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

[SylveonStar]

Maria Renée {Princess}
Guild: The Flaming Blade
Level: 13

Maria didn't pay attention to the rest of the battle. After Robin had thrown her from Illfang's shoulder to her guild her rage and faded, leaving her in a numb and catatonic state. She wasn't aware of the fight ending, of her gaining a level. Not even of those celebrating the bosses defeat...what did she have to celebrate. She just sat where she had landed, staring ahead blinking when needed. "Princess" Zeus said her name several times putting a hand on her shoulder. "come on Princess, snap out of it" he shook her lightly, but that was enough to snap her out of her trance.

"Z-Zeus...P-Poseidon" she said quietly, voice shaky.

"We're both here Princess" Poseidon's face came into her vision as he grabbed her hand helping her up. Unknown to her while both boys were sad they were determined to care for her. Only 12 years old and she had seen the deaths of two people she cared for.

"I-It....It's all my fault" she whispered tears building up in her eyes. "P-Psyche...he's dead and it's my fault!" she cried loudly succumbing to her tears as she felt both boys hug her.

 

[Dements]

Ghost
Level 15
Health 100%
Floor One Rendezvous > Town of Beginnings

Just as Ghost thought the negotiations Nirvana managed was now telling him to have Frost be there in four hours with him needing to pick up some stuff in town. Nirvana left without letting Ghost answer making it to where his plan would be much harder being now four hours. Once Nirvana was out of sight Ghost immediately opened up a new message to Frost saying,

Alright the plan is a success, but there is a bit of change to the normal plan. It seems as Nirvana changed it to four hours instead of two. So the plan is still a go just a bit delayed.

Ghost began walking back into town soon after the message. Awkwardly enough he ran into no enemies on the way back possibly from taking the same path Nirvana was and he did all the work. Putting little more thoughts into it Ghost reached town. Ghost walked around for a bit trying to figure out a way to pass time. He knew he could go to the boss room, but he figured by the time he reached there the boss would already be dead. Uncertain on what to do Ghost began to get hungry. Ghost knew he didn't want to pay for anything wanting to save up for something nice he could buy for himself later on, so Ghost found a bench that he sat down on. Once he sat down he then got out a sandwich and began to eat it. While he was eating some girl came and sat by him relatively close even though he had no clue who she was. The girl though was very attractive compared to all the girls Ghost has seen so far. The girl remained silent for some time as she just sat there awkwardly not making any noises just looking at the ground. Ghost just sat there eating his sandwich feeling extremely weird that she was sitting so close to him. Once Ghost finished his sandwich the girl immediately began to talk.

"I noticed you are a pretty high level compared to most people. I was wondering if you could help me?" The girl asks.

"Help you? What do you need help with?" Ghost wonders.

"Well you see I'm really scared and low leveled so I can't really protect myself, and seeing you are a high level I was wondering if you could help me?" The girl asks.

Ghost laughed obnoxiously loud at the girls comment where many people looked over at them probably wondering why Ghost was laughing so loud. Ghost kept laughing for a while until he finally stopped where he began to wipe his face like he was crying from laughing so hard.

"So you're telling me that you want me to protect you? Am I getting this right?" Ghost asks.

"Well yeah." The girl says quietly as if she was embarrassed from Ghost's laughs.

"Okay, okay. So what do I get out of protecting you?" Ghost asks curiously.

"Nothing I was just hoping you were a nice enough guy that you would protect me just to be nice." The girl says.

"Alright. Since you made me feel like a jerk I'll be somewhat nice. I won't protect you since if you are really that scared you can just stay in the safe zone. If you want to get stronger there is a field south of town that has some low leveled creatures to fight you can use to get higher leveled. That's all I am willing to tell you since I've got places to be and things to do. So good luck with your problem thing." Ghost says as he gets off the bench walking away from the girl.

Ghost walked away with a smirk on his face still can't believing what that girl just asked him to do. Ghost knew though that he could not get distracted and needed to keep to the plan he had made.

 

[Satan.EXE]

«火の鳥»
The Adorable Katana Warrior

---

Boss Room

x

CHAPTER I,
Part II:

---

"Recovery"

.

Phoenix rolled over onto her back, panting and regaining her breath and her stamina. "Why is it taking so long to come back? I spent days grinding that stat!" She was about to sit up when some guy got down near her and lifted her into a very one-sided hug.

"Dear God, I thought you were dead. I thought we lost you, Shiren. What happened to you? How'd you come back to life, and...what's with the dress?"

"Shiren...? Well of course I'm a Shiren, aren't you? We all a--" Wait. Something's not right... Phoenix grew quiet. "I don't recognize you from the introduction area after Kayaba and his minions came out with their plan..." It was at that moment that she'd realized what had happened. "This can't be the Beta either, because the symbol's gone, and..." It took a bit of time, but she'd finally realized exactly where she was; caught in a lying-down hug from some older guy who she didn't even remotely recognize. Her face seemed to turn red, she shoved the guy as hard as she could away, which resulted in her hitting the ground one more time. She quickly jumped up though, picking up a nearby katana and forcefully shoving it into her hip-sheath with a look of agitation and eyebrow-twitching. "Clearly something is going on here. If you don't recognize the Phoenix when you see her, or know not to touch her, let alone hug her, then something's not right."

She sighed and snapped her fingers on her left hand, and... Nothing happened. "What the--" she snapped twice more, and still, nothing. "Wait, maybe..." She instead snapped with her right hand, and this time, a keyboard and screen popped up before her. The screen flooded with text, and she approached the keyboard as she pulled the hairband from her ponytail and tossed her head to the side to let her hair fall straight. She stored the hairband, then held her hands over the holographic keys, pretty much avoiding paying attention to the others in he room. "Let's see, first thing's first..." She typed out [Menu Activation Mode: Lefty] and hit the enter key. The keyboard vanished, and when she snapped with her left hand, it opened. "There... Now..." [Check Version: //SAO.EXE] The screen then displayed a multitude of numbers, however, only the first one seemed important to her. "One... point..." She clenched her fist and tried to pound it on the keyboard, but it only phased through. "Crap!" She sighed and closed out the keyboard and screen. Pinching with her left fingers, she opened her menu and checked her details. "Well, most of the skills are still there... But I'm only... Level fifteen. And Illfang was... Is..." Only the first floor boss. Phoenix clenched her fists and scowled loudly in irritation. "All that progress... Gone!"

After a second of seething, she calmed herself. "Well, nothing I can do but help try and beat this thing then..." She looked over and watched the whole scene with the sexist pig and the woman who had rightfully earned the boss' treasures. After he bolted, Phoenix gripped the katana in her left hand, though kept it in the sheath. "S'cuse me mister touchy-feely, I've got a few words for that guy." Turning away from the pervert guy, she squinted in the direction that the pig ran off in. She crouched for a moment, then bolted at top speed in his direction.

---

When she arrived, she found the box-thief dead, and a Red Player holding the box. Taking a rather huge leap, she landed a few meters from the PKer. Her hand rested on her sheathed weapon, and she watched the guy with suspicion. She wasn't acting hostile, but she was showing caution, ready to fight if things turned ugly. "Hey, pig-slaughterer." She pointed to him with her right hand; or rather, she pointed to the box he was holding. "I'd like that box you have there, if you wouldn't mind." She did want the box herself, though guilt hung over her head, and she knew if she opened it herself she'd be no better than the pig who stole it in the first place. Sighing, she added, "Well... There's a girl in there who earned that box at the cost of her life. I'd rather see her get her prize than watch it get lost to a murderer... Can we work something out, or does this have to turn violent? If possible, I'd rather negotiate for it than have to kill someone. Your choice, though."

​

 

[Turnip]

Turnip
HP 52% | LV. 12 | XP 88% | Col 563
Location - Floor 1: Dungeons​

Turnip continued to attack as Illfang's health dropped to the final bar. Boomeraxe flew graciously, hitting its mark time and time again, and Turnip wasted no time in slashing the boss' legs while the axe was in the air.

A problem came, though, when the Kobold Lord switched weapons. He threw his large axe aside, pulling out a long, slender Nodachi. Illfang was now several times faster, and far more dangerous of an enemy. Turnip couldn't say he was surprised. Lots of games implemented similar things to make bosses more difficult as they neared death. Even Monster Hunter, which he'd just been referencing a little while before, had that mist system in place. He still disagreed with the idea that enemies should become far more powerful when they were essentially on their deathbed, and should be weak as hell, but it was fairly widely used. He wouldn't hold it against Kayaba – for now.

Despite the boss' change of style, and apparent difficulty increase, Turnip was surprised to find that he wasn't finding the battle much more difficult. He was in the zone, now, and the fight was nearing its end for sure. The other players seemed to know that, too, and were dealing the final blows, heavy damage raining down on Illfang. Turnip continued at his own pace, and didn't stop the Boomeraxe onslaught until two powerful-looking sword-arts finally reduced the Kobold Lord to pixels.

The battle was over.

Turnip settled out of his boss-battle mindset, scanning the battlefield as a means of head-counting. Everyone he knew, more or less, was still alive since he'd last checked, which was good. There didn't seem to have been that many casualties, though the fact that there had been any at all was somewhat disheartening. Still – the boss was dead now. For the living, the game continues, and dwelling on the dead won't help anything.

A notification yanked Turnip out of his sombre train of thought:

CONGRATULATIONS!
You've Reached Level 13!​

"Awwwww yeeeaaaaahhhhh! Sweet." He hummed to himself happily as he clicked through the various menus, checking his increased stats. His experience bar caught his eye. "That much? Damn, that was a whole level… makes a nice change from the regular sod-all."

Turnip closed the final pop-up and looked up again, seeing that the bard, Taka, had quite an ecstatic reaction. All in all, Turnip considered, the poet wasn't a bad guy. The singing was annoying, but he'd tolerate it – Taka didn't seem to be too bad in battle, either. This wasn't Baldur's Gate, after all, Turnip's dislike of the Bard class wasn't really founded in this game, it seemed.

Turnip gave a casual salute to the jovial player, "Glad to have fought with you, too, man. Nice fighting."

It seemed "the group" - of which Turnip considered himself a part of, if on the side-lines a little – was assembling near Illfang's drops, and Taka was moving towards them. Turnip followed suit, noticing the bard was trying to introduce himself.

"Might I ask who you all are?" Taka asked.

Turnip was behind him, but mentioned in passing, "I'm Turnip – vegetable extraordinare."

He'd leave Taka to the rest of his introductions – he was drawn to a loud voice; that shout-y moron from before, Saito.

"A WOMAN KILLING THE BOSS?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! IT WAS PROBABLY WEAKER THAN W-"

Saito was stopped by a punch from Lucina, generating a cringe-worthy 'smack'. She'd been in the process of handing a box-like mini-chest thing to Kagome – presumably the loot from Illfang. The armoured figure failed to repress his laughter as Saito fell to the floor.

Turnip stepped next to Lucina and Kagome, "Alright, that's probably the best thing I've seen all day."

He was less happy, though, when Saito got back up, and snatched the box from Lucina's arm.

"THIS IS MINE! I DESERVE IT!"

Turnip frowned in response, appalled at the man's actions. This guy was… something. A wide assortment of expletives came to mind, but Turnip pushed them back. He removed Boomeraxe from his belt and gestured to Saito with it, turning to the two beside him.

"So, should I axe this guy's legs off, or-?"

"-I'LL KILL HIM!" Kagome screamed, rushing after Saito.

"Aaalllrighty, I guess I'll leave her to it."

Turnip looked sideways to Lucina, still keeping an eye on the chase, "So what's with the gender-hidey-lying thing, Adam? If you really want to hide your appearance, I'd suggest investing in one of these. "He tapped his helmet to show what he was talking about, "Just a plain hood isn't really that effective – not everyone's as susceptible to disguises as I am."

Turnip watched on as Godot managed to snatch the box from Saito, landing in rather magnificent fashion. He handed the box to Kagome, and then began lecturing Saito.

The armoured figure continued, "At any rate, though: I don't care, and Saito is a prick. I think that just about sums up where I stand."

Turnip then moved up, approaching Godot, Kagome and Saito. Godot left, giving congratulations, to which Turnip gave a nod of acknowledgement. That left Kagome to serve Saito another punch to the face, which seemed to be a recurring theme. As Turnip approached, he heard Kagome say;

"Whew, that felt gooood. I should hit Saito more often."

"I think everyone should hit Saito more often." Turnip agreed, nodding profusely.

"Really though, good job, you guys. I was blown away by all of the teamwork."

Turnip gave another nod of acknowledgment.

"So... uh... You... do you guys mind... well, what I mean is... um... D-do you guys... well, that is..." Kagome held the box out in front of her. "D... do you mind if I have this...?"

Turnip smirked, "Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it, but it's yours to have. You dealt the killing blow, after all; at least, I assume you di- wha-?"

He stopped speaking when he noticed Kagome being pushed over, and Saito – back again, the persistent little sod – picking up the box again.

"You cannot be serious." Turnip moaned, readying Boomeraxe as Kagome shouted after the fleeing man, "What the hell is this guy's problem- oh- bloody hell!"

A sword pierced through Saito's stomach, and the player dissolved into pixels. As they cleared, they revealed one of the PKers from the dungeons yesterday – Nirvana – grabbing the box from the floor. Turnip noticed movement to his side, moving past him as a player approached Nirvana – leaping, no less. Huh. She stopped in front of Nirvana and began speaking to him.

Turnip wasn't entirely sure what was going on here, but one thing was for certain – he wasn't letting that PKer get that loot. He launched Boomeraxe at Nirvana's hands; hopefully that other player's presence would distract him from it, and hopefully the axe would do its work in making him drop anything he was holding.

He shouted as an attempt of further distraction, "Murder! Granted, you probably did us a favour in killing that bastard, but still – it's a matter of principle."

Turnip drew Composite Long Bow +1 in his right hand, holding his left out to catch Boomeraxe, which should be on its way back. This Nirvana was trouble, Turnip was sure of it.

 

[DeathofShadows]

[Well, seeing as everyone else is using a percentile system... I might as well too....]

Shadow

Stats:

Spoiler:

HP: 100%
Level: 14
EXP: 80/100
Col: 003300

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

---

It was over.

It was done.

The boss was dead.

These were the only thoughts that crossed Shadow's mind as he watched the large Kobold Lord fade into uncountable red particles. He continued watching the spot where the large beast had been, even after it was gone, unable to think to do anything else. He was still in the ready position with his blade, Redemption held in a reverse grip in front of him, one of his legs back and both bent. His other arm, the one holding the banded wooden shield, was slightly back, the shield at such an angle that it could quickly be brought to defensive position.

He held this pose for a good minute before his brain began regaining awareness, which it began doing by reminding him of the amount of EXP he'd gained. Apparently, he'd level- HE'D LEVELED UP FROM THE FIGHT!! He sheathed Redemption, making a victory fist as he straightened. He looked around the room to see the same was true to everyone else, however, his attention was especially plucked by a lone player, one that reminded Shadow much of himself. Even down to the victory fist, held up with the back facing outward. This piqued Shadow's interest, and the player walked over to him.

The player noticed, and instantly seemed relieved. Apparently, the player was shy, and had also noticed Shadow.

"Hey," the player said, holding up an open hand in greeting.

"Hey," Shadow replied.

"I'm Z," Z said, motioning with the carved shield he had equipped.

"Shadow."

"Cool name."

"I could say the same for you."

Z laughed, and held out a hand. Shadow, following suit, took the hand and shook it. Shadow then looked back over the room, seeing many players, though he and Z were kinda in a corner. Turning back to the slightly shy player, Shadow asked, "Dragons?" gesturing to the carvings along the outside of Z's shield.

"Skyrim," the player responded. "Big fan."

Shadow grinned, and gave Z a good look-over. He was a few inches shorter than Shadow, most likely scratching six foot at the most, and looked obviously Latino. There was a slight mustache to match Z's buzz-cut black hair, and he wore glasses. The most prominent feature of his face, though, was his smile. Broad and warm, and contagious.

Patting Z on the back, Shadow asked, Whaddaya say we go get ourselves a drink? I've heard rumors from beta testers that floor two has some kick-ass food."

Z gave Shadow a wolf like grin, replying, "You're on."

And from that point, the two were inseparable friends.

​

CSS by DeathofShadows

 

[ShinyDiamond]

Robin - Lvl 10
Floor 1: Boss Room Cleared

​

Robin's part was done in Kagome's plan. It was all up to her now. The least Robin can do, should Illfang still live, is protect Shiren from him is he targets her. However, it seems events took a twist. The Shiren that took a change in appearance, when Robin wasn't paying attention to her, attempts to stab Robin, but it bounces off. Robin turns around & is shocked. What did Shiren think she was doing? Robin's shock turns to curiousity when he notices her appearance, name included.

Shiren's name was of different language. Robin should've understood it, but he didn't. This isn't the same Shiren as before. He quickly turns away when the girl's ger starts to pixelize away. She now wears a dress, & Robin still avoids eye contact with her. Why would she attack me in the first place? he thought curiously.

A few moments later went by rather fast. Illfang was finally defeated, giving everyone their reward. However, before Illfang could disappear, he managed to stab right through Lucina, prompting Robin to look away. Again, he has failed to save another life. Illfang was dead, & so were a few players. He can mourn for their deaths now. Robin regains his composure & notices someone still alive. Lucina was still amongst the living. This mystery was solved when Robin saw who had healed Lucina in time. Thaat female player from earlier. At least that's one less death, but still.

Robin is now level 11. He has 30% more experience as well from the Sentinels he killed. Everyone can rest easy now, for now.

It's over...but there's still more to come.

Robin regroups with his group, everyone was socializing after the battle. "Lucina," he gets Lucina's attention. "Next time I say to heal, don't hesitate." Why Lucina didn't heal when he told her to is beyond Robin.

Robin tries to figure out what happened to Shiren, or whoever she is now. The next thing he knew, that Saito guy grabs the reward box & tries to run off with it. Robin gets irritated & sighs. "Must that guy get on everyone's nerves?" He shakes his head at this. Kagome charges after Saito & gets her reward back, with the help of Godot. Looks like Robin doesn't have to interfere.

"I think it's time I have a word with Saito," Robin mentions to the group, & as he passes by Taka, he decides to introduce himself first. "It's Robin." Now to have a word with Sai-

Robin is stunned. In front of his eyes, a PKer annihilate Saito, out in the open. Now he has the reward box. The kill & stealing wasn't gonna cut it with Robin. Sure, Saito wasn't such a good guy. OK, he was horrible. But even he didn't deserve to die. Robin was filled with slight rage. Shiren, or the mystery player, blocks the PKer's path, hoping to negotiate with him for the reward box. Robin dashes & appears before the PKer, summoning his sword in preparation if necessary. "If I were you, I'd give back that box. I don't negotiate with killers, & even I wouldn't kill Saito, no matter what wrong things he did to everyone!" Robin was never gonna let this killer go anywhere. He killed a player, Robin doesn't like the idea of someone dead. "Give us the box...NOW!"

 

[Geras]

Rikuto Yuuto Sato / Ryuusa Lvl.07
Dungeon

​

In store: No one

Rikuto and Xenith found themselves exiting the dungeon when they both received identical notifications. ANNOUNCEMENT: The boss room has been located! Xenith then gave a flat stare at Rikuto and said, "You are the worst leader ever." He gave a toothy grin that said "whoops?" and laughed nervously before the two unspokenly decided to rush back into the dungeon. Fortunately, the boss room's discovery meant that everyone's maps had been updated as to its location. Unfortunately, that didn't make the labyrinth itself any easier to traverse, especially for a team as low leveled as theirs down in the dungeon's depths.

Rikuto honestly wasn't looking forward to fighting the boss, but the data in the player handbook said that the boss would have hordes of respawning "ruin kobold sentinel" minions. That meant that he could contribute to the battle without actually having to fight the boss! He had to do what he could to help beat the game, even if he couldn't do insane amounts of damage. As the two walked, though, something bothered Rikuto. He would have expected Kouki to have sent him a message the moment the announcement was made, maybe something along the lines of "Dude, boss, BOSS! I mean, boss, the boss! They found it! We have to go right. now!" But no, he received no such thing. It probably wasn't anything serious, though, maybe Kouki was just having a busy day at the store. Of course he would be. Everyone and their mothers would be gearing up to battle the boss!

They didn't seem to need much verbal communication as they journeyed through the dungeon, simple glances and hand gestures sufficing. Managing to avoid dead ends through their updated map and avoiding ambushes through their combined detection and listening skills, this time around everything went much smoother. Rikuto was responsible for blocking attacks and drawing attention while Xenith switched in and dealt damage before they switched back. After a while Rikuto detected a large group approaching and motioned for Xenith to stop. She heard speaking and reported that it was a raid party on its way to take down the boss. "That's great! Let's join them!" He stepped forward only to have Xenith put her arm in front of him, blocking his path. Before Rikuto could question her, she pointed a finger at the front of the crowd. Rikuto was about to say, "Am I supposed to be seeing something," but stopped short once he recognized the man at the helm of the group; Saito. However, Rikuto still replied, "Is that supposed to explain why you apparently don't want me to join them?"

Xenith gave an audible sigh. "Did you not hear him yesterday morning? That guy is an idiot and I want no part in whatever he's planning to do with that group. I'd wager he plans on getting them all killed against the boss until it's just about dead then swooping in and taking the kill, the credit, and the reward." Rikuto stared at her for a little with her staring back, waiting for him to say something.

"You're quite the cynic, you know that?"

"I prefer to think of myself as a realist."

"But what's funny is that you gave me a speech about believing in my friends like less than an hour ago."

"That was different."

"No it wasn't."

"Shut up."

Rikuto didn't really have much of a way to continue that path of conversation but he had made his point anyway. They would be clearing the path the two planned to take anyway so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Rikuto didn't entirely understand why Xenith hated him so much, though. Sure he was a little… stupid and rude, but for the most part he just didn't understand things entirely. Rikuto honestly believed that the Beaters contributed to a lot of early game deaths by abandoning the newbies early game and taking all the good quests and spawn points before the newbies could completely figure out the controls, much less cope with the reality of this deathgame. Ask a beater or a hardcore normal player about that and they would just say that it was the newbies' fault for wasting time instead of grinding from the start like a mindless, soulless machine. It was also entirely possible that they had kept the location of the boss room secret until now for some unknown reason, but what made more sense was that people refused to form massive search parties to look more effectively, either out of mistrust or selfishness. Whatever the case, he thought that Xenith was being hard on him. If he could, Rikuto would have joined Saito's group and helped the boy.

It didn't take too long for Saito's raid party of around 40 players to pass. Some people noticed the pair and called them over, but Xenith successfully pretended to be frightened at the idea of fighting the boss so that they would leave them alone. The two waited until they were all a good distance gone before advancing. Rikuto didn't really see a difference between following the crowd and being in the crowd, but whatever floats Xenith's boat.

Thus, they continued through the dungeon without issue until yet another presence was detected by Rikuto. This one was alone, though, and seemingly that of a player. He put a hand up to halt his companion and waited. There was a moment of silence before he heard a familiar voice. "Figured you wouldn't let me get the drop on you," said the voice that reminded Rikuto of a heavy smoker. Rikuto and Xenith knew exactly who the man was even before he stepped out from behind the nearby corner. There stood a man with a brown goatee and messy long hair wielding a scimitar; the man who had assaulted them on the way back to town after Saito's speech. "The businessman and the badass. The look on your faces says you probably won't be forgetting me anytime soon. Where's that lady friend of yours who covered herself all up?" Rikuto and Xenith assumed battle stances and gave unamused glared. "Whoa, calm down kiddies, I was just messin' around. I'm not here to try stealin' from you this time." He put both his hands up as if he were being held at gunpoint for emphasis.

Rikuto was ready to question him, but Xenith beat him to it. "What do you want then?" She shouted her words fiercely and unflinchingly but warily kept her distance. His gang was probably waiting deeper in the dungeon preparing an ambush or something similar.

"Put it down, girlie. I'm here for him." The bandit pointed at Rikuto. "Back then I was right on him when he crystal-ported away to whatever hole he comes from. I saw that blast, though, so I know he's gotta be strong. All I want is to challenge him to a duel, see if I coulda' taken him." He held out his scimitar and Xenith tensed, but neither she nor Rikuto were prepared for what he did. The bandit flipped the blade in his hand and stabbed himself, keeping the sword inside of him until he was at a small red bar of health remaining when he pulled it back out.

"What the hell are you trying to pull!?" This time it was Rikuto who made the outburst. "How is stabbing yourself going to make me want to fight you? How am I supposed to believe you came all this way just to fight me in the first place? " This didn't make any sense.

"Oh, he can talk!" He was making snide comments despite the fact that he had just about killed himself. "You really don't know? This way, neither of you can attack me without killing me. You refuse me and I won't let you pass. You won't be able to get by without attacking me and killing me, which will mark you as player killers. Remember, I'm still not red yet." Rikuto came to the conclusion that this guy was crazy.

"That plan is crazy, not to mention idiotic," shouted Xenith, mostly echoing Rikuto's thoughts.

"Wanna try me?" The bandit confidently held his arms out. "even if you do manage to get past me, I can always just follow you and jump in front of your attacks. You deny me this, one of you becomes a player killer. I'm hoping it ends up being you, shopkeep."

Xenith was about to make another rebuttal but this time it was Rikuto's turn to interrupt. "Fine, if it'll get you off our backs then I'll duel you." Xenith gave him an incredulous look. "On the condition that I set the rules." She gave him a stare that said "I hope you know what you're doing," but he just continued after a nod from the bandit. "First strike mode, no other restrictions. All right?" Rikuto sent the duel request and a quick accept from his opponent said that he was fine with it.

The 60 second timer appeared and began to count down the time until the duel in which the bandit took a potion to restore the health he himself had taken away. "You've got balls, man. You seen my level?" Rikuto just wanted to get rid of this guy, but he hadn't seen that he was level 11, four higher than his own. He didn't actually expect to win, though, but as long as he and Xenith were free to go on to the boss room then he didn't really care. 33..32..31.. The timer's countdown seemed painfully slow. While he knew that he couldn't be killed in first strike mode by anyone on the first floor right now, it still made him nervous. 17...16...15... Preparations were being finished and battle stances were being taken. The two came up to the center of the designated area and Rikuto finally saw the bandit's name; THOR, in all caps. Rikuto wondered whether this thug even knew who Thor was. He didn't have much time to wonder though since the duel started almost immediately after.

THOR wasted no time in dashing forward, his blade passing an inch in front of his face but missing only because the Rikuto stumbled back in shock, landing with his bottom on the ground. He quickly moved his shield to block the follow up strikes and managed to get back up, but THOR unleashed an onslaught that left Rikuto with no chances to strike back. His moves were astoundingly swift with Rikuto remembering how he had caught up to them last time they met even with their large head start. It seemed that for now, his only option was to defend until THOR became tired. and left himself open. "Hey, what's the matter? You can't hide behind that shield forever, you know!" Suddenly, the strikes stopped, but Rikuto suspected that there wasn't an opening waiting for him on the other side of the shield. Sure enough, he noticed movement to the left and saw THOR trying to dash to the side of the shield and strike. Rikuto was able to block the attack without much effort, but his opponent immediately dashed again and again, no longer striking twice in the same place. Defending himself was becoming a struggle as he simultaneously had to spot where THOR was dashing next. "I don't got all day, man!"

Rikuto's breathing started becoming heavy. Damn, I can't keep this up too much longer... THOR seemed to notice this and changed his tactics. "Come on, you can launch my whole crew like 70 feet but can't take one guy? You holdin' out on me, man?" Instead of dashing, he turned and ran to a wall before jumping and jumping again off of the wall to gain air. "Take this!" Rikuto shifted his position to block an overhead attack, but instead THOR vaulted off of the shield and landed behind him. "Gotcha!"

It seemed like THOR had won, but Rikuto wasn't done yet. He lifted his partisan upon feeling THOR come off of his shield and made it glow silver upon charging his sword art. It hadn't even charged for a full second before Rikuto released it. "Thunderburst!" The move was called out hurriedly under the pressure, but the move was executed successfully. A miniscule burst of not even a foot pushed away from Rikuto, knocking THOR's scimitar to the side enough for it to miss him. From what Rikuto had seem, he knew that there would be a follow up attack once the surprise of the move wore off so he spun, knocking his opponent to the side as well with his shield before thrusting his spear at THOR's exposed form. "Now I've got you!"

All Rikuto could make out of the events that followed was a flash of orange, muttered words, and a hand grabbing the corner of his shield before he found himself falling onto the ground himself with THOR's scimitar speeding towards him. He tried to hit the weapon with his own to move it off course, but it wasn't enough and the blade dug itself into Rikuto's shoulder. Both parties paused as the hit connected, silence surrounding them both until the window at the center of the designated field declared the winner: THOR.

Rikuto was speechless. Before the battle, he told himself that he didn't care about winning. Now, though, he actually felt a little bad about his loss. Of course, THOR was much higher level than him so a loss was inevitable, but still. At that moment he thought he had a chance at winning, but then… wait, what actually happened then? Rikuto sat up and Xenith rushed in between the two. "How'd you like my Contact Switch, shopkeep?" THOR boasted. Well he wasn't exactly a humble winner. "I just gotta touch my opponent and we switch positions. It's got some drawbacks, but it's totally worth it. Saved my ass plenty of times." Rikuto noticed that about third of THOR's health bar was missing. That was a weird sword art, but he had to admit it was pretty interesting.

"We don't care. You got your duel, now leave. I'd threaten you, but you're a masochist or something so instead I'm just going to tell you to leave. Now." Xenith didn't seem to have much more tolerance for THOR than she did for Saito.

"Fine, I'll go. You had me going there for a moment, man. Without my good ol' CS you'd probably have taken me down! Well, now I know that Mr.businessman here isn't the weakest link. Bye then!" Before either of them could ask what he meant, he sprinted away and was gone.

"Damn, he's probably plotting something against the company." Xenith cursed before turning back to Rikuto who had gotten up from the ground. "You all right, boss? I know that you had him until he pulled that deus ex machina sword art. Impressive swordplay, or spearplay in this case. Maybe we could duel sometime. You've seen my sword arts, so you know I can't pull anything like that, but I'll still give you a run for your money."

Rikuto laughed. "No thanks, I just want to deal with this boss then go home and do some nice, simple shopkeeping." She grinned slightly before turning away to continue the journey to the boss room.

---

When the pair reached the open doors of the boss room they looked inside and found the boss, a large kangaroo-ish Kobold named Illfang the Kobold Lord… who soon disintegrated into a rain of light shards. Saito's raid party had its numbers diminished, but was for the most part intact. He also saw the other players he had seen before along with some new faces. A window displayed in the middle of the room rewarding all the combatants experience.

"Aaaand we missed it. Seriously, who even wants a duel to the point where he stabs himself for it when there's a boss to be killed? Whatever, at least they beat it. It looks like they did pretty well."

Rikuto looked around, scanning the faces in the room and spotted a couple that drew his attention. One was Princess who was crying on the floor next to her guild mates and while he felt obligated to comfort her for whatever she was suffering through, the other face piqued his curiosity even more. It was Kouki, the assistant manager that was supposed to be in the store assistant managing. He appeared to have participated in the fight, although that begged the question of how he got here before they did. Rikuto called out to him. "Hey, Kou! What are you doing here?"

Kouki turned to him and waved, shouting in response, "Beating the game, boss! What took you so long to get here? I thought you guys were already in the dungeon when they found the boss room!" As he walked over to the two followed by SilverMist who was in the crowd along with another unfamiliar face, Rikuto simply pointed at Xenith as an answer to Kouki's question. She seemed clearly shocked at the accusation, but Rikuto gestured for her to calm down.

"I'm not blaming you, I just needed a starting point for the story. We were headed for the boss room when we encountered Saito's group, but Xenith didn't want to be a part of it so we stayed back and waited for them to leave before continuing on our own. Then our path was blocked by the bandit leader from yesterday that attacked us and he challenged me to a duel. After he beat me, he left and said something that probably meant it wasn't the last we'd see of him. Then we came here." Rikuto hung his head and sighed upon finishing his story. "Only to find that we missed the whole battle…" When he brought his head back up, he noticed that Kouki had risen two levels and was now level 7, matching his own, and SilverMist was also two levels higher at level 6. However, there was still the issue of this mystery player named Camlann that was apparently level 13. Rikuto turned to him and held his hand out for a handshake. "Hello, I'm Ryuusa, proprietor of Ryuusa's Quality Goods. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

What was surprising was the fact that the lance-wielding heavily armored warrior knelt down onto one knee before saying, "It is an honour to meet you, exalted 'boss'! I am a humble craftsman who wishes to join your company. Your assistant manager Kouki has regaled me with tales of your heroism and displays of friendship and equality to your subordinates. For you to have been in a duel for so long with a bandit leader, it must have been a fierce battle! Please, it would be an honor for you to accept my services!" Camlann bowed his head to which Rikuto looked at Kouki with a confused look. Kouki merely shrugged in response.

"Stand, Camlann." The knight obeyed without hesitation and then Rikuto turned to Kouki. "I think you owe us an explanation.

Kouki shrugged again. "When the boss room was discovered, I looked for a bodyguard so I could take some inventory and sell at the boss' gates. After calling SilverMist, I hired Camlann and we went to the dungeon only to find Saito's group, which we joined up with. That meant I didn't actually need the guy anymore, so we just relaxed and I told him a bunch of stories about work on the way instead. I think he liked them. Oh, and I didn't tell you anything because I wanted to surprise you." Rikuto just stared at him, wondering whether or not he should scold him for moving inventory without permission or praising him for finding Camlann and taking an initiative for sales.

Overall, Kouki had made smart decisions in all this. "In that case, congratulations, Kouki. I'm promoting you to full manager of the first floor. May this location prosper under your guidance." He received a look that suggested that Kouki thought he was joking, but a continued look of seriousness told Kouki that he wasn't kidding. Then his expression changed into a great big smile.

"Oh man, seriously? Thank you, boss, you won't regret this!" Kouki shook Rikuto's hand vigorously before being congratulated by the rest of the company and running off to do who knows what.

"Hey, wait!" Kouki stopped and came running back. "There's someone I need you all to meet." Rikuto led everyone over to where Princess and her guild was. "This is Princess, the company's new head advertiser." He gestured to her while thinking of other better ways to put it than "flute player".

Everyone started to crowd around her and try to talk to her, SilverMist saying "Aww, she's so cute! Here, I finished your guild's cloaks", Kouki saying "She's still young, but I can tell she's gonna grow up into a very beautiful woman!", Camlann commenting on her ability to survive so long with a knife in her back and Xenith commenting on how late for work she was with only Rikuto staying back. He had noticed something off; her guild's leader, Psyche, was missing. The fact that she had been crying when they got here meant that there was only one likely possibility. That was part of the reason why Rikuto brought all her coworkers to see her. Rikuto himself walked over to her guildmates Zeus and Poseidon. "Do you think she's going to be all right? I know she's strong physically, but she hasn't shown me much about her emotional side."
​

 

[Sapphire Rose]

Lucina
Player level 15
Floor 1: Dungeons.​

Lucina watched as the box was grabbed out of her hands. Saito ran away from the group but was soon stopped by someone with a red cursor. That could only mean one thing... "What the..." Lucina saw how Saito was being attacked and soon turned into pixels. She didn't know exactly how to feel about this. She hated him, he was a sexist and a pig but... was it okay to have him just die like that? The main problem here seemed to be the box. No one seemed to care much about Saito's dead except for Robin and a few others.

Nirvana, the player killers name, refused to return the box and was holding a teleport crystal in his hand. Lucina was wondering why he would kill Saito. Just the box and everyone's hate towards Saito couldn't be the reason, could it? Lucina watched the situation unfold and how Robin was getting pissed. This was actually the first time that she saw him angry like this.

No one except for Robin had seen how Lucina almost died. "Lucina," Robin walked up to her and tried to get her attention by calling her name. "Next time I say to heal, don't hesitate." He said before he walked away again. Lucina couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Why would he care so much about a stupid potion?

Lucina thought that the other players were able to defeat Nirvana if it come to that, especially Godot, Turnip and Kagome... maybe the poet too. Lucina slowly walked towards the teleport that looked like a door in the back of the room. This seemed to be the teleport to the second floor. Shall she walk through it?

​

 

[Crunch Punch]

»S C Y K E«
DAMON EAGLE
» Floor One
» XP: 42% -> 57%
» Health: 100% -> 2% -> 52%
» Player (Level 13 -> 14)​

Labyrinth/Boss Room (FL1)​

Explosion.

Immortal object.

Illfang and it's huge Nodachi.

And the final blow.

Scyke slowly rolled his eyes open, rubbing them as if he just awoke from a deep slumber. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying flat on the neon ground, his Katana a few spaces away from his outstretched arm. Scyke was confused more than anything on what the hell was going on.

Then-

T-the boss! What happened to the boss-

CONGRATULATIONS!

You've reached level 14!
​

W-wait, what? What does that mean?! But what about Illfang? Why did I wake up? Why was I on the ground in the first place?! I don't understand anything!

Scyke slowly lifted his upper body, collecting his sword in the process. He looked around the boss room; players were celebrating and being merry with each other, huge grins on all their faces. Some were busy picking up all the dropped loot that had been left behind by Illfang. Scyke kept staring all over the place, his mind piecing together all the evidence his eyes were picking up. Then it finally clocked.

...I must have missed the whole fight… I-I didn't even manage to get a single hit on the boss… but why? Why was I on the ground, while everyone here looks like they were fine the whole way through? I was so determined to slay that stupid huge boar myself but… just what happened?

After a minute of more pondering Scyke finally rose from the ground, but not without finding difficulty doing it. He flicked his eyes to his health bar, and was shocked to find what he saw.

2%?! How did that happen as well? I don't remember anything… all I remember is slicing through all those minions.

Before long Scyke toggled towards his inventory and brought out a normal health potion, replenishing his health to around halfway. Before he could carry on evaluating his situation however, a barrage of nagging interrupted him.

Some guy was holding a box up of some sorts and throwing a tantrum, which probably annoyed this hooded character and some other lass. Things looked like it was getting pretty heated, before punches started flying from the lass and then the box was dropped. Scyke watched on as the rowdy guy once again picked the box up, but then-

A sword sunk into the guy's body, forcing him to drop the loot. His face expressed plain shock, his eyes and mouth suddenly wide open, before the dude exploded onto red fragments. Players around the scene looked as shock as the victim. The murderer stood there, box in hand.

Scyke stood while he stared with horror on his face.

His fingers suddenly curled to create a fist, digging on his hand. His teeth start to grit harshly against each other, and his forehead wrinkled as his face turned from distress to anger. That guy… killed that other guy… in cold blood… I can understand suicide, but actually killing someone else even though they know the consequences? Why would anyone in their right bloody mind do a sick thing like that?!

Scyke looked down at his clenched fists, his frustrations levels hitting overdrive. Why? Why?! WHY?! WH-

"Erm… 'scuse me? Are you ok there? You don't look so hot."

Scyke blinked out of his angered state and turned around to face the direction of the voice. It was strange for Scyke to be called out like that; he hadn't had much contact with the other players beside either for trading purposes or the blonde dude he had met earlier. Scyke looked up to see the person properly. And then his eyes widened.

The first thing he noticed was her hair; it was of luscious chocolate brown, one which flowed down her body beautifully and complimented her caucasian complexion. She had a defining fringe on her, which covered most of her forehead. Her eyes glowed with emerald green, her lips soft. Her slim, slender figure was well wrapped with maroon threads Scyke had never seen before, and she seemed about the same height as him. There was this strange mysterious aura about her, but there was no doubt that she was beautiful. Scyke's fist quickly crumpled into a flat hand, and he tried his best to keep his mouth shut. His mind switched from anger into awe after just one look.

The girl blinked in surprise as Scyke didn't reply back instantly to her and just stared for a second. After a moment of awkwardness Scyke shook his head after realising the situation and put a hand forward.

"Sorry, erm… I-I'm fine, don't worry 'bout me. I'm Scyke, and what about you?"

The brunette giggled before replying with a grin and returning the open hand with a handshake.

"Hey, someone's very formal eh? Well, I'm known as Stardust around these parts. Glad to make your acquaintance, Scyke."

 

[machomuu]

William Danielson||Godot
Lv. 13||Floor 1​

She only had a few words for him, all of them biting. Godot watched as Shiren Kai walked off. Normally, he would have played it off, but here was his friend who had just revived somehow, and she completely disregarded him and his affection. It hurt quite a bit. He clenched his teeth and scratched his head irritably as he stood up. He walked back over to the others to find an equally pissed off Kagome. She turned to him sharply and said, "Give me a stamina potion!" He raised an eyebrow, but didn't feel the need to question her on the matter. She had low stamina so she needed a stamina potion, that's all there was to it. He handed her a potion, which she immediately drank, promptly bolting off in the same direction as Hou-ou Shiren.

---

Kagome
Lv. 15||Floor 1​

Kagome equipped her Tanto-esque dagger (called Fool's Blade) and held it tightly in her hand, ready to strike the moment she arrived at the scene. She'd reached the thief just in time to see his corpse waste and willow away. She looked up to see that the box was now in the hands of a new PC. The red crystal above his head indicated that he was a PK, no doubt Saito's killer, but Kagome didn't really care about that. He had the box, and that was all that mattered to her at the moment. She motioned towards a yell, but then she received a message. She opened the message after a quick contemplation, and it read one thing:

Think​

That was all that the message read. There was no sender, no subject, just a single word. Kagome disregarded the message at first, but then she looked around and assessed the situation. Her side had the advantage, no doubt. There didn't really seem to be anything to think about, but then she took yet another look at the situation. Three of them, including her, were ready to attack. There was a girl who was reasoning with him with an almost cocky air about her. Then, finally, there was the completely unperturbed PK with box in hand. He wasn't worried about death, and he probably wasn't stupid enough to kill a man and steal a prize inside a room filled with people who could attack him.

Rather, the stupid one would have been her for rushing in on the situation. Not only was she being too hot headed, a flaw that she was aware of but could do little to remedy, but she was also being too self-righteous in thinking that the box was hers and only hers. It was a little embarrassing to think that she could think herself to be so deserving when her now brother Godot was a rather modest individual. Despicable, really. She sheathed her blade and took a few deep breaths to quell her rage. She looked at the PK, and then at the girl. It seemed the better idea to watch the situation unfold and, should any harm come to the girl, she would take action. She had no doubt in her mind that, should the PK try anything, she could use Dual Cross to send him to a swift end, far more so than she was when she first fought Godot. As such, she took to a nearby wall and crossed her arms.

William Danielson||Godot
Lv. 13||Floor 1​

After Godot wrote his message to Kagome, he took note of yet another message that he had waiting. It was from Arc, an NPC that he'd met at the beginning of the Chef Meister Questline.

From: Arc
Subject: Broken Polearm

Hey, Godot. I thought I'd spare you Meister's wretched puns and just give this message to you myself. He told me that you'd broken the line of the of the weapon I gave you. It's unfortunate, but I'm glad to hear that you're putting it to good use, that weapon's not the easiest to master. So I'll just get straight to my point: you can't get it fixed by regular means. A regular craftsman or blacksmith can't fix the Meister's Soul. Part of this is because it takes for more skill than anything an average craftsman could muster. The other reason is because there is little chance that the material the line is made out of will be in the possession of pretty much anyone you'll go to.

If you want it fixed, you will first need to find a Silver Salmon. It may not sound menacing, but they're incredibly large and ferocious creatures. They are said to actually be a type of sea-dwelling wyvern, but they are relatively easy to spot. If you happen across one, I'd not recommend fighting it alone. Once you defeat it, take three strands of its hair, and a fang if you happened to lose the hook as well. Afterwards, head to the Inn and find an old man with a red beard. He's pretty hard to miss, so don't worry over accidentally talking to the wrong person. His name is Tact, and he's a craftsman, but he isn't cheap. Just tell him you're a disciple of Meister and he'll help you free of charge.​

That was the last thing Godot was expecting, and he was irritated now that he knew exactly how much work it would be to fix the polearm. It didn't bother him too much, however, as he had other things on his mind. He scanned the room to see what exactly should be done before progressing to the next floor. He considered going to Kagome briefly, but quickly decided against it in favor of allowing her to go about the situation her own way. He'd provided her all the aid he was going to. In another area, he found Princess. Even there, however, he wouldn't give any aid, as it seemed almost inappropriate for him to intrude. He sighed and turned to Taka, who'd introduced himself. "Name's Godot, and that hot-headed vixen over there is my little sister, Kagome." He took on a thoughtful pose, scanning over the area several more times. "Well...maybe I can just watch over the situation..."

And with a quick equipment change, Godot strolled on over to all the commotion, careful not to be seen by his little sister.

 

[<Challenger>]

Taka the Lovable Poet: Level 14 - 40 Exp - 3200 Col
Introductions Are Done. Now, to Even More ADVENTURE!
​

Taka laughed at the introduction the helmeted figure gave to him. Turnip! What an interesting name! Certainly fitting for a man such as him! He didn't get much of an answer beyond that. The pink haired girl was crying and her guild was comforting her, the white haired guy gave a brief response, Robin, and proceeded to converse with the hooded man, and the hooded man seemed to be named Lucina. Odd...A girl's name. Even Taka thought that was strange...but no matter. A name is just a title.

Before he could say anything, Saito ran up and stole the box, screaming and shouting as usual. Bastard! Taka drew Poetic Justice in anger, although he did not intend on using it. He held the greatsword out with one hand. "You thief! Come back here!" That isn't what surprised him, however. The next thing he knew a different figure came running out of nowhere and shanked Saito up the stomach. "What th-!" It was a PK! "Murderer!" Taka agreed that Saito was a terrible person. He was selfish, sexist, egotistical, pig-headed...Wait...Was he defending him or agreeing that he should've died? jJFIJESn. Anyways, no one deserved to die. Not even Saito. "Hey! He may have been a piece of trash-scumbag! But he didn't deserve to die!" The last sentence was said with a bit of hesitancy. Maybe Saito DID deserve to die. An older-ish girl began to deal with the PK, so Taka drew his attention away from the monster.

A young man, the one who had been soaring through the air, approached the group. "Name's Godot, and that hot-headed vixen over there is my little sister, Kagome."

Taka gave a jovial laugh. "Kagome? Why couldn't I see that?!" He grinned. She certainly looked like a cosplayer, but it must've been sheer coincidence. "So that's the name of my savior. You must thank her for me later." With that, he turned to the group one final time. Time to move on. I shall be the first to Floor 2! He cleared his throat and held Poetic Justice straight up. "Well, my friends: Turnip, Robin, Lucina, Godot, Kagome, I must be off. You must understand, adventure awaits me!" With that he took off sprinting towards the doorways to Floor 2. Right before he went through, he shouted out loud, "FIRST!" It was just like getting Youtube comments!​

 

[Colony]

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

Nightmare had quickly become the center of everyone's attention. First, the girl named Phoenix approached him. She didn't appear to be hostile towards Nightmare, though she did mention that she would "kill" him if he didn't cooperate. His face looked empty of emotion, but his hands gave away his true thoughts. As they gripped tighter at their respective items, he struggled not to attack. Even though he was offered a deal to negotiate he wouldn't make a fair deal. Why would he? With his teleport crystal in hand he was the one in power. They get too aggressive and then poof, he's gone. So, if Phoenix wanted to make a trade, then it was going to benefit Nightmare greatly. He was working up a price in his head that would be more than what he thought the box was worth. If they couldn't afford his price then the box would remain with him.

While he was preparing to make his bid with Phoenix he heard a whirring noise, along with someone yelling at him, though he wasn't sure what that person was yelling. The whirring kept getting louder, which prompted Nightmare to look for what was making the noise. His eyes scanned the field until noticing an object spinning in the air. The object was moving towards him with a startling pace. In an effort to dodge, he side-stepped and moved the box to the side, but he wasn't aware of the object's - which could now be made out as the axe from earlier - trajectory. The axe slammed into his left hand, sending the teleportation crystal flying away from him and dropping his health by eight percent. Nightmare looked around to see who threw the weapon, but with so many possibilities he was unsuccessful.

Another person ran up to Nightmare, yelling "If I were you, I'd give back that box. I don't negotiate with killers, & even I wouldn't kill Saito, no matter what wrong things he did to everyone!" This person was familiar from the night before, that weakling who was arguing over how he would die before letting someone else die. Nightmare was more than willing to fulfill his wish, but it wasn't in his interest at the moment. Right now he needed to get his crystal back, but it too was nowhere to be seen. His plan for extortion would have to be altered. Nightmare pointed at Phoenix before saying "You want what's in the box, correct? Let me give you a demonstration, then we can deal." He looted the box of its item, the <Coat of Midnight>. The box shattered after being looted, and within the few seconds it took the box to disappear completely he equipped his new sword and switched his <Luna Cape> with the coat. He stood there, the black coat draping around him like the villain he was. "And now, I will demonstrate on the mouthy one over here." he said, motioning towards Robin. Nightmare took his running stance to use <Loki's Prize>. Quickly, his decoy was launched at Robin, but it was just a ruse. The second part of his Sword Art forced him into <Hiding>, which hopefully would buy him enough time to find his teleportation crystal.​

 

[«Chuckles»]

"Hmm well I do need the speed boost I have been felling particularly slow as of late, well I will take you up on this request." Rin said with a large grin across his face.

"Thankyou I will be here in the town of beginnings waiting for you <<chrono>>." Philip said with a joyful face.

"Yeah... Waiting alright NPC's give me the biggest shivers looking all happy and stuff..." Rin mumbled as he left the town.


After 10 minutes of walking Rin came across a great plane with enough wolves and swines to kill. Rin having read the guide book that the Beta-Testers had left him knew that wolves are <<hostile>> so they will attack as soon as he came within their <<Detection>> skills.

"Ok, I think I should take out swines since they are closer to me and I am at a lower risk of hitting the red." Rin said drawing his blade from it's sash.

Rin ran at the <<swine>> before drawing the blade and doing an upward cut at the last minute.

"Squeal" the swine squeaked as it dissipitated into nothing.

"This is to easy..." Rin said without realising a <<wolf>> had seen him.

"Grrr... Grawh"t the wolf roared as it pounced at Rin.

"Huh?!" Tai gasped as he saw the wolf running at him.

Rin drew his blade and ran at the wolf side stepping it as soon as he came close to it before cleaving the poor animal.

"Grawr!" the wolf yelled with a scar along its side.

"Huh that should have killed it... damn my swords durability must be low!" Rin yelled before running at the wolf whilst it was still stunned. As Rin ran at the wolf he brang the sword to his side and was getting ready to jam it into the <<wolves>> head but as all storys would have it the wolf began to run at Rin.

As the two warriors ran at eachother Rin tripped and the wolf pounced depleting Rin's health to the yellow zone (43% to be exact). Rin before he could act grabbed his sword and charged up his Sword Art.

"Flaming Spirit!" Rin yelled before standing up and slicing the wolf into bits of data.


"Fu fu fu, that was difficult I think I should go buy another recipe this one seemed to be absolute crap!" Rin said before throwing his sword at the ground. As the katana hit the ground it dissipated into nothing.

"Well looks like I better get back to the town of beginnings but first I should loot these corpses. Hmm just a bit of grey items nothing to good to sell at one of those NPC vendors." Rin said looking through the corpses.


* * *

As Rin walked back into town he knew exactly where to look, wherever the smoke is this was because Blacksmith's tend to own forgeries and that is where he will be able to buy a recipe. After a few more minutes of walking Rin came across an NPC forge and continued to look at the NPC's wares.

"Hmm so do you have any <<Katana>> for sale?" Rin asked curiously.

"Why of course <<Chrono>> we do have some <<Katana>> for sale." the bearded man grinned.

Rin continued to look at the mans wares when a <<katana>> caught his eye it was named <<Kotetsu>>

"Ah I know this name, it sounds like the famed blacksmith Nagasone Kotetsu and that Kotestu means Steel in Japanese." Rin said looking at its craftsmanship.

"That <<Katana>> there is 200 .col" The blacksmith said.

"Hmm that seems a bit deer but I do have 1000 .col so it wont be that much of a puncture." Rin said handing over the money.

<<Kotetsu>> aquired

popped up on Rin's heads-up display (HUD).

"That <<katana>> is great for it's ease of use and in the future when you are capable can be upgraded." The Blacksmith said before waving Rin off.

"Hmm this <<katana>> is quite easy to wield it is quiet fast..." Rin said as he stood watching over the <<wolves>> and <<swines>> that lived in the area.

Rin began to run at 3 swines before drawing his sword and slicing one of the pigs in half.

"This blade is nice and easy to use I like it!" Rin said before he struck his blade through another <<swine>> resulting in it's departure.

"Okay your next I hope I get a good drop from you!" Rin said with a smile before jumping into the air and facing the sword down thrusted it through the <<Swines>> spine.

"4 down and 4 more to go for <<swines>>" Rin said before running down the hill at a group of wolves with a gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face.

 

[Satan.EXE]

«火の鳥»
The Adorable Katana Warrior

---

Outside of the Boss Room

x

CHAPTER I,
Part III:

---

"Recovery"

.

At the arrival of multiple other people, Phoenix smacked her forehead against her palm, emitting a lights lapping sound. "Uuggghhh..." She shook her head, before looking up at the PKer. She noticed something about his posture, though. He seemed to hold the crystal in his hand as if his life depended on it. Was he weak enough that he knew he couldn't win the fight, or was he smart enough to know not to take on The Phoenix on top of a group of others? She'd offered a potential trade, but once the others showed up (she blamed the loud one in particular) they seemed to have threatened him, which caused his following reaction. Well, that and the attack of a thrown axe-- wait, what? She disregarded it for the time being, especially when the PKer began to react to everything.

"You want what's in the box, correct? Let me give you a demonstration, then we can deal." He used the box and equipped a new weapon and armor, likely from the box. "And now, I will demonstrate on the mouthy one over here." He pointed to the loud guy who had come over shouting. Phoenix honestly didn't mind that part, she had a beef with the guy for ruining her plan right off the bat! The guy attacked Robin but... Didn't? It appeared to be some kind of Sword Art, and the PKer vanished at the same time. Something caught her attention, a slight twinkle out of the corner of her eye. Was that-- it was! She bolted at top speed and snatched the item right off of the ground, then held it up. "I bet you're looking for your escape route, huh? I'm willing to be you don't have another on you, either!" She formed a look of mixed determination and agitation, and her katana began to glow in its sheath. "Flame Slash!" She drew her weapon in one swift motion and it shot a streak of flame. She then swung it horizontally twice, once before her and once behind her, at nearly the same time. Her hopes were that one of the attacks would make contact, and inflict the hiding PKer with burn status, making him very obvious and easy to find. If not, she still hoped it would cause damage, and force him out of hiding. She had his only way out, and if her instinct was right, he was still nearby. She kept a watchful eye on all of her surroundings, hoping to find some proof of contact.

​

 

[SylveonStar]

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

Maria sniffled almost out of tears when she was suddenly surrounded by people. She heard many voices at once. One mentioning the guild cloaks...a thought that made her even sadder. One mentioned how she'd grow up to be a beautiful woman. Someone else commented on her ability to survive so long with a knife in her back and finally a voice commenting on how she was late to work. "uh...ummm" she said softly clearly overwhelmed.

Zeus meanwhile sighed and looked at Ryuusa. "I'm not sure if she'll be alright. Psyche...he's the second person she has seen die in front of her" he said quietly looking at the little girl. "she's one of the youngest players in this game. Her older brother he...he was the first person to die in this game. Right in front of her"

"When that happened she withdrew into herself for awhile" Poseidon chimed in. "it wasn't until recently she joined our guild and started talking to us again...but this time...her reaction was different" Poseidon cast a worried look at the small girl. "I've never seen her so angry before. I worry not only for her emotional health...but for her sanity as well"

 

[Turnip]

Turnip
HP 100% | LV. 13 | XP 88% | Col 563
Location - Floor 1: Dungeons​

Turnip watched with delight as Boomeraxe curved around to Nirvana's hands. There was a satisfying clink as something was knocked from the PKer's grasp – to Turnip's initial dismay, not the loot box. However, thinking about it, it looked like a teleport crystal; probably Nirvana's means of escape. Everything went better than expected.

Boomeraxe returned faithfully, fitting Turnip's glove like a… thing. He placed it coolly in his belt, approaching the increasingly tense situation. It became worse when Nirvana appeared to attack Robin – it took a few seconds for Turnip to realise, but he recognised the lack of reaction and the stock animation of the decoy. Nirvana had used that same trick yesterday in the dungeons – Turnip guessed that rushing in really wasn't his style, and apparently using decoys and going into hiding was.

"This PKer's a bit of a slippery bastard-AAGH!"

Turnip ducked as a wall of flame came just inches from reaching him. He'd heard the "Flame Slash", yeah, but there wasn't exactly a long window for reaction. Granted, that was probably for the best, considering that it hadn't actually hit him, and had a higher chance of hitting Nirvana, but that isn't to say that it hadn't annoyed the helmeted man a bit.

"Hey, do you mind letting up on the fire waves a little?" He called to… that person… with the name… why was it in a different language again? "The effort to catch this guy's all well and good, but you don't see me Pulse Edging your hair off."

The armoured figure moved closer to the girl, two metres or so away, readying his sword in case of Nirvana. He saw Robin nearby, and beckoned him to come over and solidify their position. Spotting Kagome a little while away, and Godot somewhere further back, he called to them, too.

"Uh, yoohoo! Kagome, Godot, all hands on deck over here?" He turned to Robin, "Robin, you have detection, right? I take it you're in for helping us get the PKer. And, uh…" Turnip turned to 'the girl with the name', speaking quietly, "You're the phoenix with the hacks from before, right? I don't usually approve of hacking, but…"

Turnip left the statement there. It was clear what he had meant. Despite the fact that the fire wave was annoying and hurt a load of people, the phoenix stunt as a whole had dealt a good chunk of damage to Illfang, as well as taking off the pressure for the other players. Illegitimate as it was, it had probably saved lives, and that made it alright in Turnip's book.

In what might have looked like a poor defensive move, Turnip sheathed his sword. He kept a sharp eye out for Nirvana – he could be particularly quick with a Draw Steel when he needed to be…

 

[ShinyDiamond]

Robin - Lvl 11
Floor 1: Boss Room
EXP: 38

​

It seems this PKer wasn't cooperating well. His stance was a bit odd. Of course. He had a teleport crystal hidden in his hands. He was planning on escaping if things got out of control for him. Robin doesn't have any ideas how to stop him. Just then, an axe flies right by the PKer, knocking the teleport crystal out of his hands in the process. Robin looks over where that axe came from. Turnip had a part in it. Well done.

Nirvana wasn't done here. He, to Robin's anger, opens the chest & equips the <<Coat of Midnight>> as the chest disappears. At the same time, he throws an attack at Robin. Robin slashes at the attack, but it was a decoy. Nirvana was gone, but he didn't have the teleport crystal in his hands. Shiren, finding it to be the only name he knows of her, unleashes a fire attack. That's smart, if not reckless. Robin nearly dodges the attack & jumps near the mysterious Shiren. Turnip joins along. I gotta focus... Nirvana was obviously hiding, but that wouldn't stop Robin.

Robin breathes, regaining his calmness. He closes his eyes, they opens them. His <<Detection>> Skill was able to track Nirvana in <<Hiding>>. "Bingo." Robin takes his back stance & readies his sword. It glowed a vidit white, & charges at Nirvana. "Beautiful Luna!" He slashes at Nirvana at one of his minor parts in the shape of a moon. No way he's getting away with Kagome's reward.

 

[dcjboi]

Uteki Kuraudo Hiiragiya (Suisei)
Lv. 13
@ 2nd Floor

Nothing that happened at the end of the first floor... is my concern. It's all just the true nature of humanity. Suisei walked up the stairway and through the doors to the next floor. Nothing behind him mattered at all. He was just walking on his way to heaven and he was 1% of the way there. Solemnly, Uteki continued up the stairs with a mission. He would be the first on the next floor, and no one would stop him from proceeding. He had a few goals in mind and from here on out, he wouldn't be worried about the bosses. He would train on his abilities to survive and train without remaining in towns for long. He would set himself aside from everyone else, even if he couldn't be the strongest in brute strength. Suisei hadn't been tested on the durability of his diligence during his stay, but he was determined not to let anything stop him.

---

The air on this floor... it was filled with a cold, cold, bitterness. It greeted him within the confines of the town he had just arrived in. Urbus.

He had missed this floor. The chilly feeling he had when he arrived here for the first time was a reminder to him of how cruel reality could be. This would be his new start. The first true challenge and his goal would be to get strong, even if it meant remaining behind on this floor. He would exert himself in the cruelest climates because it was where he belonged. Memories of his father seemed to betray him at helping him be hardened.

Uteki immediately decided he would need to secure a supply of food, warmer clothes, and a few tools to get ready for his trip to the outside. He just had a few more things he would have to take care of before resorting to his training, including a battle he would need to fight with someone from the boss room. Uteki waited at the point where he spawned and sat on top of the stairway connecting the two floors.

 

[<Challenger>]

Taka the Lovable Poet: Level 14 - 0 Exp - 3500 Col
First! Ha!
​

Taka couldn't help but grin as he stepped into the cold, quiet second floor....Urbus. He looked around and noticed that it was completely void of any other players. "YES! FIRST!" He then took a marker from his inventory Don't judge the man. He has ADHD and ran over to the closest building he could see. He did what any self-respecting poet would do: Make his mark.

Taka was here first!

He laughed and placed the marker into his inventory. Now what? He honestly hadn't though beyond the point of putting grafitti on a building. The Poet looked around at the varying shops and buildings...Nothing stood out in particular. Taka hadn't really noticed it when he arrived, but it was colder here. He drew his cloak up around him and replaced the hood on his head. There we go. Nice and warm. He was snug in his cloak, and he even looked mysterious. He had to do this more often.

Taka wandered the streets of Urbus, looking at all the different buildings and shops. There really weren't that many shops on this floor, and even those that were around were more or less the same thing. This floor....It's so bland! He sighed and drew his acoustic guitar from his inventory and began to play an upbeat little tune. "I'll never forget six months ago, when gaming evolved and they called it SAO. You risked your cash to beat NPCs, but if it was up to me, they would've stopped at killing these. But for the love of SAO, I want more of the bosses and less dying, I really thought they ended the gore, but for the love of...SAO!" His singing could be heard all throughout the quiet streets. "On the Floor of Beginnings where we first met, when the story was simple and easy to get. We did so much in those first six weeks, even hated on my friends who thought we were geeks. But then you went to Hell, then came thousands of death, and an Assault party, that just wasn't for me." His song when on throughout the next ten minutes. T'was a song of glory and justice.

(Miss it guys?)​

 

[machomuu]

Kagome
Lv. 15||Floor 1​

Kagome noticed the reddening of the young girl's blade and jumped back, dodging her strategic strikes. It seemed as if the way the situation would play out had been decided. Robin also struck at the PK, and Turnip addressed herself, Godot (whom she hadn't noticed at the time), and the girl, who was apparently the same person as the one who turned into the phoenix. "Way ahead of you!" Kagome responded, putting her left arm out and allowing a second dagger to materialize into it. "Dual Cross!" She crossed her arms and bolted forward, slashing in an X formation, and stopping short when she was sure the PK couldn't have gone that far.

As the second dagger dematerialized, she switched to her spear and held it out sideways, so as to stop anyone from passing. Now, there was the chance that he had a teleport crystal. In fact, that was pretty much expected given the scenario. However, should he be pressed for time or somehow become unable to use the crystal, this strategy would be efficient.

Godot||William Danielson
Lv. 13||Floor 1​

"I got called out...that doesn't make this quite as fun," Godot groaned. He looked over the scene and wondered whether he should help at all. After all, it was getting pretty crowded over there. So crowded, in fact, that they would probably only end up getting in each other's way if he joined in. Instead, opened his menu and went created a memo, which was really just a message to himself.

Find Hou-ou Shiren on Floor 2​

After writing that, he looked over the scene one more time and said quietly, "Good luck, sis." He waved, though he knew her attention wasn't with him, and headed towards the second floor's portal, stepping inside.