[F1-SP] River - Grandmaster Thread (Tidal Wave Pt.2)

[Ratatosk 0]

It had only been a couple of days since Ventus stopped seeing Ratatosk, things didn't feel quite right with him not around. He was much shyer than usual, and most of the people he met could barely recognize his personality. "Maybe it was for the best? I kinda already miss him." The blonde closed his eyes and rested his head on the grass, it wasn't as comfortable as a pillow but it'll do. "Is this sword really the reason I am stronger? Or is it because of my friends. Well, Ratatosk didn't have many friends, only Asteria and Kranzer. Besides that, he was a pretty lonesome guy. I really need to think about this some more!"

 

Edited May 1, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Ratatosk 0]

"I remember... Picking up the sword for the first time." His memories were no longer cloudy, as it was revealed that he was the true personality. Ratatosk was only created for him to survive in the harsh world, and now he's gone. "Man, I really wanted to use a dagger at first cause of my knife skills... But something told me to use the sword. Maybe like sort of a gut feeling? Nah, that's not right. I bet it's Ratatosk!" The feeling of the blade's grip was still fresh in his mind, at first it felt a little heavy to hold, but as time progressed it became light as a feather.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Ratatosk 0]

Rank one with the one handed straight sword was when he wielded it the worst. He'd miss his attacks a lot, sometimes even smack himself in the forehead with the blade. It was really cumbersome at times when he needed it most, like when fighting those boars, hell, he almost died! "But I didn't die. Niko saved me by giving me that potion, without it I would've been gone forever." A silent chuckle came out of his mouth, "I forgot to tell him thank you, I'll probably do that some other day." Ventus unsheathed his Anneal Blade from its scabbard and stared at the tip of the blade, "It's gotten a lot easier to use you."

[Ratatosk 0]

"I remember when I ranked you up for the first time, back then I could only deal around twenty damage if I tried hard enough..." He was reminded of the people he saved on that day, a girl named Haruka, and a giant named Gorou. It seemed as if they disappeared as well, they might've even died. "All these people I meet... They're all gone. Why does this always happen? It's probably normal for this game." But the sword he had with him at the time, the Anneal Blade, saved two lives. That was all the motivation he needed to get stronger with the sword.

[Ratatosk 0]

Ventus continued to stare into the metallic sheen of the blade, "Every time I ranked up with you, I got stronger. And because of that, I could protect my friends!" A weird sensation hit him in the heart, it felt like he was heart broken. "Back when I was a kid, I always used a knife to cut apples. And then, I started cutting apples with swords." A long time ago, he met a guy named Kranzer. They would hunt materials together from time to time, and it'd be the most fun he's had in a while. He picked out an apple from a nearby tree, threw it up in the sky, and slashed it in half as it came down, "I used to do that, well, Ratatosk used to anyways."

[Ratatosk 0]

His legs were in criss cross apple sauce formation on top of a small hill, looking at the beautiful sunset in the distance. "I remember hunting with you a lot, and that was pretty crazy. Back I was around rank three with the sword, I'd be hitting monsters with my AoE sword art. When I did that, I felt something strange in my hands... Something like fear, but I know it wasn't." Everything changed when he reached rank four with the sword, he started to actually trust himself with using it, and never would he bat his head against the hilt again.

[Ratatosk 0]

"And those abominations... That was when I really felt alive!" The fourth floor became a blood bath on that day. A trio of monsters called 'Abominations' took the lives of many players with their gigantic clubs. That was when he stepped in, with sword in hand, he stole their lives and ended the massacre. "The day I became strong... Was that day. I don't know how I would've survived without the sword, I'd be like those players who live on the first floor for the entire game! You and I, we share a special bond together. Wielder, and blade."

[Ratatosk 0]

"I really don't know where I'd be if I never picked up a weapon and chose to fight." Ventus was nothing more than just a weak boy at the start, he relied on the help of others to get by in the game. But now, he could do all of that by himself. Just him, and his sword, nothing else. Picking up a sword now felt natural to him, it was like an extension of his arms. "Picking up a weapon used to feel heavy, reminds me of those weights I tried to lift..." That moment in the past was terrible, picking up a one hundred pound weight is not a good idea.

[Ratatosk 0]

"Back to town." The sun quickly went down so he decided to go back to town. Maybe he'd meet a familiar face while going back, but he guessed not. "The moon light is surprisingly pretty. Reminds me of the time I first picked up my first forged blade..." His first sword was the starting one, no enhancements. But the first forged one was perfect, a high quality sword that could slash through almost anything with ease, including apples. "Powerless is a word that describes me before I started getting serious with the sword."

[Ratatosk 0]

A flashback played in front of his eyes, he saw himself fighting a group of three gigantic monsters. In a single movement, all three were dead and turned into ashes. Then the blizzard obstructed his view, "Burn in hell!" Ventus remembered that Ratatosk said something like that really loudly, later he learned that his actions led to a life, or several being spared. "Thank god I had you with me that day. Otherwise.... Those people would've died." Death is a very serious thing in this game, it meant death in the real world too, but you don't need me to tell you that.

[Ratatosk 0]

Another flashback played in front of him, it was as if his walk was a movie theater of his memories. A very tall man and a rather short woman were fighting a boar, things went South as the lady almost died. Her health bar was reduced to a tiny sliver, but then Ratatosk jumped in to save them. "Burn in hell!" Again, a single slash of the sword was all he needed to kill the aggressor, a puny boar that almost took a life. "Are you guys okay?" A bright light flashed, and he quickly closed his eyes in pain.

[Ratatosk 0]

The bright light disappeared, and he saw normally again. "Phew, for a second there I thought I was about to- AGHHH!" Another flashback, how great. This one was the most important, in his eyes, he saw Ratatosk and him fighting. His friend Aster was there to help him in the battle, and it dragged on for quite a while. "I am not going to lose!" Their swords kept clashing together, the sound of steel invaded the air causing flocks of birds to fly away. Aster then cut Ratatosk with her spear, and he was only one hit away from losing the fight.

[Ratatosk 0]

"Just one more hit!" And when the final blows were exchanged, Ventus came out victorious. Watching Ratatosk about to die made him cry bitter sweet tears, it meant his independence and enlightenment, but at the same time, a farewell to a close friend. Ratatosk was like the only friend Ventus had, besides Amelie and the four samurai. "I'm glad you were me." Those were the final words of Ratatosk, the end of the fight had more meaning than just becoming independent or growing as a person, it signified how strong he became with the sword.

[Ratatosk 0]

His eyes were sealed shut, and when he finally opened them, a change occurred. "Thankyou... For everything!" Those were the last words Ratatosk heard, from that point on, Ventus controlled the body. "I don't even know how I beat Ratatosk... Am I that strong already?" His heart was not made of steel, but his sword was. "Every single time I swing this blade, I get the feeling that I'm really living life!" His old ideals came back to him, liking the virtual world more than the real one. "And I'm not going to lose to anything in this game!"

[Ratatosk 0]

Whenever a human picked up a weapon, they'd form a partnership with it. The weapon was the bronze, and the human was the brains. "Everytime I get stronger, so does my weapon!" Ventus unsheathed the Anneal Blade again and brought it to his face, "I should stop calling you a weapon, and call you my friend. We've been through a lot together, and I think it's time I give you a proper name... I'll call you... Kuro." People passing by thought Ventus was a nut case simply because he was talking with an inanimate object.

[Ratatosk 0]

Ventus checked his inventory to look for his tier two set. "Good thing I got that earlier, otherwise I'd have to order it around this time. And almost all the tailors are gone... As well as the blacksmiths..." It was slightly saddening that business was going down, but at the same time, relieving. "But that also means when shops do open up, there will be lots of goods on the counter for me to buy. With the amount of col I have, I can probably even buy an entire shop's worth of items!" There was one thing he didn't want to buy,  a sword.

 

Edited May 2, 2016 by Ratatosk

[Ratatosk 0]

"Everything I've been through, I've been through it with Kuro." What did it mean to be strong? The question always persisted in his mind and he never knew the answer, but now, he's found it. "To be strong is not have gigantic biceps the size of basketballs, or the ability to lift seventeen thousand pound weights. Being strong... Is about being able to stand up for others. At least that's what I think it is anyways. Fighting is a part of it, but how can you stand up for your friends by only fighting?"

[Ratatosk 0]

It appeared to him that weapons were no longer just objects, but extensions of the mind, body, and soul. Every swing of one was a war cry of emotion. Resilience, anger, sadness, literally anything. "Even though I'm this strong with the sword now, I think there's still room for improvement. You can't just call yourself the best, because that's not true! If you keep telling yourself that you are good at something, you are lying to yourself." A new viewpoint of 'good' popped up in his head, it didn't mean having natural talent, it meant hard work and practice, that's it.

[Ratatosk 0]

"All friendships are held together by invisible chains, when those chains are broken, so does the yarn that runs deep within the labyrinth of the heart." He felt like he needed to say that for some reason, it reminded him a bit about the other day, when he lost a friend. "People keep saying that weapons are used to hurt people, they're wrong. It's true that some people use them for that... But without them, how am I supposed to protect the people you care about! It's not right to call weapons like swords, or even guns evil!"

[Ratatosk 0]

Ventus picked up his blade and slashed once with it, the motion was smooth and quick. "Now it's time to see how strong I am..." He arrived in the Town of Beginnings just in time to watch another arena duel, but this time, he didn't want to watch. He wanted to participate in it. "Hey, how would I participate in this?" The NPC vendor laughed and told him to get lost, somehow NPC's can just read your level by looking at your face. "Crap, guess I'll just watch then." The blonde found a seat and sat down, what would this duel be like?

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by Ratatosk