ChaseR

Chase did, in fact, enjoy the music all the way until she was done. Even when she was done and asked him, he only responded with a small nod and smile, his face having brightened up after a fairly long day. He already knew not to question why she'd kept a secret. She didn't enjoy being asked too much on it, and that was alright. "Yeah, you were great. So what do they do?", he finished, looking at the crystals and raising an eyebrow. He knew that she'd make some crystals, but the rogue never clarified what they would be used for.

Then again, if he looked into the professions and everything else tomorrow, then chances are he'd probably be more well informed on what her limits were, as well as his once he picked one for himself. "Can we break up for today after this? It's pretty draining.", the boy proposed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Truth be told, it was only the first day he'd gone out to manage anything, and as a result he'd spent a lot of his energy absorbing all the information around him like a sponge, learning how to fight and even do quests. It was a lot to take in a single day and keep going, especially for someone as unfamiliar with the system as Chase.

With his first perfect craft having been finished, the boy picked up the bracelet he made and looked at it with a smile. "Finally... I already feel more confident.", he mumbled before opening up his menu and seeing it disappear from his grip, only to appear on the list of items. He then equipped it in place of his Warm Earmuffs, knowing that they wouldn't do him any good inside of the safe confines of his shop. "I feel like I could learn much faster with this on me... I can always have it as a good reference for what I'm doing right, and what I'm doing wrong. I'll become a damn great Artisan."

With a short pep talk to himself, he grinned and looked to the exit of his shop, knowing he was just a step closer to being able to help the frontlines that much more. And given enough time, he'd be fighting amongst them to clear the game. He just needed to train up, until then.

T1 Trinket Crafts

Day 5

1 Uncommon, 1 Perfect

+11 EXP (+3 EXP Uncommon, +8 EXP Perfect)

2 T1 Mats lost.

RANK UP!
ARTISAN RANK 2

Salvage (LD 8)

+2 EXP

1 T1 Mat lost.

"So she really has made the shop her house... That's a creative way to use it... Maybe if I do the same when I get a shop, I don't have to pay that crappy inn anymore and I can sleep properly...", he thought while hearing out the little patent that she'd made for herself, letting out a sigh and opening his mouth as if to speak before being told to quiet down. Not having much of a choice really, he quietly looked for somewhere to lean on, settling on the bench and waiting for her to begin. She looked so composed before starting, and as the song began to play, Chase already felt much more at ease.

"That's... That's not the game. That's her.", the boy looked in awe, closing his eyes without even realising just because of how relaxing the atmosphere was now that her beautiful music was filling up the room. All before an item shattering could be heard, and then a loud thud from the piano keys to follow right after. He jumped slightly and looked at her almost in a fight or flight response, having instinctively reached for his sword before realising she must have gotten annoyed at failing to craft a crystal again. "I'm certainly not talking to her about music again...", he reassured himself, hoping that the next attempts would come out better. And thankfully, they did.

"Nah, actually... There's no way there'd be that much uproar back in reality. They can't see us or know what's happening probably. Most people have probably just forgotten about this already, except for those that loved us.", he began to think negatively once more, frowning and tightening the handwraps around his hands once more as he felt they were beginning to come in loose. In an attempt to clear his head from the existential crisis that were to follow these thoughts. "Keep it together. Just think about the present, this is my world now. So, about these... martial arts?"

The boy began to ponder the existence of sword skills for this type of weapon, even if the name seemed very contradictory. "Unless you pair these martial arts with a weapon, a sword, how would you use sword skills..? Then again, there's a warhammer in the game, but- Wait... Martial arts, so that means...". Connecting the dots in his head, the boy took a deep breath before kicking at the boulder with his right leg, even with his shoes on, seeing it deal just as much damage as a punch did up to now. "I feel this should have been so obvious to me."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 17/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

"Come think of it... How long has it been since we got stuck here?", he began to ponder with a growing frown on his face. It felt as if it had been months, if not years, but he'd lost track of time and all the days that passed since getting stuck. Maybe time didn't even flow as it normally would in here, hence it's a game and not reality. The rules of reality couldn't apply to this world, and Chase kept being met with that exact conclusion- during this mission, in battles, when it came to using skills, the environment, the monsters, the quests, everything. Nothing worked like it normally would in reality.

With that in mind, he looked at his hand, stretching it and moving it as if to make sure that it was really his. It moved exactly as he wanted it to, but... It was still just data in the virtual world. His real body was back in a hospital most likely, numb. With another punch at the boulder, his mind kept going off about what could have really happened to him and everyone else that joined the game. How the public must have accepted this incident, if anything could have changed in the real world...

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 21/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Day 4

2 Salvage Crafts (LD 10/8)

+4 EXP (2 EXP each)

2 T1 Mats lost.

Chase watched her silently, having little to say about what could only be called a stunning performance from her part. "W-Woah... When she does it right, she seems to be on a whole other level...". It was then that she showed him where the quest drop was, getting him to quickly snap out of it and turn all his attention towards in, running in order to grab it. As soon as it was within his grip, he gave her a quick nod as if gesturing her to get away from all the mob spawns and turn in the quest. Just to make sure that his message got through however, he did ask too.

"We needed just one, so let's go. Right?". Despite having questioned it though, he still began to run away from the spawns all the same, holding his Cloud Cutter in his one hand while keeping the item tightly clenched in his other, wanting not to drop it. He wasn't running away due to being scared though, he just didn't want to put himself or Ariel more at risk than they had to be. Once he'd gotten far away enough, he gave a quick glance over his shoulder with a small frown, huffing for air and trying to see if she'd followed along just fine.

Nepent's Ovule found.
Quest materials: 1/1

Day 3

1 Fail, 1 Uncommon

+4 EXP (1 + 3 EXP)

2 T1 Mats lost.

With only a single Nepent left, Chase took advantage of how little time it had to react and went in for an attack, raising his sword to the side and letting out a little battle cry as he slashed down towards it. Although quite close to missing, he managed to hit it and thrust his sword forward, stabbing the blade into it before pulling back for it to break into tiny crystals. By the time these four Nepents were down, the Variant Nepent had appeared, growling at the two.

Chase ran towards Ariel once more and kept his guard up, panting weakly as he looked to the side at her. "I can take it on if you need a break.", he offered despite knowing that if anything, between the two he was the one to need a break the most. His energy was depleting rapidly, while she most likely had way too much, plus she wasn't in any danger to begin with. He removed his hand from his blade for a moment to wipe some sweat off his forehead, before gripping it tightly again and trying to endure the slight fatigue that was getting to him.

• Ariel | HP:1590/1590 | EN:141/156 | DMG:19 | MIT:79 | ACC:3 | VAMP OFF:238 | HB:48 | TAUNT | REC:1 | LD:5 | BH:79
• ChaseR | HP: 200/200 | EN: 10/20 (+1, -1) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
• Nepent 5 | HP: 0/7 (-7) | DMG: 3
• Nepent 6 | HP: 7/7 | DMG: 3
• Nepent 7 | HP: 7/7 | DMG: 3
• Nepent 8 | HP: 0/7 (-7) | DMG: 3

Chase lowered his head to look at where his sheathed blade would normally be sitting at, quietly staring the empty spot down and smiling a bit. "It feels as if I can finally trust in myself, at least here. It's not that I don't trust in myself, but... In here if I falter, that could mean I die. And I have to learn to be stronger with or without Lily. Even if Shay isn't by my side here to keep me safe, I have to do all in my power to overpower anybody that comes at me.", he went on a tangent from his training once more, moving his two hands to his face to slap his cheeks and snap out of it.

Getting back on track, he took the same stance as before, seeing it become a bit of a habit, at least during this small session, before throwing another punch with a firm stance and pose at the boulder. More cracks had begun to show, although he wasn't paying enough attention to notice before now. Bit by bit, he was getting there and it looked like he would truly break what seemed to be unbreakable at first. "It's just as I thought, a game is a game... You can't apply logic to it, even if it looks real."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 25/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

"If I want to get out though, I can't keep being amazed by Shay's strength and technique, can I? I have to improve and become as strong as she is, even stronger than her if I have to. I've got to learn how to use my sword properly, become one with it and use it as an extension of my body... or something like that.", he ranted on inside of his head as he adjusted his stance once more, trying to think about what Shay would tell him. On one of her good days, of course. Now that his mind had wandered over to Shay though, that was a whole other train of thought setting off.

"She's helped me for what feels like ages despite it having only been a few quests, but...I don't really know that much about her, do I? Just like she doesn't about me. I'm sure she can tell what sort of a person I am though. We're both bad with words and better with actions.", the bluehead's inner monologue went on and on, before he threw another punch at the boulder, where a crack had already formed from before to try and make it even larger, which he did quite succeed at. "Looks like bit by bit, I'm getting there.", he reassured himself with a small smile, wiping some more sweat off his forehead.

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 29/50 (-5) | EVA: -2

Taking his stance again, he'd completely forgotten about the NPC watching over him throughout his breaking the boulder. Now was the perfect time to keep pondering about the world, but not just this one. He knew fully well that while he was in here, his real body was back in the real world. Most likely hooked up in a hospital bed, keeping him alive until they can clear the game. "I wonder... Can everyone see us? Can they see what we're doing, if we're fighting? I'm curious about what Lily is doing. She must be worried sick."

With that, he abruptly threw another punch at the boulder, letting out a shout as he did and looking at it, pulling his hand back before his expression softened. "I'm not trying to really clear it so she doesn't get in... I'm trying to clear it so I can get out and back to her, isn't that so? If she was here, would I really mind it that much..? Probably...", the boy's soft side had begun to come out, although at least he wasn't talking to himself out loud. To the old man, he was just taking breaks in between his punches.

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 34/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Chase felt somewhat caught off guard as she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him on top of the teleporter, and before he knew it, he was in a completely different floor than before. "W-Woah, that was... Just like the first day, wasn't it..?", he thought to himself, thinking back to what Kayaba had done to teleport them all to the Town of Beginnings around two hours or so after he'd launched the game. He didn't have much time to think about it however, as he followed right behind her with his hand on his hilt, same as she had her own blade in her off-hand. "She'd said that it was far away, so... There might be monsters on the way there. Doesn't that make it less accessible though..?"

He pondered as they began to head over to her shop, letting out a deep sigh and staying mostly silent along the way. His clothes kept him warm enough, although he still felt rather chilly. He didn't mind it though. His warm earmuffs helped keep him cozy and nice throughout the small trip, and by the time they were done, a small hut began to come into sight. They entered, and the boy quickly felt welcome with how the music started playing right away, smiling a bit and looking towards the ladder right away- everything else looked normal, but... "Where does that lead?"

Chase watched in complete awe, blinking from just how quickly it was over and how swiftly and gracefully she'd moved. Even when Shay or he were using swords, with the aim assist, there was little that they could do to be as effective as she seemed to be. Surely, no... Certainly, she had to have undergone practice in the real world too, before getting trapped here. There was no other way that she was this good just from being trapped in here for two years, being handheld by the system with every tiny action. Before he had enough time to sit in awe of her skills however, four more Nepents appeared, getting a grunt out of Chase.

"I can't use Blast again, so I'll take one down for now.", he stated before running in and slashing, feeling his blade as if stuck inside the plant and running past it even before pulling it out. The monster was effectively cut in half, and just when Chase was about to rest easy, he noticed the other three plants attack him. Using his legs, he slipped right under each one of their attacks, making it back to where Ariel was and holding his sword tightly as he panted, getting an adrenaline rush from the battle. 

• Ariel | HP:1590/1590 | EN:146/156 | DMG:19 | MIT:79 | ACC:3 | VAMP OFF:238 | HB:48 | TAUNT | REC:1 | LD:5 | BH:79
• ChaseR | HP: 200/200 | EN: 10/20 (+1, -1) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
• Nepent 5 | HP: 0/7 (-7) | DMG: 3
• Nepent 6 | HP: 7/7 | DMG: 3
• Nepent 7 | HP: 7/7 | DMG: 3
• Nepent 8 | HP: 7/7 | DMG: 3

Chase watched Ariel silently, seeming in awe of her blade as she unsheathed it and let out a loud Howl. That part even scared him, faltering momentarily and taking his own sword out in almost panic. "H-How heated up is she getting for this low level monsters?!", he wondered, gulping and trying to regain his composure as he furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. The boy was quick to notice that she'd actually attracted the Nepents they were after, although it was plenty of them... Four. 

Looking at his partner in this battle once more, he felt like something was off. She didn't look like she was one to be a 'tank' in the party, but... Who was he to judge. Focusing his eyes back on the monsters, he took a deep breath and set his foot down, shutting down every noise around him. He seemed to have almost lagged out for a moment before his blade began to glow green and he dashed forwards, only to stop in front of the plants and dig into the ground with his leg. Moving all his strength to his hands, he then slashed horizontally twice in quick succession, using enough momentum to send him spinning as he took out all four of them in a single blow.

• Ariel | HP:1590/1590 | EN:156/156 | DMG:19 | MIT:79 | ACC:3 | VAMP OFF:238 | HB:48 | TAUNT | REC:1 | LD:5 | BH:79
• ChaseR | HP: 200/200 | EN: 10/20 (-10) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
• Nepent 1 | HP: 0/7 (-7) | DMG: 3
• Nepent 2 | HP: 0/7 (-7) | DMG: 3
• Nepent 3 | HP: 0/7 (-7) | DMG: 3
• Nepent 4 | HP: 0/7 (-7) | DMG: 3

"I know fully well that thinking about this won't do me good, or even end up somewhere, but... There's more pushing me forward than getting back to Lily. Definitely.", he finished his thoughts before throwing another punch right at the boulder, causing another crack to form on it. "I want to face Kayaba and ask him in person, why he did all of this. To do that, I have to get out of the game. He's kept me away from Lily, just as he has everyone from so many others."

Beginning to sweat, the boy wiped his forehead with the hand wraps before noticing the small logo on them. "... Hm.", he shook the thought of, thinking that it looked slightly like Ariel's household emblem. Must have just been a coincidence though, and it was probably nothing. Then again, she had mentioned something about a school the other day, so perhaps those were weapons she was planning on handing out once she formed it.

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 38/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Chase stared the boulder down, feeling the little energy he spent to throw the previous punch back. With another deep breath, he released another powerful blow to deal as much damage to it as possible, although it was still rather hard to tell whether it had worked or not. He examined it once more, seeing a few cracks having formed here and there. "So the more damage I deal, the more and bigger cracks that will appear..?"

He pondered on his own, stepping back and recovering before preparing himself to throw another hit. "This whole world he made... How does it even work to begin with? Programming something like this... I can't imagine being anywhere nearly as talented as this guy. Especially not if I were to waste it all like this. Trapping so many people in a world that he made all for himself, that's despicable. I can't imagine anyone wanting this with all their hard effort."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 42/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

He closed his eyes to take a deep breath, emptying his mind and clenching his fists. Once opening them, he let out a shout and threw a punch right at the boulder, striking it as hard as he could. There was a small sting from his hand, but his HP hadn't deleted any. It was most likely because he just rammed it into what the game would consider an obstacle. "It doesn't seem to have taken any damage, but if this is what the quest wants me to do... Then it means it must have."

Putting faith in himself, he looked at the boulder intently, trying to find any marks. None yet. He looked at his hand, trying to see if there was the damage effect anywhere on it, but neither. "This quest is so weird... I have to keep going anyways. I wonder how many other quests like this exist, speaking of which... The reward for this is said to be some skill I don't have on my menu, up to now? I wonder..."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 46/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Before he could get right down to business, the NPC asked him to turn over and took out some quick-drying paint, painting whiskers on Chase's face and warning him that they wouldn't disappear until after he's broken the boulder. He was beginning to wonder just how he'd manage to do that, but this was a game and that idea was slowly being drilled into his head, in a more natural way however. "It's a game... Everything takes damage. Just punching it with these Hand Warps will be much more effective than doing it bare handed."

The NPC then agreed to move back and watch silently, crossing his legs as he sat by the side of his hut and stared. The boy looked over his shoulder at the old man and took a deep breath, exhaling before turning to face the rock and taking on a battle ready stance. He didn't know any martial arts by himself, so... Anything that felt remotely close to a battle ready stance, that was.

Having heard about a quest on the southern end of the second floor that didn't involve any monsters, Chase decided to head there. Sure, he'd be out in the fields, but he would not be putting himself in danger just like that- so he could still progress even without Shay being there for him. After a bit of walking and a lot of climbing, he reached what seemed like a hut on the edge of the map, very close to the summit of the mountain. He approached to knock on the door, only for it to open and an NPC to step out of it.

A quest flag popped up for the bluehead, although the quest's details weren't apparent right off the bat. All he saw was that he had to break a boulder, which didn't sound like too much of an effort. Agreeing, he was lead to the tall boulder he'd need to engage in combat with in order to break it, only using his bare hands. Having been lent these by a craftsman, he opened his inventory and put on <<Hand Warps>> once he'd unequipped his sword.

Chase's playful tone shortly went away after her comment, realising he must have struck a nerve or something like that. With a simple nod, he remained quiet while they headed to the teleport plaza, saying little and only following Shay around. "How do we use this?", he asked her, never having operated the teleport plaza to travel between floors before. Then again, it's not like he'd ever thought to try it either, so... Whatever the case, it was new to him.

His mind was, even now, thinking about all that they'd done so far up to today. Sure, four quests were nothing to scoff at, but in Chase's mind, that was more progress than he could have made on his own over the past few months. He was certain that he had gotten much stronger than before, feeling more confident in his swordsmanship and the knowledge, as little as it was about the world around him. Then again, the fatigue would hit him if they kept questing for much longer without any rest, as keeping track of all of these and absorbing so much information like a sponge drained all his energy like crazy.

Day 2

2 Salvage Crafts (LD 3/10)

+4 EXP (2EXP per craft)

2 T1 Mats lost.

Chase silently took a mental note of the extra tidbit he'd missed out from the NPC's explanation, watching her slump and raising an eyebrow, uncertain as to why that was. So what if they had to kill a monster or two before getting to the quest's objective? It'd be a good chance for him to practice his swordsmanship after all, although that's if he even got the chance to do something like that without her swiping them out in a single hit. Thinking about it, just how out of place she must have felt over here made her whole stance make more sense.

Regardless, he stopped thinking about it as soon as the list was presented to him, giving a nod and beginning to skim through them one by one. He'd already set his eyes on the martial arts one, although more so because it sounded interesting rather than due to wanting to pick up martial arts. "Okay, thanks.", he let her know before continuing to read down the list, seeing just how many of them there were. For every one quest that seemed challenging so far, another would always emerge to prove the verdict of "wow, this looks hard" wrong. Every single damn time. "I'll look more in-depth later. How close are we?"