[PP|01]Dragon Hunter Yuki!<<DHA1: Emerald Hatchling>> ft. Life

[Zajcica 0]

<<DHA1: Emerald Hatchling>>

Yuki scrolled through the quest data. Those hunters were pretty cool to share the information with her when she wasn't even close to getting to floor ten but it would be good to take this quest early and have them finished for when she did make it up to floor ten level. She actually met the recommended level for this quest, or at least a level short of the recommended level. Still closer to it than she normally is. The only thing she was really worried about was dealing enough damage to it. Mari popped in her mind instantly and she scrolled through her friends list to find her name. She was just about to start typing a message, but stopped as her finger got close to the keyboard. She couldn't just default to asking Mari for help with every single quest she takes on, no she would have to do it solo or find someone else to help her with her escapade. Luna was another option, but she was still pretty low level too.

Yuki sighed, walking through the Town of Beginnings as she contemplated what she should do. She was so lost in though that she didn't see the towering man stopped in front of her. She crashed into him, with her being the only one to hit the floor.

"It-t-ta.." She paused as she looked up to see the cloaked man looking back to see what just bumped him. Her face got red for a moment, awkward thoughts filled her head that hadn't felt before, but to put it bluntly: This man was rather handsome.

"Ah, gomen!" She said getting up and bowing apologetically. "Too many times do I meet new people by crashing into them! I'm such a freaking klutz!" She laughed awkwardly hoping he would forgive her for her clumsiness.

@Life

Spoiler

General
Level: 9 | HP:  180 | Energy: 18 Hate: 1/3/4(M/H/C)

Stats
DMG: 3 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 27 | ACC: 0 | Thorns: 18 | Regen: 5

Skills
R1 One Handed Straight Sword; Fighting Spirit

Equipment(In use)
Regal Cuirass(Heavy Armor): 1MIT, 2 Thorns
Aegis(Shield): 2MIT, 1 Regen
White Spear - Lux(OHAS): 2 Bleed, 1 Taunt

Equipment(Standby)
Silver Serpent Ring: +2 LD
Covetous Gold Serpent Ring: +1 LD

Consumables
3) Starter Healing Potions(50HP)

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Zajcica
Forgot to tag Life.

[Life 0]

Life had been wondering down at the town of beginnings again, he seemed to be there quite often these days, doing what he could to encourage low leveled players to make a rise to the front lines (eventually). He he already attempted to help three players recently and wondered who else he could assist. There was a quest line in particular that he hadn't started yet that was perfect for new players, initially at least. Perhaps as he made his way up to the more difficult quests he could call on some old friends of his. Though, Mari was still hurt and distant with him, and Alkor while alive still seemed like a phantom Man my circle of friends is really quite small these days now that I think about it. He wasn't familiar with the regular front liners these days, a lot had changed since his two year isolation. 

That's when Life noticed a rather short pink haired, what he assumed to be, kid, heading straight toward him. He stopped wondering if the player would notice him standing right in front of them until they completely walked right into his chest and stumbled right to the ground. Life simply blinked as they apologized. He noticed the Japanese, being half Japanese and half British himself. "Daijobu desu ka?" Life mused with a smirk. "Sorry couldn't help it. Don't stress its not like it caused any damage." Life noted as he pointed towards where her health bar should be.

"Say you're a low level player right? Would you like to come along with me on a quest? It's appropriate for your level." Life thought for a moment trying to remember it's name, tapping his finger against his chin. "Ah! That's right, Dragon hunter anthology. The little emerald dragon one. It'd be boring for me to take on my own so what do you say?" Life's accent was akin to aristocratic upper class British, though he usually preferred to stick to casual language rather than proper.

Player statistics:

Spoiler

Level: 25 | HP: 500 | Energy: 50 | Damage: 14 | Eva: 2 | LM: 2 | ACC: +2 | 

Inventory:
T1 Health Potion x8 (+50HP per use) 

@Zajcica

Edited March 9, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki paused momentarily when she heard Life begin speaking Japanese. Sure, it was pretty likely that most of the players in the game were Japanese, or understood it to a degree. Heck, Mari understood it and from what she knew, the dagger user wasn't native. She lost herself in thought until the mention of the Dragon Hunter quest came into conversation.

"I was actually going to go do that quest right now myself!" She exclaimed. That giant smile she always wore around her friends came back. "I would have no problem tanking with the armor that I have, I'm just worried about my damage being to sup-par to kill it before it kills me. I was thinking of messaging one of my higher level friends for help, but Mari has helped me with two quests already and I don't want to bother her for everything I'm doing.. She helped me finish a really hard quest recently and I gained five levels from it. I'm currently level ten! Soon, I'll be tanking with the front line."

Her anticipation could almost be felt as she spoke. She realized that the front lines probably weren't the most welcoming place, especially as they continue to clear floors, but it was in her motto now. Become powerful and do something, don't lie down and wait to die like some coward.

"May I ask what level you are? Oh! Watashiwa Yukidesu. Yoroshikunee!" She said with another bow.

@Life

Edited March 8, 2020 by Zajcica

[Life 0]

Life was pleasantly surprised by the excitement beaming for the girl in front of him, It was refreshing to say the least. "Well it looks like you're well on you're way then. It's good to be excited about getting stronger to beat this death trap, just don't let that excitement get you killed. I've seen it all too many times before..." Life spaced out, thinking of his friend Rue who died clearing the boss to open floor ten. She was a small girl, just like the player standing in front of him. A few moments passed before Life snapped back into the moment after hearing her introduce herself, and so formally at that. Life thought it'd probably be polite of him to reciprocate the gesture at least, even if he wasn't one for formalities. "Ore wa Life desu. Level 25. Ex-Frontline member, and Ex-Co-leader of the crimson inquisition." Life extended his hand to shake with the his new found acquaintance. "I don't think you'd know the guild, Mari took it down years ago. It's... a long story." It then occurred to him that she had mentioned Mari earlier. So that's what shes been getting up to these days huh. Life thought to himself. It made him happy that she was also finding solace in helping inexperienced players.

Life wasn't sure if would be a good idea to begin conversation about Mari, so he decided not to begin conversing about her on his own accord. Afterall he was here to help... "Yuki, right? Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance." 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki reached her hand out to shake with Life. Her handshake was much more firm than the man was probably expecting from someone so small. After all, Yuki was a man and did have a little more muscle than most girls did. Ah the life of a transgender woman.

"That's quite a few exs. You must really have a history, I won't pester you about it though. I thought front liner level was close to like 60 or 70 wasn't it? Does that mean you took a break from it all? I'm ashamed to say I was pretty shocked about the situation when it all began and I hid." She looked at the ground, upset with herself for a moment before looking backing up. "But I'm doing my best to become stronger now. I hope I'll be able to make waves with the higher players soon."

She waved her right hand down pulled up the party menu and sent Life an invite. "Well, let's get this quest underway then, hunh?"

@Life

[Life 0]

Life let a smirk escape him, the eagerness was very strong with this one. "It's fine, I don't mind discussing it these days. I had two years to reflect on my past and comes to terms with it. I'm in a much better place now mentally. Let's walk and talk. Feel free to take the lead if you'd like. The plains that hold the dragon and its emerald isn't too far from here." He signaled with his hand for them to get going as they made their way out of the town of beginnings.

"I was on the front lines during the battle to open up floor ten. Back then I was in the top five strongest players and apart of the strongest guild. The boss was a four headed hydra, and I personally took down two heads in total. When I took down its last remaining head however, it shifted into its second phase, killing two players who I was very close with. One of them however I just recently discovered survived, after spending two years lamenting my failure to protect him, can you imagine? The second was a young girl like you.. Anyway, I brought it's health down just enough for the top player at the time to finish it, and everyone seemed to move on just fine from that moment. But not me. That's why I'm not as strong as the front liners today, fourteen floors later." Life's face was solemn, sighing before tilting his head to the side letting his fringe hang toward Yuki. "Now days I'm just looking build my levels back up and help inexperienced players like you do the same. I had lost sight of what was really important and I'm doing my best to rectify that now." 

@Zajcica

Edited March 8, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki smiled and was pretty ecstatic to hear what the front lines was like. Hearing that two of his friends died in that fight made her frown a bit, but it was nice to know that one of them survived. 

"You sound a lot like Mari in that regard. You both have had a rough time and made your decisions, but now you're trying to redeem your mistakes and failures by helping players like me. I never really knew what MMO games were like. I simply wanted to try the whole virtual reality thing out for the most part. Here I am now. I can only imagine how much my sister has cried for me." The grimace stole her smile as she mentioned her family. "I miss my family so much. My sister always wanting to dress me up, my moms cooking and my dad being scared I'll get mugged on my way home from school. You never really think that you'll lose something like your family so quickly and miss such basic things."

She only continued droning on about her family while they walked towards the boss area. It was sudden how quickly her mood went from a hyperactive schoolgirl to quiet and reserved. Thinking about her family always got her like this.

[Life 0]

Yuki's response was.. surprising to say the least. So Mari was in his exact situation of redemption, he hadn't realized that they had chosen to take the same path; it was like an inexplicable bond between them, no matter what happened they always ended up on the same road. Though as Yuki went on, his concern was shifted towards her. Her bright and excitable demeanor changing to one of sadness. Life, who stood about an entire foot taller than his companion, placed his hand on Yuki's head and ruffled her hair. "Hey, don't think about it too much. Once we beat this game we can all see our families again. We've all got something to fight for, right? One of the things I had to remind myself of was that everyone trapped in here has a past, a family, friends, connections. Our lives are very much all tied to one another, our success is very much tangible in the real world. Every time we make it through a battle without dying, save a comrade from certain death, progress towards a new floor. We're saving the people that we care about the most in the real world from certain heartbreak and distraught. While we still have a ways to go, don't forget the progress we've made. It's the very proof we need to affirm with ourselves that this game won't get the better of us. We'll conquer the tallest tower, and we'll send it crumbling to the ground." As life finished his little pep talk he gently *bonked* Yuki on the head trying to snap her out of her funk. But Mari.. Even though she didn't have anything to go back to. Her life was just as important to him as anyone elses. 

Life took a moment to gather his bearings, realizing that they had already arrived at the grassy plains in which the dragon was rumored to reside. 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki blushed deeply as life interrupted her reminiscing with his hand on her head. Her hair was ruffled out of place and strands of pink covered her vision. Butterflies flew in her stomach. What was this stupid feeling? She hated it but also loved it at the same time. This wasn't a feeling she had ever experienced as a man. Is this really what it feels like to be charmed by a guy?

"I- uh, I-" She mumbled to herself quietly, her face filled even deeper red than it was before. He was so calm about it all, even if he was hiding his own fears. His speech was charming but reassuring at the same time. It was almost as if he was treating her as a helpless little girl. "I- I'm strong too, I can protect people! Remembering what fuels a person's resolve is what truly makes someone strong."

On queue, the boss spawned several meters ahead of the two. Yuki drew her new lance from her inventory and stood in front of Life. "Don't worry, I'll keep it occupied while you attack." She said charging ahead of Life, recklessly maybe, but full of enthusiasm. She went to strike the beast with her new weapon, but was caught off guard. The dragons claw came down and smashed Yuki into the grass under its scaly grasp. She let out a sharp cry of pain. "K-kuso..."

@Life

Yuki: 160/180 Hate: 1 (52 - 27) + 5 = 20 DMG
Life: 500/500 Hate: 0
Emerald: 125/125

Spoiler

Notes
Level: 9 | HP:  180/180 | Energy: 18/18 Hate: 1/3/4
Stats
DMG: 3 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 27 | ACC: 0 | Thorns: 18 | Regen: 5
Skills
Fighting Spirit

Player statistics:
Level: 25 | HP: 500 | Energy: 50 | Damage: 14 | Eva: 2 | LM: 2 | ACC: +2 | 

Rhaegal - the Emerald Hatchling

HP: 125 - MIT: 25 - ACC: 0 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 50

Edited March 9, 2020 by Zajcica

[Life 0]

Yuki affirmed Life that she was strong too and not so helpless, though that wasn't what he had intended by his remarks he didn't blame her for wanting to prove her strength and worth. That's when the boss spawned, a tiny little baby green dragon. Life blinked as Yuki adamantly charged in to attack it, before getting completely embarrassed by the creature and put down. Life scratched the side of his face Oh dear.. guess I'll finish it. Life gripped the modest hilt of his katana and rushed forward letting his sword art San Ge explode from his saya. In just a few seconds the dragon had multiple cuts running across its small body, and as Life re-sheathed his katana's blade the boss exploded into a stream of data before Yuki's eyes. Life turned to face her, kneeling down and offering her his hand to help her up, repeating the same phrase he uttered when they first ran into each other. "Daijobu desu ka?" 

Life assisted her to her feet, and took notice of her username being different to how she introduced herself. "Hey, what's @Zajcica mean anyway?" Life smirked. It was a bit of a hard name to pronounce he preferred Yuki a lot better.

Life Roll ID: 137336 BD: 10 (+2 base damage) 
SA: San Ge [14+2=16*15=240 raw damage)

Party
Yuki: 160/180 Hate: 1 (52 - 27) + 5 = 20 DMG
Life: 500/500 Energy: 35/50(-15) Hate: 0

Enemy
Emerald: 0/125 (240-25=215 damage) 
 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

The dragon exploded into digital coding and Yuki continued to lay in the grass. Confused at first to the dragon's death, but then she came to the realization that Life had saved her from the dragon by killing it single-handedly. Her face got even more red with that realization. How could she just brag about being strong then get knocked on her ass and have to be saved by the person she boasted to. She covered her face with her hands until Life made her way over to help her up. He reached his hand down to her, but she ignored it and sat up quickly.

"D-Daijoubu-!" What was this stupid feeling? She should be extremely annoyed that she couldn't do anything to help, but overall she felt relieved more than anything. Was Life's charm getting to her that much? It was then she realized that her not taking his hand to help her up was kind of rude. "G-Gomen... That was just... A bit embarrassing."

Redirecting the reason she was embarrassed to just being pinned by the dragon, rather than the stupid love-dovey feeling in her stomach would probably help, as long as Life didn't notice it. Life then asked what her username actually meant.

"Th-That's not important!" Gotta change the subject really quick before she melted. "I-It's pretty impressive, the damage you can output, Life-san."

[Life 0]

Life watched as she scrambled along the grass completely flushed once again. He wondered if she was beginning to crush on him, or something to that effect. Life stood back up and placed his hand back by his side on top of his katana since she didn't want to take his hand. She deflected his question about her username but wasn't all that interested in pursuing why, it was probably something embarrassing like someone else's name or a word in a different language for something. Once again she changed the topic to escape it making a comment on his damage. "Yea that's about all I'm good for though. It takes guts to want to be able to take hits like you though, I admire that." 

Life ran his fingers through his fringe and put it to one side, taking a better view over the open green landscape before them. He missed the simplistic fields of floor one, quaint and charming. Life watched his experience shoot up as the quest completed, another objective popping up in his screen. Hmm so there are more dragons to defeat, just like Mari said. "Well that was rather easy. Was there anything else you wanted to do while you've got me around?" Life wanted to be sure he just didn't up and leave her without offering further assistance, after all it was his goal to help inexperienced players grow stronger. 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

She laughed awkwardly as Life mentioned her balls- Er, not those ones - and guts for rushing in to be someones shield. She blushed a bit, even after her flushed face was washed out.

"I mean, my job as a tank is to stand and be mostly a punching bag for my party members so they can win. Um...Isn't it?" That's certainly what she had done for Mari and Luna so far. Even if she hasn't been that great at it. "I'm really nothing to be admired." Some old voices popped into her head. Ridicule and snide remarks about her not actually being a woman.

She blinked as an additional quest popped up on her HUD. There was more to the quest, she remembered now. This was only the first one of nine. Then Life had to say something awkward like that. "Wh-What are you insinuating? I-I-" She looked at the quest in front of her with the now updated objective. "I'm going to continue this quest! Y-You're welcome to come... If you want to." Her voice started somewhat angrily like she was still trying to avoid the feelings, but then calmed down and became awkward and quiet. "Do you want to?"

@Life

[Life 0]

Oh yea continuing the quest would her would make sense wouldn't it. "Yeah of course. I think the next one should be within my level range to one shot, so you should be safe either way." Life quipped. "Also, being a tank is more than just being a punching bag. It's about protecting your party and throwing yourself right into danger to save them. That said, if the person in your party is fifteen levels higher than you and can handle themselves, you should probably consider your own safety first." Life rubbed the top of her head again before turning back towards the path leading out of the floor towards floor two. "So, Yuki. What's a kid like you doing in sword art online. I thought there was an age restriction on the game?" Life was genuinely curious. To be honest with himself, she did also seem kinda small to be a tank too, though in saying that he didn't mean to discourage her bravery. 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki folded her arms and pouted slightly, looking off to the other side away from Life. She wasn't a helpless little girl, she was a freaking woman.

"I'm just fine. Granted that was the first time ever took more damage than my regeneration could return, I have several potions that could keep me alive. Just because you are stronger than me doesn't mean I can't fend for myself.." Why would she say that? If it were Mari, she would have just thanked her for the help and the two would have laughed about it. Or well, Yuki would have laughed and Mari would have probably been her grumpy self.

Eh-? Did Life just call Yuki a kid?

"E-Eh? Kid?? I'm 22 years old now, maybe 23 I've forgotten where the calendar is now." She fixed her ruffled up hair. "I'm probably older than you are."

Yuki's notification box opened in front of her, a new message. From Mari it would seem.

"I've accepted Macradon's proposal to be a teacher

-Thanks." -Mari

That brought a renewed smile to Yuki's face. Mari was a really good teacher to her, she was glad to see it was taking off.

@Mari

[Life 0]

Life raised his eyebrows as she began to retort his concern for her safety, it was good that she at least thought of a backup plan before taking on any kind of boss. Looks like shes got a head on her shoulders at least. Then she continued, adding that she wasn't a kid at all Wait, 22, there's no way. Life leaned forward and squinted, starting at her face and examining it closely. He leaned back and shrugged. "Hmm... Well on the bright side at least when you're fifty you'll look twenty five." 

*blip*

A message from Mari popped up on Yuki's screen. Mari, going to be a teacher? Life smiled, it felt like he had just drank some tea filled with honey and it was warming his whole body. He was happy for her, it really did sound like something that would be good for her. "I didn't realize you and Mari were so close." Maybe this complicated things a little.

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

She was absolutely annoyed that anyone would call her a kid, but to be fair, she was rather small and didn't have on the front side. It would be pretty easy to mistake. Life didn't exactly apologize for mistaking her for being ten years younger than she really was, but that was alright. She'd get over it.

Mari's message stayed up for a second. Life mentioned Mari like he might have known her. Honestly Mari and Yuki weren't really that close, she had just helped Yuki start her adventure and she looked up to Mari as a mentor. If it wasn't for her, she wouldn't really be as confident as she was.

"A-Ah, yeah but not really. I went to an event way up on about floor 20 and met her there. I was pretty stubborn and bugged her a lot, but then we quested recently and she taught me a lot about the game. I want to get stronger to repay her for the help she'd given me... Now I feel like I owe you as well..." She looked down at the floor awkwardly. "People have just been helping me a lot and I've done nothing for my past ten levels. I'm just an idiot built like a steel wall..."

@Life

[Life 0]

Life found it funny that he and Mari chose similar paths of redemption, or rather ironic. They had different crimes and faced different punishments, yet dealt with it in a similar fashion. Perhaps when everything sorts itself out and he finally goes back to his family he'd be able to forgive himself. "Ah.. I see. No, I think you've misunderstood. The reason I'm down here helping players like you is because I have a lot to make up for. It's me who owes something to the players. Not you to I." Though there was slightly more to it than he wanted to admit. After watching his closest friends die, he was a little afraid of venturing to higher floors. Surely, it was normal to fear for ones own life, right?. Life spaced for a moment before refocusing his gaze back on the road ahead. The sun was beginning to go down in the distance, turning the blue skies a deep orange. He walked silently beside his partied companion, thinking about his past. 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki wanted to argue that statement to Life, but he seemed pretty adamant about atoning for himself by helping others. He didn't owe Yuki anything, but he does seem like has something weighing him down heavily. She really wanted to ask him more about it, but it would be insanely rude of her to ask him about his past like that when she barely knew him at all. The safe zone wall was coming into view by now. It was always relieving to see it coming back in from the field.

"N-Nee? Thank you for deciding to help me, and I'm sorry I lost my wits a bit. I understand that you and Mari have a lot you need to work on, but so does everyone in this world. And even in the real world. Nobody can be perfect and it's not like we could every really get close. Mari continues to urge people to avoid her because she has an orange crystal, but I think she's well on the path to being a better person. You're a good person as well." She smiled at him for the first time since they started fought the dragon. "And, I realized I never thanked you for saving me from the dragon so... Arigatou, Life-san."

@Life

Edited March 9, 2020 by Zajcica

[Life 0]

Life stood sliently for a moment and thought about that point that Mari pushed others away because she had killed. Something that was partially his fault for pushing her to do and then convinced her she was a monster for doing it. Monsters didnt deserve friends or could be trusted to be around people who were vulnerable, was that why? 

Yuki thanked Life for his help, though it felt like he should have been thanking her for the company, it made things less tense. "Dont mention it. Like you said, you would have been just fine without me. Im sure you would have figured a way out of the situation if you needed to. You don't really seem like the type of girl to run and hide, or lay helpless and accept defeat. Am i wrong?" Life asked but he already knew the answer. Sometimes he had a bad habbit of trying ro read into people. "Apologies if that came off as a bit much."

As the sun set the two were nearing closer to the teleporter. Their journey wasn't over just yet, they had another dragon to slay.

@Zajcica

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Life