Floor 59
April 14 – Year 2
Bladescape opened the doors to their guild hall. It was good to be back. But it was still too early for the others to be up. She had been out on an overnight trip and was exhausted. She went to the kitchen and made tararoot tea. It tasted more like rosemary, but it gave the caffeine punch of an espresso. Or at least that was how it made her feel. AFCK was not allowed to have any after the only time she had tried it. It had been a lot of high off the wall bouncing all over the place and then a crash where she was out for the next 18 hours.
Bladescape sat thinking for a while before Knightstar came in. She was almost Level 80, which meant another Skill Slot would be available. Martial Arts was an option she was examining, but it didn't feel like her. She was still 100% combat focused, yet nothing but combat was appealing to her. She had to choose soon. By the end of the boss raid, she would be at Level 80.
Knightstar soon arrived and sat down beside here. Bladescape took a sip of her drink and decided to open the morning discussion with her plan for the day. “I want to stack the parties heavy on my side. With this Floor Boss, I want to sharpen us a bit more as a party.”
“Rough night?” Knightstar asked, putting a reassuring hand on Bladescape’s.
“Yeah, a bit,” Bladescape shrugged. “Boring mostly. But one mistake can leave a harrowing moment of fear. Thank goodness for the Battle Regeneration skill. It kept me out of the red and gave me the moment to recover. It hurt. Badly.”
Bladescape was briefly distracted as AFCK skipped past them. She wanted a new Headquarters where they didn’t have to go through the guild hall to do everything. It was getting on her nerves, and with the front line 30 floors above them, it was almost time to upgrade. The KOB, DDA, and Fuurinkazan had all upgraded above Floor 50.
“Then take who you want,” Knightstar said, bringing Bladescape’s focus back to the discussion “I trust you. We can handle it. It will make calculations a bit tough, but I can handle it.”
Bladescape moved to her second point. One that she didn’t want to address but had to. “I also want to take some others out on overnight trips. Just another one or two. We slacked off, and this spot is worth it."
"I'll back you any time," Knightstar said. "Because we did slack off. Well, everyone except for you."
"I have been slacking off," Bladescape said. She lost focus as she remembered how many nights she had slept in her bed, safe. But she should have gotten into the 80’s by now. And it was because she got lazy and was sleeping instead of making sure her friends survived. "I have been doing less overnight trips and I need to fix that. But level grinding is difficult. It's boring. And worse, it's for our lives."
"Everything you are doing is amazing," Knightstar assured her. "You needed that rest. We all did. Now we have to start back up."
"I guess," Bladescape said. "I'm not saying you are wrong. It's just tiring. But I know that it shows in the boss battles and clearing this game."
"Yes, it does," Knightstar said, getting up. "AFCK just passed us with food. We should get to breakfast. Before Thunderborne and Astro destroy it."
"Yeah," Bladescape said. She began to yawn as she stood, causing her to fall back into her chair. She didn't want to get up and out of it. She was exhausted and she had to keep going for her friends. There was no way for her to take a break today. The tararoot tea wasn't helping any, yet.
Knightstar continued planning as they walked to the dining room. "I think if we could do some overnight trips, we could all level up if we ran 36-12-36-12-12 rotation for time in the field, we could push us all another level in those first two 36s. But that is a lot of pressure on you."
Bladescape shrugged, already having a plan for that. "I don't have to be the only one leading these.”
"Good morning," Doombunny greeted them.
"Hey," Bladescape reflexively replied to Doombunny before continuing with her plan. "I can easily start with showing Kiefer. It will put him a better position and train him. I think he has real party leader potential. He has been doing well with the tasks he has been given."
Bladescape sat down. She didn't want to do any more overnight trips. She was exhausted by them. She knew she had to keep going, but she desperately wanted to just stop. She wanted out. Not anywhere near enough to commit suicide. But she wanted to stop advancing, wipe her skills clean and settle down to wait it all out.
Breakfast was always done under her watchful eye. Thunderborne and Astro had to be reeled in. Or kept on a short leash before more happened. The rest of their guild had come in and gotten their first serving. Everyone took healthy portions because Astro and Thunderborne would eat anything left. Even if they started first. It had been a problem. Thunderborne was slouching in her chair, waiting for seconds.
Bladescape realized she had blown off Doombunny when she came in. It was sometimes a lot to handle in the morning. But she had been rude. She could apologize for that. "Sorry, Doom. I'm a bit out of sorts after last night's training. I was at a new place. But enough of that."
Kiefer and Lessa came into the dining room for breakfast. Bladescape knew the two of them walking in together was more than that. They tried to hide it, but they were more than that. The question was, would they make that leap in the game? Bladescape wasn't sure Lessa would.
Once everyone had gotten food and had their chance to get their fill, including herself, Bladescape let the hounds free to clean up the rest. “Yes, Thunder, you can stop pouting and grab seconds. You too Astro.”
Both of them leaped to grab more food. Bladescape continued eating at her normal pace. AFCK was good and getting better, but she was enjoying the food less and less. It was getting mixed in with the monotony of the game. A sad reality to the life she was currently living.
Bladescape got everyone moving so they could change and then organized them as she saw fit once they all were back. She stacked them heavy with Backbreaker, Joltron, Kiefer, Astro, and Thunderborne joining her. She had full confidence in the others under Knightstar. They were good and would be safe. She was more worried about working some of the ruts out of her team. Thunderborne often charged ahead, alone, she relied on Backbreaker to cover her to the point where she opened herself up dangerously if Backbreaker or someone couldn't support her.
She wanted to fix those problems, but it would come from fine tuning how their fought. She was going to analyze it and make adjustments from how they worked together today. It wasn't going to be easy to track all of it, especially as she fought.
She got them out and on their way to Danac. As they teleported, Thunderborne Astro played their hopping game. Most of the Wondercolts didn't know that the two of them tried to be the first to teleport so they could hit as many cities as they could without holding up the group. They had never held the group up, and soon after they started, Bladescape realized it was healthy for them to do it.
The two of them always kept things interesting. The running in the HQ had to be stopped after they knocked Lessa down the stairs and hit Diemond and Knightstar on the second floor. They had cause a food fight during a breakfast. It didn’t matter how small the piece of bread was, it was thrown and it almost sparked a larger battle. The soccer pitch in the second floor was an interesting development which was annoying at times, but they had nowhere else to play. It kept them out of trouble in the streets, and that was what was important.
The two of them walked too close to the edge of trouble far to often in their games. Thunderborne had once tackled Astro, innocently and out of fun, so hard it set broke the harassment codes. It had earned her an orange cursor for 3 days. She had to spend time outside of the city so that she wasn’t attacked by the guards.
It had caused a huge rabble among some of the guilds. Bladescape had to head it off by going to the Knights of the Blood Oath and speaking with their council. Heathcliff was humored by her tale. The rest of his Council wasn’t as humored. But the KOB’s understanding and support of the accident had been enough to stave off anymore problems. Particularly between the DDA and the Wondercolts. And the Floor Boss raid was on the last day of Thunderborne's "orange days," making it easy to exclude her and put a stronger emphasis on the consequences of her actions. Thunderborne wasn't going to end up in the battle anyway since her rapier was useless, but that didn't matter and she didn't know that fact.
The Catacombs were annoying. They were better lit than many of the other labyrinths, but that was the only thing going for them. Their mapping was going decently well, but this labyrinth was crisscrossing in troublesome pattern. She often had to pull up her map to check their location as they moved through. She routinely had to guess where side routes went and intersected with what they had already mapped.
Eventually a shadow popped out of the wall, trying to bait them into a chase. They hadn't seen any combat yet. Bladescape decided to take the bait. She was confident in their ability to handle whatever the Labyrinth threw at them. The shadow led them into a chase down a hallway and then into a large, pillared, hall.
Bladescape's Search Skill was going crazy around each pillar was multiple enemies, waiting for them to come in further. Some began to come out, triggering the fight. There was no backing out now. Bladescape launched forward into battle.
Despite her best efforts, everything was a hazy memory. She called it "Battle Blur." In the moment, she was spot on, and not just in her personal attack and defense. She was aware of her party's health, she knew where most, if not all, of them were and what they were fighting. She was attuned to the battle, but after, her mind dumped the hypersensitive and useless information.
Bladescape needed the rest that the safezone gave them. She sat down harder than intended, losing a bit of air as her butt connected with the unforgiving stone. She caught her lunch sack but didn't open in. Bladescape wanted to recall what happened in the battle. She focused, grabbing what bits she could to analyze them. Fixing the rut was hard when you didn't remember the fight after.
Bladescape finally opened the sack and pulled out the water. She downed half of it in a single swig and saved the rest for after. She finished her food quickly so that she could try and work out where they could improve. They would probably need an outside adviser. If she stepped out, she would be removed from the equation. She was a critical piece of that equation.
The Beater, Kirito, entered the safe zone to eat his own lunch. AFCK was immediately by his side, offering him a cupcake. Bladescape was surprised when he took it.
But that was not really where her focus was. She forgot about the interaction almost immediately. What truly mattered were the same questions she was always asking herself: How was she performing? In battle, was she creating more stress where they didn't need it? Was she making mistakes the others had to solve? And ultimately, was she strong enough for the guild to be their leader and hold them together?
Those were the questions that plagued her mind. Sleep was always balanced on the edge of fear of her failing. And after her meeting Laughing Coffin, that fear was focused on the "catch 22" of her need to be the best, and the old ambition which turned her into a literal monster. The parallels were becoming too similar, and the bridge she was walking was getting more and more narrow.
The question of how to widen that bridge and make sure the two lines didn't become one was a question she did not know if she wanted to ask; yet had, and already knew the solution. She had to put everything she had into becoming the best. The fast, heaviest hitting, most fluid fighter she could be in this game. And that took what most players would call "ambition."
She would have to rely on her friends to keep her from falling and lift her up if she did.
The afternoon was filled with thuds, bangs, clangs, and the shattering of glass as the skeletons were reduced to polygons. Harmonic Salvation glowed orange and with a roar of anger Bladescape ran the skeleton through. She was not any closer to seeing how the group was fighting and now she was outright mad. The very thing she needed was outside her gasp.
She felt blind. She was blind. She couldn't see herself.
The others finished off the last few as Bladescape stood there, seething. She got control of herself as they finished. They didn't seem to notice as the grouped up around their party leader.
It was just in time to as another party came towards them. It took a moment, but then Bladescape grinned as some hope filled her whole body. It was their dear friends in Fuurinkazan.
"Wait," Klein said, not greeting them. He was clearly confused. "If we are coming from this way, and you are ahead of us, but we just cleared behind us, then you are coming towards us."
"That barely made sense," Bladescape said with a laugh. "But we are headed and mapping towards the direction you guys are walking from."
"Then we are lost," Klein said as he swiped up his map. "Umm..."
Bladescape sheathed Harmonic Salvation and pulled up their map. "This is what we have. You can see the others went this way."
"How did we miss this turn?" Klein asked as they stood side by side, pointing and comparing the network of tunnels.
"They were not kidding when the others started calling them 'catacombs'," Bladescape snorted. "But, I didn't think they were this confusing. We have certainly seen worse, but this is..."
"A lot more dead ends and side passages than I thought," Klein finished.
Klein wasn't the only member of Fuurinkazan groaning. They had gotten an early start, several hours ahead of the Wondercolts. They were tired and demoralized now that they were confused over the map.
Bladescape sent Klein her map and he set her theirs so that they both had a complete piece. She studied the more complete map for a few seconds and then groaned, killing her menu in anger.
"You okay?" Klein asked.
"Frustrated," Bladescape shrugged. "The map isn't helping. I am trying to fine tune our main boss raiders, but I can't see much being in combat myself. But if I watch, then I am not in the equation to see how well we are working together."
"You are going about this all wrong," Klein shrugged. "You guys are top notch in the fights for a reason. Maybe you could use a little polishing, but you won't get that without help from the outside. You need to work with others. They will be able to tell you where you are strong and where you are weak."
"Is that an offer?" Bladescape asked, grinning mischievously.
"For what?" Klein asked. His scruffy face looked stupid as he retraced the last few things they had said. His eyes and smile finally lit up as he realized what the 'offer' had been. "Alright! You got a deal. We hit the Labyrinth in the morning, together. We polish each other by spreading our members out over three parties."
"We are supposed to meet up with the others this way," Bladescape said. She pointed her thumb over he shoulder as she walked backwards for a few steps and then turned around to lead them properly.
Klein was right. Working interwoven would give her a better sense of how they were doing. They needed to be ready and able to work with any player, not just their guild. And she was done for the day. She didn't have much fight left in her after the short day's work. She had added a lot of stress and anger to the day. Tomorrow would be easier.
Knightstar didn't have a single objection to calling it an early day. Bladescape was pretty sure she had a consultation she was working on. If she did, it would explain that willingness. She worked hard on so much for the guild. It was a lot of stress, and then she had to lead. Lead, analyze, run stats, and somehow still fight; it was a difficult balancing act she did.
Bladescape was happy to have her friends by her side at that table though. She trusted her. AJ was a great supporter and a great Tank, but outside the fighting, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle shared a bond the others didn't. If anyone was her anchor in this world, it was Twilight.
Once back at their headquarters, Bladescape did some knife throwing to bring up her Blade Throwing Skill. She was lazy about the whole thing. Boredom was the main driver. She was waiting for dinner.
As usual, dinner was good. Bladescape ate rather quickly and then went to her room. She put her armor on the stand, sword on the wall, and enjoyed the feeling of near nakedness that was somehow cleansing to her.
Bladescape sighed when she realized she forgot to thank AFCK for dinner. It was a far too common occurrence for her to forget. She would thank her in the morning. She wasn't planning to leave her room until then.
Bladescape sat down in the cushioned, high backed chair, without putting any clothes on. She focused on breath. In and out. Breath in deep, hold it, and release the breath slowly. She worked to let the stress of the day be chipped away as she relaxed and broke her outer shell.
As it broke away, the pieces didn't flake off like old skin or caked on mud. Some of them felt like they took the flesh with them, leaving her skin raw and bleeding in places. Bladescape fought against the feeling but it only grew. The pain became too much and her eyes flew open as she panicked and looked around her body to see that it was okay. With her eyesight restored, the pain disappeared. It was replaced by shallow and quick breaths, the exact opposite of what it was supposed to be.
Bladescape got up and paced a bit. The next day was supposed to fix what she was worried about. Or show her errors. But she couldn't drive them from her mind. She had to make sure she was the best. Too much was riding on her. The guild survived on her shoulders. She couldn't let her friends see that raw side. They needed a stalwart leader.
Yes, they would support her. The support would be overwhelming. But this wasn't like fighting with Equestrian Magic. It wasn't a life, her real life, that had its ups and downs. When she fell down or was weak in the real world, her friends could catch her. It wasn't fun when she made mistakes, but she could own them.
Here was her current reality and life. Here she couldn't show that worry or weakness. Not too much. If she did, they would smother her with a hug. It would break down the mental armor she had carefully forged for herself over the months in Sword Art Online. And that would ruin their image of a strong, valiant leader who didn't back down or break. They needed a flawless Wondercolt to lead them into battle. She was the image of the Wondercolts, to her friends and to the other players.
Bladescape popped on her sleepwear and flopped onto her bed. She didn't fall asleep. Her mind was on fire, trying to remove the battle blue and recall what she actually saw. It was filled with battle after battle, level grind after level grind. She saw Level 80 in her mind and she wanted it. And she already knew she thirsted for Level 90, and Level 100, and she would not stop that consumption until SAO was conquered and they were free.
In the back of her mind was a seed she tried to keep unwatered so it didn't grow. It was a seed of fear. Fear that when she got free from this virtual prison, that she would be lost not being Bladescape. A fear that her life had been transformed to the point that Bladescape was the new Sunset Shimmer. A Sunset Shimmer who would see the world through the visor she saw it now with: HP Bars, equipment stats, levels, and game information. And a Sunset Shimmer who would want to take and conquer the world. City by city, starting once again with Canterlot High.
Bladescape rolled her head to look over at her armor. It was stunning and even in the soft glow of the light from the lanterns of Mishe, it shined brightly. The metal and golden hardware was almost all the same color, and right in the center of it all was the Wondercolt Horse Head.
That was Bladescape. If you set her in Equestria, she would be a blue unicorn with a yellow mane. Her flank would have that horse head on it. It was a symbol of unity, strength, and selflessness.
Bladescape sighed. As strong as that symbol was, it was her life. The others would not understand, but a strong symbol to her was supposed to be on her flank as a cutie mark, which was her special talent. This horse head wasn't her special talent, but it was the cutie mark she bore. She had to bear it to free the others, but it had its moments where it sickened her to wear it. It was a repulsion born from another world in another dimension. It felt like her cutie mark had been magically torn from her flank and then that one forced onto her in replacement.
The only symbol she wanted, the only symbol that she was, was her sun symbol. The orange and red sun that was an image of her soul. A radiant light full of magic and energy that was warm and kind, but could burn and hurt those who tried to harm her and her friends. And that was the symbol she wanted. She wanted to burn her enemies like the sun itself was touching them.
But that was not who a Wondercolt was. It wasn't who she was in SAO. It couldn't be her in SAO. If she picked up her cutie mark, she would not be a Wondercolt. What would come would be a driving ambition to be the best, which would mean that she would leave her friends behind and become a solo player, like Kirito.
And that was something Sunset Shimmer and Bladescape were not willing to let happen. Her friends were too important to her.
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 69 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Equipment Appraisal – Parry – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Search – Armor Pierce
Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 72 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search
Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 75 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics
AFCK(PP): Lvl 72 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument
Diemond (R): Lvl 72 – 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 69 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal
Astro (PS): Lvl 72 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry
Kiefer: Lvl 69 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts
Lessa: Lvl 69 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search
Joltron: Lvl 73 – 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