Corvo

Corvo listened to the man respond with none of the subtlety- or feigned subtlety, as the case may have been- the question had been asked with. Whether he was being intentionally obtuse or otherwise, it mattered little. Corvo offered a pained sigh and a shrug in response, as though it was the best he could do. The whole world had gone mad long ago. Who was he to hold on?

Instead, Bismuth seemed interested in collecting flowers. Or, whatever it was that he intended to collect. Corvo wasn't really paying that much attention to the finer details. They were going the same way, and they'd be taking on part of the burden so that he wouldn't have to shoulder all of it himself. That was the part that mattered.

Both of them seemed extraordinarily happy to meet someone new. That struck him as odd. Was their time in this world so soul shattering that any new face was a welcome respite?

Well... maybe that was better than no respite at all, and wanting nothing to do with anyone.

...nah, couldn't be.

He gave a non-commital grunt, and hazarded to speak. "Yeah, sure, good to mmmmyou, and all that," he murmured everyrhing after the word "good" like he didnt really want to be saying it. It was when Astreya broached the topic of a skill that he snapped remotely to attention. That was what brought him here, too. So the info was good. It was worth listening to the two of them be nice to each other after all!

Corvo glanced out over the sandstorm they were about to walk into, and his jaw set. "Looks about as inviting as a 1850s Baptism in Georgia would to Malcolm X," he commented offhand as Zamek addressed his question. The old man looked at him, confused. "Ah, don't worry buddy. I think everyone else understood the reference."

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 "Are you, like, a combat type or do you do more of the like... support and searching and stuff like Bismuth?" 

At that question, his ruby reds moved to regard Astreya and he managed a cockeyed grin and summoned his massive greataxe to hang over his shoulder. "Anything needs killin'll get killed right," he assured her. That was about the only language he cared to speak. Violence.

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 "If you need, I can like, take care of any monsters or whatever."

"Don't you worry over me, missy." The sands rolled around them as he strode forward, hefting the massive weapon of war that dwarfed him, quite comically as he went.

ID: 204816 CD: 7 [No Damage]

Two more fell, and their remnant data illuminated the cavern just enough for Corvo to discern the nature of the threat. He counted only one more bat, but hardly wanted to risk waiting around to see if there would be more. "Gotta say," he hefted the greataxe over his shoulder again and began building up for the swing, "for a girl with pink hair and a glorified twig, you didn't do half bad."

Yeah, that sounded even funnier when he said it out loud. He barked out a laugh in spite of himself, bur Corvo snapped into motion before it abated. Like a grinning, smoking demon, he surged toward the final creature with murderous intent. The creature met him head on, lacerating his flesh with its claws and sinking fangs deep into him.

Unfortunately for the bat, it's best efforts were met with a force of pure rage. The massive swing that Corvo built toward was already set in motion, and not even it's body could halt the momentum. It tore through the creature like paper as he forced the bat back, pinned it to the floor, and ultimately sawed it in half with that same stroke.

His weapon embedded in the ground, deeply, and he reflexively tugged at it to pry it loose.

"Alls well that ends well," he proclaimed unenthusiastically as the weapon splinted rocks from the cavern floor as he dislodged it. With a dismissive wave, he returned the axe to his inventory. "We got the girl, we killed some bats, might as well get moving before we attract any more undesirables."

He didn't need to ask her opinion on that, after all. Right?

"Keep an eye on the kid. And you," he gestured vaguely toward Koko, removing the pipe from between his teeth and likewise dismissing it to his inventory. "Don't go making any more friends before you get back to your mom."

Corvo took a deep breath, then exhaled. 

What a ride.

Corvo HP: 67/180 (35+2=37-12=25) | EN 11/36 (+1, -8) | Base Damage: 8 | Mitigation: 12 | Accuracy: 3 | Evasion: 0 | Bleed: 12 | Risky: 8 | Recovery

ID: 204439 | BD: 5 (-1) = 4 (+3) = 7 | MD: 10

Rebekah | HP 660/660 | EN 69/84 (-11-6+2) | DMG: 22 | MIT: 48 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 1 | LD: 4 | BH 35

Giant Bat 3: HP 0/75 (-160) | DMG 35 (Dead)

(8+8= 16 × 10 = 160)

He looked around cautiously as the woman moved to join him in the cave and pulled her rapier. She'd protested the manner in which he called her, but if he heard her, he gave no indication. Instead, when she joined him and they were knees deep in the darkness of the cavern, she spoke up again. "Eh?" he asked. She said that she heard something, but 'something' in this situation didn't necessarily mean 'a good thing.' She started down one path when the road forked, and he briefly considered splitting the party- but if they got lost, would it really be as simple as doubling back and retracing their steps? In the dark, no less.

Despite his misgivings, Corvo flanked Rebekah as she pursued the sound. It manifested as they came closer, and he distinctly recognized it as a young girl brought to tears. They had found Koko. 

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"Hello Koko. We are here to rescue you from the cave. Your mother is waiting for us in Urbus. Can you come with us?"

Corvo blinked. That was a surprisingly direct way to approach an irrational child. "You gonna offer her candy too? Where's the white van with no windows?" he asked incredulously as he took a step past her and knelt before the girl. "Hey, kid," his voice became a bit softer, "I know this is scary..."

Koko threw herself at Rebekah in hysterics before Corvo had time to try to diffuse the waterworks. He blinked and shook his head. "The Cardinal System clearly has no concept of stranger danger," he muttered sidelong as Koko wept into the threads of Rebekah's garments and took solace in her femininity. Clearly, she was reminded of her mother and it brought her comfort. "Stupid fu-" he barely had time to express his sentiment about the game before another sound, much less appealing than the last, flooded the cave.

"...well that's not great," he huffed as he managed to get to his feet. High pitched sounds blended with the flapping of wings, and he knew that the first friend he'd made in the cave had some extended family over for the holidays. "Get in front of the girl," he instructed, "I can't get a clear count, but there's a bunch of them."

The first bat came at him and raked viciously at him with claws. Corvo watched the attack coming and stood his ground, bringing his axe through behind him and working up the momentum to repay the damage in kind. Before the creature could evade, the massive weapon split it down the middle and sent it flying in disjointed strands of data. Likewise, three more creatures swept down and took chunks out of him, but given his lack of visibility, he did not get a better idea of how many there were. Corvo's health bar took a dent but just remained in the green; but more importantly, he felt something hot like rage welling up beneath his skin. He recognized the buff as "Risky," which came from his armor, but he hadn't realized it gave him this much of a rush.

"I could get used to this," he muttered, rolling out his shoulders as he prepared for another attack. The danger to his life only gave him a thrill, and even as he faced the possibility of death, Corvo could feel his body teeming with anticipation. This was the closest to alive he'd felt in Aincrad.

"Eyes up!" he called out. They were swooping madly, and he suspected that it had something to do with their home being disturbed. "They aren't bad alone, but the bunch of them- I gotta admit, it ain't great."

Giant Bat 1:
HP: 0/75 (-104)| DMG: 35 (DEAD)
(8x13)
Giant Bat 2:
HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35
Giant Bat 3:
HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35
Giant Bat 4:
HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35
 

Corvo:
HP: 92/180 (136-48)= 88 | EN 18/36 (+1) = 29 (-11) = 18  | Base Damage: 8 | Mitigation: 12 | Accuracy: 3 | Evasion: 0 | Bleed: 12 | Risky: 8 | Recovery
ID: 204413 | BD: 4 (-1) = 3 (+3) = 6 | MD: 8
Corvo took damage: Risky procs! +8 Damage next attack!

Was something going to come from behind them? Corvo stared blankly at the woman when she said that, one brow chocked. "Whatddya mean, 'whatever is coming from behind us'? You think something is going to flank us while we're advancing into the cave?" he asked, no small amount of skepticism in his voice. If that was her way of saying she'd take rear guard, it left him seriously unnerved. He patted down his torso and sought his pipe, which he found in short order and ignited. As he took a drag, he felt his hands jittering unbidden. What'd she have to go and say that, for?

He began the (relatively short) journey into the cave by summoning his greataxe and brandishing it in both hands. Smoke billowed from between his teeth like a train's smokestack as he trudged forward into the darkness, ready for anything. That was when the creature appeared before him, which he only managed to see once it swooped down at him. "Ack!" he called out. Rebekah had been right; if they wanted to see anything in this environment, they should have brought something to shed light. It seemed like they would be on the back foot, this time.

"Look alive, Pinky," he called, a sure reference to the woman's hair, "we've got company!"

Corvo hefted the mighty weapon over his shoulders and got his hips up underneath him as the creature narrowly missed smashing into him. Its teeth bared, he could vividly imagine what might happen if they punctured him. He was lucky that time- but if there were more of them, if they happened to run into a group of those things, he might not be as fortunate the next go around. "Something tells me the most danger is ahead of us, not behind," he muttered grimly as his axe spun round his body, and he threw his weight into a heavy swing.

The bat came around for another pass, but Corvo's weapon was on a collision course. The Sword Art he'd activated enhanced the power of the attack tenfold, and with a shrill cry, it hit the ground in two uneven halves. "I think we should find the girl and get out of here," he suggested, "sooner rather than later, preferably."

Giant Bat:
HP: 0/75 (-80) | DMG: 35
(Base = 8 x 10)

Corvo:
HP: 180/180 | EN 28/36 (-8) | Base Damage: 8 | Mitigation: 12 | Accuracy: 3 | Evasion: 0 | Bleed: 12 | Risky: 8 | Recovery
ID: 204402 | BD: 8 (-1) = 7 (+3) = 10 | MD: 1

He let out a grunt when the other Player suggested they get the lead out. There wasn't a sentiment he could possibly have agreed with more. "Yeah, you're right," Corvo muttered as he raised no objections, and they started on their way toward the indicated quest marker. Rebekah was right, which he noted immediately once he'd had the chance to really look over the map. This place wasn't far at all. It must have been her inability to act that made the mother's behavior so manic. Corvo flinched. His mother might have felt the same way once the situation in Sword Art Online was explained to her. Only unlike Koko, no one was coming to help him. No one could reassure his mother.

The two were not the same.

He let out a ragged breath just as she mentioned his lack of introduction. She was right about that- Corvo disliked pleasantries, and whenever possible, he failed to give his name. He failed to interact with anyone else at all. Intentionally.  It may have been rude, but in response to her question, he let out a drawn out sigh. Everyone seemed to care about manners lately. Everyone wanted to know everybody, and this world was suddenly becoming sunshine rainbow happy land for friends. He hated it. With every part of his being, he rejected the idea that people could come remotely close to accepting this experience as life.

Corvo, to his credit, managed to bite back the acerbic words that he wanted to say. "Corvo." It wasn't a fully functional greeting, but then, Corvo wasn't a fully functional human being. Not in the sense that most others were. He ran on spite and venom, and with a severe lack of caffeine in this place, he had no shortage of either. 

The path was fairly straightforward, but not rife with monsters the way he thought it would be. It made for poor sport, but if this beast the woman droned on about was worth its salt then it would make up for his boredom in spades. When Rebekah asked about a light, he blinked. "What?" he asked. "No, can't say I have anything like that. Wasn't aware that I could get one. You mean to say you think we're going to have trouble seeing?" he asked. He'd seen something about darkvision somewhere in the myriad abilities and skills a Player could unlock, but it felt like a far-off expenditure that wouldn't come into play as floor 2. 

He didn't think there was anything wrong with that design, though. It posed a challenge- something that the Players had to overcome before they had become strong enough to simply bulldoze through content. 

"Whatever," he shrugged. "As long as I get to kill something. I'm in a real foul mood today."

He was at a loss. Corvo immediately regretted that he had not simply walked away. Surely she would not have followed him outside the safe zone, and he could have had time to collect his thoughts-

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Hello, Are you looking to take the quest?

The ruby gleam of his eyes darted toward the woman, who answered one of his many questions with one of her own. At least now he knew that the woman was a quest NPC, and this erratic behavior was the game's way of flagging him as able to accept it. "Yeah, I guess I don't have much choice," he managed to shrug as Choshi continued to plead with him. Her relief was measured, almost non-existent when the girl, who named herself as Rebekah, asked her about the child. 

"Y-yes of course! She's got my face, and her hair is brown, too," Choshi began, "you'd be hard pressed to think she wasn't mine. She was wearing a bright yellow dress today- that's a relief, since the caves are so dark."

"Yeah, great, hopefully the looks are all that's genetic," Corvo muttered. "Alright, sure, Rebekah right? I'm game. Maybe it'll pay off, maybe it won't, but I could use the extra experience and frankly I just want to get out of here."

 "R-really? Thank you! Thank you so much, you have no idea how grateful I am," Choshi looked like a burden had been lifted, as if all her problems had been solved the moment that the Players accepted her request. Corvo almost wondered if they would find the child, or if she would even be alive, given how dark of a game Sword Art Online had proven to be already. Still, good or bad, at least the woman would be calmer now.

"Yeah, yeah," Corvo drawled.

 "Your e-efforts won't go to waste, I swear! I'll have something for you when you get back, I-I promise!" 

"Now you're speaking my language," Corvo clicked his tongue as a location became marked on his map, indicating the checkpoint for where they could begin their search. "Should have started with that. Really." He turned to regard the other Player, who invited him to join her. "See? Payment. I knew this was going to be worth the hassle." He hadn't known. "Looks like the location's been marked on our maps. This'll be a cinch."

Let there be Light

His arrival in Urbus was not the quiet event he hoped for. 

Before he had time to think about his next move, he saw a woman make a mad dash right toward him. With his hands out in front of him, he rebuffed her before she could come too close. "Slow the hell down," he waved her off. Over her head, the name Choshi indicated her as an NPC, but her erratic mannerisms drew his attention. Something was not right. "Pl-please," she begged, "I've been trying to find someone to help me all day. My child--" Tears streamed down her face as her composure broke. Corvo looked around for someone- anyone- else. Someone who could have calmed her frayed nerves, or... someone who wasn't short fused. Someone better than he was.

With a huff, the blonde ran his hand over his hair. He wanted nothing to do with this situation. Part of him screamed out that the right thing was to help her. That conflict was the only thing that rooted him where he stood.  "She-- she was playing in one of the caverns in the mountains with her friend." the woman continued to sob, and he grit his teeth. "I-I told her not to go but she didn't listen to me!"

"That sucks," he replied, not at all emphatic. In fact, he sounded distracted, almost bored. The NPC didn't seem to care how unaffected he was. "What do you want from me?"

"Her friend came back to me just this moment a-and said that they were attacked by monsters! T-the beast is still in there with her, please, I don't know how long my Koko can last in a place like that!"

It clicked in his head that she was imploring him for help. She wanted him to help her child. Corvo sighed, loudly. "You want me to help the kid," he voiced the thought. She shook her head wildly. He paused and glanced around. "I... look lady, I really don't have time for this..." he reached into his pocket and frowned. "...this is a quest, right?" he asked, quietly.

The Older man seemed to accept his inclusion without even asking, and the conversation abruptly ended as the newcomer spoke with the woman. It ended just as he'd intended- without a fuss, and with him included in the group without the need to ask for permission. After all, it was always easier to ask forgiveness- who am I kidding, I'm not going to do that either, Corvo snorted as he glanced from one player to the other, ultimately disinterested in who they were. It was what they contributed that mattered, and so long as the quest moved forward, even that was an afterthought. The woman insinuated that she would be fine if he came along, but he seemed to ignore the sentiment as though it did not matter.

Bismuth introduced himself and Corvo's ruby gaze found him, assessing. The man seemed slightly more agreeable than the woman, at least in terms of introductions. She was less forthcoming, and his immediate impression was that she was "tolerating" his presence. Astreya followed by introducing herself, almost like she were following some kind of social protocol. "Corvo," he responded. It seemed that some of the dogs in this world clung to the conventions of the one they'd left behind, at least. It was best to entertain them where necessary. If just to prevent friction.

Friction was still inevitable.

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"Well, like, anyway.  Let's totally go out into the desert.  It'll be fun probably!"

Corvo found his gaze following the woman skeptically. Who thought of traipsing through the desert as fun, even in the real world? Or did she mean going together as a group? No- that was just as unlikely, given the current climate between them. Sweaty with a high probability of disagreement. Granted, Corvo was known for being flamboyant and over the top, but he hadn't gauged this group well enough yet to unleash the hellish beast of his ego on the poor, unfortunate souls. He leaned toward Bismuth and quietly asked, "which part is the fun one? Do you know?" 

He spied the other Player who hadn't said anything and chuckled. That guy had the right idea. Corvo's gazed moved back to Astreya as she hurried ahead, out to the point position. With a sigh, he resigned himself. One guy seemed normal, the other seemed eager to get things over with, and the woman- well, who knew with that one. He got himself moving and trudged along behind her, close to Zamek. The old man coughed intermittently, but kept the pace as diligently as he could. I get it now. The fun part must be babysitting the guy with COPD, he reasoned silently. That thought caused him to laugh audibly.

His father would have slapped him in the face for laughing at a joke like that. Corvo felt himself sneer at that thought. "Which way?" he asked Zamek. 

It took far longer than he liked to weasel the location of this particular quest out of a broker. Whether they disliked his attitude or the fact that he refused to pay for what should have been common knowledge, the woman that he didn't deserve the time of day. Luckily, another Player had been less stingy with his pocketbook, and Corvo just happened to listen in on the conversation. "Damn shame," he muttered. "Whatever happened to the kindness of strangers?" he asked the world, ironically.

Aincrad failed to respond in an affable manner.

"Yeah," he snorted. "Feeling's mutual." The crimson eyed youth ambled through the windblown town, eyes squinted to ward off the grains of sand that rubbed his flesh raw. He had a rough idea of where the quest should have started- the one that would let him travel virtually anywhere in Aincrad, without worrying about the environment- but initially, he saw no NPC.

Rather, what he saw was a pair of Players talking. One more than the other, in the most infuriating speech pattern he could possibly imagine. "You've gotta be kidding me," he sneered. Thankfully, he could avoid interaction with that one outright, since the quest did not require him to be in a group...

He watched an older, sickly character enter the fray. The woman exchanged words with him, and in her zeal, drafted another Player to help him. It was when he revealed his name that Corvo groaned audibly. "Of course it is," the blonde rolled his eyes. 

It didn't stop him. No- Corvo wanted what the man had to offer, and he wasn't the type to back down without taking what he came for. 

He stepped into the group like he belonged there from the start, arms folded, and glanced between the three of them critically. "I heard that you needed help," he addressed the old man directly. Quest NPCs were easy. Players less so. If he triggered the quest before they had time to weigh in, he could join the ragtag band and sponge off of their luck. Better than scrounging around in a giant litter box for hours by himself.

"And so, I have decided to be charitable. You may thank me after we find your effects."

Earning a Living

So much.

There were a handful of places readily available in the Town of Beginnings for teaching the basics of survival in Aincrad. Coupled with the tutorial were the means to take on professions and become part of the world's dynamic economy, allowing each Player to contribute to floor clearing, the enrichment of daily life, and a multitude of other monotonous tasks that sounded fantastic on paper but actually amounted to the nine to five grind of a desk jockey. His ruby gaze glazed over as he stifled a yawn and watched for the thirteenth time in an hour that the same NPC ambled past, mindless, on a loop that could numb the brain of anyone who paid attention for long enough. "This is the closest I've been to drunk in years," he drawled. Corvo ran a hand through his gilded hair and bristled loudly.

He realized that he was tapping his foot impatiently after the fourteenth pass. The Player reached out and grabbed the NPC by the shoulder and pulled him close. "Don't you have something you need to be doing?" he asked, trying to omit the menacing growl from his words. "You know, other than pacing, back and forth, for literal hours-"

"I have to spread the word," the young man recited dutifully, "have to make sure everyone knows."

Corvo watched the man's face, almost like he believed that it might twist in laughter at any second. Surely, he wasn't serious? "Knows... what?" the youth asked. "You haven't approached anyone for the entire time I've been watching you."

"Approached?" came the confused response. "No, no, never approach. They have to ask me."

He was dumbfounded by the simplicity of the response, and the conviction with which it was delivered. This twisted reality had an equally twisted sense of humor. "Right..." he snorted. "Alright, I'll bite, but you better not make me regret it. What does everyone need to know about?" He let go of the man's shoulder and crossed his arms. Was it some kind of mission, to fight orcs or collect wood? A dangerous situation that required an immediate response? No- surely, the game would have made this character a bit more compelling and given him a bit more urgency if that were the case-

"Opportunities," the boy positively gleamed. "For work!" he added, as though he needed to be more concise. "There are many professions in this world, and a great deal of need besides. I've been tasked with putting the word out and recruiting to try to handle the demand for skilled workers. It's a real problem, you know-"

Corvo felt his brain returning to the mushy state it had emerged from just precious moments before. "Yeah," he started to say, "but it ain't my proble-"

"Did you know?" the lad asked enthusiastically, cutting in before he could finish his sentence. Corvo blinked. What was that? "There's even work for hoarders, gatherers, people who find materials and rare objects alike." He reached into his pocket and produced a shiny stone and held it out for the Player to appraise. "You can find the secret treasures of this land- maybe even be rich, one day!" He quickly stowed the item when Corvo made to reach for it, much to the other man's chagrin.

"Rich, you say?" he questioned rhetorically. A King needed coffers to rule, and riches were the best way to fill said coffers. He nodded. "Alright," he lifted a finger and pointed to the boy's nose. "Then you have the privilege of telling me where I can find someone to teach me this skill," he told the younger man.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" the boy nodded. "That'll be Giovanna. She makes camp just outside town, near the forest. You can't miss it. When you see her, tell her Pietro sent you, would you?"

Looks like I'm not the only one looking to get rich, he smirked. 

"Yeah kid," he winked. "Whatever you say." If there's a sign on bonus or a finder's fee, it's all mine, kiddo. Welcome to real world business practices.

With his business settled and his next move planned, Corvo promptly made his way toward the gate.

@kali

If there was anything more irritating than forced kindness, it was the expectation of empathy for strings of code. Aincrad itself mocked him with the illusion of a distraught mother and sought to illicit an all too human response. Instead, he listened with a measured expression that betrayed none of the contempt that he actually felt. Instead, he responded in a mechanical manner that made it seem like their roles had reversed, and he was the computer program. Deadpan. "She got lost in the mountains- the beast...!" Her words were broken, hysterical. His initial reaction was a wave of nausea that threatened to bring him to his knees. A machine didn't deserve sympathy or pity. Their relationship was words on paper, thoughts set in motion and played out according to a script. It didn't have the lifelong journey of parent and child, but to feign that- to show him exactly what this world had taken from him- only fueled his disgust. 

Yet in this world, to survive meant to stomach that malcontent and rise above it. At any other point in his imprisonment, Corvo might have given into his rage and spat back at the NPC. Instead, he took a shallow breath and started to respond. "You're being insane," he growled through clenched teeth. "I can't understand a word you're saying. You need to slow down."

Still just as charming as ever, I see.

Both Corvo and the woman turned to regard Lessa, one with renewed hope and the other with visible distress. It was the woman who looked overjoyed to see her. "Oh, yes, thank the gods, please tell me you've come to help?" she queried, triggering the quest prompt for the blonde haired woman. "My daughter is lost in the mountains and it's a very dangerous area. I'm not strong enough to brave it myself- I told her not to go, but she just wouldn't listen to me. Please, I'll do anything-"

His eyes would have rolled out of their sockets if they could have. "Normally if a woman said that to me it would feel like incentive, but this just feels pathetic," he muttered as he turned to glance sidelong at the woman. "Don't tell me you've got a soft spot for these fuckin' AI," his shoulders sagged as if defeated. Everyone else in this world had so much good, so much desire to help their fellow man- even when their fellow man didn't actually exist. Evan had squandered all of his empathy within the first damn year they were stuck inside the game. He felt like he wanted to scream; but Corvo suppressed it for the time being as he realized that the NPC had stared staring at him, almost as if she thought he was the crazy one.

There was a mad glint in his eye as he stared back.

"Careful, lady," he said in a much quieter voice, "I'll make sure you see your kid again, but if you look at me like that again, it might not be the way you intended."

She recoiled a bit toward Lessa, and Corvo smiled. "Yeah, that's better. Alright, mountains, kids, monster...?"

Let there be Light

Corvo level 5

Of all the boring places to go, the second floor was one of the worst. 

Players who had already done their time rarely had a reason to come back. Since the overhaul of the System, the levels and strength of various mobs had streamlined. Drops were set to make it less lucrative for those high level Players to dip low and therefore incentivized quests and fights for lower leveled Players. It created a certain rift between the Frontliners and the weaker Players, but that had always been the case. Those Frontliners who did come down were mostly there to scout for prospective new talent. Guilds kept a steady influx of new blood in order to keep their numbers up and help with the clearing effort. So, essentially they were just numbers, some more valuable than others.

Corvo found all of that boring. He lazed against on of Urbus' many buildings, one shoulder reclined with the other arm holding an apple. He didn't much care for most fruits, and apples weren't an exception- but without much col to his name, whatever food he could buy would have to suffice. He took a bite and made a face, staring down his nose at the broken skin and assessing the mealy off-white innards for blemish. Those sorts of imperfections didn't usually crop up in the augmented reality, but he wanted a better excuse to toss aside his dinner than "I don't like how this tastes." His parents had taught him to be a bit more discerning than that.

Yet, somehow he was still able to justify pitching it. Sometimes in life, Corvo reasoned, it was safe to not like something and that was reason enough to take action. That was his entire reason for rebelling against the Cardinal System for keeping him trapped here. It only followed logically that he would start to manifest that more frivolous behavior. And in his mind, no one could say a word to him about that- because they would be wrong.

He pushed off the wall and glanced around, aware of various structures and people, how the crowd moved, and the vendors different patterns. Their outcries of sale, the pitches they made for their products, everything had a subtle (or not so subtle) way of flowing seamlessly. Or at least, it seemed seamless. Once you listened long enough, even the most structured parts of Aincrad were discordant. Corvo had successfully started to find chaos even where it didn't exist. He hated it.

"Um, sir?" A woman approached him while his back was turned, and he whipped around. "My daughter, it's my daughter. She's gone missing, and, well..."

Corvo looked her up and down for a long moment. The woman seemed uncomfortable, almost afraid, but if her daughter had gone missing then it made sense. He recognized her as an NPC immediately because of the way she moved and spoke. No girl trapped in Aincrad ever gave Corvo the time of day. Something about him was offputting, or at least, that's what he reasoned it was. He'd stopped caring, or looking for an excuse. He didn't need them anyway. "Yeah, so?" he asked "Get to the point."

"I was hoping to get some help..."

@Lessa

He stared at his reflection for a long time.

The red hair he was born with was a part of him, even when he denied so much of himself out of spite. It was a fact, irrefutable, something that he refused to bend on. It was something that kept him tethered to his sanity in a world that threatened to steal it from him daily. So, for him to willfully give it up meant that he was finally finished with that fight. It meant that he no longer needed to hold on to the things he held dear simply to keep his mind. It meant that he embraced the end of that chapter, and that who he was was no longer up for discussion. Aincrad had won many battles against Evan, but ultimately, it had lost the war.

His hair was a golden color now, almost reflective of the aesthetic changes he'd seen in Alkor. He never asked why Alkor made the change, or what significance it held. For Corvo, it was defiance. The will that drove him forward now blazed in a form that everyone would be able to see. He smiled, red eyes burning with newfound intensity. Instead of a red-haired, foul-mouthed vagabond, his appearance took on that of a more sophisticated, refined cruelty. It wasn't apparent at a glance, but a woman passing by remarked that he looked sharp. If she'd stayed longer, his words, his demeanor, everything might have changed- but now, he had at the very least a more inviting scowl.

Corvo stepped out of the room and pulled his cloak over both shoulders, letting it catch the wind and flow through the breeze behind him as he ran. There were quests he needed to do, thing's he'd neglected for too long. Now, with his mind made up, there was nothing standing between him and growth. Somehow, he'd managed to blame everyone and everything else for his problems. He'd become the very thing he hated. There was so much work to be done.

And so much rage to tap into.

Perspective: Corvo, leaving the Monument

There was something sobering about the way he swayed with each step. After he was outside the room, his knees felt weak. All of the emotions he'd fought to suppress finally boiled over, rising to the surface and then over the edge. He caught his breath only to lose it again. What was going on? All of that time, he'd convinced himself that he would never see Thom or any of the others again. He'd thought that everything he knew was gone, and that Aincrad only kept taking. Now that something had resurfaced, he wasn't sure how to cope with it. Alkor was there. He was in the building just behind Corvo, and the red haired Player had willfully denied his friendship. He'd gone as far as to say he'd take on the world alone, and for his best friend to watch him do it. He was proud- fiercely so, and he knew that his newest task was greater than anything he'd faced so far.

The quests in Aincrad were nothing next to the monumental expectation he'd just made for himself. The King of Aincrad, but he was little more than a joker. He wanted so badly to turn around, to say that he'd acted in error, irrationally, but what was said between friends the way he'd said it- those things were set in stone. He'd anted up. He couldn't fold now, when all the chips were already on the table. "Fantastic job, Ev," he muttered to himself. "Now I really do have to do it. I really do have to make something of myself, and show all the other idiots trapped in here with me that I'm not just someone for them to laugh at." He steadied himself a moment later, his eyes closed as he took a deep breath.

When he exhaled, he made his first decision. "It's time I did something for myself that wasn't just lashing out in anger," he said quietly. He already had an idea of how to separate himself from the hedonistic nihilist he'd become. Now, it was time for him to embrace a higher calling. He was going to become a force to be reckoned with- a King in more than just name. So, he headed into the deepest part of town with a handful of coins, and he decided to make a reckless cosmetic decision.

That's what pretty girls do when they have an existential crisis, right?

"I'm saying you're a veteran gamer," Alkor glanced him over. "You have a lot to offer, if you make up your mind to do it. Even if you stay mad at me, even if you continue to hate this world, channel that. Use your skills and your intellect to help get everyone out of this world. And if that's not good enough for you, do it so you can see your loved ones again. Self-satisfaction, actual benevolence, all that shit aside-" Alkor leaned in and narrowed his eyes. "-we both know you've been wasting your potential."

"Don't you think it's a little unfair to lecture me?" Corvo quirked an eyebrow quizzically. 

"You just lectured me," Alkor shrugged.

"Fuckin' shameless," the red haired player guffawed. "As expected of the Captain. No sense of propriety whatsoever."

"Circumstances change, people rarely do," Alkor shrugged.

"What're you, a fortune cookie?" 

"Look, let's figure out what kind of build you want. I'll help you get hooked up with some people who will get you through strong enemies so you can hustle to the Frontlines. And I'll add you to my friends list fight now-" Before Alkor could open the menu, Corvo shook his head and caught the man by the wrist.

"Look, Cap. I respect you. I think a lot of the fact that I just told you to die and you put up with it. But I can't just pretend I'm not responsible for my own decisions the past couple of years. I'm not alright. I'm fucked up, honestly. My brain ain't right, not like it used to be. I've got a lot of work to do. I've got a lot of ground to cover, and damage to undo, and I've got to do it myself. If I didn't do at least that much, I'd never be able to live in my own head."

"So...?"

"Friends comes later. Friends comes after I can rationalize all the hate and rage. Before I came to this world, I wasn't like this. I've fallen so far. If I went back now, my parents, my brother, my sister- they wouldn't know who I am. I don't want that."

"And when did that stop?" Alkor asked quietly.

"When you gave up on me!" Corvo screamed. Their faces were close, so close that he couldn't hide the tears. He couldn't stifle any of the emotion that bled into his words. "You could have sent me a message, literally any time. You could have found me, let me know you were okay, but you were off plowing some pink haired bimbo-"

"Mari?" Alkor asked.

"Who the fuck else, genius? Yeah, I heard all about it. Emotional Rollercoaster, all that goofy shit you were never any good at. You picked that over your family. I thought you were dead, I thought I'd never see you again, and I thought I didn't have anyone." Corvo exhaled. "And really, I don't. It's obvious you can't be relied on when the chips are down."

"You know that's bullshit." Alkor grabbed Corvo by the arms and pushed him off. The difference between them wasn't much, even with numbers as a consideration. Alkor’s stats were system generated, while Corvo's were all natural. "You know I'd be there in a minute if you called.

"But you weren't, Thom. You weren't there for two goddamn years. What do you have to say about that?"

"I went into a goddamn coma!" Alkor practically screamed. Corvo blinked. This man never showed emotion to that degree. "I disappeared, gone, everyone thought I was dead. What was I supposed to do?! All that time, I had no idea that you'd logged in, because you'd never reached out either!"

"Oh fuck off!" Corvo threw a punch, which took Alkor square in the cheek. "I didn't reach out! Fuck, we were supposed to meet on the very first day! Where the hell were you!"

"Are we just going to keep shifting blame?" Alkor sighed, fatigued. "This is exhausting."

"You're fuckin' exhausting," Corvo folded his arms and muttered.

His expression shifted quickly from confusion to thinly veiled rage. "Well, I'll be god damned," he uttered acerbically, ruby gaze locked on Alkor's own gold. "I finally found something you're wrong about, Cap." Corvo took a step closer to the man, which caused the Knight to instinctively give ground. With anyone else, he may have stood his ground. Evan, however, knew Thom far too well for that. If there was any ground for him to stand on, Corvo had ripped it out from under him in an instant. "Apparently hitting the fucker can bring people back from the dead. You know, I heard a lot of things. You were alive, you were dead, you had a girlfriend- don't even get me started on that," he jabbed a finger at the man's shoulder accusingly. "But for all the shit I heard, none of it came from you."

He stayed in the blonde haired player's face, giving him no chance to back down. He'd break him. That was already a foregone conclusion. He'd break him the same way that his ghosting had broken Evan. It was as much as he deserved.

"I ain't seen my parents in years, Cap," he continued. "I joined this god forsaken hell to be able to half out with you, and within a day of the nightmare, you weren't anyplace to be found. Do you know how lonely it is? Do you know how alone I've been?"

His eyes moved up for a moment and he caught sight of the other man's hair. "And what the hell is that? You dye your hair for some bitch? Pah, throw you behind the screen of a game console and your balls start dropping, is that it? Not once in all the time I've known you have you shown any interest, not since you were a kid and you pissed yourself when that girl talked to you. See, Cap, you can hide from these people who don't know you, but people like me? People like me already know what you are."

"You're being unfair, Eva-"

"Don't you fucking call me that. Don't say that name. That's too good for you."

Corvo felt his hands shaking as his voice raised, as spit flew from his lips and peppered the other man realistically. He reached up and cuffed the man, twisting and tossing him so that his back was pinned against the monument.

"No, you don't get to say my name," his eyes were wide now. He shoved harder, weight against the man's chest. Though he couldn't hurt him, he could see the fear in his eyes. Levels meant nothing here. Not like this. "You've literally fucked me out of years of life. Your actions have robbed me of my family and friends, just as much as this accursed game. You need to take some kind of responsibility, you know."

"What do you want from me?" Alkor shouted back. "It's not like I can just make you log out! It's not like I can apologize and make the past go away. You're just yelling at me!"

"And it feels good, too." Corvo hissed through his teeth as he leaned closer, his mind racing over thrilling, exciting, bloody ways to slaughter a man who was once his best friend. He knew that if this weren't a safe zone, he wouldn't beat Alkor in a fight. Still, it was more than he'd been able to do in several years. This was a slow burning inferno that had built up pressure for far too long. "Yeah, I got it. I thought your name was on this slab," his finger jabbed against the monument, just behind Alkor's ear.

"I reckon that'd make everything right, don't you Cap? If the last two years of my life weren't a waste because my best friend abandoned me."

Everything about the monument made his skin crawl.

Graveyards were culturally normal in most modern countries. The names of people who had been killed, like some veteran's memorial, mocked the survivors. This wasn't some kindness, it was a Reaper's Tally. How many more Aincrad had to claim before its work was finished. That was how he looked at it.

There were no familiar names, but many familiar causes of death. Boar, PK, suicide... all of them had in common that with a helping hand, most of them may have survived. Many of them were abandoned in their hour of need by their closest friends and loved ones. Corvo stared idly at the names, the causes of death, and he found himself less angry than pensive.

In some way, he was no different. Abandoned by everyone who he'd known, alone and prone to the inevitable with no hope of salvation. The only thing that spurred him forward was pride, the knowledge that he was better, that he could do something so many others had been wholly incapable of. The Frontline Players may have had things to be proud of. Their accomplishments seemed to get thrown in the faces of the weaker Players, like they weren't equal to the task of felling powerful enemies and clearing the path to freedom.

It almost made Corvo not want to be free.

Freedom meant that he'd have to thank those graceless bastards for something that had been lorded over him like some legendary tale. Freedom meant that the Frontliners had done him a favor, that he'd have to acknowledge that someone other than him contributed to his survival.

Those were lies. The filthiest kind of lies. With a scowl, his eyes darkened. If things had been different, maybe he would have been at the top, looking down. Maybe he would be the Hero, the Savior everyone looked to for guidance.

It was never to be. Corvo didn't want the limelight. The only freedom he ever wanted was freedom bought by his own hands. He'd accept no pale imitations. With that resolve, he took a step forward and threw a punch at the monument- fully aware that it wouldn't flinch, or be damaged at all.

The impact that followed shook him, but he took no damage. Instead, the words 《Immortal Object》appeared, as if to question his sanity. 

Skills

0/45 SP Remaining

Rank 4 War Axe 22 SP
Rank 3 Cloth Armor 14 SP
*Athletics Mod 4 SP

Base Damage: 8  Mitigation: 12 Accuracy: 3 Evasion: 0 Bleed: 12 Risky: 8 Recovery

"Yeah, uh," he blankly stared at the man for a minute as he rattled off something that sounded more like self-satisfaction than actually goodwill, but then, Corvo was jaded enough to know most people trapped in this world had developed hero complexes and probably thought they were doing god's work. "Thanks... I guess?" In reality, the words were only slightly kind, so it wasn't strange that the red haired Player took them sourly- even if that wasn't really the intention.

This guy didn't really seem like the type to say something he didn't mean, though. People who looked like Christmas trees were flashy and wore their hearts on their sleeve. It was textbook extraversion, at least, that was Corvo's prognosis. Someone who wasn't afraid to tell the world they felt pretty and there was nothing anyone else could do about it. Hell, sometimes Corvo felt pretty, too. Usually when he was stabbing something.

"Yeah, dumbasses," he repeated the sentiment albeit with some uncertainty about which direction he intended it. Absently, he glanced one last time to the others before he accepted the piece of armor. "You keep up the... work," Corvo shot Bahr finger guns as he backed toward the door, wary that some catgirl would jump out at him. When he made it to the exit, he saluted one last time before he turned and left, lighting up a cigarra as he went.

The smoke plumed behind him like a locomotive.

He showed up at the Tailor's shop quietly, or at least, more quiet than most of those who knew him might have expected. Corvo wasn't one to mince words when it came to results, and he needed better items if he wanted to make it in this world. The man who'd offered to craft him armor hadn't exactly been much for conversation at the time, but both of them probably appreciated that fact. Bahr seemed like the type of guy who wanted to keep busy and waste little time on idle chit chat.

Idle chit chat only made Corvo less tolerable, so that worked out best for both parties. When he arrived, he did so with just enough time to see an exchange between the shopkeep and a woman who he did not know. Corvo glanced between the two Players, but kept his thoughts to himself. He had a reason to be here, and it wasn't to heckle other people.

It wasn't... to heckle... other...

"Thanks for this," he said in the obligatory fashion to the man who he barely knew. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

If he kept it at that, he'd be fine. Part of him wanted to speak up about the purple haired woman who arrived just before him, but to start a scene in someone else's shop was bad manners... right? "Fuckin' shojo protagonist," he muttered to himself as he tore his gaze away from Arabelle and trained it on Bahr once more. "Whatta I owe ya?" he asked, readily counting out materials in his inventory to exchange goods for labor.

Now that he got a better look, the proprietor of the store had oddly colored eyes and white hair. It was like he'd died an ended up in an episode of AMV Hell. Was this some new trend he'd missed out on because he'd spent so much time sulking about his shit luck on the First floor? 

He didn't need a better motivator.

Current Level: 5
Current SP: 12
Link to SP Tracking: Here.
Item Upgrades:

Notes:
Updating Corvo!

The worst thing about the First floor of Aincrad were all the people who loitered there. Since most of the people had graduated to scaling the tower to some degree, the leftover dregs spent their time wasting away anywhere between the Town of Beginnings and Tolbana, and while he had some contempt for that kind of person, Corvo also thoroughly enjoyed having a laugh at their expense.

Cheap laughs were the only easy thing to get in Aincrad, after all. He was still low level himself, a product of enmity for his surroundings and existential emptiness that combined to drag him into a depression that lasted several long years. As a result, now he hated himself as much as he hated all the other people who had pissed that time away.

The natural recourse was, naturally, to lash out. To go out and look for the people who were lolligagging around and promptly rain on their parade was his vengeful respite. Today, he found it in Tolbana, surrounded by a Cadre of Players he had never met. Some of them didn't look new. In fact, some of them looked like they were strong, and suspiciously like they had no real business here at all.

He sneered as he looked among them for any of them who seemed like they did belong. The firebrand could smell weakness. He licked his chops as he slid into the group like he'd belonged from the start and listened for a moment, gauging the conversation.

Was there anything here worth taking the piss out of?

When Sketch spoke up, he snorted. "Wage slavery, huh? Man, that's a real incentive." 

There was something morbid about this world that crept behind even the brightest optimism, and Corvo loved to poke holes in it whenever it came up. But it wasn't until the man said that he wanted to watch the world burn that the red-eyed rascal really lit up. He wore a savage grin as he drove his weapon into the table. That solicited a barking series of words from the barkeep, to which Corvo paid absolutely no mind. His eyes were centered completely on Sketch. "You don't, do you?" he asked, a haunting madness in his words. "After everything this world has taken from us, you don't want to watch it burn. You're a real saint, aren't you? The kind of guy who just looks for the best possible outcome and holds on to the hope that it'll all work out. How's that going for you?"

He pulled back slightly as his gaze softened just a bit, and he moved his eyes toward the woman, Dazia. "You'd be cuter if you stopped trying to be edgy," he drawled, more dismissive than anything. Corvo rested his chin on the hilt of his dagger, not bothering to look up at the woman as he rocked back and forth, visibly bored. "You might be high and mighty where you come from, but in here, you're just like the rest of us. Trapped, helpless." He pulled back, stretched, and let out a mighty yawn. "Your threats are adorable and all that, but really, you're not saying much worth listening to. I just hate the sound of your voice."

Corvo glanced back to Sketch before adding, "and I was here first anyway."

The door bell jingled to herald the arrival of a player. Unfortunately, the Player was Corvo, and he looked more frustrated than anything. He glowered all the way to the clerk and placed a fistful of col on the counter. "I need an accuracy boost," he said. "This is all the money I've got. What can I get with it?" 

His eyes moved around the shop carefully as he waited for the response and listened carefully. Artistic and ornate, the wares seemed more like baubles than accessories; but inside of this game, even something like that seemed endearing. It was enough to make him want to throw up in his mouth. He muttered something unintelligible about how annoying some of the aesthetics were, but anyone trying to make out his words might only glean a string of profanity fit to humble a sailor.

After a few moments of visible annoyance, he took a deep breath and then sighed. None of his grumbling would change that he needed to improve his stats in order to move forward. He had to move forward in order to... well, why was he doing it? Didn't none of this actually matter? No- it wasn't that it didn't matter. He was tired. Tired of the others doing whatever they wanted, acting self righteous, treating him like he was less of a person because he hadn't gotten right to work becoming a frontliner.

He didn't care about any of that.

Corvo just wanted to stab something.

Quote

Small Peppermint Sack | In stock: 3 | 500col / 3 materials | TIER 1 PERFECT TRINKET | ACCURACY III
A small transparent sack of Peppermint; albeit, the candy inside isn't actually edible.

• [25/2/21] | #183849