[PP - F06] Still Kickin' <<Deforestation>>

[Koga 0]

Spoiler

Koga
Level: 30
Health: 600
Energy: 60
DMG: 13 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 36 // ACC: 4
BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

Skills
>> [Rank 1] Curved Sword
>> [Rank 5] Katana
     // Ferocity
     // Precision
>> [Rank 0] Martial Arts
>> [Rank 2] Familiar Mastery: Fighter
>> [Rank 0] Survival

Equipment
>> T2 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [Burn // Blight // Cursed // Fallen]
>> T2 Demonic Light Armor <<Wrathful Bracers>>  [Cursed // Mitigation // Mitigation // Regen]
>> T1 Perfect Necklace <<White Owl Necklace>> [Accuracy // Accuracy // Accuracy]

Battle-Ready Inventory
>> T2 Blank Dungeon Map
>> [50 HP] Healing Potions (2)
>> [40 HP] Healing Potion (5)
>> [DMG +1] Damage Potion (1)

Koga had forgotten how beautiful Aincrad could be sometimes. Sure, thick jungles weren't exactly everyone's cup of tea, but for someone who'd grown up in an urban desert, this was, by the very least, a wonderful change of pace. At least everything wasn't brown. Yeah, definitely better than home. And the air here was different. It didn't carry with it the scent of dust and cracked earth, instead delivering the myriad scents of greenery and wild things. And burning.

Faint, but there, the moist air was tainted by the harsh scent of burning wood and flesh, like meat roasting over a campfire. Koga might not have been able to see the smoke from here, but he knew what was going on. A flaming tiger, destroying everything in it's path. That was why he was here after all.

Some quest to kill this 'harbinger of doom' and all that. How typical. To be honest, Koga was pretty certain he'd be able to finish this quest on his own, with little to no effort. But he hadn't braved the wild world in almost a year, and he wasn't looking to die...yet.

With a flick of his wrist, Koga brought up the messenger system, and found his one friend he knew was still alive and well.

Spoiler

To: NIGHT

Come to Krycim, 6th floor.

From: Koga

 

@NIGHT

Edited October 12, 2020 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

Corpses couldn't come back to life. But missing players still walked the face of Aincrad, unwatched by wandering eyes. A ghost, then; flickering figures that haunted the corners of one's past, from where they were last seen to where they might be now.

What if they'd returned to the land of the living? A ghost unmade just by the breaking of silence alone? What would they say?

Who was to say for sure what the script would be in that scenario?

 

Koga: Come to Krycim, 6th floor.

There he was; alive, still well, still lurking the digital realm. The lone wolf, the last of his family as far as NIGHT could recall.

She sucked in a breath when she'd read the message. Her adventuring garb trailed after her form in pixelated squares as she fled from the breakfast table, the spoonful of cereal still lodged in her mouth.

"NIGHT!"

No time to waste. She had to know that he was, indeed, still entirely there.

 

The player spotted her target in the vicinity the moment the light died away from her vision. Curious how his shadowy figure hadn't managed to escape her memory, especially against the density of the environment around them, how the light etched over every building, every obstacle that surrounded the teleport platform with darkness. She'd almost wanted to run over to him.

 

She thought otherwise. Might scare him off instead.

A fully concerned lilac gaze was captivated by her long lost friend, NIGHT slowly approaching him in a brisk walk instead. And as she searched for the words, she realized she couldn't find anything to say.

No script. An entirely unique situation. Every fleeting second was new and fresh and it stung.

So the next best thing was...

"... Koga. How are you?"

	NIGHT   | HP: 1550/1550 | EN: 167/167   | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 52 | BH: 77   | KEEN: 1 | PRLYZ: 1 | SAVVY: 1 | HM: 6 | ABS. ACC    | LD: 7 | Stealth Detection: 5 | Stealth Rating: 7
- - -
[Examine] [Equipment] Dragon's Gaze -- [ Keen | After a successful attack, gain +1 BD until your next successful attack, at which point this bonus is removed. Another successful attack will reactivate this enhancement. ] -- [ Paralyze I | Natural successful attack rolls of 9-10 remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties. ] -- [ Absolute Accuracy | +1 ACC. Attack rolls of 1 no longer automatically miss. ] Jacket of the Prince -- [ Loot Die II | +2 LD. ] -- [ Evasion I | +1 EVA. ] -- [ Savvy I | +1 ACC on a successful evasion. Buff is removed on a successful attack. ] Sleek Shift -- [ Mitigation I | +27 MIT. ] -- [ Heavy Momentum II | +6 DMG on an unsuccessful attack. Buff is removed on a successful attack. ] [Battle-Ready Inventory] - - - - - - - - - Skills Skills Mod Count: 8/8 Two-Handed Straight Sword | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Ferocity, Precision, Finesse Light Armor | Passive | RANK 5/5  > Athletics, Sprint&Acrobatics Searching | Passive | RANK 4+1/5 > Reveal Hiding | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Blindside, Vanish, Surprise Attack: Trickster Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3/3  Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 5/5 Energist | Passive Quick Change | Active Parry | Active Charge | Active | RANK 3/5 [Extra] Survival | Passive  Concentration | Active -- CD: 3 Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3 Consumed Buffs Spoiler Kumatetsu Statue | +1 DMG - - - - - - Misc. Buffs Spoiler Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests.

[Koga 0]

Koga found a spot that gave him a good view of the teleporter, and leaned back against the building with his arms crossed. Each brief burst of light brought another player. Some wandered off into the town. Some were greeted by their friends, and they'd all give their greetings and laugh and head out for their next big adventure. Some were like him. Looking defeated or angry at the world and running as fast as they could at whatever might kill them or make them stronger.

And then there was another one. A burst of light that was soon replaced by the silhouette of a young woman, her body language screaming concern and urgency. The woman spotted Koga and began to walk quickly towards him. The swordsman pushed himself up from the wall so he was standing upright once more. The pair locked eyes and Koga could see something in hers. Was it pity? Or something else? A moment of tentative silence passed between them, as if neither was sure what to say or do.

"...Koga. How are you?" NIGHT said, cutting through the silence.

"You look good, NIGHT," Koga replied, ignoring her question. "I hear you're in the big leagues now."

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

Purposeful, then, his distance. NIGHT didn't appreciate the apparition talking -- but moreso because of his mention of the 'big leagues' rather than his dismissal of her query. What was she supposed to say to that? That the group as a whole should've waited for each other to progress, or that the 'big leagues' were not as glamorous as everyone else had talked about?

The muted frown on her face gave away nothing about her pending dissatisfaction. "I guess you could call it that," she replied, eyes straying away from the player, grazing over to dirt. A hand idly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, the unconscious habit starting to kick in from when she was but a mere novice in Aincrad. "The fight for the twenty-fifth is coming up soon. Some kind of shadow demon, I think. Or a minotaur. The meetings weren't exactly clear on what our target was."

-- Or she couldn't remember the discussions now, NIGHT rationalized, the talk having been held months long ago. "Just in case you were wondering how progress had been on our escape, at least."

[Koga 0]

When NIGHT mentioned the fight against the twenty-fifth floor boss was coming up soon, Koga frowned. "Just...don't die out there, alright?" the man said softly, trying to keep the tremors in voice under control. The mere thought of his last friend dying was enough to shake the man. If that were to truly come to pass? Koga might just give up entirely.

"A-anyways," Koga said, composing himself once more as best he could, despite the slight pallor on his face. "Thanks for meeting me up here. I wasn't really sure if you'd show or not since it'd been so long." It wasn't really like Koga to ask someone to go out of their way for him to begin with, but the pair had he helped each other out a handful of times already, he just hoped he wasn't troubling her further. "I was hoping you'd be willing to help me out with a quest. To be honest, I think I could handle it myself, but I'm also pretty rusty. It'd be nice to have someone watching my back."

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

The taste of salt on her tongue was refreshing, whenever Koga had mentioned the possibility of her death. Her allies had been thick as thieves for so long; so much so that her strength had been her greatest tale, simply for having the Executioner in her possession. Yet the thought of her own mortality had always stuck at the back of her mind.

Concern was good. Concern was welcoming.

"I have no plans to go quietly into that dark night."

And NIGHT was entirely serious about her words.

At the mention of a quest on the sixth, the player hummed, attempting to recall what marks there might have been on such a floor. It had been a long time since her hunts had taken place on the lower echelons, and so it came as little surprise to her that her thoughts had come up empty. "I've got you, don't worry," she reassured him with a nod. "Which quest are we working on today, then?"

[Koga 0]

"Hey," Koga said, sounding a bit cross as he lightly jabbed NIGHT's shoulder, "you better not 'go into that dark night' at all! Don't make me come looking for you, damn it!" It wasn't entirely clear how how serious Koga was being. Perhaps he was being a little playful, trying to maintain that old persona he'd had, or maybe he was just trying to hide how scared he'd become. Or maybe it was both.

"I'll tell you about it while we walk, c'mon," the swordsman said, turning around and heading towards the settlements exit. "So, this is pretty much the rundown. A big bad flaming tiger has been rampaging around the forest, and it's our job to kill it. Same old, same old. Sound good?"

As the pair exited the settlement, the scent of burning slowly grew stronger. It grew more pungent, and sickly, the sour scent of ash now mixing with the crisp wood. A scent the hunters could follow to their prey.

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

The jab hadn't bothered her none; her light armor had shouldered the burden of her friend's mischief, while her stoic nod had informed him of her conviction. "Absolutely not, then," NIGHT returned, barely giving away the slightest hints of a smile.

At his invitation, she paced after him -- faster strides than were necessary for the taller male, the chase was starting to feel all too familiar to the woman, she recalled. The talk of a burning beast had been familiar to the woman, though were its whereabouts really on Floor 6? The player was surprised to hear of that truth.

"Easy enough."

How long ago had it been since she'd caught wind of 'Batman'? Better query yet, as her mind strayed away from their upcoming fight, how long had she gone without saying a word to her neighbour? She never did hand in that stock of items she'd promised to the merchant. It was quite a long time ago she'd met either of them out in the wilderness, similar to how the two players in shadow were hunting their mark right now.

NIGHT stopped right at the edge of their clearing; a large crater, the basin with which their victim seemed to lurk about only but a few feet ahead of them now. She'd tilted her head forward, glancing over to Koga. "Gentlemen first."

[Koga 0]

It wasn't very long before the two players arrived at their target's location. The basin was charred black, a few blackened stumps where trees had once stood proudly. What was once a great, vast forest had been completely desiccated. Just a dusting of ash and the smell of burning.

"Gentlemen first," NIGHT said, and Koga nodded before making a short jump into the crater. As soon as Koga's feet hit the ground, the Byakko's head swiveled to glare at him, it's eyes briefly pulsing red. Koga wasted no time in dashing in, drawing his sword as he ran. The Tiger lifted its great paw, and brought it swinging down at Koga, but the man was quicker. Dashing beneath the beast's reach, he was close enough to strike. Koga's blade flashed as he executed a series of rapid strikes, and with a loud cry, brought his sword down in one devastating chop. The boss burst into blue shards.

"Uh...what?"

Spoiler

Koga
HP: 600/600 // EN: 60/60 // DMG: 13 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 36 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

NIGHT
HP: 1550/1550 // EN: 167/167 // ACC: 2 // DMG: 20 // EVA: 2 // MIT: 52 // BH: 77 // KEEN: 1 // PRLYZ: 1 // SAVVY: 1 // HM: 6 // ABS. ACC // LD: 7 // Stealth Detection: 5 // Stealth Rating: 7

 

The Byakko
HP: 0/150 (150 - 155) // MIT: 40 DMG: 60 <<DEAD>>
On MD rolls of 9 or 10, half the damage dealt is instead dealt as burn damage, which ignores mitigation as a status. This has no DoT.

 

ID: 172487
BD: 8 (4+4)
DMG vs Byakko: (15 x 13) = 195 - 40 = 155 >>Byakko Dies<<

@NIGHT

Edited October 14, 2020 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

She'd almost burst into laughter when what scattered out from the bowl was a flurry of dissipating crystals and an incredibly confused murmur of surprise from her companion. With a few shuffles, she'd finally managed to step away from the thick forest brush, pacing and stopping towards the edge of the crater with an amused grin. "I watched your back, alright," NIGHT joked, peering into the crevice with two arms folded across her torso. "At least you've still got your wits about you. Guess I don't have to worry too much about you disappearing on me, too."

How strong had he gotten ever since he'd vanished, the player wondered? Perhaps stealth was all he ever had to work with and improve on during the time she knew him to be away. NIGHT offered him a hand if he needed it to shift out of the depression; head tilted to the side, a welcoming smile for a soul returning to the living.

[Koga 0]

Koga looked at Tsuki, then at the empty space where the boss used to be, then back at Tsuki, then back at the empty space. He didn't remember ever one-shotting a boss...NIGHT's voice lilting from the edge of the basin. "Are you kidding me, NIGHT?" he called back up to her, a small but genuine grin on his face, "I never had any wits to begin with!"

The man sheathed his weapon and trudged his way up to the edge of the basin, and took NIGHT's offer of a hand, allowing her to help hoist him out of the pit. Once out, the swordsman sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, for dragging you all the way out here for nothing," he apologized, "I didn't think I'd one-shot him like that. Guess I gotta run the numbers again. Uhm, let me buy you lunch or something? I feel kinda bad now." 

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

"Sure." Lunch was welcome; even though NIGHT had fully regained the funds she'd spent on Yukiro over the past couple of months, the favour in return was hardly ever an offer she'd gotten to see as of late, the closest thing to its proximity being home-made vanities that weren't of the best settings, exactly. It was difficult to best a meal at a restaurant, and having been on the first for so long, the player was now familiar with an abundance of different stores to choose from. "Your pick, though. What're you in the mood for?"

The two players started on their way back, trekking across the trodden path side-lined by only a handful of burnt trees and rocks. Across the field, the environment gradually recovered, especially when they'd moved closer to the settlement. Even as they'd wandered, NIGHT was fully aware of the quiet, untapped questioning that laid between them-- she wondered if she should be just as conservative as she had been with their taller, white-haired friend.

[Koga 0]

"Burgers it is then," Koga said. Who didn't like some burgers and fries? Sad people, that's who. Without another word, the pair began the trek back to the settlement. There was a silence between them, so thick with unspoken words you could have cut it with a knife. Koga was more than certain NIGHT was going to ask about Noct and Tala. Where he'd been for nearly a year. He wanted nothing to do with that line of questioning. But then there was the matter of Yuki...

"Hey, NIGHT," the man said, breaking the silence, "Have you...heard from Yuki? I tried to message him a couple times. He never responded." Koga knew that he couldn't be dead. The name would have been greyed out in his friends list. But the silence was odd. Koga supposed he understood why the snow-haired man didn't want to talk to him though. At the end of the day, it was his fault. One more thing to add to his long list of regrets.

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

NIGHT let out an exhale, eyes scanning the environment. "Ah, that..." Her comment hung in the air for a few beats more; in the time between, the woman was wondering what way was best to phrase it. The two players were more alike in their mannerisms than she'd initially expected. And here she thought Koga himself might have gotten lost in the expedition, doomed never to find his way back to the surface of Aincrad.

But here he was, back. One day, so was Yukiro in that same position, learning to grow used to the sun a moment at a time.

"He was quiet for a long time," she mentioned. "Just like you were, cooped up in his workshop for months. Something tells me he's still on the road to recovery."

Swift steps. Boots on dirt.

"I haven't seen him ever since a few ago, though. Might be out training on his own, maybe just as you would. I can't say for sure."

[Koga 0]

So that was it. He was off, pushing himself like always. Probably hunting down every ugly beast he could find. Koga had almost forgotten how driven Yuki could be sometimes. It didn't answer the question of whether or not the other man was avoiding him or not, but it was good to know that he was alive at least.

Koga nodded silently. There wasn't much else to say about that, he'd gotten what information he wanted. The blackclad man chewed on the inside of his cheek as he mulled over whether or not he should even ask the question he had. It was a surefire way to open doors he didn't want anyone walking through, at least for now. Maybe not ever. For now, he'd leave it be. He wasn't ready for that conversation. "So, what have you been up to then? You levelled pretty hard it looks like. Everything alright with you?" he asked instead. Surely, after a year, there was something interesting that the woman could tell him about.

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

What was NIGHT going to do; break down and cry?

She might've, if she let the silence drag out long enough. So much had happened in the time between knowing her starting pack mates and losing them in a trickle, to having the stragglers emerge from hiding when she was already upon a different mountaintop, taking the journey's hike on her own. It had felt like it, anyway, even if she considered the other friends she's made, close strangers the lot of them.

"I've got a house now," she started slowly, barely able to give the man a glance. "First floor. Got into a guild... though our motives are murky aside from the common denominator being powerful gear. Ah..."

NIGHT paused once more. There were plenty of monsters she could talk about, though if Koga were to continue hunting them down, he too would be able to catch sight of them, so there wasn't much value in speaking of them at length.

"Got a lot of loot from monsters, I guess?" She'd flash a sword from her inventory as an example -- Dragon's Gaze, that white-clad sword with the burning optic. "Hunting for Uniques seem to be the frontliners' agenda, I think. While they're not organizing raids for game completion, at least."

[Koga 0]

There was a shift in tone between the two. One Koga hadn't expected or even known was possible. From uneasy and a little sad to downright dour. Even as NIGHT gave Koga the briefest update on her life, she wouldn't look at him. It had never occurred to Koga, not for a moment, how she must've been feeling. She'd been just as alone as him all this time, hadn't she? He almost stopped in his tracks upon that realization.

As NIGHT put away her weapon, Koga found his left hand tightly gripping the saya of his own sword. "NIGHT, I'm..." Koga struggled to put his thoughts into words. He was never good at this sort of thing. "I owe you an apology," he finally managed. "When...when Noct and Tala died, I ran. Ran from Yuki, from you. From myself too, I guess." Koga's knuckles became white around Tsuki's sheath, as he finally put into words the reality he'd avoided facing for too long. "I shouldn't have. I didn't...I didn't think about you two. They were your friends too." Koga's teeth ground against each other, trying to keep his composure. With misty eyes, he turned to face what was now his oldest friend. "I'm sorry. Forgive me." The swordsman bowed deeply before the woman, the slightest tremor moving through his body. What the hell had he been doing all this time...he was such a fool.

@NIGHT

Edited October 15, 2020 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

She hadn't expected the man to speak up, all of a sudden. These things took time; the guilt, the sorrow -- she was sure he'd be just as tight-lipped about it, the same way that Yukiro would be.

Now she knew. They weren't cut from the exact same cloth, after all.

"You were closer to them-- no, closestto them in the first place," NIGHT began, unsure of what to say. Her hands retreated to the pockets of her jacket, weight of their burdens pulling down the loose-fitting suit in earnest. "So I couldn't blame you, same way I couldn't blame Yukiro for closing up or straying away from the present. Grief takes time to recover from. I get that."

"-- But you must know that so too did everyone else seem to disappear in the act."

That was the part she was afraid of bringing up. The tragedy of it all, the loss of their companions as she was aware of it.

"Yukiro barely leaves the town now," she elaborated. A wry smile graced her expression, pained in her confession. "Same with Lonzo, I'm lead to believe. The man just wants to cook now, rather than battle for his freedom. And I haven't seen Nora, either; gone for good, I suppose."

"So..."

[Koga 0]

Koga straightened his back, and yet, he seemed smaller somehow. Shrunken down. He looked down and to the side, unable to make eye contact with NIGHT. He was ashamed. He'd been selfish. More than that, he'd done something he once swore he never would. He'd abandoned the people he'd called friends.

Yukiro.
Lonzo.
Nora.

The names echoed in his ears like the toll of a church bell in the dead of night. "I...I left you all behind...didn't I?" Koga murmured, just loud enough to reach NIGHT's ears. He already knew the answer, even if NIGHT was being kind about it. Koga looked back at NIGHT now, his visage like stone, hardened, stoic, even as a tear trailed down his cheek. He hated crying. "I know there's nothing I could say or do to change what happened. And I can't...I can't bring them back. But I'm not going to run anymore. You deserve better than that. You all do." It didn't express all the grief and remorse that Koga felt in that moment. But it would have to be enough.

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

"...Could you do it?"

She hadn't expected her tone to come out frosty, watching the tear form on her companion's face. Furrowed brows and a hesitant stare -- NIGHT knew of the toil Koga would have to carry on the road ahead of him, on the assumption that he was liken to walking it at all. But in the wait for his response, the woman relinquishing her held breath, she changed her query with a single shake of her head.

"No -- would you do it? To carry on without them, even though knowing of their parting hurts?"

She didn't want to doubt her friend's conviction in the first place. Perhaps it was because it hurt too much to imagine a scenario where it would be so. The best she could do, NIGHT reasoned, was to aid him if he wasn't reluctant of it, to the fullest extent of her efforts that he would recover from this situation. That they would one day be free from their shared past.

That it wouldn't define them in the end.

"There's always time to start now," NIGHT added, offering her hand out in a shake, grip as familiar as always. "It won't be easy--" She knew that to be true on her own. "--But I'll be there, this time."

"You won't have to get through it alone."