[PP-F1] Shaded Flame

[Cyn 0]

Rain... It was raining...

The young black haired girl sat silently by herself (As usual). Staring out the window of the small inn. A blank expression on her face as her crimson eyes scanned the wet street. Watching the players and NPC's stroll by. It was times like these when Cyn could actually decipher who was who. While the NPC's never really seemed phased by rain, (Except those with special environment interaction code) the players could always be seen effected by it. Personally, Cyn never really cared for it. She never cared for getting wet, as it was easy enough to dry yourself off in a VRMMORPG. Or one would think anyways. She turned over to see the large fireplace in the corner, as a group of players stayed huddled next to it. The first floor wasn't known for being cold, but this is usually what is expected when it rains.

 

Without changing her expression at all, Cyn simply turned back again, and swiped her hand downwards in the air in front of her. Her menu popped up, and she began looking over her stats. Perhaps it was time... After seeing so many players get up and leave, trying to fight their way out o this game, maybe it was time Cyn finally joined the battle. She grimaced at her low level stats. Was it fear that kept her from the battle? No... That didn't seem right. Surly she could handle it. Thousands of others could. So what was it? What was the reason she had chosen to wait so long before stepping out of this floor? Thinking silently to herself, she could come up with no answer... Instead, she just turned her head and looked down at her weapon. There was really only one way to find out, right?

[Itzal 0]

Rain made people wet.  Being wet made people cold.  Itzal hated the cold more than anything.  However the combination of his Twilight cloak as well as the survival skill made the cold very much tolerable.  At least when he wasn't on the snow based floor that is.  He had been enjoying a nice peaceful stroll through the town when it had suddenly started raining.  He was debating whether or not he should head home or duck in to visit one of the nearby buildings.  Perhaps he'd spot one of his friends like Kasier.  If he found Kasier his night would really brighten up.  However for now he simply walked down the road with his hood up and his hands in his pockets.  As he walked he detected a player nearby and turned to check it out.  He saw that it was a woman and for a moment he actually thought it was his girlfriend.  The black hair and red eyes, even her face was a tiny bit similar.  He walked over with a smile and waved his hand, greeting the woman, but as he drew nearer he slowed down and his cheeks reddened slightly with embarrassment as he noticed she was not Kasier.  He lowered his hood and rubbed the back of his head.  "Oh, sorry.  I thought you were someone else, heh.  My bad."  He noticed her menu was open and didn't look at what was on it as that was rude, but did notice her curved sword.  Kasier had a curved sword he thought...  He noted her gear as well as the fact that her weapon was ready to be drawn.  "You thinking of fighting a few mobs?  Got someone to fight along side with?"

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Cyn continued to stare out the window, when she noticed a rather odd figure halt. She gave him a quick look, as it was apparent he was no NPC. The man's gear looked far more advanced then any NPC, and most players on this floor that she had seen, so she naturally assumed he was a high level. The man seemed phased by the cold, and bgean walking towards the Inn as expected, but then something strange happened. He noticed Cyn. He was looking right at her, before he gave a small smile and waved at her. At this rather odd entrance, the girl simply raised an eyebrow.

However, the expression on the man's face quickly changed when he got closer to Cyn, and then he explained his strange behavior. Apparently he thought she was someone else. The girl's serious expression didn't change as she continued staring at him. The most uneasy thing about Cyn sometimes was the silence. She rarely interrupted people. She'd much rather let them finish what they wanted to say before she would begin. He then proceeded to question Cyn about her plans. Specifically if she had any intention on fighting mobs. Without saying anything, the girl looked back at her menu, then back at the man.

"Possibly. I'm not exactly sure how these MMO's really work. And no, I don't have anyone to fight alongside me." She spoke honestly, before picking up a small glass of tea, taking a sip from it.

[Itzal 0]

He noted the girls silence, and while it gave the first impression that she enjoyed her own solitude, he knew from past experiences with Kasier before they got together, that sometimes people who seemed like this weren't always wanting to be alone.  When he asked his question she looked at her menu and then back to Itzal.  When she answered he knew she'd need help, or she wouldn't survive.  "Well if that's so then I don't recommend combat any time soon.  I'd wait until you either got to  a decent level and got your hands on excellent quality equipment first, or found someone to fight with.  Otherwise your chances of dying are very high.  In a normal MMO you wouldn't need to worry about that, as you could just keep running out there until you got to a high enough level where grinding the lowest monsters would be easy and you could catch up quickly.  However, this isn't a normal MMO game, so no one can take that risk."  He decided the best course of action would be to wait for her to take in his words and give him a response.  If she didn't he could always offer some more.  He wasn't sure if this player was someone who would accept his help or want to ask for it herself, so he'd need to wait and see.

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Cyn continued to stare the man down as he spoke to her. He was sure eager to dump his wisdom on her that suddenly like that. However, judging by his tone, Cyn knew he was just trying to help. She was silent again for a moment, before speaking once again. "And how do you expect people to get decent levels and good equipment if they stay in safe zones? After all, we all have to start somewhere." She questioned. Of course, the question was a rhetorical, so Cyn proceeded to scroll through her menu. With a few taps, the girls casual clothes were replaced by the standard starter armor which quickly materialized over her body. She stood up and turned over to Itzal. "Although your second suggestion seems to be the safest route. I'll have to find someone to accompany me hunting. Would you care to join me?" She looked him over.

His cursor was green, so that was a good sign, and the fact that he was a higher level meant he probably didn't have much trouble with mobs on this floor after all. "The name's Cyn, by the way."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal was unfazed by the woman's stare and listened carefully to her statement.  He was about to answer that when he noticed she opened her menu, seemingly not listening, and figured out exactly what she had said.  It wasn't meant to be replied to.  He watched her starter armor materialize and turn to him.  When he heard her request he smiled and nodded.  "I'd be glad to.  I can tank the monster so you don't need to take any damage.  Being level one is a real pain but once you get to a decent level then it gets easier.  You can deal the damage while I take the hits."  He decided not to equip Niger Natio for two reasons:  She seemed to be suspicious of him and it wouldn't help if he wore dark intimidating armor.  And he wanted the boar to hit him, and the armor helped Itzal evade his foes.  Before they made their way out the player shared her name and Itzal smiled.  "Nice to meet you Cyn!  My name's Itzal."  With that he offered a handshake before they made their way to the town gates.

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Cyn's expression changed to a faint smile as the man not only agreed, but seemed eager to help a low level like her. She was half expecting him to either flat out decline the offer, or come up with an excuse as to why he didn't want to bother helping out some low level newb like Cyn. It made her happy to know people like this hadn't gotten themselves all killed. She then looked at his hand as he held it out for a shake. She was a little hesitant at first, but decided there couldn't possibly any harm. She shook his hand as he told him his name was Itzal. It was a strange sounding name to be sure, then again so was hers. Even though Cyn was just short for her full name Cynthia. There was also the factor that this was an online game. She didn't expect many people to put their real names as their user.

"I assume you're a much higher level then myself, so any high level wisdom you'd like to tell me before I attack the first thing I see?"

[Itzal 0]

When Cyn smiled it made Itzal very happy to know that she was beginning to trust him.  That was a great start he thought.  When she asked about any wisdom he could give he nodded.  It was important to know everything before running into the situation.  "Right.  So the first thing you want to do is make sure you know how to use a sword art.  Even though you can't harm players in a safe zone you can still use sword arts so there's always time to practice in the town.  I know a few places perfect for sparing too.  At your level you can only use one sword art before your energy is totally drained, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem here.  If you miss the mob don't worry, it takes a bit to get used to the in game mechanics and functions.  You won't believe how many times I've missed my first few times."  As he said this he recalled that one fight with that lone wolf.  The two of them continued to miss each other for nearly half an hour and it was very frustrating for Itzal.  "The monster will have half of your health and ten damage, but with me there you shouldn't have to worry about damage.  Unfortunately if I'm there you won't get any loot other than one material but it's better than nothing."  As they passed the gate Itzal spotted one of the boar that roamed the outskirts, the lowest level mob possible.  He pulled out Oblivion ring, a dark iron ring with red ruby's and handed it to Cyn.  "This will increase you're accuracy by two points and your evasion by one ok?"  He didn't draw his blade.  If he did that the monster would be dead in no time and they couldn't have that.  "Let me get it's attention then you strike ok?"  With that he lunged forward.  The boar was taken by surprise and Itzal dealt another point of damage than he meant to do when he punched the mob.  It rolled backward from the impact but shook off the action and charged itself.  Itzal grabbed it's tusks and stopped it's movement entirely, keeping the beast stationary for Cyn to tackle. 

ID#  70310  BD:  9  CD:  10  LD:  20  MD:  1  - Dang, nearly a perfect roll -

Boar info:  10 hp  <>  10 dmg

Itzal:  820/820  <>  82/82

Boar:  8/10

Cyn:  20/20  <>  2/2

@Cyn

Edited November 6, 2016 by Itzal

[Cyn 0]

Cyn listened intently as Itzal began to explain the know hows on mob fighting. It was all very new to her, even without being an VRMMO. Cyn had never been known to practice playing video games as a hobby. Sure everyone once in a while, she had picked up a controller to try it out when the opportunity presented itself. Yet she had never become addicted enough to get make it a regular action. Therefore, many gaming concepts were still completely new to her.

It wasn't long until the duo reached the outskirts of the large city like "town" and stepped onto the rolling fields that surrounded the safe zone. Cyn looked out over the large plains, taking in on how real it felt. She could honestly say, despite the dark truth behind SAO, it was still an amazing game... However, her staring was cut short by Itzal as he pointed out their first target.

Cyn slowly unsheathed her weapon and gripped it. Her expression turned dark as she got into a ready stance. "Right..."

As soon as Itzal got the monster's attention, Cyn began to focus her mind. Gripping her weapon, the sword began to glow with a red light! Seeing this as the right opportunity, she began running straight towards the monster's backside. With a furious strike, she swung the curved weapon right across the Boar's side as she rolled past it. Success! She had landed her first hit! She quickly got back to her feet and turned over to the Boar. Luckily she hadn't got hit... She brought up her weapon again and held in front of her, breathing slowly as her dark gaze was trained on the mob's glowing scar as it began to fade.

 

Roll:

Spoiler

ID#: 70311

BD: 7+2(Accuracy)=9 [Hit]

MD: 1 [Miss!]

Cyn's HP: 20/20

Cyn's EP: 1/2

Boar's HP: 8/10

 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched as Cyn's expression darkened and she pulled the sword slowly from it's sheath.  He recognized it as a curved sword.  Her expression didn't bother him.  He had already seen who she really was so now he was seeing her in combat.  When she rushed up at the mob she cut through it expertly.  Even without the ring she would have hit the creature.  The boar gave out a squeal of pain and tried to escape but Itzal held a tight grip on it, refusing to let it go.  "No my friend, you can respawn and are the key to get her to a higher level.  I'm not letting you go anywhere."  As if to prove his point he gave another solid punch on the beast, forcing it's health into the yellow zone and watched it's eyes flash orange and continue it's struggling with even more force and anger.  As it struggled it managed to graze Itzal with it's tusk but it didn't effect him other than a tiny bit of hp loss.  He held on tighter, keeping it as still as possible.  "Two more hits should be good!  Go ahead and take the second shot!"

ID#  70320  BD:  6  MD:  6

Itzal:  813/820  <>  82/82

Cyn:  20/20  <>  2/2

Boar:  5/10

@Cyn

Edited November 6, 2016 by Itzal

[Cyn 0]

Seeing as the Boar was completely distracted by Itzal, (The fact that he kept holding it added onto that fcator.) Cyn got ready again for another strike. Planting her foot in a battle stance, she brought the blade over her shoulder as it began to glow the same yellow light...

She began sprinting towards the beast, and brought up her blade for a downward strike. However, the monster must have sensed Cyn's incoming assault. It's eyes flashed, and the boar let out a loud squeal before it shoved into Itzal not hard enough to do any damage) But just enough to kick it's feet up and turn out of Cyn's path just in time!

Cyn's face got annoyed as her sword art passed the monster, not finding its mark. She didn't waste anytime getting ready for another strike, however. She turned her attention back to the creature as it struggled in Itzal's grip. Getting ready for another go.

Roll:

Spoiler

ID#: 70326

BD: 1+2=3 [Miss]

Cyn's HP: 20/20 EP: 0/2

Boarh's HP: 5/10

 

[Itzal 0]

When Cyn rushed forward and missed the boar, it flinched from nearly getting it's hide slashed, but instead became even further agitated after the miss.  It struggled harder and once again ended up hitting Itzal, who still wasn't bothered.  "Alright alright mr. pork chops, time to calm down just a little bit!"  With that he sent another solid punch into it's face, dealing a very strong critical hit, enough to send it's health into the red zone.  After being dazed it's eyes flashed red and this time it became a struggle for Itzal to keep it steady.  The beast lashed it's head around, kicked it's feet, and jumped from side to side, but Itzal somehow managed to hold on and keep it in the general area.  He was about to encourage Cyn not to worry or stress over the miss but it seemed she had already gotten over it pretty fast.  Although her skills with a blade seemed poor, her soul seemed like a natural born fighter.  This made him wonder what her past was like but he shook the thought aside.  It would be rude to pry on any means unless she approached him about it.

ID#  70366  BD:  10  MD:  7

Itzal:  806/820  <>  82/82

Cyn:  20/20  <>  0/2

Boar:  3/10

@Cyn

Edited November 7, 2016 by Itzal

[Cyn 0]

Annoyed with the miss, Cyn planted her foot again, and began to strike again, right after Itzal punched the monster again. Focusing her mind on the Boar as it tried to get away from its captor, Cyn would take a deep breath. She brought her blade over again, and it began to glow with the red light once again! With a furious run, she sprinted right towards the monster!

Bringing over her sword, she slashed the Boar once again right across its stomach and along the side of it's chest! The monster squealed in pain as it tried desperately to shake free from Itzal's grip as the creature's health was only one strike away from death...

 

Roll:

Spoiler

ID#: 70412

BD: 5+2=7 [Hit]

Cyn's HP: 20/20 EP: 0/2

Boar's HP: 1/10

 

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Cyn

[Itzal 0]

Foregoing Action

Itzal watched as she stabbed the boar, dropping it's health down to minimum.  This time the boar's struggling was working.  It was slowly loosing it's way out of Itzal's grip.  As it did he called out to Cyn, "When it breaks loose charge after it and finish it off!  If you can't that's ok I can do it if need be!"  The boar continued to shake, charge, kick, and other maneuvers until finally it escaped Itzal and left him in the dust..  Literally.  As Itzal stood up and began to pat the dirt out he looked up and noticed the boar had stopped....  And was staring at Cyn.  That's right, he hadn't hit it so he didn't get the hate.  She had it.  He knew Cyn could survive a single hit but after that she'd be dead upon next impact.  If she missed he'd charge in and end the beast swiftly.  He nodded to Cyn.  "You got this ok?"  He knew she had this.  She was a natural fighter.

ID#  70418  MD:  3

Itzal:  806/820  <>  82/82

Cyn:  20/20  <>  0/2

Boar:  1/10

@Cyn

Edited November 8, 2016 by Itzal

[Cyn 0]

Not long after Cyn's last strike, the Boar finally broke free! The beast escaped Itzals grip and whined in anger as it kicked around and stomped on the ground with a furious rage. The creature tore at the ground with its tusks, but what happened next was unexpected. The mob completely ignored Itzal, and turned to face Cyn with a furious rage. It was kicking up dirt and was preparing to charge...

Just one more hit. That's all she needed to do. Then she would have successfully killed her first monster. To most, killing a simple boar was nothing. However, too Cyn, this was the first step into a completely new world... A world of fighting... Fighting far more advanced then all her Kendo classes, and that day in the alley... Shifting her feet, Cyn held out her blade. But she did not move... No, she just stood completely still... Breathing in and out slowly as she focused on her opponent. Her expression darkened as she stared at the creature...

With one more furious whine, the boar began charging straight towards Cyn! Despite its low health, it was still extremely fast... But Cyn continued to stand her ground, waiting for the right moment. As the monster came close, her blade began to glow, and within an instant she spun out of the creature's path just in time. Dragging her sword across the monster's body as it ran past. Of course, the impact of her blade caused the monster to stumble and roll on the grass before it slid several feet. The particles of Cyn's sword art still shining on her blade... Within an instant the creature exploded into a large array of pixels...

Cyn said nothing, but just turned over to where the beast was a few seconds ago... Then looking down at her sword. A look of anger on her face.

Roll:

Spoiler

ID#: 70428

BD: 5+2=7 [Hit]

Cyn's HP: 20/20 EP: 0/2

Boar's HP: 0/10

Enemy Defeated

 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched as Cyn masterfully finished off the monster.  He straightened his back out and clapped as he made his way over to her.  "Congrats on beating your first mob Cyn!  Excellent wor-"  He stopped as he saw her expression and noticed she was glaring at the blade.  Was she hating what she did?  Or was there something else on her mind?  He put a hand on her shoulder.  "Hey you ok?"  He glanced at a fallen log and gestured for them to take a seat.  Hopefully she wouldn't mind telling him what was on her mind, though due to her suspicion earlier he was guessing it would take a bit longer than this to gain her trust.  He didn't mind taking his time though, and he didn't want to pry into anything private or personal, especially her real life stuff this early on.  Itzal was naturally nice and willing to talk with others and even he was reluctant to share real life info.  Info that could be used to track him to his living quarters at least.

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Cyn continued to stare at the blade for a few moments with the same angry expression before Itzal noticed something was wrong. Placing a hand on her shoulder caused the girl to snap out of her trance before looking up. "It's fine. I'm fine." She said rather coldly, obviously not wanting to get into it right now. With that, she sheathed her weapon and turned  over to Itzal. "Anyways, thanks for the help. Not sure how well I'd do if that Boar wasn't kept in place." She told him truthfully. Cyn had no idea how more difficult that creature would've been to fight if Itzal hadn't been there backing her up. Probably not good. As she was well aware by this point in the game that it took only two successful hits from a low level mob like that, and she'd explode into an array of pixels. She was just her health hadn't dropped yet... Seeing people's health bars lower made her feel uneasy.

[Itzal 0]

When she snapped and told him she was fine he let go gently and nodded.  "As you wish," he said gently.  If she didn't want to share it was fine, but he hoped she would share with someone who cared at some point.  He watched her sheath her blade and talk to him as if nothing happened.  Itzal gave a gentle smile and bowed slightly.  "No problem at all.  I know how it feels to be at that level.  I still feel it sometimes, especially around the front liners."  He stretched his back a moment before opening his menu and looking through his inventory until he found what he was looking for.  He pulled out a small bag and placed it on the bag, opening it and handing her one of two sandwiches.  "Here.  You can get hungry when your energy's low.  Let's take a break and have some food ok?"  With that Itzal took the second sandwich and took a bite.  After he did he looked to her.  "So what build are you shooting for may I ask?"

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Cyn's face would return to her regular serious expression as Itzal seemed to get her message and backed off. Luckily he was smart enough to realize these things. Most people would pressure more, seeing as Cyn isn't the most open person. Any opportunity to get her to open up was almost always explored, and she hated it. Itzal seemed to know when to stop. Of course, she had only just met him still and wasn't keen on breaking down in front of a stranger...

Seeing the sandwich, Cyn simply took it in one hand and nodded to Itzal. Her way of appreciation. Before long the she sat down on a log as Itzal began to question her about her future plans for the game. Specifically on what build... Cyn looked at him with a confused expression, trying to understand what exactly he meant by that, but then her memory quickly came back to her. A build was a term gamers used to describe the style of how you play. This Cyn had already decided. "I want to be fast, and still do damage. I can't stand wearing heavy armor... Makes me too slow." She spoke truthfully as her mind went back to a day in the market. Then she was able to demo a few different kinds of builds run by an NPC shop. She remembered the one she had just dismissed was called a "Tank" build. "A DPS, I suppose." She said, before taking a small bite of the sandwich.

[Itzal 0]

When she answered him he listened carefully and knew exactly what she was going to say.  When she confirmed it he nodded.  "Ok, so you want to deal damage while evading your foes.  I can vouch for that.  As a scout I didn't focus on damage, so while I'm useful against normal monsters, I'm not that useful for combat during quests or mobs with MIT...  The best damage I can deal is bleed damage, which is damage over time.  While I may not be an expert in dps, I do know that you should try getting equipment that has either evasion, mitigation, thorns maybe, for the armor.  And then either evasion or accuracy for anything else.  You can get a familiar with damage enhancements and if you do that then I'd recommend getting a weapon with status damage, so you can deal a lot of basic and status damage all at the same time.  I'd offer more advice but it's not my forte.  That's Hikoru's job as the dps paladin."  With that he took another bite of his sandwich.  It was decent food but he'd tasted better. 

@Cyn