Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gaia Forums » GAIA Community » Barton Town (Role Play) » Series-related/Miscellaneous Role Play
<3 </3
Reply
< 1 2 3 >

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________19,500 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 55, Granzam City »

                                      Keiyo had found a cheap inn to take a break in after and unsuccessful search through several blacksmith shops. He had hoped to find some better equipment, or someone that could upgrade his current gear, but nobody was willing, or their prices were impossible to meet. It left the swordsman feeling rather sour. He called on one of the NPC waiters to bring him some food and drink, then he simply sat there, brooding.

                                      It was no surprise, really. They were nearly at the end of the game. Once the 99th floor boss was defeated, there was just one more battle waiting for them until the game was cleared. No one was sure what was going to happen, but the competition was fierce. Because every guild or group of players wanted to make a name for themselves as the completionists of Sword Art Online, everyone had stopped sharing information. The amount of distrust and sabotage going around was insane - PKing was at an all time high in an attempt to drain other players of resources and keep information secret.

                                      The swordsman spread some butter across the bread he'd been given. Even if eating was pointless in the game, it was still nice. Being that Keiyo was hard up for cash in real life, he could simply eat whatever cheap, plain junk he could find, and then login to the game and have whatever delicacies he wanted. The young man glanced out the window at various people and NPCs milling about, and then swallowed. Sometimes, he wouldn't mind staying here forever. Things were so much simpler in Aincrad. He wished that life could always be like this. But only sometimes.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________19,500 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 55, Granzam City -> Floor 81, Ludrem Village »

                                      The swordsman finished off his meal unceremoniously, then pulled open his menu to check the time. It was getting late, but it was the weekend so it didn't matter, so he could find something to do for a few hours. Trying to solo on the 99th Floor was suicide, and nobody was going to party with a random player at this point. What was there to do? Keiyo folded his arms and gently rested the back of his head against the wall. He pondered for a while about various things he had heard from players and NPCs. Most of it was garbage or uninteresting, but after a while, he recalled that there was a rumor about a secret monster lurking in a castle on the 81st Floor, once that only appeared at night under certain circumstances. There would probably be no one else looking into it at this point, so it was worth a shot.

                                      After the warp sequence had finished, Keiyo opened his eyes. The main settlement was a little village of sorts, Ludrem, a rather depressing place in his opinion. Despite being one of the higher floors, the town was one of depression, fear, and poverty. Supposedly there was a quest related to the state of the village, but no one had bothered looking into it. The elite players had quickly found the dungeon, slain the boss, and moved on. Never one to pass up a good mystery, the swordsman began speaking to NPCs and figuring out what was going on.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________19,500 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Ludrem Village »

                                      It took about forty-five minutes of scouring to finally get a lead about the rumor of the quest. A number of the villagers were frightened and, as to be expected, were tight-lipped. After handing some Col over a drunkard, the old man spoke. "Ye, ye, people're scared outta der wits by that ol' castle'r somesuch. A creature be lurkin' in the halls, takes any'un that dares go in. It wants sacrifices, pretty youngins, or so I've heard. I think someone's s'pposed to go tonight. Now, thank ye for the money, young fella!" The man said with evident cheer, and then he stumbled off to a nearby pub.

                                      "Pretty young ones... hm." Keiyo pondered. He didn't recall seeing anyone like that around here. It was no wonder that no one had bothered with this rumor, it was tedious and seemed to be at a dead-end already. The swordsman was pondering what his next move should be, but then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye - someone in a cloak was glancing around from within the shadows in a cautious manner. After a moment, they darted out and moved into a narrow alleyway. Immediately intrigued by the sight, Keiyo took off after them. He made sure to duck around corners and behind objects to hide his presence, carefully following them to their destination. This night was getting more and more interesting...

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________19,500 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Ludrem Village »

                                      With all the sharp turns that this person was taking, Keiyo was certain that this was related to having just spoken with the old man. He had nearly lost sight of the runner after tripping over beam in the dark, but thankfully he had guessed the route correctly. After chasing the unknown person for about five minutes, they came to stop at the back of a house. The swordsman ducked behind a log pile, then carefully peeked out.

                                      The cloaked slowly glanced around, then proceeded to knock gently on the window. After a moment, it swung open. "Rovan? What are you doing here?" Said a young lady's voice.
                                      "I'm going to the castle Ceria. I'm going to put a stop to this." The cloaked one replied. They removed their hood to reveal it was a young man.
                                      "Rovan, no! I've already accepted my fate, I don't want you to be hurt..."
                                      "That monster has terrorized us for years, and he will forever if we let him! Enough is enough. I've been preparing for weeks - I know I can do this. So please, stay here where it's safe. I'll come back to you, I swear."
                                      "This is madness." Ceria sobbed. "What can you possibly do against that creature?"
                                      "It will be alright. I promise. I'll be back by sunrise. I love you, Ceria."
                                      "Come back to me Rovan. Be careful."
                                      The two embraced one another from the window, and then Rovan departed in the direction of the distant castle.

                                      Keiyo came out of his hiding spot as the young man began to walk away, and then the swordsman caught up with ease. "I heard your conversation." He said, startling the youth. "Let me help you."
                                      "This doesn't concern you, stranger. Leave me alone."
                                      "Ceria is waiting for you to come back safely. You should take all the help you can get." Keiyo said calmly.
                                      "Do you even know what you're getting yourself into? This monstrosity kills without mercy."
                                      "I'm aware. I can take care of myself."
                                      "... Fine, just don't get in my way." Rovan said in a testy manner.
                                      A prompt appeared in front of Keiyo for a quest called "The Midnight Scourge," which he accepted without hesitation. He glanced toward the dark castle in the distance, then nodded to Rovan. "Lead on."

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________19,500 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Ludrem Village -> Field »

                                      Since the NPC hadn't disappeared as the quest had begun, Keiyo assumed that it must be an escort quest of sorts. He'd always hated these types of missions. The AI would do something absurd and get themselves killed, or enemies would ignore him completely and simply thrash the NPC for a swift loss. He would have felt much better having someone tag along to Switch with, to help keep Rovan safe whilst fending off attackers, but there would be no such luxury it seemed.

                                      The walk had been quite calm for the past five minutes, which only served to put the swordsman more on edge. Silence was never a good thing in these scenarios. Sure enough, after Keiyo thought he could begin to ease off a little, there was the all-too-familiar light of creatures spawning. Two large creatures, with bodies of ebony and red glyphs tattooed across their bodies, blocked the way. One wielded an axe, the other a mace. They had vicious horns, teeth, and claws, and a piercing, crimson gaze. Their health bars filled to the brim, and the name « Lesser Hellbeast » appeared above their heads. Lovely.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________18,914 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Field »

                                      Keiyo wasted no time freeing his swords of their sheathes and leaping into action. He targeted the axe-wielder first. Wanting to adamantly stay on the offensive, the swordsman deflected a swipe from the axe Hellbeast, then moved inside the monster's attack radius and tore into its torso with quick, fierce slashes. The mace-wielder tried to crush Keiyo from above, but the nimble man had already rolled between the axe Hellbeast's legs, leaving the giant club to crash harmlessly into the ground. Without missing a beat, the swordsman charged a Sword Skill and ripped into the axe-user's legs. The demon howled in pain and lost its balance, stumbling forward to collide with its partner and sending them both sprawling to the ground.

                                      Despite their massive strength and number advantage, with both creatures knocked down they had no chance to fight back. Keiyo rained down blows upon them while they futilely struggled, and after a moment they both turned to prismatic dust. Rovan, the NPC, carried on walking as though nothing had happened. One of the more annoying aspects of the AI was the lack of non-scripted appreciation for one's efforts. The swordsman put away his weapons unceremoniously and continued to follow Rovan toward the castle. It was going to be a long night.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________16,822 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Field -> Fortress of Decay »

                                      There were a slew of battles leading up to the castle gates, but thankfully nothing too overwhelming. There had been a close call with a flock of « Carrion Hunters » that nearly got Rovan, but a desperate skill spam had pulled them through. Keiyo was just glad that they were getting out of the field.
                                      "This foul creature has terrorized our home for as long as I can remember, always threatening to slay our village if we did not comply with his demands. Yet he relies on our sacrifices to continue living. He has driven the townspeople mad with fear, but I found a way to put an end to this once and for all." Rovan proceeded to explain. "If you can weaken him, I can deliver the final blow. I hope you are prepared, adventurer." Keiyo said nothing in response, he merely nodded.

                                      The designers had gone to great lengths to make the castle as sinister as possible, with statues of gargoyles, demons, and people in suffering. The windows were barred, gravestones littered the ground, and skeletons picked clean of their flesh were spread all around. It was rather stereotypical of an evil fortress, but the amount of detail was certainly impressive. The two pushed open the gates with a slow, painful creak, and then proceeded along the path and up the steps to the front door. Keiyo took hold of the latch, breathed out, then pulled firmly. It was time to see just how tough some dark castle could be.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________16,822 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Fortress of Decay »

                                      While the outside was meant to ward off explorers, the interior of the castle was plenty regal, albeit aged and worn. The stone construction bore numerous cracks and weakened supports, cloth hangings and carpets were little more than moth-eaten rags, cobwebs filled every crevice, and a thick layer of dust covered the rooms from top to bottom. It was all quite typical, but something about it struck Keiyo as being a bit strange. While Aincrad was heavy on atmosphere, there had always been a 'pristine' look to the world. Even the dungeons were untouched by the concept of age, so why was this stronghold any different? The enemies did more than enough in inciting terror, there was no need for this.

                                      "What is the history of this castle?" Keiyo asked Rovan, hoping to activate some informative scripts from the NPC. A great deal of it was flavor text, but sometimes key words could reveal more about the quest.
                                      "This was the home of an earl that once helped our surrounding area to flourish, keeping creatures at bay and ensuring fair market. A curse befell him that drove him mad, and allowed our lands to fall into the state you see today." The AI explained. "No one had seen or heard of the earl since then. The members of the fortress fled and seldom spoke of it."
                                      A nice little story, but not terribly useful. The mention of the curse was intriguing, however. "What caused the master to be cursed?"
                                      "No one knows. I have heard rumors of an artifact, of a ritual gone wrong, and of a wicked sorcerer. None of it matters anyway, we are here to put a stop to this madness."
                                      Pretty standard possibilities, but again, not very helpful. "Did the earl have any successors?"
                                      "There was an illegitimate child born to a mistress, but that was it. The earl never took a wife."
                                      Perhaps there was a little more depth to this quest after all. The swordsman made a mental note and pressed on. He had the feeling that the time for questioning was over, as he saw the tip of a spear poking out from around the next bend...

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀
                                      _________________13,247 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Fortress of Decay »

                                      Keiyo stepped in front of Rovan to stop the NPC from moving forward. The swordsman then drew his sabers and carefully crept forward. As he neared the turn in the hall, he saw the spear shift. With that, he bolted around the corner with a skill already beginning to charge. A small mob of « Revenant Soldiers » stood waiting, all with varying types of weapons. With the element of surprise on Keiyo's side, he hacked and slashed the first skeleton guard apart. The others were quick to retaliate, however, and the swordsman found himself facing five monsters simultaneously.

                                      The ensuing battle quickly became a mess of attacks, dodges, and deflections. Keiyo would block a swipe from one enemy, while another would stab him from his exposed flank. When he attempted to retaliate, they would band together to form a defensive line and absorb the damage. As to be expected of soldier-type enemies, their tactics were subperb. The swordsman grit his teeth, thinking that now would be an excellent time to have some backup. The NPC stood by uselessly, unfortunately, not being designed to be a combatant.

                                      With his options quickly becoming limited, Keiyo knew he would have to try something a little more desperate. He eased off his attacks for a moment to move on the defensive, which made the monsters change their formation to surround him in a semi-circle. Keiyo focused solely on dodging, blocking, and backing up into the main hallway for more room. Once they were lured out, he spun on his heel and ran, activating his « Sprinting » skill. The soldiers chased him, as he had expected. With the skeletons hot on his heels, Keiyo ran toward a column, then leaped, planted his feet on the pillar, then pushed off to do a backflip over his targets. Keiyo's swords burned with a skill aura, and his red eyes were ablaze with fury. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he ripped into the skeletons' exposed backs. A moment later, they were dispatched. Keiyo breathed heavily another moment before sheathing his weapons. Difficult, but deep down, gratifying.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________19,500 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Fortress of Decay »

                                      As Rovan and Keiyo pushed on through the stronghold, the opposition made itself abundantly clear. All manner of undead and demonic creatures blocked their path, and proved increasingly difficult. The swordsman was forced to start using his potions to make up for the damage he was taking. High tier potions were rough on Col, but he really wanted to see this mission through to the end. He could always grind out some more money later regardless. At the rate things were going, it wasn't as though he was going to miss out on the 99th Floor boss battle anyway. So he hoped, at least.

                                      The duo stood outside an impressive looking door somewhere high and deep into the castle. Keiyo's HP had just ticked back up to maximum as they had arrived by good fortune. "The foul creature lurks here. Steel yourself, adventurer, he boasts great strength." Rovan warned. Keiyo nodded to the NPC - he was at least mentally prepared. Rovan stepped forward, placed both of his hands on the door, then pushed it open slowly.

                                      The room was nearly pitch black, with Keiyo only being able to make out the faintest shapes of the chamber. After a moment, torches began to spring to life in increments, leading to the back of the room, until everything was illuminated. Sitting upon a massive throne was an equally large man with flesh as pale as moonlight, ebony hair, and eyes of regal red. His fine clothing was ripped in several places, and especially around the hems. As the man rose from his seat, the background music stopped. He then drew an elegant rapier, accompanied by the music changing to something far more intense. His health bar appeared, along with the name « The Fallen Lord », as he let out a wail of agony and hatred. He the charged the swordsman, with his own twin blades at the ready.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀
                                      _________________10,922 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Fortress of Decay »

                                      The Fallen Lord was on Keiyo in mere heartbeats. The sound of metallic strikes echoed throughout the throne room, along with the monster's maniacal laughter and Keiyo's grunts as he struggled to deflect blows. When he managed to dodge a blow, it was always just by a hair. It was to be expected - a rapier's specialty was its speed and accuracy. The slightly lower attack power was more than made up for by the strength of the wielder himself, what with his massive size. Keiyo had expected this fight to be difficult, but the swordsman might have gotten himself in over his head.

                                      The Fallen Lord's rapier was ablaze with a Sword Skill aura. Keiyo was fortunate enough to recognize the stance that his opponent had taken - the « Star Splash » skill - only because he had seen a fair number of other rapier users unleash it as their bread-and-butter attack. The monster first tried three jabs toward his torso, which Keiyo barely blocked, then two slashes at his legs, those had landed because of The Fallen Lord's sheer speed, a stab to the groin that Keiyo (thankfully) dodged, a slash to the chest that he blocked the brunt of, and finally a powerful stab to the center of the chest, which hit hard. Keiyo was sent skidding back, and he only managed to remain upright thanks to driving his swords into the ground to slow the knock back. All in all, that single assault had cost him nearly half his HP. This wasn't looking good.

                                      With the enemy forced into a cool down state after that attack, Keiyo had the chance to retaliate, and he had to make this count. There was no way he could match the monster's speed, so he had to overpower or immobilize his foe somehow. A high-hit attack would just leave Keiyo open to another attack at the end, so that wouldn't work. There wasn't anything special about the environment that could give him a tactical advantage, either. [********] The swordsman growled. Just when he thought he was done for, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Rovan in the corner, hiding and waiting to strike. That gave Keiyo a sudden idea - it was reckless, but it just might work!

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo █████████
                                      _________________9,551 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Fortress of Decay »

                                      NPCs without combat capability had no means of fighting back against enemies, therefore relying on players to protect them during escort quests. As a small grace to the adventurers, escort NPCs also happened to have extra HP, enough to take several hits at least. Keiyo didn't have enough HP to tank another assault like that from The Fallen Lord - but Rovan did. The swordsman would have to bet everything on this plan.

                                      While the monster was still in cooldown from his attack, Keiyo unleashed « Horizontal Square », a four-hit attack to multiple sides of the opponent. As soon as the attack animation was finished, Keiyo then turned and bolted toward where Rovan was hiding. The swordsman could practically feel his foe's frigid breath on the back of his neck, and could hear the sword swings that just barely missed their mark. With just a few meters left and Keiyo being sure that the next attack wouldn't miss, he threw his body forward to tuck and roll past his companion. With Rovan being the next immediate target, The Fallen Lord shifted his attacks toward the frail AI, proceeding to land hits without any resistance. The boy's HP began to fall and his cries of pain carried above the battle music, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

                                      While The Fallen Lord was distracted with the NPC, Keiyo rocketed toward the creature's exposed flank. With a fierce battle cry, he swung the dual blades with all the strength and speed he could muster, managing to land several hits before the target shifted his attention back onto the swordsman. A quarter of the monster's HP had been depleted as an end result of the tactic. The two were then locked into a series of deflections and counters once more. This was going to be close - but he might just win this battle yet.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██
                                      _________________2918 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Fortress of Decay »

                                      Five painfully long minutes ticked by as Keiyo and The Fallen Lord remained locked in their struggle. Each individual second were battles in themselves, trading hundreds of minor wins and losses that would determine the outcome of their duel. The swordsman abused his tactic of letting Rovan take large hits to save his own HP, which left everyone in the room with their health bars sitting in the red zone.

                                      One large combo attack would likely finish off The Fallen Lord, but it would also likely take every clean hit to do enough damage. Keiyo couldn't afford to waste this chance - if his foe was still standing at the end, then the forced cooldown would leave the swordsman completely exposed. There was no other option, though. Rovan didn't have enough left to tank another hit. Keiyo crossed his blades to stop a rapier slash, then knocked the sword upward to break through the monster's defense. Keiyo's swords went alight, and then he began unleashing a flurry of blows. A double stab toward the chest, followed by ripping both swords outward, then an X-shape cross cut, two horizontal cuts, downward vertical cuts, and finishing with four spinning slashes. The swordsman howled with determined fury as he delivered the last attack, and The Fallen Lord screeched with pain... but the monster's HP bar stopped just a few ticks before being emptied.

                                      Keiyo could do nothing but stay locked in place, crestfallen, as a cool down indicator flashed in the corner of his vision to signify his animation lock. The monster's mouth twisted into a wide, maniacal grin as he thrust the saber forward. Time seemed to slow as Keiyo's heart beat desperately, trying to flood his body with meaningless adrenaline. He grit his teeth to prepare for the sword to pierce his chest, but instead, he heard a cry, followed by a quick-moving shape, and then the scream of The Fallen Lord. Rovan had bolted forward with a large stake in hand, then leaped and drove it deep into the monster's chest. "If you can weaken him, I can deliver the final blow." Echoed the NPC's voice in Keiyo's mind.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██
                                      _________________2918 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Fortress of Decay »

                                      The Fallen Lord's health bar emptied, followed quickly by his body bursting into countless prismatic shards. Keiyo lowered his weapons as the animation lock finished. Though his heart was still hammering in his chest, it was slowly returning to its normal pace. Rovan exhaled loudly with a shudder, then turned to face the swordsman properly. "It's done. It's finally over." The NPC said quietly. "Thank you, adventurer. Without you, this wouldn't have been possible."
                                      Keiyo didn't really have anything to say, so he simply sheathed his weapons and looked as his loot screen. A hefty amount of Col, and a few components that might prove useful. Overall, things turned out alright. To his mild disappointment, though, it seemed that the quest wasn't anything special - just a more elaborate-than-normal story.

                                      "Perhaps now, in time, the people will not fear the night. I hope our paths cross sometime in the future - our town will always know you as our savior." Rovan offered Keiyo a bow, and then faded away as a prompt appeared signifying the end of the quest. The swordsman closed the prompt, then breathed out. Now what? He supposed he should head to town, restock, and work out what to do for more money. Those weapon upgrades weren't going to earn themselves.

Lightbringer

Offline
User Image
                                      _________________________________________

                                      Keiyo ██████████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                                      _________________19,500 / 19,500 | LV: 100
                                      _________________________________________

                                      « Floor 81, Ludrem Village »

                                      After an uneventful walk back to the village, Keiyo had stopped by the inn to take a load off, have some virtual food and drink, and to browse the rumor mill to see if anything of note was coming up. So far, not really. Almost all of it was speculation about how to open up the 99th Floor boss room, with each theory being more wild than the last. One post suggested that every available player should charge the door to see if their collective Strength stat can force the door open. Desperation was high, but investigative skills? Not so much.

                                      The swordsman closed his menu and took a bite of his fish. He supposed that there wasn't much more he could do for tonight. He took the time to finish off his meal and then he walked outside into the cool night air. As he looked around the small village, something started to nag him in the back of his mind. Something that felt important that he had forgotten. He stood around pondered for several minutes, but to no avail. With fatigue starting to burn his eyes, he figured that it couldn't be that important anyway. Keiyo opened his menu and hit the log out button. Maybe something would jog his mind tomorrow.
Gaia Forums » GAIA Community » Barton Town (Role Play) » Series-related/Miscellaneous Role Play

Quick Reply

Submit
Manage Your Items
Other Stuff
More
Get GCash
Offers
More
Get Items
More Items
More
Where Everyone Hangs Out
Other Community Areas
  • Guilds
    fan clubs for the stuff you love
  • Chat
    chat in real time with other Gaian's
  • Art Arenas
    browse & rate gaian art galleries
  • Clans
    play zOMG with others
More
Virtual Spaces
Fun Stuff
More
Gaia's Games
Mini-Games
More
Play with GCash
Play with Platinum
More