ChaseR

As she spoke, it struck him and he only slowly nodded. What an info dump, but a useful one at that. "H-Huh... You're right...", he looked down at his hands silently, squinting his eyes before he averted his gaze back towards her. "It's still a game, isn't it. So rules can just exist like that.", he replied, realising that all this time he was scared of exploring the town all for nothing. "So that's why there are no guards in the plaza or patrolling the town, but just at the gate?", Chase slowly connected the dots, nodding to himself. "I wonder what other rules exist in this world that I don't know."

He let out a deep sigh, figuring he'd just find out as they went further and further. Tagging along would be enough to pick up tidbits of information on the rules and the world they lived in, but... "I'll have to pay very much attention... Ugh...". Just thinking about it tired him. Speaking of tiring, the material searching was starting to get on his nerves. At least it'd help him level up, so that couldn't be all too bad.

Materials Found: 0
Total Quest Materials: 4/5

Of all the things Shay mentioned, there was one in particular that caught his attention. He seemed all too focused for a moment, looking at her in confusion before he repeated the term she just threw as a question. "... Safe zone?". Chase thought about it for a single moment before he asked. "But they're not really safe. You can still die in towns if there aren't many people around to stop the attacker.", he continued, furrowing his eyebrows. Hopefully Shay would correct him on that and teach him what safezone actually meant. He knew too little for his own good, which prevented exploration even in no PvP or monster zones. 

The way he saw the game, it was a fantasy setting with few rules applied. Game logic wasn't there for him, any term would fly over his head as any new lingo would. "Are they actually safe..? Is that a game term or is that her knowing she's strong enough that no attacker can pose any danger..? I mean... A cut is a cut, even if it's from a low level monster it has to still be very damaging...", he rambled in the back of his mind, spacing out. With no material to shine in his face showing up, he remained lost in thought.

Materials Found: 0
Total Quest Materials: 4/5

Chase was standing there, having barely wiped his tears before getting slapped in the back and almost falling over, looking back at her with a frown. All he gave was a nod, before beginning to head back to the artisan's shop. He didn't say much, waiting until he'd feel better before even opening his mouth. "She's strong. She's really strong. She has adapted to this world and its rules already to the point of fitting right in. I have to try to be the same.". He eventually got lost too deep in thought that while walking, he tripped and fell, groaning as he pushed himself off the ground and dusted his clothes. 

While dusting though, he seemed less and less gloomy. All that despite his magnificent fall, as a realization came to mind. He was heading back to the artisan's shop to learn how to craft. That meant he could start helping out by setting up shop and giving it his all. Like so, he could support the lower level players, make money out of it and eventually move up the rankings faster. By the time he was done dusting himself, his frown was already gone. "Sorry. I got distracted."

With a slow nod, he felt satisfied with that answer. She was so much stronger, yet she had only reached three floors higher than the start. It didn't take long before another question went her way. "Floor 4... Is every floor the same all across? Is all of the first fields like this?", Chase asked, uncertain if the terrain would change any. He didn't know if there even was any town further down, let alone what it could look like. All he had ever known was the Town of Beginnings and even that he didn't know in full. He'd never wandered down the alleyways or less populated areas yet in fears of being attacked, kidnapped, or even worse, killed. 

Truth be told, he had no idea what safezones were. He thought since the town has people, nobody would attack out in the open and become a target. That's why he believed them to be safe. "What do the monsters look like?", he continued, seeming naturally curious about his surroundings. He didn't happen to find any materials again, but he only needed one, so the bluehead paid no mind. 

Materials Found: 0
Total Quest Materials: 4/5

As hard as it was for Chase to stop thinking about it, he tried his best to focus on the gathering. It wasn't really helping, hos little they were doing, but it'd definitely get buried deeper and deeper in the back of his mind as days keep passing and he gets stronger and stronger, finishing more and more quests alongside Shay. "Okay. Thanks.", he shortly responded, unsure what else to say. 

Although, just as he was about to go completely silent, an interesting question came to mind. Once more, his eyes ran up and down Shay as if he was inspecting her. She was leveled, maybe too much so compared to him. So he was curious... "Up to what floor have you reached?", he expressed his curiosity genuinely for once, showing even in his voice. Considering she wasn't too many levels ahead of him, he could measure how much he'd need to learn the world until he caught up to her, slowly but steadily. 

Waiting for an answer, he turned his head to see a glowing material further out and with a small smile, picked it up before tucking it in his inventory along with the rest. "Just one more to go."

Materials Found: 1
Total Quest Materials: 4/5

Chase froze completely stiff where he stood. It looked like after a few repeats, her words finally got through his stubbornness. "She... Fuck... She's right... If I keep going that way, there won't be frontlines by the time I'm strong enough... Everybody else finished this on their own, so why do I... T-Tch... Fuck!", he cussed in the back of his mind with a small frown he held back as much as possible, looking back at the three locations she had pointed and slowly standing up. He wasn't glad she was helping though. It looked like she had made him accept hid defeat, rather than offered him a hand to make the quest easier. 

He silently picked up the materials she had revealed, a tear beginning to form on the corner of his right eye as he let out a low. "Fuck...". Chase wiped it away and turned around, giving Ariel a saddened look before he stated even less energetically than before, surprisingly enough. "I got them all."

More tears would come, so he quickly turned his head around to look at the Town of Beginnings gate. This was just like those months he'd spent all cooped up inside a safe inn. Crying and hoping that he'd suddenly wake up into the real world. Relying on everyone without even knowing how to help himself. Bad memories of this world kept coming back, and his already laconic speech turned into no speech. For the time being at least. 

Materials Found: 3

Total Materials Found: 5/5

Chase's eyebrows furrowed as he fixed his glance at her, replying in a voice full of confidence. "You're in the frontlines. So you'll know when I'm there too.", he spurted, quickly realizing that he couldn't be certain she was clearing floors along with the rest of the lead players. She had enough time free to come to the first floor and laze around after all. His eyes moved along with hers, noticing she wasn't paying him any attention and got fixated on the material. The more she kept finding, the stronger the urge to pick them up became. 

He was too stubborn for his own good on that matter though. "I can find them myself too, I told you already. I won't learn if you hold my hand all the way.", Chase repeated before trying to find a material laying around on his own once more. The disappointment in his face, then again, spoke for itself. The bluehead wasn't planning on accepting any pity from her and taking the materials she was finding. Clearly, the quest's objective wasn't to just find the materials, but there had to be something else behind it too. Maybe it was the little push he needed to look for better places to gather at. Or so he pondered at least. 

Materials Found: 0

Total Materials Found: 2/5

Chase silently read the translation message, nodding slowly and listening to what she had to say. Her words didn't make that much of a difference to him though. He already knew just how long it'd take to get anything done alone, let alone that the floor bosses couldn't be beat just because "he wanted to so he would do it". Will wasn't enough to get you by in a world like this. "She's just a friend. A childhood one. I don't want her to die, especially not because of me. She's like a sister to me.", he explained, not because she was teasing him but because he hadn't told anyone other than Shay up to now. As antisocial as he was, he had to get it out of his system as well every now and then.

"I'll team up, but I have to be strong enough first. I can't expect everyone to sacrifice themselves when I can't do the same. But I won't die.", he stated again. No materials seemed to have yet spawned, but that was alright. Talking every once in a while, however bad he could be at it, helped him unwind. "... Don't sneak up on others like that next time. I thought you'd try to kidnap or attack me.", he changed the subject, fully knowledgeable that she wouldn't be able to change his opinion on the matter and he wouldn't be able to explain his own position on the matter properly either.

Materials Found: 0
Total Materials: 2/5

Chase shook his head as she spoke sarcastically, seeming completely unhurt and even uncaring of her comment. "No, I'm not doing it for the ones that don't want to fight.", he pointed out, being honest with himself and her all the same. He took his sword out with his offhand and looked at it, silent while thoughts raced through his head. Lifting his head to look at the knight in the eyes, his face got serious. Not tense, neither relaxed. Just serious. "I bought the game with a friend. I don't want her to come looking for me and get trapped in here too."

His resolve was there, and it wouldn't falter no matter the conditions he'd have to face on his way to the frontlines, and even there. "I don't care if there's murderers. I'm not planning on dying. As long as it takes, I'll join the frontlines and clear the game.", he finished and let his eyes back down on the ground. The bluehead slowly put the sword back in its place, taking a deep breath and glancing around the fields. Even if no materials were in sight, it still looked so real, despite being just a clump of code and data. "Without Lily, I don't want to stay here longer than I have to."

Materials Found: 1
Total Materials: 2/5

Chase simply listened to her, although it was as if everything she said went in from one ear and came right out from the other. He paid little attention and made few efforts to even reply in the first place before he looked up at her. "The quests are to learn. If I let you help, I won't learn. I can't make it to the frontlines like that.", he answered before going back to searching, letting out a sigh. Of course, what he knew about the quests was all second hand knowledge passed onto him from Shay. "... Be careful. If monsters come, you'll be in danger.", he stated and looked at her with a slightly worried look, searching the grass but holding one hand on his sheathed blade's hilt all the same. Had he used it before? No.

Was that going to stop him now? Definitely. "Even if she is that strong... A cut from a monster weaker than you remains a cut. She could be in trouble if she gets attacked by anything, right?", he pondered, never having engaged or seen anybody engage in combat before. While the trail of thoughts went on and he gave quick glances her way every now and then, he picked a material up from the ground and put it in his inventory again, now having collected almost half of what he needed. "Looks like I'm getting good at this."

Materials Found: 1
Total Materials: 2/5

When she was speaking, he'd turned his head to look at her and nodded along the tidbits of information she said, before going back to looking for materials. "You don't suck as much as I expected. Nice.", he commented as he let his eyes scan the fields nearby. "If she wasn't green, she couldn't have made it here. If the guards apprehend orange players, that means I'm safe in towns. And there's always so many people around that attacking someone must grab the attention of the guards right away. They're NPCs after all."

It was then he realised he'd completely missed her just now, looking over to where she pointed to see a material on the ground. "You can have it. The quest is for me to find the materials myself, I can't get help from others.", he stated before going back to looking for materials himself. He could be incredibly oblivious and stick to wordings to an absurd, at times, extent. That paired with his wanting to manage tasks in this world on his own, led to beautiful misunderstandings on his part such as this one. Needless to say, he himself found nothing at all, causing a sigh out of him before he mumbled. "I suck at speaking. You don't."

Of course, when he realised he couldn't get the material, he looked back at Ariel's find and eyed it, shaking his head to himself before he looked at the quest window. "You know how it goes, it takes a while... It's mostly luck after all.", he tried to ease himself, shrugging it off. 

Materials Found: 0
Total Materials: 1/5

Chase's blank expression didn't change once throughout her explanation, and she only got a sigh out of him once she was finished talking. "So if you were orange, you'd be dangerous to me. A murderer.", he grumbled and clenched his fist just slightly, before turning to face forwards again and entering the fields. He began to look around the grass for materials, staying silent before another question came to mind. Whilst he searched, he asked her calmly. "Can someone break into my shop if I'm not there? And can I keep the plot forever, even if I don't set up my shop right away?"

As he searched, he saw something glow in the grass and picked it up, storing it into his inventory with a small smile that quickly faded away. He had more questions he wanted to ask her and it showed in his expression, as blank as it was, but it didn't matter. If she was a tailor and he had no clue who she was, there were little chances of meeting again in the future. It didn't matter if she was on the frontlines or not right now anyways. By the time he got to them, she'd definitely be there too. "...", he remained silent, waiting for her to answer his questions as he reflected back on what she said about orange player cursors. "Murderers... Even here."

Materials Found: 1
Total Materials: 1/5

Chase accepted the party request, looking at the top left to read her IGN as well. "Ariel.", he repeated in his head before giving a nod to himself. Getting back to her, he heard her final question and shook his head. "No, I'm gathering materials so that the Artisan teaches me how to make trinkets.", he said and then one thing became apparent- any game term, bar few, flew right over his head all the same. Not a single clue what profession referred to or where to see it on his menu, none at all. "How does your thing become 'anything but green'? I've never seen it not be green before.", he asked while turning his back to her, beginning to slowly strut towards the fields. 

Truth be told, he didn't even know NPC Guards existed in the area, if at all. He always stayed so close to the plaza in front of the Black Iron Palace he'd never been this far out in the town to begin with. "So there's guards... Will they keep me safe? Maybe they're too weak if she's speaking the truth.". His social ineptitude had already shown quite a bit, but it was especially apparent with how little he spoke and responded to even her introducing herself. "She's a master tailor, she said. So she must need materials too. I won't give her any I find though.", his inner monologue went on and on. He looked over his shoulder, making sure that she was following right behind him.

Seeing her reveal some sort of ability put him just a tad bit at ease. If she could activate something like that, she definitely could cut him down in a moment, had she wanted to. Although still uncertain of her true motives and character, he took a deep breath and pulled back into a normal stance, opening his menu and looking for the party option. Seeing as the only time he'd used it prior was for Shay, and she was the one to have invited him, he had no clue how to operate it. "... Invite me to a party. My name's ChaseR.", he grumbled and crossed his arms, still looking at her suspiciously.

"She's a frontliner then..? There's nothing stopping her from lying to me though. I can't fully trust her until she invites me to a party. Then I can see her name too.". It became more and more apparent that regardless of her behavior, Chase was too careful to let his guard down at any point, tense just from being trapped in SAO for all this time. Relative to before, yes, he was relaxed, but... That didn't quite tell much. His uptight posture, the crossed arms, the sharp gaze. "I'll be sticking close to the entrance to gather materials. If you try anything, I can run back in the town and shout for help.", he explained letting out a deep sigh and focusing his eyes on the crystal above her avatar. "I still wonder what that's for... Regardless, she won't be able to even think about attacking me like this. Or else she'll be punished by the other players, for sure."

His face, his body, even his speech kept being just as tense, glaring right into her eyes like a wounded animal would. "Noob town? This is the Town of Beginnings... How do I know you weren't following me with the intent to kill?", he growled and stayed silent for a moment before finishing his question. "If you wanted to help, why did you try to ambush me instead of offering?", Chase's suspicion of others showed more and more, although this time Ariel certainly hadn't helped any.

"So my gear's low level shows... Am I that easy of a target then?", he began to panic more and more, gritting his teeth before he asked her once more angrily. "How can you tell my gear's level?". The questions just wouldn't stop. One after the other, Chase grew all the more curious and confused by the minute. "She looks too strong. Too strong to even try. Damn...". He felt like he couldn't move a single inch, his eyes locked with hers. Had he talked with anything but NPCs before deciding to start acting on his own, he wouldn't be having such a tense encounter. Maybe he'd already know how to wield a weapon and protect himself, even now. If the crowd began to disappear and it was just them... "Snap out of it, damn it..!"

As he walked towards the exit of the Town of Beginnings, he looked around and furrowed his eyebrows, feeling like he was being followed. He stopped right in front of the gate, turning around and looking for a bit before spotting Ariel, his eyes sharpening as he took a battle ready stance. Needless to say, not only were they in a safe zone, he didn't even reach for his sword. Not that if he had, he'd know how to use it. "The hell..? What do I do?", he thought, pulling his back foot just a bit further, gulping and staring her down.

For how battle ready he seemed though, he hadn't a clue what to do and wasn't planning on attacking, even in the safezone. "I can run if I have to, but I don't know the town's alleys and pathways.", he continued his trail of thought, his eyes running up and down her appearance. It was obvious his fight or flight instinct had kicked in as he began to sweat, hesitantly asking the obviously levelled player. "Why are you following me?", the stiffened male snarled, more scared than angry.

Chase was silently walking around the streets of the Town of Beginnings, looking around the shops to get a good feel for what each item looked like. Appearance certainly wasn't much to go by, but... He was still sporting his starter gear, so anything looked better really. Let alone how they felt and how much stronger they probably were. "... Probably...", he thought again, realising he knew all too little about SAO, as well as RPGs in general. He knew he couldn't go out of the fields on his own and would rather go out with company, specifically Shay, but that's why he wasn't questing any. It was then that he stopped outside of the Master Artisan's shop, peeking inside and giving the whole matter some thought.

"So that's like accessories. I can make money by crafting and selling them. Maybe I can help people in the frontlines like this, too.". That was all he needed to ponder before he entered the shop and abrasively asked the NPC how to craft. Of course, he was met with a quest flag, blinking a few times and reading the requirements. He hesitated at first, thinking he'd be in danger, but he remembered the peaceful gathering he was doing the other day alongside Shay. "If I see a monster, I can run. I can gather materials from the ground to keep myself out of risk. She won't be mad if I do.", his words echoed in the back of his mind before he accepted the quest, scratching the back of his head and turning around, opening his menu to check his inventory once more before he exited the shop and made way for the fields. "... What am I even looking for in here..?"

The blue-haired male simply nodded at her and wiped his tears away, asking as his face shifted back to determined, even if she could still hear the sadness in his words. "I see. I'll learn the basics with you then. Sorry for burdening you, but...", he took a deep breath, even if shakily, pinning his gaze to the ground and lifting his hands again, keeping an eye out for any materials scattered around that he could pick up. He got lost in deep thought momentarily, only snapping back to reality because of the rustling grass around them from the soft breeze that began to blow.

It didn't look like anything else had spawned near them for him to pick up, but that didn't make him deter at all this time. He lifted his head and looked back at Shay, giving a small nod before he called her by her name for the first time. "Shay. Help me learn the game, let's train and make it to the frontlines. We have to get back.", he stated, his voice unwavering this time around. "I don't care how long it takes. Let's just not die."

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 3/5

It didn't take much more than her sharp words for him to instantly freeze right in his place and feel genuinely scared by how serious she got. He'd normally back down at this point, and he will, but... He couldn't just take her words and not even question her in the slightest, although he knew how serious she was. He remained silent upon snapping out of it, looking down at his own two hands and clenching them tightly, gritting his teeth. "F-Fuck... Damn it..!", he cussed in the back of his mind and punched the ground, tears beginning to form on the corners of his eyes.

"I've done nothing the past months. I don't want to stay useless like I have been. Can't I do anything to grow and help others as well?", he persisted even if he already knew what to expect for an answer, looking at her with a saddened and spiteful expression. Not spiteful towards her, but more so towards him. Words, especially coming from Chase's mouth, couldn't begin to describe just how he felt towards himself after how long he idly stood by. He stood by and all these people fought tooth and nail for his survival and escape from this world.

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 3/5

If she paid enough attention, she could hear him lowly repeating after her, trying to get used to the terminology she used. "... Debuff enemies.", he mumbled, raising his head at the sound of her unsheathing her blade, gulping before looking at her somewhat filled with worry. "I can't help?", he asked her and gave it some thought, knowing all too well he wasn't used to fighting, especially under the stress of dying at the slightest mistake. He wasn't equipped properly, and even if he was, he'd still be too nervous with his current experience in battles.

"Teach me how to fight. And how to get stronger. I want to clear the game.", he spoke the most he had before stopping thus far, seeing one of the quest materials on the ground and quickly nabbing it, before giving her a determined glance. Although he hadn't talked to her about his past whatsoever, the same way she hadn't to him, it was obvious that he had more than a solid reason to want to fight. "How will this quest help me?", Chase also added to the questions and statements he'd made, being too talkative and out of character compared to how he'd acted up to now.

Quest Materials Found: 1
Total Quest Materials: 3/5

Just hearing how harsh she sounded despite the attitude she'd shown thus far, he sighed once more, except this time more out of relief than anything. "You suck at speaking. Me too.", he pointed out before chuckling lowly, a small smile forming on his face before eventually going away and returning back to his blank look. "I feel at ease knowing she's like me that way. At least she doesn't speak a lot.", he spoke in the back of his head and approached her, looking at the materials she had gathered thus far and asking out of curiosity, seeing as she wasn't doing the same quest as he was.

"Your materials. What will you do with them?", and with that he went back to picking apart every little thing he could off the grass, having realised just how long this whole quest would take. So much for getting up and doing something after a long while, truly... "Of course there's nothing.", he sighed, obviously exasperated. Not only was it a quest to just pick something up off the ground and by looking through bushes or other foliage, it was the only mission he could go for given just how much risk anything else would involve in his eyes. Speaking of which... "... Sword Art Online... huh? So fights must be the way to raise my level. I can't fight though."

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

Shay's words caught Chase completely off guard, resulting in him almost losing balance and falling over. He looked at her with a shocked expression, before at the pop-up with her friend request, swallowing dryly and beginning to sweat even. "Ch-Change her mind? Now I'm even more indebted to her, fuck!", he began to panic and quickly accepted it, knowing that he couldn't do much else if he wanted to make it out of the world. As ambitious as it was, he wanted to get this over with and level up. At least enough to start helping with the frontlines. He wanted to level up even if it meant leeching off of Shay for a while... hopefully just a while at least.

"Thanks. I don't want to hold you back though.", he hesitantly said, showing remorse in his words. He wanted to make clear that he didn't want to keep her behind everyone else, even if he couldn't get anything done all by himself anyhow else. Chase took a deep breath and tried to calm down, hurriedly looking for other materials with a small frown on his face. He'd certainly have to thank her somehow, after the quest was done at the bear minimum.

And nothing once more. He began to feel more and more useless, although it was really just luck doing the final strike to his already weak mental state. Truth be told, he was quite overwhelmed from the game, let alone Shay's straightforward attitude and all the bad luck with his first task from an NPC.

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

Hearing her talk to him was all it took for him to snap out of it and back to reality. He silently looked at her, giving an almost blank stare and processing her offer before he hesitantly gave a nod, just as hesitantly as she offered in the first place. "... She's offered to do much for me, so I should repay somehow. Damn.", he thought to himself before repeating her words in his head to realise that he had close to no idea what she was talking about. "Buffed..? Performer?", he bluntly asked without a sliver of a clue what she was referring to.

"This is my first RPG.", he continued before turning back to the ground and beginning to look through the grass once more, praying that he'd find another material. After having stuck to solitude for so long, even getting as much as a single material felt like a huge accomplishment. This initial excitement would obviously fade away as time went on, but regardless...The triumph he felt after finding the previous two materials faded away from the failure of his current attempt, getting a deep sigh out of him. The amount of bad luck he was experiencing was getting him to feel miffed, at the very least.

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

His smile slowly began to turn back into his blank expression as he furrowed his brows at her and looked back down at the ground, taking a deep breath and going back to silently searching through the short grass. 

Happy to see his lucky streak keeping up, he picked up another material and held it in his hand, hoping that this search wouldn't take too much longer. More so because he'd finish the first task rather than get to the second part of the quest. Speaking of which, just thinking about it was enough to make him frown and glance right back over at Shay with a troubled expression. "I don't know how to make anything.  Can I even?", he asked, unsure of the conditions behind crafting or if they even require some level beforehand. It was more obvious than ever, just how lost he was. 

As he waited for her to answer, he silently looked at the ground, seemingly completely lost in a train of thoughts. He was thinking about how he got trapped in the first place, his family, Lily... "I wonder how she's doing... Damn..."

Quest Material Found: 1
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

As Chase kept looking around, he realized just how unfamiliar he was with RPGs of all games. Him and Lily had never even played a game of this soet before, and the main reason they bought into it was the housing and guild system, the VR aspect, everything that made it unique. Not necessarily an RPG. He glanced over to see the material in her hand and furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at her before asking. "Is that what I'm looking for?"

She could tell he was slightly surprised, as he thought she too was looking for the quest materials. In an attempt to find materials too, he tried to look around the ground once more in hopes he'd get lucky this time around. 

With a smile on his face, he quickly picked up the material off the ground and even laughed a bit, holding it in his hand happily. "Got one.", he lowly exclaimed before looking over at Shay, hoping he'd have the same luck with the next few tries as well. 

Quest Material Found: 1