[PP:F7] Temple Ruins: The Lava Fist Enters [Calrex] [Complete]

[Opal 0]

Opal nodded her head to Calrex, as soon as the stun wore off the zanny cartoon apparition bounced in placed in a comical sense and roared around the temple ruins skiing through the air as if it was unaffected by gravity, but its focus was clearly on Calrex. Its feet turned into roaring engines as it zoomed right through him barely doing any damage to the opponent. Opal only watched as the ghost went right through the player, she blinked momentarily and took several steps to the left, one foot crossing over the other. They had a plan, now it was time to keep it in motion. She gulped and continued to keep a keen eye on the situation and to allow her energy to pool up once more. 

"Got it, Calrex..." she said watching her blue bar slowly fill with energy. The ghost seemed to float around making funny faces at Calrex to break his guard, Opal sighed to herself on how these weird things always happened to her. Shaking her head, she lifted her eyes once more and recalled her senses. Eyes on the prize...

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 1]
Energy: 6/19 [+1]
Sword Art:  

Calrexs HP: 168/169 [Hate 4]
Energy: 32/41
Sword Art:

Laughing Phantasm HP: 144/150, 300 Mit, Dmg 1 [Anti-Stun 1/2]
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34617
BD: -Reserving Energy-
MD: 10

Edited October 11, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34623
Battle Dice: 7 (Accuracy +3) = 10
Sword Art <<Slant>> Activated (1 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 32 Remaining)

As the phantasm went through him Calrex brace to block an attack, assuming it was going to solidify and attack him. Instead it passed through, dealing minimal damage, "Guess this is the way it attacks. Good thing I decided to take the aggro, because while it doesn't do much, we don't know if it can possibly stack over time."

Rushing forward he used a first rank Sword Art, <<Slant>>, striking the phantasm for yet another sliver of damage. Nonetheless, he wasn't in charge of wearing it down until Opal managed to stun it once again. Giving a calming breath he leapt back and gave a nod to his teammate, "I've got enough energy that I can slowly wear it down while you prepare to stun it."

"This might be easier than I thought."

Looking over at the phantasm he gave a nod, as if he sympathized with its plight, "Don't worry, we'll free you from this prison."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 168/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C5 / O1) Laughing Phantasm: 143/150

Edited October 11, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

Opal was concentrating on gathering her energy, a weird flux had occured and she felt a tingle run down her body. She noticed her Energy bar dropped instead of gained, she gave a low grunt, but she was still alright so long as nothing like that happened again. She smeared the black sticky liquid from her face as it seemed to dry and harden now, it didn't feel like it was hurting or damaging the woman, just a gross feeling of being slimed by a monster. The Laughing Phantasm spun around on its leg bobbing up and down and around Calrex. It moved up and down and finally behind him attempting to spook him with a scary face. It grunted and started to turn red and the red started to billow out in the form of a fog as it slowly started to fill the area. 

The smoke had reached Opal's nose as she slowly backed away..."Ugh...did it just...fart?" she asked, smelling a mix of rotten cabbage and egg product emanating from the smoke. The jokester of  the specter burst out into laughter as the area was cleared up shortly after. 

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 1]
Energy: 5/19 [+1] [-2]
Sword Art:  

Calrexs HP: 168/169 [Hate 5]
Energy: 32/41
Sword Art:

Laughing Phantasm HP: 143/150, 300 Mit, Dmg 1 [Anti-Stun 2/2]
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34626
BD: -Reserving Energy- [Miss]
MD: 2-4 = 0

Edited October 11, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34628
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3) = 5
Miss Occurred (2 Energy Lost / 1 Energy Recovered / 31 Remaining)

"Mayb...mfft!"

Calrex tried to respond to Opal's comment, but as he did the red gas filled his nostrils. If it was one thing that SAO didn't make you more resilient to, it was your sense of smell. His calm, collected composure was broken as he covered his nose for a second before the gas dissipated. Immediately taking in another breath of clean air he recentered himself before completing his sentence, "Frankly, yeah I think it did. Geezes I think that was the worst one I've ever smelled...ever."

Looking forward he rushed to try and strike the phantasm, but unfortunately the attack failed as the Grand Blade fell short of its mark. Giving a small sigh he leapt back and gave a nod to Opal, "It should be vulnerable to the Stun effect again. I'll ready my Sword Art, so just give the signal when you're ready."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 168/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C5 / O1) Laughing Phantasm: 143/150

Edited October 11, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

Opal was feeling the exhaustion in her mind, her vision had gone blurry as she seemed to tip over to one side. She stumbled to one side and cursed at herself, her eyes blinking rapidly to remove the blurred vision. As she started to take a stance and move forward, her sword did not glow as she expected it to and when she went in for the stun, it passed right through the translucent being as it phased right through. The Laughing Phantasm snorted and laughed at her sad excuse of sword art, flipped over to his read and mooned her slapping his bare bottom in the process before laughing like a silly kid. 

The specter dated around Calrex attempting to annoy him with laughing and jokes, but the jokes came out as utter nonsense as the shape changing fool of a ghost attempted to release steam from its head as if it were angry. Opal stepped back a few more times apologizing to the veteran player, "S-sorry...I think there was something else in that gas besides...the smell..." her vision was finally starting to clear up. 

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 1]
Energy: 4/19 [+1] [-2]
Sword Art:  

Calrexs HP: 168/169 [Hate 5]
Energy: 32/41
Sword Art:

Laughing Phantasm HP: 143/150, 300 Mit, Dmg 1 
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34630
BD: 2
MD: 5-4 =1

Edited October 11, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34633
Battle Dice: 4 (Accuracy +3) = 7
Sword Art <<Vertical>> Activated (1 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 31 Remaining)

"It's alright, take your time and get your energy stores up. I can keep it occupied in the meantime, so take your time and focus your strike."

Rushing forward Calrex used another basic Sword Art <<Vertical>>, cutting the phantasm as it split in half for a second before reforming. Leaping back he gave a small exhale as he kept his focus, "I could probably hit this thing for more than half of its health, but with that ridiculous mitigation it has the Howling Octave will only be a bee sting unless its stunned."

Keeping himself at the ready Calrex prepared the ghost's next trick. It seemed to have refrained from attacking him for now, but that didn't mean it was giving up on offense. He was fairly sure that the antics the phantasm was up to was part of its tactic, to try and put him off his game.

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 168/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C6 / O1) Laughing Phantasm: 142/150

Edited October 11, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

Opal slowed her breathing down and stared at the silly apparition. Her eyes focused and grew into slits. When it stopped being an ass, her feet moved quickly towards the impending target, her blade following upwards in her strike as the katana snagged the Laughing Phantasm and shot him into the air stunning him in place. Finally! She was able to connect with her sword art <<Ukifune>> as the phantasm slowly solidified once more taking the shape of a sorrow filled young man. His sad eyes looked down at them, almost to plead with them to destroy him. 

"Calrex, switch!" Opal dashed backwards to ready up her next stunning attack should there be a need for one after his sword art. 

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 2]
Energy:1/19 [+1] 
Sword Art:  Ukifune, -5 Energy, 6 dmg+ stun

Calrexs HP: 168/169 [Hate 5]
Energy: 32/41
Sword Art:

Laughing Phantasm HP: 137/150, x Mit, Dmg 1 [Stunned]
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34636
BD: 9 [+1 Dmg]
MD: 6-4 =2 

Edited October 11, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34638
Battle Dice: 5 (Accuracy +3) = 8
Sword Art <<Howling Octave>> Activated (8 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 24)

Immediately responding to Opal's signal Calrex rushed forward at the now turned sullen ghost. As he closed the distance his sword lit alight with the fiery orange glow of the <<Howling Octave>> Sword Art. Passing control over to the assisted system he shot forward and pierced the ghost five times before delivering three fierce cuts: Down, then up, then down again. Each of the attacks bit much deeper than his attack earlier had done as he saw the phantasm's health drop below half health. Giving a small sigh of relief he leapt back and gave a nod to his teammate, "Nice work! Let's keep this up."

"One attack after all of that work finally broke through. We're definitely making some headway."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 168/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C7 / O2) Laughing Phantasm: 65/150 (9 DMG * 8 Art = 72 DMG / Stunned Until Next Turn)

Edited October 11, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

Opal turned her attention to the mayhem in the sky when Calrex had launched himself skyward to display an articulate sweep of his blade towards the ghost. The glow of his blade signaled his sword art and the raven haired women watched with continue fascination as the HP bar dropped to dangerous levels for the mob unit. As Calrex finished his assault, the Laughing Phantasm broke free of its ensnared prison and burst into air whipping around like a deflating balloon. Its laughing continued on and on as it felt like the winner in the last struggle before it stopped low towards the ground. It looked to Calrex and grinned. Reaching into the air, smoke started to form into a massive mallet, an oversized weapon that was 4 times bigger than its body. It chuckled with delight as it sent the weapon down towards the ground and got into batter's stance. 

"Think its testing us now? I mean...this thing is just as silly as it gets, I didn't even think something like this could exist..." Opal said, her blade was itching to cut loose a gain but her energy was nearly drained once again. 

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 2]
Energy:2/19 [+1] 
Sword Art:  

Calrexs HP: 168/169 [Hate 7]
Energy: 24/41
Sword Art:

Laughing Phantasm HP: 65/150, 300 Mit, Dmg 1 
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34640
BD: -Reserving Energy-
MD: 4-4 = 0

Edited October 11, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34642
Battle Dice: 8 (Accuracy +3) = 11 (Disregarded Due to Meditation)
Craft Dice: 11 (Success / All Negative Status Effects Removed + 8 HP Recovered)
<<Meditation>> Activated (1 Energy Recovered / 25 Remaining)

"Yeah, this is definitely not something I have seen in this game so far. It's...oddly refreshing in some way. Not everything in this game is all doom and gloom, well at least to some level."

Deciding that attacking once again wouldn't be beneficial at this point Calrex decided to recover the small bit of health that he had lost. Closing his eyes for a second he went into a deep breathing pattern as a light blue aura outline began to surround his person. The light grew brighter and brighter until it built up to a flash. His health returned back to maximum he opened his eyes as he gave a nod to Opal, "Once we get another shot I'll be ready, so go ahead and keep building up your energy."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 169/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C7 / O2) Laughing Phantasm: 65/150

Edited October 11, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

In a mock attempt to copy Calrex, the phantasm circled his body as he meditated attempting to break his concentration by slamming his oversized mallet into the ground causing tremors to occur and then sitting still and humming to itself as it did the same as Calrex. Opal's lips twisted into a snarl as she watched the ghost parade in the distance as if it was trying to summon up some ungodly power through its body. Opal watched just to make sure it wasn't going to try anything foolish while Calrex had meditated, but it seemed he was able to persevere through the ghostly antics once more. 

A wind blew through the ruined temple as the ghost got fed up with 'meditating' and started to shape shift into Calrex again. It posed with his sword in an inverted manner and got into an offensive stance. It's weird eyes glowed as it gave off a foreboding aura...

"Errr...Cal...it's mimicking you again..." Opal was not happy to see this...could it also mimic the sword arts as well? 

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 2]
Energy:3/19 [+1] 
Sword Art:  

Laughing Phantasm HP: 65/150, 300 Mit, Dmg 1 
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34646
BD: -Reserving Energy-
MD: 7-4 = 3

Edited October 11, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34649
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3) = 5
Miss Occurred (2 Energy Lost / 1 Recovered / 24 Remaining)

As Calrex looked over at the phantasm as it assumed his form again he heard Opal's worried statement as he gave a nod, "It did this earlier, but it hasn't tried to make a move just yet. Hopefully it doesn't attempt any attacks that we can use, although I could probably tell whatever attack it might try to use."

"I have dealt with monsters in the past that have used Sword Arts, but usually I've been able to avoid them easily. This might be another story."

Giving a calming breath he focused and gave a nod, "The best thing we can do is quickly finish it off. If we can do that, then the threat of having a Sword Art used on us won't be present."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 169/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C7 / O2) Laughing Phantasm: 65/150

Edited October 11, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

 

Opal registered the words in her mind from Calrex, unfortunately she was too careless in her decision to fight wisely, more worried about ending the battle quickly rather than efficiently. As her feet bound for the Specter, her blade passed right through the Dummy version of Calrex, falling head first into a pile of rubble. It chuckled at her from its point of view and whipped its head around back to Calrex its mouth parted and started to speak, "I like the red one better..." his translucent tongue slipped out of its mouth as it spiraled around its cold lips. It laughed and charged for Calrex, blade poised over it's head...The specter was not playing around anymore as it jumped the warrior from a distance, its wavering blade seeming to try and solidify in attempt to make contact with Cal's body.

The woman looked back slowly getting back to her feet, she cursed as she got back up clutching the Dragon's Breath once more and resumed to gain control of her senses. 

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 2]
Energy:2/19 [+1] [-2]
Sword Art:  

Laughing Phantasm HP: 65/150, 300 Mit, Dmg 1 
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID:34658
BD:1
MD: 5-4=1

Edited October 11, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34660
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3) = 5
Miss Occused (2 Energy Lost / 1 Recovered / 23 Remaining)

Calrex quickly raised the Grand Blade as the phantasm came at him, locking his sword against its. Hearing the specter mention his fiancee, Teayre, his eyes widened for a second before they returned back to their normal calm appearance, "I see...you're tapping into my current knowledge through the system. Still..."

Pushing forward he knocked the ghost away with a warding slash with his sword, returning back into his fighting stance, "I've completed both the Gemini and Calming the Soul quests. Each involved fighting a version of myself that tried the exact same types of mental tactics to try and mess with me. Don't think I'm going to fall for that trick so easily. You're going to need to do better than that if you're going to try and get inside my head."

Looking over at Opal Calrex gave a nod, "You alright over there Opal? Take your time with your strikes and make them count. I just need one more opening to finish this thing off."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 169/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C7 / O2) Laughing Phantasm: 65/150

Edited October 11, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

"Mmm, yeah...Fine..." she said grunting to herself as she steadied her blade in her hand while taking in a deep breath and refocusing on the battle ahead. She watched the little skirmish between Calrex and his doppelganger, the Phantasm attempting to get in his head by means of mental manipulation. The Laughing specter had bounced off from Calrex's most recent stand off as their two blades seemed to cross, his head slackened to one side, the wavering form trying to keep itself in a collected state, a buzzing almost static voice could be heard from it, "Not inside your head..." it only mentioned, a broken phrase that not even Opal understood. When Opal had met her Gemini, herself...it wasn't dark or evil, it was the pure manifestation of her raw emotions that had no restraint when it came about. Perhaps that's what this entity was attempting to do with Calrex, call upon a manifestation of his thought in their rarest forms? 

Taking in another deep breath, she recollected herself and studied...just one more turn and they could finish this thing off.  

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 2]
Energy:3/19 [+1] 
Sword Art:  

Laughing Phantasm HP: 65/150, 300 Mit, Dmg 1 
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34794
BD: -Reserving Energy-
MD: 9-4 = 5 OOC: Do mobs still hit if they score a crit, but are evaded by your stats? 

Edited October 12, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34795
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3 / Disguise +1) = 6
Sword Art <<Slant>> Activated / <<Disguise>> Activated, -1 to Mob BD Until Next Turn (1 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 23 Remaining)

Giving a small nod Calrex acknowledged Opal's reply, relieved that she was still in action. As long as she was standing they would be able to wear this thing down quickly. On his own he probably could outlast the phantasm, but it would be a long and grueling battle. Focusing for a second he made note of the monster's words, giving a small sigh, "Well, she is my fiancee after all."

"Well, if you like Teayre better, try this..."

Rushing forward Calrex's blade lit alight with a light blue hue as he activated the basic <<Slant>> skill, but he saw the phantasm preparing for the strike. Triggering a technique he had obtained from a decent time ago suddenly his form began to change as his hair grew longer and turned dark red, a black sailor uniform replacing his clothing and armor. His sword suddenly began have the width, elongated, and curved as it became a katana. Respective to his words, he had shifted to Teayre as he activated his <<Disguise>> skill.

The maneuver seemed to work as he slashed through the phantasm with the illusion of the Oikawa Kanashiki before he leapt back, looking down at his hand. The illusion was already fading as he gave a quick exhale, "Still a really short time for usage, but it worked at least..."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 169/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C8 / O2) Laughing Phantasm: 64/150 (9 DMG * 1 Art - 300 MIT = 1 Minimum DMG)

Edited October 12, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

Opal could only look away at the odd transformation that occurred as Calrex slipped into Teayre form only guessing it was the <<Disguise>> skill going off. The full transformation yielded nothing but the two crossing blades once more, but the Laughing Phantasm seemed to be provoked further by the transformation. With its guard down, Opal bolted forward engaging her <<Sprint>>  her blade low to the ground and she struck upwards, the immediate effect of the stun finally taking hold and blasting the Phantasm upwards into the air finally freezing in a moment of time and losing all its mitigation, and therefore returning back to the somber looking spirit of earlier days. 

"Alright, Cal...finish it off, may it rest in peace..." 

<<Battle Engaged>>

Opals HP: 44/76 [Hate 2]
Energy:0/19 [+1] 
Sword Art: Ukifune, -4 Energy, 5 dmg

Laughing Phantasm HP: 60/150,  0 Mit, Dmg 1 -Stunned-
*Mitigation is dropped to 0 when stunned

ID: 34797
BD: 4+2= 6
MD: 9-5 = 4

Edited October 12, 2015 by Opal

[Calrex 0]

ID: 34798
Battle Dice: 10 (Accuracy +3) = 13 (+2 Damage)
Loot Dice: 17 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 20 (Loot Found?)
Sword Art <<Howling Octave>> Activated (8 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 16 Remaining)

As Opal exploited the opening in the ghost's defenses Calrex gave a nod as he saw the phantasm revert back from the mirror image of himself back to its original depressed form. He gave a small sigh as he focused, squaring his stance as he brought the Grand Blade in front of him, tip pointed towards the sky, "I'm not one for formalities or spirituality, but from the story my comrade has told me you left in an undesirable way. I'm sorry to hear what happened to you, but at least let me send you off. This is my most powerful Sword Art, Howling Octave. With this blow please get some rest."

Rushing forward he rushed forward as his sword lit alight with the familiar flaming orange glow of his Sword Art. Closing the distance he quickly pierced the phantasm five times before unleashing a trio of slashes. Each attack bit deep as he completed the attack. Finishing the blow he flicked his sword to the side as the aura dissipated into sparks before he resheathed it, "Too bad I don't have any water on me to ceremonially cleanse the blade afterwards."

HP List
Opal: 44/76
Calrex: 169/169

Enemies:
(Hate: C8 / O2) Laughing Phantasm: -28/150 (11 DMG * 8 Art= 88 DMG)

Edited October 12, 2015 by Calrex

[Opal 0]

Opal watched as the scene unfolded, the phantasm had left this world for good leaving nothing but the sound of a gong going off. Three strikes were made to wherever the sound had come from and then there was peace in the ruins. Opal caught her breath slowly folding downwards towards the ground and hanging her head in between her legs, "Long day..." she uttered from her mouth before pressing back upwards in an erect form. Swimming her fingers through the shallow ocean of ebony hair, she flicked it outwards and back to her side as she shifted her stance and sheathed the Dragon's Breath into the saya. Walking towards Calrex, she nodded to her partner. 

"Sorry I stumbled a bit there at the end. I wasn't sure what overcame me...I guess I need more training...But what do suspect that really was about? And I wonder what it meant 'Not inside your head.'? I think that's what it said, I wasn't too close to hear the conversation between you two. None the less, the place seems to have a change of mood in it, feels a little less creepy around here." 

Opal looked around the ruins and cursed when she realized the time, "Ergh...I should head back to Master Myoga. Are you sticking around to train some more? Good luck on facing another phantasm if you do.." she said waving her hand about as if she wanted no more part of that business, "None the less, I'll have to report this to Sensei, he'll want to know how the ending of the story went." 

 

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as he turned back to face Opal, giving a small sigh of relief as he saw the phantasm dissipate. "No worries, it happens to the best of us. The main thing is that we're still alive. I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, but I have a feeling the way the story went...it's possible he had some empathy for me, as I'm of course going to marry Teayre. I wonder if he meant it as some kind of warning, but I'll cross that bridge when it happens."

Hearing Opal say that she needed to get back to her trainer he gave a nod of understanding, "Of course, sorry for keeping you out as long as I have. Nonetheless I appreciate the company and the help. Hopefully we've both gotten some good experience from what's occurred, and I hope your master enjoys the ending to this story. As for me...I think I might head back to the upper floors for a bit. I think if I'm going to hone my sword skills I'll need to go up against even stronger monsters than what I'll be able to find on the lower floors."

Heading back towards the exit he gave a nod, "I'll catch you around Opal, and if you are ever in need of help, don't hesitate to let me know. Other than that I hope you're training keeps going well and I'll see you again soon."