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

[machomuu]

???​

"Have you ever heard the tale of The Tortoise and The Hare?" an older, brusque voice rang out, echoing as it bounced off of the walls of a particularly dark room.

"I'm not particularly well versed in the way of Western literature," another voice responded, feminine with something of a Mid-Western American accent.

"The story is about a race between-" The first voice started again, but was cut off.

"A tortoise and a hare," the softer voice cut in, with something of a discontented air it. "The Hare is obviously faster, but in the shock of a century, the Tortoise wins. It's a tale meant to teach the reader that slow and steady wins the race, yeah?"

The masculine voice paused before continuing. "You've...heard this story before?"

The feminine voice let out scoff and retorted with a twinge of irritation. "What? I just told you I don't know jack about Western lit!" A hand smacked down against a hard surface. "I ain't no liar, don't go makin' me out to be one!" After a brief moment of silence, the accented speaker continued, seemingly having calmed down. "It's just basic story structure. If you say two things that have contrasting traits and put them in a situation where one will have the advantage over the other, the probable ending and message are obvious. It's only common sense."

The aged voice let out a sigh, briefly followed by a high-pitched chuckle. "Well, my dear, this version of the story is a bit different. See, in the original, the Tortoise challenges the Hare to a race after being fed up with being looked down on. The Hare is cocky, and it ends up wasting its time on frivolous things, ultimately losing the race. This version, however, is a bit different." A few steps are heard, and suddenly the lights to the room flicker on, revealing a man in a white lab coat who appeared to be in his fifties, his face clothed by a great white full-face beard and white curly hair. Behind him, sitting in a chair, was a red-headed woman in her twenties who had shoulder length hair and sharp eyes betrayed by a face seemingly hailed from Russia. The man, who had told the tale, continued. "In this version, there is a fox."

"A fox?" The girl, who was sitting down, raised her head from her hand as if she had gained interest in the story. "What type of fox? Could it have been the rodent-like Vulpes zerda? Or maybe it was the cute and adorable Vulpes velox, no? Or how about the Vulpes vulpes!" She was practically out of her seat, shaking with excitement as she listed fox names by their scientific names, as if to flaunt her knowledge about foxes.

The bearded man smiled. "It was the red fox. So, that would be...the Vulpes vulpes, am I correct?" The Fox Fanatic nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, well then. The Fox just so happens to come across a squabbling Tortoise and Hare, and she decides to sweeten the deal. She says to the Hare that for every five minutes spent in the race, he will be given one carrot. She then goes to the Tortoise and tells him that if he wins the race, he will be granted happiness. The two then race off. What do you think happens?"

"...Well I have a few questions first." The girl started, raising her hand. "Why do they so easily believe that the fox can grant them those wishes? Do they know the fox? It seems highly illogical for people or animals to simply believe the words of a random stranger who just came up to them and offered them impossible things. And on that note, why would a hare so easily trust its natural predator?" She nods her head to the side. "It just doesn't make sense."

"It's a fable," the man replied, handwaving the girl's questions. "Do not worry about the semantics, merely look at it from a story's perspective as you did before." With this, the girl brought hand to her chin and thought for only a few moments before explaining what she thought may have happened.

"Well, unlike before, the two both had goals in mind...so naturally neither the Tortoise nor the Hare would laze around. This said, the Hare's reward was different from the Tortoise's, and looking back at the first story, he certainly seems the type to harbor a fair bit of avarice. I'd imagine, to take advantage of the Fox's offer, he would try to prolong the race. The Tortoise, on the other hand, had a different goal in mind, and that was to finish the race as quickly as possible." She scratched the back of her neck and paused for an extra few seconds, staring into the table in front of her. "So...the Hare would likely try to play tricks on the Tortoise or distract him, anything from allowing him to get to the end. They both looked squarely at the goals they were given...and time would pass. Given that this is fable, I don't assume ridiculous stretches are out the window. Because of this...I'd say that the race continued for possibly years, until finally the two died, never having gotten what they wanted.

The man's eyes widened, as he was practically speechless. He laughed his high-pitched laugh and clapped heartily. "My, my! Your mind really is top tier; that's basically the entirety of the story! But do you know what the moral is? Do you know why the story ended the way it did?"

The girl looked down again. "I think...it's because the two never really considered any sort of compromise. They were both looking at their goals through their own lenses and butting heads. They weren't averse to each other's ideas, they simply had their own on their mind and only their own, considering nothing else, not even their well-being. They were enemies to each other and to themselves solely because they kept looking forward."

"Exactly." The man said, taking a seat in front of her, giving her a stern look. "But know that it isn't simply because the two had goals that they fell, there is never anything wrong with having a dream or wanting to accomplish something. Understand?" Again, the girl nodded. "These two fell because they had their goals so close to them that they felt they could accomplish them, like a carrot being dangled in front of a horse. It was only because they could see their goal and became consumed by its smell, its feel, and its taste."

"Why are you telling me this, old man?" The girl said, resting her arm over the back of her chair. "I mean, it's a nice life lesson and all, but you generally don't go tellin' me stories out of the blue like that."

"Kayaba is the Fox, and the players are the Tortoise. He presented them with pain and anguish, but he also showed us a symbol of hope: the 100th floor and the final boss. By clearing those, we shall attain 'happiness'."

"So then, the Hare...it must be that guy, right?" The girl added with an unsure look on her face and and a raised eyebrow. "That must be why you're telling me this now, it has to be."

"And you are the Fox," the man said, his hands clasped together.

An even larger question mark showed on the girl's face when she heard this. "Wait, but I thought Kayaba was the Fox." The man remained silent. "...No...no it makes sense. Kayaba is the Fox, but I'm also the Fox. There is never Yin without Yang, and so far only one of the goals has been revealed...happiness. If we look at this another way, that guy's carrots- or in this context, his happiness, lies opposite the 100th floor. The masses' hope is his despair. If I am the Fox, then I must be the one to supplement that hope and bring the image of happiness to him. Which means that if Kayaba is the Yin, I am the Yang...or vice versa, thus collectively making us the Fox."

The man remained silent and stood up, turning his back to the girl. "You realize what you must do, correct?"

The girl did not respond. She simply walked to the door and opened it. "If I am the Fox, he is the Hare, and the players are the Tortoise, you must be..." Quietly, she left, closing the door behind her.

 

[(Drakath)]

Drakath- Level 16 - Exp 73% - 21,293 Col - Floor 5 – Boss Room​

​

After the paralysis wore off they stayed back, avoiding the boss. "Okay, so… Attacking head on isn't such a good idea. Let's try a more defensive approach." Drakath said, "Alright, you want to hold off the tentacles so I can attack them?" Sakurza asked, "Didn't the guy say to attack randomly and not use strategies or something like that?" Drakath reminded, "That's why we improvise if things change or go bad." Sakurza replied and Drakath shrugged, turning to The Ghastlygaze, Okay let's go, and running off to attack. That's probably really annoying, just running off like that all the time. Actually, it bothers me sometimes when she does that… Whoa! He hopped to the left to avoid a tentacle, twisted his upper body while cutting upward. "Hey wait up," Sakurza said as the small head flew past her, "Please stop doing that.""I will." Yup, it's annoying. Drakath and Sakurza fought with their predetermined strategy for a while before being approached by a young 13-ish year old girl with a hammer, "Hey stop being wusses and actually fight. You're barely doing any damage, so at least clear a path through the tentacles so we can charge this thing." The girl said it in a bossy fashion, "Allyson? What are you doing here?" Sakurza asked worriedly, "I don't know anyone named Allyson, my name's Jamie." She moved her hair and looked completely different. Sakurza looked away as the girl spoke, "I'm here because couldn't sit still so I decided to help out and fight the boss." she said happily. "Watch out!" Drakath yelled, and just in time she jumped away from a stabbing tentacle and ran back to her party. That was close. They were thrown back by a high swipe. Drakath immediately got up and charged the boss, "Drakath wait! We already tried that, it doesn't work!" Sakurza yelled worried. He ran in, trying to do as much damage as possible before once again being thrown back into Sakurza. She got angry and pushed him off of her and hit him as he got up "You need to be more careful, stop taking so many risks during combat all the time!" Drakath looked at her, "You do it too! We all do!" he said raising his hands, "Yeah but not as much as you do!" She said and pushed his hands down, "I do it when I feel it's worth it and reasonable." Drakath responded, "Oh yeah! When? Because I don't see why or how risking your life in these types of battles is worth it. This isn't just a game you know, we couldactually die in here!" She yelled, shoving him. "When did you become so quick tempered and mean? You were much nicer the last time we met! What happened to you?" Drakath yelled back, "Well, maybe it's because I went through some stuff in the time between our last visit and now, and I spent some time thinking about my life! No- our lives!" Her eyes watered, "What do you mean?" he asked, "Seriously?Look around! We are stuck here in a game that we can't leave, where if we die here we die in real life, and with our bodies slowly decaying in a hospital bed with this stupid helmet on our heads!" She started to cry, "But, we can get out." Drakath said, "Really, Floor 100! We barely made it to Floor 10 in the beta, now here it's even harder, and who knows what's changed?" The game had finally gotten to her, "It not even close to real life! There are monsters here and we're on a floating cocoon! We don't bleed, nothing tastes or feels the same, everything blows up when is dies, we don't get hurt in towns, there's all this crap on the edges our field of vision, we have things above our heads like we're playing that one life simulator, we poke objects to do stuff with them, we swipe our hand to open this floating personal phone/backpack thing," she listed almosteverything unlike real life, "And we use swords, axes, hammers, and stuff on a daily basis, no one does this stuff anymore." She said, "When did you startc aring so much? This is so un-" "Shut it! If got something to ask me, answer this first. What are we even fighting for?!" Drakath was struck by surprise, Why do we fight…

 

[<Challenger>]

Taka the Lovable Poet: Level 14 - 72% Exp - 3000 Col
Ragnorak the Fearsome Fighter: Level 15 - 92% Exp - 3300 Col
ChooChoo the Unstoppable Force: Level 15 - 45% Exp - 4200 Col
Floor 5: The Boss Room, Baby!
Hell Yeah! They Fightin' the Boss, Baby!​

"THE BOSS ROOM! HURRY!" Taka shouted to his two companions, rushing through the wide open door. "QUICKLY, BEFORE IT SHUTS!"

ChooChoo and Ragnorak pushed themselves harder as they saw the doors shutting. "Come on, baby!" Cain shouted as they dove forward, narrowly escaping the gnashing of the doors. They had all made it. But barely.

They had arrived just in time to here a man speak, "Don't team up! This boss can only be defeated when the attacks aren't in order. Let's confuse him! Ready? GO!"

Taka looked to his companions, a grin on his face. "Dis-organization? We've got this!" Without waiting for a reply, he drew Poetic Justice and rushed forward, hacking at every tentacle he could find. "TAKE THIS, FOUL DEMON!" Although the bard warrior had come to terms with his mortality, the same vigor that filled him in the first boss fight filled him now. "FALL TO MY BLADE!" He roared as he slammed his massive blade into a nearby tentacle, knocking it away from him. As he whirled through the battlefield, he noticed a familiar character with white hair at the front of the battle line. "ROBIN!" He called and slashed his way forward. He came to the side of the leader and grinned, fighting off tentacle after tentacle. "My friend! What a lovely day for a boss fight!" He grunted with effort as he swung his sword clear through a tentacle. "It's a pleasure to fight with you again! Where do you need me?"

Ragnorak and ChooChoo simply watched as Taka ran off into the fray, both groaning and grinning. "That dudes crazy, man." Cain laughed and drew Dragon's Fang, his own greatsword. "Let's tear these b!tches up!" He let out a loud whoop and charged forward into the mass. "CHOO CHOO, BABY! I AIN'T KNOW STEAM ENGINE! I'M A BULLET TRAIN!" The red haired warrior tore into the tentacles, whirling his sword every which direction in an attempt to stave the encroaching threats. "YOU CAN'T BEAT ME, BABY! I'M OFF TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP!"

Ragnorak simply roared as he charged forward, looking like the very definition of a viking berserker. The only audible noise coming from his mouth was an unintelligible roar as he swung his axe in every which direction, clipping tentacles left and right. It seemed that three of the most rambunctious, chaotic players in the game were released onto one monster.

One would almost feel bad for the boss.

 

[Sapphire Rose]

Lucina
Player level 17
Floor 5: Boss room​

Lucina made her way too the boss room after this whole awkward situation that Mamoru set up. She still didn't feel comfortable around Robin now that she knew he was that guy from her past but atleast she knew now that she shouldn't tell Mamoru these things because he'll try things like making them meet on purpose like wat happened just now. Oh the regret she felt...

As the painful look remained on her face she entered the 5th floor soon. It was past 1 pm so the guy that send her that message already had begun his speech. Somehow every "leader" found that mandatory. Lucina was more interested in the fact if a PKer will try to kill him too. Somehow this has happened in every boss fight up until now. Lucina continued listening until the end and as it finally sarted, Lucina wasn't the first to run inside this time. She entered the room in her own pace and adjusted her hood as she looked around. This boss was literally an all seeing eye...

The boss fight started soon after and Lucina saw people teaming up even after what Devon said about teaming up. Lucina sighed and started with hitting the tentacles of this boss. You had to hit those to get to the eye after all. Everything seemed to be going well until Lucina noticed her HP was going down rapidly. The tentacles poison resulted in the poisoned status. A status effect that Lucina really couldn't use in combination with her bleeding status. Lucina was more focused on her health bar now than on the the tentacles of this boss.

While Lucina was searching for a potion and antidote she could use, she drawed the attention of the Ghastlygaze because she was so close to it. As he was about to bite her with all his remaining tentacles, leaving the other players to be in the meanwhile and the opportunity to attack it's back. When Lucina noticed what was happening and was taken down to the floor by the tentacles one by one she noticed something far worse. The huge eye of this thing was starting to glow and something that started glowing was never good.

Within a few second his eye was fully charged and shoot a light beam with Lucina as it's target. Lucina couldn't get away in time so once it had hit her, her HP was left with just 2%. When she saw just that she started panicking. He was charging a tentacle at her again and she still had this bleeding status. She was also on the ground so she was on a huge disadvantage here, making it literally impossible for her to escape thus to survive this attack...


------
«Lucina's white dress» [unequipped]
«Falchion» [unequipped]
​

Lacy
Player level 15
Floor 4: Lobria, Lotus inn.​

Lacy was somehow glad that Vanish said he had been here for just a few minutes at the most. She felt like she had made him wait so it was relieving. As Vanish said Lacy could tell him anything she felt a little hesitation within her. She wasn't one to reveal her secrets this easily though... she kind of felt like she could really tell him anything... Yet she still felt a little danger.

"Well... it's a little bit complicated..." Lacy said as she sighed. "It's a long story but I'll sumarize it." Lacy smiled at him gently and made herself ready to tell him a story. It took a few seconds before she knew how to tell him without making him listen too long. "I haven't been here as long as everyone... It all started when my older sister bought this game and Nerve Gear and when I wasn't able to get it whe agreed to share a character and named her "Lucina". Lucina as my sister's appearence now. I bought this game and Nerve Gear from a black market. I really don't wanna know where that guy got it but at least I was able to follow my sister inside this game but... I now realize she would be very angry if she'd find out and would most likely give her life I was ever to get into real trouble. I decided that my existance within this game has to be a secret from her." Lacy explained. It still didn't come out right and Lacy was getting ready to hear the "getting inside this game was probably the stupidest thing you could do" talk.

-------

«Cloak of courage» [equipped]
«Hair dye: Violet» [applied]

​

 

[ShinyDiamond]

Robin - Lvl 13
Floor 5: Boss Room
HP: 86% - EXP: 87% - Col: 6148

Spoiler:

"Agh!" Robin was having trouble timing his dodges & parrying the tentacles bites. This Ghastlygaze was much different from the Beta test. Still, there's no way Robin would run away.

The doors were closed anyway, no one can just run away.

Robin could hear everyone's struggle. They all had the same goal in mind, which seems impossible right now. He could barely focus cutting down the tentacles while keeping an eye on everyone else. He spotted Lucina nearby. Was she giving it her all? She was having more trouble than the other players. She not about to...?! "ROBIN!" That voice sounded familiar. Was that supposed to be...?

"My friend! What a lovely day for a boss fight!" In the flesh, Taka came out of nowhere, fighting off the tentacles to assist Robin. He was that guy who was close on par with Mamoru in being out there. At least Robin wasn't fighting with some stranger, that's something. Another tentacle shot its teeth at Robin, which he ducked in time before backing away. "Boss fights aren't to be taken lightly! Just focus!" Taka tends to put on the theatrics, but Robin wouldn't have that since this battle was a matter of life & death.

Robin soon heard a girl's small scream. Looking over, he saw Lucina knocked down by the Ghastlygaze, from a beam, with its tentacles about to lunge for her. He can see that her HP was down, like, REALLY down, & it was still going down! "It's a pleasure to fight with you again! Where do you need me?" Taka couldn't have asked for a better time to ask that. Robin knocked a tentacle of his own back & quickly turned his gaze torwards Tak.

"Cover me!" He then lunges for Lucina, just knocking the tentacles away, just barely, putting a little strain in his sword arm. He quickly gets out two crystals, a green & peach blossom, & shouts out a command,"Heal!" The crystals dissipate as they heal Lucina & her poisoned status. Robin picks her up & puts her a distance from the tentacles, then turns back to fight them off, "You're supposed to be watching yourself! There's still too much we don't know about this boss, don't just heroize & get yourself killed!" Robin grunted at Lucina, just barely pushing back some tentacles. He uses Beautiful Luna just knock away more tentacles than there were, still not enough to create an opening. All he could do was fight back the tentacles, Taka helping from the side. But maybe, there might be a way, whatever it was.

 

[<Challenger>]

Taka the Lovable Poet: Level 14 - 72% Exp - 3000 Col
Ragnorak the Fearsome Fighter: Level 15 - 92% Exp - 3300 Col
ChooChoo the Unstoppable Force: Level 15 - 45% Exp - 4200 Col
Floor 5: The Boss Room, Baby!
It's Hard Being a Hero, Baby.

The greeting Taka received from Robin was a stern, "Boss fights aren't to be taken lightly! Just focus!" The white haired warrior seemed focused on the battle...and even more on the fallen Lucina, merely feet away. "Cover me!" Robin called as he lunged forward to retrieve his fallen comrade.

"Right! You can count on me!" Taka dashed forward and slapped aside tentacle after tentacle as he guarded Robin. A certain determination entered his voice as he dodged and parried each tentacle. As Robin pulled the semi-conscious girl to a safe distance. Taka jogged over to them and grinned. "Excellent rescue. But there's still work to be done." He turned to face the GhastlyGaze, his sword held at the ready. "I think I have an idea!" He glanced around the room until he found his two companions. "RAGNAROK! CAIN! HERE!"

The two red-headed warriors jogged over. Both of them were in relatively good shape, despite the tentacle onslaught. Cain grinned and brushed the red hair out of his face and laughed. "Yo, Taka. What is it?" His buster blade was covered in pixelated Ghastly goo.

Taka pointed to the GhastlyGaze and grinned. "I was thinking that, since we have the largest weapons in the room," He gestured to Poetic Justice, Dragon's Fang, and North Wind. "That we can form a wall of sorts so we can get close to the boss."

Ragnarok nodded, his eyes narrowing in thought. "I think that's a good idea. I'll be in the center." He started whirling his like a staff. The head formed a perfect circle, making a perfect shield. "Everyone, get behind me. I'm going in." With that, he began to make his way towards the boss at a slow rate.

Cain let out a loud, "WOO, BABY! LET'S DO THIS!" He ran forward, sword in hand, and began to chop away at the tentacles. Ragnarok's axe was doing an excellent job of cutting everything that attempted to make it through.

Taka sighed and chuckled as he looked back at Robin and Lucina. "I think this is our best option at getting closer." He looked at his fellow warriors and laughed aloud. "Forward ho!" He charged forward and began to cut away at everything that came close to him. The three warriors were making excellent progress. Hopefully they would make progress this excellent throughout the battle.
​

 

[(Drakath)]

Sakurza - Level 15 - Exp 97% - 19,064 Col - Floor 5 – Boss Room

Before Drakath could react or say anything, a beam of light split between the two and knocked them over, halving their health. They looked at the Ghastlygaze and saw its eye darken to its normal lighting. Another player had been knocked over, presumably the boss's target, with very little health left and a tentacle above them. What was that attack! Sakurza wondered before hurriedly getting up and running around the boss to flank it. Since the fallen player clearly had the boss's attention, Sakurza started rapidly slashing its back. A tentacle reached around and dashed at her back. She jumped to the side just before it hit, causing it to bite itself. Did I just poison the boss? She checked its health, Ha! It's poisoned... She continued to do this until the boss did something different, Man this thing's stupid. Oh crap! This time when she jumped, the tentacle quickly turned and wrapped around her ankle. It lifted her up above the rest of the boss, hanging upside down. She dropped her sword when it yanked her up so she couldn't attack it to get down. She curled up, grabbed the tentacle, and tried to force it off. It wouldn't budge so instead, she forced its mouth open an shoved her fist down it. It unwrapped around her ankle and jerked back, dropping her. She fell, spinning with enough speed to blur her vision, and in the second of focus she had, all she saw was the floor. There was a loud thud sound. She looked around, making sure no one saw her, and since no one was looking at her, she assumed she wasn't seen, considering the size of The Ghastlygaze and how fast she fell. After that, she struggled to get up and away from the tentacle she attacked. She reached for her sword and remembered it wasn't there, so she ran to and slid under the boss and grabbed her sword. She stabbed the boss and ran off while she used a healing crystal. She went to the side of the room, away from the boss, and relaxed...

 

[ShinyDiamond]

Boss fight!!! (Update)

The Ghastlygaze, lvl 25
HP: 15000 (Three health bars)​

The tentacles continue to bite at the Ghastlygaze's attackers, pushing back anyone who gets too close. Even those that formed a wall were in danger of getting bit. One by one, each tentacle was slowly being cut down by the players. The tentacles slowly disappear in the air, leaving the Ghastlygaze wide open to the players, but only for a short time. The tentacles would regenerate soon, but now was the time for players to scale an offensive strike.

 

[machomuu]

Kagome & Apathy
Lv. 17 & Lv. 13||Floor 5 - Boss Room​

Kagome and Apathy continued to fend off the tentacles until they felt a lull in the assault. Immediately, Kagome reacted and yelled to Apathy, "Now, Omega Formation!"

"Omega For-...so is that the one where we keep aggroing the enemy or the one where we floss each other's teeth." Apathy asked, following her sister who was darting towards the boss' front. "Or maybe it's the one where one of us restrains Puff while the other feeds her her peas? I mean, I kinda get how that applies, but, I mean, ho- OOPH!" Apathy was cut off when a hard object swiftly met her left cheek. The hard object being Kagome's foot. This lifted her slightly off her feet, but Kagome promptly grabbed her by her cranium and planted her feet on the ground, saying nothing and heading towards its front. Apathy took a few moments to collect herself and said under her breath, "It was just a joke...geez."

Kagome slid as she reached the front of the gorgonic creature, jumped into the air, brought out the Golem's Fist, raising it into the air. She took a quick look around her for something that didn't seem to be there and clicked her tongue. She took a quick breath and yelled "Meteor Blade!!!" As it had many times in the past, Kagome's sword corrupted into a pitch black. As if on cue, she felt something push her higher in into the air. Just as this happened, a translucent red blade much larger than what she was previously wielding overlayed itself over Golem's Fist and the sword grew much heavier. It was time.

At her side, a girl appeared with her sword wielded backwards. It was her little sister, chuckling like a monotone fool. "Omega Formation, Sentou Kaishi!" Apathy said with as much positive emotion as she could. Though Kagome would generally slash downward with Meteor Blade, Omega Formation employed the move in a much more effective way. Apathy forced herself forward and used her feet to push the blade of the sword down quickly. Kagome kept her arms outstretched and curled her body, essentially spiraling downward like Sonic the Hedgehog if he had a giant blade attached to him. With this, Kagome was able to hit the creature with the sword multiple times, dealing massive damage. Upon landing- something that hasn't been perfected yet considering Kagome has no bearing on how she lands- She stood up, this time landing on her back, and switched to the Sword of Aero and began her final assault. As her sister landed they struck as quickly as they could, hoping to take advantage of the brief opportunity to finish the fight.

 

[Sapphire Rose]

Lucina
Player level 17
Floor 5: Boss room​

In just a fraction of a second Lucina heard a very familiar voice command "Heal!". Lucina watched as the poisoned status was healed and her HP bar went back up but as soon as she wanted to turn back to Robin, he picked her up bridal style and put her back on the ground somewhere safe....er

"You're supposed to be watching yourself! There's still too much we don't know about this boss, don't just heroize and get yourself killed!" Robin yelled at her. Lucina blinked a few times when Robin attacked an tentacle coming close to them. "Are you serious?! I wasn't even trying to be heroic! Why don't you try watching your health bar and those wretched tentacles on the same time!" Lucina yelled back but soon realized this was no time for their little quarrels.

Lucina brought her sword to the floor and waited for it to shine an aqua blue color. Once it did she dashed toward a tentacle and slashed it apart from the eye itself, resulting the tentacle to turn into pixels. Lucina was stunned by this and found it much easier like this to kill the tentacles. "Guys! Try to part the tentacle from it's body! Eye... whatever!" Lucina shouted. She took out two tentacles when all the remaining tentacles were taken down by the other players. The Ghastlygaze was now open for any attacks. Every opportunity was taken and soon many players started attacking the eye. Lucina used another sword art, Reapers Sorrow, and hit him as well.


------
«Lucina's white dress» [unequipped]
«Falchion» [unequipped]
​

 

[ShinyDiamond]

Robin - Lvl 13
Floor 5: Boss Room
HP: 86% - EXP: 87% - Col: 6148

Spoiler:

Lucina's reply was expected, but Robin had to focus on the boss. One by one, each tentacle was being cut down by the players. Robin held his ground, cutting down tentacle after tentacle. It was always tentacle, sooner or later this would feel like a stalemate. But soon enough, nearly all the tentacles were cut down, finally leaving the <<Ghastlygaze>> wide open. "Everyone! Attack!!" Robin shouted out to everyone, charging straight for the eye.

Thrusting into an eyeball was common sense, & since Robin didn't have any Sword Arts that had any thrust in them, he'd have to rely on his own skills. Wasting no time, he jabs his sword straight at the huge eyeball, alternating by slicing it across, jabbing again, slashing the opposite direction, & repeats as fast as he can. With everyone syncing their attacks, the boss's first HP bar was slowly depleting. Robin finishes off his combo with a Sword Skill, <<Sonic Spin>>. As his sword glowed a spiky blue, he jumps down on the <<Ghastlygaze>> with all his strength, "Raaahhhh!!" As he cuts down on the boss, Robin lands on his feet & quickly jumps back.

As soon as he finished off his combo, he took a quick glance at Lucina. Her HP bar. It was very strange. Even though he cured her poisoned status, It was still slowly depleting, pixel by pixel. It made no sense to Robin. Why was her HP bar still losing life? ...I have to keep an eye on her, he thought. If the boss wasn't gonna kill her, something else will.

 

[Geras]

Enrique Castillo // Enrique Lv. 11
Floor 5: Boss Room
HP: 73% // Col: 835 // Exp: 72%​

---

The battle against the Ghastlygaze raged on, with Enrique, Mjoll, and Flamio right in the thick of it. They stayed separate like Devon had told them but close enough to each other so that they could jump in if anything went wrong. Enrique had been doing his best with his dagger, not too bothered by the damage cap on the tentacles thanks to his high hit count of weaker attacks. However, he was having a tough time dodging all the tentacles when there were so many of them and were strong enough to knock him around if he tried to defend with his buckler. Flamio on the other hand was almost like a completely different person from the last boss fight. With just his longsword he had no trouble keeping up with the Ghastlygaze's onslaught. His buzzsaw-like Slice-and-Dice sword art was perfect for tearing through the tentacles as well.

The battle continued for a while as the players cut down the tentacles one by one, many having seen what happens to players who try to bypass them and go straight for the eye instead, and soon enough, the Ghastlygaze was left defenseless. Players rushed wildly towards the boss' eye in an attempt to make the most of this opportunity while they had it, and Flamio would have done the same if he were a bit closer. "Damn, I don't have time to waste getting through all these people!" He muttered as a crowd of players ran past him with more on their tails. "Mjoll, give me a lift! It should be no problem with your strength level."

"Wait, what? How?" Mjoll seemed a bit confused at the sudden request.

Flamio groaned, glancing back at the boss for a moment probably wondering if getting through the crowd would be faster anyway. Among the players already there were a pair of girls who pulled off a very impressive and definitely devastating combo attack, though that just seemed to irritate Flamio further. "Your axe! The flat! That mirror move! Got it?" Mjoll nodded, finally understanding. It was a lot easier to slam a heavy weapon down than it was to pull it up, but her Mirror Slice art allowed her to do the latter with the power of the former. Unfortunately, she didn't get much time to mentally prepare herself for it as Flamio started running towards her. "Just do it!" Mjoll turned around and spun the axe in her hands, triggering a blue-green glow before slamming it down with all her strength, flat-first. At that moment, Flamio leapt over her and landed on the weapon, and in the instant he landed the axe shot back up, catapulting Flamio way over the crowds.

As he flew, Flamio twirled in the air to straighten himself so he could be in the proper position to activate his attack. He was right over the Ghastlygaze when he lifted his longsword with both hands and pointed the blade downward, prompting a bright orange glow. "I'm not going to be the victim anymore. This time, I'm the executioner! Slam Jam!" With that, Flamio shot straight down and plunged his blade deep into the beast with tremendous force. It was probably not anywhere near as strong as the spinning girls' attack, but it was still pretty strong considering his high stats.

Enrique whistled when Flamio landed the hit. "Wow, that would have been really cool if 'slam jam' wasn't such a hilarious name for an art. He probably should have changed it if he was going to go the whole 'dark and gritty' route."

"I just wish he wasn't such a jerk about all this," responded Mjoll with a grimace. "But I have to admit, that is a pretty funny name for a sword art. Though he did used to be a funny guy." Mjoll sighed, briefly remembering a time when he wasn't such a pain to deal with. "But anyway, we should probably go join everyone."

"Nah, I'll just stay here," said Enrique nonchalantly, flipping his dagger in the air. Mjoll looked at him like he was crazy. "My hits probably won't really add anything, and this way I can watch in case the boss starts doing something while everyone else is going ham."

Mjoll had to admit that that was probably a smart move. "Well okay. I'm going though. Watch my back, okay?" With that, Mjoll ran off to join everyone, Enrique waving to her as she left. He then stepped back a bit to get a better view of the large boss room and watched carefully in case anything strange happened.
​

 

[<Challenger>]

Taka the Lovable Poet: Level 14 - 72% Exp - 3000 Col
Ragnorak the Fearsome Fighter: Level 15 - 92% Exp - 3300 Col
ChooChoo the Unstoppable Force: Level 15 - 45% Exp - 4200 Col
Floor 5: The Boss Room, Baby :(
Farewell to Friends

Taka, Ragnarok, and Cain were mere yards from the boss when a rogue tentacle came flying through and latched on to Ragnorak's leg. The red-headed berserker cried out in pain and dropped his axe as he looked down. His health bar had been diminishing throughout the fight, and now it was really going down from the direct hit. "F~ck!" He cried out and fell to the ground as the tentacle pulled him closer and closer to the boss. "Taka! Cain!" He cried out and held a hand out for his friends to take.

Cain immediately sheathed his sword as he ran after his friend. "Ragnorak!" He cried out and dove. With his hand inches away from Ragnorak's, a second tentacle latched onto his waist. Before either of the red-headed warriors could do anything, they vanished in a wall of tentacles.

Taka was left alone, shocked and amazed at the sheer speed that his two greatest fans were dragged away. Good god... He thought to himself. "No..." Poetic Justice lowered as he backed up. "NO!" He roared as he quickly brought his blade up, slashing away a tentacle. "CAIN! RAGNAROK!" He looked around everyone was making progress, and the tentacles had faded away.

Please let them be there...Taka began to search the entire room for a sign of his comrades...but to no avail. They had pixelated. No... Taka felt his sword drop as low as his heart. My god... His face was instantly covered with grief. The only true comrades he had met throughout these few months. Only one thing to do now... His grip on Poetic Justice tightened as he rushed forward, yelling, "LET'S GO!"

As he neared the fearsome creature, his sword glowed a bright gold. "Taka..."He brought the blade straight up. He came up to it and leaped through the air, finishing his sword art, "RISING!" He brought he newly lightened blade down with all the strength he could manage, with several other follow-up strokes slashing across the eye of the beast. "YOU MONSTER!" He shouted. The final sword stroke slashed right down the middle of the boss's retina. "LETS GO!" He plunged the six foot sword as deep as he could into it. Hopefully it would do some damage.
​

 

[Turnip]

Turnip
HP 100% | LV. 16 | XP 11% | Col 14112
Location - Floor 5: Boss Room​

Boss battles, schmoss schmattles. That was what Turnip always said. Occasionally said- rarely said, rather, when the situation actually came for such a comment to be made, which wasn't that often really at all, but nevertheless not outside the realms of possibility. Even when he did say it, it didn't exactly roll off the tongue; schmattles was always a little bit awkward to say.

The Ghastlygaze was a pretty horrifying thing, but as far as videogames went it wasn't the most horrifying thing Turnip had seen in his time. That wasn't to say it wasn't up there on the list, oh no, it most certainly was; Turnip had long thought that whoever coined the phrase 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' must have been a madman, seeing as the eyes were fairly disgusting themselves and there were generally so many of them that referring to only a single one was just absurd. Far be it for Turnip to understand that the phrase could possibly refer to the word 'beholder' itself, and not the mythical multi-eyed creature that was named after it.

Such rambling thoughts left Turnip somewhat 'out of it' for a good duration of the boss fight. Not exactly in a trance, unable to defend himself, no. In fact, zoning out proved quite effective in dealing with the rhythmic batting away of tentacles, every now and then throwing in Boomeraxe to the Ghastlygaze's main body when he was assured a good hit and a good return. If anything, it was fairly therapeutic. The main difference was with the effort Turnip was putting in: he wasn't really going out of his way to go for big opportunities, and he didn't quite show the same excitement as he had for some of the other fights. He was perfectly aware of this, of course. After dealing with poison from monsters many times before, he knew that undoubtedly the best defensive option for dealing with poison was to not get poisoned in the first place, which he had undoubtedly managed with such a steadfast defensive stance.

Still, chances for more and more potential damage eluded the warrior. It was dealing with the Rudolph Quest that was his problem; it was a straightforward enough quest, especially with so many people, and he did complete it with help – but unfortunately, one person still managed to get themselves killed anyway. Turnip wasn't looking at the time, he just saw all these people looking glum because their teammate died. Or perhaps it was a friend or family member- the armoured figure hadn't asked. Turnip found it odd how others would grieve or offer condolences given their situation, and yet all he experienced was a very temporary 'un-Shulk-like' mood, as he put it – that is to say, not really feeling it – which didn't even always occur.

And as if to prove a point on just how temporary it was, Turnip saw change in his situation. The boss was vulnerable. People were attacking it with all sorts of crazy combo moves – now that was more like it! Turnip paused for but a moment to mentally note that he should probably come up with some kind of ridiculous wombo-combo attack of his own before dashing off in the direction of the exposed Ghastlygaze just as yet another aerial wham-bam 'Slam Jam' as it was apparently known descended upon the weakened monster.

"Come on and slam," Turnip murmured as a small smile crept across his face, before long turning into a wide grin. "And welcome to the jam…"

As though he had just uttered an ancient proverb of invoking great power within oneself, the armoured figure spun his sword in hand and abruptly stopped it at his right side. It was about time for a wombo-combo of his own. With a running start, the warrior circled around, aiming for the back of the felled beast.

"You thought the jam was tough?" He asked rhetorically. The helmeted player wasn't particularly fast on his feet in SAO, but he pushed himself to dash as quickly as he could at the monster's back. With one wide swooping motion of his sword, Turnip activated his Pulse Edge sword art, repelling any tentacles that could stand in his way. He let the momentum continue, twisting as his sword came back around again for a vertical slice onto the creature's top half. Rather than even try to cut with the strike, Turnip used the sword, along with his momentum to flip himself and somersault over the creature's back. At the apex of his jump, the warrior sheathed his sword that had been raised above him and twisted as much as he could in the air.

"Then prepare to be pulverised by the crispy toast!" He cried, flinging the blade from his back with a Draw Steel to carve along the creature's exposed front.

 

[(Drakath)]

Drakath- Level 16 - Exp 73% - 21,293 Col - Floor 5 - Boss Room

Drakath charged at the boss, slicing off tentacles as fast as he could. Once he managed to clear a small path, he ran straight towards the creature's eye. Some of its tentacles grew back and started to cover itself. Drakath jumped through the closing gap, turned around and ran up the small wall of tentacles, then jumped off and used Flying Swallow to chop it in two. It really should be able to do that on a larger scale as a defensive measure. He looked up and smiled as he saw the Ghastlygaze's health drop a noticeable amount. Unfortunately, because of the angle of his sword skill, he missed one of its appendages. It took this advantage while Drakath was looking at its health to pierce through his left shoulder blade and throw him into the door. Drakath winced after feeling the sharp pain just under the left side of his collarbone and back. You need to be more careful... Her words echoed in his head as he looked at the hole left by the tentacle. Stop taking so many risks during combat all the time... He reached for his pocket and pulled out a healing crystal and an antidote crystal. The hole closed up and he was no longer poisoned. He stood back up and started flanking the boss with a group of players. I guess I'll be less aggressive for now.

 

[Geras]

Enrique Castillo // Enrique Lv. 11
Floor 5: Boss Room
HP: 73% ➟ 100% // Col: 835 // Exp: 72%​

---

Enrique watched as others began joining the assault. After Flamio's attack, there were even some that showed off their own flashy moves. This included Mjoll, who was letting loose fully-charged hits from her Shining Edge art. However, in the crazed rush to strike down the Ghastlygaze, those players failed to notice something. "Hey guys!" shouted Enrique with panic in his voice. "The tentacles are starting to regenerate!" Mjoll and a few others turned to his voice, but nearly everyone else was too absorbed in the battle to pay him any mind.

With Enrique's warning unheard, a few warriors rushed in and were caught by the tentacles, quickly meeting their demise. Another fighter, a guy in a helmet that Enrique found somewhat familiar, fought his way through the tentacles and managed a direct hit to the eye while shouting something about toast. There was yet another who took it upon himself to cut down these newly regenerated tentacles as more and more grew, but he couldn't take them down fast enough and almost ended up badly hurt. Players who decided to continue attacking even after that were not all so lucky.

Enrique grit his teeth as he watched players fall one after another. Fortunately, by now a number of them started to get the idea and retreat. However, Flamio was not one of them. He stayed right in front of the eye, keeping up with the tentacles attacking him at an incredible rate that Enrique would not have thought him capable of a few days ago.

By then, Mjoll had caught back up with Enrique. "What the hell is wrong with him? He can't keep up with that!"

"Right, so we just don't let him." Enrique flipped his dagger in the air, catching it to trigger his Shuffle art. Mjoll gave him a concerned look, to which he just nodded. They seemed able to understand each other without having to speak. "Let's go!" The two took off running right for their companion, who was now too preoccupied with defending himself to be able to land any more attacks on the boss.

Enrique caught up to him first, getting to work trying to deflect the tentacles with his buckler. "Enrique, get out of here! You're too low level to be this close!" warned Flamio, noticeably angry with him. Enrique just grinned, not getting the chance to turn to him since he needed to devote all of his attention to the tentacles. Soon enough, Mjoll caught up as well. "Damn it Mjoll," he began to protest, "not you- HOOUGH!?" Before he could finish, Mjoll drove the flat of her axe blade into his midsection, throwing him back several meters to safety. Unfortunately, this left her and Enrique in a difficult situation so close to the Ghastlygaze.

Flamio coughed a few times, surprised by the hit to his gut, but when he finally regained his bearings he looked up to see that both of his allies had been hit a couple times by the tentacles. They had been poisoned, and their health was dropping fast. They were backing up away from the eye, and with a bit more distance they would be safe, but there was no telling if they could cover that in time. Flamio's eyes grew wide at the situation he had caused. Everything grew quiet around him, time seeming to slow as he saw his friends' health trickle away. Enrique had taken the worst of it, his health at less than a fourth...no, now it was barely even a fifth. He wanted to help, but his body was frozen.

It was a firm, female voice from behind him that finally freed him from his trance. "There's no time! You need to buy me five seconds or your friends die. Got it? Now go!" She didn't give him any time to react to the situation before she rushed in. Flamio blinked a few times, trying to grasp the situation, but he quickly realized he didn't have time to process it all when the mysterious woman was hit by a tentacle herself. However, she stood her ground, somehow managing to avoid being poisoned as well.

Flamio finally got to his feet and stepped in, standing in front of the other three and slicing apart any approaching tentacles. Suddenly, one of his slashes went straight through the tentacle it was targeted at instead of hitting it. The tentacle whipped toward him, but it also passed through him. He looked back, his heart racing from what he thought was a close call, and saw Mjoll and Enrique chugging potions, also looking slightly transparent. He also noticed a grey circle had formed around them with its center at the mysterious woman's mace.

Flamio opened his mouth to say something, but the woman interrupted him. "My Ghostwalk art won't last long, so we need to get the hell out of here." The three young fighters nodded and ran, the art fading moments after.

***​

It took a bit, but the group made it to safety at the back edge of the boss room. Enrique stood watch in case the tentacles turned against them from the more aggressive players closer up while the others sat and rested a bit. "Here, take these." said the woman who saved them, tossing a potion bottle to each of the three. It'll increase your resistance to poison, so maybe next time you'll find it a little harder to get yourselves killed." By the expression on her face, she didn't seem very happy with the group.

"Th-thanks…" said Mjoll, accepting the gift with her head down, probably ashamed it got this bad. Flamio, who was next to Enrique, didn't speak and only stared blankly in the direction of the boss.

Without turning around, Enrique asked, "Not to be rude, but who are you anyway? I remember that you were there when the katana guy helped us out in the last boss fight." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Flamio clench his fist.

"I'm Xenith, an alchemist and the healer of the Shirogane Knights mercenary group." She explained.

"I didn't know this game even had healers," commented Mjoll, lifting her head to look at Xenith.

The alchemist made a sound that was something like a stifled chuckle. "I'm not exactly a white mage, but I'm probably as close as you can get in this game. Either way, I didn't recognize you kids, but I'm guessing our leader, 'katana guy', did, since he sent me to help you guys when he saw you were in trouble. Or maybe not, since he's the type of idiot who tries to save everyone." After a short pause, she started walking back towards the Ghastlygaze. "Speaking of, there are probably a ton of other idiots like you who need a hand and there's only one of me, so I'll need to get going. Try getting some common sense, it'll do you wonders in life."

With that Xenith left, and the group was silent for a full minute before Mjoll stood up with a sigh. "We should probably get going too now that we're fully healed." Enrique turned to her and nodded, while Flamio simply walked silently ahead into the fray. Their resolve was somewhat shaken, but they weren't going to give up just yet.​