Azide

As it turns out, we'd be interested in having you join us, so I think that works out pretty well!

Azide shot a quick thumbs up at Kosan as he made his way back towards the group, acknowledging his thanks with a simple nod, so as not to draw an unneeded attention his hushed statements. Besides, nothing really had to be said, as the look in Azide's eyes promised they would keep the white-haired player's words a secret. "Never wanted to leave in the first place, that man," he observed. 

He set sights on the pink-haired girl, trying to peer through those cerulean eyes of her, as if they might reveal the truth of their current situation. Before long, he diverted his gaze. It was quite possible that they spoke their stories, but all he managed to find was the manic madness that ravaged them so completely. It burned him, in a way, and felt a far cry from the cold eyes he'd locked with earlier. "That's fair enough, but I don't suppose your friend Life over there is just going to let you execute him." He looked back to Mari, or rather, looked in her direction. "Besides, what do you plan on doing after that? I'm not here to debate with you on morality- not that I don't enjoy the topic, but I'd like to point out that the front lines are somewhat lacking as it is. We can't exactly afford to lose a guy like him already."

Ta-da.

Awesome, just two more people and we can get this party started!

It'll be aimed as a general guild- acting as a sort of place for the newer players to grow alongside peers, both in combat and profession. It'd be ideal to get players from all sorts of professions, as that would help ease the level gap.

Hey there, Azide here! Or at least, the person writing him, haha. Anyways, I'm interested with having my character start up a new guild. As of this post, I barely meet the minimum level/post requirement to apply, true, but that's perfectly in line with the guild's concept. 

So for the sake of informing anyone who's interested, the guild will be named "New Order", and will attempt to serve as an organization targeted towards recruiting less experienced members. It recognizes that lower leveled players have momentum on their side, and are bound to grow at a faster rate than the higher leveled players. Taking advantage of this, the guild hopes to shake up the guild scene by leveraging activity and numbers over seniority and experience, while at the same time hoping to work along side it as well.

That's the basic concept, so just let me know if you'd be interested in taking part in its creation! I'll be needing at least three other people in order to begin it.

Thanks for reading,
Azide

=====Quest Complete=====

400 col (1 page completed) + 30 col (6 HP enemy looted) = +430 col

1 SP (topic completed) + 1 SP (quest reward) = +2 SP

1 mat (wind wasp) + 1 mat (noncombat gathered) + 1 mat (stone golem) = +3 mats**

**Wait, actually, do those mats I gathered actually get spent on the weapon? I roleplayed acquiring them, but i did legitimately get them as well. If so, no mats acquired!

Sword Skill Trained (One-Handed Rapier) = -2 SP (Rank 1/5)

Quest Reward Item:

Item Type: One-Handed Rapier

Item Name: Atom Slicer

Item Rarity: Uncommon

Item Attributes: +1 Damage

Item Description: A rapier crafted in such a way as to make slashing a viable option. Its edge is said to be sharp even at an atomic level.

After what seemed like ages, but was actually a few minutes, Sai stepped out of the backroom and held out the finished product. "Ta-da!" In her hands was a rapier alright. The blade itself was predictably in color, although the steel gave it a more lustrous gleam than his old iron one. Both the grip and its pointed pommel were a pure white- the grip through paint, and the pommel by nature. Finally, the guard consisted of overlapping steel rings which surrounded the centerpiece of the blade- a bright red ruby. Together, they resembled the structure of an atom- a nucleus surrounded by its orbitals. This was intentional, of course, and amused the aspiring chemist greatly. Its proportions were mostly normal, although it was wider than most, and just a tad thicker, and one side of the guard reached out higher than the other, making it more useful in block enemy attacks. She smile and handed the blade over to her client, who seemed more than overjoyed in his own way.

"It's beautiful, Sai. I don't know what to say. I don't have much money, but-" he began.

She shook her head and cut him off. "Nope, the pleasure is mine. Besides, what's an NPC gonna do with col anyways?" she teased. She laughed, then bowed at him. "Just use it well, and drop by again sometime. Maybe I'll have another assignment for you! Who knows?" 

Azide continued to thank her profusely, then nodded and promised he'd do just that someday. For now, though, he still had much to do. He left the shop and closed the door gently, Atom Slicer in hand. He unsheathed his old rapier, or rather, the flimsy piece of iron he'd been using as a weapon, and tossed it aside. "Out with the old and in with the new." He walked off, his quest complete.

Azide strolled into the shop and quickly tapped around on a virtual menu, causing the supplies he'd gathered over the past few days to materialize over the counter, then drop with a clang onto the wooden surface. "Hey, I'm back with that stuff you wanted," said Azide. He casually walked up to the counter, then rested his arms on top of it. 

Sai looked unimpressed by his unannounced entrance, and almost even annoyed by his haphazard manner, but chalked both of these things to simple impatience. "Back already?" she asked sweetly, though the question was clearly sarcastic in nature.

Azide pretended not to hear her. It'd taken considerably longer than he'd been expecting, after all.

The young blacksmith picked up each of the items and carefully examined them one by one. "Hmm... let's see, one boar's tusk, some greater steel ore, and even one ruby red ruby!" She turned to look at him again, appearing pleased. "Not too shabby Azide. I'll admit I didn't know whether you'd be coming back or not, but this should be everything I need to make- er, what'd you call it again?"

"Atom Slicer," he replied simply.

She nodded. "Right! That was on the tip of my tongue- promise. Anyways, I'm ahead of schedule as it turns out, so I can go ahead and whip this up for you now if you'd like!" She saw him nod, then went to the back room. After firing up the furnace, she heated up the steel ore until it began to melt and take on the shape of its stone mold. "Since it's a rapier, it doesn't take too much metal to make the main blade." She waited for the molten steel to cool and harden, lowering both the mold and blade into an icy water bath in order to speed up the process, although that was more of a formality as the game made the process a quick one regardless. Before too long, Sai finished the work of both tempering and sharpening the slim blade, then moved on onto the hilt. She grabbed a pair of the halved wooden sword grips that she'd always kept at the shop, then pressed them together around both halves of the blade's end. After that, she carved the boar's tusk until it resembled an ivory arrowhead, then fastened it onto the end where it would serve as both pommel and makeshift dagger. Continuing the process, she set the ruby into the sword itself through a hole she'd left in the blade while forging it. Finally, she took the remaining portion of the steel ore, and with a great amount of assistance from the game's automation process, created the unique guard which wrapped around the bright red gem. Sai wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead, then grinned. "You've done it again, Sai."

Azide dashed forward, quickly building his pace until it reached a relentless speed while the stone golem came marching his way. The distance between the two soon approached nil, as the two parties made their moves. The stone golem had decided to make an attempt to crush the player, and had placed its bets on a shoulder-first charge toward Azide. Meanwhile, Azide pushed off of the ground, propelling himself into the air at high velocity. Within moments, the two had collided, and it'd looked like bad news for the ambitious player. Azide landed a few feet back from where the two foes had clashed, having been knocked back by the greater force his opponent had been able to generate. He glanced at his right hand, which was distinctly not in possession of that all-important rapier. Looking up, he could now see that it'd been left planted in the creature's chest. He locked eyes with the creature, and began searching for what would most certainly be some risky retrieval options, but watched as the creature stepped forward and began dissolving into crystals. It reached out at him in silent agony, then shattered, leaving behind only its eye. Azide walked over to the spot and recovered his sword, inspecting it momentarily before sheathing it. He picked up the creature's red eye and inspected it in his open hand, then closed his fingers around it. "One ruby red ruby, just like she wanted. I can finally go home," he thought. He sent the item to his inventory and let out of a sigh of relief, then promptly left.

ID: 7276

BD: 10 (Crit +2)

MD: 6 (Hit)

LD: 13

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Golem) = 1 (rapier) + 2 (Crit +2) = 3

Azide HP: 3/11 (-1)

Golem HP: 0/6 (-3)

*Golem HP (6) x 5 = 30 Col

** 1 material gained

Azide kept light on his feet, moving around the edge of the room without pause. "I'll stay on the move until the dust settles. Then I'll strike, without any complications in the way." Suddenly, an arm reached out from out of the dust cloud, forcing Azide to stop dead in his tracks or risk colliding with it. The stone arm slowly pulled back until fading from view, leaving the player anxious about where it would appear next. Azide walked forward slowly and cautiously, keeping his guard up and his rapier raised. The dust began to fade, and the golem didn't seem to be in front of him... "Damn it, how close is he?" he wondered, turning around as quickly as he could manage. Immediately, he sprang backwards and managed to dodge most of the stone giant's attack, though not quite all of it. Azide winced, but swung his sword toward the golem's face, only to be casually deflected by its hand at the last moment. Upon landing Azide instinctively clutched his arm, which had been clipped by the giant's attack, but let go with the knowledge that the sensation would soon subside. "Come on you bastard, let's settle this in the light," he called out. The dust had since faded, and his target was once again in full view. So was he, but then again, that wasn't too important.

ID: 7275

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 8 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Golem) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 3/11 (-1)

Golem HP: 1/6 (-0)

Azide readied him blade to strike at the monster once more, but released as the creature began rushing straight into a wall, in a bold attempt to crush its passenger against the jagged stones. He watched as the creature collided with the wall, stirring up a considerable amount of dust, but looked no worse for the wear. He ran forward to ran the creature through, but found trouble following up upon running into the dust cloud. A stone fist landing beside him moments later, making him suddenly thankful for the dust that had just caused him to miss. The stone fist retreated, and thus so did the player, who maneuvered his way to another section of the room and found himself hoping that the creature had lost track of him since their last clash.

ID: 7274

BD: 5 (miss)

MD: 5 (miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (miss)

Damage taken (Golem) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 4/11 (-0)

Golem HP: 1/6 (-0)

Azide ran straight towards his foe, counting on it to miss its attack in order to leave him with an opening. The stone golem took a few steps, then ran forward in an effort to slam its rocky shoulder into the considerably more fragile player. Recognizing the opportunity to strike, Azide rolled well out of the path of the golem and watched as it fell to the ground. He quickly rose to his feet and jumped onto the fallen creature's back, then drove his blade straight through its neck as it began to pick itself off the ground. Predictably, this wasn't taken well, though the player managed to keep ahold on the uncooperative beast it attempted to shake him off. "This'll be over soon," he thought, readying his rapier for another thrust.

ID: 7273

BD: 8 (hit)

MD: 2 (miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (miss)

Damage taken (Golem) = 1 (rapier)

Azide HP: 4/11 (-0)

Golem HP: 1/6 (-1)

Without skipping a beat, Azide continued his offensive, sensing the difference in their morale. "Assuming these things even have any morale." In any case, he was on a roll, and he wanted nothing more than to take advantage of that fact. As the creature struggled to regain its composure, he rushed at it again, then leapt forward. Unfortunately, the creature had managed to find its footing before he could reach it, and it stuck its stony arm out and grabbed the player by his neck. It lifted him into the air, its grip tightening and threatening to crush his windpipe. Instinctively, Azide plunged his rapier deeply into creature's arm, forcing it to both release him and withdraw for a moment. Azide landed on his feet and stopped to rub his neck, then pointed the tip of his blade at the golem, before charging forward once more. "As long as I have the advantage, I won't be stepping down anytime soon."

ID: 7272

BD: 8 (hit)

MD: 6 (hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Golem) = 1 (Rapier)

Azide HP: 4/11 (-1)

Golem HP: 2/6 (-1)

That single thought was what kept him going. "Just finish this up nice and quickly and I can say goodbye to a long and boring day," he told himself. He tightened his grip on the rapier as the pain ebbed from his body, giving him the strength to press on. As the creature ran forward at him, Azide ducked under the fist of the slower combatant, then stepped to the side and stabbed at the stone golem in its flank. He drove the sword deeper into the beast, inflicting further pain upon the creature, causing it to roar out once more in a cry that resembled a mixture of gravel and thunder. Learning his lesson, Azide quickly slipped his blade back out before the monster could take hold of it, a look of satisfaction in his eyes as the golem faltered.

ID: 7271

BD: 7 (hit)

MD: 1 (miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (miss)

Damage taken (Golem) = 1 (Rapier)

Azide HP: 5/11 (-0)

Golem HP: 3/6 (-1)

Another metallic chunk fell to the ground floor, landing with little fanfare. After all, this wasn't the first time today he'd knock a piece out of the wall and onto the ground, and it probably wouldn't be the last. He stopped over and picked up the piece of ore, more out of routine than an expectation that his find would amount to much. Azide glanced at it casually, preparing to toss it over his shoulder before doing a double-take. He held it up to his eyes, in disbelief that he'd actually managed to find it. He celebrated his small victory today quietly, but the novelty of it quickly wore off as he remembered he was still sitting in a dark cave, and still had not finished his quest. He stored the Greater Steel Ore away for later, then made his way toward the stone door he'd noticed earlier while searching the cave.

In time, he found himself faced with the stone door he'd taken note of earlier, but had chosen to ignore at the time. He swallowed, then leaned his body against the heavy stone and pushed with all his might. With a bit of effort and some elbow grease, the door budged open just far enough for him to slip inside. Behind the door lay a room, with a small hole in the roof serving as a skylight. Granted, it wasn't exactly sunny in here, but it provided a very workable amount of visibility for what was to come. At the end of the room stood a statue carved of stone, roughly human sized, and Azide thought it reminded him of the petrified citizens of Pompeii. "Let's get this over with," he thought, thinking back to Osenkowski's warnings.

He drew his rapier from its sheath, then ran forth and plunged it deep into the statue's rocky torso. The creature's single red eye lit up as it let out a fierce roar, taking hold of his blade and pulling it out of its now-animated body, then threw both the sword and the player holding it against the wall. Azide fell to his knees, groaning, but managed to steady himself. "Just one more fight."

ID: 7270

BD: 9 (Crit +1)

MD: 6 (Hit +1)

LD: 15 (suitable material found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base)

Damage taken (Stone Golem) = 1 (Rapier) + 1 (Crit +1) = 2

Azide HP: 5/11 (-1)

Golemn HP: 4/6 (-2)

*One material acquired.

Azide looked at the small hole in the wall in front of him, then at the small pile of rubble that had begun to accumulate behind him. "And I always thought I was going to school to avoid doing all of this labor," he mumbled, tossing another piece of rock onto the heap. "If somebody happened to be reading my life story, I imagine at this point, they would be quite bored." He repeated the same tired motions once more, praying for an end to the tediousness.

ID: 7269

LD: 2 (nothing)

Azide tossed yet another flawed piece of ore over his shoulder, hearing it land against the rocky floor with a dull thud. "Damn it, what does a guy have to do around here to get some ore around here? I'm not even asking to find gold!" He sighed deeply, wondering whether he was just painfully unlucky or if the game's RNG had simply broken today. He stretched his limbs, then rolled his neck around before raising the pickaxe up and over his shoulder once more. "I don't have time for this," he thought. "I still have to get the Ruby Red Ruby, and who knows how long that might take?" He hastened his previously methodic movements, and quickly swung the metal instrument downward.

ID: 7268

LD: 9 (nothing found)

Azide struck again, knocking off something metallic, which he took as a good sign. He bent down and took the chunk in his hand, holding it up to his eye. He shook his head and tossed the piece over his shoulder, muttering something about its low quality. No, for a sword like this, regular steel ore simply wouldn't do. "Rapiers aren't exactly mean for hacking and slashing, so if I were to bring this back to Sai, my sword would shatter into bits the moment I struck something with it." He sighed, the lifted the tool with both hands this time, then swung it overhead and into the cave wall.

ID: 7267

LD: 4 (nothing found)

A few minutes passed before Azide glanced around the cave, finding himself pleased with the visibility levels at hand. He stood up, the continued deeper into the cave, stumbling over a rusty iron pickaxe. He reached down and took it into his hands, running his fingers lightly across roughly worn tool. He could feel all of the little scratches and nicks the item had taken over time, and in a way it was just as good as seeing it under broad daylight. "It feels as if it's seen better days- and I can only hope it whoever held it last didn't die here, but if anything this should do nicely for that steel ore." He carried in his right hand, now that his rapier was sitting safely in its sheath once again. There was only one monster here, after all, as observed by Osenkowski. "And I'll deal with that little obstacle when I get there."

With a bit more exploration and quite a bit of walking and stumbling, Azide eventually came across what he'd been searching for. Out of the corner of his eye, he'd spotted a metallic gleam which glinted under small stream of light, which itself appeared to come from a small crack in the cavern's roof. He approached it, rusted pickaxe in hand, and struck at the metallic vain. He looked at the ground, finding he'd only managed to knock loose a piece of rock. He shrugged, not expecting any miracles, and prepared to strike at the spot once more.

ID: 7266

LD: 5 (no suitable materials found)

With a grunt, Azide finally managed to pull himself onto the mountaintop, at the cost of a direct hit from the wind wasp. The figurative thorn in his side almost literally became such, as it rammed into him with its stinger once again, sending him further back into the plateau. He swore under his breath as the the creature continued driving the spike further into his body, but gritted his teeth and tolerated the pain just long enough to knock it with his pommel, then plunged the slim blade of his rapier straight through the length of its body as it hovered daze. As the creature began to disappear while impaled upon his sword, he swung his rapier towards the sky, flinging the dying creature into the sky. He watched hurtled helplessly away, then shattered into the familiar crystals midair.

Azide looked down at his feet to see some honey that the creature had dropped during their struggle, then stored the material away for later. "Probably not worth the struggle I went through, but after all that and five health points lost, I'll take what I can get." He turned back to the cave, entering cautiously and slowly. He sat down, leaning against the cold cave wall and facing away from the entrance. "I might lose a few minutes sitting around here, but considering the trade off is that my eyes will be at least somewhat adjusted to the darkness, I think I could live with that." Alone in the darkness, he kept still. Waiting.

ID: 7256

BD: 8 (Hit +1)

MD: 10 (Crit +2)

LD: 20

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 2 (Crit +2) = 3

Damage taken (Wasp) = 1 (Rapier)

Azide HP: 6/11 (-3)

Wasp HP: 0/3 (-1) [Dead]

*1 material found

The persistent wasp flew up high- far higher than the top of the mountain, but failed to make contact at the player after swooping down at him. Fortunately enough for it, he too failed to make a mark with his rapier as it sped by unscathed. Azide heard the familiar whoosh of empty swings. Missed swings. "This is getting real old real fast," he thought, watching as the creature looped in the air and prepared to strike at him once again. He set his eyes back on the top of the cliff and began climbing once again, until finally his hand was able to take hold of the very top of the wall. He strained, and with great effort, began pulling himself onto the plateau above just as the wasp took flight once more.

ID: 7255
BD: 4 (Miss +0)
MD: 4 (Miss +0)

Azide HP: 9/11 (-0)
Wasp HP: 1/3 (-0)

Azide returned the blue-clad man's reply with a knowing look, nodding as if attempting to show his condolences to a man he neither knew nor understood. "'Long story' sounds like somewhat of an understatement, but I'll take your word for it."

In truth, Azide was rather tired. He had been tired since before all of this had started, and that certainly hadn't changed as a result of the night's events. It was interest alone that kept him running- the sense of engagement that he felt only around people and the world they interacted with. He rubbed his neck and began walking over towards the rest of the group, who at this point seemed content with congregating around Mari.

"Geeze, the tension around here is so thick I could roll it up and slip it into my front pocket," remarked Azide. He casually took his place within the circle, next to heavily armored blonde girl, and took a in front of that Mari girl. "Looks like you're quite popular around here, Mari. I assume that's your name, considering how many times I've heard it tonight, but you know what they say about assuming." His eyes now took on a more serious quality, though they were neither hostile nor cold in the traditional sense. If anything, they were more truthful than they'd been all night. "I won't pretend to know you, Mari. But from what I recall, you moved to protect me earlier." His mind flashed back to earlier when the orange-named girl had suddenly pulled him behind her, shielding him from an freshly destabilized Kosan. "Clearly it happened too quickly for that to have been a completely conscious decision- or maybe you're just a quick thinker. Either way, I think that Mari still has some fight left in her." He smiled.

Then, he turned around. "And where do you think you're going, Kosan? Leave now and I have a feeling you'll be taking all of your regrets right with you. Why don't you stick around and see what happens?"

Azide stared blankly for a while at the girl who'd suddenly appeared before him. He simply blinked wordlessly for a few moments and stood completely dumbfounded. "My God, I almost can't believe that worked. I just might be onto something here," he thought. The novelty soon wore off, however, and he now vaguely recognized her as the girl who'd intervened that night on the fourth floor. They hadn't interacted too much, but then again, how many female players had he seen with heavy pink armor?

She seemed young, or rather, that's how he'd describe her had they not been in Aincrad. This was, after all, a world designed for a somewhat younger audience. So perhaps it would be more helpful to say that she appeared to be around his age. It was a safe bet that she was well within two years of his own age at most, although it was likely considerably less. Her choice of armor was interesting, in that it suggested a sense of practicality and strength. "That's something to be admired, although I enjoy looking stylish as much as the next guy."

He took a few steps forward, unsure if they'd formally introduced themselves last time, but decided it wouldn't hurt to hedge his bets. "It just warms my heart to see I'm not the only one out here," he remarked. He chuckled, then shook his head as he made his way towards her. "Sorry about that- I think people generally greet each other first before making off-handed comments." He came to a stop in front of her and offered his hand. "Hey there. In case I forgot to introduce myself before, you can call me Azide." He looked off to the side for a moment, diverting his gaze toward the surrounding scenery, then shifted his attention back to her and cleared his throat. "It very well might appear that way, but I'll have you know I was just on my way to fight The Wasp Queen before you ran into me." This was not quite the truth, but it did happen to fall somewhat near there on the continuum. "You're more than welcome to join me, but as a matter of course, I'd just like to check that you're actually prepared to fight her. Now don't start freaking out just yet- these are very basic things that any player worth their salt should be able to answer." This, on the other hand, was fiction than fact, if not blatantly so. "Ready? Awesome. So I'm going to just need you to identify the Queen's known damage and health points, as well as the conditions needed for her to appear." He glanced up and tapped gently at his temple. "I think that should cover it, but feel free to add anything I might've missed."

Just updating to say I'll be taking this quest with Lessa.