[OP-Fx] Do You Know the Mushroom Man?

[Vigilon 0]

“I still don’t know why I trusted that guy in the first place.” Vigilon remarked about his situation. It was late morning, but still too early to be drinking root beer. Of course, this wasn’t the average morning, so Vigilon didn’t feel like having one of those other possible options often available during the morning, which was mostly coffee...which he believed was too bitter for his tastes, even with the cream and sugars. He took a fairly sized sip as he listened to his friend’s words. “Well Redeye, I doubt I’ll be taking any suggestions from enigmatic chefs any further. Tried the stuff myself, and boy, was I in for a wild ride." Vigilon was about to utter out, "say no more", but his curiosity got the better of him. “It was insane...I think Freewind and I were off visiting this tavern...and...the impossible happened. She. Got. Drunk. That's the one thing that's...well, that I've never witnessed in my life...then the weird music group showed up, and they let loose a bunch of song crystals until Freewind just...started grabbing full barrels of liquor and tossing them at the the group, and...kinda fuzzy from there, but it was chaos, absolute chaos." At the end of Shuliik's explanation, Kanari would add her thoughts on the matter. "I can vouch, I had the same dream. It was chaos...and it was beautiful." She remarked with a smile, as if she was happy with the memory of this dream. "Right..." Vigilon began as he set down the almost empty mug of root beer. "So...we all coincidentally had this dream because of...mushrooms? I mean, I won't doubt that it's a possibility, but...if you two had the same dream, then how...? It..you can just see where the logic there just collapses." He explained, giving his own two cents on the matter. "Anyway, I should probably go...and I wonder how the heck I'm gonna explain this to Jewel... see you guys later, I suppose..." He got up, and turned to leave. Once Vigilon had left, Shuliik noticed that Kanari was staring at Vigilon's mug, which wasn't empty yet, and basically forgotten about. “Please don't." He asked. Kanari pulled out her flask, and poured some of its contents into the mug. "Don't tell me what to do." She responded as she did this, proceeding to drain the mug afterwards, which Shuliik couldn't keep himself from laughing about. He'd expected that she'd try to spike the drink, but he hadn't anticipated that she'd do this after that.

 

Vigilon walked over to the teleport gate, ready to head over to the first floor, as he and Krysta received a message from Astralin, something about wanting to chat. He was curious as to what she was going to talk about, though. She'd said something about sharing some sort of crazy discovery involving materials and their potential effects in crafting...? Granted, if it worked with materials in general, it wouldn't hurt to learn more about what could become of things he made over in his shop. "Well, time to learn what all the fuss is about..." He muttered, wondering if this was all real, or if he was simply being dragged over for whatever reason. He knew that he didn't know Astralin very much, so why did she want to talk to him and Krysta about this random thing? Whatever the case, he was going anyway. They were only meeting at the edge of the safe zone...what could possibly go wrong?

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level:  37
HP:  740
EN:  84(Base[74], Energist[10])

Damage: 14(Martial Arts Rank 5[+7], Veriost[+6])[Base DMG is 15 when using Sword Arts]

MIT: 18(Swift Endurance)

ACC: 1(Karri's Fang)

EVA: 1(Swift Endurance)

REC: 3(Swift Endurance[+2], Karri's Fang[+1])

 

Equipment:

[T2]Juggernaut's Rebuttal(1 Taunt, 1 Bleed, 1 Paralyze)[Equipped]

[T2]Swift Endurance(1 Mitigation, 1 Evasion, 1 Recovery)[Equipped]

[T1]Karri's Fang(1 Recovery, 1 Accuracy, +1 LD)[Equipped]

 

 

Skills:

Energist

Gatherer

Searching Rank 1

 

Extra Skills:

Martial Arts Rank 5

Familiar Mastery: Fighter Rank 3

Meditation

 

Mods:

Ferocity(+1 base DMG when using Sword Arts)

Finesse Rank 3(-3 EN cost when using Sword Arts)

 

[Astralin 0]

Astralin had been needing to tell some people about a recent discovery that would come in handy, and she was hoping to see if they have had different experiences with the things they work with in their different choices of profession. She had recently been researching vanity effects, which are the only thing she can make until she actually finds a time where she can speak with a certain NPC who could help her with the profession she was aiming for. Until then, she would experiment with what little she had. She had already recorded a few vanity effects she had discovered in a large empty book she had managed to get her hands on; Her new Alchemical Research Catalog. She had in mind to tell two potential friends, Vigilon and Krysta, about it... Of course, she had gotten the idea of this due to having experienced the strangest dream, probably by some mushrooms, though it was still just a theory, as she would need solid proof before adding it to her catalog. At least she had something to do. She was traversing through the Town of Beginnings, and in her rush towards the edge of the safe zone, she made a sharp turn and bumped into someone. "AAAGGH!!" She really needed to stop making these sudden sharp turns around this settlement. They always ended the same way.

"Aahhh, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

 

Stats and equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 9

Max HP: 180

Max EN: 18

Base DMG: 6(Sticky Ricky[+3], Martial Arts Rank 2[+2])

 

Equipment:

[T1]Gloves of the Astral Storm(1 Bleed, 1 Paralyze)

[T1]Sticky Ricky(3 DMG)[Equipped]

[T1]Alkarina's Resolve(2 EVA, 1 REC)[Equipped]

 

 

Skills:

First Aid Rank 1

Martial Arts Rank 2

 

[Dazia 0]

"I just don't see how it's possible. I mean, similar dream, clearly different experience? This can't possibly be linked to something...not even those damn mushrooms. There's no way that multiple players could undergo some kind of nighttime acid trip." Dazia explained, believing that the two dreams being similar was purely coincidental. "I dunno, they could be linked, if the Cardinal allowed such things." Yinangi remarked. "I wouldn't say it's impossible." She added with a smile. On the other end of the table, two of Dazia's siblings, Sel and Valna, had their own thoughts to share on the matter. Sel decided to speak up first. "I had a weird nightmare myself, but it was nothing like yours. I tripped over a wooden cage, and ended up releasing a swarm of chickens that chased after me. When I finally got away, I tried going to sleep...but I couldn't. Hell, I couldn't even tell that it was a dream at first because I thought I was still awake when I woke up from the dream." He explained. Valna was ready to speak up next. "My dream wasn't like any of the ones I'd heard, but oh my...the dream I had..." She remarked with a smirk on her face. Dazia reactively placed her hands over Yinangi's ears and called out,

"Don't you dare say another word, there's a child in the room!!!!"

Suddenly, all eyes of those in the tavern were on the table with the four players. After about ten seconds of awkward silence and staring, the usual noise and chatter of a tavern in the morning resumed. Valna had an unamused expression on her face. "You said she was twelve when the game began, right? She should have had The Talk by now. If she hasn't, why not tell her yourself? She seems to trust you so much." She noted. Dazia did not like the sound of that at all. "Hell no, I'm not giving her The Talk!" She answered, still holding the ears of a somewhat annoyed Yinangi. "Someone's gotta tell her... I might have to, if nobody else will." Valna stated. "HELL NO!" Dazia responded. "I'd feel uncomfortable because I'm not her mother. You, on the other hand, wouldn't be uncomfortable, but you're the least fit to tell her of such things!" Sel would sigh as he had a sleepy expression on his face. "Violet's not gonna give in, Hira, just leave the kid be." Valna let out a defeated sigh with a frustrated expression on her face. "Fine then, we'll talk about this later." She muttered. "You guys do realize I heard just about everything you said, right?" Yinangi asked, despite the fact that Dazia's hands were still over her ears. Nobody was sure whether or not she was telling the truth. "Well, Yinangi have something planned on the issue we were talking about earlier, so...see you two later, I guess....and Don't get any ideas, Hiraani!" Dazia said as she prepared to leave.

 

 

It wouldn't be long before Dazia found herself on the streets of the Town of Beginnings once again. She looked from place to place, trying to see if players were saying anything about strange dreams caused by something unusual. So far, she was coming up empty. "Maybe it really was just a freak coincidence after all, no one else involved." Dazia thought aloud. "Well, maybe nobody felt like sharing their weird dreams, assuming they had any to begin with. Besides, didn't that enigmatic chef guy say he went to multiple places? This is a big city after all, we could find a lead as easily as we could come up empty, we never know what we will find, we could even find multiple causes to different dreams! Do you think anyone who could have experienced a weird dream would have gone to the safe zone's edge?" Yinangi remarked. "Hmmm...Well, this was originally your idea, and getting another lay of the city was my primary reason for going...so the day wouldn't be wasted entirely, regardless of what happens..." Dazia noted, giving her opinion on the scenario.

"The safe zone's edge shouldn't be too far now, though." Dazia added.

[Lessa 1]

The Town of Beginnings was always busy. A central hub of activity, the streets seemed endlessly clogged with players and NPCs alike. Even in the middle of the darkest night, lights blazed from every window and storefront, creating an odd sort of haze. This was the city that never slept, the New York City or Aincrad. Why? Possibly because of its geographical size or low level. But Lessa had always assumed that there was more to it than that. This place was where it all started, where they’d been told of their awful fate. Those who had been too frightened to lose their lives had never left the place, even years later. Others? Perhaps they returned because they were driven by a weird sense of nostalgia, a longing for a time when SAO was just a game. 

Lost in thought, Lessa took a corner too sharply, and barreled into another player. Though she was left standing, she felt a little off-kilter after the collision.

As the other blonde rushed to apologize, Lessa shook her head, lifted her hands. “No, no, you’re fine. No worries. I wasn’t paying attention. Are you doing okay?”

@Astralin

[Astralin 0]

The player who Astralin had bumped into claimed that she wasn't paying attention, that Astralin wasn't the one at fault here. She followed by asking her if she was okay. "I'm fine... I was kind of in a rush, but there are so many corners around this town, and this has happened so often..." She admitted. "Why am I even surprised that this happens anymore? ...Anyway... My name is Libra- Ahhh, I mean, Astralin! My name is Astralin!" Clearly, while she encountered complications with remembering to go by her username, she really slipped up this time. Now this random woman she had just met knew her real name. She let out a sigh and said, "Ok, I didn't think I'd slip like that... I've been trying to remember to go by my username, and yet..." In all honesty, this was the first time she'd slipped up to this degree in years...or, at least, it felt like years, how long has it been? "With a game as lifelike as this one, I've been finding it a bit difficult." She admitted.

@Lessa