Episode 58 — Harmonic Salvation
Episode 58 — Harmonic Salvation
Ninth Day in the Month of Willow (March 9) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 48 — Front Line 57
Bladescape walked through Lindarth, the main settlement of Floor 48, with the rest of the Wondercolts with her. The quaint city had an elaborate system of canals, meaning it had a plethora of charming bridges of varying sizes. The open city was surrounded by castle walls and, despite the canals, had plenty of grass with clusters of trees interspersed among the buildings. In the late evening’s sunset, it was quite beautiful and peaceful. The city was quickly becoming the main location for crafters. The buildings looked like cottages, but most were along a canal and had a waterwheel. The big ones had two waterwheels, with a few being large enough for three.
The waterwheels were used to power a number of different things, such as fabric looms, lathes, millstones, forge bellows, or grindstone wheels. It was a major advantage for many of the support-craft disciplines. The few skills that didn't benefit from water power would benefit from being in a stable, central location in close proximity to the major crafters. The forty-eighth floor was almost halfway up. Even when they reached the nineties, it would still be a simple teleport away to reach a place where many of the needs for the clearers could be found in one place. As spacious as the city was, it ultimately had a limited number of houses and an even more limited number of mills. They would be bought out quickly, and they already were going at a record rate, despite the cost of even the smallest buildings with a waterwheel. It was hard to imagine that a better place would come along for the crafters. It was nice to see them finally settling down into a permanent place of their own, instead of jumping every ten or so floors to set up new bazaars, where their customers had to once again find them.
The Wondercolts were headed to Lisbeth's new blacksmith shop. The smith was no longer working with a portable forge on a vendor's carpet. She finally had a store they could go to. It wasn't open for business, that would be happening tomorrow, but, late last night, Lisbeth had invited the Wondercolts to check it out the night before it opened. All of the Wondercolts were wearing something Diemond had made them over the past few months.
They had to cross a simple wooden bridge to get to the entrance. The building was sideways, along the canal, because the waterwheel was at the very back and the canal made a sharp right turn. The bottom half of the cottage was made of stone and part of the canal's structure while the top was typical medieval wattle and whitewashed daub. There was a separate, stone building behind it that had clay shingles, rather than the thatched roof of the cottage. The front had a porch, requiring a short staircase to get up to it. The rounded door was framed with brick and offset to the left corner of the building.
The sign out front was simple; a circular brass sign with a helmet on it. It looked like a giant coin. It was the sign Konelina Foundry once used, just bigger. Nemus had designed the original sign because he had always planned to make armor, rather than weapons, since they had three weapon smiths. It was good to see it live on, even though few people would actually understand the deeper meaning behind it.
Bladescape knocked on the door. It took a bit, but Lisbeth opened it. She smiled at them. Her excitement clearly couldn't be contained.
"Welcome, my most loyal customers, to Lisbeth's blacksmith!" She exclaimed. "I officially open for business tomorrow morning, eight a.m., but come inside!"
Lisbeth stepped back to allow her guests to enter. Her walls had spears, swords, maces, and axes on display. There were several glass cases that held knives, daggers, and shorter weapons.
"It's a little sparse," Lisbeth stated. "I spent nearly everything I had on it. Most of the weapons are junk; simple pieces from low quality metal and easy to make, but it's better than having empty space on the walls and shelves."
"Well, let us brighten your day!" Konpeito exclaimed. "I brought a housewarming cake! Reisenki has the sweet water he has perfected."
"Does this place have a home for you?" Bladescape asked.
"Mhm," Lisbeth said with a nod. "In the basement. It's nothing special, but I'll show it off anyway."
"Darling, this is a charming storefront," Diemond stated. "I love it." She squealed in excitement for Lisbeth. "And it doesn't matter that the living quarters are in the basement. You have them. That is what matters. If you need help with decorating, I'll gladly assist."
"I will be taking you up on that offer," Lisbeth said. "The storefront is pretty self-explanatory and the living space is sparse, so let me show you what a proper forge is like!"
They followed her to the only exit from the storefront; at the back, to the left of the counter. The forge was in the stone building behind the cottage, which made sense. The back door didn't lead directly into the forge. Instead, they were on a small wooden walkway in between the buildings. Below their feet was the overflow chute in case the main canal was backed up by the water wheel. To the right, along the back wall, the walkway became a set of stairs that continued into the stone foundation. Going straight ahead took them to the forge. It had a slight dip since the cottage’s door was higher than the forge's. The forge was more offset than it looked, at first glance, from the road.
The forge was an octagon, not a rectangle like it initially appeared to be. It required several steps down to reach the floor. From their entrance, it was easy to see the whole forge. The wall with the waterwheel was directly connected to two grindstones and the bellows. Power was as simple as throwing a lever to unlock the waterwheel and the canal water did the rest. They all were used to seeing small furnaces, barely big enough to heat the materials up. This one was sizable, taking up most of the wall with a very good chimney to take care of the smoke and an iron grate to block off the coals. The anvil wasn't tiny either. It was more like a table than an anvil. Lisbeth had a wider variety of tools, most of them significantly larger, now that she had a real forge. They were all neatly hung up and well organized.
In order from the stairs, heading right, down the steps brought them to the wall closest to the store. It had a cork board hanging on it for notes and orders. The only thing on it was a picture of Lisbeth with the deceased members of The Foundry. The next wall had a resources shelf and small finishing table. Then the anvil, which was directly opposite of the entrance. The furnace was next. Followed by the waterwheel connection and grindstones, and finally two more shelves for resources.
"This is a real forge," Kiefer said. "I'm thankful for what we have, but this is the real deal. Plenty of space to not only make stuff, but also to finish weapons off nicely."
"It is really nice," Lisbeth said with a beaming smile and content sigh. "Out of all of the properties available, this is the one I had my eye on since the front had moved to Floor 50. I was hoping no one would buy it before me. I almost can't believe it's mine, even after setting it all up. And I still have a lot I can upgrade for my equipment. This is just the lowest completed grade, which is leagues better than my portable forge."
“If you are working back here, how do you handle customers?” Knightstar asked. “Surely you can’t hear them enter.”
“No, I can’t,” Lisbeth said. “But player owned shops can hire NPC store-tenders. I hired Hannah Heinemann as my store-tender. Anything I’ve made or priced in the store’s system can be sold by Hannah. She can notify me if a customer needs to speak to me about custom work or, if I am too busy, I can change the orders so she tells customers I am not taking orders at the time. She can even tell players how much repairs will cost. I was going to tack a sheet to the wall, behind the counter, with repair costs, but since I hired Hannah, there's no need.”
“That is a big advantage,” Diemond said.
“I will be getting a chair or two for customers to use if I am stuck in the forge,” Lisbeth added.
“You don’t sound too thrilled about that,” Diemond stated.
Lisbeth shrugged and let out a small sigh. “Lindarth is great, but it solidified Ishoku Inji’s hold on the crafters. Even more are joining their ranks. I’m one of a handful in Lindarth who aren’t connected to the guild. Let's just say they are not happy with any independent crafters buying property in Lindarth.”
“How many are independent like you?” Diemond asked.
“Ashley, but they wouldn’t dare pressure her,” Lisbeth said. “She’s the premier fashion designer in Aincrad and she was the first to max sewing.”
Bladescape could see that Diemond was about to pounce at hearing that, however, she held her tongue.
Lisbeth didn’t notice Diemond’s look because she was focused on thinking. “Rendel is also a major shield maker who isn’t with them. He has leverage against them because he was the one who made the KoB’s shields. The Heraldry Skill is his specialty, which takes his shields to the next level. Piandao is a metallurgist who wouldn’t be caught in an alliance as it would essentially force him to craft new alloys for a guild, not for all of Aincrad. He is more useful to them working on his own and it helps that, unlike me, he is a friendly fellow. Lanark Mill gets away with it because they are their own guild of twenty weavers. They were established before Ishoku Inji and they work closely with the guild. Special pricing and bulk sale of fabric smooth things over and make it a profitable relationship between the two guilds.
“The rest of the independents or small crafting guilds likely don’t have the finances to buy property in Lindarth yet. I’m not blind to some of the advantages I had early on. The foundry was a great help to me to learn to hone my craft, and in instilling the idea about making the superior product and letting my work speak for itself. While I have a decent number of loyal customers who swear by my skill, they wouldn’t have been enough to buy this place. The Wondercolts have been my most solid customers and your consistent business helped cover a good chunk of this place. My oldest ones too. Part of inviting you over, besides showing off between friends, was to give you the opportunity to put orders in tonight. I expect to have a line tomorrow morning. But we can discuss that later."
“I’m not questioning your decision,” Natora prefaced. “But why not join their guild? You are a major crafter after all. Getting this place proves that."
“They might have started with good intentions, but they are now bullies,” Lisbeth explained. “Initially, it was to help the crafters gain experience and skill by providing refined materials at preferential prices to the smiths. When players started, they had to either choose to take raw materials and refine them, like metal ingots or fabric, or to craft the refined materials. It also gave those who would take up mining a steady place to sell to. Still a lower price than the open market, but a guaranteed sale and an easy to get to location so they could quickly get back to mining. The guild takes out some hefty taxes, particularly from the end manufacturers, to fund their own internal market industry. If I joined them now, I’d end up losing income, but being an outsider means they will charge me more if I need their services, because who else can I go to?”
“That’s nasty,” Diemond stated. “Not only is it mean to people, that model won’t be sustainable in the long term. If they were a business, well then it's a business that sources and produces its own materials from start to finish. As independent crafters in a guild, it will eventually collapse. Especially if they buy too many raw materials and process them before their final crafters can make use of them. They could tank their own prices and lose a lot of money.”
“Not to mention if their producers decide to back out and sell elsewhere for higher profits, they would collapse,” Knightstar added. “It’s a well intentioned model that always fails.”
“But will it collapse before we get free?” Lisbeth asked. “I don’t think so and I am guessing they are betting on it holding up until then. Originally, it worked. They also were kinder to outsiders because they were small, but now over half of the players who work with wood, metal, and fabric are in their guild. I’d say over seventy percent are, not that it makes any of the individuals bad players. And a huge percent of the miners are connected with them, as well as others who harvest the base materials for fabrics. The woodcutters are more or less independent, basically contractors, but less people need them.
“If I ever join a guild, I would only do so if it was more of an advantage to me to join then stay independent. I don’t know what would be a worthwhile advantage. Right now, I can’t think of a reason to join a guild, especially since guilds automatically collect taxes on income. If I need materials, I can work directly with miners to get what I need. I have a few solid relationships with miners where I buy above the guild prices, but below market prices. They make more, can get back to mining faster, and I save col. Most miners now also refine their ore because they have the skill slots available to and bars sell better than ore.”
“That makes sense,” Bladescape said. “Although guilds don’t have to collect taxes. That was a recent update in the last evolution of the guild contract scroll.”
“It’s evolving?” Thunderborne asked. “Like, leveling up as a guild?”
“No, it has nothing to do with levels,” Bladescape said. “It’s more like game patches.”
“So Kayaba is actively working on the game?” Thunderborne asked.
“Not necessarily,” Knightstar said. “I don’t know what he is up to. He might be, but Japan has been on the cutting edge of AI tech. If the game engine was designed properly, it could adjust things as needed. It already has to act relatively independently, to balance respawns, unlock floors and cities, as well as teleport players, run the NPCs, and manage quests. I’ve noticed a few evolutions myself, mostly in the increasing complexity that, to me, is more indicative of an AI sourcing materials for use rather than the creation of new material.”
“So then, what is he doing?” Thunderborne asked. “Just watching us?”
“Maybe,” Knightstar said with a shrug. “However, if his system is able to fully run on its own, as I believe it can, then he may have been apprehended by the authorities and, by now, may have been sentenced. That still would not guarantee that he could shut it down without harming us.”
“Why assume it can run on its own?” Lisbeth asked. “I don’t get to have talks like this with my small circle of friends. Most of them are crafters because they couldn’t make it in a fight and the majority of my customers are meat heads who don’t think deeply about anything. Most of my good conversations come from time spent with the Wondercolts and you are all typically in a rush.”
“Well,” Knightstar said, taking a second to organize her thoughts. “It comes down to the simple reality that the NerveGear has a very clear development period. A short one at that. Even if Aincrad was being planned for two years prior, well you can only do so much without having working hardware to match the program to. Even if all one-hundred floors were designed with their concepts, there wouldn’t have been time to code it all with the small team Kayaba had. We are talking hundreds of millions of lines of code, if not billions. It’s only logical to assume that key markers — like cities, key quests, floor themes, and bosses — were coded by the team and the rest of the time was put into an AI game engine that could manage it and fill in the blanks by using the internet to source material and ideas. The first two floors were pretty basic, yet they each would have taken a lot of time to code. The Town of Beginnings alone would have taken the better part of a month, if not longer, to script. I’m talking about the team working overtime to make it happen within a month and that would have left no time for hardware development or any other game design.”
“So basically impossible without an AI,” Bladescape said.
“Yes,” Knightstar replied with a nod.
“That raises some very interesting questions,” Lisbeth said. “I like to put my heart into every piece I work with. It doesn’t matter if I am forging the weapon or repairing it. I want the best work done, except I lack a certain amount of control. I know that every three months I have the chance at making an elite weapon, a masterpiece above the norm, but I sometimes feel like there is more going on between me, the weapon, and the system. Especially the longer I do the same process over and over.”
“I understand what you mean,” Bladescape said. “Sometimes this feels less like a game and more like a lucid dream. Like you can exert some form of control over your surroundings. Not that I’ve been able to pull it off, but it can feel like that. Or that, despite all of this and ourselves existing as game data, some things are more real than others when you touch or hold them.”
“As fun as this is,” Konpeito said from the stairs. “This is supposed to be a housewarming party! And I have very real cake in my inventory for us to celebrate!”
Everyone laughed. Konpeito was correct, they had been invited over to have the place shown off. Instead they were standing in the forge, talking about game mechanics. The forge wasn’t even their last stop. Lisbeth led them back to the cottage except this time they took the walkway’s stairs down, under the cottage. The living space beneath the store was larger than the store. Not by much, but it was enough. There were four rooms, the kitchen with a dinette, the living room which did have a fireplace in the corner, and two bedrooms, but only the bedroom that shared a fireplace with the living room was being used. Even then, it was just a small, cheap bed in that room.
Everything was sparsely furnished and very simple. It was clearly purchased from the game system, not players. Her living room furniture consisted of one hardwood chair. It even lacked a cushion. Bladescape noted that Lisbeth had put a bathtub in the other bedroom. It was out in the open because she had no need for a privacy screen, since she lived alone.
Konpeito coopted the kitchen for the cake, quickly cutting it into twelve even slices. She had even brought the tableware they would need, which was good because Lisbeth didn't have enough for all of her guests. She had not planned on someone bringing food. They toasted to Lisbeth’s success with Reisenki’s fruit infused water.
“I can’t find anything half this good in an NPC bakery,” Lisbeth said, both complaining and complimenting Konpeito at the same time. “You spoil me, yet you guys get to eat it every day.”
“I’ve never made this recipe before!” Konpeito exclaimed. “I just came up with it two days ago.”
“Wait, you came up with it?” Lisbeth asked. “Or was it in the system and you found it?”
“If it was, I didn’t find it,” Konpeito stated.
“She’s been messing around in the kitchen all week,” Reisenki stated with a shrug. “Supposedly she was trying to make ice cream. This cake is the result.”
“How did ice cream become cake?” Lisbeth asked.
“Frosting!” Konpeito answered. “I failed to make ice cream, but I made a very good creamed frosting. It inspired the four layer cake so I could use as much of the frosting on it as possible.”
“That’s the best you will get,” Bladescape warned Lisbeth before she asked another question. “It’s the best any of us can get, even Reisenki.”
“Even when I watch her escapades,” Reisenki added. “But you can’t argue with the results. Well, she could. She could argue with anything.”
As they finished the cake, Lisbeth returned to an earlier topic. “Part of the invite tonight was to see if there was anything you needed done before I officially open my doors for business and get swamped? I’ve got a line of regulars who want to get orders in or enhancements done. They’ve had to wait a few days and some of them are impatient.”
“Yeah, I do,” Bladescape said. “I was going to find you this morning, but then you sent the invite and I realized you couldn't. I’ve been getting by simply off of good luck with boss drops, but I recently learned the hard way that I can’t keep that up. Being on the Assault Team has its responsibilities and my sword is underpowered for my level. It’s time I move to player-made weapons.”
“Took you long enough,” Lisbeth sniped. “You were the last holdout in the Wondercolts.” Lisbeth held her hand up, stopping Bladescape’s response. “And yes, I know what you have gotten dropped. After all, I did almost every enhancement on them. They were solid pieces, equal to or above what most players could make for a decent price.”
“I didn’t exactly have an easy way to gauge that my sword is underpowered,” Bladescape added. “A decent number of the clearers use two-handed swords, but I can’t gauge the differences in damage dealt. I had to judge off of one-handed swords.”
“A two-handed longsword,” Lisbeth said. “That won’t be too hard. The real question is your budget. That will determine the metal I use and that will affect quality.”
“Liz, I’ve been coasting on upgrading drops,” Bladescape stated. “I want the best you can make. I’ve got the col to afford it.”
“I hope you do,” Lisbeth said, slyly grinning. “Five hundred hammer swings doesn’t come cheap.”
Bladescape was taken aback. She was used to the enhancement system, which was a low number of strikes on a timer. “Five hundred?” Bladescape stammered.
“Minimum,” Lisbeth stated. “I had to put a lot into my strength stat. A one-handed sword is taking me two hundred to two-fifty swings. The type and shape of the weapon determines the number of strikes. Doom’s knives range from twenty-five to fifty strikes. In many ways, it's a simple process, but in others, it’s not. The game makes sure that as long as I hit it enough times, it will form properly to the chosen signature. Still, to shape metal a player must exert a lot of force, just like a real smith. The denser metals also require more hits. We aren’t talking straight steel here. That won’t get you what you need.”
“What are you thinking?” Bladescape asked.
“You’re in luck that I stocked up for opening day, instead of buying furniture and tableware,” Lisbeth stated. “I’m not a metallurgist, but I can work anything they can come up with. I have a variety of ingots that would do, but I’m thinking that I should go with Black Rune, if you’re really not worried about the cost.”
“I’m not too worried about the cost,” Bladescape stated. The way Lisbeth was talking, Bladescape was getting a little concerned. She probably didn't need to be, not with what she had on hand. “Tell me more.”
“Black Rune is a mix of the base metal, Runite, and the dense metal, Obsidianite,” Lisbeth explained. “It should provide you with enough weight to crush armor, yet be light enough for a speedy recovery, while still being durable enough to hold its edge. A large bar is currently the priciest metal on the market, in part because it's new. No smiths are using it, but mostly because the amount of each material needed to forge an ingot is insane.”
“Define insane,” Bladescape pressed. She wanted to know the basics of what she would be swinging around.
“Piandao won’t share the ratio,” Lisbeth stated. “Just that it's a composition of runite and obsidianite. The item menu only states the metals in the alloy, not the ratio. It’s his trump card right now. He only keeps an alloy to himself if he loses a lot trying to make it. At least until he is satisfied he has recovered the cost. And in this case, the alloy ingot only comes in large. He also failed a lot of attempts to make a medium ingot for general use. He would only sell me the one ingot, it’s probably all he had, and buying the ingot required me to give him quite a few runite ingots along with a hefty sack of col.”
“Is that a special Skill, or is it part of Refining?” Kiefer asked.
“It’s a separate Skill,” Lisbeth clarified. “Not only does it require a solid level in refining, but it also is locked by a quest. Only a handful of refiners have done the quest to become metallurgists, but Piandao is the only one, that I know of, who is actively creating new alloys. Doombunny’s favorite alloy, Alchion, was developed by him. If there was someone else who was successful at making a new alloy, we would be hearing about it, even if they were trying. At least the metalsmiths would. Piandao has a board on the wall of his workshop with the tally of how many ingots it took to discover each alloy for a reason. Black Rune was over 500 runite ingots. He has dropped a few hints that he either works with or creates alloys IRL. It’s why he is so successful. He understands metal at the molecular level. Whatever his background is, it’s working for him in Aincrad.”
“I don’t get it,” Thunderborne said. “That’s what, a few inventory loads of runite ore?”
“No,” Lisbeth said, shaking her head. “You are very wrong. Most elite ingots require several ores per ingot. Runite is eight ores per ingot. Try four thousand pieces of runite ore and remember that runite is the currently hardest ore to mine and that it has only two known veins for mining. Just two miners can work at once to get runite. I was wondering why runite had shot up in price over the last three months and his experiments would be why. He has to let the market recover from his failed experiments. He can't make more right now."
Every Wondercolt was left shocked at the number of ore required to discover the alloy. They were clearers and members of the Assault Team. They barely touched metal ingots, let alone ore. But they could grasp the number, four thousand, at least well enough to understand the insanity of the repetition required to amass that total.
“You mentioned ingot size,” Bladescape said. “I know very little about smithing.”
Lisbeth rolled her eyes. “I’ll explain it. Small ingots are used for jewelry, small daggers and knives, certain bracers, buckles and buttons, and other small things. Regular ingots are basically everything else. Spears, one-handed axes, two-handed axes with only a single head, maces, hammers, most swords including some short two-handed longswords, shields, and every piece of armor. Large ingots are used for two-handed swords, two headed two-handed axes, mauls, two-handed maces, and tower shields. The armor smiths think that heavy metal chest plates will eventually require large ingots, but we are not there yet. Something like Malus’ chest plates require three or four regular ingots. And you won’t use a denser alloy like Black Rune for shields or armor. It’s an alloy specifically designed for weapons. Small ingots have more uses than large ingots and alloys can’t be resized. Whatever ingot of an alloy that you have, that’s what you have.”
“Let’s do it,” Bladescape said. “I look forward to seeing what you can do.”
Lisbeth had a dangerous look in her eye. “Are you sure? That many hammer swings, plus the only bar of a super rare alloy ingot, we are talking a three hundred and twenty-five thousand col. That’s the price I decided on when I bought the ingot. I’m not making as much of a profit off of it as you probably think.”
“Deal,” Bladescape said. “I’ll pay that so long as you do your best.”
Lisbeth scoffed. "I always do my best!"
That was very true. Part of the reason why Bladescape had been able to get by so long with dropped weapons was Lisbeth. Bladescape had been quite lucky with her enhancement success, something she attributed to Lisbeth's skill and care, not Bladescape's own luck. But the smith could waver back and forth from serious yet friendly, to hostile. It was just who she was. They were used to it. Bladescape could empathize with Lisbeth. Bladescape had her friends she was with and had learned from. She also had a few years on the smith. Lisbeth might not be the friendliest person or able to keep a smile going for very long, but watching her work and seeing the finished project changed many people's perception of her. Who needed smiles when she could turn out things better than the friendliest smith? Sweet talk couldn't compete with Lisbeth’s results. Players never felt swindled either. They always left satisfied.
Over three hundred thousand col was a lot. It would be a huge chunk of Bladescape's finances, but her room was fully furnished and personalized. Likewise, she had no secondary skill to train. Weapons and enhancements were her lifeline in the field. Most importantly, her guild was strong, meaning she would recover the cost decently fast. Fast enough not to worry about spending so much. Even if luck wasn't on her side and Bladescape's new sword was on the low end for the stats, it was still going to be a high range because of the quality of the metal. A metal no one else would have. It would make a bold statement in the next boss battle.
“This will be the perfect way to christen my shop," Lisbeth added. "All of the filler pieces upstairs were made on the portable one in order to wait and see what orders I got. Looks like tomorrow morning, I won’t be with the customers for very long. Just long enough to greet them and hear their congratulations over the shop. The NPC can take most custom orders. If it’s a basic metal and simple design, that can be automatically ordered. I don’t need to do a consultation. You had that unique barbarian sword, but you prefer the double edged style, correct?”
“Traditional, double edge, European longsword,” Bladescape replied. “Or great sword, claymore, bastard sword. Whatever name the historian wants to use for it. Knightstar can do the etymological argument if you want, I just want a regular blade profile, a believable one, not the comically wide cleavers some players carry.”
“I’ll skip that argument,” Lisbeth said. “I know the profile of the sword. The big swords can be more realistic, or ridiculous, in their blade size. I always prefer the realistic ones. There is a beauty to them. Rapiers are my favorite because of the artfulness inherently in the design. Gold or navy scabbard?"
"Probably navy," Bladescape said. "But I trust you to pick the right one for the sword's character."
Lisbeth just nodded silently in response. "Anyway, I figured at least one Wondercolt would have an order worth christening my forge with. Really, a new weapon for any of you, and two or three others, would be a great way to break it in. I know that whatever I make will immediately go to the front and be put to good use, freeing us.”
It was getting late. Bladescape paid Lisbeth for the sword before they left. Konpeito left Lisbeth a second cake and several dozen cookies. Lisbeth asked if she could put the cookies out for customers since there were so many and Konpeito was confused, because why else would she bring over the cookies? Especially that many. Lisbeth showed them out. Bladescape would be back tomorrow evening to receive her new sword.
Bladescape walked up to the smith’s new shop. She was excited to see what Lisbeth had forged. She was not expecting the crowd inside. There were twenty odd players checking things out and waiting to speak with a very worn out Lisbeth. She was clearly on the verge of losing it with the current customer.
Bladescape walked up to the counter. “This is busier than I expected.”
Lisbeth froze, clearly looking at the time in her vision, and then she somehow stiffened up even more.
“You didn’t get to it, did you?” Bladescape kindly asked.
“No,” Lisbeth squeaked. She totally ignored the customer she was currently working with. “It’s been like this all day. I guess I didn’t even eat lunch. I’ve had no breaks. Every time I thought I was free, someone needed something. I’ve got fifty custom orders and they are willing to wait upwards of a week! I should have said no at some point.”
“How long does five hundred swings actually take?” Bladescape asked.
“Well I don’t swing my hammer without purpose,” Lisbeth shot back. “Or haphazardly.”
“Just, tell me how many minutes it would take you normally,” Bladescape kindly said. “That’s all I’m asking.”
“Thirty to forty minutes,” Lisbeth answered. “Maybe fifty total when you count in heating the ingot.”
“Your shop says you close in half an hour,” Bladescape pointed out. “Maybe I could message Konpeito to make us dinner and then you could do it after? If you’re too tired, I understand.”
“Dinner sounds nice,” Lisbeth said, looking down at her stomach. She had to realize how hungry she was. “I’ll finish and close up shop, then make your sword. That’s kind of you and more than fair. You already paid me for the work.”
“The day is almost over,” Bladescape said, also ignoring the customer standing there. “I’ve had plenty of those days, where the customers just keep coming and coming and you feel like you got nothing done. It’s frustrating, but life and part of the job. Sucks when you’re an artist like you are, but, again, it’s part of the business side of the art.”
Lisbeth let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re right. Thanks for understanding. Would you flip the sign to ‘closed’ so no more people come in?”
“I’ve got you,” Bladescape said, walking to the front so Lisbeth could get back to the customer.
Bladescape was getting plenty of looks as she calmly made her way there. Everyone had heard the exchange. Not everyone was happy about it, some clearly felt snubbed. Others wondered what made her so important to the smith. Bladescape didn’t pay them any heed. They were all intermediate players and she was on the Assault Team. For now, she was a rank above them. She didn't like to pull rank, but needed to with the smith at times. She was confident in her choice and in Lisbeth. All she had done was provide Lisbeth with some grace and mercy, as well as an end to the hectic, but clearly successful, first day.
Bladescape flipped the sign in the window as the door was opened. It was someone she was familiar with, but not expecting to see, Asuna of the Knights of the Bloodoath.
“Good evening, Asuna,” Bladescape said.
“Oh, hey,” Asuna said, surprised to see her right there. “Wow, this is busier than I expected. Liz expected some heavier traffic, but her vendor carpet was never like this.”
“Yeah,” Bladescape said with a chuckle. “She’s been stuck at the counter all day. The life of an artist who has to sell her art as a service job. What brings you here?”
“Just getting equipment repaired,” Asuna said. “I wore down four rapiers since we started training yesterday. Godfree ran us all night. I always go to Lis. She takes care of all of my gear. What about you?”
“She was supposed to have made me a new sword, but that didn’t happen,” Bladescape stated. “Speaking of that, I have to order us dinner,” Bladescape said as she quickly messaged Konpeito. “Lis accidentally skipped lunch. She needs dinner before she can make it. Want anything?”
“Me‽” Asuna exclaimed, surprised. She was trying to decide if she really needed to stay. Obviously she did. Four rapiers were a lot to wear down. She likely didn’t have any more spares to fight with tomorrow. Thunderborne only carried four dungeon rapiers and her good boss rapier.
“Have you eaten dinner?” Bladescape asked.
“I just came from the field,” Asuna admitted with a tired sigh. “No time to cook anything, let alone shop for it.”
Asuna's stomach audibly growled, causing her to blush. Bladescape ignored it for her sake.
“I’ve seen you plenty at Lis’ carpet,” Bladescape said as she sent the message. “You’re not just another customer to her.”
“No, I’m not,” Asuna admitted. “We’re friends. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come over last night for the housewarming. Godfree couldn’t adjust the schedule.”
“I understand,” Bladescape said. “When we make those plans, we can’t derail them. Tomorrow, everyone’s going to be hitting the labyrinth. Equipment repairs don’t take long. After the day she’s had, Lis will want to do something normal. Assuming you can wait a bit.” A message came back from Konpeito, confirming the order. “It won’t take Konpeito long to bring us a hearty dinner.”
Asuna let out a tired sigh and leaned against the doorframe. “You’re not a normal customer either. I know your thing is friendship and kindness, but you had Lis over for Christmas.”
“That was fun,” Bladescape said, unable to not smile at the fond memories. She turned around and leaned against the window frame, watching the scene in the shop unfold. “We had a good time at Christmas. It had a rowdy ending, full of music and dancing and plenty of pie and other desserts. Dinner was a much smaller group, but for dessert Meigibu joined us. Argo even stopped by for pie.”
“It sounds like it was nice,” Asuna said. “With what Lisbeth described, yours sounded quite festive. The Knights had a much calmer celebration.”
The implication was clear enough. Asuna did not have that great of a holiday time with her guild.
“Well, come next Christmas, if we are still stuck in here, ditch your guild and join us,” Bladescape said. “Unless the Knights will be throwing a festive party. I’ll probably try and co-opt Godfree for our festivities. Who knows what other friends we’ll meet in between then.”
“You sound so sure that we will still be here,” Asuna said. There was a bite to her sour words. Accusatory even. “You’re even planning on it.”
“Why not?” Bladescape asked. “Maybe we will, maybe we won’t. I’d prefer to not be, but if we are, I want to have fun with the friends I’ve made in here. Planning it, which was just a few comments, won’t stop me from pushing as hard as possible to not have a third holiday season in Aincrad. But, considering how the first one was spent, and how much fun we had this time, I want to maximize the festivities. I won’t see these people once we are free. So, I’ll make mental notes if they come up and we will see what we can do in between now and then to clear the game.”
“That first one was interesting,” Asuna admitted. “We beat the fifth floor boss on New Year's Eve, just our small, rag tag cohort.”
“Those were good times,” Bladescape said. “Well, sort of. I don’t miss Kibaou’s angry yelling.”
“OKAY, LISTEN UP!” Lisbeth declared. She was both angry, yet forcing cheerfulness, creating an odd tone and mood. “I appreciate your business and interest, but I have over fifty custom orders to fill. It’s going to take me a week to do that. So please, come back in two or three days, once I’ve caught up on such a great first day in my shop!” She flashed a tired, but convincing smile.
“But, you’re going to be making her sword tonight,” someone complained.
“Hey!” Lisbeth snapped. “This is my shop and what I choose to do in my free time is my business! If I decide to make an order for a friend, I darn well will and you don’t get to complain or judge! I kept putting her order off for everyone else, so shut your trap!” Lisbeth actually stormed out the back to her forge.
Asuna groaned, clearly in pain for Lisbeth. She had to move out of the way of the door to let people leave. A few lingered, looking at something, but they quickly left.
The door opened and Bladescape was about to tell them the shop was closed, but it was Konpeito. She gave Bladescape a bag and left with only a wink.
“Come on,” Bladescape said to Asuna. “Let’s check on our friend.”
Asuna just gave a tired nod and followed Bladescape. Lisbeth was just outside the back, sitting on the steps leading down to the living quarters.
“I’ve got dinner,” Bladescape said as cheerfully as she could.
Lisbeth groaned as she stood up and started walking down the stairs.
“And Asuna is with me,” Bladescape added.
Lisbeth whipped around. “Why didn’t you lead with that!”
“It’s all right, Lis,” Asuna said. She couldn’t hold back a yawn. “I arrived just as you closed. You had a pretty busy day, but that’s good. The shop looks great too.”
Lisbeth let out a sigh. “Thanks. But don’t let my tiredness get in the way, come see the rest of what I have. Oh, but dinner.”
“I ordered three,” Bladescape quickly said. “Asuna arrived in time and hadn’t been able to fit in dinner either.”
“Oh,” Lisbeth said. She stalled out.
“I think we were heading inside,” Bladescape said.
“Sorry,” Lisbeth said, shaking her head. “I need coffee. I do have that. I’ll just have to brew it.”
“If you need to push making it off until tomorrow, that’s fine,” Bladescape said as they entered the home. “Asuna needs gear repaired, but I don’t need the sword tomorrow.”
“Except I’m looking forward to christening the forge by making your sword,” Lisbeth stated. “Once I have coffee and dinner, I’ll be ready for both and happy to do it.”
Bladescape put the three covered bowls on the table and then added the spoons. She had Asuna and Lisbeth sit in the two chairs. They needed it. Bladescape had a regular day and had slept the night before. Konpeito had included two different bottles for drinks. Neither were labeled. One turned out to be coffee, nice and hot. The other was iced tea. Konpeito hadn’t forgotten cups either. In the short time she had, she put a whole lot together. Too short of time.
When they uncovered the bowls, the entire house was filled with the savory aroma of a hearty stew.
“How did she do this?” Asuna asked, inhaling deeply. “She didn’t have time.”
“Well, I didn’t check the kitchen this morning,” Bladescape prefaced. “I’d wager that she had it simmering on the stove all day, like a proper stew should.”
“A stew should have dried out after a certain amount of time,” Asuna said as she picked up a spoon.
“She’s a great baker IRL and a good chef,” Bladescape said. “In Aincrad, she excels and defies the system. I don’t know how, but she has figured out how to make it work.”
“This is divine,” Lisbeth groaned. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until a certain someone came in and made me realize what time it was.”
Bladescape chuckled at the remark before taking her first spoonful of the stew. It was amazing. Konepeito had been focusing on stews recently and managed to get them to simmer all day. She was working to expand her cookbook to cover meals that could be started in the morning, yet survive all day as they cooked. It didn’t always work. As Asuna pointed out, stews typically dried up or burned after too much time on the stove. It was best not to question Konpeito. Not when she was getting results.
Konpeito had really thought of everything. There was a box of cookies for dessert. They were not the same type that she had brought Lisbeth for the housewarming.
“There’s something written on the paper lining,” Asuna said as she picked up a cookie.
Once it was empty, Bladescape read it out loud. “Tell Asuna, it all has to do with the pot.”
“What does that mean?” Lisbeth asked.
“I have no idea,” Asuna said.
“I have an idea,” Bladescape said. “She recently destroyed a few sets of pots and pans pursuing the perfect cooking method for stew. I don’t know what she ended up buying, but something must be different about the last set.”
“Huh,” was all Asuna said as she thought deeper on it.
“Okay, that meal is going to make me tired soon,” Lisbeth stated. “She’s too good at cooking. But! I’m energized. That coffee did the trick. Let’s forge you a sword worthy of my name, my new shop, and your status. And then fix Asuna’s gear!”
They all laughed and headed to the forge. Lisbeth pulled the lever on the wall, connecting everything to the waterwheel. She went to her shelf and scrolled through its menu. The ingot she pulled out was a gunmetal blue color. It was much larger than Bladescape had expected it to be. Lisbeth didn’t have a problem handling it as she opened the grate to the furnace and put it inside.
“I don’t know exactly how long this alloy will take to heat up,” Lisbeth stated. “It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes at most. Then the rest is me swinging the hammer.”
“What metal was that?” Asuna asked. “I’ve not seen anything like it.”
“Piandao just made it,” Lisbeth stated. “He won’t release the composition outside the base elements. Just getting it cost me a lot, well, now it cost Bladescape a lot. It's called Black Rune, made from Runite and Obsidianite. It only comes in large ingots. I couldn’t make a rapier of it. It's a heavy metal, which isn’t good for speed weapons.”
The bar didn’t take long to glow white and Lisbeth grabbed it with a pair of tongs, plopping it on her large anvil. She set the tongs to the side and picked up her hammer. She opened the glowing ingot's window and selected the weapon class and shape. It took her a moment to get her mind right and then she raised her hammer. With each clang she forged the sword into existence with the song of a smith. Lisbeth’s song included the clang of metal, the crackling of the coals in her furnace, and now the sound of her waterwheel. Every so often Lisbeth had to wipe the sweat from her brow, but she kept herself on pace. Even if she missed a beat, she was right on time for the next.
Bladescape lost count of the strikes pretty quickly. Asuna was sitting on the stairs, tired but intently watching the process. It was thrilling to watch Lisbeth work and know that what was being done was her, Bladescape’s, sword. That was something special and unique, and not just because of the metal. This was her first player-made weapon. Hopefully it would last her for many floors to come.
As Lisbeth raised the hammer, the metal began to shift and change shape. It stretched on its own until it was the proper length and then the crossguard formed. It slowly stopped glowing as it cooled down.
The sword was the same color as the ingot, gunmetal blue. The ricasso stopped at the triangular flukes that protruded from the blade, about ten inches total. Forward of the flukes, the edge could be seen as a lighter blue, evidence of the high concentration of runite in the edge. In contrast, an almost black fuller ran from the flukes up three quarters of the blade, exhibiting the colors of the obsidianite. The crossguard wasn’t squared; it had a straight quillon that flared to a point, but above and below it flared with a rolling “w”, framing the center jewel. The whole guard was a lighter blue, like the edge of the sword. The handle was in two segments, with the lower half slightly smaller and much darker, showing off the obsidianite in the alloy. It had a pommel, the same blue shade as the alloy, that slowly expanded in diameter before quickly collapsing to a soft point.
Lisbeth practically dropped the hammer. “I really hate making two-handed longswords,” she groaned. “They take so many blows to form. Nothing else takes that much. At least this one was worth my time.” Lisbeth struggled to pry the handle off the anvil because of its final weight. “They also weigh a ton and I have a really high strength stat.” She opened the window. “Let’s see…wow…” Lisbeth stammered. “This is a masterpiece! I only get one of those every three months, at most. This is my second. Anyway, the weapon’s name is Harmonic Salvation. Interesting name. I’ve not seen one like it before. More importantly, it has fifty enhancement slots.”
Bladescape slowly approached the anvil as Lisbeth pulled a rag out of her apron pocket. She began to wipe the blade down. It showed the color a little better. With a little work, the jewel in the crossguard came to life, glowing a radiant amber. Lisbeth still had to wrap the handguard in leather.
“What color should the handle be?” Lisbeth asked as she went to another shelf, looking for materials. “With the clear break halfway, we could wrap it in two different colors, or only wrap the top part you will be using.”
“I believe the second was what was traditionally done,” Bladescape said, trying to remember a lesson, or rather comments, Knightstar had made before about two-handed swords.
“You would know,” Lisbeth replied.
“Would gold draw out the stone or overpower it?” Bladescape asked.
“I don’t know,” Lisbeth said, making a selection. “Let’s see.”
Lisbeth laid a golden piece of leather over the handle.
Asuna spoke up. “No, it overpowers the jewel. Try their blue.”
Lisbeth put their navy blue on the handle. It made the Black Rune’s unique color stand out more. The jewel shone like the first star in the night. The blue was chosen for both the handle and the sheath. Lisbeth had to craft the sheath, which was thankfully a quick process.
While she did that, Bladescape picked up her sword, Harmonic Salvation. It was heavy, she felt the weight, but she easily picked it up in one hand. Swinging it one handed would be impossible. It felt really good, it was well balanced, but her marvel was less about the sword or its weight. She was marveling over the name. The system generated random names. The more elite and rare the material, the higher the number of unique names. There would never be another sword named Harmonic Salvation, especially since it was a masterpiece.
But that wasn’t the marvel. Harmonic Salvation, just the name, gave her a powerful mental picture. Something from a lifetime ago, in another world. She remembered the legends from Equestria about the Elements of Harmony. They brought safety to Equestria. They brought salvation to it when it was overtaken and oppressed by Discord. Those elements had bled over into the human world, due to Sunset Shimmer’s past mistakes. Her friends each were a human carrier of an element: Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic. Together, the six were the foundation for friendship.
Sunset was a seventh element, not traditionally a part of the Elements of Harmony, but one found uniquely in the human world. Empathy was what she believed her element was and Princess Twilight Sparkle had agreed with her assessment. It was Sunset’s greatest strength. It changed her heart and how she saw the world. It’s how she could put up with so much in Aincrad, like Kibaou and Lind. She had the empathy to understand and forgive them, and move forward towards the real goal.
Outside of the first month or so, Bladescape hadn’t really seen any evidence of their magic in SAO. That was only possibly evident by their fortuitous acquisition of the ancient weapons. There were a few other oddities too, but so much of the system was new, untested, and changing. Now she was staring at something that told her the magic was there. Somehow, it was still with each of them. She might not have her geode necklace in SAO, but she had dived with it. It likely was still on her body. Maybe. The hospital might have removed it, but she had the magic before the geode, it was not the sole vessel of the magic. The magic had chosen her for something. It wouldn’t abandon her and she wouldn’t abandon it either.
She would fight. She would do everything she could to get as many people out of Aincrad as she could. She wouldn’t be reckless, but she would push it. She had been the model for her friends. She had done a good job at that. They were making an impact on the players around them, but holding this sword told Sunset it wasn’t enough. She needed to become the epitome of a Wondercolt for all of Aincrad to see. So that when she marched into battle beside players like Heathcliff and Kirito, she wasn’t eclipsed. Not for vanity’s sake, but because not being eclipsed meant that players saw her and were filled with hope, remembering her kindness, empathy, generosity, laughter, honesty, and loyalty. And by her being The Wondercolt in the eyes of the players, it would extend everything to the whole guild because it bore the same name. Also because she led it, making that transference easier.
The new sword wasn’t going to be able to do that on its own. She needed more to make a presence. Heathcliff wore red armor with white trim to set himself apart from the others. Bladescape didn’t plan to copy his inverted scheme, but she would talk with Diemond about updating their entire look. Leather Armor as a Skill didn’t bring the same imposing presence that metal armor could generate. At least not the jackets and lamellar armor equipment Diemond had Bladescape in.
“Are you going to try it out?” Lisbeth asked, pulling Bladescape back to the world around her.
Bladescape pivoted so nothing was in front of her and pulled the sword overhead, triggering Avalanche, a high level two-handed sword skill that brought the sword down onto the target. Her yell, coupled with skill, split the air in the small forge. Lisbeth accidentally dropped the sheath in her shock. Even Asuna looked surprised.
“It’s beautiful,” Bladescape said. “Great name too. It’s worthy of bearing your mark and name. I’m honored to carry such a blade.”
“The fact that you can so easily wield it is annoying,” Lisbeth said. “But I’m glad. You’re the one who needs to be able to swing it, not me.”
Lisbeth gave Bladescape the sheath. She slipped the sword into its home and then used the menu to equip it to her back. It was easy to draw from her back. It shouldn’t have been, it was too long, but that was how the game worked. It was longer by several inches than she was used to and the handle was also extended to allow it to be properly balanced. She would get used to it in no time. Bladescape sheathed it with ease and bowed to Lisbeth.
“Hey, you got me dinner,” Lisbeth said before Bladescape could say anything. “It was only fair that I keep up my end of the deal and finish it only a little late.”
Both of them laughed.
“Asuna, you’re up!” Lisbeth said. She was fully energized again.
“Not to be rude,” Bladescape said, pausing.
“Go,” Asuna said. “You don’t need to stay. I know you have a guild to lead. Thank you for dinner. I appreciate it.”
“Stay safe, both you,” Bladescape said, bowing quickly before departing.
There was a new kick in her step as she walked. The sword on her back didn’t feel heavy. It felt like it was part of her. It only reinforced her previous observations about the path ahead.
BLADESCAPE: Level 77 — 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 — Greatshield — 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 — Greatshield — 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 — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation
The picture on Lisbeth’s job board:
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Still feel sad that Lisbeth lost all her group. I hope Kirito visits her soon! She needs more friends.
11874233
I know! I genuinely feel bad about that. It does hurt. lol. There already is great Lisbeth content in the pipeline!
A great chapter! Now I'm inspired to draw Sunset's new blade.
Nice update! Looking forward to more
11874252
Haha. Nice. If you do, I would love to see what you draw. I was never very good at art. Well, I am good with pastels (took home third and went to state in high school in that category). Those are fun. Digital art I am horrible. If you did not see it, my last blog post has the original art I used as inspiration. Quite a few changes, especially in the metal's color.
11874240
Awesome! She doesn't get nearly enough love.
11874258
Breaking in Harmonic Salvation must be done...properly. 
But that's not the next episode. 
Oh, yes.
11874266
LOL!
11874262
She will get plenty more love. Lis is a darling. Sassy, but I like spirited women. We already had her for Christmas. Lis will be around. I think we will (eventually) get her a POV chapter.
11874276
Would love a POV chapter! Ooh, maybe we could see her meet Silica, and get her some little claws for Pina!
11874280
Huh. Maybe we can. I had not considered it. That would be fun to sketch their first meeting.
Arming Pina is an interesting idea. I'm not sure how that would work. She is a combat support familiar, providing healing. She does not have the durability or strength for combat. There will be more beast tamer...shenanigans. As well as information about the system and meeting some others.
11874287
I mean, that's a fair assessment of Pina. But I'm sure she might have the speed to do a bit of chip damage. But keeping her safe is top priority. Unfortunately, Lis doesn't do armor.
11874296
Oh yes, every familiar can do some damage. But she was KO'd pretty easily by the Drunk Apes. They are fairly low level, Floor 35. Think about the Clanless Lizardmen of floor 74. That's going to be a very different beast to fight. Familiars do not level up like players.
11874301
Yeah, she's a pretty weak familiar for damage, and in general. Although I'm sure there is some way to strengthen them, maybe some kind of quest?
11874314
I had not considered that. That's a great idea. It certainly would help the early familiars. Now just to design it. Probably need to have it battle based.
11874319
That would make sense. Otherwise being a "Beast Tamer" would be basically a dead end role. Since you'd have to put effort into keeping the pet alive, only to need to ditch it for a stronger one when the time comes. A quest like this means they would stay viable and wouldn't need replacement. Though, that's just the logical argument.
11874322
Well, familiars are not exactly recyclable. There are unknown parameters to beast taming which are subtle. A player may not get a second chance to tame another monster. We do know you can't have killed any of the monsters. They also have to show interest in the player too. How many beasts would be interested in being tamed by a player who will just ditch them for something "better." The two form a close bond. A very close bond.
11874325
Oh definitely, and that's kinda my point. The "Beast Tamer" class wouldn't WORK if the tamed monsters didn't have some way to grow. Some way to get better or be improved upon.
In the case of Silica, it's likely that she was sort of carried by her popularity to higher floors.
11874327
I will have to think on ideas for the quest. They need something to increase it.
Oh, I read that wrong.
As to Silica, she was young and naive, but solidly leveled for where she was. She just needed a party to stay safe. She packed experience. She had to go up about ten levels to revive Pina. But we also see how good she got with the right encouragement and guidance. Kirito helped her grow and fight better. One day she is cowering, the next she is beating up tougher monsters basically by herself.
Heck yeah, Harmonic Salvation returns
It's only a matter of time before they have the "So I can just intentionally let the enhancement fail and it will still take?" conversation
11874331
Yeah, she had a lot of experience and potential.
As for the quest, maybe it starts with an NPC who is said to be a retired Beast Tamer, and it goes from there. I'd say it's probably placed within the 40s-50s. That way it's reasonable why Silica hadn't done it when we see her in canon.
11874333
Even more shenanigans to happen later too.
Sunset finally has her signature weapon. Lizbeth is one hell of a blacksmith.
11874334
Makes sense. It's a good start. Got any other ideas to build it out?
One quest may not be enough. Just thinking. Familiars could be set with a minimum rating. Say, Pina is Rank C, while Colorra would be Rank A. Ranks C, B, A, and S. Maybe SS and SSS to make it to 100?
The rating might need to be hidden prior to completion of the first quest? Or another?
11874349
One heck of one and a beautiful one at that. One who will only get better!
11874351
Yeah, the rating idea is pretty good. I'm thinking maybe a chain of quests, that unlock the next part after some requirement is met.
As for the first quest itself, maybe it's one that tests the bond you have with your beast in some way. I'm not quite sure what this could end up being, but it would be a way for the NPC to see that your serious about your bond with your beast.
11874355
Not a bad idea at all. Although, perhaps the quest must have a high enough Skill level for both beast tamer Skills.
11874359
Oh agreed. That would probably also mean that their bond is already pretty strong, hopefully.
11874361
Yes, their bond would have to be very strong. Let's see...where was Silica at the end of SAO?
Familiar Recovery (feeding) 681 / 1000
Familiar Communication 597 / 1000
A Quest Parameter of 750 / 1000 would show dedication and their bond.
11874364
Would that be over both skills or just one of them? The number sounds good either way. Maybe we could get a chapter of Silica and Doombunny going through the quest. Doom probably doesn't need it, but she'd be there for support.
11874365
I would do both, but the key is Familiar Communication. Familiar Recovery seems like the easier Skill to raise, while Communication has more going on between master and familiar.
The two of them doing the quest would be interesting and fun.
11874366
That's probably the safest bet. I look forward to whatever you come up with!
11874369
It will be an interesting adventure. I'm running out of ideas and I still have stuff I have to figure out on my checklist. Lol
Rest their souls.
Someone's jealous.
How awful. But at the same time, I don't blame Liz's decision. I so wouldn't do it myself either.
But he's also closer than you think.
I hope she doesn't regret it.
Yikes!
Emphasis on if. Same with Godfree.
I think I remember something regarding that sword that Blade almost lost it in the og eqg sao story. Right?
Glad to see the Sword return, things are falling into place
Also, can you fix these sentences? You need 3 for a pattern, not 2.
“I only get one of those every three months, at most. This is my second.“
11874494
Yes, Diemond is jealous. Rightly so. And of course the major crafting guild are jerks! lol. And yes, in the Aincrad story, that version of Harmonic Salvation was almost destroyed.
11874609
That is a known system mechanic. Every three months, but that is not a guarantee that it will generate a masterpiece. It is a timer to allow for the RNG roll. In the 15 months since SAO started, Lis has only gotten two masterpieces from her smithing.
11874369
Just going to say, the team had a two hour discussion last night about Beast Taming and expanding it. lol.
11874832
Awesome!
11874319
Maybe some sort of evolution quest? Go find a specific item/specific place at a specific time/etc. Or maybe there's a floor restriction on leveling up the Beast Tamer class. Maybe there's a quest on a higher floor that changes it to Beastmaster (or maybe a creature specific skill, like Wyrm trainer). Seeing how rare Beast Tamers are, I wouldn't be surprised if it was tied to one of the Unique Skills.
Speaking of Unique Skills, the SAO wiki says that one of them was tied to completing the Blade Throwing skill. I could see Doombunny gaining that one.
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Those are all great ideas to think on while exploring how to evolve the beast tamers. Thanks!
As to Blade Throwing's US, Shurikenjutsu, Doombunny would be in the running.
I’m a little late to comment on the chapter, but exam week on college is a pain. Anyway, I loved the chapter! The dinner was a nice heartwarming opening, and I liked the talk about AI and how it was used on SAO, I think you got it from Yui’s episode? Regardless, I would like to imagine that Kayaba still has the ability to change things even in game just to make his own life easier, lmao. I like HC his frustration at some poor planned interface thing and he passing the night trying to fix it in vain.
I love how Harmonic Salvation is back and how the chapter really touches Sunset’s entire life and her emphatic nature and how the Fanon’s interpretation of the 7th Element is being used here as well.
Excited to see Sunset using Harmonic Salvation for the first time next chapter!
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This is my first semester without being in grad school. It's odd. I understand. Lol. As to the AI, it is from a all over the SAO material, both the light novels and the anime. Alicization has quite a bit on what was done for SAO. It is a very interesting topic. Now I am currently evaluating AI responses to train them for an interim job. lol Totally not the same though. More like virtual intelligence. Both are top down approaches. Alicization uses a bottom up approach, Yui was top down.
I'm glad you do like the return of Harmonic Salvation. I am working to weave a whole lot more of Sunset and the girls into this Alt-U take. Harmonic Salvation's christening will be fun. It's not the next chapter, but it will be fun.