PP - F2 Light of the Sword Art (Mack, Hirru) (Completed)

[Calrex 0]

OOC: This is a thread for testing out the new battle system. If you want to jump feel free to PM me. Mods, if there is something off about the way we're using the new system, please feel free to PM and let me or the respective player know.

Calrex gave a small sigh as he exited out of the gates separating the safe zone of the Urbus settlement from the fields outside, proceeding down the path, "Well, this is certainly new. I don't remember there being special abilities linked to our particular sword abilities. It probably would be a safe bet to test it out before the upcoming floor boss fight to see how it works."

With a few swipes he equipped his most powerful array of equipment, forgoing any status effects to test out the new Sword Arts under normal conditions. First the Grand Chariot armor appeared around his body before the Amethyst Charm, attached to the Grand Blade, materialized on the back of his hip. Drawing the blade he looked over and spotted a pack of three wolves, deciding they would be safe to use as opponents. He gave a calming breath, "Let's see what this one does..."

ID: 30926
Battle Dice: 5 (Accuracy +3) = 8
Loot Dice: 17 (Search and Detect +2) = 19 (Non-combat Loot List Used)
Sword Art <<Horizontal>> Activated (2 Energy Expended / 35 Energy Remaining)

Calrex brought his sword across his body to his non-sword arm side, the point facing back with the edge facing away from his abdomen. As he assumed the proper position suddenly he felt his sword fill with a new power as the entirety of the weapon became engulfed with a bright blue light. "Alright focus..."

He looked over at the three wolves, who had yet to get locked on his position. As he held the stance it seemed to build to a climax in his mind, at which he released it as he felt his body fly forward, planting his stance as he got into striking range of all three of the monsters. Almost instantaneously the Grand Blade ripped across in a wide cut, slashing all three of the wolves at once as each dissipated into crystals, much to Calrex's surprise, "Three monsters in a single strike? That's certainly new..."

As the enemies vanished he shook his head as he looked around, "Well then...that's certainly new..."

Loot List:
3 Materials Found

HP List
Calrex: 148/148

Enemies:
Grey Wolf 1: 0/8
Grey Wolf 2: 0/8
Grey Wolf: 0/8

Edited September 22, 2015 by Calrex

[Mack 0]

OOC: Prepare yourself for great hilarity...

ID: 30928
BD: 11 (10+1)
Mack: 80/80 (Energy: 8/15)
Black Bear: 0/60 (-63 Damage)
Sword Art: Crescent Avalanche (7x9=63 Dam.)

It had all started out a simple hunting trip on the second floor. Mack was in need of crafting materials again, not that his need for the materials was really anything new. As a blacksmith the hulking blonde man was often in need of crafting materials. Of course, what no one had bothered to mention was that, during the night, Kayaba had implemented a new combat system and, consequently, rebalanced the game's combat engine. Which explained why Mack was currently hightailing it through the forest around Urbus with a black bear hot on his tail. A black bear that had sixty health points. That was absurd.

"Mornin' Calrex," Mack called as he flashed past the well known tank and, single most powerful player in the game. The bear bellowed and went rumbling right on past Calrex a moment later like a massive black fur covered freight train. Now that there was an ally nearby, it was time to stand and fight the bear. Coming to a halt, Mack whirled around to face the charging bear, clutching Guillotine in his hands and rolling his head from side to side.

"Crescent Avalanche!" As the words left his mouth Mack felt something kick in and he lunged forward. The bladed head of Guillotine became little more than a blur as the weapon flashed out and an uppercutting blow connected with the bear's chin, snapping its head up. An instant later the weapon was whipping laterally across Mack's body to slam into the side of the bear's skull and snap its head to the left before the butt cap of Guillotine crashed into the top of the creature's skull, driving the head into the ground. But, there was still more as Mack's right hand shifted on the haft of the axe and he delivered three powerful punches to the bear's head in quick succession before he stepped back and tomahawked his axe head down on the massive beast's neck, cleanly decapitating it before it dissolved into pixels.

"New combat system," Mack said, tossing his axe up on one shoulder as he collected the crafting material from the bear and turned to face Calrex. "I hit a lot harder now, you?"

[Hirru 0]

OOC: Prepare your arts, I'm coming in hot!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a world controlled by the sadistic mind of one person, and his creation?  Yeah, neither has anyone else until we got stuck in this castle.  It would seem that people had gotten used to their lives here, well somewhat.  The frontlines have been stalled for some time, and the lack of progression has been weighing down on the populace.  You would think that everyone would start to think that nothing worse could happen, or anything better.  That's when it happened.  The same red announcement warning flared out on each of the floors, that had signaled their eternal prison, was about to speak again.  This time, it was a feminine automated voice.  It called out about a patch in the system.  Somethings had changed which people quickly noticed.

Hirru had gotten his information from one of the few infamous information brokers about the changes.  Actually came free, since it was information the public needed.  The hunter looked on at his new equipment that the new system forced upon him.  The jade metal was a contrasting difference to his old leather, but it still gave him the same ability as before.  Though now, it was much better.  He would need to test out the new system for himself.

The second floor sounded like a fair place to start the testing of his abilities.  It wouldn't be too difficult for him, and it may give him some time to master his new armor.  As he walked the path from Urbus, he could the hear the distinct sounds of Sword Arts.  Originally, he knew that they existed, but they did nothing for you offensively, until the patch.  Now they could actually cause normal damage with every slash of the sword in the combo.  He even heard about Arts that scaled up the damage done as well as the hits done.  He needed to try it out.  Heading in the direction of the sounds, he saw two people.  One, an armor clad figure that stood an inch taller than he did; and, the other was someone much more familiar.  He was able to watch the blonde muscle man destroy the bear with a devastating Sword Art.  Walking out of the woods, I would wave to the two.  If Mack knew them, then they wouldn't be bad.

"Hey there!  Mind if I chip in?"

He said as he saw a Cater-killer, a human sized caterpillar with a taste for flesh.  At least, that's what the info about it says.  They were quite nasty before, but now they were much more powerful.  Hirru readied himself in a stance familiar to him.

[ID = 30980]
[BD = 3] Miss -2 EN
[MD = 5]
[CD = 12]

Hirru ran towards the insect while drawing out the azure sword, Time.  He would have performed a Rage Spike, but something went wrong and it didn't activate, heck, he didn't even hit the bloody thing.  As it turned its head towards him, Hirru would try to stay away from its headbutts.  Which it would generously apply to the forehead of anyone that came near it.  Fortunately, he was some spaces away and the insect had to move to get to him.

"Well that's embarassing!"

[Hirru = 54/54 hp][EN = 11-2=9]

[Cater-Killer = 8/8 hp]

 

Edited September 9, 2015 by Hirru

[Calrex 0]

ID: 31001
Battle Dice: 5 (Accuracy +3) = 8
Mob Dice: 1 (Evasion +2) = -1
Sword Art <<Star Quint Prominence>> Activated (9 Energy Expended / 26 Energy Remaining)

Calrex looked as the three wolves vanished before he turned his head to see a familiar two-handed axe wielder run by, almost like something out of a cartoon. He felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head before he staggered back in surprise as a large black bear chased after Mack, preparing to run in and help before he saw the player draw his huge weapon and execute a Sword Art, dealing massive damage and eliminating the creature in one strike.

At the same time as Mack inquired about his abilities, Calrex turned to see another player appear and begin to fight a human-sized caterpillar, shaking his head to make sure he was not in a daze, "No not at all. I welcome the compan..."

Before he could respond Calrex turned and looked to see a second bear appear from the woods, aiming to attack him, "Oh great, just my luck..."

Quickly dodging a series of swipes from the bear he quickly leapt back before giving a calming breath, "Alright, this one is fairly strong. I'll need a more powerful Sword Art to match it..."

Calrex gave a calming breath before standing in a side stance, flicking the Grand Blade so that the tip was pointed towards the bear, sword parallel to the ground with the main edge facing upwards. Giving a calming breath, he saw his sword catch alight with an even brighter blue light, building up to a peak in his mind. As he released his body shot forward once again as he delivered a swift cut horizontally across the bear before following with a curve downwards cut towards the left, then another to the right. As the three blue lines cut through the air they left a star shape in the air before vanishing.

The bear was hit by all of the attacks as it suddenly became paralyzed. Calrex gave a calming breath as he saw the familiar lightning bolt icon appear next to the creature's health, "So...one of the arts inflicts a form of paralysis on a successful hit. I'll need to keep that in mind."

HP List
Calrex: 148/148

Enemies:
Black Bear 2: 12/60 (Stunned Until Next Turn)

Edited September 10, 2015 by Calrex

[Mack 0]

ID: 31003
BD: 10 (9+1)
Mack: 70/70 (Energy: 8/15)
Cater-Killer: 0/8 (-8 Damage)
Sword Art: Grand Destruct (1x1=8 Dam., Recover 1 Energy, Expend 1 Energy)

"Apparently, I do absurd amounts of damage now," Mack said, speaking to Calrex in the few seconds before the second bear arrived on the scene. "But, I've journeyed up to the eleventh floor and, I can assure you, I no longer am able to take hits like I used to be," Mack said conversationally, as the bear came rumbling out of the forest. He was just preparing to go and deal with it when Calrex leaped in and went to work on the beast. Seeing that the higher level warrior had paralyzed the creature, but not killed it, Mack smirked. At least he still hit harder than Calrex.

Since Calrex seemed to have the bear well sorted out, Mack turned his attention on the most assuredly strange creature that Hirru was fighting. A cater-killer. Whatever that was supposed to be. "Be right back, Calrex," Mack rumbled, then he went sprinting to the site of Hirru's battle, raising his axe over his head as he ran. "Grand Destruct," the blonde man bellowed, leaping high into the air only to bring the blade of the weapon slamming down on the cater-killer. The creature exploded in a shower of pixels and a mini-earthquake ripped through the area. Unprepared for that effect, Mack fell over backwards on his rump.

[Hirru 0]

As Hirru wasn't able to hit it before, he was going to turn around and horizontally slash it, but something else happened instead.  The large figure of Mack came bellowing out of nowhere, and killed his target with a mighty slam of his axe.  The earth beneath us would quake at his attack as the Cater-Killer was destroyed in one hit.  To be fair, he probably could have killed it without using the art, but that's Mack for you.  Hirru fell to one knee from the tremor and would have needed to use his sword as leverage to pull himself up.  He wasn't used to wearing the heavy metal class of armor, even if his was light metal armor.

"Geez, Mack!  I know you're a glass cannon, but you don't have to hit me like one too."

Hirru would throw him a grimace, but it would soon turn to a grin.  It had been awhile since he last seen anyone from the Crimson Blades, especially since..  The hunter shook the thoughts from his head as he looked on to the other person with them.  Apparently, Mack had attracted another bear, but it was being dealt with by the other person.  They did a fairly powerful combo, but not as hard hitting as Mack's axe arts.  As the art was finished, the bear looked stunned.  Hirru would think about his options before acting.  He opened his menu and allocated some unspent points into his weapon skill, before removing the menu from sight and rushing the bear.

[ID = 31040]
[BD = 6] Hit
[Sword Art: Sonic Leap 1x3x5=15 dmg][EN=9+1-3=7]

[Black Bear - 0/60]
[LD = 12] 60x5= 300 Col+1 Mat

Hirru's sword would glow bright blue as the blade rest upon his shoulder.  This would then propel him farther forward towards the bear before the blade jumped from his shoulder, drawing an arc in the air before cutting downwards into the bear.  The bear would roar before falling silent in an awkward position and exploding into many light particles.

"Whew.. that stun works great for getting in a clean hit."

He would say towards the heavily armored one just as the notification for defeating the bear came up.  Hirru's eyes widened from what he just saw.  Was that bear really that powerful to garner this much Col?  He looked towards the armor-clad one.

"Hey.. um.. you want this 300 col?  It was mostly your damage that bested it."

OOC:

 

Edited September 10, 2015 by Hirru

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex continued to focus on the bear suddenly he heard a resounding slam behind him as he turned for a second to see Mack finish the oversized caterpillar with a blow that seemed like it would split the ground for a second. However, the shock seemed to not render the large man invulnerable as with he and the new player that had appeared were both shaken up enough that they had difficulty maintaining their stances, "Geezes you guys certainly know how to bring the rumble, heh."

Before he could attack again the other sword-user had immediately rushed on the bear, using a Sword Art that seemed to quickly close the distance before bringing his blade down on the creature, eliminating it in one strike. As he asked if Calrex wanted the loot Calrex gave a dismissing wave, "Nah, keep it. I've got more than enough. This is mainly so I can get the hang of the Sword Arts. I'm not really farming for anything."

ID: 31049
Battle Dice: 9 (Accuracy +3) = 12 (+1 Damage)
Mob Dice: 2 (Evasion +2) = 0
Loot Dice: 11 (Search and Detect +2) = 13 (Non-combat loot list used, no loot found)
Sword Art <<Sharp Nail>> Activated (12 Energy Expended / 14 Energy Remaining)

As he finished his sentence he looked to see four larger wolves descend from the nearby mountainside, "Oh great..."

Quickly bringing his sword up into a fighting stance he quickly swiped through to check the stance for the next technique he wanted to test, Sharp Nail. "Another multi-enemy attack. Let's see if it works..."

He shifted his stance so that his sword arm was back, pointing the blade at the wolves with his shoulder raised, almost similar to the stance a billiard's upper body assumes right before they take their shot. The Grand Blade lit alight once again as Calrex felt his body fly forward as his sword pierced the closest wolf. The momentum from the strike carried his stab forward as his sword exited the first wolf and pierced the one behind. After withdrawing his stab from the second wolf Calrex immediately whirled around as the third and fourth wolves leapt at him, his sword arm already pulled back as he sent a quick and powerful stab at both of the monsters, piercing each in the chest. 

All four lingered for a second before dissipating into shards as Calrex gave a calming breath, looking at his health bar, "Huh, that wasn't there before..."

Sitting just below his green HP bar was a new smaller blue bar, which seemed to be less that a third full, "I guess that's representative of the energy it takes to use Sword Arts. I'd better rest for now then and see how long it takes to replenish."

With that he looked over at his two fellow fighters, "Hey, you guys might want to keep an eye on your attacks. Using these attacks seems to drain a new meter, so I'm guessing if we keep using them we'll likely become unable to use Sword Arts until it replenishes."

HP List
Calrex:148/148

Enemies:
Greater Wolf 1: -4/50
Greater Wolf 2: -4/50
Greater Wolf 3: -4/50
Greater Wolf 4: -4/50

Edited September 10, 2015 by Calrex

[Mack 0]

"That was actually one of my weakest abilities," Mack called back to Hirru as the other warrior went rushing across the field to help Calrex, not that it looked like the big guy actually needed the help. Mack was just picking himself up off of the ground when the wolves appeared. Swinging Guillotine into a ready position to engage the small pack of wolves, Mack quickly saw that he need not have bothered with readying himself as Calrex went tearing off into the middle of the fray, dispatching each of the canine creatures with a single thrust of his sword. Mack was certainly impressed. "I wasn't counting on that earthquake thing, good to know," he said, rejoining the group in the wake of Calrex's noble victory over the wolves. "I'd noticed that blue bar too, why do you think I was running from that bear at the start? Had to let it re-charge."

[Hirru 0]

Hirru would watch as more wolves came from the woods.  These were much more powerful than the others, and even the Cater-Killer that had appeared.  He was about to defend himself when the dark-armor clad, individual flashed in and destroyed them all with only three hits.  Now that Hirru thought about it, his appearance looked like the description of the number one solo player.  This was unexpected as he didn't think that one of the strongest players in Aincrad was right in front of him.  It must be because of the new patch.  It is safer to test a new skill or weapon in an area that wouldn't be a problem for the level.  Especially now, when everything has changed.

The two would talk about a new small blue bar underneath their health.  Hirru looked at this, and sure enough, there was a thin blue bar underneath the green bar that indicated his health.  His understanding of the gaming world was getting a little better, but this must have been his new energy bar.  He still had a hard time thinking that this world was just a game, as his memories were still cloudy from the real world.  Only the most harmful memories have come back to him, except one of his mother, but that didn't matter now.

As they were talking, the blue bar would move up a blip every so often.

"I see.. it looks like it went up a bit while we were standing still.  That must be what you were talking about, Mack."

Something else to regulate as we fight.  The next flew floors are going to be rough, as we won't be the only ones that got these boosts to stats.

[Calrex 0]

(2 Posts to Full Recharge)

Calrex gave a nod as Mack responded to his statement, giving a small smirk, "That was you recharging it? The way you entered into the area almost seemed like something out a cartoon sketch or something. Nonetheless, it looks like that Sword Art of yours really does some damage."

He turned to face the other player that had entered into the zone he was practicing in, giving an approving nod, "I'm sorry if I forgot introductions. It's nice to meet you, I'm Calrex. But from the looks of it you're right. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to recover."

"I'm almost out of energy, at least if I'm planning on using any more higher level Sword Arts. It might be a good idea to check and see if the energy replenishes faster when we're out of combat."

He gave a calming breath as he let his <<Reveal>> skill activate, scanning the immediate area for any other potential enemies, giving a sigh of relief when he found none lying in ambush, "It looks like we can take it easy for now. From what I can gather no more monsters are around within a safe distance from where we are. It would be a good time to see if our energy replenishes faster out of combat."

Edited September 14, 2015 by Calrex

[Mack 0]

"Yes, if you use your harder hitting sword arts then more of your blue bar is consumed," Mack answered, seating himself in the grass and abandoning Guillotine at his side once Calrex had announced that it was safe to do so. "It also means that stacking yourself to deal maximum damage off your weapon is actually better than having a bleed effect now. I'm going to have to forge a new bearded axe to replace Guillotine here," Mack said, holding up the axe for emphasis for a moment as he activated his inventory and got out a simple bottle of water to chug down. "Roles seem to be much more clearly defined now and with the level rebalancing it means everyone's a little bit lower level and a little bit more specialized. I can't take a hit like I used to, but I can put the fear of god into most mobs."

[Hirru 0]

Hirru looked towards the armored one as he told the hunter his name.  Calrex, so this guy was the solo player that frequented the higher floors.  If he could follow in his footsteps, maybe he could be just as strong.  He already showed some of it in the little 'scuffles' that happened.  Seeing that, Hirru knew that he needed to train harder; fight better; be faster; become stronger.  He needed to be apart of the solo force that Calrex was.  With that kind of strength, he would be able to help anyone that he came across.  Maybe even every enemy!

Hirru shook his head to that.  'The enemy is evolving just as much as I am, I need to not underestimate them.' (reference to my Gemini fight which hasn't happened canonically)  His gaze returned to Calrex before starting his own greeting.

"Oh.. no!  I should have introduced myself first!  My name is Hirru."

He would say while grinning.  Being a very friendly person, he wanted to befriend anyone that he met, especially someone that could be a powerful ally.  Speaking of powerful ally, the hunter turned to Mack before noticing that his blue gauge was nearly full again.

"Well.. that didn't take long."

"Anyway, Mack!  I haven't seen you since.. then.  How is the guild?"

[Calrex 0]

(1 Post to Full Recharge)

"Hirru? Nice to meet you."

Calrex gave a friendly nod before giving a calming breath, swiping a few times on his menu, "Since we're on the lower floors I might as well switch out to the Grand Dragoon for now. There's really no point in me adding on the minute amount of damage mitigation for this level of enemy."

In a flash of light the full-body armor vanished, being replaced by a pair of pauldrons and poleyns, with a single gauntlet over his left hand. Underneath was his usual casual combat clothing, with a light blue jacket and white T shirt covering his top, while his legs were covered by dark grey pants and brown boots. He looked at his energy bar, seeing that the blue line had flashed a couple of times ever since they exited combat, "Hm...likely some kind of effect? If a third flash happens I wonder what will happen."

"So, I'm guessing that with the new Sword Arts you two are both here testing out the new skills?"

"Both Mack and Hirru seem high enough in level that this floor would serve as merely practice, so it would make sense. Interesting though, it looks like Hirru is also a straight sword user. Back when I was first starting out literally everyone I knew were using either curved swords or rapiers, save for Arekkusu. Of course Mack is another outlier, as he uses not only a two-handed weapon, but in particular an axe. That's just as unique as Warnik's one handed mace."

 

Edited September 14, 2015 by Calrex

[Mack 0]

"Things are going just fine with the Blades, Hirru," Mack responded, laying back in the grass with his hands behind his head. "We've enrolled several new recruits and, of course, we still have room for you if you ever decide you want to join. With the new system, there's a stronger emphasis on teamwork unless you're like Calrex and had enough points after the re-balance to still mitigate a ton while doing solid damage," Mack continued, raising an arm almost lazily and pointing in the swordsman's direction. "In honesty, having another tank in the Guild would be really nice. Xion's the only true tank we have at the moment."

"Also, Calrex, guilty as charged. This floor seemed a safe enough place to test everything out and figure out the energy bar. Giant bears not withstanding. It's also how I know the mobs hit harder now and that I can't absorb damage like I used to," Mack continued waving a hand in the air. "Floor Two bosses now hit just as hard as Floor Eleven bosses used to and, from what I'm hearing since I don't have any mitigation to speak of anymore the general mobs on Floor Eleven could kill me in about three hits."

[Hirru 0]

Hirru smiled sincerely at the fact that the Crimson Blades were doing well, and would chuckle at Mack's multiple persuasions to get him into the guild.  He still had his own business to deal with, but would look into in the future.  In the mean time, he needed to become stronger as a soloist first.  Though, being called a tank really bugged him.

"Not gonna lie, but I think the people would more call me a 'berserker' type from my armors Regen ability.  I can't take too many hits like you, but I regain health from being hit, so going all out is better for me than a tank, like Xion."  

He would say towards his axe wielding friend.  It was true that if he could really invest more points into his armor, he would be able to take damage and heal the damage taken after, but that was a dangerous combination to deal with.  Underestimating your opponent may make the Regen ability not work, as it only worked half of the time.  At least, it was better than the once in a quarter moon Battle Healing skill.

"Tougher, huh."

Thinking on the fact that the enemies were much more tougher, Hirru got to thinking that he may need to hunt down the two that he had already defeated, but thought against it.  The Wasp Queen would give him the stinger, but it was something that he probably wouldn't need another of for some time.  The Avalanche was another that he didn't need to fight again until the ninth floor or later on.

[Calrex 0]

(Energy Fully Recharged)

Calrex gave a nod as both Mack and Hirru replied, "Yeah, it certainly seems like things have gotten easier in some ways, yet tougher in others. You're right in that I had a lot of skill points to evenly distribute everything, but it certainly does feel like in a way I'm hitting and defending not as effectively as I used to. Possibly a way to rebalance things for all I know."

"Although it's odd that they decided to rebalance a death game. I would thing if the designers of this game were aware we were going to be trapped here, they wouldn't bother with things like re-balancing, patches, and updates. In fact, unless these are planned in advance and built into the game, I can't comprehend how they're able to do so without being in prison."

"In any case, it looks like I'll just need to start purchasing some more strengthening potions in order to hit harder. I had planned to do that fairly soon, so this is just a kind of kicker for me to get on that."

"Yeah, I can't really say I'd focus on mitigation potions, since they only provide a very small booster. It's not like they're ranking up my defenses. With a single rank three damage potion I can increase my damage output by much more if I combined it with Sword Arts, at least to my knowledge."

As he finished speaking Calrex looked up to see that with the third flash of his blue bar his energy gauge had completely refilled, giving a smirk, "Well, it looks like I'm about set to go start practicing some more. You guys about ready?"

[Mack 0]

OOC: Calrex, it's your turn in our 11th Floor Boss Room Search thread :)

"Berserker," Mack said, more to himself than to Calrex or Hirru. He mulled over Hirru's words regarding the build he was going for and, on the whole, it didn't sound like a bad idea to the blonde axe-wielder. The problem was that, with the re-balance, he was going to be stuck for a bit on what he could do in terms of the skills he could take. In order to get ready for the upcoming boss raid in just a few weeks on the eleventh floor Mack wanted to grandmaster his weapon skill and, to do that, he needed to put together a few more skill points in a hurry. Therefore, as things stood, he was going to have to go with the more dangerous glass cannon style of build for a bit longer.

The blacksmith was shaken from his thoughts when Calrex called out and asked if everyone was ready to go. "Give me a second," Mack called, sitting up and then tossing back the rest of the water in the bottle before crushing the empty bottle into pixels. Being able to simply crush garbage as a means of disposing of it certainly was an efficient way of dealing with refuse and preventing litter in general. Picking up Guillotine, Mack planted the butt cap of the weapon in the ground and then used it to lever himself back up into a standing position where he leaned on the dull top of the axe's steel head. "Ready when you are."

[Hirru 0]

Mack seemed to be deep in thought from what Hirru had said.  He wondered what the gruff individual was thinking about, but he wasn't a psychic, and didn't think there was such a skill out there for it.  Even then, Hirru's listening could hear Calrex fairly well.  He was right, that the system shouldn't have been able to recreate itself so much, without law enforcement of some kind having found out.  The people responsible should be behind bars, heck Kayaba may have already been captured, but if that was so, then why were they still here?  Was there someone else that was controlling their world?  Or, was the world truly self aware?  The hunter shook the thought from his head.  It wouldn't do well to think about 'what ifs' at this time.

"Let's not think about the 'what ifs' and start on the 'what to do's', cause I'm ready!"

[Calrex 0]

ID: 31612
Battle Dice: 5 (Accuracy +3) = 8
Mob Dice: 9 (Evasion +2) = 7 (+2 Damage)
Sword Art <<Vorpal Strike>> Activated (5 Energy Used / 32 Remaining)

Calrex gave a nod as the Mack and Hirru confirmed themselves ready as he turned, hearing a rumbling close by. His <<Reveal>> skill activated as he saw what looked to be SAO's version of a mountain troll emerging from over a rocky hillside. He quickly drew the Grand Blade as he swipes through his inventory, looking up yet another Sword Art, "Vorpal Strike huh? Let's give that a shot."

He squared his stance, sliding his right foot slightly back as he brought his sword arm to the side, blade point facing the enemy. Slowly twisting his shoulders clockwise he felt his body seem to lock into a position as he saw his sword glow alight with a faint yellow glow that seemed to switch into a pulsing pattern, which became faster and faster until it reached a critical limit. As he released his body shot forward, sword arm first as it thrust forward, slamming into the giant's shoulder. The blade seemed to hang in the air for a few seconds as each wave of the pulsing yellow energy shot forward like energy blasts before the attack ended.

Calrex quickly leapt back as he nodded to his teammates, "If there's one there's likely a couple more hiding somewhere. Keep your eyes peeled."

"Well, I could technically do it for them with my Reveal skill, but right now I need to focus on the enemy in front of me."

HP List
Calrex: 157/158 (22 DMG - 25 MIT = 1 DMG Minimum)

Enemies:
Mountain Giant: 39/79 (1 Strike * 5 DMG Multiplier * 8 DMG = 40 DMG)

Edited September 15, 2015 by Calrex

[Mack 0]

ID: 31653
Battle Dice: 6 (4+1 Concentration+1 Charm) - COOLDOWN: 5
Sword Art: Smash (Energy: 13/15)
Calrex: 157/158 (Hate: 1)
Mack: 65/65 (Hate: 1)
Mountain Giant: 25/79 (-14 Dam.) - STUNNED

Seeing Calrex move to engage the Mountain Giant, a truly formidable foe in terms of physical presence, Mack tightened his hands around the leather wrapped mahogany haft of Guillotine and bided his time. After Calrex landed a devastating strike on the creature, Mack dashed forward to take his turn. While the other player had warned of the possibility of there being other mobs nearby, for the time being the only one on the field of battle was the mountain giant and it would be best to eliminate that one first. Lowering the blade of the axe, Mack clicked in a skill called Smash. As he neared the giant he swung Guillotine in an uppercutting motion. The attack connected with the giant's chin with enough force to snap the massive enemy's head back while dealing a reasonable amount of damage. Reeling from the attack, the giant had a dazed and glazed look in its eyes, clearly trying to figure out what had just happened as it stood their motionless.