Richard stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. Is she serious? He hated murderers and thieves as much as the next person, but killing someone over it was unnecessary. Everyone stuck in S.A.O. had family, and friends that they wanted to go home to, and killing for the chance though wrong shouldn't be punishable in the hands of another pc. No matter what he did to her, or the other woman Richard stood unconvinced, sighed, and walked into the local tavern in the town. "I would like the strongest ale you can give me please" he shouted to the busy waitress serving many different pcs, and npcs. What a rough day, and all this the day before the meeting on defeating the final boss.

When Richards drink was finally delivered he started to relax, and leaned back in his chair. Many different people walked by him, some of them he knew, and others he didn't, but Richard could care less. People in S.A.O. were starting to become grimmer by the second, and the world was still in complete chaos. "Maybe defeating this boss will sort things out" he whispered to himself, but he hardly believed it. He still couldn't help feeling sorry for that girl who ended up killing that man. She was both angry, and scared, but it still didn't give her the right, and he knew it. The alcohol effect though it kicked in still couldn't help clear his mind of the situation, and he hit the table with sheer anger. "God dammit, I have to go, and find her" he shouted, getting many stares from the surrounding pcs, and npcs.

He quickly walked out of the bar, and even though the drunk status was still in effect he could still find traces of where she went. He continued walking until he reached the town teleporter, and searched for her location. "Dire Mountains huh" he slurred to himself, and prepared to enter the teleporter. Once he finally arrived he heard a light scream off in the distance, and decided it was best to rush over to figure out if the person was ok.

Nathimys tripped over a stump, face planting head first into the tall grass, onto something quite.. soft. He looked up, seeing an object snaking through the grass before him...
...Leading straight up to a dire boar. Even his mushroom hat couldn't keep him from distress as the boar spun around, ramming him in the face.
---Nathimys, 10,566 health points ----> 9,873 health points--- Dire Boar, ?????/????? health points. ---
Nathimys then slid across the ground, flipping over in circles backwards until he stopped. At the last moment before getting trampled, he rolled to his right while pulling out the Agaeítí Blóhd. He got to his feet and jumped just as the boar passed under him, where he was just lying. Nathimys ran at it from behind, jumping up and stabbing his sword through its back, then pushing off with his arms and landing on his feet.. In front of the bull. "I thought this through really well, I think." Nathimys said sarcastically as the boar charged into him, just as he prepared his sword in front of him. The boar flicked his sword away while taking a grazing blow, propelling Nathimys through the air again.
---Nathimys, 9,873 health points -----> 7,477 health points--- Dire Boar, ????/???? health points. ---
Nathimys landed on his back and couldn't help but wincing, even though the pain sensing function was turned off. He raced for his sword as the boar ran towards his location, missing him by only a few centimetres as he passed it. He scrabbled through the tall grass for where his sword should be, ready to end this mindless beast. "DIE, DAMMIT!" Nathimys said as he pulled his sword from the brush, turning around and using his momentum for the skill sharp nail. He sliced from the bottom right of the beast to the top left, then slashed from left to right, and finishing it with a slash from the top right to the bottom left. Not wasting a single movement, Nathimys finally had the boar on the defensive. He flicked his blade and controlled it easily, hacking and slashing away at the boar that seemed to take most of his damage pretty easily. Nathimys, tired of this, lunged and stabbed his sword through its face, then bringing out his sword and stabbing it through the head and stabbing his sword through the ground, pinning the boar there.
---Dire Boar, ???/??? health points - almost dead. ---
Nathimys then spent the next few minutes kicking the boar in the face, slowly pushing the blade through its flesh as the boar was forced against the blade. the boar's face was cut in half when he was done, and instantly exploded into thousands of pipxellated crystals.
*Final Fantasy victory theme*
Nathimys, you gained-
Dire Boar hide, (4)
Col, (1,500)

---

Nathimys pulled his sword out of the ground, rubbing the dirt off as he frowned at the dull tip. "Might as well adventure on, I need to find a place to mine so I can mark its location for the next time I come back, when I have a pickaxe." Nathimys stuck the handle of his blade under his armpit as he rubbed his hands together. "Evil hand sanitizer.." He muttered under his breath, giving off a low laugh. He then started running up the hill, sword in hand. He passed by the smooth rock, looking for something, anything..
"Bingo."
He said, looking inside the cave where four snarling wolves were attacking a lone woman.
"On second thought.." He said, half turning away.
"Well, maybe.."
"No...."
"Possibly..?"
"No."
"Doing it anyway!"
Nathimys rushed in, as he expected himself to, and before he got more than two feet in the cave, he tripped on a rock and faceplanted onto a wolf, stabbing the one next to it through the tail.
"Every time, I swear.." He muttered

Whimsical and Titan exchanged strange looks when they heard a scream coming from nearby. The tall, burly spartan gave Whimsical a nod and began to climb up the mountain, while Whimsical himself started to move back, quickly taking his two handed axe from his back, the white, glowy weapon nearly reflecting what little light there was in the Dire Mountain as he ran towards the general direction of where he expected the scream to come from. Using his tracking ability, he was able to track dire wolves- in combat. All it took was him sliding down a small cliff before the sight came into view; a girl was threw down by a Dire Wolf- and by the looks of it, they were already preparing to attack her again. Damn, should he? His own HP was pretty low. "Tsk, these noobies venturing into this place." The red-haired barbarian grunted, suddenly receiving a speed burst as he charged towards the wolf.

Just as he raised his axe and was about to strike down- another player suddenly felt just under his axe, if it wasn't for the surprising reflexes Whimsical managed to pull, he'd have caused some pretty bad damage on the boy. Pulling his arms back and spinning the axe above him before using it to strike the nearest wolf from a different angle, he roared at them- not the wolves, but at the girl and the dude who had just felt down. "Damn, newbies shouldn't be here at all." The red-haired grabbed his axe with a single hand, bringing it back- before launching his arm forward and finishing off one of the wolves- practically cutting it entirely in half. If the creature did not explode in pixels and data, it'd become a fairly gruesome view.

At the opposite side, the figure of a tall, burly man appeared- Titan. Seeing things were just fine and there was no need to help now, he nodded over at Whimsical before retreating. Their were fairly synchronized partners, really; they didn't even need to use words to communicate.

While Titan walked off, Whimsical waited the imbecile who had felt down to finish the wolf under him, dearly hoping that the boy wouldn't also need help, since that'd be embarassing even to Whimsical himself. His amber eyes focused at the girl, an eyebrow perking up. He eyed her over a few more times, nearly as if searching for something, or simply trying to take in mind every single detail possibly observed with just the eyes. He did the same thing to the boy, but more intensively- and his focus seemed to be his sword, mainly. His hand tightly gripped his axe's handle, raising it and resting it partly against his burly shoulder. He said nothing, yet.

Kiyomi slowly uncurled from her ball like position and opened her eyes. She had been waiting for a deadly attack that never came and upon looking around, it apeared two fools had risked their lives for her. One with shockingly red hair, and the other who had his sword stuck in the tail of a wolf, snarling at the player as he tried to get free. Standing up, Kiyomi activated Shooting Star and attacked the beast, and turned to a shining poof of dust.

She disregarded her award screen and sheathed her Saigo Rapier. Pulling her hood back on she helped the fallen player up.

"Thank you for helping me..." she turned to the red haired one. "Both of you." she got a better look at this one and raised a brow to match his.

Wow...he's pretty hot. she thought before her face turned red as his hair. She coughed once then walked to him, transferring a health crystal to him as thanks. She kept her eyes down and waited for him to speak but he didn't.

Kiyomi came to an unsettling realization that he was probably wondering about her cursor. With a sigh she moved past him, intending to go farther into the mountain. She didn't want anyone else to ask her how she felt about becoming a player killer. Not like it was on her to-do list. Walking briskly, she hoped he wouldn't follow her, but her immature part of her teenage mind just wanted to admire his face again.

Really Kiyomi? You nearly died and moments later you feel the need to check out the guy who saved you. Smart.

Dec 1, 2022
Floor 1-Labyrinth Floor 2, Safe Zone
________________________________________

"Man, fuck this place. It is a wonder people made it even to the 10th floor of this place." Saul laid out on the floor of the safe zone, enjoying the peace they have for the moment. Nick pulled out three loafs of bread and tossed one towards Saul and another to Namora. "Ah yeah, got anything to go with this?" Saul looked with big eyes. Nick shook his head, wishing he had bought something to go with it. After several minutes of eating, Saul stood up, weapon in hand. "Well come on Tsreo, lets finish this floor. There has to another chest here... Maybe I'll get that sword I have wanted." Saul began to shake, jittering with excitement. "Alright Saul, but just this Floor, the three of us can barely handle this."

15 Minutes later

A set of stairs lay in front of the group, leading up to the 3rd floor. "No luck today. We are all probably running low on healing items, lets head..." Nick's voice was cut off by a strange scream. It was a high cry with a deep growl underneath, giving of a painful sound to the ears. They turned to see a large six-legged insect clinging to the hallways walls. Its three, spider like eyes scanning the hallway. "Shit." Saul scoffed, "Let's hurry this up." Saul charged the creature, letting out a battle cry. "Wait Saul." Nick followed suit, gripping his two handed blade tight.

Watcher of the Labyrinth, Primg ?????/?????

Saul charged left, striking the front most leg while Nick went right, avoiding the first leg and heading for the middle one. Saul's blow hit first, causing the insect to lift its front two legs as it screamed in pain. The second blow sent the bug onto its back two legs, stumbling backwards. Both jumped back as the creature fell forward, trying to crush the two. This would give them a moment to strategist a way to kill the creature.

Watcher of the Labyrinth, Primg ?????/?????

"Damn, I heard Watcher was tough." Saul took a step forward, "Hey you two, if anything happens... teleport out of here." Shaking his head, Nick placed a hand on Saul's shoulder, "I ain't leav-" Saul pushed Nick's hand off, "No, I am not having two or three people dieing. Besides, I said if things go bad." Nick nodded, turning to Namora. "Hey, you go left, strike to front leg. Saul will go right and do the same. I will ram its belly, that should knock it on its back. When that happens I'll launch one of you into the air to do a diving strike. We'll see how much health it has after that."

Dire Mountain

A month… I’ve been trapped here a month, Amber thought to herself as she lay uncomfortably on a flat stone in her steel armor,How long will it be before we finally get out… How many more days, weeks, months… years, before I get to see Sarah again… With a sigh and a groan Amber sat up and grabbed her spear, It doesn’t matter. I’ll see her again, no matter the cost. But while I’m trapped here I should at least enjoy myself a bit.

Amber rose to her feet and held her massive spear to her side. She had been up here at the mountain for a while now hunting alone. It was relatively tricky for her to fight large groups of the tough enemies in the location, but if she could pick one off from a group at a time it wasn’t terribly hard. Thankfully her health regeneration in battle was at such a height that it minimized the downtime to heal outside of combat, but she often found herself dozing off for a few minutes regardless.

Though monsters were about, and you always had to be wary of the occasional player killer, Amber seemed to be at peace here. The zone was quiet outside the sounds of the local “wild life”, if you could call them that, and the mountain itself provided a rather gorgeous view. She had come to the realization that even though she was trapped in a virtual space where her life was constantly on the line, Sarah had been right about the fact it would be a good escape from the troubles of reality.

Somehow she felt much more at ease here in this world where she could die at any moment without given a real chance, than she did dealing with her daily problems back home. In fact, if Sarah had managed to sign in before all this occurred and had been trapped here with her too Amber would prefer this reality over the other. It’s dangerous, it’s deadly, it’s artificial, but it’s free of the obligations and hassles of modern life.

It took a scream and a wild, savage roar, to shake Amber from her thoughts. She looked around her surroundings, trying to focus in on the direction of the sound. Sounds bad… Should I even get involved? Her thoughts tried to grab ahold of her again as she worried about what she was hearing, but it was too late to change her mind as she began to walk down from her perch, spear fastened to her back. I’m stupid. Why am I doing this?

Her plate boots clanked on the stones under her feet as she walked, being quiet wasn’t a possibility in this armor or location. She bit her lip as she walked, her armor clinking and ringing like a dinner bell. Again, this is dumb. If it’s a group of player killers I’m screwed. If it’s a group of monster I’m probably screwed. Yet if it’s a group of other people hunting… perhaps I could join up. Would be a lot easier than hunting solo like this.

She stopped in her tracks and sighed, Screw it… I’m being loud enough already. Amber reached back and grabbed her spear, holding it in one hand in a non-aggressive stance with the pommel on the stone and the barbed head standing taller than her. She brought her other hand to the side of her mouth and called out, “You still need help? Or should I run away? You know I really would rather not die.”

Whimsical - Dire Mountains | Floor One

Whimsical gladly accepted the health crystal- and instantly used it to recover a good portion of his missing health. Normally, he wouldn't use it to carelessly, but... He had his reasons. The orange cursor above her head- that was worrying, had he just saved a player killer? Growling silently, the man raised his axe and pointed it at her back- from a distance, of course- and simply pointed, it wasn't like he was threatening her with it or something. Taking a deep breath, he called her out with a strong voice, taking a few, cautious steps in her general direction, while still keeping certain distance, his axe still pointing out at her.

"You there. Wait." Slowly, he moved the axe down- which was more dangerous than when it was held up, after all, his attacks always started below before ascending and descending into his foes. "Who have you killed and why?" The way he asked was quite demanding- as if he was entirely sure, absolutely certain that she'd answer him. He also deeply hoped that she wouldn't lie, if he noticed that she lied about some stupid reason, he'd become increasingly suspicious of her. And to Whimsical, a player killer was a monster like any other mob in this game. He simply couldn't see them as players- as humans outside the game. They were murderous beasts and they needed to be slaughtered to prevent them from killing other players.

Surprisingly or perhaps not so much, the barbarian didn't cast a single glance over the boy who had also risked himself to save her, but at the same time, he was entirely aware that he might be her partner and that he could attack him from his back, should she be indeed one of those player hunters... He also utterly ignored the new-comer, plate-mail and spear use, even though he did take note of her, mentally. If he wasn't so threateningly serious on perhaps taking the 'player-hunter's' life, he'd grin and make a snarky remark about the woman fitting perfectly in Titan's taste in women. Strong, imposing and brave.

Nathimys accepted the help up, pulling his sword out of the ground. "Well. This is awkward." He said, dusting himself off after sheathing his blade. A bat thought this would be the best time to flutter down at him, just after he sheathed his blade. Nathimys punched the little bastard across the room, curb-stomping it until it shattered into a million tessellated pieces. "Hmph."
Reaching up to make sure his mushroom hat was still on his head, Nathimys was surprised when he heard the accusation towards the woman who had been attacked by the wolves. "If she was a pk'er.." Nathimys started. "She would have a red crystal." Nathimys put his hand back down to his side. "It's an orange crystal, meaning she either committed a robbery or killed a criminal, resulting in an orange crystal for the rest of her life if she killed, only for a few weeks if she robbed." Nathimys had played the beta and distinctly remembered the different coloured crystals and what they meant - because he was a pk'er in the beta, but now wanted nothing to do with the past-time.
"Now, if you excuse me, I will be going further into the mountain to search for ores, tally-ho!" He pronounced, spinning on his heels and walking straight past the woman into the next chamber, which was just an empty room with smooth walls on all sides. "Well then." Nathimys said. "Guess I'm doing this the hard way."
He walked around the walls, rubbing his hands over each square inch of the walls, looking to see if his perception skill would pick up anything different.
As he was doing this, a false wall fell forwards when he tapped it, five dire wolves coming into the room. "Oh you've got to be..." Nathimys quickly drank a health potion with one hand, unsheathing his sword with the other.
"Én guarde!" He said, spinning his entire body to build up enough momentum to leave a huge laceration across a wolf's face, then stopping to swing his blade the other way, lopping off its head. Three jumped at him at the same time, and he kicked one away while it was leaping at him, while the other two proceeded to force him to the ground, clawing at him.
--- Nathimys, 7,896 health ----> 7,433 health. ---
He drew back his blade behind him, positioning it straight at the head of one of the beasts. He thrusted straight down its neck as it prepared to bite, then used both hands to leave hundreds of cuts inside of it, giving it Bleeding II. Nathimys puleld his blade out of its neck, slashing it across the face desperately. Eventually, its health dropped to zero and it exploded.
--- Nathimys, 7.433 health ---> 6,542 health. ---
The dire wolf he kicked had just recovered, jumping at him. Nathimys kicked it in the throat while trying to ungrapple the other one. He eventually managed to do so by rolling on to it, then stabbing it with his sword while on top of it. He cut off its legs so it wouldn't bother him while he tried to finish the other two. Nathimys ran up to one, kicking it in the face- or at least trying to, because at that moment, it latched on to his shoe. (Gg, no re.) Frustrated, he simply swung his foot at the other one, diminishing the health of both wolves at the same time, laying on a barrage of blows. It wasn't much, but it helped him take his anger out on those little cute fluff balls of death. Nathimys then stomped on the neck of the one he had been kicking around with the other wolf with his good foot, taking it out of the battle by breaking its neck bone, paralyzing it. "Now then..." Nathimys said, stomping on the ground repeatedly until he had broken both jaws of the one on his foot. A ballsy manuever, as each hit degraded his health, but deeply satisfying. He then continued to stab it until it exploded into those pixellated crystals he loved so much..
--- Nathimys, 6,542 health ----> 4.343 health. - red zone. ---
Nathimys spun around, stomping on the wolf with a broken neck until it died. He then spun around, a smile of pure malice on his face as the one with bleeding two hadn't died yet. "Now then..." Nathimys said slowly. "DIE, YOU BEAST!" He said as he took his blade, stabbing it in the face until it was unrecognisable, and then kicked it against the wall. It died seconds later.

Group ambush, success!
*Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare*
Loot gained:
3,500 Col,
Beast hide- (8)
Fur- (4)
??? - (1)
*The tab closes*
"..I am legitimately scared to open my inventory, now..." Nathimys said.

Labyrinth floor 2 ; Safe Zone – Floor 1.

The trio had been grinding continuously for about an hour or so and unfortunately for them, luck didn’t seem to be in their favor. Karin couldn’t even remember how many mobs she’d cut through within the past few minutes and they had yet to find anything truly valuable. A disappointed sigh escaped her lips, her sentiment mirroring that of Saul’s as he flopped down onto the floor. Catching a loaf of bread tossed to her, the girl broke off a piece and popped it into her mouth. “Thanks.”

She’d been feeling a bit hungry and was grateful for the loaf which helped alleviate that even if it wasn’t exactly tasty. The three companions finished their food in relative silence, each one lost to their own thoughts. Karin stood up and brushed imaginary crumbs off her clothes, a habitual gesture more than anything.

"Well come on Tsreo, lets finish this floor. There has to another chest here... Maybe I'll get that sword I have wanted." Saul began to shake, jittering with excitement.

“Must be nice, being an optimist.” She muttered under her breath and shook her head, following the two guys.

Moments passed as they continued the boring and repetitive task of grinding their way to the next floor. Sheathing her blade, the raven haired girl surveyed the surroundings as the trio stopped at a set of stairs. They seemed to have cleared the floor, though she wouldn’t really know that for certain as she could only detect mobs in her range of sight and hearing. Perhaps I should level my Perception skill one of these days. She thought for a moment before deciding against it.

"No luck today. We are all probably running low on healing items, lets head..." Nick's voice was cut off by a strange scream.

Karin was about to nod her assent when a high, keening cry reverberated through the hallways. Inadvertently flinching against the sound, she turned to see a monstrous insect scuttling its way towards them, its hideous maw gaping open. A revolted shudder passed through her slender frame as she took a step backward.

"Shit." Saul scoffed, "Let's hurry this up." Saul charged the creature, letting out a battle cry.

Karin felt the sudden urge to thunk her forehead against a wall. “Let’s all charge head-first at an insect the size of a truck. Brilliant plan. It’s bound to work out just perfectly.” She muttered darkly as Rigsaw headed after his friend, weapon drawn. Shaking her head, she tapped open her quick access screen and unsheathed her blade in one fluid motion, coating it in poison.

Saul and Nick both went for the creature’s legs, making it rear up and let out a high pitched cry of outrage. Karin began moving forward, waiting for the moment when it slammed down in a crushing attack which left it vulnerable for a couple of seconds. Activating a burst of speed, she blew past her companions and leapt onto the creature’s head; using it as a spring board to launch herself onto its back, twisting her body in midair to face its head. Slamming her sword down into its back, she carved a long jagged line into it’s flesh as she ran back towards the head and jumped off . Had the move not been timed exactly right, she’d have died or at least taken a lot of damage. She heard her companions talking about teleporting and begin to formulate a plan. Oh so now they strategize.

“Alright.” Karin agreed and began to move towards it. “Let’s do this.” She broke into a run, activating a burst of speed and weaved towards the Watcher in a zigzag pattern to evade its strikes. The scimitar slashed into it’s insect-like left leg with a sickening crunch.

Kiyomi's stopped walking upon hearing the demanding voice of someone, likely the red haired guy. He'd asked her exactly what she didn't want him to. A girl approached her, keeping her distance and asked if things were alright. Kiyomi nodded to her then turned. Her eyes widened slightly as her other rescuer defended her in a way before running off. A smile crept itself onto her face before she started giggling. The red haired guy looked ready to kill her with that imposing axe of his, but his attempt to intimidate her was actually quite amusing.

"Oh please. If i refuse to tell you, what will you do? Kill me? Please, make it slow. I long for something as sweet as pain." she said, hands on her hips. "That guy was correct though. My cursor is orange, not red, so that dosent really make me a PKer. Sorry to dissapoint. The colors are just a formality though. Either way, i killed someone..." she looked down, her hood covering her eyes. "I cant ever undo what i did."

Kiyomi paused then, debating wether to continue to speak or walk away. "His name was Shougo, and he attacked me the second day we were trapped here. I almost died, i was lucky enough someone came by to heal me. If it had stopped with me, i swear i wouldn't have killed him." she said trying to convince him...or maybe, convince herself. "This past week i followed him, intending at first just to beat him in a duel...get my money and items back, but i was afraid....so i waited. Then i saw him beat another girl to death, then another...then another. 6 in total, each nearly to death. If i hadn't healed them, they would have been reduced to nothing but a mere memory." She paused and looked back into the eyes of the red haired man.

"It was then that i realized that i had been burdened with glorious purpose. I couldn't let him lay another hand on anyone else, so i ended him. Left him to die with nothing but his desperation he told me drove him to attack me." She took a few steps towards him and smiled.

"And i'm sure if i was there to watch his last moments of life lip away, in his eyes i would have seen something so much more pleasureable....than pain." Kiyomi felt a few tears slipping down her face but she ignored them. "Would it not be the same if i'd done nothing. Left him to go about beating the weak for their scraps, no. I AM A HERO! Dont be fooled."she finished with another smile.

The red-haired man just kept an intent gaze on the woman, his brows furrowed in an uncertain glare. What the boy said might've been true- either way, a crime was a crime; and there was still the chance of her having kil-... She confirmed it. She had indeed killing someone. Whimsical tilted his head to the side, keeping himself from speaking right now- not wishing to interrupt her as she went ahead with her story. At first, he was assuming that her action was a mindless revenge, an act of impulse- forgiveable, but certainly dangerous. Impulses could take the life of many- including her own. Still, he didn't make his thoughts audible. As she continued though, Whimsical started to understand- still... She moved closer, and he gripped his axe tighter, just... in case. He was defensive, that was obvious.

"For a hero, your sanity seems fairly insufficient." He told her, taking a step closer himself, his amber eyes staring deep at her own. The intensity of his gaze remained the same as before, though the scowl had shifted in a straight, emotionless expression. While his right hand held the axe, the left slowly- very, very slowly moved towards her face. If she allowed, he'd simply give the hood she wore a tug in order to pull it down- either way, had she allowed or not, he'd speak, taking two steps back from her. "And for a hero, you still haven't learned to give priority to certain things... Such as your state of mind. It's noticeable that you're feeling guilty for your actions, which is comprehensible, but unnaceptable. If what you say is true, you've done yourself and many others a favor, slaughtering a dangerous monster. Now, if you excuse me." Honestly, Whimsical had came across other players who self-entitled themselves hero. He, on the other hand- never ever thought about calling himself that. After all, he wasn't a hero- not in reality, not in this world, neither anywhere. He was simply a man working towards his own egoistic goals; getting out of this place.

Without another word, the man started to walk off, raising his right hand to sling his axe on his back. Titan was waiting him for another round of grinding- but this time, in the unknown forest nearby...

Kiyomi turned around as he started to walk off and ran after him. She was quiet for a moment then said quietly.

"Um...thank you, i think." she said, not looking at him. She wondered if that was his attempt to make her feel better. Deciding not to dwell on such things, she shifted her focus to something more important.

"May i...go with you to train. I need to level up. There is a meeting tomorrow about defeating the boss of this floor. If you are interested, i am sure Diabel will take as many as he can."

She had an idea then and opened her menu, going to her items and switching to her armor. In a flash of light, the forest green ensemble she had, changed to a light armor dress of the same color. Her hood returned to her items and she tightend her two loose ponytails.

Clicking to ask for a friend request from him, she said, "In case we part ways, i'll message you the time and place of the meeting. We could use your strength.

Amber furrowed her brow as she stared at the odd scene playing out before her. The accusations, weapon pointing, arguing, and insulting actually made her feel awkward. This was one of those situations that she didn’t enjoy, and was hoping she wouldn’t come across. She had expected a fight, considered having to flee for her life, and even wondered about sudden death. Never did she expect to come across a group of people bickering.

With a sigh she looked up to the sky to check the time of day and then looked back at the people that were once bickering. The man with the axe was leaving, the other boy was long gone, and the girl stood there now. Amber cleared her throat awkwardly and turned to walk away, “Well… Everything seems to be in order here. If you uh… Need anything just shout or uh… something.”

However before she could turn completely the bickering had ceased. The girl ran after the man, and after all that had happened she now appeared to be making friends with him. Again Amber stared off into the distance confused and finally just fastened her spear to her back and turned away. No matter what was occurring Amber decided she wanted little to do with it. The girl killed a man that did wrong, she understood that, but this whole situation just sat wrong with her in the sense that a man just threatened her life and now the girl sought his friendship.

It wasn’t her place to judge, and Amber simply started to walk away. She turned her head once more towards them, “Again if you’re around the area and need help, just call out. I’ll head over if I hear you, I’ll be around for a while still.”

Richard had finally arrived at the location that he heard the scream coming from, and it indeed was the woman he was tracking, but instead of making his presence known he stood back, and decided it was best to hide in a tree instead. Richard watched carefully to figure out the situation, and notice that there was quite the number of people who came to the sound of a simple scream. Maybe people aren't as heartless, and unforgiving now as I thought It was then he noticed the redheaded man prepare himself for a fight, and Richard prepared to step in and protect her, and the redheaded man slowly approached the woman Richard had met earlier as she started to cry. Surprisingly to Richard instead of attacking her he gave what seemed like an emotional speech, and started to walk away. She must have told him about what she had done, and yet as much as he hated what she had done, Richard couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and understood that she thought what she did was right.

It was around then when she started to follow the redheaded man, and Richard decided to stick not to far behind. Is she slow, or just plain stupid he thought to himself, and it wasn't soon until she finally caught up. She started to ask him several questions, but what intrigued him was the fact that she mentioned the meeting tomorrow over the first boss. He wasn't surprised that she got it, but the simple fact that she was actually going surprised him. He wasn't very sure how welcoming they would be of a player killer.

Dec 1, 2022
Floor 1-Labyrinth level 2
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Namora took off in a zigzag pattern toward the left side of the insect, striking at its front leg. Saul followed suit, stabbing the front right leg with a Sword Skill. Primg tried to web Namora as she charge to no avail, allowing Saul's attack to make contact. Distracted and in pain, Namora was able to close in and strike the front left leg, causing the creature to stumble back and rear up. Nick made his move, sprinting at full speed, sword drawn. The insect screeched as it gathered itself, using the hallway walls to stabilize. But before Primg could come back down, Nick crashed into its belly shoulder first. This had enough force, thanks to a strength roll, to sent the beast backwards, its legs swiping wildly at the air. "Saul, now!" Clasping his hands together to form step, Saul used Nick to launch himself into the air, preparing to plunge his blade into the creatures soft belly. Time seemed to slow down for Nick as he watch his best friend fall, his blade beginning to gleam green, a Sword Skill Nick had only seen once before. As Saul closed him, Nick noticed the creature was not trying to defend itself with his limbs. "Shit, SAU-"

Primg had waited for Saul to close in before making its move. Using the walls, Primg's stinger extended out of its rear and in one fluid motion, flipped itself; stinger first. It pierced through the center of Saul's back, momentum carrying him with the stinger. The insect landed on all six legs, retracting its stinger back into its body, letting Saul hit the floor with a thud. Air in the hallway grew still, becoming silent as Saul's health bar dropped drastically. Primg charged Nick and Namora, hoping to finish the fight now. Nick acted first, taking several steps forward before rolling underneath the beast. Coming out of his roll, Nick spun around, striking both back legs of the charging creature. Primg's back legs buckled, slowing down and causing it to stumble.

Watcher of the Labyrinth, Primg ????/?????

Nick ran across the hall to Saul's side, his health bar stopping deep into the red. An icon was next to his health bar, the status effect of severe poison, or toxic. "Saul..." As Nick began to access his menu, Saul grabbed Nick's arm, "Don't, you know you do not have a item to heal toxic..." Tears began to fill up in Nick, no wanting to believe what he was seeing. Saul's health bar dropped more, inching closer to death, "Hey, there is still someone else here. And I said I did not want anyone else dieing." "That was not your fault, Steven did not li-" Saul stopped Nick, "I was party leader and cause I could not control the situation, people died. Actually died. I vowed to not have happen with me around." Tears uncontrollably fell from Nick's face, pixelating as they hit the ground. "Beat this nightmare, don't let these lives go in vain." Saul 0/9,230 Saul's body exploded in a magnificent array of pixelized colors, his ID being deleted from SAO.

With a fury of emotions, Nicholas rose, facing Primg and Namora, his sword giving off a strange glow.

Whimsical stopped walking when he noticed that she had ran after him. His face washed itself with confusion, both eyebrows raising as his eyes widened slightly. The hell with her.. He thought quietly, not understanding why she had just thanked hi-.. Oh, right, for saving her life before. But she did gave him a crystal.... And then, she asked to train with him, claiming that she needed to level up since there was a meeting about the first floor's boss. Titan instantly crossed his thought- he needed to tell him this, but at the same time, he didn't wish to bother Titan with unnecessary company- such as the girl, herself. Suddenly, the friend-request popped up in front of him and it took him a few long moments to accept. The first and last one he had seen was a little less than a month ago- and it was Titan's, his only ingame friend.

Accepting it, regardless, the man cleared his throat as he continued walking, motioning her to follow. "Yes, you may come with me." Sending her a party-invite, the red-haired man exhaled a sigh. Titan would likely see her- but, knowing the man, he wouldn't comment. He was possibly already in a different area, anyway- so their exp would be divided by two instead of three, thankfully- while whatever exp Titan got, would be all his. Glancing at her, Whimsical asked; "How much do you know about the first floor's boss?" He was genuinely interested in it... After all, a whole month and they were still at the floor one. Imagine the grinding places in floor two, damn, he truly needed to partake in this.

[The Town of Beginnings] - [Floor 1]

[DUEL START]
[Skye] VS [Asteroth]

In a flash, the battle had ended as quickly as it had begun. "Kyaa!!" Multiple girls were cheering audibly for the winner of the match - a young and especially dashing swordsman who instantly appeared behind his opponent, sheathing his sword as he sighed again. His opponent, a burly man in his forties, fell to the ground - his body suffering from many lacerations formed in the blink of an eye.

[Skye:] 10,544/10,544 HP | [Asteroth:] 1/10,678 HP

"Is that even humanly possible?"
"He must be a cheater."

A duel winner notification appeared between the young swordsman and the severely damaged man as the young swordsman brushed part of his flawless red hair to one side, his enchanting emerald eyes glinting slightly in the soft coruscation of the dimly illuminated town.

[WINNER]
[SKYE] | Asteroth
Time: 00:01

Unamused by the lapse of time he took to defeat such an opponent, and perhaps even bored, he yawned heartily as he walked past the disbelieving crowd. "Um.. uh.." Skye turned to face a blushing young woman who seemed to stutter whenever she spoke - much to the former's amusement. "The truth is... UMM- I wanted to thank you for sav-saving me earlier." Giggling slightly, Skye patted the woman's head. "You don't need to thank me. Just being the one who saved you is enough for me." Smiling charmingly to her, the girl found herself blushing even more - and she subsequently ran away in embarrassment. "Now that that's over with, perhaps I'll roam about the labyrinth for fun." he thought to himself, looking at the virtual sky with an undeniable irritation. "This world... I'll definitely clear it."
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[Labyrinth Level 2] - [Floor 1]

Faint torches hung from decrepit walls, casting subtle light onto their surroundings to envelop them in a lighter tone. The pavements that lined the floors were of an array of all sorts of stone, sporadically placed in no specific order - though darkened shadows hid themselves at every other corner. Skye slowly drew his sword from its sheath as he walked down the hallway, a cerulean aura surrounding his blade in a striking luminescence. Peering from the corner of an intersection between hallways, he noticed an attractive black-haired woman fighting the Watcher of the Labyrinth alongside a black-haired man. The black-haired man's sword suddenly glowed with an eerie color as he glared at the creature, rising to face the monster with a fury of uncontrollable emotions.

Skye dashed forward in an extraordinary burst of speed, slashing at multiple points on the insect as he appeared behind it in an instant. His multiple slashes were almost unable to be seen by the naked eye - it would have been clear to most that his speed was far above his level. Sheathing his sword, multiple lacerations formed across the giant insect as he turned to face the black-haired man. "Calm down. Losing your cool won't do you any good - especially against Primg. I've damaged it somewhat, though it-." The handsome young swordsman was interrupted by a sudden extension of the insect's stinger that was aimed towards him, though he severed the stinger in a blindingly quick series of slashes - before vanishing and reappearing beside the young female. "You see, you should disarm an opponent whom you know has a lethal weapon. If you do so, and if that is his only weapon, you should find him much easier to beat." He sheathed his sword once more, and smiled with an undeniable cheerful charm.

Kiyomi - Dire Mountain - Floor 1

Kiyomi had lost all traces of anger, and slowly became her usual happy self. Joining the man's party, she saw his name was Whimsical. Her head tilted to the side...was that really a name, or maybe it was just a clever word. Either way, she thought about wether she knew that word in English or not. Being a speaker of Japanese resulted in stuff like this...

Then he had asked her about the first boss. She thought it over for a moment before speaking. "I forget his name, but in the beta test i was able to defeat him. I magaged to get to floor three on my own, but somehow...things seem a bit harder this time around. Anyway, it took me nineteen tries though to take down the first boss, but back then, you could simply respawn. Now, you can't. He has four health bars and these...how do you say in English....followers? They attack you as well as defend him, so it is logical to have people with you. That said, i tried to go back to the location where i found him, but as expected, he is in a different place than in the beta test." she paused and thought before looking at him.

"There is information in the guide book. It says his skills, but i think it is stupid to assume they will be the same. That is all i know on him."

Kiyomi reached up to tighten her ponytail again and it snapped. Groaning in frustration, she simply took out the other one and cursed to herself for not buying more, letting her mass of hair simply fly out behind her.

Whimsical - Dire Mountain - Floor 1

"Minions." Was all Whimsical said when she tried to explain what little information she had about the boss- everything else was quite useless, though. After all, things had changed as she herself said so, there was no need to state things from before. Either way, Whimsical became quiet, thinking to himself. If the boss was so strong and had minions to help it, then it'd be a fairly problematic fight which would take more than a small group; casualities would happen, that was something certain, as much as Whimsical didn't want to admit it. Casting Kiyomi a glance, Whimsical exhaled a soft sigh. Part of him was regretting having her around- she could prove... problematic, especially with the green cursor. It easily attracted attention. There was also Titan- what would the man think of her? It was not like Whimsical needed the man's approval before letting someone join their (once) two-man group, but it'd certainly help if he wasn't against it; Titan was too much of a valuable ally, after all.

As he continued walking forward, his hand moved up to grip his axe's handle, but he didn't unsling it from his back just yet. He idly gestured towards a small hill, motioning her. "Let's climb that, just a few more and theres a cave which is excellent for hunting- but dangerous. At least ten monsters at once. Do you think you can handle it?"

Kiyomi - Dire Mountain - Floor 1

When he pointed to the hill, Kiyomi had started walking up it. He asked her if she was ready to take on some hordes of monsters, and the answer to that was a yes, though she said nothing for a long moment. Her left hand move across her body to grip the hilt of her rapier and she answered his question with a question.

"Does it really matter if i can handle myself or not? If i cant then you will simply be left with a choice: save me like you did before so gallantly, or simply let me die. I assure you, i will be grateful with either outcome you choose." She spoke quietly, her mind started focusing on one more important thing. Killing monsters. Though it was rather easy on floor one, Kiyomi was still just at level fifteen, no where near how strong she was the first month in during the beta test. She hadent been as dedicated, which was surprising since she had nothing better to do in this forsaken world.

As she reached the top of the hill, sounds of fighting was heard off in the distance, but she wanted to focus on getting some items while she leveled up, and she was particularly interested in those bat wings. Fleeing from a wild battle could be extremely helpful if she learned how to use the item efficiently, so she needed to stock up. She also needed meat. Kiyomi had grown tierd of eating out and was interested in working on her cooking skill anyway. Being with this guy was a plus, he seemed to know his way around this area, were as she had only explored this area briefly in previous times. She didnt know if there was anything worth farming out here, and she was certain she didnt want to die trying to get items she would never use.

Stopping she swiftly drew her Saigo Rapier and turned around, raising it in preparation to fight, hoping Whimsical wouldn't start and think she was trying to attack him. Instead she glared past his shoulder and felt her anger rising again.

"What, you thought i wouldn't notice you following me? Come out and show yourself or go home now. If you refuse and i find you, i will end you." She bluffed, trying to sound menacing as she noticed there was someone out there who had followed her.