Aereth

"I know... It's like I said. If we are lucky and they didn't notice that one of them is dead yet, we might have a chance." It really didn't matter if they would be lucky or not. Either way it was a risky and dangerous operation that very well could get them killed in the process. 

Aereth also crossed his arms over his chest, before leaning against a nearby wall. "You seem to know the risks that are connected with such a plan. And you still want to go through with it?" It was the best thing they were able come up with until now, but the idea left a bitter taste in Aereth's mouth. He really didn't like the fact that he had to risk one player to free another. Some questions flooded his mind. "Would you really trust me enough to go through with it though? You wouldn't be wearing any armor or weapon. The items have to be at the battle ready spots in your inventory so you could equip them in an instant. Also..." his voice grew darker. "How far are you ready to go, if sh*t is starting to hit the fan? I know how they will fight, and I know how I fight. Until the very end. It could very well be that you end a life today if you decide to come with me..."

He simply let that last jab slide. She really was having issues with his attitude. But to be fair, he wasn't particularly friendly to her either and she had no idea who he was and that he never put out empty threats. He always stood to his word...

"Yes let's move. Good call to remove that piece. We'll be faster and quieter this way." Aereth mentioned before neatly storing away everything again and preparing to leave. "Figured as much." he answered and started to catch up to her. Once he reached her he corrected. "Wrong. The only one of them who knows me is already dead. So best case: they didn't notice yet that one of their higher ups is missing, unrealistic. Or worst case: they are expecting something and either upgrading their security or already start moving their hideout all together." Aereth added in a worried tone. It could get very difficult to get in again unnoticed, but he was sure that he could come up with something until they would reach the hideout.

"A hidden entrance..." the brunette muttered. "Smart." After entering they encountered a proud wolf that seemed to be her familiar. Aereth crouched down, offering the familiar his hand. "Funny coincidence. I myself have a wolf familiar, but I left him back at my place..." in case the familiar would come to him, he would gently give him a few pats before standing up again. "So... Basic plan in short: Like you mentioned you could distract them once we are there, giving me time to sneak into the hideout. From there I would give me around five, maximum ten minutes to find and free the girl before getting out and supporting you. Sh*tty part: they will know your face, which I don't like and you would temporarily have to fight between zero and a whole dozen of players if you choose to use force... Or we hope that you can stall time without getting into a fight? Any better ideas?"

"Well that turned sour pretty fast..." he thought, noticing how the blonde was getting more and more riled up by his little threat at the end. But he almost had to chuckle inwardly as she told him to take his threats and shove them up his ass. 

"Look. I didn't want to insult you. Currently there are two lives at risk. The girls life and mine. And I don't want to loose even one. You received the warning, but let's just focus on our common goal for now." Aereth concluded, before muttering a small "What's with that obsession with try-hards anyways?" more to himself than to her.

The two players then quickly went over some of the most important notes the brunette had just fetched from his inventory. He told her about the location of the hideout, some persons that could be a threat to them. Every piece of paper had some notes about size, gender and preferred weapon style, with some of the notes having more and other having less information on them. At the end he simply told her how he infiltrated the base the last time around. Simply having waited for most of them to leave and letting the guards getting tired. "...after not finding anything I sneaked out and left again. But looking at your choice of armor, I assume you don't really have any sneaking skills, or do you?"

The brunette was already making his way over to the place specified in the message of his dear friend. Finally he was getting married with his girl. About damn time. He was wearing a Black in Black combo of suit and cloak while he was sneaking through the town of beginnings. The guards weren't much of an issue for him thanks to the grandmastered hiding skill he possessed. Still, he couldn't be careful enough, so he choose to simply take the way through the shady allies instead of taking the direct way. The last thing he wanted was to cause drama at the wedding of one of his best friends. 

Having arrived at the chapel, the brunette immediately spotted the pair of three that arrived before him. Kooh and Hestia were not much of a surprise, but what somehow caught him off guard was Leyna. It really seemed like the two of them stayed in contact after they left her back in the day. "Maybe there is even more going on than just friendship..." he thought chuckling to himself, and making a mental note to use that to tease her a little.

Aereth also sneaked past them effectively entering the chapel, before dropping the hiding skill and taking a sit in the last row of the chapel. He had the feeling that Leyna saw him, but wasn't sure about it. Being outside wouldn't do him any good with all the guards and players that would see him, so he simply waited until everything started, while spending the time he had with checking the presents he had brought for Itzi and Kasier...

@Kooh

Aereth simply shrugged at her smirk as she asked him if he really just called her a girl. He didn't even think much about it, but even through the heavy armor he could see that she indeed couldn't be much younger than him. It really seemed like all the things he had done and seen, made him feel much older than he actually was... No older wouldn't properly describe it... Tired? Ah. Who cares anyways...

He watched her very attentively, while he explained the situation. Looking for any signs in her expression that gave away what she was thinking. She was making it hard though. Aside from the expected sign of disgust, he couldn't really see anything in her expression. Of course, she was still struggling with weather she was being tricked or not, and what his real goals were, but that was all.

"It is the truth." He added in between her sentences before raising an eyebrow at the newly found commanding tone her voice was getting. "I'm not going to complain about you wanting to come with me, since I could still be lying to you and trust has to be earned but let me tell you that you don't have to, and by all means shouldn't come with me after we managed to loose those players. It's a highly dangerous and risky operation..." Aereth tried to reason with her. The last time he infiltrated their hideout in the middle of the night while most of the group was out and the rest was asleep, proofing his hiding and sneaking skills to be highly effective.

In case she would insist on coming with him, Aereth would open his inventory, materializing every piece of information he was able to gather in the last weeks about the matter. His information mainly consisted of handwritten notes, accompanied with a few crystals where pictures of the higher ups of the group were stored in.

Before showing anything to her he once again decided to use a more serious voice while explaining some last things to her. "I hope you won't understand me wrong now, and I'm grateful that you didn't hand me out to those guys, but I have to say this. I don't trust you. I still don't know why you even decided to help me back there. So there are two things you need to know: Hinder me in the operation, and I'll leave you behind. Double cross me, and I'll do something I might or might not regret later... Are we clear? I know that you mistrust me just as much as I do mistrust you, but this has to be said." 

After some tense moments Aereth finally was able to put down his hands. Be it either because of her curiosity, or finally some luck on his side, she agreed to help him in escaping the angry mob. "She wouldn't mind one small slash, right?" a dark voice deep inside of Aereth told him. The voice that more often than not got him into really big trouble with guys and gals he really shouldn't mess around with. That dark voice was a proud and arrogant one. It didn't like the fact that she managed to trap him between a rock and a hard place. 

The brunette simply shook head at the thought and silently turned around to follow her. For his taste the girl had lowered her guard a little bit too much, which could either mean  A: she was trusting him enough to let herself be open for an attack, B: she was confident enough in her strength as a player not to care about if he attacked her, or C: that he, as always, was overthinking everything way too much...

A slight sigh escaped his lips. "Deal. That was also my plan, before I got interrupted by some stupid mobs and a girl in heavy armor. Let's go." he said as he finally caught up to her.

As the two of them started running deeper into the dungeons, the sounds of the angry group of people finally began to grow quieter and quieter with every step, until they completely vanished. 

One of the confusing labyrinth like caves lead the two players, that couldn't be much more different, to a dead end on which they both decided to use it to make it clear to Lessa what Aereth was doing. 

"Seeing as we don't have much time, I'll just save the details for later. So short story even shorter: That guy I got rid of some minutes back on that waterfall place, was part of a group or guild, of players that focus on kidnapping weak players. They then use them to get money and resources from their friends and loved ones. They prefer females, since they make more money, and have more 'fun' with them." the word fun, came out of him in a slightly disgusted tone before he continued. "And once the person they blackmail are out of money, they just discard them like some piece of trash..." Aereth explained in a cold and a little bitter voice. "You see now why we have to be fast?"

NOTE TO MYSELF: Maybe a small branch of the Laughing Coffin that is used to fund the main guild...

She was stalling time. He knew it. But something deep inside of him wanted to engage her. See who is stronger, who is better... She definitely knew which things to to in order to gain control over a situation. Or maybe she really just was a cocky woman that liked to see how far she could go. Just for one small moment he could feel himself loosing it and simply trying to blitz her. Just one hit to see if she also had the strength to back up her words...

But he didn't. "Tell me what's better: to be a living coward, or a dead hero?" Aereth answered and shrugged slightly. He was waging his options. If he started to run she would attack. If he would attack he would get caught... "I could engage in a battle with you and get caught by your not so quiet friends..." slowly sheathing his weapon, he raised his hands in front of him. "... or you can help me now saving a girl whose only hope of freedom is standing in front of you. Whatever you choose... Choose fast..." Aereth said in a calm voice, having decided that this was his best shot at getting out of this whole mess, AND fulfill his contract...

"A stubborn one... Great..." he thought after hearing the rather bold response from the female player. It didn't happen very often that somebody would stand up and speak his or her mind in his presence.

He didn't move an inch when she prepared her hand to draw her weapon. Even though both of them weren't moving, the whole situation looked like two lions dancing around each other, waiting for the other one to make the first step. "A wannabe hero and a try-harder, meeting in a dark and moist cave. That's the stuff great stories are made off... Look. I don't wanna get into any more trouble." the cold tone still in his voice. "So I have no intention to start a fight right here. Let me tell you what we are going to do: I will walk into that direction..." he pointed behind him. "And you will go back in that direction." His free hand slowly moved towards the direction the armored female just came from. "As a pretty busy man, I have another important matter on hand that needs my immediate attention, and as you can hear, I'm in quite a hurry." He was referring to the sound of a group of angry players steadily coming closer towards their location. 

He assumed that this girl had to be one of the stronger ones in that group, judging by the fact that she had found him much faster than the rest of her group. "So? What do you say? Parting ways now and hopefully never seeing each other again, or playing hero and risking to get hurt? Your call..." 

“Two down, one more to go...” the brunette thought as the second mob of the group burst into little polygons. Not only was the mercenary unlucky enough to encounter an angry mob of “brave players”, no. On his escape he even managed to run into group of angry monsters as well. Thankfully only two minutes later also the last mob was defeated, giving Aereth time to open up his inventory, finally grabbing a health potion and downing it in one go. 

Just after the small bottle burst into pixels just like the mobs and the player he killed earlier, Aereth finally noticed the steadily growing sounds of an armored being. He didn't even have the time to pull back up his hood before a lonely armored player appeared from the dark cave path he had just taken himself to escape the crowd. 

Aereth only eyed the player, tightening the grip around the sinister looking Dimensional Shift, while he was starting to get slightly nervous on the inside. His health may be back up to full, but his energy was almost completely spent...

"Leave. I do not have time for wannabe heroes today..." His eyes were cold, his voice was strong, and the black aura of the blade in his hand only amplified the threatening stance he choose to take in front of that player. It worked just fine a couple of minutes ago with the guy who was unfortunate enough to witness him executing another player. 

"Yeah. Seems that way..." Aereth answered still doubting the claim, that he was meaning good in the end. Maybe that was the result of his actions, but his intention was always and will always be the same. Find the players that killed the most precious person in his life and do the same thing to them. Just thinking about it made a knot appear in his stomach. Right now he didn't need any friends. Things like that only would hinder him from his goals and make him vulnerable. 

Lost in thoughts the brunette simply nodded towards Hestia as she mentioned that she only had fairly strong friends. "Good for you and them..." he mumbled before pulling up the hood of his cloak again, preparing to leave. "If you find a way to open a prison in here I'll contact you again. Until that I'll take my leave. But if you need a merc, or some detailed information about pretty much anything... Well... Seeing you managed to find me today, you can find me the next time as well. Probably..."

Both players receive: 1SP; 200 Col

Using Heart Sticker (obtained HERE) on Dimensional Shift (obtained HERE)

  Quote

Item Name:	Dimensional Shift
ID:	82772
Roll:	Craft: 10 + 3 = 13, Battle: 10, Loot: 8 - Phase
Tier:	1
Type:	Katana
Quality:	Uncommon
Enhancements:	1 Phase, 2 Accuracy
Description:	The narrow, slate grey blade, though solid in the middle, fades out in the directions that it tapers, becoming entirely invisible at the cutting edges. The grip is wrapped with tattered black cloth with a highly polished spherical onyx as the pommel. A symbol adorns the center of the cross guard shaped like a traditional flat-topped kite shield.

The raid meeting had already started for quite some time, but Aereth was still standing in front of the big guild hall of his former friends and mentors. Was he afraid?

No.

He had been through worse and much more crazy things than a simple boss fight. But something was holding back the hooded figure. Was it the respect from his former friends? Was it the fact that he didn't want to enter with Domarus to blow his cover? Or simply that it could get bothersome, walking in a raid meeting with the reputation to his name? Probably a mix of everything. But as he saw a familiar shadow enter the hall, he got curious. "Since when was she strong enough to hold her own in a boss fight?" he asked himself, finally starting to move towards the entrance.

He didn't attempt to hide his presence while entering the hall, just removed the hood of his black cape and nodded as a greeting to everybody that bothered to look his way. They already seemed to be pretty deep in the discussion about the hints the scouting team gathered, as well as planning which and how many items they would need. Aereth simply walked over to @Hidden and leaned against the wall next to her. "Long time no see. Did I miss something?" he asked, knowing she also just arrived at the hall.

For a few moments, the brunette PKKer just stood there, contemplating his next steps, while watching the bystander as he sheathed his weapon again. Clearly all of his bravery from before was gone by now and he was more or less scared to death by Aereth's actions.

"They will immediately notice that he is missing. I need to act fast." were the last thoughts before a loud cry for help interrupted him. Inwardly cursing, Aereth quickly activated his search skill to spot his lost hooded cape, before sheathing his blade and picking it up again. As if on command, the white flames vanished into nothingness shortly before he threw the piece of clothing over his shoulders. 

Almost as quickly as he was picking up his cape a small crowd had begun to form around the witness. He needed to leave. Quickly. As proud and arrogant he might be at times, he knew when to simply use the easiest way out: Running. Usually a simple teleport crystal would have been enough to escape a crowd, but due to stalking down his prey for the good part of the last three days, the brunette PKKer didn't have any left. 

"What a beautiful day..." he mumbled, as he activated both his Charge and Hiding skill as he dashed away from the crime scene. And it seemed like his bad luck didn't even stop there. The crowd was blocking the only way towards the main settlement of Floor 21, so the only chance he had was to try and loose them in one of the many dungeons.

And thankfully he had all the time in the world for a little stroll... "Great. Really great."

His opponent didn't back down after hearing the question. He pushed his two handed straight sword as hard as he could against the Katana of the brunette effective ending the short stall war and disengaging from the immediate range of Aereth. Slowly the brunette lowered his weapon and waited patiently for an answer. But unfortunately for him, it wasn't his target that was starting to talk.

For one brief moment his prey diverted its attention to the newcomer. And this one moment was all the hunter needed. Aereth stormed forward, katana already glowing in a dark blue color and unleashed a strong stun attack upon his enemy. The weapon moved effortlessly through the armor of him and reduced his health points as close to zero as it possibly could without killing him.

With a loud thud the man, not much older than 30  dropped to the ground, unable to move. Without hesitation the brunette placed his katana to the throat of his victim and asked once more. "Mind your own business. It's dangerous to stick your nose into things that shouldn't bother you." he said in a dismissive tone to the newcomer. "With my current health supplies I should be able to deal with him until I can make my escape..." he thought before turning back to the guy to his feet.

"And you. You have one more chance. Where. Is. The girl?" 

"T-the hideout. She's there."

"Stop bullsh*tting me. I was already there." 

"B-but there's a hidden door in the meeting room. You have to push a hidden button on the wall to access it." the almost dead player answered, a glimmer of hope that he would make it out of this situation in one piece if he would tell Aereth what he wanted to know in his eyes...

Just after he finished his last word, the katana pushed down on his throat, and penetrated his virtual body, effectively reducing his health points to zero and making the body vanish in thousands of little crystals. 

Slowly the brunette faced the other man. He didn't notice that after he initiated his attack, the long hooded cape he wore came off, revealing the flaming set of light armor he was wearing. It was a gold and blue assassin like armor engulfed in white flames...

@Lessa

08:34 pm
Underground Waterfalls

Slowly but surely the day was coming to a close, and with that everything inside of Aincrad usually started to get quieter and relaxed. Players closed their shops, adventurers gathered at inns for the night. And especially at the Underground Waterfalls of floor 21, the 'tourists' also started to go home, making space for some couples to enjoy the evening in peace and togetherness. Not today though. Two hooded figures were sprinting through the narrow caves and open spots. From time to time the sound of metal hitting metal could be heard, with sparks flying through the air.

For Aereth this time of the day usually meant work. It was the perfect time to hunt. He recently took on an assignment from three players that hired him to find and rescue their female friend from a smaller group of thugs and PKers. It had taken him around four days to track down one of them with the help of his underground network but now he finally was chasing after a member of that group. 

The two orange players crossed their blades once more, thus coming to a short halt. The guy had only about 10% of his health left while the brunette PKKer was more or less comfortably sitting at 30%. "Where is she?" the brunette asked not noticing that the two players reached the Underground Waterfalls...

@Lessa

Always in for the plot.

That is if you want to have something more serious than just a usual and wholesome gathering adventure. But I’m sure we can work something out. Just shoot me a pm if you’re interested. :)

Still Aereth couldn't make himself a clear picture of the girl. He could feel somewhere deep inside of him that she was not ok with what he was doing inside of this floating hell. But why would she then offer him to become an ally, or a friend? Shaking his head for what felt like the 100th time this evening the brunette answered, while looking up to the night sky. "Like I said, this was my way of thinking back when I first became a PKKer. But now I can at least be honest to myself and others." A light breeze made some lonely strands of his brown hair dance around his head. "As of right now, I don't care about such things much anymore. You can't put an end to all the killing in Aincrad. You can't save everyone. And if you try this world breaks you. Revenge... That's the only thing I want. I will search, find and kill every Laughing Coffin member that I manage to get my hands on until I find those guys I'm looking for." 

"And thanks for offering me your assistance, but you seriously don't want to be associated with me. I have no doubt that YOU can protect yourself, but I'm sure many of your friends cannot. Believe me. I have quite some experience with that."

Yeah would be great. 

You will have to carry me though, since I only have around 100+ hrs in game and my aim is pretty crappy. xD

And no worries about time. Weekend should always be cool with me. xD

*Kicks in door*

Let's do some PUBG!

....

Wait! What do you mean with: it's not 2017 any more?

Aereth just listened quietly to the response of the girl. She was pretty much just like he was before he had to kill his first opponent. But things change, especially if you have to experience how twisted and crazy some players were. How bloodthirsty they can get just because they still think this whole f*cking thing was a game. 

A sigh escaped the brunette. "I was talking and thinking just like you when this whole thing started. But things changed." Aereth answered with closed eyes, finally giving in to the questions and thirst for information of the girl in front of him. "I lost somebody, swore to find those players, and to hunt down pretty much any evil PKer in the game. At first I just told myself and everyone that I want to protect those who can't protect themselves. But I lost that attitude a long time ago, cause the real reason was always and will always be: Revenge. Nowadays I'm just dealing with information and doing merc work. And on the nights I go out, hunting down a**holes."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Two things: Don't tell anybody about this. And call me once you have found that prison you were talking about." The last thing was phrased more as a joke with a sarcastic tone to it. "I've been searching for something like that for 2 years and had no luck."

Aereth sighed. This wasn't going anywhere. That girl was stubborn beyond anything. She could be the best friend of Itzal. His old mentor also devoted himself to protecting the weaker ones and helping them stand on their own feet. They even shared the same naive view on this world. At least they did in Aereth's opinion. 

"A noble goal indeed." he answered, while slowly lowering his arms again. "But let me ask you something. How far would you be willing to go just in order to protect somebody important to you?" It was a heavy question. It was the question Aereth asked himself every day before and even much more after his first kill in this game. How much further would he go? He already outnumbered every other player in regards of kills, so there wasn't much left anymore to top that, and to become even less worth. One thing was already crystal clear. He wouldn't make it out of this game. After everything that happened, that he did inside of Aincrad, he would make this floating castle his grave as well...

Calmly listening what the girl in front of him said, the orange player couldn’t help but to wonder how naive she really was. Wanting to gather information about deceased players so they won’t be forgotten was one thing, but was she really suggesting that the two of them should become friends? 

“Listen. You shouldn’t even be here to begin with. And you most definitely don’t want to be associated with me. Something like that could, and most probably will end with you regretting the day you met me. If you don’t believe me, let me start to explain. Yes I did kill each and every one of those players with crossed out names and my username beside it. I hunted down most of them like they were nothing more than simple MOBs and killed them without hesitation and regret.” He crossed his arms over his chest and continued in a cold voice. “But let me ask you something. If you really pride yourself about finding out reasoning and past stories of dead players: Did you do any research on anybody that I killed? I’m curious. You say that you want to collect information about the ones that lost their lives in here. So tell me, what do you know about them? They all had one thing in common. Everybody has a reason as to why he or she is doing something, and why they are dead now. Nobody is good or evil per say. Everybody has a story. But my story is none of your business.”

@Hestia

Aereth was so close to just call it a day and let the girl wait just to see her never again, but something inside of him told him that if he wouldn't give her what she wanted, she would pry even more, be even more eager to find him. But he already had something in mind where she and her work could prove to be very useful for him. That journal she carried with her all the time...  "If I handle this right, it might bring me closer to finally reach my goal..." 

It only took him some minutes to reach the meeting point, even though he changed directions multiple times in order to loose any individuals that could have followed him. The only difference in appearance from before, was that he dismissed his coat, and was now only wearing his full battle gear. 

He immediately spotted the woman, and while walking up to her, he deactivated his stealth skill, and greeted. "So you really came. I was half expecting, half hoping that you wouldn't." he said as he approached her. "I didn't want to talk to you in there. Too many eyes and ears. I like to stay anonymous in public, since I indeed AM an info broker. And not many players would come to me if they knew who I was. They might know my name, but not the face to it. Anyways... What do you want?"

@Hestia

Another sigh escaped the brunette as she rambled on about how Thea was defending him. That she was getting emotional about him. Bullsh*t. If she at least saw his as a friend, she would have talked with him before turning her back on him with nothing more than a quick note that was left behind in his shop. His patience was slowly but surely leaving him. "I didn't say that HE almost killed me. I said that I almost got killed BECAUSE of him. And my name is unimportant."

He then opened up his inventory, quickly storing away the leftover bottle of whiskey, before paying and fetching a small piece of paper from an inner pocket of his coat. "We are running cycles around each other. You don't want my information about him? You want to talk with him in person? Fine. I'll arrange a meeting between the two of you. And even though I can't believe I'm saying this, it's free this time if you leave me in peace for now." he placed the small paper face down on the table and slid it over to her. "Make sure nobody follows you, and come to that location in about 30 minutes. But you owe me a favor for that. I'll remember you little miss frontline tank." with that he got up and began to leave the bar, immediately activating his sneak skill to vanish into the night. 

Aereth entered stealth. 

Quote

Note:

West end of the High Field of Crossing

@Hestia

Holy Dragon Alliance was ringing a bell somewhere in the back of his head, and when the girl mentioned something about a purple haired girl that seemed to like him so much, he felt how his stomach turned. There was only one purple haired woman inside of this hell that, at least THOUGHT to know how he really was. If it wasn't for his impressive self control, the brunette would have attempted to smashed the table in front of them into pieces. In the end only a low and disapproving "Pah. Liked him?" escaped his lips after Hestia finished her comment. "Nobody likes that man. That guy almost got me killed some time ago." Aereth said, thinking back to his suicide attempt, so in reality he wasn't even completely lying to Hestia.

He then silently watched her taking out a notebook from her inventory before she continued explaining to him how she was attempting to make some kind of a list of missing and dead players also implying that she was adding some players that she assumed would also bite the dust or disappear in the near future.

"Nice..." he thought, before letting out a sigh. So all he got out of that small monologe was that she had received information about him from Thea, she was nosy aaaaas f*ck and from that last passage in combination with her confident comment about her safety from before, that she most probably was a frontliner. 

"Look, girl. I'm just a simple information broker. I trade information for money, so I still don't completely understand why you would want to take the big risk of searching for one of the most dangerous players of Aincrad. Just to satisfy your desire for knowledge? Enough people want his head for one reason or the other. So don't think nobody wants to kill him, that bit of info is for free, but if you want me to tell you some more tings about him, its gonna cost you."

After emptying his glass he added. "Or you can provide me with information that is of equal worth as the things you want to know..."

@Hestia