Salem

All he could do was offer another nod of affirmation. There was no reason for her to thank him, but she extended gratitude in spite of that. If she acts this indebted to everyone, she's gonna be taken advantage of., he found himself assuming. Maybe that's unfair., came the immediate reflection. It seemed nonsensical to praise her capabilities one moment only to ridicule them the next. He just couldn't shake the feeling that she was someone who needed protection. She seemed...too bright for the world, too uplifting with the gravity of their current circumstances. The instinct was unfounded and

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

"My sister and I were fairly close. She was definitely the responsible one. Had a way of sticking to schedules and doing what we were told." He shot Elora a knowing smirk. "Sounds like your brother was the same way." She returned the smile with a brief nod, "Yeah, but we were nothing alike. Aside from what we got up to -- that's what comes from overbearing parents." Elora's face lit up for a moment as she seemed to recall a fond memory. Within a few moments, her features sagged back into a sorrowful expression. " 'Cept he always managed to get away with it.", she muttered beneath her brea

Clasping an especially red-looking rock, he raised it close to his face to inspect its features. "When you come close to death, it becomes all you think about. At least, for a little while.", he continued, "Sometimes it moves to the back of your mind. Most of the time, you're left to think about the 'what if's'." Turning over the stone revealed a spiderweb of scarlet veins. They coursed across its surface, eventually scattering in dozens of directions. "I wondered about my parents, my friends...all of the experiences I'd never have." From the corner of his eye, he could see Elora fold he

"How long has it been?", he spoke up after a long stretch of silence. His throat felt horse, his voice more shaky than before. "No one knows for sure...", Elora admitted, "Some say it's been two or three years now." Years..., the realization slowly began to settle, All of that time I spent loading in... "Is that why you seemed so surprised earlier?", asked Salem, his eyes turning to regard her, "Have I been asleep this whole time?" Her mouth opened to answer him, then suddenly closed, its reply replaced by a hesitant nod. "Damn...", he wavered as a hand lifted to cusp his f

"Yeah, plenty.", he replied as his hand plucked a reed from beside the stream. It's tapered stock gently transitioned from rutabaga-purple to a verdant green. A complimentary chime indicated that this material satisfied the quest's requirement. "There was stuff on basic lore, mechanics, and I chose which package I wanted to start with." Elora seemed dissatisfied with the answer. In a nervous gesture, she cleared her throat and began to inch towards him. "That's -- yeah, makes sense. Nothing -- anything about -- umm -- dying, though?" Salem could feel constriction in his chest, an ins

Wait... "If you can't actually help me with the quest, then why did you bother coming along?", he inquired through narrowed eyes. With a nonchalant shrug, Elora replied, "It's not fun to do these things on your own, besides, someone's gotta keep an eye out for you so you don't get killed by a stray boar." "As selfless as that sounds, I'm sure I can handle killing a low-level mob. It's not like this game would put anything stronger outside of where I just started." To Salem, the logic was sound. He'd never played a game where he and the other players were immediately thrust into anyth

Regarding Elora as she teetered down the hill, Salem took note of the way her boots seemed to sink into the unusually spongey soil below. With care, he descended the hill at a diagonal so as to soften the precarious decline. He had nearly reached the bottom before an especially precarious patch of topsoil slid out right from under his boot. The displacement of one leg dominoed onto the other until he found his back smacked against the side of the slope. Slippery mud quickly sent him toppling toward the basin, where he soon floundered to a hault. Releasing a groan of pain, he hissed sarcastical

Salem appreciated the silence. This was the first time he'd had a moment's peace since encountering the blasted woman. Hiking in this sort of environment could best be described as 'pleasant'. All around them, dragonflies danced in the temperate air. Salem swore he had spotted one phasing through a stray flower on more than one occasion. An undulating emerald sea expanded as far as the eye could see. Gradually, he'd begun to detect the sensation of fine water droplets drifting into his arm. It wasn't long before a barely-audible static grew into a substantial rumble. As the two of them cl

"So, are you good at landing on your feet?" What should have been an innocent inquiry felt like it had carved a fissure through his chest. Images of shrapnel coated in scarlet suddenly overshadowed the serendipity he had felt. Turning away from her, he did his best to stifle his nerves. "Nah", he managed to admit with an uneasy laugh, "I got pretty fucked up." Massaging the sides of both his thighs with anxious hands, he decided to elaborate, "I couldn't feel my legs until today, at least, not for a few years." Not since the accident. "It feels good to move again.", he concluded before br

Salem took note of her fiery reaction, not to mention the accent that came along with it. Is that...Scottish? Irish maybe? It subsided almost as quickly as it had begun to garnish her words. I guess she's quick to anger, but also quick to console. Interesting. The outburst was followed by an attempt at small talk. Desperation to fill dead air was bothersome, especially when it replaced a far more engaging topic. "Claws.", he responded bluntly as his hand reached up to -- Actually. He seized the opportunity to summon each apparatus, leather gloves reinforced with a concealed ribbing.