[PP - F4] Hell Rose <<The Essence of Steel>> [Zelrius, the Hero of Aincrad][Complete]

[Lessa 1]

The crunch of snow underfoot provided a low, steady beat. Occasionally, a bird would join in, offering its high-pitched call to the floor's icy overture. Snow would crash from the limbs of the trees as they grew too heavy to hold, and small animals would burrow beneath the icy surface with soft scraping sounds. But the air was consumed, most of all, by her footsteps. One after the other, never stopping, never slowing.

 

The determination that set her features matched the confidence with which she walked. Her blue eyes, a shade not unlike the cloudless sky, were set on the path before her. Her wind-chapped lips were drawn in a tight line, and her blonde hair, usually long and unbound, was pulled back in a sturdy bun. The mid-day sun shimmered off of her heavy armor, lighting the thin layer of snowflakes that shone like diamonds. There was a no-nonsense feel to the swordswoman that could be recognized by anyone who looked upon her. But there was no one for miles, and that was how she liked it.

 

Lessa had risen with the sun, and dedicated the entire morning to battling mobs and gathering resources. Though she spent much of her time working with other players, she also knew that it was important to improve her own skills. In fact, the alone time was much more valuable than it had ever been before. A lack of mobs had driven her farther north than she had ever ventured before, but she hardly noticed the vast amount of ground she had covered. Her attention was entirely fixed on slaying monsters. How could she be expected to train others if she was not in top shape herself?

Edited November 28, 2015 by Lessa

[Lessa 1]

It was only moments after she left the meadow and entered a tightly-packed line of trees that she noticed the mouth to the cave. It seemed to come from nowhere, as the forest bordering the meadow had all but hidden the base of the mountain. Mountains of snow framed its gaping mouth, and the inky blackness that lurked inside was a stark contrast to the white light that surrounded her. Her pace slowed, gaze doing its best to pierce through the darkness; whatever lurked in the depths may be just the challenge she had been searching for.

Ultimately deciding to investigate further, Lessa veered off of her original course and approached the cave. One gauntlet-clad hand gripped the hilt of her heavy claymore, and as she came to rest just outside the mountain's base, she unsheathed it. Fluently, and without thinking, she shifted into a defensive position. If anything planned to charge her from the curtain of darkness, she would be ready for it.

[Lessa 1]

But no attack came. Lessa stood there, unmoving, as the minutes ticked away. But when it became clear that nothing intended to leap out at her, she lowered her heavy weapon. "Huh," she breathed, the word slipping past her lips in a puff of vapor. "Guess not."

The woman eased her way into the mouth of the cave, taking great care to step over the snow banked there. It rose up to her knees just before she burst through the last of it, and found herself outside of the snow's reach. Even when she was directly in front of it, she struggled to see deeper into the cave. Maybe it was designed that way, she mused as she scanned the rough, stone floor. Maybe I'm not meant to see anything because there is nothing back there. Or, maybe there is something that needs to be hidden. Unfortunately for Lessa, it ended up being the latter.

A pile of white items a few feet away caught her attention. She crouched down beside them, and with a shaking hand, reached out to pluck a bone from the pile. "What the hell?" she muttered, bringing the bone closer to her eyes to inspect it. There should not have been any bones in Aincrad, as anything that died burst into data. "This doesn't make any sense."

[Lessa 1]

With a clink of armor and the groan of her tired muscles, Lessa straightened once more. Squinting into the impenetrable darkness, she eased the bone back and forth between her hands. There had to be something here, something that she was overlooking. In her entire year in Sword Art Online, she had never come across a pile of remains like this. Briefly, she wondered if it was meant for decoration only, but she rather doubted that. Why would the fourth floor need a pile of bones as decoration? It seemed horribly out of place here. The desert of the fifth floor, maybe, as it was not unusual to associate the wasteland with bones being picked clean by vultures. But why the fourth floor? I'm probably overthinking it, she decided finally. I'm sure I am. I should stop stressing myself out like this. Carelessly, she dropped the bone back onto the pile.

The response was immediate. A throaty bellow erupted from deep within the cave, forceful enough to blow back the stray locks of blonde hair that had fallen from their bindings. The air was hot as it met her skin and assaulted her senses; it smelled rotten, and she fought to keep from gagging. Move now! her brain screamed. Get out of the way! It's coming!

Lessa barely had time to throw herself out of the way, crashing into a pile of deep snow, before the thing flew past her. It was an enormous creature, standing some fifteen feet in the air. It was ape-like in nature, covered in thick, white hair. As it came to a halt over her, its dark red eyes peering down, a name materialized above its head.

Snow Beast.

Lessa: 58/58

Snow Beast: 100/100

[Lessa 1]

Lessa

Her first instinct was to find an escape. Blue eyes desperately swept her surroundings, but she came up empty. The cave itself blocked any escape to the east. The last thing she planned to do was let that thing chase her back into its domain, and she would never be able to scale the steep mountain it was built into. Dense forest surrounded her on the remaining three sides. She would be able to navigate her way around them easily enough, but the deep snow would slow her down significantly. Based on how quickly Snow Beast had moved, he would overtake her in under a minute. Her only option was to stand and fight. Besides, a voice in the depths of her mind drawled, I thought you wanted a challenge.

He stood only a few feet away from her, and at that moment, her place on the ground worked in her favor, putting her in the perfect spot for an attack on the monster's legs, hopefully crippling him enough to slow him down. Pulling herself up onto her knees, she lashed out with as much brute strength as the awkward position. Hell Rose made contact with jarring force, and the girl rolled out of the way before Snow Beast realized what was happening.

{[23349} BD: 7. Lessa deals 8 damage.}

Lessa: 58/58

Snow Beast: 92/100

[Lessa 1]

Snow Beast

The attack left him momentarily stunned. Never had he imagined to be struck so quickly, when he had hardly finished sizing up his opponent. His frustrated growl startled whatever birds had resettled after his last roar from their roosts. She would not get the jump on him again.

In a flash of white, the enormous being reached out a hairy hand and swatted at the girl. His palm met her frail body with a sickening crunch, and she flew a few feet before making hard contact with the trunk of a tree. Snow Beast's dark lips curled back into an animalistic sneer, but his red eyes narrowed when he realized how little damage she actually took. Her armor, it seemed, had protected her against the full force of his blow. But nothing could protect her from him, and she would take some damage with any hit no matter what protections she foolishly tried.

{[23351] BD: 8. Snow Beast deals 3 damage. 5 - 2 (Lessa's dmg mit, excluding 3 dmg that always goes through due to Partial Phase.}

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 90/100 {Takes two damage due to thorns.}

[Lessa 1]

Lessa

The impact sent stars shooting through her head, and the crushing blow from the tree's trunk did her no favors either. It took a second or two for her eyes to adjust, and stop seeing double, surely a side effect of the blow to her head. With a groan, she peeled herself off the tall oak and stumbled back to her feet. The shock of the first blow would wear off quickly, as it always did, and she would be ready to fight once more. But as her gaze wandered up to her health bar, she realized that it had dipped slightly.

An uncomfortable feeling gripped her stomach. It had been a very long time since she had actually fought something that could deal her actual damage. Her heavy armor deflected most attacks, and while she was able to practice landing blows, she rarely ever suffered from those dealt to her. She would have to step up her game; the stakes were far higher than they had been before.

"Alright," she growled. "Let's go."

Again, she worked to land her strike on the Snow Beast's lower half, being careful not to fall in the path of his enormous hands as he swung angrily at her. She was on her feet this time when she buried the blade in his leg, allowing her more momentum, and as a result, more damage.

{[23360] BD: 9. Critical hit. Lessa deals 9 damage.}

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 81/100

[Lessa 1]

Snow Beast

Another successful hit. Where did that come from? The Snow Beast threw his arms out wide, hairy hands clenching into fists as he threw back his head and emitted a violent roar. The force of his cry, paired with a great stomping of his foot, shook the ground enough to knock the small pest off of her feet.

Blinded by rage, he lunged at her, a fist slamming into the snow-covered earth where she had been standing only moments before. But when he lifted his hand, she was gone. Somehow, she had managed to evade him this time.

It won't happen again.

{[23665] BD: 2. Snow Beast's attack misses.}

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 81/100

[Lessa 1]

Lessa

"Too slow," the blonde hissed, her grip tightening around her sword's hilt as she continued to sprint through the snow. It was true that her heavy armor slowed her down, and made skills such as evasion practically impossible. She could not leap through the air, or dash about as easily as some of the players in the cloth armor. But what Lessa could do was take a hit, and those players could not claim to do the same. As cool as their billowing cloaks looked, they would do nothing to keep them alive while being crushed beneath a monster's heavy fit.

By the time she had finished her half-circle around the Snow Beast, he had managed to pin-point her location. He threw an angry punch her direction, but Lessa was expecting it. With her knees slightly bent, she grounded herself, lifting her heavy claymore to intercept his wild attack. His own momentum helped her land an excellent blow.

{[24101] BD: 9. Critical hit. Lessa deals 9 damage.}

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 72/100

[Lessa 1]

Snow Beast

Another successful hit.

Another blow to his health bar.

But how?

A white-hot rage washed over the frozen beast. His gaze clouded with anger as he stared down the puny human who caused him so much trouble. How had she managed to not only evade his attacks, but also land all of her own? His enormous hands trembled as he envisioned himself ripping her limbs from her small body.

But before he could tear her apart, he would need to catch her. The great beast lashed out, closing his hand around the space where she stood. But when he drew his hand back, he realized with horror that she had managed to shimmy her way out yet again.

{[24390] BD: 5. Attack misses.}

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 72/100

[Lessa 1]

Lessa

Maybe she was imagining it. As Lessa skidded out of the Snow Beast's reach, her boots slipping across the well-packed snow, she swore that her sword was glowing even brighter than before. The beam of light it cast now extended a few inches past the sharp edges of the blade; the falling snowflakes shimmered like gemstones as they floated past. "What are you up to?" she whispered, shaking her head slightly as she shifted back into the offensive.

"Alright, big guy," Lessa called out, tightening her hold on her rose-colored claymore. "Let's go again." Bending slightly at the knees, and then pushing off the frozen ground, the Guardian threw herself toward her opponent. Her enormous blade slashed through the frigid air, arching over her head, before burying itself into the monster's side. It was another big hit, she could feel it.

{[27138] 9. Lessa deals 9 damage.}

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 63/100

Edited August 10, 2015 by Lessa

[Lessa 1]

{OOC Note: I will be finishing this thread with old stats. 8 base damage, 3 damage mitigation, 2 thorns, and 1 heavy momentum. Snow Beast does 5 damage, with 3 partial phase.}

Snow Beast

{[39735] BD: 3. Attack misses.}

He felt her sword buried deep within his side. Emitting an angry bellow that shook the snow from the treetops, the snow beast pawed madly at his right hip, attempting to swat at the girl before she dislodged the blade from his flesh. Much to his dismay, his large, furry hand met nothing but cold air as he swiped downward. The pain that she dealt, however, remained as a red gash on white fur, and a large dent in his health bar.

The earth shook beneath him as the monster thudded toward her. It had taken her a few seconds to locate the player, a mere speck of red against a sea of white, but once he did so, he was not willing to let her out of his sights. Red eyes flashed with raw fury as his massive form drew closer.

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 63/100

Edited November 23, 2015 by Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Lessa

{[39765] BD: 10. Critical success. Lessa deals 10 damage.}

The beast was fast, but luckily, Lessa was faster. Though she was weighed down by her heavy armor, her opponent had grown predictable. There was an interesting control in his chaos, a pattern than the blonde could easily chart. An untrained eye might see a monster thrashing about. Lessa, however, understood his motivations. He reacted to her. He did not lunge unless she lunged first. His attacks only came when she gave him a reason to. He was on the defensive, and so long as she could stay one step ahead of him, the victory was surely hers.

When the snow beast charged her position, she merely had to side-step the coming assault. At the same instant that his figure barreled past, she lifted Hell Rose, raking the pink blade across the white fur. The fury made him stupid, and she knew now was the time to use that to her benefit.

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 53/100 (-10)

Edited November 22, 2015 by Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Snow Beast

{[39735] BD: 4. Attack misses.}

"Missed again," the pipsqueak called out, dancing away from the snow beast. But he hardly heard her, his angry heart thudding madly in his ears. Frustration clouded his vision and his judgement, yet he did not know enough to calm down and recollect himself. He was programmed to kill, not to think, and the snow beast was not the most intelligent of Aincrad's wildlife.

Which went a long way toward explaining why, rather than anticipating Lessa's next attack, he charged after her madly. If he had been thinking more clearly, he might have heard her mutter, "you idiot."

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 53/100

Edited November 22, 2015 by Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Lessa

{[39770] BD: 9. Critical success. Lessa deals 9 damage.}

"You idiot," Lessa snarled, shaking her head. How in the world was the beast so unsuccessful in all of its attacks? She had fought a number of enemies since joining Aincrad, but never anything quite so clueless. Of course, the girl did not want the monster to grow any more intelligent. Staying alive was the whole point, and if his stupidity made that easier, so be it. But she found herself worrying that there might be something worse lurking beyond this foe. No way this was all that the system had protecting such a precious reward.

It took very little work on her part to land yet another attack on the snow beast as he loped by her. Before he could emit another sound, or lash out one more time, she had already danced out of his reach.

Lessa: 55/58

Snow Beast: 44/100 (-9)

 

Edited November 22, 2015 by Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Snow Beast

{[39783] BD: 8. Snow Beast deals 3 damage.}

It was not skill that allowed the Snow Beast to finally land an attack on his opponent. Rather, it was sheer dumb luck. He now struggled to see where the young woman was, as white-hot rage seeped inward from all corners of his vision. Despite the cold climate, his blood boiled, and the tremors that coursed through his body were not caused by the cold. He wanted her dead.

This fury caused the monster to lash out wildly, a move that Lessa had not anticipated. Though he had never meant for it to hit her, as he was not even aware of her location at the time, the back of his hairy hand came into contact with her armor. She flew backward, a sharp thunk echoing among the trees.

Lessa: 52/58 (-3)

Snow Beast: 44/100

Edited November 23, 2015 by Lessa

[Zelrius 0]

Zel dun poofed his way through the snow for no reason at all really. He really wanted to show off, and killing snow beasts and stuffs was his specialty. So he dun poofed as said before, drawing his two blades and obliterating the already spawned thingy ma bob. Taking a glance in the direction that the now dead snow beast was facing, Zelrius recognized a rather familiar figure. His eyebrows creased deep with thought, as he attempted to guess whom the silhouette he saw belonged to. A few names jumped in his head, but one kept whispering back in agian and again. Yet, even as such, the Golden haired boy couldn't come to believe it to be true. It had been ages since the person whom he was thinking of had been seen, and even longer since She'd been in public places such as this. His heels of the black dress shoes he wore clicked and crunched the snow underfoot as he made his way step by step over to her, just to confirm. At this particular moment, his bowtie was bouncing around, clearly not tight enough, but for the first time in a long time, Zelrius was far too pre-occupied to worry about it. His now sheathed blades on each hip and the two pendants around his neck stopped their jingling as he drew close enough to recognized the figure and confirm his suspicion. He took a step back in bewilderment, half tempted to turn tail and run, Lessa was one of the last people Zelrius thought he'd ever see again.

ID 39784 BD 3+4 = 7

7+4 Fallen = 11+5 Charge = 16*27 = 432

He ded,

Edited November 23, 2015 by Zelrius

[Lessa 1]

It was over before she could comprehend what was happening.

She had been hit, that much she could tell. The sharp pain in her chest, and the subsequent flight through the air had been pretty sure indicators of that. She had landed in a graceless heap, tucked away deep inside a snowdrift. Her mind had immediately urged her to stand, but her body had been slower to oblige. The cold, and the throbbing of her bruised torso had slowed her movements significantly. But she was aware that taking too long would be a sure death sentence, and she was not willing to die alone on the fourth floor. With a groan of pain, she climbed to her feet, shaking the snow from herself and her equipment.

The sight that met her when she stood defied all explanation. The snow beast, who had been at half health only seconds before, burst into a series of pixels. As they rained down, mingling with the snowflakes that fell heavy around her, she became aware of a second figure. A figure that she had never expected to see again.

"Zelrius," she breathed. Her blue eyes widened with confusion, the shock of the fight still present in the flush of her cheeks and the pounding of her heart. "What are you doing here?"

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius made his way closer and closer to her step by step, holding his hands up slightly to show he didn't have a potion of paralysis this time around. "I am a frontliner, I can do whatever the hell I want. The better question is, what are you doing here. I always thought Floor four was hell, but I never expected to see dead people here." The boy spoke, his arrogant facade was gone. The ego that never truly existed had long faded by now, and as he approached Lessa, his creased brows constricted more, his flat line of a mouth slowly curving down into a small smile. He had genuinely felt bad about his last encounter with the Guardian, and to this day it still ate away at him when he reminisced. He didn't know what to say anymore, simply stood there, his dark blue orbs meeting hers, and then quickly flitting away, unable to create proper eye contact with female blonde in front of him. Slowly, the boy turned and began pacing or wandering, one or the other, clearly being a bit nervous and uncomrtable with the current situation.

[Lessa 1]

Lessa studied the boy for a moment, her blue gaze searching his for some sort of explanation. If his tone did not reveal that he was a changed man, his body language certainly did, as he quickly broke eye contact. A soft smile softened her features.

"I'm not dead," she answered him. "Though I do all I can to pretend I am, sometimes. Hiding down here on the lower floors makes it much easier to avoid running into old acquaintances." She shifted her weight from one hip to the other, the hard-packed snow crunching beneath the heel of her boot. The wind had picked up, swirling the fine particles of snow about their feet. As she turned to watch flakes, shimmering in the mid-day sunlight, she noticed the reward prompt hovering a distance off. Strangely, Zelrius had paid it no mind.

"I never thought I'd see you again though," she added suddenly, not turning to face him. "But I'm glad I did. You're the strongest player that I know. If anything had happened to you, I'm not sure that there would be any hope left for us."