[F1-SP] Getting his bearings

[Shuyin 0]

Shuyin looked around the center of the Starting City as he tried to gather his wits about him. Inexperienced with games, he was unsure of what his first move should be. His sense of duty told him that he needed to be out there fighting to beat the game, but his more diligent side of him told him he needed more information first. He had no idea what types of monsters or challenges laid waiting outside the city walls, but he knew that since this was now a life or death situation he had better be prepared to meet them.

 

Heading off down one of the many streets leading away from the city center. Shuyin walked with one hand swinging at his side and the other casually placed on the hilt of his rapier. He wasn't exactly sure where he was heading, but had decided standing around aimlessly wasn't going to help his situation any. Stopping for a moment at an NPC ran stall, Shuyin looked over some of the equipment that was for sale before inspecting his own. "I'm definitely going to need to obtain some col" he thought to himself. As he turned to continue walking down the street, he noticed an inn a short ways down the road. Deciding that it might be a decent place to acquire some basic information, he set course towards the inn.

[Shuyin 0]

Walking into the inn Shuyin took in his surroundings, the place was dim but not dark. Noticing the candles mounted to the wall around the room. He hadn't thought about it before, but being stuck in this game was going to be somewhat like being stuck back in time. Adjusting his rapier out of the way, Shuyin took a seat at a table in the middle of the room. Settling in, he observed a decent size group of players having what seemed like an intense discussion at one of the larger round tables. The player leading the discussion was a large dark skinned man with what seemed to be a giant hammer strapped to his back. On one side of him was another player dressed in leather armor, he couldn't see any weapons on him but noticed a small scar below his left eye. On the other side of him was a female with long blond hair in a white dress. Attached to her hip was a rapier with what appeared to a sterling silver hilt. "Fancy"  he thought to himself. Looking down at his own rapier, he couldn't help but notice how plain and basic it was in nature. "It will have to do for now he thought to himself."

 

Listening in closely, Shuyin strained to make out what they were saying. From what he could tell, they were talking about how the plains out side the city had become overrun with players. The girl with the rapier was proposing that they move up a floor or two in order to avoid the mobs of players, while the man with the scar was arguing that it was to dangerous for them to move up this early. Shuyin thought about the dilemma for a minute. Although he wasn't in a group, he could relate to the predicament they found themselves in. He too was torn about what to do next, there seemed to be so many possibilities and with the stakes so high he couldn't afford to be making mistakes. On the other hand however, he knew that indecision could be as bad or even worse then making the wrong decision.  

[Shuyin 0]

After a short while of sitting there Shuyin couldn't bare to continue listening to the players argue. In the academy they would frequently have debates over strategy but they were grounded in detail and fact. From what he could observe these players were letting emotions drive their decisions. The girl was clearly being motivated by greed, while the man with the scar was letting his fear hold him back. The only person who seemed to be in control of himself was the dark skinned man who he had not yet heard speak. Taking one last look around the room, Shuyin stood up and made is way out of the inn.

 

Out in the street once again, he noticed he had walked about halfway to the outer wall from the center of the city. Placing his hand back casually on the hilt of his rapier he continued his walk through the city. After listening to the players debate inside the inn, he had decided that the best thing for him to do was to brave the mobs of players out on the plains of the first floor. Looking up at an arch as he passed under it, the architecture of the city reminded him a lot of the academy he had been living and studying at since he was twelve. He thought about his body, which would of been laying in his dorm lifelessly until someone would of come along and found it. Would he still be able to graduate? He thought to himself, what type of impact will this game have on his life?  

[Shuyin 0]

Passing two NPC guards as he walked out of the city into the open plains of the first floor. Shuyin stretched his arms up high and took a deep breath of fresh air. Thinking how nice it was to have left the cramped city behind him, Shuyin hoped the players in the inn had been exaggerating about the number of people he would find out on the plains. Reaching the top of a large hill, he noticed a small boar a couple hundred feet below. Moving towards the boar he switched from a run to a slide as he gained momentum traversing down the hill.

 

Pulling his rapier from its sheath, Shuyin leaped into the air and with one quick and decisive slash delivered a killing blow to the beast. Landing a few feet away he turned just in time see the boar burst into thousands shards which quickly disintegrated into the air. Holding his rapier up high he inspected it for a moment before placing it back in it's sheath. "That wasn't so hard" he though to himself as he once again took in his surroundings.

 

ID: 16275 BD: 7 MD: 5

 

Shuyin - 6/7

 

Boar - 0/2

[Shuyin 0]

Looking out over the plains from the top of a hill, Shuyin had trouble counting the number of players he observed below. He watched as one particular group chased wildly after a boar. As he allowed his eyes to follow the group across the field, he spotted another group of players who seemed to be searching for materials. "It would seem that the players I over heard in the tavern were right about the amount of people out here." He thought to himself as he continued to watch and observe. It made little difference to Shuyin however, his priority out here wasn't to acquire new items or loot, but to merely train up his skills. Sure there would be heavy competition for the monsters that would be dropping loot, but he didn't imagine he would have to compete with others over the smaller mobs.

 

Peering down at the plain, Shuyin spotted another small boar grazing in the field. Drawing his rapier, he walked down calmly towards the boar planning out his strategy. Entering the agro range of the boar, he was caught of guard when it suddenly charged forward attempting to ram him. Acting quickly he attempted to spin out of the way of the attack, unfortunately he was to slow and the boars tusk pierced his leg. Seizing the split second opportunity he had while the boar tried to recover from its charge, Shuyin thrusted his rapier down through the boars head watching as it burst into shards before dissolving into the air.

 

ID: 16402 BD: 6 MD: 9

 

Shuyin- 6/7

 

Boar-0/2

[Shuyin 0]

Placing his sword back into its sheath he bent down and grasped his leg, expecting there to be a wound he was surprised when his leg looked as healthy as ever. Opening up his menu he tabbed over to the status menu and inspected his health bar. Seeing that it read 6/7 Shuyin was pleased to have learned that apparently although hurt he could not be injured within the game. The next thought that came to his mind was how long it would take to regen his health. Wanting to satisfy his curiosity he decided to avoid taking any more damage until he was back up to full health. Not sure about what to do to past the time, he laid down on the ground and rolled over onto his back. Staring up at the sun Shuyin watched as the clouds past over head. Continuing to lay there he began to wonder what the weather in the real world was like on this particular day. He had always loved rainy days, the clean smell of the air, the relief the cold feeling of the rain drops provided him during his daily workouts. As he laid there he couldn't stop the smile that began to spread over his face.

[Shuyin 0]

As Shuyin continued to lay there he began to here a faint buzzing sound in the distance. Sitting up he looked around and in the distance saw a small shape bobbing about in the air making it's way towards him. Pushing himself up to his feet, he drew his rapier and squinted to try and get a better look at whatever it was coming towards him. Now only a few hundred feet away he was finally able to make out the shape to be a giant wasp. Lunging forward Shuyin swung his rapier quickly, slicing the wasp's abdomen. Watching as the wasp prepared to thrust it's stinger forward, Shuyin jumped backwards dodging the attack.

 

ID: 17055 BD: 10 MD: 1

 

Shuyin- 7/7

 

Wasp- 1/4

 

[Shuyin 0]

Landing safely a few feet away, Shuyin wasted no time and quickly raised his rapier and moved forward to engage the wasp once again. Swinging his rapier rapidly, he tried desperately to land a hit, but was unable to keep up with the wasps movements. Growing more and more frustrated with each swing and a miss of his rapier, Shuyin gripped the hilt of his sword hard and using his momentum swung his rapier as hard as possible. Missing the wasp entirely, the force of the swing caused him to temporarily lose his balance. Unable to defend himself the wasp swooped in and stung him in the back with its stinger.

 

ID: 17130 BD: 3 MD: 8

 

Shuyin- 6/7

 

Wasp- 1/4 

[Shuyin 0]

Attempting to rub the pain out of his back, Shuyin was now pissed off. Standing up straight he quickly dusted himself off before evaluating the battle field. Watching the wasp as it bobbed back and fourth, Shuyin believed he recognized a pattern to the wasps movement that he would be able to exploit. Juking from left to right, he approached the wasp at a high rate of speed. Holding his rapier out horizontal he leaped into the air and spun like a tornado towards the wasp. Stopping his spin in mid air, he landed only inches from the wasp. Immediately ducking as the wasp thrusted its stinger forward, he had predicted the wasps attack precisely and was now directly under it. Pointing his rapier towards the sky, Shuyin pushed his rapier upward into the wasp. Observing as it shattered into a thousand shards.

 

Retrieving the loot orb from the ground, Shuyin holstered his rapier and continued on his way. 

 

ID: 17131 BD: 6 MD: 1

 

Shuyin- 6/7

 

Wasp- 0/4

 

+ 1 mat

[Shuyin 0]

Now with a few fights under his belt, Shuyin felt pretty confident about his combat abilities. Thinking that it might be better to continue on to another task, he decided that he would have a look around for some materials. After all he didn't want to be solely dependent on combat inside a death game, no, he needed other safer ways to secure an income as well. 

 

Walking through the knee high grass of the field, it was hard for Shuyin to see anything that might lay around him. Keeping an eye peeled for any awkward movements in the vegetation that might warn him of an approaching mob. He pulled his rapier from its sheath and began to swing it, cutting away the brush as he did. Coming to a stop only after he had cut away half the field he was standing in. Shuyin was discouraged to have not found a single material yet. Deciding that he wouldn't give up however, he started work on the other half of the field.

 

ID: 17138 LD: 2

[Shuyin 0]

As he began to hack away at the second half of the field. He felt himself growing increasingly more sweaty, taking off his jacket he casually tossed it over onto a rock and resumed his labor. Cutting away furiously, Shuyin came to a sudden stop. Staring down between his legs he observed a glowing green ring surrounding some type of plant that he was unable to identify. Kneeling down beside it, Shuyin carefully pulled the plant free of the dirt and deposited it into his inventory. Pulling up his menu he cycled over to the item he had just deposited and checked it for a name. "Basil" Reading the name, Shuyin immediately recognized the it as a common cooking ingredient. "I guess this will come in handy if I learn to cook" he thought to himself.

 

ID: 17147 LD: 19

 

+1 mat 

[Shuyin 0]

Leaning up against the rock he had threw his jacket onto. Shuyin took a moment to recover from the manual labor he had put in clearing the field. Looking out over the field now, he watched as the grass gradually re-spawned. Appearing like a green wave spreading out over the plains, Shuyin couldn't help but admire the beauty. He had wasted enough time resting however and didn't want to waste anymore watching grass re-spawn. Knowing that it would get dark soon, Shuyin through on his jacket and once again set off on his journey. Keeping his eyes peeled on the sides of the road for any materials he might be able to harvest, it wasn't long before he came upon one. Kneeling down once again, he quickly plucked the plant from the ground and deposited it into his inventory. "This isn't so bad" he thought to himself "It's not as exciting as combat but I seem to be making steady progress and it's a lot safer to boot."

 

ID: 17158 LD: 20

 

+ 1 mat

[Shuyin 0]

Continuing to walk along the road, Shuyin once again began to let his mind wonder on to other topics. Thinking about the military academy,  he wondered if there were any other students that had been trapped in the game."Considering the amount of people at the school, surely there must be." he thought to himself. What would he do if he encountered any of them though? At school he was always a bit of an introvert and never cared much for socializing with his classmates. Here however, they could be a valuable ally to have. On the other hand he thought about how seeing someone he knew die here might effect him and came to the realization that they could be a liability just as much as an asset. Snapping out of his train of thought, it wasn't until now that Shuyin realized he hadn't been paying any attention to any materials he might be passing. "Snap out of it Shuyin, you need to focus" he thought to himself.

 

ID: 17200 LD: 12

[Shuyin 0]

Now back to focusing on the task at hand, it wasn't long before Shuyin came upon another material to harvest. Looking down at the plant he noticed it's oddly shaped leafs and thick stems. "What type of plant is this he wondered?" deciding that he would simply check his inventory directory for a name once he had harvested and deposited it. Shuyin knelt down and grabbed on to the thick stems of the plant, giving it a firm yank as he did. To his dismay however the plant did not come free of the dirt, and instead tore in half. Caught of guard when the item suddenly burst into shards, Shuyin made a mental note that he would have to be more careful in the future.

 

ID: 17205 LD: 12

[Shuyin 0]

Seeing the City of Beginnings a short ways off in the distance, Shuyin looked to the sky and tried to determine how much daylight was left. Rationalizing that there must be a few hours of light left due to the suns position in the sky. He decided that he wasn't ready to go back quite yet. Stepping off the path, Shuyin decided that he would make a lap around the outskirts of the city. For one it would allow him to get to know the area a little better and two it would continue to give him a chance to look for mats. Strolling around with one hand casually placed on the hilt of his rapier, like it always is. It didn't take long for Shuyin to realized that this area was completely picked over. "It's going to take a stroke of luck to find anything here"  he thought to himself.

 

ID: 17206 LD: 14

[Shuyin 0]

Now about a quarter of the way around the city, the walk was taking much longer then he expected. But of course what had he been thinking, the starter city was huge and now he was trying to walking around an area bigger then its circumference. Looking up into the sky, he knew it wasn't going to be long now before the sun would begin to set. "Great, now I'm going to have to do this in the dark" he thought to himself.

 

So far on his walk around the city he had no luck harvesting any materials. Although he had seen a few spawn a little ways off in the distance, a player was immediately on the spot to harvest it before Shuyin could have even thought about moving towards it. 

 

ID: 17207 LD: 1

[Shuyin 0]

Continuing to walk, Shuyin was caught off guard when there was a sudden flash at his feet and below him appeared one of those green flashing circles surrounding a plant. Not wasting anytime, Shuyin quickly harvested the plant and deposited the item into his inventory. Standing back up he was abruptly approached by a group of players.

 

"Ah man, he got to it first" the first player said. "Oh well, we better hurry to the next spawn location" said another. And just as quickly as they arrived the group of players departed.

 

"Players memorizing spawn locations for materials? I wonder how long they have been out here."  he thought to himself.

 

ID: 17208 LD: 18

 

+ 1 material

[Shuyin 0]

Watching as the players ran away to the next spot, Shuyin quietly chuckled to himself. As the players had turned to leave, he had noticed a small flash coming from behind a rock. Walking over to it, Shuyin bent over and retrieved the material. Turning back around, he noticed that it had suddenly gotten a lot darker. "Best be getting back to the city" he thought. Now about 3/4 of the way around the walls of the town, he knew that he didn't have much further to go.

 

 

ID: 17209 LD: 17

 

+1 mat

[Shuyin 0]

Reaching the gates of the city, Shuyin strolled in past the guards and made his way towards the inn he had been staying at since day one in the game. As he walked through the streets, Shuyin took advantage of the opportunity to do some people watching. A short ways in front of him was a large player clad in all iron armor. As he walked Shuyin could hear the mans armor clink against the ground. Shuyin wondered if the game was like real life where that amount of armor would slow the player down. Shuyin had always preferred a quick and precise fighting style, but had contemplated maybe buying some armor to provide some extra protection.

[Shuyin 0]

Walking into his room at the inn, Shuyin made sure to lock the door behind. Depositing the items he had gathered that day into a chest at the foot of the bed. He kicked off his shoes before taking off his jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair. Sprawling out on the bed, he unhooked his rapier from his belt and placed it on the floor. Taking the moment to relax, Shuyin thought about all he had accomplished that day. Running his hand through is hair he could feel the grains of dirt stuck in his hear. "I guess I should clean my self up then" he thought to himself and we walked to the bathroom and turned on the faucet.