Yona

Yona got up, and shook off the sand. "Ugh...what even..."

Whatever this place was, even its interior was kinda wearing down. Stone bricks were cracked and slowly eroding, how the ceiling of the structure hadn't crumbled under the sand was a surprise to Yona, despite the fact that there were scattered spots where sand was trickling down, all fairly distant from each other. Oddly colored flames began to light up along the walls. Was this place haunted or something?

Yona slowly began to explore this strange place. There didn't seem to be any immediate activity, but it was still kind of strange for an ancient stone building to just rise up out of the sand when it's been buried for who knows how long. She soon found a tattered book of sorts, and picked it up.

Figures, she could barely make anything out. "We've.....sealed in..........can..............survival? ................dwindling supp.......................will we ..........? Why ever did we..........? How long must we stand.....?"

Yona sighed when she couldn't understand the full picture of whatever was going on.

Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground. Yona could barely keep her footing. Sand was shifting in various places. "Wh-whaaaaaaa??? What's?? Whoa-whoa-whoaaaaaaaaaaaaauugh!!!!!"

As a structure seemed to rise from the ground, the sands moved. Even when the structure stopped moving, the sand hadn't stopped moving, as the doors opened, and the structure was low enough for gravity to start pulling the sand down into the stairway the doors opened into, and Yona found herself going down with them. The sandslide was the last thing she'd expected to put up with, but if there was a disturbance in the area, this was definitely it.

When she'd landed, she simply closed her eyes and hoped for the best...

She saw something, she just saw, she had to have seen something... Was she dreaming again? Was it another Bizarre Dream?

Well, it was too early to tell, but she saw seven silhouettes. ...no, these weren't simply silhouettes. There seemed to be some kind of settlement in view, and one of those things was tearing it apart, such a vicious atrocity. Another one stood tall among several other settlements. There were others, too, including one that was consuming a settlement, and one that was conquering a settlement. There were three others, all on the sidelines, as if there seemed to be something else on each one's mind, aside from the general destruction, devastation, and takeover of, well, pretty much anything...

One of those three looked over to Yona, and then she woke up.

What the hell did she just see?

Out-Of-Combat Regeneration: Energy fully restored

Yona: HP 160/160, EN 34/34 | 12 DMG | 14 MIT | 2 ACC | 4 EVA | 6 LD | 3 Prosperity

This...was getting tiring.

It was a sea of sand and stone, and there didn't seem to be much beyond that. Random critters, big and small, just seemed to stare, waiting to see if Yona would step in their range. Luckily for Yona, she didn't...because she didn't seem to have time for that shit, she wanted to get this over with and catch a break from the heat. Who designed this floor?? The heat of this time in day could kill people with heatstroke! What kind of death-by-sunlight was placed upon here? How was Yona not taking damage(although that was definitely a good thing)?

HOW???

Well, aside from all that, the objective was simple but tedious. She simply had to look for a disturbance of some kind.

The problem was, she'd already gone around a little more than half the specified area and found nothing. She was considering giving up and going to a better floor, but before she could solidify that decision, something happened.

Out-Of-Combat Regeneration: EN +1

Yona: HP 160/160, EN 9/34 | 12 DMG | 14 MIT | 2 ACC | 4 EVA | 6 LD | 3 Prosperity

Well, at least Yona was headed in the right direction, that was good to know. She lowered her blade, but did not sheathe it. The bandit fled once she did so, and now it was time to return to the trail. Yona checked her map. The bandit said the location was near the place called El Perdido, right? Maybe checking around it might help. "It's just a simple walk around a location, this'll work, how bad could it be?" Yona asked.

The sun shone down on the floor, bringing the intense midday heat to the sands. Even the fact that there was white on her apparel didn't stop Yona's equipped gear from building up heat. She moved through the ground as the type of desert she was moving through seemed to transition. The sand was getting more loose with every step. "...This...isn't...working...where the hell am I...?" Yona pulled up her menu. Only halfway around... She groaned loudly, and if anything was nearby, she might have unwittingly caught its attention.

Out-Of-Combat Regeneration: EN +1

Yona: HP 160/160, EN 8/34 | 12 DMG | 14 MIT | 2 ACC | 4 EVA | 6 LD | 3 Prosperity

Yona chuckled. "Too slow, all of you. How can you hope to lay a blade against me if you can't even catch up with me?" She taunted. The two bandits looked at each other, then attempted to assault Yona again, but a bit more advanced. If Yona didn't use her sword art at that moment, that third bandit would've reached her. Unfortunately for the bandits, only their leader was left standing after that attack.

Yona saw what she'd gotten from the bandits. One had a consumable and dropped his sword, and the other had nothing but a trinket on him. Well, Yona might find a use for them, somehow. She then walked over to the fallen bandits' leader, and brought the tip of her blade under his chin. "You going to tell me something now?" She asked with a threatening stare and a sinister smirk. The bandits' leader caved. "Alright, I'll talk, I'll talk!" He reacted. "We'd heard people were heading to investigate a disturbance over near El Perdido, so we'd thought we could get something from any lone travelers!" 

ID# 203657 BD: 5+2=7(hit), MD: 4-4=1

ID# 203658 BD: 8+2=10(hit), MD: 10

AoE-I: 12x11=132 Damage to Bandits 1 and 3

ID# 203660 CD: 2, LD: 10+6=16(1100 Col, <<Unidentified T1 Rare Consumable 203660a>>, and <<Unidentified T1 Rare Weapon 203660b>>) 

ID# 203661 CD: 9, LD: 2+6=8(990 Col, 2 materials, <<Unidentified T1 Rare Trinket 203661>>

Yona: HP 160/160, EN 7/34 | 12 DMG | 14 MIT | 2 ACC | 4 EVA | 6 LD | 3 Prosperity

            Enemies:

Bandit 1: HP 0/110, 24 DMG

Bandit 2: HP 0/110, 24 DMG

Bandit 3: HP 0/110, 24 DMG

The Bandits were not expecting this response. The bandit who got slapped would laugh. "She's a pretty rattler, that one!" He remarked. "No sweet talk's gonna persuade her, boss. What's your call?" The bandit who thought he could get Yona to pay him seemed to be in thought for a few seconds. "Show her what you've got, boys. If she wants a fight, she'll get one. Killing won't be necessary."

Three of the four bandits began charging at Yona. In response, Yona took position and readied a sword art. The bandits' leader didn't seem too pleased about that other one jumping in, however. "Ferdin, what the hell are you doing, get back here!"

But it was too late, Yona attempted to cut down all three with a focused horizontal slash with a wide arc, and the attack would one-shot the bandit that their leader was addressing just now, while the other two would leap back, barely dodging the attack. Yona saw the loot menu appear to show her what she'd gained from slaying him, and he turned out to have quite the item on him, a Gleaming Scale! Yona looked to the bandits again, their leader was facepalming as the other two seemed to be standing there, trying to figure out how to proceed.

The two bandits tried jumping at her simultaneously, but it didn't do them any good. Yona avoided the attack easily, and the buffs proved themselves to be helpful.

ID# 203644 BD: 3+2=5(miss), MD: 8-4=4(miss)

ID# 203645 BD: 9(Critical, +1 Base DMG), MD: 1

ID# 203646 BD: 2+2=4(miss), MD: 2-4=1(miss)

AoE-I: 13x11=143 Damage to Bandit 2

ID# 203647 CD: 9, LD: 20+6=26(880 Col, 2 Materials, Gleaming Scale, F5 Dungeon Map 203647)

Yona: HP 160/160, EN 21/34 | 12 DMG | 14 MIT | 2 ACC | 4 EVA | 6 LD | 3 Prosperity

            Enemies:

Bandit 1: HP 110/110, 24 DMG

Bandit 2: HP 0/110, 24 DMG

Bandit 3: HP 110/110, 24 DMG

Yona would take a deep breath, then step outside the safe zone.

She walked along the sands, but it wasn't like she knew where she was going...because she wasn't. No one specified the exact location, so Yona was kind of...lost, in that regard...

Soon she heard some noise. She looked behind her, then to her left, and finally, to her right. Ah, there's trouble. "What, you itching for a fight?" Yona called out to the bandits who were clearly terrible at camouflage. One bandit proceeded to slap another in the face. "I told you, dunehead, we gotta be silent when we see someone!" The bandit said. "Sheesh, you've both got sand where your brains should be! Let me handle this." Another spoke up. "I'm sure a sweet young woman like yourself wouldn't want to tangle with the likes of us, would you? Just a simple payment of col should do, and I'll keep these idiots off your back."

Yona was suppressing a smile. They were all so very stupid. "You know what, how about this," She countered. "There's been a bit of a disturbance I've come to check out. If you know where it is, go ahead and tell me. and if you think I should 'pay extra' for that..." She drew her weapon. "I've got other ways to persuade you." She warned with a sly smirk.

Yona left knowing that she was technically already prepared for battle.

She made her way over to the safe zone's exit, but as she did so, she overheard a line or two from some NPCs she passed by. "Someone was making some odd talk lately, he looked pretty done in, though." "His pockets were empty, he was probably ambushed by some bandits." "Could be, but I heard one traveler say that he saw members of 'the true people' heading over to the spot mentioned by that blathering old man."

Seeing that said "Blathering old man" happened to be the NPC Yona spoke with, she pretty much took this eavesdropped conversation as a fact that her investigation would have no shortage of competition.

She was about to enter the wilds of Aincrad again...alone...but hey, sometimes that's just how it goes. She now had a lead, and it was time for her to set out and scout the source.

Yona returned to the shade and started on her water provisions before starting on that mousse, as it turned out to have a bit of a paste-like texture. Wouldn't want to get a dry mouth, after all...especially not in this environment haunted by a dry heat. Now that she'd buffed herself, it was time to ask about that shift and make use of her buffed up stats.

Most of the NPCs seemed to ignore her or give her dirty looks, but within one of the structures, there was an NPC willing to answer her. "Hm? What is it you need, adventurer?" The NPC asked. "Care to explain the odd shift that happened earlier?" Yona requested. The NPC scratched his chin. "Hmm...not sure I know what you speak-"

Suddenly, the ground shifted again. Yona looked down, then back to the NPC. "...Maybe that." She remarked. The NPC looked wary. "Follow me, we can't speak here." He requested. The two would head over to a secluded room, and after the door closed, the NPC looked around, checking for anything. He then looked back to Yona, a grave expression on his face. "I myself know little of the cause, but a fair distance from here is the source. When I was there, it felt like some sort of tremor...and the tremors are getting stronger. I do not know if some kind of creature dwells nearby, or if there's something else dwelling in the sands...but many who walk these sands are corrupt and desperate, if you're planning to see what lies within, be wary and know that you may not be the only one who's taken an interest in this development..." He explained. Yona listened carefully to the NPC's words, for some might hold some kind of truth. "In that case...I should make sure I'm ready for battle before going off to scout the area." Yona noted. The NPC nodded his head in agreement.

Consumed: [T1]Mousse(3 Prosperity), Water Canister(1 charge)

Yona dug into her inventory to add more items to her quick-access inventory, so that if she ever needed them, they'd be right there and she wouldn't take forever trying to pull them out. There, now that this issue was handled, time to finish preparations. She wandered around the settlement she was in, wondering if there was anything going on. If there was a lead to follow, she was likely to find something more than sparsely spread enemies. Of course, she'd heard that there exist areas of the game that balance the enemies to the highest leveled player present, so as long as no one considered following her, she'd be fine.

Just then, something odd happened. "!!! Wh-... What was that just now? A shift in the ground?? It...it was a shift, I felt it...but...why's it so mild? What's even going on in this floor?" Yona asked as she felt the ground give a light shake under her. When she looked around her, the few NPCs going about their business seemed a bit confused, but then they seemed to just ignore it and continue. Maybe one of the more knowledgeable NPCs knew something...

-Moved to battle-ready inventory:

[T1]Mousse(3 Prosperity), Starter Healing Potion(Restores 50 HP) x3, and Water Canister(3/3 Charges Remaining)

Not too long ago, in a secluded location...

"What? Someone released the Black Seal?" A male voice asked. Another male voice, this one being gruff, would speak again. "It seems so." The owner of the gruff voice would scratch his chin before speaking once more. "I'm only the one who found out, it won't be long before they return."

The owner of the first voice would practically drop to his knees in despair. "Gods help us... What will we do now? How will we keep them from bringing death and destruction to Aincrad?" He asked. The male with the gruff voice didn't seem to have the same reaction. "You said that they might be bound to stones, did you not?" He asked. "Should that be the case, only the brave and the foolish would be the ones to bring forth their return. They are all but forgotten, except by few. No one would dare seek them out on purpose..." He reassured.

The first male voice took a deep breath. "...Then reassemble The Order. We need to do something about those Shadows. Those insufferable Adventurers are likely to free them, whether they intend to or not..."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At Present time, Yona would find herself gearing up in the Fifth Floor. She didn't know what she would be doing, aside from picking on a few monsters. And if all went south? She always had a Teleport Crystal to save her ass. With the desert sun shining on the floor, the journey was likely to feel difficult and harsh. Yona would head over to the shade, and access her inventory for some buffs to snack on before setting out.

She was growing tired of all these close calls and coming in second, she was growing tired of her luck waning thin...she'd need to train for the time being. If she didn't have luck yet, she'd earn it today...at least, that was her goal. "Damn, if only these buffs actually tasted better..." She thought, disgruntled that player made food, of all things, would end up lacking taste. What a way to make bitter of the sweet things in life.

Consumed: [T1]Liquid Strength(Potion, 2 DMG), [T1]Creme Brulee(2 ACC), [T1]S'mores(2 EVA), and [T1]Berry Crumb Bar(LD 3) 

Stats and Equipment:

When lacking allies, get buffs, get good. When having allies, get buffs, get good. Basically Yona needed to get herself into a better state in terms of her stats and skills. For now, she'd have to train herself up to do so.

But how she ended up coming across this place was a mystery. She was just wandering the floors, and there was this campsite-shop, sticking out like a sore thumb.

Do you want thieves? Because this is how you get thieves.

After just standing there, confused, Yona tried to consider her options carefully...this was convenient...too convenient.

After taking a look around, however, it indeed was convenient. So naturally, she'd take a look at the sweet stuff, and see what she'd want. These particular foods were enhanced, so getting some of these would definitely be worth it. She pulled out some of the materials she'd found during her travels, and placed them down to exchange them for what she wanted.

With some enhanced sweets, Yona felt more prepared for what she set out to do.

Purchasing:

[24/4/20]Creme Brulee x1(1 Mat)
[23/4/20]S'mores x1(1 Mat)
[23/4/20]Berry Crumb Bar x1(2 Mats)
[05/6/21]Mousse x1(2 Mats)
[22/10/20]Chocolate Truffle x1(2 Mats)

Total cost of 8 Mats paid to @Daemien

The impossible happened earlier. When not in sight, Yona slapped herself over and over, trying to wake up from what seemed to be a nightmare to her. She couldn't possibly have lost this early!

Despite having attempted to set her Plan B into motion, she hated the fact that not only did she lose in the first round...she'd been beaten by a blonde veteran...and the veteran was prettier than her! How in the world, why? Why? Was it the difference in hair color or something? Should Yona dye her hair blonde? No, wait, that'd be a terrible idea involving her not being true to herself.

She needed to get this frustration out and prove that she's no weakling...maybe she should challenge the other losers after all... Yona looked over to a gathering group over at the seating...speak of the devil, there was a loser over there right now!

Last she checked, Astralin lucked out and beat down the blue haired dude that proceeded to show up, and he wasn't even the loser Yona had initially spotted...but, one at a time. She could make use of this opportunity.

She waited patiently for the Blue haired player to finish giving out tea to the players who accepted it, then she would get a bit closer. "Hey, you." Yona began. "Yes, you, with the blue hair. That's right I'm talking to you." Now that she had made sure the right player was listening, time to say a few words... 

"So, I heard you got beat by a blonde, eh? Not every day something like that happens...I bet you wanna still prove yourself, even if it's self assurance that you aren't slipping, or something like that." Yona remarked with a sly smirk. "Sure, I may have lost the first round as well, but who says I'm done fighting?" Yona noted. She then looked the player directly in the eyes.

"Come and accept my challenge, if you dare."

@Calrex

With that, she turned around to leave the group be so they might return to their conversation, and leave the blue haired player to make a decision on whether or not to accept her challenge.

A swing and a miss, someone else got the cookies.

...but maybe he'd be gullible enough to put them on the line for a double or nothing?

The dealer, who happened to be the half-drunk dumbass from earlier was clearly being too cocky. Wasn't the dealer always at disadvantage when it came to Blackjack? He'd put himself in the worst position anyway, so why'd he think he could possibly win? Yona chuckled, as long as she had another shot at snagging all the cookies, she was going for it.

"Hit me." 

...Damn, these cards were worse. The guy who'd won the last round didn't seem too perky, while Astralin...oh no, she was smiling. To Yona, this meant two things.

One, Astralin had a terrible poker face.

Two, Astralin had a good hand.

This couldn't possibly be happening right now. The blonde was about to hit the cookie jackpot. If she doesn't put the cookies up for Yona to swipe for the next round, Yona's chances of getting them sweets would be slim. As her poker face melted into the mood she was feeling right now, she began to frantically try to calculate her chances of getting all the cookies in a future round. All in her head.

Spoiler alert, her odds were not that great.

ID# 203618 LD: 5

Thread Summary:

Word Count: 6014
EXP Value: 1002*Tier

Yona(T1):
1302 EXP(Thread Progression[1002], Quest Clear[300])
2700 Col(Thread Progression[200], Quest Clear[2500])
<<Appraiser>> Profession
Liquid Strength(Potion, 2 DMG)

Hirru(T8)
8016 EXP
200 Col

The half-drunk didn't take Yona's reaction too well, but hey, it was him barging in with semi-wild animals digging into everything that- wait, was the bear offering to split a cherry? She wasn't too sure about it, so she shook her head, politely declining the bear's offer. She also noticed that Hirru had set aside some raw meats to pull the animals' attention away from the players' food. Thank goodness...

Yona was now calm enough to start eating at a more normal pace, but that calm left once she heard one of the players call out betting sweets on a card game, that the winner gets to eat them all.

"Oh shit, I gotta get in on this before I miss out!!" Yona thought.

Yona headed right over to the cards. "Deal me in." Yona decided. The results might not have been favorable as of the moment, but if lots of sweets were on the line...well, she wasn't one to give up easily.

@Gaius @Hirru @Astreya @Koga @Nari-Lanreth

ID# 203453 LD: 9

Things went from bad to worse in seconds.

"You're not bad, for a beginner." Yona's opponent commented. "This ain't my first rodeo, I'm not going down without a fight." came Yona's response.

...Well, Lessa put up a fight, all right. Yona was unprepared for the force of the impact, for it was too strong of an attack to simply block. Having been knocked a few yards(Or meters, if you use the metric system) from the force of the hit against Yona's blade, even though the tip of the opponent's weapon had only lightly tapped Yona's forehead.

What was worse than weakness was dishonor. Yona tapped her forehead with her free hand to confirm the hit to her opponent.

"Whew...You really kept me on my toes, Lessa. I'd almost forgotten what a challenge was." Yona complimented.

She'd lost, which normally meant she was in for it. However...

Yona was so clever and so slick, that she thought up a plan B and she thought it up quick. A smile crept on her face, one that could tell that she was plotting something...

"As much as I hate losing, I know when I'm beat." Yona began. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad it was you who I lost to." She said with an awkward smile as the sweat ceased to appear on her face. "Care to do me a favor, Lessa? You or Astralin, win this tournament, would you?" She asked. "I'm a woman, not some prize to be won, after all."

It was then that Yona got another idea. "Speaking of which, I might as well take an opportunity to sharpen my skill, by asserting dominance on the others who lost..." Yona thought aloud. She then looked back to Lessa. "Good match, Lessa. Maybe one day I'll see you again."

If anything, she might appear to be on par with that veteran, as it was a close match in the end.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

[DOWN]Yona: 2/3

Lessa: 3/3

Everything fell apart all at once.

Yona's strategy had failed her, the attempted attack was deflected and countered, and it was now that Yona had realized that this was no run of the mill player... Yona raised her weapon to block the following strike, and rolled herself to the side before getting up quickly and keeping her training weapon in position to block incoming attacks.

In an environment not effected by stats, the only thing that effected the duel was skill.

This woman had the skill to predict Yona's assault like it was nothing.

"She's a...damn veteran!" Yona thought. "How am I supposed to handle this?"

She was always used to playing the offensive. She struck before an opponent could strike, she'd deflect and avoid before a relentless assault...but this was really new. Maybe it was because she'd been doing PvE combat too long. Players were always faster.

She knew what was at stake, but even if that wasn't the case, losing the first round would be more than a slap to the face. It was weakness to lose in the first round of a tournament. Weakness did not suit her, it would be an ill-fitting description for Tora Amberhide...

Perhaps playing defensively might save her ass.

She kept her wooden blade in position to block, her eyes were focused on her opponent's movements. She advanced slowly, her weapon readied to guard against sudden strikes. Once she got close enough, she made three false swings to try distracting her opponent, then when the chance arrived, she thrust her weapon towards her opponent before leaping back and attempting another guard.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yona: 1/3

Lessa: 2/3 [DANGER!]

Yona never intended to go easy on this woman.

Regardless of however it came up on her life, Yona had become competitive by nature. Life, Gaming, Business, Status...it was always a struggle, a survival of the fittest, no matter who or what was involved. Not everyone worked together, so there were times when one had to behave like an apex. Perhaps one good thing Yona had received from her parents long ago, was her name, her real name.

The name Tora had more than one meaning. Tiger, Conqueror, even Thunder, were all meanings tied to her name. What a strong and powerful name she had.

As the wooden sword managed to land against Yona, she knew what her next course of action was. Of course she never meant to go easy on Lessa...but it was time to live up to her true name and get serious. "Lucky hit..." She jumped back and readied her weapon. "I'll make sure that's the closest you ever get."

She darted around her opponent, hoping to outmaneuver and confound her. Sudden move after sudden move, she soon attempted to strike from behind once she had left her opponent guessing.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yona: 1/3

Lessa: 1/3

Yona had gotten herself into the necessary garment, and had gotten herself a training weapon that was just her size and style. Her first opponent would wave to her, greeting her and introducing herself. "Nice to meet you too, Lessa. I go by Yona." Yona responded. Even though she was fighting to avoid ulterior motives of others and trying to get through this tourney unscathed by means of a winning streak, it didn't mean she couldn't mask her current paranoia with the sweet, smiling face carrying words of pleasantries. Her training weapon was rested upon her shoulder as her main hand held it, whereas her free hand simply contributed to the elegant poise she had, aside from the weapon's presence, of course.

Lessa's smile became somewhat sheepish as she revealed her thoughts on this tourney. Should the blonde's words be true, that was at least one possible threat removed...but Yona had to win as to prevent further threats. "Good to know, I actually came here just for the sparring as well...but that doesn't mean I'll be holding back." Yona remarked.

Lessa lunged towards Yona with her wooden blade. Yona positioned her weapon to block as she braced for impact. The force of the impact was slightly more than Yona anticipated, but she wasn't about to give up just yet. She jumped back, and sidestepped to the right before advancing towards the blonde whilst swinging her wooden weapon.

Tie!

Yona: 0/3

Lessa: 0/3

Yona attacks

Stats and Equipment:

Yona looked around, hoping to find someone to talk to...someone to talk to, who hadn't seen the outburst towards the pink haired saboteur.

About two people, aside from the blonde from earlier, were potential choices. The blonde seemed to be catching up with others, especially a ginger, so she wasn't an option. Another woman who had seen the outburst was talking with the new arrival, so she wasn't an option either, as the other woman might be off-put by the outburst. Seriously, that pink haired player almost ruined everything. Yona just had to ease everyone else by talking to someone uninvolved, and things might start looking up again.

Then the opportunity bumped into her along the way to the dessert table. "Oh, Hirru, hey! Well, it was almost like he'd invited many people across Aincrad, so...why would I miss an opportunity like this?" She said to the familiar green haired player. She looked around her, seeing all these people just having a good time, nothing like what she was used to... "Everyone's just chill and casual around here...good people, fair atmosphere...and of course, all these sweets...I LOVE IT!" She said. "Nothing like how my party life used to be, it's really a great change of pace, and it's been years since I was at a party!" She added. "Sure, there may have been a pink haired saboteur messing with the sweets earlier, but that's fixed up so there's no problem now!"

Just after Yona said that, a seemingly drunken dumbass barged in, with a bear and a fox in tow. No. this was not happening. Yona groaned.

"...You have got to be KIDDING ME!!" She said as she was tempted to throw hands.

Yet another disaster had begun to befall the refreshments as the bear started on a platter of deviled eggs...and Yona was short on damage control options...or animal control options, for that matter.

Only one course of action left, take before what's to take gets taken.

Thus did Yona proceed to start stuffing her face with cookies. One hell of a way to stress eat, if you ask me.

@Hirru @Gaius

Yona made her way to the 24th floor, where the tournament she'd heard of and signed up for was going to be held.

Figures that she'd end up finding that the location was an island in the middle of the floor's damn sea. At least there was someone on a boat. "Hello there, are you coming for the tournament?" The person asked. "Yep." Yona answered. "May I ask whether you two are participating or spectating?" The person continued. "Participating. I'm a contender in this tourney." Yona answered. Then her eyes widened slightly as the confusion struck her. "Wait, what do you mean, 'you two'-?" 

Yona would be tapped on the shoulder, and she would turn around to see Astralin. "Oh hey, Astralin! you doing well? I didn't know you were coming too!" She greeted. "And I didn't know you'd be fighting as well!" Astralin responded. Both players would get onto the boat, and the person would begin to transport the two players over to the isle.

Yona looked over to where the tourney was going to take place. It was mentioned to be a sort of...dojo, was it? Whatever the case, Yona took out and looked at her current weapon, a wakizashi. Astralin's weapon skill was Martial Arts. Yona put away her weapon and would speak again. "It's kind of funny, really, 'cause...you know,regarding our skills, the setting of the tournament, it's actually quite fitting, a real coincidence, to be honest. I mean, with me having studied the art of wielding curved blades, and with you being a Martial Artist-"

"Magic User." Astralin interrupted.

"...Whatever, but the point is, our weapon skill choices kinda fit in the setting. Only thing that doesn't match is our apparel." Yona finished.

It wasn't long before the boat reached the isle. "Baldur-shisho extends his warmest welcome to you, and hope you enjoy the days' events. If you are competing, please head to the dojo and get your equipment from him, otherwise, please help yourself to food and drink while the tournament is made ready. The dojo is in the middle of one of the islands ponds, so please be seated on the outside walkway, but not inside the walls of the dojo. All the shoji panels have been opened up to let light in and the spectacle out." The person who paddled the boat explained. The two players would climb out of the boat and onto the isle. "Thanks for taking us here!" Astralin thanked. "I'll be sure to do my best in the tournament!" The boat paddler nodded. "You're very welcome. ...Ah, I shouldn't pry, though I was curious as to whom you young ladies would have chosen to have been your date if you won. Farewell, and good luck to you!" He said before making his way back.

Yona had a concerned expression on her face. "Date? What's this about a date?" Yona asked. Maybe that flyer she ended up taking right before making her way here had some answers... She pulled out the flyer, and this time she read all the details, including.... "Oh..." Yona realized. "Oh, fuck..."

It was conquer or be conquered.

This was no game... This, was war!

Stats and Equipment:

Yona noticed an odd flyer as she was going about her business. She started reading it, and noticed it was a tournament for all levels of skill.

Forgetting to read the rest, she signed up. It was time to prove herself. "Heh, now I'll get a chance to put myself in a higher position than 'low level girl'. Look out Aincrad, you're getting a Champion..."

But would that really be the case? It was too late to turn back now, so only time will tell...

Well, there wasn't much else to do around here, and Yona was sure that the area directly outside the safe zone wouldn't have anything too dangerous right away...so she decided to just wait out there, the others might be returning soon. She might not have done any investigation, but what she did know, was that hardly anyone else seemed to notice anything off. Maybe that was something worth telling the others. She was an appraiser now, too, and she had an idea as to what she should pursue next.

Fishing sounded like a good choice, but she should get settled with what she had first. If she went too fast, she might crash and burn, and she wasn't gonna risk that just yet. 

Outside, she looked around her, trying to see if anyone else was currently heading back from a hunt or something. She didn't see anyone coming back just yet, but she did see someone by the river...that same dude.

...and he was probably on his way to becoming vulnerable from cold, judging by that sneeze that just happened.

"Good Lord, you're still fishing? Are you grinding or something?" She called out to Hirru. "Ugh, you're gonna catch something if you let yourself get too cold like that!" She added as she opened up her menu, and began scrolling through her inventory, looking for something that might help in this situation.

@Hirru

Name: Liquid Strength
Your Profession: Appraiser(quest)
Your Rank: 1
Roll ID: 202912
Roll Result: LD 20
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Damage(2)
Description: A mysterious compound sealed within a crimson bottle. Should someone consume its contents, they may find themselves with a temporary increase in their strength.
Post Link: https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21155-pp-f1-moving-up-in-the-business-world/?do=findComment&comment=646277