[IC] Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

[EveIris]

It had taken Kali a while to get used to getting up early and getting a head start. Usually she would play all night and rest throughout the day so it was strange that the game had fixed her sleeping schedule. Still she had to admit that there was something pleasant about getting up early. The game world offered a way better view than what she had seen before. Kali was well aware of how much stronger her spells were growing especially since she had gone the direction of mostly healing she was capable of casting spells that lasted longer. She was mostly eager to get to level 30 since she would be able to collect feathers from a special type of bird that was found within the level 30 zones. She could buy them of course but she found the act a waste of money since the feathers could only be used for a special skill. Like Alakai's mediation she found that Clerics had levitation. It didn't really do much except Clerics could avoid taking damage from extreme heights. Unlike the Monks though the skill required the use of a feather to activate and there was a time limit for it.

Kali had been surprised though when he mentioned taking a day off for a break. She was not only excited but eager to take it easy. They had been leveling hard and though their progress was great it was a little tiring at times. There was that and of course she was eager to surprise Alakai with something she had been working on whenever she had free time. Kali had been eating downstairs as she was up early due to having grown used to it. She was enjoying her pancakes drenched in a sweet syrup that resembled maple, however the sweetness had tinge of cinnamon. Shoving a fork full into her mouth she caught sight of Alakai as she waved him over though it was fairly obvious he knew where she was. Still she was excited.

Swallowing her food she smiled at him, "I sure am! I even prepared something for us," she said as she quickly opened her inventory. Immediately she took something out as as held it up in the air for Alakai to witness. "Look! I made this for you!" She said with obvious pride as she held onto what looked like skimpy male swimwear. "I got the material off the scuttlebugs we fought a few days back, so the material is suitable for the water! I didn't really have enough since I had to make mine too," she said as she showed him hers though it was just as skimpy as his. If she had more material she could have made it a little more proper but still it required other material she didn't have. Either way she was mostly just joking around with him.

She had noticed this when she had accidentally changed her material when she added a extra cloth or materials to her work. It would change the final output depending on what she used. As her tailoring increased she realized that she could make outfits designed purely for appeal. Course the stats of them were terrible since they were mostly worn for their looks. That had opened doors, if she collected rare material she could actually make special types of clothing for aesthetics in which could be sold, especially during special events where there were monsters that had special drops.

"Sooo? Nice aren't they? I worked all night on it." She said as she placed the male swim wear in his hands before she returned hers back into her inventory.

[sanquin]

Alakai was greeted with swim wear that looked like speedo's. They were a bit more covering than that, but still far from the swim shorts that he normally wore. He really didn't know what to say to them. It was impressive that she had come up with new ways to use her skill as well. But at the same time, they were kind of...revealing. And even in the body he had in this world, which was more pleasant to the eyes than his real world body, he felt rather self-conscious just thinking about wearing those. Still, Kali had made them for him. And it would be plain rude to not accept them...right? "Uh...thanks! They look great." He finally managed, deciding that his dignity could take a hit if it made her happy. Luckily the thought of her in a bikini that was just as revealing luckily didn't come up as his mind could only think of what he would very likely be wearing soon.

Alakai put them in his inventory before heading to the counter. He wanted breakfast as well. Something light this time, as they would be taking it easy anyway. And swimming on a full stomach would probably have consequences in this world as well. Or at least he didn't want to take that chance. So he went with a healthy sandwich together with some tea, and bought a second sandwich to put in his inventory for later. As he returned, Samuel decided to join him. The man was, just like a lot of adventurers, getting breakfast in the inn. "Hey Alakai. What're your plans for today?" He asked as they walked back to the table. "Actually, we're taking a day off. To the beach zone to be exact. I figured we could use some rest after farming non-stop for the past week." Samuel grinned. "Seems Kali is doing you good. Back in the days you'd be online during every free minute you had, farming or leveling alts." "Maybe, I guess..." Alakai replied just before they arrived.

"Hey Kali. Nice to see ya again. I heard you two are going to the beach so I'll give you a fair warning. For the last two days or so, people have reported an increase in Mermen - The ugly kind. Those fish with legs things basically. I'm sure you two will be fine but I thought I'd just give you a heads-up." Alakai nodded, making a mental note to be careful. "Thanks for the info. I guess we'll have to stay close to the town then." There was plenty of beach near the town anyway.

Once Alakai had finished his breakfast as well, he stood and gave Samuel a small pat on the shoulder. "I guess we should be off. It's still a two hour trip to get there, so we better get moving." It was already around 8 am now. So if they wanted to enjoy their day to the fullest they needed to get there as early as possible.

[EveIris]

Kali was clearly incredibly proud of what she made for the both of them, though she wasn't really expecting him to wear it since it was revealing. She left that option to him even if she was pressuring him to wear it. She was amused with his response, clearly showing that he wasn't exactly comfortable but was kind enough to thank her at least. She was hoping to start making a few new types of clothing since she was fond of fashion in the game. It was one of the strange aspects of her personality. She was always conscious of what she wore in game since she usually picked characters that were pretty. She hadn't felt like that in real life, she felt boring and plain so she made up for that in the games she played.

Kali had finished her food by the time Alakai had reached their table. She smiled when she caught sight of Samuel seeing that it had been a while since they had last seen him However her smile died down slightly at the news of mermen. "Aw no, seriously?" She said with a pout. She wasn't sure if she could enter the water safely. She wanted to put her staff in her inventory so she could swim which obviously meant no spells. She wasn't even sure if she could cast them whilst being in or under the water. It would be bad if they sprung up on them whilst they were swimming too because the swimwear reduced their stats quite a bit. "Thanks for letting us know, we'll be careful. It was nice seeing you again," she said after Alakai as Samuel nodded. Kali got up and moved over to Alakai as she smiled at him. "Can I lead Khronos today?" she asked as she began making her way over to the door.

They had decided on waiting before they got another mount for Kali since it was just easier to share. They were mostly together anyways and more money was saved. Kali hadn't minded it either way since she wanted a rare mount. She liked collecting things that were hard to get anyways. "You think it's still safe to swim with all the mermen hanging around?" she asked him.

[sanquin]

Alakai shrugged, not being entirely sure himself. Monsters were appearing in area's away from their usual spawn locations, so he couldn't know for sure after all. "I doubt the monsters would go near the town. Too much activity from guards and the occasional adventurer there. So I'm sure we'll be fine. And if we do need to fight, it only takes a second or two to open our inventory and put our gear back on." It almost felt like cheating at life, to be able to carry so many things in what was pretty much an extra-dimensional space. Alakai wished real life had something like this as well. Though that was impossible of course.

Once they were both seated the man had Khronos take off at a fast running speed. They had both gotten used to riding him, and it felt like they had done this for years already. So even through the uneven and slightly overgrown forest path they could keep on going now. The tiger wasn't any faster than when he first got it, of course, but they could make faster progress now. Once they reached the path through the hills though, Alakai did slow down a little. The path was a bit less sturdy here, and he didn't want them to accidentally start sliding down the hillside. Plus the view was wonderful as well.

Then finally after just under 2 hours of riding the port town of Buka came into view. A town built on a cliff, with water on both sides. On one side some fishing ships and one large ship was docked. And on the other side, near the entrance of the town, started a long, white beach. Creatures that looked like seals were sunbathing in the near the town, and Alakai already knew that they were not aggressive. So they wouldn't give them any trouble at least. "Seems quiet enough. So I doubt we'll run into any trouble." The man spoke as he increased Khronos' pace again.

(The town: orig10.deviantart.net/5b49/f/2012/237/..)

[EveIris]

Kali had mostly been enjoying the view that she had as Khronos ran through the narrow pathway. She found the setting to be peaceful and calming to her mind, which was something nice to have since it was their day off. Eventually he had slowed down and the view she had gotten was slight different. When they finally reached the two of Buka she was in awe with not only the structure of the town but the view it was granted from it's location.

"It looks really nice. Can we stay the night here?" She asked him, she figured they could also go through the shops and see if they had anything special there. It was fairly windy because of the water on both sides. Which made it all the more exciting for her. "Can we try going on one of those ships? They look like fun. Think they travel far enough for us to find new land?" She asked him with curiosity. She was sure that there were going to be a few places that required the use of a ship to get to. "I wonder if there are any quests that require us to go underwater. Like a secret underwater lab!" She said jokingly to him, though she knew it was unlikely. This world didn't appear as advance for them to have grasped a concept over what a lab was, but perhaps there were a few item gathering quests that were related to the water. It was safe to say that Kali was easily excited over anything game related.

[sanquin]

Kali wasn't the only one excited about game related things. Alakai just kept more quiet about it as Kali seemed to have enough excitement for them both already. He couldn't wait to get to higher level. To discover new locations, find out about new incredible creatures, and more so find out what kind of loot they might drop. That loot falling on the ground, the anticipation before finding out what it all was, it was quite exciting to him.

"If I'm not mistaken, one of the zones after this beach zone is on an island. So we could be coming back here pretty soon. Who knows." Alakai replied with a smile. He wasn't too keen on sailing, as he would get sea sick quite easily. Though in this world things might be quite different. He certainly hoped so. "Also, the first dungeon is a beach cave. So I'm sure there will be underwater parts as well." He spoke as they arrived at the town's gate. "So ah...do you want to see what the shops have to offer first? Or should we enjoy the beach first? I'm curious about what we can buy here actually..." The beach was probably wonderful during the evening as well, so either way seemed fine to him. Though it would likely be too cold to swim once it got dark. Plus, he'd prefer going to the shops first. Kali might have made him swimwear, but Alakai just wouldn't feel right wearing something like that. Though he was still working out on how to tell her that without offending her.

Chronos had to stay behind, as the stables were just outside of the wall. And no one except carts transporting goods from the ships seemed to have horses with them. Luckily the town was relatively small, so the shops were already visible from the gate. Specifically, a woodworker, a clothing store, a very large fish market, and a general merchant. Though there might be others outside of immediate view. All had their own little stalls in front of their buildings so you didn't even have to go inside to view their wares.

[EveIris]

Kali grinned at his words. A beach zone sounded like a lot of fun. She usually enjoyed being near the water especially diving under since in other games there would be all sorts of neat stuff. "Since we're already here we might as well look around right. We can split up and come back after an hour and see if we found anything interesting?" She suggested to him seeing that it would save time so they could have more time to swim later.

She couldn't help but enjoy the wind that she got as they made their way up to the town. She could see a few shops already, the clothing shop gaining her interest instantly. She could check out what kind of material they had or maybe upgrade her skills if they had any old history books about the town's fashion. "Why don't we meet at the gate after an hour?" She suggested though she was looking rather giddy from the excitement of getting to explore the shops. The town was relatively small however there were some players hanging around. "I bet the view is great from one of those windmills," she admitted motioning to the few that were planted around. Because it was so close to the ocean wind was a good source of energy for the town, then again she wasn't entirely sure if they were even that advanced. Some places still used fire and candles like the town they had left.

She ran up ahead seeing that they'd meet later anyways as she skipped right ahead to the store, gaining a few stares from nearby players.

[sanquin]

"Sure, an hour it is. Have fun~" Alakai replied, letting Kali go ahead first. She seemed to barely be able to wait to check out the stores. He himself wasn't actually that interested, as he didn't think there was anything they'd need for their levelling. And that was the only thing he could think about when thinking about what to buy. Well, that and some proper swim shorts. He just couldn't see himself wearing speedos... The man walked at a normal pace as he headed into town. There were a few other players around browsing the shop, but the place was still relatively empty. Kali was already out of sight when he arrived at what looked to be the general store. And since he was here, he decided he might as well take a look. Sometimes you didn't remember you needed something until you actually saw what it was after all. Soon after, Alakai was already heading to some food stalls. Not to actually buy anything, since it wouldn't have any taste. But he did want to see if he could get idea's for his own cooking.

This ended up in him instead offering the two stall owners some of his food so they could taste what he meant by flavoured food. And he even left the address of where they could get more of such food should they be interested. It kind of felt like he was advertising for the inn, though his goal was just to share something wonderful in a world that didn't used to have it.

Alakai saved the clothing store Kali had gone to for last. The people there hadn't ever heard of specific swim wear before, so he explained what it was as best as he could. Eventually the man behind the counter offered a pair of shorts that weren't meant for swimming, but could definitely be used for it. Alakai decided to buy it, thanked the shopkeepers, and headed for the entrance of the town again. He was a bit early, but figured that Khronos might like some meat to eat. The man kept some of his meat raw to feed his tiger.

[EveIris]

Kali had explored the place rather quickly, though it was probably because she hadn't actually bought anything. Some of the things she had seen she had also seen back in their original village, that or it was of no use to her. Having left the shop with a disappointed expression she went ahead to explore the others though much like the first one they hadn't really offered much. Having not spent anything she looked up on the bright side and convinced herself that the money saved now would go to a better cause in the future. Maybe towards better gear or cloth material.

It wasn't long until Alakai heard footsteps running towards him as Kali began calling out his name since he wasn't facing her. It seemed like the both of them had finished around the same time, surprisingly. It was a feat that her robe hadn't gotten in the way since she managed to reach him in one piece. Making her way in front of him she lifted her hand revealing long slender fingers that were smooth to the touch. However she was pointing to a ring that was found around her middle finger. "I traded my old one and got this, for like a copper," she said with amazement. She had found it in an antique store, they only had a few left but what made them so unique was how the item could be enchanted and the stats grew as she leveled up. "5% mana regeneration," she threw at him. The ring didn't look to be appealing however with the 5% added onto her 20% meant she could cast higher costing mana spells. If she worked on her cool down that would even be better.

"Other than that... there wasn't much, but that only means we can spend the money on something else right," she said as she nudged him in the arm playfully.

[sanquin]

"Sounds expensive..." Alakai spoke, not sure if he was happy with expenses like that. Though he chalked that up to him just not liking diversions from the plans he had in his head. "Well, it'll help in the long run if we can find an enchanter to put something good on it. Maybe more mana regeneration or intellect." The man then took out the new pair of swim shorts he had bought, holding them up. "I hope you don't mind I bought this... The briefs you made are great but...you know..." Right away Alakai was starting to feel awkward again, so he decided to instead quickly change the subject.

"So...since we've seen the shops, off to the beach right?" He spoke, stepping towards the beach as he spoke. "I wonder if there's anyone else trying to enjoy the beach. Somehow I doubt it though...people seem to still be afraid of this world, even with how powerful we are here." Alakai himself had gotten used to it pretty much. The world was huge out there, if the game's map was anything to go by. But if they took things slowly and didn't go to high level area's too soon things would be fine.

Once on the beach first looked around to make sure nothing bad was going on. But as he had suspected, the area around the town itself was empty of monsters apart from a few rather large crabs. They were harmless though, even moving to another spot the moment they noticed he and Kali were walking towards them. So it looked like things would stay peaceful for them.

(Next post, with a bit of luck, I'll introduce the other people I was talking about a while back. :) )

[EveIris]

"Well it was alright, I mean it'll be worth it int he long run once it's enchanted." She mentioned honestly. "Besides we'll easily make that money back since I loot everything up." She pointed out casually. Though her attention was brought to the swim shorts he brought. She couldn't help but pout at the sight of them. However he hadn't given her the chance to reply since he was quick to change the subject. Mentally she reminded herself to remember about it so she could bring it up later.

"Yeah! The beach!" She cheered as she followed in step with him. "I hope not, more space for us. We could catch crabs, and collect shells" she brought though when she thought about how big they would be in this world. Perhaps it wasn't a bright idea. When they finally reached she quickly equipped the bathing suit and returned her staff. She dashed towards the water noticing how the crab were quick to get out of her way. Surprisingly the water was warm and the waves weak. "Hey... do you think there's a limit?" she asked back at him. Usually there was an invisible border in the water, when a player surpassed that they would either drown immediately or die on the spot. Naturally the borders were far off but Kali had always taken the time to measure where the borders were exactly.

[sanquin]

Alakai was glad Kali didn't try to press him to wear the briefs she had made for him. At least not yet... But that was a worry for when the time came. Alakai equipped his shorts only a moment after she had put on hers. Though unlike her he didn't immediately go to test the water. His attention was caught by something quite different. Namely, a beautiful and sexy elf in nothing but a bikini, standing in front of him. Luckily he caught himself gaping at the sight when she asked him a question, and before she could turn around and see him staring at her. "Ah? Oh, erm...I don't think so. I mean, it sounds like just the kind of thing that would be the same as our world. I don't plan to find out right now though, sounds like an awfully long swim."

Alakai decided to quickly head to the water as well, running in right away and diving in once he was deep enough. Him wanting to dive into the slightly warm water was one reason, but the other was that his blood was starting to go to an organ he didn't want it to go right now. Hopefully the water would be able to hide his 'excitement' until his body decided to calm down again. Considering Kali was still there though, that would be hard to do... Once he surfaced again he turned around, seeing her standing there once again. This time he at immediately reminded himself not to stare though. "Water's great, come on in~!" He called to her, wondering what was taking her so long to get in. "I might not want to swim as far as where the limit would be, but I'm sure I can keep going for a while in this body!"

[EveIris]

Kali chuckled at his response. Usually it was a terribly long swim, it could take up to 10 minutes of swimming then again if they were to go in their time 10 minutes wasn't too long. It was probably more exhausting. Blinking at him she pushed forward as her fingers gently brushed aside the water. Once she was deep enough she ducked her head under the water briefly before bringing it back up. Her hair draped over her chest as water droplets fell from her chin. "Wouldn't it be dangerous to go to deeper waters. I would think they'd have dangerous monsters under deeper waters." She pointed out. She hadn't minded but she wasn't sure what the level would be for them. Some areas despite it being a low level area did spawn high level monsters especially when it was near a dungeon. Which Kali was rather hopeful about finding a dungeon that was underwater.

It was nice that the water was warm though, they could probably enjoy themselves for an hour or so. She went ahead and laid on her back, allowing herself to float she sighed with content. "This is really nice. It's like being at an actual beach." She admitted. Even the water had a slight salty taste to it. A thought had hit her as she quickly stood up. "Hey! Why don't you test how long you can hold your breath under water? Usually it differs between games right? Maybe different classes can hold their breath longer?" she said though she was fairly eager to try it out now that she had thought of the idea. It probably wouldn't make too much of a difference but she was mostly curious. And since they were at the beach she found no harm in trying. Moving her way over to him she placed her hand over his head. "Ready?" she asked.

[sanquin]

"How long I can hold my breath? Good question." Alakai mused, figuring that she was right in this being a good time to test it out. "I wonder if it'll be like the game or like real life." He added. Though when she placed her hand on his head he quickly took it and moved it off again. "I'm fine with trying, but please no hands on heads. I ah...get a bit nervous when people do that while I'm under water. Makes me feel like you're trying to keep me down, even if you don't use any force..." He rubbed his neck a little awkwardly, not sure why he admitted to that. Though what was done was done. "Anyway, let's give it a try." The man took a few large breaths to make sure he had enough oxygen before disappearing under the surface. The water was surprisingly clear, so apart from the haziness caused by the water, he could actually still see for ten feet or so before things started to disappear into the blue of the water.

It took Alakai a full 5 minutes before he grew bored, and decided to surface again. Though he felt like he could have gone for another few minutes most likely. Which was highly surprising as he was used to only being able to hold his breath for 2 minutes at most. He first wanted to just wait for Kali to come up by herself, but that train of thought was quickly interrupted when he heard some screaming in the distance. He frowned, turning his gaze in the direction it had come from. And there he could see them. A party of three people, most likely players, fighting 4 crabs with another 2 on the way. Without hesitation he grabbed Kali pulling her up and turning her towards what was happening. "No more time for holding our breath! It seems like some players are in trouble. I'm going to help them!" Without waiting for Kali's response, Alakai already quickly started heading back to the shore. He pointed at the air in front of him to open his inventory, as he wanted to switch to his combat clothes as soon as he was out. His body would still be wet, but having damp clothes would be a concern for later.

[EveIris]

She blinked with surprise with his words. Though his reasoning made plenty of sense to her seeing how it could have been seen in such a way. Kali did grow suspicious of it since it sounded like he had experienced something similar. She lacked the information to ponder on it so brushed it aside. Standing beside him she watched him inhale deeply before he lowered himself into the water. For the first few minutes she grew worried seeing how it was already surpassing the time one could stay under. Eventually she realized that
their breath was based off game rules. Which was relieving since they wouldn't have to worry about drowning. She went ahead and lowered herself under the water though she was surprised with the clarity she had. She also noticed how much air she had taken since she was able to move around under the water without needing to return to the surface for air.

She went ahead and swam a bit deeper but didn't really move away from Alakai's side too much. She could tell there were creatures on the deeper ends though she couldn't tell what they were she knew just by the blurry things moving. She hadn't the chance to get a better look because she felt Alakai grab onto her arm and pull her out of the the water. Blinking with confusion she stared at him. "W-What?" she replied as she watched him dash off to shore. He had reacted so quickly that she turned her attention to the players who were screaming. "Oh geez," she said as she began running though the friction from the water had in fact slowed her down. Opening her inventory she immediately pulled out her staff and her gear. Once she had reached shore her clothes were stained and her hair dripping wet. Since she had most distance for spell cast she immediately healed the three that were fighting the crabs before she made her way closer. The crabs were huge though when she had first caught sight of them they appeared pretty docile. Now they just appeared downright scary with their claws.

By the time she had reached the group the two crabs had joined up with the four and she was doing her best to keep these strangers alive.

[sanquin]

Alakai had actually not expected himself to act like this. Rushing to other people's aid as soon as there seemed to be trouble. But here he was, acting before he put much thought into it. He immediately activated his threatening aura passive ability, making his whole body glow with a slightly red hue. Immediately the two crabs that had joined later on focused their attention on Alakai. Then with a kick and a few fast but light punches, another one was on him. That left three more, but since Kali had arrived and had already started healing the three other players could surely handle them.

"Thought you could use some help!" Alakai spoke to the three, grinning slightly. "I don't know who you are, but thank you! Without you coming to help us all three of us would have probably died!" Alakai didn't reply, as right now he was focusing on dodging the three crabs attacking him as much as possible while still attacking them a little to keep their attention. The man was glad that they had gone past level 25, so he had his threat skill now. It meant he could mostly focus on the dodging part, as to not strain Kali too much with her healing.

Now that their confidence had returned in the form of a healer, the three players started attacking as well. And with each taking a crab, they all fell pretty quickly. By then Alakai's threat on the remaining three was so high that he didn't need to do anything else, really. He had taken some damage, but Kali had been very quick on the healing so he was still fine. He decided it was time to activate his other cooldown ability; Flowing water. For the next 15 seconds the crabs would basically be unable to hit him, as his body would instinctively dodge attacks aimed at him with 90% accuracy during that time. He then started to focus on attacking alone, the three strangers joining in right away. And before Alakai's ability ran out, the other three crabs were down as well.

A moment later the three slumped down onto the sand. Not because they were hurt, but because they were tired and relieved that they had survived that ordeal. "A tip for next time, guys." Alakai spoke, grinning widely as he felt great after realising how easy those crabs had been with larger group. Just him and Kali would have had trouble, though they would have made it nonetheless no doubt. "These crabs assist each other in an area larger than their aggro range, so it's better to lure them away from others." Before anything else could be said though one of the three, the young female sorcerer to be exact, decided to jump Alakai and hug him tightly. Which resulted in him falling over with her landing on top. "Thank you thank you thank you!" The girl exclaimed. "Resurrection or not, dying really scares me! You saved me! Us!" Alakai's face turned bright red, getting incredibly nervous with a girl other than Kali getting this close. "U-u-uhm...p-please let go. I-I'd like to s-stand u-up again..."

(( The female sorcerer: orig00.deviantart.net/dfa5/f/2012/331/.. ))

[EveIris]

Kali did her job which mostly consisted of healing them and Alakai. Fortunately it wasn't too difficult because the three others offered their aid when they realized that they were receiving help. She watched the crabs fall until there were no none left. Making her way over she watched one of them practically throw herself to him. Though her friend didn't seem to pleased about the whole situation. "We didn't need help." He shot over to Kali and Alakai as he returned his sword back to his sheath. "Don't be rude, you were the first one to run." Another said to the man as she smacked the back of his head.

"W-Why you! I was not! I was performing a strategic move." He shot back with obvious annoyance. "Oh? You're a warrior. Warriors are melee. Were you going to throw your damn sword at it?" she returned though Kali stood uncomfortably between the two. "Uh well, it's fine. None of you died and you even picked up a decent amount of experience from it right?" She said though the woman grinned. "Thanks for the help you two. We would have really died there. This knucklehead was the one who said we could handle it. Name's Josie. He's Joan. You know like Joan the arc." She teased though he shot her a glare.

"I'm Kali, a healer and this is my friend Alakai." Kali introduced themselves as she returned her staff back to her inventory. She was still wet though she figured in time her clothes would dry up.

"Again. We didn't need your help." Joan stated firmly once more, clearly showing how hurt his pride was. "Well Alakai is never one to pass up on free experience," Kali said casually figuring that would ease his pride even the slightest though he didn't seem to be buying into it. Moving over he grabbed the woman on Alakai and pulled her off him with ease.

((Joan: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8f/a..
Josie: fable.ro/gr/db/class/4021.jpg ))

[sanquin]

The girl finally got off of Alakai. So with his face still quite red, he quickly got to his feet again. "I'm June. We call ourselves the three J's as a party~" June added when the other two introduced themselves. The male warrior decided to complain about being helped though, so Alakai had to jump in, especially when Kali accused him of kill stealing. Something that was frowned upon in games where it was possible. "Hey, I may like any exp I can get, but I wouldn't kill steal." Alakai started to pat his pants down as much as possible, as there was a lot of sand sticking to it now. "Joan, you three were clearly in need of help. No shame in admitting that. I doubt you would have rather died, as I'm sure everyone suspects it can't be a pleasant thing even if you revive. But if it makes you feel any better I'll be sure to just help the others and leave you to your...tactical retreat was it?" The man grinned a little, and so did the others. Though the conversation quickly moved on.

"Anyway, why were you guys fighting on the beach? There's a cave not far from here that gives far better exp..." Alakai asked, curious about how these three had gotten into trouble in the first place. "Well..." Josie started, sounding slightly sad. "We were training for the first dungeon, while also looking for more people to join our party once we're a few levels higher. We figured the beach, where the dungeon is, would be a good place to find people. But so far, no one seems interested in an independent party. The big guilds are only grouping up within their own ranks, and others aren't even close to reaching the dungeon's level yet."

June quickly chimed in, impatient at Josie not having asked the two yet. "How about you two? We'd have a full party if you two joined! What's your levels?" Alakai frowned a little, hesitant to answer that last part. "Well, we were preparing for the dungeon as well actually. But I...kinda don't want to advertise our level too much. In this world where a lot depends on your level, it can be bad to have that information spread too much... I can at least say we're high enough for the dungeon already though." The dungeon's level requirements were between 25 and 29. So they were actually already near the upper end of the dungeon. Alakai wanted to rather be safe than sorry after all. But until he knew for sure that these three could be trusted with that information he'd rather not tell them.

(If you want you can have Josie (She feels like the party leader to me. :P) invite them to lunch around a campfire on the beach as a thank you. Or I'll do it in my next post.)

[EveIris]

((No worries, I'll have it in this post.))

Kali listened to Alakai and the others converse though she was amused by it all. It wasn't really kill stealing considering how they were running away, it was obvious they had no plan in place anyways. She blinked at the offer of teaming up though she couldn't help but pout with that idea. "But that means I'll have to share Alakai." She said jokingly though Joan frowned at her words.

"It's not like we need you anyways!" Joan snapped only for Josie to smack the back of his head once more. "Woman! It hurts!" He shouted though she frowned. "Don't be rude, you were the one who decided to poke those crabs in the first place. Get over it. Anyways, why don't we sit down for lunch? Talk a bit, there's no rush to get to the dungeon right?" She suggested though Kali nodded. "Besides I notice that you two are taking it easy in the water, take a break and we can just talk." She assured them though Kali hadn't really minded that concept.

"I don't mind, how about you Alakai?" she asked him. She hadn't been really secretive about her level, but she hadn't said anything seeing how Alakai didn't. Her carefree attitude was sure to bite her in the hindside one of these days though she knew that if she stuck around with Alakai that wouldn't happen. "We'll set up a picnic here, right on the beach. Joan here can cook." Josie mentioned though he frowned. "I'm not cooking anything for them. We don't even know them." He childishly replied though Kali stuck her tongue out. "I didn't want to eat your food anyways, Alakai makes pretty good food himself." She pointed out as she nudged him forward so he could defend his name. "Come on, Joan. You too June!" Josie said as she grabbed from behind and began dragging him to a spot where they could set up the picnic.

[sanquin]

"Hold on, I didn't say I wanted to join the party for the dungeon yet. Just that our levels are high enough." Alakai replied, frowning a little. "In the game it might not have mattered, but here I wouldn't want to party with people I can't get along with. Since teamwork will be important." He decided to ignore Joan's ranting, as he seemed the type to only act all though and 'I don't need anyone' on the surface. "Lunch sounds good though. We left rather early and I at least haven't eaten properly yet."

Everyone seemed to agree. So they headed to an area that didn't have any crabs walking around. Once there, Joan was the one starting on building a fire. Alakai had the skill too. It came with the cooking profession. But if someone else would do it it meant less work for him. "So did you guys find out how to cook with flavour like that one inn then?" He asked, wondering if the inn keeper had spilled their secret. "That stupid inn keeper won't tell anyone. But I can make some pretty good stat boosting food." Joan answered. "Well you're in luck. I'll do the cooking then." "What difference would it make?" Joan replied with a frown. "Because I'm the one who told that inn keeper how to cook with flavour." All three turned their heads to Alakai now, eyes wide. "What?! You?!" Josie exclaimed in disbelief. "Let me guess, you plan to get rich by getting a cut of the profits huh?" Joan grumbled. "Nothing like that..." Alakai replied. "We get free meals and a free room. Plus he always saves a table for us. But that's all. I wanted to keep it a secret because I felt that information might be useful later on..." All three seemed a bit annoyed at that. Which was to be expected considering food with flavour was in very high demand.

"Don't worry, I'm willing to show you guys as well since we're in this situation. Just promise me, don't tell anyone else. In the end guilds will be looking out for themselves first. If one of them gets their hands on this secret, it could put them in a very powerful and influential position within the city." The three looked at each other, then nodded. "I guess you're right. It's gotten pretty bad already." June spoke. "The largest guilds have started monopolising the best farming spots, pressuring smaller guilds into joining them, some are acting like they're better than others because their guild is so large... There are even rumours of underground guilds doing shady things." Alakai frowned. He hadn't noticed anything like that. Then again, him and Kali were ahead of almost everyone. Plus they had spent almost all of their time out in the field. Only coming back to sleep and sell loot.

"It's gotten that bad huh? We've been farming mostly, so I hadn't noticed..." "Our guild too." Josie spoke, looking a bit sad. "We're just a small guild of ingame friends. But if this keeps going, even we won't have much choice any more." Alakai couldn't help but think about what could be done. All players were in this together, having been thrown into this world just like that. It was logical that people would form groups. But it sounded like the situation in the city might get out of hand if this kept on going. "Let's not dwell on that right now." He spoke, wanting to cheer everyone up a little. "We're on a beach, on a sunny day, soon with food and a campfire as well. Let's enjoy ourselves for now, right?"

Joan just nodded once, and the other two agreed with an 'okay'. Though as the fire started, another question came up. "So...who are you two anyway?" June asked as she scooted closer to Alakai, looking like she was up to something. Alakai started blushing a little again, though tried to answer normally. "W-well...it's actually a bit of a surprise you three don't know us. For some reason people always come up to us two to ask for our help or wanting us to join their guild or party." "So you're well known in the city?" June then asked. "Maybe...I'd rather not draw that much attention though..." "Ohh, you're a shy one aren't you~" June replied with a slight grin, scooting even closer until she leaned against him just a little bit. "I like shy guys~" Of course this meant Alakai's face turned bright red. So he quickly shuffled closer to the fire to get a bit more distance between them again. "I, uh...I'll start cooking some food! Yes!" He spoke, opening his inventory and starting to take out ingredients. "Don't tell anyone about this. But I'll show you what I do when I cook."