Episode 74 — We Were Wondercolts
Episode 74 — We Were Wondercolts
Twenty-Third Day in the Month of Sakura (April 23) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 59
It had been a tough, but good, day in the Labyrinth. However, Knightstar wasn't at the Wondercolts' Headquarters. Officially, she was no longer in the guild. Malus hadn't come back either. Both absences put a damper on their spirits, but they were still Wondercolts. They were still clearers on the front lines and in the Assault Team. That was their focus as they powered forward.
Normally it would not be a problem for either of them to have a break, but the Wondercolts had found the Boss chamber. They had even entered to engage in a quick skirmish to see what they were up against. There were three giant skeletons, 30 feet tall, standing guard just inside the doors. They were quick and strong, and they forced the Wondercolts out, keeping the identity of the boss hidden.
Instead of Konpeito baking, Bladescape was taking them to the best cheesecake restaurant in the game, which also happened to be in Mishe. She wanted Konpeito to have a break as well after everything that had happened over the week. The guild had plenty of spare Col. even after the expenses of stocking up on potions and crystals for the Boss Fight to come, so the cost wasn't an issue.
As they entered the restaurant, there was an excited squeaking sound like some weird bird squawking.
"Doombunny!" a voice called out from the other side of the room. "Colorra!"
"Silica! Pina!" Doombunny yelled back, waving her hand vigorously as Silica waved to her with equal enthusiasm. Doombunny danced through the crowded restaurant on her way over to her friend as quickly as she could. Pina, Silica's feathered blue dragon familiar was perched on her master's shoulders.
"Dragon Master and Snake Charmer, friends for life!" They both said together before hugging. Colorra affectionately rubbed her head on Pina's in a greeting of carnivore familiars.
Doombunny introduced everyone. The Wondercolts knew of the young girl, the legendary dragon tamer, but Silica had never been formally introduced. Silica had come to Diemond's sale, Bladescape remembered Pina, but it had been busy and no one knew that they were friends with Doombunny and Colorra. The two beast tamers had bonded and met up fairly often, especially over the past month or so, however Doombunny and Silica were old friends. Doombunny had once asked for one of the spare ancient knives they had gotten on the first floor. Silica had been the recipient. That was ages before either of them had become beast tamers. Mishe was where Silica often stayed.
"We don't want to bother you," Bladescape said.
"Oh, it's not a bother," Silica happily smiled. "I only just ordered for myself. It gets lonely eating by myself. Even if I only have one other person, that is kind of nice." Silica's cheeks had slowly gotten redder as she admitted to the fact.
"In that case," Bladescape grinned, "we would love to buy you dinner and dessert. The cheesecake is so good here."
"I know, I took Kirito here after he rescued me in the Forest of Wandering a few-" Silica went silent, blushing
"Kirito rescued you?" Diemond asked, intrigued to find out more, especially with how distant and cold Kirito had gotten since the Fiftieth floor was beaten.
"Well, he had something else he was doing," Silica replied, trying to hide something, "but to make a long story short, I had gotten myself lost and he found me and helped me out of the forest, and then he helped me get Pina back because she died protecting me. I couldn't have done it myself. Pina is here today because of him."
"Not that I am not glad that he helped you," Bladescape said as she sat down and the others pulled tables together, "but you probably wouldn't have been in that situation if you were in a guild. I've been wondering why you have not joined one yet? Someone with your energy and enthusiasm would fit well in plenty of guilds."
"No, you are probably right." Silica sighed. "I go from party to party. Pina has healing abilities, so I get plenty of offers when I go looking for a new one, but that’s part of the problem. I've not found anything solid and I'm not anywhere near where you all are. I would not last a day on the front lines, even if I had the levels. I have heard enough from Doom to know that. I have a hard enough time in a lot of the dungeons down here. But I want to get better. I want to fight on the front lines. Why shouldn't I?"
"Admirable, Darling," Diemond said. "I do hope you succeed. The front lines could use someone as energetic, focused, and enthusiastic as you are. Plus, having another beast tamer around would be fun."
"Thanks," Silica blushed.
"How did you meet Pina?" Bladescape asked while they waited for their food. “They tried to tear our group apart when we first ran into them.”
“Sorry,” Thunderborne and Natora both said. It was clear from the look they gave each other that they both thought they had been the sole instigator of that incident.
It was a very sweet, if short, story; Silica met the rare Feathered Little Dragon in a forest and fed her some peanuts. Having never encountered one before meeting Pina, Silica hadn't known at the time that the Dragon's non-hostile behavior towards her, prior to being fed, had been unusual. It was a very different story from the one Bladescape told when asked to elaborate about their encounter.
Malus and Knightstar were still not present when they got back from dinner.
"Everyone get a good night's sleep." Bladescape said. "I have to go deal with our two missing members. I'm not letting us go down because of a stupid argument. We are friends, not just guildmates."
"One moment!" Diemond exclaimed. "Everyone stay right where you are!" She rushed to her crafting room. "I have something that might help." A moment later she came back with tiny gift bags.
"I have one for everyone," Diemond explained. "I think the owners are obvious with the colors of each bag. It's taken me a long time to craft them and get them right. Doom, Darling, your charms forced me to adapt, so I went with a ring."
They all opened their bags and Bladescape found herself looking at a very convincing replica of her geode. The necklace gave her a sizable reduction in her skill delay length. Doombunny's had been adapted to the ring, but everyone's matched very well to the originals. Natora, Kiefer, Soryuto, and Reisenki had ones that matched their personalities. Natora'a was a volleyball, Soryuto's was a music note, Kiefer had the Kanji for "samurai," and Reisenki had a flame.
"Thanks, Diemond," Bladescape said, surprised she was the first to speak. "These are amazing. I can't believe you copied them so well. I never doubted your skill, just the limitations of the system." Bladescape put hers on, swapping out her other necklace, The Unmounted Force. The old one was a minor boost to her defense, the geode was a much more useful enhancement. Bladescape was very glad to have it once again against her skin.
"The system was not easy to hack," Diemond confirmed. "Since the sale, I've been putting my efforts into maxing heavy metal forging and jewelry making. There is a rather long list of semi-precious stones in Aincrad. I had to learn to cut and shape them, but it worked. And the enhancements came out wonderfully. I'll use Thunderborne's as an example. I couldn't pick the strength of the enhancement, just that it would enhance attack speed. It came out very, very well.
“Bladescape had delay reduction. Thunderborne had attack speed enhanced. Diemond had strength enhanced. Doombunny had defense enhanced. Konpeito had critical attack boosted. Natora was given a necklace that boosted her agility. Kiefer's added attack. Reisenki's added agility. Soryuto's boosted her defense.”
"These will help," Bladescape said as she held up both Malus' bag and Knightstar's bag. "I'm sure of it."
Before Bladescape left, she used the store room to quickly change into a more comfortable outfit, one Diemond had made for her. Well, she didn't have anything besides what Diemond had given her. Bladescape didn't need to track Malus through the system. She teleported to the 22nd Floor, to a small fishing village. It was where Malus preferred to fish. Or at least mentioned as the place she usually was nearest.
She entered the only restaurant in the small village. There were only a few patrons left as the hour grew later. They didn't even notice her arrival. She walked straight up to a group of three sitting at a table and drinking from mugs. All three were grey-haired, older men. They were the perfect reminder that not all gamers were hardcore, young specimens. Sword Art Online flaunted a system where the old could fight like a young adventurer. Or a wise older one who still moved like a young one. But the sadistic mirrors they had been given at the start shattered that potential in a virtual world, replacing their would-be avatars with copies of themselves. Few were able to handle the switch. Some, like Rendil, had converted their knowledge to help, but most of the older aged players fell prey to the idea they were in the same, old and aching bodies. It was something that was easy to do and hard to overcome.
"Hello," Bladescape said, flashing them a warm smile. "I’m looking for Malus. She is a friend of mine. Blond hair, solid build, loves the color orange, and fishes in the area."
The men looked her over for a second before the one in the middle spoke up. "If you mean Mal, then yeah, we know her. Take a left outside and then the sixth cabin, the one with the bright orange door, that's hers."
"Thank you," Bladescape said, bowing before giving them a wink to go with the smile. Then she headed to the door.
She had seen how their eyes naturally wandered. All three of them certainly were family men, and that meant missing not just wives, but kids and possibly grandkids. They were, at the very least, missing birthdays they would never get back. Bladescape was growing up, sort of, while they were missing their families growing up. A warm smile and quick wink were really nothing to give them and it hopefully helped brighten their future more than their slowly emptying mugs could.
Bladescape found the small log cabin. The orange door was certainly Applejack's orange and much brighter than any of the other cabin doors. She stepped up onto the short porch, with its single rocking chair, and knocked on the door.
The door opened a minute later. Malus was there, standing in what Diemond would only describe as gross rags. Everyone else would recognize them as fishing clothes. Her hair was a braided ponytail, a different look from her usual.
"Hey," Malus said, still standing there.
"Can I come in?" Bladescape asked. "We need to talk about a few things."
"Sure," Malus shrugged, stepping aside.
The interior was decorated in all warm wood tones. The walls were the same logs as outside, just polished up a bit. It was a single room, loft cabin, set up. The bed was above the small kitchen.
"Nice place," Bladescape said. "How much a night?"
"Rent?" Malus snorted. "Oh, no. I bought this back in October."
"You bought this‽" Bladescape exclaimed.
"Yep," Malus shrugged. "I keep ‘er on hand to retreat to. She ain't even five minutes walk to the water. She's only twenty to the best fishin' spot on the Floor, probably the whole of Aincrad." Malus sat down in her comfy chair and gestured to the only other piece of furniture to sit on; a plain, but cushioned, chair.
Bladescape settled into the other seat. “I like your hair. It looks good with the braid.”
“Uh, thanks,” Malus said. "But you didn't track me down to talk about my hair. It’s gotta be important. You’d have sent a message if it ain’t."
"I would have, but you never responded to Knightstar. Why me?"
"Her freak out messages?" Malus snorted. "Never read em. I was fishin’ I got a dozen in a few, short hours. The game stopped her from sendin' me more. Somethin' about spam an' anti-harassment systems triggerin'. I told it not to mark her, but kept the filter on."
"That's part of the problem," Bladescape said, not holding anything back. Malus was obviously fine and level headed. "The last time I saw her was three mornings ago. She was calculating how to split the guild assets. She was certain we were done as a guild."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Malus stopped her. "Things just went off the deep end if Twilight, sorry, I mean Knightstar-"
"I think we might be dealing with Twilight," Bladescape cut in. "I know it is late, but we need to track her down. The Wondercolts found the boss room and we did an exploratory push inside. It didn't get us much info, and what is worse, Knightstar is on my friend list, but not in the guild anymore."
"What‽" Malus exclaimed, almost jumping out of her chair. "Sure, she went off hard on Doom before you arrived, but that wasn't the end of us. Sure, we were mad, but none of us said the end. Or blamed anyone except Doom. What else did I miss on my vacation? You looked ready to say somethin'."
Bladescape gave Malus her bag from Diemond. The geode necklace brought joy to her heart, stunning her into silence. She immediately put it on.
"Well," Bladescape said, putting her leg on her knee. "Let's see what else you missed. Kiefer and Soryuto are officially together. That is what we were going to announce at breakfast when we walked into the argument. Oh, and then I spent that day hunting Dire Wolves with Doom. It was intense, all running and sprinting from pack to pack. I’ll certainly be joining her again. She can’t farm XP like the rest of us, not with what is available. She needs to go on the heavy offense to grind XP."
"Well that ain’t easy," Malus chuckled. "Thunder and Natora might enjoy it too."
“The black dragons require Doom to be a party of two or the dragons will target her,” Bladescape explained. She turned serious. "Malus, we need you back. We tried to scout the boss, but three giant skeletons kept us out. We got nothing out of it."
"You’ve got my shield," Malus grinned. "I was just waitin' for a non-panic message to let me know it was time. Till then, fishin' and rechargin' my mind."
"Fair," Bladescape said. She stood up. "Come on. We have to save Twilight from herself."
"Agreed," Malus said. "First, I gotta change out of my fishin' gear."
Malus climbed the ladder to the loft and disappeared for a moment. She came back in normal clothes. It was just denim pants and a long sleeve flannel shirt, like she wore on the farm, including a cowgirl hat and boots. Diemond would not approve, but Bladescape didn’t mind and it shouldn’t dictate Malus’ off hours clothes.
"So, do yah got any idea where Knightstar slash Twilight is?" Malus asked. “She ain’t in the guild to track.”
"Some," Bladescape said as they walked to the teleport plaza. "It won't be hard. Similar to guildmates, friends can locate each other on the game map. The exact location will be easy with Search to pinpoint." Bladescape looked at her map. "She is in Algade, which means I will need to use Search’s tracking ability since that city is a maze."
They teleported to Algade. Bladescape pulled up her menu and then the advanced options for Search. Search didn't automatically grant these tracking abilities. They were unlocked as a player continued to master the Skill.
The green trail that lit up in Bladescape's vision traced a path through the streets of the confusing city. Even as late as it was, the streets were busy with players moving about on various business. They passed three inns before they turned down a side street and then another side street.
It stopped at a door. Bladescape tried the handle but it wouldn't turn.
"Uh, I think it's closed," Malus said. "The sign says it's a shop. The Guidin' Star: Game Guides and Level Counselin'."
"That has Twilight written all over it," Bladescape stated as she looked at the sign. It was Twilight's star cutie mark cleverly framed as a compass. "So...I guess we wait until morning?"
"We passed a few inns on the way," Malus stated. "What time is the meetin'?"
"Five pm," Bladescape stated. "I think the KoB is doing their own scouting mission. We have time."
Instead of a bed, the two of them ended up eating and then drinking the hours away. Bladescape recounted some of the tales from the past few days. Malus got a kick out of Kopeito's sandcastles. Focusing her away from playing in the sand would be difficult.
From six to eight, they were outside the storefront, trying the door every ten minutes. When it finally opened at eight, they found the shop to have a warm, bookstore-like feel but without shelves. Tomes were lined up in an open display, like magazines, but never overlapping.
An NPC store assistant greeted them. "Welcome to The Guiding Star, the place where you can find all of your game encyclopedic knowledge for reasonable prices. A special note, all displayed books are for display only. Opening them gives an overview of the book and a list of its content, but not any statistical information. Also, as with all printed copies, there may be new information that comes after the printing and any previously copied version will be updated as soon as possible. We print in small batches to ensure our customers have the most up-to-date information on the subject. Customers can always come in to manually update their copies.
"That section is the Bestiary Encyclopedias. They can be purchased as a full set or as single pieces covering that letter range. Health, XP, Col, weakness, and attack strategies of the monsters are detailed out. Items dropped and chances of drops are listed for each beast. It is composed of the best knowledge available to the author. It does not guarantee to hold all creatures in Aincrad within their pages. I am able to tell you if we cover a specific creature.
"The middle section is leveling guides for various Skills. We offer what we offer. As a former front line fighter, Sage Knightstar has not been able to explore all of the options in many of the Skills. She has assembled the best she can and is working to cover more Skills.
"The other side is stocked with item information. If you need to know something about an item, it may be found in those encyclopedias. As many of an item's known uses are given, as well as their drop sources and their drop chances for each creature or location. Not all items may be available and information may be incomplete in some areas. Aincrad is a large world and one that is constantly changing.
"We strive to provide you with the most accurate information so that you can advance at an accelerated rate in the Skill of your choice. You can also schedule a personal consultation with Sage Knightstar."
"That is why we are here," Bladescape said, immediately jumping on that trail. "A personal consultation."
"I will need a name and the private information about your skill level you wish to get help with. It will all be kept confidential. The Sage will need time to look over your information before the consultation."
"We are friends with her," Bladescape countered. "Can you check with her about seeing her right away. We will pay more."
"Let me check with her. Your name?"
"Lisbeth," Bladescape immediately said, earning her a dirty look from Malus. She wasn't going to give Twilight a chance to deny them because she knew it was them. But Lisbeth was someone Twilight would meet with.
The NPC soon came back out. "For double her normal consultation fee, she will agree to it. Fees will be discussed when you begin."
"Thank you," Bladescape said, smiling.
"Follow me to the consult chambers," The NPC said.
The consultation chamber was a small, private study. The walls were filled with bookshelves, fully filled bookshelves. A big, wooden desk was in the room, but it was not the primary focus. The layout was centered around two chairs, with a short couch for good measure. Several warm lamps made sure the windowless room was well lit.
After a few minutes Knightstar came in. "Forgive me," she said, distracted. "This business just opened yesterday. I am balancing a few things. What can I hel-"
Knightstar froze mid-way through sitting down. She had been so distracted she hadn't immediately caught who they really were. She certainly recognized the two of them.
Malus grinned. "Scholar robes, scholarly glasses, a graduation cap, an' even a scholarly title. You certainly are committed."
"Of course I am," Knightstar said, finishing sitting down. "Are we here to do real business, or just talk?"
"The talk is business," Bladescape countered. "Look, it’s simple. We need all Wondercolts on hand for this. We scouted the boss chamber yesterday. The strategy meeting is at five. And yes, we are still a guild. As strong as ever."
"Strong?" Knightstar scoffed. "Malus rage quit, walking out. You missed the first half, only seeing Doombunny rip into every single one of us. I was horrible to her before you came."
"And she forgives you," Bladescape said, interrupting her to try and reassure her. "We had an argument as a guild. We argue IRL at times. It's not only called life, it's natural because we are each individuals with different views, personalities, and likes and dislikes. Our first argument doesn't mean our last. Friends are stronger than that. We are stronger than that."
"Friends who love you an' need you," Malus added. "Who don't judge you by your words, but your actions. I admit, my choice to walk out wasn’t helpful. I had no idea what to do and couldn’t think straight. I apologize for that."
"And I could have backed you better," Bladescape admitted, keeping the pressure up so that Twilight couldn't talk until she had heard their points. "I at least should have gotten it to start at the beginning and worked through in a calmer manner. I came in late and I spoiled the golden opportunity to set things right among my friends. I let the sharp words continue their emotional pain by not keeping us together.
"But that is just it. We will survive because we are a guild of friends. A guild based on real life friends who have done and overcome a lot of crazier stuff than an argument in a game. Even a death game. If anyone can beat it, it’s us!"
"And what of the next argument‽" Twilight fired back. "We won't get to live in an argument free world! For an entire day, we were not unified. Even on our days off, we were unified. I couldn't even get a hold of some members all day! Malus ignored me completely!"
"I went fishin'," Malus defended. "If it was important, I would’ve responded. But your crazy freak out messages were not so important that I couldn't feel what I was feelin', which was exhausted and needin' a break. Do you got any idea how hard it is to be the shield of the guild? I feel like I have to defend all y’all plus the other players. I get no breaks fer' y'all. So yeah, I walked out, but I’m back. Cause we have a boss to beat and lives to save. An' I am their shield. I’m the Iron Bulwark."
"Malus was ready to go as soon as I dropped by her cabin," Bladescape said before Twilight could respond. "We all are under a lot of stress, and honestly, I didn't realize all you do. Look at your store, Twilight. You have compiled more information than any info broker and built a store around it. You had it so organized that you could put it to print in a matter of days! That’s not only impressive and insane, but it shows your true dedication to the players. The Wondercolts and regular players."
Twilight sighed. "It's all I'm good at. Stats and guides. That's what I am doing now."
"Don't you say that," Malus told her. "Twilight, how long have-"
"It's Knightstar," Twilight asserted. "As Doombunny said, I am no longer Twilight. You were friends with Twilight and only guildmates with Knightstar. If you hadn't noticed, my name doesn't have a guild icon."
"I had," Bladescape stated. "But I figured it wasn't worth pursuing at the moment."
"Knightstar-"
"Enough," Bladescape said, interrupting Malus and standing up. "Knightstar and Twilight are Bladescape's and Sunset's and Malus's and Applejack's friend. Which is more important than guildmates. If you need something, anything, let us know. The boss raid meeting is at five pm, at the big chapel in Marten. We really want you there, by our side. This doesn't have to be this way, and this moment doesn't close the door either, but I have a guild to prepare for the next fight in this war and I need all my friends and guildmates on hand to win this battle. Because I want to hug them with my real body, in the real world."
Bladescape pulled out the little gift bag for Knightstar and set it on the table. “Diemond made them for everyone. She only finished them the night before last.” Then Bladescape walked out of the room.
Malus was shocked that Bladescape was giving up. She stammered as she scrambled out after Bladescape. Outside the store, Bladescape explained before Malus could even pick a fight.
"Her walls were up. It wasn't a battle that could be won today. She had made up her mind. Unmaking it will take a little time and proper tactics. The geode copy is a good start. Just like you needed your time away fishing, she needs hers. Hopefully she will quickly realize how much she needs her friends, but for now, let's not push her away more than she is pushing herself away from us. I guess I really missed a bad fight."
Malus just gave a single nod. "I’d love to say she only went off about safety margins, but it got personal. Mostly ‘tween Knightstar an Doom. At one point she asked if Doom had been drinking her own drugs."
Bladescape's face said it all as she recognized the weapon that those words formed. Then she felt that dagger stab herself in the chest. It wasn't a stab in the back and that was why it hurt so much more. All she could do was start to navigate them to the teleport plaza.
“I still ain’t got a clue what Natora was thinkin,” Malus added. “She mostly just sat there.”
“You left before that became clear,” Bladescape said. “Doom told us she was going back out, alone, unless any of us would try and stop her. Natora asked if they even could. We had no enforcement and she was trying to sort that mess out. Both Natora and I clearly stated that removing anyone from the guild was not an option we were willing to take. At least not over that. I guess Knightstar didn’t believe it.”
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
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 78 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche
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 71 — 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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Well, this was a bit of progress.
In other news, I got bored and a friend of mine is working on an SAO fic. So I went out and created the list of all the Unique skills. The names, for all 10, with 1 I had to make. And I like the idea of the Buckler sub class and consider it a Unique Skill as well. I also gave a short description of what the skill gives, and finally unlock requirements.
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I would be very interested in seeing that list. I haven't finalized the tenth. I have 1-9 and I know who is getting them, why, and when. I have another cool Extra Skill, a few actually, planned and mapped, with plenty of more room to play with them.
As to Main-gauche, I decided to go with a fun and challenging quest. It's what Doom needs to fight better, but also is not supposed to be hers since she uses a dagger. If it was a Unique Skill, I couldn't give it to her. I only did so in the "Aincrad" story because we knew the end (the last 25 floors need it elsewhere). If it was a Unique Skill, do I give it to Asuna or Thunder? If so, why? Or someone else entirely?
I keep remembering Extra Skills I created. 75+ is a whole lot of fun! Several are extensions of Skills, but at least one is a brand new weapon.
I knew this chapter was coming from the previous iteration, but damn that title still gives me chills.
And there she goes, foolishly thinking that the end is approaching. Truly the front line of this war is not in the dungeon, but rather, inside the mind.
Also I like that you removed Twi's stats from the end, very nice touch.
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This is the list I ended up with. The first 8 are actually the canon ones. But we only know of the Name and Weapon for most of them. So I fleshed it out a bit. What skills end up being gotten by the Unique Skills are up to you. I ended up adding the Mace skill as it's the only one that wasn't represented. And for the Critical Hit one, it doesn't specify a weapon, but I figured if anyone would get it, it would be Pinkie. So, Two Handed Axe it was.
Anyway, only Buckler and Quaker are custom skills, the rest had some basis for them.
Nice update! Seems like Aj/Malus has recoved somewhat. Now Twilight/Knightstar needs to ^^
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It's absolutely a chilling title. But now Operation Midnight Redemption can, shortly, begin (aka save Twilight from herself). That's a fun arc. Hehehe.
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Yes. The stats removal is sad but key. It only holds important Wondercolts and sometimes special cases when they act in unison with the others, such as Kirito.
It is largely in the mind. Twilight/Knightstar had only been involved in one Floor Boss fight m in many ways, she wasn't ready for this. She was close to cracking a long time ago. But (see the following response):
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Recovery is key! Malus will need a lot over the time, but her fishing cabin and pals go a long way for her. More about those epic endeavors soon. She may keep things quiet, as do the other residents, but it's an adventure tale! Shenanigans are a must!
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I see you are usually the Skill < Meditation> for everything. That is an interesting approach and not a bad way to go. Not bad at all. I haven't gotten a good understanding of that Skill. Quaker is an interesting development. I like it, but I'm not sure if it's useful for my strategy. .I have considered flails for a while. (
Now this was something I didn't want to see in this new version, but I think I should've saw it coming by a mile.
Ok, this made me feel just a bit better.
Nice.
Talk about an added bonus!
Those poor men.
Ok then?
Glad to have you back AJ.
I got a bad feeling about this...
Mhm...
I'm sorry what?!
Indeed.
11957682
Well, when I checked, sources t9ld me Meditation was necessary. I just gave numbers based on how hard I think the skill would be to learn. And that's fair, Quaker was just the first ideai was satisfied with.
11957707
What source was that? I am genuinely intrigued. I have Meditation as quest locked on Floor 6 and Kirito does not have Meditation as a Skill. We see them at the start of Fairy Dance Arc, when he has to delete stuff: One Handed Sword, Duel Blades/Duel Wielding, Blade Throwing, Parry/Weapon Defense, Battle Healing/Battle Regeneration, Search, Hide, Sprint, Extended Weight Limit, First Aid, Fishing.
Gona be intresting to see this arc done properly this time.
It was never any doubt that Knightstar would return but we missed how Doom went about it.
Unsatisfing to read and propably to wright aswell.
Heres to Mindrop wrangeling the keybord to wright it right.
11957920
It was mainly the SAO Wiki. It says that the skill Meditation evolves into the Unique skills. And since he has Dual Blades/Wielding, that means it might have done so.
11957923
Yes, way to much of the Aincrad story had this section as a rapid insert to add more depth, it just didn't hold water well. I always regretted that. And thanks for the well wishes! I had a blast sketching it out and I believe y'all will love the plan!
11957927
I guess I missed that. I sort of remember reading it. Which is fine. It doesn't derail my plan. And no, I'm not playing the "magic card". In fact, that hand has at least one of the cards played.
Oh man, here we go again. Knightstar leaves the guild like before.
11957675
Haha I am suddenly imagining her talking to her friends in the guild about one of her fishing trips where she heard of some legendary fish and her attempts to catch it resulting in some epic fishing battle! And at first they think shes just making up a huge fishstory (pun intended) Until Malus's fellow fishers back her story up. lol
11957984
"Magic card"?
11958238
I mean I am not intending to just chalk the difference up to the girls having magic. No one who has potential to gain a Unique Skill is running meditation. I have a plan that is logical, not just "well magic!"
11958037
She keeps the two worlds separate. She doesn't think about "work" when she is fishing. That's all I will say.
11957986
It's a great plot point, but this time I wasn't scrambling to add drama. It was calculated. If anyone would crack, assuming Doom doesn't run and hide, it would be Twilight with the stats overload. This time, she really was overthinking a whole lot than what anyone realized.
11958830
Ah, that makes sense. Fair enough, you do you. I wasn't expecting you to outright use these anyway. I just wanted to shared it a bit. Using the information I had gathered.