SP - F16 End of Ouroboros <<Snake Out of Water>>

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65377
Battle Dice: 3 (Accuracy +3) = 6 (Disregarded Due to Stun)
No Action Taken ( 1 Recovered / 58 Remaining)

"Well that's just being mean now. Two paralyze inflictions in a row?"

As the field boss took another bite and reinstated the paralyze effect on him Calrex gave a small curse under his breath. He had recognized the feeling of being unable to move for two round in a row before. It was back when he and Oikawa had faced off in the S&Z tournament many months ago, when the two had both decided to use paralyzing weapons. However, his blonde teammate had the upper hand, wielding a shield that was capable of inflicting the paralyze enhancement on both a hit and a guard. It was a losing situation for him, but not one that he didn't give everything he got at. The battle was close, even though Oikawa had the equipment to give him the advantage.

"I know exactly what I need to do. It's too bad my Meditation skill can't heal me anymore, because that was a useful ability when in such a battle like this. I've got more than enough energy to take this thing down, and my health is nothing to scoff at. However, some more buffer healing would be good."

ID: 65378
Mob Dice: 4 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion Negated) = 6

Even though its prey was subjected to two paralyzing bites, the snake saw that now even a fifth of its entire health had been depleted from its two critical strikes. Obviously this player had more health than the creature could initially damage, and even moreso whatever armor he was wearing, albeit covering only important parts of the body, did its job in neutralizing most of the damage. The serpent was getting frustrated at the difficult of consuming its meal. Deciding to neglect biting once again <<Hebishinu>> slithered forward once again, slamming into the blue-haired player.

With mere seconds passing by, this meant that its prey would be able to act again. However, it much preferred its prey to struggle before its death, rather than to roll onto its back and beg for mercy. It was, after all, fighting another predator, and what kind of meal would it be if it wasn't earned?

Calrex: 262/311 | E: 58/69  (60 DMG - 30 MIT / 2 Achilles = 15 DMG / Paralyze End)

Hebishinu: 455/600 (1 Achilles)
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65379
Battle Dice: 10 (Accuracy +3) = 6 (Vengeful Riposte Fail)
Loot Die: 1 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 4 (Hebishinu Not Found)
<<Parry>> Activated (2 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 57 Remaining)

"I've got to play this carefully. I can definitely outdamage this snake because of my damage boost, but if I let it continue to paralyze me it will only wear my down. I've got to do this just like when I was defending the Amethyst Boutique before, bide my time carefully, and strike only when the opportunity presents itself. This is a waiting game, and I've done this many times before."

Giving a few calming breaths Calrex slowed his heartbeat and focused. His arms and sword glowed once again with the <<Parry>> skill as he prepared himself for the incoming attack. He couldn't get an eye on the field boss, meaning that aimlessly swinging around in the fog would only result in a waste of essential energy that could be used towards applying precise and accurate strikes.

ID: 65380
Craft Dice: 11 (Paralyze)
Mob Dice: 9 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2) = 9 (+1 Damage)

As the blue-haired player got to his feet Hebishinu tried to rush in and bite once again. It was successful, however, it could once again taste the familiar flavor of metal as the player's blade blocked most of the attack once again. It could feel its paralytic venom try to seep out, but it missed the mark as the oversized snake recoiled back into the fog and trees.

It recognized it had made a mistake. Instead of continuing to render its target helpless, it got boisterous and let the player recover. Now it was able to act again, and it appeared that having a plethora of actions to use for different situations was this prey's specialty. The blue-haired swordsman had a powerful attack, a retaliation aura, a defensive ability for dangerous attacks. The only thing missing was a self-healing ability. Even though these individually seemed to be insignificant, together they were most certainly a nuisance.

Calrex: 261/311 | E: 57/69  (60+1 DMG / 2 Parry - 30 MIT / 2 Achilles = 1 Minimum DMG / Paralyze Negated Due to Parry)

Hebishinu: 454/600 (1 Achilles)
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65385
Battle Dice: 1 (Accuracy +3) = 4 (Disregarded Due to No Action Taken)
Loot Die: 19 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 22 (Hebishinu Found)
No Action Taken (1 Recovered / 58 Remaining)

Averting the past strike Calrex gave a few exhales to quickly recover from the impact. He had staved off yet another potentially dangerous blow that <<Hebishinu>> may have inflicted upon him, and thus prolonged his ability to fight. After many battles, he had come to learn that most monster battles, and to some level some player-to-player ones, were for the most part battles of attrition. When it came to power vs. power, there were some that preferred to strike first and end things as quickly as possible. It was why things like <<Charge>> seemed to be a staple of the striker builds. At the same time, his endless number of battles gave him even more insight. Strikers specialized in what many games referred to as "burst damage," dealing as much damage in as short a period of time, then waiting to recover, then attack again. However, SAO lacked that recovery time. Once your <<Charge>> skill was used, for better or worse, it was gone and could not be used on the same enemy.

So, after such things were used up, what remained was simple back and forths of rather predictable amounts of damage. Yes, some weapons overall dealt more damage than others, but in the end things were boiled down to the amount of consistent damage that could be dealt. Whoever dealt more in less time tended to be the winner. However, one thing that changed that game was mitigation and survivability. If all one could do was attack, then their strategy was arbitrary. If they could do more than that, things became more complex and harder to read. It was the basis of his build, and what he thought helped to keep him alive thus far.

ID: 65386
Mob Dice: 1 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2) = 1

The serpent couldn't tell whether the player was using some kind of strategy, or just mocking it. After it had managed to successfully knock away the critical blow of its fang, the blue-haired swordsman didn't bother to retaliate. That being said <<Hebishinu>> had managed to retreat to a good position out of range of the person's blade, but that didn't even prompt a retaliatory response. Either the player was remarkable dense, or incredibly intelligent. It knew it wouldn't score a hit, and even decided to conserve its energy by neglecting to act.

From what the snake could gather, this player was mostly certainly a veteran of many battle, and most certainly a predator.

Calrex: 261/311 | E: 58/69

Hebishinu: 454/600
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65391
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3 / Disguise +1) = 6
Loot Die: 20 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 23 (Hebishinu Found)
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated / <<Disguise>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 48 Remaining)

"There's an opening!"

As the serpent seemed to hesitate, it didn't realize that Calrex had locked onto its position the entire time, with Roc circling above to confirm where it was coiled. The serpent was agile, but it still needed anchor points to elevate itself above the ground. Those trees it attached itself to were easily to use as a way of determining where the creature could move.

Upon seeing the most likely place the creature was going to move he immediately reacted with almost explosive force, triggering <<Meteor Break>> once again as he slammed into the serpent's side before rapidly cutting through, coming back down with a powerful down slash, ending his attack right below where the creature was positioned, "Alright, another hit in. Only a few more to go..."

ID: 65392
Mob Dice: 5 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2 / Disguise +1) = 4

Another successful attack on it. This was not a good predicament. With only two hits the blue-haired player had managed to reduce its health by nearly half. For a blade as the swordsman's was, it appeared to be biting deeper than it normally would. <<Hebishinu>> could only guess that some modification must have been made to it in order for it to cut deeper. Giving a small hiss it tried to reposition itself before attempting to attack, but this time it appeared its prey had placed itself in an inconvenient position for the serpent, making its attempts at springing forward to bite impossible to perform.

Aggravated from the attempt the serpent began to move to reposition itself once again.

Calrex: 261/311 | E: 48/69

Hebishinu: 334/600 (19+1 DMG * 11 Art - 100 MIT = 120 DMG)
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65397
Battle Dice: 3 (Accuracy +3) = 6
Loot Die: 9 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 12 (Hebishinu Found)
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 38 Remaining)

"Don't think for a second I'm letting you get away!"

As the serpent tried to reorient itself Calrex's eyes remained locked dead on the creature as he immediately readied his Sword Art once again. The shining golden glow of <<Meteor Break>> broke through the cloudiness o the fog once more as he leapt upwards, slamming into <<Hebishinu>>'s abdomen before rapidly cutting, using the rising momentum from his jump to continue cutting away at the creature before kicking off, landing back on the ground, both legs bending to nearly a 90 degree angle to cushion the amount of downward force as a result of his descent. Looking up the bluenette confirmed that more than half of the field boss' health was gone, and he still had enough energy reserves to eliminate the rest.

"Finally a turn in the tide. I've got to keep this pressure up."

ID: 65398
Mob Dice: 7 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2) = 7

Enraged at the fact that the blue-haired player was capable of harming it once again, the serpent immediately slid down a tree trunk, touching the ground as it came around, whipping its tail to smack into its prey. The attack was successful, but it also felt the retaliation damage once again, its health trickling down a sliver once again. It was still insignificant damage, but with each tick of red vanishing the creature became more enraged.

Whether it missed or hit the player, it seemed to be experiencing trouble. It's pas fang attacks did work, but not it appeared that the swordsman had adapted his strategy. Either that or it seemed the luck was no longer in its favor. It had tried sneaking back into the fog, but it appeared that the previous attacks had positioned its prey within an easily visible range to strike.

Calrex: 246/311 | E: 38/69 (60 DMG - 30 MIT / 2 Achilles = 15 DMG)

Hebishinu: 213/600 (19+1 DMG * 11 Art - 100 MIT = 120 DMG + 1 Achilles)
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65401
Battle Dice: 1 (Accuracy +3) = 4 (Disregarded Due to No Action Taken)
Loot Die: 9 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 12 (Hebishinu Found)
No Action Taken (1 Recovered / 39 Remaining)

As the battle continued to progress Calrex once again opted to refrain from attacking, his eyes locked onto the serpent field boss as Roc continued hover above. With his familiar's continued effect the blue falcon symbol remained on his right cheek as the bluenette calmed and focused his senses, his grip on the Grand Blade II firm yet flexible. "Wait for the opening again. This creature is on its last legs. Two more blows and it will be dead..."

The battle had started off slow, and even though it appeared that <<Hebishinu>> previously had the upper hand, the creature was now fighting for its life, rather than preying upon the bluenette.

ID: 65402
Mob Dice: 5 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2) = 5

The situation was growing dire as the serpent tried to snap forward and bite Calrex once again, only to taste the heat of the air as its attacks fell short of the mark. Flicking its tongue in and out once again it tried to reposition once again, but its eyes continued to meet the dead gaze of the blue-haired swordsman's. Oddly enough, the gaze wasn't one filled with malice, but one of cold absolution. If described as a sentence, the former would be, "I will kill you." compared to the latter of, "You will die." One was more personal, opinionated, while the latter was factual, definitive.

The predator that <<Hebishinu>> was combatting, while it most certainly has points that were lacking, it made up for it by covering those weaknesses with other traits. Something that this creature had no counter for.

Calrex: 246/311 | E: 39/69

Hebishinu: 213/600
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65403
Battle Dice: 4 (Accuracy +3) = 7
Loot Die: 11 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 14 (Hebishinu Found)
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 29 Remaining)

Gritting his teeth as he steeled his senses Calrex breathed outwards, his cheeks expanding slightly. He was certainly beginning to run low on energy reserves, especially if was going to continue using his most powerful Sword Art. Nonetheless, as the opening presented itself once again the bluenette released <<Meteor Break>>, slamming his shoulder into the snake. With the impact strike successful he ripped through more of the creature's health with the shining golden Grand Blade II, ending with a fierce stab which brought the blade all the way through to the hilt.

Planting a foot against the serpent's hide he pushed off, extracting the sword and backflipping back to the ground, "One last strike..."

Raising his sword he pointed the edge at the serpent as his dead-locked eyes remained fixed to the creature, "Next attack lops off your head."

ID: 65404
Mob Dice: 4 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2) = 4

Even though the serpent couldn't understand Calrex's words, it could easily tell by the blue-haired player's actions. He was declaring this battle over, with the next attack being the decisive blow. The serpent couldn't stand for the disrespect, as it released a hiss before lashing forward once again. However, the last attack had put it on its last leg. Its head slammed into the ground next to its former prey before it recoiled back into the trees, slither as it aimed to head for the river. It needed to find a way to gain the upper hand once again, and hopefully the murky waters of the stagnant stream may lend to its benefit.

It was a battle of predators, and it seemed that it was on the losing end, about to become the prey. It would not give up without a fight.

Calrex: 246/311 | E: 29/69

Hebishinu: 93/600 (19+1 DMG * 11 Art - 100 MIT = 120 DMG)
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Roll 65406 disregarded. Accidentally clicked without entering information

IC:

ID: 65407
Battle Dice: 1 (Accuracy +3) = 4 (Vengeful Riposte Failed)
Craft Dice: 11 (Battle Healing Activated)
Loot Die: 5 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 8 (Hebishinu Not Found)
<<Parry>> Activated (2 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 28 Remaining)

As the field boss slinked into the stagnant stream Calrex glanced up, his focused eyes seeing that his <<Battle Healing>> skill had activated by mere chance, his health climbing slightly. Blue diamonds sparkled around him for a few moments before converting to pixels. At the same time he gave a calming breath, glancing down at the unmoving waters as it rippled from the massive creature that sunk into its depths, "Tch...guess this is the last tactic it's got. Trying to disengage from battle to try and attack me from a blind spot? Unfortunately I don't have the skill for countering that strategy just yet. Nonetheless...that doesn't mean I don't have a countermeasure."

Taking a step back he held the Grand Blade II forward, his forearms and the sword glowing blue from his <<Parry>> skill once more, preparing for the incoming potential attack, "I may not know where you are, but I don't need to. This skill is controlled by the system, meaning that as long as you try to attack me, the system will guide my blade in the right direction."

ID: 65408
Craft Dice: 7 (Paralyze)
Mob Dice: 9 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2) = 9 (+1 Damage)

As it lingered in the depth of the dark brown water <<Hebishinu>> contemplated when to strike. Small bubbles left from its nostrils, heading to the surface of the water. It tried to think of a strategy, but as the pace of the battle seemed to progress, the more and more it realized that things wouldn't go in its favor. Unless things changed in it favor, the serpent could foresee its death. Its eyes red with rage it quickly rose up from the depths, opening its mouth with a loud hiss before diving forward.

It did manage to bite into the blue-aired swordsman's should once again, but its hopes sunk as it saw only a sliver of health vanish. At the same time, it saw that some of the player's health had returned while it was down in the riverbed.

Releasing its grip he recoiled back, almost desperate to try and find a way to survive.

Calrex: 261/311 | E: 28/69 (60+1 DMG / 2 Parry - 30 MIT / 2 Achilles = 1 Minimum DMG / Paralyze Negated Due to Parry / +16 Battle Healing)

Hebishinu: 92/600 (1 Achilles)
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

ID: 65410
Battle Dice: 3 (Accuracy +3) = 6
Craft Dice: 12 (Battle Healing Activated)
Loot Die: 12 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 15 (Hebishinu Found / Bonus Loot)
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 18 Remaining)

"That was your last mistake."

With its final critical attack failed Calrex's eyes locked onto the creature's head. Since most of its body was below where he was standing, the targeted area was a straight shot as he rocketed forward, slamming into <<Hebishinu>>'s neck area, the momentum carrying forward as he drove it into the opposite riverbank. Remaining standing on top of the oversized snake he began to rapidly hack away at the section of the neck, the red line growing wider and wider, until on the final strike it completely detached, the head rolling across the ground before bursting into crystals, the rest of the field boss' body following soon after.

ID: 6541
Mob Dice: 2 (Accuracy +2 / Evasion +2) = 2

There was nothing that the serpent could do. Maybe if it had remained underneath the river's surface and made its way upstream, or moving to a foggier section of the river. But now it was too late. The creature wouldn't even give a death wail, as each breath was knocked out as a small gasp from the swordsman's blows until its last breath forced its head to pop off. Its eyes went blank before bursting into crystals.

This day it would remember, that among the players there were some that were predators themselves. Once it respawned for the next quest-taker, the AI would remember its battle with the blue-haired player, and change its strategy accordingly.

Loot List:
1 Material
Bonus Loot: 3000 col (Mob HP 600 * 5 col = 3000)

Calrex: 277/311 | E: 18/69 (+16 Battle Healing)

Hebishinu: 0/600 (19+1 DMG * 11 Art - 100 MIT = 120 DMG)
MIT: 100
DMG: 60
ACC: 2
Crit Effect:

  Hide contents

If lands 9-10 on BD, adds Paralyse or Toxic Venom. On CD, if the dice is 1-6, its Toxic Venom. If 7-12, its Paralyze, along with the +1 or +2 Damage from the roll

[Calrex 0]

With the battle finally over Calrex gave a sigh of relief, his breathing heavy from the excess time focusing on the battle. Flicking his sword to the side he flipped it in reverse, resheathing the blade. No creatures were in the area to battle, so as Roc's eyes lost a target the tattoo on the bluenette's cheek vanished in a flash of light, "Alright, let's get out of here Roc. We've done enough for today. I normally would be up for looking for a dungeon, but I think we've wasted enough time tracking this thing down."

Heading back out of the river area of the floor he returned back to the settlement, the quest giver thanking him for removing the threat of the serpent. With a simple nod Calrex made his way back to the teleportation plaza, setting his destination before disappearing in a flash of light.

Topic Complete

• Topic Complete (1 SP)
• Quest Completed (3 SP)
• Quest Item: Serpent's Tongue (+1 Toxic Venom / +1 Paralyze)
• LD Roll * 15 Col Reward (From PST)
• Monster Loot:
  • 1 Material
  • 3000 col

[Oikawa 1]

GM Roll:

ID: 65414 LD: 12

Additional Col: 180