Floor 42 – Front Line Floor 58
March 31 – Year 2
They were trekking through the Gnarled Forest, trying to find the ruins of the Castle of the Two Kings. Inside were the Star Spiders. Diemond was the only Wondercolt not with them. She was still training as an apprentice. After one attempted murder and an attempted armed robbery, there was no way for Bladescape to do it alone. The others wouldn’t let it happen. She had gone home to their Headquarters. If she hadn’t, then it would have been a different situation.
Their info said they would have to kill the spiders, which would drop the silk gland. There was no other way to get the silk gland. Doombunny wasn’t happy about that. She couldn’t do anything about it except help harvest them. Ashley would then carefully extract the silk from the gland in a way that she could spin it into thread.
They finally broke through the forest’s branches and snares to find themselves facing a ruined castle with two spires; one in the east and one in the west. A sharp ravine split the ground between them and the front gate. The fall was enough that they wouldn’t want to test if they could survive it. Stretched across it was an old rope bridge with sketchy wooden boards to walk across.
“I feel like I have been here before,” Bladescape said.
“Duh,” AFCK said. “You have. Or maybe you haven’t? We have though. This is almost exactly like our trip to find Nightmare Moon. Wow, that was a really long time ago.”
“Nightmare Moon?” Thunderborne asked. “Uh, we never did that.”
“Yes you have!” AFCK asserted. “I was there with you.”
Bladescape had recollections of a Nightmare Moon. A fairy tale from Equestria, and a holiday that surrounded it; Nightmare Night. Here that holiday was known as Halloween.
“Nightmare Moon?” Bladescape said. “AFCK, as in our Out of Town Friend’s Nightmare Moon? A legend from there?”
“Duh,” AFCK said again. “Why can’t you keep up? Yes, there. All of us, except for you Bladescape, went on an epic adventure there. And we have visited more often too! I found out I can play the pipe organ in the Castle of the Two Sisters.”
“AFCK,” Backbreaker said, trying to sort her out. “If we didn’t do it, but that is from that er...town. Then our friends did it, not us.”
“No,” AFCK chuckled. “We did it. If we go there, then you wouldn’t be able to tell a difference. We are them and they are us. They did it, so we did it. Like two sides of the same coin! I really hope they weren't doing anything important when we all got trapped in here.”
“AFCK,” Bladescape groaned. “No, Pinkie Pie. I mean Pinkie Pie. Pinkie, they are from another dimension. Di-men-sion. Not virtual reality. The NerveGear exists in our dimension and it can’t cross into their dimension.”
AFCK rolled her eyes. “You just don’t get it because both sides of your coin are with us, not split between Equestria and CHS.”
“Let’s just drop this,” Knightstar said, trying to fix her non-existent glasses. That nervous habit still happened. “This won’t get us anywhere.”
“I’ll go first!” Thunderborne declared. “To make sure it's safe.”
No one argued against that and Thunderborne made it across without any incident. The bridge was solid. It just looked worse than it was.
“So,” Kiefer said quietly to Bladescape after they had crossed the bridge. “Do I want a better explanation?”
Bladescape sighed. “I’ll give you the run-down as soon as we can focus. Hopefully the spiders won’t be that bad.”
They took the steps up to the double doors. The doors were solid hardwood and still intact. They pulled them open and Bladescape led them into the long hall. The roof was mostly missing. The center had a wide, red carpet rolled out to the thrones. The left throne was blue and had a moon as its symbol. The right throne was gold and had a sun symbol on the back. Each of them had separate stairs up to the throne. Above them were old tapestries that were worn and torn, each with their own symbol.
Hallways branched off to the side, mirroring each other. This throne room might be the only room that the two kings shared. The throne room had no spiders in it. The side hallways showed not just the wear and tear of the ages, but old webs as well.
They split into two parties and divided the castle. Bladescape brought AFCK, Doombunny, Backbreaker, and Kiefer. She let Astro and Thunderborne stay together. Their pair would balance out only having one tank.
Bladescape had taken her group down the sun side. The halls they walked down were as regal as the throne room. Other than the decorations, however, they didn’t have anything more than abandoned webs to indicate that the spiders were there.
The hallway opened up into a hall with a single throne. It was the Sun King’s private throne room. All along the walls were giant webs, with spiders to match their size.
The Star Spiders were simple black arachnids with a glowing blue star on the top of their abdomen. Eight eyes of the same glowing blue were on their faces. Their carapaces were smooth, with no hairs like many spiders had.
Astro and Dash were going to be able to handle their high webs very well. They could jump and run them through with ease because of Armor Pierce. Throwing Picks or Knives would bounce off their hard shells. It was a good thing Bladescape had sent them with the other party.
Some of the spiders began to rappel from their silk threads coming from their abdomens. They readied their weapons.
“I’ll go for the ones up high,” Bladescape said. “My acrobatics are not like Thunder’s but I can still get up that high.”
“Go for it,” Backbreaker said. “AFCK will back you up as well.”
“Okay!” AFCK said with a bounce. She was back to her normal self, at least on the outside. But She was getting more and more off the wall as the months went by.
Bladescape ran across the room to where the throne was. She leaped up to the wall, using it as a springboard to get to the corner. Her blade glowed and she cut half the supports, ignoring the spider on the web. She rolled and came out ready to fight. AFCK’s axe came down on the Star Spider’s head and it popped. Bladescape targeted the next one, going for it instead. It was easy to make them pop.
After the spiders were cleared out, Bladescape opened her menu. Out of it popped the main reward, the silk gland. It was about the size of a football and mostly solid in feel. They got one for each spider they killed. The exact number they needed was uncertain, so they had already chosen to hunt as many as possible. They gave decent XP and Col. They also dropped Star Spider Venom, which Doombunny could use to level up her skill.
Room by room they easily cleared the castle. Messages from the other party informed her that they were having just as easy of a time as they were. As they walked the hallways between the rooms with the spiders, Bladescape caught Kiefer up on the Wondercolts’ real past and their lives before SAO. It was brief, but she didn’t pull any punches when it came to their group’s mistakes.
The existence of magic and another dimension was taken surprisingly well. It turned out that Kiefer had believed in other dimensions existing for a while. A dimension where he was a pony was a bit of a shock, but it wasn't beyond his ability to believe.
Each party had cleared out their side of the castle and headed to meet up in the center. They arrived at the main throne room at the same time. There was no leaving though. The door was blocked off by a giant web. And that meant only one thing.
Bladescape looked back at the thrones. There were no spiders there, yet. They met in the center, but it didn’t trigger anything.
Bladescape had a plan. “Joltron, AFCK, Astro, and Thunder, go make a press on the door. Backbreaker, Kiefer, and I will move towards the thrones. The rest of you, keep watch on the roof and the hallways. This Flag Mob isn’t going to get the drop on us.”
They agreed and began to follow their orders. Astro and Thunder decided to rush the web over the front door. Joltron and AFCK had to try and catch up while not risking themselves too much. They had to be ready to protect the two of them. Thunder jumped high and cut at a support. It resisted the cut.
“The throne!” Bladescape called out as her search picked up movement. “Above!”
A black spider leg appeared and then the whole thing as it crawled into the hall. It was massive, barely able to fit inside the building. But its size was also their advantage. It would have a problem maneuvering. Two health bars came up beside the name: Subaru The Uniting Star Spider.
Bladescape formulated an immediate plan. “Backbreaker, Left. Joltron, Right. Center is Lessa, Knightstar, Doombunny, and AFCK. Left, Thunder, and Astro. Right is Kiefer and Bladescape.”
They followed the orders. The general idea was to apply pressure from all sides. It didn’t work as the Spider was able to move up the wall and around them.
“New plan?” Backbreaker gulped.
“Yeah,” Bladescape laughed. “Thunder, Astro, Kiefer, AFCK and I will use speed and agility to maneuver and pound it. Be ready to move in with shields and block us if we fail.”
“That's a big risk,” Joltron protested.
“But it will be fun!” Thunderborne declared, dashing off with Astro right behind.
AFCK giggled as she bounced after them. Kiefer followed Bladescape in. They were going to put every piece of damage dealing they could into this attack. A straight forward effort that would either be extremely rewarding, or very dangerous. Knightstar organized the rest of them into a protective wave that would be right behind them to act fast, while staying out of their way. Not only would it be fun for the attackers to go all out, sometimes the best strategy was speed hitting a boss.
Thunderborne unleashed a strong attacked, but then let Astro slide past to deliver an even stronger combo while Thunderborne took a slight movement penalty. She switched back in with perfect timing. AFCK bounced in right after with a single hit that took off a sizable chunk of HP. Subaru the Uniting Star Spider moved locations to avoid any more attacks, but it wasn’t far enough for the trailing attackers. Bladescape offered up the Sword Skill Heaven Splitter with Kiefer coming in right behind her.
With their three groups, Thunderborne and Astro, AFCK solo, and Bladescape and Kiefer, they took great risks with the pressure applied to the boss. They kept switching groups out. Another group was able to flank the spider to keep it cornered and from moving too much. It was a technique that rewarded them with a quick kill. But it was a technique they would never apply to anything but a low-level Flag Mob. The danger was too great otherwise, but they were very skilled at timing their switches properly.
Astro got the LAB. It was a cloak, but it wasn’t worth it. They were on Floor 42. The stats were below what they had, so it would be sold. It still warranted a round of high fives and fists bumps for her reward.
“That’s the last of the materials I need,” Bladescape announced. “I say we go straight to Lindarth and see Ashley!”
They decided to not walk back and used teleport crystals. They were valuable, but their stock was high enough it was worth it. The boss had dropped several blue teleport crystals as well.
Bladescape (SS): Lvl 79 – Two-Handed Sword – Search – Weapon Defense – Leather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics – Blade Throwing – Extended Weight Carry
Knightstar (TS): Lvl 68 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Equipment Appraisal – Parry – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Search – Armor Pierce
Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 71 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search
Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 74 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics
AFCK (PP): Lvl 71 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument
Diemond (R): Lvl 71 – Heavy Shield – Mace – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Heavy Metal Armor – Tailoring – Light Metal Armor Forging – Heavy Metal Armor Forging – Jewelry Making – Extended Weight Carry
Doombunny (FS): Lvl 68 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal
Astro (PS): Lvl 71 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry
Kiefer: Lvl 68 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts
Lessa: Lvl 68 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search
Joltron: Lvl 72 – One handed Axe – Heavy Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Blunt Weapon Forging – One Handed Weapon Creation – Two Handed Weapon Creation – Extended Weight Carry
Pinkie is starting to break.. seems the lack of reality is taking it’s toll on her first.
Great chapter man. Please keep doing this good.
10146343
Did Pinkie ever have a grasp on reality? Like a real grasp?
10146345
Oh, I will be. Hehehe. I have chapters written into the 60s.
I like how this was one big reference to the Castle of the Two Sisters.
10146394
It was a ton of fun.
One way that I'm disappointed with this chapter is the way you had the situation with Equestria explained to Kiefer. While I know that he took it well and didn't make a big deal out of it I think it still would have been better to show us his reaction instead of just telling us.
10146452
Understood. I have had always had problems with "tell verses show." I was reacting to the realization that I couldn't slide off on things this time, and I don't exactly know what his reaction is exactly, other than "took it well." lol
I'll see what I can do to shore that up, somehow.
10146589
I know they aren't ranks (I figured it out after thinking for about five seconds, never seen SAO but I know enough through osmosis to know that Character ranks aren't a thing.)
But most Gacha games (where most of your characters you get through what is basically a lottery) work on a 1 - 5 star system (A few games have 6 or 7 star characters but those are very rare.)
Anyways, during those initial thoughts I thought that Sunset was the equivalent of a 5 star character where as Rarity would be considered a 3 star character. With Sunset being a Secret Super Rare character (most of the time only available through events and extremely overpowered) and Rarity would just be a Rare character (A decent character in game, but can't compete with 5 star characters... these characters are used by the majority that don't have the money to get the best characters.)
10146628
Ah! Now I understand. SAO does have ranks for materials, the rarest being S class (and hence my immediate mindset). I play games with the rarity system. Duh. I would rank them, at Episode 35, as:
5: Sunset Shimmer, Backbreaker
4: Astro, Kiefer, Thunderborne, Joltron, AFCK
3: Knightstar, Lessa, Doombunny, Rarity
Also no, it does not have the dark tag. The main focus is an adventure game/story. I toy with the drama tag, but I do not think it requires it. Its a tough call on that one though. Currently, I feel like T Adventure covers it well enough.
Man, you would think with the search skill on some of them they might have found something.
Then again, Rarity wasn't their, so that might have ended poorly, at lest if the magic is reacting the way it seems to be.
10146698
Found something in what way? I believe the proper skill would be Reveal, not Search is more combat, player, and monster information. Doombunny is the only one with Reveal.
A bit short but still good
10146373
She atleast never got the two different worlds mixed up, so she had some semblance of a grasp on reality.
10147119
Especially as they, and your, progress in the story, one certainly might make a syrong argument she is the sanest of them all. Lol
10146854
Yes. I wish I had been able to make it longer, but I really ran out of ideas. It was a simple mission after all. And I didn't feel like the hijinx at the Castle of the Two sisters ended up being appropriate.
Yeah, that is Pony Pinkie
10147248
It was a nice nod to the castle of the two sisters
10147750
Just that? The Star Spiders are a direct copy from MLP as well! Just put on massive amounts of steroids!
10148107
Huh I did not connect them. I honestly forgot about them from the show
10147119
I'm honestly wondering if it's Pony-Pinkie that's stuck in the game rather than the human one. With how there's a short showing that they apparently switch out regularly, its not totally out of the question.
10148757
Would make sense.. she has had a bit less grip on reality than Human pinkie.
10148757
10148771
Both Pinkies live in different realities. One filled with magic and sweets, unicorns, pegasi, and rock farms. The other is in highschool, fights magic monsters, and has video games. As similar they are, they are both from very different realities with different laws of nature. Pony Pinkie also seems to be younger, or at least was in the beginning. By season 7 and later, Pinkie Pie has a different view of the world.
10155660
Those pesky typos slip in through the cracks when everybrony is sleeping.
Usually on their keyboard.
I'm pretty sure that the Pinkie that's in the game is the Equestrian Pinkie. They probably switched places at the last moment.
Bladescape formulated an immediate plan. “Backbreaker, Left. Joltron, Right. Center is Lessa, Knightstar, Doombunny, and AFCK. Left, Thunder, and Astro. Right is Kiefer and Bladescape.” - I don't think Bladescape would list her name there at the end, it should be "I" or "myself".
Poor Pinkie, seems like she's cracking a bit more... I wonder if any therapists got trapped in the game? They might be able to do some good for people having trouble adjusting.
10163577
*Doombunny is currently unavailable to council other players. I love AFCK. She is fun to write. I can break tension or build it with her doing something very easily. This Tuesday has some fun with her. Actually, it's probably her most sane moment. Lol. Her upcoming "A Day in the Life of AFCK" episode will be enjoyable.
Thanks. That was a moment I bounced back and fourth from a lot of angles. I settled on that since she was in combat. Clear communication is key, including using your name rather than I or myself. That was why I chose that.
attack
To be honest, I've purposefully been ignoring at least half of these mistakes just to make my reading a more enjoyable experience.
Man... Pinkie/AFCK is starting to really worry me...
Glad she won't be alone for this one.
Yes because once again Pinkie is being a pain.
Best not, you ain't understand it.
I take back what I said earlier!
Shit!
strong attack,*
Talk about a sweet bonus!