[PP: F11: NK] Tanks and Tankards [Xion]

[Opal 0]

Opal had found herself waking up in mid afternoon in her own bed. The woman grumbled about, her naked form moving through the silken sheets as she laid there allowing the heat of the sun to beam through her windows. She flipped over, her hair undone from the high ponytail she normally kept it in, the lose silver strands escaping her as they flowed like a waterfall over her body and towards the floor as she lifted herself. The woman yawned lightly bringing a hand up to her mouth and brought her hand over the menu pad reading the time. "Mmm..." she moaned lightly as she began to equip herself with her new ebony set of armor. Her violet eyes had caught the alert of a message. She queried its contents for a moment and opened it, revealing a note from the tank, Xion. "The hell does he want with me?" The message was quick and to the point, no doubt a meeting between the two and another round of questions of WHY she had done what she had done. 

She figured she would oblige him none the less, if he wanted answers that was fine she would be happy to answer. Raising a hand she cleared the message and sent him a note in return asking him to meet her at the Woozy Pillow, a name of a bar in Taft that was more commonly a breeding pool for the not so looked upon players of Aincrad, or those who have taken the redemption quest but were still considered player killers. Sending that off to the mail service, Opal stood up upon the ground once more, her body arched and she yawned while stretching once more and proceeded to head to that inn, a cigarette in her hand as she would start off any day after waking up. It didn't take long for the busty beauty PKer to find the location once again, many drunken nights had been occupied here, less harassment from those who knew she was despite her different appearance. The woman waved as she entered, "Afternoon, fellas." they returned her gesture with drunken slurs of greetings and went back to drinking their day away. The woman snapped her fingers, she would get her regular and take a seat in the back so they could talk in peace. 

Flicking ashes of her cigarette and the billow of citrus smoke in the air, the woman dabbed the last bit into the ashtray and was given her drink. She paid no attention to the keeper and sat there drinking her beer. 

Edited May 30, 2016 by Opal

[Xion 0]

Xion had not slept well that night, for some reason, each time that he fell close to sleep something in the back of his mind dragged him back to conciousness. He spent the early hours of the morning, when the virtual sun had not yet risen wracking his brain, searching desperately for what was causing his discomfort, what nagging thought of memory had prevented him from sleeping. But alas it was still a mystery, so he tossed and turned for what felt like days, until the tank felt the warm rays of sun creeping through the window of the upper floor of his forge, his eyes opening widely as he sat bolt upright. 

 

Opal...she was the reason for him being unable to sleep. "Why...why must I dwell on her..." He cursed loudly, punching a nearby wall in frustration as he stood up, looking at the small mirror that he kept on his bedside table. His eyes were dead and sleep deprived, his face didn't have its usual glow, his hair was a scraggly mess of blonde locks. He needed to know...he needed to know what made Opal turn against KOB and the rest of Aincrad. And so, he sent her a message. 

 

"Opal...I wish to meet with you to discuss...certain events...you name a place, and I will meet you...

 

-Xion" 

 

After thre blonde tank had sent the message be equipped his Maelstrom armour, his Crimson and gold half cloak draped over the left shoulder, something that the current higher ups didn't like. Shortly after he made the journey to Taft, following the map to the tavern that Opal had specified in her message. It didn't seem like a reputable place, but it would do, it wasn't like he had any alternatives in mind. 

 

As as the armour clad tank entered the tavern some heads turned to face him, quizzically scanning him. He walked on, unnerved towards the bartender. "A cider, pear if you have any. And make it strong..." He said before depositing some col on the bar, searching for the former VC. It didn't take long. As soon as he saw the woman his blood boiled, he was staring at a betrayer, a killer. The tank growled slightly in anger, there was no grave to calm him down this time. He he marched towards her, his footsteps heavy, the boy wasn't too good at hiding his frustration. 

 

"Hello...traitor..." 

[Opal 0]

The woman was drinking without thought in her mind, just enjoying the taste of her beverage when she caught the presence of the Tank. Her eyes followed his heavy footsteps until those violet orbs looked at his face, "Afternoon, Xion." she said discounting the brazen word of traitor leaving his lips, "You seem to have had better days. I can create a potion for you to help you sleep better...and that ghastly smell of iron..." the woman quipped with a light laugh, he didn't seem to be amused by what she had said and shrugged her shoulders.

"Why don't you take a seat, Sug, and we can talk about the events that have transpired, civilly. You don't wanna mess with the men in this bar as I am one of their own, despite not taking the redemption quest, everyone here is a former PKer and looking for reason to go back to the Orange Cursor. But we are in a safe zone and I am not here to hurt you, just ask your questions." The woman shifted her gaze from him to the seat in front of her at the booth, the barkeep had placed Xion's drink on the table. The woman eyed the contents and smiled and leaned forward, much of her sensual chest exposed, although she had tried this trick once before with him and was given a verbal lashing of using her body in such a way, she would recall that day and many others especially the one where he held that sword against her neck...Oh yes, she did not forget that day at all. And one day in kind, would pay him back for it. 

"But...let us chat, shall we? Another beer, por favor!" She said with a snap of her fingers, cleaning off her last bottle.  

[Xion 0]

Xion's brow furrowed in anger as Opal made her remarks, it almost felt like taunting. Although with a woman like Opal it was hard to tell. "Sleep is for the weak..." He replied coldly. "And while I may not smith anymore the iron that you smell is what protects the weak and works to free us from this hell. Although I doubt you would want to leave any time soon. You have your own 100floor slaughterhouse and plenty of little lambs..." He said, raising a hand slightly in thanks to the barkeep. Olap seemed vaguely interested in the contents of his glass, but it was soon obvious that it was Opal trying to manipulate him through use of her body. The maelstrom couldn't help but let out a cold chuckle. "I've lost count of how many times you've tried that Opal...you even said yourself that my honour is paladin-like. And I do not take kindly to someone attempting to manipulate me with their body. Although...it's not like I can do much...but maybe one day...who knows..." He said, before drinking from his glass. "Gah...this isn't as good as real world cider..." He muttered, before focusing on Opal again. 

 

"Now...I'm sure you've been asked this many times since what happened...heck you're probably sick of hearing it...but why? Why did you betray us? Why did you kill someone? It just doesn't make sense..." He said, the anger and frustration slowly dying down, but it lingered, slightly noticeable in his voice. "I don't understand how...or why... Surely you remember having to calm my temper before, you and grave were some of thre only people that could reliably calm me down, save maybe Mack. Surely you remember telling me, telling me time and time again not to attack someone, not to kill no matter how arrogant someone was, no matter how little honour they had...was all of this an act?" 

[Opal 0]

"Bingo." the woman snapped her fingers and pointed at Xion at the same time to his last question. The woman once more relaxed in her seat, swinging one leg over the other as they two of them talked, "Funny thing about armor and protecting people. Do you know who I killed? The Berserker who was said to be somewhat of difficulty to damage. With enough buffs stacked on you, anyone can die in a few hits. When Kayaba made this game, he made PvP unfair in every sense of the word. I merely noted that and watched his body flake away into oblivion..." the woman inhaled lightly and exhaled just as softly through her nose. The woman taking the amber colored bottle and raising it to her black lips. 

"Yes, why, why, why? That is what I have been asked lately. I'll humor you though." the woman cleared her throat and strummed her fingers across the table with a light beat, "Why did I betray you? I don't think of it as an act of betrayal. I helped you sorry lot, now you have the freedom of collecting Demonics from boss drops. Sure you still need to get lucky and get the killing blow. But you are no longer under the suffrage of that golden haired hero and his lot of dead and or retired guild. So instead of gritting your teeth, you should be thanking me. Did you know because of the Blue Brigade, two players died under his stratagem. Two, Xion. That's more of a life I have taken, and he never once apologized for his [censored] ups. But thats beyond the point, my mission was to shake the world of Aincrad and I did. I rattled the cage, and now it is up to you all to pick up the pieces once again. I gave you a guild, and a strong commanding leader like Heathcliff. The Knights of the Blood Oath are now the key to winning this game and getting everyone out of here. I only removed a thorn in everyone's side. Of course, I took away friends of others, I will live with that, but they don't see that I actually made Aincrad a better place." 

The woman took a drink of her alcohol, attempting to reason with the man what she did was in service to this digital world, whether or not he believed her was up to him, "But do not forget, The Laughing Coffin does things their own way as well. I will surely kill again when it is necessary to do so. I might be called an evil bitch, but I will do things that need to be done for this world- my way." 

[Xion 0]

Xion's hand tightened into a fist as he listened to the woman speak, she talked about doing a service to aincrad, she said that killing the so called "hero"  was a good thing. The worst thing was that she was right in a sense, because of the boy's actions players had lost their lives, not to mention Dom, the berseker being a player killer too. "I...I hate to admit it...but there is truth in what you say..." The blonde tank said, forcing the words out, an act which felt almost heretical and traitorous. "While I never met the man I know that Zelrius, the golden boy lead a reckless assault against an extremely powerful boss, one which couldn't reliably be damaged and the riposte of which was punishing in the extrememes. ..." The blonde continued, pausing to take a few gulps of cider. "But still...none of that makes murder right...well maybe the berserker, I understand he was a PKer. But the golden boy wasn't, while I have been told he was an asshole of the highest caliber he was a powerful one..."

[Opal 0]

"Of corpse there is truth in what I say. Everyone seems so materialized on the fact that I might be a cold hearted murderer, but even murderers tell the truth every once in awhile. And you are right to a degree..." the woman parted her black lips and blew the violet strands of hair that had encumbered her, they blew away from her eyes from the motion of air caused by her exhale, and leaned back in her cushioned seat in the booth, "What I did was wrong, but it felt right. It was the right thing to do. It was needed, some purges...they just need to exercised, and some people like those fools that died deserve what they got." 

The Tank of the Knights had said something about power and the woman laughed out right, "Hahaha...You? You think that is power? From that little boy? Hahahaha! Oh Xion, you are adorable at times. The Brigadier or whatever they call themselves, that was not real power. That was a show of his egotism. True power does not come from uniques or demonics. I might be a bit naive when it comes to this sort of stuff, but power from within comes from the person's heart and soul. That child...had none of those things." 

The woman stretched her hands up in the air, her shoulders moving like an ocean ebbing as they popped and she sat once more femininely against the cushioned seat she was stationed at. One leg over the other, a hand keeping her head still as she leaned it against her palm on the edge of the upper seat cushion, she had looked at Xion and smiled. 

"You know..." the woman like a serpent, a snake, an infectious and seductive person moved her lithe body in an almost erotic sort of movement, got closer to Xion. She moaned ever so slightly and chuckled lightly as her bountiful chest was pushed within the armor and her shoulders accenting the curves of her form. She had leaned over to the male and smiled, with a flick of her tongue across her black lips, "What do you say...You and I get out of here and get some of this pent up anger of yours exhausted on something a little more...ya know? Fun." 

[Xion 0]

Xion frowned as he was laughed at, the woman calling him adorable before going on about demonics or uniques not representing true power, saying something about one's heart and soul, along with Zelrius' lack of the aforementioned things. "I...could do without the condescending laughter...Opal..." He said before finishing his drink, raising his hand to tell the bsrkeep that he wanted another. "And yes, the boy did have power. Not power in the sense that you were talking about, mainly because those things have little to no impact in this world. It's all numbers. you could be the most passionate and strongly willed person in the world and still be forced to bend your knee to someone with little emotion, someone who's heart is as cold as steel, quite simply because their numbers are higher. I've seen weaker players than myself who have fire in their hearts, but that means nothing to SAO, their numbers are still weaker than mine. On the other hand I've seen frontliners who seem almost reluctant and tired with this world, yet me, with my desire to become stronger cannot best them. Quite simply because it means nothing, as horrible as it sounds" The boy then stopped momentarily as his drink arrived, downing half of it instantly. 

 

He then noticed Opal leaning over the table, a moan coming from the woman as she made an effort to exaggerate her... 'Assets', suggesting that she and the tank relieve his pent up anger through a more 'fun' means. He chuckled. "Opal I swing about 95% the other way, and im assuming you're going for a one night stand. Which, sorry to say isn't my thing...well...it isn't until I'm drunk enough I guess" he said with a smile before drinking some more, the boy was starting to feel the effects of the cider. 

[Opal 0]

The woman laughed once more at him as she shook her head, the snow white hair falling about over her shoulders as she placed a hand over her mouth, "Hahaha!" she continued laughing, and pointed to him, "You?" once more she laughed, "And me?" Perhaps she gave him the wrong idea on the subject. Sure, she was a bit of a [censored] time from time, but this was a man she had sworn to get back from after that incident with his sword pressed to her throat way back when. She would still make him pay for that, but not now. She would annihilate his soul and break him as a person before taking his life. The woman cleared her throat, "No, Doll. We are not going to screw. I was thinking we get out of this [censored] hole and search up a dungeon. It'll be fun, just the two of us. And I promise I won't stick my blade inside you. I could actually use a tank for these dungeon dives to help soak up the damage. I'll even supply you with a Mitigation Potion so you we can fight mobs on my level. So how about it? Unless you are getting too waster over there to put up your shield?" 

The woman  flicked her white hair behind her shoulders, smoothed the violet rogue strands of hair in front of her face and stood up from her seat in one fluid motion. The busty woman hugged her body showing the ample bosom through her dark ebony armor, "You ready to go?" 

[Xion 0]

Xion frowned. "Opal- master of mixed messages. Seriously I can never tell what you really bloody mean" he said with a sigh before finishing off his drink, he was a little tipsy but that wasn't going to stop him from tanking. "You don't seem to have enough faith in my skills Opal, I know I'm not a high level but I can tank when drunk just watch me" he said, getting up and stretching. "Let's go, and please keep to your word of not sticking a katana in my back" 

[Opal 0]

A long black nail moved across her chest bearing a cross, "I cross my heart. I won't stick you with my Katana." The woman smiled as Xion got up, she titled her head ever so slightly to the side and nodded her head, "Alright then..." They had stepped out of the bar and into the open fresh air of Taft. People buzzing around the cobblestoned streets as they steer cleared away from the vixen PKKer. She smirked, her name becoming synonymous with that of a Boogeyman or legend of sorts. 

"Jaken!" the woman gave a small holler startling many of the players that had been walking by. A small green imp came scuttling out of the darkness and towards her, his feet hitting the ground and waving his oversized staff, "M-M-Master Opal! I'm here..." the little familiar panted as it was trying to catch its breath. After a few moments, he collected hismelf and stood up straight, "I am at your command, Mistress!" 

The woman smiled and looked to Xion, "Xion, meet Jaken my familiar. Former Imp King of the...the..." she narrowed her eyes at him forgetting the name of his species, "Well it doesn't matter. We are going to search out a dungeon, Jaken. Make sure my weapon has been buffed with a whetstone before we enter battle." 

"Oh yes! Of course, Master Opal! I suppose this feeble minded player is joining us as well?" The Imp said, his question directed at the tank of the group, though he was not thrilled with her choice of company for this excursion.

"Be polite, Jaken." The small green creature folded his arms and gave a "Hmph," at Xion and followed Opal side by side her as they walked towards the outskirts of the town. 

"Have you explored this floor at all, Xion? It's pretty straight forward, but we are going to by pass the forest and head west. I have a feeling we'll find a better dungeon going that way. We may have to make camp at some point as well. If you need a mitigation potion while we are at, Jaken can supply you with one." 

"But Master Opal! He is a lowly grunt! We should not waste--" she gave the Imp a look and he quickly swallowed the words that would have continued further from his mouth and sighed, "Very well..." 

"Alright, since that is settled. Let us be off." 

-

Notes: +4 Dmg Pot 
Item Located Here

[Xion 0]

Xion looked at the small creature that Opal had called to her side. He reminded the tank of dobby the house elf, but with a deranged and creepy twist. As Jaken talked, insulting Xion by calling him weak minded the tank frowned and went through his inventory, equipping his spear and holding it so that the head of it was pointing towards Jaken. "I'm not weak minded...And no I haven't explored this floor Opal, I've been focusing on quests in the lower floors" he said, jerking his spear so that it came dangerously close to piercing the creature's throat. "I'll take a mitigation potion, my tier 2 gear is yet to be completed so I'll need it. And if Jaken here doesn't comply can I stab him? I bet he'll make some amusing noises" the tank said in a sadistic manner. While he would never kill another person he had no such troubles when it came to creatures like the familiar 

[Opal 0]

"Ahh! You get that out of my face you!" the Imp, carrying a rather oversized staff batted his spear away with the butt end of it and slammed the pummel into the ground, "Threatening me! I will have you know I am the King of Imps! You should be--"

"Jaken, hand Xion the mitigation potion. We don't have time for storytelling," the woman's voice was relaxed and did not show any malice or ill intent on her familiar, however, she had hoped that the King of Imps was a bit more on the silent side. He always had something to tell; a story, a complaint...something. She sighed and stood there as the Imp fumbled in his sack and pulled out an Aegis potion, "You can use this one!" the Imp, his small hands cradling a silver vial. 

"Don't worry, Xion. It's safe, if I wanted to poison you or do something horrible to you, I've done it by now." The woman said folding her arms under her chest. She waited for a moment for the exchange to happen, while it had been from Jaken to the player Xion, the item in question was actually from Opal's inventory. There was a quick exchange and the menu disappeared. The Imp stood frozen for a moment, the mechanics of the game no less, as his eyes blinked and then back towards Opal, flipping his staff over his head and mounting it over one shoulder. 

With a hand stretched out, the impressive Masamune fell gently into her hands as she shouldered the weapon, as requested it had been buffed with a tier two damage enhancer and it was ready to go, "Looks like we are ready once again to continue. While Xion is on role of Tank, I'll be taking the lead until we find the dungeon entrance. Jaken, make sure you stick close to me." 

"Aye, aye, Master Opal!" The imp saluted and turned to Xion giving him a rather odd gesture with his tongue flapping about from his mouth. The spear in his hand made Jaken yelp and run around Opal getting ahead of her and away from Xion and his intimidating spear.

Item Exchange -> Shards of an Aegis [+36 Mit] -> Xion

Edited May 31, 2016 by Opal

[Xion 0]

Xion laughed as the small creature declared itself king of imps. "A king you say? A king does not bend his knee and submit to anyone, yet here you are, acting as Opal's pet. What a pathetic king you must be" the teen said with a sadistic grin before Opal reprimanded Jaken, demanding that he hand Xion a mitigation potion, the imp begrudgingly handing him a small vial. One which Opal assured the man was not spiked. "Good-" he was then interrupted by a ping in his menu. "Ah, it would seem that my tier 2 gear is ready, my smith even sent it to me... Give me a moment Opal" he said before unequipping his tier oen maelstrom armour, which was temporarily replaced by simple black clothes. "You see, Opal. I've decided to...grow out of being the Maelstrom. It was a title that I, at least in my mind didn't deserve. So I've...had a change of taste, shall I say" he said before equipping his Twilight gear. The black, gold, and red metal encasing his form. In his right hand appeared a glaive, it's blade as red as blood with golden writing in it. In his left, a large heater shield with the same colour scheme, the whole set had gold engravings and writings over it.  "Opinions?" he asked with a chuckle before drinking the Mitigation potion, raising hit mit over 100. 

 

"All right...let's go" he said with a smile, while he wouldn't admit it he was enjoying the time with Opal, despite what he initially thought of her. "Maybe...she can be steered from the dark path" he muttered 

Edited June 1, 2016 by Xion

[Opal 0]

The woman turned around and placed her arms under her chest when Xion requested a moment. His avatar flickered in light, his body being drawn into the changes of his new gear. Opal's thin brow raised slightly as his figure was now garnished in a bleaker color scheme, "Whatever happened to the white and red and gold? I feel as though Mack is gonna have a field day picking you apart seeing as you are not in Blood Oath colors, although the black looks good on you. Black good looks good on everyone," she said motioning to herself. Although Opal's idea of black was more along the lines of showing skin and being overly sensual and teasing often leading people on from out of their comfort zone. 

The Imp watched the event unfurl as well, however, his opinion of the Dark Knight was something he kept to himself. He did not care for Xion or his dark armor or trying to look like a total Bad Ass with it on, instead he opted to keep his mouth shut and just give the human a glare. Opal smiled, and gestured once more, "If you are finished with equipping yourself, we got some work ahead of us on the road. Since you are now in tier two standings, I am expecting you to take the heavy punches when we start getting into the mess of mobs up ahead. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a massive Gargoyle Statue. It'll probably be covered in moss or something, but we need to keep an eye out for that as it will help us lead to the dungeon." 

With that said, the woman flicked her long hair off her shoulders and turned to look at Xion once more, "How does it feel to be frolicking around with a Player Killer?" she mused with a small fit of laughter, shouldering her massive Masamune and continuing to lead them through the steppes of floor eleven.

[Xion 0]

Xion chuckled. "It does" he said before tapping an icon, a torn half cloak appearing on his left shoulder. "He will...but I couldn't care less at this point, I've served the guild and will continue to do so, the colour of my armour doesn't affect my abilities as a fighter, so I don't see why I should be made to change it as long as I serve as an efficient tank for the guild..." the boy then sighed. "I feel like the guild needs me less and less with each passing day...communication between myself and the other members has become a rarity, everyone seems to be content with doing whatever they like. I fear that KOB will have the same fate as CB. If that happens...I don't know..." he said, trailing off at the end as he thought of what he would do without KOB. He could always be a freelance tank, but then again going solo doesn't have the perks of guild life. "Anyway...I'm fine with taking the hits...just give me something to fight" he said before following Opal. 

[Opal 0]

ID: 60497
LD: 16+4+2 = 22 
Sub Dungeon Found: Advanced

 

 

Rules and Requirements

1. Advanced Dungeons cannot be fled from at any point after being entered. Teleportation crystals are disabled in these dungeons.
2. Advanced Dungeons cannot be found or completed in solo threads. If the player rolls LD22 or higher in a solo thread, an intermediate dungeon will be found in its stead.
3. Participants must fight a total of fifteen floor strength monsters of their own design before moving on to the boss.
4. Participants must fight a boss monster with the following statistics in order to qualify for the reward:
   HP = floor * 70 | Damage = floor * 11

Rewards

3 SP upon completion
A Col value of ((floor + loot die) * 100)
6 Materials

"Right," Opal said in reply to Xion's fight comment. He was changing as player, that was for certain. His world of honor seemed to be fluctuating between the grey areas of the world which many people will eventually succumb to. He even fell into Opal's little trap earlier when she provoked him into having sexual feelings for her, although he would have to be drunk. When she had done that to him last time, he was stalwart and unmoving while stating the use of her body would do nothing against a man such as himself. How easily people's morale crumbles under the right circumstances.

It had not taken Opal long to find that Gargoyle Statue covered in moss, "Here it is..." she said pointing to it, "I hope you are ready for taking those hits." The woman lifted her right arm upwards and placed two fingers in the right eye socket of the gargoyle. Only moments passed before the ground shook, and to the east on the walls the clay gave way to an eerie looking dungeon entrance. The female looked over her shoulder at Xion and gave a glossy looking smile of pride, "I might give a run for his money one of these days," she did not say the player's name out loud, but she had been hearing Takao was a master after finding dungeons. With a little more time and effort, the woman would prove to be a worthy adversary in finding such things. 

"Alright, Xion. You are taking the lead now, go and find us something to kill." 

OOC: Found an advanced dungeon. I would like Mats and Loot, so if you wouldnt mind summoning mobs that are of my level instead of floor level. :) Unless you cant tank that much dmg, dont bite off more than we can chew. haha. 

Edited June 3, 2016 by Opal