RyujinSeaLord

@Kairi TAGGED FOR DELETION

I spent the next several minutes using my sword to point out very specific places on the body that would deal the most damage and i attempted to get him to bark at the spots as i pointed at them to let me know if i was close to it or really far away from it. 1 meant close. 2 meant far away. After i figured he had a basic understanding what i had him do was i had him target them from a distance so he could remain out of combat but still help me without getting hurt. I would tap the blade to the straw dummy and i would have Dante bark at the spots to make sure he understood the previous lesson. I felt like it was working but i would only be sure once we put everything together in one final test. But we were far from over at this point.

I brought Dante down to the first floor and he stuck by my side the entire time. He was a very loyal member of my team. I brought him to a very nice area that I knew inside of the first floor. We walked in the door and were greeted by the arcade owner. This was not your traditional arcade with video games and quarters, instead this was a arcade where you payed money to do a certain challenge. Specifically this game was for those who wanted to learn how to throw knives so there were targets already set up for us to use. 

"Alright boy, what Im going to teach you how to do first is I'm going to teach you the parts of the body and what parts are perfect for sword strikes." I spoke to Dante making sure he understood the lesson ahead of him. He barked in what i could only imagine was understanding.

It was finally time. Finally they had released skills for our familiars who used to do battle in combat with us. Now they are more of a support but its still awesome that i can now take my long time companion and train him how to help me in combat. When accepting the quest I received a list of things I could do to train my wolf companion Dante and what abilities he can learn. 

"Hmm, Keen Senses, gives your animal companion the ability to spot weaknesses in the enemy and increase your ability to hit them" I read the list to myself as i made my way to my shop to grab Dante for some training. 

"Hey boy how are you?" i say excitedly as I open the door to my shop and he stands up to greet me. "Come on, we are gonna start doing some training so you can accompany me into the field."

Today seemed like the perfect day to just sit back and relax without any kind of interferences but thats not exactly how life works around here now is it. I spotted a rather cute red-headed girl in the fields behind me. She was picking things up from the grass so i kinda just watched her. Not in a creepy way but more in the sense that i had nothing better to do while waiting for the fishing reel to make noise or indication that something was biting. She seemed to be enjoying her time out here which was great but she also seemed younger than most other players he had met but definitely not much younger than he was. I heard the reeling of the fishing line behind me and turned to pay attention to it.

ID# 114651 LD = 5 Nothing.

"Well dang it, the fish just aren't biting today are they?" I said out loud completely forgetting about anyone in the distance at the moment of time. I put my fishing rod down for a moment and just took a second to breathe. I was getting frustrated at a poor games AI and RNG and this is how i was choosing to take it out. No thats not okay. I picked up the fishing rod once again and cast it back into the water with a soft ploop noise when it hit. I sat there with my hands over my head just trying to breathe in the nice air. I ended up laying down on the rock staring up in the sky. It was still a beautiful day. @Kirbs

"You see Aincrad has its own jail inside of it in which people who get put there, typically remain. Zelrius had a guild to lead and decided that jail was better than being dead...i could have easily killed him but i choose a second option. Jailing crystals, or the items that used to do it, are extremely rare or no longer exist..." I explained to her the issues "So basically if you had a jailing crystal, you had 1 if you could even find it. So murder was literally the only real option. Some of us took it to heart, some of us tried to justify what we were doing...back then you only turned orange if you killed someone. It was a weird system, but Kayaba kept pushing out updates."

"The second floor boss....was an Armored Bug named Kabutomushi of Sorrow and Despair. He had a really soft underbelly which was his weakest point. If you struck him anywhere else, you either did 0 damage or half damage..." I said as i continued to tell the story of how we stumbled upon the door and how Shark ended up being the tank or the thing and i ended basically being the hero the girls needed once again. After a few moments of telling the story i stopped to wait for more questions.

"Thanks but no thanks. Im probably just going to embarrass myself just like i did at the meeting and its probably not worth the time. I just kinda wanted to try and come back to the front lines but seeing how organized you guys are already kinda makes me feel i shouldnt have even some and gotten involved. I will say good luck to you all and that i hope you make it out just fine. Cant wait to be another step to beating this stupid game and getting back to the real world where im still a nobody, but a nobody that his family care for. See ya later" I said to @Hestia without much hesitation in between her response and mine. I knew i would have gotten killed if i had walked in there without a plan. Maybe it was for the better if i had died, maybe it would be better to sick back and watch players finish this game without me. Who knows. Who care. All i knew is that i had a long trip back home and i wasnt going to waste it thinking about how stupid i was for trying 

-Ryu Has Left The Thread-

"Im surprised you havent heard of them seeing as you are speaking to their Guild Commander right now." I say gesturing to my white and blue outfit. 

"Another guild to add to your books would be the Eyes of Nightshade....it was a guild of assassins that I used to lead. We were a group of contract killers but wee refused to kill green players only the orange ones. The list of members were..." i trail on and on about the guild members (OOC i dont remember their names)

"Ah the questions i was waiting to hear. So the systems back in the day were much different than they are today." I say to hear going on to list some of the major differences upto and including the implication of sword arts and unique skills. 

"The front liners back in the day were less of huge groups of people in multiple parties but more of a few banded together friends who go lucky. Puppet Master Hanzo was the first floor boss...he controlled players...forced them to fight against each other if he hit you with his skills. Turned one of us against us and tried to use her as a shield. made her think she would be free in the real world if she sided with him...it was tough..." i said taking a moment to reflect and calm down as i took a big swig of my drink emptying it and waving for more.

It was a last minute decision for myself but someone had to put the KoC back on the grid especially in the front line. I joined the group of people with my arm resting on my katana as i listened to them chat among themselves. Not trying to be ignored but also trying not to be noticed at the same time. I sent a message to Neo and Hikoru whom i could see from the back of the group letting them know that i had shown up. I was a little nervous at the same time. I wanted to make the guild proud but i didn't want to die so i brought a teleport crystal in case something went awry. I looked over the crowd again. I noticed a few faces i recognized from before and some faces were completely unfamiliar to me. I lifted the cowl over my head and lifted my face mask just above my nose. Only my different colored eyes and the scar across my eye was no visible. The Ninja gi was white with blue trimmings. No noticeable  armor on the outside. 

What Ryu brings to the table: 

Today was a very strange day going on here. The sun was definitely high in the sky but it didn't quite feel like noon. I grabbed my fishing poll from my inventory and I activated the natures treasure quest and walked out into the field knowing not a single monster would harm me on my day off. Today i was wearing my KoC outfit (OOC: See Journal) because well i really liked the color scheme. I found my way to one of my favorite fishing spot on this floor. A nice big flat rock, that kind of looks like Pride Rock from the Lion King but not nearly as big and also missing the cave behind it. I took a seat on the edge of the rock and tossed my line into the water and i waited for a bite. I felt something tug on the string and i reeled it in.

ID# 114633 LD = 10 Nothing found.

Hmm i swore something was biting. It must have let go just before i pulled it up. Oh poo, well you win some you lose some. I tossed the line once again and waited for something to happen.

@Kirbs

"Yeah Zelrius when i met him was a smug sob but her was a smug for different reasons. After i lost contact with my friends he died. I sent him to jail but we bailed him out because he was a decent person. He also kinda helped us beat some of the lower boss floors." I explained to her not sure if that much mattered

"Im glad the Clarence is still alive, at least there is some hope for my friends." I commented on her nod the Pengoo.

"Shark is actually alive, he's the legendary leader of the Knight of Christ Guild from when they formed on the first floor, he abandoned the game on the 11th floor after not being able to hit the 11th floor boss. He's just recently come back after some...motivation" i coughed between "some" and "motivation" "And by motivation i mean i found him and kicked him out of the cave and told him to stop moping around."

"So...what kind of questions do you have because there is clearly something youd like to know about us as the oldies...or the legends i guess we get called now" i said taking another sip shrugging at the word "legends"

I stepped into the shop after receiving the message from Hei i made my way to his shop to pick up the items i ordered. I stepped in to the slightly familiar atmosphere and walked up to the counter to use the pick up ability. 

"Thanks for the hard work my friend, I'll make sure to give you commendations. Not only does the armor look excellent but the service time was phenomenal" I said to him as i took my item from the inbox. I examined it thoroughly just to make sure it was the product i had asked for. I opened the stats page and it was exactly as ordered. I thanked him once again and left the shop item in hand

Death. Death was a major part of this conversation and it had barely even begun. Death was such a daily concept in my life that i was afraid to talk about it more and more each day.

"So you wanna talk about remembering people while we can huh?" i asked her placing my glass down. I opened my inventory and pulled out my own miniature notebook. I flipped to page one. I slid the book over to her. "Go ahead. Flip through it. Those are the names of my friends...who used to be on my friends list" I opened my menu and flipped it to screen share mode. A list of 5 names were there. Neo. Heathcliff. Symphony. Clarence. Shark. Thats all that was left. Thats all that mattered.

"One of them is still missing. Clarence. I have no idea where he is. Shark was found a few weeks ago and Heathcliff basically lives in his Guild Hall. So i have lots of stories in there." In that list of names, the name Zelrius may or may not stick out. (OOC: i dont now if Hestia knew Zel).

"So you're writing a book about these people so they wont be forgotten about huh?" i asked her trying not to sound mean. "Well I'd be happy to answer any and all questions you have for me." @Hestia

The young lady walked in wearing a sleeveless black shirt and grey pants, with her familiar in tow. She apologized for showing up in her everyday clothes. I chuckled and took a sip of my drink.

"No no, nothing fancy going on here, i didn't even wear my good pants. No today Im on duty so i have to wear these colors." I respond to her silly apology.

I gestured to the chair across from me and waved over the waiter so she could order something to drink.

"This is in no way a date" I say taking another sip of my scotch. "However" taking yet another and setting my glass down. "The bill is on me, whatever you decide to have during this little interview or whatever this is." I swirled the liquids in the glass knowing full well that i cannot physically get drunk but I can still taste it. 

"So what is it you want exactly from me? Hints? Hidden Quests? Maps of the areas?" i didn't know what else to list but i left it at that. "There aren't a whole lot of people who like me or want to talk to me, so what use do I have to you?" i asked her. I kinda sounded like an asshole but i was just being blunt

@Hestia

I drew strength from my friends.They were all working so hard tp eliminate our foes and I was doing the best that i could. The goblins continued to stand no matter how much we kept smacking them around. Two more swings and another charging wait. I took one step back and jumped into a sprint running towards the enemies at ... well a relatively normal human running speed, but it felt a lot cooler than it looked. I began to swing my sword once again throwing myself into a spinning motion as my blade turned blue once again. I crushed it once again smacking the goblins around like i do on the lower floors. Now granted i usually do a similar scaled amount of damage that Sey was doing to them but at least i was helping. However the last goblin dodged my blade, Theres always one. I was starting to get exhausted but i knew i couldn't just quit on them. I had to hold my own.

@Sey: 1062/1310 | EN: 101/122 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 90 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 2 | BH: 65 | -25% DoT Damage | +6 LD | Hate: [5/5/4/5]
Neopolitan: 860/860 HP | 58/86 EN | 12 DMG | 59 MIT | 3 ACC  8-10 PLZ| 2 REC | 4 FLN | Hate: [1/0/2/0]
RyujinSeaLord:  700/700 HP | 32/70 EN | 14 DMG | 23 Mit | Savvy: 2 |  Light Momentum: 2 | Paralytic Immunity [2/4/2/2] 

Goblin 1: 104/610 | 183 DMG
Goblin 2: 248/610 | 183 DMG
Goblin 3: 190/610 | 183 DMG
Goblin 4: 144/610 | 183 DMG

We seemed to be doing very well, the goblins were taking turns getting kicked in the teeth, everyones health seemed to be okay...i mean im not in their party so i can only judge from a distance but they appeared to still be green. I wasn't afraid to do what i had to. I took two more practice swings before charging up the next AoE attack, it was something i had to do. I charged forward into the fight swinging my sword so hard i began to spin again. I Swished right passed the first goblin but that wasnt enough to alert the other three who took a total of nine slash marks across their bodies, striking two of them in critical points on their bodies. What a wild ride that was. I spun back around and readied myself knowing it was unlike i would be the focus. I cursed under my breath realizing i could have hit that other one, but i felt like i was contributing to the fight by myself.

My best friend was a complete dork, but he was my dork or a friend and i wouldn't want to hang out with anyone else. I watch Shark whip out an amazing AoE skill. I didnt know the name of it because I barely remember mine. I readied my blade and swung it twice with another attempt to use the skill. 

"Frankly Shark, I do not come here as often as you think. This is maybe the second time and this is a totally different mine than the one i went to last time." I spoke to him waiting for the attack to charge. 

I snickered at his Energy Drink joke. "Shark, you are a complete disaster, who let you tell jokes? Did Zel teach you that one?" I jokingly asked him

"Thanks, ill do what i can" I said as the skill finished charging as i ran in. "Amatsu no Homura!"

I spun around several times, the first one dodged me but that didn't much matter because i landed three strikes on the second one. I spun around into a fighting stance once more. 

"Hey hows the weather over there, because i think its about to start raining bodies over here" i shouted to Shark trying to make a better joke this time.

Ryu HP: 680/680 EP: 42/68 (1/3 hate) (OOC: to make sense of it Shark the first one will attack you and the second one will attack me, ask my about stats)

Shark HP: 438/580 EP: 42/58 (2/1 hate)

_____________VS____________________

Kobold 1 HP 78/340

Kobold 2 HP 56/340 (Bleed – 1 turns bleed)

Goblins. Why did it have to be Goblins. Those wretched creatures made me sicker than sick. I would rather deal with a bunch of reject kobolds but i guess dealing with these creatures might lead us to the next batch, maybe something will show itself later. Our friend Sey used his special Howl ability which focused the creatures on him. He took a hit but it didn't even seem to phase him. Not a big deal i can handle this too. I watch Neo land a nice strong strike again on of them. Realizing that Rapiers don't have AoE attacks i felt the need to jump in and help out. I drew my katana from its sheath and warmed up with two practice swing before my blade began to glow a vibrate blue. I started spinning for three consecutive slashing the first of the goblins but his cry of pain alerted the other ones allowing them to dodge out of the way. I stopped spinning and dropped into a fighting stance. 

@Sey: 1215/1310 | EN: 117/122 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 90 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 2 | BH: 65 | -25% DoT Damage | +6 LD | Hate: [2/2/2/2]
Neopolitan: 860/860 HP | 74/86 EN | 12 DMG | 59 MIT | 3 ACC  8-10 PLZ| 2 REC | 4 FLN | Hate: [1/0/0/0]
Ryujin: 700/700 HP | 60/70 EN | 14 DMG | 23 Mit | Savvy: 2 |  Light Momentum: 2 | Paralytic Immunity [1/0/0/0]

Goblin 1: 330/610 | 183 DMG
Goblin 2: 610/610 | 183 DMG
Goblin 3: 610/610 | 183 DMG
Goblin 4: 610/610 | 183 DMG

Neo was being her typical self. Quiet like ice cream, never responding to you and just sitting there like a cold treat silently judging you because this is the tird time your cried this week because your boyfriend Jeff cheated on you with his ex and you just wanted to have a romantic night out. Wow that got deep really quickly.

"Loot monsters huh?" I spoke breaking my own little trance i was in. "I was just on patrol but i could definitely use more materials for the shop im actually running quite low" 

I dont know why i was being so open about my intentions. Maybe the game has desensitized me and made me realize that not everyone in the world is out to get me. 

"I might be a level 35 but im still completely capable of holding my own out here" i said before shutting up thinking i was over sharing. @Sey

It was not a usual thing for me to be on patrol but Shark has asked me to take some extra patrol routes to look for more guild mates. Today it brought me to the 21st floor and specifically out into the wilderness. From a distance I was able to make a familiar looking hair color. “Is that Neo?” I asked myself. I didn’t recognize the person she was with but I implied it was someone she knew. I decided to make an approach. As I drew closer I could make out Neos short stature and was definitely surebit was her this time.

”Hey there Neo, Ice to see you again!” I said knowing full well that puns get me into some serious trouble. 

I looked to the other player. 

“Hello there, I don’t think we’ve met, names Ryujin but my friends call me Ryu” I said to him sticking my hand out. “What are you guys doing all the way out here?”

@Sey

I yawned as i walked across town. I knew i shouldn't have stayed up all night running around town looking for people to make me things. I can make things for myself i guess. I opened my shop doors and Dante the wolf lifted his head and barked.

"Hows it going boy, i just stopped in to do some crafting, then im heading out to the fields in order to get more crafting materials. gotta make money some how right?" I spoke to an animal that does not understand nor respond back he just looked at me for a little bit before laying back down as i started up the ovens for a few moments.

(2 Uncommons +6 XP, 2 Crit Fails +2 EXP, 1 Salvage Fail +2 EXP = 10 EXP)

I wiped my brow. This was not the easiest job in the world but maybe i was just tired, i think i needed a break. I turned off the ovens and left the shop leaving the door unlocked but the message board on in case someone needed to contact me or ask for an order. I was okay, i was going out anyway

Quote

-Complete-

4 SP to each player (3 from quest + 1 from 1 full page)

200 Col to each player and <<Monkey Agility>> A strange potion which boosts the users evasion by 1. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.

Time to put my nose to the grind stone. It was time to start leveling like there was no tomorrow. I teleported myself to the first floor and made a break for the exit. I was about to do something i have never thought about doing in a very long time....Grinding. Old fashion RPG level grinding. Im just going to kill everything in sight in order to get as much experience as possible and there nothing in this world that will stop me. The first thing i noticed in the plain was a large population of boars. Let the slaughter begin.

ID# 114351 BD = 6 Hit 14 damage

I ran straight at the boars body and slashed straight through him, cutting him in two different pieces and shattering his body. A gleam in my eyes began to shimmer as i started to lose control of myself. I started to laugh like and insane man as i looked to my next target.

Ryu  700/700 HP  69/70 EP

______________VS_____________-

Boar #1 -dead-

We finally had reached the edge of the forest and i was starting to catch up bit as i was trying to regain my confidence. I could see the main town from where we stood which meant we were almost back.

"Well Neo...i know it doesnt mean much, but thanks for wanting to come out and kill monsters with me. Its strange but all of my old friends have passed away. I visit the monument of life every day to pay them respects but never in a thousand years did i think i would have to replace my old friends. So...." i paused in the middle of speaking as i got side by side with her. I opened my menu and sent a request to her. "I wanted to know....if you wanted to be my friend...and if you dont i mean thats completely understandable especially after that flop in the middle of a boss fight....but theres something cool about you that makes me feel we would be good friends someday."

I didnt know how she felt. I didnt know how her thoughts worked. But it couldnt hurt to try and branch out and make friends again. @Neopolitan

The entire trip was spent entirely in silence. We didnt talk about what happened before. We didnt talk about what happened during. We didnt talk about what happened after. Everything was just silent. I let her get a large lead on the distance in between us as i basically was dragging my feet in the dirt. I couldnt tell what she was thinking but after a performance like that she was probably questioning exactly how i had mad it this far. I was afraid to talk to her even though she wasnt going to talk back to him. Her judgment meant a lot but also so little at the same time. I should sincerely forget that the boss fight happened. Was i upset that i didnt get to strike it? Yeah absolutely and i had every right to be, but the fact is that we killed it and no one got hurt in the slightest. Maybe i should change my negative reaction to positive out looks. Neo here was a great companion even though he hair made me wanna bit her to see if she was actually made of ice cream.

@Neopolitan