[F17-SP] <<Challenge of Olympus>> Yui's Grace

[Valentine 0]

Valentine felt a tingling in his throat as he left his work station. He was increasing the amount of time he had for practices recently. He singing ability increased well. He was actually a tier three performer now. Val felt a message on his HUD so he opened it up to check it out. A rare quest and an item came in the system for him.

Looking closely at the item he received called <<Yui's Grace>>. It was a bonus exp item granted for a hidden quest he triggered. Val looked at the details and all it mentioned was meet a Satyr on floor 17 to begin <<The Challenge of Olympus>>. It sounded dangerous but the system would never give him something impossible. Since he triggered it he felt he needed to do it. Val chugged the potion he used. He had a refreshing feeling covering his body.

He followed the quest location up to the 17th floor.

 

Spoiler

 

Name: Valentine

• Level: 13
• HP: 260/260
• EN: 26/26

Stats:

• Damage: 9
• ACC:3
• EVV:2
• MIT:5

Equipped Gear:

• Weapon: <<Dastardly Poker>> ( +3 DMG/2HAS)
• Armor: <<Cloudskin>> ( +2 EV, +1 Regen/Light Armor)
• Trinket: <Eye of Horus>> ( +3 ACC/Pin)

 

Items on hand:

• 1 Beginner Potion (+50 HP)
• Yui's Grace

 

Skills:

• 2 Handed Assault Spear [Rank 3]
• Light Armor [Rank 1]

 

 

Valentine | HP:260/260 | EN: 26/26 | DMG:9 | MIT: 5 | EVA:2 | ACC:3 | REGEN: 1

 

Yui's Grace has been used.

[Valentine 0]

The 17th floor looked like a mixture of the various places Val went to in Europe. It was the same but not similar. Val would know he went to Greece and the like often. It was not his fault he owned a private jet and more money then he could ever spend. For him going to Greece was an afternoon affair. Even if it was his first time on the floor he did not stop to marvel. He followed the coordinates with a purpose.

Val followed the coordinates to a small clearing in a grove a trees. He saw a hooved man dancing a jig and was pretty shocked. He did not think think the game would be this in-depth. The man looked like the thing in paintings. The only thing missing from his imagination was the satyr dong he heard about. Not that Val would sleep with it. He was more of a top and he assumed the goat-man had fur all in his crack. Val did not imagine the rug burn to feel good.

[Valentine 0]

The satyr stopped when it noticed Val. "You finally made it here young challenger. You came faster than I thought." The Satyr had a woodsy voice that reminded Val of pan pipes being played. "My name is Mica. I will be taking you to the challenge location. Any Questions?"

Val felt his eyes narrow as he raised his hands the goat man did not even say anything. "I have a few. What is the challenge? And what is the challenge for?" He wanted the Satyr to give some details before fully committing. If he could not back out later he needed to know.

"Right! I am a Satyr.... yata yata yata. The challenge is issued by an Olympian who has taken an interest in you. Chances of death or slim to none. You get a prize if you win. Your challenger is Apollo and the exact mission of the challenge is beyond me. If you accept the quest just follow me."

Edited October 18, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Val followed the Satyr to a gate. The location of how he got there was a mystery to himself. All he could remember was following for a second. The gate led to an immaculate mountain that had laughter and beautiful people around. A tall blond haired man, with blue eyes, lithe fingers, and a sunny smile played an instrument by the gate. Val could not help but give him a playful wink as his features turned to butter.

"Looks like you have good taste mortal." The beautiful man approached the player and Satyr. "Thank you Mica. I will take it from here." The satyr nodded and left. "So Valentine as you are called. You have caught my attention and I have decided to issue you a challenge. Feel blessed as not everyone gets the right to take it. The challenge is simply to sing a song that could move a god." 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The challenge sounded easy on one end but Val did not believe it for a second. Mythology spoke the gods to be a prickly sort even at the best of times. Apollo may have been one of his favorite gods but he was also the gods of plagues. Val's life was the only thing promised to be spared in the quest. The god could give him a curse that makes the rest of the game hell. Val could not back down as he already accepted. The only thing he could do was try not to offend the God and put on a great show.

Val thought about Apollo's past as far as myth went. As the god of music it would be hard to best him singing. There had to have been a reason as to why this was the challenge. "If you are having trouble I can go first. You can understand the differences in our talent."

Edited October 18, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The god open his mouth and left Val flabbergasted. The sounds that came out sounded not only like the voice he was using to speak earlier. The voice of the god sounded like an entire orchestra and choir. Val could not understand the words but felt like he understood the sound. It was a happy piece that made Val want to dance. The song was morning sun on a field and sunflowers blooming. Val felt tiny and unassuming just listening as if he could never measure up.

The song ended and the mostly silent Val became deathly silent. As if opening his mouth would stain the very air that was graced by the earlier sounds. "That is music. As a performer your talent should be able to move the hearts of monsters. You have only scratched the surface of your potential. If you find a song in your heart and want a god to listen to it. Just tell me a name and I can call one. Most of them are pretty bored at the moment without me present."

[Valentine 0]

Val believed the god sounded a bit dick-ish but held merit in his words. Apollo was an entertainer and his songs did a variety of things. As far as delving into mythology because as a gay kid growing up how could he not delve into it. He was aware of the fact that Apollo could be iffy just as well as any god he could call. Val pondered the question and thought of Apollo's song.

"As long as I can move a god with my music I win? That includes being able to move you?" Val was asking for clarification. He had several ideas running into his head it would all depend on how the god would respond. Apollo simply nodded his head playing with his instrument and not bothering to answer.

The song Valentine started to sing was Beautiful Soul. He had to admit he was sounding better than Jesse. SAO had a feature for performers that improved their voice skills as long s they tried. Even adding synthetic tunes could be done in a studio. The game was advanced in the oddest of places.

[Valentine 0]

Apollo waited before responding to Valentines song. "It was alright at best your use of range was uncommon. It was far from perfect and it did not move my heart. It had no emotion in it and was actually a tad bit disappointing. Try again. Moving me is not as easy as you think. As the god of song it is a lot harder for a mortal to even accomplish it." He spoke as he strummed hardly paying Val attention.

Trying to figure out a way to move a god with a performance was a difficult feet. He already said he would try to get Apollo to be the God that moved. Who knew it would be such a difficult challenge. As the god of music he should have felt more inclined to feel stuff like feelings and be moved. How was Val supposed to know his guess who only be the exact opposite.

Edited October 19, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

Val thought it over and believed a love song was a bit cliché. It was probably the main reason why Apollo was unmoved by it. A different genre would be more likely to reach the heart of an ancient Greek man. Val was reminded about the time when he went to his first alternative music concert. It was for 'My Chemical Romance' and  it moved his heart. The only other band that could move hearts as well as them was 'Pan!c At The Disco'.

"They're gonna clean up your looks. With all the lies in the books. To make a citizen out of you." Valentine started the song and was even moving himself. Instead of just singing he was headbanging his silver hair to the rhythm of the song. He lost himself to the song and temporarily just grooved. Val did not even bother to remember that he was supposed to be competing.

Edited October 19, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

"So darken your clothes! Or strike a violent pose. Maybe they'll leave you alone! But not me!" Val was doing an imaginary guitar rift when he returned to his senses. He was greatly embarrassed by how he let himself go. The song was a national anthem in his heart Val felt like he would disappoint a generation if he did not do the song justice.

Apollo gave him a gleeful look as he spoke. "You did better that time. Your passion had a bright shine in it that made me enjoy it. I was not moved but it was better. You added your own heart to it but did not understand the heart of the target."  The young god was not only using this as a test but as a method of training. The amount of growth Val could display would only depend on his own talent. An expert performer would not necessarily grasp what was being said. Let alone Valentine himself.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The heart of the target? Does he mean that if I make a song while knowing who he is performing for? In a way it all actually made sense. When Apollo was singing Val felt memories and feeling stir. The feelings that came from the music was not Apollo's own feelings and memories. It was the sum of experiences that he felt in his life. He could even admit that he did not understand a single word in the song that Apollo sang at the time. He simply felt it. If Apollo was able to use his emotions in a song to awaken someone else's it would make sense that the heart would move. The key may lie in experiences. Valentine believed he would have to use the knowledge he had of Apollo to overlay their hearts in order for him to move it. The last issue in question how could he relate to an NPC god?

[Valentine 0]

Val was brooding when he had a flash of inspiration. He felt like he arrived at the answer earlier. When it came to himself he was already aware that he had a lot of things in common with the god. Val was stoned faced as he continued to contemplate. The times when he showed emotion the most was when he was with Grimm or performing in his studio. the trial he was going through at the moment was an exception.

"I think this song should be able to do it." Val started to sing a more original piece that he titled 'Growing up in Shade'. Even as he sang Val felt something was missing from the piece. He did not even get halfway through when he stopped. Apollo did not need to tell him that the piece was a failure he instinctively knew without being reminded. If the piece was off that early it was only smart of him to try something else.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

The sun god leveled him with a look that hurt Val's pride just a smidgen. No words were needed for him to understood what the look meant. The look was basically telling him how absurdly mental it was for him to try a song like that. If he wanted to create an original piece he should at least wait till after the song was completed. Starting a song meant the journey was incomplete. The song could end far away from the point in which you started it. That was why it felt wrong before he finished singing before. The song would have been too different. The entire piece was going to be pointless.

All of this is what Apollo conveyed with his eyes. "I will think of a better solution. I was not given a time limit to finish nor a set amount of attempts in which to complete it all."

[Valentine 0]

Val was fixed with a blinding smile from Apollo. It was light the distilled essence of light was funneled into his teeth. The pearly whites gave off a shine as he looked at Val. Felt saw a notification on his HUD he opened up to look at the quest log. His quest was updated with a new timer and an attempt count.

A moment of shock coursed through Val as he wanted to yell at Apollo. What the god did was simply spiteful he was joking but the extra pressure made it difficult for him to focus. Val contemplated on songs he already knew. He did not have the time to try crafting various song. Val also believed he did not have the ability to get it right, within the 5 attempts left to him to craft a winning song. A complete song that could connect them both would be the best thing.

[Valentine 0]

Valentine had a thought. Apollo was fabled to be in love with the man Hyacinthus, they loved each other so much that Hyacinthus chose Apollo over his other suitors. One of the suitors was the West Wind Zephyrus who was jealous by the love between the two. Zephyrus in his blind jealousy caused the death of Hyacinthus. Apollo mourned like he never did before and named a flower after him. The loss of a loved one to jealous reasoning is a feeling that Val understood to well.

No one in the game left alive knew that instead of Val and Sage there were three people. Mouse was a friend of the duo and actually an assigned guard to Val. Val despised the man so much that even in his death he would refused to acknowledge the mans existence. His jealousy caused Sage to fall for a death trap meant for Val. Val had to cradle Sage's body as his hp hit zero. 

[Valentine 0]

Like Apollo himself Val could not bring the dead back. All he could do was honor his passed love in anyway that he knew how. Like Zephyrus who fled underneath a power that could protect him, so did the treacherous bastard Mouse. If given the chance  Val believed him and the god of music would strike back at their lovers' killers.

When he really contemplated it from that perspective then he noticed that his reason to sing, and his identity as a performer, stimmed from him using his suffering.  Val felt that the feeling he was having at the moment was sufficient. As long as he could find a song that matched his experiences and emotions, he felt capable of moving the heart of the god. "This challenge will end on my next song. I believe I have understood that which you have been trying to teach me. So listen closely."

[Valentine 0]

Apollo perked up at the claim. The sunshine god would probably not hesitate to do a bit of smiting if Val disappointed him. He refrained from strumming his lyre as he looked. His ears were perked and his focus was unerringly centered towards Val.

"My lover's got humor. He's the giggle at a funeral. Knows everybody's disapproval. I should've worshiped him sooner." Val chose the song 'Take me to Church'. It was only a bit ironic that he was singing a song that many religious shades of Christianity wanted to claim, to a god that was considered Pagan. He did not completely choose the song for all the words but the emotion conveyed behind it. The song was above standing up for your love and how even in death you could not come close to forgetting them. That was at least the way Val was interpreting the song. It was the way he was trying to convey it as well.

[Valentine 0]

As Val performed he closed his eyes, it was like he could feel the song leave his body as a string. He saw colors he could not imagine as tears formed on his face. It was like he was grieving while singing. His body was detoxifying the remnants of his lounging. When he finished he opened his eyes to see Apollo standing in front of him.

"That was beautiful. I guess I would have to congratulate you on being able to pass your trial. The song you chose was a bit on the rustic side but I can understand the logic behind it. It was packed with emotion and showed your growth since starting. If you sung the song in the beginning I doubt it would have had the same amount of impact and flair." Valentine was happy, even with his wet eyes he felt accomplished. He mourned in secret and now he mourned with others.

[Valentine 0]

As Val fixed himself Apollo gave a radiant smile. "Are you ready for your prize?" Val gave a nod as if to say he was ready. The young NPC God Apollo gave Val the lyre in his hand. Val accepted the gift before trying to appraise it. The notification he received said his appraisal skills were unable to identify the item.

"Uhm?"  Valentine did not want to be rude. It was just the fact that he tried so hard for an object that could not be used would be a lot of a waste. Apollo started to answer before he could fully ask "This lyre is a prefect artifact grade item only usable by you. The item allows you to use sounds not commonly seen in this realm. As long as you can imagine it the sound can be played. As long as you play it in conjunction with your performance the value of them will increase." Valentine was pleasantly pleased with his gift.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Valentine

[Valentine 0]

As Val fixed himself Apollo gave a radiant smile. "Are you ready for your prize?" Val gave a nod as if to say he was ready. The young NPC God Apollo gave Val the lyre in his hand. Val accepted the gift before trying to appraise it. The notification he received said his appraisal skills were unable to identify the item.

"Uhm?"  Valentine did not want to be rude. It was just the fact that he tried so hard for an object that could not be used would be a lot of a waste. Apollo started to answer before he could fully ask "This lyre is a prefect artifact grade item only usable by you. The item allows you to use sounds not commonly seen in this realm. As long as you can imagine it the sound can be played. As long as you play it in conjunction with your performance the value of them will increase." Valentine was pleasantly pleased with his gift.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Valentine