Saix

As the «Flowering Little Nepent» faded into digital oblivion, a menu popped up before him, giving him a list of accumulated experience and col for the battle. Glancing only briefly at the values, Saix's attention is instead focused on the item reward for the destruction of «Flowering Little Nepent» a strange seed like globule called «Little Nepent's Ovule», the quest item that he needed to turn in to complete the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest that had brought the two out here in the first place. With his required item safely in hand, Saix turned to his friend with a grin. "W

That sound like shattering glass was music to his ears as <> burst into prismatic fragments and faded away following the final attack that carved it's Hp down to zero. The battle had gone by without incident, but it was still the strongest creature he had faced in the world of SAO yet. If he had fought the creature alone, there was no telling how dangerous things might have become. He was relatively sure he had the higher Hp value, but he had missed a few of his attacks, and would have been far more vulnerable had he not had his friend with him to help mitigate damage by sharing the a

They were moving in total harmony now, like a machine with the sole purpose of destroying the enemy before them. Each moving to seize the opportunity afforded by their consecutive attacks. So as 9Lives landed a second critical, Saix cocked his blade downward, crouching low to engage the <> before releasing the One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <>. This was a skill he had rarely used before, and he failed to account for the shortened range. With a curse, he realized that the range of this particular skill was no conducive to his short sword at all, as his attack missed completely.

Nice hit! thought Saix with appreciation as his friend's <> blasted through the creature in a digital spray of red, the frame flashing to show that he had landed a critical blow. Trying to capitalize on the momentum, and pull aggro away from his friend rather than leave him the target of their enemy for another turn, Saix cocked his blade up over his shoulder, letting the <> activate in a pale wash of blue light enveloping his sword as he brought the blade downwards in the One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <>. His blade fell like a hammer, slamming into the <> with a fr

<> Shrieked in anger, it's wide mouth atop it's bulbous body gaping and trailing foul liquid. Starting to turn, it was clearly intent upon attacking it's new attacker, with 9Lives having drawn aggro. As the broad body turned, almost comically upon it's stubby little root feet, so that it might direct it's whip like vine arms in an attack against 9Lives Saix pulled his sword to the right, positioning his foot on his rearward right foot and stamping hard with his left, twisting at the waist and activating One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <> with a flare of blue upon his blade. Yet

Saix charged forward, shield at the ready. Things were getting dangerous now. He had already drawn aggro with his <>, but he wasn't sure who would have aggro now, as 9Lives had attempted an attack and missed right in front of the creature. As he was the higher level of the two, he decided it would be safer for him to ensure that he had the higher <> of the two, and kept the <> attention fixed on him. So he drew his sword down and back, a position that looked very similar to sheathing the blade on his belt, and activated his One-Handed Straight Sword skill <>, the bl

He dropped his hand to his belt, and pulled free one of his throwing picks. Taking aim, he narrowed his focus and concentrated on his target, before making a motion as though he were going to throw a dart, pulling the needle like pick behind his ear. <> activated with a pale blue light, and his skill was primed. Releasing the skill, he sent the pick flying in line of blue, burying itself in <> head region with a satisfying thunk. With a little shriek of indignation, the meter tall man eating plant began to waddle their way angrily. This spawn had way more health than the previ

Saix simply shook his head with a chuckle, before turning his attention back to the task at hand. Two <> remained, both slightly larger than normal, one with a strange flower blooming from it's head, the other with a large fruit. "We have to kill the one with the flower, it will drop the <> needed for this quest. But do not aggro the one with the fruit. It will attract all the <> spawns in the area, and we will probably die." he said, his attention focused on the strange plant creature with the red flower blooming from it's head. It certainly didn't seem that dangerous,

He realized that the attack was not going to connect before he had even finished the motion. As fast as this secondary means of activating the skill might have been, it simply was not fast enough. <> was too focused on his partner, and had lurched toward him the second Saix attempted to use his skill. Unfortunately, once a Sword Skill is started, it cannot be interrupted until it has been completed, so Saix had no choice but to waste precious seconds to go through the motion of his <> Sword Skill. On the bright side, it did distract <> and draw the creature's hate, effect

Saix dashed forward at the shouted command, dropping his sword low as though he were attempting to sheath it on his belt. This Sword Skill technically had two activation commands, the traditional over the shoulder, and this secondary command. Saix had found that activating the One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <> in this manner was usually faster then trying to find the correct balance when activating <> from over the shoulder. As he made his combat motion, the stubby blade of his <> flared an intense blue.

Nearly 3 hours later a figure in battered armor wearing a rather tattered red mantle cape appears at the teleport gate in the bustling 5th Floor City. Despite his adventure Saix is alive, even if his equipment looks to have seen better days. The battles had been a little easier, following his initial problems against <>, and he was confident that he could handle facing the monsters again, if he ever needed to return to the caves. Making his way through the town, Saix stopped outside of a familiar shop, the smell of a hot furnace on the warm breeze. He had thought he was getting a dea

A rather menace packed hiss behind him is quick to shake him out of his inspection of his cool new item. Turning and stowing the item quickly, Saix blanches at the sight of another <> barreling towards him, this time coming from behind him in the direction he had come. So it appeared he had been incorrect, the <> were not simply confined too the antechambers, but could spawn and patrol the tunnels themselves... This could complicate things. But rather than dwell on that, he unsheathed his sword and raised his battered shield, throwing himself once more into combat...

Letting his Battle Healing regenerate his lost health, Saix checked his inventory to take a look at this mysterious crafting material he was crawling around in caves to find. It didn't look all that special, though he remembered what the pint sized smith had said about needing to refine it before she could turn it into a sword. Colored a deep red and seeming to glow with the same inner heat and brilliance that the <> scales had gleamed Saix was almost reluctant to hold the item in his hand, as it really did look a large burning cinder. However, he chided himself and lifted the strange

His Hp had not taken too bad of a beating, but the fight had proven much more difficult than he had anticipated. Fighting <> had taught him a very valuable lesson, that not all enemies in this world would be the same. Just because he had become familiar against the various plant and mammal type creatures he had encountered thus far, did not mean that he would be ready to face anything. He would need to refine his tactics and learn from this experience. at the very least he would be able to use this experience to caution his handful of friends on the dangers of facing unknown types of

With it's Hp almost gone Saix let the momentum of his swinging sword bring it back up over his shoulder, activating a second skill seamlessly and releasing his One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <> in one smooth motion, cleanly slamming down into <> head like a falling hammer, a blade shaped glowing blue hammer, that is. The final blow was enough to deplete the creature's health entirely, the dragon giving a final hiss before bursting into a prismatic cloud of dust with a sound like breaking glass. Savoring his victory, Saix stood and released a heavy breath. He was lucky, it appea

Aware that he had made a potentially grave mistake, Saix backed off, rather than trying to press his attack recklessly. <> gave a particularly malevolent hiss before following once again cocking it's body to the side and swiping out with a claw. This time Saix was better prepared, having seen the attack once before, so he attempted to bring his shield up in time to deflect the attack before he lost any more precious Hp. With a clang the swiping claw impacted his shield and was pushed back. Unwilling to sacrifice his opening, Saix whipped his sword down and to his waist as though he w

Dammit, he had fallen into a trap that he had drilled his friends relentlessly to always avoid. Never get carried away, never press the attack needlessly. If they wanted to survive, they had to fight smart, otherwise they would open themselves for an attack and would end up getting themselves killed. In his frustration, he had forgotten that most important rule. <> lunged forward, jaws opening in another attempt to gore him with it's stubby horns. Saix grit his teeth, trying to maneuver his shield between himself and the horned head. He was barely able to activate his <> push

It was a reckless move on his part, but Saix pushed forward, not willing to lose momentum now that the battle seemed to have turned back in his favor. Drawing the blade back as he shifted weight to his right foot, before stepping hard with his left foot and shifting his weight as he moved into a swing, his sword flaring blue as the <> took over, turning what would have otherwise been a simple swing into a basic Sword Skill. But he had overextended, trying to capitalize on his momentum, and now it appeared he was going to pay the price, because as <> lurched back and forth, his at

Even as his attack cut upwards and the <> hissed with indignation, Saix allowed his momentum to carry his sword back to his shoulder, once again cocking it back over his shoulder, letting the Sword Skill prime as the System Assist activated and his sword blazed with light. He needed to keep up the pace, trading blows back and forth would draw this engagement out, and run the risk of aggro'ing a second enemy if he was not careful. Down came his sword like a descending hammer, biting deep into his enemy's flank as he executed One-Handed Straight Sword skill, <>, Young Red Dragon re

Reeling backwards, Saix shifted his weight, drawing his sword up and cocking it over his shoulder as though he were going to attempt another <>, however with his weight distributed low, and his knees bent, the resulting sword skill would be quite different. His blade flared blue, and he narrowed his focus in concentration, determined not to miss this time. His skill wasn't exactly perfectly executed, but at least this time he was able to stay on target. His sword flashed down in a diagonal slash from top-left to bottom-middle before ripping back upwards in a second diagonal slash from

Without losing a beat, Saix brought his sword down and back at the waist, as though he were sheathing the sword at his belt. <> wasn't about to take his attack sitting down, as it reared back, no doubt prepared to launch an attack of it's own. Saix's <> flared blue as his attack activated, and without a pause he released his One-Handed Sword Skill <> in a seamless transition from his missed attempt at the Sword Skill <>. His skill was interrupted thanks to heavy blow to the midsection courtesy of a blunt reptilian head slamming into his gut. He grit his teeth in fru

Refusing to sacrifice the advantage of <> pass him by, Saix once again cocks his sword over his shoulder in a second attempt at his One-Handed Sword Skill <> that had missed only a few scant seconds ago. This time he shifts his aim for the creature's broad neck, rather than trying to focus on the head, that he perceived as it's most obvious weak point. Better to aim for an easier target than fixate on a point he keeps missing. His sword glows blue as the Sword Skill primes, and with a grunt he releases his attack. The creature writhes before him again, narrowly avoiding his att

<> shifts it's body, turning almost completely around and letting it's tail sweep in a whipping attack aimed at the frustrated swordsman. Again Saix shift's his weight behind the buckler, hoping to repel the attack via his <> skill, and set up an opening to chain in another attack. This is his first reptilian enemy, and true to nature, it's movements are nothing like the creatures he has fought thus far. He feels off balance, unable to read the strange movements that seem so alien. The <> strikes his shield at an off angle, twisting the buckler into his shoulder and rocki

Gritting his teeth and instantly reacting rather than allow the strange sensation of being hit to overwhelm him, Saix shifted his stance, bringing his sword to rest upon his shoulder and priming his next skill. His sword lights a ghostly blue as <> takes over, ready to release the skill. <> remains in <>, though it will soon be free to move again. Such low level creatures will not be using high level skills, and will only be delayed for a second or two at most thanks to <>. As Saix releases his skill, the targeted creature suddenly lurches, stepping to the side with

Having drawn first blood, Saix shifted his buckler around before him, patiently waiting for the chance to strike. Many players might foolishly try to attack again, not mindful of their enemy's attack that would surely follow. Saix may not have completely mastered the monster algorithms yet, however even he knew that simply dealing damage would not prevent his enemy from attacking, so he compacted his body as best he could behind his shield, trying to present as small a target as possible for the inevitable counter attack, which came in the form of a claw swipe. This time he was not able to