[PP-F24] Understanding Another [Scouting the 24th Floor]

[Hirru 0]

"Well, finding the labyrinth entrance should be easy.  Most of the floor is covered in water."

The hunter tried to break some kind of ice.  Hirru and the others came out of the unease that came from the last floor's incredibly stupid antics.  The hunter shook his head.  No, that was all his actions.  He didn't know what to do next, so he followed @Baldur, @Shield, and @Beat to the next floor.  It seemed Itzal, Hestia and Ruby went ahead of them, so the boys would need a scout, if they wanted to find the labyrinth in time.  That being said, the hunter had removed his armor and cloak.  He could not represent his guild in this condition.  In their place, he took his normal search trinket to boost his luck to 11, so that finding a labyrinth would be easier.

Through it all, the conversation was mostly moot.  The search would bring out more conversation, but if Hirru was to understand humanity once more, he would have to take the initiative.

"Where should we go?  I feel like my sense of direction doesn't mean much of anything anymore."

He smiled weakly.  His confidence was lost.  His knowledge betrayed even him now.  He didn't know what to believe, but he would believe the two in front of him.  

Team List:

Hirru / Baldur / Shield / Beat

Stats:

Spoiler

Hirru Lvl 56

1165 HP
112 Energy
2 Accuracy
1 Evasion
16 Base Damage (17 w/ Ferocity) [21 w/ Ferocity & Charge]
0 Mitigation
8 Luck (11 w/ Reveal & Detect)

Equipment

Loyalty of the Sworn Knight ........ // +9 Damage
Spirit of the Jade Dragon .......... // +2 Accuracy, +1 Evasion
Favor of the Golden Dragon ......... // +3 Luck Die
Blades Cloak ....................... // Vanity
Dimensional Backpack ............... // +1 B.R.I Slot

Battle Ready Inventory

<Teleportation Crystal> x2 ......... // Teleport to a town / out of a dungeon [Uses 2 posts: 1 for use, next to teleport]
<Natures Blessing> x3 .............. // Heal +45 hp
<Empty>
<Empty>
<Empty>
<Empty>

Skills

One Handed Straight Sword .......... // Rank 5: +5 DMG
Heavy Armor ........................ // Rank 3: +18 MIT
Search and Detect .................. // Rank 5: +5 LD | +5 Stealth Detect
Charge ............................. // Rank 4: +4 DMG on successful first strike
Martial Arts ....................... // Rank 2: +4 Unarmed
Concentration ...................... // +1 to your BD / 5 turn cooldown
Survival ........................... // Heal 45 HP when out of battle each post / Negate environmental damage

Skill Mods

Reveal ............................. // +2 to Laybrinth searches|3 post cooldown on Labyrinth rolls| 15 post roll on Sub-dungeons
Detect ............................. // +1 to Labyrinth searches|+2 Stealth Detect
Athletics .......................... // +1 Dmg / +45 HP
OHSS Ferocity ...................... // +1 Dmg to all OHSS Sword Arts
OHSS Finesse R3 .................... // -3 EN to all OHSS Sword Arts

 

Edited December 14, 2018 by Hirru

[Shield 0]

Shield nodded to Hirru. "I think Beat is going to catch up with us. I left some food items in his shop and he's going to cook up a meal for us," he said, giving a nod to Baldur and following after the Jade Hunter. "It might be simple to see, but navigating is going to be a nightmare," he sighed, looking out over the sea, dotted with its plethora of platforms and islands. "The real problem is going to be navigating from island to island. If we hit a dead end, we have no choice but to backtrack. It's going to be like the lava plains on the ninth floor. Narrow ribbons of land that part the hot patches of hot molten rock an force you to navigate like a rat in a maze."

He glanced out as far as he could in the opposite direction, trying to see if anything promising stood out to him on the horizon. At the moment, all he saw was islands and ocean and not much else. "Water based monsters are going to be rampant. I won't be surprised if we end up losing players who get dragged over the side by krakens and sea serpents." He strode around the platform where they stood, patrolling the perimeter. In the distance, he saw soaring shapes above the sea, sweeping in long, smooth arcs as they patrolled the skies. "Looks like airborne foes are going to be a prominent feature as well up here." 

Loot Die Stats:

Spoiler

Search and Detect: Rank 5

Seeking Aura: T1 Perfect Trinket - Loot Die 3

Current Total: +8

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Shield

[Baldur 0]

"It's okay Shield, once Beat gets here at least we'll have a spear fisherman." Baldur laughed, trying to lighten the mood that Shield had ramped up when talking about people getting dragged over the edge.

"Can anyone here not swim?"

The samurai looked around the floor. He had an excellent range of vision because of how little interruptions there were, but this was the first time he had ever taken the stairs between floors. And rather than ending up in the starting settlement, they ended up coming out of a door in the ground in some random spot on the floor. Someone would need to go and open up the teleport plaza to allow other players to enter, otherwise they would have to wait the couple hours before it turned on automatically.

"Well, we can see where the <<Towers of Heaven>> are pretty easily on this floor. So we should just pick one and start working in that direction. Like you said Shield, our biggest challenge is hitting dead ends on the bridges between islands and our destination. However, working in a consistent direction will help us keep from wandering in circles trying to get somewhere nebulous."

[Shield 0]

Shield nodded, taking one last sweep around the outer edge of the platform, passing slowly and keeping his eyes focused on the branching and joining paths. "I can swim, though I've never attempted to do so in full combat regalia.

"We have to make a choice as to whether we think we're on the same side or the wrong side of the floor. There are paths that will take us closer to the edge, or closer to the towers on the other side. No real reason to prefer any one tower over the others just yet, so..." he shaded his eyes and pointed along a path that led further into the floor but off-center. "This seems like the least likely path to lead us towards a dead end. At least from what I can tell." He turned back to the others to see if they had any other thoughts on the matter, or if perhaps they saw something that he did not just yet.

"Hirru, your eyes are sharper than mine, and in particular are more skilled in spotting clues towards labyrinths," he said, raising his eyebrows questioningly as he attempted to pick the Jade Hunter's brain on the matter. "If we can't make up our minds, we might need to just flip a Col and go with whatever decision it makes for us. Usually I just move towards landmarks, but that could easily get us cornered or lost here."

Edited December 14, 2018 by Shield

[Hirru 0]

"I don't know if I can swim or not?  Never really tried, to be honest.  Someone.."

He blanked out for a moment before going back into what he was saying.

"Someone told me I shouldn't, as there was something wrong with the 'water physics', or something along those lines."

Hirru didn't really understand that much, but something kept gnawing at him whenever small bits of knowledge like that popped up.  Every time some piece of lingo from the other word was said, he was starting to get this grating feeling in the back of his head.  It wasn't particularly painful, but annoying to say the least.  Especially since everyone used some sort of jargon in this world.

"My search skills, with conjunction with Favor of the Golden Dragon, can take my vision pretty far, but the detection range is only a few mel, or so.  I can detect to partly down some of these bridges, but that's it."

That being said, the sea creatures would be the most problematic.  They could all be just like the snake quest that kept hiding in the water, and one would need to find it before getting a chance to attack.  Luckily, Hirru had his own search mods to find anything under the surface, but the others..

[Shield 0]

"Then let's go ahead and head this way" he said, gesturing down the path he had indicated before. "We just need to wait for @Beat to join us. I know he can catch up, but we don't know the mob behaviors or spawning patterns of this floor yet. I'd prefer not to make him find his way on his own. That sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Besides, that the food item he was starting to craft when I ran out the door will be a big boon to us. Especially once he applies his kitchen bonus to it." It was costly, but from what he could figure, the buffs would be well worth the costs.

"I think we're going to have some ground to make up though," he said, squinting down the path he had selected. "I know that some other groups have a head start on us. Hirru, if at any point you start seeing signs of other people's passage, give us a heads up." He turned his eyes back to the path, facing away from the others, furrowing his brow. Hirru did not seem as confused as he had been before, but there was still something undefined that Shield could not quite put his finger on. It was a little disconcerting, and whatever it was, it may lend a clue to what had happened in the fight.

[Beat 0]

As if on queue, Beat came running up the path at top speed, excited to have the party try his latest confection and to finally get out of the house. His recent seclusion had not been traumatic as his first lengthy absence had been, but it had been mentally taxing. It would have been an understatement to say that he had needed to go adventuring with friends again for quite some time. 

"Heeeeey!!" He shouted as the familiar form of Baldur and Shield came into view. Horus flew on above, circling the gathering of players ahead of Beat.The third player was not immediately familiar at first, but as he drew nearer and slowed down, his cheerful expression was somewhat dampened as he recognized Hirru and, more specifically, how he had acted during the last floor boss fight. 

He had better not try to stand in front of my spear. If he does, I won't pull it back. 

Releasing a small sigh as his hand flew through the air, he quickly flipped through menus, summoning a small table before retrieving the feast he had prepared from his inventory, placing it down on the table in front of the party. The aroma and excitement of people enjoying his cooking brought him back to his cheery self and he beamed at them all as the smell of cheesy mozzarella melted into a buttery baker garlic bread filled the surrounding area. The loaf itself had been cut into cubes that tore away easily and made sharing the feast simple and entertaining. 

"Alright guys, dig in!" He exclaimed, breaking a bite-sized piece of the loaf away and watched as the buff immediately appeared on his HUD. 

- ID# 110430: Cheesy Garlic Party Loaf (+3 LD Perfect Feast)

 

Current LD: 

Spoiler

+3 LD From feast

Search and Detect:  Rank 1

Watchful Sentry: + 3 LD

LD = +7

 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur nodded at the direction that Shield wanted to go. He was that least prepared to be scouting ever since he dropped his <<searching>> skill, but he could be another set of eyes and help out with whatever they encountered while trying to scout the floor. In spite of how the boss fight had gone, Baldur felt much better about things. They had overwhelmed the boss with preparation and the system just wasn't able to keep up with them. Perhap that strategy wouldn't last long, but if they could get more of the front line to show up prepared, then there was a chance that they could advance not just faster, but safer.

Finally, Beat showed up, and the DPS player appeared to be happy to see him. Baldur gave a smile as the buffs from the raid slowly dropped off from the samurai, and was anxious to replace them with new ones. This feast was a great tool to use for the raids going forward.If anything, it could give them and their perspective guild an advantage.

"Good to see you Beat. Thanks for preparing this for us."

Baldur could see that Beat was still annoyed at Hirru, and Baldur was too, but their conversation in the boss room after the fight had tempered Baldur's ire and given him a new direction to try and repair what had been damaged with the Jade Hunter. Hirru was going to try as well, but that was part of why they were all here trying to do this together. Teambuilding. Understanding. Hirru and Baldur had been through too much for him to write the man off without a shot at redemption.

"Man that looks delicious! I can't wait!"

Baldur reached down and took a piece of the food.

Spoiler

Baldur
+4 LD (from feast)

 

Edited December 14, 2018 by Baldur

[Shield 0]

Shield sighed with relief as his questing companion joined them. He extended a fist to bump and gave a nod. "Thanks for eventually joining us," he jibed, gesturing with his head in the direction he had semi-arbitrarily picked for them. "Also, congratulations on the drops you got. I saw them in the inventory. That sword isn't going to be extremely useful, except maybe as trade fodder, but that trinket is something else." He let out a low whistle and shook his head incredulously. "I mean, what do you get the DPS that has everything? A trinket that can make any badass weapon even more badass, apparently."

He pulled up his inventory and turned the screen to face "I landed myself something decent as well. Had to trade Hikoru my last Heart Sticker, but..." He pulled up the specs for his Blessed Greaves. "It definitely needs a new name and a design face lift. Probably with the new Phoenix Feathers from than new quest that got uncovered. I'm thinking a solid set of plate mail and then modify my thorns armors to be sets of spined joints to connect the larger pieces." The item displayed was the very first demonic that he had ever owned, despite having worked so hard to find new and unique items to flesh out his build. He felt no small sense of pride at the acquisition.

Quote

Search and Detect: Rank 5

Seeking Aura: T1 Perfect Trinket - Loot Die 3

Consumed: Cheesy Garlic Party Loaf - Loot Die 4

Current Total: +12

 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur whistled when Shield showed the new item he got. The armor was impressive, and Baldur tapped the air near the armor, so he could use his ability as a merchant to investigate the item and see what it's stats were. They were nice, including a good unique enhancement, but it was an odd split. It would depend on what Shield said and his ability to make the rest of his armor match this piece.

"Interesting. From what I've been able to understand of your build Shield, this armor should work pretty well for you, assuming you haven't hit the mitigation max elsewhere than these pants. But then, with your identification empire, you should be able to find something that works for you."

Baldur gave a slight laugh, then gestured towards one of the bridges.

"Alright, let's eat up everyone so we can get this scouting mission on the bridge!"

[Hirru 0]

Beat entered the picture after a while, dropping a table with a worthwhile feast upon it.  Hirru had only seen such servings before during one of Jack's many extravagant parties that he actually participated in, before leaving after pranks started being pulled..  He shook his head before looking towards Beat.  He had that look from before, but only for a moment.  The hunters betrayal was still fresh on everyone's mind.  He held his hand back from taking without permission.

"Guys, I want to apologize properly to you all.  I did something, inexcusable, back there.  Protecting someone against the very thing that I swore to uphold and serve."

He looked on to Beat, Shield, and Baldur.  Every one of them were in the first team, and saw first hand his actions before the rest.

"I'm not too far gone to understand that I shouldn't have, but.. I'm still trying to understand why I did it.  The boy was crying, it felt real, but.."

"Everyone is saying that it was fake.  That it was a lie.  Something about A.I.?  I'm sorry.  I don't understand what that means again, but it doesn't take much to know that I've done something wrong."

"I wanted.. no, needed to apologize to the team, to you guys.  More so, I need to apologize to Mac.  He didn't deserve any of that.  What I did to him... what I said..."

Edited December 15, 2018 by Hirru

[Shield 0]

"It's actually beyond perfect," he said, pulling up the specs for his other gear. "My Manticore Mask shield has Flame Aura I, Taunt, and Mitigation I already on it, and although it was once second tier, I traded Beatbox one of my phase finds for his Glittering Snowflake sticker to bring it up to the current maximum tier. That maxes out my mitigation, leaving my familiar free to heal and my other item slot free to swap out for other things." Opening up two smaller windows, he brought up his Stinging Nettle and his Jagged Pykrete armors. "Each of these has two slots of Thorns plus a unique enhancement. One is Envenom, and the other Antifreeze."

It was not often that he flaunted his hard gained gear in front of other players, but Baldur was a kindred spirits in the regard of meticulously planning builds and equipment loadouts. He had worked hard to get where he was, and if there were players who would appreciate it without taking it as bragging, it would be Beat and Baldur. Hirru, on the other hand, he at least hoped would not take it as an attempt to compete with his own mercantile endeavors. If anything, he knew that the Jade Hunter had been responsible for finding one of the most impressive non-mob-drop items in the game. There was no real competition there.

As he closed his menus, Hirru began his apology and the brief explanation. It seemed heartfelt, and by now, Shield was no longer angry. He was even about to apologize for slapping Hirru to try to snap him out of whatever was going on in his mind when he said something that caught Shield off guard. "A.I.? It means... artificial intelligence. You know..." he spoke slowly, cautiously, as if he wasn't sure how to properly proceed with his answer. "It's... any computer programming that acts like a thinking being, even though it's not actually capable of thinking for itself outside of its programming." He looked to Baldur for support, a little confused how Hirru could have been a gamer for so long without understanding that term. It seemed very basic.

Edited December 14, 2018 by Shield

[Baldur 0]

Baldur looked impressed at the loadout Shield revealed. He knew by reputation that the man had been meticulously and methodically working through equipment to try and get equipment with the right unique enhancements for Beat and himself, but he had never seen personally and in detail hope well the team had been able to make them fit together. Beat was likely as stacked when it came to gear, as Baldur had seen what the man was able to do with a critical hit. Beat and Macradon were able to leap far ahead of Baldur when they crit, but Baldur could even out a little more when damage needed to be consistent.

"That is truly impressive my friend. Your patience from the first time you came to me to get an item identified is impressive."

Baldur then turned to listento Hirru make his apology. The confusion in his friends eyes was earnest but strange to Baldur. He knew the man had issues sometimes, Baldur had always attributed it to some kind of PTSD but he had never considered that the man wouldn't know what AI was. Shield tried to discuss what it was, but it took Baldur a minute to get over his shock.

"It means they're not real. They're lines of programming code in this video game we're trapped in."

Baldur wasn't sure how to proceed. How much didn't he know? What did he remember?

"What do you remember of how this whole ordeal started?"

[Hirru 0]

Shield and Baldur seemed to be concerned about what Hirru was saying.  They tried to explain to him the meaning of the phrase 'A.I.', which seemed to be short for artificial intelligence.  The hunter didn't quite understand what the two words together meant, especially the explanation that would go with it.  He really didn't understand from there, but the hunter tried to piece together what he could.  He squinted his brow and began to think aloud.

"I'm not sure that I'm getting it, but let me think.  Artificial is man-made, so an artificial intelligence would be something created by man that can learn?  Elves are.."

He stopped himself there.  Hirru didn't want to bring that up anymore than he had.  He was a rational person, whom used his own knowledge to find out the solution.  Even if it brought about an entirely different solution to someone else.  That was how he saw himself as a tactician to the front lines, at least.

"I don't get the computer programming and video games.  I've heard of other people talk about 'computer games' and I know what games are in Aincrad, but I'm not sure on all of it myself.  I get that we're trapped in this floating castle, and that we're fighting through each floor to get out...

...to your world"

Then Baldur asked the big question: What happened at the start?

"To be real with you guys, I don't remember.  I was.."

Before Hirru could continue, he froze in place.  Not like lagg, but stood, staring at Baldur, but not really.  His gaze seemed to go on for miles outward.

Spoiler

"̹͈͈̜͉̘̥͚͢͠H̥̥̜̠̞̳͕͜e͢͏̘̙̱̠y̶̨̟̣͓͖̱͇̺͙͖,̢̦͖̪̱ ̘̲̙̪͙̱̮̕l͓̥̱̖̜̺͇͟͢a̗͕̕z̶̺͉̥̲̳͝y̵͈͉̞͕̗̪̕͞b͓̬̬o̸͉̳ṋ̺͍͕̟͕͍e̶͉̗̭͕̹͈̙̥s͟͏̙̗.̷̛̝̮̪͙͚̼͉̟ ̝͉̤̫̘ ̬͉̱̞̲̥A̸͔͔̮ͅr̶͖̖͉̬̖̼͈e̡͖͉̣͔ͅ ͉̹̻͉̟͔̙̤͝y̸̸̡̙̤͉o̼͔̝̺͟u̶͇̯͚͖ ̶̶̦͇̣̜͇a͏̱̭̳̮̲w̶̨̘̣͔̘͔͉a͉̝k̨̘̪͟e̲̝̟͎͖̲͕̣̙!̤̱̭"̶̭̠̞͎̀ ͉͓̀͢ ͏̴̲̖̻̀"҉̱̘̹̗͚͞C̷̰̟͙͈̯͕͙̙͢o̵̱̰͔̲̜̤̖m̵̷̦͍̻͖̗̞͝e̠͚͓̳̪̗̠̟ ̵̠̠o͏̨̫̱͚̩͞n̮̻͕͙̕͞!̴̢͈̯̥̪̭̠̖ ̛͏̹͢ ̨̠͖̯̪̺͚W͈̪̻̣͎̰͞e̥̙͉̥͍̼̼̖ ̸̡̱̰g͖̪̯͘ͅơ̞͖̤̺̯͍͠t̘͎́̕t̼ͅą̛̱͎̹͖͍͞ ̰̣̺͍̬͙͇̀̀ͅģ̸̱͖͓̞ḙ̝͉̳̪̬͙̥͡ţ̪̘̹̦͙̻͠͠ ̩͔̗͔̻̭ͅy̡̛̩̥̯̟̝̰o̡͚͉͖̠u̖͎̞͓͕̝ ̮̤͖̹͙̙̘̰͞͝b҉͙̬̹̭̻a̞͍̩̣͉͕͎c̸̛͖͉͔͔̺̱̱͘k̡̬̝͟ ̣̬͢o̻̗̼͙̦n̡͓̦̫̲ ̢͓̭͞y̧̺̜̥̕o̹̘̩̖͢ṵ̦r͚ ̛̥͓͝l̸̻̭̗͘e̢̦g͏̧̘͞ͅs͏̠̖̜͇̻̲̞!̨̨͚͕̙̥̝̰"̯̀ ̡̫̱̩̻ ̠̫̱̼̳͉̱̪ͅ"̶̲͈͇͇̮̫́T͞͏̳͍͙h҉͇̞̙͎͓̟i̧͉̯̼̼̺̺s͈̰̫̪̗͡ ̯͍̕ͅw̶̧̛̖̥̦̥̣̫̥o̰̱̜̺̭̰͙͈͜r͓͙̥͠ͅĺ͙͓̖͉̝̺̙̗̰͜d̶҉̮̥̠ ̦͙̮̠̮i̵̭̳͘s̵͍̱͉̘͇͔n̹̣̦͟͢'̻̬͎̜͉t̢̬͖̯̞͙ ̷̷͇̲̪ͅa̷̧̯͔͈͇̖̫̟͡ ͔̦̩͚̝̖̰̬̞͡p̟̦̹̻͝l̸̦̖̙̥̤͖̥͘͝ͅa͕̲̝͕̟̭͉̠c̡҉͓̲̺e̳̬͙͍̻̫̘ͅ ̪̩̞͙̭̱̯̖̀͞f҉̳̞͈̤ͅo̶̶̳r͈͎͍͎̫ ͉̹͓̲͙á̮͍̻̠̪͓̖̯̤͝ ̛̪̱̬͜v̴̢̭̰̣͚̠̲̟̝e̶̷͕̙̘̲̱̮͉̩ͅg̷̨̜͖e̵̴͕̞̻̭͓t̀҉̟̪͉̘̞̻̺͎a̧̟̮̬̯̻͖̦ͅb̪̩̯̙̠̰͡l̰͚͜è̤̣͎̭͞͝,̶͏̫̘̦̭͔̜ͅ ̶̧͓̟̠̙͈̩̻̥̀n҉̦͖̱̤̹͓͟ọ̶̪͕̳̺̯w҉̭̰̬̙͎̹͎̠ ̫g͕̺̼͉̖͎è̮̹͕͘͡ṭ̭̭͜͡ ͏̠̥͓͙̥͚ͅù̪̱͙̙̖̠̦̣p̷͚͎!̢̧̲̮̹͎͙͎"̭͓̞̱̝͎̯͘͢ͅͅ ̰͜͠ ̢̻͇̥̦̹͘"͏̨̬̩̼̩̬͜W̝h̡̦̪̺̕ạ̵̟̙t̗̼̻̫͠͠͡ ̭̬̘͉̻͙d̶̨̙̜̲̗̦̮̝̦ó̵͎͍̱͙̤͍ ҉̡̤̦͓͖͕̗̜̗͡y̖̲͈͉̬̭̗͢͞ơ͘҉̠̬̣͓̬̙u̙ ̧̼̯̪̥̙͇͘͡ḿ̻͔̠̖̥̱͘e͎̺̤̪̘͜a̹̻̺̜n̡̳͉ ͕͈̩̰̕͟t͔͡h͓̩͎̳͖a̴̶̩̜t͖̻͎ ̺́̕w̵̨̳̻͈e̴̛̙̘̼̥̖̯̯'̷̤̝̺̯̺͢r͜҉̯̲̤̖̗͔̞͠e͎̩͍̩͓̞̩͘͟ ͏̳̦ś̶̝̪̠t̙͚͎͉̝́͟u̡̡͓̼ç͖̘̭͔̟͈͕͖͜k̴͙͔͠͠ ̲̘͇̕h̨̙̙͔̣̀̀ͅe̷̞͉̩̙̳͙͈͘͟r̟̙̮̥̼̀̕ͅę̵̣͕̭͎͔?̧̠̫̲̲͝ͅ!̯͓͖̻͇̰̮̪͠"͖͇̖͖ ̕͏̲̖̘̫̺̗̥͘ ̛͈̱̼͚͕͘͞"̢̘̳̲̺̝̬͓I͏̗̬̱̝̠͈͞ ̛̖w̸̟̙a̢̟̮̰̼͕͟n̸̴̖̰̲͍̰n̖̪͖̰̳͟a̲̱͍̲͎̹̦̕͟ ̷̩̭͇͉̀͠g̢̱̘͉̭͙ͅo̪̳͢͞ ̻͔̺̫̙͈̖͟͢ͅh͇̹͔̬̤ò̙̠͈̮̥m̕͝͏̖̫͍é̢͇̮̤͙͈̪!̧̣̤̫͖͙̳̮̦"̵̯̥̹̯̥̤́͟ ̺̠͝ ͇̹̻͟͜"̡̦͈̠̱͢H̶̡͇͇̜͍̤̟̣͔͜ͅe̡̛̦̠͕͈̱̖̗̪̭͘y̨̼͓̪̥̻ͅ,̨͏̝̪̻̫̩̦͇ ̵̧̱̮̲̱͎͉̥̙d̢͖̦̥̘̭͓̲͙̼̕o̧̨͉͡ ̧̲͔͇̙ý̨̪̺̰͡ǫ̜̘͓͍̖̖͚̭̕͘u̡͓̟͔̼͝ ͔̗͟ţ͕̼̺͉̖̰̕͞ḩ͙i̠̰͕̲̪n̮̙̣̪͔̫̠̦͟͟͢ķ̷̟̞̳͚̝̙͓ ̴̳͞t̷̩̖͕̤̻̱̹̩͘ḫ̸͈̜̱͍̯̩͓a̢̟͕̩̱̘̤̱̕͞ţ̢̛̮̙̦̦̯ ̸̹̹͇̤͚̜̭ͅw͎͖̺͠͝e̛͍͖͙͝'̖̦͇̗ṟ̰̘͉̱͍̥e̖̲̭͞ ҉͖̦͖͕̠̼̬̣͢ģ̴͏͓̙̠̺o̘̫͚̗̹͜n̰͕n̨̛̝ą̻̫͘ ͏̨̙͈̤̤ͅm̵̩̺a̶̝̲̞̠̭̼̗̳k̡͈͝e̴͖̮̳̩̺̟͕̬ ̛̮̥̯̙̘̹̤̰͞͝i̳̜͉̞̖̼̥͚͘t̞̲̬̲̦̖.̢͉̹̦̠͔͕̭"̵͏̤̮͍͔̪͖̭ ̛̩͖̘̤̺̤̻͖͟͢ ̗̳͎͚͓̞͔̕ͅ"̺̲́W̫̬̦e͏̴̨̣͔ ̼̖͎͟͟h̛̘͓̝͙̟̱ͅͅa̰̫v̸̱͓̠͇̠͕̰e͍̩͔͉̬̟̥̼͉͟͡ ̛̦̪̪͔̙̼͚t̷̢͓͎̦̟̰͕̠͖͘o҉̻̲ ̶̙̻͎͍̘͔̭ͅp̘̝̩̭̠̙̀͢͡u̶̗͕̰͉̰̻ş͙̥̫̦̳͍̖̠h̵̙̫͘ ̴̧̳̰͙̬̘̞͟o͏͏͍̲̠̞̹̱̺n͇̲̠̰̞̮̤͘w̮̻̭͕͝a̲̝̥̜͇̹̕͠ͅr̞̲d̡̫̰̘̺̳̗͈͠!̷̡̩̫̜̲͢"̢̟̘͉̪ ̷̪̻͟ͅ ̘̙"̴̨͕̗̫̖͇̲̘́N͈̥o̰̘͇̻̗̰ͅ!͚"̪͎̦̣̠̭͉̹͝ ͉̪̻͡ ̵̢͖͈̥̳̖͍̺͜"̳̬͘Y̵̘̯̫̫͡ͅo̢̼̳̰̤̦͠ù͏͍̟͔͚̭̦̗ ͈̭̩̲̞̦̰̥̤l̴͍̥̦̙ͅo͍̠̠̝̭̬̹͘͜o̡͎͉̺̻̖͝ḱ̻̥̥̩̗̪͓͞ ̞̱̜͉͍ͅg̴̡̝͍̬̹ơ̲̦̝̬͙̭̰ͅo̲̜̗d̘̖̺̫͞ ̸̪̰̤̩͞ͅi̡̮̥͇͎̯̞̕n͏̳̮͟ ̢̠̹̦̭͘g͚͉ṟ̷̡͓͙̻̪̀ͅe̼̜͉͇̟̰̼e̸̶͚̼̳͓̬͉̪̤n̵̢̥͚.͈̞̪͘"̧̖͍̞̘̫͢

 

A single tear fell from Hirru's face.  His hand reflexively went up to his cheek to catch it.  He had felt that before.  Glimpses of the past, memories that.. don't want to be remembered.  Before he could continue, the hunter took a handful of the bread and shoved it into his mouth.  The taste was grand, and it helped him forget a little of what he thought he saw.  He swallowed hard before continuing.

"I don't remember anything before.."

His eye twitched.

"..fighting boars on the First floor some years ago."

[Luck Stat = 5 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 4 = +15 Luck Die]

Edited December 15, 2018 by Hirru

[Beat 0]

Beat produced a toothy grin as Shield praised the loot he had gotten from their recent boss fight. It had been surprising the get something that empowered his build so much. What Shield has said was not entirely an exaggeration: He truly had just about everything he could want for his build. It was an understatement to say that he was practically vibrating with the urge to use his newfound trinket on something. 

"Good food is worth waiting for friend." He said chuckling. 

Beat's cheerful mood was quickly derailed by Hirru's apology and he looked taken aback at first, but quickly settled down as he listened to the remorse of a distressed man. Beat himself had gone through some mental tribulations over this game, but it had been induced by a group of players that literally trafficked other players. It was hard for Beat to understand the disconnect from what was real and what was a video game. He had nothing nice to say to the boy, so he simply folded his arms and attempted to keep his expression neutral. 

[Shield 0]

There was a lot to unpack from what Hirru had said. Shield paused, watching Hirru carefully and picking through the thoughts that were tumbling out of his mouth.

"What do you mean... 'your world,' Hirru?" he asked, his words slow and careful. "Are you saying you're... Somehow from a different world than us?"

He glanced at Beat and Baldur, making sure he wasn't hearing something that wasn't there. It was not easy to keep the concern from his features, but it was essential that he do so. Looking worried or upset by the things Hirru said was a surefire way to make him feel self-conscious or defensive, particularly after having been laid so low at the end of the fight.

As a safe measure, to keep the conversation open and free from judgment, he added, "That's an interesting perspective. I've never really thought of any one of us players being so fundamentally different from one another."

[Hirru 0]

The way that Shield said that made the hunter sound like something foreign to life itself.  Hirru snorted a bit from that realization.  To them, this must be quite foreign.

"No, sorry.  I think I didn't word that right, without context.  When I say that I don't remember anything before killing boars, I mean.."

He sighed heavily.  A pause to think, but his mind was really made up.  He had held this secret for so long.

"I don't have any memories of the other side, of the Real World, as I've heard people call it."

It felt like a long heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, to be replaced by a noose.  This was a long standing lie that he had tried to keep from everyone.  Something that he knew would haunt him, if revealed.  He wanted to have the same goal as everyone else.   He wanted to be one of them, patrolling and fighting for the same reason.  To get home.

How can you fight for a home, when you don't know where home is?

Nonetheless, he was somewhat free of the burden of keeping that to himself.  He held a small smile that he had never been able to uphold before.

"I call it your world, because I don't see my home there.  It's been here the entire time."

He gestured to the floor around him, but it was more for the entirety of Aincrad. 

"So much so that, I truly believed that everyone was alive."

Hirru then looked up to the sky, or more so the ceiling that would be the 25th floor above them.

"But now I'm being told that it is all fake.  Man made, and fabricated to feel like it is real.  I don't know what is real, anymore, however.. I'll believe in you guys.  I know that you're not trying to trick me in any way.  Especially since other 'players' also say all of the same things.  It's easy to not 'flip the sheit', as I've heard it.  Even if it's feels too weird."

Lowering his gaze back to his brothers.

"Though, that doesn't mean that I haven't been trying to regain my memory.  I figured that I should have some connection to your world.  Something should trigger my mind.  I've been trying to find my memories this entire time.  Maybe, just maybe.  They would be under the next rock that I unturned."

He gestured to himself.

"No, such luck."

 

 

Edited December 16, 2018 by Hirru

[Baldur 0]

Hirru's words suddenly made sense to him. He had no memory of the outside world, this was just another world to him. There was some inconsistency, but if Baldur thought of him more like a role-player than his actions became a little more consistent. The man had no memories before fighting boars on the first floor. That probably meant he had some sort of trauma around that time. Not remembering anything before the outside world... perhaps he had lost someone important to him in those very first days, and that had caused Hirru to force those memories away to be able to cope.

"Let me see if I can try to explain this. In the other world, we all decided to play a game, that basically puts us to sleep so that we can all share in the same dream together. A dream that Kayaba has made, and that we all experience and play in. In this dream, the people who are dreaming, the players, can die in the waking world, if we die here. But the AI, the NPCs, the yellow and red crystals over their heads. They aren't real. They aren't alive. Kayaba dreamed them up. Where as we can die, and never come back, where we die in the waking world... these AI cannot die. They can respawn, they were never born or had lives. They may have had backtories written, but they're just like actors on a stage."

[Shield 0]

Shield stood back and let Baldur handle the explanations. He was, after all, much closer to Hirru, and Shield would have to trust that he would know how to find the right words. There were so many things that Hirru needed to grasp, but trying to give explanations of hospital beds and atrophying bodies and digitally rendered graphics, but if Hirru truly did not grasp their situation, then all of that would come as quite a shock. From what Shield saw at the tail end of the boos raid, Hirru might be a little too fragile for that kind of revelation. If they were going to brooch the subject, he would need time to process.

He kept his eyes ahead of them for now. Delving so deeply into the personal experiences of someone who he knew so little of - granted, someone he respected - was a lot. If needed, he would be fine to tag in later for Baldur, but it seemed best to handle things one-on-one. In the mean time, they had begun to lose sight of the platform behind them, and the one ahead of them was beginning to come more clearly into view. It was a large platform as well, not merely a little waypoint like the last one, but something of substance. "Keep your eyes sharp, guys," he said, pointing ahead of them. "We've got some land coming up ahead."

[Players may now begin rolling to find the Labyrinth]

Quote

Stats:
Shield:   LD +12 [-/5]
Beat:      LD   +5 [-/5]
Baldur:  LD    +4 [-/5]
Hirru:     LD  +15 [-/3]

Total LD:
[0/100]

 

Edited December 17, 2018 by Shield

[Hirru 0]

"When you put it like that.."

Hirru scratched his chin as he thought on the matter.  Still skeptical on the matter, but every new bit of information could help him relive the memories that he had lost.  Even if it had to be dumb down for him to understand.

"..a dream that kills you on the outside, if you die on the inside.  It sounds more like a nightmare."

The hunter scratched his head hard.  Some of these concepts made sense, but the dream part really felt child like.  Then again, he figured Baldur was trying to make that explanation as easy as it should for him.  He nodded, as it would have to do for now.  Shield was right in that they had to move, or else they would be left behind.

"Right, I'm better at learning on the go, it seems."

Hirru chimed in while activating every single search mod he had at his disposal.  As they activate, a sphere of detection opened up around him, in his vision.  With the recent luck boost, his gaze was seemingly larger than he had anticipated.  Though it was still only reaching most of the bridges, he could now see things underwater too.  There were some nasty things down there.

"Stay alert everyone!"

Quote

[ID: 110573] [LD= 3+15=18]

Cool Downs:
Shield [0/5]
Beat [0/5]
Baldur [0/5]
Hirru [0/3]

Total LD:
[18/100]

 

Edited December 17, 2018 by Hirru