Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 27, 2019 #1 Share Posted May 27, 2019 For the last three days, Akio hid away in the forest in his small tent. He'd been living off of the land so to speak, living off of edible plants, berries, breaking wood for a camp fire. He knew however that he was going to have to head back into town sooner or later. His supplies were getting low and he needed access to quest givers. Not to mention hearing rumors and gossip could always help him stay on top of things. He wondered if there would be rumors about the player who died... The one he killed... He shook his head as he tied up his wrapped up tent. No, he needed to focus on what he needed to do, not what may have happened. He needed to get to the quests. But to do that, he'd need to get past the guards... 'Judging by how they grabbed and threw out an orange player that one time, I imagine they will not want me to go in... I'll need to sneak in somehow.' He picked up his stuff and began to walk down towards the road. It was going to be a little while till he reached it, and from there the town so he had time to think. Try to sneak past them when they aren't looking? No, it was a well guarded town. Hide among a crowd of players? No, they'd see the orange cursor and turn him in. Maybe a crowd of npcs? Possibly, if there was a mechanic that allowed him to hire npc's to just walk with him. He couldn't scale the wall if he tried, and even if he could it was too dangerous without the skill needed. Though with forty health now instead of twenty that made things a lot easier. He wondered how he'd get in... LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 28, 2019 Author #2 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Eventually Akio made it to the road and started walking towards the town of beginnings. Thinking hard about it, he couldn't really come up with anything on his own. He had no idea how he was going to succeed at sneaking past the guards... Maybe there was no special method? Maybe he had to just try and sneak past them? He was not looking forward to it at all. He wondered how he should do it... He needed to blend in as much as possible, but he'd also prefer not showing his face. But were there any players or npc's wearing white robes of any sort? Or hoods for that matter? He really hoped that some miracle was going to occur for him. As he walked he noticed an npc sitting in front of a tent in the woods. The npc was wearing a black cloak and hood with a smile on his face as he looked at Akio. The boy stopped moving and tilted his head as he saw the cursor color: Yellow. Yup, just an npc, not an enemy. Akio was about to move on when the npc spoke up. "Wanna be careful with that orange cursor now don't you?" This stopped Akio and turned to look at the npc again. 'Was he a side quest npc or something?' "I can take care of myself." The npc chuckled. "Then you know the best way to get into the town of beginnings unnoticed?" Akio's eyes widened. What?! "What are, you saying?" "I'm saying, you want someone to teach you the art of avoiding guards. How to live on the lamb. I can help you do that." '...No way. A tutorial npc for player killers?! Why would the game even have this?!' LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 28, 2019 Author #3 Share Posted May 28, 2019 There was a hesitance from Akio. He had never encountered something like this in video games. NPC's were supposed to have specific dialogue, not be able to hold conversations. 'Maybe I should test this...' "Why do you look like Altair in his black armor?" 'He doesn't really, not by a long shot. But he shouldn't know who Altair is...' The NPC looked at him curiously. "I do not know who this 'Altair' individual is. I dress this way to push people away... And draw certain people to me." Well, it's official. This was weirding him out badly. The NPC gestured for Akio to move closer and he did. The yellow cursor made it clear he wouldn't fight him. Heck maybe he'd protect Akio if he was attacked, who knows? "There are several ways you can sneak past guards. The first is simply hiding your face and hoping they don't see you as you walk by. This can be difficult and isn't recommended as a continuous form of use. The second method is to hide yourself amongst the sea of people. Your shorter height will most certainly aid you in that, though it's still risky. The third is looking for secret passageways, exits and entries into and out of the city. They are extremely difficult to find, but if you Search hard enough you'll find them quickly." 'Well that's a not so subtle hint that finding these hiding spots will be virtually impossible unless I have that skill.. I really don't want it though.' "Is... Is that all?" The NPC nodded. "For now. Come visit me on occasion, I'll aid you if I can." LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 29, 2019 Author #4 Share Posted May 29, 2019 The NPC waved for Akio to move along but he didn't do that yet. He just stood there, very much confused. 'An NPC that can have intelligent responses to words and phrases it doesn't know? A tutorial for pkers that lasts a long time? What next? A boss that possesses players movements and thoughts?' Akio shook his head before walking back to the road and making his way over to the settlement. Three methods huh? Sneak past the guards. Get lost in the crowd. Or find secret passages. It was clear the latter he would not be able to do in a day... Maybe not even in a week if he was being honest. His best bet was the second method for today. Maybe there was a rush out? He looked at the time. Seven AM? That meant when he got there it would be around eight... That should work right? He pulled his bag further up his shoulder before quickening his pace. [Time Skip] Once he'd reached the settlement he hid himself behind some boulders. Watching the gates from afar. Ok, so there weren't surges of individuals. Only a few players who would definitely see the orange cursor above his head. Cool, no worries. He wouldn't bother hiding among them. Akio sighed. 'How am I supposed to use the crowd if the crowd has an insane advantage?' He leaned against the boulder and sighed. He waited a few more minutes before spotting something coming down the road. He squinted his eyes as he tried to focus in on it... Were those, tradesmen? Merchants? He saw yellow cursors and his face lit up with excitement. Yes! That was how he was going to get in! Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 30, 2019 Author #5 Share Posted May 30, 2019 Akio walked calmly over to the group of merchant npc's while trying to see how many there were. 'One, two, three, four, um... Fffiiive? Si- wait did I count that one already? Hmmm... Forget it, four or five should be enough right?' He walked over behind the merchants and tried to slowly make his way into the center of the group. However when he approached them the all stopped and turned to look at him. Akio stopped dead in his tracks. "Hello there child! Is there anything we can help you with? Anything you need to buy?" Akio was starting to panic at this point. He wasn't sure how they would react to him if he asked to be in the middle of them. The shady npc had seemed intelligent on his own. They were able to identify his age, but that could have been done via profile, or height and facial recognition... Soooo what did he do? What was the smart move??? "I want to walk with you guys, but only through the gate." '.....' "....." ..... "An odd request for sure, but we can do that. It's a scary world out there I'm sure, especially when you're alone. Come along child, we'll take you inside." Akio nodded his thanks before walking into the center of the traders. They walked towards the city and he felt the sweat slipping down his forehead. The guards who used to never move at all snapped their gaze to the merchants as they passed, watching their movements. Akio panted heavily, worried they would catch him. Even as they moved passed he felt their gaze following him. Only when they were beyond their visual sight did he sigh in relief. "U-um. Thank you sirs." The tradesmen would smile with a nod. "Of course my dear child! We wish you well." Akio nodded then bolted off towards the npc he was told held a quest. LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 30, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted May 30, 2019 Eventually Akio made it to the npc's home and panted. After recovering he opened the door and walked on in. The shop structure appeared rather basic and humble, but it was filled up with bookshelves, curtains and tapestries, tables with alchemy sets, potions, glass vials, etc. It was really cool looking through all of it. 'Wow, that looks complicated... I wonder if potions can do anything. Wait, aren't potions a type of magic? But I thought magic didn't exist in this world?!' He stood there in total confusion. Did magic actually exist? Was it going to be magic through items instead of spells? That would be, interesting but at the same time very contradictory to what everyone's been saying. Had they lied to him or was everyone just stupid? Before his train of thought could continue, he heard a voice speak up. "Welcome to my humble workshop young man!" Akio turned around to see an old NPC with white shirt, and blue vest lined with white. He reminded him of a wizard... "Is there anything I can do to assist you child?" Akio nodded. "Uh yeah. I need to complete a quest called... The, first few lessons are free? I was told you would be the start of the quest." The man looked confused now. "I, don't recall naming anything with that title. I do have a few things I can teach you though, if you prefer?" "Yeah, yeah let's do that." He never thought he would be embarrassed from an npc but here he was. He hoped this wouldn't take too long... LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 30, 2019 Author #7 Share Posted May 30, 2019 (edited) The npc nodded with a smile, and Akio noticed his name above his health bar. 'Zachariah?' "Right then. I can teach you how to craft a potion if you're up for it." 'Crafting? I need combat experience first though!' "But, I don't need-" "In order to craft we'll need some materials. You can find them outside of the settlement." "But I-" "If you need help finding materials there are farmers, fishermen, huntsmen and gatherers outside you can ask. Come back when you've collected a few!" With that the npc went back to work. Akio stood there dumbfounded as the quest update popped up, telling him what he needed. He silently turned around and walked out of the building. When he did he smacked his hands against his forehead. "Uuuuggghh! Why does this happen to me! This isn't what I want! I wanna survive not make drinks!" He kicked the wall, causing the <Immortal Object> symbol to pop up. He sighed in frustration before crossing his arms and pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. Eventually he leaned against the wall and sank to the ground, holding his legs. 'I don't really have a choice do I?..' He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Even if it doesn't appear to be useful, take what you have and make the most of it. Use it to reach your goal, even if you must take the abnormal path.' He stood up and made his way for the gate. As he did... He thought about how he'd get past the guards again... [New Quest Obtained: Collect 0/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited May 30, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted May 31, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted May 31, 2019 After managing to sneak past the guards again Akio made his way back out to the fields. Soooooo, he needed materials for a potion... Or several potions really. Still, the npc had given him a hint. If he finds the other npcs in the valley. Specifically gatherers, huntsmen.... Maybe fishermen. He could actually get some advice on where to look. He ran up to a higher vantage point and looked around, but wasn't able to really see anything. Spotting a rather tall tree higher up however he grinned and rushed up there. When he reached it he ran up the side of the tree and started to climb. When he reached the top he cautiously moved to the edge of the branch and looked the massive fields from overhead. As he looked around he actually managed to spot yellow cursors indicating that there were in fact npc's down there. One area was a farm, so that was where he would be avoiding completely. Another was near a river. Fishermen... Only if he was desperate. Others were in the fields. Maybe they'd be huntsmen? He climbed down the tree again and began running towards the npc's in the fields. If they were huntsmen he could get some training in! [0/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted June 8, 2019 Author #9 Share Posted June 8, 2019 It wasn't too terribly long before he made it to the fishermen. If it was in the real world where his stamina didn't recover so quickly then he'd probably have taken forever crossing the plains. He Came over to the place where he believed he saw the huntsmen, but wasn't really seeing them anywhere. He tried to walk into the woods to find them but no luck. Akio sighed and was about to give up when he heard leaves rustling. Turning around he thought he saw someone. Were they hunting right now? He tried to quietly walk over and greet them... But that was kind of hard when the entire forest floor was covered in leaves. One of them looked up and: It was a woman? She was wearing leather armor, a messenger bag on her back and what looked like daggers in her hands. She signaled for him to stop and he did. Just then a deer's head raised up just in time for the woman to throw the dagger which landed square in the buck's eye. The creature shattered and left behind its loot. "Wow! Nice shot!" he exclaimed. The woman walked over to pick up the loot. "What is a kid like you doing out here by themself?" Akio was about to talk before he remembered to check the cursor... Yellow. So she's an npc? A huntsman! Or, huntswoman he supposed. "Well, I wanna learn how to hunt for materials." The woman looked up from him as she took the leftovers from the deer and sighed. "Zachariah put you up to this didn't he? Here, I want this to end quickly if possible," she said before handing him one material. Akio blinked in surprise. "Th-Thank you!" "Don't thank me, I'm going to teach you how to get them yourself so you can leave me alone." [ID#118012] LD:11 - Result: +1 MATERIAL [1/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 26, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Akio followed the woman through the woods and stayed silent. He discovered rather quickly that she did not wish to engage in conversation, and most likely wanted to get rid of him as quick as she could. She began to explain to him the variety of wildlife that lived in the forest, where they tended to graze, and whether they were hostile or not. Wild boar ranged between neutral until provoked, to hostile. Wolves were hostile. But most other animals were passive all the way. She then told him to pull out his dagger and taught him how he needed to hold it. How he should stand when he was about to attack. And how to kill his target. They didn't spend any of their time looking for animals yet. She was primarily teaching him how to make the killing blow so that he could get something. She then started to teach him exactly how he should hide from them, so that he could stalk them properly without being detected by them. "You'd be a sitting duck for other huntsmen, but you might manage against a non predator animal." [ID#120120] LD: 1 - Result: Nothing [1/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 26, 2019 Author #11 Share Posted July 26, 2019 She continued to teach him how to walk without breaking twigs or branches. How to keep his movements continuous but not fast. When to stop and when to keep going. Eventually she led him to an animal. A deer. She told him to go ahead and try it out. Taking a deep breath, he did his best to stalk the creature just as she taught him. The huntress watched him and was rather impressed with his progress in such a short amount of time. What was funny was how this wasn't really new to him. His mother was a bounty hunter and taught him a lot of things after all. Eventually he shot around the tree he hid behind and rushed forward, sinking his dagger deep into the back of it's skull and forcing it to the ground. As the menu opened up, revealing that he had collected some venison, his face lit up and had a huge innocent smile on his face. The huntress just watched quietly, deep in thought as she observed him. [ID#120121] LD: 11 - Result: +1 Material [2/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 27, 2019 Author #12 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) As Akio hit accept and took his very first, very own material, he saw the woman make her way over to him. "Hey kid. What's your name?" Akio looked up at her. "Oh my name's Aki-... You can call me the Iron Lion I guess." The woman cocked an eyebrow. "The Iron Lion?" Akio smiled embarrassingly. "Unfortunately circumstances prevent me from changing that name." 'Why did I even think of naming myself that? Such a stupid username... Then again I didn't think this would be a death game.' The woman's eyebrow didn't go down but she nodded slowly. "Well I'll just call you Aki then." 'DAMNNIT! Well, at least it's not my actual name... I can't believe I was so careless.' "Aki, you learned how to hunt that animal pretty quickly. Have you done this sort of thing before?" Akio shook his head. "Not when it comes to hunting ma'am. I learned how to hide from enemies and protect myself from my mom, but nothing like this." 'Alright, a half truth. Let's see if she buys it... Hopefully she does.' [ID#120141] LD: 2 - Result: Nothing [2/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 27, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 27, 2019 Author #13 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) "I see. What was your mother like? And where is she if I may ask?" Akio looked down at the ground to this. The sadness showing on his face and weighing in his heart. "...We got.... Separated. I'm far away from her, and in order to find her again. Well. I have to fight... You know how there are different floors in Aincrad?" His eyes widened as he forgot he was talking to an npc and doubted she'd understand what the hell he was even talking about. However she went right ahead and said; "Yes, I do." Akio almost dropped his jaw but kept himself from doing so. How much did these npcs know?! How intelligent were they?! "U-um, well. She's at the highest floor possible. Or, the roof of that floor you could say." "That high up?!" Akio nodded, the sadness showing as he sat down and curled his legs up, holding them against himself. "You see, I got tricked by a mean man, and. Well he separated us. He separated a lot of people from their families. Now, we have to fight to get home. But... Honestly? I'm scared. I'm only fighting to stay alive at this point. With player killers and all these powerful monsters? I just want to survive. Just like my mom taught me..." [ID#120146] LD: 3 - Result: Nothing [2/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 27, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 27, 2019 Author #14 Share Posted July 27, 2019 The woman watched Akio sit there for a little while before she rolled her eyes and spoke again. "Well you'll never find her again if you just sit here and mope the entire time." Akio looked up at her, having been a bit close to crying but not there yet. "The answer is simple kid. Practice. Train. Fight. Make her proud you know?" Akio sniffled but smiled and nodded. "Yeah.. Yeah you're right. I've gotta fight don't I?" Maybe he was scared to join the frontlines. But if he could help get them out faster why shouldn't he join? Akio was about to get up when he saw her offer her hand. "You bet. When they knock you down, just get right back up." And she helped him get up for sure. Akio felt himself get hauled up onto his feet and looked up at her. How could an NPC be so smart? Were they all supra geniuses or something? Either way he was happy for the encouragement. Kayaba maybe you're not such a bad man after all. He'd change his mind eventually on that note. [ID#120147] LD: 2 - Result: Nothing [2/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #15 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) As Akio followed the huntress from behind he wondered at the intelligence they'd been given. He also wondered about the outfit. She was wearing a jacket with a gray shirt underneath, pants with black shoes, and had a quiver and bow as well as her knives. She didn't look like a model but she was still pretty. "Um, miss? May I ask you a question?" She looked over to him over his shoulder. "....Well? What is it?" Akio twiddled his fingers a bit. "Well uh. In case we see each other again, or I wanna say hi... Or maybe get some more um. Tips? From you? Could I ask what you want me to call you?" Her immediate reaction was her rolling her eyes as she turned her head forward again. It was clear to Akio that she didn't like her personal information being given out much. He heard her sigh. "My name is Mercer." Akio blinked in confusion but before he could ask she clarified. "It's a unisex name and it helps me because people assume I'm a man by my name. Therefore I can often avoid attention unless I want it." "Ooooh ok. That makes sense." Spoiler [ID#120167] LD: 2 - Result: Nothing [2/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 29, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #16 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) With the conversation having been short and now over, Akio continued to follow Mercer diligently. He wondered for a brief moment if coming up with a unisex name for himself would help... Though in hindsight it would be rather embarrassing, and thus he decided against it. Akio would just stick to using his.. He wondered if he should just use his first name. It's not like anyone was going to find out about him in the real world. Or look for him for that matter. And even better, no one could really find him via username if he never gave it out. Smiling as he liked the sound of that, he got a bit excited and picked up the pace. Mercer let him take his time and find the animal on his own this time. Stalking his prey carefully, Akio lunged at it from the shadows and thrust his blade down into the back of it's head, killing it quickly. As it shattered, the menu opened up stating he had attained more venison. [ID#120168] LD: 14 - Result: +1 Material [3/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 29, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #17 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) With three materials collected, he only needed five more of them. The huntress Mercer knew how Zachariah operated, and she was going to get this kid his materials. However, he seemed to be doing rather well on his own so far. He might be a natural hunter. She looked at his clothing though. It wasn't suited for hunting animals in a forest as it was white and red. It would be a better disguise within a snowy region than a forest. As he gathered a second material from a nearby badger, she figured she'd talk to him about this. "Hey kid. I have a question. Why did you choose garbs that make you stand out like that?" He looked at his outfit. "Oh this? It's uh, actually meant to help me hide in crowds. Uuuuuhhh, I came from a place where lots of people wear white, and the buildings were white. So by wearing white, I can blend in more easily." "....So are you a huntsman of men then?" "...More like a hider or survivor of men?" [ID#120169] LD: 13 - Result: +1 Material [4/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 30, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #18 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) She had a feeling he didn't mean to phrase it the way he did, but at the same time she understood what he was saying, so it mattered little. "I see... Well you'll need to have a backup plan in case you're in the wrong environment like here. There are people who hunt other people rather than animals, and you're easily spotted out here in those white clothes." Akio nodded solemnly. "Yeah I know.. I was already attacked once actually. I had to fight for my life..." "Is that how you became a murderer?" She asked, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. "...........Um........" His eyes were a bit wide as this was the last thing he expected, and he was rather concerned now. "H-how do you-" She turned to him. No hate or admiration in her eyes. Just acknowledgement. "It's in your eyes. Despite your childish nature, which of course is natural, you have a steel about you. You killed because you had to right? You were attacked and killed him before he could kill you?" Akio was quiet but nodded. She nodded in turn before continuing to walk. [ID# 120170] LD: 8 - Result: Nothing [4/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 30, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #19 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Akio followed her but quietly. He didn't like killing, but he knew it was necessary at times. His mother made it clear to him that he would need to kill if he was assaulted. 'Always be selfish. Your survival comes first. No exceptions.' His mother's creed rang through his head again. Sighing, he hugged himself as he followed Mercer. 'Doubt everyone and everything. Never trust anyone because they seem nice or trustworthy' Well true, but Mercer wasn't like everyone... Right? Her cursor was yellow not red. Even if she was intelligent, the cursor was never wrong. Which meant that he could trust her... Right? His mother had given him a lot of instructions for the creed, but he had a suspicion that he would encounter more situations where the creed would be unclear as what the answer should be. He might make modifications to it depending on experiments. [ID# 120171] LD: 3 - Result: Nothing [4/5 Materials] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 30, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
Iron_Lion 1 Posted July 28, 2019 Author #20 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) As they walked they encounter yet another animal. Eventually Akio managed to gather materials from that one too. He watched as another menu notification popped up stating how he had completed his current objective and attained a new one: Return to Zachariah and craft a healing potion. Healing potion? That would be useful. Mercer put one of her hands on his shoulders. "Listen kid, I'm gonna go ahead and take off. You can clearly take care of yourself so I'm not too worried. Just do me a favor yeah? Don't get in over your head. Help where you can, but know your limits. And stay alive. you can't help if you're dead." Akio listened to her... And remembered the creed. He knew he had to put himself before everyone else in this world. If he died, and it was on the frontlines. His mother would track down and kill every frontline for not protecting him... "I will, don't worry. I'll stay safe.. I'll survive." And with that the two parted ways. [ID# 120172] LD: 16 - Result: +1 Material [Quest Objective Completed: Collect 5/5 Materials] [New Quest Objective: Return to Zachariah and craft 1 healing potion. 0/1 Healing Potion] LV: 2 Iron_Lion HP: [ ] EN: [ ] XP: [ ] Edited July 30, 2019 by Iron_Lion Link to post Share on other sites
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