[SP - F3] The «Escape»

[Takao 0]

Evening had fallen over the peaceful third floor. The sky and clouds were painted a pleasing mixture of hues of blue, purple, and orange, coating the field themed section of Aincrad in a deep orange glow. Spending it as he usually did, Takao had locked his Café only an hour or so ago and had retired to the upper floors. He had taken up a spot on his couch, reclining supine on the comfortable cushions as he idly swiped through menus. "Y'know, I was talkin' to that info broker again today." Takao said, momentarily diverting his attention to the scaled familiar who was curled up on the back of the couch. "She was tellin' me that there's some kinda quest that opened up on this floor recently. Somethin' about thugs, I guess. I was thinkin' about maybe going and checkin' it out."

[Takao 0]

Takao slowly sat up and glanced to his familiar, who seemed to muster up some illegible response. To normal ears it sounded like nonsense, nothing but strange animal-like chirps and growls. But to the brunette that the nonsense was directed at, it was clear as day. A nice little feature of the system, familiar communication. Aptly named. "She didn't give very many details, I think it's still pretty new." His words were met with more sounds from his familiar, garnering a shrug of the brown haired teen's shoulders before he plopped back down on the couch. "Yeah, I guess. We take risks all the time though. Plus it's only floor three. The worst we'd encounter is a field boss strength monster, and that's nothing."

[Takao 0]

"Alright then, it's settled." said Takao, springing to life and jumping from the couch to his feet. "We'll head out in fifteen minutes!" Their discussion hadn't lasted long, with Otoko being unable to deny Takao's argument that whatever the floor could dish out would be well within their skill set to handle, if the past were of any indication. Takao was an advocate for the seeking of thrills, after all. The brunette scurried off into the bedroom to sort out his belongings; in reality he could've done so from the comfort of the couch, but habit dictated that he do it in the designated room on the second story of his shop.

[Takao 0]

Takao donned the gear that was usual to his hunting excursions. His green coat, something that he ought to have trademarked by now, accompanied black trousers, stylized gloves, and a heavy iron shield emblem on his belt. After having done basic maintenance on his weapon and armour, if one could call what he wore to be armour, Takao sheathed the sword and emerged from the bedroom, eyeing his familiar who had gone from laying on the back of the furniture to sitting normally. "Okay, all set. Let's go see what this is all about."

[Takao 0]

- - - - -

"Ugh..." He groaned. His eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the faint semblances of light leaking through iron bars. "Uhh... what..?" Takao sat up and rubbed his head. He didn't necessarily feel pain, not in the way that would've been typical following being bludgeoned with something from behind and waking up in a cold, damp cell. Severe discomfort, perhaps. There were times he was thankful the creator of his and so many other's hell had been benevolent enough to disable that feature. He struggled to his feet and approached the bars, hands grasping the cold iron. "Where in the world am I?"

- -

«Wrought Iron Gate» - 1 of 2 hits remaining.

[Takao 0]

Takao rattled the wrought iron bars and tilted his head. They felt weak and unstable, like the rusted hinges would give at even the slightest force. "This is very... odd." He muttered, feeling perhaps a bit more calm than he should've. He had woken up in a strange place without knowing what force had brought him there, and the only indication of a struggle being the strange sensation that Sword Art Online's systems used in place of legitimate pain. He rubbed the back of his head and refocused. "Must be a quest or something." He reasoned. "Or an event. A quest seems more likely, events typically involve boss monsters and multiple players... Unless I'm not the only one in one of these cells." He rapped his knuckles against the iron and examined it for a short moment before taking a few steps back.

The brunette stepped forward heavily, slamming his left leg down onto the cold stone floor as his right leg rose and collided with the cell. The heavy cell door broke free from its rusted hinges and fell to the ground with a very loud thud, the metal ringing and echoing down the hallway. "Ah, well... Somebody definitely would've heard that."

[Takao 0]

Takao trotted over to a wooden crate that seemed suspiciously out of place, as though his attention was meant to be drawn to it. "Oh, hey. This is just like gettin' locked up in that old Elder Scrolls game." He quietly mused to himself aloud as the transparent menu appeared before him, listing off the massive catalog that was his inventory before he went about re-equipping himself. "What was it called again... Uh..." His wandering mind was cut short by the sounds of voices and guards scuffling closer. "Oh boy. Best be gettin' ready for a fight then, I 'spose." With his armour donned and his weapon drawn, Takao turned toward the dimly lit hallway and awaited the arrival of his jailors.

[Takao 0]

"Oh." said Takao as his eyes settled upon the two guards, both wielding spears in their hands. "There's just you two then?" His jade eyes exchanged a glance with their menacing red gaze and he shrugged. Whilst it never hurt to be careful, he had no reason to assume that the two humanoid monsters were of any higher strength than what would be average for the third floor. He was, after all, under the assumption that they were still on the third floor. Takao pulled his arm back and let the system recognize the pre-motion of a sword art. A deep red glow flooded the metal of the blade, coating it in the shimmering light and illuminating the otherwise dark room. "Y'know, you probably shouldn't keep your prisoner's equipment like... basically within arm's reach of their cell." Takao taunted, just before unleashing the sword art unto the two.

- -

» ID : [[ 49933 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (5 + 3(ACC) - 2(EVA)) ]]
» MD 1+2 : [[ C.HIT (9 - 3(EVA) + 1(ACC)) ]]

« Takao »
[[ 167/169 HP ]] [[ -2 HP ]]
[[ 37/41 Energy ]] «Rage Spike» used. (-4 Energy)

« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) * (1*2) - 20(MIT) = -14HP ]]
« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) * (1*2) - 29(MIT) = -14HP ]]

[Takao 0]

Takao watched as the bodies of the two guards were reduced to pixels. He didn't enjoy fighting humans, it almost felt cruel of the whomever designed them. Of course, it also felt cruel to trap ten thousand players in a game of death, that much he couldn't deny. But to force them to fight other beings, emulations of humanity and mankind... Takao was silently thankful he felt so confident in his ability to draw a clear line between reality and fantasy. He repeated the same words in his head, "They're not real. They're just AI. They can't feel anything." Over and over, time and time again, every time this sort of situation arose.

[Takao 0]

"Oh, there you are." Takao said, exhaling a sigh of relief that betrayed the rather unenthusiastic tone that accompanied his words. Takao approached a small cage that held a red scaled monster, which certainly would've been a strange sight for the third floor, if Takao hadn't been able to recognize his familiar. The brunette examined the lock that held the bird cage-like prison closed and took a step back. He swiped through the steel with one swift motion of his arm, cleaving the small lock in twain with the tip of his blade. The monster leapt from the cage and landed on Takao's shoulder, perching in its usual spot. "Alright then, let's bail. Any idea where the exit is?"

[Takao 0]

Takao peeked his head around the corner and glanced from one hall to the next. "Huh... Let's goooo..." His voice was low, yet still echoed against the cold stone walls. He clicked his tongue once in thought, then started down the left hallway. "Left! Left always works, sometimes. I was always told to follow the left wall when I wanna get out of a maze..." He stopped for a moment to glance through an open door and shrugged. "I mean, it has to let out eventually."

- -

» LD : [[ 16 ]] -- Stealth Success

[Takao 0]

"I wonder if those two guards were the only ones in this whole place." Takao mused aloud, casting a brief and fleeting glance to his familiar who shrugged its shoulders in response. Takao pulled his arm back and swung the blade up to his shoulder, resting the flat across the portion that wasn't occupied by the draconic monster. "...Couldn't be, right? They went down with just a single rank one sword art. There's no way they could've knocked us both out." Takao scratched his chin as he walked, passing by empty room after empty room on his journey down the long hall. "Must've just been an event trigger for the quest or something."

[Takao 0]

"Yeaahh, definitely an event trigger." Takao said, yawning as he sauntered down the halls that seemed endless. He'd been following the left wall closely now, peeking through doors and into empty rooms that left him no closer to finding the exit than the last. He exhaled a huff of frustrated breath and pouted slightly. This wasn't how he wanted to spend his night. He thought the quest would be simple, rough up a few thugs and go home. It was supposed to be as simple as that, but... Well. Things rarely went in the favour of the players on Sword Art Online.

[Takao 0]

"Ah, boo." Takao grumbled as two guards appeared from the corner. It had become apparent that his stealthy maneuvers, which consisted solely of walking down the hall normally and speaking quite loudly to himself, were not particularly effective at remaining unseen and unheard. Before they could even raise their weapons to strike, Takao had already decimated their health gauges with a simple strike. As the dust settled, he'd been damaged only slightly by a minor miscalculation of positioning, and the alarm had been raised. "Bleh."

- -

» ID : [[ 51385 ]]
» LD : [[ 3 ]]  -- Stealth Failure

» BD : [[ HIT (8 + 3(ACC) - 2(EVA)) ]]
» MD 1+2 : [[ HIT (8 - 3(EVA) + 1(ACC)) ]]

« Takao »
[[ 165/169 HP ]] [[ -2 HP ]]
[[ 36/41 Energy ]] «Rage Spike» used. (-4 Energy)

« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) + 2(Critical) * (1*2) - 20(MIT) = -18HP ]]
« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) + 2(Critical) * (1*2) - 20(MIT) = -18HP ]]

[Takao 0]

The ringing of the alarm had begun to grate on his nerves a measly few minutes after it the entire compound was put on alert. He could hear the shuffling of more guards in the halls behind and to his sides, but with the scowl on his face and the sword in his hand, the brunette continued walking forward. The endless halls of damp, cold stone were almost as uncomfortable as the situation itself, which did wonders to motivating him on his search for the exit.

- -

» ID : [[ 51484 ]]
» LD : [[ 15 ]]  -- Exit not found.

[Takao 0]

"Well now this is just nonsensical." Takao muttered as he passed by a familiar looking door. In fact, they all looked familiar. It was almost like the hallway itself was a torus, continually looping in on itself and trapping him in a never ending nightmare of repetitiveness. The sounds of footsteps grew ever closer, yet he hadn't a single care for their presence. Whether two or a hundred came didn't matter much to him, he knew he could take them.

- -

» ID : [[ 51484 ]]
» LD : [[ 15 ]]  -- Exit not found.

[Takao 0]

"Great, more of 'em." Takao grumbled, shaking his head in disapproval. He had little problem with the bandits on the third floor, and cleaved through all two of the approaching guards with ease. Like before, they managed to get small nicks in here and there, but ultimately the damage was negligible. He'd recover it easily within the following seconds, a talent granted to him as a result of the «Survival» skill he'd attained in the days of yore. "Alright Oto, let's get movin'! I wanna bail out of here ASAP."

- -

«ALARM»

» ID : [[ 51531 ]]
» BD : [[ C.HIT (9 + 3(ACC) - 2(EVA)) ]]
» MD 1+2 : [[ HIT (8 - 3(EVA) + 1(ACC)) ]]

« Takao »
[[ 167/169 HP ]] [[ -2 HP ]]
[[ 35/41 Energy ]] «Rage Spike» used. (-4 Energy)

« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) + 1(Critical) * (1*2) - 20(MIT) = -16HP ]]
« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) + 1(Critical) * (1*2) - 20(MIT) = -16HP ]]

[Takao 0]

Takao had started running shortly after engaging the previous two guards. His desire to escape had grown in the past few moments, not particularly out of fear or because he was scared, but rather because the maze of a building was beginning to annoy him with its incessant complexity. He slammed open doors and ran off upon finding nothing that alluded to an exit being nearby, leaving the heavy oak doors slightly ajar to mark where he'd already been.

- -

» ID : [[ 51532 ]]
» LD : [[ 2 ]]  -- Exit not found.

[Takao 0]

"Nope." Takao grunted aloud as he slammed open another door that lead to another dead end. "Nope... nope nope nope. Where in the world is the damn exit?" The brunette rubbed his head as he glanced around. There was nothing around him that seemed to be any semblance of a landmark. Nothing interesting stuck out to him. Only cold stone walls, the occasional torch burning for light and warmth, and doors at specific increments. Some halls lead off into other halls, but ultimately, it was a large building to scour on his lonesome.

- -

» ID : [[ 51534 ]]
» LD : [[ 5 ]]  -- Exit not found.

Meat Haunch consumed. +2 LD for thread.

[Takao 0]

"Haha! There it is!" Takao exclaimed as he burst through the doors of the exit. He could see the faint hints of moonlight shining through the cracks in the wood, alluding him to the outside world laying just beyond. Just as he did so, a massive wooden club swung from the left and collided with his face. His momentum was halted in its entirety despite his legs carrying his body forward, causing him to crash into the ground with a heavy thud. "Ugh... What even..?" He grumbled, looking up to the large man who wielded the club, preparing to swing it down onto him.

"Ohh no you don't!" The brunette yelled as he leapt to his feet in a single swift, practiced motion. He slammed the tip of his sword into the ground, ejecting lightning from within the metal of the blade in every direction. The two bandit guards who had managed small nicks in his armour were caught in the blast, and all three were annihilated with the single attack.

"Alright Oto, we're homebound!"

- -

«ALARM»

» ID : [[ 51544 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (5 + 3(ACC) - 2(EVA)) ]]
» MD 1+2 : [[ C.HIT (9 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» LD : [[ 17 (15+2) ]] -- Exit found.

« Takao »
[[ 143/169 HP ]] [[ -2 HP + -24HP ]]
[[ 23/41 Energy ]] «Lightning Fall» used. (-14 Energy)

« Bandit Warden »
[[ 0/100 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) * (1*7) - 15(MIT) = -104HP ]]
« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) * (1*7) - 20(MIT) = -99HP ]]
« Bandit Guard »
[[ 0/14 HP ]] [[ 13(DMG) + 4(Charge) * (1*7) - 20(MIT) = -99HP ]]