[PP|F1] <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>> Silence

[ChaseR 0]

It had been about two years or so since Chase last remembered doing something of importance. He'd been living in the Town of Beginnigns since the start of this death game, thinking that if he just waited long enough, he'd be let free by the clearing group beating the game. Nothing like that had happened quite yet though, on the contrary... It could be because there weren't many people in the clearing group, or because the game was much harder than they initially thought it was. It struck him though, as he got up this very morning, that he couldn't just idly keep standing by and waiting for the best with his fingers crossed. He took a deep breath and exited the dirt cheap inn he lived in, checking his starting equipment once more to make sure everything was properly equipped. "Too bright.", he thought as he exited the inn and the sun shone in his face, groaning and moving towards the exit that lead to the fields before he realised he was wandering about aimlessly.

"... Quests, right.", he remembered, certain that they'd give him a better sense of direction in learning this world. Just as he began to head back to the front of the Black Iron Palace, Chase figured out that he hadn't a single clue of where to find any NPCs that handed out quests. Of course he hadn't, the past two years all he did was eat, sleep and walk around occasionally. Seeing as to move on to the further floors, he had to use the plaza in front of the Palace, it was a good place to start looking for novice players to give him pointers, as awkward as it'd be with his communication skills. It was then that he noticed @Shay somewhere around the plaza and silently approached her, sticking out like a sore thumb from the crowd of careless players. He was as expressionless as always, looking at her and saying quite vaguely and abruptly. "I need some help. Where do I get a quest?"

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 1
HP: 20/20
EN: 2/2

Stats:
Damage: 4

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<2HSS "Plain Broadsword">> (Vanity/2HSS)
Armor: <<Light Armor "Hard Leather Armor">> (Vanity/Light Armor)

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

Edited June 25, 2020 by ChaseR
Had made a mistake on the items.

[Shay 0]

Shay didn't normally spend time on the first floor. It wasn't really her favorite spot to be, but not because she had out leveled it or anything. The hot weather was just nasty. She sweat easy and all around just unpleasant. Players didn't have bodily fluids though, so she couldn't actually sweat, but even still, the heat of warmer floors compared to her favorite floor four where her house currently resided.

Her peaceful thought was interrupted pretty quickly, though. She had only come down to this floor to look for solo quests to complete, not to socialize. Her callous look and crimson coloured eyes probably weren't the most welcoming, but she wasn't a total asshole as to ignore someone's request. "If you are a new player, you should take the beginner's quest line." Thinking about it, he might not know where to go to get there. "Here, I'll lead you there I guess. I don't have anything better to do."

@ChaseR

Spoiler

Name: Shay
Level: 14
HP: 280/280
EN: 28/28

Stats:
Damage: 7
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 1
BLD: 12
REC: 2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: (Katana)Murasame α: BLD 2; DMG 1
Armor: Leather Overcoat: EVA 3
Misc: Deep Red Tie: Recovery 2; ACC 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
 

 

[ChaseR 0]

The answer he got was definitely not one that he'd expected. Overall, he expected players, especially more experienced ones, to have been hardened by the game's nature and rules, being more harsh or maybe even ignorant of the ones like him that stayed behind. He shrugged it off though and accepted the help. Any good reply is a sign he's getting help. He gave her a nod and gestured her to lead the way, showing a slight smile which faded away almost instantly. "Thanks."

With that, as they began to head towards the NPC's location, he silently looked at the female and inspected her, taking in her appearance. It was obvious they weren't in the same league, although he wasn't sure how- maybe it was her look, her attitude, her equipment perhaps? "... Your name?", he asked her on the way there, raising his eyebrow just slightly out of curiosity as he strutted behind her. He knew that with how much he spoke, things would get even more awkward if he didn't step out of his silent comfort zone and try to communicate for once. "My handle's ChaseR.", he introduced himself prior to looking back on the path, making sure not to trip and shooting a few glances her way every now and then. 

[Shay 0]

Shay wasn't one to make small talk, but she didn't really berate anyone who tried to make it with her. Names were important in a game like this after all, but she was sure that he would start asking what her level was and all that stuff. If she invited him to a party, he still would only be able to see her name. So with a wave of her dominant hand, her menu slid open. She reoriented it to his view so he could see clearly what she was capable of.

Shay | Level 14
[    280/280   ]

The monitor also read out her equipment and Col. She wasn't that worried about anyone knowing that stuff. She wasn't exactly resplendent with anything amazing to begin with. Hopefully he wasn't taking her quietness as rude. It was just as simple as her being socially-inept. Always unsure how to approach people and not be so blunt.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase went silent as well, looking at the menu and reading her name before repeating once inside of his head. "Shay." He then nodded at her and opened up his own menu, and trying to shift it so she could view it better. He ended up simply turning around due to how unfamiliar he was with the system, so she could see it over his shoulder. She could see his starter equipment, Col and stats in all of their glory. 

Once she could have had a good enough peek at them, he closed it again and looked around, unsure if they were there yet or not. He didn't really ask, enjoying how silent everything was. It didn't really feel awkward, so to speak, but rather natural this time around. That made a small smile grow on his lips, even if he hadn't noticed. He was being a bit too tense for his own good up to now, after all. 

[Shay 0]

After their level reveals, Shay was mostly quiet. Normal she would talk a little more if she wasn't upset about Titan having gone missing still, but something had really just struck her that she needs to keep moving on. The tank's name wasn't on the monument of life, so she wouldn't worry too much. He'll resurface one day, hopefully, or his name will end up there and she'll have some closure.

After they made it to the quest giver, Zachariah gave ChaseR his duty. Shay had already done this quest, so he didn't offer it to her. Once the quest was set up, Shay sighed. Having company again wasn't so bad. She had spent a long while in her shop doing nothing making songs. After debating her next move, she'd kill herself for this, but maybe she'd get lucky. At least he wasn't too outspoken like Titan was. "I'll join you and teach you a little."

Once they made it out of the safe zone, the raven haired woman. Looked around materials, and there was nothing. Still just as annoyingly hard as she remembered, good. "Well, you'll have to collect objects tagged with a material. They glow, so they're easy to see... when they spawn."

No materials

[ChaseR 0]

With a deep breath when he got the quest, he looked back at her and prepared himself to be left to do the quest all alone. It was then that he spoke though and his face brightened up slightly, a smile of relief lighting up his face temporarily. "Thanks.", he said, appreciating the company for once. It's not like he knew how to do anything after all. 

They exited the safezone and he heard what she had to say, nodding and beginning to look around for materials all the same. "... She said when they spawn, so.", he kept looking around and searching for anything that glowed on the ground, grumbling in annoyance. 

He even squinted his eyes whilst looking around, hoping for a better result or that something would change before ultimately sighing and crossing his arms. "Boring as hell.", he darted his eyes over to Shay, only to notice that she didn't have any better luck and groan. "Such a nice quest..."

Spoiler

ID# 155255

LD 5

No mats. 

Edited June 25, 2020 by ChaseR
Wasn't 150 words.

[Shay 0]

"I do quite despised this style of quest. 'Go fetch x amount of items and bring them back to me.' However, this is an important quest. You want the experience from it now or you won't get any from it when you level up." The veteran gamer was starting to come out of the raven-haired swords woman. She hadn't spent much time in SAO following quests and beating the game, but she was familiar with other RPGs and their likes.

While she didn't need to collect any materials for the quest, she herself was going to collect some for her shop, if she could even find any. That was when her crimson coloured eyes locked on to a glowing substance. She had no idea how picking weeds helped her craft music box crystals, but no need to question video game mechanics, cause they didn't make sense. "They look like this." She said holding it out for him to see.

Materials Found: 1

[ChaseR 0]

As Chase kept looking around, he realized just how unfamiliar he was with RPGs of all games. Him and Lily had never even played a game of this soet before, and the main reason they bought into it was the housing and guild system, the VR aspect, everything that made it unique. Not necessarily an RPG. He glanced over to see the material in her hand and furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at her before asking. "Is that what I'm looking for?"

She could tell he was slightly surprised, as he thought she too was looking for the quest materials. In an attempt to find materials too, he tried to look around the ground once more in hopes he'd get lucky this time around. 

With a smile on his face, he quickly picked up the material off the ground and even laughed a bit, holding it in his hand happily. "Got one.", he lowly exclaimed before looking over at Shay, hoping he'd have the same luck with the next few tries as well. 

Spoiler

ID# 155261

LD 15

Quest Material Found: 1

Edited June 25, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay gave a slight smile. Glad to see he was making better progress than she had starting off. It must have taken her an hour to find her first material when she had originally taken this quest. Of course, she didn't need the materials for the quest, but she herself was running low on materials for her shop so it would be a good idea to try and stock up on a few more materials before she ran out. It wasn't like she had the Col to buy more.

"Nice job, now you'll need to find four more. Then after that, you'll have to go back to the quest giver and he'll have you make a potion with the materials that you gathered." She wasn't really the best at explaining these sorts of things in detail, but hopefully he understood what she was meaning. If not, he would surely ask her.

Nothing found.
Total Materials: 1

[ChaseR 0]

His smile slowly began to turn back into his blank expression as he furrowed his brows at her and looked back down at the ground, taking a deep breath and going back to silently searching through the short grass. 

Happy to see his lucky streak keeping up, he picked up another material and held it in his hand, hoping that this search wouldn't take too much longer. More so because he'd finish the first task rather than get to the second part of the quest. Speaking of which, just thinking about it was enough to make him frown and glance right back over at Shay with a troubled expression. "I don't know how to make anything.  Can I even?", he asked, unsure of the conditions behind crafting or if they even require some level beforehand. It was more obvious than ever, just how lost he was. 

As he waited for her to answer, he silently looked at the ground, seemingly completely lost in a train of thoughts. He was thinking about how he got trapped in the first place, his family, Lily... "I wonder how she's doing... Damn..."

Spoiler

ID# 155297

LD 17

Quest Material Found: 1
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

Edited June 25, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay was quietly searching for more materials herself when Chase had pulled her out of her own head. More questions, which was entirely reasonable since he was still pretty new to it all. Surely he would have fun doing combat. From what she remembered, the boars in the second quest were more annoying than dangerous, though they were going to have to do something about that beginner gear that he has.

"Yeah, the quest allows you to craft it for the sake of the quest. After that, you can't make anything buffed until you take the Earning a Living quest. I wouldn't worry too much about it though. If you ever need-" She stopped there. Was she really going to offer her services? Ugh, yes. Fine, put your pride to the side for no Junko. "If you ever need performer crystals for debuffs or healing, let me know. I am a crafter."

Nothing found.
Total Materials: 1

[ChaseR 0]

Hearing her talk to him was all it took for him to snap out of it and back to reality. He silently looked at her, giving an almost blank stare and processing her offer before he hesitantly gave a nod, just as hesitantly as she offered in the first place. "... She's offered to do much for me, so I should repay somehow. Damn.", he thought to himself before repeating her words in his head to realise that he had close to no idea what she was talking about. "Buffed..? Performer?", he bluntly asked without a sliver of a clue what she was referring to.

"This is my first RPG.", he continued before turning back to the ground and beginning to look through the grass once more, praying that he'd find another material. After having stuck to solitude for so long, even getting as much as a single material felt like a huge accomplishment. This initial excitement would obviously fade away as time went on, but regardless...The triumph he felt after finding the previous two materials faded away from the failure of his current attempt, getting a deep sigh out of him. The amount of bad luck he was experiencing was getting him to feel miffed, at the very least.

Spoiler

ID# 155381
LD 3

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

Edited June 25, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

"This is my first RPG."

Oh no.

Shay stopped in place. She hadn't met many people here that didn't have some kind of knowledge of how the game actually worked. Again, she couldn't be hard on him, nor would she really. It wouldn't be her character to do that sort of thing. Many people found her callous, but really she was just bad at socializing.

"You sound like you could really use some help then." The girl said. Was she really about to say this? "I'll help you. Teach you how to survive. I'm no where near experienced with this game in particular, however, I'm something of an avid MMO gamer. From here on out, you and are going to grind together. If I find a quest I want to do, I will contact you."

With that, the raven haired player opened her menu, scrolled down to her party, clicked on his name and sent him a friend request. A notification popped up on his console. "Accept it. Before I change my mind."

Materials found: 1
Total: 2

[ChaseR 0]

Shay's words caught Chase completely off guard, resulting in him almost losing balance and falling over. He looked at her with a shocked expression, before at the pop-up with her friend request, swallowing dryly and beginning to sweat even. "Ch-Change her mind? Now I'm even more indebted to her, fuck!", he began to panic and quickly accepted it, knowing that he couldn't do much else if he wanted to make it out of the world. As ambitious as it was, he wanted to get this over with and level up. At least enough to start helping with the frontlines. He wanted to level up even if it meant leeching off of Shay for a while... hopefully just a while at least.

"Thanks. I don't want to hold you back though.", he hesitantly said, showing remorse in his words. He wanted to make clear that he didn't want to keep her behind everyone else, even if he couldn't get anything done all by himself anyhow else. Chase took a deep breath and tried to calm down, hurriedly looking for other materials with a small frown on his face. He'd certainly have to thank her somehow, after the quest was done at the bear minimum.

And nothing once more. He began to feel more and more useless, although it was really just luck doing the final strike to his already weak mental state. Truth be told, he was quite overwhelmed from the game, let alone Shay's straightforward attitude and all the bad luck with his first task from an NPC.

Spoiler

ID# 155384
LD 7

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

Edited June 25, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay looked unbothered by the topic. She didn't care that much about power leveling. She was going to do her best enjoy the game while she leveled and not lose sight on it meant for her to be alive. The girl sighed and took a look around for materials. Her mutual friend was realtively quiet and didn't put up a fight when she told him that she would help him level. Newbies never understood how easy it was to help them. To be fair, Shay herself was a newbie to Sword Art Online mechanics, but she had helped countless people in other games start off.

Nothing in this area right now. With a sigh, she turned to see if the boy had gotten a hold of any more materials. When he mentioned holding her back, she turned her head back around. "Tch, I'm helping you because it helps me and I would be annoyed if someone got killed cause I didn't help them out. Some quests are difficult to take alone and I would really benefit from a duo partner."

Materials found: 0
Total: 2

[ChaseR 0]

Just hearing how harsh she sounded despite the attitude she'd shown thus far, he sighed once more, except this time more out of relief than anything. "You suck at speaking. Me too.", he pointed out before chuckling lowly, a small smile forming on his face before eventually going away and returning back to his blank look. "I feel at ease knowing she's like me that way. At least she doesn't speak a lot.", he spoke in the back of his head and approached her, looking at the materials she had gathered thus far and asking out of curiosity, seeing as she wasn't doing the same quest as he was.

"Your materials. What will you do with them?", and with that he went back to picking apart every little thing he could off the grass, having realised just how long this whole quest would take. So much for getting up and doing something after a long while, truly... "Of course there's nothing.", he sighed, obviously exasperated. Not only was it a quest to just pick something up off the ground and by looking through bushes or other foliage, it was the only mission he could go for given just how much risk anything else would involve in his eyes. Speaking of which... "... Sword Art Online... huh? So fights must be the way to raise my level. I can't fight though."

Spoiler

ID# 155402
LD 10

No materials found.
Total Quest Materials: 2/5

Edited June 25, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Still there was nothing nearby at all. This was becoming increasingly annoying already. She remembered why she hated gathering and would rather just gather items through killing mobs. It was simpler, more engaging and had better yield of outcome.

"You suck at speaking." Another simple sentence that she could agree with. She did suck at speaking, terribly.

"Yeah." She said back, not denying his comment or really even getting bother by it. "I will use the materials to make consumables that debuff my enemies." She was trying to put everything in layman's terms to make it easier for a noob to understand.

Up until this point, nothing had bothered them, but the closing of monsters did warrant enough threat to pulled her weapon out. She held her saya housing the katana in her off hand. "If anything attacks us, you mustn't try to fight. They will easily take you down without some gear. I will be fine on this floor. so don't worry.

Materials found: 0
Total: 2

[ChaseR 0]

If she paid enough attention, she could hear him lowly repeating after her, trying to get used to the terminology she used. "... Debuff enemies.", he mumbled, raising his head at the sound of her unsheathing her blade, gulping before looking at her somewhat filled with worry. "I can't help?", he asked her and gave it some thought, knowing all too well he wasn't used to fighting, especially under the stress of dying at the slightest mistake. He wasn't equipped properly, and even if he was, he'd still be too nervous with his current experience in battles.

"Teach me how to fight. And how to get stronger. I want to clear the game.", he spoke the most he had before stopping thus far, seeing one of the quest materials on the ground and quickly nabbing it, before giving her a determined glance. Although he hadn't talked to her about his past whatsoever, the same way she hadn't to him, it was obvious that he had more than a solid reason to want to fight. "How will this quest help me?", Chase also added to the questions and statements he'd made, being too talkative and out of character compared to how he'd acted up to now.

Spoiler

ID# 155404
LD 20

Quest Materials Found: 1
Total Quest Materials: 3/5

Edited June 26, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Once the mobs had passed, the girl spun her blade back into it's saya with skill and grace. It didn't look like she was trying to show off, just like it was something natural. When he spoke up to her, her sharpened, crimson gaze could have pierced his eyes. "Don't talk such rot." She snapped back. He was thinking that he could just level up and join the front lines like it was just that easy. "You are but an infant right now, tasking yourself with building a wall when you can't even lift a brick." Her harsh tone was hinted with concern. She knew that if he kept that mind set, he would get himself killed taking risks too big. "First you learn to walk: Finish these quests for their experience alone and get them before they're gone. Once you've learned how to walk, you can strengthen yourself to lift the brick."