[PP-F1] Recruit, Fall In - Guild - COMPLETE!!

[Mack 0]

As the morning sunshine was beginning to filter down to Aincrad through a slightly overcast sky on the first floor Mack stood still and statuesque in the main gateway that led into, and out from, the City of Beginnings. Today he was clad in his armor, the Angelic Sheath, and he had his hooded crimson guild cloak wrapped around his shoulders in place of the white hood that normally accompanied his armor. The hulking man stood in the gateway, leaning on the top of the bladed head of his two-handed bearded axe, Guillotine and waited for the other member of the party, Shirosu, to arrive. There were plenty of things to accomplish this morning. For starters, the burly blacksmith needed to collect more materials so he could continue raising his blacksmithing level and begin producing gear for the guild and its members. There was also the necessity of training and supervising one of the newest members of the Guild, Shirosu, who represented both one of the Blades' newest recruits and their first female member. With luck, having her aboard would lead to more female members which would swell the ranks of the Crimson Blades and help them to steadily become something resembling an actual army in terms of numbers instead of something more akin to a platoon.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Mack

[Shirosu 0]

Preparing herself for what she had just agreed to Shirosu walked out into the brisk morning air, her fast pace leaving tiny puffs of dust in her wake. Today was the day of initiation into the guild Crimson Blades, not a very large one yet, but the master Mack seemed trust worthy in Shirosu's books. At her hip the newly acquired Eagle's Claw, a gift from Mack glittered in the sparse beams of the morning light, she was excited to try it out. Just yesterday she had realized what was happening in this death game and knowing it was in her interest had accepted the request to join Mack's guild.

Rushing towards the gate at the entrance of town Shirosu raised her hand and called," Yo! Mack, i'm coming"  Sprinting the few final steps to the towering gate that lead to the first floor fields, she glanced at the hulking man apologetically and said," Sorry if i'm late, not a very good first impression eh?"  Slapping her cheeks lightly, turning them a light shade of pink, she quietly exclaimed,"Focus!" then turned her attention to Mack and inquired," SO whats the plan for today?" 

[Mack 0]

"As you've not been officially enrolled in the Blades, yet, we'll overlook the lateness this time," the blonde axe-man said in a low rumbling tone, still leaning on his axe with his left arm while he used his right hand to open his inventory. "The first order of business is to officially complete your enrollment in the Crimson Blades." Mack scrolled through the menus, his grey eyes scanning items until he found the Guild menu. From there, he transferred Shirosu's name to the Guild under the rank of Recruit, the lowest rank within the Crimson Blades, then he returned to his item inventory.

"You'll need these two items, now," he continued, producing a crimson cloak like the one he was wearing, but with a few key differences. The cloak that was passed to Shirosu lacked the hood, shoulder piece, and gold trim that were all parts of Mack's cloak. It was also missing the gold awards across the chest and the black career emblem at the shoulder. As Shirosu earned awards and chose a career, more items would be added to her cloak. The simple crimson cloak was passed passed to the silver-haired woman along with a teardrop shaped amulet. "Tap the amulet with your finger and it will become the symbol of your rank within the Blades, a dagger is the symbol for recruits. You'll also notice that your cloak lacks the ornamentation of my own and that of other guild members, as you progress in the guild you will earn rank, ornamentation, and awards which will be displayed on your cloak. It is in this way that guild members recognize one another and understand the chain of command. As this is an official guild operation, you will need to wear both the amulet and the cloak though, outside of official guild functions the cloak is an optional piece of gear."

"The next order of business, you need to prove yourself in battle. We will party up and head out into the fields and forests surrounding the City of Beginnings. You will engage in combat, I will harvest mats and observe. If you get into trouble, I will also prevent you from being killed. When you successfully complete the day's operation, which will require successfully defeating three animals unaided, you will be promoted to the rank of Soldier which will give you a crimson sword amulet as your rank symbol, the ability to take on solo contracts for the Blades, and the right to train new recruits," Mack rumbled, completing the basic tutorial for the day's objective.

"Now," the grey-eyed man said, hefting Guillotine and shouldering the weapon, "This is your training, you lead the way. As I said, I'm here to observe and intervene if necessary."

[Shirosu 0]

"Thanks" She said in reply to him overlooking her fashionable lateness, her face still looking slightly guilty. She ready accepted the cloak and amulet from the Blonde man and as he explained all the parts of this cloak and meaning she equipped it. The flowing garment felt a little weird, but she soon accepted the feel of it and decided she didn't mind the length. Looping the amulet around her neck she lightly touched it with a slender finger and it morphed into the dagger that Mack had previously mentioned. "Ahhh" she said, a little bit of excitement glittered to life in her eyes" This will be my first time actually battling a few monsters, i've been itching to for quite awhile, but i'm not into killing myself so i was waiting for my level to raise a little." 

When he said for her to lead the way she took to action immediately, turning on her heels the cloak fluttering behind her, she strode toward the fields, butterfly's forming in her stomach. She scanned the fields, her gaze hunting for a single opponent to agro, preferably a boar for her first go, then she spotted one grazing far away from the others, that meant even if she lept in the wrong direction she wouldn't agro more Perfect, she thought and started sprinting to her target. 

[Mack 0]

OOC: You know how to use the Perma-Roller, right? Feel free to spawn and battle your own baddies :)

As Shirosu led the way out through the gates of the city Mack followed along silently behind her. His job was only to observe and, if necessary, to intervene. It would reflect quite poorly on the guild if the Crimson Blades allowed their recruits to die right out of the bag, after all. The tall blonde man noted, with some satisfaction, that Shirosu was careful to consider the fields as a whole rather than just charging down the first target of opportunity. It might have been natural for someone at level three, as she was, to simply accept that nearly any battle in the fields around the city would be successful when they were traveling with such a high level player. Apparently, though, Shirosu was more concerned with strategically picking her battles rather than trying to take on every boar in the field all at once and when she took off towards a solitary boar a bit away from the others, Mack followed along steadily before planting the iron butt cap of Guillotine in the grass to lean on the weapon and watch the fight. After all, he was only there to intervene if it became absolutely necessary.

[Shirosu 0]

OOC: yup!

• ID: 28921
• BD: 3+1=4 (fail) 
• MD: 3 (fail) 
• Shirosu: 9/9 
• Boar: 6/6

The boar had an immediately agroed on her and charged in her direction, she drew her knife, hoping to get in close for a good shot. Shirosu's feet where light as she ran low to the ground her focus only on the boar, in an instant her butterfly's dispersed and all that was left was excitement. But at the last second before she struck the boar swung its body unexpectedly and in a way that would hurt. In order to avoid taking damage she lept out of its path of action at the last second, her initial attack abandoned in preference of her health.  "Shoot!" she growled in frustration as the beast charged back, neither landing a blow, mind you, she guessed hoping to land a blow on her first monster was a bit of a stretch for a newbie.  

 

 

Edited August 26, 2015 by Shirosu

[Mack 0]

ID: 28927
LD: 10 (No Loot)

As Mack leaned on the dull top portion of Guillotine's blade head he pulled back the crimson and gold stitched hood of the cloak so that he could better survey the battle between Shirosu and the boar with his storm grey eyes. For the moment, it looked as if she had everything well in hand. Certainly, so early in the fight, there was no need for him to jump in and intervene to save the silver headed woman. Looking down in the tall grass at his feet, the blond axe-man began to use Guillotine's iron butt cap to root around in the grass and soil to see if he might be able to turn up anything of use for crafting.

[Shirosu 0]

• ID: 28928
• BD: 5+1=6 (Hit)
• MD: 4 (Miss)
• Shirosu: 9/9
• Boar: 3/6 -3

Once more try, she thought fiercely and she spun around and lunged once more in the direction of the angry boar. As they neared each other more this time Shirosu grabbed the edge of her cloak and used it like a bull fighter, knowing the crimson color would hold its attention. The way she waved it drew the boars gaze away from her face and onto the cloak instead and using this opportunity she stuck, and with an exclamation Eagle's Claw met its mart for the first time laving a digitized scratch on the boars flank. after she landed the strike she dodged out of the way to avoid being mauled.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Shirosu

[Mack 0]

OOC: Shirosu, your base damage rating is 3, not 2. You get 1 just in general, 1 from your single rank in one-handed dagger, and 1 as a weapon bonus from Eagle's Claw. So, the boar's health should be 3/6 :)

ID: 28947
LD: 11 (No Loot)

As the fight continued to rage between Shirosu and the boar Mack continued to keep his attention divided. He wasn't really too worried about the woman being able to dispatch the creature and, as always, he was on the lookout for more materials that he could use in his crafting. So far, though, his little exercise in digging around in the dirt like a truffle hunting pig was not proving to be all that successful. When the boar gave an abrupt squeal the grey-eyed man looked up. "Some people prefer a reverse grip, makes it a bit easier to defend since knives have smaller blades," Mack called out, offering advice to the guild's recruit.

[Shirosu 0]

• ID:28951
• BD: 1 (critical Failure)
• MD: 5 (fail)
• Shirosu 9/9
• Boar 3/6

"Oh!?Ill try that" she said calling over her shoulder and decided to try it out, flipping the knife into a reverse hold she prepared herself for another attack. as she approached the boar again it decided it was time to get furious and ran much faster then it has before. "Wha!" Shirosu exclaimed and rolled out of the way on the last second trying to strike out at the boar with the reverse grip but missing by a mile. "Man" she grumbled in frustration her eyes glued on the boar in a glare," guess ill have to practice that some more." shaking her head she said, "next time ill finish it" 

[Mack 0]

ID: 28986
LD: 5

"It's not for everyone," the hulking blacksmith admitted with a shrug of his broad shoulders. It took practice to get comfortable and familiar with holding the blade of a knife in a reverse grip so that the weapon was pointed more towards the ground in alignment with the forearm rather than with the blade pointed up which tended to feel more natural for most people. Watching as the fight continued, Mack rooted around in the dirt with the butt cap of Guillotine, still searching for any crafting materials that might be buried, but not really holding out much hope that he was going to find anything as the search had proven fruitless so far.

[Shirosu 0]

OOC: OTL why rolls whyyyyy ;n;

• ID:28989
• BD: 1 (Critical failure) 
• MD: 8 (hit)
• Shirosu 8/9 -1
• Boar 3/6

Just as she said those words the boar charged without her noticing, swearing she spun in an attempt to throw of its agro a little and lept back a few times hoping to doge its rampage. Yelling in frustration she miscalculated and stabbed with the knife, the blade missed the boar by inches . No! she thought but there was nothing she could do as the boar tossed its powerful head and gored her, sending her flying. After landing rather ungracefully Shirosu got to her feet and took a deep breath, getting frustrated helped no one, she had to look at this differently. 

[Mack 0]

ID: 28990
LD: 7

"You have to remain calm," Mack called, still prodding around in the dark loose earth in search of anything at all that might be interesting. He was beginning to doubt that this manner of searching for loot was going to work. Unless, of course, there was someway to craft a metal detector in the world of Sword Art Online, then this kind of searching might pan out. "You only need to hit the boar one more time to kill it, it has to hit you at least three times and that's assuming it crits you twice. Steady, and focus, there's nothing else at all that matters outside of the boar."

[Shirosu 0]

• ID:28991
• BD: 8 (Hit)
• Shirosu 8/9
• Boar 0/6 -3
• LD: 16

Taking a deep breath she reassed her target and thought about their behavior patterns, which was mainly a direct charge. Figuring that if he lured it on and dogged with a slice it would be effective. Standing still as the boar charged her Shirosu flipped the Knife once more into the reverse grip, it seemed natural, but needed practice. She decided walking would help her cool her nerves as the monster charged so instead of running towards it she strolled, her focus becoming sharper each second. At the last moment before it struck her Shirosu planted her feet, crouched down, and lunged slicing horizontally with the blade across the boars flank finally landing a successful hit. The creature burst into a digitized mess in front of her face shocking her slightly but she recovered and stood up straight reaching her hand up, to wipe the imaginary sweat from her forehead. "Much tougher then I thought it would be" She sighed a low whistle escaping her lips. "Two more times right?" she asked over she shoulder at Mack, the cloak rustling gently in the breeze.

REWARDS

• 30 col
• 1 Crafting material

Edited August 27, 2015 by Shirosu

[Mack 0]

ID: 28997, 28999
LD: 15, 2

"Well done, two more to go and this excursion will be completed," Mack replied, still rooting around in the grass with the butt cap of Guillotine, though his storm grey eyes were focused on Shirosu. As he was speaking the sound of a dull clunk reached his ears. "What the..." the crimson cloaked blacksmith said, more to himself than to Shirosu. Glancing down, he saw the tip of a metal ingot sticking up out of the grass. "I guess this way works after all." Stooping for a moment, Mack retrieved the ingot as a crafting item and added it to his inventory.

"Lead the way, Cadet," the blacksmith rumbled, shouldering Guillotine again and waiting for Shirosu to lead them away again. While he was waiting he rooted around with the toe of his boot, but no more materials were all that forthcoming. "With practice comes familiarity, and you'll receive plenty of practice both with combat and leadership, if you're planning on rising to the rank of Field Commander or even Council Member with the Blades."

[Shirosu 0]

"Good" she said, still thrilled about the thought of combat , It was thrill fighting something, she wasn't going to be junkie, but the adrenaline most definitely kept her going.  Shirosu opened her menu for a second then Exclaimed "Hey! I level up!" with that she started skirting the edges of the boar herd again looking for another lone pig, not really wanting to try her luck with two. Spotting her next target, she realized it was a touch close to some others but she could lead it far away enough with some goading, so she wasn't worried so with a small bounce on the ball of her feet she jogged towards the pig, ready to take it on. 

[Mack 0]

ID: 29040
LD: 19

"It doesn't take much to level up when you're just starting out. That's true both in SAO and in the Crimson Blades," Mack rumbled, shouldering Guillotine and following Shirosu as she circled the small heard of low-level boar, searching for her next target. "Generally speaking, I recommend you level up your weapons skills first and focus on dealing the maximum amount of damage possible, but Xion's also the only true tank that we have in the Guild at the moment in that he's actually built his character specifically to tank." The hulking blonde man watched with grey eyes as Shirosu selected her next target and then took off to go and kill it. As she took off towards her selected enemy, Mack resumed rooting around in a new spot of the field with the butt cap of Guillotine, within a few seconds he heard a clunk and, stooping in the grass, Mack retrieved another crafting material.

[Shirosu 0]

• ID: 29045
• BD: 6+1=7 (Hit)
• MD: 10 (Critical hit) +2
• Shirosu:  8/11  -3
• Boar: 3/6 -3

Shirosu approached the boar, once again using the reverse grip, her foot steps calculated and once she knew she was ready she attacked. Rushing forward she gained its agro and swerved back and forth hoping to confuse it and prepared her attack. Just when she thought she would get a nice clean hit the boar put on a burst of speed and rammed its head right into her gut. Right before it launched her she managed to hand a hit on it, but the damage was done and Shirosu skidded back head over heels. Landing on her back she swore and scrambled to her feet, coughing a little from the impact," Man these boars just love to pound on me" she coughed before turning her attention back on the critter.  

[Mack 0]

ID: 29047
LD: 11

After he had retrieved a metal ingot from the ground as the result of his jabbing the iron cap of his weapon into the ground, seemingly at random, Mack looked up at the sound of two bodies slamming into one another. More specifically, of a boar blasting Shirosu backwards off of her feet, even as she managed to land a strike on the beast. "Nicely done, you still managed to land a hit on it. Get one more strike in there and finish it off," Mack said, calling out encouragement even as he continued to prod around in the sod for more crafting items.

[Shirosu 0]

• ID: 29048
• BD: 7+1=8 (hit)
• Shirosu: 8/11
• Boar: 0/6 -3
• LD: 5

"Alright!" Shirosu shouted pumping herself up ,"I can do one more hit"  she rushed the boar determined to hit it hard. this time when it sped up she dodged swiftly out of its tusks reach and slashed, her knife met its mark right on the dot.  As the boar exploded into pixels she threw her hands up into the air with excitement. "That one went much quicker" she said enthusiastically turning to face Mack, a big grin on her face, "i'm slowly starting to get the hang of this" right after she said that she started scouting for her final target and she quickly picked out a single boar on the edges of the field, sorry piggy she thought with a grin your bacon now

REWARDS (added to other rewards)

• 30 Col
• 2 Crafting Material