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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2016 11:52:20 GMT -6
Ruler was up to his calves in water, squatting in a small creek. He stared at his feet, which weren't really his feet, and felt impressed by the realism. Even the feeling of water between his toes felt real and genuine: if he hadn't known any better, Ruler might've felt charmed into thinking this was real. But it was not. He opened the menu and attempted to log out again, only to be met with another error. The boy stood upright, wiped non-existant sweat off of his avatar's forehead, and stared down into the water again. Vaguely, he could make out a face that was not his own staring back at him. An older man. A mature man. Almost like the face of his father. Ruler wished he had spent more effort on character creation, and had not settled for such a generic middle-aged man look. He stared back to the grass and at his shoes, then back down at the water again. " What am I doing here," he mumbled as he crouched down again to run fingers through the water. As far as he'd understood, a little girl had lost a locket. It was a 'quest', which did not involve slaying any monsters, but did involve running from here to there, fetching this or that for easy rewards. Easy rewards were good rewards. But the locket was not so easily found. Ruler understood the basics. After that run-in earlier, he felt more confident about the game. More importantly, since he couldn't log out yet anyway─Ii hoped the problem would be resolved soon─he decided he might as well put his newfound confidence to the test and complete the quest by his lonesome. Not that it was working, so far. " Maybe I'm doing something wrong," Ruler thought out loud. He navigated to the menu, which still took a little getting used to, and brought up the quest details. Then, he stared at it intently. Maybe there was some hint to finding the locket he was missing.
Quest Details
Last Edit: Nov 15, 2016 16:14:09 GMT -6 by Deleted
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LV 3
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HP: 485
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STR: 0 (+30)
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DEX: 2 (+23)
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CON: 5 (+72)
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Mint IS
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Post by Farmsalot on Nov 6, 2016 14:07:32 GMT -6
As always, Farms found himself wandering around the areas surrounding the city. Taking in the sights, enjoying the fresh air and exchanging greetings with any friendly person to cross his path. He'll never understand how people even thought up this 'virtual world', but he was curious to see how the technology would develop. As he wandered he had even begun to consider how the technology could be applied to in his own field. The possibilities really were endless.
His wandering game to an abrupt halt, a faint splashing sound capturing his attention. It only took a quick glance at the nearby creek to see the source of the sound. He watched the man for a moment, curious as to what he could be doing in the water like that. They appeared to be another player, at least as far as he could tell. Maybe they lost something?
He approached the edge of the water as the man navigated his menu, raising his voice slightly to ensure he would catch his attention. "Excuse me, sir!" The man in the water appeared to be quite a bit older than himself, middle aged he would assume. Never did it cross his mind that someone would make a character that didn't reflec their actual appearance. That's what he did after all, at least to the best of his ability. "I was just walking by and... Well you look like you've lost something. Would you like some help?"
| I DON'T need THE WHOLE PIE, I JUST WANT MY LITTLE SLICE
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MADE BY VEL OF GS
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2016 15:47:20 GMT -6
At first, Ruler did not respond. So used had he gotten to be called 'hey you', 'kid', 'brat', 'bro' by those around him and who did not know him, that 'sir' did not register in his mind as being 'him'.
Whenever Ii looked in the mirror, after all, he saw a pretty OK but obviously immature looking student. Two mismatched eyes, which he had resented when he was very young, and which he had misused for grand fantasies of grandeurs a few years back. A nose that he felt was too flat, and brows he had once considered trimming, but decided against after all.
When the voice went on to ask if he had lost something, Ruler finally looked up. He turned his head to the source: a man who looked very Japanese. This was someone who had not used the character customisation as Ruler had, to craft an image twice-removed from himself.
"Help?" Ruler mumbled, and then more clearly, "Yes, I think... I could use help."
He gestured to the creek and frowned a bit helplessly. "I'm... I'm doing a quest," he started, unsure if this was a player or NPC (would NPCs understand 'quest'?), "and it's... well..."
Ruler explained that for the past fifteen minutes or so, he had been looking for a locket lost by one of the NPCs in town. He wasn't sure what the locket looked like, but it should have been lost somewhere near the creek.
He'd taken it as meaning it had slipped into the water, and by now he was already considering that the locket might have been carried downstream.
"Although I'm not sure why it'd be so frustratingly hard to find," Ruler finished, scowling. "I mean, geez, would it kill to have a beginner quest be more straight-forward?"
None of the character customisation Ruler had done did anything to hide the boyish inflection in his voice, or his casual language. It hadn't occured to Ruler yet that grown-ups were much more polite and formal with strangers, but then, Ruler wasn't a real grown-up.
He was just playing at one. He wasn't even sure if that was just in the game, or outside it, too.
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LV 3
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HP: 485
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STR: 0 (+30)
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DEX: 2 (+23)
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CON: 5 (+72)
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Mint IS
OFFLINE
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Post by Farmsalot on Nov 6, 2016 16:39:35 GMT -6
Almost immediately after receiving permission to help, Farms got to work rolling his pant legs up and prepping to enter the creek. He listened attentively as he continued speaking and explaining the situation, head bobbing slowly as he removed his shoes and stepped into the water. It definitely seemed like a difficult situation to find oneself in. "A locket, huh?" A finger moved to curl around his chin, looking down at the clear flowing water that submerged his feet. There was a pause, a smile creeping it's way across his face as he wiggled his tows in the mud. He hadn't felt this way since he was a little kid back home, a bit of nostalgia overtaking him as nearly he got lost in thought.
Taking a deep breath he looked back up to the man, curling his hands into fists and resting them on his hips. "It's a metal locket, right? I imagine it couldn't have gotten to far in a current like this. It would get caught on a rock pretty easily, I'd imagine." He took a few steps down stream, squinting slightly as he scanned the creek's bed for any reflective materials. Still, they would probably be at it for a while. And that guy did seem pretty frustrated with this whole thing. Maybe some small talk would help ease his pain.
Farms cleared his throat, unsure exactly of how to start. He never was one for idle chit-chat. Maybe he could talk about the game? They both seemed to be rather new so he wasn't going to bother him with questions he may not know the answer to. "So. This is a pretty tough quest? Hopefully the reward will be good, at least." Unfortunately that was the only thing he could think of at the moment. The quest was the only thing the two had in common as far as he could tell. "At least it doesn't involve any fighting. I haven't done any combat yet, but I imagine it to be pretty intimidating." With how real everything in the world felt he could only imagine how scary it would be to actually fight something, let alone another player. Fortunately there seemed to be plenty of nonviolent ways for him to pass the time.
| I DON'T need THE WHOLE PIE, I JUST WANT MY LITTLE SLICE
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MADE BY VEL OF GS
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2016 17:30:26 GMT -6
Ruler watched the other enter the creek as well with mixed feelings. He was happy to have the help. No one should make any mistakes there. He was thankful, and couldn't help but bow his head slightly and mumble a thanks to the older-looking player...
But he mentally slapped his forehead when he remembered he was the older looking avatar, and in a virtual game world it was as likely he was talking to a ten-year-old prodigious brat from America as it would a Japanese gentleman of sixty.
Maybe not a ten-year-old American. Ruler didn't know much of Americans, but he guessed they weren't half as good at Japanese as he was at English, and his English was...
Well, he wouldn't be caught dead speaking English. Using a kuuru boast was one thing, going all English on someone was a scary thing altogether.
Ruler listened to Farmsalot's explanation, even as he continued working his side of the creek. Made sense that something could be stuck along a rock, "since otherwise it'd keep going forever."
He didn't realise he said that out loud.
His newfound companion asked a difficult question. Was this quest tough? Ruler's experience wasn't exhaustive enough to say, one way or the other. He supposed it might well be. The other guy was probably better versed in things.
"No combat, yeah! Sounds friggin' scary, right?" he asked again, still not bothering to use a more formal tone. "Everything's so lifelike, if I'm going to try combat at all I want to be real prepared for it," Ruler moved further down the creek, "cuz it'd suck to die just like that, right?"
He shot the other a look for confirmation. |
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LV 3
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HP: 485
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STR: 0 (+30)
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DEX: 2 (+23)
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CON: 5 (+72)
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Mint IS
OFFLINE
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Post by Farmsalot on Nov 6, 2016 21:02:30 GMT -6
He pulled his fingers from the mud, resting his arms on his knees as he looked down into the water. He should really be looking for rocks rather than playing in the mud... As much as he would like to. Standing upright he started to patrol the waters with his neck craned down, eyes open for reflective surfaces and any protruding rocks that could catch it. "Right. I don't think the game would ask you to do anything so impossible."
There was a pause as he turned to look at Ruler, caught off guard buy his choice of words. He couldn't think of a single time he heard a man of his age speak in such a way. But it would make sense considering where they were. He could simply be young at heart, or maybe he was trying to fit in with the younger players that made up the majority of people here. Either way he dismissed the thought and returned his focus to the job at hand.
"Scary is one way to put it. But you're right. It's lifelike. If the pain is just as real that's something I'd like to avoid." He had some pretty bad accidents in the past, but he didn't want to know what it felt like to get run through, even if there wouldn't be any repercussions. "I'll fight if I have to, but I'm not interested in hurting anyone or anything. With how real everything feels, I'd rather not know what it feels like to kill." Some may think he was making excuses to hide some form of cowardice, but that didn't bother him too much. To each their own, after all.
| I DON'T need THE WHOLE PIE, I JUST WANT MY LITTLE SLICE
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MADE BY VEL OF GS
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2016 7:09:01 GMT -6
There was something sensible about the other's words, but Ruler didn't agree. He wasn't afraid of combat, or of killing. In fact, the idea delighted him. He simply wasn't ready to go out and die miserably because he didn't know the first thing of combat.
Ruler also admitted he was maybe a little afraid of the idea of some oversized bug lunging at him.
Once, he had seen a picture on one of his friends' phones. A large spider, nearly twice the size of his hand, had nestled on a broom somewhere in an Australian zoo.
It had been enough to make Ruler skittish for two days, ever on the lookout for similar spiders.
"Well, the pain shouldn't be the same," Ruler mumbled. He couldn't understand how it'd be a fun game if you had to agonise every time you fought.
He stared down at his feet again. Well, he could feel water sidling past him, so... probably, there was pain. Likely, there was pain. Ruler resolved then and there he'd absolutely only enter combat if it was a necessity.
Until then, lockets in creeks.
He approached one of the stone beds, running his fingers across the smooth rocks as he felt around under water. There was, after all, a possibility it had become stuck somewhere he couldn't see.
Maybe that guy would─
"By the way," Ruler looked to the other, "it's a lil' difficult to think of you as 'that guy'. I mean, you seem like a pretty cool guy, so... I'd like to know your name." |
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LV 3
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HP: 485
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STR: 0 (+30)
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DEX: 2 (+23)
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CON: 5 (+72)
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Mint IS
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Post by Farmsalot on Nov 7, 2016 13:22:44 GMT -6
The disagreement was met with a shrug, eyes not even moving away from their current objective. "You're probably right, but I don't intend to find out any time soon." Even if it didn't hurt himself, he just couldn't find the appeal in pretending to kill another creature. Maybe he was just a softie. Eyes narrowed as he looked into the water, slowly starting to question his own reasoning. Maybe it wasn't in the creek. Maybe it was on the edge. Who would wear a locket if they were playing in a creek, anyway? She was probably sitting on the edge when it fell off, he had to assume. With that possibility in mind Farms made his way to the edge of the water and began scanning with the dry land met the creek. Maybe he could find it buried in the mud there.
He perked up a bit as he was addressed once more, looking over his shoulder back at Ruler. Cool? Was he cool? No one had ever called him that before. It was enough to catch him off guard, causing him to forget his job for the moment to sort all of this out. "Me? Cool? My name?" Farms stood up straight, turning so that he was fully facing Ruler. A muddy hand moved to wrap around his chin as he considered the request. There wasn't really any harm in sharing it, was there? It wasn't as if he had anything to hide, not that they would be able to do anything with just his name. On top of that he was certain his brother would be calling him by his real name once they met in game. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to share my name." Arms fell to his sides, bending at the waist give Ruler a bow. This was a more formal introduction after all. "Shoichi. It's nice to meet you."
| I DON'T need THE WHOLE PIE, I JUST WANT MY LITTLE SLICE
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MADE BY VEL OF GS
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2016 14:10:32 GMT -6
Farmsalot - feel free to find the locket now, or else I do it next post. :) Their search was not progressing as smoothly as he liked. Even with two pairs of eyes searching, the locket remained elusive.
At least it wasn't entirely boring, Ruler considered as he watched his companion rub some mud over their chin. Well, it was just a tiny speck, but he'd probably have to wash that off later.
Was that a thing in the game? He'd have to look it up.
Farmsalot surprised Ruler when he suddenly bowed; feeling embarrassed, Ruler quickly returned a bow slightly deeper than Farmsalot's. It was hard to remember he was supposed to look older.
"Ah, um, Shoichi, huh? Nice to meet ya." It was a surprisingly normal-sounding name, but it somehow fit. The perfect way in which Farmsalot seemed an unassuming Japanese guy and his name an unassuming Japanese person was just... perfect.
No other word fit.
"I'm Ruler," he knocked on his chest weakly. "Shouchi's a pretty normal nick," Ruler continued, as he bent back into the creek to resume his search. "I kinda expected something like... I dunno. I've met a Prince, so a SirKnight or something would've fit."
Or SirNormal. 'Normal' by itself had a bit of an interesting ring to it, and Ruler had a pang of regret that he could've picked that nick.
In its own way, it was brilliant. Like declaring you're the lord of darkness, except this was in a game where you really could be someone amazing.
Ruler clutched at his head and groaned when he remembered the part about calling himself the lord of darkness, though. His dark history continued to haunt him. |
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LV 3
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HP: 485
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STR: 0 (+30)
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DEX: 2 (+23)
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CON: 5 (+72)
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Mint IS
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Post by Farmsalot on Nov 7, 2016 15:28:12 GMT -6
Head nodded in acknowledgement as Ruler gave his name as well, now standing upright once more. Ruler, huh? That certainly was a strange name. Probably something foreign. Regardless, didn't want to draw much attention to it by probing any further, simply accepting the admittedly odd name as fact. It wasn't like he was able to choose his own name.
Brows furrowed as the conversation continued, as he suddenly found himself unsure of what was being discussed. "Nick? What do you mean nick?" Still muddy hand curled into a fist and rested on his hip as he watched the older man, mouth pulling into a flat line as he attempted to decipher. Did he make a wrong turn in his reasoning?
In the end it all started to make sense. Nick. As in nickname. He wasn't asking for his name, he was asking for his username! Farms almost looked relieved upon finally coming to grips with thing, a hand moving to cover his forehead as he laughed softly at himself. How silly of him, making such an obvious mistake. Hand slid up his forehead and through his hair, leaving a very obvious trail of mud behind. "I'm sorry, I misunderstood! I assumed you were asking for my real name. I'm still not used to this whole 'video game' thing." Arms fell to rest at his side, a slightly embarrassed smile quickly taking over Farms' features.
"Let me try that again. My username is Farmsalot. Like Lancelot, but with farms. Does that meet your expectations better?" Initially he did consider simply using his real name in game, but his brother had cautioned him otherwise. He wasn't quite sure why, but he figured it would be best to simply follow his instructions. It wasn't as if he knew any better.
| I DON'T need THE WHOLE PIE, I JUST WANT MY LITTLE SLICE
Farms was too caught up in the conversation to even think to keep looking. I'll leave it to you.
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MADE BY VEL OF GS
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2016 15:48:57 GMT -6
Ruler listened to the other's correction, and grinned sheepishly. He couldn't blame Farmsalot for making that kind of mistake: Ruler'd done it himself a while back, in a different game.
He guessed that Farmsalot was even older than his avatar made you think. Ruler wouldn't at all be surprised if Farmsalot turned out to be some old gramps in a confectionary store by the countryside who, for some reason or another, had decided to give the NerveGear a try.
The boy cleared his throat. It wasn't up to him to judge.
Farmsalot's motions, however, spoke a different tale. For one wild instant, Ruler entertained the idea that Farmsalot could be an ikemen who had only just gotten some free time to play games.
It would certainly also explain why Farmsalot's avatar was so plain-looking.
"Don't worry! It's a mistake anyone can make," Ruler declared expertly, with all of his two months of MMORPG experience. "Though, Farmsalot? Really? It sounds... kinda weird, don'cha think?"
Ruler had already returned his attention to the creek, happily chattering away even as his fingers and feet started to feel cold from standing in the water so long.
Just as he was about to stand up straight again, his fingers found purchase with something. A thin cord. Ruler yanked at it a little, then tugged harder until whatever it was attached to came loose from between one of the stone formations.
The in-game menu identified it as the Quest Item: Locket.
A triumphant look came over Ruler's face as he showed it off to Farmsalot.
"Look! Look! I got it!" he cheered, happily dangling the locket up. "Ah, wait, you in the same quest? Can we share the reward?" It felt only right to do. |
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LV 3
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HP: 485
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STR: 0 (+30)
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DEX: 2 (+23)
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CON: 5 (+72)
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Mint IS
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Post by Farmsalot on Nov 7, 2016 16:20:33 GMT -6
It was pretty reassuring to hear he wasn't the only one to make such a mistake. Knowing he wasn't the only person clueless enough to do this made it just a bit easier for him to swallow. He couldn't help but laugh a bit as he questioned the quality of his chosen username. With another shrug he turned back to the shore, eyes slowly scanning it's surface for their target. "In all honesty, I didn't put too much effort into it. Not sure what the point of having a 'cool' username would be." He felt like his username was a good enough representation of who he was, which was more than satisfactory as far as he was concerned. If other people found it lame he was perfectly fine with that.
Search was cut short by Ruler's excited hollering, causing Farms to abruptly turn back to him. Dirty hands clapped together as he approached him, stirring up enough mud go leave a cloudy trail of mud in the water behind. "Well done! A bit of dedication is all it takes, I guess. Though I'm sorry I wasn't of much help." Then again if he were the one to find it Ruler may have felt bad for him doing all the work. So maybe this would work out for the best.
When the matter of reward was mentioned Farms moved his hand to curl around his chin again, still paying no mind to the mess it left behind. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I think we need to be in a party for that to work." Hand returned to his side as he shook his head. "But it doesn't matter, really. I didn't do anything, so I'm fine with not getting the reward. You go on ahead, don't worry about me." All he did was keep the guy company, nothing worth a monetary reward. "Besides, I enjoyed myself."
| I DON'T need THE WHOLE PIE, I JUST WANT MY LITTLE SLICE
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MADE BY VEL OF GS
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2016 18:30:10 GMT -6
Farmsalot's disregard for a cool username was pretty evident. Ruler held that thought to himself.
The thought he didn't hold to himself was the one related to rewards.
"But... you helped me out! If you haven't got the quest, you can just pick it up and it wouldn't be a problem for me!" the boy protested. He wasn't sure if it wouldn't be a problem, but even if that lowered the quest reward, he still felt it was only right to return kindness with kindness.
It was one of the core Japanese principles, after all: one good turn deserved another, and to be in someone's debt was a crime.
Ruler considered demanding. He awkwardly worked through the menu, until he found the function he was looking for.
He sent the invite, staring at Farmsalot.
"C'mon. You should join up, and we'll get a reward together." His tone made it clear that he was not putting the matter up for debate: as far as Ruler was concerned, not only was it sensible for Farmsalot to join up, he was almost obligated to.
Ruler waded through the creek until he was right in front of Farmsalot.
"Please." |
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LV 3
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HP: 485
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STR: 0 (+30)
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DEX: 2 (+23)
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CON: 5 (+72)
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Mint IS
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Post by Farmsalot on Nov 7, 2016 19:59:59 GMT -6
Smile grew slightly, feeling rather touched at how determined Ruler was to share the reward. He would have thought it would only be fair for him to miss out on the words for not truly contributing to the objective. Still, he could see where the guy was coming from. He knew that he certainly wouldn't allow the other to go without at least trying to share the reward.
"Well I guess I have no choice then." When the invitation appeared on his screen he immediately gestured to accept it, glancing over at the new information appearing on his screen. A hand caked with now mostly dry mud moved to rest on Ruler's shoulder. "Lets go, friend. We've got a quest to turn in." With a reassuring nod, Farms gestured to the shore where their shoes sat in wait. Though part of him wanted to stay and play in the mud a bit more. But there would always be more time for that.
| I DON'T need THE WHOLE PIE, I JUST WANT MY LITTLE SLICE
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MADE BY VEL OF GS
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 16:51:18 GMT -6
Ruler's first reaction was a laugh. Making friends in a game was much easier than he thought, and he vaguely wondered at the friend request options. Maybe at some point, he'd work up the courage to figure those out and send some.
For now, he waded back to the shore, where he put on his shoes again. Belatedly, he realised that he might as well have put them in storage and easily re-equipped them, but there was something about dropping and picking them up that felt more comfortable.
There would be time enough to figure out the functions. It was a game, which meant he could make a mistake a gazillion times and it would still not really affect him.
With that thought, he consoled himself, and alongside his new friend, Ruler set off for town again to hand in the quest.
The quest NPC's reaction was lifelike, Ruler supposed, even if he had never returned a locket to a girl before. In fact, as far as talking with girls went, he hadn't done a whole lot of that.
Most girls were obsessed with all sorts of girly stuff. Ruler wasn't into any of that, and even if he were, the other boys took up most of his time at school.
So, even if he'd wanted to, Ruler had little opportunity to talk with the girls.
Disbanding his party and bidding Farmsalot adieu, Ruler set out to explore the outskirts of the town.
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