Looking For A Challenge? (SAO) [Hiatus]

[Takarashi]

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Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________850 / 850 | LV: 4

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"I want to explore the dungeon too, and I'm more than willing to help, so that's no problem." Keiyo commented as he gently rested his sword on his shoulder. "As for clearing it... I'd like to, but I don't know if we can. I remember fighting a miniboss here with a few other people and I was killed in no time, so I imagine the actual boss must be way tougher. Though, the people that stayed at the miniboss managed to kill it apparently. If we grind out a few more levels we might stand a chance." While he spoke, the swordsman pulled open his menu and summoned his guide book. He flipped to a particular page and read it over. "It says here that bosses are generally treated as raids, with twenty-some people being recommended for the bigger battles." He proceeded to turn the page. "A raid is recommended for the first floor boss apparently. I don't see any information on subsequent bosses." He snapped the book shut and returned it to his inventory. "Carsys sent out a message about when the dungeon had been opened and its location, so every player will end up here at some point. There's probably some other parties around here too. If we find enough extra people we can try to beat it."

((I don't actually expect the RP to have 20-some people for the battle. When we reach the point for the boss fight I'll just say we have extra players and treat them as NPCs. We'll also use time skips at certain points to alleviate grinding so we can move forward.))

[Gamebrain25]

Gamebrain25

Player: Geki
Level: 4
HP: 785/800
Floor: 1
OOC:

Keiyo was willing to help the healer man out. It felt like Cai had just given them a sort of sub-quest. Geki listened as Keiyo went into a lecture of sorts about a miniboss he faced before as well as what to do for the big boss. Geki wasn't the least bit surprised that other players would be here, getting ready for the boss battle. Looks like they had some grinding to do. "In that case, we may as well make it official." Geki opened up his menu screen and sent a party invite to both Cai and PoH.

[CloudxHimura]

Player: Itsuki
Level: 5
Health: ████████████████████ 1050 / 1050


Itsuki had finally finished loading his character after a long day of work. The day seemed to drag on and on as he waited to get home and dive into the world of Aincrad. He tested his reflexes as soon as he was able to move in the game and made his way through the town. he had spent the previous night raising his sewing ability to make decent enough leather clothes to suit his level. The rest of the equipment he made was either traded to the shops for money or given away to beginning players to help them level faster. He scrolled through his remaining inventory and selected one of his creations, a leather duster, and equipped the jacket. The brown colored leather didn't seem to suit him so he quickly purchased some dyes and dyed his equipment black. With this task finished, Itsuki equipped his Wakizashi and headed towards the first floor dungeon.

Shortly after leaving the safe zone, Itsuki was attacked by a small pack of boars. The beasts charged at the player with intent on killing him, but were stopped short by their opponent. Itsuki rapidly flash stabbed the beasts one after the other, zig-zagging from one to the next until they all seemed to freeze for a moment. As the swordsman slid his blade into its sheathe the beasts shattered into pieces leaving col and a few small potions. He quickly gathered the items and made his way to the dungeon entrance only to find another party had already began a raid on the dungeon. Using his detection skill, Itsuki counted four other players in the immediate area. He thought to himself "I could ask them if they need assistance....or I could slip past them and attempt to solo this dungeon." He opened up his menu screen to check his inventory and selected the beginner's guide. The book materialized in his hands and he began to thumb through the pages, reading about the mini-boss and how a raid was recommended almost exactly as one of the other players nearby had mentioned it. He let out a sigh as he snapped the book shut, returning it to his inventory. He wasn't much of a 'people person' and enjoyed being a solo- player, but if this boss was going to be difficult, he would have to man up and do what needed to be done.

After trying to convince himself that he could solo the dungeon for a few minutes more, Itsuki finally caved in and approached the group. "Need a tank for your party?" He inquired the swordsman, who seemed like he was the party leader. "I can make you some new leather armor too." He added, his sewing skills were quite high for such a low level character. This allowed him to make sturdier equipment.

[I_See_You_Monster]

PoH ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________1050 / 1050 | LV: 5

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PoH listened as the three spoke, they seemed like a nice group, far kinder than the person she partied with prior. Joining would be to her advantage especially if they intended to fight the boss. Free exp would be nice and if she could grab loot that would be even better. The first floor boss probably dropped some pretty nice gear. She wondered if it was the same as the original release. PoH recalled reading about a rather iconic coat, a part of her deeply wanted it though she doubted anyone would fork it over so easily. Such a bridge would be crossed when she got there.

PoH pressed "Accept" on the party invite looking at the button as if it was a decision she made with much thought. "I'll come, I need the exp and there is a drop I somewhat want. Cai, I don't know where your herb patch is but I also make potions, though not as good as yours I can help you gather. My rank in gathering should be more than enough for something in floor 1." PoH spoke normally going back to sounding somewhat nervous. Her stance became less defensive and more regular until she turned to see a man reading his manual. She had heard him near the entrance just barely.

PoH didn't speak to this new player at first and merely stared in his direction until he entered. He was alone, PoH didn't see many players come to this dungeon alone unless they were strong or stupid. The only reason she had survived half way was because of various tricks. PoH wanted to speak up but chose not to and instead took a few steps back to stand near Keiyo and Geki although she stayed a step behind them. She wasn't the party lead and was just along for the ride so she had little say in the matter. As long as she got exp and a shot at the boss drop then that was more than she could do solo. Though if it was a raid the likelyhood of her getting the drop was low, if it even was what it supposidly used to be.

[Shisei Tenshi]

I Am: Lv. 3 Medic Exp. 1000 EXP Needed For Next Level: 500 EXP
Health: ████████████████████ 600/600 Status: Normal
I'm With: PoH, Geki, Keiyo, and Itsuki
I'm Doing: Feeling nervous at the Entrance of the first dungeon
My Inventory: Equipped: Two Handed Staff, Cloth Armor. Misc: HP Potion 30% X 12 AntiVenom X 10 Money: 00
OOC: --

Canias ... Just call me Cai.

Cai accepted the party invention then bowed to his new party members. "Thank you very much." He said briefly bowing to Keiyo, Geki, and PoH. He had only meet his teammates moments ago, but already he felt more comfortable going into the dungeon and felt his chances of dying inside were slimming which was a good thing. "Thanks PoH. The herb I need has green stems, red roots, and orange flowers. It's called a Mandrake when I last found one. I got lucky and the herb patch was three rooms in on my last attempt, but according to the beginner guide they usually spawn near the floor miniboss room and a rare chance for a second patch to be near the boss room. Guess we will have to keep our eyes out. " Shortly after another player came offering to be a tank for the party. Cai remembered hearing or reading that somewhere and after a moment he finally recalled where he saw the term. On the player boards a message read that strong players with a lot of health and defense would often guard weaker ones and aid in defeating monsters to help with leveling up. If that is what Itsuki meant it seemed like a noble action and Cai would need his help if anything really bad showed up along with the skills Keiyo, Geki, and PoH possessed.

"Thank you for the offer Itsuki. I would be happy if you came, but I think Keiyo is our leader. The more the merrier and it always seems more fun doing stuff in a group. Is it okay if he joins us Keiyo?" Cai was most likely the weakest of the group because of the prestats determined by his professional class. He didn't mind if he had low health or defense. He never planed to take on anything crazy strong all by himself in the first place. He recently just gained confidence killing off the boars outside of town, but even against them he sometimes had trouble if the did a critical and broke his guard stance. If he knew he would be taking on the dungeon with a group today he would of made more supplies before heading out. Cai would use his supplies sparingly until they reached the miniboss room. He figured after that things would become even more challenging for them. "Everyone leave the healing to me.. and I'll leave the fighting to you guys." Cai sounded excited. He might even try to fight a monster as well as long as everyone's health was okay.

[Takarashi]

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Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________850 / 850 | LV: 4

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The room had become rather crowded in a short amount of time. Keiyo had only expected to do some grinding and exploring, but with a varied group of this size, he felt they were prepared to take on just about anything. "If that other group managed to fight their way past the miniboss with their setup, then maybe we can handle it too." The swordsman thought. He proceeded to perk up when another player approached them. The man seemed a bit intimidating, but they were being friendly enough. "I guess that settles it. It's like the very game itself is trying to push us forward." He mused, with a hint of a smile on his face. "Yeah. We could use a tank." He proceeded to send the party invite to the newcomer.

"Alright. If we're all set, then let's move forward. Coordinate your attacks as best as you can and we'll plow through the monsters ahead. " He looked toward the newcomer. "If you're gonna be the tank then you can take point." Keiyo said as he stepped aside.

((Alright, at this point, since we've got a sizable group, we can either take on the Bronze Arachnid miniboss right now, or we can time skip to reach the boss room. If we do the latter then you're all welcome to boost yourself by a few levels. 1-3 sounds reasonable. I'll also give a quick rundown of how floor bosses work if that's the case.))

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 4
HP: 785/800
Floor: 1
OOC:

Another player had arrived and Geki turned his attention to the young man wearing what appeared to be a respirator. And like the others, luckily, he was just as friendly as Cai and PoH... Well...as friendly as Cai, at least. Once Keiyo sent out the party invite, Geki knew they were ready. "All right. Let's get going."

[CloudxHimura]

Player: Itsuki
Level: 5
Health: ████████████████████ 1035 / 1050


Itsuki pushed the accept button on the pop-up menu for the invitation to the party. This allowed him to see the names of the other players in the party. He nodded at Keiyo's idea and began to walk a few feet ahead of the party. He stopped almost immediately after entering the next room, using his tracking ability to see just how many creatures were ahead of them. "I count at least five enemies ahead." he stated before rushing into the room. He quickly unsheathed his Washizaki and prepared for anything. A few short moments later four skeletons rushed him from the dark areas of the room, each with a sword and shield. Itsuki swung his two-handed sword around, damaging the four creatures to gain their full attention. Two of them rushed him from the front immediately and had been dealt with quickly by an extremely precise flash stab. The two defeated Skeletons burst into light and dropped Col. The other two skeletons took the swordsman by surprise and knocked him off his guard with their shields. This sent Itsuki tumbling forward, he quickly rolled to his feet and used the broad end of his blade to block both of their swords. The loud clashing of metal on metal echoed through the room as he pushed the skeletons back. Itsuki decided to use an unorthodox method to fight these two, as he grasped his sheathe and threw it at one of the skeletons, knocking it's shield up for a moment, giving him just enough time to flash stab it a few times from multiple angles. The creature burst into light dropping Col like the others before him. The final skeleton rushed Itsuki again and was pushed back by the swordsman's blade once more."Anyone else want some of this EXP?" He said as he held the creature back with the broad side of his blade.

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 5
HP: 785/800
Floor: 1
OOC:

Once everything was set, the party continued further into the dungeon, stopping only as Itsuki said he sensed five enemies ahead. And boy did they look familiar. "These guys again?!" Itsuki had already swung his giant sword, damaging all four of the skeletons at once, much to Geki's astonishment. Keiyo made the deal of a lifetime inviting this guy to the party. He clearly knew what he was doing. Once he had smashed through three of them, he held the last one back for someone else. "I'm on it!" Geki quickly unsheathed his sword and held it behind him before charging in and swinging it upward for a Rage Spike, cleaving right through the last skeleton like butter. "YEAH!" Once the last skeleton was destroyed, a pop-up appeared in front of Geki.

Congratulations. You have reached Level 5.

[I_See_You_Monster]

PoH ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________1050 / 1050 | LV: 5

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PoH Walked into the room quietly but quickly watching this new party member throttling the skeletons as if she were not amused. He was strong, too strong. As long as they stayed allies this would be perfectly fine however he was a tanky type character and dealt a fair ammount of damage on top of that. PoH stood not intervening as he fought merely observing everything though she cascaded her face in a look of indifference.

After the new member had pinned the skeleton and asked if they wanted exp PoH quickly removed a dagger from inside her robe and throwing it in one quick motion sending it speeding into the skeletons skull. The monster burst into fragments of light... or at least that's what would have happened had Geki not charged in front of her cleaving the skeleton and leveling up. Instead the dagger flew slamming into the wall and wizzing by Geki's head a centimeter closer and it would have cut his cheek or eye, however it did not and merely fell to the floor with an unsatisfying clank. PoH lowered her hand to her side beginning to walked towards where her dagger lay. PoH picked up the dagger and returned it to her robe looking at the two of them very flatly quite clearly she was not amused.

"Why is it you needed our assistance again?" PoH spoke in a low monotone voice, she almost sounded annoyed and partially impressed as she walked back to where Keiyo and the Medic were. She was not at all used to partying with others however it was hard to take her too seriously given she looked frail and very thin. The very reason PoH wore the hood was because she was aware her character in the game looked far too adorable and would not be taken seriously if she didn't keep her hood up. She did not want to be the character that everyone walked all over.

{{Edit Finished}}

[CloudxHimura]

Player: Itsuki
Level: 5
Health: ████████████████████ 1035 / 1050


Once the last Skeleton had been defeated, Itsuki fell backwards and sighed, un-equipping his headgear for a moment to catch his breath. Once his health bar had regenerated he stood up and grabbed the sheathe he had thrown at one of the enemies and sheathed his blade, clasping them to his back once more. "It's a dungeon, there's bound to be more enemies around here." He said, aiming his comment towards PoH. "I'm here to take the damage from the monsters so that you guys can defeat them." he said in an a cocky tone His entire personality seemed to change when he removed his headgear. Was he actually opening up to these people? "This is as far as I've ventured into the first floor dungeon. Who knows what awaits us up ahead."

[Gamebrain25]

Player: Geki
Level: 5
HP: 785/800
Floor: 1
OOC:

Geki suddenly froze when PoH's dagger flew past him, just a centimeter from his cheek. He didn't move a muscle when PoH strolled past him and picked up said dagger, cool as a cucumber. Only when she walked back and asked why they needed her assistance was when Geki thought it was safe to turn around and address her. "Well...this is my first time in a dungeon. I don't know what to expect. Having more players with us is reassuring."

[I_See_You_Monster]

PoH ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________1050 / 1050 | LV: 5

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"I've been as far as the half way point in this dungeon and usually it's kobolds. I haven't seen skeletons before so your guess is as good as mine." PoH responded her tone unchanging. It wasn't that surprising for a person with as much strength as he had to be cocky. PoH didn't care if he was so long as she got exp and more importantly loot. She was more than interested in the boss drop and had been pondering it the entire time. Being in a party was a rather strange experience for her as it had been a while since she was in one in any MMO.

"If you need potions both Cai and I make them, though his are much better and taste far less awful than mine." PoH offered sounding somewhat kind for a moment. The fact this man acted cocky made her a bit more comfortable. If he was openly like that then it likely meant he didn't hide his intentions or how he felt. PoH could feel a bit at ease around a person like that.