9Lives

9Lives watched at his new partner flipped gracefully to evade the predator. 9lives pulled his sword back to charge his attack on the creature who's attention was turned on her. Instantly the sound of movements behind him caused him to unconsciously pivot on his right foot backwards as yet another Gargoyle flashed by trying to attack him launched by slashing but only meeting air. His sword skill activated just as it passed his body.

Battle Die: 8

Evade: Sprint (+0) = 8 : Evade Success

Attack: Trinket (+1)= 9 : Success

Damage: Sword (+3) = 4 Damage!

Quickly 9Lives slashed up in a powerful circular motion drawing the blade from behind, down towards his feet and up hitting the gargoyle with enough force to send it into the air and Immobilize it. It health dropped in half form the blow as it was helpless but to watch its imminent deresolution.

9lives couldn't see the gargoyles and was quite surprised that his new party member could. It was a valuable skill to say the least. While 9Lives knew he was at no loss for talent alone, this girl had abilities that made her a completely different use in battle. Pulling his sword form the saya, he stood relaxed with his sword down as if unprepared for an attack, when in reality he was preparing to counterstrike. Sure enough the first Gargoyle leaped slashing forward with its attack. the instant his eyes saw teh brush move he let the tip of the sword touch ground Charging his attack.

Evasion 9: +1(trinket) =10 Success!

Battle die: 9(critical) +2(Skill) +3(Weapon) = 14 Success!

Damage: 1(base) +2(skill) +3(Weapon) = 6

Critcal x2 =12 Damage!

9Lives stood still as the creature neared only moving his head to the side just inches form the claw as it swung by. with it directly in front of him he activated . In a blur he slashed upwards through the creature, placing his left hand on the hilt, slashed down word pulling back in the slash. then thrust his blade in the Gargoyle. He then turned away from the creature to face the girl he was partnered with. he quickly pulled the blade from the gargoyle having it shatter behind him.

9Lives followed suit behind Saix who in a blur of red attacked the higher level wasp with a clean strike. 9lives was having far to much fun to stick to a single attack. He had tried out as well as . He knew the sword skill had a ranged attack but had yet to see it in action. With the two Wasps poping up to attack from ambush, 9Lives knew this would be the perfect time. He stepped forward with his left foot drawing the sword in at head height, with the edge up and pointed the tip at the center of the group. Once changed he activaed .

Battle Die: 2 +1(Trinket) +3(Weapon) = 6 Success!

Damage: 1(base) +2 (Skiill) +3(Weapon) = 6 damage!

Cone attack, all three targets hit!

The skill activated in a horizontal slash of the air sending an energy wave forward that seemed to rock back and forth as it moved through the air growing larger as it traveled. Though the range was not very long it hit all three of the wasps with full force. The target hit by Saix was instantly destroyed in the wave. the remaining two's health dropped down into the red. 9lives slaughed at the attacks effectivness. "I dont even have to move to kill these things "

Wasp 7: 0/9

Wasp 8: 3/9

Wasp 9: 3/9

As Saix finished off the wounded wasp he hit first, 9lives watched the stunned wasp form his previous attack fall to the ground. Looking down at it he thrust his sword into its head, not needing to waste any time with sword skills for the pathetic creature. With it slain they had successfully defeated two groups of wasps without a single one being able to hit them. Even so, he was not happy that his attack missed the Wasp. 9lives scrolled though his menu and equip his mask giving him the slight advantage needed to max out his accuracy. The hood disappeared as the mask was generated on is face letting his short spiked black hair see the light of the generated sun.

9lives stopped to take a breath for a moment. it seemed that they were clear of other mob paths for the moment. He sheathed Aitsuu and turned to face the girl. His wide smile and psychotic stance were fueled by the adrenaline of the combat. He loved to fight, and the harder the enemy the better. When she raised the question he realized how he must have seemed to her. It couldn't be helped, he was filled with exhilaration and it wasn't going to just stop. He looked her over for a second and opened his menu. he tinkered around in it for a moment before hitting the option. The moment the invite would arrive he had switched his hear, trading the stylistically pleasing hood for his more useful Mask of Sorrow. The Black featureless mask with only eye holes and crimson tears was even more threatening looking. Let no one ever say that 9Lives was not theatrical.

Spinning back on is right foot, 9lives stepped behind Saix as he evaded the injured wasps attack. Now back to back he release the blade with his left hand, holding it one handed. he held the blade down and let the tip touch the ground, charging for his next attack. He quickly attacked activating .

Battle Die: 4 +3(Weapon) = 7 Success!

Damage: 1(base) +2(Skill) +3 (Weapon) = 6 +Stun

He quickly slashed upward cutting through the Wasp first slash, caught his tsuka with his left hand and powered down into the second strike. pulling through he stepped forward which put his sword now at his waist for the last strike. The thrust the blade horizontally twisting as he thrust until the Wasp was impaled on his blade. The final action of pulling the blade from the target initiated the effect, lowering its ability to evade.

Once again he scrolled through the menus selecting the characteristics and appearance of the daggers he sought to make. He tried changing variables to produce a higher probability of creation. he didn't like do this but sometimes you have to give way to the system. Once eh felt he had a better shot at creation he selected the Option.

Craft Die 7: Good Item

The result completed giving him the item he selected but he wasn't pleased with it. They were not bad blades but they weren't particularly good either. They were a step above starter knives but hardly something he was willing to give to a friend. He walked outside and saw a young boy in light armor with two sai on his waist. He initiated a trade with the person who was bewildered but accepted. the young boys eyes lit up when he saw the blades and 9Lives accepted giving them away. The kid equip them and ran up thanking him. Don't get your hopes up. they might mean something to you but they are worthless to me. he said before equipping his mask then leaping up to the roof top and walking away.

He set the mask to hidden while he worked, deciding it was time he created a new set of daggers for the girl who he had become friends with. Their trials in the forest against the Gargoyles were a test that neither likely would have excelled at alone. They were two of a kind and he respected her prowess. He selected the characteristics he though she would like and hit .

Craft Roll: 3 Fail

The Result was not as expected. He had seen enough failure in crafting that the concept was demoralizing though. He could increase his results though skills but he felt his role as the damage dealer was far more important. He had the time and materials to just create continuously until he ran out of materials.

9Lives returned to his work crafting weapons and armor. He hadn't been to the work table in a while, spending more and more of his time in the fields. With each floor he traverse, he found more and more seclusion. as he stepped into the shop he was surprised to find it empty with the exception of the NPC. There were still many items he wanted to construct and he had the time to work on it now. Scrolling through the menus he opened a new tier of customization displaying his abiltiy to create trinkets. selecting all the specifics, he hit <>

Crafting roll 10 : Uncommon Item: Mask of Sorrow

+1 Evasion

+1 Accuracy

The process completed displaying the the blackened metal featureless mask with his eyes only displayed. It had two arcs coming down form his eyes were red lines like blood pouring out of the masks sockets. though the item appeared to look like armor it actually did nothing in the way of protection but gave many bonuses he prefered. He equipped the mask and noted the way it made him feel. it had the downside of replacing his hood which he would have rather had, but for the mean time it would serve to better his skill.

9Lives was feeding off the rush though somewhat disapointed at how easily he had defeated thr first batch. They were much more evasive in his previous encounter. Shiething his balde he charged for . Saix two charged his attack and in a blue of red and black they flrew forward together. Saix made contact first spawning the others which he had prepared to attack.

Battle die 2 +3(weapon) = 5 fail!

His attack came up empty by mere inches as the wasp evaded. In a way he was hapoy to see that the wasps were not going to go down easy. He quickly pulled his sword to guard blocking the attack of the wasp he had missed.

9lives cocked his head to the side as he saw the girl perofrm an areal manuver once again triggering her skill in air to attack from unorthadox angles. It was unique and impressed him. Though not outright killing the creatures, she had disabled two already. He would finish them. Walking up to the target he heard the sound of another gargoyle dropping out of the tree behind him.

Evasion: 9

He crouched down then leaped into the air evading the gargoyles attack intirely. The action triggered <> with him landing in the middle of the three creatures.

Battle die 9(critical) +3(weapon) = 12 success

Damage : 1(base) +2(skill) +3 (weapon) = 6

Critical ×2 = 12 damage to all creatures.

His attacked hit perfectly as he spun lashing out in all directions. The two wounded gargoyles were instanly vaporized in the attack. The third caught the full force of the attack and shattered into a polygon shower. 9Lives began laughing maniacly and histaricly at the success.

Gargoyle 1: 0/9

Gargoyle 2: 0/9

Gargoyle 3: 0/9

Gargoyle 4: 0/9

the young girl leapt over him activating her sword skill and incapacitating and nearly defeating the enemy in a single hit. Perhaps their luck had changed now that they were at a temporary alliance. Luck was never on his side but that fact seemed to follow him corrupting the world. eventually the curse turned to his favor though when the luck of his environment was worse than his own. maybe this was at work behind the seems, but probably not. He slid his blade into the Saya charging for <> but just before he activated the skill his eyes caught the silhouette of a second Gargoyle preparing to strike at the unsuspecting girl. 9lives quickly changed targets and activated the skill.

Battle Die: 9 +3(Weapon) = 12 Success! (9) Critical!

Damage: 1(Base) +2(Skill) +3(weapon) = 6

Critical! x2 = 12 Damage

In a flash he darted forward slashing upward through the Gargoyle with ease before it could attack the girl. It exploded into red polygons illuminated by the glow of Aitsuu that quickly died down. 9lives couldn't take time to celebrate his victory. he needed more resources before he could leave this forest and knew that they would not give up anymore than he would. Killing one would only serve to make the others more aggressive.

Gargoyle 2: 0/9

Seeing Saix finish off the second Wasp, 9Lives turned and stalked towards his prey with a grin on his face. As he approached the wasp he studied the creature. its wings were shredded and two legs were destroyed. even if his attack had not stunned the creature, there was no way it could have attacked or evaded. 9lives didn't even need to use the system to defeat this enemy. Swiftly he thrust down piercing the wasp in the head. the monster shattered into pieces below him. 9lives turned back to Saix and smiled. "Im enjoying this...quite a lot..." he said as joyously as the somber cynic could display.

Perched on the branch he quickly looked over the skills as a refresher. closing his menu he knew what he needed to do to defeat these creatures. He couldn't spend all night in the shadows trying to fight a creature who did that better than he did all the while watching the creatures tear apart the girl who was at ground level. He had no doubt of his survival but he didn't come to this place to survive, he came to get the the creatures hide. He leaped down form the branch in front of the girl just as the Gargoyle launched forward in its attack. He knew his blade could block and while it had been a while since he played the forward, he knew the role well. The Creatures claws his impacted his sword stopping the attack form hitting himself of the girl. He immediately crouched down sheathing his blade into Iaido. the blade's vibrant bright blue glow contained and obscured by the Saya as he charged <>.

Battle Die: 2 +3(Weapon) = 5 Fail!

His sword skill's activation, even though the light of the attack was completely masked, was noticed by the Gargoyle whom he deflected. It immediately evaded to the side as he flashed forward slashing upward diagonally. As he slid to a stop he smiled once again. He may not have hit the creature yet, but he knew how to deal with this ambushing mob.

The fields were still and nearly quiet but he had come to enjoy the low hum of the <>. it invigorated him in a sense. with his left hand on his saya , 9lives drew Aitsuu swiftly. The blade was like an extension of himself bearing the torment of his mind both in chaos and equilibrium. He nodded to Saix in agreement. In an instant Saix launched forward into his attack. 9lives was right behind him in the surge, although not nearly as fast as the activated skill speed of Saix' attack. As he approached Saix, 9lives rolled forward stopping on a couched position then leaped into the air. The wasp Saix stuck had recovered and its summoned ambush of two additional wasps had popped up to attack just as 9lives his the ground with activated the <> skill.

Battle Die 7 + 3 (weapon skill) = 10 Success!

Damage output: 1 (base) +2 (Skill) +3(Weapon) = 6 Damage

Tsumujiguruma: Ranges 360 attack +stun: all three targets hit!

Wasp 1: 0/7 Destroyed

Wasp 2: 1/7 Stunned

Wasp 3: 1/7 Stunned

9Lives spun counter clockwise throwing out waves of energy like blades in a horizontal 360 hitting all three enemies. The weakened wasp Saix had attack was instantly destroyed in the wave while the other two were knocked back. The additional effect of <> was that it induced stun to all hit targets making them easy pray. Coming to a stop he gave a glance towards Saix with a devilish grin. he was a very different fighter now that he was in his element and he could sense the same was true of Saix.

New Skill system build

curve blade 3

Katana 2

Sprint 1

Parry 1

Katana: Aitsuu

+3 damage

+3 accuracy

+3 Block

Seeing the young girl drop form the attack of the Gargoyle combined with his current inability to hit the illusive beast was starting to change his mind about the effectiveness of his plan. hidden in the trees he opened up his menu and scrolled through items. He has points to allocate and it was time he made the change over he had been planning. Once he reached his priced creation Aitsuu, he noticed the icon Green. He had final met the requirements to wield this deadly blade. he equipped the blade and closed his weapon. the draw was smooth and felt natural. 9Lives kept his eyes on the girl, not ready to attack. He wanted to refresh his memory on the weapons attacks and how to trigger them before he launched into battle against a treacherous foe.

9Lives nodded crossing his arms. he was not going to back down from the exercise. In fact is Nikki hadn't caught him, he had planned to make the initial run solo. "I agree but be aware that it may not be that simple. facing an ambush type creature means you may not see the enemy. in my last run i only saw 3 of the seven creatures i fought before their first attack. keeping a distance and minding mob paths is a good tactic but not as useful in this situation. " that may have been the most words to come out of his mouth at one time in a very long time. The novelty was not lost on him. he paused reflecting on his venture. he would say that you could hear them and while that was true that you would know they were around, it was nearly impossible to know where they were before one made an appearance. "well will need to strike fast and strike with precision." he finished concisely.

9Lives nodded his head. the <> hunt was indeed an enjoyable run Nikki and he had ran. even still he thought Saix was downplaying the situation. It was difficult to do an evasive enemy run without a tank. Nikki had taken much of the damage intended for 9lives on their run while he did all the damage. it would be very different running with two DPS characters. 9Lives was still wearing the base stat armor. "we will need to play this smart without a tank, but it is possible." he said giving his one and only warning concerning the mechanics of battle with a random number generator.

the girl who seemingly appeared lost in the woods, was proving to be the perfect bait. even with his attack missing, she was generating more hate by being an easy target. He pulled in blade back behind him charging for the next attack when the Gargoyle struck out at her once more. as the attack hit he could see her health bar drop. he activated <>

Batytle Die: 4

Charging forward to attack again. his blade once again came up short as the creature evaded to the side back into the brush. He knew he had made the error. it wasn't like him to care about the wellbeing of others but seeing her get hit momentarily delayed his activation and it cost him his prey. truth be told he knew the gargoyle would be hard to hunt and he enjoyed that aspect, but he was going to have to put everything else out of his mind. quickly he leapt up to the branch above him and ran into the darkness once more.

alot of this is being handled by the skill system which is currently in beta test. you cna read about it here:

http://www.sao-rpg.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1402

the pleased expression on his face form a good battle and the look on Nikkis face as she saw what she had earned along with his respect quickly changed as she embraced him. immediately his eyes widened with shock. he didn't hug her back paralyzed by the actions of the girl. when she released he took a step back with his expression unchanging. he didn't like to have his personal space invaded and really didn't like being touched. He remained quiet trying not to say anything that would make the situation worse.

His eyes shifted down for a moment as he tried to regain his composure. "we venture forth to battle again soon." he said calmly before leaping backward with is right arm up to catch the roof ledge. in a fluid movement he swung back form the momentum of his jump then swung forward flipping up to the roof top then took off towards the center to town.

9lives accepted the trade. 'Arigato, Boku wa kore o... he stopped and sighed. I will see that these are put to good use for the guild." he said nodding his head. 9lives turned and began heading back into town without another word. as they approached the walls he stopped before the got in earshot of the town. "it is not uncommon that you would know my name if you are a gamer as well. more so if you are a professional. however these distinctions cause hazards in this world. if people know your career is to master and defeat others in video games they will try to exploit you for their needs. worse others will see you as a threat to their existence and will seek to end yours. This is why people like us must not let the others know who we are and what we do." He paused to make sure it all sunk in before moving forward.

He opened his inventory and selected the triad window. 9Lives had created an amazing set of heavy armor for Nikki assuming that should she prove worthy, would be able to maximize its use. he sent the offer over to her without provocation. once she could view the armor he said "its not a shield but i think this will aid you to a greater extent."

The armor was Victorian styled plate with segmenting plates to maximize defense while not compromising motion. The metal was a brilliant royal blue with gold trim. its elaborate inlay of gold through the plates looked stunning. +11 Durability

9 Lives crouched on a branch, obscured form sight watching the forest floor. the mobs of the night were predatory and used ambushes to attack. he wanted a change of pace. fighting wins wasps were entertaining and challenging in an agility struggle but if he was to increase is response time he needed to fight a monster that not only moved fast, but attacked from the shadows. a monster not unlike himself.

His abyssal iris' dilated to their limit. he quickly spotted the woman who ventured through the forest on ground level. was she, like himself, their to train or was there another reason for her presence. it intrigued him but not enough for him to leave his vantage point. Quickly his prey lunged out at her just missing and 9Lives dove out to attack form above.

Battle Die: 3

He landed on the ground with his sword stopping in the dirt just short of the gargoyle's leg as he vanished into the darkness. his eyes met her's for a moment. a sadistic grin crept across his face before he flipped backwards into the dark. in hindsight he likely would had through this the poor choice as now she likely thought of his actions as intent to PK but 9Lives was simply living the thrill filled duality of being both the hunter and the hunted simultaneously.

9Lives respected Saix and his talents both as a gamer and as a martial artist. He had shown great tactical ability and combat prowess in the game. it was the sole reason behind 9lives decision to form a guild with him. "you wouldn't be holding it if i did not think you worthy, my friend. he said before leaping down to floor level. the Streets were quiet, much calmer than the floor blow and while he enjoyed the layout, he wished to head further up into more secluded places where he would be able to truly be isolated when he desired it.

Saix had called him to this area of the city, the same that he left form when venturing out to fight the <>. 9lives guessed Saix had a similar idea. he opened his inventory and selected the 7 wind wasp needles and single vial of venom and moved it to a trade window. "it would seem we have similar interests once again. i trust you will make use of these." he said accepting the trade.

Actually, long before White Wolf ever used the Ghoul in their Table Top Rp, the term Ghoul belonged to a rather generic folkloric monster or spirit associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh.

I didn't say that white wolf invented the word, just that when i hear the word ghoul all i can think of is vampire.

if you want 13 to seem like a curse then there are numerous ways to make that happen. first you could make all the town npcs have monster bodies, and all the monsters be human. you could make all rolls reverse so that a 1 is a critical and a 10 is a fail. you could have monsters that steal form your inventory and you have to kill them to get the item back (which could be very difficult if they stole your weapon). you could make it where retaliative size of everything is twice as big so the player feels like they have shrunk. you could steal an itea from guildwars 2 and make it so that all players appear as monsters making it hard to tell friend form foe. thats just some ideas.