[PP-F10] The Fall

[Vigilon 0]

Every story has a beginning, though some stories begin within other stories, which also happen to be part of one greater, grand tale.

Some stories begin with peace, some stories begin with a collapse...

This one...began with a Fall.

 

Vigilon landed face-first onto the ground. He sure didn't see that drop coming...now that he thought of it, he hardly saw anything at all during that moment. He looked to his HP, and he'd taken some damage...but he was relieved to know that he was alive at all. Still somewhat dazed, he tried to get a grip on his situation. Where was he?

He looked around him, but he saw only the cavernous tunnels of this subterranean floor....and next to him was a familiar face that had been travelling with him for like, ten minutes. She, too, had taken some damage, but thankfully, neither player was dead just yet. "Hey, Dazia, are you alright?" Vigilon asked as he was coming back to his senses.

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Main Stats:

 

Level: 31
Paragon Level: 13(paragon stat bonus totals: +40 HP, +4 EN, 10 SP)
 

Paragon Rewards:

Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread.
Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Loot and Chest Rolls

 

 

Battle Stats:

HP: 700(Base[660], Resolve[40])
Energy: 84
Base Damage: 21(SS R5[7], Combat Mastery: DMG[12], Meticulous[1])
Mitigation: 78(Silver Night[+48], Light Armor R5[+30])
Accuracy: 4(Draco Fury[2], Dragon's Eye[1], Resolve[1])
Evasion: 2(Silver Night, Dragon's Eye)
Loot Die: 6(Searching R5[+5], Dragon's Eye[+1])

Additional conditions:
-2 on all stealth rolls(Light Armor Rank 5)
 

 

Equipment:

[T4]Draco Fury(2 ACC, PAR)

[T4]Silver Night(2 MIT, 1 EVA)

[T1]Dragon's Eye(1 ACC, 1 EVA, 1 LD)

 

Consumables:

Teleport Crystal x1

 

 

 

Skills:

Straight Sword Rank 5(30 SP)

Light Armor Rank 5(30 SP)

Searching Rank 5(30 SP)

Extended Mod Limit(10 SP)

Charge(10 SP)

 

 

Extra Skills:

Combat Mastery: Damage Rank 3(13 SP)[Active]

Familiar Mastery: Rending(10 SP)[Active]

Survival[Active]

Meditation[Active]

 

Mods:

SS Ferocity(6 SP)[Active]

Meticulous(4 SP)[Active]

Night Vision(3 SP)[Active]

Detect(4 SP)[Active]

 

 

Addons:

Resolve(6 SP)

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by Vigilon

[Dazia 0]

Dazia wasn't hoping the day would go like this at all.

Monster populations had increased drastically, and there didn't seem to be much of an explanation...the fact that Floor 10 was rumored to have not changed much for the season did grab enough intrigue to prompt an investigation...and so far, it was going very poorly.

Falling down with an idiot cousin. Not how she pictured a potential death. Thankfully for her, she managed to survive the fall, so it might not have been that bad of a fall...or maybe there was something that broke her fall. Whatever it was, the result was there. She'd fallen and survived, but the damage was present regardless. Vigilon began to ask if Dazia was alright, but she wasn't in the mood for any nudging to see if she was alive. She was right there, so she wasn't dead, did he really need to nudge her to see if she was alright? "Back..." Dazia muttered. "Vigilon..."

If Vigilon didn't get it and kept trying to "help", or if he asked what she was trying to say, she'd say it directly...now that she was conscious enough to do so. "Back off before I punch you."

Dazia got up, and brushed herself off. "So, what's your next move? I'm about ready to just leave you here, but maybe I should give you the benefit of the doubt, you've only done one of three stupid things at the moment."

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 31

Paragon: 1

Battle Stats:

HP: 620
EN: 80
DMG: 21(SS R5[7], Combat mastery: DMG[12], Athletics[1], Ferocity[1]
MIT: 44(Cloth Armor R5[20], Raven Shade[24])
ACC: 3(Shadow Fury[1], Soaring Shadow[2])
EVA: 4(Raven Shade[2], Soaring Shadow[1], Nimble[1])
LD: 1(Nimble)
Fallen: +8 DMG on natural BD 6-8

 

Additional Factors:

+5 LD on Stealth rolls(Hiding R5)

 

 

Equipment:

[T4] Shadow Fury(Fallen, ACC)

[T4] Raven Shade(1 MIT, 2 EVA)

[T1] Soaring Shadow(2 ACC, 1 EVA)

 

Consumables:

Teleport Crystal x1

 

 

 

Skills:

Straight Sword R5(30 SP)

Cloth Armor R5(30 SP)

Combat Mastery: Damage(13 SP)

Extended Mod Limit(10 SP)

 

 

Extra Skills:

Hiding(30 SP)

Meditation

Survival

 

 

Mods:

SS Ferocity(6 SP)

Athletics(4 SP)

Untraceable(4 SP)

Blindside(4 SP)

Vanish(6 SP)

Surprise Attack: Assassin(6 SP)

 

 

 

Addons:

Nimble(6 SP)

 

[Astralin 0]

Astralin had a lot to adjust to. First, the strange book disappeared and she had to find it again...but now that she had it again, she noticed that the book now seemed...complete? There were many empty spaces in it before, and everything looked a bit different...save for the writing that she couldn't read, of course. Hearing about the festive phenomenon going around all the floors seemed like a potential mystery to solve, so it was time she got moving.

"Equipment: Check. Odd Book: Check. Alchemical Research Book: Check. Spellbook: Check. Well, that's everything, now it's off to Floor 10 for me!" She thought aloud as she finished making her preparations, placing her Skillbook into her inventory before leaving the room of the inn she was staying at, and she made her way to the Teleport Gate.

This was her first time entering the Tenth Floor, if she remembered correctly...and to her, it looked like some kind of creepy cavern fresh out of a horror feature. Astralin hesitated before going any further. She might need to find a helpful player somewhere in town before stepping outside. Who knows who or what she may encounter...

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 21

Paragon Level: 0

 

Battle Stats:

HP: 420

Energy: 60

Base Damage: 20(MA Rank 5[7], CM: DMG[9], MA Ferocity[2], Athletics[1])

Mitigation: 0

Accuracy: 2(Amulet of Aknossoth)

Evasion: 2(Alkarina's Resolve)

Loot Die: 0

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

Equipment:

[T3] Glowing Embers(Burn)

[T3] Zero Degree Chill(Freeze, Accuracy)[Equipped]

[T1]Alkarina's Resolve(2 EVA, 1 REC)[Equipped]

[T3]Amulet of Aknossoth(2 ACC, 1 REC)[Equipped]

 

Consumables:

(3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

Teleport Crystal x1

 

Skills:

Martial Arts Rank 5(30 SP)

Combat Mastery: Damage(13 SP)

Cloth Armor Rank 3(14 SP)

 

Extra Skills:

First Aid Rank 5(30 SP)

 

 

Mods:

Martial Arts Ferocity(6 SP)

Athletics(4 SP)

Energize(5 SP)

 

Addons:

[None]

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Astralin

[Krysta 0]

It is always long ago in tales like these...

People are split into factions, often with hostility. In this world, there were what people believed to be two sides. The creatures and inhabitants of this world...and those who lived only once. There were Players, and there were Monsters.

Sometimes there is a story within a story...and one such tale begins underground, at present time, within the darkness of Floor 10, when two players would reach it from the teleport gate.

"I understand that you wish to at least see what's happening. I don't know how far I'll be able to carry you, statistically, of course...just know that if you are in any danger, use a Teleport Crystal if you have one, and retreat to a safer floor." Krysta noted to someone who'd asked to be carried through a floor above their level. "Personally, I don't understand why this Floor has the attention of rumors, it hardly looks as though it had changed at all." She claimed, despite being wrong...though she had yet to see the evidence yet. Even the Settlement of this floor was...how would she put it, Unsettling? More so than the time before the dark flood? Perhaps it was the season...

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 31

Paragon Level: 7(paragon stat bonus totals: +20 HP, +2 EN)

Paragon Rewards:

Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread.

 

Battle Stats:

HP: 640

Energy: 84(Base[64], Energist[20])

Base Damage: 21(THSS R5[7], Combat Mastery: DMG[12], Meticulous[1])

Mitigation: 78(Lumino Regalia[48], Light Armor R5[30])

Accuracy: 1(Alediel's Grace)

Evasion: 0

Loot Die: 3(Andvari's Blessing)

Holy Damage: +8 Damage on BD 9-10

T4 Bleed: Inflicts Bleed on BD 9-10, deals 48 DMG per turn for two turns

 

Additional conditions:

-2 on all stealth rolls(Light Armor Rank 5)

 

Equipment:

[T4] Alediel's Grace(Holy, Accuracy, Bleed)[Equipped]

[T4] Lumino Regalia(2 MIT, 1 REC)[Equipped]

[T1] Andvari's Blessing(3 LD)[Equipped]

 

Consumables:

Teleport Crystal x1

 

 

Skills:

Straight Sword Rank 5(30 SP)

Light Armor Rank 5(30 SP)

Combat Mastery: Damage Rank 3(13 SP)

Battle Healing Rank 5(30 SP)

Energist(8 SP)

 

 

Extra Skills:

First aid Rank 5(30 SP)

Familiar Mastery: Healing(10 SP)

Meditation

 

 

Mods:

THSS Ferocity(6 SP)

Purify(4 SP)

Barrier(6 SP)

Field Medic(6 SP)

Meticulous(4 SP)

 

Addons:

Resolve(6 SP)

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by Krysta

[Yona 0]

Monster Populations were on the rise, and there were rumors of stuff going down on the Tenth Floor of Aincrad. She had to see what was going on somehow, but with the overpopulation issue, she literally could not go anywhere alone. She was gonna need some help...which was exactly why she was tagging along behind a girl who looked like some kind of Princess over to Floor Ten.

"Hey now, don't you worry, I'm low-level, not stupid. I know when to run." Yona claimed. The Princess girl didn't seem to understand the rumors, and from what she saw, she claimed that almost nothing had changed. "If that's the case, is it subtle, or is it purposefully hidden? Either could be the case if the rumors happen to be true." Yona noted. "But oh, I'm a low-level player, so what the hell do I know?" She added with sarcasm and a shrug.

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 1

HP: 20

Energy: 20

Base Damage: 6(Curved Sword R1[3], Sharpened Wakizashi[2])

Mitigation: 6(Moonshard Veil)

Accuracy: 0

Evasion: 2(MoonShard Veil)

Loot Die: 3(Thuban's Eye)

 

 

Additional conditions:

[None Yet]

 

 

Equipment:

[T1]Sharpened Wakizashi(Curved Sword, 2 DMG)

[T1]Moonshard Veil(Cloth Armor, 1 MIT, 2 EVA)

[T1]Thuban's eye(Trinket, 3 LD)

 

 

Consumables:

Teleport Crystal x1

 

 

Skills:

Curved Sword Rank 1

 

 

Extra Skills:

[None]

 

 

Mods:

[None]

 

Addons:

[None]

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Yona

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon backed away upon hearing Dazia's threat. Both Players got up, and Dazia asked what Vigilon's next move was, although she admitted that she was ready to leave the party this very moment. "Well, before we go anywhere else, we should take a short rest and recover our HP, maybe keep a lookout for anything dangerous while we're at it. Then we should probably head back to the safe zone and figure out our next destination." Vigilon suggested. "I won't stop you from leaving on your own, but, well, do so at your own risk, there's strength in numbers, after all." He added, hoping that this would prevent him or Dazia getting swarmed because one tried to solo the rest of the way.

Vigilon looked to his HP. Not full yet, but it would be soon enough...hopefully. "Guess all that's left is to figure out where we are right now." He thought aloud.

[Dazia 0]

Dazia rolled her eyes and failed to keep herself from groaning upon hearing Vigilon thinking out loud about exactly where the players were, and she pulled up her map. "Here, dumbass." She said as she pointed to the players' location, marked on the map. "Did you seriously forget that we have maps?" She asked.

If it wasn't clear already, she was still irritated, and conversation would be a bad idea at this moment. She needed to fight something soon, but she would need to wait until her HP finished regenerating. At least she had the Survival Skill to speed that up...but she really needed the Disguise skill, not to mention something else she'd been needing...she couldn't let herself become weak in any way, lest she find herself meeting her end in this world of Aincrad.

But knowing she survived this, that one little fall wasn't able to stop her, she was ready to keep moving.

"...It looks like my HP is full again. If yours is too, we should get moving. Heading into the chamber to the south might be the best choice." Dazia noted.

 

[Astralin 0]

Astralin still had yet to see anything just yet, but that wasn't stopping her, for she'd only just begun. She heard the teleport gate activate, and she turned around to see Krysta and one other player come out of it. They seemed to be in conversation, but there was always strength in numbers, so no time like the present to act reckless. "Heeeeeeey, Krysta!!!" She called out as she waved at the two players, before walking over to them. "Are you here to investigate the phenomenon, too? I got here only a few minutes ago, so of course I haven't found anything yet." She explained. "So, anyway, who's your friend there?" She then would proceed to ask, hoping to make another friend during this trip. If the three joined up and formed a party, this should go way easier than she originally expected. Hopefully, the search would be complete in a matter of hours, and they'd still have downtime to spare!

[Krysta 0]

This player was already proving to be a bit of a handful. It wasn't the attempt to reassure Krysta that she knew how to use her items when she needed to, but the sarcastic remark that she'd made in response to Krysta not believing the rumors. "Well, you didn't necessarily need to put it like that." Krysta responded, taking offense to the words.

Before the conversation could continue, a familiar voice called out to the two players. It was Astralin, who seemed a bit excited to look into the rumors involving this floor... She then asked who the other player was. "Oh, um, I wouldn't say we are friends just yet... I kind of encountered her standing by the teleport gate about five minutes ago." Krysta answered a bit nervously. 

She would then receive a message, and proceed to access it.

Quote

To: Krysta

Subject: Rumors

A Player just returned from the Tenth Floor via teleport crystal. He was overwhelmed by enemies near an odd set of ruins, to the northwest of Yomi. He claimed the ruins were not there before. If you plan on going there yourself, do not go alone.

-Keita

It was from her informant. Well, at least there was a potential lead. "I believe we may have a destination now..." She thought aloud. She then looked back to the other player. "It may be more dangerous in there than what you might be prepared for. Do you still want to come along anyway?" She asked, just to make sure this player knew what she was getting into.

[Yona 0]

The Player Yona was speaking to seemed to be irritated by her words. Before Yona could say anything else, another Blonde player walked into the scene. She addressed the Princess Player as Krysta, which might have been her username. The blonde seemed to be on the assumption that Yona and Krysta were friends, and asked who she was. Krysta admitted that the two had only just met five minutes ago. "Yep, she's right, we're more like, fresh acquaintances, you could say. Anyway, I go by Yona, what about you?" Yona added. Krysta seemed to get distracted by a message, but it seemed to be tied to why the three players were here. Krysta seemed to really wanna know that Yona was aware of the situation. "I'm aware...that I'm getting carried. As long as I don't pull aggro, I'll be fine." Yona claimed, looking confident. "So, who's gonna lead the party?" Yona asked, wanting to know who and what she was working with.

[Vigilon 0]

"I didn't forget about the maps, I just remember them being 2D and surface-level." Vigilon replied to Dazia's remark on maps. Soon after the two players' HP regenerated to full, Dazia suggested taking the south tunnel to try and find a way out. Vigilon would find himself walking down the south tunnel, until there was a fork in the tunnel. "Well...now what? Are we gonna pick a direction, or are we gonna argue about left and right? Personally, I don't think splitting up would do any good." Upon saying that, the rocks in front of the players crumbled, revealing another option, a third path that went straight ahead...towards an odd structure.

"...Or we could just go straight towards whatever the heck that is." Vigilon added after witnessing this little surprise.

Vigilon thought for a minute. "Well, as long as it's not a dungeon or something, we could be fine. I say we go and see what that structure is supposed to be." He decided.

[Dazia 0]

"Clearly we'd be expected to go left, so maybe right is the better choice..." Dazia thought before the cavernous wall in front of the players crumbled before their eyes. Vigilon then decided to go to the place that was revealed by the wall's collapse. "I don't think that's the best idea, are you sure you want to go in there? We just recovered from a fall, and you think we can just make an extra stop over to whatever that is? We don't even know what's in there." Dazia asked. Sure, the two players had teleport crystals, but for this to become an option so coincidentally just didn't seem right. It was too sudden and it happened with such timing, it couldn't possibly be a coincidence...or, at least, that was how Dazia saw the scenario.

It was still an option, just not the best option.

So if they were going, it better damn well be worth it.

[Astralin 0]

Apparently Krysta and the other player had only just met. The other player proceeded to introduce herself as Yona, and ask Astralin for her own introduction. "Well, nice to meet you, Yona, I'm Astralin." She said as she offered her hand to shake. Krysta received a message from someone, and began to speak of the situation.

Oh, so Yona was being carried...in a dangerous situation such as Monster Overpopulation...well, at least she applied crucial MMO knowledge to the strategy before it was even formed! "Right, um, s-sure, then!" Astralin uttered out, failing to hide her doubts. Yona then asked who was gonna lead the party. "Well...I'd suggest having Krysta lead the party. She's the highest leveled player among the three of us..." Astralin suggested. "Not to mention she actually has defenses, all I've got is a bit of evasiveness, otherwise my defenses are...dangerously lacking..." She added.

And to think she was about to begin her investigation alone before seeing these two...to be defenseless in an environment crawling with monsters, Astralin was clearly getting ahead of herself...thank God these two arrived!

[Krysta 0]

The player who Krysta was carrying introduced herself as Yona, and she seemed rather confident that she would be fine. "I....I do certainly hope you know what you are doing, as you so claim." Krysta remarked, worried that the young woman was far more rash than Astralin had proven to be so far. Yona asked who was going to lead the party, and Astralin suggested that it be Krysta who led it, due to her having the superior stats and defenses among the three. Krysta wasn't exactly one who would "toot her own horn" in moments like these, though she saw what Astralin was trying to get across. "I was going to carry anyway, so I don't mind becoming the party leader for this trip." Krysta noted in response, as she pulled up her menu to send party invites to the two players.

Hopefully the players wouldn't be swarmed too easily, even if there was some Monster Overpopulation that was ongoing.

[Yona 0]

As much as Yona wanted to be the Party Leader, a carry was a carry. Astralin suggested that Krysta should be the party leader, and Krysta seemed to accept only because she was carrying both her allies for this objective. Well, that was one good thing to look forward to! To be humble would serve everyone well for the time being...though the only thing humble on Yona's end was her level...

Soon.

 

Yona accepted the invite, she would be a lowly level one getting carried...for now.

"Just you all wait...I might be below all of you now, but I'll reach your level at some point...then at the very least, we'll be equals..." Yona thought. "I'm sick of just doing nothing, even if I have to start with a carry just so I can have a piece of the action that's worthwhile, then so be it!"

She had a goal in sight: To catch up with everyone else so she wouldn't have to answer to anyone. Knowing she was finally on her way to rising up in level, she could feel her determination.

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon thought for a moment. "I'm probably gonna end up separated if I do this, but I can only hope it's not a dungeon..." He considered all the possibilities, then he was confident in his decision. "We wouldn't know what we're getting into or what's up ahead, anyway. This floor is a subterranean maze and we just so happen to be lost." He told Dazia. "In other words, we're going in."

This better not become something he regretted....

The structure was definitely old. While it wasn't crumbling down this very moment, its walls were definitely showing signs of age, and there were mushrooms growing all over, scattered around the structure's flooring and dotted along the walls occasionally. It was fine and all, but there was one problem...

The path split in two again.

"Aw, crap..." He really didn't feel like splitting up, but he couldn't stop Dazia from doing so if she wanted to. "Well, um... you going left or right?" He asked.

[Dazia 0]

Dazia was hoping that Vigilon would see with the perspective of "better safe than sorry", but it would seem that he found there was nothing but uncertainty all around, as he declared that both he and Dazia were pretty much lost.

"Well, I'm going back, one way or another...even if there's a little detour." Dazia decided. Soon after the two players entered the structure, the path split in two. Dazia took the left path, completely ignoring Vigilon.

 

 

It was awfully quiet, as opposed to the usual activity, which would have been more active thanks to the Overpopulation that was occurring...and that meant...

"Someone's here." Dazia thought aloud. How else would there be a lack of monsters in the current area?

The room Dazia entered wasn't that big, but it would seem there would have been something there if Dazia was there first. Her eyes darted around the room, but there was no one in sight. Either they'd left the room, or were hiding in a dark corner...well, that's probably the case, since that's what Dazia would do if she learned she might be followed.

She just needed to keep her eyes open.

ID# 200340 LD: 6(found no one)

Edited November 2, 2021 by Dazia

[Astralin 0]

With that, it was time to accept the party invite, and begin the trip. Astralin pulled out her Skillbook, and began looking through it to pick out a few methods for activating her sword arts, as well as some ways to activate her support skills, too. "Hmm...this one will do, maybe this one too...ah, yes, I can't forget about this one..." She thought aloud to herself.

She soon closed the Skillbook and looked back to her party with a smile. "Well, my defenses might not be much, but I can lend mild support and strike with my innate power! I've been getting much better lately, you'll see!" She declared. Hopefully she might be able to see something that connects to that strange book she found, she couldn't even read it! There just had to be so much in it, waiting to be translated and learned, but to do that, she needed to be able to translate it in the first place, which was normally done by the Cardinal system....the book must have been player-written, with a unique font. Otherwise, how else could the system not translate it?

[Krysta 0]

Both invites were accepted, the party had formed. Astralin pulled out a book she had, and it looked like some sort of spell book, for there were mystifying symbols, as well as star and galaxy inspired design patterns on its cover. She then explained her current statistics, she was capable of support and damage. "That is wonderful to hear, Astralin. It's good to know that your build is coming along rather nicely." Krysta noted with a smile. Yona seemed to be in thought over something, but Krysta did not know what exactly, and she was not one to pry, either, thus she would not ask.

Krysta would begin to seek out the ruins spoken of in the message she'd received earlier, but surprisingly, there didn't seem to be as many monsters roaming about as there were rumored to have been...there must have been some players here recently. At least this meant there wouldn't be as many battles as first anticipated during the investigation.

[Yona 0]

Astralin would pull out-

"Wait, hold up, is that a Spellbook? I thought we didn't have magic in SAO!" Yona exclaimed. "Is it a unique skill or something?? I haven't seen any listed skill on my skill menu that would even be close to that, and I've heard rumors of skills completely different than the rest, skills that must be discovered, rather than just invested in." 

To think, that someone would ever try to attain magic...but why? Sure, everyone had their own thing, but Yona didn't think any players would be becoming magic users or anything like that...

Regardless of the answer she'd get, it was time to set out. It was probably because Yona was being carried, but Krysta didn't seem interested in attacking monsters as of the moment. Well, the players came to investigate a mysterious phenomenon, so grinding wasn't really the goal just yet. Speaking of the phenomenon, part of it was monster overpopulation, right? So...where were all the monsters?