[OP-F1] Permanency

[Rennat 0]

Southmost, huh?

The regal cityscape served well as the backdrop to the great adventure, one that would be spoken of for generations. It was his time to shine, his time to do something that actually had a meaning, and it would happen so conveniently in the medium he found the most comfort in; the fantastical world of an online game. There were too many things racing through Tanner's mind to focus on just one, so instead he blocked it all out with the thoughts that had allowed him to float through his childhood. He lied to himself, benevolently. But he lied all the same. This wasn't his time and this wasn't his adventure. He had no impact on the outcome of this broken world, beautiful and complex and well-thought out down to each blade of grass that guarded the dirt path he now stood on, yet all the same ruined from the beginning. He couldn't pretend that he was special here. Tanner, always the victim in real life, of his own choosing, was now forced to bear the burden of victimization at the hands of the one entity in life he felt he could trust. Video games had never turned him away and then kicked him to the ground when he wasn't looking the way this one had. The funniest part of the whole ordeal centered on the fact that this place was an improvement. Tanner had nothing in particular waiting for him on the outside; it was knowing that he had no choice in the matter that sent his anxiety-ridden mind reeling again and again as he tried to make sense of it all. Where was the humanity? Where was the common sense in the decision to make a game like this?

So, as Tanner dealt with most things, he lied and bent and twisted what he knew until it suited him and served him. He even cracked a cocky half-smile, just to himself, like he had seen the hero do in a million animes and video games, at that moment that the world seems to have taken him down a notch. No world, here I am and I'm standing strong. It sounded so corny. It was corny, really. But, it had the power to get him through. This was his adventure. His big journey he had been searching for all his life, come to bite him in the ass. That didn't matter, though, he could forgive it. After all, how did he expect to fly off to a mystical land where he didn't have to answer to others. Where did one find a clean slate? There was always a price to pay. At least, in the case of Aincrad, the world would give him a way out. Real life rarely gave anyone a way out, requiring a person to resort to suicide or assisted homicide or just go crazy so that nothing can hurt the way it tries to. Here, as evil and malicious as he felt these computer-generated trees were, and the flowers that dotted the landscape, and the protective wall that lost its adjective once you took it out of context of the game... It was all disgusting, and something he would have to work with if he weren't to die of a panic attack right here and now.

Tanner had been dealing with this hellish nightmare for a few months already. He, the gaming enthusiast, reduced to a quivering pile of nerves at the mention of permanency. A ghost whispered in his ear, "This is what you wished for," and like the child he was, his lights faded, his breath escaped him, and his body collapsed to the ground. No one had even stopped to help him, in their panic. That's what he would use, as an excuse. Some darker part of him deep down plagued him with thoughts like, "It's because no one cares," and "You're such a small part of this larger plan, why should someone pay you any heed. You're not the only one whose life was gone." It was a miraculous thing, dealing with the trauma of getting something you have always wanted. Tanner took weeks to get on his feet, and luckily his parents had been able to tap into the life insurance he had never needed before. No one who trapped themselves in doors got sick. Not unless the very thing they poured their heart into poisoned them in return, like Sword Art Online had managed to do. Tanner sucked it up. He had cried his tears. They would return at night and at times like this when no one was around to see. But eventually, he had to wipe them away and try to at least enjoy this lifelong fantasy of his. He was trapped where he wanted to be. Why want to leave?

The Town of Beginnings was becoming nothing more than a distant memory as he walked on. The north of this floor held what he hoped would be some small form of escape. He would see new sights, fight monsters, make friends. He would forget, which was a struggle on its own, the hopelessness of his life. The past held nothing. The present set him in a corner. The future would set him free. And he would simply have to embrace what he had now and move the hell on. He took a few uneasy steps forward, having never left the walls that had been more like a horrific vicegrip than a protective barrier, and then broke into a jerky run. His body shook all over. Bile crept up his throat. One wrong move and he was literally gone, with no chance to enjoy anything. He had to enjoy this. It was all he had. So, he ran.

[Primrose 0]

Oliver stood in the middle of the grassy area after swiping his head up display. It was not only the vibrancy of the colors that attracted him here but the monsters. Each boar gave you col and exp, which was a crucial part of becoming stronger. The field was almost empty with few trees for climbing and little cover. He was never good at climbing trees though, he would fall before he got up to the first branch. The wind started to pick up and his long ponytail swayed in a large purple mass of hair. Oliver smoothed his hair back but it didn't work. His bangs fell right back in front of his eyes. He sighed and picked up his sword again, prepared to fight more. A nearby boar was now in range of attack. It snarled at him and charged forward, programmed to do so. Oliver dodged the tiny thing and came behind it. From it's blind side he crashed his sword down onto it's hairy back, making it squeal in pain. This didn't necessarily pleased him knowing that he hurt it until he remembered that it wasn't real, none of it was. He looked up from stabbing it to see a boy running this way.

Oliver 8/8

Small Boar 4/5

[Rennat 0]

Running like this still didn't feel all that natural. Months had passed but he had never 'exerted' himself like he was doing now, though the fact that it didn't feel like any form of exertion at all was what made it surreal. It felt the same as walking or sitting and eating or anything else. It should, he supposed, just happy to get his mind off the panic that had eaten him alive thus far. His actual body was doing none of the work and his virtual body did not have the same capacity for energy and fatigue. The real Tanner could not have ran for twenty minutes straight like he had without needing water or food or just a nice rest break. He wasn't out of shape, but he also didn't claim to be an athlete of any kind. Fear struck him, suddenly. Those sounds... They were the sounds that, upon coming here that first day, had kept him safe inside the walls. When he had peeked a glance back then, all he saw was the harmless sight of a newbie whacking away at a boar. It was nothing. It shouldn't be nothing at least. Some people walked around here like their lives didn't depend on their survival, just hitting any old thing with a virtual weapon that could very well glitch and disappear and leave a person defenseless.

The boar was well into a fight with a young boy, not much different from most he had seen. Everyone looked so average since their customized appearances had been taken away from them. Tanner looked more or less the same because he honestly liked the way he looked. He had changed his hair color in-game to a nice sandy-blonde, but the regular chestnut was showing now. The boy seemed entranced for just a moment as Tanner slowed his run, trying not to let the fear overtake him. Not only could this boar kill the boy it was fighting at a moment's notice, for good... It could set its sights on Tanner and wipe him away from existence all the same. All for nothing. To die at the hands of a lowly virtual monster whom had no reason to kill you in the first place, aside from to follow its programming. The embarrassment of the notion was outweighed by the terror. Tanner stopped in his tracks and just stared straight ahead. He took a moment. He couldn't just leave the kid here, he could die.

"Be... be careful," he managed to spit out, staring and waiting. If he had to... he could maybe intervene. He didn't know if he had the courage, but sometimes desperate situations could bring out the courage in a person, no matter how deeply buried.

[Primrose 0]

After doing minimal damage to the boar I saw the boy coming this way stop and stare. It made an unsettling feeling in my stomach appear to know that someone was watching the fight. He swallowed hard and mustered a tiny movement of a wave. This was all he could manage before being toppled over by the small boar. Oliver was average height for his age but he was extremely clumsy in a way he couldn't quite explain. Getting off the ground he narrowed his eyes at the boar for attempting to do damage. Oliver's eyes pierced the boar's eyes as he picked his sword out of the ground. He charged at the pig like animal but missed the attack unfortunately.

Oliver 8/9

Small Boar 4/5

[Rennat 0]

The boy managed a wave, but Tanner knew what he had done. This boy was fighting for his life against a low-level monster, one that still (cruelly) had the potential to take everything he had ever known away from him, and Tanner had effectively distracted and possibly put him in danger. The boar toppled him, taking the opening the boy had left to give that wave. A shudder rattled Tanner's body as he considered the implications of his friendliness. The warning had done nothing but bring the boy closer to his death. And, he couldn't even rush in and help, because then they would both be in danger. Tanner stared at the boy and watched him duke it out, but his own clumsiness betrayed him and caused him to miss the next hit. That left yet another opening for the boy to become injured, and Tanner would blame himself again and again for ever throwing him off balance. So, with a sudden burst of courage, he equipped himself with a rapier he had left collecting dust in his inventory, and charged in for a petty stab. His fear threatened to stop him with each stride he made, but he covered it up with a rather barbaric battle cry.

In his brashness, he forgot his nerves. Before he could impact the boar, he veered away and threw himself into the ground, rolling a ways. The boar was angered by being ganged up on, but seemed to still be more interested in Oliver than the newcomer. Panting on the ground, Tanner considered his next move, and waited for the boy to make his. He was embarrassed, naturally, but it didn't matter. He was too afraid to be humiliated.

[Ren 0]

A everlasting white husk could be seen underneath the celestial sun, storming its way towards the two individuals. As soon as the gap between them was about to diminish, the unknown figure unraveled his humanly features. He had a pair of pale and blue eyes, sharp as the blade which lingered alongside his waist, hidden beneath all those long strays of hair which cascaded all the way down to his ankles. Upon arrival, the silver-haired man clenched those five fingers around the Muramasa’s handle before a screeching sound resonated, indicating that the blade was no longer in its cage.

Without further ado, the dust underneath the man’s feet started to swirl the moment he lunged himself with full force at the unsuspecting boar, jabbing his blade deep beneath the flesh. “Keep your guard up!†were the words which escaped between those quivering lips the moment he collided.