Sword Art Online: Infinity Edition [IC] [T] [Best Rookie 4Q '12]

[Garet]

Jonathan E. Turner [Jet Stryker] and Tara
Level 17 and Level ??
Floor 2 / Celedona

~~~~~

Looking again at the young wyvern, who was napping on a flat rock near the river's edge, Jet sighed. To think that for two straight weeks, he'd found himself stuck on the lower floors, starting with Starter City. The fight with the NPC human-turned-Demenio hadn't been easy, and Jet had had to use a couple of the potions Daniel had given him before, but in time the martial artist - Ranzatsu, as it turned out - had dealt the final blow that defeated the wyvern. Ranzatsu had gotten some sort of Wyvern-based rare item, though Jet didn't remember quite what it was exactly, and the three of them had gotten a nice amount of Cor and a few other items.

The wyvern shifted her wings, getting a better position for the sunlight to fall on them. Jet glanced at the fishing pole he held, checking that nothing was biting the end of the line. Fishing wasn't his best skill, admittedly, but there was a demand for food, and other resources, nowadays.

Probably the biggest reward of the whole event, though, was the NPC's egg - no, daughter - that he'd entrusted to them. The baby wyvern that had hatched very soon after the fight had attached herself to the three Sons of Seraph (Daniel, Jet, and Ranzatsu), and it was somehow agreed that Jet would take care of Tara, at least for the time being. Jet had added Daniel and Ranzatsu to his in-game friends list, which was relatively small, before they'd split up. After the first two days, he discovered that raising a wyvern that could shapeshift into a human form was tedious, time-consuming, and food-demanding. Oh, and it was best to stick around the lowest floors, at least while Jet was raising her...and, admittedly, working on raising her level. They were still in a game, after all, and Jet wanted to be able to explore the higher floors.

Over time, Jet had figured out a few things, beginning with the fact that Tara was an NPC. As a human, she was about eight or ten years old, from appearances. As a wyvern, she was - at the moment - a few inches shorter if he didn't count the horn nubs or wings, with the same brown scales, black claws, and sharp teeth as her father. In both forms, she was still eating more food than Jet liked, which was part of the strain on his resources. He'd resorted to hunting monsters for meat and fishing in order to provide for the two of them. At least after the first few days or so of growing, Tara began helping with the boars and such.

Something tugged at the fishing line, and Jet pulled back as he reeled in the catch. As he held it up for a better look, he grimaced. "Now I know why I didn't take up fishing b'fore," he muttered, stashing the small fish in his inventory. "Didn't spend enough time to raise this skill enough to catch bigger things, and I'm more patient with exploring a cave..." Still, fish was fish, whether it was eaten by Jet, Tara, or someone on the 8th floor, Dovren.

Jet packed away his fishing gear and stood, stretching as he turned - and jumped a bit in surprise as a young girl stared up at him with large blue eyes and innocently asked, "Any food?"

Tara was a few inches shorter than Jet, with tanned skin and black hair that reached down to her shoulders. For the time being, Tara was wearing a grass-green shirt and matching pants, which Jet had paid someone in town to make. Beyond the normal habits Jet had been teaching her, she still wasn't attempting to put any style to her hair. Prob'ly 'cause she's still a kid. As long as she keeps it clean. "Some," Jet answered after calming his surprise, one eyebrow arched over his sunglasses. "I caught some fish, and there's still some food leftover from yesterday. Let's get closer to town before we start eating, though." He turned and began walking along the river, back towards Celedona. Tara followed and began the routine of asking questions that sprung into her mind, which Jet tried his best to answer as they came.

Personally, Jet didn't mind too much having Tara along, and they'd sometimes play a fun game when there was time. It was just that...two weeks was long enough that he was beginning to feel the ache to head for the upper floors and resume exploring. Jet had done his best in snaring information and gossip in town...well, as best as he could with Tara following and shifting between forms at whim. I wonder what Daniel and Ranzatsu are up to...

[PinkSapphire]

Natsumi Aido - floor 1/starter city - level 12

Natsumi listened to the conversation since this was about her too, Kamui needed to get a sword so… seems like they're heading to floor 8, where many, many strong monsters live above her level…

Natsumi shiffered a little when she thought about going there and probely dying, but since she really wanted to join them, she tried her best not to show her fear for dying in this game, it was now or never. Since they will be going in a group, everything should be alot easier.

"i can also cook." Natsumi suddenly said out of nowhere when Khalil/Fester and Rose talked about her creepyness and cooking abilities. "s-sorry." Natsumi immediately apologized for her rude interfere between the two, they almost reminded her of a married couple.

"i think it's a good idea to gain experience that way." Natsumi said about Khalil's plan.

[machomuu]

Daniel Williamson / Level 14
Floor 8 - Dovren

Daniel's hands shook uncontrollably as he looked at a panel. "It's for the child. It's for the child. It's for the child," he repeated to himself, his hand slowly moving closer and closer to the panel in front of him. "...but I haven't actually seen her much, recently, and it is quite the investment to be making..." He said to himself, backing his hand away. He continued to have a back and forth with himself, literally moving his hand back and forth as he presented to himself pros and cons.

4th Avenue Abode
Residential Building

Cost:20,000 Col
Current: 21,642 Col
[Confirm] [Cancel]

"If I buy this, I'll barely have enough for cooking ingredients...but it'd be nice for Tara to have a house to live in..." he then closed his eyes and let his instinct take over. After a few moments of indecision, his hand thrust into the word "confirm" on the panel. Then, the panel displayed the words "Thank You" replaced the original text on the panel and then the panel disappeared. Daniel was unable to move, he wasn't sure whether he was going to regret his purchase down the road or not. Along with the money he gained from the defeat of the El Diablo wyvern, he had been selling his expendable items like mad and even created a temporary food shop just to be able to afford the house. Still, it was a sum of money he was not like He then pinched himself in the cheek and decided to head inside.

Any chance that he would regret buying the house quickly disappeared. The house was beautiful, especially for the price he got it at. At the door was a step, and from there one could see a beautiful kitchen with wooden flooring, along with kitchen appliances, a counter, wooden chairs and a wooden table. There was no living room or dining room, which was to be expected for 20,000 Col. If one were to take a right from the front door, they would ascend a set of stairs, and then another, and upon reaching the top of the staircase there were two rooms: one room with two beds and the other with one.

Daniel was excited; all of his life he either lived with his parents or in an apartment. Having a place of his own was a luxury. Still, he couldn't help but think about how his little Tara, whom he'd only spent a few minutes with, was doing.

Message -> Compose

Send To: Jet
Hey, just wanted to check up on you and Tara. You're not working her too hard, are you? I bought a house on the Eighth floor, you guys should come visit when you're not busy.

[ShinyDiamond]

Kamui Ozora: Level 4
Floor 1 - Starter City

That was a little insulting of the heroine. Then again, heroes always have a flaw or two. They're not always perfect. That's what's interesting about a hero, you can learn so much about them. Uh, what were they talking about before this? Oh, right! The weapon. Kamui did have a weapon, a weak one maybe, but he guessed the hero & heroine didn't notice it. Who would anyway? Ok, now Kamui was insulting his weapon. A weapon is still a weapon no matter what, right?

Kamui nodded in response to the heroine's suggestion. It's embarressing to have to speak to people like this with your face red on the cheeks. It's just Kamui's distance towards people. He gets very uncomfortable. Staying in a group without having to speak very much is less embarressing enough. Enough about Kamui's problems with socializing. Right now, he had to focus on arriving at floor 8. At least they weren't heading to that floor to fight. That would draw the line! Fighting in floor 3, might be too much, but decent for EXP.

Natsumi seemed a little funny when she exclaimed her skills. With cooking, they could get plenty of food. If Kamui had chosen cooking as a skill, maybe he wouldn't have to sell so much. He stayed shut about his skills, doesn't like speaking much as usual. "L-let's go," he gestured. Maybe saying short sentences was enough, better than speaking a lot but worse than staying silent. Still okay I guess.

[Garet]

Jet Stryker and Tara
Level 17 and Level 4
Floor 2 / Celedona

~~~~~

Jet slashed both daggers down, ending the frogdemon's life in a burst of pixels, then turned to end that of the frogdemon that was attacking the wyvern. The two of them had been ambushed by a small group of the monsters several yards away from the safe zone. Short work for Jet, especially with his new dagger, but he was a lot more worried for Tara, who hadn't reached Level 5 yet. At least her health bar was still in the green, and she was close to leveling up. Still no excuse to not defend the wyvern. Shifting into wyvern-form was definitely a defense-mechanism for Tara. Obviously, Jet. After collecting the loot drops leftover from the fight, Jet opened up his inventory screen and swiped one hand to pull out some of the cooked meat leftover from the day before.

He'd barely gotten it into his hand before the wyvern snaked her head over and snatched it away. "Time to get more," Jet noted, watching Tara consume the meat as he pulled out a loaf of bread. He took the time to walk a few yards closer to the town, within a short running distance, before sitting down and using a cloth to wipe off his daggers. It really wasn't too necessary, but it was a habit Jet had acquired when he'd decided to cut his own food. By that time, Tara had finished her first snack and come along to sit beside Jet, a girl again and staring at the bread in his hands. "Sorry, just the usual again," Jet admitted, using his dagger to cut off some slices of bread, two of which went to Tara, who'd want more. Sooner or later, they'd need to move on to other things to eat, but Tara was, NPC or not, one of those people who liked eating bread. For now, anyways.

He'd pulled out the rest of yesterday's cooked meat and cut some of it off to go with his own bread before he realized that Tara was staring at his dagger. "Where you get that?" she asked innocently, one piece of bread still in her hand.

Jet paused, a bite of food in his mouth, to look down at the dagger on the ground between them. The hilt was inlaid with bronze, with a straight cross-guard and rounded pommel. The leather wrapping around the handle was polished black, as was the two-edged blade. When he'd leveled up to 15, Jet had discovered that the dagger he'd gotten from the Golem, dubbed Seraph-Dagger, was available for him to use and pretty strong at his level, with a small extra boost to attack-speed. He'd yet to acquire another dagger to complement it.

All that aside, this was the first time Tara had asked anything that approached the events of two weeks before. "Um," Jet started, then swallowed and cleared his throat. "I, uh, got it from a Golem that I helped defeat."

"Why'd you fight the Golem?" Tara asked, her bread now all gone.

Jet occupied himself with cutting off some more bread and meat for Tara, wondering what to say. He was saved as a beep beep informed him of a new message, which he opened after reading the sender's name.

New Message!
From:Daniel
Hey, just wanted to check up on you and Tara. You're not working her too hard, are you? I bought a house on the Eighth floor, you guys should come visit when you're not busy.

"Hold on a minute, Tara," Jet said instead. The girl was eating, anyways. He brought his hands up to compose a reply.

To: Daniel
I wanna say I haven't been, especially since she's had me working hard to get enough food for the two of us. You should see how much she eats sometimes. We haven't been above Floor 2 for the last two weeks; I don't want Tara dying on me. We're not busy at the moment, if you don't count eating, so we could come visit.

Jet hesitated, then added a little more to the message so that it now read:

To: Daniel
I wanna say I haven't been, especially since she's had me working hard to get enough food for the two of us. You should see how much she eats sometimes. We haven't been above Floor 2 for the last two weeks; I don't want Tara dying on me. We're not busy at the moment, if you don't count eating, so we could come visit. ...Actually, she just asked about my dagger. When I told her I got it from a Golem, she asked why I fought it. I'm pretty sure this is heading for the subject of her father. We're coming up now; where's your house?

"Why'd you fight the Golem, Jet?" Tara asked as Jet sent his reply to Daniel. She was staring at his face now, waiting for an answer.

"Tell you what," Jet said, "we're gonna go up a few floors now to see Daniel." At least he'd told her what he knew of Daniel and Ranzatsu.

As he put everything away, and they walked back to town, Tara asked questions about Daniel, several of which Jet answered with, "I dunno." I hope she doesn't decide to switch to wyvern-mode in town. That might get confusing.

[machomuu]

Daniel Williamson / Level 14
Floor 8 - Dovren

To: Daniel
I wanna say I haven't been, especially since she's had me working hard to get enough food for the two of us. You should see how much she eats sometimes. We haven't been above Floor 2 for the last two weeks; I don't want Tara dying on me. We're not busy at the moment, if you don't count eating, so we could come visit. ...Actually, she just asked about my dagger. When I told her I got it from a Golem, she asked why I fought it. I'm pretty sure this is heading for the subject of her father. We're coming up now; where's your house?

Daniel read the message and started thinking. Such a curious girl...she's just like her father! He thought. Er...me, I mean. Of course, I guess this makes her a lot like the good scientist that was her real father as well. I guess I'll have to figure out how to tell her, but for now, I'll make up a fairy tale. Or not, I could always give her an obscure version of what happened. Ideas swirled around in Daniel's head as he lounged on his dining chairs. He opened up his menu and sent a message back to Jet.

Message -> Compose

To: Jet

I live in the city on 4th Avenue. It should be marked on your map, so it'll be hard to miss. Also, don't worry about the questions, I have it covered

[Send]

"Okay, I dunno when they'll be here, but let's see what I've got." Lucky for Daniel, his daughter was something of a glutton, and he was an avid cook. Heck, cooking quests actually earned Daniel 3 levels early on, it was quite the hobby of his in the real world and in SAO. "Let's see..." he said as he looked through his refrigerator's inventory. "Onions, Boar Meat, Spriggle Seasoning, and Sunshine Parsley; that should be enough to make some quality Grier's Stew." He said with a smile on his face. "Grier's Stew" was named after the warrior named Grier found in SAO lore. Supposedly, Grier was about to die of hunger after an expedition, and out of grief his companion, Gideon the boar, committed suicide so that his dear friend could live. Grier, of course, did not let his friends sacrifice go in vain, so he scavenged whatever he could find nearby and made a stew out of his late friend and whatever other materials he had with him. It is not known so much for its quality or taste as it is for its heartfelt story, and it is a relatively well-known story among cooks. Having said that, it is quite the tasty dish.

Daniel took out his materials and put them on the counter. First, he put a pot on the stove and filled it with water, promptly turning on the heat to boil it. Next, he cut the onions and seasoned the portions, putting them in the water, allowing the aroma fill the air. Next, he cut the meet into smaller portions and put them on the stove in an oiled pan, allowing them to heat faster. As the meat cooked, he moved it around with a wooden spoon and shaking various amounts of seasoning on them as he did. Once the reached the right temperature, he put the meat in the pot and moved the pan away from the heat. He put the wooden spoon in his sink and from his cabinet he took out three bowls and three glasses. He placed the bowls and glasses in front of three chairs, putting a fork and a spoon next to each bowl and filling the glasses with water. Finally, he sat in one of the chairs and lounged in wait.

[Kranic]

Bacarra - The Last Rose of Azure.
Floor 8 - Level 20

Bacarra shrugged.

"No need to worry about lil ol' me."

Bacarra smiled before turn around to show off the large sword on her back. The girl brought an arm up and using her thumb pointed at the the emblem on the blade of the sword. It was a large blue flame, the symbol of Azure her guild.

"I am The Last Rose of Azure after all."

She looked over her should to give Bralec a smile before going into her feeling

"This symbol is really everything to me. My victories, my defeats, my past, my future, my sorrows, my hopes and my dreams their all embedded into this crest, because of that this symbol inspires me to live on everyday. I can't just leave all that behind because I died for some reason. As long as as this flame burns bright, then so shall I."

Realizing how far she went, Bacarra stopped herself from going on. A strong sense of pride shined from Bacarra after giving her little speech, she gave a small apology, "Well look at me, going on and on about my guild, sorry about that Bralec. Anyways I think it's about time I get going. Come on birdy." On command her familiar popped into the air, quickly reaching Bacarra's side. The two then headed towards the door. Opening the door, the girl gave a few last words before leaving.

"I'll back soon. Hope you get some interesting customers today."

With a grin the girl closed the door.

[Khawill]

Fester and Rose
"Well if we are in agreement, then there is no question." Rose said, "We will meet you there, I'll send the location of the shop to you in case we get separated." She went into her menu and sent the location to them both. "Come on Fester, we need to go ahead and make sure there won't be any monsters between the teleporter and city."

"You never ask me to kill things!" He said delighted and ran as fast as he could to teleport to floor 8. Rose sighed again and ran after him. "I always love going to this city!"

"Yea, it is so much more thriving than starter, and there are less noobs." She looked around, they where just outside city limits and there were a few stray mobs, though nothing that would aggro onto their new companions. "Let's go see that shopkeeper, I'm sure those two will keep up fine." They walked into the city killing off the closest strays.

They wandered through the city, eventually getting to the shop. They stood outside the door, reluctant to go in, "Let's wait for our friends!" Fester said, "I'm sure they would like to be with us, especially the shy fellow."

"Ok, we can sit outside the door until they arrive, got any food?"

"Just crab, I also have some bird!" Rose took the crab and ate patiently while listening to Fester.

[Sir Bastian]

Bralec
Floor 8 - Dovren City

Bralec snapped out of his little daydream as Bacarra began talking about her guild, his brows furrowing a little as he looked to her, listening to her words. They reminded him of his old party and how close they'd been to each other as well, one of his hands on the counter clenching slightly into a fist.

He then shook off the old feelings and gave a soft grin, waving his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it. I know you take great pride in your guild crest and all that. Go kick some ass and make sure to kick it hard, mmh?"

He smiled and watched as the only person he considered a friend these days, was leaving to fight even more monsters, with the possibility of dying. For a moment, he was ready to tell her that she shouldn't go and try to block her way, but he shrugged off those feelings, standing up straight with his hands still planted on the counter.

"Hey! If you get in trouble out there, send a message, okay?"

It wasn't much, but it was what he could, and felt he should do. He let out a light huff as the door shut behind the girl, a hand raising up as he scratched the back of his head, closing his eyes a moment while mumbling to himself.

"... Getting way too emotional these days..." he mumbled out before turning to head into the room just behind the counter to fetch himself a cup of tea. He had gotten it quite a while ago, as a quest reward, and it still had alot of charges left in it. Some days, he wished he had invested in taking the cooking skill.

[ShinyDiamond]

Kamui Ozora: Level 4
Floor 1 - Starter City

That was nice of the heroine to give them the coordinates to the shop. Kamui, as usual, was so nervous to go through with this, but he does need to get back home. Maybe then he can be by himself once more, & not have to give in to pier pressure again. What was his sister doing right now...?

Kamui waved to the hero & heroine. Now it was just him & Natsumi. Here's the thing: he didn't expect someone else to join the ride. He prefers being alone, all the time. Guess he'll just have to make an exception here, just so long he doesn't speak much. He got a head start of Natsumi, walking towards the teleporter in Starter City. After they head to floor 8, what sword will Kamui get? He hopes it could be one that protects him.

Just wait, mom & sister. I'll come home safe & sound.

[PinkSapphire]

Natsumi Aido - floor 1/starter city - level 12

Natsumi thanked Rose after she sended Kamui the coördinates of floor 8, great, now she was bound to a boy while she wasn't good in talking to them. Natsumi waved at Fester and Rose as they left. That was when a message came in.

From: Daisuke
Subject: teamed up and joined a guild

Hey there, Nami! It's been awhile hasn't? Just kidding, one day isn't long. Anyways, the subject all says it doesn't it? Yesterday there was this girl who was in deep trouble, i couldn't just let her die and decided to help her out, that was… untill her boyfriend interfered and suspected me of trying to steal his girlfriend by acting heroish. It wasn't a long fight since the girl explained him the situation. I realised after the fight with the monsters that we have to team-up to win this game… this game is not as easy as the other games you've played, i'm worrying about you, so please team-up with someone soon. I already have a team now, I just joined a guild together with my new team-mates. Hope to see you around Nami.

See ya!

[Reply][Back]

Natsumi read the message carefully and showed off a little smile, but she didn't bother to answer him since she saw Kamui had already started walking. "h-hey! Wait for me!" she ran after him, but once she catched up she stayed a few metres away from him, yup, one of Natsumi's shy moments had come.

Natsumi tried to think of something to defeat the awkward silence that was battling between them right now, but just like this whole game, it's harder than thought. "h-how come you didn't had a weapon yet? Everyone has been stuck in here since a month now…" Natsumi asked him curiously, it was something that was quite obvious actually, was he also afraid to die?

[Garet]

Jet Stryker and Tara
Level 17 and Level 4

~~~~~

As they stepped through the gates of the huge stone keep castle that was Celedona, Tara repeated, "Why'd you fight the Golem, Jet?" She'd run out of questions about Daniel - Is that possible? Jet thought - and had returned to that one question. "Why don't you tell me?"

Lucky that he was wearing his sunglasses; they hid Jet's eyes as they closed. Trust the game's programmers to make her persistent. He came to a halt, a few paces inside the edge of the safe zone, and turned to Tara, who stopped beside him. "It's kinda a long story, Tara," he answered, even as the game's system let out another beep beep.

New Message!
From: Daniel
[Open]
I live in the city on 4th Avenue. It should be marked on your map, so it'll be hard to miss. Also, don't worry about the questions, I have it covered

"B'sides," Jet added, closing the message, "Daniel and I will tell you when we get to his house."

He turned and took two more steps, intent on getting to the central portal, when Tara followed and asked, "Who's Daniel, again?"

Jet stopped abruptly, leaving the girl to bump into his back before stopping. Questions, questions, questions. She's a scientist's daughter, that's for sure. She should be a good explorer, if she wants to be that. What was Daniel to Tara, anyways? Jet didn't remember stating anything like that, partly since he wasn't sure if he, Daniel, and Ranzatsu had adopted Tara as a sister or a daughter or...something. It felt too weird to think of her as his daughter, since he was just sixteen, so 'adopted sister' might be more appropriate. Daniel, though, had looked older, which Jet trusted, since his own appearance had changed to match himself in real life a month and two weeks ago.

Tara had come around to stand in front of Jet, who hadn't moved or turned yet. "He's, uh," Jet started, fingers tapping a rhythm against one leg, "one of the guys who helped me, um, find you. Wait, didn't I tell you that already?" Tara's shrug brought a sigh from Jet. "Daniel, Ranzatsu, and I were together when we found you. They're the other two guys you must've seen two weeks ago. Didn't you?"

Tara nodded innocently. "That was th' only time I saw Daniel," she added, letting Jet pass before following at his side again. He felt relieved inside as her attention was drawn to the houses and, as they got to it, the marketplace, and she began asking questions again. The number of people, both players and NPCs, was enough that the ten-year-old-yet-two-weeks-old girl stayed at Jet's side, innocently staring around with large blue eyes. He hadn't come into town frequently enough for Tara's curiousity to be satisfied. Jet found himself wondering, when he could between answering questions, if maybe part of the programming kept Tara from shifting into her wyvern-form. Okay, that's weird, thinking of her both as a person and an NPC.

In time, the two of them found their way to the central portal. "Personally, I haven't actually been to Floor Eight yet," Jet commented, thinking through what he'd heard of it. Raising Tara had also put a damper on his information-gathering, but he'd heard enough to know that Dovren was a large marketplace, Floor 7 looked similar to and was named Kansas, and Floor 6's dungeon was relatively easy, among other things about the three newer floors. Much to Jet's ire, Kaiser had teased him with the fact that the Knights of Blood had cleared Floor 7's dungeon and Jet hadn't even been on that floor to look for it.

"Does that mean you don't know where to find Daniel?" Tara asked, head cocked. "How will you find him?"

"He let me know where his house is," Jet answered absently, approaching the portal with Tara beside him. "Floor 8, Dovren."

~~~

As both Jet and Tara found out soon enough, Dovren was a little crowded with vendors and customers. It took more than a few minutes for the two of them to find their way to 4th Avenue, with Jet worrying that Tara might get lost, despite being an NPC. After checking his map again, Jet followed it to the house that should be Daniel's. Just from the outside appearance, he could already tell it must have cost more than a little money. "Here's Daniel's house," Jet said, partly for Tara's benefit. He stepped forward and hesitated. Should he knock or just walk in? He settled for knocking on the front door and waiting for Daniel to answer.

[machomuu]

Daniel Williamson / Level 14
Floor 8 - Dovren

The moment Daniel heard the rapping at his door, his eyes shot to it like a bullet. He stood up, walked to the door, and opened it. He knew who was coming (and he was pretty sure few other people actually knew that he lived there), so there was no need to look through the peeping window or to look at the Player IDs (or ID in this case, seeing that Tara was an NPC). He wasted no time with pleasantries; rather, the moment he opened the door he picked up Tara by her sides and gave her a hearty hug, shaking her and nuzzling her cheeks saying, "Tara, it's so good to see you again! It's been so long! What was two weeks felt like years, centuries even!" Clearly Tara wasn't comfortable with the situation and, but she wasn't quick to push him away, either. It was as if she wasn't sure how to deal with such affection.

Daniel put Tara down and after a brief pause, she said "Hello, Mr.Daniel". She seemed quite formal, and also a bit coy. She was also clearly confused about the whole ordeal, seemingly trying to wrap her head around what a "century" was. Still, this set Daniel's heart ablaze. She was the cutest thing he'd ever seen, and it was difficult for him to hide that.

"Don't call me 'Mr.Daniel'!" He said, kneeling down to her height and dawning a serious face. "You may call me 'Dad', or 'Daddy', or 'Father', even 'Pops', any of those is fine." He then put on a smile. "You don't need to be so formal around me. I'm your father, so just be yourself."

She looked at Daniel for a few moments, seemingly deciding...something, and then she said "Daddy?" as if to search for affirmation that it was really okay to call him that. He nodded, and she smiled a rather large smile and practically yelled, "Daddy!" and ran into his arms.

It was quite the moment for Daniel. This was, technically speaking, Daniel's first child, and at such a young age, too. Daniel was a father. He turned to Jet and said, "Sorry I didn't say hi to you when you first came in, it's nice to see you again, it's been far too long." He turned to Tara again and said, "You see this guy, he's your big brother." Daniel scratched his head and looked up. "But I guess you know more about him than you do about me!" He said with a laugh. "I hope he hasn't been working you too hard, making you do his dirty work for him."

"Mmm-mmm," Tara said with a shake of the head. "Me and Jet have been playing with monsters!" She said innocently jumping in place with pride. She was indeed like a young child talking to her father...she was a young child talking to her father. About killing monsters.

"Oh, did you now?" Daniel replied as one would to their child. He wasn't exactly happy nor comfortable with the idea of Jet taking Tara out to dangerous places...but she did need to be able to defend herself, and he wasn't sure she would respawn like other NPCs. "Well, after all that training I bet you're hungry."

"Food!? You have food?" Her eyes lit up like the starry sky itself. She sniffed and fell in love with whatever she smelled.

"Yeah, I make a mean Grier's Stew; but to be honest I didn't have much to work with."

Tara bolted to her chair and looked at the bowl in both intrigue and anticipation. Daniel told Jet that he should come in and take a seat, as well. He made is way over to the stove and turned off the heat. He moved the pot from the stove to the table. He then used a large spoon to fill the bowls with the stew, meat and all. He then sat down and watched his daughter. She didn't seem to understand the concept of a spoon or a fork, which wasn't surprising since she'd probably never used either of them before. She tried to scoop the creamy soup of the stew with her fork, only for it to go through and only grab a few onions, which she ate. Even though it was only a little, she kicked her feet up and down under the table; clearly she thought the food was delicious. She did this a few more times before trying again with her spoon. Daniel never thought the idea of scooping a liquid could be so complex, but what he was watching was probably one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.

She eventually figured it out and her eyes glittered. She then started to eat correctly...and boy could she eat. It wasn't ravenous, nor was it messy, but he gave her a healthy portion that he assumed she wouldn't be able to finish. Well, she at quite a bit, even managing to finish it off. She let out a sigh and said, "That was great!" Daniel was astonished. It was like Dragon Ball except without the mess. She smiled, but her smile was lost in a few minutes and she turned to Jet and then to Daniel. "Umm..." She started. "So...why did you fight the golem?" It was a rather abrupt question, but Daniel was prepared.

"Well, you see, your brothers and I are adventurers. I decided that I wanted to go into a big, scary cave. It wasn't a good idea, but I love adventure, so I went in anyway." He then stood up, pushed in his chair, and took to the empty area behind his chair. "Then, a big scary rock monster made of magic, a golem, came and attacked me." As he said this, he stomped on the ground. "Luckily, your brothers, Jet and Ranzatsu, came and saved me." He then mimicked someone attacking the golem. "As we continued down the cave, we came by a magic door that shined. We also shined, and then the door burst. BOOM!" Tara jumped at the loud "boom" Daniel made. "And there you were, in a glorious white dress. You looked as beautiful then as you do now." At this, Tara smiled and went over to Daniel and hugged him.

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you, too, Tara."

[Khawill]

Fester and Rose
Rose had equipped a straw hat she had bought for cosmetic reasons and and was napping against the wall, Fester was looking around like a curious dog, "Rose did you see that little girl? I bet she was a player!"

Rose jolted up, "What!? What did you just say."

"There was a little girl?"

Rose vigorously shook her head, "No no, did you say she was a player?"

"Surely she must be, considering I've never seen little kids around here and she was with that NPC from the cave weeks ago."

"What makes you think she is a player?" Rose asked.

"Well I went off a week after the fight to the cave we were in and found that door open! I figured that some other player must have opened it, because if me and you are players then there may be two more. I think that little girl opened the door and got to keep that NPC fellow as a companion!"

Rose gave up, clearly he hadn't come to terms that everyone he had met were players, though she wondered what a little girl was doing in the game, "How old was she?"

"Real young, probably my youngest sister's age, uh, ten!" Rose was Suprised, both that he had a sister and that the girl was so young. She was with that teen from the cave though so she may be that boy's younger sister. "Well I want you to stay away from her got it? You might scare her." Fester nodded. "What is your little sister like?"

"She was really small when I last saw her you know. She had these bright brown eyes that people always said were average, though I liked them you know. When I last saw her, the hair she had, the hair that fell past her shoulder, was falling out." Fester actually looked sad, almost regretful, "You know that I loved her? I really did, even if I sometimes ignored her, I loved her."

"Well when you get back, you can see her." Rose said, seeing his anguish.

"I loved her so much, so very much. One day I went to her hospital and spent the entire day reading to her, it was a manga based off a video game... I was so stupid, but I loved her." He looked at the sky, "If it was today, I would read her books with magic princesses and happy endings, things that don't happen but we wish for you know? I guess it was too late to do it years ago, and it is too late now." He hadn't heard her, or didn't care, but he certainly was in his memories

Rose put her hand on his back, "I'm sorry..."

"There's no need to feel sorry, I washed my face with tears last year. I have moved on to happier times and only remember the good of her." Fester smiled as if he was comforting Rose. "One day I'll see her for sure, and even if the afterlife is an eternal darkness, I can still take comfort in knowing that her darkest darkness is brighter than my brightest day."

Rose was set off by that comment because to her, darkness was the same to everyone. An inky black. "Let's just, relax Fester, just lay back, breathe easy, and forget our problems." She layed against the wall outside the store with her hat down as Fester continued to look at the blue sky.

[ShinyDiamond]

Kamui Ozora: Level 4
Floor 1 - Starter City

Just a while before they reach the portal. As Kamui & Natsumi walked together, Kamui was uncomfortable with the silence. He didn't like speaking either. Natsumi brought up a question. "Uh, I-I do." Nobody ever notices his weapon, considering how weak it was. Then again, he didn't have it equipped. He never bothered to fight, really. He didn't say much else & continued walking, that blush still on his cheeks.

Pretty soon Kamui & Natsumi reached the portal. This would be his first time in months - he's lost track of time - he's ever left Starter City. What he was feeling was nervousness & fear. He was trembling, & anybody could see that. He looked down. "I can't do this..." he mumbled, scared. What is he doing? He could die!

[PinkSapphire]

Natsumi Aido - floor 1/starter city - level 12

Natsumi listened to his answer on her question, and wondered why he wouldn't equip it then, but soon she found out why. "Are you afraid of the death as well?" Natsumi asked him with a suprised expression when he said he couldn't do this. Natsumi looked down and wondered how she could help him.

She came closer to him and putted her hand on his shoulder, becoming a little more spontaneous now. "you can't stay in starter city forever, neither can't you stay in this game forever." she said to him. "don't you want to see your family again? I'm sure they're worrying just as much about you as you worry about them." Natsumi removed her hand from his shoulder.

"we can't waste our lives here, can we? So let's go and beat the guys over there!" she pointed at the teleport, trying to encourage him. "and if it still scares you, i'll protect you out there, how about that?" Natsumi gave him a nice smile, hoping he'd be encouraged enough now to go through the teleport.

[Garet]

Jet Stryker
Level 17
Floor 8 / Dovren

~~~~~

Jet knew Daniel hadn't seen Tara beyond two weeks before, but he was still surprised when the door flew open and the older man picked up and hugged Tara wholeheartedly. The teenager found nothing to say for the first few moments as Daniel and Tara talked at the door, heart aching with...homesickness? Jonathan realized that, back home, it had been quite a while since either of his parents had greeted him in this manner. He was suddenly grateful that his sunglasses hid his wet eyes. Don't fall now, tears.

Daniel turned to Jet and said, "Sorry I didn't say hi to you when you first came in, it's nice to see you again, it's been far too long."

Jet shook his head and cleared his throat before managing to say, "No biggie."

Daniel then turned to Tara again and said, "You see this guy, he's your big brother." Daniel scratched his head and looked up. "But I guess you know more about him than you do about me!" He said with a laugh. "I hope he hasn't been working you too hard, making you do his dirty work for him."

"Mmm-mmm," Tara said with a shake of the head. "Me and Jet have been playing with monsters!" She said innocently jumping in place with pride. Uh oh.

"Oh, did you now?"

Uh oh. He'd heard that tone before. Jet cleared his throat again, his homesick feeling replaced by one of guilt. "Uh, kinda necessary when I hafta hunt, um, boars and such," he commented, but Daniel had moved on to the subject of food, to which Tara brightened. As the other two went inside, and Daniel invited him to come in and take a seat as well, Jet took the moment to look away and take his sunglasses off, trying to look like he was cleaning them even as he wiped his brief tears away. Homesick, huh? You can cry later if you need to.

Jet placed his sunglasses on his head as he took his seat at the table, hazel eyes watching Tara throughout the meal as he ate a bowl of the Grier's Stew himself. When she was done, she let out a sigh and said, "That was great!"

"Told ya she could eat," Jet said, grinning at Daniel. The grin left when Tara posed her question again. As he learned, though, Daniel was prepared with an answer.

"Well, you see, your brothers and I are adventurers. I decided that I wanted to go into a big, scary cave. It wasn't a good idea, but I love adventure, so I went in anyway." Daniel then stood up, pushed in his chair, and took to the empty area behind his chair. "Then, a big scary rock monster made of magic, a golem, came and attacked me." As he said this, he stomped on the ground. "Luckily, your brothers, Jet and Ranzatsu, came and saved me." He then mimicked someone attacking the golem. "As we continued down the cave, we came by a magic door that shined. We also shined, and then the door burst. BOOM!" Tara jumped at the loud "boom" Daniel made. "And there you were, in a glorious white dress. You looked as beautiful then as you do now." At this, Tara smiled and went over to Daniel and hugged him.

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you, too, Tara."

Jet's fingers were tapping a silent tune on the tabletop throughout the story, but anyone who cared to look could see that his eyes were worried. The story was technically true, except for the last part about finding Tara. It would satisfy her, sure...for how long? Jet's thoughts changed as he watched the two of them hugging each other. Great. Now I'm not sure if she's gonna leave with me or not. It only seemed fair that Tara spent time with Jet and Daniel, as well as Ranzatsu, wherever he was. The image was also...unsettling. Jet had always had the goal of getting back to the real world somewhere in his mind, but he hadn't stopped as often to consider what his parents and friends would be thinking. Would his own mother and father welcome him back this way?

The silence was broken for Jet as he got another beep beep. His train of thought changed completely as he looked at the new message.

New Message!
From: Dexter Mincer
Subject: Long time, no see.
[Open] [Ignore]

"Are you kidding me?!"

The sudden exclamation made Tara jump in surprise, the tender moment over as she turned in worried confusion. "What's wrong, big brother?" Tara asked, staring at Jet as he jumped up and began pacing back and forth, fingers tapping furiously.

Jet let out a nervous laugh, then stopped and tried to calm himself. Tara's still in here. After a few deep breaths, Jet turned to the child. "Um, I just got a message from a...another person that I've met before. What's he have to say?" he added to himself, tapping the [Open] option.

From: Dexter Mincer
Subject: Long time, no see.
I'm surprised I haven't seen you lurking around in the upper floors, Jet Stryker. That's the normal thing for you to do. I haven't heard of any of your usual exploits for two weeks now; heck, I should've at least heard that you were gathering resources for those in need by now. I must say I'm disappointed. By now, you must have realized who I am, if my name didn't tell you. We're both known throughout Aincrad, in our own ways. Well, as known as we can be among other known players. If you don't come and meet me at the gates of Dovren in one hour, I'll let people know that you'd finally cracked, grew chicken...and you know I'll do more than that, especially in a game where death is real. But you wouldn't want that, would you?

This message, from him, at this time...from anyone else, Jet might have just dismissed it without worrying about his reputation. Even if the threat came from this guy, Jet wasn't sure if his reputation mattered, however big or little it might be. Knowing Dexter, it was the "I'll do more than that" that worried Jet. He suddenly remembered who was in the room as he closed the message. Turning to Daniel, Jet said, "Sorry 'bout the outburst, Daniel. Or is it Dad, now?" He tried a weak grin, but it disapperead after a second.

[ShinyDiamond]

(Ooc: I'm dedicating my 2,000^th post here, where Kamui enters into the teleporter for the first time, into Dovren!)

Kamui Ozora: Level 4
Floor 1 - Starter City

This was a mistake! I'm going back now!

"Are you afraid of the death as well?" said the voice of Natsumi. Kamui didn't turn, but he listened. "You can't stay in Starter City forever, neither can't you stay in this game forever." That was true, but... "Don't you want to see your family again? I'm sure they're worrying just as much about you as you worry about them." She could be right... "We can't waste our lives here, can we? So let's go and beat the guys over there!" That was a little helpful, but fear still lingered inside Kamui. Natsumi's words weren't enough for him. "And if it still scares you, I'll protect you out there, how about that?"

Someone would protect Kamui? The only ones who would ever protect him was his sister & his mother. No friend of his would ever do that for him. Here was Natsumi, offering protection for Kamui. Normally a boy would blurt that they can handle themselves.

That wasn't Kamui.

Not just Natsumi, but maybe Fester & Rose too. Has he finally made friends? Friends that don't force him & put pressure on him? He didn't know, this felt different. It was a strange feeling, warm, swirling up inside him. & no, it's not gas!

Kamui's eyes brightened, having the courage he needed to do this. Well, enough anyway to step into the teleporter. The rest would be up to his emotions. "Ok..." Would it kill him to say 'I'm ready'?

Didn't think so.

He eyed the teleporter, nervously tensing up. He took one step, then another.

Breathe in, breathe out.

There was no going back after this.

Breathe in, breathe out.

In just a few moments, everything would change.

Breathe in, freak out inside!

He went in!

Where would you like to go?

"Floor 8."

The next moment, Kamui was in a whole new world, or city.

Welcome to Dovren.

[PinkSapphire]

Natsumi Aido - floor 1/starter city - level 12

Natsumi smiled a little when it seemed Kamui had gotten a little more courage. That reminded her of the first time she went trough a teleport after the day they were told they weren't able to log out anymore. Natsumi was too scared to even cross a teleport, afraid she would die. Daisuke told her that you could only die in this game if you acted to reckless, which alot players did most of the time.

Natsumi couldn't help but still feel a little fear, but she still crossed the teleport and followed Kamui.

Where would you like to go?

"Floor 8, please." Natsumi said a little nervous.

Welcome to Dovren

Natsumi stepped out the teleport and stood behind Kamui. "wow…" she took a few steps forward and then took a look at Kamui. "shall we go?" Natsumi said, but then reminded herself of something and opened her Menu.

Menu:
- Messages
- Bag
- Options
- Friends

Messages:
- Inbox
- Outbox
- Send Friend Request
|__ To: Kamui

Natsumi send a friend request to Kamui just in case something would happen. It's always good to make new friends, right?

[machomuu]

Daniel Williamson / Level 14
Floor 8 - Dovren Home

Daniel looked at Jet's fleeting smile with a stern face. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation or what to do with it. For about a month and a half he'd been alone in the virtual world, and he certainly wasn't a dad in real life. His family never really faced the "normal" TV problems that one often sees in media, so he had no real experience in the sort of "father-son talk" that many other people did. Then again, he wasn't Jet's father. There was about 6-7 years between these two, Jet was old enough to be his brother, but not his child.

...But why did he make so much of what was just a joke? Was it because he was alone for so long that now that others are close to him, he developed a family-complex? No, he figured that, in a way, he sympathized Jet. Jet was a kid with a fate forced on him, and worse, someone or something was making things worse for him. He felt that Jet needed someone on his side, and who better than a father to do so?

"...Jet, you don't have to tell me what's going on, and I don't want to know if you don't want to tell me, but..." He paused and thought "...I guess I might be stating the obvious here, but you've got a sister here who's worried about you...and you've got a friend who's worried about you as well. I'm not going to tell you how to live you, but know that we're here for you." He looked away for a moment and said, "So please don't do anything to dangerous." He wasn't exactly sure what Jet's problem was, but he said what he thought needed to be said, even if it was somewhat cliche. "We'd be lost without you."

Tara's eyes darted from Daniel and then to Jet, and she repeated this a few times. "If something's wrong, I can go with you, Big Bro." She said, walking over to Jet. "I'd be really sad if something bad happened to you."

[ShinyDiamond]

Kamui Ozora: Level 4
Floor 8: Dovren

This was a totally new place. It's unlike Starter City in any bit. Their were very strong players around, not that many people either. This was a lot to take in. Would it be easy to track Fester & Rose?

That's when Kamui remembered they gave him the coordinates to the shop.

Menu
-Settings
-Map
-Help

Kamui looked at where the shop was he had to go. Shouldn't be that far to reach. Oh? There's something that just came in.

Messages
-Inbox
|__ From: Natsumi
-Outbox
-Send Friend Request

A friend request from Natsumi? Well, it is nice to make friends. She did seem nice. Kamui accepted the request & closed his menu. Now Kamui & Natsumi headed for the shop, Kamui taking the lead. Not long later he saw two familiar players near the shop. Fester & Rose had been waiting. Did he really have such good friends? It's very...

"H-hey..." he greeted timidly as usual, cheeks filled with crimson colors. What new weapon was he gonna get anyway? What collection was inside. This is still too much.

[Khawill]

Fester and Rose
"Was thinking you guys were going to chicken out!" Fester said cheerfully, "I knew you would pass the first test! See Clare, I told you." He had a prideful tone and was very happy.

"yeah, yeah, I suppose they did get through the teleporter without finding themselves paralyzed by fear." Rose sighed, "Now we can enter this store though. Stay close please." Her and Fester turned around and entered the store. "Hello storekeeper Bralec," They walked up to the counter, "We need a sword for a level 4 and maybe anything else you can get that can make him less, uh, killable."

[Sir Bastian]

Bralec
Floor 8 - Dovren City

Bralec raised his glance from staring down at a list of items on the counter and looked over the various people entering his shop and walking up to him. He gave a smile as he brushed the list underneath the counter and stood up, pressing his palms against the wooden desk.

"A sword, eh? For level... four? Hrmh. I should have a couple of those around. Let's have a look."

He got around the counter, gesturing for them to follow along as he walked up along the various swords and other items mounted on the walls and on the soft pillowed tables. At first, he pointed to a sword with a white blade and a dark-grey hilt.

"This one's for level 4. It has a small chance to chill an enemy and slow it's movement. Though it doesn't work on bosses."

He went on to point at another blade, this one with a curved, scimitar-like look to it.

"This one has better stats than the previous, but is a little slower since it's somewhat heavier than the first. I've also got..."

He walked up to a long, two-handed sword that looked rather heavy, displayed proudly hanging off the wall vertically.

"This one, if you're more of a two-hander kind of guy. It's pretty quick and has decent stats. I don't have that much for a level four, but... hey, gotta take what you can get, right?"

He gave a little grin at the gathered, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well? Did you have anything specific in mind, or..?"

[AlexOzzyCake]

Rapp & Dante - Floor 6 Crevice

“Well here we are, would you like to lead the way now Rapp?” Dante bellowed.

"It's probably for the best that I do, you'll just get us lost or something..." Sigh, why am I being so hostile towards him? This guy did save my life afterall, maybe I'm just embarrassed... "Listen, I uhh... Thanks. I guess I owe... I don't know, but thanks." Rapp stammered his words of apology as Dante nodded. Despite his earlier snaps, Rapp truly was thankful to Dante for what he had done as he wouldn't even be alive to hold a grudge if he hadn't, but the way Dante had made it look so easy is what really got to him.

"Right, the mini-boss is a little way away yet but we should be there soon. He's kind of strong but after seeing your level I'm sure you'll be able to cope. But if I take even the slightest amount of damage I'm leaving a dent in your new sword!" The pair continued through the cave as Dante slayed beast after beast, all the while allowing Rapp to scavenge the drops for his own personal forgery business. Rapp assumed this was just in hopes of him receiving a better weapon at the end of their quest, but the look on Dante's face said otherwise as he gave Rapp what seemed like a genuinely friendly smile; perhaps he wasn't such a bad guy after all?

The monsters were rapidly getting tougher making Rapp grow slightly nervous as they neared the rumbling center of the crevice where the ore was kept. Dante still wasn't breaking as sweat as he broke through the countless monsters Spiral Horn Crabs constantly closing in on Rapp leading him to feel even more embarrassed at his poor fighting skills. I wish he'd realise I'm not just some pushover, but what use is a blacksmith halfway through a dungeon? I guess I'll just have to wait till we make it out to prove my- As rapp stood back in mid-thought, an ejected horn came rocketing towards him from a nearby crab's shell as Dante effortlessly hit it out of the air in front of his face watching it shatter into a million pieces. -sigh.

Dante suddenly jolted forwards as Rapp placed his arm between him and the cliff edge. The duo stared down into the darkness of the chasm before them as a huge hanging pillar surrounded in darkness began to shake. There was a spiralling wooden walkway around the outside of the pit dimly lit by scarcely placed torches which the duo began to descend. Looking down into the shadowed center of the room, the feint outline of a huge spiked beast became ever clearer with each step as the platforms shook whilst the beast cascaded into the walls. It was enraged beyond reason and there was no looking back from their prize now - the huge outcrop of ore mounted onto the beast's back. They breathed in slowly and approached their next challenge.

"Ready?"

[SwiftSign]

The scouting team had been successful, manoevering the cliff-side and easily clearing the entrance chamber to the dungeon. Right by the entrance was the huge, boss room door, decorated with carvings of beautiful women.

"Here, a beauty sleeps for eternity."

"Curious..." the scout murmured, opening up his interface and taking a photo of the dungeon floor - before sending it back to his guildmates. His companion, having checked the darker corners of the hallway, seemed satisfied and readied the portal crystal, causing a message to ring out across Aincrad:

Floor 8's Dungeon has been located!

~*-*~

Priority Mission: Defeat the boss! **Once you enter you may not leave**

Current Dungeon: 8
Recruiting Guilds: Black Cats, Knights of Blood, Fuurinkazan [Joining a Guild requires lv 10]

~*-*~

Salathar the Charmer

Location: Floor 8
Strengths: Quick movements and the ability to confuse her opponents.
Weaknesses: -

Description:
A long, snake-like beast. Once a mere reckless Lamia, Salathar went further than just enticing souls, devouring their very essence and gaining eternal youth. She marveled at her own beauty, forever gazing in to the rivers and ocean, until one day the other Lamia took revenge - sealing the beauty away.

As her rage and anger tormented her, her face twisted into a hideous mass of evil. Since being locked away in the dungeon of floor 8 she has plotted her revenge - on Lamia and humans alike.

With her long, whip-like snake-hair she is capable of attacking multiple people at once - however her attacks have a relatively short range and she is vulnerable to both stabbing and slashing attacks down her body.

Making eye contact with the beast can be dangerous, with a mental connection Salathar can manipulate the person in to attacking themselves or others - the only way to break the connection is to attack the beast and break her concentration.

How to take part:

Spoiler:

1. See/hear the message played across all worlds.
2. Teleport or stumble across the dungeon waiting hall, where players are gathering.
3. Enter the boss fight - join in!

Please be respectful of other roleplayers, mention other players attacking but make sure not to GM players into doing something not mentioned in their posts - you can use NPCs for that.

In a weeks time (Next Friday/Saturday) a 'winner' will be chosen and the next few floors will unlock!