Takao

(minor side note, I think another player might be using the same faceclaim. I don't know for certain, just figured I'd give you a heads up.)

"Yeah," Takao replied wistfully amidst an exhale, green eyes steadfast in their gaze. "Very well could'a been. I lose track'a time a lil' too easy." He said, chuckling lightly. He stretched his legs out and lowered them onto the dirt road, steadying his balance atop the stone wall. With his attention still focused on Lessa, he hadn't noticed that the chilly winds continued to slowly draw the mist closer to Delilah. The scenery was certainly befitting of a late October night. A warm smile tugged at his cheeks and he dipped his head slightly, allowing for his legs to come to rest on the ground. "I enjoyed your company too. Sure did make that walk'n the desert a lot less miserable, and that labyrinth crawl a bit less spooky." The idle comments brought back fond memories of events that felt as though they'd happened years prior, when it must've only been months.

His head tilted at her examination of him, who rested so easily on the wall. Even as a player young to the dangers of Aincrad he'd been fairly relaxed, especially in the face of danger. For all too long he had thought of the game as... well, just that. A game. The concept of mortality and pain were largely lost on him, just to his chagrin as he looked back on it. He had lost good friends-- no, great friends-- and had acted recklessly as a result, perhaps because he couldn't bring himself to care. Certain aspects of his personality certainly didn't help rein this feelings in, but having focused his attention on completing the game and escaping with his life did. While it didn't stop the noise in his head, it was a step in the right direction. Her comments on his being brightened the warm smile and he shook his head, exhaling a chuckle amidst his breath.

"Nah, just been puttin' in'a bit'a work here 'n there. I don't... actually seem t'talk to a lot of people nowadays, so it's a nice way t'kill time, y'know?" He said, nearly laughing at the stark contrast of his own presence. Having once been easily described as naively social, that bit of enjoyment seemed to have been put on the backburner. His arms remained at his side as he talked, showing the open body language that he was subconsciously apt to display. "I've been alright, doin' a lotta' scouting on the upper floors... Or, well, not so much with this last one. A few others seemed eager to get to it before I could, so I let 'em take that chore." Another chuckle and wistful exhale left his lungs. "Other than that, just... huntin' a lot. Nothin' all that interesting, I don't think." He said, lifting one hand to scratch at his cheek. Her comment about the beauty of Aincrad followed and he bobbed his head in response. "There is a lot to see, it's kinda mind boggling how much work went into this place. Almost feels like it's actually real life, I can get how people feel when they say they can't remember the outside world very well."  He shook his head of the thoughts that threatened to derail the feel-good conversation they had going. "Say, eh... y'ever been up to the northeast corner of floor six? There's this awesome massive waterfall with a gigantic cave behind it, it's really cool."

As he had expected and mentally prepared for, Malethis was rather upset from being punched in the face. Understandably so as well, there was something comical about the sheer power of the impact coming from such an unlikely source, in addition to the massive boss monster being so easily slapped senseless. The swipe of its arm had sent Takao tumbling, air leaving his lungs in a guttural grunt each time his digital body rolled across the ground. After skidding a few times he managed to catch his balance, nearly tumbling backward after using his hands to push himself back up to his feet whilst the momentum still carried him backward. Glancing down had revealed his leg had fallen into one of the corrosive pools, to which he promptly pulled free. When the dust had settled, Malethis had already struck out at Calrex and Heathcliff, doing negligible damage to both. A look to his own health gauge had revealed only a small chunk missing, and when compared to the boss itself, he found himself to be comforted. It would surely be dead long before his own health dropped too far.

A large, ear-to-ear grin grew on his face at the realization that the boss could do little in its present state to stop him from punching it again, so his focuses were set upon the beast itself rather than the pools. It would surely be dead by the time the first team rotated back in, if not before then by the hands of his own team. He knew he'd forfeited the last hit bonus by switching teams, and certainly so by being the first to attack in order to keep the beast's hate on himself, but he couldn't find himself caring all that much about it. He'd finally gotten to punch a boss monster directly in the face, and that was reward enough for him and his childish mindset.

"Didn't like that one t'much, huh?" He said, still grinning widely. Holding his right hand out and clenching it tightly into a fist, the extremity began to shimmer with a yellow light and emit a low hum. The beast charged him and he waited for it to draw a little closer before running straight for it as well. As it stood before him, he dropped his weight down hard on his left leg and swung his fist with vigor, slamming it into the jaw of the beast and resulting in it toppling over. "Hah, gotcha' twice!" He said as he skipped back a step or two, still facing Malethis and knowing fully well he'd be getting knocked aside like a ragdoll again when it got back up.

ID: 70190
BD: 6 (2 + 4(ACC))
CD: 4

Sword Art: «All Might»
Damage: 1(base) + 1(athletics) + 5(skill) + 6(familiar) + 2(2h bonus) + 1(ferocity) + 6(Alcoholic) + 6(Damage Potion) + 1(BoC) = 29 * 15 = 435 - 110 = -325 HP

Pending - Check PMs.

With the mechanical necessities aside and Takao sitting comfortable in the third party, his sights were set upon the boss. He hadn't the adequate tanking skill set, meaning that his pulling and holding the boss's aggression would hinge entirely on his ability to hit. Thankfully it didn't seem as evasive as other bosses, meaning that landing a proper hit on it wouldn't be too difficult. It also meant that his focus would be solely on the boss, leaving him incapable of lending a hand to the teams destroying the pools of whatever flammable sludge that littered the room.

Takao slammed a fist into his open palm and grinned widely. Finally, the desire to deck a boss in the face with his bare hands would be realized, and he could cross it off his ever-shortening bucket list. He reeled his fist back into the necessary pre-motion configuration and tensed his legs, activating the charge skill in addition to the sword art. When both preparations were complete, he launched off toward the boss and slammed his bare fist into its face a single time, cleaving off a large chunk of its health. The gauge chimed as it lowered and Takao landed shortly after, staring up at the monster with a wide grin on his face. "A'ight, it's hate should be on me now! We good!"

ID: 69884
BD: 9 (9 + 3(ACC))
CD: 8

Sword Art: «All Might»
Damage: 1(base) + 1(athletics) + 5(skill) + 6(familiar) + 2(2h bonus) + 1(ferocity) + 6(Alcoholic) + 6(Damage Potion) + 1(BoC) + 5(Charge) + 1(9 Critical) = 35 * 15 = 525 - 110 = -415 HP

Very few things could keep Takao's attention for prolonged periods of time, and staring at the sky certainly wasn't one of them. As pleasant and quiet of a night as it was, and as beautiful as the night sky appeared to be, it simply didn't fit the requirements of allurement to maintain his deliberation. It also didn't help that his skill-augmented hearing and his familiar's attention were both simultaneously grabbed by a distant, muffled cry. Both of their heads turned and tilted in unison at the sight of an approaching girl, whose bright blonde hair shone against the moonlight whilst being hastily pulled along by a canid familiar with a particular interest for small, pathetically flightless dragons. The girl herself appeared familiar, but even his augmented senses were significantly dampened in the dim light.

He shifted his position on the wall and turned a full hundred eighty degrees, pulling his legs up to fold over one another and placing his arms between them to balance himself. Despite the seemingly uncomfortable position atop the wall, Takao felt little to nothing; Sword Art Online was good about keeping the player comfortable, if only physically. Otoko's head tilted from one shoulder to the next as he inspected the fellow monster of another species, glowing yellow orbs trailing over its figure cautiously and thoroughly. The small dragon's face rarely displayed an emotion other than what seemed to be a mixture of anger, annoyance, and disinterest, but for this occasion a look of curiousity had overtaken his usual demeanor. Much like Otoko's eyes wandered over the familiar, so too did Takao's over the player. She was dressed a bit more appropriately for the weather setting with a black wool jacket, whereas he sat in start contrast wearing thin cotton cloth. Her hair, as previously mentioned, had caught and maintained his attention the longest, up until the mention of his name.

The brunet's head, which had straightened following his examination of the player, had found itself tilted again in curiousity. In many ways he and his familiar were alike, especially when it came to physical displays of interest. "How do you-..." His voice had began, only to trail off as realization washed over him. "...Lessa?" Having finally put a name to the face, the overly expressive pair of eyebrows sitting above his eyes lifted. "Oh, wow. It's been so long!"  A warm, wide smile stretched his cheeks and his eyes closed, displaying a clear and genuine fondness of the familiar face. An almost ominous gust of wind swept up and blew loose fabric and hair wildly, in addition to drawing the fog from the forests closer toward the town. Takao hardly seemed concerned with it, which only proved to settle his expression slightly. "How've you been? It feels like it's been years since we talked last."

"I know, I know. Yeesh." Takao grumbled in response to his draconic familiar barking at him. The brunet lifted the collar of his jacket and hugged it tight to his neck as plumes of white smoke bellowed from his lungs, the result of warm breath hitting frigid air. He despised the fourth floor despite its scenic beauty, simply for the fact that the temperature was positively loathsome. He knew his familiar hated it too, but the only thing that the small rat-like lizard hated more than the cold was not terrorizing Takao constantly. As such, it whined and whined until Takao would take him to a small AI-managed stand on the fourth that sold smoked fish. "Every day wi'dis. S'gettin' old." He muttered through his attempts at suppressing the urge to shiver. Per their usual routine, the stand was approached and a pair of smoked fish on a stick were purchased, lightening his wallet ever so slightly for the sake of NPC-based convenience. The warmth of the freshly cooked food was certainly comforting amidst the cold wintry landscape.

His eyes set upon a player standing at one of the plentiful bounty boards, who appeared to be hastily searching through the quests and offerings until he found one he fancied. Then he began to search the area, perhaps for a friend he'd been waiting for, although it seemed much less like he was looking for something specific and rather just... something. So, curious as always, Takao approached him. "Ay," He began, still working down a mouthful of smoked fish. "Y'need help widda' quest'r some'n?"

^back                 

Floor 3
October 2023
1:21 AM

Nights on the third floor were always so pleasant. It was often overlooked, nowhere near as densely populated as the floors below it and not as frequented as the floors above. It was somewhere in the middle, and Takao could certainly feel at home with that sentiment. The early autumn breeze was cool but not frigid, and the absence of light from the settlement allowed for a sky full of stars. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold, but there was one factor that was so much more important to him: it was quiet. For this moment he had nobody competing with him for arbitrary titles or thoughts of somebody besting whatever achievements they sought to best, no express desire to scout the floors above and exhaust himself with quests or grinding. For this moment, he could actually enjoy his time in Aincrad.

Takao had left his shop-house sometime around midnight and set about wandering the empty streets of «Delilah» with his familiar in tow, who rested peacefully on his shoulders. The disproportionate and wingless impish dragon stared lazily ahead with shimmering golden eyes, while Takao's own dull green orbs found themselves shifting from one dark corner to the next. It was a guarded area and he couldn't have been more safe, yet the shivers between his shoulder blades were ceaseless. He wanted to be cheerful and return to his old self, whom he thought to be considerably more carefree and pleasant to be around, but the wear of Sword Art Online had taken its toll. Murder and betrayal had left etchings in his soul that he wasn't soon to forget, whether he wanted to or not.

The brunet came to rest at the westernmost outskirts of the town, where a waist-high stone wall laid in ruin and the road turned from cobble to dirt. The moonlight illuminated the forest in the distance and the fog that seeped out from its darkened depths, slowly creeping over the fields of dandelions that shifted slightly in the breeze. He shrugged the jacket from his shoulders and left his torso in the vaguely form-fitting undershirt as he seated himself upon a stable portion of the broken wall, jade eyes cast heavenward toward the starry night sky.

"Nights like these almost make me wonder if I'm gonna miss'ye when it's all over," Takao said, earning a smack across his face by the tail of his familiar. He didn't flinch at the contact, much too used to it by now, and even found himself bemused at the reaction. Otoko leapt from his shoulders and instead seated himself nearby, curling back up on the cool stone wall. "Yeah, nah. I'm definitely 'prolly gonna miss'ye." He muttered with a snicker.

"Hech," Takao wretched upon laying his eyes on the Boss monster impeding their path forward, who howled and spewed drool and spittle in a rather unpleasant way. Very few bosses could be viewed as pleasant and understandably so, their purpose was not to comfort or receive players warmly but to challenge and outright murder them if the opportunity arose. Combat had not yet been initiated which gave Takao the chance to glance to the side and look over his team. With Calrex taking up the front of their advance and a surplus of damage behind him, they were perhaps the best equipped to combat the boss. Then he looked to the second team and found them to be adequately equipped for the same purpose, with Heathcliff at the helm. The last team however seemed lacking, especially with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of some players. His eyebrows knitted together and mouth pulled down into a frown, and he looked to those on his team. "I'm 'eadin' over to team three to be their tank." He said, nearly snorting at the notion of fulfilling a role he was woefully unprepared to fill. Without so much as another word, Takao removed himself from the party of six and headed over to the group of four, regarding them with a raised open hand-like wave.

"Ay boys, s'cool if I be your meat shield for d'raid?" He asked upon approaching them, although the inquiry had primarily been aimed toward @Hirru who appeared to hold some stock in decision-making for the raid.

ID: 69587
BD: x
CD: 6 (20HP from pools, 20HP healed from BH)

Post Order: (Boss Fight Rotation Rules)

rizzity r0ll m8s

Having kept himself out of the loop of the Boss Raid happenings, it was a miracle Takao had even found the rendezvous point. Although at the same time, finding things was his specialty, so perhaps it wasn't such a feat after all. Green eyes set upon the door with familiar aversion, knowing firsthand and fully well what hells and horrors would lay behind. Some massive monster, stronger than the last, standing in the way on their exhausting trek to freedom. To some the task was daunting, outright impossible even, and had resigned to living the remainder of their lives on the floating castle. Cardinal had told them to sit and dared them to fight, throwing each obstacle at them in an attempt to keep them down. But that was just a challenge, and nothing motivated Takao like being challenged.

"Well, if nothing else I get to see how it feels to deck a boss in the face." He muttered quietly to himself, raising and flexing his glove-clad right hand. He had foregone the usual jacket worn with his getup and settled for wrapping it around his waist, leaving his torso clad in only the vaguely skin-tight undershirt of the set. Simple, comfortable, nimble, and not nearly as flashy or bulky as some of the other armours and clothing that some chose to wear. It suited his role of mobility well.

A sidelong glance had revealed the arrival of Oikawa and Teayre first, followed by Calrex, Baldur, and then others. His attention was focused mainly on the group he'd been placed in, to which he regarded with a wave and swipe of his hand to open the menu. Three items were procured from the list, each in the shape of a metallic flask. He tossed one to Oikawa, Teayre, and Baldur. Vodka in the system's strongest form allowed, sans the actual alcoholic effects of the drink. Another five were brought from his inventory and set nearby, open for the taking.

On 9/13/2016 at 5:37 AM, Zandra said:

Name: Crystal of Agile dragon-wings

Your Profession: Alchemist

Your Rank: Grandmaster(rank 10)

ID:  67591/67593/67594/67599/67601

Roll: 10+2=12/12+2=14/11+2=13/11+2=13/9+2=11
Item Type: Crystal

Tier: 1

Quality: Perfect

Enhancements: Teleportation

Description:  An ice-blue crystal that when you touch it it feels like hold a large cube of ice. Thou its fragile, and if you crush it you disapear from the spot and appears in nearest town a few seconds later. Both where you left and arrived, the moisture on the ground had frozen, leaving a small spot of snow on the ground.
Post Link: Exellance Elexirium

 

Name: Minor Potion of Sharp dragon-fang

Your Profession: Alchemist

Your Rank: Grandmaster(rank 10)

ID:  67598/67600

Roll: 6+2=8/7+2=9
Item Type: Potion

Tier: 1

Quality: Rare

Enhancements: Damage +2

Description:  A glas bottle with a blood-red liquid. When you drink it, your feel your muscle-strength increase as well as your teeths becomes as sharp as a dragons.
Post Link: Exellance Elexirium

 

 

Name: Crystal of Agile dragon-wings

Your Profession: Alchemist

Your Rank: Grandmaster(rank 10)

ID:  67602/67611/67612

Roll: 11+2=13/12+2=14/9+2=11
Item Type: Crystal

Tier: 1

Quality: Perfect

Enhancements: Teleportation

Description:  An ice-blue crystal that when you touch it it feels like hold a large cube of ice. Thou its fragile, and if you crush it you disapear from the spot and appears in nearest town a few seconds later. Both where you left and arrived, the moisture on the ground had frozen, leaving a small spot of snow on the ground.
Post Link: Exellance Elexirium

 

Name: Minor Potion of Sharp dragon-fang

Your Profession: Alchemist

Your Rank: Grandmaster(rank 10)

ID:  67605

Roll: 8+2=10
Item Type: Potion

Tier: 1

Quality: Rare

Enhancements: Damage +2

Description:  A glas bottle with a blood-red liquid. When you drink it, your feel your muscle-strength increase as well as your teeths becomes as sharp as a dragons.
Post Link: Exellance Elexirium

On 9/13/2016 at 2:44 PM, Zandra said:

Name: Crystal of Agile dragon-wings

Your Profession: Alchemist

Your Rank: Grandmaster(rank 10)

ID:  67728/67729/67732/67734/67736/67738/67739

Roll: 12+2=14/10+2=12/12+2=14/12+2=14/11+2=13/9+2=11/9+2=11
Item Type: Crystal

Tier: 1

Quality: Perfect

Enhancements: Teleportation

Description:  An ice-blue crystal that when you touch it it feels like hold a large cube of ice. Thou its fragile, and if you crush it you disapear from the spot and appears in nearest town a few seconds later. Both where you left and arrived, the moisture on the ground had frozen, leaving a small spot of snow on the ground.
Post Link: Exellance Elexirium

 

Name: Minor Potion of Sharp dragon-fang

Your Profession: Alchemist

Your Rank: Grandmaster(rank 10)

ID:  67730

Roll: 6+2=8
Item Type: Potion

Tier: 1

Quality: Rare

Enhancements: Damage +2

Description:  A glas bottle with a blood-red liquid. When you drink it, your feel your muscle-strength increase as well as your teeths becomes as sharp as a dragons.
Post Link: Exellance Elexirium

Approved. Also, make sure you're finishing the roleplay posts.