[PP-F10] Regrets Are In The End, Resolves At The Start [Ariel and Baldur]

[Crozeph 0]

[The following events happened after Crozeph finished the quest <The First Lesson is Free>]

 

The place was always damp and cold, a difference so great that only one person can even not notice, Crozeph. He sat fifteen feet away from the Stygian River, his katana resting on his shoulder and watches as two players tried to fight off some kind of armored swordsman. The fight was far from amusing and Crozeph watched as one of the players stumble down and tried to get back up quickly. After a few minutes of one hell of a boring fight, the two players scrammed like demented patients away from the undead swordsman who emerged on the river "remind me to never take a bath in river..." Crozeph looked at the enemy from afar "...don't wanna end up like that swordsman's cabagge rotten face" he uttered with a little disgust. Crozeph has been sitting there for almost two hours. His coat was unbuttoned but the hood still covered his head. He was not in the mood to help or fight but he was more than edgy once someone tried to provoke him.

A few days ago after finishing a quest on floor one, Crozeph has been gathering information and eavesdropping on other players as they talked about the current status of Aincrad. Some were already living the virtual life while others are still trying to get to the top floor and finish this farce that they've gotten into...Crozeph included. As he listened to the tales told of how some floors have been opened successfully by other players, Crozeph couldn't help but feel the excitement of trying to join the frontlines. He could still remember when He was able to help a little on opening floor eleven with Mari, Shark, and Rebekah. That was one historical moment for him and all that was when he is part of a guild, Square One. It didn't take long until someone mentioned the name Azide who joined the frontlines and fought a boss enemy named Rohk. Crzeph nodded in approval of what he heard "yeah that's the Azide I know" he told himself. The person was someone whom Crozeph respected even though Azide was on the lower level players when they met "his atom slicer sword and respectable attitude, no surprise he would be there" he thought. Oikawa was there too and lots of strong players, Crozeph could imagine how great the battle was. The story went on and the next thing that Crozeph heard was the AoE attack of the boss killed someone, his friend. Crozeph was frozen for a moment and tried to pull himself together before he could lose his calm and reserved nature. He then walked out of the place and returned to floor ten in his shop.

Crozeph watched as the undead swordsman swung its sword as if showing its sword skills or demonstrating something "I wonder what could've happened if I was there?" he asked. The boss battle seem to involve lots of players but still there were casualties. The undead swordsman then turned its head towards Crozeph "I'm not in the mood" he uttered even though the enemy is 12 feet away from him. The swordsman continued to approach him but Crozeph sat still, his eyes examining the the swordsman. Azide was respected well by Crozeph and knew that the guy would be someone significant for the frontlines. Well he was and died with that significance, Crozeph couldn't help it. Back then the two of them could've face Yamata No Orochi and Azide missed the chance but Crozeph lived. Azide on the other hand was able to join to fight Rohk and Crozeph missed the chance "why didn't we get the same outcome?" Crozeph thought. Azide could've lived, if he was there to support him. "Tom died and now Azide..." Crozeph stood up, the swordsman closing in a few feet away to his position "...such tragedy happened again" the swordsman raised its sword to attack Crozeph but he glared at the undead swordsman "I said..." Crozeph drew his katana so fast "...I'm not in the mood" a stream of red light followed by a white one met the swordsman as it lowered its sword to sink it at Crozeph's head. Crozeph however was one who values precision in his attacks, the strength of Crozeph's attack was strong that it went right through the face of the swordsman sending it back a few feet. Crozeph sheathe his katana as he uttered a skill he used "Sword Art : Tsuji Kaze" he calmly said.

 

battle status

[ID: 87727]

BD: 9 || MD: 4

Crozeph 

HP: 280/280 || energy: 24/28

(9 damage + 1 critical) x (1 x 4 sword art)= 40 damage

Undead Swordsman

HP: 60/100

attack missed

Edited August 11, 2017 by Crozeph
correction on damage dealt

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The 10th floor, it hasn't been long since she spent time in this dark hole of a place. While the darkness was putting people off, making it a very avoided floor due to its accuracy penalty to players without the Night Vision mob, this particular blonde would still come to visit even without having yet the mod. This place was her favorite after the 4th floor simply for the memories she had training alone here when it was the front line at the time. Now they were knocking at the boss' door on floor 21 and she should be there as well, giving a helping hand or at least gathering the fabled tier 3 material that became available for harvest once that floor unlocked. 

Yet she did none of that, instead she brought up the bottle of «Firefly Essence» she had used as a small and portable illumination source when being on this floor. It didn't negate the accuracy loss but at least she wouldn't run face to face with mobs without wanting to. A small radius around her would shine like a beacon in the perpetual darkness that was this floor. By the blonde's side a white furball was walking along and keeping tabs on their surroundings. This was possibly the the floor in which the pair spend the most time fighting so it they were well prepared for whatever would cross their ways.

[Baldur 0]

"Arigatou." Baldur said with a bow as he completed a transaction with a player he didn't know. More supplies for his shop. He didn't come often to this floor if he could help it, but there were some popular quests for players that were trying to reach the frontlines, and so Baldur found himself coming to one of his least favorite floors. With a casual sigh, Baldur gestured to close his windows and then brought up his friends list as was his habit when he wanted to see where his friends were. Some remained hidden, and some would let him see what floor they were on.

A casual glance saw an old friend was suddenly active, and on this very floor. He couldn't see where Crozeph was on the floor, but given his friend's inactivity of late, he knew where he was likely to be. There were only a handful of leveling fields on this floor that you would go to without a team, so Baldur started off in that direction as he left the safety of the town. It was at that point he also saw Ariel was active on the floor, though given her level, she could be anywhere... though likely she was in the town as well.

It had been a long time since they two of them had caught up, and since they had a chance to really level with one another... longer still since they had been in a party with Crozeph. It was a fated party. So many bonds had been forged in that one, simple run. He missed those days...

Hitting a button, Baldur sent a party request to both Crozeph and to Ariel at the same time. No words exchanged since he hated trying to type on the keyboard while he ran towards the crossroads, but the party would let him find them on his map.

[Crozeph 0]

The undead swordsman stood up, maybe shocked at what just hit it. Crozeph stood still, trying to sort things out of what he heard. He haven't heard news about the frontlines and he doesn't know if he would join, it all seemed...empty. The swordsman shook it's head violently and eyed Crozeph again, thinking that this time it will not miss or fail. Crozeph knew things wouldn't be so good for him if he kept on spacing out with the enemy before him "what to do?" he asked himself. THe raven-haired boy could only think of opening his shop for players again. It was the only help he could do for now. He had no col or materials to start making weapons or equipment again plus he couldn't help himself on some quests. The swordsman on the other hand is walking towards the player, ready to strike swiftly if needed. It raised its sword and began running towards Crozeph, killing intent can be clearly felt. As Crozeph stood still and his eyes looking aimlessly at the swordsman, a party request popped out in front of him and from it was? it was from someone Crozeph really knew. "Baldur, that's weird" he thought "Baldur's the type who doesn't enjoy the gloominess of some floors, why would he be here?" Crozeph raised his hand and pushed the accept button, maybe the guy will find him somewhere if he was to join his Baldur's party. The swordsman closed in, raised its sword and swung down on Crozeph who then quickly unstrapped his katana after pressing the accept button and used his weapon to block the sword.

It was  blunder of an attack, Crozeph was not the kind of player who would block attacks, he couldn't mitigate damage. The sword sunk into his right shoulder and made him wince "let the blade sink into the flesh, shields are for those who wants to feel strong!" Crozeph knew that he wouldn't be able to retaliate and resorted to gaining some distance from the mob. With a burst of strength, Crozeph raised his katana pulling the swordsman's sword away from his shoulder and kicked it. The swordsman wasn't pushed back by the kick but Crozeph rolled away "now come find me old friend, I just have to deal with this one." 

 

battle result:

[ID:87855]

BD: 5 || MD: 6

Crozeph

HP: 262/280 || Energy: 24/28

Undead Swordsman

HP: 60/100

30 dmg - 12 mit = 18 dmg

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

While heading towards her destination, the blonde normally found herself musing over random thoughts as there was nothing much else to do. On other floors she would busy herself with gazing at scenery, activity that proved fruitless on this floor without the night vision mod. So she would begin to reminisce on past deeds while trying to avoid combat as much as possible.

During one of her reveries, a almost silent alert note caught the attention of not the blonde ex-fencer but her familiar. The similarity to the entrance bell they had at their tailor shop immediately made the lioness look around as to check out the newcomer that would usually step through the front entrance.

But now, they were out in the wild, walking in a vast open space. Initially confused, Kimba looked at her companion who seemed to be walkingg on auto-pilot. She then let out a roar that snapped the blonde out of her daydream.

"What?" Came a automatic dissatisfied response from the blonde that afterwards noticed the party invite she received. A small smile surfaced as she hit the accept button without hesitation. "That's unusual." She muttered before another healthbar was added to the party. "Oh!" Came as a involuntary interjection when she read the name of the 3rd party member.

"Change of plans! We're going to see some old friends." She said with a genuine smile on her face while her feline familiar simply tilted her head to the side and unreluctantly followed the blonde on the new course.

[Baldur 0]

Once Crow had accepted his party request, Baldur swipped down on the air to cause his menu to appear. He quickly opened up the map. This was one of the few floors he didn't have fully explored... well... he didn't have several anywhere close to explore because he hated their emo nature. The floor designers must have been going through an awkward puberty period when making that set of floors. However, he saw the light of Crow show up on his map at his approximate location, and a moment later he saw Ariel's appear as well. Crow appeared to be in combat out in one of the fields, and Ariel appeared to be site-seeing somewhere Baldur hadn't gone before.

Turning slightly, Baldur aligned himself with Crow's position and then took off at a slow jog. His old friend was not too much further along than he already was, but lay at one of the edges of the field to where the mobs could get a little more difficult. Slowly rising one of the hills, Baldur saw the familiar green crystal floating above the figure of a less familiar, but still recognizable friend.

"Crow!" Baldur called out and gave a large over head wave with his arms as he ran down the hill towards his friend who seemed to be fighting an <<undead swordsman>> near the river. As the brown haired Samurai rushed to close this distance, his blue and white haori fluttered behind him, causing the white flames at the base to almost seem alive. His orange and red light armor reflected what little light there was as he closed the distance to his friend. His left hand gripped the two blades at his side. <<Fudoshin>> and <<Raijinken>> rattled in the obi that Ariel had made for him.

"On my way, but I won't kill still unless you want my help."

[Crozeph 0]

The undead swordsman was satisfied by the clash, the player is wounded but not enough to kill him. Crozeph dusted off his coat and stood up. He successfully rolled away from the undead swordsman and tried to pull his mind to attacking, with a new approach. As he tried to conjure up some tactic and deal with the mob smoothly, a familiar voice was heard from afar. Crozeph knew where the voice belonged to and only a few people address him by the name which he gained as players saw his coat. "looks like Baldur is here, that was fast" Crozeph uttered as Baldur called him Crow. The undead swordsman's head twisted and raised its sword, it was not happy to see the player have another one. With a frustrated look on its face, the swordsman dashed towards Crozeph, faster than before. Crozeph was someone who won't this arrogance pass "hey Baldur, this river is quite dangerous so I'll advice keeping an eye out on the river..." he placed his left hand on the hilt of his katana "...fishes are not the only ones living in there" he told his friend before dashing towards the swordsman.

Two swords met rapidly, the other one used strength to damage the player while the raven-haired boy used precision and aimed right where it hurts. The two flinched and was thrown away from each others as Crozeph slashed from it's shoulder up to its face but also feeling the pain of getting stabbed at the right shoulder. The undead swordsman writhed in pain as it rolled towards the river while Crozeph tried to get to his knees. Baldur will come to help and it seems the help he thought will be needed right now.

The river waters began to move and it was followed by a growl "Baldur..." Crozeph brushed his hair up and tried to contain the excitement of fighting another mob "...do we all need help? I'm guessing I am but it's up to you to do it" Crozeph eyed the new mob that emerged out of the water. A towering minotaur with a torn away flesh on the cheek appeared and roared. With two players against an undead warrior and nine feet creature Crozeph chuckled and waved at Baldur "fair numbers, but is the fight fair?" he asked.

 

Battle Results

BD: 8 || MD: 8

Crozeph 

HP: 244/280 || Energy 24/28

9 damage

Undead swordsman

HP: 51/10

30 damage - 12 mitigation = 18 damage

New Enemy appeared!

Rotting Minotaur

250/250

45 damage || no mitigation

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Gradually quickening her pace as she got more and more excited, the blonde found herself dashing forward as she was peeking at the party markers set on Baldur and Crozeph. Her loyal familiar jogging behind her, a bit displeased with not knowing their destination. Kimba tried to run in front of the blonde but after a few turns that didn't go in her favor she decided to stay behind the blonde: "It looks that the two of them are together now!" said the blonde as a small update as the two drew closer. She was running unarmed, only a small fluorescent bottle in her hand to act as a glow stick so she would evade a face to face encounter with any undead. 

Figures were starting to form in the dim lit obscurity in front of her. The fact that her counting wouldn't stop after two was a sign that the rest of her party members weren't alone. So she instinctively waved her free hand through the ir by her side, graciously maneuvering the inventory setting and in mere moments materializing her obsidian colored assault spear. She grabbed it in a tight one handed grip, merely considering the possibility of combat spurring a physical reaction from the blonde, as her body tensed and her running got less reckless. 

She saw that Crozeph was already engaged in combat while Baldur seemed to observe him. A quick check of the party health bars put her mind at ease but the presence of a large minotaur made the blonde change her direction right towards at it. She made a couple of waves with the fluorescent bottle, to make her presence known to them, before tossing it to the side. As if reading the blonde's mind Kimba jumped from behind her and caught the item between her fangs without breaking it. While the blonde went to do her thing, Kimba headed towards Baldur and started waving her tail as she was happy to see the ronin again. Appearing more like a white dog that wanted to play catch with the bottle in her jaws.

Meanwhile, Ariel charged and released a top tier sword art against the larger enemy. The ferocity of her attack made posible the polygonal explosion at the end of the last system guided thrust after a blazing succession of six stabs aimed at its joints. "Ugh... maybe I went a little overboard." Audibly muttered the blonde before turning towards the other combatant: "Oi Karasu, need some help with that?" she asked with a grin on her face.

---

ID# 88054  BD: 8 (5+4, Keen proc.)  MD: 6
Sword art: (16) Imperial Southern Cross - 7x2*(18+5+1)= 336 DMG

Crozeph: 244/ 280 | 24/ 28 | 12 Mit
Ariel: 1,315/ 1,315 | 114/ 130 | 93 Mit

Undead Swordsman: 51/ 100 | 0 Mit | 30 DMG
Rotting Minotaur: 0/ 250 | 0 Mit | 45 DMG

Spoiler

Stats:

• 1,315 HP (1300 +15)
• 130 Energy (65 x2)
• 93 Mitigation (30 +63)
• +4 Accuracy
• +1 Evasion
• +1 Keen (After a successful attack, gain +(1 per slot) Accuracy until your next successful attack, at which point this bonus is removed. Another successful attack will reactivate this enhancement.)
• 18 Base Damage (3[base] +1[athletics] +5[weapon skill] +9[familiar])
• +8 Fallen Damage (Successful attack rolls of 6-8 (before modifiers) gain (2 per slot * Tier) fallen damage to your total base damage.)
• +24 HP Holy Blessing (After taking damage, heal [8 per slot * Tier] HP at the beginning of your next turn. Damage over time effects (Bleed, Poison) will not trigger Holy Blessing. Can only trigger once per round.)

Items:

» «Darkened Blade» [T2, Perfect 2HAS]: +2 Fallen Damage, +1 Accuracy
  A 3 meter long (~10 feet) spear that is entirely died in obsidian black. Below the spearhead, a banner hangs freely. Its background is colored in a dark blue with a white lion's head wearing a crown, in the middle. 
» «Leonidas' Strength» [T3, Demonic Light Armor]: +1 Life Mending, +1 Holy Blessing, +2 Damage Mitigation+
  A blood red cape with a black inverted V design in the middle of the back, if worn as light armor; one of the trademark items worn by the Spartans that fought until the last man.
» «Keen Eye» [T1, Lucky Charm]: +2 Accuracy, +1 Keen
  A obsidian ring with thin parallel silver linings, that is said to increase one's eyesight.

Buffs:

• N/A

Battle Ready:

» 2x Rare T2 Healing (+160 HP Recovery) [Crystal]
» «Holy Sovereign Orb of Antioch» (+4 Prosperity, Bloodclot) [T1, Demonic Trinket]
A golden orb around held by a chain to be worn, said to have protected heroes from the rabbit. An inscription on it says 'Count to Three, no less'.
» 4x Uncommon T2 Healing (+80 HP Recovery) [Crystal]
» Basic Teleport [Crystal]
» 1x Safeguard [Potion] [Inventory limit reached, item not available]
» Guardian Cloak (+3 LD)
» *Banner of Support (+80 HP heal for all (up to 6) party members, 2/4 charges remaining)

Skills:

 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur watched Crow with a slight curve of a smile on his face. He had forgotten the man also chose the katana as his weapon of choice. He watched hid old dark haired friend fight the zombie creature when another slowly began to disturb the waters of the dead river. At first, all Baldur could see was the horns of the minotaur, but the giant form slowly rose out of the water at a smooth, steady pace that immediately read as unnatural. Only the dead had a gait like that.

Reaching down to place his hand on his katana <<Raijinken>> Baldur was about to engage the minotaur as he waited for it to come closer onto dry land, backing up at the edge of what should be it's aggro radius in order to draw it away from Crozeph. As he was luring it back, he suddenly heard something running up at them from behind him. Turning slightly, he watched the shadow clad Ariel leap over and pummel the minotaur with extreme prejudice. By the time her whirling spear came to a finish, there was nothing left of the undead but a shower of rainbow colored polygons floating in the air.

"Nice hit, Ariel." Baldur said with a smile, only slightly disappointed he didn't get to draw his sword and finish the creature himself. "I'm glad you understood my message."

While Baldur hadn't sent her a message of words, he had hoped that when she saw the invite and who else was in the party, that she would come and join them.

He turned to face his old friend, "How have you been, Crozeph? It has been a while since I last saw you."

[Crozeph 0]

The undead swordsman seemed delighted that a minotaur came out of the river to join it on crushing the two players. Crozeph just stood still as he saw the minotaur close in slowly on them "yeah, that seemed like programmed" the undead swordsman rushed towards Crozeph, moving ahead of the minotaur. The swordsman then unleashed continuous strike on the raven-haired boy who dodge some but to Crozeph's dismay, his speed is not enough. With a quick and fluid movement of the sword, Crozeh was wounded on the left shoulder and his right side. He moved back and began pulling himself together from what just happened. The minotaur closed in on them and he knew that Baldur will draw his sword anytime soon. He was surprised to see the changes from him. The clothes, weapon, it seemed Crozeph was left behind in terms of battle prowess after he left everything behind for a while. 

His thoughts ran back to Azide, someone he just left behind but he snapped back quickly. The two still had the minotaur to deal with and the swordsman's annoying existence. Crozeph raised his sword and was about to rush in, trusting that Baldur will be there to help. Crozeph charged at the swordsman but to his dismay, a blunder of an attack was made. Crozeph tried to make one precise slash on the throat of the swordsman but failed. Now he began to move and gain distance away from the swordsman, adjacent to Baldur. As if a joke from the programmers has appeared, the minotaur whom Crozeph is keeping an eye with began to shatter in a snap. Crozeph looked at his sword and heard Baldur ask if he was fine "y-yeah I'm fine as always, just a little hazy with all the new faces I'm seeing and you're new strength..." Crozeph then shifted his eyes from his katana to Baldur "...no one used skill yet right? I mean that behemoth just shatt..." Crozeph then heard another voice, his attention to combat and thoughts of his ex-guild leader has dimmed his alertness of other players. Crozeph knew that a decent amount of people calls him Crow, because of his get-up and crow like tendencies to be mysterious but Crozeph knew very well that a few people call him "Karasu." Crozeph turned his head and saw Ariel, her spear giving off a "I-did-the-hard-part" vibe. "Well I'll be damned, that was child's play for you huh? I hope there's loot to spare for a crow as poor as me" he told her. Now there's three of them and one undead swordsman to deal with "yeah a little help on this annoying abomination" he told Ariel before turning his head to Baldur "a crow, a samurai guy, and a lioness harnessing wicked spear-wielding skills" Crozeph smiled "what could possibly go wrong? of course a lot" he told them both and turned his eyes on the swordsman "dead meat" he uttered.

 

Battle Result

[ID:88148]

Crozeph

HP: 226/280 || Energy: 24/28

attack failed

Undead Swordsman

HP: 51/100

30 - 12 mit = 18 damage

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde didn't think twice and as soon as the crow gave her the OK, she charged at the new designated target and launched a sword art she usually didn't use. But how the decaying swordsman had about half hp and the earlier minotaur was a overkill... she decided to use something from a lower tier. It was simple enough that the system assistance boosted her movements as soon as she initiated a roundhouse kick with her left leg then with inhuman speed did another one with her left. It wouldn't end there as she would next performs two consecutive sweeps with her spear, leaving a large X mark on the soldier's chest. But as this was a 5 combo sword art, it wasn't over for the soldier yet. Her hands would thrust the large spear forwards and pierce through the center of the early mark, impaling it through what was left of its chest and exiting through the other side. It was only at that moment that the soldier burst into pixels.

Letting out a deep breath, the blonde looked around for signs of any other hostiles. Having none in their immediate vicinity, she lowered her weapon and turned towards the other two group members. Looking at Baldur, she let out a small 'Thanks' before saying: "It was pretty straightforward and I didn't really have anything else to do. At least, nothing important." she couldn't accurately recall the last time she saw him, even longer in crow's case.

She then turned towards Crozeph with a smile: "You've been out of the game for too long, you need to be able to at least do that if you want to be the... a damage dealer on the frontlines." she was about to say, 'the best' but hesitated. 'When did she started to brag in front of friends?' she wondered with a somehow troubled expression before shaking her head. "And as for loot, sorry to say I'm a bit over level, at least for those two. But if you wanna go on a money and gathering rush someday, send me a PM. It's been too long since I did one myself."

---

ID# 88154  BD: 8 (5+4+1)
Sword art: (5) Revolve Arts – 5x1*(18+5+1)= 120 DMG

Crozeph: 226/ 280 | 23/ 28 | 12 Mit
Ariel: 1,315/ 1,315 | 110/ 130 | 93 Mit

Undead Swordsman: 0/ 100 | 0 Mit | 30 DMG
Rotting Minotaur: 0/ 250 | 0 Mit | 45 DMG