[Other FULL] «Sword Art Online: Sanctuary» [IC][T]

[<Challenger>]

(FIRST! xD)​

Taka the Lovable Poet: Level 13 - 30% Exp - 3200 Col
Failure is Necessary to Succeed​

Taka felt like he couldn't move his muscles in the slightest bit as the girl dragged him away. He looked up to her and flashed a smile. "Thank you, m'lady, but I'll be alright." He gestured to her blade. "I like your taste in weapon. I can relate to it." He gestured to Poetic Justice. The blade was very much like her Buster Blade, if not a bit shorter. "I can stand, thank you." He slowly pushed himself up. His legs shook a great deal, but eventually he regained his composure. "Now, it's time to finish this, isn't it?" He grinned and lifted Poetic Justice up to waist level. "The human body is an extraordinary thing, but the human mind is different. It tells you what you can, and can't, do. It gives you the 'limitations.' But you see, madam, one could do absolutely ANYTHING if you put yourself through the pain." He smiled and looked to the group attacking. The strange helmeted man, Turnip, had a rather interesting weapon, a self retrieving throwing-axe. Taka couldn't help but laugh. He was such an interesting man! ​

Taka looked once more at the girl and smiled. "I'm not going to sit back and watch." With that, he burst into full sprint, running towards Ilfang with a new, firey passion in his eyes. "I CARRY THE WILL OF SNAKE AND HAWK!" He roared with fury and drove the tip of the blade into the ground, propelling himself into the air. He ended up landing one of the shoulders of the beast, and noticed the lack of a helmet that had previously been there. I have to get a shot in! He smirked and looked around. Everyone was running around dealing damage to Ilfang. There's no way he can hold out much longer. He managed to duck a flinging arm. All the Bard could feel was pain. He was pushing himself too far! He gritted his teeth and muttered. "I can't give up!" With that, he took Poetic Justice in both hands and brought it straight above his head. The beast was thrashing about, so Taka was struggling to hold on. Damn it! Stay on target! Stay on target! A voice appeared in his head. Use the Force, Taka. Hebi? Obi-Wan? Nah. It's probably Hebi. "FOR HEBI!" He took his rage from the death of his friend, albeit it was long ago, and brought the blade crashing down on the monster's head. He slammed the blade down two or three more times before he tired out again. The next thing he knew, he caught a backhand to the face, causing him to go flying. ​

Funny...The Hawk is flying. He would have chuckled, but he couldn't feel his face. He positioned himself to where he would land on his back, and not on his face.. Not a moment too soon. Taka hit the ground, and hit the ground hard. He slid back a few feet and finally came to a skidding halt. He stood up, obviously in great pain, and looked to the boss. It couldn't hold on forever. Their constant attacks would surely bring him down. He leaned against a wall and smirked. "We'll be out of here sooner or later. A glorious song and poem shall come of this!" With that, he rushed forward once again and leapt into the air. "We got this!" He brought his sword, now glowing green, down to the earth, causing a small chasm to open up under the boss. Taka couldn't see the results of it, as he caught yet another back-hand across the face. He skidded back yet again, and looked to find his health at 10%. Damn. He almost got me. He stood up shakily and looked around. Everyone was taking hits. There's no way in hell we'll make it out of here... He spotted the white-haired player, as well as the hooded and helmeted ones. And...a little girl...Curiouser and curiouser...She seemed to be the one who took off the Kobold Lord's helmet. Bits and pieces of his armour were coming off. They would have him soon!​

 

[Crunch Punch]

»S C Y K E«
DAMON EAGLE
» Floor One
» XP: 42%
» Health: 100%
» Player (Level 13)​

Town of Beginnings (FL1) - Labyrinth​

"C'mon! We got a boss to beat!"

A boss…?

Scyke watched in confusion as the sudden elated blonde charged outside the shop, crashed yet again on someone before continuing to break it towards somewhere. Then a message popped up right before Scyke, which he instantly tapped on to read.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

The boss room has been located! Your map has been updated with info on the dungeon and the boss.​

The boss room… has been located?

Scyke lost his footing for a second, but managed to pick himself up just in time. His eyes were wide-open as if shock, as if he had a sudden realization. He slowly poked the screen in-front of him to put the message away, and just stood there for a second.

And then he ran.

He ran out of the store, barged past the guy who Shadow also had crashed onto, barged past anyone who was in-front of him, and just ran.

Someone… someone found the boss room…

Scyke crashed onto the floor when he speeded right onto a guy much bigger than him, but he couldn't care less. He just picked himself up and continued to run.

The boss… a chance…

He was now out of Town of Beginnings, and nearing the Labyrinth.

A chance… a chance to progress… after a month of being stuck in this floor…

Sckye was feeling the fatigue of his sprint, but he ignored it. There were more important things to worry about now.

A chance… a chance to redeem myself…

He had entered the Labyrinth now, and any monsters who were in there occasionally came out to attack Scyke. He unsheathed the sword and unleashed Frenzic Slash, slicing and smashing through anything who crossed his path.

Sam…

He was so near the actual boss room, that Scyke could see the ongoing battle inside. There was a group already there battling the huge boar warrior and it's minions, and the actual boss was already on three health bars. Scyke managed to, even though his legs wanted to give way anytime soon, quicken his pace, meaning that it was any minute that he would reach the boss room to join the fight.

Sam… I will avenge you… don't you dare worry about that!

And then he stepped inside the neon floor of the boss room.

Kill everything… kill absolutely EVERYTHING, Damon…

One of the spawned Kobold Sentinels leaped towards Scyke. Almost instantly Scyke jacked his out his Katana, pointed it towards the falling knight-like monster before the sword started glowing in brilliant yellow. Scyke's mouth curled into a small smirk.

And then he jumped to match the Kobold Sentinel's level before unleashing multiple slashes towards the helpless monster, easily crushing it into red pixels. Afterwards a few more minions charged onto Sckye, which he then readied himself by signalling the same Sword Art gesture onto them. His Katana yet again glowed yellow before it again let out Frenzic Slash onto it's unfortunate victims.

Afterwards Scyke managed to find time to pause and take a breather, before analyzing the situation around him. He didn't recognize any of the players, except for Shadow, who had just managed to attack the boss himself. Scyke thought about doing the same, but then refrained himself.

I can't go charging now… I need some kind of tactic so that I don't end up dead. But what can I do? I don't know anyone here except that blonde dude, and we've only barely met. I guess I'll just fend off the Kobold Sentinels for now, though we really need to think of something as a group or otherwise all of us will die in vain. Period.

 

[Sapphire Rose]

Lucina
Player level 14
Floor 1: Dungeons.​

Lucina was shocked to find Shiren being trown away towards the walls. She didn't stand up again but seemed safe there for now. Robin ordered her to protect Shiren but as soon Lucina tried to get away, Illfang would put his bone axe in her way. "I can't! I made it pissed!" Lucina shouted back at him. That's when she noticed that the poet almost got hit by the bone axe and that Kagome saved him. Godot also was in trouble as he seemed unconscious. Lucina wanted to get to him but what too late as Robin already brought him out of Illfang's reach. Lucina was relieved but saw Princess randomly charging too. This was starting to get a mess.

Robin ran past Lucina and trew her a potion. Lucina glanced at him, then at Robin again who was giving everyone potions. Lucina took a view at her HP which was still at 48%. If Illfang managed to hit her again a few times then it would be over for her, not only for her. Lucina glanced at all her friends within the boss room. She eyed Robin, Kagome, Godot, Princess and Shiren and then the kobold lord.

The next thing she saw was Robin getting hit in his left shoulder. He landed near her and shouted out "Damn...!" Lucina stared at him, then noticed that Illfang had targeted him and was about to hit him again with his bone axe. "Noo...!" Lucina quickly ran towards Robin and stood in front of him as she holded her blade horizontal above her head. You could hear Illfang's bone axe clash against her blade. Lucina used all her strength to keep the axe away from Robin. "Dastard...! Take someone from your own level!" Lucina shouted as she was trying to catch her breath. Lucina made the potion that she just got from him fall on the ground. "Take it! Your health is too far down! You need it more than me!" Lucina's voice showed that she was having a lot of trouble right now.

​

Illfang the Kobold lord

Illfang didn't know how much he was attacking anymore. He was so confused that he just started randomly attacking players. He kept focused on the hooded one though and the one with white hair. Those two made him so pissed that they aren't allowed to flee anymore. Then again... So did the poet and the girl. It was decided, those four weren't allowed to leave anymore... they need to die. Then he heard his helmet crash. "GRAAAHHHH!!" The pain in his head was unbelieveble. Some little girl had the urge to stab her blade in his head. He trew the girl away but then another boy finished the job. He somehow ended up unconscious.

The white haired boy started attacking him too. He already lost two of his HP bars and this was just annoying. He trew the white haired boy off him somewhere near the hooded one but not without hitting his left shoulder. Illfang tried then tried to hit him again to finish him off but the hooded one protected him. It was a battle of strength and the hooded one wouldn't give up just yet. He even dared to give his victim a potion. Illfang continued to push his axe against his blade.

---------------

Illfang the Kobold lord

Weapons: Large Bone Axe and ????
Level: 17

Special abilities: sending Kobold Sentinels and ????

HP bars: 2/4

​

 

[machomuu]

William Danielson||Godot & Kagome
Lv. 12||Floor 1​

"G-Godot!" Kagome yelled as Godot lay unconscious on the head of the kobold. There was nothing she could do to help him, though; she had to get herself and Taka to safety. Still, she couldn't get him off of her mind. Not only had he stopped the beast from attacking them, but he also managed to aggro himself, and an incapacitated aggro is always bad news. However, all proved to be fine as Robin jumped up and grabbed Godot, putting him in the company of Princess and her guild. "Nice job, Robin!" She yelled. Kagome was relieved, and she started to walk faster, but it wasn't long before Taka himself regained strength and took back to the battle.

Kagome unequipped her weapon and ran to Godot. It seemed that he was fine, he'd just overexerted himself. She turned back to the battlefield, and even though the beast was slightly disoriented, he was still dealing good damage to the players. Kagome looked at her health bar, as well as Godot's, and gritted her teeth. They still had full health. They weren't trying hard enough, and it certainly wasn't the time for either of them to be resting. Kagome looked to Godot with fire in her eyes and pulled out a piece of bread, broke off a piece, and shoved it in Godot's mouth and causing his Stamina to rise. "GET UP, DAMMIT!" She slapped him, and when that didn't work, she gave him yet another piece of bread. Kagome looked back just in time to see Robin wounded by the kobold. She fed Godot one more piece of bread, and this time, rather than slapping him, she threw him over her and onto the ground. She couldn't wait anymore.

Kagome rushed onto the battlefield as Lucina and Illfang were having a power struggle of sorts. There was no way Lucina could win, let alone hold out for very long. As she ran towards them, Lucina equipped her Buster Sword. Just before reaching them, she jumped (rather low, considering the amount of weight she was carrying), and brought down her sword on Illfang's ax, causing it to plant into the ground and causing Illfang to be pulled forward. She turned to Lucina and Robin and said, "Are you guys okay? That was dangerous." She turned her attention to Lucina and said sternly, "You could have been killed..." She then smiled and said, "But that was one heck of a save." Then, just as she was about to turn her attention back to Illfang, she felt a breeze. She turned around to see someone running up the ax, likely in an attempt to attack before Illfang could regain his grip on his weapon. She looked back over to where Princess' Guild was, and Godot was gone. There was no time to waste, THIS was the time to attack.

Godot ran up the handle of the ax, as quickly as he, and once he'd gotten to the kobold's hand, he jumped for a chance at a head shot. He was quick, but once he was in the air, he was vulnerable. Illfang took advantage of the opportunity and used his free hand to smack the swift warrior into a wall, dealing massive damage. Godot wouldn't have it, however. He used stabbed his sword at a diagonal angle into the kobold's hand, avoiding the attack and keeping him safe--but only for the moment. Illfang closed his palm and started to crush Godot. Godot growled in frustration and yelled in pain. Granted, it didn't actually hurt, but the unpleasant feeling of being crushed was indescribable. The response felt appropriate.

Illfang seemed satisfied, and with good reason. After all, having two swords stabbed and slashed into and through your skull repeatedly probably didn't feel good. This satisfaction quickly came to an end as he noticed something jumping toward him. Kagome jumped from the handle of his ax and yelled, "Meteor Blade!" Once again, her Buster Sword turned black and was enveloped in a red aura. She held the blade straight up, unencumbered by the downward force as she was last time, and slashed downward from his sternum to his stomach, landing on the ground. She landed on the ground, sighing and panting. Illfang howled in pain, releasing his grasp on Godot and grabbing his wound. Godot didn't fall, though; he was still lodged in Illfang's hand, and his health had gone down to around 35%. He was only able to move because of the small amount of space between Illfang's palm and his chest. He drank a Greater Potion, restoring around 50% of his health, bringing it up to 85%. Making small motions with his arm, he was able to dislodge his sword from Illfang's hand, and he was able to slide his way off of the giant.

Kagome, still not satisfied with her performance, said, "This...this isn't enough!" She unequipped her Buster Blade and equipped a tanto-esque dagger in its place. She made to re-climb the ax, but...it was gone! She looked back up to see that Illfang's attention was on her, and his eyes were filled with pure rage. He brought down his axe with incredible speed and power, but she hadn't noticed. Just before impact, Godot (who was falling after having escaped Illfang's grasp) used his Meister's Soul to pull Kagome towards him. This quickened his descent and lifted her into the air, but he underestimated the power of Illfang. He was hit by the bone handle, and with that, he was sent spiraling in another direction, his health falling as he did.

Kagome's eyes widened, still put off by all that had happened in the past couple of seconds. She hadn't been raised too high into the air, and she landed rather quickly. She looked to Godot, and then she looked to Illfang, and finally, she looked to her dagger. She'd been protected again...and that meant she wasn't trying hard enough. She retreated back to Lucina and Robin and said, "Guys...we need to finish this. Together. I have a plan on how to kill him, and I think that Lucina will be the key to this. I can do one last Meteor blade, but after that I can't do any more arts." She changed into much lighter armor. "Lucina, I need you to lift me into the air. Robin, I need you to take point. You can jump pretty high, so I need you to jump first and use an art of your choosing. Then, I'll Switch, and use Meteor Blade. With that, maybe...just maybe...we can send his health down to zero." She scanned the field and looked for Turnip, and yelled to him, "Hey Turnip, since you have a lot of power, I need you to distract him from attacking us!" She turned back to Lucina and Robin, with her thumbnail in her mouth. "We can't risk any more casualties, and he only gets more dangerous by the second. We need to finish this NOW."

 

[Satan.EXE]

«試練-PATP001»
The Adorable Katana Warrior

---

Boss Room

x

CHAPTER I,
Part IV:

---

"Aftermath"

.

Shiren watched in pure silence, her entire body unmoving despite her attempts. All she could do was watch as the battle ensued in the background. The foreground, however, proved to need much more attention. The sounds of battle were slowly turning to faint ringing in her ears as she lost focus of it, looking to her own Heads-Up Display. The results of her fatal attack on the boss were slowly settling in. It was slow, but her health was still shrinking down constantly. Did I... Overdo it...? I don't... She fought to keep her eyes open, watching as her yellow bar changed to red, and continued falling. I... I don't want... The red seemed to fade while her vision blurred, and as it got smaller it became too difficult for her to see through blurred vision. "I don't want to..." For a second, one that lasted many moments, her vision cleared, and all feeling had gone. As this happened, large text displayed in front of her on a red hexagonal box.

YOU ARE DEAD.​

"Die..." She finished, closing her eyes and exhaling deeply. Her body exploded into pixel shards, and remained in the air for several seconds, fading into an ash gray color before resting in a small pile where her body once remained. It seemed to form in a small hill on its own, and didn't disappear. In fact, it remained there, sparkling faintly near the wall, away from the rest of the battle. They were still warm, but quickly cooled until they rested at an icy temperature. The remains of Shiren, a pile of pixelated ashes, sat unassumingly, unmoving.

---

Shiren opened her eyes. She felt weak. She felt many things for once, but still couldn't move an inch. It was then that something appeared before her. Everything lit up from dark slate gray to a bright silver-white. A menu showed up dead-center of her vision, giving her only two options.

Reboot SAO_v1.2_PATP_001.EXE?
YES - NO​

There was something overlayed on this message, transparent and hard to see. She focused her vision, and she was finally able to see... Eyes? Bright, beautiful sapphire eyes. Confused, she tried to see the rest of it. Soft white skin, blue-black hair, and... Facial features. She was able to distinguish a face out of the entire thing, which puzzled her more. She remembered the prompt from moments earlier, and with her mind (at least that's how she assumed she did it) chose "YES". As the menu disappeared, her vision began fading to black, and her entire body felt... Tingly. It was a sharp pain that covered her entire body in waves, with most of the pain focused on her chest. Before her vision went completely black, she saw the face one more time. What horrified her, though, was that it didn't look like it had moments before. Bones seemed more visible, as if it hadn't eaten for weeks and the effects of malnourishment had shown up in a single moment. She wasn't entirely sure what was happening, or what exactly that option meant for her. She didn't even know what it meant. All of these thoughts disappeared, and she felt as though her mind had completely stopped itself.

---

The ashes, after one minute exactly, began to swirl about until they were floating in the air, in a perfect circle, rotating horizontally about three feet above the ground. They glistened and sparkled as they spun, and as the picked up in speed, the floor began a low rumble. They sped faster until they began to glow orange, and the glow spread larger and larger, until it was nearly impossible to look at directly. It was like staring into the sun, it blacked out your vision for a second or two, longer if you kept staring. Then, in the same moment, the rumbling stopped, the glow disappeared, and the ashes fell, no longer sparkling; they looked more like actual ashes, a light powder sprinkling onto the ground slowly. As the last piece landed, and explosion of flames burst from the ring, and a new figure appeared. The username read "火の鳥" no matter what language the watching player's game was set to or whether or not it was targeted by the player or not, and the diamond above its head was red, with the top and bottom edges highlighted in white. In fact, a watchful player might notice that it was the same kind of diamond that was hovering above Illfang. The silhouette of a girl stood beneath the diamond, shrouded by a constant flame that didn't cease to burn.

The figure didn't move for a few seconds, then made a sudden head movement, turning directly to Illfang, two green glimmers shone for a second where the eyes should be. The figure spanned its arms out to both sides at an upward angle, and the flames surrounding it expanded. The figure and its flames rose about five feet into the air and hovered. On each side, the flames spread to either side and expanded to very large proportions, slowly shaping like razor-sharp wings. Curved blades appeared at each "feather" an all glowed in different colors. From left to right, the blades seemed to glow from purple to red, simulating a rainbow. The figure's legs spread slightly, and talons appeared made of flame, followed by a tail of sorts. The green glow in its eyes shone brighter, and its gaze didn't move from Illfang. A flaming head appeared as well, as the figure stood in the center of the fire, which was uniquely shaped by flames. The swords lined long the bottom of its wings all shined and the room seemed to have an orange tint to it. This entire transformation passed by in about ten seconds or so.

The figure then formed a unique pose, with elbows outstretched, and hands pointed to its chest; reminiscent of a ballerina pose. The figure then began to spin rapidly, a never-ending pirouette, and the flames began to swirl just as quickly, the blades forming a circle at the edges and spinning like a saw blade. This tornado of flame instantly crashed into Illfang, the blades all clashed against his axe, which he held vertically to defend himself. The blades all slashed against his axe, flinging sparks every which way. Illfang was able to block the attack, and the figure landed on the ground. Most of the bird-like features left, so as it stood in a burst of flames, the bladed wings still spanned to either side. It stood unmoving for a moment, before immediately sending all of the blades hovering into the air. They all flew right into Illfang at different times, and only took a moment to attack and return, in a pattern that kept continuous damage on Illfang. It was only chip damage, but the figure was attacking at such a high rate that the boss' health was going at a slow and steady pace downard. Illfang powered through it though, bringing down his axe over the figure. The axe collided with a high-pitched clang and bounced back. A purple hexagon had appeared right where he had attacked.

IMMORTAL OBJECT​

Illfang seemed confused, and struck again.

IMMORTAL OBJECT​

This time the hexagon appeared, but looked cracked. It also phased and looked to be glitching for a few moments. After a third strike the hexgon shattered and the figure leapt back several feet, landing near some of the players who were aiming to take out Illfang. All of the figure's blades seemed to hover closer before it, all connecting and morphing into one weapon. A katana that seemed to shine in every color, and burn on the blade. It finished its transformation, and fell to the floor. On impact, it dug into the ground, even shook the ground as it did. Assumedly it had a ton of weight to it. The figure lifted the blade from the ground, and charged Illfang directly. The blade shined in a rainbow, triggering some sword of sword art, and when it reached Illfang, it unleashed a hellish flurry of attacks that couldn't even be tracked by the human eye. Illfang countered the energy back at the figure in some sort of countering move, and the figure was pushed backward. Not only pushed, its feet dug into the ground and it flew back and collided with the wall at considerable speed. The flames dissipated, the diamond changed to default color, and the username was no longer visible. The figure collapsed in its self-formed crater, and as the dust settled, a small girl sat upright.

Rubbing her eyes, Shiren coughed and swung her hand in front of her in an attempt to wave away the dust. Once it was away from her, she finally opened her eyes. They shone blue, and gleamed with innocence. She looked around, puzzled by just what was going on. It was in a few seconds that she caught sight of a huge, red beast, Illfang. She screamed in absolute terror, frozen in place. Her screamed continued until she ran out of breath. She hyperventilated and pushed herself against the wall. "Wh-what's that!? Where am I?? What's going on!?"

​

 

[Turnip]

Turnip
HP 77% | LV. 12 | XP 88% | Col 563
Location - Floor 1: Dungeons​

Turnip was surprised when Illfang's attention centred away from him – maybe he had to be more persistent in his Boomeraxing of the boss' face. Apparently Robin had drawn Illfang's attention, and took a nasty-looking hit to the shoulder. It was about to be followed up by a downwards strike, but Lucina managed to block the attack… somehow.

How in the Nine Hells is that possible? That's got to be one heck of a good sword…

He moved to help, but stopped when Kagome intervened, instead opting to attack the Kobold Lord's thighs some more. It seemed the others – including Godot, who was thankfully conscious again – had also chosen this time to attack. Turnip was pretty surprised that they still needed to be attacking this forcefully, considering the hits that had already been dealt; this boss had a load of health.

Illfang must live in a pineapple under the sea or something, he mused, because he's one hell of a sponge.

The kobold in question turned, attacking Godot. Godot fought back, but unfortunately, the boss seemed to have him in a vice grip. Not good. Turnip sheathed Composite Long Bow +1, only to draw it again in a Draw Steel to Illfang's lower back.

A wave of force smacked into the Kobold Lord, both from the lower back and the upper front – from the looks of things, Kagome had also attacked with a powerful Sword Art from the opposite side of the boss. The two combined attacks definitely had some kind of effect, and Illfang flinched visibly. Godot wasn't freed immediately, but after a short while Turnip saw the man sliding off of the beast. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only effect of the strikes; Illfang now seemed pretty angry, and hefted his axe in a strike at Kagome. Thankfully, Godot managed to grab her with… a fishing pole? Uh, anyway – he grabbed her and pulled her out of the way, though to many of the players' dismay, he was hit with the bone handle of the boss' axe and was sent across the room.

Turnip caught activity behind him, then flung a Pulse Edge at a few newly spawned kobold sentinels. A group of other players around the room soon took up the battle with them, attacking the weakened monsters, so Turnip left them to it. He heard a voice calling him – Kagome's.

"Hey Turnip, since you have a lot of power, I need you to distract him from attacking us!"

He spotted her, along with Lucina and Robin, near Illfang's front. Turnip was in more of a back-and-to-the-side position, so if he was going to give aggro support he'd need to be sure that the boss actually was focused on him.

Turnip called back, "I'll do what I can! Good luck!"

So now he had to draw the boss' attention, and keep it. He reckoned he could probably dodge well enough – he'd played Monster Hunter a good amount, and could take out Tigrexes and Yian Garugas while barely breaking a sweat; they were leagues faster than the Kobold Lord. Still, he didn't have three tries on this: failure was death. No pressure.

Turnip paused as a column of fire materialised somewhere near where Shiren had landed before, twisting, turning and swirling, rumbling the dungeon floor.

Uhh… I thought there wasn't magic in SAO… what's going on?

Turnip turned to the boss, and noticed that it seemed just as confused as he was. Something strange was going on here, and Turnip didn't like it. He turned back to the strange fiery tornado to see it explode, sending a wave of flame through the entire room – burning Turnip and several others. Turnip was blown back, severely damaged by the blast. He flipped back to his feet, then chugged a potion through his visor, seeing that the boss was occupied. Occupied with… a fiery-bird-sword-thing… wha…? The thing – whatever it was – had some kind of name in characters Turnip didn't recognise, and began beating down on the Kobold Lord, much to Turnip's relief. He was still kind of pissed off that the thing had burned him, but at least it appeared to be on their side. Was it meant to be a player of some kind? Turnip himself seemed to be somewhere between player and NPC, but he'd managed to conveniently miss out on all of the incredible power this entity appeared to have.

Illfang somehow managed to push through the barrage of attacks, getting a counter hit on the bird thing, granting an <immortal object> notification. Turnip, by now, had a relative hold of the situation.

"What is this?" He asked no-one in particular, "Hacks or something?" He looked around the room, "Is everyone alright? That fire blast was pretty punishing."

The armoured figure tried to spot anyone in a rough state, but was forced to stop when the impossible happened. The so-called "immortal object" was flung back by a strike from Illfang, somehow beaten. A strange sword formed together and implanted itself in the ground as the formerly firey-bird-sword-thing landed roughly, smashing into a wall. As the dust settled, Turnip could see the form of Shiren – what in hell had she done to pull this off? And how had she failed?

Turnip shook himself. There was so much weird stuff going on, but Illfang wouldn't wait up for anyone. The armour-clad player had an uncanny knack for shrugging things off and continuing as normal, and he'd be damned if this situation would be any different. Not many people looked in that good of a position to fight now, anyhow – even less than they had been before the fire wave. If aggro support was needed before, it was definitely needed now. He just hoped he could count on Kagome, Lucina and Robin to pull off whatever they were planning.

Turnip readied himself, then made to aggro the boss. Thankfully, being annoying was something he excelled at, especially when he put his mind to it. Boomeraxe was handy, too, and he knew more-or-less where he was with the weapon now. Granted, he hardly had any finesse with it; but he could throw and catch it well enough, and the Kobold Lord's head was a pretty big target.

"Hey Illfang, you big bastard!" He yelled, launching Boomeraxe mercilessly at the boss' eyes and face. "How about you try and take me on? You can take some fire-bird-sword-thing, sure, but I've taken dragons, demons, wyverns – gods, even; there's no way I'm losing to some prick-faced kangaroo with a MacDonald's addiction!"

 

[SylveonStar]

Maria Renée {Princess}
Guild: The Flaming Blade
Level: 12

Maria took a deep breath still upset and still running on adrenaline. She wasn't aware of what was going on around her. Of Godot being unconscious then regaining it, of Shiren, even of her own health falling to 2%. "Princess!" Zeus called out as he and Poseidon reached her side. Right away Zeus pulled out a potion and used it on her, Maria's health going back up. "Princess, we can't lose you too" Zeus said quietly snapping her out of her thoughts.

Realizing she only had one dagger she looked at the boys. "give me a boost like you did earlier, this time the both of you" she said.

Poseidon looked doubtfully at her. "Now boys" She added firmly before looking at the others who were fighting Illfang. "I can do one more Sword Skill! Then I can't do anymore" She yelled at the others before looking at her remaining two guild-mates. "Now Boys, be careful"

"You too" Zeus whispered as both boys lifted her up flinging her up into the air. Due to the fact she jumped at the same time, her small size and the boys strength added together shew went up rather high. Holding onto her remaining dagger. "Leaping Tiger!" She yelled. Her dagger turned deep orange, and as she started to fall she threw the dagger at Illfang. It was just her luck that instead of landing on the ground she landed on Illfang's shoulder. Oh no she thought eyes going wide.

 

[ShinyDiamond]

Robin - Lvl 10
Floor 1: Boss Room

​

This is crazy. Illfang is still alive, those health bars barely depleting. Either this game cheats, or they're all just too weak. Many players still charge at the boss to survive, including Godot & Kagome. None of them want to die. Not even Robin wishes to die. He won't give up until the very end. The day he truly falls in battle is the day he dies. The game can literally make that happen. Robin, with his pride at stake, wouldn't lose just yet. Not today, not against a kangeroo boss, not even against his sentinels.

Robin examines his HP. Half of it was gone, he counts himself lucky. He focuses back on Illfang, who was about to bring his bone axe on Robin. Had Lucina not block the strike, Robin surely would've been dead. Her potion falls to the ground as it rolls over to him. Lucina quickly advises him to take it as she was pushing back against Illfang's axe. The way she was holding out against the large weapon, she was either strongwilled or stupid. Robin hastily takes the potion back, but does not drink it. He watches how Godot gets knocked away by the handle of Illfang's axe. At this rate, they'll never finish the boss off. Kagome regroups with Lucina & Robin to formulate a plan. Robin would be first, just after Turnip distracts Illfang. Robin wasn't sure about this plan as it was too risky, but they were running out of options.

Before Robin could reply to Kagome, he notices something strange. He looks over at Shiren's location, & she was gone. There was nothing but a small hill of her remains, which was very odd. Then suddenly, they starts spinning together. It was too bright for Robin's eyes, forcing him to turn away. He felt tingly all over, then checked his HP. Down by 2% of HP. This is not good. After a while, what was floating was a phoenix-like girl. Robin was shocked & confused. Was this part of the death penalty? The figure attacks Illfang with attacks unimaginable. No mere player could pull off moves like that. When Illfang throws down his axe on her, a strange hexagon message appears.

Immortal Object

Again Illfang strikes.

Immortal Object

This was very shocking. The battle continues, pretty soon the figure loses & reverts back to the little Shiren Robin knows. Something was wrong with her. She seemed so scared, so innocent. Didn't she die? This game doesn't give players extra lives, so why is Shiren still alive?

Focus, Robin! Robin focuses back on Illfang. She can worry about Shiren & the injured later. He notices Princess on Illfang's shoulder, suddenly frightened being up there. Robin sighs, seeing another victim in danger like Godot. Turnip was distracting Illfang as planned. Robin's turn. Before doing so, he runs by Lucina & throws her back the potion from earlier. "When I say take the potion, you take it!" Robin takes a potion of his own, leaving him with only 2 potions. His health rose up bit by bit. With Illfang distracted, Robin could jump unnoticed. He'll have to act fast, very fast. He runs out of Illfang's vision & jumps high, landing on the shoulder that Princess is on. He grabs her & throws her fast towards her guild. "Now..." Robin activates his sword art, Beautiful Luna, & takes a few quick steps towards Illfang's face before slashing at his face in the shape of a moon.

Robin quickly jumps off Illfang & swings around his axe as he swings it, landing just behind Illfang & retreating away from him, making sure not to lead Illfang towards Shiren. "This better work."

 

[Sapphire Rose]

Lucina
Player level 14
Floor 1: Dungeons.​

Lucina was thankful when Kagome hitted the axe away so that Lucina could try to catch some breath. Kagome told her that it was dangerous what she did and that she could've been killed but that it was one heck of a save. Lucina's mind wasn't there right now, it was with Shiren and Godot who were currently unconscious or... was Godot? Lucina saw him run towards the Kobold Lord and attack him but Illfang got him instead, squeezing him, then trowing away. "Godot...!" Lucina shouted and too much happened after that. Lucina got dizzy and noticed that her health kept dropping. "What...?" Lucina looked at her health bar and noticed the same icon that Shiren had. "Bleeding status..." Lucina sighed in annoyance and now knew that it wasn't just a glitch.

Shiren came back into the fight after that and did something incredible. So incredible that Lucina couldn't see everything because the flames got to her and brought her HP back to 2%. "Dammit...!" Lucina said as she remembered the bleeding status by her HP bar but then... "It's... gone?" Lucina was suprised at this point. Her HP wasn't dropping anymore and the bleeding status was gone. "I don't know if I have to thank her or curse her..." Lucina sighed again.

Robin ran towards her and trew his potion to her again. "When I say take the potion, you take it!" where his last words before he saved Princess from Illfang's shoulder. "This... is turning into a big mess." Lucina looked around her and saw that no one had died yet except for Princess's guild member. Lucina glanced at the potion in her hand and was about to take it until she remembered that Godot's HP must be low by now too, if he died then Kagome would break down. She ran towards him and held the potion against him, seeing his HP bar go back into the green zone. Lucina smiled before running towards Illfang again, pulling Shiren away along the way and bringing her near other players for safety "Please take care of her for me." Lucina said to them before running back towards Illfang. She could do this with 2% HP if she managed to not to get hit. If she did get hit, then she was dead. The thought of dying didn't matter much to her. In the real world her parents and little sister probably were organizing her funeral already. She was already dead in the eyes of the ones that she cared for... she had nothing to live for.

A tear escaped Lucina's eye when she ran towards Kagome in full speed and lifted her according to plan. The tear could only been seen if you looked inside her hood. Lucina was thankful for the hood.

​

Illfang the Kobold lord

Illfang was so confused that he didn't know who he was attacking anymore. If these players were trying to do an aggro support, then it was working perfectly. Illfangs health already had dropped to the second bar and he was not planning on losing this. He send a few new sentinels to the players in the back of the room as he started squeezing one of he male players. He wanted to kill the female as well but the male player used something that looked like a fishing rod to pull her away.

Suddenly a little girl came into the fight and started attacking him repeatedly with a weird kind of sword. The flames attacked the other players so he didn't knew on whose side she was. He tried to hit her with his bone axe but found a message "immortal object". He was confused and hit her again. "Immortal object" it said again. At this point Illfang knew that he was in trouble. This little girl kept attacking her until he had only one HP bar left.

The next moment a little girl was on his shoulder and he tried to trow her away but again he was too late when the white haired player came to interfere again. The hooded player had healed the other male player and the guy that seemed like a poet did nothing much to kill him. Illfang decided to attack him first. He pulled out a Nodachi and jumped away in the air before charging at the poet with his Katana skills. Suprise~

Illfang was faster than he was a little while ago.

---------------

Illfang the Kobold lord

Weapons: Large Bone Axe and Nodachi
Level: 17

Special abilities: sending Kobold Sentinels and Katana skills.

HP bars: 1/4

​

 

[<Challenger>]

Taka the Lovable Poet - Level 13 - 30 Exp - 3200 Col
BADKANGAROOBADKANGAROOBADKANGAROO!​

Taka was watching the battle with a weary eye. People kept harassing the kangaroo-lord, but it didn't seem to be doing much. Then, something caught the corner of his eye. Flames. What the- A strange, pheonix like thing rose and began to attack the Kobold Lord, but at the same time flames leapt out and seared Taka's skin. He cried aloud in pain for a moment before they slowly faded away and looked to his health bar. 2%. Dammit... He sighed, but a grin broke across his face as he saw the beast had one more health bar. "HUZZAH!"​

The grin quickly left as the poet saw him throw the axe away. It was quickly replaced by a long, slender, curved blade. Damn! A nodachi! "Everyone watch out! He's got a nodachi!" He got ready and spread his legs about shoulder length, taking a defensive stance. "Stay ready!" He was going to run to the main group, but Ilfang decided to charge HIM instead. "Oh...Crap." He muttered under his breath. The beast was moving at an alarming speed; Far faster than when the battle first began. "NOT TODAY!" He swung Poetic Justice, activating <Delay>. His brief moment of peace was interrupted when Ilfang swung the sword back the other way. "NO WAY!" He deflected the blade with his own. "You will take no one, you bastard!" He roared in fury. "Taka RISING!" His blade began to glow a beautiful gold. COME ON!" He swung his blade, one-handed left, knocking the kangaroo's blade back once. He swung right."HIT ME!" He swung left, diagnally downwards. "TAKE MY LIFE!" Diagnally right, downwards of course. "KEEP YOUR PLACE AS BOSS!" He swung downwards, knocking the blade aside. For a moment, the beast seemed un-guarded. "BE MY DEMISE!" Taka mustered all of his strength. All of his anger towards the game. All of his dreams, and hope of being free of this world. "I DARE YOU!" He swung his blade upward with both hands, hitting the beast in the gut. Taka noticed he had moved upwards with the final blow, and he was about fifteen feet off of the ground. Dammit! He's got me for sure! He fell at an alarming rate, and slammed into the ground. He stood up shakily and began to hobble backwards. I'm surely at my final moments... He stumbled backwards. "This is it...Hebi...I'm coming home..."​

 

[machomuu]

William Danielson||Godot & Kagome
Lv. 12||Floor 1​

Kagome gave Turnip a nod and a smile. He was actually a large part of the reason that the sentinels were kept off of them, as well as Illfang. She knew she'd have to thank him afterwards-- not that she was a leader or anything. She took a glance in Godot's direction, so as to make sure he was okay. He wasn't trying to get up, nor was he unconscious. Rather, he was frozen in place, both his mouth and eyes open wide. He was in shock over something. Kagome hurriedly looked in the direction of his surprise, very briefly noticing a player's shattered fragments. Someone Godot knew, no doubt. Then, strangely, the fragments turned to dust. No, not dust...ash. The ashes then went into a fiery blaze, and soon after Kagome was practically blinded by an incredible light. She shielded her eyes light, and once she could see clearly again, there was a new creature hovering above her. She quickly jumped away, as a cautious measure, and once she got a better view, she exclaimed, "A...a phoenix!?"

---

Godot was sent flying away as he collided with Illfang's weapon. He let out a gasp and tried to save himself, but ended up smashing into a wall, instead. He laid on the ground, struggling to get on his feet. He wasn't exactly surprised that he survived the attack, he'd prepared for it, but he wasn't expecting to go so far. As he raised his head, he noticed something...off. There was a bright light in Princess' company; it was small, as if it'd belonged to a shorter PC. The lightbulb immediately went off in Godot's head. It was Shiren. He'd failed to save her again, and all he could do about it was watch. She wasn't even close to any enemies...it had to be because of Illfang's attack...or something else. It didn't matter. He'd just gotten her back, and now he'd lost her again.

...Or so he thought, but her death was a strange one, to be sure. Her fragments turned to ash, and the ash into flames. Godot squinted, and then opened his eyes wider. From the flames was born a giant creature. Godot simply watched in surprise, and a small smile formed. "A phoenix!" He exclaimed. He laughed loudly and said, "It's a phoenix, dammit!" A phoenix's birth could only mean good things, and his somber attitude disappeared entirely. He watched as Shiren, or rather, the phoenix born of Shiren attacked Illfang, though everyone in the room was affected by her flames.
He was too excited, however, and he knew that things couldn't be so simple for a phoenix to simply appear after the death of a player. His smile disappeared as he allowed that reality set in. Shiren was going through something. She was going through something neither he nor she understood, but he'd have been damned if he were going to let her face it alone.

Finally, the Phoenix subsided, and Shiren appeared in its place. Lucina fed Godot a potion, but ran off before he could thank her. He sprinted over to Kagome. "Thanks for saving me back there, bro," She said. He nodded, and said, "Check your health. Drink a potion." Kagome instead shook her head. Again, he was annoyed by her stubborn nature. "Drink it," he said, grasping a potion and holding it in her direction.

Kagome leaned in and playfully kissed Godot on the cheek. "There's a girl that needs your attention, bro, and it's not me." Godot looked at her desperately, but then gave up. He started to walk away, and as he turned around, she said, "I'll end this. I want you to trust me, Godot." He looked at her from the side of his eye and sighed. He wanted to trust her, but he couldn't stop worrying. After all, she was his sister, now. He headed in Shiren's direction, passing Lucina on the way there. He clenched his fists. He slowed his run to walk, and his walk to a halt. He spoke under his breath, "Shiren..." He then took a fierce 180 turn and said, "Wait for me!" He sprinted in the direction of Illfang. Kagome was right; it was time to end it.

---

A tear-stricken Lucina approached Kagome. Her tears...or rather, her tear was hidden under her hood, leaving Kagome unsuspecting. Lucina approached with great speed, and Kagome readied herself, equipping her dagger for easy lift off. Immediately once she got there, Lucina launched Kagome into the air. She'd gotten pretty high in the air, though not nearly as high as Godot had previously been. This is it, she thought. I'm going to end this with one strike. All the others have put their trust in me, even only having just met me. They're easily some of the most dedicated PCs I've ever met. She switched to her Buster Blade and raised it upright, using her vertical motion to lessen the weight. "SWITCH!" She yelled, the blade glowing a bright white color. Godot...I want him to trust me, too. I don't want to just be a hassle or a damsel in distress... "METEOR BLADE! she yelled, as if she were putting all of her spirit into that single declaration. The blade once again turned black, and the red aura enveloped it for a third time. This is it...for everyone's sake! Kagome brought the sword's grip to her side, pointing it in front of her and planning to impale Illfang through Shiren and Godot's earlier onslaught. She allowed the weight of the blade to carry her as she sped down towards Illfang. She watched his health. This was it. This HAD to be it. She sped down like a bullet to send the finishing blow.

...But then, fear took Kagome. Despite the boomeraxe onslaught, and Taka, Robin, and Princess' attack, he had the gull to look her at her and chuckle. Even in the face of his impending death, he laughed, and with one swift movement, he dodged to the side. Kagome froze. She was now simply a missile heading towards imminent explosion. It was over for her.

"Didn't you say that you were gonna end this?" A voice yelled. Kagome jerked. She looked to see who it was, and no surprise, it was Godot. He'd used the Meister's Soul to swing on Illfang's arm and caught her. Kagome didn't feel any better, however. In fact, she felt worse now. Kagome felt ashamed because she was now forced to eat her words. Not only had she failed everyone, but she would never gain the respect from her brother She started to sulk, but Godot said, "Don't drop the art, this isn't over." As he swung up, he smiled and said, "I won't trust you, Kagome. I refuse to." He released the hook from Illfang's arm and swung the rod and the line round. "SWITCH!" He yelled, sending the hook onto Illfang's cranium and pulling on it with an incredible amount of force (largely aided by the added power of the Switch), jetting them forward towards it. "I refuse to trust you because I love you too much. I'd rather play the good brother than the smart one." She raised her eyebrows and teared up a little. It wasn't so much that it was such an incredible revelation as it was hearing him say that he loved her. She didn't doubt the genuine nature of that love, either, as he'd time and again shown it to be true. "Here's your stop," Godot said, releasing his hand from her person and continuing to jet off, but not before darting his Meister's Soul at Illfang, for the sake of aggro.

It was time. With Meteor Blade still in effect, Kagome pointed the sword downward. She gasped for air. "Hah..." She said softly. She raised herself over the blade, keeping a close eye on the hole that Shiren and Godot had worked hard to create. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She yelled, completely inadvertently. She was practically riding on an adrenaline rush, and she tightened her grip, as if she were increasing its power simply by putting more soul into it. Finally, the blade met Illfang, and the blade went in. Deep. Whether it actually killed it or not, that was a question only the HP bar could answer.

 

[Colony]

\\Nirvana/Nightmare - Col 1800//
\\Level 11 - Health 100%//
\\Tree Outside of the Town of Beginnings//​

Ghost revealed Nightmare's target to be and it just happened to be the one person he really wanted to kill; Frost of the guild Nightwatchers. Having her off his trail would greatly reduce their awareness of Nightmare, and that would make it much easier for him to go about with his killings. To make matters even better he would be rewarded with a choice of Col or equipment. Not a bad deal considering her position, as it would surely mean she had some nice gear. To think, meeting the one person that can literally grant your wish. Ghost said that he could have her here in two hours. That would give him plenty of time to prepare.

"Two hours? That's fine. Just make sure your on time."

A ringing echoed in Nightmare's ear. He glanced slightly up and to the right. It was the notification bar mentioning that the floor boss had finally been found. Another opportunity for some unsuspecting murder. The chaos of a boss fight would give the perfect distraction to get a kill or two. It wasn't like people dying was an unusual sight during these fights. Go into <Hiding> for a few moments, stab a couple of people, and the job would be over before you knew it. All you had to do was make it look like the boss killed them.

This created a conflict of interests. Frost was someone he wanted dead, but bosses aren't discovered every day. Both events could provide valuable experience, though they could just as easily get him killed. The frustration on Nightmare's face was obvious, as he struggled to reach a conclusion. Eventually he realized that Ghost would still want his wife dead, even if it was only an hour or so later.

"Could you make that four hours instead? I need to go get some things in Tolbana Town. It may take me a while to get back. Maybe you could have a date with your ever so tall lady-friend?"

Nightmare gave him a bit of a sneer with the last remark. He didn't stay to hear the reply either. Almost as soon as he got there he had left. Only one thing was on his mind for now, and that was to run. It was honestly one of the first moments he had wished he had <Sprinting> instead of <Hiding>. His dash would have been much easier if he did. Grass crumbled under his feet with every step further. The fog dissipated rapidly as he made his way towards Tolbana Town. Other sounds could be heard around him, but he ignored them as he ran. An unwise choice as it would turn out. A wolf pounced on him from the side, slamming him into the grass. The wolf sank its teeth into Nightmare's shoulder. It began shaking its head violently while still maintaining its grip on Nightmare's shoulder. His health was falling fast. He reached for the orb that was his weapon. Once the cool metal was felt he gripped it and made a slashing motion towards the wolf's neck. Instantly the blade materialized where the beast's neck had been. The monster shattered in to thousands of pixels. Nightmare slowly got back up to his feet, he wasn't sure what caused the wolf to target him. The only thing he did know was that his health had fallen to around 76%. Deciding he couldn't make any more mistakes like that, he restarted his run, though much more cautiously.

It took Nightmare about thirty minutes to reach Tolbana Town, though he didn't plan on staying. He moved through the streets as fast as he could all in an attempt to reach the town exit closest to the dungeon. The safe zone gave Nightmare a bit of time to think without worrying about someone attacking. How he would approach the boss fight were just one of the things that occupied his mind. This continued for a few moments, until he finally reached the exit. Before stepping out the town, he used a weak healing potion to restore the small amount of damage that had been done to him by the wolf. And with that he was back on the prowl.

The plains on either side quickly gave way to forest, which then gave way to the dungeon entrance. Last time he was here he battled a massive skeleton, with the help of that other player killer, dotcom. Nightmare was sure what happened to him. Seeing that he left him with a bunch of players that seemed to want them dead he only thought the worst. Not that it mattered to Nightmare. He only cared that he wasn't in that situation. The familiar look on the walls lead him straight to where he had been the night before. It was where that giant door had been, only it was now open. Players were fighting some gargantuan creature. Nightmare could barely make out that it was called Illfang. The sight in front of him was exhilarating. He ran closer to the door as he watched some girl slam her sword into the beast. Moments later he even saw a spinning axe that reminded him of a boomerang. He decided to watch, as they seemed to be closing in on the kill. Once it was over he would make some choice decisions and be out of there as fast as possible, thanks to the teleport crystal he had.​

 

[dcjboi]

Suisei Lv. 13
@ 1st Floor
Forest Dungeon

He had been wandering for at least an hour. To be frank, he was sure he was going to miss the boss fight. Suisei kicked a nearby tree and swore under his breath.

"Figures. Stupid wolves." he said loudly as he continued on paying full attention where he was going and not wanting to use someone else's mapping data from the notification he last received, which was the first information he had heard about advancing to the next floor aside from yesterday. He could've sworn the boss room should've been where he was standing based on his beta experience, but he was beginning to doubt his previous knowledge about this game. He had probably forgotten it was all, but he knew that it was still the Kobold lord before he got the message.It wouldn't be strange for things to have changed from the Beta to make the game harder seeing as it was supposed to be a test of survival. Suisei shrugged it off with a laugh and updated his map info with the boss's location, trying to find where he was located before realizing it was just down a pathway to his left.

He followed the path and got there in time in less than 5 minutes, reached the boss room and stood in the doorway just to examine what was going on. The Kobold sentinels seemed to be occupying most people in the room although one person was currently doing a good job at fighting off the boss currently, with the help of a partner, using the switch tactic he had seen not exclusive to SAO, but definitely a good tool to use as long as the Kobold Sentinels are kept away from the main fight, so to speak. Suisei knew this because his skills had been more one on one oriented the first time he began to play in the beta and now he had began to spread his horizons, although it had a rough start, it was fairly easy as long as he managed not to slip up. He had a "crowd control" sword art that he was fully capable of using.

The Kobold Lord himself was practically dead now, although he was using a nodachi for some strange reason. Had Kayaba really changed the boss's combat abilities just to catch even beta players offguard?

For now, he saw no reason to intrude as it was fairly interesting to see how people handled this boss fight. He saw some familiar faces and some people who he remembered seeing on the first day of SAO and knew right away what he wanted to do. He didn't care about the fight as much as he wanted to test the players in front of him. They were his competition as far as he was concerned. Although he had lost his father, this was still a game to him that he took more seriously than any other. He also wanted to be the first to go to the next floor seeing as he was tired of the current terrain.

Regardless, it was all up to the few who were focused on the boss what he would do next, but for some reason, he wanted to be the first to proceed and he could care less about this fight. Whether they all died or not, Suisei didn't know if he would even intervene if it meant saving someone, but he did mind if he was the only player left alive, he was going to proceed.

Silently, he threw his hood over his face, as if to hide his appearance from all the other players and walked effortlessly around the edge the field to the stairway door. The only thing that got in his way was a Sentinel that Suisei dispatched swiftly by impaling it.

When he reached the door, he sat with his back to it and waited patiently for the fight to end while taking out his lute and plucked a few low slow notes to himself.

 

[DeathofShadows]

Shadow

Stats:

Spoiler:

HP: 75/200
Level: 13
EXP: 006000
Col: 003100

Equipment:

Spoiler:

Weapon: Redemption
Armor: Leather chestplate + banded wooden shield
Clothing: Basic clothes
Item: None

Inventory:

Spoiler:

•Basic sword x1
•Redemption x1 *
•Leather chestplate x1 *
•Banded wooden shield x1 *
•Basic clothes x1 *
•Large mushroom x2
•Vial x5

​

---

Floor One
Dungeon - Boss Room

---

Chaos.

That was the only thing Shadow could think of as he continued the fight, occasionally catching the boss with his blade, though nothing serious. He was more focused on how the players around him reacted. He was set on his goal, and that was the death of the boss.

However, his goal was disrupted by... Flames? He had only a split second to bring his sword up to block most of the attack. Even as such, he took quite a bit damage from it. Curse this damn game and its slow leveling system...

These thoughts were interrupted when he spotted the source of the flames, a giant Phoenix appearing in front of the boss. The attacks that followed were very difficult for Shadow to follow, and the next thing he knew, the boss was drawing a damned Nodachi.

The speed of the giant red dog-kobold-gundark increased tenfold, which barely gave Shadow enough time as it began dashing around the arena, killing more than a few of the weaker players.

That was it. It was time to end this.

Under his breath, Shadow said, "We're leaving together, but still it's farewell. Maybe we'll come back
To earth, but who can tell? I guess there is no one to blame... We're leaving ground, will things ever be the same again?"

Looking up from his blade, Shadow then began rushing the boss, his sword glowing blood red. As he did, he shouted, "It's the final countdown!"

The powerful slash from his Demon Eye attack hit the boss, and Shadow inwardly cheered.

Until he was hit himself.

The Nodachi was powerful, and it sent Shadow flying. He landed, and thankfully, had enough HP left to continue the fight. He drank his one health potion, bumping his HP back to half, only to have a Sentinel bean him from behind.

His blade was quicker than his mind as he spun and slashed the sentinel in midair, effectively separating the head of the beast from the rest of its body. Turning his attention back to the boss, Shadow saw yet another player die, causing him to charge the boss yet again, though this time with a much more defensive stance. He caught the boss's blade with his own, and activated Phase Blade.

This strike was nothing to celebrate, but at this point in the battle, every strike counted. It was time to end this madness...

​

CSS by DeathofShadows

 

[ShinyDiamond]

Robin - Lvl 10
Floor 1: Boss Room

​

Everyone was giving it their all against Illfang. Even the poet, hard as it is to say, was holding out well. Many players were still alive at this point, which is good. Robin can't handle anymore deaths. Illfang's HP has but shrunken on his last health bar, & that's when Robin was prepared to see his Talwar like before. To his surprise, however, Illfang did not take out his Talwar. Instead, he took out a long, sharp katana. Robin's never seen this weapon before, especially being held by Illfang.

"That's not a Talwar! Watch out!" Robin spoke out loud. Illfang looked much faster, but his focus was on some other players. Shiren wasn't the target. Robin should do his best to guard her against Illfang if he targets her. His moves were totally different than with a Talwar. Robin is a Beater, but even he doesn't know the name of Illfang's katana. "Why isn't Illfang using his Talwar?" Robin was thinking outloud, & if anyone was paying attention to him, they'd listen. "I don't remember him using that katana in the closed beta. This game really has changed dramatically."

Now near Shiren, Robin keeps an eye on Illfang if he gets near them. How Shiren is still alive was beyond his knowledge. The system shouldn't allow players to revive again. It would be fair, but it doesn't allow it. Is Robin missing something here? He decides to put it side & protect Shiren. "Stay put, Shiren. I won't let this beast harm you," Robin mentions to the girl, his main concern about her later reaction after fighting as a phoenix.

 

[Satan.EXE]

«試練-PATP001»
The Adorable Katana Warrior

---

Boss Room

x

CHAPTER I,
Part V:

---

"Aftermath"

.

Almost right off the bat some hooded figure grabbed Shiren and, despite her resistance, carried her to a group of players. She was already confused, and everything was happening so quickly that she was starting to freak out. "Stay put, Shiren. I won't let this beast harm you," spoke some other player. She watched him with a look of utter confusion. During this, however, her eye flicked with a small and instantaneous green shine, that left as fast as it had appeared.

"Shi... Re... N...? How...? What..." As she grew silent, she let her gaze shift past the boy and to the giant beast, and the group of others fighting it. Instinctively she flicked her hand in front of her (although it didn't seem odd to her, like it might to others) and a menu opened up. She found the option that lead her to her skills and info. "Shiren... P-A-T-P... Zero... Zero... One...?" As she muttered these words, she felt an odd sensation coming over her. It was if she wasn't alone, or rather, there were two people in her mind. No, not even that; they were both her, but... Shiren put a hand over her forehead as she felt a headache growing ever more painful by the second. An odd menu popped up with another yes or no option, and before even she could read it, her hand almost robotically moved to push the yes option, without her even looking up at the menu. After a moment of silence, her head popped up, and her eyes were glowing bright green, to where pupils and irises weren't visible; every inch of her eyes were glowing green. She shot upright to standing, and as soon as she did, things started changing. As her appearance seemed to keep changing, the original look broke off in pixels and faded away.

Blue pieces shattered and revealed a dark blue color underneath; her hair was tied in a ponytail, with bangs still hanging over each side of her head. Her hair was much darker now, looking closer to black rather than blue. Her clothes all shattered, and revealed a very unique type of armor; Thin layered and extremely light, like clothing, but well-armored. In fact, it looked like something out of Fuedal Japan, with a modern SAO twist. A katana very similar to Shiren's flaming blade rested in a sheath on her right hip. The username "火の鳥" reappeared above her head, though this time, it remained green. However, it still differed from the regular green diamonds; the tips at the top and bottom were frosted light blue and faded into green toward the center.

​

---

«火の鳥»
The Adorable Katana Warrior

---

Boss Room

x

CHAPTER I,
Part I:

---

"Recovery"

.

Phoenix awoke with a moment of utter confusion and empty-mindedness, and looked from side to side. It was immediately after that a million memories shot into her brain all at once. She couldn't quite process all of it as it went by, and it was making her head ache an unbearable pain that... Wasn't there. After a moment of writhing she realized she wasn't actually feeling anything, and closed her eyes. So many images passed by her consciousness: A cool, snowy night on a suburban sidewalk, a box that looked to be a big video game package, a futuristic helmet, and... A black van. Not just a black van, but also some tall men in black suits. She saw an image of black cloth covering her eyes so that she could only partially see a hallway as she was moving through a building blindly... She was then on a table, or a bed, or something flat, and something else covered her face over the cloth. She could almost feel this memory as if it was happening to her. A man in black stood over her, with some machine and all sorts of flashing lights and colors. She felt herself trying to squirm, trying to break free of something. And what confused her most was that, more than anything, her mind kept screaming at her: "Kill him! Break free and kill him! Reclaim your freedom!"

Phoenix opened her eyes as she felt an anger coming over her, drew her blade in a flash and thrust her sword right through the man in front of her... Or so she thought. The sword, instead of going right through Robin, bounced off of him as if he were made of dense metal. Ōdachi No Honō flew out of her hands and in the opposite direction, clanging against the nearby wall. "What the--" she back-dashed leapt backward and retrieved it, staring at it in confusion. When she tried to wield it again, though, it popped up with a message, saying "Insufficient Level". "Kuso!!" She shouted in irritation. "That's impossible! I'm already le--" She paused and nearly shrieked when her armor set unequipped for the same reason. She quickly stored it all and looked desperately for some type of equippable clothing to cover herself, and only found a blue dress. She quickly equipped it, seeing as she had no other option. Red with embarrassment, she sighed. It was a relatively small dress on her, but it was all she could wear at the moment.

It was now that she noticed the boss fight happening not far off. "Illfang!?" She watched in shock, and almost immediately rushed towards the beast. On her way over she didn't even slow down as she picked up a fallen player's katana, content that this one actually equipped. She prepared one of her highest jumps, and only then realized that another woman was on the boss' head, a sword implanted firmly in the thing's skull. She did her best to readjust her attack, planting a second weapon in the monster's brain, her stab narrowly missing the woman by inches. However, she couldn't fully adjust herself in time, and ended up colliding with the woman directly, sending both of them crashing down off of Illfang. Phoenix cringed and curled into a ball as she crashed into the ground and bounced/rolled a short distance. It didn't harm her HP any, to her relief, though the shock of the collision and the pain her mind forced her to imagine left her on the ground and winded, on the opposite end of the room that she'd woken up in.

​

 

[Sapphire Rose]

Lucina
Player level 15
Floor 1: Dungeons.​

So much happened right now that Lucina had a hard time trying to keep an eye on everyone. This could also be a side-effect of walking around with only 2% left. She watched how Kagome failed at attacking him but finally gave him the final blow afterwarts together with an unknown girl. Atleast... not before stabbing right through Lucina with his Nodichi. He turned into pixels along with his Nodichi and left them with a box in the middle of the room. "This is it..." Lucina said as she felt an awful pain in her chest but noticed her health was at 78% and she had leveled up to level 15. "W-What...?" She turned around to see the woman from earlier shaking her head.

"I thought that you said that you wouldn't give up." The woman said. Lucina was confused because she was sure that her health had dropped to 0%. The woman noticed her confusion and answered the unasked questions. "I used the potion on you when your health started dropping, in other words, right after Illfang stabbed you with his Nodichi." The woman warmly smiled at her and rubbed something off her face, a tear. "Illfang is dead, go to your friends." the woman gestured to Robin, Kagome, Godot, Princess and... Shiren...? "You said it yourself weeks ago, didn't you? Now is not the time to give up." The woman walked away without giving her name. Lucina turned around to see where Shiren went to and couldn't find her anymore, did she die again? Lucina thought that it wasn't possible and glanced at the unknown girl that had attempted to stab Robin.

Lucina watched towards them but kept her hood on. "I think this belongs to you." Lucina picked up the box and attempted to give it to Kagome. "A WOMAN KILLING THE BOSS?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! IT WAS PROBABLY WEAKER THAN W-" Lucina punched the shouting Saito in his face. "Shut up, brat." Lucina said with her fist still balded. "You shut up you B!tch! You're lying to all of us!" Saito grabbed the box out of Lucina's arm and held it up high as he ran away. "THIS IS MINE! I DESERVE IT!" He shouted, making Lucina even more pissed off.

​

Illfang the Kobold lord

Illfang enjoyed his last moments trying to kill the players but utterly failed. The poet got away, the one who's face was all hidden kept attacking him and the final blow was given by a woman. "GRAAAAAHHHHH!!!" He shouted as his health bar dropped to 0% but wanted to kill atleast one player before he vanished completely. He noticed the hooded one in front of him with 2% left and stabbed his Nodichi in his chest but the hooded one got healed. Illfang turned into pixels with the feeling of unsatisfication.

Announcement: Everyone gained a full level from this fight. Every sentinel is 10%. You can't have killed more than 4/5 sentinels. Be fair please. ​

​

Saito - dungeons

​

Saito watched the fight. He wasn't intending to die for these useless pawns. One women, a WOMEN, was able to kill Illfang the kobold lord. Saito was angry, veeryyyy angry. She was being praised and told "that she did a good job" while he was the one bringing them here! He was their leader! He should be praised for existing in this game! He is their god!

He ran towards the hooded man that pissed him off earlier. "A WOMAN KILLING THE BOSS?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! IT WAS PROBABLY WEAKER THAN W-" before Saito could finish he was being punched by the hooded ma-.... women? This hooded person was a women?! He was being punched by... a WOMEN?! "Shut up, brat." The hooded girl said with something in her arms that was supposed to be his. "You shut up you B!tch! You're lying to all of us!" Saito grabbed the box out of Lucina's arm and held it up high as he ran away. "THIS IS MINE! I DESERVE IT!" He shouted.

​

 

[machomuu]

William Danielson||Godot & Kagome
Lv. 12||Floor 1​

Kagome sighed and drank a potion, not wanting to die from a relatively high but (in most cases) non-fatal fall should Illfang actually be dead. It seemed he was still active, and Kagome hung onto her sword as the relatively swift Illfang moved about. She was about to pull out her dagger when a young girl in a dress appeared above Kagome. The attire seemed ill-suited for battle, but if she'd survived the battle for that long with it, far be it for Kagome to tell her to change. She was so focused on the dress, however, that she didn't notice the girl headed right for her. The child crashed into Kagome, sending her off of Illfang's back and headed towards the ground. Her sword was still planted on top of Illfang, however, and she'd be damned if she was going to lose it. The Buster Blade, which she named Alistair, was forged and given to her by her brother. It was essentially her only link to him. It was her hope for his being alive. Needless to say, there was a lot of personal value in that blade for her. She equipped her dagger and stabbed into the kobold's back. She slid down a good way, pixels flying furiously as the dagger tore through his coat. She slowed and finally stopped. She looked up, dreading the journey upwards. She pulled herself upwards, stood on her dagger, jumped and unequipped. Rinse, lather, repeat.

It didn't take long for her to get close to his head...but then she lost her hold. Or rather, her hold didn't exist anymore. Illfang was dead, and he was now disintegrating into nothingness. She fell forward, grabbing her dagger and putting it away, and she gasped. The order of those actions was rather backward, but that was just the way she happened to express her shock. It wasn't until after she gasped that she realized exactly what had happened. As Illfang disappeared, the bright fragments of what was Illfang surrounded her and flowed upward, like a parade of fireflies wandering headed towards who knows where. It was a surreal sight, so surreal that she started to tear up. That, coupled with all that had happened since they reached the boss door. It was a good day.

She landed on the ground and laughed lightly, though she quickly fled backwards once she realized that she might be killed by her own sword. And, with a loud clang, the Buster Sword collided with a ground, as did Mammon's Fang (though accompanied by a much quieter sound). She picked up her Buster Sword, but as she'd feared, it showed "Durability: 0%". She sighed heavily as the blade started to crack, saying, "We've been through a lot Alistair." Her tears started to flee from her eyes. "But I guess I just can't rely on you forever, now can I..." The blade finally shattered, and she wiped her face with some cloth on her arm. She picked up Mammon's Fang and noticed Lucina heading towards her with a box in hand. "Is that...?" She started. "Is that the-" Kagome started again, lighting up. Her smile was quickly stolen away as Saito swiped the box from Lucina, yelling, "THIS IS MINE! I DESERVE IT!!" Kagome's eyes opened wide and her mouth was left ajar. She was really looking forward to whatever was in that box, now more than ever. She bit down furiously, gritted her teeth, and equipped her dagger. Her face now blood red, Kagome rushed towards Saito with sword in hand. She was tired of him, his misogyny, and his prideful bull crap. "I'LL KILL HIM!" She screamed. She may not have been in the right state of mind at the time, but she meant what she said.

---

Godot lamented the death of his Meister's Soul...though strangely, the durability was still high. He raised his eyebrow at this, seemingly disregarding the fact that he was flying through the air. He also watched as Shiren changed and shifted and attacked the beast. He noted when he was about to collide with a wall, however, and extended his legs into a straight yet relaxed position. He was able to avoid damage from the wall, but he knew that there was nothing he could do from the descent. As such, he decided to divert his attention elsewhere. Specifically on Illfang. He didn't get to see much, but he smiled as Illfang met his end. It was finally over.

He landed close to the entrance, taking a good but relatively small hit to his HP. He took to his feet and noticed someone running in his direction. It was Saito. He seemed to be screaming about how women can't be successful and how he deserved...whatever he was holding. The usual BS. Godot unequipped his weapon, stretched his arms and legs, and took a runner's pose. He centered his sights on the box and, when he reached a good distance, jumped, grabbed the box, and landed in a kneeling position in front of the angry woman pursuing him. It wasn't a matter of diligence or finesse, but rather, it was a matter of luck. Luck that he was able to land the way he did; it was intended, but unlikely. The woman, Kagome, stopped short of seeing Godot. "For you, milady," He said, with his head bowed. Kagome stood there, stunned. Then, her smile reappeared, along with her tears, and she hugged the kneeling Godot. Godot stood up with Kagome clinging to his neck, and turned to Saito. He scratched his head for a moment and made a curious face, as if he were trying to piece together the right words to say what he wanted to. "Is this seriously how you want to repay the woman who saved your life?" He took Kagome off of him and said, "Not just this woman, either. Lucina, Princess, Shi-" He stopped for a split second, remembering that Shiren was in need of his attention, but he continued on. "Shiren, and all the other female players fought this monster, I don't even think you did anything to help." He handed the box to Kagome and picked up his sword. "Not only that, but you also put the other players in serious danger by proposing a dubious sacrificial strategy." He pointed his sword at Saito and said, "You've proven to be more of a threat than Illfang was, and your audacious views and merciless acts of disregard WILL get you killed."

Godot sheathed his sword and said, "I'll see you guys in a bit. I have something to take care of." He waved, but not before saying, "Congratulations, everyone!" He sprinted off towards where he was Shiren fall, though he was so far away at the time that he couldn't be completely sure. He scanned the area, and it wasn't long before he found a girl lying on the ground. With all the changes to her person, it was hard to tell if it was her or not, especially given that he hadn't seen the entire transformation, but he noticed her hair among anything else. It was her. Once he reached her, he immediately embraced her. "Dear God, I thought you were dead. I thought we lost you, Shiren." He released her from his embrace and looked at her. It was as if she were a different person. If he hadn't seen her change so drastically, he definitely wouldn't have even known that it was her. "What happened to you? How'd you come back to life, and...what's with the dress?"

---

Kagome watched as Godot sprinted off, and once he had, she turned to Saito and punched him in the jaw. "Restrain yourself only when necessary, that's what I always say." She walked in the direction of the others and said, "Whew, that felt gooood. I should hit Saito more often." She chuckled. "Really though, good job, you guys. I was blown away by all of the teamwork." Then, promptly, her face turned red and she started to scratch her head in a way not too dissimilar from Godot. "So...uh..." Her eyes darted from direction to direction. "You...do you guys mind...well, what I mean is...um..." She kept telling herself to go out and say it, but it seemed to inappropriate and almost greedy. At least, that's what she told herself. "D-do you guys...well, that is..." She held the box out in front of her. "D...do you mind if I have this...?" Before she knew it, she was on the ground, and the box was nowhere to be seen. She blinked a few times and looked at her hands, before looking at the others, and finally in Saito's direction. "H-" She said, as she tried to register what happened. Had she been pushed? Was she tripped? It was probably the former, she still felt the sensation of some sort of shove on her chest. "HEY!" She yelled angrily. She darted upwards and started in his direction, but very quickly noticed that her stamina was incredibly low. "Dammit..." She looked around. Why isn't anyone stopping him? She wondered desperately.

 

[<Challenger>]

Taka the Lovable Poet: Level 14 - 0 Exp - 3200 Col
One Boss Down, Ninety-Nine to Go
​

Taka watched with joy as the boss disappeared in explosion of pixels, after the combined array of powerful attacks. He threw up his fist in a gesture of triumph. "YEAH! WE DID IT!" He laughed loudly and jovially. "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!" His smile turned into a grin when he saw that he leveled up, and his health increased back to 100%. "WE DID IT! HAHA! YEAH!" The jovial bard sheathed Poetic Justice and began to jump around with joy, walking up to each of the players that had helped. "Thank you, my friends. It was truly an honor. I'm glad to have fought with you." Each greeting was just as friendly as the last.

After he greeted the normal players, he approached the main group he had fought with, with the helmeted man, the hooded man, and the girl with the pink hair and her guild. The man with the fishing rod-esque thing ran off, and the girl who had saved him from the beast had arrived with the box. He laughed and held his hand out to anyone who would shake it. "You all are truly magnificent fighters." A falsely-arrogant smile crossed his face. "But I am even better." He kept a straight face for a moment, but the next he was laughing. He held out a thumbs-up and smiled. "But seriously. You guys are great. I surely would have died back there if you weren't there for me." He turned to the girl with the Buster Sword and smiled. "You saved my life, and for that I thank you. Anytime you need some help, just ask and I'll be there." He gave her a wink and looked to the rest of the group. "I suppose we weren't properly introduced. I'm Taka." The poet laughed heartily. "But you can call me anything. Preferably 'Sir Taka the Mighty.'" Another laugh filled the air. "Might I ask who you all are?"​

 

[Colony]

\\Nirvana/Nightmare - Col 1800//
\\Level 11 - Health 100%//
\\Floor One Dungeon//​

Nightmare watched on as the boss died. He knew he now had an opportunity, since most of these people were weak. One group in particular were even arguing over something, though Nightmare could not hear what exactly. They would be perfect targets as long as he was quick. He stepped forward away from the giant door to approach them. With each step his heart raced with anticipation. An all too familiar ringing echoed in his ear. Another notification had popped up. It was probably Ghost, but Nightmare figured he should check it just to make sure. What he saw surprised him.

The message simply mentioned "kill Saito, " but that wasn't the unusual thing. No, the unusual thing was the lack of a username in the message. Nightmare was completely unaware of any technique that could hide a username in SAO. However they did it, he would have to learn how himself. It also brought up how questionable the person's intentions were if they weren't willing to let Nightmare know who they were. It didn't really concern Nightmare, it's just that knowing your contractor makes it easier for continued business. No matter, as he knew he wanted to kill someone. All this did was narrow the choice on who to kill.

Now with a target in his mind, he skimmed the crowds for the name. It only took a moment because the one arguing was in fact Saito. The argument was getting easier to understand now that Nightmare was closer. Saito must have been a supremacist with a history of gynophobia. Everything he seemed to say was sexist and largely ridiculous. Not even Nightmare could sympathize with that kind of fool. Closer and closer his steps brought him, now only a short distance from the player. He didn't even use his <Hiding> skill, since their attention seemed focused on the bigot Saito. Nightmare gripped his weapon, <Mercurial Blade>, while it was in orb form. He was preparing to swing the weapon at Saito, when Saito suddenly grabbed something from the person he was arguing with and started to run away. Nightmare followed suit, and luckily Nightmare's <Luna Cape> made him light enough to the point where his running speed was slightly faster than someone without the <Sprint> skill. Nightmare was quickly gaining ground on Saito, and within moments he slashed at Saito's neck. The player stopped for a few seconds after realizing what was happening. He turned towards Nightmare, but it was too late. Nightmare charged into Saito, with his <Mercurial Blade> aimed directly at Saito's stomach. The sword pierced through Saito, and the box he had taken fell from his hands directly on the floor. Almost instantly Saito shattered into Pixels, and in much the same way as Illfang, his death was completely unsatisfying.

Nightmare proceeded to loot the body, but only one item was worth his time. A one-handed straight sword called "Fiersome." The spelling of the weapon was odd, but it was classified as a legendary weapon and its stats were phenomenal. He retrieved the weapon, and moved his attention to the box Saito had attempted to steal. In one quick motion he grabbed it off the floor. It reminded him of a small treasure chest, but now was not the time for simple musings. He retrieved the teleportation crystal from his inventory just to make sure he could make a quick getaway if need be. He gazed out onto the crowds to see what people would do now. If anything started to get dangerous for him he would simply teleport back to the Town of Beginnings.​