Basuke

thread closing.

NIGHT

+ 3390xp | (346 * 0.7 * 14)
+ 508col | (xp * 0.15)
+ scouting familiar skill.

Basuke

+ 784xp | (346 * 0.7 * 2) + 300
+ 400col
+ hunting familiar skill.

ID212598 | cd7 | 3/3 

ID212595 | cd1 | 2/3 | cd3 -> cd1

ID212594 | cd9 | 2/3

ID212591 | cd11 | 1/3 

quest.

Current Level: 19
Current SP: 49
Link to SP Tracking: [link]
Item Upgrades: //

Notes: 

hi look at this item. it looks weird.

x1 | [T1EU] New Life Song | [obtainment]
Event Item | Support Song | Antifreeze for 4 turns, 40HP Regen

By all accounts, it'd seemed that An was doing rather fine for herself. Basuke whistled just as her rapier burned, the cosmetic radiance somehow dancing from her grasp onto the war machine-- and that's when he saw it. The poison sigils set upon their 'foe' at the corner of his vision.

Wait, what? They could inflict statuses onto the trebuchet?

Sure enough, when he'd looked hard enough, there were trails of black snaking round and downwards upon the surface of the wooden structure. Was Aincrad always this strange? Environmental effects meant little to the kid, however; not like he was going to be capable of spawning flames and setting alight any oil slicks any time soon. His sword was already swung back behind him, preparing another strike quicker than his mind could process the chaos around him.

Another boost, another swing. Each practiced use of his sword art only carried him higher and higher into the air, Basuke aiming his strike towards the apex of the giant weapon.

Just as the phanlax soldier ahead of him started to rear back for a shield-based attack, a massive blast from above seared into the construct's form and smeared its pieces to the wind. Success! ... But not from Basuke. The boy whirled around as his smile was drawn from his face, sharp eyes searching the darkness out of curiosity than surprise. The blonde-haired girl?

--Well, whoever she was, at least she was playing well as a support.

"Clean up nice!"

And so they finally cleared the way to the goal! A giant, inanimate wooden structure left poorly defended against the elements (read: players). Some of the other raiders started their way towards the trebuchet, and Basuke watched the group swarm the tower, striking against its base with all their might.

The boy hummed, thumb under his chin as he started to circle its foundation, trying to find a good way in. How many of these were out on the battlefield? Surely there couldn't be just one. The war machine was basically an artifact made new straight out of his textbooks-- though the boy wasn't about to pause just to think about its weaknesses in the heat of the moment. After some sight-seeing, the kid grumbled and took a few steps backwards, making sure to angle his footwork just right.

"Hyaaaaaa---!!!!"

One leap, and his mind went blank. Thankfully Cardinal could remember, the greater system working his body through the motions of his intended sword art for him, poor bastard manipulated one way then the other. Basuke's blade had nearly missed the trebuchet itself, but the result of a tinge of health bulking downwards was more than enough for the boy to feel like he'd done his part.

In reality, Basuke wouldn't have landed upon the floor with his hand stretched out, bouncing off of the dirt with a somersault as though he were an acrobat. But this was Aincrad, so he did exactly that. When he finally stabilized, his eyes scanned through the party. How were his friends-- err, only friend doing?

It was almost in his nature to show of. Almost, of course, because if Basuke had really been trying, he would’ve failed in a manner so spectacular that his remains would be the highlight of the event, scattered through the air in some magnificent manner.

But fate had other plans for this hero. Grand ones, with the little caveat of supplying Basuke with the means of his lordship, the fervor he’d so desperately wanted to gain, to highlight himself. With another rising slash, he’d struck the phanlax soldier ahead of him, that sear tearing through its shield all the way across its vertical, bouncing off its helmet once the needle began to lose its momentum. Another bit of hang time in the air gave him the ability to scour the soldiers; so many, once, but they were quickly dwindling given time and the numbers they had.

Were they really so capable? The thoughts failed to race through his head as the capture of his fading white picked away at his attention instead. A dive downwards. He willed it this time, despite Cardinal’s desperate attempts to shove him back on the ground – and he wailed viscerally, point tilted towards the helmet of the enemy.

–Only to have them face back towards him with a malice unforetold.

He faltered. Withdrew his strike and swapped it for a backhanded swipe once more. With his last-second decision to give way to his enemy, so too did his attack cede to eliminate it.

The phanlax soldier stood with a staggering one (1) health point left. And though Basuke knew they weren’t real, he swore he could hear the pounding in its heart as it pierced daggers into his chest.

Wait, that was him.

The boy wore a crooked smile, hunched over, still raving and high on adrenaline.

He finally breathed, letting a growl pass through his gnashed, edged teeth. “What are you looking at…?”

Hah! Funny. The moment their opponents (oh, so they were fighting something) revealed themselves from the shadows, the synchronized pounding of their banded line must've sent Basuke in a frenzy, though the boy hadn't realized it just yet. With one finger, he pointed over to the Phanlax, glancing over to their little gathering of players. "Oi, you guys see that...? Looks like from movie..."

But of course their peace didn't last long. At the sight of their foes, so too did the other tier 1 players march onwards, weapons drawn and out into the battle field. Basuke whipped around and watched them go, mouth agape and still in shock over the sudden revelation. There were so many of them -- how exactly were they going to beat them all into submission?!

With a scurry, he pulled out his needle, too. The blade felt foreign in his hands as it had every right to be, but somehow all three years of missing combat experience came back rushing to him the moment he started to launch a sword art. Imagine pulling off one of the most powerful abilities in his tool kit for the time being by sheer, complete accident. That was how the boy got by on things, and by the stars' will he took out one of the members completely with a sick kick-flip off the ground (completely system-guided), pummeling them from on-high edge downwards and cutting through their protected form. His target's armor was nothing to the might of the system, and it faltered, collapsing, before exploding into nothing but bits.

If only one could catch his smile. It was immediately eclipsed by the army huddling together even closer during his motion delay, hence closing the divide in the gap. "Really?! But I just did that! I was so cool and all!"

"Aren't you going to give me cool points for that?!"

What they were capable of? What Basuke was capable of was getting lost and tripping over himself.

--But the discussion was more than welcome. Even if all that clued him on was the idea that they were going to be fighting soon. What, could the blonde peer into the dark or something? How many enemies would they be coming up against, then; could she tell?

What about the fireworks? He wondered to himself, a small pout forming as one of their merry band began introducing their capabilities. It would be awful to miss out on them for what might've been his third time in Aincrad. The boy's gaze swept over the other players present. Did anyone else believe the festivities had any chance of continuing whenever they got out of here?

...

How would they get out of here...?

First things first though -- when he finally spotted An, the expression on his face lit up. Almost as though his wish for being in company of familiar faces had been answered. Although, he couldn't quite recall what the player was capable of.

“I-I can do everything but healing, but since I don’t have enough levels, none of the things I do are actually effective!”

Ah, so she was a theoretical swiss army knife! A Jack-of-all-Trades; wasn't that the best thing to be? Basuke was nearly caught by surprise by her capabilities; meanwhile, all he had to offer was a poking stick with which to inflict his enemies with ailments. He held out to the group -- for inspection? More so for demonstration. "One-hand sword; but haven't fought in a while..."

How long was he out of Aincrad's scene for?

"Um... loss of experience... three years?"

Oh, come on. What mook didn't have their battle equipment ready in the middle of an easy-going festival while in the midst of a black iron castle of death?

Everyone?

Including Basuke?

Oh. Oh okay. Never mind then. Zoom in on the poor boy who'd accidentally fallen in the lake the moment the fireworks started and struggled to get himself out of the water during the exploding interim. Then the sudden rise of the arm that threatened to slay any who had been within its death reach did so much as to flood the banks right where Basuke was standing--

-- and then topple the poor boy, for the second time that night.

He wouldn't escape fate today; the writhing, squealing babe, fearful for his own life. The player was soon dragged underneath the familiar sights of Floor 22, to welcome the clear, disturbed sight of the Lake of Reflection's bed, before finally feeling his back give way to the air below him, the boy tumbling through space with a howl and a scream to signify his presence.

Thank his lucky stars that the gods above had heard him. His descent, along with the other players' had been slow, almost setting him down upon his feet on purpose. This gave the kid time to swap his gear (keep it on next time, you airhead!) and begin to examine his new, subterranean dwelling.

What the hell was happening?

It was with the sudden rush of players that Basuke found himself getting swept through the crowd the moment he entered the main streets of the festival once again. This time, the stream of people carried him over to a more deserted part of town, one that greeted him with an empty cage and a peeping of birds by its side.

"You look lost."

The woman with the guitar stopped her strumming, looking over to the boy behind a low desk. Basuke couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with a hand.

"It happens for me sometimes! Don't worry, I stay on my feet." He looked towards the back of the tent, tilting his head at the enclosure of birds. "What's this about?"

"Grandpa's magpies. We usually take them out for show during Tanabata events, but a few people have decided to drop us suggestions on running our booth this time. It's going pretty well." She glances to her magpies, before setting down her guitar, giving Basuke a tilt of her head. "Interested in giving it a shot?"

The boy was too busy being head over heels about getting closer to the birds just to observe them. The storeowner snorted at the glimmer in the player's eyes, pushing back her seat and beckoning him to follow.

He did so.

At the end of the meet and greet session, his heart must've grown several times larger.

"There," he'd announced, pulling the coloured pencils away from his paper, an artist holding up a colorful work of art. Not that his handwriting was anything pretty to look at, of course; the scrawlings were too big for the paper, for one, and the glyphs were in a language that most players in Aincrad probably weren't used to. Still, each tanzaku he'd written out had been heartfelt, and to that the boy hoped his wishes would resonate with the people around him.

He just hoped they weren't too personal to relate to.

The experience had been invigorating, the activity to clear his head. As he rose from his spot, picking up his things, Basuke jogged over to the bamboo forest, tags and their strings ready in his hands to be hung. A smile graced the boy's face as he looped them each around a branch, and a surge of pride accompanied it as it welled through the boy's chest, looking over his row of work. Now he had to return the left over crafting materials, and all would be well in the world.

[Basuke hangs his Tanzaku.]

He'd settled on reading only the few at the edge of the forest in awe, before getting too excited and unpacking the small kit in his hands, a grin plastered across his scrunched up face. Deft fingers slipped the band over the papers -- he'd picked up the plainest one first to examine it over. Because it was most likely to be discarded, so better get its contents out of the way before he'd set it aside for disposal.

Oh, a prompt sheet? From the writing (and it was, thankfully, translated), he could tell that the instructions provided to him was to answer accordingly to these questions if he didn't have any idea for what to jot down.

Well, Basuke was always one up for a challenge! That, and his head empty, one braincell. He'd looked over the page's back to ensure that it was empty and that he hadn't missed out on any more crucial information, before he unpicked the metal case in his other hand.

He'd fished out a few coloured pencils (dark blue, bright green, blood red) before taking a seat by a larger stalk, beginning to go through the list's contents.

"Holy hell...!"

Those were the only words the young boy had for himself whenever he cast his gaze upon the large sea of people and festivities. The whole area was set in a blanket of crimson and ruby glows, aside from the occasional yellow from the lanterns, and blues from the oft missed sapphire decorations. Basuke walked the streets with a grin widening across his face. Hands in pockets, eyes sparkling with curiosity, he followed the wave of players from one end of the road to the other.

--And ended up at a somewhat-dense forest entrance, the most of which was packed with small groups of players looking over what seemed like colourful papers.

"Tanzaku," the NPC echoed to him, when he'd accidentally entered said woman's vicinity. The little booth she'd set up was nearly missable in the dark -- thank goodness the boy hadn't accidentally ran into the clutter of stationary and boxes set to the side. "If you're in the area to celebrate Tanabata, why not write out some wishes of your own?"

"It's a wish making event?" He asked with a look of awe.

"That's right! It's a Japanese custom." The lady fanned out a small cluster of papers in her hand, waving it around. "You answer a few prompts here, and then hang them on one of the bamboo stalks over yonder."

"That's so cool...!"

"Isn't it?" The two stars seemed to exchange beams with each other, Basuke bouncing on his heels a little. "If you're up for it--"

"-- I am!"

"That's great!" A small case was offered to him -- the papers splayed in a variety of colours on top, attached with a tiny red rubber band. "Then, here you go! Take your time with them!"

With two hands did the player receive the kit, his heart swelling with indomitable pride. A giant bow, and a "Thank you very much!", Basuke made his way over to the bamboo stalks, wanting to check out how other players might've participated in the event.

[Tanzaku received.]

"Oh no." The words rolled off Basuke's tongue, the boy in visible dismay. As he approached Andromeda's side, his hands were tucked snugly in his hoodie's pockets as he examined the area with a sweeping gaze, excitement glittering in his eyes. The boy held a tinge of admiration for the view; the little garden plants and the lake were both a lovely touch to the cafe. Having an establishment was already a wondrous work in itself to behold. But, obviously, the glaring flaw that stood out to him was--

"--They builded the house the wrong way?"

To Basuke, he had assumed that the realization must've been the biggest disappointing news to the owners of the shop, and he hoped that whoever ran the business found themselves nonetheless unperturbed by its error. It's okay, the boy thought to himself. The sight wasn't entirely ruined just because of one little mishap. He turned around to Andromeda with a somber smile, already bubbling with words of soft encouragement. 

"Sometimes its happen to me in Fortnite too."

... In his defense, they were never meant to be choice words.

It was also why he'd dropped the game entirely, and went back to a familiar safe space with cutesy slimes and hopping mushrooms. "But the drink and the-- err... novelty can keep people coming back, right?" Basuke thumbed at his cheek as he posed his query, hoping it would alleviate pressure from their first impressions. The thought of luxury goods from the real world was already more than enough to have drawn him in, and the slightest oversight wasn't going to put him off from getting his frappuchinos. Hell, in a show of good faith, he'd even forwarded today's invitation to one of the other interested patrons of the franchise he'd registered onto his friends list... though all he received from Xin's end was radio silence.

The boy tilted sideways from where he stood, trying to catch a glance of the building's entrance on either sides of its frame. Some stores had their doors tucked away at the side; mayhaps this store's design was about to be of similar vanity? Once more, he focused on examining the field beyond, and-- 

Oh.

The traces of a dirt path finally clued him in on the crux of the issue.

(;;・x・)

@Zajcica @Crozeph @Andromeda

If the divine had left, it must've been to sheer second-hand embarrassment upon watching Basuke make a fool of himself -- again. Once his familiar had left him, he'd turned his back upon their visage, chasing the worm through the crowd only a few steps away.

When he returned to An's side -- if she was still there, of course -- they were gone.

Oh my gosh. Did his vlog act actually work?

"Hah!" The boy grinned, hugging his tsuchinoko close to his form. "Had it planned all along!" He did not, in fact, know anything of the bosses. But Basuke was happy nonetheless, almost bouncing on his feet and ready to take on another day.

Except it was lunch time. Actually, slightly past lunch time. The boy was incredibly hungry by now, when he'd paid attention to his tummy's rumblings, and in turn his familiar did scree. He'd look over to Andromeda, perhaps, if his friend had still remained, and cocked his head to the side with an uneasy smile. "You think stores still open for food?"

Worst case scenario, he'd find that he'd have to starve. Best case scenario: an outing for food, and traded excitement with a new friend.

Basuke out.

If it hadn't been apparent to nearly everyone in the foray that Basuke was in absolutely no shape to command, or lead, or to even think of ideas, perhaps now would be the time to highlight and underline it for the future. Just for reference.

The abominations seemed to have taken their leave. Gob-Gob seemed particularly taken by their absence, before it'd resumed flexing its perfect, masculine aptitude on the raving player base of Aincrad. And the way they'd jammed to the heartfelt songs and performances of the masses at hand -- perhaps it was best to bare their souls to their gods? Maybe show them what the best of them could offer the world of artistry...!

But where to begin? Oh, Basuke knew how. Obviously. He'd totally been training for this. He has a Youtube channel, you know? The dance videos had sucked, because he hadn't the poise or the flexibility to keep up with his trainers, but if there was anything he'd learned from the craft, it was this.

Vlog videos were still going viral.

His face beamed with an excited >:3 as he slowly fished out his worm. For once he'd disrupted his familiar's peaceful sleep. The tiny wriggling thing only reveled in the divine's light by sinking its edged teeth into Basuke's open hand, and he'd jumped at the shock and pain.

"Oof-- ow...!"

Okay, maybe not the best idea. He cut a square into Rain Minion #12's legs, figuring the swine wouldn't exactly be interested in his shenanigans, and the goblin's skin apparently being too perfect to have his sword driven into its hide right now. Whatever, one make shift camera would do.

"Andromeda, come here!" He'd ushered his accomplice over with a big grin stuck on his face, before holding up his pet short-snake up for the seared window to see.

"Hello! Uh, welcome back to Basuke's life in Aincrad!" He did a little jazz wave here with his free hand. "So anyway we- are- in- a... apocalypse? World ending scene --- world ending scenario, is that what we call it?" He glanced at his friend just to make sure his English was on point, before continuing on with a smile. "But before I go bye bye, I wanted to show off my newest pet...! Ow-- it's very nippy -- oi--! -- It's a striped worm, something called a Tsuchinoko?"

At some point. Smiggle Crocs V decided to hop off its owner and waddle away, leaving a flustered Basuke bouncing his gaze back and forth towards the fading marks of his sword art and his party member. "Uhh, anyway like and subscribe, okay? Yes yes, bye--!! Aaand outro music here! Yay!"

Basuke proceeded to pump his fists into the air like the absolute lunatic he was. Mission... maybe a success.