Episode 56 — Angry Voices and A Lullaby
Episode 56 — Angry Voices and A Lullaby
Sixth Day in the Month of Willow (March 6) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 56
The field boss meeting was going nowhere. The Geocrawler was the only field boss on Floor Fifty-Six. It was in a narrow mountain valley, just a short way from the village they were meeting at. It was blocking their way to the unmapped town and the surrounding area with three pillars, one of which would hold the boss Labyrinth. They had to defeat it to progress, except that was easier said than done. Multiple scouting parties had failed, as well as several proper raids, and they were now on day six of the field boss raid. Not that the Wondercolts had been there since day one, but even their scouting party had learned nothing new.
The armored millipede-like boss had horns and a humanoid mouth. It was the largest boss to date, easily standing as tall as a one story building, with an incredible length past it. It was sheer mass and armor, so much so that it was impervious to crushing, piercing, slashing, or thrusting attacks. It was deceptively fast due to the armored front legs, which, despite their size, were often eclipsed by the head. The underbelly looked like a weak point, except the valley walls made flanking impossible. At least not without getting crushed against the walls by the heavily armored body. Trying to slide an attack so low in a fight was impossible.
Asuna and Kirito were arguing over the next plan, which Asuna had proposed. They both had differing opinions and it was getting heated. Kirito and Klein had already tried the "Grand Meaty Meat Plan" and failed. The boss wasn't interested in the prime meat they had gathered and offered to the Geocrawler as a distraction. They were forced to retreat back to the safety of the village. Bladescape was glad the Wondercolts had arrived the day after that escapade. It would have been too embarrassing to be around as Klein failed as badly as he did. She thought Kirito was smarter than that, but Bladescape didn't know who came up with the plan. In the end, the boys had failed to gain even a moderate amount of success and simply wasted another day.
Asuna currently wanted to lure the boss into the village. The gates were unbreakable objects, but if the Clearers lured the boss to them and then opened them, the boss would, hopefully, target the NPCs. Kirito was arguing against it, not because it was a bad plan, rather he was arguing that the NPCs were not just breakable objects to be discarded. Asuna believed they would just respawn, something the players couldn't do. Kirito believed the NPCs of Sword Art Online were different from normal game NPCs, that they had more to them. He wasn't equating them to being human, rather that they were special and needed to be protected. Or at least not used as bait and allowed to be slaughtered. They had the heavy gate facing the Geocrawler in place for a reason. They obviously were afraid of it. Bladescape had to agree with Kirito. SAO did not have normal NPCs. There was no reason to believe the NPCs would respawn.
The game was incredibly complex and consistently undergoing what could only be described as updates. The guild contract scroll was no longer a scroll, instead being fully integrated into a player's menu, at least for the members with rights. It made things way more efficient than the original scroll and had more abilities being added in unscheduled and random "updates".
The argument between Kirito and Asuna almost came to physical blows. Kirito was swaying the hearts of the clearers, making Asuna's plan look like a cold-hearted strategy where any and all sacrifice was acceptable, no matter what the cost. Asuna didn't strike Kirito, instead challenging her opposition to a first strike duel. If Kirito won, they would abandon Asuna's plan, but if she won, he would support her plan.
Seeing the two of them going so low as to settle things with a duel was unexpected, but not a total shock. Most players only knew Asuna as Second-in-Command of the Knights of the Bloodoath. Bladescape remembered Red Riding Hood Asuna. Rebel Asuna who fought side by side with Kirito and defied the two main clearing guilds led by Kibaou and Lind. She remembered giving Kirito and Asuna a permanent offer to join the Wondercolts if they needed to. Much had changed over the past year. The two of them had once been inseparable, but they had been arguing more and more as time went by. Bladescape wasn't sure what pebble had started the rockslide that their interactions had become.
Kirito accepted the terms and agreed to the duel. Everyone migrated out of the stone hut being used to plan the strategy, into the center of the small village. This would be a very telling duel. When Thunderborne had dueled Asuna, they were both the same type of fighters, fencers using rapiers and capitalizing on speed and agility. Kirito was fast, but his One-Handed Longsword wasn't the same speed of a rapier. His lack of a shield did speed him up and change his fighting style, he didn't become reliant on a shield for his defense. He had to rely on agility, speed, and luck.
The clock finally hit zero, starting the duel. It was an impressive display of speed and agility, but not quite the same as what Thunder and Asuna had shown off. Kirito could see Asuna's strike and react, either to block, redirect, or dodge. Asuna had clearly picked up some tricks when it came to agility from Thunderborne, avoiding Kirito's sword with grace, despite the speed required to do so.
Bladescape saw the shift in Kirito, but only at the last second. He understood what Asuna was going to do for her counter. He blocked her sword and twisted the block into a stab, giving her upper arm a nasty slice. It was a good and legal hit, more than enough to count for the first strike duel. She didn't lose much HP, but it clearly stung. Losing hurt way more than the cut, but she kept her head held high. No one had any other plan for the boss and Kirito was fresh out of ideas after the meat strategy had failed, so Asuna ended the meeting. The clearers would see what they could come up with on their own and reassemble tomorrow. No one having a plan allowed Asuna to save face and recover her ego.
Bladescape cut her party loose for the day. They would hang around, in case someone had a brilliant idea, but they were not required to be with her for the meeting. She only had Natora, Thunderborne, Malus, Reisenki, and Kiefer. Everyone else was back home or out crafting. It didn't really matter what they were doing. Diemond might be needed for the fight, but the Wondercolts had two tanks in their party. Konpeito also might be needed, but she wasn't irreplaceable unless they needed a Viking woman with a giant axe who could bake confections.
The village didn't have much to it. It was walled off and the buildings were carved out of the massive boulders found all across the floor. It had already been thoroughly searched for quests and clues to defeating the Geocrawler. The small inn was booked up and the two restaurants were already packed. The village lacked a teleport plaza and it was a good deal's walk from the nearest one. Konpeito had promised to bring them dinner, so Bladescape wasn't worried about food. They just had to wait and it was still a bit early, at least for their normal dinner time. None of them were going to complain. Natora and Thunderborne went off to climb buildings and do some stunts to kill time.
Malus was content to just lean against one of the carved buildings, chewing on a piece of grass. She had started buying them somewhere just to chew like she would back home on the farm. Most grass broke into polygons, if it could be plucked, just like everything else did. There might not be anything else specific about it other than being able to be chewed, a common enough activity around the globe.
Kiefer and Issin from Fuurinkazan were sitting in the shade and had begun a dice game one of them had. They were betting singular pieces of col for fun.
Bladescape spent the time scrolling through the skills list. It was too public to read her book of memories. Bladescape's eleventh skill slot was coming up soon. She needed to plan ahead. Acrobatics had worked out well, but Bladescape was the lone Wondercolt without something to do in her off time.
Malus went fishing. Thunderborne and Natora would do parkour, like they currently were. Konpeito cooked and played music. Diemond made clothes and armor. Knightstar's consulting business had really taken off. If Knightstar wasn't in the field or consulting on a player's skill, she was trying to beat that battle dance quest. Doombunny had Colorra and drug mixing. Reisenki cooked, repaired their equipment, and now was refining metal as he prepared to start making weapons, all for fun. Kiefer was making curved swords, mostly katanas, in his free time. And Soryuto played music.
Nothing caught Bladescape's eye as being something that would be worth her time to unwind with. Iaido could only be practiced for so long before it got boring, plus she used it to prepare her mind for floor boss raids. Fishing, sewing, music, none of it had anything that she wanted to do as a hobby. They were all skill based. If they had guitars, she might do music, but so far not even a bad acoustic guitar was available. Her natural abilities were eliminated with a four stringed lute. Bladescape even checked the skill tree in Knightstar's guide, looking at what she could pick up in order to set her up for a future skill, but again, nothing held her interest. Her interest was on being the best Wondercolt she could be, in fighting, in clearing the game. Ultimately, Sword Art Online was a game and she wanted to play it. Being stuck in Aincrad didn't change her mind about playing it. None of those side skills interested her in other RPGs, why should they now? Just because she was currently looking didn't mean her interests had changed.
Running into wall after wall in her own indecision was stressful and not helpful. Bladescape knew she needed to relax and even more so since starting the overnight training regimen with the guild. It was a tough push and she was usually spearheading it. Seeing the others break off to do things to unwind made her realize how wound up she was. Being so wound up wasn't good for her mentally or physically. It might even be why she couldn't come up with a strategy to beat the Geocrawler.
Konpeito arrived, rescuing Bladescape from the pit of despair she had accidentally dug for herself. Soryuto and Doombunny had helped escort Konpeito, both to keep her safe on the journey between the two towns and to help her stay on task. Konpeito stayed on task long enough to deliver dinner, and then went off to find Thunder and Natora. Soryuto took food to Kiefer so he didn't have to stop his game. Currently he appeared to be winning more than he was losing.
Thunderborne and Natora came back, but without Konpeito. They had seen the guildmate's arrival from a rooftop and done another lap in a race before getting dinner. Thunderborne won, but Natora wanted a rematch once she had fueled up.
Except for Soryuto, Kiefer and Konpeito, they ate in a circle of friends. This felt almost like a picnic. Their meals while dungeon diving or in the labyrinths were always in safe zones and over rather quickly. They didn't feel like picnics, although they probably should. Bladescape didn't know how to make them feel like that, considering the fact that they were taking a break from a stressful activity before diving right back in. Picnics were more relaxed and fun. They didn't fit inside dungeons.
Konpeito eventually wandered back, humming to herself. She wasn't surprised to see Natora and Thunderborne, meaning she had forgotten about finding them. Something else had distracted her.
"I ain't heard that tune before," Malus said to Konpeito. "Usually you're hummin' our usual songs, but that one's different. Are you creatin' new ones?"
"Huh?" Konpeito asked. "Oh, no. It's a song Ruru taught me."
"I'm gonna regret this, but whose Ruru?" Malus asked.
"One of the villagers," Konpeito explained. "It's a local lullaby they sing to their children."
"Uh, they ain't got any kid NPCs here," Malus said.
"So?" Konpeito asked. "You don't have to tell them that and spoil their fantasy."
No one knew what to say. It was a rather simple tune. Konpeito began to play it on her penny whistle. It was even more lovely when not hummed.
Asuna, who apparently was still in town, stopped and listened in. "Where did you learn that?" Asuna asked. "It reminds me of something-" she suddenly paused. To Bladescape, it sounded like she was about to say it reminded her of something from her childhood.
"I learned it from my new friend, Ruru," Konpeito stated.
"Who is that?" Asuna asked. For someone who loved to talk, Konpeito had an interesting habit of answering questions in a way that forced someone to ask another one.
"One of the villagers who lives here," Konpeito explained. "She lives in the house with a small window carved by the door. The door curtain is red. Turn around, go back three houses, then left two, four right, and one left. That's the house. The song is a local lullaby they sing to the kids in the village. She taught it to me. It's a fun folk tune."
"Yeah, it is," Asuna said, distracted. "Have a good evening, Wondercolts."
Asuna wandered off in the direction Konpeito had indicated.
"So, when does the campfire start?" Konpeito asked.
"Campfire?" Bladescape asked.
"Well, we're camping here tonight, and camping means a fire," Konpeito explained. "Although, I don't have marshmallows for s'mores. They don't have them in SAO and I haven't been able to recreate them or ice cream in Aincrad, at least not yet. I'll eventually figure out ice cream. After all, I learned to make sprinkles!"
"I don't think that’s a fair comparison," Thunderborne poked. "And no fire, just open sky above us since the inn is booked."
"Aw," Konpeito whined. "Well, it's still half camping. I think I have a torch we could light and stick in the ground in order to tell ghost stories."
"No need," Natora said, chuckling. "I think we all want a quiet evening after the day we've had."
"Why?" Konpeito asked. "Did something bad happen?"
"We still haven't figured out how to beat the field boss," Natora pointed out. "And while it wasn't exactly bad, it was odd seeing Asuna challenge Kirito to a duel over a plan. Kirito won, so Asuna's plan was ditched."
"Why would he be opposed to her plan?" Konpeito asked in between twiddling with the whistle.
"Something about NPCs not being the same as objects," Natora said. "Asuna wanted to use them as bait. You had to be there to understand how Kirito framed their value."
"Of course they have value," Konpeito said with a shrug. "They might not have a soul, but they each are unique and each one serves a purpose. Good, bad, or ugly, they each have a use and should be treasured. Haven't you noticed that in your dealings with them?"
"They are the most complex NPCs I've ever seen," Natora admitted. "I don't know if I would go to the same length that Kirito, or you, do about their value. I think I'm on Asuna's side when it comes to them just being able to respawn, although it wasn't going to work. It was a desperate plan proposed after being stalled here so many days. All we have left is desperate plans."
"It was an interesting duel," Thunderborne added. "Asuna’s gotten better since I dueled her, which means Kirito is nearly unstoppable. I don't know why he sticks to longswords without a shield. Especially with his skill. Quite impressive, but I was pulling for Asuna to win, not because of the plan. I just wanted her to win."
"We aren't home," Bladescape reminded them. She didn't want someone to say something they didn't want to be heard. Asuna was still here, as evident by her random stop by. Well, she was likely drawn in by Konpeito playing her whistle. Still, she could come back and it was not something Bladescape wanted her to overhear. Asuna had to be steaming over the loss to Kirito. It was about courtesy. They were Wondercolts. Kindness was one of their traits; a founding pillar of their guild. Gossip was not good for their images.
Thankfully, Kiefer and Soryuto joined them, shifting the conversation. Kiefer had won big, taking Issin for a grand total of a hundred and fifty-two col. It wasn't a large sum, but to gain that much meant that Kiefer had won most of the time.
The Wondercolts retreated to a better place to rest up. They secured a corner where a boulder home backed up to the wall. It limited how people could approach them. Since the rise of Laughing Coffin, sleeping in the safe zone of dungeons had become significantly more risky. The same for openly sleeping in a town. All it took was for someone to drag a sleeping player outside the safe zone and attack them there. This village was small, making that feat easier. However unlikely something was to happen, especially with the crowd of Clearers present who were also camping out, Bladescape still posted a watch.
The morning brought a cold breakfast, but a filling one. Konpeito had come well prepared. She had sack lunches for them all too. She was getting a lot better at making high durability food that also tasted very delicious.
The morning also brought news of a meeting at nine. Someone had figured out a plan. They were meeting in the same building they had been meeting in. Konpeito, Doombunny, and Soryuto decided to stay and listen in. If they beat the field boss, there would be no need to walk all the way back to the other village with a teleport plaza.
The Wondercolts were there early. So was Fuurinkazan. Kirito arrived at a respectable time. He was clearly in the dark. Kirito or Klein were not the ones to figure the plan out. Asuna and the KoB squad with her were the last to show up. She had a look of relief and pride on her face. Whatever it was, Asuna had come up with a new plan.
She smiled at the Wondercolts as she stood in front of the strategy table. The room was silent, waiting for Asuna to start laying out the plan. "I know everyone searched this place over, several times, but an NPC does give a clue. Parsing it out wasn't easy. It’s the most innocent and easy to overlook clue, yet it tells us how the boss needs to be defeated!"
Asuna looked directly at Konpeito. "It actually was Konpeito of the Wondercolts who figured it out, although I don't believe she understands what she found. Konpeito, would you please come forward and play that tune you learned yesterday."
Konpeito shrugged and stepped up to the table. She popped her tin whistle out of the pouch she stored it in and began to play the lullaby.
"That!" Asuna said when Konpeito was done. "That is the lullaby of the village. It will put to sleep the Geocrawler, meaning we can attack its underbelly without issue. We just need to get an expert bard, someone who not only can play it, but generate the sleep effect."
"Oh! Me! Call on me!" Konpeito exclaimed, hopping a bit as she waved her raised hand.
"Yes, Konpeito?" Asuna asked. She clearly didn't want to get sidetracked, a valid concern when dealing with Konpeito.
"I'm a bard," Konpeito said. "I rarely use it to buff our party, we don't need it, but I probably should do it more often. I'm typically focused on solving the problem with my axe. Anyway, I can do it and I know the song."
"Why not?" Bladescape said, stepping up to the table, beside her friend. "It's at least worth a shot."
"Securing someone willing to come to the front and take that risk was proving difficult," Asuna admitted. "We will do it with Konpeito as our muse. If it fails, we will find another bard with a higher skill level. Everyone will get to simultaneously attack, but I still want a defense contingency for Konpeito, just like I expected to deploy for any other bard. It may take a moment for the effect to set in and put it to sleep."
"I'll cover her," Malus announced.
Harry One from Fuurinkazan also pledged to protect her and the KoB pledged a third tank, Tisroc.
Asuna laid out the plan. It would require them to quickly get in place as soon as it was asleep and they would attack on cue, as one, dishing out as much damage as possible before it woke up.
They had to set up their order. As soon as it was asleep, they would have to blitz down the valley, on whichever side the sleeping boss gave them. Pairing the narrow crevasse with the excessively long boss meant that their faster runners needed to be at the front of the assault, so they could get to the far end of the boss. The leader couldn't stop until the tail. No one would be able to pass if someone stopped prematurely. They were quartered into four squads.
Thunderborne was given the lead of Squad A because of her speed. Natora and Kirito were put under her, as well as three others who were quick on their feet: Triston, a Katana user; Inge, a fencer; and Amagi, a shield user with a scimitar. Squad B was under Asuna's leadership. They were mostly forwards with shields. Squad C was given to Bladescape. Bladescape got Kiefer, Agil and Klein in her squad. Squad D was under Ahoshta, a tank who was new to the front and was rumored to be able to rival Malus.
Konpeito giggled as she led their procession out of the meeting, flanked by Malus and Harry One, with Tisroc protecting the rear of their small party. Konpeito was playing "Mo Ghile Mear" on her penny whistle, not that anyone recognized it besides Bladescape, but it was a good song to march to when played properly. It rose and fell at a good rhythm which kept the spirit of the marchers high.
Their trip wasn't far. The valley was right outside the village. Konpeito stopped playing her whistle and pulled out Gjallarhorn, the LAB from Loptur. The gilded “flute” was made from an ox's horn and carved with images from the Norse Sagas. Bladescape had never seen or heard Konpeito use it, but apparently she could play it.
They were noticed by the Geocrawler, which let out a growl that shook the earth. It stamped at the rocky earth as it prepared to charge if they got closer. Konpeito responded with a blast from the horn. It was a great way to call everyone to battle, but not a good way to put the field boss to sleep. As the horn echoed back and forth between the canyon walls, Konpeito began to slowly play the lullaby tune. It was gentle and soothing, even at the hands of Konpeito. Bladescape felt an unexplained rush from hearing the lullaby, even as the Geocrawler began to struggle to stay upright as it fell asleep.
It rolled over, exposing its soft underbelly, and Thunderborne sprinted forward, leading them all, quietly, to battle. Bladescape couldn't see much since she was at the head of Squad C, but she stopped when the line did and raised her sword. She could see Thunderborne's rapier above the other heads, as well as Asuna's. Asuna's rapier swiped down, which was the signal to attack.
Bladescape triggered Avalanche, letting her squad attack the Geocrawler. The only sound was their sword skills striking virtual flesh. It was the quietest field or floor boss battle, by a long shot. Konpeito's lullaby could clearly be heard over their attacks. Bladescape felt something surge inside her once again as she attacked. Her strikes seemed to be faster and stronger.
Bladescape saw the health of the Geocrawler rapidly depleting. Then she heard Konpeito switch tunes and felt a pit of dread fill her stomach. The pit had to battle the two other odd feelings, but it was overwhelmed by a fourth feeling sweeping over her. That's when Bladescape realized the power of a bard. Konpeito was modifying the raiders with buffs. Bladescape didn't know what exactly she was giving them, but she had switched to something else so she could continue to boost them as a bard. The Geocrawler wasn't going to wake up in the short time it had left. If their attacks hadn't woken it up, little would.
With a rainbow of colors emanating from all of the sword skills, the Geocrawler shattered into polygons, adding more color to the narrow valley. At least for a few seconds. Everyone was panting heavily from their exertion. They all clearly felt relieved at the battle being over. They still had a section of the floor to clear and a boss Labyrinth to find and map, but they no longer had any roadblocks in between them and those tasks.
Konpeito sounded a celebratory blast from Gjallarhorn. Everyone regrouped at the entrance of the valley. Guilds had been split up and everyone wanted to get back to their usual parties before heading into the unknown. Everyone was relieved to have the way clear.
"Well done, Konpeito," Asuna said, bowing respectfully to their bard. "You had me worried when you switched tunes, but I see I shouldn't have been."
Konpeito giddily laughed at Asuna. "I had that thing asleep in the palm of my hand. It wasn't going to wake up for a solid forty minutes. Gjallarhorn magnifies any and all bard related stuff. It doubled the time of the sleep effect. It also gives me a status timer for each one so I don't let something lapse. No other instrument does that. I buffed everyone's attack speed, accuracy, and damage by a factor of point six six. That's a huge buff and triple what the tin whistle could give out. And I'm only getting better! With me around, who needs a Flag of Valor?"
The question fell short because most players didn't have any idea what she was talking about. Only a handful of people knew about it. Even fewer were in the raid to obtain it. Only three knew the owner of the flag: Kirito, Bladescape, and Natora. Asuna likely believed it was still in Kirito's possession.
"Thanks for the boosts," Bladescape said to stimulate the conversation past the silence from Konpeito's failed comment. "And great job playing bard and for finding the tune. As powerful as the buffs were, I think I prefer your axe."
"Of course you do," Konpeito retorted. "It's fun to play, but it's more fun to watch me dominate our foes!" Konpeito finished by striking a power pose.
Then she whipped the gilded horn up to her lips and gave it another blast, nearly blowing out everyone's ear drums. "Now I just gave everyone an endurance and speed boost! A full nine minutes just from that blast. Let's go conquer the rest of this floor!"
With that, Konpeito went sprinting down the canyon to find the adventure that was awaiting them on the other side. Bladescape couldn't help but smile before dashing after her cotton candy friend. It was fun to run and stretch her legs. She didn't let the fact that Thunderborne and Natora quickly outpaced her ruin the fun. Konpeito's laughter echoed off the canyon walls and it elicited a laugh from Bladescape. She heard the rest of her friends laughing too.
BLADESCAPE: Level 76 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 74 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 73 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 73 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 73 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 74 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Crafting
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 71 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce
SORYUTO: Level 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 71 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation
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Oooohhhhhhh are we going to get Horseback Badass Sunset in this version as well???!!! I loved the battle on Horseback in the original story and I would love to see the mechanics of fighting on a Horse in SAO and I would love the image of Sunset fighting a Floor Boss riding on a Horse like a true Equestrian (the horse riding type, not the species, lmao) Knight.
I am curious about the mention of the Flag of Valour and when it could come back; it would be interesting to see when people will discover that the Woldercolts have it, and I think it may happen during one of the Floor Boss battle that they are almost losing and Sunset is forced to use it to change the tides of the battle. It may become an important symbol in the future to have the WCs with it onto the upper floors. I am excited to see what you’ll do with it.
11861239
Some things will be the same between Aincrad and Ruby Palace. The girls are the girls. So, yes, Horseback Badass Sunset will come around again, same with Plaudit and boots. We need more epic rides. I need to add more than what I have added.
As to the Flag of Valor, it will circle around at least twice. Maybe there is more to it I have not thought of yet. I will have to follow that line of thought as see if there is anything there.
This was cool. And at least this isn't the Abridged timeline! That would have gotten messy....
Hmm… Bard Pinkie should be playing her song every Boss. Also, do you think you’re going to bring Mito in? Possibly as a rival to Rarity?
Well that's another well known event from canon taken care of.
11861397
I have not watched the abridged series. lol.
11861798
It's... certainly something. I'll explain why in a spoiler. Sorry if it's a bit long but I needs context.
So, during the raid meeting we just had, assuming it's the one from the anime that had K and A argue before she later found him lazing about in some grass, than something INTERESTING happened. For context, for the Moonlit Blackcats, if I'm remembering the name right, the Guild Leader and Sachi were the only Player members, the rest were NPCs. Things went about as normal, until when they got to the trap room. Where the guy who uses the teleport crystal actually teleports out. He's one of the NPCs in this. Now, for SOME reason, the NPC turns up at the raid meeting while they are discussing using the NPCs as bait. And after hearing the NPC say the line he was repeating the entire time Kirito was with the guild, well, Kirito ended up taking some of his trauma out on the NPC. Because he left them there to die. Made almost everyone in the room VERY uncomfortable.
Knowing the Wondercolts, I don't think they would have let such a thing happen, even if it did result in Kirito gaining some twisted form of closure. Also, the Abridged isn't this dark normally. It's mostly trying to be funny. But Kirito does have a traumatic event, and it sticks with him.
11861461
There will be more Bard Pinkie. Viking Bard Pinkie is a blast.
As to Mito, I just recently watched the progressives, as they are now dubbed. I am playing with ways to bring her in. We only have info on her for very early. I am not sure if she can match Diemond for clothes and armor (she was not known for her fashion sense, despite doing cute hairstyles), but for jewelry she might. That was the only crafting skill she appeared to take on in the progressive movies. The SAO canonicity ranking is Light Novel > Anime > Manga. Mito is only in the anime and manga. Visually, there are things that can be done better, but characters tend to be better in books (the anime totally screwed up Vassago/PoH). That is not universal, but is allows the reader to get more information about the character than just how they act and body language. I don't have a Light Novel to read for Mito in order to get a better sense of how to incorporate her. I want to get her in somehow.
11861803
That is a very interesting parody. Some traumas cannot be avoided. I will be doing some more with NPCs. I am still developing that line.
11861820
Indeed it is. I'd personally say it's worth the watch, if only so you can see some of the memes that came from it.
11861821
I will have to see about sliding it in.
Ice Cream should be pretty easy. You just need heavy cream, sugar, ice, salt, a large container, and an airtight smaller one to fit inside it. It's probably not practical to make, unless there's an icehouse nearby, but it is possible. Here is the recipe I found. I remember making it as part of a middle school science class. Given the medievil setting of some floors, I think cream would be available from cows. Sugar may not exist, but if Konpeito is already making cupcakes, she probably has access to a substitute. Same goes for flavorings like vanilla. Ice would have to come from a cold floor or a village icehouse, while salt could probably be mined or boiled down from seawater.
I suppose the issue might be if the game recognizes the process as cooking or the science behind it. Beyond that, it probably wouldn't make a very durable item, so it'd have to be eater right away.
Bard Pinkie was a blast! And when it comes to the NPC's of Aincrad, I support Kirito's stance 10000% as while yes they were not real people in the stictest sense, they were not mindless beings
11862041
It is the emulsification process that is giving Konpeito trouble. The ingredients are available, but preventing the water in the cream from separating during the freezing process is her issue. It is a game system issue (I can't make everything easy for her). She would not want it to sit long anyway, but yes, it would lack durability.
11862052
There will be more Bard Pinkie and I have a slate of fun NPCs that will get introduced at a later time. Far beyond normal NPCs.
Yep, I know how this adds up from the anime.
It's also kinda coincidental this was uploaded just 1 month before this would've happened, seeing how Season 1 episodes 4-14 take place in 2024.
It's a shame this all happened within a span of a year. But I know I don't need to worry for long.
Woah!
You'll fine it blade, eventually...
Huh.
11862148
I never noticed the time stamp for uploading vs episode date. I was only 20 days late. Lol.
11862355
Well, since late 2022, I've been trying to rewatching the episodes when they happened on the dates in question from season 1.
11862377
I have a new strategy that I feel very good about.
I had to cancel the Crunchyroll subscription until I get a job, but I watched everything available several times in a month. Job search stuff for 6-8 hours a day, watch because then I am exhausted until its time for bed to get up and repeat.
11862075
Looking forward to it!