[PP-F1] An Abrupt Start

[Sey 0]

Upon arrival, he would go up to a random blacksmith shop. It was a low level, so hopefully it belonged to an NPC. It did not matter how good the shop was or what crafts they were able to make, he was sure that all of them had the same tutorial expectancy. At least, all of the ones on the first floor perhaps. "Business? With these beings? Never." He'd reply to her, though her question did seem rather odd. She was in an MMO, surely she must have had some sort of experience with NPCs. NPC's were given default text normally, and trying to trick them was like trying to trick a brick wall. Unless they were really that interactive... They would not have the ability to react to his existence as if they had life. Or at least, not with memory. He'd approach the man with the handlebar mustache and the dusty apron wrapped around his waist. With this, he'd tap the man to open up a small selection screen. Buy/Trade/or Exit.

With this, he'd then look back to Cyn if she were still around. "The word 'buy' is often a lie for this. It just opens up the options of what you may obtain, including..." A gentle right pointer finger pressed the buy button, opening a variety of weapons to choose from, all of them under the currency of "Col." One of them was a question mark with the cost of no Col. So he'd press that, opening the options. Seems like his theory was right, the risk had been worth it. "From here, you choose a start weapon. All types should be here, so prepare to pick!" But... He was not too sure about what he wanted.

[Cyn 0]

Cyn followed Sey up to one of the low level booths, and her small smile disappeared when Sey responded to her sarcasm. Perhaps sarcasm wasn't her strong suite. She stood silent as he began to tap on the info window that popped up once they got the NPC's attention. Following his instructions, she pressed the little icon with the question mark icon. However, something strange happened after that. A notification popped up on her menu. Raising an eyebrow, she looked over to Sey for a moment, and clicked on the little circle icon. Soon another window popped up. It read "Choosing the weapon that fits you!" Then it had instructions. Apparently it was some sort of personality quiz. The thing would present you with various questions, and depending on your answers, it would gift you with a certain starter weapon that corresponded with your choices. It seemed Sey was right. Starter weapons weren't hard to come by after all.

She backed up a bit to get some space, and tapped the menu. There were 10 questions total, and Cyn took careful time to observe, and think about each one. The whole thing took her about 3 minutes, before finally pressing the final answer, her menu disappeared. She looked around for a moment to see if anything had changed. "Did I win?" She asked to no one. However, suddenly the man behind the booth began to speak.

"Heheheh! Good answers young lady! I think this weapon would suite you the best!" Suddenly, the image of a long, iron sword popped up on her menu. Raising an eyebrow, she looked it over. It was a Katana... A two handed weapon that was known for doing considerable damage, while being light enough to easily maneuver with it. Soon, she tapped the acceptance icon and the long blade suddenly materialized on her waist as her original iron curved weapon poofed away. Staring it with wide eyes for a second, Cyn reached down and unsheathed the long blade. It's handle was black, while its long edge was a frayed iron. She gripped it for a second, staring at it with a slight look of awe in her eyes. "I guess so..."

[Sey 0]

Seems like he was going to have to settle with a spear, it seemed to be the most unique. Many people would like a sword, but that was just not his strong suit. And a spear in his opinion was just as cool.  So he'd flick the spear, receiving the same response from the NPC as he would exclaim with a huge burly voice. "Er... Thanks. Glad to have it." A bit awkward from that exchange, but his smile would return once again as he saw Cyn with a weapon of her own. A sword in a different form, a katana. It made her look more badass, a dangerous player potential for sure. Sey was just glad to have been the one to help her, rather than the one to fight her. In the end, he did not like to imagine having that pointed at his throat. "See? It's as simple as that. I personally think that's a good amount of progress for now, perhaps later on you'd like to fight some monsters with me?"

This was a daring move, but he would tap onto her profile to unlock a few options. One of them caught his eyes, friend requests. It was to help them keep in touch with each other in case they had some other plans or something. Certainly not a strong friendship for sure, if they even agreed that that was what it was, but it was something more than just strangers. With that, he would send it her direction, which should open up a new HUD for her if successful.

[Cyn 0]

The girl continued to stare at the Katana with her wide crimson gaze, completely entranced by its might. She gripped it with both hands, before giving a few playful swings... Smirking, the girl then remembered sword arts could still be used in safe zones, they just couldn't do damage. Suddenly, her blade began to glow a deep shade of red, before Cyn spun it around and slashed the air in front of her! The sword flashed as a huge ripple of air was released from its shaft! Blowing back the dust nearby and even a few of the NPC's various hats. She chuckled staring the blade over... This was obviously the best choice. She then turned over to Sey as he began to speak again. It seemed he had chosen the spear, or at least that's what he had gotten. She had to admit, it made her respect him a bit. Only because of his sheer originality. Most would either go for a sword or an axe from what Cyn had seen so far.

Looking down in front of her without answering, she noticed a notification pop up. Sey had sent her a friend request... She quickly tapped the menu, but hesitated to press the confirm button... After all, she had never gotten one of these before. She didn't think too long before swallowing the lump in her throat and tapping the circle icon. She then looked up to Sey. "I wouldn't mind. Thanks for showing me this place." She stated, staring at her Katana with a smirk across her face.

[Sey 0]

"Aye, not a problem. Just happy to help." Sey would reply to her in turn with his usual mellow voice. As she sliced at the wind in front of her, he'd chuckle a small amount as he noticed the winds taking out even a few hats of unsuspecting victims. So much powerful behind the blade, her facial expression seems to agree with it. As for his spear, he'd rather not test it out at the moment. If the both of them were low leveled, a duel could only hurt them both. They were fragile, and might overstep their bounds. So what was the next thing they could do? One with many ideas like him would be able to think of something, as his smile would then have some meaning to it. A plan had been formed. "Say, perhaps you know of quests, right? Just in case, can you tell me where those are?" He did not plan to take them yet, he'd like to know of her knowledge first. See how much of Aincrad she really knew. His intentions were just to fill the potholes of her mind, he can't have a partner that was ignorant to video games. Far too risky for him.

[Cyn 0]

Cyn would stare at her Katana for a few more seconds before slowly sheathing the blade back to her waste. Turning over to Sey as he asked the question. Her eyebrow raised. Was he being serious? Did she know what a quest was? Cyn knew she was still a newb, and didn't need help proving it, but she couldn't tell if Sey was testing her or asking for his own benefit. Either way, the answer would serve her purpose all the same. "Of course I know of quests." She snapped. "And you can find them all over Aincrad from what I've heard. There isn't any specific place to go for them. NPC's usually give them out, but the majority are in safe zones." She told him, being as honest as her knowledge on the subject would let her. She hoped he was only testing her understanding. She couldn't afford to have a partner who was blindly walking out of the safe zone without knowing his purpose. Too risky for Cyn to have to watch his back all the time.

[Sey 0]

Well that was something that was odd, he usually obtained them through things like a community quest board or something of the sort. Perhaps he had been underestimating the wrong players knowledge, for it might have been his own that was lacking. Seems like he was going to have to take a little more humble of an approach than he had expected in order to gain a bit of favor. Acting like the perfect player would only give him a bit of suspicion. "That's interesting, I always thought there was one specific area where it would be located. Like a list or something. Eh, not the first time I have ever been wrong." He's shrug his shoulders and closed his eyes, showing that he did not really care to admit such a thing. Why did it matter anyways? With that, he would then tilt his head to the side as he would then open his eyes once again. "All right, now housing. Any idea how that works, because I honestly don't know. Unless I have to scrap up some Col for an inn... Which does not sound like a comfortable position to be in."

[Cyn 0]

Cyn would arch an eyebrow at his response. She thought about for a minute, and she could guess where he got his understanding from. Like she had stated before, quests could be found all over Aincrad, and it was true a lot of them were given by NPC's. Although it wasn't unheard of to have a quest board set up to give newer players an easier time finding, and completing said quests. 

As as she thought about it, his next question turned Cyn's attention back to Sey. She tilted her head for a moment, trying to remember the answer.

"Houses are expensive actually. You need to have a lot of Col to buy any of them." She told him, her face looking downwards with a finger on her chin. "Inns are the best place to sleep until you actually make any progress. And despite what you think, they're actually decent, and cost as little as 10 Col per night." She said. "Well. Most are anyways. I guess it depends on what floor you're on."

Edited November 10, 2016 by Cyn

[Sey 0]

That sounded within reason, though the inns being 10 Col and having a decent structure? That was something he'd like to see for himself. As of right now, he did not even know how to check his currency. The most he could hope for was that the makers were at least able to provide him with a decent amount of Col to survive the nights needed. It was a bit disheartening to be so lacking as of right now, unable to check if he could afford an inn. He was not sure how easy it was to loot 10 Col, so it was rather a mystery to him about how well they might do or not. What he needed was a merchant, but that was something for another night. Though... Seeing Cyn right now, a small idea did pop up in his mind. However, he instantly denied it. After the claims of being able to build himself up from nothing, he can't all of a sudden make such a request. It would ruin his credibility. "10 Col a night, seems like nothing to take. I'll find some methods, the day is still active."

[Cyn 0]

Cyn continued to be lost in thought for a moment or two, trying to fact check herself through her mind. Of course, she didn't get an answer before Sey's voice interrupted her train of thought. Looking back towards him, she simply shrugged. "I guess. Then again low levels don't exactly have a lot of money." She put simply with a small grin, clearly assuming Sey's pockets were just as empty as hers. It didn't take an expert to figure out, anyways. The fact that he needed her help, and wanted to grab a starter weapon told the girl everything she needed to know. He was in the exact same boat as her. Of course, that wasn't really a bad thing. There were a plethora of things you could do in the safe zones to earn small amounts of Col. But not too small, still enough to get a decent place to stay for the night. She had enough anyways, and wasn't going to run out anytime soon it seemed.

[Sey 0]

Perhaps there was a way to steal Col? Or some gambling site that allowed him to gain some Col? It seemed to have a much better amount of use if it were risked to gain rather than him workiung and possibly dying in the process. The both of them were too low on their levels as it was, it was practically suicide to try to gain the loot so quickly. If what she said was true, it took only two hits in order to get the job done for the monsters. And that was just one monster, a herd of them could be a whole different situation. "Well, it was nice meeting ya for now, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to find a way to get the Col. If I don't get it, I'm out on the streets for the night." A sentence he never thought he would ever say, and a thought that he never thought he would be able to accept so easily. In the real world, he'd never sleep on anything less than a Queen sized mattress. And now here he was, a beggar.

[Cyn 0]

Cyn would simply shrug. "There are multiple ways to earn small amounts of Col in the city. Enough to rent a room at a cheap Inn anyways." Cyn concluded, before turning over to the market There was probably about a dozen or so mini quests someone could find in just a small market square like this one. Of course, most of theme involved the player doing mundane tasks, but then again, any money was good. Especially when you'd rather not be sleeping on the streets for the night. She'd go ahead and explain this to Sey. "There are probably many small quests scattered around the market we're in right now. You'd just need to find an NPC who needs assistance. Granted the quests would probably involve you completing miniscule tasks for little reward. Although it shouldn't be hard to get enough money to stay in an Inn for the night." She'd tell him. A smile on her face. After all, it was the way Cyn had gotten enough Col to sleep in the Inns at night.

[Sey 0]

Sweet, it looks like he was going to have to find a bit of Col through the small quests. None of them could be too hard, or so he would hope. With that, he would place his palms in his pockets as he would think a bit, perhaps those quests could get him straight to the point. Maybe he did not need to rely on luck to get the col, but the quests. Then again, they might need him to gain a bit of luck before he took them, so he once again should go back to scouting. However, how long can he hold up something like that? No, he needed to defend himself for sure. "Sounds dope enough to me, can't quite take too long if I can just talk my way through it. I plan to make a perfectly balanced build, so I'm sure many quests have a part of what I am looking for on top of Col anyways." He'd explain to her before then looking down for the moment, thinking out loud. "And I don't think it will be too easy to get it all together."

[Cyn 0]

"Right." Cyn replied, not exactly sure she knew what he meant, but she kept the impression she did. He did state earlier he was going for a luck build though? She wasn't sure h ow 'balanced' you could be with that, if you were relying on luck to carry you. Then again, she'd heard of multiple people who had created multiple builds for themselves. Depending on what they were doing, they'd always use a different build. "Well, I'm hoping to dish out as much damage as I can, while being too fast to take any." She told him with a grin, looking down at her newly acquired katana. "Think they call those guys, DPS, or; Damage Per Second." She'd tell Sey, crossing her arms. The 'per second' part of that title sounded exaggerated, but she didn't know much about combat yet. Of course, she'd assume that the DPS build would be one of the best if you could manage to pull off those kind of moves. Hopefully anyways.

[Sey 0]

The purpose of the luck build would be to find the items needed in order to make his balance build. It was a little formula, though it required a bit of time and patience. His ending result will have enhanced luck for sure, but not to the point where he can't defend himself in combat against... Say... Another player. Cyn would continue to speak about her plans and what she wanted to be, something called a DPS. Damage Per Second? That was the name of a build apparently, but her explanation of it made it sound much better. It's always effective, especially if she wanted to be a top fighter. "Well that's dope, so you can just wipe out enemies with only a few hits if you get your way, correct? DPS... It sounds interesting." With that, he would look over to his spear once again. It had little use right now compared to what other spears could do. But he knew one thing, it was going to guide him in his beginning steps. "It all just comes down to the right stuff. That's why I want to have luck, so I can get the drops I need."

[Cyn 0]

She'd nod in agreement. Luck was obviously a good skill to have, and yet she'd seen many dismiss it. Often relying on Col to buy them the materials you needed. Of course none of them seemed to know you could get them just as easily for free if your luck stats were high enough. It seemed Sey knew what he was doing anyways. Unlike her, he'd probably had his fair share of RPG's in the past. He knew a lot more about these things worked then she did, even if they had both been stuck in SAO for the same amount of time. "Aye, that's the job description anyways. Only downside is low MIT. Because you're going for speed, you need to sacrifice armor. So if you DO end up getting hit, it can be costly." She'd tell him truthfully. Of course, that was pretty much the only downside though. It was like a mix of the two other good classes. Do as much damage as a tank, but be as fast as a scout. she wondered why she hadn't seen many others take that route. If Cyn had to guess, maybe it was because most people assumed armor was the safest option. But armor was slow.

[Sey 0]

Seems like she had it well figured out, since she could move really fast before striking. Perhaps there was a term for this that he could relate this to. Like Glass Cannon. DPS sounded weird, was that really the popular name for the build in the game? Apparently it was, according to Cyn, an equal-leveled player. "Hey, if you can end them first, they can't quite hit ya now can they?" The player would tell her before then placing his available left palm inside of his pocket. "I'm going to focus on damage and mitigation mainly for the balance build, so that in a boss fight, I can take a few hits ya know." With that, he would make his way over to the door of the shop before opening it. There was one more thing that he would like to do, and maybe he can share it with this being. Cyn might like it, since he felt rather lucky about it. "Come with me, there is something that I feel is nearby, and I am feeling rather lucky." Business normally got done through a whim.

[Cyn 0]

She simply shrugged at his comment. "That's the idea." He'd then go on to explain his plans. It'd be smart to not just focus on luck. High luck stats may be able to get you good items, but they weren't very useful in a confrontation. Especially on the higher leveled floors. Maybe Sey would try and get multiple builds. One for luck, and one for combat. But maybe not. Like Cyn had thought before, he clearly had some idea of what he was doing. So she was confident he could handle himself when the time came. Provided he didn't try anything stupid. Like she had told someone before, 'If there is any risk, it's better not to take it.' And that would be entirely true for this situation. Soon Sey motioned for Cyn to follow him though, and she raised an eyebrow at his request. Apparently he 'felt' something nearby. She didn't exactly know what he meant by that, but she wasn't in any position to walk away from Sey now.

 

[Sey 0]

With this, he would continue to move on. He would have gone regardless if she came or not, this was something he felt like he knew about pretty well. With this, he would move out of the safe zone, spear in hand for sure, but not for the monsters. Something was nearby for the both of them, something that he felt brought good fortune. He moved around slowly, waiting for it to spawn, he was gaining an idea for what it might be. This game truly did have everything if he were right. How did he now about this? This was what the games he played in the past did to him, so he was able to detail certain areas where spawn points would be made. "Look around for a treasure chest, they seem to be around. They are rare based on the games I played in the past, but can promise us something dope. Just trust me on this one." So the hunt was on, he was more than excited for the loot.

[Cyn 0]

Cyn walked next to Sey has he led her out of the safezone. She didn't know what he was trying to find out here on the plains, but Cyn kept a cautious eye out for mobs. They had left the safe zone, so this was a free for all in case any Boar decided to try its luck on the two players. That's when she heard Sey mention something about a treasure chest. Looking back at him with a curious look, she replied. "Err... Alright." She said, her voice obviously conveying her sense of confusion. She couldn't even begin to guess why Sey had randomly thought there would be a chest lying somewhere out here in the open, but he probably knew something she didn't. Like she thought, he had more experience with these sort of games then she did. So i t wouldn't be very hard for her to think he had found something she missed.