[PP-NK-F1] Dankest Ice Cream on Earth (Helios)

[Kasier 0]

Kasier smiled. Her eyes gleamed in anticipation as she walked out of her inn door into the open air where the rising sun was shining its brilliant rays upon the world of Aincrad. Indeed, she had decided that she would finally walk away from safety and help the people of Aincrad escape this virtual prison. Indeed, she had heard that many players had died recently, all very experienced players, and most of them due to Player Killing. It sure makes Kasier wonder whey someone would simply do such a thing of Player Killing because she, as someone very naive, thinks that if the players don't work together, there will be absolutely no way that the players can possibly escape from this dreaded world. However, despite Kasier thinking of this world as a virtual prison, there is really nothing that can take away from the pure beauty of Swords Art Online. Kasier's eyes were directed to the sky by a strong ray of sunlight, hitting her directly on the face, causing her to flinch as soon as she walked out of the door. She sighed, admiring the overcrowded noise of the first floor and the strange atmosphere that she was given upon immediately entering the open world. It seemed everyone was working hard, either NPCs who were trying to run their shops or players who were busy getting their equipment and obtaining their grinding items. Although most of the action would be done out on the fields, much of it is also completed through what is done on the inside of the safe zones. Shizuka smiled once more, walking slowly around the town until something caught her eye. What caught her eyes was a gigantic shop which had the sign "360 Dank Ice Cream" on it. Although she found the sign rather strange, she admired the beauty of the ice cream through the glass pane which separated her and the deliciousness. "Wow... I really wish I had some sort of money to buy myself some ice cream." She said, her mouth literally drooling.

[Helios 0]

Helios stepped off of the first floor's teleport pad and into the bustling city, known to most as the Town of Beginnings. After closing down his shop, the raven-haired swordsman lost most of his interest to travel down to the highly inhabited city. However, today was different. He had heard something about a new shop that had opened up with some interesting flavors of ice cream. Becoming quite interested, Helios decided it would be fun to sample a flavor of the now popular dessert. The noirette was bumped into countless times on his way through the crowds of players. That was one of the main reasons he hated having a shop on the first floor. He had considered reopening it, however, after entering other player-made shops and getting ideas for decoration.

The young man arrived in front of the shop, finally making his way through the annoying hordes that filled the town's narrow streets. He looked through the window of the structure and grinned. The various different flavors looked incredibly delicious. A voice coming from in front of the window on the opposite side of the shop's door began to speak.  "Wow... I really wish I had some sort of money to buy myself some ice cream." Said a woman whom Helios did not know. He looked at the amount of col he was carrying on him. I do have a fair amount... It wouldn't hurt to share a bit, I guess.

"Hey, if you'd like one that bad, I wouldn't mind buying you one." The noirette replied.

[Kasier 0]

Kasier looked up from leaning down to see a man in front of her. The man had deep, green eyes with quite a messy hair style. The man didn't stand out that much and didn't look that strong. However, it was obvious that he was a lot more experienced that her in terms of combat. Indeed, Kasier would definitely have to become stronger so it wouldn't be her who was helped but her who helps others. Kasier smiled and blushed, grateful that someone came along and is willing to buy this ice cream for her. Although the news around here at the moment is that many players have been player killing others recently, there are still definitely people who try to be nice to others... Someone that Kasier strives to be. She stood up and looked around before beginning to speak, "Uh yes, thank you! I would really appreciate you buying this ice cream for me. It's actually quite hot right now and I would love an ice cream. But don't bother with me if you don't have the money to do so. I can definitely go on for a few days without food. Anyway, my name is Kasier, it's nice to meet you, uh..." She said, not knowing the man's name and not knowing how to refer to him. He didn't look that much younger or older than her but looks do deceive people quite easily. Kasier was someone that would love to help others and she definitely wouldn't mind helping someone else... Yet at the moment, she was unable to do so. "Anyway, come on, let's go inside and eat there!" She said, excited and ran towards the entrance before she even finished the sentence.

[Helios 0]

Helios smiled. "It's no problem at all. Like you said, it's hot out right now. It doesn't really seem right to me to leave you out here to look through the window wishing you had ice cream." Before she was able to finish her sentence, the dark-haired woman rushed inside of the shop excitedly. The young man chuckled, following her inside. "I'm Helios, by the way. Feel free to buy anything, I don't mind paying." The NPC greeted the two players as they entered. He took a closer looks at all of the different flavors the shop had to offer. It looked tastier than some of the other cafes and shops in town that he loved.

"They all look so good, I don't know what to choose." Helios chuckled, "I'll let you decide first and I'll probably end up getting the same thing." The girl was clearly happy about the treat that the curved-swordsman had decided to buy her, so he was fine with letting her pick her ice cream out first.

[Kasier 0]

"Oh ok, I'll just order for both of us then!" Kasier said, excited for the ice cream that she will soon be receiving. Ice cream had always been one of her most favorite food items of all time and now, she will be getting a taste of it, except it would be virtually. After a few seconds of looking through the menu, she decided to go for the most expensive ice cream on the list. Mainly because it sounded so bizarre. (By the way, they are sitting at a table at this point... Just thought I'd mention). What she had decided to order was an ice cream by the name of <<360 Dankest Ice Noscoping Cream>>. The menu described it as three hundred sixty flavors at once and that was what sealed the deal for her. With her arms raised, she called out to the NPC waitress. "Waitress! We'll have two <<360 Dankest Ice Noscoping Cream>> please. Make it quick!" She shouted, beyond excited for the new flavor of ice cream that she will be testing and experiencing.

-------------------------------------

(Time skip of Dreams) Soon enough, the ice cream arrived. What was on the table in front of her was ice cream that had a variety of colors and smelled... That's right... SMELLED nice. It smelled to be a mixture of strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, cheese, etc... Mostly flavors that she couldn't possibly distinguish even if she tried her hardest. Kasier smiled, grabbed the spoon, scooped up the ice cream and brought it to Helios's mouth. "Open up! This is thanks for inviting me to ice cream!" She said, her eyes closed in happiness as she brought it forwards closer to Helios's mouth.

[Helios 0]

The name chosen for the ice cream was... interesting, to say the least. «360 Dankest Ice Noscoping Cream» wasn't a flavor Helios had ever heard of before, but he thought he'd give it a try, if that's what the woman planned on getting. The waitress quickly brought the two their ice creams, and weirdly enough, they even smelled pretty tasty. Three hundred and sixty different flavors all combined into one. It was like heaven had transformed into a frozen dessert. Suddenly, the dark-haired woman picked up her spoon, scooping up some ice cream with it, and brought it up to Helios' mouth. She seemed to want to feed him as thanks for spending col on her. "Uh..." He spoke, unsure of what he should say. Instead of speaking further, he simply opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him the ice cream, although it seemed kind of weird to him. A complete stranger was feeding him ice cream called «360 Dankest Ice Noscoping Cream». What a day.

[Kasier 0]

Kasier grinned with her mouth wide as the man ate the ice cream that she had fed him. To her, it was a symbol of friendship and without a second wasted, she took the spoon and started eating the ice cream. "Well, it's time to dig in, I guess! Thanks for the food, Helios!" Kasier said, completely astonished by how great the food tasted. The flavor was absolutely indescribable. It was literally three hundred sixty flavors mixed at once that it was impossible to distinguish the different flavors apart. Indeed, the deliciousness was absolutely amazing and if the first thing that she eats in this game was so delicious, then she can't wait to try out some of the new things that this game provides in this game. She could only imagine the different food items that she could eat - Italian, American, British - everything was bound to be delicious. Her taste buds were literally itching for the food in this game and soon enough, she'll be able to make her own food as well. Indeed, she is planning to take the <<Earning a Living>> quest and as soon as she finished with the quest, she'll cook as much delicious food as possible and then share the food that she cooks with other players in this game of Swords Art Online. "Say... Helios. I was planning on becoming a cook in the next few days. Once I finish that quest... I'll cook lots and lots of delicious food so be sure to come over to my shop and eat a lot of my food ok? I'll make you my official food tester!" She said, keeping on quite the wide, large smile.

[Helios 0]

It didn't surprise Helios, but the ice cream tasted quite incredible. He couldn't tell which flavors were which. Part of him was busy enjoying the taste, while the other wanted to know how it was created. What materials did the NPCs use to make such a delicious and unique ice cream flavor. The girl thanked Helios once again. "It's no problem at all." He replied, watching her take her first bite as well. The noirette had a feeling his facial expression was similar to her own. He chuckled before picking up some more ice cream with his spoon and taking another bite. Tasting this food had made the young man want to take up cooking once again. He hadn't done so since the closing off his shop.

Coincidentally, the dark-haired woman began to talk about becoming a cook. "Really? I'm actually also a cook. I used to have a shop on this floor. Once you get a shop I'll be sure to come over and try some of your food." Helios grinned. Curious about how Kasier felt about the ice cream, he once again looked up at her. "How are you liking it?"

[Kasier 0]

"The ice cream is great!" She said, almost too quickly after being asked the question and almost too loud as well. She looked around and hugged herself as she saw a few gazes coming her way. After that, she said in a quieter tone, "Uhm... It's really strange but somehow all the colors work with each other so perfectly. Even if one doesn't like the flavors as a whole, there would always be some flavor inside the whole ice cream that someone would like. I don't think anyone would dislike this ice cream. This ice cream sure is similar to the world itself because the people within the world all have different personalities and if someone doesn't like how the world is, there's always people within the world that they like." Kasier said rather wisely. Indeed, she was not someone who would go into something deep but she knew that she can occasionally pull something wise from the brain on that head of hers. It was then that she heard Helios was also a cook and she was about to ask to go check out his shop when he stated that that he used to have a shop on this floor. She assumed that the man no longer had a shop or he just simply moved his shop up a few floors. "Well. When I get my shop, you are going to have to come and show me your cooking skills! By the way, what do you like to cook most?" She asked, having no idea what she could make when she opened up her shop. Indeed, she did cook quite a bit back in real life but here, what she cooked might not be liked by the general population of Aincrad.

[Helios 0]

After Kasier exclaimed that the ice cream was great, Helios chuckled. She then became a bit quieter, explaining how the ice cream flavor was much like the world. He thought it over for a moment and in the end he agreed with the woman. "Wow, that was deep. You know, Kasier, you're actually pretty cool." He replied with a friendly smile as he leaned back into his chair. It wasn't that he had expected her to be dull and boring, but she had surprised Helios. She seemed to be a lot more interesting than the noirette had anticipated.

The girl asked him what his favorite thing to cook was. "Well," he started, trying to think of his favorite meal to cook, "I'm a fan of making desserts, personally. If I had to choose a single dessert as my favorite, it would probably be cherry pie. What about you? Anything in particular you enjoy cooking?"

[Kasier 0]

"Hehehe... I guess that just came to my mind." She said when Helios commented on his comment being quite a deep one. It was then that he smiled and informed her that she was a pretty cool girl. "I'm pretty cool? Gee thanks. I think you are a pretty cool guy as well Helios! Here, I'm gonna add you as a friend." Kasier said, clicking open her virtual menu and after clicking a few buttons, sent the friend request to Helios. It would be nice to fill that friend list with people that she can call upon whenever she came across a cool adventure to go on. Kasier smiled after she sent the request to Helios and directed her attention to him as he started to speak once more. "Desserts? Like cake and stuff? Well, I guess I have made a few cakes once or twice in my life but I'm mostly into main courses. I can do all types of things like creating pizza and soup but that was back in the real world. If I had to make any of that here, I would probably fail miserably." She said, taking yet another bite onto the delicious ice cream. "But now that I have eaten this ice cream... I'm thinking of making ice cream myself. I don't know how they keep it frozen like this though. If I made ice cream... It would probably melt as soon as I finish making it." She said with quite a grin. At this point, evening had already approached the world of Aincrad. People say that time passes fast when you are having fun but she hadn't expected time to travel at such an extraordinary pace. With a smile, she looked outside to admire the beauty of the sunset.

[Helios 0]

Helios grinned when the woman decided to send him a friend request. Without even thinking, he moved his hand above the "accept" button and pressed on it with a single finger. "It takes a bit of practice, but you'll get the hang of it. It's not actually a whole lot different than cooking in the real world. I'm sure if you tried making ice cream it'd turn out awesome!" He assured the raven-haired woman. Looking down at his bowl, Helios realized there wasn't a drop of ice cream left in it. "Well, I guess I'm out of ice cream." He sighed, looking back up at the girl. Then, he noticed that her level was only one. It explained why she had no col and why she wore the starter gear. Of course, Helios had worn his until level thirteen or fourteen.

"Hey, how far out from the Starting City have you gone? I don't mean to offend you, I'm just curious." He inquired, wondering if she'd even left the city before. He was also interested about what weapon she used, if she even used one. He was aware there were people out there who used their fists instead, with the Martial Arts extra skill. 

[Kasier 0]

Kasier grinned even wider when the man accepted her friend request without hesitation. It was the first name on her friends list and their bond would only get tighter and tighter as time progressed within the game. Unless the unfortunate occurs... Which she hopes doesn't and probably won't happen as long as she is careful... And as long as she can protect Helios by healing him whenever he needs it. "Cooking is similar here to the real world? Well, I'm sure it is. Well, I guess we won't know how my cooking skills are until I actually make the ice cream huh? I sure am excited to become a cook... I wonder how many people would like my food. Say, Helios, did you get a lot of business while you ran your shop down here? I was wondering what floor would be the best floor to open up my restaurant. Eventually, I want to become a well-known cook in the world of Aincrad." She said after she was bombarded by a question by Helios as well. The man obviously saw how low leveled she was and was probably curious as to what she had been doing since entering this game. "Oh. No offense taken, Helios. Well, I have taken a few steps out of the safe zone and even healed another player as they fought boars but that is pretty much it. Eventually, though, I would definitely go out more and progress up the floors so I can catch up with the rest of the players." She finished before asking a question of her own, "So, Helios.... You're level eighteen... What's the highest floor that you've been to so far... Heck, I don't even know what floors have been unlocked yet."

[Helios 0]

"I didn't get a whole lot of customers, but I was only a level three cook. At the time, there were other better cooks. There tends to be more people here than any other floor though, so I think the Town of Beginnings is the best place to start." Helios explained. All of the talk about food was making the curved-swordsman feel like reopening his shop. He quickly shrugged off the thought, however, knowing he didn't have the materials to do that at the moment. "Oh, so I take it you're a healer then? If you ever feel like taking a break from the crowds and noise of the city, send me a message and I'd be happy to join you."

More players began entering the NPC run shop, most likely wanting to try the interesting ice cream that was made there. "Want to take a walk through town?" Helios asked Kasier, since he didn't feel like sitting in the busy building for much longer. He was hoping there would be some streets in the city that wouldn't be so crowded that you weren't able to maneuver through them.

[Kasier 0]

"Yup. I am taking the role of a healer. I have heard recently that healers were quite required these days. I heard that one died in the front lines while the other retired from the front lines and healing forever with the love of her life. So... I guess the place needs a healer to keep the front lines alive and well when they fight those tough bosses. Soon enough, I'll make the front liners and do my best to help out with the escape of this game. And I guess that settles it. I'll definitely be opening the shop on this floor. Of course, I'll take the advice from the expert himself!" She said, noticing that the man's ice cream was over at this point. Feeling that she was obliged to finish hers as well, she took a few spoonfuls of ice cream and watched as the delicious ice cream disappeared completely from her bowl. With a deep sigh, she slammed the ice cream on the table and moaned. "Oh geez... Severe mind freeze." She said after having finished the ice cream that she so dearly enjoyed. "Alright. I guess I wouldn't mind a walk through the <<Town of Beginnings>>. It would be nice to digest some of this ice cream through walking." She said, standing up and realizing that night was almost upon the world of Aincrad. A few minutes more would result in darkness. Some stars were already in the sky and while the sun was falling down on one side of the world, the other side came out the silvery moon which will soon shine its light upon the world of Aincrad. "Looks like it is going to be a great, clear night... Where do you want to go in this big town?" She asked.

[Helios 0]

The raven-haired swordsman knew exactly who the healers she spoke about were, but he didn't say anything about them. "I'm definitely not an expert." Helios chuckled, modestly. The woman finished her ice cream and stood up, accepting the man's invitation to go for a walk. He looked out the window as well, noticing it had become quite late. "Actually, I can't really think of anywhere in particular. The only places I usually go to down here are the cafes and occasionally inns." He replied, admitting that he had never really explored the town much. In fact, he almost left immediately after arriving in Sword Art Online, although he was aware of the risks. "Let's go take a look at the town, I guess." Helios said, heading towards the door.

The noirette held it open for his new friend and smiled as he breathed in the cool night air. The streets were fairly empty, other than the occasional player walking down them. To the left of the shop, although they were quite far away, was a group of players, who were being very loud. "So, where should we start?"

[Kasier 0]

Kasier smiled s the man stood up and held the door open for her like a real gentleman. She could tell that the man had learnt his manners correctly and is willing to hold the door for a lady such as she. Not that she actually considered herself an actual lady. With her back straight, she walked out of the door and looked around. She really hadn't explored the town that much so far in the game but even at night, she could tell that there were still lots of commotion between buildings and different crowds. Upon exiting the building, she and Helios was immediately interrupted by loud noises from a group of players nearby. They were standing outside of a building that was rather well-lit and to be honest, Kasier was quite curious as to what the place was. Places that she had been to so far was really the marketplace where lots of people opened their shops, the peaceful park that she slept in often, and finally the free inn that was offered to newer players... Which she was, of course, now no longer a newer place having actually exited the inn. Kasier sighed and looked at Helios, "Look... It's pretty late into the night now... And the sky is filled with bright stars and the moon is already high in the sky. But I'm feeling as energetic as ever from that ice cream and it seems like many players are partying in the building as well. Let's go check it out, Helios!" Kasier said, wanting to check out the commotion in the building just a few blocks from them. The ice cream that she had eaten had filled her with energy that would prevent her from falling asleep for quite a long time. With a smile, she grabbed onto Helios's hand and dragged him along with her.

[Helios 0]

The door swung close behind them. It seemed like Kasier was as curious as Helios about the crowd ahead of them, because she began to look in their direction as well. He wasn't too surprised when the woman said she wanted to check out whatever was going on. Until she grabbed a hold of his hand, that is. "Ah, alright." he chuckled, following along. The building was quite well lit, although the amount of lights might have been a bit overkill. Loads of players swarmed both the inside and outside of the structure, which by the looks of it seemed to be some sort of hang out place. He had seen things like this at taverns and other places before, but there were a lot more players than usual, which he thought was odd. Maybe there's some sort of event going on or something. The player thought, since it was probably his best bet.

"Hey, what do you think's going on here?" Helios asked the dark-haired woman. He was definitely interested in whatever was going on, even if it was just a party. Clearly the ice cream had given them both a fair bit of energy, although it wouldn't last them a long time. "I guess we'd might as well get rid of this energy we have." Helios chuckled.

[Kasier 0]

Upon reaching the destination with Helios trailing closely behind her, she realized that the area was filled with players. People seemed happy and what was inside appeared to be a tavern... Or a bar of some sorts. People were dancing inside as if something amazing had just happened in their uneventful lives. People were drinking and there was a corner where everyone had collapsed. It was, overall, a great atmosphere and everyone was having fun. There wasn't a single person who wasn't giving Cheers! in the building. Now, Kasier had experienced alchohal plenty of times before with her college friends... Who were unfortunately dead inside this game and watching her from above in the stars. However, she had tried her best to stay away from anything in fear of what she might do if she was drunk... Which she reached the status pretty easily if she did consume alchohol. "Alright. It seems super cool and awesome in there! Let's go in!" She said and charged in without waiting for any response.

(Short post... Wanted to get this done quickly.)

[Helios 0]

(Ye, I gotchu)

Although Helios had drank in Sword Art Online many times, he had never found himself drunk in the end. He had always thought it wasn't possible in the game, however the people inside of the bar definitely looked as if they had had a few too many drinks. Especially the players passed out in the corner at the far end of the building. Even outside of SAO, it was hard for the noirette to get drunk. Of course, he didn't often try to do that. Occasionally, he and his friends would celebrate things by going to their local bar.

To be honest, Helios wasn't a fan of crowds like the one the two players were caught in. However, Kasier seemed to be enjoying herself, so he decided he'd go along with her. He rarely even entered places like that by himself, so going with another person wasn't something he normally did. His reason for this was simple enough. Drunk people tend to annoy him a bit. "Shall we sit?"