[PP-F1] Noontide Greetings (Itzal)

[Evander 0]

Evander sat back in his chair, looking out of the window of the quaint little cafe at the hustle and bustle outside on the street. The bright noontime sun shone down on the faces outside. Some he felt as if he had seen before, though he had probably just passed them by on the street, and some were wholly new. People were buying goods from the merchant stalls, talking to one another, looking into the windows of shops, and doing various other things. It was always interesting observing others. Evander picked up his glass of water and sipped at it. When the crowds died down, he would probably go out and continue training. He didn't feel like having to push his way through throngs of people to get out. He scratched his head. He still remembered his first day here in Aincrad as if it had just happened yesterday. He had a long way to go if he wanted to catch up to the frontliners. Maybe he should stop focusing so much on exploring these floors, and instead focus more on speed-leveling? Well, whatever, he could think about this dilemma later. For now, this was his time to relax.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Evander

[Itzal 0]

The sun was shining beautifully on the town of beginnings as Itzal, dressed in his Twilight Cloak, a deep purple trench coat with silver vest and brown pants, leaped from rooftops, beams and archways, making his way across the town with high speeds.  He was an expert at parkour, not only in the game but in real life too.  Most players probably didn't even think about parkour, but he found that it was very useful in getting him to places others couldn't, or as it was originally intended to do:  get from point a to point b faster.  Especially when the streets were crowded as they usually were on this floor.  It was lunchtime and he had food in his inventory.  However he was searching the town for two things:  A quiet place to eat, and a cafe.  His girlfriend Kasier had a shop that served coffee, which meant she liked coffee.  He hadn't tried it in who knows how long so he figured he would try some today.  Hopefully he'd like it and if he didn't, well he couldn't change his tastes.  As he made his way around he spotted a cafe that seemed pretty empty save for a few npcs and one player it seemed.  A nice quiet place to have lunch and test out a drink.  He jumped off the roof, grabbed onto and swung off a beam sticking out from the building, landed on the ground, bending his knees and rolling before standing straight and making his way over to the cafe.  The players and npcs that spotted him didn't react since this was normal.  He'd been here so long they learned to ignore his parkour.  They had come to know that it was his version of walking the streets.  As he passed the lone player he nodded with a smile and greeted him before walking up and getting a cup of coffee and sat down at a table with a relaxed sigh.

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Alright, what in the world, did he just see what he thought he just saw? Some guy just jumped off the roof and walked into the cafe rather nonchalantly. Evander waved at him as he walked past. Was this supposed to be a normal occurrence? No one else seemed to react to this random bloke just jumping off the roof. What was he doing up there, anyway? This guy was a player, obviously. If the green floating crystal above his head didn't tip him off, pretty much everything else did, from his unique clothing style to his wholly human actions. Maybe he got to places by jumping from roof to roof, like some sort of ninja or something? As absurd as that sounded, it was possible. Who really knew, with all of these diverse people trapped in the game. Man, he really needed to hang around the big cities some more, instead of just generally being a hermit and training near small towns. Then, he would probably know more about all of these unique players that were trapped in the game with him. Evander sipped at his glass of water again. The roof-hopping guy was sitting at a table relatively close by. It seemed the player was sipping at some coffee or tea or something. Well, if he wanted to, this was his chance to figure out what the guy was doing on the roof. If he didn't, it would probably bug him all day. "Hey, man, how are you? My name is Evander. How come you were on the roof?" Well, that was kind of awkward and to the point, but at least he was being polite.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal heard a voice and looked up, noticing that the player decided to open up a conversation.  Now that he was looking at the player in the face he noticed that he looked a bit like his old friend Trent.  He wondered what that player was up to.  It had been nearly forever since he'd seen him.  Trent, Adhae and Kooh were the original party he hung out with, but the group had slowed down more and more until it became nonexistent.  Now Itzal was one of the founders of Celestial Ascendant's, a guild meant to help lower level players rise higher swiftly.  He still wondered sometimes how he ended up getting to this point.  When he heard the player's three questions, the third one to be expected, he grinned and nodded.  "I'm doing well thank you.  Nice to meet you Evander, my name's Itzal.  And I typically try to avoid the streets as they're crowded most of the time.  Today of all days seems more crowded than ever.  I wonder if there's a festival going on...  But yeah that's how I typically travel now....  Come to think of it I think it's become subconscious habit at this point.  I don't even think about it anymore."

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Well, that was interesting. He hadn't ever heard of someone who became so accustomed to traveling by roof that it became a deeply-ingrained habit. Allegedly, he didn't even have to think about it anymore. Itzal certainly was an intriguing character. The player was right, though, about the streets being particularly crowded. He didn't spend all that much time in the Town of Beginnings anymore, but it was larger than what he recalled. Perhaps there was a festival going on. Evander took another sip of water. Oh, shoot, he should probably respond to keep this conversation from devolving into some sort of awkward silence that was painful for the both of them. "That's pretty interesting. I haven't really met anyone else that just hops from roof to roof to get to places, let alone someone that does it regularly." Alright, cool, at least it was some kind of response. Though, there wasn't really much anyone could say to that response. "So, uh, what're you drinking? Is it coffee?" Shoot, that was a stupid question to ask to prolong the conversation. It was a simple one word answer. He needed to ask something with more, uh, more information needed? A question that was more, er, personal? He couldn't really think of a word to describe it. Something that required more than a one word response, for sure. "So, what are you planning to do today? Anything interesting?" Sure, that'd work.

[Itzal 0]

To be honest, Itzal didn't have much experience with social interaction.  SAO was the first time he actually held conversations in front of others before.  He learned how to be able to actually hang out and communicate, but something good that emerged from this was the fact that he can't tell if someone's comment is considered dumb or lazy.  He just responds with a smile on his face.  So naturally, when the player mentioned how he hadn't met anyone who does that Itzal grinned.  "Yeah, parkour isn't at all common.  I was lucky to have learned it in the real world.  I just wish the reason for doing so was different."  To the player's question he nodded.  "Well yeah.  A friend of mine made coffee in her shop before she closed it down.  I haven't had coffee since I was young so I figured I'd try it....  I don't think anything's changed though."  He swirled the drink a little bit and took another sip, staring at the drink before setting it down again.  When the player asked if he had plans Itzal smiled.  "Taking a break from level grinding and just enjoying the day.  It's been a long week and a lot's happened.  Plus I have to get some rest before getting to training two players.  I have no idea how I'm going to train them at the same time but I'm sure something will come up.  I just have to let the idea come naturally.  How about you?  Anything you're doing today?"

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Ah, so this guy did parkour in the real world too. That would probably explain all of his roof-hopping tendencies. Though, his last statement about it seemed rather ominous. Did something bad happen? Well, it wasn't his place to pry, and the guy seemed generally happy now, so he must have found his peace with it. Probably. Hopefully. Ah, so Itzal was drinking some coffee. Evander scratched his head. To be honest, he didn't really like coffee. Far too bitter, for his tastes, and he never really needed the caffeine boost. Based off the player's statement about it not really changing since his childhood, he probably didn't really like coffee either. Evander reclined back and took a gulp of water. This water was pretty refreshing. The best part about it, though, was that it was free. So, Itzal seemed to be taking a break right now as well. He also apparently had to train some other, presumably weaker, players. That indicated that he was probably pretty high-levelled, and that he was probably a major part of some sort of guild or something. Interesting. "Well, I can't say that I'm much of an authority on training others to fight, since, you know, I haven't actually ever trained anyone to fight, and I don't know who you're training, but if I were training them, I would probably take them out on some easy group outing, maybe in some easy dungeon or something that wouldn't kill them, like the first floor labyrinth. It would help train up teamwork, working together to tank and switch and things, depending on what type of players they are, and provide some nice experience for them in fighting some monsters without much risk. And, if things go horribly wrong somehow, you can always intervene. But, well, that's just my two cents on the situation. You can do whatever you want." Alright, that was far, far more than was asked of him, and he probably overstepped his boundaries. Oh well. "Oh, uh, my day? Well, after the crowds hopefully die down some, I'm probably just going to go out and kill some easy mobs, to get some experience while not having to push myself all that much. If there's some field boss or something, I may go after it."

[Itzal 0]

The player made a comment and some advice about training the two players and while that wasn't exactly what he had meant he was grateful the player wanted to help.  "Well I can't exactly go on a dungeon raid with just myself and my apprentices for two main reasons.  The first being that the dungeon bosses have been updated recently and are much stronger than they were before.  Another reason is that I'm a scout, and they're training to be the same.  So we aren't masters of damage, though I can hold my own against weaker mobs.  We will definitely be doing some combat training, but nothing as dangerous as a dungeon.  I think that would be something the guild would do as a group.  That suggestion does give me a few good ideas though.  Thanks for that."  When the player mentioned that he wanted to go fight some mobs but couldn't due to the crowd Itzal smiled.  "I think I have just the thing to help you with that.  If you're alright with me tagging along I can get you to the town gate pretty fast.  And no, not by parkour.  I have other means to get through the town.  I just haven't used these means for some time now.  I may have come here to relax, but I enjoy some combat from time to time."

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Ah, so he and the two players he was training were all going to be scouts, and weren't as much focused on damage. Alright, he could see why they wouldn't have wanted to go into a dungeon. Scouts weren't exactly the best at tanking. Though, once someone reached a high enough level, a lot was possible. "Oh, yeah, no problem. I was just trying to help." Evander took another gulp of water. Hmm, so this player supposedly had a way to get to the town gate quickly, and without having to push his way through the crowds, or using parkour. Interesting. Shoot, that was very interesting. His curiosity had been roused. Itzal had to come with him, if he wanted to learn this new way of travel, but that was fairly obvious anyway- how else would he learn it? This guy seemed like a fairly agreeable person, and was certainly an interesting individual. He had no problem with him coming along at all. Unless the guy was leading him into some ambush outside of the safe zone or something, he would be glad to have him along. It would break up the usual monotony of his schedule, too. "Oh, shoot, really? Yeah, of course you could come with me, I'd be glad to have company. Thanks, man." Evander drank the last of his water, and stood up. "So, what are we going to have to do? What are these "means" of travel?"

[Itzal 0]

He nodded to the player when he mentioned he just wanted to help.  "I totally understand.  I love helping other players out any time I get the chance."  He observed as the player seemed to think about something for a moment and he took another sip of his coffee, once again not enjoying it, but not wanting to waste it at the same time.  However when the player agreed to Itzal's offer he quickly paid for the unfinished drink and stood up along with Evander.  "Well it's uh.  Give me a sec."  Itzal opened his menu and moved to the equipment section and selected Niger Natio.

Spoiler

When the outfit materialized he looked up at his friend through the hood and mouthpiece.  "Not many people like to see a shady figure.  I originally designed the outfit like this because the look was pretty cool and keeps me warm, comfortable, and it's pretty roomy.  Anyways when I walk in public, npcs avoid me and players do as well.  If they recognize me, they know I'm in a rush.  Come on I'll show you.  Stick close to me k?"  He led Evander out into the crowd and npcs paused in their place as the dark figure moved by them and as he walked the npcs parted.  It was as if there were an invisible force field only a few inches wide around Itzal.  A force field that Evander followed inside.  "It's still slower than parkouring but much faster than pushing through the crowd."

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Itzal changed sets of equipment and put on some other set of gear that made him look like a fairly shady individual. He sure wouldn't have wanted to meet someone in this garb, alone, in a dark alleyway at night. But, how exactly was this going to help them get out? Wait, what?! No way. There was no way that NPCs and players would part around someone because he looked pretty shady. No way. Evander followed Itzal into the sunlight. A bird flew by overhead, chirping wildly. The crowds parted before them. No, no, no way, what in the world, it was actually happening, the crowds were actually avoiding them. Holy cow. Evander was speechless. This couldn't be happening for real. This had to be some sort of elaborate prank or something. There was no way that someone could look so shady that people actively avoided them. Evander scratched his head. Wow. This certainly wasn't something he saw every day. The seemingly crazy method actually worked. The two made their way towards the town gate. Evander's mind still reeled at the absurdity of the situation. "Okay, man, it's pretty safe to say that I didn't expect that. Wow, it actually worked. Alright then, I'm certainly not complaining." Evander ran his hand through his hair. This was definitely something to mull over tonight. The two eventually made it to the town gate. "Thanks, man, for the passage." Since Itzal had helped him get through the crowds, the least he could do is extend the offer to go fighting some monsters together. "I'm sure you're much higher leveled than me, and that if the mobs on this floor are barely anything for me, then they're definitely nothing for you, but do you want to go hunt some monsters together? Maybe we can find some tough field boss or something? Though, as a fair warning, I've never really fought with anyone else in SAO before, so my teamwork skills are probably shoddy."

[Itzal 0]

When he heard Evander's reaction he chuckled a little bit.  "Well I think the fact that when I started off in this world wearing Niger Natio, I sort of shoved my way through people until they learned to avoid me when wearing this.  I wouldn't do that nowadays, but the memory is still there.  Player's know I won't but npcs aren't the brightest.  Well, most aren't."  When they reached the town gate he turned to Evander, pulling down the hood and mouthpiece and giving his friend a smile.  "No problem man, my pleasure.  And sure I don't mind grinding a few mobs with you.  We won't get good loot but we'll still get experience.  And actually I don't think I've fought a field boss befo- wait...  No there was that one time with Jonathan...  Well where do you want to search?  I know pretty much the entire floor by this point so finding things shouldn't be a problem.  And don't worry about teamwork ok?  I can tank the mobs since I have higher health and you can deal the attacks.  What's your base damage?"

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Shoot, Evander didn't really know any places for a good mob fight, especially with a high leveled player with him.  "Oh, uh, I don't have any particular place I want to go to. Do you know a place where we can actually fight some monsters instead of just one-shotting them? My base damage is 5, but that's mainly because of my bad equipment. Or, er, not bad, but, comparatively bad, you know. I'm using the <Anneal Blade> from that one quest. I invested SP for three ranks in the OHSS skill. While I'm certainly not even close to the strongest, it's decent damage." Evander scratched his head. He kind of stumbled through that. Well, it was fine, he got the necessary information across. Sort of. He should probably tell him his level too. "I'm level thirteen. So, uh, yeah. What are your stats?" Oh, wait, wait, there was another way to do this, wasn't there. Evander pulled open his menu and sent Itzal a party request. "Hey, man, just thought of something, do you want to just create a temporary party or something? That way we can see each other's health and things, you know, and it won't be as much as a hassle keeping track of our stats and things."

[Itzal 0]

Evander asked Itzal if he knew any places they could actually fight the monster rather than one shotting them.  He placed a hand on his chin to think.  There was a section in the forest that spawned monsters according to the highest leveled player nearby, so they could do that.  He nodded.  "Yeah there's a spot in the forest.  Come on I'll lead you there.  Level thirteen huh?  And base five damage?  What enhancements does your sword have?  If you need it I have a tier one sword of mine that I haven't used for a long time.  It has one damage, accuracy, and bleed.  I didn't exactly know which enhancements were the best when I crafted it so it's all over the place, heh."  He heard the player's question and was about to answer when he suggested a party.  Itzal grinned and accepted the party invite, Evander being the leader since he started the party.  "I'm level thirty nine right now, eight base damage.  That's all.  The only good I'm at with combat is evasion, status damage, and then with my high LD I can usually get decent loot.  Let me know if you want to use that sword I mentioned ok?"

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander drew his <Anneal Blade> from its sheath. "This weapon is pretty bad, compared to what you're offering me. It's just an Uncommon, Tier One sword. The only enhancement is +1 damage. So, uh, if we're going to be fighting monsters that are pretty difficult, it may be a good idea for me to borrow your sword, just for these few fights. Three scattered enhancements is better than just one. So, uh, can I borrow the sword for a bit?" Evander put his <Anneal Blade> back in its sheath. Huh, so Itzal was level thirty nine, huh. That was pretty high-leveled. It was three times his level, actually. Wow, okay, that was very high. He was almost at the frontliner level, if not there already. Evander was sure the mobs they were going to fight on this floor were going to be a breeze for him. But, interesting, Itzal didn't seem to be classed as a DPS player or a tank. He was just more of a quick status effect person. But, still, eight base damage was no small amount. At least, for him. "Sounds good. I'll let you deal the last hit on the thing so we can get some good loot. Also, I got a couple of healing crystals in case we need it. So, uh, if we're ready, why don't you lead the way to the place?"

[Itzal 0]

When Evander told Itzal that his sword was an uncommon he knew the answer almost immediately.  As Evander gave the details he went to find his sword in his inventory.  Soon enough he found it and as Evander was requesting it he clicked send.

Spoiler

Name: Retributor
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 8
ID: 62839
Roll: 12 [11+1]
Item Type: One-Handed Straight Sword
Quality: Perfect (Tier 1)
Enhancements: +1 Damage, +8 Bleed, and +1 Accuracy
Description: http://i.imgur.com/5DFfk1z.png?1

 

"Go ahead and hold onto it until you reach tier two, or if you order a sword of your own.  Hopefully you won't need healing potions but it's good to be prepared.  I've got healing songs myself so we should be good for now.  I'll try to keep the damage on me as long as possible.  If their attention somehow switches to you, well it's the first floor so not much damage at all.  The location is somewhere in the forest, and normally hard to find but I know exactly where to look.  Follow me."  Itzal almost leaped into the trees but he didn't as he recalled the other player didn't know how.  So they walked together through the forest until they reached the clearing.  When they did Itzal pointed to a figure in the clearing.  It was a humanoid lizard monster, with a round shield and a one handed longsword.  Itzal drew Ascendant's Rosario, a one handed longsword of his own that was colored icy blue, and equipped Oblivion ring, a trinket that gave him 2 accuracy.  "Wait until I attack it, so that I have it's hate.  Then you come in after me."

Mob info:  400 hp  <>  10 dmg

@Evander

[Evander 0]

The trade notification popped up in front of Evander. "Oh, wow, really? You're just letting me have this sword until I hit Tier 2? Thanks a whole bunch, man. I'll try my best to use this sword well. I'll send it on back to you once I hit Tier 2." Evander hit Accept. The sword materialized in his hands. Retributor, huh? It was a very sleek looking sword. Evander put the <Anneal Blade> back in his inventory and swung the new sword a few times. It moved very smoothly, and was light in his hand. This was a very high-quality blade. It wasn't Perfect for nothing. He would see how he did with it in battle pretty soon. Then, Evander felt a touch of guilt. Itzal was doing such a kind thing for him. He deserved some repayment. "Hey, man, why don't you just collect all the loot from the first few monsters, instead of us splitting it up? We can start splitting up the loot on, say, the third one we take down. I feel kind of guilty for just taking this thing, even though I'm going to be sending it back." Evander followed Itzal into the forest. They stopped when they reached a clearing. There was a mob, standing in the center of the clearing. It was some sort of lizard-man thing, with weapons of its own. Evander looked at its health bar. Holy cow, this thing had more HP than him! He was glad he hadn't found this place while exploring alone. Itzal put on some ring and drew his own blue blade. Yeah, standing back would probably be a good idea. "Will do, man. You go ahead and attack first, then we can see what damage its packing."

Edited October 30, 2016 by Evander

[Itzal 0]

When Evander mentioned not splitting the loot, Itzal guessed why, and when Evander confirmed his suspicions Itzal gave a solid shake of his head.  "Thanks for the offer but no.  You probably need the loot way more than I do.  And besides, I'd do anything to help out another.  We'll split the loot at the end."  When Evander confirmed that he'd stay back Itzal nodded.  "I promise you it's damage will be pathetic.  If there were four of these things then it might be dangerous for you, but right now?  I doubt it."  With that Itzal charged full speed at the monster.  He was debating whether or not to use Soul Barrage, a fighting style he himself, er, an AI that acted as a split personality a while back who had died, had made.  However he figured it wasn't needed for now, and he didn't want to show everyone in the world.  He wanted to reserve it for practice and boss fights.  So instead he used his element of surprise as well as his speed to shoot past the lizard man's last minute defenses and released the sword art Shadow Explosion, dealing decent, but not devastating damage to the monster.  The creature howled with rage and turned to Itzal, it's eyes flashing as he now had the monster's hate.

ID#  70133  BD:  6+2  CD:  7  MD:  5-3=2    Not sure how many fights you've been in with other players, but it won't attack you when you fight...  Unless I miss the next attack that is

Itzal:  780/780  <>  69/78

Evander:  260/260  <>  26/26

Lizard Man:  328/400

@Evander

Edited October 30, 2016 by Itzal

[Evander 0]

Shoot, Itzal didn't want to take the loot. Evander's stomach churned as he felt even guiltier for his fellow player's kindness towards him. Itzal deserved some sort of repayment. But, well, alright, whatever, he wouldn't argue with him. Evander watched as Itzal charged towards the monster, sword flashing in the light. He activated some sword art and carved out a large chunk of the lizard-man's HP. It staggered back from the blow. This was his chance to charge in and deal some damage! Evander's grip tightened on Retributor, and he charged forward at the mob, as Itzal stepped back. His damage would probably be pitiful compared to Itzal's, but at least it would be something. He looked into the monster's yellow eyes for a brief second, before lashing out with his sword, and activating Star Quint Prominence. The sword glowed, and System Assist took over, tracing a vague star pattern in the lizard man's chest. Evander stepped back, and the lizard man charged forward towards Itzal. It swiped at him, but Itzal dodged it handily. Wow, he really sure was fast, wasn't he. Evander glanced at the mob's health bar. Well, he dealt about half the damage that Itzal did, but at least it was damage.

Combat

[H:1] Itzal: HP: 780/780  Energy: 69/78  MIT: 3  Base DMG: 8

[H:1] Evander: HP: 260/260 Energy: 20/26 MIT: 12 Base DMG: 5

Lizard Man: HP: 298/400 DMG: 10

 ID# 70163 results:

 Battle: 8 (8+1(ACC))

Sword Art Activated: Star Quint Prominence

Total DMG: 5x(3x2)=30 DMG done

Edited November 1, 2016 by Evander

[Itzal 0]

Foregoing Action

Itzal watched as Evander charged and use a sword art on the lizard man who flinched and fell backward.  Itzal nodded at his friend with a grin.  "You do well with that blade.  Pretty impressive."  Itzal decided to keep an eye on this player.  If he was a good dps then maybe he wouldn't mind joining the Celestial Ascandants.  He seemed like a solo player but perhaps he'd change his mind in the future.  And if he did it would be nice of there was a guild open to him.  And even if he didn't want a guild Itzal would be willing to spend time with him.  For now however he would be watching how the player fought.  Itzal focused mainly on tactics and strategy.  He of course had Soul Barrage but that was reserved for the most critical of moments or when he was training alone.  Speaking of which he needed to up his stamina and fast.  With the monster's paralysis beginning to run out and Itzal's energy slowly climbing, they would be attacking again soon.

ID#  70166  CD:  12  MD:  6-3=3

Itzal:  780/780  <>  71/78

Evander:  260/260  <>  20/26

Lizard man:  298/400

@Evander

Edited November 1, 2016 by Itzal