SAO: Roleplay

As per the usual with Niko, he was alone in the most mountainous or isolated part of the highest floor. He had long since completed his Smithing skill of slashing weapons and almost exclusively made weapons for the Frontline Guilds. If he were the sort, he would be proud of his contribution to the cause. Though equipped with powerful weapons, armor was in as much need. Few smiths were close to completing leather or metal armor forging skills. He couldn't think of any smith who travelled alone to get their own materials. It was dangerous. Especially if you wanted the rarer materials for smithing. Like Dragon "crystals" feces that it was, a powerful material to craft with. Nemesis had more or less taken over the spying business recently, so Niko had more time for his trade. Nemesis. As well as Nemysis. Another player of a similar name was fast succeeding in the ranks of the intelligence network.

Niko the Blacksmith looked over the valley from which the mountain overlooked. He could, in his mind's eye see all the roads that led every which way. Cleverly worked, none led to him. Few had the suicidal tendency to go up to where a Dragon made its nest. He had to sneak in to the nest when the dragon was away and take what he needed. He crafted long-swords, short-swords, daggers, and great-swords. They were powerful swords that required powerful swordsmen. Some of which he had just the owner in mind. Crafted for their style of sword-play. Whether it be a rapier for thrusting, or scimitar for slashing. There was even Spears in their midst. Another weapon he crafted, though few people ever used spears. In truth, it was his weapon of choice, right after the unarmed martial arts skill. In an almost ironic fashion, his hammer weapon skill had increased quite a bit since his time in isolation. Whenever a beast came up the mountain and attacked him he'd have to defend himself with what he had, usually the hammer in his hand. He'd even crafted himself a new forging hammer. It looked a bit strange, but it worked well. As well as the game would allow.

A wary thing it was, to have a smithy so far from the safety of a town. Especially at  night, he would sit in the darkness and watch the land. He could hear beasts roaring, wolves howling, the screams in the night. It was comforting to be surrounded by nature, however dangerous it may be. The dragon roost above his camp most certainly ensured his safety from players seeking to steal his wares. A necessary precaution, if ever unneeded. He told no one of his location, and tracking his footsteps would be all but impossible since he had not left his camp for quite sometime. The treasures someone would find once this post had to be abandoned, who ever found his camp could sell these weapons for quite the profit, or have quite the sword if they had the level to use it.

He wondered briefly, how much his beard had grown in the real world. Would he recognize himself if he looked in the mirror?

February 3rd, 2024
Floor: 52
An announcement had appeared in front of everyone a day after floor 51 had been cleared, in the form of a quest dialogue titled: The Aincrad Global Colosseum.
"Adventurers of Aincrad," It read, "Step forth and prove your might in the Aincrad Collosseum! Earn glory and riches beyond your dreams! Prove that you are the finest warrior Aincrad has to offer!
"For now until 22, Month of the Oak {Also known as February}, the Collosseum will be open to all challengers! Face your fellow adventurers in a fair duel, either alone or with your companions. Duel parameters decided by the party with the least amount of points.

Rewards: 1,000 Col, 5,000 EXP per win; 100 EXP per loss;
Tournament Victory: 1 Token of the messenger (One-time use)

When I saw the reward for tournament victory, I pressed it with my finger, opening a description of the item.
"Allows to user to send and receive ONE message to and from the real world. Messages can last for upto five minutes."

It didn't take long for me to accept the quest. Some of my guild mates even agreed to join my team, bringing our group entry to four. Thankfully, the collosseum wasn't in a safe-zone, and naturally had no NPC guards. The story for I and Zasha's orange crystals was that we had been repeatedly attacked by an orange guild, and had been forced to attack their green members. We'd managed to stop them after the fourth time, but now we needed to complete the redemption quest. We all came under false names, I was Banshee, Zasha was Ares. The other two had entered under their usernames; BloodEagle and Idolitrine.

We planned to reach the final round, and demand a death match, proving that Laughing Coffin were to be properly feared. None of the others were bothered about the message to the outside, so I had agreed to split my Col reward with the two of them, not that I needed any more money.

So, we hadn't gone to the meeting point as planned, some other things coming up. My guild and I leveled up a few more times, and I had.....well, there was something new that needed attention. It had me go to Nikko, to place a custom order for a sword. Along with Nikko, there was a tailor run by a user named Angela. She was pretty skilled at her job, and was able to make a large order for me and the guild. It was color scheme attachments for the guild, and new clothes for me.

At first, I was afraid that we'd have to go on a quest to get the materials, but Artemis helped me out. She proved her statement about her armor true, when she loaned me the spare dragonskin she had in her inventory for me to make my own, though on a condition: I owed her, big time. She was ambiguous about what she wanted, so that meant I needed to give her something really worth the materials. But that was a problem for anther day, for now I was able to get what I wanted: a new set of dragonhide clothes, like the hooded duster, shirt and pants, boots. Throw in the dye we bought of black and red, I looked damn well intimidating.

Everything we got though didn't seem to matter, once the announcement from Kayaba came in. A chance to speak to the outside, to our friends and family......it was going to draw players in by the hundreds, all kinds of skilled players from the assault teams. Divide them too.......even my guild was going to fight one another for this. None of us were going to back-down, and we knew there'd be no hard feelings if we faced eachother in the arena. I wondered how Astra would do, if she and I would fight. I almost hoped we wouldn't, even if it wasn't to the death.

Equipping a mask that covered my face, I explained to whoever asked why Zasha and I were marked as orange, and most of them believed us. The Collosseum was packed with players, including almost all of the clearers. We would easily match most of them in level, and in PvP experience, we definitely had an advantage.
"Change of plans," I whispered to Zasha as I realised our original plan would lead only to our deaths, "We fight through the tournament, and afterwards, we ambush the winner and their group, if it isn't one of us."

For the first round, seven groups were led by an NPC onto the arena floor. Some of the groups were a full party of seven, and the lowest number I saw was three. A countdown started, ten seconds until the match. I slipped my claws over my hands, but kept them at my sides. My party drew their own weapons, as did most of the other groups. Each of us were carrying antidotes and poisoned throwing picks. We couldn't be sure somebody else wouldn't have the same ideas as us.

My guild and I were not among the first group for round one, the four of us stuck at the gate and made to watch while we waited our turn. It'd give us an opportunity, to see the skills of the victors of round one, in case we had to fight them.

The round began and one of the larger parties immediately rushed the smaller one, only for another party to close in behind them. We stayed together, keeping our distance until enemies approached us, and when a party the same size as our own closed in to attack, the difference in experience was obvious. Zasha simple slipped a blow onto his opponent without them even getting a chance, Eagle caught an attack on his shield, sending the sword wide, and threw a slash across his opponents chest. Idolitrine launched several attacks with his dagger, the high speed keeping his enemy behind a shield, and I sidestepped the battle axe meant for me, and darted forwards with my trusty lunge attack.

Their attacks hadn't even been close to hitting us, and we hadn't had to use poison.

One group was faster than the other, more skilled too. We watched from the sidelines as they took the opposition down. "Damn," Artemis said, a rare moment that made me blink. "Think we can take them?" she asked. Eduardo gave it a moment's thought then said "Yeah, we can take them. We're the Demons of Razgriz, and the Demon himself is among us."

Uy.....sometimes I really wished I was just known as Tavi.

The match was over soon after, the larger party losing a couple of members before they reached us. It was easy enough, and soon enough, we were the last group standing. Leaving the arena floor to the spectator zone, I spotted Tavi with his guild. They didn't look impressive, but neither did we until we entered the fight.

It was our turn then, and the gate was raised and my guild walked out into the open arena. Across from us, another group, larger than us by two people came out of their own gate. "Let's go easy on them," Takashi said. With only a grunt of agreement, I opened my menu screen, selecting my new ace in the hole. The skill was selected, and to both my guilds amazement and the spectators in the arena (if the collective gasp said anything) a second sword appeared on my back. It was a different color from my black sword, the blade a shining white. Duel wielding, a skill I never even knew existed......time to take it for a test run.

There was some whispering about Tavi's dual wielding, but I didn't listen to it. I might have to fight him, so I was busy watching his style; memorising skill patterns.

Our opponents stared me down, hesitant......until the timer above reached zero, and the fight was on. "Just like we trained," I said to my guild, and they moved into action. Takashi and Eduardo went first, running under the weight of their armor towards the other players, while Artemis and I dashed to the side, moving to flank them with our speed. I only had two skills available, and some time practicing since I went solo on occasion, so at the very least I knew my way around the skill. One of our opponents, a katana user in light armor was moving to the side, and I intercepted them. My first attack was a powerful downstroke, though they blocked it....which was the idea. They had the one sword occupied with one of mine, giving me room to stab them in the gut with my new sword. In the grand scheme of things, it was a jab but the sword was freaking powerful (my compliments to Nikko and his craftmanship) to the point I dropped them to the yellow.

Artemis contended with a heavy warhammer user, her speed getting her well within reach. Activating her skill, her arm looked like she was in Dragonball Z, moving like a machine gun as she landed strike after strike.

That won't work on me, I noted at Tavi's feint, He's not the only one with both hands using a weapon. If worst came to worst and I wouldn't be able to block it with my second claw, I could at least take Tavi out of the match as well, by trading a 1 for 1 blow.

"I didn't expect to find you watching the games, Niko." A man in black garb sat down. Face somewhat obscured by a mask. "I didn't expect someone from Laughing to be at such a public affair." The man was a member of Laughing Coffin. "Couldn't resist the chance to talk to someone in the outside world, eh?" Niko imagined the man behind the mask smiling. Who does a killer talk to, after all? Does he have "friends" or are they all simply "associates"? "I bet you would love to know. Tell me, are you participating the Games?" The man had an almost sinister undertone to his voice. "No, why?" What a strange question to be asking. This is either fluff conversation and he's buying time for something, or this is something that will lead to something else, a deal perhaps. At his negative, however, the man from Laughing Coffin grew silent, almost somber, he removed his mask and looked squarely at Niko. "Why are you not participating?" This was a genuine question. The man must feel like some weight is on him, some guilt perhaps. "There is no one for me to communicate with that does not already know how I am doing." An almost vague answer that seemed not to satisfy this Laughing Coffin member. "I," He paused, looked hesitant, wishful even, "Look how well these players are fighting." He seemed to pushed whatever he was thinking away and look down on the floor where a team was fighting. A chance to speak to the outside world. What would they say? That they are a alive and well? Would this be a one way communication? Only the bearer of the item that enables them to communicate would be able to say for certain.

There was something on this Laughing Coffin member's mind however. Perhaps it was a guilty conscious, perhaps it was something else. Niko made it a rule, a matter of principle not to push these things, better that they come naturally. So he turned and watched as two familiar people fought with a partner. "Shame they're fighting against each other and not with each other." he thought. "Ah, but the weapons they use now..."

They kept coming at me, snarling even as I activated the first of my duel sword skills: Double Circular, a spinning attack that made me spin like a top and hit the guy twice with both swords. His health dropped into the red and he was officially out. Eduardo and Takashi were busy, keeping the mace user and greatsword busy. Takashi was almost like a boxer, using his buckler to block and parry the blows of the mace while countering with his sword, striking blows on the poor guy.

Eduardo used a powerful move with his battle-axe, actually breaking the defense of his opponent, their shield shattering into pixels.

I glanced over at my teammates, who were also watching the fight, trying to visualise them countering these moves. They all looked deep in thought, abviously thinking about it themselves. I couldn't think of ways, but I trusted that they'd know their own fighting style well enough.

My guild was able to take out all but the last guy, the leader I assumed, staying at the back. Sword and shield in hand, he stared us down.....and I pulled them back. There was one other skill I had, that I needed to try. Swords at the ready, he and I stared eachother down, until I pushed off with my rear foot and activated the Starburst Stream. He tried to block but.....well, this was a combo unlike any other. My swords moved before me, the skill taking over as I landed hit after hit, draining his health bar and destroying his armor. When it was over and he was all but naked, health in the red.....I had landed a sixteen-hit combo on him.

I scowled, a sixteen hit combo would be terrible to be hit by. Poison would work just as well to stop that, if I could aim right under that kind of pressure. Tavi was definitely a threat, and so was the girl. The ones in heavier armour would be easier to beat, thanks to the fact we'd be able to slip around their guard. If we were lucky, we'd outnumber the others.

While I didn't want it, the crowd went wild, cheering at my new skill, the way I took down my opponent. Chants of Razgriz resounded throughout the arena, both for me and my guild. We made our way out of the arena for the waiting area, and soon I got swarmed.....by other swordsman, all demanding I tell them how to get the skill.

The fights were easy. Mistakes were obvious to us, and we knew how to exploit them. We won every match, and now, waiting for the final, losers were asking us questions. We had no new skills, unlike Tavi, but we had yet to lose a player.

The matches had eventually become one on one, and out of all the participants, only two were left. The other was either Tavi or Zasha, depending on who won the current match.

My guild did well....but eventually, they got beaten out. Too tired was it really, and it left me in the finals, up against someone named Zasha. Or was it Sasha? I'd ask when we met on the field, walking out of the gate into the arena towards them.

Zasha drew his sword as he walked onto the field; a brutal looking cutlass named 'Kraken's Fang'.
He didn't say a word once he reached his starting point, simply tilting his masked face to Tavi's, a strange grin on his lips.

"Hey man can I ask you a question before we start?" I asked, the timer above us counting down. "Is it Zasha like Zah-sha, or Sasha like you're a girl?"

"Zah-sha," He drawled, taking his time with the word. When he stopped, he flicked his wrist, bringing the blade of his cutlass to fighting height, "I hope you like Kraken's Fang. I'll make sure you remember it."

"I'm sure Darksteel and White Fang will enjoy the fight," I shot back. The timer reached zero, and my stance was defensive. I watched how the guy fought, and was on my guard.

Zasha charged forwards, the blade of his sword glowing blue as it moved upwards. He had aimed for the middle off Tavi's guard area to get a feel for which hand had a stronger defence.

I didn't block, I dodged at the last moment. That was the advantage of being so fast, to be able to move so quickly that the single blows like the one Sasha aimed at me (didn't feel like dignifying him) were so easy to dodge. As it swept down at the area where I had been, I was at his lefthand side and swiping a horizontal strike to his back.

Zasha span, following the direction of Tavi's blade and avoiding it by a fraction of an inch. When he came to face Tavi, Zasha swung his sword towards the his opponents head.

He reacted fast, and so did I, my other sword parrying the blow before the second followed up with a quick riposte to his knee.

Niko watched this member of Laughing Coffin carefully. They were known tricksters and he had to be on guard. His face was reserved watching Tavi and Astra fight. He was glad that the youngsters participated. This might be a chance for them to meet and greet on a more social note, rather than just business. After some time had passed, the man beside him hesitated, as if to say something, but stopped. He was restraining himself. "Why did you seek me out?" Niko broke the silence first. "You," The man stopped for a moment, collecting himself it seemed. " You remind me of someone, that's all." He said, trying to steel himself it seemed. Niko made a move like he was going to ask "Who?" but the Laughing Coffin member held up his hand. "Just someone I haven't seen in a really long time." Niko smiled, "Everyone here has not seen their family or anyone they love for nearly 2 years now. Some never will." The man stiffened ever so slightly. He was good at hiding his intentions, no doubt a skill he picked up within the player killer guild. However, Niko had plenty of of practice being a spymaster, something his conversation companion might already know. If this was the case, these slight tells could be intentional. But to what end? "So you really think that if we - if anyone dies here, they die in the real world too?" A question with a hint of sadness to it. Either he lost someone in a PK gone wrong or someone was PK-ed that he knew well. Or it was a guilty conscious weighing heavily on him. "Without a doubt." His response was swift and soft. The man from Laughing Coffin looked down into his hands contemplating this answer. Niko imagined thoughts like "what have I done" and "Why?" going through the man's mind. "So what do you think of me?" The man said bluntly. "Am I a murderer, a monster?" There was an anger in his voice. A silent accusation. "I don't know you well enough to say." For how could he, judge a man he barely knew. Perhaps a conversation or two in passing, a few interactions here and there, but nothing of concrete substance. "No one can truly judge another, a man of conscience knows this, only you can be a judge of what you are. You can delude yourself for a life time, but somewhere in your mind, you know what you truly are."  The look Niko was given was a strange one, somewhere between confusion and understanding. "You're a weapon smith, right? I've seen some of your work." A bit surprised at the sudden change of topic, Niko replied slowly, "I am, yes, I completed it some time ago. I can create very powerful swords and spears, as well as Leather, or light, armor. Though that's not what I'm known for. " The man nodded slowly, what was he up to? "I think I've seen some of the weapons you've made. Most swordsmen who have completed slashing skills use them." Niko nodded, "A great many of my blades require it, especially the ones that have been upgraded, or bumped, I think the term is. I've outfitted many of the Frontline players with my best weapons." The man nodded slowly, pensive. "Why is that?" Niko smiled, "I only fight in self defense, I don't work well in groups, and I prefer solitude to company." The other man nodded. "That's why you live outside the towns. Outside the safe areas." Instead of replying this time, Niko nodded in affirmation. This was a game. Just like the one happening on the fighting floor before them, only instead of swords, this was becoming a game played with different weapons. "You never did answer my question, why did you ask if I was participating in the Games?" The man looked away from him. Another tell. Did he want to see him fight? This would be a great place to size up potential victims, see how they fight, see how you can counter them, prepare for an ambush. Something at the back of Niko's mind told him that this man was not after violence, nor information, but something more human. "Those two move fast." His statement was simple, Tavi and the other contender were indeed moving with great agility and skill. "My name's Gerald, by the way."

Niko: [color*=#725296]
LC Member: [color*=#723C18]

Zasha danced backwards, the riposte barely missing his leg. He retalliated with an upwards slash at Tavi, cutlass singing throught the air.

That upward slash nearly hit me in the chin, but instead missed it as I craned my neck and turned my head slightly. Their cutlass was in the air and gave me an opening, and my swords moved fast as my skill activated, the double slash spinning me rapidly. I was like a freaking buzz-saw, my attack going right for their stomach.

Zasha smiled as the attack hit him, his health dropping only slightly. The effect was the same as if he had been killed, however, and Tavi won the duel.

Something felt off, about the win. I couldn't explain how, but it felt like Zasha was smiling under that mask as I won. When the match ended and I was back in the waiting area, tensions were high and the air was palpable with anticipation. Because unless I was wrong.....it was just me, and one other person in this fight now.

I strode out into the arena, an exited smile plastered on my lips; my mask only covering the upper half of my face. There were more people watching now than there had been before, seeing as I'd scored the most 'kills' out of my group, and because of Tavi's dual wield.

With barely enough time for a breather, I walked back out to face my opponent. Banshee was their name, from the same group as Sasha. Judging by the figure, either a girl or very effeminate man, but a mask covered their face. "So," I said as we stood across from eachother, timer like before counting down, "if your name's Banshee, guess you're a bit of a screamer?" It was a little joke.

Rather than answer him, I stretched my arms out behind my back, making my shoulder blades crack audibly. When the match started, I opened with my lunge skill, claws ripping through the air.

She was fast, her attack crossing the distance between us so fast I barely had time to block, and countered with a slashing attack.

I crouched, catching the slash on one claw, and sending it harmlessly to the side. Being positioned lower than him, I had a straight path to his stomach. I threw a jab at it, being caught up this close meant that I would have an advantage.

When she crouched, it freed up the sword that was blocking and I was able to parry her strike just in time, before lashing out not with a sword skill.....but a martial arts skill, my boot lighting up as I kicked her.

I saw the boot coming, and having no way to avoid it, I slipped my throwing pick into my hand. At this range, it was more like stabbing him with it, but it was still coated in poison.

My boot landed, hitting them with a powerful kick to send them back a few feet and give me more breathing room. But I felt something during the kick, like a pin-prick....and I realized they hit me with a poison pick.

I straightened up, waiting for the paralysis to take effect. There was no point taking any risk while I waited for my win.

I had an antidote crystal on me, but the problem was being able to use it. So far, I never was able to test out whether or not it needed to be in my hand, or my inventory to use it, though Artemis would probably have known. "Laughing Coffin, am I right?" I demanded, hoping to maybe trick them into a monologue. Hey, with a reputation like Laughing Coffin's, their members were bound to be overdramatic. "Always use poison when you know you can't win a fair fight?"

Rather than answer right away, I lunged forwards, taking a portion of his health. I whispered in his ear as I drew back for another stab, staying close to him.
"It's in the game, it's fair."

I recognized the voice. How could I not have? "Astra?" I asked her, knowing full well it was her. I recognized the claws as the ones she won in a drop. She was Laughing Coffin? That meant......God, she was going to kill me. Unless.....it was going to be a longshot, but.....

"I FORFEIT THE DUEL!" I screamed in a thunderous voice, and the duel was ended, the message going up.....and once more, I was rendered an 'immortal object' by the system, since I was in a safe zone and officially no longer in a fight. The status of paralysis was still in effect though.....but at least I'd be alive.

I lowered my arms, disappointed that the fight wouldn't go all the way to the end.
"Why'd you forfeit?" I demanded, standing above the paralysed Tavi.

"It's a duel, Astra," I snarled. "And you're Laughing Coffin. Had me dead to rights......I know you were going to kill me."

"Check the rules," I replied, "It's not a deathmatch. I couldn't kill you even if I was in Laughing Coffin."