//------------------------------// // Episode 5 - Bloodied Blade // Story: My Little Pony Realization // by Slendy //------------------------------// Act II - Rising Tide Since the game first started up, just over a month has passed by, over three-thousand people out of the twenty-five-thousand MLPR players had lost their lives, but on July 20th, 2022 White-Tail Woods Region Boss was cleared. Now the hunt for the others had begun, hoping the insight can aid in unlocking the first visible Vault several miles from Canterlot. However, in the last eight days progress has been rough but not without results, everyone now part of the 'Assault Team' knew the bosses were beatable and were within each and good luck to them because I couldn't care less right now. I was going to finally make track for Canterlot on foot - erm, hoof, as there was a small gathering of ruins along the way that I had to check in the hopes no one was wise enough to investigate the area for fear of monsters tearing them apart. Right, I've been rambling, haven't I? Sigh, okay, let's get back to the story... [Wilderness | Unknown Ruins] Albatross wandered down the very much endless tunnels of the labyrinth alone, mindlessly humming to herself as she traced her hoof along the black rock walls, cobwebs and cracks dotted the place, and the occasional monster did come by. So far, she had been alone for... two hours. She had undergone a complete makeover since the game began, with some mild headaches from attempting to use the crafting system and alot of Bits. She now wore a black, sleeveless tunic with a high-collar and V-neck, her stomach exposed as the fabric extended into a jacket, the tailcoat bobbing halfway down her back legs, her tail poking out of a small hole. A grey outline matched the belt strapped below her chest. The chest was red at the sides and between the grey straps, a red triangle formed in the middle of the fabric, the rest black. Her shoulders were bare but she continued to wear bandages around her legs halfway up to the knee. A metal bracelet with rubies dotting the material on both forehooves. Her waistbelt was fixed with a belt similar to the one under her chest, fitted over her tailcoat, and sitting just below her stomach and around her black shorts. Artorias' thighs were exposed halfway. Passing down another hall after the inspection of her gear Artorias came across a minor, broken statue in a grim bog marking the entrance to this dungeon's hidden lair, something only a certain level would find. Beyond the broken statue lies a narrow, deteriorated room. It's covered in skeletal remains, faded red markings, and dirt. The lantern aided Artorias in seeing far into the mossy stone depths of the catacombs, battered and ravished by time itself. Further ahead were three paths, one lit with torches, someone else has been down here? Taking the twisted trail she passed by many empty rooms and deadends, boxes obscured some corners, but nothing appeared on radar, no player either. Slowly marching onwards she passed by statues of pony knights, all stained with red streaks of what she could imagine was dried blood. Finally, there was the last door in the hallway, a grand, wooden door marked by symbols of weapons stained red, the central figure represented a large warrior with a sword risen above its head triumphantly, must be a tomb for this knight or something, but they're human? Stran -... wait... "Sneak attack!" Artorias swung her sword horizontally, slicing a statue while nearly catching the pony who was standing behind it, the hooded figure rolling onto the floor and sitting up with their hooves risen, a cheeky, nervous smile on their face. Artorias grinned cockily. "I am a very paranoid person, don't think I'm not always on high alert!" "Fufufu, not great with hellos, are ya?" She chuckled, lowering her hooves while Artorias sheaved her sword, viewing the earth pony's name as 'Gin' Gin was a head smaller than Artorias, with a brown coat, gold eyes, and curly golden-brown hair. Wearing full-body cloth and leather armour, a hooded cloak, and also two red teardrops painted under her eyes. Her weapon is clearly a set of claws, a number of throwing picks attached to a belt too. With a toothy grin, she gave Artorias a salute. "Name's Gin, what's yours, Red?" Artorias found the name rather derivative but rolled with it while lowering her guard "Artorias, badass player, and overall narcissist." They reached out simultaneously and shook hooves, both of them knew of a secret chamber in the dungeon, maybe Gin got a tip from an Alpha Tester, like Artorias? The difference between Alpha and Beta is that the former was very exclusive and only given to a select few players, Artorias happened to be one of those in the bracket. Although some have been prone to abusing their knowledge lately according to what Artorias read up on, similar to some Beta Testers... "Anyways, my guess is that you set those torches back there?" A nod. "That's right, had to see if this ol' place was still around, could give some valuable info and the like for a client, it'll cost 'im," Gin explained, tapping a hoof to the doorway. "Can't get through though, has to be a puzzle with these statues, that's why I was behind one of them before you struck it." "I see..." Artorias put a hoof to her chin, eyes squinted. "Several statues with a similar symbol to that of the knight on the door, only they look more like guards..." She paced while Gin did the same, inspecting a statute. "So, since we're both here, how's about we split what's inside, fifty-fifty? It'd be a bother to fight over stuff I can split or gain someplace else." "So long as the information is still solid and I get a cut of the Bits you can have the items and materials, then deal," In agreement, they bumped hooves and made the contract, now they remained on the task of finding a way inside "A door and statues stained with blood... something about that either signifies a warning or presence of a monster hidden within, which is more than likely the case," Gin watched as Artorias murmured to herself, leaning toward the doorway. "But the blood on the door marked the weapons, all surrounding a single warrior with a blade risen high as if to triumph over the weapons its defeated." "If this theory of mine was correct it would be smooth sailing from here for both of us, others, like that 'ninja' guild, might discover this with their skill up high." Making her way toward the doors Artorias drew her blade and held out her left hoof. Gin watched like a cat as Artorias sliced the bottom side open, the sensation numb as the red particles were gathered against her limb scattering them moments later against the door to see them shatter on impact. "An offering of blood to the monster that slaughtered them all, atleast, that's what I'm getting from all these clues around us," Elaborating on her stupidity, the doors creaked open, all the symbols aglow ominously as a gust of wind was drawn into the sealed section of the dungeon, Artorias then frowned. "Seriously, who is this game targeted at? Blood sacrifices and dark dungeons?" "Man, you and my client come up with the craziest plans, and yet they always work out to a degree," Gin complimented Artorias with a pat to the chest, taking the lead to slice a hidden wire inches from Artorias' hoof, clearly having a high enough skill to detect the traps inside. With a bow, she took the lead. "Follow me and I'll keep you safe." "Gee, my hero..." The sarcasm wasn't lost to the redhead, but Artorias did just that while mapping out the next lost sector With a hoof against the corner of a hallway, Gin's head peeked around, assessing the situation then motioned for Artorias to follow soon after. The environment had also taken a slight turn, walls were far more aged, bricks piled in the rubble with holes and seams running along the distorted halls, torches lying on the floor yet remained ignited. Their journey took them down a pathway that overlooked a massive, black chasm at either end of a snaking, cobblestone path, the floor below engulfed in darkness. Taking a peek, Artorias saw nothing, only darkness, though there was a small indication of a floor since a ladder led down to the abyss below. "Wouldn't recommend falling, place won't kill ya but the trap will trigger monsters to appear, see the smog?" Gin pointed down at the thin layer of haze resting in the darkness. "Weakness debuff, nasty at our level -- BOO!" Gin's jolt to the redhead's back had her reel with a yell, falling on her ass while Gin laughed slyly to herself. "Too easy." "You Goddamn psychopath!" Artorias bellowed, seeing Gin walk away while she stumbled to her hooves, marching in beside the blonde. "Anyways... you're an Info Broker, aren't you?" Her eyebrow quirked at Artorias. "And what if I am?" "Then why are you here? Normally Info Brokers rely on clients to bring favorable information to sell for a price, like a back-and-forth exchange." Artorias did a back-and-forth motion with her hoof. "After facing the Region boss, people say that certain aspects have changed from the beta, like the fact it can use powerful skills, after someone they called a Cheater who used to be an Alpha Tester and knew how to beat the boss and everything, and they blame him for... someone's death." Artorias slowed at her words, realizing the only idiot that would fit the bill Gin shrugged, looking unimpressed for some reason. "Eh, it's true things have changed, that's why I'm down here, trying to source out if this place has been updated, accordin' to an Alpha Tester, it was an unused path for a Region Boss dungeon," Gin's expression soon morphed into a cunning grin, eyes glowing with a glimmer of greed. "So far, that door never opened 'till you used those shards as blood, and now we're enterin' uncharted waters." "I see... but wait, I want to know something." Artorias stopped her just before a steep flight of stairs, littered with dusty armor and more stained walls, pillars embedded with swords and large gash marks that still radiated with a strange, red glow "It'll cost ya~" With two hooves rubbed together for emphasis, Artorias relented then sat down "How much do you know about the coding of the AIs in the VR Rig or just Full-Dive as a whole?" The question stumped Gin for a second, herself scrunching up her face in thought "Not as much as most, though I wonder why'd ya ask?" She motioned for Artorias to continue, watching her growing suspicions rise to her features "Malware appeared out of the blue, took over the game, and hasn't said a word since could be he doesn't really care for his mortal captives offing themselves, but I wonder." Gin caught on with a wide blink "Ya thinkin' someone's pulling strings? Like the developer Ryder?" At the name of the man that cursed them to his nightmare Artorias shook her head "Maybe, I'm not clueless, I pride myself on being quite the multitasker, it's just..." She paused, thinking on how to phrase it. "I actually admire the guy, you know? He built all of this from nothing!" She threw her hooves out to the gloomy world. "He turned a popular kids show into a Full-Dive universe, so to see Malware's almost inhuman actions, I just... I may not care much for humanity as a whole but, something of this nature isn't something he'd do." For a pregnant pause, Gin looked Artorias up and down, assessing her with inquisitive eyes, her lips forming into an 'O' as she tugged on her hood, chuckling to herself with a shrug. "Yep, ya fit the bill Blu-boy described," Gin's reply brought Artorias' expression up to her toothy one. "You're sincere, not much of that goes around, an' I trust Blu-boy so... alright, for that little brain teaser I'll go free-of-charge, only 'cause I've been bugged out by the situation, not much to go on though." Sadly, Artorias' lips pursed, crossing her forelegs. "Problem is we need an Admin Console." Gin nodded solemnly. "That ya do, good thing you ran into me, I can help but pricin' stuff like that ain't easy," She rubbed her chin, then Artorias clopped her hooves "Here's a thought," Gin raised a brow. "You gather info yourself, and I'm typically running solo, and looking for an Admin console requires delving into places no one else can find, right?" Slowly, Gin's smile grew at what exactly the redhead was insinuating. "I gather info on new, unknown places, mobs, and drops, stuff like that." "A partnership, eh?" She laughed boisterously. "Could be profitable, and works out the kinks in yer info costs -- Deal!" Gin stepped up to face Artorias eye-to-eye, the torches providing them with illumination to see her teardrop face smile and wink "We'll iron out everythin' once we got the info here, go back, grab a drink, and begin your contractual obligations for an awesome Broker like Lil ol' me." With a skip she jogged on up the stairs, leaving Artorias to process what she just said, the result leading to a smile on the girl's face as a faint glimmer of hope brought her motivation back on cloud-nine "Deal, Miss Informant!" That made her laugh "Fufufu, yer a fun one, Red, how enticing..." [※•⁎·°•⁎․•°·•⁎※] After they ran up the stairs, the girls came to a long, black hallway aligned with torches leading them toward a large, black-iron door. The pathway was jagged and sloped in many angles from whatever tore through the dungeon. Massive gashes dotted the walls and floor, their prime indication of a boss room ahead. "Seems this is it, either pay or bust now." Artorias murmured, pushing the doorway open and allowing more light to encompass them. The light came from the ceiling, revealing a large gash in the side of the dungeon, sunlight pouring into the massive, circular arena of grass and stone, a river encompassing the circumference Most of the arena was flat, say for a few fallen pillars now turned to rubble and dust over time. Sat in the middle of it all, a single sword protruding from cobblestone painted in a fountain of blood, matching the scarlet blade. Both halted in their approach, staying on the adjacent side of the stream with mixed feelings of curiosity and caution. "This is definitely a boss..." Gin muttered, flicking her claws out, Artorias just drew her sword, adjusting the buckler as her eyes never left the blade. "What's up? Spot something?" "No, just... that blade... I'm getting some creepy vibes from it..." She heard a faint whisper, motioning with a hoof for Gin to stay at the rear while Artorias took point with her shield [Artorias - Lv. 14] [Argo - Lv. 13] !!! "Up there!" Artorias raised the sword, facing a figure hanging high above in the shadows created by the sunlight, it wore dark colors and made itself almost undetectable by her skill, say for the stream of dust that shifted when it moved its body. Upon being spotted, the fingers relaxed and the knees bent, throwing the enemy into a backflip through the air It flew into a nearby wall, carving a hand through stone, feet pressing against the wall and flying upside down toward them, hand effortlessly freeing the sword in the ground, severing the air in front of them with a massive wave of crackling scarlet. Artorias' shield taking the brunt of the horizontal swipe. Slamming a foot into the ground, the back arched as it rose to its full height. A skeleton knight in black, twisted armor, large, curved pauldron with three road spikes. The chest was exposed slightly, bound with two thick belts crossing the black metal that encompassed the torso. Thick, black bracers covered the full length of its arms, two spikes dawning the elbows with a thick, leather gloves. It wore a windswept kilt lined with leather straps and hooks, the legs wrapped in bandages down to the plated feet. The head was exposed, revealing a flaming skull with beady blue eyes. <<>> "I'll focus on DPS, you inflict every kind of status effect you can, a battle of attrition might be our only option with that speed!" Artorias instructed Gin who had already taken off in a large flank, currently, the aggro was on Artorias herself, Narga's head craning her direction with the sword starting to glow an ominous cherry red Artorias' body soared across the stone, blade basking us in blue light with her blade two feet from his guard *Shing-Crack!* She felt her eyes bulge, he negated her skill, sinking her blade with his into the ground, with a free hand he shoved a fist against Artorias' muzzle, pummeling the pony into the stone with him reliving his sword and thrusting down. Rolling immediately, the blade sunk through the ground while Artorias knelt down, sword basked in mint green for . Again they clashed, yet her swirling momentum was cut as she found her right foreleg straining against Narga's equally matched skill, a cyan hue clashing with her mint green. The two of their skills bounced off the other fiercely, trying to press the advantage. With a sharp clang, the two of them slid past each other, light dimming while they pivoted. Artorias motioned toward the boss, seeing the eyes stare with a desirable rage swelling among the flaming skull. "Atleast you don't have a second sword." She widened her stance, glaring back with a snort. "Just makes this more fun." Two flashes of gold struck Narga's back, bolts of lightning coursing over his form with a strained slant to Gin, herself ducking under the lunge to carve a single stroke of rose, the claw inflicting 'Defence Down' alongside 'Paralysis', now locked she spun on her front hooves, back legs glowing blue to land two rapid heels to Narga's chest. "Switch!" She backflipped over Artorias' head, sword burning honeycomb as crashed against Narga's chest, throwing the boss back with a powerful crash of glass. Pressing the advantage, Artorias' sword rested on her shoulder, basking it in gold as she brought down atop Narga's head, shrouding the flames in 'Darkness' as it impeded its ability to land hits temporarily Narga retaliated, blade toward his right in a large arc, but it phased through Artorias, luckily. She dodged the sword again before stepping back, spinning, her blade slicing across his own. With her shield raised to block a downward strike, what followed was a hand grasping the buckler, Narga jutting its elbow into her face as the cold sensation of a sword dug into Artorias' stomach. With a sudden pivot of the longsword, he lacerated her shoulder and side, making Artorias curse, drawing her left hoof high on retreat. A small burst of green light and boosted her health, rejuvenating some too while the scarlet sword struck the face of her buckler, followed quickly by another fist, his sword burning a light blue. Artorias countered, lifting her sword and bringing it back down, hard, with to his , both prismatic edges connected, Artorias clipped the chin and sliced through his hip, while his swept her legs. She recovered with a hoofstand, quickly flicking herself back into a stance. Gin came through, using a set of skills tailored to her claws, . Her hooves struck the blade, both parried, then followed by her left claw acting as a tonfa, twisting the movement of Narga's sword giving her ample time to sink her right claw into his side, carving through and finishing off with a backflip-kick, stunning him. Her switch-out was met with an inhuman recovery speed, Narga lunged at her, the scarlet blade slicing along her back in an 'X', throwing her body to the dirt. Her HP quickly fell into the yellow. "Crap!" Sprinting to her aid, Artorias grabbed a potion of Strength and downed the contents. The shield took the brunt of Narga's next attack, the redhead's health chipping away some more while she remained a wall for Gin to recover. Retaliating, she slammed the buckler into the sword's true edge, diverting it away as Artorias felt her footing begin to tremble Narga fled, digging the sword into the ground to slow his slide, each inch of the hole created left a remnant of red energy. "That sword's messed up. If I could beat him I might just claim that sword as a rare drop, but the chances were slim at best, but if there's a chance, I'll bet it all on a single move!" He held his sword up yet again in one hand, walking toward them with a straight posture. Even though Artorias felt weak and ragged, this wasn't like any low-ranking miniboss, his skill was parallel to her own, and this was only a small-time boss, how and why still didn't make sense at all. She bound over his swing, slicing across the shoulder and skull, with herself spinning around and slicing down his back, yet he turned, blade sweeping her hooves. Reacting with the flow, Artorias pressed a hoof to the ground, hopping up over another low slant, another missing her body as she bent back around, landing on her back hooves. Shield raised to block several rapid thrusts from scarring her face, sparks flailing while she twisted her right forehoof out far. A toothy grin stretched, "Horizontal..." Spat with venom, her hoof lunged through his left, tearing apart metal and bone as his guard fell, allowing the redhead the time to slam the butt of the shield against his sword, disarming the boss and giving her a clear view of his flaming scalp Despite all her efforts, he regained his sword, plunging it through her calf and using his arm to pry the girl off him. They broke away momentarily, Artorias poising the sword to the left, Narga's risen high to the right in both hands. They lunged, Atrotias with sliding just barely under his thrust, a pair of claws diving over her head to take the blow, Gin slicing back with her forelegs crossed. *Shing-Crack* The flames died out immediately, Narga swallowed the steel of Silver Grove as it pierced the occipital bone. Pushing with all her might, she threw Narga's head back into the floor with a massive red score through the scalp. Relinquishing her sword at the sight of his health bars vanishing filling them both with satisfying relief, a wave of shattered glass rising to the outside world. "Get bent, haha!" Artorias did a small, cocky guestre to the remains of glass, the only thing remaining was that of the crimson sword now lying in the grass, no longer glowing red but rather staying a shade of scarlet metal. "Huh?" "Not a bad fight, had a few close calls though -- Not to mention the skill level this guy was at," Gin commented with her hooves crossed, her expression filled with as much confusion and concern as Artorias "It shouldn't be this powerful, not at this level anyway, maybe it wasn't meant to be found?" That explanation was flimsy to them both, Gin looking very unconvinced. Artorias drooped. "Yeah, didn't believe it either." "Even if that were the case, the criteria to findin' this shoulda been higher than our Detect skill." While a grim notion, both girls noted the tab appearing before them, rewards and experience from the boss awaiting collection. Then another tab appeared, one specifically for Artorias' curious eye, and Gin's sparkling ones. "Oooh!" [Rare Item Drop!] Genesis Veil **** Damage Value - 35 | Attack Delay - 80 | Type - Slash Effect: 10% chance to buff Sword Skills (Red glow indicates this buff) The sword, now up close in person, was silver and red. The handle and guard were a metallic grey with a rounded ruby fixed to the pommel. The guard was missing, alongside a slot for a gem in the center above the three-pointed metal joint connecting the handle to rectangular slots missing at either side of the blade. The blade was silver with the majority of the face being a solid red tone, a silver edge gleaming in the light. It had better stats than her 'Silver Grove', equipping it, she now had a matching sword to her equipment. "If I'm stuck in this body might as well look the part, right?" Artorias spun around with glee. Turning to Gin, then suddenly another new tab came between them. "Seriously, what -- oh?" [New Quest Added!] |Bloodied Blade| Upon retrieving the Genesis Veil, it appears to be missing several pieces to make it whole. Traverse Equestria and repair the once-powerful sword with the pieces gathered. [ ] Defeat Treasured Serpent [ ] Defeat Crimson Blade [ ] Defeat Trench, the Scourge of Kranon "A new quest with several objectives to make a powerful One-Handed Longsword... only found in a dungeon between Ponyville and Hoofprint... has not been confirmed to be a regular spawning boss until further investigation... okay, yep, got it!" Gin clicked her tongue, closing a message tab with a hard pat to Artorias' back, she grinned while inspecting the sword. "Could prove to be quite powerful, Red, combined with yer fightin' style too -- You completed the other hidden quest too, huh?" "Took me several days dealing with that crusty old man, but yes, I did," She was talking about the same questline Gin completed to earn the skills used in hoof-to-hoof weaponry. It was a pain in the ass but worth the passive mobility skill and gave her buckler a more offensive use too. "Same with you too -- Also, why the teardrops?" She emphasized with her hoof toward the Broker, but Gin just gave Artorias' hoof a gentle bump "Fufufu, that info will cost ya greatly, but we can discuss that back in town," Gin danced away from the question, humming with a sly grin. "Of course, unless you were expecting me to take them off just for you, the knight in shining armor who jumped in to save Lil ol' me?" She then looked at Artorias with faked innocence and a few blinks. Artorias' brow raised with a faint stutter, "You swing that wa -- Nope, do not want to know whichever way you -- Nope-Nope not thinking -- Actually, screw you and your bartering!" That made her laugh and Artorias' flustered state worsen. "This is why I work solo..." "Red, lesson one, when in business with me, never expect cheap as a substitute for quality." "Of all the Info Brokers, I get the rat -- fantastic." With a final look back at the dungeon's hidden arena, the two of them left for the safe zone of Ponyville To Be Continued...