[SP|F2] <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> Shatter

[ChaseR 0]

Having heard about a quest on the southern end of the second floor that didn't involve any monsters, Chase decided to head there. Sure, he'd be out in the fields, but he would not be putting himself in danger just like that- so he could still progress even without Shay being there for him. After a bit of walking and a lot of climbing, he reached what seemed like a hut on the edge of the map, very close to the summit of the mountain. He approached to knock on the door, only for it to open and an NPC to step out of it.

A quest flag popped up for the bluehead, although the quest's details weren't apparent right off the bat. All he saw was that he had to break a boulder, which didn't sound like too much of an effort. Agreeing, he was lead to the tall boulder he'd need to engage in combat with in order to break it, only using his bare hands. Having been lent these by a craftsman, he opened his inventory and put on <<Hand Warps>> once he'd unequipped his sword.

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 12
HP: 240/240
EN: 24/24

Stats:
Damage: 4
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Hand Warps>> (T1/Perfect/MA): DMG III
Armor: <<Sky Blue Apparel>> (T1/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I; REC II
Misc: <<Warm Earmuffs>> (T1/Perfect/Trinket): ACC III

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*5
Field Rations*1
Immolation Potion*1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[ChaseR 0]

Before he could get right down to business, the NPC asked him to turn over and took out some quick-drying paint, painting whiskers on Chase's face and warning him that they wouldn't disappear until after he's broken the boulder. He was beginning to wonder just how he'd manage to do that, but this was a game and that idea was slowly being drilled into his head, in a more natural way however. "It's a game... Everything takes damage. Just punching it with these Hand Warps will be much more effective than doing it bare handed."

The NPC then agreed to move back and watch silently, crossing his legs as he sat by the side of his hut and stared. The boy looked over his shoulder at the old man and took a deep breath, exhaling before turning to face the rock and taking on a battle ready stance. He didn't know any martial arts by himself, so... Anything that felt remotely close to a battle ready stance, that was.

[ChaseR 0]

He closed his eyes to take a deep breath, emptying his mind and clenching his fists. Once opening them, he let out a shout and threw a punch right at the boulder, striking it as hard as he could. There was a small sting from his hand, but his HP hadn't deleted any. It was most likely because he just rammed it into what the game would consider an obstacle. "It doesn't seem to have taken any damage, but if this is what the quest wants me to do... Then it means it must have."

Putting faith in himself, he looked at the boulder intently, trying to find any marks. None yet. He looked at his hand, trying to see if there was the damage effect anywhere on it, but neither. "This quest is so weird... I have to keep going anyways. I wonder how many other quests like this exist, speaking of which... The reward for this is said to be some skill I don't have on my menu, up to now? I wonder..."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 46/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 2, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Chase stared the boulder down, feeling the little energy he spent to throw the previous punch back. With another deep breath, he released another powerful blow to deal as much damage to it as possible, although it was still rather hard to tell whether it had worked or not. He examined it once more, seeing a few cracks having formed here and there. "So the more damage I deal, the more and bigger cracks that will appear..?"

He pondered on his own, stepping back and recovering before preparing himself to throw another hit. "This whole world he made... How does it even work to begin with? Programming something like this... I can't imagine being anywhere nearly as talented as this guy. Especially not if I were to waste it all like this. Trapping so many people in a world that he made all for himself, that's despicable. I can't imagine anyone wanting this with all their hard effort."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 42/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 2, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"I know fully well that thinking about this won't do me good, or even end up somewhere, but... There's more pushing me forward than getting back to Lily. Definitely.", he finished his thoughts before throwing another punch right at the boulder, causing another crack to form on it. "I want to face Kayaba and ask him in person, why he did all of this. To do that, I have to get out of the game. He's kept me away from Lily, just as he has everyone from so many others."

Beginning to sweat, the boy wiped his forehead with the hand wraps before noticing the small logo on them. "... Hm.", he shook the thought of, thinking that it looked slightly like Ariel's household emblem. Must have just been a coincidence though, and it was probably nothing. Then again, she had mentioned something about a school the other day, so perhaps those were weapons she was planning on handing out once she formed it.

 

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 38/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 2, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Taking his stance again, he'd completely forgotten about the NPC watching over him throughout his breaking the boulder. Now was the perfect time to keep pondering about the world, but not just this one. He knew fully well that while he was in here, his real body was back in the real world. Most likely hooked up in a hospital bed, keeping him alive until they can clear the game. "I wonder... Can everyone see us? Can they see what we're doing, if we're fighting? I'm curious about what Lily is doing. She must be worried sick."

With that, he abruptly threw another punch at the boulder, letting out a shout as he did and looking at it, pulling his hand back before his expression softened. "I'm not trying to really clear it so she doesn't get in... I'm trying to clear it so I can get out and back to her, isn't that so? If she was here, would I really mind it that much..? Probably...", the boy's soft side had begun to come out, although at least he wasn't talking to himself out loud. To the old man, he was just taking breaks in between his punches.

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 34/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 2, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"If I want to get out though, I can't keep being amazed by Shay's strength and technique, can I? I have to improve and become as strong as she is, even stronger than her if I have to. I've got to learn how to use my sword properly, become one with it and use it as an extension of my body... or something like that.", he ranted on inside of his head as he adjusted his stance once more, trying to think about what Shay would tell him. On one of her good days, of course. Now that his mind had wandered over to Shay though, that was a whole other train of thought setting off.

"She's helped me for what feels like ages despite it having only been a few quests, but...I don't really know that much about her, do I? Just like she doesn't about me. I'm sure she can tell what sort of a person I am though. We're both bad with words and better with actions.", the bluehead's inner monologue went on and on, before he threw another punch at the boulder, where a crack had already formed from before to try and make it even larger, which he did quite succeed at. "Looks like bit by bit, I'm getting there.", he reassured himself with a small smile, wiping some more sweat off his forehead.

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 29/50 (-5) | EVA: -2

Edited July 2, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Chase lowered his head to look at where his sheathed blade would normally be sitting at, quietly staring the empty spot down and smiling a bit. "It feels as if I can finally trust in myself, at least here. It's not that I don't trust in myself, but... In here if I falter, that could mean I die. And I have to learn to be stronger with or without Lily. Even if Shay isn't by my side here to keep me safe, I have to do all in my power to overpower anybody that comes at me.", he went on a tangent from his training once more, moving his two hands to his face to slap his cheeks and snap out of it.

Getting back on track, he took the same stance as before, seeing it become a bit of a habit, at least during this small session, before throwing another punch with a firm stance and pose at the boulder. More cracks had begun to show, although he wasn't paying enough attention to notice before now. Bit by bit, he was getting there and it looked like he would truly break what seemed to be unbreakable at first. "It's just as I thought, a game is a game... You can't apply logic to it, even if it looks real."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 25/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 2, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"Come think of it... How long has it been since we got stuck here?", he began to ponder with a growing frown on his face. It felt as if it had been months, if not years, but he'd lost track of time and all the days that passed since getting stuck. Maybe time didn't even flow as it normally would in here, hence it's a game and not reality. The rules of reality couldn't apply to this world, and Chase kept being met with that exact conclusion- during this mission, in battles, when it came to using skills, the environment, the monsters, the quests, everything. Nothing worked like it normally would in reality.

With that in mind, he looked at his hand, stretching it and moving it as if to make sure that it was really his. It moved exactly as he wanted it to, but... It was still just data in the virtual world. His real body was back in a hospital most likely, numb. With another punch at the boulder, his mind kept going off about what could have really happened to him and everyone else that joined the game. How the public must have accepted this incident, if anything could have changed in the real world...

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 21/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 4, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"Nah, actually... There's no way there'd be that much uproar back in reality. They can't see us or know what's happening probably. Most people have probably just forgotten about this already, except for those that loved us.", he began to think negatively once more, frowning and tightening the handwraps around his hands once more as he felt they were beginning to come in loose. In an attempt to clear his head from the existential crisis that were to follow these thoughts. "Keep it together. Just think about the present, this is my world now. So, about these... martial arts?"

The boy began to ponder the existence of sword skills for this type of weapon, even if the name seemed very contradictory. "Unless you pair these martial arts with a weapon, a sword, how would you use sword skills..? Then again, there's a warhammer in the game, but- Wait... Martial arts, so that means...". Connecting the dots in his head, the boy took a deep breath before kicking at the boulder with his right leg, even with his shoes on, seeing it deal just as much damage as a punch did up to now. "I feel this should have been so obvious to me."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 17/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 4, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Although it hadn't been all that long, if long at all since he began to chip away at the boulder's health, it felt like it had been ages. His thoughts were keeping him from getting in the zone, slowing this process down much too long and making him feel as if he was spending incredibly much time and energy going through this. The NPC was too silent to help provide any conversation, as any NPC would be, and he himself wasn't too social either. "Honestly, I've been too used to having Shay be around. Even silent, at least some company makes this less lonely."

Taking another deep breath and trying to keep his posture as well as possible for the next hit, he prepped himself before releasing one more punch, feeling his hand connect with the boulder much better than before. Maybe it was because he hit it in the right spot, or because he was getting the hang of this. Regardless, that was one more hit closer to unlocking the Extra Skill, and that was enough to get him excited enough. "Even if I don't use it, it's nice to be at ease about this sort of stuff. It's one more thing to look forward to anyways."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 13/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

Edited July 6, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

While he regained his composure for his next strike, a smile crossed his face. The boulder seemed to be very close to breaking, perhaps three or so punches away. He couldn't see his health, sure, but he had began to get a feel for how much longer it'd take, given its looks and the increasing amount of cracks that appeared with every single strike on it. "Mastery with these weapons doesn't really appear to work literally... You put in skill points to get more skills or to strengthen the ones you have, but the system makes up for whatever lack of battle experience. This is 'experience' though, in the literal way. I wonder if it'll help any."

Then again, his mind began to wonder back to the skill list, realising that since that existed, it worked as the clear foundations on what was possible and what wasn't, given each weapon type. "But it only shows you skills you can learn by default... So how do you get Unique Skills? Ariel mentioned them, but she didn't seem to know about that.", the boy finished his thoughts before throwing a kick at the rock, hitting it with his heel and taking a step back afterwards, hopping on his feet slightly. "Almost there."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (+1, -2+2) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 13/50 | EVA: -2

[ChaseR 0]

Although the train of thoughts regarding the skill list was over, he knew that there had to be some archive, a collective list of every skill, attainable and not, somewhere in the game. Maybe it was a building on the Town of Beginnings, or on some other floor that he hadn't visited. With only two people to turn too, he was determined to ask them and find out if he could educate himself any further. Maybe like that, he'd know what skills to get and how to make it to the ranks higher. Keeping close tabs on everyone and knowing their limits would help when trying to cooperate with them, too.

"I'm almost there. Let's think about that when it's time to think about it.", the bluehead tried once more to get himself on track, taking a deep breath and focusing all his strength into his other fist which he hadn't used too much to attack, before throwing a wild punch at the boulder. The hit landed, but it felt much too off given that's not how he was used to moving his body around. "Eh... I'll stick to initiating with right handed punches."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 9/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

[ChaseR 0]

The boy stopped focusing on his stance, quietly running his hand over the boulder to admire the cracks. His effort began to show, even if he doubted it at first. The NPC was obviously as unwavering as ever before, but he couldn't care less. Some of them seemed to act like humans, while others were obviously programmed to act out a certain way. This one was probably neither and just unamused compared to others, but Chase wasn't one to know. Regardless of whether the geezer cared or not, the swordsman was about to break the boulder with his bare fists, all due to the help of his will and these hand wraps.

"I can tell it's about to break. It shouldn't take much more than this.", he thought, quickly shifting into his battle stance and throwing another punch with all of his might right at one of the cracks on the boulder. A wide crack spread over all the rest, and it was obvious that a tiny push would be enough for the huge rock to crumble into pieces. Dust was practically already coming out of it with every punch, and that made Chase all too glad.

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 5/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

[ChaseR 0]

Without any second thoughts, he took his stance again and grinned widely. A final punch was all that it really took before he finished breaking the rock, watching it fall down into many pieces and as soon as each hit the ground, it broke into blue crystals. This made him feel really accomplished, as he turned to look at the NPC who gave a nod and stood up, with his arms no longer crossed. He walked up to the bluehead and raised his hand, wiping his fingers over the whiskers he'd applied on him as they quickly disappeared.

The quest confirmation window appeared in front of him once the NPC went back to the cozy confines of his hut, and the boy simply accepted his rewards before taking the hand wraps off, unequipping them and replacing them with his trusty sword once more. He wasn't planning to get into battle, but on the way back, an idea crossed his mind. Given he wasn't in any rush just yet, he had something he could do just to make the trip that much more worthwhile. "Right, if I recall correctly from the Earning a Living quest..."

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 1/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

[ChaseR 0]

He began to climb down the mountain, and once the boy was close enough to the plains part of the floor, it was time to do it. He'd finally start putting to use all the knowledge he'd sucked right into his head and left on the back of his mind. "Back in the quest I did with Ariel, I remember the NPC asked me to go look for materials. You can get them either by killing monsters around your level, or...". And with that, he began to look around the grass while heading back to town. This was genius, multi-tasking at its finest. As obvious as it was, it was only the first time it had really crossed his mind.

And his efforts paid off almost immediately as he was blessed with the glow of a material on the ground, waiting for him to pick it up. And that exactly he did. He scooped it off the ground, quickly stashing it in his inventory and wearing a satisfied, smug smirk on his face while he strutted through the relatively empty plains.

Spoiler

ID# 157717 results:

 Battle: 7

ChaseR | HP: 240/240 | EN: 24/24 (-1, +1) | DMG: 4 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Boulder | HP: 0/50 (-4) | EVA: -2

 

[ChaseR 0]

"So if I want to keep my stocks up for materials and the like, I should keep my eyes out while I'm on my way to and from a location... That makes perfect sense. It's not like if I'm walking I can't look around and walk towards anywhere to pick a material up off the ground.", he kept on going inside his head with his chest puffed up with all his pride for that tiny achievement, feeling truthfully happy. As much of a game as SAO could be considered, this was what good design always led to- satisfying moments when the players connect the dots and end up getting a result like this out of very trivial tasks like this.

"I wonder if anything else would happen to be laying around, if I already found a single material of course~...", the blissful swordsman rambled on inside his head, keeping an eye out by the sides of the path he was taking just in case any materials were dropped around. No luck this once, however.

T1 Materials Found: 0

Edited July 6, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"Honestly, I don't care how many materials I find on my way back to the safezone.", the bluehead nodded to himself, keeping his arms crossed while his inner monologue continued. He made sure to not trip on any pebbles or holes in the dirt, at least keeping proper track of everything else around him. "Just finding out that I could do this will really save me so, so, so much time trying to look for materials later or even buy them. And it feels all that much better to have discovered this on my own. I wonder if Shay already knew this but just hadn't told me?"

Whatever the case, the only certain thing was that Shay wasn't keeping it a secret, had she known of course, just to gather all the materials by herself. She was probably not too interested in collecting everything around her, which was fine. Chase on the other hand... He wanted to say he had just found something else, but... That'd just be wishful thinking really.

T1 Materials Found: 0

Edited July 6, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"Overall, this world is really detailed in the end, isn't it? Stuff appears everywhere, and best of all, it's really property of whoever finds it first. It's so perplexing and at the same time just... relaxing. But there's always the looming threat of death at the slightest mistake, if you're unprepared or not equipped well enough. T-Tch... If I hadn't found Shay, back then...", he thought back to the first day, frowning slightly as he'd probably never have had the guts to step out of the Town of Beginnings, were that the case.

Shaking his head, his eyes took on a much more confident look as he let out a huff and clenched his fist just slightly in front of him. "If I find anybody in dire need of help back in the Town of Beginnings, while I'm still going there... Hell, even if I'm going for my shop. I'm definitely going to help them get out of here. Even just by a quest.", he agreed with himself, seeing nothing in his way but not caring- it was more of pep talk time anyways.

T1 Materials Found: 0

Edited July 6, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

With a quick final glance around for materials, Chase tried to make the most he could out of this overall short trip back from the NPC's hut. It hadn't really been that long since he'd left the town, and he was already standing almost right outside. He was about to enter and head to the teleporter before noticing a glow by the side, picking up the second- and final for now- material from the ground with a small grin on his face. "Alright... Time to head back and give it a rest, for now. I should have the Martial Arts skill available, so if I ever decide to switch weapon types... I can always invest any leftover Skill Points into it."

Like so, he entered the town and began to make his way over to the plaza, opening up his menu and going to his inventory tab to give everything a quick look once more, checking his rewards after this short expedition.

T1 Materials Found: 1

 

Spoiler

Quest Rewards:

Unlocked Martial Arts (Extra Skill)
3 SP (1 Quest, 1 Page, 1 Event)
1 T1 Materials
400 Col

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by ChaseR