[SP-F1] Jus' Kickin' It

[Ronin 0]

Ronin leaned back, bonking his head on one of his shelves.  "Argh, Damnit!" he cursed, rubbing his noggin and slowly rising to a stand.  He had been seated on a little chair in the back of his little crap shoot of a shop.  The customers had stopped coming in, finally and he was able to just kick back and rest for a moment.  He was a blacksmith, yeah, but he wasn't programmed like an NPC and couldn't just sit there swinging his damn mallet all day long, crafting beautiful wares one after the next and enhancing them all with wonderful extra boosts and abilities.  He needed to rest every once in a while and just... chill.

[Ronin 0]

With his head still kinda' hurting from the bump, he stretched out his limbs and decided to head outside for a little fresh air.  This of course meant he was going to go spark up a cigarette, but hell, at least he hadn't resorted to smoking inside his shop, yet.  So far, he was doing quite alright in this virtual world.  He had only been in here a couple of days and already he had managed to get a job and make a little money, while also progressing his character's other skills and learning the ropes of how things worked here.  Hell, he was doing better here than in the real world...

[Ronin 0]

Speaking of which, he thought of the real world.  He wondered about his dog, his wife, the things he had left behind.  He wondered if they were all alright, if they were getting along fine without him?  He wondered if the world had stopped with all these people trapped inside this death game, or if it was still going on just fine, without them.  He wondered if anyone had even noticed this mass of players that were sucked into the virtual realm and robbed of their lives back in the real world.  He wondered how long it would take before everyone just forgot about them altogether.  [censored], this was heavy....

[Ronin 0]

Deciding a little exploration was in order, he began wandering through the streets of the town, looking this way and that and trying his best to take it all in.  He hadn't gotten the chance yet, to really associate himself with everything here and was still pretty lost when exploring.  Hell, if he wandered too far, he probably wouldn't even remember how to make it back to his little shop.  Shrugging, he continued on, knowing exploration meant adventure and adventure meant traveling into the unknown and making the most of it.

[Ronin 0]

Continuing his aimless wandering through the streets, Ronin kept his eyes peeled for anything valuable that might've been left on the ground.  It never hurt, no matter where you went nor what you were doing, to keep an eye out for loot that might help you out.  Whether it be simple crafting materials or anything else of value, he wouldn't think twice about picking it up and making the most of it.  He hoped to find some extra Col, some materials, or even a rare item that maybe someone had dropped.  There was no telling what you might stumble over in a video game world like this...

ID# 54525 results:

Loot: 16 = +1 Mat

Edited March 31, 2016 by Ronin

[Ronin 0]

And just like that, Ronin found something.  "YEAH!" he cheered, picking up a material off the ground.  He stashed it into his inventory, watching the count go up by one numerical value.  He smirked and looked around some more, wondering what else he might be able to find.  This was turning into a regular ole' treasure hunt right here in town.  Hell, perhaps that was the trick.  While everyone else was out wandering around through caves, forests and digging in the dirt, he was here roaming the streets, picking stuff up as he went!  "Hopefully I can keep this up!" he said, resuming his search for more.

ID# 54526 results:

Loot: 1

Edited March 31, 2016 by Ronin

[Ronin 0]

Continuing on, Ronin couldn't see anything else of value at the moment.  He kept his eyes peeled for other things as well though, not wanting to waste his exploration just staring at the ground.  He could also do well to make note of the stores and shops in this area, as well as any places that looked good to eat.  He smirked slightly as he continued his meandering.  This world was so detailed, so incredible and so vast, he just couldn't believe it.  He imagined he could probably wander for days and days and never hit any sort of bounding box or invisible wall.  Was this world truly endless?

ID# 54527 results:

Loot: 13

Edited March 31, 2016 by Ronin

[Ronin 0]

As Ronin came across a sign swinging from a little bar above a store front, he examined it a little more closely, reading the letters on the sign.  "Wizard's Drool?" he mouthed, deciding it sounded like a pretty cool place.  Moving to the window, he pressed his hands against the glass and leaned inward, looking through the glass and using his hands to reduce the glare and allow him to see more clearly the interior.  "Hmm... looks like some kinda... potion shop?" he decided, before looking toward the door.  Maybe he ought to take a look inside?

[Ronin 0]

Moving his gloved hand toward the door, he paused, before finally deciding not to enter.  He would make a note of the shop's location and perhaps he'd come check it out later.  For now though, he would continue on, seeing what else he could find.  He looked left, right, up and down, all the while wondering what might come next, around the next corner, down the next stretch of road, in that darkened alleyway over there.  This world was magnificent and he wondered just how long it might've taken to create.  Whomever was responsible, was a friggin' genius.

ID# 54528 results:

Loot: 2

Edited March 31, 2016 by Ronin

[Ronin 0]

Finding a little beverage stand, Ronin decided to snag a little something to drink.  His teeth had been hurting a little lately, due to his constant gritting and grinding of them while he swung his blacksmithing hammer, but he decided a sugary beverage might hit the spot.  With a can of orange soda in his hand, he cracked the lid and downed a good swig or two before lowering it from his lips.  "Ah!" he gasped in a satisfied manner.  "Wow, that's better than any soda I've had out in the real world," he announced, wondering how exactly they made it taste so damn good. 

ID# 54530 results:

Loot: 14

Edited March 31, 2016 by Ronin

[Ronin 0]

Swigging at his soda and lighting up a smoke, Ronin trudged onward.  He counted numerous NPCs at little stands along the way and wondered if they ever got tired of just standing around here, waiting for a player to come and interact with them.  What a boring life they must live?  He sighed, looking at the sky, wondering if he might be able to find a good spot to watch the sunset today.  The weather was [censored] beautiful and he knew that the sunset was going to be gorgeous.  There had to be a nice little hillside or something outside of town, or maybe even just a tall building he could climb up on top of...

ID# 54533 results:

Loot: 17 = +1 Mat

Edited March 31, 2016 by Ronin

[Ronin 0]

Kicking his toe against something, Ronin looked down to see another piece of material go skidding across the ground in front of him.  He smirked and chased it down, crouching briefly to pick it up and stash it away in his inventory just like the one before.  "Great!  That makes two already!" he cheered to himself, taking a victory drink of his delicious orange soda.  He wondered if there was a church nearby or some kinda' large tower he could climb up to scope the sunset.  Taking another drag of his cigarette, he roamed toward a wide street, knowing it might give him a better chance of spotting a taller building nearby.

ID# 54534 results:

Loot: 17 = +1 Mat

[3 Mats Total so far]

Edited March 31, 2016 by Ronin

[Ronin 0]

Roaming the street, he looked upward, searching for his tower to climb.  "There it is!" he spat, expelling a thick smoke from his lips.  He took another drag from his ciggy and another drink from his soda, before moving to the base of the tall building and touching his steel toed boot against the exterior of the building.  It appeared to be perhaps some sort of clock tower or something and Ronin decided it would work perfectly to give him the view he was seeking.  He stashed his soda into his inventory for now, hoping it wouldn't spill and wedged his cigarette between his lips.  Rubbing his hands together, he prepared to climb the outside of the tower.  "Here goes nothin'..."

[Ronin 0]

After a lot of straining, fussing, smoking and climbing, Ronin finally managed to reach the top of the clock tower.  He nestled himself inside a little crook near the clock itself and popped a squat, looking out at the town all below him.  "Wow, what a view.." he marveled looking at everything.  Now this was more like it.  From up here, he could see everything, or at least much more than he had seen up until now.  Hell, he had half a mind to start mapping out this place so he could at least figure out how to get around a little easier.  Pulling his soda back outta' his inventory, he took a swig and smoked his smoke, enjoying the view.  Sunset would be coming soon...

[Ronin 0]

The swordsman turned blacksmith closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply through his nostrils.  He let his smoke wielding hand fall and hang near his leg, the cigarette smoke wafting upward from the end of the lit cancer stick.  He enjoyed oxygen, almost as much as the tobacco smoke.  He sighed and finally opened his eyes again, his eyelids parting in perfect delicate unison.  The human body was amazing, as was this virtual one to represent it.  He was always marveling over the game and how real it truly felt.  He looked off toward the horizon, noticing that any moment now, the sun would be setting.  It was going to be a good one.

[Ronin 0]

As he took another drink of his orange soda and washed it down with another drag of his cigarette, he looked toward the horizon, waiting patiently for that blazing ball of fire to descend beyond the line.  There were a few clouds in the sky, which always made for a great sunset.  Without them, sunsets were often dull and eventless.  With them however, all the great colors could be seen and it would be picture perfect.  As he continued to watch, the different hues began to appear in the sky and he smirked slightly amid his drinking and smoking.  The clock tower was a great spot and he was glad he had found it. 

[Ronin 0]

"Man... this is incredible," he sighed, finally finishing his smoke and flicking it to the breeze.  As it sailed off into the distance, and began to fall toward the earth below, it suddenly burst into a small grouping of crystal like shards before dissolving entirely.  He smirked and turned his attention back to the sunset, noticing all the beautiful colors now filling the sky.  It was insane to think, all of this was fake.. just a big game... just the product of a bunch of ones and zeros all floating through the sky, moving through everything, even the air he breathed now and his own skin for that matter.  "Madness..."

[Ronin 0]

After he had gotten his fill, Ronin turned his attention toward the ground, wondering if he would die if he fell from this height.  He wasn't going to risk it, knowing what kind of strings were attached to a death in this game.  It wasn't really a game at all, was it.  This was more real than any kind of virtual world he had ever experienced before and the fact that they were all trapped in here; well, it was heartbreaking.  Never again would he sit and watch a real sunset, or taste the imperfection of the real air.  Never again, would he be free.

[Ronin 0]

Once he had climbed down from the clock tower and was now safely back on the ground, he let out a sigh of relief.  The sunset had done him right and he felt extremely relaxed now.  He hadn't taken even a moment, or so it felt, to relax since arriving in this virtual world.  He had been going non stop, obsessed over getting stronger and progressing as quickly as he could.  And, while he had been making rather impressive strides, he was feeling the fatigue from it.  He enjoyed this moment to simply exist and stop moving.  He promised himself that he would try and do it more often and began heading back toward his shop.

[Ronin 0]

Strolling back to his shop with a new sense of relaxation, Ronin walked a little slower than usual and took it all in.  He allowed the sounds of the world to fill him and kept his eyes pinned mostly on the ground below.  He enjoyed the slight breeze in the air and the way it made little bumps stand up on his exposed flesh.  He listened to the sounds of NPCs and other players alike as they moved and spoke and interacted with the world around him.  He tasted the air, noting the slightly sweet flavor it had, most likely due to the remnant sugar from his orange soda still on his tongue.  It was all so incredible and it made him a little sick.