Oscar

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Bosses didn't quite scratch that itch anymore. Even for something as fearsome and infamous as the Forgotten Time King, Oscar rarely found himself hard pressed. Their movements were almost scripted. Easy to predict, easy to dodge. If he even bothered to do so, really. Outside of Raids, they didn't bring enough stopping power to the table to make Oscar sweat. When all was said and done, for all of the flashiness and vaunted power, the boss was only barely scraping Oscar's health bar. Ten damage at a time when all was said and done. It was quite funny, really. The King blasted Oscar across the arena with a simple swipe of his Swordspear. Only for Oscar to dig his feet into the crater his body made and come screaming back into the fight with a counterattack of his own.

"It's a stat fight," Oscar called over to Kiyabu. "Gotta make sure you're stacking the right shit. For example-"

Oscar trailed off, twisting his body around another attack and driving his blade up through the King's chest in the same fluid motion. "Look at my health bar." The last attack had carved a healthy amount of from his health bar. But moments later, Battle Healing restored the lion's share of the damage. "I could stand here all day and it'd still be doing the same ten damage. Almost zero risk." The King brought his blade down upon Oscar in a powerful overhead strike. He didn't dodge this one, instead using it to prove his point. The blade carved through his chest, leaving a red gash in its wake. Again, Battle Healing regenerated the bulk of it.

"Most of the quest bosses - even the harder ones - just don't have the damage to overcome top level Mitigation."

The man may not have realized it, but he'd almost given it up right out of the gate. Oscar had to move quickly, surging forward like a bullet to place himself in between Kiyabu and the boss. He didn't even have time to attempt a strike before the Forgotten Time King had raised his sword spear above his head and slammed it down. Ordinarily, Oscar would have done some fancy maneuver to dodge or absorb the blow. But if he had, the attack would have struck Kiyabu who was standing directly behind him. So rather than do any of that, Oscar chose to simply take the attack. The glowing golden sword spear bit into his shoulder, coming to a stop midway through his chest.

And were this not a mere videogame avatar, it would have been a mortal blow in and of itself.

Here in Aincrad, however, Oscar could handle attacks like that - no matter how grievous they appeared. He turned, wrenching the weapon out of his frame - leaving only an ugly crimson gash it is wake. With one fluid motion, he placed his hand on Kiyabu's chest and pushed. The man would skid backwards a few feet - well out of harm's way.

"When you get a Frontliner to help with a quest like this, keep yourself off the Hate chart," Oscar called over to him. "That was a crit. If you'd touched this guy, it would have targeted you. Wouldn't have been a damn thing I could've done to save you, man. You're one-shot to this guy." Oscar pivoted back around to face the boss. He stared up at the monarch as he shoved both hands into his pockets. Despite suffering such a telling blow, Oscar was not in the least bit bothered. "If you wanna come back later when you got the juice to take this boss all by your lonesome, by all means. But right now, I want you to sit back and watch. You got a whole lot to learn."

Purchasing the following:

 

Someone had requested aid on a quest. Oscar had been so busy with the hustle and bustle of Clash of Blades that he'd all but forgotten to make his rounds. Reading the notice, his eyes fell upon the name. Kiyabu Hisao. Wasn't that the unfortunate fellow who got matched against NIGHT Round 1? He breathed out a laugh. Apparently someone had realized they needed to up their arsenal a little before they got too deep into the tournament. Better late than never, honestly.

So he sent his response and almost immediately received one back. Dude must have been waiting waiting. He felt a little bad for his part in leaving him in the lurch. The Forgotten Time King wasn't exactly a difficult fight. He recalled how he'd recently helped Abellio through the quest. Though it was much in a knee-jerk fashion, the two came out relatively unscathed. But it was a numbers game. Simple, with few mechanics. Just as impossible without the correct stats. Most people either got themselves a friend to carry them through or waited until they could handle it themselves.

But, really, there was so much more benefit to being carried through. The experience alone was far more valuable at a low level compared to a higher one. It would be one hell of a boost if they got it done early.

And so, he was off. In a flash of light, Oscar materialized in the caverns of Floor 21. This place in particular brought back many memories. As he scanned the plaza, he took the time to buff himself up. The usual assortments, designed to make the fight even less of a challenge than it already was. And it wasn't difficult to find Kiyabu - he was the only person here. Oscar strode up, offering the man a polite wave in greeting.

"Sorry it took so long to get back to you, dude," Oscar said by way of apology. "Let's go knock this thing out." 

Oscar didn't really stick around for a response. He merely beckoned for Kiyabu to follow. Floor 21 used to be his old farming grounds. He knew every nook and cranny here. And how to avoid the patrolling mobs that most certainly would rip his companion to shreds. There were many tunnels and side paths to their destination, all of which Oscar made a point to lead Kiyabu through in case he needed to come back here on his own. They made good progress, though Oscar had to dispatch the odd spider here or there. At this point, he was uncertain whether or not they were after him or his new companion.

Eventually, they made it safely. They stood at the entrance of the arena, looking out towards the King upon his throne.

"Very important point, don't do anything to get Ha- WHAT IN THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

Consumables used:

Statline

Hi hello yes 8 THE coins pls

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Sudden Death: 241399 LD5

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"Therapy session? Is that what you thought that was?" His question cut through the night air like a knife. "You dumb?" As she sank back into the edge of the fountain, it was Oscar's turn to go on a tirade. Though, to his credit, his own was more calm than hers. "First of all, we needed to cool the fuck down. Don't pretend for one goddamn second we wouldn't have gone at it in the middle of the arena if we kept pushing things." He turned his head to the side and looked down to catch her gaze. "No lies now, you were feeling it as much as I was."

Oscar pushed himself off the fountain, striding forward and spinning around to face Lessa fully. "That was no therapy session. I mean, I can get out my rate clock if you want. But you and I both know you need to get laid - not therapized.” Oscar was nothing if not direct. Perhaps that was what pushed Lessa's buttons so. He had a million jokes about that that he kept under lock and key. And he had no issue whatsoever with any of her past entanglements, but how long had it been since he saw her moving in a little too close to Bahr when they both thought no one was looking.

And there wasn't much on Floor One that Oscar didn't see.

Another, better man, might have felt guilty. But Oscar would never apologize for the physical. They could fight about it later if he wanted.

“I was asking for permission,” Oscar stated flatly. He took a few steps forward, reaching forward to trail his fingers along her jaw as he settled back into his original position against the fountain. The issue, he found, was that she wasn't taking him seriously. Or that she thought he wasn't taking her seriously. The latter couldn't be further from the truth. He was merely waiting on the “yes” she had yet to give.

“From Lessa,” he reminded her. “Fuck a Guardian, honestly.”

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MAIN ACTION | ST-I vs Hirru | ID: 241249 | BD: 6 + 1 - 1, hit | Deal 88-52 = 36 DMG

SWIFT ACTION | Quick Change: Divine Rancor -> Kyuketsuki

Vigilon | HP: 29/200 | EN: 38/53 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 35(-5) | ACC: 1 | EVA: 2 | FLN: 4 | BLI: 8/-5 | BRN: 14 | LD:4 | Shatter I 0/3

Oscar | HP: 36/200 | EN: 31/58 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 52 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | AA | Vamp.Off: 30 | PHASE | HB: 8 | BH:6 | V. DEF: 20 | REC: 1 | LD: 8 | QC CD: 1/3

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Morningstar | HP: 205/205 | EN: 14/43 | DMG: 10 | ACC: 4 | AA | MIT: 10 | EVA: 4 | REC: 2 | LD: 4 | HLY: 4 | FRZ | SUSHI 0/1 | Hype 2/3

Hirru | HP: 22/200 | EN: 8/38 | DMG: 2 | MIT: 52 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | BH: 6 | HLY BLS: 8 | MENDING: 2 | EN-O: 8 | LD: 3 | Hype CD 2/3 | Stun Immune 1/3

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You know that feeling when you try to grab something and keep fumbling it? That was Oscar trying to hit Morningstar. Dude was slippery. Suspiciously so. Was it the sauce covering the arena that kept slipping him up or had someone raided his bottles of cooking oil before the match? He was almost tempted to check his inventory if he didn't need to focus on the bout in front of him.

"You gotta send me that build," Oscar said to Morningstar as the blond-haired man once more juked a stun. "It's absolutely insane. I'm not used to having trouble hitting my targets." Oscar spared a look back at Vigilon. The two of them had made zero forward progress, but he was getting absolutely fucked up. It kinda made him feel bad.

"You good, dude? They're rocking the everloving shit out of you."

Perhaps they had made a mistake. The already-cramped arena was strewn with the remnants of food waste. It was a messy affair, spaghetti and ice cream, meatballs and noodles, made the floor slick. Slick but somehow sticky. But, for Oscar's part, he was inexplicably unmarred by tomato sauce or smatterings of chocolate. He was far too good for that, you see. And a man knew how to eat without wearing his food. Perhaps it was because of his profession, or maybe pure pride.

But he didn't look the least bit uncomfortable to be wearing white in such a situation.

"Welp, guess it's time to get started," Oscar said as he rose from his seat. "Suppose I can't peak at last round."

Ordinarily, Oscar was extremely competitive. An 0-1 placement in a tournament such as this wouldn't be at all acceptable to him. But he'd not had quite so much fun in a very, very long time. It was about showmanship and the dance of blades. And chairs.

Oscar's attacks were always unconventional. A white metal chair soared through the air at Morningstar, just barely missing his face. Oh well, he had another. 

Oscar was offended. Not only had he been whole-ass stabbed in the dick, but now the shoutcaster was scolding him for what he thought was perfectly good behavior. There was only one response. His hand launched yet another hot dog from beneath his coat. The meat cylinder sailed through the air as Minako finished her speech, like an arrow with her mouth the target.

"Someone sounds jealous!" Oscar shouted as he pulled a circular table out of his pocket. "Could be putting the practice to work but you over here playin'!" He punctuated the statement by pulled two chairs with heart shaped backing out from under his coat. "I was on my best behavior last round," Oscar insisted as he pulled a candelabra from out of his sock and placed it on the center of the table, lighting it quickly with a lighter that was just so conveniently hidden under his sleeve. "I mean ask the crowd! They were eating that shit up!" Finally, he placed the two feasts he purchased on the table and partook of a portion of each. He sat down at the table, keeping his gaze fixed to Minako.

"I mean, you're talking a lot of shit for someone who did not, in fact, call me," he said with his mouth still full of spaghetti and milkshake. He chewed and swallowed, quickly wiping his mouth with a napkin. He then hastily wiped the rest of his face and tossed the napkin back onto the table. He made a point to regain eye contact with Minako before continuing. "Just cleanin' your seat off for ya," he teased as his attention pivoted to the blonde man standing on the other end of the arena. "Oh hi, Star."

Activating <<Spaghetti and Meatballs>> +1 DMG, 10 MIT [1/2 Portions Remaining]
Activating <<Ice Cream Milkshake>> +15 EN [1/2 Portions Remaining]

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9 hours ago, Morningstar said:

Dark Seraphim | [#225898-2] | TIER 4 DEMONIC HEAVY ARMOR | HOLY BLESSING 2, VAMPIRIC (D) 2
[desc.]: A chain-lined white long coat. The dark lining of the interior seems to shimmer like stars in the night sky. Light and darkness made one, granting peerless restorative ability to the wearer.

@Oscar

sweetness

[oscar accepts]

Lessa had a shit poker face. He didn't need his Searching skill to see the pink rouge that her surging blood painted upon her cheeks. Even her stance struck him as forced. That strained greeting, as if she were trying to avoid the talk altogether. But what struck Oscar was the fact she said she didn't have the time. Oscar was taken aback by the audacity. 

"So. You go off and stab me in the dick and you don't have the time?"

His response rolled off of his tongue immediately. He maintained his relaxed stance, leaned back with his arms draped over the side of the fountain. It was clear that he was less bothered by the entire thing than Lessa was. Though, he'd be lying if he didn't find her attempts at looking put-together adorable. That his quickening pulse wasn't simply because of her off-the-cuff remarks.

It was so fucking infuriating to always be the second best looking person in any space they both occupied.

"Make time," he said sharply. "What the fuck was all of that? Things were going so well until you started popping off."