Atlantis

[Bloodedge]

Kou looked on with nothing short of maximum interest as Miki explained her process of puzzle completion. When she spoke of applying math to its solving, his eyes had already widened as much as they physically could, solely due to how long she claimed to have taken. With his very intimate knowledge of his own creation, he already understood that there was only one way to complete the sphere in such a short amount of time. Luck had been taken completely out of the equation, as he'd designed it to ensure every move was only accepted when made with pure intent, based on a certain lack of fluctuation in Mana. Ill intent toward the puzzle would ensure it further locking itself, instead of even progressing to the next stage.

"You... used math to solve it in under a day?" he asked rhetorically, just prior to falling onto his back and bursting into laughter. "Haha! Sugoi, sugoi! You solved it like Rubik's Cube after all? I was wondering how you'd approach it when I thought it through. I guess I don't even have to explain the treasury either, since you've already picked up the Helix puzzle. That part is uh... I guess the real present. The coding is less complex, but I think it's more useful by itself than the treasure trove."

[Apollymi]

As Kou looked on with maximum interest in what Miki had to say, she couldn't help but notice the attention and feel a little embarrassed because of it. Still there was something here akin to shock, when Kou realized exactly how she'd gone about finishing the puzzle he'd given her in such a timely manner. "Hai..." she said tentatively to his rhetorical question. His laughter was a bit unexpected and the girl's eyes widened gently, but his follow up to that made a bit of a blush appear on her face and she turned her head a bit to hide it, managing to look more like her usual self than this body normally let her. She scoffed but it was a gentle sound, not the normally aggressive version she presented to people like Kaiba Seto and Karna. Still the lad had more to say, after finding out that she'd managed to clear out the whole thing very easily it seemed that what he intended was for this necklace to be his actual present to her. She smiled then thinking about it, she hadn't given herself much time to look into it before. "Helix Puzzle... huh? I've never seen one of these before. I sort of stopped doing puzzles a lot myself a long time ago. So, I've never really seen one like this before," the girl mentioned. She took a moment to have a longer look at the puzzle itself, it was shaped like a star with several holes punched into it, and a lock like piece of metal almost closed between the holes it was just big enough that one could slide it partially out but not the whole way while keeping one part of the puzzle stationary. "Sou ka... they are entwined. So you'd have to turn both layers simultaneously to eventually work the link outside of the holes, making them separate..." she said mostly to herself as she had been doing for the duration of her time with this lad in the room. Still unlike her general look and disposition normally though her face still seemed a bit terse there was a bit of light in her eyes, she looked more excited than normal even... it'd been quite a while since anyone had given her anything that made her think and helped her out so much.

[Bloodedge]

How very interesting. In truth, Kou hadn't expected his puzzle sphere to be completed so quickly at all, by anyone he'd ever known. Instead of being disappointed in his craft, though, he seemed elated to hear of it being completed with haste. Miki noted being inexperienced with the Helix Puzzle, though. That made sense. Though it was a puzzle that he was introduced to very early in his life, one couldn't expect many people to be versed in them. Upon sitting up, he prepared himself to explain the meaning behind the puzzle, but... he didn't have to. A light chuckle passed his lips; Miki had worked it out by herself rather easily. "Hai hai. You've got it! Since you finished the sphere so quickly, you shoul-" Suddenly, Kou found himself incapable of speaking. Four days had been spent unconscious, and that was after locking himself in a room and resting on food and drink he'd consumed over the course of the previous days. It was surprising that he'd even managed until this moment, but now, he had to get up, and he had to do so quickly. "Suman!" he blurted out as he leapt from the bed, dashing off to the restroom and swinging the door closed behind him.

He'd be gone for a couple of minutes, but something interesting occurred during that time. As he stood over a... toilet that could more easily be considered a hole protruding from the wall, he realized something about himself that was rather disturbing. He couldn't afford to mention this, but it quickly put a damper on his mood. "Kuso..." he muttered soon before vacating the restroom. Making every effort to keep his perturbed state from showing, he rubbed the back of his head while approaching Miki again. "Alright, so... four days," he said, scrambling through his brain to figure out if his intended topic would work when presented so suddenly. He knew what had happened to him, and he'd known about the danger before creating the items he gave Miki. Naturally, he also knew what he'd have to do to fix the problem.

What problem? He hadn't simply exhausted his Mana while meticulously working on the sphere. In straining it for so long, and in such an extreme way, he'd managed to alter the functionality of his Mana. The Saber wouldn't be able to properly utilize his spells until he went through some level of arduous process to correct the Mana flow within his body. Given his choice of Race when creating this Avatar, those options were even more limited than normal. "So uh... before we do anything else, I was planning on doing some training. I kinda wouldn't mind being a Witcher." Though his words were true, Kou had absolutely zero intention of going through the trials to become a Witcher prior to level 50. It was simply too strenuous a task to overcome as he was currently, but... there was a bit of motivation at the moment, considering he wouldn't be capable of doing much else in the foreseeable future.

[Apollymi]

Miki had given her observations of the puzzle aloud because that's what she did when she was alone. That being said the start of an answer presented by Kou made the lass' eyes widen gently. She had the nerve to be gently embarrassed but it seemed she was on the right track with her thoughts. She gently rubbed the back of her head while she kept the 'Treasure Trove' within her lap. Still she was saved the true embarrassment of this situation by Kou's timely exit. She'd figured being asleep for several days straight would likely make his first waking trip to the restroom an eventful one. Besides all of that there was still the matter of his constantly fluctuating Mana which thought it had calmed down properly seemed like it might make a problem pop up eventually. Still given his hasty exit she'd decided to get fully dressed and commit to one particular idea before anything else. Once this was done, she'd be sitting on her weapon pillow near the edge of the bed waiting for him.

Soon Kou returned from the restroom, looking a tad disturbed by something. Still she wasn't really the type to pry into the lad's inner workings and as such she waited. It seemed he did have something he wanted to say and in typical fashion of the lad, he eventually came forth with a topic slightly unexpected. Though he broached it rather casually, she felt that there was likely a more pressing reasons for him to state such intentions. "Witcher? That's a bit extreme... I mean I heard it was one of those things you might not want to try until you were higher level but..." she gave a bit of a pause. "I also should return to the Druids to finish up my training as a Gatekeeper, before it becomes obvious I've been taking the Lich King's Artifacts. And especially before the next potential part of the journey," she said softly. "Oh right, I didn't get a chance to say, Kaiba wants to go to the Sky Islands. Claims he has proof they actually exist and all of that. So him and Hisakawa have been working on a vessel to get up there. I didn't know if you would be interested in that sort of thing, but I figured helping them out while you were recovering could only benefit the group," she said. There was a bit more to it than that but she figured she'd at least be given the time to explain it properly. "We could grab a bite, plan it out before we go off to finish out our builds," she said in an open offer she'd planned to make even before getting to this point in the conversation. Strange though this was, she saw this as an opportunity to get an actual date in before they separated if that was what needed to happen.

[Bloodedge]

Just barely passable, it seemed. He couldn't have expected that sudden left turn to work out exactly as he wished it to, but at the very least, Miki had her own task to complete with the Druids. This could be considered something of a lucky break, but there was an air of awkwardness surrounding the scenario as Kou viewed it. "Hai. I just figured it'd be better to deal with it now, with or without level recommendations. You know?" Could he manage becoming a Witcher under these circumstances? Possibly. He undoubtedly would have preferred waiting, if taking the path at all, but he didn't have much of a choice. Other options involved sacrificing too much of his build, or reverting to level 1. Ah, but speaking of levels, there was another issue at hand. Even if he could fix his problem by undergoing the Witcher Trials, he had to be capable of obtaining Witcher abilities. His ability to store Mystic Codes had been capped since the Fairy Forest, all because of his Unlimited Bladeworks technique which didn't complete itself until he reached level 30. It was likely they had enough reserved experience to reach level 40 after the trials, but there was a barrier that needed to be broken first.

"Eto... I can't be a Witcher right now, though. I need more space. I'm not sure I can sacrifice any of the Mystic Codes I have equipped without messing something up down the line," he said. Hearing from Miki that there was a plan to reach the Sky Islands, he knew there was even less of a choice now. With that sort of thing coming up in their journey, he had to right this issue without hesitation. "Sou ka. I guess it doesn't take as much as I expected to reach that point. I didn't expect anybody to find out that level exists for a long time, but it never made sense for the islands to just be a myth. The game's level system would be incomplete otherwise." It was good to know for certain that the 'next tier' of the game - or world, in this case - existed. Even while giving this consideration, hearing of food triggered another physical response in the lad. His last meal was just as distant as his last bathroom trip, and as if responding directly to Miki's mention, Kou's stomach seemed keen on turning itself inside-out. He nearly keeled over on the spot. "Uh, yeah. Food, lots of... food. Good plan."

[Apollymi]

Miki heard what Kou had to say, and given their similar background, she knew the struggles presented by being a gamer with different actions in mind. "Hai hai, I totally get it. I trust you can get it done, no worries," the blonde lass had genuine smile on her face. Though she figured the lad was choosing to do this now for a very specific reason, she'd decided not to pursue it as a line of questioning. Of course, he soon went on to explain that even though he wished to become a Witcher. He claimed to not have enough free Mystic Codes to take on the new skills set. "Sou ka," she said thinking about it, given her own recent activities her Mystic Code was full as well. "I have a similar problem actually, we should probably be going to our Dragon Hourglasses," she said, thinking about it logically. As the conversation continued, Miki heard out the lad's thoughts on going to the Sky Islands, "I also figured it wasn't a myth. Kaiba is a lot of things, but he's not completely unreasonable or anything. So, whenever they finish their ship they plan to go..." she said, which likely seemed a bit to the contrary of how she dealt with Kaiba face to face in a conversation. That was fine though as they reached the decision to get food, she'd lead the way to one of her new favorite places to get food, leaving of course a place open on her pillow for him to join her, which she absently motioned to. If all went according to plan she'd take them both to the restaurant of choice.

Once again the pair would find themselves at an outdoor restaurant. They served everything here, though admittedly it was all seafood it came in quite a few varities. Including sushi which Miki ordered several different rolls of, along with sake and very strangely this place served a very particular dessert. Fried dough which this lad would be rather happy to see if he got around to ordering it. "So we are clear, we both need to; break the level cap, finish off and/or rearrange our Mystic Codes, and make it back to the group in time to hop on the boat up to the Sky Islands. Does that sound about right?" she asked between bites of sushi, feeling happy to have a taste of home.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, that'd be for the best. We should have portal access now that we also have Familiars... however that works out here," Kou said, recalling the existence of a hub teleport upon reaching level 30 in AoE, finally granting return access to one's starting region. All it required was a bound Familiar, which he supposed meant he'd be questioning his sometime after eating. For the time being, he hopped aboard Miki's mobile pillow to hitch a ride wherever she had intentions of leading.

Much consideration was given to the organization of his Mystic Codes during the trip. He really couldn't sacrifice a single line of what he had thus far, even though all of them were now complete. If he was right in one assumption, which he was just about certain he was, the islands in the sky would have multiple... interesting discoveries. He'd want all he had, and more, with that being the case. Whilst sitting before a large spread of sushi and, of course, fried dough, he gave consideration to the time spent on this future endeavor. It wasn't a very small window at all, but there was also no telling how long it would take to reach the sky properly. "Sounds about right, but I don't think it'll be much of a time crunch. Having the right transportation to go topside is one thing, but I doubt anybody with us has a good enough Riding skill to make it that far. We wouldn't have anything more than a faster mode of transportation for the places we can already get to, if that's what we end up missing."

[Apollymi]

"Right... I forgot about that. I never got around to getting a proper familiar before..." Miki mentioned. It could go without saying that the lad joining her atop her pillow gave her an undue bit of happiness. In fact, a happy light remained in the lass' eyes even as they sat before a spread of food fit for royalty. She was so elated that she was practically swooning seemingly excited by the food but that wasn't it at all. Finally something about this situation seemed to be quite right to her, and given this she couldn't be happier. That being said, this moment wasn't about Miki's personal happiness. Presently, their conversation was about the amount of time and their potential destination upon completing the next leg of their journey. "I don't doubt that they are putting forth their best effort though, Kaiba is exceedingly impatient. And having access to mechanic like Hisakawa well..." she paused thinking about it. "Even if they can't pilot it. It should be pretty interesting to see," she finished up with a happy smile on her face.

This was what she wanted, a happy date. Discussing fun new things, with a boy she actually liked. This moment had a large smile spread across the lass' face. She was more than ready to break into all of this food and share a meal without interruption with Kou.

[Bloodedge]

"Really? I figured you'd made it to level 50 too. Did you go analog all the way back to your starting dungeon?" he wondered aloud. It was an interesting concept, having such a luxury. Kou couldn't have manually returned to his point of origin if he wanted to. Between clauses, Kou was stuffing his mouth to the brim with food, failing to maintain any level of decency even compared to his normal state. His verbal responses took a bit of extra time as a result, as he kept having to chew and swallow before verbalizing... or at least chew to a certain extent. "Those two don't seem like the type who'd work together very easily, but they'd be a force and a half if they did. Whatever the thing is they're working on, I'm guessing it'll definitely be able to get the job done with the right crew," he said. This meal was... odd, in a way. Starving as he was, he consumed a ridiculous amount without an end in sight, though there was an unexpected amount of lightness in the air. He had hardly seen Kimiko enough to recognize her for quite some time after their meeting in this world, but he understood that her expression tended to be quite sour at a surface level. Seeing this expression of elation upon her visage now produced a certain, unexpected euphoria within Kou himself. He couldn't quite explain it, but it was there nonetheless. As he realized this, he thought ahead to the near future, and found the train of thought strange. "Huh. It's gonna be weird. Different intro dungeons, individual tasks. I haven't done something by myself since I showed up here. I think I got used to it."

[Apollymi]

Miki smiled she was now eating happily. Though she went about it in a manner which was a bit more dignified. This was simply a matter of never really doing so differently. Between bites she explained the circumstances of her travels as well as her previous experience in the game before ending up in this world. "It wasn't exactly analog. But I did like the views so I was fine with the extra travel. The Druid Homeland is the Migrating Vale. Because it isn't ever in one place by lore standards, you can always get back to it by approaching a Sacred Grove, Runestone Circle or a set of Sacred Falls. And while I didn't have a familiar I always had Youko, and one of his best abilities was that he could sniff out magical borders. So, it was kind of like travelling on autopilot, and we could make stops and I could check up on my business ventures," she mentioned. "I definitely was level 50 before I got here, it was the shining point of my weekend," she said with a chuckle. Though she didn't have too many fond memories of her previous life, being such a shut-in, gave her access to this place and to the lad with her and as such she was content. More so than she'd ever be able to truly communicate to anyone.

As they moved on in the conversation the topic of Kaiba and Bulma came up and it made Miki chuckle. "I've known them both since I was very young. But the fact that they work for competing companies meant I didn't think I'd get to see them work together without forcing the set up myself," she mentioned casually between bites. The business mind of the lass had been previously working on forcing such a merger even in their original world. To think she'd get beaten to the punch was a bit outlandish. "I was quite surprised when Kaiba barged in the other day with Hisakawa in tow. This world has made all kinds of interesting things happen," she stated as she continued eating. There was much lightness in this situation and even more than that. This conversation seemed to be very natural, the blonde lass not even bothering to hide anything about herself nor struggle to get her words out. She couldn't quite explain it, but unlike other times they'd spent together, this time felt as exactly the way she'd imagined it would. And that was that, as she was sipping sake out of a traditional cup, the lad mentioned that he'd gotten quite used to working with her and that their plan to do several things separately would be weird by comparison. She nodded her head. "Yeah, I had that thought earlier too. That is the reason I thought it'd be nice to share a meal..." she said softly, still that smile on her face as she thought back to the moments leading up to her meeting this lad. "I really psyched myself out the first time I saw you... before we both got to the pig farm. I talked myself out of talking to you, but..." she paused thinking about how that situation played out and how far they'd come since then and she couldn't help but feel a bit sheepish and giddy. Most people wouldn't realize the level of awkward this particular girl was, as it was generally hidden behind the things she knew and did well. But she didn't have a lot of luck making friends or acquaintances outside of business. And she'd never gotten around to finding anyone she thought she could relate to romantically. To find such a person day one of her adventures in a new world, was beyond anything she could have hoped for, even if they weren't officially a couple or anything, yet. "I'm really glad I met you. And really happy we've been traveling together."