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Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online. Reki Kawahara does!
Rolandox took a deep breath to calm his nerves while standing outside the boss's room with the other tanks. Beside him two other shield users seemed just as nervous about their first boss battle. Of course, they were nervous over the thoughts of dying while Rolandox only worried about being able to match the better geared tanks. It wasn't that the reality of the death game hadn't settled in, it had. Each of his group knew that they could die at any time in this game. Of course they also knew they could die walking across the street or just about any time, after all everyone died. Still, the fact all three had been life long hard core gamers might have made the adjustment a bit easier. Its why when the rest of the players had been panicking over the situation on the first day the three had been doing a little dance about not having to cut their time in the world short to return back to America.
"Hell, I'm gonna die some day. Might aswell be doing something I love, right?" Slevin had laughed stating that as if he was joking though all three knew there was some truth in it.
Remembering that moment Rolandox glanced over to where the damage dealers or DPS were gathered to see Slevin chatting to a group of two handed users. From his animated appearance he was obviously preaching on the superiority of the two handed hammer and its many benefits. Off to the side he spotted Eleraan whose posture plainly spoke of how grumpy he was. Considering a certain chestnut haired girl had forced him to promise not to use his Hiding while everyone was gathering so they could keep track of everyone. Although if Rolandox had to guess it was more so she would stop having to jump when her shadow talked. Just thinking about how she keep eying her shadow every time his guildie disappeared made him chuckle. Up front the raid leader began pushing the door open while Rolandox tightened his grip on both of his shields at once.
Dual shields weren't technically a skill, but since shields were ambidextrous he had practice triggering shield skills with both arms. Normally, it would be counter productive trying to use two shields despite the huge increase in defenses. But according to the briefing they received yesterday there was no aggro table. Normally a "Tank", in this case a shield user, used a combination of high "Threat" skills to keep the target focused on them and not the normally "squishy" or lower defense damage dealers. With out a weapon he wouldn't normally be able to hold "Threat" using only the mostly defensive shield attacks.
As the doors open he charged in with the other five shield users leading the raid group in. The tanks had been split into two three men groups that would rotate out allowing the other three to heal up. From the briefing he understood that even with six it would be close, it seemed Sword Art Online suffered a shortage of tanks even more so than most games. The boss room was oval in shape with massive stone pillars that rose up into the darkness above. What lay beyond the pillars was lost in darkness even as the torches mounted to each pillar roared to life with crimson flames. From out of the darkness on the other side of the oval the boss skidded in. The Druegar's Crystal Golem looked like a giant five meter tall top made of blackened metal. Sticking out from the center was a huge emerald crystal that pulsed with an eerie light. As the tank group charged in five long wide blades shot out of it at varying heights and random positions. With a high pitched sound the golem began spinning with sickening speed before streaking towards the group.
The three veteran front liner tanks launched off their charge attacks in unison shields raised high they flew into the whirlwind of blades shoulder to shoulder. With a resounding crash and the sound of metal against metal they blocked one of the blades in an impressive display of teamwork. Digging their feet in they strained against the twisting force of the boss's single attack before finally skidding to a stop and holding it in place. Despite being the best geared tanks each of them had been knocked well into the yellow with that single attack and continued to drop steadily as they struggled to hold it back.
"That's crazy. Look how much damage they took with just one attack even splitting the damage three ways. They can't really expect us to do that too? Our gear isn't anywhere near as good as theirs." One of the wide eyed newly recruited tanks babbled off beside him.
"It won't be that bad, they had to stop it at full spin. We just go in to hold it in spot while they recover. We won't take nearly as much damage." Rolandox reassured his fellow tank.
"Look at their life drop. We will be dead in a second at that rate. I only started using a shield a few days ago so I could get a guild invite. Forget this, I'm not dying here." He was already back peddling away.
"Don't worry we will be fine, Come on they are counting on us. After all we are the hero's of the group." Rolandox grinned while talking lightly trying to calm the player down.
Shaking his head the player keep backpedaling as the call for "Switch" came out. Turning away from the cowardly player in disgust he charged towards the boss calling out to the other tank. "Let's go!"
Leading with his left shield he shot forward with the same shield charge he used the other night. Hearing his approach the other three tanks, all their life bars just dipping into the red, leapt away from the blade. Rolandox slammed into it just as it started moving again, locking his legs he tried not to panic as he felt himself still being pushed back and with growing speed. Looking for his partner out of the corner of his eyes he found himself alone as the blade pushed him back even faster. A surprised cry came up from the cluster of damage dealers as one of the blades closed in on them. Gritting his teeth and cursing all PUGs* he cocked back his right arm before slamming his other shield forward with the Shield Bash skill. It was an extremely low cool down knock back ability that caused no damage and normally was just used to build up some distance between the player and a mob. As soon as his right shield collided with the blade he cocked back his left arm using the same ability. Sweat ran down the side of his face from within his helmet as he focused on the difficult task of chaining together the skills with both arms.
As the blade slowed and finally stopped he let out the breath he had been holding now that he only had to focus on holding the blade stopped. Letting his eye flick up to his health bar he felt his heart skip a beat. It was already half way through the yellow and he had barely started, in the short time he had struggled to bring the blade to a stop the previous tank group wouldn't have been able to recover. He was going to have to let it go early. Glancing over to the mass of damage dealers he found Eleraan in a furious dance, to anyone else it would have been hard to tell but Rolandox had fought by their side since day one. He was pissed. Considering he could see Slevin's huge grin from here the boss must have extremely high defenses.
Eleraan's lighting fast attacks did only minimum damage but by stacking them up to a ridiculous amount in such a short time he was able to exceed most other damage dealer in total damage done. But high armor targets had a greater impact on the damage he could turn out than most weapon types. On the other side of the spectrum was Slevin with his two handed hammer, the weapon type with the highest passive armor penetration, infact the higher the targets armor the more effective his weapon became in comparison with others. This was countered with the slowest attack speed of all the various weapon types but right now watching the boss's health take sudden spiky drops in health with each of Slevin's resounding attacks it was definitely balancing out.
As his health approached the red he glanced over to the damage dealers again. Most of them were lightly armored with only a few wearing heavy armor like Slevin. Despite his light armor he was certain that with their ridiculous speed Eleraan would be fine escaping. But Slevin was a pure strength build with nothing put into agility. While this allowed him to wear his heavy plate and wield the massive hammer with ease it meant dodging was next to impossible. Even with the heavy plate he would take massive, maybe even fatal damage if he was caught unaware by the blade.
As his health dipped into the red he yelled out "Switch!" Glancing behind him he spotted the other three tanks their health bars still in the yellow sucking on a potion bottle like a drunk trying to get the last drop out of an empty bottle. "Disengage! Retreat! Get your squishy asses away from the boss if you don't wanna die!" Realizing there was no switch coming he yelled out to the DPS calling for a retreat. It seemed to take an eternity as he watched his already crimson health bar steadily drop before they started moving in retreat despite them actually responding rapidly. It seems despite his belief everyone had already realized what was going on. He watched them retreat refusing to release his block until the slowest DPS, Slevin, was clear despite his nearly depleted health.
Just as he was releasing the blade a shadow passed over head landing on the very blade he was braced against before leaping forward to land on the next highest blade. Using the varying blades like stair steps Eleraan landed on top of the top like boss just as Rolandox leapt away releasing the boss with barely a sliver of health left himself. As he began gulping down the foul tasting healing potion he watched Eleraan struggling to find his footing atop the spinning boss.
Slevin came to stand next to him watching the same thing. "Ugh, don't tell me he figured out some way to beat me in damage on the first fight I was ahead in ages." As if to answer his question their guild member seemed to finally find a way to stay stable long enough to launch an attack. The entire room suddenly filled with light as his first attack struck the golem's crystal core sending a huge shower of sparks.
"Ass couldn't let me win just once could he?" Slevin grumbled more out of habit than any real anger over the situation.
Chuckling Rolandox responded "Once we stop it spinning you can hop on up there too I'm sure. Want me to hum the Mario Brother's theme song while you're jumping?"
On top of the spinning boss Eleraan seemed to find his pace and his attacks were steadily picking up speed when suddenly the boss came to an impossibly fast stop. His feet moving in a frenzy as he struggled to maintain his balance when the boss launched into a reverse spin sending him tumbling off its top. As he fell Eleraan watched the blades beneath him speed up until they were nothing more than a blur. He could feel the wind from the blade when they suddenly came to a screeching halt. Rolandox, his health still in the yellow, slammed into the spinning blades beside the other three tanks bringing them to a stop in the nick of time.
Directly in front of Rolandox Eleraan dangled from the other side of the wide blade holding onto it with just hits left hand. "Hey, How you doing?" Despite the fact he had been only a moment from death he sounded calm, almost happy.
"Oh you know, risking my life to save an idiot from certain doom. You know just the regular." Shaking his head with a small grin Rolandox felt the extreme tension he had felt ease out.
Eleraan opened his mouth as if to reply when the entire boss jerked sideways. Slevin had rushed in to block with the others but since all his points were in strength had lagged behind finally caught up to shoulder slam right into the boss's main body. With his shear size and massive strength he had actually managed to push the giant boss a good foot back. Rolandox and Eleraan turned away from the sight of Slevin straining against the boss to looked at one another with a slowly spreading grin that stated both had the same idea.
"Hey slacker, your late! I woulda been minced meat already!" Came Eleraan's taunting reply to his friends limited speed stat.
"Screw you! See if I try and help you again!" Despite his harsh reply he had a relieved look on his face. Eleraan gave his friend a thankful nod which was all that was needed to pass his true feelings to his long term friend.
"Anyways, I think we might actually have a use for that over bloated strength stat of yours." Eleraan grinned at Slevin's questioning look.
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Rolandox couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed as he watched from the side lines. Lead by Slevin the gathered raid had managed to push the boss across the room while the few remaining tanks held the bosses blades in check. In the end that had managed to wedge one of the rooms pillars between two of its blades preventing it from spinning in either direction. When one raid member had mentioned it was almost like cheating Eleraan had been quick to point an accusing finger at them. "Its not cheating, its creative use of game mechanics!"
Slevin had added in "And my awesome strength stat!" he flexed while Eleraan rolled his eyes but was unable to argue.
Rolandox looked up to his two guild members occupying some of the limited space on top of the boss as they worked on its weak spot, the crystal core. It looked like the two were locked in a fierce battle probably over which was better, speed or strength. Eleraan's blade whipped around sending a continuous shower of sparks flying over head while each of Slevin's resounding blows sent cracks and fissures spreading through the crystal. One of the three veteran tanks walked over to him giving him a friendly nod. "Kinda depressing them not needing us now to finish."
Laughing some Rolandox nodded "Yeah leave it to mine to break a fight." Despite his laugh his reply carried over the pride he felt in there small group. It seems his earlier nervousness over whether or not their small group would be able to pull their weight had been foolish.
"You guys sure know how to make an entrance! Those two monsters for damage dealers and a tank capable of holding the boss by himself like that has got people already talking." The man gave a wide grin and a friendly laugh. "By the way my name is Lind of the Divine Dragon Alliance you're the guild leader right?"
Rolandox nodded doing its best to keep all the compliments from going to his head "Yeah, I'm the sucker that got stuck with the title. Not that it really matters."
"Well you guys wouldn't be interested in a merger would ya? There are benefits to being in a larger guild." Lind still held his friendly smile but his posture had changed giving off a more aggressive feel.
"Ahh." Glancing over to the others and there wild competition that had caused more than one person to stop their own attacks to watch slowly turning the tense boss fight into something akin a holiday event with even people cheering on their chosen style. "I'd have to talk it over with the guys but I don't think we will be looking for a new home anytime soon." For a moment he imagined how another guild would feel with a guild member who spent almost all their time using the hide skill and chuckled.
Lind's smile had slipped several notches but he still offered his hand "Well Rolandox, right?" Rolandox nodded while accepting his hand shake "If you change your mind let us know, we would hate for you to end up getting tricked into joining one of these other guilds."
Giving Lind a smile he nodded "Don't worry; I don't think that will happen. Were a pretty self reliant group."
Lind just nodded before leaving Rolandox to watch as Eleraan and Slevin struck the boss at almost the same time competing for the last attack. As the boss shattered beneath them the two dropped with Slevin landing on his feet with a thunderous impact and Eleraan touching down silently beside him. It was hard to tell which one had landed the final attack but he was certain he would find out soon enough as the two would probably be arguing over it til the next boss fight. Watching them his two companions seeming more animated than they had in floors he couldn't help but be happy with their decision to join the front lines.
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The after party was unlike anything they had been part of within the game before. With merchants, lower level guild members, and countless other players who had nothing to do with the front line crammed into the inn of the newly opened thirty first floor celebrating. It was so packed that even Eleraan with his high level hiding skill couldn't manage to disappear and was currently being mobbed with questions from an entire swarm of players on his fighting style looking extremely uncomfortable. Slevin was currently strutting around with six female players sitting on his shoulders and out stretched biceps showing off his "Legendary" strength stat.
Rolandox sipped his glass of sweet mead and chuckled at the actions of his friends when someone poked him in the side. Glancing down he found Asuna grinning up at him "So, how did you all enjoy your first boss fight?"
Smiling down at the girl "We had a blast! Can't wait for the next one. We are invited to the next one right?"
Giving a lithe laugh Asuna shook her head "After the show you three put on you've got half the front line guilds trying to figure out how to recruit you all."
Chuckling Rolandox nodded "Ya Lind from the Divine Dragon Alliance already asked us to merge into their guild back while the fight was still going on."
For a moment Asuna's brow knitted but just as fast it disappeared "Ahh yes the DDA is one of the top guilds. That said nearly all of the front line guilds would be happy for you to join if your interested, the Knights of the Blood Oath amongst them. We have been steadily making a name for ourselves."
Rolandox nodded "Ya I heard your already in running with the DDA for top guild. Not bad considering the guild was only formed a few floors ago."
Asuna looked a bit shocked "Done some research on us?" Grinning she added "Looking to join maybe?"
Smiling Rolandox replied "Naw, I don't think we would fit in another guild very well… well not all of us. We just wanted to know who was who is all."
Asuna nodded "Well you and your guildies enjoy the party, and welcome to the front lines." With that she slipped back into the crowd making her way over towards a silver haired man in crimson and white plate armor that seemed to have been a missing member of the KOB raid group.
Sipping his mead again he found Slevin engaged in a one sided arm wrestling match with one of the other two handed fighters from earlier and spotted Eleraan actually appearing to be answering a few of the questions though he continued to inch his way towards the exit. This was definitely a good idea.
AN: I use a lot of game speak so tried to explain most of it. If I use something that didn't make sense feel free to ask me I'll explain. Sorry!
PUG* This one woulda taken a lot of explaining and broken the flow. PUG stands for Pick Up Group, Its when random people get together for a short amount of time to fight together unlike say Eleraan, Crukash, and Slevin who are a long term set group. In the gaming world PUG is pretty much a dirty word because for every one skilled team player you find you will find ten lazy, unskilled, caustic personalty people. PUGs are half the reason I am normally a solo player, the other being that I believe grouping is less efficient.
Anyways, Hope anyone reading this enjoyed.