[PP-F3] Field Trip (Macradon)

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin sat at the edge of a spring in the massive expanses of floor three. Not far from the town itself, she had been looking through her menu. Her face was rather determined, as per usual. Nothing new there. Vayrin had the tendency to keep a rather, calm, and serious look as her normal expression. Because of this, she may look overly pissed about something, but in truth it's just the way she was. Giving a sigh, Vayrin leaned back in the grass, her menu followed her head, hovering above her. She squinted one eye as the afternoon sun beamed down on her. She continued to scroll through her map, looking for anything worth while on the floor...

[Macradon 0]

Macradon wasn't really sure why, but he was on the 3rd floor again. It wasn't much he was doing here other than helping others doing quests, but else he wouldn't go below the 11th floor unless he was working in his shop. Though he felt like going right now. If it was scouting around for the Guild, just to see if he could find some worthy candidates for the Knights. Either it was that or just an excuse for him to take a day off from frontline work. He would look through his items if he had anything he should be using at the moments, didn't seem so. He just stood there on the 3rd floor, unknowing of why it was the third floor he had chosen. Nevertheless he would take a few steps, beginning to enjoy his day off from field work. The afternoon sun was shining onto him and repelled back by his armor, though the sun was capable of penetrating by going through the visor on his helmet. "This isn't even helping" he thought as he sighed, opening up his menu to take off his helmet completely as it wasn't blocking out the sun.

[Vayrin 0]

As Vayrin continued to swish through her menu, she couldn't help but feel rather relaxed in her current position. The soft grass under her made a good cushion, and the small breeze didn't hurt either. It wasn't long before her eyes began to droop, and she fell into a peaceful nap. This was unusual for the Violet haired girl. More so then anyone else. She almost never let her guard down outside a safe zone. In this state she was completely vulnerable to an attack. She just had a very relaxed feeling though, she couldn't overcome. The purple cloaked girl lied across the grass with one harm behind her head, and the other over her stomach... Peacefully sleeping beside the spring.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon walked a few other minutes before spotting something odd in the green grass, something purple. He would walk towards the oddity in the grass. As he got close he would notice that it was a person sleeping on the fields. "That's dangerous ... and somewhat deja vu like" he thought and would advance. As he got close he saw that the girl had dozed off, Macradon sighed and would open up his inventory to find out his robes that he used to wear. He would take it out and fold it into a billow like shape and change it out with the girls arm for a more comfortable sleep. Macradon would sigh again and sit down by the river and be like a warden. "I know it's not my job, I'm not obligated, I'm not supposed to ..." he thought and looked to the sun and the grass. He would look back over his shoulder to look at the girl "But I feel like I have to protect her" he thought again and looked back out to the sun, leaning backwards with his arms supporting behind him.

[Vayrin 0]

It wasn't very long until something stirred in Vayrin's mind and began to awake her. The girl shifted a bit, and slowly opened one of her purple eyes. She saw the faint fuzzy outline of another person sitting near the spring not very far from her. Suddenly, both her eyes widened when she realized something was underneath her head. It was in fact another player, and whoever they were must've placed some folded robes under her head. Slowly, trying not to alert the player to her awoken state, she silently got up. She shook her head, and quickly observed her cloak to make sure all the grass was off. She then got the courage to speak up. Judging by their armor, this player was obviously stronger then her, so if he meant her harm, she'd probably be gone by now. "Erm... Was this your spot..?" She asked somewhat nervously. 

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would look at the beautiful view from where he sat, the sun really made its move by shining around everywhere. Macradon would chuckle slightly as he heard a feminine voice from behind. He would turn his head around and look back. "Oh, you've awoken?" he said with a smile with the sun shining by his head and highlighting his red eyes, contrasting his bright white hair. He would get his feet up from where they hung and stand up "No, this isn't my spot" he said with a smile, would people really take spots like that? That would be weird. He would look at the girl as he stood up, she did look younger than Macradon, but just slightly. Their height was quite similar, she was maybe a bit taller than him, he wouldn't be surprised, he used his real life height and with his Asian heritage his height wasn't one to brag about. "Seems like you woke up quite fast, did I bother you?" he would ask a bit worried, maybe the girl just wanted peace.

[Vayrin 0]

"Uh..." Vayrin awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "No, not particularly..." She said again after a moment. She took a look around, to see if anyone else was in the area, and then turned back to the player. "I was just relaxing... And I guess I must've fallen asleep." She said again, giving a nervous smile. Vayrin then lifted a hand to shield her violet eyes from the setting sun far in the distance, which had been casting slight shadows among the two. Vayrin then proceeded to straighten her headband, which had shifted in her sleep. "Well... Any reason for um... Whatever you were doing?" She asked again, looking down at the folded robes her head had been lying a moment ago.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon smirked slightly "Well, it's quite dangerous to sleep in non safe zones like these, someone could've killed you" he said with a worried smile. Even though it wasn't his job to be worried like that. "I'm sorry if I bothered your sleep" he said and would begin to walk over to the girl, he would get close and get down to grab his robes and put them away in his inventory. "If you relax here often I'll just take my leave so you can relax again" he said with a smile at the girl. It was quite rude for him to just do that, but he didn't want people down here on these fields to feel left alone, he wanted to see them embracing the social qualities within the game, making friends, doing quests with people and stay together with one's friends. Macradon remembered his solitude alone for nearly a year of adventuring alone, he didn't gain much other than reflecting upon himself and learn more about himself than he had ever known. He would sigh as he would send over a request for the girl. "I'm Macradon, by the way, let's stay in contact if you ever need my help" he said as he would press the air a few times for a HUD to pop up in front of the girl. "Of course, you can decline if you don't want to stay in contact" he said.

Quote

Player Macradon has sent you a friend request
Accept/Decline

 

[Vayrin 0]

"Hm?" She said as she continued to scratch her head, and she looked down in front of her see the notification. It was a friend request from this Macradon player. She stared at it for a moment, seeming hesitant to accept the request. She then lifted a finger and pressed the circle icon. The more friends she had the better, in SAO at least. She looked back up and took a moment to observe him. His armor and weaponry was very advanced compared to hers, and she couldn't help nut recognize the small red cross marks on them. She couldn't place the specific one, but she knew it was from a guild. Vayrin then shook the thought, seeing as she had been staring at him.

 

Player Vayrin has accepted your friend request

[Macradon 0]

Macradon smiled when she finally pressed accept. "The more the merrier" he said with a big smile. "So, whom might you be?" he would ask. He hadn't seen this girl before, nor had he ever heard about a purple girl. He would ponder about this, the only person he knew that had purple hair was one from his guild, but was still unsure of all the members in the guild, he didn't know all the names, but their appearance would surely make him remember them. He would glance over the girl, seeing her attire, not really seeming like anyone front lining, nor did he remember seeing her on any of the high floors. It wasn't rare for him to meet low leveled players on these floors anyways, so he would just ignore levels and talk with people.

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin hesitated a moment before answering the player's question. "Oh, I'm um. Vayrin." She replied. She then proceeded to ask a question that had been weighing on her mind since she noticed Macradon's gear. "So what is an obvious high level like yourself doing on floor 3?" She asked curiously. Even though she seemed to have a habit of running into much higher leveled players then herself, she still found it odd that so many she had encountered on these lower floors, when most would be on the front lines.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would chuckle lightly at the question the girl, Vayrin, would ask Macradon. It sure was funny to see so many high leveled players on the lower floors, and it was also weird why they weren't up in the front lines to clear floors, then again, they had been my stuck on the 13th floor long enough. "I wouldn't really say obvious as my gear could easily just be vanity items" he would begin "I'm "scouting" for possible guild members ... at least that's the excuse I use for my superiors so that I'm allowed to relax and take a couple of free days from floor raids and stuff like that" he said. "There had been some ... complication to why we haven't been able to reach the 14th floor yet, but we're working on it" he said with a smile and a thumbs up a the girl.

[Vayrin 0]

"Ah." She replied. That didn't seem hard to believe, but he had picked a weird spot to scout out for guild members, assuming he was from a front line guild like his gear suggested. The people down here were like her, too low a level to fight on the front lines. "Well, I'm currently stuck at my level. It just seems to be getting harder to level up the higher you get. My progress is slow, but I'll join the front lines before this game is cleared." She stated. She looked down, a somewhat sad expression on her face. "I have a promise to keep." She stated now more quietly, remembering events that took place on the 4th floor...

[Macradon 0]

It was true that these floors were too low for any proficient fighters to get into the guild, but Macradon chose these floors because they were close to his shop so he didn't have to travel too far between floors. "Well, the system is kind of balanced in that way that the higher level you get the longer it takes to advance levels. It's the curve of RPG gaming leveling" he said to the girl. It was the system, and even though it was annoying at first, you quickly got used to the quest grinding and raid participating. Macradon would smile at the girl "Well, I'll be waiting at the front lines, then" he said with a wink, but his smile quickly got erased by the girl's sudden gloomy appearance. Macradon wasn't too acquainted with with girl and would not go in and question something that looked too personal like the gloomy appearance just yet.

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin let out a sigh at the more experienced player's remark. "Yeah, I know. Then again, I guess I was just taking a nap on the grass. My behavior like that probably would help the fact I'm not making much progress lately." She said. It was true, Vayrin had been letting herself go these days. She didn't grind as much as she used to, and now she only felt like an idiot after complaining about her level. She walked past Macradon to the edge of the spring, where she unsheathed her sword, and gave it a few playful swings. "Guess I gotta get back into the action a bit. At this rate my level will always be to low for the highest unlocked floors." She said with slight confidence. It was true she thought she could do it. Lately, she had seen multiple other players who started out similar to her, and at the same time as well. Yet they always blasted ahead of her in no time at all. "I'm guessing we all go through stages like this." She stated again, peering over the water at the vast fields beyond.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon glanced at the girl, looking at. She didn't look too proficient with a weapon, but she would sure have at least some experience with it to some extent. She didn't seem fit for fighting, at least not in that state, well ... at least not for the frontlines. "Progress will always be slowly if you don't have the motivation to keep on working" Macradon said. He wasn't at any time stuck in a level for too long, it only took him a few days to level up when he was determined to finish quests and beat bosses. It was true that if she kept on loafing around on the fields like this, she wouldn't advance and Macradon would have to wait for her to reach the frontlines. "Yeah, get some action on, I don't like waiting" he said with a wink at the girl while making a short reminder of what he said earlier "Well, I'll be waiting at the front lines, then". "Well, some may be stuck at certain levels for a brief moment, but that wont discourage them from moving on, I hope it wont discourage you" he said, hoping for the girl to advance. The more that would help clear floors the better.

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin sheathed her weapon on her back as she listened to Macradon's words of wisdom. One thing she had was motivation, just like everyone else. She turned back to face him as he spoke about "not keeping him waiting" and noticed the wink he made in her direction. She didn't really know how to go about it, but only assumed he was attempting to flirt with her. "Don't worry. I have a promise to keep..." She told him looking back out over the pond, her voice had gotten unusually quieter after this. Her mind was lost in her memory on the 4th floor... He wasn't the only one waiting for her. There were others fighting on the front lines who were expecting her to get there soon.

She turned back in his direction after his last comment. "I won't be discouraged anytime soon. I'll be dammed if I'm not in the final fight by the time this game is over..." She told him. After all, she had a knack for running into many front liners. They didn't seem as uncommon as she thought they would be, so maybe it wouldn't be too difficult. Macradon got there anyways, why not she? "I just hope I make it there fast enough... My goal is to reach a high enough level to assist with the boss raid on floor 17. Assuming we make it that far."

[Macradon 0]

"A promise?" Macradon would ask himself in his mind "Maybe something she promised someone once" he thought and would somewhat trying to ignore the sudden lowered voice, Macradon wouldn't really go too much into detail right now and would just stay out of that. He would sigh, at least she had a motivation to drive her to get to the frontlines, which was great. The more with decent equipment arriving at the frontline would just be great, more people to kill the bosses or take care of the minions. 

Macradon would close his eyes after his sigh, smiling after the comment Vayrin made. He would look back up at her "Good to know you're still determined" he said to her. "Hmmmm ...." Macradon began. They had just cleared the 13th floor and were about to engage into the 14th floor boss which would go just as fast as the other fights, at least with Zelrius on the vanguard they would be able to take down the boss fast enough. "Well hurry up then, the 17th floor isn't too far away from our grasp" he would say with a smile.

[Vayrin 0]

She turned back to Macradon after his last comment with a slight grin. "That's the plan." She told him. She would need to anyways, soon, the floors would get too difficult, and she'd be forced into another awkward grinding stage like the one she's in right now. She let out a small sigh after speaking her mind. "Anyways, I was actually up here to find mats. I think I'll craft myself a new cloak soon." She said, looking down at her current clothes didn't provide any stat improvements, only the chest plate she wore under it did. "And then I'll see a forge to construct a new weapon. I got that much planned anyways." She told him. It was obvious she needed new gear, but she knew she wasn't going to sell her current weapon. She may get a new one, but decided to keep her sword in her inventory. After all, it was a gift to her from the first day she stepped out of the safe zone. She looked over Macradon, seeing his armor and assured her he obviously knew what he was doing. "I'm sure you understand." She said with a slight chuckle, gazing back down at her clothes.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon smiled. She sure did look like she would need some better equipment, but when she got above the level threshold for the tier two equipment, she would have to get more col or mats to buy some more equipment. Macradon has his armor which he made himself, which would turn out as extremely practical being a blacksmith for stuff like that, but of course he was also in need of tailors, alchemists and artisans for other equipment he wouldn't be able to make himself. "Sure, I understand" he would say with a smile. The girl was confident and it would surely help her reach the frontlines in no time, though Macradon wasn't sure if she would be able to reach up there before floor 17. That floor was 3 floors from the highest floor now and the 14th floor raid was happening soon, so it wouldn't take too long before they would head to the 15th floor raid and so on, but he hoped he would be able to see Vayrin in the frontlines as she hoped she would. "Well, if you ever need a blacksmith, you can look for me down there on the town of beginnings" he would say with a slight giggle. Some free advertisement was always great, but he didn't like it if he took the customers of the other shops, so he would keep his advertisement at a low minimum.