[PP-F5] Blade of Dreams (Pepper, Saix)

[Oske 0]

The smell of burning metal wafted out the chimney from the furnace on the roof of a small smith shop. Inside, one NPC bustled and ran about with duties to do and swords to make. The NPC’s name was Pepper—she was a young girl, who didn’t look to be a blacksmith. However, she held a hammer as she walked up the stairs when the bell to her shop rang as a player entered.

“Mornin’!†she exclaimed. “How goes it, player?â€

[Saix 0]

Dressed in low quality leather armor covered with a curious half cape like mantle in bright scarlet; the swordsman that was currently inspecting the many weapons on display hardly looked like he could afford anything much better than the beginner weapon slung sheathed across his back. At the sound of the young, clear, voice; he turned to face the young blacksmith, and surprise flickered across his features. A young girl, who hardly looked as if she could lift a hammer, was the proprietor of this shop? Truly, SAO was a strange place. Closer inspection revealed that this young shop keep was in actuality, an NPC. "Good morning." He replied with a polite nod of the head. "I had hoped to upgrade to better equipment before striking out into the dungeon, but I fear the quality of these weapons might be a little outside my price range." He said with a shrug of the shoulders. "I would hate to waste your time, so I should say up front that I fear I have very little in the way of funds, barely more than any other new player at this point."

[Oske 0]

The NPC gave a smile and a laugh. "You don't have to pay a single Col. All you have to do for me is get the materials for me, and I'll make your weapon for free!" she exclaimed. She then pulled up an order menu, which only an NPC could access.

"What are you looking for?"

[Saix 0]

Saix's eyes seemed to light up at that prospect. "How generous." he remarks before politely bowing. "My gratitude." He adds, with feeling. Since being stuck in this world, it had proven almost impossible to simply treat the NPC's as though they were not real, not when one would interact with them daily. Once Saix might have felt somewhat embarrassed for talking to the little girl as though she were a living, breathing, person. But time in this strange world had changed his perceptions. As she questioned what type of sword he was looking for, he paused to think. The enhancement parameters in SAO were pretty simple, with five bonuses that could be applied to a weapon; Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness, and Durability. Combinations of these 5 simple bonuses in varying degrees made up the effectiveness of the different weapon types, but the key to finding a great weapon was finding which of these 5 bonuses would work best for you, and finding items that made use of those parameters. After some deliberation Saix finally spoke. "I am looking for a one handed straight blade a basic longsword, perhaps similar to an arming sword tapering to a sharp point, with basic Sharpness and Durability enhancements."

[Oske 0]

"Okey-dokey," Pepper murmured. "So, any particular color you're looking for? We're almost there. Just a few more questions."

Up on the menu by Pepper's head, words began to scrawl across the screen. She gave Saix a slight smile, twirling her gingery-blonde hair between her virtual fingers.

Sword Shape: One-handed straight short sword

Enhancements: Durability and Sharpness

Color: ??

[Saix 0]

Now there was a real bugger of a question. In Virtual MMO's like this, so much of a player's identity to others came from the various gear that was equipped. Even something so simple as choosing a color for a weapon would serve as a means to define him among his peers. Well, if that were the case... "Would crimson be possible?" He asks, rather politely as he glances towards some of the weapons on display. Yes, a crimson sword of this high quality would look very distinguished, no doubt he would cut a dashing figure with such a fine weapon on his belt.

[Oske 0]

"I know the perfect material," Pepper said, closing her menu. Her eyes shut, and she began to speak in a monotone voice.

"Dragon Heart Stone can be found in the caves of Floor Two. Kill the young red dragons until you obtain at least three <>. Once you obtain them, I will smelt them to remove the bubbles and then hammer it into a sword. It is sharp and almost impossible to break, however... it can be very heavy, depending on how large the sword is. I'm sure you won't have to worry about that, though...."

[Saix 0]

"Young Red Dragons eh? This should be fun." The exuberance in his voice is clear and the swordsman smiles, his eyes practically flashing with excitement at the prospect of undertaking such a challenge. He had largely avoided the Caves on the Second Floor during the short time he had explored the area. Saix had been more interested in mapping his way through the various villages, his meticulous approach to gaming all but demanded he carefully clear each floor of quests. It was only because he was busy exploring each floor's Cities that he had even come to the 5th Floor. Sure this was a Death Game, and failure meant having his brain fried, but he was a gamer first and foremost, so the excitement of the challenge was exhilarating. A sword obtained by the slaying of dragons, talk about a fantasy staple! Realizing rather abruptly that he had been in the throes of a near nerdgasm, Saix rather sheepishly focused his attention on the young smith before him. "Thank you so much for the help, Ms Pepper, I will return with the <> as quickly as possible."

[Oske 0]

Pepper laughed. "I'll be waiting here with the furnace ready on your return." She lifted her skirt and curtsy to the player, with a thin smile on her face. "Good luck, player Saix. May your travels be bountiful with Dragon Heart Stone!"

((OOC: From this point forward, you may use this thread as a solo party until you return to the smithy with the materials.))

[Saix 0]

As Saix walked out of the shop, heading towards the Teleport Gate, he busied himself with perusing his <>, pulling up the Information Broker’s tab, and quickly scrolling down to find any information on <>. What he found was actually rather surprising. Though the creatures nested in the caves of Floor 2, they were actually higher level than most of the creatures one would find on the floor. Perhaps the cave system was meant to function almost like some form of miniature dungeon?

[Saix 0]

Luckily enough for him, the data entry was rather thorough, no doubt a party had raided the area at least once, and tangled with the creatures. He had thought it would be an easy victory, quickly blazing his way through the area, however from the looks of things these <> would be only 2-3 levels beneath him. That meant they could be a serious threat if he attempted to take on more than one at a time in cramped quarters. He would need to exercise caution, or this trip would become much more dangerous than he had anticipated.

[Saix 0]

He briefly considered calling up one of his friends, who would no doubt appreciate the Xp, and would make the task much safer. However, each of his friends were currently on the first floor, and he did not want to take hours to try and organize a party in an unfamiliar area. While he was willing to gather materials on his own, he was not going to risk his lower level friends on a task that would only benefit him, even if the resulting sword would be high quality. No, it was better to leave them to their own leveling safely on the First Floor.

[Saix 0]

Stepping into the designated Teleport Gate Saix snapped himself out of his thoughts, and instead focused his attention on how he was going to accomplish this task before him. If he wasn’t going to involve his friends, well then that meant he was going to have to do it alone. He would have rather have used the combination tactics that the small group were developing, but he had started learning the game as a <>, he was relatively sure that he could handle one quest such as this on his own. He wasn’t exactly a slouch when it came to the Sword Skills in mind. With that thought in mind, and a danger loving grin on his face, he boldly stated â€Teleport, Urbus!â€

[Saix 0]

His vision flashed white, before he found himself standing in the Main City of Floor 2, Urbus. Resting inside a great crater that seemed carved into a flat topped mountain, Urbus was surrounded by rolling plains that transferred into hills, before reaching the mountainous areas that surrounded the floor. Saix had already made his way around much of the area, and was well aware that the <> and <> spawns were not to be underestimated. However, he was relatively sure he could make his way to the caves in the nearby mountains without incident if he stuck to the main roads. Most roads tended to be relatively safe from monster spawns, and he was confident he could handle any enemy that might appear before him on the way.

[Saix 0]

As it turned out he was correct in that assumption, and was able to make it to the Mountain Caves without too much trouble. He had stopped and waited for the occasional <> to step away from the road before moving on, but he had not felt as though he were in great danger. Once he had arrived at the caves however, things became quite different. The map data he had downloaded was only partially complete, and based on the look of things, the cave system consisted of several tunnels that connected larger room like caves. Judging by the size of these rooms, he imagined that the <> would be found in traditional mobs, more than one creature in each room.

[Saix 0]

Now he would have to be very careful, because if he slipped up and aggro’d more than one at a time, he could quickly find himself surrounded in a confined space with no option of escape. While he was confident that he was up to the task of defending against the attacks of one creature with his shield, he could not defend his flanks if he were set upon by more than one enemy. He would need to make use of his throwing picks to draw one <> into the tunnel at a time, finish it off, ensure his health was okay, before shifting targets. It would be dangerous work in less than ideal conditions, as the darkness of the caves made navigation difficult. He was immediately thankful that he had the map data, or else he would have stumbled into a nest of enemies blindly.

[Saix 0]

Even with a plan in mind, he still proceeded slowly, every step taken cautiously as he strained his senses to the max hoping to avoid a catastrophic slip up. As he cautiously peaked his way into the first antechamber, he realized that his suspicions were correct as he beheld his first <>, which looked a bit more lizard like than he would have thought. The beast was a glimmering scaled creature that looked like pictures of Komodo Dragons he had seen in magazines, with the addition of rather stubby little wings that looked incapable of supporting the creature’s weight in flight. No doubt adult spawns of this type would have grown into their wings. Three of the <> were currently at rest in the room, their shimmering red gold scales seemingly lit from within, as though the creature were full of live coals.

[Saix 0]

Tempted as he was to stare, realizing he was looking at a fantastical creature right before him that did not exist in nature, he forced himself to concentrate. Dipping a hand to his belt, and targeting the nearest of the trio, Saix slipped one of his throwing picks from the loop in his belt. Bringing the pick up to his ear and pulling back, he initiated the <> by mimicking preparing to throw a dart. His pick was illuminated in a soft blue light as the Skill was primed, and Saix held his breath a moment before abruptly releasing the skill and sending the pick flying. He cursed, no doubt he was still caught up in marveling at seeing such a fantastical creature right before him, because his thrown pick missed, burying itself into the stone near the creature's forepaw with a crack.

[Saix 0]

He had intended to lure the beast to him by inflicting light damage, and while his thrown attack had missed, the creature opened one sleepy eye, before abruptly pulling itself to its feet with a hiss. Saix’s blood froze for a moment, as he carefully watched the other two <>, prepared to run back the way he had come if more than one creature took notice of him. Though the other two spawns shifted where they lay, as though disturbed in their sleep, they did not awaken like his target. Speaking of his target, the blunt head of the <> swung back and forth, as though it were searching, before a baleful eye fixed on him and the creature hissed again, it’s short bulky legs churning as it lurched toward him in what became a rather rapid charge.

[Saix 0]

Well, he had succeeded in getting the creature’s attention, that much was certain. Saix backed into the gloom of the tunnel, his eyes fixed on the approaching creature as it moved towards him, blunt lizard like head swinging back and forth as it came forward on muscular legs. Again, he was struck by the similarities of the real world Komodo Dragon. A second later, when the beast’s maw opened revealing jagged teeth, he decided it would be best to think about such things later. Rearing forward the large lizard lurched to a stop before him, jaws gnashing with annoyance, back arching and tail twitching in what Saix could only assume was agitation. It looked like it was show time.