Grave

I nodded and sighed. He was very correct in his assumptions, but I realized I had more explaining to do. "You need to put points into the skill first, you cannot get Sword Arts without at least one rank in the skill, like any other weapon skill... well, of course, you would not know that, you started off without a weapon skill." I explained to him and shrugged. "Martial Arts is an incredibly powerful single target damage and stun Sword Art, so when you need to deal high damage to a single target as opposed to groups, Martial Arts is a good choice, especially with the variety of stun arts at your disposal. And while that is true, if you land a powerful attack, say, All Might, the strongest Martial Arts Sword Art... your opponent is likely going to be dead before they can capitalize on your post-motion, or at least reeling from the attack. While using only lower Sword Arts will help you survive with their shorter post-motions, you won't get very far with them when you face off against enemies whose mitigation is through the roof and lowers the damage of most of your Sword Arts to a measly one damage per attack." I clarified to him and scratched my chin thoughtfully. "While using a high level Sword Art costs a lot of in-game energy, fighting a long, drawn-out fight with light attacks exhausts you mentally and physically, and the sharpest weapons at a player's disposal are their body and mind."

I turned my head curiously at the small, tentative ring of a long-lost familiar female voice. "No way," I mused, turning around, leaving my work unattended, and heading around the counter to embrace the shy, bespectacled woman. I backed off, not wanting to invade her personal space and perched myself on the counter, motioning for Piera to sit down on one of the stools. "It really has been too long. How have you been?" I asked her, turning a cat-like eye on the owl, then to Hikari, before snickering. "This will be funny." I chuckled to myself and turned back to Piera. "I have been... better. I overworked myself recently... tried to hard to farm levels and burned out too quick, so I am taking it slow now. And please, by all means, browse my goods!" I offered, gesturing to the class case beside me. "I have much for sale, and for an old friend you can have one item for free." I offered her with a sharp wink.

My blood was boiling, hot as the core of a volcano, molding some fierce spirit into being as I panted within my draconic armour. I could feel my anger fueling my strength, and growled fiercely as the serpent swept Dominion into its jaws, sinking its venomous fangs into his soft digital body. "Damnit!" I roared; I had to protect him. I was not going to let a player die because of my incompetence. I began to stumble forward, my energy wasted, only to face the jaws of the beast as well. Even as I attempted to sidestep and turn away, the lithe neck of the monster turns sharply, scooping me up and piercing my thick ivory armour with its fangs, injecting its poison into my digital veins.

That was when I snapped.

My heart skipped a beat, and the only thing I could hear or feel was the expansion and contraction of my virtual lungs as my breathing calmly frighteningly. Without even thinking, I grasped at the jaws of the beast, ripping its maw from my body as it flung me high into the air. I was released from the snake's grasp, skyrocketing towards the black ceiling that was the eighth floor. Breathing heavily and calmly, I turned my body in the air, cocking my fist back way behind my head like a revolver hammer. My clawed gauntlet glowed a deadly white, almost blinding, and my body shot towards the earth, descending like an orbital missile, my fist aimed straight for the boss.

"Eat THIS!" I shouted and slammed my fist into the thick, scaly midsection of the monster, the impact so heavy I was deafened by the resulting shockwave. With a drowned out death cry, the creature released Dominion and rolled lifelessly to the earth. My armoured feet gently touched down to the earth and, with a sigh, I removed my helmet and ran a hand through my argent locks as the boss shattered into thousands of data shards behind me. "Mission... accomplished..." I groaned, wobbling slightly, before collapsing to the sand.

"I do not doubt that," I sighed in response to Mack's comment, and rolled my shoulders back; he was going to go through with his bet, I knew it. The red headed commander clashed with the beast in a blur of light from his enormous axe's Sword Art, and I could only stand dumbstruck as the beast's health plummeted further and further into oblivion, until Mack's brutal weapon shattered the beast into sapphire data crystals with a fatal overhead strike. I slammed my gauntlet's palm into the faceplate of my helmet and groaned in defeat. The metal glove scratched along the ivory steel of my armour as it came away to [censored] the item from the air. I turned my head away sharply at the sensation of Chewie's nose and I grunted. "And here I was hoping to delay the inevitable. Best day ever," I groaned and spun on my heel, trudging back through the snow with a brown hunk of muscle attached to my back like a parasite. My fingers dived through the air in front of me, speeding through my inventory to remove my armour, exposing myself to the cold once more before my coat flashed back around my shoulders. "No time to waste, I guess," I groaned and beckoned Mack along back towards the town.

"Mac mostly does weapons and armour," I explained to the white haired boy, "heavy armour of course. I do not think a metalworker's fingers are nimble enough for a needle and thread," I jested, chuckling at my own joke shamefully. "Tell him Grave sent you, might be lucky to get a discount. If not, I would be more than happy to hand you some Col to get you started," I offered with a kind grin, rubbing my middle and forefinger against my thumb as if rubbing a note of cash. "Of course, I may need a favour in return, probably just a hunting partner or something. Or a meatshield," I joked again, laughing at myself louder this time. "I am sorry, that was mean, I would not put my friends in harm's way like that," I clarified to make sure I did not hurt the boy; I'd literally known him for not even ten minutes, I did not want to accidentally insult him. I nodded in response to his analogy of what I had explained about his 'Jack of All Trades' style. "That is the way to think. You can help everyone out, no matter what. You will never be left out of hunting parties or raids just because there are too many tanks or too many DPS players, because you could be something completely different."

A pang of guilt hit me when Zandra asked for us to stay away from the topic of Jomei, and my posture slumped forward remorsefully. "Sorry... I did not realize things were like that. My bad," I apologized somberly, flashing Zandra a simper before looking away down the street. Note to self; do not bring the topic of guys up unless they do first. Might save your skin some time, José. "Heh, I have a buttload of cash to blow. Do not worry about my wallet," I assured the black haired girl with a chuckle, thankful the mood between us was brightening back up. I could not help but wonder what was happening between them... maybe he was not responding to her? Sounded like Jevi and myself... she had crawled under some rock in Armadillo again, if I had to guess, and was ignoring everything. I just wished she would come to me for help...

I swiftly followed Zandra into the tavern and sat opposite her at the table and nodded in agreement to her proposal. "Sounds good to me, let us get something cheap and easy to start. No competition with this first one, eh?" I offered and tapped on the table, opening the purchase menu, putting in an order for two beers, clicking the blue accept button and listening to the ringing of my Col pouring into the system. An NPC bartender very swiftly entered the tavern with a pair of large glasses filled to the brim with amber fluid, placing them both on the table between Zandra and myself. Of course, the NPC was only there for flair and a more... logical delivery of the beverages rather than just appearing on the table out of thin air. Kayaba's team certainly paid great attention to detail.

"So... what other news do you have, milady?" I asked the woman before taking a swig from my oversized glass. "I have been so out of the loop lately. Tell me something interesting."

Wow, been a while since I've seen some of the faces around here. An adorable Flints, two handsome men who may or may not need a shave and a dabbing Ma-kuza XD

I shook my head in denial at Dominion's question. "Nope, every Sword Art has a predetermined position," I explained, before swiping two fingers downwards in the space before me, pulling open my menu. I navigated to my skills tab, then my Martial Arts skill to browse my Sword Arts. I pressed on Flash Blow, bringing up the details of the skill such as damage, energy usage, extra effects, summary, post-motion time and an image of the pre-motion. I tapped the visibility icon at the top corner of my menu and flicked it around to Dominion for him to read. "This is the basic Martial Arts Sword Art, Flash Blow. You can see all the information there, as well as the post-motion, which is the start of a right hook, with your elbow out to the side. It is different to Aggressive Twins, which is simply your right fist reared back and your left close to your face," I explained, before taking my menu back, pressing the visibility button again and closing it. "Each Sword Art also has a post-motion, which is a short time where you will be essentially paralyzed and unable to do anything. The stronger the Sword Art, the longer the post-motion," I warned grimly. "If you miss your strongest Sword Art, better hope you have someone to back you up."

The worm began to calm its frantic movements, Dominion's paralysis starting to take effect upon the creature's serpentine body. "Just watch, even if I try to attack I am somehow not going to hit it." I grumbled and stepped forward, charging forward with my fingers directed like a spear, my gauntlet glowing golden as my arm shot forward like a drill... and glanced off of the creature's body with no visible effect; no crimson, cross-hatched scar upon its scales, no stun effect applied. How had I failed an attack at close range on an immobile target?! With a tired growl, I backed up to stand beside Dominion. "Well. Looks like you are carrying me through this one, buddy," I sighed to the blond player, rubbing a taloned palm across the scalp of my ivory helmet.

I watched as Dominion accidentally struck the snake a second time, straight between the eyes, and I smacked a taloned gauntlet into the faceplate of my helmet. "Jesus..." I groaned and watched the snake only writhe around more, another round of paralysis surging through its body. "You are the only one doing damage to the thing because the snake keeps quite literally getting in the way of your attacks. I cannot land a single punch on the bastard." I growled loudly for Dominion to hear as I waddled forward, still disorientated from how hard I hit the ground. "If we can just keep him still for a second, I could do some major damage to it." I groaned with an acidic tone, getting tired of this lengthy battle, and the feeling of poison running through my digital veins.

"That kid... he is a damned machine. I do not know how he has not run out of steam by now." I groaned and shrugged, shaking my head in a confused manner. "Yeah, he mentioned that someone helped him out last time I caught up with him. I am glad he found someone that could push him to get to where he is now." I acknowledged with a smile and a nod. "He was much more childlike and innocent during our first encounter, but on our second he seemed more mature and calculating. He has grown a lot over time." I mused with a wide grin. "It is like watching a baby grow up, you know? Except in the span of just a few months." I added and chuckled at my own failed allusion.

I nodded in agreement with Jonathan as he updated me on my energy. "My energy's just about full too, let us pick up the pace." I agreed and increased my running speed. Before long, the lumbering figures of a pair of tree men came into view and I smiled. "Here we go." I mused in a low tone so as not to alert them to our presence. "Party time."

"Yeah, get stronger for me, then we can take on some of the tougher quests together. Then again, you seem strong enough to go after them as it is, but you can never be too careful." I complimented him with a sparkling grin. "I need to pick up the pace too. I have been left in the dust by the front liners, so I need to build momentum again." I admitted with a sigh, looking down at the grass momentarily. "But I will get there. I know that I am strong enough, I just need to not overwork myself and slowly start rolling." I added with a simper.

I nodded in agreement to Domarus's comment as he shook my hand with a firm grip. "I know you will, and I look forward to it, my friend." I responded before relinquishing my grip, and turning away from both of the players, heading back towards the town to teleport back to Delilah. Wherever the other two were heading, I had no idea.

---

Thread Completion Rewards
Grave: <<Matriarch's Stinger>>, 4 SP, 200 Col
Domarus: <<Matriarch's Stinger>>, 4 SP, 200 Col

I watched as Dominion also attempted to tackle the snake, latching onto the same head that I was having trouble with. A swift strike to the eye caused the monster to only lash about more furiously, and I almost screamed as it flung me off like a bucking bull might dismount its rider. I crashed to the earth, my heavy armor carving a groove through the sand as I slid to a stop and I groaned, struggling to heave myself to my feet. "Seriously?! Could you not have made the head that did not want me in a bloody mess angry?" I shouted as I wobbled to my feet and rubbed my back through my armor. "This is not going well..." I groaned, before rolling my neck along my shoulders, the air popping from my vertebrae as audible cracks.

My eyes widened and I grinned devilishly at Itzal through the illumination of the light crystal. "Gold hair and red eyes hey? Unique combination. She sounds pretty great, hope you two do well together." I told him with yet another nudge. "Oh? Sounds a lot like Jevi. She is cold and sarcastic to most people, but around me she is a romantic and sweet woman... but that forked tongue of hers still plays a part." I admitted with a snort. "It was... tough, to say the least, to worm my way through her walls. She has a bad habit of pushing people away because of her past." I explained, my jolly demeanor slightly dampened. "She has seen some real [censored]." I cursed, before perking my head up at Itzal's suggestion. "Yeah, no booty for us to plunder." I jested, lifting my spirits once more. Under the glimmer of the crystal I led us out of the 'chamber' and back out to the arena, heading towards the town.

---

Thread Completion Rewards
 Grave: <<Snake Venom>>, 4 SP, 200 Col
Itzal: <<Snake Venom>>, 4 SP, 200 Col

I tilted my head in a baffled manner as Mack stalled me for a moment, grabbing the titanic cub (as titanic as a cub could get of course) by the scruff of the neck and perching him on the skull. The hulking axeman commanded the bear to stay, providing an ultimatum on my behalf and I chuckled, watching the bear's demeanor become somewhat devastated. "Well, that is one way to deal with him." I stated and shrugged, before turning to the skull Chewie was seated upon. I swiftly opened my menu and equipped my sparkling white armor, the same color as the snow beneath our boots, before ever so slightly knocking the skull with my gauntlet as I might with a door. We waited a second... five seconds... ten seconds... and the earth began to rumble, shaking as colossal feet strode across the snowy landscape, and from the frosty shadows a titanic figure lumbered towards us. "Here is the bastard." I sighed, and took up a fighting stance with both of my fists in front of my face.

Party
[H:0]Grave: 600/600 HP | 60/60 EN | 12 D | 39 M | 2 REC | 1 CC | 18 Regen | 24 BLD | 20 BH
[H:0]Mack: 1090/1090 HP | 106/106 EN

Enemies
Snow Beast: 250/250 HP | D: 160 | Partial Phase: Snow Beast will always deal a minimum of 24 damage, even through Armor and Armor Abilities.

"Everyone left me in the dust long ago." I chuckled shamefully. "When I vanished, some of the players I actually taught and trained had ascended right through the ranks... like Itzal for example." I sighed and leaned my head back against the tree. "He was level ten or so when I first met him, when I took him on the Breaking the Unbreakable Quest. Next time I met him, and we took Case of Wurms... he was level forty or so." I complained, running a hand through my hair. "At least you have not been in hiding like I was. You still have momentum, like a rolling stone going down a hill. I have to push that stone back up the hill before I can roll again." I groaned, before standing up with Jonathan. "Yeah, would be a terrible idea to waste our my tediously recovered energy." I agreed and began to jog with Jonathan, nimbly avoiding branches and logs that blocked our path.

+1 EN (38/56)

I nodded and smiled widely at the Martial Arts enthusiast. "Well, I AM a Grandmaster. I have been at this a long time." I explained and scratched the back of my neck. "Although three straight days is above the average." I added with a sheepish chuckle. "Hm? You have never used a Sword Art? Did you not pick up a weapon skill as your first skill?" I asked and tilted my head. "I mean, neither did I but that was way back when Sword Arts were not even a thing." I cleared my throat and made my tone more gravelly and old. "Back in my day, we did not have Sword Arts. We had to beat the crap out of everything with pure skill." I imitated, before coughing and snickering. "Well, Sword Arts work by taking up a pre-determined 'pre-motion', which is a position that the system reads as the start of a Sword Art." I brought one fist up to my face and the other just behind the peripheral vision of my right eye. "And when  the system reads the pre-motion, it will carry you through a programmed attack combination like a puppet." I cocked my right fist back just a little further and both my fists glowed a furious crimson. Aggressive Twins activated and my fists flew forward, right then left in a one-two combination, and waves of force cascaded from the strikes, almost slamming into Dominion. I was momentarily stuck in my post-motion, before my body relaxed and I stood straight, turning to Dominion. "Aggressive Twins, a rank one Martial Arts area-of-effect Sword Art." I demonstrated with a smile, fists against my hips.

I tilted my head at Domarus's curious explanation, but nodded nonetheless; his victories were found in the events that made progress not just for himself but for others, it seemed. Something larger than just a creature that granted a boost in power, something more like a floor boss. I smiled at the surprisingly honorable notion, or as far as I could tell. "Well, I guess neither of us will be celebrating after that then. My spirits have been dampened by such an... underwhelming fight. Guess it is my just desserts for leaving such a low level quest until I am where I am now." I sighed and scratched the back of my head, watching Domarus's gargoyle-like dragon perch atop his shoulder, and Keres approached as well, her disturbing snake still present. "I believe this is where we part ways then, Domarus." I concluded with a friendly smile and an extended hand. "Been a pleasure fighting alongside you. Been a pleasure to meet you too, Keres, and both your familiars. Hikari agrees." I turned to the weasel that was now hiding in the collar of my coat, and she squeaked, recoiling slightly from the sight of the dragon. "Well, the dragon not so much." I added with a chuckle as she hid once more.

I stood back and watched as Dominion got to his feet and fell back into a practiced stance, finally focusing on his technique instead of attempting to wildly beat the rock. I was ready to sit down, hoping he would crush the rock with this decisive blow, and yet he still missed, his fingers raking nothing but air as he swung at the boulder. "H-how...?" I asked in a pained whisper, halting my fall to the ground and standing up straight.

With a sigh, I made my way to the rock and made a very simple overhead strike, my steel fist crashing to the earth like an immense hammer, crushing the last of the debris into azure crystal, the shards floating off into the game's system as it started the countdown to restore the quest object. "It should get better with time, now that you have the skill." I told Dominion, turning to him and opening my menu from within the enormous gauntlet. The steel bells shimmered, flashed then disappeared into my inventory, and I extended a hand out to the blond player. "What now?" I asked, tilting my head.

I had to bite back a snicker when Dominion attempted some sort of overhead hammer strike with little grace, his interlocked fists swinging way past the pieces of the boulder that were left, and the momentum from his all-too-powerful strike sending him off balance, and ass-over-heels over the rubble left over from the boulder. "You are striking without purpose." I explained to him philosophically. "You are only aiming to damage it. That is not a good enough purpose. You need to decide; what part am I trying to damage? The epicenter? The side? The bottom?" I asked, before locking my eyes onto the very center of what was left of the boulder.

I swung my right foot back behind me, lowering my fist down towards the ground, before lunging forward with a powerful cross punch, my colossal fist piercing the air like a bulbous drill, and the steel crashed against the rock, a sound like a grenade explosion echoing in the dungeon beyond. The rock did not shatter, but a series of cracks spread out to all corners of the boulder from the center like a broken pane of glass. "Strike with purpose, not reckless abandon."

(Grave sounds like some old Chinese philosopher here >.<)

I slumped against the counter while Hikari chewed on and pulled at my silver locks impatiently, egging me on to go outside, but I just did not have the motivation; I felt lazy, lethargic, slow. Had I been overworking myself? Possibly. I had come back from a 'retirement' of sorts and instantly jumped into a plethora of quests and adventures. I had wasted my energy, and I had to recuperate. "Not now, Hikari... give me a few more days." I argued with the weasel and she tumbled down my shoulder and onto the glass case connected to the counter.

The sweet ringing of the doorbell echoed across the room as a customer entered, and I stood up straight, trying to clear my sluggish manner and replace it with an energetic facade; it was Seul. I flashed an over-exaggerated grin at him and received a nod in return, before he began perusing my creations. The black-haired player swiped through his menu to open up a trade window, and I accepted the conditions, releasing two meals from the case and throwing Seul's payment on the digital Col heap. "Good luck." I offered and waved him off.

I picked at the wrist of my right glove as I stepped past the threshold into the Castle of Amour, and fiddled with my crimson tie, attempting to neaten all features of my outfit. I had to look good for the ladies, of course. It was the 13th of February; the day before Valentine's Day, and the system was holding a special event for all players upon the fourth floor. An immense castle, where all manner of dancing, dueling and lots and lots of eating would take place. We were probably expected to take a date... to my dismay, Jevi had not contacted me in a long time. Either she was busy, avoiding me for whatever reason... or the alternative which I did not wish to consider. Her name had not been grayed out in my friends list, meaning she was not dead... but any number of other ill fates could have befallen her.

And thus, I had come alone, Albion Claws safely rolled up and stored in the pockets of my pitch black suit. After taking a deep breath to clear my thoughts, I headed off towards the staircase to explore the different rooms, simply peeking around doorways to see the goodies within. I located the kitchen, lined with tables and tables of food, a ballroom, where players already began dancing with each other, a large, peaceful room with a fountain in the center and cupids surrounding the couples within, and a more elongated room, with a different flooring to the rest of the castle, likely for duels to show power, dominance and to win the ladies' hearts. Me being me, I decided the kitchen was the first place to start; I could act inconspicuous, simply grabbing a bite to eat, in hopes of picking up someone's attention.

(I am aware of that, don't worry :D Unless it's an RGQ, I always use either the stats used in the first instance of combat or my current stats if combat hasn't been initiated yet)
 

"If you cannot beat them, let them do what they want, I guess." I shrugged as well in response to Mack's comment, and watched him pull the hood of his cloak up. "Its stats would have been scaled with ours, but apart from that it should be no more difficult than the first encounter." I nodded in agreement and reached into my coat pockets, sliding my hands into the flexible gauntlets within, flexing my fingers to rid them of the cold, tingly feeling from the freezing atmosphere; I had to be armed in case some frost wolf or even a troll lumbered out from the snowfields on our way.

After crossing a few frosted hills and watching the grizzly tumble about aimlessly down them, the glinting skull glimmered into view. "There we go, same spot it has always been." I mused and approached it, standing on the opposite side of the bell-like object, waiting for Mack's confirmation to sound the Snow Beast's instrument of death. "Ready?" I asked in a nonchalant manner, already knowing the answer; this would be a piece of cake as long as the snow was nice to us and Chewie did not get in the way.

I grunted and coughed as I felt a tightness in my abdomen, the poison still clutching my body and nervous system as it slowly whittled away at my health. "Damn it... at least my Battle Healing's keeping up..." I growled to myself, taking a peek at the green bar; it was regenerating just as fast as the poison was acting on my body. Dominion on the other hand... my vision shifted down slightly, to the health bar below mine. He was regenerating at half the rate that the poison was damaging his health bar. I had to kill the thing quick before it killed Dominion. With a feral growl, I stopped clutching my chest and ran at the serpent, throwing myself at its snaking body and holding onto it for dear life, hoping it would be enough for Dominion to land a blow. "Take your shot!" I shouted as the snake writhed and spun, attempting to throw me to the earth, preferably in a bloody mess.

Dominion was gaping in awe at the fatal blow I had delivered against our stubborn opponent. "That is the power of Grandmaster Martial Arts and a good pair of gauntlets." I explained, motioning to the enormous chunk I had ripped from the boulder. Obviously too put off to strike at the rock himself, he was backing up for me to make another strike. "Jeez, making me do all the dirty work. Fine, guess I can rip into it again." I sighed and approached the rock once more, dragging one gauntlet across the grass. I broke into a steady jog, before a run, building up momentum, before stopping short of the rock and swinging my oversized fist in a wide arc, the boulder flashing again as I cleaved the top off of the once spherical object. The shattered pieces shimmered and dispersed into sapphire glass, and I turned back around to Dominion. "Your turn, my friend." I offered, backing away from the rock which had barely over a third of its mass left.