[PP-F01] <<Making Vows>> Courage

[Crozeph 0]

 

 

This time I'm gonna do it.

Crozeph sat on a bench in the teleportation plaza, holding some kind of silk fabric and smiling to himself "She did say to me that we can do the quest about making plans for the wedding before the boss fight" as he scans the map for the location of the church. Since he was inside the safe zone, he wasn't wearing the usual battle-ready equips he had. "If she sees me like this then I might give away my surprise" he muttered as he continued to look for the church on the map. His casual clothing, though simple has attracted the eyes of other players who roams the area. a group of players approached him with one girl from it began talking to him.

"Hi, are you looking for a party?"

"No, I'm not" his eyes on the map before him.

"No need to be shy..."

"I didn't stutter right?"

With that last reply, the girl's smiling face faded and another one surfaced, an arrogant hag "see? I can smell someone's bullshit if they come near me, I have no plans of fighting today so you can go your merry way and dance the night away..." he looked at the clock on his HUD "... my bad, dance the day away-" he looked at them with his azure eyes glaring "from me." The girl uttered curses and began saying things like if he wasn't cute they won't be paying attention to him "what am I a puppy? there's no way I'm cute. Cute is for someone like Yuki" he thought. and with that, his face returned to a cheerful expression again as he finally found the church on the map.

"Now I must kidnap Yuki and take her there," he said to himself, his choice of words dropping low again. He opened his mail and began typing a message for her. This is something he couldn't have done if he was still the old Crozeph, a guy who is unintentionally edgy. Crozeph brushed his hair, it was already in a different color and this time he didn't fix his hair. "I haven't told Yuki yet" he thought. What would her reaction be once she sees his hair on a different color? it was a mistake on Crozeph's part. One day ago he went to do a quest and bought a hair dye out of a whim. Now he has no time to change it back and he doesn't plan to for a while.

Quote

 

To: @Zajcica

Wanna go out for a walk with me? after that hitlist of a quest we've done, I want to take it easy today. I sent my coordinates also so I'd be easy to find.

 

 	Crozeph [Level 43]   | HP: 880/880 | EN: 86/86   | ACC: 4 | DMG: 15 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 48   | FREEZE +1 | RECOVERY +2 |
** Rank 3 Merchant - The Night's Watch ** WARNING: Mitigation cannot fall below 0!
Hide contents [Equipment] Lamina De Skadi [T2 Rare] -- Freeze +1 - Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 (1 slot) or natural successful attack rolls of 8-10 (2 slots) remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Frozen opponents lose any evasion properties. Striking a frozen enemy before the effect ends will end Freeze and deal an extra (12 * Tier) unmitigatable damage. [Must hit to activate the status condition.] -- ACC +2 -- A katana with a black hilt and an azure blade like a clear,  blue, lake water. The name translates into "Blade of Skadi" a goddess who also represented hunting and winter, signifying its use as for hunting or attacking foes by freezing them. When equipped, the user 's breath will be like one who is breathing in a cold place and the freeze effect is seen as some kind of water splashing that freezes upon contact with the target. Cloak of the Oath -- MIT +2  -- EVA +1 -- A black haori who belonged to a vice-president of the Shinsengumi. Enables the wearer to withstand attacks and also evade it. Caster's Mystic Code -- Recovery +2 -- ACC +1 -- A platinum band for the wrist with runic inscriptions worn by a Babylonian king who had access to magecraft. This item gives a boost on accuracy and ability to restore energy to cast more spells just like how the previous owner wanted it to work, it glows a vibrant blue when it activates through the lettering. [Battle-Ready Inventory] Blessed Marble +1 EVA +1 Life-Mending x2 T2 Perfect Fiery Dragon Roll [MIT] x2 T2 Rare Udon Bowl +2 ACC x2 T2 Rare Mochi +2 LD x2 T2 Rare Ramen Bowl +2 EVA    Dimensional Backpack Skills   Hide contents Mod Count: 3/5 Katana | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Finesse R3 > Precision  Light Armor | Passive | RANK 3/5  > Athletics Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 2/5 >  Curved Sword | Passive | RANK 1/5 >  First-Aid | Active | RANK 3/5 >  Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 0 >  [Extra] Survival | Passive  Meditation | Active I +10 EN Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3 Misc. Buffs   Hide contents  Relaxed | Passive | House buff >

Quote

 

Edited July 2, 2020 by Crozeph

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki sighed in her bed. There has been far too much leveling lately and she was beginning to think that if anything at all killed her, it would be stress. For days she has been bomb-shelling quests with Night and Crozeph to reach her current level. Which was... Oh, she doesn't even know. With a wave of her hand, she summoned the menu and looked at her stats. She was already level 57. Shield and Mari would be impressed if they still didn't think that she was a thick-skulled, reckless person who would rush directly into danger. Their words at the meeting rang in her head like a church bell.

Another bell caught her attention, however. The notification sound of a message. It was Crozeph. If he wanted to level, was she really going to turn him down? No. If he tried to do too much leveling on his own, then he would just be in trouble. She remembers how difficult reaching the break of level 50 could be, since she was literally there just like a week ago.

When she opened the message, she was surprised to find that he would much rather do something romantic today. It's unlike him to offer for something like that, but she wasn't going to complain. Climbing out of bed and stretching, the paladin changed from her pajama's into something more comfortable and started to make her way to the coordinates that Crow had laid out for her.

Spoiler

Name: Zajčica
Level: 57
HP: 1230/1230
EN: 114/114

Stats:
Damage: 19
Mitigation: 141
Evasion: -1
Accuracy: 3
BH:61
BLD:36
H.M.:2
REC:1
THRNS:54
TAUNT

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Durandal (T3/Perfect/OHSS): ACC II; BLD I
Armor: Charlemagne Rouge (T3/Perfect/Heavy): Heavy Momentum II, Rec I
Misc: Casa di Logistilla (T3/Perfect/Shield): Thorns II; Taunt

Skills:
One-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 1]
Heavy Armor [Rank 5]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]
Block [Rank 5]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Parry [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Concentration
Familiar Mastery: Defender

Mods:
Athletics
Stonewall
Shield Bash
Vengeful Riposte

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal*1
Immolation+2*8
Ration+2*7
Fiery Dragon Roll(MIT III)*3

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Tasty: Turn 2 identical food items into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Tanos Statue: +15 Mitigation for a thread.

Wedding Ring:

 

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph stared at nowhere from the plaza, still sitting on the bench. Any minute now and Yuki will arrive and he repeatedly told himself the list that he needs to do once she arrives. "First take her hand and tell her we're going somewhere really good. After that once we're about a few meters away I'll blindfold her and then guide her carefully to church and then..." he stretched out his legs "...ask her to marry me, not that she would say no but I wanted it to be formal and official" he looked at the silk fabric on his hand "I'm not sure if blindfolding her is necessary, maybe I should skip that part or maybe not." 

About three minutes went by and he already caught sight of her pink hair, that's her signature color now and Crozeph knew that Yuki is the only one with pink hair for him. He stood up and placed his hands inside his pockets so that she can see him also, he was only taller by a few inches so she can pretty much see him. "I'll just cover her eyes with my hand" he thought as Yuki continues to approach him.

[Zajcica 0]

A relaxing day of spending time with her loved one would be well deserved. She hurried along the teleportation plaza's opening and looked around for his familiar face. He was no where in sight it seemed. Was this some kind of joke? Opening her menu really quick, the girl tried to pinpoint his location, but she was already so close that it was like she was standing on top of him. Where the hell was he? Underground?

Getting a little annoyed now, she looked up on the tops of the buildings and up into the trees to see if he was napping up high again. Nothing. She sighed and opened her menu. If he was close enough, she could just send him a party invite and it would pop up with and alert. When she did, a message appeared before a boy with light brown hair and- wait. "Crozeph? What the- What did you do?" She asked looking at his new hair color. The sleepy feeling in his eyes was unmistakable though. This was her Crozeph, and honestly, the change was pretty nice.

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly as Yuki asked what he did with his hair "do you like it? he asked her. The change of hair color was a reminder to him, that things have changed now and that he had no reason to fall into his subtle nihilism. He walked closer to her and pinched her cheek gently "I like how you look today, it's always refreshing to see both of us not wearing clothes for battle, now I've got something for you but first..." he opened his map "would you like some ice cream?" he asked her, he moved closer placing his arm around her while pointing at a place on his map.

"I'm not picky on flavors but we can grab one before I take you somewhere" he said. Crozeph kept his goal in check inside his head and also the pendant which now has a necklace that he got from the minotaur. These things are what he actually prepared and the ice cream was the introduction.

[Zajcica 0]

"I could have just made so-" Yuki stopped, Crozeph was doing his best to make this a date without her having to do anything. It should be more obvious to her than that. "I mean, a day away from being behind the cooking counter would be nice. So yeah, let's go somewhere and get some ice cream." She smiled cutely, a small blush forming around her cheeks.

"It is nice to take my armor off." Yuki says looking down at her pink sweat shirt and sweat pants, a style she was picking up from her best friend but in her own color. She could see why Night enjoyed this comfort wear. "It drags me around a lot even though my recent armor weighs next to nothing compared to my last stat. I feel like a toothpick when I'm not wearing it though." Yuki's body was quite scrawny when she wasn't donning her heavy armor. Hormone therapy does that to you. Now if only she could grow something in her chest.

[Crozeph 0]

"Well then..." he grabbed her hand gently and held it as he begins to lead the way "...they might not taste as good as yours but, wait you can make ice cream too?" he asked her as they walked. He must've missed it because all he wanted to eat revolves around steak and stew, probably the best food he wants. The occasional snacks Yuki always brought to him were also made of rice or no signs of ice cream "next time we can eat ice cream in the house, I never had one that you made but for now, we can try these."

For some reason, he was humming weird songs as they walked and listened to her while she told him about her armor. Yuki was indeed on the thin side of builds when it comes to bodies but he's no different than her. "We're both thin so I'm fine with how you look, I just have broader features but then I wouldn't even be close to a healthy build," he told her "plus I can..." he let her hand go and grabbed her by the waist with both his hands and lifted her up a little "I can always carry you with ease." People began looking at them when he lifted her and Crozeph had to put her down before they get more attention "oops sorry, I got carried away a little" he told her, adding a pun to his words. 

[Zajcica 0]

"Nah-!" The paladin yelped as her soon-to-be swept her off her feet without much a notice. At first, she looked a little annoyed, but it faded quickly into a soft smile as he made a pun. He made it hard to be annoyed at him, as long as he wasn't suggesting that she cook him something weird. "Yes, I can make ice cream." She commented. Was he unaware that cooks could literally create anything ingestable as long as they had the materials to do so. Whether or not they tasted good was reliant on the cook themselves and she couldn't even be out matched by the Goddess of the Hearth, Hestia.

"I am rather small aren't I? I could stand to put on maybe a little bit of muscle. Uh, where are we going anyway? You said you had a place?" Yuki found it a little odd that he knew of a cook over her, but she was so used to him coming to her place so she could easily just be assuming that she was the only cook he came to.

[Crozeph 0]

Soon enough they reached the ice cream stand as he held her hand and led her to the place. There was no line but the place was a bit crowded with people buying general supplies "I wonder if my shop would prosper here, I like the feel of Floor Ten with the set-up of my shop but somehow I kinda feel envious with the plenty transactions" he said as they stood in front of the vendor. His ice cream stand was named "Wcdonalds" and Crozeph sort of heard the ice cream he sells.

"Two strawberry ice cream sir," he told the man who began flipping cones and scooping ice creams as if he was setting up to troll Crozeph "play games with me like that Turkish guy we both know and I'll slap you back to weekends,"  he said with a smiling face. The vendor gave a nervous laugh and after a minute gave him two cones of strawberry ice cream which he gave one to Yuki. "Yeah we'll go there after this, why don't we sit on that bench for a while." The day was fine enough for them to sit and enjoy their ice cream and he liked it "you're not that small, maybe small enough to be on a girl's standard height, I don't know about muscles though. I've seen people with less muscle but can still do things that requires force."

[Zajcica 0]

"I mean, I'm a tank. I might be a scrawny little girl, but I'm still tougher than most anyone else you'll meet. The game makes us stronger than we think. It also changes other things that you don't expect." Yuki said looking down at the ice cream in her hand, remember that even though she had been trapped in this game for years, she had never realized that she no longer had her manhood that stuck to her in the real world. A weird feeling had been there now that she was conscious of it.

"Um..." The girl mumbled licking at the ice cream with a distracted expression. She looked back over to Crozeph, getting some butterflies in her stomach as she looked at his new appearance with a blush across her face. "Oh, uh... sorry. What were we talking about again? I trailed off for a moment there by accident."

[Crozeph 0]

"Then you don't need to put on some muscles, I think you're fine the way you are whether you had a little muscle or none" he replied. Crozeph wasn't aware of it, he always felt like the game just allowed him to survive but inside his head, he still thinks that he's got a frail body. Now he remembers that Yuki was born as a boy, not that it matters to him but somehow it reminded him of how his father was suspecting his asocial attitude towards women "well dad, here you go" he thought as he took a bite off his ice cream, a grave sin committed against ice cream lovers.

Soon enough he noticed Yuki looking at him and was lost in the conversation. He gave her a confused look "is there something on my face? or are you still not used to my new hair color?" he told her. "I have a good reason for this and I'll tell you once we finish this ice cream and go to the place where I wanted to take you" he added. It was probably the quest where he took a good look at himself and tried to hide his worries for her. He even has the pendant which now has a necklace he got from the quest and was planning to give it to her.

[Zajcica 0]

Her blush only got worse when Crozeph pointed out her staring eyes. They darted to the side along with her head when his mention came up. "Uh, sorry, I got a little caught up in thought." She deflected from that, biting into the ice cream in attempt to finish it.

"You're taking me somewhere specific? I thought we were just going on a walk." The girl asked scarfing down the rest of the waffle cone. He seemed just as distracted in thought as she was. What was he planning? It was kind of out of place for him not to speak about something that was bothering him, so it had to be something else. "Are you alright Crow? You're acting kind of weird today."

Normally she would leave it alone, but it really felt like he was troubled with something and she would be a bad girlfriend not to ask him what is going on.

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph replied only with a smile and finished his ice cream. "Yeah we're going to walk there," he told her as he stood up. He opened his map and looked at the marked area to where they're going. It would be lame if he got lost so he had to make sure that they don't. The settings of the day were just right and Crozeph pulled Yuki gently to stand up "I've been thinking about a lot of things" he said as they began walking. "The reason I changed the color of my hair is because of you" he began his story. "I'm not much of a cheerful person but somehow I can always be cheerful beside you so I realized that my hair would only remind me of how gloomy I am and to remind me that I shouldn't especially when I'm with you..." he raised Yuki's hand to his head letting her touch his hair "...this is to remind me that you're here now, I have fewer reasons to be gloomy and of course I shouldn't be when I'm with you" words just came out naturally from him. It was a miracle he wasn't saying weird things but rather telling her what he feels.

Soon enough they were near the destination and Crozeph walked behind her and covered her eyes. "Watch your step," he said while covering her eyes, they walked a few steps as Crozeph guided her to another and when he caught sight of it he slowly pulled his hand away and let her open her eyes. The two of them stood in front of a church and a priest was standing by the door. "I wanted to make it official..." he grabbed her hand and kissed it "...I want to marry you and we can start planning it here" he added.

[Zajcica 0]

The more that he talked, the more the paladin couldn't help but flush red. He changed his entire appearance just because of her? And not even in a bad way like he was trying to service to her liking. She really liked his blue hair, but something about his appearance came off even more handsome now. Just looking at him like this made it difficult to not blush. Her pulled her hand into his hair, where she lightly brushed her fingers through the locks of light brown. More buttered words came with compliments. The further they walked, the more her reddened face continued to fill with a light pink hue. How could one even blush when they had no blood anyway?

Then Crozeph blind folded her with his hands. "H-Hey! Wha-" Without much of a fight, she let him lead her to wherever the hell they were going. She figured that this only meant more than a "walk". He had planned this from the beginning.

When she could finally see again, the two of them were in front of the church that would arrange player marriages. Yuki's breath stopped - not really like she needed it anyway - and she covered her mouth, her blush still as red as when it formed. "C-Chris..." She said as he took hold over hand and gave it a delicate kiss. "Y-You're ready? I'm ready for this. I want to take this step with you and live this dreary life in Aincrad with you next to me every night." She threw her arms around him with a few tears in her eyes, obviously touched by his efforts to surprise her and formally propose.

[Crozeph 0]

Happiness, that was what Crozeph felt when Yuki told him that she wanted to marry him too. Somehow he felt relieved that things are going well for them both, with the occasional mood changes he inflicts on Yuki because he wanted to eat weird meat and asking Yuki to cook for him. Crozeph wrapped his arms on her waist and kissed her "then we should approach that priest" he told her. The two began their way to the front of the cathedral where a priest stood and above him, the name James Aria shown. James smiled at them seeing that it was obvious on what the two wanted when he saw them walking towards him.

 "So you two wish to be married? That is wonderful to hear! We will need to discuss the details of your wedding such as location, the size of the wedding, food, as well as the wedding rings. I can also help you find someone to wed you, or I could do it myself if you'd like."

James motioned his hand to the door behind him to which he guided Crozeph and Yuki to a room with a table and three chairs. He sat on the opposite side and held a tome and a quill on the other hand while the couple sat on the other side. "Well then let us begin with asking about the location and size of your wedding," he said. It was an easy question and Crozeph answered right away "we'd like the wedding to be held on Yuki's house on Floor 21 and we'll follow her traditions when it comes to the theme" he told James "as for the size, I'll let Yuki decide on that since I only have a few people to invite" he added.

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki hugged Crozeph as he stood back to his feet. She was glad that he actually proposed to her instead of just assuming that he had already done so. The priest greeted them both shortly after and took them inside the church. Right, they would have to decide on when the wedding would actually take place and everything else regarding it.

"I don't have anyone in mind who could wed us. Crow, do you know anyone who could do that?" She asked looking over to him. As for the other questions, she did have an answer for that. "Our wedding will take place in my estate on floor 22." She corrected Crozeph. Floor 21 was much different from floor 22. "I can cook all the food so we'll have a large feast, and we'll allow as many people as we can can fit to join us there. Anyone can come and watch, I don't mind."

Spoiler

Large Wedding | Banquet Table Acquired for Saying Vows.

PK Access Acquried

Col: -6,750

 

[Crozeph 0]

"Someone who could wed us?" Crozeph looked at her too, he had no idea who and he looked at the priest who gave him a smile "I could wed you two or you can ask someone else who could do it for you" he told the couple. Crozeph crossed his arms as he heard it, someone else will do the ceremony for the marriage. "There no one I could think of who had backgrounds when it comes to doing it…" then it struck him "hey Yuki, we can ask Baldur to do it for us," he told her "or we can just have mister priest here to do it for us" he added.

"We would also like for our wedding to be PK accessible for a few of our friends, wait Yuki already said that?" he shouldn't forget Mari, and what if Hidden was invited "should I invite someone like her? She might not believe me that I'm getting married so I guess I could but what will Yuki say of her?" the thought of Hidden saying something insulting to him might make Yuki upset and he didn't want his bride to be upset on her wedding day.

James took note of the requests they've made, making sure he doesn't miss anything important "well then you're lucky to have a woman who can cook a feast for everyone, shall we discuss about the rings then?" he asked them the important part of the wedding.

[Zajcica 0]

The rings needed to paid for as well. She had forgotten about that. She leaned over to Crozeph and whispered, "Would you be able to pay for that one? I can pay for the other ones so don't worry about them." She said with a warm smile and looked back to James.

"Yes, we'll be ordering custom rings since they aren't much more expensive than the golden bands. My Fiance here will be paying for those." Yuki felt so awkward doing all this. It was way too much legal type of stuff for her. She generally hated these kinds of things, but she was glad that they were actually getting it done. They had to after all for when they cleared this next floor. Then once they were married, everything would feel so much easier. Maybe then Yuki could find some time actually relax for longer than a single day and not feel drained on every quest that she goes on anymore.

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph nodded his head "sure I'll pay for it" he told her. They were already getting things done faster than he expected, maybe the priest had other players to talk to for marriage "I don't think a lot of people would prefer getting married here" he thought. There was the case of Shirogane's friend who got married just so her husband could get her unique sword.

Crozeph opened his in-game menu and began the payment for the rings.

"Whether they are expensive or not, I still prefer having rings than bands. After all, the rings represent our commitment to each other" he said as he transferred the payment. He felt happy thinking about it and a bit weirded out by how easy it was for them to plan things. Maybe the convenience of the game mechanics and both their firm decisions to get married made things easier "I haven't given thought about what kind of custom ring we should have" said.

"The rings didn’t have to match, it might be something that represents you or her or maybe the soon to be wife prefer something," James told them. Crozeph nodded again "well we can always think about it anytime before the wedding."

James took note of their request and accepted Crozeph's payment "also don't forget to write your vows to each other" he told them "the rings give enhancements also which I want you two to tell what you want it to be once we have finished this preparation and planning."

[Zajcica 0]

"For my ring, I would prefer something majestic but symbolic as well. I'd like silver band shaped like a Gryphon's claw. It sounds weird to have on a wedding ring, but I think it would embody the feeling of perseverance and strength." Yuki says as she takes a piece of paper out to make something of a makeshift drawing from her mind. She did one for Crozeph's ring as well, just to make sure that their custom needs were met.

"Very well. We will take all these into account when making the rings. What sort of enhancements were you wanting them to have?" James asked, to which the paladin replied: "I will take the enhancement for damage mitigation, while my husband will be taking the one that increases his energy."

"Well thought out. I think that will be all the information we need then. Thank you for taking the time to come today. Once you are ready to have your wedding, please let us know and we will begin making the necessary arrangements." And with that, James stood and went into a back room inside the church. Soon after, the couple would leave as well.

<-- Yuki's Ring | Crozeph's Ring -->

Spoiler

Rewards:

SP: 1 quest; 1 page; 1 bonus
Col: 200 per player

Wedding Details:

Yuki's Cost: -6,750(Large Wedding|Banquet Table|PK Access)
Crozeph's Cost: -4,000(Custom Rings for both players.)

Players may now undertake <<Saying Vows>>!