[PP|F2] Looking for a friend with an unfamiliar face <<Feeding your enemy>>

[Monarch 0]

As Yasu woke up in a new place, he realized his plans were going to fall apart should he wait too long to begin. It was never supposed to be easy as long as it was doable. He would grab the sword from the upright position it rested in, leaned up on his headboard with the tip to the ground, and he would leave that dingy old inn and head down to the main floor. A new face would find itself holding his attention for an unusual amount of time, at least by his standards. "Oh, a new face." He would remark, pulling a chair out for himself at the only table not filled with sleeping players. I hate being forced into situations like this. 

His eyes would wander over the woman's face for a moment before he realized she had met his gaze. A small blush would form on the boy's face and he turned to the floor, her gentle voice would pull his attention back to her. Her words weren't sharp or agitated, and seemed more like a dark presence than a person at all. That's when he remembered hearing about this NPC who would give people a quest to find a familiar. She was quiet but all the same unsettling. "You must be the gypsy." His stare would once again fall on her as she explained who she was. Well I guess it's time to get myself a friend. Can't survive alone in a world like this.

And with that final thought, the NPC would drop the food on the table as the kid stood up and looked her in the eye as if to ask to borrow the food, and she would grin at him. Most people would probably be unsettled to their core, but as it happens Yasu didn't care enough to feel a thing. Picking up the pouch of snacks the kid would walk out of the door and onto the street, his sword disappearing into his inventory. "Time to work I guess."

Used Spyglass (familiar is searchable 5 posts earlier)

@Randal

Edited May 7, 2021 by Monarch

[Randal 0]

The evening breeze could not lighten the heat that the sweltering virtual sun was beating down on Randal. The trees tried to branch overhead and cover the poor man but was not able to do so adequately enough as he slashed a wild ox that was lumbering gently across the field.

Behind him virtual trees were decimated as Randal bull-wrestled the beast in submission. This was not an unusual occurrence when fighting larger beasts on the higher floors but it would not take very long for the Cardinal system to register the damage and to quickly repair it, bring all the trees and debris back to their rightful place.

From the corner of his eye, Randal spotted a red figure dashing through the bushes of the forest but had his attention immediately brought back when he did not avoid the bull in time was slammed away by its charge.

Randal flew back because of the force and zoomed past a player.  The ox was not nearly strong enough to cause Randal any distress, but he was a little fatigued from the constant battle.

Spoiler

Randal the Unsuspected Level: 26 HP: 520/520 Energy: 70/70 Player Stats Damage: 18 (+2 SA) Mitigation: 20 Accuracy: 3 Evasion: 4 Luck: 6 Equipped Gear Neptune's Tidings | Claw | Tier 3 | DMG 3 Cloth Trousers | Cloth Armor | Tier 3 | EVA 3 Ladybug Earrings | Accessory | Tier 3 | LD 3 Skills Searching R3 2H Weapon (Claw) R5 Cloth Armor R5 Combat Mastery (ACC) Active Mods Stamina Ferocity Athletics Nimble Inactive Mods Active Extra Skills Survival Shatter Inactive Extra Skills Battle-Ready Inventory

Broader Inventory
Weapons

 

Lvl 26 Randal Info HP 520/520 | Energy 70/70 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |

Edited May 7, 2021 by Randal

[Monarch 0]

Yasu had managed to make his way out of the town rather quickly, despite his very leisurely pace. His mind kept his eyes out on the trees directly to his right. Slowly they would pass him by as he traveled down the beaten path, his mind fixating on the tiniest details he could see between them. This familiar could be anywhere, could be anything. And if he was going to go home and sleep off this already troublesome day, he would have to find it very quickly.

Soon though, A player would shoot across the path, perpendicular to the way Yasu was walking. Normally the boy wouldn't say a word, but seeing as to how this guy was thrown letting him know Monarch was not capable of fighting alongside him would be the smarter action. "Are you having fun?" He would ask the player in a monotonous line. Quiet and almost tired were the best descriptors for the boy's voice. He had no clue what to do about this new player crossing his path, but he did know he needed to move on before it became an ordeal.

"Don't let that thing hurt you. I can't take it." Two consecutive sentences are a new record for the kid to actually speak to someone. As he watched the ox, the boy's hand would come up and fiddle with the tuft of hair hanging in front of his face. He knew very little about these creatures but he was sure they were stronger than the boars he had fought on floor one. His sword would materialize in his hand despite his complete lack of stats to back it up.

"So troublesome."

[Randal 0]

“Please, it was a lucky hit.” Randal said wryly, even if it were the truth, Randal knew that not a single person would believe him after seeing what happened. Physics is one thing, but stats are another. While the distance that Randal flew was a cause of concern, the astronomical statistical difference between Randal and the ox was over 24 levels apart.

 The other player quickly dodged away from the rampaging ox and left Randal to deal with the beast himself. The battle was quickly completed, and a purple notification popped up for Randal to overlook the loot and exp that he had received. Randal looked around and quickly found the quiet boy spectating. The sun was getting angrier by the minute and the heat was quickly rising. The jet-black hair of the other player complemented the emerald, green eyes. After the situation with Kayaba left all players with an appearance that reflected their true selves, it was unusual to see a player with cosmetic eye colours.

“If you cannot take on something as simple as that guy, what are you doing here so far from the safe zone? Shouldn’t you practice a little more before risking your life?” Randal said with a little concern in his voice. He had his fair share of close encounters with death and could not bear to let a new player mindlessly risk his life.

Mr. Pebbles rose from Randal’s shoulders and blinked at the other player before returning to its stationary position as Randal’s capeguard. Truly a stalwart example of a mascot. The geothermal tock creature vibrated in pleasure when Randal placed a rock that he randomly picked up along the way into the gaping maw that was located on the right shoulder.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Randal

[Monarch 0]

The man who had been thrown by the ox would once again show up, and Monarch would sigh. "I'm more than capable of walking through a field." He would remark, as he continued on his straight line path directly out of town. He had little intention of entertaining this player's bloated sense of righteousness, feeling the need to question Yasu's motivations. "I have no intention of dying. Don't entertain the notion." His words were uncharacteristically lively, despite the complete lack of energy behind them. No more words were needed, or so he thought, so Yasuhiro would continue on his merry way, keeping to himself as he walked.

If Randal would follow for a few more steps, Yasu would look back at him unwavering in his gait and simply say, "If you want to keep an eye on a new player, you're welcome to follow along." Denying him that would take way too much energy, and on top of that would require stopping or losing him, which would make this god forsaken day take that much longer. Monarch wouldn't even give him a chance to answer before he kept on, turning his vision back to the imaginary path he would be following. If Randal followed along and paid enough attention he would likely notice Monarch keeping a close eye on his surroundings as if he were being more than cautious.

Before he even had the chance to think about it, Yasu would open his map and take a slight detour to the right. Almost like he was avoiding something. If Randal knew this floor he would recognize the outskirts of a very popular hunting ground for low level players to their left. Might as well avoid fighting for the time being, can't just waste the day.

I have a friend to find.

[Randal 0]

“Alright, I’m sorry for sounding a little rough with ya, too much can happen to people who are unprepared. Personal experience agrees.”

“It would make me feel better to accompany you, but maybe not for too long, I saw something interesting dashing away earlier. It was red in color and dashing really quickly so let me know if you see anything like it will ya?

Randal had been on his way to Taran Village because of a quest that he received at The Rusty Dagger, the local inn at Urbus. While he was there, a bounty had generated on one of the boards for a Bandit that had been acting as a highway man between Marome Village and the main settlement of Urbus.

The Bandit had apparently robbed over 5 NPCs according to the quest description and had been sighted returning to Taran and sneaking in. There wasn’t anymore information available but Randal knew that the direction he and the other player was heading towards was in the same direction as Taran, so there was no conflict on interest there.

“Name’s Randal by the way, would prefer if you address me by name, what about you?”

[Monarch 0]

So he'd decided to follow along. That was fine, Yasu was too caught up in not really caring to care.

Yasu would turn to the player and give him a cold stare. "Nakata." The young boy would turn back to his path he was cutting, continuing on at his own pace even with the new found company he was keeping. It wasn't any reason to keep wasting the time that could be sleeping, so why wait for him. The kid would pull out a leather bound journal and write in it the name of Randal, sketching him quickly with an almost unusual accuracy. On the page opposite of that, a map of floor two lay drawn with a path marked in red.

"So..." The kid would go to speak, but no words would come to his mind, instead he would opt to not speak at all. All those years of not talking to anybody had taken their toll on his social life. Hell, he used to avoid interacting with people altogether.

No time like the present...

[Randal 0]

Randal was not oblivious to Nakata’s icy gaze nor his solitary attitude but found it to be among the more unusual of reactions that happened when Randal introduced himself. Most players had been able to quickly form groups or rely on each other to improve their chances of survival, usual they were more of a cautious flavour, but Nakata was not cautious, he was, uncertain, not of Randal per say but of himself and whether he knew how to carry a conversation.

“Do you perhaps sketch everything and everyone that you come across?” Randal asked while matching Nakata’s pace. The player’s actions were interesting, there were no professional artists in the game as yet, but the Cardinal System was wide and varied and that meant that almost anything that someone did could constitute a skill if done often and well enough.

“So, what are you looking for? I’m moving towards Taran, I have a quest over there, are you possibly headed in the same direction?” Randal asked Nakata, bracing himself for the possibility that he would be graced with a curt response. There were numerous other players that Randal had interacted with but only a lonesome few responded the way that Nakata did. Those that lost a lot during the first two months after Kayaba announced the death game, or those that never had very much to begin with.

[Monarch 0]

It was already getting tiresome walking with someone so outgoing. The kid had nothing against him, it was almost nice in fact... But Yasu hadn't the energy to really try and push himself to match such excitement. His voice hadn't even been fluctuating to match his emotions as of yet, so it was probably painfully obvious to the new guy. "Yes, I do. A sketch and a physical description." Flipping back a few pages filled top to bottom with useless information about taverns and sketches of various NPCs with those letters marked across them, A catalogue of all of the materials he's found and where he found them would reveal itself.

"Important information should be written down, so as to not forget it." The most words he had spoken consecutively, and in his mind he was practically catching his breath. It'd probably be best to not show my people watching log. He might find it creepy. As he flipped back to his map, he would use his finger to find where he is on it and eye the path in front of him as best he could. He would have to talk a lot more, of that he was sure, so taking the best route was absolutely imperative.

"I'm looking for a familiar." And once again, silence would fall on the pair. Even if it were for a moment, Monarch would revel in it. "I've heard there's a spot to find them easier." He'd say, pointing to his destination, a small hill just south of Randal's destination.

[Randal 0]

“Hey, has the system ever prompted you to pick up any skills related to drawing, I really expected more of the game.”

“look here,” Randal said as he went to his inventory and pressed on the button that could turn objects that were in his inventory into real objects and showed Nakata the book. Inside was a listing of different plants and animals that could be found around the various floors. “…don’t worry about it, we are all a little funny in our own ways.”

Randal looked up at the hill that Nakata pointed out and compared it to the map and realised that the destination of the other player was extremely near to his quest location. It was important to get a good vantage point of the village so that Randal could carefully mark out the locations that the bandit could escape to as well as the places that Randal could enter by. So, Randal, filled with a modicum hurried up the path a little faster than Nakata.

When Nakata and Randal finally reached the top, they did not exchange any words and went to look around for their personal needs. Randal facing the village knelt down on one knee and formed his hand into the shape of binoculars. Randal was the first to reconvene with Nakata and asked, “So did you find a familiar that met your criteria?”

[Monarch 0]

"I don't believe drawing is a skill." The kid would respond rather plainly. This was just something he'd picked up from people watching. Drawing people he saw that really stood out to him, and all he had to do was take a quick glance to render them with such accuracy. Players were no different, just different clothes. Well, usually... Monarch was normally found in pajamas unless he intended to go out that day. As of right now, He was dressed like a peasant from an old fantasy show. Durable and comfortable, can't be beat.

"I don't recall making a joke." Picking up on subtle hints troubled the kid sometimes, but this one had no issue being heard. Gritted teeth were all that he used to show his annoyance at being called odd, even if he himself recognized it was.

As they reached the top of the hill, Monarch looked around. This world was predictable, but everchanging. There had to be hot spots and empty fields, having a steady stream of anything becomes tedious or dull. It stood to reason though, that hot spots weren't active all of the time, maybe they had to wait a bit before the boy could find his familiar.

He found nothing, so I guess that proves it. He had to wait a bit longer. "No, nothing in particular." He would remark, Now he would have to wait even longer. The least the game could do is send him a monster to fight, or show him to a material he can gather. OH WAIT! I can gather instead of sitting here so not a bit of time is wasted. 

roll ID: 192527 LD: 4 (Familiar search failed)

Edited May 12, 2021 by Monarch

[Randal 0]

Randal inwardly winced at the misunderstanding that was forming between Nakata and himself. He decided that maybe should try to avoid complicated scenarios as much as possible with this person because they seemed to take things a little too seriously and not know how to be on the optimistic side about people since he did choose to believe that Randal was mocking him instead of trying to comfort him.

“Maybe he acts in such a way because he does not need comfort from me”.

“Wanna come with me to Taran?” Randal asked pensively, not sure if the other player who seemed to be rather content with being on his own would want to join him. He followed up by saying, “You can continue looking for familiar nearer to the village too.”

Randal waited for a reply but figured that Nakata decided to stay up here and do his own thing, they could always run into each other again later, the area was not very big unless one of them needed to go beyond. “If not I’ll just find you once I’m done with the enemy.”