A Rude Awakening [Mentor/Apprentice]

[Elwen]

Where am I?  Outside?  How?  The elven girl opened her eyes, blinking against the harsh light of the morning sun as it filtered through strands of blue hair over her eyes.  Blue hair? So long...this isn't right... She sat up slowly, uncertain, shaking her head as it to clear it.  The shaking of her chest under tight leather armor caught her attention.  What....breasts?   Wide blue eyes grew even wider in panic and she scooted back as if trying to escape what her senses were telling her.  She bumped up against the wall.  I'm a...girl?  A nervous, reluctant finger poked her chest as if to confirm, while her other hand slipped further down.  Her face grew bright red as her fingers confirmed her initial suspicions.  She stood up slowly, still leaning against the stone wall of the building behind her, her sharp eyes darting as she took in the hustle and bustle of the city.  The last thing I remember was clicking 'create' on the new character.  I was going to meet Michelle once we were both in game... Is this...Elder Tales?  Glancing down at herself again, she noticed the two starter gear rapiers on either hip.  I must be the character I just finished making...please let this be a dream...


The elven swashbuckler began to walk through the city, as if in a daze.  Her stunned look as well as the level 1 next to her name in the game's info windows would easily reveal her to be another of the new players logging in for the first time.   Her pointed ears twitched a little at each new noise, her elven senses sharper than what she was used to.  A very small consolation, for her body was younger and weaker than what she was used to as well.  Finally, in frustration, she stopped in the middle of the street.  "Does anyone know what's happening?" She cried out, surprised at the soft, feminine soprano tone of her new voice. 


Wordcount: 328
Valerie

[Valerie]

Valerie was walking through Londinium, getting ready for her morning hunt when she head a soft high pitched voice behind her. The voice was slightly panicked and feminine. Was someone attacking another player? In Londinium? Or was someone trying to hurt a girl? The Swashbuckler panicked and whirled around, her hand reaching for her sword at her hip, and saw a blue haired girl standing in the middle of the street, looking completely lost and rather frustrated, and her long pointy elf ears twitching. Seeing the girl alone and unharmed, Valerie sighed in relief. It was not uncommon that other Adventurers would pick on female players, simply because they were female. However, the few people around the elf simply stared at the girl strangely before continuing on their way, but no one approached the new player. The Swashbuckler frowned slightly before changing her direction, heading towards the lost looking elf.


“Hello. Are you alright? Is there anything I can help you with?” Valerie asked softly, calling out to the blue haired girl, carefully not to startle and surprise the other. As she came closer, the Swashbuckler began to examine the elf briefly. The other girl had long sky blue hair that a braid that banded her head and matching wide blue eyes. There were two starter rapiers hanging from her the belt of her light blue outfit, completing her colour scheme. Her dark violet eyes flitted upwards to the panel that told her that the girl in front of her was a level 1 Swashbuckler with the name Elwen. She was of the Elf race, as her pointy ears indicated, though she wasn’t much taller than Valerie herself.


When she was in easy speaking distance from the Elf, Valerie nodded over to the side of the street. “I’m sorry, but it would be safer if you stayed by the side of the streets. It gets rather busy sometimes on the roads.” She said before twirling around on her heel and heading over to linger by a vine covered lamppost, turning her head to check it the lost Elf was following her.



Words: 351
Elwen

[Elwen]

Elwen stared at the girl as she approached. It takes her a moment to register what she is saying, she is so surprised to see another face. Something about her seemed, off...cartoonish. But this isn't the real world...so that would make sense... She reminds herself. Turning to follow the graceful gait of the violet eyed human, she moves next to the ivy covered lamppost. "Sorry for crying out like that...I'm just really confused. A second ago I was logging into a game and now I'm...here...with blue hair....and a girl, apparently..." She mumbled, still somewhat in shock.

She looked the human girl over carefully, a panel popping up as she focused. Valerie. Level 50 Human Swashbuckler. She blinked in surprise as she read the panel. "This really is like the game..." She half whispered, in shock.  She looked around, really taking in the scenery for the first time.  Decrepit buildings, covered in plant life, it reminded her of that 'life after humans' special her girlfriend had wanted her to watch.  London?  She blushed a little.  She frowned again, thoughtfully.  "How do we log out?  I think I need to remake my character..."    She blushed a little.


Word count: 195 
Valerie

[Valerie]

The Elf girl obediently followed her and mumbled an apology, but Valerie had heard even word as she had kept [Hearing Aptitude] toggled on. She was a new player, someone who had recently purchased the game and was drawn in, like Valerie. Her words were rather strange, or perhaps strangely phrased. The Swashbuckler smiled softly at the Elf and patted her gently on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I was quite confused as well.” Valerie said as she watched the other girl scan her surrounding as well as Valerie herself. The other Swashbuckler’s blue eyes flitted upwards, probably seeing Valerie’s status, and then darting around the streets of Londinium.

Elwen’s wide eyes continued to take in her surroundings until she popped out a question about logging out. Valerie’s face immediately fell as the girl’s question reached her ears. “As far as we know… there is no way to log out.” The Swashbuckler said simply as she looked down, avoiding looking directly at Elwen. While Valerie had always known that there was no way out of Elder Tale, at the moment, the girl had immediately begun to build her life in this game, not knowing how long she will be in the game, to the point of even purchasing a house and living there. But she hadn’t forgotten home, the real world. And in the real world… you would introduce yourself because that would be polite. The voice in her head said bluntly and Valerie winced inwardly.

“Anyway, my name is Valerie. What is your name?” The Swashbuckler asked a slightly awkward smile twitch on her face as she struggled to place a happy expression on her face, but failed miserably. Finally, after one second of awkward struggling, the girl settled with a calm expression that was neither threatening or super happy, but was pleasant enough.


Words: 306
Elwen

[Elwen]

The news hit the elven girl like a slap to the face.  No way to log out?  But that would mean... "Then I'm stuck like this?" She gestured with one gloved hand to her slender body.  The human girl introduced herself as Valerie.  "Introductions, yes...I'm David..." She cuts herself off, realizing how silly that must sound coming from her girlish voice.  "I guess...my character's name would make more sense until I can fix all of this...Elwen." She extended a small hand to the dark haired girl by way of greeting.   That pink blush returned to her cheeks.  Whatever this was, though, they would sort it out.  There was no way they were trapped here for good.  That sort of thing only happened in Japanese cartoons.

She brushed an errant strand of blue hair from her eyes, tucking it behind a pointed ear almost irritably.  "So if we can't log off...what to people do to eat? Where do they sleep? Change clothes? I guess I never really considered what characters in games do when we're not playing them..." Her mind moved to the practical, anything, really, to avoid the immediate problem of being trapped in a strange world and a stranger body.  "I guess first thing is to find a way to earn money until they fix this game.  We might be here for days..."


Words: 224
Valerie

[Valerie]

“Then I’m stuck like this?” The Elf had said, gesturing to her body. Valerie simply raised a single brow. If anything, she was slightly jealous of the Elf’s slender and lean body. She was not too tall and not too short, so the ideal height. There’s no point in being jealous, Val. You can’t change it. She reminded herself, and then she introduced herself. Answering the Swashbuckler’s question, the Elf said her name was… David. Valerie’s expression blanked, becoming completely empty of all emotions. David, not Elwen. A male name, not female. After a brief second, Elwen seemed to realize what she, or rather he, said and quickly added on, finally stating the name that was expected, Elwen. The Elf extended a hand out towards Valerie which she shook as a small smile tugged on the corners of her lips.

After the introductions were done, or what seemed to be over, the lost looking Elf asked a series of questions. Valerie’s mind began to panic slightly as she hadn’t had time to answer each one as she kept on firing question after question, until she finally stumbled to a stop. “Eh-h… Well, we have food, like any typical rpg game, which you can purchase from a store. Sleep… Well, until you have enough money to purchase a place to stay, you would either have to pay to stay at an inn or find an empty building to stay the night. But it’s not very safe as other people can enter while you’re asleep. God knows what they may do.” The Swashbuckler said, shivering slightly as she quickly recalled a few close encounters she had faced. “Clothes… Well, like back at home, you will have to purchase it, probably from a tailor or maybe even at a store. I’m not too sure… I have a pretty bad memory. In Elder Tale and in real life.” The girl awkwardly giggled softly to herself. And then finally, Valerie arrived at the most dreaded topic. “Well… as for how long we may be stuck here… It will probably be quite a long time. I, myself, have been her for about… eight months… probably a bit longer, but I don’t remember. I’ve lost track of time.” The Swashbuckler said sadly as she sighed and leaned onto the street lamp, and stared into the Unfounded Kingdom’s blinding sun.

Quickly, Valerie ran over what Elwen has said and asked, and then remembered her question about money and perked up a bit. “As for money, our currency is gold, and we get it by hunting monsters.” The girl said with a smile on her face. “Like most rpg games.” She added on quickly before pausing for a moment and then continuing. “Well, at least you came at this time… So you can actually experience the good food… So are you up for some monster hunting?” Valerie asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.


Words: 484
Elwen

[Elwen]

"God knows what they might do..." Those words sent a chill up the new elf's spine.  I hadn't even considered that.  I'm vulnerable like this.  More so than I was.  She was so distracted by this new revelation that she was barely listening when she heard the next bomb shell hit.  "Eight months?!" She couldn't help but cry out, before clasping both hands over her mouth.  Was she always this impulsive or was this some new adolescent quirk?  She immediately regretted setting the character's starting age as low as 16.  "There's no way I can stay here that long....how do you cope?"


Valerie's next question caused her to perk up a little, her pointed ears twitching at the words 'monster hunting'.  That had always been her...his favorite part of the game.  Going out, finding new challenges, developing new strategies for overcoming them.  Besides, if it helped her level up, that would be even better.  She'd feel less exposed, less vulnerable in her petite body, if she had a few more hit points...or strength stats...or whatever this game used to measure growth.  Not only that, but there was something about the girl's enigmatic grin that intrigued her.  "Sure...let's hunt some monsters, Valerie." She gave what she hoped was a brave smile. 


Words: 210
Valerie

[Valerie]

When she had told Elwen how long she was in the game, the Elf almost exploded and panic seemed to fill her face. She asked how Valerie had managed to stay that long. The Swashbuckler stammered slightly as she tried to form words, but didn’t get anywhere. “Well… Um… It’s no different from the real world. You eat, you sleep, you work, you do things. Basically, the real world the game functions. And where you have to kill monsters and stuff like that to get money… Oh, and you can’t die. So I guess that’s not too bad.” Valerie said simply, shrugging her shoulders.

When Valerie mentioned monster hunting, Elwen’s elf ears twitched slightly. The Swashbuckler bit her lip, worried she said something to offend or scare the Elf, but the blue haired girl only smiled and agreed to go hunting with her. The Dancer smiled happily, almost bouncing off the balls of her feet. “You don’t have to worry much about fighting. I’ll try my best and teach you the basics.” The level 50 Swashbuckler said as she stood up straight and began to walk toward the exit of the Londinium, hoping Elwen would follow her.

As she followed the path to the Greatwood Forest, Valerie began to talk about fighting monsters. “So... Monster hunting. Well, basically you use your weapons, your twin rapiers to kill them. Every successful strike and attack will lower your opponent’s health and vice versa of course. When fighting, it would be good to keep track of your own health bar, as I don’t think you have the heal skill yet… As for your skills… Wait, what skills do you have?” The girl asked, turning to face to other girl. While waiting for an answer, Valerie opened up her own menu and searched of the level lowering function and changed her level from fifty to ten, losing thirteen of her skills and her sword that hung from her hip disappeared and was replaced by a dagger.


Words: 332
Elwen
(OOC: Skills remaining - Straights, Viper Raise, Shuffle Windmill, Fireball Pitch, Heal, Unarmed Combat)

[Elwen]

Elwen watched the girl's sword vanish and get replaced with a dagger. Right...the mentor system. She can lower her level to help out low level players. That's one of the things I liked about this game... At the question, she tilts her head. Skills? "Right! Let me check...I can't remember which ones I chose. Just the ones that sounded flashy..." She admits, moving her finger up to try to summon the menu system she saw earlier. After a little trial and error, she finally had access to her own character sheet. Need to look this over later... She mentally took note before opening up the 'skills' tab.

"Fencer style...Fold Step...and High Roller." She read them, pausing a moment to read their descriptions as she did. "Yeah...nothing about healing here. Good thing we can't die..." She followed the more experienced swashbuckler towards the forest as she read, the screen floating just in front of her line of sight.

Words: 157
Valerie

[Valerie]

Flashy…? The Swashbuckler wondered to herself. She knew that some other Swashbuckler skills other than the ones she had obtained. The Elf girl fiddled around with her menu before reading it out loud.

She had Fencer Style, Fold Step, and High Roller. Valerie has Fencer Style herself and it was very useful when she wanted to use her sword which she had purchase from a player. Although she was a Swashbuckler and could dual wield, purchasing two weapons was a ton of money she didn’t want to simply spend on weapons, so she only purchased one sword. The skill would increase the damage dealt from the single weapon, compensating for the loss of her other weapon. Fold Step was, if she remembered correctly, was a skill that allowed the user to quickly accelerate to surprise his or her opponent. A useful skill for surprise attacks. Perhaps I should look into getting that skill later… Valerie thought to herself. High Roller was one of the skills she had heard of and was quite self-explanatory, the user will jump into the air and basically roll midair. But the girl had no other details on the last two skills than that.

At the end, Elwen stated that it was a good thing that we can’t die in the game. When Valerie heard the way the Elf had phrased it, she stiffened slightly before correcting the girl. “We can die. But we will always revive back at the cathedral in the last city you had visited.” Valerie said curtly as she continued walking. “Anyhow, how much do you know about fighting? Would you like me to go over the basics of how to kill monsters? Or are you alright?” The girl asked as she fell into step with the blue haired Elf, walking beside Elwen as her dark violet eyes scanned the area, searching for level appropriate monsters. Probably the best would be the disgusting slimes I killed with Hiro. Then I guess we could move onto others like boars and such. The slimes are quite slow, so for a Swashbuckler, it should be quite an easy task.


Words: 360
Elwen