Bahr

In an effort to stop the shrieking / cackling / moaning that was coming from the other side of the field, Bahr prepped to use his Sword Skill once more. For some reason, though, when he tried to charge up his blade, his arm would just freeze up and stop working. When he looked down at his arm to see what was going on, the Gemini made its move. In a flash it was upon Bahr, and before he could react the Gemini had thrust its blade clean through his abdomen. Even though the pain wasn't there, feeling a thick slab of metal sitting inside of him was extremely uncomfortable. He couldn't breathe at all, and panic started to set in. He slowly turned his head to look the Gemini in the eye, that same crooked smile from before spread across its face.

After a few moments, it pulled out its sword, and Bahr fell to his hands and knees, his sword clattering loudly against the ground as he gagged and coughed. The physical reaction to the trauma his avatar had just experienced was unreal. He was shaking. Why was he shaking? No, shaking wasn't even the right word. It was more like trembling.

True to its form, the Gemini waited until Bahr had collected himself, grabbing his sword off of the ground and weakly standing up tall. His eyes flickered to his health bar and widened when he saw it. At a measly 9 HP, his health bar had fallen into the red. One more hit and he was a goner. 

Bahr bowed toward the Gemini as a sign of appreciating its graciousness. It returned the gesture, mimicking his movements to bow as well. Incredible. It was the most dynamic mob Bahr had ever come across. Not that that would stop him from utterly crushing it. His sword began to glow and emit that signature whistle that always came before a Sword Skill, and Bahr lunged forward with Straight, the tip of his sword aimed directly at the Gemini's chest.

It was hard to tell if it was due to the speed of the attack, but it actually managed to connect without any protest from the Gemini. It let out a ghastly shriek as the blade sank into its chest, and the noise was enough to make Bahr withdraw his sword and nope the heck back. The Gemini seemed to notice this response and let out another haunting cackle like the one before. The distortion in its voice was ear-splitting.

Bahr hadn't really thought things through when he leapt the Gemini. When you're airborne, you don't have any good way to maneuver around. Your opponent, however, is well grounded, and has the upper hand in virtually every way. It was a hard lesson learned, and he learned it by having a massive sword thrust into his pelvic area. He gagged as the bones in his hip were powderized by the attack, falling to the ground helplessly. He tested his leg a few times and found that it still worked, so he planted the tip of his sword into the ground and shakily rose to his feet.

If the Gemini was anything, it was patient. It wasn't afraid to take advantage of Bahr's screw ups, surely, but it had had the common decency to allow the man to get back on his feet again before continuing the duel. Tough as this fight was, Bahr had to applaud the developers for the atmosphere they had created and ultimately fair fighting mechanics. He only hoped that, should the quest not play out in his favor, his HP wouldn't actually hit zero.

As the battle raged on, the duo exchanged attacks viciously. The Gemini swung its blade toward Bahr's side, Bahr catching the attack with the flat side of his sword and grinding against the blade in an uppercut motion. The Gemini jumped back to avoid getting smacked by the slab of metal, regarding Bahr with the same sinister grin from before. 

"You think a faker like you can beat me up? You might hit harder, but I'm the original! There can only be one of us!"

The Gemini laughed, but it didn't sound like a laugh. It was a cacophony of disjointed moans and chuckles, all somehow being produced at the same time by its vocal chords. Bahr shuddered at the sound of it. It was so unsettling to not only see the figure of himself standing before him, but to experience the nightmare fuel that this NPC had bastardized it into. He couldn't stand to look at it any longer. In an effort to put it out of its misery, Bahr prepared for the next attack and leapt forward.

Before Bahr had a chance to fully process everything, the Gemini came rushing at him once again. This time, Bahr didn't have the reaction time to dodge or deflect the attack, his opponent's blade jamming its way through his left shoulder. He found it peculiar how he could hear the crunch of his collarbone snapping and feel the pieces moving around, but wasn't able to feel any of the pain beyond an intense tingling sensation. 

The Gemini had gotten a good hit in. A really good hit. But Bahr wasn't about to let himself get taken out so easily. He returned fire with an abdomen-level slash from his own blade, striking the Gemini cleanly in the ribs. Its MIT, however, managed to eat up half the damage. Still, the Gemini recoiled back and gripped its stomach as though it had actually been hurt. How cute. If it wanted to play human, Bahr was okay with that. He just hoped it would scream like one, too.

Bahr was in the City Center, sitting on a bench and watching the virtual birds flitter around. Today was a good day to rest. The sun was shining, the breeze was flowing, and all in all everything was just as pleasant as can be. That's why the hooded figure that approached Bahr was so perplexing.

"You look pretty strong," the hooded figure said in a voice that seemed eerily familiar, "I'm looking to test my skills. If you beat me, I'll teach you a hidden skill. What do you say?"

Bahr considered the proposal for a second. On the one hand, he really wanted to take today to just rest. On the other hand, here was a guy offering him a hidden skill for free, all he had to do was win. How hard could that be, right? So he silently followed the man to the outskirts of the city, through the threshold of the city gate, and out of the safe zone. In the middle of their trek, he popped one of his Once they were out in the field, the figure stopped and turned to face Bahr, ripping of his cloak to reveal... Bahr. The man standing in front of him looked exactly the same in every way!

"Woah, woah, woah! What the hell is this!?"

Instead of responding, the man simply cast a crooked grin toward Bahr and lunged at him.

Due to the quick nature of the opponent's attack, Bahr was forced to use the Sword Skill Straight just to deflect the attack. He jumped back to put some distance between the two of them, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening.

QUEST COMPLETED

Thread net gains:
- 4 SP
- 1 <<Unidentified T1 Rare Armor>>
- 670 col
- 5 <<T1 Potion of Uncommon Quality>> (+40 HP)
- 1 <<T1 Damage Potion>> (+1 DMG)
- 1 <<T1 Over-Health Potion>> (+50 Temp. HP)

Finally. It was over. Swine Jesus had been defeated.

Bahr let loose a sigh of relief, falling back onto his rump and gasping for air. Part of him couldn't believe he had done it. He had honestly expected death during that fight. Somehow he had persevered, and even earned some rare armor as a result. Swine Jesus was a worthy adversary, to be sure, but it was no match for the pure unfiltered rage of a man in his most desperate hour. 

It took quite awhile to make it back to town, considering how far he had run. His tired feet barely managed to carry him into Zachariah's shop. As soon as he made it through the door, the old NPC tried to speak up. Before he could say much, Bahr shoved the materials he had asked for against his chest. "What now?" he inquired in a curt voice.

-5 T1 Materials

"Now we make a potion! First, you'll need to-"

"Got it, thanks."

Bahr approached the table, taking some of the materials and doing his best to assemble a Healing Potion for the old man. And wouldn't you know it? He was a natural. The potion was successfully crafted and handed over to Zachariah.
 

"Splendid work, young man! Now, I just need your help with one more thing," Zachariah said as he wandered off to go grab something. Bahr groaned and tapped his foot against the ground impatiently. After a minute or two, he returned with a package. "Please deliver this to Lyle Tealeaf. He's the local blacksmi-." Bahr never heard the rest, as he was already out the door with the package.

After a short while, Bahr arrived at Lyle's shop. Without skipping a beat, he headed inside, approached Lyle, and shoved the package into his hands. As soon as the package left his possession, a quest completion panel appeared in front of him.

Bahr watched with glee as the monster exploded into a million blue fractals. Once the battle had concluded, Bahr joined the others and listened as Kit explained her idea. 

"I wouldn't mind if we switched from monster hunting to material gathering. Rather than splitting loot, we can make it so everyone gets whatever they find?" she inquired, looking around to the different faces in the party as though looking for validation. 

"I'm cool with it," Bahr responded, "My new pants help with looting anyways."

As Kit regarded Kirbs and spoke with her, Bahr noticed a rabbit hole not far off. Keeping true to his age old tradition of sticking his hands into holes, he approached the tiny tunnel and shoved his whole arm in. Unfortunately, this hole bore no fruit. He cast a sad glance to the others as he slowly removed his arm from the earthy cavern, likely not realizing how ridiculous he probably looked. 

"They're barely human." 

Something about this phrase struck a chord with Bahr. If this man was telling the truth, it confirmed Bahr's worst fears. He felt more emboldened than ever to make it to the frontlines and search for his childhood friend.

His eyes flickered to the rest of his party, who were starting to make their way up the grassy hill. When they returned to the stranger, Bahr really started to notice how exhausted he was. With a sigh, Bahr responded. 

"I better get going. See you around."

He walked past the man, nonchalantly, not exactly in a hurry to catch up with the rest of the pack. He eventually did, though, his longer strides carrying him further than the shorter party-goers. 

"Sorry, I fell behind. You guys ready to do this?"

(Tagging @Pinball )

The tip of Bahr's sword managed to hit its mark, chunking the beast for another third of its life. Likewise, the boar continued on and plowed through Bahr's legs, knocking him over face first. He scrambled to his feet and faced the boar, studying its movements as he examined his HP. 10. That was all that was left. If the boar got another crit, he was toast. Then again, if it missed or just nailed a normal attack, Bahr would live. Better yet, if Bahr managed to hit it one last time with a Sword Skill, it would combust into the most satisfying cloud of blue triangular pixels he had ever seen. This was the moment, the most dangerous play he had had to make since he started the game. Would it be smart to use a potion just to be safe?

There was no time to figure that out. The boar was charging, and he didn't have time to get to his potion. It was now or never. His sword began to glow, and he unleashed another Blast, praying that the attack would hit its mark and declare him the victor. 

Both strikes carved cleanly through the grotesque animal, causing it to squeal in agony. Finally, he had managed to harm it. It wasn't invincible. It could be defeated! Bahr screamed a warcry in its face, and consequently ate a face full of skull and tusk. He tumbled backward clumsily, hopping to his feet as soon as he was able and staring down the boar with murderous intent. The boar did the same, kicking one of its front hooves backward and huffing forcefully through its snout. 

"You think you can take me!? Huh!? You think I won't absolutely shred you the second I have the chance! Make your move!"

More than happy to oblige, the boar squealed and began its charge toward Bahr again. Not to be outdone, Bahr charged toward the boar as well, his sword beginning to glow once more. With all of his might, he thrust the blade forward in an attempt to split the animal right between the eyes. 

As he closed in on the boar, things started to get... weird. It was like his vision was getting fuzzy, and he couldn't keep his eyes fixated on any one thing at a time. The fatigue of the battle was beginning to catch up with him, and the fact that he hadn't eaten in hours wasn't helping, either. The attack missed, predictably, but Bahr didn't care. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought of every little thing he hated about his situation. The rage bubbled up further and further until the bottle he had been using to suppress his emotions cracked and began to overflow. He was barely even himself anymore, at this point. He was an object of pure, unadulterated fury. 

The boar retaliated with an attack of its own, but through Bahr's sheer abominable will he managed to deflect the attack with the flat side of his sword and shove the animal back. In a pivoting motion on his heel, he swiveled around the creature nimbly. His sword began to glow once more, and using the momentum from his turn, he unleashed two sweeping slashes in one clean motion. 

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Bahr shouted as he stopped dead in his tracks, turned on his heel, and deflected the boar's charge. "I AM SO SICK OF THIS. YOU'RE GOING DOWN, SWINE JESUS, RIGHT NOW!"

It was as though the pent up rage and aggression that had been building for the past two years had finally bubbled to the surface. Bahr hated this. He hated being stuck in this game. He hated how weak he was. He hated how he had just spent the past several hours running away from the most relentless boar in the galaxy. Enough was enough. Whether he lived or died, it was time they finished this. 

He didn't even assume the appropriate stance for Straight. He simply sprinted toward the boar as fast as his tired legs would carry him, yelling out over the hum of his Sword Skill activating as he thrust the blade out in front of him as hard as he possibly could. 

For the past four minutes or so, Bahr had been laughing hysterically. It wasn't a joyous laugh. No, this was the laugh of a broken man. How long had he been running? Three, maybe four hours? He was so tired he could barely decipher the clock. Around thirty minutes ago or so, he had gotten a second wind by thinking of the people he needed to get back to. The people he needed to survive to see again. But even that seemed ridiculous to him, now. He just wanted it all to end. 

He decided that if he didn't manage to outrun the boar soon, he would accept his fate and battle it to the death. His SP was almost fully restored, after all. He would press on running for a bit longer, but if he still failed to outrun the creature, he would finish the fight - whether that resulted in his death or the death of the boar. 

After running for long enough of a time, it almost starts to morph into something akin to meditation. You really start to get into your own headspace and feel the rhythm. Bahr wasn't even scared at this point. He was just wondering if he could run in a straight line right off the edge of of Aincrad before outrunning this boar.

It sure had a thing for him, Swine Jesus. Funny how it had received it's own moniker. Bahr had actually grown attacked to the pig somehow. Attached in the, "I'll definitely return to slaughter you when I have more ACC," sorta way. He detested this particular mob in a way he had never hated an artificial construct before. In all his years playing MMOs, he had never come across a foe so fearsome at such a low level. And it just so happened that, with this one, there were real consequences at stake. Hell, if it were any ordinary MMO, he would have just let the thing kill him by now so he could be over and done with it. 

But that wasn't an option, so continue to run he did. 

There comes a point in every man's life where he has to look introspectively and determine what he's doing with his life, where his life is headed, what his virtues and flaws are, and who he truly is. This is a necessary tenet to fully becoming an adult. Moments of reflection like these, true reflection, are few and far between. It isn't every day you can sum up the courage to open your mind, take a good hard look at yourself, and truly come to absolutely objective conclusions about your being. Well this was one of those times for Bahr. 

He peeked back over his shoulder as he continued to run. Swine Jesus trailed not far behind. He readjusted his head to look forward again, keeping his rhythmic breathing going. It seemed he may have a long future of running ahead of him. 

What's that? You're wondering about the introspection bit from above? Oh, that was just filler. No way did Bahr have the time to think about any of that right now. He was ragged tired and practically begging for death. Did you really think he was going, "Hmm, this isn't how I figured my life would turn out,"? Well, to a certain extent, he probably was. But not consciously. Not on that level, anyways. 

After Bahr felt he had made it far enough away to be safe, he stopped and bent over, placing his hands on his knees and panting heavily. Whether in the real world or virtual, he had never run so fast in his entire life, or so far. In an attempt to ease the breathing process, he stood up straight and put his arms above his head. 

"Holy hell... I thought I was a goner for sure..."

And that's when we saw it. Coming up over the horizon was the silhouette of none other than Swine Jesus, angrier than ever, charging directly toward him. It was still following! Bahr groaned loudly and stomped one of his feet. 

"You have got to be kidding me! Argh!"

Without much choice, he turned tail and attempted to run again, pushing to go harder and faster than before. He couldn't believe he was still running from this thing. The aggro mechanics in this game were w lot more aggressive than he had anticipated. 

"Gwooooo-jesus..."

What the hell was that noise he just made? What a strange sound. Surely nothing like that purely guttural sound could come from a human. But here Bahr was, making the sound anyways, because he didn't care about what the narrator thought was possible. He had yet again managed to miss, and the boar had yet again managed to secure a critical hit against him. His patience had reached his maximum, and he would no longer tolerate these shenanigans. 

"That's it! I'm outta here!" he exclaimed between labored breaths. He wasn't willing to just sit around while a boar had it's way with him. No. As much as he hated the thought of retreating, he felt like he had little choice at this point. He had run out of SP and the boar was still untouched. Meanwhile, his health had just dipped into the yellow, and the boar officially had more health that he did. He resolved to retreat, get something with an ACC buff, and come back to put these boars through a hell that even Swine Jesus could not comprehend. 

Without further adieu, he turned tail and ran as fast and as far away as he possibly could. 

No sooner had one mob been destroyed than another appeared to take its place. This one came in the form of a giant bug. Like, a giant bug. The thing probably had more fluids sloshing around inside of that big big exoskeleton than the entire party combined. 

"Woah! That thing is so cool!" he marveled, spectating in horror has Kit immediately moved in to attack it. "Aww come on! Couldn't we have at least let it hang around for a minute or two before killing it?" As her Sword Skill landed a critical, he got his answer. "Guess not. In that case..."

Once again, his sword began to glow and emit the Sword Art whistle. He bent slightly at the knee before thrusting his sword forward and rocketing toward the enormous insect, splintering the exoskeleton and lodging the blade deep into the creature. As he dislodged his sword and jumped back, simulated bug guts started spewing from the hole he left behind. 

"Awwhaha yeah! Take that you, uh, bug!"

This time, things were a little different. Instead of Bahr just missing as he seemed to be so good at, the boar actually dodged this time. In a beautiful display of agilitic mastery, the board gracefully sidestepped Bahr's Straight and slammed its head into Bahr's ribs. His vision went blurry for a moment as the wind was knocked completely out of him, and he fell to the ground gasping for air. As he struggled just to breathe, he noticed that his HP still hadn't fallen into the yellow yet. That was good, but the fact that he didn't seem capable of hitting the boar, coupled with the fact that it kept landing critical on him with ease, had him reconsidering whether or not he should even continue attempting to fight the thing. 

But surely, things couldn't actually be that bad. After all, he wasn't even in the yellow yet, and he had been in similar situations before. Despite his SP dwindling, he was confident that if he just followed through, he could see the demise of this boar. Using the last of his SP, Bahr's sword began to glow and whistle once more, and he dashed toward the boar with yet another Straight. 

Unbelievable - another miss. Even though it looked like the attack was headed straight for the board's face, it diverted course at the last minute and whiffed entirely. Bahr spat in disappointment as he sailed past the boar once more. A second later, the ugly beast reared its head and charged after Bahr again. Bahr held out the flat part of his sword in an attempt to block the attack, managing to divert the course of the boar just enough to avoid damage. 

This was getting just a little ridiculous. Three sword skills, and not a single hit? The favor of the RNG gods had turned, and Bahr was none too happy about it. His destiny couldn't be as a gatherer, could it? No, he couldn't accept that. 

Once again, his sword began to glow, and that familiar whistle pervaded through the area. He targeted the boar, bent his legs, and shot forward like a rocket, hoping that this time the Straight would hit its mark. 

Kit had managed to make quite a spectacle of herself, shielding her face from view and angrily muttering nonsense under her breath. Bahr'a expression adopted a mixture of concern and indifference as he tilted his head, trying his best to decipher what she was saying or what any of it meant. Just my luck, getting stuck with one of the crazies, he thought to himself. After a few moments, she seemed to get over it and continue along, stomping a path around the orange player as close to his body as she physically could without actually striking him. Bahr sighed at the site of it, his eyes again fixating on the stubbornly closed eyes of the man in the grass. 

As the others moseyed on toward their goal, Bahr started having second thoughts. They were really low levels, with the exception of perhaps Kirbs, and Bahr had just discovered that his party leader was unstable. Not that he was judging - he himself wasn't the most stable character around. Perhaps that's why they were all still on the first floor. But more than any of that, there was something keeping him rooted to that spot in the grass, next to the man he felt some unspoken kinship with. The other two members of his party were far enough down the path now that they appeared to be out of earshot. 

"You from the frontlines?"

A tingle of annoyance panged the man's expression.

"Tell me something. Is it as bad there as it is here?"

Another swing, another miss. Amazing how useless Bahr was without accuracy buffs. He could only hope that the trinket he had recently commissioned would be enough to make him a more worthy fighter. While he embarrassingly missed yet again, the boar had managed to find its inner focus, ramming directly into Bahr's side and sending him skipping across the ground like a stone across water. It would have seemed almost graceful if it wasn't so downright embarrassing. 

As Bahr picked himself up, his eyes flickered to his SP gauge. It was almost halfway depleted by this point, and he hadn't even managed to scratch the boar. How typical, he mused. As discouraging as it was to be seeing a repeat of his last encounter with a boar, only against a stronger one now, Bahr had no choice but to press through. He had started the fight, and he intended to finished it. 

Once again, his blade began to glow. Once again, he bent his knees. Once again, he lurched forward at incredible speeds, aiming the tip of his blade right between the boar's eyes. 

While the power of the Sword Art Straight was impressive, it was a bit too much for Bahr to handle at present time. Without the accuracy to back it up, Bahr simply ended up sailing right past the boar, which consequently became away of his presence. By the time Bahr had finally managed to collect himself and stand up straight again, the boar was charging straight for him. As luck would have it, however, the boar also completely missed its mark, flying right past Bahr and into a nearby bush. 

He was getting an acute sense of deja vu from all of this. It seemed the battles with his most noble adversary, the boar, always went like this. There was no straightforward way to fight a boar, only complete and unchecked randomness. Bahr cracked a grin as he regarded his rival, who had managed to get itself out of the bush. Without another thought, his blade began to glow and he charged the boar with Straight yet again.