[PP-F01] Xena's First Outing <<The First Lesson>>

[Xena 0]

So, that was that huh, the past events were, informative. Too say the least, Xena, as well as literally everyone online. Had been teleported too the middle of the town of beginnings, Xena herself had been fishing for info in the town from players who had already left it so she got teleported about half a mile from where she was standing, it looked like others however had been teleported from completely different area's. Some seemed like they were in the middle of a battle others in other situations. Crossing her arms and pulling up her green cloaks hood she had just watched game master as most people called him. And listened to his speech, they were stuck here, and no matter the complaining. That was that, what's more if they were to die, that was it, no redo. A novel concept in most games, but this was your life at stake, not a fictional replica. After the speech had ended and the game master had vanished, Xena simply stood there taking in what had just happened. Most people seemed to be in a panic running around, the usual. What more would you expect though, opening her menu to completely confirm. There was no log out button, no exit button, nothing. She assumed the Game Master expected peoples families to check on them before they starved to death. Xena simply frowned, the only family currently at her house was her cat. Hopefully someone from work would come check on her in the coming days. Assuming all this was real and not just some nightmare.





  Xena | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 4

Spoiler

Xena,
Level: 1
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

Stats:
Damage: 4

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Vanity [No Stats}
Armor: Vanity [No Stats}
Misc: Vanity [No Stats}

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Claws R1

Active Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Addons:

Active Extra Skills:

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions (50 HP) x3

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Freyd 0]

"What the...?  Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Freyd's mind was frantic at the myriad possibilities floating about.  Was this actually some sort of ruse by Kayaba - some bizarre marketing gimmick designed to garner headlines?  Hadn't he gotten enough press over the last year?  It was due to all that attention that he'd been hired to come try out the game and provide technical commentary to a rival company that wanted an in on the NerveGear hype that had been setting the internet ablaze since its first announcement.  They even paid for his headset!  His chest felt constricted.  Breathing became harder and sound assaulted him from all sides as other players began to panic.  It spread like a wave through the crowd and as it often the wont with a herd of startled animals, they scattered all over the place.  Freyd's trauma expressed itself internally.  

Could Cardinal have figured out why I'm here?  Is this some sort of programmed counter-espionage response?  WTF!?  How the Hell was he going to stay off the radar a system that literally ran all of existence?

Survival mode clicked in and his own internal machine took over.  The first priority was to get off the streets before the others stampeded and pummeled people to death.  A few stray pixel puffs in the distance suggested that it was already happening.  Even the Town of Beginnings had a few areas that weren't part of the otherwise pervasive safe zone.  Each cloud of sparkles that went off meant one less player in the game - permanently.  Darting and weaving between the crazed and confused, he made his way towards a side alley, his plain grey woolen cloak and plastic-looking sword flopping all about him.  Nearly reaching his destination, a smaller, feminine figure blocked his path an he had to tumble sideways to avoid a full-on collision.  Rolling head over shoulder then back onto his feet, he looked at her with suddenly weary and wary red eyes.  Tufts of unruly brown hair stuck out from beneath the hood of his cloak.

"What the... sorry.  Sorry! I didn't see you."  Eyes darted towards every shadow, as if each one held some other unknown peril that the system eagerly waited to unleash.  "You shouldn't stay here, in the open," he muttered between gasping breaths.  "It's not safe."

Spoiler

***

[This thread occurs immediately after players become trapped in SAO, on day one.  Freyd is assumed to be a new character for narrative purposes.  Stats included below are for EXP award purposes only.]

Freyd | HP: 1080/1080 | EN: 142/142 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 5 | BH: 59 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

Full Stats:

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadow
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 101
HP: 1080/1080
EN: 142/142

Stats:
Damage: 24
Mitigation: 78
Accuracy: 5
Battle Healing: 59
Loot Dice: 5
FLN: 16
HLY: 16
PARA IMMUNE
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride (T4 MA | Holy 2 | Fallen 2)
Armor: Fallen Angel Garb (T4 LA | Mit 2 | Rec 2)
Misc: The Shadowed Rose (T3 Trinket - ACC 3 | Para Imm)

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Battle Healing R5
Light Armor R5
Searching R4
Charge
Energist
Quick Change
Extended Mod Limit

Active Mods:
Night Vision
Tracking
Meticulous
Untraceable

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Precision
Resolve
Reveal
Stamina

Active Extra Skills:
Disguise
Survival
Forgotten King’s Authority
Hiding R5

Inactive Extra Skills:
Meditation
Brawler
Photosynthesize

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+30*T HP) x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+30*T HP) x7
Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable) x1
Rhino's Horn (Reusable) x1
Hmr.Pk: The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 Demonic WH, AA, Blight, Static, Para.Ven (Off)) x1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring:

 

[Xena 0]

Xena stood in that area for about 5 minutes before finally deciding to move away. Looking around the area everyone was either panicking losing control or just, frozen. She couldn't even blame them for that, this situation was dreadful for a lot of people. Xena herself was doing everything she could to keep herself from breaking into a laugh, which was the way she herself coped with heavy grief, crying and laughing. Her cloak covered her golden orange hair as her eyes darted around at the many figures around her. She had a small grin on her face, that grin was her best effort not to burst into laughter and just bury herself in her own fears. It wasn't until some random player came barreling into her that she snapped at of what felt like a daze, crashing somewhat hard into the pavement of the ground with her shoulder her cloak and shirt cushioned the crash a tiny bit, it didn't really even hurt to begin with but it the g's she felt caught her off guard. Quickly looking at the target who had pushed her he himself had also fallen from this interaction. Her eyes just gazed at him from the minor darkness the ally had provided, somewhat like cat eyes in the dark if you can tell the distinction. He spoke about safety after nearly knocking her lights out, funny. "Not safe you say, I'd say its safer then being crashed into by someone in a blind panic."  Her tone was one of annoyance, but she had the right too be entirely fair. She slowly came to her feet trying not to wobble from the panic being crashed into had instilled in all this chaos, doing so her hood came off her head letting her hair out which she annoying scoffed at. "Jeez I try my best to keep this hood up and it always ends up falling down, i need to get a hair cut or somethin?" She had simply spoken to herself before staring at Freyd, she held a hand out to help him up simply asking. "Ya got a name?"

[Freyd 0]

"Tak...er...Freyd," he mumbled, struggling to determine whether reveal any information about his identity might only help Cardinal pin down his location and send whatever digital death squad the pseudo-Skynet might have in store for them all.  "And I wasn't... amen't... aren't..."  He shook his head, as if recalibrating his vocabulator.  "I'm not panicked!" The words came out way too loud and awkwardly defensive. 

"I'm not panicked," he repeated, more calmly this time.  "But many others around here will be, and people in general aren't the most exhaustive thinkers at the best of time.  The next few hours or days will not demonstrate humanity's finest qualities.  Come on.  We should get out of the main plazas and avoid any crowds before the crazy-talk starts, and it will."  His eyes darted left and right repeatedly, almost as if he were reading some sort of invisible list of options and scenarios, trying to determine a best course of action.

"We could try hiding for a bit, until things calm down, and see what happens.  If this place has a hundred floors, then we're not escaping anytime soon.  We need time to think, and plan, and organize.  Not... this."  He gestured back towards the main plaza.  It was quite the sight.  Ten thousand players had been eligible for the opening playtest.  Every one of them had just been summoned here.  Most were currently stunned, fracturing into grief, fear and anger, or a mix of all three.  

"People are going to be desperate.  Desperate people do stupid, even suicidal things.  Neither of us need to get caught up in theat.  If we find a place to lay low..."  Red eyes peered at them from the darkness in the alley, sinister in mien and disturbingly hungry-looking.  

"You know what?  Maybe food and a rooftop might be best."  To some, it might seem like some sort of forward proposal, but Freyd was just too daft in such affairs to realize any other potential meaning.  He was in survival mode, and purely focused on keeping himself alive, along with anyone else that he could.

[Xena 0]

"Not panicked eh?"  As inclined as Xena was to believe him he seemed to have a screw loose at the moment. But she couldn't blame him, this situation was shady at best, not to mention he had a point, people did tend to lose their marbles when panic strikes. "As much as I hate to be the one to break it too you, I'm fairly certain this entire floor or at least a huge portion of it is a safe zone, its only once you use the exit gate to get to floor 2 that you can attack other players, I think-" Knowing that those last 2 words she mentioned could probably make him even more worried she couldn't do anything but shrug, they sorta just, slipped out. She actually only knew that a majority of the floor was safe, but there could be area's where death is still possible. Damn this being a so early into the game, if it were any other time after she'd of known this entire first floor by now. Taking a pause she put her hands on her hips looking back at the main area. Some people were already heading too the outer area's, how bold of them. She had a respect for that level of boldness, it would be what will get this everyone out of this mess in the future, if they survive. "Regardless, the most i can help you with is to sell ya the info I know, and that ain't a lot. The game only just started, players have barely explored the beginning area's of the game, and player made shops have only just began springing up and their all still at level 1 or 2 with their skills at most." As much as she hated doing it Xena had began info dumping, a problem she has when she starts talking she goes into a bit of a trance and just keeps talking until she eventually snaps herself out of it. Half of it wasn't even tested so she couldn't say if it was for sure true or not, he had mentioned food and a roof over their heads which was a decent idea. "You do have a point though, finding a place at a inn and a reliable food vender would likely be the best chance at survival, those and perhaps a good low level area to grind currency, or a few repeatable quests that only require you being in these safe area's."

[Freyd 0]

"Safe zone?  Maybe against PK, but I had already watched two dozen people get ganked by boars out there before..."  Freyd's voice tapered off to silence, as if only just realizing the significance of those moments.  Those people were gone.  Real, likely real-real, casualties were happening.  A large, featureless wall stood at the far end of the plaza across from their temporary shelter.  Even from this distance, he could see flashes of red appearing on its surface like a cascade of dominos.  They were names.  They were people, just not anymore.  Shit.

"We can't assume anything anymore.  Every rule is forfeit.  Every place of shelter is at risk.  Even friends could soon become enemies.  PK exists in the game."  The declaration fell with the force of a thunderbolt between them.  Murder was real, in the game.

"Info.  Yes.  We need info, and a lot of it.  Quests!  We should start doing some quests.  They'll provide resources, and we can sell or share knowledge of our experience so that others will follow.  There must be a series of intro quests all over this floor.  Every MMO has them.  We'll need their reward to cover costs at an inn, or tavern, or whatever."  The longer he spoke, the more the pace of his speech calmed and slowed, until its measure was so steady that he could have been an automaton himself.  

"You're right."  Freyd's tone was serious but also coolly rational.  "We're going to need data to survive, and data is a commodity.  I think I saw a few quest givers around the next street.  I know we literally just bumped into each other, but no one is surviving this solo.  What say we start there and work together?"

[Xena 0]

Putting a thumb to her bottom lip Xena nodded, he was mostly right besides one thing. "I can't say I don't appreciate it but, with all this stuff your saying I kind of got to ask, what makes you trust me?" She had a point, she didn't mind working with someone but, it was kind of a important question. He who just said you can't even trust a friend was suddenly trusting a total stranger. Was it simply the idea of strength in numbers and he was only thinking off that, or perhaps he had other idea's. She shrugged when he had asked her to join him here so suddenly, it would be rather rude not to take up his offer wouldn't it. Beginner quests, with a gaze to her right she looked down the streets analyzing the people upon them, NPC's and Players had very clear difference's, namely most players had a type of health bar above them, NPC's usually didn't. "Perhaps that fellow there could have a quest we can do easily? If not we can always cancel it." She had pointed her gloved hand towards a man with a fancy monocle and nice bearded face, he was the kind of person you'd immediately assume as rich due to his time of fashion, it was a old timey rich however. "Or, if you're feeling more brave, we could try and find a monster hunting quest, although I'm unsure if those are available to our levels yet." She had said that in a light hearted almost jokeative tone, she wasn't about to leave the safe zone for at least a few days. She needed to learn the lay out of this entire safe area inside and out before she left into the wilds.

[Freyd 0]

He locked eyes with her and replied.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't trust you.  Not entirely, and not yet at least.  That sort of thing comes with time.  It's a risk, as are all things to some greater or lesser degree.  Doing nothing doesn't seem like much of a choice, so I'm willing to take a chance."

Following her gaze down the street, he spotted the man to whom she had referenced.  The crowds were already thinning out.  Some had used teleport crystals to vanish instantly to other set points.  Many had left in search of some sense of normalcy in the outer rings of the city.  Most just wandered around aimlessly, not sure what to do with themselves.

"Monster hunting should wait.  There are quests around that don't require fighting.  That will help us build up our levels and our strength."  He looked above the horizon at the thick white tower connecting the floor to the ceiling above - a virtual Tower of Babel - and the most obvious way to reach the next level up.  There would be plenty of time for fighting.  Of that, he had no doubt.

"Come on... err... what did you say your name was again?"

[Xena 0]

With a small shrug she nodded to his talk of distrust, it came with her territory so she couldn't exactly say he could trust her 120%. Looking at the streets thin she crosses her arms once again raising her hood over her head, this ally had a chilling breeze going down it, strange how life like it felt despite this being a game. Xena for one wasn't a fan of the cold, she'd most likely just not participate in any snow environment floors unless she managed to get some kind of cold resistant clothing, but she also imagined that kind of stuff was only available from high level tailors of which she didn't even know of A tailor yet. "I hear ya, personally I'm not ready to use a weapon either, I hardly even got any combat training done before this whole fiasco."  As she stated that he simply looked towards the tower in the distance, seems that's where they'd be going. He then finally asked her name, funny they had been talking for about 20 minutes and he only just realized he never asked, too be fair she hadn't realized either. "Guess you can call me Xena." She stated simply, as if that wasn't already her username.

[Freyd 0]

"Fair enough."  Freyd led them to the figure Xena had pointed out in the crowd, only that he wasn't so much a quest giving NPC as a a broker for such NPCs.  

"You want us to go to Tolbana?"  A series of rapid finger strokes called up the in-game map.  The name sounded familiar and he soon realized why.  

"I was literally just about there, until all of... this!"  Wildly flailing arms gestured to the entire scene around them.  The NPC smiled pleasantly, oblivious to his actions.  It was one of those bot-type programs whose only purpose was to direct players towards content.   Freyd grimaced and glowered at the dude.

"Well, I suppose its good thing that I already know the way," he finally added, sighing to himself with a shrug.  "It's not far."

"Please ensure that you speak with Mayor Dorian as soon as you arrive.  He has need of your services. Thank you again for-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We got it."  Pulling his cloak tight around him, he led them towards the gate, eyeing the burly, heavily armored guards that stood on either side of the arched stone portal through the city's massive walls.  

"If Kayaba is willing to trap us in here, will he set his minions to wipe us out as well?"  He'd been thinking it since the announcement, but it had taken this long to give it voice.  Irrationally, Freyd remained convinced that the system was out to get him on some sort of vendetta, but the truth was far simpler.  They were just rats in one man's maze, made to run or die for his twisted amusement.  One guard in particular caught Freyd's eye.  Though he stoically ignored the players as they left the city, something intangible tugged at him internally.

[Xena 0]

Xena had smirked listening to the NPC Broker, god if she ended up talking like that she'd get smacked in the face. But it seemed her acquaintance had heard this tale already, as he waved for Xena to follow, she shrugged doing so, her claws dangling on her belt tapped her lower outer thigh making a somewhat metal noise, she had no armor there though and the claws were simply vanity right now. "You know, this is still just a game. A death game or not there's clear objectives, from what i can tell the game isn't about to turn into a kill everyone in it game. After all, if kayaba has a nerve gear on too, doesn't that mean he's trapped here as well?" She said the thought as the two walked through the gate, a guard stared at them which Xena distrusted. Personally if she could she'd love to smack that NPC for the look it gave the two, as if they were peasant filth or something. "Just try to relax, i got your back after all, we should be just fine." She said with a simple friendly smile under her cloak, the future was uncertain, she could very well end up dying in the coming days, but at this current point when all was mostly peaceful, she mostly only cared about getting this guy out of his, 'everything is out to get him' mood.

[Freyd 0]

"Yeah.  Yeah.  You're... " 

*blink*

It wasn't until this moment that Freyd finally realized that Xena was a member of the opposite sex.  Years of shuttered, insular existence had kept him away from such interactions, except online where virtual identities could be so easily clouded that they were practically meaningless.  But that veneer had just been stripped away.  Everyone was actually who and what they were, if only until people found way to cloak themselves behind a fresh set of masks.  More importantly, it provided what was desperately required: a distraction.

"Right.  You're right.  Yeah."  Wide-eyed and stammering without the ability to properly articulate, Freyd just shut his gob and stared straight forward.  Fear had been replaced by social awkwardness, which was strangely a far more familiar place for him.  It at least allowed him to focus on the task at hand as a means of distracting himself.  The journey to Tolbana passed in a flash.

***

"You there! Stop, please!" A man approached them the moment they entered the outskirts of the town. "Pardon me, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable." Freyd arched a single eyebrow, glancing at Xena as if wondering what could possibly have given him that impression. "My name is Dorian, and I am the mayor of this town. As part of those mayoral duties, I issued a small loan to a member of the community a few months ago. Well, the time to collect had come around and I-" 

Freyd cut him off abuptly.  

"You want us to be debt collectors?!"

[Xena 0]

Xena had continued following him when something seemed to of suddenly clicked for the odd fellow, and he suddenly seemed awkward tripping over his words again. "Are you ok...? You're kind of worrying me." In truth it was surprising to even herself that she cared about this guy, but, lives were on the line, and she didn't wanna see anyone die, not for real, and this was so far the only person she's met. Then suddenly a strange man ran up towards them, mentioning they seemed capable after that Freyd stared at her with a look. "I get it I'm short you don't need to look at me so condescendingly!" She muttered pouting as she crossed her arms and took the look with extreme offense, in truth she was extremely self aware of her rather short height and hated it. As the man talked about tax collecting Freyd would then suddenly burst out in outrage which lead to Xena smacking a fist into Freyd's back it was more of a shut up blow then any attempt to hurt him, besides this was a safe zone, or so she thought at least, she hadn't noticed them leaving a safe zone or any message saying they entered a dangerous area. "Oh uh, sure we'd uh love too, but what do we get out of this?" As she spoke she held a hand out her index and thumb held together rubbing each other, making a sign that could only mean they wanted to be paid for this task. It was of course a fair offer, this NPC wanted something done they wanted money, a fair trade to say the least.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd's ears perked up at the mention of compensation.  Yes.  Transactional business.  It was something his poor addled brain could actually grasped, even as it spun along multiple different axes, struggling to find some bearings in a world turned upside down.

"I.  Sorry.  Yes.  You're right, of course."  He hung his head sheepishly, burrowing back into his own hood as best he could.  The man seriously lacked confidence, but she could sense that he was afraid of something far deeper than anything they had encountered or discussed to date.  It was almost as if he'd actually been afraid of himself the whole time.  They listened as Dorian suggested a visit to Zackariah, the alchemist.  It wasn't hard to find the shop in question.  Tolbana was tiny by comparison to the Town of Beginnings, and a simple process of elimination led them to his doorstep.

"Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supplies.” Light came into the man's eyes as they explained that they were doing the mayor's dirty work for him.  

"Look, man.  Don't make this hard."  Why did he sound like some sort of thug?  Freyd shook the thought loose and continued.

"The quests was to find who borrowed the money.  If that was you, you need to pay it back.  If not, just say so and we'll be on our way."  He gave Xena a quick glance, then turned and whispered in her ear.  "What kind of weirdo forgets who he gave money to and then gets someone else to try and find it for them?  This almost seems like sort twisted shakedown.  Have I missed something?"

"Look, uh... I didn't borrow the money," Zackariah replied.  "But I might know who did, and would be willing to tell you if you helped me out by doing a small favour.  What do you say?"

"Another favour?"  Freyd looked positively nonplussed at being given another job within an already odd job.  "Yeah.  Fine.  Whatever.  Just spit it out already."

"Plants.  Herbs, specifically.  I need to resupply to keep up with demand.  You two look like you understand that.  Get me five samples and I'll give you the info.  We'll call it square.  Deal?"

Freyd shrugged and nodded his agreement, looking for Xena's input.

[Xena 0]

Xena frowned, she had felt she had upset Freyd without even meaning too. "Uh, sorry, about that." As she spoke she looked off to the side still pouting as she was still kind of upset, the NPC hadn't even stopped his monologue when the two seemed to 'fight'. "I just uh... kind of am a tiny bit self conscious about this..." She had hoped he knew what she was talking about when she said that. As the NPC finished his speech he directed the two towards the alchemist, maybe she should buy a potion or two while they were there. As the two walked across town too the obvious brewing shop Xena knocked on the door before walking in her hood covering her head. As Freyd and the NPC talked Xena just snooped around the shop, learning what she could. She was half tempted to take a look in the back but she didn't want to end up getting in trouble for it, walking back over it seemed the alchemist had offered information for a favor. "Jeez, i hate all these NPC Brokers..." She muttered to herself crossing her arms looking at the two men as they talked. As the alchemist mentioned his deal Xena nodded. "Alright whatever lets get this over with."

Edited February 6, 2022 by Xeno

[Freyd 0]

A furrowed brow confirmed his struggle to understand.

"Hey.  You okay?"  Freyd spoke quietly as they walked side by side, trying to make sure that they weren't overheard.  He was just about the worst when it came to reading feelings, especially those of others.  "I didn't mean any offense.  I'm just... yanno... bad with talking to people.  Especially..." He swallowed hard.  "Girls.  Okay!  There.  I said it!"  His face blushed such a brilliant shade of red that tomatoes would be envious.  It was amazing that he was even able to admit it to someone, let alone a virtual stranger.

"Look," he tried again, taking a deep breath.  "You seem clever, with a good sense of awareness.  I can tangle and haggle with NPCs 'til the cows come home, but I just can't... yanno... talk to real people.  It's never worked for me.  I just get.... flustered, and end up running through these games solo, doing my own thing.  But that doesn't mean I don't want to help, in my own way."  Stuffing his hands awkwardly into his pockets, he shuffled at her side as they headed towards the outer fields.  A small peace offering seemed like a good idea.

"Why don't you collect what he needs," Freyd suggested.  "I'll keep watch and make sure that your back is covered.  I just want you to be safe.  I want everyone to be safe."  Drawing his sword, he held it loosely at his side and turned his gaze to their surroundings for signs of any potential danger.  She could actually see his hands shaking as he gripped the weapon.

[Xena 0]

Bad at talking to girls, jeez, she wasn't even a girl who made attempts at seduction, in fact she was more of a tom boy then anything, but under her personality she was a girl so, she guessed it made sense for him to be embarrassed, kind of. "You don't gotta think of me as a girl if it stresses you out when talking to me, i say that but i don't imagine my appearance or voice makes that easy." As she said that he had offered to defend them while she collected the herbs necessary she nodded getting on her knees over in the field looking through the grass, she didn't have any sight skills, or really any foraging skills so this would be rather difficult. As she looked around she decided she'd try to participate in some small talk. "If you get flustered talking to girls may i ask the main reason why? It's not like we're gonna bite you or tear you apart, we're all humans after all." She simply wanted to get behind his fears, after all she never had issues talking to boy's she actually got along with most men, then again, most MMO's are more friendly unlike this one. She wasn't able to find any herbs yet as she dug through the grass looking for them.


 

ID 203274.  LD 9.  No materials found.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Xeno

[Freyd 0]

"It's complicated," Freyd replied, not really wanting to delved into all the horrible things that had led him to shutter himself away from people.  "Let's just say that I'm not built to be the social type.  It's caused... serious problems in my past."  A flicker of pain and a grimace flash across his face, only to be obscured as he turned away in a pretense of vigilance.

*cough*

"Erm... oh!  I have a couple of things that might help.  Using untrained skills for gathering can be a pain, or so I've been told.  I picked these up at a shop on my way out of town the first time.  Why don't you use them.  They might bring you better luck."  A few taps at thin air spawned a pair of items, one looking like some sort of tasty treat and the other a small cloth sack with intricate embroidery on the sides.

"I'm gonna need the bag back when you're done, but feel free to borrow it for this."

*** 

Freyd gives Xena:

Berry Crumb Bars (Snack) | LOOT DIE 3
Tart crumbled and held knitted together by jam and cut pieces of berries. Chewy, crumbly, complex. Mild.
ID 195113

Freyd loans Xena the following for the duration of the thread:

Small Konpeito Sack | TIER 1 DEMONIC TRINKET | LOOT DIE III, QUALITY I
Crafting ID: #185195
A small cloth pouch of Konpeito; albeit, the candy inside isn't actually edible.

[Xena 0]

As Xena listened to him continue she kept looking, she kept digging around in the grass until he said something that got her to rise off her hands knees and look at him, she let out a cough as the smell of grass was actually hurting her, not really more so she was annoyed by the smell, it had a dizzying effect on her. "You sure? I don't wanna go taking and using what you got, it's not fair for you." Despite saying that she walked up taking the items from his hands, and with what she figured was a yes of silence equipped the bag and ate the bars. She wasn't sure if she needed 1 or all of them so she ate all of them just to be safe. She then looked back with a sorry look before wlaking back over to the grass to keep looking for the herbs the task requested.

Xena Accepted Freyd's:
 

Berry Crumb Bars (Snack) | LOOT DIE 3
Tart crumbled and held knitted together by jam and cut pieces of berries. Chewy, crumbly, complex. Mild.
ID 195113

Small Konpeito Sack | TIER 1 DEMONIC TRINKET | LOOT DIE III, QUALITY I
Crafting ID: #185195
A small cloth pouch of Konpeito; albeit, the candy inside isn't actually edible.

Xena ate Berry Crumb Bars (Snack)

[Freyd 0]

"Don't worry about it.  This is a group effort, and well worth it if we both manage to complete the quest."  A slight smile as she struggled a bit with the food, trying not to seem critical.  Xena seemed a bit sensitive, but he was hardly in a position to give her a hard time about it.  It also didn't make sense to alienate literally the only other person he actually knew in this game. 

"Besides, I think we actually have a very similar approach to this game.  It wouldn't make sense not to help a potential business partner.  Truth is that we're all going to need to help each other out if we want to stand a chance at getting out of here."  His gaze drifted upwards to the sky, knowing that another floor lay above, and then ninety-eight more beyond.  This was going to take a while.  It only made sense to play the long game.