Aetharan

The battle was already his.  Aetharan knew it.  Gemini probably knew it, if it had been programmed to understand when it was at a tactical disadvantage.  He pulled back enough to give his artificial opponent time to stand.  "Come on.  Get up.  If you're going to wear my face, you're going to die on your ****ing feet.  I said get up!"  Gemini seemed to understand, and rose.

Now it was time for the pair to square off.  As at the beginning of the battle, they assumed mirrored versions of the same pose, dominant hand in the rear while the off-hand steadied near the weapon's center of mass.  That left Aetharan's right arm and Gemini's left crossed over their respective rib-cages as the pair locked eyes.  This time, they weren't both smiling.  Aeth still was, but his doppelganger was instead wearing an expression of fear.  The glowing damage indicators on their respective bodies told the story well enough.  Aaron was wounded, but it was a large number of shallow scratches.  Gemini, on the other hand, had just a handful of injuries, with each one of them being grievous.

Again, both weapons glowed with the activation of a sword art, and the pair lunged in perfect sync with one another.  This time, it's the same technique, with the computer assist forcing the weaker weapon to drop just enough for its shaft to pass underneath the stronger one's en route to their mutual targets: each other's hearts.  Gemini's simple spear rattled off of Aetharan's breastplate, unable to puncture it but instead knocking the player's breath out of him.  In exchange, that jagged half-pike tore through flimsy cloth and flesh, only to emerge through the NPC's spine.

=======================================

(ID# 29334 results: Battle: 10 Craft: 3 Loot: 11 MOB: 8)

(Exchange results:  Aetharan drops to 11/19 HP.  Normal hit for (2-1=1) damage.  Gemini drops to -2/19 HP.  Total critical for (4+2=6) damage.)

(Combat results:  Aetharan gained a level.  HP improves to 13/21.  Gemini drops nothing, but Aetharan gains the extra skill <<Concentration>>.)

Aetharan was on the offense, and he didn't want his momentum to be broken by the stupid AI deciding to play the coward!  "You worthless piece of scum...  Hold still while I end you and finish this quest!  It's not a ****ing duel if you run away, you *****!"  And now the chat filter was getting in his way.  He hated it when he couldn't get a word out that he was trying so desperately to shout in something's ear.  Oh well.  What really mattered was that reversing grip, the half-pike raised over his head to bring it down into his scrambling opponent's skull, even as a spear was desperately thrust up at him in reply.

Both bit flesh, but the more elaborate weapon bit far harder.  That black-bladed half-pike may have missed the skull itself, but it came down hard along Gemini's right side, leaving a glowing line from shoulder to hip that ran halfway through that body.  The small hole that appeared in Aetharan's left leg at the same moment felt like nothing in comparison!

=======================================

(ID# 29332 results: Battle: 9 Craft: 5 Loot: 7 MOB: 8)

(Exchange results:  Aetharan drops to 12/19.  Normal hit for (2-1=1) damage.  Gemini drops to 4/19.  Critical hit for (4+1=5) damage.)

Aetharan's smile was becoming downright beautiful, in his own mind.  This was fun, and in ways that he hadn't expected despite having already heard rumors of this kind of mirror-match being available on the sixth floor.  "Come now, Gemini.  You must know you've made a mistake...  Were you designed with the thought that there'd be some psychological disadvantage for the player who had to face his own reflection?  If so, your maker is a fool.  I've already had to kill myself once this week.  You may have my face, but you're not me...  You're just a bit of code that needs deleting."

Lunge again, this time aiming for the stomach.  He wanted to give this...  this thing a wound that, in the real world, would be the kind of thing that he could be sure would kill, but take days to do so.  Of course, even if he succeeded, he'd still have to finish the fight properly, but that kind of cruelty felt like it would be cathartic.  This time around, though, Gemini was too busy desperately scrambling and dodging to even swing back.  It was enough to ensure that Aetharan didn't get in a hit, though.

=======================================

(ID# 29331 results: Battle: 2 Craft: 8 Loot: 9 MOB: 2)

(Exchange results:  Swing and a miss on both sides.)

Gemini recoiled from the assault with a cry of simulated pain.  What kind of attack had that been‽  His opponent had hit him, with a basic strike, for as much as he could deal with a critical against an unarmed opponent!  That just wasn't fair!  Still, he had a job to do, as determined by the system.  He was supposed to kill this player, now that the human had accepted the duel.  That was that.  Suck it up, take a half-step back, and thrust again!

For his part, Aetharan decided to press the advantage.  His creation had finally tasted blood, and he wanted to bathe it in more!  Eyes were wild now, and his grin was broad.  There would be no stopping him, no matter how much his luck may hate him.  This time, things went very, very badly for the NPC.  Oh, its spear may have once again rattled across Aetharan's armor, giving him another would-be bruise to worry about later, but Aetharan's half-pike sank into its unarmored chest.  It wasn't a heart strike, but it was still a vicious stab wound!

=======================================

(ID# 29325 results: Battle: 10 Craft: 8 Loot: 13 MOB: 5)

(Exchange results:  Aetharan drops to 13/19 HP.  Normal hit for (2-1=1) damage.  Gemini drops to 9/19.  Total critical for (4+2=6) damage.)

Now it was Aetharan's turn to take a swing, and he was getting sick of this silly banter with a barely-intelligent NPC!  Raising himself from that kneeling position, he gave a clockwise twist in an attempt to bring that half-pike down up into his opponent's kidney.  At the same time, Gemini was giving a widdershins turn, thrusting once again for his chest.  The long-haired man found some amusement in the fact that the computer had just assumed that everybody taking this quest would be right-handed.  Oh, it was willing to swap out stats and weapons, but make Gemini a southpaw?  Nah.

It was sad.

This time, at last, that jagged half-pike would taste virtual blood.  It may not have been the kidney shot that Aetharan hoped for, but it dug deep into Gemini's gut, even as the NPC's spear bit once again into one of Aetharan's shoulders.

=======================================

(ID# 29323 results: Battle: 7 Craft: 7 Loot: 10 MOB: 8)

(Exchange results:  Aetharan drops to 14/19 HP.  Normal hit for (2-1=1) damage.  Gemini finally drops to 15/19.  Normal hit for 4 damage.)

Gemini looked confused, but it probably hadn't exactly been programmed for geek-banter in the middle of a fight.  Still, the NPC was doing the best it could within its programming to meet expectations, and so as it charged toward its target, it called out.  "I'm going to cut you to ribbons!"

Aetharan could only shake his head at that weak threat, giving his half-pike a little twirl and ramming its spike into the ground as he ducked, setting for the charge only to make sure that he was ready to give a thrust at the exact moment of impact.  "You're not even wielding the right kind of weapon for that threat, you idiot!"

The NPC managed to swerve just enough for Aetharan's spear to miss entirely, while its own made contact square in Aeth's chest.  The armor absorbed most of the blow, not penetrated but pushed into its wearer with enough force that, in the real world, it would be some very ugly bruises later.

=======================================

(ID# 29322 results: Battle: 5 Craft: 8 Loot: 19 MOB: 6)

(Exchange results:  Aetharan drops another HP, down to 15/19.  Normal hit.  Gemini still untouched!)

With a smirk, Aetharan decided to taunt his enemy despite the fact that, for the moment, he was losing.  He could afford the slow start, so it didn't worry him.  Three damage in two rounds?  Ha.  He could beat that in one strike.  Well, he would beat that in one strike if he ever actually managed to make contact!

"Come on, Gemini.  If you're going to give mirror-universe level performances, at least ham it up as much as Scott Bakula did!  Now, once more...  with feeling!"

"You don't know the power of the dark side!"

"That's more like it!  Right genre, completely inapplicable to the situation, but beautifully hammy!  Keep 'em coming!"

This time, it was Aetharan who charged while Gemini braced for the attack.  Of course, as was always going to be true in such exchanges between spear-wielders, both would be trying to bite the flesh of the other, rather than purely to deflect.  Neither managed to succeed, sadly.

=======================================

(ID# 29321 results: Battle: 5 Craft: 7 Loot: 15 MOB: 3)

(Exchange results:  Swing and a miss both ways.)

If his ex-wife could see the expression on his face at this kind of injury, she'd be in shock.  Would he have reacted like this back in the real world?  That spear tore into his right shoulder pretty hard, though not enough to make movement any harder, but his only real reaction was for that grin to grow even wider.  After all, it wasn't like a man could feel pain in this world.  Of course, that did mean that certain kinds of people, now that they were trapped, had to seek out some other source for their endorphin rushes.  Poor sods.

Gemini called out to him, "You can't win, you know!  I know all your moves!"

Aetharan responded, "I like my NPCs better when they can't spout cliches!"

Sadly, the annoyance of bad television writing was enough to ensure that not only was Aetharan unable to dodge Gemini's lunge, but he couldn't get his weapon even pointed in the right general direction before the enemy had blown by, scraping Aeth's cheek.

=======================================

(ID# 29320 results: Battle: 1 Craft: 10 Loot: 17 MOB: 8)

(Exchange results:  Aetharan's HP drops to 16/19.  Normal hit for (2-1=1).  Gemini's HP unchanged.  Miss.)

The pair of them lunged together, Gemini snarling in a pre-programmed manner, while Aetharan laughed like a madman.  Mismatched blades glowed with the light of an active art, though it seemed that the decision to act at the same moment didn't mean that they'd chosen to use the same skill in the exchange.  Still, spear-tips were aimed at one another's hearts.  He didn't care if this hurt.  Aetharan knew that this would be fun, no matter how it turned out, because unless the deities of random numbers really, really hated him, the mismatch was one he couldn't lose.

Unfortunately, it seemed that luck wasn't on his side, really.  At least, not for the very start of combat.

=======================================

(ID# 29317 results: Battle: 4 Craft: 4 Loot: 8 MOB: 9)

(Exchange results:  Aetharan's HP drops to 17/19.  Crit for (3-1)=2.  Gemini's HP remains 19/19.  Miss.)

There was a wicked little chuckle as the NPC pulled its hood off to reveal Aetharan's face.  Oh, this was going to be fun.  It was then that the name appeared over its head, revealing that it was called Gemini.  Well, at least he knew what to tell others when he told the tale of this little duel, didn't he?  One thing was certain: he was going to ruin this NPC so hard that looking at his face in the mirror later would be giggle-worthy!

Both of the thin men assumed a combat stance, grinning at one another like a pair of madmen.  To anybody watching (wave at the counselor AI!), it would be an obvious mismatch from the start.  On one side, there were only the basic starter clothes and that first-level spear that any two-hander would have gotten out of the starting kit.  On the other?  Heavy armor to help deflect blows (if somewhat uncomfortable in the warmth of the jungle, thanks to its fur lining), and a glossy, dark, jagged pole-arm that had yet to taste blood.

That very last bit was about to be changed, wasn't it?

=======================================

Our contestants:

Aetharan: HP: 19/19.  Attack: 4.  Mitigation: 1.

Gemini:  HP: 19/19.  Attack: 2.  Mitigation: 0.

His walk would take him perhaps an hour into the jungle without so much as spotting a critter that needed killing before he found himself face to face with a nameless, hooded NPC.  Well, then.  This would match the rumors, wouldn't it?  Raising an eyebrow, he waited to see what the NPC would say, and he couldn't help but laugh at the promise of riches in exchange for a friendly duel.  Out here, in the middle of nowhere, far from any safe-zones...  Not against a player, but against this unnamed thing that stood in front of him?  Oh, no.  He was genre savvy enough to know even before accepting the quest that he was looking at a fight to the death.  The rumors, however, had been clear enough:  If your power is entirely from your own skills, you face a mirror match.  If you're geared, you have a distinct advantage.

Well, in that case, Aetharan had the advantage.  Until this morning, he'd only have been able to output two damage a swing unless it was a crit.  Now, that was doubled.  Just as important, his target would lack the mitigation that Aetharan's armor provided him.  Assuming equal luck, he'd be striking his enemy for four times the damage per round that he was taking in return.

This would be easy.

"Alright, nameless.  I'll take you up on it."

The rumors surrounding the sixth floor of Aincrad were enough that Aetharan just had to go see it himself, at least once.  After all, how often did one run into a place filled with only female NPCs?  They had to be worth a look, at least for those who swung that way, but far more interesting in the long run were the whispers that adventuring on this level just might mean finding and fighting one's self.  "I have gone to find myself.  If I get back before I return, keep me here..."  Yeah.  Hefting his newly forged weapon from just this morning, he grinned at that prospect.  He'd been wanting to test it out, and what better target could he level that beautiful half-pike at than himself?  He didn't even spend ten minutes admiring the rear ends of those amazons before he was out into the jungle, keeping his eye out for any sign of danger.

Another day, another pair of weapons to craft.  Aetharan stirred from his bed and stepped out the door into the shop proper itself, where he switched to his tools and went to work.  He was so glad that he didn't have to go mining, at least for these first few days of crafting.  He'd need to go get his hands on more mats eventually, but the quest had been generous in its returns, so he didn't mind burning those first!  Taking a few deep breaths, he did his best to concentrate on the designs he wanted to put into play.  Two crafts.  He'd already proven to himself that he could pull off a ranseur.  Today, he'd go with half-pikes!  Not that the typical gamer would know the difference, but he may as well display different kinds of pole-arm, even if they did serve the same in-game function!

Roll ID# 29295: CD 11.  Rare item!

Roll ID# 29296: CD 11.  Rare item!

It would seem that Lady Luck was with him today!  Holy crap...  Two rares of the same weapon type in the same day?  They truly were a matched pair as well!

Item: Jagged Half-Pike (x2)

Quality: Rare

Source: This post, approved here.

Enhancements: Damage x2

Description: Functionally, a two-handed assault spear.  Visually, a shaft of hardwood 5'6" in length, with the butt capped in a 6" socket that terminates in a black iron spike for driving that end into the ground, while the head has a 9" socket connecting to a trio of blades of the same metal.  The central blade is 12" long, edged on both sides and serrated for the rear half of its length.  The flanking pair are only 5" in length, starting almost perpendicular to the primary and curving forward so that their tips are only 20º off of its angle.  Both match the primary's edging style.

 (Reformatted slightly from evaluation version on Tristan's advice.)

Now that he'd finished moving in (not just in terms of the shop itself, but also the small private room in the back!), Aetharan decided that he may as well give his first two daily uses of that Smithing ability a swing.  He wasn't going to get any good at the job if he didn't put the practice in, now was he?  There'd be no sense in having gone on that quest today if he wasn't going to put that skill to work!  Two crafts meant two of those iron ingots to put to use.  Hammer in left hand and tongs in right, he went to work.

Roll ID# 29245: CD 8.  Good item.

Roll ID# 29246: CD 9.  Good item.

The results were...  bland, in Aetharan's opinion, but he hadn't exactly been expecting masterpieces on his first couple of tries, either.  It was a matching pair of ranseurs, with leaf-shaped blades a couple of inches longer than his hand joined with a forward-curved pair of tines that joined at the end of the simple wooden shaft.  Neither weapon would be anything special unless somebody had a hankering to swap over to spear-type weapons after having started with a dagger or something, but either would be better than nothing.  He hung them on the first rack, one above the other, and put a price tag in place on them.

Located off near the edge of Snowfrost Town, Black Wind Arms looks not unlike the other various cottages and businesses in town for the moment, with the exception of the words on the sign.  A handful of display racks and stands dot the main floor, although for the moment, they stand empty.  The place has every sign in the world of being a fresh startup.  At the very least, the place is warmed by a near-constant fire, whether it's the forge or the hearth providing the heat at any given moment.

Shop Equipment:

For the moment, all equipment is perfectly normal-- functional, but with no enhancements.  As enhanced tools are acquired, they will be noted here.

Sales Inventory:

2x Black Iron Ranseur - Two-handed assault spear type weapon, Good quality.  (40 Col each.)

1x Basic Two-Handed Assault Spear.  (40 Col)

1x Jagged Half-Pike - Two-handed assault spear type weapon, Rare quality.  +2 damage.  (800 Col or 5 Mats)

I know what you mean about the 'nearly breaking an arm' bit, certainly.  I encountered that one when running with the SCA at one point in my teens.  Then again, pole arms in general are pretty much the original "force multiplier", aren't they?  Peasant Bob is all, "Hey, if I strap this hunting knife to my walking stick and swing it really, really hard, I can knock that bandit in a tin can off his horse and just maybe sever something while I'm at it!"  Seems to have been the origin of the whole class of weapons, and something converged on repeatedly from various cultures over time, using everything some peasant might have thought to tie to a stick.

Personally, in a real-world melee, I'll just stick to my steel toed boots and the knowledge that nobody ever wears a cup to a bar.

Summary Post

Crazy taken for a walk.  Epileptic Trees watered.  10 Materials collected and turned in to NPC, theoretically in exchange for minimum basic tools necessary to function as a blacksmith.

<<Earning a Living>> completed as a blacksmith.

Thread complete rewards:

• 800 Col (45 posts = 2 pages of play.)
• 2 SP (1 for thread, 1 for quest.)
• Title: Beginner Blacksmith
• Right to set up a shop.
• Extra materials, to be rolled by closing GM. ID 29205 LD 9, 9 Materials obtained. Tristan

Aetharan breathed a sigh of relief when the NPC finally stopped talking and updated his inventory with the items that he'd need.  The materials finally disappeared from his holdings, and were replaced with something listed as 'Basic Blacksmithing Starter Kit', which he assumed included all of the items he's been promised by the NPC.  More importantly, the little window that popped up also showed that he'd gained a new skill: Blacksmithing.  It even came with a title!  Yay.  It was all more than enough for him, and he walked away happily toward the portal that he'd been told could take him to any of the opened floors' main settlements.  That winter wonderland was on his mind.

=======================================

Aetharan gained a level.  HP now 19/19.

The writing of the NPC's dialogue could have been better, but Aetharan understood it well enough to get the gist of what it was trying to get across to him, and that was the important part.  It did feel, however, far more artificial than the gathering portion of the quest had been.  It seemed that the steps involved in creating anything he wanted were minimal, and he didn't exactly have to be a sculptor in the real world to pull them off.  Dump the ore into the smelter he'd receive to transform it, automagically, into an ingot.  From there, hold the ingot (using tongs, of course) in the forge for a few seconds, and it would click over to the glowing, red-hot level it needed to be for working.  Lay it on the anvil, and concentrate hard on exactly what you were trying to create, then bring the hammer down.  Just once.  That's where the numbers in the system took over again.  Depending on his luck and skill, either he'd ruin the materials at this stage, or he'd succeed to one degree or another.

"Well, that's good to know.  Kind of sad that I won't step out into the other world knowing how to make these things for real, but meh.  It could be worse."  With that information in hand, he prepared himself mentally to walk away as soon as the quest NPC was done yammering on.  He needed to scout out a spot to build his forge, and he'd heard that the fourth floor was utterly beautiful.  He'd even thought of the name he would use.

On getting back to town, Aetharan again found the NPC who had offered him this training quest to start with.  There were smiles, if artificial ones on both sides and under different definitions of the word, as he handed over the ten gathered materials in exchange for what he would need to set up shop.  Then would come the always-annoying, but bloody useful part of this quest:  It was tutorial time.  There was no other way that Aaron could really think of to describe it.  The NPC was talking in out-of-character, instructive game terms, educating him on what he needed to understand to turn his next piece of iron ore into a sword.  It was disappointing, of course, that he couldn't move straight on to armor, but Aeth could deal with that.

Blades would be more fun, anyway.

Finishing the song that he'd been singing when the last of the iron dropped, Aetharan leaned against that wall he'd been digging into for so long.  Forty feet when he'd expected sixty.  He must have been wrong about the odds.  He'd only had to dig four feet for each of the materials the NPC wanted him to fetch.  That was information to tuck away for later study.  A 25% chance of successful gathering was higher than he thought, and that was a good thing.  Search DC was maybe 16, then.  He'd still need to put points into that skill, or these data points were meaningless.

Now that he was done with the hard part-- or, at least, the tedious one-- he switched his inventory over from that mining pick to his trusty, basic spear.  With any luck, he wouldn't be relying on such a simple piece of equipment for very much longer!  Equipment changed, Aetharan began to walk back out of his mine shaft.  It was little surprise when, some five seconds after he'd made it back out into the original tunnel from which he began, all his hard work vanished behind him and became a fresh wall once more.

Breathe.  It'll be alright, won't it?  Just breathe deeply for a moment.  In through the nose, out through the mouth...  "♫God bless us everyone, we're a broken people living under loaded gun...♫"  Pour the feelings out with the breath and the swing of the arm, whether holding spear, hammer, or pick.  Every beat emphasized with impact was one that, in one way or another, was showing his hatred for Aincrad...  along with his respect.  He'd burn it down, and build a monument to it in that other world.  He'd fly to Japan and throttle the man who'd trapped them all here, then be the first to buy a fellow survivor a drink, if he could find them.  Not that Aetharan'd have any real money back in that world at first, but he'd find a way.

For now, he had to dig up the iron that would let him make the weapon he was going to drive into the next boss's throat.

Near the end of the song, during the echoing "Lift me up, let me go" repetitions, the final piece of iron ore for this quest finally dropped for him.  It brought a smile to his lips that was almost beatific.

=======================================

(ID# 29199 results: Battle: 2 Craft: 9 Loot: 15 MOB: 4)

Quest Tracking: Iron Ore 7/7, Stone 3/3

Continuing his temporary theme of growing rage, he launched into the next song at a pace that left it hard to keep up his swing-a-measure.  "♫Define your meaning of war.  To me it's what we do when we're bored...♫"  It was as if he expected not to mine the last piece of iron ore out of this wall, but to instead beat the wall until it dropped as if he'd killed it.  One of these days, he would break this wall.  Just as he broke the rest of Aincrad.  It would happen, somehow.  This...  castle.  This flying, iron-clad sack of **** would burn, and he'd be the one to set it ablaze.  It would only make sense, right?  It had given birth to Aetharan, hadn't it?  Then again, something in him screamed that he wasn't the only person who would come out of this world looking nothing like the person who'd put on that NERV gear.  Not physically, but something etched into the soul.

=======================================

(ID# 29197 results: Battle: 3 Craft: 5 Loot: 13 MOB: 9)

Quest Tracking: Iron Ore 6/7, Stone 3/3

Aaron had practiced the Art of Drowning.  He'd seen the black sails in the sunset, spent his December underground, and sang the sorrow until his throat was raw.  It was Aetharan, however, who'd heard a voice, and he who had a fire inside.  It was this moment, as the saddest of the songs drifted through his head and his internal monologue became a flurry of album titles strung into sentences, that he began to swing from the sad songs into wrath.  Oh, this wonderful roller-coaster of emotions that was his own train of thought.  He just knew that one of these days it was going to derail, going around a corner too fast, and his tombstone would read The inside of his skull was labeled Amtrac.  Swing.  "♫Hey, miss murder can I, hey, miss murder can I...♫" Swing. "♫Make beauty stay if I take my life?♫"

Halfway through the song, the notification popped into his vision that he'd found the sixth piece of ore he was looking for.  Just one more, and he could call this fetch quest done.  At least it wasn't twenty bear ***es.

=======================================

(ID# 29195 results: Battle: 3 Craft: 6 Loot: 18 MOB: 1)

Quest Tracking: Iron Ore 6/7, Stone 3/3