Zajcica

"Oh yeah!" Yuki jumped as Night brought up the most important quest. She needed to kill that boss for it's drop. "Let's do return of the Queen and Bloodstained Land next. Both of those quests net consumables that the both of us need to be at out maximum damage output! After those two, we can come back to here and work on our next set of quests." Yuki took another bite of the edamame and sipped up some of the tea.

"Like I said, we should bring Crow as well. I know he's as strong as us right now, but I don't want to leave him in the dust. I've kind of already done it to be honest, and I'm starting to feel bad about it." Yuki's scowl that she had wore thinking about the subject quickly faded though. "If we get him strong enough before everyone is prepared, then perhaps he can join us on th efront lines. I'm sure he would enjoy that."

Yuki paused for a moment to get her food down her throat before speaking. She had to think. How low was she getting on materials? She kept most of them at her house cause they were easy to keep track of there and didn't fill her inventory with needless junk. "I think I'm actually running low on some of the lower level materials, but I was just going to buy some from that shop near my house when I ran out."

Opening up her menu revealed to her just how much money she actually had right now, which was minimal. If she wanted more materials, she wouldn't even be able to pay for them. "Uh, maybe I could use more. If I run out of materials, I won't be able to cook good meals. And, if I couldn't cook great meals, I wouldn't get to see the amazing reactions that you and Crozeph give me when you chow do on them like that." The paladin chuckled.

@NIGHT

"Return of the queen would be an easy one, yeah. I also haven't completed it." The paladin said, finishing the tea and snacks in record time. She clanked a serving plate onto the kotatsu in her living room between the both of them that was free for grabs and served Night some tea. "I've also seen one named 'The Night's King'" She had to grin at the relation but continued. "It lowers your maximum damage to a set mark, but I don't think your dots will be affected so we'll be fine. There are also several other's that our unstoppable duo could easily beat, such as King of Lake's, which is on this very floor and the Monkey King which I could solo without a problem, but I want you to get the experience as well. Maybe we can bring Crozeph and help him level too." Yuki smiled popping one of the edamame in her mouth.

This map has been collecting dust in her inventory for way too long. It was time to get started with this special dungeon and Yuki would be inviting people who would benefit from it most, the people that had just reached tier three: @NIGHT @Raidou and @Hidden. The four of them were ready to get some useful gear to make their builds stronger. And surely so, this is where they would be able to get it.

Formulating a message for the three others, she knew that they would be willing to come. She was a bit afraid Night and Hidden's personalities clashing a bit, but they could work mutually for long enough. 

Crow had successfully dealt a nice chunk of damage to the last remaining enemy. When he needed it, he could really put out damage. Single target fights were his battle field, unlike Night's stress on AoE. Crozeph's attack had weakened the target just enough for Yuki to get the finishing blow, but since her sword was being a little chicken with bugs, she would just kill it here and they would move on to new targets.

She slashed her sword at the enemy, shyly missing her mark. The insect reached past her guard, stabbing her chest all the way through with it's pincer and exploding into data. Yuki grinned as she collected the spoils.

Turning around to her group she starts to lead the charge out of the cave. "Well, that's done. Let's find a different area that isn't full of mutated insects and snakes please. Something much less skittery or slithery."

@NIGHT @Crozeph

Insect Chimera A | HP: -168/864 (-336) | DMG: 168
Insect Chimera B | HP: -14/864 (-312) | DMG: 168
Insect Chimera C | HP: -24/864 (-312) | DMG: 168
Insect Chimera D | HP: 0/864 -(74) | DMG: 168 | BLEEDING (36) [1/2]

[3, 3, 2, 1] NIGHT | HP: 1175/1175 | EN: 81/112 (+1, -15) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 54 | ACC: 4 | LD: 8 | PRSOP: 6
[7, 4, 4, 5] Zajcica | HP: 1040/1040 | EN: 96/98 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 161 | EVA: -1| BH: 54 | REC: 1 | HM: 2 | THORNS: 74 | BLD: 36
[3, 2, 1, 3] Crozeph | HP: 680/680 | EN: 34/68 | DMG: 15 | MIT: 74 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 3 | FREEZE: 1 | REC: 2 | LD: 2

Loot:
ID: 187005 | LD: 6 | CD: 6 | 7,776col, Tier 3 Materials (1), Tier 3 Unidentified Rare Trinket (1)

Yuki reached out her hand, she only noticed how pure white it was after seeing it without armor on. "I'll take that and wash it for your friend. It was nice of them to lend it to you and I feel like I am partially to blame for it getting soiled." Once she had acquired the shawl, she took it into a room where she had some cleaning supplies, filled a tub and began to wash it. It wasn't often that players had to do these menial tasks, but Yuki enjoyed it well enough every so often. Once she had gotten the stains cleared, she hung the item on a hook to dry.

After all that was finished, the paladin lead her guest into the living room and started to make tea and edamame. She knew that was Night's favorite. "We've done great so far, and I'm not ready to slow down, honestly. I hope you're fine if we take up more quests as soon as possible. Also, don't worry about Crow. He prefers the floor over the bed, it annoys me, but that's how he is."

"Kobe." Yuki said happily. She didn't really go further into exactly what kobe beef was, since she was sure it was pretty known how expensive of a steak she was eating now. If she recalled, that steak is probably one of the most expensive on earth, and Night was now getting it for free.

The mention of a chain of restaurants was pretty interesting to the paladin. She had never though about doing that with her own brand, but it would be a cool idea. Though she enjoyed making all the food herself, and the recipes were all secrets. She didn't feel like sharing them with anyone, or at least anyone that she didn't know well enough.

"Cook is rather simplified yeah, but if you don't put the right numbers into a math problem, you don't get the right result, even if you used the correct formula. Just because I use materials to make food, doesn't mean it taste perfect. I have to use materials that suit the meal to make it taste that way."

The fresh air of Coral. Yuki took it in for a moment. It always felt great to be home.

Leading the way to the short walk out of town, the familiar shutters opened up to her home. The girl let out a relieved sigh as she stripped her armor off for a light kimono. It was only then she noticed another familiar face. @Crozeph was currently sleeping on her bedroom floor, making himself comfortable as usual. This boy could sleep on spikes if Yuki let him.

"I swear, this man really needs a bed." She says pulling her pillow and blanket from her bed. She came to her knees, lifted his head carefully and placed it under his noggin', After that, she placed the blanket over him. Once she had gotten him comfortable, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, hoping that she hadn't disturbed his rest. 

Once that was done, Yuki looked over to Night with probably one of the most content smiles the darkened player had ever seen from her. "Wanna discuss some more quests to take care of then?"

@NIGHT

Yuki too rejoiced in the application of her skill in cooking vanity foods. She could only make so many buffed foods in a single day, but there was no limit with vanity ones, so she could continue to try with them until they were absolutely perfect. In her endeavors to find a fitting meal for the Protein enhancement, Yuki had perfected the taste of kobe beef. That was one achievement she could really feel proud of.

She grinned happily as Night ate her food like a starving dog. In most cultures, scarfing down food like wild animal would be weird or bad manners. Where she came from, her family really, eating food with passion only meant that the person eating was enjoying it. "I'm glad you like it! It was hard to get the flavors correct. Cardinal doesn't make it easy, I'll admit. Had to go through mixing many different types of materials in order to get the correct taste."

@NIGHT

Yuki thought on those words for a moment. She wasn't the only person going into this fight. She knew that, but somehow she kept letting the task of carrying her own weight fall into the laps of others. They all would be carrying their own as well, healing, killing and tanking along side her. Everyone walked into this boss with the intention that they could die, herself included. They all knew the risks. "You're right. I'm sorry for worrying you with such a stupid topic."

Giving her cheeks a light tap, the paladin wonders what the two should do now that this quest was finished. She wasn't exactly hungry and she wasn't sure how Night was feeling in the regard. Maybe a short break would be in order since they had just finished two quests within the last two days, but she didn't want to spend any time being lazy. "Wanna head back to my place and look for another quest to do?"

@NIGHT

Yuki got to her feet without much problem. Lighter weight armor would normally mean less protective, but somehow, her requests for the best possible balance between them had been made. She had honestly barely felt any damage of the battle and her battle healing was already patching her up.

"I'm fine, thanks for worrying." Yuki said, sliding her blade back into the holster. "As long as you don't get hurt, I've done my job, no matter how much damage I've taken. Like I said, I trust you."

Yuki gave the girl a smile. Night made things for her in the game so easy. Without her, she would probably still be feeling lost and scared in the game a bit. The paladin started to lead her way out of the arena, pulling out a meal for both her and her friend. They deserved it after that performance.

The meal was an excellently made steak cooked to about medium(Since that's how the pinkette preferred it.) and lined with other sides like vegetables and rice. "Here." She hands one over to her friend.

"As strong as ever Night. I'm sure that you'll annihilate things in the floor boss. I hope that we have the chance to fight with each other there." Yuki said as she turned to start making her way back to town. It wasn't possible for players to get sick in Aincrad, but she still didn't feel the best standing out in the cold windy rain of this floor. She sighed solemnly trying to relieve some of the stress on her mind.

"I'm a bit scared honestly. It's dangerous, I know. But I've never felt more ready than I have now. What do you think Night?" Yuki asked, looking up at the sky above. "I feel like if I don't go, there could be avoided casualties because I wasn't there to help. But I'm also scared that my inexperience will lead people to die if they fight with me.... Being a tank is stressful."

Night soared from the sky and delivered a blow that nearly melted half of the bosses HP with a single blow. Her damage duo partner couldn't be more of a godsend with that horrifyingly powerful weapon that she had. If only Yuki could get that sort of item in her own kit. She would be much more dangerous even now.

Bad move. She got distracted for one second. As the blade crashed into the enemy, it sprung into a fit of rage that send the paladin flying. Normally, she would land on her back and have to get back up, but this armor had made her lighter than ever. She landed as gracefully as possible, but didn't have time to stop the rhino's charge this time around. It connected with her stomach and sent her flying into the wall of the arena. Her health was still stable though and nowhere near a danger zone.

Piasuhōn | HP: 427/1100 (-84) | DMG: 300+100 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 1 (2, -1) | INCARCERATED | MultiDoT Pack (336) [1/2]

[1] NIGHT | HP: 1195/1195 | EN: 105/114 (-9) | DMG: 26 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | LD: 5 | BRN: 36 | BLGT: 72 | BLD: 36 | TVM: 24 | REGEN: 30 | HM: 3
[2] Zajcica | HP: 1164/1360 (400-204) | EN: 100/100 | DMG: 3 | MIT: 204 | ACC: 2 | EVA: -1 | BLD: 36 | H.M.: 2 | REC: 1 | THRNS: 84 | TAUNT | BH: 68 | DoT -25%

Yuki blinked at the message. Crozeph was doing quests on this floor? Well thank god he messaged her. This boy would get himself killed if he didn't tell her these things. Quickly, she scarfed down the dragon rolls, having gotten used to their spicy flavor by now enough to eat them quickly and grabbed some extra vanity copies of the foods to bring to Crozeph. He always loved it when she brought him food.

Once everything was ready, she started to type out her message to Crow.

She smiled as she tapped send, picked up her weapon and donned her gloriously shiny armor. The Underdark would be bright as the sun with her in it today. She had to wonder though: What quest was Crow looking to do? If it's that high of a floor, she should come prepared.

@Baldur @Crozeph

Night seemed to have lost her footing. Yuki wouldn't laugh at her, or berate her for a clumsy mistake. Yuki was the same, even if tanking had helped her perfect that one flaw. Nevertheless, there was still a battle in front of them, and she wouldn't be distracted. 

Calling upon a sword art, Yuki lights her blade pink with a low hum of energy. It wouldn't be as strong has her old spear, but as long as she was keeping up the aggro it wouldn't matter. Night need only to hit it to kill it off. The lightweight blade slashed through her target, leaving a gaping red hole across it's body. The bleed status effect had appeared over it's health bar and ticked the boss for it's assigned damage. Yuki had never felt more effective than she did right now. Enemies would tremble at her approach soon enough, for she had the holy protection to keep any one safe and she would continue to do so until her dying breath.

Sea Wyvern | HP: 114/300 (4*3)+36 | DMG: 300 | BLEED: 36[1/2]

[0] NIGHT | HP: 1195/1195 | EN: 112/114 (-2) | DMG: 24 (+3) | MIT: 18 | ACC: 3 | EVA: -2 | REGEN: 30 | HM: 3 | LD: 5 | PROSP: 3
[7] Zajcica | HP: 1090/1090 | EN: 90/100 | DMG: 3 | MIT: 204 | ACC: 2 | EVA: -3 | BLD: 36 | H.M.: 2 | REC: 1 | THRNS: 54 | TAUNT | BH: 54 | DoT -25%

Night was doing whatever she needed to get her damage to work. Yuki knew she was still there judging by her HP bar still being lit up, and she could feel in her gut that she wasn't the only player in the arena's battlefield.

The girl cracked her knuckles under her gauntlet and loosed her neck. Bones popped into place satisfyingly. Without even drawing her blade, the paladin grinned and rushed in raising her off hand attempting to plow it into the Rhino's face. Even with her buffed accuracy, she had trouble connecting. It was a little bit more quick than she had imagined.

It charged her soon after. Even with her new, lighter weight armor, Yuki knew she wouldn't be able to dodge this thing. She braced for impact. The rhino collided with her hands. Her HP took the hit and so did the enemies. The paladin smirked. "You wanna kill me? Gonna have to try harder!"

Piasuhon: 1,016/1,100 (-84) | DMG: 300 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2

Night: 
Zajčica | HP:1360/1360 | EN:100/100 | DMG: 3 | MIT: 204 | EVA: -1 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 36 | H.M.: 2 | REC: 1 | THRNS: 84 | TAUNT | BH: 68 | DoT -25%

Yuki nodded. She had no gear to help with the cold of the rain and the wind, but her armor and leather made it much easier to keep herself warm. Night's usual track suit was probably doing it's best to keep her at a reasonable temperature, but not really working enough to fulfill her needs. As much as she wanted to do something to help her, there was the restraint of time. Every moment counts from here on out. With a sigh, she beckon's Night to follow her lead.

This boss would be no where as difficult as the Rhino, but she didn't want to test it. The murky swamps here might actually be worse than the floor where the Hebi resided. The rain probably wasn't helping with that insight. Yuki was determined, however.

Soon, the duo reached the boss area. The wyvern patrolled it's territory as normal. Yuki was about to ruin it's day. As she approached with her charge, the Wyvern took notice of her and went on the offensive. It clawed into her chest, paying dearly for it's mistake. Yuki's HP took a dip too, but it didn't matter. Balling her fist, she threw a heavy punch with her free hand, slamming her gauntlet-shield into the lizards face. It looked dizzied.

Sea Wyvern: 162/300 (3*10)+54*2 | DMG: 300 | STUNNED

Night
Zajčica | HP:1090/1090 | EN:100/100 | DMG: 3 | MIT: 204 | EVA: -1 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 36 | H.M.: 2 | REC: 1 | THRNS: 54 | TAUNT | BH: 54 | DoT -25%

"I trust you with my life." Yuki said as she took the black crystals in her hand, observing their interesting phoenix design. After that, she followed the knight into the arena and she was already gone. Night was expanding her repertoire and so would she. They needed to be stronger for what was to come, or else they would die.

Then, the arena was open and out came the rhino. A rather unintimidating boss just by it's appearance, but Yuki knew by now not to judge an enemy by their appearance. She clicked the buttons on the crystals that Night had given her and threw them down into the battle field without much thought. Luckily they didn't shatter, but that should help keep the boss debuffed for her friend's needs. As long as she was coming completely packed with what she needed, Yuki would keep going with her and protect her at every turn. That was her job - her duty.

@NIGHT

Piasuhon: 1,100/1,100 | DMG: 300 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 0 (2, -2) | INCARCERATION

Night: 
Zajčica | HP:1360/1360 | EN:100/100 | DMG: 3 | MIT: 204 | EVA: -1 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 36 | H.M.: 2 | REC: 1 | THRNS: 84 | TAUNT | BH: 68 | DoT -25%

Night was proving to be unintentionally elusive this time. Where the hell was she? The paladin had failed to bring herself an umbrella, which would be really nice right now since her hair was getting soaked and rain drops continued to assault her eyes. She groaned audibly and opened her menu pulling up Night's name.

Zajcica: Oi
Zajcica: Where are you?
Zajcica: No time to be wasted
Zajcica: I need to get these skills if I want to maximize my y'know
Zajcica: Live.

She sent the messages, trying not to sound like an ass, but time was of the essence more than ever. She had none to spare. After spending a break with her soon-to-be husband, she was ready to get back into this dreadful grind. She was closer than ever at being able to help the front lines. No one would take her seriously if she didn't come completely prepared.

Yuki walked into the boss spawning location where Night was waiting for her. This boss was supposed to be a pretty hefty one, a scary monster to take on. It could be more difficult to tank than even the stallion was. Yuki had barely walked away from that fight without limping away from it. She made sure that she would be buffed this time. They would need to be at full power this time. No question asked.

"Night, I know you were wanting to experiment with your capabilities, but please tell me you are using some buffs for this fight. If we're going to the boss fight, we cannot be fighting with weight on our ankles. We need everything that we can use to make it through and I need more levels to make sure I don't die." Yuki was plain and direct. She didn't want to sound like she was ruining Night's experiment with the no buff thing, but this was legitimate life or death.

The light expression Yuki wore was quickly diminished with the mention of buying howl. Yuki had not bought howl yet. In fact, she had actively avoided buying the skill in order to take a more proactive role as a tank. She could see the flaws with what her build brought, but this was not a time to be picky about what she wanted. Honestly, she had only come to this meeting in order to listen and spend more time with Crozeph to meet more of his guild members. However, they had barely gotten through the meeting start and she was wanting to offer help. She was probably one of the weakest Third Tier players in this room, but she felt capable.

Trying to force herself to stay seated didn't help either. She rose to her feet, making sure to keep the integrity of her beautiful kimono in place and looked over every familiar face that she knew was going to oppose her, then looked at Baldur. "Pardon my rookie eagerness, but I wish to offer myself as shield to the front liners." She started, surveying the expressions of many who would judge her what she she was about to say. "I have freshly reached Tier three, only just gaining my 50th level just a few days ago, however, I can say with certainty that I can tank well enough to be an asset." Saying that wouldn't be enough, she needed to sell her skills here or she would just look like an eager rookie who thought they could just jump in a front line fight and win by the power of friendship alone. "I have maxed not only my Heavy Armor skill, my Battle Healing skill, and my block skills, but I am also just a few SP shy of acquiring Howl and Parry. I lack any kind of damage, I will admit, but I hope that my skills will be enough to help keep people alive and that's all I want. I plead you and the other front liners to let me join the battle."

With her query put to rest, she too rested on the tatami mat. She watched the faces of some people who would disapprove of her trying to do this. Namely she looked to the most obvious people: @Mari, @Shield, @NIGHT, and most importantly @Crozeph. The lot of them would probably be the most worried about her, having known personally how reckless she can be. This was for all the money though. Yuki wouldn't fuck around here.

She would, however, wait for @Baldur's response first.

It had taken time, but soon, the vines holding her digits to the soil faltered. With a heavy pull one of her arms, it snapped. The broken piece dissolved of data. Not wasting any time whatsoever, the girl picked up her axe - God it was heavy to hold in a single hand - and slashed it through the other vine that held her arm down. With arms free, soon came her legs.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that you over grown root!" The girl said hefting herself off the ground and readying her axe for battle. She rushed forward at high speed, leaping into the air over the tree and slammed her axe down into the now helpless enemy. After being forced to the ground and completely frozen in place, she wasn't going to show this thing any mercy. It hadn't shown any to them. The bark splinter with ease as her axe passed through the tree's body. Teach him to try and root her.

Axe Attack 1 > Tree of Winter | DMG: 6

T1 MIT Perfect Meals

T1 ACC Rare Meal

T1 Protein/OH Perfect Meal

Day 39

(1)Fail: 4
(2)Salvage: 5
(3)Uncommon: 6
(5)Rare: 3
(8)Perfect: 6

EXP: 103+130 Total: 3,441+236=3,677

The paladin grinned at Crow's remark to her new gear. It was resplendent and beautiful in her opinion, glowing like she had some holy power, much like her legal name entailed. She felt like a beacon of hope in a dark cave.

"My armor was specially made to don a resonance of holiness and protection from evil." She quipped before moving between Crow and one of the pray-mantis arms. Her shield pinged against the appendage, sending it to the side. With her much lighter weapon, she followed up with another attack in light speed. It cut through the enemy effortlessly. The blade weighed absolutely nothing compared to her and the new armor was at least 40lbs lighter than her last set.

Rushing into battle with the first insect following behind her, Yuki slashed through the other targets with speeds that she didn't even know was capable. Honestly, she was more impressed than she could possibly be. "We'll find a different set of enemies for you Night. Just kill these ones off quickly."

Insect Chimera A | HP: 168/864  -(3*2) | DMG: 168 |
Insect Chimera B | HP: 298/864 -(3*2+74) | DMG: 168 | 
Insect Chimera C | HP: 288/864 -(3*2+74) | DMG: 168 |
Insect Chimera D | HP: 283/864 -(4*2+74)+36 | DMG: 168 | BLEED: 36[1/2]

[1, 2, 1, 1] NIGHT | HP: 1175/1175 | EN: 95/112 (-17) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 54 | ACC: 4 | LD: 8 | PRSOP: 6
[7, 4, 4, 5] Zajcica | HP: 1040/1040 | EN: 96/98 | DMG: 3 | MIT: 159 | ACC: 2 | EVA: -1 | BH: 54 | REC: 1 | HM: 2 | THORNS: 74 | BLD: 36 | 
[3, 2, 1, 2] Crozeph | HP: 680/680 | EN: 46/68 | DMG: 15 | MIT: 74 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 3 | FREEZE: 1 | REC: 2 | LD: 2