Personally, Theo couldn't care less who led the guild or party. Reylan wasn't terrible by any means, and so far, he was the one who took the lead - as such, it made sense he was the leader. Their was no point in trying to leap for glory and responsibility in a situation like this, and besides, Theo was never the kind of guy to do so. But still, after giving his speech, Theo was preoccupied - that waitress from earlier, the one who had given him his food... She winked at him, right? That... that was unreal! I mean, girls had paid attention to Theo before, but no one had ever flirted with him before!
...Theo briefly considered if a wink even counted as flirting, but he was too happy to care. Hell, he didn't even think about the scary implications that this woman was nothing more than a collection of code strung together. Unfortunately, Theo's happy thoughts were interrupted as Dubstepp exited the inn - he hadn't realized that dubstepp was getting annoyed with them. This might be a problem - but in the end, Theo didn't really mind much. He had no big attachment to dubstepp, and they didn't really need more dps. A tanky pet might be nice, but it wasn't needed... Unfortunately, Dirk would care. If dubstepp wasn't back in the party by morning, then he would go looking for him. Thanks to his acting skill, Theo could pick up on the annoyed expression on Alisea's face - her and dubstepp had been at odds over something that Theo really couldn't care less about. Even Dirk didn't care about betrayal that much - he'd just accept them back into the party with open arms, no matter how large the lie was.
Eventually, everyone packed up and went to their respective rooms. Alisea and Aster went into a single room, and Theo temporarily grew annoyed that he didn't ask to share a room with one of the others - that would have saved him a little Renn. If he used that reasoning, Reylan would probably be willing to share. Theo entered his own room, identical to the one he had just last night - the same as the kind Kajin died in...
Theo had just unequipped the rosary, and nearly vomited upon doing so. Apparently, he felt worse about this room looking like Kajin's than he thought. The thought of wearing the rosary through the night crossed Theo's mind, but he ignored it - he still didn't trust anything in this game that could alter your way of thinking or your mental state.
It took 3 hours before Theo fell asleep - the first was spent ignoring Kajin's death and trying to lose consciousness, but in the end, Theo spent another two hours just staring at the wooden ceiling.
A girl was into him - or, she at least winked at him.
With this thought in mind, Theo really couldn't care less that she was an NPC - he was completely distracted.
Upon waking up, Theo made his way out of the room, paying the innkeeper for a shower. After walking out of his room, he saw Reylan and Alisea talking in the hallway, and some stranger was standing with them... Whatever. After that, Theo made his way to the ground floor, before sitting down for his meal. It had come for free since the group had gotten rooms. The waitress - the same one that had given him a wink earlier - was their server. Dirk did his best to hide his blush, but even with his relatively ridiculous acting skill, a small amount of embarrassment shined through - hopefully, no one would notice.
“I am deeply sorry for that. And I assured that would not be happened again.” Paralyze smile at the man that stood before him. He had an albino white kind of hair and quite a sharp face. Especially his chin as Paralyzed wondered how could a man possessed such a sharp chin. But he quickly reminding about the fact that he had not get out his room for a long time, hence making him to be very behind in the beauty trend. But that was all Paralyze thought, sorry a little bit and make sure that he will not snore tonight and everyone will depart on their own way. Despite that, Paralyze seems to have a déjà vu as it seems that he had met this man before or at least saw him somewhere. Suddenly, a girl with long hair wearing a cloth amor came and asked if he was a Tinkerer. Shaking his head, Paralyze shake the girl’s hand as he said. ”I'm sorry. My name is Paralyze and I'm a marauder. If you want to see Sam then I belive that it would be Sam, the only Tinkerer in our group.”
Paralyze’s face formed a grin, making him to be appeared more evil. But what he about to said was in complete opposition as he invited these two for a breakfast. “Now, how about we headed downstairs for some breakfasts shall we? My treats of course.” And please, considered this as a sorry meals for my mistakes.” Then, Paralyze turned to Alisea. “You are welcomed to join us of course. It is my treats after all.” With that being done, Paralyze closed the door behind him and proceed to go downstairs, uncaring about whether Rylan and Alisea will accepted his deals. Afterall, Paralyze have a very busy task waiting for him. Spending all his monies in gears, equipments, tools, supplies, and skills. And for some reasons, Paralyze just going to say it is going to be a fun day.
Aster burst out of the room she shared with Alisea, feet skidding strangely as she equipped her shoes while running. She wanted to call "wait up!", but imagined that there was little she could do that would be more mortifying than that. Even so, she couldn't be left behind...
"Alisea! Reylan!" She stopped short of the two, equipping her armor with a faint "pop" as she did. "Sorry, I didn't realize that the plan was to head out so quickly." She blushed, an involuntary reaction that was becoming far too instinctive.
"Reylan, I'd be happy to spar with you, if you still need a partner. It'd be good for us both, right?" she noticed the dark-haired stranger, and nervously extended one hand. "I'm sorry, I interrupted you, didn't I? I just woke up, so I'm afraid I'm a little bit out-of-sorts. I'm Aster, a swordswoman. What did you say your name was?" She instinctively positioned herself near Alisea, without any conscious choice on her part, but just because her friend's presence made her feel more at ease.
Karma had a bit of trouble sleeping thanks to someone snoring next door...and made a noise too himself to buy some ear plugs tomorrow. Nevertheless, Karma got himself up early this morning like he plan and equipped his cheap clothes in front of a mirror before flowning at himself. "Hmm i can use some better clothes..." He reminded himself, Which reminded him. Last night Karma put all of the points he earned into his Sewing and Healing skill. That way he could make and use "First Aids" effectively. However, he felt like he had something more import to buy first.
Strengthen (1) - Target gains +5 Strength for a few seconds. 50MP. Chakra Magic (1) -- User restores small amount of mana in target. 0MP.
Renn lost:-50
Actions granted
Sprint (1/Universal) - User's running speed increases by a bit for a few minutes. 50MP. Sidestep (1/Universal) - User steps aside. Low chance of evasion. 20MP.
Renn lost:-50
Total renn spent(so far) 100
Renn remaining: 645
After fighting the black wolves Karma realizes that he may end up having to defend himself from a monster soon. And when the time comes he needs to be ready. So he bought Sidestep so he can dodge an attack from a wolf monster as well as sprinted in case he needs the extra speed to escape. As well as the spell Strengthen so he may give himself or someone else more strength to fight with and Chakra magic to help make sure he has mana. He also wanted to buy Dash and Tumble but he wanted to save his Renn so he can by some Fabric, but first Karma needs to find out if he needs money to fulfill a quest so he decides to check out the town hall.
Day 4 7:00 AM
Karma had looked at the quest board and founded two open quests that could be complete without leaving the safety of the city walls.
Make some friends: Talk to 10 NPCs. Enter the Workforce: Create 10 items and sell them to NPC merchants in the market.
Karma was still sort of tired from yesterday so he wanted to take it easy and not risk his life just for today so he decided to talk about these two quests...plus he was planning on working on his sewing skill anyway so the Enter the Workforce would be best to try to complete first so he went back to the market to pay for buy some Fabric, and on the way there he decided to make some small talk with at least 9 NPCs. He didn't know if he could just get away with just saying hi to people while walking down the streets so just kept the talk small.
Day 4 7:40 AM
Item bought: 25x Fabric(Common) and 1 Sewing Kit Renn spent: 270 Renn Current Renn: 355
After coming out the shop with new purchase good in his inventory Karma then Decided to take a few minutes to sit down and relax for about 35 minutes.
At 8:15 Karma sent a PM to all those who help out in the dungeon yesterday except Dubstep who he wished to avoid for now.
Hey guys, Karma here. As of right now, my sewing skill is currently at level 15 thanks to yesterday and i decided that was going to start using it to making "First Aids" as the game calls it. As well as some new clothes me and you guys cause we may be here awhile. If you wish for me to make you some new clothes then all i ask is that you either bring the ingredients or pay the market price for the stuff needed to make it with the exception of the sewing kit. Do so and I'll spare you the cost of having them made and will have your new clothes available before we have to enter The Savage Fields again.
@HueMan After sending the message to those 4 people Karma then went somewhere quiet to begun making 10 First aid using 8 Fabrics. After he was done will then sell those 10 First Aids to an NPC in order to complete the Enter the Workforce quest. Then he will go to the town hall to turn in the result of the Make some friends quest and the Enter the Workforce quest before heading into the inn. Finally, Karma would stay up late tonight make himself some new clothes assuming he still has time some time to do so.
Alisea's eyes sparked with excitement. She hadn't honestly expected him to be a Tinker, but him knowing a Tinker was a wonderful surprise. "Thank you for your offer, but I have too much to do right now. If your group is staying here, though, perhaps I will see you at dinner tonight." Alisea smiled at Reylan behind the marauder's retreating back and mouthed a silent, "Good job!" before hurrying off herself.
One quick bath, a final self-check she was presentable, and Alisea was on her way to the market. Spells were her first priority, and 475 renn later she had a wonderful repertoire. The magess would have loved to continue purchasing, but good judgment held the remnant of her funds in reserve--first for the daily cost of food, and second for the supplies their party would have to purchase for the next raid on the dungeon. Pausing for a short time to eat a morning meal (purchased from a bakery at the edge of the market), Alisea evaluated options for earning more renn. The first, most straight-forward method was completing quests. The second, and the method the young woman favored most, was to practice crafting. And the third option was, naturally, traditional grinding.
The best course going forward, then, would be to pursue all three in the same action. Swallowing the last bite of scone, Alisea thanked Baker Josef and made her way to the city hall. It didn't take long for the magess to find the familiar blonde head of the clerk who had shown her the first set of quests; and, upon inquiry, the woman informed Alisea that a number of new requests had indeed been submitted. When she saw the request for defending the iron mine, Alisea's heart leaped; then it dropped when she read the details. It didn't fit into the time frame she had. That couldn't be helped, the magess supposed; the other pair of quests--talk to ten of the villagers and craft ten items--would have to suffice for the present.
Ever quick to find the shortest line between herself and her objective, Alisea began by thanking the clerk for the information. She even took it a step further and asked if there was a way she could arrange to be notified when a new request was brought in. That lead to a brief conversation with the virtual woman, but ultimately she arrived at the answer that there was no such kind shortcut--not even for a willing Adventurer trying to prove helpful.
Alisea waved a farewell and paused long enough to check the time. The readout informed her the day had advanced beyond ten and was drawing toward half past. That left much of the day to use--though she couldn't deny a bit of irritation at how much time she had lost sleeping through the morning. With a resigned shake of her head, Alisea moved back to the market.
The young woman scanned through the shops and stalls until she found what she needed: a Workshop, available for public use. It was a little out of the way, but it had everything she would need to start. From there she searched around until she found a stall selling ore from the mines. Digging into her remaining coins, Alisea handed over the first two silvers she could grab; in exchange, the vendor returned a two copper in change and handed her a pair of ore. Alisea moved to put them into her inventory--and immediately a tremendous fatigue gripped her body. Everything felt heavy, as though gravity had multiplied and was determined to drag her to the ground.
It took a moment, but realization lit up the girl's eyes. She opened her inventory again and withdrew the two ore. As suddenly as it had come, the weight vanished. 'Overburdened,' Alisea thought glumly. With only a pair of ore. Such was the price of leaving her strength attribute with a single point. 'The trigger only comes from weight in my inventory, then? I can carry the ore by hand, I suppose, but...' She looked back the way she had come. The Workshop wasn't far, but it certainly wasn't right next door, either. At this point, though, she didn't see any other option. 'Maybe I can call this training. It might improve my Strength--with good fortune, it might improve my Agility, too.'
With that simple thought in mind, Alisea wrapped up both ore in her arms and set off to the workshop. She started at a walk, then sped up until she was as close to a jog as she could manage with the extra load. On an impulse, she tried using the Air-Walker's Sandals. Her next step landed on the air, as did four more. It was a thrilling moment--until her next step didn't find the ground quickly enough. Alisea fell headlong, her arms spilling the ore she carried as she crashed unceremoniously to the cobblestone.
She lay there for a moment, giving the embarrassment enough time to really sink in and color her cheeks. The only positive Alisea could see right then was that nobody in her group was around to see that. Resolving to practice with her new sandals later, the smith-to-be picked her head up to find where her cargo had gone. They had landed just ahead, so she quickly gathered them up and hurried on her way.
Arriving at the Workshop, Alisea moved to a station and set to work. Wondering where to start, she decided the easiest weapon to craft in a game was the dagger. Hopefully that held true here. Setting one ore aside and focusing on the other, Alisea set to work.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The man was being incredibly cooperative and outright nice to them, making Reylan feel a little guilty for his momentary lapse of consideration "Well...Thank you for understanding." The offer he gave no longer seemed like such a rash decision and after him tell Alisea that he was not a tinker, and in fact a Marauder...it only seemed more wise. They were in desperate need of another melee class to fill out the ranks, and this guy seemed pretty easy to get along with so why not? A look of hesitation filled his eyes, it was a very tempting offer he really needed to use his time wisely leading up to this dungeon run. He had just begun to shake his head and lips began to form the words Thanks, but.. when he saw a door swing wide open down the hall.
Reylan had not expected Aster to barge suddenly out of her room, and certainly not in the process of equipping the rest of her gear. The edges of his lips tugged into a grin at the humor of the scene, he had thought of Aster as have a sort of Silent Grace so seeing this was somewhat funny to him. What truly surprised him was how readily she accepted his offer by extending her hand, not wanting to be rude he clasped the hand in a firm handshake "Thanks, with the dueling system we can really go all out too!" He quickly released his hand after the handshake was concluded, feeling both excited and nervous for his first spar in this world. He didn't want to mention that he wasn't just look for just any sparring partner, he wanted her specifically. His reasoning was simply that she was a swordswoman and would be the best to try out his rapier against never considering that Dirk might have been just as viable.
A quick turn back to Paralyze and he could finally decline his offer "Thanks for the offer, but I got a lot to get done today. Like Alisea said, hopefully we can meet up tonight for dinner." Speaking of the devil herself, she mouthed two silent words towards him, which he barely caught, and then darted off leaving Aster behind without so much as a goodbye. She must be in a hurry but what exactly did she mean by Good Job? Not wanting to think about it too much, he decided just to move on "It was nice meeting you." He let his smile shine. This sparing session was probably not what Aster was expecting, since he planned on using his rapier...at least for most of it "If you're read to go, let's find a good spot for this." he was getting more excited by the minute, even though he knew he had a great disadvantage.
None could deny the beauty of the Flower Gardens of Genesis. Even to those who are normally unattracted to such environments, the Flower Gardens was definitely a site to behold. The peaceful and calm nature of the scene, combined with the lack of hostile Monsters saw to it that there were several Players and NPCs already on the scene, attempting to enjoy their days or collect flower items for various needs. It seemed that Dubstepp wasn't the only one who took on the particular quest. Those who weren't partaking in the flower picking were either laying around under the trees or sitting on the meadows, as if to enjoy their imprisonment in-game. It was true; the warm breeze across one's nose was most pleasant. Flower gathering didn't last long. All it required was for the player to pick any 50 good-looking flowers to bring to Needlan the Herbalist. It was really most just the long distance between the Garden and Genesis City that made the quest rather unpopular despite its simplicity.
The waitress seemed to be pleased at seeing Dirk again, smiling brightly as she trotted over to bring the Paladin some breakfast. "Had a nice sleep?" She didn't bother asking Dirk about what he wanted for breakfast; it was the same for everyone. Hans did say how no one should complain about the breakfast menu since it was complementary with the room. True to his words, no one really had complained about the simple meal choice they got served so far. As she set down a plate, she noticed Dirk's wet hair and giggled a little bit. "You know you look so much more handsome when not covered in grit and grimes."
You have succeeded in creating 10 First Aid Kits. You do have enough time to complete 2 Clothes item by the end of the day.
You have completed "Enter the Workforce" quest. You gain the following: 50+D10 EXP, D6 Silver coins.
You must name 10 NPCs you have talked to in order to fulfill your quest. Your chance of creating First Aid kit with current Skill level is 90%. I went ahead and rolled for you, to which all 10 were successful. Your chance of creating Clothes (Common) with current Skill level is 75%.
"Thank you for your business~" The merchant smiled and handed Karma 9 Gold coins. "Excellent kits, these will come in handy." As he closed his purse and put away Karma's sale, the merchant continued on. "You know, we could use a good crafter such as you. But being adventurers, folks of your kind are probably not likely to hold down jobs in places like this..." He tapped on the table for a bit before continuing. "But I did hear from some of my co-workers down in the next district how some of you people have started settling down instead of adventuring. Interesting I think... interesting..."
"Woah, woah, woah, stop right there lil' missy." A big man in thick, leather apron reached out with a hairy arm to put his hand on the anvil infront of Alisea. "Communal workshop is 2 Silvers to use for a day. Didn't you see the sign?" He pointed towards sign hanging above the door, where in the most inconvenient of the spots measly mentioned the said information. "You are gonna have to drop off the coins in that small chest over there before I can bring you some ember to light your forge." Next to the entrance was a small chest, on top of a desk, with a tiny slit on top so that coins may fall in. It almost looked like an old fashioned piggy bank... if piggy banks were made out of wood and iron that is.
Your chance of success with creation of dagger / knife is currently 70%
"Eden Hall" actually had a rather spacious area behind the building. Big enough to hold dinner parties for large guests, although Hans haven't quite got around to using it for such purpose. He was planning on it however; as soon as he could figure out how to host it, he was going to hold grand grilling parties filled with roasted meat, dancing music and plenty of alcohol. The recent business boom with these new adventurers was bringing Hans closer to his goal. But until then, it just remained to be an empty area closed off by nearby buildings. The Braun brothers saw an opportunity to use it for themselves. Hans, who was busy savoring his morning omelette, only raised a questioning eyebrow before approving their request before telling them to "don't be breaking nothing". They headed out through the backdoor next to the end of the bar. Hard dirt beneath their boots, they swung their weapons around a few times to get warmed up.
"Kven?" "Yeah Sven?" "It's nice to have a whole body." "Tell me about it." "Ain't so bad that I suggested this game eh?" "Ain't so bad that I paid for this game..." "You are older so its natural that you paid for it. Plus you have a job." "BY 30 SECONDS. And you have that job too idiot."
Sven smirked before pointing his Trident at his brother. Kven did the same with his Glaive. It was a good day. The news of the virtual death game hit the Braun brothers like a tickling feather. If anything, they saw it as a chance to escape from their cruel realities, a possible refuge from the ugly truth. And now their hiding place is no longer temporary. Eternal even perhaps. The Braun brothers were fine with the situation that they were in. Kven was the first to attack, thrusting out before slicing down with the keen edge of his glaive. Sven saw the attack before it even occurred however and dodged it lightly before jabbing out firmly with the three-pronged trident. Kven countered by flicking his wrist to push down his brother's longer polearm, using simple leverage to his advantage.
After the conversation with Reylan, Polak told Reylan that he'd sleep on the offer and see what his party says. He walked to his room and laid down flat on the bed, thinking about Reylan's invitation to a guild. 'There's really no reason to refuse,' he thought. The guy seemed nice enough and a bigger party was important to survive. His party probably won't have a problem either, unless there was some history between one of them, but he doubted that. 'I'm sure they won't have a problem.' Polak moved around until he got in a comfier position and closed his eyes. He started thinking about other irrelevant things and eventually fell asleep...
Polak slowly opened his eyes and looked out the window; still dark with only the moon to shine light in his room. He closed his eyes again and tried going back to sleep, but to no avail. He sighed heavily as he began shuffling around, trying to get in another comfy position. Although simple, he cleared his mind and started counting; '1, 2, 3... 100, 101... 723, 724... 1321...' and like that, more than 20 minutes went by. Another heavy sigh came out of his mouth, but he continued counting, until he finally fell asleep...
'Wrong,' he thought as he looked out the window again; still, only the moon lighting up his room. 'If only sleeping pills existed here...' he thought as he sighed. After another long count, he fell asleep...
'I want to cry...'
Day 4, 5:30 AM
Polak opened his eyes and felt that his attempts to sleeping any more was futile; he hadn't been this plagued by insomnia in a while but he would just have to deal with it. Tired and somewhat irritated, he stood up from his bed and quickly stretched before he exited the room. He quietly stepped out of the inn, wary of waking others up. He had been planning on finishing Petar the Blacksmith's quest he accepted yesterday morning but had no time, and with nothing to do, he thought it was a good time as any to do it and it would help him improve his mood. He walked over to the nearest gate and wandered outside, chopping down trees and hunting down boars he could find.
After collecting enough wood and pork to turn in for the quest and his own use, Polak decided to take a break. He looked around and saw the disks floating in the sky; he walked to the closest one and climbed to the top. He sat down close to the edge, legs out with his arms behind him supporting his back. While he gazed at the beautiful and amazing scenery, he felt as if he had forgotten something, and after some thinking, he remembered; 'Ah, Reylan...' Polak scrambled with the menu and typed up a message, "I'd be happy to join your guild! I still need to talk to my other party member though and I'm outside the city... he's staying in the same inn, so maybe you might find him? His name is Paralyze." After sending his message, he still remained seated, enamored by the view. He continued sitting for a few more minutes until he decided it was time to get back to Genesis City.
Aster lead the way to the sparring spot, a space which likely wasn't explicitly intended for such a purpose, but where she and Alisea had practiced unarmed combat before. As they walked, she tried to think of something to say to the archer. "So... Were you wanting to work on unarmed fighting, or just have a target to practice your bow on?" She smiled slightly, trying to show that she was joking. Reylan smirked and laughed nervously at the question, for his answer was none of those "I'm sure you would make a fine target but I had something else in mind..." Without a second's delay he equipped the rapier in his right hand "Alisea loaned this to me and I want to make sure I can use it." He held the sharp-pointed blade around chest height, a weapon given to him on the condition he wasn't allowed to die. Aster was a bit startled, though she tried not to show it. "Oh, I see. Well, I suppose that could work. Do you have any points towards swordsmanship?" She held one arm out to her side, feeling the familiar weight of her katana drop into her hand as she summoned it. "It's all right if you don't, but I'm not sure that I really know how to go easy. I mean, I'll try, but..." She hesitated. "You can't get hurt in town, right? I'd hate to take off one of your arms on accident." A sheeplish look shone in his eyes at her question "Well no..but I hope doing this will earn me some!" He tried to sound cheerful, whatever the outcome may be he was determined to do this. His eyes widened a little with awe as Aster drew the katana, it was both terrifying and kinda cool knowing that was what he faced "Well you can't die at least, it's a safe-zone. I would prefer it if you didn't hold back, otherwise I won't get stronger." He spoke with a grin on his face, despite the absolute fact he was going to regret such words and his destruction was imminent. Aster smiled, a fierce light growing in her eyes. She'd done everything she could to act more calm and composed in this world, but in reality she had a serious competitive streak, and there was nothing like sparring to bring that out in her. "Defend yourself, Reylan!" She raised her blade in a two-handed grip, at almost shoulder level, then launched herself forward, her feet throwing her recklessly towards the white-haired boy. Reylan's heart exploded. Wait, no it was still in his chest just thumping heavily as Aster closed in. He knew the basic theory behind using a thrusting weapon but it was another to actually put it to use. His hand raised the light weapon to the same level as the incoming katana, bringing his arm back and bending his knees to build power. A strong push forward and with a single thrust the rapier was sent to meet the blade of the katana, hoping more to deflect the incoming blow then actually land a hit Aster was startled by the speed of Reylan's strike, but her instincts kicked in quickly, and she seemed to flow around the strike, pivoting on one foot and striking with the sword's blunt side at Reyln's blade, near the hilt. With all likelihood, she'd either force him backwards or make him drop the nimble weapon. Reylan had put too much momentum into his thrust that all he could was watch, jaw dropping, as Aster flowed around its impact like a ocean wave like a force of nature. Dull pain shot through his hands and up his arms as the rapier was ejected from his hands, spinning a few times in the air before stabbing into the ground with the hilt pointing upwards several feet behind him. The first round had gone decidedly to Aster, who continued to surprise him "It appears I have made a graaavvvveee mistake." he chuckled with a light-hearted nature at his defeat holding both his hands up lazily above his head, the outcome was expected after all "So shall we try go again?" he asked eagerly Aster was nearly as startled as Reylan, but did her best to keep it from her face, and nodded in agreement. "Again. This time, though, keep a looser grip on your sword. Not too loose, but don't grip it so tight. When you grip it like that it makes it shock your arms too much when I hit. Only tighten your grip upon contact, alright?" With that, she stepped backwards, then swung her blade in a low swipe towards the archer's legs. Reylan bent his knees once again and pushed off, swinging his arms up for momentum as he performed a back flip landing next to his implanted rapier. He might not have the necessary sword skills, but his agility was something he had focused on from the start. His hand wrapped around the hilt and with a strong tug freed it from its earthy sheathe "You got it Master." Keep a looser grip, and only tighten upon contact. That should be simple enough. Now it was Aster's turn to to defend. He kicked off the ground and sped towards her. Once in striking distance, he aggressively struck out multiple times using the weapon's light weight and his agility to facilitate those strikes. In this fight, Aster had the obvious advantage. She was the swordswoman of the two, and while she would likely have no chance at archery, in this, at least, she was far more talented than Reylan. Even so, the speed with which he attacked caught her entirely off guard. Since when was he so fast? Aster managed to avoid the first strike, but the second she had to deflect, and the third managed to strike her on the shoulder. She hopped nimbly backward, rubbing the spot in surprise. It didn't really hurt... well, maybe a little bit. She could shrug it off easily enough, though. "Very well done. Once more, and then I say we call it a-" Without warning, she launcher herself again at Reylan, swinging her blade towards his chest, then twisting the blade to strike at his waist. His thrusts were more about quantity than quality, so when one actually landed he felt a sense of accomplishment in respect to his opponent. Adrenaline pumped freely through his veins but even that wasn't enough to read Aster's next movements. He barely raised got his rapier in position to block, free hand pressing against the shaft for added resistance as Aster's katana connected with it. Once again shock tore through his hands and muscles, but his inexperience could not prevent the second strike. Her blade slammed into his waist freely, his hands unable to move the rapier in time, and for a moment or two the archer was airborne. His back crashed into the hard ground and the rapier rolled out from his hand, eyes closed and his body not making any noticeable movements. Aster instinctively unequipped her weapon, dropping it thoughtlessly as it fell, not to the ground, but back into her inventory. "Reylan! Damn it..." She rushed to his side, falling to her knees as she tried to shake him back to consciousness. What the hell was happening? It wasn't supposed to be possible to die in a safe zone, right? And yet, Reylan looked pretty well dead to her... "Get up, Reylan!" So that was what pain felt like in this world? Reylan thought as he laid there, feeling like he had just been punched it the gut. He'd take that over being sliced in half. Someone was shaking him, that had to be Aster, right? A mumbled groan left his mouth as his eyes opened up "I...I feel like that kid who got his ass beat for spilling milk on a dude's tacos in high-school..." His vision consisted of the bright sun, blue sky, tiled roofs, and of course Aster looming over him. The pain had quickly subsided and he sat up from his laying down position "Maybe I'll just stick to archery..." he lightheartedly spoke. Aster breathed a sigh of relief. Though she did her best not to show any connection to anyone, she was increasingly fond of Reylan, and was relieved that she had not in fact slain him. She had enough on her conscience without being a murderess. How would she keep up a lie like that, along with all her others? "You... what? That's funny. I guess there's a milk taco incident at every school, huh? That happened at my high-school as well." She smiled, thinking back to the event, which had been legendary at her school for weeks after. "Want to call it a day, or would you rather keep at it?" Reylan couldn't help but smile at the coincidence, he was inclined to ask where she went to high school at but it didn't seem right to ask about personal info "I guess so." The fight had almost been comical with the quickness in which it started. Reylan weighed the choice before him, he figured he could handle a hour of sparring. He grinned as he stood up, the rapier finding its place back in his hands "One hour couldn't hurt, right?" He spoke semi-sarcastically, it was most certainly going to hurt..especially for him. But as the saying goes: No pain, no gain. The hour passed quickly, and by the end of it, Aster was sweating and sore, despite the pain-dulling effects of the game. "All right, Reylan, all right!" She blocked a well-placed blow casually. "I say we call it enough for now. I'm beat, and you've improved plenty today." She smiled, pleased with the progress made. "I'd hate to have my role as the team's sword fighter taken by our archer!" With that, she once again unequipped her blade, choosing not to sheathe it, as the weight at her hip, though comforting, felt... conspicuous.
Aster couldn't help but notice the pair of twins sparring nearby. "Say, Reylan... do you know either of those two? They're kind of boisterous, aren't they?" It was through will-power alone that he pushed himself through the entire hour, his body wanting to give up in half that time. Aster had certainly fulfilled his request of not holding back. He stopped right after his last strike was given, exhausted but content that he had made progress "Yeah I can feel it...in my arms, my legs...and my chest too." He casually joked and then smiled back "Then you better not fall behind." The challenge was given, but Reylan knew he couldn't follow through on it and unequipped his gear. It didn't feel natural to have it equipped in town
His gaze turned to the two Aster referred to, a pair of twins by the look of things "Nah, I can't say I remember seeing them earlier. They'd fit right in, right?" A mischievous grin showing before he rushed over "Hey you two! You fight pretty good, I got a question to ask ya!" He called out, being a leader was getting easier once step at a time.
In order to decide rather not I was successful in making new clothes I googled random number generator and have it give me a number from 1-100. It gave me 71(if it gives me 25 or lowers it would have been a failure)
Dice roll for exp gain came up 3(gain 53 exp)
Dice roll for sliver gain is 4(gain 100)
With some luck, Karma was about to sell off his wares to some merchant who seems friendly and was willing to buy his wares 10% cheaper then market price for them. Karma happy fully took his offer before sealing the deal and making the trade, but he hesitated a bit to take the money for at least 10 seconds before he forced himself to. However, Karma kind of release a 'pff' of disgust when he heard that some of his kind was already setting down on the first floor. Karma then looked away awkward after he realizes he let his old habits slip. "Sorry that was unprofessional of me." He apologized calmly.
Afterwards, he then turned in his quest before heading back to the inn to finally make himself some new clothes to wear. As he did he begin to reflect on the price of First Aid and why they were so high. Was it designed to make the game even harder or...did the prices increase to suit the demand, cause Players like Karma needed them? If the latter is the case Karma wonder if the player base can change the game economy with their actions.
Dubstepp pulled out another flower from the ground. He straightened his back and wiped the sweat from his brow; putting his hands on his side, he took a deep breath. At this moment, he took in the sights of the garden. Despite what he thought earlier, the scenery was admirable. Dubstepp blinked a couple of times, he observed the number of players and NPCs roaming around the area. The lack of hostile monsters made this place into a safe haven. This would become a hot spot if not for the ridiculous distance.
Rubbing the dirt off of his hands, he turned to his pet rabbit. Totoro plucked giants handfuls of plants. His cheeks were full as well as he tried feeding himself while working. "Alright, that's the last of it. We would've been done a lot faster, but I decided to pluck more for personal use if it comes to that. This place is hella far," Dubstepp stretched his arms as he spoke. The trainer and pet duo managed to collect 100 flowers, twice the amount requested from the Needlan. The musician felt he would need flowers in the future. Best to collect now than never.
Dubstepp took a seat on the ground and opened up his inventory. He withdrew the second dry biscuit he had and the jar of honey he bought earlier. Knowing the trip back wasn't going to be easier, he took a few minutes of resting and eating before heading back. He needed to regain his lost energy. The sweetness of the honey did wonders for the biscuit.
After finishing his biscuit, Dubstepp closed the jar of honey and sent it back to his inventory. He then continued to get Totoro's attention; they began walking back to the town.
The Braun Brothers stopped simultaneously. They moved in unison, as if choreographed to mirror each others' movements. It didn't quite help with the fact that they even looked identical, minus their weapons of choice. Kven and Sven considered picking identical weapons when creating their characters a few days ago. Perhaps they could have fooled a couple of gaming newbies into thinking that it was a glitch in the game.
"Us?" "Us?"
They spoke at the same time and stared at the approaching duo. They looked friendly enough. One of them, a silvery eyed young man had a grin on his face. The other was dark-haired woman. Somehow she gave off a little more serious attitude but didn't look hostile by any means. The Brauns decided to greet them in kind.
"Well hello-" "There!"
They dusted their clothes a little to make them presentable before doing a courteous self-introduction.
"Sven-" "And Kven." "At your service." "At your service."
"And who-" "-might you be and-." "-what question do you have for us?"
Startled, Alisea looked up at the bear--er, man. She obediently followed his gesture, but didn't waste the effort to confirm the existence of the alleged notice. Rather, she turned back to scrutinize the man. Several moments passed as she sized him up--and indeed, there was a lot to size. Then her face split into a wide, friendly smile. "I see! I was wondering how to begin. Thank you, Mister...?"
"Bahkmann, but that's only for royalty and priests. You call me Forge-Master." The smith wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his thick arms. The heat in the forge was considerable, despite the fact that only a few stations were occupied. The workshop was rather large, being able to host nearly 20 or so freelance smiths and crafters at once. A simple forge, an anvil, barrel of water for cooling and a standing wooden table with all the various tools were all there was. Yet it was enough to get anyone started on simple crafting. "Holler over there when you got the coins in the chest. I'm gonna grab some embers for you." Bahkmann went off, wiping his grimy arms on his dirty shirt.
Approaching the box, Alisea did wonder briefly if the game could be cheated. Would it recognize if she didn't put the money in? The obvious answer was yes--and the fact that the developers put a fee on crafting facilities to begin with was proof enough they were sadists--but theoretically the ultra-realism Talrae tried to provide should leave holes like that. Dropping her two silvers in, the magess had to wonder what beginning crafter would even be able to afford those kinds of fees; fifty renn for a day was no paltry sum. Not this early.
With a silent sigh Alisea turned away from her departed coin. She called cheerfully to the Forge-Master and walked back to her station. As he came back, she smiled wide. "Again, thank you. Do you have any tips for someone trying this for her first time, Forge-Master?"
"Don't hit your self with the hammer. Ha ha ha!" Bahkmann laughed heartily at the terrible joke as he carefully put in the embers with some dry leaves to get the fire started. He blew softly until the leaves caught fire. He proceeded put some thicker logs in to really feed the fire. "I can't reveal all my secrets lil' missy. Or else you'd have my job."
She couldn't force more than a courteous smile at his joke, but force that much she did. "Secrets were not what I had in mind, Forge-Master. I would be happy for a review of the basics."
"Well... if you are in here it probably means that you know at least the basics about smithing." The smith scratched the side of his face a little bit before picking up the little shovel he used to bring over the ember. "I suppose if I had to give a word... just do what your instinct tells you to do. Let your body tell you where the hammer should strike." He began taking off but turned around briefly to add. "And don't hit the anvil so hard! I'll make you pay if it breaks."
And that was it. In review: the game charged you if you wanted to craft. You would have to interact with Forge-Master Bahkmann every time you came. And he offered no tutorial whatsoever, so his only real purpose was to enforce the extor...ah, toll. All in a game that professed to be the Best and was trying to kill you. Alisea had never been one to curse, but if ever she felt there was an appropriate target, it was the nimrods calling themselves developers.
'Very well. I really should accept it as a given that they hate players. Except... The memory of rich rewards upon departing the dungeon arose. 'Except whomever is in charge of the dungeons. He favors players who take the risk of raiding.' It was a curious thought, but it was one Alisea certainly wasn't going to discard. Somebody wanted to watch them clear dungeons--clear floors, even--and somebody (maybe the same person, maybe not) was brutally discouraging attempts to be anywhere but.
Still, they had agreed to wait a few days before going again, so she had a job to do now. The magess donned the heavy apron, arranged her tools as she guessed she would need them, and readied her iron. Alisea spent some time pumping the bellows, bringing the fresh fire to a point it would actually be usable. Finally the game threw her a consolation: the flames were heated in a fraction of the time it would take in reality. Everything ready, the irritated magess enthusiastically set to work.
Burn out impurities; cool. Heat until it glows; beat it into the desired shape; when the heat fades, cool it in water, wait, reheat, and continue beating. The process was guesswork built on unrealistic games and semi-realistic books, but--irksome though it was--she found Forge-Master Bahkmann's words to be accurate: there was a moment when it simply felt right. The more she trusted those moments and acted on the instinct, the more she grew confident that the weapon would turn out well.
With a small beep and accompanying notification screen, Alisea received an iron dagger. Fatigue swept through her body. Her arms were heavy as dumbbells and sweat dripped from her brow. Even her core was warning her that she was overworking. But she had finished the dagger. For that, the girl rewarded herself with a respite--a sit near her station that lasted just long enough for her arms to be able to swing a hammer again. Then she went back to work, crafting her second dagger. When the notification confirmed her success, she let herself slump to the ground and breathe out in relief.
Checking the time again, Alisea found eleven had come and gone. It had taken nearly an hour--but that included the time to find the ore and the Workshop. Pushing herself to her feet, Alisea hurried back to Forge-Master Bahkmann. "Forge-Master! Thank you again for your help. Do you know the nearest place I might sell these daggers?" Making more would prove faster, even factoring in time to rest. Buy the ore; forge the iron; sell the daggers--if she kept that cycle going for the entire day (and indeed, after two silver she wasn't going to do any less), Alisea could finish... sixteen blades, she hoped. Twenty if she hit a steady rhythm.
Reyland silver eyes darted back and forth between the twins as the finished each other's sentences, resisting the urge to slam his fore-head into his hand. They just had to be THOSE kind of twins, didn't they? They seemed quite up-beat given the circumstances but at least they were friendly. That was the only requirement really to join the non-existent guild he had yet to create...maybe he should have stricter qualifications in place "Nice to meet you both! My name is Reylan, soon to be guild-leader." This confidence thing was kinda tiring, but he had to at give the impression he knew what he was doing "In a couple days, I'm going to be leading a raid on a dungeon to clear it. Like I said before, you two seem pretty capable. We could use you in our party. Of course, if you would like to join our guild that'd be great too. I think you'd fit right in!" His smile and friendly attitude hid his nervous.
A notification appeared in his vision, he was hoping that was Polak accepting his offer but he would need to confirm that later. Mentally he sighed, there was still much he had to take care of today...mostly revolving around forming this guild. He would have everyone sign the treaty at the inn tonight praying Dub would actually sign it when the time came.
622 to 620 Paralyze nodded as he saw Alisea and Reylan slowly disappear from his sight. Releasing a long sigh, Paralyze slowly walked downstairs and have some fish and chips along with a cup of water. The taste of the dish was not different from what he taste yesterday. But Paralyze's nightmare had make the food to taste like saliva slowly dripping down from someone’s mouth. Paying Renn to the inn owner, Paralyze walked out of the wooden building as he joined the stream of people on the streets. He was almost perfectly blend in with the group if it was not because of him wearing any shoes. But Paralyze paid no attention to those eyes, he got too many on his plate for him to care for his own and his ownself alone.
Clothes shop/ Sewing shop
9:06
610 to 575
In order to avoid the factor of letting his weapon from slipping his grip, Paralyze bought the leather gloves. And the leather boots is because just to avoid himself from getting sick if he ever practiced or marched under the rain. Afterall, Paralyze could not risked having himself getting killed by a cold. Paying the Renn for the things that he had bought, Paralyze ran outside and headed toward the training area. If following his schedule, Paralyze is right on time. But that is only when he is still continue to move. So moving as fast as he could with a 4 point in Agility, Paralyze slowly make his way to the training site.
Training sites
9:53
575+400 to 0+360 Remaining Renn: 350
Actions gain
Mediate (Level 5 skill)- User focuses for few a minutes, recovering either 200HP or 200MP. 0MP cost. Boost Self (Level 5 skill)- User gains +5 Strength, Agility and Intelligence for a while. Can only be used once a day. 200MP. Strong Body (Level 5 skill)- User gains +10 Strength for a while. Can only be used once a day. 200MP. Vengeful (Level 5 skill)- User gains 25% additional Strength for a few seconds after being hit by a melee attack. Passive. Strong Stance (Level 5 Skill)- User gains resistance against being knocked off their feet. Passive.
Despite the stalling time Paralyze received when travel on the heavy traffic road, the training went very quickly. At the end of the training, Paralyze received 5 pop-ups saying that he had acquired 5 new actions. But the price was too expensive, as it also forced Paralyze to go into a quite heavy debt. He borrowed from the bank 400 Renn just to buy some skills and some other equipments. And to ensure that Paralyze will pay, he has to sign a paper that if he died, all of his equipments shall belongs to the Bank in order to pay for his debt. WIthout hesitate, Paralyze signed it.
The reason for Paralyze to get “mediate" was to increasing his chances of survival just incase if he ever fight a long fight. With “mediate" in hand, Paralyze survivability has increased by a very large percentage. “Boost Self” and “Strong Body" are also being bought as Paralyze could see himself as large damage dealer close range. So as long as he could vaporize all enemies when they reach his ranged, Paralyze will be in a good state. And both “vengeful" and “strong stance" are too increased his chance from being knocked-up by a burrowing enemies. And he did all of these, just to ensuring that he will survive while still providing the best protection possible. Afterall, he is going to die a horror and painful death anyway. So why don't live to his fullest?
Blacksmith
10:11
350 Renn to 50 Renn Bought: Kite Shield + Hatchet
Outside the City
10:21 to 17:30
Stats: Health: 1900 (16+3 due to beginning bonus) Mana: 600 Strength: 20 (17+3 due to beginning bonus) Agility: 4 Intelligence: 1
Unequipped all of his equipments, Paralyze stared at the board in front of him. It is pure black, with four strong hooves allow it to be ran and ram very hard. Its low stances allow it to be much better at maintaining balance. The two overgrown canine teeth making the beast to be appeared more than much usual. Paralyze eyes squinted as he attempt to look carefully at the beast muscle before him. Despite the cool wind blowing against his almost naked body, Paralyze felt his heart was about to overload with the intensity of the thing in front of him. Unlike him, this thing was crafted to be able to survive in the mother nature, away from the spark of civilization. The sound of its hooves pounding against the earth like the battle drum. Its low and long breathing. The boar’s skin expand with it breath it took and release a light color plume of smoke. And Paralyze stared at the thing just as its stared at him. The two beast stared at each other, then they striked. Paralyze dodge sideway, trying to avoid its head charge as he imagined himself to grab it midway and immobilize it using his 20 strength. But then, Paralyze realize he caught nothing but a bunch of fur. He was too close to catch it. Its tail was a few cm from his grasp. And again, Paralyze missed. And again, and again, and again he missed.
Paralyze panting, looking at the boar in front of him. If this was real life, Paralyze would wondered how many time he had died. He had failed multiple times just to kill it with his bare fist. Frustration begin to increased in his mind as Paralyze continued to observe the boar move. He had loss 50 Hp just because of this constant losing and missing, and such thing enraged Paralyze.
Clenching his right fists as Paralyze slowly pulled his left hand in front of his hand. Adrenaline once again build up on his body. Paralyze’s quick shot of breath now become slower. His chest raised and lowered as his lungs bombardment his hand feet with the cool air of Talrea. But, Paralyze is not happy. He is nowhere near the point of getting patient. His mind is too intense to settle down as adrenaline and dopamine make him to be more blood thirsty. His combed hair is no longer present, replaced by the messy hair of the morning. Sweat flowing from every parts of his body, trying to cool him and the rage inside. His eyes become much redder as his eyes was about to set ablaze the thing in front of him if he can. In respond, his opponent just “oink" unknown of what he will do if he can catch it. Then once again, the two beast fight.
Unlike his previous tactics, Paralyze aimed to grab its overgrown teeth. He no longer cared if the boar can dodge or not, but Paralyze will be the ramming this time. The two beasts lock on each other, with Paralyze hold its tusk and twisted. A squeal being released as the blood began to flow out from the boar lower lips. Its began to back down from the man in front of its, feeling his rage. Its trembling. It is shakening. Its feet could barely hold the feared beast.
Paralyze grinned as he charged right in the boar, using all his speed that he can mustered into his feet. He could almost tasted this fear. He could almost sense its begging. And Paralyze brutally murdered it in its living ruby liked eyes. Using his hands, Paralyze was able to caught the boar's behind hooves as it was about to run away from the beast. Pinned by the tremendous strength behind it, the boar let out a cry. And Paralyze unleashed all his strength on the defeater. His continuous pounding of bare hand causing the spine to crack. The red blood flowing out from its eyes and mouth. Blood of the beast covered the man body, painted him with different skin color. Its was primal and filled with chaos. The blood once warm, now mixed with his blood.
Paralyze panted at his creation. There was nothing more but mush of flesh infused with the ground beneath it. But instead of relieve, Paralyze only find in himself more rage and unsatisfied feeling. Shifting his gazed toward, the vast abundant of land covered by boars and rabbit in front of him, Paralyze smirk. Maybe. Just maybe. His fear of death can be overcome if he killed enough. If all his actions is enough to take one life away. Maybe, then his mind can decided to let him go. Paralyze smirked as he slowly approach the closest boars. And continue he did.
The second, dead.
The third, dead.
The fourth, dead.
The fifth, dead.
The sixth, dead.
The seventh, dead. And with that, Paralyze began his trail toward the inn. He had not dared to eat any food, and his body is demanding him to eat one of those cookies in his bag. But Paralyze refused, walking or running as fast as he could to the Inn. He had not used any skills during the onslaught, so his MP is still full. And that is something that make his day brighter.
Inn
17:52
50 to 39 Letting out a long sigh, Paralyze open the bar and booked a room for today and tomorrow night along with a shower as the smell of sweat he could not get rid off. And he must be prepared. After all, Paralyze does not want other to suffer the thing he is suffering right now. Dragging himself to the bathing area, Paralyze let out a long sigh as his body touch the warm water. It seems that he would have to clean up a lot to get himself tidy for the meeting. Although he had not heard anything from Fortuna yet, but somehow Paralyze think that she will be meeting the group.
Buy: Leathers gloves Leather boots Kite shield Hatchet Run to the bank and borrow 400 Renn Go to the training site to purchase 5 actions: Mediate (Level 5 skill)- User focuses for few a minutes, recovering either 200HP or 200MP. 0MP cost. Boost Self (Level 5 skill)- User gains +5 Strength, Agility and Intelligence for a while. Can only be used once a day. 200MP. Strong Body (Level 5 skill)- User gains +10 Strength for a while. Can only be used once a day. 200MP. Vengeful (Level 5 skill)- User gains 25% additional Strength for a few seconds after being hit by a melee attack. Passive. Strong Stance (Level 5 Skill)- User gains resistance against being knocked off their feet. Passive. Killed 7 boars Renn remaining: 39 Debt: 400 Renn
Forge-Master walked over, eyeing Alisea's newest creation. "Thought I heard some good clanging... but it looks already now doesn't it? Anyways... sell it? You don't want to keep it?" He picked up one of the daggers without permission to inspect it in more detail. He figured Alisea wouldn't object even if she wasn't pleased by it. She seemed like the polite type. Plus it wasn't as if Bakhmann was going to do anything wrong with them. "Hmm... these aren't half bad. Tell you what, why don't you sell them to me. I got a buddy in the market district that's been looking for something this." He put the dagger back down. "I'll take it all, standard market price. Saves you a good walk and gives me a reason to see Layle again."
"Guild-Master eh?" "Quite cool I think." "Kven, no one cares what you think." "Sven, stop being rude and shut up."
The twins seemed to be forgetting that they were talking to Reylan. But this was only a quick banter, they got back on to the subject at hand quickly.
"Hmm... dungeon sounds..." "... actually quite fine." "Yes, I do love me a good adventure." "That's why we are here~" "But joining a guild is-" "-well, to put it directly, we don't know you." "Not that you are bad person I think-" "-since all this death shenanigan and whatnot..." "Can't be too careful you know."
The Brauns were chatty. They always have been. Well, to their credit being such close twins meant that often times they operated more like a single person with 2 separate mouths. Being forced to share near-everything in their lives, the Braun twins were used to finishing each others' sentences practically unconsciously.
"But hey, does that mean I get to join a guild with such a cutie~?"
Kven smiled and winked at Aster. Sven smacked his brother on the shoulder, rather harshly.
"Kven, go and roll into a ditch. And stay there... sorry about my brother... ha... ha....."
✧DAY 4 - Nighttime✧
6/21/2076
4th day of Talrae, the Death Game, is ending. It's been barely over half of a week yet the chaos that ensued during the first couple of days is nowhere to be seen. At this point it seems like just about everyone has moved on to accept their current situation, one way or another. Night is calm. Warm, yellow lights fill the streets of Genesis City. Outdoor vendors have wrapped up their business and most of the Players and NPCs have retreated back to their places of residence. There are still fair bit of people walking in the streets still however. Some are looking for new places to lodge or to dine in. Others are simply enjoying the clear air. It feels fresh and clean, unlike the artificially recycled air you are used to from reality. Despite the fact that its "all in your head", you still can't help but enjoy your external sensations.
The twins were something else. Aster really wasn't sure how to react to them. One spoke, then the words kept flowing seamlessly from the mouth of the other, then both spoke at the same time... It was actually quite disorienting, if she were perfectly honest. The atypical way of speaking was mesmerising to such a degree that Aster didn't even realize that she had been addressed until a moment after Sven smacked Kven to chide him.
Aster blushed furiously in response to the boys' words. "Oh, well, uh..." She coughed slightly, trying to think of something to say. "That is, I, uh." Dammit. She couldn't get words to flow! Why did people have to be so straightforward? Why couldn't they be subtle enough for her to miss their meaning?
"I, ehm, that is..." SHIT! TALK, DAMMIT! USE YOUR WORDS, WOMAN! "I'minhisguildaswell!" She blushed deeper, her face nearly matching her clothes. "Sorry. I'm in his guild as well. If... that's what you asked." She bowed from the waist, respectfully. SHIIIIT! I'm not Japanese! Why the hell did I bow? Why am I acting like an idiot? "Uhhh, I gotta go. Thank you for sparring with me, Reylan!" With that, she rushed off, shoes slapping harshly against the cobbles as she did.
Upon reaching the inn, Aster quickly found the bar, where she checked her menu and realized, to her chagrin, that she had gained nothing but a few bruises from her training with Reylan. Oh, well. It had been fun, if nothing else, and at least Reylan would be stronger now.
She let her forehead fall with a soft thud to the table, and wrapped her arms around her head, blocking out the room's lights and sounds. Why did people have to be so complicated?
Reylan sheepishly spoke up "Uh guys?" as the twins seemed to ignore that he was there, but it only lasted for a moment. The whole double-speaking thing was giving him a slight headache, he wondered if they did it simply to mess with people or just did it subconsciously. It didn't help that they spoke pretty fast.
He had to blink twice as Kven made a bold flirt towards Aster, being a reserved kind of guy such statements stunned him. Aster, on the other hand, seemed to collapse at such words. Reylan watched as she acted very weirdly from her usual-self, not sure what to take from all that "Ah thank you too! See you later!" he stumbled to speak loudly as his sparring partner sped away leaving him with the twins. "It's fine. She's a little shy, so I wouldn't try to come on so hard next time!" he laughed lightheartedly and while friendly, he mentally intended it as a indirect warning in that moment "Well I gotta lot to do. Even if you are not interested in joining the guild just yet, you both should meet me and the rest of the group in the inn tonight. It was nice meeting you two!" He gave a half-hearted, lazy salute as he left towards the market.
The Market
As he entered the market, he wondered what had caused the brief anger he felt towards Kven. Perhaps it was that he didn't like someone blatantly hitting on his teammate...yeah, that was probably it. Well now he had to do his least favorite activity: Shopping. Learning from his past experience going on a dungeon raid, he decided to purchase some survival supplies for their next expedition. A smile shone on his lips as he walked through the streets and finally into his targeted store, the sight, and even the smells, of all the other players no longer moping around made him happy.
A bell chimed as the dark-stained wooden door opened, the shop's shelves and displays stocked with a wide array of camp supplies. He had already made a list of what he needed to get so he immediately set about collecting items off their shelves, however right after he picked up a canteen a voice rang out as a woman appeared at the counter:
"Hey silver-dude, hands off the display goods! You don't want that stuff anyway, didn't you read?.""
The suddness of the loud voice startled him and made him drop the metal container, a loud clanging noise as it settled on its flat surface. His shoulders tensed up but sure enough hanging above on of the display racks was a sign that read "For Display purposes only, Ask person at counter for assistance." and immediately Reylan had realized his mistake, he was in too much of a rush "My apologies, I am in a bit of a hurry I guess. But if you don't mind me asking, what's wrong with the stuff out here?" He was curious as to why she specifically said he wouldn't want the stuff out here. "Oh none of the stuff we put on display actually works. See that Canteen you dropped on my nice floor? It has tiny holes in so water spills out. If you put that back, that'd be grand then." Reylan did as the counter-lady said and placed the canteen back, but not before examining it for these said defects. Sure enough, little holes were just about visible all along the bottom of the canteen. It still wasn't entirely clear to him as he approached the counter "Why would you do that?" he asked confused and the girl simply laughed a little "To discourage thieves silly, you're less likely to steal something if it doesn't work right?. Now, what are you gonna buy?" She possessed an almost infectious energy and it was clear the thought of a sale was its cause. It was hard to argue logic like that he guessed.
Reylan had purchased a canteen(30r), a sleeping bag(30r), and a tent(60r) for a total of 120 Renn, the lady bringing out each item as he asked "Alrighty, that'd be 120 renn!" She cheerfully spoke, eagerly awaiting her payment "There you go. You must really like money, huh?" He had noticed that with every item he picked out, the smile she had seemed to get brighter to almost sinister levels as the money transferred over to her, and the items placed in his inventory "What kind of question is that? Of course! Money can buy anything! Nothing makes me happier than making a profit!" He believed her. It was kind of shame too because she was kinda cute...wait! She is an NPC! He forcefully flushed that thought from his head, recalling how that waitress flirted with Dirk last night. What a weird game "I wish you success in that then." he waved goodbye and began to walk out the store "Thanks, and don't die out there! It'd be bad for buisness! Name's Kanna by the way, don't forget it!" It almost sounded like she was showing kindness, so he simply nodded and exited the shop.
The major purchase he made was for fifty arrows costing him a grand total of 250 renn. Reylan could feel his heart being crushed as his Renn dropped lower and lower today, but the next things he bought would hopefully made him some profit. At one of the outside vendors, he purchased a set of brushes and paints(30r), 11 pieces of canvas(330r), a blank book(30r), and a ink & quill(20r). As those items appeared in his inventory, he suddenly remembered something "I still owe Alissea!" he almost yelled aloud. A few tears nearly spilled as he slumped over looking at the pitiful 17 renn he had left. Easy come, easy go. He picked himself up quickly, there was plenty of time before they were to go back to the dungeon so he made a promise to pay her back by then. Now that he taken care of his basic supplies, and since he couldn't buy any new skills, it was time to go to the town hall and finally get that guild treaty.
Town Hall
Reylan had to ask three NPCs on the way to the town hall for directions before he recalled he had a map. After being momentarily embarrassed, he found his way to the building that could issue adventurers guild treaties. The place was a bit more crowded than he expected, the distinction between NPCs and other players blurring among the numbers. Boldly he pushed open the doors, the interior well illuminated and decorated with the portraits of regal looking authority figures. What was the Astral Blades' guild-master like? he wondered following the bronze plaques on the walls for the guild registrar. "Ah here it is.." he spoke quietly to himself, opening a red-brown wooden door with a frosted window into a office like room. Seated at a heavy dark-colored wooden desk was a older genteman, about early 60s if Reylan had to guess, his head full of gray hair and a pair of thin glasses hanging on the edge of his nose. Reylan just stood there as the man shifted through papers quietly "I don't recognize you so I take it you are here to create a guild treaty?" The lack of emotion in his voice unsettled Reylan as the older man looked up at him from his lowered head, but he responded strongly nonetheless "You guessed right. So do I just pick one up or..." He admitted he wasn't sure how this was all to work out. "Why don't you take a seat?" The man's demeanor seemed to changed entirely, a smile greeted Reylan as he sat down in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk "Are you the guild-master for the guild you wish to create?" He asked casually. Reylan nodded first "Yes I am." he replied simply, feeling like he was applying for a job interviewed. "Excellent, well first let me explain some of the legalities and functions of a guild..."
"...and of course, you may create your own positions as you see fit. Do you understand everything I've said?" The gentleman had just explained the entire guild system to Reylan, who was struggling to wrap his head around everything "I think I got it." He spoke not entirely sure, there was more to a guild than he initially thought but he sure as hell did not want the man to repeat himself "Great, then please sign here..." Two nice pieces of parchment and a quill pen was handed to Reylan, the front was a general statement about guilds with a blank line for the guild-master to sign, and the back simply read "Those in favor of forming the guild proposed by the guild-master, stated on the first page, shall sign below:" leaving a large empty space for signatures. Reylan nearly signed his actual name, before signing his in-game one instead "Once you have at least six signatures, return here and we will authorize your guild. I wish you success!" Reylan departed the town hall after that, the treaty in his inventory, feeling his fingers tingle. The only thing left do for the guild was wait until tonight.
Back at Eden Hall
After finishing a quick meal of pork and water, he went upstairs to his room. The five tasks Reylan had given himself last night were pretty much completed which afforded him some time to paint but before he did that, he sent a PM to everyone sitting at his desk "Tonight at Edan Hall I will have the guild treaty for everyone to sign. It's time to show Malgoth what's coming for him! - Reylan". He leaned back heavily to relax, a piece of canvas rolled loosely on the surface next to the empty book. While he wanting to make something to actually sell, he felt the need to give Aster something as thanks for sparring with him. After five minutes of thinking what he should paint, he spread the extra piece of canvas and tore a piece from his blank book to mix his paint on. Art was where his passion and talent shined and his mind was pretty good at picturing things. The work took about over two hours, he even used his quill pen to flesh out some of the dark details but it was finished:
Reylan's Painting
He laid the freshly painted canvas on the bed to dry. The inspiration for it came from this morning's spar, she posed very similar to that right before one of their fights. Of course he might have made a few slight change simply for artistic flair. His only hope was that she would like it but he would have to wait to later to find out. With that settled, he moved onto to making paintings to sell to the NPCs since he doubted anyone was interested in a painting to spruce up their house.
Purchased supplies:
Canteen - 30 renn
Sleeping bag - 30 renn
Tent - 60 renn
50 arrows - 250 renn
Paint and brushes - 30 renn
Ink & Quill - 20 renn
Blank Book - 30 renn
Total - 750 renn
Obtained Guild Treaty from Town Hall Purchased Cooked Pork and Water at Edan's Hall - 6 renn Painted a portrait of Aster(gift) Sent PM to Everyone: Tonight at Edan Hall I will have the guild treaty for everyone to sign. It's time to show Malgoth what's coming for him! - Reylan"
Reylan tenderly rubbed his right hand as he finished the last painting of a set of three, the other two resting by Aster's portrait on his bed. The paintings were of beautiful landscapes he had seen on his trips outside of Genesis City, praying that that the work he put into them would net him some profit with his 15 points in Art. If the art skill somehow made him paint better, he didn't notice since the strokes were already natural to him before he arrived in this game. A quick look out the window confirmed that the sun had fallen and it was now late, he would have to wait til the morning to sell his paintings. He put Aster's portrait back into his inventory, the paint had dried and settled nicely, and headed downstairs to wait for the everyone to come and sign this treaty. Reylan found a seat in the corner, an old habit of his, and began to used sketch using his ink and quill in the blank book as he waited. Everyone had sort of went their own ways today with different objectives and he was eager to hear how everyone's day went.
