everyone treats you like a kid and you absolutely hate it because you want to be a grown-up already... or as grown-up as teenagers were, anyway. An felt that. She lifted her gaze sheepishly from the weapon. The small NPC had turned away from her and swung its legs, though the wistfulness in its expression was quickly became apparent when she looked closely enough. That was quickly discarded as soon as it kept talking. "While they're out playing, I'm here running my family's business! I'm sure that once they get a bit older, they're gonna be like--" It crossed its arms and swung its legs a bit faster, speaking in a lower pitch. "'Oh, if only I worked and studied like Billy did.'"

The little kid spun around and pumped his fists with vigor. 

"I got this early a start, I'm going to be the best merchant in Aincrad when I grow up!"

"Ehhh? But if that's your goal, aren't you being too nice to your potential competitors?" An commented innocently. "I've read a lot of books where the apprentices surpass the mentor in the end. It's inevitable!"

"At least I'm smart enough to only teach you guys the bare basics. There's no way I'm telling you things I, as a competitor, would not want you guys to know!" 

Her red eyes shimmered.

Was that a challenge? 

...
...

One pop-up notification and the weapon was identified. An barely spared the enhancement a glance before she tossed it to the little boy. Obviously, she was keeping the light armor for herself and as per their agreement, Billy wasn't in the position to complain.

"And that makes your introductory lesson," the little merchant cheered. "Now that you've learned the basics, it's up to you to find out the rest yourself. It might be hard, but I know you can do it. Props to you for sticking it through to the end, but I really swear that nobody else encountered the goblins like you did! Been nice meeting you, ma'am."

He stuck out a hand for her to shake.

An didn't take it. Billy faltered, blinking up at her with curious eyes.

"...ma'am?"

She had thought back to the hint of regret in the merchant's eyes when she mentioned playing with the other kids. That wasn't any good; even she went out to play no matter how busy she was and she was supposed to be a grown-up herself! An reached forward and ruffled her little mentor's hair with a grin.

"It's been nice meeting you too. Would you mind if I came by sometimes?"

There was a small, tentative spark of hope in the little boy's wide eyes. Then he shook off her hand with a pout.

"I told you, I'm too big to play!"

"It's fine." The silver-haired player smiled innocently. "We can do grown-up stuff like sitting down for tea and talking business."

A pause. Billy looked at her and her smile. Then he realized and he smirked right back.

"Sure we can, but I won't let go of my trade secrets that easy!"

They shook hands and An left the shop with a small smile.

One quest done, an unlikely NPC friend(?) made, and a lot more stuff added to her mess of a to-do list. There was also how much her routine would change with her new profession too. Where would things go from here, she wondered?

***

Andromeda

• 2 SP
• 1,590 Col
• 6 T1 Mats
• <<Merchant>> Profession
• Standard <<Merchant>> Shop
• Identified Item [evaluation link]
• [x2] T1 Rare Armor
• [x1] T1 Rare Trinket

An picked up the rather plain-looking shield from where she had carefully laid it down with the floor along with the sword after that conversation earlier. The more intrusively curious part of her wanted to see what would happen if she annoyed this NPC more, but Billy's downcast expression had been enough to deter her. Somehow. Even though the little kid in front of her was just a bunch of code. It was weird that way.

"So, Billy," she began instead. It was still seated on the stool behind the counter, swinging its legs and watching her closely as she worked. "Does that mean you're handling this shop all by yourself?"

"Gramps comes to help sometimes," Billy chirped. "He's around whenever it gets busy and he tells me where to buy the materials when we're running out."

So he was basically doing most of it?

"That... sounds a bit too busy for a kid." Really, if that responsibility had fallen on her shoulders when she was young - even if she did love what she was doing - there would come a time when she'd be completely burnt out and looking for someone else to take over. Some things were only good when they were done as a hobby! "Are you sure you should be out teaching others this stuff though? On top of that, you're doing a lot!"

"Mom and dad..." Billy cast its gaze down and stopped swinging its legs. "They were nice people. They used to hold classes for people who wanted to be merchants like them. They could even teach a big group in one time. It's amazing! I can't even handle more than one!" 

She finished identifying the shield. Mitigation. Not like she was expecting anything better from an equipment piece with only one slot. She handed it to Billy, which it placed on its lap as it continued to talk. "It's practically a part of the family business. So I thought I had to take over somehow!"

"Maaaybe be a bit more honest about how difficult it is to gather stuff. Just a suggestion."

Okayyy. So first, she was challenged to a duel. And then the orange-haired lady - she had insisted on being called Shior, so An guessed it was Shior now - hugged her and asked her to sit with the others. And now they were talking about... going back to the safe zone, visiting an alchemy shop, and food? Food was great, but An had no idea how they got from a potential duel to planning a friendly hangout.

Or maybe An was just dumb. That was always a possibility.

"H-he's right," she nodded firmly in agreement. Internally, she tried to channel Leah's confidence, just so she could match up to the more sociable people in the group. "The last time I tried to go too long without sleep, I collapsed in the middle of a street. So I'd say it's more of a necessity when you're leaving the safe zone. And the last time I tried to go too long without food..." She tapped a finger to her lip in thought. Then she resumed, confidently, "Was never! Life isn't complete without a good meal everyday~."

So she supposed she was going to be on board with this now. An looked at the boy with fluffy white hair and the orange cursor above his head.

"Um..."

She didn't know too much about orange cursors, only the general advice of avoiding players who had them. But she already knew Yukiro got his cursor from punching a guy who was being too touchy. So no help from her on that front.

An's eyes brightened. 

But she had an idea!

"What if one of us buys food from the safe zone and we all have a picnic out here?" she suggested with a bright smile. "That way, no one gets left out!"

An unceremoniously dumped all of the requested unidentifieds on the counter.

"Wait, hey, don't do that!!" Billy yelped. It plodded in from the back room and quickly, carefully, lifted the weapon and then the shield. An watched with curiosity as it ran its small hand over the wooden surface of the counter beneath. Checking for dents? Finding none, it heaved a sigh of relief then turned to face her with an uncharacteristically meek expression. "Really, ma'am, please don't do that again."

"What?" she grumbled, still annoyed at how difficult the "simple" task of finding unidentifieds had turned out to be. "We need it for identifying?"

"Not really." Billy hopped onto a stool and leaned forward, propping its elbows on the counter. It pouted, as if it didn't want to explain - but then it looked at An's curious expression and started to talk. "It was here when my grandpa started the shop. And then when my dad took over, and then when it was passed to me. They got mad the last time I broke an old vase; they'll be mad if I break this too."

How... normal for a child its age, despite how precocious it was in other aspects.

"Where are they now?"

"Grandpa is too old. Dad and mom are both..." Billy slid forward and glumly rested its chin on its arms. It didn't say anything any further.

Suddenly, An didn't feel like berating the poor thing for sending her on that troublesome quest. 

Wasn't this an NPC? Lines upon lines of code that was made to look human. But... then again... it looked so much like a regular little kid that it was growing difficult to draw the distinction. It was difficult to be completely sympathetic but difficult to be stone cold at the same time.

"I'm sorry..." She shifted her feet uneasily.

"Okay!" Billy clapped its hands together. Back to business, the gesture silently implied. "I promised to teach you, so let's start. Pick one from the three and I'll teach you how to identify it."

An blinked. Then she nodded and eagerly picked up the light armor. Of course she would start with that, she was itching to see if it would be useful to her! With both... player and NPC putting the previous conversation aside, Billy guided her through identifying the item while reciting the other basic parts of being a merchant. It turns out, as long as she had the skill (which the NPC granted to her for the time being), all she needed to do was bring up the menu, tap an option, wait for the loading bar to reach a hundred percent, receive her enhancement, and then repeat the process until all enhancement slots were filled out. Simple enough, but the loading time meant she would have to invest at least half an hour a day for it.

The last loading bar disappeared after a message indicating a 'success,' and crimson eyes glinted with delight as she held up her new piece of light armor.

Fully usable, too! 

An thought her luck was looking good. She admired the cloth in front of a mirror as the NPC remained on its stool and clapped at her achievement happily.

"Now practice some more on the other two and you're good to go!"

"Sightseeing?" An didn't echo it out of incredulity, rather the enthusiasm shining in her red eyes hinted otherwise. "Cool~. Just like me, then. I mean, I woukd be fine with a quest if I'd found one back at the safe zone and all, but I thought some leisurely exploring would do some good before I get into the actual meat of it!"

A pause. Her ponytail swung to the side as she tilted her head.

"...was that the right term?"

Nora was accomodating enough. It did wonders to put An's initial anxiety to ease and she was grateful for that. Her cheeks still felt warm with embarrassment but the bright smile she wore earlier never dimmed, especially at the prospect of having found someone who possibly shared her interest in exploring. There were not-so-surprisingly a few people like that in SAO; clearers were so focused on the goal that they paid attention to only the necessary and the others at the extreme end of the spectrum had no interest in anything but waiting for salvation, trying to live through these days as fast as possible. "Well, I already accepted the invite, so I'll stick around with whatever you guys have in mind, if that's fine with you."

This... was going good. Better than she expected--

One of the boys - the more outspoken one from earlier - turned right around and left. Abruptly. He issued them a brief farewell but didn't acknowledge her.

An was hurt. He had been speaking with everyone else just fine earlier. Was it something she did...?

Now you just broke their little group apart. Harriette, you dummy.

She tried to keep his retreating figure in the corner of her vision, but it was impossible when she suddenly came face-to-face with the last player's glaive.

An froze. Name! Or duel! Somehow, her instincts had her throwing her hands up in the air instead of reaching for her rapier or her teleport crystal. "I-I'm An! My name's An!" she yelped, practically wilting at the intensity of the glaive wielder's gaze. Probably, the woman at the other end of the weapon hadn't heard her introduction earlier. "Idon'twannaduelI'msorryI'msorryI'llneversneakuponyouagain!!"

Her sheathed weapon released a miniscule blob of darkness.

Somehow, that placated her.

An was swept into a quick hug and the woman's voice lowered to a more comforting tone in apology. Oh... She kind of felt like Leah, and An didn't know why she was comforted by that fact. Slowly, she lowered her shaking hands to her sides but stayed still within the woman's quick embrace. Though she couldn't rid herself immediately of her unease, she let herself be let towards the rock whete the other two were already seated. An sat down beside Nora, feeling very much like a gradeschooler in a discussion circle. 

Shior, but her player name in the status bars displayed Azhoda...

"Um..." And An didn't know what she was still doing here, but she felt obligated to continue the conversation when the rather stern woman had paused. "What were you doing here, Miss Azhoda?"

Two weeks since that entire Halloween circus fiasco. An had been working her way up the floors - venturing even further than she had dared to before. And it was an adventure! She'd walked through forests, prairies, deserts, wastelands, sailed out into the middle of Floor 22's large lake, hiked up the mountains of Floor 19, and held up a torch to stave off the darkness in Floor 23's caverns. Crimson eyes never once lost their delighted shine. This was exactly what she came here for and already, she was experiencing it in full!

An could barely contain her eager smile as she walked down one of the connecting bridges that led from one of the larger isles to one of the smaller, less-explored ones. Today, she was exploring again, hopping from island to island in search of... nothing in particular. She just wanted to see the beautiful sights for herself though she stopped once to pick a flower to show to the cute little NPC kid that always followed her around when she was in Floor 1. Stepping onto the last island, An looked back the way she came with a smile, breathing in the salty sea breeze and letting the sound of the waves lapping against the rock formations beneath wash over her. Then she turned and trudged on further. What new thing would she find here, she wondered--?

If it was a random hole in the ground which led far, far down into what seemed like an all-consuming void, she would steer clear of it. However, if said hole had another player standing at the edge and staring down at it... consider An curious!

"Hello. It's not everyday I see someone looking so intently down at a hole in the ground." Her calm greeting carried over to them before she stopped at the taller player's side, close enough so she could peer in herself. Fearing a repeat of... the last time she was called out for watching a group of players from a distance, she drew closer to the two without pausing to give it much thought. Probably, he was staring at her in confusion. Long white hair, crimson red eyes, a shield seemingly made of auburn ice, and small blobs of darkness which floated around her sheathed rapier's hilt. Rather irregular in every aspect but she proved her friendliness when excitement started to seep into her previously controlled tone at the thought of adventure. "I'm An. Something interesting down there?"

An didn't waste any more time. She stooped down and grabbed the nearest item which happened to be a heavy battleaxe that she tugged at once, twice, internally voiced her frustration over, then proceeded to give up and open a menu that dumped it straight into her inventory. Why didn't she just do that in the first place, you asked? 

...
...
...
...

She didn't know either. 

The clumsy newbie was out of the cave in a jiffy. She didn't even bother to look back and check if any goblins came in after she left, An was done with that area and she wanted out! Going back the way she came, she passed the rocky region that made up the distant expanses of Floor 1 and then the much safer grasslands, and she heaved a sigh of relief as soon as her feet touched the invisible divide between the safe zone and the world outside.

Home free!

Smiling to herself, she ventured back into the safe zone and followed the roads back to Billy's shop. She was going to have a word with that little kid.

Goblin held club with its right hand. Which meant left side - her right - had to be less defended. Going by her earlier realization, maybe it did take more than just trying to poke a pointy stick at it. Less staying in one place to meet the little bugger's blows, more moving around to attack it on its left side. Pretty simple! Somehow, it sounded easier than her oversimplification earlier - it was more specific and she had a better idea of what to do, a better goal, perhaps. Her teachers always told her to break down big goals into smaller ones she could then think of a process to attain, to specify the scope and limitations of her research... and it all applied nicely to this situation.

Now, her problem was the execution. 

Oh, boy.

An was glad the goblin was starting to tire out from all the combat; it wasn't as sprightly as it had been earlier. A quick evasive maneuver which she somehow managed with her current lack of composure and awkward stances and two thrusts of her rapier. Her weapon embedded itself into the goblin's midsection and with a startled cry, it was dead. 

It did the exploding thing and the girl was left staring at the loot it had dropped, still holding her rapier in the same position.

A big, goofy smile grew on her face and she cheered.

She could hardly believe that it actually worked!

Alright! An tried to psych herself up. She even hopped on one foot and then another. She could do this! The pesky little thing that was only defending its goods because it has a family to feed you monster was practically half-dead already. It was hanging onto life with an HP bar that was the equivalent of one basic attack, considering the past encounter. She could do this! 

Let's think a bit simpler. Maybe she was just feeling overwhelmed by it all. She just needed to poke it with the edge of a pointy stick!

An thought oversimplifying the combat in her mind would work. Well, An thought wrong. Apparently, rapiers don't do well against clubs because of how flimsy they were - if they ever were to directly clash weapons, the club would always win out because of the sheer weight of the weapon and the power behind its strike. 

An didn't know why she was just realizing this now. 

"Owww...!" That went straight to the head! If she had any more brain cells left to lose-- And her second thrust... sailed right past it and she was left, very purposefully, waving her weapon at thin air. Thankfully, the goblin had lost its balance with that wild swing and sort of collapsed into an angry, growling little heap in the corner. Serves it right, An thought grumpily. She was just here to quickly grab some stuff for a profession quest and she was taking way too long just because of these stupid goblins!

She grabbed her rapier and scrambled to a stand, using the momentary lapse to recompose herself. "Billy, I hardly feel like I'm cheating the system," the silver-haired player grumbled to no one in particular. "No, I feel like the system's cheating me! What was with that 'profession growing with you' crap? You never said starting this off would be way too much work!!"

An had gravitated closer to the tree, still mildly curious, though her clumsy attempts at stealth were quickly shattered when she couldn't resist letting out a giggle at the two boys' expense. She slapped a hand over her mouth and felt her face beginning to heat up. Oh no. One of the girls - probably, she had heard or maybe An was just terrible at keeping herself hidden in the first place - looked up and called her over. 

Eeeeeeep--!

The silver-haired player froze and turned an even deeper shade of red. Busted! Oh jeez, oh man. This was so embarrassing. Harriette, you dummy, why couldn't you just have walked away? Now they're going to think of you as a stalker and a weirdo. She already saw you. She's probably already memorized your face. There's no getting out of it. Now the entire town's going to know but maybe you could salvage it all if you just turn tail and run away--

Party request. An blinked once. Then twice. They were-- to her--? A small part of her was glad the girl was being nice. An even smaller part had actually been looking forward to talking to them. But more importantly, what was it that brought them all here? Oh well, she thought, rather depressingly, might as well see if she could salvage this first impression.

Act. Normal.

Truly, as she stepped out from her shade and approached them, she proved to be anything but. Vanity effect upon vanity effect had given her an appearance far from what one would naturally see in the real world. Long silver hair pulled back into a ponytail with a red ribbon. Strikingly crimson eyes. Her attire was that of a beginner's, but the shield encased in auburn ice on her nondominant arm and the rapier sheathed at her side which would occasionally release a small shadowy bubble from its black hilt almost seemed to imply otherwise.

Really though. All things considered, she was still an absolute noob. An absolute, very flustered noob.

"Hello!" A cheerful greeting. Nothing can go wrong with being friendly. "What's with all this, forming a party outside the safe zone? Usually, you do it inside where it's safer, right?"

...

Subtlety: 0.

An turned red and verbally backpedaled. "I-I wasn't watching you all, I swear! I just... uh, caught a glimpse and made an assumption? Ahahaha..."

Harriette, you idiot!!

"A-anyways, I'm An. Just An..." She quickly eyed each one of them in turn, trying to place a name to their faces - she had heard them introduce themselves early on. "Forgive me for my intrusion. Oh!" And just like that, her embarrassment momentarily dissolved and her crimson eyes sparkled with interest. "Are you all here for a quest?"

"Eeeep! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry!!"

A series of comical crashes and a very flustered player's repeated apologies.

It was safe to say that An had absolutely no idea what she was doing. Piles of goods were falling apart or being trampled underfoot as she darted in and out of the goblin's way, though to varying degrees of success. Another one collapsed - to her disappointment, that had a consumable she would've wanted to grab. She was trying not to, but they were making more of a mess of this place! 

The silver-haired player stepped on a shield and slipped, but somehow - somehow, she managed to spin around before her back could hit the ground and deliver a straight thrust to the goblin that had followed right after. Her heart raced with a surge of pride, but her newfound enthusiasm faltered when the goblin cackled and raised its club over its head.

An was starting to head out more often.

...because apparently, her weapon and shield combo was such a huge deal that even Leah was left flabbergasted. Apparently, the enhancements were supposed to be super strong at higher levels or something? That they were unique for a reason? ...that low-levels like her usually didn't start off with that kind of stuff? An didn't know enough about that - all she ever did was to redeem the equipment vouchers along with the Halloween Sticker - but she did get the impression she was no longer a one-shot out in the wilderness! 

An shook her rapier in its sheath excitedly. That meant many things but most especially, she could go out to explore the lower floors as much as she wanted! Floor 3 hadn't received as much of her visits as the other floors, but she thought it was pretty in its own right. Old towns, fields of flowers everywhere, and an abandoned church she wanted to look into a bit more...

But what was with that group of players?

She once heard someone say that the rule goes... "If you have one person staring at a spot on the pavement, they're probably just a weirdo. If you have two people, there must be something interesting." For this bunch, there was a player sleeping peacefully by a rock, another conked out beside her as if he just fell into that spot, another with a healing potion, and the lively voice of the last echoed over to her spot. Were they complete strangers who just stumbled into one another? She didn't know such a spontaneous thing was possible, with their numbers anyway.

There had to be something that drew them to this clearing. An was curious!

And so, the silver-haired player watched the group from under the shade of a tree. Not quite hiding, but not completely visible either.

The angry goblin had her cornered. Or did she have it cornered? They had fought to a standstill, clumsy swings of a club clashing against equally clumsy rapier thrusts. She had her back to the rock shelter's side walls and the opening was just a little off to her left. Now An wasn't the type to run away as soon as things didn't go her way, but the goblin's full HP bar sure made the prospect very tempting.

An kind of wanted to go home and sleep. Why did she even think this would be easy anyway?

"Stay still already!" The goblin only cackled and taunted her with its club, and An puffed her cheeks out in frustration. Why was this thing so hard to hit? Why did she fail so much at combat? As far as she knew, she just needed to wave a pointy stick around until she hit something! Prepping her rapier, she pressed forward for another attempt.

And there it was again. That telltale howl of rage as another small figure cast a shadow at the entrance. Needless to say, An had just been... half expecting it. "Oooh, come on! It's not like you guys can use all this stuff, anyway," she complained, rather uselessly. She picked herself up from the pile and dismissed the light armor to her inventory, only angering the hoarding goblin even more. "If you don't want your stuff to be stolen, then hide it better!"

Those poor goblins just wanted some nice things to hoard and she'd killed two of them now. What a bully.

But, wait! Weren't the stuff goblins hoarded also stolen? It's not like they could make these by themselves. An felt a bit more determined. She was stealing it back for better uses! Like a Robin Hood!

That's not the point of Robin Hood, but An hadn't ever known anything past that story's summary.

Charging up a Sword Art, she sprinted forward and thrust her blade... at empty air. The goblin cackled at her amateurish fumbling and bashed down at her with its club.

"Now... where is it?" With that trouble out of the way, An was free to turn back to the piles of goblin haul. She felt proud. Though the guild leader wasn't here, she thought she showed just how competent she could be on her own! She rummaged through the pile, then frowned. "I swear it was just here a moment ago!"

That was before she had that unlucky encounter with the goblin. Somewhat guiltily, she realized why it had gotten so mad when she stumbled around and made a mess of things earlier; whatever miniscule sense of order the goblins' haul had was completely gone. And so were the consumables she had been eyeing, buried beneath piles of larger weapons and equipment.

An's eyes sort of glazed over. Harriette, you idiot. And they looked really good, too!

Alright, what else did this place have at her immediate reach? 

Digging through the piles a bit more, a bundle of leather and cloth caught her interest. An tugged it free from the pile and hopped back with a cringe as the displacement allowed it to collapse even further with the signature clatter of weapon and steel. She turned it over in her hands curiously. What do goblins even want to do with something like human armor?!

Oh geez, oh man. She clumsily threw herself out of the way of another attack and almost fell over. No wonder Leah didn't want her running around alone! What if it had reinforcements? Surely, if there was one of them there might just be another following behind, right? The very thought filled her with dread. She wasn't confident enough in her abilities to take two at a time.

Another wild swing of a rapier -- and an enraged howl.

An pried one eye open to see the goblin disintegrating into blue dust. Oh. A rewards window appeared. Right at her feet was an unidentified armor drop, which she quickly stooped to pick up. A glance at her health bar and she realized that all this time, the goblin had only dealt two HP's worth of damage. OH.

Just as she thought!

The silver-haired player gave a pleased, almost smug, hum. Her worries had been all for nothing.