Koga 0 Posted January 19, 2022 Author #21 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 "It's dampened, without doubt," Koga informed the snowy-haired girl. "Getting stabbed still hurts, but not anywhere near as much as in real life. Can't say I've broken a bone in-game yet, so I can't really give ya a good comparison, but the game goes pretty easy on you, I think." Koga didn't really have a single a thought when the girl mentioned death and dying. It was an omnipresent fact of life outside of the game. More present, perhaps, in Aincrad, but if anything that forced Koga to be more accustomed to it, at least when it came to the threat of his own death. His friends though...the man preferred not to dwell on it. "If you still need to get some combat practice in, we could head out to the fields," Koga suggested. "The baby boars out there shouldn't cause you too much trouble, and I can just tank the aggro for you anyways. Unless you want to get head butt by tiny pigs for a bit." Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostie 0 Posted January 20, 2022 #22 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 That sounds manageable, she responded. Although, it will be weird trying to fight a tusked pig with a knife. Ghost dropped her hands for a bit as they walked, listening to the sounds of the fabricated world around them. The rustling of trees, the very faint distant voices, the crackling of wings from a dragonfly passing by them… It was genuinely crazy, just imagining how far humanity has come with technology. Then she looked back at Koga, a slight anxiety building up in her chest. She’s usually used to long silences, given her condition, but at the same time she felt like she needed to keep the conversation going. It was strange, feeling compelled to carry on a casual topic like she felt now. What’s your favorite horror movie? she asked finally, throwing a random question into the mix. My personal favorites are the Babysitter series. The first one was better, in my opinion. …Maybe this question was too random, she thought to herself. Link to post Share on other sites
Koga 0 Posted January 21, 2022 Author #23 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 "Eh, don't worry about it," Koga replied as they started to walk towards the town outskirts. The man looked into the horizon, trying to gauge how much daylight they'd have left for their little training run. Thankfully, days didn't get longer or shorter in Aincrad, at least not noticeably, so Koga figured they still had at least two hours before it got too dark to see well. And then words popped up in his face. Koga's expression rapidly changed from surprise, confusion and then amusement. He still wasn't really used to the whole subtitles thing, but the question itself seemed rather...out of the blue. Well, he supposed someone was looking to play the 'getting to know you game' at the very least. "Can't say I've ever heard of that one," the man replied as they entered the fields. "Never really was all that into horror movies. Although I do remember seeing one years ago, Room 1408 with uh...John Cusack, that was pretty good." Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostie 0 Posted January 21, 2022 #24 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 Ghost nodded, recalling the movie before replying. It was a movie adaptation by Stephen King, correct? I remember reading the book, it was good. I’ve heard that the movie had three endings that were all different from the book’s ending. I’d love to watch them all eventually. Ghost then continued to walk, occasionally giving Okami a subtle head scratch as they went along. She was…. really bad at small talk. Still, at least it seemed like she was making progress at being normal. Without her STS, trying to talk with players that didn’t know sign even through the message system would be uncomfortably time consuming. After a few more moments, she tried to ask some more questions. Regarding the Breaking the Unbreakable quest; Is it something I should probably level up for? I’m guessing that you probably did the quest yourself. Ghost then paused for a moment, before continuing. I’m also really bad at carrying any form of conversation, so we could always talk about whatever you’d like to. Link to post Share on other sites
Koga 0 Posted January 21, 2022 Author #25 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 "I didn't actually know that," Koga replied, "I just saw the DVD version, and that was just a single ending, so I've never had the pleasure of seeing the other two." To be completely honest, he hardly recalled the ending that he did see. Something about the character dreaming being safe, and waking back up in the room again? It had been years since he'd seen that film, but that did sound about right. Koga almost cringed at the mention of that particular quest. How long had the four of them spent just punching that stupid boulder? Way too long. But, Koga wasn't even sure if that's how the quest worked anymore. "Back when I did it, it didn't really matter if what level you were at," Koga explained, thinking back on the details. "It was more important to find someone who had actually finished the quest already, or just bring a lot of people to give you a hand. Or both. Now though? I dunno, after Cardinal decided to update, a lot of the quests have changed. I've heard it can help a little bit, but I'm not really sure." The last update had changed so many systems, quests and floors, Aincrad was hardly recognizable, were it not for the pretty textures and models plastered everywhere. So much had changed after the Flood. Koga had to shake away the sensation of drowning. Ghost's little addition about herself was enough to pull him away from that memory. "I'll be honest, I'm not great at talking either," Koga informed her with a chuckle. Actually he was awful at it. "Uh, how 'bout twenty questions?" Koga asked, deciding falling back on the classic ice breaker game might be a good idea. "I can go first since you just asked about my favorite horror movie, if you want." Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostie 0 Posted March 9, 2022 #26 Report Share Posted March 9, 2022 Ghost nodded, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She wasn’t used to people learning more about her, let alone people wanting to know more about her, so this was an awkward yet welcome surprise. Shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as she doesn’t overly embarrass herself…. Which was probably going to be very difficult for her NOT to do, to be completely honest. Still, it shouldn’t be that bad. Koga seems like a fairly understanding relatable person. Twenty Questions? Sounds entertaining! she signed, mentally preparing herself for hopefully whatever questions she might be asked. While distracted, her foot catches a rock and she trips, falling forward but luckily with enough reaction time to catch herself with her other foot. Her arms apparently didn’t realize that however, instinctually flailing from the sudden loss of balance which made the STS system go a bit wild. Raspberry bubble chick chick fire gold bubble bubble music! Link to post Share on other sites
Koga 0 Posted March 9, 2022 Author #27 Report Share Posted March 9, 2022 The script appeared once more before Ghost, hanging in the air just long enough for Koga to read it. An interesting piece of technology that was unfortunately undercut by the fact that Ghost nearly faceplanted into the dirt. More words, stringing together into utter gibberish as she windmilled her arms about, trying to find her balance. Instinctively, Koga reached out to catch the woman, grabbing her shoulder and waist to steady her before she discovered whether or not Aincrad's dirt tasted like Earth's. "You good?" Koga asked with a small chuckle as Ghost finally found her balance. "Gotta watch where you're goin'," the man warned, albeit with a bit of mirth in his voice. "You don't wanna eat shit in a fight, trust me. It's not fun. Speaking of..." Looking just ahead of them Koga spotted today's quarry, and quiet possibly, his dinner as well. A couple of boars, fatted and ripe for the slaughter. "Twenty questions can wait," he said, pointing at the two mobs. "Imma just sit back and watch and make sure those two gore you, but the rest is up to you," the man said, resting a hand on his weapon's scabbard as the two mobs turned to look at them, the crystals hanging above their heads still a neutral yellow. "Whenever you're ready." Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostie 0 Posted March 11, 2022 #28 Report Share Posted March 11, 2022 (edited) Ghost took a breath of relief and used everything in her power not to blush profusely from almost dying… by a pebble. Recomposing herself, the girl looked between Koga and the boars, before disabling her STS for a moment and crossing her arms. She should probably examine and plan her attack accordingly; From what she heard of many combat deliberate games, the ‘crit points’ were averagely similar to pressure points in the real world. All in all, the weak points for a boat should be fairly simple; sides of the neck, rear base of the skull and leg joints would probably be the easiest to target. Nodding anxiously, Ghost drew her dagger, crouching into a peculiar stance. She wasn’t used to using weapons in general, but a dagger shouldn’t be too hard to compensate into her own style. Kicking off, she moved forward quickly without making too much noise, attempting to close the gap between herself and the animal as quickly as possible. Once she was within the 15 foot marker, she quickly kicked upward, somersaulting over the boar and aiming her blade straight for the neck as she passed over it. Quote Ghost Used Regular Attack! 205507 BD:1 It wasn't effective at all!!!!! [0] Ghost | HP: 100/100 | EN 20/20| DMG: 1 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 [0] Koga | HP: 700/700 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REGN 13 | B.HEALING: 38/77 (SURV) ENEMIES BOAR 1 | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 BOAR 2 | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 BOAR 3 | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 BOAR 4 | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 Ghost’s eyes were filled with determination, her form was graceful, her strike was precise and by all accounts, her execution should have been flawless. However, what she did not take into consideration was the fact that she has no allocated SP and is a basic Level 1, and video games are unkind to beginners that haven’t even completed the tutorial. Within seconds, everything went wrong in the most colloidal way. The impact of the dagger did not even pierce the animal’s skin, instead ricocheting Ghost’s momentum and sending her into a reversed somersault before hitting the ground. Once she hit the ground, her body flipped and skipped its way across the open grassy field, flailing about helplessly before ramming the back of her head into the side of yet another boar, gaining its aggro. And unfortunately, she was within the active distance of two other boars as well, gaining their attention as they scratched the ground with their hooves, preparing to charge at her. At this moment, there wasn’t much that Ghost could do as she reoriented herself. Apart from hopefully dodging some of them, she was fairly certain that she just achieved a trophy for just how totally she botched her attack, and she was too stunned and in an internal state of utter defeat to even be embarrassed about it as she watched the beasts surround her. Edited March 11, 2022 by Ghostie Link to post Share on other sites
Koga 0 Posted March 11, 2022 Author #29 Report Share Posted March 11, 2022 (edited) Koga crossed his arms and felt his posture relax as he watched Ghost prepare fall into an unfamiliar stance. One she somehow seemed confident in, even if Koga had never seen it before. Perhaps she had some sort of martial training in the real world? Koga had found that it was not an unlikely occurrence in this world. The girl seemed to take a moment to analyze her situation, watching the boars carefully and examining them before making her move. A quick dash was followed by a leap into the air, with Ghost diving down towards the boar's back before either even had a chance to react. Only for her blade to bounce off the creature's thick hide and sending Ghost careening into the next one. Was it rude to laugh? Koga did his best to stifle his laughter, sputtering as his attempts quickly failed. She had been oh so confident, and yet, it was all for naught. "You uh, might want to trigger a Sword Art," Koga reminded the girl. "Cardinal will take over once you activate it, and guide your movements so uh...that doesn't happen. Unless it wants you to miss, in which case, that'll happen anyways." Spoiler [0] Ghost | HP: 100/100 | EN 29/20 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 [0] Koga | HP: 700/700 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REGN 13 | B.HEALING: 38/77 (SURV) Boar | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 Koga laughs Boar attacks Koga | 206728, MD nat3 Boar's attack misses Edited March 23, 2022 by Koga Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostie 0 Posted March 25, 2022 #30 Report Share Posted March 25, 2022 Ghost heard Koga’s words, which snapped her out of her trance, but then heard his laughter which quickly made her emanate embarrassment. Under impression that she didn’t aggro the other boars, she quickly stepped away from them and closed in on the boar attacking Koga. A Sword Art? She thought to herself. I haven’t really operated much with those yet. Opening up her menu, she quickly scrolled down to the SA section of her character info. Although not finding a tab for unlocked arts, she did find some material on various rank one skills that seemed to correlate with daggers. One being… Round Accel. She quickly speed-read through the activation sequence, effect and concept of the move, before closing her menu and readying her dagger again. Alright, so two basic slashes at a high speed on various points of the target… Sounds manageable. But then again, I’ve also not used any abilities like this yet.. Let’s just hope I don’t do a dozen flips again. Ghost prepared herself into the stance she felt the skill was asking for, before dashing forward. She looked at her dagger, and was slightly distracted at how it was now flickering.. Was this a common feature when a skill is activated?? Even so, it didn’t feel much different, like if a light bulb wasn’t getting the right amount of electricity. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she went in for the strike. Coming up on the boar, she dropped down and made a slash at the creature’s right foreleg, before changing her momentum last step and flipping over it, striking at its neck again. Spoiler #206926 BD:4 [0] Ghost | HP: 100/100 | EN 29(-2)=27/20 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 [0] Koga | HP: 700/700 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REGN 13 | B.HEALING: 38/77 (SURV) /\/\/\/ Boar | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 Ghost used Sword Art: Round Accel. Attack unsuccessful. Backing away after her attack and quickly looking to the boar’s health bar, she noticed that it hadn’t went down even a single point. Sighing, she got back into position, her eyes as stoic and unwavering as they were before her failure earlier, looking toward Koga to see if he might have any more suggestions. Link to post Share on other sites
Koga 0 Posted March 25, 2022 Author #31 Report Share Posted March 25, 2022 (edited) With his laughing fit subsided, Koga crossed his arms once more and watched to see what Ghost would do next. Apparently, that was open a menu. Koga squinted slightly and looked at the girl in confusion, a little unsure of what exactly it was she was doing, but figured it was safe to let it all play out for now. The worst outcome was only that Ghost would lose a small amount of health, and have her pride wounded. Nothing serious. The menu blipped out of existence and the woman readied herself again, a soft glow appearing through out her blade. But it was...all wrong...Feeble, flickering, until it faded out completely. Another confused look from Koga. Sure, he wasn't a dagger user, but last he checked, Sword Arts either triggered or they didn't. Ghost moved, lashed out at the boar. No glowing blade, no red marks on the boar's hide. Well, she missed, probably, even if that had been a basic attack something should have happened... "Hey, Ghost, come here a second, show me your skills page," the man said suddenly, sounding more like a slightly concerned teacher than some gamer nerd. The boar, for it's part, tried to attack Koga, but the man just kicked it to the side, unconcerned with the creature's antics. Spoiler [0] Ghost | HP: 100/100 | EN 17/20 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 [0] Koga | HP: 700/700 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REGN 13 | B.HEALING: 38/77 (SURV) Boar | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 Koga is stunned (with disbelief), he takes no action Boar attacks Koga | 207118, MD 3 Boar misses Edited March 25, 2022 by Koga Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostie 0 Posted March 28, 2022 #32 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 Watching Koga suddenly get serious, Ghost was confused and also ninety nine percent certain that she did something wrong. And watching him seemingly shirk off the Boar’s advances was disheartening in a way, and also slightly intimidating. However, given the fact that he’s a considerably higher level, it made sense for a boar like this to be comparable to a fly. Looking down at her dagger, she noticed it wasn’t flickering anymore either. Maybe she read the ability wrong?? Then she heard Koga talk, and she perked back up, slightly faster than she normally would. Walking over, she cautiously stepped around the boar, before stepping up to Koga. Opening up her menu, she quickly had gotten back to the page that she was at before; now that she looked at it, she noticed it wasn’t her actual skills, but a list of example skills listed in the tutorial directory. Her cheeks tinted from embarrassment at that, and she quickly backed out to the player stat portion before scanning the options quickly. Finally, she found the Player Available Skills tab which was hidden in plain sight, and opened it up for Koga to see. And then, she realized the problem just as quickly as she assumed he did… she had no skills, sword arts or anything unlocked in the slightest. Hanging her head from anxiety and embarrassment, she waited for Koga to finish reading and burst out laughing. Link to post Share on other sites
Koga 0 Posted March 28, 2022 Author #33 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 (edited) Perhaps a little sheepish and disheartened than, Ghost approached Koga, carefully moving around the still riled boar who, for some reason or another, thought it was a good idea to focus on the stronger member of the party. Keeping the annoying creature occupied with lazy kicks, wincing and kicking it slightly harder when it actually managed to land a lone hit. The girl silently opened up her menu, took a moment to examine it, and immediately began to flush with embarrassment. 'Oh no...' Koga thought to himself as he observed the girl's quickly reddening face. He hoped against hope that his suspicions were unfounded, but doubt crept in as soon as Ghost turned her HUD towards him, revealing an entirely empty skill menu...and five unallocated skill points. There was no laughter. Not humorous teasing. Just a long, pained groan of disappointment as Koga closed his eyes and felt his soul leave his body. "Ohhhhh-kay...Ghost, here's what we're gonna do," Koga said, finally opening his eyes. "I'm gonna take out this boar for you, because we'll be here all day. And then, we're gonna go get some food, and talk about skills. And possibly navigating the menus. Sounds good?" Spoiler [0] Ghost | HP: 100/100 | EN 17/20 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 [0] Koga | HP: 694/700 (700 -4) | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REGN 13 | B.HEALING: 38/77 (SURV) Boar | HP: 10/10 | DMG: 3 Koga ignores the Boar Boar attacks Koga | 207527, MD nat9, DMG 3 +1 Koga takes 4 CRIT damage! Edited March 29, 2022 by Koga Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostie 0 Posted March 29, 2022 #34 Report Share Posted March 29, 2022 Ghost was prepared for getting scolded. She was used to it most of her life; by her peers, her mentors, her family… Her entire life was always failures, followed by insults and repercussions. She had resigned to accepting that she could only be adequate, mediocre on most days. When she came into SAO, and had gotten locked into this world of beauty tinged with madness, she knew it was going to be the same. She knew without a doubt that she’d fail, and when she did… the repercussions might be her last. But when Koga spoke, there was a different tone in his voice than she ever could have anticipated. There were still hints of annoyance, certainly, but his voice seemed… soothing, and understanding. Ghost’s eyes faltered into their fragile reality, and she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear timidly before looking up at Koga, who was looking down at her. His piercing red eyes, the nappiness of his darkened hair, the relaxed soft and mild expression of concern vaguely etched into his brow and lips. He really wants to help me… Ghost then realized that she was staring for too long, and blushed even redder before averting her eyes, activating her STS for Koga and then only signing one word: Yes. Link to post Share on other sites
Koga 0 Posted March 29, 2022 Author #35 Report Share Posted March 29, 2022 Looking down at Ghost (merely due to height, not any sense of condescension) Koga waited for a response from the girl for a beat, before she suddenly broke free of whatever spell she was under, face lighting up like a Christmas tree. Just what had the girl been thinking of? Whatever the case, she made a few short gestures, words popping into the air to convey silent words. "Alright, good," the man affirmed with a nod before looking at the boar, that was still trying to attack him, despite Koga's health bar having already regenerated completely. "Sorry dude." Koga took hold of his katana, and with one swift strike, accented by a bloom of black flame, dispatched the boar, and then returned his katana to it's sheath. "C'mon, let's go find some food," the man said as he started to walk towards back towards the settlement, hand retreating to his pockets. "It's on me." Spoiler [0] Ghost | HP: 100/100 | EN 17/20 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 [0] Koga | HP: 700/700 (700 +38) | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REGN 13 | B.HEALING: 38/77 (SURV) Boar | HP: 10/10 (10 -24) | DMG: 3 Koga attacks Boar | 207528, BD nat 9, DMG 23 +1 Boar takes 24 CRIT damage! Boar dies! Thread Summary Spoiler Pages Completed: 1,400 1,436 col to Ghostie (Kogies provides Laurel Wreath earnings to Ghostie) Word Count: 6,910 Koga's Tier: 6 Ghostie's Tier: 1 Koga's Exp: math.Floor(6910 / 30) * 5 * 6 = 6,900 Ghostie's Exp: math.Floor(6910 / 30) * 5 * 1 = 1,150 Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts