[PP-F3] Solitary Struggles

[Telrenya 0]

Floor Three. Telrenya's self-proclaimed 'home', more or less. Or at least, one of the floors where she spent the most of her time. Far outside of Delilah's safe zone, the woman had decided to leave her unimpressive Artisan shop for some impromptu training. She had managed to raise her level quite a bit in the time since she had visited Aereth, the tailor who had crafted the set of vanity armor that she wore out in the fields. Even so, she still found herself lacking. She took too many hits, and while her strikes had gotten more precise she had caught herself misjudging an enemy's health pool or defensive stats that had her damage falling short.

The woman let out a sigh as she reached the edge of a wooded area, fingers curled around her right wrist as she rolled the joint a couple of times. "Never thought I'd be the kind of person to start worrying about stats and strategy..." She mumbled. A grey-brown hood rested atop her head, but the thin silver mask that would normally accompany her armor set hung from a leather strap on her left thigh. Normally-blonde hair was dyed black, and her naturally chocolate-brown eyes were instead a dull green. Reaching across her body, she gripped the hilt of her rapier and pulled it from its scabbard while her focus set on a simple-looking wolf stalking the perimeter of the forest. She walked close enough to attract the monster's attention, holding her weapon at the ready once the monster bared its fangs at her.

@Neo

[Neo 0]

Floor 3. A place in which Neo both loved and hated to traverse through sometimes. Loved because some views from the wooded areas were simply something to behold, despite being something out of a video game. Hated because sometimes the enemies got the better of him and he had nearly died on some occasions, had he not used some sort of exploit to escape. The heavily forested area greeted him with open branches as he walked through the forest, darkness encompassing the main part. Neo continued to walk through a specific path in which he knew most of the wildlife wouldn't be able to detect him. Most. The other small percentage that had a chance was almost never there; they were usually used as cannon fodder for some of the higher levels around the forest. As he continued on his walk, his eyes scanned the tree line for anything suspicious or just simply something to admire.

He seemingly found both when he spotted a girl was about to attempt to fight one of the woodland trolls, fangs bared and in attack position.

Clearly Neo could tell that the girl had no real sense of strategy or even a plan of action. She just had walked up to the monster and seemingly said, "Come get me". If she had done time to study most of the attack patterns these kinds of monsters took, she would probably notice the fact that it would go for her blind spot first, which happened to be her left side. He began debating on whether or not he should intervene. If the girl was confident in her level enough that she would be able to come out here and fight, Neo really shouldn't be worried. But, if his assumptions about her lack of strategy were correct, this could end in a more tragic way than he wanted. Out of the goodness of his heart, or perhaps just the foolishness, Neo quickly sped towards the monster, taking out his trusty Perfected Hailstrom Katana, even though it really wasn't that special to him, and slashed the monster right in its back. It reared forward in pain and Neo called out to the girl, who had her rapier at the ready, and said, "Get him, while he's distracted! Stab him right where his neck would be!" He said about where his neck would be because it looked as if the troll had none. A literal head connected to a body would be a good way to describe it.

WC: 419

  @Telrenya

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Neo

[Telrenya 0]

She let out a steadied breath, readying herself for the monster's attack. She tried to think of the best way to avoid its blows from each angle, reminding herself to keep aware of her surroundings and not to let herself get backed into a corner among the tightly-knit trees to her right.

While she ran through her mental checklists, and before the lumbering troll had fully lifted its wide hand to swipe at her from the side, a blur of motion caught her attention. Another player appeared to have delivered a blow against the creature that towered over them, landed in the fields on the other side of it and calling out a direction for her to follow-up his attack. Telrenya simply blinked in surprise. What was going to be a simple training session in evasion and accuracy suddenly turned into a strange tag-team battle. With her moment of inaction, the troll began to turn towards the boy. When it's stormy grey eyes had left her and its muscular body began to shift was when Telrenya finally snapped to attention. If she didn't keep the pressure on, the troll would start swinging at him instead. While she couldn't be certain of anything from appearance alone, she didn't want to risk the chance that his own defenses might be lacking.

Wordlessly, she dashed towards the monster, keeping her blade in close at her side. Pushing herself off the ground, she pulled her elbow back before thrusting the tip of her rapier into the troll's flesh, aiming for the exposed area that the boy had called out for. With the heel of her boot digging into the monster's shoulder, she ripped the blade out and was able to deliver two more successive strikes before she was forced to retreat, jumping back and dropping to a knee with her landing before she was quick to straighten back up. Telrenya had dealt a considerable amount of damage, but the troll would still be standing for at least one more assault.

@Neo

Edited December 19, 2017 by Telrenya

[Neo 0]

Neo blinked and grinned in satisfaction. The girl wasn't half bad. Hell, her last shot even dealt some near fatal damage! But, problem was, the troll was still standing there, which meant its speed stat increased by two fold. He sighed. Neo should've kept attacking the monster while in wait for the girl to support him. Strategic misread on his part. Neo then took the moment in which the troll's AI was switching targets to shove his katana right where his liver would be. It read as a critical hit, and the troll disappeared in a cloud of mist and data. Neo resheathed his sword and sat down on a nearby tree trunk, breathing out a breath of refreshing tree air. He looked over at the girl and smiled warmly. He was impressed. Neo then checked her level and did a slight bit of a double take when he found out what level she was. Also a bit amused. Neo never thought he'd see the day a higher level player would be struggling, or at least finding difficulty, in vanquishing simple monsters like the one they had just killed. But of course, power is nothing without skill and experience. Especially that in a game like Sword Art Online.

Neo shrugged to himself. It really didn't matter to him what level you were. All that mattered was how you played and if you could pull your own weight.

He decided to praise the girl a little bit, saying in a prideful and confident tone, "Hey, nice job out there. When I intervened I was hoping I didn't shock you to the point where you couldn't move. Sorry about that. Just thought I could help a fellow player out, since not a lot of that happens these days. Which is deeply disappointing." Neo then stood back up, stretched a little bit, and walked back up in front of the girl to get a better look. She looked, well, wonderful in Neos eyes. The girl was sleekly build, lean but not too built. Easy for her to manuver and gain more speed he guessed. She was shorter than Neo, which he always finds adorable whenever meeting new people, particularly girls, and her eyes were a wonderful mix of brown and auburn. Neo, after dusting himself and his clothing off in a very dignified manner, extended his hand, smiling politely, and he spoke in a friendly tone, "Hey there. I'm Neo. What's your name?"

[Telrenya 0]

(ooc: hey, sorry to be kind of nit-picky, I just wanted to point a couple of things out. Normally, a player's level can't be seen unless you're in a party with them. And she's currently using vanity items to change her hair color to black and eye color to green, so it's off from my picture. Sorry about the confusion!)

The stranger's next strike was the one that took down the monster, and as the troll vanished in a burst of light and pixels Telrenya let out a small breath. She still intended to get some proper practice in while she was out, but for now it seemed introductions were in order. She brought the tip of Veiled Dusk to its scabbard and sheathed the weapon at her hip, turning her attention to the black-haired boy as he spoke up to compliment her. She felt a twinge of discomfort, for a moment thinking to explain the reason why she was out on her own in the first place, but thought better of it and focused instead on the hand he held out to her.

"Erin, nice to meet you." She no longer hesitated when giving the assumed name, offering Neo a smile in return as she accepted his hand for a brief shake in greeting. It was then that she noticed how their eyes had met, something that seemed to rarely happen when she teamed up with other players. The reason was soon made clear, as she realized the silver mask she would typically wear with the rest of her leather and light metal armor was still hanging at her hip.

She took a moment to remind herself that the mask's absence wasn't any trouble--the boy across from her was practically a stranger, and it would be highly unlikely that he would recognize her by her facial features alone should they run into each other in her 'standard' blonde, white-and-gold appearance, right? Besides, what would it even matter if this person recognized her?

Before she could get too terribly lost in thought, Telrenya's hand found its way past her dark hood, sliding over the back of her neck. "Wel, thank you," She started, feeling the need to thank Neo for the assistance he provided. "I was actually just out here to practice my form a bit. So, uhm, I'll probably just continue looking for mobs." She tried to explain.

[Neo 0]

Neo nodded, grinning slightly. He always did enjoy the polite type of girl. They were always very nice and kind, plus they fought pretty hard when the situation came to it. Or the girls he had met that were polite seemed to do that. Neo wasn't really good at interacting with the female gender most of the time, so he knew very little. Just the stereotypes people usually spout off about. He let his arm hang at his side as she began to explain a little bit why she was out here. Neo nodded as she said she was just practicing her form. From that, and the fact that she seemed completely oblivious to the monster's left side swipe before Neo intervened, he deduced that it wasn't just form she lacked. Erin had a lack of battle strategy, quick thinking on the run, a foolproof plan as Neo would say. It wasn't uncommon, and Neo wasn't annoyed by it. He knew that SAO would most likely be many peoples first, and probably last, virtual mmo, so it was natural to find people with a lack of skills and or coordination here. Erin wasn't bad, no, her coordination and attacks were very precise and agile. She was quite capable in combat. But, without combat experience and/or a strategic like mind, it wouldn't really matter how hard or how fast you could hit. If you had no strategy, you'd just be playing like a newbie. Waving your sword or axe around hoping it hit something. 

It was comedic when that happened, but basically a death sentence if it so happens in a combat situation.

Neo though, did have many  years of experience. He played virtual reality games, which kept his coordination at a near perfect condition, and played lots of fighting and mmos. The other games helped him to analyze players and what their goals and objectives were, and helped with recognizing attack patterns with monsters as soon as the first couple blows were thrown. Of course, this wasn't fullproof, and it didn't always come to light some of his guesses. But when they did, it made his life a helluva lot easier. So, Neo decided to tag along with Erin, maybe teach her a thing or two as they both leveled up a bit. As Erin finished up her short explanation, Neo began to look her over slightly, analyzing any interesting things to nitpick at and ask about later on. He took notice of the silver sleek mask attached to her hip belt, the light glinting off its polished frame. Neo's eyes widened slightly, as he only heard of a couple of elite players who wore a mask in combat. Most of which were either bandits or guild members, who wouldn't usually take the time to train down here. He decided, against his better judgement, to talk about that more later, when he got to know Erin better. As she finished up, he looked at her and said, "Hey, Erin right? I could always tag along if you need an average strategist. The more the merrier, right?" He dusted himself off and straightened his collar, saying, "I really only came out here to find either some trouble or some fun, and I think if I stick with you I can find both. So, what do you say? Do you mind a kind stranger like myself helping you with killing some forest monsters?"

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya would have normally been hesitant to accept the proposal of grouping up, tagging along, or otherwise training together with another player given the circumstances, but the way in which Neo offered to stick around caused her to chuckle. Her left palm remained resting on the edge of her scabbard as she shifted her weight to one side, the corner of her mouth lifting into half a smirk. She gave a quick nod, "Sure, why not?" She accepted. Despite the initial misunderstanding, Neo seemed like a nice enough person, and she didn't have any reason to doubt his intentions. Having only seen a few short seconds of the boy in combat, she wasn't sure exactly how to gauge his ability, but even if she had watched an entire fight play out between him and another forest troll she would really only be able to compare his damage output and defenses to what she knew of her own.

"Come on, there's probably plenty of trouble deeper in the forest." She gave a tilt of her head to the side, turning her shoulders and heading past the treeline. Rather than waiting until they'd found more monsters to tangle with, Telrenya pulled her rapier from its sheathe again, holding it at her side as she walked. Unfortunately, this was the part of traveling with others that still seemed to make her uneasy: a silence began to settle over the two players. She normally didn't mind small talk or casual conversation, but she didn't like talking about herself in situations like this--it would only raise questions she wouldn't want to answer. So, she shifted her focus to her new travel companion, choosing a topic that wouldn't dig into either of their personal lives. "Was that a curved sword you were using?" She asked, casting a sideways glance toward Neo before returning her attention to the wilderness in front of them. "I only caught a glimpse of it, but it looked a bit different from most weapons." She commented with a hint of intrigue.

[Neo 0]

Erins chuckle made Neo grin slightly. He was glad he could bring someone joy in this depressing death trap of a game. It didn't happen often, so he was glad that it happened today. As Neo smiled and began to trail slightly behind Erin, he unsheathed his Katana and looked it over, wiping it off with the edge of his shirt, checking for remnants of troll blood. He twirled it a couple of times in a flower like pattern and then cut into the air with a solid woosh. He looked up at Erin, and in reply to her question, raised the Katana up and the color of blue light seemingly shone from it. "Oh, this little thing right here?" Neo replied as he waved it in the air a couple times, as if testing its weight around. He then lowered it so it was at Erins eye level, showing off the careful indentations and carvings in the edge of the sword, and then continued, "Its name is Perfected Hailstrom. I feel as if that's too much of a badass name to give to a seemingly uninteresting rare sword though. Sure, it has detail, but nothing much else. All bark and no bite." He brandished it in an offensive position for a couple of seconds, to give Erin an example of one of his poses, and then re-sheathed it, the metal swishing into place in his jade black scabbard. Neo sighed and said in a disappointed tone, "I just wish I had a better sword to use. If I had the perfect sword, I would customize it exactly to my liking, right down to the effects, color, and physical appearance. I hear, but these are just rumors okay? Don't hold me to it, but, I heard there are ways to level up and kind of "rebirth" a sword to make it even more powerful than its previous incarnation. Sounds something out of a fantasy anime, but it seems plausible, as this game is the literal definition of impossibility in it of itself, so maybe this sword is meant for something more than it initially was intended for?" He was about to begin again, but he decided against it, afraid of dominating the conversation entirely and making things even more awkward than he felt that they were. Neo, now embarrassed for hogging all of the conversation, said in a shyer tone than he had begun in, "I'm sorry for pattering on like that out of the blue. Just never had the chance to talk about anything like that to anyone except, well, you. Probably one of the downsides of being a solo."

Another downside of being a solo player was not having anyone to back you up in the case of a terrible misread or tactical mistake, which Neo had a small list of. Plus lack of emotional support. Cue the tears and the sad anime music. 

Neo ignored his random thoughts for a moment and then asked in a more lively tone to Erin, saying, "You know, you seem like a gal who knows her way around places like these. Where'd you come from? Whats your SAO story?" Before she started though, he would kindly interrupt with a hand gesture and say, "I'm not pushing you to reveal your life story and what not. I understand that many things are personal to many players, and I'm perfectly fine with that. Its your choice, you choose when you wanna talk at your own pace." After he'd give her a chance to consider, he'd say, "Alright, sorry for that interruption right there. I just didn't want this little expedition going off in the wrong direction if you know what I mean. Sooner or later, if I become too much of an annoyance, you'll probably stab me through the back while I'm not looking and say 'oops, my hand slipped'. Remember, your choice. You talk at your own pace, etc etc." 

      @Telrenya    

(Thanks for the nitpicking and advice! Also, sorry for not tagging you in earlier posts.)

Edited December 20, 2017 by Neo

[Telrenya 0]

(All good! I get a notification from following the thread anyway :P)

She watched as Neo flourished his blade, listening patiently to his explanation and mention of its quality.  When he went on to describe some sort of weapon modification, Telrenya wracked her brain for the memory of such a thing. Perhaps not quite what he was going for, she spoke up when a recent encounter came to mind. "Ah, I've seen something...well, kind of like that. There's a field boss one floor up that drops an item to increase an item's rarity. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but it might help." She offered the information with a small smile.

Neo took over for much of the conversation, though Telrenya didn't mind. It was kind of interesting to listen to him speak with such enthusiasm, and she gave a shake of her head when he apologized for it. He turned the exchange to her, asking her more about herself, but not before a disclaimer and another quick apology. She simply smiled, picking her hand up and waving it lightly through the air in front of her. "It's okay, really. I don't mind. I'm not all that talkative, myself." While the statement might not have been wholly true, it at least applied in this instance. Focusing on the topic of conversation he'd presented to her, Telrenya took on a thoughtful frown, mulling it over for a few moments before speaking up. "I've...been around, yeah." She started vaguely. Her time in Aincrad thus far had been first incredibly uneventful, and then quite the opposite. The past couple of months especially brought about plenty of memories, both warm and dreary.

She exhaled through her nose, still not quite sure how to properly answer him. "Well, lately I'm just trying to get as much experience as I can. Quests, grinding, the whole deal." She started, finding it better to focus on the present rather than the messy past. "The sooner I can get to the frontlines, the better, really. But the past couple of times I've noticed I get hit too much, and I'm still not as used to the assisted combat as I need to be. So, here I am." She shrugged.

(ooc: sorry, phone post~)

[Neo 0]

(Its alright. I know the pains of phone posting.)

Neos eyes widened as Erin mentioned this certain field boss. This so called item could potentially increase Neos Katanas power to a point in which he may be able to enchant it and add some magical effects to it. The thought of even more power allured and seduced him, to a point which he almost began staring off to space thinking about the potential attack bonuses and such. But he'd do that later, as he had a person with him, and he wouldn't want one of his only newly made acquaintances in this effing game to shrug him off for being a total klutz and spacing out in the middle of her sentence. He smiled back at Erin, saying in a grateful and excited tone, "Thanks so much! Floor four, huh, I never would've guessed. When we're down here and back in a public space, I'll go ahead and ask around about that. Perhaps you'd like to come along for the ride?" He left the question off like that and continued to listen to Erin, acting unconvinced when she said she wasn't that talkative. Neo slightly teased her, saying, "Are you one of those shy girls that go crazy when the moment arises? You sure look like one I'd like to get crazy with." Neo nearly blushed himself to death once he realized what he said. He made a quick apology and motioned for her to move on. Her vague answer to being around didn't surprise Neo. He assumed that those places were either filled with too much happiness to list down, or filled with pain and strife that she just didn't want to use to reopen old wounds, both of which Neo understood. Sure, he had never experienced loss before, nor had many super happy memories, but he understood that there were those moments in peoples lives. To him, he was completely average. Regular. His life was comparable to one of a side character might lead in a TV drama, like the mailman who just appears for one episode and then is gone. Then, for people like Erin, their lives were the whole damn sitcom. Which both can lead to Neo being jealous or just lead him into pitying to those who lead the sadder side of those lives. He hoped that he would never experience loss, but he knew that it would come soon enough. Like a crashing hurricane to tear down everything he had worked so hard to build.

Guess he would just have to try and lower the casualties then.

When Erin mentioned experience, his ears perked and his mind gears started turning. The mention of the front lines just gave him more food for thought. Now he was really interested in who Erin really was. If she was on the frontlines half of the time, why was she down here farming experience instead of up there tearing down armies of monsters with fellow guild members? He assumed that she was in a guild from the fact that only a few soloists managed to fight their way through onto there, and with Erin seemingly in the role of a DPS player, he assumed that she was paired with another DPS, a tank, and a whatever else they have up there. He yearned to one day have the strength and level to fight alongside fellow experienced MMOers or whatever they were called in the fight to return to the real world. But, that was gonna have to wait until he had mastered all aspects of the game. Returning back to the real world with a snap of the fingers, Neo said, "I could teach you the basics of planning and strategy. It could just be enough to help you keep those hits off you long enough for someone to help you." He then chuckled and said in voice that was dripping with sarcasm, "Oh, but don't mind me. I'm just a low level player. Why would you need help from someone like me?" He was kidding of course.

(oh f me in the a, I keep misinterpreting what you’re saying lol. Sorry about that. You can ignore the whole part about that Frontline stuff if you want.)

 @Telrenya

Edited December 20, 2017 by Neo

[Telrenya 0]

She gave a nod. The Snow Beast on the fourth floor was the first opponent that she took on where she began to notice her combative flaws. Aereth had helped her immensely at the time, and there were times she wished she could bother hum for another training session. But the tailor seemed to have quite the busy life himself, and she could only rely on him as a mentor so much. Besides, he had already done more than she could ask for; she already felt indebted with little idea as to how she could repay his kindness thus far.

Neo's playful comment took a second to register in her mind, and when it had along with his own flustered reaction, Telrenya's face took on a scarlet hue. She had little reaction besides the suffocating embarrassment, but as Neo was quick to move the conversation along she decided to brush it off and focus on composing herself.

He broke the awkward silence with another offer, followed by a haughty comment directed towards himself. She couldn't tell if he was actually poking fun at his own strength (or lack thereof), or if he was implying that she looked down on him. Or perhaps the comment was entirely in jest, and he was simply pointing out how they were adventuring on a lower floor. She let out a small chuckle, though it was a hint more forced or nervous than a natural laughter, but she then gave a shake of her head and regained herself with a more serious tone. "Mm, I don't think it matters what level you are. Err, anyone, I mean." She clarified her use of the word 'you', and then continued, "Even if I'm a really high level, if I'm no familiar with a certain game mechanic I know that's just enough to cause a slip-up." Her dark jade eyes dropped to the woodland ground in front of them. "And that's all it takes for people to get hurt." She chose a softer-hitting word to use, but the point of her message was as clear as she could make it.

She pulled her chin back up, a forced smile doing well to overtake the sour topic. "Sorry, no need for all the doom and gloom. Long story short, I would really appreciate it, actually. How about we trade for getting you that quest item?" She offered, a new, brighter sincerity in her voice and expression.

[Neo 0]

Neo nodded, delighted at the chance of being able to teach another person the tricks of the trade he had learned throughout the years of his gaming life. There was so much to choose from, analyzing player behaviors, taking health pool and level into consideration when predicting attack patterns, etc etc. Albeit there was a limit to what he could teach her and what he needed to keep classified, it was still quite the exciting venture. Neo always thought he would make a good teacher, and now was the time to show it. He’s never really taught anyone the skills, as he’s never trusted anyone enough to keep them a secret. But, he trusted Erin, and knew he was already on pretty good terms with her. Neo knew he could trust her not to tell anyone this sensitive information. Unless it were a life or death situation of course. Then, under those circumstances, may she share what he taught her. So, he stopped in his path and said in reply, “Sure! It’s only fair I do something for you if I want your help.” He reached out his hand for her to shake on the deal, Neo smiling warmly as always. But, he provided one more warning, saying in a serious tone, “I can’t have you telling anyone about this, okay? Unless it is a life or death situation. That’s different. But if anyone else was to obtain this information, it could easily fall into the wrong hands and just shoot us in the foot, basically halting progress until I could get it all sorted out. So, are you ready to guard this secret with your life?”

 

(Sorry for the extremely short post. I too have now been restricted to phone use.)

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya quickly switched her weapon to her left for a moment so she could take the hand that he held out with a wide smile of her own. He added on to the offer, a sort of condition to keep the information a secret. At first, it confused her. But the more he explained, the gears in her mind began to click into place. If Neo was offering information that would allow anyone to excel more easily in combat, there was one player she knew she would never want to have an advantage over someone: the man clad in black with the piercing blue eyes.

Her expression was one of understanding, and at the same time she tried not to let her nerves build up around what seemed like knowledge with a heavy weight to it. She had stopped moving, putting a pause on their trek through the forest while she faced Neo and gave him a short nod. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Despite her best efforts, a small bout of uncertainty caused her to purse her lips lightly before she spoke again. "Uhm, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to... I mean, I won't tell anyone else if it's a secret, of course, but if it's important to you, and we've only just met..." She pulled a gloved hand up to the nape of her neck, lightly grazing the skin under her fingers as she averted her gaze. "Just... Like you said before, I don't want you to feel obligated or anything."

[Neo 0]

Neos mouth slid upwards in a half kind of grin. He definitely thought she was trustworthy. His doubts definitively dissipated a bit when she confirmed that she understood his motives. Neo knows too many people who would use this knowledge to further their own personal gain, and to make others lives like their own personal hell. Neo wished he could share the knowledge with more people, like a combat centered info broker. But he couldn’t, as he probably would get cornered somewhere and then tortured for more information of exploits, NPC glitches, best places to farm EXP and gain elite-tier items without working for it. He had to keep this secret. It was a burden for him, seeing all the innocent people die around him when he could’ve helped them survive by sparing just a little bit of knowledge. But he just couldn’t. Neo at the beginning of this already lonely road didn’t have anyone trustworthy to share information about with, and didn’t trust any players anyways because of his solo habits. But now, with the appearance of Erin, he could finally confide into someone things he had been hiding since the start of this eternal conflict. Neo appreciated the concern Erin showed though, as that finally put the case to rest of whether or not he could share this information. She was someone he could trust, most likely with his own life. If she can be trusted with that, Neo knows most definitely she can be trusted with some information about combat.

Plus, maybe today was the day he stopped being a solo player, and finally put his life into another capable persons hands.

Maybe it was time to stop worrying.

As Erin shared her concerns with Neo, he carefully laid his hand on her shoulder, shaking her a little. Once her eyes were on him, Neo would say in a confident and welcoming tone, “Those worries of yours? Yeah, you can go ahead and let them go now. These skills and slight exploits I guess? They’re just gained through a couple years of gaming experience. It’s no big deal. Plus, I do kind of feel obligated to tell you some stuff, since you know, the deal we made?” Neo laughed a little at his own joke, and then finished his point, “Look, you’re the most trustworthy and friendly person I have ever met so far in this godforsaken game. Everyone else were either just blips of good luck or downright horrible towards me. You, you’re special. You’re different. A good kind of different. And I want your kind of different to live on in this sick world. So, I will teach you, and I will make sure you survive. Do you understand me?”

Neo found that last statement ironic, since Erin seemed to be levels beyond what Neo was at.

 @Telrenya

Edited December 20, 2017 by Neo

[Telrenya 0]

Her eyes snapped back forward when Neo carefully jostled her. She just listened, taking in his words until he prompted her for her understanding. Her bottom lip stiffened, taken aback by his kind words and still working to process them as the faintest tint of pink dusted her cheeks. A bit embarrassed by the compliments he offered despite them having only just met, Telrenya struggled to maintain eye contact while she dragged her hand across the back of her neck one last time before letting it fall back to her side.

"That's all really nice of you to say," She started, the words mixed with a light chuckle. "and we don't even know each other. Do I have that good of a first impression?" She joked with another small laugh, shaking off her nerves with a bit of humor. It did the trick, more or less, and the corner of her mouth hooked into another half-smirk. "Alright then, a deal's a deal." She said in a more decisive tone. Still holding onto the rapier at her side, she gave the hilt a quick turn. "I'll try to put this top-secret gaming knowledge of yours to good use."

[Neo 0]

Neos smiled had a mix of his skin color and pink as he clearly saw he flustered Erin a little bit. He didn't mean to embarrass her, only to tell her the truth about what he thought of her. He sincerely thought she was a wonderful person to be acquainted with, and he thanked fate for allowing them to meet. Neo hoped he was doing an average job at showing his feelings. He chuckled as Erin made her first wisecrack of the day, and that helped Neo relax back into a more happy composure. Neo, in response to her joke question, said, "Man, if my first impressions were as good as yours, I probably wouldn't have been a solo player to start out with!" He laughed a little bit, hopefully making the atmosphere a little less tense and more fun. He got into a more serious composure however when Erin more or less confirmed she was ready. "Alright, now that you're ready, there are a few basic things I would like to go over with you before we start putting them into action," Neo said as he found a comfortable seat on the grass where the light shined down from above onto him. He more or less patted to the spot next to him, gesturing for Erin to take a seat. Whenever Erin was ready and she took a seat, he looked at her again and began his beginners lecture, saying, "The three basic things that I'm going to teach you about will most definitely help you in the rage of battle and war. They're easy to remember and are probably three of the most important out of the vast amounts of knowledge that I have. First," He put up one finger and then continued, "Are the creatures battle patterns and habits."

"Now, back there where you were fighting the troll? It was about to strike you from your blind spot, the spot you were most vulnerable at. It won't always necessarily be the same spot every time. Sometimes it depends on what kind of monster you're fighting and what their attack style is. Attack style and attack patterns are different, but we'll go over that another time. Point is, if you want to get started on memorizing attack patterns and being able to predict a monsters movements easier, you're gonna have to group similar monsters into similar categories in which to classify them in, which simplifies the whole process. It's much easier to have a more general prediction of an attack pattern of a monster to memorize than to have to memorize every single movement or action it takes specific to its creature. You wouldn't be able to do that unless you were using exploits."

He stopped for a moment to regain his breath and to answer any questions Erin may have gotten during his little talk.

 @Telrenya

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by Neo

[Telrenya 0]

Veiled Dusk once again found its sheathe at her hip, and Telrenya followed as Neo designated a small clearing for the two to sit. She dropped down beside him, crossing her legs in front of her and listened intently as their lesson began.

Her brows narrowed slightly while she concentrated on everything he had to say. She seemed a bit troubled by his initial explanation, bringing a gloved hand to her chin. Despite his talks of grouping monsters together and classifying them in some way, it still seemed like a daunting task to not only learn the patterns of so many kinds of monsters, but also memorize and be able to recognize the most important ones in the heat of battle. Maybe if she was sitting behind a computer screen, able to stare at the monster in front of her avatar while just hitting a few buttons, that might not be so bad. But here, things were so much different.

She gave a moment of thought to the types of creatures she'd encountered most recently. She didn't get to see much of the forest troll, and it sounded like Neo was already knowledgable about that type of monster. "I know some of them are very basic, mostly the common beast-types and monsters based off of real-life animals..." She spoke in a mumble, as if she was speaking more to herself than Neo as she retraced her memories. "But fighting the monsters that are like humans are the trickiest ones, sometimes it's like they're rea--" Her train of thought halted its progression through her voice. She thought back to the bandits she had faced together with Jomei on floor nine, and then those she had enountered just days prior on this very floor. There was a similarity that she hadn't noticed before. The bandit that had sunk their blade into Jomei's side, and the one that drove into her spine just the same.

"Ah!" The side of her curled hand came down on her knee and her eyes were a bit wider when she exclaimed her realization. "The ones with the daggers always went for a backstab!" She looked towards Neo as if the pieces suddenly came together, and Telrenya took on a wide grin. "Of course, that's why they were so easy to counter from the front!"

[Neo 0]

Neo noticed the expression of confusion stuck on Erin's face as he finished his explanation. Perhaps he should try a different approach next time? He waited as Erin talked about how some of the monsters in game were similar to ones in real life, and how most common ones are beast-types. Neo nodded and said in reply, "That's a way you could categorize them, yes. But there is a much more simpler way to categorize each separate monster in the game which we will discuss later." The way he did it was the way he was gonna teach Erin how to do it. Sure, it took him a while to memorize such things and even he struggled even though he had experience, but judging from what he's seen so far of Erin, Neo thinks he'll be able to handle it. She'll be able to learn it fully in a matter of a couple days, a week or two even if it went a little over. As Neo pondered his schedule, he realized that he really had nothing to do. No where to go. No one to hang out with or be obligated to some sort of outing with.

Another upside to being solo he guessed?

Anyways, Neo broke away from his train of thought and returned attention to Erin, who began talking about human-like fighters and creatures. She was right in the way that they were the most trickiest to calculate their actions with; they were based off of human unpredictability, which meant that their AI had a category all by themselves in Neos system. Most of their attacks however were based on either their passive skill or their weapon. Which Erin seemed to had gotten almost immediately after exclaiming that the human-like monsters with daggers always went for a backstab. Neo was pleasantly surprised, and applauded Erin a little on her efforts to see her first connection in battle patterns and the situation in which they can be predicted in. He really didn't know where or how she got the daggers from though, so he decided to ask Erin, "I'm glad that you're already beginning to see connections in which you can infer battle patterns from, but what's all this about backstabs and such? Have you fought a couple of bandits recently?"

 @Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

She withdrew a bit after her little outburst, not realizing the enthusiasm she had shown at first. Luckily, Neo gave her a follow-up question to help her explain her sudden mental connections, and so she gladly focused on it. "Ahh, yeah... There was a quest I did on the ninth floor a week or so ago, with my guild leader." She gave careful thought to her choice of words. "And then just a couple of days ago, there was another on this floor that I ended up soloing. They both featured bandit 'monsters'. They weren't exactly the same design of course, but I just remembered the bandits with daggers got a good hit in each time when they caught us from behind. Now that I think about it," She brought her hand back to her chin and gave it a couple of taps with her knuckle. "I mean, I haven't fought a lot of them, but they were always in a group with at least one other bandit. I would guess that's so the others can distract while the Daggers try to get behind?"

She gave a quick shake of her head, "Anyway, sorry for getting off-track." A small, apologetic smile appeared. "But realizing that helps. It still seems like a lot to take in and try to remember, but it's a start."

[Neo 0]

Neo didn't mind the interruption. He had been pleasantly surprised by this, as this meant Erin was beginning to understand the subject of what he had been trying to teach. In a fairly quick manner as well. Quicker than when he had started for sure. It took him a full hour long session online in a Skype call from one of He grinned at her and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Oh, don't be worried. I know a simple way of teaching you the categories. Although, I think right now I wanna take a break from patterns and focus on a more straight-forward skill that would help you in battle more when it comes to needing quick thinking." He then took out in an unnaturally quick motion Perfect Hailstrom, and pointed right at where Erins liver would be. Neo raised his hand in a calming matter to dissipate any alarm and said, "Now, I'm going to teach you places where critical hits have a higher probability of occurring. No, I'm not going to use you as a pincushion. I'm just going to point out some places by using your body as a kind of guide, okay?" He waited for her motion to continue, and if she agreed, Neo would continue. But not before standing up and asking Erin to do the same. Once they were both up, Neo would begin from the bottom, pointing his Katana at her ankles. "For two out of three of the categories of monster I will teach you later, the ankles are where most of them don't care to protect much, as many of those whom claim to be worthy DPS's always go for either the front or back, thus those same two categories of monster always have their back and front usually covered. Save for a few sore thumbs who stick out of course. But, once again, that'll be easier to catch up on later. If you manage to get a hit off at the ankles, it makes the AI lose its sense of balance and have to take a literal two or three seconds to regain it. Which-" Neo looked back at Erin, serious expression painted onto his face, and said, "-is all that's needed to make the difference in life or death situations." He stopped for a moment, just in case he had hit a sensitive spot in her life. If she seemed fine, he would continue, saying, "Taking out the ankles also leads to mobility loss, and could take them out of the fight for an easy kill. Literally breaking their ankles. They'd be lying on the floor, and the AI would be going crazy trying to find its footing, but it would never get up again. Well, only if it couldn't regenerate it. If the monster has regenerative properties, then you shouldn't really go for the ankles as much as the other parts I will show." Neo would then pause for a moment for any questions, and then would move on.

The tip of his Katana slowly drifted upward and then stopped immediately at where Erins hip started. Neo drifted the tip slightly more upwards, and then a bit to the right. The Katana would be pointed where in real life her liver would be. Neo then began talking again, saying, "Another place in which criticals spout up more is around the liver. SAO does implement some real life physics and damage calculators in their combat game play, and in real life, regular people and even fully trained soldiers can't take a hit to the liver. So, the programmers decided to put this into the game as well, the critical probability higher there than any other part of any monster's body. But even without the critical hit, it is still a very good place to aim for, as it still deals a higher damage output than it would if you were, lets say, going for its chest." He then put his sword down for a moment, unbuttoned his shirt a little, and then moved his shirt over to point at where Neo believed his liver was. "Now, for an example, I would like you to hit me in this spot. To show how much damage it could really do." He'd then stand there, waiting for the incoming blow. "Go on. If you're going to need to be better in quick thinking and battle readiness, you have to be accurate as to where critical spots are. So go ahead. I don't mind, really."

 @Telrenya