Ronnel

"Well, while it only corresponds to our HP - your healing should be pretty much on par with the damage that these enemies are giving out. Besides on top of that you'd just be healing what got past our armor. You'll do fine, no worries." Ronnel flicked the invites to the two of them - pausing for a moment as he wondered why a maid was going to be going with them but - well. He couldn't exactly blame her for sticking around them if she felt obligated to for some reason. Hopefully the Cardinal system wouldn't be giving them any guff for her being close. He listened as Solei rambled on, and chuckled. "Nothing wrong with looking ahead and planning out. Support roles are just as important as any of the mainline fighting roles after all." 

He hummed nodded. "Miss Claudia is correct - we should start moving along. Taking care of this thing before their numbers start ramping up and become a problem." The Fields of crossing weren't too far away - it wouldn't take them too long to reach it. As they started out, Ronnel continued on speaking. "I'm a two handed spear user, with heavy armor, so I'll have alright burst damage and can handle hits coming my way. What about you Ser Dracul?" He wasn't going to put the younger boy on the spot by asking his armor type right now, no need to make him feel awkward about using a weapon. And it was fine that someone who was helping look after children wasn't keen on fighting - most of the children that had managed to get into this cursed death game were safely within the safe zone walls, where not much could threaten them. 

@Dracul

@Solei

"Oi now." Ronnel laughed and bounced his shoulders, making Ceres and her new companion bounce in place. "You don't need to introduce me to everyone as a puppy. People are gonna get the wrong idea about things. And I'm glad he agreed you were cute enough to join with." The dark haired man laughed then knelt down, pulling the redhead and her new companion from their perch. Then he stood up and stretched out his back, wishing he could get a satisfying pop from it like he was used to. 

"Well now, one fuzzy companion acquired for the young lady." He reached up and ruffled her hair. "You keep her in line Peeko, alright? I get the feeling she's going to be alone with you sometimes, don't let her get too down in the dumps if that happens." He rolled his shoulders as he looked around. "Now then little Firecracker - looks like we've still got some time in the day. Do you want to call it quits and head back to town, or do a bit more out here before we finish up this expedition?" 

"Hey, hey, cheer up." Ronnel bounced the small woman on his shoulders. "He ain't gone yet. And even if this guy runs off, we can still keep looking. I'm not gonna just abandon you over this just if this one flops." He hummed and frowned, trying to think. 

"I wonder if there's any way to better the chances of it being ok with us?" He reached up and craned one arm around Ceres' leg, so he could rub his chin. "Like. I cannot sing, but don't they say music soothes the savage beast? I wouldn't say that little guy is exactly savage, but maybe that's something to consider? Or something to try with the next one - I'm sure there are performers we could get a recording crystal from." Ronnel was keeping his voice soft and low as he spoke, to keep from scaring the little squirrel off. The worry in Ceres' voice was almost painful to hear - she really wanted her companion. 

"Right. Ok." OK. She didn't care. Hadn't even said anything - so this was fine it was fiiiine. Ronnel took a deep breath and straightened up. As he took a step forward he heard a very slight crinkle, the softest little sound. His eyes flicked upwards in time to see the squirrel dart backwards - just enough to stay out of reach of Ceres' outstretched hand. The dark haired man breathed out a soft chuckle and shook his head. 

It was almost like the squirrel was playing with her, which he supposed was a good sign. It wasn't running for the hills, at least not yet. 

"I'm sure you and this little guy will get along great Firecracker. His hair is just about as fluffy as yours is." And that was the end of any and all observations he was making about their similarities. At least a squirrel would be energetic enough to keep up with the redhead as she bounced from activity to activity. "Need any closer? Little hard to see." He couldn't exactly tilt his head back right now to look upwards. 

Ronnel couldn't quite argue with the assessment of Cordelia. She'd seemed flighty - hating the idea of gathering and thinking it a waste of time, but joining him for it anyway. Though she most definitely hadn't cared about the mother when he had been speaking to the woman, that was for sure. He blinked and paused as Mari asked him why he was here if he had already done it. It sounded like - he shook his head. 

"I'm here because you offered. I'm not concerned about numbers or anything like that - and I certainly know you don't need the help. But I am here to help you anyway - and no. I do not expect or want any kind of repayment. I don't work like that." He shrugged. "I just want to help you and this is a chance to. That's all the reason I needed." The dark haired man fully expected a derisive comment from the redhead but it was the truth. And he certainly didn't nitpick over the minutia of how he'd 'get lesser rewards' or anything like that - numbers and such like that barely registered to him and certainly weren't important. 

Ronnel ambled through the city streets, running the fingers of one hand through his hair as he walked. Things were going a bit well at this point, smoothing out as he got more familiar with actually doing things instead of cowering in the Town of Beginning. Right now he was trying to memorize where some of the supply stores and crafter workshops were - while he wasn't in the mood to purchase things yet, he knew that eventually he would be stopping by all of them as he strove onwards.

But his next, though minor, concern, was expanding his circle of contacts and acquaintances. As kind as she was he couldn't always be buying from the little Firecracker - nor could he always message his one 'Friend' contact when he needed help on something. Right now though - he was at a loss for what to do. A problem he found himself with frequently if he was honest, Ronnel struggled to find a real drive. Which lead to these aimless wanderings as he looked for inspiration. 

"I was more meaning outside." Ronnel chuckled softly and shook his head with a light grin on his face. He saw the way Mari's face fell for a moment after she finished speaking, likely thinking about what she'd said, or at least how she'd said it. "And thank you - I do feel a bit more comfortable in my own skin now, not flailing about like a newborn child." 

Her eyes flicked downwards for a moment to the armor he was wearing, and the spear user could almost see the cogs turning and the question forming. But the redhead didn't ask him about it, focusing instead on the quest. He nodded.

"Yes, I've done this one once. In a party with a woman named Cordelia. She was..." He frowned slightly and rubbed the back of his head. "A tad more brusque with the kid than I would have been. I know they're just NPCs but..." The plight of this family had stung him then and it was part of why he was so willing to help Mari out. A second chance as it were. With a shrug he started following after her - idly scrolling through his current list of food items and seeing if any woman would pique the interest of - he bit his lip to stop from laughing. First a firecracker, and now here he was with a hedgehog. 

“Wha-where? Wait yeah, I do see it.” Ronnel blinked - the spyglass must have really helped her out, because he didn’t see the tiny little furry creature until she’d directly pointed it out. Even when she had, it was difficult to make out the small squirrel. He watched quietly, holding his breath as she poured the food out into her hand - watching as it seemed to shimmer oddly for a moment as it left the bag, but it must have just been a trick of the light as the pile of sunflower seeds in Ceres’ palm was completely normal. 

He saw the squirrel twitch slightly, but otherwise not really react to her attempt at getting its attention. The way the redhead seemed to deflate at that - and the fact that she didn’t want to shout - made up Ronnel’s mind before he knew what he was about to do. 

“Up you go, Firecracker.” Ronnel was moving even as he spoke, kneeling down and hoisting the girl up onto his shoulders. It was only after she was in place that his active mind caught up with what had just happened and the fact that this wasn’t his little sister, and Ronnel felt his face go red.

@Ceres

"I.." Ronnel hummed as he watched Ceres lean her hand against the tree and then look at him. He chewed his lip for a moment, then gave a slight shrug. "It's something I was talking about with someone else I know." He kept quiet about Mari's name because he didn't know how the firecracker in front of him would react to the name of the pink PKer. "So many of them get wrapped up in trying to get the best numbers. They have to achieve more." He shrugged and ran his finger along the tree bark, circling around Ceres' hand for a moment before retracting his arm. 

"I think it's a lack of choice, you know? I bet there are people who would have been absolutely thrilled to come live in this world if given the chance. But no one here got that choice - we were just shoved into it." Ronnel hummed and stepped around Ceres, into a shaft of light coming down through the trees. "I do agree with you though. It's why I finally started doing things myself - I was tired of being scared of dying. I wanted to be free. And this world, for all its dangers, is a new one, and it's kind of exhilarating." He turned and gave her a lop-sided grin. 

"I lived in a studio apartment to be honest. Been a bit lost on what I wanted to do with myself, so I kept switching jobs. Nothing was really catching me, ya know?" It seemed they were talking about outside and he was alright with that. "Don't have any pets right now, thankfully - I also don't really have anyone I was hanging out with in terms of friends." Ronnel gave a rueful laugh. "At least not ones I'd really call that. Just acquaintances I knew until I moved on to the next job and the next place."

“What? No friends? Isn’t that lonely?" The question was innocent enough - but it did make him ache inside. He rubbed the back of his head, ruffling dark hair. 

"It.. Was, yes. It's been a while since I really talked with people outside of work even before we got trapped in here. But, ah, it wasn't all bad. I got to see a bunch of different places, did a lot of traveling. Met interesting people." Even to himself, that sounded hollow. Ronnel coughed and studied the trees intently, unable to look at Ceres for the moment. 

The dark haired man wasn't about to ruin Ceres' mood now that she was happier. His sister hadn't been able to, or hadn't wanted to, speak to him since his family had disowned him. But he didn't blame the girl - she was young and lived with their parents, and hadn't been getting the abuse and pressure he did. He'd at least been able to shelter her and their brother from that. 

Ronnel laughed as she saw her cheeks turn red. Looked like that was a far better nickname for her, and he didn't blame her. "Hey, I'm not the small and energetic one here. I'm the big dopey puppy, remember? Firecracker?" He gave her a wink and stretched out his back as he looked upwards. She liked oceans, huh? He couldn't blame her, there was something soothing about watching the waves roll in and out. 

"If I went out, which wasn't often because I'll be honest, as you can probably guess from the fact that I'm in here I am a geek," the red-eyed man chuckled softly before continuing. "I always preferred forests like this. Being surrounded by nature was about the only way I could stand some people I knew." Camping trips were about the only time his parents weren't trying to hound him about following his father into business. 

"Hmm?" Ronnel blinked twice and stared at the young woman, scratching the side of his head with one hand. "What? No, no." Rosy just didn't fit the image of the girl, and trying to think of something that actually did work for her was distracting him. Not enough to miss the worry in her voice though. 

"No. Miss Ceres, if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be. Remember, I asked you to let me join you for the company." He gave her a slight smile. "Sorry. You've just reminded me of my own little sister and the walks we would take on camping trips. She was always running off and bouncing off the trees, and you've got the same kind of energy about you. Even if you're an adultier adult." He chuckled then reached over and plopped a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. 

"Besides little firecracker even if you're used to doing it on your own - that doesn't mean you like it. I for one hate being alone even if I'm used to it myself." For some reason the thought of this vivacious and bright redhead being left to her own devices, without company, just struck Ronnel as wrong. And he wasn't sure, but he felt like that last smile was a little too forced. 

"So no, sorry not sorry, you're stuck with me til you tell me to take a long walk off a short pier."

"I feel like I need an adultier adult here." Ronnel laughed as Ceres dragged him on deeper into the forest. He gently disengaged his wrist from her grasp with a light chuckle and shook his head. "Come on now Rosy, you aren't going to just find them tromping through the woods. Slow down and relax - squirrels are skittish little things ya know. Never know who or what might be trying to eat you up when you're that small. So if we're just racing around, they're all gonna hightail it with those fluffy tails." Ceres hummed but didn't really seem to be listening to him, her amethyst eyes busy scanning the tree lines. Though she did slow down a little bit, but that might have been just from the fact that she wasn't hanging onto his arm any more. 

"At least we can rule out any squirrels being deep in caves or out in the fields so it'll be easier to look for them.” Ronnel looked up and frowned, wincing as the sun glinted against his eyes through some of the tree branches. He didn’t see any squirrels himself, but kept quiet so he didn’t upset the girl any. It was a bit refreshing to be out walking in the woods like this and not have it be for hunting some monster or another down.
 

“Haven’t just taken a walk in a fair minute, I suppose.” Ronnel paused when he thought he saw the glint of a material through some bushes - but when he got closer to look, he saw it was just a shiny rock that other than its shine, was completely pointless. He grunted and set it back down, likely fallen from a crow’s nest or something. 

"Ah, don't worry about it, that's fine, that's fine." Ronnel waved his hand off as he rubbed his chin. "This shouldn't be too difficult a fight, so we can probably handle this. And if you're healing, well then we don't have to worry so much if this wasp queen manages to hit us with any DoTs or the like." He frowned slightly as he looked at the details of the quest. "Hold on though - there's a max limit of three active combatants." His fingers hovered over the button to invite as he hummed in thought, looking between the other three that were in front of him. "So who all am I inviting? Also - my name is Ronnel young man, nice to meet you. And a healer is always useful." 

Unless you were running some absurd 'kill them all before they have a chance to attack back' or had so much mitigation that they couldn't affect you. But the hopeful way that the young man was looking back and forth at he and Dracul kept Ronnel from saying that. Besides, while Ronnel knew his own stats were starting to climb out of abysmal mediocrity, they still weren't the best even for a first stage player - he was still using a quest reward from one of the beginner quests for crying out loud. 

@Dracul

@Solei

Ronnel blinked as he walked through the city, his hands tucked into his pockets as he ambled through the bustling streets. While he'd continued to send messages to her every so often - mostly inane ramblings and observations - he hadn't gotten many replies from Mari, so when his alert window started flashing with an incoming message from her, he was understandably startled. He flicked it open and read through it, then chewed on his lip. 

The spear-user had already done that quest - the first one he ever did as a matter of fact, before he'd even met the orange player the first time. He still remembered being utterly and completely useless in that quest - even when he'd gone to fight the Nepents with Mari he'd actually been able to accomplish something. And added on to that was the fact that Mari had actually reached out to him, instead of the other way around. He ran the fingers of one hand through his hair and shrugged, one corner of his mouth tugging upwards slightly. 

 
	Mari -
	I'll be there in a little bit. Heading that way now - and thank you.
	Ronnel
	

@Mari

Ronnel sent the message off then started down the streets, adjusting his course as he started heading towards the spot where he normally met the woman. As he went he checked his gear, eyes scrolling through to make sure everything was in place. It didn't take him long to leave the gates, out into the fields, and he followed the path to the rock the redhead normally perched on. The dark haired man waved as he came up, giving her a cheerful grin. 

"Morning, or something like it I'm honestly not sure."

Ronnel had his spear equipped the moment that Ceres began screaming, his heart beating rapidly as he imagined something attacking her face. When the woman fell back and a small, non-hostile bat flew up and out - and then immediately fled - he had paused, blinking. Then her bright, tinkling laughter started. "Uhh.." He hesitated for a moment then shrugged and put his spear away - she was safe and fine. 

"I bet it was more the shock of it than anything else. You're small Miss Ceres, but that little guy was absolutely tiny." Ronnel chuckled and shook his head as he held out one hand to help Ceres to her feet. 

She placed her hand in his and he wrapped his fingers around hers, his hand almost engulfing hers. With a gentle steady pull he helped her to her feet, his other hand holding her shoulder for a moment to steady her. "There you are, right as rain again." He stepped back and clapped his hands. 

"Sticking our faces in unknown holes is a good way to get them bitten, yeah?" His lips creased in a grin as he winked at her. 

"Alright you lousy flea-bitten brat of a bat I am going to end you and I am going to relish it. Stop. Screaming. At. Me." Ronnel's ears were throbbing as he growled at the bat, his fingers tight on his spear haft. For its part, the monster didn't seem particularly concerned by his threat. Instead it just flapped its wings again and chittered at him, even its normal sounds grating on his ears right now. 

The dark-haired man's eyes narrowed as he watched the bat. It was going to come in for another attack, or it was at least coming closer - with every beat of its wings, the monster was sinking lower and lower until - there. He brought Varathra's blade low, just over the ground, and triggered what had become his go-to Sword Art. The twin blades of the spear flashed brightly as <Heft> activated, and Ronnel swept the weapon upwards, gouging deeply into the bat. The digital monster let out an ear splitting shriek that made Ronnel stumble as he was locked in the post-Art cool down animation, his head swimming. 

"Would you stop hiding at the ceiling in the shadows and get down here you miserable rat?" Ronnel hissed out between his clenched teeth as he glared at the bat. This thing was beginning to get on his nerves with its hit and run tactics - and because he didn't have any source of light, he couldn't even see it super clearly which was beginning to irritate him. But at least he was landing blows - and in a weird way he felt oddly satisfied that it wasn't dead after two connected blows. His fights against the boars had been lackluster - once he could hit them, they were gone. Here, now, it actually felt like a fight.

One that, if he was going off of pure connected blows, he was losing. Ronnel had tried to stab the bat again, but the monster was almost taunting him as it hid up near the stalactites that hung from the ceiling of the cave. His spear blades slid around one, catching and not hitting the bat - which shrieked at him, making him wince in pain again. 

Ronnel gripped his head for a moment until the fresh wave of pain passed over him. Then he dropped his hand from his head and gripped the end of his spear, his fingers creaking against the red cord that was wrapped around the wooden haft. His red eyes glared at the monster fluttering its wings above him, almost as if it was taunting him. 

"You're just a flying rat, and I am going to enjoy exterminating you." Did he think the bat could understand him? No. Did he care? Also no. This wasn't even the Cave Guardian, just a bat that had gotten in his way! Ronnel shifted his grip, then lashed out, swinging his spear in a sweeping arc. One of the tines caught the bat, slicing into its digital flesh. This time the monster retaliated by swooping down, crashing itself against his armor and knocking the man back a step. Ronnel coughed and rubbed his chest with one hand as the bat flapped back up into the air. 

Ronnel righted himself, his head ringing from the bat's shrieking attack, and glared. This thing was not going to beat him just by yelling at him - he'd die of shame first before the Nerve Gear could even fry his brain. A glance at his status and he just barely suppressed a grimace. That would be a death by a hundred paper cuts or something - that shriek had nicked his health but not much else. He switch his gaze to the bat and glared at it as it hung in the air, beating its wings. 

"I'll admit you've got a pair of lungs on ya - but you aren't a banshee, that screaming isn't gonna do me in." He spun Varathra end over end again, the gleaming blades flashing in the faint light - then without warning, stabbed out again, the spear darting forward. This time it met resistance, tearing a furrow in the bat's torso. The bat let out another resounding shriek that made Ronnel's head spin - both a cry of pain, and a retaliation attack as his temples throbbed in pain. 

The first sign that Ronnel had that he was no longer alone was the faintest soft flutter above his head. It almost sounded like a piece of cloth being blown about on the wind at a distance, just barely perceptible. That was the warning he had - and he reacted, leaping backwards. The source of the sound revealed itself as a large bat swooped down, chittering softly - it hadn't attacked, yet, and Ronnel narrowed his eyes. He tightened his grip on his spear as the bat flew up into the shadows, becoming little more than a dark moving shape against the cave ceiling. 

"Get down here!" The man spat out as he stabbed upwards towards the gloomy shape, trying to catch it with the prongs of his spear. The attack went wide though, missing the creature by a considerable margin. What didn't miss was the bat's retaliation - it shrieked, an awful sound that rattled his brain in his head as he staggered backwards. 

Ronnel stared at the mouth of the cave system and just barely supprrssed a groan. This place reminded him of the caves that he and Cordelia had gone into when searching for the lost girl. It wasn't his fondest memory - he had been completely and utterly useless during that quest. His lips drew into a thin, flat line as he pulled Varatha out of his inventory, equipping the red-wrapped spear. 

"Well, let's see what your first outing is like shall we?" He spun the spear end over end, testing the balance in his hands. It was finely crafted, a masterful work, and he looked forward to testing it out against whatever was lurking inside of this cave system. Ronnel strode into the caves the light of day soon disappearing behind him as he trod into the gloomy depths. The sound of his boots clicking on the hard stone beneath his feet echoed along the walls, and he grimaced - he certainly wasn't going to have the element of surprise against anything in here. 

Ronnel stretched out his back as he pulled up his minimap checking for where this cave system he needed to explore was. He was standing just outside the city gates, just off the main path so he wasn't blocking foot traffic as people came and went. It didn't look like it was too far away, easily reachable within a single day's travel. Which made sense, as they were tutorial quests still. 

"Man I cannot wait to be through these and not a total pushover." Ronnel grumbled. Just about everyone he had met outclassed him by several degrees - and he knew there were others out there who were even further beyond that. The only way he was going to change that was if he actually applied himself. He frowned and rubbed his chin a bit. 

For now I suppose I can just work at getting better and out of the basic floor levels. I'll never amount to anything if I can't even get past level ten. The spear-user rolled his shoulders and equipped his spear before heading out from the city wall following his minimap icon towards the caves. 

“Alright so - one small green crystal from the caves. And watch out for the overgrown flying rat that is hanging out down there.” Ronnel gave Hannah a smile. “I can’t promise I’ll be back in a minute with that, but I will be back with one for you.” 

“I really mean it, thank you. I’ll have something to pay you for your efforts when you come back.” Ronnel nodded and let out a soft breath when his quest log updated fully. He bowed to the woman and then slowly made his winding way back out of the grove of trees. Once he was back out on the main road he rolled his shoulders. “Alright. This shouldn’t be a problem. Gem harvesting and a bat - and this time I’ll actually get to attack the bat, not like when I was basically an escort objective for Cordelia.” He gave a weak chuckle and shook his head. Then one foot in front of another, he headed towards the city gates.

“Well that isn’t too much of a problem if you don’t mind waiting.” Hannah’s head came back up as Ronnel spoke. “I can go get you one.” She clapped her hands together, pressing the ring between them as she did.

“Oh, would you? I’d be ever so grateful if you did.” She hummed in thought before nodding. “Yes, please do. Ah - the one I’m needing is kind of specific, is that a problem?” Ronnel shook his head, dark hair swaying back and forth. “Excellent. Alright - A fair ways out into the grasslands, there should be a cave system. In the depths of the cave should be a spot where you can find a small green crystal.” Ronnel’s eyes flicked to his quest tracker - it hadn’t updated yet. There was something more. He turned his eyes back to Hannah and tilted his head to one side.

“Anything else I should be aware of before I head out?” She rubbed her arm and ducked her head slightly. 

“There… may be a giant bat in the caves? Kind of a guardian? I’m sorry I can-”

“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Ronnel waved off her apology. “I can handle a bat, promise.” She sighed in relief.