Oscar

The dungeon had been one hell of a roller coaster ride, but it was done. Finished. Finito. Honestly, he was just happy he made it out in one piece. But now it was time to choose his reward. It had been a long and hard-fought process and stepping up to the counter, Oscar didn't know what he was in for. Surely these final rewards would have to be pretty damn good compared to all the consumables from the dungeon, no? As his eyes surveilled the wares on offer, Oscar saw something that immediately caught his eye. It was standard fare, as far as event rewards were concerned, but it was nonetheless extremely powerful. His spirit shards left his hand nearly as soon as he saw it and the item was added to his inventory. Did he have any plans for it at present? No. Did he imagine he would get some use out of it eventually? Absolutely.

Shards obtained here and here.
Obtained 1 <<Asgard's Finery>>

Thread Summary
Oscar - 9600 EXP, 80,000 Col, Horn of Battle, Duality, Huginn and Munnin, Gungnir's Shard, 2 Spirit Shards (3 Total, 1 obtained from previous thread)
Lessa- 9600 EXP, 80,000 Col, Horn of Battle, Duality, Huginn and Munnin, Gungnir's Shard, 3 Spirit Shards
Zandra - 4200 EXP, 30,000 Col, Horn of Battle, Duality, 2 Spirit Shards
Itzal - 4200 EXP, 30,000 Col, Horn of Battle, Duality, 2 Spirit Shards
Haine- 4200 EXP, 30,000 Col, Horn of Battle, Duality, 2 Spirit Shards
Raidou - 2400 EXP
Setsuna - 1200 EXP
Gaius - 1200 EXP
Freyd - 1800 EXP, 17,500 Col
Simmone - 61,600 Col

And now, they were in the home stretch. To hear Raidou tell it, a well-timed stun into a fully party pile-on would completely skip the “hard” part of the fight. Which they were well on their way to doing. Fenrir was limping around on its last legs, his goon squad having long abandoned him. Oscar, for his part, was ready to rock this guy out. He strode up to the stunned beastie calmly, completely unperturbed. Why would he be? The big bastard was stunned, after all. He raised his axe and summoned up the wrath of the tyrant. Black fire rippled around his weapon. In a burst of ebonflame, Oscar brought the axe down upon Fenrir’s flank. Immolated by dark fire, Fenrir howled in pain as Oscar’s Burn effect took hold. It was almost enough to tug at his heartstrings, seeing a creature in pain yet unable to move. Almost. This fucker was standing in between him and loot.

Things were going swimmingly. The party was laying down the damage, doing their thing. But, then the members of Fungus Amongus stopped their assault. Oscar paused to look at them, a bit perplexed at the sudden shift in tactics. But clearly, they knew what they were doing. They seemed to be old hands at this fight and Oscar was certain at this point they had some sort of trick up their sleeve. Rather than protest, Oscar decided to just follow their lead. He held his damage until they were all directed to unload on the nasty beastie. And unload he did. Oscar swung into the beast with all the strength he could muster, heedless of the fact that the wolf was about ten stories tall. His axe clipped the wolf’s toenail and - just as he had done with Skalaugh - he gave the boss a nice mani-pedi. Had Skalaugh even happened yet? Continuity was a hell of a drug.

For all of its bluster and for all of his destructive ability, Fenrir really wasn't all that durable. In just two rounds of combat, the party had almost brought the beast down to half of its health. Oscar's turn came up next and hoo boy, was it a doozy. Coming in hot off the heels of Raidou's Focused Howl, Oscar vaulted into the air using the butt of his axe. In a typical display of acrobatic acumen, Oscar appropriated his axe upside top of Fenrir's cranium with a descending spinning cannon ball. Despite the devastation (that was not his intention) wrought upon the doggo's dome, Oscar landed lightly on his feet and spun his weapon in a little bit of a flourish. It wasn't altogether too impressive - and the boss was still kicking - but damn did it feel good to watch a boss get absolutely shredded. It was really nice to see.
 

Great googly moogly things really went to shit. The moment Odin cut the ribbon, the beast set about unleashing itself upon the whole of Valhalla. Warriors took to the streets to battle the beast, only to be immediately gobbled up by its iron jaws. It was absolute chaos. And here Ford Anderson was standing smack dab in the middle of it. Oscar looked at the devastation - such that was not his intention - and shrugged his shoulders. There was nothing left to be done other than to put the doggo down. Fam Angus and the comeback kid was the only thing standing in between the rest of the world and Fenrir. They would really need to bright the heat (minus South Beach), if they wanted to stop literal armageddon. Oscar looked to his right, then to his left, then rushed forward, axe at the ready. It was time to deck this big boi in the shnozz. And Oscar decked him so hard he started burnin'.

It was almost time. The party was more or less buffed to the gills and staring down this hongri boi like they were the hongri bois. Oscar, for his part, needed just a bit longer to recuperate his energy. It was a little disorienting to be so full of adrenaline and hyped up on hype only to suddenly be smacked down to Earth by the wrecking ball of a rest period. But that was neither here nor there. What mattered most was the hulking lupine behemoth of murderous intent who was dead-set on eating their hands and probably the rest of them as well. In terms of local threats, that was one hell of a chonker. Nevertheless, Oscar was fairly confident that between the six of them, they had this fight well in hand. Or they would die horribly in a blaze of glory. A less appealing option but there was no in-between here

They had done it. Most of the party had left but Hel had been defeated. They found themselves transported to a shining glowing city and led deep underground by Odin himself. Cardinal had really pulled out all the stops on this one. And there it was, the opportunity Oscar had been waiting for. Odin specifically said the words “when you’re ready.” And Oscar wasn’t ready. He slapped his ass down on the stone floor in front of Fenrir and let out a heavy exhale. He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to fight a world-ending wolf at anything less than his best. Plus, Film Anime still needed to shovel a ton of food into their mouths. If Oscar wasn’t at his best with less than 100 percent energy, they were really far off without a full assortment of buffs to get them ready for this nonsense ordeal that they were about to embark upon.

The battle had been hard fought. Oscar’s energy bar had never dropped this low in a boss encounter before. He had considered whether or not to use Meditation for the first time since he got the skill. But, looking at the pummeling that the goddess was taking, Oscar wondered whether it would even be necessary. Certainly he would be provided room and time to recoup his energy before moving on to the next challenge that the dungeon had in store for him. If not, well it wasn’t as if a Meditation would serve him very well at all anyway. What was another 20 Energy when he was swinging for 16 a round? Aincrad was hell and Cardinal was a bitch, but they never skimped on providing room to rest. Oscar had no reason to think now would be any different. Of course, there was always room for him to be surprised. He was so caught up in that stream of consciousness that he forgot to swing.

Holy fucking shitballs, they got reinforcements. Firm Anima dropped into the fight from out of nowhere, leaping into the fray as soon as their feet touched the ground. Seeing the cavalry riding in like that only inspired Oscar to work that much harder. After all, they had almost halved Hel’s bar in just a few brief moments. She retaliated and now things rolled all the way back round to Oscar. He dashed forward, wanting to make sure that they didn’t lose the sudden gust of wind that had caught their sails. Oscar raised his weapon over his head with both hands, bringing it down on Hel’s neck as would an executioner. A healthy chunk of her remaining vitality drained away from her as Oscar ripped Tesseleth’s Fury free from the newly-carved gash in her neck and leaped backwards; he needed to provide room for the reinforcements to maneuver, after all. What good would they do if his massive frame was tripping them up?

Everyone was teleporting out but Oscar was still raring to go. And so was Raidou. That was enough for him to stick around. Two people could finish this dungeon no problem right? Right? Oscar didn't have time to let such thoughts get to him. Not when he'd just unlocked the challenge mode for this particular chunk of content. He rushed forward, delivering a slice directly to the center of Hel's chest. A cascade of black flame rippled out from the point of impact, the force of the explosion blasting Oscar back. He drove his weapon into the ground as his feet skidded across the stone floor to slow his backward momentum. When he came to a stop, Oscar shot up to a standing position and waved his hand towards the boss. Even though it was only Raidou, Oscar spoke like he still had multiple people to speak with. "Next up! Let's go!"

Without saying a word, Oscar ripped his weapon from the ground and took aim at the massive creature. He cocked back his arm, tracking the giant's lumbering movements like a trained sniper. Then, as the beast staggered about, he let his weapon fly. Like a tomahawk, the axe spun through the air and buried itself deep into Ugzeke's face, right between the eyes. Oscar had learned quickly that attacking the swole legs of the giant was foolish, especially with it raging as hard as it was. Dark ichor oozed from the wound as cracks began to spiderweb across its form. The crack's widened and the giant shattered. His weapon spun down towards the earth, the blade burying itself in the stone as fractals cascaded all around it. Oscar produced an item from his pocket and brought it to his lips. The loud blaring of a kazoo filled the cave.

"We did it and none of us died! Good hustle!"
 

Thread Summary
Oscar - 3200 EXP, 2900 Col, Troll's Blood
Lessa - 3200 EXP, 2900 Col, Troll's Blood

The tremors continued well past the point where the System-induced cooldown period would have allowed Oscar to attack again. Thus, he didn't even try. Oscar didn't exactly feel the need to embarrass himself further by falling flat on his face like something foolish as he attempted to navigate the dark, craggy cave while the ground was busy doing its best rendition of the worm. He held his position, able to manage to keep himself on his feet with the aid of his weapon jutting out of the ground. The giant swung wildly, again missing Oscar and Lessa by a country mile. If he was going to be stuck playing cheerleader, then Oscar was going to be the best goddamned cheerleader this side of the Mississippi. "Hey Lessa! You're gonna have to be the badass here because I ain't got it. Remember, the pointy end goes into the monster! Two words, Lessa: Concentrate!~"

Oscar's suggestion had been almost prophetic. He swung and missed his attack, successfully demolishing the hard-fought momentum they had earned for themselves thus far. Oscar clicked his tongue, his lips twisting into a deep scowl. Ugzeke let out a loud roar and brought his mighty club over his head before slamming it down towards the ground. An attack like that would have seriously hurt, if not for the fact that Oscar stood about ten feet away from the impact. "This is why I suggested Parry! You're probably gonna be back at the top of the hate list soon," Oscar called over to Lessa, half drowned out by the sound of rumbling earth and fracturing stone. Their collective asses were covered against whatever the hell was up with Oscar's aim today - and that was most important. With nothing else to do for the next few seconds, Oscar drove Chaos Eater's blade into the ground and leaned against the staff. "Batter up, Lessa!"
 

It didn't take long for Macradon to fill Oscar's order. Radiance rolled off of the two weapons, light driving up to the ceiling and cascading down the walls. The myriad weapons within the smithy glinted in the light, resulting in a dazzling spectacle that would could not be contained within its four walls. Shafts of light spilled through the windows and onto the street outside, garnering the attention of spectators. Slowly, the light ebbed away. Oscar blinked as the room dimmed, not having been spared from the sheer, face-melting display through his aviators. Eventually, his eyes adjusted and were lain for the first time upon his new weapon. Gold intermingled with stark black, winding up the staff and ending at the simple head of a large claw hammer. Practically bursting with excitement, Oscar took the weapon from the smith and gave it few practice swings. Then, his gaze flicked up to Macradon. "Mac, my friend. You never disappoint."

Oscar accepts <<Umbral Avarice>> from Macradon.

The second phase was well underway. With the soldiers freed, it seemed as if the main mechanical gimmick was dealt with. All that remained before the party was a slab of Health Bar. Oscar was very good at reducing health bars. He rushed forward, Tesseleth's Fury roaring to life in his hand. Black flames echoed in the weapon's wake, carving a dark gash into the air as he slammed the blade into Hel's flank. It didn't take much manipulation of his weapon to follow through an leave a jagged gash in the goddess' form. He certainly hadn't hit his hardest, but he left enough of a mark for her to feel it. Now all that was left was for Oscar to get out of the way and let the rest of his party get to work. In true Dark Souls fashion, Oscar bounded headfirst into a rolling somersault, dipping behind the boss and clearing the front of his general existence.
 

It had taken no small amount of work (and even more random philanthropy from NIGHT), but Oscar had finally obtained everything he needed to refine Money Shot into what would perhaps be its final and strongest form. And, as with every other time he needed something done with a weapon, Oscar found himself back in Macradon's shop. He stepped up to the counter with a grin and placed the two weapons needing to be combined on the counter. "You got me boss?"

All costs paid to Banker here
20,000 Col, 15 Materials transferred to @Macradonas payment.

Combining [-1 Demonic Shard, -1 Rainbow Scale]

Final Product:

Item Name: Umbral Avarice
Item ID: N/A
Item Tier: 4
Item Type: Warhammer
Item Rarity: Demonic
Item Enhancements: Abs.Acc | FLN | FLN | ACC

At long last, the exit was in sight. And, Oscar had an answer to why he was so angry. Like most people, he didn't like being fucked with and unlike most people, he was very, very much a creature of habit. He'd grown accustomed to the same routine, the same build, the same sequence of actions - right down to the same Sword Art. He had essentially woken up one morning with everything about his avatar having been shifted around willy-nilly. And, in the moment, he appreciated the ephemeral challenge of finding something that would work and tweaking that build to suit his needs - but he still preferred his old build. He'd made those decisions very deliberately and now those same choices were simply not possible. Oscar desired control. Not of other people, but of himself. And with that being so unceremoniously and suddenly stripped away from him, it was hard for Oscar to keep his temper in check. In time, he would certainly get used to the changes. But in the back of his mind, he would always remember that Cardinal could change the rules anytime it took a notion too.

That he shouldn't get too attached to things that were essential his very core within Aincrad.

That this death game was, in more ways than he had realized, almost completely one-sided.

Thread Summary
2200 EXP [600 BID Bonus + 1600 T4 Page Bonus] Refusing 3% Bonus
83 G.EXP
275,800 Col
74 Materials
1 Demonic Shard
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield - ID: 193886a
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield - ID: 193969a
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield - ID: 193969b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193649a
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193649b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193649c
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193650a
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193650b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193650c
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193662
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193885a
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193885b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193885c
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193886b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193919a
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193919b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 193919c
T4 Perfect Weapon - 195256a
T4 Perfect Weapon - 195256b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 195256c
T4 Perfect Weapon - 195258
T4 Perfect Weapon - 195259a
T4 Perfect Weapon - 195259b
T4 Perfect Weapon - 195259c

A lot of those changes had not at all been for the better. This dungeon - or, indeed any grinding - was simply indicative of that. He stopped for a moment, taking stock of the loot that he had earned thus far. It was a very respectable amount and, as far as Unidentified Items went - the best he had ever done. But he couldn't help but notice that his own abilities had diminished. The haul would have been much better if he didn't have to wrangle cooldowns and the like. Cardinal had begun to limit him and the Players at large in ways it had never done before. It felt like a punishment for clearing the Raid. What point was there in progressing if Cardinal could simply change the rules and eliminate whatever advantage the Players had managed to claw out for themselves? If Oscar ever crossed paths with Tyson, would he even be able to beat him with the new restrictions? Too much was up in the air now.

As he strode through the same dark corridors and passed through the same dark chambers, he had to question why he was so unhappy. This wasn't anything new to him. He was perhaps one of the few people he knew willing to venture forth by his lonesome and just brutalize mobs of an hour or two. Everyone else didn't have the time or the inclination or the stats for it. It was definitely something he enjoyed - especially since Tyson and his crew had gone to ground in the recent days. Dismantling that organization - or at least the goal of it - had quickly become a fantastic pastime of his. A one-man war (at least as close to one as possible) against a shadowy Guild with one of the largest Guilds in the game watching his back was definitely more interesting that whatever combat had devolved into. Things had changed so much since the Floor 25 raid. 

Oscar had a tendency to become frustrated out of nowhere. He'd spent the entire foray into this dungeon keeping his cool and entertaining himself however he could when the truth was that he was absolutely miserable. This feeling lingered under the surface, buried under all of his fake excitement about having the absolute pleasure of being able to gather moss. For a brief moment, there was a flash of anger in his eyes. This was punctuated by him slamming his hammer into the ground - Odin's Wrath tearing apart the Revenants with a sudden and hitherto unseen brutality. All it took was a flash to vent the emotions and Oscar was back to normal, for the most part. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie as he rose back to his full height, surveying the lingering loot deposits with an apathetic, imperious gaze. It was at that moment that he became introspective. Cognizant of the fact that it was rather uncharacteristic of himself to lose his cool like that, he resolved himself to using what little time he intended to remain in the dungeon to figure out why he was so upset.
 

On his trek back to the exit, he entered yet another open chamber with yet another quartet of spectral knights. For the life of him, Oscar couldn't exactly remember passing through this room earlier. Did the paths shift as well? That certainly would be an element of danger that stats couldn't overcome. Imagine being reliant on consumable recovery items and becoming hopelessly lost. Though, one always had the option of teleporting. In Oscar's case, not teleporting was something of a point of pride. He'd gone this far without needing to bitch out like that and he had no intention of starting simply because he couldn't find his way home. Nevertheless, he wasn't going anywhere until he dealt with this group of mobs. He opened with Wallbreaker, crashing into their ranks with spine-shattering force. Literally. Half the group was paralyzed and only one was able to tag Oscar with their counterattack.

Item Name: Dark Fortunes
Item ID: 
Upgrade Roll - 195239, BD: 10 | CD: 12 | LD: 17 (Abs.Acc/Phase - Reroll activated)
Enhancement Reroll - 195240, LD: 6 (Fallen Applied)
Item Tier: 4
Item Rarity: Demonic
Item Enhancements: Abs.Acc | Fallen | Acc | Para
Description: A sleek dark hammer with a strip of gold inlaid in the handle. Promises great wealth, but at what cost?
 

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