[SP-F1] Dances with wolves (Completed)

[Baldur 0]

Baldur stepped out of the portal and into the town of Horunka. The small village had less than a dozen buildings to it, but it was the next hub after the Town of Beginnings, and the monsters around it weren't any of the particularly nasty kind, but they should serve to farm him some experience and gather some materials that might be of use in Tyger's forge. He looked down at his new sword which sat at his side. It wasn't anything fancy, but it should help quite a bit. His new fencing cape also hung over over shoulder and trailed down to the small of his back on the opposite side. He would feel much better if he had some armor and a katana, but he had to admit, they had made it pretty far.

 

What he hadn't counted on is how quickly the truely dedicated could make it. He had expected to stay ahead of the curve, but it seemed that there were still many who had flown past them. Were they being reckless? He doubted it. Guilds supposedly couldn't be formed until floor 3 was unlocked... at least according to the information broker, but he had seen many full sized parties out in the field and forests. He longed for a guild of trusted companions, but he wanted to ensure that he and Tyger had an large margin of safety, her crafting would help, but they needed Col for potions and gear as well. She had done her part, now it was time for him to do his.

 

"We can do this. We will live. We will triumph."

 

He walked over to the edge of the safe zone and closed his eyes. He had done this many times, but now he cleared his mind of the distractions and doubts and clutter of thoughts running through his mind. He focused on his task at hand.

 

"Let us begin." he said the traditional Japanese benediction and stepped out to begin his dance with death, but he would look death in the eyes, and smile and say "not today."

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 11/11

1 Hand Slashing: Rank 2

Weapon: Sharp Kindjal (+1 damage)

Swordsman's Cape (+1 Acc)

[Baldur 0]

Baldur knew that now he was a bit higher in level, actually approaching the limit of what they could accomplish on the first floor, he would need to hunt the largest wolves. Hopefully since he was now better equipped, he could handle multiple wolves at once. This would let him farm them much more effectively. Oftentimes though, these larger wolves would have a pack of smaller ones with them, they wouldn't give him exp or mats, but the larger ones were still enough to make up for the difference.

 

Stalking through the forest with his sword drawn, he tried to keep an eye on his surroundings. One nice thing about this being a game was the BGM - background music - would often change to combat music before he realized he was in combat. He would still like to see his prey coming, rather than rely on trying to find the mob before it jumped him. As he pushed out further and further away from the town of Horunka, he saw small groups of players hunting the packs of wolves, using their own wolf-pack tactics to bring the AI controlled creatures down. Just a bit ahead, Baldur saw one of the large wolves he was looking for and charged forward. The wolf noticed him, but he had the jump on the creature, able to get the first attack in.

 

"Aya!" He kiai'ed as he alshed at the wolf with his sword, striking it in the haunch as it tried to jump away. The wolf came back at him, snapping, but Baldur was able to step out of it's reach.

 

---

 

 

 

Rolled a 7 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 6 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 12 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Baldur>> 11/11 - hit for 4 (2 skill, 1 weapon, 1 bonus)

<<Wolf #1>> 2/6 - missed Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur faced off against the wolf in his well practiced fencer's stance. Since there was only the one wolf, he was able to keep his distance from the creature like this. It wouldn't be a good against a pack, since they would come at him from different directions and could more easily knock him down, but one on one, the fencer's stance made the target smaller and he could keep his distance. As the wolf suddenly pushed forward, Baldur could just as easily back up, and then with only a moment's hesitation leap forward and slash down on the Wolf's head, the blue light trailing his sword as he cut through the mob and sent it out into the air in a shower of pixels.

 

He paused a moment to deal with the menu. No loot other than the materials from the creature itself.

 

"Hmm... I wonder if should head to the second level instead then?" He thought about it, but he didn't want to venture somewhere new without Tyger. These were safer because he knew their movements, he knew what to expect, and nothing around here was going to paralyze him. Maybe once they had some money and healing potions and antidotes, but in order to do that, he had to have better luck with these drops.

 

---

 

ID: 6936 BD: 8 MD: 10 LD: 2

 

 

<<Baldur>> 11/11 - Hits for 4 DMG

<<Wolf #1>> 0/6 - Dead (drops 1 material)

[Baldur 0]

As Baldur took a moment to breath, he saw a few glowing eyes in the darkness, but rather than waiting for the wolves to surround him, he charged forward. The nearest wolf seemed to be caught off guard and missed as Baldur came charging into them. Swerving to the side, he attacked the right most wolf, slashing horizontally across the mob and almost completely dropping its health, but as he skidded to a stop, the next wolf leaped at him, slashing at him with it's claws. Baldur grunted and raised his blade to block and kept his footing as he turned into a kenjutsu stance rather than a fencing stance and tried to act quickly to keep the pack in front of him. He needed to focus and pick them off quickly so he could whittle down their numbers.

 

His blue eyes were fierce and focused. This was dangerous, but he was in control still.

 

---

 

 

<<Baldur>> HP 11/11 - ID: 6942 BD: 9 - Hits <<Wolf #2>> For 5 DMG

<<Wolf #2>> HP 1/6 - ID: 6946 MD 1 - Misses <<Baldur>>

<<Wolf #3>> HP 6/6 - ID: 6947 MD 3 - Misses <<Baldur>>

 

[Baldur 0]

<<Wolf #2>> Suddenly leaped at Baldur and he raise his sword, stepping to the side to put the blade between them as he slashed through it again, but the third wolf was too quick for him as it came in low and bit at his leg. The bite was light and Baldur was able to kick the creature off him and leap back.

 

"Grrr.... Bad dog!"

 

He brought his sword back up and dashed away another half dozen paces to re-position himself to the rest of the back.

 

---

 

 

<<Baldur>>    HP 10/11ID: 6949 BD: 5 (+1 acc) = Hit <<Wolf #2>> for 4DMG - LD: 9

<<Wolf #2>>  HP 0/6 Dead - Drops 1 mat

<<Wolf #3>>  HP 6/6 ID: 6950 MD: 7 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG

 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur stared down <<Wolf #3>> as he noticed the last two wolves trying to come around and flank him. Instead of waiting for them to come at him, Baldur went on the offensive once more.

 

"Ayah!"

 

He rushed the wolf that had hurt him and <<Wolf #3>> charged at him at the same time. As the wolf was in mid air, Baldur stepped to the side and cut the blue line of light severed the creature's head, causing it to explode into shard of light as it crashed into the ground.

 

Immediately the other two wolves were on but Baldur didn't stop moving. He spun around a tree and took off back in the direction of the village and other players as the wolves chased him. When he got within sight of the other players, he skidded to a stop and turned to face them.

 

Thrown off by his sudden desire to stand and fight, the wolves rushed him at the same time, but he ducked between them and they crashed into one another, stumbling to the ground and missing him.

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 10/11 ID: 6953 BD: 10 LD: 14 - Hits <<Wolf #3>> for 6 DMG (2 skill + 1 weapon + 1 bonus + 2 critical)

<<Wolf #3>> HP 0/6 - drops 30 Col & 1 Mat

<<Wolf #4>> HP 6/6 ID: 6955 MD: 1 - Misses <<Baldur>>

<<Wolf #5>> HP 6/6 ID: 6956 MD: 3 - Misses <<Baldur>>

[Baldur 0]

Before the wolves could stand back up again, Baldur was on them. His <<Sharp Kindjal>> was a blurr of blue light as it slashed across one of the downed wolves, but he had gotten too close and the wolf lashed out at him, catching his leg with it's claws. This time Baldur took the flash of damage without any noise of complaint. It was a system, it was numbers. This might be life or death, but it was still a game.

 

The second wolf came at him in a leap, but with moves which would make a matador proud, Baldur side stepped the leaping beast as it just narrowly missed him with teeth and claws.

 

"Ole!" He called out with a smirk, his fencer's cape whirling with him as he spun.

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 9/11 - 6957 BD: 7+1 - Hits <<Wolf #4>> for 4 DMG

<<Wolf #4>> HP 2/6 - 6958 MD: 7 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG

<<Wolf #5>> HP 6/6 - 6959 MD: 5 - Misses <<Baldur>>

[Baldur 0]

As <<Wolf #4>> recovered from Baldur throwing it off, it leaned down on its forepaws as it prepared to leap at him, but Baldur lunged in like a fencer and tagged the creature on it's head. It wasn't a solid blow, but it was a hit and so the system registered his damage and the last few points the mob had left disappeared with shards of light.

 

As Baldur was recovering from his lunge, the second wolf reared up on its hind legs. Baldur brought his cape covered arm and deflected the beasts might jaws, but it's claws came down on him anyways, whittling away his HP.

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 8/11 - ID: 6960 BD 5+1 - Hits <<Wolf #4>> for 4 DMG - LD: 16

<<Wolf #4>> HP 0/6 - Drops 30 Col & 1 Mat

<<Wolf #5>> HP 6/6 - ID: 6961 MD: 8 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG

[Baldur 0]

Baldur eyed the last wolf as they slowly circled each other, the last wolf snapping at him as he made a couple feints with his sword to keep the beast at bay while he looked for his opening. He was impressed at how lifelike the system was, he could watch the creature move naturally, its muscles moving realistically, its chest rising and falling with adrenaline.

 

His own body moved much the same way. When Baldur's muscle memory kicked in and he moved a certain way, the game could accurately convey that movement into the game. When he was fencing back in America, he had learned that the match came down to reading body language, to knowing the moves that your opponent would try to use on you. The more wolves he fought, the more he could predict their movements, even outside of the system. Knowing how they would attack him meant he knew where to swing. He just needed to be faster, get in and get out without being hit.

 

Finally he saw the tell of the wolf getting ready to leap at him so he turned sideway and held the sword horizontally. The wolf pushed off the ground with its hind legs and flew through the air at him. He pushed forward, he had to cut it close to land a solid attack, but it meant the wolf had an easier time catching him with its claws.

 

As Baldur's saber bit into the wolf's hide, he pushed off, trying to spin out of the way, but the dewclaw caught him in the shoulder of his right arm as he was separating.  He saw his HP tick down a little lower, but Baldur's attack came out with the better exchange and dropped the wolf down into the red.

 

---

<<Baldur>> HP 7/11 ID: 6262 - Hits <<Wolf #5>> for 4 DMG

<<Wolf #5>> HP 2/6 ID: 6263 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG

[Baldur 0]

Continuing his spin despite taking damage, Baldur brings his saber down on the back of the final wolf and was greeted with the always satisfying splash of colored shards.

 

Sometimes old habits die hard though.

 

Baldur whipped his blade to the side to clean off imaginary blood and then sheathed his sword. It wasn't until the action was done that he chided himself for the foolish motion. It was a habit he had to drop if he wanted to stay alive. He had to develop a style of fighting that pushed this game to the limit, not bogged him down in the physics of the real world.

 

Baldur pulled up his inventory to see how much money he had and frowned. Healing Items were sacred in this death game, and as such they were being sold for 500 gold. At the moment, 500 gold was a fortune for two low level adventurers like he and Tyger. If they wanted to take risks though, they needed those items.

 

He turned and walked back towards the town, passing the other groups of players farming mobs at a safe  distance. He hadn't ever seen an orange player, but he didn't want to present too juicy of a target. Solo players were prime for that sort of thing, but if you were orange, you couldn't get back into the town. As he passed close to the town, he skirted the edge instead of going inside of it. He wanted to let some time pass for his HP to regen while remaining close to the town in case of trouble, unfortunately his stomach had other ideas.

 

Finding a downed tree in a small clearing, Baldur sat down and pulled out the bread and water in his inventory. He had to admit, the bread was surprisingly good, but then as an American, he was used to having bread with everything and had really missed it in Japan. What he really missed, however, was something other to drink than water. He had seem people drinking other beverages, but Baldur didn't feel okay spending money on a luxury item like that.

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 7/11 ID: 6967 BD: 5+1 LD: 19 Hits <<Wolf #5>> for 4 DMG

<<Wolf #5>> HP 0/6 - drops 30 Col & 2 mats

[Baldur 0]

Several minutes later after he had a nice break and finished heating his bread and drinking his water to appease the undef-eatable hunger algorithm inside of him, Baldur pushed back to his feet and straightened out his half cape. He was quite proud of the item, and it felt good to wear one. He hadn't worn one in years, but somehow it made him feel more at peace. Now if only he could get a katana. He hadn't seen anyone use one in game, but surely in a game called Sword Art Online, there would be a skill for it. The information book he bought from the vendor in Horunka had listed it as an unconfirmed skill at the time. Had they updated the book yet? It had very useful information on the game and how to stay alive and on a few of the beginner quests.

 

"Okay, let's do this!" Baldur said in English.

 

He drew his sword and went out into the forest, this time more towards the lake. The forest was lighter out this way. Happier.

 

With the sound of buzzing, Baldur heard the noise of a <<Giant Bee>> heading towards him. He had to check for a moment to make certain it wasn't a <<Giant Wasp>> which were much crueler opponents. He had heard that someone had died to one of those. Bee's, however, were non-aggro, so they wouldn't attack him until attacked. They were much safer to farm.

 

"Buzz off, would ya!" He called out, rushing towards the bee and slashing at it.

 

Foolish move. He realized too late. The bee was alerted by his shout. He thought he had been witty, but instead it had cost him surprise and the bee quickly flew out of range as his sword whirled uselessly past it. Immediately the bee lashed out at him with its stinger, but Baldur ducked to the side and the bee missed. As Baldur looked up at the bee, he saw that high above was a hive and a second bee flew down suddenly dive bombing him. Throwing himself into a roll, he narrowly avoided the stinger of the second bee.

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 8/11 ID 6970 BD: 1

<<Giant Bee #1>> HP 6/6 ID 6970 MD: 2

<<Giant Bee #2>> HP 6/6 ID 6971 MD: 4

[Baldur 0]

Spinning quickly, Baldur slashed up at the first bee he had attacked, but instead the bee seemed to somehow parry his sword with its stinger.

 

"That's not in the least bit terrifying."

 

Suddenly, he felt himself get buffeted by the two flying bees and as he reflexively went to cover his eyes he felt dual pricks of pain on either side of him as both bees attacked together and stuck him on either side.

 

"Ahhh!" He cried out. "Get off me you buggers!"

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 6/11 6973 BD: 4 - Misses Bee #1

<<Giant Bee #1>> HP 6/6 - 6974 MD: 7 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG

<<Giant Bee #2>> HP 6/6 - 6975 MD: 7 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG

[Baldur 0]

Baldur ducked his head and flailed with his sword, fending off one <<Giant Bee>> but the other was ferociously dogging him and stung him in the other side.

 

"Ow! You stupid insect!"

 

He didn't let the damage stop him though as he broke into a full sprint, trying to gain some distance between him and the nest. His health was flashing yellow, and that meant he was too close for comfort to stay and fight this. As the trees flew past him, the sound of the buzzing chased him but eventually died off. Still to be on the safe side, Baldur kept running for several more seconds until he knew that he was inside of the safe zone for the city. When he finally saw some of the buildings, he found the nearest bench and sat down... or more accurately slumped down into the seat. Beside him, a horse gave him a piteous whinny.

 

"They were big bees, okay?"

 

The look the horse gave him was disbelieving.

 

"Well I'd like to see you go out and fight some Giant Bees than."

 

The horse nickered at him and then stomped its feet a few times.

 

"Sure sure, you talk big, but out there when the chips are down you don't want to be turned into glue either."

 

The horse shook its head, flickered its tail, and then stomped to the other end of the pen it was in.

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 5 - ID: 6676 BD: 4 - Misses Bee #1

<<Giant Bee #1>> HP 6/6 - ID: 6677 MD: 7 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG

<<Giant Bee #2>> HP 6/6 - ID: 6678 MD: 5 - Misses <<Baldur>>

[Baldur 0]

Baldur sat there for a while, gathering his nerves. He was shaken by the sudden onslaught of the bees and his health getting so low, but after several deep breaths and his conversation with the horse, he seemed to be getting a handle on himself.

 

"When you were level 1, you didn't have this many hit points."

 

So reassuring.

 

A thought suddenly occurred to him though.

 

"Maybe I should just go back to hunting boars. They seemed to be nice and safe."

 

He stood up and walked back to the main gates of the town which lead towards the Town of Beginnings. The trees were cleared back from the road and the small ravine that it wound through. Dotted along the path were boars. They were almost the same as the ones on the field, and not much more dangerous. This would be a good place for him to build his courage back up.

 

He draw his saber and walked up to the boar awkwardly. The boar looked at him, but Baldur felt strange attacking something that just stood there. The boar wouldn't give him any loot or EXP since he out-leveled it so much, but it would help him get his feet back under him. As he brought his sword down, the boar shattered into thousands of reassuring pieces. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

 

Alright, you got this Jason.

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 5/10 - ID: 6989 BD: 7 - Hits <<Boar>> for 4DMG

<<Boar>> HP 0/4 - non-eligible for reward

[Baldur 0]

Baldur walked up to the next boar, sitting there munching away at some grass on the side of the red dirt ravine. He almost felt bad for the creature.

 

"You see, this is why I could never be a carnivore in the apocalypse." He told the boar as the creature ate the grass with an impassive expression.

 

"I'm sure you taste lovely, and everyone knows bacon is pretty much the most amazing thing ever... but... I don't think I could kill my food, and then skin and clean it... that's... that's just gross! It's okay as long as it happens to other animals, not ones I've looked in the eye."

 

The boar sat there, eating, and looking at him strangely.

 

With a world weary sigh, Baldur pushed himself up to his feet and drew his Saber and looked down at the boar before him, but he just couldn't do it. He raise the tip of his blade to his forehead and gave the boar a salute before wandering further down the road. There he came across another boar with its back turned towards him and he ran forward, giving out a frustrated cry of fury as he slashed at the creature causing an eruption of blue and green shards.

 

 

---

 

<<Baldur>> HP 5/11 ID: 6990 BD: 7

<<Boar #2>> HP 0/4 - Ineligible for loot

[Baldur 0]

With a bit of dust in his eye...

 

No really, there's dust in this game.

 

With a bit of dust in his eye, Baldur kept running down the path until he came out into the field. At this point he realized that the sun was setting. Different mobs came out at night, and this worried Baldur, but he was out at the edges of the newbie area, what could be the big bad mob that came out here? Surely nothing he couldn't handle.

 

At the point he heard the deafening sound of an OINK! fill the area around him as a <<Giant Boar>> spawned not a dozen meters from him. It was easily twice the size of Baldur himself, and three times the size of any of the other boars.

 

"It must be the mother of all Bacon!"

 

Baldur assumed that the creature was passive until suddenly it scraped its hoof into the ground and charged at him with a deafening squeal.

 

Throwing himself to the side, Baldur swore he could feel the air pressure from the tusk just narrowly missing him as the beast ran by him. Quickly coming to his feet he draw his saber and slashed at the creature's hind quarters, the blue light cleanly slicing through what he would have expected to be tough and dense muscle. The boar kicked up a fury and turned to face him once more.

 

---

 

[iD: 6991 BD: 5 +1 MD: 2]

 

<<Giant Boar>> 2/6 - Misses

<<Baldur>> 5/11 - Hits for 4 DMG

[Baldur 0]

The giant beast was more limber than he expected and as it whirled around it's snout crashed into him in a blow that would have normally winded him, but in this game it only ticked away another bit of his HP.

 

"Oooh!" He gasped out, more out of habit than any real feedback from the system.

 

Lashing back at the <<Giant Boar>> Baldur sliced into its comically large snout and unlike the other mobs, it gave a great bellow before collapsing onto the ground and then fading away in a shower of lights.

 

"Yea! Take that! Miss piggy smelled of elderberry!"

 

Baldur sheathed his sword and did a little victory dance out there on the edge of the field where he didn't even consider someone could be watching.

 

"I bet you taste good over a fire if I had the cooking skill!"

 

---

 

[iD: 6992 BD: 5+1 MD: 7 LD: 11]

 

<<Giant Boar>> HP 0/2 - Hits <<Baldur>> for 1 DMG - drops 30 Col & 1 Mat

<<Baldur>> HP 4/11 - Hits <<Giant Boar>> for 4 DMG

[Baldur 0]

Several minutes later Baldur found himself sitting beside the horse corral again. It was an NPC that owned the horses. Baldur realized he didn't know if there were mounts in this game or not. It would be pretty awesome if there were.

 

"So I think I did it." The horse gave him a long-suffering look.

 

"I think I got back on the horse..."

 

The horse whinnied in protest.

 

"Okay, so that was a poor choice of words, I'm sorry. My point is, that I found my confidence again. We just have to find someone who can cook."

 

The horse nickered and stomped one of its hooves onto a stone in what Baldur could almost believe was a clapping sound.

 

"Thank you! I know, it was an impressive feat. Hey, so can horses eat bacon?"

 

The horse just looked at him without replying.

 

"Well, you know, bacon is pretty awesome. I'm sorry you've never had any before, but you're gonna have to ask the farmer about that."

 

Baldur stood up and reached over the railing to pet the horse on the nose. It amazed him how accurate that feeling was to the real thing. He could have done with a less realistic rendition of the smell of manure though.

 

"I'll talk to you later, Big H."

 

Baldur walked back over toward the giant teleportation gateway near the center of town which would take him back to the Town of Beginnings, or out to any other floor he wanted. For now, he wanted to go back somewhere safe.

 

"Town of Beginnings." He called out, and felt the world flash away in a bight light.

[Baldur 0]

As the Town of Beginnings resolved into view around him, Baldur felt a sudden surge of relief. He was safe here, there was nothing that could kill him save jumping off the edge. No one could even throw him off the edge, as the conduct system would intervene for anything more than a gentle playful nudge.

 

There were still emotions there, welling up within him.

 

Baldur quickly rushed out of the main square where everyone gathered to use the teleportation gate and found an abandoned alleyway somewhere. He rushed down it until it dead ended and he could lean his back against the wall. It was night time so this deep into the alley no one should be able to see him.

 

There was more dust. Who knew this game could be so dusty.

 

Taking several deep breaths, Baldur tried to calm himself, to calm his nerves and find that steel within. He wasn't close to dying, he told himself. It was only the yellow. They had been closer than that the first day.

 

But he had had Tyger with him, and between the two of them, they seemed invincible. By himself he was mortal, able to be killed, and that was a scary though. He had always been so confident his ability with a sword, and he had been doing so well against those wolves... but one wrong turn could get you so close to death. That threat was so much more real to him now.

 

He looked up into the corner of his vision at his health bar.

 

"Well, I can't go home and see her like this, she'll freak out and get emotional... I gotta let my health regen first." Straightening himself out by standing upright, he walked out of the alley and into the Town of Beginnings.

[Baldur 0]

Shopping. That's one way to get things off your mind, right?

 

Baldur walked around the market district. Many of the shops were closed due to it now being evening, but at least he was getting an idea of where the shops they needed to go were. Health Potions. He would definitely start there in the morning.

 

"I really need to bring here these materials so she can make me some good armor. Good armor sounds really important to me right now."

 

He smirked at his own joke until he saw an inn. Only this one had something he hadn't heard in all their time so far.

 

Music.

 

Tyger would love this. He wanted to go and get her, to share this moment with her. She was musician to her soul, and he was certain she missed it. Were there musical skills in this game? He didn't know. He walked into the inn's common room, the muddy yellow light washing over him as he pulled up an empty seat at a table and listened to the musician. When he sat down, his fatigue overcame him more than he realized. He leaned his head on his hands as he closed his eyes and listened to the music. He didn't sleep, he just... let all the stress wash off of him to the sound of song, music, and the babble of conversation.