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SP/F22 Galaxy Destroyer (But I'm not a THSS user) [Night About the Galactic Lake]


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Apparently there had been a whole-ass quest attached to the Tanabata event. And no one bothered to point that out to Oscar. The sun was setting on the festival and with it, the quest would be leaving as well. Oscar had to hurry. He took his leave from the event grounds and sprinted back home to make his usual quest preparations. Slime Farm? Yeeted. Potions? Slammed back like a champ. Hot dogs? You bet your ass he like four of them before he bounced back up to Floor 22 to knock this quest out. A trail of dust followed behind Oscar as he dashed back into the event grounds and found the kids who acted as the quest givers. He began to bop one of them on the head as they talked as if he were mashing the A button to skip their dialogue. Though there was no button, it turns out being smacked up side the head makes you lose your train of thought so it had the same effect. Once the quest appeared in his log, Oscar was off again. He was supposed to find... something. No idea what it was.

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Hitting the lake, Oscar's eyes flicked straight to the hovering masses of lights that floated around the shore line. Twisting, swirling masses of the void illuminated the area. Each self-contained fragments of the void complete with its own crucible of stars and radiant gasses. They were beautiful. But they had health bars. Thematic enemies propagated by the existence of the carnival a small distance away. As wondrous as they were, they would need to be destroyed if Oscar was to get anywhere with this quest. He rushed in, Money Shot in hand, and carved through the fragments of space with a powerful Explode Catapult. Rather than attempt to strike him, the Nebulae buzzed around him like drones and fired small masses of stardust at him. He was able to dance away from most of them, but one caught him in the chest. Despite the dainty appearance of the attack, the shot knocked Oscar straight on his ass. Though it didn't do an overabundance of damage, he still really felt it.

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Despite their inherent stopping power, the Nebulae didn't exactly have much that Oscar found to be exceptionally threatening. Sure, they could shoot literal fragments of plasma at him. But they were weak. Just as weak as the spiders that Oscar made a point to exterminate just one floor below them. Two hits: that was it. A second Explode Catapult shot out. Money Shot insured that his attacks would find their marks. There was no missing his targets when he was wielding this weapon. And, just like the spiders down below, once their health bars reached zero, the nebulae shattered like glass. In their wake, they left glimmering spots upon the ground beneath them. Upon interacting with those spots, Oscar obtained the usual fare. Col, Materials, and gear. Yet, this time, there was another thing. Stars. It wasn't much of a logical leap to understand that they had something to do with the event. He'd figure that out later. For now, it was grind time.

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There was something rather fundamentally off about these creatures. Well, for starters, they weren't exactly creatures. They were bits of stardust swirling about a gravity well. But once you got past what you saw and then looked at their behaviors, it was almost like they were capable of communicating with one another. Having slain the first group, the other groups that he encounters were on guard. He avoided fighting most of them because they weren't clustered together tightly enough for him to hit them in one swing. But where they had been floating aimlessly over the shore, once he came into view they snapped to attention. They seemed to track him as he walked. It wasn't until he found a group that was clumped up that he even bothered to attack. His axe struck like lightning and they struck just as quickly. Two burst caught him in the chest in quick succession, sending him flying backward with surprising force.

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He skidded to a halt and was back on his feet in short order. Back into the fray he ran, but he quickly found himself diverted by a barrage of shots from the hovering nebulae. He sought cover behind a large rock. Large chunks of the stone were blasted away with every shot. He knew that if he remained here indefinitely that there wouldn't be much left to seek cover behind. So, he made a break for it. They had him at a disadvantage when it was a long-distance fight. But if he could close the gap, all it would take would be one good hit and they would be done. Somehow, the chaos they'd stirred up obfuscated Oscar's assault. He dashed forward into a cloud of dust and smoke and hoped that one of them didn't manage to clip him by pure luck. Eventually, he burst through the cloud of dust and straight into their midst. His weapon took on an ethereal glow as he swung it with all his might. The nebulae shattered on impact with his weapon, leaving nothing but their loot behind.

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Oscar quickly made his way over to another group of Nebulae. Perhaps if he blitzed them harder, they wouldn't have the opening they needed to hit him. He dashed into their midst, scarcely giving them time to react to his presence before his Sword Art rang out. Explode Catapult cleaved through the four of them and - thanks to Money Shot - they were struck with pinpoint accuracy. Yet, despite his sudden assault, one of the Nebulae knocked him on his ass yet again. He picked himself up off of the ground, his eyes flicking up to his health bar. For all the force they could bring to bear, the shots weren't doing a whole lot of damage. Even so, he was in worse shape now than he usually was. Of course, after a certain point, you get a little too used to fighting Spiders. Going from eight-legged freaks to floating masses of space was one hell of a trip.

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At least these things suffered in the durability department. That was the one thing they had in common with the spiders. Where he was usually on the lookout for thrashing limbs and fangs, the swift shots from the nebulae were a bit harder to accurately predict and dodge. Thankfully, reprieve could be in between packs while he was looting the creatures. Money Shot made it so everything died in two hits with no stragglers. It gave him some much-needed breathing room. Oscar collected his loot and checked his energy. Much to his chagrin, he didn't have enough in the tank for another rotation. He clicked his tongue and started looking around for somewhere to wait out his energy regeneration. All-in-all, this wasn't the worst place to be stuck looking at the horizon. The event decorations were quite pleasing even all the way out here. If you could consider the nebulae to be decoration.

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After a brief moment of searching, Oscar eventually found a flat rock to stretch out on while he looked up at the stars. He leaned back, his back against the cool stone and his head resting on his hands. It was uncanny how life-like the night sky looked. Pristine and perfect, stars twinkled over head. If he shut his mind off and pretended really hard, he was almost back in the real world. It was funny that he never did things like this back then. Of course, you never really know what you have until it's gone. He wished Cordelia was here with him. She would have loved this vista. Of course, she was probably still in the event grounds, having the time of her life. A sudden stillness fell over him. A calm deep inside. The ever-churning chaos had finally subsided and Oscar was left with nothingness. No thoughts. No sound. Just peace under the stars in the heavens.

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Oscar liked to pride himself on being the guy with a plan. Constant gears turning in his head. He knew how to play people. He knew how to mess with their heads to put himself in an advantageous position. Not very useful when your enemies are AI. Even so, there was always something stewing in his mind. Some thought or plan or plot. He felt comfortable that way. Surrendering himself to the churning chaos. And yet, with the order brought by the sudden calm, he found himself appreciative of this moment. Usually, he made a point of avoiding situations where he'd be forced to calm his mind. He didn't feel right without at least one thread on the loom, so to speak. Perhaps it was a sign of maturity that he was just taking it all in now. Or, perhaps, he was just weary. His mind had been "on" since day one in Aincrad. Two years was a very long time to be constantly thinking.

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Oscar's eyes flicked up to his energy bar. Full. It was time to get back to work. He picked himself up off of the stone. As he was just a digital simulacrum of his real self, he felt no sensation of stiffness or pain after resting for even a short time on such a surface. One of the small mercies of existing within a digital framework. After straightening his tie and adjusting his jacket, Oscar picked his axe up off the ground and set off. He found a group of enemies in very short order and set about breaking them. Explode Catapult reduced their health bars to half in an instant - one of them even lower. Yet, despite his best efforts, one of the nebulae managed to land a clean shot on him that sent him flying into the dirt. Oscar let out a grunt of frustration and hopped back to his feet. They wouldn't survive another round so there was very little point in getting bent out of shape here.

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The nebulae had changed tactics. Instead of remaining stationary, they flew around Oscar erratically. It made them more difficult to hit and more difficult to dodge. Fortunately, Oscar was a patient man. He wouldn't waste his attack and hit nothing but air. He stopped. He waited. For whatever reason they weren't attacking him right now. All he needed to do was wait until the time was right. Eventually, they would clump up. And that's when he would hit them. He did his best to track the rapidly-buzzing purple masses. Eventually, he saw them all on trajectory to clump up in a specific spot. So he let fly his sword art. His prediction had been quite accurate. Money Shot tore through them and shattered them like glass. Triumphant, Oscar stooped down and collected his loot before moving on to the next bunch. It seemed like he was getting better at this.

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Onto the next group of enemies then. He wondered whether he could make it through this round without getting knocked into the dirt again. It would certainly be a clear sign of progress if he did. Oscar locked onto his targets and rushed forward. He spun on his heels to generate a little more rotation - and thus more force - to his attack. Explode Catapult did the same amount of damage, but it scattered the Nebulae on contact. They attempted to get their bearings, but they didn't move in tandem with one another anymore. Unable to intersect fields of fire, Oscar found that each attack was slightly delayed. This made them much easier to maneuver around as a result. Each of the attacks whizzed by him harmlessly. Some came closer than others, but absolutely none of them found their mark. A rousing success and proof that he was, in fact, getting better at fighting these creatures.

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Another Explode Catapult cinched it. His weapon cleaved through them like butter. One-by-one, the Nebulae shattered like glass. Polygonal fractals rose into the sky and scattered on the winds. In their wake, glimmering interactable spots were left on the ground. Oscar interacted with each of them and added their contents to his pack. This quest was shaping up to be a great haul. Not only was he gaining the bonus experience from his house, but he was also gaining so much equipment. He'd need almost every bit of the Col he got from this grind just to identify it all. First world problems and all that. Regardless, he was confident now that not only was he becoming more capable at fighting this new enemy type, but that his decision to spec into the Searching tree had not been a foolish one. He could always rank First Aid back up, but having this much loot from such a short outing was insane.

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He had enough energy for one more skirmish before he needed to rest. He looked around and quickly spied another group of nebulae. He rushed it and carved through their number with an Explode Catapult. However, his attack hadn't been as disorienting as the last. It didn't scatter them. Thus, they were able to create something of a kill zone with their pattern of fire. This resulted in Oscar eating dirt yet again. He swore under his breath, mentally kicking himself for being so foolish. He'd just learned the trick to dealing with them and yet here he was, not using it. He picked himself up of the ground and watched as the Nebulae buzzed around him like the pack from before. He'd just need to bide his time and wait. Hopefully, they'd clump up sooner than later. Until then, all he could do was stand their and watch their paths with intense focus and try to predict where they would go. Somehow he doubted he'd be able to pull that off with aplomb. 

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Don't let your memes be dreams, thought Oscar as he carved through the last of the Nebulae's health bars. Why had he thought such a thing? Just a random intrusive thought. He had several of those throughout the day. It was just how it be sometimes. He collected his loot and returned to his rock. Thankfully, he wasn't considering whether they had pockets or not. Damn it. Now he was. Although, it wasn't as far-fetched as whether spiders had pockets. Each of the nebulae looked to be their own self-contained chunk of space. Plenty of room inside that infinite vastness to store the sheer amount of loot he was collecting. It wasn't anything to lose sleep over. Speaking of sleep, Oscar suddenly felt tired. His eyelids felt heavy and under the relaxing starlight, he found himself dozing off to sleep. He hadn't done anything like this since he'd first gotten started. Was he finally starting to feel at ease again?

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For once, Oscar found himself dreaming pleasant dreams. Floating on a sea of clouds, feeling nothing but bliss. A bright, warm light engulfed him. It was such a wonderful feeling. In his unconscious state, Oscar allowed himself to ride out the feeling. Eventually, he was roused from his light slumber. He awoke with a smile on his face, feeling completely peaceful. He gazed up at the stars, thinking of nothing in particular. He realized, in the back of his mind, that he'd broken down some of the obstacles in his way, that this was a sign of progress. But he really didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy the moment. He didn't feel the gloom and doom that he'd grown so accustomed to feeling over the years. He didn't feel as if he was broken. He just felt calm and happy. There must have been something in the air. Something to get him into this sort of mood. Or maybe he was just trying to fuck it up.

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Still a touch groggy, Oscar slowly sat up into a sitting position. He smacked his lips together and gazed out over the water. There was just something about this night. It was familiar enough that he was comfortable yet not so familiar that he was bored. Not to mention the scenery was to die for. Oscar could stare out over the waters for hours. But, he still had some stuff to get done. Most importantly, he couldn't let his memes be dreams. He'd finally understood what that thought meant. He wanted to leave this quest being able to tell Bahr and Less and all of his friends that used the inferior weapon type that he too could use Galaxy Destroyer. He just needed to find some galaxies to destroy first. With all the Nebulae floating around, surely there would also be some tiny galaxies he could exterminate with extreme prejudice.

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And wouldn't ya know it, there they were. It was rather hard to miss them. Floating discs about ten times the size of the floating nebulae had joined their smaller brethren. Oscar looked down at his watch and saw that it was midnight. Maybe the time had something to do with it. Either way, Oscar would kick them in the dick. He rushed in, adding plenty of spin and force to his Explode Catapult. He collided with the Galaxies hard, only able to do about a third of their health in damage. No matter, they were disoriented. So he was able to dodge their counterattacks with relative ease. Fitting that his experience with the nebulae had prepared him for this fight. Even though they had more health, all that meant was that they would drop more Col. It would just take an extra round of fighting. With his energy and health bars full, he had plenty in the tank to deal with them.

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He hopped back a bit. He would need a running start. Oscar dashed forward, spun, and then slammed into the Galaxies with enough concussive force to send them reeling in all directions. Unable to properly target him, Oscar danced in between their blasts with swift deftness. Not a missed step. They began to buzz around him, much like the Nebulae did. He supposed that it was meant to keep him from being able to get a clear hit. But with their size, it really didn't help them that much. They fazed through one another, orbiting Oscar as if he were the center of the universe. And, as their executioner, he was in a way. But for now, he would wait. Even though they weren't able to scatter as easily as the nebulae, it didn't mean that he could just fire off willy-nilly. He still had to wait for the opportune moment. And then, victory would be his. He would have become Oscar, Galaxy Destroyer.

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He waited. And waited. And then he waited some more. It seemed like his time would never come. But, as the saying goes. Don't let your memes be dreams. The Galaxies' flight paths intersected. At that moment, Oscar struck like lightning. The galaxies crumbled under the force of his blow. They shattered like glass, fragments of stardust carried back up unto the heavens. Oscar collected his loot, adding everything to his pack. He took stock out his final haul and let out a surprised whistle. He'd never walked away from a quest with a haul like this before. Even quests that he made a concerted effort to spend an inordinate amount of time grinding in. Searching was one hell of a skill. Now that he'd seen what it could do, he couldn't imagine never having it again. But more importantly, he had cemented his legacy. He was Oscar, Galaxy Destroyer.

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