[F1-PP] The Taste of Ramen [Greg Baxen]

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka yawned. She'd woken up to another sunny, bright day here in Aincrad. The first thing that she hears came from above. The song sang by sparrows could be heard clearly from all across the city. However, unlike the other days in which she wakes up in the same spot, this time, she smells something. Of course, she was still rather drowsy and had not realized what the smell was before sniffing the air multiple times in order to wake up her still asleep brain. With a yawn, she stood up before following the trail of the scent. As she walked, she began to recognize the smell and soon, she discovered the ramen booth in which she ate pretty much all her meals in. "I've eaten this since the first day of the game," She said, "Yet the taste and smell never slips away. How convenient for it to come by like that. I'd really love some ramen right now." With a sigh and a rub of her eyes, she slowly made her way towards the booth before sitting down on the right side of the booth. "Morning," She said to the NPC owner before placing in her order. This time, it was different from what she usually ordered. Usually, she went for something mild, not spicy, but still with good taste. She was not the type for spicy food. However, this time, she did indeed order a nice, hot chicken flavored ramen. Just the picture was enough to make her drool in delight. She had gone daydreaming when the NPC owner handed the bowl of ramen to her. Just as she expected, it looked delicious. The noodles were organized yet unorganized at the same time and the chicken looked juicy and full of taste. Nevertheless, just from looking at it, Shizuka could tell that it was a perfect bowl of ramen. "Alright! Time to dig in!" She said before picking up the wooden chopsticks from beside the ramen bowl and giving it a taste.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg had been wandering the city this morning. In this case, it was to get a feel for his surroundings. He also wanted to try the game's food. As such, he was looking for a place to eat. Spotting a nearby ramen booth, Greg walks inside, and sits down, before placing his order. He didn't know what to order, not having tried Ramen before, so he was sitting there looking a bit confused at the menu. What would each taste like? Greg scratched his head in frustration, and ended up looking around. Him. Aside from the NPC owner there was only one other person here: a woman with Pink hair who was currently eating. Greg unequipped his <Coat of the Azure Wind>, revealling his casual clothing underneath, a blue shirt and dark blue pants. He didn't want to get his armor dirty, after all, and eating in his armor is just plain rude. That being said, he wasn't gonna get to that part if he didn't know what to order! He looked at the menu again. "What to order, what to order...?" he mutters to himself.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

Slurp. Shizuka made quite a big noise while slurping down a patch of ramen that had slipped through smoothly from her mouth down to her throat and finally into her digestive system. With an active and loud "Ah!" in satisfaction, she rose her head to see that a boy had also come for ramen. Hm? I haven't seen him before. Shizuka thought before studying the boy. Having met quite a few people, Shizuka had gotten quite good at noticing unique features of other people. The boy had light blonde hair, a little bit of what appears to be whiskers by his cheeks. He looked oddly familiar and Shizuka did not know why. However, soon, she realized that the boy showed a strong resemblance to the main character of an old anime called Naruto. They are so similar that they could be twins. She thought before looking back at her ramen and taking a sip of noodles and the liquid as well. However, when the boy said out loud that he didn't know what to order, Shizuka looked up once more before speaking, "Hey. I'd suggest something spicy. The spicy ramen is quite good, especially the chicken or beef flavored once. I've eaten here so much that I've pretty much memorized the menu." And with a grin, she looked back down and continued to do away with the ramen.

[Greg Baxen 0]

(No whiskers. Other than that, spot on.)

Greg sighed as he continued contemplating on what to order. That is, until...

"Hey. I'd suggest something spicy. The spicy ramen is quite good, especially the chicken or beef flavored once. I've eaten here so much that I've pretty much memorized the menu."

 Greg looked towards her, saying "Thanks."  before placing his order, taking her suggestion and ordering the Chicken Flavoured one. A bit later his meal came and he prepared to eat. "Time to eat!" he says, before using his chopsticks and digging in. The taste was actually similar to another food, one he particularly liked. Specifically, Hot Dogs. It was a bit less meaty, but Greg could forgive that. As soon as Greg realized he liked it, he sped up his eating. He was eating VERY fast. Almost inhumanely fast. After he finished eating he patted his stomach contently. "Man, that hit the spot! Thanks for recommending it to me!" Greg said, the latter part of the sentence directed towards the woman next to him.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka looked over and gave a gigantic smile. "Glad you liked it. I find ramen to be exceptionally delicious on this game." She said before realizing that the boy had finished the ramen before she had even though she started before him. "But next time, you might wanna slow down a tiny bit," She said while staring at the empty bowl of ramen. "Eating that fast can help your stomach obtain some issues." However, she still had a bit of the ramen left and by then it was rather chilled and no longer as hot as it was just a few moments ago. She took a slow sip before declaring, "Well, ramen doesn't taste as good when it's cold." She said before chugging down the rest and after she finished, she grabbed a piece of napkin from the counter before whipping her mouth with it to rid of any bothersome, sticky food particles. When she finally sat back down to give her stomach a break, she looked at the boy and said, "Hello. My name is Shizuka. Good day to be out huh?" She introduced herself and asked. Indeed, it was a rather nice day. The sun had by then arose and revealed itself fully. People had already gathered up and prepared for the day. With a sigh, she glanced at the NPC people and players who passed by without a word.

[Greg Baxen 0]

"Sorry. It's just that when food tastes that good, i just can't seem to control myself." Greg replies. He then watched as she chugged the rest of her ramen. As the two sat there, the woman introduced herself as Shizuka. Greg, of course, responded in kind. "My name's Greg. Nice to meet you too. And yeah, it is a pretty good day to be out... except for the whole 'stranded in a death game' situation." he quipped. "Still, you've gotta admit, despite being the guy who's basically responsible for everything gone wrong recently, Kayaba Akihiko at the very least has good taste in food. I'm just saying." Greg says. He then gets to his feet, and turns to Shizuka. "Want to party up with me and slay some mobs, or explore? We do have some levelling to do, if we want to go home, and that's the best way to do it." He asks, including reasoning.

"Oh, and by the way, you look nice today." Greg says. He's not a particularly big flirt (Quite the opposite), but Shizuka looked nice enough that he couldn't resist saying it. "That didn't sound weird, did it?" Greg said worriedly, his face reddening a bit. He never was good with girls.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka chuckled when the boy explained himself and complimented her on how she looked. "Well, thank you," She said with a smile. "I'm glad that I don't look like a complete mess after spending a night in a dark valley. Uh. So Greg, let us slay some mobs then." She said. Despite her saying this, it was actually her first time going to kill mobs and actually, she was rather nervous. "This would be my first time fighting in this game," She said with a gulp and quite a nervous shiver. "I hope you're strong enough to keep me alive," She said, a bit more calm this time. She decided that if Greg wanted to fight some mobs, he would be strong enough to fight them and protect her. And thus, she stood up, allowing Greg to follow her along the way. She's been outside of the safe zone before but she's never fought anything even as simple as a boar.  Well. I can't wait for some fighting. She thought, feeling her nerves catching up to her. Let's put this starter sword to the test. She finally decided before continuing to walk. Finally, with her leading the way, they soon reached the exit of the starting city. "Well... Are you ready?" She asked, tieing her hair up in the mean time to make sure that she doesn't mess up her long, pink hair in the process of fighting boars.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg sighed in relief as Shizuka wasn't freaked out by him. And she also accepted his offer of partying up to slay mobs. "Ready to slay boars, you ask? I've slain much worse than Boars. That being said, i seem to have the most terrible luck (Tripped over nothing THREE TIMES STRAIGHT when trying to break a rock. Not my greatest moment.). With all that being said, Boars shouldn't be too much trouble." Greg said.

Shizuka then expressed her concerns about fighting mobs, as she hasn't fought before. In response, almost as if sensing her fear, Greg put his hand on Shizuka's shoulder. "You're not gonna get killed if i can help it. That, i can assure you of. If there's one thing i refuse to let happen, it's for a friend to die. I'd much rather throw MYSELF into a situation where i would die than see a friend suffer the same fate. I WILL protect you." He says, giving a nod for extra assurance, before removing his hand and sending Shizuka the party invite. Determination is evident on his face.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka smiled once more as the boy swore to protect her in the case of danger. When she received the party request, she naturally accepted it by pressing on the big, blue button which contained a white outline of a circle. "Alrighty then," She said, "Let us proceed on with our boar killing task." And thus, she walked out of the safe zone, leading the other boy to a random destination in which she hoped there'd be plenty of boars... no, weak boars awaiting them. As they walked along the different scenery and landscape, Shizuka remembered the time in which she spent with a guy called Ryuma_. I really want to visit that mountain again. It's full of amazing scenery. She thought before directing her attention on her surroundings. Finally, after a while of watching trees dance as they walked, Shizuka managed to spot a boar. Immediately, she pointed at it, directing Greg's attention toward the mob. "How about you attack it first? That way I'd know how it's done." She said.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg continued to walk along until Shizuka pointed out a boar. Greg smiled. "Just gimme a sec, gotta get my equipment on." He says, as he enters his menu. He equips his <Coat of the Azure Wind> and <Anneal Blade>, and prepared to strike at the boar! He lunges, before his sword glows and he slashes diagonally, unleashing the <Slant> Sword Art!

ID: 36958

BD 7: Hit! 1 base damage +1 1HSS Skill +1 DMG Enhancement on Anneal Blade=3 damage!

Greg's blade went through the Boar, chunking off a good portion of its HP.

MD 10: Super Critical! +2 Damage! 5-5=0. Damage cannot go below 1.

The Boar was weaker than most, but that didn't stop it from attacking Greg! It charges, preparing to gore him... before being completely stopped by Greg's blue coat. Greg's health bar dropped a miniscule amount. Greg chuckled at the boar's failure. "Man, i never knew mitigation would be this useful! Boy was i wrong!" he quipped.

Focusing again, Greg calls out. "Now it's your turn, Shizuka! Let 'em have it, while i draw the aggro!"

Greg Baxen: 31/32 HP, 7/8 EN.

Shizuka: 8/8 HP, 2/2 EN.

Boar: 5/8 HP.

 

Edited November 1, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka watched as the boy in front of her used his blade efficiently and even though he'd been hit, it seemed as if nothing was done to him. She smiled but shivered at the same time when she realizes that it was her turn to attack the boar. She held up her starter straight sword, ready to pounce on the boar who was not facing her but rather facing Greg. This should be an easy hit. She thought, trying to encourage herself before running forward, unleashing a sword art called <Slant>, the same that Greg had just previously used against the mob.

ID: 36962
BD: 1 (0 Damage)

Shizuka charged up to the boar and attempted to attack it when she managed to fail completely and swing the air before tripping and falling down to the ground. With a little "Ah." she hit the ground completely and was quite ashamed by it. "Argh..." She growled before standing up to see that the boar had ignored her completely, concentrating only on the tougher player. "Sorry, Greg." She said in apology for her miss.

Greg Baxen (31/32) (E: 7/8)
Shizuka (8/8) (E: 0/2)
Boar (5/8)

(Wait, the mob doesn't meet loot criteria... Oh well, the next boar we fight can probably be stronger if its gonna concentrate on you only.)

Edited November 1, 2015 by Shizuka

[Greg Baxen 0]

"Don't worry about it. It happens to the best of us." Greg says to Shizuka, after she ended up failing her attack. "The deal is, of course, to keep attacking, and, of course, to NOT DIE." He continues. Then, he lunges towards the boar, blade primed to go clean through it with a <Vertical> Sword Art, this time!

ID: 36964

BD 8: Hit!

His blade goes clean through it. "That being said, nothing bad seems to be happening to me right now. Weird. Last time i tried to destroy something, my luck ended up being terrible."

MD 7: Hit!

Greg feels a bump as the Boar rams into him again before bouncing off. "Except for that, but 1 lost HP against this thing isn't much." he quips.

[Shizuka 0]

ID: 36984
BD: 7 (2 Damage)

Shizuka knew that she had to hit the boar with her next attack. She needed a good start to her combat life and she knew that she would need to hit the boar to boost her self-confidence.  Confidence is key in these types of games. She knew from her years of great, experienced gaming. Still this game is far from similar with those other games. She walked over with haste before raising her personal starter sword and striking with a simple <Slant> sword art once more. This time, she was able to strike the boar and slash the boar vertically.  Yes! She realized when she finally realized that she'd made contact.

Greg Baxen (30/32) (E: 7/8)
Shizuka (8/8) (E: 0/2)
Boar (3/8)

Edited November 2, 2015 by Shizuka

[Greg Baxen 0]

"That's it!" Greg exclaimed as Shizuka hit the boar. "It's not so hard when you get the hang of it. That being said, these are only low-levelled mobs on floor one. They're definitely not the floor 100 boss." he quipped. He felt that Shizuka was getting more confident, which is good and all, but there's confidence, and then there's OVERconfidence. Greg had to make sure Shizuka didn't start getting overconfident lest she get herself killed. And he couldn't have that happening. With that being said, Greg opted to clean up and finish the boar off. He brought his sword along for a <Horizontal> Sword Art!

ID: 36991.

BD 9: Critical Hit! +1 Damage!

Greg's slash reduces the mob to half the Boar it used to be. Quite literally- he sliced it clean in two. He dusts his coat off, and sheathes his <Anneal Blade>. "Well, that takes care of that." he quips, before surveying the area for any more boars. He doesn't seem to see any though. "Huh. I don't see any boars. Could another player or group of players have cleared this area out already?" He questions, Nothing this, he turns to Shizuka. "Seems this place is outta boars. On that note, we have two options. We can either wait for the boars to respawn, and occupy ourselves in the meantime, or we can go to another area to search for more boars. It's your choice." he says.

Greg Baxen: 30/32 HP, 7/8 EN.

Shizuka: 8/8 HP, 0/2 EN.

Boar: -1/8 HP- DEAD.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

"Hm," Shizuka said when she was offered an option of either searching for boars or waiting for boars to come to them. "Well, you did say that these were quite low leveled boars so judging from my experience with other RPG MMO games, this entire area would be full of them. However, I think we should obtain loot from this so that we aren't wasting time but making progress at the same time. We should search for higher leveled boars that would give us more of a challenge and more loot as a result." Shizuka wasn't an expert. In fact, she was probably one of the lowest and most inexperienced players out there currently considering some players already have full perfect gear and she had some starter clothing along with a starter sword. I need to get stronger. And combat is the only way to do that. I want to fight with the others in the front lines. If Shizuka had set her mind on something, nothing will be able to prevent her from achieving her task in doing so. Plus, my attitude will probably cheer up the others in the front lines once I get there. She thought cheerfully before looking back at Greg. "Why don't you find us a higher leveled boar with enough mitigation and damage along with health so we can get loot from it and then launch the first attack?"

Greg Baxen (30/32) (E: 7/8)
Shizuka (8/8) (E: 1/2)

[Greg Baxen 0]

"Sure thing. I don't want to get too caught up on slaying boars, though. We've got bigger mobs to slay, and it also doesn't hurt to relax a bit. Slaying mobs nonstop means no natural regeneration which is, like getting overconfident, a good way to get killed. That being said, neither of us is tired right now so we can continue." Greg says, warning Shizuka about these problem. As such, Greg surveyed the area, and eventually saw an area populated with larger Boars. Taking Shizuka's hand, he pulls her along. "Let's go! I see boars, this way!" Greg says as he does this. Upon reaching the area, he realizes what he did and pulls his hand away with a blush making itself evident on his face, "Eh heh heh... sorry. I got carried away, there." he replies shyly. 'Have i made a fool of myself? I hope not.' he thinks to himself, taking a moment to recompose himself and shake off the potential embarassment, as he couldn't afford any distractions during combat.

Greg Baxen: 32/32 HP (3 Recovered out of combat), 8/8 EN (1 Recovered out of combat).

Shizuka: 8/8 HP, 1/2 EN.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka gasped in surprise as the boy grabbed onto her hand and dragged her along in excitement. However, when the boy pulled back having realized what he's done, she replied that she didn't mind and all was good. "It's fine," She said, "Let us proceed upon the boars of this land," She said casually. Through her years as a half-decent gamer, she'd learnt that nothing is as bad as not concentrating on battle so prior to battle, one must not focus on other things. "I think you should attack first this time as well so the mob focuses on you as you're the stronger player," She said out of instincts from playing other RPG MMO games. This game isn't all that different... except the emotions and physical aspects are enhanced about one hundred more times than the other games. She thought to herself as she prepared for combat. "Directly after you attack, I'll charge forward to hopefully deal some damage and hence with a smile on her face, she waited for the boy to attack.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Shaking his head as he recomposed himself, Greg responded. "That's the plan!" he said quite cheerily, before letting loose with a sword art! This time, however, he opted to use <Snake Bite>, a more powerful Sword Art!

ID:37050

BD 8: Hit!

Greg's first slash connected quite cleanly, but as his sword left the Boar's body, he switched grip and spun around with his sword in the other hand, dealing out an extra hit! However, Greg wasn't completely focused, lest that would've hit harder. 'Why am I getting so worked up about this? I don't normally get easily embarrassed, so why-

Oh man. Do i like her, in that way? But I've only just met her! What do I do?! It would explain my slightly weird behaviour recently, but...' Greg thinks to himself, his thoughts running wild. One would see a bit of worry on his face as he said this. This was NOT a situation Greg was prepared for, developing a crush on someone he hardly even knows. In fact, he's never had a crush on anyone before, being that he's never been good at talking to people, so this entire situation is new to him and as such, he has no idea what to do aside from not make a fool of himself. Shaking these thoughts off for now, he looks at the Health Bar of the Boar. This one's a bit stronger, to the point where Greg's <Snake Bite> didn't do all that much damage, only taking off about 1/8 of its Health Bar. The boar rushes at him!

MD 6 -3 Evasion= 3- Failure!

Under normal circumstances, that attack would've hit, but Greg's <Coat of the Azure Wind> assisted him in evading the attack. He cleanly sidesteps the boar, before returning to the thoughts running wild in his mind.

Greg Baxen: 32/32 HP, 6/8 EN.

Shizuka: 8/8 HP, 2/2 EN.

Boar: 14/16 HP.

 

Edited November 2, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka gulped. The boy had yet again landed a successful hit. He hadn't failed a single one and she would be rather disappointed if she was to miss. Let's do this. She thought with a forceful boost of confidence. If she was able to hit the boar, it would be able to bring down the health of the mob by only a tiny bit... Not a dramatic change, though. She had noticed that even though the boy had struck out with quite a powerful attack, the boar seemed like it took almost no damage. The mitigation on this thing, though. She thought before raising her sword in front of her and preparing to strike out at the boar. Her face glowed with determination as she finally began to charge.

ID: 37364
BD: 1 (0 DMG)

Of course, no matter how confident she was or how confident she acted like she was, the ability was a whole different thing. Her smirk of confidence soon faded when the boar moved accidentally just as she was about to strike it. "You annoying pest!" She shouted in frustration before backing off. "Switch!" She said as she gently moved along so that the boar would still not recognize her presence. Her <Snake Bite> sword art had failed but next time, she would try once more and possibly deal damage to the weak mob.

Greg Baxen (32/32) (E: 6/8)
Shizuka (8/8) (E: 0/2)
Boar (14/16) (DMG: 3) (MIT: 4)

Edited November 4, 2015 by Shizuka

[Greg Baxen 0]

(Your EN's meant to be 0. A missed attack drains 2 EN regardless of what Sword Art it is, or whether it's a Sword Art at all.)

Greg put his hand on Shizuka's shoulder, for a moment, and reassures her. "Don't worry about it. It happens to the best of us." he says, attempting to prevent her from getting discouraged over her miss. Once that's done, he approaches the boar and once again attempts <Snake Bite>!

ID: 37370

BD 6: Hit!

Greg's two slashes once again connect, draining another eighth of the boars health bar. "Okay, i can do this..." Greg reassures himself, his mind taken off of his recent emotional dilemma by the rush of combat, albeit only temporarily. He gets distracted for a second by it, causing the Boar to have an opportunity to charge at him!

MD 8-3 Evasion=5: Miss!

Greg notices at the last second, and just barely manages to avoid the Boar's attack! It skids to a halt behind him. 'That was close. Even though it'd only do one damage to me, a distraction like that could be fatal later. I really need to tell her how i feel, but doing it during combat is just bad timing. Best wait until after the Boar's dead.' Greg mused, still worried about his new-found crush on Shizuka.

Greg Baxen: 32/32 HP,  5/8 EN (1 recovered at the start of the turn)

Shizuka: 8/8 HP, 0/2 EN.

Boar: 12/16 HP.

 

Edited November 4, 2015 by Greg Baxen