EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace

Episode 78 — Skill Slot Eleven
Twenty-Sixth Day in the Month of Sakura (April 26) in the Year of the Griffon
Front Line — Floor 60

Bladescape sat on her bed, looking at the Skills on Argo's master list. It was the morning after they killed the Necromancer. She was now Level 80 and, most importantly, she had a new Skill Slot available. Unlike the other slots, she didn't know what Skill she was going to choose. She had promised Argo a few days before that she would choose something relaxing or fun. She promised to find an escape.

She certainly needed it. Her sleep was still dreamless, meaning she didn't have any nightmares about the day before, but she had not gotten much sleep. The memories that accosted her made sleeping difficult. Daviel, Yuna, Lessa, and Joltron stood out the most.

A knock came at the door. Bladescape didn't stop reading while she called for them to enter.

"You okay, Sugarcube?" Malus asked.

Bladescape looked up at Malus. She was in her full armor, war hammer dangling from her hip.

"Yeah," Bladescape replied. "Why?"

"Fer' starters, ya' missed breakfast," Malus said. "No food fights, but I had to tell Natora and Thunder when they could get seconds. Now I find you sittin' on your bed, still in your sleepwear."

"I lost track of time," Bladescape admitted as she glanced at her internal clock.

"That's what has me concerned," Malus replied. "You don't lose track of time. What're you workin' on?”

"I hit 80 yesterday," Bladescape said, grinning despite her best efforts. "I'm trying to pick a Skill for my new slot. I have a promise to keep, but it isn't easy."

"What promise?" Malus asked.

Bladescape had walked into the question. "I promised Argo I would do a fun, relaxing Skill, but I haven't found anything interesting."

"When did ya make that promise?" Malus pressed.

Bladescape thought for a second. "Two days ago, when she visited us after the boss raid meeting. She was checking in about Knightstar."

"Ah," Malus said with a slight nod. "You've always talked, but when did y’all get so close?"

Bladescape chuckled with a smile. "You were on your fishing break. Argo alluded to it in the boss meeting. The other info broker who killed quest NPCs so she couldn’t complete them. She needed to hide for a few days, so she came to us. Not that we will ever acknowledge her stay in any way, unofficially or officially. Just forget I said anything."

"Got it," Malus nodded. "And forgotten. Still, Sugarcube, ya got that promise to keep. Take a day or two, try different Skills, an figure out what’ll help ya relax. I know Natora will agree. We need ya at your best, but we don't need ya to have another combat skill. Try bakin', or sewin'."

Bladescape raised her eyebrow at Malus, the unasked question was obvious to her friend.

"Okay, neither of those are your thing," Malus admitted. "You'd know by now if it interested ya. But we got some extra metal, go bang out a sword, or try to make a breastplate, or throw out a line an catch a fish. Just go try stuff. Natora can handle the guild, it's why she’s your second. It's new Floor clearin' stuff. If we hit a field boss-"

“Don't tell me," Bladescape interrupted. "Just don't tell me. I'll take a few days to figure out what I will do to put my mind at ease. I won't get locked into combat."

"Good," Malus smiled. “I'll go tell the others an get em movin'."

"I'll get breakfast out, somewhere," Bladescape added.

"Good," Malus chuckled nervously. "Cause I kinda forgot to make sure we left food for you."

Bladescape chuckled. "It's not easy controlling them for breakfast. Or you. You may be calmer, but you can eat just as much as them."

"No it ain't," Malus smiled as she left to get the rest of the guild moving.

Bladescape changed into a nice outfit Diemond had made her. She hesitated when she went to leave her room. She had said no combat, but she had run into Laughing Coffin once before, and that other gang. She grabbed her sword and armor and put them in her storage. Just to be safe.

Everyone had already departed by the time she was ready to leave. Bladescape jumped to Floor 48. She was going to get Harmonic Salvation upgraded. Lisbeth should have the metal materials by now for her upgrade. Bladescape had put out a contract for what she needed and Pheadra had come through. She could get breakfast while the enhancement was being applied and figure out what she should try first.

She was fortunate when she arrived to find that, for once, there wasn't a line waiting outside. She entered the blacksmith shop and found that while there wasn't a line, several players were already browsing Lisbeth's wares. From the noise, she was working in the back. A short while later, Asuna came out of the back, laughing with Lisbeth.

"Thanks again, Lis," Asuna said. "I'll see you later."

As Asuna departed, the other players began to jockey for Lisbeth's attention. Bladescape asked without thinking as Asuna walked by. "Asuna, do you have a moment?"

Asuna's hand was on the door handle, but she stopped. She gave Bladescape an odd look. Bladescape immediately thought she addressed her wrong. "I mean Second-in-Command."

Asuna sighed. "Sorry, I wasn't giving you a look for the name. I was confused about you talking to me."

Asuna looked over at the other customers in the store for a moment, seeming unsure before coming to a decision and motioning for Bladescape to follow her outside. They didn't go far, just around to the back of the shop next to the canal and under a small copse of trees that offered them some privacy. Bladescape leaned against one of the trees while Asuna stood at the canal's edge, looking at her own reflection before she continued. "Yesterday made me question a lot of things, but I never forgot the standing offer you gave Kirito and I to join the Wondercolts if the need arose. You and I, we haven't really gotten to know each other, but we certainly aren't just acquaintances. I was there when your sword was made, after you got the three of us dinner. We probably should fix that; I just don't know how. Like you said yesterday, we both are busy with our guilds. Anyway, please call me Asuna. I don't want to hear formalities from you unless the situation clearly dictates it. I have enough of that in my everyday life. I heard how you handled my clone, and then I saw you handle the Commander's. I couldn't pick up my sword against it, not even to help you. It was too real. You're an active guild right there besides us in our quest to free everyone. Plus, all of your members are top notch players who sacrifice yourselves for the good of us all."

"Thanks," Bladescape said with a smile. "And my friends often call me Blade. I certainly consider you a friend, but I would like to make you a closer friend than you are. Dropping the formalities is a good step forward with forging our friendship. You mentioned the stress we live under for our positions. Since I saw you, I wanted to know what you do to relax? For fun? I'm asking because I don't have anything and everyone is afraid I'll crack. Rightly so."

"Oh," Asuna said, surprised, turning to face Bladescape fully. "Well, I cook and sew. I'm very close to maxing out my Cooking Skill!"

"Nice," Bladescape replied with a nod. "Congratulations on that progress and I hope to hear that you max it soon. I didn't take you for a cook though. Doesn't the guild have support players for that?"

"Actually, no,” Asuna admitted. “We aren't like the Wondercolts in that regard. We don't really have support roles. Some of the others cook, but usually they bring stuff in for meals, however, I don't live at the KoB headquarters like the Commander or you. I'm one of the senior officers and the Commander insists that they have their own place, separate from the headquarters. The guild bought and furnished my home, so I cook often enough. I enjoy it. If I eat guild food, it's usually packed for us to use on long days in the field."

Asuna paused. "And the secret to my success, skill wise, was Knightstar's guide."

"I see," Bladescape nodded. "I assume it was a third party buy, because that could be an interesting conundrum."

"Less so now," Asuna added. "But it could have been. Although it never should be. I only came to the clothes sale cloaked to avoid being mobbed by fans, not because I was afraid of being seen."

Bladescape couldn't help but chuckle. "I figured that's why. Mishe is very busy now with mid level players and the paper loves to talk you and the Knights up." Bladescape sighed. "Well, cooking and sewing are not my thing. I would know. It's not like Diemond or Konpeito would have a problem with it. Both of them would enthusiastically take me under their wing. Which is something I also kind of don't want."

Asuna nodded in understanding. "I have an unrelated question about Konpeito. Is she always so…"

"Distracted and bubbly?" Bladescape finished.

"That is one way to put it," Asuna replied.

"Yes, she is," Bladescape said with a chuckle. "IRL she is just as bouncy as she is in here. The other day she made a decent amount of Col from showing off sand castle art she did at the sand crabs. She apparently made a detailed replica of the Town of Beginnings and other players were paying to see it. It doesn't take her long. She's either on point, or wildly off. We're a bit concerned, at the very least, but she is brilliant. If you ask her what number she is at, she will tell you, but none of us know what she is counting, only that it is getting higher and she never has to think to answer. Recently, in an academic contest, she baked a cake, in the home-economics challenge, and when she cut it in half, the Mona Lisa was there. That is who she is; creative and strong. Also she loves to score critical hits and is very good at putting her axe right where it's needed."

“Interesting," Asuna replied. "Watching her kill her clone, and I saw her kill several others too, she is a fighting force to be reckoned with."

"Just don't be surprised when you get the odd parts," Bladescape reminded her. "Like when she got those pugilist gloves and thought they were gloves that shot lists and made a pew sound. Once you clear past that, she is quite intelligent and easy to work with. Mostly."

Asuna chuckled. "Well, good luck finding a hobby. There is a lot to do in Aincrad. I know you can find something. I have guild business to attend to now that my sword is back up to full strength."

"Thanks," Bladescape replied. "Your time was appreciated. Good luck with the work. I'm here to drop my sword off to be enhanced."

Asuna departed and Bladescape walked back inside and up to the counter. The males were still fighting over Lisbeth, which was annoying her. Bladescape stepped behind the counter and pulled Harmonic Salvation out of her storage. "You have the stuff to enhance it as planned, correct?"

"I do," Lisbeth said, ignoring the guys and taking the sword. "I will get it done by tomorrow morning. Lunch at the latest."

"I'm on a rest break," Bladescape added as she handed over the other enhancement materials. "I'll come back around noon tomorrow to pick her up. I have a spare, if I absolutely have to use a weapon. A basic, low-level blade, but the drugs I have on hand can compensate for that on the floors I'll be on."

Lisbeth nodded in understanding. She was almost constantly working on one or another of Doombunny's daggers. She had gotten used to the Wondercolts fighting tactics and timing. Her services were now in high demand. Since she had put on the new outfit, she had doubled, if not tripled, her business.

Bladescape departed so Lisbeth could deal with the customers and then side tracked herself from breakfast. On a whim, she went to see Rendil.

"Good morning!" Rendil extravagantly greeted her. "What brings a leader of the Wondercolts to me? Especially the one without a shield."

"I need a hobby skill," Bladescape explained. "I have a new skill slot and a promise to find something to help me relax. That is my current guild assignment. I don't have an interest in armor, or cooking, or weapon smithing, but the Wondercolts don't have a shield maker. Not that I would be of any use for a long while and I know I can do the same skill as any of our other players, but I just dropped off my sword for enhancement, which won't be ready today. So I thought, perhaps you could give me a jumpstart on shield smithing and we can see if I even like it? I don't mind paying for your assistance."

Rendil smiled warmly at her. “I don't have any orders right now, so why not? I have a good stock of materials too. I can sell you what you need at cost."

They settled on a price for her tutorship and Bladescape dropped Shield Crafting into her eleventh Skill slot. They went into the back and Bladescape began to learn how to make shields. There were a variety of factors to think about beyond material, which was mostly centered on design, but design was rarely aesthetic and focused on function. She made a dozen shields under his direction, but by the sixth one she knew it wasn't for her, and so did Rendil, but she trusted him.

Rendil had her make the extras to give her a canvas to work on. They tried Heraldic Painting next, which also was a bust. Bladescape was not enthusiastic about painting designs on shields, even if she was a pretty decent artist IRL.

Bladescape sighed when they gave up on that. "I love playing the guitar, but an electric guitar. None of the instruments in SAO felt right. We tried that a while ago.”

"I can understand that," Rendil replied. "But let me show you one more thing."

Bladescape tried making applications on the shields. It was the same Skill as Heraldic Painting, just a bit different in how you went about the “heraldry.” Bladescape wasn't bad at it either, but it just didn't grab her attention. Painting as a Skill, having the system even partially determining the quality of her work instead of purely her own talents, was too different from painting IRL for her to really enjoy it the same way. Maybe if she had started with the Skill at the beginning, like Diemond and Konpeito, things would be different, but right now she was trying to relax, and all she was doing was making herself more frustrated.

"Thanks, Rendil," Bladescape said. "This was a good starting point. I appreciate the time. You were a great teacher."

"Hey, I didn't have anything else to do and you paid me," he shot back. "That is a win win for me."

Bladescape sighed. "I guess it's time to melt the shields down for salvageable metal."

"Keep them," Rendil encouraged. "They are good shields for just starting out. The only thing wrong with them is that you don't like making shields or painting them. You did a good job regardless, so keep them as a reminder of your success in the field, even though you decided to not pursue it. It shows you didn't waste your time or money. For someone like yourself, a dedicated member of the Assault Team, time management is key. This was time well managed and they prove that."

Bladescape grunted. "Alright. You're right. They do prove I didn't waste my time and they are good shields for starting out. I'll put one up on the wall of my room. I don't have room for the other ones right now."

She bid Rendil farewell and got lunch. After that, she jumped to Floor 22 and tried Fishing. It was more boring than she expected and the system made catching fish easier in game than in real life. So long as the bait she used was the right type for the fish she was after, bites were guaranteed. The hard part was making sure you pulled the fish in and didn't lose it. She tried longer for Malus’s sake, but it was pointless.

Bladescape wandered down to Floor 1, the Town of Beginnings. She went to see Mo. Mo had plenty of options for her. The most obvious one she gave was questing. She gave Bladescape a list of quests she wanted done, but couldn’t complete. Mo’s combat skills weren't high enough to handle the three solo quests she gave her. They were all primarily puzzle quests, but the areas they were in were still dangerous.

They would require combat, specifically if you failed the puzzle, so Bladescape decided to wait until Harmonic Salvation was ready. Even though it had combat, questing was uniquely different from clearing. She was puzzle solving or playing through a story, not grinding for XP or Col, or mapping out uncharted areas and dangers of new floors. Although, some of the XP and Col rewards were worth the hassle of the quest. Why Mo wanted the items was not discussed, but it would give Bladescape an edge on Mo to leverage her if need be. Having leverage on someone as powerful as Mo could prove to be useful, not that she really wanted to have leverage against anyone.

Bladescape finished the day on their roof, throwing daggers into a target while she waited for the rest to get back. It was a good way to raise her Blade Throwing Skill. Her success with the shields and painting them were praised by the others, but they also understood it wasn’t for her. Konpeito decided to hang half of them up in the hallway and Diemond chose the two with the Wondercolt heraldry to mount on the meeting hall wall. They wanted to show them off, which was fine with Bladescape.

After dinner, Bladescape hung out with Diemond. It had been a while since they had actually sat and chatted, without a dungeon or clearing happening. Diemond was working on a specific line to sell at her next sale. A single day only sale, but she was still able to devote most of her mind to Bladescape.

“You gave it an honorable go,” Diemond encouraged her. “Honestly, working on these clothes doesn’t exactly calm me. It keeps me sane, but it presents its own insanity. I couldn’t not make clothes in our current state either, as the creativity just flows naturally and needs an outlet. I enjoy some of the challenges and keeping my skills sharp, but very little of it is relaxing. I am stress sewing most of the time. It does the trick, but it isn’t a vacation like Malus gets when she goes fishing.”

Bladescape sighed, frustrated. “Thanks. That's good to know. We will keep an eye on you, just to be safe.”

“Darling, keep it on all of us,” Diemond said. “Although, I can barely keep myself together. I can’t watch out for you, Malus, and Konpeito, let alone the others. We have to practice our own self care first and foremost. That is still sewing for me. Skill or not, self care is important in these highly stressful times.”

Diemond stepped close to Bladescape and whispered in her ear. “Don’t tell anyone, but I'm certain Thunder goes to a spa on her days off. She doesn't go to the same spa I go to, or any of the other major ones, but her attempts to keep it a secret are rather adorable. I can always tell when she gets back because she has that spa sparkle about her, and her fingernails are polished and have a clear coat on them. I know she paints her toes, too.”

Bladescape chuckled at the idea of how much damage that information could do to Thunderborne if that secret was discovered. If they were not in a death game, she would needle her just to get a response from her, but now wasn’t the time for that kind of friendly teasing, especially if it threw her off her groove.

Bladescape let Konpeito know she was going to sleep in late. Konpeito promised to have something in the dining room for her. She insisted on making her breakfast before Bladescape retired early.

BLADESCAPE: Level 80 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 76 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
MALUS: Level 75 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 75 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 75 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 76 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation
DOOMBUNNY: Level 79 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche
KIEFER: Level 73 — 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 73 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation