[OP-F1] More than Boar?

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki stretched casually as she walked along a well traveled dirt road. She had just set out from the town of beginnings and intended to start leveling up as soon as possible. First off her task was to find some monsters. She knew that boar and wolves were in the area, and they would prove great to start off and get used to the combat system, But she had no desire to farm them for any extended period of time. Instead her goal was to level fast and head to the dungeon to track better Mobs, and gain better loot.

A gentle breeze passed her, bringing the smell of flowers in bloom and pulling casually at the fringes of her skirt. A smile crossed her lips now as she marveled at how life like such a simple thing actually felt. If she got out of here she would certainly make a note to mention that if nothing else, the game was appealing to all her senses. She ran her hands down her sides stopping at her hips, both to admire the feel of the fabric and hold down her skirt, despite the fact that it was in no real danger of being pulled up.

Since arriving she had seen many players head off from the town in this direction, North-west. She had to pull up her menu and double check her direction to make sure it was still right, and of course she was still pointed right. The odd thing now was that she had not seen another player on this particular road since she herself ventured out on it. "perhaps the mobs are too strong for them." she thought with a snicker as she quickened her pace. It was on that thought that she stopped and frowned. She hadn't actually seen any mobs either on this road. Had it been farmed clean? unlikely. Still it was strange.

Another small breeze crossed her, this time pulling her long blue hair around causing it to dance playfully on the wind. It was then that she saw it. Not 20 feet away a lone boar emerged from behind a rock and looked at her. For a moment her heart raced, this was it, this was her first fight. She would kill it and take whatever it had, and it would be a good start. The boar continued to look at her, almost disinterested. Perhaps some would think it not dangerous at all, but Nikki knew better. At this point she was too far away to pull agro, so for all intensive purposes, it couldn't see her. Her smile broadened as she raised her hand pulling up her inventory menu. There were only two items in it, a spear, and a shield, and she quickly equipped them both.

"Alright piggy... Lets see what you got!"

[Aeif 0]

• Shiro scanned around, a frown on her face.
  
  • There's one more. I know it. So where's it hiding...?
    • Shiro had been picking the area clean of boars, gaining experience points along the way. She'd fought them one at a time, getting to familiarize herself with combat. Mostly, however, to get used to the surrealism of slaughtering virtual animals nigh-indistinguishable from real ones. Maybe the game wasn't completely realistic, but it was difficult to kill something that looked so real - not just because the boar was scary, but also because killing the animal itself was a scary experience.
      
      Shiro had never in her life left the city despite the hardships. So she'd spent a while looking around, taking in the sights before she murdered the beings before her.
      
      It was, to put it mildly, an 'odd' experience.
      
      
      • Ah.

    As Shiro was thinking this, she noticed a figure far away. It was probably the last one in the area, so she threw caution to the wind and threw her sword like a javelin towards it.

    ---

    Rolling...

    Battle dice: 1.

    ---

    The sword went wide, but Shiro didn't care. It landed tip-first, deep inside the ground. Shiro gave a little chuckle at that, before jogging lightly towards the weapon.

    Then she noticed the other player. Shiro slowed down, stopping just short of her blade.

[Daeron 1]

Daeron had just woken from a slumbering nap at the Inn in the Town of Beginnings. He had put on some of his finest clothes, which were the typical clothes you would see on a teenager. He had a feeling to do something, and was actually itching for a fight. Daeron had thought of no better way to get rid of this urge, then by actually fighting a monster. He didn't want to stress himself out so he went ahead and left the Inn. "I haven't been on this part of the outskirts of the town yet. Maybe I'll go check on down here to see if there's anything different." He walked down a path until he began hearing someone taunting. "Alright piggy... Lets see what you got!" He had heard a feminine voice. Daeron felt he should investigate on who it was. When he reached the outskirts, he saw a girl with blue hair holding up a shield and a spear. He realized that the girl had a green icon above her, like his. Daeron unsheathed his dagger from his belt and held it so the back of the blade was touching his wrist. He wants to fight the boar, but doesn't feel like being a kill stealer. For now, he just stands there and watches the girl take on the boar.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki stepped lightly towards the boar. She held her shield in front of her, keeping it low so as to be able to block the boars attack when she finally managed to pull agro. Her spear was pointed out from the side of her shield, aimed at the beast, ready to strike the moment she was in range. All in all she looked like she knew what she was doing. She approached the animal carefully, though it was still grazing she knew she was nearing its programmed range, and it would swap to combat mode soon.

Sure enough with another step, putting her roughly 10 feet away, it turned to face her. It's eyes glowed red as it lowered its snout pawing at the ground in an aggressive manner. moments later it charged. It was also at that moment that a flash of silver caught her eye and she looked away from the animal. Someone had thrown a sword, and it had landed not to far away from where the boar had been. Someone had attacked it, in some sort of obscure manner.

Nikki immediately regretted looking away from her intended target as it had no closed the distance between itself and her. The loud thud of it impacting on her shield had been the signal that she needed to focus on her task at hand, besides she could always investigate the sword later.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Block Failed, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Block Succeeded, No Damage, No Retaliation

8-9 Block Succeeded, Retaliation

10 Block Succeeded, Critical Retaliation

Dice Roll = 10

Luckily Nikki managed to gather herself in time to properly block the attack. Strangely the boars weight felt so real, almost like her shield really had been impacted by the animal. Still this was no time to think such thoughts, if she wasn't careful she could easily end up dead, and with no respawns that could really ruin her day. In a quick flash Nikki pressed her own weight back and deflected the boar to her side. The animal fell forward onto the grass past where had been standing. This was her chance, and she lowered her shield jabbing quickly into the animals flank. The attack landed, striking a critical hit. For a moment the boar stood still as its health bar depleted to zero before it fragmented into nothing.

Nikki let out a triumphant cheer as a new window opened and she watched her XP bar raise up. Alas she had not managed to get any loot from this encounter but that was ok, she had scored her first kill, and it had been a "One hitter Quitter". Her joy faded a bit now though as she turned to address the sword and the person who had thrown it. It was also at this point that she noticed another person nearby had been watching her. It was strange now to go from no players to two so quickly. Were they together? were they going to fight her? She could see that their icons were still green, so that meant they weren't killers, but she would still be careful.

"Hello there!"

[Daeron 1]

Daeron focused on the player. Something about her made Daeron curious. He wasn't sure if it was because of her stance or something else, all he knew was that she seemed determined. Well until a sword flew next to the boar. Watching as the boar ran into shied, Daeron decided to say nothing to see how she retaliated. Stunningly she shifted her focus back to the boar she hit the boar once as it shattered to pixels.

The girl turned to look at me and she seemed odd to him. To go from such a determined focus state to a cheery and gentle person. "Hi." Daeron wasn't sure why as to why he only got one syllable out. Daeron looked behind the new player to find another player. This face seemed unfamiliar as well. Daeron out of sheer manners stuck out hid hand towards the shielded player expecting a handshake. "Name's Daeron, Level 5. Daeron was never good at introductions. He gives a smile to the face as if he's known this person for ages.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki took several steps toward the new player with his hand outstretched. If anything he certainly was friendly, but that was no real indication to how dangerous he might be. He announced his name as Daeron, and even mentioned his level. He was certainly bigger than she was, but still on the level of players he would be considered new. Then again the game had just started, and for all she knew he was a seasoned beta tester. As she approached him closer she hesitated for a moment before stabbing her spear into the ground so that it would stand on its own. She held out her own hand taking the other players in a gentle hand shake. She noticed immediately that his grip was strong, or at least her interpretation of his grip was strong. "Hello Daeron Level 5" She responded smiling now "I'm Nikki_Styx, Please just call me Nikki" She purposely left out her noob level just in case this guy was looking for an easy target.

After a quick moment she released her grip on Daeron's hand and looked back to the other player who had thrown the sword. In order to maintain pleasantries she would need to offer the same introduction, or end up looking like a leetist. "Hi, Im Nikki. That was a great throw, I was unaware that we could use long range attacks." She tried to sound chipper and casual in an attempt to make everyone else feel at ease. She of course had no intention of trying to fight either of these players, but she also knew that they might be equally suspicious of her.

She turned back to Daeron now pulling her spear from the dirt and kicking at its end to shake a few bits of digital soil free. She was contemplating asking to party up, not for her own fear of being alone, but instead to help her level up faster. Having a higher level player would allow her to attack larger creatures and win, pulling more XP and better loot. And if he had just seen her now hopefully he would see she can hold her own in a fight. Nikki let out a small sigh that she hoped no one had noticed. "So Daeron was that your boar that I killed? She asked now trying to make small talk and guage his overall attitude.

[Daeron 1]

Daeron felt her grip and it was rather gentle. He wasn't used to a gentle grip, not this gentle. She also introduced herself to both him and the other player. When she asking if that was his boar she killed, Daeron wanted to laugh, but managed to contain himself.

"No, no, no. That boar was all yours. I actually just came out here because I haven't been here yet." Daeron looked around to take in the view quickly. "It seems like you're a low level. The higher leveled players don't actually care if it was your boar or not, so that's where I got that from." Daeron explained.

He took a glance at her spear, "Doesn't seem like it could do too much damage to monsters at a higher level." Daeron thought to himself. "Should I offer her help with leveling up a bit?" He questioned himself this multiple times and thought it through several times to see if it's a good idea. Finally Daeron raised his hand and swiped it to the right. He looked through the menu and selected a name, Nikki_Styx, and then he clicked Send a Party Invite. A menu had popped up in front of Nikki now asking.

Daeron has requested to form a party with you.

Do you accept?

Yes No

Daeron was nervous to do this seeing as how it's a new player, but he feels confident that he can help her level up a bit. Daeron now looking around sees a large and vast plain up ahead with nothing much but a dirt path along the way. Green grass everywhere, which a pack of boars was grazing up ahead.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki watched as Daeron began pulling up menus in front of him. At first she thought he might have been checking on some recent loot, or even looking at his map, having just stated he hadn't been here before. This made it even more of a shock when a party request popped up in front of her. She was so startled by it in fact that she just stared at it for a few moments, as if she had never seen it before. Naturally she had seen many of these requests, especially after the last game announcement had gone through. So many "Big Tough Guys" had offered to party with and "Protect" all the females in the area that it had become more of a hassle denying the requests than to actually fight the monsters.

Daeron's request felt different. He had seen her fighting, so she assumed he wasn't interested in protecting her. She was better equipped now as well, than she had been in the beginning, only solidifying her this truth. Perhaps he was just genuinely a nice guy, one who just wanted to help. Nikki looked around her pop up window to see the other player clearly. She took a second to look him up and down, as if expecting some major flaw to appear. After a moment, in which she was sure that she had thoroughly creeped him out with her staring, she smiled again. her hand shot up and she quickly clicked the accept button. A small loading wheel appeared on her screen for just a second before finally disappearing. Up in the corner of her HUD she could now see Daeron's green health bar.

"So I should tell you then. I had intended to head to the forest further down this road. I hear there are wurms n wasps that are great for loot drops." She felt a little silly sharing her plan with him. Odds are given his level he had a better plan, and she would be better off following it. But then She was Nikki Styx after all, practically world famous, to anyone who read her articles that is. Still she had played more games and worked through more dungeons than most people, her plan was just as good as any other. She flicked her blue hair back still smiling. "But... I am open to ideas if you had plans." This in her mind seemed like a fair way to go, considering he didn't have to party with her. That and she knew that she needed his help now, especially if she wanted to level faster and catch up to the other players.

[Daeron 1]

He watched as her hand pressed the "Accept" button and finally her green health bar had appeared in his top left corner underneath his. He looked at it quickly, realizing that it wasn't as much as his, but he knew he could work with it. Daeron listened to her plan on where to go, and what to do, and he took it into consideration. He had a few minds of his own, in fact, his plan was to go looking for the hidden dungeon on floor 1. He has heard great rumors about it and there being a boss in there who contains a very high amount of loot and prizes. After taking several moments of consideration he finally responds.

"Your plan is better than mine, let's go ahead and head to the forest." He had said while pointing in the direction of the forest.

Daeron took one more quick look at Nikki. She looked at him and talked to him as if she were some sort of celebrity. He doesn't recall having ever heard her name before.

"I'm sorry, but I don't meant to sound rude or offensive in any way, but I was wondering. Do you expect me to know you something?" Daeron asked not sure what kind of answer he is about to receive. Either way, he prepared himself for a slap to the face, or a scolding, or even a kind gesture.

[Nikki Styx 0]

A trip to the forest it is, Nikki thought feeling pleased with herself. She had had some great plans to sell as many items as she could and earn a few extra bucks. Then when she had leveled up to maybe 4 or 5 she wanted to start pushing dungeons. Her final goal of course was to get to the front lines and help clear the game. She could almost imagine how many people would read her article if she were one, nay, the person to beat Sword Art Online. This was no doubt the first steps in her path to greater achievement.

Daeron's question however was one that made her stop again. He had no idea that she was a pro gamer, or a reviewer. At first Nikki was almost insulted, in her career she had beaten more games than she could count, held the highest scores in at least one nationally ranked FPS, and provided the critical reviews that helped other people pick and buy their games. She was Nikki Styx, nuff said. Then again, this was different. Not everyone would read her papers, not everyone had seen her at conventions, and certainly not everyone had had the pleasure to play with or against her. She let out a sigh and hung her head with a small defeated smile. In this world she was different, in SAO she was like everyone else. Here she was normal. That was part of the reason she wanted to play it herself.

"I was someone in another life." Nikki looked up again as she spoke. "don't worry bout it. I'm Nikki, and for the time being I'm your partner." She began walking backwards along the trail, keeping eye contact to encourage Daeron to walk with her. Her steps were light and quick, but she was sure that he could keep up with her. After all she was far too excited to take it slow, not now, not here in this beautifully crafted fantasy world.

[Daeron 1]

Daeron knew had asked something that he should have known the answer to. He knew he had dissapointed her some how. Daeron watched as she kept walking forward and then turned around waitning for him to keep up. Daeron quickly snapped back into focus, and caught up with her and now keeping up with her. He had now idea if she knew what was all in this world. Daeron wasn't a beta tester, but one of his friends was, who was now dead. He said there are so many monsters out there he couldn't even keep count. He remember that much of his words. Now everyone he knew in the real world, seemed only like a memory.

"Do you miss your old life outside of SAO?" He knew the answer he was about to receive, but he knew he should make friends more than enemies. He just hopes he doesn't say something that could end up getting him on a bad side with such a skilled fighter.

Just because she was a lower level than he was, doesn't mean that she can't beat him in a fight. The combat system in SAO is set up in a way that even lower levels could stand up against someone who is higher than her. Looking around the forest that they had just entered, he realized that this wasn't a forest he was used to seeing. Every now and then he saw a wolf in the distance. They must have been outside of its range, because none of them came rushing in on them. He heard buzzing off in the distance. It wasn't a loud buzz, but he definitely heard something.

Daeron pulled out his one-handed straight sword preparing himself for an oncoming attack. He kept telling himself one thing. "I won't let anyone die today. And if someone does die. It better be me, not her." Daeron refused to let himself live over someone else. It may be a dumb way to think in a game of life and death, but he has always believed in honor. One thing in fact, he almost follows a code of chivalry like knights used to during the renaissance and middle ages. He has always enjoyed things like this, that's why he was drawn to SAO so easily.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki smiled again as Daeron caught up to her. One thing she had noticed since getting trapped in SAO was that she was smiling a lot more than she used to while playing games. Perhaps she had started taking them so seriously that they weren't as fun as they used to be, but since coming here, with the realization that this could be her last game, she just felt like smiling a little more. It certainly was strange to her, but something she wouldn't be too concerned with.

As the pair walked Nikki kept close to Daeron. She chose to stay on his left side as she carried her shield on her left side, so if anything were to attack them from that side she would be ready to protect both of them if need be. She also took the opportunity to look over at him quite frequently. Up until this point her player interactions in this game had been few, and now here she was actually interacting with one. She had watched other player before but never this close, and not in a scenario like this. She could see the way he moved, how it looked just like the NPC's around the town of beginnings. It was odd to think that the NPC's moved in an identical fashion, or maybe it was them who moved like the NPC's, some days she couldn't tell.

Suddenly Nikki was snapped back to reality by Daeron's voice. Quickly she looked away, blushing a little and wondering if he had seen her staring at him. She hadn't meant anything by it, it was just a curiosity, still people could get the wrong impression very easily. She answered his question quickly hoping that that might take focus away from her stare and back to something else. "I do, and I don't." She stopped herself after that taking a moment to think. "I know it sounds weird, but this place kinda feels right. Maybe I'm crazy, but I could stay here longer if I need to."

As they entered into the forest itself Nikki could see wolves darting about inside the tree line. They like the boar she had killed were disinterested in the intruders now entering the forest and she knew it was because they were too far away to pull agro. Agro had always been a wonderful system in the game that she was fond of exploiting. In fact using the right pull methods one could eliminate large groups of creatures. Still though she had no idea what the range on a wolf was and made a mental note to be extra cautious around them. "So tell me Daeron. What brings you to SAO?" She was trying to make light of the situation now. Obviously as nothing was attacking them, it wasn't so bad, but being surrounded like this was enough to stress people out.

Moments later Nikki heard a buzzing sound. It was not too close, but if it could be heard it certainly was not so far either. Back in the real world a buzzing like this would get her heart racing and she would panic. Bee's and wasps frightened her. Here though, her heart raced alright, though this was in anticipation and excitement. Daeron had pulled out his sword, and Nikki followed suit drawing her spear and adopting a battle stance with her weapon pointed out and shield raised. Her first step now was to make sure their immediate area was clear, from there they could begin hunting the source of the sound. With shield and spear ready she began visually scanning the area. With her detection and tracking skills she knew that anything hiding nearby wouldn't be hidden for long.

As she looked around Nikki drew closer to her partner. She had been in many MMO's and was fully aware that her job at the moment would be a tank, she had the shield and he didn't, so she would be ready to block for him, then he could launch his attacks. "Tank n spank Daeron. Ill be tank, n you switch in after it swings." She had assumed already that he knew how things worked, and in truth her mentioning the plan was little more than a verbal conformation for her than anything. After a moment or two however she could not locate the source of the buzzing, meaning they could relax and search for it. They were lucky this time, and hadn't been ambushed, though Nikki now wondered. If they could hear it, how "BIG" was this thing.

[Daeron 1]

Daeron listened to her strategy, or tried to anyway over the loud course of buzzing. She said that she would tank, but in honest truth, Daeron never needed defense really. He used speed to make quick maneuvers.

"Use the shield for yourself, I have speed, I can dodge easier than you." Daeron understood he was taking a risk, knowing that the creature he was going to be facing could fly, however, he had a plan.

Daeron continued looking around until he realized. What is if the attack wasn't from anywhere around them, but from above. Daeron quickly took a look up to find two wasps flying above them. Both being level 1, they were still menacing looking. Now discovered, the wasps finally charged in. The way it looked was that they use their wings for slashing and slicing. They must be moving faster for the naked human eye to follow.

"Shield from above!" Daeron shouted at Nikki. He saw the other wasp coming at him.

---

Battle Engaged!

1-4 Get Cut By Wing (Take 1 Damage)

5-6 Dodge Attack

7-9 Dodge Attack and Cut Its Wing (Deal 1 Damage)

10 Dodge Attack and Sever Its Wing Off (Deal 2 Damage)

Dice Roll: 3

---

[Daeron 1]

Swift had been walking about the forest on the first floor for nearly an hour now. She had heard of wasps having loot that could be used for blacksmithing, or for selling, if she ever become a merchant in the future. She hasn't found anything good in it yet. Perhaps, she thought, this area was already picked clean.

"Where the hell are all the monsters around this place? How am I supposed to train?" She finally complained.

After taking about another 10 minutes of walking, she finally heard something. People. There seemed to be two voices, a girl, and a boy. It sounded like they were in a clash of battle. She continued to follow the voices. The nearer she got, a buzzing got louder and louder. It was to her, an obnoxious noise that won't leave her ears for a while. Watching as there is a girl shielding from above, and a guy who just got slashed by a wasp's wing, she knew this was her only chance. She wanted this loot from them, even if it means stealing a kill. She will feel bad, but she can't be kind to the people around here if she wants to get anywhere in the game.

Swift pulled out a Two-Handed Straight sword and began rushing into the wasp. Catching the people, and the wasp, by surprise she had an upper hand. She counted both, two wasps and two people. Even if the wasps were high enough leveled, they couldn't take on a third person without losing focus of another. She doesn't want them to get the drop, assuming that's what they were after.

Battle

---

1-3 Miss The Wasp

4-5 Hit The Wasp's Wing

6-8 Cut Off The Wasp's Wing (Critical)

9-10 Cut The Wasp In Half

Battle Dice Roll: 5

---

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki heard Daeron shout just in time to look up and see two wasps menacing down on them. They weren't particularly powerful, but they were fast, with high agility, and flight. That on its own meant that they were more than a match for most other creatures of their same level. They were big too, bigger than Nikki had thought they would be, coming in at about 4 feet in length each. Both had 2 sets of massive transparent wings that seemed to reflect the light around them creating a blurred haze. Nikki's anticipation seemed to slip away as she looked up at these creatures, though she could not look for long as they were in full charge towards the players.

The first wasp had dived at Daeron with speed that would have made a cheetah blush. The other wasp had circled around as if it were lagging in its attack. Before Nikki could get to her partner to lend aid however the second wasp caught up and began its attack. In the heat of the moment Nikki had not even noticed the other player approaching them. She had only a second to drop down and raise her shield over her head.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Block Failed, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Block Succeeded, No Damage

8-9 Block Succeeded, Stagger Wasp for 5 Seconds

10 Block Succeeded, Stagger Wasp for 7 Seconds, Deal 1 Damage

Dice Roll = 10

Her defense had been an outstanding success. Nikki had managed to raise her shield in time and brace it against her body. She held tight waiting till the last second, and then, what seemed at the very point of impact, she pressed up sharply adding her own strength to the wasps impact. There was a sickening cracking noise as the creature slammed into the shield much harder than it had anticipated and it was tossed violently to the side. It was disoriented now, staggered much the way she had wanted it to be.

Nikki took a second re orienting herself with the battlefield before she followed up with her attack. The other wasp was hovering nearby, but looked as though it had received some damage. She smiled assuming that Daeron had managed to cut into himself. This smile quickly vanished when she noticed the other players health bar had dropped a fraction. What was going on here, everything had happened so fast. If Daeron had been hurt, then who hit his wasp. That's when she noticed the new player.

This was not a good scenario to be in, for her or her partner. So Nikki's first response was to run to Daeron's side, ignoring her own staggered opponent for the time being. "are you ok?" She asked while holding her shield up defensively towards the other player. She wasn't concerned about the other wasp just yet, in many games agro usually went to the player who had done the most damage, so Daeron's wasp would be focused on the other girl, and her own wasp was still staggered for a few more seconds.

[Daeron 1]

Daeron felt the wing cut a piece of his arm apart. It hurt like hell. He had known that in SAO, people shouldn't feel pain. What was so unusual and strange about this though, was that he was able to feel the cut as if it had really cut him. Why did it hurt so much? He was wondering as well as to what had just distracted the moth. He missed, why did it run? He looked over to see Nikki asking him if he was alright.

"Yeah, ugh, it's alright, it just hurts." Daeron says. He watches as the moth she had blocked off, finally regained it sense. This time, it came right up at her once more. "Look out! Behind You!" Daeron ignoring the pain in his arm, he jolted up and picked up his sword. He lifted his arms up as the moth came in closer.

---

1-4 Miss and Take The Hit (Take 1 Damage)

5-6 Take The Hit, But Hit The Moth (Take 1 Damage, Deal 1 Damage)

7-8 Block and Hit The Moth (1 Damage)

9-10 Block and Hit The Moth In Its Wing (2 Damage)

Dice Roll: 6

---

Daeron watched as the moth moved in closer. Finally, the moth flew past him, cutting his arm once more. Still being in pain, Daeron stabbed at the moth in the tail. It must not have done much, because it flew off as if it wasn't hit. Daeron looked up at his health gauge. It now said 11/13. He was taking a beating from low leveled monsters. He refused to let anyone die though in his party.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die." Daeron said, grabbing his wound. "I'll pull through, focus on killing the wasps."

[Daeron 1]

Swift had managed to hit the moth. Of course, being a monster, it recovered quickly. Knowing how a combat system works in RPG games, she knew it would soon come after her. Sure enough, the moth came flying right back at her. Almost instantly she took a stance with her 2-Handed Straight Sword. Waiting for the perfect time to strike. She thought out multiple situations in the time she had, until she finally though of one.

Quietly, she whispered something. "Zeitangriff" Her sword now glowing with a light-violet and pink glow, she stood there.

Finally as the wasp came in she unleashed the attack. She made sure the other two players weren't about to step in their way.

Combat Attack

---

1-4 Miss The Wasp and Barely Miss The Girl With A Shield.

5-8 Cut The Wasp's Left Wings Off

9-10 Cut The Wasp Vertically In Half From Tail To Head

Battle Dice Roll: 1

---

[Aeif 0]

• Shiro kept a low profile as the pleasantries were passed along. She wordlessly took hold of the hilt of her blade and sheathed it; Shiro had no intention of sharing her information with the other players. It didn't take long for them to forget that she was even there. With nothing left to do, Shiro decided to tail them.
  
  As the two went into combat, Shiro stayed a distance away, watching them and watching the enemies. It kept her mind off things.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Daeron was fine after receiving the wasps attack, thankfully. This of all things had turned into a cluster jam of massive proportions. Luckily the new player seemed to be pre occupied with the second wasp, which meant that Daeron and her could finish the first and then turn their attentions to the new player. She began looking around again, trying to find the wasps location, but it seemed to have vanished, at least from her sight. She continued to stay close to her partner while he recovered, she was intent on protecting him. Sadly it would be him protecting her again, as he caught sight of the Mob and warned her of an oncoming attack while intercepting it.

He had certainly acted valiantly jumping in to her aid now, and had been punished for it. The wasp that had previously been agro'd onto her, had managed to connect its attack to Daeron, who in turn had struck it back evenly. Of course now it would focus on him when it came back. This is where she would step in and stop it.

It took Nikki only a moment to locate the first wasp. It had circled around, and flown above them, no doubt preparing to dive in for another attack. Her gaze darted from the other player, back to Daeron and then to the opposing monster. She knew it was going to be fast, and sure enough it was. Like a shot from a gun the wasp dove, but instead of shooting straight down at them it turned half way and looped in to attack horizontally, and Nikki was there to intercept it.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Block Failed, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Block Succeeded, No Damage, No Retaliation

8-9 Block Succeeded, Retaliation

10 Block Succeeded, Critical Retaliation

Dice Roll = 9

Nikki raised her shield throwing all her weight into it. A loud clang rang out through the forest as the wasp collided with the steel disc at full speed. It felt as though Nikki had been hit by a train as the sheer force of the impact pushed her back a few inches. The wasp then hit the ground in front of her and began vibrating angrily. It was not staggered, otherwise she could score an easy crit. Instead it had simply lost all of its flight momentum and was now preparing to take off again. "Oh No you don't..." Nikki hissed as she lunged towards it, jabbing it hard in the face with her spear.

That was it, that was the third hit needed to kill monster. Its health bar quickly dropped to zero and it fragmented into a thousand loose pixels. An icon flashed in the bottom corner of her HUD indicating that she had received a loot drop. However there was no time to look, instead they needed to figure out the next step and fast. Quickly she got back to Daeron's side and adopted a defensive stance again. She had no idea how to address the new player, so she would wait for him to give her some ideas. It was also at this time that she had noticed the player that had thrown the sword had followed them here.

[Daeron 1]

Watching how each of the players fought against the monsters while Daeron was injured gave him a feel as if he were weak. He never did like feeling like a weak player and he never did actually being protected. He wanted to die knowing he helped a person.

"Are you alright?" He asks even though he feels awful with himself.

(OOC: There will be a posting order for There to be order.)

Nikki

Daeron

Swift

Aeif