Zajcica

Day 6:

Fail: 0
Salvage: 3
Uncommon: 3
Rare: 1
Perfect: 0

Exp: 55 Total: 260

"Actually I set the language to English, not knowing the translation system had existed." The paladin scratched the back of her head. They were getting close to the town again, and that's where they would likely say their goodbyes. "I assumed most of the players would default to English, and since I'm already well versed in it, I didn't mind setting it to that." She explained. Maybe there was a setting that could activate Japanese voicing in her menu. She'd have to explore that at some point.

The two girls walked through the safe zone barrier, back to town safe and sound. Yuki turned to the other girl and offered her a handshake.

"Thank you again for the help. I dunno how I would've managed without you, even if you weren't inherently trying to help me. I am afraid this is where part ways, however. I have things I need to attend to and I'm sure that you are tired of listening to me ramble on. Maybe we'll meet again some time. Bai bai!" Yuki waved goodbye as she took off towards the town teleporter.

@Hidden 

Yuki was slightly relieved when she heard Mari's voice still behind her but she was still feeling bad about her inability to realize her own insensitivity. It seemed like Mari had calmed down now, which made it easier to come back to the real world, she turned to her companion. Unfortunately, she couldn't find the feeling to smile to her. Her voice sounded torn up and like she could start the wet-works at any moment. Holding it in as best as possible, she paths around the familiar question to apologize.

"G-Gomenasai... I.. I had not realized how insensitive my motives were. Your words cut me deep. I want you to know that if you feel that you need help with your problems, I wont hesitate to be there for you, but no longer will I press you to speak to me about the subject. Y-Yuru shite onegaishimasu." The young girl folded forward into a bow. She seemed genuinely broken up about offending Mari.

"G-Gryphon? Oh, right. I.. almost forgot. Y-Yeah, let's keep looking." The pinkette's mood seemed pretty deflated at this point. 

@Mari

Yuki sighed at the prospect of standing around again after just chilling on the side line with Cordelia while she fought that troll. However, it was the same deal as the troll Ugzeke, if she did do her headstrong, reckless bullshit she would most certainly die, especially with how much hate she could generate so easily. She looked down to Shiina, then back to Mari and Oscar.

"Don't worry Mari, I promise you that I wont do anything reckless. Strict defense and reaction." Yuki opened up her menu and made sure what her items looked like before she gave her an answer. The girl scratches the back of her head. "I really need to expand my consumable slots. I don't have any skills for healing - yet - but I have two healing potions that heal one-fourth of my HP each. That's about it. What about you Shiina? Any healing abilities?" She looked down at the little girl with a smile.

@Shiina@Oscar@Mari

Day 5

Exp Gained: 18+35=53 Total: 205

Mats used: -1

Yuki was absolutely speechless. How was she to respond to that without making matters worse. It felt like if she just sat here and tried to apologize she would only be sucking up to Mari. She just had realized how insensitive her side of it sounded compared to Mari's. She wasn't trying to be a hero or trying to suck up to Mari in any way, she just wanted to help. After a good does of words sowed with a hint of hatred - probably not directly at Yuki, but at how people tried to sympathize with her - Yuki clammed the [censored] up. Her words could really cut as deep as her dagger.

She turned her back to Yuki, as if to say '-and that's that!'. Yuki stood quietly there thinking about what Mari just said. If she truly wanted to help Mari, should have to do it Mari's way, not the way she wanted to do it. The words came to her, but it was probably too soon. Her boots chunked under the grass as she continued her exploration, turning back only momentarily to see if Mari even wanted to continue.

@Mari

Yuki also celebrated the girl's victory over the massive troll-like creature. She clapped lightly and called out to her.

"Well done! That was quite the impressive displace, miss." The paladin followed up behind the other girl whilst continuing her clap. "Astounding indeed. You must be a front liner with that kind of strength to be putting that monster down a monster of that size on your own. Thank you for protecting us. I'll do my best to be more careful outside of safe zones in the future." An awkward laugh escaped her lips as she scratched the back of her head.

"That being said, it's probably about time I head off this floor. I think I've seen enough for it for now." The girl made sure that she had all her gear in tow and looked over to Cordelia, who seemed to still be catching her breath a bit. "Do you happen to know which way is it to the teleporter, miss?"

@Cordelia

Day 4

Yuki caught up to her a bit, trying to not look like a complete creep just treading behind her. The girl mentioned her efficiency in book-smarts and gaming, which was a pretty good skill set to boast for a game like this. Knowledge was the true power to getting strong: Knowing how to make a build and use it correctly was what MMO games were about. She was really regretting not having played more before she picked up the stupid Nervegear.

"I have played some games before, but nothing like an MMO. I'd say I'm a pretty smart person, but I've always been exceptionally good at cooking and with English. I'm from Japan so I apologize if my accent makes my speech a bit unintelligible." Yuki said. "If you ever need food crafted, by the way, I intend to start a shop up there that will be orange player accessible." The pink-haired paladin gave Hidden a thumbs up and another light smile.

@Hidden

The paladin paced behind the dark, hooded girl as she had the exact same destination. It was painstakingly obvious to Yuki that Hidden wasn't the best socializing with others, but she was strong in her own mind.

"No, I'm pretty much a solo playing tank. I'm not very familiar with these type of games so I did what seemed logical and loaded up what should keep me alive. I didn't quite understand how sword arts and skills worked, so I just loaded up on armor and just survive. I'm not fighting alone though. I have some friends, and I have my family waiting on me to wake up. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect myself, and everyone I can, so we call see our friends and families again!" She smiled to Hidden when she looked back to the paladin. "Is that a satisfying answer to you? Some people have called me a joke. The front line is a serious place that inexperienced players like me shouldn't go anywhere near." She was reminded how she cowered to the giant burning tiger. That probably didn't leave a great first impression on her.

@Hidden

The paladin stopped as the orange clad girl grabbed her shoulder. Her tempo was interrupted, nearly making her fall, but she managed to regain her balance before tumbling into the grass. Mari then said her piece about whether or not she was even going to be taking the quest, at all. Yuki grimaced afterwards.

"I... uh..." The girl stuttered to herself. To her, there would be absolutely nothing better than to help Mari remove her orange crystal. A moment of heavy silence persisted, but soon Yuki's voice turned a bit more angry. "Why do you insist on dealing with your problems alone? I don't know the details of the situation entirely, but this isn't something you should be putting on yourself dammit! I wouldn't have gotten through years of hormone replacement without my family, and you won't recover from these traumatizing events by closing your heart to people who want to help you.

She realized that maybe she was taking the conversation too far, but she wanted to reach Mari and help her. "Mari, please. Let me help you.

@Mari

No time to waste, Yuki went ahead and started the exploration turning back to make sure Mari was following behind. Her companion mentioned her foolhardy nature and, to be fair, there was basis there. The pink paladin laughed and smiled to her.

"Am I really that hard to deal with?I don't feel like im over confident or anything. It's kind of out of my nature to be as bold as I have been. Maybe the game is really changing me. And, ooo you like me? Slow down now." The joke made her chuckle to herself.

Mobs on this floor were pretty high level, so having a player like Mari with her made her feel so at ease. Maybe that was why she always felt so bold. People like Mari and Life have to ability to help her be a little reckless. She learns best by making mistakes, so she would make as many as possible in these low levels while she could get away with it. The thoughts in her her head reminded her of something she wanted to tell Mari.

"Nee, Mari? I found out recently that there is a quest that removes the orange cursor from players." The paladin's tone got much more serious. "I heard it is hard and pretty much impossible to complete on your own. My goal in this digital life right now is to become strong enough to help you get through that quest so you can see the safe zones again; so you can teleport between floors again. I want nothing more than to return the confidence you gave me."

She looked back at Mari, no smile this time, but something of an understanding nod came from her. "You're probably going to complain and tell me not to worry about it but I won't listen. Like you said, I'm too stubborn." Then the smile came out.

@Mari

Yuki's ears perked at yelling happening next to her. Cordelia probably didn't need any more encouragement than that right now. Also she wasn't sure if the boss would take their cheering as a reason to come and destroy them for their insolence, so it was best to just remain quiet for now. The flaming beast seemed to be stuck in place, however, it seemed not only affected by the burn, but by paralysis at well. Higher level players had much more time to acquire insane gear like that than her or Rosary had. They had only just begun they're time in SAO, even if the game had already been lasting for more than 2 years.

The monster's health bar was in the red now. It seemed like it would only take one more hit for her to finish it off, but it could only take a single more hit to sent it to digital hell.

@Cordelia

Yuki sat quietly watching the battle unfold. Cordelia had made pretty good statement to the boss, that her damage would out pace it for leagues. It was already in the yellow health and wouldn't be long before she dealt the finishing blow. The monster was burning from the blaze that her sword brought upon it only hastening its death. Front liners sure seemed inspiring to someone at Yuki's level, but in the same right, she could easily just tank the Hornet queen for someone who was level 1 and look inspiring to them. Level gap did that to players.

Her encouragement may have gotten the girl hit by an attack. It wasn't meant to distract her from her battle, but she would remain quiet from now on so that didn't happen again. It was a good thing Cordelia happened to be here to keep the two of them safe. They would both be dead if not for her.

@Cordelia

Luckily the mountain had a winding path from the foot that would make it much easier to climb than just scaling it. That's what she was most worried about, but the path made it so much better. Time was all she needed to climb this mountain and meet Hestia. She didn't believe all this god and goddess bull to be honest, but this was just a digital world. Anything was possible as long as it could be coded for the game. What would Hestia be like? Was she a kind humble soul, or was she ruthless beyond expectation? She wasn't sure what the legend behind her even was. Japanese gods would have been easier to know for her than Greece gods.

She started her way up the mountain via the dirt path. For some reason, she was ready to figure out what Hestia had in store for her when she made up to the top of the mountain. Did she want to impart some special recipe to her for to recreate? That would be awesome. A special recipe that could only be learned from completing this quest would be amazing.

The pink paladin sighed quietly as the satyr disappeared into the distance. It would be quite the trek to reach the gates of Olympus, though. Sooner she got started, the sooner she would get it finished though right? Who could turn down the chance to actually meet a god? It was not only a god though, but the god of feast and hearth Hestia! What did she want with Yuki?!  Surely she wouldn't just be called to a landmark named "Mt. Olympus" by a proclaimed god for no reason. Hopefully there wouldn't be any combat involved in this quest.

Luckily, she had nothing better to do so she started the quest right away. First she would need to climb Mt. Olympus just to see what Hestia wanted. The walk to the mountain wasn't far. A good reason why the satyr probably appeared now instead of when she first jumped to the floor. At the foot of the mountain, the climb seemed overwhelming. Something as stupid as climbing wouldn't stop her though.

The Satyr's voice was much deeper than she anticipated, but it didn't seem to want to fight, which means it wasn't just a mindless mob. It folded it's man-like arms across it's chest.

"Good afternoon, traveler. I come bearing a message from Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth. She taken notice to your feast as a connoisseur of foods and insists on meeting you on Mt. Olympus. I have not the information she wishes to tell you, however, if you seek to know, please make haste to the Gate of Olympus. Hestia will further explain her reasons." It said, then suddenly turning to leave her presence.

"Oi, wait. Where is Mt. Olympus then?" The paladin asked the half-goat man didn't even turn around or stop to answer.

"I'm sure that you'll find your way there." It said, and soon it was gone. Yuki sighed as a quest marker came into view on her HUD. Well, what else was there to do?

Yuki folded her arms against her chest as Cordelia called out to ask if they were alright. The system of the game wouldn't put them in danger as long she kept attacking it and they stood off to the side. Any other mobs around wouldn't really aggro on to them without them first provoking them. A stern tone adopted in Yuki's otherwise calm voice.

"Oi! Pay attention to what you're doing. If something happens to you, we're done for as well. Stay calm and win!" The paladin barked back. She wondered if her voice reached the girl as she watched her stab into the meaty monster. She was so extremely fast compared to someone like Yuki, though it was probably because Yuki was fully decked out with heavy armor. That's when the giant creature exploded into flames. Probably one of the coolest thing she's seen since she started leveling up.

"Sugoina," She whispered to herself, and took a look over to Rosary to make sure she was alright.

@Cordelia

<<Challenge of Olympus>>

What other stuff to do when you weren't questing in this crazy game? Sightseeing, of course. These floors were all beautiful in their own ways so it made sense for someone to want to want to explore! She knew that mobs wouldn't attack her if she didn't provoke them. The fields around the safe zone were kind of barren to be honest. It wasn't much of the lush feeling of grass and trees that existed on floors like floor 3.

In her exploration she did well at evading all sorts of mobs but one certain being was just walking towards her. It's heavy deep voice called out to her as it got close. A Satyr unarmed approached her, a scary looking monster for sure. She drew her weapon, even knowing it would probably kill her to try and fight something like this. He held up his hand and shook his head, he didn't seem to take any kind of fighting posture.

Using one Yui's Grace and the slime farm bonus to gain +2 extra EXP in the quest rewards.

Name: The Farm Boy Bowl
Your Profession: Cook
Your Rank: 4
ID: 138734
Roll: 12
Item Type: Meal
Tier: 1
Quality: Kanpekkida(Perfect)
Enhancements: Protein 2; MIT
Description: A perfectly made dish of Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Donburi(Noodle Bowl) mixed in with cut greens, carrots and onions served with a big heaping helping of rice and miso. The meal is a special request meal for one of her best friends Life.
Post Link: [Here]

Name: Udon
Your Profession: Cook
Your Rank: 3
ID: 138730
Roll: 8
Item Type: Meal
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: ACC 1
Description: Noodle Bowls with vegetables and egg
Post Link: [Here]

Name: Udon
Your Profession: Cook
Your Rank: 3
ID: 138732; 138732-1
Roll: 10; LD 20
Item Type: Meal
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: ACC 1
Description: Noodle Bowls with vegetables and egg
Post Link: [Here]

Finally, she had gotten one of her best friend's, Life, to come up to floor 22. Bringing a boy back to her house, what would her mom think? Ah, don't think like that stupid. The sliding door of the shop floated across the wooden floor as she let her companion through. It was a cozy, homely little room filled with kotatsus and a kitchen with a single counter. Yuki pulled a chair up to the counter that worked like a make shift bar and offered the seat to him.

"Take a seat and I'll get started making you the best meal you'll ever taste farm boy." The paladin grinned as she moved over to the kitchen stove and soon the waft of vegetables and noodle soup filled the air. There was something about this particular dish that would be absolutely perfect, she could feel it in her bones. After all the screw ups with the dragon quests, she was ready to show him that she wasn't just a clumsy little girl of a tank. Then within just ten minutes the food was ready.

"Yatta, kanpekkida!" She shouted as it was finished and placed it in front of him. "This is one of the best meals I've ever made I would say, even with SAO's simplified rules! Here's the portion for you to take for your combat buffs, and here's another portion for you to try just for the flavor. Tell me what you think, please!"

@Life

<The Diamond Hatchling>

Vertigo kicked in when the teleportation color stopped. The lull of the cold brought her back to reality quickly. Yuki's bright smile shined almost as brightly as the clear sheet of snow that paved the road. She turned to her companion, Life, and laughed.

"It's beautiful! I love the winter so much! You know, I thought about putting my house here on this floor, but I didn't think I could stand the infinite winter. That's why I decided on floor 22 instead. Winter comes and goes and it stays nice and cool in the summer just like home." She reminisced but didn't seem upset at all, in fact, she seemed pretty content. "I wonder how long I'll spend in my home here. We're a fourth of the way through the game now, so at this rate it could take quite some time, hunh?"

She said already leading the way to the next dragon, looking back to make sure that Life was following her.

@Life

Using a Yui's Grace(3 left)

The pink paladin walked boldly through the door to Macradon's shop. She had already been here once and met the man named Macradon on one of the higher floors to help protect the Aincrad Trading Post. He was a strong player and thankfully, his shop was so welcoming to newcomers with the discount. She was still eligible for it and since she was close to buying Battle Healing she would soon not need the enchantment for health regeneration. She walked up to the counter and set her old shield upon it.

"Oi, Kajiya-san. Nice to see you again. Firstly, I would like to thank you for the amazing armor you set me up with when I started my leveling. Which brings me to my second note, I need to update my build slightly. You see, an enhancement I'm using interferes with a better skill. I've heard that they don't stack together, so I would just like to get a new shield with different enhancements." She took time to fill the request form as she spoke and handed it off to the blacksmith upon completion.

It wouldn't take long for Yuki to return to the place they had split up. It was best to do this while she still had a friend on the floor. She would hate for Mari to have to travel several floors down and then receive a message like that. Stepping out of the barrier and taking a good scan of the area, she could see her friend sitting atop the hill over looking the town. She gave her a wave and smile as she made her way, but from this far, it probably looked a bit like a blur. A few minutes later, they were talking distance.

"Sorry, for messaging you like that when you were probably on your way home, but this is the perfect place for me to start this quest." She pulled out the familiar food that the gypsy had given her a while ago. "This stuff is supposed to let me get a familiar like everyone else has, and I know I can make the choice of what I want to catch. I've already decided that my familiar is going to be..." She paused for dramatic effect. "A gryphon! I heard that it can be difficult to catch these things when you find them though, so I was wondering if you would help me make sure mobs don't get caught up in the catching process and just generally help me keep an out for it. Plus, we should take some time to catch up. We hardly had time to talk during that lion quest."

Yuki pulled up her menu and invited the orange-maned woman to her party and gave her a signature Yuki smile.

@Mari