Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 #1 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) June 16th, 2026 Floor 1 - far edge of the floor The network of caves Baldur found himself in were difficult to discover, and only rumored about among the info brokers. Not only that, but Baldur hated the edge of the floors... especially the first floor. Being the largest of the floors, you could look up the entire castle from the edge, and there was absolutely nothing below you but clouds and the occasional impression that there was eventually land. So when he had to drop down from the edge to a small ledge in the side of the castle, he would have soiled himself had it been possible in this virtual world. "Dammit, wolves!" Baldur immediately drew his blade and <<charged>> flying into <<Gen Getsu>> as he weaved through the pack, cutting them down. As they shattered into polygons, Baldur grabbed a hold of the edge of the platform. Using that combination of skills with only sky to one side of him freaked him out. ID: 61773 BD: 4+3=7 LD: 12 (Gen Getsu x6 style (12+2=14x6=84 - 12 MIT = 72 DMG) <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 13/25 NRG <<Wolf>> 0/70 HP - 1 Mat & 350 Col <<Wolf>> 0/70 HP - 1 Mat & 350 Col <<Wolf>> 0/70 HP - 1 Mat & 350 Col <<Wolf>> 0/70 HP - 1 Mat & 350 Col Edited June 21, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #2 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) Turning the edge of the corner and now looking into a tunnel, Baldur breathed a sigh of relief in spite of the fact that he saw there were now a small group of goblins in the tunnels, each with a funny looking candle on top of their head providing light. Crouching down, Baldur activated his <<charge>> skill and once again launched into the <<Gen Gentsu>> katana AoE skill. As his blue and orange form spun into the group of goblins, dust and rock kicking up from the speed of his maneuver, they didn't even have the time to shriek as his black and red katana turned them into a rainbow of polygons. Taking a moment, Baldur sagged against the edge of the tunnel, just grateful to be away from the edge of the floor. ID# 61774 BD:4+3=7 (hit) LD: 15 <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 2/25 NRG<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP | 12 MIT |- 1 Mat & 350 Col<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat & 350 Col<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat & 350 Col<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat & 350 Col Edited June 17, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #3 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Sitting there alone in the empty tunnel, Baldur couldn't remember what had ever convinced him to do something so stupid as drop down from the edge of the floor onto a small platform to fight mobs that were too high level for the rest of the floor. You are some special kind of stupid. But he was in need of materials to prepare for the next big boss raid. And that necessity meant that he was willing to take some risks. I'm just never come back down here again. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #4 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Baldur looked around. From where he was sitting in the tunnel, there was only a little bit of light that was coming in from the entrance, but now that the goblin's had their candles extinguished he could see the living orange glow of more further down the tunnel. All around him the stone had begun to take a bizarre shape and texture. The edge of the castle was a white stone, but it had a hewn, made made appearance as strange as that sounded. Going in from the edge of the castle, there seemed to be an odd mixture of worked and natural stone. He had heard there was lore to the existence of the castle, but what could possibly explain something as wildly impossible as this place. Especially with that stretch of emo floors they found higher up. "Well, I should get going I suppose." Baldur stood up and begin to work his way down the tunnel. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) Baldur kept close to the wall of the tunnel, his sword held up vertically in front of him as he slowly looked around the corner. Ahead of him, the tunnel ran another 50 feet before it opened up into what appeared to be a huge chamber. Perhaps some sort of underground goblin village? Slowly Baldur creeped closer to the edge of where the tunnel opened out into the room, leary of any sentries that might be found. One wrong aggro pull and I won't have a place to retreat to. I need to at least get into the city where I can leash them. As he got to the mouth of the cave, he saw a wooden platform and on it was another patrol of goblins. Well, here I go! Baldur grit his teeth and moved forward to get into range. Edited June 16, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #6 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) It took a huge force of will and self-awareness to not cry out as he launched himself with the <<charge>> skill and erupted into the <<Gen Getsu>> form amidst the group of goblins, those lump illshapen candles stuck to the tops of their heads. His ambush was effective though, and he was able to turn them into a shower of polygons without any word of alarm going up, however, there appeared to be a sentry position at the bottom of the long, switch-back ramp that brought him to the top of the tunnel. He would need to get them first before he could proceed into the city. At least, since he held the high ground, they hadn't noticed him yet. ID# 61776 BD:9+3=12 (hit) LD: 20 (Base 12 + 2 charge + 1 Crit= 15 x 6 = 90 - 15 MIT = 75) <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 13/25 NRG<<Armored Goblin>> 0/75 HP | 12 MIT |- 2 Mat & 375 Col<<Armored Goblin>> 0/75 HP |12 MIT | - 2 Mat & 375 Col<<Armored Goblin>> 0/75 HP |12 MIT | - 2 Mat & 375 Col<<Armored Goblin>> 0/75 HP |12 MIT | - 2 Mat & 375 Col Edited June 17, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) A soundless kiai echoed in Baldur's head as he launched off of the platform above the Goblins with his <<charge>> skill and crashed into them, <<Gen getsu>> sending him into a series of spinning slashes, his new black and red katana <<Susano'o>> sliding through all of them with the azure light of the sword art. As polygons exploded around him, Baldur left out a sigh of relief and sheathed his katana before looking around to survey the goblin city. Hmm... this is a whole settlement... beneath the first floor? He had remembered seeing box art of SAO, and where the first floor was actually left quite a bit of ground beneath them to explore. He had always wondered about that, but never really expected something like this. It took a huge force of will and self-awareness to not cry out as he launched himself with the <<charge>> skill and erupted into the <<Gen Getsu>> form amidst the group of goblins, those lump illshapen candles stuck to the tops of their heads. His ambush was effective though, and he was able to turn them into a shower of polygons without any word of alarm going up, however, there appeared to be a sentry position at the bottom of the long, switch-back ramp that brought him to the top of the tunnel. He would need to get them first before he could proceed into the city. At least, since he held the high ground, they hadn't noticed him yet. ID# 61776 BD:8+3=11 (hit) LD: 19 <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 2/25 NRG<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP | 12 MIT |- 2 Mat & 350 Col<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 2 Mat & 350 Col<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 2 Mat & 350 Col<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 2 Mat & 350 Col Edited June 17, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #8 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Ducking to the side, Baldur took a moment to examine his surroundings. It appeared to be a fairly grimy city, shoddily lit by candles perched on sconces on the outsides of buildings. The buildings weren't much for color, and appeared to be made of some sort of mix of rocks and mud. The goblins themselves being only a few feet tall, their buildings were barely as tall as he was, with only a slight slope to the roofs. They didn't have to worry about rain here, but it seemed that some water did drip from the ceiling of the cavern, and the roofs were designed to catch the water. Someone really put a lot of thought into this. There was no sign of any type of signs to tell him if there were any points of interest, or what he was looking at, but he knew he had to be careful. Rather than explore too deeply by himself, Baldur planned to linger near the entrance until he got a feel for the respawn pattern down here. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Moving while crouched, Baldur made his way through what he figured were back alleyways. While every goblin was armed, they didn't all appear to be patrols. There were some that wandered around their homes, while others were obviously meant to be patrols to fight adventurers. The patrols themselves were always aggro, but the more passive villagers seemed to not aggro based on radius when Baldur tested it on accident. Still, he had managed to not be seen yet, mostly by taking advantage of LoS and distance. He had a lot of experience skirting aggro radius in other MMOs, and while it was different when you were in the game, the principles seemed to transcend. Thank god for that at least, or I would have died who know how many times. There were some mobs that were more LOS based, but all mobs would trigger once you got into a certain area around them, it just took a moment to do so. Well, unless you're one of those shady types who takes the hide skill. Baldur involuntarily thought back to Opal trying to rile that crowd up to confront Oikawa, and shivered. He had sorely misjudged her. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #10 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Deciding that enough time had passed, Baldur began to make his way back to the sentry position at the bottom of the ramp that would lead up to the tunnel he came in at. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to go back the way he came, but it was his most defensible position currently simply for the fact that he knew what would spawn in that area and that he could handle it. When he suddenly turned the corner, he saw a patrol that was heading in the direction of the sentry position... granted he could only see that because the flames that the goblins wore rose over the tops of the buildings, so he could see them moving around the streets and more accurately predict their location and the presence of the soldiers vs the non-aggro variety who didn't have the candles on top of their head. Tsk. Now I'll have to wait for the Goblins to leave the sentry spawn point before I can engage. Even though he could easily take them all, he didn't want to risk it. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 16, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) Once the patrol came back around the corner and broke line of sight with the sentry stand, Baldur was in a whirl of motion. Stepping forward into his crouching stance, he activated his <<Charge>> skill and flashed forward into the <<Gen Getsu>> sword art, his black and red sword awash in etheral blue light as he cleaved each of the goblins, leaving red gashes through their bodies and exposing the wireframe mesh they were all made of. With the sound of shattering glass, polygons fall all around him but he held his breath, pausing for a moment to see if he had aggroed any of the other goblins. Glancing around, he saw that his plan was a success. Now all he had to do was round the corner and assault the next group. ID# 61778 BD:10+3=13 (hit) LD: 2 <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 13/25 NRG<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP | 12 MIT |- 1 Mat<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Ma<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat Edited June 17, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 17, 2016 Author #12 Share Posted June 17, 2016 (edited) Rounding the corner, Baldur glared at the small group of lightly armored goblins, candles atop their heads as they made small talk with one another. Their short spears and stubb rock maces genuflecting as they spoke. The focused look of Baldur's eyes targeted the nearest goblin, causing the red crystal to appear above his head letting Baldur know that he was an aggro mob and allowing him to activate <<charge>> once he got in range. The blue hoari around Baldur's shoulders cracked in the wind as the skill shot him down the street faster than he could have run. The metal shod boots of his orange Samurai armor slid across the stone and gravel of the street as he slashed with his sword 6 times, making short work of the 4 goblins. "Whew." Baldur sighed. He should have brought some food with him. ID# 61778 BD:5+3=8 (hit) LD: 10 <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 2/25 NRG<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP | 12 MIT |- 1 Mat<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Ma<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat Edited June 17, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 20, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Now that the goblins at the entryway are cleared, I can get out of here no problem. It was true. The goblins on the way out would be easy to get through, even if there was a prolonged fight, and he had the materials and Col that he had come for, but was that really all that he was after here? Before his eyes was an entire goblin civilization that probably only a handful of players had ever experienced. Who knew what secrets or loot or rewards were hidden down here. He hesitated beneath the goblin sentry structure. He was called on by his sense of adventure, but held back by his sense of caution. Baldur knew full well that it was easy to get over-run in a situation like this. He would be letting his pursuit of excitement and adventure overrule the caution that had kept him alive up until this point. What was the right thing to do? Should he be bold in the face of possible rewards, unpromised and risky? Should he be safe, and return with that he intended - a successful mission and the gift of fighting another day? Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 20, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Baldur turned one way, and then the other. The hesitation in his steel blue eyes held him fast. Indecision was a constant enemy of his, but in the end, there was no reason that he couldn't come back here with friends and give this hidden civilization another shot - and he needed to confirm whether or not he could even get out the way he came. If that weren't true, then this whole batch of consternation was pointless. Secure the way out, come back another day with that knowledge. It was true. He was unprepared for an engagement with an elite mob if this was the rank and file. He was here on a supply mission for the boss fight, and blowing his current batch of consumables on trash would be a waste - and only degrade the purpose he had come here for. No, for today he would turn for caution and successful hunt and return when he was more prepared for what lay ahead of him. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 20, 2016 Author #15 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Making his way up the zig-zag path of hastily cobbled together ramps that the goblins must have made... I can't believe I'm thinking that way. The goblins didn't build this, a 3d artist did. They just made it look that way to look like the goblins built it, but this was all laid out as a game, with environmental decisions made for that purpose. Still, the fact that Baldur thought about his environment that way was a compliment to the artists who had done this. As he neared the top, he could hear the work of the sound engineers clearing. Those were footsteps, but more than that, he could tell that they were goblin footsteps, as opposed to something like wolves, or heavily like an ogre. Baldur took a deep, clear breath, and prepared himself for battle. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 20, 2016 Author #16 Share Posted June 20, 2016 (edited) This time, when Baldur came across the goblin patrol in the tunnels, he was prepared for them. Stepping into the pre-motion for <<charge>> Baldur became a blue of blue and orange light, a spinning blade of death as <<Gen Getsu>> tore the goblins apart. They seemed frozen for a moment in their final throes of artificial life before that too familiar sound of shattering returned them to the server from whence they came, without ever actually having the chance to fulfill whatever they were programmed to do. ID# 61918 BD:9+3=1 (hit) LD: 8 <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 13/25 NRG<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP | 12 MIT |- 1 Mat<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Ma<<Goblin>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat Edited June 21, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 21, 2016 Author #17 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) Baldur didn't stop to wait for what he knew the outcome would be. Instead, his orange clad feet kept moving. His samurai style armor and blue haori kept him moving forward towards the exit where he knew the wolves would be waiting. Were they some sort of warning system? Perhaps they were there to summon the defenders if he had let them live for longer than the initial engagement. He imagined that had he not been quite so prepared and over-leveled, this could have been quite the difficult dungeon for someone. As he spotted the wolves, Baldur went into his now signature combo of <<charge>> and <<Gen Getsu>> with the last of his energy. As the wolves erupted into polygons, he let out a short sigh of relief and performed his ritual noto, now that combat was over. As his grip lingered for a moment before releasing the handle of the blade, he let go his feels and emotions of battle behind and let his clearer thoughts come to the fore again. ID# 61919 BD:5+3=8 (hit) LD: 8 <<Baldur>> 100/100 HP | MIT 54 | 2/25 NRG<<Wolf>> 0/70 HP | 12 MIT |- 1 Mat<<Wolf>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat<<Wolf>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Ma<<wolf>> 0/70 HP |12 MIT | - 1 Mat Edited June 21, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 21, 2016 Author #18 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Baldur made it to the end of the cave, which was a surreal experience since the mouth of the cave let out to nothing but the setting sun. To his eyes emerging from the cave, the brilliant light was almost blinding, but the colors of the sunset must have meant that there was some sort of a horizon out there. Perhaps there really was a world down below... not that he would ever find out. Sitting down far away from the ledge, Baldur slowly scooted closer to the edge so that he could admire the setting sun, and dangle his legs off of the edge of Aincrad. The last time he had stuck around somewhere to enjoy a setting sun like this was with Lessa. Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 21, 2016 Author #19 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) All around him the world slowly turned from blue to orange to that fading color of light that slowly became black. It was a wondrous, unobstructed view that satisfied his earlier desire for adventure and discovery. In fact, so caught up was he in the beauty of the world that Kayaba had created that he almost didn't notice the presence of another player creeping up on his location from above. "Umm... Ohayo?!" a voice called out from near-by him. Suddenly alert, and then suddenly dizzy, Baldur gripped a handful of ground and pulled himself away from the edge with such grace and poise that he could easily have been killed a dozen times as his fear of heights and death suddenly overtook him. Once he was safely back in the tunnel and away from the edge, Baldur turned to look for the voice. Edited June 21, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
Baldur 0 Posted June 21, 2016 Author #20 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) "O-Ohayo?" Baldur called out, but couldn't see anyone. A few seconds later, another figure dropped down from above and onto the ledge. It was a younger man, still in his early 20s and armored like that of a tank. His hammer and shield were stored on his back currently, and his outstretched hands and green cursor, as well as obviously T1 gear, let Baldur lower his guard some. "Sorry for disturbing you." The young man said. "Oh, no, it's okay. I was a bit distracted." The young man blushed a bit, and held a hand to the back of his head, "Actually, we saw you go down, but when you can't come back up and it was almost dark, we got a bit worried about you. What's down here?" That thought stuck Baldur like a blow. He was back in the caves.... "Arooooooooooooo!" Came the howl of a wolf. Edited June 21, 2016 by Baldur Link to post Share on other sites
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