[PP-F5] Blood in the Sand <<Complete>>

[Dameon 0]

It was a bit of a cruel joke really for Kayaba to make the floor following the winter wonderland of floor 4 a desert. Though Dameon was always one quick to adapt as he trekked out along the dunes of sand that reminded him of his time in the US military prior to moving to Japan and settling down. He would scan the horizon and check his map as he made his way to a re-spawning field boss that he had heard about form one of the info brokers. He kepts his all black attire on, already used to such heat and the hood and cowl protected him from both the sun and the sand as he reached the peak of a dune easily able to spot another player in the distance since there was little to no obstructions. He paid it no mind and would continue to do so unless they just happened to be going to the same area. He started to slowly drink a bottle of water as he slid down the sand dune to where he thought the monster he would be fighting would spawn. Before he reached the bottom though he put away the bottle of water and grabbed himself one of the potions he had purchased earlier mitigation -9 potion. According to the info on the boss it was all he would need to solo it in time.

 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

After finishing his material gathering trip alongside Teion, one of the higher level blacksmiths active in Aincrad, Calrex gave a small sigh as he exited the shop, giving a wave to the young woman before turning back out into the crowds on the fifth floor, "Alright, that's done and over with. I wonder if there's anything still useful in the desert before I head back to the thirteenth floor."

Exiting back out into the field zones the bluenette watched as the gentle winds blow grains of sand across the dunes, keeping his grip on his sword tight, while making sure his wrist and forearm were relaxed to allows flexibility and power.

However, it wasn't long before he felt someone's eyes on him, a sensation he wasn't previously aware of when he had relied on the <<Reveal>> skill to show him everything hiding in the environment. Looking over he saw a person standing amongst the various shades of tan from the floor, a person completely clothed in black gear, "Huh, reminds me a lot of Sousuke."

Turning to face the person he gave a small breath before beginning to make his way over, his hand still on his sword. As he got into vocal distance he called over, "Hi there, did you need a hand with something?"

[Dameon 0]

Dameon looked back as he reached the bottom of the sand dune and looked up to see the man he had seen before already at the top of the dune. He heard the loud voice but couldn’t make out what he was saying. The loud noise though caused a rumbling on the floor as the sands shifted and a red gem appeared but moved all over rapidly. Dameon pulled the sword from his cloak a very large one handed sword easily the size of a spear but much wider. The one handed swordsman would follow the gem as much as possible as his feet started to sink in the shifting sands from all the movement.  Not a moment later the large sand shark would erupt from directly below him in an effort to eat him. Dameon would be lucky enough to adjust himself as his feet were on either side of the sharks jaws before he kicked off and away from it.  The shark was much larger than he had suspected as it dove under the sand again. He hadn’t taken into consideration the shark being able to dive under what would normally be solid footing. A smile appeared as the shark pounced on him again but this time he was prepared as he slashed out with his large weapon. Dameon would prepare his sword skill vertical ark to deal as much damage as possible.

 

 

 

ID: 45911

BD: 10 (+2)

MD: 1 (Miss)

 

Dameon: 64/64| D:6| Energy: 12/16| Miti: 24| Hate: 1

 

Sand Shark: 93/125| D:30|

 

Edited January 17, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 45913
Battle Dice: 8 (Accuracy +3) = 11
Sword Art <<Crescent Moon>> Activated / <<Charge> Activated (6 Energy Used / 51 Remaining)

"Wait...the sand shark can spawn here?! I thought it only did in the respective zone!"

Seeing the player get engaged by the shark Calrex quickly ran into a dash. Seeing that he didn't have enough time to ready the Grand Blade II he quickly swiped on his menu before entering combat. The sword and sheath strapped to the back of his hip vanished as a pair of deep-sea blue gauntlets surrounded his forearms. As he triggered <<Charge>> the aura energy seemed to shoot out from the end of the gauntlet near his elbows like an afterburner.

Rushing forward the bluenette quickly crouched low, leaping forward into a forward moving backflip. As he came back down on the monster he executed three kicked while completing his flip, the <<Crescent Moon>> Martial Arts Sword Art activating.

The blows slammed into the shark's side before it was knocked away, stunned from the attack.

Giving a nod to the other player combatting the creature the Ultramarine Knight gave a small sigh before readying himself once again.

HP List
Dameon: 64/64
   Energy: 12/16
Calrex: 263/263
   Energy: 51/57 (-6)

Enemies:
Sand Shark: 54/125 (10+3 DMG * 3 Art = 39 DMG / Stunned Until Next Turn)

Edited January 17, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon was surprised to see the other man appear so quickly no doubt thinking that Dameon needed the help, but this was not the case. In fact it only made matters more difficult. The shark tho stunned started to change as the sand built up on its body forming plates and its eye's turning red. Dameon watched its health regenerate and actually get increased. Dameon would swear under his breath as he turned away from the other players. "You got this I will just move onward," He said as he started to walk away in a very sudden manner. The shark had scaled to the other players level and now the risk level was much higher for him than it really needed to be. Though if cardinal worked the way that was suggested it should still be doable for the both of them, the creature being increased to a sort of middle ground. By now the shark's stun effect had lifted the result no doubt from its change. Dameon still had aggro on it though as the shark quickly circled around them and charged Dameon again. Dameon would raise his sword rolling out of the way and charging it again with another <<Vertical Arc> the damage much less than before.

 

ID: 45918

BD: 9 (+1)

MD: 6 (Miss)

 

Dameon: 64/64| D:6| Energy: 9/16| Miti: 24| Hate: 2

Calrex: 263/263| Energy: 51/87| Hate: 1

Sand Shark: 142/150| D:35| Miti: 20 [(7x4)-20)]

Edited January 17, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 45925
Battle Dice: 5 (Accuracy +3) = 8 (Disregarded Due to Item Switch)
Item Switch Grand Gauntlets II > Grand Blade II (1 Energy Recovered / 52 Remaining)

"Well that's certainly new."

Right as Calrex had struck the shark it seemed to have taken on another larger form, morphing as if to scale to the Ultramarine Knight's level. It was certainly something that had not occurred before. However, this paled in comparison to the reaction from the player he had just assisted, who had decided of all things to try and walk off in the middle of a battle.

"Wait...really?"

As the man tried to walk off it seemed the shark had picked the escaping player as its target, rushing forward. The fellow one-handed straight sword user managed another strike, but as he did Calrex swiped on his menu, swapping out the Grand Gauntlets II for the Grand Blade II, walking over, "Try to run away if you want, but it seems you've got the shark's attention right now. I'd suggest we take this thing out before you decide to take off."

"Being antisocial is one thing, but geezes at least think to get rid of the threat before you decide to do so. I would think securing your life and HP first would be top priority. Well...maybe this is why so many players have died to boars in the past. In any case, best focus on hitting this shark as hard as I can and deal with whatever happens afterwards once that time comes."

HP List
Dameon: 64/64
   Energy: 12/16
Calrex: 263/263
   Energy: 52/57 (+1)

Enemies:
Sand Shark: 142/150
DMG: 35
MIT: 20

Edited January 17, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon backed away from the shark as he dealt damage to it and even with one of his strongest attacks the armor the shark had grown had done quite a bit to negate the damage. The shark had once again dove under the sand as Dameon was forced to listen to the other player scold him and his tactics. Dameon would not honor the man with a reply and instead sigh as he waited for the shark to attack once again. He finally caught vision of it moving to attack him, now seemed a good time to test just how much damage this thing was capable of after the buff so he could relay the information to the info brokers later. The shark wound launch itself from the sand and Dameon would stand perfectly still not caring if he were to die now or not though he felt like it wouldn't deal nearly that much at least by his calculations. Dameon would get hit head on by the charging shark his chest getting slashed by teeth before diving under the sand. Dameon would be knocked back to the ground a few feet away before he stood back up and checked his health.

"It would have to hit me that hard roughly sixteen times to kill me without defending. It gained more defense than offense," He said waiting for the shark again.

 

ID: 45926

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 10 (+2)

HP List
Dameon: 60/64
   Energy: 9/16
Calrex: 263/263
   Energy: 52/57 (+1)

Enemies:
Sand Shark: 142/150
DMG: 35
MIT: 20

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 45925
Battle Dice: 10 (Accuracy +3) = 13 (+2 Damage)
Loot Dice: 15 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 18 (Materials Found)
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 42 Remaining)

As the player was attacked Calrex gritted his teeth. It was always worrisome when someone he was fighting alongside was attacked, especially if they weren't an absolute tank like Tristan. However, as the player got back to his feet the bluenette noticed that the man had only taken a small bit of damage, giving a small sigh of relief to himself, "I guess he's invested in mitigation as well."

"Alright, sounds good."

"For now I'd best end this battle as quickly as possible. It seems both of us can take a good amount of damage, but I'd rather avoid putting anyone at risk from an extended fight."

Rushing forward the Ultramarine Knight's sword, the Grand Blade II, became coated in the shining golden glow of his <<Meteor Break>> Sword Art. Flying forward he unleashed the attack as he charged into the sand shark before unleashing a flurry of slashes, followed by another shoulder tackle. Finally, he ended the attack with a leaping down slash, splitting the creature in half as it burst into crystals.

With a sigh of relief he saw that the loot window had appeared with both a single material, as well as the potion from the quest. Giving a calming breath he sent the window over to the other person, putting his hand into his jacket pockets, "Sorry if I made anything more difficult back there. I think that's the first time a creature has ever grown stronger in respect to the combatants that I've encountered."

Loot List:
1 Material
1 Sand Armor Potion

HP List
Dameon: 60/64
   Energy: 9/16
Calrex: 263/263
   Energy: 42/57 (-11+1)

Enemies:
Sand Shark: -14/150 (13+1 DMG * 11 Art - 20 MIT = 134 DMG)
DMG: 35
MIT: 20

Edited January 17, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon would look at the window that was sent to him after the man had killed the large shark. He grabbed the window and pressed the circle accept button to acquire the experience and the items that dropped. He would definitely be able to find use for them later. This also wasn’t the first time he had seen a field boss monster increase in health and strength due to another player being stronger. Dameon swore to himself under his breath as he looked down at the ground trying to push aside the memory of his friends being wiped out for that exact same reason. Dameon already had started to walk off as he calmed himself down and started heading away towards the far outskirts of the floor. Towards a supposed oasis that had many higher level creatures for him to fight.

“You are unaware of it because you don’t have to worry about it, it’s not rocket science. a lot of people trying hard to catch up to you higher levels have died that way because someone of a higher level they trusted started the fight on a field boss,” Dameon said turning his head back to the man before facing forward again as he started to walk off yet again.  The man even though unknowingly started the fight with the sand shark when he had yelled out to Dameon from on top of the dune.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex kept quiet and attentively as he heard the man's retort to his apology, although it was certainly not one he had heard in the past, but not exactly something he was unaccustomed to. He was never on the receiving end personally, but he was aware of the stigma higher levels might have around lower level ones, similar to the one that player killers had among regular players. As the man began to walk off the bluenette scratched the back of his head before shaking his head, "That expression he flashed just a few moments ago...that didn't seem to be one completely of disgust at my ignorance of that trick. He must have had to learn that system mechanic the hard way..."

Resolving himself he began to calmly walk a short distance away from the player, "He certainly seems to be the anti-social type, but that area he walking towards contains stronger monsters than even the sand shark. He's got high mitigation, but not enough that he can be a second Tristan..."

Looking upwards he saw that Roc was still soaring overhead, surveying the ground for any potential monsters that were in the area. After making sure his familiar was also alright the Ultramarine Knight picked up his pace so that he shortened the distance slightly, "Well...thank you for making me aware of it. I'll be sure to be more careful from now on. I'm guessing that's probably something I should have been aware of before taking on any field bosses, but I guess every one Ive fought I've either completed alone or alongside other players close to my level, so the power shift wasn't noticeable. In any case, it's nice to meet you. I'm Calrex."

[Dameon 0]

Dameon continued walking not wanting to acknowledge the higher level player that was following him now as he made it over the top of the sand dune. He didn’t see a point in healing himself knowing he had a limited amount of health pots.  This had been happening a lot recently and he wasn’t sure what to take away from it. First he helped a lower level player not die to a bunch of wolves and got followed for almost a week and now a higher level player was following him. It was like his dark and brooding personality just acted as a form of attraction to other players of the exact opposite nature. Dameon sighed as he heard the man’s name although he wasn’t too surprised. Just because he was a lot weaker did not mean he hadn’t heard of a lot of the front liners.

“I am aware of who you are. Which makes it all the more unreasonable for you to be following me don’t you think?” Dameon said behind his cowl, only his eyes being revealed. He was aware that SAO was primarily and heavily focused on party combat but Dameon had more personal reasons for why he avoided them. Reason’s he didn’t just openly share with people or anyone for that matter.

“How do you think I found out about the scaling effect of field bosses? There is a reason I avoid being around other people I have made it this far on my own I can continue this far on my own. It’s my penance,” He said softly unsure if the other man would hear as he continued onward toward the oasis.

[Calrex 0]

"Huh, well, I guess I probably could have figured. Wouldn't think my name as spread around as much as the other players that bear the unique skills and gear, like the Azure Brigade."

If he was honest with himself, Calrex probably had a mixed relationship with the idea of having a reputation linked to his name. On one hand, he preferred to go unnamed, that way there was no "baggage" that came with that fame. However, he couldn't deny that having a positive reputation didn't give him a little bit of an ego boost. Nonetheless, it seemed that among the solo players he had seen, this man was the most symbolic of it. He seemed to have strengthened and leveled in a similar way he himself had done in the past, becoming capable of functioning well in both solo and group. The main different is that this person, who still had yet to introduce himself, desired to not rely at all on other players.

"In any case, let's just say I just happen to be heading in the same direction. I hope that doesn't pose a problem. You seem to be wanting to take on some stronger monsters anyway right? If I'm around, then you can be sure to have a bit more of a challenge than if they were scaled to your strength. However, if you prefer for me to stay out of your way during those battles I'll back off. But, since I'm nearby, if things get tough I can easily step in and take the heat off you."

As they two continued on Calrex continued to ponder the man's wording for his last response, "If you don't mind my prying, but what exactly happened? I'm guessing it's the general obvious answer nowadays, but I try my best to not make assumptions about a person's past."

[Dameon 0]

Dameon couldn’t help but scoff as the moved onward, he had already said more than he was comfortable with and the man was still prying. Dameon put away his large one handed bastard sword into his cloak, the cloak seeming to swallow it up completely as if he had no weapon at all, and a huge benefit when wanting to take someone off guard. Dameon wanted to drop the subject all together but he could feel the man’s eyes digging into the back of his skull as he checked his map trying to find the place he had been told about.

“I had certain…benefits when I joined the game for the first time. My friends were new to gaming all together but we served in the military together. I was the higher level player they trusted. Need I say more?” Dameon said with a stern tone of voice as he glanced over his shoulder at the man with a serious expression is his eyes.

[Calrex 0]

"Nope, there's no need. I'm sorry that you had to go through something like that."

"Whelp, of course I would go and strike a nerve by bringing up unwanted memories. Well, at least I can understand a bit more. I guess the way things have progressed really have only worked so far because one of the skills I've taken draws all aggro to me, meaning that other players can rest a little bit easier. From what I can tell this guy isn't built for any tanking purposes, so everything he does replies on how often and how strongly he can hit an enemy."

Giving a small sigh to himself the bluenette continued to walk along, directing his attention away from the dark clothed player. It wasn't something he ideally wanted to do, but he was smarter than to continue prying into another person's business when he was unwanted, "Let bygones be bygones right? I'll let him go about his business, but if he needs a hand of course I'll step in. I'm not going to let a player die on my watch, not if I can help it."

Putting his hands into his jacket pockets he continued to observe the dunes around the two as they got further than further away from Armadillo, the settlement now off in the vast distance, beginning to become blurred as the ambient heat obscured the image.

"He oddly reminds me a bit of how Zelrius behaves, although originally I thought that to be mainly attributed to his age. I'm sure he's seen his own fair share of tragedy in this game, just like this person has. No surprise I guess. Even Tristan must have had allies fall around him in the earlier floors. In the end, we all handle and embrace negative events in different ways."

 

[Dameon 0]

Dameon could feel the man thinking about his words after the man’s reply. He knew all too well what he was undoubtedly thinking. He often played the same conversation over and over in his own mind as the stretch of land in front of them was nothing more than flat desert with small animals on the ground. He continued walking onward not wanting to lose pace if he was to hit the Oasis by nightfall. Yet he felt like there were more things that needed to be explained for the other player to fully comprehend why he was the way he was. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sky as a few crows passed overhead.

“It’s different. Imagine spending five years of your life in the military fighting and relying on one another to survive in the real world. You see comrades fall but you always knew it was somebody else’s fault and you could keep fighting in their honor. Now imagine three of those brothers joining you to support you in SAO and after all those years of survive and looking out for one another you are the reason they are dead today. I had no life left in the real world and they joined to support me and I killed them. I came to this world to escape reality and all of it’s horrors and even so death followed me,” Dameon said his tone emotionless form his depression that had taken over. He no longer cared for living in either world but at least in this world he could escape the horrors he had left behind in the real world like the death of his unborn child and his fiancé.

[Calrex 0]

To his own surprise, Calrex looked over as he heard the man speak, voicing even more about his past than the bluenette was expecting the person to give. It might have been a bit of a contradiction, but from what he could gather, the man was trying to help him understand why he was the way he was. It was certainly a sad story to hear: The black clothed player blamed himself for the deaths of the people he himself had entrusted with his own life for years in military service.

"So...this is the second person I've met now that has seen combat in the real world. Lindow...I wonder if meeting you has given me more understanding than I thought. So...this is one of the people that would prefer to remain trapped in this world rather than clearing the floors. With the stuff he's gone through, I wouldn't be surprised..."

Even though these thoughts were running through his head, the stoic demeanor remained stuck to Calrex's face as he gave a solemn nod, "I understand, well, as much as I can understand without having gone through such loss myself. Thank you for sharing that with me."

Giving a small sigh to collect his thoughts he decided to follow with a simple question, "If I may ask then, say we do make it out of this game, what do you think you will do? Have you fully given up on returning back to what's left of your old life, and wish to simply remain in this game until your real body gives out?"

Edited January 17, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

 “Honestly I have never given it much thought. I just assumed I would keep being a solo player until my luck ran out and I died without notice. I have no desire to neither live nor die. In fact you must have noticed by now when I took damage form the sand shark. True I knew how much damage I was going to take before it scaled but after was a different story. Imagine if it had completely scaled to your level and damage. Today I learned that the scaling effect has a cap or rather that it is an average between both players’ levels. Valuable information for the info brokers or even the player assist book.” Dameon said very nonchalantly even as he talked about deep subjects. More or less Dameon was just wandering for the sake of playing a game the way he always had. Prior to the military he was a very popular professional gamer on numerous strategy and MMO games. He was known for being a strategist and someone to always play the slow methodical way to a very controlled overwhelming victory. He thought he could go back to that life in SAO but without being able to log out put a dampen on things.

“I am in a very odd place right now. I want to progress and become stronger because it is in my blood to not quit and as a former pro player I also want to be the best. Yet, with certain things that happened in real life prior to me joining the game I have no desire to live in the real world and would prefer to stay here,” He stated as he opened his map and menu as he checked the direction and pulled out a bottle of water to start drinking.

[Calrex 0]

"I see, guess that makes sense, as right now, at least for some time, this world is our reality."

As the topic continued Calrex gave a small sigh. The subject they were discussing is something that had avoided his normal train of thought for quite some time. With everything that had happened since he last discussed the idea of either escaping the game, or what would happen afterwards, was pushed to the back of his mind for later processing, "Now that I think about it...I haven't really given any serious thought to what's going to happen once we do escape. Will I still be able to return to my job once we escape, and exactly how much will have changed in my life after we escape."

Looking over he saw that the dark-clothed man had pulled out a bottle over water to drink, most likely one that he had left over from his beginning set of items. It was mostly for show, at least if one were to reply simply on the mechanics of the system, but the Ultramarine Knight was more than aware of how their humanity was preserved in the game. It wasn't a necessity, but if they were function properly, certain aspects such as sleeping, eating, and the like were still needed.

"In a way, I guess that all of us are in a similar situation. We have no idea when we will clear this death game, and as such we'll have no idea how things will be on the other side. I'm fairly sure some will hope that they can just go back to their lives as normal, hoping to forget that this ever happened, while others will probably research more into the incident. Many others will internalize it in different manners..."

"I guess in some ways...it can be simplified to how much this game will change us, and how much that change will affect us once we do make it out."

[Dameon 0]

“It is. My choice is between living in a reality where I have nothing left or a reality where…” Dameon cut himself off realizing what he was going to say next and frankly the person he was with hadn’t leveled up the friendship meter that high. Something had also clicked for him in his head something he hadn’t wanted to believe. Perhaps there was a meaning to finishing the game. An expression of surprise had appeared on his face is if something so easily overlooked was just brought to light. He brought his hand up to his chin as he continued to walk in silence. Numbers raced in his head as he thought about all the information he had been told since joining the game. Guilds, players, bosses, to floors, to quests. It was as if everything in his brain had clicked on at once. The brain he used to know back when he was in the military and before that when he played games professionally.

 

“How many players are on the frontline exactly?” Dameon asked completely changing the subject as he imagined everything and calculated all the known quests to him with the floors they had reached to everything that could be above them. He sat down on the ground crossing his legs as he thought ignoring a scorpion that skittered past him. He also pondered why this was happening now of all times and why not any sooner. Perhaps it was the line he refused to finish in front of the other player.

 

“Tell me, are you familiar with other games before SAO? Strategy games or other MMORPG’s?”  He asked changing the subject yet again.

[Calrex 0]

As the topic was suddenly changed Calrex felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head as the man he was speaking with switched from speaking about personal histories and the future, to discussing game strategy. It seemed to be a hard right on their conversation's course, but as he gave it a quick thought Calrex dismissed the worry, "Sometimes it's better to leave things be than to wonder why a person would cut off their sentences."

"How many? I'd say there's only a decent handful of us. If you're familiar with the Azure Brigade, pretty much all of their members are frontliners, or have at least participated in the battles. If you add in the numbers from other guilds, as well as the solo players, I'd have to say at most we have about twelve to fifteen people. I always say that more are welcome to join our numbers once they are strong enough, as there is strength in numbers."

Next the man inquired about if he himself was personally familiar with other games before entering SAO, "Yes, although I haven't ever gotten involved with them to a professional level. I've played a variety of games in the past, ranging from RPGs, fighters, shooters, MMOs, and the like, but so far what's it's mainly helped me with is understanding where certain behaviors in the game might draw from, such as enemy AI attack patterns."

While the man was sitting and contemplating Calrex stopped his walking, simply standing upright as he looked over for a few seconds in curiosity at the man as he sat cross-legged, as if deep in thought, "I wonder if our conversation triggered something in his mind. It's the only reason I can think of for why he would suddenly begin thinking all of a sudden."