[PP-09] <<The Iron Guardian>> w/ Pinball

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia scratched the side of her cheek as she looked at the vast expanse of floor nine. "Holy moly, that's going to be a far walk," she muttered, already glad that she didn't bring Pacco along. The headaches wouldn't have ever stopped if she had brought him along, thank the stars. 

"Well, I guess it's just me, then!" She said to no one, already starting to get the move on. "I hope I don't crazy doing this alone," the blonde mumbled, scratching her chin with an unsure expression. Maybe she should've invited someone she knew to help her? Oscar? Bahr? Alec? She didn't really want to bother Oscar with all of this. They've done enough quests together as is. And Bahr... she didn't know if she wanted to even spend an hour with him. The only reason why she didn't smack the heck out of him last time they saw each other is because she didn't want to look like a crazy man in front of Oscar.

@Pinball

[Pinball 1]

He sat atop a boulder, a spear in his lap but not held in his hands. His sad blue eyes overlooked the scorched expanse of the 9th floor, a frown on his face. He remembered doing quests here, in the past. With Mars. He remembered hunting down a phoenix and slaughtering some weak hellhounds. 

Pinball hadn't talked to or seen Mars in what felt like months.

But he had a new lead now. He wasn't directionless - he had a goal in mind. Kirbs had given him a list, and the list of names weighed on his heart. If he was going to follow through with her last wish, it was going to be dangerous. If he was going to follow through, he needed to be stronger. 

In more ways than one. 

He'd been approached by some sort of NPC about a quest. The Iron Guardsman, or something. Pinball didn't really remember. But they said it'd take days to traverse the floor... which was doubtful, unless he decided to stick to the winding paths laid out for players. Pinball had been around long enough to know about a few short cuts. 

His fingers traced delicately across the length of Rose's Thorn. Pinball remained silent. 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia was just about to get on going- well, that was until she saw something sitting on a literal boulder. How crazy was that? 

"Heck," she muttered, placing her hands on her hips as she gave him a crossed look. "You're going to attract some unwanted attention like that," she called, tilting her head at the player confusingly. "Also, why the heck are you on that thing anyway? Didn't you parents tell you not to do that kind of stuff, because I'm pretty sure you could probably crack your skull open like a literal egg if this were real life," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Also, this whole scene-" she gestured to whatever was going on in front of her, "is going to make me depressed. Your face is literally making me depressed," she said with a deadpan. "It wouldn't kill you to put a smile on or something," she sighed, shaking her head. 

"Everyone looks so sad these days, it's spreading like the plague!" Cordelia exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the stranger. "You, sir, are a spreader of this horrible disease!"

[Pinball 1]

Unfair! A sneak attack? Pinball jumped awake, looking wide-eyed, down in the direction of the girl who... suddenly started talking. For a moment he didn't know how to respond. He tried to, too. He really did. He lifted his hands a bit, confused as to why he was being yelled at. He opened his mouth, but no words came. 

Until, that is, they did. 

"I'm... sorry-?" 

There was no smile, and there was barely any emotion. His eyes were lax, tired, and practically dead looking. He really was a spreader of disease, but he didn't even know it. Or maybe he did, but he couldn't put two-and-two together. Sleep deprivation was a weird thing, and the recovery process for deprivation so severe was probably weirder, wasn't it-? 

But, contrary to his stoic act he'd worn for so long, there was something there. 

In his face, maybe, there was the slightest hint of an awkward smile. 

Just a little bit. 

And then he was quiet again, because he wasn't sure how to continue. 

[Cordelia 0]

“Wow, you look like death,” she commented bluntly, laughing to herself under her breath. “Like, literally. You look like you just rose from the grave. I can’t tell.” She cocked her head to the side as she stared into his very soul. “All that lack of sleep is going to catch up to you. Next thing you know... bam! Someone kidnaps you when you’re sleeping and holds you for ransom!” The blonde scratched her cheek as she paused in realization. “Things like that don’t really happen in here, do they?” 

She beamed and clapped her hands together, not failing to notice that teeny weeny smile that flickered in his face. “That’s more like it!”

”Now, uh,” she paused, making a full lap around the boulder before frowning, “why don’t you get off of that thing before you hurt yourself or something. Seeing a stranger’s head get cracked open wasn’t on my list of things to do today, thank you.”

 

[Pinball 1]

She really laughed a lot. It was kind of annoying. He rolled his head on his shoulders, wondering what he should do. How he should proceed. Why did the talkative ones always seem to catch up to him? 

Memories flashed before him. Of a girl with deep red hair, as bubbly as she was aggravating. 

He'd scarred her beyond recognition. He wouldn't do that again. 

So he stood up and then hopped off the edge of the boulder, hitting the ground with a hearty thud. There was a slight dip in his health, but it shot right back up quickly enough. Did that have something to do with his large healthpool, or did he just have good resistance? A combination of both? 

Definitely not. 

Pinball still wasn't sure what he was doing or why he was doing it. Who was she, even? He wasn't wearing his disguise. Had she recognized him? The last thing he wanted was a fight. Despite her worrying over him cracking his head open or whatever, Pinball still couldn't discern what she really wanted. 

If she wanted anything in the first place. 

So he said nothing. 

[Cordelia 0]

“You’re tense,” she observed, scratching her chin as she peered at his not-so-relaxed form.

“Do you think I’m trying to start something?” She said in disbelief, shaking her head at him. “I’m a tad bit offended, really.”

Man, people in this game were so darn paranoid! Why was it so weird for people to just spark up a conversation nowadays? People always assumed you wanted to kill them if you were to try to talk to them, yeesh... but she guessed that it was a completely reasonable reaction to being stuck in a game where death was a flick of a sword away.

It was still rude, though!

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” She said flatly, tilting her head curiously at the unnamed stranger. “You just have that whole...” She took a moment to come up with a good word for his description, “... depressed teenage kid vibe about you.” Cordelia gasped and covered her face with a small snicker. “Are you going through a phase?”

[Pinball 1]

Was he tense? Pinball rolled his shoulders. Maybe a little bit. You couldn't really feel the kind of thing in the game. 

But she was right. He was being weird. This silent act would probably weird her out or piss her off even more - and that wasn't something Pinball wanted to do, as annoying as she might be. He took a second to gather his thoughts, and then he spoke. 

His voice was raspy and sounded strange from misuse. 

"Um. No." 

And that's all he said, because he didn't know what else there was to say. Pinball frowned, like he was disappointed in himself. Surely he had better conversational skills than that-? Or maybe he didn't. How long had he been alone? Fighting and killing people? 

Suddenly, the teenager felt very sick to the stomach. He nearly doubled over. Change the subject. That's how healthy, normal conversations worked. Pinball nodded, doing his best to try and shake the feeling off. 

"What are you doing out here? Alone?" 

[Cordelia 0]

"That's good," she murmured, smiling softly at him before turning her head to look at her feet. "There's too many of those kinds of kids in Aincrad. Frankly, all of that is getting on my nerves a bit." 

Maybe he wasn't going through a phase, but there was definitely something up with this kid. Maybe something happened to him? Maybe he had seen something tragic? There was a lot of maybes that came with him, huh? 

Cordelia squinted at him for his sudden change in interest but didn't pay too much mind to it, yet. 

She relaxed and gave him a bright grin. "What? Is it bad to be alone these days?" Cordelia chuckled, her hands fumbling together as she thought of a more legitimate reason. "I was just going to do this quest by myself. It seemed easy enough to do alone, so why not?" 

She was just about to continue when realization slapped her in the cheek. "Right!" She gave him an apologetic bow before smiling sheepishly. "It's rude of me not to introduce myself. My username is Cordelia," she beamed, stretching out her hand to him. 

[Pinball 1]

Too many. That's a bad way of thinking. 

"You're on the same quest?" Pinball was a bit surprised, though he guessed he shouldn't be. Most of Aincrad's quests are very linear - they're mostly all straight shots down a path. Meet the requirements, get the reward. That wasn't bad, but there were some exceptions here and there to spice things up. 

From what PInball knew, The Iron Guardian was one of those exceptions. The Mysterious Broker - the Quest NPC - was actually one of this specific quest's bosses. To complete it, they'd have to fight and kill it as well. However, due to the conflicting resolutions he's heard about, Pinball had come to the conclusion that it must be like Arabian Nights in the sense there's different endings, depending on what you decide to do. 

He wondered if Cordelia knew. It was best that he told her. But first... 

"Kobold," he replied, accepting her hand. "Like the, uh..." How did Ali put it-? "The little lizard demons." 

Change. The. Subject. 

"You know, there's actually three, um, stages of this, uh, quest." Pinball - er, Kobold, rather - counted them off on his fingers. "There's the minions - they''re, uh the knights. The Guardian. And then, um... the Broker." 

He paused. Blinked. 

He was way too tired for this. 

[Cordelia 0]

"Yep! Why? Do I look not strong enough to be doing this quest?" She joked, well, kind of. She was actually quite curious to know his answer to that. Now for him-- she wasn't sure. He certainly seemed like he knew how things worked, but didn't everyone? They've been stuck here for more than two years, so of course people have already adjusted! She couldn't base everything off of looks, though. She just felt wrong when she did that. 

"Kobold?" She echoed, tilting her head. "Lizard demons?" Cordelia let out an awkward laugh as she nodded her head. Weird name for a weird kid.

"Odd name, but I'm not going to judge," she added, stifling another small laugh as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Nice to meet you, Kobold."

"Yes, I know," she sniffed, taking out her right hand and tapping the side of her head with a childish grin. "I'm not that dumb. Or I least I hope I'm not."

 

[Pinball 1]

"Well," he said, looking off down the path, "I think we're about to find out." 

Pinball drew his sword. The golden-hilted weapon's silver blade shimmered in the sun, refracting light like water. The effect made it beautiful, if not strange to look at. The words and action of the teenager could have been taken as hostility - a threat, even - but he made no move to attack her. Pinball stared silently down the ashen path ahead of them, and eventually... 

...thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. 

The sound of shifting metal and heavy footfalls could be heard rounding the bend. Looking around, the path was bordered by dead, blackened trees; Pinball reasoned that due to the terrain, the shine of metal would both be difficult to maneuver and stick out like a sore thumb in the primarily red and black landscape. And he didn't see them coming through the trees or from over the rocks. So that left the path. 

One second. 

Two seconds. 

Three. 

And then two Iron Knights came into sight, deep red cursors hovering over their heads. 

Pinball's stance remained lax. And then he looked to Cordelia, wanting to see how she was going to react.

                                                                                                                                                               

Action Taken: None im just listing the stats rn 

Pinball: 1120/1120 HP | 112/112 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 
Cordelia: Uhhhhh 

Iron Knight 1: 72/72 HP | 120 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 
Iron Knight 2: 72/72 HP | 120 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 

[Cordelia 0]

"Wait, what does that mean..." she trailed off as the loud clang of heavy footsteps echoed through the air. Her eyes shifted from Kobold to the deathly looking trees. 

Three seconds felt like three hours and her patience was winding down every millisecond she was waiting. By the time the two large bodies entered her vision, her rapier was already unsheathed. They were smaller than she had expected, actually. She was really expecting these giant husks out of metal... but she guessed that she could get some thrill out of these instead. 

She turned her head slightly to meet Kobold's eyes for a few seconds before quirking up a brow. "What are you waiting for?" Cordelia asked with an exhilarated grin. 

Instead of waiting for his answer like a regular person, she bolted towards the first knight. It shouldn't be too hard to pierce the armor these hunks of metal! 

With Star Saber flying wildly beside her, Cordelia charged up right in front of the knight. Her rapier quickly drew back and forth as she made narrow and clean slices on the knight's chest. With one last burst of energy, she thrust her rapier smack dab in the middle of the triangle, which quite effectively, sent the knight flying back before it dissipated into the air.

Spoiler

ID: 124093
BD: 9, +1 DMG 

9+1=10x9=90 DMG

[0-0] Pinball: 1120/1120 HP | 112/112 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 
[2-0] Cordelia: HP: 440/440 | EN: 36/44 | 9 DMG | 3 EVA | 1 SAVVY | 2 KEEN

Iron Knight 1: 0/72 HP | 120 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 
Iron Knight 2: 72/72 HP | 120 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 

 

[Pinball 1]

Pinball shook his head. Shrugged. He watched Cordelia obliterate the Iron Knight in a single strike - which was a pleasant surprise. In his past, he felt like he'd only ever carried weaker, more inexperienced players through quests. Not that he'd be surprised if she was a lower level than him; but, it was strangely nostalgic. Bittersweet, even. 

But that bittersweet taste of nostalgia on his tongue wasn't something he believed he deserved. He stood his ground on that. 

Pinball let his sword point to his side. Shadow began to swirl around the length of it, and a sparkling yellow energy radiated around its point as it doubled in length. As the Iron Knight charged him, Pinball simply took a step back, and then thrust Tyrfing into its chest. It exploded into a million tiny crystals, dissipitating and scattered on the wind. 

The energy faded, Zomekko's fog returned itself to the jar on his waist, and Pinball sheathed his weapon. 

"The Guardian should have spawned over there." 

                                                                                                                                                             

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Vorpal Lance] [-4 EN/+1 EN] {Well Rested} 
Iron Knight 2: ID#124172 BD: 9 (Crit!) MD: 4-3= 1 (Miss!) ~ 15+1= 16*5= 80 DMG 

[2] Kobold: 1120/1120 HP | 112/112 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 
[0] Cordelia: HP: 440/440 | EN: 36/44 | 9 DMG | 3 EVA | 1 SAVVY | 2 KEEN

Iron Knight 2: 0/72 HP | 120 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 

[Cordelia 0]

"That's an interesting familiar," she commented, blinking as Zomekko retreated to the jar on his waist. How does that even work-

Bah, no time to think about that! He was right, the Guardian should be spawning soon-

Oh, there it is. Well, she could hear it, at least. These footsteps were louder than the knights'. Way louder. 

It wasn't long before the guardian came bursting into view. Well, it was certainly bigger than the knights that's for sure... but she still expected it to be bigger. Maybe she was growing too much on this game...

"Can you attack first?" She murmured, turning her head over to Pinball with a sheepish look. "That think can two-shot me if I'm unlucky enough," she chuckled, rubbing her neck with a small smile. I mean, she really did want to hit it, but at the moment, she currently valued her life more than a first hit on a hunk of metal.

☆ No Action Taken

[0] Kobold: 1120/1120 HP | 112/112 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 
[0] Cordelia: HP: 440/440 | EN: 37/44 | 9 DMG | 3 EVA | 1 SAVVY | 2 KEEN

Iron Guardian: HP: 225/225 | 200 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 

[Pinball 1]

Away they went, and soon the Iron Guardian came lumbering into view. It was big - taller than the both of them, but a lot shorter than he expected. Pinball kept up a painfully neutral face as he drew Tyrfing once more, and his familiar leapt forth from the jar on his waist and surrounded the blade in a whirlpool of black flame. 

"..."

As the behemoth stepped forward, Pinball brought his sword back onto his shoulder. It glowed a deep red, and then he swung the weapon in an arc, sending forth a blast of crackling crimson energy. But the Iron Guardian lifted its sword in retaliation. Its weapon and the energy collided, but the Guardian prevailed, forcing his blade to cut through and destroy the energy in a contest of strength. 

Pinball frowned. But that wasn't all. 

He lifted his head up. There, to the left, watching them from a hill - was the hooded form of the broker they'd received the quest from. Pinball immediately understood why it was even here in the first place - it was going to try to jump them when the fight ended for whatever sort of item it dropped. He'd heard stories about it that went like that - so it must have been one of the possible endings to the quest. 

So why the hell should he just sit around and wait for more combat? 

Without missing a beat, Pinball sent another blast of red upwards, towards the hill, aimed directly at the Mysterious Broker. Upon realizing what was happening, the Quest NPC stood, trying to retreat - but it was too late. The Sword Art's energy cut him clean in two, destroying it.

One problem out of the way. 

It's just an NPC. 

                                                                                                                                                       

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Shadow Explosion] [-11 EN/+1 EN]
Iron Guardian: ID#124184 BD: 1+4= 5 (Miss!) MD: 4-3= 1 (Miss!) 
Mysterious Broker: ID#124185 BD: 8 (Hit!) MD: Dead ~ 15*9= 162 DMG 

[0] Kobold: 1120/1120 HP | 99/112 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 
[0] Cordelia: HP: 440/440 | EN: 37/44 | 9 DMG | 3 EVA | 1 SAVVY | 2 KEEN

Iron Guardian: 225/225 HP | 200 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 
Mysterious Broker: 150/150 HP | 200 DMG | 9-10/Paralyze | CD-10//50 BH 

[Cordelia 0]

"Oh, wow," she murmured, her eyes wandering over to where the NPC was. "That was... unexpected. You've got a keen eye," she laugh out loud, turning her head back to Kobold. Though not the first time she took note of it, his orange crystal suddenly become just more apparent to her. Well, this was interesting. 

She let out a huff as her head snapped back to the guardian... who's massive arm was already swinging at her. Well, dang. 

"Stars!" She yelped, bolting towards her right as she narrowly avoided the attack. Like, literally a hair. Talking about hair, her own was whipping around in the air violently as the wind from the attack hit her like a brick. She grimaced as she spat out the hair in her face, narrowing her eyes at the guardian. That wasn't very nice. 

Payback was needed.

Cordelia charged up Over Radiation and charged after the hunk of steel-- or whatever metal it was really made out of. Bursts of energy erupted from her rapier, each tendril piercing through the armor of the guardian like a hot knife to butter. Yeah, that was a good way to put it.

Spoiler

ID: 124186
BD: 7, Hit [+2 ACC Next Turn]

9x14= 126 225-126= 99

MD: 6-3=3, Miss

[0] Kobold: 1120/1120 HP | 109/112 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 
[1] Cordelia: HP: 428/440 | EN: 25/44 | 9 DMG | 3 EVA | 1 SAVVY | 2 KEEN -12 [THORNS]

Iron Guardian: 99/225 HP | 200 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 
Mysterious Broker: 0/150 HP | 200 DMG | 9-10/Paralyze | CD-10//50 BH 

 

[Pinball 1]

(My apologies for the wait, m'lady! Jk lmao ily)

A keen eye? No, he was just had a high level - and this quest was made for players well below his station. Regardless, Pinball wouldn't have time to respond as the Iron Guardian reered back for another attack, hefting the heavy looking chunk of metal that vaguely resembled a sword onto his shoulder. The giant beast lumbered forward, the ground shaking with each consecutive impact. 

Kobold was, uh, unimpressed, for lack of better words. His face was as deadpan as ever, and his swing matched. Expending as little effort as he possibly could, Pinball sent out another crimson arc of energy that cut the Iron Guardian - and its crappy looking blade - in two. 

As the monster crumbled, collapsing under its own weight and shattering in a cloud of pixels, the reward screen would appear in front of the two. Kobold would be quick to dismiss it.

And then, there was silence.

                                                                                                                            

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Shadow Explosion] [-11 EN/+1 EN] 
Iron Guardian: ID#125129 BD: 7+4= 11 (Hit!) ~ 15*9= 135 DMG 

[0] Kobold: 1120/1120 HP | 89/112 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 
[0] Cordelia: HP: 428/440 | EN: 25/44 | 9 DMG | 3 EVA | 1 SAVVY | 2 KEEN -12 [THORNS]

Iron Guardian: 0/225 HP | 200 DMG | 12 Thorns | 9-10/12 Bleed 

Edited October 28, 2019 by Pinball

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia watched the guardian fall under its own weight, crashing into the ground. She paused, finding that the quest window had appeared in front of her. She sighed and brushed it off, closing the window before turning to Kobold.

"Well," she said, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. "I suppose this is it, then," she huffed, blinking a few times before shrugging.

"Guess it's been nice meeting you? Something like that?" She said rather sheepishly, offering him a small wave as she got ready to leave. "Try not to kill any people, too," she said with a small laugh as she turned away. "Wouldn't want to have to come finding your ass when I find out you killed one of my friends or something." Cordelia let out another humorous chuckle before she nodded to him. "It'd suck on both ends."

"Anyway, see you later, Kobold!" She chirped, giving a backhand wave before she set off for town.

[Pinball 1]

Pinball gave her a slow, steady nod, as if to confirm her farewell. It was, embarrassingly enough, something he wasn't used to anymore. How long had it been since someone had offered him such a pleasant goodbye? Did he even deserve such politeness? 

He knew for a fact that no, he did not. 

It was when she started making jokes about him killing people that Pinball reacted, maybe for one of the first times that thread. The boy frowned deeply, averting his eyes. He spun around on his heel, waving a hand dismissively. 

"Yeah. Nice meeting you." 

The teenager sped off, kicking up dirt with his boots as hurried down the path. A brisk walk turned into a jog, and eventually a jog turned into a full out run. His ears burning and his face red, Pinball made off like a maniac through the scorched ruins of the 9th Floor. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

~ Summary ~

Pinball Receives: 

• 4 SP (1 Quest, 1 Thread, 2 Mega Slime Farm) 

Cordelia Receives: 

• 2 SP (1 Quest, 1 Thread) 
• <<Crystal of Support>> A mass healing crystal that heals you and each member of your party for (30 * Target's Tier) HP.

Edited October 30, 2019 by Pinball