Open Eastern Brisshal Games are a lot like real life, why?

[Thousand Swords]

Alexander was going into this game blinder then someone who could real brail. he did not look for information on it, did not check rating or reviews it might have. It also was entirely sure nothing about games was known before it much less the VR headset type as he grumbled trying to scan the code to get into the game. Resigning to getting a guide off his phone until he was in the game where he would go back to learning for himself and boy was he gonna regret that as he laid down to join the game. Eyes closing only to reopen in the grey room of character creation as he looked at himself with confusion.

"So...What do I do here?"

His expression a confused and nervous mix seeing himself before him as he walked over and poked it a few times with his left hand. It was an odd experience to see yourself without a mirror or reflection. Picking up one of the arms to see if it even had some of the scars he got from playing around with a firework one fourth of July to see it did causing him to stumble backwards. Nobody knew about that scar, so the fact this game did was enough to make the timid person fearful of it.

"Maybe next time read until you know how to log out... -sigh- Lets just trail and error this I guess."

A heavy sigh as he started to look around the room and mess with things on his own person until he eventually opened what could only be described as a menu of options for 'character creation' None of the gibberish he was looking at made sense so he just started messing with things and felt no changes before looking back at the copy of himself and almost breaking out in laughter at the clearly misshapen mess he had made by accident. Thank god he also found the 'return to default' button that reset the mess he made.

"If only life had that button after a shit day or hell even a two minute reset... I'd take a 10 second even and just go back until I never was born..."

Sighing in defeat as he moved to the next section on the menu and started to feel like he was playing a game with seeing 'skills, spells, mastery' section. Most of it still made no sense to him but clicking the one that did, and then letting a blind click pick the others as he moved onto the next section without much of a care for any of the small details not knowing how much they matter in games. 'Assist mode, and pain level' Another that made no sense to him so he simply had them both off and got to the name section and met yet another road block.

"Why can't they have random name generator..."

Grunting as he just picked a random number and the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of slashing weapons before clicking confirm and found himself in a forest now. Could the game stop sending him to random places without warning?! Eyes adjusting to the light as he looked around at the area and felt the breeze on his skin creeping him out more. This was supposed to be a game and here he was dealing with real world things even in it? Sighing as he tried to just take one step but went flying forward off a small cliff. His frame tumbling until it came to a sudden stop against a rock drawing a pained grunt as he stood back up VERY SLOWLY.

"Ok... Don't walk, just... move... very... slowly..."

Slowing down even his words as he moved what he thought was just turtle speed but seemed to be normal, why was he moving so damn fast, why did the fall and impact hurt like he did it himself in real life, and why the hell could he feel himself bleeding? Looking down he got the answer to one of those questions as he looked at the stick in his leg. A heavy sigh as so far his first minute into the 'actual game?' and he was already injured. Video games sucked about as much as real life, that was his take away thus far as he kept walking.

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

The fact she had to sit down just to play with the settings felt cumbersome, almost cavemen-like. Why, usually games like these have tutorials popping up everywhere since MMOs nowdays can't go without holding a player's hand, and Terrasphere felt like a mouthful of fresh air, were it not for the fact you can't find a single thing online about the game. Guides? Playerboards? Nothing, nada, zero.

"This is like trying to build an AC with the manual written on vietnamese, who even designed this UI..." She huffed, just as she started to fidget with the settings once again only to confirm everything was turned off, save for the basics such as the HUD.

Giving a few taps to the underside of the edge she is just sitting on once again left her shocked. She could feel practically everything, and yet it felt uncanny to imagine herself any different than this. Still, getting used to the height difference gave soft-levels of vertigo almost. She had the entirety of the forest in display, densely populated by a jade-coloured ecosystem on what felt like the nicest midday she had ever experienced in the past. However, just when she thought she couldn't be more immersed, the wind blew at an incredible pace right behind her. Instinctively, she held her head as if it could fly off at any moment, and her eyes went wide as a figure nyoomed at mach-5 speeds past the cliff, as if there were some invisible path ahead.

A pensive, blank stare went all over this stranger, or what glimpse she could catch at that point on. "Vabbe' dai, that looks more fun anyways." She sighed in defeat, pushing herself back on her feet and taking a few steps back to prepare herself.

With enough bravado, Fiora stepped forth, letting stone pop right below her feet to guide her like a staircase down the cliff. Her fearful steps soon turned into an overconfident stride, until she made one slip on these so called spells and fucked up badly enough that instead of earth, she made a stepping stone out of sand, and that didn't hold her weight quite well, so in a similar fashion to a kid who smugly took off the training wheels and went straight towards a post, Fiora fell, rolling down in a terribly uncharacteristic manner. A few pained grunts later and a glance back to her HP revealed little to no harm, despite the drop leaving her with a sore pain on her back she now cursed over, as much as she cursed her choice of magic in the first place.

With the Investigation Mode on, frivolous details started to come up on everything she could glance at, nothing she could understand right now that well, until a HP bar came up on her sights once she set them on the scarlet-haired man himself.

"Stop!- I mean, halt!" She corrected herself, pushing forth to try and catch up with him, not much of an issue now that he wasn't going at full speed. Fiora positioned herself right infront to keep him from going one step further, least he crashes onto her. "You need to tell me how you did that, the whole: 'I'm so fast I'm gonna run past the cliff'. You-" What little excitement on her tone seemingly fell off as soon as she caught up on the little branch he just got through his leg that almost made her cringe in pain too, and concern soon dropped her eyebrows. "I uh, I think you should sit down. That doesn't look like any kind of wound i've seen before in a game." Granted, she heard this would take 'realistic' to a different level, but judging by the blood and the change on his pace from speedrunner to normal human, that didn't look average by the least.

Thousand Swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

[ 22/100 ]HP

Thousand was not expecting the voice, but his normal habit cut right into practice as he froze mid step keeping his focus to the ground and did not dare move until told to sit down. he did fully register the pain until she brought it up again and he could only look at it with a dead gaze before the pain kicked in from his accidental use of ability.

"I uhm... don't know... just wanted to walk and next thing a knew... rock..."

His voice withdrawn and muffled by his hair as he kept looking down at the stick and decided to just pull it out because leaving it was only going to make things worse if it tore up more inside or splintered. Reaching for his sleeve to rip the cloth and tie it around the wound simply from experience pressure helped and since it did not go all the way it was decent choice.

"I think it might have something to do with the random mastery-thing I took... had a footmark so I thought it meant I could run... clearly it does nut more then I was ready for..."

Shifting the weight off the injured leg as he stayed in his makeshift seat on a rock since he was not told to move and unless they left he would keep doing as he was told to avoid conflict or arguments from the stranger. His hand sliding around him to find some moss to stuff the makeshift bandage to give the blood something to soak into and possibly clout it until her found serious medical help.

"I'm sorry I can't properly respond to the question asked... I really don't know anything about it or any of this..."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

She should break into a fit of laughter really, after that answer- Fortunately, her concern took over what light-heartness she had right now. She didn't wait longer after that to help him sit down, falling onto one knee and ready to help him out, at least until she noticed how he so easily pulled the stick out like it was nothing.

"HEY! Careful with that, shouldn't you-" She didn't even get to finish that he actually seemed calm enough to deal with the wound. It left her dumbfounded, and with this bottling sensation of being completely useless right now when she should be the one patching him up in the first place! Doing her best to shake off these thoughts, quite literally with a shook of her head, she picked up on his explanation with a raised eyebrow, like he just went from the smartest guy around here to the dumbest. "So you picked literally the speed mastery, and got surprised when you started to move real fast. That's..." Now she couldn't hold back, breaking into an actual chuckle after that, a joyful, wide smile spread on her lips as she tried to keep it down least the stomach pain grows any worse from laughing this much. "Okay let's trace back a little bit, did you turn your pain limiter on or off? It's on your UI, you can check that right now." She explained, biting her tongue at the end of it. This guy probably didn't read what his masteries do, what chances are there for him to know about the UI even?

"Alright. Close your fist and open it, that way you can open your UI. And then go to the settings option at the bottom. If it's off, then congratulations, you made your life here all the more worse, so leave it on until you get a hang of this." Probably sounded like wise advice to him, even if she didn't take her own words and just went with everything off too.

When it seemed like he had it under control, she stood back up and stretched out her right hand at him. "I'm Fiora by the way. Come on, we should probably find some kind of town or something. Worst case scenario we can do a campfire. No need to be a baby over a scratch like that." If he takes hold of it, Fiora would then wrap his arm around her shoulder to better support him. Surprisingly? He would prove to be light. She didn't believe her masteries granting some kind of super strength, but it turned out pretty handy apparently.

Still, princess carrying a stranger, while far easier for the both of them, would be too much in the first place, so just letting him have some dignity by helping him walk felt the right thing to do, and she could hold him before he just flies off again if he stepped a little faster than usual.

"So! having fun on Terrasphere? What kind of maniac comes to this game all blind by the by? What do you know about the game?"

@Thousand swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

[ 31/100 ]HP

Most every word this person was saying made no sense to Thousand who could not bother to hide the blank expression on his face even with it facing away from her. He did as he was told and the menu thing reopened, but with a lot less information then the last time he had seen it. His eyes straining to read anything on it and looking for the section he was told only to find it was off.

"It is off... so is the 'auto assist' thing... I don't like toying with things that aren't mine and these belong to the maker of the game so..."

His gaze raising slowly as he stood up but still not willing to make eye contact with the person or accept the help in fear that was not the intention and simply a empty gesture. Once more moving in his mind like a turtle to keep a normal speed with a sigh of pain and dead humor to himself about something similar happening a while ago with his first time trying wrestling.

"Are you asking my real name or that of the game name... I don't understand... Most people when introducing self want your name... but this game asked for character name and I figured that had to be different..."

His voice trailing off into murmuring as he walked keeping most the pressure off his injured leg as he could. To him it was basic medical practice since kids got hurt all the time at the daycare he had to take classes on how to deal with all kinds of injuries, even those like a kid getting stabbed by a pencil or something like that. hence why he just used that to deal with the situation. The last question she asked at the time though would likely make her laugh at him again.

"Nothing... I got it because it was free... 'free can't be beat' is my motto or so people tell me... This is my first time dealing with games, and it ain't any different from real life... how do people even enjoy this or use it to escape reality?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

Despite the lack of an UI on his side, which she figured is only for him to see, Fiora could quite tell where his eyes were going until he found the exact settings she just told him, perking up with a smirk right as he did.

"...What" The answer just caught her completely off-guard and she didn't know if log out right now or put her supposed 'herculean strength' to test and send him to kingdom come, or if her blank stare alone did that by itself on suggestion rather than action. "Fine, it's your pain afterall, but don't start crying a river when it hurts." She rolled her eyes and just held her hand out. Only even that went unanswered, refused without a word. She took the indirect, stingy as it is, while gritting her teeth in silence.

"Whichever, I don't care, just give me the name you wrote for your character. You don't go around giving your name to strangers on the internet, do you?" Sarcasm practically bleeding out on venom-laced words once patience and hospitality begun to run short on her. Why did she have to explain that in the first place even? The last time she dealt with this had to be with her younger brother, the self-righteous brickhead.

While they moved at a pace that felt like a chore right now, with all the first time enjoyment she was having practically stolen by the situation, he slapped her back into a zen state, metaphorically speaking. Wide-eyed stare followed by a harsh poke right on the wound on his leg to catch his attention. "Beatings are also free, do you want me to give you one too?!" Her hands rose to her temples to massage them, but that didn't took away the stress that made the vein on her neck pop out. By all means it would be impressive how technologically accurate this game was, he could totally see just how enraged she is despite being two people inside a game!

"So you telling me you picked up probably one of the hardest games to get your hands on out there, turned literally all your settings off, and didn't even do a little bit of research on what this game is or what is it about because it's free? Do you even know what you picked for your masteries? Do you even KNOW what masteries are?" Punching him right now didn't felt like such a bad idea, but after all that rant came out she finally felt like taking a deep breath and pause their little walking adventure just to get a hold of herself, gloved hands racing across her sun-kissed hair.

"Jezz, alright how do I explain this. From all the games you could have picked, this is the most 'real' out of the bunch. Let's call it 'Immersive'" It felt like she had to explain it to a child, step by step, and so she picked up the patience of a teacher for this one. "If you ever dreamt about going to a fantasy world, then it doesn't get any closer than this, I heard. Eh, it's not about 'escaping' reality, I guess it's more about going to a better one where you aren't a wage slave or a retail worker." She shrugged it off. At least that much it was for her.

@Thousand swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

[ 44/100 ]HP

Thousand did not fully understand much, if this person was as annoyed as her tone sounded why not leave the person that was annoying them? The second part also caused him to raise his focus to meet her gaze for the first time. His face clearly saying 'you don't need to give your real name to people online really?' as he blinked a few times to digest this new bit of information.

"Thousand swords, and if beating me up would make you feel better then go ahead..."

He seemed lifeless as he spoke the last few words, his mind and body bracing for incoming attacks clear as day. He was used as people's punching bag every day, most people he knew just took and took from him saying that was his part of the deal to avoid getting them mad or angry so that was what he did without question. When she went on talking his head lowered back down once more to avoid eye contact again.

"Yes, yes, yes, no, and no..."

The very slight tone of life had left his voice at this point. he had made another person mad at him, and he hated people being mad because anger led to violence. as her tone changed though his lifeless stillness at the hint to stop moving did not. his focus on his feet, the slowly healing wound, the desire to simply do what the person wanted to make them happy or Neutral again to avoid conflict or hostility.

"I don't dream much... And my life is just fine as a daycare worker... Nobody gets mad at me, and if they do then I just do as they say until they calm down again..."

This person made Thousand question things internally, if this was supposed to be fantasy then maybe there was the chance he could just be someone else here? The idea shot down about as quickly as it rose up in his mind. Anyone different would make people angry more often, that was bad. Comply to demands, do as said without question, don't fight back no matter how badly you want to. The key to life was to simply take the punishment of others to help keep them happy... right?

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

The lack of life, fear, or anything on his face at that point felt... Awkward. A mood killer on it's own, and the way he simply felt ready to take on a hit for the sake of her own joy only rubbed her the wrong way, hard enough that even her clenched fist, ready to go for a gut punch, finally gave up to his pitiful display and ended up on her waistline instead.

"I'm no better than a bully if I did that." She stared back to the path ahead, still out of any kind of road at sight, at least if the density of these woods were something to take in account and the many leaves and bushes that kept the view unclear. Her eyes soon addressed him once again, like a set of shivs. "I'm calling you San. From all the names you could have picked... Why didn't you go with a random name generator or something?" She added, half a smirk forming on her lips. There wasn't any, but I mean, nothing stopped him from doing so before joining in, right? Or at least to sit down and come up with something else

Just like she expected, and disappointment just kept coming in the form of knowledge. The more he answered, the less she wanted to know, at least until he brought real life back to the table, and everything that came out felt stranger and stranger, like his own philosophies just came through, like a man scrapping the bottom of a barrel.

Or so it felt, and it bothered her the most not to be able to tell between the monotony of his voice and the slightly deppressive insight he gave.

"You should stand up for what you believe, though. At least in life you shouldn't let anyone bother you, or change how you act because they get mad or disagree with you." A swift change even she could notice on her own mannerisms, a frown plastered on her features. Not out of anger, but that damned concern she still had for others, specially for the quiet ones like San over here. "Try to pretend you are not the timid daycare worker, but the badass hero that saves the day and runs super fast and stuff, you know? That's what this game is about." She paused, only to rise a finger up to her temples to tap twice. "If anyone tries to put you down for doing the right thing, remember you are doing what's right, so no one can hold you accountable for anything. That's what my father used to say, at least."

@Thousand swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

46 / 100

Thousand simply listened to what the girl had to say as they walked. he never stood up for anything his entire life, and there was so little point if you asked him because someone always opposed it and that was why he stayed out of the way from such things. The next bit only confused him more, why would anyone want to be a badass hero, you had to fight villainy and such... Then the last drew some life back into him, who decided what was right or wrong, who was to say what he considered right was actually 'right'?

"None of that makes a lick of sense..."

His inner voice slipping for only a moment before he shut up and started to repeat the same muffled words over and over. 'you don't have opinions, you don't object or correct people. A silent Alexander is a better Alexander.' Moving slightly further away from the girl so he could keep mumbling his little phrase without it being overheard as he resumed walking even if she was going to stay there. Dealing with people was so much of a pain.

Shifting his focus he would look around them, trying to recall some of his knowledge on camping and forest travel. How did he get out of the woods if lost, what was the signs of civilization? The thoughts getting harder to focus on as he wanted to voice how the girl was telling him to rather truthfully be the entire opposite to what he has lived almost his whole life being. he did not need to repeat his childhood, he was NOT going to repeat that same mistake.

"Being the Hero only leads to someone dying..."

His words under his breath as he started to walk a bit faster then he was before. He had officially decided that if this woman was not going to tell him to stick around he was going to leave before she said something that made HIM angry. The idea of losing his temper again after so long was enough to make him move faster, not again, that was all he could mumble to himself as he was in a small jog at this point.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

There was just no way to get through him, was there? Everything she did turned up to be for nigh, and it felt like she's just being delusional in the face of a wall, the one Thousand built up between the two of them. She questioned whether it's just strictly with her or with the rest of the world.

"What?" Perplexed, Fiora stepped forth once he begun to move onwards with hurried steps and mumbles she could barely catch up entirely. Now given a reason for inquisitive fervor to resurge, she decided to step up her game and speed up until they were shoulder to shoulder, green eyes tracking his own as she finally acknowledged the environment once again.

They were lost, that much is clear, and the lack of a landmark only made it harder for them to get out of here in the first place. Flattened grass and broken twigs only signaled at other travelers, or beasts lurking around, yet the lack of any visible territorial markings only meant this couldn't be near their home. A hunting ground? Possibly.

Proximity was the bane of an introvert, and Fiora made sure to be close enough to pick it up, this time, about his own little opinion about heroes, which... She frankly couldn't lie: he's right, and spot on. "If you want to go ahead and get yourself hurt again then be my guest, I ain't about to keep wasting my time. But I feel like you could use a hand, and in these games you usually need friends." She raised her voice, coming to a dead stop and folding her arms under her bust. "It's no wonder you don't get it. If you keep playing games the way you play your life, then you are royally screwed. Try to get out of your little comfort zone, or the game will do it for you." That's how it tends to be with games as hardcore as these. Take the hint & learn, or ragequit.

@Thousand swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

58 / 100

Thousand's pace would stop when the girl had her peace to say. Slowly he would turn, slowly raise his focus to meet her eyes with a fire he rarely showed behind his gaze. He did not 'play' every, he did what others told him and it was to avoid letting his Naïve nature get others around him hurt, to avoid his temper getting people hurt, and to avoid getting his hopes high only to have them brunt from the bottom and come falling down.

"I don't stay in my comfort zone. My comfort is taking the lead and trying to encourager others, you know what that got me? A load of nothing, and a dead friend. I turtle up to avoid that kind of harm on others but if you want to see me in my 'comfort' zone fine."

Thousand shifted his frame to straiten his posture, adjusted his shoulders to a more relaxed and laid back from tense and ready to be hit. His face showing a small smile for only a moment before his brain went wild with regret and her spun around and returned back to the shallow shell. He was not that person, he was not a trend setter.

"Ignore that... forget what I just said please... I'll go on my way to stop making your time unenjoyable..."

With those words he would fumble away. thought it was more of a hop before stopping half way and pointing towards the moss on the side of a tree. "Moss leads to towns... follow it and you find water, and follow water leads to settlements and such..." His words just loud enough to be heard before he moved as quickly as he could the other way to stop dealing with someone who was making him think he needed to change. Nobody did that, He was the pawn, the heel, to everyone why would anyone want him to do other things made no sense.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

Her words finally resonated on him once Thousand stopped on his tracks, with a little innocent grin creeping on her lips once a blaze set itself upon his eyes. To some, it may look like manning up, but to Fiora? There was life in that flame, so she quieted down only to listen from a hypothetical high ground.

But every bonfire has to die at some point, and his lasted much like a spark suffocated by sand, mere embers right now. His smile though? It left her satisfied to know he could be more than just some quiet pessimist.

"Sorry for your loss, really. But if you gonna let that put you down, then you really ain't quite cut it to take the lead as much as you thought." She couldn't pretend to not bat an eye to his tragedy, despite how insensitive her tone came through, perhaps a pinch more than she wanted. She give his proposal a bit of a second thought, mischievous little smile being enough of an answer on itself right now, but she delivered post dramatic pause. "No, I don't think I will, you are pretty funny for a weirdo, and I think you just need a little shove on the right direction." That much she would pretend to care at least. But knowing what little rumours float around this game, This guy could really 'die' in a matter of hours. And she ain't ready to test out that theory.

No, she tagged along, quickened steps that still weren't that much of a match for his speed, were it not for that wound that probably kept him from just zooming away. His own survival skills weren't that off, miles better than her own at least, and that moss detail? Logical, and something she made a mental note about for the future.

"Alright partner, there should be a river nearby if there is moss, correct? Then we just need to find it and keep going to wherever it flows." She softened her voice like a punch muffled by a pillow, a hand going past Thousand and right against the moss. It didn't felt that different to how she imagines moss would feel, but plated gauntlets didn't exactly leave much room for her senses. "Where did you learn all that? Doubt daycaring has you go on survival trips on the woods. Pretty good skill to have around here I reckon."

@Thousand swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

62 / 100

Why was the first person he met playing a game so much like his parents? They always try to push him back out of his little shell and this woman was seemingly trying to do the same thing all the while enjoying his struggle to stay inside it. He hated people who messed with others like this but simply grumbled under his breath and kept walking.

"I used to do a lot of camping and outside survival training... Then my teacher said I was not cut out for it because I could not free climb a cliff side, so I stopped going out into the forest after that..."

His words a mix of pain and depression, he enjoyed that little faze of his, and this game so far was giving him that same feeling had this woman not been here he might have enjoyed it more. Though part of him recalled how group camping was not half as bad either and he turned back around to at the very least try to lead the woman to a town to lead her to annoy someone else maybe.

"Same with a few other things... If this game is realistic as you say I have dabbled in a lot of things until someone told me I was not cut out for it and led me to stopping from that point..."

His pace slowing down as he moved to a nearby rock to sit down and change out the moss he was using to clout his wound and try to dry up the cloth in the same pitstop. Little to his knowledge that the moss he used this time was not normal and made the wound burn enough that he showed a slight ping of pain before forcing himself back to his feet and walking again.

"Note to self, lighter green moss has some sort of extra property that causes it to burn like alcohol on open wounds..."

He said it aloud enough and help up a small sample of it beside normal moss to show the girl incase she wanted to know. Sure it hurt more, but it was not harming him just yet beyond that so he would endure it like every other beating until it was over or he found something better to use. Hand closing to open his UI as he deiced to try and read up some of his choices, though without glasses he barely made sense of the writing.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

It didn't take a genius to see what he was doing, the very first signs coming at the consistent mention of others putting him down.

'Not quite cutting it'

Fiora sighed off, waving her hands in defeat. "Alright alright, I get it. You get shut down by a lot of people and you clearly don't like it." She couldn't include herself into that same box. She had good intentions, he just totally couldn't see them! "Well, I think you shouldn't care much about what others think. You may do just like someone says and they will still find a way to be mad at you. It's never worth it, in my experience." She shrugged it off, a momentary stop from Thousand had her following suit.

The visible pain upon his face worried her for a quick second, right hand outstretched instinctively towards him, hanging in the air halfway there before she retracted it and a methodical explanation came out, a strange way to communicate he is okay, but she took it anyways. "Salt, probably." She corrected, albeit the question-like nature on her tone felt more like a comment than an actual statement. "I would say we should keep moving north-west from here. Keep your eyes open if you spot an animal, maybe they tag along to the nearest river." She concluded, stretching her hand yet again for him to pick up, albeit with much less hopes this time that he would actually accept it. Still, never wrong to offer.

@Thousand Swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

71 / 100

He slowed down to consider the idea it could be salt, lifting the lighter moss to his nose to sniff it a few times before doing something dumb and licking it. His face going sour as he confirmed both had been wrong and it was more like lemon and lime or that old soda in taste that he only drank one time. Mountain something, needless of the true name he started to spit at the ground to try and rinse the flavor out of his mouth.

"More of a sour sting...I need to act less reckless..."

Yes, he considered licking a random thing of MOSS reckless, regardless though he would resume his pace following the signs he had seen thus far that could lead to civilization. scratching the back of his head some as he knelt down and decided to look for hunter tracks or something akin to such. he had not seen or heard anything modern and from what he had gathered so far if this was fantasy then hunters and people playing in the woods was more common then real life no doubt.

"Some tracks going that way, and from the indent maybe adult male, carrying something that made the imprint deeper, a deer or roughly same weight..."

Slowly rising as he pointed more to the north where he was following the tracks and started to follow them matching the stride to his own to confirm the first part of his statement. It was either a male, a strong female with longer legs, or something else that wore treaded boots. His UI told him some of the information, but the rest he had to fill in blanks until he found someone here who could make him some glasses. Guess default also takes your flaws from the real world so he made a mental note to avoid sugar also.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (100) + 0 = 200 (Critical Success!)
Knowledge (finding civilization) | Thousand swords

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

"Don't you dare." The moment he lifted it up to sniff it, Fiora already knew where this was heading to, and evidently her words fell on deaf ears. His face turned into quite the show after that sour taste like he just licked a fresh lemon, and by then she broke into a laughter. "Yeah go ahead lick the mysterious fantasy moss, you sure you won't catch up some disease for doing that?" She questioned it, but could they even? Maybe a debuff or something similar for instances. "If this is just 'less reckless' I really don't want to imagine what you do in real life when you go camping." She mused, lips still warped on a content little smile.

Once his efforts proved through and true with the finding of tracks, and an even too accurate description of what to expect, Fiora squatted down to take a deeper look at the prints, even go as far as to utilize Investigation Mode yet again, but nothing much would come out of it. True to his word, and to her rough yet not so entirely inaccurate guess, they had to move North.

"If it's a hunter, maybe they got a camp somewhere and they are heading there. I doubt they would hunt so close to a village. Good finding, San." Credit goes where credit is due, and that much sincerity she would offer, stepping up once again to tail behind him.

The tracks, the moss. It all keep repeating on a pattern, and the air was turning sliightly cooler now compared to earlier, or the ambience itself cooled with the passage of free air now that the spacing between trees seemed to widden just a bit, offering less cover from the breeze.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (40) + 0 = 40

Awareness (for tracks/clues) | Fiora Di Angelo

@Thousand Swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

91 / 100

Rolls

Recover
1d20 (20) = 20
Recover 20 HP
Thousand swords | 540C9

Thousand looked over with a raised eyebrow, he was not sure what she meant by not wanting to see him camping in real life after he already said he did not camp anymore. Shrugging it off as he kept following the tracks until he could see some faint signs of smoke and not long after a small campsite that did not exactly look in use anymore from the damage to it and the trail of blood going deeper into the woods.

"Seems something found the hunter, or was the true hunter I guess."

Without much restraint Thousand walked into the camp and used some of the supplies to patch up his own wound and if there was things of use he would scavenge them also. not exactly saying why but he was mostly doing it to try and gear up for a rescue mission of the hunter since he signs of struggle most the trail meaning without more information there was not only hope of saving them, but getting some combat on his first day.

"Not sure if you want to go try and save him also, or think I'm just stealing... I doubt with what I had I'd be much use so... just barrowing some and taking 'early' thanks for trying I suppose."

Not giving the girl much time to argue he would start to follow the trail of blood, they in a sense needed the hunter alive to possibly find town also, least faster then trusting Thousand's memory of things. Humming a old song his mom loved 'thunderstruck' from the oldies CD she had in the living room most days. The new hunter or hunters joined the chase. Musing to himself as he kept focus to see if maybe the fighting lessened or got more violent.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

.

The opening view seemed to be that of a crime scene upon the campment. Could they have stumbled upon some event or the like? Doubtful, but the blood trail only served as an easy-to-follow 'fuck around and find out' sign.

"Or attacked while they rested. Go figure..." She added, kneeling on the ground as she skimmed over whatever usable things remained upon the camp. They were pretty set up, with timber properly cut with an axe and all, it was proof this spot wasn't just temporary. With skinning knives and recent prey ready to be cooked, were it not for the unfortunate accident if the blood is something to go for.

"This people ain't no amateurs. Look how prepared they were. Who brings this much to hunt?" Strange enough, a quiver filled with arrows still remained on the camp, which kept giving her the idea they were either not alone, or caught offguard.

His inquire about 'stealing' just earned a shrug out of her as Fiora shot a wink at him. "Dead people don't need stuff anyways. So let's find out how dead or alive they are, eh?" She set off once he begun to lead the way, with nothing but her fists to help her out in this situation.

She trusted his instincts on this one, and the fact they only had to follow the scarlet path ahead. Still, that didn't make her any less wary of her surroundings, and that much was visible to him if he were to even so much as glance over his shoulder.

@Thousand Swords

 

[Thousand Swords]

91 / 100

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (20) + 0 = 20
Knowledge | Thousand swords | 540C10

Thousand would move following the tracks, his mind trying to get any more information about what could have attacked or the state of the hunter while hearing Fiora's words. he was not much on hunting, he knew someone who was but they guy was seven levels of creepy and he assumed they all had been like that. Moving to trace the blood trail and splatter pattern to learn all of nothing useful as he could only sigh and keep following it.

"I doubt he is dead, least at this point in the trail... The blood is smeared showing he is fighting still is All I know, don't hear them or anything but not exactly holding my breath for it."

Moving to adjust the weapons and offering one of the swords to the woman, who knows if she takes it or not but was not entirely his worry as he would keep moving until the trail pattern changed and made him slow down. Looking over the changes as he knelt down and examined them. The changed but the difference made little to no sense to him as he scratched the back of his head. Grumbling as he rose up and got his weapons out now that the mood had changed.

He had not noticed it sooner but the area was calm, motionless in a sense as little to no animals made as much as a squeak. They had walked right into a bad omen and he was so focused on the tracks to notice it until now as he looked at the woman and mouthed a simple few words to convey the thoughts he was having. 'We walked into a trap...' Hands and weapons at the ready unsure what was smart enough to set such a thing up.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

100 / 100

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (93) + 0 = 93

Awareness | Fiora Di Angelo

"This much blood though? They are bleeding out clearly, and it ain't looking good for them unless we hurry up. Fighting it wouldn't just make it worse if they got a wound ripped open?" Atleast that's what logic and videogames taught her, but how well would this apply to real life was debatable at best, and she certainly wouldn't back these words with her source material.

When a blade was offered her way, Fiora simply disregarded it with a gentle wave and a little nod along the way. "We are getting into a fight. Even if I swing a sword I won't do damage, I didn't pick the mastery for it. I did pick hand to hand though, so keep it just in case." Severity in her voice, a complete change in mood as their situation changed from a simple walk in the park to a pursuit for a beast, or... Whatever lies in the wait for them.

Still, she couldn't feel like something was missing entirely as they kept moving onwards. Wildlife had departed from this side of the woods, a sign that happens only once in a lifetime for people to experience: Something bigger than the natural predators lie in the wait, and the few critters that fled in the opposite direction they were heading to were exactly the kind of red flag she needed.

Thousand's reaction only cemented that train of thought. Her body, idle at first, springed to action as she put herself back to back with him, fists rised in an uncertain stance, lack of experience made up with persistance and tenacity.

"Yeah, we fucking did. I hope you know what you doing, I'll cover you but don't over-do it, okay?" Silence, as they awaited for any sign, and there were plenty.

Leaves and bushes shook, in many directions in a short lapse of time. The very same thing that hunted the hunter now went after them, and yet her heart beats with anticipation for her very first fight with something out of the ordinary.

@Thousand Swords