[PP - F1] New Friendships (Astrid)

[Jomei 0]

"Warp Floor One"

 

In a flash of blue light, Jomei found himself in the familiar city known as The Starting City. He looked around at the bustling square, mostly made of players in low leveled armor and NPCs. "Been quite awhile." He stepped off the platform and made his way out of the square. After moving to Floor Two, where his music 'shop' was, he had not frequently visited the floor below his, usually only the second or higher. He made this trip today, however, to visit his old friends whom owned the pub here on Floor One. It was once his frequent spot when he was a newbie, but once moving up to the higher floors, he found new places where he would frequently visit. He grinned as he walked down the winding corridors of shops on his way to the tavern. Once he arrived, he noticed the windows and door were shut. He tilted his head in confusion. When he reached for the doorknob to check the door, a purple, hexagonal box sprawled across his screen, saying "VACANT. BUY THIS PROPERTY FOR..." Jomei threw his hands on his head. "Gah! Closed?!" He wondered what had happened to his friends who owned the bar, he sighed and decided to make his way back to the second floor.

 

He slowly walked back towards the Warp Gate Plaza, his head hung low. His gaze was pointed towards the floor, not looking in front of him. His sad stride was interrupted by accidentally walking into a girl whom was facing the other way. He looked up to see flowing orange hair. "I-Im sorry lass! I didnt see you there." He stepped back and apologized to her. 

[Astrid. 0]

All Astrid had been doing lately was wander aimlessly, so what was she doing right now? Just that. It wasn't that she was bored, because there was just so much to do in this world, but that was the problem. There was so much to do, that she couldn't decide what she should do, which led to her wandering around, deep in thought. She could be a blacksmith, a cook, a tailor, even a performer; there were so many options, how could one possibly choose, especially being so new to the game. But, there was something which she wished to do, and that was to help in the front lines. If she could somehow help defeat more bosses and get them closer to exiting the game, she would be over the moon, even if it meant that she would be putting her life on the line multiple times. But for now, she couldn't do that, she was much too low of a level to be of any help, and though she would love to bring up her level, she'd have no idea where to start and knew she wouldn't be able to do it alone, or at least, not right now.

 

Without realising it, she had started to make her way towards the Warp Gate Plaza. She had been there only a few times, each time gazing at the gate with a look of longing, vowing to herself that she would use that and leave the Starting City some day, which she hoped was in the near future. She stood there lost in thought, and didn't realise she was in someone's way until they bumped into her. Looking up in shock, she opened her mouth to let out a river of apologies when the man beat her to it. "N- no! It was my fault! I shouldn't have been standing in the middle of the road." She exclaimed, giving him a look of apology and she clutched her hands together, rubbing the in embarrassment. "I'm truly sorry." She said with a bow, keeping her gaze to the ground after rising up.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei stood up straight and scratched the back of his head. He looked down at the top of the girls head. Her hair was the same color as his. "No need to be sorry. I was the one not looking." He let out a light chuckle. He had to admit though, it was a strange place to just stand still and zone out, right in the middle of the walkway. "Im Jomei by the way." He gave her a smile and put out his hand. "So were you waiting for someone to come out of the teleporter or something?"

[Astrid. 0]

Astrid looked up from the ground with a slight pout on her face as he apologised again, even though it was quite obviously her own fault for simply standing there for nothing. "I'm Astrid, it's a pleasure to meet you Jomei." She greeted, giving the male a small smile of greeting, placing her hand in his as she shook it. "Ah, no... that..." She lowered her hand from his, scratching her other arm in embarrassment. How was she supposed to say that she was making a promise to herself to improve, even though she was such a low level. "I was just... thinking, I guess." She finally replied, deciding that she should keep the truth to herself and save herself from having someone laugh at her.

[Jomei 0]

"Thinking, eh lass?" He said with a smirk, "I tend to do that a lot myself." He said in a teasing manner with his typical Irish accent, chuckling a bit at his own joke. It wasnt funny, stop laughing at yourself. He cleared his throat and looked at the girl. He quickly looked her up and down, noticing her  clothing and weapon. They seemed quite basic. He knew especially from the rapier, being he has one himself. He scratched at the hair on his chin as he observed the weapon. "Aye, a rapier. Fine weapon indeed." He placed his hand on the hilt of his own, making a clank sound inside of its sheath. The hand guard was gold and more ornate than the regular, bowl shaped guard on the basic rapier. He decided he was done playing Sherlock Holmes and decided to reveal his obvious deductions, "You haven't got much experience outside of these walls, have you?" He sounded sincere, and added a smile to let her know that he wasn't going to laugh at her. He made it his goal to help those in need whenever he could. 
  

[Astrid. 0]

Astrid looked down at the weapon secured to her waist, gently brushing her fingertips over the weapon's hilt, smiling softly at the metal that shined towards her, almost in greeting. "She is." She almost whispered to herself, referring to her weapon. Though she hadn't used it much, it had helped her get out of tight situations and saved her life once or twice. Even if it was a starters weapon, she had grown quite fond of it, though she wouldn't mind upgrading her gear. She looked up at the male with slight surprise at his statement; did she look that much like a newbie? "No, I haven't. I entered the game alone, without much knowledge about it other than that it was a full dive mmorpg, and that you used swords and other hand held weapons, so I'm pretty lost at what I should do." She gave him a rueful smile, leaning her head to one side as she explained. She wished that she had asked about the game more before entering as soon as she learned that she was stuck there until it was beaten. Had she known a little more information, she could have been of more help to herself and others around her. "B- but I hope to get more experience! I want to be able to be of use; help the front lines in beating more bosses and getting closer to the end of the game." Her voice shook slightly as she said this, but her words were soaking with determination.

[Jomei 0]

He chuckled. It had been awhile since he had started the game, but he knew exactly how she felt. Jomei had spent the first few weeks after the game started trying to raise his level and meet as many people as much as possible without going out into the fields. He wanted to make sure he would not die and that he would be able to protect his friends doing so. Lucky for him, those same friends helped him to get stronger. And now he was returning the favor. He closed his eyes and smirked, remembering those good times. When he opened his eyes he looked up at her confidently, still with the same smirk. He started to walk towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder, then he took a step past her. "Well then, I guess we better get started." He looked back over his shoulder at her. "If you want to, that is." Jomei turned his body back around to face her. He crossed his arms and cocked his head a bit. He did not want to scare her or worry her about what lies beyond the walls. "Don't worry, anything goes wrong, Ill take care of it." He gave her a smile and a thumbs up. 

[Astrid. 0]

The auburn haired female couldn't help but look at the male in surprise; was he truly willing to help her? Judging by the smile he gave her and the tone of his voice, she could tell that he was being sincere. "I want to!" She squeaked, trying her best to hold in the excitement that was bubbling throughout her body. She felt like one of those volcanoes people do at science fairs, ready to burst from happiness. 'I hope I wont be too much of a hindrance at all, because of my low level.' She almost deflated, but managed to keep her feelings in check, the expression on her face unchanging. "Thank you, this really means a lot." She said, her voice sincere as she made her way over to the orange haired male, glancing up at him when by his side, he was much taller than she, and flashing him a smile. Thanks to this kind stranger, she was going to level up. She could imagine her mother gasping in horror at what she was about to do, for she always warned her against strangers, but in a game like SAO, you wouldn't be able to get very far without interacting with one or two here and there. Plus, she felt that she could trust Jomei; he seemed safe.

[Jomei 0]

"Great, then lets be off." He rested his left hand on the handle of his rapier, and brought up his right hand to point forward, past the Warp Gate and towards the archway that led to the outskirts of the city. He looked back down at her and smiled. He led the way for the two, walking through groups of people and through the Warp Plaza. "So before we get to finding some mobs to fight, do you have any other questions?" Jomei figured if there was anything else she may have been confused about, he wanted her to ask now. Once they were outside of the city, he wanted to make sure her mind was focused on staying alive. 

...

As the two walked through the tall archway, leaving the city, Jomei surveyed the fields. He saw various players collecting materials, fighting mobs, and some just talking. "Have you ever been out here before?"   He looked down at her, and scratched the back of his head. "N-Not that I'm calling you inexperienced or weak or anything.. Its just... I know some people who waited a long time before coming out here.... myself.. included.." He had mumbled that last bit, a slight pinkness to his cheeks. Jomei did not want her to think that he was inexperienced or that she was unsafe, since he had gained most of his experience through non-combat methods. Lately it was the opposite however, since he had been fighting field bosses left and right. 

...

As the two continued to walk, he found a small fenced in area that contained a small boar. {Must be a piglet, that'll do nicely.}

Without placing his hands on the pen to support him, he vaulted over the fence. He smirked and turned around to face Astrid. He extended his arm towards the boar, as if introducing a friend to her. "Okay lass, this wee one is gonna be your opponent. I will be here if things get rough, I promise. Think you're ready?" The piglet sniffed at the air and turned around to face the two players. It lowered it body to the ground and let out a small snort. 

 

((You can attack first on your turn, ill just put the HP in here for now))

 

HP: 

Astrid: 8/8 

Jomei: 40/40 (Standby)

Piglet: 5/5

[Astrid. 0]

Astrid looked at the small creature with a small frown, was it okay to attack this creature in order to bring up her level? It hadn't even made any hostile movements. She looked towards Jomei with a questioning look. He seemed okay with the situation, she should trust him. But she couldn't help but feel uneasy at doing such a thing. Now, she wasn't a vegan or vegetarian, nothing close to one actually, but the thought of injuring the small boar for nothing left a bad feeling in her throat. "Y... yeah. I'm ready."

 

ID: 19855

BD: 5

DMG: 0

 

She clumsily made her way over the small fence, managing not to fall onto her face or bottom. Once steady on her feet, she faced the animal, immediately lowering her body into a defensive stance when she saw it's actions. 'I should probably attack it before it gets a chance to hit me.' She pulled her rapier from it's sheath, a small smile creeping onto her face as she heard the sound of metal on metal as she unsheathed it. Carefully, she lifted the weapon and charged forward, thrusting the weapon. She cursed lightly under her breath as she missed, turning her body, making sure that her back was never turned towards the boar. "Dammit."

[Jomei 0]

((Whats that 1 DMG there for?))

Jomei watched as the auburn haired girl crossed over the fence post and pulled out her rapier. Jomei's eyes widened for a second, followed by a smirk. {I feel like Im watching myself when I first started.... Only if I was a girl..} She held her rapier and went to strike, but missed her mark. She made sure her back was not open to the boar. He heard Astrid cursing under her breath through grit teeth. A bead of sweat rolled down his jawline and he scratched thee back of his head. {Yup.. Definitely watching myself} When he first started himself, he was one to miss often and curse a lot because of it. 

"Close one! Make sure you focus, don't rush in to get any hit. Try and get the best hit you can." He leaned backwards on the fence behind him. He had his hand resting on his rapier, just in case things got ugly.

 

ID: 19868

MD:6

DMG:1

 

The small boar squealed as Astrid made its attack on it. It quickly spun around as she flew past it when she missed her attack and began to charge at her. Its hooves pushed dirt up with every kick it made running towards her, and snorted ferociously for its small size. It leapt up as high as it could, but was only able to tackle her just above the knee. 

 

HP: 

Astrid: 8/8 

Jomei: 40/40 (Standby)

Piglet: 4/5

[Astrid. 0]

Astrid took a deep breath, trying to calm the shaking and nervousness that she was feeling. Having an audience just made her feel twice as nervous that she would usually feel. "Got it!" She called back, her eyes flicking over to him for a moment. It was that moment that the boar charged towards her. She grunted slightly as it tackled her legs. She grit her teeth, taking another deep breath to focus herself. She couldn't get distracted. 

 

ID: 19870

MD: 7

DMG: 2

 

Lifting her rapier again, she immediately attacked the creature before it had a chance to move too far away from her.She charged as quickly as possible, a small sound of triumph exiting her lips as she hit it. Even though it wasn`t a critical blow, it boosted the auburn haired girl`s moral, all the nerves she was feeling earlier leaving her body as soon as they came. She moved into a defensive position, getting ready for it`s next move.

 

((Did I do it properly now?))

[Jomei 0]

Jomei laughed happily. "There you go!" He had stood up straight after the boar had attacked her and still was when she struck it back. He leaned back again with a smirk on his face, slightly nodding. The boar took a strike to the back and it stumbled over its own legs and did a tumble. It squealed a bit before standing back up, shaking its head. It lowered its head and prepared to charge again. It ran at her, its head lowered. Its speed was much slower than its last attack, being its heath was now in the yellow zone. Its weakened attack was easy for Astrid to dodge as she simply sidestepped the attack. It almost ran into the fencepost behind her. It skid to a stop to avoid smashing into it. 

 

ID: 19871

MD: 3

 

HP: 

Astrid: 7/8 

Jomei: 40/40 (Standby)

Piglet: 3/5

 

((Yup! Perfectly done haha))

 

[Astrid. 0]

ID: 20408

MD: 2

DMG: 0 

 

After dodging the boars attack, Astrid readied herself to strike again, but as she moved to do her own attack, her hands started to slip on her rapier. The excitement was starting to get to her, and she was getting sweaty in her palms. This caused her to miss the boar. Quickly, she regained her grip on her weapon, switching hands to remove the sweat that had built up to avoid it happening again in the future.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei watched the fight carefully. She was not doing badly, but she was brand new. So he wanted to make sure he could react quickly in case anything went wrong. As she missed her next attack, the boar took that as an opportunity to counter. It charged at her, letting out a small grunt with every step it made. Instead of leaping at her, it ran straight through her legs, knocking her off her feet. As she fell on her behind, the small boar stopped running and turned around again, waiting to attack her again.

 

ID: 20583

MD: 8

DMG: 1

 

HP: 

Astrid: 6/8 

Jomei: 40/40 (Standby)

Piglet: 3/5

[Astrid. 0]

Astrid grunted as she was knocked off her feet my the small boar, landing on her behind. She lifted herself up with a scowl. She was no longer going to go easy on it. The sympathy she had felt for it earlier was all gone, replaced with a fire coursing through her veins. She wasn't sure whether it was adrenaline or anger, maybe a mixture of both, but now she was fired up. Taking a deep breath, focusing her eyes on her target, she lunged forwards, successfully getting a hit. This time she made sure not to get too carried away, keeping her mind on the task at hand. 

 

ID: 21269

MD: 7

DMG: 1

[Jomei 0]

Jomei noticed the fire starting in Astrid's eyes. As she stood up, she bared her teeth and clenched her sword tighter, furrowing her eyebrows. Jomei leaned forward, watching intently. He knew all too well how it felt to get angry during a fight. When wielding a rapier, one must be focused on the precision of their strikes rather than focusing on power. When you are filled with rage, it is much harder to focus on hitting your target.. because you're just picturing the different ways you can kill them at that moment.. maybe that was just him though. To his surprise, her rapier still met its mark, piercing the boar right in the side. His eyes widened and he gave a light nod, it was impressive that she managed to see through her anger and still hit it. 

The boar staggered in its place, it did not have that much fight left in it. It glared at Astrid, letting out light grunts and snorts. Suddenly, it lifted its snout in the air and let out a piercingly loud squeal.  Jomei stood up straight, grabbing at the handle of his sword. "Astrid. Take that thing out as quickly as you can."  From the far side of the pen, a cloud of dust was being kicked up by a figure running towards them. Upon closer inspection, it was another boar.. most likely this piglet's mother. "I'll take care of this one," he drew his Summerthorn, the silver blade giving off a golden shine. 

ID: 21271

MD: 2 Miss

 

HP:

Astrid: 6/8

Jomei: 40/40

Piglet: 2/5

Mother Boar: 12/12 

[Astrid. 0]

Astrid kept her eyes on the boar, as she heard Jomei call out to her to finish the boar quickly. "Got it!" She called back to him. As she bent her body for another attack, she felt the ground shake slightly. There was something on the other side of the pen, and from the feeling it gave off, it was large and it was angry. She didn't waste her time to see what it was, and instead coiled her body for another attack, quickly lunging forwards and piercing the boar again. Its health was almost completely finished, another hit and she will have defeated it.

 

ID: 21272

MD: 8

DMG: 1 

 

{{Hey, could you please not move my character at all, even little things such as expressions.

[Jomei 0]

((sorry))

 

The small boar continued to squeal until Astrid struck it with her sword. The small boar toppled over, landing on its side. It struggled to pick itself back up, but was too weak to do so. It laid there, taking in sharp breaths, its chest moving frequently along with its breathing patterns. It knew it was finished and simply waited for Astrid to take the killing blow. 

 

On the other side of the pen, Jomei began to walk forward, past Astrid and the young boar and towards this new target. He spun his sword in his hand and waited for the two to connect. He stopped in his step and his eyes widened when he realized he underestimated how large his enemy was, despite being such a low level. In height, the boar was only a little shorter than him and much much wider, "Jeez, what're they feeding y-." before he could finish his corny joke, the boar lunged forward, connecting with Jomei's chest. He grunted as he flew backwards, tumbling in the dirt. He quickly stood up, brushing off his shoulders. He glared at the enemy that was already making another approach to attack him. 

 

ID: 21275

BD: 2(+2)

MD: 9(-2) DMG: 1(+1) = 2 

 

HP:

Jomei: 39/40

Astrid: 6/8

Piglet: 1/5

Mother Boar: 12/12 

[Astrid. 0]

"Be careful." Astrid said to Jomei as he moved past her towards the other creature, another boar from the looks of it. The male might be more experienced than her, but the boar was huge. She could only hope for the best while she did her own job as quickly as possible, to help him if needed. She lifted her rapier, prepared to give the final blow. She pulled her arm back, ready to surge it forward with as much force as she could, but half way through her attack she heard the sound of something large connecting with something else, and a grunt. She turned her face towards the direction it was coming from in time to see Jomei on the ground; the boar had knocked him down. This caused her to miss her target. "Are you okay?!"

 

ID: 21282

MD: 3

DMG: 0