[Labyrinth Level 2] - [Floor 1]

Funnily enough, from the way the woman was acting, it appeared to Skye that she seemed to think that he was loopy for a reason that even he, with his genius-level IQ and perfect SAT and LNAT scores, could not comprehend. Was she purposely attempting to invoke Skye's anger? Did she not realize that Skye had provided a witty comeback to her sarcastic comment? Or did she simply not understand that Skye had indeed understood the sarcasm? Was she simply caught up in her own self-indulgence that she did not realize the intelligence of another? Either way, she ultimately disregarded his witty comeback and proceeded to mutter under her breath.

"Take things seriously? What did you think we were doing, waltzing with a monstrous insect the size of a truck? And Saul just happened to trip onto its stinger?" The woman gritted her teeth in annoyance; it was likely that she wanted to hit Skye with a heavy object. That's one volatile female.Skye thought as she pressed on with her attack while aided by Skye, unleashing a flurry of slashes at Primg.

Her attacks were stopped when Primg roared with an amplified fury, one unlike its previous high-pitched roars. It resonated with an eerie reverberation throughout the ominous hall, and as if to respond, multiple spiders descended from the ceiling as they circled the giant spider. As time passed with an abnormal quickness, a countless myriad of spiders started to fill the hallway at a sporadic pace.

"Namora, Douche, teleport out of here." The black-haired man held his sword with an even tighter grasp as he walked towards Primg, his eyes devoid of any mercy he might have had before. Skye attempted to talk him out of it, but the man cut him off. "NO ONE ELSE DIES HERE!!! NOW GO!!!" Was he an idiot? Did he honestly think he could beat Primg by himself? Honestly, these people are too similar to typical manga archetypes.

The female next to him hesitantly sheathed her blade swiftly, before closing her eyes and activating the teleport crystal. She glanced at Skye and Rigsaw one final time before vanishing from the hall in an instant. Of course, Skye was expected to follow suit; and he did. Removing a teleport crystal from his inventory, he closed his eyes and teleported to the Town Of Beginnings.
____________________

Dec 1, 2022
Floor 1, Labyrinth Level 2

Nick stood before Primg, noting its health drop, though not by much. Scattering could be heard behind, letting him know that the others must be have left or died. The party group showed Namora was not in the area. Good, now to make my escape. Primg was still stunned from the critical hit, giving Nick the time to make his move. Taking off toward Primg, Nick opened his menu, the baby spiders giving chase. I have one shot, hope I can hit it. As he reached Primg, Nick slide under the beast while pulling out a teleport crystal. This made the spiders behind him to go around their parent to continue their hunt. "Teleport: Town of Beginnings!" His vision began to go white.

Floor 1, Town of Beginnings

Next thing Nick saw something he had not seen in a while, the teleport gate in The Town of Beginnings. He glanced around and noticed Namora and the "Hero" nearby. Though, he was not really in the mood for talking. "Hey, Namora... Thanks for..." the words just stopped coming out. Nick tried to form words but nothing could come out, his emotions still in some control. I failed.... He shook his head, trying to clear out what had just happened. Taking a deep breath and wiping away his tears, Nick tried again. "Sorry, I have to sit on what happened. But thanks, maybe I will see you at the meeting in Tolbana tomorrow." Nick disband the party, starting his walk toward Tolbana. Maybe I should friend her, she could be helpful later. His right hand swiped the air to bring up the menu. Friends list sat empty as Nick hit send request and entered Namora. Tears continued to come trickle their way out. I fucking failed. Saul, I am sorry. I promised something that I thought I could keep. I forced you in here, trapped you, and got you killed. But you gave me a task, one that I will not fail this time.

Kiyomi - Tolbana - Floor 1

Turning over in her sleep, Kiyomi rolled all the way over and off of the bed. She awoke with a start and a squeal as she fell in a tangled mass of blankets. It took some time, a bit of cursing, and some ripping to get out of it, and when she did, her hair was all over the place. She sighed and stood, wiping her eyes while making her way to the door. Pausing she looked around and noticed that no one was in there. Siren and Kei were gone and the room had a fading smell of something delicious, but there was nothing there. With a shrug she opened the door and went into the hall. She didn't know which one belonged to Kei so as she walked towards the stairs, she opened her menu.

She equipped her hood to cover her crazy hair and then her Rapier. I wonder where they are... she started to wonder as she made her way outside into the cool Tolbana air. It was still dark but in the distance she thought she could see the glow of the rising sun. As she walked to the item shops, she passed a woman who was selling various scarves, hoods, jewelry and things of that nature. She looked startled by Kiyomi for a moment as she had let out a loud gasp.

"Oh wow. So kawaii!" she sang. "How much for those?" she said pointing to a set of five hair pieces. There were four white ponytail holders and a white headband that was fairly plain, but what Kiyomi had loved was that each one had a cute bow on them. The headband's bow was more like small bunny ears, and Kiyomi's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "All five are 1,000 col. Want anything else?" she asked as Kiyomi opened her menu. "Hm...yeah, i'll take that brush. And..." she looked around the small space for any other girly items she might need. "I dunno."
"Well, you seem to be looking for things for your hair. Mind if i have a look at it?" she asked. Looking around, Kiyomi sighed and unequipped her hood. The woman smiled and said "Oh. You have alot of hair, and its quite tangled. I suggest a comb to get the knots out." she turned around and got a comb. "I also suggest you cut it often. Its very long...And its thin so it may split easily. I suggest you cut it, dont let it grow past your hips." She finished.
"Um...i guess your right. How much will all that be?" Kiyomi asked. She was slightly stunned by the woman's words, she didn't really notice the woman added 2,000 more col to her order for just three items. After she paid the woman, she put her hood back on and walked away. She needed to get more health and teleport crystals so she made her way to a different store. It was not until she tried to buy three of each and two throwing picks that she realized she'd been cheated by the other woman. Grumbling as her money fell to under 1,000 col, she stomped away and went to sit down on a bench near a park on the border of Tolbana.

Swiping her hand to open the menu, Kiyomi selected one of her three message record crystals and tapped her friends list icon. She noticed that Siren was no longer there and for a moment she looked sad. Instead tapping Kei's name, the crystal fell into her open palms and a small click was heard. After a moment she started to speak.

"Uh...hello Kei, this is Kiyomi. Um...is this even working? Sorry, i've never used this thing before. Well, I dont know if you wanted to stick together but...Siren is gone. I dont see her name in my list anymore...I guess she left." -there is a pause and the sound of shuffling- "I dont know if maybe you wanted to stay with me. You might run into trouble if you do...but its your choice. There will be a meeting tomorrow...or is it today already? -there is another pause- I dont know. Its about beating the first floor boss. I'm going. Um...if you wanted to join me, I'll be happy to show you the way. I'm near a park, on the east side of Tolbana. I'll stay here, the tavern is a bit stuffy. So um...if you dont want to then, goodbye i guess. -there was another pause and a breath as if she would continue speaking, but nothing more was said-

Kiyomi hit send and the crystal faded away. Sighing she rubbed her eyes and looked around. She was all alone again. I've brought this upon myself. she reminded herself before she removed her hood again. She took out all her items for her hair and started to fix it up. As she combed it, the knots painfully came loose, and she slowly, softly started humming the lullaby from her dream. Taking the scissors to her hair, she sat, waiting for the sun.

---

Kei – Tolbana Tavern - Floor 1
Sitting in the dark quiet room Kei didn’t get a wink of sleep all night rather he wasn’t tired at all. He still had some energy left inside of him. He went stand up from his current position but since it was such a sudden shift of his center of gravity he completely lost himself and instead went tumbling to the floor, he hit his head against the small end table that was near the bed, in that split moment he held the top of his head out of reaction, usually the pain receptor would be off, but to Kei’s surprise he felt all the pain that came from the hit to his head. After several seconds of laying on the floor in a fetal position holding onto his head in pain, the pain finally resided and he had remembered that when he joined the game he had chosen to turn on the pain receptors so that he could immerse himself into the world.「Already this far into it might as well follow through.」He took a deep breath and did a kick up getting himself up from the floor in a quick fluid motion. After taking a small stretch he made his way out the door and into the hallway that echoed slightly with his footsteps.「Still as quiet as ever.」He looked down both ends of the hall and then started towards Kiyomi's and Siren's room at that moment he heard a small 'ping' noise come from his UI. With a smooth slide down with two fingers of his left hand he navigated the various menus until he got to his messages. To his surprise it was an item, more specifically a message crystal.

Taking it from his inventory he leaned up against the wall and pressed on the little button to start the message, right away the quiet hall was filled with the sounds of the voice that was very familiar to him.

After the recorded message was done the crystal immediately lost its glow and fell into his hands, the item had no more use. He put it into his inventory and pushed himself off of the wall.「Time to meet up with Kiyomi can't really leave her alone, she is my first friend after all.」Kei pulled up his friends list and double checked Kiyomi's location. Once he was sure she was still at the park at the east end of Tolabana he left the tavern and made his way there.

It wasn’t long before Kei had reached the park she was sat, just as she had said she was sitting at a bench so Kei just went up to her casually.「Yo Kiyomi. Did I make you wait long? By the way you said something about Siren, any ideas about her?」He gave a smile as he approached her

---

Amber - Dire Mountain - Floor 1 - Previous Night

“Believe me I take plenty of time to enjoy the stay, but I have someone on the other side waiting for me so it can’t be all fun and games now can it?” Amber made her way closer to the stranger, taking not that they weren’t a player killer she put herself at ease. Even if she was Amber felt like she’d have an upper hand over the lute playing joker, “And I can make plenty of friends, I just don’t really like being toyed with.”

Checking the time, Amber sighed and looked up at the virtual skies and got lost counting stars for a short amount of time before returning her gaze to the musician, “It’s getting a tad late to hunt. If you do know of decent hunting grounds I wouldn’t mind coming back out to hunt in the morning.” These words sounded really odd to Amber, even though they came from her own mouth. It was as if her mind had just made the sudden realization that this virtual world was more real than she thought it was.

Mornings in the real world she was always rushing to get to either class or work, where here she just realized it was more of a rush to get to the safest yet most efficient source of experience. Experience and levels were the primary resources for living here, the more experience you earned and the higher level you achieved the more likely it was for you to succeed and live. Maybe even help escape this prison.

She sighed and leaned her back against the rock, “Do you know the average population of the zones throughout the night? Do you think hunting will be easier, possibly with less competition?” Her mind was pondering the thought of hunting at night, and resting during the day. It seemed efficient enough in theory, most people would go rest late at night leaving hunting grounds open. Hunting throughout the night allowed access to much more than it would during the day when zones are over populated. She turned her head towards the rest of the mountain, “If it makes sense to you as well, I’d be willing to give it a try.”

Town of Beginnings - Floor 1

A brilliant flash of light appeared at the Teleport Gate, swirling together before fading away in a shower of sparkling pixels. In the place of the fading light stood a young woman. Relief and traces of fear lingered on her beautiful face as she raised a shaky hand to tuck an errant lock of hair back inside her hood. She’d made it. Two close calls in one day was a bit much for her to just take in stride. It brought up a couple of rather unpleasant realizations she could have done without. For one thing, she needed friends in this game. Other players she could count on in times of danger. The thought left a somewhat bitter taste in her mouth. Making friends wasn’t exactly her forte.

Namora’s thoughts turned to Rigsaw, a pang of fear and sadness knifing through her as she could not help but assume the worst. Lost to her melancholic thoughts, she stood there with her head hung low, oblivious to the flash of light which suddenly appeared behind her.

"Hey, Namora... Thanks for..." Rigsaw’s voice broke into her reverie.
A surprised gasp escaped her lips as she quickly turned to face him, crystalline blue eyes widening in shock and disbelief. There he stood, very much alive though looking a bit worse for wear. Grief etched lines into his handsome face, aging during the past hour’s tragic events. She’d assumed the worst as per the norm for her and this was one of the few times it felt good to be proved wrong.

“Rig..” she began quietly, completely unsure of what she was trying to say. That she was sorry? No, that would be of no help at all. She couldn’t tell him that things were going to be alright either. Settling to pat him awkwardly on the arm, she grew silent.

"Sorry, I have to sit on what happened. But thanks, maybe I will see you at the meeting in Tolbana tomorrow." He managed to say, the words clearly taking him an effort to get out. “What –“ The notification that the party had disbanded popped up as he turned around and began walking away. “..meeting?” She finished quietly as she stared at his retreating back. Namora wanted to ask more about this meeting, find out what it was about. But clearly, this wasn’t the best time to chase after him and ask for an explanation.

Accepting the notification for a friend request from Rigsaw, she decided the best course of action was to hit a tavern or an inn and get some rest.

Ellien-Dire Mountain - Floor 1 - Previous Night

Ellien's shoulders hunch a bit as she listens to the woman, "I apologize for toying with you. Where other people find joy in bashing virtual skulls, I like playing a role." with that she extends her arms, gesturing at the current setting... "Y'know.. that mysterious rogue that people NEED, but they feel like they need to watch over their shoulder lest their coinpurses end up sliced... There was no play on words there, I meant coinpurse in the literal sense..." she says, leaning back and stretching before hopping down off of the rock.

"I'm one of those rare few who find this place as a sanctuary rather than a prison... So I apologize for my unneeded theatrics, I guess I'll try to keep them to a minimum" she says with a sigh as she scuffs her foot in the grass, tearing up a little clot of dirt which she just stares at, frowning "Fascinating how the code can compensate for just about anything... most games wouldn't allow the terrain to be damaged like this..." she mumbles, not necessarily addressing the heavily armored woman but just thinking out loud.

She just stared at the ground for a few seconds as she ponders the woman's comment about night hunting "Well, through my personal experience... other than the rare party that's out roaming around thinking exactly what you just said... The wilderness populations during the night are rather low... But I've found that the wolf spawns around here are more active at night as well... Which would probably help with what we want anyway..." She says, nodding thoughtfully, "And on that note... That big ass wolf you fought... don't you think he killed it a bit easily for something that arrived as if it were a mini boss? As I said... I've been hunting that thing for weeks... mainly just to get it's spawn points mapped out to sell to rare-mob hunters... But if you'd be interested in partying up, I'd be willing to share the map data I have for this region with you... Whatever it drops, we can split 50/50... Sound good?" she asks, pulling her hood back and finally revealing her face, "Oh, and the name's Ellien... Sometimes to earn a bit more cash I'll add in a title here and there for intimidation factor..."

Kiyomi - Tolbana - Floor 1

Kiyomi watched as she cut the ends of her hair. As each strand flew in the wind, the slowly turned to shimmering dust, never to return. Absently she wondered how long her hair would be back in the real world. If her mother brushed it each day, if Kaito still braided it like he did sometimes. She disliked the straight cut she'd given it so she cut at different angles and chipped into it like she'd seen on t.v. Once she was satisfied, she reached for the cute ponytail bows, seperating the hair at her neck into two sections and tying in her classic pigtails. She reached for her headband after and placed it on, getting her mirror to take a look. She smiled when she saw how utterly adorable it looked on her. It was funny how something so simple could brighten up a long day.

As she returned her items to her inventory, Kiyomi heard a familiar voice. Her caramel colored eyes looked up at Kei as he came to sit next to her.

"Yo, Kiyomi. Did i make you wait long? By the way you said something about Siren. Any ideas about her?" he asked nonchalantly as if they were the best of friends. She looked stunned for a moment. He had actually shown up, and she was rather happy about that. "No, i didn't wait too long. Its nice out tonight, the breeze is amazing. And Siren? No, i'm not sure what happened. Oh, look at this though." she turned her body to face him and she held up her still quite long hair. "I did it myself. And aren't the bows the most adore- huh?" Kiyomi paused as a little envelope popped up, showing she got a message. Tapping it, a message crystal popped up and from it, came the faint sound of Siren's voice.

"Hello Kiyomi. I hope you get this and you're alright. I dont want to leave...but i think i will go on without you. I miss you already. Dont worry. -there is a quiet sniffling sound- Kei, if your there...I hope you know, i'm just not sure about this... I dont mean to unfriend you, but I just want to be in absence. I will see you two soon...but stronger. Thank you for saving my life. I'm so happy...to call you my friends." -there is a faint sound of crying and then the message ends- *written with love by AliceZaru*

Kiyomi sat stunned as the crystal fell to her lap. "I cant believe it...at least she's okay." she looked up and sighed. "Siren, you silly girl. I cant protect you if your not here." She looked at Kei. "Well, now we know what happened. ...if you dont mind. I just want to sit here and talk until morning."

---

Kei – Tolbana Tavern - Floor 1

Taking a seat right next to Kiyomi, Kei titled his head back slightly and stared at the night sky, the little white specks in the sky glowed brightly and a few of them even shot across the sky it was a peaceful sight and it reminded him of the days he used to sit on his roof and just stargaze. After a brief moment of looking at the stars, Kei brought his head back to a level position and then turned it slightly putting Kiyomi’s figure into his main viewing range. She had cut her hair, compared to what it was before, this new look, suited her ten times more.「I like it, it looks really good on you Kiyomi.」Kei just gave a warm smile.

Kiyomi went onto saying stuff about the breeze in which he nodded in agreement, and then went onto the topic of Siren, he brought his attention up only to be told that Kiyomi had no idea either.「Guess she is-」Before he could finish his thought Kiyomi cut him off, but it wasn't for no reason rather it was because Siren had sent her a voice message. The two of them had gone silent listening to the message from Siren.

Just as Kiyomi’s crtsyal did earlier, Siren’s crystal went dark and fell without much noise into Kiyomi’s lap. With a satisfied looking smile Kei stood up and looked up at the sky speaking out.「Siren you better come back alright? We will be waiting for you.」With a small but quiet laugh Kei was content to know that Siren was at the very least safe and still kicking.「and you mean we can't protect her if she isn't here, Kiyomi, I am her friend too after all.」He pushed Kiyomi lightly on the arm and then sat back down on the bench, resting his back fully against the bench.「So as you said you want to talk, then let us talk.」Kei leaned back against the bench and closed his eyes focusing on the sounds around him.「I am up for talking about anything by the way so don’t hold back ok?」

---

Dec 2, 2022
Floor 1, Tolbana Town Theater


A fairly large crowd had gathered at the large amphitheater in Tolbana. Most sat on the steps leading to the center, though a few stood near the center. “I think we should begin Diavel,” a player spoke to the blue haired man closest to the fountain. He nodded in agreement, “Alright, I think most people that were coming are here.”

The crowd began to go silent as Diavel stepped forward. “My name is Diavel, and I have gathered all you here today for the purpose of advancing in this game by getting past Floor 1.” Diavel stood tall, his bronze armor giving a commanding presence as he delivered his speech. “As you all well know, it has been a month and yet, no one has cleared the first floor. We don't even know where the stairs leading to the 20th level of the Labyrinth is. That is, until yesterday.” The crowd grew excited and began to talk amongst themselves. Diavel raised his voice, “Please, quiet. My party found the stairs and explored till Boss Door was found.” The crowd looked around, some whispering to one another. “So, this meeting was called to form a raid group to take down Floor 1 boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord.” A young man stood up," Shouldn't we scout the boss first before taking him on so soon?" Others nodded in agreement.

Diavel crossed his arms behind his back, “Quiet please,” the crowd silenced, “Thank you. Now, that is not necessary. Thanks to the beta testers, we have all the info we need to take the boss down," he paused for a moment, "Here is what we know about the Illfang. He has four health bars and three mob guards called Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Every time a health bar depletes, three more Sentinels will spawn. When Illfang’s last bar gets low, he will switch to a two-handed sword and change tactics.” Several of Diavel’s men began to hand out the guides. "The guide also has info on everything you could, locations of quest items, drop locations, and any info the beta testers could remember."

“Now, we need to form seven groups for this raid. Group A and B will be are tanks, keeping the boss’ attention. C and D will be fast moving assault groups, our dps. E will handle the Sentinels, keeping them away from groups A thru D. The last two, F and G, will be support, helping where they are needed and interrupting boss and mobs. Now, if you have any questions use the guide or come see me. We will wait till later tonight before heading out. Be back here around 5.” With that, Diavel stepped back as everyone began talk amongst themselves or head out to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Dec 2, 2022
Floor 1, Tolbana Central Plaza

Hikari simply sat on one of the benches staring into the fountain. Apparently a few players were having a conference or a meeting of some sorts concerning the first floor boss.
Nevertheless Hikari didn't really care. As long as she was allowed to perform publicly and earn some cols that way, it didn't really matter to her where she was. Sure, it would be nice to have some new sights and everything and maybe fight a little more...

Now that she thought about it... a meeting discussing how to kill the boss did certainly mean some fighting would happen very soon. Maaaybe... just maybe Hikari should go and at least have a listen to whatever was going on in that meeting.
Slowly, letting her joints pop, she got up, straightening the hem of her skirt and walked towards the Town Theatre.

Tolbana Town Theatre

To not get discovered by anyone who might know her, she hid behind one of the pillars.

After the meeting was over Hikari sat down behind the pillar grabbing her bangs and putting the heel of her hand onto her forehead. That pose was one of her "thinking poses" and she didn't even do it intentionally.
Thinking about whether to join the attack on the boss or not slowly made her head hurt.
"Some of them do look kinda pathetic...", she whispered to herself. "More like... cannon-fodder or something..."
She emitted a snorting fit of laughter as she remembered how some of those participants looked.
"They seem to die just from getting stared at by the boss... That would be too disgraceful... even for me to just see..."
Hikari sighed as she remained slumped against the pillar. "I guess, I could perform a morale boost song, or something, before the fight..."
Another sigh escaped her mouth as she pulled her legs a bit closer.

Kiyomi - Tolbana - Floor 1

After a few hours of talking with Kei about everything, she realized that it was close to meeting time. The sun had risen, children were at play, and players and NPC's alike began to fill the streets with chatter and livelyness. "C'mon Kei, lets head over to the meeting place. It is at the theatre i believe." Kiyomi said unfolding her legs she'd been sitting on for a while. She stood and noticed Kei seemed to not notice her. She kicked his leg gently and called to him. "Aincrad to Kei. Time to go." she said smiling and proceeding to walk in the general direction of the Tolbana Theater. As she walked through the streets she noticed people moving away from her and talking in hushed tones.

"Who the heck is she?"
"She's an orange player, stay away from them, they're bad news."
"Who's that boy she's with?"
"I bet he's her puppet."
"Oh no she looked at me! Let's get outa here!"

Kyiomi gritted her teeth as she glared ahead, not looking any anyone again. This is going to get really old, really fast. she grumbled in her head. Speeding up and storming past everyone, she was happy when they finally reached the meeting.

Kiyomi led Kei to the farthest side of the seats as they waited for the blue haired man to speak. "That must be..." she started but was cut off by him beginning to speak. He'd introduced himself as Diavel and...

Hold up...say what!? It was Diavel and all this time i thought it was Diabel. Oh, i'm officially an idiot...

Crossing her legs, she sat and listened to him speak.

---

Kazugara – Outside Tolbana Town - Floor 1

Kazu stood in the Feild looking at the few enemies that were there and drew his blade. He knew he had to fight harder than others did to accomplish the same amount of damage. It was his choice to fight with knives in hope that he can one day be better than anyone with a larger weapon. He set his eyes on a Duo of Dire Wolves. Two of them would be problematic for him. None the less he began approaching them he drew two of the Throwing picks he kept. The two of them hit their marks in the chests of the beasts. The picks were DOTs so his job would be a little bit easier.

Kazugara 9492/9492 Dire Wolf ????/????, Dire Wolf ????/???? He had their attention and proceeded to run on the outside to try and keep from having the two of them surrounding him. As he ran beside one of the him put the knife in its side. He finished the strike down the creatures side and proceeded to streak away. The other wolf had jumped over its ally and run forward biting into Kazus arm. Kazu put the knife straight through its head and his own arm. Dropping his health to 3/4s. The wolf was dead. Now there was just the wounded wolf who didn't look that pleased.

Kazugara 7031/9492 Dire Wolf ????/????, Dire Wolf Deceased The other wolf charged him and began clawing at him furiously. He started just trying to get the blow in to kill the wolf but it seemed smarter than its friend. He realized this and leapt high into the air to deliver a horrid blow as the creature tried to bite his face when his blade slotted into its mouth and he finished the creature off. Problem was he impacted the ground dealing himself more damage.

A window appeared "Congratulations Loot:
- Wolf Pelt X2
- Col 8,000

Kazugara 2022/9492 Health was deep in the yellow zone putting him in a lot of danger so he used a potion and then headed back into town.

Tolbana Town Theatre

He sat with his hood up listening to their plan and wondered who among them he could fight next to. And if he would be fighting the actual boss or just on mob patrol.

Kei – Tolbana - Floor 1
After talking until morning Kei and Kiyomi had just decided to sit and rest until it was time for the meeting, it wasn’t long before Kei started to daze off since at that point the two of them were doing nothing. He didn’t notice anything change around him. Obviously he took note of the fact that it was now daytime but other than that he did not notice the streets being filled up with NPCs. Kei was taken out of this daze quiet quickly. After taking a light kick to his leg he snapped out of it and looked up to see Kiyomi was standing over him. He shook his head slightly and darted up.「Yeah, let's get to that meeting.」He sounded a bit panicked because he was so quickly caught off guard that he did not know how else to respond.

After regaining his full consciousness he followed after Kiyomi’s figure, it wasn’t long before the effect of her orange player status started to draw attention around them. Letting out a sigh he moved closer to Kiyomi. To show that he was not afraid and so that he could at least try to put the message across that she is not an orange player at heart. Kei leaned in just enough so that Kiyomi could hear his hushed voice.「Disregard these people you have nothing to worry about, I will stand by you as a friend, even if it means just the two of us against the rest of them.」He smiled and then pulled away. Kiyomi didn’t say anything rather she was quiet the whole way to the meeting location.

Kei – Tolbana Theater – Floor 1

When the two of them reached the meeting location Kiyomi led the two of them to the farthest side of the seats. Without much of a wait a player named Diavel came out and started to talk divulge the details for the plan of defeating the last boss, he mentioned how col will be evenly distributed upon the death of the boss as well stuff about item distribution and last hit bonus. Kei just listened intently, when it came to him announcing the various groups, Kei leaned in towards Kiyomi and in a whisper started talking.「So what do you say two the two of us being a part of groups C and D? Between the two of us I believe we can put out more than enough damage to Illfang, but if you rather be a part of a different group I am ok with that too.」Kei didn't pull back right away as he still needed to hear her answer.

---

Town of Beginnings - Floor 1
A blinding flash of striking luminescence surrounded the teleport gate, only to dissipate into bright, fading particles - revealing a young swordsman who caught the attention of many females around the area. With flawless red hair and turquoise eyes that adorned his handsome face, it was no surprise that women would find him attractive. However, Skye did not pay any attention to them. Instead, he was standing adjacent to the black-haired woman who had started talking to the black-haired male who fought alongside her against Primg.

The black-haired male completely ignored the fact that Skye was there(much to the latter's amusement), and a casual voice escaped from his mouth as he gestured towards the female. "Hey, Namora... Thanks for..." The black-haired male paused in grief, as if he had witnessed something truly traumatic. It brought tears to his eyes, and brushing his tears off his face, the female seemed to settle on the best possible method of traumatic recovery she had to offer: an awkward pat on the back. The black-haired man attempted to talk again, and struggling to open his mouth, he spoke - only in a much frailer tone. "Sorry, I have to sit on what happened. But thanks, maybe I will see you at the meeting in Tolbana tomorrow." He disbanded the party between them as the female spoke once more. "What-" She was abruptly cut off when the man walked away, but proceeded to continue her sentence quietly as he left. "-meeting?" A friend notification appeared before Namora from the man, and through the corner of his eye Skye could see that the man's username was Rigsaw.

"He's talking about the meeting concerning our strategy on how we're going to fight boss on the first floor. It's gonna be lead by Diabel." Skye started speaking with Namora; a pensive mood about his slightly serious countenance. It showed that he could, at times, be more serious than others could ever hope to be. "As Rigsaw said, it will be held in Tolbana. More specifically, however, it will be in the Town Theater." He smiled handsomely, and it changed the atmosphere about him once again as he continued. "I know you that dislike me immensely, but I'd really like it if we could become friends. I'll try to watch out for you, and it'd be nice if you would be able to do the same." He sent a friend notification to Namora, before turning to walk away. "I'd like to be friends with Rigsaw as well, but I don't think he'd answer to me right now."

OOC: In a rush. :P
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Tolbana Theater -- Floor One

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Oh god, why did I come, thought Jack as he sat listening to Diavel speak. He was seated alone in one of the further back rows. He had originally taken this spot in hopes of seeing the girl that had invited him, but he was glad regardless, just less eyes on him. He had spotted her shortly after the meeting started but didn't move from his spot. Social situations weren't our charming young mans forte. Even so, he felt like he needed to help, and so there he sat.

Diavel had finally gotten to the boss fight information, the main course of this meeting. As he mentioned the boss and his cronies titles and tactics, one thing stuck in Jacks mind. Illfang.... that's such a bad ass name! It has to look so sick! I can not wait for this. Besides excitement, Jack also felt nervous, for two different reasons. One, the more obvious, he might die. Two, he hadn't been a part of a group since his football days. He himself couldn't understand why the second seemed to weigh heavier. He knew that he would be a tank, Group A or B. If he could shake the rust off of his teamwork capabilities, combined with his newly acquired in-game skills, he should pull through. At least in his head it seemed viable.

After the meeting had run its course, Jack stood up slowly, rolling onto the balls of his feet for a better look at the crowd. The girl he had spotted earlier was now gone. Dammit... Again?! He had really hoped to get a word in with her, or at least make sure she wasn't still on her own. That day had left a sour spot on his heart, all he had wanted to do was help. Instead, he made her upset. Smooth.

Just as Jack was about to walk out of the theater he saw her, and she was with a white haired kid. Seeing this, Jack set off, maybe he'd see her at the boss fight. For now though, he had to shake the rust off his blade. Well that answers my question, I'm glad she's not alone.

Tyranus - Just outside Tolbana - Floor 1

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He'd lain under the shade of the tree for so long he'd forgotten why he was there in the first place. Time was the only thing that had really lost meaning to him in this place. The way he saw it, Aincrad was home now, and after the events of the first couple days...weeks... months? Crap. He'd completely lost track of how long he'd even been trapped on the digital side of his NerveGear. It didn't matter, what happened, happened, and those who died, were dead, and all Sam knew was that he was now Tyranus, the level 15 swordsman in the green cloak. That's how most would identify him. He tried making a pseudo-mysterious-yet-threatening moniker once, but that didn't last very long. No, Tyranus wasn't active enough socially for something like that to take hold. There was still the matter of something he was forgetting though. Ah! An acquaintance had messaged him earlier to tell him of the meeting in Tolbana.

It was probably time by now. With minimal effort, Tyranus drew his knees to his chest, and threw his legs upward and out, dragging the rest of his frame off of the ground in tow. A cool breeze fluttered the green coat around his tall frame, and with his hands still cupping the short blond hair on the back of his head he meandered off into Tolbana. He casually and leisurely made his way to the amphitheater, just late enough to miss pretty much everything. When Tyranus walks up, the group gathered there to discuss plans for the boss fight had already finished discussing, and it looked like they were partying up and dispersing now. So without a clue at what to do, Tyranus addressed his current internal conflict the same way he always dealt with internal conflicts, by sitting up against something, in this case a column at the theater's edge, and waiting.

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Floor 1 - Tolbana Theatre
Killing a boss did sound pretty rewarding and could be a good training for Hikari.
Finally removing her hand from her face, she looked to both of her sides.
Apparently somewhen a few minutes ago some random blonde dude, looking like someone who'd come from America, appeared and sat down.
It seemed he hadn't noticed her at all so far, but nevertheless he did seem a bit lost.
The tsundere idol sighed, stood up and pushed herself from the pillar she was leaning on to slowly march towards the blonde guy.

Arriving at his side she first eyed him from up close, then put on a slightly smile before she marched up right in front of him looking down on the blonde.
"Oi, pal! Gonna take part in this thing or what? I mean, otherwise a guy like you wouldn't sit in the dirt"

"Still need a partner, eh? I'll be merciful and let you partner up with me, if ya want"
Hikari laughed and playfully hit the dude on the shoulder.

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Town of Beginnings – Floor 1

"He's talking about the meeting concerning our strategy on how we're going to fight boss on the first floor. It's gonna be lead by Diabel." The newcomer’s voice intruded into her thoughts, as if answering her earlier question. Namora turned to face him and arched a questioning brow. He seemed a bit more serious than before and a great deal less amused. "As Rigsaw said, it will be held in Tolbana. More specifically, however, it will be in the Town Theater." The young man continued, ending his sentence with disarming smile.

She had to give him credit; he was still playing at being Prince Charming and hadn’t slipped up yet. Namora wondered if it took much effort, keeping up the act. It couldn’t be easy, putting on smiles and acting that way time and time again. Especially as they were stuck in a death game. The girl highly doubted that it wasn’t just an act. If something seemed too good to be true, then it definitely was, or so she believed. She’d never particularly cared to put up fronts of niceties herself and often got described as cold and unapproachable; which was mostly true, she knew. Still, it was nice of him to provide information about the meeting when he really didn’t have to.

“Thank you. I appreciate it. You’ve saved me the trouble of asking around.” She shot him a brief but genuine smile.

"I know you that dislike me immensely, but I'd really like it if we could become friends. I'll try to watch out for you, and it'd be nice if you would be able to do the same."

Namora’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at his comment. Dislike him immensely? True, she was irritated with his attitude earlier but she hardly knew him well enough to form a concrete judgment. She had been wavering somewhere between indifference and mild annoyance. It was simply her way to snark and be sarcastic towards most things in life – something which most people took as dislike, understandably so in their defense. Putting all of that aside, his offer to be friends was what was truly surprising. She hadn’t been expecting that at all.

A friend request popped up, the little notification announcing that Skye wanted to befriend her. After a few long seconds of deliberation, she pressed ‘accept’ and shrugged. “Alright.” The girl said as way of agreement.

"I'd like to be friends with Rigsaw as well, but I don't think he'd answer to me right now." Skye said as he turned and left.

A brief spurt of irritation shot through her, fizzling out before it could truly form. What was it with people walking away mid-sentence today? Shaking her head, Namora supposed she should get to Tolbana in time for the meeting.

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Tolbana Theatre– Floor 1
Day of the meeting

“Well, that’s certainly interesting.” Namora said to herself as she leaned back on the bench and stretched languidly. She’d listened to Diavel, a charismatic young man with alarmingly blue hair. Regardless of the strange hair color, he’d proven to be an excellent speaker and the meeting had proved to be quite informative.

They were finally getting somewhere, from the looks of things. Despite her better judgment a flash of hope and excitement flittered through her. They were one step closer to breaking out of their virtual prison. It was a small step, tiny even. But it was still better than what they’d had before – nothing. Excited chatter rose up around her as those present began to discuss and speculate the plan of action

Graceful fingers traced a quick pattern on the information booklet she’d received as her thoughts strayed to the upcoming battle. She wondered which of the 7 groups she'd most likely be categorized into. Certainly not the tanks. It would be nice to have a familiar face nearby. She murmured distractedly as she looked around the nearly full theatre.

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Tolbana Theater-Floor One

The Day of the meeting

Richard sat down near the back, and distanced himself from the others slightly. Surprisingly enough not many people attended probably most who got the message either couldn't make it, or found the meeting completely pointless. Richard frowned slightly, and kept the grim look until a man with blue hair stood at the bottom of the theater, and prepared to speak. He started off with an introduction, and then began to discuss the plan, explaining how the different groups would work, and how exactly they were going to approach the boss.

The man finally finished speaking, and people started to leave the theater, but Richard sat there staring off into the distance. It seems easy enough, and it would probably be best if I stayed to groups F, and G he thought to himself. He felt that he wasn't going to be of much help, but being there just for the loot was to much to pass up. He then looked around for the women he had been following yesterday, and noticed her in the far off corner of his eyes. So she is here, and even with another companion, she sure does get around a lot he laughed silently to himself, but continued to watch her just in case.