IC contact post!

[experiencepoints]

[IC contact post for Drift Fleet!]

Comments

[experiencepoints]

... No. That... would be a bad idea.

[huaaaaagh]

I think you're confusing "bad" with "great".

[experiencepoints]

[she takes a sharp, deep breath. be positive, nightingale. positive. the truth and the only proper reply there is depressing as fuck, and also effectively the conversational equivalent of a tactical nuclear strike. there is no coming back from that. just move on.]

Anyway, magic is better. Hover is a spell I've been wanting to learn forever. And, we're here.

[pointing up, and they have indeed arrived at a large store. with a ton of shoe options, many of which are made for alien feet.]

[huaaaaagh]

[....Wow. That... sure is a shoe store. He's vaguely terrified.]

Should, uh. Should I wait outside?

[THAT'S TOO MANY SHOES, NIGHTINGALE]

[experiencepoints]

Just come in. Maybe you can find some decent equipment in here? I don't know what kind of armor you use, but...

[huaaaaagh]

Well... usually I just wear the light stuff, so it doesn't mess with my movement speed. So probably some sturdy combat boots would be fine.

[Now he's actually thinking about it. Could he find a nice dark leather coat somewhere on the station like the ones he usually wears in his games...?]

[experiencepoints]

Well, if you're going to find those around here, they're going to be here. Besides, with all the sci-fi stuff going on here, maybe there's some with better stats than heavy armor, but still managing to be light.

[huaaaaagh]

That's my favourite kind of gear. Armor never suited me at all.

[He's doubtful that anything here would have legitimate stat boosts - and without a menu available, how would he even tell? - but comfortable new equipment of any kind can brighten one's day. Especially if it's as cool-looking as it is functional.

In other words, he is convinced.]

[experiencepoints]

[how can you tell stats? you ask the actual JRPG standing right next to you, Kirito.]

We can start with yours, since looking for mine will be a lot easier. I doubt they'll be selling anything with magic stats in a place like this, so it's just mundane shoes for me.

[huaaaaagh]

[He doesn't think it'll work on him, okay or he just hasn't thought of that]

I... am pretty sure I'd be useless at finding anything special.

[He glances around the store, brows furrowing. So many shoes. His head is already spinning.]

They all just look like regular shoes to me...

[experiencepoints]

And that would be why we're not splitting up for this part.

I helped equip my party at home, I'm pretty good at this part.

[huaaaaagh]

In that case, I leave myself in your capable hands.

[SUCH TRUST]

[experiencepoints]

I don't know about "capable", but I'll avoid letting you get ripped off.

[let's go look at combat boots!]

[huaaaaagh]

Er, thanks.

[yay, shopping

his favourite]

[experiencepoints]

Well, don't sound too enthusiastic.

You can look for something funny, if you prefer. It helps make it less boring.

[huaaaaagh]

I guess we could look, but it would be weird for me to wear anything really flashy.

[Also, he would feel the burning stare of Asuna all the way from Earth if he put on anything too ridiculous.

BUT]

Wouldn't it be crazy if the shoes with the best stats were something made for aliens with chicken-feet?

[experiencepoints]

Don't say anything too ridiculous, or you might jinx it. Besides, speaking from experience, chicken feet don't really work well with shoes.

Hey, the best stats could come from something like this.

[She snags a display off the shelf- very strong combat boots. with a cat paw design on the bottom, to leave cat paw footprints.]

[huaaaaagh]

[.......cat shoes.

those are cat shoes.]

...Are the stats any good?

[He definitely has the priorities of a true MMORPGer.]

[experiencepoints]

Actually, they are pretty damn good. Not amazing, but you're not going to find much better for this kind of a price.

[She 100% understands those priorities, honestly.]

Yura would love these.

[huaaaaagh]

[cat shoes.

but stats.

but cat shoes.

but stats.]

......Right, then.

[He grabs a box of what looks more or less like his size. Fuck it, he's trying them on.]

Yura, your friend from home? She likes cats?

[experiencepoints]

[she can't even fault you, kirito]

Well, she'd better. She's half-cat, after all.

[huaaaaagh]

Ahh, yeah. I know a couple of cat girls who'd probably get a kick out of these, too.

[Honestly, he's kind of grateful they're not here to see this. But at least the boots themselves aren't, like, tiger-striped and fur-trimmed. Tacky gear with great stats are lessons in self-control. Back in SAO, when it was life or death, you always found people wandering around with dumb-looking armor combinations because it kept them alive. In other games, you could afford to be a little more vain.]

Wouldn't that be kind of like a human wearing shoes decorated with their own feet or something?

[experiencepoints]

Half-lion, if we're getting technical, but she 'likes kitties better'.

[She laughs a little at that.]

You joke, but I bet those exist, especially around here.

[huaaaaagh]

Well, there are plenty of humans who obsess over other humans in my world, so I can't really fault any other species for doing the same thing.

[He finally gets both shoes on, standing up and taking an experimental lap around the display.]

This ought to be a quest. "Find the most absurd kind of shoe in this store". How about the high-stat chicken feet with a human pattern on the bottom?

[experiencepoints]

And what kind of reward for that kind of quest? If I find something more ridiculous, do I get to see you wear it?