Testing out the sword (Open)

[Endrin]

He had put it off long enough. It was time to leave the safety of London and try out his actual combat class. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't a little scared about doing so. Even if he knew it was a bit irrational to be scared when he couldn't die. He would just respawn in the Cathedral if he did. But he was going to be fighting for real, it's not like he fought a lot of monsters in the real world before getting trapped here. And it wasn't just that, he was still pretty new to the idea of tanking and aggro control and he was afraid that he was also going to get other people killed. Which would surely ruffle a few feathers. It was a lot of pressure.



So he was out here alone soloing to try and raise his level up a bit and get the hang of his skills and this combat system. He had already found out that using the menu was less than user friendly, but since he was actually there in his avatar's body he could move without it. The sword swung like it would in real life, if a bit more skillfully. It's like this body already knew the motions of it. And while the shield was heavy still he could still hold and move it. Much better than he wagered he would have in the real world at the very least.



Before him was a dull looking slime bobbing up and down as it slowly advanced on him. His grip tightened on his blade as his eyes watched the creature slowly make it's way into his striking range. Once it was there he let out a loud cry as he lunged forward, his blade swinging out and slicing through the creature with ease. However rather than vanishing the ooze just filled in the slice thanks to it's amorphous body.



"Damn, I thought for sure that would have worked."



He said in slight dismay as he widened his footing and prepared his shield, his eyes flicking over to the creatures health to see that it had less hit points left than he would have expected. It would seem that he was not yet fully aware of all of the perks of being an Alchemist! And he would not have time to ponder it at the moment as the ooze stretched and shot out, it's body slamming in to his shield with surprising force for an ooze. He felt the impact in his shield arm though his own hit points remained unchanged. Fully blocked!



"Ha! Nice try!"



Maybe this tanking thing wasn't so bad after all? Thrusting the sword outward into the ooze his blade finished the creature off which exploded into an cloud of bubbles and coins. Which was unexpected.



"Huh... That's a little weird. I guess I was expecting a body to still be there? Or something, he wasn't really sure. It was kind of hard to keep track of what worked like a video game and what worked like real life here. And he didn't have too much time to ponder it as the bushes off to the side of him started rustling. Shifting to face the bush he raised his shield and braced himself for some kind of charge attack to come at him!

(560 words)

[Kaizer]

Having been watching the fight he didn't see this Guardian use his menu for combat... It's not that he had never thought about simply running up with his sword and slicing something down, it was just... Wasn't this still a video game? No matter how virtual, or even how interactive it felt, smelled, or tasted... Wasn't this still a video game? Kaizer kept watching and when the slime finally died and shattered into those bubbles and dropped the coins, he felt stronger in the conviction that this was still a game.

~I understand that a malfunction of some kind has maybe trapped us in game, stuck us without a way of logging out. Yet the monsters still vanish and still drop items. We still gain experience points and we still level up. So why won't my menu food taste good? Is that just the programming of the game? Is my cooking skill just not high enough a level?~

As disturbed as he was by these thoughts, he deciding hiding wasn't doing him any good, and solo play worked for maybe the first couple of level. Kaizer had other plans however, and this guy was competent enough, at least in appearance. Decidedly he'd come walking out of his hiding spot with a right hand on the handle of the nodachi at his side, and his left hand loose on the other side . He'd raise his free hand in a wave to the Guardian across him now as he stepped from the bush.

"Sorry, I'm not usually one for the spy game, but I saw you from a distance and decided to see what you knew about whats going on with this game. From the looks of it you've been doing your homework. I had some questions, maybe we could party up, gather some E.X.P and hash out the situation between what we both have figured out."

Kaizer's plan was to learn everything he could about the game and why he was stuck here. At the same time he wanted to make life a bit easier by figuring out how to fix this food issue. Two minds are better than one, but ten heads bicker for fun.

(Words: 366)

[Endrin]

His shoulders visibly relaxed when he saw that it was a player stepping out of the bushes and not a charging boar or something. He didn't really know what he was expecting, maybe a level five creature or something. He knew that the area had them roaming around, but it was a bit out of his own skill level. He might have been able to beat it, maybe. But it would wipe him out, and he wasn't really confident enough in his abilities to take on monsters five levels higher than him. Not yet at least. He lowered his guard and his weapon, but kept them drawn in case of a monster spawn as the cat person explained why they had been hiding in the bush.

Well, kind of explained it at least. He didn't think he was anything worth observing, but the guy seemed to think otherwise. Perhaps his process of taking things slow and mulling about town to see what he could find out was worth something? That was good to know, and the guy wanted to party with him? His eyes trailed along his heavy armor which marked him as another tank, and fixated on his weapon. It was huge! Clearly the guy didn't do the whole sword and board thing, which made sense with his class choice, even if they could use shields, he was sure that they could.

"You want a double tank party? I am not sure how effective that would be."

Both of their jobs were to hold hate and take damage for the party. They would likely be stepping on each others toes. However, at this level they didn't have a lot of hate grabbing tools. At least he didn't, he had chosen shield bash for the interrupt. Though the taunt had been pretty tempting, especially with the counter. But if he was soloing then it was less useful because the monsters would already have full aggro on him.

"Sure, why not? Can't hurt for a few levels at least. And with two of us we are less likely to get ganked by an unlucky spawn."

He said with a small laugh as he opened up his menu and sent the guy a party invite.

"So what exactly did you want to ask me about? I probably know about the same as you do. We all got stuck here the same, you know what I mean?"

Or did he mean about something other than the Apocalypse? There were a lot of things to hash out from what he could tell. Monster spawns and combat. Crafting and the discovery process. Just where the best inns were or how to make gold in this game. Something that he had been trying to figure out. He refused to believe that killing monsters was the best income source this game had to offer. Finding commodities would be better he wagered, something that people want to spend their hard earned gold on. But so far he had been coming up with nothing on that front.

"I mean, I'll try and answer what I can man. But I'm still fairly new to this whole world too."

He hadn't even been playing long when it was a game. He switched over to test it out with the new expansion. If he hadn't then his life would be going on as normal and he would be playing other games with his friends. Lucky him.

(574 words)

[Kaizer]

He lowered his wave for a look around checking for more enemies, using his Battle Perception to make sure it was workable. He heard and understood why the guy would think two tanks joining forces would probably get redundant rather fast, but Kaizer himself would chuckle at the thought. He saw nothing wrong with it, in fact it could possibly be worked into a great strategy one day, but at this low level? It probably didn't matter. However the guy seemed to make the same conclusion and sent the party invite anyways. Kaizer would reach up and look over the invite and try and memorize where the button for accept was so in the future with people he didn't care for he could hit decline.

"For starters, introductions. I'm Kaizer, I'm a level one Samurai, and I took the Denkosekka ability as my first skill. I'm a Pathfinder and Chef. The Denkosekka gives me a small shield for damage and gives me enhanced movement speed. But the cool down makes me useless for a few seconds as I don't have enough moves for a chain yet."

If they were going to party, Kaizer felt this was paramount information so they didn't screw each other over in a dire situation. An area boss popping up and annihilating them simply because they didn't have an understanding of what the other is capable of would be foolish.

"I had just started my thirty day free trial period and exited town for the first time when I was teleported back into town feeling the way I feel now, with realistic control over my character. Was the experience the same for you when the Apocalypse happened?"

This was important for Kaizer, simply to make sure he wasn't the only one being picked on in this. If nothing else, peace of mind. Other than that Kaizer would point in the direction they should go.

"More slime in that direction."

(Word Count: 323)

[Endrin]

Okay so they were going with game names for introductions and not real ones? He wasn't really sure what the etiquette was for being trapped inside of a video game, so he was just going to follow suit and try not to think to hard on it. Nodding along with what Kaizer was saying he remembered skimming over the ability lists of the Samurai's and a few other classes before finally settling on his Guardian. He vaguely remembered that skill being on of the low level ones listed that starting characters could take.

"Alright, well I'm Endrin I guess. And I'm a Guardian obviously." He said sheepishly as he held up his shield as if it wasn't obvious what class he rolled. "I'm also level one and for my first ability I chose Shield Bash. Basically it's an interrupt that also damages the monster." He didn't really think about fighting other players as he wasn't a Player Killer.

"I also went Accountant and Alchemist. Still pretty low level there too, so I can't really make a lot of cool things or anything." He said with a small shrug. It was nothing impressive but he hoped in time it would turn out pretty cool. He was actually pretty excited about Accountant, even if it was kind of a pain to level up right now. He kind of wished he was in a guild just so it would be easier to level it up. He could offer to handle finances or something.

"But you went chef? Good call on that, must be nice to not have to eat cardboard every day."

Just thinking about how nice it would be to have even a fried egg made his stomach growl. He would kill for some real food. But the cooks that figured it out couldn't keep the food in stock. So it was pretty much nothing but cardboard for him sadly.

"Cool, lead the way man." He as he gave Kaizer a slap on the back, following after him. He'd let the pathfinder take lead.

(342 words)

[Kaizer]

Kaizer would also nod along with what Endrin was saying. The guy took a damage interrupt ability, in conjunction they could use the shield bash to start a combo, where Kaizer uses the Denkosekka immediately following and while he cooled down Endrin could pull the aggro back to him with attacks. He was almost too focused on this strategy to hear the comment on the food. Kaizer's face would go blank as he looked over at Endrin. He stared for a few moments before finally forcing out a single, quick, irked word.

"What?"

He visibly twitched at the thought, he could make food that taste's like food? Or just like better cardboard? Because salted cardboard is still cardboard!

"What do you mean? I've made a bunch of food and eaten a bunch already."

His stomach would growl from the food he denied to eat because of the taste, putting a hand over it to try and quell the beast.

"It all taste's like ass. And every drink taste's like water, its like I get soggy cardboard ass for every meal! Meow your saying I could of been making it taste good?"

~My whole existence is a lie! This is a nightmare, that's it, I'm not stuck in a game, I'm stuck in a messed up version of the game I want to play were I suck at everything!~

Internally he was wrapped in turmoil at the thought that he was now focusing on combat, and not on possibly making some delicious pizza. Yet on the outside he would still hold that blank stare, making it seem like he still didn't believe Endrin.

(Word Count: 272)

[Endrin]

He stopped with Kaizer who seemed shocked by what he had said. Was it really such a revelation? It had sparked a lot of chatter already. He didn't know all of the details. All he knew was that crafting from the menu was a mistake. the good stuff and discoveries were being done by crafting by hand. Like it was the real world. But apparently you had to have the right class for it. So even if he was an alright cook in real life it wouldn't work in game. Just like if he was a crappy cook. That was kind of a bummer.

"You can't use the menu to cook. I think you gotta do it for real. Like if you want to boil and egg you actually boil an egg. I think that's how it works though. And I have no idea what kind of levels you need for what. It would kind of suck to try and make a sandwich though and be too low of a level for it." He said with a laugh. That's pretty much what would happen if he tried to make a sandwich, it would just fail because he wasn't a chef. "And I really can't speak for how it will taste since I-" He cut himself off and stared at Kaizer as he realized what had just happened.

"Did you just meow at me?" He couldn't keep the serious face up for long though as his mind was playing the scene from Super Troopers over and over in his mind. The guy had to be doing it on purpose. And soon he was snickering at the joke. It had to be a joke though, he was a cat person who just slipped in a meow into his sentence.

"I like you." He said in between chuckles. "You got a good sense of humor man. This place could use a few more laughs. Everyone is so serious all the time. Or on edge. It's like the whole city is just tense and waiting for something to happen. Sure it sucks that we are stuck here, but it's still a game. We should have fun right?"

He slapped Kaizer's back again in a gesture of friendship.

"Man I should think up some killer jokes or something too. Just something ridiculous to pull out when things get tense. See if I can defuse a situation with some much needed humor."

He said as he sheathed his blade to allow him to cup his chin in thought. The downside of being human was there was no obvious racial joke like with the beast tribes. Perhaps he should think about getting into a character or something? Sometimes the roleplayers on other games would make him laugh and brighten his day. It was always kind of fun to see. Maybe he could go the whole knight errant route? It would fit the class he rolled. And it would be kind of fun, what boy didn't want to be a knight in shining armor at some point in his life? Slaying dragons and rescuing princesses? He'd have to give it some thought.

(524 words)

[Kaizer]

Now Kaizer's usually steadfast conviction of this being just a game began to chip and crack. The revelation of having to actually use materials to cook... That didn't seem right. The menu is there because you don't have to cook the menu is even based on skill... That's a game mechanic.

~A game wouldn't give you something then have you go do something else to to... Oh! Only chef's can do real cooking or else you fail, hahahaha of course, its still just a game mechanic, kind of like some of those old free to play M.M.O's like runescape. Gotta put the meat in the fire. Makes sense meow; now! Makes sense now.~

Kaizer would reach up and scratch the back of his head chuckling along. Acting like he did do that on purpose, make a joke. Yeah it was all just a joke to lighten the mood. At the pat on the back he would stop scratching the back of his head and lead the way to the next monster, while thinking about the possibilities. Once the slime was in view Kaizer would turn towards Endrin.

"We should have fun, your right this is still just a game. Since its a game I've come up with a small strategy. Whenever the need rises, activate your Shield Bash, meow I'll take that as the signal to do my Denkosekka to attack, giving you a second to ready your next attack. So while I cool down you can strike to regain the aggro. Your damage absorption should be used to our advantage while my damage dealing can be used to full effect."

Kaizer would wait to see if Endrin liked that strategy of attack, if he did the next suggestion Kaizer would make would be to try it on this next slime.

"We'll both move in you pull it, then when it is striking do your Shield Bash... I'll try my Denkosekka. But before that... I saw you fighting without the menu, is it possible to activate our abilities without the menu?"

(Word Count: 341)

[Endrin]

"Exactly. There isn't anything we can do about where we are at so lets just do what we can and enjoy ourselves and see what this world has to offer. It's kind of a unique experience you know?"

Grinning he gave his partner a thumbs up to emphasize that it was all good before he started going over the strategy that he wanted to use. Which was essentially swapping aggro and using interrupts to minimize the enemies chance to attack. He would be serving as the primary tank from the sound of it, which made sense as he had a higher defense and could probably take more hits. While Kaizer was going to act as kind of a ghetto DPS. Neither of them should have any trouble on the dull slimes but it was good to practice being in a party environment. Soloing wouldn't be an option forever, nor would he want it to be. He didn't get the game to solo through it, they were social games by design and he was a social person!

"Sure thing man, I'm pretty sure I can handle that."

He was ready to move in on the next slime when Kaizer stopped him to ask about not using the menu. He tilted his head a bit confused. He thought it had been common knowledge but maybe not? He had seen someone else fighting without the menu and just fighting like they would in real life. And he had tried it and it was like his body knew what to do. It was kind of weird, but it was good too. Because he wasn't trained in sword fighting, or used to wearing armor.

"Um yeah, basically you just fight. Your body kind of knows what to do. And if you say the skill and focus on it then it works with the game guiding you. Which I guess makes sense since we are inside the game. So I'm kind of thinking of it like my brain is giving the commands instead of a mouse click. Ya know?"

Did that make any sense to him?

"Come on. Let's try it out on one of the slimes. We should be okay with two of us."

He had managed alone too so he was pretty sure that Kaizer wouldn't be in any danger if he had trouble getting it to work right. If he agreed then Endrin would close the distance and leap out at the slime, slashing his blade into it grabbing aggro and initiating combat. He wasn't fast enough to bring his shield down to block it's first blow, still not used to the weight of the shield which was still quite heavy! But he did remember the plan!

"Shield Smash!"

He cried out as he pushed the shield outward with a violent force slamming into the slime which stopped mid attack for a brief moment as the interrupt took effect! Now it was time to see if Kaizer could master the combat system without a menu.

(502 words)

[Kaizer]

Kaizer listened to the explanation and drew the nodachi he had from his side checking it over with both hands. So the game would guide it if he simply went to fight? That was something he'd really have to experience. His brain was the mouse, essentially his thoughts were the hot keys. He'd bring the nodachi low and to his side as he approached with Endrin, letting him to the lead with the attack, he tried to keep the thought of his move in his mind, hoping he wasn't going to mess this up. He knew the plan would only actually work if both people knew what they were doing. Endrin was proving right now he knew what he was doing, but so did Kaizer in picking to ask the guy how things worked. Already he felt more informed than some people.

The signal came as Endrin called out his move, the shield slamming the dull slime, Kaizer's grip turned the blade as he charged forward.

"Denkosekka!"

The electric aura would surround him as he charged at high speed slashing with his blade as he passed slicing the slime horizontally in half. The compounded damage would cause the slime to burst into the tiny bubbles like before dropping the coins. Kaizer would swing the nodachi hard once and sheath it once more as he turned around. A large grin on his face as he threw up the victory sign.

"Meow that's what I call fun!"

Okay so the meow thing was getting a bit addictive. At this point he couldn't help it. He felt comfortable with using pulling out the skill, but he wasn't as confident in his abilities in a fight. At least not just yet, it would take more than a bit of tag team in a party to give him that. Probably would require a tougher enemy, one that showed them the extent of their cool down problems. Kaizer however had to remind himself at this point, that at this level, it probably wouldn't happen unless they were solo. Which in and of its self was a good thing. Solo was dangerous, and time consuming, this party battling would improve the time scale and get them into a position to learn through mistakes, when those mistake don't cost you an arm and a leg in experience.

(Word Count: 389)

[Endrin]

And the slime died way quicker than it had when he was alone! That was the perk of team work. Both of them had abilities that they could use, and it would be taking damage from more than once source, so of course it would go down pretty easy. It was just one slime. Still it felt like an accomplishment and he raised his sword up into the air in victory when it vanished letting out a cheer of excitement.

"All right! That was totally badass man! The way you just swooped in there. That is freaking killer!"

It just looked cool, and one could never forget the importance of the rule of cool in this world and in the real world. Doing something well was good, but doing it well and looking badass while doing it was way better. And what they just did was totally badass. Killing monsters with swords, this was just cool. And so caught up in his excitement was Endrin that he didn't hear the snort from behind him, it wasn't until the hooves were pounding on the ground and the pig was squealing that Endrin even realized they had been aggroed! Before he could turn around the untusked boar slammed into him, right behind the knees sending him falling forward, his blade falling to the ground as he landed on his shield with a grunt and taking a chunk out of his hit points.

The boar snorted and stamped his feet. Obviously getting ready for a second attack. Though whether it was going to be against the still prone Endrin or the standing Samurai was yet to be seen.

(275 words)

[Kaizer]

Kaizer cheered along pumping the victory sign at him, until he watched Endrin's legs get taken out from under him. The Denkosekka hadn't cooled down yet so he was stuck with just his normal attack. He rushed forward quickly since Endrin was prone and targeted by the Boar. He'd rush in unsheathing his blade and slashing it in the same go landing a solid hit. Kaizer felt victory coming in this small set back, bringing his nodachi from on high, however his attack did nothing to stop the boar from attacking, in fact the attack did little more than change the aggro.

~Not good, not good, not good!~

Kaizer tried to bring the sword down in a follow up slash as fast as he could, but it wasn't enough the boar had already prepared another charge and charged right through Kaizer knocking him off to the side. Hitting the ground hard and rolling to his stomach so he could get to his hands and knee's. Something of a realization struck him. No, literally struck him...

~That... hurt? That actually hurt. I knew the feelings and sensations were oddly real, but being attacked actually hurts, it feels like I was hit by a boar.~

Kaizer looked to the boar as fast as he could. Trying to pick apart its attack pattern. It stomped a few times, its attack must be a common charge to knock the enemy prone. It looked like it has a couple seconds before its cool down period is up.

"Endrin, set it up!"

Kaizer would move to stand and prepare for his turn in the move, looking at the health bar of the Boar it would probably take the entire combo, and judging by the health bar of Endrin and Kaizer, they'd be destroyed if this continued.

(Word Count: 300)

[Endrin]

He scrambled as quickly as he could to get back to his feet. Which was an awkward task while wearing plate armor let me tell you. Grabbing his sword and taking a moment to stead himself as the boar charged and drove Kaizer to the side lowering his own hit points. But after only a few more seconds he was ready, and not a moment too soon since Kaizer was calling to him to set it up.

He nodded. He couldn't mess this up. He was a tank and it was his job to protect his teammates from harm. Even if the teammate was also a tank. But he was the defensive one. Taking a deep breath to try to calm his nerves and fluttering heartbeat he nodded. He would was ready to set it up.

"Shield Smash!"

He called out just as the boar was about to charge again. Ramming the shield into it as hard as he could, knocking the boar to the side and dazing it for a moment before it picked itself back up. It's attention once more returning to Endrin, who was now facing it with shield ready and sword out. It wasn't going to get lucky twice in a row!

"Come on little piggy. Let's go to the market."

He said as he launched a basic attack with a loud charging cry of his own! his blade slashing through the boar causing it to cry out in pain but not die. It was only after the attack and the moment was over that his own words from before registered in his mind and he blinked, turning toward Kaizer while still holding his shield up.

"Wait was that a dumb thing to say?"

Cause it sounded way more badass in his head. But now that he was thinking about it, it was kind of lame. Little piggy joke? Ugh, he knew he could do better than that.

(322 words)

[Kaizer]

Kaizer was barely in his charge when Endrin started his shield bash. He quickly followed up with a basic attack. Watching the boards health bar it didn't seem to be enough yet, and he was seriously doubting the Denkosekka would be the last move either. Taking hsi blade low like before he'd grit his teeth.

"Denkosekka!"

That same blue electric aura would cover his body as he streaked over slashing it in the back end like before, except this time he'd slide to a stop turning around. He wasn't able to attack for a few seconds, but Endrin should be able to finish it here. Kaizer was astonished by the surprise attacks ability to completely rip the formation they had going apart, of course they let their guards down in a place full of monsters. Kaizer especially felt embarrassed being the pathfinder of the two. Though being able to pull it back together like they did, even for level ones it felt like they were being impressive to someone.


~Who am I kidding? Level one and I'm just exhilarated by the combat. One day when we are fighting some dragon at the base of a dungeon to take its treasure, or fighting the end game boss at level one hundred. That's when we will be impressive.~

At that moment, Kaizer knew it. He felt his purpose and for now he would keep it to himself. If they are stuck in this world, he was definitely going to make the best of it.

(Word Count: 252)

[Endrin]

The boar's health dropped even lower but it still wasn't dead. Charging forward with a snort it was going for Endrin who had his guard up and ready. Bringing the shield out in front to block the blow he still had to take a step back to keep himself steady. But the shield seemed to have done the trick with only some minor damage caused by the shock of the blow as his arm went back with the shield. Bringing his sword around he slashed at the boar only grazing the beast and keeping it's hit points in the red. Gritting his teeth and furrowing his brow with effort he took a step back and pivoted to try and move to the side of the boar. His eyes watching his cool down tick. Almost there. Just another second annnnnnd good!

"Shield Smash!"

And he let out another roar as he pushed the shield forward slamming into the boar one last time as it's life depleted and the two would be left alone again. Lowering his shield he bent forward, breathing heavily. He was wondering if it was because he was still such a low level but he felt like he needed to rest after that. Plus his whole body was aching after taking a nose dive from that surprise charge. Talk about embarrassing. Getting nailed by a pig like that out of nowhere. He should have seen or heard it coming. Now he just looked stupid. Doubly so from his comment from before. He was really going to need to work on that.

"Hey, so you wanna head back to the town area and rest up for a bit. That last one may have banged me up a bit more than I thought. And I could stand to sit down a bit I think."

(304 words)

[Kaizer]

Once the Boar was downed, Kaizer did a quick blind spot check for both himself and Endrin. No way he was going to get snuck up on again. Though now that he wasn't in the midst of the adrenaline his joints were wrecked. Felt like he'd been doing a full length Olympic triathlon. Not to mention his health gauge didn't look all that pretty. If Endrin hadn't of suggested it first, Kaizer would have. Going to the safe zone of the town area never sounded so good. Not to mention he didn't feel like pressing his luck today. The experience they gained now would mean nothing if they died.

"You got a yes from me. We can rest and I can go buy some materials so I can try making some food that doesn't taste like salted crap."

Kaizer would swing the nodachi hard letting it sit still for a moment while he inspected it and then sheathed it in a solid motion. It's not like this game had blood anyways, it was mostly habit. Not that he took kendo or any other style of swordsmanship, he just really liked anime and had a sword collection in real life. So he practiced re-sheathing the blades whenever he cleaned them.

Kaizer would opt to lead the way back to town since he could use his Pathfinding to steer them clear of monsters. Though he hated silent walks, so there was more for him to talk about.

"Have you noticed the increase in activity, reaction, and just number of non-player characters?"

(Word Count: 259)

[Endrin]

He was glad that Kaizer was ready to head back too, as he said the experience they gained wouldn't be much good if they died. Especially with the experience penalties that death carried with it. Food sounded good, though he would probably just be having salted cardboard again tonight. What he was really excited about was the chance to peel off his armor and relax. Maybe take a nice hot bath, or just sleep for twelve hours. Perhaps even both.

Blinking at Kaizer's question he put a finger to his chin in consideration. He hadn't really thought about it that much. But now that it was brought up there did seem to be a lot more People of the Land about in the town. And they did seem to do more than he remembered. Was it possible that he just didn't pay attention to them when it was just a game? Probably, he had probably been focused on learning how to navigate the city and where everything was rather than what little filler conversations the People of the Land were having.

"You know, now that you mention it I think I have. You think there are more of them now? Maybe we just didn't pay attention to them before. You know what I mean?"

There was a lot about this world that he didn't understand. How they got here for one, why they still had menus if they were in the bodies of the characters, and hit point bars and cool downs even. And yet they felt pain, they got hungry, and thirsty. Even if the food was horrible. It was a very weird mix of video game and alternate dimension or something. Assuming he wasn't in a coma and this was all just in his imagination. It might be that none of this is real. That was a sobering thought.

(311 words)

[Kaizer]

Kaizer nodded as he walked, it was possible that before he just didn't pay that much attention. He could just be paranoid. For now he'd accept that option, he had to focus on other things anyways. Non-player characters were definitely not on the most important list. His fellow 'Adventurer's' for one thing are actually on that list. He didn't like large groups of people but he also didn't like it when the general state of life was crappy, that made people crappy and harder to get along with.

"That's sensible. It is probably just my paranoia getting the best of me. They just stood out suddenly while I was in town."

They did too. Kaizer had noticed the reaction the non-player characters when the Apocalypse happened to the players who were also freaking out. Though he was more worried about himself at the time it just jumped out at him. However the pressing issue on everyones mind? Survival. You don't survive something like this by being a loner, you group up, that's where its safe. The problem? PKers. Player Killers. It wasn't huge from what he had heard of the game, but when people stop going out and getting items to stimulate an economy the quickest way to make fast cash is to gank people as they leave town.

"Meow the real question... What do we do for survival?"

Kaizer had a few ideas, but nothing solid for the time being. He figured sharing ideas with Endrin might spark whats needed. Well more so he hoped Endrin had some ideas, the guy was smart, and quick to catch on, not only that he had some experience. Kaizer's main concern would be that people would run short on gold very fast, so trying to run a market would be foolish. At least a solo market. A market that required multiple if not hundreds of people to put gold in everyones pockets. The problem is getting that many people to agree to a single plan, and getting other people to go out and get the materials required for the market. As spooked as everyone is, Kaizer hoped it was a short lived paralysis.

(Word Count: 361)

[Endrin]

"Well in a literal sense I don't think we need to worry about it. We still respawn. So it's not like we can die here. But there is still the question of living over just survival. You know what I mean? Working on obtaining a decent quality of life, because who knows how long we will all be trapped in here. And a good quality of life, not just for ourselves but everyone here. The more the group can prosper the more the individual can. There is no need to claw and push people down on your way to the top. At least that's the way I see it. I think right now we just need to keep calm and see what's going on."

In general, not them specifically per se. Though they should take the advice as well. Popping open his menu screen he would shoot Kaizer a friend invite. It was not only prudent but he liked the guy. Every time he slipped in a meow Endrin found himself grinning. It was cute, and it made him kind of wish he had rolled a cat now.

"Well we can add each other so we can be reached later. Other than that I guess just try and level up and see what makes this world tick."

He said with a shrug and another small snort of laughter as he wondered if he could also purr or not. That would be a site to see. It was tempting to reach over and scratch behind his ear just to see what would happen. But there was also a chance of getting that sword shoved through his gut.

"So let's split at town and we can meet up again some other time and see if anything new has come up? If nothing else it's just nice to have a few friends that we can rely on."

He said giving him a thumbs up. It was all good.

(325 words)

[Kaizer]

"I think the calm part is going to be the hardest. Your right about the not having to claw and push thing, but I doubt if many will see it our way. The most likely scenario is a sudden rise in Player Killing. We will have to see if there is any way to take measures or steps to prevent that from happening at all, or if it will have to be reactive to it getting out of hand."

Kaizer would look up at the pop up. A friend request, good. Kaizer would press accept and fold his arms as he walked. Leveling up and finding out how the world ticked was a good plan for now. Though it made him even more curious now, other M.M.O's had some sort guide, arrows, or something on a mini map to lead to quests or important events. Looking around his field of vision? He saw nothing like that. He'd turn his head to look at Endrin as he walked.

"Have you seen or heard of any quests since the Apocalypse?"

This troubled him, the only way to level your combat class can not be as simple as just run and gunning dungeons and fields. Not only that, but important story items that everyone is supposed to get, are those random drops, or quest reward only? The story of this game seemed to be really kingdom protection based, but without quest givers being obvious.... How were people supposed to get strong enough to go out and safely travel?

(Word Count: 255)