[SP | F1] Will of the Samurai

[Katoka 0]

Katoka had just returned from the guild hall to the Town of Beginnings after doing some research, after completing the Lessons quest line and the humbling encounter with the sand shark a few floors up, she decided that it was time to complete the Katana Skill quest. From what she read up on it was a quest that could realistically be done on any floor, as long as you found the location to start it. She figured she would play it safe and hunt for the hidden dojo in the mountains here on Floor 1. She didn't have an exact location since it was left as vague as possible, "Otherwise it'll take the fun out of the journey" the note had said in the guild archive. Double checking her inventory and gear she set out to the mountains that were lining he edge of the large lake she had previously fished at.

"First time in a while I've been out on my own," she said aloud to herself, exiting the safety of the city walls. She gripped her sword handle not out of fear this time, but in determination, "I'm a different person than I was the first time I left." smiling she began her trek to the lake.

Spoiler

Name: Katoka
Level: 10
HP: 200/200
EN: 20/20

Stats:
Damage: 4
Mitigation: 9
Accuracy: 2
LD:1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Curved Sword (T1/Rare/Curverd) | (+2 Dmg)
Armor: Samurai Yukata (T1/Uncommon/Light Armor) | MIT 1
Misc: Rabbit's Foot (T1/Perfect/Trinket) | ACC 2, LD 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions*3
Sand Armor Potion - +27 MIT (no stacking)*1

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by Katoka

[Katoka 0]

Since she was familiar with the route it took her only twenty minutes to reach the large lake. She could see the mountain range just on the other side, it's ridges and peaks resembling a sleeping monstrosity waiting to be awoken. Katoka smiled, remembering the trip she took with Ruler not long ago to hunt a sword fish in this very lake. She could see the dock where the old man was waiting for the next person to com along and help him. Readying herself the blonde continued on, circling the edge of the large lake so she could begin her eventual climb into the stone range before her.

After an hour she stopped to take a break at the waters edge, she was only about half way around at this point. Soaking her bare feet in the cool water she was beginning to realize that she had misjudged the distance, it was probably going to take her much longer to reach her destination. After a fifteen minute break she set off again, her determination returning.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka finally stood at the base of the mountain range. It wasn't the tallest she'd ever seen, but the climb would still be exhausting, especially after the walk from the Town of Beginnings. After adjusting her gear she made her way up the worn path before her, the grass and other vegetation worn from what seemed like busy feet from either animal or human. There were a few odd placements of stone as well, some of them well worn and some stacked two or three high, this confirmed her earlier speculation about it being a used route. Soon she made it to a point where she doubled back, climbing higher in he opposite direction like a sort of natural double back staircase. It was then that she reached the edge of a forest that dotted the mountainside. It began to get harder to find the path, the ground through the trees nearly the same as it's surroundings.

[Katoka 0]

It didn't take long for the path to fade into the rest of the scenery. At this point Katoka became concerned that she had gotten completely lost. After a long period of frantic looking she decided that maybe it was time for a lunch break. She sat on a nearby fallen log and pulled a sandwich from her inventory that made her mouth water, a brisket with fresh baked bread and a sort of savory sauce. She greedily began to eat while opening her UI to check her map. It looked like there was a spring fed pond or lake not far from where she sat, it could be worth investigating? If she didn't find anything there then she would double back and try looking for a path she may have missed out on. Popping the last bit of sandwich in her mouth, Katoka stood back up and stretched a bit before continuing her search for her sought after goal.

[Katoka 0]

When she reached the pond Katoka was in awe of it's beauty, it was being fed from a waterfall that fell from the cliff face in front of her. The sunlight was creating a small rainbow through the mist of the falling water, it was crystal clear to the bottom as well. Finding a large boulder nearby the small blonde woman sat for a while, taking in the sight before her. She had been rising in level fairly fast the few days and while she still had a ways to go, it was nice to take the time and enjoy the beauty that this game of death sometimes presented to them. Standing up she stepped forward and gestured for her game menu to open. She unequipped her sandals and thigh high leg protector things ((OOC: I have no idea hat she's actually wearing, just roll with me here)) and dipped her foot in the water, it was ice cold and it sent a chill up her. Quickly looking around she checked to see if anyone else was around, "Hello?" She called out and got no reply. She quickly unequipped the rest of her armor and dove into the cold water. She came up after a short moment and let out a cry of shock from the sudden temperature change. There was nothing better than ice cold mountain spring water, despite the fact that this was just all data in a game.

[Katoka 0]

When the sun was beginning to make it's decent Katoka decided it might be time to continue her hunt. It was at this time that she noticed a few smooth stones stacked near the edge of the waterfall. They were just out of the way that if you weren't looking you wouldn't have noticed. She swam over to the edge of the water and climbed out, re equipping her clothing, armor, and sword. "Well well, what do we have here?" she asked stepping behind the waterfall and into a cave, it was slick with water but it stretched back into an opening of light that she couldn't' quite make out. The water from the pond and waterfall led into a stream that cut through the cave leading back to the opening. "Secret waterfall dojo?" she asked again to no one in particular while walking along the edge of the stream.

[Katoka 0]

Emerging from the cave Katoka was blinded a bit by the sunlight, she covered her eyes while they adjusted and as the area came into view she was left in awe once again. The area was not large, but there was enough room for the dojo at the back of the alcove as well as what seemed to be an open area and a few trees here and there. There was another waterfall in the back that fed into a stream that wound down into another pond, this one had lily pads and what looked like koi of various sizes. After a few moments Katoka closed her mouth after it had hung open while she was taking in the sights, "Yep, secret waterfall dojo." she then followed the flagstone path before her. She crossed a small arching bridge and climbed a few steps until she stood at the dojo's front entrance. Sitting there on the porch drinking what looked like tea, was an older man with salt and pepper hair pulled back into a topknot. He was handsome, and while he looked fairly young, his faded green eyes had an old look to them.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka bowed deeply to show her respect to the man, "I wish to train under you to learn the ways of the sword Sensei." she announced, still fully bent over. She rose after a moment and watched the man finish his tea, he set the cup down and looked up at her.

"Show me what you know young one." he spoke in a soft but deep tone, crossing his arms he set back and watched the young blonde. Katoka nodded, her face a placid mask of emotion, she drew her sword and charged up her signature sword skill Rage Blow, followed by Fell Crescent shortly after. She returned the sword to it's sheath and bowed to the man again, when returned to her full standing position the man scratched the back of his head and stood up, brushing off his yukata.

"You sure you want to do this little one? It won't be easy." he asked.

Edited July 25, 2020 by Katoka

[Katoka 0]

Katoka nodded, "If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have climbed the mountain to find you." the man laughed at this and a window opened in front of her, 'Begin <<Way of the Samurai>> Quest?' she tapped accept and the window closed. The man nodded and gestured for her to follow him inside the dojo. Inside it was a standard Japanese style dojo, beautiful wood and rice paper separators, and tatami mats covering the floor.

"Sit." he told her, and she obliged. He stepped into a separate room and came back with a pair bokutō, he handed her on and stood holding the other at his waist where a katana would normally rest. "When you finish your training little one, you will be a student of the Sakura Style. You will be fluid, light on you feet, and able to adapt to change like the wind changes direction."

Katoka nodded again, "I am ready sensei."

[Katoka 0]

"First," her sensei explained, "You must empty your mind." The two of them sat under the water fall, their legs crossed and their arms resting on their legs. The cold water crashed down on Katoka's head making it difficult to do anything, let alone clear her mind. If it was easy it wouldn't be training though, so she sat under the water until her thoughts began to slow like trickle of the nearby stream. With her eyes closed her thoughts and worries began to float away down the river in her mind, it didn't take long before her mind was empty and calm like the surface of a placid lake. After a time she felt the hand of her sensei as he brought her back to her senses, she opened her eyes and the sun had already set.

"Good, for now we will rest and continue training in the morning. You will be safe here for the night." he led her back to the dojo and showed her to a spare room with a bedroll and other various amenities.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Katoka

[Katoka 0]

Katoka let out a content sigh as she settled into a warm bath. She didn't try to think too hard about how the water in the tub was warmed, or what it was made of for that matter, she was just pleased that she could soak her tired muscles after a long day of hiking and sitting up the cold waterfall. She wondered if what she was doing was going to be essential to her learning this skill, it seemed like such an in-depth and almost real training regimen that she had forgotten that she was in a game. She took deep breath and began to calm her mind again, it didn't take her long to reach the peaceful state of mind she had earlier. Maybe there was something to this quest after all.

When she had returned to her room she rolled out the bedroll and crawled under the soft blanket. It took her almost no time at all to fall into a deep sleep.

[Katoka 0]

In the morning Katoka and her Sensei at breakfast together in mostly silence save for a few polite greetings and small words here or there. Shortly after she stretched and they set out to another area of the grounds, this one was different from the waterfall though. In a clearing surrounded by a few trees stood a wooden training dummy, it was stained with some sort of sealant that gave it a smooth sheen and was covered in dents and dings. It was well used and it seemed quite old. Her teacher stood next to the dummy with his bokutō, "Next you must be fluid in your motions. The sword is not just a tool, but an extension of yourself." he positions himself in from of the dummy and motions drawing the wooden sward as if it was a real blade. "If you can move your body like a leaf floats on the wind," he strikes the dummy several times, causing five echoing thuds to ring out, "then you can strike just as quickly as you need to."

[Katoka 0]

Katoka took a similar stance to what her Sensei had, drawing the bokutō and standing in a readied stance. Her teacher was leaning against a nearby tree, sipping from a mug of tea he had pulled from somewhere. Taking a step forward she struck the dummy once, an echoing thud bouncing through the area. The wood had vibrated up her arms and hurt her hands slightly, she adjusted her grip and struck again. And again. And again.

After a few hours her teacher called out to her, he had brought some rice balls and they both sat down together to enjoy them. They ate sitting in silence, Katoka spent much of the time staring at the dummy trying to remember her instructors words and movements. Something clicked in her mind and she finished her food and her tea quickly , thanking her teacher with a bow and went back to the dummy. She cleared her mind this time, focusing on nothing before she struck out again at the dummy, this time with two rapid hits before the vibrating of the wood had hurt her hands. She quickly looked back and her Sensei was smiling, she had begun to figure it out.

Time passed quickly and when the sun began to set Katoka let out a final cry just before striking the dummy for the final time. She had begun to increase the number of strikes as time went on and now she managed to hit her wooden opponent four times in rapid succession. This time however she thought she saw her wooden sword take on a slight glow just before she struck. With a speed she didn't know she had possessed the little blonde landed five blows back to back, this time though her hands remained firmly gripped in the hilt without throbbing even once.

[Katoka 0]

Tonight Katoka took a longer bath than she had previously. Her muscles ached and her hands and arms were extremely sore, she almost couldn't raise the bucket to wash of the soap before she slid into the tub of hot water. It was strange, she knew this was all virtual but looking down at her hands she could see her skin beginning to blister from the constant swinging of her sword. She could feel the displacement of the water around her, despite the fact that it was just slightly off she felt the warmth of it around her body, soothing her muscles. Had Kayaba really put this much work into something just to kill thousands?

It felt so odd, if he wanted to just murder a ton of kids and people he could have immediately had the NerveGear blow up our brains. Or hell if he wanted to just watch us all fight to he death he could have made one big death tournament or arena or something. This all felt like too much time and, she hated to admit it, love had been pored into this creation. Katsumi shook her head and pulled herself out of the bath, it was time to sleep if she was going to try and forgive that man already.

[Katoka 0]

Once again Katoka had fallen asleep almost as soon as she climbed into bed. The next morning she got up and ate breakfast again with her sensei, and they went out to another open area. This time there were about 30 bamboo rods sticking out of the ground, they were about three feet off the ground and spaced another three feet from each other. "Now you must learn to move with ease in your environment. Your balance must be precise and your movements precise." he leapt up onto a rod and stood on it with one foot, with his bokutō drawn he began to make fluid attacking motions, leaping from one rod to another with ease. He twirled and spin, attacking invisible foes and deflecting phantom blades. At the end he leapt down and gestured to her, "Now it is your turn, first without your weapon. Once you have gained your footing and balance you may use it."

[Katoka 0]

At first Katoka thought that she would be fine, her balance wasn't all that bad after all. The initial balance training didn't take her long to get he hang of, after about an hour and a half she was hoping about the rods with ease and had only managed to fall a couple of time. The sword half she thought was going to be easy.

It wasn't.

With the added weight and length of the sword she had to adjust her original way of balance, then she had to account for swinging the blade. This took her much longer to really get a feel for, and she fell even more. When she began to get frustrated she called upon the knowledge from her first day of training, she calmed her mind and focused on the task at hand, then she swing her sword with purpose like the second day. Her phantom foes fell with each blow and she hopped and dodged other unseen attacks. Before she had realized it she had reached the far side of the practice course without falling and hopped down pleased with her success. She bowed to her teacher and he nodded, "Very good young one. Come, we will have dinner."

[Katoka 0]

Katoka almost fell asleep in tonight's bath. Her stomach was full and her body was weary, it had been a long time since she had done this much physical activity so many days in a row. How many more training sessions did they have left? There wasn't much in the notes except for 'plan to stay for a few days'. Whoever left the details was definitely a jerk, she sank into the bath deeper and blew bubbles out of frustration. She was close though, she could feel it. It was like with each bit of the training she mastered the system was nudging her closer and closer to the skill. She did miss the company of others though, her sensei was nice but he was an NPC. There were times he felt so alive, so real, but she knew in the back of her mind that he was just data. Then again, wasn't she as well?

[Katoka 0]

The next morning was much of the same, once Katsumi was awake she ate and stretched before walking with her sensei back to the same area as yesterday. Looking confused Katoka turned to her teacher, he smiled, "Today you will take all you've learned and learn to adapt to any situation." he gestured to the bamboo rods, "You will attack and move upon the rods like yesterday but I will be adding obstacles to you test how well you adapt."

Katoka sighed but hopped up on the rods, assuming her stance from yesterday, "What sort of obstacles are we talking about Sensei?" she asked slightly concerned. He laughed, "If I told you now it would spoil the fun. Now let me know when you are ready."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling Katsumi cleared her mind, "I'm ready Sensei." and she leapt to the next rod, swinging her sword and ducking to avoid an invisible blow. When she came back up however she was met with a stone to the forehead, causing her to fall flat on her back.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka was surprised to find herself on the ground, she heard her sensei's muffled snickering. Was that programmed? It must have been. She saw his figure over her now, holding out a hand to help her up. She accepted the help and brushed herself off, "I guess I had that one coming huh?" she asked, glaring at the man trying not to laugh. "Again young one, maybe without falling this time."

She hopped up once again and went through the motions, this time she managed to avoid the stones being tossed either by dodging or deflecting them with her sword. She wasn't prepared however for the bamboo poles that she hadn't noticed rigged to the ground swinging up to meet her. This continued for most of the day, new obstacles and more of her falling down. By the end of the day however she managed to dance about the field despite the various items thrown or swung at her. With one final twirl around she crossed bokutō with her sensei who was now standing in front of her. She was surprised but managed to gather her thoughts just in time to blow two of his rapid blows, ducking under him she leapt to the side and attacked, but of course he deflected the swings.

Leaping to the side she ran from her teacher, knowing he would chase her to continue his assault. As she dashed for the end of the course he attempted to intercept her, but was met with one of his own rigged bamboo poles swinging up to hit him square in the face. He fell back on his back and Katoka jumped off at the end of the course, she turned and ran back to her teacher, "Sensei?! Are you alright?" her teacher laughed a deeply and sat up, she offered her hand and he accepted.

[Katoka 0]

Upon standing her sensei bowed to her first, Katoka was shocked and bowed several times. When he straightened himself he laughed again, putting a hand on the young girls shoulder, "It's been many years since someone has given me a run for my money like that. It's also been a while since I laughed that hard. Thank you Katoka."

She was shocked at first, she didn't remember ever giving the swordsman her name yet he called her by her player name. Just then a window popped up in front her signifying the completion of the quest and the acquisition of the katana skill. With tears in her eyes she tapped the confirmation button and leapt forward to her sensei to hug him. He was shocked at first but hugged her back.

"It's rude to call me by my name when I don't even know yours Sensei." she said stepping back. The man chuckled, "It hasn't been spoken for quite some time, but you may call me Sakurai little one."

She nodded and bowed again, placing her fist against the palm of her other hand. "Thank you Sakurai Sensei."

With that she said her goodbyes and left the mountain sanctuary. She somehow felt stronger, and she planned on putting this new strength to good use.

Spoiler

Thread Complete

2 SP: 1 page, 1 event

Col: 400

Unlocked Katana Skill

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by Katoka