Hiro Mashima's Story

The cool breeze of the night chilled Hiro's spine. He loved that feeling. Hiro was getting in some night training because of his amazing NightWalker skill. It comes in handy, considering that he's not on the same level as most of the other players on the 25th floor. Hiro looked up at the night sky of the Sunny Plains. For a place that is supposed to be sunny it sure had a beautiful night sky. Hiro looked out in the seemingly never ending plains. He saw a few Chimeras in the distance. He opened up the menu and traded out his Red Reaper Scythe for his Death Dancer Curved Sword. He held it in his hand and looked down at it.

"The sword that got my brother killed..." Hiro held it tight as he mumbled this to his self. He activated his stealth ability and began to sneak up on the Chimera's that prey the landscape. As Hiro got closer, he noticed that there were three standing in a triangle. They were just lingering like NPCs do. Hiro snuck in the middle of them, and thanks to his high level stealth, being in the cover of night, and his night vision. He readied his sword spin skill and when he did, his stealth deactivated, causing the chimeras to charge toward Hiro. Too late, he already had his 360 degree skill ready, and he jumped in the air and cut off all three chimera's heads. His NightWalker skill making sure that they all 3 died.

Hiro sheathed his Death Dancer and looked at the loot he got. Nothing too special, but he did get extra exp for the triple kill. Hiro gave a faint smile as he examined the area, looking for more mobs to kill. However, there were none in sight. Hiro thought to his self and he approached a lone tree in the field. He activated his Stealth skill, and laid against the tree. He pondered what he should do, why was he here, and where to go to next. The night had only just begun...

Hiro has been sitting at the tree for a while. The mobs are staring to respawn. Hiro let out a huge sigh, as he stood up. He opened his menu and scrolled through his weapons. He unequipped his Death Dancer, 'Enough training with that.', he thought as he re equipped his Red Reaper. As soon as he did, his Stealth deactivated. Although, there weren't any mobs that saw him. They were focused elsewhere. Hiro could hear the sounds of howling in the distance and the sound of grunts. Someone was training not too far off away from him. He decided to go investigate.

What came in sight was a brightly colored Swordsman fighting what looked to be two wolves and... a werewolf!?!? Hiro reactivated his Stealth, and just as he was gonna go help, he stopped. What came into view next surprised Hiro even more. A small bird-like beast flying around the brightly colored man. While he was distracted, the man seem to have already killed the bests that was attacking him. 'Hmm, not bad...' He thought to his self as he watched the man. He felt weird doing so, and what was even weirder was that the dark bird healed the man. Hiro instantly figured out what he was. A Beast Tamer. Hiro always wanted to be a Beast Tamer. To be able to have other monster companions help you while you fight. Sounded like fun. Hiro stood up to go greet the man but...

"Look out!" Hiro yelled, running over to the man, pushing him to the side and blocking the bite of a werewolf with the long handle of the Red Reaper. The werewolf chewed on the handle like it was a toy, wearing it out. This was bad, if he lost his best scythe, he would be in for buying a new one, and he didn't have the money to do that. The werewolf swung its claw toward Hiro, jabbing his nails deep into his stomach. Hiro grunted and swung his scythe down, cutting the werewolf straight down the center. The Monster dissipated and exp and drops popped up in front of Hiro.



He was in the red, that stab may not have looked like much, but it did more damage than it looked like it did. Hiro fell to one knee as he searched his inventory for a heal crystal. He looked over at the man for a second.

"You okay?" He asked him simply.

"What's your problem? ...I totally had that! Now I have to stay in here and prowl around *His voice raises* AT NIGHT! ...So that I can kill one more of these "bloody" NPC's, JUST to level up and be able to get some decent rest... Who are you anyways?!"
Morashi breathes, obviously out of breath and continues staring at the stranger momentarily before finally speaking again,
"...And yes, i'm fine." Morashi reaches his hand out to help the stranger, another unfortunate player trapped in this strange and mysterious video game world, up and off the ground.
The realization of what situation that this stranger may be in hits Morashi and he finally speaks, with his hand still out, waiting for the player to accept his friendly request to assist him.
"Come on, stand up and I'll have Daron fix you up, it will only take a minute. Looks like you're in pretty bad shape and I'd hate for you to waste a heal crystal when you were only trying to help me out. It would be wrong if I allowed you to do that, I'd might as well be an "Orange" player if I was going to do a dirty trick like that."
Morashi realizes he is starting to go off-topic, "Sorry, I'm Morashi. Beast tamer and 1-hand swordsman. Let's have Daron fix you up then, eh?"
Morashi smirks and awaits for whatever is to come from this stranger, perhaps the only other player that would be out fighting at night rather than in the day time, when the typical player can actually see his surroundings and know what is going on clearly.

Yuuna had by now managed to find herself wondering aimlessly in the dungeon. She was close to leveling up again. Her fevered rush to catch up with the lead group had led her to fight various assortments of wolf-related monsters in the area. Being night, it was hard to distinguish what was there or not. Sight alone was not going to be enough. As such, she kept a close eye on her mini-map. At the very least, this would indicate where monsters are and are not. However, it was odd to see what she currently saw on the map…

It isn’t unheard of to find parties wondering about at this time of night. After all, if less people were hunting at night, then fewer people would be able to find good drops from the monsters that only come out at such time. If this was the case, a few parties here and there could make a decent fortune off of what they found. This type of thinking always made her reconsider not becoming a treasure hunter… Either way, what she now saw, however was not a party. Or at the very least not like the usual parties she happened across. There were two small green dots indicated within the area. “I wonder what they’re doing…” Yuuna, speaking for the first time in some time. Her curiosity had bested her. She had to find out.

That was how she currently found herself, sneaking along the shadows as best she could. Her sneak skill had never been something she bothered with too seriously. She didn't feel it necessary at most times. However, now would've been a good time to have it leveled… She pressed her lithe form as close to the shadows as possible and glanced at the nearby figures, a beast-tamer and a swordsman from the looks of it. Perking her ear slightly, she attempted to overhear their conversation.

Hiro looked up at the brightly colored man, who introduced his self as Morashi. He didn't really know what to say to his gestures, and he almost wanted to ask if he was bi-polar, but he decided against it. He took his outstretched hand, and got the help up. He gave a quick examination at the Red Reaper's durability. 6/32. Not good, not good at all. He opened up his weapons menu and swapped back to his Death Dancer. He held it in his hand for a brief moment before sheathing it. Finally, after all of that, Hiro decided to speak.

"Thanks, this is very noble of yourself." Hiro said to Morashi. There are very few beast tamers in Sword Art Online, and even fewer that are noble enough to let other players get a free fix up. As bi-polar as this guy may seem, he seemed to be a pretty good guy. Just another player. "My name is Hiro." Hiro said, then added, "Scythe Master and Curved Blade user, a pleasure to meet you." Hiro held out his hand to shake his. He finished with, "Your part of the lead group aren't you?" Hiro was and wasn't part of the lead group. He would help every couple floors, then go help others stuck on the floors before him. That was just the was he operated. Hiro patiently awaited Morashi's reply.

Although he is completely oblivious to the eyes that are watching them, for his back is turned towards them. If he was facing them, then his night vision would be able to pick them up.

"Yeah, yeah i'm part of the lead group.", Morashi said calmly, "I assume that you are as well then."
Morashi motioned Daron, hiding behind his shoulder, to come forth and use his special ability in order to heal Hiro's wounds.
"So... Hiro- is it?", Morashi reassures himself that is the correct name and then continues, "Daron will fix you up now, it will make your body feel odd momentarily, but I assure you, it's all in your best interest".
Daron flies over Hiro's head and then starts to glow, the two just stand and wait as Hiro's health regenerates 100 health points per second and Morashi watches as the the claw marks close over and skin regenerates.
"I suppose you're good now". Morashi thinks to himself, "What is there to do now...?" Morashi finally speaks, breaking the haunting silence, "I suppose I should find a NPC to take out so I can finish this level, perhaps there is one in these very shadows around us".
Morashi, always taught to be kind, feels that he has to offer friendship to this player and so he asks him, "So, Will you be coming with me?"
Morashi opens up his party menu and sends the invite to Hiro.

“The lead group…” Yuuna squeaked slightly as she spoke the words. She clasped her hands over her mouth and peered at the two once more. It wasn’t any wonder that she was behind in level then… If even the lead group trained at night. Being completely honest, it bothered her slightly. “But perhaps…” She muttered to herself, her bad habit of rambling on in thought making its appearance. “What if I were to talk to them? If they’re part of the lead group, this is my chance! But I’m not leveled enough… Would they mind? What if this is all just nonsense and they're really bad people? A green name could always turn orange…” As she went, her thoughts began to get more and more impossible in nature.

All the while, of course, she had happened to forget her current position. Yuuna was standing in the shadows muttered aloud without any concern for the fact that she’s supposed to be hiding...

Hiro shrugged when Morashi asked him is he was part of the lead group. He didn't know how to answer. Yes and no? Regardless, Morashi was a cool guy, or so Hiro thought so. His dark bird, pet, thingy whose name is Daron, flew over, and a magical aura began to cover the wounds of Hiro.



Hiro was fascinated by Daron's Healing abilities. It must have given this swordsman an edge on fighting. It had to have done so. Not having to use Healing crystals as much as the normal person? That paired with Battle Healing had to make for an amazing combination. Hiro's thoughts race as Morashi begins to speak again.

"I suppose I should find a NPC to take out so I can finish this level, perhaps there is one in these very shadows around us. So, Will you be coming with me?"

Morashi opened up his menu and invited Hiro to join a party. Hiro looked down at the invitation for a while. He thought, 'Should I accept it? I guess it has been some time since I partied up and hunted with other players.' Hiro's finger hovered above the accept button and....

“What if I were to talk to them? If they’re part of the lead group, this is my chance! But I’m not leveled enough… Would they mind? What if this is all just nonsense and their really bad people? A green name could always turn orange…”

The random rambling startled Hiro, and he turned around to see the Green cursor hovering above the shadows. Hiro let out a small sigh as he pressed the accept button and waved towards the cursor.

"How long do you plan on hiding?" He yelled out at the little shadow. May not be the best approach, but oh well.

Mirai

Dreameronthestars

||Floor 25||Sunny Plains||

||Healthy|| 1500/1500 HP||

None

A girl entered a shady bar,hood on, face hidden, before standing next to a customer.
Tapping against the bar table, a small cup slid towards her as she took a small sip. But as her lips touched the glass's rim, she mumbled. "Anything new?" She appeared to be talking to herself, as she drank but the man next to her grumbled. "Do you think I'll give information for free?" The girl chuckled softly in response, her hood slipping off, revealing long tail-like hair and strange blue eyes. Her signature. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised, seeing how I saved your butt million of times."
The man remained silent before sighing in defeat. "Fine, just for you-" He breathed, and took a sip of his own drink. "I heard a couple of members from the lead group are around the area, it'll be nice to join them in a party..Mirai?" As he turned to look, he saw no one in the chair and he quickly noticed a hooded figure leaving the bar.
With a lift of her hand, she gave a curt wave. "Thanks Breaker!" And with a quick run, she shouted something else. "Take care of the bill for me, kay!?" With this, the information breaker gave a cursed sigh and shouted after her, but she was far gone. Meanwhile, Outside of the bar, the girl introduced as mirai, was maneuvering through the crowds and towards the sunny plains, hoping for a strong party. 'Lead group eh...?' Mirai pondered on the info, before she used her speed to virtually disappear in almost a blink, her black hair leaving a slight remembrance.
Soon, after much slashing and dicing, she appeared near a couple of sources that appeared to be other players. Hopefully. Looking through the shadows, she used her tech, hidden which was used to be harder to sense. Though she saw another hiding, but she was already found, while two males were accepting each other as parties. Her eyes narrowed in a squint. 'Lead group...?' Watching from the shadows, she felt her eyes flare as they usually do when she was excited, a bright icy blue, which people tell her, seem to linger like a flame. But she called them crazy.
Not wanting to be found like the girl did and be some what humiliated, she stood, keeping her dignity, and held a neutral expression, but had a slight smile to it, just to be nice. "Have room for an extra member?"

Startled from her seemingly unending train of thought, Yuuna nods slowly in acceptance of her having been caught and steps out from the shadows. Her face was flushed slightly in embarrassment from her having been caught in her random ramblings. “I suppose not long…” She states in reply to Hiro. This was her chance, so she was going to take it. Pushing her obviously distracting thoughts aside, she smiles before bowing slightly. “I uh… overheard… that you were part of the lead group?” Her eyes glinted in excitement as she spoke the words. “Is this true? Can I come with you? Please!” She started in, her thin arms flailing slightly as she asked the question. However, she hadn’t much finished the statement when another showed up. A girl this time. From the looks of her, she was strikingly lovely and maintained a seemed to be rather serious. Yuuna gently rubbed at the gauntlets she wore before glancing over the lot once more. With a party of this caliber, odds are it would be fairly simple to level up. And better yet, it would be fairly simple to get on the level of the lead group she so aspired to catch up to.

Hiro led out a defeated sigh as he looked at the two girls that approached them. He used to love being in large parties, but ever since he got his NightWalker unique ability, he like to stick to going solo, for that was the best way for him to get exp. Then another thought crossed Hiro's mind. If he helped other people level up, then they could better protect themselves, and they could return the favor by helping him themselves. It was a win-win situation, and it filled Hiro's want to save people's live's. However...

"You have to ask this guy, he is the party leader." He points a thumb back to Morashi. He opens up his menu and reactivates his stealth ability and walks off ahead to start killing more NPCs. Hiro doesn't want to endanger anyone else's life, but since he just got real popular all of a sudden, he may as well help while he can. Besides, he still kind of owes Morashi for healing him and for Hiro taking his kill.

"Yeah, I mean I suppose two more doesn't hurt, I really need to get to combat though, so if you two are coming along..." Morashi sends them both party invites and then closes the menu. "Well, then hurry up and help me finish out this level!" Morashi looks around until he gives up and then shouts, "Hiro? Hiro! Hiirrrroooo!". Morashi shrugged and then scratched the back his head, and then his back, and then his forehead, and then finally he stopped scratching and just took a deep sigh, "I guess he has stealth, huh?", Morashi stated and then opened up his menu to see if the two players had joined his party or not.

Mirai

Dreameronthestars

||Floor 25||Sunny Plains||

||Healthy|| 7500/7500 HP||

None

Mirai simply glanced at the man who walked off, before focusing her attention on the two of them. They both appeared strong, despite the girl's cute appearance, she seemed to have a similar vibe as herself. Determination and strength. "Yeah, I mean I suppose two more doesn't hurt, I really need to get to combat though, so if you two are coming along..." The blue eyed phantom looked down at the invite, and with a easy movement, accepted. "well, then hurry up and help me finish out this level!" This got a small smile on her lips, as she mused at this mans actions. "Sure." Was her short reply, before walking ahead, patting the leader's shoulder. But as she left to go get some monsters, she made eye contact with the girl named yuuna and flashed a smile. However it disappeared as her back turned and her eyes flashed a brighter blue, leaving a transparent trail of the eyes color as she turned. Like a flame. Looking around, she made sure to slow her steps, so the others can catch up. Though earlier she heard something in the distance, maybe she should check it out... Maybe a valued monster with an item.. Or an event? But then again, they werent the only ones in the game. Suddenly stopping, mirai scanned the area. "The choices..."

Yuuna grinned, staring at the invite. With a swift flick of her wrist, she accepted the invite. 'Well, then hurry up and help me finish out this level!' The green-haired beast-tamer Morashi said, before calling after their other party member, Hiro. "Right!" Yuuna grinned, a somewhat intense look replacing the excited one she had mere moments before. This was it. She was ready. Soon she’d be among the best of the best. This is where her true strength would show! Her life in the real world was always in the back of her mind, but it lacked the excitement this world had to offer. She almost enjoyed this world… These thoughts, growing ever darker, were cut off when she caught the eye of Mirai, the other female within their group, she smiled swiftly in response. The girl had piercing blue eyes that almost intimidated Yuuna, but she refused to let that show. She smiled back, furrowing her brow in a mock-serious manner. As Mirai too disappeared into the shadows, Yuuna let out a slight sigh. 'Enjoyment in this ‘world’…' She thought, frowning at herself in disgust. It was somewhat of a morbid thought. With a shake of her head, she grins swiftly at Morashi as if to try to prevent him from noticing her earlier frown and headed off into the darkness after her other newly found comrades. "Just think about escaping..." She muttered to herself as she went.

(( Double posted ))

Hiro stalked to the shadows to look for some more Monsters to kill for exp. If was going to help them, it was gonna be at nighttime, for he is not much use of the daytime. He may be one of the lowest levels among the group. It seemed as though the others back where he was before were having a conversation of their own, moreover they even joined the party. Hiro looked up at his name to see the names of the others who decided to join the party. Morashi, Yuuna, and... Mirai. He heard of Mirai before. The Blue Eyed Phantom. Not a big reputation, but one nonetheless.







Everything seemed to be going okay for the NightWalker. He may have unintentionally made new friends. He smiled to his self for the first time in a long time. Whatever happened from here on out will probably be with these guys. Hiro wishes the best for them, even if he doesn't say it. Slowly, Hiro is coming back to his old self. Only time would tell. Hiro looked into the dark night sky as the breeze chilled his spine once more. Of course, with his stealth active, you would have to have good night vision skill to see him. He looked back to see if anyone was following him. Apparently Mirai could see him and was following close behind him. She certainly did live up to her reputation. Until the rest caught up, Hiro stopped so that the rest of the party could catch up. He turned around and faced Mirai.

"The infamous Blue Eyed Phantom, what brings you out here in this time of night?" Hiro decided to make conversation while everyone caught up.

Morashi sees that he is now in a party of four players. He quickly sprints to catch up to the others as Yuuna does and then hears Hiro speaking, "The infamous Blue Eyed Phantom, what brings you out here in this time of night?".
Morashi catches up to them and joins in, "Blue Eyed Phantom?" He inspects Mirai, "Her eyes..." He stops suddenly as if unable to speak or not knowing what to say and then he covers his mouth with an expression of amazement.
Just as he starts to speak again a NPC catches his eye in the distance, "Shall we?" He points over Hiro's shoulder and then he unsheathes his weapon and keeps his eye on it.
He tries to determine what it is and after a moment of inspection he gives up, "Anybody able to tell what that is? It seems to be stalking us and it's prowling this way..." Morashi shrugs, "Wolf? Werewolf? ...Anyone else have some ideas or perhaps we should just go ahead and approach it - I'm sure whatever it is we can handle it, besides, we have the 'Blue Eyed Phantom', Right?" Morashi smiles and looks at his party members to make sure they were as inspired and as ready as he was, he then raises his unoccupied fist into the air in hopes to make the moment more inspiring and then takes a step towards the shadowy, stalking figure.

Mirai

Dreameronthestars

||Floor 25||Sunny Plains||

||Healthy|| 7500/7500 HP||

Yuuna, Hiro, Morashi

"The infamous Blue Eyed Phantom, what brings you out here in this time of night?" Mirai stared at Hiro, studying him with her more intimidating eye, despite her small form. She mused. 'Seems like im popular..and by a unique user too' Feeling the need to answer him, she did.
"Fun and the need for the feel of adrenaline calls for me, Unique user." She quickly replied as if she told many that frequently. And she did, but it confused many, for they thought of the need to survive was more important than the need to experience. But she knows the sad truth that will happen to her in the end, because SAO wasent the only thing effecting her life. But before thinking anything else, she snapped her head back as she heard the distant sound of running. Zack. She relaxed, but noticed his expression. 'Must of heard us..' "Blue Eyed Phantom?" He inspects Mirai, "Her eyes..."
Mirai let out a snort of amusement, and rolled her eyes a bit. "I still dont understand the nickname.." She heard that it started from the fact people saw her hunting in the night on the first week of SAO. People actually believed that she was some sort of event phantom and started attacking her for some "prize"... her enemies at the time used it against her. Another rumor was that it represent the determination within her or something corney like that. But she was told that it was fading, only slightly, and well she believed that it was the flame of her life. The life line. Though she didn't mind it.
Looking at the other two, she pulled her long black black blade from her back, and held it against her shoulder. "Anybody able to tell what that is? It seems to be stalking us and it's prowling this way..." Morashi shrugs, "Wolf? Werewolf? ...Anyone else have some ideas or perhaps we should just go ahead and approach it - I'm sure whatever it is we can handle it, besides, we have the "Blue Eyed Phantom", Right?" Mirai smiled a bit, her icy look melting. "Count on me." She replied, as she looked around for Yuuna, worried but looked ahead at the stalking silhouette.

By now Yuuna had dismissed her earlier thoughts and thoroughly refocused her attention to the matter at hand: leveling up. However, upon catching up with her comrades, it was apparent that something was up. They had all drawn weapons in preparation. Not bothering to even ask, Yuuna readied herself as well. Albeit, all she had to really do was raise her fists into a fighting stance. She was, after all, a fist fighter. Someone who had grown attached to close combat fighting and preferred the excitement of pummeling things without use of a blade. ‘Wolf? Werewolf? ...Anyone else have some ideas or perhaps we should just go ahead and approach it…’ Yuuna perked her ears slightly at this. Though she hadn’t bothered raising her detection or night-vision skills much, she did indeed boost her listening skill. She placed a finger to her lips carefully. “Sh…” She mutters softly as she listened intently. Her began her process of analyzing the sounds carefully. Her thoughts whirred as she went. From the sounds of it the creature’s movements were quick, yet the sound of the ground crunching beneath its steps indicated it was quite strong in build. It seemed, however, that she was unable to place the sounds of the beast, which likely meant that it was something she had not yet fought before. “Hm…” She began after a moment of hesitation. “I can’t place it. Whatever the case, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get closer.”

Taka could not believe his bad luck. It had only been seconds since he left the clearing before he encountered a large group of werewolves. He hadn't done anything other switching to his second sword, Lying Snake, before meeting the npcs. His health had taken a minor blow in the encounter, forcing it into the red zone. And would've been thoroughly depleted hadn't he risked a second hit to get away from the monsters. Swiftly, as his virtual body was passing through the woods, Taka's mind rapidly became clouded with negative thoughts of death. Maybe its my fate to die, he thought for a second, his virtual body ducking as he passed underneath a large branch. It might have been fate, but he wouldn't let himself die after just reaching lv 40. It be a waste of time, and experience if he did.

Now, as he leaped over a small bush, and rolled underneath a fallen log, Taka could see that he was near a clearing. It would provide him with one or two, if he was lucky, advantages. The wide area could give him extra mobility, which he could use his roll around and cut style to help him kill the beasts. Though, the advantage that the clearing could provide, was help. If there were some players in the area, Taka could call out for help, and hope that they could come to his rescue. The chance of this happening was slim, but he'd have to risk it.

Getting up off the ground the black haired boy raced passed the tree's and would've made it to the clearing, unscathed, if not for a lone werewolf getting to close. The beast had raked it's claws along Taka's right shoulder, and back, sending him through a small bush and into the opening. His body lied motionless, before it all registered and he started to move again.



He did not have time to lie on the ground, near the bush, Taka quickly rolled away from the bush; knowing that the npcs would run through it. His roll last for thirty seconds before he got up off the ground and surveyed his surroundings. Delight ran through him as he saw a couple of players there, but knowing that his health was low, he only spoke in bits and pieces. "Werewolves .... 5 .... injured .... help .... coming.... no-," he could not finish the last word, as the monsters had finally arrived, but hoped they understood what was said.

Turning his head toward the bush, he saw that the group of 5 npcs were standing by the small bush, there large bodies breathing heavily, or as heavily as the programming they were made with allowed them. For a minute or two, they looked to have studied there new surroundings before charging at the players. "Good luck," Taka said before charging past them and going further up the field hoping that the wolves would forget about him, and go after the players.