[PP-F2] Rocks Into Smaller Rocks

[Dameon 0]

“Wait. So the entire quest is that I punch a rock continuously until it breaks?” Dameon asked the man that was travelling with him as they exited the warp gate. Dameon didn’t really see how martial arts could possibly help a one handed sword skills. It didn’t make all that much sense looking at it from a realistic point of view, but this was a game so things were a little different. Dameon hadn’t even had time to look up as he exited the gate and saw a crowd standing there. His hood and cowl were already up as the crowd cheered at seeing the two of them together. Dameon could not help but sigh, all this time carefully concealing himself and now it all meant nothing.

“Let’s just get there before they start asking for autographs,” He said under his breath as they walked toward the area he had been told about. He had no idea how he was actually going to destroy the rock, after all his strength was laughable, he even looked flimsy.

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah...no kidding."

After exiting the teleportation circle it was surprising to Calrex that such a crowd suddenly had decided to start forming around the two of them. He was fairly sure it was due to Dameon's past reputation as a professional gamer, and less the bluenette's own reputation as both a frontliner and SAO's currently highest level player. Nonetheless, the sight was something he was certainly not used to.

Quickly leading both of them out into the field zones the crowd seemed to die out, as such dedicated fandom would not be wise out in the areas where you can be attacked at a moment's notice, "In any case, yeah that's basically the quest. It is something rather...menial, but interestingly enough the one-handed straight sword is one of the few weapons that actually gains a stronger Sword Art if used in combination with the skill. Of course, it still requires you to have Rank 2 in Martial Arts and Rank 5 in the sword skill itself, but so far every high level straight sword user has gotten it to make their weapon even more powerful."

[Dameon 0]

“I mean I understand how it can be useful once I have reached that point. Still though, punching a rock repeatedly until it breaks is about as boring a quest as I have ever heard of. Not to mention my strength is not something that is notable in game or in real,” Dameon sighed really not wanting to do this quest in such a mundane manner. He would rather be fighting something that actually fought back or taking on something that presented a challenge as opposed to punching a rock for one damage until it dies.

“After this I want to do something more exciting. Punching a rock is about as fun as watching paint dry,”  He stated once more as they approached the area and he walked in and spotted ‘the rock’ in question.

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I can assist in this quest at the least, and I currently have Rank 2 in Martial Arts plus the Athletics mod, so I can at least do some decent damage to the rock that'll help speed things up. But I agree, this quest is probably one of the most mentally taxing ones just because you have to push through the boredom of slamming your fist into a rock repetitively."

As the two continued on eventually their destination came into view, the large boulder that Dameon was supposed to crush spawned as Calrex gave a small sigh. He had assisted Shizuka in this quest in the past, and he remembered that without his assistance, the young girl would likely still be punching away at the boulder into it broke. Swiping on his menu the second tier gauntlets he had comissioned from Teion, the Grand Gauntlets II, surrounded his forearms as the Grand Blade II vanished. Looking over at his teammate he gave a nod, "Go ahead and take the first shot. I'll follow up once you initiate the quest."

[Dameon 0]

Dameon finally had approached the rock and unequipped his sword and put it away. Dameon couldn't help but feel like this quest was a potential waste of time. Mainly for the fact that with RNG involved and his lack of accuracy he could still miss the stupid rock in front of him. The curious part he couldn't help but wonder if he missed how the game would force him to miss a stationary massive rock. Dameon sighed as he got closer to the rock and took his first swing at it. The game would force him to miss by a mere fraction of a millimeter. "Seriously? If there is one thing I am pissed off a Kayaba for it is the RNG in this game at times,"  Dameon said feeling a bit of shame. 

 

Id: 46000

BD: 1

 

Rock: 50/50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46001
Battle Dice: 4 (Accuracy +3) = 7
Sword Art <<Flash Blow>> Activated (1 Energy Used / 56 Remaining)

"Yeah, sometimes that amount of chance in this game doesn't really make any sense. I would think we'd be a little more consistent with our attacks after using them long enough."

Stepping forward Calrex lowered himself into his stance for using <<Martial Arts>>, bending at his knees to help center his stance. Bringing his right arm back the hand clenched into a fist as the skill's energy began to emit from the back of the gauntlet like an afterburner. Looking forward the Ultramarine Knight gave a calming breath, triggering his <<Flash Blow>> Sword Art. The right gauntlet glowed light blue before he shot it forward in a basic straight punch. 

The attack slammed into the rock as a fifth of the health the object had vanished in an instant. Emanating from the impact point was a significant crack that traveled partway through the boulder.

Stepping back he gave a nod to Dameon, "Alright then, go ahead and take another shot."

Rock: 40/50 (10 DMG)

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon watched as Calrex created a crack even after that massive attack. It pretty much seemed as if no matter what he did he would only do a fraction of what this other guy did, I suppose that was the point of the quest though. Dameon with perfect form punched the rock with as much strength as he could  displaying amazing technique from his time in the military and the result only dealing 1 damage. "Curious if the RNG calculates you always dealing one than wouldnt it be better to do short jabs as opposed to powerful straight punches?" Dameon asked wondering if anyone had ever tried that. 

ID: 46002

BD: 8

 

Rock: 39/50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46006
Battle Dice: 7 (Accuracy +3) = 10
Sword Art <<Flash Blow>> Activated (1 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 56 Remaining)

"You know...I don't really think it does. It kind of lumps every attack into the same chance to hit, unless you have an item or skill mod that boosts your accuracy stat."

Walking back over to the boulder Calrex repeated the same ritual as he lowered himself into his fighting stance, the same effect occurring as his fist shot into the rock, knocking off another fifth of the object's health before giving a calming exhale, standing back upright, "In any case, if it helps speed things up I'm all for it, heh."

Rock: 29/50 (10 DMG)

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

"I don't think that this quest can b done soon enough. I am sure that I will benefit from the experience and yada yada BUT in terms of experience I'd rather wipe my own ass than punch a rock that chance of dodging," Dameon said bluntly as he laughed about it a bit and to test his theory from before just did a small little jab and still inflicted a single point of damage. Dameon sighed knowing Kayaba was looking down at him right now laughing.

 

ID: 46013

BD: 6

 

Rock: 28/50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46014
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3 / Disguise +1) = 6
Sword Art <<Flash Blow>> Activated (1 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 56 Remaining)

"Yeah, I can see your point hehe. I'm sure there's other quest in tons of games with similar concepts, but they aren't even close to the same amount of boredom caused by simply punching a rock until it dies. It's too bad you can't have more than one person gain the skill at once, because it would make this a little more bearable."

Stepping forward Calrex threw his fist forward again, but for some reason he felt he would miss. Triggering his <<Disguise>> he temporarily turned into a boulder himself before the illusion shifted forward an inch, symbolizing the attack connected before the image dispersed, "Alright, almost done, heh."

Rock: 18/50 (10 DMG)

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon nodded his head in agreement thinking that they had the same idea or at least until the man had transformed himself into the rock and rolled slightly into the other rock to deal 10 points of damage. Dameon wouldn't help but stand there and stare at him wondering wtf was going on after they had just had this discussion. Dameon sighed as he punched the rock again feeling as if words had fallen on def ears. To his surprise he had also crit the rock leaving a much larger crack than what should have been normal for his strength. 

 

ID: 46016

BD: 10 (+2)

 

Rock: 15/50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46017
Battle Dice: 6 (Accuracy +3) = 9
Sword Art <<Aggressive Twins>> Activated (2 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 55 Remaining)

"This...is actually already wearing on me too much already. Might as well finish it off..."

"Alright, I guess we should just wrap this up already..."

Stepping forward Calrex gave a small sigh as he lowered himself into his <<Martial Arts>> stance once again. Giving a calming breath he brought both arms back as he charged up both gauntlets with his <<Aggressive Twins>> Sword Art before shooting them forward. The double barrel punches struck into the boulder, knocking away double the damage he had originally inflicted with his single fist as the rock burst apart into pieces.

Dusting off his arms the bluenette turned around, giving a nod, "Whelp, that's done and over with."

Rock: -5/50 (10 DMG * 2 Art= 20 DMG)

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

The rock shattered before them and he was happy to finally see it gone and done with. The menu popped open with his reward of an extra skill that he now finally had. He already felt a little stronger than before though it would not show on his avatar obviously. As he closed a window he felt the ground shake enough that if felt like an earthquake and almost made him lose his footing. From the ground game out a large stone golem that was easily close to fifteen feet tall and absolutely huge. Dameon sighed as he turned to Cal. "You killed its baby. You have a bad habit of putting me in more danger than I should be in. If I die I blame you," Dameon said half joking and a lot of sarcasm as he looked up at the thing wondering who had the aggro. It was at that point he noticed that he had the hate meter. "Oh come on. My quest but he killed it," Dameon said pointing to Cal as the Golem attacked and Dameon hopped out of the way and attempted to slash at the golem's side.

 

ID: 46020

BD: 2 (miss)

MD: 4 (miss)

 

Dameon: 68/68| D: 6 | Miti: 24| Energy: 16/16| Hate: 1

 

Golem: 200/200

Miti: 50

Dmg: 45

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46022
Battle Dice: 3 (Accuracy +3) = 6 (Disregarded Due to Item Switch)
Item Switch Grand Gauntlets II > Grand Blade II (1 Energy Recovered / 56 Remaining)

"Well, today must be freaking April Fools Day or something. Either that or the designers have decided to pick me as the butt end of the joke, because this does not match how it has gone in the past."

Shaking his head Calrex gave a sigh as he saw Dameon dodge a blow from the golem before trying to attack himself. Swiping down on his menu he quickly accessed his inventory as he rapidly pressed through the various categories, eventually reaching his equipment. Swapping out the Grand Gauntlets II for the Grand Blade II the armor surrounding his forearms vanished as the wide straight sword reappeared in its sheath on the back of his hip. Drawing it he gave a calming breath as he targeted the creature.

"Now...should I draw its attention to me, or try and take it out first..."

HP List
Calrex: 276/276
   Energy: 56/57 (+1)
Dameon: 68/68
   Energy: 16/16

Enemies:
Golem: 200/200
DMG: 45
MIT: 50
 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon was already discerning the monster's attack patterns as he dodged another attack. The monster also had a little pep in its step as it avoided Dameon's attack as well. I am getting real tired of rocks dodging my attacks Kayaba he thought as he avoided another one and slid back close to Cal. "I am cursed don't blame yourself. I can tank it just fine I upgraded my parry after the last quest if it does manage to come close to landing an attack. Besides its strength will be somewhere between ours right?" Dameon said as he ran forward yet again to keep its attention.

ID: 46023

BD: 1 (Miss)

MD: 5 (Miss)

HP List
Calrex: 276/276
   Energy: 56/57 (+1)
Dameon: 68/68
   Energy: 16/16

Enemies:
Golem: 200/200
DMG: 45
MIT: 50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46024
Battle Dice: 7 (Accuracy +3) = 10 (Dsiregarded Due to Howl)
<<Howl>> Activated (+3 Hate to all enemies / 1 Energy Recovered / 57 Remaining)

"Yeah, it shouldn't have buffed itself to a ridiculous level. We're certainly not fighting a floor boss level monster. Nonetheless, go ahead and focus on attack. I can handle the defense for now."

Calrex gave a nod to Dameon as he stepped forward a few feet before flipping his sword into a reverse grip, raising it high. The Grand Blade Iit up with a light blue glow as his armor also emanated the same aura. Bringing his sword down the ground the energy shot out like a wave as his <<Howl>> skill activated. Shooting past the golem it turned its attention to the bluenette as he extracted his sword from the ground.

HP List
(Hate: 3) Calrex: 276/276
   Energy: 57/57
(Hate: 0) Dameon: 68/68
   Energy: 16/16

Enemies:
Golem: 200/200
DMG: 45
MIT: 50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon watched as the man used howl as Dameon's bade made contact with the golem for a total of a single point of damage. Now however the golem wasn't focused on him at all since the other player had gone and used his taunt. So now Dameon was as worthless as ever. Dameon would lean against a nearby tree and watch the man fight the monster noting it would have easily taken half damage by now if Cal hadn't used howl. Dameon would wait for this to be over and hop in if he needed to as he did almost no damage even with his last crit. Had he been attacked instead of Cal he could have used his parry skill mod and reflected the damage back and folowed it up with a sword skill after its mitigation had been beaten by the parry. "You've got this!"  Dameon said as he checked the time on his HUD.

ID: 46026

BD: 10 (+2)

MD: 9 (+1)

HP List
(Hate: 3) Calrex: 276/276
   Energy: 57/57
(Hate: 2) Dameon: 68/68
   Energy: 17/17

Enemies:
Golem: 199/200
DMG: 45
MIT: 50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Dameon

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46027
Battle Dice: 4 (Accuracy +3) = 7
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated / <<Charge>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 46 Remaining)

"Going to take a...gah!"

In a moment of distraction from his teammate walking off once again Calrex turned his head back to see that the golem had done an attack he had seen before, but was not prepared for this time around. It fired its fist at him as the hunk of rock slammed dead on into his avatar, sending him backwards. However, it didn't deal anywhere close to the amount of damage it had inflicted to him in the past. Quickly recovering the bluenette gave a small sigh, "Alright then..."

Rushing forward he activated his most powerful attack combination, <<Meteor Break>> combined with <<Charge>>. Rushing forward the Grand Blade II lit alight with the shining golden glow of the Sword Art. Unleashing the attack the Ultramarine Knight slammed into the golem's chest before slashing rapidly with his sword before charring once again. As the creature staggered from the second charge he leapt upwards before coming down with a helm breaker strike, cutting down the length of the monster before the attack concluded.

Giving a small sigh he took a couple of steps back before giving a nod, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, heh."

HP List
(Hate: 4) Calrex: 259/276 (45+2 DMG - 30 MIT = 17 DMG)
   Energy: 46/57 (-11)
(Hate: 2) Dameon: 68/68
   Energy: 17/17

Enemies:
Golem: 62/200 (13+3+1 DMG * 11 Art - 50 MIT = 137 DMG / Stunned Until Next Turn)
DMG: 45
MIT: 50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex

[Dameon 0]

Dameon watched as the other player continued to toy with the giant golem. They both knew this could have been over by now and now they were just waiting for this to end. At the very least he hoped they could get loot from it, after all his attack did register even if it was for only one damage. Dameon sighed as he re-ordered his items and checked the map wondering if there was anything they havent done on this floor as of yet. "Hey could you hurry It up? I am wondering where a good place for a dungeon would be," Dameon said as he stretched. He also checked his inventory at all the bread that will still there form the beginning. He hadnt eaten at all since the game had began.

[Calrex 0]

ID: 46028
Battle Dice: 7 (Accuracy +3) = 10
Loot Dice: 3 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 6 (No Bonus Loot)
Sword Art <<Shadow Explosion>> Activated (9 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 38 Remaining)

"Alright then, give me a sec..."

Readying his sword Calrex gave a calming breath as the Grand Blade II lit up with the dark purple glow of his <<Shadow Explosion>> Sword Art. Rushing forward he slashed rapidly with the nine slashes of the attack. Just as quickly as the attack finished the golem burst into cystals.

With a sigh of relief the bluenette flipped the Grand Blade II into a reverse grip before resheathing the sword, turning over to face his teammate, "Okay, well that interruption is done. Got any clues as to a place where we can find a dungeon?"

Loot List:
1 Material

HP List
(Hate: 5) Calrex: 259/276
   Energy: 38/57 (-9+1)
(Hate: 2) Dameon: 68/68
   Energy: 17/17

Enemies:
Golem: -14/200 (13+1 DMG * 9 Art - 50 MIT = 76 DMG / Stun End)
DMG: 45
MIT: 50

Edited January 18, 2016 by Calrex