Cosi

The charging boar leaked red mist giving it a spectral if not demonic look. That red was reflected in is eyes which showed its intention: a last ditch attack to try and bring Cosi down with it. Cosi smirked. He was tired not wounded- well not terribly wounded- so this attack would be the boar’s last. 

He shifted the grip on his sword holding it so the cross guard and pommel were on top. 

The boar’s charge faltered as it stumbled over the loose earth but it steadied itself and continued to rush Cosi. It barreled towards him but before it reached him it fell and tumbled down a short hill grunting in confusion. Cosi with his sword raised high and his sword art charged watched in amazement as his target rolled away from him. Cosi sighed as he saw the turquoise energy dissipate and felt strength drain from his limbs. He had been so ready to strike that thing dead and here he was standing atop a hill his sword art going off uselessly and his opponent struggling to get back to its feet at the bottom of a small hill. Cosi started to make his way down to it. 

The boar bellowed in rage, reared, then charged at Cosi. Cosi swore and fell to one side trying to avoid the sweeping hooves and slashing tusks. Alas he his tired legs couldn’t propel him far enough away from the sharp tusks and he caught the attack on his shoulder. Still in a moment of inspiration and sheer  adrenaline Cosi rolled beneath the boar and plunged his sword into the exposed underbelly. As the animal squealed in pain Cosi quickly pulled his blade out and rolled out from under the boar before it could trample him underfoot. 

Cosi stumbled to his feet and hurriedly back away from his enemy. The boar meanwhile was staggering around. Bleeding red particles and semitransparent code from many many wounds the thing looked ready to collapse any moment. And how Cosi wishes it would. However that was not his luck. With a weak bellow the boar began a lumbering gait that build up speed into a bull rush. Cosi cursed and prepared to evad the charging monster. 

The boar only stood five maybe six feet away. Cosi stood with his sword up, ready to jump to safety and out of the way of those tusks. 

The boar lunged at Cosi it’s tusks flashing in the light. Cosi didn’t dodge the attack so much as fall out of the way. He tumbled to the ground and rolled to his feet, careful not to impale himself on his own sword. The boar gave a bellow of rage and began to chase after Cosi. Cosi cursed and jumped out of the way of the boar’s crushing hooves. Again he was so tired his evasive maneuver left him on the ground so he staggered to his feet and regarded the boar. Still to tired to pull off a sword art Cosi reckoned it would take two good hits to end this bristled pig. Thing is I don’t have two good swings left in me, Cosi grimaced to himself. Looks like I’ll just have to wait for openings to get some chip damage in. So Cosi waited, watching for the boar to let down its defenses. 

Both combatants regarded each other. Cosi gripped his sword. The boar pawed the ground. Then they charged each other. Each with their own weapons. Sword and tusks. Steel and bone. Cosi jumped out of the way of the flailing tusks and threw an Unterhau at the beast. The blade sank deep into its underside and the boar grunted in pain. Then with a speed surprising for such a large beast the boar spun on Cosi and lunged. It’s tusks slipped past his armor and pierced skin just barely. 

Cosi stumbled away from the monster then steadied himself. He brought his sword up to a guard position. It was time to finish this fight and get back to the Town of Beginnings.

The boar stared down Cosi and Cosi stared back. This thing was hardly able to stand from all its wounds but Cosi was so tired he could barely stand. This fight was going nowhere. 

Cosi crashed into the ground, clattering as his armor scraped and bumped. He bounced a couple times and ended up in a half sitting position. Thank god for good armor, Cosi thought as he rubbed his shoulder. It had borne the brunt of all of the boar’s attacks. He miraculously was still holding on to his sword. 

Cosi turned his head as he heard the cacophony of hooves on earth and saw the boar heading straight for him again. Cosi tried to roll out of its way and strike at it. He rolled to the side and struck up into the unprotected underside of the boar but he hadn’t gotten out of the way enough. The boar’s tusks caught  him in his left leg. 

Both combatants cried out in pain. A primal sound echoed through the clearing. Cosi scrambled away from the boar and limped to his feet. Now the boar was looking hurt. It bled code from at least five different wounds but still it’s eyes were full of white hot fury. 

Cosi lay on his back, not hurt, just utterly drained. His energy bar was completely empty both in game and literally. He couldn’t get up even if he wanted to so he just lay there, grasping for air. 

A thundering noise filled the air and resonated through the air. After a couple seconds, Cosi realized it was the boar coming straight for him probably about to ram straight into him and crush every one of Cosi’s bones. He struggled to get up but he was still too tired to raise himself off the ground. He sighed. He could try to do something though. 

The boar rammed into Cosi like a tank throwing its tusks under Cosi and then tossing him into the air. Any semblance of tactics flew from Cosi’s mind. He was probably fifteen feet, at minimum, up in the sky. He hovered for half a second then came plummeting back to earth. He braced himself for impact. This was going  to hurt. 

Cosi got to his feet shakily, using his sword to brace himself. He was so tired but he had to keep moving, keep attacking, or the boar was just going to plow right through him. 

And as Cosi looked up after getting off the ground that’s exactly what happened. While Cosi was catching his breath the boar had unnoticed charged Cosi so as he stood all he got was a faceful of boar and some thick tusks to his chest. He managed to bring his sword up high enough so it sank into the boar’s chest but still the force of the charge just carried the beast through.

Cosi was thrown completely off his feet and about fifteen feet backwards. He landed with a heavy thud and there he lay utterly exhausted. He looked up towards the clear sky and felt like a fish. His mouth opened and shut but no air went into his lungs. 

So as the boar charged at Cosi for the Nth time, Cosi got ready to dodge out of the way and slash at the beast. Just like he had the six or seven times before. But this time the boar seemed to be just as tired as Cosi because part way through it’s charge it stumbled, tripped on some loose rocks, and veered away from Cosi. Because of this Cosi’s autopilot betrayed him. As the boar moved away, Cosi went through his same motions- dodge then attack- but because the boar was further away Cosi’s strike met nothing but air. With no resistance behind his blade, Cosi stumbled and nearly pitched head first into the ground. He stopped his fall will a hand and there on the ground he breathed heavily, gasping for air. He was so tired. That miss had not been good. Now Cosi was at one energy and still not even half way through the boar’s hit points. This fight was turning bad. 

This fight was getting tedious. Charge, side step, strike. Charge, side step, strike. Repeat ad nauseum. Cosi decided right then and there that he hated boars and if he saw another one he might as well go jump off of the edge of floor one. 

Still as the boar began its racing assault, Cosi’s body fell into that same rhythm and his mind focused on other things. Cosi dodged the boar’s sweeping tusks, turning so they just missed him. I wonder what monsters and enemies are on the higher floors, Cosi thought to himself as the boar raced by and his sword strike cut it across its flank throwing up more red particles. Maybe something more humanoid like lizardfolk or orcs, he wondered as the boar stopped its charge some odd feet away, it’s sides heaving as it breathed. Cosi shrugged and turned back to the matter at hand. He might have one more sword art left in him. Cosi shook his head. Better to play it safe incase he missed. 

Cosi preapared for the boar’s next pass. He was really tired now, his energy level were below half, but still he brought up his sword and readied himself to strike at the passing boar. 

As the beast began to rush Cosi he focused on his breathing. He didn’t dwell on his fatigue and tired arms but instead he focused on his weapon, himself and the boar. The boar had a powerful stride for such stubby legs which really added to its devastating charge, if it hit Cosi of course. Cosi bided his time waiting for the boar to get with in striking range. Then right before it hit him, Cosi opened up letting the mass of bristles, slashing tusks, and pig fury pass by. At the same time Cosi swung his sword cutting a shallow line across the boar’s back. Red particles of code leaked from the wound and the boar bellowed in a mixture of pain and hate. 

As Cosi observed the boar he breathed out, his lungs screaming for air. This fight had gone much longer than the other because of those first few hiccups where neither Cosi or the boar could hit each other. Now Cosi’s energy was low and the boar still had a lot of hit points left. 

Cosi gripped his sword tighter, mostly because he was afraid of dropping it and waited for the boar’s inevitable charge. It charged again, nothing but wild hate and instinct fueling it. The boar barreled down towards Cosi, it’s tusks swinging. It tried to gore Cosi on those razor sharp edges but Cosi reacted as his body was now trained to. He side stepped out of the boar’s path into safety and swung a counter cut. But this time Cosi was too tired to put any real force behind the swing and his blade simply bounced off the boar’s bristled hide. 

The boar was still kicking and still really angry but Cosi didn’t care. This pig was going down. His body moved on just muscle memory now. The wait: a slight bounce in his step and tensing the leg muscles. His sword gripped, ready to throw a counterattack. 

The boar charged just like it also was did, a headlong charge right at its target. These lower level enemies are tough but exploitable, Cosi thought to himself as he simply side stepped the monster’s charge, his body moving on reaction more than conscious thought and struck at the monster’s side. He threw a mordhau strike, turquoise light leaping from the hilt and blade, smashing the cross guard into the beast. With such force behind the blow it staggered the creature, halting its movement, and allowing Cosi to quickly hit it twice more before retreating out of the way of swinging tusks. The blue-green light of the sword art faded, breaking into particles. Cosi switched back to a saber grip and eyed his opponent. 

The monster ran full tilt at Cosi it’s tusks gleaming in the sunlight and it’s eyes staring him down. Cosi gripped his sword tighter and tensed his muscles, ready to jump out of the charging behemoth’s path. He jumped right before it got to him but the boar turned and followed it’s tusks piercing through Cosi’s armor and hitting flesh. Cosi grunted in pain but still managed to turn and thrust his sword into the beast’s side. The blade pierced hide and sank deep into flesh illiciting a roar of pain from the massive boar. It jerked pulling the blade from itself as it retreated. As usual the wound didn’t bleed but only red lines of ever changing code peeked out and leaked from the wound in the boar’s side. 

Cosi checked his health bar. He had only sustained one damage form the attack thanks to his armor but while the boar was wounded it still had a large chunk of health Cosi needed to remove. Cosi shifted his grip on his sword grasping it by the blade. It looks like he would have to use a sword art or two to finish this monster off. 

The hateful thing lunged at Cosi, it’s tusks thrashing wildly through the air as the boar tried to gore him. Cosi’s quick reflexes saved him as he jumped to the side just narrowly missing the boar’s berserker attack. Cosi then swung his sword at the boar’s side and was rewarded this the dull think of metal cutting through hide and into flesh. Cosi seemed to be getting the hang of fighting these boars, learning they’re attack preferences wasn’t too hard and they were so big it was easy to hit them. The he remembered that this was floor one. The beginning floor. The easiest one where the enemies were the weakest. Cosi would have to get to the higher floors if he wanted a real challenge and to train harder if he ever wanted to really be good at this game. He turned his attention back to the boar just to see it begin barreling towards him again. 

The boar squealed, probably not at Cosi but because he couldn’t hit Cosi. Still Cosi couldn’t hit him so the feeling was mutual. The boar charged again heading straight for Cosi like a large, prickly, tusked cannonball. Jumping out of the way Cosi let the boar collide right with the trees behind him. It’s tusks crashed into and stuck in the tree trunk giving Cosi plenty of time to line up a good cut that sliced the monster’s hamstring. It squealed in pain and anger and wrenched it’s tusks free from the bark and turned to Cosi. It’s eyes stared right at him all bestial fury and hate. There was no intelligence in there just a hunger and thirst for retribution. It actually terrified Cosi quite a bit. This thing was made, literally to was coded, to fight and want to kill any of the players of SAO who got in this way. It wasn’t a real boar that responded to injury and had a sense of self-preservation. No it just wanted to kill. 

The monstrous boar lowered its tusks and began to charge toward Cosi. Cosi waited till just the last moment to step out of the monster’s path of approach. But as he steeped out of the way Cosi stepped back towards the trees and his foot caught on one of the roots griping him. Cosi counterattack flew way off its mark as he windmilled his arms for balance but stumbled over another tree root and went down. The boar continued its charge, digging its hooves into the ground to slow itself, and then began its lumbering and slow turn back to the now prone Cosi. Cosi meanwhile stared up at the branches and the leaves of the trees his head spinning some from the fall. He shook it, picked up his sword, and stood up a little shakily, careful to not stumble on anymore roots. Cosi brought his sword back into a guard position and prepared for the beast’s next attack. 

Cosi lunged his sword flashing out and threw a diagonal cut at the massive beast except he wasn’t in measure and the cut whistled through the air past the boar. Still the boar squealed in indignation and charged out of the thicket at Cosi it’s tusks aimed for Cosi now exposed side. As the monster rushed forward, Cosi simply followed the momentum of his swing and stepped out of the charging boar’s path. The boar slowed, its hooves digging into the earth, and turned back to Cosi confusion on its face as if it had expected Cosi to just stand and be impaled. “Ha, no,” Cosi told the boar. He wouldn’t just stand there and let the thing hit him besides this one looked slightly bigger than the last boar he killed. Cosi readied himself for the beast’s next attack his sword up, the sunlight reflecting off of its metal blade. 

However as Cosi turned to leave something stirred in the bushes past the trees. Leaves rustled and twigs cracked. Cosi pulled out his sword and backed up. Out stepped another boar, fully grown, and angry. “Ah come on!” Cosi pounted. Why did these things have to be everywhere he was searching. And they were always so angry as well, like they had just eaten a really sour pineapple whole and some of the spines had stuck in their throat. The boar bellowed, a low loud sound, that a big pig would make which is exactly what it was.  Cosi responsed in turn telling at the beast, releasing his frustration. The boar looked a little taken aback and confused like it didn’t expect the small pale human to shout back at it. Cosi still fuming about his bad luck jumped the presented opportunity and moved to attack the big spiky boar. 

Cosi continued searching, wondering what he would find next. Hopefully a sword because the one he had now was pretty terrible. Although he did order a really good one from that black smith Macradon at the Blazing Typhoon. Still the blacksmith seemed very busy so who knew when Cosi would get his requested items. So Cosi kept looking for stuff and avoiding the monsters. As Cosi was walking by a small thicket of trees he noticed something laying by the roots. He picked it up and saw that it was another shield. This one was a round buckler and covered in moss. This one seemed to be made, not of steel like the other shield Cosi has found, but of wood with metal lining the edge. Cosi shrugged and stowed the shield in his inventory. It wasn’t a sword but Cosi was fine with that. Now to get back to the merchant kid. 

After killing the boar and not getting any loot, Cosi continued his search careful to not stumble upon anymore boars. He walked among the green plains, hunting for any objects that may be unidentified items. He searched in shrubs, by the river banks, and even under rocks. After going down to a river bank, Cosi say something shiny protruding fro the silt and mud. He walked over to it and dug it out of bank. Clearing the scum from it, Cosi saw it was a potion of some sort though even with the mud wipe away the glass was still covered in a layer of grime.  Cosi stowed the potion in his inventory and continued walking over the hills and past small trees looking for more things to grab. No more boars snuck up on him this time and he was cautious to not disturb any more wild boars, sleeping or otherwise.

The beast ran towards Cosi. Its head down and its tusks pointing out like spears. The monster looked like it was trying to take Cosi down with it but Cosi was confident. He still had plenty health,the boar could only do minimum damage with his armor, and even it it struck him all he had to do was hit back and it would be dead. Cosi didn't even wait. He switched to a mordhau grip and side stepped the lumbering beast, striking it in the side of the head with  Cosi's cross guard. The beast fell, stunned, and Cosi stalked over to it. He hit it once more then again when it didn't die. On the third stroke the beast died and dissipated into red code. Cosi sighed and sheathed his sword. it was stupid that the monsters in Aincrad dissolved. How was he supposed to loot them when they did that?

Cosi lunged at the wounded boar hopefully to catch it in the throat and trying to attack before the beast to respond in turn. The blade sank into flesh, wounding but not killing the beast. Cosi's strike had hit the boar's throat but it must have missed anything important because the boar was still alive. Cosi cursed his bad luck. The boar bristled with fury and squealed, but before it could strike back with its tusks Cosi pulled out his sword and jumped out of the way of the the thrashing tusks. They narrowly missed his legs, the air hissing where the deadly tusks swept past, and Cosi turned back for the finishing blow. Out good sword art strike and the beast would be dead. Then Cosi could take his shield and go find so more unidentified items for the merchant kid. The boar staggered but still stood then with a lumbering gait charged Cosi.

Cosi scrambled to his feet just as the boar charged him. He tried bringing his sword up, just to try and get the blade up so the boar would charge straight into it. It was all he could do. He brought it up just in time and as the boar plowed full force into Cosi, Cosi's own blade was forced deep into the snout of the monster. Cosi was thrown to the side as the boar thrashed and jerked, wracked with pain. Cosi lay stunned on the ground for a second, the wind knocked out of him, then rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. The Boar was leaking read code in so many places and looked as if one good strike would finish the monster. Cosi brought his blade up and strode towards the beast, wary should it charge him again. Cosi was tired of this boar. Time to finish this fight and get back to searching.

Going on the offensive Cosi stalked toward the boar which crouched defensively, its bristles.. well bristling. It eyed Cosi's shining blade with what only could be fear then screamed in bestial rage and lunged at Cosi with is tusks. Surprised, Cosi tried to turn aside the boar's slashing tusks but was unable to. His chest plate adsorbed the force of the blow and Cosi was able to get a lucky parting blow before he was pushed back by the gore. A very lucky parting blow indeed. Cosi's blade slid past the tusks and straight into the monster's left eye. Red code was thrown out as the boar squealed and reared back on its hind legs.  It brought its lucks down again, nearly smashing the prone Cosi, and bucked about for a minute in agony. Then it focused on the one who had brought it such pain: Cosi. On the ground , Cosi gritted his teeth. This monster was not happy and even though it was nearly dead its tusks were still plenty sharp and it looked like it really wanted to kill Cosi now.

The boar charged was a fourth time, its dark red eyes shining with rage and pure hate. Cosi had woken the thing up from its nap so he guess he deserved this. He readied his sword, breathing heavily, and prepared to dodge out of the enraged pig's way. The beast rushed towards Cosi and just a second too late Cosi side stepped, catching the razor sharp tusks once more on his plate armor. Still Cosi's attack struck true, biting deep through the hide and into the boar's flesh. The powerful strike halted the beast's charge and forced him back. Taking this opportunity, Cosi struck again, grabbing the middle of his blade with his offhand and driving the point into the side of the boar again. The thing bellowed in pain and red flickering code was expelled from the wound. This boar isn't looking so good, Cosi thought to himself as he wrenched his blade free, which drove another bellow from the boar.