Bahr

Well, he'd gone and done it this time. He'd gotten himself rightfully, and truly, lost. He'd known the nature of the labyrinth from his last outing. He had seen the maze as more like a monster in and of itself than a structure, something that lived and breathed. Shifted. Moved. Taunted. And yet, when he'd chosen to come back to this dreadful floor in search of his target, he'd neglected to grab more of that enchanted chalk from the old man. Perhaps, he thought, it was because the old man had so ungraciously hoisted himself in Bahr's path the time before, practically demanding the swordsma

"Well, it is pretty," Bahr mused as he sauntered through the Ronbaru town square. There was something about this place that reminded him of the Town of Beginnings, though he was struggling to put his finger on it. Perhaps it was simple the architecture and climate, which seemed to mirror the first floor so succinctly. That being said, he hadn't ventured outside the walls yet, and it was possible that what lay beyond could pain a different picture for him. There was still a part of him that was having trouble believing that this was as far as the Players had gotten. From the information he

The twenty-fourth floor of Aincrad was lovely, and had inspired Bahr to venture further up than usual and indulge in some of the other locales this floating prison had to offer. Seeing the twenty-fifth made him wish he'd stopped at twenty-four. It was dreadful. Everything about it. It was overcast, and gloomy. Cold. And, as it turned out, more or less devoid of color. As far as the eye could see in any direction, there was gray. Gray sky, gray walls, gray statues. Even the slim populace of the floor's main settlement seemed to have lost their color - assuming they ever had any in the firs

I'm going to go with casual poster since my writing volume can be pretty sporadic.

Bahr had planned to ask the man so many questions while they were sailing to his island. His island. Even in his mind, the words seemed foreign and untrue. But as they sailed, he found himself with nothing to say. Nothing to ask. Perhaps, even in all his eagerness, he simply wasn't ready to accept the magnitude of being told about his past life by someone who had known him. He wasn't sure if it was fear that was holding him back, but it was something. And his gut was telling him he needed to respect that. The sailor, too, seemed keyed into this, and remained quiet. He merely steered the b

There was a solemness to the man's voice as he spoke. "That's most unfortunate, sir. From what I could tell, you had a most wonderful life." Bahr paused for a moment, the gears turning in his head. There was a chance that this could be an opportunity of sorts. "Did I ever tell you much about it?" he asked. "Bits and pieces, sure," the sailor confessed, gesturing in a nonchalant fashion. "I could tell that I never got the full picture. But you painted enough of one for me to fill in some of the blanks. There are probably things I've assumed that would prove untrue. There are probably

"Ahoy, Bahr!" the voice called out as Bahr neared, the NPC's rugged and sea-sculpted face beaming in the sun. "I feared I'd never see you again. Where have you been, all this time?" Bahr was taken aback by the mannerisms of the NPC. Did he actually know this man, or was this just a trick of Aincrad's programming? "You know me, sailor?" Bahr asked, tone neutral and inquisitive. "Aye, well of course," the NPC replied, seemingly flabbergasted. "I'm your ferryman, to your island. Don't you remember?" "No," Bahr admitted, voice uncharacteristically flat. My island? "What exactly

He needed something to occupy that space of his mind. Something genuinely new. Something that could scratch the itch that nothing else could reach. He didn't know what that thing was, or where he should even start looking for it. He just knew that it was something that he needed in his life, for his own sanity. There was glory to be had from going from battle to battle, ad nauseum, until he could fight no more. And, a certain amount of exhilaration that he would surely enjoy. But with that being said, it wasn't the life that he wanted. He wanted a way to enjoy the more calm times, where danger

Bahr was done here. The beach had once again fallen silent, and he had now received a notification informing him that the quest had been completely successfully. "Congratulations!" the screen seemed to scream at him. He dismissed it with an agitated swipe. What was it that had him so disgruntled? Perhaps it was the fact that he'd finally felt something other than insecurity, and worry, and fear, and like he was doing everything wrong since he first woke up. And he'd only managed to find that feeling in the throes of combat against a monster much larger and more terrifying than he. And whi

He drew up his sword, poured the energy into it, and let it fall. In a flash, the monster was now more, scattered into countless crystalline fragments which scattered in the wind and dissipated into oblivion. Bahr had expected to feel something when it happened, but he was hollow. Was there something he was supposed to feel, when deleting a program with his blade? Certainly he'd felt something when fighting the Sand's Claw, that man-eating behemoth filling his belly with excitement and giving him fill of satisfaction when finally vanquished. Even offering up a healthy score of fear, for when B

When he finally did happen upon the creature, he found it almost cute in how pathetic it really was. It moved much like one might expect molasses to, in an eternally slow gaunt that made one question whether they were actually seeing movement at all, or simply imagining it. There was a clear trench drawn in the sand from where it had come out of the sea, that trail slowly eroding into imperception as it was swept away by the current. It hardly seemed to notice him, towering over it, weapon gripped in hand, trundling right along without a care in the world. There was a pang of envy to go a

Or, at least, he'd thought that it was empty. Across the mish-mashed sands, on the far side of the beach near the tide's line, he spotted a smaller, more docile creature. It appeared, by all means, to be something small, worthless, and inconsequential. A smaller hermit crab, or perhaps some other sea creature which found its dwelling within the confines of a conch shell. And while it didn't look like anything to be worried about now, Bahr had just witnessed what happened when you allowed such things to go unchecked. They grew, and grew, and in a blink could become some unholy force to be recko

Bahr could feel something inside of himself now, as though something had "clicked." There was a dormant Sword Art taht had been inaccessible to him throughout the entire fight thus far. Something secret and ancient, deadly, familiar. A technique he'd used countless times in the past, but had been lost to the sands of time. He felt like, if he wanted to, he could simply reach out and grab the power for his own. Make it a part of him. Vanquish any foe. Best any enemy. It was there for the taking, all he had to do was take it. So he did. His visage fell slack and devoid of emotion. The

Bahr emerged from the ethereal much like he had the first time he had struck the crab, garnering intense momentum through the means of an angular airborne spin that came crashing down against the monster's exoskeleton with unreasonably high force. This time, however, he'd added a bit of a twist to his attack, imbuing it with a little something extra that he'd been led to believe was able to stun mobs in place for a short amount of time. Or, at least, that's what the guide had said. Sure enough, when he hit the crab, it froze in place. Seemingly stunned, it made it incredibly easy for Bahr

Once again, Bahr was the fool here. He'd gotten upset at the creature for taking the fight seriously, thinking that it wasn't taking the fight seriously. And why did he have to go and get upset at a virtual crab, anyway? The entire situation was just wild and borderline unbelievable. Why try to attribute logical trains of thought to things that were clearly illogical? Or, at the very least, followed a different track of logic than he did? It was a computer, inside a smaller computer, in a computer world. Of course it would be over his head. It was in it. Seeing that the crab had changed t

That familiar rage was bubbling up again, only this time directed outward instead of inward. Who the fuck did this stupid crab think it was, killing men and eating rocks? As though none of it mattered. It sickened him. Real people had met their end at the hands - er, claws of a rock-eating crustacean. It was completely unacceptable. He wanted it to die. He needed it to die. And if he could find it within himself to thwack it with the tenacity he had only a moment prior, he was ceratin he could do it. It only had three quarters of a single health bar left, and he was sure he'd seen himself depl

Bahr was done playing around, at this point. This monster had proven itself to be infinitely more dangerous that he originally imagined. He didn't know exactly where he stood on the power scale of this world, but he'd noticed himself advancing easily in areas where others struggled. Tearing apart mobs in a single swipe that would take another man ten. Taking hits from other mobs and feeling nothing, where another man might find himself beaten to within an inch of his life. The mechanics of this world had offered him some sort of protection that not everyone had, and he could only surmise that

As yet another blow landed against him, Bahr exclaimed in pain once more. Well, pain wasn't exactly accurate, as there was no true pain to be had in this world. It was more the anticipation of pain that made him yelp. He felt like such an idiot, allowing himself to land in a situation like this. Why had he come alone, to this palce, against this foe? That he knew was dangerous. That he knew had killed adventurers before him. Was it because he felt he had something to prove, or because he truly was that stupid? The answers evaded him, but the emotion didn't. Underneath the shock and fear,

The confidence crashed against Bahr in waves. How was it that so many others had struggled against this buffoonish creature? Sure, it hit hard, but it was easy enough to outwit and outspeed. Its only true power bore out in its intimidation, being the towering monolith that it was. It was easy to assume that anything so large would certainly smite you if you got too close. It had the power to back up that sentiment, too. But as long as you were surefooted and quick, there was no way the foolish thing could ever get its grubby little claws on you in earnest. He rushed back in for another pa

When his eyes affixed on the monster's health bar again, he could hardly believe it. While his first attack had only carved away about a quarter of the first of the creature's four health bars, the second had completely destroyed one and started digging in against the second. What absurd, ridiculous power did this blade house? Bahr righted himself, standing straight and staring down at the weapon in his hand, as though doing so would provide the answers he sought. The blade remained stalwart and silent, revealing nothing of itself to him. He'd have to discover the truth for himself. There

There was no point in remaining idle. Bahr was an entity that relied largely on sight to maneuver, but he knew that that wouldn't be case with his adversary. Whatever algorithms were churning within it that compelled it to behave in the ways it did, surely had some way of calculating how to deal with the fog. His best bet would be to rush in and catch it off guard, as it was likely other Players who had encountered this quandary had simply gone idle or taken things too slow, giving the mob ample time to attack. He ran forward into the smoke, in the last direction he'd remembered seeing th

He found himself holding his breath as he stepped forward, crimson orbs instinctively scanning the sands for any sign of movement. It occurred to him that it was possible the creature wouldn't reveal itself while he was in a state such as this. If it couldn't perceive him, why would it come out of hiding? What reason would it have? But his concerns were assuaged as, some fifty yards from him, the most gargantuan crab in existence erupted from the sands. Having detected something treading upon its beach, the creature had surfaced in a frenzy, hoping to capture and certainly devour whatever

After he'd consumed the countless morsels (of which none seemed able to satiate his insane appetite), he took a step forward. Sure enough, a screen populated before him that held a proposition for him. Accept the quest, and fight the crab. It seemed simple enough. He peered over the panel and into the clearing that was laid out before him. He studied carefully its rocks, shoreline, and other features for any potential advantages he could use once the battle started. He couldn't see any. This was the crab's home turf. It was where it resided, and had total control. And Bahr knew it. If he

Bahr had heard the rumors. Herculean monsters towering like monoliths over NPCs and Players alike, wreaking havoc on any foolish enough to bear close to them. And while Bahr found himself similarly intimidated by tales of such creatures, he couldn't help but feel like they must have been, to at least some extent, hyperbolic. And, if they weren't, then clearly they were a menace that needed to be handled appropriately. Such monsters had no business interfering in the affairs of men, and there was no telling how many lives they had claimed. Bahr figured he would either put a stop to the legend,

Not long after having bought and ordered what must have seemed like a truckload of food, Bahr found himself returning to the very shop he'd visited before. It wasn't that he was the impatient sort - or, at least, he didn't see it that way. But there was something he desperately needed for an outing he'd been planning, and he'd swung by to see if there were any extras available that he could snag before his order was completely fulfilled. Just so happened, there were. "Just gonna snag these," he said as he produced the col. "Can never be too safe. Thanks again!"