//------------------------------// // Episode 66 - Doombunny's Day // Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Aincrad // by Mindrop //------------------------------// Front Line - Floor 62 June 14 - Year 2 Time: Noonish, earlier that day. Doombunny was walking the streets of the Town of Beginnings. Sasha walked them daily, trying to find more kids who were hiding out even after all this time. However, she didn't have Doombunny's skills. Max Search made things much easier to find the non NPC residents of the massive city. Her Listen Skill was also advantageous, allowing her to hear and detect living players. What was most important was her Reveal Skill. Doombunny was using it to specifically target smaller players and reveal anyone who was hiding. She found numerous players hiding out, and she did what she could to encourage them, but those still frozen in fear after a year and a half in SAO were not a type of player she could consult and coax out with her kindness. It would take a team of experts a long time to help their damaged mental state. No kids were present, but the city was still vibrant. And the First Floor didn't lack beautiful sounds and the subtle flourishes that made it feel so real. The stones were not all the same and perfect, and they didn't repeat in sequences along a wall. Finding a direct copy of another stone was nearly impossible. The game was that perfect, that realistic. It wasn't just Listen, or Reveal, or even Search, but a combination of those three skills that triggered danger in Doombunny's ears. There were many ways to bully players in a safe zone. And there were plenty of ways to do it without breaking the harassment code. Doombunny automatically slipped Hide to active as she moved to the disturbance. It was in a nearby alley. A squad of soldiers had several players backed against the dead end. "Come on," the lead Army soldier said. He was trying to sound kind, but a bit firm. "We are asking nicely. We do a lot for you, but it costs us a lot to provide the services we do. It's just a small tax to support it all. Nothing that will bankrupt you or harm you. You will still get to eat and live." Doombunny felt her anger flare up. The state of most players she had seen was horrible compared to even the mid leveled players. They barely got by, ate horrible food, and needed a lot of mental health care. They didn't need this kind of harassment, especially from the ones claiming to protect them. And for free at that. Or at least, it had once been free as they supported themselves. Doombunny had to do something, but she didn't know what to do. Then it dawned on her. She was invisible to them, and certainly none of them had a high enough set of skills to unveil her. She could be smart and ensure they didn't do it again. There was a set of wooden crates on one side of the alley. She climbed up there so that she would be in a very easy location to be heard and pin down where the voice came from, but not be seen. "Taxes?" Doombunny asked as assertively as she could without sounding angry. "TAXES! These players don't owe you taxes. You are extorting them through fear, like a simple, common bully." Everyone in the alley was searching for the voice. The leader looked straight at her, but he obviously couldn't see anyone. "And who are you?" He demanded. "And where are you!" "I am the memory of a player who died here!" Doombunny declared, taking things down a darker path. A path that would probably backfire when she tried to go to sleep next. "I starved to death because you claimed you could not feed me. My death is on your head because when I needed you, you turned your back on me like everyone else. And you claim to be equal and distribute food and information to any and all players. I never saw a single piece of Col from you! And now you claim I must pay for it myself, when I could not? Where is the generosity and fairness that the Aincrad Liberation Force was founded upon? I do not see it here!" The soldiers, and other players, were shaking. They didn't understand why they couldn't see anyone. And not knowing sparked fear in their hearts. "Well! What am I to do? Where do I find rest and retribution? Can you give it to me?" At that, the Army squad broke and ran, tearing out of the alley for their lives. The other players were right behind them. A realistic ghost story was always something that scared people, no matter where they were from or what reality they were in. And Doombunny knew the fear of ghosts all too well. She jumped off the crates. Anyone observing would have heard her touch down, but Doombunny was keeping Hide active. She kept it as she walked out and headed back to the church for lunch. She didn't know what she would, or even could, do to stop the extortion of players by the Army. Certainly they all couldn't be like that, but that wasn't a comfort to Doombunny as her anger continued to simmer. Her only hope was that lunch would bring good news and that the kids would help her forget the incident. She certainly didn't like how fast her anger had flared up. Bladescape (SS): Lvl 83 – Two-Handed Sword – Search – Weapon Defense – Leather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics – Blade Throwing – Extended Weight Carry - Greatsword Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 75 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 78 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics AFCK(PP): Lvl 75 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument Diemond (R): Lvl 75 – 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 78 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal -- Fencing Astro (PS): Lvl 75 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry Kiefer: Lvl 73 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts - Search - Armor Pierce Lessa: Lvl 72 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search - Acrobatics Joltron: Lvl 75 – One handed Axe – Heavy Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Cooking – One Handed Weapon Creation – Two Handed Weapon Creation – Extended Weight Carry