[PP|F4] <<Avalanche>> The Warmth of Snow

[ChaseR 0]

In his effort to reach the third tier, Chase decided to head on to the home floor of himself and Shay, to take care of a quest he seemed to have missed up to now. Shay never mentioned it, so he assumed she must have already been through with it. As he arrived through the teleportation plaza, having taken a trip to the first floor in his shop to drop his familiar off, he looked around and fixed his clothes on him better, enjoying the cozy feeling that kept him warm despite all the snow and frost in the air.

As he walked towards the exit of the safezone, the boy's tired eyes noticed something- no, someone, further off by the side, turning in full once he stopped and looking as one hand reached for his greatsword. He was well aware that towns were no-combat zones, but it'd barely been three or so days since starting, meaning he had little time to stop this habit of drawing his sword whenever something felt off. It was the only thing that gave him closure, especially when he was as tired as now, having woken up from a rather unsavory nightmare. "..."

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 31
HP: 620/620
EN: 62/62

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Gust Raiser>> (T2/Perfect/2HSS): DMG II, ACC I
Armor: <<Wind Dweller>> (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I, REC II
Misc: <<Chained Bracelet>> (T2/Perfect/Trinket): EVA II, ACC I

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival
Disguise

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]
Precision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
Spyglass (2/3)*1
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*2
Woodland Armor (T2/Perfect) MIT III (2/3)*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:

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

Edited August 16, 2020 by ChaseR

[Freyd 0]

Freyd was busy skulking because that seemed to be what did most often, and best.  His latest tip had led him to the frozen wastelands of floor four, though he struggled to figure out what he could possibly hope to find in such a place.  Trails literally went cold here, and any sigh of them vanished in the howls of the blowing winds as they covered up tracks and erased any evidence of passage.  His dark traveling leathers and charcoal-coloured cowl also made him stand out more in the wilderness, though many people tended to forget how common shadows could be in, even in places that seemed to offer nothing but white.  

A heavy overnight snow had added thick fresh powder all over the settlement and surroundings, trailed by a few persistent flurries that played like children in its aftermath.  The cold didn't bother him at all, but he seemed to be at a bit of a loss for direction when he noticed a man watching him with weapon drawn.  Oblivious to any threat he might represent, or simply disregarding it, Freyd trudged towards him without bothering to summon his own blade.

"Pardon me, but have you seen this symbol anywhere around here?"  He flicked a stone token about six inches in diameter towards him.  It was made of polished black onyx with the etching of a tower on side flickered bright red as if reflecting a fiery core within.  The tower's profile resembled that of Aincrad, save that it had the embossed profile of an obsidian blade plunged through it, blade pointed down.  He watched curiously to see whether the man would catch it or retain his grip on his sword.

Spoiler

Name: Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows
Level: 46
HP: 940/940
EN: 92/92

Stats:
Damage: 16
Mitigation: 54
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 4
KEEN:1
HLY:2
BLD:12

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Forgiven Disobedience (T1-2HSS, ACC 1, HOLY 1, BLD 1)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb [T2 LA, MIT 2, EVA 1]
Misc: Assassin's Cowl (T2-Trinket, ACC 2, KEEN 1)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 4]
Searching [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter 3
Survival

Mods:
Precision
Finesse - Rank 3
LA Athletics
Ferocity

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potion (50 hp)*3
Teleport Crystals*2
Turkish March *2
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik*5
Golden Key*5
T3 Blank Dungeon Map*5

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

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: n/a

Wedding Ring: n/a

 

[ChaseR 0]

The only things Chase noticed before the man threw something his way were his full health bar, shady appearance, and of course the guild icon next to his name. It belonged to... Firm Anima, if he recalled correctly from his various run-ins with others. It seemed to be quite a popular guild at that- and just like so, he'd gotten carried away enough in his thoughts that the token hit him, and then dropped down onto the ground. The fatigue wasn't doing him any favors keeping his focus on any one thing.

With a groan, he crouched and held his sword firmly in his one hand, lowered to just above the ground while his other picked it up and looked at it. "... Are you on a quest?", the bluehead asked with furrowed eyebrows and a frown on his face, seeming more confused than anything. Hell, the quest he was on was for a weak field boss some newbies, like him, had found the other day. Whatever could this treasure hunt Freyd seemed to have gone on be about? "Whatever the hell this is..? Maybe a player made item..?", he thought to himself, trying to understand what exactly he was looking at.

[Freyd 0]

He really didn't need to give this guy the full run down and history on a complicated multi-level player killing conspiracy fostered by disgruntled semi-sentient computer programs within the first few seconds of their meeting.  That might be a bit much, and his last three attempts to do so with others hadn't gone so well.

"Yeah... I guess it could be; the informal, unofficial kind.  It's something I stumbled onto a while back.  Maybe it's some kind of forgotten easter egg or something."   He shrugged, then motioned with his hand, requesting that the token be returned.  "I'm heading into the wilds to check for clues.  Do you need a hand with anything?"  

His offer was genuine.  Freyd was so nonchalant as to be dismiss-able as non-existent.  Helping other players only helped the overall group.  Neither of them had orange icons over their heads, which also kept things simpler.  Besides, if things were churning in the direction he expected, they were all going to need each other at full strength soon enough.

[ChaseR 0]

The boy almost zoned out for a moment, before starting to give it some thought. It didn't take more than a few seconds of contemplating for him to return the token, although he appeared to have been confused at the terms he used. Regardless, it never hurt to have someone around just in case things took a turn for the worst. Besides, that was quite a peculiar token, and a menacing mark on it too. It'd be better to stay around just in case the cloaked man got into unsavory business himself, even if it did drag Chase into the mess as well.

"I was heading for a field boss. I'll tag along.", he said tiredly, yawning once more and sheathing his blade again, before putting both of his hands in his jacket's pockets and heading towards the fields, looking over his shoulder at the fellow swordsman. "You said easter egg. What did you mean?", he asked completely casually, having fully missed whatever he could have meant by it. 

Despite being trapped in Aincrad, alongside however many other players, one thing Chase didn't have in common was the experience of gaming. This, unfortunately for him, happened to be his first. So even if he was in the second tier of progress, skilled in combat and taking the monsters' attention, his game vocabulary was still as horrible as ever. Hell, there were plentiful of mechanics he didn't know yet, and had to learn along the way. The phrase "easter egg", was part of the vocabulary he missed out on.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd looked askance at the man  from beneath his hood as asked about the Easter egg comment.  It was a throw-away line.  What caught his attention was that he genuinely didn't seem to get the reference.  With only ten thousand copies of SAO available, it seemed odd for a non-gamer to have bothered to chase after a rare and valuable copy.

"Oh, I just meant some secret that the game designers might have buried in the content for players to discover.  They call it an Easter egg because it's meant to be a surprise."  Freyd watched his reaction carefully, wondering if this was some kind of angle to make him drop his guard, even as he extended a party invitation.

"A field boss, you said.  Is it for Avalanche or Essence of Steel?  I can't imagine you'd want to try your hand at Absolute Zero solo?"  He eyes the man's gear with his merchant's eye, assessing its properties and capabilities.

"Name's Freyd, by the way."

[ChaseR 0]

Taking a sweet moment or two to fully absorb the new information, the boy nodded and simply continued walking forwards. The next questions confused him slightly as he wasn't really sure about the quest names- all he knew was that he was hunting some ice elemental. But then again, he'd just checked the quest log. "Er... Avalanche.", he nodded along and scratched the back of his head, sighing as the party request appeared in front of him. Just when his name showed up on the guildie's HUD, he introduced himself as well.

"I'm Chase.", he blatantly ignored his nickname, having gotten past using it for encounters. Although, he couldn't ever get into it any. He went into the game with no personality in mind, and the nickname was about as basic as it went; just something to sound cool and hide his name that was sticking out like a sore thumb. "... You're not a frontliner.", he continued to comment without turning back to look at him, letting out another sigh and stretching his shoulders up just slightly.

"... Ever had nightmares? In here.". The topic took a 180 degree turn for what appeared as a random conversation, but connecting the dots, it was easy to see where he was going with it given the sleepy gestures and mannerisms.

[Freyd 0]

'That was an abrupt twist,' he thought to himself.  'And how has he gotten to this level without even knowing which boss he's after?'

"You mean other than the constant waking one we're all sharing?"  Freyd replied with a chuckle.  "It seems like a bit of an odd and personal question, but yeah, sure: I have."

He didn't react upon seeing Chase's name, and couldn't recall having heard it anywhere before.  With thousands of players still active in the game, it wasn't overly surprising.  Accepting the party invite meant that the could afford to lessen his guard.  Pulling back his cowl, he revealed a surprisingly plain face with few memorable details.  Freyd had wide, disinterested brown eyes with hints of red within them.  His tussled hair was mousy brown and looked like it might aggressively defend itself to resist any comb or brush.  He just seemed... blank?

"Is there something in particular that you're meaning to ask about, or is this just your default topic of conversation?"

[ChaseR 0]

Slowly making their way through the snow to what seemed like the top of a small, snowy hill, Chase looked over his shoulder to answer the question, taking in his appearance and responding with a frown, which seemed to be his default expression so far. "I don't normally talk. Not a lot.". He didn't seem to be willing to answer any before a minute or so of silence passed. His body tensed up slightly, but he might as well at this point. "... How do you deal with them? When you're always in a life or death situation."

The question was asked almost like some rookie talking to a war veteran. The swordsman felt comfortable in asking this just because of the apparent level gap between the two; he hadn't seen or even heard of anything like that token 'quest' Freyd referred to before, so he assumed he must be nearing the frontlines slowly. That must have meant he has more experience than a majority of the players, fighting and surviving through tough encounters in this world. Despite his rather empty expression and the reserved character, what seemed to be under the silent guise was... just a confused man. A young adult, like most others in Aincrad, trapped in a death game and filled with questions, but without answers to be found.

[Freyd 0]

Despite their superficial differences, Freyd was starting to feel a certain kinship with Chase.  His reserved and elusive nature suggested the same inward focus to which he also subscribed.  He suspected that the man had far deeper character than his casual surface demeanor revealed.  It was something he could respect, and so gave his questions due consideration.

"You do the best you can.  I know how hollow that sounds, but there are no magical salves to appease a troubled soul.  Find someone you trust.  Talk it out, regardless of how long it takes.  My mistake was always thinking I had to do everything alone.  It's why I still travel to these floors and help random strangers."  A small smile appeared beneath careworn wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.  Freyd was only a few years older than Chase, but there was an aged quality about him that came through in the way he spoke and carried himself.  "I waited in the Town of Beginnings myself, for way too long, struggling to figure out what I should do.  Eventually, you find your courage.  If you've already come this far, it safe to assume that you're already found yours."

A cascade of falling snow could be heard through the nearby woods.  Freyd finally summoned his weapon to hand - a gleaming white blade set in a hilt and cross guard of crimson red and gold.  The faint whisper of an angelic choir could be heard on the wind.

"When you're ready, and not before, go complete the <<Calming the Soul>> quest.  It made a huge difference for me."  He was pensive for a few moments.  "Do you want tell me what's been bothering you?"

[ChaseR 0]

Hearing that Freyd too, was facing the same troubles as the boy was, surely did him a lot in terms of listening to his words that much more. Both of them had suffered the exact same way in this world, and they'd made it so far ever since. He slowly took his own blade out of its scabbard and looked towards the source of the noise, holding it firmly in both of his hands. "That's the mission with the inner demons, isn't it..?", Chase thought to himself before turning around and giving a short nod. "I've killed all four already.", he vaguely referred to the demons, not wanting to talk over them any due to remembering how livid he felt with Kayaba ever since completing it.

As for his own bothers... He wouldn't go into much detail. He wasn't anywhere near as close as Shay, or hell, even Ariel as he was with Freyd. They'd just met and were simply talking. Then again, maybe that's all that he needed to snap out of it- a talk with somebody that could offer a new perspective he wouldn't just guess right off the bat due to knowing them all too well. "There's someone waiting for me. I dreamt that when I got out, they were-", he choked on his voice a little, halting in his tracks. After a moment of silence, he raised his sword in the air, let it drop and then pierced it a foot or so deep into the ground, keeping his teeth gritted. "Fuck off... It's just a nightmare, quit being so petty..!", he practically gave himself a mental punch in the gut, feeling a single tear start to form on the corner of his right eye.

[Freyd 0]

"There's someone waiting for me. I dreamt that when I got out, they were..."

Freyd remained still, his gaze deliberately redirected towards the sound of the approaching avalanche.  His eyes closed when he heard those words, and a hint of revelation about Chase's pain, or at least some semblance of it.  How had Kayaba attracted so many broken people?  Maybe the truth was that all people were just broken, or in need of some manner of mending.  He had to include himself in that gross generalization.  As hollow as he often felt inside, his recent experiences had given him hope.  It was only right to offer some of the same to others.

"No one here really knows what is happening outside.  This place could be a dream, wherein we live lifetimes in a blink of real world time.  Those who die here could simply awaken."  His voice continued in a sincere and serene manner.  "It could all be much, much darker.  The point is: we don't know.  We have only what we choose to believe.  Your nightmares will linger until you make that choice."

[ChaseR 0]

The boy's eyes narrowed as he saw something approach from amidst all the snow headed their way, tightening his grip on his blade as he pulled it out of the ground. Without a word, he gestured Freyd to stay back. It was his quest after all. "He toyed with me during that quest too. Kayaba.", he simply said before lunging right at the emerging monster, his blade glowing a bright red and even leaving what seemed to be trails of light behind as it moved. Although it begun with a sideways slash, it appeared as if he was trying to run his sword through the monster's chest.

With a loud roar, the monster lifted its hand to slam it right down on Chase. Before it had enough time though, his blade was already through it from one side, coming out from the other. It was enough to deplete its HP. In his anger though, Chase lifted the monster along with his sword and slammed it back down onto the snow, causing some to fly up, obstructing Freyd's vision from seeing what was going on. A few more attacks could be heard, although the monster had long now turned into crystals.

By the time the snow disappeared, the swordsman could be seen with his blade pierced back into the ground. When taken over by anger, it was hard to tell whether he was the real monster or the ones generated by the world they lived in. "I hate him. I want to know why he did this.", he growled with narrow, cold eyes, glaring at the fellow adventurer.

ChaseR: HP: 620/620 | EN: 56/62 (-10, +4) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 6

Avalanche: HP: 0/100 (-182) | DMG: 40

Edited August 17, 2020 by ChaseR

[Freyd 0]

Freyd hadn't moved an inch.  His white blade stood planted like a battle standard in the snow, it's red and gold hilt jutting up like some kind of defiant banner in the bleak frozen landscape.  The man himself was like a black hole in a field of arctic white.  His chin and the tiniest slit that could only be his mouth were exposed.  He stood like a statue as he watched the scene unfold before him.  He knew that rage, all too well.  It had nearly consumed him, until he chose to consume it first.  Freyd had faced his anger and taken its power away, making him its master.  Chase's wounds, he saw, remained raw.  There was considerable risk in what he was about to attempt.  Waiting until the last of the monster's crystalline shards had vanished into the snow, he watched him without judgement or sympathy in his eyes. Silence drifted over them, along with the snow.

"The hate, I understand, but what possible benefit can be served by any explanation Kayaba would provide?  Is there any answer he could give you that wouldn't just inflame your anguish anew?  If not, then there is no purpose in your plea.  Solve the maze.  Make him fail.  Have your vengeance against him."

Edited August 18, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[ChaseR 0]

He froze for a moment, looking down at the ground, covered in snow. As he clenched his fist, he lifted his gaze to meet Freyd's once more. "Do I look like I want revenge..? I want to know. Why he did this to me, and everybody else. What he thought would happen other than people losing their lives. I want to see if he knows just how much he did. How many people he affected and broke just like that. A simple switch and you're trapped.", he responded almost emotionlessly, although the anger and sadness hidden behind these words most certainly showed in his expression, his stance, the impact behind every word he uttered.

His hand eventually reached over to his blade, gripping it and pulling it right back out before sheathing it on his back once more. "I don't need his sympathy. I want to know he acknowledges us. So far we've been playthings, guinea pigs.", he continued with visibly growing anger out of every single flashback of the missions they'd been put through- The Gemini, Calming the Soul... All of them messed with the player over anything else. 

[Freyd 0]

"Of course he knows what he's done."  Freyd did his best not to sound harsh, but the blunt reality of it would likely sting anyway.  Any notion of ignorance on the part of Kayaba was unfathomable to Freyd.  The man was a sociopath - perhaps even a full psychopath. 

"No one invests this much energy and effort without a very clear and deliberate intent, or without having long since come to terms or dismissed any moral quandaries."  He shook his head, as if trying to slough off Chase's desperate need for reason, on his behalf.

"You've suffered and sacrificed.  But, dreaming that Kayaba is even capable of explaining or justifying his actions is futile.  He can't, and he won't.  Whether he wants us as pawns, playthings or just as victims to torture, our only option is clear: we must deny him."

It tore at him to hear Chase's plea for answers, knowing there could be none.  Clenching his fist tightly around the grip of his weapon, he made the red cloth creak beneath the biting cold.  How fitting.  Freyd silently renewed his vow to shatter Kayaba's dreams and turn them into into nightmares ten thousandfold worse than those he had inflicted - one notch for every soul that he had tortured in this place - even if that meant becoming a monster himself.

[ChaseR 0]

An expression filled with disgust took over his expression as he realised what Freyd was on about, tightening his own grip on his sword as he bluntly asked with a glare sharp enough to kill in his eyes. "So will you kill him? When we get to him.". The question was simple, and the emotion behind his livid tone was what made it all that much more hurtful. He winced at the mere thought of killing another human, let alone in a world like this, where they would simply be forgotten about and never found out in the real world.

"You just give up and resort to killing him?", he continued, with his stance looking more detached from him than before. The mere thought was enough for him to come off as if he were looking down at the fellow swordsman. His pose, his expression, his voice. He waited for an answer quietly with narrowed eyes, just like when he was fighting the elemental moments ago. "There's thousands of us... Surely someone has killing intent in here. And not necessarily an orange player either..."

Chase wished he was in the wrong on this, but the way that the brown-haired male worded himself, he had began to doubt it. "So what if he answers yes? There's nothing I can do without stooping to the same low, and words won't change him. Tch... What a fucking mess..."

[Freyd 0]

Taking a moment to consider Chase's question, Freyd weighed the magnitude of it and his response.

"It's his control that I want to end, not the person."  He raised a hand to pause any response and allow him to finish.  "All I want is to break free of the shackles that bind us to this damnable system.  SAO can continue, for all I care, so long as people are free to choose when they come and go. But, if it came down to a choice between killing him to free the rest of us... I think I would try."  Chase's emotions were clearly still raw.  Freyd had faced this line of self-questioning before, and now approached it from a purely rational perspective.  

"This isn't about moral high ground, or even justice.  It's about freedom and survival.  Kayaba has put our very existence at risk, and caused untold trauma and suffering in the process.  He's had years to change his mind, and done nothing."  Freyd shook his head, though it was hard to tell what emotions lay within, if any.  "No, if there were answers to be sought or any humanity left in the man, they faded away long ago."

[ChaseR 0]

Even though the boy let himself show his unsightly rage on the monster that happened to befall them, he got bothered by the response he received, continuing to give the very same look filled with grossness and disgust. "You'd stoop to the level of the monsters he made for us to fight by then. What different would you be?", he almost snarled at him, gritting his teeth tightly and trying to calm down as he took a deep breath and clenched his fist. "What can you even do to keep someone, even... T-Tch, even Kayaba safe... From these people..?", he thought for a moment, before letting out an annoyed grunt.

"If he's even in here, we have to beat him at his own game. Killing him just takes the purpose out of being here at all- if he's gone and something goes wrong, we're all trapped and then guess who will be at fault.", he tried to reason with Freyd, frowning widely. "He's our only chance at getting out of here, no matter what. We're his hostages in an unknown world."

[Freyd 0]

He had a point.  If Kayaba was somehow the key to escape, it would be self-defeating to kill him.  There was no way to be sure, but it sounded very much like a poison pill the mad genius might have implemented.  Freyd also very much doubted that defeat in Aincrad would mean Kayaba's death.  Nothing he had experienced to date gave him any sense that the man would fight fair or honour his word, even if the players succeeded at the challenge placed before them.  Plus, Chase's flustered altruism was starting to grate on his nerves.  Or, maybe Freyd had become too jaded and no longer believed that this sort of naive innocence could truly exist.  All of these thoughts were worth further consideration. 

"I appreciate the discussion, and our disagreement.  I suspect that both have things to think about.  Find me when you feel the need to pick it up where we are leaving it."

His black cowl flapped defiantly in the wind gusts as Freyd's hand reached out and extended a friend offer.  This was far from over.

***

Thread Summary:

Chase:

4 SP (1 page, 2 quest, 1 event)

<<Snowfrost>> This incredibly potent alchemical salve can be applied to a piece of armor, increasing resistance to Fire Damage for one battle. [The wearer will only take half damage from the burning damage over time effect].

Freyd:

2 SP (1 page, 1 event)

<<Snowfrost>> This incredibly potent alchemical salve can be applied to a piece of armor, increasing resistance to Fire Damage for one battle. [The wearer will only take half damage from the burning damage over time effect].