[PP-F1] Reawakening. <<The First Lesson>>

[Miryu 0]

                       Water.

                   The first thing Miryu could feel was water...or, at least, she thought it was water. She wasn't sure, for there could be no possible way she'd have been sleeping in it, and for whatever reason why? She barely budged, but she knew that she couldn't remain still and silent forever.

                       Light.

                   The first thing Miryu saw when she opened her eyes, was light. A soft, blue light from what may have been a crystal or artifact of sorts, not that she knew what it was or why it was directly above her, as her vision was slightly blurred.

          As the water-like fluids began to recede, Miryu's vision cleared, and she then realized she'd been laying down, asleep...but why? Why was she asleep? Now that she thought about it, why was she here? Where even was here? What was she even laying down upon? Was there fluid around her because what she was laying down on and what was right above her had enclosed and trapped her very being here? If so, for what purpose?
                            Miryu looked around, confused and unsure of anything. She had so many questions, and she'd only just woke up...but there had to be answers somewhere. The best thing to start with, was get up and leave what she was once held within. The room she was within seemed to be made from stone, neat and smooth, with swirling carved design of some kind going along most of the room, and spiraling towards the top, where a glowing crystal was nestled in and lighting the room. Miryu looked for the wall the looked the least uniform, and saw where the waves of the designs seemed to clash. Placing her hand upon it, what turned out to be runes of some kind would then glow, and the stone door would then lower into the ground, granting Miryu access to the next room.
                    Within this room, there seemed to be a few items littering it. Namely, a Yukata draped over an elevated stone square that may have served as some form of seating, a sheathed Wakizashi attached to a belt simply laying down on the ground beside the "seating", and upon a pedestal to the right of the next door, an odd trinket that seemed to be glowing. Out of what may have been instinct, Miryu grabbed the Yukata without a second thought and put it on. Now she felt slightly warmer and more comfortable than she was when she got up from where she was sleeping. She then noticed the pair of socks and sandals that were hidden by the Yukata's placement, and she would proceed to put those on as well. She then grabbed the belt and the sheathed blade, putting on the belt and making sure the blade was ready at her side, should she ever need to draw it.
                                                   Miryu hesitated before walking over to the pedestal. There seemed to suddenly be a light swimming within the crystalline orb within the trinket, for about one and a half seconds, then it was as if nothing had happened, for it faded just as quickly. The core of the Trinket was the crystalline blue orb, held within what looked to be silver, in patterns resembling flowing waters. Miryu slowly picked it up, then brought it to the other side of her belt, and it would latch on, hanging from the opposite hip that her weapon did. The pedestal then lowered, and runes lit up on a larger door. Bright light shone into the room, nearly leaving Miryu within nothing but white light, until her vision adjusted. The Outside World was finally in view. Light swirled within the Trinket once more, as a voice seemed to sound within her mind...
                  "The White Seal has been lifted, the time has come for us to return. Time is of the essence, there is much you need to do, Miryu...you are needed."
         The voice then seemed to fade, leaving Miryu to look around her for something, or somewhere, to catch her attention.
                                       The sight of a town caught her eye, so she would make for it in all due haste.

 

                 She was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the Town's borders, and the guards seemed to let Miryu enter without any hassle of any sort. Now that she was in this bustling town, she found herself with yet another question. "What...do I do now?" She thought aloud. This time, there was no voice to answer her, leaving her to wander the city aimlessly.

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 1

HP: 20
Energy: 20
Base Damage: 5(CS Rank 1[3], Traveler's Wakizashi[1])
Mitigation: 6(Traveler's Yukata)
Accuracy: 0
Evasion: 0
Loot Die: 0

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

 

Skills:

Curved Sword 1(4 SP)

 

Equipment:

[T1]Traveler's Wakizashi(Curved Sword, DMG)[Equipped]

[T1]Traveler's Yukata(Cloth Armor, Mitigation)[Equipped]

 

 

Consumables:

Starter Healing Potions(Restores 50 HP) x5

 

Edited March 3 by Miryu

[Wulfrin 0]

For the first time in several weeks, Wulfrin found himself leaving the small smithing shop he had in Coral to return to the Town of Beginnings. It had only been a handful of weeks since he had set out on his own journey in this new world, but today he felt a bit nostalgic. He needed materials to continue crafting at his rather ramshackle establishment, so where better to take a day than the place where it had all began. He made his way to the teleport gate and was quickly whisked away to the starting town of Aincrad.

The streets bustled with NPCs shouting out various deals on rather underwhelming items. "Same old Town of Beginnings," He said out to the world. Wulfrin set out into the crowded Bazaar, apparently the NPCs were having some kind of large scale flee market. As he made his way through the sprawling streets he spotted a peculiar sight. There was a player roaming the streets, not to far in age from his sister, with a confused look on her face. Wulfrin knew that look all to well, as he was sure he had looked the same when he had first set foot into the game. Her Yakuta and Wakizashi didn't look like much, most likely the starting gear given to her by the system. 

"You look a bit lost there friend," Wulfrin announced his presence with a friendly demeanor. "It wasn't long a go I was wandering aimlessly without so much as an idea of how to begin. I could show you around if you want." He walked with an air of confidence that matched his appearance, that of a more western interpretation of an adventurer. Under his open red leather coat that was reinforced by plates on his shoulders and forearms, was a simple tunic and breeches. at his left hip hung a longsword sheathed in a uniquely designed wooden scabbard.

* * *

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

STATS:

Level: 13 | HP: 260/260 | EN: 44/44 | DMG 12 | MIT 44 | ACC 3 | REC 1 | LD 3 | Stealth -2 | Stealth Detection +2

Equipment:

• Blighted Fang | [Fusion ID #219398b] | TIER 1 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD | DMG, KEEN, BLIGHT
  [desc.]: A longsword crafted from metal coated in the sap of a blighted maple tree. Its necromantic properties leave lasting wounds that are hard to recover from.

• Hunter's Coat | T2 Perfect Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 1
  Fusion ID 219737
  A leather coat with attached armored plates at the shoulders and forearms. It's design offers plenty of protection while sacrificing very little of the wearer's mobility.

• Dioscuri. | TIER 1 JEWELRY | ACC III | ID:  #210452-5
  [desc.]: a pair of ear cuffs fashioned from precious stone.

BATTLE-READY INVENTORY:

 

• 3 Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 hp each)
• 6 T1 Uncommon Health Potions: Heals 5% of Maximum HP.
• 4 Teleportation Crystals

 

Edited March 4 by Wulfrin

[Miryu 0]

                        Miryu could see the bustling activity around her. Perhaps the local market was having an upsurge of sorts, but for some reason, she could hardly place a name for whatever it was that was going on here...

              Then someone appeared.

      Miryu turned around to see the person greeting her. Unlike most of the people here, he had one of those rare green crystals hovering over him, similar to the one that hovered beside her own name within her vision, though she couldn't recall why her vision was so strange, as if seeing a name beside a crystal, time, a mark filled with green under her name, with a smaller mark filled with blue directly under that, wasn't supposed to be in her vision unless she was in front of something specific. It felt familiar yet alien, but why? Curious about these strange crystals popping up above people, she decided to see if they could be caught. "...One second, you have something floating above your head."

         She suddenly proceeded to attempt to climb up the stranger in order to reach the odd crystal, swiping her hand to grab at it, only stopping at the third attempt. "Oh, so it isn't a tangible thing at all..." She thought aloud. "My apologies for the bother." She let go of the stranger immediately. "Um, if it's fine with you, being shown around this new place would be nice...I don't exactly know what I'm doing, or what I even came here for." She admitted.

[Almina 0]

                                    Not everyone expects to find the unexpected within the expected and mundane. Players were always the unexpected little sparkles in the otherwise standard and normal Town of Beginnings, aside from the tutorials, the size of the sprawling city, and of course, the players that decided to stick around despite their strength by setting up shop...not that any of this bothered Almina, of course, there were just only so many places she could get a view from before she got tired of them all. She was wearing her everyday Safe Zone Outfit, which was a simple white shirt paired with a knife pleat skirt and hoodie jacket, both a rose pink in color, along with a pair of white ankle boots, as well as a separate clothing item, being a cream white beanie covered in soft fluffy smooth fuzz that seemed to provide some extra luck towards a certain set of actions not exactly related to combat. She looked to her left and to her right, then decided to get down.

                       Unfortunately for Almina, someone had been unloading the barrel she'd climbed up and so it was no longer stable when she hopped down from the roof onto it, causing her to lose her balance as the barrel then tipped over, and with the quick movement of feet, she found herself moving along with the now rolling barrel(thank goodness it'd just been emptied) until it crashed into a bench, sending Almina flying right towards the nearby tree. Almina slid down the tree trunk and down to the ground, before slowly getting up and wobbling as she got up to her feet, while clutching her tingling forehead(she had reasons to not clutch at her also tingling torso, however).
              She shook off the tingling and noticed that people were staring at her. Probably just a bunch of NPCs that would always be surprised by Almina just existing, as she got into problems like these embarrassingly often.

   Then she looked over to a pair of players who may have also witnessed what just happened. She chuckled awkwardly. "Hi." She said sheepishly with a wave of her hand.

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 1

HP: 20
Energy: 20
Base Damage: 7(SS Rank 1[3], White Blade[3])
Mitigation: 6(Blossoms' Blessing)
Accuracy: 0
Evasion: 0
Regen: 4%
Loot Die: 3(Fuzzy Beanie)

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

 

Skills:

Straight Sword 1(4 SP)

 

Equipment:

[T1]White Blade(Straight Sword, 3 DMG)[Equipped]

[T1]Blossoms' Blessing(Cloth Armor, Mitigation, 2 Regen)[Equipped]

[T1]Fuzzy Beanie(3 LD)[Equipped]

 

Consumables:

Starter Healing Potions(Restores 50 HP) x3

 

[Kylissia 0]

                                     Kylissia woke up in the morning, mentally ready for the day, for she was itching to have something other than a typical day. She then started putting on her usual Safe Zone Outfit. She first put on her dress, which was carnation pink in color, with a Scoop neckline and butterfly sleeves, and a short ruffled skirt, with the hem being at the waist. She then put on her white leather jacket, which complimented the outfit well. She also now wore carnation pink wedges with a pair of white thigh high stockings. She then put on the necklace she'd bought from a local artisan, crafted from fine silver, with clear gemstones dangling along the center in a semicircle, the exact center having a gemstone that matched her aquamarine eyes.
          Kylissia would then check her hair and face in the mirror to make sure she was ready. She was the kind of woman who saw nothing wrong with always wanting to look her best, after all.

            After looking around the Town of Beginnings for a while, she happened upon the Market Plaza of the settlement, which seemed to be active with an ongoing flea market. This has happened before, and it was actually how she was able to find the piece of Jewelry that was now a part of her Safe Zone Outfit. There didn't seem to be anything else of note, until excitement knocked on Kylissia's doorstep. The sounds of shock and startling caught her attention, in which she'd see a girl crash into a tree, and then a pair of players that she'd then greet, possibly out of embarrassment over what just happened.
                           When Kylissia approached the scene, the first thing she would notice is that, once again, she was taller than the other players who were present, not that she minded this, of course. "Is everything alright here?" She asked, curiosity and intrigue in her eyes. "I was wondering if this day would come along with some excitement...say, do any of you have any plans? There's this quest that's been waiting to be cleared and I've grown tired of doing nothing about it." She added.

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 1

HP: 20
Energy: 20
Base Damage: 7(SS Rank 1[3], White Blade[3])
Mitigation: 12(Radiant Armor)
Accuracy: 0
Evasion: 0
Thorns: 9(Radiant Armor)

 

Equipment:

[T1]White Blade(3 Damage)

[T1]Radiant Armor(2 Mitigation, Thorns)

[T1]Crystal(3 LD)

 

 

Consumables:

Starter Healing Potions(Restores 50 HP) x3

 

[Wulfrin 0]

As the pair continued down the alleyways towards the main thoroughfare, Wulfrin continued to point out key spots to remember. The most notable was a small store, The Evening Star, a player ran shop that would be a nice place to pick up some starting trinkets. "This place is called The Evening Star," Wulfrin said calmly. "A player named night runs this place. Got my first few trinkets there, in fact I'm still using one of them." He pointed to the silver ear cuffs. They increased his accuracy in combat, but he had no doubt they would eventually lose their relevance. They stopped just inside the busy market place. "I guess the main question is, have you ever played an MMO before?"

Just as he finished asking the question another player came barreling down the street an found themselves crashing into a tree, literally running on a barrel like it was some kind of Saturday morning cartoon. As they slid down the tree, Wulfrin's instincts kicked into overdrive. Yes, it was true that the player was in no physical danger being in a safezone, the disorientation would still be rough. He stopped short as the player managed to get to her feet. With a sheepish wave and an awkward "Hi," the new female player dusted themselves off and clutched their forehead. "Are you alright?" Wulfrin asked.

At almost the same time another player approached the scene. Taller than he was, this didn't bother him too much. He was "average" from where he lived height wise, maybe on the shorter side of said average, but average none the less, so he wasn't made uncomfortable.  "Is everything alright here?" the new addition asked, curiosity and intrigue in her eyes. "I was wondering if this day would come along with some excitement...say, do any of you have any plans? There's this quest that's been waiting to be cleared and I've grown tired of doing nothing about it."

"HP wise," Wulfrin started with his assessment of the strange setting he found himself. "Everyone should be fine being a safezone, as for plans not much." Wulfrin kicked himself mentally remembering he had left out one key detail when starting his tour. "Name's Wulfrin," he said to the group. "I was going to an old material gathering spot when I ran into this new girl over here." He gestured to the confused player he had found roaming the back streets not far from Black Iron Palace. "Looks like it's their first time, so I was going to escort them to Tolbana to start <<The First Lessons>>. The two of you are more than welcome to tag along. It would be a good opportunity to complete the chain if you haven't already. Unfortunately since I've already cleared the first two quests I can't assist you due to system limitations, but I will be nearby fishing to answer questions. The place I completed the first quest in has no monsters in it, so there isn't any danger of death." Wulfrin patiently listened to the other players replies before sending out a party invite to all three of them. This was going to be an interesting trip to say the least.

[Miryu 0]

                               The person began showing Miryu around the town, pointing out key locations, rather than explaining the entirety of the place. The most "key locations" in this explanation so far, however, were in an alleyway with an aesthetic or upkeep that reeked of moral ambiguity. Maybe certain people, like the owner of the Evening Star, felt at home in such a rotten joint of the town, or perhaps they were some kind of light in the dark? She considered asking about the concept of "player", but by the looks of things, it may be a term surrounding the people who had those green crystals. Given that logic, it would apply to Miryu as well if it held any water. When the person asked Miryu a question, something happened before she could attempt to answer.

                 A girl seemed to have an odd stumble that ended in her crashing into a tree, front first. Miryu was unsure of what to do. While she seemed fine, other than being somewhat disoriented, she quickly got to her feet and greeted the two players. Before Miryu could attempt to answer the man's question from earlier, yet another person entered the scene. A tall blonde stepped in, asking about the situation, which the man would explain, then about possibly something to do, specifically, a quest.

                                   The man introduced himself as Wulfrin as he explain the scenario. Miryu blinked. "Tolbana?" She asked. "Who's Tolbana? How do you think they can help me?"

[Almina 0]

                                            Another player entered the scene, asking about what was going on. The male player, who introduced himself as Wulfrin, explained how he intended to take the girl with him over to Tolbana so she could start the First Lesson Questline. Before Almina could make any remarks about it, the girl with him spoke an odd question. What strange things were happening right now...First someone says that the First Lessons were located in Tolbana, even though plenty of people claimed to have stumbled upon the first quest right here in the Town of Beginnings, then the girl right next to said person has no clue what Tolbana is, to the point of asking if it was a person? As far as Almina was concerned, Tolbana was common knowledge due to being on the first floor where all the stayers kept to themselves. Almina blinked. "...Are you ok?" She asked, bewildered. "I'm not sure if you've heard, but Tolbana's another settlement on this floor." She revealed, hoping to help this poor confused girl with whatever it was that was going on. "I can come with you, if you'd like, it might make things easier." She added, though still leaving it up to the girl's choice, since she would be the main taker of the quest.

[Kylissia 0]

                              When Wulfrin introduced himself and explained the situation, the next thing to occur was confusion. Not over the introduction, but over the girl with him that he'd intended to help out, who asked about Tolbana as if it were a person, rather than a place. Given the fact that this player had successfully taken the quest, should his word be true, it would at least explain why Kylissia hadn't found the quest herself yet. "Tolbana is a walled town, and creatures tend to spawn within the road from here to there, though most of them are of neutral temperament and will leave you alone if you leave them alone." Kylissia explained. "Despite my level, I've proven to be able to take nearly no damage at all from enemies up to third level, thanks to the armor I wear whenever I'm outside the safe zone. If a trip there is necessary, I'm sure we can survive it if we do run into one of the occasional hostile monsters." She added, hoping to reassure the players present in case the mention of another town and the fact that the space between the two settlements was not a safe zone. The male player seemed to know his way around, but in all honesty, it was just far too sudden and convenient. She intended to help, all right, but it was mainly to reassure the safety of the players along the way, before joining in on the quest. "I'm Kylissia." She began as she gracefully placed a hand onto herself in gesture. "I might be similar to the rest of you now, but if you need a protector or a helping hand, I can offer what assistance I can." 

[Wulfrin 0]

“I’m not too concerned about the trip,” Wulfrin said as he made a mental note of all the names and HP gauges that appeared below his. “I’m more than capable of handling anything on this floor. I’m more concerned for this one.” Wulfrin pointed to Miryu. “Miryu? Not sure if I’m pronouncing it right. Japanese isn’t exactly a fluent language for me, but she seems like she doesn’t even realize this is a game and not reality. Guess that’s a good thing considering the crazy GM that runs the place.” 

Wulfrin guided the group to a nearby table in the open seething area of a nearby tavern. He quickly flicked through menus and pulled up his map of the floor. “I’ve traveled this route plenty of times and nothing attacks on it without provocation.” A red line followed his finger as he traced a path between the Town of Beginnings and Tolbana. “Usually, the mayor is running around the Town of Beginnings and interacts with the players logging in for the first time, but I haven’t seen him, so it’s either because I’ve completed The First Lesson, or if it’s the flee market event going on right now. Either way I know he’s in Tolbana, so maybe we can force the interaction with him there.” He traced another line from Tolbana to almost the outskirts of the floor. “I completed the gathering quest here. It’s a bit of a walk, but again nothing out there will bother us. Show of hands, how many of you haven’t completed The First Lesson?” Wulfrin scanned the group for hands.

[Miryu 0]

                                                         Miryu was confused.
                                        There was so much that she was hearing, and not all of it made sense. Tolbana actually being a Town? Ok, that was understandable. Creatures that could potentially be hostile? That was also believable. It was the fact that the current environment was referred to as "a game and not reality" that began Miryu's confusion, and what is this GM that Wulfrin spoke of? Some of these things all felt familiar, but they didn't appear to be familiar. If this was indeed a game, it would explain the information within Miryu's vision that normally wouldn't be within real vision...but then, why was everyone here acting as if everything was real? Did something happen? Miryu simply blinked in bewilderment. This was all so much to take in. Something had to make it all make sense, but she hadn't the slightest clue for like...anything. She didn't even know how she was added to Wulfrin's party just now, which caused three names with their corresponding green crystals and mysterious colored bars to appear under Miryu's. Wulfrin had introduced herself, then Kylissia did, so the other pink haired girl must have been known as Almina.

             But of course, not a single name or action just now had helped Miryu understand anything at the current moment.

                              Wulfrin led the three girls to a nearby tavern. Once the three were seated, he fiddled with some flat apparitions and pulled out one particular that seemed to be a map of some kind. Miryu attempted to repeat this, but when she began staring at the map that appeared before her, nothing came to her mind...but she was confused at how it differed from Wulfrin's in several aspects. It was then that a passing NPC then stopped, before looking to Miryu and saying, "Excuse me miss, but I do believe that map of yours has a number of things wrong with it. You might want to get a new one. I've heard there's someone in Tolbana who specializes in Cartography, maybe he can help you."
                  Wonderful, something was wrong with Miryu's map.
                                          So that meant she had no map that could help her, unless she replied on someone else's. Now that she thought about it, how could her map possibly differentiate from everyone else's? How could it be wrong? She got the feeling that it wasn't supposed to be wrong, but if it indeed was, she'd have to get that taken care of. Wulfrin asked for a show of hands for anyone who hadn't taken the First Lesson.

                                         Of the three girls who all raised their hands, Miryu was the last to speak. "I don't remember doing anything in this land, so that leaves me to assume I haven't taken it...The last thing I recall was...-"
              She trailed off suddenly, as she realized her memory did not go very far at all. "...Was...waking up in that...what would I even call that...?" She didn't know what she was doing in that strange thing before she woke up, she didn't even know how she ended up there in the first place. "Is something wrong with me?"
          With how knowledgeable everyone else seemed to be, she couldn't help but feel a bit stupid.

Edited March 7 by Miryu

[Almina 0]

                           Oh...this was more serious than Almina thought. Wulfrin explained how he'd gotten the feeling that Miryu didn't even know this was a game. What confused Almina was, how exactly did that happen? Everyone logged into this game on the same day, and were all trapped inside on the same day. That, Almina knew. This was advertised to be a game back in the world Almina came from, that she also knew...so how could this girl here not know these things? Well, there had to be something that could explain it all...

                          The three girls were brought over to a tavern, where Wulfrin would proceed to pull up his map and show a route. Almina would notice Miryu pulling up hers too, but by how she seemed to do it, and how she kept looking back to Wulfrin before back to her menu, she was trying to copy off of how he pulled up his. Upon her success, however, she drew the attention of an NPC who pointed out that something wasn't right with her map...
              Wait a minute, that doesn't normally happen. Since when could maps go wrong? When Wulfrin asked for a show of hands, all three girls raised their hands. Almina was the first to speak. "I've been wondering when it would come to me, but I guess I'm just used to trouble looking for me, I didn't exactly go around looking for trouble before we all got trapped in this game." She added, as if to claim that if she'd found it she would have taken it by now.

Edited March 14 by Almina

[Kylissia 0]

                               Kylissia nodded slowly as the situation began to piece together in her mind, though not everything that was said was making any sense.

            Wulfrin would bring the three to a tavern, and Kylissia suppressed a smirk as she kept down the urge to make a remark on this. She couldn't stop herself from thinking the remark, however. "Taking three girls to a Tavern, hm?" She thought. "Are you hoping to buy all three of us dinner or something?" She was unable to suppress her smirk at that point. She was thinking something, but she didn't say it outright due to the implications it would leave. There would be more confusion after Wulfrin pulled out his map to show the route, for Miryu attempted to copy him, but...when Kylissia took a look at both maps, Miryu's didn't make sense. Kylissia had seen her own map before, and it matched Wulfrin's. The fact that Miryu's did not was...concerning, to say the least. Even an NPC came by to point it out, though they also mentioned a potential solution to the problem somewhere in Tolbana.

                                When Wulfrin asked for a show of hands for who hadn't taken the quest, all three of the women present raised their hands. Kylissia would be the second to speak, nearly deadpanning as she did so upon raising her hand. "I've been looking for it for a few months now. Clearly I've been looking in the wrong place all this time, seeing that I haven't found it yet. Otherwise it wouldn't have mattered how large and sprawling this Town is, I would have found it and cleared it at that point." She explained.

             When Miryu spoke, her confused situation began to cause what didn't make sense before to start making sense now. Kylissia's expression returned to one typical of her as the situation for all four players present had practically laid itself down for them.
            First, she looked to Almina. "Almina, regardless of how you handled things in the past, we now have this present to work with. It's like living a second life, so sometimes you'll need to take the bull by the horns." She remarked, hoping this will help her in the future if she really wasn't used to looking for trouble, when doing that is the very basis of this game. No matter what life you wanted to live, you had to deal with a little something first.
                         Then, she looked to Miryu. This would be serious, as there was no room to sugar coat it. Miryu's response, be it in her tone, her body language, or both, would determine which of the two possibilities it was that could explain how she was acting. "And Miryu..." She began. "...You can't remember anything, can you?"
                      Miryu was either acting childishly, or she legitimately had Amnesia. The only reason Kylissia silently questioned the possibility is because of how unlikely it was that she might receive such an affliction in the state that her real body was in. Miryu's brain would have to have endured some form of trauma that brought her to lose all that memory. Thus, how Miryu would respond would be the deciding factor. Would she have the proper response and realization, or would Kylissia see the eyes of a liar?

                     Regardless of the result, Kylissia would then gesture to Wulfrin. "Wulfrin here has offered us a solution to our situations, as they all involve Tolbana and the First Lessons." This was an opportunity for all three players that would be foolish to pass up. "So then it's settled." Kylissia began. "Wulfrin will escort us to Tolbana, and he may join us along the lessons if he wishes to. With our numbers, I doubt we have a high chance of failure."

[Wulfrin 0]

"Truth be told," Wulfrin responded to the comments about how two of them had missed the quest. "I started the quest in the Town of Beginnings. The Mayor, Dorian White, usually is running around here looking for new players to send out to find the person who owes him some money. Problem is he doesn't remember who, and thus starts you on a wild goose chase. First Lesson is all about gathering materials from the environment. The second is monster combat. I don't know about the final lesson, as I have yet to take that one on. All I know is that it involves fishing." As he took count of the hands that were raised he gave a silent nod before returning to his thoughtful stare. "Since there's three of you, the quest wont complete until everyone has their own completion requirements met. Assuming they are the same, expect to be responsible for collecting five materials each. First Lesson is a tedious task so settle in for a long ride."

"That is troubling," Wulfrin remarked as the NPC passed by and commented on Miryu's odd map. He was half heartedly listening to the explanation his new companions were offering.  "Must be something up with her NerveGear." He fixed his attention to Miryu. He did his best to hide his concern, but clearly his thoughts were weighing heavy. "The NerveGear is a device that's on your body in the real world. Typically, it only intercepts the signals that would go to your body to move your arms, legs, etc. For some reason yours seems to be doing more than that." He contemplated how best to proceed with the rest of his thought process. "The device works by utilizing high powered microwaves to influence the senses creating our vision, touch, taste, hearing, and even our sense of smell. It's not accurate by any means, but it get the job done. The kicker is the Game Master, or GM for short, has decided this game should be as close to reality as possible. That means when that green bar next to your name that represents your HP or Hit Points, which in turn represents your health, hits zero its game over, both for your avatar here and your real body." Knowing the news would hit like a truck, Wulfrin pulled out a crystal and slid it across the table to Miryu. "That's a Teleportation Crystal. You can buy them at pretty much any general merchant in Aincrad. If things get too rough don't hesitate to use it to teleport back to a town like this one."

"That being said," Wulfrin acknowledged the group. "While the trip should be a short and relatively safe one, its still best to be paying attention should I call something out. My goal is to avoid combat if possible, but if if it does happen stay close and at the ready. Kylissa, if you can act as a second line in the incredibly unlikely chance I get swarmed that would be helpful. Now let's hit the road. Once we get to Tolbana we'll see if we can find that Cartographer then Mayor White, if he doesn't find us first." Wulfrin lead the party towards the northern gate of the Town of Beginnings, giving a wave to the same guard he had passed so many times. He fell right into the escort role he had so eagerly jumped into. It was clear however, his head was not entirely in the game. His mental processes were all focused on Miryu's condition. "It shouldn't be possible," He said under his breath. "I guess in theory it could happen, but it shouldn't be able to. If the NerveGear truly can block or even erase memories of those using it, that could be even worse for the VR space than just killing people." Out of the corner of his eye Wulfrin spotted a pack of Wolves roaming slightly too close to the group. The pair of wolves hadn't noticed the group, but Wulfrin decided to play it safe by steering the group on a wider path. He wanted to take no chances, especially with how much danger Miryu could be in. What if her pain absorber was broken? Thousands of worst case scenarios were rushing through his mind at any given point.

* * *

Wulfrin offers Miryu 1 Teleportation Crystal

Edited March 8 by Wulfrin

[Miryu 0]

                                        Kylissia's remark to Almina about a "second life" stuck in Miryu's mind. Not that she could try and bring something back up with it, but it was something worth keeping a mental note of nevertheless. Kylissia then asked Miryu a question in regards to her memory.

                Miryu entered a state of realization as her expression darkened. Waking up wasn't just the last thing she remembered...it was also the first. "No...I don't..." She revealed. It was a troubling scenario indeed. "Second" life or no, this was currently the only one she knew. She should have known a before, yet she did not manage to recall one. At least her origins might be similar to those around her, despite the fact that she wouldn't be able to remember.

                        Wulfrin would explain the scenario the four were all in, that everyone here was in an artificial world through mysterious devices known as NerveGear, and that their original lives were inexorably connected to the fates of these "second lives" within this other world...this would leave Miryu at a considerable disadvantage, considering that despite the fact that she still had some knowledge from some point in her life, she'd lost her memory of both lives altogether, and was probably starting over on her second as a result. This disadvantage would stem from the fact that anyone could use the information of this world that Miryu lacked to either help her or harm her, to the point where it might all just be luck, a roll of the dice, so to speak, that determines her fate, whether she finds herself able to understand both worlds, or if she is doomed to find both lives ending in this second life's respective world.

               Things slowly began making more sense, but there was still far to go. Wulfrin slid something across the table over to Miryu, something he knew to be a Teleport Crystal, an emergency consumable that could take someone to a safe zone they had been to before on the chance that things would get dire. She would give a nod of thanks as she accepted the item.

 

                     Wulfrin seemed to be muttering things under his breath as he escorted the three. Miryu wasn't going to question him in this moment, it was probably for the best to save the thoughts for later at the very least. Miryu looked to the side to see a pair of wolves, but they seemed to show no interest in the party...in fact, they seemed to suddenly look somewhere else. Miryu stopped walking, and looked to the other side immediately, where she saw what the wolves had spotted. It was a bipedal figure, fully armored and geared for battle and welding a shield and morningstar, though there seemed to be tusks poking out from the helm, not to mention the hooves in place of feet, and the claws instead of fingers. Miryu found no memory of this creature, but at the sight of the menacing beast, Miryu felt as though she needed to fight or run...but the moment she blinked, the figure was gone.
                         Miryu began to wonder if it was even there at all, or if it was just a fragment of memory lost in the form of a figment of her imagination. Shaking her head, she then ran to catch up with the rest of the party. Surely they would reach Tolbana soon.

 

-Miryu accepts the offered Teleport Crystal

Edited March 11 by Miryu

[Almina 0]

                               Kylissia made a good point in terms of taking the bull by the horns. Now that troubles had taken Almina to another world, in a sense, Almina was likely to have to look for trouble herself when it didn't find her. Such is the nature of those with ties to destiny, one might suppose.

          Kylissia then looked to Miryu, and everything started to make sense when she spoke. Almina blinked as her expression became a soft, mild form of shock. "Amnesia? Oh no..." She thought. Fiction often made Amnesiacs into powerful individuals, but the reasoning behind that was usually because they had the procedural memory and personal skills from the life they led beforehand to carry them through their struggles. A real amnesiac would have just as much luck as anyone else, depending on their personal skills set and procedural memory. Therefore, Miryu's capabilities were currently unknown, and that was worrying. 

                     Wulfrin explained the situation the players were all in to Miryu, since due to her amnesia, someone was gonna have to catch her up to speed. "You kinda left out the part that we can't log out of this game until all one hundred floors of this game, which are all pretty much just unique worlds and realms, are cleared. One hundred floor bosses to slay, so far we as a player base have taken down twenty seven, so that's...seventy three to go." Almina pointed out politely, though she explained it in a way that hopefully Miryu would now understand it as well. The course of action was now clear, so it was time to head out.

 

           Wulfrin must have had some kind of luck, because while Almina would normally have gotten into a fight by now, no aggro of any kind was pulled during the trip to Tolbana so far. "I wonder how we'll find this Cartographer..." Almina thought aloud. When she turned to speak to Miryu, she wasn't there. She looked further and saw that she'd stopped for some reason, but then she turned and ran back to catch up with the party. "Are you alright?" Almina asked. "Did you see anything?"

[Kylissia 0]

               Miryu's response to Kylissia was genuine. She truly had Amnesia. Kylissia's expression was solemn. "I see...You're going to need plenty of help to get back up on your feet." She began. She then pulled up her menu to send Miryu a Friend Request. "If you ever need some help or a guiding hand, just send me a message and I'll come for you." This girl needed someone to help her, and Kylissia's occasional habits of being the big sister figure kicked in. Wulfrin would explain the situation to Miryu, and Almina would add a missed, yet equally important detail into the explanation. Wulfrin then explained his plan for how the players would be going to Tolbana. Kylissia nodded her head. "I will give my all in that effort should I be needed." She would equip her armor before the players left the safe zone.

                 Wulfrin muttered something under his breath, while Almina began to wonder where in Tolbana the party could find the Cartographer. Then it was noticed that Miryu wasn't currently walking with the rest of the party. The wolves that the players had passed by must have been looking at whatever Miryu saw, and they ran off in a dash. Miryu herself then looked back to the party and ran to catch up. Almina asked if she was alright and if she saw anything. Clearly she'd seen something, given that the wolves had looked in the same direction that Miryu was looking before they bolted for it. The question, however, was why. Kylissia would remain silent for now, waiting to see what Miryu would say. The party wasn't far from Tolbana, so hopefully they wouldn't have to deal with any encounters at all.

[Wulfrin 0]

The remaining trip was uneventful. Tolbana was much calmer than the Town of Beginnings. It didn't take long to find the Mayor. He was a busy man always frantically running through Tolbana. Wulfrin spotted the escentric mayor entering what appeared to be a map seller's store front. 

"Our lucky day I guess," Wulfrin guided his female entourage towards the Cartographer's Place, a simple shop called The Journey. An apt name for a map maker, clearly an omage to the phrase: its not about the destination but the journey to it. "Cartographer and Mayor all in one stop. I can either wait out here or I can go in with you. Best I don't I'm supposed to still be looking for the person who owes the money. He probably wont even acknowledge me."  Politely he held the door open as a small bell chimed signifying new customers coming through the door. "Take your time, I'm in no rush today. If you need me give me a shout."

[Miryu 0]

                                 Almina asked Miryu if she was ok and if she saw anything. "Yes...there was this armored person...thing? But they were suddenly gone the moment I blinked." Miryu answered.

                   The remainder of the trip was uneventful, so there would be no further interruptions. Wulfrin spotted both of what Miryu needed to find, and opted to stay put unless necessary. Miryu nodded in understanding, and with the other two players she went inside the building.

                   Two men were talking. One older and one younger. "You're sure you haven't seen anything strange happening near our town's borders, Carter? Walled as our home may be, we must be ready and vigilant if anything unusual becomes a potential threat to it." The older man spoke. "Other than that odd spire-like structure I found after that tremor several hours ago, I assure you I've seen nothing else. If you're concerned about the town's safety, why don't you ask the Captain of the Guard?" Came the younger man's response. The older man seemed to understand the response, though he would add, "I appreciate what intelligence you were able to give. I've already asked him about it, but he knew absolutely nothing. Maybe I'll consider asking him to investigate this structure if I have any time." He paused for a few seconds before he had something else to ask. "By any chance, you haven't seen any Travelers passing by, have you? I could use an extra hand, I've got far too much to do, especially with what's been going on lately." The older man asked. The younger man looked and saw the three players. "You mean like those Travelers over there?" He pointed out, seeing that he didn't not recognize any of them as population of the town. "Hm? Ah!"

             Upon recognition of the players, the older man would make his way over to them in long, purposeful strides. "Pardon me, ladies, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable."  The man heaved a quick sigh, adjusting the monocle over his right eye. "My name is Dorian, and I am the mayor of this town. As part of those mayoral duties, I issued a small loan to a member of the community a few months ago. Well, the time to collect had come around and I-" Flustered, Dorian systematically ran his fingers over his mustache. "You see, I've forgotten who it was I loaned the money to. Terribly embarrassing, I know, but I am a very busy man, and I cannot keep track of everything that happens. I'm sure you understand." With a wave of his hand, Dorian continued, "Should you be willing to track down the loan recipient for me, and collect the col, I would be eternally grateful. Just, maybe don't let anyone else know I forgot who the loan went to?" He requested. A quest prompt appeared in front of Miryu as she nodded with a smile. Oh, she was supposed to respond systematically. She then pressed accept with hardly a second thought afterward. Dorian nodded his head, appearing to be relieved by Miryu's swift agreement to help him out. "Excellent, I knew I could count on you! You might start with Zackariah, the alchemist. He's often doing projects for the town, so it may have been him that borrowed the money." He noted. "I've got good hopes for you three. Farewell and good luck!" And with that, Dorian sped walked, nearly dashing off to his next task.

                          Next was the younger man. "Any of you have some business to settle here before you head over to Zachariah's?" He asked. His knowing grin seemed to suggest that Dorian's embarrassing secret was at least safe with him. Miryu's eyes lit up. "Ah, I do!" She blurted out, before speed walking right up to the counter. "Someone in another town suggested that there might be something wrong with my map, so I thought I'd have it checked here." She explained. The system handled the map transfer in Miryu's stead, for it suddenly appeared before the NPC, who would take it and examine it for a short moment. "This map..." The NPC began. "It's...why, this map couldn't possibly exist. It looks similar to the land around us, and yet..." He scratched his head as he continued to assess the map and its anomalies. "And it's stained with all these dark spots...cold to the touch...exactly where did you get this map?" He asked. "I'm not sure." Miryu answered. "I guess I've just...always had it?" The NPC studied the map just a little longer. "Well, here's what I can do for you. I've know that you adventuring types tend to carry maps different from the rest of ours, and they're not exactly replaceable, from what I know. However, I've recently come across a way they can be...fixed, so to speak." He began, as he gestured to the map in his hand. "I don't know if you heard, but there was a tremor that shook the region several hours ago. I was making my rounds scouting out the local area for anything new or different, and then I found this uh, small tower-like thing just sticking out of the ground. I honestly don't know what it is or what it's for... but I've got a map of the area that's a bit like yours that I can give you...because when I saw an odd-looking surface after climbing to the top, I placed an empty map there and it just...filled itself in! I have no other way to explain it, but..." The NPC nearly trailed off, his confusion apparent and highly visible. "Well, maybe you can fix your map there. I'll hand you the one I'd gotten from the experience for now, but if you happen to find any of those elsewhere in the world, just keep that in mind." He finished, as he handed both Miryu's map and another map to her. Upon accepting both, a message from the system appeared before Miryu: "<<Map Updated.>>" Miryu nodded, grateful for the NPC's help. "Thank you, I'll return the map you loaned me if this works." She thanked with a smile, before leaving with the other two players.

                           Miryu looked to Wulfrin, ready to tell of the results. "We've got the quest, and apparently there's a way to fix my map." She explained.

[Almina 0]

                     Almina was concerned. An armored figure? Suddenly gone? "This...this is..." Her train of thought was interrupted for the time being, but nevertheless her concerns remained. 
               The arrival to the shop that the mayor had entered, at least, had made things much easier. The three would enter to accidentally eavesdrop on a conversation that seemed to bear importance to the town's protection.
      A tremor... "So I wasn't just imagining things...there was actually a tremor that shook the land..." Almina thought. "So...I wasn't the only one who noticed..." She thought aloud.

        The Mayor soon noticed the players and came up to them as to initiate the quest as Cardinal intended. "Of course, you can leave it to us!" Almina agreed, before pressing Accept on the quest prompt that appeared. Miryu then walked up to the Cartographer to ask about her map. The Cartographer definitely noticed an anomaly with the map, and suggested the odd tower he'd found might be able to "repair" it. He also offered Miryu a Single-Floor map that she could use for the time being, which she then accepted. Following the other girls outside the building, she knew she had to think about how to handle this situation. If that odd tower could help, then what else could it do other than fixing maps? If it was connected to that tremor, then...exactly what was going on?