[PP-F5] Hidden Dungeons: Visit 2 (Jomei)

[Oikawa 1]

Rumor has it, the fifth floor houses a compelling maze of dungeons within it's dunes. This rumor was tested by Oikawa and Calrex a few months back, however; they didn't get too far before deciding that it wasn't quite the time to go searching for trouble like that. Today was different though. The blonde needed to see if the Hidden Dungeon could offer him something more than his last few quest challenges as of late. From what he gathered, finding an actual sub-dungeon down in this labyrinth was one a feat in its own right, and two a great way to level. He was eager and he hoped Jomei was too. Though he only knew of the man due to there exchanges in his shop and the recent pushes in the front-line, he knew with Cal being on vacation and his dissociation with Azure, he would need to make some new ties and the ginger was a close enough friend as well as a fellow rapier user.

[Jomei 0]

The hooded man who wore a green, ragged and torn cloak emerged from behind a tall sand dune. He slowly walked through the sand, leaving prints from his boots behind him, a small brown owl flying in the air just above him. All day, he had been walking through the desert, for reasons unknown to him aside from taking time alone to think about his sin. His blank stare was fixed upon the sand in front of him as he walked, deep in thought. His stride came to a halt when he noticed a message had been sent to him. Lifting up his hand to tap on the icon, he read the contents of the message. It was a shock to him, coming from Oikawa. He was inviting the ginger on a journey into a labyrinth, in hopes of finding a dungeon. Jomei had originally planned to spend the day alone.. though he figured it would not do him any harm to pay the man a visit, especially since he was already on the same floor as him. Picking up his pace, Jomei quickly made his way back to Armadillo to meet Oikawa.

It did not take long for the man to make his way back out of the desert and into civilization once again. He figured the best place to look for Oikawa would be the warp plaza, so that was his first destination. 

[Oikawa 1]

Light flickered and molded around the white-clad player as he emerged from the warp gate. His ivory hood fluttering against his face as sand speckled wind danced through the air. Slightly raising his hood, the blonde surveyed the plaza. He figured if they were to meet, the best place to do so would coincidentally be the most crowded area of the floor. Not seeing the ginger from his current standpoint, Oikawa pushed past a few stragglers and their compatriots as he searched out his partner for the raid that was to ensue. Bursting from the crowd of bodies, he found himself closer towards the path leading out of the settlement. His luck seeming favorable, as he spotted a slight tuft of ginger shrouded in the shadows of a forest green cloak approach the settlement from the other side. Removing his hood fully, the blonde pressed forward as to meet Jomei at the center of the exit gate. Waving him down, Oikawa met the man head on. "Long time no see outside the front-lines eh?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei continued forward towards Armadillo, noticing a figure appear just inside the gate that leads outside of the city. As he got closer and watched the man remove his hood to reveal light blonde hair, it turned out to be just who he was supposed to meet. He stopped in his step for a moment, bringing his hand up beside his head and giving Oikawa a quick wave before stepping forward again and meeting with Oikawa. "Yeah, really has been awhile, Oikawa." Jomei said to the man as the corner of his lips slightly curved into a smirk. He would try not to let his current feelings get to him while meeting with Oikawa, to possibly avoid talking about it and bringing the memory back up, "So, what exactly are we in for today? You mentioned a labyrinth?" The Irishman shifted his weight from one leg to another, bringing his arms up and crossing them at his chest. 

[Oikawa 1]

Grinning, the blonde nodded to the ginger and explained. "A labyrinth indeed. We are going sub-dungeon hunting you and I. I've also recently acquired the search and detect skill so I plan to put it to use as soon as possible.  I also intend to gather materials along the way, see how much this skill actually affects my find rates. But that aside I also wish to hear your thoughts on current events in Aincrad. The last few months have been on the rather hectic side. The past boss raid evidence enough of that," commented the the sadden figure. "Not to mention our own personal demons."

[Jomei 0]

The Irishman nodded his head, searching for a sub-dungeon, hunting for materials to use in their shops, and navigating a labyrinth could do good to clear his mind a bit. "Alright, sounds like a good idea to me. And we are only on Floor Five.. so any dungeon we stumble upon should really be no problem for the both of us." Jomei stepped to the side, allowing Oikawa to take the lead forward towards their destination. For the most part, it seemed like Oikawa wanted to test out his new Search and Detect skill. He had heard of it before, but was never interested in putting the time into earning it. "Search and Detect huh.. Must prove to be pretty useful in times like this. I tend to not go out searching for materials very often.. so I didn't bother with the skill." Jomei shook his head at the mention of the last boss fight, "Yeah.. the fight with Rohk was quite..shaky." a heavy sigh passing through his lips, "I've been so used to us all blowing through boss after boss.. I forgot the real dangers that stand before us at the end of each floor. I'm.. just happy I was not in Azide or Cora's place.." his voice trailed off as he looked at the sand in front of him, still shocked at the death of the girl and his friend. 

[Oikawa 1]

Oikawa's enthusiasm only slightly faltered at the mention of his late mentor's name. The scene of him leaving this world forever ingrained into his mind. He could feel his emotions rise, but forced himself to swallow them back down into the cage within. A saddened sigh expelled from him as he placed a hand on Jomei's shoulder and brought his gaze to his. "Whatever comes at us from here on out, today and the future to come, we must prevail and keep going. His death shall not go in vain."

Wiping away the droplets forming near his lids, he reverted back to the subject before. "And aye. The skill seems like it'll help in the long run for adventures like these. Lets hope it wasn't a wasted investment." Leading the way, the blonde pressed into the sands and began heading for the dunes just north of where they had met. He had only done this a few times before but he had faith he could find a sub dungeon on his own, or rather with the aid of Jomei.

Equipping his leopard plushy (+2 LD) as he kicked up sand, he spotted what he thought was an ore but realized it was just a shiny rock at best.

ID: 55133 LD: 12 (7+3+2) (No material found)

[Jomei 0]

Jomei could tell from the look in Oikawa's eyes that Azide's death hit him like a ton of bricks. He had not known Azide that well aside from speaking with him on a couple of occasions. He was an odd one, he had to confess, given their first meeting when he appeared to be watching Jomei and Lowenthal. The irishman felt quite saddened by his death, he could only imagine the pain someone who was closer to him felt. Someone like Oikawa. The man nodded his head, "Right." 

Jomei walked with Oikawa, his boots sifting their way trough the hot sand as they proceeded forward. Placing his hand on his forehead to shield his face from the sun, he looked upwards at the clear sky for a moment. The sun 's image, distorted by the heated air rising from the ground, creating a wavy fireball in the sky. When he felt enough of the sun nipping at his fair skin, he looked downwards again, watching as Oikawa uncovered some sort of stone. Jomei followed towards the blonde, looking down at the rock he had discovered in the sand. Where Oikawa did not find it very useful, Jomei decided to pick it up and observe it. Most of the rock seemed like a regular dark stone, however there were bits or purple gem embedded on one of its sides. The light hitting those spots made the color all the more visible, yet also made the rock seem like an endless abyss on the inside. The emotion Jomei was getting from the stone really brought an inspiration to him for a darker, yet beautiful song. He placed the rock in his inventory to observe later when playing the lute.

 

ID 56174
LD 15

+1 Material

[Oikawa 1]

"Oi. Jomei. How is Zandra? I haven't seen here around much. Is she alright?" The thought was as random as the question, but not only was he genuinely concerned but he felt a change of topic was a tad overdue. But more so the topic but Jomei himself. Something was right. The normally jovial ginger seemed, for lack of better words, less than jovial as of late. He wasn't close enough with the man to really feel like he should pry, but as a friend nonetheless, he figured he'd ask anyhow. "You'd tell me if something was bogging you down right? You don't seem yourself and I'm not quite sure what it is." Turning to him, he inquired. "Want to chat about it?"

[Jomei 0]

"Huh?" The sudden change of conversation topic caught the Irishman off guard a tad, though he also appreciated the lighter peace of mind with Zandra being brought up. "She's doing well." Jomei said with a warm smile. "Zandra's been pretty busy, so I have not been able to see her too much the past week or two.. But everything is going well." He was glad he had his relationship with Zandra to hold on to. To carry his mind that was weighed down with the pressures of being a front line fighter, let alone just a player of SAO in general. After a moment of silence, the blonde spoke up again, pretty much asking Jomei if anything was wrong. Jomei realized the way he carried himself must have made it pretty obvious that something was eating away at him. He stopped in his step and sighed, looking down at the sand. "About.. two weeks ago or so, Lowenthal had gotten word that Piera and Lee, great friends of ours, had turned up after five months.. but not in a way we expected. The two were being held against their will by some sort of PK guild, forcing them into labor. Being the men Lowe and I are, we set off to rescue them." he took a pause in his story to take in another deep breath, "Long story short.. I ended up having to kill one of the guild members. Not an NPC. A human. He was a PKer..so I am not marked with the orange cursor. But that does not mean I am marked with the guilt. ...S-Sorry to dump that all on you.."

[Oikawa 1]

Oikawa's amber eyes glowed at the mention of Piera and Lee. While he wasn't close to either of them, he felt he knew them rather well. However, the story to trail that brought a twinge of sadness to his chest. His eyes lowered to the ground as Jomei wove the tale of his deed, a sigh escaping him as the ginger finished. Shifting his gaze to his friend, Oikawa opened his mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly. He didn't know what to say. How to console the man who had decided to take another man's life. How would one deal with that stress? The weight of another's life tethered to your own, was a feeling he could only imagine. Forcing the words out he spoke. "Never apologize for talking about your problems. We live in  a very messed version of a world controlled by a man who just wants us to puppets for his show. If I had to wager, I'd bet we'd all need a little therapy." Taking a more serious tone, he continued. "The decision you made wasn't an easy, nor can i say it was the right or wrong one. The choice you made had parameters that affected it at the time. And if I know you at all, you made that choice for a reason. So who am I to judge? That being said, you need to make peace with your action. Seek solace in the chaos and bring light to this shadow that surrounds you. Alright?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei's eyes continued to focus on the grains of sand that swept over his leather boots, slowly breathing and waiting for the blonde haired man's response to Jomei's story. He started off with telling him not to be sorry for dumping his problems on him, that they are all guilty of such a crime. The irishman nodded his head in agreement, still looking down at the ground. As Oikawa continued on with the rest of his thoughts, Jomei lifted his head up, his gaze turning to Oikawa as he spoke. He did not have any real words for Jomei aside from that he must have done it within reason. Jomei was just happy that Oikawa did not see him differently, or wish bad ill upon him. "Yeah. I agree. I'm hoping to find some way to do so. But enough about that.. I'd rather forget about it for the time being. Let's continue to look for what we came for."

 

[Oikawa 1]

Fair enough my friend." Adjusting his cape, the amber-eyed player began to search for the  entrance to the dungeon. The sands swirled and shifted all around them, so finding the exact entrance would more than likely prove difficult, but he figured between the two of them, they could manage. Activating his <Search and Detect> skill, Oikawa's eyes began to glow a faint gold, as he looked across the sandy oasis. While he couldn't spot an entrance per say, he did manage to locate an ore protruding from the sands surface. Plucking it from the ground, he motioned Jomei over. "I think we may find an entrance closer this way."

ID: 56692 LD: 16 (11+5) (1 material found, 1 material total)

[Jomei 0]

Jomei followed closely behind Oikawa, occasionally drifting off to the sides in search of some sort of entrance to a hidden dungeon. He was not as lucky as his blonde haired friend, who was using his <Search and Detect> skill to locate such a thing. No, the Irishman needed to depend on his own eyes. Although, trying to find something out of the ordinary in a bed of sand that looks the same for miles should not prove to be too difficult. His olive gaze carried straight out ahead of him, looking at the flat sand that went on for miles until a sand dune cut off his vision of just what hide behind it. The idea made him feel both lonely and calmed at the same time, especially since there was no storm brewing in their area and only a blue sky above them. The man took in the image of the desert into his mind, humming a couple of bars that would fit the scene almost perfectly. They would suit him for a song at a later date.

ID 56971
LD 15 (+1 Mat)

[Oikawa 1]

The green cloaked lad that trailed behind him seemed to grow quiet as they continued to look for the supposed dungeon of the sands. His curiosity got the better of him as he turned to look at Jomei. The ginger seemed to be lost in his own thought or something of that nature as he hummed a tune unfamiliar to the gray haired man. Re-adjusting his cloak to remove some of the sand that had collected on it, Oikawa snapped his fingers at Jomei to gather his attention. "I don't think we're going to find a dungeon out here. Maybe we should call it quits for the-" The young man paused. The sand beneath them shifted as something broke through the brown crystal surface. Snapping it's maw as it rose from below, the <Sand Crocodile> snarled in their direction. "No dungeon but we managed to find a <Sand Croc>, go figure," muttered the player as he drew his sword. 

ID: 56973 LD: 15 (8+7) (No Sub-Dungeon Found)

<<Sand Crocodile>>  300/300 || D: 50 || M: 25

[Jomei 0]

Jomei's attention was brought back to Oikawa, cutting his song short. "Huh?" As he listened to the blonde's words, he noticed the sand moving beneath their feet. , more violently in between them. Rising up was the dry, scaly skin of some sort of large reptile, a crocodile, snapping its jaw in hopes that it would catch one of the two players and make them his lunch. Jomei stepped backwards, ripping his rapier from its scabbard and clenching it in one fist. "A pretty tough monster for this floor it, don't you think?" The man smirked and lowered his body into a fighting position, "Nothing the two of us can't handle though." With one powerful step forward, Jomei swung his rapier at the crocodile and initiated a powerful combo of slashes and thrusts, ending his onslaught with a powerful stab at its head. 

ID: 56975
BD: 7(+4) = 11
Over Radiation: 14x14 =196(-25) = 171

Jomei: 178/178 (29/43)
Oikawa: 173/173 (42/42)

Sand Croc: 129/300 || D: 50 || M: 25

[Oikawa 1]

Following close behind Jomei, Oikawa let the man initiate only to follow up with the exact same flurry of strikes as he unleashed an Over Radiation of his own. "Monsters seem to adapt more often these days. No floor is safe from battling creatures of this level it seems. Though as you stated, it is nothing that we can't handle." Driving the last strike through the roof of the crocodile's mouth, Oikawa unhinged his rapier from the beast as it exploded into crystals. Shaking his head, the blonde turned to Jomei. "Well I suspect we should be in the clear now. We should probably head out. Its getting late hehe."

Stats:

Spoiler

Stats:
177 HP
43 Energy
4 Accuracy
0 Evasion
13 Base Damage
12 Mitigation

Items
Orochi - Perfect Rapier [+6 Damage]
Citrine Badge - Perfect Lucky Charm [+2 Recovery/ +1 Accuracy]
Clasp of the Progenitor - Perfect Lucky Charm [+2 Accuracy/ +1 Loot Die]

Skills
One Handed Rapier | Rank 5
Battle Healing | Rank 1
Light Armour | Rank 3
Search and Detect| Rank 3
Charge | Rank 3

Concentration
Survival

Skill Mods
Athletics
Precision
Reveal

ID: 56973 BD: 7 (3+4) LD: 12 (8+4)

<<Sand Crocodile>>  0/300 || D: 50 || M: 25

[Jomei 0]

Jomei and Oikawa had made quick work of the sandy reptile, finishing it off in a mere two moves. As Oikawa pulled his rapier from the digital flesh of their enemy, Jomei shoved his own blade into the scabbard hanging from his hip with a slight sigh of relief. As Oikawa turned to Jomei, the ginger nodded his head at his friend, who suggested the two head back in the direction of town since it was getting late. "I agree, the desert is not a friendly place to be in at night." he looked out past Oikawa to the rolling sand dunes, wondering just what other kinds of dangerous monsters lurked within. He turned his attention back to the blonde, rubbing the nape of his neck, "Sorry we did not find the dungeon you were looking for. Would have definitely been a nice little experience boost before the boss fight."

[Oikawa 1]

The blonde shook his and chuckled. "Ahh no worries on the dungeon man. Just being able to come out here and chat; clear my mind, it was all well needed." Slipping his own rapier back into it's scabbard, the young man looked up into the sky and sighed. "It's a shame really. This upcoming fight only marks fifteen floors battled. Its been nearly two years since we've been trapped in this hell hole and only fifteen floors have been cleared. Its crazy isn't it?" Shaking his head once again, Oikawa turned to Jomei and offered him a smile. "You be safe out there and for the love of all things Aincrad, stay strong for Zandra. I know how much you two mean to each other. You have a safe trip home and don't hesitate to PM me if you need anything." With that, Oikawa turned and left.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei looked at Oikawa in surprise, wide eyes and all before he looked down at his boots in the sand, his expression now full of sadness. "T-Two years huh?" he chuckled quite pathetically, "And here I thought.. It was only one year..Jeez..Really makes you wonder, what will life be like back in the real world, when we are finished here?" He looked back at Oikawa, "If I'm ever in trouble, I'll probably go to reach for a rapier that's not there, or swipe my hand up to open a menu for something that's only in my pocket." He shook his head, trying to make the topic a bit lighter. "I appreciate it Oikawa, you inviting me out here. It truly helped me clear my mind, talking to someone about it. Its not a fun feeling.. the guilt I carry for what I did.. I couldn't wish that upon anyone, including you. I just hope you never get put in this same situation." He said his last bit more to himself as he watched the blonde turn to leave. Jomei turned in the other direction, and made his way back towards Armadillo.