SAO: Summon Arc Online

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Apparently, <Silent Blade> was not lagging, but was perfectly fine. Sylar watched as <SilentBlade> showed <Seth's Angel> as her bow changed. However, he figured <SilentBlade> wasn't much of a talker based on their little 'conversation' earlier, and even though <Seth's Angel> had an improved bow now, she had explained that she didn't even know how to use a weapon. His eyes narrowed slightly when she also told how she was in SAO, only out of slight curiosity and wonder as to why her brother, now deceased, was so interested. Sylar sighed.
"I just wanted to see what it was like. I have never played a video game in my life. I never wanted too, I was just lonely and wanted to see. I don't even know how to use my weapon. Please help me. Don't leave me here. I doubt anyone else will help me. I mean who wants a little girl who has no clue how to do anything on their team anyways." She was saying. She stared at her lap, not looking at Sylar or his quiet acquaintance.
"Believe me. Before SAO, I never though too much of games either." Sylar replied. "But it had changed me when I found out that we were in a death trap. I tried to figure out every loophole, tried to see every shortcut." He stood. "In the end, everyone needs help. And I'm not going to start my first few minutes in a grim reality to leave someone to die. Never again."
He held out a hand to her, saying, "I'll teach you to fight. We will make it through this. If we got out of SAO, then we can get out of this again. One way or another."
He also looked to <SilentBlade>, also asking, "How about you?"​

 

Tessa glanced at her brother before dropping his hand and letting it hang at her side. "Thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked, her fingers twitching slightly. Crowds had always made her nervous, but never more so then now. People around them were grouping up, making friends and sharing resources. While she ached to join them, she knew Bryce would never agree. He had seen too much of the bad in the world to trust people anymore.

Pulling up the screen for her inventory, she quickly let her fingers slide through the items until they fell on the <Weapon Evolution Potion>. Something told her it would be important to keep around. "You got this thing too, Bryce?" She closed the screen with a flick of her hand and turned her gaze towards the outside of the crowd. Without another word she slipped away, sliding through the virtual bodies until she had reached the outside of the crowd. It was time for them to move on, and perhaps find a way out of the game. Before their parents found out, and tormented their living bodies. Before it would be too late.

At his sister's words, Bryce opened his inventory. There, the <Weapon Evolution Potion> rested, one of the few items he had this early in the game. Also in there were his two weapons of choice. He decided against equipping them just yet, although his sister had already produced her own pistol in her hand. He remembered vividly her skill, and decided that if anyone attacked them now, she would be enough to defend them until he was able to equip his own.

He followed her, thrusting his way through the crowd where Tessa slipped through. It could have been argued that she fit into smaller spaces then he did, but he just didn't care. If they didn't get out of his way, he would make them. He could see Tessa's shoulders tense,and he wondered if she was thinking about their parents. He certainly tried his best not to. God only knew what they would do when they found out their children were trapped in a dreaded video game. They had tried to ban the VRMMO's, to little avail. Now that their predictions had come true, (only somewhat), he shuddered to think what they would do. Best to try and find a way out quickly. And that was certainly wouldn't be found by standing around here like a bunch of sheep ready to slaughter.

Keeping his eyes from making contact with any other players in order to avoid confrontation, he and Tessa arrived at the edge of the crowd. As with all things, he left the decision for Tessa. Should they try to explore the village, or make their way into the unknown? His older sister always knew what was best, and he trusted her no less in this world then he did in the real one.

 

It was getting worse. The girl wanted to party up with him, and apparently so did <Hades>. Part of him wanted to decline, but at the same time part of him didn't. <Hades> was from the original SAO, so he could probably help the girl, and yet...how was he supposed to just leave a little girl who needed help. He was brought out of his thoughts by <Hades> asking if he was going to help. His head drooped a little and for just a brief moment there was a flash of pain in his eyes. "The original SAO was...difficult. There were plenty of dangers in it. Monsters, traps in dungeons, dungeons themselves, bosses.." he said, his voice trailing off slightly. "There were even those that took the lives of others. PKers, guilds that specialized in murdering other players. This place will likely be the same" the boy stated.

He looked into the eyes of <Seth's Angel>, so full of fear. If she knew what Samuel had done, would she still be asking for his help? Would anyone? He should get up and walk away and not tangle her up in his mess. And yet, he couldn't. "You're not going to die here. I'll clear the game, even if I have to do it myself" Samuel decided.


Emma thought about the offer. Being in a party would slow down the experience gained greatly, but with two of them they'd be able to take down more things, making up for that loss. Did she want to be in a party? After thinking about it for a moment, she decided that she wanted to. "Sure, but if it's numbers you're looking for, it'd be better to go talk to the guy yelling some crap about his legion. I'd imagine one big force would be more effective at clearing things than a multitude of small ones" the girl said, stating her opinion and then some.​

 

Kat shook her head saying, "No. I don't want to be in a large group. If you do then that's fine, go and do that, and I'll hope I'll see you again." Kat took her rapier out of her inventory and sheathed it and looked around at everyone to see if she changed her mind. People were gaining some hope or gaining more panic but the groups seemed to be forming or people seemed to be leaving.

That was her plan once Emma made up her mind, if Emma wanted to party with more numbers she had no problem soloing. She already had been soloing most of the start of this anyway, and she already gained a bit of skill in her blade skill, although it was more catered to the knife she knew she could adjust.​

 

Eyes had fallen to the floor in petrified disbelief, the words having sunk and marked the Circle of Judgement and all of those in it with fear and despair. Jankano just could not believe this. A second death game. What were the odds of him ending up in yet ANOTHER death game? Was his luck just this bad? Breathing became abnormal as stood there without motion, eyes merely becoming soulless for the episode he was dealing with right now. The voices, yelling, terrifying cries of people, it all became muffled sound as Jankano fell into his own little world.

Sword Art Online had started with 10,000 people, and had claimed the lives of 4,866 people. Among those 4k+ people were his friends... People he had grown up with, people he had met in the game... They are gone forever, taken by the cruel world that had held them prisoner for 2 whole years. That happened even with the little help they had gotten from Beta testers, and guide books. This...this game only has 1,000 people, and it lacked any sense of guidance unlike Sword Art online. No Beta testers, no guide books. Nothing. They were all starting from scratch, lost in the wind.

A bead of sweat slid down Jankano's temple, heart pulsating above average rhythm. Breathing became heavy, and there was this homesick feeling arising in his sternum. Eyes started to feel the need to perspire as he just stood there, only raising his left gloved hand up to see the palm. Breath exhaled from mouth while gritting teeth, brows expressing ambivalence once again.

But wasn't Sword Art Online enough? Were we all not tested every single day? Every time we stepped out of the safe zones, we risked our lives in order to help our fellow players get one floor closer to beating this game...

Wasn't... THAT... enough?

Jankano wanted to cry, to just break down and weep while he pitied himself for ending up in another virtual prison. This world was fake, and yet the situation was very real. Mind understood this, but mediocrity wanted to anchor him down in this moment and to pretend that this was just fake, a dream that he would eventually wake up from. For goodness sake, he wasn't even using the nerve-gear anymore. Left hand curled to a fist as he slowly moved it towards the bridge of his nose, releasing the built up perspiration behind eyes. Pupils were dilated, metaphorically burning a hole into the ground.

Jaw tensed, teeth baring themselves while Jankano let the episode run its course.

"Another... death game... " he spat out under breath.

Frustrated, irritated, and whelmed with fear of death. Slowly he cried the episode out of his system. The peoples muffled voiced slowly began to pick up strength, a sense of reality coming back to him a tear at a time. Eyes began to lift off the ground, and forward. Fist slowly removed itself from his face and began to shake with angry fervor. His moment of self pity was over. This was the real and the now. Whatever happened to him from here on out, he would have no one but himself to blame. If this game was going to be what killed him, then so beat it. He didn't want to die, but life is a roll of the die. You never know what number you'll roll. However, like hell he was about to die in a game designed by some scrub without dishing out some pain of his own. The swordlands were fierce, and unrelenting. He would see for himself how this game would be.

Damn this game... Just Damn it, and your seed Kayaba...

The same way he defied SAO, he'd defy this SAO.

Putting his fist down, he turned around and made his way out of the crowd of 1,000 people; ignoring any all commotion in the Circle of Judgement.

-----------------------

His first stop would be to the NPC blacksmith on the edge of town. It only took a few minutes until he found himself standing in front of the NPC. Slick back black hair, and a black beard. The NPC looked at him.

"Hey there, what can I do for you?"

"Enchancement. Evolve." Jankano uttered the words.

The blacksmith's eyes came to life and straightened his back. "You sure about that? Seems to me you don't have the necessary exp accumulated on your sword.."

Taking out the free potion given to all the players in the circle, he extended it out to the blacksmith.

"Well I'll be damned... This'll be all you need then." he said as he took the potion from the swordsman's hand.

Taking the sword by the other hand, the blacksmith poured the potion all over the blade and then dipped it in the furnace. A menu popped up before Jankano, giving him three options. Without hesitation he poked at the option that read, Great Sword. A sliver of a memory re-surfaced, one that involved a certain Sub-Boss and a solo run for half of it the fight. After confirming the choice, the sword in the furnace let out a sparkle. The blacksmith pulled it out and dipped it in water before handing it to Jankano.

"Here you go! A mighty fine job, if I do say so myself." he praised with a smile.

A message popped up in his UI stating he had unlocked the <<Great Sword Proficiency Skill>> and a Basic <Great Sword Skill>>. Jankano took the weapon, and weighed it for a moment. My goodness was he a bit rusty. He could maintain a one handed grip on the great swords handle, but it took a bit of work. Eyelids shut as he let out a sigh, sheathing the blade onto the back of Lumbar spine. Gold was deducted from his total, and the interaction with the NPC ended. As he walked away, he looked at his menu. There was still another sword in his inventory. He had wanted to play around with dual wielding ever since he witnessed the <<Unique Skill>> in SAO. Oh well, not like he could afford playing around now anyway.

He stopped for a moment, taking in his surroundings.

Some girl was about to wonder off the city and into the outside, and that was it. From the looks of it, she seemed pretty confident in herself. Head cocked slightly, a brow raising itself. Thoughts immediately began to play mind games on Jankano.

Is she serious? Does she have a death wish? No wait, maybe she's good.... OR she could be bait to lure anyone nice enough to care about her into a PKer's trap... Damn... Good or Bad. What is it? i

Eyes fell to the floor, remembering his friends. If only...

Eyes fell apathetic at the verdict. He wasn't about to risk it. First things first, he had to find a stable group to party with. Gain their trust, and then outright survive. At this point, it was just a matter of building a network of people he could trust, people he could go to for help, resources, and information. With a quick deep breath, he ignored the lone girl and headed to an NPC shop to buy potions before heading back towards the Circle of Judgement. Upon entering the circle, the crowd had already begun to disperse while others were already forming groups. In a game of 1,000 people, everyone needed to stick together and work together. The more groups they had that were unified, the more they could divide and conquer this game, learn its secrets, and share the information.

Thumb tapped on his thigh as he stood there, letting eyes wonder in a decision.

Two people had just walked out of the crowd. Both of them looked like a couple of sorts or perhaps they were siblings or really good friends.

Another group of people consisting of 4+ people were already in the process of what seemed like them forming a party.

And then there was the one guy who seemed to really know how to take charge. He was standing among a leftover crowd, talking about amassing a group of Elite players to help clear this game.

Eyes narrowed at him, remembering the way things were in SAO. Like always, there were good people and bad people. So many high end guilds were formed, and a lot of the leaders he remembered as being good people. Except one person. Kibaou was a good example of a good person gone bad.

Jankano looked away, eyeing the groups.

Can't blame them.... Stick with people you trust until the whole attains a common goal...

The question was, how long until they all found that common goal? The swordsman stood there, indecisive for the time being. Oh how he wished they could all just stick together. For goodness sake, there's only 1,000 players!!!

 

As Alpha watched the two players reunite, he couldn't help but smile at that interaction. That was the form of bonding and group interaction he wanted out of this game. What their words stated they were survivors of the first death game as well as met there. A wonderful addition to his game, Summon Arc Online. There were many players who were already scattering to find something, someway to clear this game. He was sad to see some only go off into the solo routes. It was sad to say but the chances of survival on that route were much slimmer than pairing up.

After some time, more people flocked in to join the newly created guild. Honestly, if the orange haired boy stayed around, Alpha would have made him leader. Alpha really just didn't like the name choice he picked for the guild. It was far to egotistical. Nobody was perfect though. There was no point in fighting now though. Alpha had already gained a decent amount of players to carry on. They would become the elite group

"Attention members! I am your leader, Alpha. This guild will see each other as equals. Until further into the game, we should all share loot. As for experience, it would be best to split into teams of two. This will give use the chance to get the most experience I believe." He wouldn't tell them but the experience yield while in a party of two would be 1.5 times the normal amount for just one person. You'd level quicker than a solo player.

"There is a village north of town. It is a Goblin Stronghold quite large in size. We should go there and gain experience quickly. We have a game to beat, a home to return to!" After his motivational speech, he began to march forward with the 50 so players following behind him.


Star sighed at Masaru. He was the same as always. But that was what she loved about him. He was so silient during the rest of the time they embraced. He must have been thinking about clearing the game or the best route continue on. Or, knowing Masaru, he was being a romantic thinking of marriage again. The idiot. The idea would make her blush and sink her face into his shirt.

Soon afterwards though, she let go of him to listen to Alpha's speech. She held his hand the entire time. The Guild Leader said they should head north in parties of two. With their summons, wouldn't that make the party into a 4 man group? Nobody had used the summons yet so it was difficult to say. This man named Alpha also seemed far to confident. It was like he knew more about the game then he lead on. Perhaps he was a beta tester that managed to figure things out before leaving.

"Masaru, we should party up and head north. I don't want to fall behind like last time. I'm going to work on my Blacksmithing skill again too. I know the rules said we were stuck with our weapon choices, but it all said they have durability. The armor in the game can be smithed too. I'll do my best to make you the best armor a knight can have!"

 

Emma nodded her head. "I think I'll see about joining the guild. I hope I'll meet you again too, Kat. Don't go dying before then, okay?" she said. With that done, she went to walk away and bumped straight into a guy that seemed to be walking with his sister. Emma fell back onto her butt, and got up quickly. "Watch where you're going!" she shouted, more than a little annoyed. With all that was going on, her emotions were running high.​

 

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.

 

Bryce glanced back as a girl shouted after him. Did she mean any harm? He didn't see her moving towards them, and shrugged. There was no need to retort, if the only end game would be violence. He knew Tessa wanted to get as far away from the crowd as possible, and where Tessa went, he would follow. Although at some point they should figure out how to view a map, because come to think of it he didn't want to stay in this village longer then necessary. He flipped the girl off and silently turned to follow his sister.

Tessa glanced back, and frowned at Bryce. "Causing a commotion?" She mouthed, raising an eyebrow. Bryce was too busy flipping the girl off to notice, and she smacked her hand against her forehead in a moment of exasperation before turning and darting through the crowd. All she wanted was to get out of this crowd, before she started to panic, but no, Bryce had to go and pick fights. "So help me little brother, if she comes after you, I'm not helping you out." She muttered, slipping through a pair of two sobbing girls. Bryce chuckled softly behind her, and she grinned. After she kicks the sh*t out of you, then maybe. She added silently in her mind.

 

​

Alright, so, step one. Jackyl had to level up. And how did one level up? By killing things of course! Which meant, that she needed to find the closest camp or spawn area of monsters to go on a tear of. And what did she need to go kill a monster? A weapon! And how did she get a weapon? By going into her menu and selecting it of course. Seeing that she had two swords in her inventory, she equipped one as it materialized in her hand. As she looked still in her inventory, she saw that there was weapon evolution potion there, and realized that it would probably be a good idea to use it.

As she gave her sword a few good swings just to get a good feel for it, she wondered why her menu was still up and just kind of closed. Right, now she needed to go and find some monsters to kill. Looking onward, she saw there was a large encampment of things that probably needed killing. So that was where she would go. Giving her sword a good spin, she put on her back where it just magically seemed to be clipped on to, and started walking with a spring in her step and whistling a tune to keep her thoughts occupied as she walked on to the encampment.

As she stepped into the encampment, she noticed someone had already beaten her there. Looking at the rather dark and brooding fellow, Jackyl gave him a short wave as she said, "heyo there Edgermeister!" Looking at the work he was doing here, she said, "so uh, I take it your just getting busy here killing goblins and getting exp?" Turning his voice into more like a business man, she said, "because if so, for the low low price of one party invite, you could have this hunting thing be a much easier time."

 

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Looks like he got through to the girl, because she stood, a new look on her face. She bowed to both him and <SilentBlade> and asked if either of us had known the player <Dragon Blade>. "Name doesn't ring a bell," Sylar responded. "If he goes by another name, maybe? But I usually tended to work alone back in SAO."
That was a lie. He did have a guild for himself, <The House of Hades>. He stuck to it like a second home. That is, until....
He shook his head curtly. "We should get going." He said. "Most of the players are already banding up, and the faster we leave, the better we have of an advantage, especially if any PKers decide to get the jump on us. So we need to see how the entire game is, and gauge how <Seth's Angel> can fight."
He began heading to the gate, waving to both <SilentBlade> and <Seth's Angel> to follow. "Come on."

 

As Alpha got into position upon a hill opposite a nearby camp, her eyes widened in alarm as she saw two individuals had already beaten her there. No! They're going to level quicker than me! I can't possibly allow that! I have to level up as soon as possible! She immediately lay down on the ground on the hill and pulled up her Sniper Rifle. She pulled back the lever, clicking the next round into place and looked down the scope. She noticed the two people over there through the scope. MortoLibergio and MelonJackal. When had they left? She thought she had been pretty fast out of the starter town but apparently she was wrong. She switched away from the two of them and looked for a goblin in the scope. She spotted a pair heading towards the two, perhaps having recently spawned or simply being late to the party. With practiced ease, she lined up the head of the leading Goblin and fired. The head of the creature disappeared in a shower of blood and despawning blood. The second, naturally startled by the sudden explosion of its partner's head, stopped for a moment too long while she racked the bolt back and fired again. The head of the creature also reached a messy end. She patted the gun affectionately after the first spots of hunting were quickly done. Not bad. It's not quite my rifle in GGO but you'll do for now. She scanned the camp and laid sight upon a goblin returning. She swivelled the gun around and ended its life as swiftly as the previous. Three kills. I wonder how many of these it'll take to level up? She continued her deadly overwatch and while she remained fairly out of sight, the boom of the sniper rifle firing could be heard rolling down into the camp like an omnious thunderclap, heralding the storm to come.




Julius walked the road. Perhaps he should have joined that Summoned Knights thing that Alpha guy mentioned and then negotiated his way into being in charge. Damn, I didn't think about that. Oh well, too late to go back now and it just looks pathetic if I do that. I'll never be a respectable guild master if I come crawling back after making a show of myself. No, I must live the part that I played upon that statue! They will know to love me and fear me but above all, respect me as the mighty Guild Master that I am. Truly, I will be the best player that this world has. Me, and Cú Chulainn. Our names will carry across this world with reverance and awe! Such was the encouraging nature of the thoughts that filled his head as he made his way to the fabled camp that Alpha spoke of.
​

 

At that, Kat took the opportunity to leave before the crowds. She knew she was going to be behind, but she wanted to level up a little more since there were places she wouldn't be able to get to at her level. She was already level 3, which may have seemed strange to some people but it was because of how immediately she had absorbed herself into the game at the beginning, but she hadn't made it to the goblins before she was automatically teleported to where the rest of the players were.

With as much energy as she could muster she made her way to the goblin camp, and unfortunately other players had made it first. She equipped her rapier and snuck around (mainly to try and gain skill in that) and she looked at a goblin running the corner and she activated her attack and slashed, the goblin was staggered and she was glad that she'd discovered that tactic in advance and she slashed at the goblin a couple more times until it vanished, excited about the EXP she just gained for that. She continued her strategy and got to a goblin that she knew was a higher level than her and she readied herself and attacked, it staggered it but this goblin was not happy and slashed at her and gave her damage, which hurt like hell and she began bleeding. She grumbled and tried to stop it while also going after this goblin. She kept on slashing and dodging as best as she could whilst watching her heath slowly draining due to the bleeding.

Shit. I need this but this must be the bleed mechanic they were talking about.​

 

Okay, so the guy hadn't done anything. The girl, presumably his sister given their similar appearance, had also ignored her. The flipping her off hadn't even bothered Emma that much. Sure, it was rude, but in the type of scenario it was understandable if people flipped each other off. Who knew, maybe he was just a goddamn idiot and thought he was pointing at the sky as if to say "that is a bigger issue". He was probably American, the bloody snobs were always ignoring others and being obnoxious, and they weren't exactly the brightest bulbs. All their headspace was filled with notions of freedom of speech, freedom of doing whatever they want, SO MUCH DAMN FREEDOM LIKE WHAT THE HELL.

Okay, maybe she was a little bothered by it. And if that hadn't been obvious before now, what she did next certainly was. Getting up, she began fuming as she began racing towards him. "Hey, are you going to run away from everything? You f***ing *******!" she exclaimed, diving into the boy and crash tackling him to the ground, just like she'd learned from wrestling with her brothers. And no, not in a dirty way, this isn't a game of thrones RP. Quickly pinning the boy to the ground, she leaped over and crouched above his head, before she began slapping him furiously in between statements like "YOU THINK YOU'RE TOO GOOD FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS DESCENDED FROM CONVICTS HUH?", "THINK I'M GOING TO THROW A F***ING SHRIMP ON THE GODDAMN F***ING BARBIE OR SOME S**T? WELL **** YOU YOU ARROGANT YANK!", and of course who could forget my personal favourite, "I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS SO BAD IT'LL FEEL LIKE A THOUSAND ROOS BANGED THE **** OUT OF YOU AT THE SAME TIME YOU F***ER!" before finally pulling back her hand and giving him the bitchslap to end all, sending an echo throughout the circle of judgement and surely turning some heads, either in amusement or horror she had no idea, but she didn't care. Maybe a little bothered was an understatement.


Samuel thought about what Samantha had said. "DragonBlade? I can't say that I knew him personally, but I heard he was a fairly strong player. Shame I didn't get to meet him, really, I would've liked to meet someone with such a reputation" he said. His voice was fairly low and serious, mostly because he was still thinking of his past. Had he met DragonBlade, it probably would have been to kill him, which would have made this situation very awkw- well, more awkward than it was, anyway. He listened to what <Hades> had said, before he began wandering away. He was right, the road ahead was dangerous and the sooner they left the more of an advantage they had the better.

However, rather than move after him, Samuel stayed where he was for the moment. He looked at <Seth's Angel>, and for a brief moment he wondered how someone had managed a username with an apostrophe in it, but that was overtaken by his next question. "Maybe it's because he's named by the greek god of the underworld, but I don't like the guy too much. Could also be because I don't like talking so much. Either way, he's got a point about having the advantage. So, do we follow or find another way?" he asked.​

 

The girl came out of nowhere. No sooner had Bryce dismissed her then something took him down with all the force of a full force train. He hit the ground with a thud, staring up into angry eyes and a face that would have been sweet, but was twisted with rage. It was then, Bryce knew he had made a deadly mistake.

He had been too shocked to stop the barrage of hits her palms had landed against his face as she screamed at him, most of what she said unintelligible to his ears. It was the final slap that brought him back to his senses, causing his ears to ring as his face burned. His eyes fell on Tessa, who was standing over the girl, her eyes burning but her expression calm.

Tessa had heard the sound of Bryce falling, and had turned just in time to witness the first slap. She had crossed her arms over her chest, unable to keep herself from thinking, that's what you get, as the girl pummeled her younger, and much larger brother.

Finally, the girl drew back, and Tessa stepped forward just as the sound of the slap resounded across the courtyard. She smoothly raised her pistol and pointed it at the girl's head, the air around her still and tense.

"That's enough." She said, her voice quiet, carrying through the quiet air as easily as if she had shouted. Her finger flicked off the safety before wrapping around the trigger. This was no bluff.

 

Emma's eyes widened slightly at the sound of the safety getting flicked off, and she stopped attacking Bryce. In fact, she hadn't even thought there would be safety in a videogame, but there it was. Solid proof that yes, safety was a thing. Well, at least when the murderous dick threw them into a life or death scenario he thought to give them some kind of safety precaution. Wouldn't want everyone killing themselves off immediately, she figured. Quickly, Emma realized she needed an adult. After that realization, another thought came to mind. She opened the menu and equipped her shotgun, and as it was fading into existence she spun around and pointed the barrel of it straight in Tessa's face. She had her finger on the trigger, but she found she couldn't do it. She wasn't a killer, and it certainly wasn't worth taking a life over something as small as someone flipping her off. At last, reason found its way into her mind.

Lowering the shotgun, she was now pointing it directly at the ground although she didn't unequip it. If someone like her came that close, what was to stop someone with less restraint doing it? Then again, she had just leaped onto a boy and attacked him viciously for being a little rude, did she even have that much restraint? "I'm sorry just...its all so much to take in. I'm not the kind of person that usually winds up in situations like this, this is the first time I've even played a VRMMO alltogether" she said, before standing up and looking towards Bryce. Shooting him a slight glare, she continued. "I'm sorry that I did that too, but you can't pretend you didn't deserve a little of it...damn assholes" she said, saying the very last part quietly to herself.


Letting out a slight sigh, Samuel turned towards Sylar. He'd tried to reduce the amount of people he had to talk to and failed. Course, he could always go solo, but what would be the point in agreeing to protect this girl and then simply abandoning her? Maybe <Hades> could take care of her, but if he couldn't then it would be Samuel's own fault, wouldn't it? "Alright. I'll go then. I suppose I have to look at the bright side, at least my bullcrap tolerance skill should go up. Damn that'd be a useful skill to have" he stated, before following behind Sylar. "Looks like we'll be travelling together, at least for now" he said. It could be confused for an attempt to start conversation, and likely would, but it was really just him making a statement.​

 

Tessa felt her heart race and eyes narrow when the barrel of the gun was pressed into her face. Unlike Gun Gale, one shot and she would be done. It felt more real, more definite.

Despite the heat of the moment, she kept her calm and waited, praying that this girl wouldn't show the spark of madness every player revealed when they killed another. And to her relief, it didn't appear.

The girl lifted the gun away, and Tessa let her own drop towards the ground, though she kept it equipped. The girl began to apologize, and Tessa felt a small inkling of empathy. Her first time? No wonder she's scared.

"It's okay. He deserved it for being rude." Tessa shot a look at Bryce, warning him to keep quiet. He remained where he was, face pale except for the marks where the girl had slapped him. Undoubtedly he hadn't thought that even the smallest gesture could turn into something much worse.

"Everyone is on edge. Say, if you need someone to grow up with, we were heading to the edge of town. Probably some monsters or creatures that we can fight to level up. Bryce and I haven't played a fantasy VRMMO, but this isn't our first time. Might be able to show you a few tricks."

Bryce, to her relief, didn't say anything when she offered companionship to the girl. Perhaps he was finally learning that they would need to trust others.