[Open] Remember Our Promises, To Each Other And Ourselves

[Zyoto]

Words: 531
Total: 531
Tags: N/A

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A cool breeze, a dark night, a silent forest. These were all prime examples of the wonders of adventure. 'It's no wonder he loves adventure so much. I'm sure he's gone on plenty of adventures with his guild.' Zyoto smiled to herself, leaning back against a fallen oak log behind her. It was hard, yet with a bundle of leaves and moss she had gathered and tossed on top of it, it was soft enough to give her comfort. She gazed up at the night sky, staring at the stars above and thinking aloud to herself in a soft tone. "I wonder if the constellations here are the same as they are on Earth..." She exhaled a heavy sigh, standing up and grabbing more branches from the ground around her to fuel the fire keeping her warm. As she lifted up a bundle of branches and tossed them into a pile near her makeshift seat, she would occasionally hear the rustling of branches and bushes. Quickly, she reached to her back and pulled her bow in front of her, taking an arrow and knocking it against the string, pulling it back. She bent her knees slightly to fortify her stability and posture as she held the string back by her head, waiting for whatever was going through the shrubbery to show itself. As she saw a small rabbit hop out into the clearing, she quickly released the arrow and pierced the rabbit. With the arrow going through the hare and poking out both ends, the animal was no longer moving, and Zyoto lowered her bow as she walked towards it, lifting the rabbit and taking it to her cushioned log. She held the body in her right hand and the shaft of the arrow in the other, pulling the two apart and placing her arrow back in the quiver on her back.

She put her bow on the log at her side before using a rock to sharpen a strong stick to a point, piercing the rabbit and holding it over the fire, slowly cooking it. After several minutes of roasting her prey, she brought it to her mouth, still holding it by the stick, and taking a large bite out of it. She unfortunately did not have the necessary tools or resources to properly cook the rabbit, but eating it in such a manner was preferable to her, as opposed to using the game's menu system to cook a tasteless stew. After about ten minutes of sitting and eating, pacing around and eating, lying down and eating, her meal was fully devoured, completely gone. It was a nice night out, and she was beginning to feel exhausted after eating, resting her head on both of her hands, lying on her back, and closing her eyes as she stared up at the stars. After only about a minute or two, the shrubbery around her once again began to shake and rustle, telling the woman she was not alone. She shot up and grabbed her bow, quickly knocking and aiming the arrow in the direction of the disruption, expecting to find either tomorrow's breakfast, tonight's hunt, or someone to keep her company.

[Trenchgoat]

Words: 258
Tags: Zyoto
Notes: ---

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It has been about two years, and Trenchgoat still didn't try to level up even once. The fact that he didn't want to accept this game as his new reality kept him from it. However, he did some exploring, but when there was trouble, he'd always run for his life until he was save.
All he could do up until this moment, was thinking about his family and his few friends, his true home and how he wanted to get out of here. He believed if he was ambitious enough, he'd eventually escape this prison - he just didn't know how.

Trying to clear his thoughts, he sprinted through the woods, hoping to get an idea that could lead to the solution of this problem. Lost in his thoughts, Trenchgoat didn't watch where he was going and ran into sombe bushes. Realising it too late, he tripped over a root and fell on his stomach.
He looked up, with an arrow facing him. "Wouh!" He jumped backwards in surprise, trying to get away. Looking at the mimic of his oponent, he tried to predict what her next move would be. "I didn't mean to disturb you! I'm sorry if I scared you, it wasn't my intention!" 'Oh great, social interaction. Abandon ship, abandon hope!'   "You see, I don't want any trouble..." he said, steadily backing away. "So, if you'll excuse me..." He turned around, slowly walking back in the direction where he came from, hoping she would let him go unharmed. "I've got.. uh.. someting to.. check... elsewhere!"

[Zyoto]

Words: 357
Total: 888
Tags: Trenchgoat
Notes: I'm sorry, I forgot to mention this thread takes place about a year and a half after the Apocalypse. No matter though, that can still kind of be considered "About two years."

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With her arrow knocked and the bowstring pulled back, Zyoto was ready to fire upon her interruption the instant it came into sight. A few seconds passed and a scruffy looking man stumbled and tumbled to the ground before her. The elf stared, prepared in case this were an act to lower her into a false sense of safety and then player kill her when she least expected it. Not knowing who the man was, she kept her bow ready to fire in case he showed any signs of malice or ill intent. The man looked up, and immediately shouted in surprise, leaping back when he realized he was at bowpoint. He started to attempt to excuse himself, claiming he had no intentions of interrupting the woman, claiming he did not want any trouble. The man was clearly afraid as he stammered to come up with an excuse - one which was clearly just that: an excuse... Zyoto lowered her bow, almost pitying the man as he ran away.

The girl sighed and slowly turned to return to her fire before she heard a hiss and a scream - presumably from the scruffy looking man. She quickly knocked her arrow again and pulled the bowstring as she ran in the direction of the scream, finding the man being attacked by a level three Garden Snake. She stood firm and held her bow up. "Arrow Revolver!" At the sound of her words, five arrows levitated themselves out of her quiver, floating beside her bow. She aimed at the snake, releasing the arrow and pulling the string back again, one of the levitating arrows knocking itself into place. Once again, Zyoto fired the arrow, repeating this process until she had shot five arrows into the snake. Being two levels above her, it was still alive, but only barely. She knocked the fifth floating arrow, then spoke another skill into effect. "Magnum Shot!" As the Garden Snake slithered to the archer, she unleashed an arrow that fired like a cannon into the serpent, killing it. With that over, the woman lowered her bow again and walked towards the man. "Are you alright?"

[Trenchgoat]

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'That went well. Getting out of trouble again... check! Best tactiv ever! Now where was I? Oh yeah, figuring out a way to get out of this place! But... What's wrong with my ears? I keep hearing a certain hissing...' , Trenchgoat thought and turned to the right, staring a garden snake directly in the face. Surpirsed by this sudden sight, he let out a scream: "Agh!" After backing out a few steps, he was stopped by a tree behind him. 'Okay, think! If I make a sudden move, it will probably attack, so I at least need to get a distance to pull out a weapon. Running isn't an option at the moment, because I can't back out and...'

His thoughts came to an an abrupt halt as the woman from before entered his vision on the right side, activating a skill and piercing the snake with arrows. She now had the snake's whole attention, but before it could do her any harm, she used 'Magnum Shot' and elegantly finished off the snake. She then walked to him, aksing if he was alright.

"Thanks, I was pretty surprised by that unexpected encounter. Still, I could've handled this on my own." While saying this, he saw something move behind the assassin. This time, it was a Level 2 garden snake. He reacted immediatly and pulled out his longsword. "Straights! Fickle Roulette!" His sword lengthened additional four feet and he himself started spinning. Just before he would let go of his weapon, he high jumped straight in the air and then threw hit with all his might. It spinned vertically and counter-clockwise over the head of his saviour, piercing the snake onto the nearest tree before it could react. 'Fatality.'  Making a precise landing on both of his feet with a slight grin on his face, he stated "I really appreciate your help, but I can take care of my own. I may have been running away from things and avoiding trouble up until this point, but I did train a lot and came up with some tactics on my own." He walked over to the tree with his sword still in it. When the snake hissed one last time, he pulled out his pistol and put it out of it's misery. 'Boom, Headshot!' He tucked away his pistol and pulled his sword out of the plant. 'Sorry Mr. tree, I didn't want to hurt you...'  "Anyway, I'm afraid I can't offer anything for my gratitude but a sincere handshake." He stretched out his hand, waiting for a response. "Oh yeah, sorry for beeing rude - my name is Trenchgoat, but 'Raphi' is fine too!"

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Words: 444
Tags: Zyoto
Notes: I just prevented the snake from reacting so it couldn't get sued by the Fine Bros. Am I not a nice person?

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[Zyoto]

Words: 436
Total: 1324
Tags: Trenchgoat

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The man thanked his savior, claiming he was merely surprised and more than capable of handling the fight on his own. The man, reacting to a threat behind the archer, immediately drew his sword, chaining a combo of skills that just implied he was over compensating for something as his blade grew an additional meter and a third, leaping high into the air and throwing the long sword with a strong swing. The blade spun vertically over Zyoto's head, a motion would caused her to knock an arrow by instinct before she saw the sword lodge itself into another Garden Snake, and the bark of a tree. Once again the man boasted of his capabilities, making excuses for himself and claiming to have trained a lot and come up with his own tactics before approaching the stuck blade and the snake it had caught itself in, miraculously still alive. In reaction to its defiant hiss, the man pulled out a handgun and fired a bullet into the serpent before tucking the pistol away and retrieving his sword. He then returned to Zyoto, extending his hand formally and introducing himself as Trenchgoat; a name she could only presume he chose as a result of a lost dare, a drunken night, or a joke character intended to be used only to learn the game. To be fair, she had played many MMORPGs before Elder Tale, and it was better to see a pun or wordplay such as Trenchgoat as opposed to something along the lines of BallsDeep69. "Zyoto." She extended her hand, grabbing his and shaking it once before lifting his hand high up, sliding under it and behind him to twist him arm, kicking his ankle with her foot to knock him off balance before pulling his arm and flipping him onto the ground. "It seems you aren't quite as capable as you claim, Mr. Trenchgoat." The woman looked down at him, pushing on his chest with one end of her bow. "To be honest, your swordplay is on par with that of an untrained amateur. Actually, I'd say it's worse. You are a Swashbuckler, you should never let go of your blade; you are a melee fighter, throwing away your weapon is foolish. I would suggest saving that skill that extended your blade for dire circumstances, as it can easily throw off your balance with a single swing." After her little lesson, she seemed to mutter something under her breath. _{"He would be appalled at such sloppy swordplay..."} The woman lifted her bow off of the man's center of mass, extending her hand to help him stand.

[Trenchgoat]

The woman introduced herself as 'Zyoto' and accepted his handshake, but only to throw him off balance and on the ground. 'Well, so much for beeing a gentleman. Is good behaviour worth nothing nowadays?' She then started taunting him and stating that his skills are even worse than the ones of an unexperienced amateur. She continued with her lecture, telling him how to fight as a Swashbuckler and what he should and shouldn't do. 'I've had worse introductions.'  When she was finally done with her lesson, she stretched out her hand to help him get off. Instead of accepting it, he had enough of this humiliation and kicked Zyoto off her feet. 'Who does she think she is, insulting me like that?!'  Trenchgoat stood up, wiping away the dust covering his coat. He didn't know what that person's problem was and why she acted so tough, but he wouldn't let it slide by like this.

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen! First of all, I'd like to make sure that you know I accept all kind of criticism, as long as it is hones, sincere and in no way humiliationg and/or knocking your host on the ground!" he stated, pouting at Zyoto. "Anyway" he continued, "Calling me an untrained amateur is only partly true: Yes, I am an amateur because I am still Level 1 - just like my friend Zyoto over here" - he said, grinning and pointing at her Level - "but I am definetly not an amateur. I proclaimed I did some training by myself in the past, remember? Furthermore, if my capabilities in fights are that bad, then I wonder how high the skills of a Level 2 adventurer must be because I totally pierced that snake while spinning in the air! '360° noscope'  "Moreover, you should've payed attention to my choice of weapons - otherwise you'd know that I carry two weapons - sometimes even at the same time! It's a key aspect of the Swashbuckler to carry not one, but two weapons! I use  longsword, mostly for melee attacks, and a pistol, a weapon with great range - at least that's what my arsenal consisted of when I last ckecked... As a result, I am never unarmed! In addition, there's even a Swashbuckler build that uses only throwing weapons, so this class doesn't only consist of melee type weapons." Catching his breath, he paused for a second and then proceeded with his speech: "Yes, I agree with you that my blade could be knocked out of my hand in it's extended form. I don't intend to use this skill that often anyway, as it hinders my mobility. However, I certainly don't believe that you could counter it that easily, especially when combined with centrifugal force." Last but not least, I don't think you can talk like that about my style of sword-fighting since you use a bow and arrows... Thank you for your attention, Ladies and Gentlemen!"

He looked her in the eyes with a sincere expression. "As I said before, I am not looking for trouble or conflicts. I am just trying to find a way out of this place without any commotion. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less."

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Words: 534
Tags: Zyoto
Notes: I quickly doodled his facial expression during his speech:

 

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[Zyoto]

Words: 394
Total: 1718
Tags: Trenchgoat

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As she was knocked to the ground, the gesture simply confirmed her notion about the man. As he stood up, she observed him... announcing... As if he were some sort of game show host. After which, he looked to the woman and started answering her lecture. He took pride in his training from the last world, even if it did not show in his fighting style. "Believe me, I noticed your choice of weaponry. The pistol can compliment a sword fairly well with its light weight. You are not the only Swashbuckler to use one sword and another weapon type in their free hand. I presume you have heard of the Spellsword, Dumah Iino? He is the guild master of Noihara, the guild which bought the Cathedral in Londinium. His title of Spellsword isn't just for fancy effect, but because that is his build. Allegedly he also had swordplay training in the real world, and his swordplay is renowned among the People of The Land, and even many Adventurers." Zyoto stood and brushed off the dirt from her clothes. "If you are dedicated to becoming stronger, you should seek him out. Tell him Henrietta sent you, he will understand. Though under no circumstances should you tell him my real username!" She had a stern expression, and was clearly quite adamant about this point. The Swashbuckler could feel the sincerity and importance of this point. "Dumah is a wise man, and a skilled swordsman. He can teach you a lot, just as he has many others. You would not be his first student, I assure you. Of course, you seem quite confident in yourself as well, so if you believe you do not need Dumah's training, then so be it. It would be your loss." The woman's words were cold and even harsh at times, but it was clear she was simply trying to help the man. "No offense Trench, but as a level one Adventurer, it may not be the wisest plan for you to be out hunting so late at night. It is dark, enemies are more abundant, and Player Killers tend to hide in the shroud of the night. Do what you wish, but I would suggest either finding a party or a torch. Nevertheless, you should consider my advice regarding Dumah's training; he's not a guild master for nothing, after all."

[Trenchgoat]

Trenchgoat carefully listened to Zyoto. She advised him to seek out an adventurer called 'Dumah Iino', saying he's a very skilled and experienced swordsman who could teach him a few things. He raised an eyebrow when she specifically told him not to mention her username, but guessing it had to be something very personal, he didn't want to ask further. 'She must have her reasons.'  He folded his arms and organized his thoughts.  Coming to a conclusion, he looked into the assassin's eyes.

"Thank you for your advice. I will try to find him, if he is as good as you claim. And trust me, I won't even think of mentioning your username - I am a very trustworthy person. Do you happen to impart knowledge about his whereabouts? Considering parties, I don't believe these are an option for me. I have no idea if one of my few friends even owned a copy of Elder Tale and was online on the same server as me at the time as when the apocalypse happened." He paused for a second to straighten his hat. "And making new friends that won't betray me at some point is somehow not one of my greatest abilities... Oh yeah: I also have a rather personal question too: You already know what my goal is - getting out of this world - but I wonder what yours is? If you don't want to tell me, that's fine too, I won't be offended."

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Words: 246
Tags: Zyoto
Notes: ---