Open - Learning The Blade

Roland let out a deep breath as he tucked his legs underneath himself. He was sitting in the middle of a rather empty open training grounds in the eastern section of the city. It was simplistic and minimalist in design sporting a rough woven canvas floor with three 50-foot-wide circles dotting it from east to west. The western circle had a single training dummy, while the eastern had three rows of them. However, the circle that Roland sat in contained nothing but the traveler himself. During most of the year it would be full of newly commissioned NPC guards who would be learning their way around a blade, but Roland had learned that during this time it would be open to adventures which would be perfect for his uses.

Shifting his weight as he sat, Roland, stared at the copper sword in his hand. He hadn’t been in the beta, nor had he ever tried any of the world seed games, so he was not used to the combat system seen within Terrasphere. He thought it would be significantly more simple than it was, but its seemed that despite starting with a mastery with slashing weapons he would still need to learn the basics of using it. He had tried unsuccessfully to attack the lone straw dummy to the west of him, and his leg still stung from the attempt.

“Well I guess I will just have to start from the basics.” Roland said standing up hefting his sword out in front of him trying to recall the information he had read up until this point. Supposedly the game could pick up on your movements intuitively and continue what attack you had begun. However, when he had tried to attack the dummy he quickly lost control of his sword and it swung hitting him on his thigh, luckily with the dull side of the blade. It seemed to Roland that he had miss calculated how much the weight of the sword would affect his swing, which was surprising given the fact that the copper blade would likely be significantly lighter than other steel or iron weapons. He supposed the first step to learning combat would be simply to get more comfortable with this weapon.

So he held the sword in front of him for several moments until the strain of the weight began to cause a dull burn in his arms. Then, while taking a deep breath he quickly tried to shift the blade downwards in small arc, attempting to slash the air, but again he lost control sending the copper blade flying from his hands. With an exasperated sigh he quickly moved to fetch the blade from the ground, unsure of what his problem was.

In reality it likely had to do something with the fact that he was all but a shut-in that did nothing but type on a keyboard all day long, in truth he’d probably have similar issues swinging something like a baseball bat. Most other games would see that he started with the basic skills needed, learning from the ground up was definitely new to him. Still the detailed immersion available in the world sucked him into wanting to learn despite his various setbacks. “After all” he thought out loud, “With this much control I might be able to do something incredible with this system once I get the hang of it.”

With renewed vigor he stood back up straight holding the blade out in front of him once more. Again, he held it there until his arms began to burn from the weight as he tried again to get a feel for it. This time rather than dropping the blade downwards the slowly lowered the blade in the downward slash, feeling as the center of weight changed in the middle of the motion. Going extremely slowly he was able to complete the motion successfully, though his brow began to accumulate sweat from the exertion. “Well it’s a start.” Roland breathed as he returned to his neutral position for a few moments.

Suddenly an idea jolted him causing him to send the blade clattering to the floor while he pawed at invisible windows before him. Up until this point he was trying to teach himself from scratch how to use a sword, but that was stupid when there were so many other options. Namely, he could simply find someone to show him how to do it. First he went into the open channel for the city hesitating slightly before posting, “This game is hardcore, I can barely even swing a sword, any tips for new players?” He didn’t have much faith in getting a response or rather a helpful one but it was worth a shot. A more helpful tool would be someone showing him specifically how it’s done but without money to offer anyone he doubted that would happen. The next best option was to find online videos to watch, but he wasn’t sure he could do it with the in game interface. Sure he could log out and watch it on his computer, but it would be easier if you could make a PIP display and follow along in real time with his avatar.

The menus were clunky and the option to find an outside source was hidden within help library’s search command that accessed google directly. Using this he was able to hijack the help page with videos from youtube and quickly punched in beginner sword master videos. He had hopped for some SAO, or World Seed players putting their tips online but likely the US government prevented that from being seen, and he didn’t have the access to bypass that from within the game’s interface. So instead he settled with basic martial arts videos showing how to fight with a wooden sword.

He flicked his wrist sending the screen to the side of his vision while he picked his sword back up and tried to imitate the stance in front of him and follow along with the tutorial. The man in the video was using a wooden sword shaped like a katana, but Roland guessed at his level it didn’t matter, and so he began to train secretly hoping that someone would arrive and show him how to translate the moves into the in game system.

 

Lilianna was still in the midst of looking for Olive. With a heavy sigh, she still didn't understand the game very much. Looking for ways on how to manipulate the menu, chat with people, look things up were things she was oblivious to. If there was one thing she knew though, and knew very well, it was how to use her weapons, how to move her body and traverse the wild world. She was an athlete, an outdoorsman in reality, no matter how fierce things were in weather, wild beasts or combat, Lilianna had the knowledge to survive. Even without the skills taught by the system, she knew how to use the hatchet in her hand to kill and hunt. She'd hunted in the past so killing was nothing she hadn't seen before, in regards to her axe, it was a weapon that took advantage of her size and weight; one that she wouldn't have to be shy about using without cleaning in the wilderness.

She'd made these choices despite her real life combat background revolving more about piercing and slashing weapons purely because she wasn't sure when she'd be able to maintain them. Keeping a blade sharp was difficult, and an axe by comparison was a bit easier even if it was a bit unwieldy. Perhaps someday she'd switch to a sword, when she understood the world better, but her dirty hatchet was the best weapon for her in a world where she didn't know when she could maintain it's sharpness. Aside from that, she had a shield that she was also familiar with using. Though never in battles to the death, a shield was something she'd known how to use from choreography from time to time. She wasn't exactly a movie star, but she'd work with and practiced with the figures who would later come to train them. Thus even that obscure knowledge was a part of her repertoire.

Unfortunately, separated from Olive, she was wandering about until her pet alerted her to a stranger that seemed to be struggling. A gentleman like Lilianna wouldn't let someone needlessly suffer, but when she arrived to see someone struggling with a sword, she couldn't help glancing to the fade dove in confusion. "... I don't think this is what I asked about..." She murmured but the bird didn't seem to understand and merely stared back to her as if waiting for praise. In the end, Lilianna buckled with a dry laugh giving it a pat as it nuzzled into her neck. The small wolf pup contained within her jacket only yipped back as if trying to inject itself into the conversation that neither party understood. The three of them were merely trying to speak to each other in different languages.

Watching the man struggling to learn from videos though, Lilianna couldn't help sighing and crouching down by the side. Watching for a long while, she couldn't help interjecting while hugging her knees to her chest. "What are you trying to do?" She asked finally with a perked brow. It was strange, he was trying to learn something clearly but she couldn't decipher what, as if he were just looking at a video of a professional and trying to imitate it... but was that how you learned? Lilianna couldn't help questioning it heavily. "You have to start with repetition first-- the basics of the basics; swinging to hit your target without flowery movements. Two hands at first for stability, you'll be able to use one hand when you get used to it?" She proposed, using real world knowledge to try and help him understand how to wield a blade. After all it was that way for her, thus far she hadn't used any sort of skill or guided strike, only ever swinging and attacking with her own power.

 

Surprise Visit!

The shadows coalesce and hooded figures step out in unison, crowding out of the dark wormhole that had opened up its jaw in between space itself. They pay no mind to their surroundings and pass by the two souls around them. A man practicing swordsmanship and a woman attempting to help the struggling man learn. Despite the inevitable crossing of paths, the darkly-garbed group did little to interact with them, merely chanting and marching along the path to wherever they were meant to be.

Red spots freckled their covered visages and an unnatural aura followed them, rotting the grass and life around them. Leaves shriveled like it was autumn, rapidly decaying and curling in on itself before slowly dripping away into ash. The dust flew away and, soon enough, the soil grew weak and the lines of grass uprooted. A small sandstorm kicked up from the whirling particles of dirt and grime. A distortion seem to occur in the tightly-condensed figures. It seemed as if the sand that blew around them was unable to approach or touch their bodies. It was unnatural for anyone who saw.

A quiet, dark chanting of unknown meaning filled the silent air.



"̡̗̰͍͖͙͕̈̓ͧP̨̙͓͓͌͐̆͡h̢͖̙͎̯͍̖̦͈͑̎̎̏ͣ̍ͬ͞'͂҉̲͙̫̳͍̹͈͢ṇ̴̨̙̗̜ͦ͛͌̓̀̀ͅg̛̈̉̓ͤ̀͏̦͇͍̤ļ̶̜̰̤͉̝͋̓̐̀ͮͥͤ̈̆͡ȗ̙͇͙̗ͫ̂̀i̐̚҉͖̪ ̭̞͍̠͐͊ͩ̅̀͂̂ͅm͔̩̜̈́͗͌̏ͪ͑̏͂ͅg̩̜̹͍̞͇̦̾̍͛̈ͣͅl͉̬̪̹͕͓̠͇̬̓̿ͯͦw̷̳̳͇̯̙̞͐ͬͮ̈̓ͮ'̴͔͕̼̠̈́̌̊͛͐ͨ̓̚n̩̪̖̮̫̳͙͚͓͛ͭ͊͑̄́͋̋a̛̞̩̪͉͓̮̬̋̇͟f͑͐͊̉ͭ͊͛͆͏̸̷͔̤̪͇̫̻̯̼̻h̷̴̡̫̠ͬͣ̿͋ͭͫͣ̈́ ̨̧̗̞̻̬͙̝̝̎ͭ̄̾ͫ͢Ć̳̫̲̜̗̠̈́̂̒̓͘t̸̵̠͕̺̜ͨ̿̉̊ͤ̆̀hͧͯ҉̫̤̹͖̖̯ǘ̶̟̜͙̪͎̗̠̙͗͠l̩̭̜̘̱̰̳͊͢͜h̻̹̪̜̻ͫ̓ͫ͑ͯ̌̆̿́ͅu̧̢̝ͨ̅ ̶̷̨̖̲̰̣̪̦͋͌̒̓͒͊R̮̮̫̲̝͗̿̔̕͜'̷̛̗̥͕͍̳͑̔́ͦ͛l̝͕̺̤̗͔͙ͥ͌̍̆͡y̨̥̬ͫ̃̾̎͜ę̶̶̤̝̮̯̖̈́̊͐ͧ̂̒̄͌ȟ̵͖͎̲͐̿͆͑̏̅̌ ̗͔̹͍̙̥̆̓̎̌̈͐ẉ͈͚͔̪̔́̋̃́͘g̶̤̥͚̻̞̘̅̊ͫ̚ͅa̵̞͓̱ͧ̓ͫ͐̑ͩ̀͡h̵̬̜͈̲ͤ͋ͤ̽̊̅͋'̰̭̖̖̦͙̼͚̓ͧ̾͐̒ͤ̚ͅn̷̻̤̹̈̐̽́å̸̮̤̰̋ͧ̄͂g̛̲͗̐͂͊̌̉lͩ̎̍̈́͏̱͚͉̹̦̗̺̪̬ ̶̵̩̘̠̳̝̒͐͐ͦ̓̈͗ͮͅf̴̞͙̹̟̦̝͚̆̕hͧ͆̈́̈́̑͊ͬͦ҉͙ţ̨͚͙̝͆͑̾̓̒̓a̸̠͈͈̜̙̪̹͓ͦͫ̒́̕ǵ̸̛̹̳̤̝͈̼̦̖͊͛̃ͪ̍́̚n̩̘̩̓ͣ̽̋ͮ̉̒͞.̰̼̩̀̃̏"̲̬̭͇͑ͭͯ̂ͥ̊̽ͭͣ


And then they were gone.​

 

Roland’s arms screamed in defiance as he tried to follow along with the video hovering in his field of vision. It had only been about ten to fifteen minutes since he had turned the video on and began following along, but he was already coated in sweat from the effort. “I guess real world stamina translates to in game.” Roland said with a sigh as he let his blade drop resting its tip on the floor. In real life, he was a classic shut-in, rarely leaving his house besides when his job forced him too, and even that was rare. Needless to say this led to him getting very little exercise, and his preference of junk foods further deteriorated his health. It didn’t matter though, his real world fitness level didn’t bother him, as there were always ways around that. In game, however, he worried how much his lack of physical aptitude was going to hold him back. He couldn’t tell how much this was helping, but he supposed the small amount of time he had spent practicing wouldn’t be enough to determine whether or not it was beneficial.

Pushing himself upwards he was intent on trying again, until his character passed out from exhaustion, “Might as well know my limits.” Roland thought grimly to himself. Restarting the video Roland tried to follow the swords master’s easy movements the best he could, however, time and time again Roland found himself lagging behind as his elbow contorted in unseen angles ruining his strikes.

“What are you trying to do?”

A voice suddenly emerged from his right side, shocked, Roland dropped the sword sending it clanging to the floor with several thuds. Red faced, he ran to fetch it; he hadn’t seen or heard anyone enter so hearing her voice so suddenly shocked him. As he reached for his blade he observed her character, she was lean, yet muscular with the look of someone who had trained in athletics relentlessly. Unlike his, it wasn’t one of the default human bodies, and looked too intricate to sculpt easily, Roland assumed she was either some sort of artist in the real world, or that she had imported her own physique into the game. The girl continued before he could think of anything to say.

"You have to start with repetition first-- the basics of the basics; swinging to hit your target without flowery movements. Two hands at first for stability, you'll be able to use one hand when you get used to it?"

The girl said it was like the most obvious thing in the world, as if she was speaking with a child. Of course he knew that repetition was the first thing he needed to learn, but sadly Roland had to admit that may have been the extent to his knowledge. In fact, he hadn’t even thought of using two hands for stability, that made a lot of sense when the thought about it. “Two hands… Yea, I can barely hold this thing with one, it caused my elbow to go all wonky, let me give it a shot”.

With renewed enthusiasm Roland stood up, holding the sword up with his left hand like the video had shown, “Right, here we go.” He moved his right hand to cusp the bottom of the hilt, which in turned helped him balance the weight of the blade as he pulled his arm upward, before bringing it back down again in a smoother arc than before. The motion wasn’t awful, but it lacked the subtle springiness of a novice level strike as he locked his wrist into place prior to moving the sword.

He was determined to try again, when he was distracted by the arrival of some dark presence. As if out of nowhere a large tear formed in the air itself on the other end of the dojo. As it grew horizontally it seemed to warp the air itself bending the fabric of space enough to make room for a parade of odd hooded figures which in turn marched forth from the gaping hole into the room. Roland spun, facing the gathering mass of shadowed beings pointing his blade in their direction,” What the heck is that, what the heck are those?!” he exclaimed alarmingly. Frozen in fear he couldn’t bring the courage to move as they managed to glide past them chanting in too low of voice for Roland to make out. Soon the chanting began to reach some sort of crescendo as red spots began to appear on their cloaks, and from them seemed to seep a miasma of death as the ground below the figures began to wither away turning into a fine ash. Roland dropped to his knees as the noise seemed to creep into his skull losing sight of the odd creatures as he screamed in pain. The rest of the events were lost to him as he buried his face in the ground, tightly gripping the hair on the sides of his head as he focused on breathing. Eventually the beings dispersed as quickly as they had come, and with them the pain in Roland’s skull faded. It took him several moments but he pushed himself up off the ground with labored breaths, too bewildered to come up with a comment regarding the events that had just taken place.

@Lilianna Talbot

 

Lilianna couldn't help cocking her head in confusion as the man tried to understand her for whatever reason. In the end though she only smiled back with a big hearty grin. Lilianna wasn't really one to think about anything or be concerned with her own appearance. Roland's suspicions about her appearance though was pretty spot on, Lilianna wasn't one who really put much thought into her avatar, instead she went with her normal look that she shared in reality so that her wife would be able to recognize her. Though she didn't earnestly put that much thought into it, she did still keep her own physical appearance because at the very least, it was easier then picking something she was unfamiliar with. It was because of that that she was so familiar with her actions and how to fight in this world.

Though when he finally began to notice her and even make a few efforts to act, Lilianna would nod back watching him making an effort to swing with both hands this time. Both hands definitely did provide stability, but the more she saw him try, she could only sigh a little. As if wondering why his efforts were lacking, she didn't seem to realize that those who typically played these games weren't outdoorsmen like herself. Putting some more thought in she shook her head and tried adding more advice on top of it. "You should pay attention to the distance between your hands too. The wider apart, the more control, but the closer together the more reach near the base. The farther you choke up the less power you're going to have." She tried to lecture with the tone of an instructor.

This was something very familiar for her, teaching, lecturing, helping people master their physiques and get into shape. It was what she did to earn a living, and why she was such a sought after advisory. She tried her best to make it as understandable as possible, the skill of manipulating and utilizing combat tools wasn't easy to master. Lucia only had a very firm grasp on it because of exposure and experience.

She was about to continue when Roland seemed upset, falling to the ground in pain. Such a bizarre sight and thing. Perking a brow she turned towards the ones he was looking at in time to catch a glimpse of them. Unlike Roland though, she didn't seem so bothered with their appearance. Naively lifting a hand to wave to them as they left, she smiled brightly even to those mysterious dark figures. She didn't really seem to understand the dangers or what was so problematic for Roland who was struggling so. If she did somehow receive some pain or injury, she'd only nod and understand from her weakening health meter. "Erm, you okay? Are they on the other team or something? It's okay, if you figure this out you'll be able to fight them right?" She spoke optimistically, as if no matter what happened, there would be a way to come out ahead. That said, she didn't understand just how tragic and painful a gap in masteries would be. Instead this was just a game that she played; there was no reason for her to feel fear, if she died, wouldn't she just come back? There was no reason to feel fear or grow concerned.

"If you're feeling a little sick, don't force yourself." She spoke with a concerned tone wondering if he might be the type to work themselves into oblivion. After all, she hadn't watched him from the start, and he could have been hard at work for hours and hours even before she came. If he was hurt or sore, it wouldn't be good to force him.

 

Roland pushed himself up to his knees where he rested for a moment as he turned to the girl with a delirious look on his face, “You.. couldn’t hear that?” He asked seeing the lack of agitation on her face, “Well I guess if you’re looking like that it means you couldn’t….” he fell back to the ground with a grunt taking a moment purely just to re-cooperate. He began to fiddle with his in game settings, “Perhaps I just have my pain meter up to high.” He moved it slightly downwards off of the max setting, “Or maybe it was some kind of bug or interference with my headset…” He checked the rest of the settings on his interface noting nothing unusual and closed it with a sigh, “I guess I will have to get this headset checked out, I don’t understand why that would cause me physical pain, my health bar didn’t even go down, so I don’t see why it would.” Roland’s rambling matched his unnerved tone, the entire event clearly leaving him at a loss.

Roland shook his head as if to send off the lingering doubt of the event away and forced himself back to his feet, “There’s no use dwelling on it.” He said with determination as he search for his fallen blade which had fallen just a few feet away. Snatching it up he began rotating his left shoulder in its socket, moving it sent a mild jolt of electricity throughout his lower back, he doubted his body could handle much more practice for the day, but again he was determined to find his limits. After all, the mild nerve and muscle pain he felt now were nothing compared to the thousands of needles that had been jabbed into his skull earlier.

“So...” he said bring his blade before him, “You said that the distance between my hands effect the reach and control of the weapon, right?” As he spoke he brought his sword in front of him eyeing his hands carefully. He adjusted them slightly trying to find a place where he could rest both comfortably, “The wider apart, the more control, but the closer together the more reach near the base” He quoted before adding, “So since I am having issues controlling my swing I should try and push them further apart right?” He slowly moved his right hand towards the bottom of the hilt, while pushing his left up to its edge. “There…” he said giving it a quick test swing forward, much like Lilianna had predicted the blade travelled easily through the air, but he felt that the momentum was stuck behind his left hand. He then switched his grip, instead pulling them together near the hilt and swung again, the blade flew a bit erratically but he could feel that the blow had significantly more power behind it.

Roland played with the idea several more times, slicing through the empty air in front of him in the same stance and style, switching his grips to find one he was the most comfortable with. Eventually his muscles began to give up on him and each strike began to become more and more erratic. Now covered with sweat Roland let his sword fall to the ground, before clicking a few interfaces and un-equipping it. “…Thanks.” Roland said short on breath, “I think you’re advice really helped.” He beamed a happy smile towards the girl before cocking his head to the side, “You know I never caught your name…Or introduced myself.” Blushing slightly he continued, “My name is Roland, again thank you for your help here today, if there is anything I can do to repay you let me know.”

 

Lilianna merely blinked when questioned; the whispering was heard, but was it so uncommon? Weren't there always shady characters here or there whispering about something? Was it so strange for it to be happening here? Lilianna didn't really know, she didn't understand what was common knowledge in this world or what should be expected. There was no loss of health, and her own pain settings were set very low intentionally because to her, this was a game to play for fun rather then the immersive experience. She didn't really understand what use intense pain would have for a person. "Well... I guess if you're alright." She couldn't help asking blinkingly once more, truly unsure of what she'd just seen in more then one ways. If it was physique, she could be considered an expert, but the rest of this experience was far too alien to her.

When he began to get back into practice again, giving things a try, Lilianna watched him again with the blank and alert expression of an instructor. When he repeated her words, she nodded, and seeing him try it out, she reached back for her own weapon, the axe as she gave it a soft shake before her so he could see. "After a time, the trick in not being too firm or too loose with your grip." She explained giving a few test swings with a hand, they were accurate and fierce swings, each one carrying a bit of wind with it from the force. It was something that had little to do with her masteries, and more to do with just the physics of the world. The weight of the weapon moving fast and cleanly enough to push the wind around. "I don't recommend getting fancy at first, but practice always makes perfect." She explained choking up her grip a little to give the axe a brief spin over the back of her palm before rounding back into her grip. She gave it a firm nod, as if pleased with the weight of her tool, someday she'd no doubt change, but for now this weapon was what had saved her-- perhaps she'll hang it up on a wall when she finds her wife.

"Ah-- It's okay." She explained with a hand gesture, though when it came to helping and repaying, there really was far to much that Lilianna needed help with. "Erm... There are some things, I'm looking for my wife, she's very small and very cute-- Her name is Olive and--" She went on to explain the way the woman looked in reality, oblivious to the fact that her avatar was completely different. Lilianna had been trying to find her since she first logged in. Though her effort was destined for failure, there was a chance someone would remember the name and recognize her. "That... And I'm still not sure what team I'm on in this game... or how we score points." She spoke with a sheepish laugh, as if feeling a little ashamed she didn't know the goal of the game.