Episode 69 — Catacombs
Episode 69 — Catacombs
Fourteenth Day in the Month of Sakura (April 14) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 59
Bladescape opened the doors to their guild hall. It was good to be back. But it was still too early for the others to be up. She had been out on an overnight trip and was exhausted. She went to the kitchen and made tararoot tea, taking the tea to the meeting hall. It tasted more like rosemary, but it gave the caffeine punch of an espresso shot. Or at least that was how it made her feel. Konpeito was not allowed to have any after the one time she had tried it. She literally had bounced off the walls, all over the place, and it ended in a sudden crash where she was out for the next 18 hours.
Bladescape sat, thinking, as she enjoyed the tea in silence. She was almost Level 80, which meant another Skill Slot would be available. Martial Arts was an option she was examining, but it didn't feel like her. She was still 100% combat focused, yet nothing but combat was appealing to her. She had to choose soon. By the end of the boss raid, she would be at Level 80.
Knightstar soon arrived and sat down beside her. Bladescape took a sip of her drink and decided to open the morning discussion with her plan for the day. “I want to stack the parties heavy on my side. With this Floor Boss, I want to sharpen us a bit more as an offensive party.”
“Rough night?” Knightstar asked, putting a reassuring hand on Bladescape’s.
“Yeah, a bit,” Bladescape shrugged. “Boring mostly, but one mistake can cause a harrowing moment of fear. Thank goodness for the Battle Regeneration skill. It kept me out of the red and gave me the moment to recover. It hurt, badly, but the only lasting damage was my pride.”
Bladescape was briefly distracted as Konpeito skipped past the open doors, humming loudly. As much as she liked Mishe and their place, Bladescape wanted a new Headquarters. It would be nice if the meeting hall was a bit more separate. They could close the doors, but that would make it seem like they were blocking out the members from attending what was officially an open meeting. With the front line 30 floors above them, it was almost time to upgrade. The KoB, DDA, and Fuurinkazan had all upgraded above Floor 50.
“Then take who you want,” Knightstar said, bringing Bladescape’s focus back to the discussion “Natora will likely agree. We can handle it. It will make calculations a bit tough, but I can handle it.”
Bladescape moved to her second point. One that she didn’t want to address but had to. “I also want to take some others out on overnight trips. Just another one or two. We slacked off and this spot is worth it."
"I'll back you any time," Knightstar said. "Because we did slack off. Well, everyone except for you."
"I’ve been slacking off," Bladescape said. She lost focus as she remembered how many nights she had slept in her bed, safe. She should have gotten into the 80’s by now. And it was because she got lazy and was sleeping instead of making sure her friends survived. "I have been doing fewer overnight trips and I need to fix that. But level grinding is difficult. It's boring. And worse, it's for our lives."
"Everything you are doing is amazing," Knightstar assured her. "You needed that rest. We all did. Now we have to start back up."
"I guess," Bladescape said. "I'm not saying you are wrong. It's just tiring. But I know that it shows in the boss battles and clearing this game."
"Yes, it does," Knightstar said, getting up. "Our arrival in our new gear and success in that battle proved that."
Konpeito rang the handbell she had picked up to signal a meal was ready. It could be heard anywhere inside the building.
"Yeah," Bladescape said. She began to yawn as she stood, causing her to fall back into her chair. She didn't want to get up and out of it. She was exhausted and she had to keep going for her friends. There was no way for her to take a break today. The tararoot tea wasn't helping any, at least not yet.
Knightstar continued planning as they walked to the dining room. "I think if we could do some overnight trips, we could all level up if we ran 36-12-36-12-12 rotation for time in the field, we could push us all another level in those first two 36s. But that puts a lot of pressure on you. Natora can cover the days fine, but the overnight training is falling on your shoulders."
"Good morning," Doombunny greeted them.
"Hey," Bladescape reflexively replied to Doombunny before continuing with her plan. "I can easily start with showing Kiefer. It will put him in a better position and train him. I think he has real party leader potential. He has been doing well with the tasks he has been given."
Bladescape sat down. She didn't want to do any more overnight trips. She was exhausted by them. She knew she had to keep going, but she desperately wanted to just stop. She wanted out. Not anywhere near enough to commit suicide, but enough that sometimes she wanted to stop advancing, wipe her skills clean, and settle down to peacefully wait it all out. She always knew that she couldn't sit still and let others do the work. She would get bored. As tired as she got, knowing there was nothing better for her, that kept her going. Somehow.
Bladescape realized she had blown off Doombunny when she came in. It was sometimes a lot to handle in the morning. But she had been rude. She could apologize for that. "Sorry, Doom. I'm a bit out of sorts after last night's training. I was at a new place. But enough of that. Good morning, Doom. It’s good to see you." Bladescape couldn’t stop the giant yawn.
Kiefer and Soryuto came into the dining room for breakfast. Bladescape knew the two of them walking in together was more than that. They tried to hide it, but they were more than that. The question was, would they make that leap in the game? Bladescape wasn't sure Soryuto would.
Konpeito was good and getting better, despite having a maxed skill, but Bladescape was enjoying the food less and less. It was getting mixed in with the monotony of the game. A sad reality to the life she was currently living.
Bladescape got everyone moving so they could change and then organized them as she saw fit once they all were back. She stacked them heavy with Malus, Reisenki, Kiefer, Natora, and Thunderborne joining her. She had full confidence in the others under Knightstar. They were good and would be safe. She was more worried about working some of the ruts out of her team. They were better in boss battles, but outside of them, Thunderborne often charged ahead, alone. She relied on Malus or Diemond to cover her to the point where she opened herself up dangerously if Malus or someone couldn't support her.
She wanted to fix those problems, but it would come from fine tuning how they fought. She was going to analyze it and make adjustments from how they worked together today. It wasn't going to be easy to track all of it, especially as she also fought, but they needed to make their clearing days go smoother.
Bladescape got them out and on their way to Danac. As they teleported, Thunderborne and Natora played their hopping game. Most of the Wondercolts didn't know that the two of them tried to be the first to teleport so they could hit as many cities as they could without holding up the group. They had never held the group up, and soon after they started, Bladescape realized it was healthy for them to do it. She never reprimanded them for it.
The two of them always kept things interesting. Natora was a great officer, but she would lapse when safe in their headquarters. Her competitive side would come out. The running in the HQ had to be stopped after they knocked Soryuto down the stairs and hit Diemond and Knightstar on the second floor. They had caused a food fight during one breakfast. It didn’t matter how small the piece of bread was, it was thrown, all that mattered was that it almost sparked a larger battle. The soccer pitch on the second floor was an interesting development which was annoying at times, but they had nowhere else to play. It kept them out of trouble in the streets, knocking people down when the ball got loose, and that was what was important.
The two of them walked too close to the edge of trouble far too often in their games. Thunderborne had once tackled Natora, innocently and out of fun, so hard it broke the harassment codes. It had earned her an orange cursor for two days. She had to spend time outside of the city so that she wasn’t attacked by the guards.
It had caused a huge rabble among some of the guilds. Bladescape had to head it off by going to the Knights of the Bloodoath to speak with their council. Godfree laughed out loud, getting a kick out of the incident. Heathcliff was silently humored by her tale. The rest of his Council wasn’t as humored. Asuna told her to reign in her guild members more. Still, the KoB’s understanding and support of the accident had been enough to stave off any other problems, particularly between the DDA and the Wondercolts. The Floor Boss raid was on the last day of Thunderborne's "orange days," making it easy to exclude her and put a stronger emphasis on the consequences of her actions. Thunderborne wasn't going to end up in the battle anyway since her rapier was useless, but that didn't matter and she didn't know that fact.
The Catacombs they were currently clearing were annoying. They were better lit than many of the other labyrinths, but that was the only thing going for them. Their mapping was going decently well, but this labyrinth was crisscrossing in a troublesome pattern. Bladescape often had to pull up her map to check their location as they moved through. She routinely had to guess where side routes went and intersected with what they had already mapped. Natora and Knightstar were just as turned around, as there was no puzzle to solve or logic behind the structure.
Eventually a shadow popped out of the wall, trying to bait them into a chase. Their day hadn't seen any combat yet. Bladescape decided to take the bait. She was confident in their ability to handle whatever the Labyrinth threw at them. The shadow led them into a chase down a hallway and then into a large, pillared, hall.
Bladescape's Search Skill was going crazy. Around each pillar were multiple enemies, waiting for them to come in further. Some began to come out, triggering the fight. There was no backing out now. Bladescape launched forward into battle.
Despite her best efforts, everything was a hazy memory. She called it "Battle Blur." In the moment, she was spot on, and not just in her personal attack and defense. She was aware of her party's health, she knew where most, if not all, of them were and what they were fighting. She was attuned to the battle, but after, her mind dumped the hypersensitive and “useless” information. It made tweaking their strategy difficult as her own mind sometimes forgot the important stuff she wanted it to remember.
Bladescape needed the rest that the safe zone gave them. She sat down harder than intended, losing a bit of air as her butt connected with the unforgiving stone. She caught her lunch sack but didn't open it. Bladescape wanted to recall what happened in the battle. She focused, grabbing what bits she could to analyze them. Fixing the rut was hard when you didn't remember the fight after.
Bladescape finally opened the sack and pulled out the water. She downed half of it in a single swig and saved the rest for after. She finished her food quickly so that she could try and work out where they could improve. They would probably need an outside adviser. If she stepped out, she would be removed from the equation and she was a critical piece of that equation.
Meeting players in the safe zones happened fairly often. Groups stayed with their own. The smaller safe zones caused more issues if they got crowded. This visitor was not their normal. Kirito entered the safe zone to eat his own lunch. Konpeito was immediately by his side, offering him a cupcake. He happily took it. The Black Swordsman had eaten enough of her treats to not be able to deny the offer.
But that was not really where her focus was. She forgot about Kirito almost immediately. What truly mattered were the same questions she was always asking herself: How was she performing? In battle, was she creating more stress where they didn't need it? Was she making mistakes the others had to solve? And ultimately, was she strong enough for the guild to be their leader and hold them together?
Those were the questions that plagued her mind. Sleep was always balanced on the edge of fear of her failing, and after her meeting with Laughing Coffin, that fear was focused on the "catch 22" of her need to be the best and the old ambition which turned her into a literal monster. The parallels were becoming too similar. She had to put everything she had into becoming the best; the fastest, heaviest hitting, most fluid fighter she could be in this game, and that took what most players would call "ambition."
She would have to rely on her friends to keep her from falling and lift her up if she did. Except that solution didn’t provide her with any relief. She could only see it as weakness and inappropriate for a leader.
The afternoon was filled with thuds, bangs, clangs, and the shattering of glass as the skeletons were reduced to polygons. Harmonic Salvation glowed orange and with a roar of anger Bladescape ran a skeleton through. She was not any closer to seeing how the group was fighting and now she was outright mad. The very thing she needed was outside her gasp.
She felt blind. She was blind. She couldn't see herself.
The others finished off the last few as Bladescape stood there, seething. She got control of herself as they finished. They didn't seem to notice as they grouped up around their party leader.
It was just in time too, as another party came towards them. It took a moment, but then Bladescape grinned as some hope filled her. It was their friends in Fuurinkazan.
"Wait," Klein said, not greeting them. He was clearly confused. "If we are coming from this way, and you are ahead of us, but we just cleared behind us, then you are coming towards us."
"That barely made sense," Bladescape said with a laugh. "But we are headed and mapping towards the direction you guys are walking from."
"Then we are lost," Klein said as he swiped up his map. "Umm..."
Bladescape sheathed Harmonic Salvation and pulled up their map. "This is what we have. You can see the others went this way."
"How did we miss this turn?" Klein asked as they stood side by side, pointing and comparing the network of tunnels.
"They were not kidding when the others started calling them 'catacombs'," Bladescape snorted. "But, I didn't think they were this confusing. We have certainly seen worse, but this is..."
"A lot more dead ends and side passages than I thought," Klein finished.
Klein wasn't the only member of Fuurinkazan groaning. They had gotten an early start, several hours ahead of the Wondercolts. They were tired and demoralized now that they were confused over the map.
Bladescape sent Klein her map and he set her theirs so that they both had a more complete picture. She studied the mostly complete map for a few seconds and then groaned, killing her menu in anger.
"You okay?" Klein asked.
"Frustrated," Bladescape shrugged. "The map isn't helping. I am trying to fine tune our main boss raiders, but I can't see much being in combat myself. But if I watch, then I am not in the equation to see how well we are working together."
"You’re going about this all wrong," Klein shrugged. "You guys are top notch in the fights for a reason. Maybe you could use a little polishing, but you won't get that without help from the outside. You need to work with others. Players you don't normally run with. They will be able to tell you where you are strong and where you are weak."
"Is that an offer?" Bladescape asked, grinning mischievously.
"For what?" Klein asked. His scruffy face looked stupid as he retraced the last few things they had said. His eyes and smile finally lit up as he realized what the 'offer' had been. "Alright! You got a deal. We hit the Labyrinth in the morning, together. We polish each other by spreading our members out over three parties."
"We are supposed to meet up with the others this way," Bladescape said. She pointed her thumb over her shoulder as she walked backwards for a few steps and then turned around to lead them properly.
Klein was right. Working interwoven would give her a better sense of how they were doing. They needed to be ready and able to work with any player, not just their guild. And she was done for the day. She didn't have much fight left in her, even after the short day's work. She had added a lot of stress and anger to the day. Tomorrow would be easier.
Knightstar didn't have a single objection to calling it an early day. Bladescape was pretty sure she had a consultation she was working on. If she did, it would explain that willingness. She worked hard on so much for the guild. It was a lot of stress to start with and on top she had to lead at times. Lead, analyze, run stats, try to crack the Steps of Battle quest, and somehow still fight; it was a difficult balancing act she did.
Bladescape was happy to have her friends by her side at that table though. Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle shared a bond the others didn't. The both had crossed the line of their own goals, becoming what they did not want to be, yet were pulled back by their friends. If anyone was her anchor in this world, it was Twilight.
As usual, dinner was good. Bladescape ate rather quickly and then went to her room. She put her armor on the stand, sword on the wall, and enjoyed the feeling of near nakedness that was somehow cleansing to her.
Bladescape sighed when she realized she forgot to thank Konpeito for dinner. It was a far too common occurrence for her to forget. She would thank her in the morning. She needed to destress.
Bladescape sat down in the cushioned, high-backed chair, without putting any clothes on. She focused on breathing. In and out. Breathe in deep, hold it, and release the breath slowly. She worked to let the stress of the day be chipped away as she relaxed and broke her outer shell.
As it broke away, the pieces didn't flake off like old skin or caked on mud. Some of them felt like they took the flesh with them, leaving her skin raw and bleeding in places. Bladescape fought against the feeling but it only grew. The pain became too much and her eyes flew open as she panicked and looked around her body to see that it was okay. With her eyesight restored, the pain disappeared. It was replaced by shallow and quick breaths, the exact opposite of what it was supposed to be.
Bladescape got up and tried a different approach. She grabbed her bathrobe off its hook and her towel and headed to the bathroom. The large, square tubs were more than enough to stretch out during a bath. She chose the temperature and filled the tub with steaming water. Then she slipped into it, lounging in the soothing water. It took some stress away, but her mind wandered back to the issue at hand.
The next day was supposed to fix what she was worried about. Or show her errors. But she couldn't drive them from her mind. She had to make sure she was the best. Too much was riding on her. The guild survived on her shoulders. She couldn't let her friends see that raw side. They needed a stalwart leader.
Yes, they would support her. Their support would be overwhelming. But this wasn't like fighting with Equestrian Magic. It wasn't a life, her real life, that had its ups and downs. When she fell down or was weak in the real world, her friends could catch her. It wasn't fun when she made mistakes, but she could own up to them.
Except, Aincrad was her current reality and life. Here she couldn't show that worry or weakness. Not too much. If she did, they would smother her with a hug. It would break down the mental armor she had carefully forged for herself over the months in Sword Art Online. And that would ruin their image of a strong, valiant leader who didn't back down or break. They needed a fearless Wondercolt to lead them into battle. She was the image of the Wondercolts, to her friends and to the other players.
Bladescape left the bath as it cooled down and toweled off. She tossed her robe on for the walk back to her room. Once again behind the safe door, she popped on her sleepwear and flopped onto her bed. She didn't fall asleep. Her mind was on fire, trying to remove the battle blur and recall what she actually saw. It was filled with battle after battle, level grind after level grind. She saw Level 80 in her mind and she wanted it, and she already knew she thirsted for Level 90, and Level 100, and she would not stop that ascension until SAO was conquered and they were free.
In the back of her mind was a seed she tried to keep unwatered so it didn't grow. It was a seed of fear. Fear that when she got free from this virtual prison, that she would be lost not being Bladescape. A fear that her life had been transformed to the point that Bladescape was the new Sunset Shimmer. A Sunset Shimmer who would see the world through the visor she saw now: HP Bars, equipment stats, levels, and game information. Stats without character or personality behind them, the very things that made up a person. A Sunset Shimmer who would want to take and conquer the world. City by city, starting once again with Canterlot High.
Bladescape rolled her head to look over at her armor. It was stunning and even in the soft glow of the light from the nightstand’s lamp, it shined brightly. Not on the stand was the cape that bore their golden horse head symbol.
That was Bladescape. If she was set in Equestria, she would be a blue unicorn with a yellow mane. Her flank would have that horse head on it. It was a symbol of unity, strength, and selflessness. Sunset Shimmer didn't look like that back in her true home.
Bladescape sighed. As strong as that symbol was, it was her life. The others would not understand, but a strong symbol to her was supposed to be on her flank as a cutie mark. Her special talent. This horse head wasn't her special talent, but it was the cutie mark she bore. She had to bear it to free the others, but it had its moments where it sickened her to wear it. It was a repulsion born from another world in another dimension. It felt like her cutie mark had been magically torn from her flank and then that one forced onto her in replacement.
The only symbol she wanted, the only symbol that she was, was her sun symbol. The yellow and red sun was an image of her soul and her special talent in magic. A radiant light full of magic and energy that was warm and kind, but could burn and hurt those who tried to harm her and her friends. That was the symbol she wanted. She wanted to burn her enemies like they were standing on the surface of the sun itself.
But that was not who a Wondercolt was. It wasn't who she was in SAO. It couldn't be her in SAO. If she picked up her cutie mark, she would not be a Wondercolt. What would come would be a consuming ambition to be the best, which would mean that she would leave her friends behind and become a solo player, like Kirito.
And that was something Sunset Shimmer and Bladescape were not willing to let happen. Her friends were too important to her.
Out of desperation to calm her mind, Bladescape sat up in bed and pulled out her Book of Memories. She might not know what she was looking for, but it always knew. She opened it to the center and found herself rereading the conversation with Mister Shinmi during the Iaido competition.
"It states: 'I’ll give you the answer to the question ’What is most important to the heart of a warrior?’ The answer is, 'To desire with one’s very soul every second of every day to accomplish one’s aim.’"
"Good, but what is my aim?" Sunset asked.
"That I don't know," Mister Shinmi said, smiling warmly at her. "Let's try another from the same text. The first statement is 'Life is not so important when forced to choose between life and integrity.'"
"I wish I had learned that lesson a long time ago," Sunset snorted.
"And yet, at your young age, you have,” he remarked. “The first part of this next one you have down, but what about the rest? 'Wisdom comes from paying attention to wise people. Love comes from always striving for the good of others and placing others before oneself. Bravery is developed by simply gritting one’s teeth and with determination crashing through any barrier in one’s way without regard to the circumstances.'"
Bladescape instinctively knew what her true aim was: to beat the boss in the Ruby Palace, freeing everyone from SAO.
She felt she stood on integrity more than her own life. It was why she kept going to floor boss raids and doing what she did to clear the game. Even the overnight training, alone or with friends, was based on the integrity to clear the game for those who could not fight for their freedom. She had gotten close to laying her own life down for that a few times.
She certainly was practicing love as phrased in the text by her sacrifice and hard work to clear the game. By it, she too was brave. They were literally crashing through the barriers between floors in their quest to get to the Ruby Palace.
She turned the page and read on.
"I don't disagree with them," Sunset said with a sigh. "But for the first, I'm not a warrior, or trying to be one. I might be dressed like one today and I might be learning Iaido for a short time, but that doesn't make me a warrior or mean I am striving for that. None of my future paths include law enforcement or a military life either."
"I think you misjudge yourself," Mister Shinmi said. "The way of the warrior can be applied to many aspects of life, not just a battlefield. Budo is the lifestyle that one lives while practicing bujutsu, the physical side of the art; in this case, Iaido. If you wish to spread light to people, that means you have to combat the darkness, whatever that may be. As the Hagakure puts it, 'a warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm,' and I believe that you have already done that."
Bladescape was absolutely a warrior and locked into a war. She had been deployed for eighteen months with little respite. Still, she did strive to combat the darkness. She absolutely was rising above the others and standing strong in the midst of the storm. She had done that at CHS with the equestrian magic a few times, but now she certainly was. Kibaou wasn’t on the front, Lind had lost his edge but was still present. The Wondercolts, thanks to her, stood as one of the top guilds.
Sunset involuntarily touched her geode necklace that was hidden under the uniform. "Yeah, I have. A few times. What else?"
"Every morning a warrior should recommit himself to death. In morning meditation, see yourself killed in various ways, such as being shredded by arrows, bullets, swords, and spears, being swept away by a tidal wave, burned by fire, struck by lightning, dying in an earthquake, falling from a great height, or succumbing to overwhelming sickness. An elder warrior said, ‘Once out of your front door you are surrounded by death. Once you leave your gate you are surrounded by enemies.’ This saying is not merely a parable, but a way to prepare for your fate."
"Those words of wisdom are not just applicable to warriors. They are very applicable to someone who chooses a life of service. Once you decide what light you will shine and how you will shine it, you will have to commit to carrying that light. Every day you must wake up and reaffirm that commitment, so that no matter what happens, you follow through. Not for just the day, but every day after it as well."
"I see your point," Sunset admitted.
"I doubt you will be able to shine a light in the darkness without being out front. You don’t seem like the kind of person to sit back and follow others either. Whatever your path, you will be out front, and probably gain a following, increasing the light and warmth you spread. It is not easy being a leader. It requires you to put others before yourself. You might be the one out front, but in order to ensure that they follow you, and you all complete the goal you all want, you must put aside your own needs and desires. Selfless duty requires you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world.
“A real leader doesn’t force others to follow them, rather they inspire them to follow and to complete the same goal. A samurai defending his home could order the soldiers under him to march out across the open ground, exposed to arrows and bullets, and they would do it, but they would be afraid. Even if the samurai was leading them from the very front, they would not fight well because of that fear. But a samurai who inspires the soldiers under him, will find himself at the head of a heroic charge, fighting beside brave men, men who can break the enemy’s line and win the battle. While they may be afraid, they are able to see the greater purpose in their actions. There is a time and place for direct orders, but if you are consistently inspiring those under you and around you, they won’t see them as harshly, and they will listen and follow your orders well, because they know that you are not forcing them to do it unless you yourself are forced to."
"I never saw leadership like that," Sunset admitted.
"It is rarely taught like that," Mister Shinmi retorted. "It is a lesson that comes from my own studies and wisdom from my own life. I was not quoting anyone, but I am not the only one to agree about leadership being selfless and that it works best when you inspire others. Do you want to know my favorite lesson, which comes from the Hagakure?"
The question was coy and it excited Sunset to see him in this playful, yet serious, light.
"What?" Sunset asked, smiling mischievously.
“If you are caught unprepared by a sudden rainstorm, you should not run foolishly down the road or hide under the eaves of houses. You are going to get soaked either way. Accept that from the beginning and go on your way. This way you will not be distressed by a little rain. Apply this lesson to everything.”
"That is a good one," Sunset said, nodding. "I never thought of it like that."
"Balance your mind and your body, and little will be able to shake you,” Mister Shinmi advised. “When everyone else falls down, you will still be standing and be able to help pick them up. If you wish to learn more, you can read the Hagakure yourself. We have several copies in the school library. They also have copies of the Book of Five Rings, another important thing to read."
The morning preparations were not as formally laid out in the conversation, but she did that. From waking up to leaving the front door, she was committing herself to whatever trials the battles of the day would bring. However, she could add in the commitment to being the Wondercolts’ light. That may help her current dilemma.
Mister Shinmi was right about her being unable to not be out front, and that was said well before any discussion about SAO happened. In so many ways she already was carrying-out leadership in the way he described. She was one of the hardest training players, being the strength and pillar of her friends. She remembered that third morning, when she made the decision to first commit to that.
In many ways, her cutie mark was a spiritual aspect. It was reflected only in herself, by herself. She already was a Wondercolt from her time at CHS. She wore the colors with pride. Now she just had to commit, daily, to carrying the horse head symbol of the guild. She also had to find a better balance point for her life. Her friends needed her to be balanced in order to be unwavering in her dedication to their shared goal and to them. She was standing stronger because she was stronger. They each had their strengths, she couldn’t be standing as well as she was without them, but she was the one they rallied to.
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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11931853
Oh...
silence. She*
I only understood half of what she shared.
Good going...
Even if they aren't a couple, I'd ship them within a heartbeat.
Seeing how this won't end at level 76 like in the anime, it's obvious they likely will hit the ruby palace, even if it takes them longer than it did originally.
the sun itself.*
A space is needed after "from SAO" as the two parts paragraphs are together.
It seems like Blade is REALLY in need of a break or something. This chapter really drives home the amoung of stress shes under lol
11932009
36-12-36 is the rotation structure for overnight training. Up for 36 hours, sleep, up for 12, sleep, repeat. And yes, I know there are ships for Sunset and just about every girl. lol. Twilight and Fluttershy seem to be the most popular.
They will hit the Ruby Palace. I have half of that chapter written, but have been pushing other character and story development before I fully finish it.
11932046
She absolutely does. I'm trying to be real while keeping the adventure feel, without getting too dark or depressing.
Our girl Sunset really needs to get a hobby in game. Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie incorporate their hobbies into their everyday lives. Applejack and Fluttershy have their own things they can fall back on when they have a break.
The odd ones out are Sunset and Twilight who stack more work upon their work. Twilight seems fine with her side hustles, but that seems more like making your hobby your job than what Rarity does. And lastly Sunset not only has nothing, but she’s also foregoing much needed sleep to keep a higher level than everyone else.
Are you going to follow the previous incarnation and show the varying view points of this day from the others' perspectives?
You'll get out eventually Sunset. Don't lose hope.
11932278
thx and gotcha.
11932294
No, I won't. 11 viewpoints of the same day was too much. I have incorporated other viewpoints in other chapters to keep things fresh and fully explore the other characters. At least one chapter has been from each of the Wondercolts' POV. Last one with an alternative viewpoint was Episode 65, Kalzuk Dungeon, and from Natora's.
Next viewpoint will probably be 81 (the actual number may change) which is from Fluttershy/Doom's POV. That is a fun arc of quests she does and will be several chapters, all from her POV. Natora is close, as is Knightstar/Twilight. Konpeito/Pinkie, AJ/Malus, Rarity/Diemond, and Dash/Thunder are all in the pipeline too.
It can be tough. Diemond and Malus have very repetitive lives with slimmer views of everything happening. Go there, throw their shield around, go home and either make clothes or do a few other things to relax. It takes something special to make it worthwhile to write from their POV. They all can get like that. I do must best to weave in stories that are logical and fun to give different view in between things.
Chapter 69 *POP* nice
My god Sunny really needs a break. Release the horses!!! 🐎🐎🐎
11932686
does Sunset not count as a horse?
11932709
You know what I meant when I said that
11932827
I couldn't help myself!