[PP-F01] "Well, here goes nothin"! <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>>

[Charrlarr 0]

The beginning of Sword Art Online. It wasn't supposed to be this way, but after taking some time to cope with his and everyone's current circumstace, Charles mentally strapped himself in and went out in search of how in the world to get started in this supposed death game. He cautiously shuffled through the Town of Beginnings, knowing that any move could be his last. Not knowing, however, that this is a Safe Area, where no harm could come his way. Mostly no harm. With SAO reverting him back to his real image, he didn't stick out very much at an average height of 5'8, circular blue steel glasses, and a broad body build. But what did stick out was his hair, it had been dyed a swirl of purple and red before the dive into SAO, and that came with him into the game. Along with his starting equipment, he also had a large instrument on his back, looking to be a little over 4 feet in length

Spoiler

 

"Gosh.. where do I even start..? I guess I could ask for a hand, but I think everyone's in the same boat as me. Damn."

 

He continued to wander about the town with so many questions in his mind, that after even one being answered, it left him with even more.

 

Charrlarr HP: 20/20 | EN: 10/10 | DMG 1 | MIT 9 | THORNS 9

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2020 by Charrlarr

[Freyd 0]

Freyd had just finished another morning chat with Marv, his favourite NPC gate guard.  As usual, it had been a rather one-sided conversation.  Marv never spoke, at all.  Freyd basically just talked at him for an hour or so, then packed up and walked away.  It was a nice bit of therapy, if nothing else.

Dressed in charcoal-coloured cloth and leather armor with a thick wood cowl, leather boots and gloves, he didn't present himself as the most approachable individual.  That said, his icon was still green, which offered some assurance that he hadn't killed any other players.  The white porcelain cup in his hands stood out in odd contrast, steam still rising from its contents.

He'd just drunk his last drought when he spotted this crazy-haired kid standing in the middle of the plaza with a lost look on his face.

"Quest board's over there, kid," he said, pointing to a series of large, heavily decorated displays near a raised dais.  "You know what you're doing?"  A pair of barely visible reddish-brown eyes glanced over him from the shadows beneath the cowl.

 

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1250/1250 | EN:137/137 | DMG:19 | MIT:79 | EVA:2 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | BH:62

Spoiler

Name: Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows
Level: 61
HP: 1250/1250
EN: 137/137

Stats:
Damage: 19
Mitigation: 79
Evasion: 2
Accuracy: 4
BH:62
KEEN:1
HLY:6
FLN:6

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride (T3-2HSS, ACC 1, HOLY 1, FLN 1)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb [T3 LA, MIT 2, EVA 1]
Misc: Assassin's Cowl (T2-Trinket, ACC 2, KEEN 1)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 3]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Parry [Obtained]
Energist [Obtained]
Charge [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter 3
Survival

Mods:
Precision
Finesse - Rank 3
LA Athletics
Ferocity
LA Sprint and Acrobatics

Battle Ready Inventory: (Max 6 items)
Teleport Crystals*2
Concentrated Joy (T3 Vitality 2)*1
Missing You (Instant T3 HP Recovery)*2
Fruit-Infused Tea (T3 HP Recovery)*5
T3 Blank Dungeon Maps*5
Viperion (T3 Toxic Venom)*5

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (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.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

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: n/a

Wedding Ring: n/a

 

[Charrlarr 0]

He jumped a bit, startled by someone actually speaking in his direction for once. He stared blankly into the ominous player's eyes, seeming to have forgotten how to speak for a moment. He shook his head a bit and cleared his throat, nervously smiling as he clenched his fists in angst. 

"U-Um.. yeah! Yeah, of course I do.. how could I not? I know how to uh, do this.. stuff!.. yeah no I don't. I have no idea what I'm doing, I've sat in this town for months out of fear, waiting to wake up from this disgusting excuse for a game.. it's more like a godforsaken nightmare. My friend.. before we could even leave this town, he got.. god, I can't even say it without losing it."

He froze up for a bit, thinking about all the confusion and fear that surrounded his thoughts. After a few seconds, he realized that if he didn't act now, he'd rot in this town or meet a fate worse than death outside of it. He needed help, and this guy.. seemed like he was offering? Only one way to find out. He shakily sighed and spoke solemnly.

"My friend, who dove into this game the same time I did, got.. he got unplugged. Unplugged in the real world, soon after that creator guy teleported us to the plaza.. I guess his family didn't see the news beforehand, with all those other users losing their lives. I like to hope it's not true.. but it has to be. And if the same doesn't happen to me.. I need to figure this shit hole of a world out. So, yeah. I don't know what I'm doing. Could you help me..? At all? You seem.. quite adept." 

He stepped forward a bit as he begged for assistance, hoping the player would oblige. He obviously didn't have the courage to ask anyone else so, who else could?

 

 

[Freyd 0]

Freyd listened to the guy's story.  Several parts resonated with his own sordid tale and were echoed by the many others he had heard since.  He nodded twice, sympathetically.

"Yeah.  I know how that goes.  I only just got off my duff a short time ago too.  Alright.  Why don't we see if we can get you started on the right foot."  He looked Charrlarr over.  "I'm guessing that you're brand spanking new, huh?  Off to Zackariah's, then, I guess." 

It wasn't a far walk.  Freyd had even helped a few others complete the quest in recent weeks, not that there was much he could actually do for them other than provide some guidance and answer questions.  The quest was essentially solo work, even in groups.  But it couldn't hurt to put the new player at ease and have him make a new contact in the process.

Approaching the alchemist's shop, Freyd knocked and entered, stooping a little to get under the door's lintel.  Zackariah was a bit on the shorter side, or perhaps just his builder had been.

"Heya, Zack!  My friend here is looking to get started on his adventuring career.  Can we hook him up with that First Lessons quest?  You know the one."

The NPC smiled pleasantly, having served this purpose for years and hundreds of iterations.

"I'm sure that we can manage something."  He turned to Charrlarr and gave him his usual spiel about needing herbs to concoct some new health potions.  A quest pop-up appeared in front of Charrlarr, offering him the choice to accept the quest.  

"Hit accept, bud.  Then we'll head out to the fields.  Thanks, Zack."  The NPC beamed with pleasure at the compliment, combined with yet another chance to serve his purpose.

[Charrlarr 0]

After following Freyd to the shop and walking in to meet the alchemist Zacharias, he felt.. strange. Seeing this small, cozy shop felt so personal for some reason. It felt real, for lack of a better word. He walked toward Zacharias, listened to the simple quest's task, and gazed at the quest UI window which laid before him.

"Woah... I-I guess I'm still not used to this physical UI stuff... okay, uhm.. a-accept!"

With that, he slammed his palm onto the accept button, a little too enthusiastically, but it felt right to him. This oddly enough filled him with hope, not despair or dread. This was still a video game, and he was a video game enthusiast, so this excited him. It of course felt wrong, but what else could he do? He had to do it, so why not try to enjoy it. Even if it could be his end.

[Freyd 0]

His hands stuffed in a pair of previously invisible pockets, Freyd wandered them towards the main gates.  He gave a silent nod to 'Marv', one of the gate guards, who staunchly ignored him.

"Going with the two-handed battle axe, huh?  Good choice.  You'll be really good at area attacks with that thing.  It's super handy when grinding for loot at higher levels.  If you find anything you need identified, feel free to bring it up to my shop in Angel's Point on floor thirteen.  I tend to give breaks to new players and identify their stuff for them at cost.  It helps them get a leg up on the system.  Unless you intend to become a merchant yourself?"  Freyd flipped back his cowl, as there was no reason to keep it on while escorting his new companion.  The man looked young and generally unremarkable, with pale skin and soft features.  His hair was an unruly mop of mousy brown, partially concealing deep brown eyes with a tint of red to them.  Freyd extended Charrlarr a party invitation, which would allow them to see each others' names.  "I'm Freyd, by the way.  Really sorry to hear about what happened to your friend.  A lot of people were lost in those early moments.  Here, this pasture up ahead usually has lots of materials available.  Give it a try."

[Charrlarr 0]

He scratched the back of his neck nervously, his eyes darting back and forth anxiously as walked. He was excited but extremely scared at the same time, having no idea what he was getting himself into. Only one way to find out. He tried to listen to Freyd's advice as best he could, trying to contain his angst. Once Freyd lifted his cowl, Charles was able to rein in his sporadic feelings and focus more on the situation before him.

"O-Oh.. yeah, I always liked playing as characters with weapons like this in other games, it felt right to start with this."

Charles' features started to become more visible in Freyd's view, his red and purple hair, styled upwards, showing bright in the sunshine. His cheeks were rosy, contrasting with his pale skin and light stubble. His bright blue eyes shimmering through his glasses. After Freyd finished speaking, his heart sank. He stopped for a moment, then sighed, looking up at Freyd.

"Freyd.. gotcha. And it's okay, really.. I'm sure he didn't feel it. He just.. never got a chance. Which is why I'm glad you're helping me. Maybe I can fulfill what he lost. But anyway, that sounds good, we'll try that."

He smiled softly and accepted the party invite, ready to move forward. They then traveled forward towards the pasture.

 

 ID 169779: LD 12 (1/5 quest mats found) (ID 169780 double rolled by mistake)

Edited October 1, 2020 by Charrlarr

[Freyd 0]

"His name can probably be found on the Monument of Life, back in the city.  Take a look, when you have a chance and... HEY!  Look at that!  Found one already."  Grateful for an opportunity to steer the conversation away from morbid topics, Freyd eagerly celebrated Charrlarr's first quest find.  "Don't worry too much what it looks like.  The game treats any kind of materials as universally usable.  Honestly... you can make sandwiches out of coal dust, if you want.  And they don't taste any different."  He chuckled when he saw Charrlarr's face drop.  "Try not to think about it too much.  Your stomach is digital too, if you even have one.  Everything in here is just input for up here."  He tapped on the side of his head, making it abundantly clear that the game was being played out in their minds.

"Go try down by the lake, yeah... just over by those reeds.  That's usually a pretty good spot."  Waving Charrlarr on, Freyd sauntered slowly behind him, content to see his companion excited at the new discovery.

[Charrlarr 0]

"Ah, okay. I'll keep that in- o-oh, oh cool! So this is it, huh? Four more of these.. doesn't seem too hard."

He smiled, taking the material off the ground and placing it in his inventory. He was now fixated on finding more mats, rather than his dark thoughts. This was the first step towards his new life, after all. He needed to keep a smile on his face, today's a good day to have a good day, after all. He listened to Freyd's explanation of materials, laughing a bit.

"Seriously? Man, I would've thought that the crafting would be a bit more detailed.. I guess it's convenient, though."

He listened to Freyd's direction and nodded, walking towards the bank of the lake, within the reeds. He rummaged around the reeds, searching for anything to collect. It took him a minute, but he eventually found what they were looking for.

 

ID 169788: LD 12 (2/5 Quest mats found)

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2020 by Charrlarr

[Freyd 0]

"It can get absurd, if you let it.  But you'll start to gloss over some of the stranger details as they become familiar."  Freyd kicked at a few loose stones with his feet at he walked.  Even without the cowl, his dark garb stood is stark contrast the the pastoral landscape of floor one.  It was like he was a void in a beautiful countryside, or an upright shadow refusing to lay down as he should... with a normal-looking head sticking out.

"Hey, Persi.  You're good at finding this stuff. Why don't you give him a hand?"  Freyd seemed to be taking into his own chest, until a darkened blob of... something oozed out from under his jacket and pooled on the ground before rising again and taking some kind of feline-like shape.  Two brilliant azure eyes with strange horizontally slotted irises opened within and started looking at Charrlarr skeptically.

"Shadow mongoose," Freyd offered by way of explanation.  "She's my familiar.  Helps me out in fights.  You can get your own, in time."

[Charrlarr 0]

"Ah yeah, I gotcha. Cool."

He watched and listened to Freyd, with a perplexed look on his face. Then he realized a strange figure was forming out of Freyd's chest and moving to the ground.

"What the.. what in the- woah woah woAH-!"

This was so strange to him, even though it's a game, these things he still had to get used to. SAO was indeed a game, but it did a damn good job at emulating real life. "What IS that thing?!" He thought to himself, backing up a couple of steps while covering his vitals with his arms.

"O-Okay, not to be rude, but like.. I know about familiars but.. what IS that?!"

He looked back and forth between Freyd and Persi, extremely confused. He thought familiars were friendly astral creatures, not.. black sludge blobs that look straight out of a horror film. He then turned his gaze to Persi's piercing azure eyes, them seeming to be staring right into his very soul.

ID 169790: LD 2 (2/5 Quest mats found)

Edited October 1, 2020 by Charrlarr

[Freyd 0]

"Hey, Persi, show him the new thing."  Her eyes turned to face Freyd, vanishing disturbingly to the far side of her shadowy form before returning in a blink.  As she did so, her void-like forms suddenly filled with smal patches of indigo and deep purples, and became strewn with stars like the clearest summer night.  Her eyes remained present, but seemed lost in the grandeur of this night sky skin that calmed Charrlarr's nerves considerably.

"Not everything here is as it seems, and some things are.  You'll need to learn the difference, like who to trust and who should be avoided.  As a general rule, avoid players with orange icons.  It usually means that they're thieves and blaggarts at best and outright murderers at worst.  I've met a few rare exceptions to the rule, but it generally isn't wise to engage with them at all.  'PKers'  they are often called.  Player-killers."

[Charrlarr 0]

"Woah.. that's.. that's amazing! Holy crap.. whatever it did made me feel all cozy. Almost like a bowl of soup on a cold night. Wild."

He listened attentively, trying to retain all the information being given to him, even if it was something as little as 'how to buy a pastry.' He had heard about player killers before, but didn't know if it was an urban legend or not. He never thought people would kill in a game like this. Logically, the more players we have to beat the game, the better, he assumed. But maybe the PKers thought the same as some players, like that we don't really die and we're just stuck in here. Horrifying to risk that for your own benefit.

"Player killers.. seriously? What does killing players do to help get us all out of here? I mean, sure, loot and xp, but taking someone's life..?"

ID 169794: LD 6 (2/5 Quest mats found)

 

Edited October 1, 2020 by Charrlarr

[Freyd 0]

"Some people just snap," Freyd replied, looking dour for a moment.  "Others are forced into terrible situations and have to make terrible choices.  The system doesn't care or distinguish.  Cardinal only seeks to  maintain its own integrity.  Spending a few years in here has taken its toll on people.  As monstrous a notion as it might be, I struggle to accept that most weren't driven to it by sheer circumstance."

Freyd pointed up near a  lone oak tree on a nearby rise.  "Try up there, but keep your eyes open for Bacon Bits - he's a boar that hangs out around here.  Don't worry, he won't attack unless you provoke him.  Most of the mobs on this floor are neutral and only aggro when you act against them directly.  That changes quickly as you go up to the next floor.  The mobs get tougher and meaner too.  Be careful not to assume that all mobs and quests must be higher level to be a threat.  There are a few quests down on the lower floors that can be deadly for anything less than a well-prepared tier three player, or group of tier twos."

[Charrlarr 0]

"Mm.. I see, that's a real problem. Not only do we have to worry about mods, but players too. That's insane. But if its reality, we've gotta deal with it. I hope I'm never in a situation like that. The right decision as for what to do would be hard to conjure then."

He looked towards the tree Freyd gestured to, tilting his head a bit curiously. As Freyd spoke about the mobs progressively becoming stronger and stronger, even on the lower floors, it worried him a bit. But, thankfully, no one's on a time limit. He had time to prepare himself properly for those things. Hopefully.

"Bacon Bits? Well, that sounds harmless.. but I'm sure I'd get my ass whopped if I tried to take it on. I'll go take a peak up there, see if I can't find some more materials."

He went ahead and walked over towards the oak tree, it's leaves and branches swaying in the breeze. That Bacon Bits boar was close by, rummaging through the field. He'd better be careful. 

 ID 169813: LD 6 (2/5 Quest mats found)

"Dammit.. I don't see anything.."

Edited October 2, 2020 by Charrlarr

[Freyd 0]

Freyd shrugged. 

"Spawn points are pretty random for materials.  You'll grow to love and hate the game's random number generator, or RNG, if you haven't already.  It's brutal sometimes, but it also dictates our actions.  Sometimes you can work around it, and sometimes you can't."  Freyd waved at a large boar with a yellow icon over it, indicating that it was a neutral mob.  "There he is.  Bacon Bits.  My level 1 nemesis.  We had two good goes at each other around this very tree.  Found a my first treasure chest here, too, but I don't see any sign of it now.  Their spawn points also vary.  As to the mats, just keep searching.  They will turn up eventually.  Unfortunately, I can't help you.  Having already completed the quest, I'm not eligible to search for the quest items.  Sorry."

Freyd crouched down, looking into a small nook beneath the tree's main trunk  and roots.  The spot was empty, as he had said, but looked large enough to hold a small cache.

[Charrlarr 0]

"Gotcha.. RNG's been a staple of RPG games for a long-ass time. It seems a lot more annoying when it can dictate your actual life, jeez. At least we can learn spawn points to look for, that's always nice. It helps a bit. Ah yep, I see 'em. I'm thinking I'll leave Mr. Bits over there alone, for the time being. I need some combat experience first lord know's I haven't done much of that. Oh, and it's all good. This won't be hard searching for myself, it could be time-consuming, but hey, it's not dangerous if I don't make it dangerous!

He watched as Freyd took a peak at what might be a material spawn. He then took a look at their surroundings, still keeping vigilant, even if nothing could really harm them. He watched for a while, then sighed, crouching down next to Freyd to take a look.

"Lemme take a peak.."

ID 169819: LD 8 (2/5 Quest mats found)

"...man, this might be a while."

Edited October 2, 2020 by Charrlarr

[Freyd 0]

Freyd chuckled.  How many times had he thought or said the exact same thing?

"Yeah.  It can be like that.  Consider getting some buffs for LD or ACC, they'll help you find and hit, respectively.  There are vendors all over the place around here to help you with that.  Talk to a local blacksmiths to get you a DMG 3 weapon, and artisan to get you an ACC 3 trinket.  Your current armor is actually fairly decent and will last you a while.  If you're thinking of going the heavy armor route, you may want to get a set with MIT 3 on it, until you have a chance to pick up the skill.  I can put you in touch with people, if you're not comfortable with browsing shops randomly.  My guild specializes in crafting, though I'm a merchant myself, by trade."  

Getting back onto his feet, Freyd scanned the surrounding area and suggested a patch several dozen yards away.

[Charrlarr 0]

"Ahh ok, I gotcha. Those buffs would help with this boring stuff for sure. But I"m not sure what I wanna do yet with this armor, I'll see how it does for me for now. Since you say it should be good, I'll take your word for it! And yeah, recommendations are definitely appreciated. You for sure know your stuff, obviously. But y'know..this isn't half bad. It's relaxing, actually. I'm sure this world is full of things to enjoy and cherish. Hopefully I can see more good parts than bad, but who knows. It seems like a shit show right now."

He started to head towards the area with Freyd that he'd suggested, enjoying the weather and scenery. He wondered what those oblong, odd-shaped towers in the distance were. He still had a lot to learn, about.. pretty much everything. But it's nice to have somebody kind who cares to lend a helping hand by his side.

ID 169824: LD 20 (3/5 Quest mats found)

"Ouch-! Oh hey! There's one."

He bent down and picked up another material, thankfully he found one by chance. That helps.

[Freyd 0]

"There are amazing sights full of beauty all over Aincrad, and people have come to find companionship with each other two.  It's remarkable, alright."  Freyd left it there, not wanting to be the one to burst Charrlarr's bubble just yet.  Aincrad was also an incredibly brutal and uncaring place where your friend could be standing beside you one moment, and then gone the next.  But he'd seen that already, hadn't he?  Striking a balance without going insane seemed to be the key.  It also wasn't one he could honestly say he'd mastered.  Doubts lingered after other recent events.  There was no sense bringing them up here and now with a virtual stranger... heh... virtual stranger.  So true.

"Get the basics under your belt - ideally finding a few friends along the way - then decide what you want to do with yourself.  Pacing can be key: too fast and you burnout; too slow and you get dead or left behind.  Consider finding a guild when the time comes.  No one can solo their way through everything."  He sounded like he'd wanted to try, but realized the error of his ways.