Heathcliff

Heathcliff pushed open the door to the meeting room. He was not clad in his heavy armor, but instead he wore his long red coat over his casual blacks. The coat was buttoned up to check neck, and he strode into the room like he owned the place... which he technically did. Already there were this two commanders, Macradon and Hirru. The Paladin walked over and sat down at his seat at the head of the table before he looked out over the others. It appeared a rag tag sort of group they had, but that was the nature of the front. An ebb and flow of the powerful. It seems the stress of remaining on the front could often overwhelm people's psyche, and they had to take a step back for a while before they could push forward.

"Thank you all for coming here."

He took a moment to look straight at everyone who had come. There was a girl here he wasn't terribly familiar with, but he was always happy to see a new face, and his eyes showed it.

"I am pleased that we have finally found the next floor boss room. As we are on a new tier, I would ask that everyone have a bit more care than usual this time around."

The commander turned to look at Hirru and Macradon again and gave them each a nod, letting them know that they could feel free to continue and take over whenever they felt like it as he rested his hand on the table and did his best to measure the capability of the group before him and those they represented.

Seems that near death experience didn't disheartened the members from the commander's team. Though it seemed to make then wiser, by a bit. He would see the ninja boy wannabe going after targets that are more manageable for him. He also spotted a small, what he assumed to be teleport crystal, in the blonde dps' hand before she resumed her attack. The remaining of the team doing what they were assigned to, namely draw aggro and heal whoever was in need; which was exactly what the pair did. 

It was at this time that he noticed the reinforcements that arrived and quickly getting a grasp of the situation, assigning themselves inside the different teams. "This is starting to look more like a floor raid." muttered the red and white clad knight, a glimpse of a smile creeping on his expression. He raised his shield to hide his satisfaction with the situation and unsheathed his weapon from the unique sheath. He was preparing to attack alongside the group when he noticed that one of the members of his guild had been badly injured by the bull. Mentally clicking his tongue, the commander pointed the slender one handed sword towards @Mack and shouted a stoic expression, his usual commanding tone booming across the battlefield:

"Stand back and recover! If anyone can help heal him quicker, it would be greatly appreciated." And with that, he reached towards one of his pouches and produced a healing crystal that he used on his vice-commander. Then he went and attacked the bull head on with a sword art that is simple, yet powerful to rival a dps.

After his last attack the flying floor boss' health continued to drop by the hands of the other front liners, he made a mental note to remember their faces and ask around about them for future plans and maybe engage in some recruitment efforts. But the commander let such thoughts in the back of his mind as his group once again charged at its oversized opponent and he wasn't about to stand by and let some other team get the glory of slaying the beast.  

He followed the team strategist's urge to attack and did so, noticing that all his party members have acted in the same manner. But regrettably, as the fellow tank, he missed his target and his sword slashed the air pocket left below the moth. Gritting his teeth, the man beneath the commander persona mused for a second, the idea of manipulating the mob's hp so that it would appear that he killed it. But as quickly dismissed the concept as it would be a huge risk that he would be found out way too early in the game. He vented his frustration with a powerful horizontal swing of his weapon, to his right side before returning it to its sheath and raising his shield. 

After being the first to arrive to the scene, the commander simply nodded to Baldur's casual greeting as he also directed his attention towards the boss room entrance. Then one after another, the rest of the so called front liners would gather around them and start preparing for the fight. A significant number of members from his guild had joined and were grouped with him. He let out a confident smile and adressed a few encouraging words towards his team: 'We're about to tackle a giant butterfly but don't be fooled by its apparent innocent exterior. This is a the 20% completion marker for this 'game' so who knows what it can happen. Exercise caution over pride and at the first sign that you feel your life is in danger, retreat!" he let out a small smirk before continuing: "But seeing you all here, I'm sure we'll be okay!" 

A little after that, the doors swung open and the assault commenced. So, far it all went well and there were no surprises except for a shield of sort formed around the boss. This forced each team to deal extra damage, as if they had to spare...

He watched as his guild members rushed forward and did the best they could to lower its massive HP bars. Seeing Hirru take the role of the strategist and Morgestern the one of the tank, he looked towards Anemone. She was relatively new to the fronts so she seemed a bit.. overwhelmed by the situation. He simply gave her a confident nod and started walking forward as he elegantly removed his one handed sword from his shield that also served as its sheath.

He raises his sword up into the sky as a light blesses the sword as he then strikes down in a vertical motion down the enemy. Its flashy effect was accompanied by a evident diminish of his target's health.

ID# 84418  BD: 8 (nat. +8 Holy DMG)  CD:12 (+2 EN)
Sword Art: (25) Repentance - 27*20= 540 RAW- 100 MIT= 440 DMG

Heathcliff watched as they began to reengage the boss again. He had asked that they all gather together to heal, but it seems Hikoru was desperate to deal deal damage, though their life DID depend on it. The number of actions Heathcliff could take at the moment were many, but for now his primary role was stabilizing the fight so that they could get back to operating at their full potential. This fight could very well end up being the end for some of these so-called frontliners. They were just building moment again, and he didn't want them to pump the breaks so quickly. This fight would, however, serve to refresh in their minds that there was danger if they didn't come prepared. Were their lives so worthless?

He had considered letting one of them die just for the object lesson. It had been a while since a boss had killed a player.

But this was not the floor he had meant to do that.

Pulilng out the banner, he struck it into the ground. The banner of support radiated a green healing light, raising everyone in his party's HP. Not a huge amount, but he also pulled our a crystal and crushed it in his hand, which emanated another green healing light throughout his party. All said and done, it meant that he healed the entire party for 210 hit points. Not a lot by any means, but it should be enough to keep them going.

Raid Stats

Heathcliff, The Paladin
404 SP Spent

Battle Ready Inventory

1) (5) T2 Perfect Health Crystals (+240 HP)
2) (5) T2 Perfect Mass Healing Crystals (+90 HP to Party)
3) (5) T1 Perfect Health Crystals (+120 HP)
4) (5) Energy Drinks (+9 EN)
5) (1) Banner of Superior Support (+120 HP to Party)(3 charges)
6) (4) Safeguard Potions
7) (5) Teleport Crystal

Holy Sword

HOLY SWORD - Allows for use of Parry and Sword Arts simultaneously. Also gives bonuses to parry rolls. (Parry applies on the opponent’s post following the user’s sword art. Parry rules apply.)

Sword Arts: R1-
x1(1) Divine Swing - A sword art that releases a small beam of light towards the enemy.
x2(2) Angel’s Blessing - Two simple slashes as the wielders blade glows a faint white.

Rank 2
x3(3) Crescent Moon - a 360 degree spin hitting the opponent a total of three times in succession.
x4(4) Divine Combination - a simple hack and slash combo in which the wielders sword glows a slightly brighter white.

Rank 3
x5(5) Moonlight Strike - a vertical slash blessed from the moon above.
x6(6) Disarm - a single swing of a sword with a white aura gleaming from the sword to cut off the hand in which the opponent wields their weapon.
x7(7) Coup de Grace - a loyal ending combo that serves to end the life of an down enemy that cannot fight back.

Rank 4
x12(14) Reversal - A combo typically done after taking a hit, that hacks and slashes away from the enemy’s health using a single strike through the enemy's heart sending a beam of light through it.
x13(15) Angel’s Strike - the wielders blade glows a bright white as the wielder strikes forward through the soul of the enemy showing the wrath from above.

Rank 5
x17(22) Holy Blessing - the wielders blade glows a divine white as he dashes forward and performs a series of slashes that ends with a downwards slash that sends the enemy away from the wielder.
x20(25) Repentance - A sword art that is simple yet powerful, the wielder raises his sword up into the sky as a light blesses the sword as he then strikes down in a vertical motion down the enemy.

Heathcliff was ready. It had been too long since they had last tackled a boss, but he was letting the players themselves drive the progress. It was their lives at stake, their worlds. He had only wound the clock, set the rules, and let the world loose. He wanted to be a denizen of this world, not it's caretaker, and to that end the Cardinal system handled the maintenance. To everyone else, and even himself, he was just another player. The deck was stacked in his favor, but he had wanted to live in this world ever since he was a kid and had come up with the original idea. Now here they all were, prepared to fight for their lives for the sake of themselves and others. There was no end game for Kayaba. This was the end game. Win or lose, there was no making it out of this for him.

Tugging on his gauntlets, he surveyed the path through the labyrinth to the boss room. He was apparently the first one here, and somehow that felt right. He had his equipment and consumables ready to go. Now he had only to await the rest of his guild.

OOC: I will be remaining in the battle

IC: Heathcliff spared only a passing glance as the lower leveled players broke formation and ran, either for their lives or to safety. There was one or two who surprised him by not staying when he had thought they would, but what remained would be enough. Stepping up to the fore between the players who were remaining and the melodramatic Minotaur, the Commander of the Knights decided now was a good time to fully engage, and it seemed more true frontliners were showing up.

"Those of you with me, gather up. I will use some of my healing crystals to help you recover."

He reached into his inventory and readied a group healing crystal, and waited for everyone to have made their choice of who would stay and who would go. Those who remained he would take note of. Several of the frontliners who had started this fight were battered and broken, but they could still recover considering the arrogance of this monster. A few moments was all they needed to regroup.

Heathcliff watched as a life was snuffed out.

He had no pity for a level 1 player who thought they could get involved in a mess like this. If they were that reckless, it wasn't bravery, but stupidity. It was as if they had no regard for their own life. Such were the players the system was meant to weed out. The frontline was meant for those who had potential. Granted, some managed to cling onto others and ride their way to the near top, but the pack mentality was to be encouraged. There were roles for everyone to play in his world, some just did not realize it.

Still, there were others in the new crop of players that he didn't want to see too traumatized by death and see their morale broken, so he planted one red metal clad boot down and rushed towards Nato. His white shield held before him as he drew his Liberator.

His holy paladin sword began to glow with a silvery white light as he actived <<Coup de Grace>>, he shield slammed into the minotaur and as they separated he brought his sword across the head of the minotaur, the beam of light leaving a red slash through the creature's form before it disappeared into a shower of polygons.

Without even posing for the destruction of the boss mob as every last hit deserved, he turned to the newbies which surrounded him. "Regroup now, while you can, before anyone engages the next minotaur."

ID: 80156 BD: 3 +2(accuracy) +1 (concentration) = 6 (hit)
Coup de Grace: 19x7=133 DMG - 15 MIT = 118 NET DMG

.

Heathcliff pulled at the crimson gauntlets covering his hand.They were emblazoned with the stylized cross of the Knights Templar, but while he wore them almost exclusively, for some reason they chafed today. His steel grey eyes surveyed the players assembled before them. They had found one of the hidden event bosses hidden away throughout the tower. This was becoming more and more regular, and this particular group, the... Celestial Ascendants... seemed to be one of the rising stars. However, now that Mack had resurfaced, Heathcliff felt comfortable in their dominance of the Frontline. Between himself, Mack, and Macradon, the guild was in good hands.

Unperturbed and imperious, the self proclaimed Paladin of SAO stood watch over his guild and the assembled players. It had been a while since they had suffered a death on the frontlines, but in order to make his narrative for this world come true, Kayaba had realized that he needed to help foster growth among the junior members. So here he was. He had no intention of involving himself in this fight. This one, in particular, was meant to be a test. Each of the bosses would push the players to the limit. It would not humor the weak and unprepared. It would cull them.

At the same time, he could not let this break his investments, and so he stood there, fiddling with his gauntlets and the equipment which seemed heavier today than any other, and he watched.

Everyone had been working hard to clear this wave of monsters. Heathcliff's mind finally returned to the fight as it ventured off with a different matter that had been bothering him internally. The gray haired man looked around at the group. My apologizes everyone. I have just been bothered by a previous issue. He said as he readied his sword and shield to use an attack. The Commander attempted to use Howl and the group of Mantis but they ignored the attack and started looking for their next target. Heathcliff tried to think of what to do next. He looked at his equipment and sighed. He then looked back at Itzal who appeared to be ready to finish the Mantis off. Well Itzal, I tried. Looks like this is up to you. The Commander said as he made the transition to go on the defensive. He got ready to defend incase the mantis targeted him or anyone else, hoping he could jump in front of the attack if needed.

ID: 76285
BD: 5 MISS
CD: 6
LD: 15
Sword Art attempt: Howl

• [1] Beatbox: -          915/915  -  <71/90>
• [2] Hirru: -            855/855  -  <49/84>
• [6] Heathcliff -       1615/1615 - <200/200>
• [6] Morgenstern -       760/760  -  <76/76>
• [0] Hikoru -           1095/1095 - <087/108>
• [5] Macradon -         1175/1175 - <076/116>
• [1] @Itzal-           940/940  -  <77/94>

• Praying Mantis Soldier: 0/1000
• Praying Mantis Soldier: 72/1000 <Bleed: 24 DMG for 2 turns. 0/2>
• Praying Mantis Soldier: 72/1000 <Bleed: 24 DMG for 2 turns. 0/2>
• Praying Mantis Soldier: 72/1000 <Bleed: 24 DMG for 2 turns. 0/2>

The expedition was underway and the group ventured onward to locate the boss room. Upon following Beatbox through the forest, a group of Mantis Soldiers jumped out and tried to attack. Hirru used an AOE to give the group some more time to act. He then looked back to the rest of the group and asked for one of the tanks to attract the mob away. Heathcliff then took his Liberator and Activated Howl in order get the mob to focus himself. On It! The Commander exclaimed! He then jumped into action and got the attention of the mob.

ID# 75115 BD: 8 CD: 12 LD: 8 MOB: 4
Success!
 

Hate [6]

The Knights of the Blood Oath, welcome @Beatbox to the guild as a Knight.

The man looked around at the other and felt tints of dislike in the air. The last member finally appeared and apologized for his tardiness. Glad you could make it Hirru. The man said as he shifted his site back toward the group. The commander felt like this couldn't go unnoticed any longer as it might cause trouble for Macradon and the rest of the guild. I can sense the dislike from everyone. I'm sorry you feel that way but I have many other matters on my mind. He then looked at Jonathan who congratulated him on the last hit drop in the previous boss raid. Thank you Jonathan. I passed gave it to Macradon as he is a better fit for the item and works hard to lend an open hand to anyone in need. The commander said to the man. Beatbox then spoke up and tried to bring his guild mates back around. Thank you Beatbox. Sorry you had to do that. I can feel some tension in those words. is it a hindrance that I am here? Heathcliff told the man as he tried to think of a plan of action for getting passed the series of boss monsters.

Beatbox spoke up and said that he will lead the expedition to find the boss room. Heathcliff nodded in acknowledgement of this action and looked over at his guild members to see if they were ready. He then looked back at Beatbox and the rest of the Celestial Ascendants. The Knights are ready when you are. He said while awaiting word from the rest of the players.

Slowly and surely, all the participants arrived. Heathcliff had seen most of them before in previous raids. The current temporary Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath had also made his appearance. The commander, wearing his typical long red and white trimmed armor with a white cape bearing the KoB insignia, acknowledged those he has seen before. The man who had been there before Heathcliff, began to speak up once everyone has arrived.

After the man spoke, The Commander nodded in agreement and took out his Liberator to prepare for the adventure. We may have another one join us but he may be entangled in prior affairs. I will update him on our location if everyone is ready to set off for the dungeon. Heathcliff said as he looked around to see if everyone was ready to go. We work together and no one person will lead the whole adventure. He said as he looked over at his Vice Commander and nodded. I leave the rest of the relationship building to you. Heathcliff told Macradon in a soft voice, keeping it between the two of them.

During the final round through the 19th floor after the recent boss raid, the message icon popped up in the HUD. Heathcliff touched the icon to open the new message. The message was an invitation to a meeting point before looking for the boss room for the next floor. The man made his way to the central teleport gate and called out to go to Floor 20 «Inti». Upon arriving to the 20th floor, The Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath looked around for the peak of the settlement. He spotted the meeting place and began to make his way to the peak.

Arriving at the designated location Heathcliff spotted a man at the top of the peak who appeared to be waiting for someone. The Commander approached the man, Hello Sir, Are you with the Celestial Ascendants? Heathcliff asked the man as he stood next to him and overlooked the settlement while waiting for the other players to appear.

Until further notice, Macradon will serve as the Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath while maintaining Strike team duties.

Heathcliff leaves «Sword of the Ancient»: (Tier 3, Demonic Weapon): +1 Phase, +1 Paralysis, +2 Damage in the guild storage for Macradon to pick up.

A note is left with it, "I trust you will make a wise decision".

Heathcliff wasn't surprised that he was thrusted up in the air for its Devour skill... but, Heathcliff smiled, this was his chance, this was going to be the last hit... he just knows it. Heathcliff raised his sword up into the air and it glowed a crimson red, he was going to hit this boss, he could just feel it. And with one vertical slash! The bosses remaining head HP reduced to 0, killing the boss. He stood back up and raised his sword up into the air "We have won!" and he cheered for victory as the giant Congratulations sign appeared before them, this was going to be the next step into progressing further and further into this game, and he couldn't wait to see all of them soon, at the top. He shrugged that thought off and continued to celebrate everyone's achievements in this battle for if it weren't for these players, he wouldn't have beaten this just now.

@Tanos the Unshakeable

ID: 73500 - BD: 9 (+1 Damage Crit, +8 Holy Damage) - CD: 12

Damage: 19+1(ferocity)+1(critical)+8=29*14=392-75=331

It was about time to end thing; he who was usually a calm person and not the type to step up in the spotlight, was now growing a little impatient. "This thing should be down already." He muttered as if knowing something other don't. Still, he decided it was better not to act rash and do what was expected of him. The commander raised his sword up in the air, brought the shield to his chest and released a powerful <Howl> that should've gotten the boss' attention on him. It was still standing despite having no more than its remaining HP which most likely was attributed to the head. Was this a system error? he hoped not. Either way, he howled instead of attacking. He directed his attention to team one and let out a command: "Finish him out team 1! Let's get this over with." As if assuming that they already won, he turned his head to the side and spoke to the rest of his own team: "You guys did a great job out there."

"Good" muttered the guild leader as he observed the people around him. Ah he absorbed with little difficulty the damage received from the giant's fall. Most of raid members did well in withstanding the blast so he didn't have to use any of his consumables. With s glance he spotted Macradon deal a AoE hit and for the first time in a while, the leader of the Blood Oath smirked at himself. "I guess I should follow suit." he said as he charged besides him. his demonic gear unleashed a mighty horizontal slash with light extending from the sword. The light hit the entirety of both legs like a laser but to his dissapointment, the hit didn't bring the titan down a second time as the HP bars didn't turn red but yellow-orange. At these time he thought that it would've been better if he went with a different unique skill, one more... damage related.

"Let's keep this up boys and girl! Cut him down again with all the AoE skills you've got!" he bellowed, his imposing tone reaching thoughout the battlefield.

Heathcliff watched the fight unfold as the first group had easily swept most of the health of the titan's legs, and his group had easily finished it off. He gave a nod to Hikoru, Zandra and Macradon for their quick work, running forward and <Howl>ing to gain the monster's attention. He knew that the monster would fall, but he had no clue of whether it would try and attack last second or not. He made sure to watch the younger players in his midst, and made sure that they were well out of the way of the titan for when he fell. He looked at the other group, and gained their attention

"Aim for the head! It may be it's weak point!" He yelled at the group, hoping that they would at least try it. Although he was the strongest player in all of Aincrad, it was hard to gain respect from other guilds and solo players. He looked at the few men and women he had in his group, and he knew that he had a good team with him. He noticed a few of them were of the same guild, the upcoming Celestial Ascendants. He eyed them closely, and made a mental note to keep an eye on their guild.

Heathcliff uses <Focused Howl> +6 Hate

It was finally time to display his abilities again. The proud Commander of the Knights of The Blood Oath guild has reached the pre-raid meeting spot. He looked around and saw that only two of those under his command are participating this time around. However this development had little to no effect on him but he made a mental note to check with his temporary second in command the overall status of the guild. With a confident expression, the man made his way towards his assigned group and nodded to them. A few words escaped him as he eyed the people he'd been tasked to receive damage for: "I shall take point and block anything this mob throws at us, hit it with all you got without holding back." Then he turned towards @Macradon and nodded: "Good job organizing this raid!" he added with a serious face ah he raised his shield and released the sword attacked to the backside of the shield and pointed it towards the Boss room entrance, ready to charge in.

A very prudent plan.

The voice of the Commander Heathcliff followed closely on the heels of the inner doors opening. He strode into the room, confident and standing tall. Macradon had performed above expectation. He should remember to praise the Captain of the Vanguard later. He had pulled the leadership of the frontline back into the hands of the Knights, and once again their involvement would key. The commander walked over he sat down in the chair that Macradon had saved for him, sparing only a sideways glance for the blond sitting in the Vice Commander's seat. Leaning forward he steepled his fingers on the planning table, his bright red casual clothes and long red coat where a shock of solid color in an otherwise multi-hued room.

There is a question of momentum to consider as well. We cannot let the front become stagnant, and each week we are in here is precious time lost to all those who don't know what it is we do every day. A lack of progress could have the unintended consequence of losing moral, perhaps not for the front line, but for all those who huddle in fear on the first floor and rely on us to set them free.

His eyes surveyed the effect his words had upon those gathered to see how they would react. It was very easy to forget that there was a timer invisibly ticking in the other world, and every day that they were in here the death count grew. Not as much as in the first few weeks, but there were always those who died to complacency... and player killers. Many of whom forgot what their lives were like before they came to the floating castle.

The... Samurai He smirked slightly at the man's appearance. Is correct however. Healthcliff leaned back in his chair and turned his head to look at Macradon.

This is your responsibility. We shall proceed as you see fit. Macradon had made him very proud, he would watch where this would lead. His silver eyes also took a moment to glance over at the presence of Opal, and the smile he wore on his face faded slightly. She was clever, managing to kill someone for her own reasons and maintain her green crystal. She also seemed to be more cooperative this time around than what he had heard from the last meeting.

Three guilds were now represented here. His Knights, the so-called Spectrum Coalition, and the up-and-coming guild Celestial Ascendants. They had come a long way in a short time. He would have to keep his eye on them and see if they could continue to rise.