[OP-F4] Part I: To Become Faint

[Oikawa 1]

The shop was silent as Oikawa strode around it looking for his rapier. Not a soul had visited in the last few days and as such, he had become bored. King quietly slept in a waiting chair as Oikawa sifted through his wares only to find that his weapon had been leaning against the door frame the entire time. Retrieving the blade, he softly petted King to wake him from his slumber. In a low whisper he spoke. "King today is the day I attempt to make my nickname known. I want to be regarded as Oikawa the Faint. I want recognition as a strong SAO player. It may seem petty but I will make it happen eventually. Today is just the beginning."

 

With his familiar in tow, Oikawa departed from the shop and headed to the teleportation gate. He would make his announcement in the plaza on the fourth floor. He'd even PM those in his friend list once he arrived. Today would be a day of dueling.

[Calrex 0]

"I am so glad that Teayre and I decided to pick out these clothes. Even the fourth floor is nice and comfortable now..."

 

A bright light could be seen at the portal of the fourth floor as a blue haired youth materialized through it. Calrex was dressed in his combat clothes (OOC: Wave's clothes minus the scarf XD) that he and Teayre had picked out for him during their first day together, as he looked around the snowy settlement. "Let's see here...huh?"

 

As he was about to take a step he looked at his messages. A new one had appeared addressed to him, Teayre, Ariel, and a series of other people from...Oikawa? It looked like he was having a duel on this very floor. Calrex felt a smrik creep onto his face before returning to his stoic disposition as he closed the window, activating his locator to try and find where Oikawa was at, "Well, this would definitely be a good opportunity to see just how far I've come...and how far I still have to go..."

 

While it had been some time since he had encountered Mari, Daeron, Oske, Ariel, and Xanatos that night when Daeron desired to end his life, going so far as to actually impale himself on his own sword. He even witnessed a darker, more sadistic side to Ariel and seemed to welcome the despair. During those moments it seemed like Calrex has no power. Even though he had reached Level 10 in such a short amount of time, compared to the frontliners he was still insignificant. He gave a calming breath as he dismissed the thought.

 

"Even if I am the way I am now even those players were at this point. Everyone started somewhere to get to where they're at today. Now this is a test to see exactly how far I've come."

 

With that he began walking, following his locator. Once he saw the familiar blonde he gave a wave as he put on a friendly face and a smile of greeting.

[Azide 0]

A virtual screen blinked into existence right before his eyes, compelling him to set aside the heavy book. 'Fourteen Habits of Highly Effective Front-Liners' would have to wait. Besides, it offered more in the way of fluff rather than any sort of real substance. Although admittedly, a few of the chapters were quite thought provoking. Who knew it could be so difficult to manage a relationship in this world?

"Ugh, but that's beside the point," he thought, shutting the thick pages with a dull thud. That was enough pleasure reading today- he'd already wasted enough time deviating from his schedule. "Come to think of it, I could really schedule in some more time to go yell at X," he thought, leaning back in his chair. "God knows he could use it."

He planted his palms against his desk and straightened himself up, then opened his recent notifications and selected his latest message. He skimmed over its contents, and the shimmering screen reflected in his retinas for a few seconds, up until he exited from the hovering window. It flickered for the briefest moment, then disappeared altogether. "So, Oikawa's interested in a few duels?" he mused as he pushed himself up.

With a steady hand, he lifted the unfinished volume from the table and returned it to his shelf, then promptly equipped the rest of his usual attire. Slender fingers finished buttoning his white shirt as he took a moment for himself to ponder. "I suppose X will just have to wait. That lucky bastard."

The last of his buttons slipped into place, and he closed the heavy door behind him.

[Oikawa 1]

The chilly winds of the fourth floor blanketed the blonde and his familiar as they traversed through Snowfrost Town. Pulling up his messages, he selected "Compose New" and addressed it to several people.

 

 

To: Square One, Ariel, Teayre, Calrex, Kiru, Keith, Haine, London, Aika, Susanoo, Tyger, Baldur, ____ (Red), Asen, Kosan, Alyss

From: Oikawa

 

Subject: Duel

 

I would like to invite you all to come duel with me on the fourth floor. I wish to prove myself as a decent player among SAO and I wish to gauge the skills of my fellow players. I will be in the central plaza of Snowfrost Town. Hope to see you there.

-Oikawa

 

He hit send and relaxed on one of the frost covered benches, King nuzzled up alongside him as he waited for replies. He didn't wait long however, as he caught sight of a familiar blue haired soul waving towards him. Calrex?  He nudged King to the side and stood up. Raising his hand , he waved back and stepped towards him. 

 

"Hey Cal. Its been a while. How've you been?"

 

 

[XWuZHeAR 0]

I was just sitting in a tree branch with maruchan who even though I found him on the first floor he seems to like the cold better. Then Oikawa sent me a message I skimmed through and laughed at. However I thought about it and I'm not that far away, I'm not really doing anything, and it seems like a fun place to drink all these potions I got from Miss Mari.

"Let's go Maruchan." I told the dog as I picked him up and jumped down to the snow below.

Pretty soon we were at the plaza and waving to Oikawa.

"Hey what's going on 'Faint'. Boy I almost couldn't see you 'Faint' the snow makes you look pretty 'Faint'." I said to Oikawa not doing a very good job of keeping a straight face.

I then swiped threw my menu and took out all the potions I got from Miss Mari's shop.

"Oh don't mind me... I just came to watch! And you know drink all these wierd potions I got from Mari." I spoke as I sat down and placed the potions in front of me.

[Calrex 0]

As Oikawa waved back in response to noticing him Calrex put his hand back in his jacket pocket, "It certainly has. I've been well so far. How about you?"

 

"It looks like Oikawa's gotten stronger as well. Everyone seems to be moving quicker ever since the tenth floor raid started getting organized. I wonder if everyone's getting excited for a new floor or something."

 

He rolled his shoulders as he kept his arms moving as he finished his walk over to the blonde, "I got your message saying you're looking to due..."

 

"Hey what's going on 'Faint'. Boy I almost couldn't see you 'Faint' the snow makes you look pretty 'Faint'."

 

Calrex looked over as he saw another player walk on over to Oikawa, giving a fairly friendly greeting that made note, as well as some fun, at Oikawa's nickname. He gave a small sigh to himself as he moved some of his blue bangs out of his face, "I'm still working towards become the title I made for myself, the Ultramarine Knight...but right now the most people seem to know me by is their material gatherer. Well I guess I really do still have a ways to go."

 

"Oh don't mind me... I just came to watch! And you know drink all these weird potions I got from Mari."

 

"GH!"

 

As he heard the words "potions from Mari" it immediately put him on alert. He remembered the potions he had looked at while he was in Mari's shop. While they weren't useful for combat their effects were...rather out of the ordinary. He looked over at the ones the player had laid out, recognizing each of them: Calming Honey, Depressive Drought, Happy Honey, and Starry-Eye Illusion. There was one potion he wish that the player had taken out, one of Mari's Soothing Salves. At least then there was some kind of safety lent to the risky maneuver he was about to attempt.

 

He looked over at the new player, quickly regaining his composure as he introduced himself, "Nice to meet you, I'm Calrex."
 

[Oikawa 1]

The bluenette had began to respond when a familiar voice rang through the air. That sounds like X... Sure enough, Oikawa turned to see the familiar face of his acrobatic guild member. "Oh haha Very funny X." he joked back. X commented on his plans for the day. At the mention of potions obtained from Mari, he and Calrex and both responded with cautious surprise. "Is it safe to drink anything from the Pink Wit... I mean alchemist?

 

Cal's expression seemed to echo his question. So X doesn't plan to duel rather just watch. Interesting. Turning back to Calrex, Oikawa brought up a menu. "As you were saying. I believe you were interested in my duel proposal? Half-Loss or First Hit? I don't mind either. I just want to train and spar against any and everyone. Plus I want to get my name out there. You know? I know I wont win them all but the recognition is the importance. I don't want any doubts about my prowess when it comes time to fight on the frontlines."

 

(Cal if you start the duel on your post, we both roll once to see who gets first strike. we will use the LD to determine who attempts first.)

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a smirk as he nodded, swiping down on his menu to make sure all of his gear was equipped. His Wristguards of Hardened Stone appeared on his arms as the Vampirism coat that Ariel gave him materialized on his top. "Let's go ahead and do First Strike. Since you want to do a series of battles I'd like to see how that goes."

 

He opened his menu once again as he sent Oikawa a request for a First Strike duel. Once Oikawa accepted he would take a quick step back and go into his modified iaido stance, lowering his position while giving a calming breath, "Alright, whenever you're ready."

 

"First Strike is going to be tough against him. Of course it really does depend on who manages to draw their blade and get the hit in first. It was tough against Teayre as well. But I'd rather not go into a drawn out battle and wear him down before he even gets a shot at fighting the other players that might be coming."

 

He blew some of his blue bangs out of his face as he focused his vision, coiling his legs like spring. Once the battle started he would be ready to act.

 

ID: 13525

Loot Dice: 4

 

OOC: Like that? XD

[Oikawa 1]

OOC: Yep. Btw Faint Edge has a stat change this was approved yesterday.)

 

[13532] LD: 4 (Seriously out of 20 numbers we get the same one)

 

Stats:

HP: 34 || DMG: 8 || MIT: 4 || ACC: 1 || SVY: 2 || EVA: 2

Heal 1 HP on CD 10+

Deal 1 thorns on MD/Opp BD roll of 6-8

King: Healer 

 

"First Strike it is!" Oikawa scrolled through his inventory and equipped Faint Edge (+3 Damage) and Inquisiteur (+2 Savvy and +1 Thorns) as his tunic was already equipped.  Oikawa swiped accept and took a low stance with his rapier pointed at Calrex and his shield raised slightly. My first bout of the day. It'll come down to reaction time and precision. Tightening his grip, Oikawa stepped back and waited for the counter to tick down.

 

The timer struck zero. Neither party moved. They eyed each other. A true standoff. I want to strike but at the same time this is my first duel. I have never attacked another player before. Hmm. Just stay defensive for now. Make sure he doesn't land a single blow. He reinforced his will and stood guard.

 

OOC: If my roll is higher, I'll use the same roll for my attack. otherwise you attack first.

Roll again?

[Xanatos 0]

After receiving Oikawa's message I decided to head to the location noted. It was a beautiful floor I had not yet been to. Alittle too cold for my tastes but I'm sur eoikwa will appreciate me being there. Maybe he will get to see Immortal Fang in action! I wandered into the plaza where Calrex and Oikwaw already seemed to be ready to engage. I scurried over to our group and sat down. "You know, part of me is glad to see these displays of combat, I need more material to tease Calrex with XD"

[Calrex 0]

OOC: That's just called building dramatic tension XD

 

IC:

ID: 13534

Loot Dice: 13

 

As the timer expired Calrex watched as Oikawa didn't move either. He kept his eyes trained on Oikawa's stance, checking to see if any of his body parts were telegraphing something about his next move.

 

"I guess this is what it feels like to be in a standoff, although I thought usually it was with revolvers instead of swords. In any case focus. I need to act at the right time. Too early and he'll see me coming way before I'll have a chance to land a blow. Too slow and he'll get his hit in before I can even act."

 

He made sure his sword was released from its lock, but still within the sheath as he gave another calming breath, feeling the cold chill of the snow as a small gust blew between the two combatants.

 

"Alright...ready..."

[Oikawa 1]

[13538] LD: 10

 

The stare down continued. Neither fighter moving an inch. The bluenette looked him over, Oikawa could tell he was searching for an signs of movement. He tightened his stance and glanced at the warrior to see if there was any immediate weaknesses. None surfaced, however out of the corner of his eye, Oikawa was able to spot another player joining the plaza. Ahh it's Xanatos. I ought to wave but due to my circumstances that'd be ill advised.

 

He returned his gaze to the player above him. The timer had inched only 10 seconds since the match had started. Taking a deep breath, he focused and resolved to let the boy move first. If he wants first hit, he'll have to earn it. Come at me Cal!

[XWuZHeAR 0]

I looked down at the potions barely paying attention to the duel in front of me.

"Hurry up! Hit each other already!" I yelled as maruchan barked.

First I grabbed the happy honey and chugged it down. It didn't have any effect. Then I chugged the calming potion... Still no effect.

"Damn it!" I yelled before I chugged the depressive drought.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed out as my stomach began to hurt like crazy.

The only potion left on the ground was the starry eyed allusion. I could then feel myself falling back and I fell into the snow and knocked out.

I awoke to see a see lights, a lot of lights. Wait no it's a hospital I'm in a hospital bed. Man is my body sore and really really weak. "Wait a second" I thought as I felt my face for the first time in a year.

"I'm baaaccckkk!" I yelled out as a nurse came running in the room.

When I got a really good look at the nurse it turned out to be-....

"No!... What the hell!" I yelled as I could see it was... Her.

Then the face I looked up at melted and dripped onto my eyes. My eyes then burned like hell so I shut them tight. I began feeling something scratching at my face and tearing me apart piece by piece. Then I felt like my head was just gone. After a few seconds my eyes shot open and I woke up to a wierd warped Aincrad.

"Woah dude. This.. Is.. One hell of a trip." I said as it seemed Oikawa and calrex are about to begin there duel.

My eyes then shifted to a now glowing bottle in front of me. The starry eyed alusion.

[Calrex 0]

OOC: So since I've got the higher roll I'm guessing I go first? :)

 

IC:

 

ID: 13539

Battle Dice: 7

 

As Calrex gave a final calming breath he released the tension as he rushed forward, his right hand on his sword handle in a reverse grip.

 

"I've got only one shot at this. Better make it count!"

 

As he got just out of striking range of Oikawa he quickly leapt forward as he rotated his body, forcing it into a spiral as he continued his approach. As he rotated 180 degrees and faced the sky he felt the snowflakes that did make it to his face begin to melt as they settled on his cheeks. He gave a quick breath, the small blast of condensation leaving his mouth as if everything were in slow motion. As he began to come back around he began to draw his sword from its sheath, the sword coming out of his scabbard quietly, unlike what people are accustomed to in the movies. As he reached 270 degrees he looked to his left to bring Oikawa back into his line of vision, bringing his opponent closer and closer to the center of his view. Finally at about 320 degrees he brought his arm down as he attempted a horizontal slash.

 

As he passed by Oikawa he slid a few feet, flicking his sword into a hammer grip as he looked behind him, "Did I hit?"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Business was...slow at a particular tailor shop located at the 4th floor. The shopkeeper was sitting behind the counter taking a look at the items she had in display and make sure she had them right, that there were no 'ugly' items that might hurt her reputation. As she made her mental inventory a faint purring sound could be heard coming from the nearby fireplace. 'So bored!' she thought while finishing her checkup, she'd like to get some sleep too, with all those delta waves around her projected by the sleeping feline. Suddenly a bell chime disrupted her daydreaming and the blond's first instinct was to look at the entrance door that had some bells above. But the door was closed shut, no possible client walked in this time.

 

Next came the notification on her HUD: "So it was just a message?" she said with a unmotivated voice, until she read the content. "A duel..tournament? or what does he intend to do?" she closed the message then thought about her options. Stay here and continue being bored or go there and assist at a few duels. 'IDK if that is a good idea' she thought as a flashback from that day in the forest with most of the front liners came into her mind, 'No no no, that's definitely not a good idea!' she stood firm in her decision...just for a fleeting second..'but what if...?'. There it was, the idea that would give her a little window she needed so that she could watch them duel and don't meet them in the same time.

 

"Kimba c'mon girl we're going into town!" she says while getting ready to go. The lion cub woke up and let out a disapproving growl then reluctantly followed Ariel. Good thing Snowfrost Village was near her shop and she managed to sneak in without getting too much attention. Then with the help from a couple of passive skills she managed to climb up the tallest building she saw. Taking a look around she could see a group of people forming around at the nearby plaza. "Bingo!" she said then started jumping from one roof to another, getting closer to them.

 

Kimba in the other hand didn't have the skills needed to climb buildings so she followed by foot on the streets, guided by her nose she found herself in the plaza in question, sniffing X's now empty vials.'Not there...should've let you stay home.' she thought while stopping on a tall building with a clock, that had a clear view of the plaza. 'Nothing I can do now... I'll have to observe them for here..let's see who are those two preparing to duel..Oikawa and Cal huh? interesting. Sorry guys but I can't risk you seeing me like that.' she thought while making herself as less visible as she could, hidding behind the tower's massive clock.

 

Suddenly Cal made the first move, the blond didn't knew what kind of duel they had but cheered for both of them. 'Good that's it, take the initiative!' she wanted to shout but abstained. She couldn't let the others know she was there..not yet. She wanted to make sure that whatever happened back then wouldn't happen again here, when she sees another player's blood again.

 

((Assassin's Creed mode on:D Requiescate In Pace Cal! you missed... now Oikawa has +2 BD on his next roll.

[Azide 0]

Azide scrunched his eyes shut- he'd never quite gotten over the disorientation that came with this method of travel. Something about the sudden change felt... unpleasant, to say the least. "Teleport, fourth floor. Snowfrost Town."

In his head, he counted to three. Eyes of a deep brown flicked open, and took in the familiar sight of the frozen wonderland around him. "I've spent a good amount of time here," he thought. "In fact, I've probably been here more often than any other floor." A finger wandered up to his head and scratched it lightly. "What is it about this place that draws so many to it?"

As he marched his way through town, he began to button up his coat; perhaps just this once, he'd favor functionality over style. It was rather cold, after all. Fresh tracks traced his route through urban tundra, but he kept his eyes looking forward. In his mind, he played back each of his visits to the snowy haven.

He'd remembered, of course, that Ariel's shop was located somewhere around here. A fair amount of visits to the Lion's Den back in the day, though today would not be another one of those days. There was one other shop he'd visited here- Rebekah's cafe. Somehow, he failed to remember what the place was even called; but to be fair, he'd been nearly as asleep as he'd been awake at the time. Would he see her here, by some odd chance?

The thought was stowed away for a later time as he turned the corner to see Oikawa squaring off against another player he'd met before- Calrex, who seemed to express a fondness for blue. Surprisingly, he also noticed X nearby, shouting whatever nonsense it he'd decided to 'bless' them with for the day.

Without announcing his arrival, he sat down by the base of a large oak and watched the ensuing duel.

[Oikawa 1]

He eyed his opponent. Calrex the Ultramarine Knight. It''l be a fitting name in due time. Much like my own. His train of thought was suddenly derailed as X shouted gibberish from the sidelines. Damn potions must've kicked in. Don't do something ridiculous X. He refocused his vision. The warrior seemed to tense up, then suddenly he propelled forward.

 

The bluenette surprised him with a spiral spin allowing him to close the distance and draw his weapons in mere seconds. I have zero time to effectively counterattack. Better to just deflect then strike. Just as Cal sent his blade swinging through the air, Oikawa raised his shield and deflected the strike sending a spark as the metals collided. Then just as quickly as Cal had launched his attack, Oikawa went on the offensive.

 

Spinning around to face Cal, he lurched forward. He left a cloud of dust licking the after image of his previous location. He was suddenly right in Calrex's face. Rapier inches away from impaling the boy. As if time slowed to a halt, Oikawa could see the surprise reflected in the orbs of Calrex's eyes. Now I have to just move my hand forward. Simple right?

 

Thrusting forward, he waited to hear the piercing of the body and slight scream, but the sound never came. In fact a different sound made itself known. The sound of a rapier sinking into the ground. But how...

 

[13592] BD: 2 + 1 (ACC) + 2 (SVY) - 1 (EVA) = 4 MISS

[Calrex 0]

ID: 13593

Battle Dice: 10 (+2 Damage)

 

Calrex watched in surprise as Oikawa deftly parried his attack to the side, even with the amount of momentum he had built up from the 360 spin, his blade flying to the side. Almost immediately Oikawa had begun his counterattack as he stepped forward and prepared to stab him. Calrex readied himself for the strike to pierce when all of a sudden his eyes saw the rapier fly off track and head towards his left armpit. Taking advantage of the new trajectory Calrex quickly slid his body to the side, weaving out of the way of the strike.

 

As he used the opening he quickly ducked his body as he stepped down and out of Oikawa's field of vision, regaining his stance behind his opponent. At the same time he raised his sword up, the blade coming alight with a light blue hue. He gave a calming breath as he stepped forward, unleashing a Swallow Return attack. The first slash flew from the bottom right to top left, the second coming from the bottom left to top right. Finally the last strike came around from above straight down in a vertical cut.

 

Calrex gave a breath as he saw all three strikes connect, returning his sword back into its sheath, "You almost had me there Oikawa. Although I think if you had put a little more tension in your wrist your sword might not have flown off course."

 

He made sure to make his comment lighthearted as he extended his hand, "Good match man. I've learned a lot from that quick bout."

[Oikawa 1]

But how..- Ugh. Oikawa felt the stinging pain of a blade slicing through him not once, not twice, but three times. Staggering back. He tried to recount what had just happened. He had the attack. he was inches from his opponent. His blade could almost already taste victory. I got ahead of myself. Careless and lack of focus. I deserve to lose for missing that attack. Well you live and you learn no? 

 

Calrex's comment and gesture for a handshake brought him back to his senses. He regained his balance before sending his hand to meet Cal's as they firmly shook hands. "Yeah I lost focus there at the end. I was so close haha! Nonetheless, as you said. I learned a great deal just from this small bout. Good match indeed!" Oikawa sheathed his rapier and looked for the next challenger. I wonder what I'll learn from the next fight?

 

Record FS: 0-1 || HL: 0-0

[Azide 0]

The soft clapping of his hands served to make his presence known as the battle came to a close. With a missed opportunity on the part of Oikawa, Calrex had managed to [censored] away victory from the former with just a few quick swings of his sword. Azide pushed himself up from the snow-covered ground and dusted the white flakes off of his attire. "Well done, to the both of you." His eyes darted from Oikawa to Calrex. "It was a close match- but then again, that's just the nature of these things, isn't it?"

He took a few steps forward, and a dry wind rustled the hair of each of the players that stood in the square. Snowflakes fell from the frosted oak, and swirled first past himself, then sailed by the two now-finished combatants. "Don't you think half-loss would offer a more decisive result?" he inquired.

((Well, it looks like the site has censored *natch, replacing the * with an s. Perhaps it's time to move this topic to the unrestricted section.))