Of Bows and Arrows [P]

Arriving at a particular clearing in the lush tranquil forest of Brisshal, the green-haired Felis looked around, see if her would-be companion had arrived first. It didn't seem so, hmm, she could lounge around for a bit then. "Ah~" The slender girl wanted to take a nap on a tree branch but after... her humiliating blunder some time ago, she decided to take the easier, less dangerous, spot on the ground instead.

Her feline ears and tail swishing as she sat down with her back against a tree bark, the foliages shading her from the clear rays of the sunny day sun. Her shortbow and quiver were set just beside her. "Hmm..." Driven by habit of her real-life self, Aria fiddled around with the player's menu, one hand held out in front of her as she explored the various options and information, she had yet to grasp the core stuff needed to play the game to the fullest. For example, she didn't know that she could adjust the 'pain threshold', Simulated all the way, who wanted to feel pain in virtual reality? Out of all the wonderful things she could emulate, pain wasn't one of them.

"Sigh..." The young woman despaired as she reached the Mastery menu and how... it displayed hers as zero, zero, and more zeros. Jesu-... I mean, By Qora! Couldn't the developer give newbies at least something other than these plain starting equipment? Come on now, even if they gave her the equipment, she couldn't even use them properly as her character had zero experiences on everything. Well, maybe they wanted to emulate the crucible of life, how heroes were forged from simple beginnings, but Aria didn't start out as a baby, no one did, right? Then it should make sense for the players to get at least a few starting points.

Yes, yes, nothing was perfect, even Terrasphere. For all the things they got right, there would be a few missteps or two. Oh well, she just had to live with it and this was why she wanted to meet with Aden, among other things. Though the fellow player was a new, he had more experience than her and considering how much of a greenhorn, pun not intended, she was, any form of experience would be useful. Also, they were both archers, he would be the right mentor for her.

Now then, until he arrived, a little rest would be nice. Aria closed the menu and stretched, yawning with cat-like sounds then tucked herself in, resting peacefully against the tree. Blissfully unaware of the dangers of the forest.

@Aden

 

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" Those words kept repeating themselves inside Aden's mind as he rushed towards his rendezvous point with a fellow new player by the name of Aria. They had promised to meet at a specific clearing in the forest of Brisshal to form a party, explore the forest, and train together after getting in touch with each other through a chance meeting. Since Aria had just joined the game, Aden had proposed to help her get acquainted to Terrasphere with what little knowledge and experience he'd gained so far ever since he joined.

Once she's familiarized herself with the game, it would be interesting if they could end up working together to not only improve themselves with the game itself but also go on amazing adventures and make wonderful, lasting memories together. Ever since he signed up for Terrasphere, he had been meeting and making lots of allies and acquaintances with fellow players but, so far, he could not confidently call any of them as his friend. Part of the reason he accepted becoming a tutor of sorts of Aria was to hopefully make a friend out of her. In his mind, it was easier to make friends by starting off with a clean slate rather than trying to change and improve already stable connections.

He knew he wasn't making a pretty good first impression when he's already running late at their first adventure together. Back home, Aden suddenly got commissioned to proofread the script a local play would use in a span of 48 hours and he had just managed to send back the script to the director when he logged in to the game but coupled by that fact that he didn't anticipate how long the script was, how many errors he had to correct, and the worst of it, how much he had to be in a rush to get it done on time, it was inevitable that he'd be running late for their meeting.

Still, Aden hoped that she doesn't get into too much trouble while he was away. Even the Beginner forests of Brisshal are teeming with dangerous, unforgiving creatures who do not distinguish between new and inexperienced players when they attack so hopefully Aria hasn't landed herself in that kind of trouble. Otherwise, she may have a hard time dealing with these threats, and in the worst case scenario, may earn Aria her first death affliction. With that in mind, he decided to sprint full speed ahead towards his destination.

Not a moment too soon when he arrived at the clearing, he noticed a large wild boar glaring intensely at a nearby tree. There, a familiar green haired felis girl was snugly resting under its shade, blissfully unaware of the danger she is in at the moment. Suddenly, the boar had decided to charge towards the sleeping female feline. The clearing must have been the territory of this particular wild animal and seeing Aria invading its home has sent it on a frenzy.

With the boar getting closer and closer to the green-haired archer, Aden knew he had to act fast and act now. He had only one shot at this so he had to make such a crucial shot count, otherwise he would immediately lose not only his partner, but also his credibility as Aria's senior and any chance of them becoming friends.

Nocking an arrow onto his bow, he inhaled deeply and focused all his attention to the charging boar. Aden could feel the wind churning around him, as if calling out, pleading him to accept its assistance and aid his shot. This was one of the cues he had to use one of the techniques he developed by combining two of his masteries, Ranged and Aeromancy. It was called "Sylph's Aid" an type of buff wherein he infuses aeromancy into his bow and arrow giving the former the necessary force to launch the arrow with incredible force, and the latter "immunity to the whims of the wind" which basically significantly increases the arrow's wind resistance. These two effects would merge together to form a lethal piercing shot that is almost guaranteed to deliver a crippling, lethal blow to his opponent, in this case the boar.

Fortunately, before the boar could skewer the sleeping beauty, the arrow had connected, piercing through its forehead effortlessly and even passing through its skull. The results laid bare when the boar skidded towards Aria, gently hitting her before it came to a stop.

After she woke up, the first thing she would notice was the boar carcass in such close proximity to her, and depending whether she scared easily, she may find such a spectacle too startling and disturbing.

"Lesson Number 1: Always be on high alert. The enemy could be anywhere at any point of time. Never let your guard down or it could cost you, understood Miss Aria?" Aden said in a calm yet stern voice as he offered a hand to the Green-haired archer.

 

Mmmnyem..." The so-called 'Felis Ranger' continued slumbering away on her comfortable spot, utterly open and vulnerable to attacks by hostile entities, whether it'd be bandits, wild animals, or monsters. Judging by the peaceful look on her face and the slight droop of her feline ears and the light sway of her tail. Even when the tusked hulking hog approached her, mistaking the Felis for a threat, charged, and her eventual rescue from her first death affliction in the game, she slept through it all.

It was when the boar's sliding carcass made a bump against the side of her thigh that she stirred lightly. "Nnngh..." She shifted then eyelids fluttered open, revealing a serene emerald gaze. At until they focused on the sight of a dead hog beside her, yep, a boar with an arrow stuck to its forehead. "The hell...?" She blinked in confusion, "Waaah?!", then squealed with a high-pitched 'un-ranger-like' yelp as a scolding voice entered her ears, said ears swishing left and right to zero in on the source.

"Ah..." Then a handsome visage appeared before her, a graceful ranger with blazing red hair and irises of gold. He was none other than Aden Ashburn, the player she was supposed to meet. "O-... oh..." Her cheeks became rather warm as she slowly realized that the handsome fellow before her was the one who saved her from certain gory death. "T-... thank you... uhm..." Her ears moved nervously as she shyly took his hand then stood up. He was just a bit taller than her, an inch or two, and that made it perfect.

God, he looked even more beautiful up close. First Cain, now Aden, this game was just filled with men who would she take on dates without much ceremony. "Y-yes!" Damn it, girl, get a hold of yourself! "I understand, I was uh... I shouldn't have done that." She rubbed the back of her neck, "Not doing that again, nope, not ever, you have my word." Taking a deep breath, she smiled.

"So... what's lesson number 2, Aden?"

@Aden

 

Aden had a hard time keeping a straight face after seeing Aria's reaction to the dead boar. If she was the perceptive type, then she would quickly catch on to this, instantly ruining his calm and collected mentor image (if he even made such an impression on her from the start). Still, the main reason they were here in the first place was to orient Aria with the basics of Terrasphere so ruined image or not, he still had a responsibility to do his best at his job, specially since he volunteered for this role.

"Well, as long as you understand then it's fine. Even if the boar had hit you, I doubt it would manage to deplete your entire HP bar though." Still, it would certainly be a rude awakening, not to mention painful for Aria, if Aden had not managed to act in time.

The way she looked flustered when she realized the situation she was in was also undeniably cute that he had to look away from her for a second so she'd avoid seeing him blushing himself.

"Ahem... anyways, before we move on to the next lesson, I would like to apologize for my tardiness. My work in real life piled up all of a sudden and I had to finish it asap before I could log in to the game." said the archer as he bowed apologetically to the green-haired Felis.

"As for the 2nd lesson, it's basically simple. Try to familiarize yourself with the terrain you're in every time. This can be done by researching, asking the locals about it, or just plain exploring yourself. However, it would be best to do explorations with a fellow player in case you suddenly get yourself in a hairy situation. Not only is familiarizing yourself with the location important in gathering resources and getting your bearings, but this knowledge could also be used in a combat situation... You're getting kinda like a "home-field advantage" of sorts when you have the edge of knowing the place like the back of your hand compared to your opponent." he explained.

"Since Brisshal is a forest tailored to beginners, we shouldn't be running into some absurdly strong monsters here. But do keep an eye out on enemies still. Overconfidence would just end up getting you killed if you underestimate the monsters here. Now then, how about we start exploring this place? I'll let you lead the way so you can familiarize yourself with the forest more."

 

"Uh..." The boar might not be able to deplete her HP in a single hit but due to the very realistic nature of this game, Aria imagined it'd hurt. If she could choose between being gored by a boar or not, the choice was hilariously obvious. The Felis awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of her head, "Still. what kind of kinky lunatic want to be charged by a hog?" the Ranger asked rhetorically.

Speaking about work, Aria's schedule was quite busy too. She was a Fashion Design college student who worked part-time as a model for a designer magazine, as such, she enjoyed what free time she had. So much that she opted to take a nap even though her real body was 'sleeping' right now. Sleeping during a sleep, what was that old movie again, ah right, Inception.

"It's fine, Aden, I have college and work part-time too, haha, I feel you." My my, the redhead was really polite, bowing to her like that. It flattered her to be honest, she felt like one of those noble ladies in a fantasy world. "Uhm... no need to be so uh... haha, just relax." The Felis was at a loss for words, her fair cheeks reddening again. Damn, if this kept up, her face would glow as red as Aden's hair.

Shaking her head briskly, her feline ears and long hair animating with her movements, the Felis mustered her focus. Okay, time to continue the lesson! "Hmmm... I see." So scouting was an important part in being a good Ranger. She could do it through various ways, researching information, the locals, or even just observe herself. "Alright and don't travel alone, got it." What happened just now was a testament to the importance of camaraderie. No Aden, no arrow, boar stayed alive, one sad Felis. "Okay so this means I have to know my the area I am going into." Hmm hmm, though she was no avid gamer, Aria wasn't completely blind. How did she do, good enough, Aden? Hahaha.

"Ah yeah..." As if reading her mind, the young man warned her to not let arrogance blind her for she would pay the price dearly. "Mhm, affirmative, Sir Aden!" Aria gave a playful salute, mimicking a soldier before she giggled with her hand covering her lips, cat ears perking up in delight. "Alright~" The green-haired ranger put her hands behind her back, swaying playfully with her tail following in tandem, "Let's explore, guide me, Aden~"

@Aden