[PP - F10] Absolute Pin Guild Initiation: Clarence

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ah the 10th floor, truly the place where Ariel felt, alive. Even if she STILL hasn't gotten herself the 'Night Vision' skill, she had an ace up her sleeves. Or better said, in her hand...there was a bottle containing a fluorescent powder, labeled 'Firefly Essence' It wasn't a bright light but at least she could see 1 or 2 meters in front of her, and have time to prepare if random stuff would happen. 

 

Ariel was more than accustomed with this place since she spend quite some time here polishing her sword skills to perfection, at least in game stats. She had finally achieved the last rank in her rapier sword skill when she last was here.Since then the blonde has started a new guild called 'Absolute Pin' and while a small group was attempting to defeat the floor boss. Ariel was honoring one of her ex-guild, the Azure Brigade's last order to keep clear of the current boss fight, instead she was here to meet a certain ex-Brigadier that wanted to join her newly founded guild. She'd PMed him with her location and was expecting him to drop in any moment.

[Clarence 0]

The 10th floor, one of Clarence's disliked floors to say the least, but he had to get over that. Since the drama with Azure Brigade, Clarence has been kind of lonely. He met Calrex and Skylar is all he can say for himself. { Only met Ariel like once, hopefully she likes me and brings me into the guild, Calrex talked it up a lot when I met him so hopefully it lives up to what he said. }

 

Caves themselves were not the best for Clarence, and when it is very dark, it also isn't that great. Clarence really liked light but he couldn't see a dang thing because.. there is no light! But, Clarence went to the Coordinates of where they have to meet and he some how found Ariel in the dark. "Hi Ariel! Glad I could meet you." Clarence smiles brightly and waves to Ariel, probably not seen but a nice gesture he thought.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

It didn't take long for footsteps to be heard near the blonde. Turning towards the origin with her right hand on her rapier's pomel, Ariel sees a certain brunette closing in on her. She lets out a sigh of relief as she lets go of the weapon's crossguard, letting it slide back to its black scabbard. 

"Clarence, a pleasure indeed. Even if if we meet like this, physically, for the first time. I already feel like a know you a bit as we've been talking via PM and guild chats so much" her voice then faded in intensity and gained a faint tinge of sadness "...while we were in the Brigade". For some reason remembering about the Brigade still hurt Ariel, the guild she thought of as her family ended up kicking out almost all of its members. She was at least happy to take Clarence into her guild's ranks. She was sure that he felt, at least a bit, like she did..considering that he was a member longer than her.

 

"Okay then, let us go in our way. For your initiation I plan on us fighting some local mobs here. Nothing too hard, just your regular undead soldier. As a occupation while I ask you a few questions. They are also a part of the initiation so think a bit before answering OK?" she said as she unsheathed her black blade, it was almost invisible in the darkness but due to the fluorescent powder from the bottle she had in her left hand, a faint glow could be seen around its edges. She then started walking, it felt weird without her familiar but she decided to let Kimba back at the shop this time. She would look back to make sure clarence was behind her.

[Clarence 0]

"Okay, this is kind of new to me, the initiation thing. We did them for Azure as you know but never really was a part of one." Clarence smiled sadly at the memory of the Azure Brigade, something he will miss very much. He notices Ariel's calmness and sadness as well and he sighs a bit. "Hopefully I can be a part of this guild and help make sure that doesn't happen again."

 

"Haven't really been on this Floor that much so I guess this will be a learning experience for me." Clarence laughs lightly and walks next to Ariel, hoping he can boost the mood from dreary to some what light heart'd. "I hope I ca n show you I am a okay fighter. Almost Level 30 and I still have my basic dagger... I really need some better weapons, surprised I even got this far before having to buy new weapons. I usually party with other people though." Clarence smiled and thought back to Miaki, Zelrius, Sakuri, and others who partied with him in the past.

 

"You gotta thank Calrex for my interest in joining this guild, I hadn't thought this guild existed till I met him." Clarence smiled and scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to say because this is the first time he ever met Ariel in person.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde shook away any sadness and replied with a half smile: "Don't worry about it! its just a light chat and fight session. truthfully, I'm using this occasion to simply meet up with guild members." she paused as she'd hear the rest of his reply and continue: "I would like that very much, any help is welcomed at this stage, since the guild itself is pretty new. Most of its members are inexperienced. helping them gain the experience needed to fight bosses is what we aim for. We don't pick the best, like the azure did. We pick up potential players and mold them into first class front liners. people like you that have been in the front lines, are the ones the newbies could learn so much even if by simply talking to you." She eased up the grip on her weapon as she relaxed. There was something about this boy... a innate calmness aura that he emanated.

 

"Don't worry about items, we have a guild storage that i filled with items from my shop. There aren't really any perfect items but enough rare and uncommon to get yourself a pretty good equipment." She then listened as Clarence talked about Cal, indeed cal was exactly as he described him.

"Yes Cal-kun helped a lot with setting up the guild, he is doing some recruiting himself,as well. Why don't you tell me what he told you about our guild and I will continue from there?" the continued to walk undisturbed, a rare sight at this floor. Ariel knew better and kept one eye on their surroundings as they went deeper into the darkness. Sooner or later, a mob ought to appear in their way.

[Clarence 0]

"Hope I can  be of some use. And Calrex talked a lot about the guild. Saying it was a lot a like with Azure Brigade. Helping people and front lining. Basically what you just said and a bit more." Clarence shrugged his shoulders, no idea what to really say to Ariel because the two don't really know each other that well." I've only really been on the front lines once. So, not sure how much experience I can give. But again I will try to help." Clarence smiled lightly at that, trying to be a helpful person but also make a good impression.

 

"So, today we are just conversation and fighting? Sounds pretty simple, hopefully we don't run into to many difficult mobs." Clarence said and realized that Ariel is Level 30, something he is pretty close to accomplishing. { I never realized how far I have gotten in this game. Wait did she say that the guild has an inventory of equipment and other things! God that will help a lot, maybe I can donate some potions and Col, probably not Mats. }

 

"I will probably take advantage of the guild's inventory, I have no equipment, but I do have a pretty dull Alchemist Shop, got some potions stocking up there."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Yes, I 'borrowed' the council idea from them but didn't give it full power like in the Brigade. Here, the leader isn't just a different title for a council member. The King Piece, which represents the guild leader position, can veto a decision made by the council. But in this stage that would be stupid of me to do, since thanks to the Queen piece I'm also a council member so denying a decision I was part of taking it would be dumb. Not to mention that the guild will divide into factions and eventually disband, if the King piece begins to veto every council decision. " she said, at the end with a tinge of sadness in her eyes. As she remembered a certain brunette that helped set up the guild had left because of 'differences of opinion'.

 

The blonde shook her head a couple of times and banished such sad thoughts, before continuing: "Don't worry about mobs, I used to solo this area a couple of month ago when I was.... 'unavailable' after the whole Brigade business. But yes, please use the items from the guild inventory as you like. As I said, most of them are items from my shop but If you need a weapon you can talk to our 'official' blacksmith Meokka" she then made a couple of hand gestures and send him Meo's info. "She's still new in the job thing but I can vouch for her... afterall she IS my protégé."

 

As they continued their advancement into the dark, Ariel thought that this would be a good time to start the 'official' inquiry, that was part of the initiation. She turned her head towards Clarence, thinking about a way to start the 'interview': "I guess this is a good time as always to start your initiation. First I'd like to ask you a couple of questions. First of all, what do you think differentiates you from the rest of the players in Aincrad...let me rephrase that. What do you think that you can bring to our guild? You see we aren't just a bunch of muscle headed, battle freaks. Absolute Pin also has a more... commercial branch, that supplies the main front line force. Line shop owners and trips for gathering materials. Calrex is the one that does most of the gathering. I'm asking of this because I need to find you a proper place within the guild." she finished with a smile. Thinking of the blue Rook that usually supplies her with materials.

[Clarence 0]

"I did like the initial system of Azure. It worked well, but considering war council is not my strong suit, I was left out of most of the battle plans, along with most of the people in the guild. I was to nervous to say anything because they are my closest things. But things led to a bad time as it got disbanded. A democratic system is a better set up of everything, and supporting the front lines is something I like to do, I made potions for a few of the people in the boss battle a couple floors ago." Clarence replied to the first conversation and saw that Ariel was slightly upset, so he quickly changed the topic.

 

"This is my first time ever on this floor. I usually can't function with out being in the open but I've gotten better. And, I can hopefully donate to the items of the guild, that is if I get accepted of course. I am going to take you up on the offer of the girl. I have only starter weapons, miracle I have survived." Clarence laughed lightly to himself and accepted the info that was given to him, looking up at the girl before closing the info, hoping to get the initiation really started.

 

"So, what separates me from everyone else? I guess my fashion style... I'm kidding of course. I guess what I can really bring to the table is my willing to work and follow leader. Input my opinion as wisely as possibly, and try not to start fights, I hate fighting with people." Clarence smiled and shrugged slightly. "The rest to know will be known, only if you let me into the guild." Clarence snapped his fingers at Ariel before laughing lightly.

 

"Sorry, I feel nervousness with horrible jokes."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"We certainly are in need of a alchemist. there are few out there that still profess and I fear that for the upcoming battles...we will need more than out gear to face the bosses. And as far as alchemists go, I knew a bunch but now only one is active.... Mari. I don't know exactly what her problem is but he seems to have something, not only with me, but everyone!" she said, remembering the recent encounters with the pink headed. I had no choice but to buy some crystals from her but truth be told, I'd prefer spending my money on somebody within the guild." said the blonde with a newly found conviction as she continued:

 

"Don't bother about the jokes, I don't give ppl hard time when they are trying to improve themselves in some way. And don't disconsider yourself, you didn't survive this much because of miracles magically happening. I don't believe in such things, in return I think that you strived to survive in your own way, making powerful connections and never venturing alone at the high floors."

 

She chuckles as he snapped his fingers and continues: "Well let's continue then with the next question..How do you feel about SAO right now, in general? better said, try to tell me in words how do you see Aincrad?" she asked in a slightly curious tone, while raising her right eyebrow.

[Clarence 0]

"Aincrad, in a nutshell, isn't really the best place. Certain floors are very good, but others are not the safest to be on, like this one. Guilds are really the boundary between safety and total chaos. Aincrad is a place of good and people. Like Calrex, and Skylar." Clarence smiled at the comment of Skylar but continued, not wanting to say to much into that topic. "Aincrad is really on the stand still of having a great time, but just need someone to push it in the right direction." Clarence smiled at that. Hoping his answer was good enough.

 

"The Mari thing, I only really met her once. I tried to be nice and she blew up in my face. She just has an attitude that only certain people will dare to touch it. But I hope things look up for her, she doesn't really deserve to have a horrible time here. None of us do." Clarence smiled warmly and continued to walk.

 

{ I wonder if I am doing good, I really hope I am }

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"An optimist, you're certainly a rare breed here. let's leave Mari out of further discussions for now, My ex guildmaster before I joined the Brigade, Lessa of The Guardians of Aincrad, told me not to judge people based on their PKer mark. I intend to do that, and also keep the spirit of the guardians, as well as the will of the Brigade living on.... here in this very guild." she let out a sigh as a smile appeared on her face, at the mentioning of Lessa. Ariel took notice that a similar smile creeped on clarence's face when he mentioned the name Skylar. The name ringed To Ariel as she meet the guy on a previous occasion, a long time ago but decided to stay quiet in that matter, as she continued with the next question: "Okay last question, After all the things I told you about the ruling system inside the guild and the overall guild rules and objectives. Will you, once accepted, be able to abide by them?" she asked.

 

They were approaching what.seemed to be a valley, Even if it was dark the downclining terrain was a good reference as Ariel knew from past experiences that this place had mobs lurking around. Raising the fluorescent bottle, she'd meet Clarence's eyes: "Okay, after I hear your answer, its showtime."

[Clarence 0]

"Abide by the rules? I'm pretty sure I can handle that don't worry. I was a part of Azure for a while so rules come easier to me. I met Lessa at a Christmas party once. She was such a nice person." Clarence smiled back to that day. Wishing to have people like that back again... like Keith. { Don't get depressed here Clarence, would not be a good time or good showing to be depressed. } Clarence sighed and smiled a bit, trying to be happier.

 

"Sooo... what kind of monsters are usually on this floor? Again, never been up here. Hopefully they are easy and simple to fight." Clarence looked around and saw shadows creeping in the darkness all around us. "And it looks like we are now surrounded." Clarence sighs and looks around, ready to fight at a moments notice.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ariel showed a curled smile as she saw that even in the darkness condition, Clarence has sensed the enemies as well. She turns towards him and summons her inventory once again, retrieving 2 items from it. She then throws the fluorescent bottle towards Clarence hoping he would catch it. "That one's yours" she said with a grin. Next she closed in on him and placed a square piece, much like those found on a chessboard but with a original design, in his hand. "From my point of view, you were already a part of Absolute Pin from the moment we meet at this floor. just that I simply forgot to give you the 'official' piece." she continued, ending up with a healthy laughter. Right there, surrounded by enemies, in the front lines, that is where Ariel felt the best. Was she a masochist? who knew, the blonde didn't care. She now emanate a relaxed aura as she got the 2nd fluorescent bottle from her inventory and entered an offensive stance."Now, let us have a bit of fun shall we? Consider this your 'maiden battle' or battle baptism, whichever name you fancy." she replied in a delighted tone. She was starting to show her true colors to him, hoping that she wouldn't scare him. The truth was that they were now surrounded and had to get out of there alive.

 

Raising her own bottle she could feel a tall figure approaching them, it was flanked by a bony figures. "We meet again!" mutters the blonde, apparently addressing the tall, human looking figure, that was carrying a huge katana strapped to its back. She turns towards Clarence and with a smiled says, now in full combat mode. "okay I'll take the big one, me and the Captain there have a history. You try to beat one of the mobs, I'll go after the second one once I finish the tall one. Don't worry, I'll support you if I see your HP bar going yellow(below half)." And with that, the blonde dropped her stance a bit, lowering her weight center as she entered the <<Charge>> stance. The next second her whole body started emanating a faint golden glow as she covered the distance between them and the mob group in less than a second. Striking the Captain in his right side, the mob didn't show any emotion as he was impaled by Ariel's blade. 

 

ID:18698 BD: 8 (7+3-1) 

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 71/71

 

Undead Captain: 42/55 (10+3)

Undead Warrior#1: 36/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3

 

P.S: I'll roll for all 3 mobs, you focus only on the BD.

[Clarence 0]

Clarence smiled as he finally saw Ariel's true colors show, a natural born leader and fighter. { Reminds me more of Zelrius than I thought possible, but I don't think she is narcissistic. But that is my favorite part of Zelrius!} Clarence laughed silently to himself as he saw Ariel charge into battle, damaging the mob easily for a lot of health.

 

"Go Ariel!" Clarence cheered and prepared himself for his own fight. Clarence had the square in his hand with a steel grip. The thought of finally being a part of something where he finally belonged really made Clarence happy and made him think he had to prove himself as a good fighter, which is exactly what he is going to do. He prepared himself for the battle and used the fluorescent light bottle Ariel gave to him and could finally see clearly, feeling slightly disgusted with the un-dead creature in-front of himself. {Jesus you are hideous } Clarence thought as he pulled out his dagger, ready to make a name for himself.

 

ID:18717

BD:8, 4 damage

 

Clarence charged forward, square and dagger in hand, at the mob and attacked with all he could give from that position. He sliced up the narrow body and saw the red damage cut on the body and the red flakes fly off of its body, damaging the mob for 1/9th of its own damage. { I guess that is okay, hopefully kill it quicker. } Clarence thought as he spun out of the way of his retaliating attack and hop backwards.

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 71/71

 

Undead Captain: 42/55 (10+3)

Undead Warrior#1: 32/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

As her initial charge hit, the blonde allowed herself to look beside her for a second to see how Clarence was doing. She was delighted to see that he had attacked and landed the first strike as well. 'Who cares about gear, it's rare to see somebody who can fight without hesitation on the front line floor. He's greatly underestimating himself.' she thought, while letting out a chuckle. The giant, white clad mob, seemed to ignore Clarence...and even Ariel for that matter, as he didn't even flinch as a second player attacked their party.

 

That didn't last long, as the blonde slowly began backing away to evade the slash from the second undead warrior, the Captain decided to make its move and attack her, grabbing his huge katana and performing a downwards slash upon Ariel. Poor thing actually thought that he would take the blonde by surprise? Ariel had already predicted this move and after a couple a feints, she could hear the massive blade make contact with the ground behind her. She took the opportunity to lash out at the giant and damage his left side this time. She turned towards the brunette fighting beside her and shouted: "Looking good Clarence, keep it going and we'll finish these guys in no time!"

 

ID: 18820  BD: 8(8+3-1)  MD: 2(6-3-1) [Miss](Savvy Activated :+1 BD on next turn)

ID: 18821  MD: 3(4-1) [Miss]

ID: 18822  MD: 2(2-1) [Miss]

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 71/71

 

Undead Captain: 32/55 (-10)

Undead Warrior#1: 32/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3

[Clarence 0]

Clarence smiled and as he saw Ariel expertly dodge the attacks coming at her by the three mobs that were on this floor area. "Better fighter than I would ever be." Clarence muttered to himself as he got ready too attack again, focusing only on the slightly damaged mob he attacked before.

{Wow she is good. A few more attacks like that and its dead... mine isn't even close. } Clarence frowned lightly and got ready to attack in a slightly less aggressive stance, that throwing off his fighting game.

 

ID:18824

BD:3 (No damage :(  )

MD: 4

 

It threw it off so terribly bad that Clarence missed. He charged at the Mob  but it saw it coming and quickly jumped out of the way, making Clarence come to a stumbling halt as he looks around, becoming more alert as he sees the error of what he just did."Sorry, well   do better next time." Clarence called out, hopefully he will not miss next time.

 

The mob went to strike back quickly but Clarence was already alert. He slide under the sword and spun out of the way at the returning slice, barely missing it but missing it all the same. "Phew, that was close." Clarence sighed as he stop semi-close to Ariel as they got ready to fight again.

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 71/71

 

Undead Captain: 32/55 (-10)

Undead Warrior#1: 32/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Don't worry about it, it took me months of training at this floor to get to this level. You'll get there too, all the members of AP will get here sooner or later. I'll personally make sure of that." said the blonde as she made a side slash to wipe away non-existent blood remains on her blade. 'What a bad habit' she thought, remembering that she saw this move first at Baldur and unconsciously emulated it. She then turned her gaze at the captain one again, half ignoring the remaining skeleton as Clarence was fighting the 2nd one.

 

The blonde then caught a glimpse of the captain raising once again his sword. She moved away from clarence, not to put him in harm's way and attacked the mob that was currently raising his weapon above his head. "Too slow" said the blonde as she went in front of him in a instant and thrusted her rapier in his right armpit, making the mob lessen his grip and cancel the impending strike. Then the blonde moved a couple of steps back to evade the upwards vertical slash that the undead warrior attempted to make on her. 

 

Unfortunately as she turned her gaze to observe Clarence, she noticed that he was hit by his mob. Most likely a surprise attack. the blonde gritted her teeth as she watched his HP bar lower by a couple of points. She wanted to say something but decided to focus on on the fight while keeping a eye on the initiate.

 

ID: 18829  BD: 8(8+3-1)  MD: 1 [Miss](Savvy#1 Activated :+1 BD on next turn)

ID: 18830  MD: 7 (8-1) [Hit]

ID: 18831  MD: 2 (6-3-1) [Miss]

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 69/71 (3 - 1 Dmg Mit)

 

Undead Captain: 22/55 (-10)

Undead Warrior#1: 32/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3

[Clarence 0]

Clarence saw, yet again, Ariel cause a harmful attack onto the Monster and bring it down to 2/5th of its health. {God I am a horrible fighter. I wonder what she will think of me after this fight. How in the world did I even survive this long here anyways? I mean, I can't even land a stupid attack! } Clarence in his own thoughts, already being struck by a monster. "God, sorry for not doing so good on this fight." Clarence yelled to Ariel and got ready to attack, his horrible mood now dragging him down more than he wanted it but he couldn't help it.

 

ID: 18840

BD: 2 (No Damage)

 

Clarence charged and aggressively went at the mob. But what Clarence didn't see was the rock and he lost his balance in the process of charging, knocking him almost on the ground, but the square still tightly in his hands. {Get it together! You can do better than this just get up and actually hit this thing!  } Clarence thought as he brushed dirt off and got up and spun around, hoping away from the mob, preparing his next attack.

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 69/71

 

Undead Captain: 22/55 (-10)

Undead Warrior#1: 32/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

It seemed like Ariel's words didn't reach Clarence's ears as the boy kept a conflicted expression. Most likely the reason why he had a hard time dealing damage to the mob. "You're doing great!" shouted the blonde as she yet again dodged another slash from the katana using mob and evaded the shield bash that the lower mob tried on ehr. They were starting to act in a combo by the looks of it 'Could it be that they have a 'teamwork' code somewhere deep inside their programming?' thought the blonde.

 

'Wouldn't that be convenient? but this is the best option as far as I'm concern.' Then she started voicing her thoughts hoping that Clarence would hear her. "Clarence, listen to me. This is not a contest, what we're doing here is not a display of power. Firstly I brought you here so that YOU can see what you're good at and what you're lacking at, to make a self-evaluation. That was the primary reason... as for the second one, I want us to develop a bit of teamwork. Like this guys over here. See how they coordinate their attacks? That is what I want from us as well. So don't go all depressed on em and start enjoying the fight, as the game was primarily designed for." said the blonde after she once again struck the giant mob, concentrating on a certain point in his chest. With the next attack it will surely fall and she can move on the little one that's been bugging her for a while. She'd only hope Clarence wouldn't take her words in a harsh way.

 

ID: 18843  BD: 6(3+3-1+1<<Concentration>>)  MD: 1 [Miss](Savvy#1 Activated :+1 BD on next turn)

ID: 18844  MD: 5 (6-1) [Miss]

ID: 18845  MD: 2 (4-3-1) [Miss]

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 69/71 

 

Undead Captain: 12/55 (-10)

Undead Warrior#1: 32/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3

[Clarence 0]

Clarence heard the words from Ariel and he tried to shake it out and get into the fight and really start fighting. When Clarence gets into a bad mood it is very hard to shake it so he was still pretty grumpy but a bit better than before. He sighed and got ready to attack, the creature almost taunting him with its high health and Clarence's lack of striking it. { Come on just one good hit please! } Clarence begged in his mind as he got ready to attack again, maybe a better outcome than last time.

 

ID:18849

BD: 1 (No Damage)

 

It was not a better outcome than last time. Clarence charged, the thing moved and dodged his attack, but this time. Clarence did not get hit. The creature went for another strike but rolled out of the way and dived under the blade, rolling o a siting position and hopping up quickly sighing and laughing to himself. "Thanks Ariel, I did need that." Clarence sighed and just let it go, knowing that getting frustrated wont solve anything.

 

Ariel: 71/71

Clarence: 69/71 

 

Undead Captain: 12/55 (-10)

Undead Warrior#1: 32/36

Undead Warrior#2: 36/36

 

*mobs do a base dmg of 3