[PP - F7] Going to Temple

[Lessa 1]

"Bah," the blonde scoffed, automatically rubbing at her wrist where his hand had been. "Look at me. I'm a tank, armored up enough I'd probably hurt the ground more than it would hurt me." Then she scrunched up her face, swiped at some sweat that beaded on her forehead, and added, "or just go slipping on down the mountain. I'm definitely sweaty enough for it." This sun really sucks, she nearly added, before catching herself. Complaining when she was anxious was a terrible habit, and despite her victory, adrenaline still coursed through her veins. But it was something she needed to work on. What good came of complaining about things she could not change? The losses of her friends. The fact she was trapped in a video game. The damn weather. No, there was no use wasting precious breath carping on such matters.

When Genji looked to the heavens, she followed suit. "Yeah," she agreed, "I have no idea what it is either. Must be massive though. Some kind of bird, maybe? Or a dragon?" Then her face, still flushed with heat and exertion, stretched in a grin. "See? I totally said there was going to be a dragon earlier." The tension, the nerves, were beginning to die away as she slid her own sword home. "I say we keep moving," Lessa told him. "We did a pretty solid job on this guy, I think. So as long as the next thing we see isn't like ten times stronger, we'll be fine."

"Besides," she continued, slowly beginning to pick her way around the ruined path, "I want to find that dragon."

[Genji 0]

"You keep talking about dragons," Genji thrust a finger in her direction in warning, "but what happens when we actually run into something like that? I barely did anything to a goblin on wolfback, I'm not too keen on facing down firebreathers just yet."

Genji took a step past Lessa to glance over and assess the damage done by the obscure impact. "I wonder what could have caused this, though," he said on a more serious note. "If it were a dragon, no doubt we would have seen more traces. This was agile, and stealthy."

He crouched to get a better look, and noticed indentation marks that were reminiscent of claws. "It looks like it tore out a good chunk. We're lucky we weren't in the way when it struck." The young swordsman ran his fingers over the soil and shook his head. "Real lucky," he muttered under his breath. 

"Alright, then. Let's press on before it decides we look tasty and flies down for another bite."

He let out a sigh and headed further up the path, still replaying all of the movements in his head. Lessa truly was far and away ahead of him as a player. "Who taught you to fight?" he asked suddenly. "You do it so naturally, it's almost like you've been doing it your whole life."

ID# 89599 Battle: 8 Craft 2 Loot: 5 MOB: 1

Nothing found

Edited October 20, 2017 by Genji

[Lessa 1]

Silence fell as Lessa mulled over his question. She let her gaze wander skyward, lips making soft kissing noises while she thought. Finally, "I'd capture it. Gain its trust. Train it. Make it my mount." When she turned to look at him, a goofy grin plastered across her face, she added, "I mean, why the hell not? We're bound to find mounts at some point. I think mine should be a freaking dragon."

The pair carefully navigated their way around the wrecked path, sticking close until they were again on solid footing. Once they were further along, Lessa let a bit more distance come between them, and answered his question. "I wasn't a fighter before SAO," she admitted truthfully. "Literally, or figuratively. I mean, I was competitive and stuff, but I've changed a lot since then. I'd do stuff now that I never would have before." Realizing she was veering off course, she gave a small wave of her hand. "But actual fighting, no. I was in decent shape when I joined up, from riding horses, and track and field a few years ago in high school. So that probably helped. But I'd never really held a sword until Aincrad."

At the mention of her prized weapon, she let her hand drift to it's rose-bud hilt. "I practiced a lot. Trial and error, mostly. Learned alongside some friends, who were also around my level. I know the people who joined with experience in martial arts and swordplay had an edge, but I managed to close the gap after a while."

[Genji 0]

"Really?" he asked, a poignant expression on his face. "Sorry I asked." He could scarce tell at times if Lessa said things simply to make fun of them, or if the hair brained scheme was actually feasible somewhere in that mind of hers. "If we get mounts, though," he added with a more easygoing look melting through the snowy visage, "I don't think I'd mind a large Eagle, like in the Lord of the Rings."

They rounded a rock face that sloped more steeply for a moment and Genji kept close to the wall, uncertain of his footing. After he sidled against the mountain for a few steps, the path widened and he resumed a straight walk along the path. "Ah," he sounded a bit surprised, but not overly so. "I would have taken you for a student of the art. You've taken to it with wild success. Or perhaps that's how the system works- I'm not too knowledgeable on the ins and outs of Cardinal, and I'm frankly too afraid to chase the notion down."

He gave a dry laugh to diffuse the tension that talking about Cardinal generally arose. Lessa seemed comfortable enough. It was probably just him. "Any friends specifically?" he asked. "Did you log in with anyone, or meet people along the way?"

He had been alone, until he met Lessa and her friends.

It was hard to get used to that life.

[Lessa 1]

"Those stupid eagles," Lessa replied tartly, shaking her blonde head. "Do you have any idea how much easier life would have been for Frodo and Sam if those eagles had just flown them there in the first place?" Before Genji could say anything, she held up her hand, and added, "I'm sure there's some very compelling and complex reason that any true Tolkien fan should know. And it wouldn't make for a very good movie otherwise. But man, for a basic movie fan like me, it was pretty annoying."

On the matter of mounts, Lessa felt that there was more that needed saying, considering it was a topic she felt strongly about. "Truthfully, though, I just want a horse. Seriously. Like I miss my family, and my house, and all those other things. But I haven't ridden a horse in years, and that's killing me." Her fingers itched to hold a pair of reins again, and because the feeling was nearly palpable, she balled her hands into fists at her sides. “Horses were my stress reliever. More expensive than a membership to a yoga studio, and a lot more work, but I can't stop thinking about how much I want to ride again." She glanced at him with a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Maybe somewhere on the next few floors."

When he asked her about her friends, the smile faded completely. "There were a few of them," she answered. "I met them all afterward, as I didn't make the jump with anyone. Alkor was the first player I met here, and we did the grind together for the first fifteen levels or so. Kiluia and I worked together for a while too. He was more experienced than I was, so he showed me the ropes. I tried running my own guild, and that's how I met Ariel, who I still talk with from time to time. I ran with a guy named Daeron for a bit. Later, I met Jomei, Baldur, Icarus, and a few others." Though the smile did not return, she spoke with surprising clarity and control when she added, "Some of them are still around, and some of them aren't."

Edited October 21, 2017 by Lessa

[Genji 0]

"I never understand how people think that," Kotarou laughed, "sure, it seemed easy for them to fly right in after the Ring was vanquished in Mount Doom, but prior to that, Sauron's power still held absolute sway within the confines of his domain. If they had tried to fly in while the Ring still existed, they would have been assailed by hellish storms and freaks of creatures conjured for the sole purpose of their destruction." This was the part where people's jaws slacked and their stared at Genji screaming "neeeeeeeerd!" Who else but the silver haired freak would read the Silmarillion more than once? For fun?

"But! Um, yeah, a horse wouldn't be too bad, I guess?" he tried to smooth over into her secondary topic of conversation quickly and easily, to the point that he hoped she might even forget about the tangent about Hobbits and Wizards. Their focus was on Aincrad, after all, not Middle Earth.

"I honestly never considered mounts a possibility, but this game is the first MMO- just the first virtual reality one." He looked excited. "That means the programming for something like a horse wouldn't be all that hard at all!"

She transitioned after a moment of back and forth to his question, and Genji sensed something somber about her mood. Talking about the past must have been hard for her. "It sounds like you've had a good deal of friends here," he told her with a soft smile after she paused. "I'm actually terrible with people, so I kind of envy that about you."

His eyes closed, and he knew of only thing one thing appropriate to say Lessa. "I'm sorry for your losses," he said. Genji offered her a deep bow.

Edited October 22, 2017 by Genji

[Lessa 1]

"See? SEE?" Lessa jabbed her pointer finger toward Genji, blue eyes flashing as her face transformed from placid to smug. She could always be counted on to set the perfect trap, and Genji was as dependable as the sunrise when it came to walking right into them. "You're just proving my point, Mister Lord of the Rings expert." She clicked her tongue, shook her head, and added, "I'm willing to bet you even read the books." Then, devilishly, "I bet you even read them more than once."

The exchange had removed much of the heaviness from her, plucking the weight from her chest before it had ample time to settle. Good, the woman thought to herself. She could always depend on Genji for that too. She paused while he bowed, and despite her feelings on the matter, inclined her head in thanks. "I appreciate the sentiment, Genji," she told him, and meant it. "But I've had a lot of time to miss them. They were good people, and didn't deserve what happened to them. At the same time, none of us deserve this, and it doesn't do well to keep dwelling on it too much." Lessa gazed out across the landscape, and for a while, said nothing. She was content to watch the long-winged hawk glide lazy figure-eights across the blue, cloudless sky. Finally, she said, "They wouldn't want us moping about it either, most likely. Just makes us miserable, and there's enough out there to do that for us."

"So," she concluded, "that's how I've started living life. I still miss them, like hell, every single day. But only for a minute or two, when I first wake up. Then I put on my big girl pants and keep fighting the good fight." When she turned back to him, there was no trace of the aforementioned sadness - only the light, easy expression Lessa wore most every day now. "It's probably those big girl pants that help me make friends. I could loan them to you, if you want. I'll warn you, they're leggings, but I bet you could make that look good."

Edited October 22, 2017 by Lessa

[Genji 0]

"Oh, no," he laughed and held up his hand, index finger and thumb spaced narrowly apart. "You know what they say about Asian men. Big expectations, small delivery. I'm sure those pants suit you far better than I, Miss Lessa."

Kotarou appreciated her desire to keep the mood light, and decided to deviate to one of the few social contingencies he actually had- telling inappropriate jokes at appropriate intervals.

In Aincrad, he had never lost anyone to death. It was not the same as the real life equivalent, though the two were certainly entwined. Some people in the world, you never got the chance to meet, or to bond with. Death was an everyday part of life, and it became easier to disassociate.

Sword Art Online gave people no room for such morally gray grief. You knew the other people trapped inside, even if not formally. You shared the same fate, and just hearing that Aincrad took them wrenched your heart and made you wonder, "am I next?"

No day went by that people felt safe, even in the so-called "safe zones."

They just learned to pretend to smile, and keep going.

Lessa's charm was that she had learned to take that reviled sentiment and turn it into hope. She stood as a beacon of light for those around her and showed the way, even for those far more lost than others. Genji could appreciate that.

"It looks like we're coming up on a breach in the rock face," he commented and pointed ahead. "Might be a cave. We should definitely look into it."

They were only part of the way up the mountain, still, and there was much further to go. That didn't mean the behemoth had no secrets to yield to them. It just meant they had more to explore.

"Keep on the lookout for large birds," he added.

 

 

[Lessa 1]

Lessa snorted, as unladylike a sound as she had ever made before. Then she scrunched her face, lips pursing as if she had sucked on a lemon. "Damn it, Genji," she drawled. "If you don't stop putting visuals of your 'delivery' in my head, I may just go tumbling over this ledge after all. And not by accident!" Then her face loosened into a grin, teeth flashing in the bright sunlight. It was a gesture meant to express that she had no real qualms with thinking such things - he was a good enough looking guy - but she was not his friend if she did not give him a hard time about it. So she nodded, giving her hips a small shake, and adding, "these big girl pants really do make my butt look great."

She was still smiling when her companion noted the change in scenery. "Sure," she answered, moving up alongside him. "Looking out for large birds. And large lizards."

Then she moved in front of Genji, a simple action that spoke volumes when one paused to consider it. On the surface, it made sense, considering she was the higher level, and the player holding the tank role. But Lessa had made a habit of stepping between players and threats, both literally and figuratively. It brought her some comfort, knowing she would be the first to meet any dangers that lurked just out of reach, and worked to calm the incessant nagging that she might lose yet another friend. It had grown softer, locked away in some distant part of her, but it was always there. Most likely, it always would be.

"Oh good!" she called out, when beady eyes peered back at her. The black, furry creature scurried from the darkness, charging into the light at an alarming speed. "Hope you don't mind spiders!"

Color burst from Lessa as she activated <<Howl>>. At her side, Riker crouched, not at all perturbed by the fact the eight-legged creature matched him in size.

<<Howl>> activated.

Lessa: 700/700 HP //65/70 E (3 H)

Genji: 180/180 HP // 18/18 E

Big Freaking Spider: 450/450 HP

Edited October 22, 2017 by Lessa

[Genji 0]

"They're positively my favorite," he retorted sarcastically as the arachnid chased the blonde woman from its lair and into the open. She activated her hate skill like clockwork, almost like she had been in this situation hundreds of times before. Genji ripped the scimitar from his hip and crouched low, looking for any sign of an opening. "How did you know?"

It skittered along the bath and raked at her with large, furry mandables and  gripped as hard as it could manage with both forelegs. Still, Lessa was able to wrestle away from the most dangerous of bites.

The Spider was not so fortunate, for the moment it latched on to the blonde woman, the silver haired man lunged at its back and raked at it with a curved blade.

"I'm not going to be useless," he hissed loudly as his weapon bit deep into carapace and ruined tissue. It gave a horrendous wail and thrashed both of them away.

When he came to only moments later, Lessa was already facing down their new nemesis down once again.

Lessa: 700/700 HP //65/70 E (3 H)

Genji: 180/180 HP // 17/18 E (-1 E) (1 H)

BFS: 445/450 HP  (Genji deals 5 with his normal attack)

 

ID# 89777 Battle: 6 Craft 8 Loot: 6 MOB: 7

Genji Difficulty Augment: Spider will cause poison on a critical roll (9 or 10) for 2 posts (20 unmitigated poison damage per turn).

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Genji

[Lessa 1]

She heard his declaration, cutting through the scuff of boots on dirt, and heavy breathing of combat. Part of her longed to shout her own encouragement, but she found herself wondering if his words were meant for her at all. So instead she merely smiled, drew Hell Rose, and thundered toward the spider. She had played defense for the goblin, standing her ground until the stocky mob drew nearer. This time, fueled by adrenaline, her good mood, and the previous victory, Lessa leapt into combat without a second thought. Might as well use her most powerful sword art!

Unfortunately, such recklessness led to missteps and stupid mistakes. She misjudged the distance between herself and the spider, partially due to her eagerness, and partially due to its speed. The fuzzy creature seemed to gallop closer, all eight legs moving in a sort of tantalizing wave as it met her head on. No, she thought immediately, I won't be able to-

Then her chest warmed, a sharp stab of heat straight through her collar bone. Lessa let fly a sharp yelp of surprise, only realizing what was happening as her sword suddenly moved with a mind of its own. Where her normal swing would have missed, her body seemed to adjust its course, and her blade forged an entirely new arc. She left an impressive gash in the spider's side. "Damn accuracy mod," she muttered, the awe and relief in her tone impossible to miss. It was not often that she needed the help, but when she did, she was incredibly thankful.

Lessa: 700/700 HP // 53/70 E (-13, +1) (4 H) (Galaxy Destroyer activated)

Genji: 180/180 HP // 17/18 E (1 H)

BFS: 261/450 HP (443 - (14*13=182) = 261)

Spoiler

 

 ID# 89782 results: Battle: 3 Craft: 11 Loot: 18 MOB: 3

Lessa hits, with the help of +4 accuracy. Mob misses.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2017 by Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Thread Summary

Genji earns 2 SP.
Lessa earns 2 SP and 400 col.

Includes Christmas bonus.

Thread closed due to inactivity.