Aetherblade Online (SAO RP)

[Ruko]

See the OOC for more specific details:

2 days ago, a new game was released. This looked like a very major game, and had a lot of hype about it in the media and among gamers. It was set in a fantasy world, and was described by beta testers to be the ultimate RPG experience. The game world was the size of a real world country, and filled with any number of phenomenon. There was no leveling system, and the game replicated ALO and SAO's main mechanics, making it a duplication of real life, in terms of realism. In fact, if you didn't have magic and GUIs, you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two. The name and development group of the game was never revealed; only aliases were used.

It was a free to play game, and also had no apparent Pay to Win features, leaving many people very confused. It was however limited to only 12,000 players, and once those positions were filled, then no new accounts could be created. In addition, the game was limited to Japan, to maximise language compatibility between players. Today, at 7PM, a server-wide event is scheduled, in which new characters will be "finalised" and all players will be granted with the essentials to survive in the world. Anyone who doesn't turn up will have their character and account deleted, so it is expected that at least 98% will show. (After that event, y'all will be trapped in the world, and get to play an awesome game with no need to return to the real world.)

 

[Ruko]

Character Conversion Successful

Loading Worldspace...

Worldspace Loaded

Welcome to Aetherblade Online!

Ruko looked around in amazement. She within the first thousand or so to log on, so it was easy to see the architecture. She appeared to be standing roughly in the middle of a circular pavilion, which could quite easily have been some kind of temple courtyard. It was surrounded by ornate marble walls on 3 sides, with the 4th side overlooking a sky blue lake. After a few minutes of standing around, she decided to work out what she should do first. She was glad to see the menu opening gesture was the same as that in ALO. Her armour and potions were all still there, and Mystletainn also. It would seem that the creators of ABO had decided to include the data sets for ALO and most likely other game's items too. She selected the sword, which materialized and dropped lightly into her outstretched hand. It was an almost weightless weapon, in comparison to most weapons of it's class, weighing about the same as a rapier.

She attached the sword's scabbard to her belt, placed a health vial and mana vial in her quick access slots, and sat down, to begin working out this new world's magic. She tried various methods for about 5 minutes, and in the end only managed to come to the conclusion that magic did not need rituals like in ALO, but did seem to involve runes. No doubt mage classes would figure it out in no time, so she decided to leave it to them. She loved VRMMOs. Everyone was playing and starting on an equal footing, and it was impossible for the high levels to run off and leave everyone behind simply because they have no idea what challenge or quests might face them.

 

[Shadicmaster]

Panting, heart racing, vision slightly blurry, Raino Kishaki rushed up the four stories to get to his apartment, room 427. It had been a long day, and though normally he would do some homework and maybe get a little bit of gaming or music mixing time in, today, the only thing on his mind was the newest game release, AetherBlade Online. Just like other famous VRMMO's, there would be a limited selection of people who could join. Kishaki definitely wasn't going to pass up and opportunity like this, especially when he could get school credits for it. But aside from the academic worth, he had never gotten the opportunity to play a game that resembled the infamous SAO or ALO in his short lived career as a gamer. This would be an exciting first for him, if he could get one of the limited spots. As far as he could tell, it would be hard since he didn't have a character template pre-made, so he would have to start from scratch and hope he got done in time to be accepted.

A thud dully echoed through the fourth floor hall as the exhausted 16 year old nearly collapsed against his own door as he fumbled in his pockets with faintly shaky hands for his keys. In hindsight, it might have been easier on his body to take a buss and the elevator, but he couldn't risk any of the potential hazards that may slow something like that down, and so he had run all the way from school to get to his apartment. Finally having opened the door, Kishaki drug his black backpack in behind him as he stumbled across the plush, white carpet. Unceremoniously, he fell onto the couch and pulled his laptop from his bag, beginning the character creation process before plugging in his Amusphere, letting the game data upload, which took nothing more than a few seconds, before he unplugged it. Taking a deep breath, he put the headset like game console on and shut his eyes, laying back in the couch. The traditional 'link start' didn't even apply. With a simple state of mind having set in, the Amusphere initiated (a modification that Kishaki made himself). After the starting animation, Kishaki found himself in character creation with a few extra things to add to his basic character template that he had made before being put into the world, finding himself to have appeared in a field of grass and flowers, only a short ways from a busy town where many other players seemed to be. The game was filling up fast it seemed.
"Good thing I ran, else I would be the last..." the boy said as nothing more than a breath, akin to the whisper of the wind on a chilled fall night. After having tested that he was linked to his avatar properly, he walked leisurely into the town, finding a great variety of medieval era looking buildings. A smile lightly spread upon his face as he observed the details. This would be a good game...

 

[Alice White]

Kai, kept a straight face as her driver drove her home in the car. She didn't give away the thoughts going through her head. She recently set up her new system to play ABO a few hours ago. Of course her money got her a copy faster then others but her money couldn't stop everything. Now that her tasks for the day where finished she would get home and log on to creat her character.

Her body was tense with excitement but her face remained cool and calm. Once the driver pulled into the drive it took a lot of will power for her not to jump out of the car and sprint to her house. She nodded at the drive before stepping of the car and walking normally up the steps. When she opened the door she quickly shut it behind her and sprinted to her gaming room where her new gear and game were waiting. Leaving her bags and shoes infront of the door.

Quickly she booted the system and sat on the edge of the bed loosening her hair ties before pulling them out. Her long black hair fell around her shoulders as she picked up the head gear placing it on her head and over her eyes. She laided back on the bed and booted the game.

Character conversion completed.

Loading world space. Please wait.

World space now loaded.

Now entering world.

Kai saw the words apper before her eyes as she waited just when it was finished the last words flashed quickly before everything blurred with color and went back. When she opened her eyes before her was a new world. She checked her invearory, quickly equipping her two weapons. Since she came from the much older game GGO the system allowed her to reset her skills to fit this world. Of course she would miss GGO for now but she could go back if this turned into a flop. Her short black dagger was outlined with a silver razor sharp edge the same with her sword. Her outfit matched her old theme of red and black and she kept her face and looks close to her self in real life green eyes black hair. She felt it was simpler to just be herself instead of changing everything.

Closing her menu she stretched feeling the sun against her skin before walking twords the near by town that beside a lake.

 

[Ruko]

Ruko eventually gave up on magic completely, reaching the conclusion that it didn't exist at all and the box was just lying. Just as she was standing up, she noticed a message appear before her. "All registered copies of Aetherblade Online have now been activated, and all 10,000 players are currently logged in. Hence, we shall proceed with the Opening Ceremony early. Prepare for automatic teleportation in 60.. 59... 58..." The message minimised to the top corner of her vision, though it was large enough to still be incredibly noticeable. She tapped her foot impatiently as the clock counted down. When she did finally teleport, she found herself standing in much the same location, only a little to the side, much closer to the entrance than she had been before. A second or so later, two other purple globes appeared and dissipated, and in their places stood 2 other players. (You two, for convenience.) 4 huge floating holographic screens also appeared high above the crowds, projecting an image of the balcony and podium. A man stood there, crimson robes draped across his thick figure, his long silver hair tied back in a single braid. He was obviously going for an elfish look.

He opened his mouth, and a deep, booming voice echoed across the pavilion. "Welcome, one and all, to Aetherblade Online. We here at Mikai Studios like to view Aetherblade Online as the cutting edge in Virtual Reality gaming. Our software goes far above and beyond the limits of Virtual Reality technology, in an aspect called Induced Reality. I'm sure you noticed that connecting to this world took considerably longer than connecting to other VRMMOs did in the past. That is because you are all connected to a single megaserver kept 4 kilometers underground in an impenetrable vault guarded with technology more powerful that that of even the most secure research facilities and banks. As such, you can imagine the wifi isn't great under all that." He chuckled, though a trained ear would be able to pick up the fakeness in it. "Though I assure you, you shall not be experiencing such issues after today's... Bug Fix."

There was a single tone of low, very loud sound from somewhere above the crowd. High in the sky, just below the clouds, a huge black circular mark had appeared. It was several kilometers wide, and very much resembled the magical seal animations that are oh so popular in anime nowadays. Two consecutively larger circles surrounded this, each rotating in the opposite direction to the one smaller than itself. A flash of black lightning streaked horizontally across the clouds, followed by smaller, more regular bolts that flickered across the seals. Ruko's vision went white, and when she recovered, she found herself lying on the floor. The seal seemed to have disappeared inexplicably, but the man was still there. All around her, 9,400 people were undergoing the same stunned procedures.

The man spoke on. "Induced Reality has now been activated. You'll notice that the System menu has been removed from your ingame menus. This includes the Log Off and Support buttons. This is fully intentional, and in no way a glitch. This is why we view Induced Reality as superior to Virtual Reality. In a single action, we have succeeded where Sword Art Online could not. The full integration of the players into their world. Your physical consciousnesses have all been transported across a wired network between your Amusphere or Nervegear and the mainframe. In essence, you are a full part of this world now. Your mind has no effect on your physical body, and your physical body has no effect on your mind. There are approximately 600 players who were unsuccessful in this conversion. Sadly, those players' consciousnesses have been obliterated. Do not worry, your bodies will continue to function and go about daily routine, though they will lack any personality they used to possess. This is to ensure that our project is not interfered with. There is no way to return to that world now. You live in this world now, and will continue to do so for the rest of your natural lives, so please do try to make the most of it. Should you need to contact any of the Game Masters, you can find us at +6441 +2210, in our fortress in the frozen northlands, where we shall be observing you all from. So, we'll see you all at the next public event in 2 months time. Bye for now!" Even the most simpleminded of people could have come to the conclusion that the last 2 sentences of his speech did not fit the man's character in the least - the man who had disappeared from the podium in the blink of an eye.

 

[Shadicmaster]

A simple in game notification appeared, notifying players that they would soon be teleported. Kishaki was unsure if that meant stay still, or if that meant you may move about until you are to be teleported. It was a bit confusing, but either way, it was best to be on the safer side and just wait. And so wait he did, staying in the same position on his feet for the entire minute, feeling a strange sort of lighter than air feeling and a sort of tickling as a purple light enveloped him. When it seemed to dissipate, he was in a new place, a temple like structure, filled with people, apparently all of the registered players. He was teleported nearby the entrance of the grand structure, giving him the comfort of being able to step out if he started to feel too uneasy. Two women were on either side of him, drawing a faint sigh from the boy. He would much rather be alone in the corner than wedged between two women, who honestly looked like they were far more experienced in this sort of thing than he would be. Thankfully, however, the intended purpose of this gathering soon began. Kishaki began to grow a bit suspicious as the speech grew in length, and a thick facade was layered on, caked and seemingly cracking by the end when it was already far too late. DAzzled like many others, the boy stumbled back against a support pillar, blinking slowly, trying to adjust. He didnt even try to access his menu section of settings. He completely believed something like that could and would be done as it had been in the past. The only thing was, this game had much less purpose than SAO. There was no 'beat the boss and win your freedom'. There was no 'maybe if you make it to this rank, you can log out again'. This was life, according to what the man had just said, and if they had a problem with it, they would have to take it up with the game developers themselves, in their own domain. Whoever was stupid enough to do that had as hopeless a situation as a mongoose attempting to kill a snake in its own den. Shaking his head, he turned away to walk out of the large gathering place, though he was still a bit unsteady. Something about the permanent link made the control a bit different, and of course, that was just when he had gotten used to walking around in the virtual world. Due to such, he fell almost as soon as he tried to take a step. Surely now he would be seen as a complete loser... Oh the pitiful life of a newb.

 

[Alice White]

Kai stoped what she walking as she saw the count down start. She decided to to just sit and wait. It didn't matter where she went the auto tellaport would just take her somewhere else. She leaned aging at a tree and waited. Just as the second counted down to 0 she pushed off the tree to a upright positions so she didn't fall when she got to where the system was taking here.

When she aperes in town she pushed her black hair back and leaned against a wall near the entrance two other people caugh he eye one girl who gave off the aura of ex pranced player and a silver haired guy. She sighed and waited for the announcement.

After the man finished speaking Kai couldn't halp but begin to laugh. Maybe a bit to much. Yes she was scared but that ment her life's body would continue through her dull and gray life in the real world. She leaned over clutching her stomach. "This... This is to perfect... I have nothing left but money in the real world..." Her words were breathless as she laughed.

Once her laughing died down she blinked a few time standing up straight and wiping her eyes. She looked twords the silver haird boy who seemed a bit seemed a bit off as he stumbled beside her against the piller. Kai shifted her glance to the women who seemed more like she was thinking to hard for Kai to read. So, instead she turned to the guy beside her. "You okay?" She tried to sound caring but her tone was a bit off more sirwct and a bit demanding. She grimaced at her own words but gave a small closed liped smile to him.

 

[Ruko]

Ruko walked over to the two other people who had teleported close to herself. The movement controls, she noticed, were even more like moving around in real life than they had been with the Amusphere, which took her by surprised. She found herself having to compensate a lot more for her high agility than she used to, and figured she would probably end up tripping over her own feet if she didn't hold back.

"Neither of you look particularly talented at this kind of game. That armour is obviously a transfer from GGO, meaning it's stats will most certainly not be optimised for this game. Additionally, it means you're most practiced with a weapon that probably doesnt even exist in this game." She then turned to address the grey haired player. "And you look like a support-type player. I suggest you come with me for the time being. The other top ranking converted player's first objective will be to hunt down all the new and less experience players they can find to harvest money and XP, and we have no idea if there is a revival system here."

 

[Roxshi]

Kiriya narrowly made in it time as she walked up to hear the speech given by the Gamemaster. She listened intently until a surprised look showed on her face. "We're...stuck here?" The purple haired girl looked around at the people around her. Some players had the same look on her face. Others had a look that meant they had done this before. Kiriya clutched her chain which was around her. Whatever this game is, its a now a game of survival. It also means the more experienced players will pick off the weak one by one. Her mind was racing with thoughts one after another. How will we get out of this game? When will the next event occur? How can they let this happen? The purple haired girl shook her head. She pushed away those thoughts. "There has to be a way all of us can get through this..." She said to no one in particular.

Walking away, Kiriya stood on the outside of the crowd. Paying close attention to anyone who walked near her. She will have no choice but to fight, even it is with others. She exhaled trying to calm her nerves. Nervousness will not help me here. Maybe trying to find other people will help. "The other top ranking player's first objective will be to hunt down all the new and less experience players they can find to harvest money and XP." Overhearing a conversation by a nearby player, she turned to find a girl talking with two other people. Kiriya walked over and listened to the rest of the conversation. Reluctantly, Kiriya spoke up. "So, that would mean we would have to team up with other players to survive?"

 

[Ruko]

Ruko turned to see a purple haired girl whom she did not recognise. "Well, that'd be one of your options, though you'd have to team with the right people. Most of the high levels from ALO brought all their gear and stats with them, so it doesn't matter if theres one or ten of you. If you're new and inexperienced, you've lost." She noticed a movement over the other girl's shoulder, which she focused on for a few seconds. She was unsure whether or not a worried look crossed over her face, so she frowned and muttered so that only those in close range would be able to hear. "We need to leave, now. There's no time to try and convince you of anything or to explain anything, so you all have a choice. Either follow me and live to see another day, or stay here and get obliterated." She stepped rather carelessly through the small group of people between her and the exit, looking back only once before she was clear of the town, and not to check whether anyone was following, but rather to confirm her fears. The Crimson Maul was here, and had brought along a squadron of underlings. The Maul had appeared in Alfheim only 2 months before Aetherblade's release. His first action was to announce that he was a survivor of Sword Art Online. Following that, he had amassed the third largest guild ever seen, a guild so numerous that in any given competition, either formal or informal, more than 20% of the competitors would be of that guild. He was also known to have been bested only once in combat, by a player who disappeared shortly after the fight and whose only proof of existence is a name on the wall of Floor boss clearers in New Aincrad.

 

[Alice White]

Kai crossed her arms with a humph at her words. "Just becuse the game I played before this was gungale dosnt me I'm not exprianced. I game over with skills that can convert and once that didn't was allowed to put in other slots. So don't go all high mighty on me." She turned her head in a her fit but not for long once she heard the crowed growing me restlus she turned back to the random group she walked into. "I agree with her thing will get ugly here we should head out away from others." With that she materiliEd her wepons at her side and a small belt of throwing knifes. She didn't wait for the others she fallowed the girl out of
Town.

She didn't say much after that not until she noticed the group of people gathering and the look of concern on the girl face. "Who are that? People we don't want to get caught by.?"

now clear of the town there was a bit of cover so she leaned behind a tree stoping any view anyone from the town had on her she let her strath skill activate. So, she wouldn't be spotted easily as the moved. Though her points in the skill where not as high as she would like right now she made the choice to put them else where. GGOs hiding numbers where taken off armor so it was on of the skills she had to spread her other points through as she converted.

 

[Roxshi]

Kiriya listened to the girl's words. She sounded experienced as if she faced something horrific. Only some people would know what she had faced, something like...the Sword Art Online incident. Hearing her options, the purple haired girl made the choice of following the girl she had met moments earlier. From her experience in ALO, this world was a different in terms of style, layout and graphics. In this world, Kiriya knew the basis of how the controls worked. She had a little trouble with controlling her speed, making it a little hard to follow but she managed.

Weaving in and out of a small cluster of people, she walked with whoever decided to follow that girl. Seeing a small crowd of people, she realized it was one of the strongest guilds in ALO. One that grew quickly and gained popularity among players. Being with this makeshift group reminded Kiriya of her days in ALO. One thing was certain. The purple haired girl was in a game that meant survival. Trusting people is a challenge. This game is a game of skill, strategy, and reality.