[E3|PP|01]<<The First Lessons...>>Are Boring As S$%&.

[Shay 0]

Another day another boring quest to do just so she can level up and become stronger. Her mind was still on what happened with Titan the other day. She looked like a complete imbecile, bumbling around and missing so many attacks, then getting them lost. She wondered if the blond could really forgive her for that. It wasn't like she meant to get angry and project it on him, just that she lost her temper momentarily. The raven assassin sighed quietly as she left the safe zone.

The NPC Zachariah had tasked her with going and finding materials for crafting a potion of healing. This was probably the most boring thing that she would have to do in any quest ever. The only reason was because the end result was guaranteed, it just matter of getting the success after a ton of tries. It wouldn't be difficult at least, and she could gain some nice experience to help her level up. The more levels she got, the stronger she would get.

@Titan

Spoiler

General
Level: 6 | HP:  120/120 | Energy: 12/12 

Stats
DMG: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 1 

Skills
R1 Curved Sword, R1 Katana

Equipment(In use)
Murasame α: Bleed 2, Damage 1
Leather Overcoat: EVA 3
Coveted Silver Serpent Ring: LD 2

Consumables
x5 Starter Healing Potions

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

Titan had noticed that Shay hadn’t messaged him at all since they had been together to finish off the Hoya. It seemed a bit bizarre, that she wouldn’t use his assistance when he lived on the very first floor but he knew that her ego had been much larger than her desire for some assistance. Little did she know that the house that Titan owned had been right next to Zachariah’s shop and he just so happened to be heading out for some casual picking while Shay also headed outside to pick for the quest as well.

“ You’re already going to think I was stalking you but I live right at the corner of Zachariah’s. I take it you’re doing the very first quest? I’m just here to pick some eggs if you’d like some company. ” The man immediately spotted five eggs right outside the gate of the Town of Beginnings before he tossed over an invitation to Shay to join his party. 

TITAN'S INVENTORY

Spoiler

Titan (Level 11) 
HP: 220 / DAMAGE: 4
EN: 22 / MIT: 9
ACC: 3 / EVA: 0
KEEN: 1 / PAR: 1

Skills:

• 1-Handed Assault Spear (Rank 2)
• Searching (Rank 2)

Equipment:

• ( P ) TERROR'S REACH | 1H Assault Spear ( KEEN / DMG / PAR )
• ( U ) ARMOR OF TOTH | Leather Armor ( MIT )
• ( P ) LIQUID LUCK PENDANT ( Trinket - +1 LD / +1 LD / +1 LD )

Inventory:

• ( 3 ) Starter Healing Potion ( Heals 50 HP )
• ( 6 ) ( U ) T1 Healing Potion (Heals 40 HP )

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143301 | Craft: 7 & Loot: 9+5 (14)

Eggs Acquired: 5 | Total: 5
Material Acquired: 0 | Total: 0

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

Shay actually was surprised by Titan's sudden appearance out of no where. Was he really stalking her? Nah, probably not. He didn't seem like the kind of guy - way too kind and polite for that kind of stuff. She looked at him as he was following her outside the safe zone, wanting to tell him she'd be fine on her own, but would he really take that from her? Probably not.

"You can join me if you like. Just collecting materials for that NPC Zachariah. Hopefully it won't take me too long.." She said quietly, ruminating on why Titan would want to keep her company when she was a jerk to him yesterday.

It didn't take long to find her first node in the grass. Right outside the safe zone were some usable materials, so she bent down and sent them to her inventory.

"So why so worried about me?" She asked the blond bluntly.

LD: 13+2=15
Materials 1/5

Edited April 22, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

He noticed how the girl had a bit of a smile against her lips as she spoke, Titan was thankful that she hadn’t been too upset or held too much of a grudge for when he had to help her reel it all in. “ Sounds good, I need a few more Easter Eggs, anyway. ” His eyes spotted the two Easter Eggs that were near by his feet and plucking it and tossing it into his inventory, knowing it hadn’t been a huge amount but every small amount would help his collection grow.

She seemed pretty good at collecting the materials needed for the quest. “ I’m not worried about you. ” He combated back with a stare, rolling his eyes at her word choice. “ I just know these quests can be dull. ” He decided to fire a question right back at the girl. “ Why are you avoiding me? ”

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143306 | Craft: 1 & Loot: 9+5 (14)

Eggs Acquired: 2 | Total: 7
Material Acquired: 0 | Total: 0

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

Shay pretty much flinched at the question when he asked it. It's not like she was purposefully avoiding him or anything.

"I-I'm not avoiding anyone!" Oddly enough, that was the most expression of emotion that she had shown anyone in Aincrad since she started leveling. "It's only been a day since we met and this is the only thing that I've done since the quest we did yesterday. I just didn't mind doing this solo was all." Sh tried to collect herself to look for anything useful but came up short this time. No materials laid around that were usable for the quest.

She cleared her throat and looked at the party invitation that she had received from him. She took a moment and accepted it. Her health bar was now shown to her partner, making it easy to tell if she took any damage. She didn't really know what else to talk about, so she thought of a random question.

"Why the name Titan?" She questioned the blond.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

Hook, Line and Sinker.

When the man heard her expressions and how easy it was to get your feeling quite passioned about the fact that she hadn’t been avoiding him, meant that in fact, she absolutely had been doing that. “ All these quests are fairly boring, especially with little to no gear on. ” A flippant response while the honesty continued to pour through from Titan to Shay. It seemed like she did have a little sense as she now had been in a party with the man. His own eyes scoured the floor as he collected six Easter Eggs from the ground and a piece of material, chucking them into his inventory as he’d done hundreds of times before.

“ It represents a power of old. ” Remnant of the Greek Titans before the gods overthrew them. “ I knew I wanted to be a tank, before I came into the game so I picked something that fit the aesthetic. ” He still barely looked when people called him Titan or Ti, it was something he had been getting used to. “ Yesterday you mentioned that you didn’t want anyone to take care of you and got really upset, why? ” He hoped a day processing would give her a stronger handle of her feelings.

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143442 | Craft: 10 & Loot: 15+5 (19)

Eggs Acquired: 6 | Total: 13
Material Acquired: 1 | Total: 1

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

Shay seemed to be reluctant to share anything about her personal life with anyone, but she didn't really have anything to lose at this point. She had already lost most of her pride in the maze when she let someone see her break down and cry the way she did. She sighed audibly and scratched the back of her head.

"As I said before, I've been pampered for most of my life and I'm starting to get fed up with being spoon fed everything in my life. I'm trying to make something of myself now." She admitted. It sounded stupid to say out loud, but it wasn't false. "If I die on the way, at least I can say that I tried to make the best of my life in here, and that didn't wait to just die in the town of beginnings. That must sound completely inane to you."

LD: 11+3=14 
2/5 materials

Edited April 23, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

She seemed to trust Titan, forever that actually meant, and it seemed as though with enough persistence, Titan had been able to coerce an explanation of how it manifested for the younger girl. “ I hate to say this to you but, I think a lot of the people here lucked out or paid their way to get here. I know I did. ” He was rich, his family had pull and this is where it lead him to. “ But, I get why you’d want to prove yourself and this game is a huge equalizer in doing so. ” There it was again, the fire in her eyes that propelled her forward.

“ No, it makes sense. ” He made sure he let her know that she sounded sane.

Titan looked down and spotted a couple of eggs, chucking them into his inventory as they both looked for material as well. “ Just know that even with a silver spoon in your mouth, it’s what you make of yourself inside and out. Don’t forget that if we don’t die and even crazier, if we make it out alive, alright? ”

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143500 | Craft: 3 & Loot: 5+5 (10)

Eggs Acquired: 2 | Total: 15
Material Acquired: 0 | Total: 1

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

Shay went silent on that and turned away. He was trying to make her remember that her parents might still care about her? It wasn't his fault, but that only made her think about the last time she'd seen them, the funeral was awful. So many people she didn't know and all the family members that were there only for formality and didn't care about her parents actual deaths. It was pretty repulsive.

"Well, silver spoon or rusted, I have to learn to make my own way and life. Aincrad is my challenge and I will conquer it, or die trying." When she had started her leveling off with Mari, she didn't have much a drive beyond fighting. Now, thanks to Titan, she was beginning to see what she needed to do. She cleared her throat after retrieving some stray material. "Thank you for worrying about me." The girl said quietly. It sounded like it was difficult for her to say, but it was pretty sincere from what the blond could tell.

LD: 18+3=21
3/5 materials found

Edited April 23, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

In the hushed sounds of Shay seemingly processing everything that Titan had shared with her, he found five Easter eggs casually in a basket with its vision somewhat being blocked by a large frond. Titan quickly walked around to grab onto it, a smile as he felt like if he kept up this pace, he’d be able to get every single thing he wanted from the Easter Egg boys. 

“ Well then, good luck. Just know that no one goes through life alone and you have people around willing to fight and help. Don’t forget that. ” Titan had been going to therapy enough to see a troubled soul and Shay felt vindictive and calloused. “ You’re welcome. I just think we’re literally all in this together, right? What’s the point of not lending a helping hand when we all have reasons to climb to the top. ” She seemed like she actually was thankful and it hadn’t just been lip service. “ So, have you thought at all about what’s next for you in the game? Familiar, Profession, Weapons?” He asked, curious if she knew what her short-term goals had been.

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143500 | Craft: 9 & Loot: 8+5 (13)

Eggs Acquired: 5 | Total: 20
Material Acquired: 0 | Total: 1

Edited April 22, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

Shay ruminated on those words, wondering exactly who those people were that rooting for her success. In the real world, no one really came to mind. But here she had met some new people. Not many, however. Mari and Baldur were good examples, they wouldn't have helped her if they didn't think she could succeed in becoming a stronger player. Then she looked over to Titan. Her contemplative expression pierced through him.

"Are you one of those people? One of them who really wants to see me succeed in this digital hell?" She asked. She already knew the answer, but tiptoed explanations got on her nerves. Direct and straight answers were much better than trying to walk carefully over broken glass when you could just walk around it.

No materials this time around. She had a feeling that this conversation was going to be going on longer than expected. And here she thought this quest was going to be snap.

LD: 9+3=12
4/5 Materials found

Edited April 23, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

There it was, another large cluster of six eggs that Titan eagerly grabbed at and placed into his inventory. It appeared that this might be a bit easier moving forward and he’d get just enough eggs to buy everything he’d wanted. “ Do I want to see you succeed here? ” He asked a rhetorical question, before looking directly at her. “ Sure. I don’t want to see you fail so I guess that means I’m rooting for you. ” It wasn’t something he had been actively doing, not without his own personal gain from questing with her and leveling up himself. “ Why, did you think otherwise? ” He twisted the other’s question, making sure she still was on the same page.

“ I’m just here to help when I can. I think a majority of people who I’ve met so far have been that way. I’m not sure what the higher floors are like but people tend to be pretty nice within the first five or six floors at least. I’ve only ventured up to 11 at the highest and that was only for gathering materials.”

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143533 | Craft: 11 & Loot: 7+5 (12)

Eggs Acquired: 6 | Total: 26
Material Acquired: 0 | Total: 1

Edited April 22, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

The girl stared at him with her callous face momentarily, her mind must have been trialing while he spoke. Though an out of character reaction spurred assurance to the boy after he was finished speaking: Shay gave him an actually genuine smile when he confirmed that he wanted to see her become strong. She didn't know why she smiled at all. Was it because there weren't many who had told her that up until now.

"I did not think otherwise." The smile continued as he spoke. "It just feels good to hear that someone I know is making sure that I will make it through this hell. I didn't know what to think when I found out I couldn't leave this place. I have no one to go back to, but I have no reason to love it here either. I feel like I've been stuck in purgatory for years. Now I think I have a good reason to preserve myself."

LD: 12+3=15
5/5 Materials found

Edited April 23, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

There had been two more eggs just waiting for him as he leaned down to pick them up while the other had been stewing over her own desires and feelings of inadequacy. This would be a learning lesson for them all and they all had new selves to rediscover once they made it out the other end as people who either no longer existed or took on one of the hardest things they could in their lives. This would be make it or break it and Titan had a feeling that Shay was truly a fighter.

“ Good, then I’ll race you to the top. ” It would be that easy, he would use his own motivation to bring Shay along too and at a quicker pace. “ Let’s see who we become in the process, yeah? ” A devilish smirk, he was curious how many people he could motivate to continue forward with persistence and a tenacity that they hadn’t seen in a bit.  

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143545 | Craft: 2 & Loot: 8+5 (13)

Eggs Acquired: 2 | Total: 28
Material Acquired: 0 | Total: 1

Edited April 22, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

Shay snickered at the boys poke to make her feel more motivated. If it happened before this two years of solitude she would have told him to screw off and leave her alone. For some reason, that wasn't the case here.

"Challenging me isn't that great of an idea, blondie." The raven-haired assassin taunted him. Her smile turning into a challenging grin. "If you wanna race with me, you had best be sprinting because I go fast."

The crimson eyed woman looked around for another node of materials that she could use, and still nothing decided to show itself to her. She was beginning to feel tedious to do this stupid looting quest. Monotonous tasks always annoyed her though. She looked over to Titan again and her tone seemed much less callous than before.

"Titan, you're a really nice guy for putting up with someone like me. Thank you again for looking deeper at me and making sure I was alright inside. I really needed someones help to break out of this rut."

LD: 12+3=15
6/5 Materials found

Edited April 23, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

“ That’s what you think. ” He taunted back, gaze finding the eggs he needed and quickly collecting them and putting them into his inventory. “ I’m already ahead of you and I have no signs of stopping until I’m where I need to be. Got it? ” His voice had commanded some presence, his own eyes looked directly at Shay’s for this challenge. It’d be a friendly competition, of course.

“ Don’t mention it. I’m only here to help myself, that’s the goal but if I sense someone who I think can be useful or looks like they’re a good person who needs some help, who am I not to extend a hand. ” Shay would be powerful; he could tell by her drive already. “ You just needed a little kick and that’s all I did. ” If she hadn’t floundered so badly in the Hoya quest, he didn’t think they would be where they were at so if anything, it was Shay’s own frustration that led them to where they were now.

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143571 | Craft: 12 & Loot: 6+5 (12)

Eggs Acquired: 6 | Total: 34
Material Acquired: 0 | Total: 1

Edited April 23, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

The girl grinned at the challenge presented to her. It would be fun to have someone drive her to get stronger. It's not like she had the drive to do much else in this world. She was starting to get an odd feeling around Titan. They already felt like childhood friends or something. Shay had never been like this with any other person in the world, so how was he able to just pierce through her lonely nature and make friends with her so easily? It was pretty weird, but was she actually beginning to like Titan more than she expected? The thought of being closer to someone than a friend was completely foreign for her.

"You asked me earlier if I knew what I was doing next. Familiar is on the top of my priority list. I hear its a good way to get free damage on top of your weapon damage so that will be pretty much necessary for me." The girl explained as she picked up another piece of material. Only one more needed.

LD: 12+3=15
7/5 Materials

Edited April 23, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

Titan knew this and held it as a true beacon of himself, the damn boy was a charmer. He knew what to do, how to say it and bash his long eyelashes for the sake of what he was doing. Ever since he was a child, it seemed like he had been a flame that many of others had been drawn into. It’s why he went into Sales, he had enough charisma that it toppled over him and win the client’s trust and more importantly, their business.

“ That’s smart. I need my familiar too. Wanna do yours next and then you can help with mine? I think I’m going for a mitigation wombat. I think I saw some a few floors up. ” Offering a smile, it’s how symbiotic relationships often worked. Both parties working together, gaining from one another to keep positive growth for both individuals. It’s how he saw Shay, a partner to climb and grow with.

One additional material and five eggs at his feet, Titan picked it up with a smile. He'd have more than enough by the time this was all over. 

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143583 | Craft: 9 & Loot: 15+5 (20)

Eggs Acquired: 5 | Total: 39
Material Acquired: 1 | Total: 2

Edited April 23, 2020 by Titan

[Shay 0]

The crimson eyed assassin looked around for anything else she could use for a material node once again finding absolutely nothing usable. It sucked since she was so close to being finished with this part of the quest. They were almost done. After this was over, she wondered if he wanted to go ahead and do the familiar quests. She still wasn't sure what type of familiar would even work for her. What type of mob would be a good one for her?

"A wombat? How unique. What type of animal do you think would fit me for a familiar? I have no idea." She admitted, continuing to ponder what would be a good fit for her. She sighed when nothing came to mind. "Something sly and sneaky. Perhaps a kitsune. A little fox would be a nice companion."

A legendary being known for guiding lost souls even further astray? Sounded perfect for her.

fail

Edited April 23, 2020 by Shay

[Titan 0]

More eggs, Titan quickly grabbed at that and his own little patch of materials before putting them into his inventory before turning back around waiting to see if she had enough material for her quest yet, didn’t seem like it. “ I’ve been to Australia as a kid and I’ve always loved them. I’m not trying to be edgy or overzealous with something more than I can handle. I think for a mitigation familiar; it’d be perfect. It’s tiny and compact enough to help take the brunt of some of the damage sent my way. ” He’d find the fiercest wombat he could to help him climb and treat it like a damn king.

“ I, uhh, kitsune could work. Foxes are cool. ” He shrugged, not quite sure what else could work for her. “ I think birds always work too. I know they have to be fairly small. If you’re looking for a damage familiar, that’d work. ”

EASTER EGG & MATERIALS

Spoiler

ID# 143600 | Craft: 2 & Loot: 18+5 (23)

Eggs Acquired: 2 | Total: 41
Material Acquired: 1 | Total: 3

Edited April 23, 2020 by Titan