[PP-NK-F15] Something about a Lion.... <<WOTW T.L.C>> (Baldur)

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru sighed and sat on the outside of the 15th floor, looking at the info on the board. There were five new quests that he could take with the new patch that had come out, one of them you could only choose one of the other for, and in the patch he had also lost all his damage from his Dagger, so he couldn't solo a lot of the Quests that he had planned to do. He sent out a Message on the Message Board and asked for someone to accept his with him, because he knew that he would need backup for this mission. He hoped someone would be able to meet him here, or he was stuck doing this on his own

[Baldur 0]

Baldur had never spent time on the 15th floor and was now trying to fix that. He wanted to make sure her as at least familiar with every floor. Each floor held clues to the character of the castle and to Kayaba, as well as having their own secrets and quests that would help him in his pursuit of excellence and freedom. In order to be an except at Sword Art Online, he needed to know the ins and outs of the game, as well as be familiar with every floor, and who knew what he would find.

As Baldur was wandering about Kachuhiro, or whatever the name of the settlement was, he came across the message board that tended to have listing of quests that players had found and were sharing with other players. However, in front of the board is more what caught his attention. It was Hikoru, one of the few possessors of a unique skill, or so he had been told. Hikoru had been there at the fight with Rohk when Azide had perished, and was probably one of the few Frontliners who was close to Baldur's own level.

"Ohayo!" The steel blue eyed gaijin Samurai called out to HIkoru with a wave of his hand beside his head, "I'm not sure if we've ever actually been introduced. I'm Baldur." He offered a friendly smile, and then brushed his blue and white haori off to one side revealing the two katana he kept at his side. He rested his left hand on Fudoshin as he always seemed to do when at rest.

"You're Hikoru, right?"

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru breathed and sat as he waited, and suddenly jumped as he heard a voice call to him. he looked to see a young man coming his way with two Katanas on his side. That wasn't a usual sight to see, as players kept their weapons in their inventory. But he mentally shrugged and ignored it as it was probably something that the player liked to do for comfort or some sort. He introduced himself as Baldur, and Hikoru smiled and nodded as he did, giving a small bow

"Hikoru, Master of Shadows. Pleasure to meet you." he said. He stood and looked at him for a moment "I'm guessing your a... Katana user?" He asked, pointing to the two swords on his hilt. He gave a small sigh and also chuckled "I think that will be an interesting combination. a dagger and a Katana, sounds exciting." He said with a small chuckle. He sighed, then finally, something clicked. "Hey wait... I remember you from somewhere... Were you at other raids? in the frontlines? I think that's the last place I saw you..." He said with a raised eyebrow. He knew this player, but not as well as most of the other frontliners. He knew that maybe this would be a good chance to make a new friend, and a possibly ally

[Baldur 0]

Baldur patted the blades at his side and nodded at Hikoru's words. "Yes, I am a katana user. I've been at both the Rohk and the Leonidas fights, though I tend to stay in the background, I'm just not high enough level to stand in the fore yet." He appraised the man, something about him seemed too nervous... perhaps it was his breathing that threw Baldur off. He couldn't place just what it was, but he would expect nothing less from someone who was titled the Master of Shadows. He had the look about him of a spymaster or some such, and the dagger only furthered that estimation.

"Were you just looking for a quest to start? I haven't explored this floor yet, so I would love some company... and a quest would be even better." He offered the man a friendly smile as he gestured with his hand to bring up the menu, sending Hikoru a party invitation.

"What quest were you thinking of?"

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a small smile and nod towards the player as he explained himself, making him more know. When he said the word Rohk though, a cold chill ran down his spine. The thought of Rohk filled him with horrible memories. His comrade Azide dying, him being embarrassed from the boss not letting him escape, and how this Boss has caused the first deaths in a long time, a almost prophesy of much more deaths in the future. He came back to reality as the Katana-using player asked him what Quest he had planned. He gave a small smile and opened his HUD

"It's this one." He said as he sent the info to the other player, noticing the party request and accepting it quietly. He opened the info and read it quickly "Basically, we have to find a lions mane around the castle that's up ahead. It doesn't give much information on the mobs themselves, but im sure we can fend them off easily. Also, I hope you can take a hit. I don't gain hate." He said simply. He would wait and show the player as they fought what he meant when he said that. But for now, he would leave him in the dark, unless he knew and he just didn't know.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur smiled when Hikoru's name popped up next to his own in the corner of Baldur's view. He also enjoyed that next to Baldur's name was a new guild symbol, that of the Spectrum Coalition. They had come about without any fanfare, and no one really knew that they had existed yet, since they hadn't really done anything yet other than form the guild. Still, it was good to see an icon there once more. The last time he had one it had been a short lived stint with the Azure Brigade, before Zel and Keith's arrogance tore the guild apart from the inside and ego risked people's lives to make a point. Before that, Baldur had been an officer of the Guardians of Aincrad.

A whole lifetime ago.

With a nod of his head, Baldur indicated he was ready to head out, and led the way towards the gate of the settlement and out into the floor beyond.

"You don't gain hate, eh?" Baldur rubbed his chin in thought. What did he mean by that? He would just have to find out.

"I should be okay. I have emergency crystals if I need them, and I tend to kill my foes before they have a chance to counter attack." He patted his blade. He had yet to draw any of these in combat, so he would have to see what they could do, and an easy quest with a companion who could back him up was just the place to experiment with that.

"I've got some new blades I'm anxious to try out and see how they live up to my expectations."

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru nodded and motioned for him to follow as he followed the map on his HUD to figure out this area. He had explored most of the area of the floor, but the part that this Quest was to partake in wasn't on his map yet, and it was one of the last places he needed to see to complete it. He set the Marker and closed the HUD, motioning to the general direction of where they needed to go, then started making his way there. He knew that Katana had a few good AoE on it, making it a very useful weapon. hopefully making this Quest fairly easy, He looked back and starting walking backwards

"So tell me a bit about yourself Baldur, We haven't really talked, and I need to know all the info on every Frontliner, to know the possibilities I have on survival, and how easy or hard a boss may be." He said bluntly. He wanted this guy to know how he worked nowadays, and his Ultimate goal was to one day Scout a floor on his own. Sadly, he wouldn't be able to do that for awhile, as he was still working on his Build and until it was done to his satisfaction, there was nothing he could do about it. So doing quests like this would help him in the long run of SP gaining

[Baldur 0]

Baldur thought about Hikoru's question as they walked along through the forest. He had been asked similar questions in much less direct ways, but there was something about his question that implied more and left Baldur unsure of how to necessarily handle it. His steel blue eyes grew slightly distant as he ran over the words to use in his head before he uttered them for Hikoru. He knew of the man by reputation only, none of which included how trustworthy the man was.

"Well, I'm almost level 40. I would have been considered a frontliner a long time ago, around the level 10 boss fight, but politics got in the way and my guild at the time, Azure Brigade, decided not to fight." Baldur skipped quite a bit of time, "I rejoined the Frontlines at the Rohk fight after being away from the Front for a while. I am a grandmaster of the katana, and focus on DPS, with a bit of hybrid mitigation and evasion. I like to be able to take a hit and not get my nose too bloodied." He patted his several katana for emphasis when he mentioned he was a grandmaster.

"In a fight, I like utility. Being able to adapt to several situations, rather than being a specialist in a single one. That's part of the reason why I have several swords, instead of just one."

Turning his blue eyes to Hikoru, he nodded at the other player, "What about you?"

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru listened and gave a small nod, agreeing with him with a small smile and a sigh. He liked the build idea, he might have to try it. With his new armor though, he might be able to last longer within Boss fights, but for now he didn't know. He really didn't have any damage with his Unique Weapon, so his wasn't a DPS as much as he wanted to be. He looked at the man with a small Sigh, unsheathing his dagger and staring at the blade quietly as he walked, thinking of how much had changed since the new patch, how much his build had to change to be able to do anything against anyone, or anything that he had to go up against.

"I... Was, originally one of the strongest hitting players in the game, but ever since the patch, I lost that, and well, now im sub-par at most..." He said with a small sigh. He turned to the young man with a small smile "So now, im aiming to be one of the most Unique builds on site, something that only I can do... I mean, I have a unique skill, dont I?..." He said with a small chuckle, and sighed as he continued forward onwards to where they needed to go

[Baldur 0]

Baldur watched Hikoru with a bit of surprise reflected in his face. It wasn't often people exposed their insecurity so easily. Was Hikoru baiting? Baldur couldn't decide, so he just took the man at his word. He was also the bearer of a unique skill. Baldur had met only a handful of them. He had no idea how many existed, but this made three. Achilles, BattouJutsu, and whatever Hikoru's had that prevented him from generating hate. At first blush, if that's all it did, it seemed underwhelming, but when you considered the purpose of this game, to get out alive, it was probably the single best skill aside of Achilles for doing just that. Out of everyone in Aincrad, Hikoru was the one most likely to make it out of here alive. Assuming everyone else could help him get to floor 100.

"I can understand the disappointment from going from one of the top DPS, to not, but just because you're not the best doesn't mean you're sub-par. I mean, that would include me and everyone else who isn't... I dunno, Ariel."

He wasn't sure how everyone had changed, but from what he could tell, Ariel was the only one who had changed her focus to two-hand assault spear, which was now the highest single hit weapon art in the game.

"For the longest time, Katana has been a very underwhelming skill. I am glad I now have mostly gotten it to the point where I can decently contribute, but that doesn't mean my efforts before now were inadequate."  He tapped his chin in thought, and as he often did, he spoke more to himself than to Hik, though he was verbalizing his thoughts for them both. "Each weapon and player has a niche, and often times merely being the biggest hit isn't as valuable as you might think. Besides, dagger is far better even from being middle of the pack damage wise. Focus on finding your niche, and seize those moments when they come."

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru listened quietly as he explained himself and his weapon. He only chuckled as he said to "find his niche," Something that he had tried, and yet he still wasn't... Himself. He gave a small sigh that escaped his lips quietly and without much noise but a fluttering of wind

"I wish it were that easy man, but it's hard to find your own niche. Dagger is all around energy, but with the new patch, Energy is pretty easy to come by now, so it doesn't have much use. And no, im not as low as some attacks, but when a Rapier is stronger, it makes me double think of changing to it..." He sighed quietly "But I can't. The only way to have my Unique Skill active is to use a Dagger, so I didn't have a choice in changing..." He said with a small sigh. He wanted something strong, but he had to use a dagger for the US to stay active. Even with the passive skills that it comes with are useless unless a Dagger is Equipped. He gave a small sigh as he looked ahead and saw that they were nearing the castle. He sheathed his dagger and pointed "Quick, lets get moving." He said quietly, and moved forward in stealth, as to not be detected by any wandering eyes

[Baldur 0]

The flying monkey suddenly interrupted Baldur before he had a chance to open his mouth and respond to Hikoru, who had seemed to just enter stealth a moment before. The comically dressed primate was flying around above them in what Baldur could only assume was the correct direction of travel and the way that Hikoru had just headed out to while he was in stealth.

As they continued to walk in that direction, Baldur saw another monkey on the path before them. He couldn't see any weapons on it, but it would not be the first monster to use some variant of martial arts, though in it's little costume, he couldn't be certain that these mobs weren't more comical than dangerous.

"I got this one!" Baldur called out to where ever Hikoru was.

Reaching to his side, Baldur gripped his sword as he stepped into the stance required to activate his <<Charge>> skill coupled with his <<Iai>> sword art. In the space of a heartbeat, Baldur went from walking down the path to a blue and orange blur as he streaked through the forest towards his tiny, hairy target. The blade of <<Fudoshin>> left an azure trail of light as it cut through the <<Super Flying Monkey>>, exposing the red mesh of it's wire-frame body.

Unfortunately, the bleed effect from Fudoshin did not take effect when he struck the monkey. Cursing under his breath, he turned to face the mob once again, holding the katana in both hands.

"Now! Quickly while it's stunned!"

---

ID# 68244 BD: 6 (+3 Acc)(-3 EVA) = 6 (Hit)
13 Base + 2 charge = 15 x 9 = 135 - 50 MIT= 85 DMG (Stunned, has no evasion while stunned)

<<Baldur>> 775/775 HP | 64/76 EN | 48 MIT | 3 ACC | 17 DMG (13 w/Fudoshin) | 1 EVA | +3 S&D
<<Super Flying Monkey>> HP: 115/200 | DMG: 250 | Mit: 50 | Eva: 3 (stunned)
<<Hikoru>> ??/?? HP | ??/?? EN

[Hikoru 0]

(OOC: Im using my old build, but I still have 3 Accuracy as to not break the thing with my Familiar :P)

Hikoru looked back to see that the player had attacked a flying monkey that came out of nowhere. Hikoru wanted to freak out, but he knew that a flying monkey was nothing compared to the giant Sheep King that he had fought awhile back. He turned back and struck the monkey from behind, the word "CRITICAL" Appearing before his eyes as he had easily finished off the creature. He gave a small sigh and looked at the player

"Happy I had my other dagger in my hand instead of Yamkimba, or else this thing would be living." He said with a small chuckle. He had the Unique Dagger ready for the bosses, if there were any. But he liked having all his damage Equipped on him as much as he could. He gave a small sigh and continued forward from where he was going. "Come, we still gotta keep moving or else this is going to take all day"

ID: 68246

BD: 10 Critical!

Hikoru used Eternal Cyclone: 15x13=195-50=145 Damage

<<Baldur>> 775/775 HP | 64/76 EN | 48 MIT | 3 ACC | 17 DMG (13 w/Fudoshin) | 1 EVA | +3 S&D
<<Super Flying Monkey>> HP: 115/200 | DMG: 250 | Mit: 50 | Eva: 3 (stunned)
<<Hikoru>> 815/815 HP | 69/80 EN

[Baldur 0]

Baldur nodded with a smile when Hikoru appeared out of no-where and critical hit the <<Super Flying Monkey>> for so much damage that is disappeared with a shattering sound and a shower of rainbow hued polygons. It was a truly impressive blow, and Baldur could immediately see that Hikoru was not one to mess around.

"Well struck, Hik-" Baldur was cut off mid-sentence as the monkey from above dove down and stuck Baldur from the sky. The gaijin samurai grunted from surprise and spilled out onto the ground, losing grip of his sword as he tumbled end over end into the dirt. The world around him seemed to spin, as he tried to regain his barings.

"Ugh!" Baldur blinked in surprise as the dust stirred up around them. It was the biggest hit Baldur had ever taken outside of the boss battles. He almost never was caught off guard or took damage in the field. He must have really let his guard down, but then, most people simply never looked up. This flying monster had done some sort of sky diving martial arts move that took the metaphorical wind out of him.

 

---

ID# 68249 BD: 2 (miss) MD: 9-1=8 (hit)

<<Baldur>> 573/775 HP | 65/76 EN | 48 MIT | 3 ACC | 17 DMG (13 w/Fudoshin) | 1 EVA | +3 S&D
<<Super Flying Monkey>> HP: 200/200 | DMG: 250 | Mit: 50 | Eva: 3
<<Hikoru>> 815/815 HP | 69/80 EN

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru breathed and looked back as the Katana user was knocked down onto the ground from another Monkey. He looked to see that it was the same stats as before and just sighed. Probably a requirement for this quest, to kill flying monkeys sent from the castle. he gave a sigh and using his <<Concentration>> Skill, he moved and swiftly attacked the creature, dealing enough damage to kill it once more. He looked at Baldur and gave a low chuckle

"I suppose your luck isn't on your side. Glad im here to help out." He said with a small chuckle. He waited for the player to get up to see if any more monkeys would appear before them, and waited to see if anything would happen before he went back to tracking the castle and filling out his map. He had time to kill, so he didn't mind waiting to get it done

ID: 68308

BD: 5+4 (+1 Concentration)=9-3= 6 Hit!

Hikoru used Eternal Cyclone: 13x13=169-50=119 Damage to SFM

<<Baldur>> 573/775 HP | 65/76 EN | 48 MIT | 3 ACC | 17 DMG (13 w/Fudoshin) | 1 EVA | +3 S&D
<<Super Flying Monkey>> HP: 0/200 | DMG: 250 | Mit: 50 | Eva: 3
<<Hikoru>> 815/815 HP | 59/80 EN | 56 MIT | 3 ACC | 13 Damage | 2 EVA (+1, -11)

[Baldur 0]

Baldur watched again as Hikoru and his dagger came to his rescue, carving up the <<Super Flying Monkey>> so well that it barely had any health left when he was finished with his sword art.

But the monkey still had HP left after all.

Turning to face the now aggroed player Hikoru, the monkey quickly lashed out at him with fist and teeth, but the primate was nowhere near good enough to land a blow on Hikoru, who was able to gracefully evade it's every swipe. Pushing himself off the group, Baldur grabbed Fudoshin and ran up while the creature had its back turned. Immediately the blade exploded with azure light as he brought down blow after blow on the creature, each one exposing more and more of its wire mesh until it shattered with a satisfying explosion of multicolored polygons refracting the light around them.

"Definitely. Thanks for the save." Baldur smiled as he whipped the sword around and then returned it to the sheath at his side along with the other two blades.

Looking ahead, Baldur noticed that the nearby tower seemed to be unguarded.

"Look, the way is clear, let's hurry into the tower."

Brushing some dirt off of his clothes, Baldur rushed over to the wooden door of the tower before anymore flying monkies respawned.

"Do you think the Lion's Mane is inside?"

---

ID# 68325 BD: 8+3-3=hit    MD: 4 (miss)   LD: 17+3=20
San Ge = 13x14 = 182 - 50 = 132

<<Baldur>> 573/775 HP | 65/76 EN | 48 MIT | 3 ACC | 17 DMG (13 w/Fudoshin) | 1 EVA | +3 S&D
<<Super Flying Monkey>> HP: -51/200 | DMG: 250 | Mit: 50 | Eva: 3
<<Hikoru>> 815/815 HP | 59/80 EN | 56 MIT | 3 ACC | 13 Damage | 2 EVA 

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru breathed as the Monkey didn't seem to fade into pixels, and his heart jumped a beat, before Baldur came and swiped the Monkey, quickly ending it's tiny existence. He stood and gave a small smile and a bow of thanks to the Katana user. He made his way to the tower that he spoke of, and shrugged his shoulders

"It could be. One sec." He said, and soon he opened his HUD, and equipping his ring and replacing his Amulet, he quickly ran ahead, enveloping himself in shadows and looking around to see if he could find anything in the tower. He continued to search around, but he couldn't find what they were looking for. He came back down after a quick search for both the item and monsters, and back to the player "I couldn't see anything at first glance. But there's a chance it could be in a chest somewhere in the tower. It's also clear of monsters as far as I can tell." He said with a small smile, feeling that he had done as best of a job at scouting as he could

ID: 68326

LD: 8+3= 11

Golden Ring Equipped. Sneak and Hide Rank 5 and +2 LD, Lost Eclipsed Pendant: -1 Evasion and -2 Accuracy

Edited September 22, 2016 by Hikoru

[Baldur 0]

Baldur nodded when he got the all clear and equipped his own searching related items, his <<Searcher's Eye>> and <<Spiral Compass>> in place of his weapon and necklace. Pushing open the door, Baldur took a glance around the bottom floor of the tower. He doubted the quest objective would be hidden in the base, but it was entirely possible since this was part of a chain of quests. 

(ID: 68331 LD: 10+6=16 Item not found).

He took his time, slowly surveying the first floor for any signs that might give away a trap door, or a secret passage, or a hidden chest of some kind, but he could find nothing. All that was in the bottom floor of the tower was a table and what appeared to be a few pallets for the monkeys to sleep on. There were a few supply crated, but when Baldur tried to interact with them through the menu, they didn't give him any actions - which meant the item wasn't inside.

"Alright, I don't see anything here either. Let's try going up to the next floor."

Baldur moved to the side of the tower where stairs were built by stones that were just wider than the rest in the wall. There was no handrail to hold, so he had to be conscious of his balance as he ascended another level. This one appeared to resemble some sort of kitchen for the flying monkies stationed in the tower.

"Do you see anything?"

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru continued to look until they soon were about to move, when Hikoru noticed a box that hadn't been searched yet. He went over and looked to see a small crate that didn't have anything special about it, just a wooden box with a basic lock. He unlatched it and opened, to see a large, golden tuft of fur laying in the box. He breathed and picked it up, giving Baldur a small chuckle

"I don't believe we need to. I think this is it right here." And with that, a pop-up appeared before both players, reading "QUEST COMPLETE". With a laugh Hikoru accepted it, and the Lion's Mane appeared in his inventory. He sighed and placed his hands on his hips in a relaxed way "I suppose that's it. Want to go and grab a bite to eat? Stop at a bar or two? Im always down for something relaxing." He said happily

ID: 68334

LD: 17+3=20 <<Lion's Mane Found>>

[Baldur 0]

"That sounds good to me." Baldur said with a smile on his face when Hikoru finally found <<The Lion's Mane>>. He pressed the button on his UI when the quest complete dialogue popped up, and saw the XP rack up, moving his bar past the halfway mark to his next level. He turned towards the exit of the tower and pushed the door open, holding it for Hikoru.

"Which settlement do you want to head to? We could always find a nice spot and invite a couple friends to celebrate. It's always nice to have a bit of rest and relaxation with good friends."

Once he and Hikoru were safely away from the tower, he turned to the stealth user. "You know Hikoru, You're good people. I've been friends with Ariel for a long time, since we were both in the single digit levels together. I'm glad she's found someone who can keep up with her." He gave the kid a thumbs up and then suddenly felt as old as he really was. It was strange, being an adult among so many kids. Sometimes he felt like he was in never-never land.