Xlearsight

Xlear turns to catch the item from Freyd, nodding to him in thanks as he quickly chows down. One of the things he'd never think he would miss is the taste of food, food made by human hands. His thoughts briefly drifted to his mom's cooking. If there was anything he'd die for, that would be it. "It's hard to think of it as a journey. While the concept of something like that will always have some modicum of danger, this particular 'journey' seems more like a virtual gauntlet of death. To think, a world like this, made by a few people who we thought were just giving us another great experien

"Well, hopefully, there's nothing foul going on. If that is the case, I'd rather leave them be. They'll be fine on their own if they're together. I recently got into games later than they did, so I think they'll be fine. I need to catch up. Once I do that, everything will be fine from there, and we can start hitting this game where it hurts! After all, we are long overdue to add our own firepower into the mix." Xlear casually walks around as he's searching, keeping track of his count. "So, Freyd. What has it been like for you and those making the way for us small fish in this big pond? I

"Well, I should remind you that I never met these folks they went with. As far as my friends, Haruto is a bit thin, around my height if a bit taller. If there's a better thing to notice him by, he's got this scar on his neck. When we were kids, he was messing around with his dad's tools and got that from it. He always lies and says he got it from a bird pecking him. But that's nothing to brag about when you think about it. Unless he took a recommendation from someone, he should still be using claws. We all dared each other to use a weapon that the other person chose for another. Genma chose fo

"I've tried several times to message them, but neither has responded since the other day. Genma said they would take on a mob boss and that it was fun. He said something about the group having another guy in there who's all cloak-and-dagger. Still, I can see on my friends list that they're still...well here. So, for now, they're fine. Still, I am a tad antsy and should kinda hurry and make my way up there to them." As the duo approached the shop and Freyd fell more in line behind Xlear, the greenhorn player nodded at his comment about Zackariah. "Well, gathering shouldn't be hard then, ri

"To think Kayaba would want to add these things in an already stressful game. But I'm just starting to think he treats this as a joke or something. Not cool at all." Xlear follows his benefactor to Zackariah's abode, wondering what to expect from this next person. As he walks, he glances around the area and observes other lower-level players moving around town. "Sheesh. I wonder if they'd also hit this place up for the quest. I wouldn't be too surprised. When I last talked to them, they said they were already heading to the fifth floor. It's great that they're moving on, but with everythi

"Yeah, I need to hurry to see them again. I just can't go too fast with things, or I could end up dead. I still can't grasp that, even after looking at the monument daily. It's just not something you'd ever think you would hear." He tenses up slightly upon seeing some boars roaming the area. Part of him wanted to fight them to test himself, but he had to remind himself not to make foolish decisions like that. After all, this type of mindset is how many people don't even make it to the second floor. "Wow. You must not like him at all, or you've done this quest a million times. Or both." Xl

"Kayaba... right. He's got way more blood on his hands than anyone in here." Xlear decided not to dwell on it, instead listening to Freyd's suggestions. At the mention of Tolbana and the mayor, he perks up. "Heh. I guess some things don't change even in a game like this. I might be lingering around there before I move on." As they continued to move on, Xlear began thinking about his plan for moving through the floors to catch up with the other frontliners. He wasn't treating this like some walk in the park, yet he silently didn't want to think of every day being filled with fear and looki

"I knew PKers were an issue, but I didn't know they could still get away with it even by being green. My buddies and I were all nervous about PKers, which made us not want to leave the town. I don't know why I decided to leave now. I got tired of being afraid. Even my friends are going out to take this game down." The white-haired newbie briefly looks around, the thought of a PKer putting him on edge again. Still, if there were one still on this floor, it'd have been news around town by now. However, he imagines it will be an issue on the higher floors. Dismissing that thought, he then a

"Knight Shift...Floor 21. Got it." He nods to himself as he tries to remember that for later. Still, that was for whenever he makes it to that floor, which would make it a bad idea for him to make that trip now at his current level. He could only imagine the kind of mobs on that floor, which made him slightly shudder. He originally planned on doing a few quests for some col, but more importantly, to get himself into a habit of doing quests. "You already looked a little busy, though. If it's just quests on this floor, it shouldn't be that hard, right?" He directs his attention to the plain

"AH!!" Xlear stopped in his tracks upon the sudden arrival of Freyd. Despite having no experience with fighting yet, his hand reflexively hovers over the handle of his sword strapped to his back. He wasn't ready, but he would fight if he had to in case this player was more devious. Oh, but wait, he has a green cursor. Okay, he's good, then. "I mean...ahhhh, looking for food. I figured that. Have any luck so far?" He finally sets his hand down to his side again, studying Freyd more closely. Thinking to himself, Xlear wondered if many of the frontliners just found it pleasant to come d

After putting this off for another period of time, Xlear had decided that he couldn't let himself get idle again. His friends were now starting to tackle a few quests, so he decided to meet up with them at some point in a few floors. The boots that were accompanied by the armor he had been wearing for as long as the game first started, were now crunching beneath some leaves as he treks his way along a road. Where was he going? Honestly, he had no clue. From where he was walking, however, any player that knows the map of the floor would know that he was currently nearing Horunka. Faint smokesta

"I see. Good to know, thanks for the tip. I'll have to pay attention as I climb the floors then." As the bartender returned with their drinks, Xlear eagerly grabbed his and took a sip, while listening to Morningstar and letting him speak. The grassy flavor of the drink reminded him more like the tea his father would make for everyone when they weren't feeling well. Not exactly the best thing in the world, but it reminded him of home. "Good to meet ya, Star. You can call me Xlear. As you can probably tell, I'm a newbie who finally decided to get off his ass and help push this game along. I'm ti

"I'll take what he's having too, sir!" Xlear sits patiently and takes another cursory glance around the tavern. While this wasn't exactly the place to be thinking about fun, he had a slight interest in learning how other bars looked on the higher floors. He was still in the process of getting things together before he eventually leaves the town to start leveling. His friends were both shaken or complacent about the whole situation they were in, but he wasn't going to make them leave if they didn't want to. That would cause complications later, something he might regret. Taking his mind off tha

As he walks with her, Xlear smiles at the thought of being seen as a reliable player to the others. Yet, he also couldn't help but feel guilty for his friends behind. He hoped they'd heed his warning to stay behind. Maybe he could send them messages, updating on the progress of the game after every floor. That seemed like something he could do. Now, he felt a bit better about doing this. When Nari mentioned of going with him, he held a hand up as if to stop her. "Wait. I think I can take it from here for right now. You're probably busy and got something else you need to do. Like getting yourse

Xlear nods in understanding as Nari explains how it'd be better if he were to start with a quest. More XP for leveling for sure, he thought. A better way to navigate the floors as well, the quests could help him with that. "Right, these are just beginner quests. The guy...I forgot his name already..but he'd have to be a sick bastard if he made the beginner quests something outrageous like fighting a dragon. We all would've been in trouble." He stretches as he then looks around and catches the town that she indicated. Tolbana. Once he's there, it'll start for him. He won't be able to stop