[F01 | SP] On Good Terms | <<The First Few Lessons>>

[3ulogy 0]

The looming avatar of Kayaba fragmented and dissolved in the sky above the 10,000. His words were met with a mixture of rage and confusion. The crowd’s unease slowly morphed from fear, to panic, then outright pandemonium. Screams and wails echoed out of the plaza, the crowd rippling with exertion as 10,000 people tried running in 10,000 directions. People were being crushed, they were crying, pleading, praying that someone would save them, or that maybe they had misheard the warden of their new prison—

3ulogy burst from the crowd on the first floor. There was no sign of fear or panic on his face. He kept low, breezing by the placid NPC merchants. His target was the outskirts of town, then Tolbana.

“This isn’t real.” 3ulogy smiled to himself; a pure, unfiltered giddiness swept through him. “None of this is real.” For the first time in a long time, he felt joy.

3ulogy | Lvl 1 | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 4

Skills:
  - Dagger R1                                                                                                            

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Eulogy thought through his options at this point. He was relying on the fact that most the players would be too deep in shock to really get anything done. While they were still reeling from the exciting news, he would be three quests ahead. Checking his quest journal, he saw one clearly marked as a tutorial quest. It would be a childish introduction to gaming, but tutorial quests always gave disproportionate rewards to incentivize the duller players to engage with them. If the game wanted to talk down to him before it offered some good quest rewards, he’d take it.

He looked around as he vaulted the gates of the Town. Barely a handful of people outside. He was one of the first. Eulogy did a small little leap of joy as he continued sprinting. A world to explore, and nothing to stop him. An endless summer vacation, where he could do anything he pleased without consequence.

[3ulogy 0]

Eulogy approached Dorian. Two other players stood in line to talk with him while the third finished obtaining the quest. He couldn’t afford to wait behind these idiots. “Hey!” He started with a chipper tone. “What did you think about the lumberjack’s advice on this quest?” Of course there was no lumberjack, but who could resist confident words?

The first player turned around in line with a quizzical look. “Lumberjack? There wasn’t a lumberjack listed in the quest log.” The man already looked anxious. He must be terrified of the game. What a fool.

“Oh yea!” Eulogy brimmed with enthusiasm. “It’s not listed in the log. I got kind of lucky stumbling into him. He’s on the east side of Tolbana. He gave me a really good quest item that’s going to make the quest safer.”

“Safer, huh…” The player thought for a moment before tapping the second player on the shoulder. “Hey, Edict. I think we need to check something out before we start this quest. Just to be on the safe side.”

[3ulogy 0]

Dorian was finally free. Eulogy barged forward and hammered the “accept” button before reading. The mayor droned on with some long, boring, convoluted tale about lending money and forgetting where he had given it to. Eulogy rolled his eyes, grateful he didn’t have to mask for the lifeless NPCs. He had no doubt that the last stop in the quest would be the person who actually owed the Mayor money. But the quest didn’t allow him to skip NPCs. It was going to make him follow the objectives, line by line.

“I apologize for my forgetfulness. Why, just the other day I was leaving to go talk with that fisherman about something, I can’t quite remember his name, but yes, I was going to talk to him…”

Dorian started wrapping up, and Eulogy offered a quick “That’s crazy, man.” It usually worked on people. Spurred by the chirp of his quest updating, he took off towards the old potions seller.

[3ulogy 0]

The old man’s shop was disgusting. Ancient shelves sagged with unidentifiable potions and salves. The whole place had an awful smell, like mold and chemicals and who knew what else. Eulogy gagged as a kindly old man appeared from the back of the shop. “Why hello there, my child. What are you here about?”

Eulogy choked down his disgust. “Quest. Money. Do you owe the mayor money?” The man took a long moment to think, and it made Eulogy want to throttle the idiot. “Hmmm. I will need to look through my records. In the meantime, would you mind doing me a favor? I need some materials gathered. If you would go out to the outskirts of town and grab that, I would appreciate it greatly."

“Sure. Whatever.” The quest was proving a slow start. Maybe his instincts had been wrong on this one. The smell of old cheese assaulted his senses; the shopkeeper offered him a sample. 

[3ulogy 0]

The cheese had been atrocious, like cold snot rolling down his throat. No doubt the old man was a terrible cook. But he’d seen the stat buff it gave him, and was willing to eat awful cheese for the bonus to his looting.

The outskirts of town were a frantic mess. More people were out leafing through the gathering nodes, although Eulogy was perplexed at their presence. He knew he was one of the very first people out here. So how were there players now ahead of him? Focusing hard, he looking for a few of the gathering nodes further away. Most of the players were still being too safe. They had been rattled by Kayaba’s announcement. But not Eulogy. He didn’t feel a drop of that fear. He was in his element. All the part-time players were just cattle to be moved and moved around to achieve his dream.

[3ulogy 0]

What was his dream, anyways? Eulogy actually hadn’t thought that far ahead. But he didn’t want to. The joy of waking up and not knowing what would happen that day was dream enough. He was free to do whatever he wanted.

Except for right now. Right now, he was supposed to be picking stupid leaves off a stupid plant. Or rocks, or whatever passed for gathering in this game. Eulogy hated it. It was dull, monotonous work. He wished that he was dull enough in this moment to enjoy it, but he knew better.

Eulogy found a small pile of rocks with the gathering icon above them. He rooted through them, hoping to find some easy pickings.

“You won’t find much there.” He heard a quiet voice from behind him. A girl about his age was twirling her skirt, avoiding eye contact. “That node has a gray gathering icon. That means it has been picked over recently and it won’t have much to drop.”

[3ulogy 0]

Quickly, Eulogy rifled around his mental wardrobe of personalities. The girl appeared very shy, although she had been willing to approach a stranger. They were about the same age. Most likely, she was scared and looking for someone to help her. But sharing her knowledge of the game also suggested that she wanted to be needed. Eulogy decided that a classic, younger brother demeanor would be a good start.

“I… I’m sorry.” Eulogy blushed. “I just—I don’t really know a lot about the game. And now the announcement, and the fact that everything here is *real*, and—”

The girl reached out and hugged him. Eulogy counted to three before breaking the hug, tears forming in his eyes. “Thanks,” he sniffled. “Are you doing this quest too? Maybe we can do it together?” The thought of not having to gather his materials was a prospect worth enduring company.

The girl smiled warmly and nodded. “Of course. My name is Kohitsuji. Let me show you some better places to gather.”

Post Action: Gathering Materials
237122 | LD 3 + 3. Failure.

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Surprisingly, Kohitsuji took them back and closer to the wall. “I don’t see any nodes here.”

“Look closer. At your level, they’re almost invisible.” Sure enough, when Eulogy looked at the nearby grove, he saw icons so small and white they were nearly impossible to see. “Those are higher-end foraging nodes. Just level two, but I can get some for us.”

“Level two?!” The shock in Eulogy’s voice was genuine. “We haven’t been in the game for thirty minutes. How did you rank up so fast?”

“Well, I sort of stumbled into it,” she admitted sheepishly. She began to forage at the high-level nodes while she explained. “I took the wrong route to Tolbana, and ran into a woman named Giovanna. She gave me a compass, told me to go find something called a ‘demonic shard.’ I basically stumbled over one the moment I got the quest, and I unlocked foraging."

Post Action: Gathering Materials
237123 | LD 11 + 3. Failure.

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Eulogy was beside himself. He’d believed himself to be ahead of the pack with his sheer will and quick-thinking. And this girl literally tripped into a new class right at the start of the game. What a joke.

“That’s incredible!” Eulogy gushed. “Maybe when we’re done, you can show me where the quest is?” Kohitsuji clapped her hands and smiled. “Of course. I’d love to help you out. But let’s complete this one first, okay?”

“You’re right, Kohitsuji. How were those last nodes?” She frowned. “Well, they aren’t really dropping a lot, unfortunately. Some of these higher level nodes require a few patterns that I haven’t gotten the hang of—”

One of the first foragers in the game and she was making excuses. She wouldn’t last long in this game.

“That’s okay.” Eulogy gave her a comforting shoulder pat. “Why don’t we try one more time? I know you can do it!”

Post Action: Gathering Materials
237124 | LD 16 + 3. Success!

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Eulogy’s words seemed to reassure Kohitsuji. “You’re right. Let’s give it one more try.” She attacked the trees with a renewed vigor. Raking her fingers between the branches, she came away with a pile of materials this time. “I did it!” She exclaimed. “It turns out that for the smaller trees, all you really have to do is bend the branches just enough that the leaves appear ready to pop off, and then…”

Everyone in this game really seems to enjoy talking. Eulogy drowned out her monologue by retreating into his mind. He began to plan out his next few quests. There were a few shorter ones on this floor he would work through, but they would be boring and probably not offer him much in the way of experience or items. And the foraging quest… If someone as airheaded as Kohitsuji could manage it, the rewards probably weren’t the effort.

“That’s crazy. Time to head back, yea?”

[3ulogy 0]

His time with Zackariah (Kohitsuji had informed him of the old man’s name) proved blissfully brief. When Zackeriah said he didn’t have the money, but he knew someone who might, Eulogy rolled his eyes. Kohitsuji appeared enthralled. “We’ll have to go talk to the blacksmith then!” She grabbed Eulogy’s hand to run out of the shop.

He grabbed the boy’s hand. Don’t you *ever* do that again. If I ever catch so much as a hint that you’re back to—to doing this, I will…

Eulogy tore away from the girl instinctively. She appeared confused but apologetic.

“Sorry,” Eulogy mumbled. “Thought I felt a bug on my hand.”

Over at the blacksmith’s shop, Eulogy was dismayed to see yet another long line of people. How were they getting in front of him?! They all took turns talking to the blacksmith in a calm and orderly line. Kohitsuji walked to the back of the line and began to wait patiently.

Eulogy, on the other hand, saw a barrel full of weapons. Players appeared to be taking a weapon of their choice from the barrel. “C’mon,” he urged the girl. “Let’s just grab a weapon and go.”

“We can’t.” She appeared fearful. “We don’t know what kind of quest instructions he’s going to give us.”

“Sure we do,” Eulogy said, exasperated. “He’s going to tell us to kill three somethings, and then give us a weapon to do it.”

“But how do we know what the things are?” Eulogy rolled his eyes. “Boars. It’s always boars or slimes. Just follow the people in front of us.”

“But doesn’t he have to give us a weapon?”

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Eulogy debated leaving the girl right there. She was so annoyingly hesitant. Aincrad was waiting, and all she could worry about was talking to some scraps of personality that resembled a blacksmith. Quickly, he realized his own personality was slipping.

“Sorry, Kohitsuji.” He simulated regret. “I just wanted to try and get ahead, but I don’t want to make you nervous. I just think that the game won’t get mad if we do things a little out of order.” Kohitsuji relaxed. Eulogy began to tear up. “I just… I’ve been rushing because I really miss my big sis. I just want to see her. And now that we’re trapped here, I… I…” A large tear streamed down his face.

“Oh, you poor thing," said Kohitsuji. We’ll get you out of this game. I promise. But a few minutes in line won’t make a difference. Why don’t we talk about something else?”

[3ulogy 0]

Internally, Eulogy sulked. The crocodile tears worked on occasion, but even he had to admit they were often a last-ditch effort. He considered leaving the girl in line one last time, but thought against it. She might still have use yet.

Predictably, the blacksmith tasked them with killing boars and returning their tusks to him. And just like Eulogy had predicted, he loaned them weapons to get the job done.

“See? Aren’t you glad we stayed for the entire talk? We never would have known that we’re looking for the tusks of the boar. We might have come back with some other part.” She giggled. Oh, like it wouldn’t be the only part of the mob to drop because it’s a quest item. This girl hasn’t played very many video games and it shows.

“You’re right, Kohitsuji! Plus, we might have walked off with the weapons instead of returning them.” Wouldn’t that have been a shame.
 

Acquired. T1 Perfect Dagger. ACC 2 DMG 1

3ulogy | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | ACC 2 | DMG 5

[3ulogy 0]

Combat. Finally! Kohitsuji clung to her spear, worried about the docile boars roaming the plains. Eulogy charged into the fight. He hadn’t practiced sword arts, or anything really. But they were boars. How hard could it be?

He aggroed a pack of three. Perfect—he could finish everything at once. He heard Kohitsuji cry out in shock as he charged the pack. “You’ll get yourself killed!” As if. He vaulted over the first boar, spearing the second with his plain little knife. It squealed in pain and fragmented. Yes, Yes! This was a real game. Not talking, or waiting in line, or dealing with annoying players that insisted on following rules. Just Eulogy, his knife, and the victim.

Eulogy rolled to the side as the third boar charged, and he whipped his knife into the thing’s side as it ran by. It collapsed into the ground. Now, there was just one boar left.

Spoiler

 

3ulogy | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | ACC 2 | DMG 5

Boar 1 | HP 5/5 | DMG 3
Boar 2 | HP 0/5 | DMG 3
Boar 3 | HP 0/5 | DMG 3

Post Action: AoE-I -> Boars 1–3 (-7 EN)
237125 | BD 1. Critical Miss.
237126 | BD 6 + 2. Hit! 5 * 3 = 15 Damage.
237127 | BD 6 + 2. Hit! 5 * 3 = 15 Damage.

 

 

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Kohitsuji calmed down as he slew the final boar. Sure enough, all three dropped the tusks they needed, and only the tusks. “Now it’s your turn.” Eulogy pointed at a nearby pack of three boars. Kohitsuji twirled her hair nervously. “I really don’t think I can do it.”

Are you kidding? “No way! I know you can.” She shook her head. “You did good back there, but I don’t think I can jump around like that.” Eulogy frowned. “You don’t have to. With a spear, just keep your distance and stab them when they get too close. Play to your weapon’s strengths.”

The girl collected herself, and began to hum. Mirroring Eulogy’s reckless charge, she leapt into the middle of the boars. Eulogy’s mask dropped for a moment. “Kohitsuji, you idiot!—”

But to both of their surprise, she was holding her own. The boars seemed to charge one at a time, and her reflexes kept them at bay until she had speared all three in turn.
 

Spoiler

 

3ulogy | HP: 20/20 | EN: 10/20 | ACC 2 | DMG 5

Boar 1 | HP 0/5 | DMG 3

Post Action: AoE-I -> Boars 1 (-3 EN)
237125 | BD 9. Minor Critical! 6 * 3 = 18 Damage.

 

 

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Eulogy offered an honest compliment when she returned. “That really worked a lot better than I thought it would.” Kohitsuji smiled. “It was actually kind of fun. I really should have tried things your way the first time around.” A warm feeling spread from Koji’s throat down to his hands and feet. “I… thanks. You’re not such a bad fighter, honestly.” Maybe he had misjudged her.

Back at the blacksmith’s shop, they both turned their tusks in. The blacksmith offered a noncommittal grunt before dismissing them with a few curt lines about how he wasn’t stupid enough to owe Dorian any money. He directed them to a fisher on the outskirts of Tolbana. Third stop definitely meant that the money was there. “Do you think we’ll ever get that money?” Kohitsuji asked with a sigh. Eulogy returned the sigh. “I really hope so. Who knows when this quest is going to end?”

[3ulogy 0]

The fisher had a bright and chipper attitude that appealed to Kohitsuji. Eulogy did his best to play along. “Fishing, wow! This is amazing. You really can do anything in this game.” Please, please let me go back to combat. I’m going to break my own neck if I have to spend an afternoon fishing.

What time was it anyways? It was bright, but the sun didn’t move with the same regularity it did in real life. Everything had been happening in the span of a few hours, he thought. Then again, it brought his mind back to how people were getting ahead of him, despite being one of the first players out of the Town of Beginnings. Very little of this made sense. And the more he thought about it, the more it hurt his head.

Kohitsuji already had a fishing pole in her hand, humming lazily as she trawled for the treasure chest.
 

Post Action: Searching for Treasure
237129 | LD 3. Failure.
237130 | LD 4. Failure.
237131 | LD 7. Failure.
237132 | LD 2. Failure.
237133 | LD 15 + 3. Success!

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

Fishing was the tense, maddening minutes between the last good part of the lecture and the bell to leave. There was nothing to do, really, other than wait and hope that the chest would let itself be fished up from the cold depths of the river. At his level, it was up to sheer luck.

“At least you’ve got foraging to help you out.” Eulogy told her enviously.

“Oh, no, that’s fishing. Completely different skill.” She went back to happily humming. Eulogy’s face burned with embarrassment. This girl somehow knew more about the game than him, despite the same time in the game. He wanted to be the strongest player in the game, and he was being shown up by a girl.

“Wow, you really know a lot about the game.” Your mask is slipping, you idiot. He cut himself off, hoping silence would cover his tracks. Kohitsuji didn’t even seem to notice.

Post Action: Opening Treasure Chest
237135 | LD 9
100 col
(5) materials
T1 Rare Weapon [237135a]
T1 Rare Consumable [237135b] [237135c]

Edited October 30 by 3ulogy

[3ulogy 0]

“So what did you do before you got stuck here? I was a—”

Eulogy interrupted her. “We’re not supposed to talk about outside stuff. You never know who the other person might be.” Kohitsuji just giggled. “Eulogy, I trust you. Besides, even if you’re some crazy stalker, you can’t stalk me in real life. At least for a while.”

“I mean, yea, but in a few months when we get out, it’s a different story.”

“You really think it’ll just be a few months?”

“Wha—yea, of course. Some powergamer is going to blow through all the levels and get us out of here. If they don’t find some weird exploit by floor 70 first. Probably hunt down whichever player is secretly a game dev and beat the logout function out of him.” Kohitsuji giggled again. “Eulogy, that’s maybe the silliest solution you could have thought of.”

“...I suppose it is.”