Paglikha

I really need to settle some things when this is all over... Kaluluwa had begun thinking about what he needed to do. Both here and there. Both in the virtual world and in the real world. Both now and later. He'd decided that he'd personally check up on his parents. Scratch that. He thought it would be too painful. Then once again, he was uncertain about his new decision as well.

He hated how his friendship ended. How bittersweet it tasted. How much he wanted to help his friend survive in this new, cold world. Then he realized, just how much he wanted to laugh and have fun after finding out that this world was inescapable. He and his friend, living together and not having another care in the world. That was when His heart began to burst and his face continued to be iron.

He gripped the dagger that he held in his hand. "Hmph", was all Kaluluwa said. He said it in a way only a human could understand. More of an act of curiosity than was of fighting against the wolf. Like in so many action movies, time slowed down. Side by side for what seemed like a minute, each turning their head towards one another. Then time sped up to its normal state. Upon landing, Kaluluwa noticed that the wolf had crystallized into red crystals and he had received a gash of the same crystals on his left shoulder, and also a notification of mob drops had popped up.

HP: 

Paglikha: 6/13 ((1 Base + 1 Mi. Crit. = 2 Damage))

Wolf: -2/7 ((1 Base + 1 Skill + 1 Mi. crit. = 3 Damage))

<<Extra loot found!!>>

+35 Col; +2 Mats

ID: 35224; BD: 9; MD: 9; LD: 20

"Nice job", Kaluluwa said, hoping that he didn't sound mean despite his monotonous voice. He was genuinely glad for them. This was, as far as he knew, the second time they've fought a mob. Thankfully someone was able to land a hit when he wasn't able to or else things could've gotten a bit more ugly for him. He would've gotten into the yellow zone which wasn't a good experience to have. "Both of you guys have done well for your first two fights." Kaluluwa became saddened. However, he felt hope as well. New generations of players exiting Starting City were coming in waves.

"Look, if either of you guys ever want to do something. Anything. Or just wanna talk about this world that we've been trapped in, add me to the friend's list." Kaluluwa had cancelled the party invitation that was never accepted by Benoit and dissolved the party. Shortly afterwards, Saizou's health bar at the top left hand corner of his vision. "By the way, neither of you ever accepted the friend invitation... Any questions that you have?"

Paglikha: 9/11 ((1 HP Healed: Out of Combat Post))

((Look back at the other posts, neither of you officially accepted my friend's request))

Kaluluwa grunted. He was unprepared for fights like these, and they were just going to get tougher and tougher. He regretted his promise that he made, but the thought of regretting it made his thoughts depressing. He thought he couldn't survive and clear Aincrad. Sooner or later, his life would be ended by a mob or a player. It wasn't uncommon. Yet, he had to attempt.

And in order to fulfill his friend's wishes to the best he can, he needed to survive today. Survive this fight. Darkness crept into his mind and there was a golden memory to stave it off, if only for a little while.

However, it just wasn't enough to stave off the wolf. He'd been distracted, his thought processes snapped back to reality and to the moment as the wolf attacked. Slashing at the air, Kaluluwa attempted to hit something, anything. The wolf found its mark a lot better and Kaluluwa's health bar dropped again.

ID: 34792; BD: 3; MD: 8

Paglikha: 8/13 ((1 Base = 1 Damage))

Wolf: 1/7

The wolf whimpered as it hit the ground, obviously hurt but wasn't going to back down. In the real world, before he came to Japan, Kaluluwa believed that the world was a dog eat dog world. You can't have the possibility of feeling safe in your bed. There was strength in numbers, but everyone had to rest at sometime. Eventually everyone would be worrying about themselves and not care about others. Always saying they would, but the instincts from a million years ago always telling them to run. Time is stopped in this world of Aincrad, no one would move on from the past and always bear their burdens.

Then there were his friends. Always helping each other out whichever way he could. Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate. That was true, he felt as if they knew his pain. Even if only a fraction. In Japan it was no different. He became known in his school for finding the "misfits" and putting them together. Misery loves company. The exact reason why he gathered up people at the beginning. He wanted to hear their stories. Compare them to his own. He was the unofficial leader of the group since he brought them all together. Maybe if they didn't feel real pain, he would throw them out. But company does not reciprocate. The final reason why he gathered up people. He knew that they felt pain, superficial or true. It didn't matter.

The wolf circled once again, almost hobbling against the forest floor. It decided it was do or die time. All the while, Kaluluwa's stone face stayed unwavering. On the outside, the calmness around him; on the inside, a turmoil of emotions. How he longed to be in the silence of his friends during lunch, to look at them and nod a knowing nod. A nod signifying that he knew what they were all thinking about.  Then the wolf lunged out, aiming for the neck of Kaluluwa.

It hit its mark beautifully and Kaluluwa backed up to the tree and bonked his head. The fire of the will to live had not disappeared from its eyes, but the coldness of Kaluluwa's stayed the same. In the inside, he was dying; more so then his physical self in the game.

ID: 34552; BD: 2; MD: 10

Paglikha: 9/13 ((1 Base + 2 Maj. Crit. = 3 Damage))

Wolf: 1/7

Well, since the new update I'm really only level 2 (level 3 soon if I get back to my SP and level 4 may be gone for since one of my PP members have gone inactive) so I'll join.

Also, I'd like to say that this does seem like, what Mari had said, a guild. The real only aspects that seem guild-like to me is the group cache and the lottery... Everything else would possibly be like a group of friends who know each other that are helping each other out. At the least, I'd recommend to remove the group cache as the lottery can stay by saying something like there's a casual "meeting" where they decide to talk about how things have been (no combat) and bet against each other (instead of the lottery from a randomizer, I'd like to suggest dice rolls like BD and a tiebreaker LD).

Sorry for the necroposting and stuff... But... Is it possible to export it as a GIMP read-able file (.XCF preferabbly) as you can't edit the text layers in a conventional way.

@Takao , sadly (from my interpretation to the guide) they do require recording crystals. Fisherman require rods and performers require recording crystals. Performers require recording crystals because if you look at the guide it states that, and I quote, "In order to gain EXP, a recording crystal must be used for the song."

The wolf didn't dare back down, neither did Kaluluwa want to. He would fight the boar for as long as it could take, as close to death as possible in order to find his friend. Then he concentrated on the trunk behind the boar and his heart sunk. It had read the following, "Here lies a wolf. Slain by Axios. He regrets." It angered Kaluluwa, he wanted to scream out to the world. His friend was most likely dead. He circled around the wolf until his back was to the trunk and he whispered under his breath while touching the carving, "It's okay Juhmer. I'll tell them."

Kaluluwa took in memories from anything he could remember about Juhmer. All the painful ones, all the happy ones, all the ones in-between. He was always emotional, was always timid. Was always being called weak. Kaluluwa felt as if his heart was going to be ripped apart, one of his only friends was gone. Gone forever. The carving was too old, too crooked. It bore the sentiment of a thousand souls. He didn't even bother not thinking that the person who carved it could have been someone else, he's never met anyone as emotional as Juhmer and will always claim he may never find someone as emotional.

The wolf had leaped out at him. It had jumped higher than it ever has, and Kaluluwa shielded himself from the beast by using his arms. Sadly, that was where the wolf was going to bite. Thankfully, his knife was pointing outwards and it had stabbed the underbelly of the wolf but he himself has groaned out in pain since his arm was bitten. Breathing heavily, he backed up to the trunk once again. "I'll live for you. I'll clear it for you", he said before giving his final goodbyes to the carving.

Health:
Paglikha: 12/13 ((1 Base = 1 Damage))
Wolf: 1/7 ((1 Base + 1 Skill + 2 Ma. Crit. = 4 Damage))

ID: 32434; BD: 10; MD: 8
 

Kaluluwa was beating around the bush in order to avoid contact before a wolf had appeared right in front of him. It's gold yellow eyes made him think that it had more intelligence than a boar. Something even stronger than it as well. If the boar was the equivalent to a henchman who knows nothing, than this wolf was the equivalent to a thug who knows what is happening. The wolf had bared it's teeth and Kaluluwa had unsheathed his dagger, both ready to attack and leap out at each other. It began to rear its hind legs and he lowered his stance. They both leaped at each other at the same time.

Thankfully though, Kaluluwa had the longer reach. He slashed his dagger at the wolf's snout and a crystallized gash had appeared where his blade struck. The wolf had went past him, probably stunned by Kaluluwa's attack. Or maybe because it had just gotten hit in the snout. Either way, they both landed at the same time and turned towards each other again. Both of them preparing what could happen next as it could change in a matter of seconds.

Health:

Paglikha: 13/13

Wolf: 5/7 ((1 Base + 1 Skill = 2 Damage))

ID: 32365; BD: 6; MD: 1

This entire world is messed up.There will always be people to hurt others, then there will always be those people who want to help but never do. Kaluluwa sighed. His hope was running thin, the last glimmer slowly becoming a shadow. He'd continue on, but he'd never leave behind his friend. He was starting to believe that just one hint of his existence, something to bring about an end to his thoughts would be fine. Then he took it back. So many good memories were created between the two of them. More that he'd want to create in SAO, maybe even make this impriosnment more tolerable.

The grass had started to become darker and the lighting began to become dimmer. The grass slowly gave way to shrubbery which in turn gave way to the looming trees in the forest. The trees had hung over him now, providing cool shade against the previous burning sun. He'd entered the forest that he'd never thought he would. The most dangerous place that he dared to imagine in the game. He'd heard of other creatures in this forest other than just boars. "Nepens", they've called them. Sneaking around, Kaluluwa was trying to be discrete about his presence and his missions.

Health:

Paglikha: 11/11 ((1 HP Healed: Out-of-combat post))

Bye Oikawa... D:. You'll always have be remembered and we'll never forget you. I wish you a good life in the outside world!

P.S: Stop by once in a while, I'm sure everyone would be happy to see you and then hear how everything's been.

"It's alright, I can handle", Kaluluwa attempted to ensure his newfound comrades. The only problem was, was that he wasn't too sure himself. His voice was then again monotone, but he could still feel every bit of guilt that he had of deceiving his friends. The first problem was that he was hit so badly in the beginning of the fight, right after he had initiated the exchange too. He just didn't want to let them lose help. He was the strongest one out of them after all, probably one of the few people that they knew in this forsaken world. Losing hope is losing yourself in a world with nothing else in it.

Kaluluwa was anxious for what could happen in the next few seconds or minute. The boar wasn't that close to dying so he decided he'd need to take some of the attention away from his friend. "Over here", he kept on repeating to the boar. "You don't want to fight Benoit, pick it with me." Thankfully, the boar had decided to take Kaluluwa's "advice." The boar had begun to charge at him until he moved to the side just enough to get out of the way of the boar. Afterwards, he flipped his knife into the air and then grabbed it before slashing it onto the boar's back.

"We should be fine", Kaluluwa spoke, "just touch it."

Health | Hate:
Paglikha: 8/11 | 2 ((+1 Hate due to Success))
Boar: 1/6 ((1 Base + 1 Skill = 2 Damage))
Benoit: 9/9 | 0
Saizou: 9/9 | 0

ID: 32156; BD: 6; MD: 3

Relationships:

<<Axios ((Juhmer))>> Believes to be a friend from the real world. Finding a tree with a message in the forest of the first floor, he decided to believe it was his friend Juhmer as he has never met someone more emotional than him.

Kaluluwa started walking towards the "crossroads." He began to think about all of the different names given to the areas of the first floor. The Town of Beginnings was the official name but it was also named Starting City and, he was unsure of where he had heard this, also Newbie Town. He tightened his grip on the dagger quickly before releasing it. The first floor was probably the most traversed floor. There was a sense of security in the area for older players and new players were able to acquaint themselves to the system.

Then there was where he was standing and where he was going to. Grasslands seemed to fit the description of the original name of the "Field of Crossroads" it was dubbed and he decided that it will be just the grasslands. He'd heard of other grassy areas in the upper floors but never seen them. Then there was the forest, he didn't know what the forest was named as rarely anyone who had decided to stay in Starting City left the security of the safe zone.

The area around him started giving off a brighter shade of color. The grass became the proverbial greener and the sky became bluer. He sighed a sigh of relief. Thankful that he was able to continue traversing the grasslands and take his mind off of whatever perils may await him.

Health:
Paglikha: 10/11 ((1 HP Healed: Out-of-combat post))

Kaluluwa had some ferocity in him that he'd never noticed before, he wanted to kill the boar. To smash it into tiny pieces. He knew he'd take a rest after this one, reevaluate something. Reevaluate himself. He needed to find who he truly was, find out if this was the possibility of a new part of himself or if this was just because of the adrenaline running through his veins. His face was normal, his mind was screaming for the emotionless body. He struck out at the boar again.

The boar wasn't able to escape this time, it wasn't fast enough to do anything. Kaluluwa had damaged it too much in his first shot and he killed the boar in a single strike to the abdomen of the beast. It exploded into death crystals and he sheathed his dagger before going on to the forest that he'd heard about. He'd have to be careful though or else he'd be attacked again. I'll think on the way there.

Health:
Paglikha: 9/11
Boar: 0/6 ((1 Base + 1 Skill + 1 Mi. crit. = 3 Damage))

<<No extra loot found>>
+1 Mat

ID: 31501; BD: 9; MD: 3; LD: 1

The boar had gotten off of Kaluluwa and stepped back a bit. When he looked at the beast, he realized that it was limping but he also realized the pain in his torso. It felt like one of his ribs had broke. The boar sure was heavy and he also heard some players believe that they could feel type of physical harm being done to them, and this was part of the proof he'd tell others. If he'd live to tell the tale at least.

Putting his pain aside, Kaluluwa stood up once more and got into his fighting stance. He wasn't fast enough yet to dodge any of the attacks well, but he was fast enough to land hits and that was all that mattered at this point in time. To survive and find his friend is the only goal that he'd have today. The sun was at its peak and Kaluluwa charged the boar.

Kaluluwa swung his knife at the boar but missed by a couple of centimeters but the boar got spooked by the mere fact that he was up and fighting. The boar had backed up just enough so that he was safe from harm for the next few moments but it had moved so slowly that it wouldn't be able to do any other attack as well.

Health:
Paglikha: 9/11
Boar: 3/6

ID: 31500; BD: 5; MD: 1

Fear ran through him, taking over his mind. He'd be a caged animal with his back to the wall if he gets attacked. He couldn't allow himself to die. His friend was waiting for him somewhere, maybe on the second floor even. I'll find you if it takes everything I got. I won't leave you behind. He got back up and lowered his stance to mimic what he's seen plenty of times in his native country. The street fights, that he tried to avoid so many times and wanted to unsee them even more.

The boar had started tumbling down the hill after Kaluluwa, and was descending faster than he could ever thought was possible. The boar was basically going through free fall, not touching the hill at all and Kaluluwa was right below it. He was too scared of backing up, wondering if he would be crushed right now and lose all of his breath.

At the very last second, he raised his knife up hoping that the boar would possibly be hurt by the blade and so it was. However, Kaluluwa was not strong enough to possibly keep the boar up by the small dagger and so the boar still fell onto him. He groaned in pain.

Health:
Paglikha: 9/11 ((1 Base + 1 Mi. crit.= 2 Damage))
Boar: 3/6 ((1 Base + 1 Mi. crit. + 1 Skill = 3 Damage))

ID: 31491; BD: 9; MD: 9

Kaluluwa was scared out of his mind, he had to push off of the boar in order to get off of the tusks. Sliding, he grunted, continually trying. He could die right now, he have to save himself. That was when his friends had started to initiate attacks. "No. No. No. No", he repeated until they thankfully both missed.

"Never do that again." Kaluluwa groaned. He gripped his dagger and stabbed it into the boar's head. Unfortunately for him though, the angle was too shallow and barely did anything to the boar except annoy it. In response, the boar swung its head around and Kaluluwa came off flying, landing on his knees. He stood up and said, "So that happened."

Health | Hate:
Kaluluwa: 8/11 | 1 ((+1 Hate due to Success))
Boar: 4/6 ((1 Base + 1 Skill = 2 Damage))
Benoit: 9/9 | 0
Saizou: 9/9 | 0

ID: 31182; BD: 6; MD: 3

When Benoit came back, he had asked Kaluluwa if he meant to offend or to compliment the giant. Uh... His mind went blank. Thankfully though, Saizou was abl to save him by speaking his own mind. Kaluluwa exhaled before starting. "Benoit. You still haven't responded to my requests...", Kaluluwa explained to the giant. He was glad that Saizou had accepted it, but he was even gladder that his health had finally risen back up to as full as it could get. Should I rush them? Or do they want to rest more? He didn't personally see a point in resting. They both immediately came to battle when he started the fight and he hoped their decisions wouldn't change.

"Well, I'll be using the grasslands to find any boars", Kaluluwa spoke to the others. "Here's a tip, it's quite easy to find where they are. They're colors contrast with the grass." Kaluluwa thought about the weirdest things at the weirdest times. For example, right now he was thinking about why he called it the grasslands instead of the Field of Crossroads that it had officially been named. He shrugged it off and unsheathed his knife. Gripping it tightly, then loosening it. He was going to be prepared for another fight and the boar he was going to fight was going to be in for a surprise.

It had taken only a few minutes before they had found the monster. It's ruby red eyes and it's azure blue skin was able to seen from miles away. Kaluluwa took out his knife and charged the boar, hoping he'd be able to get the first hit of the battle. However, he was poorly mistaken. The boar had randomly turned around at the weirdest time possible and Kaluluwa had impaled himself onto its sharp tusks, groaning and coughing. Speaking, a bit coarse, "I'm ok..." I'm going to feel that tomorrow.

Health | Hate:
Kaluluwa: 8/11 ((1 Base + 2 Major Critical = 3 Damage)) | 0
Boar: 6/6
Benoit: 9/9 | 0
Saizou: 9/9 | 0

ID: 31109; BD: 1; MD: 10

Kaluluwa just wanted to smile at Benoit's remarks. No way he can't be joking. He turned away from Benoit because his dead serious face wouldn't help in that kind of situation. Instead of laughing like any normal person would do, he stated, "Benoit, you're one funny guy. I hope you know that." Kaluluwa opened up his menu to send them both friend and party requests. "Sorry about not doing these earlier, still a bit new to grouping up out here."

He sat down and finally realized how tall they were. Benoit and Saizou were looming over him and they were ginormous. He looked into his inventory and took out a piece of bread and a flask of water. Like always, the items appeared in front of him and he proceeded to have his small snack. "You know what, I'll never understand?", Kaluluwa spoke in between bites of bread and swigs of water. "Why did Kayaba make this the easiest floor, one where newbies could roam around without the worry of death but so many people have died here?" He remembered Juhmer, his fallen friend. "Igdapasaral kita", Kaluluwa muttered.

<<Sent friend/party request to Benoit and Saizou>>

<<-1 Bread; -1 Water>>

Kaluluwa panicked. Unsheathing his dagger, he fumbled for it. He'd practiced before unsheathing his dagger but never in the face of danger. This was a whole new experience that he'd never had before. He leaned back unconsciously, he was worried the boar would be able to kill him.

The boar continued charging up the hill, but had slowed down too much to do any real damage. Still, before the boar even made it three quarters up the hill, Kaluluwa was still scared, he was frightened and leaned back too much. He fell down the hill, wondering if this was a reason why so many people died. Because they were afraid.

He couldn't help it though, he was afraid. He couldn't show anything, the bottle of emotion in his torso was always filling up but was never able to explode. He stood back up now, was wondering if he could take on the boar by himself and believed that it was possible.

Health:
Paglikha: 11/11
Boar: 6/6

ID: 30951; BD: 4; MD: 4

Breathing in and out, he was getting tired. Deep breaths, inhaling, exhaling. Feeling the virual air entire his virtual lungs and provide his body virtual oxygen. He'd always wondered if his physical condition in the game also reflected itself in the real world. He wouldn't find out until he asked someone, anyone outside in the real world that watched over them.

Kaluluwa climbed up a hill, hoping that it was enough. Thankfully it was, but no dots of any players were to be seen. The occasional boar could be seen, but no distinctive player marks. Then he realized something. You'd be able to tell an orange/red mark from anywhere here. Everything was bright green, but nothing was close to red. For the first time in SAO, and what he thought was the first time anyone ever said this, he thanked Kayaba. Although he was a madman, he was a genius. Any player would be able to find a distinctive pattern on the first floor.

He looked up to the sky, then looked back down the hill starting to think about continuing his journey. As soon as he did though, a boar charged him uphill.

Then again, he had made new friends. Like the one he was planning on finding right now. He'd scoured the entire Starting City asking around if someone had found someone named Juhmer, but most people looked away and ignored him and the few that replied said no. That's why he was forced out into the danger zone now. More like the kill zone. The memory of hearing so many die outside of the safe zone was still burned into his memory. He'd have to choose his fights and be even more careful about everything. It's not going to get any easier.

He started sprinting out into the actual grasslands. Laying out his agenda for the day very clearly. Find a hill in the grasslands and find out there, get to the forest and look around for clues, avoid as many fights as possible, be back before sunset. It wouldn't be easy for him, he'd know that. Except that it was of the utmost importance that he find his friend. Nothing was more important than that at this time. He was commonly bullied by others because he was "anti-social." Poor Juhmer. Probably trying to find out what to do with himself.

Kaluluwa unsheathed his dagger, remembering what had happened just a moment ago. He was glad that the others had join in the fight, it meant that they weren't going to let someone fight by themselves. Heck, Saizou might even have a conscience. Then again, people have always proved him wrong.

That was when the memory of starving as a child had come back to him, as well as all of the injuries he'd received when he was trying to find food to satisfy the beast that lived in his gut. He wasn't sad that he'd had to live like that, he was rather angry. For half of his life, he was starving all due to his parents whose images were the last thing to pop up in his mind.

Kaluluwa tightened his grip with a straight face. Rather than the boar initiating the charge, it was Kaluluwa himself. The boar had responded by doing the same thing with the same amount of ill intentions. A moment before impact, he changed from a forehand position to backhand. When the impact occurred, two things had happened. The boar's tusks were large enough to scrape his sides but Kaluluwa was able to bring his dagger down onto the boar's head, causing it to explode into millions of crystals.

A little ui popped up before Kaluluwa's avatar. After quickly reading it, he dismissed it. It was something but not that amazing. He exhaled deeply, trying to recenter himself but unable to do so. In a monotone voice he informed and asked the others, "That was a nice job guys. If you guys want to take on a boar we can, or we could also take a small break if you guys want to." He added in the last part just because he had sustained a bit of damage. It didn't matter much though, it was just a scratch.

Health | Hate:
Boar: 0/5 ((1 Base + 1 Skill + 2 Major Crit = 4 DMG)
Paglikha: 8/9 ((1 Base = 1 DMG)) | 2
Benoit: 7/7 | 0
Saizou: 7/7 | 1

<<Extra Loot Found!>>
+25 Col
+1 Mat

ID: 30890; MD: 8; BD: 10; LD: 16

While listening to their conversations, it became obvious that they were both new. Even newer than himself, probably never even been outside of Starting City. Benoit was foolhardy, maybe even oblivious to certain dangers that await him. Except Saizou was more... Unique. He smirked in the fact that they were talking as if something was funny and was trying not to grin. Kaluluwa decided that he'd have to keep an eye on him.