Open ✪ Stokbon A Bumpy Start

[Aryon Therros]

The transition from the real world to this new world was almost instantaneous. The moment Alven had created his avatar's look, given him a name, and tapped the "Login" button with his virtual, disembodied finger, the world around him snapped out of existence. Within the span of a blink, he found himself surrounded by the noise and bustle of a large city, standing in what appeared to be a rather large gathering area. The stone courtyard was enormous, fountains dotting the perimete at regular intervals. A few others mingled around the area--some passing through on their way to some other destination; others looking around with wide-eyed expressions. Alven imagined he must look much the same as he took in his surroundings.

I guess this must be the starter town? So I'm really here...


He soon began to examine himself, deciding he could take in the sights afterwards. Without being able to see his own face, it was difficult to tell if he was in his own body, or the body of the character he had created just moments ago. He reached up and took a lock of hair in his fingers, bringing it down slightly in front of his face. Sure enough, his usually fire red hair was now a golden blonde color.

It was only now that he felt the new weight on his hip, as well as his back. He looked down to notice the tarnished sword and scabbard lashed to his waist with a ragged leather belt. He then reached back and grabbed hold of the object on his back, pulling a rusty shield over his head to examine with a sympathetic look. This must be the started equipment given to new players. He was quite certain it wouldn't be very useful, but if he found himself in a situation that called for it, he supposed it was better than nothing.

Not that Alven had any intentions of finding himself in combat with anyone or anything. At least not so early in his advnetures in this new game. He wasn't very accustomed to VR games, and with the secrecy that TerraSphere prided itself in keeping, his knowledge of what to expect--and what this world expected of him--was even less abundant. No, Alven had fully intended this to be a social experience. His only objective for the time being would be to find the girl from his class. The girl he had a crush on.

Alven wasn't dumb. He knew that if he ever left the safety of this city--which he assumed must be the capital of whatever starting region he was in, based on the size--that he might end of being attacked by the wild fauna of this world. Combat was almost unavoidable in RPGs, and he knew that. But combat in a VR game was something he wanted to put off for a while. He hadn't even taken his first step in this world. For all he knew, his unaccustomed body might cause him to fall flat on his face the second his foot left the ground.

Taking another second to look around, he took a deep breath and took that first step...

...right into the path of another person....

 

[Rael]

.

Rael had barely dipped her toes into the depths of Terrasphere, wandering about from settlement to settlement with what little amount of knowledge she could afford to purchase from local vendors with her limited beginner's funds. While she'd had some terrible luck right at spawn, the same couldn't be said for the rest of her adventures. Every place she looked to was thriving with a new secret to discover, a new page to turn and reveal what wonders it held.

So much that she sometimes worried she wouldn't have time for it all.

It was as though the people inhabiting the land, rather than the world itself in all of its realistic splendor, were the sole object of her attraction. How her eyes shifted from the pages of the book and onto a passerby as she brushed shoulders with an armored individual, muttering an apology coupled with the small bow of her head. Her gaze would linger on the individual but for a few moments, her hand idly moving the pen pressed to an open page of her grimoire. Again and again, she would continue to wander the streets, each intake of breath an experience of its own.

"...And before the curtain would fall,
Unsung heroes would answer the call.
Resplendent in all their might,
An endless choir, come to join the fight,
Beckoned forth by none other than the Starcall."

Such was the emotion with which she wrote the last line that she had fully neglected to track her way around the crowd, crashing into another being for what would probably be the fourth or fifth time in the last ten minutes. Initially startled by her lack of awareness, both of her items fell at her feet, her pen rolling further away after clattering for a few seconds against stone.

"Oh, no, no, get back here!" The pink-haired elf's eyes then flicked to those of the blonde knight's, stuttering through the beginning lines of an apology for having crashed into him... Until her panic over her quickly disappearing item took over.

Magic items were expensive, she had worked quite hard on those beginner's quests to afford those!

@Aryon Therros

 

[Aryon Therros]

The impact wasn't severe, but it had startled Alven enough to give out a small gasp. With a sharp "whoa!" and a few stuttered apologies, Alven attempted to right himself, also reaching out to steady the young pink-haired girl he had just run into.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

His instincts as a medical student urged him to ask if she was hurt, but just then, the girl called out, pleading for someone or something to return to her. He glanced in the direction she was now lunging towards and saw what looked like a pen skidding off across the stones. Realizing it must be what she was after, and seeing that his position between her and it was creating something of a problem, he knelt down and reached out for it as well. He was able to just barely catch the pen between his outstretched fingers before it bounced out of reach.

He grinned at his ability to control this virtual body better than he had expected, turning to face the girl while still crouched down. He presented the pen to her, a slight flush in his face.

"Sorry, about that. This seems to be important, and I almost caused you to lose it." He held the pen out to her in one hand, the other rubbing the back of head nervously. "I guess I let my new surroundings get the better of me."

He supposed there were worse ways of starting a new adventure. Games such as this one had a bad habit of landing a new character in the middle of a monster-infested dungeon or some similar area. If literally running into another player and causing her to drop her belongings was this game's idea of introducing him to other players, then he didn't have much to complain about.

@Rael

 

[Rael]

.

Words flew past the girl's pointed ears, whatever apologies or intentions to check on her status the blonde might've had, all forgotten in the light of her escaping tool. She squealed when a Lander walking by the pair almost came far too close to stepping on it, which by its delicate composition would've broken the tool right in half, but as the man unconsciously stepped away, all she could do was release a sigh she was unconsciously holding onto.

"O-oh!" Rael's eyes fluttered open to find the blonde in close proximity to her, holding the object in a hand. The storyteller graciously accepted the return of her casting implement at the hands of the, unbeknownst to her, newer player. "No, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. It was bound to happen... And if it hadn't been you, I'm sure I would've crashed against someone else in your stead."

She trailed off with her words, casting a cursory glance upon the blonde as pointed ears caught mention of their surroundings being new to him. Her attention fell not on him any longer, but on the things he carried with him such as the bare minimum of equipment one would need when facing the wilderness, the sword strapped to his back, and the appearance of what, to her, spoke of a warrior in the making.

"New to the area? Ah, you are an adventurer, of course!" This, the storyteller seemed to take as an invitation to step forward into his personal space, grimoire clutched tightly against her chest, making herself taller by standing on the tips of her toes - failing to contain the excitement bubbling up from her chest. "Perhaps a hero, even? Ah, I bet you were on your way to do a quest or something..."

And yet, before he could be afforded a chance to respond, she backed a step away from him, cheeks colored in a hue that matched her hair. "Could I come with, if that's the case?"

@Aryon Therros