Alkor

"Wrong?" he asked. Alkor turned and waved his hand in front of his face, a warding gesture. "You got me all wrong, I ain't the kind of guy who tells a girl there's something wrong with her clothes." Alkor knew better. Clothes were a direct reflection of a woman's tastes and outlook. To comment negatively on something like that? Tantamount to a declaration of war. No- it wasn't her aesthetic that sparked his commentary. "I'm just speaking on the irony of a burgeoning Otaku calling someone a dork."

Alkor notably didn't lose the gentle smile that he wore as he spoke. It was important that he didn't give her any reason to think he was being hostile. "There's not a thing wrong with your clothes," he assured her. "I've seen people at various festivals and events wearing that kind of stuff."

When she pushed him, he backpedalled a few steps and came dangerously close to taking a dive in the drink. Alkor managed to catch himself. "Fall!" he laughed sarcastically. "Is that what you're calling it?" The fact that she reacted at all was definitely positive. It showed that she wasn't completely numb, no matter what airs she tried to put on. Alkor felt a bit better, knowing that.

"Any time now," he said, spinning on his heel and returning his attention ahead of them. "We can't be too far."

"...whew."

Alkor exhaled audibly as the fighting ground to a halt. He stayed low and came out of his stance only after the victory fanfare was signaled across his HUD. When he stood upright, his golden gaze shifting over the other two to be certain they were still in one piece. "We did it," Alkor took a deep breath and sheathed his blade, placing both hands behind his head while the others had an opportunity to regroup.

He was glad that it ended without too many hits like that last one. The Lich King had taken half of the woman's health in a single blow. She wouldn't have withstood much more. He was glad they showed up when they did for that fact. "What were you doing alone?" he asked, then immediately realized after speaking that his words seemed abrasive. "That could have gone pretty badly. But I guess I'm actually more glad that it didn't that anything else," he said, carefully shifting the flow of conversation away from the collision course he was originally set on.

With his gaze shifted sideways now to Koga, he recalled that in the heat of the moment the man calling out that he hadn't realized that she was a woman. At least there was that. Alkor folded his arms and closed his eyes. What would come next? With this boss felled, he would be a few short steps away from the first of many goals. Alkor was almost there, almost back to the strength he had before the Ninth floor robbed him of it.

He could stand to be a little more lighthearted in this situation. "...Koga here was pretty worried about you," he told the unknown woman with a smirk. "He looks pretty relieved."

He found himself stuck at the edge of a cliff and barely hanging on. The urge to throw himself headlong into the Stygian swelled as she responded to him, not mincing words to declare her disinterest. At least he didn't have to worry about her trying to humor him. Alkor gave a flat, mirthless grunt in response.

When she asked her question, he glanced over the waters and considered. "I couldn't say," he muttered.  "I haven't spent a lot of time on this floor. But, we can look for it when we finish, if you want?" His voice had raised a little bit to assure that she would hear the offer; but somehow, Alkor didn't think Setsuna would be all that interested. It was most likely just another of her many observations. 

The next words out of her mouth were "You're a dork," and she covered her face once more. "Y'know, that'd be a lot more convincing from someone who wasn't dressed up like a ninja from some anime," he stuck his tongue out toward her, snapped his fingers, then whispered under his breath. "Gotcha!"

Alkor gave a gentle sigh as he led the way to he River. He couldn't read the girl at all. She seemed so cold with him, all the time. It didn't seem as though she hated him, which was reinforced by the fact that she agreed to join him for the duration of the chain. "You like mythology?" he asked. For someone so young to have an interest in anything historical always pleasantly surprised him. "Like how Stygian is actually a word that refers to deep darkness, like nightfall? It's a pretty interesting choice to replace Styx. I wonder what the developers were thinking when they made that call."

He asked these things aloud, not really concerned whether or not she would engage him further. It seemed like they shared that interest; but maybe he was wrong. "It'd be much creepier if there were lost souls adrift in its floes," he said with a laugh. "They went a completely different direction with it. It's eerily pretty," he commented. "But that's really all there is to it. I wouldn't go swimming in it, though."

The darkly dressed swordsman shot her a goofy smile. Setsuna in turn said she was going to wait in hiding, and that he knew her methods. He was probably more of a nuisance to her than she was letting on.

Sure, yeah, I understand.

"I'll take point, then," Alkor turned his face forward and strained for visual confirmation of their prey.

Alkor watched the others rail against the skeleton army with reckless abandon. The woman was surprisingly stronger than he'd expected, as she took the fight directly to the boss with no hesitation. He saw Koga follow suit by rushing the rest of the mobs with an area of effect attack, then immediately noted the boss' health replenish. There's more to this than we thought, his eyes went for the skeleton left standing. If he was right on his assumption, they all had to be cleared before the Players had any hope of leaving lasting damage on the boss' life bar. "Alright then," Alkor confirmed for himself as he designated his target. He exploded forward with his weapon readied, Sword Art charging in the wings.

And he fired off an onslaught of blows that ripped the unsuspecting Lich to shreds. Data exploded outward in a plume, leaving them alone with the creature. Looks pretty strong, he assessed as he planted his feet firmly and prepared his next attack. If they even made it that far. Gotta be careful, he remained mindful and vigilant. This thing might be stronger than anyone here thought it would be going into this. He didn't like the idea of the unknown. There were too many factors at play. The faster they brought this thing down, the safer they would be.

"Hit it again!" he called out. He was certain that there was room for error here, but if they coordinated, they could minimize that margin immensely.

ID# 183327 Battle: 3 (+4) = 7 HIT

15x11=165 DMG

ID# 183361 MOB: 9 Lich King critically strikes Kasumi!

Kasumi | HP:419/820 (-401) | EN:68/82 | DMG:20 | EVA:3 | ACC:5 | BLD:24
Koga | HP:760/760 | EN:62/76 | DMG:15 | MITI:18 | EVA:2 | ACC:4 | BRN:24 | BLGT:24 | FLN:4 | REGEN:10
Alkor | HP:960/960 | EN:104/104 | DMG:14 | MITI:12 | EVA:3 | ACC:4 | BLGT:24

(1,0,0) Lich King | HP:350/350 (+100) | DMG:400
(0,0,0) Shambling Soldier #1 | HP:0/100 | DMG:140
(0,0,0) Shambling Soldier #2 | HP:0/100 | DMG:140
(0,0,0) Skeletal Lich #1 | HP:0/100 | DMG:140
(0,0,0) Skeletal Lich #2 | HP:0/100 (-165) | DMG:140

 

"Yeah, this is where we met, isn't it?" he said with a faint smile in response to her words. He hadn't forgotten that. There was just something so surreal about being alive, to the point where he sometimes didn't quite believe his experiences were real. "You remember that, huh?" he asked, more rhetorical than anything. Setsuna didn't really seem the sentimental type. They were through the warp gate by the time he asked; so he wasn't quite sure that she'd heard what he said. Regardless, this wasn't the time to reminisce. Instead, he regarded her with a glance over his shoulder. "I have a pretty vague idea which direction we need to go in," he assured her.

Another ding across his HUD heralded the message that confirmed the directions for him. "We're headed to the Stygian river," Alkor said, "that's just over this way... and then..." 

He led her on the path, out of the safe zone. When they crossed the threshold he took his blade in hand. "Things shouldn't get too choppy for us to handle, but on the off chance that we do get attacked, better safe than sorry right?" he asked. Nostalgia about running headlong into danger floated at the forefront of his thoughts. He wanted to break the habit. "Apparently there's some adds that'll spawn ahead of the boss, so if we see that, we'll know we're on the right track."

It was no nonsense when talking to this girl, and he understood that. Alkor just wished that some of that ice would melt and she might show a bit more of the soft side. It would be good for her.

"Was it really a good idea to run and gun in like we just did?" Alkor asked incredulously. "We skipped a whole lot of prep, and even though this is a lower floor for us, it's not like this is an easy que-"

His complaints were cut short by the sudden, vicious interjection of a skeleton. With his blade barely connecting in defense, Alkor staggered backward. The exchange only solidified for him that this would be a much more difficult encounter than the Floor generally offered. He understood implicitly the need Koga felt to run headlong into the fray in order to prevent anything horrendous from happening to the other Player, but them being unprepared was just as bad if not worse than her trying to take the quest on by her lonesome. He sneered as he pressed back, forcing the skeleton that assailed him onto the back foot. Now he had the advantage.

"Like I said, next time, we think first. That sound okay to you?" he asked rhetorically as his blade carved through the mob and sent it scattering. He took a quick breath just in time for another skeleton to engage him. "God, they just keep coming," he muttered beneath his breath. "Just because she's a girl..." There were too many guys who had that weakness. What did they call it? Simps? Some trendy term from the 2010s. Either that or Koga just had a bad case of Main Character syndrome. 

With a heavy sigh, Alkor resigned himself to the fight at hand.

"Get over there and make sure she's okay!" he called out. This was Koga's show, not his. He wanted to fight the Quest boss, sure. The Lich would be his dance partner.

Alkor level 47 

960/960 HP 104/104 Energy

14 DMG | 12 MIT | 3 EVA | 4 ACC | 24 BLT

Blightsteel [T2 Demonic (2 DMG/1 BLT/ CRS)] Cowl of the Wandering Warrior [T2 Perfect (3 EVA)] Eye of Osiris [T1 Perfect (3 ACC)]

Rank 5 Curved Sword / Rank 3 Light Armor / Athletics / Precision / Ferocity 

Finesse (rank 3) / Fighter Familiar (rank 3) / Survival / Energist / Extended Mod Limit

 

"Well, I'm going to check something real quick, and then we'll know a little more." Alkor opened his menu and fired off a message. It wasn't more than a minute before he had a response. He glanced up as they headed for the teleporter and spoke toward Setsuna. "Looks like we're headed to the tenth floor," he explained as he took the lead in earnest. Seemed a bit strange, they were just jumping around and taking shots in the dark.

Whatever enemy they were looking for would likely be more difficult to fell than Kumatetsu had been. And on the tenth floor... if he hadn't gone there to have a look around, he would have thought it was a pipe dream. Everything that came after the ninth floor was uncharted territory. It was good that he'd have this chance to explore it.

"I guess I just assumed you enjoyed taking in new sights," he shrugged. "Because I imagine if I was born without sight, every minute I could experience even small things like color, I'd be amazed." It wasn't really something most people talked about directly. If it wasn't Alkor, who had extremely weak social skills and therefore lacked the proper etiquette to realize there were some things you just didn't talk about... it probably wouldn't have come up at all.

But Alkor didn't have any reason to think it was a sore topic. Setsuna had told him about it, after all. He rested his hand on the pommel of his blade as they made it to the teleporter. "Not everyone has my limited perspective, I guess," he laughed. "Teleport! Yomi!"

Alkor heard Koga's words and chuckled quietly. "Everything here has meaning, huh?" He questioned that sentiment because it perfectly mirrored the facade he once adopted. Alkor opted for a path toward becoming a hero that eschewed everything he was outside of Aincrad. Koga's situation was different, certainly, but the same lesson came to mind. "You're not wrong about that, I reckon," the golden eyed swordsman returned the pipe to his lips and took another healthy pull. 

The smoke he exhaled joined with the graying clouds above them. "Everything here is structured and nearly everything has meaning relative to something else. It's how games are. Programs, logic, numbers, code. Everything here is simulated. Maybe that's fine, maybe it's not," Alkor shrugged. He wasn't there for semantics. This whole conversation started because Alkor screamed into the wind about everything he'd felt up to now. It just felt fitting that things came around to laying it all on the table.

"But Koga, don't you think that just means you should try to make things more meaningful, not just here in Aincrad, but back in the real world too?"

Everyone had their own way of thinking, and it showed. Alkor didn't think Koga was wrong either. Some people had made lifelong friendships through the trials and tribulations of Sword Art Online. "I definitely don't see this as not real," he gestured out toward the augmented reality ahead of them. Down to the smoke that they were inhaling, everything felt just like their actual bodies were doing in. The brain was hard wired to machinery, and with impulses not unlike neurons firing off signals that mimicked true life, their experience happened no different from if they were using their own hands or eyes. He couldn't just discount that. He tried- back when he was pretending to be something that he wasn't, in order to pretend like it had nothing to do with him.

Childish notions for a childish man.

Alkor liked to think he'd grown at least a little since then. "It's more like, everything we're doing now put the lives we were living previously on hold," he made a vague gesture toward the other man. "Everyone and everything I knew was violently replaced with unfamiliar faces and places. I don't want to die without being able to go back and say goodbye to those things. They were precious to me. They still are, even. And there's too many other people that I know now who I don't want to lose out on that opportunity, either."

He twirled the pipe between two fingers and sat backward further, reclining his weight on a single hand. "I sure don't mind the idea of risking my neck to make sure other folks survive," he murmured thoughtfully, "but one day, I got to thinking, maybe it'd be cooler if I didn't have to die in the process. Self-sacrifice can be noble, sure, but if it can be avoided, shouldn't it? Rather than consigning yourself to the idea of death... wouldn't it be much better than to try to reject it entirely? So many people inside this world have gotten this black and white idea that you either survive or you don't. I just one day realized it was selfish of me to think that, with everyone waiting on me on the other side, and all the things I've left undone, to say 'I'm willing to die for this."

The golden eyed man tapped the pipe to his chin thoughtfully. "Everyone's afraid to die," he said, "I've made peace with that fact that I very well could. But I've got reasons to live."

When he saw the tears and heard the laughter, he knew that Koga had been holding in a great deal more than he let on. That was true of many people in Aincrad. Sadly, the way some chose to face the hardship was more toxic to themselves than actually trying to heal. He wasn't the authority on positive mental health, so he wasn't going to tell anyone their way was wrong; but there was a genuine weight lifted from his shoulders when the other man opened up about his lost sister, and his love. It was hard to do. Alkor hadn't initially opened up about his grandmother to anyone, either.

Remembering was the first step, though. Facing the ghosts of the past was breaching the barrier of denial. With that dam broken down, the stages of grief could flow over and eventually, Koga might even be able to move past it all. All of that depended on him, though. Alkor had done all he could. "It's good to talk about them," he said quietly, a smile on his face. He drew another pull from his pipe and the oaky, burnt and acrid flavor rippled through his thoughts again. Far away, in another time, Thom remembered the first time he tasted whiskey. He remembered the way his grandfather's eyes flickered on his deathbed, and how he raided the old man's stores to mourn his death with the same fluid that had made the man numb for so long.

Being numb wasn't moving forward, or backward. It was just... existing. Alkor didn't want to be numb anymore. 

He blew the smoke out through his nostrils and offered the tobacco to the other man, unsure if he'd accept the gesture. There weren't any real ramifications for it. Augmenting drugs did nothing in Sword Art Online: so the act was purely cosmetic, if a bit nostalgic. "Any time, buddy," he told Koga honestly. "There's a lot of stress in this world without the demons we keep hidden from everyone else eating us alive from the inside. Don't hesitate to look for a shoulder. There's a surprisingly large support system if you're willing to reach out." He said that because he knew more than one person who had tried to be that for him. Lessa and Mari were the most prominent examples, but he was certain there had been others. His memory was still a bit hazy. Alkor had made his choice in that. Those people probably still would listen to him, if he cared to talk. 

"I think my biggest thought about dying in this game," Alkor slurred his speech a bit as more smoke roiled over his tongue, "is not being able to see what comes next. I didn't have much of a life before I got to this world, and I'm not satisfied with that. This isn't where I want to go out. I've never done anything, gone anywhere, I've never even been in love."

He scratched at the back of his head and appraised the area around them. There was no use in pressing the issue too much. When she brought it up and sought his perspective, that was one thing; but to drone on and on about how he disagreed was both disrespectful and ultimately a waste of breath. He placed both hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. The search for this bear's spawn point was a lengthy ordeal, and he didn't really want to get in Setsuna's way. She seemed like a much better tracker than he was.

"Glad to hear it," Alkor said in regard to her vested interest in continuing. "I really didn't want to have to deal with these quests alone, because I don't know all that much about them."

There wasn't much more to be said. He did watch how she moved and got a feel for what she was attempting, but Alkor got the sense that if he didn't invest the points of have the proper equipment, no matter how hard that he tried he wouldn't make much ground. In terms of scouting and reconnaissance, Setsuna was in her element.

"You must enjoy exploring," he said after a few more moments of silence. 

It felt wrong that someone so young could clearly say such things. Alkor had to consider that Aincrad had instilled perverse values in everyone, such that they would never have learned in the normal flow of their life. Children became radicalized just like this out of necessity. Setsuna was a victim just like all the rest of them. 

He listened to her words, such clear and simple condemnation over something so basic. For Setsuna, the world really did seem that simple. It was a sin that someone so young and impressionable was allowed to be part of the Sword Art Online tragedy. With no proper guidance, she assumed that a tag given by a system for anything between a minor infraction and murder itself was just cause. 

She went further to condemn others by name, whether through reputation or firsthand knowledge he couldn't say.

"You should be more careful about following colors in a game as a pretext for morality," he said. "You can turn your cursor yellow by punching someone."

He stood himself upright and glanced around. "So, what, we find the spawn point for the bear and that's it?" he asked. "Seems pretty simple and straightforward." Alkor stretched out his arms and back, cracking his knuckles over his head as he reached toward the clouds. "I'm actually thinking about following this chain a little further. They said there's more than one roaming enemy to fight and rewards for all of them, but you have to collect them all to benefit from them."

He didn't know how true or false it was, just that apparently other Players had done the quests and now reaped said benefits. There had to be some truth it it, or the vendors wouldn't sell that information. "What about you? Done after this?"

Alkor level 47 

960/960 HP 104/104 Energy

14 DMG | 12 MIT | 3 EVA | 4 ACC | 24 BLT

Blightsteel [T2 Demonic (2 DMG/1 BLT/ CRS)] Cowl of the Wandering Warrior [T2 Perfect (3 EVA)] Eye of Osiris [T1 Perfect (3 ACC)]

Rank 5 Curved Sword / Rank 3 Light Armor / Athletics / Precision / Ferocity 

Finesse (rank 3) / Fighter Familiar (rank 3) / Survival / Energist / Extended Mod Limit

"People say that justice is blind," Alkor said, the irony not lost on him. "I can't. I can't see another human being and disassociate that from my actions. Regardless of what someone deserves, I have seen people loving their lives and suffering around me since I was a kid." He hated them, if he was being honest. Thom hated all of the people around him who were truly living their lives, enjoying the everyday things that in his childishness, he'd eschewed. Games became his reality, and the only conduit he had for social interaction. He hated all of those people because he envied them. If his parents had reached through and pulled him out of the pain he'd been in, maybe things could have been different. Maybe he wouldn't have just wanted what they had. He would never know what would have happened. Alkor could only know what was. "They make their choices. Some of them are glorious, others are tragic. That doesn't give us the right to make decisions about their fate. We're not gods."

He looked to Setsuna with a heartbroken, soft gaze. "This world has filled you with hate and rage," he said. "But that's not what justice is, Setsuna."

The swordsman closed his eyes and bowed his head. She asked what might have happened; but the sad truth is that they would never know. Alkor had robbed Uriel of any future. 

"Killing doesn't end killing," he told her, "because for as many of them as fall, there will still always be one killer left. Can you live with yourself, if they all die and you're left, the one person in the world with blood on their hands?" He thrust a thumb to his chest. "Where does it end? Do you kill anyone who's taken a life, or just the ones you think deserve to be killed?" Alkor was staring at her now, eyes like liquid fire. "That's a heavy cross to carry."

"...it's not easy," he admitted. "There's plenty of times where I go to dark places. Extremely dark, so dark that I can't see the light."

Everyone had their darkness. Alkor had lived in it so long that it became comfortable, and he had no desire to turn back. At least, that was how he had lived. For years before Aincrad, some of the sadness that came from solitude had festered in the cracks left behind by his Father leaving, and his Mother choosing to simply move on from the life he'd known. Alkor was a child then. He resisted change, and when change came anyway, he lost the desire to fight against it. The path of least resistance became his reality, to the point where he cast aside friends, family, and anything else that hurt him. He didn't think the pain was worth it.

He learned from suffering in spite of his desire not to. He realized inside this world that there were some things you couldn't stop, no matter how far into the sand you buried your head. Now when he thought back on his Grandmother, it hurt; but that pain was proof that he had loved something. It was a validation, in a sick and masochistic way, it proved that he had lived. In spite of the deep, all-consuming darkness, Alkor had survived. And now, Alkor set himself ablaze to be the light for others who couldn't see. It was the only way he knew how to give back.

"When you think everything is hopeless, when there's no more reason to move forward, that's when you'll see the light that guides you home."

Home was a relative thing. It wasn't a singular place. Home could be a person, an abstract concept- for Alkor, home was his purpose. In this world, and beyond it. There were people who depended on him. There were things that only he could do. Home for Koga might be something entirely different; but one day, Alkor had faith that the man would find it. He'd even be there to help light the way.

"I think she'd be glad I finally got my head out of my ass," he said with a laugh. "Grandmom watched me for a long time and I can't imagine she was proud of the person I was." With a shrug, he reached into the folds of his cloak and produced a pipe. When he brought it to his lips, the sensation of smoke entering his lungs gave him a brief taste of the old world. He closed his eyes and languished in the flavor, in the memories of his grandfather and the dinstinct tastes of the American South. When his eyes reopened, they were on the sunset.

"Honestly, Koga," he said, "you're still breathing. That's more than most people do when they lose everything. As long as you survive, you're fighting. I'm pretty sure that your loved ones would be proud of you for that."

Alkor readied himself for another pass. Lessa was more than capable of holding the beast's attention, and they would easily leave room for the newer Player to get some experience. In theory, at least. In practice, that was not how things transpired at all. As the token male of the group turned to prepare for the next round of traded blows, Lessa struck out with her newly found might. It proved to be more than equal to the task of holding aggro. Indeed, the Steel Rose of Aincrad not only beat the creature backward, she ran through it like it was nothing at all. The field boss erupted in a stream of data, and Alkor slowly turned his gaze on the woman.

"Well, that was unexpected," he quipped, more amused than anything. In truth, the Amphis Serpens was a bit stronger than the mobs he would have chosen to introduce Snow to anyway. If she was dealing damage, it was negligible, and that too had its own subtle effects on the psyche. It would have boded ill to teach her to think that doing very little to no damage was completely average in Aincrad. "Ah, don't worry about it," he assured both of them as he spared a glance toward the lower leveled girl. "The only way to go from here is up, so honestly, think of this as a good way of setting a benchmark. This creature was a bit stronger than what you should probably be fighting anyway."

While he knew that his words weren't very likely to have a strong effect, it was better than just letting her get the impression that he thought she was useless. There were many people he'd said that to before. Many people that he could not just go back and apologize to. Some of them were probably even stronger than he was now. That was a difficult pill to swallow. 

"So, what do we do from here?" he asked to no one in particular. They'd finished much more quickly than he anticipated, and now they had free time to kill. Would they just separate? 

He took a seat when Setsuna did, reclined against one of the many trees that flecked the area. While Setsuna set about sharpening her blade, he let his head crane backward and closed his eyes. The moments where he allowed himself to relax were precious and few in number, but this was an opportunity to do just that. It seemed serene in its own way, until the girl asked an unexpected question.

What was he to you?

It was a common thought, honestly. People assumed prior knowledge when it came to murder. A killing born out of ire, or passion. Most people didn't just kill others. That was as true for him as it was anyone else. That only made the words harder to digest.

"...nothing," he admitted, "he was no more than a face in the crowd. I killed him less than minutes after meeting him."

It sounded bad when he said it that way, but that was how Alkor remembered it now. With a clear head and absolved of the belief that anything he did was really "right," he couldn't try to justify the taking of a life with pretty words. But he could tell the story, the way it happened. 

"Uriel was someone that a friend knew from outside the game," he explained. Much of this tale wasn't his to tell, in truth. Mari would doubtless not appreciate one of her most difficult secrets being shared without her consent or knowledge. "I'm still hazy trying to remember the details of their relationship, honestly. It was all very much a blur." That much at least was true. Several years had passed since then, and he didn't want to misremember anything as he recounted the act..

"The man had knowingly forced a child- her child- into this world. He knew there was no way out. He knew the ramifications for dying, and he chose to subject a little girl to that." Alkor was staring now, up at the sky. His eyes reflected a dim light, one that looked almost like a flame on its last legs. The sorrow in his voice echoed in his ears as he spoke. "He antagonized her mother, using her as a tool for his sadistic mind game. I'm not even fully sure of his motive anymore. There's so much of it that had nothing to do with me. But I was there, and I saw it happen. I saw her mind break. I saw the insanity that overcame her when faced with the reality that she couldn't protect her child, and..."

No. He couldn't repeat that. It was too much, the image of the woman killing her own child. His rational mind still rejected it. Everything that happened that day should never have..

"He tormented her," Alkor said flatly. "No one else helped her. No one was there. I told myself, this man is evil. This man can't be allowed to continue to do this, I won't let anyone else become his victim."

He looked down now at his hand, wondering if there was a god, and if there was, if he would forgive him. Alkor laughed at himself for that thought. How childish.

Even at the most intense of moments she was stoic. Alkor couldn't hope to match the ice floes in the girl's veins, not even with his brightest sentiment. It was pointless to push back any further than he had, largely in part because Setsuna was doing just fine.  If she had fallen to pieces or shown any sign of weakness, he might have taken it as leave to speak more frankly. She gave him nothing to work with. All signs pointed to the girl being completely fine with the things she was saying.

He knew better than to try to help someone who didn't want it. Lessa and him had that kind of dynamic, once. She wanted to change something about him that he just didn't see as a problem. Because of that, he grew confused and the fragile grip he had on his reality splintered.

The endgame of that had been less than desirable, but it was a path he had to walk to get where he was. Resigned to the fate that lay ahead of Setsuna, he gave a slight shrug. "Alright," Alkor conceded. "You lead the way. I'm just the sidekick on this adventure," he said with a subdued laugh.

It was clear that the mission came first. 

Alkor followed Setsuna quietly as he slipped the curved sword away, secure at his side where it lay in waiting for a time when he needed it again. "If the Intel I bought is any good, there's a pretty big area where it could spawn. You sure you wanna case the whole place?" he asked.

He heard those last words spoken as Kumatetsu closed on him, and Alkor closed his eyes. This world wasn't real. She was trapped in a place that had given her hope and taken it away in the span of a breath. Life wasn't fair. Not for a young blind girl, and not for a man who never learned how to be a functioning member of society. It was against that kind of injustice, and no other that he railed. Good, evil- subjective points of view were wasted on Alkor as he gripped his weapon tightly and took hold of his resolve.

Blightsteel glittered a faint orange color as he readied his sword art.

"There's a world beyond this, Setsuna," he said, loud enough that anyone listened could hear. "And even if you don't have eyes to see with, you have a life ahead of you. There's a bright future. That's what I fight for."

The swordsman didn't open his eyes as the creature fell on him; instead, Alkor ripped forward in a flash of speed that beggared belief and his sword ripped violently through the beast time and again. Streams of red data surged forth from newly opened wounds as the darkly dressed man stepped passed the massive bear untouched. 

He turned slightly and glanced back toward Kumatetsu, no sign of Setsuna apparent. It didn't matter. Even if he couldn't see her, he knew that she could hear him. 

"You'll find something to live for, even if it isn't in the past. The future is vast, and you won't know what lies ahead until you get there. Everything in between... is right now. Its beautiful, and its worth protecting."

He hesitated, then added. "Well, for me it is."

 ID# 183122  Battle: 6 MOB: 4

(15×11=165-50=115)

Kumatetsu: HP: 185/300 (-115) DMG: 75 MIT: 50 ACC: 1 EVA: 2

[H:1] Alkor - 960/960 HP 96/104 (-8) Energy 

[H:0] Setsuna - HP:900/900 | EN:84/90 | DMG:21 | EVA:5 | ACC:6

He felt bad for her, but not the way that she might expect he would. Most people would hear about the life of a blind person and sympathize out of pity. Thom had never thought of any person as less because of their struggles. The truth was, Thom had never really connected with anyone strongly outside of Aincrad. Most people in his life he'd simply pushed away. Loneliness was a world he understood, implicitly.

So, it was that more than anything that he empathized with. No one understood... because no one ever tried. And when you lacked the resources to bridge that gap, you were trapped on one side of an insurmountable distance with no hands held out to pull you across.

There were no welcoming arms to comfort people like them. 

It made sense that she sought shelter in those people who gave her a sense of belonging. Even he understood that desire. "If you'd never told me, I'd never have guessed," Alkor answered after a moment of introspection. "But then, you've had plenty of time to learn to live with sight, now."

Perhaps it was insensitive to verbalize the observation, but it rationalized things for him. A girl living in a world he could never reach... it seemed somehow tragic as much as it did poetic. 

When he saw her face, he felt himself smile without permission. Alkor didn't often give people genuine smiles. They were easy to force- the method acting came with time. Even when he didn't understand, he knew when to smile, or when to just walk away. With Setsuna's trust came the realization that he didn't need his apathetic defense mechanism, either.

"Rare is the man who doesn't realize what he's doing," Alkor said softly as he let his blade rest against his shoulder. "This world stripped away the laws and constructs of society. It left the floodgates wide open for the worst kinds of people to unleash their basest, most vile desires and visit them on everyone. Even the most gentle of us. You're a kind person, I can see that now."

He wasn't going to tell her not to trust them. That was her decision. Alkor found that trying to convince people inevitably led to fights he wasn't going to win. He was tired, so very tired of fighting those. 

"You say that you don't have time," he said, "that you can't waste anything on sentiment. That's ultimately your path to walk, not mine," Alkor turned away from her. "But that's the real tragedy, honestly," he spoke a bit more loudly, both to attract attention from further away, and so that she could hear him even with his back to her. 

"There are things in our world that are horrific. Dying children, perhaps, the most abhorrent," he spoke over his shoulder without looking at her, deep in his own thoughts. "but those things which rob them of the right to live out their childhood are the most heartbreaking of all. Everyone should have the right to know that their emotions are valid. Even the things that seem the most vapid."

It was in that moment that the beast chose to attack. With a mighty roar, it erupted from the treeline and rushed toward the two Players.

ID# 183119  Loot: 17 <Kumatetsu attacks!> (Of course he does!)

Kumatetsu: HP: 300/300 DMG: 75 MIT: 50 ACC: 1 EVA: 2

Alkor - 960/960 HP 104/104 Energy

Setsuna -

 

@Setsuna

He listened carefully and considered her words. The way she framed it made it seem like she was a bit skeptical as well, though Alkor wasn't going to press that issue. He'd already said too much that could easily be construed as inflammatory. It was lucky that Setsuna didn't seem to take things personally, because things could have descended into a one-sided argument and the bear could have found them at the most inopportune time. Unlike many people he'd met in Aincrad, this girl was mature when it came to admitting her faults. When she took a knee, Alkor glanced at her thoughtfully. What a strange thing for someone so young to take to a world like this one so naturally. It was probably a survival mechanism, and undoubtedly there were many things beneath the surface that she did not want to bring to light. That wasn't for him to tackle, though. Setsuna probably only barely trusted him enough to work together with him. He wasn't about to jeopardize that by impinging on her personal life.

"Yeah, you're pretty grown up for your age," he said appreciatively. She was, what, early teenage from the look of her? Maybe a bit older, given that they were scanned into Aincrad several years prior and any signs of advancing in age would be lost. "Most girls in your age group think they know everything, I've learned," he laughed dryly, though he did not mean it offensively. "Not to be patronizing. It's good when you don't make a fuss about every little thing. But it's okay to get mad about things sometimes," he winked in her direction.

It was the way she called the others her masters that gave him pause. Was that her own decision, or had it been the way they chose to be referred to? Alkor disliked how it felt. He met Raidou once, they finished a quest together. He never struck Alkor as the type of person who was altogether interested in ruling anyone. Numbers, figures, infrastructure- the guy was a businessman for sure, but he wasn't the most personable one Alkor had ever met. In terms of social aptitudes, they were about the same. Which made him question Freyd more- that guy was an enigma, and his name didn't come up all that often. Alkor knew even less about him than he did Raidou, and if he was in charge of something like the way things operated, he functioned more as the hand where Raidou was more akin to the brain. It made Alkor reach up and scratch his head thoughtfully. 

"That's a lot," he said, "and it all sounds very convoluted. Those are the kind of people who see the world as something that they can shape, and they're the kind of people who take the reins of a world once there's a system to be controlled. If they're trying to create something like that, they're both a lot more subtle than I am," Alkor told Setsuna bluntly, "and a whole lot more manipulative. But that's not really my problem- just something for you to think about. Be careful with that, Setsuna."

Alkor turned his gaze back toward the grove and skimmed it for any sign of movement. Their talking was loud and drawn out- surely something would take notice by now?

Roll to find Kumatetsu: ID# 183117 Loot: 6 <fail>

Threads:

 

Chapter One: Waking Up

Awake

Numb

Haunt

The Coldness that surrounds

I was just trollin''

Bee Sting Blues

Imagine Dragons

The Bowl of Embers

Dragon Tales

Obsidian Invasion

You're not alone

Raven Hollow (School)

Lost in the woods

She's back for more

Tanabata Celebration

An End, and a Beginning

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Chapter Two: The Path Forward

My Serpentine

The fish wyvern again

Back at it again

Feeding the enemy

The Cult of the Dragon

Nobody expects the Spanish Vangaurd (Event Boss)

Aye Aye Cap'n

What he can see

A Reflection (Exchange of the Recluse)

Lazy Lion Days

Absolution 

Fishing for sport

Burn it down

Into the Howling Dark

Storm of Shadows

Ironclad

A Chamber of Bone

Face my Fears

Weakening Steel

Rumble in the Jungle

Rage against the Machine

Drowning

Down the Rabbit Hole

The First Sword

Nature's Treasure

The Ladonian Rebellion

Catching up

Disturbing one's slumber

Wuxing

 

 

Profile

 

Username: Alkor

Real name: Thom 

Age: 24

Gender: Male

Height: 5’8”

 

About: 

 

History/personality: Born on the Eastern Coast of the United States, Thom was part of a third generation Japanese American household. His childhood was turbulent, as his father was a strict traditionalist and his mother hailed from a very Southern styled caucasian family. Because he did not have the same values as his father, he struggled to relate to the man, and in turn his father often shunned him for not adhering to the nuclear family values that he saw above all else. By the time Thom made it to Elementary school, his father had left with the resolution to go back to Japan and seek life more in line with his viewpoint.

This put strain on his relationship with his mother, who was extremely burned by the way that her former husband treated them. She reasoned that Thom should be fostered by a stepfather who was more loving and who doted on him and his sister. Thom was disgusted with both parents, one for not attempting to work things out and the other for simply accepting it and trying to move on. He became closer to his grandmother, who took him in and allowed him to live and go to school from her home.

Because of her personality, his grandmother was kind- but perhaps too kind. She allowed him to distance himself from others and ultimately develop reclusive tendencies, even to the point of losing friendships because he never socialized with the children who had been close to him when he was younger. Fueled by anger and depression, Alkor slowly and gradually shirked his studies and failed out of school, whereupon he entered the workforce and started to live life as a shut in.

Games became his greatest source of social interaction, with people who did not know him closer than arm’s length. Those people he was close with were friends who accepted that he had no interest in their lives outside of the RPGs, and who were happy to oblige him in that context. The only real exception to that rule was Tobias, his best friend, who attempted to get him out of the house at any given opportunity.

Unfortunately, even that friendship became strained when Thom’s grandmother fell sick with Dementia. In her most lucid of moments she did not know who he was; and this led to Alkor withdrawing from anything other than going to work and coming home. As her live-in caregiver, he succumbed to deep depression and stopped eating. He heard about Sword Art Online around that time, and decided that a virtual world would be the perfect opportunity to escape from his hellish reality.
 

Virtues:

The First Sword of Aincrad: There are a multitude of people who take on the task of Tank, people who stand vigilant in the defense of the other Players and soak damage at the risk of their own lives. Alkor wields his sword very differently. His desire to end the game transcends himself: he wants to protect others from losing their lives, he wants to preserve their sanity, and he wants to make sure they get out alive. He will gladly put himself in harm’s way to protect another person, but he won’t settle for Self-Sacrifice. He understands his own worth now. He throws everything he has into the pursuit of growth, seeking to hone his skills as a swordsman in hopes of becoming the strongest there is. Every failure is a flame that hones his steel, every mistake is a learning experience. His downfall on the Ninth Floor was a death that preceded his rebirth. While he may struggle with the consequences of his actions, he has resolved never again to give in to the darkness.

The Insight of a Hermit: Because he spends a great deal of time outside of social circles and interaction on the fringe, Alkor has a different perspective on most things. The guilds and raids, parties and market are something he only uses out of necessity. Therefore, because he isn’t saturated, he can see things differently from other people. In addition, because he spends a great deal of time leveling and improving, he also has a good idea of how mechanics work and has a handle on how to approach encounters. He’s a resource for new Players and an asset in a party, even if he doesn’t frequently interact with either.

Brilliant Flame, Soothing Shadow: Alkor’s persona is in stark contrast to the person he was once. He throws himself headlong into everything he does. He seeks to be present and helpful for anyone who needs him. He literally burns brightly to light the way for others in a time of great darkness. At the same time, because he chooses to burn, the shadow he casts is intended to give others comfort. He fights so they might not have to, and chooses to blaze a path forward so that they can eventually be free. He will never turn anyone away, and he strongly believes that the enemy is in front of them, not at their side. He’d rather see someone turn from the path of evil than simply rob them of the choice; and if they don’t want to make that decision themselves, he still doesn’t believe death is the answer. He will gladly burn for anyone, in their brightest day or their darkest night.

 

Flaws:

Social Ineptitude: Alkor has never really gotten better at talking to people, he just learned to put in more effort. He strains to read any room he’s in, and if there’s a confrontation, he tends to back off rather than engage it directly. His anger is still an issue, though: if someone gets in his face, he’s prone to snapping and shouting back at them rather than trying to resolve an issue amicably. Alkor has none of the qualities that make a leader.

Distant: Because he struggles with the emotions of others and relating to them, Alkor seems aloof. People tend to avoid him because of his past actions, and those who don’t are still outside of his ability to reach. He tries to impart what wisdom he’s gained where he can, but ultimately he’s blunt and at times too direct. Once, NIGHT said of Alkor that he was like Batman- they laughed, but he realized that the woman wasn’t wrong. He is part of the society, but not really part of the community. He isn’t necessarily upset by this, but he knows it is harder to help people when they don’t trust him.

To Suffer Alone: Alkor’s weaknesses with other people cause him to bear most of his burdens in silence. While he will readily help others where he is able, he often takes on too much. This causes him to become avoidant and to not speak up when he needs a hand. The people who he considers friends often will note that he falls out of contact for long periods of time and he spends that time in solitude, working through his thoughts alone. It can be problematic for his interpersonal relationships, and while his outlook is vastly improved over before the calamity on Floor 9, he can still be unreliable or absent when he’s in the throes of a mental and spiritual low.

 

Profession: --

Vitals:

840 HP 116 EN

Base Damage: 9 Mit: 170 Acc: 4 Eva: 0 Blight: 32  In addition, a target afflicted with Blight loses 20 Mitigation for 2 turns Bleed: 48 Paralyze Battle Healing: 92/turn 8-10 Critical chance 10% increase to healing received

• Total EXP: 211,868
• Total SP: 190
• Current Level: 
• Paragon Level: 35
• Unlocked Paragon Rewards:
  • Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 10% of EXP earned in that thread.
  • Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting
  • Lv. 25  | Free Skill respec

Inventory

Equipped: 

Item Name: Witchfang
Item Tier: 4
Item Type: OHSS
Item Enhancements: CURSED / BLIGHT / BLEED / PARALYZE
Description: "Forged from the fang of a massive Black Dragon slain by a nameless hero in ancient times, it was given
as offering to placate a Sorcerer intent on bringing low the Kingdom. He struck a deal with the hero, in exchange for
a reprieve in his generation, the fang would return to haunt their world one day. Witchfang promises ruin to those who
are struck by it. The weapon's edge is fashioned of Obsidian and invested with myriad afflictions. 
One of Aincrad's Cursed Weapons, its very presence inspires fear and invokes the chill of darkness."

Item Name: Titan's Ward
Item Tier: 4
Item Type: Heavy Armor
Item Enhancements: Mitigation 2, Taunt
Description: very long 

Item Name: Eye of Osiris
Item Tier: Tierless
Item Type: Accessory
Item Enhancements: ACC III
Description: A pin fashioned in the style of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, depicting the eye of the god Osiris.

Consumables: 

Imugi's Inspiration | MASS HP RECOVERY [157448]

Fruit Infused Tea | HP Recovery III [158815] | [158819] | [158822]

Spyglass (2 uses) - Effect: Use to reduce the number of posts required to search for a dungeon or familiar by 5 posts. Effect lasts for one thread. Item is destroyed once all charges have been used..

Galaxial Water Snake x1

Tier 1 Unique Consumable

Provides +1 CD when rolling to train familiars in <<Taming your Friend>>. Can also be used to change a familiar’s appearance to a starry sky’s form of itself. Single-use item. CD buff lasts for one thread.

Gold Star Stickers x1

Tier 1 Unique Consumable | Charges: 1/3 | Untradable.

+1 DMG, +1 LD or +15MIT for one thread. Stacks on top of other food/alchemical consumable buffs, but does not stack with Scent of the Wild totems.

Milky Way Rail Blueprint x1

Tier 1 Unique Consumable

+1 CD to a day's worth of crafts or item identifications.

<<Lightning Rod>> Grants a weapon a one turn paralysis effect on a critical hit. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.

Cerberus Soul: Adds 12 Burn damage for two turns to a weapon on a Natural BD roll of 8-10 for the duration of the thread. Does not stack with the Burn Enhancement.

Memory of Battle

Double the bonus from Scents of the Wild totems for one thread

[170465] Well done steak [Protein 2]

[164405] Lemon Berry Palmiers [+3 LD]

[167323] Liquor of Light [+3 DMG]

x2 Demonic Shard

x2 Gleaming Scale

Equipment:
 

Not Equipped:

Ki'Raion's Tail (OHCS/T2): ACC/ACC/PARALYZE

Zero Degree Icicle (OHCS/T2): Freeze/ACC

[T1E3] Wayfinder (1)

-- [ Loot Die III | +3 LD. ]

"TRINKET: A star-shaped charm made up of various translucent teal-coloured petals, framed with silver and held together with taut strings. At its center is a stylized metal heart, and at one of the petals' ends is a loop tied with a knot, so that the charm is capable of being hung or locked around another object. The item calls back to a foreign myth, representing an unbreakable connection between holders of these charms."

Craft ID: #150874

 

Story Thus Far: Inside of Sword Art Online, Thom initially decided to distance himself from his real persona. The idea that he could die at any time did not bother him. Instead, he sought comfort in the desire he had to be a hero in a fantasy world. He created the persona of Alkor, a man who sought justice and stood aloof from others in its pursuit. As an arbiter and force for good, he believed that he could protect the other people trapped inside of the game by sacrificing himself if necessary.

Unfortunately, everything began to slip when he started to form real friendships. Friendships with people who weren’t just characters inside of a game, and who accepted their reality. The bosses who took lives weren’t just killing party members anymore. Aincrad was murdering flesh and blood people. Alkor wasn’t just a Hero of Justice. Thom was blurring the line.

When he met Lessa, the confusion became more intense. She was a friend, someone who cared about him and hated to see him acting like some cog in the machine. Her feelings reached him, but they made him hate what he’d become. He hated that he was trapped and that there was no way out, and that he couldn’t disassociate the two personas anymore. Lessa was the first to engage with Thom as a person, even though their initial interaction was violent and toxic.

That was when he began to develop a relationship with Mari. Understanding the lessons he learned from his friendship with Lessa, he attempted to give Mari what she wanted- not just a shoulder to cry on, but the concept of love, which he was far from ready to engage in. He slipped into the persona of Alkor once more, thinking that if he only played the part he could save Mari from the darkness that threatened to drag her down.

When he killed a man for Mari, he realized that he was far too deep. Trapped inside a hell of his own creation, Alkor threw himself deeper and deeper into the Frontline effort, edging the abyss with his well-being. He didn’t care if he survived anymore. It was his firm belief that even if it cost his life, if the others were a step closer to freedom, his sacrifice was not in vain.

The Hydra on Floor 9 ripped Thom out of that darkness. In the seconds before his life was ended, he remembered his grandmother and the life he had outside of Sword Art Online. He struggled and flailed against fate, and with the help of a Teleportation crystal, he put the encounter behind him. Stranded on the ninth floor as the others finished the boss battle, Alkor fell into a coma and was forgotten as the Frontliners left him in the dust.

Two years later, Alkor awakened. 

Resolved to make amends for the mistakes he made, Alkor met with Lessa and Mari, and attempted to resolve things. Mari, still believing that Alkor loved her, did not take his apology well at first. She wanted things to go back to the way they were; and so, Alkor distanced himself from her in order to give her time to come to terms with things. Lessa had moved forward and learned that Alkor was not a healthy friend for her the way he had been: she said that if he wanted to be her friend, he would have to prove that things were different, and that he wouldn’t treat her the way he had before.

Armed with value for his own life and a desire for repentance, Thom decided to seek the mantle of Hero in earnest. As himself, not someone else, and with respect and understanding of other people. He hopes that he can make his grandmother proud, even if he never gets the chance to say goodbye. She gave him the tools he needed to grow into a man, and the best he could do now was put them to good use.

Previous Journal found here

Directory Index

"We don't have that kind of system in place, Setsuna," Alkor explained as he stood upright and glanced over the newly exposed glade. There were marks evidencing that a large mammalian creature had been through the area, but there was no bear in sight. They were on the right track, though. "There's no law and order in Aincrad but for the flimsy market. People can price things however they want, and NPC Vendors compete with even that. Because of the rarity of that information, it necessitates treatment as a service rendered. What you're talking about, society helping those in need, that's fundamentally an aspect of government. It's them taking money out of a collected pool and allocating it to a group in order to fund it. If we had that, the system that seems predatory to you would fundamentally disappear, annexed into a cog in a machine that we never see, but interact with daily." In all honesty, Alkor would have preferred that. The idea that they could come together, that they could find common ground among everyone and advance as a society to the point where they created their own form of governance just made sense to him. But there were too many inexperienced people trapped in this world. They were young, and they wanted to do things in the way that they believed was best. Raidou had the closest thing with Firm Anima, but even that was just a Guild that exploited the nature of the market for profit. The people in it did seem to thrive, to the point where they did their daily tasks. Though, as Setsuna proved, she was acting outside of parameters set by Raidou.

Her very own actions were proof as to why the Brokers functioned the way they did, and why it was unlikely to change. 

"That said, its not like I think you're wrong for wanting to serve a greater good," he said as he walked further into the clearing and made himself a very prominent, visible target. If there was a bear nearby, he was being loud enough that it would make itself known. "I just think you're a bit naïve in your approach. And that's just my opinion. Everybody's got one, right?" he smirked back at her over his shoulder. He was sure she wouldn't like what he had to say, and yet, none of that made her any less in his eyes. People were born into a world filled with conflict. Conflict was natural, and resolving it was part of becoming an adult. The inability to resolve conflict was a sure sign that a person had a long way to go. 

"I... used to think that things were that easy," he said reluctantly, his eyes moving away from the girl. "It's okay to be wrong," he said, a bit more reserved. "As long as you're not satisfied with staying wrong forever."

Still, no bear appeared.

Roll to find Kumatetsu: 

ID# 183115 Loot: 12 <fail>