Warriors United Online(IC/Open)

[Akkaga]

Le OOC

Alphonse slammed his door and locked it. He could still hear his drunken mother yelling at him from the main floor. He pulled out the bag which he had smuggled in. Inside was a small box, rectangular, and brightly colored. The main point of interest on the box was the words; Warriors United Online. This game was like hundreds of other games. Yet.. Al knew this one was different. Much different than all the others.

Alphonse dropped the disk into the back of his customized helmet Amusphere. He put it on and pushed a button to his right. Instantly his body went ridged as he laid straight on his bed. His vision went black as the helmet darkened. He smiled and said two words that would change his life forever... "LINK START!!"

A halo of rainbow color lights shot around him and a white screen appeared, it quickly checked all 5 senses and read each off as ok. His body felt weightless until his feet lightly touched down in a large glass domed room. The room was a contrast in itself. It had Ancient Greek architecture mixed with new age designs. It was almost like a future society, if the Roman Empire still ruled the world. It was beautiful. Around the room were large bins filled with beginner level weapons, and all around Al players started to spawn in. "This is gonna be good."

[Jordslag]

Tsuyoi climbed into his bed and put his Amusphere on. "Link start." He said firmly. He shot through what seemed to be an endless tunnel with a Rainbow of Colors. He was unsurprised. He was an SAO survivor, after all. Finally, he landed in a room that seemed Predominantly Roman. He grabbed a Beginner weapon from a bin, then walked up to a Gray haired Kid, near the middle of the room. "Hello." He said, in a near Mechanical voice.

[Xing]

The sun had risen just enough to shine down past the treetops onto the young man as he returned from the local game store. He walked with a gaze fierce enough to make passersby quickly move out of his path. However the thoughts in his head were far from malicious and more along the lines of determined. He had been waiting for this day for months and wasn't going to waste a single minute of it to wait around. Ewan marched straight back to his dorm room on campus and went about setting up his Amusphere and his new copy of Warriors United Online. He slipped the headset on and laid down on his bed. "Link start." Ewan spoke in a moderate accent.

There was a flash of color and soon after his senses were flooded by the machine taking control. He blinked to try and shake the color out of his eyes and when he reopened them he was standing in a colossal rotunda of a room. He looked around and realized he was far from alone in this setting. There were plenty of other players still getting their own bearings and conversing together in the starting area. A toothy grin spread across Ewan's face as he could barely believe he was standing in the game he had waited so long for. He noticed the many bins that laid around full of weapons of every sort and sprinted toward the closest one. He sifted through them on a hunt for the only weapon that he felt would fit him. It didn't take him long to find the wide blade of the claymore. He grabbed the weapon by the hilt and hefted it out and examined it.

"Well aren't yew jus the most beautiful thing ah coulda found." He said. Not wanting to miss a minute he rested the weapon on his shoulder and jogged toward the door out of the rotunda. Outside he was greeted by the sight of a large expanse of rolling plains. Ewan ran to the top of the closest hill and took in his surroundings. Not only the sights, but the smells and sounds that the game had were so intricate. Off in the distance Ewan saw a group of boars that had yet to be touched by any of the other players and headed off toward them to cash in on the prime opportunity.

[Akkaga]

Tsuyoi climbed into his bed and put his Amusphere on. "Link start." He said firmly. He shot through what seemed to be an endless tunnel with a Rainbow of Colors. He was unsurprised. He was an SAO survivor, after all. Finally, he landed in a room that seemed Predominantly Roman. He grabbed a Beginner weapon from a bin, then walked up to a Gray haired Kid, near the middle of the room. "Hello." He said, in a near Mechanical voice.

Alphonse shook himself once and turned to the man with Red hair who addressed him. "Hello their lad!" Alphonse rummaged around in the one of the bins, until he eventually found a cane looking weapon. The blade made a C shape, and only the outside was sharpened. Though he had never used such a weapon before, he figured that a unique player should have a unique weapon. He swished his right hand straight down, and his player settings appeared. Everything was the same as Beta. Only a few icons, for instance the one for logout had changed to an open door with an arrow. Though the button was still the same. He checked his new weapons skills and finally closed his screen. "Welcome to Elgaud I guess?"

[Jainun]

The sun had just barely risen over Philadelphia's skyline, when a man of 19 years of age walks briskly out GameStop carrying the newly released game for the Amusphere, WUO. His expression was that of pure excitement as he walked, but soon he couldn't hold it in and began to run, his toned physique rippling as he ran home. Soon he was back home and told his mom he'd be online for a few hours, she knew what that meant. He runs to his room, locks the door and jumps on his bed, he places the new WUO disk within his Amusphere and presses the button on the right hand side. His body freeze as he lies straight on his bed. He grins maniacally knowing if he does this right, he'll make a hell of alot of money, his vision goes black and he shouts "LINK START!"

A brilliant flare of rainbow light engulfs his vision and then a white screen appears, checking off each of the 5 senses. He feels weightless for a moment until his feet touch solid ground. He looks around in awe at the brilliant architecture but his view quickly becomes blocked by the masses of players joining the server. He then notices the bins of beginner weapons in front of him and his eye catches the one thing he knows he will need, he quickly sprints over and grabs a Katana. He quickly gives it a few practice swings feeling the weight of it in his hands. "Perfect" He says bluntly He begins to make towards the exit when a girl who has just spawned in catches his eye.

[Ryurin]

At first, there was nothing.

Then, there was a solitary, lambent pixel of light, akin to a lone firefly in a marsh darkened by the gloom of nightfall. Infinitesimal in size, the pixel hovered lazily around an invisible axis in unpredictable paths, taking its time in making a full revolution. As it spun and danced wildly in the bright, domed room, several of its minuscule counterparts began to blink into existence. Hovering in place for a heartbeat, these light pixels seemed to waver, confused - insofar as a subroutine of a computer programme could be said to be 'confused'.

The first, taking the lead, rose smoothly into the air, as if suspended by a length of preternatural string with otherworldly properties - it rose, inexorably, until it was positioned directly above the nucleus of the roiling mass of light that had formed below. From its vantage point, the single pixel could - if it had a processor capable of processing sensory and emotional data - cast a disdainful glance upon the rest of its lowly minions, those who had been born into this singular world after it had.

This is my kingdom; I am the master of all that I survey.

The lone leader of the pixels deigned to circle in the air once more; a signal that only its subjects could interpret. A full revolution later, these pixels of light then engaged in their communion - one by one, hundreds of thousands of gleaming shards floated upwards; swarming, convening into a single orb of blinding brilliance. In a few seconds, this self-same orb expanded exponentially as more and more shards of light formed and were absorbed, assimilated into the greater whole, almost as if by an arcane magic that had just arose from its ages of slumber.

The orb continued to grow in size and girth, the intensity of the golden light it cast off a direct function of its volume. It took only a few more seconds of rapid expansion before the orb started to spin in place. As the orb gained speed, the expansion ground to a halt, and when the velocity reached a certain critical point, the spinning orb disintegrated in a final burst of light. In doing so, it disgorged its precious cargo - the avatar of a new player.

Flicking my long hair out of my face with a casual swipe of my hand, I stepped out from the midst of the quickly dissipating pixels of light and, as was my wont, wordlessly surveyed my surroundings, taking stock of the new environment that I had just been placed within.

"Mhm ... looks realistic enough to me. But then again, all modern games are capable of such graphics."

A cursory glance around told me all I needed to know for the moment. Graeco-Roman architecture, tastefully intertwined with modern influences, dominated the large glass dome that, I supposed, was one of the many player spawn points scattered around the world of Elgaud. Located prominently within the dome were several large plastic bins that was incongruous with its elegant surroundings; I silently chastised the game's object design team for their complete lack of aesthetic taste. The worldbuilders had made a decent hash of it; their counterparts in object design, not so much. At least, that was my first impression of things.

The bins did have a saving grace. Despite their overwhelming incongruity, I was pleased to notice that they were, in fact, filled to the brim with starter weapons. Clearly the game felt it prudent to avoid having the vast majority of their playerbase trying to break open shellfish or fight a ferocious bear armed with nothing but their bare fists. The very thought of being forced to do such menial tasks brought a smirk to my face.

With the smirk still playing on my lips, I strode towards a bin that seemed to be less popular among the wannabe warriors of Warriors United Online and began sifting through the massive pile of weapons, picking each one up in turn and examining them with a critical eye.

"They're all long swords ... I need something shorter."

Gritting my teeth, I ventured forward and slipped into the mass of humanity that were even now scrambling to get to the weapons. There was no obvious need to rush, given that the weapon bins would likely take stock of their remaining inventory and restock as necessary once a weapon was removed from it, but I suppose that's just human nature at its best.

A few uncomfortably hairy moments later, I managed to reach a hand into a half-empty bin. My other was pinned to my side by the crush of people swarming around the bins.

"Gotta grab something serviceable that I can use ... if not I'll just have to wait around for the crowd to disperse."

Fat chance of that happening. Today's the damned first day of operation - gonna be thousands of eager newbs flooding this place.

With that thought running through my mind, I made one final effort. Grunting in exertion, I succeeded in lowering my free hand into the bin and relieving it of several weapons. Having managed to get my prize, I swiftly withdrew and retreated to a corner of the room where the local player density wasn't as high, before unwrapping the brightly coloured packages that the weapons came it.

As the weapons clattered onto the ground, my eyes lighted up in delight, and I grinned despite myself; I had struck gold. Lying before me were three perfectly usable items - a tantō measuring about 20 centimetres in length, a wakizashi with a beautiful slant and razor-sharp edge, and a set of fifty hira shuriken. Given my previous experience with Japanese weapons in various VRMMORPGs I'd played over the years, handling these ones should prove to be a cinch.

I flicked the tantō up, watched it spin through the air in a single graceful motion, and caught it back-handed as it descended.

Time to rock.

[Jordslag]

Tsuyoi climbed into his bed and put his Amusphere on. "Link start." He said firmly. He shot through what seemed to be an endless tunnel with a Rainbow of Colors. He was unsurprised. He was an SAO survivor, after all. Finally, he landed in a room that seemed Predominantly Roman. He grabbed a Beginner weapon from a bin, then walked up to a Gray haired Kid, near the middle of the room. "Hello." He said, in a near Mechanical voice.

Alphonse shook himself once and turned to the man with Red hair who addressed him. "Hello their lad!" Alphonse rummaged around in the one of the bins, until he eventually found a cane looking weapon. The blade made a C shape, and only the outside was sharpened. Though he had never used such a weapon before, he figured that a unique player should have a unique weapon. He swished his right hand straight down, and his player settings appeared. Everything was the same as Beta. Only a few icons, for instance the one for logout had changed to an open door with an arrow. Though the button was still the same. He checked his new weapons skills and finally closed his screen. "Welcome to Elgaud I guess?"

"Yes. Have you found a Weapon yet? You will need it, all things considered. I have mine." Tsuyoi said, drawing out his Twin Rapiers. "I forgot what this entire game was even about, but then, I don't really care. I'm simply going to go win." He walked over to a wall, where he then say down, exhausted.

[Jainun]

At first, there was nothing.

Then, there was a solitary, lambent pixel of light, akin to a lone firefly in a marsh darkened by the gloom of nightfall. Infinitesimal in size, the pixel hovered lazily around an invisible axis in unpredictable paths, taking its time in making a full revolution. As it spun and danced wildly in the bright, domed room, several of its minuscule counterparts began to blink into existence. Hovering in place for a heartbeat, these light pixels seemed to waver, confused - insofar as a subroutine of a computer programme could be said to be 'confused'.

The first, taking the lead, rose smoothly into the air, as if suspended by a length of preternatural string with otherworldly properties - it rose, inexorably, until it was positioned directly above the nucleus of the roiling mass of light that had formed below. From its vantage point, the single pixel could - if it had a processor capable of processing sensory and emotional data - cast a disdainful glance upon the rest of its lowly minions, those who had been born into this singular world after it had.

This is my kingdom; I am the master of all that I survey.

The lone leader of the pixels deigned to circle in the air once more; a signal that only its subjects could interpret. A full revolution later, these pixels of light then engaged in their communion - one by one, hundreds of thousands of gleaming shards floated upwards; swarming, convening into a single orb of blinding brilliance. In a few seconds, this self-same orb expanded exponentially as more and more shards of light formed and were absorbed, assimilated into the greater whole, almost as if by an arcane magic that had just arose from its ages of slumber.

The orb continued to grow in size and girth, the intensity of the golden light it cast off a direct function of its volume. It took only a few more seconds of rapid expansion before the orb started to spin in place. As the orb gained speed, the expansion ground to a halt, and when the velocity reached a certain critical point, the spinning orb disintegrated in a final burst of light. In doing so, it disgorged its precious cargo - the avatar of a new player.

Flicking my long hair out of my face with a casual swipe of my hand, I stepped out from the midst of the quickly dissipating pixels of light and, as was my wont, wordlessly surveyed my surroundings, taking stock of the new environment that I had just been placed within.

"Mhm ... looks realistic enough to me. But then again, all modern games are capable of such graphics."

A cursory glance around told me all I needed to know for the moment. Graeco-Roman architecture, tastefully intertwined with modern influences, dominated the large glass dome that, I supposed, was one of the many player spawn points scattered around the world of Elgaud. Located prominently within the dome were several large plastic bins that was incongruous with its elegant surroundings; I silently chastised the game's object design team for their complete lack of aesthetic taste. The worldbuilders had made a decent hash of it; their counterparts in object design, not so much. At least, that was my first impression of things.

The bins did have a saving grace. Despite their overwhelming incongruity, I was pleased to notice that they were, in fact, filled to the brim with starter weapons. Clearly the game felt it prudent to avoid having the vast majority of their playerbase trying to break open shellfish or fight a ferocious bear armed with nothing but their bare fists. The very thought of being forced to do such menial tasks brought a smirk to my face.

With the smirk still playing on my lips, I strode towards a bin that seemed to be less popular among the wannabe warriors of Warriors United Online and began sifting through the massive pile of weapons, picking each one up in turn and examining them with a critical eye.

"They're all long swords ... I need something shorter."

Gritting my teeth, I ventured forward and slipped into the mass of humanity that were even now scrambling to get to the weapons. There was no obvious need to rush, given that the weapon bins would likely take stock of their remaining inventory and restock as necessary once a weapon was removed from it, but I suppose that's just human nature at its best.

A few uncomfortably hairy moments later, I managed to reach a hand into a half-empty bin. My other was pinned to my side by the crush of people swarming around the bins.

"Gotta grab something serviceable that I can use ... if not I'll just have to wait around for the crowd to disperse."

Fat chance of that happening. Today's the damned first day of operation - gonna be thousands of eager newbs flooding this place.

With that thought running through my mind, I made one final effort. Grunting in exertion, I succeeded in lowering my free hand into the bin and relieving it of several weapons. Having managed to get my prize, I swiftly withdrew and retreated to a corner of the room where the local player density wasn't as high, before unwrapping the brightly coloured packages that the weapons came it.

As the weapons clattered onto the ground, my eyes lighted up in delight, and I grinned despite myself; I had struck gold. Lying before me were three perfectly usable items - a tantō measuring about 20 centimetres in length, a wakizashi with a beautiful slant and razor-sharp edge, and a set of fifty hira shuriken. Given my previous experience with Japanese weapons in various VRMMORPGs I'd played over the years, handling these ones should prove to be a cinch.

I flicked the tantō up, watched it spin through the air in a single graceful motion, and caught it back-handed as it descended.

Time to rock.

Aleksander, having been studying the girl ever since she spawned in looked impressed, very impressed. "It definitely looks like she can use those weapons" he thinks. He quickly comes to a decision and begins to walk over to her, luckily where she went the amount of players in the area had decreased dramatically.

As he walks, he starts to think about SAO. "Elgaud couldn't possibly have the same consequences, could it?" He shakes his head as if to answer his own question. After all Virtual Reality games already have a lot of controversy "Why would anyone allow SAO to happen again?" He hears himself say

As he neared the girl he started to wonder if this was a good idea "She hasn't noticed me yet" he thinks "I can still just exit the area without thinking twice" Any doubt he had was whisked away when she turned her head towards him, he heard himself whistle quietly and he quickened his pace. He was about 5 paces away when she finally noticed him, her eyes had a cynical glint to them as she studied him. Not wanting to waste any more time, he went up to her and said "You certainly look like you know how to use that Tanto and Wakizashi, by the way my name's Aleksander" He sticks out his hand in greeting.

OOC: His Screen Name is his first name in real life

[Akkaga]

Alphonse looked at the boy who had walked away. He almost told him the inefficiency of daul wielding early in game, but he decided to let the guy learn himself. Instead he took off down the halls, viewing all the thousands of players all around him. It was almost mind blowing until, mid-step, his body dissipated and reappeared around where he had spawned. The weapons bins had been drained and then exploded into millions of particals. They all swirled around the room until they met and combined in the middle. A platform formed out of the little pixels. It was about 20 feet high and looked like a chariot for a god. On the platform a middle age women sat on a throne made of gold and other metals and jewels.

"Hello, and welcome to Elgaud!" Her voice came from all around the room. A roar came from the crowd until she put up her hand. "I am the creator of this game, Elizbeth Kiel. Today you all go out on a special journey. A journey that will determine your future In this game. You could be a noble knight or an evil villain. A player killer or a hero. An grand idol or a forgotten relic. I designed this game to be an outlet for every player! Now my underlings! Go! Go and become what you will." The platform disappeared in a blink of an eye.

[Rynagria]

Alone in his room and the whole entire house, Shiro stared at the disk he held, the newly released Warriors United Online. Thinking nothing of it, he inserted to his NervGear, having kept the forbidden item from his sister. Feeling nothing, Shiro lied down on his bed, but not before wearing the Helmet that came with the game console.

Another way to cope, but what will it be next, back to Alfheim? Gun Gale? Other games that were based off the Death Game?............ Eh, I don't care anymore, since I'm just going to end up what I do in any other game. Practicing how to kill people for hire. Shiro thought, before pressing a fee buttons at the side of the helmet, a small green light turning on. Ready to begin his journey into the digital world he muttered the activation phrase quietly, "Link Start."

From the blackness that covered his eyes, burst forth a stream of brilliant rainbow light, followed by several tests to ensure that he was properly connected. Once done, Shiro materialized in a secluded corner of the room, which was filled players new or old. He looked down at himself, as he saw that everyone wore the starting armor, which was just a simple breastplate and pads covering the pads.

Ugh, I spawned with a white shirt........ I was hoping that it would have been something darker, perhaps gray or black...... But I suppose it will have to do for now. Shiro thought, clearly distraught of the color of his shirt, but otherwise fine. While he pondered this, Shiro walked to weapon bins, picking up a simple Kunai and a blade attached to a rope. They would suffice enough. About to step back, the bin suddenly exploded into pixels unexpectedly, causing him to step back. This was accompanied by the appearance of the 'God'.

"Of course, that's all the games, now tell us what the plot is." Demanded Shiro with a whisper.

[Treko]

Erika had spawned in like everyone else but she didn't rush for the beginner bins like the common player. The weapon she wanted was a ranseur, a spear, but this spear was 6ft long and had a crescent hilt that acted as two more active stabbing weapons. It was unusual so it was partly ignored by most people in game. As the group of players by the bin died down Erika walked over and looked into the beginner bin and she watched the weapon pop up in the bin's inventory listing. With a growing smile she accepted the ranseur and took it into her inventory before leaving the bin area and walking to a semi-secluded area away from the major groups of players.

She already had her inventory open when she had reached her the semi-secluded area and was already bringing the weapon out. The weapon was wrapped in brown piece of cloth but it was easily undone my a simple pull of string that dropped the brown cloth to the stone paved ground. Standing erect the ranseur stood a good foot over her head, but albeit the size of the weapon she was handling it fairly easily in her hands and was even spinning it overhead before slamming the butt of the spear on the paved ground.

After testing her ranseur out Erika proceeded to walk near the center of the rotunda where the 'God' of this game had appeared to announce beginning of the game. Using her ranseur as a walking stick she made her way near a group of players; especially the one with the unique looking sword. She continued to walk towards and stopped near him when the 'God' began to speak about what they had in store for the game and the users of this new world.

[Palonitr and Howland]

The surroundings in his room faded away as a flash of bright light awoke him to a new world. Joseph blinked a couple of times and thought of how beautiful surroundings were. Joseph had played beta in SAO but never made it to the launch as he had commitments at that time. He was envious of those that played in the death game. No matter how much death happened due to it, he wanted to play in SAO. When he got WUO, he jumped for joy and went batshit crazy. Now he was in the actual game itself.
He saw a box of weapons and walked towards it. He saw several weapons that did not match his style and so went on rummaging though the box until he found a crossbow, a short sword and a spear. He sighed and thought of finding a hood and a cape but decided on testing his weapons. He found several dummies nearby and loaded his crossbow. He took aim and shot the dummy straight onto its chest. He then switched to his spear and jabbed it through the heart. The short sword was then used to slash at the dummies head. He did a twirl with the sword and sheathed it. Feeling satisfied, he closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and breathed in. After that he opened his eyes and made a big grin. Runner had taken over while Joseph would be unavailable for until he would finish this game or he needed to take a break.

[Nathanstorm2]

Haven stared at his nerve gear, with fear and anticipation."Im going to do it", he said at a badly audible whisper.
He took the nerve gear and slid it over his head as he laid down."Come on Haven its just two words just say them", he said to herself.
suddenly a loud bang outside caused him to yell out the only words in his mouth, "LINK START!"
In a mear instant his body went ridged and the colorful start up screen of the nerve gear greeted him. Stunned for he quickly chose his language and was brought into the game. The pure likeness of this game to SAO was astounding, "Im actually in", he whispered to himself.
He quickly caught up with himself and casually walked through the amassing crowds towards one of the weapon crates. He had to push and squeeze through many people but finally reached the first bin, and got lucky finding two one handed swords just waiting for the taking… which of course he did. As he made his way from the crowd to one of the less populated areas he slid both swords on his back. Then suddenly the "God" of the game appeared. The likeness of this and what happened in SAO were also similar that he almost had a relapse. After he speech was over he quickly brought up his hub with a swipe of his hand to make sure he could still log out, and breathed a sigh of relief seeing that he could.

[Akkaga]

Erika had spawned in like everyone else but she didn't rush for the beginner bins like the common player. The weapon she wanted was a ranseur, a spear, but this spear was 6ft long and had a crescent hilt that acted as two more active stabbing weapons. It was unusual so it was partly ignored by most people in game. As the group of players by the bin died down Erika walked over and looked into the beginner bin and she watched the weapon pop up in the bin's inventory listing. With a growing smile she accepted the ranseur and took it into her inventory before leaving the bin area and walking to a semi-secluded area away from the major groups of players.

She already had her inventory open when she had reached her the semi-secluded area and was already bringing the weapon out. The weapon was wrapped in brown piece of cloth but it was easily undone my a simple pull of string that dropped the brown cloth to the stone paved ground. Standing erect the ranseur stood a good foot over her head, but albeit the size of the weapon she was handling it fairly easily in her hands and was even spinning it overhead before slamming the butt of the spear on the paved ground.

After testing her ranseur out Erika proceeded to walk near the center of the rotunda where the 'God' of this game had appeared to announce beginning of the game. Using her ranseur as a walking stick she made her way near a group of players; especially the one with the unique looking sword. She continued to walk towards and stopped near him when the 'God' began to speak about what they had in store for the game and the users of this new world.

Alphonse turned around to leave, but in his akward and clumsy way of manor, he instantly ran right into a girl right behind him. He caught himself before he fell and started apologizing immensely. "I am so so sorry. I really am! I didn't see you! And I'm getting used to the controls! And.. Umm.." His sentences trailed away as he tried to stop sounding like a huge idiot. "I mean, can you forgive me for my mistake?" He tried to say in a level tone. A slight smile spread on his face, before he knocked it off.

[Xing]

"Hello, and welcome to Elgaud!" Her voice came from all around the room. A roar came from the crowd until she put up her hand. "I am the creator of this game, Elizbeth Kiel. Today you all go out on a special journey. A journey that will determine your future In this game. You could be a noble knight or an evil villain. A player killer or a hero. An grand idol or a forgotten relic. I designed this game to be an outlet for every player! Now my underlings! Go! Go and become what you will." The platform disappeared in a blink of an eye.

About halfway through his second mob of boars Ewan felt his body begin to deteriorate as he squared up against one of the creatures.

"What th' hell? Ah'm nae done here!" Ewan barked.

When he rematerialized in the starting rotunda he saw exactly what it was that had called him back. When the woman revealed herself to be the creator of the game he couldn't help but be grateful toward her. However it didn't stifle his annoyance with being forced away from what he was doing for a fairly generic opening ceremony.

"Become a hero?!" Ewan shouted over the normal conversation level of the room, rolling the last "r" of the sentence an extra time unintentionally. "Ah was already workin' on that afore ye interrupted me!" He slung his claymore back over his shoulder and headed back for the door to the cathedral. Outside he followed a similar strategy as before, running off to a hilltop to see what he could find. When he did he happened across a player a little ways away that was dealing with a pack of wolves and decided to lend a hand. He sprinted down and skidded to a stop a few feet away from the dark haired boy. The boy was wielding an admittedly interesting pair of daggers, their blades having a seemingly flipped hook to them.

"Aye. Care for a hand lad?" Ewan asked, his sword at the ready.

[Nathanstorm2]

Erika had spawned in like everyone else but she didn't rush for the beginner bins like the common player. The weapon she wanted was a ranseur, a spear, but this spear was 6ft long and had a crescent hilt that acted as two more active stabbing weapons. It was unusual so it was partly ignored by most people in game. As the group of players by the bin died down Erika walked over and looked into the beginner bin and she watched the weapon pop up in the bin's inventory listing. With a growing smile she accepted the ranseur and took it into her inventory before leaving the bin area and walking to a semi-secluded area away from the major groups of players.

She already had her inventory open when she had reached her the semi-secluded area and was already bringing the weapon out. The weapon was wrapped in brown piece of cloth but it was easily undone my a simple pull of string that dropped the brown cloth to the stone paved ground. Standing erect the ranseur stood a good foot over her head, but albeit the size of the weapon she was handling it fairly easily in her hands and was even spinning it overhead before slamming the butt of the spear on the paved ground.

After testing her ranseur out Erika proceeded to walk near the center of the rotunda where the 'God' of this game had appeared to announce beginning of the game. Using her ranseur as a walking stick she made her way near a group of players; especially the one with the unique looking sword. She continued to walk towards and stopped near him when the 'God' began to speak about what they had in store for the game and the users of this new world.

Alphonse turned around to leave, but in his akward and clumsy way of manor, he instantly ran right into a girl right behind him. He caught himself before he fell and started apologizing immensely. "I am so so sorry. I really am! I didn't see you! And I'm getting used to the controls! And.. Umm.." His sentences trailed away as he tried to stop sounding like a huge idiot. "I mean, can you forgive me for my mistake?" He tried to say in a level tone. A slight smile spread on his face, before he knocked it off.

Haven saw a bit of a commotion near where he was and walked over at what it was. What he saw almost made him laugh, but knew the experience and tried to come in and defuse the situation. "Now I have to say thats the worst way I've seen to pick up a girl in a long long time. I mean buy the girl a drink before you start jumping all over her", he said with a smirk.

[Treko]

Alphonse turned around to leave, but in his akward and clumsy way of manor, he instantly ran right into a girl right behind him. He caught himself before he fell and started apologizing immensely. "I am so so sorry. I really am! I didn't see you! And I'm getting used to the controls! And.. Umm.." His sentences trailed away as he tried to stop sounding like a huge idiot. "I mean, can you forgive me for my mistake?" He tried to say in a level tone. A slight smile spread on his face, before he knocked it off.

Erika stumbled back but quickly caught her footing and looked at the boy who had bumped into her and was about to say something but was to slow to the stranger that had entered the conversation. While looking at both of them she waved off Alphonse's accident, "No worries, it was a simple mistake after all." she said with a flustered smile, "All is forgiven." she said quickly as she looked at both of the men.

[Akkaga]

Alphonse turned around to leave, but in his akward and clumsy way of manor, he instantly ran right into a girl right behind him. He caught himself before he fell and started apologizing immensely. "I am so so sorry. I really am! I didn't see you! And I'm getting used to the controls! And.. Umm.." His sentences trailed away as he tried to stop sounding like a huge idiot. "I mean, can you forgive me for my mistake?" He tried to say in a level tone. A slight smile spread on his face, before he knocked it off.

Haven saw a bit of a commotion near where he was and walked over at what it was. What he saw almost made him laugh, but knew the experience and tried to come in and defuse the situation. "Now I have to say thats the worst way I've seen to pick up a girl in a long long time. I mean buy the girl a drink before you start jumping all over her", he said with a smirk.

Alphonse lit up like a red Christmas light. Quickly the color drained from his face and he turned to the newcomer. "Funny lad. I must have Alzheimer's, because I don't remember asking for your advice." He said it in a half serious half joking way. Although he thought the girl was cute, he wasn't about to lose himself. He smirked back and grabbed the mans shoulder.

He turned back to the girl. "I'm Core, and what may I call you?" He looked back at the other guy and smiled in half disgust. "And what vile name do you live by?" This time there was no seriousness in his voice. He had said it as joke.

[Nathanstorm2]

Haven saw a bit of a commotion near where he was and walked over at what it was. What he saw almost made him laugh, but knew the experience and tried to come in and defuse the situation. "Now I have to say thats the worst way I've seen to pick up a girl in a long long time. I mean buy the girl a drink before you start jumping all over her", he said with a smirk.

Alphonse lit up like a red Christmas light. Quickly the color drained from his face and he turned to the newcomer. "Funny lad. I must have Alzheimer's, because I don't remember asking for your advice." He said it in a half serious half joking way. Although he thought the girl was cute, he wasn't about to lose himself. He smirked back and grabbed the mans shoulder.

He turned back to the girl. "I'm Core, and what may I call you?" He looked back at the other guy and smiled in half disgust. "And what vile name do you live by?" This time there was no seriousness in his voice. He had said it as joke.

Haven looked at him a giant smile creeping across his face, "Well most call me smart ass but really I prefer Haven." He then turned to the girl and gave a small bow , "and what might I call someone as lovely as you, you know besides my soul mate." he said with a small laugh.

[Treko]

Haven saw a bit of a commotion near where he was and walked over at what it was. What he saw almost made him laugh, but knew the experience and tried to come in and defuse the situation. "Now I have to say thats the worst way I've seen to pick up a girl in a long long time. I mean buy the girl a drink before you start jumping all over her", he said with a smirk.

Alphonse lit up like a red Christmas light. Quickly the color drained from his face and he turned to the newcomer. "Funny lad. I must have Alzheimer's, because I don't remember asking for your advice." He said it in a half serious half joking way. Although he thought the girl was cute, he wasn't about to lose himself. He smirked back and grabbed the mans shoulder.

He turned back to the girl. "I'm Core, and what may I call you?" He looked back at the other guy and smiled in half disgust. "And what vile name do you live by?" This time there was no seriousness in his voice. He had said it as joke.

"I'm called Haxl." Erika responded before turning towards the man called Haven. She gave a uninterested look at haven and gave sigh, "I'm Haxl and that was pretty corny." she replied referring to his bow and cheap pickup line.

[Palonitr and Howland]

Alphonse lit up like a red Christmas light. Quickly the color drained from his face and he turned to the newcomer. "Funny lad. I must have Alzheimer's, because I don't remember asking for your advice." He said it in a half serious half joking way. Although he thought the girl was cute, he wasn't about to lose himself. He smirked back and grabbed the mans shoulder.

He turned back to the girl. "I'm Core, and what may I call you?" He looked back at the other guy and smiled in half disgust. "And what vile name do you live by?" This time there was no seriousness in his voice. He had said it as joke.

Haven looked at him a giant smile creeping across his face, "Well most call me smart ass but really I prefer Haven." He then turned to the girl and gave a small bow , "and what might I call someone as lovely as you, you know besides my soul mate." he said with a small laugh.

Runner had walked around at this point and hunted down several packs of boars. He got bored of it after the last one tried to skewer him with its tusk but ran stright into his crossbow bolt. He then got teleported to the Starting Town and listened to the goddess of the game do her speech and stuff. He walked around after a while and literally ran into a group of people when he turned around a corner.
"Umm, my apologies for my clumsiness. I did not see you folks and you shouldnt stay at a corner here." Runner got up and intoduced himself. "My name is Runner, Im a Ranger." Runner extended his hand and grinned at the group of 3.

[Akkaga]

Alphonse lit up like a red Christmas light. Quickly the color drained from his face and he turned to the newcomer. "Funny lad. I must have Alzheimer's, because I don't remember asking for your advice." He said it in a half serious half joking way. Although he thought the girl was cute, he wasn't about to lose himself. He smirked back and grabbed the mans shoulder.

He turned back to the girl. "I'm Core, and what may I call you?" He looked back at the other guy and smiled in half disgust. "And what vile name do you live by?" This time there was no seriousness in his voice. He had said it as joke.

"I'm called Haxl." Erika responded before turning towards the man called Haven. She gave a uninterested look at haven and gave sigh, "I'm Haxl and that was pretty corny." she replied referring to his bow and cheap pickup line.

Alphonse couldn't help but smile. His attempts at covering it up almost made him laugh. "You are now my favorite person here." He said to Haxl. "And what a lovely name if I do say so." He look around and saw others starting to leave to the nearby plains or shops. "Would you care to go monster hunting with me? I have a little while before I have to logoff for the day, and I kinda want to get leveling quickly. So what do you say?" He twirled his cane in the air. And than was bumped into by a boy, who called himself Runner.

"All is forgiven Runner! My name is Core. Nice to meet you." He picked his weapon off the ground and dusted it off.

[Ryurin]

With the tantō firmly in my grip, I swept my eyes around the domed room, scrutinising each and every new player as they burst forth from spheres of light. Painful experience had told me that it was always prudent to secure a competent partner once you stepped forth into the vast world of the game; although I preferred to fly solo, I had to admit that having another pair of capable hands working in tandem with me was a tantalising prospect.

Another pair of eyes to keep a lookout for raiders and PKers. Another pair of hands to help out with tasks and chores. Another razor-sharp blade at my side in the thick of battle.

Yes, I needed a suitable partner - one who I could work with, for now at least. I could always choose to go solo later, once I had enough experience points under my belt to rise a couple of levels. Pivoting on my heel, I continued to look around the massive room, searching for the telltale signs that always distinguished the newbies from the old hands.

Before long, my eyes settled upon a teenager - about the same age as myself - with a shock of dirty blonde hair, wielding a long katana. From my point of view, he seemed to be striding purposefully towards me, yet I perceived a slight tension - and perhaps the faintest hint of hesitation - in his stride as he loped over.

Passing a practised eye over the guy, I could tell that he was not a greenhorn. In fact, his calm, sanguine bearing hinted at hours upon hours logged in similar situations - like myself. We were both veterans - veterans at virtual combat, that is. A cynical glint shone in my eyes as I trained a cold gaze upon him out of the corner of my eye, trying to ascertain his suitability as a partner.

When the guy was all of five paces away from me, I finally gave up the attempt at deception and turned to face him head-on, with my trademark cynical smirk plastered across my face. His face was a study in inscrutability, for I couldn't discern his motive in approaching me, but all that became clear as he extended a hand - by way of greeting, I supposed - and introduced himself as Aleksander, which was apparently his screen name.

Furrowing my brow in puzzlement, I responded to him in a curt manner.

"Thank you for the compliment, Aleksander. I have had some prior experience with the handling of these weapons; it is how I have come to acquire my skills. Then again, that holds true for any weapon, no?"

Before Aleksander could respond, however, there was a flash of light; and a dazzling platform, on which sat a magnificent throne encrusted with all manner of precious metals and gems, materialised in the center of the room.

"What is it now?" I muttered under my breath. Barely five minutes had gone by since I entered the game; I didn't want to be subjected to official propaganda this early in the game.

Ignoring the woman ensconced in the throne, who was launching into her speech, and the ensuing din that echoed around the room, I turned to Aleksander and motioned towards the exit.

"Let's get out of here. We can talk later."

[Palonitr and Howland]

"I'm called Haxl." Erika responded before turning towards the man called Haven. She gave a uninterested look at haven and gave sigh, "I'm Haxl and that was pretty corny." she replied referring to his bow and cheap pickup line.

Alphonse couldn't help but smile. His attempts at covering it up almost made him laugh. "You are now my favorite person here." He said to Haxl. "And what a lovely name if I do say so." He look around and saw others starting to leave to the nearby plains or shops. "Would you care to go monster hunting with me? I have a little while before I have to logoff for the day, and I kinda want to get leveling quickly. So what do you say?" He twirled his cane in the air. And than was bumped into by a boy, who called himself Runner.

"All is forgiven Runner! My name is Core. Nice to meet you." He picked his weapon off the ground and dusted it off.

"Excellent, now I overheard from you that you wanted to go hunting for monsters, would you be so accomodating as to allow me to acompany your group. Everyone needs a ranged weapon in their party. It gets quite lonely being alone in such games like this." Runner smiled at Core and decided Core would be a nice person to play with and a female would be always appreciated within a party.

[Treko]

Alphonse couldn't help but smile. His attempts at covering it up almost made him laugh. "You are now my favorite person here." He said to Haxl. "And what a lovely name if I do say so." He look around and saw others starting to leave to the nearby plains or shops. "Would you care to go monster hunting with me? I have a little while before I have to logoff for the day, and I kinda want to get leveling quickly. So what do you say?" He twirled his cane in the air. And than was bumped into by a boy, who called himself Runner.

"All is forgiven Runner! My name is Core. Nice to meet you." He picked his weapon off the ground and dusted it off.

Erika gave a little blush as she responded to Alphonse's compliment about her. When Alphonse asked if she we would come she gave a slight nod, "Better than going with this weird guy." she said with a smile as she began to follow her new companion. Not even a few steps away Erika watched as another player walked into Alphonse, "You're the popular one aren't you, Core?" Erika said jokingly as she looked towards the newcomer. "Hi, Ranger. I'm Haxl and I see no problems with you joining." she said rather quickly as she wanted to ditch the creep that was behind them.