[OP-F1]Cooler Than Me (Complete)

[VolvoWing 0]

 

Jason looked around the area. Benches. Kids with balloons. Shops. NPC’s selling food samples. A level one noob named VolvoWing with no friends…… Jason whipped out his sword and sliced at a pole in the street, as the sign saying Immortal object. Jason normally made 2D games using old software like LibGDX and Eclipse, with the Java language. It was rather simple to make that pop up in 2D games, 3D games a bit harder, and a VRMMO??? Jason couldn’t stop thinking about how awesome the make of SAO was. He was a much smarter person than Albert Einstein, most people say. But that is not true.

 

In the amount of time it took Argus to develop SAO, there was no way Kiyawa deserves all that credit. For it to be created that fast there would have to be expert script writers, graphic designers, and programmers with good aptitude at learning new languages, even the one Kiyawa created. But then that got Jason wondering… Did all of the workers at Argus know of Kiyawa’s ingenious plot??? But then Jason thought… Kiyawa was just giving people what they wanted…. I wanted this. I wanted to get away from reality… A new reality…… A new one like all the fiction books you read. Like all the cosplayers, children, readers… Like everyone wanted. And now that I was given it…. Somehow, fear… it dug it’s way into my heart…. I could be living the dream I have desired my whole life….. And now there’s just a deep hole. A pitrap. A plot twist in my story.  And I need to resolve this twist before it’s too late, like every main character in a story must do…. I… I need to move up.

Jason realized he was staring into blank space, and came back to the real world. Well, whatever this place was lol. Jason began to wonder what the heck was going on with his body in the real world. But then Jason thought, That’s not my body right now. I’m sure it’s fine. Jason was gonna adventure out of the gate in  three days, and honestly he was so excited now. That bit of fear that had dug it’s way into his heart, is now gone. Jason felt like a newborn about to be born into the world.

Edited February 16, 2016 by VolvoWing

[Phillia 0]

Phillia couldn't help but notice the sad looking boy trying to slice at a pole. He reminded her of someone she knew, always drifting in the abyss of tears. She goes up to him and puts her hand on his shoulder, "You look lost, are you thinking about the real world, or some dead friends?" Her voice doesn't have much sincerity in it at all, but the fact that she got up to talk to him might suggest that she is being a bit... Kind?

[Seul 1]

Naturally, any online game is bound to have its fair share of weirdos. SAO was no different in that regard. In the midst of the starting city was a player who seemed to be going a tad off the deep end as he lashed out at a random pole with his blade. Every player by now knew fighting in towns is prevented by the system, so to draw a blade on anything, much less a pole, was pointless. Seul failed to understand the reasoning behind the kid's actions and to be honest he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know. In cases like these it was usually much easier (and less painful) to just stay clear of the crazy ones. But something compelled the black-haired player to approach and it would seem a female player felt the same way. In a lazy tone, he offered some advice. "Um... Maybe you should calm down- Just a little? You might scare someone." 

[VolvoWing 0]

At the touch of his shoulders, Jason flipped around with his blade already put away, and sees a girl around his age asking him what he was thinking about. Real World??? Maybe, and that’s a song by an old band called the All-American Rejects. Dead Friends??? Well I haven’t had any friends in this game.  Jason turned, and for one of the first few times in this game, talked to a real person. “Newp. Neither.” Jason smiled. It felt good talking to a real person. “Was testing the pole, to see what happened when you attacked it. Never tried anything like that.”

Jason heard another player walk up. What do I care if I scare someone??? “Eh, I doubt they’ll lose sleep over the fear of me, a level one player smacking a blade at a pole. It actually is good blade technique practice it seems. I’ve never been out in the field, and haven’t really swung that blade yet. And since I’ve planned to go into the field next week, I decided I would also get some practice with my blade. But if that scares someone, if they are that scared of a psychotic level one player, well then….. They have problems.” Jason realized he hadn’t introduced himself yet. “My name’s Jas-J-VolvoWing(Volv-O-Wing). What’s yours???” Man, Jason thought that felt so good, finally talking to people.

[Beoreson 0]

Beoreson of Knights of the Blood Oath, decided to come to the 1st floor. He warped down from floor 5 and began to walk around. The black plate covered warrior spots a group of players and walks over to see what is going on. He over hears that the player that seemed to be the center of attention was named VolvoWing. The darkly clad warrior removes his face wrap and walks over to the group of players.

“Hello, I am Beoreson of KOB. I find that psychotic level one players are amusing to watch level up and become PKing monsters.” States the warrior with clear sarcasm in his voice. It might be worth to note that he said the acronym in the NATO phonetic alphabet and carries himself like a soldier. He offers a smile and his hand in greeting to the player.

[Phillia 0]

The boy was very talkative and asked her for her name, 'How weird' she thought. Not many people have asked her name, so she replied "My name is Phillia, and do you need some help with leveling up? Of course, I'll charge you because that service isn't free." The tone of her voice would suggest that the money part was just sarcasm, she only wanted someone who could do her some favors when she needed them, mostly just material hunting service and Col lending. "You need some better gear, I know a shop nearby that might have something for you." She told him honestly.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal was walking along the first floor. His friend Aramail had recently came into some new item, and wanted Lowe to check them out. She had a few new items, mostly just teleportation crystals and the like. He of course sighed, with no idea why he thought she had anything of value. She had been off the grid for the longest time now, and rarely messaged him. She most likely just wanted someone to talk to.

He rubbed the back of his head as he walked. There was, a surprising of level ones still roaming about. Were they cowardly, or just lazy? The thought would always plague him. He noticed one player with a guild tag, and another one with the same guild tag. Jesus Christ, did guild recruiters have nothing better to do, seriously?

Lowenthal couldn't help himself but interject. "Please. Like these guys would be any good, to any guild." Lowenthal chuckled, as he stepped to the slowly expanding group. "I mean seriously. This kid just attacked an inanimate object, and compared it to 'combat'." Lowenthal mocked. "Like anything that fights back holds still." He said, almost with a sneer before turning to the low leveled player. "Here's some advice kid. Die quick. It'll make sure you don't get in the way later on."

Lowenthal turned towards the girl, and stared her down. He couldn't read her per-say, but he always had a good eye for these sort of things. "Smart move. Charging a level one player, who has no money. What was your plan for when he isn't able to pay up? Kill him? force him into your servitude? I'm curious to what your plan was, actually." Lowenthal said,trying to get more info out of the girl. She couldn't be more than, what, 15? 16 maybe?

[Phillia 0]

She looks at Lowenthal with a bit of hostility in her eyes, "And what are you trying to do, lure us all outside the safezone and have your guildies rob us? You can't trust high leveled players, especially on floor one." She turns back to VolvoWing as if nothing happened, but she was paying attention to Lowenthal's words to see if he says something else. 'Damnit, I can't get out of town for a while, going to need my material broker.' Phillia speculated several possibilities and saw each one of them had a high probability of happening.

[Galilea 0]

"Lowenthal, I remember you used to be a lot nicer that," explained the pinkette as she joined the rest of the group. "And you shouldn't belittle others like that either, makes you look extremely petty despite your level."  Looking over the others, her gaze shifted between them all before she gave a slight bow. "My apologies. My manners seemed to have escaped me. I am Lancelot. Pleasure to meet you all." Raising up, the girl gave Lowenthal a disappointed look before turning to the other lass among them. "Don't mind him. He can be quite the gentleman when he wants to."

[Zelrius 0]

(Y'alls having too much fun without High levels =p)

As Zelrius sheathed both his swords, the sound of Metal against the sheaths on each side and the clicking as they locked into place echoed throughout the Dungeon. That was it, The Field boss of this Dungeon was cleared, with little to no effort. The golden haired boy let out a sigh and turned to Tristan with a small grin. "Good work, Invincible Warrior. That concludes our Exploration of the Lower Floors for the day. I am going to head back to Town and catch a drink, maybe socialize a bit. I am sure Flints is probably waiting for you back at the Guild Hall. If not, I am positive she'd be happy if you were there waiting for her." He gave a small laugh and waved his Long-time friend farewell for now. and began to slowly meander out of the Dungeon and back into the Sunlight and Grass of the First Floor. That Dungeon had proved relatively easy, just as he had suspected it would. Of course, The Golden haired boy made short work of Floor bosses. Couple that with the fact that Tristan had accompanied him, and it was basically just a nice little stroll through a dark cavern. Except, the area they occupied was always lit up due to their various gear pieces.

Speaking of gear, Zelrius had this habit of running down all his gear whenever he was done using it for the day. Not in fear that it would be gone or damaged or anything (Since Uniques didn't break under Durability) but just as a way of reassuring himself he still had some of the best gear around. He jingled his two Pendants, the one that marked his rank in the Azure Brigade: Commandant. The other, a birthday gift from Kitty. A small, light blue, Rose shaped necklace with the words 'Azure Brigade' etched onto it. He gave a flap of his black cloak with the golden fur lining. The golden symbol of fire on the back of it waving gently as the Cloak lightly swooshed from the force.

With a quick wipe down of his Tuxedo, a tightening of his bowtie and a relacing his shoes, Zelrius began to wander through the endless grass fields toward the giant city that loomed over the First floor. Yes, The town of Beginnings. Ironic the game, given this City outsized all the other Cities found thus far by atleast twice their sizes. It wasn't long while walking that re-entered through their gates. It was strange; Despite his being nearly level 50 now, Zelrius found himself in this city more often that he imagined he would be back when he left it. Of course, being a Vet of RPGs, he knew full well that you often visited areas you had been to before, just this game didn't seem like that was necessary. And to be honest; It wasn't. He didn't have to be back on this floor. It was just this is where he found most of his entertainment in between boss fights.

With that being said, Zelrius found himself in the midsts of a small group of people that seemingly got Larger, with a very Familiar, tall, orange haired man sticking out like a sore thumb from the rest. After listening for a bit Zelrius stepped in with a Smirk. "Hey, Lowe. The other guildies got tired of waiting and went home for the day. Said it wasn't worth the trouble of mugging these kids."

[Macradon 0]

Macradon came walking for groceries around on the floor so he could enjoy his days off, he had nearly just exited his shop and locked it up as he walked by a group of people. He would stop up and eavesdrop lightly, noticing two people he did recognize, Seul and Beoreson, his guildmates. He wasn't sure to approach yet as it would be weird to be ganked up as 3 guild members standing like this, so he would stay somewhat hidden, but it he would be spotted quickly if anyone tried to look for him. He would notice their talk, and another person's entrance. He wasn't too sure of what they were talking about from this distance, but he tried to get some words out of what he heard. Suddenly the girl said something that somewhat offended Macradon "You can't trust high leveled players, especially on floor one". "Hey!" he said out loud "That was a good way of blowing my cover" he thought. At least he could approach without much hassle, that was until even more people came into sight. This group of people was getting too big, Macradon wasn't feeling that comfortable with this amount of people at these level differences on floor one, all gathered up like this. He would try to ignore it and get closer, looking around at everyone. He would wave quietly at Seul and Beoreson.

[Amira 0]

Manta frowned, watching all of this from a rooftop a ways away. She had been staring from the  beginning, in awe of the person's apparent noobity. She would have understood his actions if the game had just started, and he was trying to figure out how to use sword arts. They were over a year into the game though, and she didn't think that that was an excuse to be attacking a pole. She couldn't remember exactly how long they had been stuck in the game, but it had certainly been long enough for most people to figure the system out, and maybe even get a few levels under their belt. So she had no choice but to label him as a weirdo with a grudge against a pole. As she watched a group was starting to form, including Lowe. She sighed, wondering why she felt the need to protect low level crazy people. Was she really a protector of the low levels though? It was a self given title, and no one ever seemed to acknowledge her for it. Maybe she could just go and listen in; Maybe step in if stuff started to go down. After all, there was a knockback effect on weapons, and if someone got annoying enough people could start knocking them to the gate and out of the safe zone to player kill them. She had never seen it happen before, but she was certain that it was possible. She hopped down from the roof and started to walk towards the group, her hand resting on the pommel of her rapier. And then she saw Zelrius approaching. Again? This always happened. She would be minding her own business, and then she would randomly run into him. It was almost like fate was tying the two of them together, or maybe fate just liked putting her in awkward situations. She would get out of this somehow though. She continued walking, altering her course slightly so that instead of heading towards the group she was heading past them. Hopefully she wouldn't be noticed by him.

[VolvoWing 0]

Oh god….. What the freak have I started???? How the hell am I gonna become a frontliner with everyone seeing these type of incidents…. Why did I hit that pole???? How loud was the blade hitting it???? Jason realized he had spaced out again, and turned back to the group. What to say….. Jason rubbed his back after a good minute of no one speaking, and simply said, to get away from the group: “Well I’m hungry and I need to go find something to eat. Bye!” And Jason began to walk away from the group, wondering if that excuse was good enough to get away with, (most likely not) or even if they would follow him. That was truly weird how that all ended up happening all at once. Now I’d be fine with one or two players following me…… But not that whole group…….

Jason thought about what the others had been talking about. The main person who had bothered him was the tall orange haired man. Die Quick. God that guy is a dick. You know what??? I’m not gonna wait another week anymore. I’m venturing into the wild tomorrow. I don’t care what people like this orange haired man say. And variants of plant monsters hold particularly still while fighting back with vines and such…. Jason turned to make sure there was no one following.

 

(Had no idea what else to say.)

[Macradon 0]

It looked like the center of attention at the moment didn't like all this attention. Macradon would look as he fled with a bad excuse, it was obvious that he just wanted to get away from the big mass of people he just attracted. Macradon wouldn't really care and shrug it off. The girl that really offended him still stood there before him. "You said something about high leveled players cannot be trusted on these floors. I'm offended" he said to the girl with the remark. "All I do is making a living and buy groceries, why does that make me untrustworthy?" he would ask the girl. "These other guys here may also have some errands to do" he continued. After his short rant he would look over to Seul and Beoreson, giving them a short nod as he really wasn't feeling too comfortable here like this. He still needed his groceries and he was beginning to feel his hunger. He would look at the girl and await her response to what Macradon said to her.

[Amira 0]

It appeared that someone had insulted the higher levels, or at least that was what Manta had gleaned from what she heard Macradon say as she attempted to sneak by. Her curiosity was piqued, and she decided that she would deal with Zelrius if she had to. She wasn't just going to let someone bad mouth the high levels without a very good reason. They were the ones working to clear the game, unlike a lot of the lower levels who were just sitting around swinging at lamp poles. She stopped and turned to face the girl who Macradon was talking to. She wasn't going to pass any split second judgments on anyone, regardless of how she felt about the situation. That girl had better have a great reason to mistrust the higher levels. She wasn't going to do anything if she didn't, but it would still get on her nerves and probably ruin the rest of her day. She'd probably have to go and take out her annoyance on a couple of field bosses.

[Icarus 0]

The distrust among players was palpable.  It was like biting into a piece of rotten fruit; the taste was sour and made one retch when trying to swallow but for one reason or another, neither side wanted to spit it out.  From an outsider's perspective, both of their arguments were flawed; high levels did not equate distrust, just as being a low level did not directly correlate with not contributing.

The player known as Icarus was far from being considered a frontliner, that much was obvious, but he did have a heavy hand in setting up settlement and order for those less fortunate players who were stuck in the Town of Beginnings.  He was responsible for delivering milk and bread to the orphans every morning, helping unload the carts of delivered groceries in the afternoon, and checking around the streets as a local patrol at sundown--among many other tasks.  Icarus helped those who could not help themselves and yet, because he had never laid a finger to a monster beyond the city, some would say that he wasn't doing his part to free them from the virtual shackles that kept them here.

While he did not share or agree with that particular sentiment, he understood.

Icarus quietly approached the man armored in white and red (Macradon) and came to stand in front of him.  Clover green eyes looked over the man, who looked to be roughly a foot shorter than him, before offering him a calm smile.  His imposing size made a better door than a window and did well to block the girl from seeing the man, and vice versa.

"There's no need to be offended, sir," he started.  "I wouldn't pay much mind to the words of a child.  It's clear she's inexperienced with the workings of this world and as you've put it, you're just a man who works hard to make a living.  If I were such a man, I wouldn't be bothered by such trivial things as words from the mouths of babes.  I would be content with knowing who I am."

[Macradon 0]

A much taller man, more or less a mountain compared to Macradon went in a cut between him and the girl. Macradon's red eyes would stare up at the big hulking man. Macradon was in no need of feeling intimidated or threatened, he just wanted to finish his grocery shopping, but needed the girl's answers. "I know I'm not supposed to feel offended, but I am" he said to the man blocking his sight. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to hear her answer" Macradon said and would walk around the man, not really bothering. People weren't his strong side when trying to be nice when he was determined, he got that from the countless of bosses he had been against and it was taking a toll on his social behavior. The big door of a man didn't really bother Macradon and would just spare him of any talk he would dish out. He would sigh and look at the girl, awaiting her response to his response to her remark.

[Phillia 0]

"It's none of your damn business!" She shouted. 'For high levels, these guys sure are arrogant, I better get out of town soon otherwise I'd have some thugs on my tail, or maybe I should lose them in an alleyway.' Phillia looked to her left and began running towards a dark alleyway, as soon as she sees three paths she goes to the right and hides behind a very handy wooden crate. 'He won't find me behind here, well, at least I hope.'

Stealth Rating: 13 [ 10 (Base) + 1 (Object) + 2 (Darkness)

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would sigh when the girl fled, why do all low levels flee when they're confronting something that isn't a mob they could kill. He would shrug it off and close his eyes for a few seconds and open them back up. He would take a deep breathe and ignore what had just been happening. "Low leveled players sure are different from what I remember" he muttered for himself as he would continue his grocery shopping. He would wave goodbye to Seul and Beoreson as he left to get his groceries. "I'm off then" he said quietly and would leave the crowded area. "Now let's see..." he thought as he would bring out a list with the groceries he needed to buy. Carrots, rice, chicken, beans and broccoli, it should be easy enough to find somewhere.

[Amira 0]

Manta scowled as the new person arrived and started to spout words of advice to Mac, a prominent blacksmith who she had heard a lot of good things about. This was getting on her nerves, as anyone could tell. She had sacrificed a ton for the good of everyone stuck here, and she was pretty sure that most of the other front liners had too. The high levels she had met had all strived to do their best for everyone in the game as well. Except Zel, but she couldn't very well pass judgment on him. That wasn't because she didn't think that he had sacrificed for the good of all, he just seemed arrogant and she knew next to nothing, scratch that, nothing about his past. That included his in game past as well. This whole thing was messed up and demotivating. As the person who Macradon was questioning answered with shouting, Manta was already formulating a response. "There's a difference between arrogance and being strong. The difference is that arrogance is a term describing someone who brags and cant back it up. Ignorance is not understanding the difference." She replied, just as the young woman started to run off. She turned to Mac, glad to see that he hadn't run after the girl, before proceeding to attempt to sneak by Zelrius again.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Manta Gaul