Sword Art Online: Infinity Edition [IC] [T] [Best Rookie 4Q '12]

ShinyDiamond · Dec 9, 2012

Kamui Ozora: Level 4
Floor 8: Dovren

This was a totally new place. It's unlike Starter City in any bit. Their were very strong players around, not that many people either. This was a lot to take in. Would it be easy to track Fester & Rose?

That's when Kamui remembered they gave him the coordinates to the shop.

Menu
-Settings
-Map
-Help

Kamui looked at where the shop was he had to go. Shouldn't be that far to reach. Oh? There's something that just came in.

Messages
-Inbox
|__ From: Natsumi
-Outbox
-Send Friend Request

A friend request from Natsumi? Well, it is nice to make friends. She did seem nice. Kamui accepted the request & closed his menu. Now Kamui & Natsumi headed for the shop, Kamui taking the lead. Not long later he saw two familiar players near the shop. Fester & Rose had been waiting. Did he really have such good friends? It's very...

"H-hey..." he greeted timidly as usual, cheeks filled with crimson colors. What new weapon was he gonna get anyway? What collection was inside. This is still too much.

Khawill · Dec 9, 2012

Fester and Rose
"Was thinking you guys were going to chicken out!" Fester said cheerfully, "I knew you would pass the first test! See Clare, I told you." He had a prideful tone and was very happy.

"yeah, yeah, I suppose they did get through the teleporter without finding themselves paralyzed by fear." Rose sighed, "Now we can enter this store though. Stay close please." Her and Fester turned around and entered the store. "Hello storekeeper Bralec," They walked up to the counter, "We need a sword for a level 4 and maybe anything else you can get that can make him less, uh, killable."

Sir Bastian · Dec 9, 2012

Bralec
Floor 8 - Dovren City

Bralec raised his glance from staring down at a list of items on the counter and looked over the various people entering his shop and walking up to him. He gave a smile as he brushed the list underneath the counter and stood up, pressing his palms against the wooden desk.

"A sword, eh? For level... four? Hrmh. I should have a couple of those around. Let's have a look."

He got around the counter, gesturing for them to follow along as he walked up along the various swords and other items mounted on the walls and on the soft pillowed tables. At first, he pointed to a sword with a white blade and a dark-grey hilt.

"This one's for level 4. It has a small chance to chill an enemy and slow it's movement. Though it doesn't work on bosses."

He went on to point at another blade, this one with a curved, scimitar-like look to it.

"This one has better stats than the previous, but is a little slower since it's somewhat heavier than the first. I've also got..."

He walked up to a long, two-handed sword that looked rather heavy, displayed proudly hanging off the wall vertically.

"This one, if you're more of a two-hander kind of guy. It's pretty quick and has decent stats. I don't have that much for a level four, but... hey, gotta take what you can get, right?"

He gave a little grin at the gathered, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well? Did you have anything specific in mind, or..?"

Squirrel · Dec 9, 2012

Rapp & Dante - Floor 6 Crevice

"Well here we are, would you like to lead the way now Rapp?" Dante bellowed.

"It's probably for the best that I do, you'll just get us lost or something..." Sigh, why am I being so hostile towards him? This guy did save my life afterall, maybe I'm just embarrassed... "Listen, I uhh... Thanks. I guess I owe... I don't know, but thanks." Rapp stammered his words of apology as Dante nodded. Despite his earlier snaps, Rapp truly was thankful to Dante for what he had done as he wouldn't even be alive to hold a grudge if he hadn't, but the way Dante had made it look so easy is what really got to him.

"Right, the mini-boss is a little way away yet but we should be there soon. He's kind of strong but after seeing your level I'm sure you'll be able to cope. But if I take even the slightest amount of damage I'm leaving a dent in your new sword!" The pair continued through the cave as Dante slayed beast after beast, all the while allowing Rapp to scavenge the drops for his own personal forgery business. Rapp assumed this was just in hopes of him receiving a better weapon at the end of their quest, but the look on Dante's face said otherwise as he gave Rapp what seemed like a genuinely friendly smile; perhaps he wasn't such a bad guy after all?

The monsters were rapidly getting tougher making Rapp grow slightly nervous as they neared the rumbling center of the crevice where the ore was kept. Dante still wasn't breaking as sweat as he broke through the countless monsters Spiral Horn Crabs constantly closing in on Rapp leading him to feel even more embarrassed at his poor fighting skills. I wish he'd realise I'm not just some pushover, but what use is a blacksmith halfway through a dungeon? I guess I'll just have to wait till we make it out to prove my- As rapp stood back in mid-thought, an ejected horn came rocketing towards him from a nearby crab's shell as Dante effortlessly hit it out of the air in front of his face watching it shatter into a million pieces. -sigh.

Dante suddenly jolted forwards as Rapp placed his arm between him and the cliff edge. The duo stared down into the darkness of the chasm before them as a huge hanging pillar surrounded in darkness began to shake. There was a spiralling wooden walkway around the outside of the pit dimly lit by scarcely placed torches which the duo began to descend. Looking down into the shadowed center of the room, the feint outline of a huge spiked beast became ever clearer with each step as the platforms shook whilst the beast cascaded into the walls. It was enraged beyond reason and there was no looking back from their prize now - the huge outcrop of ore mounted onto the beast's back. They breathed in slowly and approached their next challenge.

"Ready?"

Mana1 · Dec 9, 2012

The scouting team had been successful, manoevering the cliff-side and easily clearing the entrance chamber to the dungeon. Right by the entrance was the huge, boss room door, decorated with carvings of beautiful women.

"Here, a beauty sleeps for eternity."

"Curious..." the scout murmured, opening up his interface and taking a photo of the dungeon floor - before sending it back to his guildmates. His companion, having checked the darker corners of the hallway, seemed satisfied and readied the portal crystal, causing a message to ring out across Aincrad:

Floor 8's Dungeon has been located!

~-~

Priority Mission: Defeat the boss! **Once you enter you may not leave**

Current Dungeon: 8
Recruiting Guilds: Black Cats, Knights of Blood, Fuurinkazan [Joining a Guild requires lv 10]

~-~

Salathar the Charmer

Location: Floor 8
Strengths: Quick movements and the ability to confuse her opponents.
Weaknesses: -

Description:
A long, snake-like beast. Once a mere reckless Lamia, Salathar went further than just enticing souls, devouring their very essence and gaining eternal youth. She marveled at her own beauty, forever gazing in to the rivers and ocean, until one day the other Lamia took revenge - sealing the beauty away.

As her rage and anger tormented her, her face twisted into a hideous mass of evil. Since being locked away in the dungeon of floor 8 she has plotted her revenge - on Lamia and humans alike.

With her long, whip-like snake-hair she is capable of attacking multiple people at once - however her attacks have a relatively short range and she is vulnerable to both stabbing and slashing attacks down her body.

Making eye contact with the beast can be dangerous, with a mental connection Salathar can manipulate the person in to attacking themselves or others - the only way to break the connection is to attack the beast and break her concentration.

How to take part:

Spoiler:

Garet · Dec 9, 2012

Jet Stryker - Level 17
Floor 8 / Dovren

~~~~~

Okay, the 'dad' joke didn't go over well, but Jet wasn't worried about that at all. He was thinking through different scenarios of what might happen when Daniel started talking. That did grab Jet's attention, especially the man's last sentence. Looking down at Tara as she spoke made Jet sigh. They were both friends, and Tara was an...adopted little sister, so... "You kinda deserve an explanation after my outburst, anyways," Jet said, sitting back in his chair. Tara was still standing, next to his chair as he began, the fingers on one hand quietly tapping a tune on the tabletop. The tune was from one of Jet's favorite songs that he'd listened to multiple times while playing games. Before he'd become trapped in Aincrad, anyways.

"So, there's this guy that calls himself Dexter Mincer. I first..." After glancing at Tara, Jet cleared his throat. It wouldn't do to confuse the child with the idea of video games. "...met him in a few other places, several months ago." The time should, hopefully, tell Daniel that Jet was talking about something outside SAO. "We started as rivals. Almost as much of rivals as we could be at the time. We...didn't start out well, which kinda sparked the rivalry. It hasn't gone well at all, really, and Dexter would often try to mess things up for me, where he could." It was a bit difficult to tell this story when Tara, an NPC child, wouldn't know about online games.

"'Dexter Mincer' was what he called himself every time we'd run into each other, and he knew the name I went by, as well." Tara got tired of standing and sat back down in her chair, glancing at the pot of stew before staring back at Jet. Jet paused, considering. He didn't consider himself the best of storytellers, and Tara was probably a little interested in eating some more. "Well, long story short, it got worse about a month ago. I was with another person, and we were fighting a strong monster." Tara immediately became more interested at the mention of 'monster'. Not too good a sign. "It was a tough fight, and the other person...um..." How to put it? Jet was sure Tara didn't fully grasp the concept of death, if she understood it at all, and had thus far only seen it applied to monsters.

"...he wasn't at all well once I'd finished off the monster." Jet gave a nervous chuckle. "Neither was I, but he was...worse. A couple days after that was when I first learned that Dexter Mincer was also in Aincrad. He apparently had a really good friendship with my partner--"

"Was your partner Ranzatsu?" Tara interrupted, curious. "Was Daddy there? Were you fighting the Golem?"

"Whoa, Tara," Jet interjected, one hand up as he halted the child's questions. "No, this was long before Ranzatsu and I saved Dan- er, your dad. And no, neither of them were with me at the time I'm talking about." Where was he? Oh. "Whatever the reason, Dexter was really mad about my partner's, um, unwellness. I'm a little surprised he hadn't actually retaliated before today..." Jet trailed off, thinking. For that matter, they hadn't met each other much at all in Aincrad. Maybe this is the first chance Dexter's had at getting back at me?

Looking out the window, Jet cocked his head, then pushed back his chair as he stood and walked to the window for a better look. His eyebrows rose before he turned back to Daniel. "They found Floor 8's dungeon," Jet announced.

"Dungeon? What's that?" Tara had hopped up and followed Jet to the window. "Are there more monsters? Are we gonna play with monsters now?" She was starting to get excited now. Daniel might not take that well.

"Not now, Tara," Jet answered, looking into her blue eyes. Tara was confused now, he could tell. "A dungeon is a place with stronger monsters." He hesitated before adding, "They're strong enough that they would...beat you, if either of us took you with. I'm sorry, but this dungeon isn't for you. Not now, anyways." An idea struck Jet, and he straightened and pulled up his message screen.

Compose Message
To: Dexter Mincer
Subject: Re: Long time, no see.
Yeah, I'd be surprised too, if I didn't know what I'd been doing for the last two weeks. It's not like I'm gonna tell you, though, is it? Just be sure that it was nothing to do with our enemy-ship. Hey, heard the news about the dungeon? If you wait until that whole thing's done with, then I'll meet you at the gates. Deal? Deal. See ya later.

As he sent the message, Jet looked between Daniel and Tara. "Um, next question, I guess, is what the three of us are gonna do now." He had the intention to tell Daniel more about Dexter, but it would've been preferable if Tara was occupied with something else. For now, though, what to do? They'd have to take Tara with if both Jet and Daniel wanted to go, and she was nowhere near strong enough for Floor 8's monsters.

Kranic · Dec 10, 2012

Bacarra
The Last Rose of Azure.

Level 20
Floor 8 - Dovren

Bacarra stepped out of the store. The area seemed to be a little more populated than earlier. In particular there was, what seemed to be, a couple near a wall by the store. There was an eccentric aura to them. Initially it seemed the two carefree, spending their time relaxing on the side of a wall, happy, but as their conversation moved on it seemed to become sad and soon the man began to console the girl and then before long the two perked up again, going back to their happy selves.

The sight reminded Bacarra a bit of herself and the issues she's been trying to overcome. Accepting that this world that has taken so much from her, can still give so much to her as well. This was the very nature of this game. A devil in angel's clothing that only turns out to be an angelin devil's clothing. It seems like most of the players were probably experiencing something similar in one form of another. It was a really happy and sad existence they were forced into undergoing and it was slowly becoming hard for her to tell which overpowered the other. Was this game really so bad? Her heart sank with that though. Of course this game was evil, they took her friends away from her. There is nothing more to it. She averted her glaze when she realized that she had been staring for a while. She looked over to her familiar, standing idly on the floor next to her. She shook her head. This wasn't a time to be existential, she had work to do.

"Come on Azure. We need to get going."

Bacarra took her first few steps away from the shop, followed by an elegant trail of pixels from the blue phoenix behind her.The two finally left Bralec's shop and were officially on their way to the seventh floor. A heavy sigh came from the girl when they arrived to the eighth floor's portal.

"I really can't believe I'm doing this…"

Taking a few steps, the two entered the portal.And with that the two disappeared disappeared. Only to instantly reappeared a few hundred feet below where they were before. A frown covered Bacarra's face a she melodramatically dragged her way out of the portal. Her eyes peered at what was in front of her. It was a familiar sight.
Floor 7 - Kansas

A seemingly endless was plain stood in front of her, scattered with stacks of hay and fences galore, dried up crops, and there were all types of shades of yellows and browns. This was truly the middle of nowhere: Kansas, the seventh floor of Aincrad.

"I really hate this place."

Behind the girl was a large house behind her, the only building in this rural wasteland. Noticing the building, she turned immediately losing all interest in it. A sense of disgust flowed around her stomach as she rushed her way over to the plains.

"I'm going to be as quick as possible. Run in kill the lizard, get out."

The girl moved on, running in a direction of some crops, hoping for a monster to show up. . The place was pretty desolate; Bacarra wasn't the only one not too fond of this floor.

"So where do I find lizards? I remember seeing some when I was leveling up here earlier."

Bacarra pondered, moving aimlessly through the area. She absentmindedly slashed at any occasional cow, horse, chicken, or any other native monster that would occasionally attack her without too much interest in her rewards for doing so. Thanks to the strength of her blade, most of them would go down with one or two hits.

"If I remember correctly, lizards like really dry rocky places. They should be somewhere around here."

The young warrior found herself in a rocky plain, there were a few low level lizards monsters roaming in the area, unfortunately none of them were blue, all just some shade of yellow or brown . Bacarra sighed as she continued to walk down the dry area. As she walked amoung the rocks, the rocks progressively got larger, as did the monsters living with them.The girl eventually stopped as she realized the area around her has completely changed. She was now in between many large rocks in the middle of a desert.

"Hopefully we're getting close. Looks like we are in a canyon now. Are there even Canyons in Kansas?"

The young warrior moved deeper into the canyon, fighting off the various reptiles that lived in the crevice. Eventually she reached the end of the canyon, only welcomed by a giant waiting at the end.

"Guess this is him."

The girl grinned looking at the boss monster in front of her.

It was a gigantic blue humanoid lizard.. It stood at about twice Bacarra's height and had a very muscular build, emphasized by the fact that the creature only wore a worn out pair of pants. The collosus had a flat, regular lizard head, with frill like scales at the end of its jaw. The scales from the lizard's neck to down to its tail were particularly large, thick and spikey, the scales on its chests however were flat and rounded, much like the scales on most lizards underbelly. The most particular aspect of the lizard was its pallete, with its distinct red eyes and more importantly, it's shining blue scales. This was the lizard Bacarra was sent to kill.

Noticing the girl approaching it, the lizard raised its weapon, slamming the huge blade at the girl. In response the young warrior jumped back, easily dodging the slow and telegraphed attack. She readied her blade and charged at the behemoth.

'Azure, give me an agility boost and make sure you are out of the way!"

The phoenix reacted immediately, to the command. It soared up far into the air and flapped it's wings and to create a blue ray of light sent towards the girl. The girl speed doubled in a short burst, carrying her behind the creature almost immediately. Quick on her feet, the girl attacked the monster.

«Sword Skills»
Rodent's Jab!

The girl pulled her blade back to quickly poke at the creature's back, three times. A very basic swords art, but fairly effective at her level. At least, it usually was. The lizard shrugged off the attack and counted with a sweeping strike to it's back, throwing Becerra to the wall, cornering the girl. Pulling herself up, the girl muttered to herself,

"Guess that was a dumb idea."

The attack didn't obviously yield very much damage. It seemed unlike most monsters, the scales on this creature's back actually provided a significant amount of defense, meaning a surprise attack isn't going to be very effective. That left only one option for the girl.

"Azure don't worry about healing me right now, just give me a damage boost!"

The soaring bird responded by sending out another wave of light, but rather than reaching the girl, it light flew into her sword, igniting it with a blue flame.Bacarra ran towards the lizard in front of her. Quickly dodging an incoming strike from the lizard blade, She slid to be right under the monster,

«Sword Skills»
Armor Pierce!

Quickly and precisely, the young warrior thrust her blade at her new target: the monster's chest. Almost effortlessly the blade slide right into the reptiles cold blooded heart. Still holding onto her sword, she tried to pull the blade from the monsters chest, only to be welcomes by a kick back from the lizard's right leg. The girl flew away, taking her sword with her. Landing on her feet, the girl slid back due to the force of the kick.

"Guess that didn't kill him. Guess he's a little sturdier than the usual monster."

The lizard jumped at the girl for a diving aerial attack. With quick movements the girl slid to the right to avoid the the blade. Leaving it to get stuck in the dry earth where she once stood.

"Good thing this thing is so easy to read. His hits really do hurt eally hurt."

Taking advantage of the time she just received, Bacarra looked over to her health bar; it was just about half empty from just the two hits she endured. She stared a bit to get a sense of how quickly she was naturally recovering. Due to her absurdly high level of HP regeneration, it would only take about forty five seconds for her to recover all of her remaining HP, something she could easily cover if she decided to just use a potion, but Bacarra wasn't a type to waste supplies when she didn't need to, though there were exceptions to everything.

"Might as well finish this with one more hit."

With a quick motion, the girl summons a crystal into her hand. She gripped the crystal in her hand to activate its energy. A surge of strength flowed through the girl's body, as she looked at the incoming Lizard. It ran blade first, as though to thrust the blade into her.

«Sword Skills»
Beheading Strike!

The girl soared into the air, completely dodging the incoming attack. Adjusting her body as that she was falling blade first, the girl targeted herself at the lizard. The girl blade fell to the back of the lizards neck, completely decapitating it,leaving behind a limp bodybehind her and a rolling head in front of her by the time she landed.

"Too Easy."

The girl spun her blade over her head and returned it to her back, as though in response to the action, the lizard exploding into a million particles. Leaving a message above Bacrra's head:

«Level Up!»
Congratulations, Bacarra has reached Level 21!

The message faded and the only game construct left for Bacarra was the menu explaining her reward. She walked over to read the list of items she recieved.

«Rewards»
Salamander's Tooth (x1)
Blue Scale (x5)
Tough Scale (x2)
Reptile's Eye (x1)
Blue Reptile Leather (x10)

"Looks like we got the scales Azzy! And some other neat stuff! Apparently I got that sword the big guy was fighting with, it's called Salamander's Tooth, . . . Doesn't look like I can equip It though. Guess I need to craft it with something."

The girl shrugged.

"Guess we better get these back to Bralec before he starts to worry."

The girl turning around to be welcomed by a huge announcement in the sky.

Floor 8's Dungeon has been located!

Bacarra looked over to her bird, her signature grin completely taking over her face.

"Guess I'll just let him worry. Come on Azzy we have some important business on the front lines!"

CarefulWetPaint · Dec 10, 2012

Dante FareFyre and Rapp, Floor 6, Level 24 and Level 15

Rapp replied, continuing to show his hostility towards Dante. Hmm, he must hate me.
"Listen, I uhh... Thanks. I guess I owe... I don't know, but thanks." Rapp stuttered, surprsing Dante.
Oh, maybe he doesn't. After a few more words from Rapp, the pair then continued onwards, Rapp now leading the way. As the continued through the cave Dante slayed beast after beast, not allowing Rapp to take any damage at all and leaving behind most of the drops for him.

Ah, it's not so boring anymore, these monsters aren't pathetic. The Spiral Horned Crabs continued to burst into data fragments as Dante cut through them with ease. The golden level up plate appeared in front of Dante after another Crab burst into data fragments. [Congratulations, you have reached level 25.] Quickly swiping the air the plate disappeared at the same time that Dante effortlessly hit an ejected horn out of the air before slaying the crab.

The pair finally made it to the end of a crab, stopping at the edge of the cliff to look down at the boss, which out line could be scarcely seen. Well there it is, I hope that Rapp won't freak out.
"Ready?" Rapp asked, his breathing had slowed down quiet a bit now.
"Yes I am sir, just stay behind me and you should be fine." Dante replied, taking the lead to walk down the spiral wooden walkway which lead to the bottom of the room.
Nearing the bottom of the walkway, Dante decided to make his move.
"Continue to make your way down, I'll start the fight now." Dante said, with a gentle smile on his face. Activating his speed skill he darted down the rest of the way towards the boss, who was also had the ore they had come for.

The boss slowly stood up and shook itself out as Dante got ever closer, his sword up ready to defend or attack in an instance. [Piercing strike], the purple trail appeared behind the sword as Dante plunged his sword into the crabs head as it was still getting up. Pushing off the crabs head he dodged the crabs hammer claw attack, which to his surprised shattered the ground right in front of it's own face. Oh, that was a heavy hit. Dodging another strike from the mini-boss Dante dashed in again and delivered a heavy blow just under it's eye. "DANTE!" a panicked Rapp screamed as two smaller Spiral Horned Crabs moved in on him. Where the hell did they come from? Dante thought as he activated his speed skill and dash sword art, leaving the slight purple trail behind him as he quickly gained ground. Crashing down on Rapp, the two crabs brought their claws as Rapp covered his face.

"Argh!" Dante let out jumping in between the two crabs claws, just in time. His sword was buried into the crab on the lefts claw, holding it away from Rapp and his feet pushing against the other crabs claw; protecting Rapp from any damage, at a price. Looking up he saw his health drop a little bit, still luckily in the green. Using his strength he extended his arms and legs out, pushing the crabs away a little bit while opening his inventory as he landed on the ground in front of Rapp. Looking forward at the 3 Crabs who were now closing in on him again he threw a potion back at Rapp. "Take that potion, activate your hiding skill and go hide. I can't protect you and fight off these three like this too well. Good luck!" Dante said as he sprinted towards the two closer crabs, hitting them both back just enough to allow Rapp to escape and hide.

Seeing Rapp now out of danger, Dante smiled. [Lily Dance] he activated his sword art, continuing to smile with purple now following him as he speed skill activated with the sword art. The first strike cut horizontally across one of the two smaller crabs, doing significant damage. Pushing off the first Crab, he floated through the air like a bullet, plunging his sword into the second of the smaller crabs. Again, ripping his sword out he dashed towards the main boss crab, taking a slight hit to the side, which he ignored. Leaving behind a purple cut wound on the side of the boss crab, he sliced again turned to face the little crabs, sword skill still active.

The lily dance proceeded , slash after slash between the three different bosses, with the main boss hitting Dante to the ground every now and then. The purple trail left behind as he dashed between the crabs began to leave the outline of a lily flower, with the red from Dante's wounds cutting through it every now and then. The tenth strike was more powerful, the fourth hit on the first crab. It pierced it's shell deeply this time, forcing the crab to exploded into data fragment as Dante dashed towards the second of the little crabs. Sliding under the crab he turned pushed his sword into the crabs underbelly. His speed skill activated, allowing him to slightly lift the crab up while his sword slide deeper into the crabs body. The second crab now burst into data fragments, Dante dashing towards the last crab, his sword skill still active. The last remaining crab, the boss who had the ore brought its claw down with force when Dante got in rage. Jumping in the air and spinning over the claw, he delivered his final blow of his skill, right down the centre of the crabs face, between its two eyes.

Falling to his knee, Dante released his breath while watching the crab disappear. In place of the crab appeared the ore they had come for, a smile appeared on Dante face. The whole event happened in about 10 seconds, with him unleashing 12 strikes in a row on the crabs, per his sword skill. That was tough, they nearly got me into the red.. he thought, getting to his feet and opening his inventory to pull out a heal potion. "I'm done now Rapp, you can come claim your prize." Dante spoke out towards Rapp, inviting him in as he activated the potion, regaining his lost heal from yellow on the verge of red to the bright green of life. Sheathing his sword, he smiled relieved to see Rapp walk out, not have taken any damage and stand next to the ore.

Sapphire Rose · Dec 10, 2012

Natsumi Aido - floor 8/Dovren - level 12

Natsumi followed Kamui to Rose and Fester. He didn't say anything about the friend request but Natsumi could read on his face that he didn't dislike it. Fester seemed quite suprised to see them, did they really think Kamui and Natsumi would stay in starter city?

They entered the shop, and after Fester gave some details about Kamui, that he is lvl 4 and such, the Shopkeeper immediately started searching and showed some swords.

Natsumi took her opportunity to look for a new sword for her own, even though she didn't had so much gold. But then her eye fell on this one specific sword and turned to the Shopkeeper.

Sword:

Spoiler:

"S-sir? How much does this sword cost?" she carefully pointed at the sword and hoped she would have enough for it.

Legend · Dec 10, 2012

Reinhard Ossur- Floor 8, Level 22

"Reinhart, you romantic. Why didn't you tell me you were getting hitched?" She teased him as she approached, her hand punching him softly in the shoulder. He was a bit caught off guard by the gesture, never being that touchy with someone. Much less a girl.

Elise walked up to the wolf and stooped to its level, her hands running through its thick fur. "Between you and me," she whispered to the wolf, her tone low but not low enough so Reinhart couldn't hear her. "I think you could do better." She rubbed her hand against its chin before standing and facing Reinhart again. He was much taller than her, but she didn't feel intimidated. Elise teased almost anyone when she had the chance.

"So, ready to go?"

"Of course I am. Glad to see you appear to be doing well. You can call my familiar Canis by the way. And considering he hasn't ripped your throat out yet, he likes you. You are lucky to say the least," Reinhard said, reversing the teasing from earlier. Reinhard sent a formal party invite to Elise and nodded his head quickly.

Floor 8's Dungeon has been located! That message beeped across Reinhard's hud. It was a bit ironic really. It was a message that Reinhard was eagerly waiting, really.

"Looks like some people beat us to finding it at least. Maybe we should take on the boss instead. Up for it? Or are you too much of a…girl to take on a challenge?"

Reinhard was sure that she wouldn't back down from a challenge like that. After all, they did intend to find the boss whether they knew it or not when they asked the other to join them on scouting out Floor 8's dungeon. Reinhard was a borderline front liner by now and Elise was working her way up. They were strong. They were ready. All they needed was a bit of a push. One Reinhard was more than willing to provide. All Elise needed was to take the bait.

Claire* · Dec 10, 2012

Elise Vivian Molyneux

Level 18

The night continued to get more and more interesting as it went along. Indeed, someone else had beaten them to the punch. The message declaring the dungeon had been discovered was impossible to miss. Not that it bothered Elise any. Others could find the dungeon, that was the tedious part of it all. She just wanted to make sure that the boss didn't escape her this time.

Reinhart teased her about being too much of a girl to take on such a challenge. That in itself was a challenge she could never turn down. If his goal was to bait her, he caught her hook, line and sinker. She wasn't one to back down from such a statement.

"Oh, I'm up for it." Her voice became elevated as she looked up at him in front if the city gates. Her right index finger poked him square in the chest as she responded. "The question is, are you ready to be shown up by a girl?" She dropped her hand and satisfied that her point got across, made her way to the portal allowing them to access the dungeon room. Confident that Reinhart was on her tail, Elise accessed the portal after a moment of slight hesitation. With a blinding flash, she appeared with others in front of the boss room.

There was a sense of eager anticipation in the air, a spirit of waiting as the doors opened and players began to funnel into the boss chamber. Elise stayed close to Reinhart, as much as she hated depending on others, they were in a party now, she had to make sure he was safe. The last time she was negligent, Krissu had almost ended up dead. It would have been her fault too, the death of another human being on her hands. How would she ever have escaped that feeling of blood-guiltiness? If Reinhart hadn't been there, that surely would have been the case. The two of them had never really talked about what happened that day. Everything about what followed was such a blur, it almost didn't make sense to her. It was as if a daze overcame her when she saw Krissu on the floor, her health reduced to but a minute sliver. Reinhart even gave her a potion. Elise had been more than useless, she had been a hinderance.

Now was not the time for such thoughts. Anymore lingering and she was bound to break down here in front of everyone. Then she would really hate herself even more. Looking to the top left of her HUD, she could see Reinhart's health. It was currently full and luscious green, just like hers. She would have to make sure it stayed that way.

Raiders waisted no time as they marched into the chamber. Many of the regular front liners charged after the boss with little hesitation. It took Elise a second to spy it through the crowd. Her height kept it shielded from her vision for but a second. When it finally did become manifest, a slimy, repugnant creature presented itself. Not unlike that of Medusa's visage in folklore and ancient history. The boss' health represented itself in separate indicators all full as they began their assault.

Salathar slithered into action, not complacent herself as she began to be attacked. Her movements were quick and allowed her to traverse the battlefield in a precise and dangerous manner. The snakelike hair danced around her head, whipping back and forth as it struck her assailants. She was capable of attacking many people at the same time, it wasn't as focused as the other bosses it seemed. Her reach left a lot to be desired, but Elise soon discovered why it didn't matter.

A nearby player had been attacking the beast with all his might. Elise recognized him from a few of the prior boss fights. He was a front liner, a damn good one at that. The fight seemed to be going pretty well for him as it stood. A few scrapes and blows that dwindled his health, but nothing major as of yet. His mistake came as he paused to catch his breath and looked to the creature's face. Salathar made eye contact and didn't break it for what seemed like an eternity. The man froze, body locked in place as he continued the hypnotic gaze. Within seconds, he looked down at his own body and then to the single sword that he held firmly in his grip. Quickly he turned it towards his chest and began to plunge its tip in and out with almost practiced and lethal precision. Elise couldn't believe what she was witnessing, he continued to stab himself even as his friends rushed to stop him. One final stab and the blade stuck in his chest cavity, his mouth agape as he stared up to the ceiling as if in prayer. His body erupted into thousands of little data pieces, his blade clanging onto the floor and then following its owner into the netherworld.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Elise turned her attention back to the boss. She was careful not to make eye contact with it as she charged toward its backside. One of the creature's snake hairs lunged at her. Elise's shield blocked it at the last second as a horrible noised permeated her hearing. The snake let out a shrill scream as it came in contact with the thick metal, like a starving beast lusting after its prey. Momentarily distracted by the hair, Salathar's tail came in and swept her feet out from under her. Elise hit the ground hard, her head pounding against the thick stone clad floor. She spied her health drop a little as the battle progressed in front of her sideways. The tail came back, this time from above as it swooped down to crush her with its weight. Elise rolled out of the way just in time as it cracked against the floor, kicking up a fountain of previously undisturbed dirt.

Leaping to her feet, Elise found her moment of opportunity as she began to hack at the tail with her sword. The faint light of the room seemed to splash off the sword's slight glow as it began to cut numerous red gashes of digital damage. Salathar didn't tolerate this for long, her hand came sweeping back and threw Elise against the far wall with a resounding thud. She slid down the wall and to her knees as she looked up at the creature from behind. The system let out a little warning in her vision as she hit the yellow. That loathsome color again warning her of what limited mortality she had left. Salathar didn't appear to have an exploitable weakness. With those extra snake heads, it was like it had eyes everywhere. Maybe if they could give the creature a hair cut, it would be easier to take her down? How in hell were they going to do that?

Meganium · Dec 11, 2012

"

Leilani Estefania Juarez Garcia
Floor 6 - Circleshore | Level: 13

The ginger-haired girl kept staring at the ocean, where Leila had fallen towards. After saving her from the fierce giant sea dragon that almost chewed her to bits and bytes, she felt very lucky to be alive. Without someone like Leila, her fate would be known.

A splash was heard from close by. A wet and dripping Leila left the beach and onto the sand. Her boots were squishy with salt water inside of them, and taking a few steps gathered up as much sand as the water could. The female player ran up to the exhausted Leila to reward her with a hug, her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, you miss! Thank you, thank you!" She cried, "Without your company, I would've died!"

I would have died. Leila thought as the woman lets go of her, her armor and clothing got wet after hugging for a short time. "Well, I didn't want to see anyone in danger. That dragon was pretty big."

"You...look young too." The woman then gave a glance at Leila's face, hair, armor, clothing, and her boots. Her aqua blue eyes shined from the rising sun right on top of them. "How old are you?"

"I'm...I'm 17" Leila scratched her wet hair. It was silky and soft, but now it became hard to manage.

"You are young and powerful. And your face looked very familiar too. Maybe I'm probably seeing things. I'm sorry." The woman apologized and tried walking away. She had someone in mind. Someone Leila should probably know, but how? Leila knew no one, everyone she knew was dead.

"I really don't know what you're saying, but I don't know anyone here now. I'm just a lone player trying to become a powerful player." Leila looked down to her muddy boots.

"Again, I'm sorry." The woman apologized. "Listen, I'll take you to my home, and you can get yourself cleaned up, how's that?"

It was true, Leila did need to get herself cleaned up. She felt cold. Her red cape was hard to wear due to the excess water, and the shoes too. She nodded at the ginger haired lady and smiled. "Okay. I will."

She smiled, "Alright! Have you ever been to Dovren City?"

"No...it's probably one of those new floors I haven't been in yet." Leila shook her head ad the two women started walking.

The ginger-haired woman took out a teleportation crystal and squeezed it inside the palm of her right hand. "Take out your crystal if you have one. I'll take you to Dovren City. I live there."

Leila agreed. She saved this woman and now she's trusting her. It was about time for her to make friends already. Taking out her crystal from one of her dagger pockets, she held it with her left hand, as her right hand was held by the woman.

"Teleport, Dovren City!"

ShinyDiamond · Dec 13, 2012

Kamui Ozora: Level 4
Floor 8 - Dovren

Everyone had entered the store. Kamui had ignored what Fester & Rose had commented. Actually, he wasn't paying attention at the time. He himself entered the store, & behind the counter was an NPC or player. Fester asked him if he had any weapons for Kamui, specifically a level 4 sword. The clerk brought up a few good weapons. The first one he mentioned, a white blade and a dark-grey hilt, seemed nice.

"H-how much?" he nervously asked. A blade that can freeze, who could pass out on that? Still, there was too much tension in this room. Well, enough for Kamui anyway.

Just stay calm. You'll get through this, Kamui thought in his head, repeating it inside over & over again, taking in deep breaths to help. He noticed Natsumi was interested in a weapon as well. How much would his weapon cost anyway? He had plenty of money, but not much since players have been advancing through the floors. Speaking of which, floor 8's dungeon has been located. Now Kamui wasn't stupid! No way he's charging in to find the boss like a lunatic. He just needs to train & level up. Then he can maybe reach the final floor.

Sir Bastian · Dec 13, 2012

Bralec
Floor 8 - Dovren City

Bralec stood with his hands in his sides, watching the potential customers mingle about, giving them all a warm smile. A girl pointed up to a sword with a decorated hilt, dragons twisting about it. A long, thin blade. He raised his brows a little and tapped his chin a little.

"Well now, you've got an eye for quality. I got that one from fighting a miniboss in the third dungeon. It's name is Dragon's Tail. It's got really good stats, mainly focused on damage, and it has a piercing effect on armored enemies. If you'd want that, it'd set you back..."

He tilted his head back, furrowing his brows slightly.

"... Eight hundred Cor. Sorry, but it's a pretty rare item."

He gave the girl an apologetic smile before turning to the boy, pointing up at the sword with the ice effect.

"Ah, interested in Hail? It's a fairly low-level sword considering where most people are right now, so it'll only be... mrrh. A hundred and fifty cor."

Turning around, he then walked behind the counter and picked out a small box, opening it to reveal an array of differently coloured and shaped crystals, showing them to the people within the shop with a grin.

"And here's the 'less unkillable' items. I've got teleportation, healing, status curing, movement-increasing and a couple other kinds of crystals. If you're looking for new armor and stuff, I've got a little, but most armors are crafted rather than found, but if you want, I can show you it."

Squirrel · Dec 13, 2012

Rapp & Dante - Floor 6

"Heh, that was impressive, maybe you're stronger than I gave you credit for. Thanks for the help, I'll start gathering the ore now whilst you heal up. Told you they were tough!" Rapp smirked as he began chiselling the ore from the shell that was left behind and adding it to his inventory piece by piece. That hiding potion saved my life, maybe I should look into increasing my alchemy skills a little more... He contemplated how Dante could have procured such a specialist item with his obvious lack of crafting or alchemy skills, but avoided asking to spare himself looking even weaker than he did already. The last chunk of ore broke away explosively from the shell as the crab's remains continued shattering into millions of blue shards.

"Right, I've got what I came for thanks to you. Use a teleport crystal and meet me back at Floor 8, I have a shop in the town's market where I'll happily craft your reward. It's call Raposa and you can find it a few blocks away from the communal notice board going east - it's the one with the red maple trees outside." Rapp stammered for a few seconds as he thought. "And uh, thanks again Dante. Friends list?" He jabbed at the menu in front of him as he sent the invitation to Dante. "Nice working with you, see you there soon!" Rapp held the teleport crystal in his hand as he crushed it and vanished into thin air, reappearing at the Floor 8 main square. Didn't shout out teleport this time, making progress!

Rapp lazily strolled back to his shop as he contemplated the day's adventure and began considering how he should raise his alchemy level. He came up with all number of crazy ideas of where to get ingredients and of which potions he could make before noticing a herb garden with a sign stating "Please replant after use." infront of it. He hastily gathered the ingredients and ran back to his workshop as quickly as he could to ensure the herbs were as fresh as possible for starting his new hobby; this didn't effect the quality of the potion but made the whole ordeal feel that much more exciting. As he sat at his desk and prepared to grind his first ingredients for a basic healing potion, a familiar face came through the door.

"Ahh, Dante! Nice to see you again. I assume you're here for your sword?" Rapp cleared the ingredients from his desk as he made his way to the till. "Just tell me what you'd like and I'll craft it for you. This ore's some pretty impressive stuff so don't hold back on me, I've been looking for a challenge! I've got plenty of other materials too, so be as specific as you'd like." Rapp smiled at Dante as he awaited his task and brandished his hammer ready to work. Hehe, you'd best not hold back on me old man, I've been waiting for this.

Kranic · Dec 13, 2012

Bacarra
The Last Rose of Azure.

Level 21
Floor 8 - Dovren

It didn't take long for Bacarra to make her way to the boss room. With a quick teleport to Kansas followed by a speedy warp up to Dovren . Following the flow of players coming with the same goal, it wasn't long before Bacarra realized she was in the boss chamber facing the boss in person.

Salathar: the unholy fusion of a snake and a woman. What was once a great beauty has been corroded and changed into this ugly creature. Hunchback and grotesque she had the torso of a woman, but the waist of a snake. Her hair had transformed into a multitude of snakes, all seemingly sentient in their own right. There was a great sense of anger flowing from the unfortunate beast, an anger that in a way was completely warranted, however no matter how warranted this creatures feelings were, it wasn't going to stop this group from trying to reach their goal. They all had their reason to fight as well.

It had been a while since the last time since she had fought in the front lines. Her first attempt was back on the 5th floor against Karack, something she decided to attempt due to the then recent promise she made for her guild. The floors since then managed to escape her grasp, but the end to this one was here and she was ready to fight.

The group circled around the beast and began their attack. Relentless, the players used all their skills to attack the beast, slowly dwindling its health down, however as the fight went on, Salathar showed newer tricks. She had created a space for herself by either sweeping players away with her tail or battering them into retreat by using the many snakes that had functioned as her hair. The rate that the group dwindled down the boss's health slowed immensely as she showed off her new strategies.

The fight truly changed when Salathar showed off her deadliest of skills. The entirety of the group paused as Salathar locked eyes with a player. Entranced with the Lamia's crimson eyes, the player drew his sword and with quick action, he began to stab himself, over and over again. Those close to the player tried to futile help him but were only rewarded the gift to watch as the man finished himself off with one final stab to the chest. Disappearing from existence, the player left a final reminder of his life, the a blood curling scream and a sense of complete helplessness for his friends and allies.

Bacarra stepped back at the sight. It was a first time in a long time that she has seen a player die. It was a very sad sight and brought sordid memories back into her head. She turned her head over to the ugly beast that caused this tragedy.

"I'm going to kill you. In the name of Azure, I will make sure you die. I don't care if you're virtual and don't understand what I mean, why what you did was terrible or whatever else there is to say on the matter. What's going to happen today is that you're going to die and I'm going to make sure that happens. "

The young girl growled at the creature, the flame inside her, the reason for her to fight flared brightly. She charged at the creature, her greatsword in hand. Azure followed at her side, with a quick glance at each other, Azure left a flash of light for the girl before soaring into the air, taking a stationary position in the airspace of the room. Bacarra speed doubled, easily avoiding attacks from the creature. Reaching Salathar, the girl attacked with an upward diagonal strike, cutting two of the snakes that adored the creatures head. She readied for an attack towards her head, but was easily swept away by the creatures tail.

The girl falls back and watched as others took their turn to try and attack the snake. It all ended similarly, pulling off small attacks, the players were pushed away before they could get a critical hit in. The current situation was hopeless. If things continued at the current pace the group will definitely lose. There had to be a means of pulling off a good hit on the creature. She thought for a moment, taking the time to restore the bit of health she lost through her passive regeneration. Then it finally hit her.

She called over Azure, with few words she requested for a buff for her bird. With a flash of light, she turned to the group and yelled out,

"EVERYONE GET READY TO ATTACK!"

Her words were vague and left many players confused, however her next actions made everything very clear. Bacarra stared courageously into Salathar's eyes, immediately falling under her spell. She pulled up her blade in a familiar fashion and began to stab herself in the chest. A curling scream comes from the girl's thought as her health quickly dwindled.

While channeling its spell, Salathar was completely focused on Bacarra and this gave the other players an opportunity to attack. Picking up on her calls, players put all their strength into attacks on the creatures, pulling off powerful swords art and quickly depleting the monster's health. Through the assault, the creature lost its focus on Bacarra, allowing her to gain control of herself, before one final stab.

Taking a large gasp, the girl fell to the ground and watched as her bar dwindled through colors. Green, to yellow, to the last little bit of red. She managed to survive. She let out a heavy sight as her second regeneration passive kicked in, bringing her back to yellow range within a few seconds and slowing down to its ordinary rate from there.

"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. This skill sure has come in handy."

She sighed as she forced herself up.

"That was really scary. I don't think I can do that again."

He body trembled as she looked at her arms. She looked over to Azure, which was sitting near her. It was waiting for its cooldown to finish so it could use a heal on its master. It glared at her master as though to say that what she just did was really stupid. She could only respond with a grin. Her plan worked and Salathar took a good chunk from the assault and ultimately Bacarra was still alive. She caresses the birds head as though to show that.

She watched the battle before her. People were quick to catch on, whenever Salathar would try to take control of a player, the group would quickly come in to burst down the snake, preventing most of the damage from being done. What was once the creature's greatest strength quickly became its greatest weakness.

The girl got on her feet and readied her sword. She's restored enough HP at this point to continue fighting. She jumped back into the fray.

machomuu · Dec 13, 2012

Daniel Williamson / Level 14
Floor 8 - Dovren Home

Daniel didn't interrupt Jet's story, nor did he ask any questions after it was done. He felt that the story was none of his business. Regardless, he sympathized with Jet to the best that he could. It was a sad tale, one that didn't simply end with the death of his partner, but it seemed to be living on through the vengeful Dexter. In which case, Daniel figured that this was a matter of blackmail, so there wasn't exactly much he could do about the ordeal directly, as it was a personal issue, but the best thing he could think to do was take Jet's mind off of the issue; after all, Jet allowed him to meet his daughter, he owed him a favor in return.

Daniel bore a large smile and said, "I think I heard a yawn." He looked to Tara, who indeed had her hand over her mouth. He wasn't exactly sure if she actually yawned or not, but that detail didn't really matter. "It looks like my little princess needs to go to her royal bed."

"B-but I want more stew!" She said with puffed cheeks.

"Don't argue with me young lady, it's your bedtime and that's exactly where you're going- to bed." Yeesh, that line definitely came from a mom on some 80s or 90s show. Daniel's tone was firm and so was his stance, he was serious. Tara didn't like this much and she started yelling words furiously. "I'mstillhungryIwantsomemorestewI'mnotsleepydon'tmakemegotobeditisn'tfairI'mnoteventiredyoucan'tmakemeI'lldowhatIwantWAAAH" Daniel's mother was a home day care provider since the day he was born until he turned 18, so he expected this. He took her bowl from the table and placed it in the sink to wash later. Tara started to cry, still yelling fierce albeit empty words. Daniel chuckled a little; he couldn't get over how cute his daughter was, and how spoiled she was. Then again, maybe it was that time with Jet that made her so spoiled…but given her initial reaction to the stew, it was probably because she'd never eaten anything like it. He put his hand on Jet's shoulder and said, "Once I put the little one to bed, we can go to the dungeon. Oh, and if you would, can you put the stew in the fridge? Or if you want, you can have more. It's fine, mi casa es tu casa." As always, Daniel was incredibly excited. It seemed that the more dangerous confrontations excited him most, and this definitely fit that category.

He picked up Tara by her waist, even as she continued to kick and scream. He took her up to his room with the large bed and placed her under the covers. She wasn't kicking and screaming anymore, but she was still crying. "Tara, honey, me and Jet are gonna go out on an adventure. I'll have a wonderful story to tell you when we get back." He said as he brushed her hair.

"W-why can't I go?" She said with a broken voice and sniffles. "Me and Big Bro went to fight monsters all the time."

"Tara, I love you more than anything in this entire world. This is way too dangerous for you, and I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt…I don't think I could bear it…" He looked into her deep dark blue, swelling eyes. "I know you hate me, but-"

"I don't hate you!" She quickly cut in. "I was just mad, I love you daddy." She hugged him tight as if he was going to disappear if she let him go.

Daniel smiled and again brushed her hair with his hand. "I don't want you to be used to having too much…" He switched his point from the dungeon to the food. "I noticed that you eat a lot, but eating too much is bad for you…" Tara looked at him for a moment and then nodded. "Just know that all of this…I'm doing all of this for you. Now please, go to sleep. Who knows? Maybe when I get back, you'll have a new mommy for you."

"Really!?" Tara exclaimed with an incredible amount of energy, shooting up from the covers. Daniel wasn't expecting how ecstatic Tara would be at a simple possibility, and it made him smile.

"Possibly, but only if you go to sleep." Almost immediately, Tara pulled the covers over her and closed her eyes, trying desperately to sleep. Daniel decided to help her out, so he turned off the light and closed the door. He made his way downstairs and equipped into his battle armor and his weapon. "Sorry about the wait, I'm ready when you are."

CarefulWetPaint · Dec 14, 2012

Dante FareFyre, Floor 6, Level 25

"Heh, that was impressive, maybe you're stronger than I gave you credit for. Thanks for the help, I'll start gathering the ore now whilst you heal up. Told you they were tough!" Rapp smirked triumphantly while saying this, slightly annoying Dante.
If you didn't get in the.. Sighing Dante smiled back and replied modestly, thanking Rapp for the praise.
Rapp, thanked Dante again for helping get the ore and asked him to meet him at his shop on the 8th floor. Saying thanks again he sent Dante a friends request and teleported off. I think I'll accept this after I see what his blacksmithing skill is like. After looking around the room he had just fought in Dante activated his teleportation crystal as well. Appearing at the 8th floor teleportation portal he made his way to a nearby tree to lean against.

While leaning against the tree Dante swiped at the air to open up his menu. Hitting the compose a new message button, he began his message.

To: Sona
Subject: Job done.
I just finished that escort job beautiful, just getting my payment now. I'm on the 8th floor so I'll come find you after I'm finished with Rapp. I'll see you soon gorgeous.

Well, know I've notified her I can finish this job up. Dante thought as he lazily pushed himself off the tree and began in the direction of Rapp's shop. After a short walk he found himself standing in front of a shop that had red maple trees on either side of the shop. A sing saying "Raposa" was hung above the door. Yes, this must definitely be it. Pushing open the door with ease he was greeted by a happy Rapp. His attitude towards me has changed for the better. Dante thought smiling as he replied with a hello and yes.

"Just tell me what you'd like and I'll craft it for you. This ore's some pretty impressive stuff so don't hold back on me, I've been looking for a challenge! I've got plenty of other materials too, so be as specific as you'd like." Rapp said excited, smiling at Dante like he was challenging him.
"Okay then, I want a sword that will last until at least floor 20, and still be a high level sword by then. Also if it does large amounts of damage it'd appreciate it. I'd also like if it had fairly high attack speed, higher than this sword if possible." Dante was laying down the specs of what he wanted for his new sword with no hesitation as he took out his current sword and handed it to Rapp. "Oh and it must be one handed and light! If you could do all that I would really appreciate it!" Looking rather excited Dante finished his sentence to see Rapp's eyes light up, the look on his face saying "Challenge, Accepted."

Squirrel · Dec 14, 2012

Rapp - Floor 8 Town Center

"Oh and it must be one handed and light! If you could do all that I would really appreciate it!" echoed Dante as he finished his request.

"Ahh, now you're talking! Finally a challenge worthy of my forging prowess. It'll take a little while to find the materials for crafting a sword of that strength so you may want to come back in a couple of hours; I'll message you when it's done." Without waiting for a reply, Rapp hurried back into his storeroom as he began contemplating what materials to use and exactly how to craft them. His adventures so far in the world of Aincrad had led him to build up vast quantities of materials so he had no doubt that he'd have what he needed - it was just a case of working out exactly what that would be.

Rapp cascaded around the room ransacking every cupboard and draw that he came across to find the perfect materials to use. "Let's see, I'll use the Veral Ore that I just obtained as a sturdy lightweight base, gleam it with a Frost Gem extract for extra swift responses, tip the blade with... hmm... perhaps... Oh of course, these razor sharp Polished Spiral Shell Shards will do the trick for a devastatingly sharp Sword Skill bonus! And a handle crafted from the ancient Polway tree in Floor 7's meadows should add a lot of strength to each blow, bound with the cured hide of the rare aquatic monsters of Floor 6's lakes to add some extra durability... Oh but that might be too heavy, perhaps a Cow Hide binding instead...? But then the strength is lost... Ahh I know, a Snakeskin binding studded with Topaz Gems should be perfect!" He stood still for a second whilst contemplating his findings. "Right, that's everything, time to get to work!"

Rapp gathered the materials on his workbench and started hammering at each piece to craft the perfect array of parts for his new masterpiece. However when he reached the Veral Ore core, a problem arose. A message appeared before his eyes: "Insufficient level of forgery to craft.". Crap, what am I going to do now? I promised him this blade... I only need a tiny amount of experience till I'm able to craft that but that'd take to long... He paced back and forth contemplating how to explain himself to Dante before noticing the Alchemy handbook placed open on his desk from his earlier revelation. "Oh of course, I'll just make a Potion of Forgery to boost my skill for a little while!"

Having found the page listing the Potion of Forgery's information, Rapp read through the potion's properties to try and work out the ingredients. "Aroma of sulfur, that should be Morrowwart..." Rapp grabbed the herb from under his desk as he winced at the smell and continued reading before gathering the ingredients. "A black-ish hue - the only herbs I know to produce a black solution would be Heralt Weed or Nodalbrim, I'll try both! And lastly... A sweet taste that stings the throat." Rapp closed his eyes as he concentrated, thinking back through everything he had learnt. "Sweet but stings, what on Aincrad could that be?" He smacked his palm against his forehead before remembering back to the first time he'd ever met his friend Rayle. She'd been complaining of a sore throat when they had first met and she was famous for her love of sweet things, but what had she been eating? Rapp suddenly realised as he shouted out loud: "Iban Due, of course!"

He combined the ingredients together one-by-one before coming up with two possible potions to try out. Without hesitating, he tried both at once and hoped that one would work. "Hmm, let's try this out!" As he began walking over to the bench, he unintentionally dashed forward straight into the opposite wall before standing back dazed and rubbing his head. "Owww, I guess I found the ingredients for a speed potion too then!" He noted down his findings before carefully walking over to his bench to begin work. Hammering away at the materials, no restriction messages appeared this time making him feel pleased with himself at having created the right potion. As he carefully applied the Studded Snakeskin Bounds, the sword starting shining brightly in the light as he raised up the blue-tinted blade and took a swing watching it slice through the air. Ahh yes, now this is good. This is very good. Too good for Dante I reckon! He grinned wildly whilst swiping at the screen in front of him excitedly typing out his message to Dante.

To: Dante
Subject: IT'S DONE!!!
It's done, it's done! Come back instantly, you have to see it! This is my best piece of work yet, it'll last you easily until the 20th floor, most likely even to floor 30 or higher! The gleaming blue blade is glossed with frost gem extract giving it a wonderful shine and it'll be as swift as you could possibly want, plus the razor-sharp tip will really do wonders on boosting your Sword Skills. Just imagine your pretty purple flower dance but three times as fast and fifty times sharper! Plus it won't weigh you down at all with the super light-weight core and the handle should be a truly comfortable fit with the rare wood that it's made from, also making it twice as forceful with each blow! Anyway you'll see for yourself, just get here now!

Rapp eagerly awaited Dante's return as he continued to stare at his beautiful creation, the Twilight Blade.

Garet · Dec 14, 2012

Jet Stryker - Level 17
Floor 8 - Dovren

~~~~~

Huh. Jet wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of that, though he might have if given time, but—

"I'mstillhungryIwantsomemorestewI'mnotsleepydon'tmakemegotobeditisn'tfairI'mnoteventiredyoucan'tmakemeI'lldowhatIwantWAAAH"

Yikes! Jet remained silent as Daniel ignored Tara's outburst, eventually picking up the child and carting her off to, presumably, a bed. "I'd be surprised if he wasn't a father in real life," he commented once the others had left the room, picking up the pot of stew. Personally, Jet often felt uncomfortable around children who complained in a similar manner; the feeling was worse after having personally raised Tara for two weeks. After putting it away as Daniel had asked, then leaving his own bowl and utensils in the sink, Jet swiped his hand to bring up his inventory screen. He had been able to improve his equipment a bit, as there had luckily been a few craftspeople still on the first two floors, but not enough to be satisfied.

After equipping his armor and such, Jet waited for Daniel to reappear in the room. When the older man came back, he shrugged. "I'm as ready as I can be without runnin' off to the marketplace," Jet replied. He scratched his head before adding, "Um, sorry 'bout, well, all that. She'd started out eating more to grow, an' I, uh, never felt like I should've restricted that." After a moment, he shook his head. "Anyways, off to that dungeon. Let's hope Tara doesn't shift and fly outta here to join us, or wreck the house or somethin'." Jet turned and opened the door.

~~~

It didn't take long to get to Floor 8's dungeon. Trouble, however, arose before Jet ever set foot in the boss room.

"Jet Stryker!"

Oh, no. Jet groaned silently to himself as he stopped, several paces from the doors as another player strode up to him. "Can't this wait 'til after the boss fight, Dexter?" the teenager asked, hands itching to pull out his daggers. "I know you hate me an' all, but—"

"I can wait a minute before joining in," Dexter interrupted, his face impassive. He was, to Jet's eyes, a pillar: tall, round, and hard as rock. The six-foot-easy man was dressed in full battle-gear, designed to provide as much defense as possible without slowing him down too much. Dexter dropped the head of his Greataxe on the ground and leaned on the handle, staring down at Jet. "I didn't appreciate your remark, by the way," he continued, his voice gravelly. Dexter's voice dropped as he spoke, the words meant for Jet's ears only: "I just stopped to remind you of our meeting. You will come, whether I drag you along or not." His volume returning to normal, he grinned as he added, "Assuming that you live through this fight."

"Oy, you two coming or not?!" Jet turned to spy one of his friends, Kaiser, walking by with a questioning look on his face. He, too, was decked out in battle-gear, Broadsword on back as usual. After glancing at Dexter, Kaiser added, "If you are, then set aside whatever else you might have."

Jet gave a mock salute to Dexter before dodging around him to walk into the boss room, daggers in hands. Need to settle this conflict somehow, once the battle's done.

The boss immediately reminded him of Medusa: snake-hair, lower snake half…I wonder if she can petrify her victims, too. Considering his level and somewhat under-leveled equipment, Jet hung back to watch as other players didn't hesitate to attack the boss. It quickly became evident that Salathar's main defense was her ability to keep multiple players away by striking at them with her snakelike hair and sweeping with her tail. He'd have to watch out for those.

After a minute, during which he spied both Kaiser and Dexter fighting, Jet activated his Speed skill to dart in and swipe at Salathar's tail, which immediately retaliated by sweeping at him from the side. He hopped over it, only to back up as he parried one of her snakes with a dagger. Jet tried to follow his parry with a cutting swing from his other dagger, but the snake coiled out of range, allowing the tail to swing back. Jet found himself flying back a few feet from the impact; his health bar dropped by about a fourth. Snap. I need to get better gear.

As Jet pushed himself up and checked that he wasn't in Salathar's range, the boss locked eyes with a player who'd stopped to rest. Within seconds, the player had turned his sword upon himself and begun stabbing. Jet's eyes widened before he turned his head away. He'd have to avoid that, as well.

Jet sheathed a dagger before pulling out a Minor Attack Potion, the last one he had at the moment. He quaffed the potion before pulling his dagger out again and dashing at Salathar's back, the potion giving a minor boost to his damage output. He ducked under the lashing tail, swiping at it with his Seraph-Dagger as it passed, before jumping forward to plunge both daggers into the tail. Jet quickly pulled away as both the tail's end and three snake-heads came at him. He parried the first head, sliced off the second, flinched as the third struck, and rolled with the tail's attack to minimize the damage a bit. His bar now read in the yellow.

Again out of Salathar's range, Jet picked himself up as another player flashed and yelled,

"EVERYONE GET READY TO ATTACK!"

Say, what? Jet had pulled out a healing potion, only to see the player lock eyes with Salathar. No! What was she thinki- Wait, the boss was distracted by her staring contest. After drinking the potion, Jet darted back into the fray to leave another cut and plunge in Salathar's tail. When she broke focus and began retaliating, Jet retreated with the other players, darting in every time another staring contest had begun. He began thinking that even if this tactic could be repeated, the tail and snake-hair would still be around.

Finding Kaiser and Dexter on both sides of him after one retreat, Jet noted their weapons. There was an idea. "Kaiser, can you try spearin' her tail to the ground with your sword next time? It should keep it outta the fight for a few seconds. Dexter, chop off what you can. I'm goin' for the hair." And maybe the head.

Kaiser nodded, but Dexter didn't give any indication that he'd agreed. Jet activated his Speed Sword skill, making his daggers grow three inches longer. He hung around Salathar's back until he saw her begin another staring contest. "Now!"

Kaiser jumped forward and stabbed his sword down at the slowed tail, while Dexter followed with an attempt to decapitate what he could of the tail's end. Jet, meanwhile, had run forward, dragging one dagger along Salathar's tail for a couple seconds before bringing both daggers up to slice off more of the snake-hair. If he got the chance, Jet had a thought to try and lop off Salathar's head.

Sword Art Online: Infinity Edition [IC] [T] [Best Rookie 4Q '12]

[b]The Other Promise[/b]

Kamui Ozora: Level 4 Floor 8: Dovren

<3

Christina - Crossroads

Rapp & Dante - Floor 6 Crevice

~*-*~

~*-*~

GhostFire

What did you say about my hair

Level 20 Floor 8 - Dovren​

Floor 7 - Kansas

Doctor Lobotomy

[I]Only thorns left on this rose.[/I]

Natsumi Aido - floor 8/Dovren - level 12

Kingslayer