[PP-F3] Where one fails, another may rise <<Worn out Welcome>> -Floofy and myself-

[Domarus 0]

Domarus sat at a bar and took another drink of whiskey, slowly to savor it.  Due to all of his work in the real world to build up an immunity to alcohol, he was successful.  The last time he'd been drunk was when he was fifteen.  Ever since he hadn't found his new limit.  He always got full before he did.  Normally the only reason he had alcohol nowadays were for three things.  The first and main one was to fool his friends into getting drunk, and pretending he was drunk himself, in order to steal information from them.  The second was to keep his resistance to it high.  The third was whenever he was taking his time to think through a problem.  He was looking down at some files he had brought and processing through the question that burned in his mind for what must have been the millionth time.  The papers had information written on them by Domarus himself, and it was all written in greek, even the symbols were there, so that nobody but himself could read them.  And the question that burdened him was where on earth would he find a tank worthy enough of being his general.  Not long ago he had found a tank but the player didn't seem to fit his needs.  Domarus was wearing no armor today.  He wasn't going outside the town today after all.  He sighed and had the bartender refill his drink.  Keres was given some chocolate milk which she didn't really drink from much.  She, as usual, was dressed in her maid's outfit.  Porvós, her flaming snake familiar, was curled comfortably around her torso as usual, while Rhozarth, Domarus' own familiar, a flaming dragon who, like Domarus, wasn't wearing it's armor today, sat with a fierce gaze, scanning the crowds for any mischief.

@Floofy

Edited April 4, 2017 by Domarus

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda entered the bar, stretching and yawning. She had spent the past few hours searching the floor and collecting data on where to tame rare familiars. She herself had yet to find a familiar for herself, being too occupied with her desires to fill an entire index of familiars and where to tame them. Originally, she planned to call her book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", but APPARENTLY that name was taken... For about the twentieth time since finding out, she cursed whoever stole that name from her as she sat down at the bar, next to Domarus, and ordered some milk for herself. Sakoda wanted a break from running around the floor, and was examining a list of quests that she could do. It occurred to her that she didn't have any armor, and actually never obtained any since logging onto the death game. Perhaps she should do a quest that would award some...

@Domarus

Edited April 4, 2017 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

Domarus heard the door open yet again but paid no mind.  Rhozarth however, as he was keeping an eye on all people in the vicinity, had noticed to had entered and narrowed it's eyes.  Rhozarth turned to Domarus and made a series of timed growls, which told Domarus he needed to pay attention to this one.  Domarus sighed and turned around, this time narrowing his own eyes in confusion.  The player was in starter armor, which showed that they were not ready for a floor any higher than the first.  Unless she had someone with her that is.  However if there was someone else they had obviously decided to let her wander by herself.  Something else that threw him off was that this was the second player with red hair he had run into this week.  Her eyes were a bit dark, not too dark.  They appeared to be amber.  After observing her for a moment he looked at Rhozarth.  What on earth could be important about that player?  Rhozarth kept it's eyes on her, possibly because he had lost all interest in anyone else.  Keres looked back to see the figure as well.
     "Would you like me to talk with her master?"  she asked softly.  Domarus didn't turn to her as he replied, quiet in turn.
     "No, leave her be.  Unless she comes to us don't bother her."  He returned his attention to the papers but now he couldn't concentrate.  The girl was on his mind.  Sighing he slowly drained the glass of whiskey, putting it down to see Rhozarth still gazing at the woman.  Rhozarth didn't often stare at someone for too long, so this interested him.  No doubt if Rhozarth saw her look at Domarus he wouldn't care.  If she approached him however Rhozarth would signal Domarus to let him know.

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda hadn't noticed the man next to her, or his companions for that matter. She took a sip of her drink before sighing to herself and muttering, "all these quests are too risky for me.. Did I miss something on my way up here? Maybe there was a basic armor store on Floor 2... Ugh, I've been so focused on Familiars I haven't even bothered to upgrade my own gear. There's got to be a quest that'll get me something though.. At least a better weapon. Maybe I can improve my agility skills to make up for the lack of defense, especially if I'm wanting to become a support-assassin."

Sakoda frowned to herself, knowing that she would still need light armor to get further. She couldn't avoid every attack forever, and with starting gear she would die in an instant. That didn't even include all the exploring she was doing. If she ran into a hidden boss or a trap somewhere, there would be no hope for her. It was settled, she NEEDED better gear... and on that thought, she remembered that she hadn't even bothered with her SP yet..

 

@Domarus

Edited April 4, 2017 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

The player seemed to have missed Domarus entirely, which meant she was seriously deep in thought since he had a maid and two flaming familiars with him.  Not to mention his abnormal height.  However this pleased him as it meant he could continue to work on his real assignment.  Shield was an utter failure, and he had not heard from his other allies as to where another tank might emerge.  The obvious solution was to be patient and wait.  Of course the alternate solution was to build up tank skills himself while building up his raw damage, and work as the tank until they found one worthy enough to become the fourth general.  It would take a while but he was an expert at patience.  Of course he would still need to-  It was then where he heard muttering to his left and his eyes turned to look at the woman.  Something about risky quests, missing something and armor stores.  Domarus shrugged the muttering away but he saw Rhozarth paying attention to her.  Now his curiosity was far too strong to quell.  He had the bartender refill his drink as he listened intently to her words.  Most of it was pathetic...  Until he heard her mention the word assassin.  He stared at his drink.  He had never heard of a concept such as support assassin, but it was definitely an interesting concept.  The word support implied that she sought to work with others and support them.  Assassin screamed the words stealth, killing and deceit to him.  If she was seriously considering becoming an assassin he needed to move now.  He would not stand for any assassin be controlled by anyone other than him.  He turned to face her.  
     "Excuse me, but I couldn't help but hear you mention something about becoming a...  Support assassin?"

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda looked up with a start. Had she even realized there was a person next to him? Looking over, she smiled and laughed at her own blindness. "sorry, I didn't see you there.. uh, yes, Im wanting to be a stealth support. Being able to be behind a squad and healing them or giving buffs, and then suddenly being behind the enemy and taking out unsuspecting targets. Like c'mon, nobody would ever expect a support to be taking out back lines, and especially not mobs!" She smiled, feeling pretty smart. The last sentence made it clear she didn't intend to kill other players though. Not unless she was convinced it was for the better, anyways. "but yea, I can't really get anywhere without getting better gear first. I've been so occupied that I didn't even think about getting better stuff, you know?" She suddenly offered her hand "by the way, Im Sakoda!"

 

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Keres saw that Domarus had engaged with the other player and smiled before sipping a little bit more on her chocolate milk.  Domarus listened to the player and it seemed that she was indeed deep in thought, too deep to notice others.  However she didn't seem particularly embarrassed about this.  Rather the opposite was obvious when the player laughed at her own mistake.  At least she didn't break easily.  After that she started to explain what she had meant by it.  As she explained his hands slowly folded together as he began to listen not only to her, but the ideas that were coming in his head.  He needed to get this player on his side.  A player who supported whilst in the shadows, and struck when the timing was right could be a very powerful, and devastating tool.  If in the right hands of course.  His thoughts wen to the player Atzo and he knew he needed to sway this player before he could get the chance.  It didn't matter if she killed players or not, he already had a potential assassin on his side.  Even if she didn't realize it just yet.  But she would soon enough.  After she finished explaining he smiled.  
     "Aah, ok.  I have to admit that's a unique thought and plan.  I like it."  He heard how she had forgotten to get better gear and Domarus nodded, listening to the rest of her words while already pinpointing the perfect quest in his mind.  And as fate would have it that quest was on this very floor.  This of course would start the path towards drawing her into his organization and gaining yet another powerful player.  He smiled as she introduced herself and offered her a handshake.  
     "Domarus, a pleasure to meet you Sakoda.  This is my friend Keres."  Keres smiled and did the best bow she could while sitting down.  
     "Actually there is a quest I could help you out with if you'd like.  The reward is uncommon armor.  It's not strong but it will start you off.  When you have enough to purchase equipment I know an excellent tailor.  I myself am an artisan if you need any equipment in that area."

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

"at this point, any armor I can get will help me greatly! I would be much appreciated if you would lead the way, Mister Dominus!" She smiled cheerfully, completely unaware of that fact that she didn't say Domarus' name correctly. All she knew is that she had a lead to some new threads, and she wanted to take the opportunity while it was available. Anything to get better gear. And better yet, if this guy could make light armor for her, she would never need to farm for gear again!! Well, ok, maybe THAT isn't true, but it would sure make life a lot easier on her! "Just tell me what to do and where to go, and we'll get this quest done in no time at all!" Hard to believe she wanted to be an assassin-type, with how cheerful she was acting, but perhaps there was more to this girl than her exterior showed.

[Domarus 0]

She may have the appearance of an ordinary adult, but she seemed to have a personality of someone far younger.  This he could tell already would be a little bit of a nuisance for him, but he also knew it would be worth the annoyance.  When she mentioned how any armor would greatly help her it had confirmed how horribly far down the bottom she was.  Her next sentence made Domarus freeze for a moment which he was certain she wouldn't catch on to.  Either the girl didn't know what she was saying, or she paid no actual attention to him when he was sharing her name.  Either way it was clear that he would need to speak clearly to get this woman to understand him.  Her final words however showed him just how easy all of this was going to be.  He nodded while wondering how he could possibly have been so lucky.  There had to be a catch besides the annoyingly young personality.  That in of itself wasn't equal to the benefit he was gaining here.
     "Alright then.  There's a blacksmith at the edge of town beside the gate.  He's how you start the quest.  After that we go fight a dark elf and eliminate him.  Once that's done you simply bring the quest item to the blacksmith and he'll make you either heavy or light armor, it's your choice.  Though from what you told me I think light armor would be more of your area.  Come on then let's go."  He whistled to Rhozarth and the dragon glided over to Domarus and landed on his shoulder, it's red scales covered in flames.  Keres stood up behind Domarus and followed him out.  Domarus lead Sakoda to the blacksmith's shop and gestured for her to enter.  

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

She gasped as she finally noticed Rhozarth "OH MY GOSH!! Where did you find him?! You MUST tell me!! I've never seen any familiar like this before in all of my studies!! Is he from a later floor, or perhaps a hidden dungeon? Or maybe even a rare drop?! I MUST know how and where!" It quickly became apparent that she was interested in familiars and how to obtain them, due to her overly excited nature suddenly exploding onto the scene. With how fascinated she was with the mans companion, it's a wonder she hadn't taken note of it sooner. "Oh, you can tell me all about it on the way to the quest! C'mon, lets get going!!" Sakoda declared, suddenly bursting with energy and excitement.

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Before they headed out Domars grabbed his encrypted papers and stored them inside his inventory.  When Rhozarth landed on Domarus' shoulder the girl exploded with excitement.  Rhozarth almost winced at the sudden increase in volume from the girl and stared at her.  Rhozarth believed himself to be above everyone besides Domarus and his generals, even the girl he had kept his eyes on this whole time.  Domarus, listening to the woman asking how he had retrieved it, believed that the girl hadn't been playing many video games after she had asked if he received Rhozarth as an item drop.
     "I found and tamed him on the ninth floor.  It's entirely volcanic and hostile.  As for your studies it will take forever to complete since any monster can be a familiar as long as it's not too big.  I suppose familiar's could be tamed in dungeons though I've never seen or heard of it happening before.  And familiar's are not drops.  They're monsters that the player has to tame.  Rhozarth was harder than most to tame but that's how I preferred it.  I wanted a familiar who was strong and would fight to the death before surrendering.  After a battle we traveled together.  Then Keres ran into Porvós and they were connected rather quickly."  After mentioning Porvós he gestured to the flaming snake wrapped around Keres who poked it's head out and flicked it's tongue at the girl with curiosity.  She then asked for details as they headed out to take care of the quest.  He rolled his eyes to the skies when she wasn't looking and followed behind her.  
     "A player named Aereth assisted me in finding my familiar.  After having spotted two familiars, one being Rhozarth and the other being a snake twice the size of Porvós we followed them.  Eventually we hit a small canyon and the two familiar's ambushed us.  While they both fought well I had managed to crush the snake with a large stone, therefore proving to me that it wasn't strong enough.  I tried to get the dragon but he managed to avoid getting destroyed.  He was the strong and intelligent one.  Then I displayed my own superior strength to him, fed him, and now he's mine.  I'm guessing Porvós was the infant of the snake I killed."

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

She listened intently, interrupting once, "I KNOW familiars aren't normally 'drops', but this is clearly not your normal MMO, is it? I want to learn everything I can about every hidden detail surrounding familiars. If there is some super rare familiar that can only be found through drops, I want to know about it.Yes, it will take a very long time to complete my studies, but we may also be here for a very long time. Besides, I haven't seen anyone else going around cataloging these things, so I might as well be the one to do it! The most valuable info broker is the one who knows what nobody else does, after all." Sakoda smiled, beaming with pure dedication to the task she had set for herself. It then occurred to Domarus that she had been taking notes as he was speaking. At some point, she had pulled out a notebook and started writing down important things he was saying. Another thought rose up. With how long its been since SAO released, surely Sakoda would have made friends by now. Yet here she was, by herself and at one of the first floors. How had she not found a guild, or even a party yet? She certainly didn't seem to be the solo type, with how upbeat she was.

 

@Domarus

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

Domarus listened as she interrupted him in order to explain to him why she said that, clearly wanting to defend her intelligence.  When she had started her explanation Domarus still saw her as a child.  However the more she explained the more she revealed that while her personality was childish, her knowledge was immense.  And soon enough he found that this was due to her curiosity.  Because she was so curious she was gathering more information than most players bothered to.  This was interesting as it could make her a valuable informant along with Aereth and others.  Her comment on how the most valuable informants were those who held info that others didn't, Domarus grinned.
     "Now that is certainly true.  Even if it's minor information someone will want to get their hands on it."  With her innocent nature he thought, as well as her cute and childish actions, he could use her to get info from other players who might be suspicious of Domarus.  Before he could do any of that however he needed to establish how far he could manipulate her.  As well as if she would be loyal to him and his true, one and only purpose.  By the time he had finished the story they had reached the blacksmith's shop.  
     "Alright, go ahead and get the quest and we can head over to the boss.  Whether you wish to fight the boss or not it shouldn't take too long.  It's a really pathetic boss."  The dark elf didn't even have twenty health when he had fought it.  Of course if things did go south he could always finish it off.  It didn't matter who fought it, there would be no loot regardless.  He was curious though as to what sort of weapon the woman had selected.  Domarus chose two handed battle ax in order to deal as much damage as he could to multiple opponents.  However he was considering getting two handed assault spear due to it's superior damage compared to the two handed battle ax.

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

"right-o!" Sakoda nodded and approached the blacksmith who gave the quest. Mostly ignoring the dialogue, due to her experience from only having NPCs to talk to on floor 1, she accepted the quest once she could and turned back to Domarus. "Alright, all set here! There aren't any pre-required items or anything like that, so it should be a pretty straightforward quest overall. The boss is a Dark Elf, right? Should be rather interesting, I think. Elves are normally archers right? Bow wielders? That means when it comes to close combat, they normally result to knives and daggers, although sometimes they'll have swords. Normally not though, since the extra weight weighs them down, and elves are usually very agile. Anyways, I'm assuming you know where the boss is right?" Sakoda ended her overflow of information with a rhetorical question. Of course Domarus knew where the boss was. He was the one who knew about the quest to begin with, after all.

@Domarus

Edited April 5, 2017 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

The woman walked into the shop and came back swiftly.  Most likely she had skipped the annoying dialogue as Domarus had done.  After she came back she started talking to herself about what the boss might have.  It was interesting to hear someone besides himself go through the process of possibilities.  The only difference was that Domarus typically wrote a mental list of the possibilities as well as the solutions for each given scenario.  He even had a backup plan for his original plans.  Of course he already had the information she was looking for so after she had finished processing through her thoughts aloud, he spoke up.
     "I have yet to see a bow, whether in combat or outside of it, by player, npc or mob.  However I have not ruled it out as an impossibility.  As for the boss itself yes it is a dark elf and he uses a sword.  Remember that the lore in Sword art Online can be different than the lore you are familiar with.  It's good to be prepared for any circumstance.  May I ask what weapon skill you chose?"  As they walked towards their destination, Domarus figured that he could gain her trust through more conversation.  The best option for him to take would be to talk about something she enjoyed.  It was clear she obsessed over familiar's so he decided to start there.  While they walked Keres followed behind them, remaining silent and looking for materials along the way.  Along the way she spotted a chunk of iron which she walked over to pick it up.  After doing so she handed it to Domarus who inserted it into his inventory.
     "So whenever you decide to get a familiar, what form of familiar do you wish to acquire?"

ID#  81318  LD:  15  +1 MAT   @Floofy

Edited April 5, 2017 by Domarus

[Floofy 0]

"You're right, SAO does have different lore compared to other games. For all I know, Elves are the Barbarians of this world!" She laughed at her own humor, before turning her attention to Domarus' next question. "I actually started with the spear, until I can start building up my list of skills. After that I might look for a different weapon, but for now I feel that the Spear is pretty versatile and can keep me at a safer distance than a sword." As she spoke, she followed Domarus, trusting him to lead her to the boss. If he wanted to turn on her, there wouldn't be anything she could do about it. Even so, it isn't like she had anything of value. There was no value to killing her, other than marking you as a murderer. And that's not exactly a benefit, is it? At least, not that Sakoda knew. "Uhhmm... Hey, Domy? There isn't a benefit of being a murderer here, right?" She was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear his last question.

@Domarus

Edited April 5, 2017 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

The woman made a joke that Domarus didn't find humorous in the least but gave a convincing chuckle regardless.  She began to talk about her weapon skill and how she had chosen a spear as her weapon of choice.  However she hadn't shared whether or not it was the one handed spear or the two handed assault spear.  After a comment on how she planned to switch to a sword after a while he turned to look at her.
    "Don't know if you've caught on or not but you can't switch skills once you've received them.  Best you can do is grab the one handed sword skill pronto.  Unless you haven't obtained even the spear skill as of yet and are just using the spear until you have the skill."  He looked back ahead of him as he continued to walk and address to her.
     "You need to plan out what skills you intend to collect ahead of time.  After purchasing them it is far too late to change your mind.  You need a solid goal and road to follow and once you do you work out all the steps and details towards that goal."  There was a momentary silence after he had asked her what sort of familiar she might seek out when the time was right.  He was wondering why she wasn't thinking aloud like she was most of the time she was with him.  However he found the silence a little pleasant and he took his chance to enjo-  The woman started to talk again.  However this time she said something that nearly made Domarus stop.  Instead he turned to look at her and kept his eyes on hers.
     "Well that's good thinking on your part.  Always be cautious around others, even if they're your friends.  As far as myself there would be no point to killing you.  In fact there'd be no point in me killing anyone.  Not only do I wish to keep my hands clean for multiple reasons, but players can't take the loot that's dropped from fallen players.  It's lost to the digital void.  The only point to pking is if they stand in your way or if the killer is obsessed with it.  However even if you were in my way I could come up with a thousand solutions that would be far more beneficial for me than killing you.  And besides, I'm here to help you.  I'm not like some people who lure players out just to ambush them."  

ID#  81324  LD:  4  @Floofy

Edited April 5, 2017 by Domarus

[Floofy 0]

She smiled and nodded, trusting Domarus at his word. "So looks like Im going the spear-wielder route. Thanks for telling me about the skill thing though, I'll keep that in mind!" She bowed to him as a sign of respect. It was funny, in the short time she knew him, Sakoda had begun to see Domarus as a teacher of sorts. Perhaps after this quest, she could ask to stick with him for some time and learn from him? It would definitely up her chances of survival, having someone like him around to not only teach her and train her, but to even act as a bodyguard if she needed it. Little did she know that this was likely playing right into Domarus's hands to manipulate her, and use her as a weapon for his own gain.

As they continued their travels, Sakoda realized that he asked her another question before, and she wasn't even paying attention to it. "Hey Delirious, what was that other thing you asked me about?" She asked, once again butchering his name. That might take some time for her to pin down the correct pronunciation. At least Domy was kind of close.

@Domarus 

[Domarus 0]

Sakoda seemed satisfied with the information and declared that she would remain a spear user.  She also thanked him for informing her about the details on skills.  When she bowed it surprised him a bit.  Keres had been the only real person to bow besides a few others who bowed because of some tradition of theirs.  What to make of it he wasn't sure.  Domarus nodded to her with a smile.
     "Any time my dear."  After that there was a small silence as they walked before she spoke again.  Domarus closed his eyes for a moment before turning to her.  
     "You realize that delirious is a word right?  Do you know what that word means?"  He was trying to hint her to the fact that she had essentially insulted him in a soft manner.  After his gentle informer he heard her ask what his question was.  Alright so she was listening to him.  Sort of.  It's just that she was processing it a little later than she should have.  Domarus nodded.
     "I was asking you what form of familiar you'd want to acquire whenever you decided to take the quest.  What form, what shape.  What abilities, what personality."  Porvós raised his head up and flicked it's tongue in the air when Domarus mentioned familiar.  He looked around but didn't spot any familiar.  The flaming serpent did however see a chunk of jeweled ore in the ground.  Porvós got Keres' attention and gestured to the material for her.  She smiled and walked over, collecting the material and handing it to Domarus.  As he inserted it into his inventory he wondered about the player.
     "Also, have you fought any monsters in combat?  Or do you have yet to engage in battle?"

ID#  81388  LD:  15  +1 MAT

@Floofy

Edited April 5, 2017 by Domarus

[Floofy 0]

"Familiars? uhhh... to be honest, I haven't even thought about one for myself. I wouldn't even know where to begin!" She laughed, surprised that she hadn't even thought about what kind of familiar SHE would want. She looked up as he asked her about fighting. "Well, really the only thing I've fought are the starter Boars. I've been doing my best to avoid combat, because I don't want to get....I don't want to lose all of my HP. I try to fight only if I have support, but with how everyone acts around me... Lets just say I haven't found many parties and guilds asking for me to join them." She frowned, thinking to herself for a bit. She might as well tell Domarus why everyone avoids her, if she wants to styick with him for a time. "Everyone thinks that I'm a Beta Tester, or even a Beater, because of my knowledge of SAO. I never actually got into the Beta, so I dedicated my time to learning everything I could before the official release." She sighed, before continuing her story. "Anyways, because of that, everyone avoids me and thinks I lie when I try to tell them Im NOT a Beater. I've resorted to interacting with NPCs for conversations, and as you can imagine that gets repetitive rather quickly..."

 

@Domarus

Edited April 5, 2017 by Floofy