PP - F1 Valor and the Knight (Lowenthal) (Completed)

[Calrex 0]

Calrex made his way around the Starting City as he gave a small sigh of relief. After finishing yet another quest on another floor he decided he would take a small break and wander around on the lowest floor as a way go give some relief.

 

"The fact that this floor has become a place to take a break really kind of shows how far I've come from before. I remember only a few months ago Oikawa was still helping me and Teayre take our first steps in combat. Now here I am, a council member of Ariel's guild, engaged, and fighting off monsters leagues above what I fought before."

 

He went over and sat at a bench, one of many in a circle surrounding a fountain as he laid back. On the back of his hip was his sword , the Grand Blade, and around his neck was Teayre's gift to him, the Ocean's Defense. With that he was covered in his full-body armor, the Grand Chariot.

 

"I'll go ahead and rest here for a bit. Since the guild is still getting started I haven't been needed to perform any duties as the Rook piece just yet, which provides some relief. It gives me time to think a little more about the wedding."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal stumbled his way around the city. "Jeez, this place is huge." He said aloud, to himself. As Lowenthal looked around more, he realized he didn't recognize the area. He scratched his head, and tried finding his own way. After about 20 minutes of running in a big circle. He sighed, and kept his head down.After walking by a fountain, he felt something catch his foot and it sent Lownethal flying into the water of the fountain. 

[Calrex 0]

Calrex was about to take a small nap on the bench he had sat down on when suddenly he heard a loud splash. He quickly opened his eyes and looked forward to see that someone had fallen into the fountain, completely drenched from the event. He felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head for a second before he shook his head to get his thoughts straight as he got to his feet.

 

"Uh, hey you alright?"

 

He did a quick jog over to the person in the fountain. Going from his gear it seemed this person was still a low level character, since he wasn't as outfitted as Calrex is usually accustomed to, "That was quite a splash, you feeling ok?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal sat up in the fountain, sure enough that he was going to be dead from the embarrassment and burst into blue particles. He brushed his wet hair out of his face and looked up and the guy leaning over him. Well, Lowenthall assumed it was a man by the way the suit of armor spoke. "Um, yeah. I'm fine." Lowenthal said. "Mind helping me out of this mess? Water's freezing." He said, holding out a hand.

[Calrex 0]

"Huh, yeah sure thing. Give me a second."

 

Calrex made a few quick swipes on his menu as he switched out from the Grand Chariot armor into his casual combat clothing in a flash of light. His helmet vanished, revealing a messy head of blue hair. As for his body the armor changed out to a white shirt with a blue fur-lined jacket underneath, while his legs became covered by dark grey pants tucking into dark brown boots.

 

He extended a hand and helped the player out of the water, making sure he stepped a good distance away to ensure that he didn't slip and fall back in. "I guess it's a good thing you can't actually get sick in the game, or else that would really be messed up."

 

As he made sure the person was alright he put his hands into his jacket pockets, "I'm Calrex, nice to meet you in any case."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal waited for the man the get into more approiate clothes. It made talking to someone better, not that he enjoyed it. Well, this was just someone's avatar wasn't it? Lowenthal shook his head, sending out a small spray of water. Lowenthal took the man's hand, and exited the fountian. "Yeah, thanks." He said, trying to get the water out of his hair. He heard the man, introduce himself as Calrex. "I guess that means I'm Lowenthal." Lowenthal said, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, introductions aren't my forte." Lowenthal said, mentioning the fountain.

[Calrex 0]

"Lowenthal, nice to meet you. And don't worry, introductions aren't exactly my specialty either, although I'm not sure I've yet to put on such a display. I'll need to be more careful."

 

Calrex made sure to put the last section in a more joking and lighthearted tone as to not come off as offensive as he nodded.

 

"At least if my first interaction with Breeze was any clear indicator..."

 

"In any case let's get you dried off. Do you know that if you change in and out of your equipment it will immediately be dry?"

 

"I remember that from when Oikawa and Teayre had decided to go take a swim during our first quest. It's surprising how that works."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked at Calrex. "You, mean just take off my clothes and put them back on?" He asked. "Here? In public?" Lowenthal looked at the ground. It would be nice to be dry again. "It doesn't really matter right now. I can do it later." Lowenthal bashfully said, waving his hands in front of him. "Besides, I'm kinda lost. And I haven't done much here since we got trapped here." Lowenthal admitted. 

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, fair enough. If anything it should dry fairly quickly to my knowledge."

 

As Lowenthal mentioned that he had not done anything during the time they've been in the game Calrex gave a nod with a slight bit of surprise, "Well, I can see why. It really depends on what you want to do."

 

"Although I think it has been a few months hasn't it? I wonder if he's decided to become active now..."

 

"Well if you need a hand I could help you if you wanted to get started adventuring and such. I know a lot of the people preferred to just hang out in the city and wait until the game was cleared, but as you can see."

 

As he spoke Calrex directed to his gear, "I couldn't stand waiting around for someone else to do it."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal thought about Calrex's offer. Lowenthal, thought about his sister, she was more combat inclined then him but he shouldn't stand around forever. Or be cast in her shadow any longer. "Y'know, why not?" Lowenthal said, holding out his hand. "Show me the ropes Sensei." Lowenthal said, jokingly. He felt weird, is this what it was like talking to actual people? The whole reason that he joined the game was so he'd get away from people, speak to avatars. But then the game had to reveal everyone, and ruin his plans for isolation. Perhaps this was a step in the right direction.

[Calrex 0]

"Sensei?"

 

Calrex gave a small laugh as Lowenthal referred to him with such an endearing honorific, "Please, don't worry about that. Calrex is fine. I'd feel weird being put in a teaching position, even though that's kind of what I'm doing right now."

 

With that he quickly inspected Lowenthal's gear before looking around, "So how much of the city do you know so far? If you need a quick tour I can show you some of the important spots that you'll probably need to know about in order to make your way in Aincrad."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal laughed alongside Calrex. Oh god, I'm starting to like people. Lowenthal thought. He then replied to Calrex's question. "Not that much, I've kinda kept to myself. To be honest, You're the first person, other then Sis, I've actually considered to talk to more then 5 minutes." Lowenthal admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "I always found talking to people to be more of a chore, then fun. But I dunno." Lowenthal looked up at the sky. "Talking to you is different, it's easy. Anyway, show me around town. Maybe later, you could teach me how to use this thing." lowenthal said, touching the dagger strapped to his thigh.

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex heard Lowenthal confess to him that he was the first person he's had a decent conversation with he gave a nod, "Well, I'm honored to be the first then."

 

He gave a friendly smile as he nodded, "So is your sister in the game too? If so I hope she's alright. As for your weapons and stuff we can get that sorted last. For now I'll take you around to where you'll need to know first."

 

With that he pointed in the direction of the merchant district before heading in that direction with Lowenthal in tow, "The first place is the merchant district of the city. That's where you'll need to go for pretty much anything related to items and gear. All of the shops are in that area, so it's pretty much a one-stop shop area for everything you need to survive outside of the gates."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal followed Calrex. "Yeah, she bought her own copy and nerve gear and followed me in. Said that she was 'going to teach me something' then ran off as soon as we logged in." Lowenthal said, his hands in his pockets. He looked around the market district in awe, he never saw this place before. "This is neat." He said, watching a tailor make a coat or jacket. Then he remembered, his pockets were empty. "Oh yeah, forgot I have no money." He said, scratching his head. "What kind of MMO doesn't have micro-transactions in it." Lowenthal asked aloud.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, well I guess it would be the kind that traps you inside it right?"

 

As Lowenthal commented on not having money Calrex gave an understanding nod, "It's alright, don't worry about paying for anything just yet. I just wanted to show you where you're likely going to be coming often once you get started."

 

As they arrived Calrex began explaining the area, "So depending on what kind of armor you prefer there's two types of shops you can check out. If you want to be on the more heavy side you can look at the blacksmiths, while light armor is made by the tailors. As for everything else there are artisans, alchemists, cooks, fisherman, and merchants among others. For now, since you're starting out the first place I would recommend once you have enough is any of the merchant shops. That's where you will find the healing potions and other basic items that you will need to keep yourself alive."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal listened intently. He was going to need this information for later, but it was all so much to take in. "Okay, so how can I make money?" Lowenthal asked, wanting to but those potions as soon as he could. "And where to next?" Lowenthal said, starting to enjoy his time.

[Calrex 0]

"Hmm...well for making money there's a couple of ways to go about it. Monsters always drop materials that shop owners can use in their crafts, but they also have a chance of dropping col, which is the currency of SAO. You can also get it by going on quests and such. I've also heard of times where players have been rewarded simply by interacting with others. Basically as long as your doing 'something' you're earning col and experience."

With that Calrex looked around before pointing in their next direction, "I should warn you about this one, as it is important to keep in mind during our time here. We're going to visit a memorial."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked grim at the mention of a memorial. It made sense to go though, remind him of the severity of the world he was trapped in. Aramail nodded, and followed Calrex. At least it was easy to get Col in SAO. Just go to public places and talk to people. His two favorite things, lowenthal sighed. "Alright, let's go." He said to Calrex.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex nodded as the two began to ascend the steps that led to the monument. Eventually as they reached the top the huge slab of stone came into view. It was dwarfing in relation to the two players, with multiple names in various columns and rows on its face. Calrex gave a small sigh as he began to speak, "This is the Monument of Life. On it's face are the names of all the players currently trapped within SAO. As you can see, there's certainly a lot of them."

 

As he spoke he walked forward a little bit, pointing at one of the many names with a strike through it, "If you ever see a name like this, it means that the person has died and..."

 

"Gh!"

 

Calrex looked over as he noticed a struck through name that he recognized, immediately walking over, "Sorry, give me just a second." As he approached he was able to make out the name.

 

"Zeri..."

 

It was one of the many players that he had encountered in his travels, and had even gone on a quest with him only recently. He gave a calming breath as he turned back to face Lowenthal, "Sorry, ahem, the name I just looked at...was a person I met recently. I guess now he's gone."

 

With that he collected himself and continued speaking, "I don't want to scare you off from doing anything, but I've seen a lot of new players get psyched up for killing monsters and almost instantly get in over their heads when they become overzealous. Make sure to approach things carefully, and of course don't try and attempt something you for sure can handle."

 

He looked down at his hands, recalling the close encounter he had when he was first starting out, fighting a golem with only his bare fists to unlock the <<Marital Arts>> skill, "Trust me, I've done it before. It's an eye opener when you have a close brush with death, even in this game."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal stood silent in the room. He slowly walked up to the wall. "All these people are..." Lowenthal couldn't finish his sentence. "i mean, I knew people died, but this many?" Lowenthal said, disgusted by the number of dead players. "This is, this is too many." He said, clenching his hands into fists. "I'm sorry for your loss." Lowenthal said, to Calrex. "But I don't plan to die that easy. I've got someone to protect, and someone I have waiting for me back home." He said, his fists loosening into open hands again. "Let's get going, I'm sure we could mourn the dead here all day." Lowenthal said, putting his hands into his pockets.