Grave

I raised my hand when the topic of mitigation came up. "This one currently lacks the required mitigation, but I will be looking to get armour made for the fight. Hirru has already supplied gauntlets... but at this rate I may need to find someone to make me a temporary pair." I announced, lowering my hand once more. I nodded when Macradon asked if we were confident in our roles in the 'war', as he fittingly dubbed the upcoming battle. "Take from the rich, give to the poor- I mean restrict the boss's movement and heal the forward force of Knights." I said with a chuckle as I 'corrected' my Robin Hood quote. "If that is all, I shall take my leave." I announced to the room with a bow, before making my way towards the large double doors.

-Grave leaves, Stage Left-

I slapped my palm to my forehead as Beoreson continued to miss his swipes, and I called out to the swordsman. "I advise considering taking accuracy on some of your items... I do not think your equipment likes you." I sighed, strolling up to the rock monster, my energy finally ready for my next attack. My right leg swung out in a flash of fiery purple, followed by my left, then my right again, before my right hand swung down for a final, chopping blow to the top of the stone creature's head. A strange, tingling numbness shot up my arm, almost stinging for a moment, and I stumbled back suddenly, clutching my hand between my knees. "Oh, Lord, to think how that would have felt without the pain dampening mechanism..."

Regen +1 EN

ID: 62719 | BD: 9 (7 + 2) | MD: 3

Sword Art Used: Delayed Sword - 8 x 4 = 32 DMG to Stone Serpent Head (4 EN)

Party
[H:1]Grave: 75/88 HP | 0/22 EN | D: 8  | M: 9 | T: 7 | A: 2 | E: 2
[H:1]Beoreson: 68/68 HP | 3/17 EN | D: 7 | M: 18 | A: 1 | HvyM:

Enemies
Stone Serpent Head: 55/150 HP | D: 20 | Quick Wits: Avoids All AOE Attacks | Body Dependent: Upon losing all body pieces, MD always = 0.
Stone Serpent Body Piece: 50/50 HP | M: 15 | Head Dependent: Upon losing head, body pieces are destroyed.

I led Jevi over to one of the bar stools, before going to lock the door to my diner; I did not want anyone walking in on us while we talked after so long. I swept back over to the girl and sat opposite her as she spoke. I sighed with my eyes closed for a moment, before opening them and looking at Jevi with a soft smile. "You are a real doof at times, you know that?" I told her, leaning forward and gently kissing her forehead. "I understand, sweetheart. If I were in your position, I would still be getting used to it to... to be honest, I am still trying to register the fact that I have you in my life." I told her, gently brushing her cheek. "But we will figure ourselves out soon enough, do not worry about it."

I rolled my eyes at the heavy bear as he continued to plead to be fed, and I sighed. "What do you say if you behave while we are out, we can go to my shop and I can whip you up something tasty?" I asked the furry creature, hoping it would settle for a bargain like that. Of course, knowing Chewie, he would do anything for a free meal, even if it meant siting absolutely still. Well, I hoped so anyway. I attempted to pry the Familiar from my shirt, as he was beginning to hurt my back, and that was a part of me that was somewhat required to fight.

"Ah, right, forgot about that." I replied to the giant, mentally slapping myself for forgetting where I was in the castle. "Well, ready to beat the snot out of a snowman?" I asked with a chuckle and a fiery eye; I quite felt like knocking a few skulls around... but a large yeti-sized one would make a nice substitute.

I snorted when the hermit began to apply the paint to the boy's cheeks, in a whisker pattern. While the hermit explained that I had apparently already 'gained my powers' from the paint, the truth was I had narrowly dodged getting the paint and headed straight for the boulder, no questions asked. Nonetheless, in the end the paint is removed when the quest is completed, but it was quite hilarious watching the player's expression change with his mixed feeling about this weird 'ritual'. "I have to say... the whiskers kind of suit you." I teased my partner, clapping him over the shoulder. "If you love them so much, just ask the hermit to not remove them after the quest is over!" I continued, before quickly giving up before I went off on a wayward tangent.

I followed my partner-in-crime to the boulder and watched him take a fighting stance, my arms folding across my chest. "Pretty sure I already told you, but the name is Grave. A pleasure, Khrysaor." I responded, the name proving to be very long to roll across my tongue. I threw the name around my mouth a few times as I approached the rock that he had done little damage to, trying to find a way to shorten it. I placed my hand on the rock and leaned on it, looking at the player. "Mind if I call you Khry?" I asked, tilting my head.

ID: 62716 | BD: 5

Grave: 25/27 EN

I blinked as the white haired boy downed the shot in one go, without a care in the world. "Huh, you do not seem to be the drinking type, yet you took that like a champ." I complimented him, noticing the effects of the powerful alcohol already beginning to take hold of his mind and body; all he wanted to do at this point was tear anything he could find to pieces. Without warning, he had rushed off into the desert without warning, and I rolled my eyes as I followed him. "Right, unpredictability is strong in this one." I sighed, trekking through the desert at a jogging speed.

It took the guy no time at all to find a group of reptilian creatures, and cut them into tiny morsels a second later. "You are really quick." I tossed the comment around, not aiming it directly at the alabaster-haired player. A couple of not-so-amused hisses hinted the arrival of my own reptilian boy band... or girl group? Who could tell?

Gender ambiguity aside, I winced slightly as a squad of blades tore into my back, much harder than I was expecting, and I spun around; seemed the bastards were stronger than I thought; probably risky to let the thorns kill them. I planted my right foot into the sand and proceeded to spin, like a clunky pirouette, before launching out of the sand and slashing the toe of my boots across all four of the lizard guys' faces, shattering them into nothingness. That single attack left me quite short of breath, and I looked to the white haired guy. "How the hell... does he last after something like that?" I panted.

ID: 62715 | BD: 7 | MD: 8 (9 - 1) | CD: 10

Sword Art Used: Tornado Kick - 12 x 6 - 15 = 72 - 15 = 57 AOE DMG to Lizardman x4 (12 NRG)
(15 + 1 - 9) x 4 = 28 DMG to Grave

+4 Battle Healing HP

Party
Grave: 92/108 HP | 15/27 NRG | D: 12  | M: 9 | T: 7 | E: 1 | Rec: 2 | CC: 1

Enemies
Lizardman x4: -3/54 HP | D: 15 | M: 13

LD: 16 = 4 Mats + 1080 Col

-Total Loot-
8 Mats, 2500 Col

Edited yesterday at 9:48 AM by Beoreson

My whistling was cut short and my hand halted its stirring of the stew before me as a knock rang out from the door at the front of the diner. "Hm? Usually people just walk in if they want to order something... who is it?" I asked quietly, pointing to Hikari, then the stew to tell her to continue her work. I reached behind me and undid the apron, slipping it off and laying it over the counter as I made my way to the door. "Who is knocking on my door to-" I began to ask as I swung the door inwards and peered down at the purple haired girl before me.

"Heh. Heya Jevi." I greeted my girlfriend, placing a hand to her head and ruffling her hair gently. "Why have you been hiding?" I asked, shepherding her into the shop and shutting the door behind her. "You seem... shaken. Everything alright, sweetheart?" I asked, cocking my head in a confused manner. 

The mods are add-ons for skills XD Like adding extra damage to a specific rank of Sword Art, or adding a stun to the Charge skill.

I felt Aster's palms make contact with my body and I turned to smile at her; obviously she must have been shaken up by my sudden <<Disguise>>. "It will be alright. I will finish this right here and now." I assured her, placing a hand to the top of her head and ruffling her ginger hair. My hand left her and I strode towards my quite winded opponent; his muscles had been ruined, his body shaking from the strain of trying to move dead ligaments. "Allow me to put you out of your misery." I sighed to the giant figure. The giant ram roared and slung a weak punch at me, which I easily sidestepped, letting it crash into the earth. "Here goes..." I muttered, grasping his arm, my arms glowing gold. "Ichi." I counted one in Japanese, bringing his forearm up and snapping his wrist. "Ni." I counted two, hoisting his arm up and palm striking his elbow, shattering it and pushing it out the wrong way.

"San." I counted the final strike, pushing on the creature's entire, mutilated arm and shoved it through his body, and in no time at all shattered into thousands of blue shards, leaving no time for Aster to lay eyes upon the gruesome sight. Panting, I turned around and strode towards Aster, smiling the whole way. I laid a hand on her head once more and crouched down to look at her. "Good job, Kitsu. Not sure I would have lived through that if you were not healing me." I complimented her with a wide grin.

Regen +1 NRG

ID: 61930 | BD: 9 | MD: 4 (5 - 1)

Sword Arts Used: Twisted Rod - 12 + 1 x 9 - 15 = 117 -15 = 102 DMG to Greater Ram + Stun (12 - 2 Finesse = 10 NRG)

Party:
[H: 1] Grave: 99/104 HP | NRG: 9/26 | D: 12 | M: 9 | E: 1 | Thorns: 1 | Rec: 2 | Combat Craft: 1
[H: 1] Aster: 35/36 HP | NRG: 9/9 | D: 1 | M: 27 | L: 2 | Combat Craft: 3

Enemies:
Greater Ram: -28/180 HP | D: 28 | M: 15 | Earthshatter: On an MD of 9 or 10, Greater Ram will slam his axe into the earth, shattering it in a line, dealing damage and stunning all players with Hate accumulated.

LD: 17 = 180 x 5 = 900 Col + 1 Mat

<<Disguise>> - 11 Post CD

As the girl slipped, she cursed at the grass, and I had to stifle a laugh for a moment to throw the boar aside and lower my arm as if holding a shield. With the boar occupied with trying to return to its feet, I let out a small snicker. "You remind me of a good friend of mine." I told her, grunting and wincing as the tusks of the pig monster pierced my shielding arm. "Crap..." I groaned, the strange tingling feeling spreading through my arm. "Alright... go again..." My arm was about to go numb from the damage I was taking, but it was for the best.

ID: 61924 | MD: 6 (7 - 1)

Party
[H: 2] Grave: 69/76 HP | 19/19 NRG | D: 8 | A: 2 | E: 1 | Shepherding: All hate is passed onto this player.
Luna: 8/8 HP | 0/2 NRG | D: 1

Enemies
Boar: 1/4 HP | D: 3 | M: 1

I kept my hands in my pockets, making my way through the city, and could hear Opal yelling at me from further back. Why was she following me? Would she not give herself away? To keep her in the green, I chose not to respond, but slowed my pace slightly for her to catch up. I could hear her rushed footsteps quickly approaching, and something materializing. What did she plan on-

"Mrf!" I attempted to speak, but Opal's hand denied me that freedom. What, was the message a lie too?! Was she taking me prisoner? The air was knocked from my lungs as I was slammed to a wall, unable to see where I was. It was then that Opal swept the material from my head and my eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark alleyway, the bustling crowd just beyond the narrow exit; this woman was smart. I made sure not to make too much noise as Opal's hand left my mouth, taking slow, deep breaths.

"No, I am not the best at hiding... if anything I am much better at making my presence known." I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. She told me to head to floor seven so we could talk as friends. I gave the woman a simper before she left. "Got it. See you soon." I said, watching her body seemingly evaporate into nothingness. "Nimbus... I seem to be going there a fair bit lately." I muttered, looking up at the buildings beside me. I just had to wait for nightfall, I decided, and I should be able to escape across the rooftops under the cover of darkness.

My hands clawed at the tiled roof above, and I nimbly hauled myself up, crouching on top of the store or house, whatever it was. I crept along the roof, keeping an eye on the teleporter platform in the center of the town as I moved along, jumping to nearby rooftops. A large, open alleyway came into view, and I hung from the rooftop, dropping into the shadowy area below, leaving and entering the crowd inconspicuously. My boots clicked on the stone steps up to the teleporter platform, and I whispered; "Teleport: Nimbus." The blue haze engulfed my body and carried me up towards the Seventh Floor.

The reason why they're so separated is because the Skills are something that you focus on from the very start, and thus are in the tutorials section, while mods are a completely optional thing for people and only available once they get high ranks in skills, so they're off in a separate thread for when they think they want one.

This isn't really a problem for me :/ All the available skills are in the tutorials, and all the MODS are in the mods thread. Pretty sure there isn't any skill in the mods thread that isn't in the tutorials, but correct me if I'm wrong.

The words Opal launched at me only fueled my resolve. She was the one who told me I had potential. She was the one that trusted me to protect those close to me. I mused to myself; she was either lying now, or had lied just to break me down later. However, I could only believe it was the former. I bit back a laugh when she told me I 'ought to get laid' so I could grow some balls to face her. "What is the point in facing you now? I will not stand a chance. Would you not rather a challenge? Or maybe... you are scared that I could one day surpass you?" I questioned, a sly smirk on my lips. I chuckled once more when she said I would be going to bark to Mack. "No one knows I came out to see you. You could have taken my life and no one would know, you know." I explained, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly. "And yes... maybe I am a coward. But I would rather be labeled a coward and be there for those close to me than dead and unable to do [censored] to protect them."

I continued walking off for hopefully the final time, but that was short-lived when Opal called my name and told me to wait. That was odd; why was she suddenly needing me to wait up? Just so she could throw more [censored] in my face? "What the hell do you w-" I began to ask, but she quickly told me she did not want to kill me, and that there was truth behind her words from her Vice Commander days. What was this? Why was she telling me this? Was she trying to break me into tiny pieces? "Oh, [censored] off, I do not need to hear any more of your li-" I began to say, until she tapped what seemed to be a message and told me to check it. Furrowing my brow, I flicked through my inventory and read the message she had sent.

I was glad I stuck around. I fought so hard to keep a smile from creeping onto my lips, and for Opals sake I won out. I kept a false frown as I read through the message twice more, each time looking much more 'angry' as she had told me to. It did kind of help that she had her blade to my throat, but I knew she was acting at this point; I knew she was hiding something.

"[censored]... you..." I growled, struggling to keep my mock angry tone from failing me. I grasped the blade of her katana and shoved it aside, the edge slashing my palm open, dealing  extremely minimal damage to me. I turned and stormed off, back towards Urbus, a chuckle rising in my throat, but I could not break form yet; once I reached my shop I would laugh all I liked. But for now, I opened a reply to her and typed;

Quote

To: Opal
From: Grave
Body: That convincing enough? :) You are lucky I did not leave earlier. Anyway, your secret is safe with me; the Knights will not know of this encounter, let alone the message.

I shut my eyes and sighed. "'The guild will need you now more than ever'. That is what the old Opal had said, and I can see why now. As such, I cannot die yet. I will admit; I am scared of dying, as is natural. But not for my own sake; I have people who rely on me, and people I want to protect." I responded quietly, staying as calm as possible. "I cannot die, at least not yet, not until I have helped those I love see the end of this hellhole." I told the woman, sweeping my hand across the red 'Deny' button on the interface, turning around to walk away, back towards Urbus. "I tried to reconcile with you, Opal... I truly did want to try and find good terms between us." I explained, sweeping my hand through my hair in a quite disappointed manner. "But I guess we really are enemies now... and heed this; if you touch even one strand of hair on the head of anyone close to me... I will hunt you down and break your neck." I threatened, continuing back to the city. "I guess this is goodbye."

"Alcohol items..." I muttered as I flicked my inventory open, searching around for any consumables. My eyes occasionally flicked to the boy, and slowly I remembered that I did know him; he had placed a HUGE order in my shop, and I had only managed a small portion of it so far, since I was focusing on Mack and Seul's orders first. "Ah, here it is." I stated, popping the small glass, containing crimson liquid, into my hand. "Here you go. Just be careful; you are going to get hit a hell of a load easier by enemies under the effects of that." I warned the white-haired boy as I handed the shot to him.

I guess we'll see, but I feel having both would mean too much to focus on; keeping track of both your energy and cool downs of various skills would be tough.

Alright, after going through a few of the SAs, I realized that there are some that obviously use hand-to-hand attacks but don't require Martial Arts, for example Shadow Stitch, which uses two 'roundhouse kicks' (Fun fact, they're actually sweeping kicks on the ground; all of the SAs are based off of the ones from Infinity Moment and Hollow Fragment). Thinking about MA attacks made me realise; they have a requirement for Rank 2 in MA, which isn't everyone's main desire, so I'm thinking that maybe anything that requires MA should have -1 to its Cool Down. Opinions?

2 minutes ago, Rain said:

You do realize that Energy would be more efficient? If we are gonna drop ~5 post CD on higher ranked SA, that would mean we'll need to we're waiting 5 posts. With Energy, we can wait 3 posts then use them again. That's why we should mix the two so it's not so spammable, but still reasonable. 

Also, if you have the energy for it, you can spam more before having to wait 3 posts to regen it all back.

You only have to wait that long for a particular sword art; you can use others while you wait for it to cool down. With energy, you either do nothing for a while and regen energy or attack and use more.

Again, energy is something we're seeking to remove if we can find a non-broken way of creating Cooldowns. Energy is a hard enough stat to deal with as it is; it makes you have to wait to use any attack (for example using a high level sword art can deplete your energy to the point where it's difficult to use any others), while Cool Downs mean that no matter how many Sword Arts you use, you will always have some available. Mixing both of them together would be too tedious and confusing.

Also, if no one objects, I'll start compiling the CD Sword Arts in a personal google doc so I can edit it if required and bring it out if we decide Cool Downs are the way to go.

You are very right about Armor Pierce being... not much of an 'Armor Pierce', so maybe some SAs having a unique ability would be nice, maybe one every two ranks starting at 1, then that way you get one at the mid point, 3, and Grandmaster. But maybe that would clash too much with the Weapon Special Ability stuff and provide too much to focus on.

And I like those cooldowns, maybe it could be hits x damage multiplier for cooldowns, and anything above five is automatically dropped to five, or six if it has Stun or AOE, because having to wait any longer than that, at least at the point we're at, would be an absolute pain. And maybe every twenty floors each rank gains a new SA? Because us GMs already have everything available, when we're still not even a quarter way through the game, while in the SAO universe, there were so many more Sword Skills, but since it's built so there's basically one of each combination of hit x damage, they would only be flavour, so maybe not. Thoughts?

I tilted my head and scratched the back of my neck. "Not the lively type... good to know." I muttered to my self, straightening my neck back up and jerking my thumb over my shoulder at the desert. "Just going to head out here for some mat hunting. Hope you are prepared." I told the boy; around him I just could not seem to bring myself to be my usual bubbly self. His quiet, somber nature was quite infectious. "Also, if you have any items on you, they might come in handy with getting through this ASAP."

I simply listened to Opal; a child? Hardly. She was the childish one for thinking that all hope was lost, like a toddler who does not get their way and goes to bury their face in a pillow. The wind rushed around behind me and the cold steel of Opal's katana barely made contact with my neck, and yet I still did not flinch; my boiling anger steeled my nerves. Yes, she could annihilate me, and I did not doubt she would if I provoked her; because this Opal was not the one I thought I knew. But I continued to show no fear; this woman was driven by fear. "Why would you wish to devour the world?" I asked quietly, turning to look over my shoulder, the edge leaving a small cross-hatched mark on my neck as I turned.

"What motivation do you have? Mass murder? What is in it for you?" I asked, before she began to speak out against Mack. "You are right; he does have a surprising bloodlust. But his is justified; he would never murder in cold blood, unlike I know you would." I retorted to the white haired female. "And for your information, my dear, Mack rebuilt us once you left us; the powerful figure he represents boosts the Knights' and the players of Aincrad's morale. So what if he wants power? Is that not exactly what you want too? So you cannot speak out against him without hypocrisy on every one of your words." I told her, before sighing. "I will not be biased here; I do disagree with quite a few of his methods. He told me to focus on supporting the Knights in the raid, and told all of us not to assist you. As much as I hate you with a burning passion right now..." I shut my eyes and exhaled sharply. "I would rather not follow that order." I admitted, showing that I bore no ill wishes against Opal. "But if we were to risk more killings because a potential Orange Player lived, I would have no other choice."

I smiled when Opal called our hopes of escaping childish and gullible. "No, Opal, now that is childish. Giving up just because of some small hindrance, some wayward path from the original plan. If you think that we will never escape, you never learned that perseverance is the only way to go. Now that is immature." I retorted, finally turning all the way around. "And why are you so freely giving the order to murder? What do ANY of you gain from it? And this 'purge'; what do you even aim to do with it?" I asked, tilting my head; the more she spoke, the more questions arose, such was the life of a used-to-be friend of a player killer.

I chuckled when she told me we were opposites, and now enemies. I never wished to label us as enemies, no matter how angry I was at her. "To be honest, I would rather not be enemies with a bloodthirsty, cold-hearted killer." I told her; now was the time to put on the 'nervous' act. "Because A. I risk getting killed and B. I guess I could try to get to know the new Opal." I simpered at the killer. "The KoB has ordered we cut ties with you, but I would rather we stay... at least some part acquaintances. I am not going to ask you to promise me anything, as I know full well you would hate to. I will simply trust you not to take my life or attack me." I requested, heart thumping faster; this was the deciding climax on the relationship between me and this woman. "What do you say? Non-enemies?"

I heard the scratching of footsteps in the sand behind me, and I opened my eyes to peer over my shoulder to see a white-haired player, seemingly just wandering across the desert with no sense of direction whatsoever; since he was heading towards my relative location, however, I assumed that he was the 'help' I had requested through KoB; with my crazy energy consumption, having a player beside me would help out a bunch, so I placed a request in for a buddy.

I picked myself up from my seated position and spun on my heel to face the player, who had not seemed to notice me yet. I waved wildly at him to catch his attention, slowly recognizing who he was; he was the new KoB recruit that Mack managed to pick up. "You are the newbie, right?" I called out to him as he approached, still waving wildly.

I sat at the edge of Armadillo, legs crossed underneath me, eyes shut and breathing steady as the desert winds whipped at my coat and hair. It was nice to just relax and enjoy the peace that some of the fields brought to the game. I had never ventured into the desert much, except for quests, so sitting in the sun and letting all the stress of the guild off my shoulders was a nice change. I had so much to do; so many crafts for the upcoming raid, as well as powering myself up as much as possible before then. Mack had placed me in charge of supporting the frontline offense on Leonidas himself, healing the Knights there as well as stunning when possible. If that was the case, it was my job to up my First Aid as much as possible before then. To do that, hunting would need to be done, and the desert would be a nice place for that.

I shut my eyes and sighed as Opal revealed what Azide said, and I muttered quietly, again barely loud enough for Opal; "That does not mean he would have a player kill someone else to avenge him." He may have called them such things, but I know that if he was the Knights of the Blood Oath second-in-command before Opal... he would not have wished for death, whether it be in cold blood or as revenge. My eyes were torn back open as the wind rushed across my face. Not because the woman had slashed at me; no, that was the very least of my concerns. It was because Opal insulted Lindow, the person who had meant the most to her in the world - had. "What... what have you done with Opal?" I growled, almost childishly, but my real question pooling below the surface like bubbling acid. "You are nothing but a demon. Opal would never say such a thing." I hissed, glaring at the white-haired woman. "At least that is what I was led to believe." I sighed, shutting my eyes once more.

Opal asked if I was done here after explaining her reason, and I slipped my hands into my pockets, sighing gently as I strode forward, past the woman, stopping barely a meter behind her. "Let me ask you this; if you were given the same job in the real world... would you have done it?" I asked, eyes still shut as the breeze teased my collar. "Because it is the same thing; you took a real person's life, and puppeted another player into doing the same." I muttered, opening my eyes once more, beginning to slowly walk away. "We are not all dead men yet, Opal." I turned over my shoulder to glance at her, before my gaze dropped to the grass. "But... it is people like you who will send us spiraling down that path. Think on that... 'Sug'." I taunted, hoping that at least some tiny pinprick of light from the old Opal would react.

But how could I be sure that the 'old Opal' was the real one?