Looking For A Challenge? (SAO) [Hiatus]

[The Cake Boss]

Kalcer

"Hiyahh!" The glint of steel, the strain of muscle, and the coursing of adrenaline. All virtual, but in the heat of the moment one could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Hands tightening around the hilt of the blade, Kalcer dug his feet into the dirt as dark brown eyes focused upon the beast before him. The wolf had managed to leap back from his attack, saliva-drenched fangs bared as it slowly paced back and forth. A low-level beast it may have been, but the tension was still almost thick enough to cut with a knife. The blue-haired man's eyes narrowing ever so slightly, the faintest of grins lit his lips as he the tip of his blade pointed forward. Breath held, his heart pounding, teeth clenched together. Above the mangy wolf, he could make out its health bar...only a slight blip of red remaining. Right then, this was going to be it. The decisive strike...

"C'mon, you mutt."

It obliged, letting out a ferocious snarl before it charged right towards him. Steadying himself even as danger came barreling forward, the young man allowed himself to tense before quickly bringing his blade back. Muscle memory kicking in, he held it there a couple seconds more...a faint tingling overcoming his arm as the skill began to take effect. The wolf was moments away now, and with a thump it leaped into the air. Claws outstretched, ready to dig into the adventurer's throat, his steady grin barely wavered as Kalcer put all of his might into his next swing. Feet digging deep into the ground, he stepped forward an-

"Oh shi-"

...happened to be a couple of moments too late. Before he could fully finish his swing, the massive wolf collided right with him. Hitting the ground with a thump, the beast landing upon him, and the last thing Kalcer saw before the everything went back were a set of bared canines.

>RESPAWN?

[Yes]

Ugh, that...went a lot better in my head.

One respawn later, followed by a short walk, and the blue-haired warrior was back out in the fields. A faint sigh slipping out of his lips, his arms crossed. "Hm." Slowly, his gaze shifted over the field. Maybe it was time to upgrade? The stalls would probably gouge him of what little gold he actually had, but maybe he snag something off one of the monsters? Worst came to worst, he'd at least be able to fill up his rather meager coffers.

"Alright then, new objective..."

The hiss of steel ringing in his ears, his rusty blade once more left its sheeth. Bracing himself, the player charged right back into the fray.

Level: 3
HP: 100%
Money: Dirt poor

[fairfolk1]

xxxxxA e a r oxxxxx

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Lvl: 1
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She nodded to him when he told her why he wanted to be classed a swordsman. She could respect that, it certainly was a way to play. Aearo personally didn't mind what role she's classed into as long as it's decently fun. "Guess I'll probably go into blacksmithing since it suits my class the most. And it'll save me money." She said after he told her most of the professions. She didn't have much interest in the others, though she did feel like she'd probably pick another one up as her secondary later. She didn't have as much of an interest in professions as she did the combat as well. Blacksmithing and Tailors were in basically every MMO, but having to actually use skills was quite a bit different. She felt it would entertain her far longer than picking flowers or things like that.

They arrived at the alleyway and Aearo stared in, looking at all the different shops. It might take a while to sell all this stuff to their certain vendors. She thought, though she liked the idea. It always seemed weird to her in other MMOs that you could sell fish to a blacksmith or metal armor to a food vendor, this just made it seem more realistic. She liked the realism that was brought with this game. She heard his request to add each other and kinda stared up at him for a few seconds before saying, "I kinda prefer to keep my friends list empty and only with people I seem to run into a lot or play with a lot." She didn't mean to be rude or anything, it was just something she OCD'd about. She just couldn't bring herself to add people unless she'd been playing with them for quite a while, which only seemed to include people she hung out with irl or people she ran into at dungeon entrances a lot. "Anyways, thanks for showing me the way. Maybe see ya later." She told him, waving goodbye and walking into the alleyway.

It surprisingly only took around five minutes; the vendors were organized pretty nicely. She'd sold all her loot and bought a pick for if she ever ran into any ores, though that currently seemed unlikely. The mountains on this level looked pretty far off, she'd probably have to be level seven or so before going there. She turned in her quest, which made her very close to leveling, and proceeded to start wandering around town, only to stop at the town square because of a smell. It was aromatic and made her stomach growl; this was something that she didn't know the game even allowed for. Realism indeed. She thought to herself, wondering if your character had hunger. She guessed that they did since she felt hungry. "A little bit of the cooking skill would probably be good to pick up..." She mumbled to herself, staring slightly hungrily towards the girl who was cooking.

[Takarashi]

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Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀
_________________190 / 250 | LV: 1_

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Keiyo merely shrugged and nodded at Aearo's friend list comment. It made sense. Friends were earned, not found. And it really didn't make much sense to add a person you would only ever see once. He offered his own departing words and went on his way.

As the young swordsman strode onto the open field once more he began to thinking about tactics. The boars were pretty easy all things considered. After a few battles he likely wouldn't even come close to being hit by them, what with how basic their AI was. Wolves were trickier with how quickly and sporadically they moved. Still, in time he would learn them as well. Practice makes perfect as the saying goes. But right here and now, what could he do to boost his training? Maybe he could try using a shield. Keiyo even went so far as checking his inventory for how much Col he had to see if he could afford one. The pathetic amount of money staring back at him said he wouldn't have something like that for a little while yet though. "Guess I should earn some money. My next battle should have me level up, too."

It took a bit of searching and waiting for one to pop up, but Keiyo found himself another wolf to fight. He could have just gone after packs of boars, but he understood the idea of how MMOs, and most games in generally really, rewarded players. The easier the task the more basic the prize. Putting in the extra bit of effort usually paid off quite well. Even if it didn't, the practice and experience would be good enough. He drew his sword, made eye contact with the wolf, then charged in to take on his beastly foe.

Things seemed alright at first. Both Keiyo and the wolf dodged attacks swiftly, and for a few exchanges neither managed to land a hit. "I just need to catch you off guard, then you're mine!" The young swordsman thought. The wolf leaped and snapped its jaws at him, but he narrowly evaded. The wolf was behind him now, and they had their backs to one another. "Now! I'll swing around and slice it in half!" The aura of his Sword Skill shone on command, and he was turning to deliver the killing blow. The wolf had been quicker than Keiyo had anticipated though, and it was already lunging at him again. The lad didn't even have time to think as the beast's jaws clenched down on his forearm - and continued right on through. A horrible pain shot through Keiyo's arm and made him howl. His right hand separated from his body and shattered while his sword fell to the ground.

[Takarashi]

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Keiyo ██████████▀▀
_________________150 / 250 | LV: 1_

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The game was merciful in that pain didn't last long. Even extremely painful hits only lasted for the time that the health bar was decreasing, or so Keiyo seemed to find. Some method of feedback to let the player know that they're being hit and how intense it is. From the ground up everything about this curious game, which he still didn't know the name of, was meant to teach the player and give them a fair shot. Even as he looked at the stump on his arm right now he knew it had been fair. Attacking blindly had been foolish and he had paid for it.
There were bigger problems right now than just his hand, though. The wolf had made a successful hit and wasn't slowing down. Its claws raked across the swordsman's back and he let out another yelp of pain. He got lucky as he tucked and rolled off to the side to let him dodge a followup attack. "Damn it, I don't want to die already! I'm so close to my next level!" He thought with gritted teeth.

Keiyo spied his sword on the ground and quickly snatched it up with his left hand. Even as he took a firm grip on the blade he felt clumsy with it. Like most people he only focused on using his main hand for dexterous tasks, leaving the off hand for support and nothing else. He had no choice now, though.
The wolf took another swipe at Keiyo. He managed to dodge under it and he tried to slash at its belly, but found the motion to be so awkward that he barely even grazed its fur. With a second attack the blade passed right over its head. The third nicked the beast's side. The young man felt like a child flailing about and was embarrassed at his own performance right now.

[Ashielle]

✖ Lᴠ. 5 ✖ туяαηт ηø׀ź ✖
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Noiz stood up, casually brushing the virtual dirt off his virtual pants. Daydreaming was good and all, but he had to work hard to make his dreams reality. Well... virtual reality. He went back out into the wolf spawns and took them down slowly, one by one, working at an even pace. As he killed the wolves he collected their meat, teeth, and pelts to use as materials for various crafts back in town.

Level 5 achieved!
5 wolf meat acquired!
3 wolf teeth acquired!
3 wolf pelts acquired!

Satisfied with his progress, Noiz stuffed the various wolf parts into his bag and walked into town. Setting up a cooking station to the best of his ability, he tossed a couple pieces of meat into a cauldron and waited. Then, once that was done, and after he used the potions he created to heal himself, he took the wolf teeth to the blacksmith and crafted a new sword. It was slightly smaller than his last one but it seemed to be a bit more powerful. There was some writing carved into the the blade, in a language Noiz couldn't read. He wondered if there was a skill that would allow him to decipher it somehow...

Carved Tooth Blade acquired!

ⓔⓠⓤⓘⓟⓜⓔⓝⓣ
standard clothes
carved tooth blade
ⓛⓞⓒⓐⓣⓘⓞⓝ
floor 1 town

— ❝ᴅᴇᴄᴇᴘᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀʀᴇ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀғᴜʟ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛs❞
❞ᴏɴᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙʀᴇᴇᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ, ʜᴀᴛᴇ❝ —

[Takarashi]

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Keiyo
_________________0 / 250 | LV: 1

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Keiyo was holding his own and dodging attacks left and right, but he could feel the exhaustion mounting. The game made him feel like he was in peak physical condition to tackle the obstacles, but exhaustion was still very real and he was feeling it right now. His head felt light, and his movements felt slower and less precise. The wolf scored a hit, then another. The swordsman's life bar had dipped into the red and the corners of his vision along with it. Anger and panic swelled within him and sent him into a frenzy of attacks, trying to land hits when he should have been dodging. All he had to do was finish the wolf before it could finish him. One proper strike was all it would take. He then saw an opportunity as the beast narrowly missed him. Keiyo's blade glowed as he readied it and swung immediately, but it had been far too early and he ended up striking the ground instead. His eyes widened as the wolf's fangs clamped down on his face. His HP dropped to zero. He couldn't even a process a thought as darkness took his vision.

[Takarashi]

The population of Aincrad made themselves busy. Training skills, fighting monsters, making friends. Their activities were brought to a halt, however, when a prompt appeared before each player...





The message blinked several times. As it did so, time itself seemed to stop. NPCs ceased moving, foes were locked in mid-attack, and flags froze in the wind. All that was left was the awareness of the players. An eerie silence fell across the entirety of the game. A painfully long minute ticked by as nothing happened. The hush was then broken by blood-curdling scream that had no discernible origin. Then another. More and more followed until the air was a chaotic orchestra of thousands of cries.

Cries of agony, fear, and despair.

[falcon_tenou]

Lvl:6
EXP to next level : 1200/1600

The prompt flicked infront of him as he heard the screams , his eyes glancing around as his hands slid out of his pocket , reaching for his sword as a natural defense. His tall figure was in the middle of the woods ,though he could hear tons of people screaming . " What the hell is going on .. " He said as he slinked through the woods ,trying to sneak in a sense so he could not get ambushed.
( small i know )

[I_See_You_Monster]

PoH ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________650 / 650 | LV: 3

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PoH saw the system announcement flashing in front of her complete stillness and silence as she looked around using her listening skill to hear if there was something she was missing. System announcements were usually followed by text or a voice however there was nothing but stillness. "How long do we have to wait for this announcement?" she thought to herself. She soon had her answer as a blood curtling scream could be heard in the distance but from no discernible direction followed by another, and another. It was now a sea of cries filling the air.

Calmly PoH took out some of her HP 30 potions and drank them. Restoring her HP to full.If there were screams chances were this was some kind of event or boss monster. The higher her health the better. With that PoH took off running through the town keeping her hood up as she examined the streets and alleyways for the source of the screams.

[fairfolk1]

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Lvl: 1
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Aearo found that her vision of the girl cooking was blocked by a large red blob of...a system announcement? She didn't even know what that was. She just guessed that it was about a known bug or something that was game breaking. And so she waited for more text to appear...and waited...Jeez, how long is this going to take? She wondered, getting ready to just go back to the fields outside to do a few more quests when she heard a scream. Her head wildly looked every direction she could think of. Where were these screams coming from? She wondered if this was part of the system announcement or not, then came to the conclusion that something might happen if it stayed on screen. She quickly started fiddling with it, trying to make it go away...she did this for a good minute but nothing happened to her. She thought of other possibilities of the screaming. Perhaps it's to announce a boss mob? She wondered. If that was the case then the screams meant nothing. That's what it was...it definitely was that.

Trying to calm herself down, she slowly started walking around the city, thinking of things that the screaming could possibly mean other than people crying out in pain. She passed several panicking groups of people but ignored them, continuing on with her own wandering. The screams didn't get louder or quieter wherever she walked. It's definitely a game mechanic, right? People can't be screaming everywhere. I haven't even seen someone screaming in pain the entire time I've been walking around. And with that thought, she completely reassured herself that the screams weren't from players. It was definitely a game mechanic to announce something big and terrible, like a boss mob. Since I can't interact with NPCs anymore I might as well go looking for it. She continued to wander the city, the screams slightly off-putting but not as terrifying as before.

[Takarashi]

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Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

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'You Are Dead.' The message didn't mince words. It stayed in Keiyo's vision for a moment before it blinked away and he was left to the bottomless darkness once more. This state was... curious. He couldn't feel his limbs. He couldn't even wiggle his toes or move his fingers. It were as though his body had simply abandoned him. It was like when he had first logged in, come to think of it.
Just as the swordsman had begun to ponder this state of non-being, his senses came back like a bolt of lightning. Sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell. The suddenness made him stumble a bit, but otherwise he was fine now. He glanced at the corner of his vision to see his HP bar refilled. He then looked to his right hand. It was attached to his body again and fully functional. That was a relief. Playing the game with a limb absent would have been quite difficult.

After getting his bearings back, Keiyo opened his menu to take a look at what he had lost. His gear was still in tact, thankfully, though with a notable loss of durability. He still had his pathetic amount of Col and his slew of monster droppings, but the part that made him grimace was the EXP loss. Nothing he couldn't make back, but it was still frustrating to look at all the same. He dismissed the menu.
"I can't believe I died to a beginner monster. It didn't even get a surprise attack on me like the last one." He thought as he started walking. He was replaying the fight in his mind, thinking of what had occurred. He had been doing fine up until the beast got behind him and bit off his hand. He flexed his fingers a little just to reassure himself that it was still there. "I bet if I had a shield then I could've beaten it easily. I could've just deflected the attack or something." As he thought that, though, his pace slowed to a halt. No, that wouldn't have helped. He wouldn't have reacted fast enough. Furthermore, if he had a shield on, he wouldn't have been able to pick up his sword. He wouldn't have time to call his menu to un-equip a shield. Nothing would have been different... unless he had been more proficient with his off hand to begin with. Those misses he made afterward were narrow, but they would have killed the wolf and he would be standing proudly at level two right now. "... If I can lose a limb at any time, especially something like my good hand, I need to be able to recuperate. The losses will only get bigger in the future. Maybe I need to start training both my hands - alternate between using them until I can use both equally."

While he pondered about this possibility, he noticed something blink in front of his vision. An announcement? What was it for? After watching it for a moment he reached out to see if he could interact with the prompt, and that's when the screams struck him. He covered his ears and gasped from the intensity of them. What was going on?

[Takarashi]

Just as quickly and mysteriously as the screaming had begun, it ceased. The air fell silent and time seemed to resume, letting the game go into motion once more. Following the end of the chilling cries, a message prompt blinked in each player's vision. If they were to check their menus, they would find that there was an entry in their friends list - a person called Carsys - and that the message was from them.

"What you just heard was the sound of the players who lost their lives to this world. The consciousness of the 3,853 players still exists within the confines of Aincrad with no means of escape. In order to release them, the game must be cleared in its entirety.

These people are still alive, trapped, and have been suffering in their pain and loneliness since the original attempt of the game, Sword Art Online.

You said you wanted a challenge. Here it is."

[falcon_tenou]

Lvl:6
EXP to next level : 1200/1600

Takashi stood there moment before letting out a long breath. His eyes glancing about slowly once more as he red the announcement . " hmm .. so it's like that is it ... " He said to himself as he thought a moment about the origins of SAO and he had heard things about people dying , but the fact that it was people being captive he figured that it meant that his game was now about trying to save peoples lives that have been since captured . " Alright .. " He said as he put his hands in his pockets and looked towards the main central region of the map , or rather in the directions of it . " All the floors eh .. I suppose I should get a guild .. "

[I_See_You_Monster]

PoH ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________650 / 650 | LV: 3

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PoH heard the notification blip stating she had gotten mail. She checked her menus and read over the message with a look of indifference.

"So the dead are among us eh? Maybe this will be more fun than I thought." PoH said grinning slightly. She was somewhat uncertain how to feel but found the idea that those killed by Laughing Coffin were still trapped in game somewhat interesting. For now she wouldn't bother trying to figure out what to think but instead head for the center of the game. If there was an announcement like that surely people would try to clear the game immediatly and if she fell behind and lost out on boss exp then she wouldn't be able to make her guild.

With that PoH quickly bolted for the field that lead closer to what she thought the center of the game was. Most players would likely think about what they were going to do so if she waited for a strong player or a group of them to pass by surely she could join them. Her "in" would be that she could make potions and poisons, something she had seen no one else working on so far.

Arriving in the field PoH went to the patch of herbs and began making potions and poisons staying alert to those entering the zone, waiting for an opportunity. If she was making potions surely people would see her potential worth.

[Takarashi]

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Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
_________________250 / 250 | LV: 1

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Slowly, carefully, Keiyo removed his hands from his ears as the wails stopped. He kept his palms at the ready just in case they started again, but after a moment he seemed safe. He was in between being relaxed and tensed, and when the mail prompt appeared it startled him. He then tried to breathe calmly. If the wolves didn't kill him, the surprises certainly would. After getting back his composure he opened the message and scanned it over.

The swordsman remained still as he read the message a few more times. Was this some sort of weird joke? How was it possible for people to somehow be trapped here? He was already thinking of going to his log out button, but he paused his hand as he flipped through the menus. Mere moments ago he experienced 'death.' Unable to struggle against the infinite darkness, all he had were his thoughts and time. And he was alone. For him it lasted mere seconds, but the feeling was unsettling enough. What if it had been hours? Days? ... Years? His heart seized a little as the thought crossed his mind. Surely anyone would lose their mind if they remained in such a state, being so helpless and lost. But, still, how could that be real?

Keiyo mulled over the grim possibility. Thousands of people stuck in limbo, doomed to eternal agony if no one set them free. It sounded too absurd to be true. But if this was the game that Carsys claimed it to be...
The young man's hands tightened into fists. Maybe it was real. Maybe it was fake. Regardless of the truth there was a possibility, and all that stood between him and helping those thousands of lost souls were 100 floors. "... No game is unbeatable. If I work hard enough, if I become strong enough, this game can be cleared." He dismissed his menu and took off sprinting. "If that's all it takes, then I will fight!"