[OP-F1] First Steps [COMPLETE!]

[Shirosu 0]

Shirosu sat on the ground in the middle of the plaza, still in a state of shock, how could this be happening, she was supposed to be in college in just a few weeks, and she was stuck here? The possibility of death scared her, she remembered herself dyeing in games, a lot, though she liked them she usually sucked at them. Shakily getting to her feet she brushed herself off and started to wander away from the commotion that was all the other players she needed time to sort her emotions out and grasp what was hapening. Finding a shady tree with a bench under it she plunked herself down and stared blankly at the ground thinking intensely. If she was stuck here she might as well do her best not to get killed. Opening her menu she fiddled around checking out all the different parts, what skills she could invest in, her level, inventory etc, Shriosu was finding it a little confusing but she knew she'd figure it out, eventually. 

Edited September 18, 2015 by Shirosu

[Vasth 0]

Vasth was sitting in the park....like usual having a nap.He was awoken by sound of a person.He looked up and saw a girl very pale and she looked very scared,Vasth knew a lot of people that have been like that,the emotions of being scared,angry and etc all at once and taking in the acceptance of being able to died in this death game.Vasth sat up and fixed his messy hair.He looked over as the girl didn't notice him at all as she intensely looking at her menu.

"Hey,you alright?" Vasth looked over

[Shirosu 0]

Shirosu lep't to her feet and just about jumped out of her avatar when she heard a voice speak up from across the park. After speaking gibberish for a few brief seconds she forced herself to take a big breath and calm down. Sitting back down she said, "Kinda, i'm trying to learn the interface and wrap my head around the whole death game thing but my mind is a little, shall I say fried right now" shaking her head she leaned back and sighed. she glanced over at whom had spoken to her, she guessed that he was approximately the same age, maybe a touch younger then her. He also had blue eyes and long messy hair, "The names Shirosu by the way, and you are?"

[Mack 0]

Mack stood outside the tent flaps that marked the entrance to The Wandering Forge he was giving some consideration to moving the shop up to a higher floor, perhaps the winter wonderland that was the fourth floor. But, up there it would be harder to track down new players and get them equipped for the slog through the world of Sword Art Online. So, even though the bear of a blonde blacksmith vastly preferred cold weather to hot or even mild, he was dawdling on the first floor in the City of Beginnings. At the moment, Chewie the grizzly cub was perched on one of his shoulders, where the beast couldn't go bounding up to everyone looking for food, and the smith had his grey eyes on the look out for anyone that might be in need of new gear.

Rather abruptly Chewie gave a woofling growl and took a flying leap from his perch. That was new. The bear cub landed in a splayed mass of fur, fat, muscle, and limbs and before Mack could grab him back up the brown devil had gone barreling off. No doubt, someone nearby had food. Sighing, and glaring after the little monster Mack started after the beast. Chewie for his part went barreling through the street and, with a flying leap, he landed himself on a bench under a shady tree next to another player. A player that had their inventory open. Open inventories meant food. Everyone knew that, as far as the bear was concerned. Sitting back on his haunches he made a sort of begging noise that was half grunt and half whine and then opened his mouth wide for a treat to be deposited.

A few seconds later the blonde blacksmith came marching up the street after the bear. "Chewie is a terrible beggar," he said in a low rumbling tone, plucking the animal up by the scruff of its neck and depositing it back upon his shoulder. "New player," he asked in a low tone, regarding Shirosu with a grey-eyed gaze and nodding a greeting to Vasth, whom he had often seen in the Market but had never spoken to.

[Shirosu 0]

Once again Shriosu just about died in fright when she heard a sniffling grunting sound next to her, looking down she was greeted with large begging eyes attached to a brown, chubby, fluffy, body that was a grizzly bear cub. She stared at it for a few seconds inquisitively, its mouth wide open like a baby bird waiting to be fed, was it a monster or? The answer to her question soon marched up in the form of a burly blonde man who scooped up the critter by the scruffy of its neck and dumped it on his solder. "New player?....." she repeated weakly, it took her a few seconds to realize what he meant and then she laughed," I guess if the newbie clothes didn't give it away then look of utter confusion did eh? But yes I'm new, and to be honest quite lost" she stood up and offered her hand," Names Shirosu, nice to meet you" she eyed the battle axe warily then chided herself, he seemed nice enough. 

[Vasth 0]

Vasth nodded

"It's normal for newer players.I am Vasth." Vasth looked over to the player with the big axe.Vasth sigh,he kept his spear in his item menu so he wouldn't scare anyone by accident.Vasth open his menu and equipped his gear and got up.His dragon headed spear appear on his back.Vasth stretched and yawn. He looked at the player.

"Wow a axe user that's rare thing to see." 

[Carambit 0]

Carambit was wandering through starting town when he noticed the bulking giant, Mack, and another player standing around a female player. He decided to go over and check if everything was okay, and if it wasn't then offer his help. "Hey," he introduced himself to the group "everything alright? Need any help, young miss?" He could make a new friend of her, so he decided to give her his biggest, warmest welcoming smile. "Nice to meet you! I'm Carambit." he offered a hand to shake. "If you need any help with anything shoot me a message and let me know, I'll be there to help you in an instant."

He turned toward the other male player that was present. "And likewise for you, if you ever need a hand, give me a yell." he smiled and offered a hand shake to him as well.

[Mack 0]

"A spear user's not exactly a common sight either, Vasth," Mack replied in an easy tone, considering the weapon that had just appeared at the back of the tousle-haired teen. "Still, that's a fine weapon you have there. I'm Mack," he continued, inclining his head in Vasth's direction by way of greeting as he took Shirosu's hand and shook it once. "Come to think of it, there aren't many dagger user's either," Mack said, his eyes picking up on the basic weapon that Shirosu had. She was clearly a newer than new player, as her gear and weapon made that fact quite apparent. As Mack was considering all of her gear, at least what was equipped Carambit wandered over and introduced himself as well.

"Still working on that sword for you, should have it soon with a bit of luck. As for Shirosu, she needs something better than what the programmer's laughingly call a weapon and, frankly, you two men could use some armor," Mack continued. As he was speaking, Chewie began to nose his way out over Mack's shoulder, back in the direction of Shirosu. Reaching up with his left hand, Mack flicked the bear on the nose with his index finger and Chewie settled back down. "If you're interested, my shop's only about fifty feet down the street. Stop in and I'll see what I can do, you first Shirosu. You can't go out into the plains around the city with that dagger. Trade it to me, and I'll give you something better."

 

[Carambit 0]

Carambit nodded. "Yeah some armor would probably go a long way for me... I tend to take a fair bit of damage." he awkwardly ran his hand through the hair on the back of his head. "Oh I'd definitely recommend checking out Mack's shop. Probably the best armorer I've ever seen, to be honest. He offers great deals on all his stuff." Carambit looked up to the sun, to see that it was getting on in the day. "Well, time's burnin' and I've gotta run. I'll catch you guys later. Can't wait to see the weapon you're gonna put together for me, Mack! Nice to meet you guys!" he waved as he excused himself and started walking away.

[Shirosu 0]

Shirosu was surprised to hear that daggers were uncommon after the firm handshake with Mack, then again, they were a close range weapon. When Vasth equipted his large dragon headed spear she admired its craftsmanship for a brief second before shaking hands with the dark haired Carambit before he left just as quickly as he appeared. "Well than" She laughed watching hisretreating figure ," He seems to be busy bee" turning back to Mack, Shirosu was kinda shocked when Mack offered to trade her beginner dagger for something nicer. Her jaw dropped and she stuttered,"Ar..are you sure? its not an inconvenience or anything?" She glanced up at the big man, the question seriously etched on her face, but it quickly melted into a tiny smile when she noticed the little bear sneaking closer to her and because she couldn't help her self she opened her inventory and tossed a piece of her bread to the little thing and shot an apologetic look to Mack, "Couldn't help myself, hes to cute. But if your offer stands I would be more then happy to take it if it keeps me alive"  After all she had to get out of this mess alive.

[Abalasster 0]

It had been a long day for myself. I had just finished up some hunting that had been long over due. Sadly, I was rewarded with the thrilling prize of absolutely nothing. I decided that it was time for a break. I made my way towards the park section of the town. I noticed that a gathering had begun. I decided to stay out of it for now. I did some studying on some of the members of the group. None of them were familiar from what I could see. One of the player was obviously new. and decked out with the starting gear. It was either that or someone was fond of their starting gear. That's when I saw him. The towering smith was in the group. I smiled. Whenever he had seen Mack, it was when he was around new players. I looked down to my Familiar, Khepri. "Shall we go"? I asked. The scorpion nodded in approval. I got off the bench and bean over towards them. I was able to catch the tail end of the last statement. It was the new player commenting on how Mack would give her weapon an upgrade. "He's sure alright" I called to the group. Before any one of them had a chance to say another comment, I quickly introduced myself. "Abalasster, cart salesmen"... 

[Vasth 0]

Vasth shrugged "A lot of people think a sword is the best weapon but every weapon can be good if you are trained enough," Vasth smiled as he listen to Shirosu. Vasth laughed as he watch Shirosu threw a bread toward the bear.

"So Mack you a blacksmith,hmmm they get so much more income then Artisan." Vasth sighed.He went to the bear and crouch next to it and rubbed it's head and it's licked Vasth in the face.

"Hahaha..that is cold." He plays with the bear a bit more.

 

[Mack 0]

Chewie snapped his jaws at the loaf of bread as it came flying in. Somehow, he managed to catch it between the use of his front paws and his mouth. All without falling off of his perch on Mack's shoulder. As the horrid little beggar began devouring the treat Mack plucked the animal from his shoulder and set the bear down on the ground. The last thing he wanted as a bunch of crumbs all down his clothing, which he knew would happen if he didn't remove Chewie from his perch. "Congratulations, you've made a life long bear friend now. He will beg for more every time he sees you," Mack commented dryly as Abalasster explained that the smith was, indeed, not joking. "And we only get more income when we're not giving away our wares."

Chewie, for his part, looked every bit the overgrown chipmunk. On the one hand, Vasth was coming over to play with him. On the other hand, it was possible that Vasth just wanted Chewie's treat. One could never be too sure. There was only one real solution. To protect his ill gotten gains from Vasth's attempts to try and take them from him, Chewie somehow had managed to cram nearly the entirety of the loaf of bread into his mouth. Problem solved. Now no one would try to take it away from him.

[Shirosu 0]

Shriosu Looked curiously over at the new comer, Abalasster, and with a faint smile offered her hand once again and said, "Well nice to meet you, names Shriosu, and a cart salesman, quite interesting" She glanched back over at the little grizzly and laughed as she watched Chewie Stuff the whole peice into his little mouth leaving him looking like an over sized chipmunk, her tiny smile spreading a bit wider she laughed bending down to pet him" I don't mind having this little cutie as a friend" With all the excitement Shriosu was almost starting to forget where she was, she looked over at Mack and said jokingly" If you bribe me with that trade you may just gain a sturdy consumer" 

[Vasth 0]

"Yo Mack how hard was it to tame a familiar,I am getting one soon." Vasth looked over to Mack as Shirosu patted Chewie. He stood up.

"In your business what do people buy a lot,weapons or armor?" Vasth patted the back of his head,it was kind of a habit for him to doing if he was sleepy. He looked at Shirosu and said

"Hey Shirosu if you need help,I will be happy to help just send me a message,here a friends request." 

Friend Invite

Vasth would like to add you as a friend.

Accept O

Decline X

[Abalasster 0]

Mack had commented on how he basically giving away his inventory. I smiled at this. He had helped so may people that were on Shirosu's caliber. I had even been one of those people that he had helped. "Well Mack, if needed, I'll pay you for the weapon. She needs to gear up and I still owe you for Zephyr". This was both a gesture of kindness towards Shirosu and a gesture of thankfulness towards Mack. Mack did so much work for the new players and he did it unpaid. I decided that it was time to pay him back for all that he had contributed to me and the others that he had helped... "So, are we off to your Smithy Mack. If so, lead the way my Friend..."

[Koumori 0]

(OOC: it's almost like I'm stalking Abalasster and Mack)

I was once again, and like usual, walking through the town of beginnings when I saw what was becoming an all too familiar site. A new player, always a girl, being swarmed by a bunch of guys wanting to help. Oh and what a surprise, Mack was there too. 10 to 1 he's going to offer to give her a new weapon. Normally I'd ignore an exchange like this but Abalasster was there as well and he seemed to generally like me, so I thought it would be the polite option to go over and say hi...even if Mack was there. I diverted from my course and walked over to the group. As I got closer I could see the other players more clearly and I could confirm I had never seen any of them. In any case, this time I decided I'd make a quite entrance. I simply walked up beside Abalasster and nudged him on the shoulder "Am I the only one feeling déjà vu right now" I said in a low whisper so only he could hear. I turned my attention back to the girl who was probably perplexed as to why another guy had shown up. "Hi, I saw some friends here so I came over to see what the deal was." I then finished my entrance by glancing over at Mack and greeting him with our now standard greeting, a stink eye. 

[Shirosu 0]

Friend Invite

Vasth would like to add you as a friend.

Accept O

Decline X

Shirosu stared at the request and thought to herself why not, pressing the O with her finger tip it showed that she added a new fried,"Thanks Vasth" she said slightly confused as to why he would friend a new payer but not really minding. Soon Shirosu's head was whipping back and forth from all the kindness they were showing her, she was actually quite confused though she managed to nod in appreciation to Abalasster for his offer. Men she thought shaking her head in a funny way, what strange creatures and surprise, surprise one more guy appeared. Shriosu could see right of the hop that he knew Abalasster and didn't like Mack . "Ummm nice to meet you i guess, name's Shiriosu" What was that, like the fifth time she had said that now? She sighed and decided to accept all help offered right now as much as she didn't like taking from others, she knew she needed it in order to survive. 

[Mack 0]

Chewie was absolutely basking in the attention. One would have thought that Mack never ever paid any attention to the grizzly bear cub, which was certainly not true. But, when it came to new people Chewie certainly knew how to ham it up to best effect. Hamming it up sometimes led to ham in his mouth, and that was the best kind of ham in the world, after all. "Of course the offer stands," Mack said in reply to Shirosu's question concerning trading her weapon for something better. In fact, the smith even had a particular knife in mind that he thought might be just her style.

"Weapons sell more often than armor since people tend to focus on weapon skills first," the smith replied in a low tone, answering Vasth's question. "And getting a familiar wasn't hard. I went out into the forests on the second floor, killed his mother bear, and then held up bread until he came down and got it," Mack continued, turning his grey eyes on Chewie as the bear was leaning into Shirosu and clearly trying to get her to give him another loaf of bread. As he was chatting with Vasth, Abalasster cut into the conversation as well.

"I'm not going to charge one of the Blades for a weapon, certainly not a council member Abalasster," Mack said in reference to having given the silver haired man Zephyr. If anything, he needed to find a decent shield and some armor for Abalasster to help the guy level up a bit more quickly. Before Mack could swing the topic of conversation around to asking Vasth and Shirosu if they were also interested in joining the Crimson Blades Koumori had to make his appearance. Koumori would not be invited to join the Blades. Not now, not ever.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Crotch Shot," Mack said in a low tone as Koumori wandered up, clapping his hands sarcastically. Chewie wasn't so kind, the bear cub barreled over to Koumori and promptly sank his fangs into the brown haired boy's foot. Of course, being as it was a safe zone the attack did absolutely no damage and, seeing as Chewie was a cub, it was quite likely that the bite probably didn't even hurt. "Watch out if you duel him, he's without honor. Now, go away Koumori... the adults are talking." Mack turned his back on the other man, effectively boxing him out of the conversation for a moment.

"Now, while there are no conditions attached to the armor upgrade, Shirosu, if you're interested in joining the Crimson Blades let me know. The same goes for you, Vasth, and there's no need to make a decision right this second if you'd like to think about it," the smith continued, beginning to stroll down the road in the direction of his shop. "My shop's this way," he said, plucking up the bear by the scruff of its neck and depositing it on his shoulder as he began to move towards the forge.

[Abalasster 0]

As the conversation continued on, I heard someone walk up besides me. I turned to see another Familiar face. "Ah Koumori, so good to see you". Mack let out a retort, insulting Koumori. He must have still been a bit upset from the result of the duel. "Come on you two" I interjected. "It was a great fight". Koumori then sent me a whisper. I felt the same thing he felt. "Yeah" I whispered back. "I bet that she is embarrassed as all hell right now. I personally came because I saw the smith over here. Hopefully she won't have the same kind of reaction that Rose had". I broke off the conversation right there.. I didn't want to attract any unneeded suspicion from anyone. Mack then offered to take us to his shop. I had been to this place so many times, I bet that I could walk there blindfolded...