[PP-F5] Searching the Lost(Complete)

[Rook 0]

Arriving on the fifth floor, Rook was overwhelmed by the vast desert that laid before him. As he looked out over the horizon it seemed to stretch farther then his eyes could see. Searching for this treasure is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack he thought to himself. Several days prior Rook had over herd a group of players talking about an unknown treasure supposedly located somewhere in the lost desert on floor five. Although he had no reason to believe that there was any validity to what the players were saying. Rook didn't have a lot on his plate at the moment so he figured it might be worth his time to look into it. Besides, who can turn down buried treasure he thought. Hesitant to just walk off into the desert, Rook sat down on a boulder outside the safe zone of the main town. Pulling up his map of the area, he began to create a plan of action for his search.

[Calrex 0]

"Gah! Not again with this..."

 

Calrex stepped out of the gates of Armadillo as he rubbed his eyes. It seemed that every time he came to this floor at least once each visit he would get a piece of sand stuck in his eye.

 

"I swear it's like my eyes are pebble magnets or something here..."

 

He ruffled his blue hair as he continued walking along, adjusting his sword on the back of his hip as he looked around, "Alright then, let's see...what was that info I got?"

 

"It was something about a hidden treasure. It might prove useful if there's some materials within it as well. Maybe I could put those to my material gathering service, especially when I'm not having such good luck with gathering them outside of combat."

 

"Well, I'd best get starte..."

 

He looked over as he saw another player sitting on a rock with a map being unfolded in his hands.

 

"Huh, I wonder if he's on the same search I am."

 

He put on a friendly persona as he walked over, "Hi there, are you searching for the hidden treasure as well?"

[Rook 0]

Rook was caught a bit off guard when the player approached him as he sat there on the rock. Orange players were looked at as murderers by most meaning people usually either hated or feared them. Because he was still such a low level however, he knew he didn't inspire a lot of fear. Still, that didn't stop a lot of players from avoiding him altogether. Looking over the player the first thing he noticed was the blue hair, the second was the sword located on his hip. Now wouldn't that be a site if we teamed up together, the "Red and Blue Swordsmen" roaming the desert looking for buried treasure. Picturing this thought in his head Rook couldn't stop him self from letting out a small laugh. Focusing back on the player now he responded to his inquiry "As a matter of fact I am in search of treasure, as for what treasure I'm looking for..... I don't really know. The name is Rook by the way, I'm assuming your in searching for some sort of treasure as well then?"

[Calrex 0]

As the player introduced himself as Rook Calrex  nodded in acknowledgement as he replied with his own, "Well it's nice to meet you Rook. I'm Calrex, and you are correct. One of the information brokers gave me a tip that there was apparently some hidden treasure on this floor."

 

"Wow, his clothing has a very red scheme to it. Of course I'm all blue. This reminds me of sooo many games of rivals and such being red and blue respectively. Especially that one that takes place in the Warring States period of Japan."

 

"Well, if it's of no inconvenience to you maybe we could help each other out and see if we can find this thing. Sound like a good idea?"

 

"It would be useful to have someone else's eyes scanning the horizon as well. It'll make it easier to keep watch in case of monsters and it makes the workload overall much easier so we don't go wearing ourselves out."

[Rook 0]

Rook wasn't one who was much for sharing, especially when what he is supposed to share is treasure. That being said, judging by the players gear and appearance, he was well above his level. It would definitely be a benefit to have a higher level player around to deal with any potential trouble that might come along. Deciding that splitting the treasure was a reasonable price to pay for some added protection, Rook decided to accept the offer. "Sounds like a plan to me. So...... where do you suppose we start looking? I herd that there were several large dunes located in this location" Rook pointed to a spot on his map. "It might be worth the time to head out there and have a look around."  

[Calrex 0]

"Hm...the dunes might not be a bad idea. It's away from the Sand Shark territory, so we won't have to go about fighting a field boss while we're out here. Plus dunes seem like a more likely place to find treasure. Flat ground might spell already taken or no treasure at all."

 

"Sure, the dunes sounds like a good idea."

 

Calrex swiped down on his menu to make sure all of his gear was equipped before he punched his hand into his fist, "Depending on how difficult any monster that show up are I'll see if I can take them down with just my fists in the meantime."

 

"Alright Rook, I'm ready when you are. Hopefully we'll be able to find this treasure before the sun goes down."

[Rook 0]

Stepping out into the desert, Rook knew he was going to have a hard time keeping himself entertained during the long walk out to the dunes. Trying to observe his surroundings, there really wasn't much to look at out in the barren landscape of the desert. This is going to be so boring he thought to himself. Looking over at Calrex, he started to grow curious about the player. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why do you seem to like the color blue so much?" Rook believed it to be an innocent enough question and thought the answer may be entertaining.

[Calrex 0]

It certainly seemed like a long time as Calrex followed Rook through the dunes, looking left and right to see if there was any sign of hidden treasure. Of course, since it was hidden, there didn't appear to be any traces as the winds blew across the sands. It was definitely going to be a long trip.

 

At least that was until Rook broke the silence by asking Calrex why he liked the color blue so much.

 

"Hm...certainly an odd question. I've never considered myself as preferring the color blue over any other color, although I guess it turned out that way with my color scheme."

 

"No, it's not a problem at all. Really I haven't given it much thought. My clothing just kind of turned out this way."

 

Calrex raised his arms to show that his outfit did consist of more colors than just blue. His pants, for example, were a dark gray which flowed into light brown boots. As for underneath his blue jacket there was a white shirt underneath.

 

"How about you? Your clothing definitely seems to make me think you have a strong preference for the color red."

 

He made sure to keep his tone lighthearted so that he wouldn't come off as too serious about his question. Of course these were, after all, conversation questions, so it'd be very hard for one to take it too seriously.

[Rook 0]

Rook had never really given much thought about why he preferred the color red. Maybe it was because it was the color of passion, something that burned deep inside him. Maybe because the color was associated with strength and vengeance, two characteristics that Rook portrayed. If he was going to be truthful  however, it was really a vanity thing. "To be honest, I think I just wear the color well. Besides a lot of chicks seem to dig it." thinking of girls Rook's mind jumped to the next question. "So, you have any love interests of your own, in the game or outside of it?"

[Calrex 0]

When he heard Rook say that apparently girl tend to like the color red he raised a hand to stifle a laugh, "You know I've heard that kind of information somewhere, something about red also being the color of dominance and stuff or something like that. But objectively I would tend to agree with you. Red seems to suit you well."

 

As the player asked him about any love interests his mind immediately went to Teayre. It had been some time since they last saw each other, but she was keeping in contact with SAO's messaging system, so at least he wasn't out of touch with her.

 

"I hope she's doing alright. I really do want to see her again soon, but it's also true that we could accomplish a lot more doing our own things as well as together rather than that. I've read stuff about being careful on that aspect, because it might result in you growing apart though..."

 

Shaking the thought from his mind he gave a nod. He did take not that Rook was an orange player, but it seemed like he could be trusted a lot more than some other players he's encountered.

 

"Yeah, there actually is someone in this game I care about. Hopefully we both make it to the end of this game. Her name's Teayre, and while I want to protect her..."

 

He gave a smile as he put a hand behind his head, "I think she wants to make sure I don't get myself into trouble either."

 

With that he put his hands in his pockets, "In any case how about you?"

[Rook 0]

For whatever reason, Rook wasn't prepared to have the question directed back at him. Thinking about any love interests made his mind go straight to Violet, although there was nothing that happened between them, romantically that is. She was the last female that he had put any type of trust into, not to mention he did find her attractive. Rubbing the back of his head, Rook didn't want to talk about the situation that had led to his orange tag. Giving a brief answer he replied. "To be honest I don't like the idea of being tied down to one person. I try to keep my options as open as......" 

 

Before Rook had a chance to finish his sentence, a large scorpion  emerged from beneath the sand and plunged its stinger deep into Rooks leg. Reacting quickly to the attack, he pulled his sword from his back and slashed the creature across its body. Wanting to put some distance between him and the beast, Rook leaped backward and took up a defensive stance.

 

ID: 13454 BD: 8 MD: 7

 

Rook-10/11(Hits for 2 Damage)

Giant Scorpion- 9/11(Hits for 1 damage)

[Calrex 0]

ID: 13455

Battle Dice: 7

 

As Rook was about to finish his answer to Calrex's question he was attacked by a oversized scorpion that had emerged from the sands. Calrex leapt back to gain some distance as he quickly observed the creature that had just engaged them.

 

"Probably too strong to fight with just my fists. Tch, fine then I'll draw my sword..."

 

He reached back and drew his Anneal Blade, twirling it into position as he gave a calming breath. As the wind picked up it blew some of his blue hair out of his face as he gave a steely gaze to the scorpion. After a quick second he rushed forward, bringing his sword arm back. As he got within striking distance he kicked the ground, launching himself over the scorpion as he dealt a slash across its back, sliding a few paces away as he ended his movement. "You alright there Rook? I hope this thing doesn't inflict any poison damage or anything."

 

HP List

Rook: 10/11

Calrex: 21/21

 

Enemies:

Giant Scorpion: 5/11

[Rook 0]

Watching as Calrex carried out his attack, Rook was impressed with the fluidness and speed of his attack. Pretty Impressive he thought to himself. Checking his status bar he appeared to be ok. "Damn thing caught me by surprise, It's just a flesh wound though, nothing special. What do you say we finish this thing off quick?

 

Holding his sword out in front of him, Rook ran at the scorpion. This time prepared for the scorpions attack, he juked to the right at the last second avoiding the stinger as it attempted to strike him. Now on the scorpions flank, Rook lifted his blade high into the air and slashed down through the beast. Moving back a few feet after the attack, Rook was struggling to catch his breath. Man it's hot out here he thought to himself. Soaked with sweat Rook wasn't use to fighting in this type of climate. He thought for a moment about taking off the cloak that Ariel had given him to keep warm on the fourth floor, but he didn't want to loose the battle advantage it gave him.

 

ID: 13456 BD: 5+2(Savvy)=7 MD: 1

 

Rook-10/11(Hits for 2 damage)

Calrex-21/21

 

Giant Scorpion-3/11(Attack misses)

[Calrex 0]

ID: 13457

Battle Dice: 5

 

Calrex gave a nod as Rook assured that he was alright, readying his blade. He watched as Rook rushed in and managed to deal another strong blow against the scorpion, although it appeared that his outfight might have been wearing on him due to the intense heat of the floor.

 

"I'll really need to be careful with this jacket then. At least it's a good thing that the creators of this game didn't incorporate all of the usual taxations on the human body."

 

He rushed forward after Rook switched , bringing his sword up as he closed the distance between him and scorpion. Unfortunately this time the sands were against him as he planted his foot to slash, the sand sending him sliding past the scorpion as his slash completely missed the creature. He sighed to himself as he gave a calming breath, turning and pointing his blade at the monster once again.

 

HP List

Rook: 10/11

Calrex: 21/21

 

Enemies:

Giant Scorpion: 3/11

[Rook 0]

As Calrex slid past the scorpion, it lifted its stinger and prepared to strike. Seeing this however Rook ran in and attempted to block the assault. Miss judging the angle of the attack however the stinger jabbed into his side. Reacting quickly though Rook used his position in front of the scorpion to drive his sword deep into its abdomen. "Best be careful of your footing, go ahead and finish him off."

 

ID: 13513 BD: 4+2(Savvy)=6 MD=8

 

Rook-9/11(Attack hits for 2)

Calrex-21/21

 

Giant Scorpion-1/11(Attack hits Rook for 1 damage) 

[Calrex 0]

ID: 13515

Battle Dice: 3

 

As Rook endured another strike to exchange another slash Calrex nodded as he tried to get a good grip with his feet before rushing in once again. He kept his blade trained on the scorpion as he brought it down, attempting to cleave it in half. Unfortunately his strike fell to the left of his target, slamming into the sand next to the monster. He cursed under his breath before quickly flipped back to put some distance between once again. "This thing sure is persistent. How are you doing over there?"

 

Calrex gave a calming breath as he sheathed his sword, going into his martial arts stance, "This thing only needs one more hit. Since I'm in more control of my fists if Rook isn't able to finish it off I should be able to do something about it."

 

HP List

Rook: 9/11

Calrex: 21/21

 

Enemies:

Giant Scorpion: 1/11

[Rook 0]

Checking his status bar he noted that the scorpion hadn't done all that much damage. "I'm still good, what about you? You sure do seem to be missing a lot."  Focusing back on the scorpion Rook prepared to strike again. This battle has gone on long enough, time to end this he thought to himself. Holding his sword out in front of him, he waited for the monster to attempt to approach him. Just as he had expected the scorpion scurried towards him and attempted an attack. Dodging forward and to the left of the monster, Rook sliced the scorpion the entire length of its body as he did. Turning around, he watched as the monster disintegrated into thousands shards. Walking over to the spot, Rook bent down and picked up the loot orb, activating it in the process. 2 Materials, nice he thought to himself. Deciding he should start this partnership off right, he opened up a trade window and gave one of the materials to Calrex.

 

ID: 13517 BD: 7 MD: 2 LD: 15

 

Rook-9/11(Hits for 2 damage)

Calrex-21/21

 

Giant Scorpion-0/11(Attack fails)

 

Two materials awarded, 1 from loot eligible mob, 1 from LD roll

[Calrex 0]

As the scorpion dissipated into crystals Calrex gave a sigh as Rook sheathed his weapon as well. "Yeah, sometimes these sands can really get to a person, especially in terms of stance. I've been working on trying to boost my accuracy, but it looks like I've still got some ways to go."

 

Loot List:

1 Material

 

"Oh...thanks! This should prove useful."

 

"Alright then, should we encounter another monster I'll pass half of the spoils to Rook to equalize it. At the least we're starting off this team on the right foot."

 

"With that done, let me know if you need any healing. I believe I should have something for in battle healing for now, should we encounter another monster fairly soon."

[Rook 0]

After wrapping up the fight, Rook and Calrex once again set off towards the dunes. Growing bored again he attempted to remember what they were talking about before the fight. Hmmm, that's it, we were talking about girls, Remembering the topic however, the thoughts of Violet came racing back to him as well. Deciding he wanted to try and change the subject, he thought for a moment about what to talk about as they walked. "So Calrex... Whats your opinion on fate? I know it's kind of a random question but I find other players take on it interesting.  I for one would like to believe that I'm always in control of the direction my life is heading, but if I'm gonna be honest I do have doubts sometime. Take this game for example, I certainly didn't choose to be trapped inside a death game, but yet here I am all the same. Learning and making new experiences." Hearing himself ask it, he knew it was a pretty random question, but he figured when your out in the middle of a desert with nothing to do but walk, any conversation is good conversation.

[Calrex 0]

"Hm...that's a good question."

 

"Fate...that's a really tough call. I, and I would guess many, would like to think that we make the decisions of our life, and to some extent I would like to believe that to be true. Of course, there's always the chance the many outside variable could influence our decision to the point that it could be considered as an 'outside force' making the decisions for us..."

 

"I can't really say either or actually. While I would guess that situations may arise that would make us feel that our life is out of our hands, I would like to think that we had some input in that decision. Like you said, I don't believe any of us chose to be trapped in a death game, but the choices we made leading up to it resulted in the way things are now."

 

Calrex put his hands behind his head as he continued to look around the sands, "The same for me, I wasn't expecting to be trapped here. My original decision was to play this game for a few hours then head to work. But in the end here I am, weeks into the game and wandering the sand dunes. However..."

 

He put his hands back into his pockets as he flashed a friendly smirk for a second, "I have no regrets so far. As long as I can do what I can to help everyone escape with the least casualties I'm perfectly fine with it."