Oscar

"If we want to mount a counterattack on Floor 21, I can go ahead and get my guild involved. Frankly, at least as far as weaponry goes, I'm the weakest one in the Guild," Oscar said. If Freyd thought Tesseleth's Fury was impressive, he'd have to wait and see Dawn's Demise in action. So would Oscar, honestly. He'd yet to really see Bahr draw that particular blade. Just wasn't anything serious enough to bring it out for. But a bunch of sentient NPCs trying to bring the attendees of an event to slaughter? That was probably more than important enough. "Really though, there's only six of us. And we're up against an entire army. We might need to coordinate with your Guild as well. Alternatively we could just let it happen." Oscar let the idea hang in the air for a minute. "Worst case, they'll be dropping the most powerful players in Aincrad right on their own heads. I've seen some of these guys fight. I wouldn't want to give them a reason to really bring it. A reason like a bunch of low-levels that need protecting. The NPCs think they have the element of surprise. All we need to do is get the word out and this little uprising of theirs blows up in their faces."

"It looks like ol' Bernie there could use some of that Medicare for All right about now," Oscar said with no small amount of glee. The joke might have been a bit before Freyd's time but Oscar found it hilarious. "Anyway, what did you manage to find out? You looked like you noticed something there before Bernie started 'asking for your financial support.'" Oscar doubled over with laughter. He knew there was probably no way a Japanese kid would really understand the meaning of the joke considering it revolved around American politics from ten years ago. But fuck if it wasn't funny as hell to Oscar. He finally got a hold of himself and returned to his full height, wiping a tear from his eye as the fit of raucous laughter subsided into infrequent small chuckles. "Seriously though. They still plannin' on fucking with the Tanabata event? I don't imagine it'll end well for them. I know for a fact about 90% of the Frontliners are going to be there and they're no slouches."

"Right," Oscar confirmed. As Freyd took off, a portion of the riders banked off in order to intercept. Oscar dashed forward, Money Shot dissolving into fragments of data as the System generated Tessleth's Fury into his hand. He made and upward swing with the blade, launching a jet of flame skyward that would incinerate the would-be interceptors on contact. This gave Freyd some breathing room while also making Oscar a prime distraction. After all, it would be prudent to deal with the anti-air guy before going after the landlocked Freyd. He surged onward, occasionally stopping to launch another jet of black flame at the riders. If he kept on the pressure, they wouldn't be able to think clearly. The more of their comrades that died, the more single-mindedly they would pursue him. He quickly took shelter under the slope. Pressed against the wall, the riders went in for the kill. 

A loud crack tore through the air, followed by a rumbling up above. Oscar saw the fracture in the stone surface took off in a sprint. The Riders weren't so lucky. The entire stone face crashed down upon their heads. Rather than follow the path of the descending ledge, Oscar ran perpendicular to it. It would deal with the riders, yes. But only the airborne ones. They'd still have dudes with spears chasing them on millipedes. Before his rendezvous with Freyd, Oscar would need to deal with them. Once clear, he stopped and planted his feet. Spinning Tesseleth's Fury over his head, he summoned up the might of the Tyrant from within the obsidian-bladed weapon. Then, he struck the ground.

A sea of black flame erupted before him, washing over the land-locked riders and bringing them to a swift end. Drowned under black flame. Oscar was certain Freyd would find what it was that he was looking for - so certain that he was willing to risk further destruction just to get the pressure off. As the flames abated, Oscar followed the path of destruction created by the falling ledge down into the valley where, much to his pleasure, he saw Freyd with an important-looking satchel in hand.

"Alright. I'll admit when I'm wrong. Your plan was better," Oscar said. "Mine was more fun though."

Oscar knew that he should probably feel some sort of concern for his safety as the army amassed around them. Fact was, however, he didn't. Frankly, all he saw - despite all of their bluster - was a bunch of cannon fodder who didn't realize they were cannon fodder. But, it did pose a problem. Oscar didn't want Freyd to walk away empty-handed. If they got bogged down trying to fight this army, then any hope of gathering intel would be lost. Oscar could just as easily obliterate them with an explosion from Tesseleth's Fury, but - again - it would also obliterate any intel to be found in the area. There was little hope of trapping them here either. They had the benefit of air superiority. They could easily run them down. Not that they'd be particularly threatening once they had. There wasn't much that came to mind, but Oscar wasn't the most tactically-minded between the two of them. "So, what should we do now then? Not like running's an option."

"I don't really think that'll be necessary. I'd rather have the precision," Oscar said. With a flash of white brilliance, the System generated the model of his handicap-axe. Money Shot was a gaudy hunk of metal and jewels. He draped his axe over his shoulders, holding it in place with his wrists. He let out a bored yawn. His eyes flicked up to the figures standing on the ridge. Then back down to Freyd as he laid out the plan. Sneaking? Climbing? Oscar wasn't dressed for skulking about in the dirt. "Remember what I said about internalizing your video game character status?" He released his axe, letting it fall into place and tightening his grip around the haft. He crouched down low, planted his feet. A steadying breath escaped his lips. 

And then he jumped.

Leaped would probably be more accurate. There were probably several dozen verbs in the English language that would describe what Oscar did. But none of them would ever attempt to claim that what Oscar did was anything a human should have found possible. Like a torpedo, Oscar surged up and forward. He cleared the overlook, his arcing trajectory bringing him back down to earth directly in the midst of the three figures. The shock on their faces was palpable. Oscar threw up one hand in a halfhearted wave. "'Sup," he asked.

They didn't get the opportunity to answer. Money Shot swung about Oscar's body like a whip. He tore through the trio in a single swing, dropping their health bars to non-existence. Taking Freyd's advice to heart, Oscar made a quick escape. He didn't want to be the reason for any alarm being raised. He hopped off the overlook and made his way back down the beaten path. Stealth was good and all, but Oscar refused to shy away from anything. Either he'd fight on his feet, face-to-face or he wouldn't fight at all.

On his return, he patted Freyd on the back. "That was what I meant."

Oscar remained silent as Freyd parlayed with his associate. There was very little that he could add that Freyd didn't already cover. He wasn't one for reconnaissance, really. He was the thing you dropped when the recon was done.

"I've never worked with him on floor thirteen.  He also hates when I call him that.  That wasn't Bernie.  We're being setup."

Oscar's eyes widened a bit behind his shades. He'd just got on board with the whole sentient NPCs idea. Now they were directly messing with them. They were showing a sort of sophistication that, frankly, Oscar just wasn't ready for. Imagine how much of a threat they could be on the higher floors where enemies had the stats to back up their newfound sentience. At least, for now, he could take solace in the fact that - regardless of what came his way - these enemies were still stuck following the conventions set by the System. Cardinal drew the lines and they, at least for now, lacked the ability to color outside of them. There was something rather intoxicating about having the biggest dick on the whole fucking floor. It was a sensation that he couldn't hope to match in the real world.

"Oh no," Oscar responded sarcastically. "Whatever will we do?"

With his impromptu grinding session concluded, there was nothing else to do but head back to the event grounds and turn in the quest. He whistled a merry tune as he headed back to the kids that had originally given him the quest. Upon arrival, they looked at him expectantly. He didn't know what they were expecting. He'd skipped all of the quest dialogue. Either way, Oscar just shrugged his shoulders and headed off. They looked rather dejected, but frankly, Oscar had no idea why. On his side of things, it was all starting to look up again. With nothing else drawing his attention to the event, he headed back home. If Freyd was even remotely correct, he knew he would need to rest up. Soon all hell would break loose and he really wanted to have a good night's sleep before it all popped off. Rested or not, Oscar couldn't help but feel they all had a rough storm coming.

Thread Summary
7 SP [3 Quest, 2 Page, 2 Mega Slime Farm]
203,627 Col
52 T3 Materials
578 Gold Stars
Intermediate Dungeon Map [F22] - 166517
Rare T3 Armor/Shield - 166470
Rare T3 Armor/Shield - 166535
Rare T3 Weapon - 166534
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166459A
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166459B
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166468A
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166468B
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166481A
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166481B
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166506A
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166516A
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166516B
Perfect T3 Armor/Shield - 166518A
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166471A
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166471B
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166483
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166490A
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166490B
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166506B
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166506C
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166518B
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166518C
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166519A
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166519B
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166519C
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166533A
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166533B
Perfect T3 Weapon - 166533C

He waited. And waited. And then he waited some more. It seemed like his time would never come. But, as the saying goes. Don't let your memes be dreams. The Galaxies' flight paths intersected. At that moment, Oscar struck like lightning. The galaxies crumbled under the force of his blow. They shattered like glass, fragments of stardust carried back up unto the heavens. Oscar collected his loot, adding everything to his pack. He took stock out his final haul and let out a surprised whistle. He'd never walked away from a quest with a haul like this before. Even quests that he made a concerted effort to spend an inordinate amount of time grinding in. Searching was one hell of a skill. Now that he'd seen what it could do, he couldn't imagine never having it again. But more importantly, he had cemented his legacy. He was Oscar, Galaxy Destroyer.

He hopped back a bit. He would need a running start. Oscar dashed forward, spun, and then slammed into the Galaxies with enough concussive force to send them reeling in all directions. Unable to properly target him, Oscar danced in between their blasts with swift deftness. Not a missed step. They began to buzz around him, much like the Nebulae did. He supposed that it was meant to keep him from being able to get a clear hit. But with their size, it really didn't help them that much. They fazed through one another, orbiting Oscar as if he were the center of the universe. And, as their executioner, he was in a way. But for now, he would wait. Even though they weren't able to scatter as easily as the nebulae, it didn't mean that he could just fire off willy-nilly. He still had to wait for the opportune moment. And then, victory would be his. He would have become Oscar, Galaxy Destroyer.

And wouldn't ya know it, there they were. It was rather hard to miss them. Floating discs about ten times the size of the floating nebulae had joined their smaller brethren. Oscar looked down at his watch and saw that it was midnight. Maybe the time had something to do with it. Either way, Oscar would kick them in the dick. He rushed in, adding plenty of spin and force to his Explode Catapult. He collided with the Galaxies hard, only able to do about a third of their health in damage. No matter, they were disoriented. So he was able to dodge their counterattacks with relative ease. Fitting that his experience with the nebulae had prepared him for this fight. Even though they had more health, all that meant was that they would drop more Col. It would just take an extra round of fighting. With his energy and health bars full, he had plenty in the tank to deal with them.

Still a touch groggy, Oscar slowly sat up into a sitting position. He smacked his lips together and gazed out over the water. There was just something about this night. It was familiar enough that he was comfortable yet not so familiar that he was bored. Not to mention the scenery was to die for. Oscar could stare out over the waters for hours. But, he still had some stuff to get done. Most importantly, he couldn't let his memes be dreams. He'd finally understood what that thought meant. He wanted to leave this quest being able to tell Bahr and Less and all of his friends that used the inferior weapon type that he too could use Galaxy Destroyer. He just needed to find some galaxies to destroy first. With all the Nebulae floating around, surely there would also be some tiny galaxies he could exterminate with extreme prejudice.

For once, Oscar found himself dreaming pleasant dreams. Floating on a sea of clouds, feeling nothing but bliss. A bright, warm light engulfed him. It was such a wonderful feeling. In his unconscious state, Oscar allowed himself to ride out the feeling. Eventually, he was roused from his light slumber. He awoke with a smile on his face, feeling completely peaceful. He gazed up at the stars, thinking of nothing in particular. He realized, in the back of his mind, that he'd broken down some of the obstacles in his way, that this was a sign of progress. But he really didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy the moment. He didn't feel the gloom and doom that he'd grown so accustomed to feeling over the years. He didn't feel as if he was broken. He just felt calm and happy. There must have been something in the air. Something to get him into this sort of mood. Or maybe he was just trying to fuck it up.

Don't let your memes be dreams, thought Oscar as he carved through the last of the Nebulae's health bars. Why had he thought such a thing? Just a random intrusive thought. He had several of those throughout the day. It was just how it be sometimes. He collected his loot and returned to his rock. Thankfully, he wasn't considering whether they had pockets or not. Damn it. Now he was. Although, it wasn't as far-fetched as whether spiders had pockets. Each of the nebulae looked to be their own self-contained chunk of space. Plenty of room inside that infinite vastness to store the sheer amount of loot he was collecting. It wasn't anything to lose sleep over. Speaking of sleep, Oscar suddenly felt tired. His eyelids felt heavy and under the relaxing starlight, he found himself dozing off to sleep. He hadn't done anything like this since he'd first gotten started. Was he finally starting to feel at ease again?

He had enough energy for one more skirmish before he needed to rest. He looked around and quickly spied another group of nebulae. He rushed it and carved through their number with an Explode Catapult. However, his attack hadn't been as disorienting as the last. It didn't scatter them. Thus, they were able to create something of a kill zone with their pattern of fire. This resulted in Oscar eating dirt yet again. He swore under his breath, mentally kicking himself for being so foolish. He'd just learned the trick to dealing with them and yet here he was, not using it. He picked himself up of the ground and watched as the Nebulae buzzed around him like the pack from before. He'd just need to bide his time and wait. Hopefully, they'd clump up sooner than later. Until then, all he could do was stand their and watch their paths with intense focus and try to predict where they would go. Somehow he doubted he'd be able to pull that off with aplomb. 

Another Explode Catapult cinched it. His weapon cleaved through them like butter. One-by-one, the Nebulae shattered like glass. Polygonal fractals rose into the sky and scattered on the winds. In their wake, glimmering interactable spots were left on the ground. Oscar interacted with each of them and added their contents to his pack. This quest was shaping up to be a great haul. Not only was he gaining the bonus experience from his house, but he was also gaining so much equipment. He'd need almost every bit of the Col he got from this grind just to identify it all. First world problems and all that. Regardless, he was confident now that not only was he becoming more capable at fighting this new enemy type, but that his decision to spec into the Searching tree had not been a foolish one. He could always rank First Aid back up, but having this much loot from such a short outing was insane.

Onto the next group of enemies then. He wondered whether he could make it through this round without getting knocked into the dirt again. It would certainly be a clear sign of progress if he did. Oscar locked onto his targets and rushed forward. He spun on his heels to generate a little more rotation - and thus more force - to his attack. Explode Catapult did the same amount of damage, but it scattered the Nebulae on contact. They attempted to get their bearings, but they didn't move in tandem with one another anymore. Unable to intersect fields of fire, Oscar found that each attack was slightly delayed. This made them much easier to maneuver around as a result. Each of the attacks whizzed by him harmlessly. Some came closer than others, but absolutely none of them found their mark. A rousing success and proof that he was, in fact, getting better at fighting these creatures.

The nebulae had changed tactics. Instead of remaining stationary, they flew around Oscar erratically. It made them more difficult to hit and more difficult to dodge. Fortunately, Oscar was a patient man. He wouldn't waste his attack and hit nothing but air. He stopped. He waited. For whatever reason they weren't attacking him right now. All he needed to do was wait until the time was right. Eventually, they would clump up. And that's when he would hit them. He did his best to track the rapidly-buzzing purple masses. Eventually, he saw them all on trajectory to clump up in a specific spot. So he let fly his sword art. His prediction had been quite accurate. Money Shot tore through them and shattered them like glass. Triumphant, Oscar stooped down and collected his loot before moving on to the next bunch. It seemed like he was getting better at this.

Oscar's eyes flicked up to his energy bar. Full. It was time to get back to work. He picked himself up off of the stone. As he was just a digital simulacrum of his real self, he felt no sensation of stiffness or pain after resting for even a short time on such a surface. One of the small mercies of existing within a digital framework. After straightening his tie and adjusting his jacket, Oscar picked his axe up off the ground and set off. He found a group of enemies in very short order and set about breaking them. Explode Catapult reduced their health bars to half in an instant - one of them even lower. Yet, despite his best efforts, one of the nebulae managed to land a clean shot on him that sent him flying into the dirt. Oscar let out a grunt of frustration and hopped back to his feet. They wouldn't survive another round so there was very little point in getting bent out of shape here.

Oscar liked to pride himself on being the guy with a plan. Constant gears turning in his head. He knew how to play people. He knew how to mess with their heads to put himself in an advantageous position. Not very useful when your enemies are AI. Even so, there was always something stewing in his mind. Some thought or plan or plot. He felt comfortable that way. Surrendering himself to the churning chaos. And yet, with the order brought by the sudden calm, he found himself appreciative of this moment. Usually, he made a point of avoiding situations where he'd be forced to calm his mind. He didn't feel right without at least one thread on the loom, so to speak. Perhaps it was a sign of maturity that he was just taking it all in now. Or, perhaps, he was just weary. His mind had been "on" since day one in Aincrad. Two years was a very long time to be constantly thinking.

After a brief moment of searching, Oscar eventually found a flat rock to stretch out on while he looked up at the stars. He leaned back, his back against the cool stone and his head resting on his hands. It was uncanny how life-like the night sky looked. Pristine and perfect, stars twinkled over head. If he shut his mind off and pretended really hard, he was almost back in the real world. It was funny that he never did things like this back then. Of course, you never really know what you have until it's gone. He wished Cordelia was here with him. She would have loved this vista. Of course, she was probably still in the event grounds, having the time of her life. A sudden stillness fell over him. A calm deep inside. The ever-churning chaos had finally subsided and Oscar was left with nothingness. No thoughts. No sound. Just peace under the stars in the heavens.

At least these things suffered in the durability department. That was the one thing they had in common with the spiders. Where he was usually on the lookout for thrashing limbs and fangs, the swift shots from the nebulae were a bit harder to accurately predict and dodge. Thankfully, reprieve could be in between packs while he was looting the creatures. Money Shot made it so everything died in two hits with no stragglers. It gave him some much-needed breathing room. Oscar collected his loot and checked his energy. Much to his chagrin, he didn't have enough in the tank for another rotation. He clicked his tongue and started looking around for somewhere to wait out his energy regeneration. All-in-all, this wasn't the worst place to be stuck looking at the horizon. The event decorations were quite pleasing even all the way out here. If you could consider the nebulae to be decoration.

Oscar quickly made his way over to another group of Nebulae. Perhaps if he blitzed them harder, they wouldn't have the opening they needed to hit him. He dashed into their midst, scarcely giving them time to react to his presence before his Sword Art rang out. Explode Catapult cleaved through the four of them and - thanks to Money Shot - they were struck with pinpoint accuracy. Yet, despite his sudden assault, one of the Nebulae knocked him on his ass yet again. He picked himself up off of the ground, his eyes flicking up to his health bar. For all the force they could bring to bear, the shots weren't doing a whole lot of damage. Even so, he was in worse shape now than he usually was. Of course, after a certain point, you get a little too used to fighting Spiders. Going from eight-legged freaks to floating masses of space was one hell of a trip.

He skidded to a halt and was back on his feet in short order. Back into the fray he ran, but he quickly found himself diverted by a barrage of shots from the hovering nebulae. He sought cover behind a large rock. Large chunks of the stone were blasted away with every shot. He knew that if he remained here indefinitely that there wouldn't be much left to seek cover behind. So, he made a break for it. They had him at a disadvantage when it was a long-distance fight. But if he could close the gap, all it would take would be one good hit and they would be done. Somehow, the chaos they'd stirred up obfuscated Oscar's assault. He dashed forward into a cloud of dust and smoke and hoped that one of them didn't manage to clip him by pure luck. Eventually, he burst through the cloud of dust and straight into their midst. His weapon took on an ethereal glow as he swung it with all his might. The nebulae shattered on impact with his weapon, leaving nothing but their loot behind.

There was something rather fundamentally off about these creatures. Well, for starters, they weren't exactly creatures. They were bits of stardust swirling about a gravity well. But once you got past what you saw and then looked at their behaviors, it was almost like they were capable of communicating with one another. Having slain the first group, the other groups that he encounters were on guard. He avoided fighting most of them because they weren't clustered together tightly enough for him to hit them in one swing. But where they had been floating aimlessly over the shore, once he came into view they snapped to attention. They seemed to track him as he walked. It wasn't until he found a group that was clumped up that he even bothered to attack. His axe struck like lightning and they struck just as quickly. Two burst caught him in the chest in quick succession, sending him flying backward with surprising force.

Despite their inherent stopping power, the Nebulae didn't exactly have much that Oscar found to be exceptionally threatening. Sure, they could shoot literal fragments of plasma at him. But they were weak. Just as weak as the spiders that Oscar made a point to exterminate just one floor below them. Two hits: that was it. A second Explode Catapult shot out. Money Shot insured that his attacks would find their marks. There was no missing his targets when he was wielding this weapon. And, just like the spiders down below, once their health bars reached zero, the nebulae shattered like glass. In their wake, they left glimmering spots upon the ground beneath them. Upon interacting with those spots, Oscar obtained the usual fare. Col, Materials, and gear. Yet, this time, there was another thing. Stars. It wasn't much of a logical leap to understand that they had something to do with the event. He'd figure that out later. For now, it was grind time.