[SP-F1] Coming Up for Air (Complete!)

[Aetharan 0]

Aaron wasn't sure who had moved him, or was providing him (and, he perceived, many others) with that food and water.  He ate by rote when the pangs became too great, even if he wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders.  The occasional spark of something would cross his mind, including the often-recurring thought that if he'd still been in the real world, this was the kind of funk that would have his weight dropping very rapidly.  It wasn't suicidal depression, but something far more insidious.  A man in this state was in no danger of ending himself with knife, noose, or bullet, but if he didn't snap out of it, he might simply waste away anyway.  He'd go to sleep one night, and just fail to wake up again in the morning.  It was that realization that began to pull him up again.

He wasn't sure how long it had taken.  Days?  Months?  However long it was, the final part was as if something had snapped.  He opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the same ceiling that he knew he'd been looking at forever, yet had never truly seen.  He then sat up of his own accord for the first time since logging into SAO, and made the motions through the menu to equip his spear.  Gripping it in his left hand, he took a deep breath to steady himself, then his head swiveled to take in his surroundings.  He wasn't the first of the broken to get up and walk out that door.  That much he knew.  Sometimes, one would just get up and leave, and he suspected that most were seeking a high point to leap from.  Other times, new bodies would fill the beds.  Minds that had taken longer to break.  Was he the first whose sense of purpose had come from something other than some internal decision to end this half-death by finding its completion?  That, he'd have to find out later.

One thing was certain, at least to him.  It wasn't Aaron who'd gotten out of that bed.  He was weak.  SAO had broken Aaron the moment he knew it was a death game.  That man, that waiter, had been left behind in his convalescence.  No.  It was Aetharan who stepped out that door onto the street, and began to walk toward the edge of town.  It was Aetharan whose pace quickened with determination as he made his way into the fields.  Aaron had been broken by this world.  Aetharan was going to break it.

He'd been out in the field for less than twenty minutes when he laid eyes on his first prey.  A boar.  Waves of nostalgia overcame Aetharan at that sight, and he licked his lips as he steadied himself to prepare for the fight.  In his own mind, he was hearing the music from another, far older MMO's starting area, where once upon a time his very first online character had gotten its very first kill on a creature much like this one.  It brought a smile to his face for the first time since he'd realized that he was in a killing game, followed by a shout.

"Lok'Tar Ogar!  Victory or death!"

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29017 results:  Battle: 7, Craft: 1, Loot: 5, MOB: 2)

Boar: HP 3/3, Damage 1/hit.

Aetharan: HP 5/5, Damage 2/hit (2-handed spear 1 damage, +1 for skill.)

=======================================

The shout from that human startled Snuffles out of his happy rooting around.  He turned to look at the source of all that noise, only to see a thin creature standing in front of him and leveling a pointy stick.  There wasn't much brain power in Snuffles, of course, but the boar was just aware enough to understand that it wasn't going back to its idleness until this pest was out of its way.  Screw this.  Time to charge.

Aetharan, meanwhile, was braced for this charge.  He'd expected it.  Wanted it.  He needed his first taste of digital blood in this world, and his blood now pumped with rage.  It was stupid, he knew, to see a mere boar as somehow representing everything wrong with this world.  Nonetheless, that was how he chose to interpret it.  Every mob.  Every last thing in this world that was trying to kill him, or any player, was a part of the system to be eradicated.  It didn't matter if they eventually re-spawned.  Each one he took out was one that wouldn't threaten somebody out searching for materials, for however many minutes that spawn timer took.  It was one fewer avenue for the Aarons of this world, those poor, broken souls, to end their game.  His spear may be weak.  Aetharan himself may still be weak.  Still, he could do this.

As the boar reached him, it lowered its head in an attempt to gore his leg, and he similarly lowered his spear to its level as he sidestepped.  Those tusks missed their mark, and Snuffles squealed in agony as steel bit deep into his flank.  The first exchange had gone to Aetharan, but the fight was not yet done.

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP 5/5.  Boar HP drops to 1/3.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Roller linked, now using those dice.

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29024 results: Battle: 10 Craft: 8 Loot: 3 MOB: 7)

Boar HP: 1/3.  Aetharan's HP: 5/5.

=======================================

The first exchange had gone well for Aetharan, but he knew that it wasn't over yet.  The boar may be wounded, but it wasn't dead.  Turning to follow its momentum, he decided to end it as quickly as he could now.  Using that momentum from his clockwise turn, he lunged hard, but he wasn't the only one desperate to end this fight.  The boar jumped forward along with him, squealing its rage.

Light flashed in Aetharan's mind for a moment.  His spear had connected, and beautifully so, but so had Snuffles' left tusk.  It was amazing to realize that, although he knew his leg was wounded, he felt no pain from the injury.  It was a loss of hit points, and no more.  For the boar, on the other hand, things were a bit more dramatic.  That spear had rammed straight through its skull, and judging by just how much of the haft had disappeared into it, Aetharan guessed he'd run the thing through both the brain and heart in one thrust.

The gleaming mist of the de-spawning mob was enough to make the man purr.  He had his first victory.  The boar was as dead as they got.  What was more, Aetharan felt something in himself that he hadn't expected on the first monster slaying.  That rush of power, that change in numbers.  Grinning wickedly, he whispered a single word, "Ding."

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP drops to 4/5.  Standard hit, 1 damage.  Boar HP drops to -3/3.  Critical hit, 4 damage.)

(Combat results:  Aetharan gained a level.  HP increases to 6/7.  Boar drops 1 Material, and nothing else.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Roller linked, now using those dice.

[Aetharan 0]

Still all too happily smiling to himself, Aetharan began to walk away from the site of his first kill, with the city still to his back.  He didn't want to return to the Starting City if he could help it.  That place was where he'd let Aaron die.  He couldn't move backward now.  The only way was forward, and eventually up.  His path took him across those plains as he wandered, trying to keep an eye out for trouble, and he could feel that the damage he'd suffered was healing over time.  That was very good to know.  It meant that, so long as no individual fight brought his HP to zero and ended his game, he could always hole up after a bad one and let himself regenerate before moving on.  He didn't have to run back.  He could continue on.  This knowledge was the very essence of comfort.

In the road ahead of him, he saw a wolf that was, by all good fortune, looking the wrong way.  This was another stroke of luck, and something that made him very happy.  That thing, he guessed, was meant to ambush somebody returning from gathering in the woods ahead, while they were still weak.  He could let himself wait until he was ready, but gripped that spear of his with a delighted, almost sadistic grin.

=======================================

Out-of-combat recovery, 1 HP.  Aetharan now at 7/7.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29026 results: Battle: 6 Craft: 2 Loot: 11 MOB: 1)

Aetharan: 7/7 HP, 2 damage/hit.

Mangy Wolf: 5/5 HP, 1 damage/hit

=======================================

This time, there was no war cry.  He'd been there, done that.  Besides, this enemy didn't have the flavour of Durotar to it.  The music in his mind shifted, but he couldn't remember the source of the tune this time.  It didn't really matter, did it?  Lunge and stab.  Savor the bite of spear into flesh, even if it was only simulated.  The beast was nothing to him, just a snarling image that represented this world trying to kill them all.  He wouldn't let it kill him.  Not here, not now.  This creature would die.

The wolf was surprised, its first awareness of the fight coming in the form of the damage to its flank.  It turned and snapped at the source of the pain, but where it expected to find an arm holding a dagger, teeth came down only on a sturdy wooden haft.  The poor beast had failed, miserably, to bring its attacker a swift death.

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP 7/7.  Mob missed.  Wolf HP drops to 3/5.  Standard hit, 2 damage.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Roller linked, now using those dice.

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29027 results: Battle: 5 Craft: 1 Loot: 18 MOB: 6)

Aetharan 7/7 HP.  Wolf 3/5 HP.

=======================================

Pull the spear out and thrust again.  That's how this was going to go, right?  Aetharan got the first part of that right this time, still grinning viciously at the thing in front of him.  This time, however, it was watching him move.  This was no sneak attack, and when he gave his second thrust toward the wolf, it swerved to the side and ducked in to snap at him.  He tried to pull back in time, but was unable to prevent himself from taking the hit, this time on his right forearm.  If he'd been in the real world, that would have been agonizing.  As it was, though he saw his HP dropping, it was nothing.  A seventh of his total now.  He could outlast this creature!

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP drops to 6/7.  Standard hit, 1 damage..  Wolf HP remains 3/5.  Miss.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Roller linked, now using those dice.

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29030 results: Battle: 4 Craft: 3 Loot: 6 MOB: 7)

Aetharan 6/7 HP.  Wolf 3/5 HP.

=======================================

This was bad.  The wolf was faster than Aetharan had anticipated, and it was making it hard to do anything useful against it without the element of surprise.  Spear twirled, then was thrust again toward his furry opponent, which for a second time managed to dance around his pole-arm as if he were moving as slow as molasses.  For a second time, the wolf darted in, and this time its teeth sank into Aetharan's leg.  He hissed, not in pain but in frustration at the loss of a second hit point to this creature.  If he was going to finish this, he needed to regain his focus and finish it quickly.  There was nothing that he could do to help anybody if he couldn't help himself.

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP drops to 5/7.  Standard hit, 1 damage..  Wolf HP remains 3/5.  Miss.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Roller linked, now using those dice.

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29031 results: Battle: 9 Craft: 8 Loot: 2 MOB: 8)

Aetharan 5/7 HP.  Wolf 3/5 HP.

=======================================

Aetharan knew that he had to end this, and quickly.  He wasn't going to help anybody if he died here, against such a pathetic beast.  The game would have to try a lot harder than this to kill him.  It may have broken Aaron, but it would not break him!  If the wolf could see his low thrusts in time to dodge, then he'd just have to attack from above.  Spear was lifted over head in both hands, reversed for a downward stab, and he waited for the creature to lunge.  He accepted the bite that he knew was coming.  Embraced it.  His leg was a decoy, something to bring his victim to where he wanted it.  As fangs sank in, his spear came down, and this time he connected, and connected hard.  Steel sank straight through the middle of the creature's back, ran through its core and only came to a stop when it landed in the dirt.

The wolf faded instantly, breaking into thousands of little shards of light only to disappear entirely.  The battle was over, and Aetharan was all too happy to click the acknowledgement button for his loot drop.

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP drops to 4/7.  Standard hit, 1 damage.  Wolf HP drops to 0/5.  Critical hit, 3 damage.)

(Combat results:  Aetharan gained a level.  HP improves to 6/9.  Wolf drops 1 Material, and nothing else.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Noticed level-up.

[Aetharan 0]

After that second fight, Aetharan paused to suck in some of the sweet air.  He needed to steady his breath, calm his heart.  It didn't take long.  After all, there was no pain, now was there?  Just that knowledge that his HP were falling, and that if he ever let them hit zero, he'd never wake.  Not that he wanted to go back to his old life, but he couldn't die here.  Couldn't let others continue to die, as he had when he'd been staring at the ceiling for however long that had been.  No.  He had to live, and fight, and break this place.

After a few minutes, he lifted himself up and strode into the woods.  Time to stay away from anything dangerous, at least until he was sure he was at full health again.  Play it safe, Aetharan, and you just might live.  He decided to use some of this time, while he was waiting for his health to recover, to look around for food more fulfilling than the bread that he'd been feeding on.  Maybe, just maybe, he could find an apple tree or something.  Unfortunately, all that he could find seemed to be evergreens.  Certainly nothing resembling any fruit that he knew!

=======================================

Out-of-combat recovery, 1 HP.  Aetharan now at 7/9.

(ID# 29038 results: Battle: 5 Craft: 8 Loot: 1 MOB: 5)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Wandering deeper into the wood, Aetharan began to hum to himself.  If there were anybody near to recognize the tune, they'd hear a rather haphazard attempt at Gravedigger.  Eyes were kept wide open for any signs of danger as he moved, but also that hunt for delectable snackage would continue.  There had to be some kind of fruit trees in this forest.  That was just how these things worked, wasn't it?  What he really wished, however, was that he'd thought to acquire a mining pick.  He'd have to do that at the next town, along with gathering some information about where the best places to mine might be.  There was no sense in going out without some kind of skill, and he really liked the idea of creating his own weapon and armor.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of what could only be a peach tree.  This was an unexpected delight!  He might not be personally very fond of that particular fruit, but food was food, and he might be able to trade it for something he'd like better.  At the very worst, he could sell it as soon as he got to town, right?

=======================================

Out-of-combat recovery, 1 HP.  Aetharan now at 8/9.

(ID# 29039 results: Battle: 2 Craft: 7 Loot: 18 MOB: 9)

Gain 1 Material.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Including dice roll and adding to post for result.

[Aetharan 0]

By the time he'd found that tree, Aetharan realized that he must be about halfway through the patch of woodland.  He was starting to calm down, and it struck him as he continued on that his current emotional state was very familiar.  He'd felt like this when he took on his first job, back in the real world.  Excited about what things may come.  Hopeful for a better future.  The present may be terrible, but when you were at rock bottom, you could only go up, right?  What had that line been in that anime he watched...?

"To become a vessel," he intoned, "he must release everything, and go beyond his own madness and emerge from the other side."  He shook his head and laughed.  "I'm not sane.  I haven't recovered.  I've only broken a second time.  The only difference now is that this time, it's pushed me into action.  Oh well.  I can continue, and I will.  I will break this game."

Eyes remained open in hopes that he'd pick up some sight of another useful tree or plant, though he knew better than to keep his hopes high.  What wilderness lore he remembered from the real world had only the most tenuous of applications here.  That lack of heightened hopes was a good thing, since he found nothing in his travel worth picking up.

=======================================

Out-of-combat recovery, 1 HP.  Aetharan now at 9/9.

(ID# 29041 results: Battle: 8 Craft: 2 Loot: 13 MOB: 2)

 

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29043 results: Battle: 9 Craft: 4 Loot: 13 MOB: 7)

Aetharan 9/9 HP.  Mangy Wolf #2 5/5 HP.

=======================================

Aetharan knew as he cleared the treeline that he was off track.  He'd lost the path back there, and now that he could see something other than trees, he knew that he was traveling in the wrong direction to reach the next town.  More importantly, he was staring straight at a wolf, very much like the one he'd already fought.  Thankfully, he knew that such a creature was within his capacity to handle.  He'd slaughter this wolf, no problem.

Rather than flee, he set his spear against the charge and unleashed a growl of his own,  It was time to make his third kill.  As the beast lunged, he brought his blade forward and up under it.  Steel pierced fur, but fangs slashed at his unguarded arm in return.  That was fine.  It was far more painful for the wolf than for the hunter.

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP drops to 8/9 Standard hit, 1 damage.  Wolf HP drops to 2/5.  Critical hit, 3 damage.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Integrating dice.

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29044 results: Battle: 7 Craft: 6 Loot: 15 MOB: 4)

Aetharan 8/9 HP.  Mangy Wolf #2 2/5 HP.

=======================================

Drawing his spear back out of his victim, Aetharan laughed at the pain that he was supposed to be feeling right now.  Fangs should hurt, and hurt like hell.  They didn't.  It was the slow lowering of a number, by a mere projection.  His HP wouldn't hit zero in a fight of this low caliber!  Again, both parties attacked in the same moment.  Arms were high, grip reversed as he felt the sword skill activate to bring them down in a vicious stab, and his target lunged for his legs in the same moment.  Time seemed to slow for a second, at least in his mind, as the system worked to resolve what was happening.  For once, things seemed to be truly going his way.  Spear pinned the beast to the ground before its fangs could reach him, and soon it was fading into nothingness as if it had never been there.

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP remains 8/9.  Miss.  Wolf HP drops to 0/5.  Standard hit, 2 damage.)

(Combat results:  Aetharan gained a level.  HP increases to 10/11.  Wolf drops 1 Material, and 1 Good Item.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Resolving dice rolls.

[Aetharan 0]

His third monster dead, Aetharan threw back his head and laughed for quite some time as he held in his right hand the item it had dropped.  It was a sign.  It had to be.  There was no other way to explain what he was holding, was there?  A mining pick.  Of all the myriad things that could drop in this game, it hadn't given him a new weapon, or a piece of armor.  It had given him a basic tool.  The starting point to becoming the self-sufficient warrior that he wanted to be. 

With his new toy in hand, he rushed toward the hills that he could see in the distance.  There was exposed rock there, and that was what he was after.  Exposed rock meant the possibility of ore.  He'd passed through the forest northwest of the starting city, and into the beginnings of the mountainous region beyond.  Instinct told him at as he passed through geological borders, he was also likely passing into the territory of nastier creatures as well.  That was fine by him.  He could fight them.

Once he reached that first rock-face, he began to dig.  It required shifting his spear to his back for the moment so that he could use both hands on the pick instead, but he threw his back into the work.  Unfortunately, he wasn't digging up anything worth-while yet.

=======================================

Out-of-combat recovery, 1 HP.  Aetharan now at 11/11 HP.

(ID# 29046 results: Battle: 7 Craft: 11 Loot: 10 MOB: 4)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Incorporating loot roll.

[Aetharan 0]

He was intent on making sure that he had some ore on hand to carry into the next village.  He needed to be able to barter for a hammer, acquire the tools to set himself up with a small forge.  If he wanted to pull that off, he couldn't just give up quickly.  Oh, no.  He'd keep digging until, somewhere in this hole he was starting, he could manage to find some useful amount of iron.  At least, he hoped that it would be iron he brought with him into the next village.  It was just going to be a matter of persistence, wasn't it?  Yeah.  Keep digging, Aetharan.  There has to be some in this hill somewhere.  Unfortunately, it wasn't to be found just yet.

=======================================

(ID# 29049 results: Battle: 6 Craft: 6 Loot: 2 MOB: 3)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Sighing, Aetharan gave himself a few moments to pause and catch his breath.  This wasn't a sprint.  It was a marathon.  He couldn't expect to find what he was after right away, now could he?  After a few moments, he began swinging the pick again.  Tink.  Tink.  Tink.  It was a comforting sound, really.  Reminded him, rather like that first kill, of his first MMO.  How many hours had he burned of his life, running that character around the Barrens to harvest copper and tin?  It had been less of an exertion back then, of course.  No swinging of arms, just right-click on the obvious vein.  Fail the skill check?  Do it again.  Not like the vein was going to disappear before he could mine it out, unless some Alliance prick ganked him and took it or something.  Nah, he could keep this up.

=======================================

(ID# 29050 results: Battle: 1 Craft: 8 Loot: 7 MOB: 10)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Teeth clenched in determination, he kept swinging that pick.  He knew that the noise was likely to attract attention, but his gut told him it wouldn't be anything he couldn't handle.  Why would it be?  He was on the first floor, and he was armed.  He may not be at the level of carelessly ignoring anything shy of boss monsters, but he could make it through this alright.  The work was monotonous, but it allowed him to think about other things.  He had already accepted that he was stuck in this world, and that made it his new home.  He'd need a house.  A workshop.  Somewhere to craft what he wanted.  Somewhere to be Aetharan.  He could already see his first weapon in his head, though he didn't know whether the game system would allow its creation.  He wanted a halberd.  Equal parts battle axe and spear, usable as either where the situation demanded.  He could only hope that the system allowed him to craft such a versatile, basic weapon from the real world.

=======================================

(ID# 29052 results: Battle: 7 Craft: 2 Loot: 14 MOB: 2)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

He had to keep on digging.  There was no way in hell that he was going to simply walk out of this hole without some kind of useful metal to carry into the next town!  There was more than a little frustration, but determination continued.  There was going to be work to be done out there, with both hammer and blade.  The first was needed to possess the second, and the second required to protect the others.  That was the ticket.  He'd been a burden for so long now, but he could fix that.  He would turn himself, overnight, from the one being carried into one of those carrying the weight for others.  There was a lot of red in his ledger that needed wiping out.  The first of it could start right here, by gathering the iron that he'd need for his first real weapon.

=======================================

(ID# 29054 results: Battle: 3 Craft: 11 Loot: 8 MOB: 4)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

A sound other than the ones he was making put him on his guard, so Aetharan turned his attention back toward the mouth of his impromptu tunnel.  Not that he'd really dug much of a hole yet anyway, had he?  Hand slipped to the menu to switch his gear, putting the mining pick away so that he could draw his spear again and hold it in both hands.  Now, he stood with his weapon to the ready, looking around from side to side.  The source of that noise had to have been close.  Eyes narrowed as he spotted it.  Another wolf, this one with sleeker, less patchy fur than the ones that he'd already fought, and standing rather higher at the shoulders as well.

For its part, the grey wolf narrowed its eyes as it stared at the man with the blade-on-a-stick.  As far as it was concerned, it was looking at breakfast.  Hackles raised, it prepared itself to pounce.

=======================================

Introducing monster, Grey Wolf.  HP: 8.  Damage per hit, 2.

[Aetharan 0]

(ID# 29055 results: Battle: 7 Craft: 5 Loot: 20 MOB: 6)

Aetharan 11/11 HP.  Grey Wolf #1 8/8 HP.

=======================================

Aetharan saw the creature's hackles raising as its legs coiled beneath it, ready to leap.  His own muscles flexed, with much the same intent as he used his right hand to steady that weapon of his, left farther back on the haft to provide the driving force.  Heartbeat slowed as he calmed himself, and that smile returned to his lips.  Here the game had come again, trying to kill him, and this time it looked like it'd brought sharper fangs.  Spear's tip began to glow as he activated the skill, then in the same moment both he and the wolf leaped.

Impact was brutal.  He caught it on the right hip, but at the same time it got his right shoulder, and the pair tumbled together back into the depression he'd dug in the rock.

=======================================

(Exchange results: Aetharan's HP drops to 9/11 Standard hit, 2 damage.  Wolf HP drops to 6/8.  Standard hit, 2 damage.)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aetharan
Incorporating rolls.