PP-F1 New friends> Itzal, Verus, Adhaerere

[Itzal 0]

After taking out a few more mobs Itzal sheathed his blade, panting a little from all the physical movement.  The game was a little bit realistic in that sense.  Funny how the game was almost identical to real life besides all of the skills, arts and monsters.  It was even able to match adrenaline rushes perfectly.  In this game he truly could feel and wield power.  He turned to Verus with a grin.

"That wasn't too hard."  He stretched his limbs put his hands on his sides.  "So what next?  You gonna lead me to more or are we taking a break?"

[Adhaerere 0]

 Adhae exited the shop wearing a wide grin on her face, strutting with her chin up and head held high. She had just purchased her first piece of armour, not the one she had been keeping an eye on for a long while, but the one the shop keeper had instructed her to order that was appropriate for her level. She was only a puny four, after all. This meant she could only wear the Tier 1 heavy armour crafted or found in the game, until she was a high enough level for Tier 2. Adhae gave a little wistful sigh as she thought about becoming that high of a level. She knew it was far away, but she knew it was possible.

 Now, she walked through the streets, searching around for the place she had agreed to meet Verus. He would be off fighting tiny mobs with someone he'd found while scouting the city, the identity of whom Adhae did not know. As always, she was excited to meet new people, and so had a bounce in her step as she wandered the city. Eventually, she reached the cafe that they'd agree to meet. She sat down, crossed her legs, and waited patiently.

 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal waited for him to respond but he made no movement.  Itzal waited but there was still no response.  Itzal assumed that he was deep in thought.  What he could possibly be thinking at a time like this that he can't hear someone right beside him.  Either way he turned away and looked at the view.  Even in the real world he would find a quiet place like this and just enjoy the view.  He sat down in the grass, leaning back with his arms supporting him, and closed his eyes.  He felt at peace as the gentle breeze blew over him.  It was times like this he tended to forget what was going on around him.  Normally he'd push people to getting stuff done but he understood the sanctuary the mind gave, to be able to think and work over issues, problems and ideas without fear of others judgement.  The thought resurfaced some concerns of his, but he waved them aside and smiled, sighing contently.

[trenttrent20 0]

Verus gave his new friend a glare as he thought very passionately about the level he just achieved. He had reached his six level, and got a good bump in the damage he was able to deal. He would be able to essentially one shot most things on the first floor with a successful sword-art hit, and he found that slightly overwhelming. As Itzal sat down in the grass, Verus followed along, positioning himself directly opposite. He nodded to Itzal, slowly opening up his menu and pulling up Adhaerere's profile. With a small touch of the screen, he began to type out a message. "Outside walls." After pressing send, he turned his attention back to Itzal finally. "Come. Let's go see if my friend is ready."

[Adhaerere 0]

 She'd waited for only a few minutes when the message popped up in the top right corner of her vision. She used two fingers on her left hand to swipe the air and pull up her menu, tapping through it until the pulled up the message sent by Verus. She read it quickly, as it was only two words, and sighed. She stood and put away her menu before grumbling, "This kid can never decide on anything." And then she got up and exited the shop, taking a walk to the front gate of the town. 

Out of spite, she decided to take her time walking to it. She passed lots of shops, seeing a bakery or two, many blacksmith shops, and a few other general markets. Sometimes, she walked inside and took a look at their wares, though she could not find anything that cost basically nothing and would be useful for then. Giving up her absentminded search, she found her way to the front gate and sat down in front of it, crossing her arms and leaning against the tall stone wall. 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal heard Verus and opened one eye before stretching and rising to his feet.  He noticed how Verus held himself with a new sense of confidence.  Or was it arrogance, or maybe pride?  Whatever it was, Itzal knew that too much of anything was bad.  That's why he sheathed his blade rather than keep it out.  He felt invincible those first few kills, but he knew that if he hadn't sheathed his blade he probably would attack another mob with more eagerness and passion.  Emotions clouded his judgement in combat.  He knew emotions were needed, but unless you master your control over them you must be emotionless during combat.  Fights require your full attention and concentration.

"You sure you want me with you guys?" Itzal asked.  "I'd probably just get in your way."

[trenttrent20 0]

"You kidding? DPS brothers for life." Versus chuckled and put his hands on his back, trying to pop it. With a slight groan, he raised his arms and stretched every bit of his body. "Besides, we got a tanky girl to protect us anyway. If anything we'll get in her way." Verus began to walk back to the trail, motioning for his friend to follow. 

It was a good while until the two made it back to the gate. It was somewhat quiet, but the silence felt right at the time. Upon seeing the wall, he spotted what looked to be their girl in a brand new set of armor. "Hey!" Versus called, raising his hand above his head and waving slightly. 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal looked at the girl leaning against the wall.  Over all she was pretty, but then again, he thought, everyone had beauty in some way.  Whether it be in physical appearance, technique or style, or personality.  Her outfit was obviously not the basic cloth clothes.  This gave Itzal the impression that she was a higher player than either of them.  He also wasn't sure what to make of a girl taking all the hits while he and Verus got the easy pickings.  He wasn't sexist or anything, he just felt wrong taking advantage of someone.  The way she held herself told him she was a bit irritated, but at the same time she seemed ready to talk about how wonderful the day was.  Cheerful yet irritated.  A fast player who didn't suspect pvp in this game whatsoever.  He shook his head.  This was one strange group he thought to himself.  He took a deep breath and put on a smile.  Talking to girls was never his forte, but he wasn't a complete moron at it either.  He walked confidently as they approached and smiled kindly to her.  He didn't say anything, feeling as if Verus should make the introductions.

[Adhaerere 0]

 She'd almost dozed off when she heard the call from across the flat land stretching out in front of her. She lifted her head from where it rested ahainst the wall, and spotted one familiar shape and one unfamiliar. She stood up, with some trouble, her armour becoming cumbersome as the weight made lifting her body from the ground hard. She finally got it though, and brushed off her behind where it had been planted in the dirt. 

 Having finished standing up, she walked over to the pair of people. "Wsup squirt,' she called as she walked, addressing Verus. "Who's this you've dragged in, huh?" She smiled at Itzal to show she was joking, and stopped in front of them. She looked down at Itzal, trying to size him up and failing somewhat. She only knew how to identify personalities when the person was talking, and he hadn't done so yet. 

[trenttrent20 0]

"Nice armor ya got there. Use all our money on it or did you get a deal?" He walked around her and knocked on the newly white (white right?) armor a few times, listening to the clanking sounds it made. It looked sturdy and well made so he assumed she got a good deal on it. "How are your stats? Did ya crush on the shopkeeper?" Verus chuckled and returned to Itzal's side, the sudden realization of her question just now hitting him. "Oh! This is Itzal!" He held out his hands in a show-offy manner. "I bumped into him in one of the NPC markets and well, took him out in the fields." 

He turned his head, looking back to Adhaerere for confirmation or approval. "Looking to be a DPS, just like me!" 

[Itzal 0]

The gesture Verus made had made Itzal feel more like a prize than anything else.  Nonetheless he looked at the girl.  He still didn't know her name, but he knew that names didn't matter unless it meant something to the player, like his own username meaning shadow.  Personally, he didn't know why people chose colors that stood out.  The less attention he brought to himself the better he thought.  Then he corrected himself.  She was the tank, she was suppose to draw attention while they attacked from the shadows.  It was a good strategy he realized, but common.  Maybe when he develops stealth skills they could make a few adjustments.  He He held out his hand in a friendly gesture to the girl.

"Nice to meet you," he said.  He made sure he appeared friendly, but truth was he had a strong grip.  He liked to think that his appearance revealed his caring nature while his surprising strength, speed and reactions reflected his will to survive.

[Adhaerere 0]

 Verus' many questions took her by surprise; she usually was the one doing the talking. This was a good improvement, though. Maybe their adventures would be less quiet as the time went on. She took them one by one, keeping her eyes ahead of her as he circled around her. "Yep, I used all our money on it. But, what I figured out is I didn't have the level to get the armour I originally wanted," she explained. "It was called Malevolence, and it was a Tier 2 item. I need to be like level 25 in order to use Tier 2 junk, which the shopkeeper most admirably pointed out. He helped me out a lot with this actually." She smiled. "There are different qualities that apply to an item, depending on the RNG when a craftsman makes the item. The one I wanted, Malevolence, was an Uncommon item, meaning it was less expensive than say a Rare item. But, because of my ignorance, I couldn't get that item, so the shopkeeper said I could get a Rare item for the price of the Uncommon one." She took a breath, pausing a second to make sure she wasn't talking too fast. "I basically got what I wanted, but I ordered it myself," she beamed, looking down at her white ((yep yer rite verus)) and silver armour piece. "It's called Luster. You should take another look at it later today. Anyway, he was super helpful. I know about all the modifiers and junk now. When we order items in the future, we'll get the best things." She balled her hand in a fist, brought it up, and then pulled it down in front of her, a determined look on her smiling face. 

 "My stats haven't changed besides the mitigation with this armour piece, and I did not 'crush on the shopkeeper', thank you very much." She folded her arms in front of her, putting on a fake show of being upset at the notion. "Anyways, it's wonderful to meet you Itzal. I'm Adhaerere, but you can call me Adhae. Adhaerere is too much of a mouthful." She turned and pointedly glared at Verus as she said this last thing, then reached out to shake their new party member's hand. She was pleased with his grip, thinking of him as a good addition so far to their party. "Oh, Verus," she said as a thought occurred to her, and she released Itzal's hand. "Invite me back to the party." 

[trenttrent20 0]

"Such a mouthful." Verus muttered as Adhae continued on about her mini-quest. However, it seemed the time spent was worth it. She'll be able to take most hits now and only receive an extremely small fraction of what damage could have been taken. "So I'm guessing you won't let me try on the uh, armor....Luster was it? Oh whatever, I don't have the body for it anyway." With a smirk on his face, he put his arms behind his head, slightly cocking his hip to the side as he slowly turned around to look back towards all the low level mobs.At the mention of their, party, Verus took a few seconds to actively respond. "Oh yes, forgot you got out." He hadn't. His motions were slow and methodical, opening his menu was still somewhat new to him. It would take a few seconds for him to always read the buttons to make sure he was right. With a few swipes of his fingers, he sent a request to his friend, turning around while doing so to make sure she see's him. "You should get one now hun."  (I need to charge my computer, phone typing is no fun)

[Itzal 0]

Itzal didn't know what to make of her naming her armor Luster.  He assumed it was for comical purposes but he decided to continue with caution just in case.  She was definitely strong, which was required of a tank in most games.  He didn't understand most of what she said as she explained how the shopping went, but it didn't matter.  These two were already ahead of him a good ways.  But he would learn.  He would train.  And he intended to improve faster than either of them.  When he was strong enough he wouldn't stop training.  When he was strong enough to go solo he didn't intend to just leave them, but he did intend on do some solo grinding training during some night hours.  He refused to be weak.  He refused to be a target.  He nodded toward Adhae's ax.

"You go for the ax eh?  What technique do you use?  Berserk style?  Hit-and-run?  Or more like evade the attack and return with a counter-attack?"  Most people hated him for this, but tactics and strategy was what he enjoyed most about games.  And an immersive video game had the largest amount of options.  One of the many reasons he got involved.

Edited June 27, 2016 by Itzal

[Adhaerere 0]

 Adhae set one hand on her hip, glaring at Verus as he took his time sending the invite. "You're an ass." She snickered and accepted the request, joining their party again. She saw the health bar for Itzal in the corner of her vision along with Verus', a reminder of being in the party. 

 Then, she directed her attention to the newcomer as he asked about her technique. "You know, I'm not really sure," she responded after thinking for a few moments. "I'll probably rush the enemy and try to hit it as much as I can before it tries to attack anyone, and then take the force of that attack while you guys hit it from the side. I haven't actually fought anything in this armour yet, so I don't have that style practiced. But my sword arts take care of most of that anyway. With this axe, they're more focused on Stun than anything else. I don't have enough Energy to use that yet, but I'm excited for when I will." As she spoke, she slung her battleaxe over her shoulder and held it in both hands, running one thumb over the flat of the front blade. She'd grown fond of the item, and wanted to try it out with her new armour very soon. Now, in fact.

 "Enough chit-chat, let's go kill something, shall we?" She smiled, and then headed off in a direction facing away from the Town of Beginnings, searching for some big mob. She spotted one after a few minutes, and roared a challenge at it. "FIGHT ME," she screamed as she ran at it. 

ID: #62248
BD: 10
MD: 1

 Once she was close enough, her axe glowed red with her Sword Art, and then chopped sideways in a smashing blow, knocking the boar back with the shockwave that came after it. It came so quickly that the creature didn't get a chance to react, just fell over and stayed there for a few minutes. Ample time for the other two in the party to hack away at it.

Used Skill "Whirlwind" - 2x1 - (2 Energy)

Damage Dealt / Received (Wolf, Adhaerere)

        Boar: Health: 12/12 (-6[+2CRIT]) = 6/12

        Adhaerere: Health 12/12 (-0) = 12/12

Edited June 27, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

"I'm the best ass." He muttered as she joined up with him again. Three health bars now appeared at the top of his screen, with his own being the main one enlarged. It was comforting to know that he had others who would fight with and for him, and it honestly boosted his confidence slightly. He worked well in large parties where he could mess around and relax. On his own he would usually just sorta always stress himself out and worry too much. It was a weird life he lived but it worked for him. 

Adhae ran in head on and seemingly landed a critical hit. Her axe grew much brighter than it usually did and well, it excited him. He ran in quickly behind her and attempted to stab at the beast, only to fall short.

#ID 62251

BD: 2

Verus messed up his thrust and almost flayed Adhaes arm, just going over it by a few inches. "Sorry!" 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal dashed toward the monster a little before Verus.  He had circled around hoping to strike it from the side while it faced Adhae.  When the position was perfect, he charged.  He was getting ready to use his sword skill (which always gave him an adrenaline rush) he saw Verus attack the mob and quickly stopped the skill.  This sudden intervention set him off balance and he missed the monster by an inch.

 

Id# 62252

BD 3

 

He stumbled but rolled to his feet, making sure his footing was secure.

"Dang it Verus!" he screamed.  "Watch what your doing!"

[Adhaerere 0]

 Adhae backed up from both of them, and laughed. "You guys are tripping over yourselves out here. Don't be so eager, wait for the other person to take their turn." She winked at Itzal to show she was slightly joking, and then faced the animal again, preparing her second sword skill. It was the same thing, but she wanted to hit it hard again. Maybe she'd get lucky with a crit again. Now that she thought back on it, she hadn't hit that well in her whole mob fighting career. She'd have to remember that feeling, and she would certainly look forward to it again. But she didn't have much time for reflection, the boar was on top of her again. 

ID: #62253
BD: 7
MD: 4

 Thankfully, she had her sword skill ready in time to swipe at it as it charged at her, tusks down. She smacked it in the side, having somewhat of the same effect that she had when she hit it the first time. It was a big mob, so it wasn't dead yet, but if one of her party members managed to hit it again then it probably would be. The force of the impact knocked it away, and prevented its charge from hitting Adhae. So far she hadn't taken any damage with her armour on, and she was slightly disappointed.

Used Skill "Whirlwind" - 2x1 - (2 Energy)

Damage Dealt / Received (Boar, Adhaerere)

        Boar: Health: 6/12 (-4) = 2/12

        Adhaerere: Health 12/12 (-0) = 12/12

[trenttrent20 0]

Verus pulled his sword away quickly after the clanking sound that was made when he hit Itzal's. He had vowed never to cross swords with another man. Not since the accident. He walked forward at the boar and thrusted forwards again, keeping at his basic attacks. They were poor compared to his sword arts, which he seemed to usually always land. However, he had no intent to finish it off this quickly, and continued on with his basics training. 

ID# 62254

BD: 4

His attacks seems to be off lately, as he had missed quite a few of his recent basic attacks. A slight huff escaped him and his eyebrows furrowed, a sense of anger approaching. "Damnit." His positioning was also off as well; he was far too close. In the midst of his attack, he had almost followed through, taking a few steps forwards with his attack. He'd need to learn to just strike and try to back off after it, but he assumed that would come later on. "Itzal your turn! Finish it off." 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal was burning with anger.  Anger of missing for the first time.  Yet it did not consume him.  He learned how to handle anger long ago.  He channeled it.  Poured it into his blade as his sword art activated.  He charged and raised his sword high in the air and struck down at the mob.

 

Id# 62255

Bd: 9

 

Used skill:  vertical strike -1 energy 2/3

Boar:  0/0

 

Itzal's surging anger, the sword art, and his arm's calm control and sense of direction cut the beast from the upper left eye down to it's right hip, causing it to cry out in pain and dissolve into glowing sparkles.  Itzal panted for a moment, his physical body a bit drained.  He stood up straight and turned to the others.

"Done."