[PP-F1] Traffic light

[Zeke 0]

Searching through a small cozy wooden weapons shop, the player Zeke looked at everything he couldn't afford until the options were left to equipment not even worth the level he was on, but could be bought. Forty four col in his inventory, yet he was never bothered by his ill luck towards gathering beneficial items in the game. Always the idea of surviving until the end of the game never once intrigued him. He wanted his death to be in the game in fact. Dying the way he felt he should be, in a sideways effort to fulfill his fantasy.

"I think I'll be going now, sorry I never really have the col for your items. Healing crystals are too much but I can't go without them." Leaning over the counter towards the NPC, his dark hair hung in front of his face while the HUD was opened in front of him. "If I hit it big on a quest, I'll come to you first." Zeke's finger selected to transfer a small sum of col to the NPC. On his way out, the character looked to the door and smiled before saying one of it's selected inputs. "Sorry we could be of no service for you today, please come again soon!" Then the store door shut together with a slow creak and left the store in silence.

Too caught up on where to go next, Zeke hung his head down in thought before bumping into someone near the end of the dirt path that led through Tolbana town. "Sorry, e-excuse me." Looking to see who he had hit; his brain could understand his mouth's problem with communication. In the awkward pause, he waited to see how she would take the accident.

[Ferrah 0]

Sitting in the local bakery, at a table occupied by just her, Ferrah smiled as the aroma of freshly baked sweets filled her nose. This was the best, and only, bakery in town. It was known for is daily freshly made goods, especially the coffee cake, which was her favorite. Taking a bite of the delicious morsel that sat in front of her Ferrah began to think about what life had been like since entering the game. For starters, it had been quiet. No brother consistently singing or parents calling to see how she was doing. In fact, it was rather surprising to find that as much as those actions had annoyed her, she now missed them. Not that Ferrah would ever say that out loud. She was much to proud for that.

After finishing, it wasn't long until restlessness kicked it. That was due to the new lifestyle of SAO where players were consistently fighting monsters in order to survive. Which Ferrah planned on doing. Dying in the game was not something that she wanted. Her family and friends were on the other side just waiting for her to come back. She knew it. "Thinking of which, I have more work to do." Standing and stretching, Ferrah waved to the NPC, who said some generic response at her leaving, and then took to the streets.

Where someone ran into her.

Stumbling back slightly Ferrah found herself staring at a boy with two shining aquamarine orbs and dark hair. It was him apologizing that brought her back to reality. Letting silence, which didn't really bother her, continue Ferrah proceeded to right the hood over her head before speaking. "It's fine. The answer held a tone of indifference for Ferrah could really care less.

[Ferrah 0]

Not even two seconds had passed and he was already excusing himself. But there had been a plus side. His bored expression was replaced by a small smile before falling back to bored once more. At least he was friendly and not rude like other players she had met in the world. One's who act like they are kings and that she should apologize when they obviously ran into her. Watching as he went around her Ferrah then shrugged and started back walking. Completely oblivious to the fact that the boy was now behind her.

Meanwhile her mind was on what exactly to do now. Leveling up was always and option. But right that moment Ferrah didn't really feel like it. Then it occurred to her. Stopping right dead center of the street Ferrah snapped her fingers as an idea came to her. "The Rivers." It just so happens that recently she had acquired a map of Rivers on Floor one. This was because collecting maps was kind a hobby. Something to do in her spear time. Plus, she enjoyed traveling so map collecting had been the perfect option.

Accessing her menu, a stream of pixels appeared in her hand creating a map. Opening it Ferrah then began to start to track a route in her mind.

[Ferrah 0]

Standing in the middle of the road Ferrah couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her, but seconds later, it was gone. (Must be my imagination.) She thought dismissively while eyeing the map once more. For some reason, there was a strange black mark in the middle of the map. Rubbing her finger against it the dot continued to stay in place. It happened to be right in the middle of the Forrest region. (How annoying.)

The more Ferrah stared at it, the more her instincts were telling her to go there.

She wanted an answer, which left the man who had sold the map to her to begin with. He was all the way on the other side of town. But this was well worth it. Spinning on her heel, and being lost in thought was never a good combination for her Ferrah. Moments after turning around she found herself running into the chest of someone. That certainly broke her train of thought. Rubbing her nose, as if it was sore, Ferrah then looked up to see who exactly she had run into. Aquamarine eyes. "You..." For a second Ferrah just stared at in complete shock. (Why is he here?) Her mind kicked back into shape when Ferrah realized that she had been staring too long. "I'm sorry about that."

[Ferrah 0]

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion Ferrah frowned slightly. Why was he apologizing? In her mind, running into him had clearly been her fault, not his. There was no need. But it was strange to see him again in such a short amount of time. In SAO, it was fairly normal to run into people once and then never see them again. Ferrah didn't like to think of why might be.

And now he was explaining himself. Mentally, the girl was chuckling at the fact that he felt the need too. It was charming. The main thing was that he was nervous though. And Ferrah wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe last time they met she had accidentally offended him in some type of manner. Or maybe he thought she was pretty...definitely the first option. After watching him struggle for a minute Ferrah decided that she should help him. Right as she was about to ask him name, he excused him again. Just as quickly as last time. "Or not."Ferrah mumbled to the now empty space. Resisting the urge to turn around and search for him, Ferrah continued on. (Next time, if there is one, I'm getting his name.)

It took a couple minutes to get to the shop, but one she did, Ferrah took a deep breath and righted herself. This was the worst person to deal with. Greedy and Misogyistic to an extent. She had been hoping to never deal with him again after their last encounter, but alas her luck was not such. Eyes hardening and taking a deep breath, Ferrah walked into the shop.

[Ferrah 0]

Within the Starting City there were several squares that were decorated with ornaments. For instance, some had statues while others may have had a garden. Ferrah's favorite just happened to be the one with that fountain in the middle. The fountain itself was made of marble with a circular base and then two more circular levels above that got smaller and smaller. Water sprayed from the top and then would cascaded over the smallest dish into the middle. Which then landed in the larger. The best thing about this fountain was that it had a think ledge around the base.

On the northern most ledge sat Ferrah, who was lazily stretched out with one foot propped up and then a hand playing with the water. Her eyes were closed and a frown adorned her features due to the frustration that was coursing through her system. Working with the shop owner had not gone as hoped. At first, the man had been unwilling to even glace at the map. But once Ferrah had convinced him to at least take a peek, he insisted it was nothing. Then he attempted to buy it back. When buying it didn't work he had proceeded to try and threaten her. At that point Ferrah just walked out, vowing to herself to never work with that man ever again.

And that was how she ended at the Fountain.

The sound of water falling always had a calming effect on the girl. It sounded like rain. And rain brought back memories of piling in the living room with Vincent. Both drinking hot chocolate and just listening to the sound of thunder and rain, while the lightening flashed. "I wonder if it ever rains here..."

[Ferrah 0]

Only a couple minutes had passed and Farreh had began to feel much better. For some reason, during those couple minutes, her mind had wondered to the male that she had run into twice that morning. He gave the impression of being a well-mannered and pleasant individual. Even if on the nervous side. Ferrah hoped, more like prayed, that he would not be one of those people that was seen once and then never again.

While pondering some more a message suddenly appeared in her inbox. For just a moment all Ferrah could do was stare. Getting messages was rare occurrence for her simply because she lacked people to send her messages. This happened to be one the downsides of being what others would call a 'lone wolf'. The message read: "It's almost time, come sign up for the special event: battle for benevolence. Players will be picked on a random scale depending on if they are under level ten still or not. The event will consist of a ten player style tournament for the prize of one strengthening elixir. This item can be applied to any weapon under the same level of ten to become enhanced beyond it's normal stat parameters. This will be extremely useful for those finding it hard to level up and opens the target area widely for higher level monsters that give more experience. Again, come now before the event starts in ten minutes or you will lose your chance to participate!"

Within seconds Ferrah was sitting up and re-reading the message, just to make sure that nothing had been missed. By the time she was done re-reading it a teleportantion crystal was in her hand and she was gone. Appearing in Town Center Ferrah was surprised to find that several people were already in line. Gliding over she took the next spot and started to wait. For some reason she was unable to shake the feeling that she knew the person in front of her. (Who...) Then it hit her. The boy from before. This would be the perfect time to get a name.

"Excuse me," Ferrah started while tapping his shoulder, "What's your name?"

[Ferrah 0]

At the sound of her name a slight, barely noticeable flush started to spread across her cheeks. It was due to the embarrassment that Ferrah was now feeling. In the game asking for a name was obsolete. All someone had to do was inspect the lettering that floated about a foot over another players head. Even after only being the game for a couple days it had started to feel like real life. There was some part of her that worried that one day, she might not even remember the real world. That was, if she was alive that long.

"It's nice to officially meet you Zeke." Ferrah replied with a slight smile. "Sure am. It must be fate." It was meant to be a joke of some sort. Although Ferrah did believe in fate. The fact that people meet other people for a reason. Her prediction about the meeting was perhaps...a friend. It was that or fate was just playing games with her, like normal. Curious about his level Ferrah took a quick glance at his time. Focusing she was able to see that he was relatively close to her own level. (Interesting.)

Behind Zeke the line shifted forward. Now Ferrah was struggling to find something to say. Asking about real life was out of the question since she didn't know him well enough and that would appear to be weird. "Have you ever done anything like this before?" She questioned while guesting for him to move forward.

[Ferrah 0]

With sharp eyes Ferrah watched was Zeke turned around to address the NPC taking sign up. As much as she didn't want to admit it, or even think about it, Zeke had brought up a good point. What if the price of this tournament was death? There were other people here that were levels above her. Even Zeke was included in that. After a second Ferrah then realized that the NPC had been patiently waiting for her to say something. "I accept the battle for benevolence." A screen then appeared in front of her and with slight hesitation the 'accepted' button was selected. (I can't believe I just did that.)

Stepping so that she was now standing next to Zeke, Ferrah shifted her weight to the right foot. She then crossing her arms on her chest and observed the line. It was much longer than it had been before. These people were trying to get into the battle, but time was almost up. Some would not make it. "Of course know that," Ferrah started by answering his question from before. "But with so many people, getting picked would be unlikely." That had meant to be a thought, but it had escaped. Which happened on occasion when nerves tried to sneak it tendrils into her mind. Taking a silence breath to make herself relax, Ferrah then took a peek as Zeke. It felt nice to have a conversation with someone. (I really hope fate is not pulling my leg with this one.)

[Ferrah 0]

Ever so slightly, Ferrah's eyes widen in surprise when she heard that Zeke actually wanted her stick around. And that he planned on sticking around as well. That was something that the girl had never heard before. It made her feel...special. Snapping back to reality she quickly readjusted her expression to a smile, a real smile, before starting to make a comment. Right as she had been about to say that she too had planned on sticking around, the announcer came up to the stand and started to revel the lucky winner's.

Her's was the first name.

People in the crowd turned to stare at her, mumbling this and that. Name after name was called and the stares followed every name. Suddenly, the stares were turned to the person next to her. Zeke. They both had gotten in. In the back of her mind, a voice was whispering about the fact that she may have to face him in battle. If that was the case, then what would happen? It was took early in the game to think about that.

"Looks like our fates really are intertwined." Ferrah commented,not really sure how to feel. "Looks like your stuck with me."

[Ferrah 0]

At the comment she laughed a softly and then rolled her eyes. Even surrounded by the other players and with the timer going down, the girl reached out and took a firm hold of Zeke's hand. "Naturally." Ferrah replied with a smirk. "But I expect nothing but the best from you as well." In her mind, there was now no doubt that the last person she would have to face was Zeke. He, as well as her, would be the last ones standing. After all, one of the was going to win. The best part was that she didn't have to worry about killing anyone, which meant that she could relax a little and have fun.

Right as their hands released, the timer struck zero.

Everyone gazes flashed back and fourth between each other. They were sizing each other up. The fact that no one was going to die only added more of a challenge to the game, meaning that no one would be holding back. "Looks like it all starts tomorrow." , Ferrah commented flatly letting her gaze drift across everyone in their small group. One by one people left, getting ready for tomorrow. Pretty soon, it was just Zeke and her. "Do you know any good inns around here?" Ferrah asked while turning to face Zeke, tilting her head slightly to the right in question.

[Ferrah 0]

Right in the middle of Zeke's sentence, he started to disappear into the oh so familiar blue pixels. All Ferrah could do was stare as bit and pieces of him melted into the thin air. "Zeke." Unfortunately, he never got to hear his name because he was then completely gone. Materialized into thin air. The only thing that made sense was that the tournament was starting tonight. (So much for tomorrow.)

Without warning another stream of blue pixels floated gracefully in front of Ferrah's face. Following it was her eyes she found herself staring at her own hand as it started to dissolve. It was a strange sensation seeing yourself become nothing. The sensation didn't last long. Next thing Ferrah knew she was standing in the center of a forested area. The batter arena. Across the arena stood a women, who was leaning nonchalantly on a rather large lance. "Finally." She sighed while straightening herself. "First rounds match Ferrah Vs. Mikoro.. is ready to commence, begin!"

After that there wasn't much of a chance for Ferrah to think. Hell, the women had charged so fast that in an act of pure reflex she had used the sheath of her beginner's sword to catch the jab that had been going straight at her face. Leaning forward, putting her weight on the balls of her feet, she manged to thrust the lance away and then quickly drew the sword. The disadvantage, and advantage, to a lance was distance. Which meant this was going to be a fairly close ranged battle.

Ferrah health: 11/11- Mikoro health:11/11

[Zeke 0]

Zeke had backed himself all the way into a corner against the invisible barrier that was keeping him in the battle area. It only became apparent when his body touched it and the light shade of purple lit up a small area around him. The benefit of this knowledge would help him out. Itsumo kept charging, his long black hair holding decent view from him yet he acted unobstructed. At the view of his face in the instance of his charge, very thick framed black glasses encased his glow of conquering lust. Zeke sidestepped and moved himself around Itsumo as he ran himself into a corner. With his Katana protecting his open areas, Zeke moved himself into an opportunity to attack Itsumo while he was trapped... or at least that was the plan until Itsumo immediately turned around and awaited for the weapon to enter his avatar. "Easy bait!" His smile grew to crooked lengths for someone so uncomfortably odd. The axe of his swung down through Zeke to even the score and then surpass into advantage territory with the extra strength he possessed.

Falling back and running across to the other side of the field now, Zeke made himself a running target for most of the match. There was no other choice for him with this player crazily swinging. "My health is already looking bad." He said to himself without care of what his opponent might think of the comment, Itsumo had taken a critical hit so it wasn't too concerning. The same crazed face introduced itself in front of his Katana and swung to mimic the same situation of double hits from the other corner, reducing more of Zeke's health again than his own had gone down. "Won't be long for this matchup. Be glad this isn't to the death, idiot!" His face screamed justification for himself while the Katana slid through his avatar's chest.

Zeke's health: 6/11 Itsumo's health: 8/11

[Ferrah 0]

Strike for strike. Blow for blow.

Each time the metal of a sword met with the metal of a lance. Ferrah was being matched hit for hit. This women, Mikoro, knew the disadvantages of a lance. That much was obvious since every time she tried to get close, the women would find a way to push her back. In a way, it almost became like a pattern. Two steps back, one step forward. Mikoro was pushing her back toward the edge of the arena. Probably hoping to pin her there and get an easy blow in. Ferrah couldn't let that happen. Then a plan popped into her head. The next time the lance jabbed in her direction, she shoulder rolled to the left. It was there that she had grabbed some dirt and threw it in the women's face. A scream of rage echoed through the trees making birds scatter. Using this moment to her advantage Ferrah swung her sword cutting into Mikoro's upper arm. Another cry. "You little bitch!" Mikoro had taken a hand off the two-handed lance in order to attempt to wipe dirt out of her eyes.

Ferrah, on the other hand knew that the distraction would only last for about a minute. Using that minutes to her advantage she fell back a couple feet away and waited. If she couldn't get close then she would just have to be faster and smarter. Just a predicted a minute later Mikoro was back and ready for action. Once more a jab to her face, having expected that Ferrah ducked, only to get the back end of the lance knocked into her feet. Falling on her back it knocked the breath out of her. Then there was an unconformable sensation in her right shoulder. Mikoro was laughing loudly, thinking that she was going to win the match. Boy, did she have another thing coming.

Ferrah's health: 7/11 vs Mikoro health: 8/11

[Zeke 0]

With his Katana still planted inside of Itsumo, Zeke used an advantage he knew from the collision system in combat. Since in this game, avatars of players were nothing but digital information and weapons had priority when it came to how collisions worked; He used the pass through feature to slide under Itsumo and drag the blade of his own Katana with him. (I didn't think that would do any damage since I haven't pulled it out yet, but it gave me a chance to do.. this.) Zeke used his new vantage point quickly, releasing his sword from the opponents body and then coming up for a swift attack that would even the battle between their health's.

Itsumo gritted his teeth together when his Axe failed to return the favor in a swift quick counter attack, that used his own health as a sacrifice to deal more than a fair amount of damage back to Zeke. A smile came upon Itsumo's face when he calmed himself, his eyes looking through the lenses of his glasses at the health gauges. "They're still even. You'll have to get a good share of sneak attacks like that to even take the lead. Hahaha!" Despite the efforts Zeke was putting into the battle, Itsumo just kept the same tactic over and over in confidence as he charged forward like a raging bull, slashing his Axe around like a maniac.

(I hope Ferrah is doing alright with her battle. I've already been set up with a soon to be player killer.) For just virtual reality, he could already feel himself getting tired and pumping air into his chest harshly. However, cleverness was nothing of a requirement here due to the simple minded strategy Itsumo used. Catching the side of Itsumo's Axe during a horizontal slash, Zeke slid his Katana off of the blade and jumped over the opposing weapon during the catch. Another quick aim towards Itsumo's closest body part and his arm was already cut through, dealing damage to his character as Zeke backed away in short bursts of energy to retreat.

Zeke's health: 6/11 Vs. Itsumo's health: 5/11

[Ferrah 0]

It had only taken about two seconds for Ferrah to assess the whole situation and decide the best course of action. With Mikoro's lance buried into her shoulder keeping her upper body place; there were only so few options. Which was fine, all Ferrah needed was a option. Since the other women's weight was leaned forward it left her unbalanced. Using her lower body Ferrah struck out a Mikoro's left leg. The kick was hard. It caused the other women's leg to crumble resulting with her falling to the side.

Moving quickly Ferrah then proceeded to jerk her shoulder free of the lance, with some minor difficulty, and then right herself. It was time to return the favor. Jabbing the lance into the women's stomach it didn't take long for her to try the same move that Ferrah had. Expecting this the girl just did a shoulder roll and popped right back up like a spring. But she wasn't finished yet. Crouching down, picking the sword back up she then ran at the women. Mikoro had already righted herself. Since Ferrah was the only was the speed she just simply moved slightly to the left of the jab, being sure to skid the beginner sword down the lance, and then slicing. Mikoro stumbled back. Eyes wide in shock. Mouth agape. Ferrah now had more hit points that she did.

Ferrah health: 7/11 vs Mikoro health: 4/11

[Zeke 0]

Zeke rested his Katana sideways across his knee, taking a breather while keeping and eye on Itsumo who now stood quietly as he took himself away from the beating he had just taken. His figure that would otherwise tell someone else he is meek, would deceptively trick anyone expecting his drive to be lowered in player versus player competition. Turning around towards Zeke now, his giant grin made itself known once more before he reached to adjust his glasses at the middle bridge above his nose. "I won't let you beat me so easy like this. I promised myself I wouldn't be a push over here.." Turning his hand to flip the Axe back onto it's deadly side, Itsumo walked quickly towards his opponent but got slower the closer he made it.

"Motivation is good to keep yourself in a winning position, that calmness you presented will help you just as much besides wildly martyring yourself for a hit." During his sentence, Zeke used more of his own tricks to try and make it even more in his interest. In the style of iaijutsu that used to mesmerize Zeke as a child on television, he drew his sword with a relaxing breath that then became aggressive as it slid from the sheath and right through Itsumo again as a preemptive surprise, then followed by another from behind without drawing the sword again.

Zeke's health: 6/11 Vs. Itsumo's health: 2/11

[Ferrah 0]

The mark across Mikoro's chest glowed a bright red. If this had been real life, that hit would have taken the other women's life. Luck for Ferrah, this wasn't real life. It was a video game that factored in HP. Plus even if a players HP went down to zero in the tournament they wouldn't die. Just an added bonus.

Within seconds, the shock was taken over by rage. Another yell. The lance was set into motion once more. Only this time it was different. The strike was happening in tiny circular motions so that Ferrah was having to move the sword as odd angles in order to block the attacks. A other difference that had been noticed was the fact that nothing was organize. Mikoro was just randomly thrusting the spear at her. No rhythm or rhyme to the movement. It left Ferrah on the defense. An enemy who was unpredictable was dangerous.

Suddenly one of the thrusts changed. Instead of going in the circle, like the other ones, it went straight. The poke a hole in her stomach. Mikoro stance shifted and then Ferrah found herself getting thrown into the barrier. Sliding down on her side it took a second for her to reorientation herself. Her sword had been dropped over where other women stood. Grinning maliciously, Mikoro started to slowly stalk over to where Ferrah was. (I hope Zeke is having a better time than this.)

Ferrah's health: 4/11: Mikoro's health: 4/11

[Zeke 0]

Itsumo grabbed Zeke's Katana as soon as it went through his body, letting the force of a different part slow the weapon going through another object already. "It doesn't add up as long as it stay's in." His strategy was given away before he turned and struck two times through the head of Zeke. Leaving his weapon where it was, Zeke backed as far away as he could until he had the time to reconfigure what he was planning on doing. Itsumo walked slowly over with a smile while the Katana Zeke was using, laid behind him far away. "We're even and you're without a weapon. Looks like I win."

Getting a last moment idea, Zeke stood and turned his back towards his opponent. "Fine, I won't die anyway. Just get this over with so I can go back to training." He stated calmly and could hear Itsumo begin to pick up speed. With each sound, his footsteps were carefully listened to as the became louder. Opening his HUD quietly in front of him, Zeke got down on one knee and waited until the opposing Axe was being aimed with. *Sighs* He released his anxiety from the situation and quickly unequipped then reequipped his Katana, making it reassemble back onto his side in it's sheathe. Like before, he released the blade from it's home and spun around to get the preemptive in again and lower Itsumo's health at the last second.

Zeke's health: 2/11 Vs. Itsumo's health: 1/11

[Ferrah 0]

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