[SP-F1] <<Blades of Dreams>>Kane -CLOSED-

[Kane 0]

As Kane spoke, he felt his legs grow heavy, as they were strapped to the floor as if by magic. "Wha!? Kane struggled against his restraints, but Mr. Riddle just guffawed. "Ohoohoo, that's just to make sure you don't run off and renege on our arrangement, keeheehee!"

Kane stopped struggling, and sat still. He'd need all his wits about him if he was going to match the intellect of this puzzling NPC. "Fine. I'm ready for the first riddle."

[Kane 0]

Mr. Riddle leaned back in his chair, and as he spoke, his words appeared in midair in front of Kane: "Alright! First Riddle:One evening, a king is preparing to go on a great journey to meet other rulers in a diplomatic meeting. His night watchman runs up to him and says, "Please don't go, my king! Last night I dreamt that there was an ambush, and that you were killed at the conference! I beg you, do not go!" The king heeds his advice, and refrains from taking the journey. Sure enough, the other rulers were going to ambush him, and the king's spies brought him word that his caution had saved his life. Now, why did the king banish the guard who saved his life?

Kane thought hard as the words floated in front of him. As he pondered, Mr. Riddle airily commented, "Just enter your reply in the text box when you've thought it through, ma'boy! Though don't wait too long, or you forfeit the round, uahahaha!"

Kane looked the words over again, and followed the story to the end. A night watchman... Suddenly it clicked! Kane entered his answer: Because he was asleep on the job.

[Kane 0]

Kane thought that Riddle would have been upset that he had guessed the riddle correctly. To the contrary, it seemed that the answer had sent him into a fit of the giggles. "Ahahahaheeheeheehoohoohoo! Yes, correct! You're pretty good! Your turn, ma'boy!"

Kane put a finger to his lips, thinking of the riddle that he had thought up on the way over. "Okay: A poor man is in a tavern, and sees a rich man with a lot of gold in his purse demanding songs of the bards at the bar. He challenges the man, 'I bet you all the gold in your purse that I can sing a song that you know the words to, that include your very name!' The rich man says, 'You don't even know my name, and you think my name is in a song that I know? Fine, I'll take your bet! And my name is Isador, a very uncommon name! Well, go ahead!' The poor man goes home rich, and the rich man goes home broke. What song did he sing the rich man?"

Mr. Riddle pondered for a moment. Kane could almost see the NPC's programs running his logic algorithms, searching for the answer. Finally, he answers confidently, making Kane cringe: "Bueeheehee! He sang him 'Happy Birthday'! The only song that can contain anyone's name!"

[Kane 0]

Cringing, Kane was forced to admit that Mr. Riddle was right. Not only right, but now the two were tied at 1 and 1, and Riddle had the advantage of being the asker going into the tiebreaker. Mr. Riddle leaned forward, chuckling merrily. "Well, it looks like you've got one chance to save your skin, ma'boy!"

Kane was confused. "Save my skin? But I didn't bet my HP, I only wagered my levels-"

"Yes yes, but you didn't just wager your levels: You wagered all of your levels! And, ma'boy, what happens when you get down to level zero, hmm?"

It couldn't be possible... Losing his level one status would result in his... deletion!?!?

The game had suddenly become quite... deadly. But really, what would he expect in Ayaba's world?

[Kane 0]

This was it: Kane's life flashed before his eyes as Mr. Riddle's final question floated out into the air: "A King, a High Priest, and a Wizard are all on the same ship. There are only two flotation devices. The King says, 'I rule nations and peoples, I deserve to live!' The High Priest says, 'I give spiritual guidance to many, I deserve to live!' The Wizard says, 'I know the mysteries of the infinite cosmos, and can teach many my wise ways! I deserve to live!' Which of the three will drown?"

Kane could feel his heart beating in his chest. If he lost... it was goodbye, Aincrad, and goodbye world. Think... c'mon Johnny, think! After a minute, with Mr. Riddle's leering face looming over him, Johnny's brains were racked. I... I can't think of the answer... I'm going to die...

Just as the timer above the question was about to run out, Kane's mind flashed back to his father, teaching him fencing back in grade school. The sting of getting hit so many times was making him frustrated. "Dad! How do you keep hitting me!?" he had asked, frustrated at his father's seemingly effortless ripostes. His father had leaned down, and tapped him on the helmet. "Son, sometimes the attack is in not attacking; the best opponents wait for you to commit to a strike, in a situation where it's wisest not to engage first at all. Remember: Don't go for the bait."

Kane knew the answer.

[Kane 0]

Confidently, Kane typed the following into the answer box: "Who said anything about the ship sinking? They all live since the boat is perfectly fine."

As he pressed the enter button, Kane had a second of panic; had he just signed his death warrant? But, looking at Mr. Riddle's face, for the first time since he had started the game, the NPC stopped laughing. Instead, a genuine smile came to his face. "...Well played."

With a wave of his hand, Mr. Riddle released Kane from his restraints. "The challenge is over, ma'boy, and you are the winner. Congratulations!" He bowed deeply at the waist as Kane caught his breath back. That had been a close one. "As I promised, here are the materials that you requested." Riddle pointed to a chest in the corner of the house that Kane hadn't noticed before. Opening the chest, Kane saw the distinct glint that he was looking for. "I'll have it delivered to Miss Pepper's shop at once, and it will be waiting there upon your arrival. Miss Pepper works fast; she might even be done with the weapon by the time you get across town, hahaha!"

Kane nodded and exited the house, thankful to have escaped with his life. He definitely felt wiser for the ordeal, though.

Man, what a day... Thanks, dad. I'll make it home, I promise.

[Kane 0]

Kane made his way back through the city streets, his cloak no longer needed now that the sun was shining. He realized that he had leveled up because of the ordeal, and he arranged his skill ranks accordingly. Hmm, I have access to Two-Handed Swords now, as well as Rapier skills... But I know just the sword for me...

The diminutive NPC was out front in front of her shop, using a broom to sweep away digital cobwebs as Kane approached. When she saw him cross the street towards her shop, Pepper cheerfully waved to Kane and beckoned him inside.

"Hey! Come on in, the materials just arrived! I'll make your blade for you now!"

As he headed inside the shop, Kane's expression soured. "Those materials almost cost me my life, you know! I hope they make something special." The NPC ignored him, instead going to a chest in the back. There, Kane could see the metal he had won: The Mithral gleamed with an arcane light, pale green and silver hued. The properties of Mithral were well known; the metal was stronger than steel, but twice as light. It was sought after for use in armor especially, since it weighed practically nothing, but could stop a spear thrust in its tracks. However, Kane had a different use for the rare material. There was also a single ingot of a strange, dark blue metal. Kane had a plan for it as well.

Pepper took the Mithral back to the forge, where she started drawing up a schematic based on what Kane had told her earlier. "So, tell me one more time all the details of the weapon. This is going to be an odd one for sure!" Kane cleared his throat, trying his best to describe the weapon perfectly. "Well, the model I'm going for is a Two-Handed Sword. But not just any Two-Handed Sword... This one is going to be twice as long and twice as wide as any you've ever made."

Kane took some parchment and began sketching out a rough design, pontificating as he drew. "Now, for a sword this big and wide, not even players with maxed strengths could ordinarily wield something like this. But, I'm no ordinary swordsman, and this is no ordinary metal! Typically a Mithral blade would be useless, since the Sword Skills we use make normal weapons practical for use, even made from hefty metals. But if we do the calculations right, this blade will weigh as much as a normal Two-Handed Sword, like a claymore or a nodachi, but it'll be far more impressive!"

"The sword will be 5'3" for blade length, 15" wide and 13" hilt length making the sword 6'6" in total. The blade's color will turn out much like the metal itself, I suppose, silver with a minty glow. Included in the materials was one ingot made of Adamantine. Pepper, this is the fun part: You're going to forge the Adamantine throughout the blade in very, very small amounts. One ingot, worked into the Mithral properly, will let the blade keep its lightness, but it will let the sword hit like a freight train! Normally Mithral would be more suitable for armor, but mixing it with Adamantine will produce a light blade that's extremely tough to break. This isn't really a stabbing weapon, so the tip of the blade doesn't need to be thin... but it does need an edge to it, more like a flared point for deflecting incoming attacks, and for enhancing the slashing capabilities of the blade. Speaking of slashing, that's what this sword will be doing most, so the edge needs to be nice and thick to hack away at armor. The Adamantine will also let me use the blade's width as a shield; if I can parry in time, it will soak the damage from almost any attack, I'm sure of it!"

Turning to Pepper, who was preparing the last of the materials, Kane smiled. "You ready to make something amazing?" He asked with a grin. "You bet!"

<< http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/Requiem?file=Requiem.jpg Use this sword as inspiration, but feel free to make it look cool how you want it to. =) >>

[Kane 0]

<>

Rank 10:(Master Rank): 5120 total EXP and 10 Crafts a day

1=Epic fail

2-5=Good Item

6-7=Uncommon Item

8-10=Rare Item

11-12= Perfect Item

[Kane 0]

<>

Pepper grunted, striking away at the metal with mechanical precision. Sparks flew as the ore shaped and re-shaped itself. As she worked, Kane watched from the sidelines in silence, his heart in his throat. What would his blade look like? Clank! Clank! Clank! The tiny blacksmith plinked away at the luminescent material. "Time for the secret ingredient!" Pepper grabbed the Adamantine ingot, and with surgical precision, began working it into the blade. The forge itself seemed to hiss in approval as the metal glowed brighter and brighter. Finally, the last hammer blow was struck:

Shiiing!

A note that seemed like the call of an angel rang out as the blade was finished. Looking at the blade, it was almost as long as the forge itself! It shone with an otherworldly gleam, but this was no museum piece. The blade was a rare work indeed; no players could craft something like this, at least not for many levels. The gleaming tip of the sword was large and accentuated the blade's obvious knack for slicing through things. As Kane stared in awe, Pepper bowed slightly. "I took the liberty of adding some custom elements." The handle was made of the same metal as the blade, but was wrapped in black suede leather, and that leather was bound with bronze wire. A lovely laurel design was etched into the pommel, and the cross guard... was simply magnificent.

The area where the blade met the handle was ornamented by an elaborate cross guard; on one side, an angel wing swept inward across the blade. On the other side, a bat wing mirrored it. Together, the cross guard's wings looked like the were enveloping the base of the blade. The angel wing had a light blue hue, and the bat wing had a slightly darker blue hue. But that could have just been his eyes playing tricks on him.

Pepper watched as Kane took in the blade, running a finger over the ornate craftsmanship. "Teehee, go ahead!" Kane lifted the sword in both hands. Even with the Mithral, the blade needed two hands to be carried properly. Examining it closer, Kane could see a small chain link bolted to either side of the cross guard. "That's so that if you have a back harness, you can carry your sword on your back! I don't think you'll be able to wear that at your side, haha!" Kane smiled as he looked at the blade. "Hard to think of it, but this baby must have been coded in ahead of time..." He scratched his head in wonder.

Pepper waved a hand in front of the blade, displaying its stats, along with the blade's name:

ITEM: <>

"Dusk Shine... What a name... what a sword. Thanks, Pepper. Really, I mean it." If an NPC could have blushed, the miniature blacksmith would have. "Well, haha, thanks!"

Kane bought a thick leather swordsman's harness with his emergency funds. Looks like it's tasteless food and water for a while, Johnny... But it was worth it. He hooked the <> on the back of the hook, and practiced walking around. The mass of the blade was going to take some getting used to, but the weight was manageable. As Kane left the shop, Pepper waved goodbye. "Come back any time!" Maybe I will, haha. Maybe I will.