[PP-F6] Raiders of Aincrad

[Razmor 0]

Angel walked through the sense forest, using his sword as a machete to chop down the various vines and plants that hung in his way. He grumbled slightly as he walked, the humidity of the environment effecting him. He was more suited to hot, dry environments, like floor 5. But he had never explored the 6th floor before so he figured, no time like the present. Prior to starting his trip, he had sent another player, Natalia, a message asking her to join him. He wasn't experienced enough on this floor to go alone.

He continued to trudge along until he made it to the rendezvous spot; it was a fairly large clearing in he under grove where sunlight shown down and illuminated the area. A single boulder rested in the center of the clearing. Angel smiled and put his sword away, walking over and sitting on the boulder. He looked around, waiting for Natalia to show up.

[Natalia 0]

Natalia had been hesitant on traveling to the sixth floor, being only level four. However, she was invited by someone way above her own level, someone she had encountered briefly in the past, but hadn't spent too much time with. Angel. The name ran through her head. There only encounter had been in a city, and it was only for a few minutes. He could easily have decided to attack her while they were alone together; she didn't truly know what he wanted, but the chance of exploring the sixth floor and earning equipment better than what she currently carried was a risk she'd be willing to take.

It wasn't long before Natalia found her way through the vegetation and ended up in a clearing. As expected, Angel was waiting for her. "Yo." She said with her usual zest. "I hope you're ready to protect me from anything; I don't know how I'll fair up here." Despite the risk she was taking simply by being here, there was no noticeable fear in her eyes.

[Razmor 0]

Angel saw her approach and he smiled, waving at her. "Glad you could make it. And don't worry," He tapped the shield on his back. "I've got you covered." Then he hopped down from his rocky perch and landed with a thud. He walked over to Natalia and showed her the map he had brought up. "This is all I've mapped of the area so far. From what I've seen so far, there's a couple of temples in the area that we could raid. I'm not gonna lie, it'll be a little dangerous but the loot'll be worth it; I'm talking golden idols and serious weapons." He said with a grin before looking around to make sure they were still safe.

[Natalia 0]

Dangerous for you, or dangerous for me? Natalia figured that question would probably be better off unanswered, though she was confident she knew the answer. She just hoped she could be of some use, as she was only geared in the most simple of equipment. Her teeth found themselves clenching her bottom lip. I sincerely hope you know what you're doing. Her fear wasn't of death, rather it was about being useless in the situation. The floor was a higher level than she was, and it stole her usual confidence.

Natalia only chuckled at his comment about weapon drops. "You can take all the idols you want, but I at least want an upgrade to my sword. Any armor would be splendid as well." Her typical sarcasm, mixed with a bit of bluntness escaped with her words. She didn't know if he was joking or not with his comment, but she didn't let it get to her. After all, she was hard to read at times as well.

"Well, you know the way, so you should lead."

[Razmor 0]

Angel nodded as he turned and started heading towards the nearest temple. The map said that it was called, The Temple of Morigon. He continued to cut their way through the grove. While they walked, he struck up a conversation. "How you doing back there?" He asked, slicing through a small tree in a single slice. He had a strange feeling that she wasn't to hyped about being up here. But he smiled anyways, knowing that she'd be fine. "Just remember, once we get inside the temple you need to listen to me. These kinds of temples are notorious for being filled with traps and riddles. I've got some experience getting through these things and I'd hate to see you get hurt." He said as he swung one last time, cutting the vines in his way and revealing the temple. It looked Mayan in design, with a massive statue of a Lion out front. He glared at the statue, certain that it was some sort of trap. But before he took another step, he looked back at Natalia, "You ready to go?"

[Natalia 0]

As if Angel was reading her mind, he called to her, asking how she was doing. "I'm not too shabby." Natalia replied. "Just a little curious as to what lies ahead. This is the first time I've traveled past floor four." She spoke truthfully. As of now, most of her time had been spent on the first floor; not exactly something worth bragging about. "To be fair, I just hope I won't hold you back. I'll follow your lead as best I can." The thought ate at her once again upon bringing it up.

Natalia followed closely behind Angel as he cut through the plant growth. It wasn't too long before they reached what she assumed to be their destination: an ancient temple. Of course, the reality of the temple was that it was simply another design of the game. It clearly had some South American influence, though she couldn't think of the exact civilization it was based on. When Angel stopped, she stopped. Her eyes caught notice of the same statue he seemed to be watching. Definitely not the most original of statues. She couldn't help but chuckle at her own joke.

Upon Angel's asking of whether or not she was ready, she nodded. "As ready as ever" She did her best to maintain her usual temperament. "Though I'd be careful with that statue. It's either a warning, or a trap." She placed her thoughts into words. "Or both. There don't appear to be any trap plates, but be careful."

[Razmor 0]

Angel nodded at her comment on the statue as he began walking forward. "No, the big traps only happen when you take the loot." He said with a laugh. It was a rule for adventurers that the big, scary traps only happened when the idol was removed from the pedestal. It was almost cliché. After taking a few steps, Angel looked around the entrance. Nothing distinguishing stuck out but he was still cautious. Readying his shield, he entered the temple with Natalia close behind.

They procceded down a long hallway, with various braziers holding torches to the wall to guide them. The temple was as one would expect; it as made of stone, old, and had a very musky odor to it. The design looked indifferent to any other temple. After a few more yards of careful walking, they came to a wide open room in what appears to be the center of the temple. It looked to be some kind of barracks, with bunks lining the walls and footlockers at the edge of the beds. Torches lit he room as Angel continued to scan for any danger.

He looked back at Natalie. "So, this is your first time on the 6th floor huh? How do you like it do far?" He asked, trying to keep some kind of conversation. The mood was dark and gloomy, but he wanted to change that with small talk.

[Natalia 0]

"It's.. not exactly my style." Natalia confessed, as she wandered through the torch-lit temple. Her gaze lowered to the ground behind Angel for a moment. "The fourth floor, however, is an icy wonderland. I wouldn't necessarily settle down there, but it definitely gave me the desire to live somewhere snowy on the higher floors." Her thoughts shifted back to her travels on the fourth floor, with the person she was closest to in SAO. She shrugged. "But that's just me. What kind of floor would you settle down on?"

It couldn't have been that long before the two found themselves in a larger room that lit as they entered. She could see a few bats flying around near the ceiling, but she doubted they would attack them; they were simply ambiance. Her gaze shifted to the bunks and footlockers. "I doubt those are trapped." She said, her finger pointing at one of them. "They aren't flashy enough to be the 'big loot.'" Natalia chucked and moved towards one.

Kneeling in front of it, her fingers unlocked it and lifted the top. Nothing but a few spiders and cobweb. With a disappointed sigh, she rose back up. "I somehow doubt that there's going to be much else in the rest of these footlockers." Perhaps the temple had already been raided? At least up to this point, she figured. "We should probably just move on." She started walking down the center of the room, ahead of Angel.

[Razmor 0]

Angel shrugged at her question. "I've actually got a little shop on the 2nd floor where my fiancée and I live. It's not much, but it's enough for us." He said with a smile. "But if I had to pick a close second, I'd go with Floor 5. The hot desert is more my style because it seperates the weak from the strong. If you can't survive the desert, you won't survive long." He said with a slight chuckle.

As Natalia moved to the footlockers, Angel suddenly had a cold chill run up his spine. Something wasn't right; footlockers usually held armor or personal possessions. But these were empty. If the armor wasn't in the lockers, then where was it? He kept this thought to himself so he wouldn't frighten Natalia. But his eyes once again scanned the room for danger. With nothing obvious to him, he nodded, "Yeah, let's move on." Then he followed her out, drawing his sword as they walked. Something was bothering him, and he didn't like to be bothered.

As the exited the room, they turned the corner to find a long, dimly lit hallway. At the end of the hall, was a large wooden chest. Two golden braziers lit the chest, making it seem like it was on fire. Angel frowned, it was too easy; he got that uneasy feeling again. "Wait," he said, putting his sword inbetween Natalia and the hall. "I'll go first."

[Natalia 0]

"Fiancée?" Natalia couldn't help but smile. "Congratulations, Angel." She said, almost more sincerely than one would expect from her. "Love finds its way, even in the harsh reality we survive day to day. As for your comment on the desert, Antarctica is considered the largest desert on the planet. Frostbite's a pain." She let out a little laugh before shaking her head at her silly little joke.

With Angel having drawn his blade, Natalia instinctively did the same. The two quickly came upon a single chest, which was lit in an manner that provided an effect she hadn't witnessed before: the chest itself appeared to be in flames. I didn't know the game had anything like this in it.

"Well, if you're going to volunteer, I'm not going to stop you." Natalia placed her left hand on her hip and pointed at Angel, and then the chest. "But we both know that that has to be a trap; there's no other explanation for it. Be careful."

[Razmor 0]

Angel held his sheild at his waist, his eyes scanning the walls. They were dimly lit, making it hard to see what was on them. This was a subtle hint that this was a trap. The flaming chest at the end of the hall was a less subtle hint. After looking over the walls, he knelt down and checked the floor. It was stone, cut into several almost identical squares. But something stood out amongst some of the tiles; at the center of a few of them, were small X's carved into the center. He observed these stones for a few seconds before standing up.

He looked back at Natalia, "I'm gonna try something stupid, but I need to you help me if I'm wrong. Alright?" He asked, his voice having a hint of worry in it. He didn't know what was in these walls, or what the X squares would do. But he had to try. He sighed, and then took a deep breath. His shield was held firmly at his side, waiting to block whatever came his way. Then, he steped on the tile.

(Battle Dice: 1-5 Springs the trap, 6-10 No trap)

Angel waited for a second, anticipating something horrific to happen to him. But then he opened his eyes and looked around, he was still unharmed. He smiled, letting out a nervous laugh. "Wow, that was stressful." He said to himself. Then he looked back at Natalia, "Follow me and step where I step." Then he continued to walk down the hall, careful to only step on the tiles with a small X.

[Natalia 0]

"I've got your back." Natalia answered his question. She could see what he was testing: the purpose of the x-marked squares. Having never been in a temple before, she didn't even know what kind of contraption could be waiting for him to step on such a square, but he did so, and nothing happened. As he told her, Natalia then followed him, stepping only the x-marked tiles. Part of her wanted to know what would happen if she stepped on the unmarked tiles. Her curiosity considered tapping it and immediately backing off, or maybe poking it with her sword and seeing if anything happened. Regardless, she wasn't stupid enough to yield to her curiosity, and ignored it.

The two were about three-fourths of the way down the hall when the tiles simply disappeared. As soon as she could, she stepped off the checkered tiles and back onto the normal ground. In front of her and Angel was a gap of at least a few yards separating them from the chest. With a blink of her eyes, she activated her night vision and peered down the dark depths of the gap. Even with enhanced sight, she couldn't see the bottom of the pit. Her sight turned to the sides of the walls alongside the gap. Small, black spikes extending about an inch littered them, preventing them from running along the side of the wall to the chest. When she looked back towards the chest, she noticed something she hadn't seen earlier: a single rope hung from the ceiling in the center of the gap.

Motionless, the rope hung there. There was nothing else; that must have been it. "Not as much of a puzzle as a test of skill." Natalia said to Angel. "I might be able to reach it, but how do you feel about this?"

[Razmor 0]

Angel looked between Natalia and the massive illusion trap in front of them. They hadn't seen the pit before because the temple didn't want them to. It was nod of those, "you thought it was that easy?' moments. But never the less, they had to cross this pit somehow. Angel had an Acrobatics skill, and a <> skill. This allowed him to carry his large body across great surfaces. But he wasn't sure how secure the rope was, if it was even attached to anything. He began to frown as he unequipped his sword and shield, taking off all the extra weight he could. He even unequipped his armor, leaving him in a black, sleeveless undershirt and a pair of slacks.

"I may be too heavy. You should go first." He said against his better judgment. He wasn't sure what was across the pit; there could have been another illusion, making the real chest in a completely different part of the temple and what they were seeing now was just nothing. But he sighed, if he jumped then he could break the rope and strand Natalia on this side. He turned and shrugged, "I could give you a toss if you need it?" He suggested, locking his fingers together and making a solid place for her foot. He stood by the pit, waiting for her answer.

[Natalia 0]

Natalia looked back towards the checkered tiles, and then back to the gap. There must have been at least two and a half feet between them. "A boost would be appreciated." Natalia said with an energetic smile. "Before that, though It's probably a good idea to take off my gear." She unequipped all of her armor and weapons. Underneath, she was wearing just a plain white tee with a pair of black shorts that extended roughly to the middle of her thigh. Should the need arise, she should be able to re-equip her weapon immediately, and it wasn't like her armor protected her that much; it was still all just basic gear.

The girl lined herself back up to the end of the x-squares, and, with a deep breath, made a mad dash towards Angel. Her foot landed on his hand as she jumped through the air, and with his boost, she leapt towards the rope. Her heart was racing. Why am I such a reckless fool? Her hands slid through the air as she began to fall into the dark depths. "[censored]!" She cried out. Luckily, she had managed to catch hold of the bottom fourth of the rope with her right hand. Natalia's breaths were frequent and heavy at this point, and she hung her head for a moment to catch her breath. "I'm okay." Natalia said to Angel, but also to reassure herself.

When prepared, Natalia began to climb up the rope, until she was a higher than level with the end of the hallway the chest rested upon. Now for the easy part. She swung her weight forward until she stopped, then pulled back with her weight as hard as she could. It continued until she swinging over the edge of her target. When she reached the height of her swing, she let go of the rope, and landed gracefully upon her feet; her hands touching the ground on each side of her.

After gesturing the menu open and re-equipping her armor, Natalia turned back to face Angel. "Be careful!" She called out. "The rope felt pretty sturdy, so you should be safe, but still."

[Razmor 0]

Angel threw Natalia into the air and behind him. He quickly turned to see her catch herself on the last bit of the rope. He breathed a sigh of relief as she started swinging across the gap. After she swung a few times, she let go and landed safely on the other side. Now it was his turn. Without some kind of boost, he would have a much harder time getting across. He took a deep breath, walking back to the tiles. Then he turned, got down, and ran forward, activating his <> Skill. Faint blue streaks began to follow him as he picked up a lot of extra speed in a short distance. Then when he was at the very edge, he planted both feet on the ground and propelled himself forward.

He flew through the air for a moment, before his hands shot out and grabbed the rope in front of him. He held on for dear life but something was wrong; he was slipping. The rope was breaking apart in his hand, causing his grip to only be grabbing loose threads. He continued to slid down the rope until he reached the end. His left hand gave out from rope burn and he let go; hanging above the bottomless pit by only one hand. He grit his teeth from the pain as his body was straining to keep itself up. "Agh!" He gasped, a bit of stress escaping at the same time. Then he began to climb back up the rope.

He climbed fast and hard, pulling himself up to almost the top of the rope in little to no time at all. Then he started to swing. The rope must not have liked Angel because once he started swinging, it started to shred again. After three swings, he was down to the halfway point. On the last swing he let go and flew through the air. He landed next to Natalia, but not nearly as gracefully. He hit the ground and rolled until his shoulder his the wall behind them. Then he slowly got up and equipped his armor and weapons. After cracking his neck, he looked down at Natalia with a smile. "See? Now wasn't that fun?" He asked before turning and continuing down the hallway that seemed to be building itself faster than they could get to the chest. The reason Angel figured this was because once he looked for the chest, he saw it almost 100 yards down the now present hallway, as opposed to before when they simply had to cross the gap to reach the loot. "This should be interesting." He said to himself as he started walking down the hall, Natalia close behind him.

[Natalia 0]

Natalia couldn't help but nervously smirk at Angel's sarcasm; nervously because it was a close call. There was no telling what might have happened if the rope had broken, though she supposed the easy conclusion was that he'd die. Chills traveled down her spine upon the realization of how close he might have come. This was beginning to seem more dangerous that being surrounded by monsters. At least they were getting clo- Her hopes were crushed when she saw that the path seemingly grew larger whenever the two got closer to the chest. Either they were going insane, or the walls really were growing longer. Was that even possible?

"Angel, is it possible that the hall could be growing longer? Perhaps some sort of illusion?" Natalia couldn't help but ask. Regardless, she continued walking with him, tailing close behind. Their pace increased with her frustration.

[Razmor 0]

Angel shrugged as they continued down the never ending hallway. "The possibility is there. I mean it is an VRMMORPG. Any things possible if you've got the data to back it up." They continued walking as they came upon the next trap that the temple had to offer; a massive pit with a monster in it.

Angel knelt down by the side of the sunken cage, looking over the creature they'd face. It was a Cockatrice; a chicken dragon. It's long feathery neck swayed from side to side, it's beady chicken eyes glowing green as it waiting for us. It had stuby wings but Angel knew that it could fly. At the end was a long lizard tail that moved like a snake.

Angel looked between the Cockatrice and Natalia. Then he drew his sword. "You stay here, I'm gonna take care of this alright?" It was a high level monster for the sixth floor, which concerned Angel greatly. That and if the Cockatrice looked exactly at you (10 on BD), then you'd be paralyzed for a while (3 turns). He wasn't gonna lose a player to a chicken. He stood at the edge of the pit, waiting for her response.

[Natalia 0]

Natalia couldn't help but look at the beast before them with disgust. "That thing's pretty disgusting, isn't it?" She didn't seem all that frightened by the creature, despite its mutated design. As of yet, it was probably the most bizarre creature she had encountered within the game. Her eyes couldn't help but watch as its slithering tail writhed about.

"No," Natalia said immediately after Angel told her to stay safe while he risked his life. "We'll do it together; you've got that shield, remember?" A reassuring wink followed those words. Before they had even entered the temple, Angel had gestured to his shield when she asked if he could protect her. He seemed strong; she didn't doubt he could take on the creature alone, but that didn't mean she'd let him.

Her weapon drawn, she simply said: "Whenever you're ready," in her usual, confident voice.

[Razmor 0]

Angel raised his eyebrow, curious about what Natalia planned to do. But he nodded as he readied his large shield. It covered his body from the thigh up if he held it right. His blade had a wicked shine to it as the torchlight around him danced across the blade's surface. Finally, his black armor with the feathery shoulder guards made him appear more agile and quick, even though this was not the purpose of a tank. His job would be to keep the Cockatrice focused on him and not Natalia. After going through his gear one more time, he jumped into the pit.

Immediately he charged forward, shield held close to his body and sword angled behind him, his usual style. After closing the gap between himself and the monster, Angel ripped his blade through the air.

It wasn't a good start as the Cockatrice used it's nimble body to avoid his strike. It slithered around him, screeching at him while it's eyes glowed a sickly green.