~Outside Courthouse~ Harold knew he couldn't do much in way of helping them, it was as they say, police business and he wordlessly used his magic to returned nay items that came out during the search for the stone and closed the trunk shut. "Well, while you are doing that, I'll see if I can start on getting this community service underway.... if I kne where to go." Harold said with a sweat drop forming, he had no idea where to even go because he wasn't all that fmailair with Tokyo as he shrunk his suitcase to miniature size to be pocketed. ~Underground~ Vergil stared from across the abandoned station underneath Tokyo as a demonic gate was inscribed upon the wall and he gave it a once over. "Somebody's obviously summoning something." Vergil gave his analysis, question was what would come through the hole? "If I were my idiot brother, I'd make a bet on what it was." Vergil muttered and a hand came out and from it was what happened to be some lava spider and Vergil had to give whoever made this mark some credit. "A Phantom? if that's what they call, luck of the draw, I'll eat Yamato." Vergil commented as he calmly approached the being who spoke. "It's finally time!" as it looked down upon the man in blue. "And a human to eat as well!" and Vergil gave it a cold stare. "You're welcome to try and devour me, I won't go down so easy." Vergil flicked Yamato with his thumb to draw it.
Jessiva, while we do appreciate your commitment by giving us, the Role-Players so many likes and how much you enjoy the story of Mario HSD thus...
Wow, I did not expect to see al those likes.
~Outside Courthouse~ Harold gave a affirmation of a nod before the sudden attack and Aerith's kidnapping and he had to cough a bit to get the smoke out of his system. "Reminds me off an experiment blowing up at home." Harold managed to say and the shocked expressions, it seemed it wasn't good news and he was in a thoughtful state. "Okay, why take Aerith?" Harold thought in confusion, surely a higher member of society would motivate the force more quickly, but then he recalled the relationship between Aerith and Carter, despite it being a few days, it'd make them more irrational and more easier to get under their skin. "Ah the world of relationships, always so complex." Harold thought, he wasn't sure what the note said as it wasn't spoken aloud. "I'd help you guys but I don't know how good the kidnapper's abilities are, especially if he could apparate, so any charms I may have could be ineffective." Harold admitted. "And I don't have anything that could hide you in plain sight, most invisibility cloaks aren't that effective since they tend to lose their magic after a set amount of time since well, there's nothing like that." Harold said. "I don't doubt Mr Carter or Mr Lee's capabilities, but...." Harold looked to Carter. "I'll just have to believe in you both." Harold said and sighed before realizing something. "Wait... Wait wait wait!" Harold put a hand in his pocket and brought out a trunk that looks like something out of a toybox and set it down before the smallest trunk became ordinary, electing some surprises. "What? You didn't think us wizards or witches could shrink objects down? Now I don't have to worry about the bloody Statue of Secrecy since Japan is aware of our kind to an extent." Harold opened the trunk as if someone looked, there was a variety of stuff and located a small pouch and brought it out, shutting the trunk and had the most serious look on his face. "As much I hate to admit it, Aerith's life is more important than this." Harold said lowly and sat upon the trunk, all eyes upon him as Harold opened it and pulled out a red crystal as Carter said something among the lines jewellery wasn't going to help. "Jewellery? Eh, I suppose you can view it as such, this is actually the Philosopher's Stone, created by the one and only Nicolas Flamel, it can actually turn any metal into pure gold and.... well the secondary thing this is capable of, you'd rather not know, it could be considered a curse or a blessing, depending on how you view it." Harold said and thrown it up in the air only to be caught by one of the officers as he thrown it to one of them. "I have been charged with safeguarding the stone after I left my house and been told to never let anybody discover it's existence, only to use it when it's truly needed, I realise this may given the enemy an advantage but Aerith's life is more important right now, but if you should happen to rescue her and keep the Stone in your possession, I'd greatly appreciate it if you return the Stone to me Officers." Harold stated to them.
~Courtroom~ Harold listened and heard the outcome, it was a relief, but he had to ponder on what kind of community service it entails, and they aid 60 hours within a month. "Given the timeframe of how services work, that'll take up at least two weeks or so, give or take." Harold considered and looked to Matt. "So it seems, I'll see to it you are paid for your services as well as temporary lodgings." Harold said, he'd have to go to Gringotts and ask for the money to be changed to Yen when he withdraws it. Harold looked thoughtful. "Hmm wonder what officer will keep an eye on me, I'll bet it's going to be Officer Jenny as to serve as a reminder, I can't see that Carter guy doing it, not unless the community work is doing things for Aerith and gets more time with her." Harold felt a shiver at a that, he just couldn't imagine it really, plus he never really meet girls much in the enclosed area of home. "Hmmm, I don't know if Aerith would take me in again despite what has occurred, I might have to locate a new place, that or use my trunk as my home since nobody can really move it with the charms I'll put in place." Harold mused to himself in his thoughts.
~Courtroom~ "Always back to the lying, it looks like I may have to have to speak." Harold said and coughed a bit. "I'm sorry to interrupt the court, but I like to point something out that Mr Tarkin said, you said I had promised to notify Officer Jenny as to Queen Elsa's whereabouts, let me ask this questions to all of the occupants, let's say I did tell her at that point of time, what would she do against a Conduit that did not have full control of her power? I do imagine she would talk her down but she may of been attacked by Elsa's own powers protecting her." Harold inquired aloud. "I would also like to add, when I did provide Elsa shelter, I did not know she was a part of royalty until she said so when she was more clamer and in control of her abilities, and while yes, I did keep some secrets from my landlady from Aerith Gainsborough, however, when you are related to somebody famous, you tend to either have two options, getting arrogant like you own the world or keep it low and humble." Harold said and sighed. "And Aerith does have every right to place trust in me should there be a reason, but she also knows she cannot ask about people's own lives, I merely told her my first name and told her of my circumstances to which she offered me a place to stay, because here in Japan, I had no relatives or friends to turn to at that moment in time." Harold explained with arms crossed. "As for the Evil Rider incident, I only did what I felt was natural, protecting those who did not have the power to stop the Rider or even run from him, I don't waste the gifts I been given, I'll regret not saving those innocent bystanders, especially considering what Tokyo has been though, I been taught if you have the power to make a difference for people's lives, use it to shield them from harm or use it to stop the threat in question, and that's what I did, I used my abilities to shield anyone in Tokyo from Elsa's uncontrollable powers until she could get a better grasp on it." Harold said and breathed. "I only done what I did because I believed it was the best situation at the time, I do not know if there's other Conduits or a place for teaching them how to control their abilities, but I used what I had available to me and for the safety of not only Tokyo and it's citizens, but also from Elsa herself, and I'll also say this, if I ever meet any other conduits or such, I'll help them be in an environment where they can calm down and also control their abilities better, even if I risk being killed by those same powers in the process should something happen, I take full responsibility for their safety within my environment as well as my own life being constantly in danger, tell me Mister Tarkin." Harold locked eyes with him. "Would you be prepared to take that chance should it ever be given to you? The chance to help somebody whose power may kill you without any warning considering their emotional state or let them run rampant and possibly cause Tokyo to experience perhaps more damage than it already experienced, I would like everyone here to actually consider it, but there's one more thing I like to share with you all." Harold said and breathed. "I do not doubt Tokyo may have schools or something akin to that nature to help Conduits or what other titles they prefer to go by, but I have been told by my mother that a woman's emotional state is considerably more dangerous than a man's and with Elsa being afraid of her secret coming out and how emotional she became, Tokyo may of as my lawyer said, a blizzard or another ice age at the worst, I wasn't going to take that chance and being somewhat similar to Elsa in terms of using unnatural abilities, I offered her sanctuary and guidance on her power and I'll happily do the same for anyone else in the same regard, be it seen as kidnapping or anything, if they want my help to refine their abilities and also, get a chance to calm down, I'll offer it to them, that's all I'll say for now." Harold said and took a sip of water. "Sorry Matt, but I felt it needed to be said." Harold said to him in a low whispered apologetic tone.
~Courtroom~ Harold listened to the questions stated and Aerith's answer to those questions, it was the prosecutor's job to be seen in that light, after all, it was his job to convict the guilty and those specific questions he given related to more of the law side. "Talk about pressing it in..." Harold thought, sure it may of been a crime to lie to a police officer intentionally but here was an u question on his mind. "What if that lie was to intentionally protect said officer of the law, while I do not doubt Officer Jenny's ability in her job, would she stand up against a rampant power of a Conduit on her own?" Harold thought and then there was that last question about Aerith trusting him again and he thought he should speak but he wasn't asked to and it would be rude to do so, especially during a questioning. "And as for what it'll take to convince her that I leave the flower shop, well... she's seen the work I done, plus I doubt the other residents would be happy, considering that well, there is Beast there with some magical curse upon his being." Harold thought to himself. ~Albert Simon~ Albert was scratching his pen against some paper, writing something down, Saix had no relatives to be informed and left no will and testament, so nobody would inherit anything, except maybe a new recruit inheriting his room or office, whichever came first, as for Elise, she had no living relatives to speak of either, judging from her background and he gave a sigh, befitting of a old man. "Hopefully, that young girl will find that son of Flamel's, if anything the magical side of Japan could protect her and then she can locate the Philosopher's Stone to bring to the Order in exchange for her life." Albert said with a small smile, while he was manipulating the young woman down this path, it was all for the cause of the Order. "Also, there should be other artefacts we can utilize, but history only goes so far." Albert pondered.
~Courtroom~ Harold sat in his chair, waiting to see how Tarkin would react to another witness, but by guess, he'd proabbaly would of expected it as Matthew called upon Aerith as a witness, it now all depended on how she'd answer the questions put forth, she was most likely the last chance they had right now since he didn't see Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Lenne, Belle or chaos about, but then again it was only four of the girls who went to Gaston's party being Yuna, Rikku, Paine and Belle since Lenne stayed behind to care for the shop and as for the girl eh danced with at the party, he didn't get her name. "Man, that was some night, never expected it to be that lucky, compared to now though." Harold thought to himself fondly, it would be nice to see them all again and plus he wouldn't have to hide he was a magicial being, who knows, he might even look into what made the Beast into well... a Beast, it seemed to a failed Polyjuice Potion accident or a half way state to becoming an Animagus, moving his mind back to girls, he did admit as a man, some girls and of course the ever constant companion of hormone,s found a few girls attractive, he never really had a particular girl he liked either as most contact he had with a girl or woman was his aunt.
~Courthouse - Café~ Harold gave a sign and rubbed the bridge of his nose before the announcement came. "I suppose we should, it's not like there's plenty of other things to do in the world right now." Harold said and finished off his sandwich. "Speaking of chess, never was good at it, you'd be surprised there's actually a chess game that the pieces actually come alive." Harold said wiping his hands with a napkin and went to follow Matt and Foggy. ~Underground~ Vergil walked briskly across an abandoned railway, Yamato held firmly in his grasp and he looked to see Marionettes and spoke. "Marionettes huh, mere fodder, but I suppose you'll do for a warm-up." Vergil said and with his thumb partially unsheathed his blade, making an audible click and disappeared and reappeared a few few away, Yamato was unsheathed further before he sheathed it back up, one of the Marionettes fell to the ground and crumpled before the other ones recognized one of their own down and went, tense as vergil moved, sidestepped a few times, slicing the Marionettes one by one with expertise footwork and he flung his sheath away, the bluntness of ti going through a few of the Marionettes before coming to stop on the last one against the wall and Vergil moved, throwing Yamato in a arc, actually letting go as it returned to him in a few moments and he caught it by the hilt and twirled it, perfectly aligning the blade with the sheath and pushed it in, causing a powerful force and he yanked the sheath out, the rest of the Marionettes, falling. "Just what are the intentions of the one performing the Summoning?" Vergil questioned to no-one before advancing further into the tunnel
~Courtroom Café~ Harold gave it some thought. "Well as someone once said, it's better than nothing." Harold gave a sigh. "I imagine I cannot approach her though as it might been seen as swaying her over to our side and possibly conjuring lies, of course, fi it were her approaching us willingly, that would be seen in a different light." Harold explained and rna a hand through his hair. "Perhaps we should throw out a curveball to Tarkin? Make him think we have no additional witnesses and bring her out as a surprise? it could shake him off his game? If that's a thing." Harold asked with a small tone of confusion. ~Vanille~ Vanille bent down to her flowers with a radio nearby, listening to various channels. "Awww come on, I want to hear something cool." Vanille moaned in frustration and found the news Station repeating the incidents of today. "A trial? huh, sounds like one of those things Fang does with a student if they gets her angry." Vanille said thoughtfully. ~Albert Simon~ Albert sat at his desk with some paperwork out as he set his top hat down and was writing some stuff down and had a thoughtful posture. "Hm, that's somewhat humorous, Discord apparently made discord within the Crystal order, a truly appropriate name..." Albert said with a small smile. "Ah the small things you never notice, truly the world keeps on with it's surprises." Albert placed the pen down. "And Miss Elise is already on the run, it might be possible she might locate the young Flamel considering the news of the trial that's floating around, but it'll be problematic if he loses." Albert said, placing his head upon his hands brought together. "Because then the police would confiscate his belongings within them, most likely the Philosopher's Stone, reminds me Saipentes Gladio.... ah but I washe dmy hands of that group, but I wonder how Jovis is doing with his teachings?" Albert said wistfully.
~Courtroom Café~ Harold raised an eyebrow at jenny's words. "Already dating? Blimey, when I was working in the shop, Aerith didn't look like she was romantically interested since the guy purchased her flowers to use on her." Harold said, taking a bite out of the turkey sandwich. "then again, I will admit, she is a beautiful woman, I suspected she'd get a lot of admirers, then again, there is other girls living there, like Yuna and Rikku." Harold said off-handily. "At best Aerith's only known me as long as I moved in about maybe a day before the Rider attack? She doesn't know I'm a magical being and neither do the other residents, when you are the son of a great alchemist of all time, you'd tend to want to hide that fact, but then again, I don't know if Nicolas Flamel is that well known here in Japan, he never really talked much about the outside world much," Harold said thoughtfully. "As for Yuna and Rikku, I suppose they can be somewhat witnesses too sicne I did go out to some party with them, I think it was some guy named Gaston or something... he acted like... how should I put it... self-indulgent? Only other person I interacted with in that party was a young woman, I didn't get her name unfortunately, btu she was with a group of girls for a night out apparently.,." Harold said and leaned back in his chair, looking at his half-eaten sandwich. ~Vergil~ Vergil raised an eyebrow for a fraction as Ali Mualim spoke and he gave him a calm and collected stare. "With due respect Mualim, if you experienced myself and my brother have in our childhood, we are quite within our rights to view things differently, considering what we lost to the demons that day, just as you say some demons may be good, humans may be bad, it is up to the person's judgement to ascertain that fact, I merely teach what I know best and that is why you hired me, because you and I both know, Dante's lessons at Demonology would be more of a lazy stance and quite possibly, hamper the student's effectiveness to learn." Vergil put his hands together. "I am merely preparing your students with the knowledge they should require if a bad Demon does come out from Hell, because Japan has a few Demon Slayers in the neighbourhood as I'm sure you are aware, the local forces aren't armed with the skills to slay a Demon with their handguns or such things, the local heroes of Japan, Riders, Sentai or whatever comes out fo the woodwork next have their hands full with a new monster that occasionally appears out of nowhere and grows to an enormous size with them fighting with a big machine that is combined and yet, miraculously causes no casualties in question." Vergil said to Ali Mualim. "But if you wish for me to write the Apology to Miss Shimmer, I shall do so and expect a response at her earliest convenience, the Demonology Classes will eb cancelled for today Mualim, but if you wish, you can tutor it instead for today or have that new applicant, Missus Tyler I believe it was take over for the day, I have no real qualms about it, for you see, my sources tell me some moron summoned a Demon Portal under one of those grand football stadiums or whatever." Vergil grabbed Yamato leaning against his table. "And that student of yours defending Flamel's son? He should be honoured, nobody has seen the Flamels for the past 100 years or so,apparently, he made a Philosopher's Stone and discovered how to stay alive for so long." Vergil departed with a flap of his tailcoats.
~Harold~ Harold followed Matthew out fo the courtroom, it seemed the Tarkin found something to utilise, especially with that grin and Oshawott or Foggy was nervous, it seemed Matt had lost a small advantage considering what ahd occurred, he imagined there was no interactiosn between the two parties for the sake of well... no bad air and so on as Harold sat across from Matt and Foggy in the café. "I'll grant Tarkin this, he's certainly devious with such a question, I daresay the Goblins might like him." Harold said and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "In the Seat of Wizengamot, or in trail, the trials end rather quickly since a spokesperson or a third-party like yourself is rare in such cases, it can range from anything that's against the law, some being full-blown cases that would span days, there are also representatives of the Ancient and Noble families in Wizengamot who can either destroy an old law or reshape it, you need a majority of a voting block to actually get it through." Harold said and he slacked his shoulders. "In trials, you were given the option of taking Veritaserum, basically a truth serum that with simply three drops can force the drinker to reveal their deepest darkness secrets, but the Wizengamot rarely use it only in extreme cases, another would be through a Pensive which will hold and play the memory that is given, but it's not advised since there are spells that can tamper with such a memory so it's not reliable, another would be through making a Vow with the right stated words to prove you are telling the truth, of course, if you lie or something, you'll be reduced to a Squib, a person with little magical reserves that is the lowest of the low in Magical Cores." "Now, I do not doubt that this trial will allow us to utilize any magical ways, but there's one thing Tarkin has forgotten, while Elsa is the reason behind this trial, it all started with her sister, Anna with the proposal to Hans of the Southern Isles, perhaps just maybe, we should include her sister's side of the story and maybe we can use that, but this might mean we have to delve into their personal history since I doubt the times were easy, another thing, I did in fact through a magical items, allow both sisters to communicate since Elsa always worried about Anna." Harold said and puts his elbows on the desk and looked at Matt's red glasses. "That or we look at this case through another angle, with how I stopped the rogue Rider, but the wielder in question, I don't know if he'll give us good answers, the person in question is a Weasely, their family is kind of... well I never heard of them personally, just through his memories are somewhat lower to middle class wizards with well, I don't know how in Merlin's name his mother birthed seven children, but I'm not one to judge, but the boy suffers an inferiority complex I believe, since he is the youngest of the males in the family and thus would get the hand-me downs and his father working in the Ministry, his oldest two brothers are quite remarkable with their jobs as a Curse Breaker and a Dragon Reserve Keeper, third oldest works as a scribe to the Minister of Magic, twin brothers are quite... and I have to give them credit where it's due, creative in their ideas, and finally, his little sister only just started going to School." Harold finished. "If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them, I can only suggest as a third option, we get..." Harold gave a sigh. "The people who have interacted with me personally to defend my image and gradually work our way back up."
Level 4 Masaru watched as his field of vision was clouded and he tested to see if he could see his hand, he couldn't. "That's very dense..." Masaru thought before ti cleared and the encampment was blocked in and the Players trapped, it was now a test to fight the Boss, if it would be called that and Masaru took a moment to get his bearings and Star's words. "Right! We'll use the same tactics as in the tournament!" Masaru called out and ran forward. "Guan Yu!" Masaru called out as Guan Yu ran alongside him in mid step. "What is our goal today?" Guan Yu asked and Masaru spoke. "Take the commander down! I trust you'll watch my back." Masaru said and Guan Yu readied his pole-arm. "Consider it done!" The two males came at the Goblin King, machetes swung down and Guan Yu move din, his weapon blocking one of the weapons while Masaru hung back a bit for the large machetes to miss him and he jumped, running on the blunt edge of the blade and up the forearm to deliver a slash at the Goblin King but the Goblin King reacted to that and was about to bit down about his mid-air form but Masaru didn't need to worry because an arrow ack shooting past and straight into it's eye, he knew that had to be Hikari a steh goblin King staggered back from the projectile and Guan Yu used this moment to slash at it, sending the Goblin King reeling back. "An excellent shot!" Guan Yu said without any hesitation and Masaru crouched down when he landed, it seemed the Elites and Artillery Goblins were being distracted by other players. "Good, at least won't have to worry about mobs crowding." Masaru muttered and looked to Star. "Hikari, I need another Sword to strike faster!" Masaru called out, thought he doubted the system had any Dual Wielding skills, he still remembered the moves.
Masaru decided he should also unlock his Summon and took a area that wasn't going to interfere with Star's own match and he took a deep breath and ha dhsi eyes closed, to mentally prepare himself and he cleared his throat. "Open, gates of heaven! Release.... Guan Yu!" Masaru called out and the light shone, blinding him for a brief moment and there stood the man himself, Guan Yu, Masaru had to admit something. "How tall is he?! He's like way past 6 foot at least!" Masaru thought in surprise, he had a very long flowing black beard that was well, reaching down his chest in his green clad armour but his weapon was truly unique "A spear? No, it's different than that, the blade doesn't curve like that, it must be a pole-arm or something." Masaru thought and the voice of Guan Yu brought him out of his thoughts. "So, you are to be my Summoner, first, I must test your resolve to see if you are worthy cause to fight alongside with so arm yourself!" Guan Yu's tone sounded like one that echoed respect and admiration, but his battle aura felt very different compared to the other times Masaru faced beings with intent and he called upon his Sword and gave it an experimental swing. "Hmmm, it's similar in length and weight as the SAO ones.... okay, I can work with this." Masaru moved into a fighting stance as did Guan Yu, the two beings calmly waiting and as a cry of a Goblin being slain by another Player was heard the two charged forth, Sword met Polearm, sparks flew and Masaru had to actually grunt and drag his sword along the blade of the polearms to strike across Guan Yu's torso while barely avoiding the polearm coming own on his shoulder to cut him, but the man simply took a small nick before twirling his weapon and hitting him in the chest with the blunt end of the pole-arm, causing Masaru to gasp for air and land backwards, his free hand holding where he was hit. "He uses his muscles as sheer power but is easily wielding that large weapon like nothing! I faced monsters bigger than him but this guy is different, maybe if I had the unique skills." Masaru thought back on his skill to wield tow of the same sword but the power wasn't stacked but rather spilt and he breathed. "That was to test the waters... Now, I got to treat him like he's a Floor Boss or a monster." Masaru opened his eyes and Guan Yu shifted slightly, the Summon could tell the boy's aura changed. "Let's go, Guan Yu, do you think you can keep up with my sword?" Masaru asked calmly and ran forth with a side swing as the man guarding with the pole and Masaru slid his body, actually sliding underneath the man's legs and behind him the man having reversed his pole-arm to strike at him and Masaru brought himself to guard, sparks flew as he ran the blade across that of his opponent's and pushed himself closer inside, out of reach of the pole-arm and struck the man in the chest and done just as the man was going to trap him, Masaru used his big build to use him as step and flipped backward, moving his sword to attack at his face as Guan Yu's eyes were somewhat widened but he moved to block it and swung, causing him to be sent flying but Masaru stabbed his sword into the ground hand used the momentum to right himself and charged forth, Sword met Pole-arm countless times and each time, Masaru managed to get small scratches on his opponent and jumped back, he was building a sweat. "I doubt he'll get tired out... But my Sword's durability is another story entirely, I don't want to break it before the first Boss and Hikari isn't going to be repairing it... wait... there nothing to say I can't use two weapons instead of one!" Masaru charged forth once more and when the blade of the pole-arm came close to his face, he blocked with his knife, and thrust forward his swor,d the tip aiming at Guan Yu before the man called. "Stop." The sword was barely centimetres from making contact with the man's throat and Guan Yu calmly took a normal stance. "Warrior, you proven your skill in this battle, tell me, what do you hope to accomplish?" Guan Yu asked and Masaru spoke. "To protect those I hold dear and to make the world a better plac,e not just for myself but for others." Masaru said and Guan Yu bowed his head. "Then I, Guan Yu, the God of War shall aid you in your endeavour, call upon me whenever you see fit, I'll be your blade that steers those who would do you harm away." Guan Yu disappeared and Masaru gave a big sigh of relief, noting his inventory box was filled with a <<Summoner's Promise>> and he sat on the floor. "No wonder he felt so overwhelming, his title was is one that cannot be denied." Masaru thought.
Masaru listened to Hikari's reasoning, ti was true, it would be a good idea to utilize the method to summon, but he wondered what would happen should the Summon beat the Player, would it be Game Over or you wouldn't get another chance to fight the Summon until later? He was unsure about the information there, he wasn't that brushed up with history so he had no idea what periods in time they were form. "We could do, but judging by the number of people here, the Goblins will be spread out so we won't get crowded, plus, it doesn't hurt to do the Summoning privately since I have little to no doubt we'll have another PK Guild in this Death Game, but you are right about mobs and bosses, the game will expect us to utilize these Summons a lot, considering they are the main reason people bought it compared to other games like ALO or GGO, only people I can think of that utilizes a non-Player is Beast Tamer from SAO or in ALO, The Cait Siths." Masaru said with his arms crossed. "But for now, you're right, we'll get ourselvess up to level 3 and head over to the next spot, I imagine some people will spend more time here to get higher than Level 3 to adapt to the battle system and of course, with so many people here, they don't have to worry about being blindsided by a mob because it's likely someone else will take care of that." Masaru explained to her.
Masaru gave a nod to Star at what she said, it was true about what she said about the weapons, he suspected it was to give the realistic feeling of actually maintaining the sword which carried over from SAO, so there was no change there, but he had reservations about Alpha. "Were they any beta Testers for this game?" Masaru was unsure about that since he never followed gaming news much nowadays except for updates in ALO. "Well, I suppose we ought to go north then Star." Masaru said as it was suggested to go in as groups of two. "Didn't he miscount we have Summons? Unless... they have a limited time to remain around?" Masaru thought and opened up the map of SAO, least that was a big difference to have a map of the area, there were in the Town of Hope and he had to give some thought of where he and Star should go, they were at Level 1 and didn't know how the system worked. "I suggest Star, we test the waters of how this game works first then head to a camp on this map, not sure how many monsters will reside there but we worked together for so long, I'm not worried if some are over levelled." Masaru gave a small smile to her and he chose a direction north to walk with her, hand in hand.
Masaru had to give a small chuckle in his head as Hikari scolded him briefly before running to embrace him and he caught her, arms wrapped around her frame as she freely cried, her outburst soon forgotten as her tone soon turned to happiness and the nickname that was given to him and Masru had to blush a bit. "I know, I'm a idiot but I thought the Amusphere's specifications would ensure that another Death Game wouldn't happen again, and you know how that turned out." Masaru said and received a Guild Invitation. Now Masaru never saw the reason to join a Guild in SAO before since the Knights of the Blood Oath were many in number to clear the game with most of the Clearers signed up in there while a Solo Player could get more experience by himself as well as more success in getting drops or Last Attack bonuses, plus, Star was his personal Blacksmith and it didn't seem thye ahd that option, plus the Amusphere didn't transfer data from the NerveGear and he doubted this game could even allow transferred accounts, he noted Hikari immediately accept her invitation to the Guild and he too accepted it. "Right now, it's best if everyone works together than go off alone." Masaru thought, but he didn't dare speak out loud like the previous two Players, right now he was much more content with holding Hikari.. "I wonder if there's a marriage system like in SAO?" Masaru thought to himself, it was nice to share inventory as well as with Hikari's blacksmith skills, she would create swords to be used in the event one would break while out in the field since he had access to her stuff and she, his. "And there's no Black Swordsman or Lightning Flash this around... this'll be a bit tougher than ever." Masaru thought and remembered the day SAO was cleared, around 6000 people were teleported out of Aincrad with 4000 dead within the two years trapped in the game, people wondered if they ever could escape, but the Clearers did reach floor 75 so the end goal was in sight, but how much stronger the Floor Bosses were in those floors, it was unknown.
Masaru stared in surprise at the announcement, he felt perhaps fear through his body. "No, not again... not after SAO...." Masaru thought in frustration, just when eh thought a Death Game was over, another one started, but what could he do? "....My family's gonna kill me." Masaru thought, he was getting along with Misaki and their relationship was stronger than ever and his parents were so happy to have him back, because of the incident, all SAO survivors had to get their muscles working again as well as proper food since they weren't used for two years straight, and now just when his body was back to it's normal state of being, this had to happen when eh decided to test it out. "Okay no use worrying about it or else, I'll likely break down and not move at all, let's review... okay this is like SAO except our Administrator is giving us less to work with and no information on to beat the game itself, everyone's likely on level 1 with the cheapest equipment and items possible... Are there Safe Zones in this world or is it a free-for-all? No... I doubt the Creator would dare allow everyone to die on the first floor, he wants this game to be beaten and wouldn't dare do it himself else, it wouldn't be fun." Masaru reasoned and checked his inventory. "I got everything that the registration has given me, and a free upgrade potion for my weapon... I'll hold onto that for now, it's likely there'll be some skills that exist down the line that could be beneficial... I guess the Singer's Knight has to take up arms once more." Masaru thought and sighed. "I pray she isn't stuck in this game, I haven't even been to a concert yet..." Masaru thought fondly of his in-game wife. "What?" Masaru said and heard the cry out from the people who were rallying others to their cause and he turned around. "That's a difference compared to the Town of Beginnings." Masaru thought and waded through the people to get a better look at the announcers. "No point in going Solo this time around, not when you don't know what's out there." Masaru thought and he spoke up. "Well spoken, I couldn't agree more." Masaru said clearly and he came across a sight he never thought he'd lay eyes upon who else had joined the group, she was very familiar and he ran to the woman, he would know her anywhere and whispered under his breath so only she could hear him. "Kari-chan?" Masaru asked in hopeful suspense.
