OP - F1 Time to Form A Game Plan (Completed)

[Calrex 0]

The winding streets of the Starting City seemed to finally open up into a smaller plaza. He could hear the faint sounds of his footsteps on the ground below him as he walked down the alley into the plaza. The sky lit from above, filling the usually gravel-toned city with many colors, including the light green of the grass and the white of the stone. A single figure stepped out into the plaza, clothed in a blue jacket and white shift for his upper body while his legs were covered in a pair of black pants. A single sword rested horizontally along the back of his hip, handle pointing towards his right hand.

 

Calrex sighed as he leaned against a wall, lifting his right leg so that the bottom of his boot was against the wall. He crossed his arms as he looked down, losing himself in thought. He looked forward as he brought his right arm up, swiping down with his pointer finger. A transparent menu appeared in front him, the size not might larger than his hand. As he flipped through the options, he confirmed a thought that was already in his head.

 

"So it was not a joke. The Logout button is not there..."

 

A Few Minutes Ago...

 

Calrex materialized within the world of SAO. He opened his eyes as he viewed the passing sky from within the Starting City, lit up with bright colors that bounced off the stone buildings.

 

"Alright, I've only got about half an hour to play before I need to head to bed. Our project is going to go public soon and..."

 

Almost immediately he was teleported to the central plaza, and with thousands of others around him, discovered they were trapped within the game.

 

____________________

 

"The question now is where to go from here. It looked like some were planning to stay in the city and simply live in the game until the 100th floor is cleared...no way I'm going to be in the game and lay on my back..."

 

"Then what to do next? The game literally just started for me. I could go and train against the monsters in the fields nearby, strengthen myself enough to survive on the other floors. I could join the people trying to reach the 100th floor..."

 

Calrex closed his eyes for a split second as he exhaled. "I've gotta remember though, if I decide to go out there and fight...there is the possibility that I might die for real. I can't be reckless, and going from what the guide said, I'll need to be wary of players killing other players..."

 

"The question now is...what is the first step I should take?"

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke was just casually hanging around on the first floor looking for a way to pass the time. He spent a lot of time on the first floor looking for players who seemed to need help. It was strange however that there was a mysterious player that looked like he hadn't even begun to play the game yet. He saw him leaning against a wall in his starting gear, he looked to be debating something, perhaps where to go from here? who knows one thing was for sure however, he looked like he needed help and if Sousuke was around he would let a new player sit around doing nothing while there were things to do. He approached the boy and leaned against the wall next to him examining his equipment.

 

''Sup kid name is Sousuke you look a little lost, can I help you out at all.'' he asked the boy. His starting equipment made him stand out like sore thumb in comparison to the other players he knew although in fairness this was the first floor after and it wasn't unusual to be seen in starting gear. He figured if anything he was the one that stood out the most here in his long black trench coat and black combat boots with a blood red long sword dangling from his back.

[Calrex 0]

A voice broke his train of thought as his mind snapped back to "reality." Calrex spoke as his head turned to face the new person leaning on the wall next to him. His eyes observed the player's equipment as his head continued its rotation. While not the most stunning, its color contrasted the surroundings.

 

First and foremost of all, the person's outerwear was a long black trench coat with a crimson red sword. In any other game that didn't allow such vast customization from the get-go he would have suspected this person of being a player-killer or of some kind of stealthy Assassin class. What came after that was his black combat boots. From what Calrex knew, Sword Art Online was medieval based, so military gear seemed to be kind of out of place.

 

"Different strokes for different folks. In another setting I probably would've picked a similar layout..."

 

"I wouldn't really say I am lost, but definitely contemplating what to do next. Sousuke, nice to meet you. I'm Calrex."

 

Calrex pushed lightly off the wall with his right foot, letting it settle on the ground as he stood up, turning to face Sousuke. "I could probably use a hand though. I logged in recently, so I'm not really sure where I should start. Do you have any tips or recommendations for where I should check out first?" 

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius had been wandering the Starting City for some time now, and two particular players caught his attention. One wore a dark outfit, and the other had on what appeared to be starting gear. Tyrius looked down at his own gear and growled in anger, he still hadn't acquired anything new. He walked over to the two players and said in a voice just a touch louder than a whisper, "Hey there, the name's Tyrius. Do you need anything?" Tyrius smiled at the players and offered his hand to the starter-gear wearing player, hoping to get a handshake.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex's eyes moved from Sousuke to the newcomer walking towards them. His eyes quickly observed that he was also of higher level, but when the player spoke, Calrex noted the volume level. It was barely above a whisper, and any quieter he wouldn't have even been able to make out what the person was saying.

 

"That was...rather soft. Is this person soft-spoken, or maybe just avoiding being too overbearing?"

 

Calrex let his train of thought fade as Tyrius extended a handshake in greeting. He nodded in acceptance, giving a slight smile as he extended his opposite hand to shake Tyrius' own. He gave a firm shake to affirm it, not ridiculously tight to assert dominance, not limp that could elude to a stand offishness. Just right

 

"Tyrius, Calrex, pleased to meet you as well. I'm checking to see what I should start off doing. I logged in for the first time recently, so now I'm figuring out my next step.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke thought about where to go from here when another player approached. Something seemed off about this guy to Sousuke but he hadn't provoked anyone so let the feeling pass. Sousuke looked at Calrex sizing him up, from the look of him and they way he spoke he hadn't even seen combat yet. "Hey Cal have you even fought anything yet?" He asked as he looked around checking his sorroundings. His military training left. him with habits that had saved his life on multiple occasions.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes walked by, looking around when she recognized tyrius. She waved to him. "Tyrius!! Hey! How are you!?" She continued to walk over to him and saw souske and and someone else in their starter gear. "Hey you! Starting out?" She walked up wearing a long blue and black coat, a golden glaive shining on her back. First hers in her hair.

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius jumped at hearing Celes' voice, and turned and said, a touch too loud this time, "Uh, hi Celes! H-how are you?" Tyrius looked at her, wanting to explain his change of heart, how he no longer wanted to kill, but figured now wasn't the best time. He looked at Calrex and said, speaking quietly once again, "You're gonna get to know a lot of people here."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex responded to the new arrival', as well as Sousuke's question at the same time, putting his left hand behind his head grasping his neck in an awkward fashion, "You hit the mark. I haven't even left the city just yet. All that I know of this is what was explained in the manual itself. However, movement itself is not posing a problem at all."

 

He looked over at the new person that just arrived, "Huh, she definitely has seen a lot of combat, at least going from her equipment. Have people progressed that much since the game started?"

 

"Going from that I can probably guess if I stick with it for long enough I could probably get to a self-sustainable level fairly quickly."

 

As Tyrius commented on the situation Calrex nodded his head, "Well, it's definitely better to have some people I know than going at this completely alone."

 

"His volume went up..."

 

"That...sounds like a death wish in any more obvious form."

 

Calrex looked over at the player Tyrius called Celes, "I'm Calrex, nice to meet you."

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes smiled at calrex. "So new are you? " she asked, looking at his equipment. " how are you doing today" she asked, sitting down in the floor next to them. She didn't seem to have any worries as to anyone looking. Celes had seem enough to not give a crap. She was going to live in this world as she wanted, but she watched the lower leveled player to gage his reaction.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex took note as Celes decided to sit down, but he wasn't concerned about it. For all he knew she had just returned from some kind of quest and was worn out.

 

"Of course this does pose the dilemma of whether to sit of stand. Hm..." 

 

He decided to lean against the wall once again, although both his feet were on the ground this time. He made sure to set his lower back against it slowly so to not accidentally slam it and his sword at the wall. "Other than the part about being trapped in this game and the possibility of dying, I'm doing great. It seems like all of you are doing even better."

[Raeyliff 0]

Raeyliff was walking around with a water bottle in his hand that was half filled with water. He was looking for someone to talk to, when he finally found this group of people. So many people...what's happening? He walked up to the group, both out of curiosity and out of the will to make new friends, and said with a happy voice "Hey guys, what's up?". He hoped that his greeting was actually fitting for this group's discussion and wasn't an awkward greeting in the middle of an argument or something. It would embarrass him completely if it was such. 

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes smiled at the newcomer, "Hey!" greeting him, she turned back to Calrex. "I'm doing pretty well, but it take a  lot of training. And ive been working on it for a while. If i'm lucky i can hit level twenty soon" She said with  grin. She didnt like to keep her level hidden, like other characters. If someone talked about it she didnt mind telling them. That being said she never dressed like she was too high level. 

[Calrex 0]

Calrex looked over as another new person arrived to the group, his eyes quickly observing the person's equipment, in particular that he wielding an axe, something he had not seen as of yet. The man's equipment compared to his own reminded him of an old beat-em-up game where the two main rivals were adorned in red and blue respectively.

 

"Although in that case I believe the red fighter was skilled in spears while the blue fighter held three swords in each hand. Oh well, not important at the moment."

 

"Hi there, nothing I believe to be too out of the ordinary."

 

Celes turned back to Calrex and spoke about her experience, in particular making mention of her current level. Calrex widened his eyes in response, as if he were surprised. "Level 20? You must be doing a lot of level grinding then to be that close. How was it when you first started out?"

 

"Maybe I can glean some information as to potential areas where I could get a good experience return on investment, or at least a reliable shop or something."

[Raeyliff 0]

He nodded and then leaned against the wall that was closest to where they were all gathered. He wanted to rest, but he also wanted to talk with these guys. Hmm...what are they talking about? He decided to stay quiet and listen, maybe he'd learn something for himself. Just because you're level 3 doesn't mean you're a pro at this game. They probably had more experience than you. Hear them out. And so Raeyliff then looked at the person asking the question and stayed quiet, hoping that his time here would have some sort of value. 

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke had been standing around doing nothing for a while now and a new arrival had appeared, another player he didn't recognize. This was turning out to be an interesting day, he had now met three new people whom he planned to assist since judging by their equipment, were in experienced. Of course there was Celesmeh but she was probably planning the same thing as himself. Sousuke stretched his arms above his head and relaxed again yawning as he did so. ''So you guys planning on doing something at all? I can show you the ropes if you like?'' he asked politely

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius looked at the players around him, and swore he saw his recently met friend Tomoya. He smiled and said fondly, "What's up man? Hey, I'll be able to pay you back for that drink sometime!" Tyrius looked at the player he thought was Tomoya, remembering the portal event and cracking up laughing. Tyrius doubled over, and decided that after he stopped laughing, he would explain WHY he was laughing.

[Calrex 0]

"Actually, if you could I'd really appreciate it. I would've tried to go about it on my own, but now that the consequences have become...slightly more dire I figured to proceed carefull..."

 

And that was the last syllable that left Calrex's mouth as he looked over at Tyrius spontaneously bursting into a fit of laughter. Calrex raised one eyebrow in response and confusion at the sudden change in mood. After a few seconds he let his eyebrow fall and gave a smile.

 

"Well, at least there's still good times to be had, even if this is a death game. That's make the situation a little less bleak."

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke looked at the man who had doubled up laughing and looked at him confused. He wasn't sure what was going on here at all. He wondered if he had something on his face and scratched his scar on his cheek wondering if he had something stuck there again. Last time someone had glued a flower to it and he hadn't noticed for quite some time it was an embarrassing moment. He decided to question this guy on what was going on. ''Hey you there I don't believe we have met what's so funny do I got summat on my face or something?'' he asked sceptically.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes smiled at the groud "Sounds like we'll be going a group Raid. We can find a good monster to fight, In fact i know a pretty big one, that could be good for us... If you want to go"  Her eyes twinkled as she said this, happy to help the newer players to fight things.  "Also if you're looking for a shop, check out Souske's shop, he makes wonderful things"