[PP - F3] Lost With Friends <<Search for the Hoya>>

[Kura 0]

Kura was once more slowly making his way up through the levels in search of better hunting grounds. He loved the first floor, calling it his home for who knows how long, however his performer profession made a serious dent in his finances that the mob drops of the first floor couldn't fulfill.

And so he's been hopping from floor to floor, searching for something that could tide over his expenditures for a little longer. Something like the quest that he undertook with Landon, though the materials gained from those times were spent long ago on his craft, and items that on a whim purchased.

Regardless of Kura's lack of economic sense, he was broke and wished to fix that. And for that reason, he entered into the town of Aruryt. It was a beautiful day to be out and about in Aincrad however, the beauty of the forest surrounding him and the charm of a village suspended in the tree tops did make for a lasting first impression. However, his mission right now wasn't to admire the beauty of floor 3, and so he walked across the various bridges, touring the town for anything of interest.
 

Spoiler

Kura | Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 10 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 15

Equipped Items:

• | "Betsy” | Warhammer | 2 Handed Weapon | Tier 1 | Rare | Damage/Damage | 
• | "Small Peppermint Sack" | Trinket | Tier 1 | Perfect | Accuracy/Accuracy/Accuracy |
• | "Gold Rings" | Trinket | Tier 1 | Perfect | Evasion/Evasion/Evasion |

Skills:

• | “War Hammer“ | Rank 2 | Weapon Skill | Passive | 

Consumed Items:

• | "Yaki Hatahata" | Food | Consumable | Tier 1 | Perfect | Mitigation/Mitigation/Mitigation |
• | "Liquor of Light" | Potion | Consumable | Tier 1 | Perfect | Damage/Damage/Damage |

Battle-Ready Inventory:

• | 3x “Starter Healing Potions” | Potion | - | Heals 50 HP |

(Player Stats)

Edited May 27, 2021 by Kura

[Yuurei 0]

The Emerald Spirit and her tag-a-long friend were going out on their first adventure together. There were several quests available to Yuurei that she had ended up passing up when she first started playing the game. Despite her inexperience with video games, Yuu had gained an amazing affinity for learning the system. She wasn't sitting by entirely idle for all that time. The things she'd learned and performed to protect and save Saigyouji caught that girl's attention. She not only wanted to learn from the snow-haired samurai as she could, but also be friends with her.

So here the duo was walking into Aruyt. "Here it is." The Emerald Spirit would say as they passed by the player named Kura. Of course, they paid him no mind seeing as how they were strangers. Though they would stop for a moment and talk. "Y-You said that the quest guy would come up to us, right?" That question would earn a confident nod from Yuurei, who would take a moment to look around. She would lock eyes with Kura for a moment, but quickly look away. It was clear she was looking for someone. "I thought so, but maybe we came on the wrong entrance or something. Or it's timed thing. MMO's are weird like that apparently."

Yuurei wasn't really one who liked waiting though. "Wait here for a moment." She would say as she would walk over to Kura, hopefully not interrupting his day. "Excuse me, sir." The girl would give a light smile. "When you walked into town, did an NPC approach you with a quest? I was told there was a quest I could do with my friend here to help her get to a higher level. Know anything about it?"

Spoiler

Yuurei,
Level: 9
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 180/180
EN: 36/36

Stats:
Damage: 11
Mitigation: 12
Accuracy: 1
Battle Healing: 1
H.M.: 2
REC: 2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Yuurei Shikiri(T1/Katana/Perfect) | DMG III
Armor: Samurai's Plate(T1/Heavy Armor/Perfect) | MIT II; Rec I
Misc: Yuurei no Kaze(T1/Heavy Armor/Perfect) | HM II; Rec I

Skills:
Katana R5
1HCS R1
Battle Healing R1

Active Mods:
Precision

Inactive Mods:

Active Extra Skills:
Survival

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal: 1

Yuurei | HP: 180/180 | EN: 36/36 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 12 | ACC: 1 | BH: 1 | H.M.: 2 | REC: 2

[Kura 0]

When Yuurei called out to him with a polite smile and a well spoken question, it took Kura a moment to actually realize that she was calling out to him.

Pouring over his memories, he remembered an NPC greeting him as he entered the village, him waving back, and leaving before any more words could be exchanged. The Cardinal System, however, thought Kura was still talking to the NPC, leaving it in this awkward state where it was talking about the Hoya to a player that wasn't there. And when noticed the quest notification in the corner of his vision, he could put two and two together.

"Ah, that NPC might be glitched out right now, thinking that it's talking to me after I left during its spiel and neither confirming nor deny the quest. Hold on."

He would flip through his menu and quickly accept the quest. Then, the Cardinal System believing that the conversation with Kura was over, moved onto the next people in the queue, namely Yuurei and friends. Larbrook would come jogging along, waving to the two.

"Hey there! Sorry, I was talking to someone else when you entered, and I didn't get the chance to greet you."

The NPC would then go onto its normal spiel. And Kura, bless him, was uncertain whether or not it was appropriate to leave right now in the conversation, and so he stayed around as well, internally feeling a little helpless.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Kura

[Yuurei 0]

Amazing how the game was years in development, seemingly expecting not to see any actual updates that it wouldn't be thoroughly play-tested enough to catch these glitches in the system. At least the world was beautiful. "Ah, I see." Yuurei would watch the burly man make his way over to the players and wave to Sai to come over as well. The much smaller, and younger, girl would instinctively job over to the Emerald Spirit. "Thank you for the help."

"You two are surely looking to take on the beasts known as minotaurs, correct? You two look like well skilled warriors capable of such a feat." He would say, obviously speaking with the two who were still looking for the quest. Yuurei would cock a glance over to the tiny pink haired, robe adorned girl next to her who would return a nervous smile then look back to Kura. "Want to get a quick level or two?" She would ask as she accepted to quest prompt.

[Kura 0]

While waiting for them to finish talking to the NPC, he quietly tried to judge the dynamic between the two friends. The white haired girl seemed to be the leader in their little duo, guiding along the nervous pink haired girl. They seemed friendly enough, though Kura would be the first to admit he was not an expert in social deduction.

Then Yuurei threw a curveball, from at least Kura's perspective, that came out of nowhere.

He was never much one to hesitate though (aside from interacting with other people), and so when she posed her question he answered back with little delay.

"Sure, gonna assume you want to take on the quest with the three of us?"

It was a first for Kura, having someone else along for the ride, two someone elses no less. This trip was probably for the best, with Kura's social interactions boiling down purchasing items at local merchants and NPC's. There was also the safety in numbers, as well as the added bonus of probably making his objective of making money easier, but Kura didn't see it in any of those ways.

No, he wanted to see how to fight in a party, something that Kura had never done before.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Kura

[Yuurei 0]

Yuurei nodded quietly at Kura question. She had expected only to do it with Sai, but he had accepted the quest rather than deny it, so why not get it off your quest tags? She always hated when there was a lingering quest in her log. The NPC would then start leading the way whilst explain what they planned on doing for the day. He would mention that they were on their way to eliminate the Hoya Minotaurs. Some old beasts that lived in a labyrinth a mile or two away from Aruyt. Meanwhile, Yuurei would send a party invite to Kura so they could keep track of everyone's health.

If he accepted, he would see the two girls were already partied together. The Emerald clad samurai with the Katana was named Yuurei, while her skittish friend in the blue was named Saigyouji. Still, she felt the need to introduce herself. "So, you can call me Yuu for short, or Rei, whichever suits you." The girl would say, then look to Sai. "U-Uh, you can call me Sai for short... Saigyouji is a little difficult to say."

Yuu would clear her throat again, eyeing the maze in the distance. "What level are you, if I might ask? I should be able to one shot the boss pretty easily, but I don't want you to get hurt if you're not close to the level requirement."

[Kura 0]

Kura would accept the party invite he received from Yuurei while they followed Larbrook to the Maze. While he didn't hesitate to press yes, it was still a new concept to him, fighting with other people. He generally knew the basics of grouping up from MMO's such as aggro and such, but it's a part of this game in particular that he hadn't really interacted with much, despite it being one of the main appeals of the Sword Art Online. 

Hearing everyone's greeting as well as Yuurei's question, Kura would respond promptly to both.

"I'm Kura, nice to meet both of you Rei and Sai.  As for my level, it's two."

Kura would glance at Sai for a moment, unused to any people as nervous as her, and glad that she had someone else to rely on. At this point however, he really shouldn't be worrying about the social dynamics between the other two, with him being able to get two shot by the boss mob in the quest, Even then the only reason why he would survive for that long was because he coincidentally had a breakfast with mitigation enchantments on it. Putting Kura's mortality aside, the person himself would look towards the maze entrance with curiosity. They were almost there by this point, and Kura looked forward to it exploring it.

[Yuurei 0]

Upon the approach of the maze, the slightly dense forested area that they were getting used to traversing would slowly start to thin out. The giant walls of the maze stood higher than twenty copies of Yuurei standing on each other's shoulders. As cool and collected as she was most of the time, the maze gave off quite the eerie vibes that were somewhat difficult to ignore. Not to say how Sai was taking that menacing aura. The girl was shivering slightly, slowly inching over to her 'bodyguard' as they got closer.  The leader of the expedition was much less perturbed by the feeling the maze was giving off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Labyrinth of Minos." He said, presenting the location with his axe. "This is a mission of glory, yet we have two targets. I won't force you to take on both targets and I understand if you might have some fears going forward. If you don't feel ready, I suggest you head back to town for supplies." Yuurei shook her head in response. It was probably a script to warn the player of pending danger, but at her level, she felt comfortable taking on whatever was ahead. Sai on the other would have left the moment she saw the maze in the distance. With her samurai here, she could at least be brave enough to walk in with her.

"I assume you're good?" She would ask Kura. She, of course, didn't want to put him in a dangerous situation if he wasn't comfortable. "When we get into the fight, let me or Labrook take the aggro, then you can join the fight. Sai, if we get hurt, you have at least the first level of First Aid. I know you're probably a little spooked, but you don't have to get close to the fighting. Just stay back and don't get caught up in it." Sai would carefully nod. "G-Got it, I make sure you don't take too much damage if you get hurt."

[Kura 0]

With the maze coming into view, Kura would give a low whistle, impressed at the size of the structure. As for the eerie atmosphere surrounding the area, whether it was due to recklessness, bravery or inability to pick up on the vibes the place of giving off, Kura ignored it regardless. He already had a goal that he had to pursue, and like a dog to a bone he refused to pay attention to anything that wasn't related to the objective, including his senses screaming about how this was a bad idea at his level.

Kura likewise ignored the NPC, though admittedly that wasn't due to him objecting Larbrook's words of wisdom about turning back.

No, he was already out of earshot by the time by the time the words "If you don't feel ready," rolled around, a running theme in Kura's adventures. Surprisingly however, when Yuurei would made her request for him to let her or Labrook tank, he heard her and would give a thumbs up directed behind him as he jogged forward. He knew the basics of aggro management from his time in non virtual reality MMO's, and despite his recklessness, wasn't suicidal.

But he refused to not be apart of the vanguard.

[Yuurei 0]

As Kura jogged into the maze, Labrook gave a cheeky grin and jogged in after him. "That's the spirit!" He would say, leaving the two girls in the dust. Yuurei would simply sigh and look over to Sai. With a slight chuckle in her tone, she would give her a smile. "Boys can be so reckless sometimes."

Then Yuurei would follow in after them. Sai, not wanting to be left alone outside of a safe zone again quickly followed suit despite being pretty much terrified of just the maze itself. Once all four of them were reacquainted they would begin their trek through the winding labyrinth. Even Labrook didn't have much knowledge of the area, so it looks like they would be going off their gut feeling. "This place is massive. I hope we'll be able to find our way out of here when we're done." Yuurei would say lightly, though only adding to Sai's nerves. "Y-You mean we'll be able to find our way out right? Th-There's a map of the are isn't there?" Yuu simply felt stupid for a moment. Of course, as they traveled through the maze their terminal maps would update to show where they've been as they walked through the maze. "R-Right. My bad."

A few moments later, the group would start to feel vibrations in the ground. Very light at first, but noticeable as they walked. "We're getting closer. Keep you're guard up." Labrook would say a little more seriously, only adding to Sai's anxiousness further. Within the next minute, every step felt like they were walking closer and closer to an ongoing tremor until they were right next to it. It felt like the walls would cave in at any moment... but then the tremors stopped. Yuurei would place her hand on her katana in expectation as the group continue to walk through the hallway. "Wh-What's happening-" Sai would be cut off by the wall just in front of them being burst into pieces. The dust would settle rather quickly as the Minos revealed himself. Yuu would quickly jump into the lead.

"With this blade, I sever your existence." The girl's serious nature would over take her when two other lives were on the line. Her speed was quite impressive for someone so low leveled. The Emerald Spirit would charge head first into the Minotaur. The mighty axe it wielded would drop over her head, cracking the earth beneath her as it just barely missed. Jumping from the crag of rocks, the green blur would draw her blade almost too quickly to perceive. When she landed back on the ground, she would sheathe her blade. At the same time, the Minotaur would be in two pieces, falling to the ground. It would soon dissipate into nothing but data. "It stood no chance."

---

Yuurei | HP: 180/180 | EN: 36/36 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 12 | ACC: 1 | BH: 1 | H.M.: 2 | REC: 2
Kura | -stats here-
Sai | HP: 60 | EN: 12/12(Flavor stats for NPC she's level 3)

Kantaras | DEAD/150 -(16*11) | DMG 45 | ACC 1

Edited June 9, 2021 by Yuurei

[Kura 0]

Kura, so used to being a solo player, didn't realize he left his party behind. When he heard the foot falls of Larbrook behind him, he remembered and slowed his pace. Now actually walking, Kura let his gaze roam through the corridors they traveled through. It was strangely beautiful in an architectural sense, the sheer size of the maze inspiring awe in Kura. Didn't make the twists and turns of the place any less confusing, but it wasn't half bad to be lost in the halls of the labyrinth to Kura at least.

Hearing the talks about attempting to find their way out of the maze, Kura already had a plan. Wander until he eventually finds his way back out again. While not exactly the most elegant of solutions, eventually he would stumble onto the exit. A very Kura-esque plan indeed, but it was shelved when he overheard from Sai about how the map continual updated. Internally, Kura felt a little cheated out of another challenge, but put it aside when he felt the vibrations from the ground.

When the wall exploded in front of him to reveal the quest boss, his protective instincts flared as he moved towards his allies. A reflex born from his MMO's days, he placed himself in front of Larbrook and Sai, smashing any rubble that flew at the two. Even though both Larbrook and Sai were both probably more capable and higher leveled than him, it just felt wrong to him to not act as a meat shield.

As the dust settled, Kura scanned the area for the boss, only to become befuddled by the lack of Minotaur charging at them. Yuurei had already sheathed her blade by the time Kura realized that she killed the boss. The body of the boss, when it shattered into light, gave an almost ethereal look to the scene as the whole party was bathed in a soft blue light.

Once Kura grasped the situation, he would give a low whistle. Kura was impressed, he thought he was fast, but Yuurei was a literal blur, and she also did it with a sense of grace. After he ascertained that the area was safe, Kura would speak up.

"Killed in one hit, nice Yuurei."