Episode 104 — Black Velvet Band
Episode 104 — Black Velvet Band
Twenty-Eighth Day in the Month of Bush Clover (June 28) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 63
Bladescape led Kiefer and Doombunny through the woods, heading west. She was using the map Argo had drawn them. Yes, they were supposed to be bonding with the new Wondercolts, but this trip was important. It was also overnight while the others slept. They wouldn’t be missed. If this location panned out, they could train them here until Argo sold the information off and other players came, but that would all depend on the type of training location it proved to be. Argo had approached them for a more thorough investigation of the location than she could do alone. If it was good, the Wondercolts would pay for Argo's silence until they had met their quotas.
If it was group oriented, the location would fill up quickly as squads, parties, and guilds worked on team dynamics while grinding for XP. Those places usually were lower for XP per hour, but the teamwork gained, honed, or kept well-oiled was a good tradeoff.
If it was solo oriented, it usually was higher XP per hour and fewer players came. The solo locations usually were not the most advantageous for obtaining guild quotas. The payouts for col and other drops were less too. A few players liked to risk the higher floors for a solo location, even for nearly insane XP rates. They had always been the riskier training locations. Bladescape had often used them for her overnight trips and she had to be extra vigilant. Those were the days before Laughing Coffin.
The sand crabs were a great hybrid location. They could be fought by small teams or solo, and the other party members could rest and stay fresh while still getting XP. It got crowded though, and it was high time they had a better location.
The three of them finally came to the spot. Several taverns and buildings were stuck in a mountain crevice to make a town. According to Argo, the town was not a safe zone and the only buildings available to players were the three taverns.
Like Argo had said, they sat up on ledges. Straight ahead of them was The Flying Duck. On the north ledge was the Bull and Bear. Directly across from it on the south ledge was the Green Boar. They looked stable despite their shabbiness.
Bladescape led them up to the steep steps to the Bull and Bear. Inside, the bar spanned the entire length of the wall to their right. At the end was the cellar to hold the alcohol, blocked by a door. The stairs to the second floor were also blocked by a door. There was a large group of gangly NPCs around the various tables. Most seemed to be doing business transactions. Col was being passed across the tables, or under them. Despite the questionable nature of the NPCs, there were absolutely no whores or wenches in the tavern. The only worker was the barkeep.
"Stay there," Bladescape said, pointing to the only open table. She walked up to the counter. "I'd like a room please," she asked the barkeep.
"All full," the bartender spat. His voice was adequately deep for his large size. "All the rooms in each tavern are booked for the, uh," he chuckled deeply, "for the Black Velvet Band's annual convention."
"Fine," Bladescape nodded. She watched him give a mug of ale to the guy sitting next to her. "How much for a drink?"
"Five bits," he huffed.
"All out of bits," Bladescape replied.
It was time to really test the information Argo wanted. Bladescape blatantly pulled the mug from the NPC next to her and took a chug. His ugly, scarred face was shocked for a moment. He growled and stood up clenching a fist and ramming it into his palm. Bladescape held up her hand and continued to down the entire mug. She slammed it down on the counter and burped in his face.
"That was my ale," he growled. He had a good eight inches on her, and he was wider than Bladescape was, even in her plate armor. "I'm going to pound you to bits and then use what little is left of you for more ale."
"Do your best," Bladescape grinned.
Bladescape didn't need an outside system skill to predict his punch. He pulled his arm all the way back. She sidestepped it with ease and drew Harmonic Salvation. She cut him down before he could recover.
The room froze, except for the barkeep who kept drying the same mug he had been when they had entered. Slowly the others stood up and drew their own weapons. They now looked like a rowdy gang of thieves and bandits.
"Um, Blade," Doombunny nervously said. "Now what?"
Bladescape laughed. "Oh yeah. I didn't tell you the interesting part of this place. Argo got into a long fight here. Don't worry yourself over their levels, they have low defense stats and their weapons are crap. She believes that once you start the bar fight, it doesn't stop until you exit. We are here to test that and the XP rate."
Kiefer's fist glowed and he threw a great cross to the NPC closest to him, right across the chin. It was a simple strike that knocked off two thirds of the NPC's health. That was the last straw and the fight began. The NPC tags went from blue to red, indicating they were now an enemy. They didn't just fight the Wondercolts, some were fighting the very NPCs they had just been doing business with. Deaths were happening all around.
Colorra was very happy to be in a fight with squishy NPCs. Doombunny didn't need her parrying dagger or buckler, but she trained it anyway. Mourning Protector was the only blade she needed. The NPCs were armorless. They died faster than a poison could be registered. Kiefer switched back and forth between Mist's Fury and his Martial Arts Skill. He needed to train both, but Martial Arts was the newer skill. Bladescape began to use the wider sweeping attacks of Greatsword. Bajutsu would be the wiser choice, but she couldn't train Greatsword with it. She had tried, but the handle wasn't long enough to trigger the start of any Greatsword Sword Skill.
They fought for a while before Bladescape stepped over the bar again. She slapped down several pieces of Col. "Three of your finest ales please."
"Coming right up," he casually replied. He set each mug in front of her and then went back to drying the same one he was programmed to dry for eternity. The bar fight was of no concern to him.
Bladescape grabbed the handles in one hand and cut down one bandit in her way. She set them down at the table that her friends were loosely around.
"Drink up," Bladescape said. "We need to stay hydrated."
Both Kiefer and Doombunny killed their bandit and stepped over the table. The clashed mugs and took a solid drink before they were forced to address more vagabonds.
The outside door opened and familiar faces entered. Bladescape had just killed half of them. The door to the second floor banged opened and more enemies came at them. They certainly had a high respawn rate.
Their stats were pathetic. Bladescape got stabbed in the chest by a rusty cutlass. She looked down at where her armor had stopped it and then back at the bandit who had no idea what to do now that his weapon failed. He had knocked 10 HP off her full health. He didn't have to worry any longer as Colorra twisted up his body, pinning him with the elapid's strong body, and then bit him in the neck. She looked at Bladescape and nodded. Her expression was hard to read since she was a snake, but Bladescape had learned to distinguish the difference between Colorra's joyful and angry looks. She dropped into a coil as the bandit shattered. Immediately she began to stalk another target.
At their fifth round of drinks, Kiefer spoke up. "Blade, I think you have things handled here. I'm going to take Doom and Colorra and check out the Green Boar. We should make sure that they keep coming and that the others are the same. Easy, fast, and fun."
"Go," Bladescape laughed. "I do have this. But we meet up at four thirty in the center of the town."
They both agreed. Bladescape pulled up her menu and switched out Harmonic Salvation for Bajutsu. Without the others, she would need the shorter sword. It was all one hit kills, but she needed to address their numbers and ensure she did not get overwhelmed.
Outside the tavern, the window popped up for Kiefer and Doombunny. Kiefer’s jaw dropped as he saw the XP gained. It was rather pathetic Col, about 15 for each kill, but it was insane how fast they racked up the number he was looking at. This was going to be a hot solo training spot. They could ignore unit tactics for the moment and just grind the XP for the leveling quotas they were instituting.
Kiefer and Doombunny headed across the town center and into the Green Boar. They found out that the Green Boar was the exact same bar as the Bull and Bear, with only two differences. The bartender was a female; she was also drying a mug in the exact same pose and routine as the male bartender. The second was the fact that the Green Boar was a card and betting tavern.
The highlights included some unknown card game with cards that didn't look like anything Kiefer had ever seen. The classic knife finger game where you bet you won't stab yourself. And then there was a card game that resembled the dueling games in the real world.
Kiefer ordered two drinks, which he kept at the bar, and then walked over to the knife hand game. He waited until one of the four players started and then slammed his fist on the table. The NPC sliced a finger off at the shaking of the table
"Shoot!" Kiefer exclaimed. "I don't have the cash to join your bets."
That was all that he needed to trigger the NPCs to turn hostile and start fighting the two Wondercolts. They also turned on the cheating poker players, which was everyone playing. Doombunny and Colorra kept their same thing going as before. Kiefer just worked on Martial Arts. It was more fun in this set up than using his large katana.
Punch, sidestep, hook, duck, uppercut, turn to next opponent and duck, uppercut and then double jab.
It was fast and easy banging heads together. It had been a long time since they had killed anything so easily, and especially without stress. Doombunny and Kiefer eventually met at the bar and sat down to drink their ale. Colorra was dealing with the bandits.
“I don’t think you need me,” Doombunny said as she set her empty mug down. “I should probably grab Colorra and try the third tavern.”
“Go for it,” Kiefer grinned. “This will be fun by myself. I’ll be safe, but a fistfight like this is exactly what I need to train Martial Arts.”
“Good luck,” Doombunny said, getting up. Colorra met her at the door and she exited, leaving Kiefer cracking his knuckles and with a sly grin on his face.
Doombunny stepped into the Flying Duck. "Oh my," she said, blushing. She felt completely uncomfortable about being in this tavern. Poker and shady business she could handle, but the Flying Duck was a whore house. Nothing too lewd. The clothes stayed on until they took it upstairs. Or would if their coding didn't keep them doing the same repetitive things.
Doombunny went to the counter, bought a drink, and then walked up to a woman and man making out.
"Um, excuse me," Doombunny sweetly said. "Sorry to interrupt, but he is kind of my man, and I would like for you to get off him and stop kissing him. You know, if that isn't too much to ask."
The whore slapped the man and got off him. He turned to Doombunny. "Fine. Then you and I are going to my room right now."
"No," Doombunny confidently said in her normal voice.
He drew his knife. "I wasn't asking."
Doombunny drew her knife. The duel was over in an instant and Doombunny was untouched. That was all the tavern needed for the fighting to start. Colorra was the perfect backup as Doombunny solo fought both the men and the women. The women came at her with fists, most of the men had short swords and daggers. With the fight started, there was nothing lewd about the tavern except for how scantily clad some of the women were.
Doombunny switched to the buckler. She worked to pick up what the others had been doing. Not every cut of the blade had to be triggered with a Sword Skill. She started using the buckler to manually bash a face in here or there, while she dealt with another vagabond. It was effective, and it took a surprising amount of HP off their gauges.
It was fast and hot work. Doombunny drank what she could, when she could, but by 4 am she was exhausted. She decided she was done. It had been 4 hours fighting alone. She left the tavern to meet the others in the center of the village. With any luck, they would also call it a bit early.
Luck was not on her side. An NPC, who could only be described as a fair and beautiful woman, stood there. Her black eyes, despite the low light of the night, shined like diamonds. Her hair was draped over her left shoulder, and tied up with a black velvet band.
She pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time. “My, my,” She said with an alluring voice. “That was a long fight. I didn’t expect you to last as long as you did. Your friends are powerful too. But it is you I am interested in.”
She tossed Doombunny the pocket watch, who instinctively caught it. Colorra hissed in response from her perch.
“Relax Colorra, I am not here to harm either of you,” The NPC said. “I have a proposition. This will come only once and only to you.”
“Only me?” Doombunny asked innocently.
“Of course,” She innocently smiled back. “No one who has the Four Marked Skills — Hide, Listen, Reveal, and Search— are anywhere near your level. Especially your natural competency with them. Plus, you know how to paralyze people. That is a very useful skill. You are exactly what we desire for members of the Black Velvet Band.”
“Wasn’t I just killing your members?” Doombunny sternly asked as he hand slipped to her pink dagger.
She snorted a laugh, unbecoming of her beauty. “Those hoodlums? No. We are in town, but we are not that kind of vagabond. I can teach you things, quite simple things, that will help you out tremendously.”
“What could you teach me?” Doombunny asked, not backing down in her alertness. It was odd behavior for an NPC, but it may be a quest trigger for an Extra Skill.
“You know very much how unaware the majority of the residents are,” the woman said. “It would take nothing to teach you how to cut their coin purses and other things. They would never see it coming and never know. You could provide your friends more than just Col, such as items like the pocket watch you hold in your hand. That's a trifle compared to other things. You need those items more than they do. They hoard it for themselves, you do what you can for others. I can teach you how to calmly redistribute that lopsided wealth.”
“You mean steal,” Doombunny bluntly replied.
“That is one way it is seen, but I prefer my view.” Her shining eyes and grin kept Doombunny from walking away. “Think of how easily you could help your little friends out in that big town. An afternoon every so often in a populated city could feed them for a month. The others don’t care about the kids, but you, rightly, do.”
Something was wrong. An NPC should not know about the kids and especially Doombunny’s connection with them. She had to be careful. This was very unlike the game.
“I’m not capable of learning anything new right now,” Doombunny replied.
“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” She said, taking a step forward.
Colorra hissed, showing her fangs.
“And the price?” Doombunny asked, removing her hand from her dagger and crossing her arms.
“Nothing,” She replied. “Well, just one thing. You would need to make small contributions to us every so often, but that is all.”
“I’m very busy with important things,” Doombunny stated as the woman stopped an arm's length from her. “I can’t do what you are asking often, if at all.”
“That’s okay. All we ask is five percent of what you gather from this little skill of ours.”
“And who exactly are you?” Doombunny asked. “Why should I trust anything you say?”
“I said you were special, yes? I am the Queen of the Black Velvet Band. I don’t ever recruit, but you, you would report only to me.”
“Only to you?” Doombunny asked, a lot softer.
“Of course. I couldn’t possibly put anyone in charge of you. They don’t have the skill you already possess.”
“And you do?”
Her chuckle was sweet, but mischievous. “I can take anything I want and no one would be the wiser. I even could take Liberator, the sword and shield of that silly Commander Heathcliff, from him without him even knowing. I bet it wouldn’t take you long until you could also redistribute something that large. I bet he would pay a lot of Col to get it back. They are a wealthy guild and they hold all of the power. You could rescue it a few days later and return it for a reward. Or one of your guildmates could use it. You could sell it to them and he could do nothing about it because ownership would not be set to him."
“So, I would not have to worry about any of the others in the Black Velvet Band?” Doombunny pressed.
“Prove your worth and perhaps I will name you my successor,” she sweetly said. “I have more than enough to retire right now and live a very good life in Selmburg, but I lack someone gifted and wise enough to lead the Black Velvet Band.”
This was strange. The blue icon above her head was undeniable. She was an NPC, but acting very odd. Only two NPCs that Doombunny knew of acted this odd. The iron knight Malus fought who awarded the Iron Bulwark for her strength and determination. That item defied the game. Malus would not speak about the things done after she won his respect, but the way he had openly acted was not normal.
The other was Merlin the Magician, from Bladescape's Glass Tower quest. Doombunny had not met him, Bladescape hadn't spoken much about him in fear that he would eject her from the quest, but what she had shared was odd; very odd. He had spied on Bladescape and she caught him; sending the quest floors ahead of the expected arc. Each NPC acted contrary to the other NPCs. They were independent with a life of their own, like they were aware that SAO was a game, just like this Queen of the Black Velvet Band.
Doombunny chose to take the calculated risk she had been formulating.
“Fine,” Doombunny nodded. “I accept. Teach me. I take on your challenge to prove I should replace you.”
“I knew you would come around,” She smiled.
She brought up her own menu, something no normal NPC had, and then Doombunny’s popped up in front of her. The NPC brought up Doombunny’s Skills remotely and Doombunny saw “Sleight of Hand” join her active skills. The system did ask her to verify the addition and she hit the blue accept button. "Sleight of Hand" was locked into her active skills, this time in a soft pink.
“Now, there you go,” the Queen sweetly said as she innocently grinned at Doombunny. “And yes, this is a different skill from Robbing. Robbing only can be done against merchandise in a store or business establishment, mostly those run by NPCs. Sleight of Hand, and The Black Velvet Band, are primarily focused on the players. Still, inside that tavern behind you is a perfect place to start honing your new craft. The NPC drunkards will help you get a feel for it. Once I approve of your mastery of the skill, I will allow you to teach others."
“I think I first need to thank you properly,” Doombunny coyly replied.
“What were you-”
Endbringer was reversed in Doombunny’s grip and against her throat as Doombunny pulled her in tight. “I’m thinking that I’ll give you an early retirement,” Doombunny hissed. “You are useless to me now, and actually, you are a threat. I think I am going to enjoy hunting the Black Velvet Band down, member by member. If I find out you brought any other players into your fold, it will not go over well.”
“We didn’t, I swear,” she hissed back. “You don’t really have the guts to murder me.”
“I just got a special Skill from you,” Doombunny laughed back. “And I'm fairly certain that you were never supposed to be in this game.”
“What?” she asked.
“You heard me,” Doombunny growled. “You were not intended to be here. Somehow you are, but you shouldn’t be. You know things you shouldn't know. Do things no NPC does. Refer to players and NPCs and Skills. You have a menu like a player, but you are not one of us. When Sword Art Online trapped us here, you were not a part of the initial program. How this game is adapting, I don’t know, but I know it is: you aren't the first strange thing I have encountered. So I will cut the cancer you are out of it.”
Doombunny shifted forward, and it was all she needed for Endbringer to slice the woman's neck open. Her menu popped up and Doombunny looked at it. It confirmed what she had thought.
She wasn’t close to leveling up, only being about halfway, yet she got the exact XP needed to level up. Reveal and Search, two of the Skills the Queen had listed that weren't maxed, had jumped forward 200 points. Sleight of Hand had also jumped two hundred points. Furthermore, the menu congratulated her on becoming Queen of the Black Velvet Band and it allowed her to teach others "Sleight of Hand." Finally, it dropped a single item: The Queen’s Hair Band.
Doombunny pulled out the hair band. It was the same tie the woman had been wearing in her hair, a simple strip of black velvet. The list of properties was interesting. It boosted her Sleight of Hand skill, along with Search, Hide, Listen, and Reveal. It had no defensive properties though. Doombunny swapped it out with her current head band. Black would go better with her hair, better than the Wondercolt Blue did, specifically when she switched to attack mode and tied it like Klein did over her forehead.
Kiefer came out at that moment and walked over to her. “That was ridiculous,” He declared. “I raked in the XP. The Col sucks, but the XP is scary.”
He stopped. “You look disturbed. Like the early you, when you had to kill a cute animal. Not the hardened warrior you are now.”
“Sorry,” Doombunny said, shaking her head to clear it. “There was, well nothing. The Flying Duck is a whorehouse tavern.”
She decided to keep this a secret for now. No one else needed to know. It was late, they had other things to do and they had new guildmates to get to know better.
“Ah,” Kiefer said with an understanding nod. “I should have gone instead to spare your innocence.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Doombunny replied, rolling her eyes, annoyed. “I am older than you. I can handle myself. This game isn’t that risqué. I was not expecting it, but once the fight started, it was the same as the others.”
“Then what-” Kiefer dropped it as Doombunny’s eyes flashed with a dangerous anger. He had never gotten that look from her and he knew it wasn’t worth it.
“Let’s check in with Blade,” Kiefer suggested. “I know she has several minutes left, but I want to see how she is handling it. My fight was rather exhausting.”
“Mhm,” Doombunny sweetly nodded, back to her normal self on the outside.
They entered the Bull and Bear tavern and found it in an odd ruckus. Bladescape was having no problem. Actually, it was quite the opposite.
Bladescape was sitting in a chair leaning against the wall. The endless spawn of enemies had obviously grown tiring. She was sitting in a place where they could only come at her one at a time. All she had to do was swing Harmonic Salvation and cut them down. It was a simple move she could perform in her chair. It was maximum chill-grinding. It didn't get any lazier than what she was doing. Both Rainbow Dash and Thunderborne would be proud of her.
Kiefer and Doombunny were not attacked, so they walked over to Bladescape. They had to slip past the line to get to her side.
“We are done,” Kiefer said. “It's well worth it for XP. Not Col though. It’s like fifteen Col a head, but we could rapidly train the new Wondercolts up to the quotas.”
“Cool,” Bladescape said as she cut down another thief. “Want to bust me out of here?”
Doombunny flipped out Mourning Protector and caught it in a reverse grip. She grinned as she rammed it into the chest of the vagabond behind her, starting her addition to the fight. Kiefer gave a savage kick to the leg of another, knocking him off his feet and then he drove the killing blow down into the back of his head with his fist. Bladescape stood up and thrust Harmonic Salvation through three lined up bandits before they popped.
The three of them meant business this round and cleared out the tavern before anyone could respawn. They bolted out the door in victory.
“Wow,” Bladescape exclaimed as she saw the mass of XP finally dumped onto her from the nonstop fight. “Six hours got me this?”
“Yeah,” Kiefer chuckled. “Totally worth it as a grinding spot, but it will fill up fast.”
“Let’s get back,” Bladescape said. “I say we teleport.”
They agreed and Bladescape reached for a teleport crystal. She pulled out several and none of them were blue. She pulled out the rest, having to hand several to Kiefer, and none of them were blue.
“I could have sworn I had at least three blue ones in here,” Bladescape said, confused. She looked around her feet, checking that she hadn’t somehow dropped them. “I mean, I always have at least three. That's our rule, three blues, and I keep them in a separate pouch from healing and status removal.”
“Here,” Doombunny said, holding out three blue teleport crystals. “I have a few extra in my pouch. Now you have three.”
“Thanks,” Bladescape said, taking them. “I’m going to have to be more careful when I go out.”
“I’m sure it was just a one time oversight,” Doombunny replied as she fished out a teleport crystal from her inside her coat pocket. They were organized nicely, rather than the mass crystal pouches the others used.
Kiefer teleported and then Bladescape followed. Doombunny breathed a sigh of relief and pulled up her menu. Sleight of Hand was now up to 201/1000. She had serious concerns about what she had just unlocked, but she couldn’t risk the system passing it off to another player who would use it for its intended purpose. Bladescape’s crystals were a test. A one time thing. She would deal with the Black Velvet Band as they finished conquering Aincrad. Doombunny teleported back home before the others wondered why she hesitated.
BLADESCAPE: Level 85 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics — Greatsword
NATORA: Level 81 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 81 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend — Sprint
THUNDERBORNE: Level 81 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing — Search
KONPEITO: Level 81 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry — Rend
DIEMOND: Level 81 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation — Rend
DOOMBUNNY: Level 83 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche — Search — Sleight of Hand
KIEFER: Level 80 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
SORYUTO: Level 78 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 80 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation — Two-Handed Weapon Creation
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 74 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce — Search
LOBELIA: Level 62 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Search — Meditation — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Painting
KAMISHI: Level 64 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Katana — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Reveal — Trap Dismantling
Stats
Page generated in 0.06 seconds
Total duration
866 users online
1,519,362 hits today, 2,178,009 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2025
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2025 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
A fun chapter with an interesting development in regards to Doombunny. I liked how fun the Endless Brawl Spot seems to be, and how kinda silly it is to start it.
The Black Velvet seems to be a new Arc on the story, and it looks like Equestrian Magic is affecting SAO because of the girls, and they don’t seem to notice it yet. I am interested how the Velvet thing will unravel and how Doombunny be their queen will change things.
I am excited for the next chapters, keep the good work!
12106683
I really do love the endless bar brawls. I have been looking forward to the Black Velvet Band for a while. It is a fun song. That isn't the plot, but it served as dome fun inspiration.
12106689
Endless Bar Brawl should be the name for this XP Spot, it’s the most fitting of all.
I wonder how many ‘Smart NPCs’ we will see before the end, and how many of them will be important for the Ruby Palace...
I see that you’re planting seeds for the long Journey
12106691
Oh yeah. We are just starting to settling into the marathon. lol. It will be a wild ride. I don't have an answer for the 'smart NPCs' as I haven't even tried to count.
I forget, wasn't Bladescape's Searching skill so high that she was capable of viewing other players' stats and skills? If so, Doom might find herself having to have a sit-down with Blade to explain the presence of the skill, and what she intends to do with it.
Edit: You mention a level-up for Doom gaining the exact amount needed, but she remains 82.
Oh boy...
Good going Blade.
man making out.*
asked as her hand slipped to her pink dagger.*
Something isn't right.
I had a feeling she'd do this.
Huh, who would've thought that be the drop item.
Nice.
Someone will still question the hair band at some point though.
Strange how she lost them, but I think I know who took them.
For future chapters, you forget to paint Sleight of Hand in Doombunny' s bio.
The systems getting more roguelike methinks
12106771
Yes, Blade is gaining some ability to see such details. Definitely HP and level. It is not an active ability, always on. She can filter stuff out and typically doesn't pry. It may very well result in a sit down.
Updated. I have to sit down and get the ending info under control. Keeping up with it has not gone well. At least people are reading it.
Who doesn't love a classic bar brawl.
12106835
Dang, doubt errant quotation marks. lol. Fixed. Thanks.
I'm surprised you saw it coming. lol. As to the hair band switch, that is easy enough to cover by being (mostly) honest, it helps with Listen, Search, and Reveal.
12106956
Thanks. I did update it. And hers should be yellow. Konpeito is using pink.
12107106
The system is getting fun!
12107119
Exactly!
12107116
The funny thing is that since I usually just listen to chapters, I don't usually pay too much attention to it. I just so happen to notice sometimes as I scroll down to the comments.
12107129
Fair! A good number of my readers do that. I understand why. I'm glad the feature is there.
12107121
Np and thx
12107125
The first npc to dab will go down as a legend
12107386
There will be plenty of fun NPCs to come. After all, they are only Non Playable Characters. Their true limiter is not being able to be played. I definitely have a favorite.
You are assuming they haven't!
12107407
Its the dabbing Chica isn't it?
12107608
It is a girl, or rather a young lady, but she doesn't dab. Tackle Bladescape in joy, yeah. Well, tries. Total bear hug. knocking over Bladescape would be impossible without a sneak attack. Complain she doesn't come around enough, oh heck yeah! There are a few others which are fun. Eventually there may even be a funeral for an NPC.
A very very interesting chapter! I lovd seeing all these self aware NPC's showing up like Merlin, the knight, and now this Queen of the Velvet Band. And I am still hoping to see Yui pop up soon!
I have to ask though. Hypothetically speaking, what would have probably happened had Doom not offed the selfproclaimed Queen? Would it have led to a quest chain? Or does her death now start a quest chain for Doom?
12107631
I'm glad you are enjoying the NPCs. I am trying to add in many more. As to your question, I never thought about what would have happened if she did not. I cut it from the Aincrad story, deciding it fit better in Ruby Palace, which I knew I was going to be writing. I can't even think of where it might go, knowing where it will.
is the bartender asking for bits rather then col the first time deliberate here?
> "Fine," Bladescape nodded. She watched him give a mug of ale to the guy sitting next to her. "How much for a drink?"
> "Five bits," he huffed.
> "All out of bits," Bladescape replied.
12108189
Yes, it was deliberate. Bits is a deliberate MLP FIM choice, since it means an informal term for money and certain coinage. It works really well for the setting. Here it is a callout and also the bartender is really chill and informal. You have to be to run a bar for thieves and scoundrels.
Hi Mindrop,
I've been quietly following along and continuing to enjoy this amazing story of yours, for a while now, and I feel like I should apologize for not commenting on every chapter. That said, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for another fantastic update to this amazing story!
P.S. I noticed that Knightstar is listed twice at the end of chapters 104 and 105, and Sleight of Hand isn’t highlighted in 105. Just thought I’d mention it, thanks again for another update.
12112567
Great to hear from you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I know not every chapter is worth commenting on. That doesn't make them bad, some people are just don't comment as much. That's fine.
And yes, I have to go in and fix the crap out of the endings. I did not realize Knightstar was double listed. I don't know how that happened. It can be hard between the time of edits going out and chapters being posted to make sure they are up to date. A copy error in one can screw up consecutive chapters very easily. It all got knotted up on me and I have to figure out how to sort the mess out.
Fear the Queen…
12132185
Haha!
That end credit image is beautiful!
12151053
Colorra's wing banner is one of my favorites!