Ariel - The Crowned Lion

As before, the minions exploded upon death. The blonde involuntarily held her breath as this very event was the cause of their retreat during the scouting. "After we finish off the adds, I've got no idea what's gonna happen... at this point the scouts we're forced to retreat." she muttered, her head halfway turned towards Freyd and Itzal; the only members of her team that hadn't face Shadow before. Seeing as they all took damage, the blonde wanted decided to reassert her position as tank and instead of popping one of the healing crystals she received, her body partly flashed as she swapped to her tanking gear once more. She tightened the grip on the sword and removed it from the cold confines of its saya. She then held both items in front of her and charged towards the remaining adds, her cat eyes wondered around the room to try and catch a glimpse of the NPC duo. +3 EN +103 HP FREE ACTION: Using [Quick Change] to swap to the items from the BRI: ≪Mothbrand#156715≫ / ≪Leonidas' Strength#15 1568≫ / ≪Frozenshade#156614≫ Updated Stats: Ariel | HP: 1480/1770 | EN: 125/156 | DMG: 15 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 156 | HB: 48 | LD: 8 | TAUNT | TXV: 24 | FRTHRNS: 21, 6 DOT | VO: 265 | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | DoT -27 | Dote: 3 | THRNS: 30 | BH: 103 | | EN REGEN: 3 [Quick Change: 0/3] POST ACTION: Using [Charge] + Spike Rage SA. ID# 181281 BD: 8 (7+5-2-1-1) | x2*(15+5) -25 =15 DMG > Shadowling5 ID# 181282 BD: 1 (Miss!) | 0 DMG > Shadowling6 ID# 181283 BD: 5 (4+5-2-1-1) | 0 DMG > Shadowling31 ID# 181284 BD: 7 (6+5-2-1-1) | x2*(15+5) -25 =15 DMG > Shadowling38 -10 EN

Hannah – 4/4 [Setsuna, Andromeda, Plini, Ariel] Sir John – 4/4 [Freyd, Nian, Baldur, Mari] Andrey – 1/4 [Koga] There was little doubt who the blonde would join. She suspected that it was a scripted event but either way, the two extra NPCs seemed to be leeching off the girl's honest effort to gather people to investigate the forest. Silently, the blonde rested her hand on the now equipèd katana and stood behind the archeress, slightly noding to her when she looked at the blonde, comfirmind her stance in the current matter. With a quick glance around she saw the others choosing sides and takes note of the three next to her and Hannah. Couldn't say she meet them before but she'd seen a lot of faces over the years. With a shrug she cast the thought aside and pointed the thumb towards the unknightly 'sir': "Seeing how we split up, is each group going to do their own thing or do we have to work in tandem with the other two? I'd rather not see that schmuck's face more than I need to." she asked their team leader, casually as she would address another citizen of Aincrad, be it NPC or Player.

She was part of the lul that followed the last hit on Orgoth. She saw his HP bar depleted, heard him hit the ground and Shadow directing his yapping at the fallen warrior. She didn't see however the minotaur's body fragmenting in the way too familiar animation. She heard the puppeteer's voice crack and was about to belittle him, hoping that somehow the hero they found against so far will join their ranks now. She couldn't follow through as the blonde caught something in the darkened corner of her eyes. A familiar face, one she almost forgotten about. A fatherly figure, way younger than he was the last time the blonde saw him... before being trapped in this deadly game. In a casual yukata he smiled as her, triggering the fond memory of their fist sparring session when she was barely able to hold a bamboo stick. Her reverie doesn't last long as Ariel's attention is brought back to reality by her teammates. Like before, he summoned his minions in great numbers. She remembered what happened during their scouting. "Clear them out fast, these adds we're what forced us to tp out last time!" she shouted to none in particular. She was now glad that she had her Night Vision mod, even if it was still difficult to see in detail she could clearly distinguish their number. While her team cleared most of them, she noticed two escaping. "Not on my watch!" she muttered as she charged at them and cleave through both the shadowlings. One instantly exploded as its dark figure was consumed by the even darker flames released by her weapon. The other got marked with a DoT after escaping with a slither of its hp. "Look to help the other groups, that one's already dead!" she chimed with a sly smile as she waited for the venom to finish it off. POST ACTION: Using [Charge] + [Concentrate] on the following AoE attack. ID# 180538 BD:10 (Crit!! TXV proc.) | x9 (22 +2 +5) -25 =236 DMG > Shadowling21 ID# 180539 BD:8 (6+6 -1+1 -2-1, FLN proc.) | x9 (22 +4 +5) -25 =254 DMG > Shadowling22 +3 EN +103 HP -10 EN (13 -3 SA) +1 ACC (KEEN proc.)

Dusting off her hands after pick up the loot, the blonde turns around to face her quest partner. She ignored it during the fight, passing it as getting serious but now after they finished, her partner still seemed a little under the weather. Almost a complete opposite from when they just meet not that long ago. For now however, she decided to reply to him: "I have a pending list!" then the blonde brought up a window that she then turned visible for all. Her eyes slightly widened in surprised: "I remember it being smaller.." she added as she crossed off the quests that she had to do alone. "I couldn't mind a hot cocoa break though! Before we do anything else." A simple invitation to take it easy and spend some quality time on this floor. It's been too long since she enjoyed the simple things this floor had to add. it tastes even better with some company.

They we're more than holding their own against the new glorified ice statue. With negligible damage taken on their side, Avalanche HP was already in the red zone and the blonde was determined to wipe if off for good. Its predecessor gave a pretty nice consumable reward so she was wondering what would this one drop. Technically it qualified as a better version, stats wise so she wanted to confirm if the drop was of a similar nature. Unlike the last time they meet, ChaseR seemed to hold his own and some, which backed up his boasting from before. "Don't be, a figure of speech." she replied in a teacher-like fashion as she prepared to finish the boss off. She could try the same attack and break its other knee, bring it down face first but that would be too dull for the blonde's taste. After half a second of mentally reviewing her available sword arts she pinpointed one and not a moment later went for the kill. As she ran, she started spinning her spear like an oversized cheerleader baton until, it caught ablaze then with one smooth upwards vertical slash she divided the massive titan in two equal halves than tumbled to their respective side. "Hardly more challenging that the first Avalanche!" quipped the blonde with a snort. ID#180202 BD:10 (Crit!!) x11(24 +2) -75 =211 DMG > Avalanche [4]ChaseR: HP: 1513/1670 | EN: 147/164 (+1, -9) | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 83 | V.(DEF): 83 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5 [6]Ariel | HP: 1590/1590 | EN: 127/156 | DMG: 24(+4) | ACC: 5(6) | AA | EVA: 1 | MIT: 25 | LD: 5 | TAUNT | KEEN:1 | RESTED [1/3] | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | DoT -27 | BH: 79 Avalanche the Absolute Zero: HP: 180/850 (-185) | DMG: 200 | MIT: 75 | FREEZE: 24 | ACC: 3 | EVA: -2

The blonde was looking over the weaponry on display for them and as people started picking their favorites, she was reluctant to pick the item she put her eyes on. Yes the staff was a more exotic choice that she was interested in, maybe she could even try the warhammer. However, the self-introduction of a blue samurai delayed that choice as she watched him with a grin, making friends among the new people. She didn't pay much attention to the rest other than a summary overview but now she took the time watch then. Most noticeably a rather rude lady that she had to signal Kimba to behave as she passed through and almost stepped on her paw. Seeing someone else a weapon beside her brought the blonde back to her current task, pick a weapon from the rack. With a smirk, she extended her hand and felt a plain undecorated wooden mounting of a katana and gave it a gentle knock. With a surprised look, she grabbed it and unsheathed a obsidian black odachi long enough that she needed both hands to hold it in a firm grip. "This will do.." she muttered softly, hoping that she could remember how to wield a katana after so much time without training with one. Ariel picked up a Sword.

Her eyebrows slightly raised in surprise of the guild name. True, she didn't know much about the guild itself but we was well acquainted with their leader. Overall she wouldn't see a group spearheaded by him as someone capable of eliciting such a reply. Then again, there was a black sheep in any family so she left it at that, as Chaser's wish seemed to be. They've seemed to reach their target location and the blonde threaded carefully. Not because of the boss but the frozen lake on which they walked on. Every crack her footstep made, gave gave chills down her spine. This fact however was pushed in the back of her mind as her companion announced their foe's presence. It made a spectacular entrance, one that almost had her tumble as well if not for her quick reaction to jump as high as she could at the slightest sign of trouble. With the grace akin to felines, Ariel landed on some debris nearby and stomped on the ice. It seemed stable enough, good. She would completely cast that thought away and focus on the maintain of ice in front of them. As she heard chase, the blonde was materializing her weapon and grinned: "You don't have to tell me twice." The blonde closed her eyes and brought her weapon behind her. Locking in on the target's position she concentrated on finding its weak point from the fight with its predecessor. She then charged in, becoming a white blur reflected on the blue ice, reaching the titan in almost an instant and unleashing her most powerful sword art against its right knee. Four fast stabs shattered its icy kneecaps and a final jumping slam, from above, against its head brough the goliats kneeling before the blonde before it could even react. ID# 179901 BD: 9 (Crit!) x15*(24+1) -75 = 300 DMG > Avalanche [2]ChaseR: HP: 1513/1670 | EN: 155/164 (-9) | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 83 | V.(DEF): 83 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5 [0]Ariel | HP: 1590/1590 | EN: 156/156 | DMG: 24(+4) | ACC: 5(6) | AA | EVA: 1 | MIT: 25 | LD: 5 | TAUNT | KEEN:1 | RESTED [3/3] | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | DoT -27 | BH: 79 Avalanche the Absolute Zero: HP: 365/850 | DMG: 200 | MIT: 75 | FREEZE: 24 | ACC: 3 | EVA: -2 * You must roll for this boss on a separate roll. <<Grand Slam>> : On a CD of 12, this boss will raise its arm and slam against everyone in your party, dealing damage to everyone and freezing them in place. <<Zero Degree Weather>> : The boss radiates negative weather that forces the players to have -2 in their evasion, this cannot be avoided with Survival. <<Harder Criticals>>: On an MD of 9, the boss will deal +50 DMG. On an MD of 10, the boss will deal +100 DMG.

It's been a while since the blonde even though about the past, even more since she spoke about it like this. In the present and recent past, all her attention and focus has been dedicated towards primarily opening the school and secondly, preparing for the incoming boss fight. Like an old person she seemed to be relating more about herself, more to her own benefit than for the other person beside her. She would note however the sudden change of tone and altered body language. Something she had mentioned didn't struck well and the only thing she could link it to was the three guild name. The most infamous being the Azure brigade. With a soft sigh she cut her rambling and made a mental note to not bring that specific topic in mind, she knew he was against guilds some maybe something related to the brigade was at the root of that. "No it's ok, I apologize for bringing up such old names." she said with a smile.

She nodded, as she empathized with most of of his statements. However, one in particular she had stronger feeling towards and decided to voice them out. "It doesn't have to lonely. We're almost neighbours. My school is just a floor above yours, on the 22nd floor, next to the Firm Anima guild headquarters." With no hesitation she got closer and produced a map pointing it out. "Here's the Lake of Reflection." in the center of the map, then moved her hand towards a forest. Within a valley there were two icons: A small house icon and the firm anima guild logo. "Most of the valley belongs tot the school on paper. We share it with the guild as they're our friend... sponsors if you want. Their guild leader help me get the funds to open it." As they walked, Chaser prompted a very important question. The blonde replied with little reluctance, happily reminiscing those days when she just started really playing this game. "The guild had to disband for various reasons but my guildmaster made sure not to help those of us who wanted to push forwards. She recommended us to the biggest and most powerful guild in Aincrad at the time. Needless we got in with little trouble thanks to that. We, her in particular, had a good reputation as The Guardians of Aincrad." this time, the blonde materializes a grey cloak and flipped it on the back. It had four logos, all crossed off with a red X. Pointing at the first one in top, she let a soft nostalgic smile escape: "That was us, Guardians of Aincrad and then the Azure Brigade." logos:

"Fair enough, I guess that's why it's your familiar and not mine." she replied with a wave of her, dismissing the holographic notes. "The short time it was with me, something felt amiss. Can't imagine if that's what you constantly have to put up with. " she added with half a smile. She never though much of other familiars, other than enjoying the diversity of them. But know she come to appreciate her sometimes troublesome but straightforwards feline companion. The blonde would spot with the corner of her eye, her health and energy bars fully recharged as well. "What a coincidence, mee too. Shall we?" she asked, with a flourish of her left hand towards a particular group of spiders nearby. While her weapon materialized in her other, behind her back. She was happy to have learned something new about her partner but it hardly changed anything in regards to what she thought about him. HP and EN fully regenerated!

The fact that, due to the familiarity of the place, she had let usually air-tight guard down and allowed him to get this close to her without her noticing, bothered her. Next time it might not be a friendly face and instead of a hand on her shoulder it would be a dagger or a sword through her back. Her inner 'scout' acted up and she decided to pick up the slack; her eyes briefly flared, turning from her unusual silver color to a cat-like green as she looked around them. She picked up signs of recent movement but thanks to her tracking mod and the affinity she had for the floor, having explored it in almost all of its entirety, she would see that it none was man-made so she would let out a relieved sigh and return her eye color to normal. "Looks like we're all good." she muttered, once again drawing her attention at Chase. Luckily she didn't miss much of what he said, seeming distracted only at the beginning before he asked if he could join her. "Of course! I don't mind company..." her reply was cut off by a low growl from below them. "... more company." she corrected herself, after her familiar's on the nose interjection. The blonde took a moment to observe his weapon of choice, an 'upgrade'? from the one he previously used? she couldn't remember but a thing she knew for sure was that the appearance of an item would not equally reflect it's stats, so she brushed it off as either a personal preference on his part or it's stats we're so good that he'd put up with the exterior. Deciding to let the 'protecting others' remark slide and play the damsel in distress role if necessary, the blonde's curiosity peaked at the new subject of discussion. "I'm sorry to hear that." she replied with visible sympathy, relationships weren't her strong suit and her last one here in Aincrad didn't end amiably. Not wanting to press on that particular topic, she replied to his last question: "My first guildmaster had her blacksmith shop here and I wanted and in the end did, open my own tailor shop next to hers. That was only the start of it though, with time I became real fond of the scenery. And this one." the pointed downwards at her familiar. "enjoys lazing in front of the campfire with me. She would snuggle with me when she was smaller and continues to do so even now that she grew up this big." Ariel then affectionately rubs the lioness under her chin, eliciting a soft purr from the oversized feline.

She let out a low whistle after hearing him so proudly brandish his level and accomplishments. Flashbacks to one or two of the many time she ran and behaved in the same manner towards her parents. In the past, her initial reaction to something like this would be to find a way to turn it around and make light of that sort of childish attitude. But now, having hit one of the milestones she set for herself she would be more supportive, as she would with her own students. "I see you've been working hard towards your goal too since last time we meet." she replied with a kind smile, trying to estimate how much has past since their initial meeting. While failing to come up with an exact number, she felt like it was a very short timeframe and slightly chastised herself for being surpassed level-wise. This would manifest externally as a soft self-deprecating chuckle that would go unnoticed by anyone who wouldn't pay attention. "You got me there." she added as she got up after tending to her familiar who was now by her side and shaking the wetness off her fur similar to a dog, grooming herself afterwards. "Unlike you, I still have a few quest that I didn't do, ones that I wasn't aware of until recently. So I'm here to put an extra notch on my belt with this new Avalanche quest. Even if it turns out to be a small fry like the original, the fact that I'm back on this floor again made the trip up to here well worth it either way." a nostalgic smile taking over her expression.

As his voice came back to normal, Ariel let out a soft sigh of relief. Not because she was somewhat worried about the familiar but because that she prefer Raidou's usual demeanour. " Can you really call that an answer to all life's problems? I wouldn't." there was a short break in which she cast her glance to the side before focusing on him again. "You shouldn't have to depend on other things or people for that." her tone hinted that the statement included something more personal then just giving out a friendly advice. The blonde subconsciously realizing it too, shook her head and changed the subject as she brought up her HUD. After doing the total tally of their rewards so far. "We made quite a haul so far, not bad for a few spiders." she claimed, a little more astute. Taking a look at their energy bar she briefly smirked before asking: "Looks like we can still go for one more round before a break."

The first one to notice the sound of heavy footsteps over the snow was, of course, the feline attendant behind her that instinctively leaped out of the way without looking. Inadvertently landing on top of a previously undisturbed mound of snow, ChaseR earning himself a disgruntled hiss from the lioness. Initially ignoring the noises behind her made by Kimba, the blonde turned around as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It took her a visible second or two to associate the name and current appearance with an old memory but nonetheless she recognized him as her expression slightly changed to a more friendly one. She normally wouldn't hesitate to floor anyone suspicious who would approach her in that manner. Taking in the new looks, the events that transpired when she first meet him on the 1st floor we're slowly starting to resurface. Fact that was mirrored on her facial expression and body language. "Ah, the cheeky artisan that wanted to become a frontliner. I remember you." she said with a teasing smile. She then noticed her familiar struggling to ward off the snow from her fur so the blonde knelt and helped the lioness out. Knowing too well how cranky she is when her fur gets wet. "What bring you to this corner of the winter wonderland?" she followed up in the meanwhile.

The forth floor, a place packed with with sentimental value for this particular blonde that was effortlessly trudging through the snow. Having first opened shop some close but outside the main settlement's safe zone, she was quite used to these conditions having spend most all her free time on this floor in the past. The same could not be said about her familiar that was camouflaged in the snow. Kimba was doing her best to avoid it's cold touch, stepping in her master's footsteps and growling every time the path was not clear enough. "You should've remained on the school grounds like I told you." came the annoyed response to the lioness' latest complain. "You've lived here for almost the same amount of time as me, you knew what you were getting into." she ended with a teasing note as she opened some notes on her HUD. She'd fought Avalanche before, several times even but it seemed that like the the bee queen, this boss also had some sort of reiteration. And from what the information brokers told her it would be much more powerful than the queen's. The blonde let out a snort as she reminisced her meeting with the broker, who seemed concerned for her well-being when she bought the info from him. Ariel | HP: 1590/1590 | EN: 156/156 | DMG: 24(+4) | ACC: 5(6) | AA | EVA: 3 | MIT: 25 | LD: 5 | TAUNT | KEEN:1 | RESTED [3/3] | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | DoT -27 | BH: 79