[F1] A Story of Two Knights. (Ssendom + Calrex)

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom warped into the first floor, had been awhile since he had traversed the Town of Beginnings. He strolled to the main fountain that sat as the centerpiece of the entire town. He simply stared at it for awhile adorned in his standard brown cloth since his armor would be a tell-tale sign of whom it was. After he stopped staring since his mind continued to wander, he walked up and sat upon the ledge of the fountain. He listened to the water constantly splashing hitting against his back, he continued to sit just deep in thought.

[Calrex 0]

"Back on the first floor again. I guess this is still one of the top places to frequent during down time."

Calrex gave a small exhale as he put his hands into his jacket pockets. Ever since the system had been updated, there seemed to be less and less need for him to wear the Grand Chariot, as the Grand Dragoon was almost equivalent in power. However, with the new Tide Pendant he had received from Teayre, his accuracy and evasion stats had been maxed as far as they could. To add to this he had recently gained yet another level and another rank in his sword skill.

Entering into the central plaza of the Starting City he saw a fountain that reminded him of the first time he had met Lowenthal. Of course that time the orange-haired player had fallen into the fountain itself, which was certainly a sight to see. "Hm...?"

Looking down at his local area list he saw that a familiar face was also in the area, "I certainly have not seen Ssendom in quite a while. Let's see he's at..."

Giving a calming breath he activated his <<Reveal>> skill as the landscape turned transparent as he saw that the larger player was just across from where he was as he made his way over, giving a friendly wave as he spoke in a lighter-hearted tone, "Taking some down time?"

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom blinked and looked to his right hearing a slightly familiar voice, "Well I'll be... That's a face I haven't seen in over a month and a half." He said in a lazily tone. He shifted his body to face towards Calrex, "How's everything been in the world of the Rex?" He asked the man whom he had defeated the Snow Beast a while back, and Ssendom wasn't one to forget a face. He stretched and turned his look towards the fountain then begun to realize how drenched his back had become, after which he stood up and turned to look at the fountain itself while leaning on the edge.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, the world of Rex? Well, things haven't really changed much from the last time I saw you, well, other than the fact that I'm no longer in a guild and Absolute Pin has been disbanded. Other than that nothing significantly different has happened, heh."

Calrex gave a friendly smile as Ssendom got up from where he was sitting before turning to face the fountain, "Yeah, the last time I saw him was certainly a while back, when I was still in Absolute Pin. I'm surprised how quickly the guild was disbanded after Teayre and I decided to depart. In any case, to my knowledge, it looks like everyone that was a part had found a new home either in another guild or as a solo player."

Moving some of his blue hair out of the way of his face he gave a nod, "How have things been with you? A month and a half is certainly a lot of time for things to have happened."

[Ssendom 0]

"I am sorry to hear that Absolute Pin had broken up. What made you decide to quit the guild?" He asked Calrex with some curiosity. He stood up straight, cracked his neck though he never took his attention off the fountain. The face he was making made it bluntly obvious that someone was deep on his mind, the bags under his eyes were ever so much more noticeable while his face was in profile vs head on.

He blinked as he seemed to regain his focus and turned his face toward Calrex, "Man, it's been a rather rough ride this past month and a half to be completely truthful." He confessed before taking a big breath. "I have been promoted to Commandant as Oikawa has chosen to demote himself and take some time for himself, for how long he will be gone... None of us know." He started, "And that's just the beginning of it."

[Calrex 0]

"Man, that does sound rough. I just ran into Oikawa a few days ago and saw him leading the floor boss meeting, so I guess that was just after that concluded."

"Guess the trials of Aincrad were wearing on him. That's understandable, as I remember even Celes, whom I saw a long time ago, is still taking it easy, at least to my knowledge."

Deciding to respond to Ssendom's question next Calrex gave a breath before responding, "Well, it was various reasons, but after spending some time as a leading position in Absolute Pin I realized that I never really got comfortable with leadership or the inter-guild politics. Being in a guild, even the welcoming family-like ones, felt constricting in a way. Being a guildless player gives me a lot of freedom, which I appreciate."

Taking note of the expression on the brown-haired player's face he remembered something he had yet to ask, "If you don't mind me asking how have things been with you and Meo? It's been a very long time since I last saw her, so I wasn't sure what happened since I last saw you both."

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom's face winced when Calrex mentioned Meokka. He let out a deep sigh when asked how the two of them were doing, it was the first time he was really needing to explain what exactly happened. Only two people actually knew what had happened to him and the blue haired woman, as the two men were both more or less affected by her actions. "I can understand the feeling of being constricted while being in a guild, I made it explicitly clear that my actions are my own regardless of being in a guild. If I were to be told I wasn't allowed to go to the Floor Boss Battle, I would have said my farewells. Me being a Commandant of the guild I still hold the same regards." He continues recognizing Calrex's opinions on being in a guild.

He took a deep breath again and then exhaled it out, "On the other note you asked. How me and Meokka are doing. I haven't had to explain it explicitly just yet, but me and her are no longer an item. It's a bit of a long story, I'll explain if you honestly want to listen." His tone sounded a bit annoyed as the entire ordeal still crawled under his skin.

[Calrex 0]

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that."

"They broke up? I had no idea. Well, I can't really say that Meo and I were close enough to speak about personal things like that. I know that she was closer with Ariel and Teayre, so it's likely maybe she opened up to them about it."

Giving a calming exhale Calrex gave a nod, "If you want to speak about it I'm free and ready to listen, but I won't push if it's not something you're too uncomfortable talking to me about it I understand. I know things like this are fairly sensitive topics, so I'd rather not force you to explain anything."

Moving over to the side of the fountain he took a seat, making sure to observe where the stone was wet to avoid getting his clothes soaked as he kept his hands in his pockets, "If anything you have my condolences, so know that if things are still rough I've got your back."

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom took a step back to admire the entire thing again, "Well I'm not real big on holding grudges, or sitting on sentiment to be fully honest." He said bluntly, "To be completely frank, she abandoned me and Jomei down in the depths of Cerberus's chambers. No where to be found, and she hasn't answered any of my messages nor have I seen her once since." He continued as he leaned onto his back foot, "So I have decided to cut ties with her in a relationship aspect, I won't hold anything against her if I see her in person. I just will not treat her as I once did." His face and demeanor didn't change even in the slightest, his expression was equal to that of when they fought the Snow Beast together. Ssendom seemed to be unusually calm about the entire ordeal instead of more angry or upset about it.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex listened attentively as Ssendom gave a short and simple explanation of what had happened, making note of the stoic expression the man had on his face as he finished his sentence. Giving a nod he began to respond, "Makes sense. I'm sorry that things happened the way they did. Hopefully at some point you're able to find an explanation for what happened. But, like you said there's no point in dwelling on past things, especially if currently there's no way to get answers about them. I'm glad at least that both you and Jomei are still alive. When I first saw Oikawa after quite some time I also ran into Jomei in the same location."

"The one thing that seems odd is the fact that Meokka would go and abandon them in the middle of a quest. From what I knew of her, that seems very, very out of character, almost like a different person. In any case if I ever see her again I'll see if there's a way I can inquire about it, but this is something that should be addressed between the three of them."

Getting to his feet Calrex turned around to look at the fountain as well. It was certainly a unique design, likely a piece of architecture that one would not see in the real world. It was something designed specifically for SAO, and was certainly fantasy-based. Places were the water arced in such a majestic way would not be possible for a water pressure system operating under the physics of reality. 

"In any case, are you going to be participating in the upcoming boss fight?"

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom chuckled when Calrex asked if he was going to be apart of the Floor Boss Raid, "You'd be nuts to think I wasn't going after the spiel about me quitting a guild if I wasn't allowed to attend the Floor Raid Boss. Currently I'm set as the assistant tank to Tristan who will be holding down the fort against the Main boss. Mean while our newest Brigadier which Tristan and Zelrius know quite well will be handling the tank of the Dregs. They told me her name was Nikki, and I didn't inquire much else about it." He mentioned to Calrex, He started to slowly walk around the massive fountain that was larger than most villages. He definitely admired it, but the images in his head weren't of anything else but the boss fight they would be partaking in, he honestly couldn't even wait. "I haven't received any inquiry about your current statistics, I'm formulating a plan that would best serve our team to handling this boss and bringing it down to size. I know it's normally taboo to ask, but in this circumstance I think you understand where I am coming from." He technically hinted in a very blunt way towards the man.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, of course, shows how alert I am right now."

The fact that Ssendom was going to be participating in the floor raid, guild-affiliated or not, had completely slipped his mind, but nonetheless it seems that as Calrex had suspected the elites of the Azure Brigade were already hard at work with their tactics and strategies for the battle. Of course, since it was his first time participating in such a high-level event, he allowed them to sort him into whichever team they felt he fit best in.

"I complete understand, so don't worry. Ever since the system patch occurred I've been working to get back to the level of strength I had before. Right now I've successfully gotten my sword skill back up to the Master rank, with my armor skill to come after I maximize it. Since I'm wielding a one-handed sword it's got a lot of techniques to work with. Right now I'm only at Expert rank for my armor, but with the gear I'm currently using my accuracy and evasion have been maximized. Likely right before the battle I'm going to use a perfect level damage potion to boost my damage output further, possibly adding a damage boosting / evasion downing snack or fish to further enhance that."

Putting a hand behind his head gave a smile, "However going just by my stats I got word from Zelrius that I'll be serving as another tank alongside you, Tristan, and Ariel so that we can easily change out the boss' primary target when needed, as my mitigation is still higher than most of the strikers that have signed up for the raid. The team I'll be in is tentatively Rebekah, Ariel, and Teayre. However..."

Putting a hand to his chin Calrex decided that voicing his concern to Ssendom would be founded, "I think there are two main elements that I heard about in the meeting are still something I'm concerned about. That is the incense and the stained glass. The incense, of course, makes me assume that there might be an ambient effect on the area, possibly some kind of vision hindrance or poison. As for the stained glass ceiling, it was mentioned that it depicted a crusader falling into a pit of flames. It might just be me being a little overly cautious, but I feel like it wouldn't be too out there if the game decided to have the floor fall out beneath us, along with the crusader."

"Or it might be a depiction of the crusader falling into the depths of hell, hence becoming forsaken..."

Calrex's Stats:
HP: 166/166
DMG: 9
ACC: 3
EVA: 4
MIT: 25

Potential Items:
Rank III Damage Potion (+3 DMG)
Perfect Snack/Fish (+3 DMG / -3 EVA)

Edited September 30, 2015 by Calrex

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom listened to Calrex about offering his thoughts and strategy idea's after which he opened up himself, "Well thinking on it, if you were going to suffer your Evasion to boost your damage it'd be smart to drop what gives you those boosts so you don't lose stats from your equipment since I've learned your Evasion cannot drop below zero. Taking into account what you mentioned about the stained glass window, I would assume that we drop into an area of fire and take large surmounts of damage from it, if'n I take that correct it'll be caused by the incense of some sort. Me and Oikawa did obtain all the information about the boss room that was used for Zelrius and Tristan to lead the conversation on it." He said in a very long winded attempt. He took a slight breath, "If I were you, I'd look into taking an additional Damage Mitigation food to boost your survivability when needed. If I am to recall correctly you still possess Howl, we might need a secondary tank to pick up the dregs in case there are too many for Nikki to handle alone. All of our plans will be altered in the middle of the boss battle, and we need to make sure everyone will listen to direction." He stopped and chuckled, "I honestly just meant that reducing your Eva after having put so much into it would be a waste, you still possess a weapon capable of paralysis correct?" He asked the Ultramarine Knight.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as Ssendom gave his two bits on what armament and items he should try and focus on. Since he was speaking with Tristan and Zelrius about the grand strategy, he figured to take it into account, "Yeah, you do have a point. Maybe I'll take a look at damage mitigation for the food enhancement, that way I can keep my evasion maximized. Better to avoid a hit than take one and need healing right?"

Swiping on his inventory he nodded as the man inquired if he still possessed weapons that had the Paralyze enhancement, "Yeah, I actually have two now. Originally I only had the Grand Maelstrom, which I used when we went against the Snow Beast, but after my match with Oikawa in the S&Z tournament I actually  made a weapon of my own using the rank up item I got from the quest."

As he finished speaking the Grand Blade and its sheath vanished from the back of his hip as another weapon replaced it. First and foremost, the blade itself was significantly wider than a normal straight sword, with the base of the blade almost double in width to the Grand Blade. The entirety of the sword seemed themed on an arctic wolf, with a wolf symbol at the sword's base. "With the Frozen Fang Blade there's a Paralyze and Bleed effect on it, although I'm not exactly sure how useful the second effect is nowadays."

Edited September 30, 2015 by Calrex

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom tapped on his chin a bit with his brown gloved hand for a second while deep in thought, "It's true to avoid a hit rather than take it in the face, my style of fighting doesn't utilize dodging, I take on the attacks head on regardless. So no matter what I am going to utilize the reduction in Evasion for the power boost. I am probably one of the only players in this world that has his role idea set as a brusier, I output the most damage, but I also intake the most damage for sure. I am probably the easiest to hit too. So if I'm gonna go down, I am gonna make sure the other goes down faster." He continued to explain his reasoning behind the evasion reduction food.

After he finished, he cleared his throat. "With the new Stun system having an immunity for at least two respective attacks after the first applied the stun. We going to need a constant stream of paralysis kept up during the time when another stun cannot be applied for a period of time. So most people are going to need to bring their Paralysis weapons if they possess them, it is up to me to hold up a consistent stun timer. Sorry if I'm boring you with the tiny information of this boss fight." He rambled on into an apology to Calrex, "I am sure this isn't what you want to be talking about on your free time, the boss fight to come." He sighed as he stretched his arms above his head cracking some bones in him.

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, I get your meaning. I think I originally became a kind of bruiser because I wanted to blend attack and defense together without excelling at either. However recently I can see why some people have decided to go with complete tank or glass cannon builds. Tanks rely on endurance to outlast their enemies, while glass cannons forego defenses on the faith that they can fell an opponent before it can score a hit. I guess now at the level I'm at the main thing I'm aiming for is adaptability, versatility, and survivability while still being able to synergize decently well with other players' abilities."

Hearing the next part of the strategy Calrex was easily able to pick up on what Ssendom was speaking about. It was in essence the same thing he had heard Mack mention multiple times: paralocking. If the boss was as powerful as everyone was suspecting it to be, preventing it from attacking was extremely important. Hearing the man's apology on the subject matter of the conversation Calrex gave a dismissing wave with a friendly tone, "No not at all. I appreciate all of the information. The most I knew about the strategies for the boss battle is what has been passed on to me, so hearing in detail what it is the team leaders are planning is definitely helpful. I'd rather avoid becoming a hindrance in the battle."

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom chuckled at Calrex who thought that he might be a hindrance in the battle, "As long as everyone listen's to the directive, no one will be a hindrance in the midst of the battle. And if anyone know's anything a plan only goes so far until it needs to be put in motion, and we aren't the type to have scouts walk into a boss room and risk their life to gather the information needed to see what the boss does." He informs Calrex. 

Ssendom looked over the horizon which the gate outside the city sat. "Just think, we'll be walking on floor twelve in no time. We're slowly doing it, but we'll make it out of this game in no time. And just like you this is my first floor boss raid I've attended, but I'm using my knowledge from prior games in order to help formulate my plans and course of action. And thanks to the help of Zelrius and Tristan who've attended plenty of floor boss raids, and likewise with Rebekah the other Commandant. We'll make sure we get through this the best we can." He patted Calrex on the back, he respected the man he was talking to and knew that he would be an excellent addition to the raiding group.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a smirk and a nod as Ssendom patten him on the back, "Of course, as long as there aren't any Leeroy Jenkins or other extremely bravado individuals throwing things off we should be fine, heh. It certainly will be a sight to see the next floor so soon. After being stuck on ten floors for so long it almost seems unreal that we're finally making some decent headway into getting out of here."

"Can't image how much taller I might be by the time this is all said and done. Geezes I'll probably need to get a haircut first thing before anything else."

"The same here. I've played more than a decent amount of games in the past, so I've got some past knowledge in terms of what this game could possibly throw at us. With the amount of strength all of the frontliners have I have a feeling as long as we plan carefully and act accordingly we should be able to proceed to through a decent amount of floors with some safe comfort."

"Although there might be new threats on the upper floors that we have yet to see here. This game can only get harder as we proceed higher, but hopefully we'll be getting new gear and skills to help scale with the upcoming adversities. It's exciting and worrisome at the same time, but that is understandable."

Stretching his arms Calrex gave a small exhale as he nodded, "So, what is it you've got planned for today? I've got pretty much an open schedule, so if you want to go do some training it might certainly do us some good."

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom looked over at Calrex, "Yeah, most my day is free if used for power leveling. I'm on a hard grind atm, Just recently traversed the entire 7th floor with my recent companion." He said grinning. Knowing that Calrex would be curious of what he was specifically talking about, he started walking to the outdoors. "Thinking on the Floor Raid Boss as a whole, I know I need to be in peak fighting and prepared for anything. Just recently I was grouped up with Teayre and two others, by the way how are things between you and her. I remember you two were talking about having a marriage." He asked and pondered into Calrex's personal business.

[Calrex 0]

"The entire seventh floor? That's certainly a trip. I don't think I've even covered half the region during my material hunting trips."

Following alongside Ssendom Calrex began to swipe on his inventory to revert back the Frozen Fang Blade to his Grand Blade as he kept his left hand in his pocket, "The same here. Even with the amount of levels I've jumped I still don't feel like I'm exactly up to par compared to Tristan, Zelrius, and some of the other stronger players, so I feel that some more training will still always be in order."

Hearing his fiancee's name mentioned he gave a nod, "Oh, nice that you two got to meet. I forgot I needed to introduce the two of you, which quest did you decide to undertake? As for the marriage, yeah we are still planning it. It might still be a bit longer before any invites go out, as we've been busy getting ourselves ready for the floor raid. Hopefully it'll be sooner than later."