[F08 - PP] <<Monkey King>> [Completed]

[Shield 0]

Quest

Spoiler

<<Monkey King>>

This quest takes place on Floor 8
This quest is repeatable
This quest courtesy of Tristan Delaney

This RP will not count in the benchmark

Below Florenthia Village is a monster who is the exact reason the village is suspended by the branches, fearing that the Monkey King will come again and eat them. The giant monkey is terrifying in appearance, with glowing red eyes and a large muscular upper body, with strength to match their appearance.

Requirements:

-At least two [2] Pages (21 or more posts)
-Maximum Party Size of 3
-The Monkey King must be defeated
-Repeat completions will only yield <<Monkey Agility>>

Monkey King Information:

<<Monkey King>> is a respawning Field Boss and has the following statistics:
HP: 250

MIT: 50

Damage per Attack: 240
On MD rolls of 9 or 10, the Monkey King will Pick up a tree or large rock and throw it at the party, hitting and stunning them all for 120 damage.

Rewards:

1. <<Monkey Agility>> A strange potion which boosts the users evasion by 1. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.

2. 3 Skill Points

Combat Stats

Spoiler

 

Lv	5	HP	100	Tier	1
DMG	1	LD	0	Skill Points	12
ACC	0			Total Spent	5
EVA	0			Remaining	7
MIT	3
NRG	10

REGEN: 18

 

 

The lofty village scene was breathtaking. As leaves were buffeted by the breezes, countless facets of green speckled Shield's gaze as they caught the little light that filtered down through the foliage. He sat against a fountain, which seemed to have been designed to leech off of the natural processes of the giant trees, pulling water from the great channels that ran up below the bark to bring the vital substance to the upper branches. It gurgled as liquid trickled down through the various bowls until it splashed down into the collection pool at the bottom.

Despite the lush greenery and the tranquility of the canopy, Shield was restless. It had been a couple of days since he and Beat had overheard Ariel accept the quest in the 5th floor tavern. They had pulled her aside after and asked if she would mind a few tag-alongs. It was nearly noon, and as their meeting time drew nearer, Shield found it much more difficult not to let his discomfort show.

It feels so alien to have to accept so much help, but this isn't about what I want. It's about getting Beat and I caught up so we can be of some use on the front lines...

Shield glanced around before checking his inbox to see if either Beat or Ariel had messaged him. They weren't exactly late, but his nerves were getting the better of him.

| 0 New Messages |

"Well, if they didn't try to contact me, I guess they must be on their way, then."

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield
Clarifying who "they" are. Adding quest details.

[Beat 0]

Beat exited the tavern door, his eyes down in thought, something his had been a lot of lately, which was a little out of character for someone who normally lived in the present. His mind hadn't quite gotten used to the idea of people carrying him and Shield through content that they had no right attempting. Normally, lower level characters were expected to have to grind on lower level quests and mobs, waiting until they could gear themselves well enough for the higher floors. In this game gear was just as important as experience, something they had little of at the moment. Beat was always a little suspicious of players of a higher level helping low levels since he had heard reports of player killers leading lower level players to their deaths. He just hoped Ariel wasn't one of them. He eventually made his way to the fountain where Shield was and sat down, giving him a smile. 

"Yo, ready to kill a monkey king and by that I mean watch a higher level player kill a monkey king?" 

Beat laughed at how silly it was that they could receive credit for a quest, but if it got them to them front lines faster, who was he to complain?

Edited January 15, 2017 by Beat

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

A certain blonde figure was following the coordinates on her HUD map. She decided to go with her battle gear on but have her main weapon safely stashed in the inventory.... she tried to remember a reason to why she was going to a tavern in the middle of a place she had little interest in. Her memory was a bit of a fuzz... 'Guess I took too much that time...' she muttered as she looked at a more than half empty vial. The flavor text was unreadable from that distance but its name was more than clear: 'Aggressiveness'. With her free hand, she massaged her temple and tried once more to remember. After the Nerius event... she was feeling a headache after consuming the missing content of the vial.

"Lets see.... after that I... I.. ah, that's right, I needed to cool off and went for a drink.... um..." she frowned while resting her face in her palm. From her side, she could hear a rather annoyed growl coming from her companion. "What??? you got a problem?" she roared at the white furred lion cub next to her. At that moment Kimba, said lioness, roared back at Ariel and bared her fangs. The blonde smirked: "I'd like to see you try!" she said tauntingly as she turned her back and headed inside the town coordinates in the memo.

That anger outburst followed by a bit of adrenaline rush helped the blonde remember more fragments: "Oh yeah.... the NPC guy gave me the quest info for... hunting something and then I found a couple of guys..." she muttered rubbing the back of her neck. As she entered deeper into the forest themed town she spotted two figures near a fountain, that were conveniently placed to where her mad showed the destination. She pulled out the memo again and read the names.

"Shield and Beat?... strange combination of names I'd say!" she said as a greeting as she raised a hand in a wave. Kimba poked her stripped head to the side and growled at the two, not menacingly as before but as if acknowledging them. The proud lioness even rubbed her paw over her nose in a attempt to imitate Ariel's wave motion.

Images of Ariel and Kimba:

Spoiler

 

[Shield 0]

Shield waved to Beat, his former rival and now travel companion, and nodded in acknowledgement to Ariel before turning to Kimba and rubbing his thumb across his nose in response to the cub's gesture. With the party finally assembled, his apprehension subsided, and there was a very subtle change in the way he carried his shoulders, the tension having slacked now that the carry was present. While subtle and imperceptible to most humans, animals who communicate largely through body language would have a much easier time picking up the shift in posture. He made a small, furtive glance towards the cub.

Don't tell on me, okay?

His shield, which he was currently leaning on returned to its intended position on his forearm, and he addressed Ariel properly now that his silent greetings were out of the way.

"I'm ready whenever you are, and Beat is pretty much always eager to dash of into danger, so I'd assume he is as well. Have you been brushing up on the details of the quest?"

If Shield were to be honest with himself, the whole thing still made him apprehensive even if he was not actively taking part in the battle.

I know that carrying lower players seems to just be part of how the community has built itself up, but I still feel like a burden. I guess I'll just have to stomach this feeling for now and swallow my pride.

[Beat 0]

Locking in combat stats since entry of thread.

Spoiler

- Stats -

[Level: 5]   [HP: 100/100]   [Energy: 10/10]   [Dmg: 4 (1 Skill + 3 Weapon Base)]   [Acc: 0]   [Eva: 0]   [Mit: 0]

 Skills -

SP: 12 | SP Used: 5 | SP Unused: 7 

Spoiler

- Non-combat -

- Passive -

- Combat -

 

- Weapon skills -

Martial Arts [Extra Skill]: 1/5

 

 

- Sword Arts -

Spoiler

RANK 1
Flash Blow - 1x1 - (1 Energy) - A basic right hook aimed for the target's jaw.
Embracer - 1x1 - Stun - (4 Energy) - An unarmed sword art that pierces the enemy with the fingers.
Aggressive Twins - 2x1 - AoE - (4 Energy) - A fast combination of left and right jabs.

 

- Inventory -

Spoiler

- Currency -

10,325 Col

- Materials -

T1 Materials: 10x

- Items -

  Hide contents

Green Dragon Ring: +2 LD

  Hide contents

Name: Green Dragon Ring

Your Profession: Artisan

Your Rank: 5

ID: 55845

Roll: 9+1

Item Type: Lucky Charm
Tier: 1

Quality: Rare

Enhancements: Loot Dice +2

Description: A small dragon that resembles a wyvern sculpted out as a ring. The dragon is made from a green gem and is slightly transparent. Makes the user very curious.

 

Beat's eyes followed Shield's gesture, landing upon the attractive blonde player dressed in black armor that made the level 5 martial artist a little jealous. He smiled as the cub peaked out and seemed to give them a gesture of greeting. He returned the gesture with a nod of his own then turned his attention to the woman they had met the night before. He smiled a little wider than usual as he spoke, excited for their adventure to begin. 

"I was born ready!" 

Shield's assessment wasn't wrong. He was normally the first to face a challenge head on and, usually, came out on top. He had a streak of over-confidence that tended to get him into trouble and it would have been his undoing a few times if not for Shield sitting him down and forcing him to listen to reason. Still, much like before with Rain, they had a high level player who was nice enough to assist them, despite the fact that they were severely under leveled. Any pride beat had in regards to being carried had been shoved away in favor of gaining power quickly and not dying. Beat stood up and made himself appear ready to follow Ariel's lead, excited to see more high level combat. 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Beat

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Meeting new people... wasn't a bad feeling. Its been too long since this particular blonde has interacted with anyone else except people from her inner circle of friends. Boss fights and system events didn't count as she would usually stick next to someone who she knew, giving little importance to the rest. But, as she broke some ties and basically turned herself into the most negatively viewed, not to say hated, player in Aincrad a night before; she regressed to old habits, to help players on the lower floors, in order to see if she can get new acquaintances at least. 

In the seconds that the blonde listened to the two and mused, the attention craving lioness decided to get closer for a better look or better said... smell, of them. First, she cautiously drew closer to Shield, slightly cooking her head and letting out a small growl as her wet nose made subtle moves in the air. Sensing no ill intent from his action, Kimba went ahead and brushed against his shins while releasing a rare, kitty-like purr. Then, looking at Beat, she happily howled as she sensed his excitement and jumped a couple of times as if telling them that it was about time they should go do something exciting, similarly like a little kid would do around its parents.

"Well it seems the boss lady issued her command." said the blonde with a hint of smile on her lips, as she watched her familiar get friendly with the two. She let out a relieved sigh as most would be intimidated by the sight of a lioness walking around a safe zone, even if she was just a cub.

She looked at Shield and replied while scratching her cheek, half-avoiding eye contact. Her tone seemed to be a little more subdued as she admitted: "To be honest, I don't really remember much about last night. Not to mention that all I remember is agreeing to a hunt...of sorts. How about we get going while you tell me the details or she might get mad at me for stalling us." she added while stealthy pointing at her white furred familiar.

[Shield 0]

It took every fiber of Shield's being to not slap his palm to his forehead at Ariel's admittance of her memory lapse. It was one thing to have the overly exuberant Beat flitting about and having to keep him anchored to reality.

It's like there's two of them, only one of them is half lion.

Taking a moment, he regained himself, remembering that it was an act of kindness to carry the two of them in such a high level fight. Despite the struggle against exasperation, he was in no place to complain about anything, so long as Ariel kept him and Beat alive. He motioned for the others to follow as he flipped through his menus, forwarding both of them the details on the boss.

"Our target is called The Monkey King. He's a Field Boss. Two hundred and fifty hit points, and he can tank fifty of that without sustaining any damage. He deals two hundred and forty damage when he swings. You can imagine how much more a crit is going to hurt."

He shot Ariel a side-long glance as they made their way down a spiraling staircase that tunneled down through the tree's great trunk. She seemed capable enough, and if she had a familiar that meant she was at least dedicated, judging from what he had heard about the necessary quest and its requirements to complete.

"I'm afraid this one is going to have to be all you, Ariel," Shield said darkly. "As much as we want to help, even if we avoid angering the over-sized primate, he's known to unleash a powerful AOE that would easily kill both Beat and I in one shot, so being directly involved in the battle is not an option for us."

As much as he wished he could finally start to get his hands dirty, it was going to be some time before that was a realistic option, at least in battles like this. Let alone the front lines. He reached up and ran his fingers through the unkempt hair at the back of his head, more out of habit than out of actual concern. It was going to do what it wanted, but it at least was nice to know what it was trying to do behind his back.

[Beat 0]

Beat was thoroughly enjoying the interactiveness of Ariel's familiar, amazed at how intelligent it was. He had not particularly cared for pets in the real world, mostly due to the fact that they required time and effort to care for properly and he would not have another creature suffer due to his negligence from his gaming addiction. The young lioness drew out his desire for a familiar of his own and he made a mental note to ask Ariel about the quest the acquire one for himself once their adventure was over. Beat bounced with the lioness as he spoke in response to Ariel's statement. 

"Indeed, I think we want to get right to the action! Let's beat a monkey king!" 

Beat would begin to make his way to the quest location indicated on his map, leading the group with an energetic stride that betrayed his nervousness about going to such a high level area. He would have to do what he had done before with Rain and simply trust the Ariel had their best interests at heart. Ariel seemed trustworthy and her familiar certainly didn't seem to bear them any ill will. Beat dreaded the day when he would encounter his first PvP scenario. To take another real, human life was something he would have to decide he was capable of if the time came. 

Edited January 20, 2017 by Beat

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

It looked like Shield didn't mind her lapsus and forwarded the quest info to her. As they moved on, she glanced over the holographic window while listening to his resume. Hearing the numerical stats of their foe then blonde tried hard to not let out a arrogant smirk and not ask 'is that all?' She continued to observe the two, they seemed to be complementing each other. Shield being the brain while Beat is most likely the brawn.. heh but that's as far as first impressions go.

While the AoE seems to be the problem, she would simply leave them behind as she'd go all out on it.

"No problem here." she said in a casual tone while looking at Beat goof around with Kimba. She added a "I like how this guy thinks." while pointing his thumb at the bouncing pair.

While they were walking, the lioness continued to fool around and lead the way with her partner in crime/playmate. Somehow sensing his nervousness, she growled at him and pawed. If needed she will give him her bravery though physical interaction like she did so many times with other players; her 'thought' process was as simple as that.

ooc: feel free to spawn the monkey when you feel like it.

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

74948 results: Loot: 1 - No materials

As the cub continued to paw at Beat's attention, Shield leaned over to Ariel to respond to her thoughts on the young man who seemed so eager to slay monkeys and play with lions. The constant humming and chirping of the forest made it rather easy to have a hushed conversation without fear of eavesdropping. It also made the possibility of ambush more likely.

"You like the way he thinks? I wasn't aware he thought at all."

He returned back to a neutral stance as it he hadn't said anything at all, continuing to watch the forest ahead of them. It had been a few days since returning from their quest with Rain that had turned into a very profitable dungeon crawl. With any luck, this quest would at least give the fresh players the experience or drops necessary to further flesh out their builds to be more competent in battle, then again, the conversation before had been rushed, apparently to the point where Ariel did not remember the talk at all.

"We had not discussed dividing loot just yet. The standard expectation is to split as evenly as possible three ways, at least in regard to Col dropped. However, Beat and I know where we stand in the food chain, and we recognize that we're essentially dead weight. If you were to demand the full drop from the encounter, we would have no real way to argue with you, though we would take it as a kindness if you did not make such a demand."

As they walked, Shield kept his eyes on the trees ahead and beside them. He frowned a little. Despite being in such a lush environment, the upcoming battle made it very difficult to focus on giving a proper search to find anything of material use. Before he had time to complain, however, he felt something through his feet rather than having heard it.

One faint thud after another rippled through the ground, and Shield instinctively raised his arm a little with his namesake, ready to duck behind it if necessary. Through the towering trunks, he could just barely make out a mass of brown leaping between tree trunks a good thirty or forty feet above the forest floor.

Boss Stats:

Spoiler

[Monkey King] HP: 250 - MIT: 50 - Dmg: 240

 

Edited January 21, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 74961 results: LD: 4 (2+2) = no mats for Beat. :( 

Beat continued to enjoy the company of their new companion, particularly her familiar. He became increasingly jealous of having something so interactive to adventure with at all times. As they eventually headed into the forest, the volume of the surrounding noises coming from the forest was considerably loud and actually managed to put him on edge just a bit. His initial idea of a boss fight was going into a dungeon and finding the boss room, but he knew that bosses for quests typically didn't work that way and they could come in various forms and ways, meaning they could be ambushed by the boss himself. To ease his concerns, he decided to take the down time to inquire about his curiosity. 

"So, Ariel."

He dropped back so that he was now walking beside her. 

"How did you find your familiar? Not that Shield isn't decent company, he isn't, but having a constant companion sounds like a worthwhile endeavor." 

He looked to Ariel for a response before his attention was immediately stolen by the thud of what he could only guess was something gigantic. He peered up, through the trees, just making out the brown mass of fur that could only be their target. He immediately felt his stomach drop and he quickly fell back, following the plan they had discussed. Shield and Beat were to fall back so the boss's AOE wouldn't target them. 

"You know what? Nevermind, you do your thing. haha..."

Edited January 21, 2017 by Beat

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

To @Shield's initial comment, she let out a girlish giggle at the light banter aimed at his partner. Then she waved her hand in disregard to his statement and said with a shrug: "no need to get all humble with me. And its not kindness, I'm just for in for the exp and maybe the reward items, if they're worth something. You guys can keep the col and mats... I need Tier 2 materials anyway. Don't sweat over details like that." 

Taking in a healthy breath of pixelated and probably nonexistent air and took in the nature around them with her eyes closed. Its been a while since she had been here and the memories weren't all that 'pink' but she managed to leave them behind, more or less.

Beat's hail made her half open her right eye as she glanced at him. "Well, I was expecting this question sooner." she muttered as she stretched her hands and put them behind her head, leaving her elbows dangling in the air as she walked. She opened her mouth to reply but instead let out a quick 'Tch' as something large moved.

Taking a look behind, she saw that the two already took cover as a massive monkey-like beast made its way towards of her, knocking off trees to the sides. Unfazed by this, she let out a sigh and muttered: "This soon?" while releasing her neck and entering a combat position. Next her hands danced through the space in front of her as her main weapon, a massive obsidian banner with a spear head, materialized in her hands. "Kimba!" she shouted, even through her familiar already had detected the assailant a while back.

They both closed their eyes and a moment later, they opened it again. While the lioness' color was the same, Ariel's eyes changed from the mirror-like silver to the same pattern that Kimba had. A vicious black replaced the white of her eyes while the silver iris turned to golden. "Showtime!" she muttered as she revealed a grin.

She entered her charging pre-stance and dashed towards the oversized monkey with her spear, leaving a dark-blue streak behind her. At the sight if her beast-like ferociousness, the boss seemed as it was ready to turn around and run for its life. But the blonde wasn't about to let her prey loose and she quickly appeared next to it. Her weapon released a dark aura as she activated one of her high-end sword arts. She drew a cross shape on its chest and with one final thrust made it explode into the familiar death polygon animation.

Then she let out another sight as she calmed herself down, for a few seconds breathing heavily with her back towards the two, the bloodlust filling the air around her slowly dispersing. She turned around and looked at @Beat and @Shield's general area, her eyes retaining the animal traits her familiar had. "You can come now, the cost is clear." 

Then as if nothing had happened, she put her weapon back into her inventory and drew closer to Beat, while still having a ecstatic smile on her expression from the early adrenaline rush: "I found a NPC on the amazon floor, she told me how to tame wild beasts." she then bobbed her head to the side and put her index on her cheek: "but I think you'll find a similar NPC on every floor since I saw a variety of companion". 

She was acting like nothing happened but her facial expressions during and after the fight were filled with ecstasy and similar to a madman's rather than the girlish ones she had before.

ID# 75854  BD: 4+3 (non-crit)  MD: 1
Sword Art:  (16) Imperial Southern Cross - 7x2*(23+5+1) = 406 Raw Damage - 50 Mitigation = 356 DMG

Ariel: 1,255/1,255 HP | 98/114 EN
[Monkey King] HP: -56/250 - MIT: 50 - Dmg: 240

Spoiler

 

Battle Stats:
1,155  HP
114 Energy
3 Accuracy
3 Evasion
15 / 23 Base Damage 
75 Mitigation
+10 Heal (from every source)
(24+10) Heal, after hit.

  Hide contents

HP: 1140 (lvl. 57 x20) + 15(Athletics)
Energy: lvl. 57 x2
Accuracy: 1(lucky charm) +1(precision) +1(weapon)
Evasion: 2(lucky charm) +1(Sprint and Acrobatics)
Base damage = 3(2-handed base) +1(Athletics) + 5(weapon skill) +6(familiar mastery)/ +8 Fallen Damage (non-crit)
Mitigation: 30(skill) +45(armor)

 

 

[Shield 0]

As Ariel turned back to the less experienced players, Shield's jaw remained set. It wasn't that he had been caught off-guard by the speed at which she had dispatched the king. He knew such players existed. This was merely a testament to how much of a gap existed between the two of them and the front lines.

No, what had sobered him so much was the change he had seen in Ariel. He remembered players that had similar tendencies in Crossreign, before he and Beat had migrated to the new battlefield of SAO: the capriciousness, the lack of focus outside of high-stakes battles, the sudden transformation under the influence of adrenaline. It was impossible to say for sure if she was the same, but there was a resonance with those memories that put a discomfort in him. In an actual game of death, a player like that was nobody to trifle with. Despite not losing any appreciation for the help, he was more appreciative of the fact that he had made sure he cursor was green before the start of the quest.

"Nicely done," he said with a stiff nod. "I suppose that would be all we would need to trouble you with. Beat and I will likely keep searching for materials, but if you have bigger concerns, you don't have to stick around."

Spoiler

ID# 75858 results: Loot: 10 = No mats

Taking quick inventory of the area, he did not see anything at first glance that looked useful or valuable as crafting material, but as long as they were in a new location, they might as well take the time to look.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75863: LD: 1 = no mats

Beat watched closely as Ariel took off faster than he could easily follow. The only keeping him from losing her altogether was the blue streak trailing behind her. The power she displayed to easily dispatch the royal ape was more than impressive and Beat stared in awe as she walked back to them, his body shaking from excitement. Once she came nearer, he started to bounce on his toes, feeling like a fan boy having just watched his favorite basketball player perform a slam dunk.

"Holy crap! That was awesome! That thing was nothing to you!" 

Despite his excitement, Beat also noticed the animalistic traits her eyes had taken on. The passion for battle Ariel had was certainly contagious and Beat found himself wanting to fight something just to work some of his extra energy off. He managed to gradually calm himself down and listen as she went back to answering his original inquiry. He looked up as he tried to think of where that was, grateful for the answer nonetheless. 

"Got it, I'll have to look into that..."

HE looked to the two of them after scanning their surroundings, seeing nothing else of interest. 

"Well, what should we do now? We're here, surely there is loot to be found."

Edited January 29, 2017 by Beat

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde looked at Shield's expression and noticed the stiffness, she tilted her head as if asking 'What's wrong?' but decided against voicing her question; fooling herself that he was like that because of the size of the mob that just appeared. "Seize doesn't matter!" she said raising her right hand's index, as someone that is preaching would do. His buddy however seemed more enthusiastic to say the least, so she switched her focus on him and said: "There usually are dungeons around here so keep an eye for those."

While searching for materials sounded like a nice pastime, she shook her head and muttered: "I'll be going back to the nearest town and leave you boys in you treasure hunt. Might look for some tailor supplies in the market there for a while so if you find a dungeon and want some help clearing it, give me a PM" as soon as the words left her lips, her slim fingers elegantly danced through the air as she sent the both a friend request. The turning around she waved with her hand over her shoulder as Kimba protested through a low growl, unwilling to depart so soon with her new playmate.

ID# 75869  LD: 11

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75870 results: Loot: 16 - +1 Material (1 total)

Despite some nerves on the matter, he accepted the friend request, waving politely to Ariel as she departed despite the stiffness that he was unable to banish from his jaw. He waited until she had departed and was well out of earshot before he spoke.

"She's dangerous," he said in a solemn tone, his eyes not leaving the spot where she had disappeared. "I don't think she's malicious, but we've seen that look before. Not that adrenaline junkies don't have a place here, but we each had members in our old guilds that got raiding parties in trouble or sometimes just went PK and decided that loyalty was second to fun."

He nudged through the fallen foliage with his toe, overturning a few leaves in the process to discover a small woodland mushroom. He plucked it from the ground and straightened back up to face Beat.

"I'm not saying she would do that," he assured Beat. "What I will say though is that it makes her an 'x' factor. And a big one at that."

Edited January 29, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75873: LD: 17 (15+2) = 1 T1 Mat found

Beat happily accepted the friend request as he bent down, placing his hands on his knees, made a silly face at the young lioness cub as one last gesture of play. It was endearing to see that it wanted to stay as much as he wanted them to, but he understood that this floor likely didn't offer much to someone like Ariel and he waved goodbye to her, appreciative of her assistance. He watched her disappear before he turned to listen to Shield. He was sure Ariel was not a danger to them but the older player had a point. 

"She certainly does enjoy combat, but so do I." 

Beat wouldn't call himself an adrenaline junkie exactly, but to say that combat wasn't his favorite part of VRMMOs would be a lie. There was a fine line between enjoying a good fight and being addicted to it. His eye caught a glimmer of metal just beneath a bush, barely visible. He walked over and retrieved it before he spoke again.

"You might be right to be cautious, we've both been burned by people like her before, but I'm thinking she can be trusted. Not like there is much we could do if she wasn't. At least not yet."

Edited January 29, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75896 results: Loot: 10 - No materials (1 total)

At Beat's response, Shield shook his head.

"Neither of us would be here if we didn't enjoy combat," he said, a hint of 'you know what I meant' laced into his tone. "There's a difference between enjoying combat and living for combat. You saw how she lit up. Now, focus and skill like that are both admirable, but we need to be cautious none the less."

His feet dragged through the foliage that carpeted the woodland floor, searching with his toes as well as his eyes for any stray material components. His luck for the moment seemed to have run dry, so he made to move to another spot. As he listened to Beat, something in his words stirred a thought in Shield's mind.

...not yet...

An image spread across his mind of himself and beat on the front lines, fighting off hoards of undead creatures as they pressed forward towards unknown loot and, more importantly, the top floor of Aincrad.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75901: LD: 20 (18+2) = 1 T1 Mat found (2 Total)

Beat followed Shield's lead, using his toes to poke around where his eyes would not be as useful, smiling as he felt his foot finding something hard. He pushed the knee high vegetation aside ot see a small chunk of ore, which he quickly added to his inventory. He was only half paying attention as his mind was recalling a particularly brutal battle during their days in Crossreign. One of his guild members had turned on their healers due to a dispute over loot. Beat had been forced to kick the player out and kill his character, but as a result, the raid nearly wiped on the boss they were fighting. He stood back up and turned to Shield. 

"Do you think there are people that are so immersed in this game that they forget that death in this game has real consequences?"

Beat liked to give people the benefit of the doubt when it came to basic morality. In this way, among others, Beat was a little naive.  

Edited January 29, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75905 results: Loot: 5 + 3 = 8 - No materials (1 total)

Listening to his companion, it was difficult to find the words to impress upon him how serious he felt the risk truly was. After all, Shield knew that Beat was ever the optimist, and if he could find a way to put a positive spin on a situation, he would. It was refreshing at times, but at others, perhaps a little ill-advised. He turned to Beat and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to answer that question the same way I answer any uncertainty: probability," Shield said, falling back to his usual default methodology. "It is not an issue of whether there are such people out there. It's a matter of how many people need to be in the game in order for the likelihood of such a person to be an inevitability. With tens of thousands of players, I'm not going to gamble on those odds. Are you?"

He turned his eyes back to the forest floor, summoning out his spear to help him probe for other materials.

"We have already heard stories of PKers in the game. Whether delusional or just cruel, it's impossible to say, but they're out there."

Edited January 29, 2017 by Shield