Alkor

Koga chained attacks with Chase, immediately rushing in to complete a seamless switch. Both of them rallied without hesitation and ChaseR was just in time to stand as the buffer between his DPS and the enemy. Without ever having worked together, they fell seamlessly into the roles they'd decided on. Alkor felt a confidence swelling in his chest at that thought. 

Chase then assured Koga they were capable- but Alkor was much more seized with results than encouragement. He wasted no time in moving back in to exploit the creature's weakness. It had stumbled and failed to even connect with the blue haired boy. It's body was failing.

Now, as he activated his sword art, Alkor zeroed in on the weak spot.

He lashed out with a series of powerful strokes that sent the creature reeling again, turning with rage in its bellow. The entire arena shivered at the sound. In the meanwhile, Blight was on the last round of efficacy and playing no small role in ripping the legs out from beneath the beast.

"Its just about in the red," he called out as he spun over the creature's limping body and raced back around the edge of the coliseum. "Let's finish this!"

[8] ChaseR: HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 153/166 | DMG: 20 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 84 | V.(DEF): 84 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
[3] Alkor: HP: 1000/1000 | EN: 193/108 (-8) | DMG: 14 | MIT: 12 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | BLIGHT: 24
[1] Koga: HP: 840/840 | EN: 68/82 | DMG: 16 | EVA: 2  | MIT: 18 | ACC: 4 | BRN: 24 | BLT: 24 | FALN: 4 | REGN: 10

Piasuhon: HP: 374/1100 (-115) | DMG: 400 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 2 |[BLIGHT 24 2/2] [STUN CD 3/3]

ID# 184427 Battle: 8 HIT (15×11=165-50=115 DMG)

"I guess since we talked about all that, it wouldn't hurt," he said with a smile. It genuinely looked like Noctua had cheered up, if only a little. He didn't have to cut deep into the root of his problems- there were things that didn't need to be said. Alkor learned talking to Koga that sometimes, it was better not to hold things in. 

"When I logged into this game, I did it to run away from a lot of responsibilities. I thought it would be short breaks, and then, it ended up being more than that. I inadvertently inconvenienced my family in no small way, but worse than that, I ended up abandoning someone who was really counting on me." 

When he said it now, it came out a little easier. It still hurt, but it felt more manageable somehow. That would never have happened if he'd stayed in the dark, afraid. "I kept messing up," he said. "Doing the wrong thing, trying to be something I'm not. Pushing away people who were trying to help me. It was like I was a little kid, lashing out at everything that I thought was trying to hurt me."

He smiled. 

"But I think my biggest problem is the guilt. I know there's only so much I can do and some of it is beyond my ability to control. Like, anything that happens outside, I just won't be able to do anything about until we get out. I just haven't quite learned how to cope yet."

"Ah, Koga and I actually met during the fight where all this happened," he thrust a thumb back to the lake. "Though we didn't really become friends until later,  I'm pretty sure."

NIGHT wasn't far off with her guess that there had been a soul-searching session, but he figured that wasn't for him to talk about. He hoped that it had helped Koga, but if the man was readily obsessing over a hole in the ground that could directly lead to permanent consequences he had to wonder at how effective it had actually been.

When the message flickered across his HUD from Koga, they had already crossed the threshold and called out their teleports to the town a floor below. Alkor waited for NIGHT before he spoke again. "Looks like he's ready to start. Let's hurry."

Alkor picked his pace up to a jog as they headed for the so-called 'splash zone' where Koga would land: whether exciting or horrifying.

"What about you?" he asked. "How'd you meet him?"

"Not at all," he said after she finished. "It honestly sounds like you were holding in a lot more than you could handle. Its like a ship that's gotten too heavy. You gotta unload ballast, or you'll sink." He knew that intimately now, after trying to bear an immense load all by himself. Being able to help someone else going through something like that made that struggle feel worthwhile, suddenly. 

"There's a lot to unpack in what you said, but the first thing you have to look at is the nature of a relationship. There's two people, and that means there's two perspectives. Just like you feel that you've failed; if he seems like a husk, that's his own cross to bear. Nothing you can do can help someone who doesn't want to be helped."

He fumbled around, then remembered that his pipe had broken during the conversation with Koga. He'd have to buy a new one later. In lieu of a smoke to make himself feel a bit more at ease, he pulled one knee toward his chest and rested his arm across "Regardless of what is or is not your fault, you only have control your own actions. If your partner made a decision to react poorly to something, or made selfish decisions, or whatever the case may be- that's not within the realm of your responsibility. The best you can do is be willing to help if they come back to you."

Alkor made a gesture toward the sky. "If it leaves, then you're free. If it comes back, it was meant to be." His fingers curled into a fist and he pulled it back toward his chest before he smiled over at her. "The word partner is key, there. If you're not working together, are you really a single unit? Just give it time, and you'll eventually find the right answer."

He blinked. "Hah," Alkor took a deep breath. "Looks like I inadvertently gave myself advice."

"Every quest?" Alkor asked skeptically. "You absolute madlad. How do you even have fun anymore with nothing left to do?"

He drew his blade as they entered the arena, and spun it expertly into a ready position as ChaseR moved to engage. The man looked a bit put out as the crowd roared its excitement and the world decreed their fate in Piasuhon's... hooves. By the time they traded failures, the blue haired boy and the massive beast were separated by a decent distance, but its eyes were focused on him.

Hit it. Go. 

"You got it," Alkor spoke quickly as he readied his weapon and raced forward. The sword art glowed a faint golden color as he surged toward the rhinoceros from behind, fueled by bloodlust and intensity as the crowd drove him into a frenzy. This was what the thrill was supposed to feel like.

Empowered by both his excitement and the desire to win, his blade shredded the thick hide of the beast more effectively than he could have ever hoped. The lingering plague his weapon held in its heart jumped virulent into the wound and began to exacerbate it.

"Hell yeah," Alkor pumped his fist excitedly as he fell back, not wanting to draw attention away from Chase. "You're up, Koga!"

[6] ChaseR: HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 161/166 | DMG: 20 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 84 | V.(DEF): 84 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
[2] Alkor: HP: 1000/1000 | EN: 100/108 (-8) | DMG: 14 | MIT: 12 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | BLIGHT: 24
[0] Koga:

Piasuhon: HP: 974/1100 (-126) | DMG: 300 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | BLIGHT 24 (1/2)

ID# 184347 Battle: 9 CRITICAL [14+1=15+1=16×11=176-50=126]

"Mmmmm..." Alkor had absolutely no experience with love and feelings in a romantic sense whatsoever. Those sorts of things were probably beyond the scope of his ability to advise on, but what he did have plenty of experience in was bad encounters and being hurt. He'd also learned the importance of knowing his own limits, and learning when to take a step back. That was what she was doing now, wasn't it?

She took the space she needed, and now she was sorting through her thoughts. When she laid them out plain, he started to piece things together a bit better. "At that point, you've got a conflict of interests," Alkor said. "I don't know much about love, not more than my grandma's told me, but I think some of her wisdom applies here. See, love isn't self-serving. Not the romantic kind of love anyway. There's all different types and it can get pretty confusing."

He scratched his chin. "Honestly I think that's why I don't really feel that way about anyone. When she told me that, I realized that there's probably nobody out there I'd be willing to compromise on hurting for. It takes a strong heart to love somebody."

He'd gotten stronger, but something told him he wouldn't ever be that strong. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he wasn't. This wasn't about him.

"I'm not gonna try to say you don't feel that way," he told her, "maybe you do, and you're just not strong enough yet to do it the way you want to." Alkor finally glanced her way at that point. "But you should ask yourself what's more important to you. That feeling of pain, or the thing that's causing it."

He watched for a moment before he closed his eyes again.

"Honestly, either way, I'm sorry." Regardless of whether it was for a good cause, he hated to see people suffering. 

"Yeah," he agreed with that. Lifetimes was definitely the word for it. It felt like he was another person from the one who met Lessa originally. Almost as if he had died there, in the flames on floor nine, and been reborn as something else entirely. Something new. "It does feel that way."

It would have been clichéd to say 'I'm not the same person I was,' so he didn't. The truth was that layers had stripped away, first the facade of Alkor that he'd created, then the failed mindset that had done him no favors in the real world or any place else. Now, he was almost like a child fumbling around in a place he still didn't quite understand, but he was doing it with more enthusiasm and energy than he'd ever had before.

Though, to say he was happy with where he was might be too strong of a sentiment. He was content with the strides he was taking, and glad that when he reached the destination, he'd have benefitted from the journey. 

"Honestly, it feels weird not to struggle," he said. "It feels like I should be doing more, like what I've been doing up until now is only the start of a marathon." Wasn't that what grinding in MMOs transitioning into Raid culture always felt like? Or maybe the fact that this was more real, more immersive feel more impactful. "It sort of feels like the numbers never really mattered. I'm not sure I like it."

He had expected more.

Of course he had. When they talked about the dangerous field bosses in Aincrad, this guy tore apart the eighth floor on the regular. Compared to lower floor enemies, he was supposed to be a challenge for a group. In two strokes and without even losing a single health, the two Players had bested it. Disappointment robbed him of the high he actually wanted to feel as he shoved his curved sword back into its sheath.

"Well, that was kind of a letdown," he agreed with her sentiment. That really was it. "But hey, alls well that ends well, I guess. We still get the experience from the quest for completing it."

It was more of a silver lining than anything, but Alkor would take it at this point. The worst thing about this ordeal was that with the King being such a pushover, the two Players now had free time to talk and Alkor wasn't sure where to begin let alone what to say. 

"So, I'm almost there," he said, talking about his level gain and increased strength. Lessa had always known him to obsess over results. Why disappoint her now? "Doesn’t it kind of feel like back in the old days? Like Guardians, only... maybe not, since I'm actually around?"

"Good job, Princess!" he called out to her jokingly as he sank into his combat ready stance. With his blade ready, he waited for the precise moment when Lessa's howl drew the King's ire and began to channel his Sword Art. A good damage dealer knew how to time these things- the tank couldn't keep up if they fell behind. That was a fact of life. Even the best tanks in MMO games couldn't hope to keep a handle on an over-aggressive damage dealer. Alkor had worked with all kinds; and he learned from old mistakes. "Now," he said, once the beast went hurtling toward Lessa, "I'll show you what I've got."

He didn't appear to move at all for a moment as the system took over. In a blinding flash of speed that tore him apart and stitched him back together a moment later behind the beastial Monkey King, he unleashed a flurry of wild blows that scarred the monstrosity with a number of deep, burning red wounds.

Alkor spun his weapon round as he prepared to go in again, as many times as it took to make the enemy drop. "Looks like I hit it pretty hard," he added as the behemoths health gauge dipped into the yellow, give or take about half full.

By then, the Blight had triggered. Festering, the newly opened wounds exacerbated as putrid, gangly green pulsated out from them. It wouldn't last long- but while it did, it was extremely potent, and could prove lethal.

[H: 2] Lessa | HP:1330/1330 | EN: 115/124 | DMG:19 | MIT:126 | EVA:-1 | ACC:3 | THRNS:54 | H.M.:1 | REC:1 | BH:39 | DoT -25% | Well Rested [2/3]         
[H: 2] Alkor | HP: 960/960 | EN: 96/104 (-8) | DMG: 14 | MIT: 12 | EVA: 3 | Blight:24                                                      

The Monkey King | HP: 113/250 (-137) | DMG: 240 | MIT: 50 / Blight 24 (1/2)

ID# 184338 Battle: 10 (14+1=15+2=17×11=187-50=137 damage)

Ex-fiancé. So he was right, she was talking about a relationship issue. Alkor looked out over the water without any change in expression, enjoying the breeze. The seasons in Aincrad changed, even on floors like this. It was cooler in the night than the day, but the breeze was far from cold. Summer had come and gone, and now they were in as bitter a Winter as Floor 24 could muster. Just like home. The line blurred once more.

"You won't be too surprised to find a lot of overlap," he explained, "or shouldn't at least. The earliest known belief systems sought to explain the things beyond their limited understanding with the supernatural." He smiled softly. "The Romans for instance, took and nationalized much of the Greek religion. The Romans appropriated a number of beliefs over time, actually. Like the Emperor Constantine, who was Christian and inevitably adopted Catholicism as the state religion, leaving behind the old gods but not rejecting much of the mentality that went into their creation."

History was fascinating to him. Cultures, time periods, and how everything inevitably blended together. "Thats tangential, I apologize. I get pretty excited about things like that." Alkor took a moment to consider her words. "Honestly, you don't have to fight to be helpful. There's plenty of need for other things. No one is unimportant, down to the Info Brokers."

He gestured toward her. "You have to find what works for you."

When Noctua mentioned moving around and how easy it was to evade problems, he could see himself in that. Or, he saw the Alkor he used to be. Afraid. Distant. Aloof. Like precious glass, easy to shatter. He turned to look at her with a bit more stern of a gaze as he thought of what words to say. He didn't want to come off as blunt as he normally would. He knew how he would have reacted. 

Instead, he opted for something different.

"Running away is nice," he said. "And it's easy. But it also comes with regrets." He scratched at his head, then found what he wanted to say. "A choice always has consequences. There will be people who felt more strongly than you did, who will judge you because they stood fast and you buckled. There will also be people like you, who ran. A story always has two sides."

Alkor shrugged. "But you don't know the real story unless you have both sides. It's not about which side is the right one. Thing is, there's always going to be fear. There's always going to be strength. And just because you're afraid right now doesn't mean you won't be strong eventually. People grow, and they change. And the thing about consequences is, they shape us. Failure is one of the biggest motivators. You learn more from losing once than you do from winning a hundred times. So, Noctua, whatever you're running from- it'll eventually catch up to you, and when it does, you'll use everything you've learned to confront it.

And that's when you'll decide what kind of person you want to be."

"Maybe you should then," he said encouragingly, "make it your goal once you're out of here, put all your focus into studying it and making a career out of it. Give yourself something to look forward to," he said as he considered his own dream. Much smaller, much less significant, but still valid to him personally. Everyone held on for different reasons, all their own.

When she stopped herself, she was talking about planning something. Her and someone else's... wedding? It almost sounded like that, but he didn't want to make any assumptions. Instead, he spared a long glance toward the woman, then let the conversation flow back naturally. There was no reason to put pressure on her. 

"Everything you're telling me makes me think that might be the best choice for you," he said. "But only you can be the judge of that."

When she asked about a third path, Alkor got what she meant. Indecision. "What you're saying is that you're not ready to make a choice," he said. "People grow in stages. No two people move at the same speed, and where I'm just about ready to join the Frontlines again, you're not quite there yet. And there isn't anything wrong with that. You're not less of a person because of how much or how little you contribute," he explained.

Alkor crouched and slowly stretched his legs out in the sand. Once he was seated, he rested both hands behind his head. "Its okay to not be able to make up your mind," he said. "Hell, it's even okay to be wrong. The important thing is what you learn from those experiences, and how you move forward from them. Don't worry about taking the time you need to piece together the puzzle that is life- you only get one shot at it, so if anything, rushing into anything is the worst thing you can do."

People had made fun of her accent? He blinked slowly, then realized that she had probably learned to hide it. The practice suddenly didn't seem as uncommon as he used to think it was. He didn't ask, because people who felt that way generally weren't inclined to talk too much about the origins of those feelings. He completely understood it, though. Growing up in the American South, the accent that was prevalent a hundred years ago had been relegated to significance of racism and systemic hatred. Now everyone bleached the way they spoke in the community where he grew up. "Yeah," he spoke softly at those words that hit close to home. "It's so strange how people can place negative stigmas on the sound of someone's voice. Don't they have bigger things to worry about?"

They both knew that no one did. Or at least, if they did, they didn't care. Horrible people were never going to change, even if society turned against them. Inevitably, they would find new ways to be horrible. It was a prevailing factor in his becoming a shut in. "On second thought, don't answer that. Stupid question."

When the topic shifted to Mythology, he straightened his back a bit. Anything related to History was like a drug for Alkor, to the point where he became attentive, even excited. He hid it carefully as she spoke, measuring his response. Too much excitement could come off as strange or gross. He took a deep breath and decided not to engage it directly, because it was more of a statement. He understood Noctua a bit better hearing it. People who placed emotional investment into thoughts, ideas, spiritualism- these were the people who rejected society and looked for validation in the occult or things that were generally rejected by the mainstream.

Then, she asked the question that started every revolution of independent thought. Throughout History, there had been a vast number of religions. Some lived, most died, others thrived by consuming the belief systems of the ones they dwarfed. Eventually, ancient and forgotten traditions hid in plain sight- the festival of Saturnalia lauded as the birth of an infant, for example. "I think everyone has that thought at some point or another in their life," he answered honestly. "It's one of those defining moments that shapes people. When you're brought up in the Church like I was, you're taught that sin exists in the world because Man was allotted free will, and it is because of sin that man suffers. It's inherently a self-hating doctrine, but Christianity likes that duplicitous garbage. God loves you, but you have to hate yourself and seek to annihilate your humanity in order to go to heaven." His venomous disdain for the Christian church bled through often when it came up. He had to stifle it, suppress the rage that came with the dogmatic views. If God rewarded those people who believed in devoutly...

No. That was too dark of a thought to follow. There was no reason to stew in that thought anymore.

Alkor drew a deep breath and exhaled the toxicity that had latched on. "Yeah, I wonder that all the time," he answered, more directly now. "And what I gather is that there are forces beyond our control at work, some good, some evil, some indifferent. There's power in things, in places, in people," he said. "And either you fight, or you run away. Both paths are valid though. No two people are the same."

"Suffer? You make it sound like being around you is just a chore," he said as he leaned back against the mass of rocks where he'd originally taken shelter. "As far as I'm concerned, I haven't had any reason to feel that way about it." It could have been a been-confidence issue. Noctua had claimed to be a shy person, all told. He wouldn't read that far into it, since this was the first time they had met.

"I've never really been the type to talk about my own problems, either," he explained, "or at all, honestly. It just kind of... happens." There wasn't a good way to describe progression on a social level. Not for an introvert, at least.  He learned to present himself differently out of necessity; but at the end of the day, parroting an outgoing person could get exhausting. He'd learned that the hard way.

But in life, comfort zones prevent one from moving forward. To grow, Alkor had to break a lifelong cycle of loneliness and solitude. Maybe this woman was struggling with a similar issue, or maybe her problems stemmed from something else entirely. 

Curiosity came with respecting a person's privacy. He didn't need to know more, but his mind reflexively tried to piece things together. He shook his head.

"When I was a kid, I thought things worked that way. I guess back then, all of my problems were simple, and they worked themselves out with little effort on my part. It was easy to make that generalization because I associate the ocean with a lot of positive memories." He answered he question thoughtfully, then added to it, "but as things got a bit more complex, and problems started being less linear and more convoluted, and the answers started to require more effort... or there were no answers... I started to realize that the Ocean was perfect for a break. Sometimes a person can't handle everything they're dealing with, no matter how good they get at being on their own and struggling alone."

He closed his eyes and thought of his family, and how it was they might feel right now. He never really had much agency to care before. With his arms crossed now, he glanced down to the woman sitting nearby. 

"Its kind of like any other distraction," he summarized. "Some of them are better than others, and it really depends on the person."

It was funny how often people did end up repeating mistakes that happened in the past. For all the Val that they saw in historical evidence and content, they seldom utilized the knowledge for their own benefit. Progress that wiped away the past was favorable to tradition when the two came to blows. It felt like the woman sitting near him now knew that, or at least, sympathized with it. He had to laugh to himself at the words she chose though. 'The Smart,' huh?

"Not even the smart ones seem to learn," he said quietly as he stared down at the endless grains of sand that sifted into the tide and were dragged away in an equally endless cycle. Even that detail seemed real in augmented reality. He glanced up when she offered to help him. Perhaps she didn't think it was evident that she was struggling with something, too? Fidgeting, soft voice, inability to smile- these were all things Alkor knew exceptionally well. These were his own symptoms.

"Ahhh..." he considered for a moment. It could have been a chance to unload some heavy weight, but at what cost? This woman he didn't know could be a convenient scapegoat. A rock in the river of life, something to hold on to. But even rocks eroded under a constant current, gradually. If he took her help now to save himself, he would be ignoring her suffering. That wasn't something Alkor could do, now. Not ever again. "No, no, that's fine, I do appreciate the offer," he told her.

In much the same way, he knew that he couldn't make the same offer. At times, people weren't strong enough to take on the burdens of others. It would be unfair of him to make that judgment for her own well-being only to sabotage himself.  Instead, he did what he could do.

"Actually, it's nice to just talk to someone," he said, "not necessarily about anything. Maybe its even better when it isn't about anything in particular. So there's no expectations, nothing heavy. No one has to do any lifting, and some of the stress just melts away. You know? Everything in this world is so damned heavy without us adding to the load. Might as well make the most of the little things."

It surprised him when he heard those words come out of his mouth. He was starting to sound more like Lessa and less like the person he was before Sword Art Online. Maybe the people he'd met here had been a positive influence on him.

Alkor smiled when she said that. There weren't many people who related things back to ancient history, or to the seemingly unimportant, fictional deties, creatures, and people that the people in those civilizations used to explain or justify things beyond their understanding. At least, he hadn't met many of then in Aincrad. "Exactly like that," Alkor agreed emphatically. 

Just like the sea contained memory from everything it touched, written and oral history kept pieces of all the people that influenced it. Children's stories and urban legend alike transcended over time into folklore. Gods lost their divinity to become elemental concepts, and all of those things gave insight into the thoughts, emotions, and circumstances of the times in which they were conceived. In some small way, the Aincrad incident would live on in history, and all the people who played a part in the myth would tell its story.

"Every time we experience something, we relate it somehow," he said, "and we explain it back in our own words. In a million years, that'll be primitive to a distant civilization." Alkor gave a lighthearted laugh as he glanced over at Noctua. She sighed; and in Alkor's experience, that was a body's nonverbal cue that it had a lot going on. He understood that.

"...nah, nothing like that," he said after a moment of just listening to the water ebb and flow. "Just sorting things out in my head. I'm kind of a mess, and get stuck in my thoughts a lot. I think I was starting to obsess again, so I'm actually glad to have someone to talk to."

"Sup, fellas?" Alkor asked as the others arrived, smiling in earnest. He offered a fistbump to Chase, who he hadn't seen in the longest time, and gave Koga a thumbs up in response to his query. "Well, like Chase said, there's a pretty mean looking Rhino inside just waiting for us to beat on it," he said. "Figured since I'm still pretty frustrated about some things, I could use some violence. Thought you might feel inclined to the same."

He turned his attention toward the blue haired player and nodded. "Yeah, honestly, I figured you'd be one of the best people to call. You're usually pretty knowledgeable about quests, and I wasn't sure you'd done this one yet, but since you're willing I'm definitely glad I sent the message. Me and Koga are pretty coordinated, so we'll be able to sort out the teamwork piece with you pretty quickly."

Alkor folded his arms. "I shouldn't have a problem whittling away health, so we'll follow your lead and let you pick up some aggro before we jump in and start nuking it. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that doesn't fill me with confidence," Alkor muttered under his breath as they turned away from Koga. He wasn't sure how physics worked in this world, but in the real one, when you fell from a great height and hit water it wasn't much different from hitting concrete. Combined with the fact that he generally thought this was an awful idea, he walked alongside NIGHT toward the Teleporter in town. They hadn't gone too far when he spoke up.

"I don't really like this," he said plainly. Alkor wasn't often blunt with his thoughts like that, but this situation could have been prevented. They should have tried harder. "Koga's one thing. He's been out and around, he knows better. That girl is fresh out of the starting zone. If she dies, won't we be responsible for it because we didn't try more than we did to stop her?"

Naturally, his mind worked backward from what he assumed was a foregone conclusion. Alkor liked to keep his scenarios separated into preventable, unpreventable, and unexpected- this definitely blurred those lines, and he disliked it. He knew that they likely would not have changed either Player's mind with words, but leaving things like this...

"Also... I guess I owe you an apology, NIGHT," Alkor said as they reached the town and strode through the gate. "The last time we talked, I was still pretty badly adjusted. Like I told you, you remember, I'm sure." He ran his fingers through his hair and ruffled it into a mess. "Anyway, what you said really mad me think. That, and a few other things I guess. I realized that I couldn't just push people away while also trying to do right by them. So, thanks for that."

Alkor landed on his toes from the last attack, crouched low as Setsuna rushed through and smashed the Lich, such that it was unable to eat the remaining Warrior. Without hesitation, the dark swordsman slipped between the two enemies and turned a corkscrew in the air, tight to the ground. His attack launched quickly, before either creature could move.

With a powerful screech, the Lich shimmered faintly before exploding. Alkor landed on one knee, blade out to his side. After a moment, he settled back into a standing position, wavering slightly as he turned to find Setsuna, sheathing his blade in one quick turn of the wrist.

"I think that takes care of the second quest," he told her.

Alkor: 909/960 HP  70/104 Energy (-9) | DMG:14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4

Setsuna: HP:900/900 | EN:62/90 | DMG:22 | EVA:3 | ACC:5

Stygian Warrior 9 HP: 100 (-120) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0 (ID# 184031 Battle: 6 HIT)

Leech Lich HP: 20 (-70)| DMG: 50 | MIT: 30  ACC: 2 | EVA: 0 (ID# 184032 Battle: 8 HIT)

"Just like me, then," he said quietly when she mentioned that the Ocean felt like home. The sound of waves crashing against the shoreline was among the few greatest forms of catharsis he could imagine. He recalled his grandmother telling him about the healing properties of salt water, and how her mother would stand waist deep in the sea and let the water flow into open cuts or scrapes. It sounded painful when he thought about it, but somehow, almost the same as what he was doing now.

The same as both of them were doing, really. Without hearing her reasons, he gleaned her purpose from her words. They were both lost, looking for answers just outside their reach. Both of them were metaphorically letting the saltwater touch their open wounds. Would it heal them? Perhaps.

"Yeah, sure," he gestured to the beach all around him vaguely. "Plenty of free real estate. Make yourself at home." Alkor wasn't one to tell someone they couldn't do as they pleased, especially when this was an open area where anyone could come and go freely. Instead, he was warm and welcoming. He'd found that sometimes it was better not to be alone, even if you weren't sharing deep and painful truths with another person. 

"Do you ever think about it?" he asked, thoughtful. "The ocean, I mean. How ancient it is, and how it'll outlive us despite that?" It sounded bleak at first, and he quickly amended. "Like it's nice to know that some things in life are permanent, when others aren't?"

He spun through to get closer to the last warrior standing, breaking its guard in a fluid motion. Before he could capitalize on his movements however, a hideous hand grabbed the warrior away from him and Alkor looked on as the Lich consumed the last of the warriors that had spawned with it. They had been warned, but it still took him by surprise that the enemy turned on its own in such a way.

What a brutal mechanic. Aincrad is absolutely savage.

He took a hop step back as two more warriors emerged from the River, and Alkor suddenly worried that an endless army of the Undead was rising to meet them. While they were superior in total strength, the numbers did not favor them; if the boss continued to swallow these things, it would quickly grow out of hand, and they would have to fall back.

"Looks like we have a problem," he stated. Setsuna was visible now, and the boss appeared to have become targetable. Still, somehow it seemed stronger than before, and they needed to factor that into their strategy. "We can't let it keep eating them, nuke it and I'll take care of the adds."

He sprang forward once again, activating his AoE skill, but one of the Warriors managed to deftly dance away from his blade. "Damn!" he hissed. "I missed one! Sorry!"

Alkor: 909/960 HP (-51) 78/104 Energy (-9) | DMG:14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4

Setsuna: HP:900/900 | EN:79/90 | DMG:22 | EVA:3 | ACC:5

Stygian Warrior 5 HP: 100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0 

Stygian Warrior 6 HP: 100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0

Stygian Warrior 7 HP: 100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0

Stygian Warrior 8 HP: 100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0

Stygian Warrior 9 HP: 100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0 (ID# 184021 Battle: 1 MISS)

Stygian Warrior 10 HP: 100 (-135) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0(ID# 184022 Battle: 3+4=7 HIT)

Leech Lich HP: 350 | DMG: 50 | MIT: 30  ACC: 2 | EVA: 0 (+50 Base HP, +5 MIT)Lich hits Alkor, Critical : ID# 184020 MOB: 9)

"Mmmm..." Alkor started to agree, then realized he suddenly wasn't alone. Sometimes, deep in his thoughts, familiar voices would come back to him. When it struck that this one wasn't familiar, he glanced up toward the source. "Oh, sorry," he apologized, "I hadn't realized there was anyone else here."

Part of him wanted to be annoyed that he wasn't alone, but a bigger portion was now worried that he looked like an idiot who was talking to himself. He stood upright and brushed the sand off himself. With his thumbs hooked under the dark trousers that hid beneath his cowl, he returned his gaze to the heavens. If she meant no harm, then he had no reason to stress or arm himself. 

"Sometimes it's good to step away and just lose yourself in something," he said, giving voice to his purpose here. "Even if they aren't real, they still beggar understanding. For me, looking at the stars makes my problems all seem insignificant."

Once he'd spoken those words, he glanced back to the woman. She twisted a ring around her finger, fumbling with it. A nervous habit, perhaps? He understood that. It was rude to ask someone that he'd just met about what was bothering them, right? Yeah. Best to not do that.

This woman was to be married. Or at the very least, she had the ring significant of such an engagement. Second thoughts? Don't talk about relationship stuff. Got it.

"I'm Alkor," he told her. "It's nice to meet you."

Alkor whipped around when Koga spoke. 

"Y-you what?" he stared in disbelief at the man who jumped headlong into a boat and proceeded to ask the others if anyone wanted to accompany him. "I get the Scientific Method and all, but don't you think that in a game where fall damage kills you and you don't get do-overs, that might not be the move?" He took a step forward and attempted to grab the man by the sleeve. His hand wafted through air and caught nothing. "You've got to be kidding me right now," he murmured as he looked to NIGHT for some semblance of sanity. "You know if he dies, we won't find a body, right?" he questioned the woman who had suggested it in the first place.

Sword Art Online had driven many people past the point of no return in all the time they'd been trapped. He'd watched Players throw themselves over the edge and plummet to oblivion. Women and children murdered by people who believed it was just a game, and that they'd wake up fine. The number of people who had given into the idea that this couldn't be real was staggering. 

Yet if they did wake up on the other side, none of the people still trapped in Aincrad would know the difference.

Alkor wasn't about to take that chance. "Its been months since then," he said, "those events are gone the second they're over. The chance that the slow fall effect is still going is statistically-"

He stopped himself short when a message came across his HUD. 'Starla wants to be your friend.' At that point, she said that she would join Koga on his misadventure. His shoulders sagged as he accepted the request. At most, her name might disappear again the moment she splattered on the floor below, and at best...

Well, he'd just have to follow through and hope for the best. "You know that you're literally gambling on life or death, right?" he asked Starla. "Like, if this goes badly... well, you heard what I said. You don't have to go through with it."

His gaze shifted to NIGHT. "I guess this means we're going to go and see what happens on Floor 21, huh?"

The Raging Rhino

Judging by what he saw, Alkor understood implicitly that fighting alone was a terrible plan.

The golden gaze of a Player who knew his limits swept across the hide of a massive beast that, with little trouble, made quick work of several nearby enemies and just kept going. He was out of the line of fire- for the moment- but if he wanted to engage in the Colosseum's many blood sports, he would need a capable team of Players. Someone preferably who could eat a hit or two, and another DPS to nuke the thing. Offhand, he didn't really know any tanks who might profit from the experience. He did have two people in mind, though.

Alkor fired off the first message quickly, to the guy who would likely be in the line of fire.

Quote

To: ChaseR

Hey man. It's been a little while. Sorry I fell out of touch, things have gotten a little weird for me lately and I needed some time to clear my head. I'm getting back in the swing of things now, and I'm currently on the 24th floor, looking for a small team to take on the Rhino in the Colosseum. If you want to catch up and get a little workout, you can meet me here. I'm gonna reach out to one other guy and try to get this tag team entered in the event. Looking forward to hearing back from you,

Alkor

Once he had sent the first message, Alkor started by addressing another.

Quote

To: Koga

Hey bud, I was thinking about the conversation we had the other day and I thought I'd use this opportunity to call you up for a quest. Maybe a little Ultraviolence would be good for the both of us? I'm on the 24th, at the Colosseum. We're gonna be fighting a pretty nasty enemy, so come prepared. With the guy I've got in mind for tanking, you may or may not need items- so keep that in mind. See you, bud.

Alkor

With both of those messages sent, all that was left was to wait for responses. If either man was out, he'd make other arrangements; but he was hopeful that he'd get to see both of them and that they could beat this thing down while having a good time.

@Koga@ChaseR

The twenty fourth floor went beyond feeling like home. The beach was what he knew, but this was the sort of otherworldly, tropical beauty that differentiated the game from reality. He was glad for it. He welcomed the sensation because it was sobering, and didn't allow him to find himself lost in the fantasy that nothing had changed. So many Players fell victim to routine. Alkor just tried to make the best of what he'd been given. This lagoon was one of the few places he came to find his quiet. 

Around him, the sky and sea melted together in a pastel of azure. Rocky shoreline crested against the horizon and interrupted the gentle flow abruptly, yet from their interference the light that filtered overtop cast a soothing shadow. Nestled in that gentle darkness, the Swordsman leaned against one of the many jagged stones that flecked the beach. He basked in the last rays of twilight as the darkness crept overhead. With a placid expression on his face, Alkor couldn't have hoped for a more peaceful retreat from all the stressors that SAO had to throw at him. 

He used the precious time he had to reflect. Most recently, the deep and shattering conversation with Koga- his feelings on that were still raw, and the wound hadn't even scabbed over yet. It wasn't anything the other man did. Alkor just had to take time for himself, to face those things and to make his own peace. There was Lessa, who was apparently glad that he reached out. Was his fear that she might see him as a nuisance born of his anxiety? It seemed that was the case, but he found himself drowning in all the implications that came with it. Thoughts bore more thoughts. He fell further away from clarity.

"The stars sure are pretty," he murmured to himself as he made a vain attempt to focus on anything other than the war behind his eyes.

@Noctua

Alkor took a moment to breathe. Everything felt so insignificant in that moment, like the pain had washed over him and taken away every ounce of anxiety related to Aincrad. It was replaced with a doubt he wouldn't ever absolve, even long into the future. Once this game ended, he would always have to live with the fact that he wasn't there when his grandmother needed him. It was a valuable lesson, and one that would spur a great shift in his mindset. From now on, if someone needed him, Alkor would be there. Even if he didn't know them. Even if he didn't like them. His grandmother had always told him that kindness was rare in their world, and that if he could be anything, he should be kind. It was time to live that life, the one he had been afraid to look toward.

With a weak smile, he turned to glance at Koga. "Yeah," he said quietly. "In this world, there are people we would never have met otherwise. There's experiences we couldn't have had under any other circumstances. There's gonna be lessons to learn; and I think the most important thing we can do is start opening ourselves up to them." Alkor offered an outstretched fist to Koga, to bump his own against. "From now on, if you need my help, just ask for it. I'll add you as a friend, and I'll always be just a message away."

He opened up his menu and sent the request, giving the man the opportunity to accept.