Tree Times Over [ Quest / Domino ]

You're kidding me.

That was the first words that ran through his mind the moment his golden eyes landed upon the bulky armored figure that sat upon the stump a short distance away from. He pursed his lips slightly, gazing upon the equipment that he wore, and immediately felt rather minuscule in comparison. He was still clad in the basic clothing of a beginner, having only just started his journey beyond the Town of Beginnings rather recently, and had yet to compile enough currency to purchase himself a better looking set. Hell, even his weapon screamed 'newb'. He had believed himself to at least be capable enough to handle a mission of the E-rank calibre, and one that finally involved combat, but now that he was in the presence of his supposed partner for the quest, he wondered if he was even going to make any significant contribution to the task. He sighed inaudibly, closing his eyes for a moment. Accepting the shame that he felt regarding the circumstances, he steeled himself for the task at hand. No point delving about it for too long.

"Ey," Domino called out, announcing his presence to the other player. He was obviously a higher level player than he was. If anything, he should at least try to take comfort in that. Ceasing his approach at a comfortable distance away from Pax, his golden eyes then gazed towards the goat path towards their quest target. His partner definitely would be doing the majority of the work, and so Domino would set for himself an objective for his participation here.

Do not be a burden.

Even if these were monsters involved in an E-rank mission, his instincts should at least be enough for him to know how to defend himself, right? Eyes rolled back towards Pax, the passive expression on his face present as ever as he gave a light nod of his head. "I'm here for the quest?"

PAXILON

Alright, he certainly wasn't expecting to see that. He blinked, unknowingly staring at the young man that stood before him. He had been expecting to see someone more gruff, not someone who looked to be younger than he was. It was only when he spoke up did Domino snap back to reality -- or as close to reality as in regards to the game -- and avert his gaze for just a brief moment. Midway through his introduction, of course, Domino would regain eye contact, finding no reason to be rude towards the armored male at that particular time. "Domino, or Dom, I guess," It was the persona he carried across his games, and for those that he did make friends in, his name had always been shortened to Dom. He figured, since he was going to be stuck here indefinitely, might as well carry that tradition on.

A pop-up would appear following then, and Domino's golden eyes bounced down onto it. Party invite, huh? Made sense, considering the nature of the quest. Giving an acknowledging nod of his head, he brought his right hand up, and tapped on the affirming button. And with that, the two were partied together. Domino noticed immediately the extra green bar that appeared below his own, with a corresponding name that matched what this man introduced himself to be. Well, that was settled then, it seemed.

"Don't feel pressured to do anything crazy, alright?"

"Don't worry. I know the stakes here, and I'm not too eager about the idea of dying this early," he replied simply, as he followed behind the shorter male. Pax then proceeded on to explain his presence here in an obviously lower-leveled quest in comparison to his actual skill. Well, that made sense. No one was going to be able to carry this game on their own, after all. The more warriors they had at the front, the higher their chances of actually passing it. He scoffed, giving a few approving nods of his head, as the corners of his lips curled into an amused grin.

Perhaps down the road, he should pass that torch on to the next person as well. If it ever came to that, of course.

"That... Sounds like it sucks," Domino empathized with Pax's friend, and he found himself recalling the e-mail address that he had used when he was still a young brat. 'fallen_demon_', it had been. The thought made him shudder. Thankfully, he had long grown out of that phase. He would not have been able to live through the embarrassment had he used that name in this game, especially when there didn't seem to be any available method in changing one's name. Recovering from that train of thoughts, Domino would continue on to follow the stronger male, feeling a tinge of jealousy towards how much the man had progressed in comparison to him. How long would he, in turn, take to reach that level, he wondered?

The following words drew a soft grin from the young red-head, then. "Ironic," he commented simply, as he glanced over his shoulder. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, though his mind was directed towards the players back in the Town of Beginnings. The people that were too fearful in taking action, and chose to instead stay back and let the braver players push through. The slightest hesitation could mean the difference between life and death, Domino was well aware, and he was sure that a number of them recognized that as well. "I dare say a hero is what some people need right now," he added on, knowing that what people simply needed was a kick to push through. A motivation. Inspiration.

One more extra sword at the frontlines would always be more appreciated, he figured.

It did not take them long to reach their quest-giver, and Domino listened half-heartedly. He already knew the specifics of the mission, and simply allowed himself to just pay attention for the sake of immersion. Of course, he would led Pax take the lead, and accept the quest for them. And another warning came in, this one more detailed than the last. He nodded his head simply, furrowing his eyebrows lightly as he thought upon the chances of him being able to actually finish this on his own. He knew it well. He wasn't strong enough. And that was the very reason he had chosen to step out of the Town of Beginnings, to begin his own quest for power, to get out of the hellhole he had found himself in.

"Noted," he answered simply.

"A hero? No. What people need right now is each other. A hero would only make them get comfortable in the fact that someone else is going to deal with the problem this game has us in. A hero might raise people's hope, but it also makes them complacent."

"That's not a hero, though," Domino quipped back. "That sounds more like a martyr," the red-head added on. One shouldn't forget that as fearful as people may be, a majority of them were what Domino liked to refer to as dreamers. Gamers. People who wanted to go beyond what was given in reality, and experience life out of the norm. As much as death loomed over them, one could not deny that Aincrad still offered all of that in ways beyond one's expectations. It was mostly those diehard gamers, or those with true bravery that had stepped forward to advance into the game. The black-haired male before him was definitely one or the other, or both. The only thing most people needed was a feat. A feat to demonstrate that this game can be beaten. Until then, they'd simply hope for that 'hero'.

"But yeah, we'd need those too. Mentors would be the best word I can think of to describe it. Giving them hope is one thing. Teaching them how to make use of it is another," Domino agreed. It was clear to see that he hadn't just been cowering behind the walls of the Town of Beginnings at the start of the game, no. He had taken the safer road, and that was to analyze the game itself, from the background, and read into the situation before jumping in like many had done so. And that was the reason why a number had already passed on. "Keep it up, and we'd end up creating a cycle of such events. People advance until they hit a wall to high to hit, and they come back to gather more strength via numbers and skill," he chuckled, nodding his head a few times. It was a standard approach to anything, really, both in real life, and in games.

A random thought passed through his head, then. If their life was at stake here, did that mean that this game was, in its own way, their real life now?

Before he could think more into this rather philosophical argument, Pax's words would draw his attention back to 'reality', and Domino raised his chin. Nodding in acknowledgement, he simply followed after, keeping their client placed between himself and the other player.

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PAXILON