<Blade Arts Online> IC.

[KatonO]

http://roleplayerguild.com/f15/blade...6/#post3644996

Prologue

A huge castle made of stone and steel floating in an endless sky.
That was all this world was.
It took a vagary group of craftsmen three months to survey the place, the diameter of the base floor was about 10 kilometers—large enough to fit the entirety of Setuguya within. Above there were 100 floors stacking straight upwards; its sheer size was unbelievable. It was impossible to even guess how much data it consisted of.
Inside there were a couple of large cities along with countless small scale towns and villages, forests and plains, and even lakes. Only one stairway linked each floor to another, and they existed in dungeons where large numbers of monsters roamed; so discovering and getting through was no easy matter. However, once someone made a breakthrough and arrived at a city of the upper floor, the <Teleport Gates> there and of every cities in the lower floors would be connected making it possible for anyone to move freely through these levels.
With these conditions, the huge castle had been steadily conquered for two years. The current front line is the 34th floor.
The name of the castle was <Accra>, a world of battles with swords that continued floating and had engulfed approximately 6 thousand people. Otherwise known as...

<Blade Arts Online>

No one would understand why I locked all of these people inside the game. They can never understand my point of view. Oh how pitifull humans are indeed. Even though there should be no worries. This test would show the final results of the pitiful race known as the 'humans'. This test would show if the humans were indeed worth of calling a race. As the stubborn and greedy race the humans were known as, no other race would ever acknowledge them. They should be gratefull. I am representing the humans after all. Even though everyone has lost faith in these excistences called human, which even I did lose the faith in to. I will give humans the final test.....

The game has just begun.

[darktimes]

Dylan yanks his sword out of the Direbear carcass. floor 32 still has a few roaming monsters around, and while most of them are basically forest dwelling animals also found in the real world, just way more powerful and strong, they still hold a challenge, and are a threat to the fishers and casuals.

among these dangers are direrats, direwolves, direwarthogs, diretigers, direhawks... there's allot of "dire" in this forest. he notes.
and they all give good experience.

Dylan looks around while he sorts his inventory. the 32th floor is basically a giant forest, with few small villages scattered around. it teemed with dangerous predators and undeath crypts.

thats the problem when the guilds rush the job. stuff gets left behind. sloppy work loners and others have to work on.

Dylan packs the direbearpelt, the teeth, the claws, the scales, the horns, and the heart into his inventory. the scales and pelt will make good armor, the teeth and claws enchant weapons.

Dylan finally leaves the mangled carcass behind, steps over a severed bear leg, and starts sprinting with doubled speed towards the nearest Village: makel.

[Takaru]

Floor 34

With a look beyond the town borders, Eagle saw thick patches of grasses that quickly lead into ever thicker clusters of trees, forming the dense forest that surrounded this floor's town. A road - if one could call a glorified dirtpath by that name - lead in between the trees and off into the shadows they cast. The same shadows that hid all the terrible beasts that lurked within them.
The 34th floor hadn't been opened too long ago, so even the areas around town weren't all that safe. Most guilds were clearing separate ways in search of a way up, ever seeking to climb to new heights. Roamers like himself however were left to pick up what they left behind. Much of the 'indigenous' species seemed to be of similar sort to the last few floors - various beasties that wouldn't even manage to score a footnote on the cuteness scala and no small number of NPC bandits, waylayers and the like. It would appear that after every ten floors and subsequent boss fight, the theme of the next floors would change - currently, it was thick forests. 'Talk about clichés... Eagle thought, not without sarcasm.
Turning away from the forest view, he instead focused on the bulletin board before him, the newest quests being displayed there for the taking. Incoherent mumbling was all that was heard as he scanned the board, wondering and calculating his chances. Low money rewards usually denoted easier quests - easier in comparison to other quests that is. That, in addition to the fact that slaying a single, vastly powerful beast was not entirely his forte, dropped the ice dragon slaying from his possible to-do-list.
The two options still left intrigued him however - stone golems usually were a tough, strong but ultimately slow enemy. Somewhat easy to dodge but if he did get hit even once they packed one hell of a punch. Bandits on the other hand tended to act rather smartly as a group. The key, he found, was to demoralize them - take out their leaders and the rest becomes a - relative - walk in the park.

Quest accepted: |´´I need a lift.´´|

'Alright, let's do this...' Eagle concluded with a mental sigh - quests, whilst more rewarding, were even more dangerous than just wandering out into the monster-infested combat zone.

[ScarletRemilia]

Kirino was in a pinch, an absolute, wonderfully unfortunate pinch, and it irritated her to no end...

Panting and the sound of hard leather hitting hollow metal plating resounded with a fast tempo throughout a small area of the Rusted Ruined City themed <33rd Floor of Accra>. With closer inspection one would have come across the source of the sound being a running <Adept Rogue>, looking behind herself once in a while frantically at a small group of high leveled monsters giving chase. Kirino glanced up with her eyes, noting her <HP Bar> with a large percentage of the right side filled with red, a similar effect faintly but noticeably pulsing red, signaling that her health had dropped below 50% and was nearing the emergency zone of 20%. Gritting her teeth she continued to stride forward, both annoyed at herself, the sheer ugliness of the "city" and at the monsters following her. Looking away from her HP, she looked to her <Durability Overlay> at the opposite side of her vision, the simple diagram of an androgynous armored human holding a sword held orange markers over various armored sections, and a flashing red icon over the sword saying [Broken]...

The 33rd floor was nothing but a giant city, and that city was mainly made of a blackened metal covered in rust. The entirety of the floor was in shambles, including the town within, which supplied the largest amount of raw metal and stone materials so far, making it a prime spot for the beginning and advanced blacksmith alike. The outside of the player settled <Safe Zone> was filled with dangerous monsters lurking the abandoned heaps of metal and ruined buildings, each like some form of mutated human or city wildlife. As such, the monsters that chased Kirino were no exception, bald 8 foot tall grey humanoids, giant spiders and giant rats, they were all in stark contrast to the scenic yet feral wildlife of the 32nd floor below.

Kirino had made a mistake in not bringing along a blacksmith or at least one of the <Field Repair> items that were sold for a medium price at player shops. She had come to the floor, entering the city of <Einkrad>to find a party to help level after having recieved a personal message request over the BBC. She was successful that far, making contact with the party and going out into the relatively high level depths of the ruined 33rd floor.

In the end, what befell her was her own fault in having poor foresight, as the party had gone far too deep into one of the buildings, finding themselves surrounded and faced with one of the occasional <Unique> monsters of the area, known as <The Beholder>. The monster was yet another humanoid, but unlike the other mutants of the city was particularly heavily armored and fast, similar to a boss monster on the earlier 20th level of the tower, but smaller and lesser in power. However, the party was ill prepared, not having a healer or sufficient healing items, and escape was easy enough as using an emergency <Teleport Crystal> to return to their save town. This, is what the party had done; under the order of Kirino, one by one the small entourage teleported to safety until it was Kirino and one last low level. The low level had in fact not bought a <Teleport Crystal>, something that had been advised if they were to venture into the floor to level up.

Annoyed, Kirino gave her <Teleport Crystal> to the newbie and instructed him how to use it. As he had teleported away, the last remaining member of the party looked to her inventory, finding that she had given the last of the rather expensive item, forcing her to fight the monster alone, leading to the current situation.

"I can't believe I paid that blacksmith as much as I did for my scythe!" She yelled out to no one in particular as she continued to run, her vision blurry save for the <HUD> due to an aftereffect of fatigue and low HP. The <Safe Zone> wasn't much further, hopefully her legs and her balance would keep her going for that much distance at least...

...Which of course they wouldn't...

Distracted by thoughts Kirino stumbled slightly over a splayed plate of metal, tripping herself in perhaps one of the most cliche forms of trouble anything could ever provide her. Luckily her <DEX> and <LUK> stats were high enough to cover her fall, letting her gracefully land in a roll where she got up and continuing to run. Good thing right...? Now if only <The Beholder> and the monsters that had joined the frey weren't coming ever closer with every step Kirino took.

[Turtlicious]

James had gotten lost... Again... He knew he was on the wrong floor and he knew that he was in the wrong place because of all the monsters he had been blowing away, He walked around with his scythen and he double checked his map <33rd Floor> "Oh COME ON! How did I get here! I need to be on the twentieth!" James grumbled his map up when he wandered into the <Safe Zone> He turned around and saw a young girl be chased by a large group of monsters he giggled to himself he had never seen so many monsters in one place it wasn't a problem he can clean up mobs of monsters it was just the largest one by far. Even had a <Beholder> involved.

James ran as quick as he could... Which wasn't that fast, One of the reasons he had made this character was so he could be ranged and not have to worry about speed. He raised his hand casting an AoE spell. "Fire Tornado!" A large group of monsters died the exp floating above their head in a jumbled mess making it impossible to decipher one from the other, "Fire Blast Epic tier!" a Fireball larger then Himself the monsters and the girl showed up James loved that spell but it was pure luck that he had gotten it... He stole it to be precise but who cares about that now. Too bad the cool down was 30 minutes it was useless in mob fights.

The girl was still pretty far ahead he ran at his fastest speed which still wasn't that quick and then his SPD bar dropped and he had to walk again. "O.k. fuck this" James made the movement that signified quick key a Haste Potion showed up in his hand. He drank it Running fast he was going to kill that stupid beholder. "SAY HELLO TO MY." James roared putting both his hands together to signify a hotkey-ed spell "BOOM STICK!" A beam of what looked to be ice punctured the creature in the chest dealing damage repeatedly James laughed as the damage counter rose <995> <1990> <3980> <7960> It continued the damage skyrocketing the creature twitching as each hit of the spell calculated damage.

"Bitch don't mess with my boomstick..." James laughed as he did a little pose. He looked at the girl who was running towards him he opened a private chat so that he wouldn't have to yell. "You ok?"

[Flower Maiden Cheza]

Jackie sighed as she looked around the town. More and more people were asking for her to go farther on her dances. She probably shouldn't, but her money was getting tight now, and she didn't want to leave town anytime soon, unless her guild called upon her. That's probably why she was still only level 60, and it was a miracle she even got that high, mainly from pressure from her guild.

Still, now was a time to relax, so she headed over to the local tavern, her hawk companion in tow on her shoulder. Once they entered, she waved to the tavern-keep, who immediately nodded and set down a bowl of water and a glass of milk for them. The bird jumped off her shoulder and landed on the table, greedily drinking up the water. "So, Aussie," the Tavernkeep spoke, using her SI, though shortened, "You want anything right now?" Jackie shook her head and said, "Not now. Maybe in a bit. Besides, Kyoto may be hungry by then, too." The 'keep nodded and left them alone. She looked for the dancing stage, just to see if anyone was on stage at the moment... or if she'd have to -- yet again -- be the entertainment? That was the main reason she got free food and water here -- in a way, it was payment for giving the patrons entertainment on sometimes otherwise dull days.

[ScarletRemilia]

Running, running and oh look, more running. It was endless, ceaseless, incessant running! Not only that, but running on the hard metallic ground was proving to be most incredibly annoying as the floor seemed to have an unspoken increase on the calculated <Fatigue> status when it came to traversing the cruel ruined environment. Kirino peered on forward, extending one arm forward a little more and making a hand gesture to display a miniature map on the bottom right of her vision for a few seconds. She calculated that at her current pace she'd make it to the city within three more minutes if she kept up her pace.

Vision blurry and legs absolutely numb, she cursed the developers of the game for ever creating a <Fatigue> system in the first place. Perhaps the entirety of the team was in on the literal crime against humanity that locked the 6000 players inside of <Accra> in the first place, inventing a system that required eating, sleep and even calculated how tired one would get. Perhaps it was just really shoddy thinking on their part to add to some illusion of realism. All those thoughts aside Kirino continued running, gasping for air and gritting her teeth a bit harder to press on forward. She had told herself not to look back, swearing that it'd probably just make her feel more tired if she were to get uncomfortable due to the monsters closing in on her. She was an <Adept Rogue>, skilled at taking out lightly armored and heavily armored foes alike with speed, reflexes and cunning, she had even managed to chip away a good 50% of the <HP> of <The Beholder> before having her weapon broken by its massive sword. She growled and looked back anyway, adrenaline, or what her mind in the virtual world perceived of an adrenal response, pumping through her mind to fuel the fight or flight instinct.

What she saw happening behind her was a bit more than just a surprise, she saw flames, the orange pixellated hue of the fire reflecting off her pupils as she blinked, continuing to run as fast as her character sprite could take her, the girl's hair was a mess, clothes somewhat torn, and her weapon a pixellated mess within her <Inventory>, and seeing the mass destruction was both thrilling and a bit scary for her to see. She knew there was also a calculated algorithm that made monsters fight each other, and those fireballs were certainly something high leveled that would either come from a very good player or a monster. That unknown factor of whether it was a <Player> or a <Monster> was what disturbed her as the chasers dwindled down to <The Beholder>.

She even managed to slow herself down slightly, looking back as the monster finally was felled by a beam attack, falling to the floor in a dramatic death animation, letting out a muffled and mechanical roar in its final moments within the program. It wasn't long before there was a monotonous beep that emanated from within Kirino's mind, signaling a <Private Message>. She slowed down to a stop, which was more of her just plain falling down and sitting herself up so she wasn't in a compromising position, and reached out, holding thumb and forefinger together and pulling downward, the chime of the main menu rang out loud.

Reconfiguring her settings to automatically listen to <Private Messages>, James' message playing as soon as she confirmed the settings change, "Yeah, I'm... Alright. Thanks for the assist, though the <Safe Zone> isn't much further."

Kirino looked at the Blood Elf, feeling a bit... Discomforted by whoever the player's choice of design was, but thankful none-the-less.

[ninjaguy]

Tyler, who had just ported to Castle Level 34, began searching for the horde of Were-bunnies that his client asked him to destroy.http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...TRXSI66WrLhHHm he searched for hours or so it seemed, he had always lost track of time in the upper levels for some reason, until he came across a set of tracks that belonged to the infamous were-bunny. "This just made it so much easier." he proclaimed as he drew he white katana from the sheath held on his side preparing to charge in and wipe out the clan of monsters. Suspecting that this was a trap he Pointed the hilt of his sword in the air before he called out"Heavenly destruction" which called forth lightning to his sword, who afterward used it to destroy the ground in a 10 kilo circle around him as well as revealing the 10+ Were-bunnies that were hiding underground waiting for him to step into their trap.

Using the rocks that were propelled into the air, Tyler attacked all of them in one fall swoop. Jumping from rock to rock Tyler used his speed and sword to vanquish his targets. He got excited when he saw the experience rising from their falling bodies, 1095, 991, 1750. Watching the number go by in a blur he knew he would enjoy the next levels but first he would need to defeat the Ice Dragon to advance. Finishing up Tyler allowed his mind to wander as he began to walk to the Tele-portal. All the way there he kept thinking the same thing I need a group to help me advance.

[Reialgo]

A quick swing embedded the large blade in the bandits shoulder, quickly he tore it free and jammed the spiked pole behind him and caught an approaching attacker in the face, now wasn't the time to let up. He looked to the upper corner of his display and looked at the small drop in mana, then words popped up below the bars, <reaper combo> needless to say, the bandit was diced. He had seen a third, but he didn't bother moving, a vicious snarl told him that there was no need. Now, this wasn't the best of circumstances. He had heard that 34 was unsafe, but bandits in the town? if it wasn't for shiro's keen sense he may have been missing a huge chunk of his hp. He sighed and set his scythe on his back, when he reopened his eyes the large white wolf that was his ever loyal companion stood before him, he could have sworn it was proud of itself.

Shaking his head he mounted shiro and they continued on. It didn't help that some player dressed in a similar attire to bandits because it was "cool", he thought he could finally relax for a while, being aware 24/7 was going to be a pain in the ass. He sat up high on shiro as the walked through town, gaining some stares for his beast. He didn't care, in fact to an extent he was showing him off, he was damn proud of him. He was considering getting a quest, he had to grow stronger if he wanted to escape this place at last...but that day seemed so far, right now he would just prefer to embrace his current life. He smirked at the notion, what was his life? here he was Reialgo, that wasn't just a statement, he could feel exhaustion, see, touch, hear as if he was in the real world. Sometimes he had to look at his member information to remind himself that this wasn't reality, two years in such a world does "wonders" to the brain

What would happen when the game was finally beaten? if it was really true that they had been here for two years...then the shock of returning to reality would be difficult to overcome. Worse still, he would return to his old, fragile body, his real body probably couldn't even lift Reialgo's scythe. It was a matter he often pondered over when he had little else to bother him, and at that moment he had found a bar looking area so the thought dissipated from his mind, for the time being. Hopping down to his own to feet, he decided it was time for a drink

[Turtlicious]

James opened the private chat he saw how disconcerted she looked, "I didn't think I'd be stuck with this face for two years. Decisions you make when your sixteen never seem as good as the ones you make at 18. I had to pay alot of money to get into the Beta... Look what it got me..." He laughed is voice sounding like a bark over the com channel, he sighed.

"I am hopelessly lost I was trying to get to floor 20 because I heard someone there was selling enchanted armor for cheap but that was like a week ago I need to get to the <Safe zone> if it's not any trouble could you help me out?" James sent a friend request to her an exploit he found he could use to view other people's stat's, armor, item's, it would only work while the friend request was ignored, soon as they accept it you have to then send a party request. They accept that and you don't have to do anything else till the party disbanded.

Level 64 Adept Rogue
HP 400/1240
TEC 150
DEX 215
LUC 125
ATK 125
DEF 30
INT 10

"Your outta health pots... And your health is pretty low... Jesus your level 64!? What are you doing here by yourself! Are you nuts! Honestly is your life worthless! What if they had caught you I mean REALLY!" James continued railing into her about her poor choices, "No scroll of teleport, No escape crystals, No haste potions. Honestly what kinda noob are you did you just jack yesterday!" James hated seeing people in danger and it made him nervous when he got nervous... He yelled.

"What would have happened if you didn't make it? Or monster that new <Slow> appeared you'd be S.O.L wouldn't you." James opened his inventory while he yelled grabbing a greater potion of healing. "Now then we're going to talk while we walk about proper choices that any player in this game must make..." He used it on her which basically entailed throwing it at her which was satisfying even though it wouldn't hurt her at all.