LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 27, 2016 14:01:13 GMT -6
| | Twenty col.
He kept having to remind himself of that. Compared to the higher level quests he’d been trying to complete, the reward was pretty minor, but he wouldn’t even be out of the town’s safe zone and he was expecting it to be a walk in the park. Easy to find, quick to hand in, something that basically taught players how the quest system worked.
He was glad the creek was shallow; he hadn’t invested in the swimming skill, and wasn’t keen on finding out what would happen if he took a dip anyway. Death by drowning would be an embarrassing way to go, though potentially less so than dying to an overgrown pig or a houseplant. So far, this creek hadn’t been deep enough to make the bed out of reach of a decent stick. Good enough.
He yawned and stretched, taking a bite from the sandwich he’d bought off some NPC before he’d left the town. Once this would done, he’d head back to town, restock on potions, and head back out to do real quests.
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Last Edit: Nov 27, 2016 14:01:41 GMT -6 by icarus
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LV 3
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HP: 100
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STR: 0
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DEX: 2 (+10)
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CON: 0
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Post by Horus on Nov 27, 2016 14:26:32 GMT -6
Horus was learning VERY quickly that he was in over his head.
He’d slipped and fallen twice in this goddamn creek, and had he not been within a safe zone, Horus’ HP would surely be depleting based on sheer stupidity. Horus’ footing spoke a lot to his confidence in his ability to perform well in Sword Art Online.
The quest was to find a small locket near the creek, but there was a lot of ground to cover and not much more information to go off of. He tried not overthinking things; it HAD to be in a relatively easy area, right? It was the first floor, and this was the beginner quest to end all beginner quests. It was still in the safe zone for God’s sake!
That did little to boost Horus’ confidence.
Another player approached, and Horus was glad to see someone else looking for the locket. Hopefully they would find it first, and Horus could just piggyback on their success. Horus turned to face the other player; crap, he was kind of hot.
“Hey, I’m Horus,” he greeted. “You’re here to find the locket, right? I’m kind of new at this, so could you help a brother out?”
Last Edit: Nov 27, 2016 22:49:08 GMT -6 by Horus
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LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 27, 2016 15:29:11 GMT -6
| | “Oh. Hey.”
He glanced at the other player, assessing him, though the smile on his face made it look friendly enough. Given it was a non-combat quest, it hardly mattered what sort of gear the other had, but he was always keen on making contacts he could use later. This one looked useless, though pretty. And someone else to fish around in the water when they found the silly locket would be appreciated.
“Icarus,” he greeted, offering his hand to the other to shake. “Yeah, didn’t sound too hard. The newbie quests seem to be impossible to fail.” He sent the other player a party request, surprised by how normal that was becoming. He’d not really intended to party up when he’d started, but he was hardly getting any quests done without finding someone to invite.
“Been looking for it long?” There wasn’t that much creek to search, so hopefully it wouldn’t take too much longer.
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LV 3
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HP: 100
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STR: 0
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DEX: 2 (+10)
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CON: 0
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Post by Horus on Nov 27, 2016 15:36:49 GMT -6
Horus smiled as he accepted the party invite; he liked this Icarus fellow already.
“Nah, not really. Be careful though, it’s kind of slippery. If we weren’t in a safe zone, I might be dead already,” Horus teased. He turned his back on Icarus to kneel down, dipping his hands in the water to fish around a little. “You seem like you know what you’re doing better than me…I was a little slow getting started. I’m still level one.”
Horus wasn’t having any luck in this spot, so he stood and shook the water from his hands. “So bear with me if I’m a bit slow.”
Horus tread further down the creek, drifting further and further away from the Town of Beginnings. He'd never ventured out this far, and it was equal parts exciting and terrifying. Icarus seemed to have a good idea of what was going on, and he was fairly certain he was at least level two, possibly level three. It seemed rude to ask about his stats, though, so he kept that question to himself. "What's the reward for this quest, anyway? I don't know how to check."
Last Edit: Nov 27, 2016 22:48:05 GMT -6 by Horus
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LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 27, 2016 16:05:21 GMT -6
| | “I’m sure you’ll level up soon if you keep working hard.” That sounded like something encouraging to say, right? Only level two himself, he’d found it stroked his ego quite nicely to lord it over the complete beginners in the guise of friendly advice.
The other man certainly was keen. Icarus didn’t intend to get his hands wet until he’d spotted the locket, assuming it would glow or otherwise indicate it was a quest item. The water was clear enough that he could probably spot it anyway. Like a magpie to shiny objects, he’d always noticed jewellery.
“Twenty col. It’s not much, but every little helps.” Less than a health potion cost, but safe money was always appreciated. “Another player at the inn told me. Looks like all the basic quests give the same rewards. This your first one?”
He followed the other leisurely down the creek, still enjoying his sandwich. His new party member was quite capable of searching for the locket while he finished the rest of his lunch.
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Last Edit: Nov 27, 2016 16:05:35 GMT -6 by icarus
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LV 3
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HP: 100
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STR: 0
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DEX: 2 (+10)
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CON: 0
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Post by Horus on Nov 27, 2016 16:21:50 GMT -6
Horus noted that he was doing the work, but didn’t mind; Icarus was friendly, and Horus enjoyed the company. Plus, he liked the idea of being useful to someone else.
“Yeah. I still haven’t left the Town of Beginnings. I’m planning to head out later, though,” he mused, more to himself than to Icarus. “Most players had their first battle before they knew the risks…I was waiting around, so I couldn’t fearlessly charge in like some of the others. Serves me right for slacking off, I guess!”
Horus stood, stretching his back. He hadn’t eaten today, and was hoping the col from this quest would buy dinner. He knew he should be saving up for better gear, but he’d be dead quick if he didn’t keep his strength up. It had to be more than just stats.
It had been quiet for a few moments; Icarus was enjoying his lunch (which looked admittedly delicious), and Horus had always been chatty, so he decided to fill the silence. “Have you played many games besides SAO?”
Last Edit: Nov 27, 2016 22:47:05 GMT -6 by Horus
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LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 27, 2016 16:34:07 GMT -6
| | “Good luck with that first fight. It’ll feel weird to start, but it gets better.” Odd to use skills that his body instinctively knew, as if some other entity was controlling his movements. “Try starting with the pigs. They’re the easiest.”
Unaware that Horus was coveting his sandwich, he finished it and brushed the crumbs from his hands, eyes skimming the water in a half-hearted attempt to notice the necklace.
“Videogames? Not that many,” he answered honestly. He’d mostly made fun of those that wasted their days playing videogames, finding little worth in it himself. Trying out Sword Art Online had been a curiosity born from the insane hype for it and the promise of something so completely new that he’d wanted to experience it for himself, but he’d never planned on playing it for much more than the initial experience.
Now he was stuck in it, his own days wasted on trying to survive this stupid game.
“Did you play a lot of these games before, then?” Almost all the game’s terms had been alien to him when he’d started; aggro, exp, noob, he’d had to learn as he went. It wasn’t really a surprise that players that already knew the basics of what to expect were running circles round him.
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LV 3
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HP: 100
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STR: 0
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DEX: 2 (+10)
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CON: 0
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Post by Horus on Nov 27, 2016 16:44:38 GMT -6
Horus shook his head. “This was my first one,” he replied. “When I moved to Japan, I’d heard a lot about the culture, but it never really struck me. My boyfriend encouraged me to play, so I ended up being ‘lucky’ enough to get a copy. I was waiting for him to meet me in the Town of Beginnings, but…” Horus trailed off.
He’d waited for too long when Horus realized he wasn’t coming. Either he’d heard the news and never logged in, or he died before Horus could find them. He wasn’t sure he’d ever know the answer, and didn’t feel like sharing that with Icarus.
In fact he already felt too exposed; that was a bit of information he didn’t care to share. He brushed it off, ignoring whatever feelings he was experiencing, and continued looking for the locket, desperate for a change of subject. “Hey, what’s that?”
A flash of light appeared in the water, and Horus excitedly dove for it. He ripped it out of the water, realizing too late that he’d just grabbed a live fish with his bare hands. “Gah, holy crap!”
Last Edit: Nov 27, 2016 22:45:56 GMT -6 by Horus
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LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 27, 2016 17:00:05 GMT -6
| | Wow, geez. Sharing something like that with someone he’d just met? Disappointing, anyway, that the boy was probably still grieving over his boyfriend. He was pretty, and Icarus always had time to spend chatting up people he found attractive. No point wasting his time with it if the guy was still heartbroken over someone else.
“Maybe he was just late logging in,” Icarus tried to comfort, though it seemed unlikely. Anyone who’d managed to get one of the coveted limited copies would have been keen to start as soon as possible, and they hadn’t found out they were stuck here for a while after the game had first launched. Someone had deliberately left enough time to make sure everyone had logged in. Still, dying before that first announcement…that was extremely unlucky.
Thankfully, the conversation was diverted when Horus noticed something glimmering. “Is that the locket?” Icarus squinted at it, uncertain; something was certainly there, but it was difficult to tell whether it was the necklace. Not that he made a move to check for himself.
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LV 3
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HP: 100
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STR: 0
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DEX: 2 (+10)
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CON: 0
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Post by Horus on Nov 27, 2016 22:41:39 GMT -6
Horus freaked out, tossing the fish off to the side of the creek. It flopped around for a moment before disappearing into a kaleidoscope-like pattern. He briefly wondered if he got any experience from that, though he doubted it.
Horus glanced in the direction Icarus was looking at, noticing the shining object as well. He happily made his way over, trudging through the shallow water to approach it. He grinned, tapping the object with a single finger. A small menu appeared just above the surface of the water.
“Add Locket to your inventory?” it prompted, and Horus clicked YES excitedly. As it slipped into his inventory, Horus received a quest notification to return to the NPC to finish the quest. His award awaited him.
“Yeah, this is it, Icarus,” he reported excitedly. Horus stepped out of the water, bouncing on his heels a little. Horus almost thanked Icarus for the help, but thought better of it. “Hey, Icarus, would you mind if I added you to my Friends List? I think I could use all the help in the world at this point.”
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LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 28, 2016 1:44:46 GMT -6
| | He smothered a laugh as Horus grabbed a fish instead, his face a picture of pantomime surprise. Glad it wasn’t him that had his hands in the water and touching the slimy thing, he merely smiled to himself and enjoyed the show.
At least the guy continued looking, heading towards the spot Icarus had pointed out. He could get used to having someone doing these menial tasks for him; perhaps inviting brand new players along for these low level quests was the way to go. He could pretend he was doing them a favour, and they could save him from actually having to do them himself. Win-win for him.
His own quest tracker ticked upwards as Horus added the locket to his inventory, prompting them to return to town and find the owner. Easy. “Sure, feel free. I could always do with people to party up with.” Especially when they were so obliging about doing all the work themselves.
“I’m going to head back and hand this in. Coming?”
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Last Edit: Nov 28, 2016 1:45:00 GMT -6 by icarus
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LV 3
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HP: 100
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STR: 0
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DEX: 2 (+10)
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CON: 0
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Post by Horus on Nov 28, 2016 20:55:00 GMT -6
“Yeah, let’s do it,” Horus smiled. His first quest had gone great! Plus, he made a new friend in the process. His first friend, Horus noted, as he fiddled with the menu for a few moments before realizing how to send a friend request. He hoped Icarus didn’t notice, though that was unlikely.
Once the request was sent, Horus brushed his hands together triumphantly. Finally, progress! He passed Icarus by a couple feet and headed back towards town, excited to get some col and hopefully some experience points. He needed all the help he could get; the fields around the Town of Beginnings were already being picked clean by players more proactive than him, so Horus would likely have to get most of his experience via quests.
Horus thought for a moment; he needed to catch up to the higher level players. If he could be their equal in level by the time the first boss room was discovered, he could join that fight. Joining that fight may be dangerous, but it’ll be his best chance of getting a lot of experience. Plus, if he was there, he’d be one of the first to reach the second floor, which meant he could get experience quickly like the earlier players had gotten when Sword Art Online first launched.
Horus smiled a little to himself; one tiny fetch quest, and already he had a plan. Strange how a tiny bit of progress could inspire him.
“Hey, when they find the boss room…are you planning on fighting?”
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LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 30, 2016 1:31:42 GMT -6
| | The boss room? Talk about counting his chickens before his eggs hatched. He’d currently be happy with the ability to fight the strange houseplants and large boars without having to seek more geared help; while he’d love to imagine he could have the ability, he wasn’t quite suicidal enough to put him in with that top group of players without knowing he had a decent shot.
“I might do,” he answered, because Horus didn’t really need to know his own doubts about his abilities. “Would be nice to be a part of helping to save everyone, and the more players mean the fewer injuries.” Or at least that was how it had worked on mobs. Would the boss be different? Maybe it would be like those quests that put players into different instances, and each party would have to face him alone. Taking thousands of people seemed a little like cheating.
“Are you hoping to catch up in time?” Icarus, honestly, thought that was impossible. The guy was struggling to find a locket on his own.
“I’m going to head back and hand this in. Coming?”
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LV 3
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HP: 100
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STR: 0
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DEX: 2 (+10)
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CON: 0
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Post by Horus on Nov 30, 2016 9:55:58 GMT -6
"I know I'm going to catch up. I'm nothing if not competitive," Horus smiled to himself. Of course it was going to be hard, but he knew how he planned to do it. "Most of the fields have already been picked clean, so I'm going to do quests until my legs give out. And if that's not enough, I'll go to the farthest reaches of the floor to find monsters to fight. And if I don't catch up in time for this boss fight, I'll be ready for the next one."
Horus realized how he sounded; there were so many players leagues above him already, it was going to be not only difficult, but dangerous to try to catch up. But if Horus reserved himself to sitting around all day and waiting for someone else to beat the game for him, he might actually lose his mind.
"I'm not planning to sit around," Horus told him. "If I didn't plan to make progress in the game, to help people, there'd be no point in doing quests or anything. I'd sit around until I died or the game ended."
It got a little heavy there. Horus cleared his throat, and followed Icarus silently for a moment. "Yeah, let's go finish this quest." He followed Icarus into town slowly, scratching his arm lazily as they walked.
He had a tendency to...over-share sometimes. Horus was a person without secrets, so he tended to just say whatever came to mind. It's the kind of thing that can make people uncomfortable very quickly, especially if they don't talk much. Icarus seemed to be a relatively quiet person, which made Horus feel awkward. For such a social person, he wasn't very good at being social.
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LV 3
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HP: 155
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STR: 3 (+23)
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DEX: 2 (+67)
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CON: 0 (+11)
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larren IS
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Post by icarus on Nov 30, 2016 14:00:11 GMT -6
| | Confidence bled from the boy. It was surprising, given his previous uncertainty and complete panic over touching the fish, but he supposed everyone wanted to be the best. In a world that wanted to kill you, being top of the food chain wasn’t just about bragging rights. Stories of players PKed by others far stronger than them were already making the rounds, and he wondered how long it would be until the better equipped players started demanding protection money.
“Sounds like you’re dedicated,” Icarus drawled, trying not to let the amusement that the picture generated show. “You won’t know if you don’t try. Just try not to get yourself killed, ok? You’re cute, and it would be a shame not to see you again.” Quest done, he was bored, and was curious whether the kid would blush. He followed up the flirtation with a wink, waiting for the boy’s reaction.
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