[F10 - PP] Sōke & iemoto «Leeching Nightmare»

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

A while after Ariel left Breiðablik, she was musing over her next course of action. After the floor 20 boss fight she secluded herself, wandering around.. visiting different floors and places in search for... for... something.. she had no idea what. The lioness wandered aimlessly until floor 22 got unlocked, Ariel having no  For that reason she even skipped the next boss fights She had left from her place of hermitage on the 22nd floor after spending a significant amount of time in solitude, meditating mostly but occasionally punching a tree or two while shouting her thoughts for all Mother Nature to hear; all to the end of setting things straight in her head without exterior distraction but most importantly accepting herself in any form: past, present and setting up a foundation for the future.

Baldur-dono, Thank you once more for not kicking us out after coming uninvited to your home. Sorry for the sudden message but your name was my first go-to in this situation. I've been away for some time and with your help, I would like to get back in the loop and up to date with the current status of the front lines. There are some personal matters that I'd like to hear your thoughts on as well. Right now, I'm in Yomi with plans to visit the Stagyan river and complete a quest near it. It should be a easy one, so how about you join me for it. Call me old fashioned but I'd prefer to talk these things in person instead of via messages. I'll be eagerly waiting you response, Ariel -The Crowned Lion.

  The visit to Baldur's estate came after all that and the blonde was pleasantly surprised by her reception, despite being announced and on a whim. Scribbling a message while on a bench somewhere in Yomi, she decided to reconnect with    the frontlines once more and offer her assistance. Best way to do that seemed through Baldur who always to offered a    helping hand to those around; the following message written in old fashion letter format was sent to him. She sought his counsel on a personal matter, after seeing him achieve it for himself.

   'No harm in asking.' she thought while looking at the ceiling, which was nothing but stone in this underground floor. She squinted her eyes, wondering if it would finally be a good time to invest in the 'cat eyes' mod.

---

Spoiler Stats: 1,570 HP (77 x20 +30[athletics]) 154 Energy 79 Mitigation (25 +54[armor]) +4 Accuracy (1[precision] +1[weapon] +2[trinket]) +1 Evasion (1[Sprint & Acrobatics]) 19 Base Damage (1[base] +7[weapon skill] +1[athletics] +9[familiar] +1[ferocity]) +4 Fallen Damage (Successful attack rolls of 6-8 (before modifiers) add fallen damage to your total base damage.) +48 HP Holy Blessing (After taking damage, heal [8 per slot * Tier] HP at the beginning of your next turn. Can only trigger once per round.) +78 HP Battle Healing (While in combat, recover 5% of your maximum HP (rounded down) at the beginning of your turn.) +5 LD ( +3 LD more when searching for sub-dungeons: 15 posts CD and labyrinths: 3 posts CD) Absolute Accuracy (Attack rolls of 1 no longer automatically miss. Gain +1 to the BD when attacking. Cannot be used to trigger a critical hit.) Taunt ( +1 Hate generated from Howl, Focused Howl, and successful attacks.) Keen (After a successful attack, gain +1 BD until your next successful attack, at which point this bonus is removed. Another successful attack will reactivate this) Skills: Pic at 510x450 Downscaled to 385, right side alignment   Equipment:  ≪Shi’s Talon# 134787≫ ≪Leonidas' Strength#151568≫ ≪Finger Claw Filigree# 151884-1≫ T2: Absolute Accuracy | Keen | Fallen T3: Holy Blessing | Holy Blessing | Mitigation | Mitigation T1: Accuracy | Accuracy | Taunt A long two handed assault spear made of polished maple. Its tip is a brilliant golden colour and is surrounded by tufts of white feathers. 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. An intricate golden chassis to be wrapped around one's finger. It's incredible sturdy, sharp and shiny, capable of aggravating enemies with a well-placed redirection of light.   Inventory:   ≪Basic Teleport [Crystal]≫ ≪[T1] Blank Dungeon Map≫   Buffs: None

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Baldur 0]

I don't know what's with people and that river.

It had been the second time in as many weeks that Baldur had visited the 10th floor and specifically this river. The last time he had come in search of his old friend, Crozeph, and ironically now he came in search of Ariel. Crow had rebuffed him at the time, agreeing to join Baldur's dojo, but not his guild, though ultimately Mari and Oikawa were able to convince him to join. Regardless, he was glad that Ariel had reached out to him. He wanted his friends to be able to do that, and Ariel, Oikawa, Crowzeph... they were as old as friends could be had here. They were perhaps 5th level when they had met only a few floors lower. Back when the 8th floor was considered part of the frontlines. They had braved the frontier together, to push their limits and see what they were made of.

The gaijin samurai missed those days.They seemed so much more simple. No one had an orange crystal. Tyger was by his side. They just had so much hope and energy when it came to getting out.

Now, Baldur was embroiled in frontline politics. It had broken his spirit before, and fractured the guild and friendships he had been trying to foster and cost him one of his closest friends at the time. What happened to her?

Shaking his head, he wandered out of Yomi and towards the river where Ariel would be waiting, and where he had encountered Crozeph before.

"Konbanwa." He said to Ariel as he made his way up to her hill overlooking the river. "I got your message."

Once he was up to where she was, he gave her a slight, friendly bow of equals.

"I just wanted to say too. You've never given me a reason to doubt you. I don't know what you've got going on with other people, but as long as you show me honor, then I shall do the same. We six forged a bond of trust that day that I like to think would never be broken."

Whatever it was that Ariel wanted to discuss, Baldur wanted that out in the open first. He trusted that she would never act in a way that would shame Baldur's trust and friendship in her, or wound his honor, and as long as that was the case, his trust with her would be implicit.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

She'd left the confines of the setlement, hoping to get a head start in tracking down the beast she was looking for. The quest became a after goal, even less than that after receiving confirmation of his arrival and Ariel would've liked to allow them as much time as she could for discussions. With that goal in mind she was walking along the banks of this world's version of the Styx river; or better said one designed after it. Using her perfected sight in the pitch black environment , she easily dodged out of the way of any undead creature that wasn't a part of the quest's requirements. A greeting caught her attention from the nearby mound. "Good evening." she said in perfect english, in the same time reciprocating the bow and listening to him. "I appreciate the kind words, there's not enough of them these days it seems." she said ambiguously before continuing in a more sincere tone but with a worm smile; visibly touched by his words.

"How could I not treat you honorably... Everytime we meet, you seem less and less of a gaijin. Hell, I'd say you're a more distinguished person than all of the clowns from the noble 'koryu' (old/traditional schools) , that I saw perusing over the years at my father's dojo. Some of them supposedly veterans of the martial arts and high ranked kendokas." she stopped and smiled, a little malice present in her features as she continued afterwards. "You should've seen the look on some of their faces after they lost a match, and afterwards got to see the blonde 'gyaru' behind their opponent's mask, daughter of the gaijin they mocked behind our backs." she said proudly, continuing to smile; purposely omitting the times she had lost to a higher dan.

"Your place has the appearance of a feudal estate and I could see the attention you put into details, proving that you understood our culture and reminding me once more that you aren't some weeaboo fanboy that likes katanas and to wear yukatas and kimono; despite having no clue what the difference between them is..." Ariel eyed his attire and nodded to herself, the tailor in her approving of his fashion choice. 

"After all this happened, I believe we'll be spending a lot more time in his...game, than any of us expect. You've got yourself a nice household and made it home by having people close to you by your side... I was kind of jealous." her gaze became downcast, her smile softer but genuine as she saw her reflection the waters of the Stagyan. It seemed like the river itself wanted pto distort that image, the blonde catching glimpses of her past. Without having it bother her, Ariel's eyes set once more on Baldur. "As I wrote you, I'm out of the loop regarding the front lines' strength, only seeing a glimpse of it by fighting side by side with you and the rest. So I want to ask you, after seeing what we'll probably be facing when we decide to organize the raid; do you think we can beat him?" she purposely used pronoun to humanize Shadow, as for her at least it proved to be an entity far more intelligent and rational than everything Cardinal threw at her until now.  

[Baldur 0]

Baldur strangely could identify a bit with Ariel. The gyaru and the gaijin. When he had taken up Kendo and Iaido in Japan, he had also been the only white person there. As an American, and not having a mastery of the language yet, he had to prove himself twice as much as anyone else. He had to work twice as hard as anyone else. Each victory was hard fought, but as a man, each victory validated him. For her, each victory had isolated her. The thought only made his heart go out to his old friend even more. He appreciated her words though, having earned her grudging respect for his fashion choices. Ariel had always been tailor. He had gone to her for everything, including his blue and white haori that had become his signature.

Then the conversation took a darker turn.

"Do I think we can beat him? Of course." I do think we'll do it cleanly? That's a harder question. While Baldur's thoughts didn't play out on his face, everything locked way behind those steel blue eyes, there was a darkness cast to his features that resembled doubt.

"It all comes down to the boss meeting. Either we've done our part, and pulled the frontlines together into some kind of group that can coordinate with eachother, or we devolve into a madness of individuals who all think they know better and act alone, instead of in concert."

That was always Baldur's biggest fear, but most of the people weren't there to witness the deaths on the frontline, and were therefore less concerned by it.

"If we can pull everyone together, and get everyone buffed, and have full teams to fight this thing, then I think we're going to do it. If we break into factions again... we'll do it... but some people might die."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

With half a smile, she faced Baldur: "I'm glad you're more optimistic than me." she the crouches to pick a stone from the ground and after giving it a light squeeze she throws it in the Stagyan, making it skip on the surface two times before it sank. Doing it on a whim, she remembered competing with her dad to see who makes it skip more times, a long time ago. "Then again, I haven't been around after the 20th floor until the leviathan, and even there I didn't last until the end, being swept away from the fight by the water." She shivered unconsciously, remembering the sensation from back then and her frustration for being forced to step away. "You probably know more about our potential than me." she said, oblivious to the tinge of doubt in his eyes despite his words.

She would nod at every point he'd made as she tried again to make the stone skip more times... three was her limit so far without the use of skills and mods. "It sounds like we're still at that point. I was hoping things would have improved." she added, once again turning to face her old friend, one of the few remaining that she could count on one hand. "Seems it's unavoidable that there's bound to be a Zelrius or Ariel disrupting these meeting. I had hoped that things would improve in my absence but are always going to be clashing factions."

She would swallow an imaginary nods in her throat and and make way for the next topic that she was interested in. "I saw some old and a bunch of new faces at your place. Since they wore casual attire I couldn't gauge them. How many new ones would join the meeting and the boss? I only remember some of the people from leviathan." It was one of the issues that they always seem to lack, manpower to organize a full raid. While they always pulled through with the little they had, the blonde doubted that this time it would be enough. Losing Hestia, their dedicated tank midfight stalled them to the point that she considered they were better off tp-in out of there before lighting all pillars. 

[Baldur 0]

"You probably know more about our potential than me." Ariel did not seem to believe Baldur's optimistic words, but she also seemed to appreciate that he had the ability to be so. Baldur's chief weapon had always been hope, not the katana.

"I do, but not by much. The biggest concern was not having enough people due to attrition. Now the biggest concern is all the new people that have come to fill in the ranks. They need to know how to fight and survive. While they don't have the experience, they also don't have the bad habits. If we can train them to have good ones, then the front will be even more powerful than it was before."

There had been many new faces he hadn't seen before the meeting, and apparently quite a few of them newly tier 3. He was optimistic, they would just need to spread them out with a smattering of more experienced frontliners, for those who were left at least.

"It sounds like we're still at that point. I was hoping things would have improved. Seems it's unavoidable that there's bound to be a Zelrius or Ariel disrupting these meeting. I had hoped that things would improve in my absence but are always going to be clashing factions."

"It does seem that those who would rather disagree and insult always find their way to the meetings, but there is little we can do about it but hope that maturity wins out. I would love to make the meetings by invitation only, but that comes with its own set of problems. Jacob's Ladder will not become an Azure Brigade part 2." There was a bit of fire in those words, but he had lived with the comparison long enough simply because it was a frontline guild headed by frontliners.

"I feel if we are lucky, we will have 3 full teams. Perhaps 4 smaller ones if the tank and off tank numbers work out, but I would settle for 3 full, strong teams."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"You jest..." she whispered under her breath, last time she really knew about the frontlines' potential was back at floor 13 when she personally organized the meeting against the twin angels boss. It went incredibly smooth, more than she could ask for but that was because there was a well established force that she knew would show up. She admitted that the floor bosses were easier back then too, more...lenient to mistakes.

"I was taken aback at the meeting... so many new eager faces, maybe a little bit too much." she said with a snort, remembering herself as the same... begging her guild master to join the next raid again and again after being denied. "That's why I wanted to relate what we went through that fight, expressed my raw thoughts and emotions in hopes to make them see how dangerous it was. And will be." she wouldn't have been able to do so before her reclusion on the 22th floor, pride getting in the way of showing what she saw as 'weakness'. But she came back determined and with a plan in mind; one that seemed to align with what Baldur had did until now.

She noticed the fire behind those words, both of them having been members of the now extinct guild, she could trust that he would keep with his words. "That's more than I expected." she stated plainly, knowing that numbers were out of their control, for now.

She wanted to turn back to something he mentioned before: "You say the new blood doesn't have experience, they need training and some sort of guidance?" she got closer to him, passion burning in her silver ayes: "I couldn't agree more. That's probably one of the reason you started a school on your island right? We think alike Bal. I came back with a similar idea in mind. New T3 players don't really know what it is to be a frontliner, so it is our duty as their senpai to guide, teach them!" she took a deep breath, she was now smiling as she began to touch on the subject she had initially called him here for.

 "With that goal in mind, we can become the majority of factions, veterans willing to teach the rest and with the backup of various guild, all working together to make the frontlines as safe and coordinated as we can. You took a big step at the meeting with Jacob's Ladder, working in tandem with Firm Anima and the rest of the involved crafters. But people will always be suspicious of one large guild trying to control everything."  

To that end I plan to start a martial arts school on floor 22, it will be backed by Firm Anima; that would help players gear up. Myself and ideally other high levels, would help players go through quests faster and speed up their progress of leveling. Personally I want to help people, to understand that this is a different world with its own set of rules. I will use the concept of kendo and martial arts in general to help those willing to learn, discipline their character. I find it something that is deeply lacking." she didn't iron out all the details, it was a bring undertake if they were to pursue it. She stopped herself, looking for his input... she realize she was starting to sound like a fanatic instead of passionate if she continued. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Baldur 0]

"I was trying not to scare anyone away, and at the same time convince them of the danger. The issue with aspiring frontliners is that they all end to be stubborn and arrogant. At least, until they lose someone close to them, or almost die themselves. If we try to scare them, they're going to dig in their heals and press on into the fight, but if you give them requirements, they'll rise to meet them. The scope of the danger we presented is probably why Yuki decided to throw her hat in. She saw a need, and pushed on into it, but since I had placed a requirement on it, she's not working towards meeting that requirement."

He smiled in thought at the young woman working so hard to join them in a role they desperately needed, even if everyone seemed to have an opinion on what she was or wasn't allowed to do.

"Hopefully by being prepared, and giving everyone some goals, we can direct the energy of the new frontliners into heightening their odds of survival, even if they don't realize what they're doing."

Baldur bent down and picked up a rock, throwing it into the river instead of trying to skip it, just to give his hands something to do.

"My goal with Jacob's Ladder was to help supply the frontline, with players, and resources, and organization. We accumulated the resources to comission 100 perfect heal crystals, I also commissioned a masterpiece set of performer buffs and debuffs. We also have set aside a stipend of resources to outfit rising stars with new equipment at each tier, and plan to help them know what skills they need to take and when, to optimize their leveling, and what their goal should be to hit by the time they want to join the frontlines. I'm trying to use the wealth of the high levels, both in terms of materials and knowledge, and empower those of lower levels. My dojo is seperate, but the guild is built around the concepts of my school."

He was surprised to see so many people starting up schools. Now there were 3. There was still the guild that Lessa and Cordelia belong to, that Baldur knew nothing about, but he saw that Bahr had the same guild symbol. They would be an interesting contender in the front going forward, Baldur just had to let go of his ego and let the new blood take the lead without fighting them as the previous old blood had done. Sometimes you were the top, and sometimes you weren't. There was an ebb and flow to the frontlines and the new blood would learn that eventually as well.

"I look forward to dropping by and seeing your school."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Setting requirements... I like that approach." she said as she picked another stone and after seeing him flop one straight into the river, she unsuccessfully tried to make it skip three times. "But I still think we shouldn't hold back on details for the next meeting. Anything that we pass off as insignificant or too scary for whatever reason, others might make connections or draw better conclusions than us. We were there to scout after all, gather information about the next boss... " her serious tone partially faded as the ends of her mouth turned slightly upwards.

"Think of labyrinth scouts as journalists, we first need to present the facts in every detail we can, then have people draw their own conclusions. We can't brush off facts just to cater to others." She folded her hands and closed her eyes: "Maybe have a smaller meeting right after the scouting with some players that have a keen mind prone towards strategy... like Shield, Raidou and even that new T3 girl with the black hair!" a little bit surprised that those two came in mind first. "Have them help with the initial processing of the raw info, make some initial conclusions and map out the course for a bigger meeting afterwards. One where we present our conclusions and take suggestions from the rest." however she looked at it, that last meeting had too many people which resulted on the topics being derailed too often or be redundantly discussed, causing it to last longer than it should have.

She smiled at his last statement: "I have big plans for its 'unveil', I'll be taking advantage of the natural sakura trees on the domain and organize a open house Hanami event. One of the things I need is make people aware that this will be a place where you can come and get help, or refuge, regardless of your level... or crystal color. It's one of the reasons I picked a valley outside the safe zones."