[SP-F1] Cutting Edge.

[Corvo 0]

That's what they said about the world of Sword Art Online.

State of the art. Top of the line. Cutting edge tech. Of course he'd been roped in. Games were the best way to pass the time, and a game like this where it all seemed real sounded much more interesting than the alternative. The raid culture got boring pretty quick in those other games, where he had sat for hours listening to people he'd never even met talk about different ways to kill pixelated characters who dropped intangible goods that would never benefit him in the real world. He did it for the friends he'd actually met, those few people who meant something to him in that world. He came to Aincrad thinking of nothing but having a way to feel like his best friends were right there next to him, instead of on the other side of a computer screen.

He never expected that they'd be stuck that way. Corvo never once thought that he'd have to fight for his life with the very men he'd said he'd lay his life on the line for. It was one thing to say it and another entirely to make good on it. It wasn't that he wouldn't- it just unnerved him that he had to.

Them's the breaks, Ev.

Corvo spun the blade deftly in hand as he walked through the field outside of the Town of Beginnings, testing its weight with a certain familiarity that the system assist had nothing to do with. "The weight's off," he muttered. Two quick slices through the air answered his unspoken questions. "It'll cut, I suppose," he muttered discontentedly.

The squealing of a boar piqued his interest, and the rogue turned his gaze toward the creature with a wry smirk. "I'll just have to test it out," he said.

Boar: 10/10 HP

Corvo: 20/20 HP // 2 E

[Corvo 0]

He moved with the swiftness of a master murderer. Corvo surged toward the boar at high speed, his dagger clutched in a reverse grip as it trailed along behind him. The beast seemed alarmed by his hurry, and it twisted to keep eyes on the fleet footed threat. 

The Assassin took a single step, and the swine let out a panicked yelp. He brought the blade round in a vicious arc that the boar was too slow to evade. A red line blossomed into view across its features, and Corvo threw himself backward just before the mob managed to swing its tusks in defiance.

"WELL, I'LL BE," the red haired riot called out as his adversary stumbled. "LOOKS LIKE IT DO." 

With a wild look burning in both eyes, the knife fighter rolled the hilt of his weapon between three fingers in rapid succession and turned the blade over and back. His tongue swept across the blade, which would have been bloody under less digital circumstances.

"DANCE WITH ME, ANNA!" he called to the boar, having decided it needed a pet name.

Boar: 7/10 HP

Corvo: 20/20 HP 1/2 E

ID# 70980 results:

 Battle: 9

 Craft: 8

 Loot: 15

 MOB: 3

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

When he came down on one foot, Corvo felt the weight sag backward awkwardly. The soft dirt threatened to swallow him up, and he quickly balanced himself with the other leg in a hurtle stretch, one hand against the lush green grass. "Gah," he spat as he gave up the advantage he had won early in the fight. His speed was impressive for a new player, sure, but that meant next to nothing if he wasn't on the move. "That was embarrassing."

The boar rushed at him with its head tilted low, intent on poking two holes in his prone form. The nimble youth was not about to let that happen. He ducked backward in his low crouched position and allowed the beast to rush over his head, eyes intent on the creature's fattened stomach as it raced overhead. That was the meal ticket. A good stab or two in its weak spot would put an end to the immanent threat.

How to get to that point, though? In light of his most recent dodge, Corvo had all but sacrificed mobility in favor of safety. He had to take back the initiative, lest the boar overtake him and force him onto the defensive. He snapped upright and gripped his weapon tightly, eyes focused on the target. This would be fun, he decided.

Of course it would be. He got to stab something.

Boar: 7/10 HP

Corvo: 20/20 HP // 0/2 E

ID# 70983 results:

Battle: 1

Craft: 10

Loot: 18

MOB: 4

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

It charged toward him recklessly, the same basic attack pattern as always. Corvo counted on that, and when it stepped in just the right place, he dropped his level. When his hip bounced on the dirt, the boar bounded overhead and he thrust his foot out to send the beast fumbling over him. 

Corvo lashed out with the edge of his dagger toward its stomach, and another thin line flickered into existence on the digital beast. Unfortunately for the assassin, his movement came at a price. "Ack," he watched precious points trickle away from his health, an altogether unfair trade. The monsters could respawn. Corvo lacked the luxury.

"Well, alright," he snarled. "Next time, I'll try a different approach." 

He turned his body quickly as the beast whipped around, and he spun the dagger in his hand expertly. The training he had with small arms in the real world did factor into muscle memory translated by the NerveGear, even though it did little for his damage or statistics. Still, he was thankful it allowed him some small advantage in combat, if nothing else.

Boar: 5/10 HP

Corvo: 18/20 HP // 0/2 E

 

ID# 87374 Battle: 7 Craft: 1 Loot 17 MOB 6

Edited July 31, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

"Alright," he huffed as the boar picked up speed again. He perceived the angle and took a half step right, staggering his gait so that he could evenly distribute weight between both feet. As the mob encroached, he ducked his weight backward slightly, and he let it rush past his chest, dangerously close.

He was rewarded with a high pitched squeal. 

The pigsticker in his hand skewered upward and into the belly of the beast, illuminating its pixelated form with even more red spots. When he pried it free in one clean stroke, the boar gave a heavy grunt.

It's health meter had run from green to yellow with the last blow, and following this one, it had flickered red. The battle was all but won, provided he keep at it.

"I don't see how these things cause folks so much trouble," he muttered. Of course, there were people in SAO with a great deal less gaming experience than Corvo, and a good number of those had already been culled.

He didn't bother counting.

"Alright, fat lady," he tossed the blade in the air, let it spin twice, then snatched it back. "Time for you to sing."

Boar: 3/10 HP

Corvo: 18/20 HP // 0/2 E

ID# 87399  Battle 7 Craft 11 Loot 3 MOB 4

Edited July 31, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

"Crap!" He snarled as the boar slid past his reach, and the second attempt at a quick thrust failed. Corvo brought the knife under his own gut and up to his side, safely out of his own danger zone. It was a precaution to ensure that his momentum would not see him impaled on his own dagger.

He landed on three out of four limbs, eyes fixated on his prey. The boar had already wheeled around for another pass. Corvo shuffled quickly to his feet and brought the weapon up. "Come on," he growled. "Come ON! I AIN'T GOT ALL DAY, PIGLET!"

The redhead shook his head quickly and let out a sharp snort. "You want a piece or dontcha?"

It barely missed, but miss it did.

And so did he. He brought the dagger downward in an attempt to catch the beast as it raced past him, but because of a miscalculation- or the failure of the boar to stay remotely on course- the counterattack was equally ineffectual.

"Well," Corvo spat, "at least it's somewhat realistic."

Boar: 3/10 HP

Corvo: 18/20 HP // 0/2 E

 

ID# 87400 Battle: 5 Craft: 10 Loot 9 MOB 1

Edited July 31, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

He saw the tusks, but did not feel them. Red light roiled outward from the dual wounds, and the rogue grit his teeth as he was forced backward. "Good hit," he grunted. 

Corvo brought the blade down and jammed it into the beast as it drove into him, intent on making the creature pay in blood for every drop it spilt.

"But I can hit just as good, dontcha think?"

The smirk on the redhead's face only grew as the beast whined loudly in protest. It reeled backward to get free of the blade, which gave Corvo room to take a step and get his footing back.

He drew a line across his palm with the blade to test its sharpness, visibly displeased when the game's settings disallowed him from taking damage that way.

"Some things just ain't as good when you're gaming."

Boar: 1/10 HP

Corvo: 16/20 HP // 0/2 E

ID# 87452 Battle: 6 Craft: 6 Loot: 10 MOB: 9

Edited August 3, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

"Ack!"

The successful blow quickly fumbled into a sloppy failure as Corvo rushed past the boar. His feet carried him faster than his torso could twist, and he swiped hard, wide of the beast. "Gah," he muttered to himself as he managed to right his direction, but ultimately fail in doing any damage to the mob. "Some of these moves are a little sloppy."

It stood to reason that without any ranks in weapon skill, he would be subject entirely to the game's algorithms even with his previous training. "Looks like I'll be spending plenty of time investing points in stuff, later."

He skidded to a halt nearly five feet from the beast. It stared back at him, health bar flashing danger as it heaved to take in each and every breath it could. Victory was almost certain-

"Just don't screw this up," Corvo told himself.

Boar: 1/10 HP

Corvo: 16/20 HP // 0/2 E

 

ID# 87454 Battle: 1Craft: 11 Loot: 14 MOB 2

Edited August 4, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

The boar pressed what advantage it had. In the slow moments before Corvo managed to get ahold of his own movements, the creature raked him with its tusks and drew two thin lines of crimson across his avatar. The knicks flickered and data scattered outward from them, but it was the assassin who would have the last laugh.

His dagger plunged into the beast, so deep he thought it would burst simply from the absurdity of the impact. It did something almost like that, but instead of inflating like a balloon and popping comically, it shimmered faintly and discolored before scattering into a stream of data.

Wordlessly, Corvo slid the dagger back into its sheath and huffed.

The first kill was always the most iconic in a game. He remembered several times in other situations where he was getting used to skills, pressing buttons and auto attacking. None of them felt this real. None of them gave him the satisfaction of actually using his own thoughts, impulses, and reactions to win the day.

It was chilling to think that this could stimulate him so much.

But the grin on his face was wide, wider than he wanted it to be. Kill more, he told himself. Take all the experience you can. Rip everything apart.

He exhaled, loudly.

"No," he reminded himself. "Gotta think smart. Too dangerous. No second chances if I screw up."

Boar: DEAD

Corvo: 14/20 HP // 0/2 E

ID# 87510 Battle: 6 Craft: 9 Loot: 17 MOB: 7

Edited August 5, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

The red haired assassin glanced over at his diminished health bar and across his HUD to energy. His lips turned downward slightly as he realized that in this world, his stamina was relegated to points and set to a standard metric. Just like in the real world, his ability to perform tasks was limited by his endurance.

Unlike the real world, however, that number was absurdly limited. "Only two points?" he questioned. "That pool undoubtedly rises over time as level increases," he postulated, using experience from other games as a basis. "So, the Sword Art system must run off that same stuff, and consume more of it."

He looked through his list of attained skills and scrolled over the highest one available. It appeared to add a nominal amount of damage to his base attack, and so he would use that information to increase his output as he grew more familiar. "So, if I chain this one in with my automatic attack," he scratched at his chin as he reviewed the numbers and crunched away.

"I should be able to keep a fairly consistent stream of damage, provided I find a way to keep that energy replenished."

Surely, a skill existed to that effect?

Corvo: 20/20 HP // 1/2 E

Edited August 7, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

"Alright, so to test out how those Sword Skills work, I guess I should find another boar and stab right into it." Corvo smacked his fist against his open palm as if he'd made a major breakthrough and turned his gaze to look across the open plains of the first floor. Nothing was readily apparent in his field of vision, but that did not mean there were no mobs to be had.

It simply meant he'd have to do some looking around to find them.

"Well, I expected that," he muttered to himself. This early, they rarely grouped together except out in the more isolated areas, where people with more experience went for training. "If I take one more down, it out yield just enough to level me up one good time. That'd be ideal, because I don't want to take any risks with my health this early on."

It was true, the mobs on the first floor weren't immediately deadly, but as one faced more of them, numbers added up. Luckily, health accumulated quickly if one invested the time to increase their level and skill. He wasn't sure how much exactly, but anything would be a step in the right direction.

"Right now, I have twenty," he pondered aloud.

Corvo: 20/20 HP // 2/2 E

[Corvo 0]

The boar appeared so quickly, he barely had time to register it before he swing and missed. Respawns ran rampant across Aincrad, and their frequency and random nature were a leading cause of player death in the game. Luckily for Corvo, the boar was just as oblivious as he whipped past and landed in the dirt with a loud thud.

"Okay," he muttered to himself as the Sword Art he had readied flickered and faded out of the weapon. It marked his failure at his first attempt, sure, but also gave him a nudge along the learning process. Corvo was adapting.

He staggered over himself and rolled skillfully to his feet, landing low and with his weapon at the ready. "So that's how it works," he muttered to himself. The feeling was different from exerting himself in reality, and the expenditure of energy seemed to have no ramifications other than an inability to utilize any skills until he accumulated more. That caused him to smirk wryly.

"I get it now," he said, as if speaking to his newest victim. The boar reared its head and stared at him with beady, red eyes. "Which means bad news for you, porky."

Corvo: 20/20 HP // 0/2 E (used Sword Art, missed)

Boar: 10/10 HP

ID# 87601 Battle: 5 Craft: 2 Loot: 8 MOB: 3

Edited August 7, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

It tagged him first. 

Before he could fully mount his attack, the mob was already in motion. Corvo did his best to get his own legs moving, but it was moments too short. "Got to work on that reaction time," he noted as the red line flickered across his leg. 

"But one good hit deserves another."

He pressed off the wounded leg and twisted tightly in the air, bringing the blade around and into the path of the creature as it raced past. The boar let out a high pitched whine as the weapon tore deep, and a bright red light burst free of the newly opened, gaping wound.

Corvo alighted on the ground feet first, knees bent, and his fingertips last. He glanced up to see the enemy shaking its head, reeling from the attack. "That one looks like it hurt," he nodded approvingly.

The blade spun end over end in his grip, switching from a forehanded grip to a backhand. He felt familiar weight as the weapon landed evenly in his grip. "I'm getting used to this."

Corvo 18/20 HP // 0/2 E

Boar 6/10 HP

 

ID# 87602 Battle: 10 Craft: 6 Loot: 7 MOB: 6

Edited August 7, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

The next blow landed effectively, slamming into the chest of the creature as it lunged at him. It thrashed on impact, making every possible attempt to strike out only to fail. When it collapsed to the dirt, it shuddered before weakly working to its feet.

With a defiant grunt, it wheeled around and trotted away, then turned about to face him once more. It seemed the creature had a one track mind, and that track was "let's kill Corvo."

Fortunately- or rather, unfortunately for the boar- its chosen prey had similar instincts. He slumped over after the initial carnage, allowing his body to relax rather than tense up. His joints loosened and everything moved fluidly. With several sickening cracks, the assassin finally rose to his full height, and he bounced on the balls of his feet.

There was amusement lit up in his eyes, and malice evident in his grin. "Round three," he cackled hellishly. "Bring it ON. I WANT SOME BACON!"

Corvo: 18/20 HP // 0/2 E

Boar: 4/10 HP

ID#87609 Battle: 8 Craft: 2 Loot: 5 MOB: 4

Edited August 7, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

But it looked like the menu was blank, for now. The boar evaded his reckless attempt to eviscerate it in a single go, and Corvo kicked at dirt as his gambit failed. Fortunately, in the process of getting out of the way, the boar gave up its own opportunity to deal any damage.

The assassin lurched forward as he turned about, and his body swayed with the motion. Everything about it felt real, and it made him want to let go of rational thought and give himself over to the fight. That was something he would do only if he became comfortable.

He wanted that, so desperately. It was the only thing about this world that he could actually relate to. "Skin and bones get traded in for pixels, and suddenly nothing is sacred," he spat. The ground was sullied, no different than if he had spit in the real world.

"Give me something interesting to do, piggy," Corvo drawled, "and I'll get this over with quick like."

Corvo: 18/20 HP // 0/2 E

Boar: 4/10 HP

ID# 87627 Battle: 2 Craft: 2 Loot: 12 MOB: 5

Edited August 9, 2017 by Corvo

[Corvo 0]

It rushed at him again, and he batted the tusk away with a slap of his dagger. The blade ricocheted off, and the beast brought its head back around. Corvo let out a grunt from the impact and braced for a pain that never came.

His eyes narrowed in disappointment. "Make it feel real, at least," he seethed between gritted teeth. Corvo gripped his dagger tighter and shook his head out to dispel the ennui.

The assassin fell back on one foot as the creature swiped again and escaped a second strike, narrowly. Corvo let out a snort. "What, you thought I was gonna lie down for you?"

He threw up a single finger for the creature to observe. It remained oblivious to his taunting. Still, Corvo found satisfaction in the gesture.

Boar: 4/10 HP

Corvo: 16/20 HP // 0/2 E

ID# 87708 Battle 2 Craft: 11 Loot: 2 MOB: 8

Edited August 10, 2017 by Corvo