[PP-F1] Struggles [Victor] - COMPLETED

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus huffed and puffed as he continued his run around the entire Town of Beginnings. He had to be in tip-top shape if he was going to beat this game. He stopped running once a realization hit him. Would exercise even do him any good? It wasn't like this was a real body with real muscle. Cygnus sometimes forgot that this wasn't the real world. He had been here for awhile now, so it was difficult to remember where he was; a game. Everything he saw around him, even this body, was just a bunch of ones and zeroes made to look like actual objects. The distressing thing was that Cygnus would sometimes forget his daughter's face. When that happened, he would have to try very hard to recall her. God, it hadn't been that long, had it? The first little while after Cygnus entered the game, he hardly paid attention to anything, so it was difficult to tell exactly how long he had been in here. Maybe he would ask someone someday. Or not. Maybe it was better not to know. He could only imagine what was going on to his body right now. Muscle mass decreasing, potential undernourishment, and god knows whatever that damn NerveGear was doing to him. Being hooked up to that thing for days, months, or years couldn't be healthy. Cygnus sighed, subconsciously reaching for his wallet so that maybe he could look at his pictures of Himiko and Miki, only to remember that his wallet was in the real world with his real body. With a dejected sigh, Cygnus sat on the ground. He was getting nowhere. How long ago did he swear to beat the game? He couldn't remember, but it was awhile ago. The more the days dragged on, the more he felt that he would never get out. That his efforts and the efforts of all those fighting the good fight would be in vain in the end. He'd never get to see Himiko again and he would die in this game. Cygnus didn't realize it, but a few tears had streaked down his cheek.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Cygnus

[Victor 0]

Casually strolling in the fields, Victor drew in a long breath of air. The vast expanse of field stretched in all directions. He'd walked decently deep into the fields, a large chunk of the boundary of the town was visible to him. This small world of SAO wasn't all that small in fact, or at least it seemed to be more infinite than Luke had ever seen IRL. The things signals in our brains can do. He thought, marveling over the possibilities this opened up. He really appreciated the technology, but he hated the catch Kayaba had strung along with it. Such a waste, now it will instill fear in people's minds. If we get out of this that is.

Though there was a small nagging voice in his heads about the constant danger, Luke had a feeling that this game wasn't about taking lives, that was certainly not the end goal, it was simply about having people play it and clear it, on the maker's term. Stupid guy just had an inferiority complex, was probably bullied at school or something, Luke mused. He was on his daily run to collect special items for his Merchant training. Thoughts like this often drifted into his idle mind. While he performed an extraction on a different looking weed he'd found amidst the grass, his eyes caught something moving across the fractional perimeter of the Town of Beginnings, that he could see. He didn't obtain anything from the weed, so he dropped it and approached the moving speck slowly and cautiously.

Vic walked towards, what seemed to be another person, initially he thought it was an NPC, but then he noticed the green cursor atop the players head. As Vic neared, the man slowed and eventually sat down, though he had evidently not noticed Vic's advance towards him. The brown haired boy made his way closer. He'd seen this guy at the town of beginnings, he was the one who had fallen into the fountain. As Victor got even closer, he noticed the player was older than him. Victor hadn't paid any mind to his age back then in town. The boy slowly approached him and crouched surprised to see tears streak the man's cheek. Honestly, Luke was a little put off by that, but it wasn't uncommon for players to break down. "Erm... Hey there, Are you all right?" Vic asked, hoping he had feigned concern successfully, because it was too late to just walk away now.

Spoiler

# 61962  LD: 12
No mat found.

 

Edited June 21, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus flinched a bit at the sound of Vic's voice. He had thought he was alone. He realized the tears streaming down his cheeks and wiped them away quickly. "Yes, i'm fine. I guess I was just caught up in my thoughts." He laughed halfheartedly. Cygnus cleared his throat and offered his hand. "Hi. I'm Cygnus. Nice to meet you." He said, trying to change the topic of the conversation from the fact that he was crying. He cursed himself for being so emotionally weak and tried to cheer himself up by thinking about his daughter and everything they would do when he saw her again.The exercise worked, and Cygnus's mood was lifted for the moment.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Cygnus

[Victor 0]

"Er... Victor." Luke introduced his character and smiled awkwardly. Mostly, he was just glad that the moisture from the tears the other player had just wiped, did not transfer to his hands. He really had to swallow the urge to grimace at Cydnus's weakness. Luke debated prying open the mans head, to find his sensitive spots, to try and find out what had the man in tears. But then, he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear a sob story. Most people cried for mundane things, like family they'd left behind, the possibility of death, etc. It was fair to assume that's what the man had thought of too. Luke hadn't shed tears in a long time, Victor - his character, had never shed tears. But one doesn't win friends by telling people that they're pathetic - Empathy is what wins friends. So Victor ignored the man's bravado and lied. He crouched next to the guy, and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Missing someone back home?" he said softly, each word dripping with fake empathy. "We all do." He added, now sitting besides him "So, I know what that feels like." Lie. Luke had no clue what that felt like, he'd moved out of his family house just recently, due to irreconcilable differences with his sister and by extension his parents. The girlfriend's house that he was living in, was only a temporary set up till he'd picked a college that had accepted him and started a new life... Of course, SAO changed all that.

Spoiler

# 62138 LD: 14
No Mat found

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus looked a little surprised when the man took a seat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, saying a few kind words that Cygnus thought were meant to make him feel better. With a deep sigh, he decided to give the guy a few details, since he was being nice to him. "It's my daughter, Himiko. She's about to turn one. Or has already. I can't tell how long i've been here, so it's difficult to say for sure. That's all, really. I just had a moment of weakness. Sorry you had to see me like that." It would appear that Cygnus bought Vic's act. To Cygnus, he appeared to be a potential friend. This guy approached him and took the time to make sure he was alright. That wasn't really something you saw a lot of here. Everyone had their own problems, so his were just inconsequential. The trouble they were all in dwarfed his problems, so that was why he decided to stop crying about it. Cygnus was never really one to cry in real life. Before Miki died, he hadn't cried since he was a child.

[Victor 0]

(OOC: Thank you for not being suspicious of Victor's words. Sometimes it gets difficult to RP deceitful characters because everyone likes to see through them xD)

Victor sat in silence and heard the same old story. Unsure whether he'd be able to convincingly respond in a meaningful manner, he let a silence envelope the two players. Victor hoped that the quiet time they spent would allow the dregs of memories about his daughter float away, at least for the time being. Meanwhile he attempted extracting something useful from a tiny pebble he'd found at his feet, just to give himself something to do, casually. He ensured he suppressed his satisfaction about finding what he needed and eventually he broke the silence.

"I'm sorry to hear you couldn't be there for her on her birthday." It just seemed like the right thing to say. "Don't apologize and don't worry, I'd hardly call it a moment of weakness, that's rather unfair." Victor lied again, emphasizing that he had a problem with the last word even though that's exactly what he thought it was, weak and pathetic. Luke was convinced that crying over things that one couldn't do something about immediately was stupid, but Victor convincingly added "It's only human." he added, giving a meaningful look to the man. "It is almost like this game is designed to make people go through this." He added wistfully, now looking away at the expanse of the fields poignantly. Almost like a machine, he'd memorized the expressions that were painted on people's faces with the different emotions they felt, the boy had learned to read and mimic them well, as social protocol declared. "I think I saw you running earlier, is that what reminded you of your daughter?"

Spoiler

# 62048 LD: 17
 + 1 Mat.

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

[No problem man. xD I couldn't really think of a reason for Cygnus to be suspicious.]

Cygnus looked down at the ground. "No, that's not really it. When I go for runs, my mind kind of wanders. On occasion, it wanders to dark places.I get what you mean though, about the purpose of the game being to cause all of this. It all seems like some kind of sick experiment." Maybe that is what the game was designed to do. If so, that was pretty sick. The thought of it just made him angry. So much death and despair, and for what? He resolved then to train, get stronger, and make himself useful out there. "I'm gonna try to not let it get me down though. Crying isn't going to fix anything. I've just gotta get stronger is all. Then get out to the frontlines and wreak some havoc."

[Victor 0]

The boy was tempted to smugly remind the older man that running around didn't really help in this game and that it probably wasn't a good idea if it drove him into dark places, however out of respect and the possibility of a potential ally, the boy kept mum. Vic looked at the man with as much sympathy as he could garner. Once he paused, Vic set his eyes on him and responded "I think the guy who made the game, is just a stuck up fellow. He just wanted everyone to play his game because he put so much effort into making it or something... Too scared that people may join, not find it interesting enough and leave. Too insecure that they won't take the statistics seriously enough" Victor ranted, from what he had gathered.

"I don't think he wants people to die, I don't think he quite knows what he wants himself." Victor laughed, a dark, grim sort of laugh. Once the other player stated that he was going to try and be more of a fighter and less of a wimp, Victor was relieved. He wasn't sure if he could show any more sympathy. He converted his relief into a general positive go-getting spirit. "Well that's good to hear! That's the spirit!" Victor said encouragingly. "The harder we train, the better we are, the sooner we beat this game..." Victor said, surreptiously changing the I into a 'we' so he could join in on anything the other player had to offer in terms of 'getting stronger' "... sooner you'll meet your daughter too." he finished, adding the last encouraging spur.

Spoiler

# 62139 LD: 14
No Mat found

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus nodded, resolve in his eyes. "Yeah. I'll train even harder now. Maybe actually use this thing." He pat the pommel of the sword on his back. Cygnus really saw the possibility of a friendship here. He had made a few friends already, but the more people available to train with him, the better. He just had to ask now. Victor seemed to be open to the possibility with his inclusive speech, so Cygnus had a good feeling he would be interested. "So, I was thinking maybe if you weren't busy, we could help each other out with our training some time. Training with a partner is always more effective."

[Victor 0]

Victor chuckled softly, "Yes, using that is always effective." the boy said jovially, ensuring the slight condescension and sarcasm didn't slip through his tone. The boy himself hadn't gotten a chance to really train. Victor's biggest accomplishment so far, was managing to gather a decent bit of data on the game and make seemingly effective plans on how he should conquer it. Close second, were the two grueling quests he had completed, one that he had actually intended on finishing and the other that he had stumbled upon later, accidentally. Finally the last exploit, perhaps the most significant one, which surprisingly required the least effort, was the gear collection mission he'd taken upon himself. The boy had scoured various shops until he finally found a decent combination for him to don and carry. Victors careful addition of we, had probably earned him another ally. "I'm not too busy..." Victor with the slightest air of superiority. "And you're right, training is more effective with someone else, got anything in mind that we could do?" Victor said in a seemingly interested fashion, while his mind was already whirring to find out how best he could use this new friend for his advantage. "We could start with some mob clearing if you'd like, I've heard that's usually a good way to start." Victor added, scanning the area for boar spawns as well as the special materials, he found neither in close vicinity.

Spoiler

# 62137 LD: 12
No mat found!

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

"Mob clearing, huh? Alright!" Cygnus scanned the entire area where they were, but it seemed him and Victor both came up with nothing. "Come on. Let's try somewhere else." Cygnus jogged around the area to look beyond where they could see. As he came up over a hill, he stopped, crouching down and observing the area ahead of him. He saw exactly what he was looking for. Some hundred feet ahead, there was a small group of boars grazing. Cygnus waited for Victor to come up before they devised a plan of attack. Cygnus was excited to begin his first training session where he would have an actual partner. The thought thrilled him. It was getting kind of tough trying to do everything on his own. 

[Victor 0]

Victor shrugged in accordance with the lack of boars around them and followed the player to a location with allegedly more mobs to kill. On the way he picked up a rock and attempted an extraction from it, it didn't work, Luke wasn't pleased, but it'd be impolite act upset, especially about something that wasn't Cygnus's fault. The pair finally stopped at a certain vantage point that was a little higher than the rest. The small hill rolled down and at its base Victor noticed a considerable number of boars. "Whoa!" Vic gasped, betraying a bit of shock and fear, which was very rare for him. "I hate to say this man, but there are a lot of boars down there." Luke said with a nod. "Enough to kill us if we are even slightly careless." He said with a serious nod. He did have a small plan up his sleeve though. "What we can do is, go through the shadows right there," He pointed to where a large shadow of the walls that encased the city, stretched to make a larger dark spot on the fields, "and hide behind those rocks there." Victor added, his mind whirring with all the planning. "Then we can try take them out one by one, ensuring we don't aggravate the others."

Spoiler

# 62172 LD: 9

 

Edited June 25, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus looked down at the small grouping of boars. Victor was right. They couldn't take all of those by themselves. All was not lost, however, because Victor had a plan. Going about it the stealthy way seemed to be the best course of action. Just try to pick them off one by one without drawing the attention of the others. It seemed like a good plan on the face of it. Cygnus nodded. "Alright. Good plan. Let's do it." Cygnus figured he would be brave and take the lead, even though Victor was probably better equipped to handle combat than him. Still, he had to start being brave. This struggle was 90% mental. Technically, it was 100% mental, seeing as how this character moved and talked because of his brain, but confidence and bravery was really what he felt was required. He quietly moved along the city wall, waiting behind the rocks Victor had mentioned. He peeked out to get a better look at this group. "There appeared to be three boars in the immediate vicinity, as well as three others some distance away that they could possibly kill too assuming all went well.

[Victor 0]

As the walked across the shadow, Victor noticed the 6 boars at varying distances from him. Initially they were bunched in two groups of three, but then one joined the group closest to him. This was it, there was no sneaking past and killing them one by one, they were all too close together. Running away now would be dangerous too, in case they were spotted, going back up the hill was not an option either, because it would be slower and the boars would definitely get aggravated. Luke didn't particularly like being in a pinch, but here was where he brains would no longer come in use and he'd have to rely on his skill. The boars were not things that he could manipulate. "Don't think my original plan is going to work" He said, mentally preparing himself to strike. With a soft groan, and without any other warning, he jumped straight between the boars. They attacked him one after another and he dodged their attacks by sidestepping. The board were bulky but they were all too slow. As they tried to regain their bearing, he performed a complex sword art with his dagger (round accel) he sliced through the air in a curve, catching them all in a long chained attack. Before the sharp red line that ran through the mobs killed them, he jumped right back behind the rocks and took a deep breath. "I've been practicing that for a while..." He said in a bragging tone. "I think I got lucky." He added as an after thought, so that he didn't sound too stuck up.

Spoiler

Victor:
HP: 24
Dmg: 6
NRG: 6-4=2
Mitigation: 9
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2

<<Wild boar x4>>
HP: 12
Dmg: 6
Mitigation: 3

 

# 62182 BD:12 (10+2) ; MD: 4 (7-3)
Victor Attacks! (Double Crit) SA used: Round Accel
Dmg: (6+2)*2*1= 16
<<Wild boar x4>> HP = 0/12 (16 dmg - 3 Mit = 13 dmg) dead!

<<Wild boar x4>> Miss!
Dmg: 0
Victor HP: 24/24

+4 Mat

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus gulped when Victor mentioned that his previous plan wasn't going to work. Now what? Just how much trouble were they in? How exactly were they getting themselves out of this? As Cygnus drew his sword, ready to fight, Victor leaped forward, taking out all of the boars in their way at once. All four of them were gone now. Cygnus just stared straight ahead until Victor jumped back behind the rocks with him. Then, he just stared at Victor, amazed. "H-How..." He had never seen a Sword Art before, and the whole suddenness of it shocked him a bit. He shook his head vigorously, trying to regain his concentration. After, he took a deep breath and instead gave Victor a thumbs up. "Nice job. I'll admit, i've... never seen anything like that before."

[Victor 0]

"Gotta admit I haven't done anything like that before." Vic added with a fake shaky laugh because a run in like that is supposed to be a little scary, it was probably still deemed an accurate expression, especially since things like this allegedly take a moment to sink in. "I think there are another two left, but they're moving away from each other, I can take out one more, to be safe, and then either we get out stealthily, or we can try clear them all up..." Luke added with a soft sigh, concocting a new plan. In all fairness, he was a little surprised that he had been able to execute that move, it was something he had learned but never quite got the hang of in real life, and now he tried it in a tight spot like this and succeeded. 'Maybe I do work better under pressure.' He found himself thinking... 'Or even better.' He inwardly added, giving himself an imaginary pat on the back. After bolstering his spirit, he went for the next boar, but turned out, the thing was already aware of it's presence, before Vic had a chance to dodge, it hit him with it's tusks, the armour blocked most of the attack but the hit was strong enough to knock one HP off. A little annoyed at this, Vic quickly slashed at the guy thrice and finished him. "One to go." He finished.

Spoiler

# 62213 results: BD: 6 (4+2) MD: 7 (10-3) LD: 20
(Can't gain crit with accuracy and can't evade crit hits)

Victor:
HP: 24
Dmg: 6
NRG: 3-3=0
Mitigation: 9
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2

<<Wild boar>>
HP: 12
Dmg: 6
Mitigation: 3

Victor Attacks! SA used: Tri-Pierce
Dmg: 6*3*1= 18
<<Wild boar>> HP = 0/12 (18 dmg - 3 Mit = 15 dmg) dead!

<<Wild boar>> Crit!
Dmg: 6+2= 8
Victor HP: 23/24 (8 dmg - 9 Mit = 1 default dmg)

+ 60 Col (5*12) + 2 Mat (bonus+normal)

Total Mats: 7
Total Col: 60
 

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus looked at the boars, who were, at the moment, drifting away from each other. That's going to be your last mistake... Or not. From what Cygnus understood, NPC's and mobs respawn after they die, even though players weren't so lucky. He pushed these idle thoughts out of his mind for the moment and nodded at Victor's suggestion to kill one more. "Sounds like a plan. Let me take a crack at this one." He drew his sword, gripping it tightly in both hands. This whole thing about fighting mobs was rather new to him, so after his first couple of steps, Cygnus's confidence wavered and he froze. "Uh..." He looked back at Victor. "Promise me you'll be there if everything goes wrong. I'm sure this goes without saying, but... i'd really rather not die if it can be helped." He chuckled to cover up his legitamate fear.

[Victor 0]

(OOC: I am not going to let Cyg die, ignore the IC crap and don't spawn something that will require more than 12-15 dmg to kill and hopefully, if BD is good, we'll be all right) 

Since they hadn't added each other as friends yet, Vic wasn't sure of Cygnus was high enough level to take the risk of killing the last boar. But he was eager to play a part in the plan and it would probably be rude to stop him. "Sure, give it a go... But be careful." Vic warned, it seemed like the most ambiguously appropriate thing to say. Even that small warning probably made the dark haired player doubt himself. His next request put Victor in a pinch, he couldn't deny being there for his new ally, his energy bar was a little low, so Victor couldn't make any fail proof promises. "I'll be there and try my best to help you Cygnus, they're not that tough to kill, I don't think they'll kill you." Victor tried his hands at accepting the request without it being binding and worked on assuring the poor fellow. If something was to go wrong, Vic would be upset that he lost an ally, but nothing more, there were countless stories of low levels dying to mobs, it'd be nothing new. Just one more number in the list. He maintained an empathetic and encouraging expression though, while the other gave a nervous laugh, he gave the nearby field a cursory glance for any extra loot.

Spoiler

# 62224 LD: 1
No Mat found.

Victor
NRG: 1/6
HP: 24/24

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor

[Cygnus 0]

[Alright, man. I'll try something with 12 HP. I figured you wouldn't just let Cygnus die if that could be helped. xD]

Cygnus nodded. It wasn't exactly a promise, but it helped Cygnus get his confidence back. This would be his first real battle after all. "Alright, Victor. Thanks." He took another moment to size up his target. "Okay! Here I go!" He leapt out from behind the rock and faced down the lone boar. His teeth were gritting; partially from nervousness and partially from the adrenaline of battle. Could he even feel an adrenaline rush in this virtual body? Whatever it was, it certainly felt like an adrenaline rush. "Come and get it!" He called out. The boar turned its attention to the new challenger. It huffed and snorted, kicking up dirt with its hooves. Cygnus steeled himself, digging his heels into the ground. I can do this... I can do this... With a loud squeal, the boar charged Cygnus. Cygnus instinctivley took a step back, but he steeled his nerves and reversed the reaction, charging at the boar. I can do this! I can do this! He wanted to scream like a wimp, but turned what would have been a scream into a fearsome battlecry. As he and the boar crossed paths, Cygnus swung his blade as hard as he could, intending to cut this thing in two. To his surprise, he actually hit the thing. Unfortunately, it also hit him. As Cygnus recovered from the attack, he could survey the damage. He was wounded... clearly. He assumed that this large red slash across his abdomen was a wound. Strangely enough, though, it didn't hurt like one would expect a tusk to the gut to hurt. He definitely felt it, but it wasn't like actual pain. He took a quick look at his HP. He was actually doing alright! His confidence soared at that point and he got in a ready position, almost daring the thing to come at him again. He loved this rush. I can get used to this... He thought. Every bit of fear he had behind that rock seemed lightyears behind him. 

Spoiler

Results (ID# 62227)

BD: 10 (Critical Success. +2 DMG)

MD 9 (Critical Success. +1 DMG)

Cygnus HP: 10/12

Boar HP: 9/12

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Cygnus

[Victor 0]

Cygnus had looked rather reluctant to get himself involved in combat. Luke couldn't tell if it was out of cowardice or just excessive kindness that the man harbored, which made him dislike engaging mobs. Guess it was commendable for him to make the jump and attack. Cygnus had got one solid attack in, but the boar had managed to get a hit in as well. Victor thought this was good enough for the guy, especially since he was still not sure of his level. The brown haired boy had deduced that another simple attack from would now finish the boar up, especially that now he had regained enough energy. Of course, it was a risk, if he missed, it would take a bit for him to be able to attack again. But the boy was feeling confident and he was eager to finish this, just in case the circumstance did get murky for the other player as time went on.

Vic geared up for his attack. Gently he unsheathed his dagger and charged towards the boar, unfortunately, he hadn't realized that the boar was still in motion after attacking Cygnus. He hit Victor just as the dagger met with his flesh, as a finishing blow he jabbed at the boar again. While Victor's mitigation ensured that he only took 1 HP damage, the boar stopped living... "We're safe now, well done. I'm going to head back to town, got some errands to run, but I'll catch you soon Cygnus. Think of this as one small step closer to your daughter." The boy said, a little abruptly but encouragingly. The sudden farewell was mostly because he didn't want to risk being caught in a swarm of mobs that seemed to be re spawning here. He sent the guy a friend request and then was on his way.

Spoiler

62228 results: BD : 6 ; MD: 9 (Cygnus spawned so his roll)

Dmg: 6*2*1= 12 dmg SA used side bite!
<<Wild boar>> HP = 0/12  dead!

<<Wild boar>> Crit!
Dmg: 1+1= 2
Victor HP: 23/24 (2 dmg - 9 Mit = 1 default dmg)
NRG: 2-2 = 0

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by Victor