Oscar

Unlike the commander, the King met him on open ground. Sunlight gleamed off of his silver armor as he pointed his leaf-bladed spear at Oscar. The Azure Crusader merely smiled and rushed forward. The Elvish King attempted to skewer Oscar with his spear but Yukianesa cleaved right through it. He stopped and met the King's gaze. The head of the spear buried itself in the ground as the King closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate. Oscar delivered a deadly onslaught, assailing the enemy mercilessly. Each slice carved chunks from the King's health bar. Once he was in the red, Oscar finished the fight with a powerful vertical chop to his head. Seeing their King shatter like glass caused the Elvish Soldiers to mount an immediate retreat. The Treants roared in triumph as Oscar returned to their encampment. The battle was over. They had won. 

The commander never saw him coming. He approached from behind and drew his blade. The last thing the commander saw was the horrified faces of his subordinates as Oscar carved through him with a barrage of slices. Then, he finished his onslaught with a powerful chop that cut the commander from shoulder to hip. The commander shattered like glass and he could see the immediate demoralization upon the faces of the Elvish Soldiers. Their lines began to buckle. Their casualties began to mount. All that remained was to slay their King and their lines would crumble completely. Oscar rushed off towards the Elvish command tent, nimbly dancing between the soldiers that put up a half-hearted attempt to stop him. Their morale was crushed. Now it was time to crush their offensive by slaying their King.

Like a predator stalking its prey, so too did Oscar stalk the commander. The commander was shrewd, hanging back and giving orders to form up or retreat as needed. Oscar had a certain respect for the commander. Too often they stayed behind, sending soldiers to die from afar. But not this commander. He was in the thick of it, slaying Treants left and right. Oscar had to go ahead and get into position. He slipped between the ranks of the Treants and headed for the last location of that he had seen the commander. It was proving difficult to track him perfectly through the melee. Oscar was able to cross the battlefield again, going completely unnoticed. The enemy was preoccupied fighting the Treants to care about the lone samurai crossing through their midst. Soon he would be upon the commander. He would make it quick.

Oscar took full advantage of his brief reprieve. He drank down a Burning Edge potion. True to its name, it burned going down - much like whiskey. The heat bloomed in his chest and spread out to his extremities. He could feel the effects of the potion for a few minutes. The effect then settled, making Oscar feel more or less normal. But the icon that appeared on his status bar told him that his damage had been increased. This was good. Oscar peered out onto the battlefield and his sudden culling of the soldiers had drawn out one of the commanders. He couldn't do anything for now, but he had his target locked. From behind the Treant lines, Oscar followed the Elvish Commander with his eyes, ready to strike the moment his energy regenerated to its full amount. The waiting was almost unbearable, but he had to be patient. If he blew all of his energy now, he wouldn't have enough in the tank for the boss.

BURNING EDGE POTION CONSUMED +2 DMG

As if on cue, two more soldiers broke off from their ranks and engaged him. They quickly met their end at the tip of Oscar's blade. A second Amatsu no Homura came flying out, carving through the soldiers with one fell swoop. It did, however, have the most unfortunate side effect of draining exactly half of his energy bar. He would need that energy back if he was to do anything with this quest. So, he backed away. He retreated past the line of the treants, explaining to their representative what was happening. "Yeah, my energy's low. I need a few moments to recuperate before I go rushing in again." The treant nodded in understanding and ordered its men to hold the line while Oscar caught his breath. He truly could not wait to be a higher level so he could have more energy to work with. This whole thing of starting and stopping just when things were getting good was for the birds.

Upon entering the battlefield, Oscar was approached by a representative of the Treants. He was tasked with laying waste to the elven ranks. A pretty tall order considering the intensity of the melee. But, a quest was a quest. So Oscar agreed. His blade glinted in the sunlight as he approached the elven ranks. He was almost immediately best by four Elvish Soldiers. Their weapons were drawn. They were not willing to parley. Which was just fine with Oscar. He swung his weapon twice in the air, the soldiers rushed forward. Big mistake. We whipped his blade around his body three times, carving through their ranks and causing them to shatter like glass. Amatsu no Homura wasn't the strongest AoE attack, but it still did far above the amount of damage needed to fell the soldiers. He looked at his quest tracker. "Only two more to go."

Thread Summary
Cordelia
4 SP
1 from Thread Completion
3 from Quest Completion
200 Col
<<Cerberus Soul>>

Oscar
4 SP
1 from Thread Completion
3 from Quest Completion
200 Col
<<Cerberus Soul>>

Oscar followed along, walking through the wall of smoke like it wasn't even there. Because it wasn't. This was a video game, not an actual burning forest. There would be certain issues with even existing near such a copious amount of smog that would not be conducive to their continued plan of, you know, living. All it did was make it hard to see and smell bad. He emerged on the other side with some small flecks of soot adorning his hair, coat, and pants. But that graphical effect soon disappeared as he traveled further into the lush and verdant forest of Floor 6. When Dustin asked what Oscar did for fun, he merely stretched out his arms and said, "This."

He further explained. "I was a bit of an outdoorsy type in the real world. There's just something about going out and really sinking your teeth into what the world has to offer that really makes a guy feel alive. I was cooped up for two years. Now I feel free to explore, you know?"

Cordelia was half right, at least. As she stared a hole into the last head of the Cerberus, Oscar rushed in. He delivered a fierce barrage of slices and slashes and then ended his combo with a powerful vertical chop. The head was defeated and the Cerberus shattered like glass. Oscar sheathed his blade and accepted the item for defeating the creature. <<Cerberus Soul>> was dropped into his inventory, as it would be dropped into Cordelia's as well. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and tapped Cordelia on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go somewhere cooler."

The boss hadn't proved to be too difficult, but the real boss was the heat. That, and the walk back to Vulcan Town. But, at least he had some good company to keep him going throughout the two-day trek back to the town. Oscar was elated when they passed through the gates as that meant he could return to Deepedge. And with Deepedge came the cool mountain air. Despite his desire to rush away from the heat, he still turned to Cordelia with a smile. "Thanks for the help! I had a lot of fun."

Oscar rushed in right after Cordelia. He delivered a flurry of slashes punctuated with a powerful vertical chop. And, like that, the second head went down! Oscar dipped out of the way of the snapping jaws of the Cerberus. The fight was going quite smoothly. Neither one of them had sustained damage from the Cerberus. Which was great because it looked like it would have the ability to deal some heavy damage. There was only one more head to go. Then the quest would be complete! This had been an arduous one, that much was certain. Oscar was just excited to get the heck up out of here. He did not do well in the heat. The only reason that the fatigue hadn't yet gotten to him was because of the fact this was a video game. Oscar smiled to Cordelia and hopped back. "Alright! Finish it off Cordelia!" He landed lightly on his feet, waiting for Cordelia to deliver the final blow.

Oscar and Jason shot the breeze for a while. They just hung out and enjoyed one another's company. Eventually, though, Oscar addressed the elephant in the room.

"So. Tell me about this quest," he stated as he lifted a cup of tea to his lips.

Jason smiled and nodded, leaning back in his chair and taking a long draff from his own mug. "The basic gist of it is that you gotta pick a side. Either you side with the elves or with the treants. Apparently, your rewards change based on which side you pick. It's not a hard quest judging from how many people have been successful at it."

Oscar rubbed his chin and tapped the pommel of his new sword, Yukianesa. It would be fun to put his new stat jump to good use. Picking a side was a new one. He didn't even know what the rewards were. Either way, he couldn't go wrong. SP was SP, after all.

Oscar yawned loudly and stretched. Once he felt limber enough, he stood up and looked at Astralin and Summoner. "I think imma head out, guys. There isn't really anything for me to do here, y'know?" Since there wasn't much in the way of any threats, Oscar decided that his best course of action would be to stop getting in the way and let the newbies do their quest. All he'd done was nap and get smacked in the head by a piece of fruit. Oscar waved them farewell and started to head back towards town. If he was gonna nap, he'd much rather do it on his own in the comfort of his own shop. Or, even better, the comfort of his own home. It might have been a touch cold-hearted, but he was tired and didn't really care. Plus, his head REALLY hurt from that dang apple.

Oscar leaves the thread.

A loud roar filled the cavern as the Cerberus finally took the stage. It was a massive, hulking beast wreathed in flame. It seemed to give off an aura of heat that made the already-sweltering cavern that much worse. Oscar coughed and readied his sword. Sweat stung his eyes as he rushed in, attempting to use a Wa Shu to take down one of its three heads. He missed entirely. As he wiped the sweat from his eyes, Oscar danced around the beast, dodging attacks from all angles. He hopped back, allowing Cordelia the room she needed to rush in and deal some damage. It wasn't as if he was going to do anything this round. Despite his boosts to his accuracy, he had been unable to even land a glancing blow. Sweat in the eyes was worse than sun in the eyes. You can look away from the sun. But it's hard to deal with the stinging sensation of the salt in ones sweat being applied directly to the eyeballs.

Blows thundered down upon one of the remaining Hell Hounds. He punctuated his onslaught with a powerful vertical chop. A critical hit. The beast went up in smoke, leaving one hound for Cordelia and Oscar to deal with. The remaining one lunged forward and Oscar spun out of the way of its snapping jaws!

"It's open!" Oscar shouted, signaling for Cordelia to rush in and finish it off.

He was quite pleased that he didn't need to communicate his previous plan to Cordelia. Even though it was the obvious plan, sometimes people had a way of panicking in situations like this. But not Cordelia. She kept her cool and rushed in. She was cool under pressure. Which was saying something because they were literally inside of a volcano right now. He admired her gumption, that was for sure.

Oscar decided to go visit Jason again. He had such a good time hanging out with him that he wanted to give him an update on things. Oscar hadn't yet given the Hoya of Minos to Cordelia, but that was simply because their paths had yet to cross again. As he stepped off of the Teleportation Platform in Delilah, Oscar heard the sounds of battle in the distance. Jason was sitting on his front stoop, whittling away without a care in the world.

"What's going on man? Who's fighting?" Oscar had a look of concern on his face.

Jason shrugged and pointed to the gate. "Some elves an' treants, Oscar. It's part of this quest we get to put up wit' here on Floor Three."

A quest? Oscar was intrigued. He was always happy to get involved, but first he wanted to do some catching up with Jason. The quest would always be there later. In anticipation of it, however, Oscar preemptively used a Yui's Grace.

Yui's Grace consumed

The next wave of Hellhounds approached. Oscar rushed in and attempted to take out on of them with a quick Wa Shu. His combo of slices would have dropped the enemy's health to zero. If he'd hit. But he didn't. Oscar missed by a mile. He swore under his breath and got ready to dodge. He danced between the snarling jaws of the Hell Hounds. Thankfully, they didn't so much as graze him. He would hate to suffer three hits worth of damage from these things. Then, he hopped backwards, drawing the creatures away from Cordelia. With their positioning, she could rush in from the flank and hit them hard. Then Oscar could follow up. Afterwards, Cordelia could put an end to them with her next attack and they could move on to fighting the boss. Oscar was confident that was the plan Cordelia was going to go for. It was the most sensible one at least. He trusted that she saw that.

Oscar came screaming in through the front door looking absolutely excited. Having just picked up <<Yukianesa>> from Macradon, he was elated to read the message that Bahr had sent him. He bolted back to the Crusty Bahrnacle posthaste. It was then he had noticed that Bahr and Kit were both hanging out in the shop. Were they there the whole time? He had been so lost in his head that he hadn't noticed when he was here last. Oscar shot them both an apologetic grin as he picked up his new armor. "Really sorry about being so rude earlier. I was caught up in my head. Was about to hit level 25 and I had some shopping to do in order to prep for it. How are you both doing today?"

Oscar had left to go check on his own shop and get a few errands done while he waited on his order. When he returned, he was happy to see that Macradon and Alec had been successful in completing his brand new upgraded Katana. <<Yukianesa>>, it was called. The blade itself was a glistening silver. When drawn, it would be enveloped in an aura of snow and ice. Oscar beamed as he accepted his new weapon. "You two do great work. I really appreciate you helping me out with this upgrade." Oscar added the weapon to his inventory and equipped it, then checked his stats. 9 to 14 damage was a serious jump. He grinned widely at the sight. "Thanks again you guys. This was just what the doctor ordered."

Thread Summary
4 SP
1 from Thread Completion
1 from Yui's Grace
2 from Quest Completion
400 Col
<<Hoya of Minos>>

After feeding himself and his familiar with steaks and veggies, Oscar took the time to wash up before heading upstairs for the night. His body ached, not just from the rough journey home. He did go a couple days without sleep, after all. But it was all worth it. He held up the Hoya, gazing at its polygonal form. The light refracted off of the diamond, bathing his headboard in small fractals of prismatic light. His thumb passed over the inscription engraved into the back of the diamond. It was hard to read unless you were up close as Oscar was. It was a message sent from his heart that, in his mind, only two people in the world had the right to read. His lips parted as he spoke, reading aloud the inscription for the first time in the privacy of his own home.

Unique and beautiful like a snowflake, strong like diamond. - With love, Oscar.

Oscar headed back towards his home, meandering through the streets of Deepedge until he got to the gate. The sun had all but disappeared over the horizon. Oscar wasn't enthused about making the trek back home under the cover of darkness, but he made his bed. Now he had to lie in it. It wasn't a very pleasant journey, all things considered. Oscar tripped and smacked his face into the ground more than a few times. He had really taken sunlight guiding his path for granted. With a sore face and body, Oscar strolled up to his front door and unlocked it. His familiar zipped inside and made a beeline for the kitchen. The sudden rush caused Oscar to swear in shock and then chuckle. Someone was certainly excited. He shook his head and flipped on the light, illuminating his foyer. Then, he stepped inside and locked the door behind him. It was good to be home.

Oscar headed towards the Teleportation Platform with the Hoya in his pocket and his familiar hot on his heels. Both of them were starving. They hadn't eaten in over a day. Leeroy & Jenkins knew that home meant steak and steak meant sleep. That was all they needed to know to bolt out in front of Oscar and bark loudly, as if urging him to move fast. Oscar chuckled and shook his head as he picked up the pace. His feet clacked against the stone dias. "Deepedge," came his confident cry. The sigil carved upon the stone began to glow. Moments later, Oscar disappeared in a flash of light. He materialized upon the Teleportation Platform in Deepedge. Sounds of the bustling settlement assaulted his ears. It was a far cry from Delilah back down on Floor 3, that much was for sure. He loved the hustle and bustle of the city, but at the same time it was good to have some peace and quiet to relax and unwind.

Oscar hung out with Jason for a bit longer when he stopped crying. He extended formal invitations to both his shop on Floor One and his home on Floor Seven. There was even a promise of more steak, should he want it. Jason's eyes lit up at the offer of steak and the previous sorrow was instantly gone. The two conversed until the sun began to set and Oscar needed to be heading back towards home. Oscar left with promises to visit to tell Jason how everything went with Cordelia. He was more confident about it now that he had someone standing behind him. It was almost as if he couldn't let Jason down more than he couldn't let himself down. He was happy to have been of help to the lonely man and was happy to have a new friend. Adventures weren't all about beasts and treasure. Sometimes they were about meeting new people and making new friends.

Oscar knocked on Jason's door and was greeted with a friendly face. His eyes lit up as Oscar held up the Hoya for him to see. "That's beautiful man, who's the lucky lady?" Oscar smiled and told him all about Cordelia. As Oscar spoke, Jason went pensive. Oscar noticed this and tilted his head to the side as if to ask "what's up?" Jason chuckled and shook his head. "Ye talk about this girl like I used to talk about my wife is all. It had me nostalgic." A tear rolled down Jason's cheek as a smile stretched across his face. "Thank ye, Oscar."

"For what?"

Jason shook his head as more tears rolled down his face. "For reminding me what I'm hanging on for." Jason rushed forward and wrapped Oscar in a hug. Oscar didn't fight as the man clung to him, wetting his shirt with hot tears. Oscar merely patted his back and let him cry. There was a fourth occasion when you needed to man up, according to the Major.

When another man just needs a shoulder to cry on.