[PP-F1] Designed, Created, Played

[Alexander Webb 0]

The Gamer stood just outside the starting town, his sword clutched tight in his hand as he swung it in the air, practicing his sword stances and swings off to the side of the road leading into the town. The digital sun shone down from above as it reached near midday, he looked up to the sky, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, pushing an exhausted breath out of his cheeks

 

Left, right. Parry to the left, counter right, evade. A mix of so many concepts that he hadn't really ever thought about when he was just simply sitting in front of a TV screen or what have you. Lex felt almost overwhelmed with all the information he now had to learn in order to fight effectively. There were countless examples in his repertoire that pointed out the fact that he could learn things quickly and effectively, anything from combos in a fighting game to general locations on a map in a sandbox. But those were simple, things that he could see, and check on constantly, something he himself could witness himself learning. Swordplay was different. It was an exact science, but unlike a math problem or science equation, there really wasn't a way to get it right. He didn't know if he was getting better, because there was always room for improvement, and being a low level didn't help either. He couldn't test out his build without the money to do so. His weapons and armor were lackluster, and he didn't have the money or resources to buy or make the alchemical items that made up the cornerstone of his intended build.

 

"At this rate, I'll be here until I'm 40. There has to be some kind of quicker way to learn this stuff..."

[Oikawa 1]

Wood creaked and shut as a slender caped player exited Gurando Foji. That player being the owner, flipped the sign to close as he planned on leaving the shop for a while. Not just a day or two, but closer to a few weeks or so. He just didn't have the drive to be a smith for the time being. He had to focus on becoming the strongest version of himself that he could manage.

 

His attire seemed a little warm for the floor, but he didn't mind it too much as he began to head out towards the fields. he figured he could use a break from the city life. Maybe a wilderness sabbatical will do me some good as I try to focus myself.  Having a mild idea of what he wanted to get himself into, he wasted no time passing through the plaza and out  towards the gates.

 

The rocky columns seemed to expand as he passed through them and entered the fields of floor one. The place seemed to remain the same even after six months of frequent use by the majority player base. Boars still seemed to spawn here and there and the weaker players still seemed to gather around the town and wait for the upper leveled players to clear the game. While annoying, the blonde understood that not everyone was cut out for combat, let alone floor clearing. Taking a few more steps in, a training player caught his eye. Interesting. A greenie with a purpose. I guess not all the weaker players are complete pansies. 

 

He continued to observe the player as he stepped back and forth practicing lunges and parries. Not half bad surprisingly. He didn't want to intervene, so he continued to observe.

[Alexander Webb 0]

Lex stopped after a solid hew, faltering slightly with the foot he stepped out with. A look of confusion appeared on his face as he looked down at the hilt of his blade. He was holding it with two hands, he did it subconsciously, trying to add more power to it, "It's a one-handed sword, moron, use it with one hand."

 

He let go with his left hand, holding the sword down at his side as he looked at his open palm. He pursed his lips, looking at the ground around him a second later. Lex lifted a rock from the dirt, and clutched it tight in his hand, trying to mimic the feeling of holding an item in it. He nodded at the rock, agreeing with himself that it was th right size, and twirled the sword before he began swinging it around again. This time taking the caution to know where his hands were at all times.

 

Every few seconds, he'd squeeze the rock, like one usually would to use a crystal of some variety. From this one could tell that whatever style he was trying to work with was going to rely heavily on the use of items, healing ones by the amount of times he used it.

 

Lex took a particularly heavy swing, his one foot coming up behind his other as the sword pulled out from its own weight. He stumbled as the sword flew from his hands and into the air, looking on in horror as the blade soared towards another player. Blonde, wearing heavy clothes, decked out to the teeth in gear that was so much better than his was, it might as well be the dirt under his feet. I'm so dead, he thought as he considered that he might not appreciate having a sword hurled at him, even if it was an accident.

[Oikawa 1]

(OOC: Just a friendly reminder you can't see HP or Level of others unless they are in your party :P)

 

The brunette player continued to strike and lunge at thin air. The sight being equally amusing and inspiring. His strikes were still a little to rigid and his deflects a little off, but all in all, he had the makings of skilled swordsmen. His thrusts were almost spot on, but his slashes left something to be desired. He was intriguing the blonde. However, that intrigue turned to disbelief, as he watched the brunette fumble his footing and launch his blade skyward. As he looked up, he watched the sword arc before dropping down in his direction. Without so much as a flinch, he equipped his shield and promptly deflected the blade into the air again. Unequipping the shield, he stretched out his hand as the blade dropped into his grasp.

 

Giving it a twirl, he walked over to the lad and handed him his sword. "I believe this is yours?" The blade was extended towards the player. Hilt pointed towards him of course. Looking the player in the eye, he then decided to introduce himself. "Ahh my manners. My name is Oikawa. Commandant of the Azure Brigade and future front-liner. Your name?"

[Alexander Webb 0]

Lex took hold of the hilt, trembling as he exhaled with relief, "Alexander, call me Lex if you want..." He pushed himself to his feet, and unexpectedly rose to above the head of the man standing in front of him. It was odd, when he was standing over him he seemed so big. Even looking down on him felt like it was the other way around. This guy was a tough customer, that was for certain, Lex was certainly glad that he didn't manage to piss this guy off, probably wouldn't have ended well.

 

"It's n-nice to meet you, uh, sir?" The teen said, trying to find the right way to speak to this higher ranking official. He had heard about the Azure Brigade while he was ding his research on guilds, eventually deciding against joining one right off the bat, too much regulation, not enough control over what he was doing, "I'm really sorry I threw my sword at you..." he apologized sheepishly as he put the weapon back in its sheathe. His sheepishness turned to curiosity as he recognized the fact that they were on the first floor, and judging by how he batted his sword aside like it was nothing, he was certainly belonging on higher floors, "Wait... Why are you on the first floor? I thought most of the guilds would be exploring and reporting on the higher floors."

 

_______________________________________

 

OOC: Oh sorry about that... I'm getting the abridged version confused with the normal one...

[Oikawa 1]

(I won't actually roll to attack! Just you will.)

 

"Pleasure to meet you Alexander," responded the blonde as he gave a slight bow. Oikawa couldn't help but notice that Lex seemed nervous. "You know you can relax right? If you dwarf me in height, yet I can sense trembling like a school girl. If I wanted to hurt you I would've. So on that note, relax." Oikawa then reached for his rapier. He was careful not to draw  it but keep it at the ready nonetheless. "Well not to sound weird, but I was watching you. You actually have real potential for a greenie. Draw your blade. I wish to show you something." 

 

The blonde carefully flicked his HUD. Selecting  a [First Strike Match] he sent the prompt to Lex and waited for his response. "Don't worry. I won't be attacking you. It'd be my luck that I Crit you resulting in your death and I'd hate to see a greenie die. However, I do want to walk you through the proper slash and lunge tactic. Better performed with a rapier like my own but still manageable with a straight sword such as yours. Have you decided on a future build yet?"

[Alexander Webb 0]

Lex drew his sword, taking a few steps back, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. While he was in charge of a lot of things, he found the commandant surprisingly mellow. While he wasn't sure if the thing about him dying was a joke or not, but he gave a chuckle all the same, "Wouldn't be just your luck."

 

When he asked him about a build, Lex got a smile on his face, he seemed very proud of his idea, but it was more so the topic he enjoyed. He was glad he'd finally be able to bounce it off of someone, especially such a stronger player, if he was lucky, which he rarely was, he'd probably seen someone who did something similar, "Well it's all based on this build that I made in Skyrim by accident. In the game, I was having problems with my survivability in combat, I had the damage that helped me to get that far, but I would burn through healing items like a madman. So I dipped a little into healing magic, something that gave me a decent chunk of my health back whenever I used it, and it was quick, able to be used in rapid succession. My idea is something very similar," he said holding up the sword and rock, "In the one hand, I have my blade, and the other, I have a crystal of some kind; like a buff or healing, seeing as how they're quicker than potions."

 

Feeling as if he'd sufficiently described the idea, he pressed the "accept" button on the prompt. After taking a few steps back, and taking a battle stance, he let a few seconds pass for Oikawa to prepare himself, "Alright, here I come!" he yelled, taking a very poor swing.

_____________________________________

ID#22440

BD: 3

 

Lex swings but misses horribly

[Oikawa 1]

The blonde nodded as Lex explained his build. It sounds familiar. Who else plays like that? Hmmm..... Mari! Facing the player, Oikawa spoke. "Your build is strangely remniscent of a certain pink-haired player killer known as Mari. Her build is quite effective and she has the gear to boot. You might wanna research her, though she uses a dagger rather than a sword. Also Battle Healing will be a nice skill for you to invest in."

 

The blonde then slowly took a step back. His legs spread to match his shoulder width as he prepared a defensive stance. The timer ticked to zero and Lex made a move instantly. Although he decided to announce. Oikawa focused on the hip and step of the much taller player to understand his strike. In seconds he pinpointed the strike point and simply sidestepped the attack. He shook his head as he resumed his stance. "Focus yourself. Your stabbing haphazardly. Your movement is slow and predictable as well. Nothing that can't be fixed however. When you go to strike, concentrate and step into your lunge. Keep your arm straight  but loose at the elbow, as to not injure yourself."

[Alexander Webb 0]

ID#22519

BD:8

 

While he was disappointed that his build wasn't completely original, it didn't surprise him much. After playing both video games and tabletop pen and paper RPGs, you tend to get a general feel for what will work and what won't, even with only a simple understanding of the rules. SAO was different because of the "life or death" circumstances, but the premise remained the same, high damage + high survivability = not dying, which was a tune a metric ton of players could dance along to; probably a few doing the sprinkler, but there was the rare few doing a magnificent twist (that is to say making the build correctly). He pushed his dismay out of his mind, while his build may not have been as unique as he wanted, he could still monopolize the version making use of a longsword. He made a mental note that Battle healing was something he would want.

 

The commandants criticisms were pretty valid, he could feel the sluggishness in his swings, and he had to admit, while he had a general idea of where to swing, his timing may not have been up to snuff. He turned around, and rubbed his chin in thought. He took a couple swings, still not quite getting it. He stopped and looked down at his grip, adjusting it slightly here and there, trying to think about how to apply what Oikawa said. His face suddenly lit up, and he looked over to the other player, "I'm thinking about this wrong. I'm no swordsman, so I shouldn't think about it like a swordsman. I need to come at it from an angle that I see really well, video games."

 

Thinking back to his gaming experiences, there weren't many examples of games that had realistic swordplay. Not many, except for one, he smiled to himself as he got ready to attack once more, "Who ever says video games don't teach you anything?" he laughed aloud as he went for another attack. He was careful this time though, his posture and stance had improved drastically, not perfect by any means, but better than the first attack exponentially. His swing hewed down low, going for some kind of hit to knock the hopefully unexpecting player on his back. A man can dream, he thought as he went through with the swing.

[Oikawa 1]

(Should've mentioned that since I have 4 Block (evasion) You can only hit me on a 9 or 10 but RP wise this is what I wanted.)

 

Oikawa saw the strike coming from a mile away. The form was definitely better this time around. The strike probably would've hit him had it not been for his high blocking skills and keen sense in anticipation. His shield moving on it's own accord, blocked the incoming slash. Causing sparks to fly and an impact gust of wind to emit in harmony with sound of metal clanging against metal. Dropping his shield, Oikawa stared at the player while he tried to figure in which way he wanted to proceed. On the one hand, he could continue to help teach this player the art of combat. And on the other, he could tell him that the strike was perfectly fine and give Lex the feeling of accomplishment even though the statement would be a bit far from the truth.

 

The decision would determine how much effort the blonde is willing to put into a complete stranger that somehow managed to nearly sever his head with a flailing blade. Sighing, he decided on answer. One that he was sure he would've made regardless the parameters of their encounter. Oikawa was simply intrigued. Why are you only just now deciding to train. Why now? What changed? What kept you away from the lines beforehand? All questions the blonde was sure he was going to ask the young man sooner or later.

 

Stepping forward, Oikawa finally spoke. "While your strike was excellent, or at the very least, as step up from your previous attempt; you still have much to learn. Allow me to fill you with the knowledge you should know and wish to seek. Does my offer intrigue you warrior?" Oddly, the air of superiority begin to swell within him. Noticeable only because this wasn't how he normally treated others. However, the change could be for better or worse. With time being the deciding factor.

[Alexander Webb 0]

He was certainly a lot more... well spoken now, speaking in a tone that Lex imagined some of his subordinates tended to hear a lot. That isn't to say it was a bad thing, this seemed like one of those situations where using that kind of language just made it sound more official, like notarizing a paper. 

 

The offer was tempting, the man had batted his swat aside like it was nothing, all which the Gamer expected, but at the same time, it was a lot more... eye-opening than he had thought it would be. This guy obviously knew what he was doing, nobody could refute that; his skills were in a league that Lex could only hope to get into at some point, and having the help getting there would be much appreciated. But at the same time, the fact that he would have to go to someone else for assistance, even in something as important as keeping him alive, was a swift kick in the teeth. He had never been one for that, not in gaming, not in school, not in anything. People came to him for help, not the other way around.

 

He sighed as he considered it, rubbing his chin as he put his sword away. His posture shifted onto his right side, leaning on his leg for almost all of his support, and looked at the man, "I can't exactly refute that even with the little you taught me about the basics of swordplay made me better... but I don't see what you're getting out of this," he admitted with a rasised eyebrow, "Why take a noob like me under your wing? There are probably plenty of people that are more deserving of it than me," he asked with a genuine curiosity, probably sounding a lot more self-degrading than he actually intended it. Maybe it was just out of the kindness of his heart, but it didn't seem that way. Lex knew he wasn't exactly at the pinnacle of power and prestige, especially in game terms, not just socially. If this guy, Oikawa, was as high a level as he seemed to be, it almost seemed like a waste of time for him to be spending time showing some scrub how to swing a sword right. This should be way under his level of concern, yet he was doing it anyway.

[Oikawa 1]

The feeling of hesitation filled the silence and could be heard louder than anything else around them. Lex seemed to be mulling the proposition over. Gears turned in his head, and the blonde was actually curious as to what the young man was thinking. His curiosity would be entertained as Lex posed a few inquiries. Oikawa sighed and took a moment to think about his answer.

 

What do I gain from this? Why do I need to take anything from this? I don't. I saw potential I suppose. I saw a future recruit. I saw someone determined to do what was necessary to get stronger. I saw myself. There is no one more deserving than those that take matters into their own hands and change their situation for the better. The thoughts were his answer. They had just yet to be spoken. Drawing his rapier, he stabbed it into the ground and leaned over the handle. "To answer your question Lex, I don't look to gain anything from this aside from another person who seems willing to put the well being of others before themselves. You, out here training, shows me that you want to get out just like the rest of us. However, unlike the rest of the Floor 1 population, you're actually doing something that will help everyone. Training yourself to be strong enough to front-line. That is, assuming that's what you're out here for. As for your second inquiry, I chose you because I see the me in you. I started out just like you and though we have different styles of combat, I recognize the potential you bring to the table. At the least, consider my offer. Otherwise I will leave you to your own devices and hope I don't ever have to see your name etched into the Monument of Life."

 

Exhaling a breath that was long overdue, he stood up rather erect and waited for the man's official decision. The choice was ultimately his and the blonde would go about business as usual if his services would go unneeded.

[Alexander Webb 0]

A morbid way to say it, but that didn't make it any less true. It didn't exactly feel like he was making a lot of headway before this other swordsman arrived, and he did make a bigger difference. It was obvious he had the skills to show him how to be stronger, and if he ever did want to get everyone out of SAO, there were going to have to be times when he realized there was no doingg it alone. This wasn't a game he bought to play by himself, he bought an MMO, might as well play it as such. If for no other reason than not to waste the money he put into it.

Lex had to admit that it was nice to see someone doing something for a reason other than getting something out of it for themselves. He had seen some of it here and there, but it never really affected him in any major way. This guy was willing to train him, help make him stronger, for the sole reason of helping everyone else, which was something the teen could really get behind. He didn't seem like a bad guy, and while looks can be deceiving, he felt that charging into combat against advanced enemy AI without any sort of formal training was more dangerous.

Lex's posture followed suit, not quite as official, but he wasn't leaning anymore, "You sure do know how to give a satisfying answer, sit. Gotta say, plenty of people wouldn't be so direct. Considering the fact that in a few short minutes my skill improved exponentially with you giving me pointers, I think it would be in my best interest to accept your offer. I don't want to end up on the monument any more than the next guy, but at the same time..." He looked at the ground for a second, collecting his thoughts, "I would rather I show up on it than someone else. All the people on floor 1 that don't do anything, I wouldn't be so hard on them. Some people just aren't cut out for this kind of thing, I don't blame them for being static, trying just to wait it out, it's the same back in the real world. To me, I'm not fighting for myself, really, never been about that kind of thinking, I'm fighting for everyone else, I want to get them out of this place. I'm not in it for the fame, or the recognition, or the self-satisfaction of helping deal the final blow. Call it corny, but I want to be a hero. And just knowing that myself, to really feel it, well... That would be pretty awesome."

[Oikawa 1]

"Tch. A hero eh? You are more like me than I thought. Lex, you have my respect. And may the perils of Aincrad be kind to you. That being said, since you're now officially under my care for the time being we must get your combat up to par. First let's outfit you some gear." With the swipe of his index finger, the blonde's menu appeared. Flicking through his inventory, he selected an item that seemed appropriate. "I'm unsure of what armor you wish to equip, but for now have this Heavy Armor, <<Jaegermeister>>." Releasing the item from hi inventory, he sent it to the brunette before him. "While not offensive orientated, I'm sure you know the importance of defense. And with fall of many lower levels this month. I'm making survival my top priority for the greenies."

 

Having gifted Lex the armor, Oikawa made a mental not to make sure he updated his ledger back at the shop. Refocusing, he looked towards Lex to see how he felt about the armor. Although it was on the heavy side, it should protect him from the majority of Mobs on this floor. "As for your training, it will depend on the exact structure of your future build. I assume you have it down to a science yes?" While having his fair share of knowledge and gist of the build Lex wanted, Oikawa was still uncertain of exactly the brunette wanted to bring to the table. He could only assume that after this long, Lex had his build down to the final skill he could obtain, though that could be a bit of a stretch.

 

-1 Jaegermeister