[SP-F1] A New Awakening .:COMPETE:.

[Creius 0]

Nathan opened his eyes slowly and stared up at the bright sky. It was a lazy day and he could feel the wind blowing gently as it flowed over him. He blinked the last bit of sleep out of his eyes and sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was still in the Town of Beginnings after all this time. He hadn't accomplished anything in this time. His adventuring with Jonathan and Brax had turned out to be short lived and now he was on his own again. It was kinda pitiful how little he had done in such an expanse of time. All of it had been spent lounging about doing nothing, he couldn't recall the last time he had even drawn his rapier. He raised his hand and brought it down in front of him, accessing his menus. He sighed at the low level and stats. He should really get up and do something. He laid down instead. There was simply no conviction to get up and move on. He wasn't strong, he had no friends, this was becoming too similar to the real world. In a trance Nathan stood up and began walking in some random direction.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Creius
completed

[Creius 0]

Nathan kept walking down the streets of the town, not really paying attention to where he was going. All that was going through is mind was a sense of futility. For months he had been wasting his time in this town, not truly living. Even the warm sun seemed to have lost its warmth and no longer did the extremely realistic environment invigorate him. Slowly he seemed to be dying inside. It was like he had lost all reason to be here which brought to question why he should live at all. There was nothing to return to in the real world for him. He reached the edge of the town and exited the safe zone that the town was. He pulled his rapier out and inspected its shiny blade. The sword had seen little combat in its existence.  He tested the point of the blade and it easily pierced his skin, making a few red pixels. He didn't even since, the pain extremely minimal. It would be so easy to end it now, to just slip the blade inside of himself and not bother with the struggles of life. He held the rapier up in his hands, aiming it at his chest. All it would take was a quick thrust and it would all end.

 

[Creius 0]

He blinked a few times at the blade pointed at his chest, his hands starting to shake. Tears began to run down his face and he dropped the sword and collapsed to the ground. He curled up into a ball and sat there, weeping. Nothing like that had ever come over him but there he had been, on the verge of ending his own life. Nathan wept for a minute or two under the sun, just holding himself. After the tears stopped flowing and he took in a few gulps of air to calm his shaking body he looked over at the rapier lying in the dirt. He crawled to it and gripped the handle and picked himself up. He looked at his reflection through the shine of the blade and tested the balance of the weapon, growing familiar with it once more. That had been way too close. He needed to do something in order to snap himself back into reality, something productive. He needed to find a reason to live in this world. No more sitting around and mopping. He squeezed the handle of the rapier and looked up into the distance. It was time to leave the beginning town and truly begin his journey. He needed to find something out there or he would soon be joining the thousands who had already succumbed to this death game.

[Creius 0]

Nathan swung the sword in a few experimental swings then pointed the blade at towards the distance, watching the sun gleam off the metal. It was time that he spill some more blood with his weapon and get stronger. One task he could focus on for now was getting stronger and making something of himself. From there he could consider other options but for now training was the primary concern. He swung the rapier to either side of him and with the flourishes the blade was sheathed. Nathan took one deep breath and a step, then another, and another, until the walls of the Town of Beginnings was growing small as he walked down the road through the fields of tall grass. There were plenty of boars around that he could test his blade on but first he wanted to reach a point of no return where it would be far more profitable to keep pushing forward then start back tracking. And thus he kept pushing onward, walking without thought as he delved into the outskirts of the starting city and on towards new and relatively unexplored areas.

[Creius 0]

The walk was without much thought, not wanting the prior process returning. For once Nathan put thinking aside and simply acted. It was thinking which had put him in such a slump now and he was determined to get out of it. As the lights of the city grew dim behind him due to distance he slowed his pace, not realizing how fast he'd been walking until he heard his breathing was heavier then usual. Night was coming quickly, leaving little time before it would be a bit hard to see. He looked around his surroundings, if you could call them anything it would be a sea. All that was to be seen was a sea of tall grass. Grass that seemed like it would as soon swallow a man as hide a monster in ambush. Nathan gripped the handle of his rapier tightly, growing uneasy at the sudden aloneness he felt, almost like the grass was applying pressure on him and compressing him into a tight space. Nathan began pivoting around in circles, scanning the sea of grass around him for any indication of life but there was none. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself before he had another mental breakdown. He'd get through this, this wasn't just some brash decision that would get him killed. Determination would see him through. After he calmed he opened his eyes and began scanning the grass in earnest, deciding it was time to hunt something to relieve some of the tension within him. Something caught his eyes as he scanned the grass and he walked to the edge of the road and bent down. There was some strange plant fiber and when he touched it he harvested it apparently and received it as a material for crafting. That was new, he'd have to look out for such plants and other sources of materials later on. That would prove interesting, to get into crafting a bit. He considered trying out a new form of hunting that day and pursued it.

ID# 59407    LD: 19   Mat Found

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Nathan inspected the grass a bit more, looking for any more of the fiber like plants. He really had no clue why all of a sudden they had caught his interest. Maybe just a bored mind looking for something to do. Hunting for monsters was fun and all but quite a tedious task with that annoying chance of death involved. This, however, was much easier to do and far more relaxing of a task. As he scanned the nearby grass he considered what it would be like to just do this for a living, to give up the dream of being on the frontlines. He shook the thought from his head and moved on from that spot further down the road. So far he wasn't seeing anything similar to the fiber he had seen earlier, maybe that had just been a lucky coincidence or maybe he had to move further away for the chance of seeing some more of it. Out of the corner of his eye Nathan saw a rustling of grass and approached to see an unsuspecting boar dining on some grass. Nathan smiled and prepared to attack.

ID#59055  LD:13

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

.:COMBAT INITIATED:.

Creius - HP:12/12  ENG:2/3 (-1)  DMG: 2

ID#59056  BD: 6        Base 2 - 1 MIT = 1 DMG to Boar

Nathan approached the boar and raised his sword high. This was such an ample opportunity for him to strike that he just had to take it. Nathan quickly brought the sword down on the unsuspecting pig. The blade glistened in the light and caught the boar in the rump, leaving a nasty red line of pixels down its side from the wound. Nathan watched as the boar suddenly squealed loudly at the pain and started to run off under his blade, leaving Nathan behind as it created a bit of distance between the two of them. Nathan watched the boar as it turned to him and began a quick charge towards him. As would be the smart thing to do, Nathan prepared to dodge and then attack at the boar. Maybe this time he would prepare a sword art, it had been so long since he had used one, now would be a good time to practice.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Boar - HP: 5/6  DMG: 3 MIT: 1

ID#59057   MD: 2     Miss

The boar the sharp pain in its back and heard a rustling of grass behind it. This all indicated to some entity that was right behind the boar and whatever it was, it was dangerous.. Therefore the boar did the first instinctive action which came to mind. The boar squealed and ran out into the grass. After running a safe distance away the boar turned around and noticed the player standing there in the tall grass, watching it. The boar made a small rut in the earth and began a headlong charge towards the player. It closed the distance between them and tried to shove its tusks into the player but missed by a matter of an inch and carried on with its momentum, barreling past the player's side.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Creius - HP:12/12  ENG:2/3 (+1-1)  DMG: 2

ID#59058    BD:8   Base 2 -1 MIT = 1 DMG to Boar

Nathan watched the boar's charge carefully, knowing full well that any misstep in regards to dodging it could end with his demise. This wouldn't be the time to use a sword art when he had to focus on dodging. As the boar closed the distance between them and was bearing upon Nathan he narrowly dodged the tusks of the boar, feelin the air move as it went by. Nathan tried to bring his arm around so he could strike out at the boar's passing flank but by the time that he was ready the boar was almost out of reach so his blade just barely caught the boar's rump and made a thin and long line down it. Nathan watched as the boar kept on running, its momentum carrying it onward and away from him. The boar stopped and turned around, preparing for another charge. This time the boar came at a much slower rate. ready to strike out at the dodge instead of just barreling past.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Boar - HP: 4/6  DMG: 3 MIT: 1

ID#59059    MD: 1   Miss

The boar continued its small push forward and came upon the player, for which it received a stinging cut on its nose. The boar squealed and put a bit more force into its charge. The boar pushed forward, a small pain received, and lashed out. The boar lashed out with its tusks and couldn't get its tusks anywhere near the player it seemed. Its speed had been too low, allowing the player plenty of time to react to the attacks so all the player did was nimbly step out of the way of any incoming danger. This resulted in every lashing the boar did this charge to result in a failure of landing any contact. The player remained unscathed as the boar went by, exposing its side to the player.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Creius - HP:12/12  ENG:1/3 (+1-1)  DMG: 2

ID#59060    BD: 4     Miss

Nathan watched in amazement as the boar pushed forward unfalteringly. Nathan watched as the boar's tusks just narrowly avoided being pushed into him and causing extremely severe damage. His mind screamed out in fear at the potential harm on his body even though there would not be any true pain in the game. His health bar remained full though as he dodged each close attack, the slow speed of the boar helping him dodge the continued attack. He was unable to make an effective counterattack even though the boar was right there next to him. There was an attempt though, Nathan did raise his blade and tried to bring it down. Though it was the proximity that ended up hurting him most there since he did not quite have the room to maneuver his blade into the boar.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Boar - HP: 4/6  DMG: 3 MIT: 1

ID#59061   MD:4    Miss

With a loud snort the boar turned towards its assailant and pawed at the soft earth, making a deep rut with its feet. Immediately the boar took a few powerful steps, quickly closing the small distance, and once again pushed its tusks towards the player quickly, causing the player to back off quickly and almost fall backwards. The boar pressed on, intending to kill the pest with one hard piercing blow but couldn't make contact with the human since the player kept backing off, while almost falling over. Eventually the attack ebbed and the boar slowed down, tired slightly by the continued attack. The energy continued ebbing until the boar realized it would be too weak to truly dodge if it continued so it tried to disengage from the current attack before it was too late to.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Creius - HP:12/12  ENG:1/3 (+1-1)  DMG: 2

ID#59062   BD: 7    Base 2 - 1 MIT = 1 DMG to Boar

Nathan kept stumbling backwards, dodging the tusks as best as he could under the continuing attack. Nathan was about to fall backwards when the attack began to ebb and he was able to catch his balance. Spending a couple steps to steady himself he looked at the boar and returned the attack, taking a step forward and raising his blade high and quickly bringing it down on the pig as it tried to retreat. The pig squealed loudly as the blade made contact with its shoulder and made a shallow cut on its back and Nathan backed off a few steps, preparing for the attack which he knew was coming. The rage in the pig's eyes was evident and Nathan knew that it would be prudent to back off a bit before he became a kebob on that boar's tusks. Nathan took a few steps backwards, making sure not to rush himself so that he didn't fall like he almost did last time, until there was a few metres between him and the boar. The boar let out a loud squeal and began another maddened rush towards him so Nathan prepared himself for a dodge attempt.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Boar - HP: 3/6  DMG: 3 MIT: 1

ID#59063   MD:7     Base 3 = 3 DMG to Creius

The boar charged forward, squealing all the way as it bore down on the player once more. The player simply stood there, infuriating the boar even more which in turn caused it to increase its pace in this frenzied rush. The boar quickly reached the player, closing the short distance in a second, and immediately lashed out at the player. The player nimbly dodged to the side of the boar so the boar swung its tusks towards the player and this time it was rewarded for its perseverance. The boars tusks caught the side of the player, making a large gash of red pixels on him. The player fell back a bit and the boar snorted loudly out of its snout, and followed through with the charge, trying to barrel past and rip up the player's side some more in the process.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Creius - HP:9/12  ENG:0/3 (+1-2)  DMG: 2

ID#59068    BD: 6    Base 2*(Rip Ravine 2*1) - 1 MIT = 3 DMG to Boar   Boar killed. LD: 7 so Mat only

Nathan watched the frenzied attacking of the boar and tried to dodge all the attacks. Inevitably though his luck ran out and the tusks tore into him. Nathan yelled out at the pain, trying to retreat from the pain. As the boar kept pushing on this was never an option so Nathan tightly gripped his sword and did what he had to. He endured the pain, ignoring it almost in its entirety, as he brought his sword up and quickly brought it back down on the boar's back. His sword, on its descent, began to glow red as the Sword Art system took over and quickly slashed down at a diagonal and went back up and slashed down at a reversed diagonal of the first, creating a neat red "V" on the boar's side in a blink of the eye. The boar froze and then exploded into a million pixels as its health bar reached zero. Nathan had won, and rather easily. Sometimes he thought his luck was just too good to be true.

.:COMBAT COMPLETED:.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Nathan continued walking down the road, away from the Town of Beginnings and towards Horunka village. He began to consider what exactly he should do while determination was and adrenaline were still burning hot in his chest. There were many quests out there that he could attempt if he so wished, it were just a matter of going and finding one. Or he could just keep farming monsters and just level up that way if he so wished. Either way worked though quests seemed like they would be far more profitable in the long run. It was really just a matter of if he thought he could do them by himself... He could always go and find another group of adventurers with whom he could party up with. That did not quite sit well with him after the disappearance of Brax and Morgenstern a while ago. There was still a few ties there and he was not entirely sure that he wanted to just go up and leave that camaraderie yet. Plus, he still had trust issues for all he knew, though his contact with other players had been minimalistic recently. Maybe that in itself was a sign of his distrust, there was no desire in him to get close to others. Nathan sighed softly and kept on walking towards the dying sun on route to the next town over.

ID#276   LD: 10

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

As Nathan continued walking along the road he slowly grew bored of the journeying. He would kill to have someone to talk to... Well, that would prove counter-productive. Sometimes he was incapable of shutting that rational part of his mind up, the part which seemed to not quite understand jokes or sayings and took everything literally. He scanned the expanse of grass surrounding him, trying his best to think of a topic to think on. He really didn't feel like thinking anymore on his previous comrades or joining another party anymore, parties had always been a bit of a sore spot in MMO's for him. Plans though, he could continue on that track and actually plan ahead. For now all there was to do was keep going forward until he reached Horunka. Maybe while he was on the road he would fight a bit more, find something a bit more interesting than a simple boar. He had picked on plenty of those already. The training would do nicely so he could get used to the movement and sword arts once more. Once he reached Horunka he could... Nathan turned around, hearing a slight shuffling from the grass, or so he had thought. He scanned the grass for a bit, watching for anymore movement that might be a tell of another fight. After a few seconds and not seeing anything else he turned back around and kept walking, one part of his mind actively listening for any other noises. As he was thinking, once at Horunka he could look up any quests in the surrounding area and see if he was strong enough to tackle them. If not then there was quite a bit of farming and digging around. Maybe he could just keep going back and forth between Horunka and the Town of Beginnings and just kill a few monsters here and there. Nathan stopped and looked out over the sea of grass towards the dying sun and pondered this a bit. There was no shame in farming mobs and he could do with some training. He'd consider that some more in the future. With this resolution he resumed his walk and kept going down the path towards Horunka.

ID#59277    LD: 6

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

So, a short term goal had been established but what about the long term? The future was so uncertain but he very well could try and prepare himself for when it would come. If he truly planned on soloing then he needed to focus on his ability to survive alone. That meant he had to be able to hit hard and avoid being hit. He brought his hand up and swiped down, accessing his menus, and went to his stats. The focus then would be on things like his ability to evade and making sure to pour his levels into getting better with the rapier. If he wasn't able to be hit then he could not worry about damage so much so reducing incoming damage was not a huge concern, though a bit of a buff there would be nice. He looked down at his clothing that he had obtained at the beginning of the game. It did a pitiful job at protecting him and that was evident by the blows he felt whenever his enemies made contact. Honestly he realized how lucky he was to be alive, he needed to boost these stats quickly. He looked down at the hilt of his plain rapier and noted how a bit more damage would be nice too. He should stop by a blacksmith soon and see what it would take to upgrade his gear a bit. Nothing too fancy, just a bit of padding and something a little sharper. It would be those little things that would end up saving his life as he had learned from previous games and there was no time to be wasted on being stingy with his money. A death game such as this would not allow that. Just another factor he should really look into.

ID#59278    LD: 8

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

By this point Nathan could vaguely see the lights of his destination. Horunka was not terribly far away, another ten minute's walk at most it seemed. That was relieving in a sense, he could sit back and relax and think some more on what he would do. Search around and learn some more. He hadn't truly travelled too far out in Aincrad so learning a bit about the areas of the first floor would be smart. He would decide on his next step of action once he arrived into the town and could breathe safely. It seemed though that boosting his standing stats was warranted though so that he could begin truly progressing in the game. He looked from side to side, scanning the grass as though some boogeyman was going to jump out at him. That one sound from earlier and the failing light was starting to get to him. He could do with a bit of rest, a nice warm bed in an inn if possible. The thought of sleep made him yawn softly and he stretched his arms up, reaching for the skies. Just a bit longer and he could go to sleep, all he had to do was keep walking in a straight line.

LD: 1

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot

[Creius 0]

Nathan kept walking forward, scanning the grass around him for anything. Absolutely anything would do at this point in order to keep him awake. It would be just a little terrible if he fell asleep out here. Something to distract him was necessary so that he could keep going while he was not in a safe zone. However, his tired eyes just kept passing over the little fiber plants and other material plants which he could harvest. Therefore, as he walked he grew more tired because of a lack of something to do therein making him miss out on even more things which he could do. It was a terrible cycle that seemed to only be getting perpetually worse as he walked on towards Horunka village.

ID#59175    LD: 7

Edited May 18, 2016 by Creius
I am an idiot