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[PP-F5] Tracking the rumors - Finding Shark (Complete)


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It had been a long slumber.A longer slumber than I could have ever asked for. I had missed so much trying to pretend I wasn’t a player on a set pathway. But everyday I went to visit the Mounment of Life and I counted the amount of friends I had left....I was down to 3. Heathcliff, Clarence and Shark. Shark and I had been good friends since this game began. I had recently heard rumors that the “Holy Swordsman” has gone missing. I was sitting eating a normal lunch when I heard the rumors go around. I could only ask so many questions. He hadn’t gone missing did he? I can still see him on my friends list. Then a few days ago I heard that some people say they were going to go look for him. I consistently thought to myself “What is there to look for, he’s in the same spot as always” and then it hit me...:he hasn’t moved in weeks. Is he stuck? Is he trapped? This meant it was time to rejoin the fight. My best friend is out there “missing” and I needed to find him. I returned home and packed my gear and got dressed for action. There was nothing that would stop me from saving my friend this time. 

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The search for Shark had begun, and its not like it was a search it was more like a travel to his location and pin point his exact position. His tracking dot seems to have him located on the 5th floor.

"What would he be doing in such a low level area as this?" i asked myself out loud to no one expecting some mystical voice to answer me. 

This was a non-issue for me. I headed directly to the warp gate and traveled up to the 5th floor settlement. Upon spontaneous arrival the village was lively at this time of day, however it was a little on the warm side. I must be right in between the high points of the day. I checked my weather system and it tells me its about 36 degrees Celsius and there is a slight sand storm approaching from the east. I pulled out a long piece of cloth and tied it around my head like a niqab and i set off on the valley.

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Deep in the valley I trekked through the sand afraid that I would get lost once the sand storm hit. It wasn't far behind me to begin with and it's approaching faster than I'd like. I tried to take short cuts as much as i could without running into monsters or rogue players but that was a bit harder than I expected. Luckily during my early days I was a master of stealth and tracking. I was able to avoid predators for a long while but now with the continuous server updates things have changed. This however was about to get harder. As I approached the area there were several caves which lead to an underground system. 

"This would be completely fine....it it wasnt for the sand storm approaching from the rear....and the sand sharks in front of the entrance." I say to my mystical space deity in my brain. Down below me in front of the third cave entrance were two sand sharks circling and waiting for someone to go in or come out. 

"This is the best opportunity I have, the time is now" I said before sliding down the hill and drawing my sword preparing for a fight.

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As I reached the bottom of the hill I noticed the dorsal fins still swirling around in the same area still meaning my boot were still in working order. I managed to slowly creep up and into the circle in which they were "swimming". I lifted my sword above my head and waited until the dorsal came back around to time my strike perfectly.

ID# 113586 2 Battle = fail, 6 mob = hit (15 (mob damage) - 23 (mitigation) = 1 (minimum damage) * 2 (2 enemies) = 2 damage)

I stabbed my blade downward into the sand missing the shark by quite a distance, however this alerted the shark who jumped clean out of the sand and bit my arm before diving back down. I was so focused on the other shark i had forgotten there was two of them and the second one was able to bite down on my leg before diving back into the sand. I had to step back and think my plan over....maybe it was time to try out the sword arts that were implemented into the game.

 

Stats:

Ryu 578/580 HP 57/58 EP

Sand Shark 50/50 HP

Sand Shark 50/50 HP

 

Edited by RyujinSeaLord
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I took one step back and prepared myself. This was the first time i had ever performed a sword art since this death game began but as soon as i thought about it, it came to me almost instinctually. I warmed up first with two practice swings and then my blade began to glow a fierce orange color. Suddenly the name came to me as if it was programmed to do so.

"Lets go Amatsu No Homura" i said before spinning rapidly in a circle.

ID# 113587 BD Roll 6 Hit 12 * 8 = 96 damage to Sand Shark

ID# 113588 BD Roll 6 Hit 12 * 8 = 96 damage to Sand Shark

The sand sharks leapt towards me in an effort to deal more damage but were instead met by a spinning blade slicing them down their sides dealing enough damage to defeat them. I landed on one knee and sheathed my sword to note the end of the battle. When the sword knocked into the sheath the creatures exploded and I stood up. 

"Sword arts are fascinating and much stronger than regular attacks but my energy will deplete quickly if i use them too often." I said to myself. Looking towards the sky the sand storm was almost overhead so i quickly dashed in to the cave and took a short break before continuing my search.

Stats:

Ryu 578/580 HP 46/58 EP

Sand Shark -dead-

Sand Shark -dead-

Edited by RyujinSeaLord
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In the back of a dark and warm cave, the once proclaimed Holy Swordsman has been meditating and working on building his mental strength by sitting in crisscross. The blue-haired man has been absent from the frontlines for quite some time. The last floor raid he participated in was on Floor 11 which did not end so well for him. His mind was broken and his confidence was shaken after going through an entire raid while not being able to land a single hit. The result of the raid forced the blue-haired swordsman to go into hiding and regain his senses.

 

The Holy-Swordsman has been swinging his Holy Sword everyday to keep up his fighting ability. During a normal practice session, Shark heard noises outside the front of the cave. The sound of a fight resonates through the tunnel, sounds that Shark hasn’t heard for a while. Shark returns to slashing a practice dummy that he made from soft rocks, that are found in the cave. He was eager to find who the first person who made it to the cave will be. The notice has been sent out a while ago. He was beginning to wonder who would come. The Holy Swordsman was becoming eager to return to the field that he missed for so long.

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I walked through the cave completely silent, thanks to my boots. Hopefully this would prevent me from getting spotted from any unwanted attention. As i walked i could hear the sound of steel on stone and as I rounded the corner i could see him, Shark, the Holy Swordsman who had gone missing. As I approached him I noticed that he hadnt figured out that I was here, in fact i wasnt sure he knew who had come to find him at all. I noticed he was practicing swinging his sword but im not sure how effective that is.

"Hey man" i spoke when he took a break. "I dont think hitting a non-moving target will improve anything, let alone your accuracy"

I wanted to make myself seem as no threatening as possible in case he had forgotten me. Its been several years since we last saw each other. I hope he hasnt forgotten me, because i sure as hell havent forgotten him.

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Shark continued to slash the stone as her heard a familiar voice sound from behind him. He took one last swing and the rocks shattered to pixels and disappeared. The blue-haired man knew that voice and slowly turned around with a smile on his face. From the moment he heard the smart comment, he knew exactly who had walked through the cave. Little to footsteps were heard while entering and there wasn’t any rustling of clothes either.

“Then why don’t you step right up and be my next practice dummy… Seeing as the last one just expired.” He replied jokingly. Shark turned around to see his best friend standing right in front of him. “Hey bud! I didn’t think you were still alive!” The blue-haired man said happily. “Man am I sure glad you showed up. Ever since the 11th Floor raid fiasco, I just couldn’t bring myself to get back out there and risk making a fool of myself again.” He said as he sheathed the battered sword. The Swordsman’s clothes had clearly seen better days. Shark looked at his best friend, who he hasn’t seen in quite some time, “You’re looking well. How are things?” He asked his buddy, hoping to hear about the world outside of the cave. Shark had been in the cave so long that he has lost all sense of how much time had passed.

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I looked to my best friend and realized that his clothes were ragged as if he hadn't been outside this cave in years instead of weeks. 

"Nope, im not dead" I replied "Although im not looking to be anyones practice dummy either"

"Things on the outside? you mean of this cave? not a whole lot. I think that maybe 23 or 24 floors have been cleared in total and i havent been to any of them since the 11th floor and apparently the raid party left without me. I understand not wanting to make a fool of yourself again, trust me ive been nothing but a fool since the 6th floor and honestly i was afraid to come back out here and finish the game but sometimes we need the right kick in the ass, and your story of going missing was the one i need so here i am chasing your hide down and im going to be your kick in the ass to get back out here and help us get out of this game, its been 2 years man, dont you think we should have been out by now?" I layed my heart down as i unstrapped my weapon and sat down on a the cave floor with the weapon in front of me. "Ive been blending in, acting like an NPC, but not any longer, Zelrius is dead, Daeron is dead....all of our friends are dead man....its just you, and me, and Clarence and no one has seen him in years. So what do you say, lets get back out there and beat this stupid game and be friends in the real world too?"

I closed my eyes afraid to cry, afraid to breakdown in front of a man ive respected for years. He was my only real friend left. Someone has to get him back in the fight....and that someone is going to be me.

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Shark sat there and listed to his friend as he informed him of the life outside the cave. Hearing that 2 years had passed and only 24 floors have been cleared really brought Shark to his senses. It was time that he worked his way back and rejoined the frontlines. Ever since the 11th floor, things just haven’t been the same. The blue-haired man continued to listen to his buddy as he was giving Shark, what seemed to be, a lecture about getting back out there.

Shark stared at Ryu, “We are only up to floor 24 now? Seriously?” The Swordsman said in a shocked voice. “I can’t believe that it’s been 2 years already! It has not felt that long while I was in this cave.” He said as he turned to look at the interior of the cave that he has been living in for the now known 2 years. He turned around to his friend who then continued to inform Shark of all the people he knew that had passed away. “Wait, what?! All of them? Daeron is dead?! Crap… Skeleton crew we got now.” He said as he stood back up and readied himself to leave the former 2-year home. He looked at Ryu, “Let’s do it!” He exclaimed as he unsheathed his rugged sword in preparation to fight any mobs that waited for them outside of the cave. Shark noticed his friends’ eyes were closed so he wrapped his arms around him to show he cared, “Thanks for coming to beat me into my senses. I needed that. Now, Let’s get back out there!” He said as he thanked the man who saved him from himself.

Shark released his arms from his around his buddy and turned to face the opening of the cave and prepared to leave.

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I open my eyes after the friendly embrace. 

“Your gear looks a little...malnourished. Here I have some extras for you to take what you need, at least until we get out of here.” I said before summoning my;

Galactic Defender = +18 Mitigation (2 slots of mitigation)

Armor of the Vice Commander +18 Damage mitigation, +7 Thorn (Two slots of mitigation, and one of thorns)

 Gauntlets of the Vice Commander +2 ACC +1 EVA

and my Sword of the Dragon Emperor (OHSS) +2 Damage, +1 Bleed (Activates on 8-10).

”They’re yours I’d you want them, return them if you don’t, but for now hang on to them and we will get you out of this stupid cave and get back to the front line where we belong shall we” I said to him knowing this was our chance to fight together again

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Shark heard his friend talk about his battered gear and turned to face him. As he looked and listened to his buddy, he noticed him taking out some equipment. Ryu pulled out the extra four items from his inventory.

Shark smiled at his friend while accepting the equipment. “Thanks bud! I appreciate it!” The blue-haired man said as he equipped his newly acquired items.

Spoiler

+1 Galactic Defender = +18 Mitigation (2 slots of mitigation)
+1 Armor of the Vice Commander +18 Damage mitigation, +7 Thorn (Two slots of mitigation, and one of thorns)
+1 Gauntlets of the Vice Commander +2 ACC +1 EVA
+1 Sword of the Dragon Emperor (OHSS) +2 Damage, +1 Bleed (Activates on 8-10)

Shark unsheathed the Sword of the Dragon Emperor and admired it for a minute. This was the first up-kept sword that he has seen in 2 years. The swordsman stood in place for a couple minutes after equipping the gear, as to get used to the feel of fresh armor equipped to his digital body. “Man, it feels so nice to have new equipment. I really appreciate this”. He said as he turned towards the cave’s entrance. “Now, let’s get back out there to the fight”. Shark said as the two began making their way out of the cave.

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As we approached the cave entrance I could hear the sound of the destructive wind the the crashing of sand against the cave entrance. 

“Oh yes I forgot to mention that a sand storm had rolled over.” I said nervously not entirely sure how I forgot that major weather incident. “We can either wait it out here in the cave and talking about what you’ve missed or I can give a a piece of cloth and you can tie it around your face and we can brave the storm.” 

I was ready to brave the storm if I had to but I also wouldn’t mind catching up with my best friend either.

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As Shark and Ryu moved to the entrance, Ryu stopped them and told Shark that he had forgotten about the Sand Storm that had come through. The storm seemed rough and the harsh winds can be heard hitting the cave’s entrance. “That would have been good to know earlier before I got all pumped to get back out there”.  Shark said as he looked into the storm. The storm appeared to have another 10, or so, minutes left of it… Or so he hoped. Shark turned to his buddy, “Let’s wait a bit and see if the storm lightens up pretty soon. We can definitely take this time to catch up and get up to speed with everything that has happened since the 11th.

Shark faced the inside of the cave and began top move back to the part of the cave that he called home for quite some time.

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After Shark decided to move back inside the cave all i could do is chuckle. My best friend was so pumped and i was so pumped that i had forgotten about the weather phenomenon taht had chased me the entire way here.

"Do you have the ability to make tea? I know its almost 40C outside but i could go for some nice Earl Grey right now, im stupidly parched from the trek here." I spoke to him as we headed back inside and sat down near his old "home" portion of the cave.

"So how have you survived out here?" i asked him sitting down on a flat rock. "Arent there monster spawn in this cave or is it only outside in the desert where those stupid not you sharks come to feast?"

I could only chuckle realizing this game have several different types of sharks as well as a Shark player

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Shark heard his friend ask about tea and while he continued to ask about his time spent in the cave, Shark searched through what was left in his inventory to see what he had after the 11th floor stock up. The blue-haired man noticed he had 2 bottles of Unsweetened tea remaining. “It’s like it was meant to be”. Shark said to himself as he proceeded to pull the items out of the inventory. “I don’t have Earl Grey but I have Unsweetened Tea”. He told Ryu as he tossed the bottle at him.

His friend had asked him about how he survived for this long in such isolation. Shark looked at his buddy and smiled, “Well…” He started while opening his last bottle of tea, “It wasn’t easy to start with. I was so devastated after the 11th floor raid that I hadn’t done anything for a while since I got to the cave. I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, I couldn’t even drink”. He said as he looked back on the time he spent in isolation. “By the time I came to some senses, I began to think logically about my situation. I had to get over the guilt and weakness. Luckily, I stocked up on essentials before the raid so when it came time to pushing through, I had what I needed. Next thing I know, I hear the clash of a sword outside the cave.” Shark said.

Shark hadn’t paid much attention to the monsters outside of the cave. “The monsters never spawned in here. They never came past the cave’s entrance, so it never crossed my mind. It could be that they recognize my name and treat me like their own. A couple strangers tried to come in the cave a few times, but the Sharks scared them away”. He told Ryu as he chuckled at the realization. At that moment, Shark wondered how his best friend has faired all this time. “How have you survived the long time away?” He asked the man who had spent his time tracking his friend down.

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I was tossed an unsweetened iced tea and immediately gasped.

”BLASPHEMY” I screamed at him before gently placing it down on the ground. “I guess after a few years you forget that Unsweetened tea is like the Bud Lite of American alcohol, no body actually likes it or it’s taste. Most people pour it down the drain.” I respond by promptly pulling a bottle of water from my inventory and drinking that instead. 

“That’s a hell of a story my friend and I wish it weren’t so, after I kept seeing names of the oldest and strongest players on the board start stretching across the monument of life I feared I would be next thinking that if I kept fighting who knew when my time was about to come.” I spoke to him with a shaking voice. “I’m not even sure what’s happened to the KoB since I left...Healtcliff is missing and someone new came in and discharged all the old memebers so now I’m guildless, under leveled, out gunned and out of my league. But it finally hit me that, I have to survive for my friends.”

”I survived by learning how the NPCs spoke and I just started talking to people like I was one of them and most people left me alone after they realized I had nothing useful to say or they ignored me as most do with NPCs that don’t give quests or are a shop. I let my blacksmith shop rot on the 9th floor. I only ate in secret. I lost my house on the 4th floor everything is gone. My informant stopped coming to find me. At one point I had to make money so I posed as a fortune teller selling tarot readings and that brought some money but it wasn’t good for my mental health seeing lots of bad fortunes. So I kept the deck but don’t use it. That was until 3 days ago when I heard about you being discovered but not found. That day I knew it was the best day because I drew the best card in the deck...number XXI The World...end of bad times and continued cycles. I had finally hit the breaking point and came to find you” I tried not to cry unsure of how it would be taken. “And now I’m so far behind the curves that I didn’t even know what Sword Arts were until that fight outside...I don’t even know where the max level line is. I’m not sure what level the boss fights recommend. Hell I don’t even know what floor we are trying to clear right now...I’m not strong enough to keep going.”

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Shark was interested in the story Ryu was telling about how he survived since the 11th floor raid. The blue-haired man couldn’t help but trying to picture the life his best friend was leading by trying to blend in with the NPCs.

“Man, sounds like you learned how to blend in, or pissed off everyone because you just didn’t care… oh wait, that’s my life on the other side” Shark said as he chuckled at his comment. He then took on a serious face and looked at his friend and tried to keep a straight face while his best friend was telling his heartfelt breakthrough story. “You may be guildless but you are not friendless. Let’s remember why we started on the frontlines back then and why we pushed through 11 floors. We are both under leveled for what we should be. Think of the possibilities. We can bring back the old guild and help level those that have fallen behind, just as we have. We can get back to where we were if we try hard enough.” He looked at Ryu and tried not to cry. “I’m glad you came and found me. I missed not having friends that I can rely on. I was just too scared that my bad luck was going to get someone killed and I didn’t want you to be mixed into that.” Shark said as he heard the winds die down from outside of the cave.

“It sounds like the weather is starting to break. Think we should get back out there and pick up what we started?” He asked his friend while trying to get excited to get back to society.

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I can hear the wind dying down outside as the end of the storm drew near. I rose from my rocky seat and looked towards the door and started to walk.

"Lets continue then. Theres a lot to go over and I think someone deserves a decent meal for what little youve probably eaten over the last few years."  I jokingly pointed at him

"I wouldn't mind having to restart your guild however there are some things that will need to be changed in order to keep us floating. considering it will only be you and I unless you have people who came later ready and willing to take up arms, level up and get onto the front lines once again. Im sure you can handle that while i get out there and actively recruit people. We could be a top guild in no time, and with our alliances with Heathcliff im sure no one would dare question us." i spoke confidently as the plans to restart the guild were being made.

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As the wind died down, Ryu stood up and Shark followed his lead. The two of them started going towards the cave entrance. Ryu eyed up Shark and made a quick joke with how Shark looks like he hasn’t had a meal in a long time. Shark chuckled as he looked down at the rest of his digital body that he can see. The only noticeable difference was the small tears of his cloak the had a few holes through the old Guild logo on the back. At that time, Ryu mentioned that he would like to restart the old guild that held the group together for the first 10 boss raids. The guild used to be a symbol of home for the players, now Shark would be surprised if there was anyone left who remembers what it once was. “Who would still be interested in a guild like ours? Is there anyone who would want to join a guild where the leaders have been missing for a couple years?”. These were just some of the questions that flooded through Sharks head.

Ryu began with some plans with the guild reboot and talk of their previous alliance with Heathcliff and the Knights of the Blood Oath. “I think I can reach out to some old guild members, if they are still alive that is”. Shark said as he scrolled through an old guild roster. “We can also post an announcement in the town squares to see if that attracts anyone”. The blue-haired swordsman said as he readied his equipment for battle. “Man, it’s gonna feel really good when we get out of this cave”. Shark said with joy as he finished the last bit of his tea. “I’ll finally be able to get a good drink”. He laughed as he looked at his buddy with a look that showed he was ready to get out there.

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