[PP-F3] A delayed visit [Azazel]

[Life 0]

"Get all your travelling needs at the Delilah shadow fest!" The merchants chanted at the heart of the dark and dreary floor 3. Delilah village was a large old country style village, it was surrounded by dandelions and was seen as a safe haven for newcomers who decided to journey to the 3rd floor. However, the shadow forest of floor 3 was nothing like the void on floor 10. There was a boom of noise, a mixture of traditional festival music, chatter and laugher. The aroma of fresh food filled it's atmosphere. It was the time of the shadow festival, a common event which happened whenever the economy allowed for it. It was similar to a halloween festival, a festival in memory of the spirits. For most it was about the festivities but for Life, it was for the opportunity of plunder. Whenever people are not dungeon clearing or farming the loot tends to slowly build, a balancing mechanism if you will to stop constant farming. Not like Col or Mats really mattered to Life. What mattered to him was the rumours, that when the shadow festival arrives on floor 3, the spirits visit the living. Life hoped that he would be able to meet the spirit of his deceased friend, he wasn't sure wether that was a good idea at all.. especially since those who did meet the spirits ending up at the mercy of them. However, just the possibility of talking to his friend again was worth it. L made plans to head out soon and slowly began to make his way to the exit of the village. If his memory served him correctly, there was a memorial stone which was said to contain the names of every deceased player in the game though to get to it you had to get through a dungeon which unfortunately has a mind of its own, or so he was told.

[Azrael 0]

Azazel was pleased with herself. Not only was she on the third floor, but she had come to be a part of something. She had come to enjoy the festivities of the Shadow Festival. In her normal life, she would never take part in something like this because it never lived up to the stuff she saw on television or in animes. Since this was a game however, she thought it would be more ideal than the ones in the real world and decided to come have a look.

 

She found herself walking on the main path toward Delilah. The sounds of merriment and music were carried on the breeze and so was the smell of delicious things to eat. After having hunted with Dervish a few days ago, she had a few Col to spare, and she hoped she would find a vendor making Takoyaki. Anna hurried down the road, the sounds grew closer and she could see the established community before her. She grinned and picked up her pace, walking with a slight bounce to her step. As she rushed toward the town she caught a glimpse of a familiar form. She turned her head and saw that it was indeed the young man she’d met before, the one in the beautiful blue kimono.

 

She had run into Life the day she met Dervish. She remembered being struck by him. First he was hard to miss, as he looked so very regal and he had a handsome face. But it was the way he spoke that she remembered. There was sadness in his words and it was written clearly in his expression. As he talked to the others, she had found herself watching him because she found beauty in his demeanor. Her eyes followed him along as he passed by her. She meant to keep walking but instead she turned around and followed him.

 

“You’re not staying?†She called after him. “I thought everyone came here for the festival.â€

[Life 0]

Life's ears perked at the sound of a familiar voice, soft and kind. He had his arms resting interlocked with the sleeves of his kimono. He turned his head and titled it slightly and sounded off a quiet"hmm?", his hair fell to one side creating a small curtain which his aqua eyes pierced through. It was the one they called Zac, or Zaz, he couldn't remember what her actual name was. She had a cute face and soft eyes coupled with modest armour, however the thing that stood out the most was her polite smile. He wasn't really all too sure how to respond. Well if there was one thing he valued it was truth, there was no point hiding it anyway. "Not everyone, Im going to visit a friend of mine. Or i hope to.. he passed away during the battle with the hydra to open up the tenth floor.." He tried to go onto explain where he was going but it seemed there was something stuck in his throat preventing him from talking. He took a sharp breathe and turned around partially, he breathed out and frowned faintly "There's rumour of a tomb somewhere in the forest of wavering mist, it's supposed to have some sort of power to let you communicate with the dead, though it's dangerous" Life wasn't sure what she'd make of it, he felt rather weak for sharing his clinging nature, a warrior should always press on, not live in the past.

[Azrael 0]

Azazel tiled her head to the side as he spoke to her. It seemed that he would not be attending the festivities, and instead was going to try and communicate with a fallen companion. “I am sorry for your loss,†Anna said as he explained. He continued speaking and told her of a place where he might be able to communicate with his lost friend.

 

The woman sighed heavily and pressed her lips together.  Her eyebrows knit closely together and she wore a look of concern for the young man. The thing she hated most about Sword Art Online wasn’t that the players were all trapped within a virtual world, it was the pain and suffering that was being inflicted upon the youth that lived within the world. In life, death was imminent, but most of the loss was concentrated toward the end of one’s lifetime, not at the beginning of it. Typically, Anna was not the type to care about the troubles of others, but she simply could not stand to see children in pain. She knew all too well what kind of damage that did to a young person. Her chest ached in response to his distress.

 

It also concerned her that there was a place to supposedly commune with those who were lost to the game. The notion itself was almost as ridiculous as contacting the dead in the real world. However, it was obvious he needed to seek that truth for himself in order to gain closer and acceptance the death of his friend. It was then that she remembered Dervish’s words. It was dangerous for Life to go alone. What if he died in the process of his quest and no one knew he was gone? Who would mourn him and remember him if he were to lose his life?

 

After a few moments she raised her head and looked Life in his vivid aqua eyes and smiled. “I do not wish to be an inconvenience, but would it be possible for me to join you? I should very much like to pay my respects for the lives lost to Aincrad. Please?†Zaz simply could not accept the young man going off on his own. The thought was rather distressing to her; if he died, she would feel guilty for letting him go off on his own.

[Life 0]

Life wasn't sure wether it was a good idea to let her tag along, she looked pretty low levelled but he wasn't sure. She seemed pretty keen, maybe she wanted to see someone else too? He nodded his head at her "Alright, your decision.. just make sure you stay close. I don't want you to get hurt" He turned back around and headed out of town, as they walked past the fields of dandelions he decided to tell her a bit more about where they were headed to. "The place we're going to is covered in thick mist, hence the name, you can barely see 5 steps in front of you. Keep your eyes at the back of your head once we get there, monsters lurk behind every tree" He remembered going there before, even the trees were out to get you in that forest. It definitely wasn't a great place to be to farm, if you were on low hp from farming you wouldn't be about to tell wether or not there was a monster waiting around somewhere to finish you off. The wind blew across the fields, picking up the scent of the dandelions and invaded his senses as well as rustling his hair and causing his kimono to waver around. He opened  up his inventory to check if he was set for the journey, he still had 10 health pots to spare and a teleport crystal in case things got tough. Eventually they arrived at the beggining of the forest of the wavering mist. The beggining of it was like viewing the end of an infection, the green grass turned brown, the trees ahead all dead and the mist was ever so inviting. "Anything you want to know before we continue?" He was anxious at this point, he was getting close now, hopefully the rumours were true.. 

[Azrael 0]

Azazel was relieved that the young man agreed to let her come along. She cracked a wide smile and nodded eagerly as he told her to stay close. He turned around and continued on the path that leads away from the town and its festivities. Azazel looked back at the festival and sighed. She would have really liked to go, but this was far more important. Following Life’s lead, she turned down the road and followed behind.

 

The third floor was exceptionally pretty. The sun was bright and warm and the sky was a brilliant azure; there was not a cloud in sight. On each side of the road was ever stretching fields; little yellow dandelions dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see. A soft breeze blew kicking up the white plumes of the flowers that had already gone to seed. The little pods danced through the breeze and fluttered about. She causally walked several steps behind the younger man taking it all in. When Life began to speak Anna quickened her pace and walked beside him so that she could hear what he said. He was alerting her as to where they were going and what to expect. She nodded taking in all the information.

 

 As they walked a little further, the pretty landscape started to change in a very alarming way. It was if there were a visible division from the area which was safe, from the forest they were about to travel; the surrounding grass was brown and dead, as were the trees. Each one was leafless and in varying states of decay. There was also a dense fog that grew the closer they got to the border of the wasteland that was before them.  Anna’s chest tightened as she looked at the deadwood looming before her, and she was afraid. She had meant to go along with Life to make sure nothing happened to him, but she did not think about the fact that bad things could very well happen to her.  And then she began to feel bad. What if SHE were the one to die in this place? Would Life feel guilty for bringing her along even though she insisted? Taking a deep breath as she felt for the rapier that hung at her side, Zaz decided that she wasn’t going to let that happen. She was just going to have to be careful and make it out of this creepy place alive.

[Life 0]

"Guess not then." Life's expression was blank as he entered the forest, the mist quickly swallowed his figure and he looked back to make sure she was still following. He checked his map every now and then to make sure he was still heading in the right direction. There was a faint rusting in the background, he drew his blade at the instant he saw a shadow in his peripheral and cut straight through it, the mob exploded into a an array of yellow and white particles and he sheathed his blade just as soon as he drew it. 

 

 

ID: 15266

 

Life: 60/60

 

Ribbed Dog: -2/5

 

Items obtained: no items (Mob to weak for floor)  

 

He continued through the forest, the mist was getting way too thick and the density of the moisture filled his lungs. They were getting really close now, they would reach the point marked on the map soon. He would finally be able to see Alkor again.. he would finally be able to say goodbye.."Hold on buddy, I'm coming" They finally the point where the indicator on the map was shown, there was nothing there... "I knew this was too good to be true.. why did i get my hopes up..." 

[Azrael 0]

Azazel had no questions and the pair slipped off into the deep, dark, creepy wood. He took the lead, and she stayed several steps behind him making sure nothing came up from behind them. The mist got thicker with every step they took, and soon it was hard to make out Life’s form even just a few steps ahead of her. For the most part, everything was eerily silent, nothing but the sound of her softly padding steps could be heard. She had a really bad feeling about things, but the young man had every intention on finding the stone, and Zaz would go along with him. She would not leave him to his own devices. A way’s into the wood a rustling sound startled Anna. Life drew his blade and stabbed in through a thicket killing whatever hid behind it with ease and then continued along as if nothing had occurred.

 

The rest of their journey was rather uneventful. On occasion, Life stopped a couple time to make sure they were still heading in the right direction, but other than that, nothing remotely exciting or dangerous happened. Eventually they came to a small clearing. She was about to ask him if they were near the stone, but he spoke.

 

"I knew this was too good to be true... why did I get my hopes up..." 

 

Anna frowned; it was as she feared. There was no stone; no way to communicate with the dead. She felt awful, not only because he was so distressed, but because she had no idea how to comfort him. Zaz bit her bottom lip and reached a hand out to place it onto his shoulder, but she withdrew it at the last moment. Her stomach turned sourly as she tried to figure out what she could do; the powerlessness of this situation was far too overwhelming for her to want to deal with. Did he need a hug? To talk? To fight and kill things? To drown his sorrows in alcohol? Anna would have tried anything if she thought it might work to console him.

 

“It wasn’t wrong to have hope…†she said finally, unable to do anything else. She felt so useless.

 

The woman got quiet and carefully watched their surroundings as she gave Life a moment to reconcile with the fact that there was no way for him to say goodbye to his fallen friend. It was then that Anna because aware that this all could have been a PK trap. Knowing that there were those who could not accept the loss of one they held dear, these individuals would make the perfect target for schemes such as this. After coming all this way and finding nothing, she could see how easy it would be for a player killer to finish off someone whom, even momentarily, would have lost the will to fight.

 

“We should not stay here much longer,†Anna said feeling a sense of overpowering dread. “Let’s at least get out of this damn mist… hmmm?†She said gently. 

[Life 0]

There was a chill in the air, it ran up and down him as the situation played out in his head. The broker he got the information was cloaked, he received the information in letter form with only simple words "For Life". The people talking about the rumour where also all suspicious looking.. maybe that was just his mind playing tricks on him, there was no way that anyone would screw with him. He was one of the strongest players in the game, he would most definitely kill them if they tried to harm him, or the girl next to him.. There was a sound, he couldn't pinpoint where exactly the sound came from. Though it sounded like just one person.. just one? That wasn't right, was this person insane. His heart began to pound, he didn't know how to react. He drew his blade and shouted out, still hurt by his hope being crushed "COME HERE YOU BASTARD" A shadow appeared, from the mist, it was fast, quick, he couldn't keep up with it. He turned and moved back trying to keep his eyes of it until he bumped into the woman behind him. He fell on his butt looked up to see the shadow looming over him. The figure opened its mouth... and began to speak "Thank you for coming player" He sat there confused, the person was.. an Npc? It continued to explain the details of the secret event often created by the cardinal system to generate an infinite number of quests. There didn't seem to be a visible quest reward from what he could hear until.. 'Monument stone'? So it was true? Life scurried to his feet and sheathed his blade and accepted. The npc walked over to one of the trees and reached into the side of its bark pulling open a secret door which led into the underground. "It could be true.. I.. What do you think?"  He wasn't exactly sure if it was safe, he wasn't sure why he was asking her either.. he turned to the npc but before he could say anything it was gone. Life scratched his head and sighed, he went through such an array of emotions, he felt overwhelmed. "I.. I don't think I got your name by the way. I don't believe it's zaz or zac, is it?" 

[Azrael 0]

The air grew colder and something rustled behind the rows of dead trees. Zaz’s heart started to pound loud enough to ring her ears. She swallowed hard as the sounds drew ever closer. Life pulled his sword and she did the same. The young man yelled at those hiding within the wood to draw them out. Suddenly, a shadow appeared and began to move around them. She slowly kept backing away until she felt something bump up behind her; it was Life, or so she hoped.  Zaz turned around and sitting at her feet was Life staring up at a shadowy figure. It spoke causing Anna to jump back and tighten her grip on her rapier. “What the hell is going on?†she said aloud.

 

The figure moved and explained the details of the quest. It mentioned something called the monument stone, and her eyes grew wide. So there was such a thing. The NPC continued over to a group of trees and opened up a door that was hidden within one of them. The passageway dark and Zaz did not get a good feeling about this. Life put his weapon away and looked at her hopefully as he spoke. “I have no idea,†She replied, “If you want to go, then that’s what we’ll do,†she assured him. There was no way should could abandon the young man now, not when he could be lost to a place like this.

 

Anna drew a deep breath. Were they really going to do this? By the look on Life’s face, it would seem so. He turned to her and told her that he did not know her name. “Do I look like a Zac?†she laughed, “It’s Azazel. They call me Zaz for short.†She said as she placed her rapier back into its sheath. “So… are you ready to go see if this thing is for real?†Anna smiled.

[Life 0]

He smirked when Azazel remarked about his poor choice of words "Yeah I didn't think you were a Zac either" He took a careful step into the body of the tree and looked back at her "I don't think there's much to worry about any mobs down here will be rather weak, I think" He began to head down towards the insides of the tree. It got darker as he got deeper the walls slowly turned from dirt and wood to metal, it reminded him of the dungeon he cleared on the ninth floor, which meant if the game followed the same spawning pattern there should be a trap door somewhere around here. To his relief there was no such trapdoor but rather another door in front of him. The stairs had led them to a dreary hallway, the door in front was made of steel and had black roots from above creeping over its body. He could hear dark whispers coming from the other side, it was to late to turn back now, and he wasn't going to let some spooky setting put him off his task. He kicked the door down and sent it flying across the inner room, the screech of the metal against the floor was blood curdling and echoed throughout the room. He stepped inside and examined the dimly lit room, there were torches along the edges and a spirit floating in the 'sky' of the room, there was no ceiling, or at least not from what he could see. 

 

 

(Sorry for the delayed post) 

[Azrael 0]

“I’m not worried about the mobs, I’ve got you to back me up,†Anna smiled and laughed.

 

Life began to lead her down the staircase within the tree. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience for Zaz, but she held her breath and made it through. Anna did not like dark spaces, especially those that went underground. She was terrified of them, actually. She shuddered and swallowed hard, trying to do her best to control her breathing. But as they went further underground, it was a little bit harder to do. The air was stale and stifling.

 

They traveled further and further down until they found a door, and behind it, a long corridor. They continued to go along until they reached yet another door.  This little game of doors seemed to bother Life because he kicked the door clean off the hinges and let it sail into the darkness, giving an awful screeching sound as it dragged across the floor. Anna put her hands over her ears to deflect the sound, but it just poured through her finger tips. He walked into the room and she slowly followed behind keeping very close. She didn’t like the feeling she got from the space. There was something overhead but she couldn’t quite make up what it was exactly. Anna just waited for Life’s next move since he was the captain on this magic carpet ride.

[Life 0]

He smirked when Azazel commented about backing him up. He walked deeper in and as he got into the centre of the room a ghost like chandelier appeared, illuminating the room. Shortly after a heavy stomping could be heard around them until a giant minotaur dropped into the room. It didn't look much like a traditional minotaur though, it was covered in plate metal and even had a helmet. It carried a huge axe and circled them until it rested the end of it's handle on the floor standing guard at a gateway to the next section of the dungeon. Without much thought Life dived straight into the battle. It only took 4 quick steps until he was right at the foot of the beast, he jumped and drew his blade cutting across its shoulder. It turned just barely missing trying to swat him away. Life jumped off the wall back flipping away, the minotaur grunted, it wasn't going to let him get away that easily. It swung its giant axe and batted him across the room while he was mid air. He slid across the floor but recovered as he did until he came to a stop. Pulling himself up he readied himself for another attack, this was just the beggining. He wiped some blood off his lip and the minotaur challenged him with a mighty roar. "Just a lucky shot"

 

Id:15780 BD: 7 MD:9

Party:
Life: 60/63

Azazel:

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian: 53/60

[Azrael 0]

Anna’s heart stopped.

 

She’d made her way to her travel companion to keep from being separated in the darkness. As she did, the ground began to shake and the thunderous sound of something beating against the stone floor vibrated down into her very core. The ceiling opened and through it a great beast fell though hitting the ground with a violent crash. Anna was nearly knocked from her feet from the impact of the gigantic beast hitting the ground. Their opponent was well armored and carried a massive axe. “I’m soooo screwed,†the woman exhaled as she readied her weapon.

 

Life flew at their opponent with no hesitation and as she thought, he was incredibly adept. He hit the beast also taking damage, but laughing it off as if nothing had happened. He was simply amazing and Anna felt truly astonished to be observing him as she was.  But she wasn’t here to simply watch. She had to help him. Though she could do very little, she wouldn’t just be someone who watched anymore. She had to grow stronger, to protect the things she’d found that were precious to her.

 

Anaa moved it and attacked the Minotaur from behind as it faced off with Life. Her weapon hit the beast, but with as well armored as it was there was barely a scratch on him.

 

“DAMNIT!†Anna cursed. She was going to have to try much harder than that if she wanted to make it out alive. 

 

 

15867  BD: 7(+1Dmg WS)

 

Party:
Life: 60/63

Azazel: 27/27

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian: 51/60

[Life 0]

Life watched the female player step up to the challenge in front of them, he smiled as her rapier went flying at the armoured beast. Despite her damage he had to condone her effort. "Nice, keep it up. Just be careful" He rushed forward once again before the beasts attention could turn towards her. The beast ignored the woman behind it and prepared for another attack from Life. It lowered it's stance and raised it's weapon. Life's eyes widened as he calculated his advance to head towards complete failure. He placed his feet firmly on the steel floor below him and slid to a swift halt, the minotaurs axe fell short of hitting him by a few inches and sent a shockwave in front of him that resonated through the metal ground. L jumped up as the shock wave passed below him and placed himself at a safe distance from another advancing attack. The battle might be a bit more difficult that he first had in mind. 

 

ID: 16010

 

Party:
Life: 60/63

Azazel: 27/27

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian: 51/60

[Azrael 0]

Anna found herself laughing at Life’s words. He was very sweet to try and encourage her. The Minotaur slammed his weapon upon the ground causing a shockwave. Being caught off guard the woman was knocked off her feet yet again. She hit the ground hard but got up again quickly as not to be easy prey.

 

Unaffected by the attack, Azazel’s eagerness to keep Life alive and be useful to him remained, so she went in for another attack. Her blade made contact with the back of the Minotaur’s leg shredding more small red flecks of life from the monster, but still barely doing any sort of damage. She needed something to happen, for her to get lucky and to hit harder. If she didn’t then this was going to be a long uphill battle for the pair.

 

 

16032

BD: 8 (+1 ws dmg)

 

 

Party:
Life: 60/63

Azazel: 27/27

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian: 49/60

[Life 0]

Life smirked, Azazel was keeping up well though he wasn't going to allow her to die here and so this beast would have to fall quickly. The minotaur charged for him with a murderous gleam radiating from it's helmet, the axe came swinging across like a horizontal pendulum in a flurry of swings. Life dodged each with ease and poise a mixture of flips, bends, turns, jumps and slides. As he swiftly made quick work of each strike his health started to slowly recover. This was why people in the crimson inquisition feared him, this was why he was hated for being cocky, not like it mattered now days. He was a different man but the same fighter. Smug as ever Life jumped onto the minotaurs axe and launched himself off it within a split moment, he was at the face of the beast and time seemed to slow down. Life stared the iron clad monster down with a fixed gaze as his blade came up at a vertical slashing across it's neck and knocking it's helmet clean off. "You're one ugly son of a minotaur aren't you?" The beast staggered and reached out to swat him away but L simply jumped off the beasts chest causing it to fall backwards as he landed safely without a scratch. 

 

 

ID: 16222 BD: 10, Perfect Critical! CD: 11, Battle Healing!

 

Party:
Life: 60+2/62/63; Hate: 2+2 

Azazel: 26/27, Hate: 2

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian: 49-9/40/60

 

(Decided to add the hate counter to keep track of the aggro. Since i missed last time, you had the bosses aggro)

[Azrael 0]

16482

BD: 10 (+2 Crit +1 WS DMG)

 

Anna couldn’t believe her eyes. Life in motion was absolutely stunning. Everything motion was fluid and with purpose and he was ridiculously quick. He launched himself up into the face of the beast and landed a rather violent blow on the beast. The injury knocked the Mintoaur’s helmet off and it went rolling away. While the lovely Life was busy taunting the monster, Anna used the opportunity to strike. Her rapier slashed at the beast’s leg leaving a deeper red gash upon the back of the Minotaur’s lower leg.

 

 

Party:
Life:  62/63; Hate: 2+2 

Azazel: 26/27, Hate: 2

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian:  36/60

 

 

(I’m pretty sure that upped my agro, I have no idea how much. I’m not exactly sure how to track that XD )

[Life 0]

The minotaurs health was dropping very quickly and his momentum was beggining to make it all feel much to easy. The minotaur charged at him again, this time stomping at the ground hard shaking the floor beneath him. He distanced himself and as the beats velocity peaked he geared forward going straight for him. The beasts axe swung forward but Life's katana skimmed its side, knocking it away as his blade found it's mark stuck clean into the minotaurs chest. It swayed back and bellowed as Life retracted back to a safe distance, a look of impunity was clear on his porcelain face. 

 

ID: 16803 BD: 4+2= 6

 

Party:
Life: 62/63; Hate: 5

Azazel: 26/27; Hate: 3

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian: 29/60

 

(1 hit = +1 hate Crit= +2 hate)

[Azrael 0]

16832

BD: 9 (+1 crit +1 ws dmg)

The Minotaur was focused solely on Life, and with good reason, the boy was completely messing the beast up. With every slide of his Katana, the monster’s life points were effortlessly slipping away. The perfectly skill young man was barely even working up a sweat. It was sort of ridiculous how incredibly adept a fighter he was. With the Minotaur focused on the lovely boy in the blue kimono, she took the opportunity to attack. She slashed her rapier against the leg of the beast sending more crystals flying and dropping the mob’s life down to less than half. If they both kept hitting it as they were then it wouldn’t be long before the monster would fall.

 

 

Party:

Life: 62/63; Hate: 5

Azazel: 26/27; Hate: 5

 

Enemy:
Minotaur Guardian: 26/60