(OP-F1) Decisions, Decisions (COMPLETED)

[Fourgotten 0]

Fourgotten stood at a split in a road with a forest just ahead and the sun to his back. There were only two paths, that much was obvious, but which path did he want to go down? The left one ran straight into the forest, whereas the right one just skirted the edge of it. Why did this have to be so difficult for him? He had just wanted to go for a walk, initially. He quickly decided that there was only one way to solve this problem. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.."

His finger ended up pointing into the forest.

Sighing, he stared into the dark forest, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever may live inside. He saw nothing, of course, it was too dark. But he had tried nonetheless. He started walking down the left path, but froze when he realized that he could be taking a risk. Who knew what the forest held inside? NPC bandits, Player Killers, or just mobs of any sort. He laughed, then, realizing that he was probably over-thinking the whole situation.

He would be fine. It was just a path into the woods, right? Fourgotten smiled and continued down the path once more.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Fourgotten

[Calrex 0]

"After all that time on the upper floors, now I'm back down here again. I guess there really some kind of attachment to this floor that's become stuck in me after all."

After departing from the Starting City Calrex gave a small sigh as he continued to make his way out into the field zone surrounding the city. Since he was on the first floor, he didn't worry too badly about not having his weapon at the ready. Instead he only had the Amethyst Charm, Tide Pendant, and Grand Dragoon armor equipped to his person. Moving some of his blue bangs out of his face he gave a small sigh as he put his hands into his fur-lined blue jacket pockets. His dark brown boots pressed against the footpath as his dark grey pants stretched and relaxed with each step.

"It doesn't look like I've encountered any new players in a while. I wonder if there's anyone that's decided to start adventuring after we started clearing the floors again."

Ruffling the back of his hair he looked up to see that his blue peregrine falcon familiar, Roc, had materialized and was moving at mach speed across the fields. Giving a screech Calrex recognized it as an alert for another player nearby. Looking over he saw that someone had entered into the treeline of the forest, only catching a glimpse of the boy's health bar, "That...could be bad. From what I saw, he's only level one, and he's going out into the more dangerous areas of the floor. I'd better stay close and keep an eye on him. I'm not going to let another thing like with Lindow happen again."

Edited October 24, 2015 by Calrex

[Fourgotten 0]

Fourgotten had gone pretty far into the forest now, and he realized that it was dark. Really dark. He could barely see his hands when he held them out in front of him. He equipped his spear, just to be sure he would be ready if somebody or something surprised him. Was he still on the path? He couldn't tell.

Why was it so dark, he wondered, when the sun is still up? He had only been walking for twenty or thirty minutes, there was no way it would go down that quickly. Perhaps the trees were just blocking out light. A large deal of rustling, coming from ahead of him, interrupted his thoughts.

Fourgotten turned around, so as to face the opposite direction he had been going. These words were a bit dark, and that left him vulnerable, even for a level one player. This was a game, yes, but Death was a very real threat. He decided that maybe taking the other path wasn't such a bad idea. At least from there he could actually see. Well, until the sun goes down.

Something snarled from behind him.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope."

Fourgotten broke into a sprint, spear in hand, and backtracked as well as he could, while also trying to stay away from whatever it was that wanted to eat him. It was time to leave this forest.

[Calrex 0]

"Oh? Looks like he turned around."

Slowing his pace Calrex looked to see that the low level player that had entered the forest had changed his mind and begun heading back out towards the treeline. However, it seemed that there was a monster that had spawned which might have detected the player's aggro, "That's not a good sign..."

Rushing forward he activated his <<Sprint>> skill as he signaled to Roc, who plummeted towards the treeline at mach speed before breaking through, settling down on a nearby branch. His eyes locked onto the player as Calrex entered into the trees. His <<Reveal>> skill was still active, allowing him to see through the trees as if they were transparent, allowing him to keep an eye on the player, "Once I can get a lock on that monster I'll see if he needs help. If he can make it out through the trees it's possible that e can lose the creature's attention, at least if it's confined to the tree area."

[Fourgotten 0]

Fourgotten stumbled over a log, nearly falling flat on his face. "When did that- oh, nevermind!" He recovered and continued forwards, the snarling something from before following him at a dangerously close distance. The trees quickly began to thin, and before he knew it, Fourgotten was once again at the split in the path.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a pair of gleaming eyes quickly fade back into the forest. That had been a bit too close for comfort. A nervous but relieved laugh escaped his mouth, and he sat down right where he had just been standing. "I guess that, uh, I should have taken the other path." This caused him to laugh a little bit more before he took on a more serious expression.

Fourgotten put away his spear and sighed. He could have been injured, or even killed. That was a huge risk on his part.

This is a game, yes, but Death is a very real threat.

"I have to remember to be more careful when it comes to venturing into dark or unknown areas. It could cost me my life, otherwise."

[Calrex 0]

"You might want to avoid going into the forest until you get a couple more skill points under your belt."

After seeing the player successfully escape from the tree area Calrex emerged and began walking over. He had given a small sigh of relief, being able to assist a player without needing to actually step in. This boy seemed to have a cautious mind, which was good. Anyone who had an overdeveloped sense of bravado would be a risk, especially in the lower levels when their health was only a sliver compared to the Ultramarine Knight's.

Roc emerged from the forest as well, flying overhead as he returned back to his overwatch height. Calrex gave a nod before putting on a friendly face, giving a wave as he walked over, "Don't worry about that monster. Once you exited the tree line you exited its active area. Out here the only things you have to worry about are the occasional boars."

Remembering he had forgotten to introduce himself Calrex gave a nod as he extended his hand in greeting, "In any case it's nice to meet you. I'm Calrex."

[Fourgotten 0]

(Apparently he is gonna be a talker. That dialogue, though.)

Fourgotten had nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of a voice, and had managed to equip his spear faster than he thought possible. He stood up and pointed his spear at the source of the voice. Upon realizing what had been said, and seeing just how strong the player was, he lowered his spear almost immediately. "Jeez, perhaps you could try a more subtle approach. I about had a heart attack, man!"

He smiled then, to show that he was just playing, and put away his spear for the second (or third) time now. "Yeah, I figured I left it's range. Unfortunately, I think I scuffed my elbow while escaping. Oh well, I can handle it, being the big and tough male that I am."

Fourgotten flexed and grunted then, pretending to be what he had said he was. Realizing the player had introduced himself, he responded by firmly shaking his hand and saying, "Calrex, huh? Well, I'm Fourgotten. Not forgotten, but four, like the number, and gotten, like from forgotten. But you can just call me..."

He paused intentionally, as if thinking about it.

"Let's see, I've done two and five now, sooooooo..."

"Three. You can call me three. And it is a pleasure to meet you, as well."

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Hey gotta make an impression XD

"Oh, heh sorry about that. I thought with these pieces of equipment I didn't exactly have the highest stealth."

Giving a nod Calrex returned the firm handshake before putting his hands back into his pockets, "Yeah, this game has some pretty dark aggro at times, but they tend to take it easy on the first floor. Some of the zones have specific monsters, so their AIs cannot exit those areas. I wouldn't worry about that scuff though. It'll probably heal up in a few seconds, at least if it damaged your health bar at all. Nonetheless, please to meet you...Three."

"Interesting way to do a nickname, especially with his name being four-gotten. It's certainly not a name easily put in the back of your mind, unlike its grammatically correct counterpart."

Coming back to the conversation he continued to speak, "In any case, I'm guessing you're just getting started adventuring? I've seen more than enough new players venturing out into the fields to figure. SAO's not kind to the unwary, so if you need I can give you some pointers and tips that should easily get you started safely."

"Hm...another spear wielder. Just like Tristan, although it seems like this boy might suitably follow in the redheaded tank's footsteps, although he might want to also give stealth capabilities a try. Maybe if he's feeling up for it I'll introduce him sometime to both him and the Master of Shadows."

Edited October 25, 2015 by Calrex

[Fourgotten 0]

Fourgotten tried to hide his silly grin, but failed horribly. This guy, Calrex, had actually called him Three.  Fourgotten decided he would just roll with it. "Let that take it's course." It was actually a pretty nice nickname, and he was already growing fond of it. He looked down and shook his head, giving himself time to wipe that grin off of his face.

"Yeah, I guess this is my start as an adventurer. It took me a couple weeks of thinking, but I finally decided to leave the city. And as for the unkindness of this game, I think I see that now. What, with how a big whatever-that-was chasing me, determined to turn me into to food for it's demon spawn babies."

"What was it, anyways? Perhaps I'll ask later."

He thought for several long moments, debating whether or not he should accept the help being offered. While it would probably consume a little bit of time, it would also probably help him stay alive from now on. He nodded vigorously, and said with an immense amount of enthusiasm, "Yeah, man, I could always use some advice! From the looks of you, you probably know most, if not everything, there is to know about this game so far."

[Calrex 0]

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say everything. I only know as much as I've learned from adventuring on the unlocked floors. But a few players I've helped out seemed to have done well in their travels and remained alive so far."

Calrex took note of the grin that overtook Fourgotten's face as he gave a smirk of his own, "Well in any case, if you wanted to I could help give you an idea of how the combat works in SAO. Since this is your first time outside of the gates I'm guessing that you haven't had any previous experience in fighting the mobs. They're pretty dangerous until you hit at least level three or four. But, since you've got me along I can keep it from hitting you while you get the hang of wielding your weapon."

"I guess this is one of the good things about having tanking abilities. I might not be able to take as many blows as Tristan can just yet, but I can certainly keep a monster's attention off of another player so that they can practice."

"Once you're ready let me know and we can take on a boar."

[Fourgotten 0]

(Side note: That signature is hardcore! How'd ya do it? Better yet, how do I get one? Also, I am trying to understand the combat rules. How exactly does mitigation work?)

Fourgotten once again nodded, but only slightly this time, and said in a more serious tone, "I feel as though combat is going to be fifteen times more difficult than it is in the real world games I used to play. Out there, it's just point and click, you know. But here, I can tell the game demands that us players be a bit more... involved." Truthfully, Fourgotten was pretty nervous about the whole concept of fighting enemies, and the risk that would almost always be attached to it.

"Enough worrying. If you don't learn now, you'll die later!"

Fourgotten ran his fingers through his hair, and ended up pushing a few strands out of his eyes, as he had intended to. "I guess we can go kill one right now, if that's alright with you. Are boars the first kill of most players, or am I getting the easier enemy, due to my lack of experience?"

"Probably the former. It's always good to start out with something manageable."

As he spoke, he was yet again equipping his spear. Perhaps he could just carry it around. Fourgotten knew that getting tired of carrying things wasn't really a factor in the game, or at least he was pretty sure it wasn't.

[Calrex 0]

OOC: I'll send you a PM and we can discuss it there XD, I made it through Photoshop. Better than having to chat through posts XD

IC:

"No boars are actually the first thing pretty much everyone fights, as they are the most common on this floor. So you can say it's a bit of both."

Calrex gave a nod as he looked over, seeing a boar that would be suitable for their training, "Unfortunately, since I'll be in your party we will have a smaller chance of getting loot, but for now we can just focus on getting you accustomed to the system for now."

ID: 36161
Battle Dice: 3 (Accuracy +3) = 6 (Disregarded Due to Howl)
Mob Dice: 1 (Evasion +4) = -3
<<Howl>> Activated (3 Hate to all enemies)

Seeing a nearby standard boar Calrex gave a nod to Fourgotten before stepping into the detection area of the creature, causing the monster to turn and dash towards him. As it got into striking range the Ultramarine Knight quickly leapt forward and to the side, easily avoiding the creature as he landed behind it. The Grand Dragoon's pauldrons and poleyns began to glow with a light blue aura as he activated his <<Howl>> skill, slamming his fists together to produce a booming noise, almost akin to a large creature.

As the sound wave passed by the boar it turned around, eyes flashing red as Calrex gained the highest aggro of the two players, "Alright, I've got its attention. Go ahead and try to strike it."

HP List
Calrex: 185/185
   Energy: 45/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 1/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 3 / F 1) Boar: 4/4

Edited October 25, 2015 by Calrex

[Fourgotten 0]

Fourgotten watched as Calrex dodged the boar with ease, and realized that it was, indeed, his turn to attack. "Okay, let's see if I can do this." He lifted his spear, preparing to attack. 

"It can't be that hard to kill, right? It's just a boar. I bet one poke with this spear and it'll, like, explode or something."

He took a deep breath.  Now was the time.

ID: 36163 (it is the same backwards)

Battle Dice: 2 (It appears I missed)

He jabbed his spear at the boar, but just barely missed. He sighed, and clenched the shaft of the spear tightly as he realized he had been hanging back a bit too far from the boar, keeping it just out of attack range. "Well, I guess nobody is getting injured in this fight, the boar included."

"His turn. I bet it'll just miss him again. Even if it did hit him, it would no little to no damage at all."

Combat was turning out to be just as demanding as he had thought it would be. For Fourgotten, at least.

HP List
Calrex: 185/185
   Energy: 45/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 3 / F 1) Boar: 4/4

Edited October 25, 2015 by Fourgotten

[Calrex 0]

ID: 36165
Battle Dice: 4 (Accuracy +3) = 7 (Disregarded Due to Howl)
Mob Dice: 5 (Evasion +4) = 1
<<Howl>> Activated

Calrex looked as Fourgotten thrust forward with his spear, coming close to striking the boar. Unfortunately, it appeared that the boy had not judged the distance correctly as the spearhead passed inches away from the monster. "Don't worry, these early battles are always tough to go through. Once you get better skills and such, it becomes easier to strike monsters. For now just focus on attacking and getting the hang of wielding your spear."

The boar charged once again as Calrex whirled around to the side, easily evading the creature once again, "Huh, it's certainly been a while since I've taken on such an easy mob. Nonetheless I remember when my first battle. If it weren't for Teayre and Oikawa I probably wouldn't be alive right now."

Slamming his fists together once again his <<Howl>> skill activated, further increasing his aggro on the boar as gave a small smirk, "Alright Three, go ahead and give it another shot."

HP List
Calrex: 185/185
   Energy: 45/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 6 / F 0) Boar: 4/4

Edited October 25, 2015 by Calrex

[Fourgotten 0]

ID: 36166

Battle Dice: 4 (miss! ack!)

Fourgotten listened to Calrex as he spoke, and nodded, saying, "Focus, okay. Let's try this again." He eyed the boar, deciding that he wanted to try and slash at it this time. Grunting, he lunged forwards, bringing his spear down in a wide arc. Yet again, he had misjudged his distances, but now he was too close. Whacking the boar with the haft of his spear, he quickly realized that he was getting up close and personal with this boar. And that probably wasn't the brightest idea, at this level.

"How frustrating."

Fourgotten quickly jumped back and smiled, saying, "Hey, at least I managed to hit him, even if it did no damage at all." Though truthfully, he was about ready to tackle the boar and punch it's ugly little face until it just died. But that wouldn't work, and was quite unreasonable. This was all about learning to use his spear properly.

"So let's learn, then."

HP List
Calrex: 185/185
   Energy: 45/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1 (I left it at zero because while I did regenerate that 1, I missed.)

Enemies:
(Hate: C 3 / F 0) Boar: 4/4

Edited October 25, 2015 by Fourgotten

[Calrex 0]

ID: 36169
Battle Dice: 9 (Accuracy +3) = 12 (Disregarded Due to Howl)
Mob Dice: 3 (Evasion +4) = -1
<<Howl>> Activated

"Don't worry, just keep at it. You'll get used to the weapon fairly quickly. SAO seems to replicate the weight of weapons fairly accurately, so if you're not accustomed to it in the real world it might take some time to get a old of it in here."

Weaving to the side once again Calrex avoided the boar once again, even managing to push its head down as it passed by to force it off balance, causing the creature to fall on its side from the momentum, "Heh, this is kind of fun. In any case better stay focused. This thing can still catch me off guard."

"Alright, keep at it Three. This creature might be fearsome when its charging, but once it tried to wind around that's one of the good times to try and strike it."

HP List
Calrex: 185/185
   Energy: 45/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 9 / F 0) Boar: 4/4

Edited October 25, 2015 by Calrex

[Fourgotten 0]

ID: 36183

Battle Dice: 7

"Yeah, I never used weapons outside of this game. I have never fought anybody or anything." Fourgotten watched as Calrex pushed the boar and couldn't hep but think he was taunting it, or even just playing around with it while Fourgotten practiced combat mechanics.

"I guess at his level, there is nothing to be concerned about. At least, not  on this floor."

Fourgotten made sure to factor in distance this time, and took just one step closer to the boar and slashed his spear in front of him in a wide arc, leaving a glowing gash in the boar's side.

"I'm making progress. First a miss, then a hit that dealt no damage, and now I successfully landed a hit."

"Perhaps I'm getting a hold of this. Maybe. We will find out, right?"

Fourgotten felt the confidence within himself building up, and he knew that it was for good reason. He wasn't getting ahead of himself. He could fight, after all.

HP List
Calrex: 185/185
   Energy: 45/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 9 / F 1) Boar: 3/4 (I hit it! 1 base + 1 from first tier of one handed assault spear - 1 from mob mitigation = 1 dmg)

Edited October 25, 2015 by Fourgotten

[Calrex 0]

ID: 36204
Battle Dice: 1 (Accuracy +3) = 4
Mob Dice: 9 (Evasion +4) = 5 (+1 Damage)
Miss Occurred (2 Energy Lost / 43 Remaining)

Calrex gave an approving nod as he saw Fourgotten managed to successfully land a hit on the boar, marking it down for a quarter of its health, "Heh, we'll he's definitely doing better than I did in my first fight. Let's see if he can keep it..."

Looking over he saw that the boar had quickly recovered from the blow, quickly closing the distance to him. Not having time to dodge he crossed his arms and braced for impact, the monster slamming into his X-guard before he was able to shove it to the side, "Guess I need to stay focused for now. Blows like that won't kill me, but they're certainly an annoyance."

"Nice shot Three, keep it up!"

HP List
Calrex: 184/185 (3 DMG - 40 MIT = 1 Minimum DMG)
   Energy: 43/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 9 / F 1) Boar: 3/4

Edited October 25, 2015 by Calrex

[Fourgotten 0]

ID: 36261

Battle Dice: 2 (seriously, this?)

Fourgotten watched the boar smack into Calrex, and nearly busted out laughing when his health bar just barely moved. What did that boar hope to accomplish? Returning his focus to both combat and the conversation they were having, he said, "I think I get the idea, now. I guess it was all about range-"

As he finished that word, he lunged forward to jab the boar, as he had done with his initial attack, but was surprised to find out the boar was a rather surprising creature. While he had perfectly factored in range, the boar had plans of it's own. It snorted as the spear head drew closer, and actually somehow managed to sidestep his attack.

"Ex... excuse me? What!?"

Looking at Calrex, Fourgotten silently mouthed the words "How does that even work?"

"This game is ridiculous. Boars can dodge! Since when?"

HP List
Calrex: 184/185
   Energy: 43/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 9 / F 1) Boar: 3/4

Edited October 25, 2015 by Fourgotten

[Calrex 0]

ID: 36265
Battle Dice: 9 (Accuracy +3) = 12 (Disregarded Due to No Action Taken)
Mob Dice: 8 (Evasion +4) = 4
(1 Energy Recovered / 44 Remaining)

"Heh, you know that's a good question. You can see how these little guys can be dangerous once you're starting out. A few bad shots and critical hits and a low level player could go down in mere moments."

Weaving past the boar once more Calrex looked up to see that his energy bar was already regenerating, almost back to full, "Well I haven't even tried attacking yet. There were many opportunities where I could have ended this in one blow, but Three needs to get a grasp of the combat system. Once I can tell he's done that we can move on to the next thing."

HP List
Calrex: 184/185
   Energy: 43/45
Fourgotten: 4/4
   Energy: 0/1

Enemies:
(Hate: C 9 / F 1) Boar: 3/4

Edited October 26, 2015 by Calrex