[PP - F1 - NK] Getting Our Bearings

[Shield 0]

Although Shield had already felt naked when he first arrived, with the realizations of the actual dangers of the world around him beginning to set in, he felt even more naked. It was like Kayaba could just sit back from his invisible vantage point and look right through him. Although his digital body remained impassive, he was almost certain he felt the echo of a shudder, as if his physical body had done so. Thinking of his IRL body now seemed like such a strange thing. He felt so distant from it, though he knew it was right there. It was like lying next to his ex-wife after some of their more bitter feuds. Though physically he was near, there were oceans and continents separating him from himself. His eyes shot a sidelong glance at Beat.

There was no time to be ruled by new fears. Shield's mind was already racing to tackle the obstacles at hand as he took inventory of his reluctant ally. They were starting characters plopped into a world with very real consequences. Furthermore, although his own build choice would be invaluable, not even the best tank would be cut out to solo floor bosses, unless said tank was grinding unnecessarily long on low level monsters in order to far exceed the level of the floor in question. There was no telling how many of the players even had people to care for their physical bodies. To that matter, Shield was not even completely sure if anyone would care for his.

He shook off this line of thinking. Surely there was a registry of players. Once news spread of the incident, the authorities would set about rounding up players to transfer them to hospitals. Still, this was an odd situation that he and his rival had gotten themselves into. It was hard to find words other than the obvious, so he did not force any. Instead, he opened his radial menu and navigated through the options. With a few taps and a soft notification chime, a small dialog box sprang to life in front of Beat.

-Invite-

Do you wish to join this party?

o        x

Sending the invite felt strange. It was like being back in school again and asking someone you didn't know particularly well to hang out. However, awkward or not, this was the game state.

[Beat 0]

Beat stared up at the sky, despite the messages being gone, his mind struggling with the weight of what Kayaba had told them. His empty skill list was no longer amusing and his single digit stats were no longer novel to him. He subconsciously pulled up his menu and stared at the numbers on it, hardly reading them and more staring through them than anything, already knowing to doom they represented. He placed his hands on his head and squeezed as he shut his eyes tightly, hoping that he would somehow break through the restrictions, logout and go back to the real world. The desire to return to reality was something Beat never thought he would ever feel. It was a feeling he could not appreciate in the moment, but it was definitely new. After a few minutes, he yelled in frustration, his long shot of a wish remaining just that: a wish.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" 

He yelled until he was winded, his head significantly clearer after expelling some of the negativity and hopelessness that had begun to consume him. He continued to catch his breath as a party invite appeared before him. He slowly stood up straight and turned to his old rival. The man he was looking at was not his rival, it was now a real human being whose life was in just as much peril as his was. This was no long virtual reality. This was real. Beat gently placed his hand on his stomach, as he digested the situation more calmly, turning to his most trusted guidance councilor. 

What does my gut tell me? 

Without another thought, Beat pressed 'o' and watched as Shield's name and life bar appeared before him. It didn't take much to figure out that two players stood a better chance together than alone. Solo play was for games with respawn timers, not Sword Art Online. He slammed his fist into his open hand, his spirit still shaken, but no longer falling apart. Knowing he was not alone in this deadly virtual landscape was a huge relief and he could feel the tension leaving him quickly. He smiled as he fully faced his new party member. 

"Alright, where to first mister calculator?" 

 

 

 

 

[Shield 0]

Shield nodded, preferring the reference to his background in numbers to further mentions of his scar. He crossed an arm across his middle and held his opposite elbow, steadying the limb for him to rest his chin in his palm. This was a gesture he used more often in real life than in games, namely to use his fingers to cover the mark on his cheek as much as possible. It felt alien using it in a virtual setting, and it made the gravity of the situation settle in just a little more heavily than it already had.

"Well, first things first. Knowing the mechanics of the game is all well and good, but what we need now is information of the game itself. The manuals didn't go into detail. There were beta testers who have more in depth knowledge, but who knows how much of it is still reliable?"

His brow was furrowed. The artificial face that his artificial hand caressed had already had more reason to express emotion than his real one did on a daily basis. He didn't like it. Telegraphing emotions had always been Beat's specialty, not his own. Shield preferred to keep his feelings to himself. The less an opponent can read from the open book of a face, the less they can guess about what's written on the pages below it.

"If there is an information broker to be found, I suggest we find one. We may not have Col to start with, but we'll know where to take it once we find it."

He started walking, gesturing for Beat to follow. The two had never coexisted peacefully before. For that matter, they had also never had a conversation about anything other than the games they played.

As important as it is to know my enemy, it is just as important to know my allies. Support needs to have the forward's back, and we're no good in combat if we can't work together outside of it.

With one of the bigger internal sighs that Shield could remember taking in quite some time, he opened his mouth to speak.

"So... um... What do you do for fun?"

Before Beat could even answer, he already felt like he was on a blind date that was not going well. There was no way to talk to his old rival as if they had not spent the better part of the last year criticizing and slighting one another in game and in chat. He distracted himself by scanning the square as they made their way towards the more populated part of town.

[Beat 0]

Beat chuckled after Shield's question. Despite the awkwardness, Beat could appreciate the attempt to move past the animosity between them, but his mind had already changed on much of that. Most of the change was due to the sudden shift in priorities in the game, but he had always known that there really wasn't anything wrong with being smart about the way to approach a game. Who could argue with the results like that? Sure, their personalities would still clash, but this was more than a game and old grudges had no place here if they were to work as a team and who better to have on your team than the other number one player on Crossreign. He responded in a carefree manner as usual, which seemed to lighten the mood in this particular situation. 

"I play video games of several varieties. How about you?" 

Nothing wrong with actually getting to know each other. I trust his skill, but we'll need more than that, I can tell. My gut is never wrong. 

[Shield 0]

"I don't get a ton of free time to do much aside from work and play MMO's. Before I got into MMO's, my family took up most of my time."

He regretted starting with such an obvious question. As the avenue opened back up on the smaller square, small shops began to swim into view. Shield craned his neck, trying to see whether any of the merchants looked like they would be of interest. He frowned. It looked to be a lot of little run-of-the-mill shops that sold common wares. He quickened his pace, hoping a new district would turn over more useful stones.

I suppose asking about gaming is only part of the issue. We all have a reason to game, after all.

"What got you into MMO's so heavily? You obviously have a lot of dedication. So why gaming? Why not sports? You could probably make a name for yourself there."

This line of questioning was dangerous, because he knew it would eventually lead to his own reasons for gaming, but if nothing else, it might avoid another 'Nice scar, dude' in the future.

[Beat 0]

Beat often moved from one topic to another very quickly, but he still listened when people spoke to him. This tendency often gave him the appearance of not truly listening when it was just that he had a hard time sitting still sometimes. If something was important, he would address it appropriately. 

Past tense...sounds like something I maybe don't want to pry into just yet.

He continued to listen, actually finding a non-hostile conversation with his rival refreshing. Their rivalry was certainly, at least partially, due to their egos and the one part of their personalities that they shared: their stubborness. Whether either of them were ready to acknowledge that fact was another matter entirely. His face took on a more somber expression at Shield's question, though he managed to hide it somewhat. 

"Video games kind of came naturally to me and now, video games are a sort of sport. The real world doesn't interest me too much." 

He refrained from mentioning his family life, mostly due to the fact that he had grown so accustomed to running away from reality, that his life outside of video games was nearly a second thought. In a dark, sort of sad way, being stuck in SAO was preferable. This fact was likely something Beat himself was unaware of, but it was there, waiting to be discovered some way on a therapist's couch. He managed to brighten his expression as he decided to change the subject from motivations, subconsciously avoiding the subject. 

"What about you? Why choose MMO's?"

Edited January 13, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

"Well, you're not the only one who wants to leave the real world behind," Shield replied. "In their purest form that's what video games offer: escape."

While comradery was all well and good, this was hardly a time to do into detail, and it seemed that Beat felt the same way. That suited Shield just fine. With a start, he realized that he had been running his fingers across his scar, and quickly made to brush back his hair, his face still as impassive as ever despite accidentally drawing attention to that which he would prefer go unnoticed, or as much as possible, at any rate.

This new interface is going to take some getting used to. I need to pay more careful attention that I don't treat this like real life. Then again, I can't entirely treat it like just a game, now can I?

"To give a more complete answer, though perhaps not an entirely complete one, you know me and numbers. The mechanics of MMOs spoke to me, so I spoke back. I don't want to blame destiny, but it certainly seemed like a good fit."

[Beat 0]

Beat nodded in understanding. In their heydays of Crossreign, Shield's ability to calculate spawn rates and drop rates was legendary. Beat had the skills that gave him his namesake, but despite superior skills, Shield's numbers matched him blow for blow. Strategies to assumed Beat would hit and even sometimes counted on it made their stalemate the legend it became. To say Shield had a natural gift for certain types of video games was certainly an understatement. 

"My win-loss record on Crossreign can attest to that. I'll be interested to see how you gift works while stuck inside the game." 

Beat's eyes locked on an npc, surrounded by players. Some of the people around the NPC were simply eavesdropping, but others were speaking to him and exchanging money. His eyes glanced to Shield, before returning to the person feeding panicking players information, for a price, of course. 

"That may be the guy we're looking for, what do you think?" 

[Shield 0]

Shield looked over at Beat and nodded, stepping closer to try to catch snippets of the conversation. Listening in was difficult, to say the least. The majority of the throng were shrieking about being trapped and wanting to go home. These contributors were being less than helpful.

Can't say I blame them. None of us signed up for this. I wonder how many of these people had never tried a real MMO before this. I can't imagine how scared and out of place they would feel.

Shield tried his best to tune the extra voices out, managing to catch bits and pieces of words between wails.. 

"It sounds like they're discussing some kind of quest. Something about... an unlockable skill? I don't know how useful that will be early on. I've already invested my starting SP."

Shield leaned in closer and squinted his eyes, his ear cocked towards the knot of people at the center of the crowd to try to make out any relevant information. He shook his head.

"I'm not getting much else. Maybe we should move on or try to find someone else..."

Shield straightened up and peered over the crowd as best he could towards the edge of town, wondering silently to himself what dangers would lie outside of the city limits

[Beat 0]

Beat put himself in the middle of the crowd to try and get close to the information broker, unable to hear anything from out where Shield was scouting. He ignored his brush up against a rather large bosom, thankful that the girl didn't notice. His ears perked up at the uttering of two words: "...hidden skill.." His advances grew almost feverish as he pushed into the inner circle of the crowd. He wanted to scream and demand information, but he managed to hold his tongue as he heard more. 

"A clearing in the woods near the entrance on floor 2..."

Beat had heard all he needed and pushed his way out of the crowd, staring wide eyes in excitement at his new ally. 

"New skill on the second floor! Clearing in the woods by the entrance!"

Beat waited for Shield's response excitedly, already having decided that he was going straight to this clearing on floor 2. 

[Shield 0]

It had not escaped him the value of a skill without investing SP. Points were a precious commodity at lower levels, so to advance in a skill without investing was nothing to turn one's nose up at. Still, nothing in life is free, and the same is usually true in MMO's. That would likely go double for ones that had real-life ramifications.

"On the second floor?" Shield thought aloud. "That won't come without risk. You can't just waltz up to a new floor and expect to be able to handle the tasks set before you."

He scratched his chin, closing his eyes as he weighed the situation. There were a lot of unknowns in this equation, and not knowing either the payout or the cost was troubling. Still, with such stringent limitations on where points could be spent at low levels, it at least warranted gathering more information before deciding.

"Well, if it's a free skill that falls outside of the parameters of your level limit, that sounds like it's worth investigating."

[Beat 0]

Beat smiled as he took off towards the city gate, his mind racing with the potential benefits of the new skill. If it was on the second floor, it probably wasn't game breaking, but it certainly warranted investigation. That was how they would rise to power, investigating interesting leads and using caution to avoid getting themselves killed. It was true that they were level one, but an info broker giving tips that would temp low level players to that floor would likely not give said tips if the risk was that great. As he broke into a jog, he looked back to see that Shield was still following. 

"How do you think I got to the top? There has to be some risk involved for it to be worth it. If it is, then that just means we get stronger that much faster!" 

Beat might have been using a little reckless abandon, but the journey's distance would require him to pace himself. Running full speed to another floor was not an easy feat. 

[Shield 0]

Shield growled aloud to himself before taking off after Beat to not lose sight of him in the winding streets of the beginning town. It was not difficult to keep up with him, but Shield needed to be close enough to to be heard.

"Beat, we need to talk about this first! We don't know what the mobs are like, and we don't even know if we can escape them if they surprise us!"

He took in a sharp gasp of air and thundered his feet against the ground, pushing to catch up. He knew that Beat was unpredictable at times, but taking off out of nowhere to embark on a quest without even discussing it? That was unexpected.

"We don't even know if this skill is going to be useful! It might even be something useless like-" Shield gasped for air as he thought of an example, only managing to come up with, "-sandwich making! I don't know!"

[Beat 0]

Beat looked back and was glad to see Shield keeping pace. He had no reason to believe that he would be faster, but the difference in their builds would possibly lend one to the misconception that Beat was faster. Beat slowed down to allow Shield to catch up with him so they could talk, but he wasn't stopping for fear Shield wouldn't let him get going again. 

"You really think there is a sandwich making skill hidden in the woods on floor two? Tell you what, if you're right, then I'll give you the first rare drop we find."

He looked ahead, enjoying his time in the world he would likely be in for years. There was no way of telling for sure how long it would take players to clear up to floor 100, but he knew it wouldn't happen quickly, especially with how careful everyone would need to be now that their lives were on the line. He looked to Shield again as they were just clearing the city gate. 

"Look at it this way: it will probably involve a quest and quests give items and skill points. We don't have much to lose, I'm sure we can handle any monsters we find along the way." 

[Shield 0]

"You're sure? What are you basing that on? Have you even read the manuals?" Shield had a bad feeling he knew the answer to that already. "We are level one going up to floor 2 without having experienced combat yet. You are basing your decision off of the payoff, not the path! That's borderline suicidal, given the situation we're in now!"

He knew that his words would come across as borderline cowardice, but it was not his own safety that he was concerned with. He did not want to get into the deeper complexities just yet of why he needed so badly to survive, but with death as an actual possibility, he would have to find some way to impress upon his rival that the situation could not be handled with such flippant abandon.

"Don't you have people you want to see in the real world? Don't you think that running off recklessly might get in the way of that?