Episode 66 — Second Arrival
Episode 66 — Second Arrival
Nineteenth Day in the Month of Willow (March 19) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 57 — Marten — 5 p.m.
On the Twenty-Sixth Floor, the Knights of the Bloodoath had made their arrival known to Aincrad as they marched into the floor boss meeting in their uniformed armor and colors. They made an impression and showed what type of players they were. Then they secured their place at the top during the battle against the King of the Oathbreakers.
The Wondercolts looked good then, they had always had a sharp image, yet they were not able to compete with the KoB. Their image had shifted and evolved as Diemond leveled her skills. Still, the one thing they never had was an arrival. As the first guild in Aincrad and the first publicly recognized unified group before that, they were a staple. They set the original standard but the KoB raised the bar.
That changed tonight. Tonight the Wondercolts were going to “arrive.” Diemond was done with her new image for the Wondercolts after applying her apprenticeship to her craft.
The meeting was happening in Marten, the main settlement on the floor, in the central cathedral. The Wondercolts were purposefully the last to arrive. They had been turning heads as they made their way across the courtyard, before even entering the meeting.
Soryuto and Knightstar were the first in, shields down but equipped to display them. Their new kite shields, commissioned from Rendil the Shield Maker, were blue with a golden horse head on them. They both were in splint armor on top of their gold shirts and leggings. The splints were a blue steeled alloy riveted onto the blue leather with brass. Their chest was protected with a corset, and below it was a skirt of leather strips often protected with riveted metal squares. Both were paired with slim pauldrons, vambraces, greaves, and poleyns, all in the same split armor design. Blue leather boots and gloves protected their extremities. On their heads were sleek and feminized barbuta helmets with visors, which let their hair easily flow out the back. The helmets also were profiled to look like horse heads. Both of them sported blue Sam Browne belts with a gold pass-through buckle of a horse head set in a circle.
Natora was dressed in much of the same splint armor, although her pauldrons came with rerebraces down to her elbows — to give her full arm coverage — a splint armor gorget, and her thighs also had cuisses protecting them. Her boots and gloves were gold since almost none of her shirt or leggings were visible. She wore a double shoulder belt crossing over her chest to keep everything in place while performing acrobatic maneuvers. The Medallion of the Two Kings’ Breastplate was integrated into the right shoulder strap, allowing it to be easily flipped to choose the buff. She carried her spear against her shoulder, which now had a small pennant of blue and gold fabric strips attached at the socket.
Kiefer had everything Natora had, except his splint armor came with a breastplate, backplate, faulds, and tassets instead of the corset and skirt. The Sam Browne belt had a frog directly on the belt, which held his katana in the correct orientation and position. Several pouches were opposite of his katana, with his main one having two underneath it for more storage. His helmet was a lobster-tailed pot helmet, but it also bore a striking resemblance to a horse.
Thunderborne too was in Light Metal Armor, but she needed more agility over defense, prompting Diemond to tastefully adapt the design. Thunderborne had a splint armor dress. The dress itself was a houndstooth woven leather base, sleeveless, with a blue shirt and leggings underneath. The dress was woven out of three different shades of blue, plus one cord of gold. The blued splint plates were riveted on and were smaller to afford her more flexibility during acrobatic maneuvers. The dress’ skirt was without metal and used knife pleats to allow for a wide range of motion and a front panel for a smooth look, just like a Scottish kilt. She had splint arm harnesses on each arm – a blued splint rerebrace, articulated elbow piece, and a golden splint bracer – her gloves were simple blue leather with gold splints on the back. Her knee-high leather boots were dyed gold and had golden splints vertically riveted on them to cover the shins, with plates covering the toes and heels. The boots were laced on using blue leather cord. Each lace hook was a lightning bolt. The toe of the boots had a horseshoe stamped on them and she had gold Prince of Wales spurs with blue straps holding it onto the boot. Instead of a Sam Browne belt, she had a belt with two shoulder straps that crossed like an X over her chest, like Natora, but without the medallion. She no longer wore a helmet, instead her rainbow hair was tied into a ponytail with a gold ribbon that had a surprising amount of defense.
Knightstar, Soryuto, and Kiefer wore renaissance shoulder capes over their left shoulder, tied in place with a gold string to allow the cloak to be shifted to the rear if need be. The cloak was navy blue, with a border of gold horse heads, alternating directions, while the inside layer was golden. They only reached down to their hips. Natora and Thunderborne had the same cloaks, but theirs were integrated into the left shoulder strap of their belts. The string laced through tiny loops on the belt, allowing it to be shifted behind if need be. Konpeito was still wearing the Mantle of Hati and Doombunny’s coat didn’t allow for a cape.
Doombunny was in a dark blue, knee length coat that had pockets hidden inside to securely store her poisons and potions without them being in open pouches. It also had wide, reinforced and strengthened shoulders for Colorra. Colorra's shoulder pads were a separate piece of blue leather which was braced by a shoulder holster design that pulled and anchored it in the back between her shoulder blades. Underneath the coat was a yellow silverthread dress and blue silverthread leggings. The thin blue belt that kept her skirt in place also mounted her beast tamer’s charms and weapons, which had gotten upgraded. Doombunny also wore a blue headband to keep her hair in place when she wasn’t using the hood, blue boots that only covered her ankles, and blue Silverthread fingerless gloves to finish off the ensemble.
On her left hip was her dirk, Shadow Song, in a blue sheath. Her pink Qama dagger, Mourning Protector, was mounted at the small of her black for a right-hand draw. Off her right hip was her poisoned DOT crusader dagger, Endbringer, in a gold sheath. The coat covered everything on her unless she specifically swept it back to stay open. When open, the beast tamer necklace was on full display. Her earnings were also on full display when the hood was down..
Diemond had cleaned up Konpeito’s “Viking look” with a stamped leather breastplate with a metal scaled gorget and scaled faulds and tassets which were more skirt-like as they went almost to her knees. The layered breastplate was dyed navy blue and stamped with Viking knots and symbols. Every rivet, buckle, and lace was gold, while the scales were blued steel. Konpeito was still sleeveless to show off her tattoos, which fully covered her arms and shoulders. Her sleeveless shirt and trousers were blue. Her boots were plain, dyed blue, but she was wearing greaves and bracers both in the splint style with more spacing between each splint and connected by leather straps, not a leather base, which were blue. Her gold belt was simply tied around her waist and held her pouches. Gjallarhorn was on a strap that crossed over her body, not in a pouch.
Konpeito’s curls were half tamed. She was wearing them “shield maiden style.” On both sides of her head were four tiers of Dutch braids. The pompadour top had three asymmetric accent braids and was tied into a ponytail with the first tier of braids. The other six braids were also tied together into a lower ponytail. Everything past each ponytail tie was unbraided and raw. It both refined her look and made her look dangerous. The hairstyle’s messy finish appeared to give up on making it pristine, as if she had better things to fight than her curls. In reality, it had taken Konpeito over an hour to hand do the braids with significant help from Diemond for curl control. Thankfully, SAO would keep the hair in place now that it was done. Since she wasn’t married, Konpeito wore a kransen that ran in between the ponytails but laid flat over her forehead. It was woven from three blue and one gold chords.
Malus was in her Plate of Veracity. Diemond didn’t even try to match the etching, but she was able to get the color right for the rest of the heavy plate armor. Malus’s blue belt had three gold pouches and a hook for her hammer. Her new close helm was in the maximilian style having all of the ridges and lines. Malus was wearing a cloak, dyed blue, trimmed in gold, and with their gold horse head in the center. It went down to her calves and was attached to the hooks that came on the breastplate.
The close helm and cloaks were the only two things tying all three tanks together. Reisenki and Diemond each had blue tower shields with gold horseheads on their face, also made by Rendel. Diemond's was heavier and stronger, while Reisenki's used a lighter metal to allow him to be faster on his feet and move, yet still block anything he needed to. No one could tell because of Rendel's expert heraldry making them look the same. Both were in Maximillian style plate armor that mirrored each other and were a blued finish, which Diemond had manufactured. Their cloaks were the same as Malus’ and also attached to hooks Diemond had added. The only visible difference between Diemond and Reisenki was their weapons, plus height and build. Diemond was taller and slimmer, while Reisenki had some more bulk and naturally wider shoulders.
To everyone observing, it appeared as though Bladescape had changed from Leather Armor to heavy metal armor, complete with besagews at the shoulders to protect her armpits. The dagannoth hides had been tanned and hardened before being shaped into leather plates. Their finish even included a gloss to mimic polished metal. They were almost all dyed blue. Her pauldrons were gold, as were her couter, tassets, and poleyns. Her fingered gauntlets had a strip of gold at the first joint and the flared opening. Her greaves were open for her gold leather boots. Bladescape’s leggings and shirt were gold so they showed in the gaps of her armor. Her velvet cloak was blue, fringed in gold, and seamlessly had the extra-large gold horse head dyed on the center. The cloak connected to her besagews and it was designed to function with her sword on her back, with the cloak covering the sheath. She still wore no helmet, keeping with the Silver Sagacity Circlet. Despite being silver, not gold, the circlet was now a staple of Bladescape's head and being without it looked odd. The buffs were only growing more powerful as she grew.
The look on Asuna’s face was priceless. The Wondercolts had come in last, just as the meeting was called to order. It was obvious to everyone they had timed it that way and they wouldn’t deny it, but no one cared. They were stunned by the skill and beauty of the armor and image displayed by the Wondercolts.
“Forgive our late entry,” Bladescape said as she bowed to Asuna.
Asuna didn’t speak for a few seconds. She was lagging behind. “Think nothing of it,” she finally said while giving a short bow back. “I was getting concerned that you would not make it, but we had not seen much of you on the front, for this floor. Now I understand why. Let’s hope it performs to your expectations in the upcoming fight, for we need you in this one. Malus in particular, as this boss is a lava based giant golem.”
“We fought in the Kalzuk dungeon,” Bladescape said. “Similar boss, I assume.”
“Yes, our scouting reports indicate just that,” Asuna confirmed. “There are some differences in attack patterns, the floor boss uses a mace, and the minions have more variety, but that dungeon boss is the younger brother of the floor boss.”
“Same critical weakness?” Bladescape asked.
“Critical weakness?” Asuna asked. “We had no reports of a critical weakness in the scouting report. I helped clear the Kalzuk dungeon, but Kalzuk had no critical weakness. Not that we found.”
“Reisenki and I can kill it,” Natora said from where she was standing with the rest of the Wondercolts. “He’s all I need.”
“I led the scouting party for the boss,” Asuna added. “What is this weakness you are so sure of?”
“Stone exterior, glows with magma or lava lines?” Natora asked.
Bladescape couldn’t help but grin as Asuna confirmed Natora’s suspicions.
“Yeah, then there are tiny circles on the magma lines,” Natora explained as she approached the table. “Hit them and they act as pressure points. Hit them right and you can disable the function of the limb or anything past it. Thunder and I can knock out his arms in the opening assault, severely crippling its ability to attack. Should just be stomping, minions, and puking lava.”
“Well then, you two can join me in Squad A,” Asuna said. “Squad B can hold the tanks to cover us.”
“Hold on,” Natora said, actually putting her hand up to gently reinforce her words. “Typically, yes, but there is a reason why I first said I only need Reisenki. The damage dealers will need a good shield to immediately cover them, but they need to be fast and agile shields. Reisenki is a tank with agility and speed that is equal to, or better, than most forwards. He is fast. You, me, Thunder, Reisenki, Commander Heathcliff, and…” Natora snapped her fingers as she tried to recall the name. “Basse, from the DDA. We rock and roll, running with that as our main assault squad, and I literally mean running with the three shields blocking only in the worst case scenario. Malus can form the cornerstone of Squad B with other tanks and do the blocking we need, mostly against the minions. Every other team should be focused on the minions and a mix of two tanks, two forwards, and two damage dealers. Ah, screw it, Malus should pick three tanks, Bladescape should direct B, and Kirito should be there too. That way, Bladescape and Kirito can keep the tanks clear and free to protect us and also strike the boss if we need an offensive hit for the distraction.”
“You have certainly thought about this,” Asuna stated, taken aback for a second time in the span of only a few minutes.
“These guys are my favorite boss type to fight,” Natora explained with a shrug. “They make you think you need to play it slow, but it’s really a running game for the damage dealers. I seriously think Reisenki and I could take him, but that’s not the smartest tactic. Not when we can form a full raid party and give us the backup so that we have less to worry about as we run, specifically minion clearing. Plus, the extra damage dealers will make it go way quicker. Killing it and doing it quickly are two different things.”
Asuna took a step back from the table. “Alright, you are quite confident in this strategy. And if you are correct about this weakness, this is a very different battle. It’s yours to organize, as the strategy is yours.”
Bladescape also took a step back, leaving Natora in the center to address everyone. She looked fantastic in her armor and it was great that she was speaking up. Bladescape could attest to the strategy being sound.
Natora grinned as she cracked her knuckles and looked at everyone. “Well then, all I have to say is that there are no small roles in this strategy. I’ll pair teams up to complement each other. This should go fast, but he also will pump out a lot of minions, probably faster than our squads will be able to deal with them as we push him through the phases. Seriously, I mean it, there are no small roles. Three damage dealers blitzing a minion boss through his phases will rapidly decrease the time between spawns, potentially flooding the room, which makes running hard, so we need everyone else to keep the way clear for us as best as possible."
With that, Natora began to organize Squads C, D, E, F, G, and H. Malus knew which three players she wanted as her supporting tanks. Natora’s focus was first on triads of a complimentary tank, forward, and damage dealer. Then pairing the triads into squads. Fuurinkazan was spread across four squads. The six Wondercolts were across three squads. The KoB and DDA were also across four squads.
Natora knew the players well, including their fighting styles, and picked only the best. She didn’t care about the reputation or if she liked the player or guild. It made some players angry, mostly from the usuals who were either split up or not picked. Many whom she avoided were because they would want to do the usual, not what their squad was supposed to do. If it was going to fall on her shoulders, plus Asuna and Thunderborne, they couldn’t have the usuals screwing their run up.
Bladescape, Thunderborne, and Reisenki were the only ones who understood what Natora actually meant by “run.” Natora had a private chat with Squad A about the expectations. Bladescape didn’t listen in, she was with Malus as she laid out her expectations for Squad B, but Bladescape saw Asuna’s reaction several times. Malus was going to rely on Bladescape to direct them if they needed to shift their focus, but even if they had to, she wasn’t planning on letting the boss get near their runners.
BLADESCAPE: Level 79 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 75 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 70 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce — Search
MALUS: Level 74 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 74 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 74 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 75 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 72 — 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 70 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 72 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation
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Ah, that was wonderous. I think Asuna was slightly jealous that she didn't agree to join the Wondercolts, if only for such a wonderful outfit.
Okay, someone need to draw the group. My imagination can only do so much!
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Haha. Yeah, well, Diemond being even more exclusive than Ashley, and pulling off what she did, certainly will make one rethink that offer.
I much prefer their new look this time around. I had more time to think about the armor. A few more years. And I basically did a "trial run" with the Aincrad story. lol.
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Yes, now they really need it. Lol. Unfortunately I can't draw that well. A Commercial Break is Thursday with some images that I used for inspiration.
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Indeed. Well, if the offer's still open, I believe I know a possible chance she has to join up...
Glad to see she's using the breastplate.
Why does his belt have a frog over a horse?!
How can a ribbon have defense?
Sure didn't expect Colorra to get something out of this.
of her back for a*
was down.*
The Wondercolts know how to make an entrance, and show off their new looks.
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It’s a video game, cloth based items can have defensive stats. That ribbon alone probably has better armor value than an entire set of armor when they were still only lvl 10.
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It was a standing offer. And that chance would be?
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Many sword sheaths don't have and integrated way to attach it to the belt. A sword frog is an "adaptation from the Portugese word froco which has much the same sense, ie an attachment to the waist-belt in which a sword or bayonet or hatchet may be carried."
How can a ribbon have defense? How does jewelry? It's not that high of a defense stat, but it's better than nothing.
Also, Colorra is heavy. A six good snake is not light in any species.
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Yes, it would blow away what cloth they could have at level 10, when they were still on the first floor. Back then, cloth rarely had any defensive statistic.
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11915685
ah, that makes more sense now.
any chances of us ever seeing art of the Wondercolts in their armors?
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The chance is probably if 'The Commander' is revealed as usual. Should that be the case, having an alternative than trying to wrestle control of a collapsing guild might be preferable.
I'm back again
Wonder how long I'll keep up before something steals my attention again for a couple of months
Many good stuff you've done over time. Today's armor showcase was cool but a bit confusing, a lot of terminology flew over my head. We need some art for better understanding.
Still love what you do, till the next time.
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I'd have to find an artist. I would not mind it. Actually I would love it. That would require me to pay, which I don't mind, but I would have to plan it into the budget. It would be epic to see the eleven of them.
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Thanks. I want art, hence the other comment. Hopefully tomorrow's Commercial Break will help enlighten the word picture and settle anything you don't understand. You can always DM me or ask in the comments. I forget who asked what a sword frog was. It's for reference:
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