[PP F1] Time for a Change

[chainedplains 0]

OOC: edited title to add PP

Ironically Chain didn't feel trapped in the world of Sword Art Online, he felt as if he'd found an escape from reality. Who in their right mind wouldn't enjoy life more here? There's no pressure to get a real job, society doesn't blame you for not being a productive member, and everyone here has at least one major thing in common. Sure there's the risk of dying, but that really isn't much different than the real world. This place was wonderful, everyone here had at one point chosen to be here, so why... Why were they dying to leave? It didn't make any sense. That would be like making it to Heaven and then fighting your way to Hell. That's why Chain hadn't left the starting city, instead he had created a pretty comfortable life here with a good routine. He'd wake up in the morning, swing his sword around for a little bit to make some gold, (he still wasn't sure he was holding the thing right but that didn't matter, the monsters were weak) eat some food, and then explore some of the city. Today though was a problem. Today was the day he ran out of city to explore, and that left Chain with only a few options...

1-3 Begin Craft as an Armorer

4-7 explore outside the city

8-10 Try and find something he'd skipped before

Chain 7/7 Hp

[chainedplains 0]

… And only one of them would do. He'd spent months in this game but what had he really seen? One city, that's all. Was that why he'd started playing this game in the first place? Hell no! He wanted to see it all, experience everything, but for the last few months all he'd done is stay in comfortable little bubble here. The game wasn't trapping him in this city, he was, and now that the realization had struck, wasn't okay with that. Now was the time, past the time really, that he would go see what was really out there. Sure he would be behind the curve, but that didn't matter, it wasn't like he wanted to be the strongest, he just wanted to be there.

Chains new found determination easily took him all the way to the gate of the city, but despite there being no physical barrier holding him in he hit a wall. Had he been this afraid the whole time? Was he really terrified of this world? People had died; lots of people. Suddenly he wanted to turn around, maybe there had been parts of the city he hadn't seen yet... maybe he should start forging some armor! Yeah, that would be a good idea, he'd always liked the idea of creating armor and besides, you'd have to be an idiot to not be fully prepared when you leave. But he couldn't, Chain had already made up his mind to go, so that's what he did. To bad he didn't also make up his mind to see the boar as he absent mindedly walked out the gate, that probably would have helped things.

1-4 Boar notices and charges

5-8 Chain and boar notice each other at the same time

9-10 Chain notices the boar first

Chain 7/7 Hp

Boar 3/3 HP

Chain 7/7 Hp

[chainedplains 0]

Seemingly out of nowhere came a squeal, which was odd because usually those sorts of noises come from somewhere, not nowhere. Upon further investigation, if you can call jumping around and stifling a scream an investigation, I found I was right. The sound did come out of somewhere. To be even more specific it came out of something. You'd think that would be a relief, solving my minor mystery of the murderous shriek, but seeing as how the something that was making the something was charging at me I didn't have time to think. Instead, what I did was...

1-2 Dodge left and stupidly hit a rock, lose 2 HP

3-4 Dodge right and avoid any object but still get hit, lose 1 HP

5-6 Pull out my weapon and perry the attack

7-8 pull out my sword and score a hit on the side of the Boar as it runs by

9-10 Brace off the rock and lodge the sword deep in the boar

[chainedplains 0]

Due to unwitting quick actions and what we can only assume was an act from a higher power, Chain gracefully pulled out his sword, braced it against the rock, and held his ground as the blade pierced through the boar lengthwise. Sadly God seemed to have stopped backing him at this point and Chain screamed, let go of the hilt, and died a little on the inside as the boar ran away with his sword still inside its body.

“Give me back my sword!†Chain shouted at the boar that he was relatively sure had absolutely no idea what he was saying. He yelled it again anyways.

1-5 The boar runs off into the woods and Chain runs after it

6-10 Chain jumps on the boars back and grasps for the hilt in the boars mouth

Chain 7/7 Hp

Boar 1/3 HP

[chainedplains 0]

And kept yelling as the boar ran deeper and deeper into the woods. Was there a part of Chain that thought maybe running deeper into the woods without his sword was a bad idea? Yes, there was, but there was an even louder part of him that wanted nothing more than to catch up to that stupid boar with its stupid boar face and rip his sword out of its mouth.

After a few minutes the blind rage subsided some and Chain was able to see a color other than red. Green mostly. Actually, everything thing seemed to be really green around here, the trees, the the grass, the miscellaneous vegetation, the group of boars. Actually the group of boars were brown, so not everything was green. And since there were 4 of them, I guess that would mean there was a good amount of brown.

With almost no time to immediately regret his decision, equipped his dagger. The situation wasn't all bad, since he was surrounded on all sides it meant he could generally attack in any direction and probably hit something. You might even say he was in a 'target rich environment'.

As the first boar charged, Chain noticed something famaliar sticking out of its mouth... if only he could get a handle on this situation.

1-2 trade blows with boar1 -deal and receive 1 damage

3-4 perry boar 1's attack– no damage

5-6 glancing blow on boar 1 – 1 damage

7-8 draw sword from boar one and attack boar 2 – 1 damage each

9-10 draw sword from boar one, critical hit on boar 2 and 3 – 2 damage each

Chain 7/7

boar 1 1/3

boar 2 2/2

boar 3 2/2

boar 4 4/4

[chainedplains 0]

With a grace he didn't know he possessed, mostly because he really didn't, Chain dodged the first boars tusks. Without thinking, because thinking would have just gummed up his reflexes, he grasped the hilt of his sword and brought the blade through the boar in a spinning blow. Before he could react the second one was on him... only it was strange how the second boar had his blade going through its face. He didn't remember doing that. What compounded the oddness of the situation was as he turned around the third boar dissolved in front of his outreached arm, his blade slicing off it's head as he rolled out of the way of it's charge.

Chain squared off against the fourth and final boar, only now noticing the chest behind the creature. Maybe running out here was a good decision after all...

1-4 boar charges and scores a critical hit on Chain – 3 damage

5-6 Chain blocks the boars attack

7-8 Chain directs the boar's charge away, knocking the boar into a tree – 1 damage

9-10 Chain somehow keeps up his unexpected awesomeness, slides under the boar as it charges at him, scoring a blow behind it, grabs the tail, jumps on its back, and rams it into a tree as he ninja's off.

Chain 7/7

Boar 1 0/3

Boar 2 0/2

Boar 3 0/3

Boar 4 4/4

[chainedplains 0]

“This is what I’ve been avoiding?†shouted Chain as he road on top of the giant boar, pulling the hair on its back in an improvised way of steering the beast, “I'm in idiot, this is awesome!†After a few seconds he deftly directed the boar into a tree adjacent the treasure box he had spotted earlier, as he landed the remains of the beast dissipated behind him.

“So this is a treasure box in this game eh?†Chain said to himself, which he didn't think was an odd thing to do, besides if you're stuck in a weird situation like a game for so long you're allowed dot be a little crazy, “Wonder whats inside...â€

1-3 1 mat

4-5 -2 mats

6- 8 3 mats

9-10 8 mats

Chain 7/7

[chainedplains 0]

Chain anxiously gripped the lid of the chest, his first chest in this world. To him this chest was an unknown, it could be anything! A new set of armor? Maybe. An awesome sword that has some sort of anti-getting-eaten by boar magical effect? Probably not but that might be a thing. The possibilities were endless!

The reality turned out to be a lot less impressive.

“One mat? ONE? Are you kidding me?†Chain angrily stepped back from the chest, “Look at the size of this thing, why in the world would they put ONE MAT in it? Can someone please tell me?†He looked around like he expected an answer, but all he heard was the overwhelming presence of a nearly empty chest.

“Screw this, I’m out, I’m going to a strip club back in town.†wait... do we have those? “And if we don't have those I’ll make my own, with blackjack!â€

1-5 Walk by Boss Hog either player or mob noticing

6-8 Boss hog charges, deals 1 damage

9-10 Block boss hog's charge

Chain 7/7

Boss Hog 8/8

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“Is that all one animal?†Chain thought out loud, foolishly wasting precious brain power he should have been using to avoid the house sized hog that was about to step on his feet and squeeze his insides out his head like a tube of toothpaste. Despite his momentary lapse the player still managed to ready his blade and evade a critical hit from the charge, but he wasn't able to evade the attack entirely.

My arm... it's pixelated?

After a few moments the laceration disappeared and his body returned to normal, but it wasn't the same. While his arm didn't hurt, but it didn't not hurt. It was a mixture of fear and adrenaline. Something had just brought him one step closer to death. He didn't like that.

Chain lifted his blade towards the monster. Suddenly this felt less like fun and more like survival.

1-2 Boss Hog lands clean hit -3 damage

3-4 Hog lands mostly blocked hit – 1 damage

5-6 clean hit on Hog – 1 damage

7-9 critical hit on hog – 2 damage

10 Chain uses super ninja mode – 6 damage

Chain 6/7

Boss Hog 8/8

[chainedplains 0]

Suddenly Chain was very suspicious of all the times he'd been told that 'size doesn't matter' because right now the size of this guy was kicking him in the teeth. Just looking at this thing was difficult, Chain had to crane his neck up and it was starting to be a pain.

Heh, you're literally a pain in the neck, aren't ya?

Not only was his neck in pain, it was also on the line. Chain was in real danger of losing this fight. Luckily the beast telegraphed its moves in a predictable manner, but even knowing what was going to happen wasn't enough. Every attempted perry would knock him back, every block would leave his defense destroyed.

This really wasn't going well.

1-2 Boss Hog rams Chain into a tree - 4 damage

3-4 Hog lands mostly blocked hit – 1 damage

5-6 clean hit on Hog – 1 damage

7-9 critical hit on hog – 3 damage

10 Chain uses super ninja mode – 6 damage

[chainedplains 0]

But it was getting better; suddenly this fight wasn't just trying to hit the other guy with a sharp object, there was a sort of rhythm to it. Usually rhythms were bad for Chain, the only time he'd ever even thought he might have been capable of dancing was one time he'd gotten his hands on some alcohol. Needless to say that ended very badly. Much like the multiple life lessons he'd learned that night, this battle though was teaching him a lot. You don't just throw your sword up to perry, you hit the other at it's weak point and direct the attack away from your body.

And once you successfully deflect a blow... Chain deftly maneuvered into the creatures blind side, ...follow through

1-2 Boss Hog rams Chain into a tree - 4 damage

3-4 Hog lands mostly blocked hit – 1 damage

5-6 clean hit on Hog – 2 damage

7-9 critical hit on hog – 3 damage

10 Chain uses super ninja mode – 6 damage

Chain 5/7

Boss Hog 7/8

[chainedplains 0]

But it was getting better; suddenly this fight wasn't just trying to hit the other guy with a sharp object, there was a sort of rhythm to it. Usually rhythms were bad for Chain, the only time he'd ever even thought he might have been capable of dancing was one time he'd gotten his hands on some alcohol. Needless to say that ended very badly. Much like the multiple life lessons he'd learned that night, this battle though was teaching him a lot. You don't just throw your sword up to perry, you hit the other at it's weak point and direct the attack away from your body.

And once you successfully deflect a blow... Chain deftly maneuvered into the creatures blind side and raised his blade ...follow through

Apparently the boar had the same idea; a hoof found its way into Chain's stomach, bowling the character back 10 feet. Slowly, yet cautiously, Chain rose to his feet. His eyes stayed on the hog, who for the moment was keeping its distance.

It would really suck if I died right now.

It was clear this time when the beast charged. There was an opening, its tusks were angled so that he could duck under the left side and score a hit across its whole body. Being able to only see it meant nothing though, when lives are on the line people tend to do funny things.

1-2 Freeze. Completely and utterly freeze. No damage, but this stops any attempt at escape this thread

3-4 Run. It doesn't matter where, or how, but get away. 1 damage

5-6 Trade blows – 2 damage each

7-9 critical hit on hog – 4 damage

10 Chain uses super ninja mode – 7 damage

[chainedplains 0]

Run.

It wasn't a thought or even a feeling, it was deeper than that. This was a primal instinct, a defense mechanism that’s kept humanity alive for thousands of years. It was also a really good idea.

It wasn't flawless though, he'd lost the vision of how to avoid the beast and as a result had taken a small hit. While it wasn't a serious one, neither were the last couple he'd taken, but they were starting to add up. Chain was no mathamagician but he did know that his health bar wasn't one of the preferred colors right now. He also was starting to figure out was that the boar was faster than he was.

Chain desperately dodged through thick forest of trees in what he could only pray was the direction of the town. The boar had a much easier time, he simply crushed the trees before him as he ran.

No one else is here. I have no friends in this world, my family is in the other; there is no one to help me... Most people wouldn't be able to keep a calm and steady head in a situation like this, turns out Chain is exactly like most people.

I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.

Chain's eyes were dilated and he was profusely sweating now, or at least he would be if he could. The medical term for this state was shock, the current term the common person would use would be freaking the heck out. But sometimes, and this isn't always the case, when you find out who you really are, things change. Some people have a deeper level, one that takes a near death experience to achieve.

1-4 Too bad Chain didn't have that. Let's try and run even faster! - 1 damage to Chain

5-9 Chain didn't fear death, he was willing to face it. - 2 damage to boar

10 Chain didn't fear death, he was drawn to it. He hadn't realized it but now was the first time he'd ever felt alive. - 2 damage to Chain 6 damage to Boar

[chainedplains 0]

The pressure continued to build; unhealthy amounts of fear, anguish, and anxiety mounted higher and higher on his conscious. Mental walls that he'd unconsciously erected over the years were being crushed in a fraction of the time.

It felt... great?[/]

No, that's not it. Chain unequipped his sword and replaced it with a dagger. He'd noticed early on he was better with a dagger, but the closeness it required had been too much for him. He wasn't sure why but none of that really mattered anymore. Chain didn't want to dig too deep into it but he silently wondered what did matter anymore.

Stopping and facing the beast again hadn't even been a question, he just did it. Attacking came just as naturally, the beast was still showing the same opening, and opening that was filled with a few with jabs from his dagger.

What if I die... and why don't I careâ€

1-2 Boar lands a blow – 1 damage

3-5 chain/boar exchange blows– 2 damage each

5-7 Chain lands clean blow – 3 damage

8-10 Chain uses new dagger technique to outmaneuver and land multiple blows in blind spots. - 5 damage.

Chain 4/7

Boar 5/7

[chainedplains 0]

Chain brought his arms in close to his body to reduce the size of his hitbox. Having a dagger gives you a few advantages, the first is if your opponent is unaware of your presence as a threat. When that's the case a dagger is easy concealed, covertly drawn, and quickly used all before your target realizes it's already dead. Another time you have an advantage, which Chain was going to press now, is when you're inside the opponents guard and their longer ranged weapons become unwieldy. Getting past a guard can be dangerous, suicidal in most cases, so reducing your targetable size helped you to...

duck under the charge, a tusk came within inches of his face, exploit the weakness The beast lashed out wildly again, read the line, step towards and under the atttack... A tusk came closer this time, Chain was daring it to touch him, and make it pay for the mistake

The battle played out quickly and decisively this time. The beast would attack and the would player lash out, moving again before the boar could adjust.

Then the beast was gone. Something that could have easily ended his life, didn't. He wondered if this was how someone saved by time travel would feel like witnessing the death they almost succumbed to. Would they ever understand the seriousness of the situation? Would they know how could they came to being nothing? Because right here, right now, he didn't feel a God damn thing.

Chain 4/7

Boss Hog 0/8

[chainedplains 0]

The way back out of the woods was much less exciting than the way in had been. Chain absently thought that might be a good metaphor for life, but discarded it as useless sentimentalism. Of course he had been a lot angrier on the way in here, suddenly the memory of him screaming at a monster than had his weapon in its mouth seemed funny and not infuriating. That was the best thing about time, suddenly everything that used to upset you becomes either funny or not so sad. Usually.

Gradually at first but with a consistency that said it was here to stay, rain began to fall. Chain sheathed his dagger.

Do items in this world rust? Probably best not to find out until I work on my blacksmith skill a bit.

With the town in sight, Chain headed towards it. Meanwhile with Chain in sight, a monster moved as well.

[chainedplains 0]

The rain started to come down in force raising the noise level from loud to deafening. Despite the noise it felt too quiet. Something was just off. Chain couldn't put his finger on why, how could it be loud and quit at the same time? That didn't make sense. Eventually he chalked it up to being an after effect of nearly dying, it seemed like a plausible enough excuse.

Too bad he hadn't went with his gut instinct, that probably would have helped him avoid lion stalking him. You know what they say, hindsight is 20/20.

[chainedplains 0]

The lion's vision happened to be 20/20 as well. The beast sludge through the newly formed mud, it's silhouette nearly invisible even if it's target had been searching for it. He wasn't. The target was completely vulnerable, it didn't even check the areas beside it. A marching band could have been approaching this guy from his 6 and he wouldn't noticed.

That didn't explain why he felt deadly though, like attacking would be a bad idea.

Or why the lion was thinking. That was odd in itself. Wait, am i a lion? What's a lion? The beast stopped perusing the player and looked at its paws for the first time. Really looked. This wasn't programmed, not something to debug a contact error, this was a conscious look. This wasn't normal. Why am i following this guy?

if only they'd fought then, things would have ended so much quicker, and with a whole lot less death.

[chainedplains 0]

Without much incident Chain made it to the threshold of town, passing the invisible barrier that separated the PvP area from safety.

The rain continued to drown out all sound but it wasn't in the same manner as before. It wasn't suffocating, as if the world had been holding its breath till just now.

He'd read about this type of feeling before. Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan referred to it as, "Coming back inside the wire." The "wire" being the boundary between the boundary between relative safety inside their base, and the whole world outside they were at war with.

That's what this was, until earlier he'd been avoiding it, blindly accepting his fate. but now it made sense. Chain and all of the other characters were at war with this world. Chances are most of them were going to lose.

Did that make them veterans? It sure as hell could make them casualties.

[chainedplains 0]

The boars had fought a valiant, yet hopeless battle, against a foe that didn't fit any of their parameters. The unthinking beasts were mercilessly cut down with the efficiency of a true predator. They didn't die in the expected explosion of pixels though. Instead their bodies were infested with a growth, black tendrils of rot that bored into their bodies and sucked out the programming. Once the tendrils finished their infestation of a monster, it would implode, the resulting programming would then help power the lion.

Delicious. The beast licked the programming of its latest kill off its lips, absolutely delicious.