[F01] A New Beginning <<The First Lesson>>

[Miyukii 0]

It was the start of something new for everyone when they get trapped insides a game. A new scene, a new life, and even new friends. Not many people can say they have lived through a video game but the few that did have many stories. But every story starts off with the basics.

Miyukii, a young white haired girl stepped into her first game. The game that manage to trap ton of players and expects them to beat it. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part is that if a player dies in the game, they die in the real world. Obviously no one can prove it but it is a conspiracy that everyone took to heart while trying to survive in this game.

The first quest that she worked on was basically an introduction on how things work in the game. And so there she was in the center of the Town of Beginnings where she was interrupted by a mysterious man. The man's name is Dorian and he seems to be the mayor of this town. As she listens to what he has to say, she notice how many other players are here trying to get started with there new life. Each and every person here with there own unique looks and personality.

After finally toning into the conversation and she accepting the quest she would then hear Dorian mention what to do next for the quest. He explains that the first person she should see about collecting the money is Zackariah. An alchemist that owns a shop somewhere in the town. The only question is. "Where would he be at?"

Edited July 19 by Miyukii

[euled 0]

A chestnut haired boy with green eyes would make his way into the familiar scenery of the Town Of Beginnings. He had a content grin on his face, a one handed sword sheathed at his back. 

Right. If I know anything about MMORPGs, it's that there's always a beginner questline. And that making a party is the key to success.

During his meander around the scenery of the town, he would pass by quite a few shops. An armory, general goods, even an alchemist, though he figured alchemists were a common troupe in games like this. The hustle and bustle of the place pleased him; even when he was down, when things were so lively it was bound to put a smile on anyone's face. His walk continued, eventually coming into the town square. He yawned, bored out of his mind.

Agh, where are you, damn tutorial NPC?

Right after he said this, his thoughts were answered by the sound of conversation nearby. Euled swivelled his head around out of curiosity and spotted a white haired girl talking to a very generic looking guy. His attire was different from the rest and Euled could tell that he wasn't a player. It's not like he meant to eavesdrop, but he had to. 

That must be it.

He'd overheard the guy talking about owing money and an alchemist nearby, giving the girl before him a reward if she managed to complete his task. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, and besides, power in numbers, right? Euled made his way over to the white haired girl, overhearing the last bit on her confusion of the alchemist's whereabouts.

"Yo. You're a newbie too, right? If you're looking for the alchemist, then I think he's somewhere around the marketplace."

He decided to tread over his next words carefully. Euled didn't want to piss off a stranger; the first person he spoke to today right off the bat.

"...And, uhh..If you don't mind, would you form a party with me? I'd want the rewards as well; and besides, two swords are better than one, right?"

Euled scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, awaiting for a response and expecting the worst.

 

 

<<Euled>> | SP: 5 | HP: 20 | EN: 20 | DMG: 5 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | LD: 0

 

Equipped items: 

Standard One-handed Straight Sword | Tier 1 Rare Standard One-handed Straight Sword | DAMAGE I KEEN I

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19 by euled

[Shin Kagami 0]

Kagami strolled around the First Floor, their boss keeping them away from their day job at the coffee shop tucked away in the little corner of the Town of Beginnings. "You need to take a break too Kofi says. It'll be good for you she says," the platinum-blonde player grumbled to themself. Why couldn't they just live a peaceful life? Preferably one in near seclusion with just the few NPCs that they'd know do her right. Maybe the occassional player entering and exiting. Maybe it was time to escape to another floor.

But Kagami pushed those thoughts away, instead trying to focus on looking for something that would entertain their day. Even they had to admit that the weather was good today. There were only a few clouds amongst the dazzling blue sky and the sun and heat weren't overbearing either. It felt almost a shame to waste the day away even though that was their M.O. As they walked the expanse of the First Floor, they found themself near the beginning of the starting questline. A questline that they had started a few times, but never really finished for one reason or another. But that wasn't what was important. A few players caught their eye. A chestnut-haired teenage boy and a fairly short girl with white hair and blue highlights. They'd have to do as entertainment.

Kagami put on their best smile that they could muster for another human being as they approached the pair. Maybe it wasn't genuine, but it'd have to do. "You two doing this quest too?", Kagami asked. Then, they pointed to themself. "Mind if I join?"

Stats:

Spoiler

Name: Shin Kagami
True Tier: 2
Level: 11
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 220/220
EN: 40/40

Stats:
Damage: 10
Mitigation: 18
Accuracy: 1
Evasion: 1
Stealth Rating: -1
REC: 1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket:
  - Vanity Rapier
Armor/Trinket:
  - Light Armor (Recovery 1/Evasion 1)
Shield/Armor/Trinket:
  -

Combat Mastery:
  -

Combat Shift:
  -

Familiar Skill:
  -

Custom Skill:
  -

Skills:
  - Light Armor R3
  - Rapier R5

Extra Skills:
  - Disguise

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
  - Ferocity
  - Precision
  - Stamina

Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:

Word count: 272

[Eliseris 0]

           Eliseris had little to do as she waited for her equipment to finish being made. The clothing she got her hands on a while back was of no statistical use whatsoever, and the weapon she'd gotten only made it possible to use her skill, with no additional benefits. At least she was able to have a little luck on her side with her latest purchase from a shop in the town...

          She began to overhear a conversation in close proximity. Close enough that, the quest window popped up for Eliseris as well as the white haired girl the NPC seemed to be speaking to. Not a moment too soon, two players showed up to ask the young girl if they could join her. Eliseris sighed internally. There was no valid reason to be so excessively forward. She would approach the three players, and start by addressing the other two who showed up. "You're both being a little too forward with her." She began. With a mild shrug, she'd continue. "Though I suppose that since the quest prompt appeared in front of me as well, and the fact that it's the 'first lessons' as it so claimed, I might as well offer to lend a hand as well."
           She looked to the white haired girl. "The choice is yours, no pressure intended." She said in hopes of reassuring the girl.

 

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 1

Paragon Level: 0

HP: 20

Energy: 20

Base Damage: 4(PA Rank 1[3])

Mitigation: 0

Accuracy: 0

Evasion: 0

LD: 3(Laurel Earcuffs)

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

Skills:

Polearm Rank 1(4 SP)

 

Extra Skills:

[None Yet]

 

Mods:

[None yet]

 

Addons:

[None yet]

 

Equipment:

Simple Halberd(Polearm, Vanity)[Equipped]

Nobility Uniform(Clothing, Vanity)[Equipped]

[T1]Laurel Earcuffs(Jewelry, LD 3)[Equipped]

[T1]Basalt(ACC 3)

 

Consumables:

Starter Healing Potions(Restores 50 HP) x3

 

[Miyukii 0]

It didn't take long for other players to start showing up. After all this is the place where everyone begins, and even now, has a large player based still in the town. As she looked around there were three other players that came up and asked if they can tag along. The boy had a type of speech she's not familiar with. Although they all can understand each other probably from the game engine to make sure no one can't have a way to communicate with each other. He had a type of speech patterns you'd mostly hear from the Western world. The other two other hand seem to be more in the origin that Miyukii is from. But with no reason to think about it she smiled at them all and gave a quick but sweet answer.

"Sure. The more the merrier."

Her soft tone voice echos around as she looks at the expressions from everyone.

"My name is Miyukii. Glad to meet you all."

She kept on smiling as she wait's to see what the other's would have to say. Normally people would introduce themselves as well other tend to think that it has to be a secret.

[euled 0]

"Nice to meet you all. The name's Euled, but you don't have to remember it. It'll be a household name soon enough!"

He jabbed his thumb at himself as he said this while grinning, directing his voice to nobody in particular. completely and adamantly serious about this. Response or no response, he would return to a neutral stance, opening the game's menu system. He fumbled over how it worked for a bit; it wasn't like he was used to complicated menu systems.

"...Uuhhh..How do I invite someone to a party again?"

Euled tapped away at the menu for a little bit longer before sighing and giving up.

"...Never mind. Can one of you guys do it? You seem more experienced than me."

It hurt to admit it, but it was a necessary sacrifice in order to make things as quick as possible. He paused for a bit, waiting for a response.

"Anyway, once the party's all done, we're all set to go, right? Let's go find that alchemist."

 

 

 

[Shin Kagami 0]

"Sorry was I being too obvious?", Kagami joked and got down onto one knee in front of the group. Kagami paid no attention to their dark brown slacks getting soiled by the ground underneath them. Instead, they put on their most stoic face they could muster and looked up at the group. "It'd be my honor to serve you all since you'd have me." Not a moment later, they sprung and stood up again. "How'd I do?", Kagami said with a smirk across their face. Hopefully the group would play along. Though Kagami wouldn't blame the other players looking at them like they're a maniac. It would be quite appropriate to call them that.

Kagami swiped their hand through the air and brought up the menu with ease. It didn't take them long to navigate the various menus and soon, all of the players in front of them would receive party invitations from Kagami. 

However, Kagami's honest feelings were that they'd rather not join a party since other players would see their username, but they were well past the point of no return already. No use worrying about it now. Plus, everyone would need to join a party anyways if they wanted to take the quest together. So Kagami did what they did best. Put it off. After all it wasn't a problem. At least, not yet.

"Just sent the party invitations. Then we can go." Kagami saluted the purple-haired girl who had yet to introduce themselves. "Lead the way and we will follow you, leader!"

wordcount: 256

[Eliseris 0]

                            The white haired girl accepted all three players' offer to assist, ant they all began to introduce themselves. The white haired girl, Miyukii, spoke softly and kept up a gentle smile. Eliseris was reminded of her younger siblings, but as a result remembered that only one of her younger siblings was alive today... Eliseris could only hope that the game would not make this girl suffer a similar tragedy. The boy would introduce himself as Euled, and claim that it would be a household name in enough time. Eliseris's eyes were narrowed slightly, and she raised an eyebrow. "Feeling cocky, are you?" She asked. She then looked the boy up and down. "With that attitude...I give it two weeks before someone tries to slide a knife across your throat."
            After a few seconds of unnerving silence, she spoke once more to him. "Having courage is necessary for making it outside the safe zone, but don't let it all go to your head. When you start to think you're unstoppable, that's when you're the most vulnerable." She advised. While she did need to make him aware that arrogance can lead to downfall, some helpful advice might be able to soften the blow.
                       As for the other girl, she apparently completely changed her demeanor for a short moment in a particular direction. Eliseris stifled both a smile and a chuckle. "There's no need to go that far." She commented as the girl sprung up with a smirk. There was no introduction from this girl, but that didn't stop Eliseris from giving her introduction. "I am Eliseris." She began. "I will do all that I can for this quest's effort."

    Euled had a hard time navigating his menu and seemed to give up at sending party invites, so the girl other than Miyukii would be the one to send them instead. For whatever reason, she saluted towards Eliseris and declared her the party leader. Odd. Normally it was the sender of the invitations that becomes the party leader. Eliseris was not aware that the sender could declare a different player in the party to become the leader. Nevertheless, she would accept. With a nod of her head, she would make her reply. "I will do the best I can."

          She turned her attention back to Euled. "So you think you know where the Alchemist is? I think I know as well. Pull out your map, let's compare and see if our guesses line up." She suggested.

[Miyukii 0]

Miyukii smiled as she looked at the other three joining her with this quest. With the invitation to join the party came to her attention she would gladly accept it.

Now since the introductions has finally ended it was time to get busy with the quest. As it seems Eliseris and Euled proclaim to know where the Alchemist might be hanging out at. It was quite interesting to see how people proceed to find a way to make leeway for progress with a quest like this. But there again each and everyone of the party members came from different directions of the city so one of them bound to find the person they're looking for.

With no hesitation though Miyukii looked over the sholder of Eliseris and try to help with finding the Alchemist on the map, and therefore open up her map as well.

"Hopefully we can find this man called Zackariah and collect his debt for the Mayor"

[euled 0]

Kagami's manners were something Euled didn't expect, especially in an MMORPG like SAO.

Talk about polite...

"...Wow, thanks a lot for the encouragement..."

He slumped a little at Eliseris poking at his confidence, something that he didn't expect to happen about 2 minutes in of conversing with someone. 

"I guess you're right..."

Hearing her words, he pulled out his map issued to every beginner player, skimming and running his eyes through for any shops that were labelled with alchemy. Euled thought the map system in SAO was pretty slick and clean, and it was. He found the store in no time and closed the map with a grin.

"Found it! Alright, let's go."

Euled turned direction and walked in a general direction, gesturing to his party members to follow him.

"The alchemist's over at the trading centre."

 

[Shin Kagami 0]

Kagami looked around and smiled as they watched Euled, Miyukii, and Eliseris as the others played around with their maps looking for Zackariah's shop. Even though Kagami spent the majority of their time in the Town of Beginnings, they never bothered to memorize where Zackariah's shop was. It seemed like one of those things everyone who took this quest had a different answer. In fact, it was more common than uncommon for something like that to happen in this game. Kagami could still remember the first time they heard other rumors about how other's Gemini quest went. They squeezed their eyes shut and a dour expression took over their normally calm demeanor. Some things are best left forgotten.

It wasn't very long before Euled found the alchemist's shop on the map. When Euled announced his findings, Kagami slowly reopened their eyes and saw Euled begin to march ahead of the group. With a quick flourish of their hands, Kagami motioned to the pair of girls to follow Euled. Kagami wore a tight smile on their face and looked towards Miyukii and Eliseries. "You go on ahead, I'll be right behind you." And Kagami would. They didn't intend to flake today. After all, there was nothing better for them to do.

Word count: 210

[Eliseris 0]

                    Euled's recognition of Zackariah's location on the map matched that of Eliseris. The Central Market Plaza. While there were multiple Market Plazas in the Town of Beginnings, the Central one just so happened to be the largest.

              Everyone has to start somewhere, and apparently for the players trapped in Aincrad, starting out apparently meant collecting a money debt. Everyone has reasons for borrowing, but people who borrowed were either careless or between a rock and a hard place. Eliseris began to wonder which of the two this particular scenario happened to be.
                        Euled was currently leading the way, but Eliseris didn't mind. A leader didn't have to be at the front at all times. The girl who still had yet to introduce herself told Miyukii and Eliseris to go on ahead, that she would follow them from behind.

 

           It wasn't long before the party reached the shop where Zackariah was supposed to be. Eliseris then looked to Miyukii. "You got the quest first, so why don't you go in first?" She offered, with a slight smile and a gentle motion of her hand.

[Miyukii 0]

Miyukii looked around seeing as Euled already found it and Eliseris agreed it seem that that's where they're heading to. Watching Euled take the lead of escorting the ladies to the destination followed by Eliseris and Miyukii then Kagami right behind everyone. It wasn't a long walk in the park but seeing how busy the city was with players and npc made it almost so real. 

Approaching the alchemist shop Miyukii looked up and looked at the store. Then all of the sudden she heard Eliseris say something.

"Of course."

She paused for a moment trying to gather the nerve to walk up to Zackariah and proceed on with the quest.

"Excuse me. Aren't you Zackariah? The Mayor is asking me to collect your debt."

The white haired girl spoke with such calm and softly tone. It didn't take long before Zakaraiah started to interact with her talking to her about the quest. And then went on about him needing materials for this potion and once she was able to bring back the materials, she would get his debt money.

Miyukii nodded to the older man before heading back to the group.

"Who's next?"

Edited July 28 by Miyukii

[euled 0]

He decided to walk into the shop alongside Miyuki. Euled wanted to get info about the place too: there was no point waiting outside and having Miyuki tell them about what the alchemist said when he could just get it directly from him. He listened to Zackariah talk. Collecting materials sounded easy enough. 

"Leave it to us!"

Euled lingered. This decision bore fruit as he saw Zackariah pull out a small vial of fondue that Euled could try, free of charge.

"Sure, I'll try it."

As soon as he gulped down the vial, for some reason, he felt like today was going to go better. Well, maybe it was just because it tasted good. Euled said his goodbyes and walked out of the store, back with the rest of the party.

 

 

[Shin Kagami 0]

As the group of players entered the shop, Kagami looked around the shop and surveyed the wares that the NPC alchemist had to offer. If nothing else, all the different colors were interesting to look at. The potions Kagami came across tended to come in a single color per variety, so seeing the potions that littered the shelves have more colors than Baskin Robins had flavors kept them busy while Miyukii and Euled initiated the next stage of the quest.

Eventually, it was now Kagami's turn to step up to the counter and talk to Zackariah. When he asked the player to find materials before he can fulfill their order, Kagami opened their mouth to argue and then promptly shut it. They looked back at the rest of the group, unsure of what the other players would think of them trying to argue with the NPC alchemist. No one was here to make an order. At least Kagami wasn't. Kagami wanted to correct Zackariah and reason with him but they were self-conscious right now in front of the other players. As Zackariah looked on expectantly to Kagami, they eventually caved in. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll do whatever you want, just hand over the damned..." Kagami eyed the pot that Zackariah brought out from the back. "- whatever that is."

Zackariah produced a vial of the same concoction and presented it to Kagami before the player spoke up. "Wait a moment."

"Is something the matter?", Zackariah asked.

"What materials would you be looking for?"

"Ah, just anything from around here. An alchemist has to be resourceful, you know?"

Kagami nodded and accepted the vial from Zackariah. When they took a swig of the mystery concoction, they started coughing and retching as soon as it entered their mouth. Blegh. Maybe more colors than Baskin Robins' flavors, but definitely not matching its taste. At least, according to Kagami. After their coughing fit ended, Kagami motioned to Eliseris. "Your turn now. Don't worry, I just didn't like its taste. Euled seemed to though," Kagami said as she jabbed a thumb in Euled's direction.

Updated stats (+3 LD from drinking the fondue):

Spoiler

Shin Kagami
Level: 11
HP: 220/220
EN: 40/40

Stats:
Damage: 10
Accuracy: 1
Mitigation: 24
Evasion: 1
Savvy: 1
LD: 3

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Vanity Rapier
Armor: Rare Light Armor (Savvy 1 / Evasion 1)

Skills:
Rapier R5
Light Armor R3

Active Mods:
 

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Stamina
Precision

Active Extra Skills:
Disguise

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

Word count: 348

[Eliseris 0]

                        While both Miyukii and Euled initiated the quest with ease, Kagami seemed at least a little agitated. Eliseris didn't know enough to possibly understand why she was acting like this. Zackariah requested for the players to find some alchemical materials for him, and the quest log updated. "What kinds of materials are some good examples as to what we could be looking for? It might help us to make sure we return with something we know you could use." Eliseris asked the NPC. "Ah, typically Herbs, unusual flowers, rare woods, whatever you can find outside the city walls." Zackariah explained. Eliseris nodded, keeping those words in mind. The NPC offered the players an alchemical fondue that could potentially help the party out for this task. Eliseris didn't see Miyukii take part in the fondue, while Euled definitely sampled it. Kagami took about a small vial's worth, but her reaction was anything but pleasant. Then it was Eliseris's turn. "Anything you'd compare it to?" Eliseris asked. She didn't know if it was going to be different for each player, or the same in general but could be perceived differently. Eliseris drank the alchemical liquid, and her senses found a few oddities. She wasn't sure about the taste itself, couldn't tell if it was good or bad. Could have been both simultaneously. "I can't seem to tell about the taste myself, but its texture, despite the substance being a liquid is...waxy, I guess? I don't know if that's the right word, I wasn't exactly the kind of kid that ate crayons back in my childhood." She remarked.

 

Eliseris partakes in the Fondue, receiving an additional +3LD for the remainder of the thread.

Stats and Equipment(updated):

Spoiler

Level: 1

Paragon Level: 0

HP: 20

Energy: 20

Base Damage: 4(PA Rank 1[3])

Mitigation: 0

Accuracy: 0

Evasion: 0

LD: 6(Laurel Earcuffs[3], Zackariah's Fondue[Buff, 3])

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

Skills:

Polearm Rank 1(4 SP)

 

Extra Skills:

[None Yet]

 

Mods:

[None yet]

 

Addons:

[None yet]

 

Equipment:

Simple Halberd(Polearm, Vanity)[Equipped]

Nobility Uniform(Clothing, Vanity)[Equipped]

[T1]Laurel Earcuffs(Jewelry, LD 3)[Equipped]

[T1]Basalt(ACC 3)

 

Consumables:

Starter Healing Potions(Restores 50 HP) x3

 

[Miyukii 0]

After everyone initiate the quest line, Miyukii notice everyone trying the fondue that was left for the players partaking the quest. She looked at everyone trying it or gathering it and sees that it wasn't all that pleasant.

"With the look on your face I'm not sure if I should of taken it or if I rather just deal with not knowing what it taste like."
 
She was ready to move onto the next part of quest. what people would say be the tedious part of the entire thing. But with that though she looks at the rest of the group.

"You guys ready to go? I'm ready to head out just let me know when everyone else is ready to go."

She gives off a small warm smile before grabbing her bag to search to make she she has everything she needed one more time before they leave the Town of Beginning.

[euled 0]

Scavenging for resources didn't seem like the most exciting first quest, but he supposed it was mandatory in an RPG-like game like this one. Like Eliseris, Euled noticed the slight agitation in Kagami's voice. He had the courtesy not to comment on it, though. He stared at her curiously as she tasted the vial, only to watch as she started...reacting to it in a "less than positive" way, to put it mildly. 

"What? Come on, it was good!"

He overheard Eliseris's question about the materials; he was glad it was easy stuff. Stuff that you could find in a jiffy. 

"Well..I can't really compare it to anything. It tastes kind of cheesy."

Euled shrugged. It was something you really had to try for yourself. He grimaced at her description.

"...I guess it's two against one."

With Miyukii's reaction understandable, he responded with a slight smile.

"I'm all set."

Well, it wasn't like you need to prepare much to go gather herbs.