[PP|F2] An unforseen outcome <<Let There Be Light>>

[Justice 0]

Justice was all alone, once again. He hadn't even tried to make friends since he came, and two years had gone by without a word from his old ones. This was his breaking point. Grabbing his dagger from the nightstand in his room, the white haired boy would walk from his room out into the town. The second floor seemed more normal to him, like it was brimming with activity despite having been so long since being discovered. He figured it was because people were still trying to go out and make a difference, or maybe it was that strange reset that happened. Who knows, all Justice knew was this area felt like home. He had wandered the streets for so long yet not one person stopped to say hello. Anymore he didn't care.

If he was going to be alone, so be it.

With his eyepatch and half mask, the boy felt anonymous. Like his past didn't matter, all he needed to do was make sure people didn't see him for what he truly is. His hands slid into the pockets of his black shorts over a dark pair of leggings. His upper body was almost completely shrouded in a black short sleeve sweatshirt, under which a tight black shirt led down to his pale hands. He felt invisible, and he wanted to be. But... taking a quest that is recommended to people stronger than he is felt kind of dangerous, so he would have to find someone. Someone who didn't seem like the type to run at the first sign of danger, someone much stronger than the kid to make up for his sever lack of power.

Picking the first player he came across, Justice would approach. Pulling his hand up to his cheek and giving it a scratch, he would clear his throat. Only a dry and raspy voice, hardly loud enough to fill the alleyway behind them escaped. 

"Hello... My name is Justice. Can you help me?"

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Justice's Stats:

20/20 HP | 20/20 EN | 6 DMG

[Koga 0]

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: none Koga, Lvl 32/40 | HP: 840 | EN: 118 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | B.HEALING: 46/92 equipped battle-ready inventory T4 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [ CRSED // BRN I // BLT I // FALN I ] T4 Perfect Light Armor <<Shadow Chance Coat>> [ EVA II // REGN I ] T1 Perfect Trinket <<Kashira Cable - Wolf>> [ ACC III ] none skills Spoiler | UTILITY Searching III | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP EN Cost: 10 Energist | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +5 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP Cooldown: 3 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<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. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.

Floor Two. When was the last time Koga had been on this floor? He couldn't recall. A reasonably long time then, though, he supposed. Long enough that he'd forgotten. It was a nice enough place though. A far cry better than that accursed Floor Nine. Sure, they shared mountains in common, but at least these ones were covered in grass as opposed to fucking lava. Yeah, Floor Two, infinitely better than Nine.

There was no real reason Koga had come to this floor today though. Maybe it was just the desire for a a change in scenery, a way to mix up things up a little, but when he awoke this morning, he'd rolled a dice, and here he was now...staring a billboard instead of enjoying the unfamiliar scenery. The man was a workaholic. But, no new quests, no requests from players. Just the same old notices that would have worn away by now if this were the real world.

A a scratchy voice came from behind Koga, drawing his attention to another boy, a couple years younger than himself, he guess. The boy made a simple request.

"Uh...what do you need help with?" Koga asked a little skeptically. The way the kid was dressed, he seemed more like a serial killer, or a thief than some random player getting started but...the stats didn't lie either. Maybe he was the bait?

[Justice 0]

The player had reacted about the way most people would expect, and Justice almost audibly sighed. "Sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you could help me find the lost child. The one in the bat cave." Justice would ask, pulling his other hand out of his pockets and waving them next to his shoulders as a sort of wall between himself and Koga. "Of course, I understand if you don't want to... I am a total stranger and you might be busy..." The kid would say, turning his head towards the request board. Justice was known to talk way too much, especially about stuff he really cared about. Anymore though, he tried his best to avoid talking.

However he still needed to ask this man for help, and as such needed to keep himself speaking until he got an answer one way or the other. As Justice placed his hands back into his pockets, he would simply say. "My name's Justice." His thought process was, maybe he looked like a ruffian, but the kid was soft as they come. "I don't know if this is coming off as less than convincing, but I swear to you that I just want to get stronger. I'm tired of waiting around for someone else to save me." As his gaze shifted to the ground, Justice's hand formed into a fist inside his pockets, and he would speak once more. "Maybe along the way I can help someone else."

[Koga 0]

At first, Koga was going to decline the boy's request. Follow a sketchy looking guy into a dark cave? Yeah, that seemed like a great way to get himself stabbed in the back, but before the man could say, 'no', the kid started to say something that interested the Wolf.

He wanted to get stronger...

Koga's eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he inspected the boy carefully, investigating his face as if searching for something. That spark, just behind the boy's eyes. The man cocked his head to the side, and crossed his arms, a moment for thought. "Alright kid," he said finally.

Even if this was a trap of some sort, Koga would be able to see it coming. Night vision would help in that respect. Plus, any PKers looking to harm others on the first floor were not likely to be very strong, his stats would easily surpass theirs. "Lead the way."

[Justice 0]

The moment Koga agreed, Justice sighed in relief. Perhaps people weren’t all that bad, but the young white haired player is still unsure on that. This player had agreed to help, but even still they had to complete the quest before he could truly let his guard down. The boy in black would walk, knowing the path to the mother by now, and it would not take them long to get there.

Walking up to the mother, Justice would listen to her story of her child playing in the field, nodding along until the lady asks him to go rescue the child. Silently he would nod and press the accept quest option.

After that, the walking shadow would continue onward, making his way out to the field as fast as he possibly could. Even if this is just a quest, and the other player had agreed, Justice didn’t want to take too long. It would just be rude to assume he had nothing else to do. Alright, from what I’ve heard, this quest is hard to do without a glow- damn it. Whatever, we don’t have time to go back and get one. ”So… I don’t have a glowstone. Which unfortunately means this is going to be harder.”

[Koga 0]

Koga followed just behind the younger boy, his hand shoved in the pockets of his coat as they traveled by foot towards the cave. Koga tried to remember the last time he'd taken this quest. Actually, had he ever done this quest? The man wasn't sure. Something about bats and a cave seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't tell if that was because someone had mentioned it to him before, or because he'd actually done it.

Whatever.

"Well, I've got night vision, so I'll be able to see fine. Just stick close to me, and this shouldn't be too bad," Koga informed the boy. Koga hadn't actually been entirely sure about picking up night vision at first, but lately, the mod had proven to be quite useful. Dark caves seemed to be abound in Aincrad.

"So, why's a kid like you jumping in feet first?" Koga asked after a moment or two, figuring that, despite his reservations, it couldn't hurt to learn a little bit more about the person he was assisting. Might give him some insight one way or another, and this seemed to be just out of the kid's depth given the gear that he was wearing. Maybe he had a good reason for putting his life at risk.

[Justice 0]

Justice would nod as Koga explained his night vision skill. That’s good, perhaps the man could protect him if the time comes. And if not, so be it. Justice had no qualms dying in this game, so long as he dies on his feet, fighting with all he has. Taking his first step into the cave, his ears would fix on the beating wind of wings closing in on the pair. A long sigh would escape as the kid focused. ”I don’t have the luxury of testing the waters first. I lost everything before coming to this world, so I don’t have anything to fall back on if I don’t like it. Besides, what’s the matter with risking it all? If there’s a risk, that makes it better. The risk of death is meaningless if not a driving factor to push yourself forward.”

His dagger would escape from its sheathe, and his arms would cover his face. He saw enough movement to make his attack, and his blade would glow a dull red, coming across the body of the bat, falling just short of its target. His eyes would narrow, as the kid flipped backwards sloppily. His arm would flip behind himself as the kid pulled his hood up to cover his white hair. ”You see, if I die here not much changes. If I succeed here, everything does.” His eyes would try to follow the sound of the creature he was happily fighting. Struggling to keep note of where it was, but in some way being able to make sure he didn’t accidentally bump into it.

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Action taken: ST-I on Bat

Spoiler

Roll ID: 204412

BD: 2 - 1 = 1 fail

Justice:

20/20 HP | 18/20 EN | 6 DMG
 

Bat:
HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35 | Hate: J0, K0

Edited March 1, 2022 by Justice

[Koga 0]

The pair entered the cave together, swallowed in the darkness. Koga's eyes flickering before illuminating with a soft crimson glow, his world suddenly devoid of color, but able to peer into the long dark corridor of the cavern. Unlike this kid, who couldn't see the taut frown that had spread across Koga's face. The Wolf wasn't usually one to judge other people, let alone the thing that drove them to risk their lives. But this one?

Koga would cross his arms and hold back a moment as one of the cave's bats would swoop down. Justice actually responded a mite quicker than Koga had expected, lashing out with his dagger, the short blade only hair's breadth from it's target. Unfortunate, but it was what to be expected when one couldn't see their surroundings.

Nearly silent, Koga drew his own blade, not willing to let the bat score even a single strike against his ward. The thing could probably one-shot him right now. All the boy would perceive was a rush of air blowing past him, and the heavy flutter of Koga's coat as he dashed past, his blade briefly glowing, cutting into the bat, setting alight with fire. In the glow, the kid could see Koga looking over his shoulder at him, red eyes eerie in the quickly returning dark.

"Nothing changes, no matter what we do in here," he stated. Simple. A fact. "All that happens if we win is we go back out into the world, years of our lives lost."

The sound of his blade being sheathed cut accentuated the glow of his eyes disappearing as he turned forward once more. "You're gonna need a better reason than that if you wanna survive."

---

Spoiler

[0] Justice | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 6

[0] Koga | HP: 840/840 | EN: 107/118 (118 -11) | DMG: 23 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | B.HEALING: 46/92
[WELL RESTED, 2/3]

 

Bat | HP: 0/75 (75 -288) | DMG: 35

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Koga uses ST-I
  | 204564, BD nat9
  | DMG (23 +1) * 12
Bat takes 288 damage
Bat dies!

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Koga

[Justice 0]

The bat would be taken care of a little too quickly for the boy's liking. Standing up to his full height, Justice would glance around, still unable to make out anything more than his partner's general location. "You seem to misunderstand. If I stand around and do nothing while players drop like flies, then of course nothing changes. But if I can find the strength to stand alongside them, I can grow." The boy pulls his knife out and holds it in front of his face. "You see, this weapon in my hand is the only thing I can use to change my own fate. Being trapped in here wasn't an option. Refusing to grow from it is a choice, one I refuse to make."

With a flourish, Justice's blade finds its sheathe, and the kid would turn around looking for any sign of the small child. Nothing. Whatever, they had a while to figure this out. As quickly as Justice wanted to finish this quest, he could gain something from this as little as it is.

It's something.

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action taken: Searching for Koga

Spoiler

roll id: 204682

LD: 3

fail

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Justice

[Koga 0]

"I appreciate the effort to grow," Koga's voice said, coming from the darkness as if it were the cavern itself speaking, his voice reverberating off the walls, all encompassing. It was only the appearance of the glowing red eyes beside Justice that would indicate the Koga had moved. "Advocate it, even. As I do with taking control of one's own fate." The boy would feel a hand gently pushing on his back, guiding him further into the tunnel. "But to what effect?"

People tried to change and grow all the time. Perhaps as many that were content with doing nothing and blaming those around them. But what about those who failed. Who found it too difficult, or simply could never reach their goals. What about them? And what about those who succeeded? Not all aspirations were meant to be fulfilled, and very few were worthy causes. Most, simply, were for their own benefit, at the cost of others.

"What would you have your fate be?"

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| 204799, LD nat8 +3

Edited March 5, 2022 by Koga

[Justice 0]

Justice's eyes would float around the cave, focusing on what little he could see as he listened to Koga speak. "An end to my emptiness. I've never had a goal that I reached, and for that I feel like I'm missing out. I hate watching other players fight on the frontlines because it makes me feel small. Why let people fight for me when I can do something to make an actual difference?" The kid would turn towards Koga, his red eyes narrowing on the man. "If someone dies to save me, that's a life wasted. Unless I become someone who can hold my own, and carry even one other person's weight, I won't see it as a trade worth making." 

The kid was almost hell bent on explaining his mentality to the man who was here helping him. "Think of it like this NPC child. She's trapped in here because she doesn't know anyone is looking for her. She's not only scared of the monsters, she's scared of being alone. That feeling of having no one sucks. It's a feeling we all hate to experience, yet somehow we all end up contributing to it in some way, intentional or not. I'm tired of being part of that cycle. I've felt true loneliness, I've seen what it does. It doesn't make someone evil, it makes them afraid." His hand would wave across himself as he grabbed his shoulder. "That first step forward is the worst, because you don't know where that path leads, but what everyone forgets is how important the first step is. If you don't take that step, you stop moving forward. The end doesn't matter, because you can always change directions, but if you never start moving, the end is the same." 

His determined look would fade into a look of deep introspection. "You see, sir. This is my first step. I don't have a solid goal to aim for, just an idea of one. An imaginary x to mark the treasure."

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Roll ID: 206468

LD: 10 (fail)

Edited March 20, 2022 by Justice

[Koga 0]

A secret smile crept onto Koga's face as he heard Justice's answer. He liked this kid. A bit too much like himself, if he was being honest. And a tad bit edgier. But the desire, the value of simply making an effort, moving forward. Those were things Koga knew, and knew well. Things he'd come to appreciate.

"An idea is a good place to start," Koga replied as his eyes panned across the seemingly endless cavern. "And don't call me 'sir'. I doubt I'm much older than you. Just call me Koga."

The pair came to what appeared to be a crossroads in the cavern. One branch traveled off to the left, the other the right. Which way could the girl have possibly gone? Koga felt a pang of regret at never having picked up the Tracking skill.

Well, time to figure this out the old fashioned way...Reaching into his pocket, Koga pulled out a single golden coin, with a hole in the middle. Though both sides were inscribed with similar markings, the man knew heads from tails. Tossing it into the air, the metallic ring echoed ominously through the cavern before landing in the palm of his hand. Left it was.

Starting down their new path, Koga posed a new question. "Not that I'm trying to dissuade you from joining the Front, but you know there are other ways to help right? We need supplies, consumables, buffs. It's not enough to just hit the fucker 'til it dies. Have you ever considered that?"

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| 206478, LD nat1

Edited March 20, 2022 by Koga