Wandering on the Outskirts [PRIVATE]

[Relsialle]

" Sometimes things are more fun with your life on the line…" ☒ @tagged ✐ 000 ✉ notes Relsialle Lv4 Relsialle seemingly ignored the young girl taking shelter under a tree for the moment, her injuries obvious from the looks of her damaged health bar, forcing the elation to drain from her features to be replaced by concern. The combat was winding down at least, offering some respite for the time being, knowing her own health bar was low enough to merit a second glance. The pink-haired thief sighed, knowing how easily she could get wrapped up in the protection of others especially given the group’s youth and the sudden surprise of the wolf pack’s attack…a battle that couldn’t have happened at a worse time. For lower-levelled players, at least by a small measure, the trio held the attack well…their individual efforts and respective archetypes doing well to allow them to function as a viable unit for the time being despite only barely knowing each other by sight. Her eyes were firmly placed on Athena’s final efforts, the other’s anger and frustration coming out in her movements…forcing the rogue’s bright eyebrow to rise in confusion. “Heh, you’d think she was used to everything obeying her on a whim…” The Irish musician mused, a slight scoff sounding in her accented tone. Elpharae rose suddenly, the young woman, appearing much more masculine with her/his hair lifting up…the realization of her former suspicions (if you could call them that) finally sounding off in her mind. She had frequented the clubs and bars of London and Europe, the clubs and population that frequented especially SoHo being well-known to her…the drag queens of Dublin especially being some of her closest friends. The girl chuckled as a paranoid Elpharae was joined by yet another unknown male, their attentions turned to the final seconds of combat provided by Athena. Their group growing larger seemingly to spite the kunoichi’s desire for momentary solitude, the irony of the situation forcing her to issue a soft giggle. At least there were plenty of new people to meet, a task that was still pleasurable…a minor silver lining to a ruined day. Athena offered a more entertaining scene then the pair bantering back and forth, the teen darting back and forth with a rapier in hand seemingly getting more furious with each strike, if successful or not. The shards had helped her, at least as a distraction, but drawing the attention of all onlookers to the peculiar combat style that the thief had possessed. The young woman’s sudden surprise forced a wicked grin to appear across her features, the entertainment of the easy fight mixing well with the slightly boost of energy that the adrenaline coursing through her brain. Athena had used the distraction well at least, her own stealth engaging momentarily… The youthful rogue burst out laughing as the hard lessons was learned however, the wolf using its heightened senses to end Athena’s plan rather quickly, a lesson hard learned by herself long before and all the other stealth players that she had encountered. While it was easy to begin to rely on stealth mastery for every encounter, the wolves of the floor were the lone exception and one that could easily be assumed to carry on to select monsters on every floor yet to be encountered…Stealth wasn’t the magic bullet that would push a player to success. The kunoichi shook her head at the goddess-named girl in momentary pity, Athena’s rage cresting almost immediately as she took out her remaining anger on the wolf that dared shatter her hidden status…The blue pixels of her victory raining over the gathered group. The group seemingly relaxed a bit as Athena had wrapped up her own share of the battle, Elpha and Kyle pacing forward to join her. The social situation made her lift an eyebrow in confusion, silently wondering about the prior relationship, if any, the group had…especially with the sudden appearance of yet another new male face. The Irish-woman shrugged of any measure of paranoia, if anything they should be suspicious of her, who falls out of trees randomly anyways? At any rate definitely not well-dressed pink-haired rogues…The paranoia of the group seemed more concerning than anything, such feelings were warranted in most situations, especially meetings outside of safe zones such as this, but really she didn’t notice a single color other than green amongst them…even noting her own green icon above her head even when taking in account her more nefarious character archetype. Perhaps that is what the developers had in mind when the trap on the player-base was spring, to not only have the monsters of the digital realm tear them apart as people struggled to progress, but also to have their own paranoid and failing mental health act as an even more efficient enemy. The thoughts took the philosophical Relsialle to another place as she turned back to the poor unfortunate wolf that lay nearby, its paralysis icon still holding strong despite the multiple rounds of combat they had faced. The Irishwoman paced forward, keeping her crystalline blue gaze on the red icon of her earlier victim, “Ah there you are…Sorry that I can’t let you get away…” The thief teased to her earlier opponent before stopping in her tracks suddenly, the figure of Kyle moving to greet her with a drawn blade directed at the frozen wolf. The creature saw the blade with fear in its eyes, a pitiful whine leaving its statuesque maw as it saw the two players finally confront its stricken form. Relsialle lifted her chin, with a look of confusion in her eyes as she saw the unfamiliar male now focus on her rather than Elpharae. Her sea-blue gaze blinked as her sharpened features examined the avatar of her age-peer, the rarity of finding someone around her age not lost on her. However, a slight bit of tenseness appeared on her sharpened features as he positioned himself to finish off the last wolf that she had saved for last. It wasn’t the fact that he positioned himself to take what could be seen as ‘her kill’ that fact really didn’t matter to her in the slightest anyways, fact was she hated ending helpless creatures…even if they were programming-bound to kill her at the end of the day…but it was the fact that he talked to her as if he knew her. Her eyes narrowed as she let out a quick sigh, remembering silently at her avatar’s name was hanging right over her head, something the real world didn’t afford. It was especially his seemingly innocent imperative after realizing his own position, ‘Kill it before it expires…’ Who was he to even request that of her after all? The girl paused a moment, the thought of backing off just enough to let the wolf attack him crossing her mind in a sort of momentary moral quandary that only she was able to comprehend for the time being. She was still trying to be a ‘good’ player at least for the time being, the thought making her scoff slightly. She glanced up to the new arrival’s name, the spite still clear on her slightly stern features, ‘KyleMartin’…Who uses their real name in these games anyways? The Irishwoman at least expected someone her age to at least know the dangers associated with such things, at least in any normal game. The girl shook her head back to reality before rolling her eyes at him, “Not the most original guy are you KyleMartin…” She said bluntly, her eyes flicking back to the frozen wolf that would soon meet its end, a dry humor in her accented words as she was slightly offended. It was after all a rough day for her no matter how one could look at it both in her fall and the sudden appearance of creatures in a supposedly safe portion of the forest… In the end she could only comply, if only to speed things up enough to start in her new quest of finding a comparable napping-spot…the frustration of losing her personally favorite location still not lost on her. “Alright, if only to keep you from being puppy-chow…” The girl said spitefully, with a soft smile creeping across her face, her famous Irish banter taking over despite her waning mood. Her dagger glowed once more surprisingly, the presence of yet another sword art making itself known. At this point using it only did its part to speed up the battle, as time became as almost a precious commodity as the health potions that the males of the group seemed so willing to give away. The curved blade she held illuminated with a deep crimson aura as the paralysis icon began to flash its momentary expiration, a rapid series of three slashes ripping into the helpless wolf. The attack seemed more damaged based than anything but its wicked effect quickly became known as a poison icon revealed itself over the direwolf’s name…yet another crafty status effect gifted from the witty rogue. Just as the wolf began to rise it soon exploded into a sudden mist of digital particles…joining the rest of its pack in the trash folder of wherever the server stored those that met their ends at the hands of the players…

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Elpharae]

(OOC: Someone's going to have to carry Elph or something. Also, -1 health potion from me~ Thanks!)

Elpharae watched Athena edge closer with narrowed eyes, seeing how she separated him and Kyle with narrowed eyes. He resented the implication that he might not be able to take care of himself, but knew, subconsciously and somewhere buried deep in his mind that Athena only did that because she must have abstractly cared for him, a complete stranger to her, in some way. His eyes softened slightly as he focused on the blonde, watching her movements closely but subtly. He also kept an eye on this new brunette-he didn’t trust him that much, after all. Just because he didn’t want his hands smeared with dripping crimson didn’t mean that he liked this player, after all. KyleMartin seemed far too softhearted and kind for him to fully trust the other, no matter how genuine he seemed. And Relsaille. From what he saw…would they truly get along? He murmured a quick word of caution to KyleMartin as a perfunctory measure before dropping back. It wasn’t his business, after all.

As KyleMartin continued to explain his reasons for wanting to meet Relsaille, somehow, worry lurched inside of Elpharae, and he couldn’t link it to anything. Could it have been the previous attack, an attack that was going to come, or simply this group of people? The air seemed ominous, and his arm wrapped around his rapier, him trying to calm himself down. He gritted his teeth tightly before sending a slightly strained look to Kyle, viewing the green player with a guarded look. “Just to learn about daggers? You say she’s famous…” You can’t tell me a woman like that would spare her time for some newbie without having something out of it. No one is that selfless. He finished the his train of thought in his head, but simply stayed silent otherwise. When Kyle stepped forward and acted, then leaving the kill for Relsaille, Elpharae resisted the urge to groan, keeping a slightly timid, polite face outwardly, tense and waiting for the inevitable outburst.

No person is without their individuality, Kyle, he murmured in his head, letting the disappointment seep into his emotion, permeating his thoughts. Kyle had seemed to have at least a spark of potential, but that spark was wavering unsteadily. And every person is different. Relsaille…she seems to be offset by your killing this animal, though you have showed your hesitance. And if she’s not like that…there’s no point in commanding someone to do something, no matter who they are. That familiarity…she doesn’t even seem to know you. His sense of propriety flared up, and Elpharae merely rubbed his temples, feeling a headache come on. If you didn’t want to kill it at all…why would you step into that position? That’s definitely off…and that should only make someone suspicious. KyleMartin…either you’re more of a fool than I’ve ever imagined, or you’re more oblivious and impulsive than should be humanly possible. I don’t know what’s worse…but it doesn’t matter right now. What will you do next, Relsaille?

And then the pink-haired woman deigned to kill the beast. Something in Elpharae made a trill out of dark pleasure at seeing the creature fear these players, and for a minute, a small smile almost touched his lips, but it disappeared quickly, and he ignored the pang of satisfaction he had when the monster disappeared into dozens of little blue and white polygons. He hid his thoughts under the skillful veneer of gentility that he showed often, emotions locked back behind a layer of slowly trickling honey-like warmth over his eyes as he watched each person. He wasn’t good at this game at any rate, but he’d like to think he was perceptive, at any rate. Kyle had to be a lower level, like him, and Relsaille was much higher. Athena also showed great skill, but was on the same level as him. How curious. His eyes narrowed for the tiniest fraction before he lowered his hands to his side. And what did that say to him? How did it relate themselves to their strength? His pupils sharpened, thickening and darkening with newfound information every time he swept his gaze over any of the players. It seemed quiet, almost too quiet, really, but he ignored it.

Athena was arrogant. He could say that safely enough. She seemed kind, and warm enough, but her automatic trust with him and her wariness with Kyle made her…unique, perhaps. But there was perhaps more to that? He glanced at her, briefly, and felt a wave of self-consciousness flow over him. Did she believe he was a girl? Elpharae could understand that-he was wearing a dress, and he did look rather feminine, and he…maybe it was her feminist side? He didn’t know. But at any rate, he turned to see the others, noting that it seemed like Sora had left. Where…had he gone? That was a curious thing. His grip on his rapier tightened. Coward, something in him said, angry and pushing at the sides of his vision, making him dizzy. He drank in his fear, his fury, and then felt helpless, producing this power and controlling it, getting swept away with the tide. He swallowed nervously. Something ominous seemed to linger in the air almost unnoticeably.

He wasn’t going to take it lightly, either. The brunet pushed his hair behind him to cascade down his back, and then sent a gaze around them. It seemed that they were still in the same relatively shallow area, but…his gaze was drawn to the trees around them, noting that it seemed darker, almost, the tall trunks reaching out to laughable proportions and dense branches blocking out any signs of light. A wave of unease washed over him like cold water, and a shudder traveled down his spine, like cold ice down his shirt. His fingers tangled in his hair, eyes nervously scanning the area around them. Unease was never a good thing, especially when you had Detection…his dark eyes closed and opened periodically, himself trying to focus in order to find out the source of his unease. It could have just been leftover anxiety from the earlier fight, but somehow, he felt like that wasn’t the case, and his fingers delicately rapped against the metal sheath of his rapier as he scanned the area around him, casually turning as if to pull his hair in a bun, tying it up to cover his worrying, his bangs making a neat bow-like shape that tied around his bun, almost like a ribbon. Placing his hair accessory in the middle of the dark locks to keep it from dropping or falling away, he tilted his head up, exposing the pale shadows of his throat when he heard the cry of an owl.

The bird swooped down, landing on a branch with a single flap of its powerful wings, the dark, intelligent eyes staring at Elpharae before its talon-like claws scraped the tree, leaving a tiny curl of wood on the branch that had been where it landed-clearly, those claw-like feet had sheared it off. Then, the brown bird-he wondered absently why it was out before night. Did Kayaba just do that because he could?-spotted something far away and before he could register it, it flew right over his shoulder, the edge of its wings sending a brush of air to his neck, making his hair stand on end as it passed by, his arms coming up so he could hug himself from the sudden chill, shuddering. It was much colder here than in his home in the real world, after all. He released his grip on himself, then turning to watch the bird soar low, its talons catching up an unfortunate mouse that was caked with still-wet blood, the bird settling on some branch now so that it could eat it’s sudden kill. Elpharae sent it a soft smile, and then brought his head to it’s normal position, blinking at the others happily, though it might not have shown.

The sudden attack reminded him of something that he had seen in elementary school-producer, consumer, decomposer. His mind reacted before he could figure out what happened. There was something important in that-what was he missing? He brought one of his hands to the side of his head, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. Producer, consumer, decomposer. From what he just saw, there were producers and consumers in this world, but no decomposers, since everything just disappeared into a shower of pixels unless killed by another AI. Producers and consumers-the wolf was a consumer, right? He tugged on a strand of hair, harried, and bit on his lip, wanting to pace, but it just wouldn’t be polite, and Elpharae hated to be impolite…unless truly angered or upset. But what was he missing? There was a vital piece of the puzzle missing. To calm himself down, he thought about anything and everything, finally settling for admiring the realism that Kayaba brought into the game. It was amazing.

Wolves traveled in packs and everything, and most of their animal characteristics were still pronounced, making them easily distinguishable, and their behavior was similar from what he knew, too. And, of course, there was the beauty of the graphics-the blue, cloudless sky that seemed like it would swallow him up whole, the paleness of the clouds, seemingly real and unreal the same way that the clouds at home did. Everything, from behavior to art, was basically perfect. He bit his lip. Behav…ior? There he stumbled, finding another tiny piece of the puzzle. Behavior. Wolves…hunted prey, didn’t they? And they were way too close to the edge between the Black Forest and the other parts of Floor 1 to be just strategically placed there. No, something had triggered that…and he didn’t know what. Elpharae bit his lip, wondering as a million different theories flew around his head. Was there a quest or something? Was…was there a set of players who deliberately set these wolves after them? Maybe with Familiar Mastery?

His earlier fatigue, which he had kept at bay until now, returned tenfold, making his eyes widen and then, a sort of heaviness forced his eyelids to close, Elpharae fighting it every step of the way. He blinked periodically, his eyelids remaining closed for much longer than he would be comfortable with, and the brunet slid his hand off his rapier, the touch of the cool metal leaving his fingers, to instead rub at his eyes with a child-like sleepiness, fighting back a yawn. His eyes were dark and unfocused, and a sudden wave of dizziness struck him, making him stumble for a second. Was he pushing himself too hard? Elpharae struggled to pull himself together, reminding himself that Athena was the same level as him, and she was still strong, perfectly fine and less harmed then him. Straightening up and acting outwardly as if everything was fine, Elpharae leaned against a tree casually-or, at least, it would seem so to any curious outsider-and used that to regain his energy for a bit, relying on the plant yet again.

But now…he performed a cursory glance around them, and realized that they were much deeper in the forest now. The trees had become thicker because they were deeper in the Black Forest. It seemed that the fight with the wolves had pushed them back farther than he had realized. Elpharae blinked the exhaustion out of his eyes rapidly, and cursed the fact that his eyelashes somehow tangled up (wasn’t that only an issue in shoujo manga or something?) and took two fingers to delicately separate them, but the longer he closed his eyes, the more tired he felt…his hand dropped to his side, fingers gently curling around the hilt of his rapier, himself closing his eyes for a second and allowing himself to indulge, even as he listened to the others chat or lack thereof. This…wasn’t it a nice way to practice his Detection skill, anyways? He tried to focus on his environment, feeling the familiar emotion of calm and serenity wash over him. Very zen, Amaya would have teased. A nostalgic smile pushed at his expression at the thought.

There was the now-familiar sound of birds, their sweet chirping and fluttering wings reassuring him, like they had so far throughout the game, reminding him that this world was not so alien from his own. He tilted his head against the rough bark, feeling his hair catch against the coarse, brittle material, but didn’t have the energy to care. The gentle sound of leaves fluttering, the rustle of animals making their way through the forest floor, roots erupting from the ground with a quiet ripping sound, the crunch of leaves underneath his feet, the thump-thump-thump sound of his own heartbeat-it seemed peaceful for now, and he basked in the tranquility, energy returning to him little by little. Still, he knew it was all just temporary-make him fight or move again, and he would definitely collapse. His brow furrowed. Wait. His eyes snapped open, wide from shock. Roots erupting from the ground with a quiet ripping sound? Little Nepenthes? His hand flew to his rapier, and Elpharae murmured a quick warning to the others before being knocked back.

A slimy, water-slick root wrapped around his arm, making him cringe and flinch away, but the monster was persistent, wrapping it more and more up his arm. Elpharae stabbed through it, making a circular hole, and ignored the slime that was now dripping down his pale arm, sliding slowly and sometimes bubbling, which he could feel clearly against his arm. The Little Nepenthe had retreated, but that was only a temporary relief-for some reason, Elpharae was consistently being attacked first. He made a note to never go to the Black Forest without being extremely cautious or having a party-since many, many others revealed themselves. He swore lowly underneath his breath, much too quiet for the others to hear. Eight? That meant that each of them would have to take two, and Elpharae could already feel tiredness blurring at the edges of his vision. He was in no condition to fight! A part of him told himself to run away, but he was surrounded by these monsters-it seemed like he had no choice. Elpharae bit his lip before taking out a health potion of his own, staring at the red potion before taking out the cork and swallowing it whole, wincing at the sickeningly sick taste.

Not a moment too soon, after all-once the last drop disappeared down his throat, Elpharae was thrown back and attacked by another monster, another Little Nepenthe on his side. He switched to his armor, the blue cotton rough against his slimy arm, but thankfully absorbent, wiping it off easily and remaining relatively dry. Relieved, the rapier-user didn’t notice it lunging at him, half of it’s root-like tentacles digging into the earth, the other half slicing through the air with an audible swish sound that he turned at, eyes wide and unprepared, readying his rapier, only to be easily swept off his feet, and Elpharae struggled against his binds before giving up, still having to resist the urge in being covered with sticky sap-like material that seemed to eat away at his skin, burning with an icy-hot sensation that he had to flinch away from, like a very, very bad rash. It was not bright red and pink, though, thank the gods, instead a spit-like color that he absolutely hated. He went limp, much to the monster’s apparent confusion, and it paused in its assault, still holding him, but its grip became the littlest bit more lax, so Elpharae did the first thing he thought of-he bit it. Hard.

The monster fell back, apparently feeling pain, thanks to the psychologically sadistic bastard named Kayaba (He refused to believe that he and Kayaba shared the same first name. Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope. Childish, he knew, but still.). The brunet helplessly spit on the ground and wiped his mouth, cringing at the strange feeling that was on his tongue. It tasted like bitter-like nothing, but bitter, if that made sense-and it slid slowly on his tongue, refusing to slide off, like the inside of an aloe leaf. The Little Nepenthe retreated, now wary, and he thanked the perhaps nonexistent divine beings that might have resided above them or with them or inside of them or whatever for his filled health bar. The monster had around half of its health bar down, he noted with some incredulity. It must have been weaker than he had thought.. A little of his previous confidence returning, he readied his rapier, deciding that the best defense in this case was a good offense.

And besides…he wasn’t like Athena, who seemed to analyze every angle in her battles until her bloodlust took her over. His current strategy was “run, jump, stab until it’s dead”. Very original, he knew. But enough inner monologue. Anyone who read knew that the pointless inner chat that happened within characters (like him now, he noted with no small bitterness) ultimately led to their eminent downfall. Racing over to his current victim, he dodged a root that spun over his head, having to spin using Acrobatics to dodge another, flipping through the air and just narrowly missing (he wondered who that had hit and didn’t envy them. At all.) the appendage, cutting through it midair before landing again, having found his prey. He swallowed his fear when he faced the strangely colored plant-like animal (was it a plant? An animal? A planimal?), seeing that it was much larger than he had anticipated. A bright red flower twitched on the top of it (was it a head?), leading him to believe that the area was most likely it's sensitive spot. That was enough information to go off of for now. Elpharae leaned back and ran up one of the roots, using his rapier as a sort of device to keep himself grounded, wounding the monster as it flailed.

Elpharae reached the flower, and with a swift move, cut if off, brazenly leaping off, landing on the ground as the victim of his blows disappeared in a shower of blue and white polygons, himself now all pumped up, adrenaline flowing through his veins. He prided himself for a moment on his control, since his bloodthirsty side had not come of as of yet, and then was promptly knocked off his feet by another coiling plant appendage, the slime getting all over him again, which sparked a note of something much darker than mere annoyance in Elpharae's mood, darkening his eyes. He had been swept up in the moment, his exhaustion forgotten and strength restored in his slender limbs. His first action was to cut off the root that held him, slicing through it with a bit of trouble, before noticing with dismay that it was using the other roots as well, and, of course, there was still the matter of its leaves, which could also act as ropes. The spark of fury from earlier was now restored in his movements, and he used that anger to propel his movements.

You think you can control me? He laughed inside mockingly, his inner ire lurching to now much greater heights, a feeling that he would have recognized as bloodlust missed with insanity if he were more calm. You’re a fool. A complete and utter fool. I may be weak, but you’re much weaker. Did you know you can feel pain, feel fear? I cannot. And that difference is a world wide. You know what you are-lower than dirt. And so, you should obey me. You should defer to me. And you will. His grip on his rapier tightened as he stabbed it repeatedly from where he stood, shaking in anger, leaving a gaping, hissing red mass from where he hit it, a crazed, manic laugh emanating from inside of him, though he miraculously remained calm and composed outwardly.

Even though it’s health bar was depleting rapidly, the monster still fought, but Elpharae evaded it, slicing through its roots. He didn't want to use his sword art, but perhaps he did-it would prolong the monster's death, at any rate. With a decisive nod, he twisted his wrist expertly above his head, and his sword glowed before he vaulted up using Acrobatics, pulling on a stray leaf to stab through the creature's lip, a mess of silverly liquid dripping onto him. Elpharae ignored the sensation, a burning, iron-clad anger inside of him, watching gleefully as the monster froze mid-motion, it's eyes absolutely drowning in fear. As it should be. The brunet delicately made his way up to the flower, and outlined each petal gently with the razor-sharp tip of his sword, watching it's eyes swivel, terror bleeding through. Perfection.

He suddenly cut one bright petal off, marveling at the velvety texture as he picked it up, the circular hole within it almost flawless, except for the rough edges of his rapier that comes with it being a Beginner's rapier, of course. The green player's now bored. His dark eyes zero on the four other petals, the only ones left. Carelessly cutting them off, one after another, the Little Nepenthe disappeared into pixels, soon, and the suddenness of his anger and his actions hit him, sending him to his knees, where he crumpled in exhaustion, his small frame shuddering in exhaustion before he fell into a state between sleepiness and wakefulness, his eyes flickering open and closed as he noted everything in a blur, world hazy and himself dazed suddenly, struggling to remember where his strength had come from.

[Athena]

"Do you have a problem for me to solve?" ☒ Elpharae Kyle relsialle ✐ 000 ✉ Now we battle some Little Nepenthes! Yay! (Also, I apologize for the short post. I just wanted to figure out the number of enemies that are blinded before I go attack any~) Athena Lv3

Athena stood her ground between Elpharae and this new male that had joined the group. It's not that the new male had done anything to warrant any caution, but Athena, in general, kept herself in distanced proximity from people she didn't know. In this case, she couldn't just run away, so she decided that it would be best to protect those that she had known longer. If the male was planning on killing someone, she'd like to see him try to kill her. Athena was completely confident that he couldn't. Looking at the way he was practically panting when he arrived in the group, she figured that he wasn't a player with much stamina. Stamina seemed to be a precious commodity in this game, especially mental stamina. If you couldn't endure waiting to leave this game, then you weren't fit to fight to leave. Athena looked the slender male up and down. He was... Odd, in Athena's opinion. He just suddenly showed up to a group of four-wait, no, now it was three since Sora had apparently left; she was still angry that he had left two wolves to her-for absolutely no rhyme or reason, it seemed to Athena.      Athena continued to examine the 'odd' male when he suddenly complimented her. Athena became a little confused by this. Why was he complimenting her? Was it to try and form a bond between her with words? Athena shook her head in disagreement of herself. No... This person... They do seem genuinely impressed by my fighting style, but that doesn't matter. Flattery won't get him on my good side. Only combat wi- Athena seemed to think just at the correct moment. The new male rushed the dire wolf that was lying on the ground, the last remains of its health barely allowing it to cling to life. Athena watched intently to see what the male would do. He ran toward the body and raised his dagger, a particularly piercing noise of bells was tolling as his feet began to glow a vibrant blue. Athena smirked and continued to watch this little spectacle that the male was putting on for the group. Athena grew increasingly interested in the male until he let the aura of blue dissipate from his feet. He turned toward Relsialle, the bubble-gum haired girl with a bit more of a potty mouth than she had, and told her that she could have her kill since she had originally injured it.       What? Athena almost smacked her hand against her forehead just to show how utterly disappointed she was. Seriously? This guy can't even kill a beast that he hadn't injured first? Who cares who gets the kill? It's another enemy out of our way. Seriously... Whatever respect he got from me for his Sword Art just all disappeared after that. But really? Are you kidding me? Athena seemed to be so incredibly disappointed in him, that she nearly didn't notice the air in which he had addressed Relsialle. Athena pushed the thoughts of disappointment out of her head and ushered in questions concerning the two dagger-wielders' relationship. It seemed that Relsialle gave the new male, KyleMartin, no mind at all. KyleMartin, however, gave Relsialle plenty of attention. She believe she saw Kyle examining something or someone while she was examining him. It seemed that this was what he was examining. Did he admire Relsialle? Was he seeking something from Relsialle? Athena almost laughed because Relsialle didn't seem like the type to provide anyone anything unless something seemed to be in it for her. At least, that was the vibe that she had gotten from Relsialle in the few moments that she had even known the stealthy woman.      Relsialle killed the wolf since Kyle seemed to be unable to do it. Athena simply rolled her eyes at the male and turned back to Elpharae, who seemed to be in quite the peaceful mood. Elpharae looked up at the trees and no- The trees. Athena thought that they maybe hadn't gone into the forest too far, but looking at the girth of the trunks of the trees and the visibility level provided by the mist, they were much deeper than Athena anticipated at first glance. Athena pulled out the journal she had, which contained a number of maps she had made while inside the forest. She pulled one out, pretty sure that they were near the section of the forest where she had encountered a specialized sort of Little Nepenthes, which had a two large bulbous spheres containing a poison that burned on contact. Athena shook her head so that she wouldn't remember the first time she encountered a Dire Wolf. At the time, that moment scared her into becoming stronger. It made her smile a little that she had actually become a level higher than the monsters on this floor. Now, her goal was to help people clear the second floor, since there was already a party that had encountered the first floor boss.      Athena looked at the map, trying to determine exactly where they were. Athena ran her fingers over many of the parts of the map, but the forest was always so generic that it was hard to determine exactly what section they were in. She just hoped that they weren't inside of a section of the forest where dire wolves had their breeding grounds. If they encountered that area, they'd be in a huge amount of trouble. Athena tried to survey the area around them, trying to find some distinguishing mark for where they were. Suddenly, a marking came into view that was familiar to her. It was on a tree about fifteen meters away from her, which was the exact sign that she was hoping for. She looked over the many symbols that she used to mark certain areas and when she had found where they were, her eyes widened. This is one of the claimed territories by Little Nepenthes. Luckily, this one isn't as strong as some of the other territories, but there still might be more than a few Little Nepenthes.       Athena tried to find out if the group had gotten the attention of any Little Nepenthes. If they hadn't, then it would be a good idea to go before a large group of Little Nepenthes attempted to rip the group into little pieces. Athena thought Little Nepenthes were easy enemies, but in a group, most people couldn't handle the large amount of roots and leaves being flung in their general direction. Athena could handle a group of three without being completely overrun, though she still had a good amount of difficulty with them. She hadn't battled too many Little Nepenthes recently, but she could remember what it was like battling them when she was the same level as the weak monsters, but now she was significantly stronger than before. Faster and stronger, specifically. Athena was going to make quick work out of any Little Nepenthes if there weren't too many.      It seemed that Athena had almost spoken in tandem with the first attacks, which were directed at Elpharae. Again. Athena frowned, disliking the fact that Elpharae kept encountering large groups of enemies. Was she just unlucky? Athena's brows furrowed a little as the thought of being attacked on purpose. No. No one has control over these creatures. It wouldn't be possible for us to be targeted by monsters that can't be controlled... Right? Athena watched as Elpharae dealt with the Little Nepenthes that had attacked her. Athena, on the other hand, didn't worry about the other players and tried to deal with the seven other Little Nepenthes. Athena thought that since they were confined in the dark forest that it would be a good idea for her to use her Sword Art for the first time in a little while. "Oi! Cover your bloody eyes! Unless you want to be blind as a bat!" Athena commanded the rest of the group as she prepared her sword art. She squared her feet towards the group of enemies and put her rapier over the magic circle tattoo that was on her right hand. The hilt felt incredibly natural in her hand. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, then opened them, revealing a raging fire of hate for these enemies. Athena quickly slashed her rapier an 'X' motion, which triggered her Sword Art. An incredible amount of light radiated from the motion and hopefully blinded a good amount of the enemies. After the light faded, she yelled back to the group again. "Now let's go beat these bloody things!" Athena nearly gritted her teeth as she moved toward one of the Little Nepenthes in front of her.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS - EDITS BY ANGELO OF SAO-RPG

[Akagi]

"The gears of fate shall turn once more. Frozen in time, the story would be rekindled with the warmth of Crimson flames." ☒ @tagged ✐ 2230 ✉ LMAO at self for cheesy quote. Anyway, here I go -.- Crimson Lv1

The clear, blue sky with no white clouds rolling in; the brilliant ray of sun, not too warm, shines over the green plain; a group of players hunts around for monsters and alike, their cheers could be heard from where he walks; the brown, dirt path that he treads upon. A suitable day for any adventurers to level up. The weather, if a person turns a blind eye for the situation they're in, would be perfect for a picnic outside of the Town of Beginnings. That thought crossed his minds over the past few days as he walks on this plain, searching for a suitable hunting ground. Often he would let out a small chuckle, out of embarrassment and pity over himself for wishing that kind of luxury. Monsters aside, he does not have any friends nor family member inside this game to actually go out on a picnic. But that small wish of him would be a pure joy for him if become true. He could count with his fingers, the time he had actually go out on a picnic with his family whenever they had school vacation. One would always thought that in such time family members would pass their time during that event talking with each other and forgets their worries, to wholeheartedly enjoy themselves in that short period of time. Not with his family, no, with the exception of his two siblings, their father and mother would rarely talk with their children, instead planning for their education for the time to come. The memories of that time would always slipped out of his mind as it gives no impact whatsoever, but today seems to be an exception. He would remember how he would play around with his two sisters without any care for their surroundings. Ironically, normal families would change places from time to time when they planned forpicnic. Apparently that does not seem to be the case for them. He had an inkling as to why his parents choose to do so, but he would need think of it better because he does not want to suddenly blame his father for misunderstanding the reasons why his father choose to do so. Perhaps unavoidable circumstances force his father to chose the same, nearby park all the time. Crimson exhale, his mood turns sour. His habit of thinking too much would always affect his mood, in a worse way possible. Sighing actually helps him throw away those habits of his, quickly improving his mood again. Feeling better, he would walk further down this dirt pathin a relatively relaxed pace, not thinking of anything but instead to just enjoy the calm moment he's in. He thank the group of player in his heart for actually hunting the monster around the vicinity of this area; it helps players like him to enjoy their walk once in a while. Accumulating stress inside these game would lead to an undesirable result. He does not want to find out whatever happen if one to have stress too much inside them. Enough having to go through it once, if he just let his mental guard temporarily down there would be no doubt that he would go to the edge of this game. As to what he would do there. Well, most players go there for one reason, to fly off this world, never to return again. He shivers at the thought... "Arghhhh, why am I thinking too deep over something that is bad!" He resumes his journey once more, this time shutting his brain. No more negative thinking. For now, he would just focus on is destinations. His destination: the rumored serene forest that houses plants and trees from their world, and unique one exclusive to this game. Where plant monsters and weird ones choose this place as their habitat. A place where when night comes, lost inside the forest would equal to death itself as monsters turn aggressive that time and appears in a large group. Rarely anyone ever comes out of it alive, and even if they did they would become traumatize to tell their stories. The one and only; calm when morning, hell when night. Black Forest, the destination he had in mind. At least, that was the rumor he had heard during his information seeking. A few minute of walking in silent and he finally arrive at said forest. The entrance to the forest looks creepy, dark and weird, unpleasant sound could be heard coming from the direction of the entrance. He ask himself why he would go to such a dangerous forest. “Well, you’re here to explore new places, to see more of this world, places unique enough to attract anyone to explore the place and scenery beautiful enough to captivate the eyes of anyone who look at it. Easy enough, this goal of mine.” “If only that said places did not have monsters crawling all over the places…” Crimson shrug his shoulders. Nothing ventured, nothing gain. With that, he walks through the entrance and starts his little expedition of his. …….. The ray of the sun penetrates the hole in the thick canopy of the forest, providing light for him to see his way forward. The gentle wind brush through the leaves in the forest, sounds of the gentle rustling provides a calm and relaxed atmosphere, albeit a little different to that outside the forest. He breathes in the fresh air; he felt cleanse inside him. The purity of the air could heal anyone’s’ worries, inviting them to just let themselves delve in this serene atmosphere. The foliage provides protection against the heat of the ray, providing cool temperature. A truly out of this world forest. He could only imagine having this kind of place in his world would be rare. Even if they found it there will be no doubt that deforestation would occur. What a sad thing human have turn into. For their survival, they have to sacrifice something, and sacrificing their own kind would be impossible. They had no choice but to pick the nature instead. Truly saddening indeed. “The time will come where us human beings would rely less on the nature. I hope it would not be too late until then.” He focus on his surrounding once more; the sound of insects, the birds chirping, gentle whistling of the wind, the leaves rustling, sword clashing accompanied by several shouts, all the sound blend together perfectly in this forest. With no monsters around his place, he could enjoy this moment a little long….er? “Wait, what did I hear just now?” Sound of insects, birds chirping, gentle whistling of the wind, rustling leaves, sword clashing accompanied by several shouts…. Crimson scan the surrounding of his area, all his senses turn sensitive at once. He would search the direction where the sound came from. Usually he would ignore any battle done by other players, but this one strikes him peculiar. He could no describe the feeling inside him, it’s just that… it’s odd. Something’s wrong with this sound he heard. He need to check it out, to satisfy this curiosity of him. He listen in closely, the sound seems to be loud enough for him to hear, even if he could not see them. That would help to a certain degree, he had no training in martial arts and therefore his senses would be that of a normal human. Most martial artist train their five and the rumoured sixth sense, honing them to perfection to aid them in battle. As Crimson have just begin his lesson on how to fight, he could only rely on luck most of the time. And he hates relying on something uncertain. It took him several minutes before he could pinpoint the source of the sound. Confirming it one last time and satisfied with his assessment, he run towards that place, rushing so that he would arrive quickly. There may be players there who would need some help for this forest teeming with monsters, concealing themselves by using the natural camouflage provided by this forest. They would ambush any unsuspecting players that would wander into their area of ambush. The fact that he did not get ambush would have mean that this party have attracted the monsters nearby towards their area. All the more reason for him to worry of this particular group. They would need every help they can get, and Crimson, knowing that, would never turn a blind eye at this kind of situation For his pride and honor would not let him do so. “Almost there…Stay strong, whoever you guys are.” He did not stop, not once. The sounds gets louder, he could see several silhouettes. His way forward impeded by a large bush; he cares not, and instead jump through. With that last obstacle out from his way, he arrives at the location of the battle. Two females engaged in a battle against Nepenthes, one male lie down on the ground, not moving. Considering he did not turn into particles of data, that would mean that he’s alive. But not for long, as all of them, including him, trapped in a battle against 7-8 Nepenthes, a large group of them he had never seen before. Their size seems smaller, and some of them even flails around, as if they could not see whatever that is in front of them. Quickly he approaches the male to check on his condition. A quick glance on his appearance reveals that he wears…long skirt. Alright, Crimson confused. His face certainly holds several features of that Asian, albeit it just barely past the requirement of looking like a male Asian. But with his…her(?)….attire he could not ascertain which of his/her gender. He dismiss that thought, he have no time to think of such action. While the other two females distract the attention of the Nepenthes Crimson would check whether he’s stable or not, physically speaking. “Hey, can you hear me? Open your eyes will you?” He gently shakes his/her shoulder, careful not to cause injury on mistake. Despite doing so there would be no response from the said party. Having no choice, Crimson slides his two finger midair and calls for the menu. Scrolling it down to his menu, he press for the potion and take one out of his inventory. Closing the menu with a vertical swipe, he open the cap of the potion with his right hand while placing the unconscious on his lap. With his left hand, gently he open the mouth and helps him/her drink the potion. After finishing that ordeal, he would carry the person not far from where they are and place the other party on a base of tree. Making sure the surroundings safe and free from any enemy, he call for is menu once more and equip his sword. He took another look on that person; no movement nor any sign of doing so. Praying that he/she would wake up soon, Crimson hurries to the battle. The two female skilfully distract the enemy long enough for him to join the fray. An so… “With all due respect, I will return such kind treatment!” His eyes went wild, looking left and right for easy prey. Because of his low level he could not fight recklessly, but in this situation he had no choice but to do everything he could, even if it means going reckless. Besides, his weapon of choice are not something for a gentle person to wield. For example; “I’ll start with you then!” One small Nepenthe manage to attract his attention. All the flailing with its long tendril and its bulb head swaying like crazy, he could not help but wonder what happen to this particular monster. But if it tends to act like that, “Then so be it.” Right foot forward, left foot behind, far apart in length. His shoulder relax, allowing him to absorb the weight of the sword as best as he could with his body. That way there will be less strain on his hand. Going in for the strike, he avoid the flailing of that weird monster and close his distance. In such a close proximity, he let the tip of the sword fall to the ground. Dragging the sword to his behind, he pull the sword up and use his shoulder as a fulcrum. Quickly he swing the sword down, and within second he hits the target. “Not yet…!” Right foot backward, he lift the sword up. Detaching it from the bulb of the Nepenthe, with his right foot working as the center of his balance he would do a quick spin with his sword. This time, he slash the Nepenthe from left to right, easily cutting it apart in two. No resistance whatsoever, he thank his luck for an easy prey. As the weird Nepenthe burst into blue pixels of uncountable number, dancing through the air before disappearing, Crimson would look around to confirm the situation once more. With 6 Nepenthe left to fight, he could only hope that someone would stumble against them, for he could not handle all this. “But, for as long as I can stand, no harm shall fall on that person.” He readies his sword once more, the rest of the Nepenthe regains their normal behaviour as they stop waving their tendrils around. “It will be one tough fight…”

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS - EDITS BY ANGELO OF SAO-RPG

[Dragonsnow]

After saying goodbye to Rue, Dragonsnow finally get up and walked out of the Town of the Beginning. The immediate scenery just outside of the Town was breath taking to say the least. There was so much green, and so much to see. The world feel like it had opened up and all around him, there was this wide open space, filled with life in every corner that he can see. What kind of story that could awaits him in this big wide world? How many wonders are there to see and to explore? How much could there be...?

From the small birds to the cricketing sounds, to the sound of the wind, to even the boars far off into the distance. There are just so much stuff going on, that momentarily, Dragonsnow closes his eyes and quietly take in a small breath.  Calm down now...and get a grip on yourself, you might be living a sheltered life, but now is really not a good time to be overwhelmed by the surrounding activities. Ignored them and just move on...just move on.

So he did. Lifting his head up and his gaze once again focus on to the road, for safety purpose, Dragonsnow walked along the main road. First time outside of the Town of the Beginning and wandered outside the safe zone of the walls, he is still a little hesitant in engaging any form of combat. His gaze glance over to the pair of boars munching on the grass just a little off the left side of the road, considering whether he should just go ahead and try his weapon on them instead. 

He had already decided to no longer stay within the walls, and that means that at some point, he is bounded to be engaging in combat of some sort. May as well just some practice with this game's combat engine early, so that he don't get caught off guard later on. In fact, practicing on the most common monster of the game and still within some distance of the safe zone seems to be the smart approach. Nevertheless, Dragonsnow shakes his head from side to side. The potential of boar hides ARE tempting him, but, so is getting a sense of the surrounding.

There are still daylight, if he walk around a bit more, and get a sense of how big the plains are, and therefore getting a sense of how will this games handles data and terrace, it would be even more helpful for exploring later on....to safe guard the possibility that he went into some woods and was too far off to retreat back to Town in time. 

After walking around a bit, up ahead, he approaches to the edge of a group of trees. Dragonsnow looked up and silently pull up his HUD and checked for his current location, he was shown to be still within the great plains, however, if he continues onward he would enter into a darker area zone marked with the words "the black forest". His HUD did not provide any more additional information other than the name itself.

Dragonsnow frowned a little bit at that.

The black forest hah....? Doesn't that sounded just a little bit ominousness...?

He started to regret not doing some research on the game, such as geography, monster population and such, he would have been so much more prepared for the unknown if he had put in a bit effort. 

Oh well...there is no sense on dwelling in the past, I cannot go back in time and correct myself...might just have to go in and see for myself, exactly what this is.

Dragonsnow turned his head down, reaches back into his inventory and equipped his two hand sword by hanging the sheath on his back by his waist.  He silently counted to three before walking steps into the black forest.

As soon as he walked in, the atmosphere of the game changed drastically, there are still no background music, but it was the eerie lack of any sound that feels so uncanny to him. There were no more cricketing, no more birds chirping on the trees, not even the sound of boars in the distance. The tall trees that surrounded the road on both sides reaches up into the sky, and covers up the remaining sunlight, the black forest, was a darkly lit and unfriendly looking place.

Dragonsnow frowned and silently told himself to be on guard, he is by himself, so if anything happens, there will be no one there to assist him. He will just have to be very careful and do this on his own, he choose the adventure so he faces the consequences, all alone.

Moving more slowly then before and on alert, when a sudden burst of sounds caught his attention. His eyes widen up in surprise as he quickly turns to look at his surrounding, trying to identify the source of the sound. In all honesty he was going to move away from the sound, since being level 1 he is not in any position to be curious. He is not someone he know who got into trouble blindly all the time. 

However, after he had identified the general direction of where the sound was coming from, and just when he was about to turn away, something stopped him in his track. It was a shout. Ice blue eyes with the realization, it had sounded like someone was in trouble, but...I am really not in any position to help anyone right now...However...I am too far away to return to Town and get help...if someone was really in such trouble, they will not last until I return...

Dragonsnow checked his inventory, he has three port stone, a gift from his sister. He could use them now and port back to near town. 

Dragonsnow turns his head away, just about to leave this place, when the shouting happened again. This time, he closes his eyes and grind on his teeth, he took a deeper breath and held his hand in a fist, waited a little longer. Oh..! Screw this..!

He turned his head, short black hair in the wind as he started to run towards the location of the sound. When he was near and behind the trees, between the trunks of the trees he could see five players engaging with some kind of....squid looking monsters...? And there were a lot of them too, 8 to be exact. One of the player with long pink hair suddenly disappeared into the shadows.  

At the first glance, Dragonsnow did not even take in the position of the players, he solely focused on the position of each of the squid, then he noticed that a player was laying on the ground, seemingly unconscious but have not yet turned into pixels. (he think that it was a player and not an NPC but he can't be sure.)

Within the battle range, there are three players already engaged with the squid, although one of them seems to be carrying some injury, but they are not his priority right now, the player laying on the ground must take precedent, as he would not be able to defend himself, if a squid target him now it will be game over for him, in this game and in real life. 

Crushing his black combat gloves in his fist as he thinks about the possibility, Dragonsnow unsheathed his two hand sword and tries, as quietly as possible, get close to the player on the ground. Once close within range, he knocked off a squid looking monster that was the closest to the player with his sword, the squid was knocked backward into the air, it would take some time before it came back here, and Dragonsnow silently swallow a bunch of curses to himself, on why he had chose the two hand sword of all things, this is so inconvenient right now...!

He stabbed his two hand sword into the ground near him and as quickly as possible, reached into his inventory and dropped a port stone right on top of this unknown player, he activated the port stone and set the location to near the main gate of the Town of the Beginning, it was still day time, a random player around the gate should be able to notice him and get him into the Town. With a swipe of his right hand the destination is set, and the player glow in light blue and his image blur as he is being teleport back to Town. 

Squid charged back at him just as he had the time to turn back, he quickly grabbed his two hand sword and met with this incoming attack, biting his teeth silently as he took in some damage from the wiggling arms of the squid, Dragonsnow pushed the squid to the side, and followed up with a big downward swing, and immediately with another turnabout upward swing, hitting the squid dead in the center and dropped the squid's health bar to zero. It went up in pixel, but Dragonsnow did not have the time to relax, he quickly reaches for his second port stone, and speedily run up to the first player that was closest to him. It was a female player with long light blonde/silver/grey(maybe) hair, and without giving her a chance to say any protests and completely disregard the possibility that she might be higher level then he is (which is more than likely since he is level 1, you can only go up at this point). Dragonsnow pushed the second port stone to her arms and set the destination to the same location, the female player did not even get the chance to drop the stone and as she was teleported back to the great plains with a blue light in the same fashion as the first player. 

Two hand sword reached up in a defense position as Dragonsnow took a step aside, to dodge an incoming squid's attack, he dodged aside and towards the other two remaining player, a girl...no a boy (much better at identification than his sister) with long black hair, and another gir...no another guy, two guys with long black hair. Once he stopped within the hearing distance of the two other player he asked quickly with a frown for opinion. "I only have one more port stone, who here is in low health and needs to go back to Town?" He turns around noted one of the player seemed to have taken some damage "Do you want to go back to Town? Or do you need some potion? Or do can you fight?"

Monster kill count:

Squid lvl. 1 20 HP
Squid lvl. 1 20 HP
Squid lvl. 1 20 HP
Squid lvl. 1 20 HP
Squid lvl. 1 20 HP
Squid lvl. 1 20 HP
Squid lvl. 1 20 HP
Squid lvl. 1 20 HP

(OOC: Akagi you mentioned something about taking out 2-3 squid, be my guest)
(-2 port stone sad face. <- trade from starlight have not yet been processed) 

[[GM] John]

Thread closed due to spring cleaning. This is a flat reward, no bonuses will be added. I apologize in advance for the cut taken to your hard work of the past, however full credit cannot be issued due to the nature the thread ended in. You will be rewarded similarly to how solo threads do just without the cap, enjoy the xp from dead threads

The following players were credited for their posting: Elpharae

Elph word count: 12300
Flat XP rate: 1230

On a side note- WTF ELPH, THIS WAS 5 POSTS!? GJ lol