[OP-F1] <<Earning a Living>> (Azide - In Progress)

[Azide 0]

Azide ambled along the winding road, nearly stumbling over a stray log that lay sprawled out in the middle of the dirt path. "Damn it," he thought as caught himself at the last moment. He turned around and kicked the defiant trunk of annoyance, only to be met by an unexpected amount of resistance and a sizable amount of pain. A purple tag labeled immortal object appeared over it for a few moments before simply disappearing, and the log? Not even a budge. Azide, on the other hand, let fly a few expletives and gingerly grabbed his foot while hopping up and down on the other, as if it the action would hasten the sensation's departure. "Son of a... geeze, I really have to get used to these preprogrammed physics," he muttered to himself. Fortunately enough, pain seemed to fade far quicker in this game, being more of a momentary feeling than a lasting ache or burn. Sure enough it, it quickly began to lessen in intensity, and after a few lingering moments more, vanished completely.

It was eery in a way, how the world seemed to mirror that other one so completely, and yet its underlying mechanics always snapped him away from the illusion. On the other hand, it seemed important to remember that one seemingly could not be incapacitated simply through temporary injury in this game, outside of any built in mechanics. He made a mental note reminding himself not to turn his back on any enemies that weren't quite dead, then planted both feet back onto the ground and looked back at the virtual menu in front of him. Incidentally, the same one that had distracted him just now, but its message made that forgivable. The title read " ", and it seemed to point toward some sort of specialization feature in the game, or "profession", as he had heard. That was interesting enough in and of itself, but one particular profession in the list caught his attention. "Alchemy, huh? Well it's not quite chemistry, but if anybody's gonna turn lead into gold I might as well be the one to do it. " He navigated through a few more dialog boxes and hit accept, uncharacteristically neglecting to read the alchemist's considerably less exciting career in potion-making. But to be fair, that particular oversight was probably more out of inexperience with the menus and a sense of excitement than a lack of patience. But then again, in this case it might have very well been both.

The screen disappeared and he stared blankly out ahead, then peered to left and then then the right. Nothing. "Well I have to admit, I'm somewhat confused right now. Maybe I messed up somewhere along the way?" He'd pulled up the interface again and had just gotten back to the quest screen, but upon hearing a sudden rustling sound coming from behind him, turned around. He quickly drew his slender rapier and found himself faced with a wild boar as it shot of of the bushes.

The boar stomped its feet and raked the ground the its front paw, making a big show out of its intent to charge at him. Hoping to avoid this, Azide quickly bolted forward and lunged at the creature, thrusting his slender blade roughly where he thought its heart to be. Silently he thanked his dad for making him join the track team. Sure, it felt good to have on a college resume, but it felt damn good in a more practical demonstration. He figured his technique with the rapier was lacking somewhat severely, but his attack seemed to have been on target. He turned around and saw the boar crumple to the ground and thrash about violently before getting getting back on its feet. Expecting the boar's quick recovery, he quickly steadied himself, weapon in hand, and braced himself as the boar charged forward.

ID: 6780
BD d10: 9
= 1 Base Damage (Rapier) + 1 (Critical Success +1) = 2 damage against wild boar

Azide HP: 5/5 (-0)
Wild Boar HP: 3/5 (-2)

*Edited to use Perma Roller after re-reading Dice Tutorial!
** Edited again to add Perma Roller ID

Edited January 15, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

Clearly unamused and just perhaps a tad angry, the boar eyed the boy and pawed at the ground thrice before speeding forward, its long tusks ready to tear the player apart just as they had been programmed to do. But instead of heading straight for him, it zipped at an angle to within a few meters of its target, before changing its trajectory and zagged to hit the player's opposite (and unprotected) flank and sending him to the ground while clutching his side. If it had been real life, the boy would have probably died from blood loss within half an hour, and the boar's white tusks would be red with blood. But the boy would not, and the boar's tusks were not. That said, the boar had landed its hit successfully and managed to catch its prey by surprise, but stumbled upon its landing. By the time it managed to turn itself around, the boy had managed to both steady himself as well as close the distance between the two. It flared its nostrils in defiance, as if daring the player to kill him if he could manage it.

 

ID: 6781
MD d10: 7
Battle Damage = 1 (Base Damage) = 1 damage against Azide

Azide HP: 4/5 (-1)
Boar HP: 3/5 (-0)

*Edited to use Perma Roller!

** Perma Roll ID added

Edited January 15, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

Azide quickly collected himself and eyed the health bar floating at the corner of his vision. He took a deep breath when he saw the previous attacked hadn't been quite as bad as he'd been expecting. "Four out of five health." He took a very brief moment to weigh some the pros and cons of continuing. "Well, eighty percent's probably enough. What's the worst that could happen?" Despite that, he cursed himself silently for not being able to react quickly enough, but at the very least he was still alive.

He darted forward and leapt at the boar, hoping to finish it with an overhead swing of his rapier. He managed to bring the light blade crashing down against the boar's head, only to have it bounce off disappointingly with little effect. Disbelievingly, he quickly glanced at his rapier only to remember it was meant to be used almost exclusively as a thrusting weapon upon seeing its slender profile and dull edges. "'Be sure to pick the rapier', he said. 'It's more badass than a longsword', he said!" He shook his head. "Next time I'll be sure to just stick with the classics." He jumped back a few times, but left a much smaller distance between the two this time, leaving it up to his reactions but disallowing any surprise movements.

 

ID: 6782
BD d10: 5
Battle Damage = 0 = 0 damage against wild boar

Azide HP: 4/5 (-0)
Wild boar HP: 3/5 (-0)

Edited January 15, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

Notice the player's considerably shorter distance from him this time around, the boar decided to take advantage of the fact and sprinted forward until it was almost upon him.

Azide, stood his ground as the boar quickly came closer and closer. He hoped to dodge the assault at the last moment in order to land a clean hit on the beast in close quarters. He knew he himself was no sloth, he wasn't going to kid himself into believing he could outrun it either, and so he reasoned the lessened distance took away the creature's acceleration. Plus, its four legs and bulkier frame would make him a much easier target to hit at this distance, and its mobility would be limited if he made sure to keep close. He waited and waited until just the right moment, until the boar was nearly almost upon him, then rolled to the left. Wrong move.

The boar, although certainly not intelligent, had been pre-programmed with a countermeasure for this sort of tactic after the beta testers had declared the enemy type to be too simple. However, in order to keep the game's appeal to less experienced players, only a small percentage of the boar would actually have this countermeasure active. The effect was the same- forcing players to be cautious on the off chance that the creature would punish them for any reckless move. But this was, of course, unknown to the gaming newcomer Azide.

The boar feigned a pounce, causing Azide to roll out of the way just as expected. Seeing the player caught off guard and in no position to defend himself, the boar quickly shifted itself and charged forward once again. It crashed into the player dead-on, sending him sliding across the ground and knocking the breath out of him.

 

ID: 6783
MD d10: 10
Battle Damage = 1 (Base Damage) + 2 (Critical Success +2) = 3 damage against Azide

Azide HP: 1/5 (-3)
Wild boar HP: 3/5 (-0)

Edited January 15, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

Azide's body exploded in pain as he took the full force of the hit, sending him sliding back across the dirt. Teeth clenched tightly, he managed to look up at his all-important health bar. "Damn it!" He looked at his health bar again, hoping he'd simply misread it. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. He slammed his fist against the ground and pushed himself off the ground slowly as the pain started to fade. "That's it? One health point left?" He dusted himself off and steadied himself, aware that he still had time to make his move. He locked eyes with the creature and forced himself not to look away. "I guess it can't be helped. But on the bright side, at least this keeps it interesting. " He held his sword in front of him and pointed it straight at the wild boar's head, then brought back his elbow just far enough to give him room for one final thrust. He ran at the boar full speed, but just before began his stabbing motion, it had managed to react far faster than he expected and ducked under the intended death-blow. "That's it," he thought to himself. "That's all I've got." Unable to change his trajectory quickly enough, the blade of his rapier missed its target completely, making him stumble clumsily past it. He turned around to face it, eyeing it again. He found no pride in the creature's eyes. It was only, after all, a program. He shrugged. "You win some you lose some." He gripped the handle of his sword a little tighter as he kept his eyes on the boar. "Is this it?"

 

ID: 6784
BD d10 = 1
Battle Damage = 0 (Critical Fail) = 0 damage against wild boar

Azide HP: 1/5 (-0)
Wild boar HP: 3/5 (-0)

Edited January 15, 2015 by Azide

[Arekkusu Sepera 0]

Arekkusu crossed his arms from the top of the hill. The player reached his climax, one more hit and his right to live will no longer exist. Arekkusu breathed out as he ran down the hill, right when the boar was about to finish the player off. Arekkusu stabbed the boar in mid air, forcing its body to hang onto his blade before he pushed off the boar. Nasty, again there was blood on his blade, this time there is no snow to help him clean that blade off. Arekkusu turned his head back to the newer player. Arekkusu may be a kid, but a bright one at that, so he could fit for being a somewhat high leveled player. "Are you alright?" Arekkusu asked the player.

Id:6797. Bd:5+1 Acc. HIT. MD:6-3 EVA

Damage: 1+ 3 Phoenix Wing+ 4 long-straight sword+1 athletics =9

(Since there is more than one player, a posting order occurs. In open threads, double posting isn't allowed, especially now since a player is also in it.)

[Azide 0]

Azide looked at the player before him who'd seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. Judging from how he'd managed to kill the boar in a single swing (which admittedly didn't sound too difficult when he thought about it), he figured the boy to be of a significantly higher level than his own. Still, he looked to be on the younger side, but then again kids these days were exposed to all sorts of games at early ages. "Geeze, saved by a kid. Only in a videogame," he thought to himself. He walked over to the other player, sheathing his rapier as he did. "A whole lot of good this thing did for me..." 

"Great, never been better," he replied, throwing in an exaggerated arm swing and a not-even-half-hearted grin for good measure. Satisfied with the obligatory sarcasm, he brought his arm back down and a rather bored expression returned for what seemed to be the first time all day. "No but really, I'm pretty sure I'm almost dead man." He looked at the other player up and down. He wasn't quite sure of his level, but from the equipment he could tell that the boy was at least experienced. "So were you watching the whole time or does this game just have a flair for dramatic timing?" He extended his hand. "Name's Azide, by the way."

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied something the boar must have dropped upon its defeat. Keeping his arm extended, he gestured toward it with his other. "I'm doing a quest to become an alchemist, by the way. Think that might be something I need?"

(Thanks for the heads up by the way)

[Arekkusu Sepera 0]

"That was a basic enemy, I watched because I was sure you could kill it." Arekkusu said as he sheathed his blade back into its holder in one swift movement, almost cutting himself by accident, but not. He shrugged calmly, knowing that what he said was false. Arekkysu remembered making that same mistake of just watching the girl fight a boar, and getting killed in the end. He couldn't let that happen. Not again. He really didn't care about people anymore, but that is no excuse to let someone die. "But, I don't blame you, some of us in the game don't have the highest of luck. I started off that way as well, I take it you were released late into the game as well. Well... Welcome to the game. My name is Arekkusu, and don't think I am nice because I'm a kid. But, I'll help you out. Tell me, what do you need to start the shop?"

[Azide 0]

((Long post, but figured I should probably add some direction to this quest, haha!)

Azide watched as the player sheathed his own weapon. His response was firm, and his voice both steady and level- to the point of coming off a little cold even. And yet as aloof as Arrekusu seemed to appear, Azide thought he sensed something lurking beneath the surface as he searched the youth's eyes for an answer. He maintained eye contact with the boy throughout his introduction, though his efforts yielded little in the way of any telltale signs.

"More than pleased to meet you, Arrekusu- especially now of all times." He drew his arm back, being one to know when an attempted handshake had failed, and acted as if he'd just been reaching to adjust his jacket (which he now did). "I don't think being nice and being a kid are necessarily related," he remarked, the corner of his lip curling slightly upwards. "But with that said, you do seem to be a nice kid." He'd been about to explain how he wasn't exactly quite sure how to proceed, when he noticed a man had suddenly appeared alongside them and picked up the shiny object that'd been dropped by the boar.

He seemed to come out of nowhere, although he looked harmless enough. An older gentleman he was, with the expected white hair and thick beard, although a rather scholarly-looking one. The man reminded Azide of the type you'd see working at any university, perhaps as a professor of some sort. In any case, the man held the object in front of his spectacled eyes and nodded with approval.

"That looks just like one of those flasks I always used back at the research lab," thought Azide. "Excuse me sir, but would you happen to be associated with my quest to become an alchemist?" he asked, now recognizing the man as an NPC. "The game must have spawned him in- guess I'm on the right track after all."

The man chuckled, nodding once again with a twinkle in his eyes. "You're absolutely right my son! These bones and aching joints of mine just aren't what they used to be. See- I'm getting old, and I'd just been readying to retire and close shop the other day when a bunch of wild animals smashed into my store and ran off with some of my glassware!" He held the flask out for Azide and Arrekusu to see. "This might look like just a single flask, but don't mind that. It's just Aincrad's way of saving space and all that. Anyways- looks like that should be it for the flasks, but I'm still missing my beakers, and vials." He shook his, almost as if amused by his ordeal. "Tell you what! If you manage to find the rest of the equipment and stop by my shop, I'll give you the keys to the old shop free of charge."

Azide opened his eyes wide. "You're saying if I find a couple of beakers and vials, I can have the whole place all to myself?" Inside, he was overjoyed. He hadn't thought it would be so easy, but he played it off since Arrekusu was still watching.

The man nodded a third time. "That's right young man, it's your lucky day! Granted, you probably don't know the first thing about alchemy, but this town needs some young blood to fill in for tired old fools like me." He laughed and gave the two something resembling a salute, before walking off towards the Town of Beginnings, the disappeared. Shortly after, a basic map of the town appeared under Azide's health bar- with one building in particular highlighted in red.

Azide turned to Arrekusu once again. "Well, I think that just about explains it." Then he spotted something in the distance, and his eyes narrowed.