Salem

A sequence of softly-heralded alerts tumbled through his interface as Nymoria signed their titles to him. For a brief moment, he felt overwhelmed, or perhaps it was the pangs of exasperation. Are we meant to do all of these at once?, he grumbled as each menu was expanded to skim the details. Looks like you can do them as you wish., the female player had speculated, Maybe...together? Salem looked up from the text to regard her as she had finished posing the question. Unless you do not want to do it with me. I would understand. You must have other friends here to find., she quickly deferred

Salem felt a similar excitement as the two of them swiftly translated swathes of symbols into recognizable letters. He appreciated the strategy of it all. There was an infectious nature to the challenge, an unexpected deviation from the usual adrenaline of combat. At the very least, battles that were waged from the other side of a computer screen. Tilting his head, he followed her examinations of the text. Line by line, it was beginning to sound like... "I swear to god, if this translates into a riddle --", he remarked to her with a sarcastic smile. Casting his speculation aside, he

Nymoria immediately became immersed in the challenge of it all, her hands tracing an invisible line in the air as her mind began to unravel the code. Rather than lurking over her shoulder, Salem instead took a moment to examine their picturesque surroundings. The grotto's ceiling was dappled with columns of stalactites that occasionally dripped into the deep cerulean spring below. Countless ripples of refracted light undulated across the limestone walls while others still spilled and twisted across his body like some sort of lovecraftian horror. Maybe I was wrong about this world., he marveled

To: Nymoria From: Salem There's probably a lot that I don't have experience with. I woke up two days ago. He took pause to consider if there was more to add to that statement. A change in their path prompted him to send it as is. Only a matter of seconds lapsed before the two of them meandered around and into a flooded basin. At the cavern's center rested a singular elder tree. Even from afar, one could appreciate how the cascade of roots had tirelessly snaked around a pile of boulders to prop itself beneath a beam of light. If that's not the most videogame-looking waypoin

Nymoria seemed uncertain in how to respond. After a look of consideration, she signed, Not a lot of information, sadly. Could have been given everything about the quest, for the right price. Beyond my price range though... Like a micro-transaction then? Seems odd to stunt progress so early on with a paywall, especially if we're not exchanging real currency... "Who do you pay?", he asked while she was still facing him. It seemed an important subject to be informed on, especially if the majority of quests were unlocked that way. The pair continued searching the forest floor for any sig

He had caught a glimpse of something fleeting, a resistance to his touch, a factor left uncalculated. Whatever hint of fear that he identified was quickly circumvented by a wave of...laughter? For what felt like far too long, Salem stood there, engrossed in embarrassment as the woman keeled over and nearly hacked out a lung at his expense. Probably the better alternative, he reassured himself through a veil of crimson, At least she hasn't run away or attacked me. He did his best to crack a candid smile as she regained her composure and began to sign. You did get your point across, but...s

Salem could feel his muscles constrict as the woman moved toward him with a deadpanned stare. As moments passed, he quickly understood why the reflex was misplaced. She's reading my lips. Under any normal circumstance, the limitation would be easy to identify. His condition in the real world had made him more receptive to that. But in SAO? Isn't the game...supposed to fix that? A frustrated flurry of signs implied his question had lacked the appropriate etiquette. Yes. Can understand you. A bit. If looking at face. Hard to hear. Impossible sometimes., she responded with flushed features.

An icy glance shot her way as Salem flinched in turn. It wasn't like him to startle easily, but in some ways, this world had put him more at a disadvantage than the waking one. Another player., he quickly determined. Tension gradually bled from his features as he inspected her appearance. Small. School-girlish, docile., were his initial instincts. Her hand lifted to offer a candid greeting before cycling through a series of gestures. You. Here. Alone?, came the projection of a feminine voice. Its cadence, although soft, sounded off, like a computer's rigid recreation of human speech.

Scents of The Wild: Keepers of Nature Sticks snapped beneath the soles of the solitary player as he made his way to a nearby forest. Still new to the circumstances of this simulated world, Salem found himself in search of substance, perhaps more importantly, something to do. If this game was like any other he'd played, he'd have the opportunity to beef up his stats in a matter of days. Advised against combat, he instead sought to hone his skills through other means. Best not to leave the first floor until I've completed some quests., Salem cautioned before adding, Seems restri

Salem stared at the notification, blinking a few times before giving a slight bow to Elora. I have no idea how much this 'col' will get me, but "Thank you.", he said anyway, "If this is enough to move out of the inn, I appreciate your generosity." Though, he continued to speculate, I'm not sure she can afford to hand out this much currency to every player she encounters. "Let's get this quest finished.", he ushered them to return to the NPC's establishment. Zackariah greeted them cordially, his attitude still optimistic in the odd hours of evening. After being prompted to cast all the mat

Salem's hand reached to remove a bulbous purple flower from the corner of the cottage's foundation. Momentary pause soon gave way to a triumphant alert. ALL ITEMS GATHERED! The translucent notification quickly faded, its fleeting congratulations immediately curtailed by a reminder to return to the quest-giver. "That was remarkably tedious for an introductory quest.", he commented dryly as a hand waved to dismiss the menu. "Yeah -- but they say it's necessary, I guess -- I don't know. Just one of those things you gotta slog through to get to the meat of this game."

Salem carefully knelt down to pluck one of the many plants from the interactable flowerbed. Unlike many of his previous attempts, this item promptly left the patch of soil and entered the pockets of his digital inventory. Seems like we just needed to find the correct materials. That, or the system is being a prick and railroading me into "earning" my reward. "What's that? Number four?" "Yeah, only one more to go.", Elora reassured, "It blows that this has to drag on for so long. At least now you know why I insisted to help." "You can't even help." "Well -- obviously, but it's be

Salem observed as the overeager elf stooped down to assume a ready stance. "GO!", she commanded as her heels sprung from the dirt. Dust billowed around them in patchy plumes as slender legs carried her forward with surprising agility. He swiftly followed suit, knees hinging with a certain stiffness he hadn't recognized before. Each impact sent a dull shockwave from the base of his foot up to the root of his spine. This is more unfamiliar than I expected, he assessed rather robotically, I can feel my muscles contracting, the warmth of blood coursing through my legs. He caught a

"Seems like the day and night cycle is fairly short here", Salem found himself remarking absently. Within only a few hours, it seemed the oversized emission sphere had slumped just above the world's horizon line. "Oh, yeah, I've noticed that too. Most of the time I start a quest and don't have it finished until well after dark.", after a brief pause, Elora added, "Granted, I tend to wake up after noon." "Suppose it makes things a little more interesting.", he commented with a shrug. Not a very accurate reading if that's the only way people keep track of time. "Where are you leading

"So, you said we needed to beat one hundred floors.", he recounted aloud, "How far have we gotten?" "Twenty six -- NO, twenty seven!", she declared with a snap, "Floor twenty eight is up next. That's the raid I'm gonna be helping with." "Barely a quarter...", he let slip beneath his breath. "It's slow work.", admitted Elora, "And knowing that makes it all the more discouraging. Why even try when it's already been so long? It's so much easier just to step away and accept things for what they are." Salem's teeth ground together as he began to mull over his perspective. On one