[CLOSED] Fishy Business

[Janeiro]

Open for up to two other players, but will reply every 24h myself if nobody joins.

Just like the resident NPCs of the towns on the first floor, the people living in Port Noir had a great variety of problems the players rushing into town were immediately confronted with if they bothered listening to the local populace. This time it had been a man sitting in front of a fisherman's hut on a simple wooden chair, his leg splinted with an improvised wooden construction. He was old, with thin grey hair falling down the sides of his head while the top was already almost bald and a full unkempt beard. Despite his age he seemed to be quite fit if it wasn't for his leg injury, the weatherbeaten skin stretching over the muscles he still had.

„Stupid giants,“ he had said. „They got good taste! I'm producing the best smoked fish in town after all. Too bad with their big noses they smell it from a mile away. Tried to squash me and take all my fish, but I'm a quick one you know? Well, usually, when my leg's not broken. Better my leg than my neck though, don't you think. And I still got my fish.“ The old man grinned, showing that his mouth lacked several teeth. „Can't carry it to Var now of course and that's a shame. I could sell it 'ere but what kind of friend would I be to disappoint my best bud down there sitting in Var, probably crying because he can't enjoy smoked fish and his best friend Gord's company! Would maybe you like to help out? I see you have a fine pair o'legs for jumping and walking, at least that way my buddy Drog can have his fish. You know who had the greatest legs I ever saw? My first wife! My, she was a beauty. Too bad they were bitten off by those timber wolves. Worse than giants I tell you. My second wife was thick as a whale but could sing like one, too!“

He continued rambling while Janeiro assumed he was just inventing stories to amuse himself. She wondered why the man did not let someone transport his fish by boat, but the cranky old Gord probably had his own weird reasons. Besides, this would be a good opportunity to get to know the environment a little better. Giants... she was curious how they would be like. Would they be able to talk? Were they smart, dumb, aggressive, peaceful?
With a big pannier full of fish on her back she said goodbye to Gord. Now it didn't surprise her anymore why the giants supposedly were able to smell the fish from far away – their odor was very strong. Janeiro would have to cope with that as she started her journey to the village of Var and set foot into the Highlands.

[Angelo]

Janeiro! I Found My Sister!

Janeiro! I Found My Sister!

One of the first things Angelo did when he got to the second floor was to relax on the lake side near the giant town of Port Noir. Socks and shoes on the sand quite a distance away, the boy was currently sitting inside the lake, with the water level up to his waist. The lake was pure, clean, and cold to the touch, just the way Angelo liked it. The boy was almost tempted to just lie down prone in the water, and just float on its surface for hours on end. However, he wasn't that great a swimmer, and although the prospect did delight him, he would probably save it once he was better at swimming.

Angelo looked back at the town, seeing several players enter the port to explore the new area. One floor down, ninety-nine more to go.. The thought of it took a notch out of his smile but was completely forgotten when he saw a familiar sight coming out of Port Noir. He quickly opened up his menu and typed a message before sending it to the black-haired beauty. Should she open up the message from Angelo, she would see a small note.

At the edge of a giant body,
a white-haired friend awaits.
                                          - A

The boy would laugh out loud and wave at her from the lake should she look towards the lake. He got out of the lake and dried himself off and put on his socks and shoes afterwards. Angelo headed over to where she was and gave her a friendly smile and hug.

"Hey Janeiro. Leaving Port Noir soo soon? What's up?" As he pulled away, his smile was still plastered on his face. Why he was soo happy was for him to know and for her to ask. Before she could ask should she get to that point, Angelo would answer the unasked question. "I finally found my sister! Her name is Lucia here in this game. I'm soo happy that's she all good and well."

[Janeiro]

All attempts to put the big basket full of fish into her inventory proved futile. It made sense for the quest that it was required to transport the fish in physical form, although a little inconvenient. Only minutes after leaving Gord a message icon popped up. Tapping on it revealed Angelo's little riddle. Looking around she saw the boy waving at her, sitting in the lake. Wasn't it a little cold for that? Maybe he was not very sensitive to temperature. Janeiro loved swimming, but she was pretty sure that buying a swimsuit would prove to be pretty difficult in Aincrad. With it being a more or less medieval fantasy world she also had no clue what kind of material would make sense to wear in the water. Except for places like the hot spring she would definitely not go naked - even though she knew from experience the onsen was not always free from perverts either.

Leisurely she approached Angelo who greeted her with a hug, an action that flustered Janeiro. Sure, she had accepted his friend request, but this was quite a lot of body contact. She wondered if Angelo had really been raised in Japan all his life. Maybe he saw SAO as some part of a global culture where the rules of Japanese etiquette didn't apply. Janeiro did not feel 100% comfortable hugging men. Now that she looked at his shining, smiling face, maybe it was just his obviously very good mood...

She nodded once, saying "I got a quest to deliver this pannier full of fish to Var village, that's why I'm going. He said there are giants who really love it and might become a problem on the way." She was about to ask what was with his mood, but he already told her. A smile formed on Janeiro's face. "I'm really happy for you. Make sure she stays safe." Lucia? She had heard that name before... after thinking for a bit she remembered the little girl who had caught Janeiro's attention because she was an extremely good damage dealer. In this world really everyone could be a warrior no matter what size. She felt a little guilty for not having guessed that she could be Angelo's sister before and telling him about it, but apparently everything was fine. "Make sure she stays safe. If you have nothing better to do you could join my party, I thought getting a reward for exploring the floor a little sounded good."

[Angelo]

A Quest? I'll Help! :)

A Quest? I'll Help! :)

Hmm.. Rio had already accepted a quest from someone in the Port. That was rather fast considering the amount of time that passed since the second floor opened. He smiled at Janeiro. Now that he knew her in-game name as Lucia, the boy kept constant contact and sent a message or two every once in a while.

Angelo rubbed the back of his head, feeling the water from the lake stick to his hair. He asked if she was taking this quest alone after accepting the invitation. The green-eyed teen didn't really have anything to do. It was his 'off day' and he spent a good hour of it by the lakeside. Plus, getting the opportunity to hang around Janeiro even if it was on 'official business' was always a good sign.

He brought down the menu and accessed Friends/Guild > Party to add himself into the black-haired beauty's group. Angelo then offered to take the basket of fish off her hands so she could spend that time navigating to their destination.

To answer her unspoken thoughts about Japanese etiquette, Angelo, previously Kou, was above average in looks, grades, and his social life. Because of that, he was always one of the people that others looked up to and depended upon, which brought on him a sense of responsibility that he didn't really want at his young age. He acted very 'un-Japanese like' because of his rebellious nature and partially because he didn't really spend the time learning a lot about etiquette. It wouldn't hurt to mention that he kind of liked the person standing before him as well.

He asked her where Var village was and if they would encounter any new monsters on this floor while heading there. It wouldn't hurt to know more information about their quest, that is, if she knew the answer to his inquiry.

[Janeiro]

"Not anymore it seems." Janeiro replied his question whether she was alone with a soft smile, accepting the party request. She could not decide whether having felt his body pressed against hers during the hug had felt comfortable or not.
When he said he could take the basket instead she hesitated for a moment. After all she accepted the quest first... but he was a guy and probably much stronger than herself anyway. Maybe he'd even feel bad about letting her carry it, she knew some guys were like that. Janeiro accepted, handing him the fish. "Sorry for the smell though."

"We'll just have to follow the lakeside and then head straight south through the highlands, then we should arrive there eventually in a few hours. The guide said there are giants roaming the Highlands and we might encounter spiders and wolves... I have no idea if the wolves are the same as we have seen on Floor 1 or if they are stronger, though. Or how big the spiders are, if they are venomous... there is still a lot we don't know. It's probably better that I found somebody so we can look out for each other."

With not much else to pack they started to wander into the wilderness, the mild warm breeze making Janeiro's long black hair stream in the wind. "The change of scenery is really nice, isn't it." Janeiro said after a while looking forward. "If you have enough of carrying the fish I can take it any moment."

[Angelo]

This Is Not Heavy!!

This Is Not Heavy!!

Angelo looked out at the lake while following Janeiro. The small ripples on the water's surface caught his attention. He read that aside from the wind, the moon's gravitational pull causes waves to form as well. Something soo far away has the power to affect our world. The green-eyed boy blinked twice. This was Aincrad however. Who's to say that the physics in this world was exactly the same as earth's?

He flicked his hair to the side with his free hand, clearing up his vision slightly. The mop of hair on his head was still a bit moist, hanging down from the weight of the water. Angelo looked back at Janeiro. The path they took alongside the lake was peaceful. No monsters were in their immediate area. His vision wasn't superb so as to see a mile away, but there must have been the spiders and wolves that Janeiro said were in the Highlands.

Angelo hefted up the basket of fish to get a better grip on the container. With fish like this, it would have been better if it was in a sealed container and transported cold. Yet she had to go by foot with these fish with the possibility of combating monsters? Something didn't smell right.. It was fishy alright..

"It's definitely a change. I wouldn't have expected the second floor to be a lake. The town is pretty rundown, and its people completely different from the first floor, but the change in scenery is enjoyable, at least for now. We still need to get to the next floor still." The white-haired teen smiled and chuckled lightly, staring at the lake. He told her that he could handle the fish for the time being. It wouldn't do for her to start smelling fishy. Angelo stared at Janeiro, curious as to why she took this quest alone.

[Janeiro]

"If we don't have to spend over four months again just on here... We will have enough to do for the moment, but not finding any entrance to the tower was kind of a downer. People are suspecting it's a joke by the developers to just trap us here forever. In theory they could block all progress whenever they want, although I don't believe it fits together with our beloved Game Master's vision. I agree it is very different from the Plains here, but nice. That breeze is kind of annoying sometimes though, especially if you have long hair." Their path led them through the hilly landscape of the Highlands, yellowish grass tickling their knees. As the two players progressed the hills around them grew, and there were more and more patches of ground not covered by grass or other plant life, instead revealing the limestone they were made of.
Then they could hear it. Heavy, slow footsteps in the distance, almost making the ground shake, carrying the weight of a bipedal 15-foot creature and the club taller than a man the primitive humanoid has laid above its shoulder. Between two peaks around 50 feet above them the giant came into view, looking over the land below him for something, searching, sniffing. It's the first time Janeiro saw one and she was in awe. This monstrous creature was a normal enemy for this floor. That meant killing them could not be that much harder... she hoped. Janeiro had not even thought about trying to hide. Finally the giant laid his wild eyes on the humans - and then focused on the basket Angelo was carrying, his nostrils flaring. He opened his mouth surrounded his mouth surrounded by a ragged brown beard, revealing an incredibly irregular set of teeth and then starting a defeaning roar echoing over the Highlands. He started moving, hurrying down the steep slope towards Angelo and Janeiro. The raven-haired girl glanced over to her travel companion, her right hand already laying itself around her sword's hilt. "I'm going to open with my sword art. With luck I can blind him. You can fight with me but if we both fight we have to make sure the fish is safe." If she was being completely honest with herself, she was a little scared. Being scared though made her body release adrenaline. She was ready to take on this giant.

[Angelo]

What About The Fish?

What About The Fish?

It seemed like Janeiro already figured out the location of the dungeon, except there was no entrance. That's new news to him. He didn't realize that word has spread quickly about the dungeon. He hummed in laughter as she talked about how the wind annoyed her. He could certainly understand where she was coming from. Getting slapped in the face with your hair because of the wind, having hair in your mouth, etc.

The sound of heavy footsteps alerted Angelo of the new threat that came to them. No way, thought the boy. He didn't expect the giant to be that tall.. The club in its hand was extremely menacing after the boy thought about what it could do to his body in one swing.

"Janeiro.. what about the fish?" The giant was staring directly at the large basket in his arms. He couldn't possibly fight a giant with one arm and carry a basket full of smelly fish in the other. Or could he? No, he could not take that chance. He placed the basket of fish gently on the floor and quickly caught up with his partner. Angelo unsheathed the sword by his hip, leaving it trailing on the floor below.

"I'm with you. Given that this is our first time fighting a giant, I think we need to figure out its capabilities before anything else. Let's go." Feeling determined, he would follow the beauty into battle against the towering giant.

[Janeiro]

What about the fish... he was right, Angelo couldn't fight while carrying it. "Letting it stand there is good enough. If we make clear to the giant that we are dangerous he can't just ignore us and try to steal it but will have to fight us first."

The giant roared again in his descent down the hill, his spit flying so far that it almost hit Janeiro. Gross. He raised his heavy club far above his head without effort, even lifting it off the ground would be an incredible feat for a human. His thundering footsteps made the earth shake.
"I agree. I don't want to get hit by that." Janeiro said looking at the club. The giant crossed several yards with each step. Only a little closer... Janeiro suddenly started running towards their oversized foe who had not anticipated such an action and was disrupted in his advance, stopping and almost stumbling. He definitely was not a smart one. Janeiro used this moment to activate her Rise of the Archangel as she got close enough, slicing through the giant's flesh with bright golden light but failing to blind him. Still, with the power of her new sword and the damage of the upgraded art he lost a big chunk of his health, leaving him at one third already. Full of anger the giant crashed his wooden bludgeon down on Janeiro who just in time rolled to the side before it hit the ground next to her. This colossus alone would not be too much trouble - but he was not alone. From behind the hills other footsteps could be heard and two other greedy giants looked at the battle with curiosity, a female with significant underbite and a bald one, closing in to help their gigantic comrade.
"We can take them!" Janeiro shouted. "Let's at least try!"

[Angelo]

Three Level 4 Giants?!

Three Level 4 Giants?!

She began her assault by running towards the giant. Angelo quickly followed her, changing his pace to a fast jog. Janeiro activated her Sword Art ability, something he never saw before, and saw her blade rending the giant's flesh in a flash of brilliant light. The green-eyed boy squinted his eyes, temporarily blinded from the sudden scintillating change in light. The next thing he knew, the ground beneath him ruptured as the club smashed through the earth. Luckily, the club was two inches away from his head when it came down. Unluckily, the blast and debris made his body fly back ten meters.

He came ragdolling to a stop on the drying grass, his curved sword a few meters away. Even if it wasn't a direct hit, Angelo lost about quarter of his health from the giant's attack. The boy struggled back to his feet, feeling for the very first time to receive an attack this severe. He gritted his teeth and picked up his weapon. The white-haired teenager could not hear what Janeiro shouted. His ears were ringing, apparently deaf from the concussive force.

Nonetheless, Angelo was on his feet again and approached the giant cautiously. He hoped that he wouldn't be distracted again like last time. The green-eyed boy took a glance at Janeiro's direction. She seemed alright.

[Janeiro]

The heavy wooden club hitting the floor made a loud bang, debris flew around, earth and little stones hitting Janeiro as well as the shockwave from the impact, barely scratching her health points though. She saw that Angelo had been far less lucky, having to watch in horror how the white-haired boy flew back and losing a significant portion of his own health. She had not thought about their level difference. How could she have been so careless! Being two levels above him and unarguably being one of the best-equipped players on the server Janeiro had been completly ignorant of Angelo's fighting power in comparison. Just seeing that he wore his beginner's armor should have been obvious.

Shifting her priorities she would now mostly protect him - he wasn't defenseless by any means, but the giants' attacks would be a much greater threat for him than for her. It was unintuitive to her that a much taller and stronger boy needed her protection, but that was the way Sword Art Online worked. Still, she was not going to flee unless it was absolutely necessary. Instead of brooding over her guilt of taking Angelo to this dangerous place her steel-blue eyes focused on the giants again. The other two were closing in, but if she was lucky she could finish off the injured one before they arrived. Janeiro tried to slash him but he was swift enough to swipe his club to the side, causing her iron blade to only hit wood where it got stuck. Grinning triumphantly the giant swung his weapon up vertically, lifting Janeiro off the ground as she clenched her hand around her sword's grip. The movement made the sword come unstuck, leaving her helpless in mid-air as gravity slowed her ascent and she came to a halt for the fraction of a second before her body started falling again. Suddenly, much quicker than before the giant's club struck her from the side in an explosive movement, pressing the air out of lungs and sending her flying to the right, crashing into the hillside. Janeiro gasped, now completely covered in dirt and unable to stand up for a second. Thanks to her armor she had only lost one quarter of her health. "Angelo, finish him!" She coughed, trying to get to her own two feet again.

[Angelo]

I Lost The Post..

I Lost The Post....

Exhaling in relief after finding out that his friend was alright, he waited for her to stand back up on her own.

"Roger," Angelo replied when she began reinitiating the fight against the male giant. The boy quickly followed, knowing full well that one solid hit from these monsters would spell the end for him. Dodging took a lot more out of the boy's stamina than he originally thought, especially with the limited amount of counter attacks they could perform.

It was at this moment when he saw something anyone would fear: the glowing of the weapon in the hands of the giant. The monster was about to activate a sword art, and he had absolutely no idea what she was about to use. The lack of information regarding the second floor's monster arts made Angelo a bit wary. He had no idea what kind of ability it will use. His question was answered a moment later when the female giant began swinging horizontally parallel from the floor.

By how low it was being swung, he had three viable options. The first was going as low to the ground as possible, letting the club swing overhead. The second was evading it by getting out of the club's range. This could be done by moving backwards as fast as possible. However, there was a good chance that he wouldn't make it it time and receive the full brunt of the blow. The final option was to jump over the entire club as it swung by. He would momentarily be unable to move as he would be in the air, but Angelo would gamble on the chance that the bald giant would not engage him. Hopefully, Janeiro would see the situation he would be putting himself into and attempt to distract the giant so it would not bring his club down onto his body.

The white-haired boy jumped up into the air at the last moment, feeling the woosh of air beneath him as the club swung by at a fast speed.

Will Edit Soon.

[Janeiro]

Janeiro watched the agile boy assault the Brobdingnagian brute, still recovering from her own attack. Each time the giant almost hit him her heart skipped a beat, but in the end Angelo managed to finish the foe spectacularly. She used her forearm to wipe the dirt off her face, at least a little of it, nodding after he expressed his concern about her condition. "That did not feel good. Don't follow my example, your health would suffer much more. I can keep going. ...Thank you, Kou."

They did not have much time to chat as the other two giants demanded their attention. "Let's focus on one." For no particular reason Janeiro concentrated on the big baldie first. Both started attacking the players. There was one aspect they shared with Illfang much more than with other regular mobs - their attacks were almost impossible to parry and could only be dodged most of the time, demanding an even greater deal of movement than other fights. With the two giants hammering on the ground trying to hit the nimble players those barely had time to get on the offensive since even a glancing blow would often throw them aside. Remembering what Angelo did before Janeiro jumped between the legs of the bald giant, a position that made it difficult for him to defend, and attacked his legs before the female kicked Janeiro through, causing only minimal damage but getting the girl out of her advantageous position again.

[Angelo]

Sword Art Ability

Sword Art Ability..

Exhaling in relief after finding out that his friend was alright, he waited for her to stand back up on her own.

"Roger," Angelo replied when she began reinitiating the fight against the male giant. The boy quickly followed, knowing full well that one solid hit from these monsters would spell the end for him. Dodging took a lot more out of the boy's stamina than he originally thought, especially with the limited amount of counter attacks they could perform.

It was at this moment when he saw something anyone would fear: the glowing of the weapon in the hands of the giant. The monster was about to activate a sword art, and he had absolutely no idea what she was about to use. The lack of information regarding the second floor's monster arts made Angelo a bit wary. He had no idea what kind of ability it will use. His question was answered a moment later when the female giant began swinging horizontally parallel from the floor.

By how low it was being swung, he had three viable options. The first was going as low to the ground as possible, letting the club swing overhead. The second was evading it by getting out of the club's range. This could be done by moving backwards as fast as possible. However, there was a good chance that he wouldn't make it it time and receive the full brunt of the blow. The final option was to jump over the entire club as it swung by. He would momentarily be unable to move as he would be in the air, but Angelo would gamble on the chance that the bald giant would not engage him. Hopefully, Janeiro would see the situation he would be putting himself into and attempt to distract the giant so it would not bring his club down onto his body.

The white-haired boy jumped up into the air at the last moment, feeling the woosh of air beneath him as the club swung by at a fast speed.

[Janeiro]

Janeiro was startled for a split-second seeing the female's weapon starting to glow. Until that moment she had not known that monsters except for bosses could have sword arts, too. She was out of the art's range, but Angelo stood directly in front of her. She would not reach him in time and approaching him would only distract him from dodging, so she had to hope that he would find a way to evade the attack as the gigantic arm swept over the hilly ground.

As it turned out, Angelo had chosen wisely. The club seemed to have its own energy field ripping apart everything even coming near it, the earth only inches below tearing open and stones, pieces of dirt and roots being teared out and flying up into the air a few feet. Janeiro felt a menacing presence above her. The bald giant grinned maliciously, seeing that Angelo was about to jump and already reaching down to grab the white-haired boy and probably crush him afterwards.

Oh no you don't. Janeiro took a few quick and long steps forward, almost putting her in the range of the club performing the sword art but stopping just in time. She felt the wind, the pure energy encompassing it and the dirt fly up in her face as it swung by like a train in a subway station only inches away from you, thrusting her longsword up high in the outstretching arm of the bald giant whose fingertips almost brushed Angelo, slicing through his forearm and making him twitch back, roaring and holding his arm for a moment, transforming the counter into a full lunge and hitting his thighs multiple times, only stopping as he finally swung his club at her again, forcing her to go back several feet for the moment, looking over to Angelo if he was still alright.