[PP-F4] <<Essence of Steel>> (Kooh)

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru waited as she answered, and he just gave another light chuckle. He had been the same way when he was lower levelled. Unsure of himself, afraid to go out and explore, just staying home in his shop where he was safe with his familiar. Nowadays, he barely entered the shop and was out on the field, growing stronger and stronger to catch up with the rest of the frontliners. In all honesty, his damage was lacking compared to the other frontliners, which made it difficult for him to be able to feel strong around him. He knew that he just needed to get his stats up, and soon he would be a threat to the bosses, and have a much bigger chance to get the last drop one day. He gave a nod and took another sip

"Sounds about right for your level. Might I recommend you take a lower-levelled quest? Most of them are fairly easy, and all of them can get you levels pretty quickly at your level." He said, trying to give some advice to the player and help her get started on the level grind, one of the hardest things for players to do when they first start out. But once the momentum starts, soon they hit the big numbers and increasingly become stronger. It happened to him and many other players, so why would she be different?

[Kooh 0]

Kooh resisted the urge to let a grimace take over her expression at the man's suggestion. Questing was such a chore, and because she valued experience so little, they rarely offered her anything of interest. Everything that was considered 'progress' in this world required so much work. 'I'm so tired of this crappy game...' She mentally complained. 'If I ever leave this place, remind me not to touch another video game for as long as I live.'

The girl gave a small shrug in response. "Yeah, sure." She lied, "There's probably some stuff I haven't done yet." While the blonde had no intention of actually taking on any other quests, the rest of her statement was true. She had done so few of them, there were surely many quests on the lower floors that she had skipped over. She was willing to bet that several of them could even be completed on her own. Regardless, her lack of interest let her mind wander to other things. Maybe after this should would go back to the eleventh floor. If Sey wasn't around, she could always give the piano that she had set up some days ago a try.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a nod and took another sip of his coffee. He had just finished his third cup, and he knew that he should stop drinking it. But this was his replacement to ale and it tasted good, reminding him of his days of work, which he missed incredibly compared to how much work he needed to do. He held out the mug and waited for it to be filled, then he gave a yawn.

"Man, I haven't sat this long in... weeks." He said with a chuckle. His cup was refilled and he sipped it quietly. It was hard for him to really think of anything to ask. He was tired from the day, but he knew that he still had more to do and he needed to find something to talk about. He set down the mug and gave another yawn. "So what profession you run? Seeing as i'm sure you've taken the quest..." he asked, hoping to get a good answer, or something that can lead to a good conversation

[Kooh 0]

Kooh's head tilted to the side, wondering if the man was simply exaggerating with his comment. He didn't seem to be, which led the girl to hold back another frown from appearing. 'God, what is it, like a full-time job?' She thought with distaste. He took a turn in thinking of another topic to bring the conversation to, a tad surprised when he had asked about her profession. "Oh, uhh..." She moved her arm to rest her elbow against the back of her hand. She idly picked up a lock of hair from the side of her face and pulled it away, letting it fall back and repeating the process a couple of times while she continued to speak. "Performer. I haven't really done much of anything with it, though." She admitted casually. "But hey, stop by sometime and I might play something for you." She teased with a small, sly grin. "Aaand, what about you?" She asked back to move the conversation along. She couldn't pin Hikoru as having one trade over another, and only assumed he even had one. Professions seemed like a part of the game that nearly every player was attracted to, whether it was a phase that they got bored with and moved on, or something that became an integral part of their daily lives.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a nod when she said performer. It wasn't one that you usually saw, and he respected that. He took a sip and did his best not to choke as she tried to flirt. He was able to get away with it, stifling a cough from the coffee going down the wrong pipe. He gave it a moment for the feeling to die down, and he though for a moment, trying to remember his profession. It took a moment, but soon he remembered everything that he had done.

"Oh yeah, I was a Merchant." He said, then shrugged slightly "But my doors have been closed for... Awhile now." He said with a chuckle. He hadn't really stepped foot in his shop for what seemed like forever. He gave a sigh and took another sip of coffee, then set it down, done with drinking it for now. "I wanted to be a performer myself, as I had played piano in the real world, a instrument I was forced to learn as a child.. Lucky enough I was interested to actually got somewhat good..." He said with another chuckle and crossed his fingers together and resting his head on his hands "So how many instruments do you know how to play?"

[Kooh 0]

Kooh mentally chuckled in amusement when the man froze up for a brief moment after her teasing. He quickly composed himself and answered her as if he had forgotten his profession entirely. "Piano, hm?" A smile crawled across her lips as she noted the coincidence.

"Out there?" She asked to clarify Hikoru's next question, referring to the real world outside of the game. "Absolutely none." She answered plainly. While she loved music--classical being her favorite, to explain her choice of performer's "tool"--Kooh had never tried to play or create any of her own. "As for here? Must be a small world, 'cause there's a piano set up in Halcyon's Keep with my name on it." She gave a small smirk as she revealed her place of 'business'. It was a shot in the dark whether or not the raven-haired player would recognize the name; she was relying on Sey's reputation for that, not her own.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru nodded as she asked about the piano, and he raised his eyebrow as she said none. He was a bit confused as to why she would pick performer if she didn't play music or a musical instrument on the outside. It definitely was a confusing thing to think about, so he ignored it for now. She said that there was a piano at a place that he had heard, and he almost took her up on the offer, but it felt weird to. He thought about it for a moment, and he felt a small blush form.

"Did you just... invite me, to your house?..." He asked awkwardly "Or just your shop? Either way, that's a curious offer for someone you just met. Usually people get to know each other a little better before they invite them someplace private like a home." He said with a chuckle. He looked at the coffee and immediately took another drink, hoping that it would help to hide the small blush forming. He felt it fade and set the cup down, realizing that he had chugged the rest of it down his wind pipe in the last few seconds. He set it upside down and soon it de-materialized, disappearing from sight and back to the bartender to be cleaned and re-used once more.

[Kooh 0]

Kooh blinked, unaware that her offer could be misunderstood the way he had suggested. Well, now that she thought about it, the shop was technically her home... The blonde let out a small laugh in reaction to his question, waving a hand in front of her torso. "Ahh, not quite. I don't even own the place." She started to explain, getting the last chuckle out of her system. "Someone named Sey owns Halcyon's Keep. It's a restaurant in the middle of Taft. He lets me crash at a room there when I want, and I have a piano set up, so it's kind of like a joint shop, I guess. Everything still has his name on it, though." She shrugged.

Seeing that the man had finished the last round of his coffee, her arms folded back over her chest. It was odd, having a normal conversation. Getting to know someone, however little. Kooh had been too busy staying reclusive, holing herself up in the room that didn't even belong to her, not interested in dealing with other people anymore. It used to be fun, lazying around town or talking players into this or that to get what she wanted. She kept up that lifestyle for so long, though, it began to feel pointless. She could surely lie to Hikoru if she wanted to, or see if he would do something else to get her some free experience. With what she knew about him so far, she wouldn't expect him to decline. She just couldn't find a reason to do so. "So, what's it like being up at the top?" She asked, referring to his level and what she assumed was his position at the frontlines. The blonde didn't mean to sound patronizing, though after the words left her she felt as though it might be interpreted as a back-handed question. She had scrambled to come up with another topic of conversation, the apathy from her thoughts having threatened to gnaw at her moments ago. Deciding she should tack on something else so as not to let anything blow up in her face, she added, "At least I assume you're...what's it called, front-leader? The ones that take on the floor bosses and stuff." She casually summed up her thoughts.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru listened as he recomposed himself a bit, and his attention was gathered when she said the name "Sey." He knew Sey, as he was apart of his guild, and a player that he hadn't seen in a long time. He knew that he should get ahold of him sometime and get together for a sit down chat or go on a quest. He really should do that for all of his guild-mates, but all of them have been doing their own separate quests and adventures, and he knew that they had all drifted apart a bit. He gave a sigh and nodded as she asked about being a frontliner and he just gave a chuckle.

"They call us 'Frontliners.' Although, I will give it to you for almost getting it." He said with another chuckle. "And more than anything, it's just interesting yknow? Fighting for our lives for the other players. It gets repetitive and boring for me personally, but the needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few as the saying goes. A lot of players want to leave, so I want to help as much as I can." He said with a sigh, looking for his coffee, but remembering that it was gone and now he had nothing to do for his fidgeting. He gave another sigh and looked about. "And yes, sometime I would love to come and play the piano, if it's not too much of a hassle." He said with a small smile.

[Kooh 0]

'How noble.' Kooh's thoughts were coated with sarcasm while she continued wearing a small smirk. She expected that many people would disagree or scorn her for her opinion on the world they were stuck in. The blonde merely accepted her circumstances, making the best of life in a virtual world and taking advantage of her freedom here. If other players wanted to fight and die for a chance to get back to reality, let them. With opinions like Kooh's, however, it was easy to get yourself branded as an 'enemy of humanity' if you weren't careful. And so, the blonde offered nothing else to the subject of clearing the game, instead letting her smirk grow slightly when Hikoru said he would take up her offer to stop by the shop.

"Great~" She grinned enthusiastically. "This game is cool and all, but I gotta say I'm curious to see what it's like with someone who actually knows what they're doing." She said, referring to how Cardinal allowed her to play music despite her lack of real-world knowledge or experience.

@Hikoru

Edited July 24, 2017 by Kooh

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru just gave a chuckle as she spoke. Knowing the system, his skill would probably be ignored and his skill would be tested on the piano. It would probably sound horrible, but he liked the thought of finally playing the piano again, finding some comfort within this game that he hadn't felt in awhile. He gave a small sigh and looked for his cup, and then remembered once again that he had gotten rid of it. He gave a sigh and gave up, ordering another cup from his HUD. This time he just asked for some water. Soon the waitress appeared and gave him his glass. He gave a nod to her and took a large gulp of water before setting it down. This was definitely his comfort for such an awkward conversation.

"So if I may ask, why did you decide to come with me on this quest? You don't seem like much of a fighter..." He asked curiously. Usually, he was met with a player who was willing to fight, but he would usually tell them to back away and let him handle it. He wanted to know, because his curiosity was peaked from the thought.

[Kooh 0]

As Kooh spotted his eyes glancing to the table yet again, she surpressed a smirk. 'Guess he has to keep himself busy.' She thought while the man received a glass of water. He seemed to be searching for a way to move the conversation along, but the blonde was simply surprised they were still talking about anything at this point.

"I mean, would you turn down someone who offered a free ride on a quest?" She replied with a question of her own. Taking on a thoughtful expression, her head tilted slightly while her pupils drifted towards the ceiling. "Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't answer messages from strange men saying they'll give me free experience." Her eyes flicked down to meet Hikoru's again, and she wore a grin to indicate that she was teasing him once again.

Once any lingering tension died down again, Kooh continued to lean back in her chair and spoke up again. "You're not wrong though, fighting is...a pain." She had hesitated, as if searching for the right words. "Heck, even if it were still just a game I don't think I'd want to go swinging a sword around all day." She explained with a small shrug of her shoulders.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a chuckle at her flirty joke. It was a thought that hadn't occurred to him, and he felt kinda stupid for not thinking of it like that. He just took another sip if water as she said she didn't find the point in swinging around a sword. He just gave a nod and set the glass down, intertwining his fingers with each other.

"I understand that, and that's your opinion on the matter. I respect it, as your not the only one. A lot of players choose to hide or open shops, so it's totally normal to think like that. It's honestly a 75-25 ratio, most want to fight and get out of here, while others choose to deal with their problems and wait it out. I was like that for awhile, but then I realized that I have a chance to help the others, so I knew I could be useful on the front lines. Sometimes it just takes motivation." He said with a chuckle and a small sigh. My, how his thoughts had changed over the years. He had become much stronger than he ever thought himself possible, and people respected him and his strength. He enjoyed it, but he did miss those carefree days.

[Kooh 0]

Kooh felt a bit as though she was being pulled in different directions. She was by no means hearing her own call to action, but she found it a bit difficult to shrug off the man's telling of his experiences. At least to his face.

She felt the corners of her mouth fall into a slight frown as she mulled over his words. The girl was beginning to wonder why she continued to participate in the conversation. Surely, she could have come up with something that would allow her to slip away. Besides Hikoru's unconventional fighting style, she couldn't determine what else it was that apparently intrigued her. The toe of Kooh's boot gently bobbed in the air under the table separating them. She assumed there were at least a dozen of people like Hikoru. Those that played the game and raised their level in order to be part of a 'greater cause'--clearing the game and supposedly freeing everyone who was still trapped when that happened. The blonde had her doubts, and had thought on more than one occasion that this virtual world might very well be her grave. But such talk seemed inappropriate now.

The conversation hit another lull, and Kooh had the unfamiliar feeling of being lost for words. They had acknowledged their differing opinions, and she felt there was nothing she could contribute to the topic at hand. And so, a new thought surfaced in her mind. "What do you think about orange players?"

[Hikoru 0]

THREAD COMPLETE

Hikoru gains 1 Essence of Steel, 400 Col and 1 SP

Kooh receives 400 Col and 2 SP