The Kingdom of Eonis

[Bloodedge]

Kou was rather focused on Miki while awaiting her answer. Whatever she said or did in response, he would know for certain whether she was a human or an in-game character. The start of her reaction was like something out of a series he would watch in his spare time, but it evolved into a full response which gave Kou a very direct answer. Miki was not from this world, but thought to stay here just as he did upon arriving. "I'm into puzzles. I had to lead my way into the answer without wasting the mystery," he said regarding his method of approach. Still, a sigh escaped him. He may have gathered the information he sought, and even had the luxury of interacting with someone who shared his out-of-world experience, but he also experienced the disappointment of potentially picking up a one-of-a-kind NPC. "Good job though, dude. Looks like you spent a lot of time on that Avatar; I've never seen one so good. I was kinda hoping I could open up those dialogue options for a minute."

[Apollymi]

After her outburst, she was graced with a reply from Kou. He apparently thought this entire thing a way to figure out what he wanted to know, and thought it a puzzle of some sort. "Well, if it makes you happy~" the young woman said shrugging off his apparent strangeness. People were allowed to like whatever they wanted after all, it wasn't really that strange to enjoy puzzles. But beyond this there was a bit of strangeness in this lad's reaction to her. Firstly he claimed that she must have spent a great deal of time on her avatar, and referred to her as dude, such a thing was pretty normal considering most people who played video games in great amounts were male. Still something about that compliment made a small blush come to the young woman's face and she turned her head just a bit. "Dude?" she questioned this word choice only to think about it and realize why it might have been. His last sentence about how he'd wished to start those dialogue options made her feel strangely. Since they were both here together and probably stuck indefinitely, and they'd already committed to travelling and adventuring together - which was almost more binding in such a situation than anything else - she felt the need to confess something important. "Ano... this is a face scan. It took me a while to decide on hair color but I just look like this... so thanks," she said bashfully. She was the type of person who enjoyed compliments as much as the next person, though in-game she avoided revealing her status as a female because of how crazy people acted. She was already in a foreign world and felt no need to hide something so trivial. She thought such a thing would make it obvious without saying, since he enjoyed his puzzles.

[Bloodedge]

Following what Kou said to Miki, he witnessed the Avatar's face turning red with what he could only assume was embarrassment. Nothing could have been more queer than this reaction until Miki questioned his use of the word 'dude' when addressing her. 'Wait... no...' he thought, beginning to have it register in his mind that this wasn't a male-controlled Avatar. What's more, Miki confessed to using face-scanning technology to create her Avatar, changing only the hair color from her normal appearance. Kou's eyes widened quickly as he realized he'd been talking to a girl all along, and had accidentally been far more direct than he would have intended to be normally. "I uhh... yeah, well..." He stumbled over his remaining words until he suffered a total loss and the reddening of his own face, which he aimed to mask by turning away quickly. "Okay! Next quest, hup two, movin' on!" was all he could manage as he took long strides into the kingdom. 'Holy shit, I just said something out of line to a girl way out of my league!' he thought during this series of forward movements.

[Apollymi]

After confessing to having been a girl in more than just this avatar, Miki was confronted by a rather strange reaction in Kou. The lad seemed to be thinking about something and went on to stumble over several words as if he was trying hard to justify what he was saying. She didn't necessarily care about this, she expected such things, and she didn't have anything negative to say about the lad in their interactions so far. She could hardly blame him for wanting to carry on any of the romantic options that an NPC would have presented, especially considering it was only natural for him to think she was one as well. "Ano..." she started to try to say something, but the lad seemed content to move along. She'd seen the blush on his face, and wondered if perhaps something about this situation had embarrassed him as well. Regardless of the interactions to come, she couldn't say she disliked the idea of this lad so far, and his avatar was cute. Though she didn't know what he looked like originally, she'd been assuming it wouldn't matter much at all. 'Hm, I don't know what to say... but I couldn't not tell him I was a girl,' she thought to herself. "H-hai!" she said easily catching up to his movements towards the Kingdom. She was alright with them moving on, and had enough extra goods to sell that she wasn't particularly worried about the initial low cash payout. She was however a bit worried about her companion. "You're okay right, Kou? If you're the only person I know, I can't have you freaking out on me..." she said gently aiming to put any awkwardness behind them, not that she understood what his issue was at all.

[Bloodedge]

Forward and forward Kou went, content to move on to the next quest without acknowledging this situation at all. Perhaps in doing so, he could avoid it being brought up again in the near future. Sadly for him, Miki decided to confirm his mental stability from their most recent exchange. It was fair enough to say that them knowing only each other from the human world was reason to worry for one another's safety, but Kou was struggling to find the best possible answer. There was, however, something else on his mind the moment Miki referred to him by the name Kou. He suddenly remembered the moment they introduced themselves, when he intended to offer his given name as a human... and forgot it in exchange for his Avatar's name. "Yeah, I'm not freaking out. Say... what's your real name?" he asked just to be certain whether the situation applied to him alone, or if it affected anyone who crossed into this world.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Kou as well enough at least to answer questions. Though not directly, still because she was the sort of person who'd not let something like that get in her way, she'd aim to be helpful. He claimed he wasn't freaking out, and this was enough for her to feel like they could be alright. The secondary part of his question gave her a bit of pause. "My name... is... K....Miki..." she said, her mouth forcing her to stumble over the name of her avatar. "Oh? That's weird. It's like my name is fuzzy to me. Actually, now that I am trying to think about it, a lot of things are kind of fuzzy to me. I remember playing this game... a lot. And I remember stuff about the game... but I can't recall... stuff about me. Not really," she said while trying to think of herself a bit more solidly. Still she couldn't actually get her own name to come to the forefront of her mind, nor could she recall what her life was like in the time before she started playing this game. "Can you remember your real name?" she asked of him, wondering if it was simply the world at large trying to force them to integrate.

[Bloodedge]

As they moved deeper into the kingdom, Miki suffered the same fate Kou experienced earlier in the day. This came with an explanation of what she felt in her mind when trying to think of her human life. That fuzzy feeling was present in Kou's mind as well, and he also couldn't seem to remember his mind or much about his life. "I feel like I remember my name, but any time I try to think of it, it's gone. I can barely even picture what was around me while I was playing. It makes me wonder if we're here for a limited time, or forever. I'm pretty sure I didn't die back home or anything." Soon, Kou stopped in front of a quest board which happened to be the same one previously accessed by Miki. He viewed the list of potential quests, recalling their earlier discussion about the next leg of this adventure. "Are we sold on Orc quests? It's a long path; I'd vote for picking up a mount before going all the way over there."

[Apollymi]

Miki was less than surprised that this lad was experiencing the same type of fuzziness around his memories that she was. "Ah, I see. I figured it was just me because I was playing before as a VR experience. When I first showed up here, I thought maybe I'd just gotten booted from the game..." she said thoughtfully. "I also wonder how long we're here for, but I figured I'd make the best of it!~" she said seemingly having a very optimistic overview despite the fact that she'd basically been snatched from her bed and thrown into a life she'd only been experiencing third person before this. As they reached a Quest Board, Miki also stopped and looked at it. Was she really sold on the Orcs, as her eyes traveled over the potential quests they were now capable of taking, and recalling the ideas that they'd discussed previously she gained a new and better one for their adventure over all. "Actually, I have an idea, though admittedly it might seem a little crazy..." she mentioned her own expression souring, though she wasn't displeased at all. "Since you've already done the Goblin Path, and I've already done the Orc path we could try one of the other ones. I was thinking... Lizardmen," she said calmly. "They are in a different area, and we could still pick up the mounts ahead of time, but it would make this adventure different enough for both of us to be worth while. Plus, the Lizardmen I am pretty sure will lead to something that will make the Experience Sharing aspect more worthwhile. And then we can both get newer stuff... as long as we're prepared when we head that way," she concluded. She knew this idea was a bit risky, since neither of them outright knew a lot about the kinds of enemies they'd be facing. She was content with this though, because it meant their new adventure would be a proper new one, and such a risk was one she was willing to take, for new loot and new experiences.

[Bloodedge]

"VR? That had to be a pretty expensive setup, even for this game to run. You're committed," Kou commented, knowing at least how much one would have to pay before being able to play a game this demanding in virtual reality. They were of the same mind when it came to milking this world for what it was worth, for however long they were stuck here. Kou himself, even without clear memories of human existence now, knew there was hardly anything holding him to his home in Japan as it was. So, they would continue questing. Miki produced the idea that the pair of them undertake a new sort of adventure involving Lizardmen, since they'd finished two separate paths in their own playtime. He had originally avoided seeking the Lizardmen since he wanted to save the superior challenge to Goblins for later, but he also didn't have a single proper party member at the time. "Lizardmen are in the marshlands part of the map, yeah? Movement is gonna be hard, and they'll be really fast. I don't think they're as far away as Orcs, so I guess we've got a choice between gear and a mount. Or maybe you had something else in mind?"

[Apollymi]

"Of course, I wanted to have a good time..." she said. The expense of the system she'd originally played this game on, wasn't something which registered within Miki's mind. It like most things she owned, was simply a means to an end. She didn't much care about cost, because she'd been raised not to, of course, she still realized her own hard work was necessary which is why she didn't mind playing her purist runs or not purchasing the DLC before she completed a playthrough of the game. As they approached her idea about how to take on their present leg of the challenge, some logistics were being discussed, basically trying to figure out how to work out what they had going. A party of two should have an easier time of it. "Hai, they make their home in the Marshlands. I'm not sure what's beyond that though, but it's part of the adventure. As for what we do between gear and mounts I think we should still do both," she mentioned to clarify what she thought on this matter her hand came to her chin and she appeared to be in deep thought. "To be fair, we could spend money on getting the two mounts, the Filolial and the Winged Dire Wolf. At the very least a trained Winged Dire Wolf, will work as a third member of the party if it's leveled up properly, and the same could be said of the Filolial," she mentioned. "If that is where we spend the money, we could gear up doing blacksmith quests... I don't know where one is from here, but that would be an easy way to train the mounts and still get the necessary gear to take the Lizardmen. If you're okay with the grind of it..." she said. The path Miki offered was considered to be pretty arduous but she'd taken a similar one against the Orcs when she'd been going at it alone. She felt the long term rewards would outweigh the initial longer time spent grinding for gear and money. Additionally it would give them time to learn a bit more about the world at large and give them a good footing to higher levels.

[Bloodedge]

"Sou ka," Kou replied. It was rather interesting to him that a girl gamer had the wherewithal to go out and purchase a virtual reality setup to use with such a game as Age of Eternity. As Miki spoke further, he found himself staring absently at her and thinking about this rare occurrence. 'Is she really a girl, or is it one of those really weird guys? If she scanned her face... there's not a single blemish or discoloration. I have good skin because I have OCD, but girls who put that much into their appearance are never gamers,' he thought. Meanwhile, Miki went about explaining her plan to gain mounts and gear before approaching the Lizardmen. The way she thought to approach the situation was very 'grind friendly' for a gamer of the female persuasion, but if she was truly into such a thing, he had another idea. "That is a lot of grinding. If you're willing to do that though, I data-mined an Ultra Rare Mount that can only be picked up from another player now. Maybe even with us being in the game, we can check out the Auction House and see how long it would take to get one. Think that's worthwhile?"

[Apollymi]

Whatever misgivings Kou was having about Miki and her actual status as a living breathing female gamer, there was a bit of silence between them and it allowed her mind to wander. 'I wasn't really put off by the whole warthog thing... but I wonder if the world is level appropriate. Seems like if it is properly real this adventure could get scary...' the girl's mental tirade was cut short by an apparent idea that was had by Kou. "You data-mined the game? That's pretty cool... I didn't know real people actually did stuff like that..." she mused only to realize she had no idea what an auction house would be in this version of the world. "I heard you could get some pretty good deals at auction houses. I wouldn't mind something like that, especially if it'd save me a bit of money. But... do you know where it is?" she asked. The idea of an Auction House was something that allowed players to interact with each other and trade items they didn't need for coin or other items they wanted. Such a place might not actually exist within a world were the things they were looking for were standard. Though... it seemed like it should legitimately. As she thought this over her expression shifted to that of a scowl, but she was truly just trying to figure out if such a thing existed or not.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course," he said about his data-mining of the game. "I figured this game had too many secrets for all of them to be let out. It just so happens that there was a closed beta before release, and they got access to something the developers decided they didn't want in the game. Only that original wave of mounts exists, so it'll probably be a ridiculous price... but I think it's worth having the goal early to know what heights to reach for," he explained, knowing this mount was something most players couldn't dream of having. In essence, it was almost a combination of the mounts these two had in mind for themselves. It seemed Miki was interested enough in the mount, but wasn't sure where the auction house was. Of course, he'd quickly become familiar with its location within the game, so he immediately began moving in its direction. "There's two things an auction house will do for you. It'll either save you a lot of money, or cost you a lot of money, depending on what you're looking for. Either way... it'll save you a lot of time if you've got the money for what you want." Before long, they would be stumbling upon the are he remembered the auction house being located. However, there was a very sketchy building in its place. "Well... that's new."

Whether these two thought to actually enter this strange building or not didn't matter at all. No, they would be greeted strangely from behind by a man shrouded by a hooded black cloak, sporting a purple scarf around his face to cover all but his eyes. "Welcome, Strangers! Got lots of deals for ya'. Come on inside!"

[Apollymi]

"I understand... I didn't play it in Beta... I did pick up the guide book when I woke up the other day though... I needed to know some things. And by some things I mean like all the things... I don't think I know anyone clever enough to data-mine, though. Well, I guess I do now... that's pretty cool," the girl said seemingly happy. She realized she never really got to discuss video game related things with other people. And it was fun to nerd out a bit, even in this rather limited way. Either way, it seemed this lad knew where to find this auction house, and as such she followed along with him as he went towards it. "Hai hai, at the very least it will give me an idea of the rarity of the stuff I am looking for," she said calmly. But as they approached this new building they were greeted by a sketchy man, and if she was being honest, this building didn't look altogether 'safe' either. 'Hm, I wonder if auction house is considered a negative thing in this universe. It looks more like a black market, from a light novel,' she thought absently. Still if Kou was content to approach it, she would as well.

[Bloodedge]

Kou thought he wouldn't have been very surprised if Miki had played Age of Eternity during its beta stage, considering the sort of setup she claimed to have been playing it on. Alas, she was also not a participant. "Data-mining isn't that special. It's probably the simplest level of coding, just going into the game's files and looking for words," he said just before his attention was grabbed by the male who seemed to be a merchant of sorts. In fact, his voice and the words he chose to use as greeting reminded Kou of something very interesting. In turning to look at the man, his eyes widened; there was no mistaking this individual. "Holy shit, the merchant from Resident Evil 4!" he exclaimed, though the man he spoke of had already entered the building. Whatever 'sketch factor' the merchant had initially was gone the moment Kou recognized him from another game, and he followed directly into the shop. Various covered cages were within, as well as numerous chests and crates, weapon racks, etc. "Got lots of goods in today. What can I interest you in, Strangers?" the man asked, to which Kou merely viewed a warthog tusk in his possession before glancing in Miki's direction.