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

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75907: LD: 10 = no mats (total 2)

Beat's brow furrowed as he had to accept the reality that there were terrible and delusional people in the world and so at least a few had to have made it into the game. 

"Che, bastards. No moral compass at all. At least in Crossreign it only cost someone time."

Still searching the underbrush and trees with limited success, Beat looked up to find a clearing that appeared to be a large crater of some kind. Residing in the crater were the ruins of an old village. He thought of the pack he had found in the dungeon with Rain and wondered if more artifacts could be had. He looked back to Shield with an eager smile on his face, thankful for the change in scenery. 

"Yo Shield, check it out. What do you bet there are plenty of mats in there?" 

Beat was an optimist, but he wasn't stupid and he would only take off towards the ruins if Shield took the lead. Given the nature of their conversation, he was less in the mood to jump into danger right at the moment. 

Edited January 29, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75912 results: Loot: 5 - No materials (1 total)

Using his spear to turn over one last stone, Shield saw that there was nothing beneath it of interest and decided to call the area a loss. As Beat pointed out the new location, considering how much had happened and the floor they were on, Shield had a difficult time convincing himself to pursue the contents of the crater. However, with two sets of eyes, they should have an easy enough time spotting anything coming.

He glanced over at beat before striding forward towards the basin's nearest edge. It was hard to say what the inspiration could be for a landmark like this. It didn't seem like it would be there for no reason, and yet there seemed to be nothing noteworthy to justify its existence, or at least not yet.

"It's certainly interesting, but... why is this here?" he asked, scanning it with his eyes before taking a step down onto the sloped side.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75916: LD: 3 (1+2) = no mats (2 Total)

Beat happily pranced behind Shield, wondering the same thing as he took in the surroundings. There were markings on the decrepit building and tagless items littered the structures. He exited one of the buildings and rejoined with Shield as he scanned the area for good measure. 

"I'm not sure, maybe it's just a lore thing. If it is, we might be able to find a secret or key to something else here."

Beat continued to move from crumbling building to another, taking note of anything he thought might be worth noting. He slowly became a little less enchanted as he found less and less objects and relics of interest. He let out a sigh as he took another look around, disappointed in the ruins so far. 

"Man, this site has to have something of interest. Why put it here and do nothing with it?" 

He scoffed as he continued to look, determined to make the trip worth their time. 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75918 results: Loot: 13 - No materials (1 total)

Shield scratched his head, but he came to no real conclusions. Peering into each open door they passed, he tried to make some sense of the place, but each little building was as desolate as the last.

"What if this is the entrance to a dungeon?" he posed, considering the grim landscape. "There are sub-dungeons everywhere, and although I don't relish the idea of wandering around underground on this floor, either alone or with that wildcard, Ariel, players have made good money selling maps to higher level players."

It was a long shot. Dungeons were not easy to spot, especially by inexperienced players, but it was worth at least trying as long as they did not venture inside. Knowing the parameters of the floor, anything they encountered along the way would be more than they could handle, and he knew for a fact that Ariel was more than they could handle. Likely, they would never need to, but Shield had no reason to assume that caution was not necessary.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID #75923: LD: 21 (19+2) = Intermediate Dungeon Found!

Beat was certainly interested by the prospect of finding another dungeon. He had found to last one they had explored with Rain, but this time, it sounded like Shield was wanting to simply make a map of it. Beat knew to be wary of any high level player, but he was no more distrustful of Ariel as anyone else who had the power to wipe him out without a thought. Still, if Shield was unwilling to explore the dungeon with her, he had a feeling that convincing him to would be an act in futility. 

"Alright then, loot and exp is good, but Money isn't a bad thing either. There had better be a dungeon here since there clearly isn't anything else." 

Beat took off through the ruins, his spirit refreshed at the prospect of finding a dungeon. Entering the lowest point of the crater, Beat's eyes went wide as he saw a fully intact building at seemed to be made of a more resilient stone. The craftsmanship was entirely different and it was no wonder why the structure had withstood the test of time so much better than the rest of the settlement. He jumped up in excited as he called for his traveling partner. 

"Shield! I freaking found one!"

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75926 results: Loot: 9 - No materials (1 total)

As Beat took off ahead of him, Shield almost reached out to try to stop him, but he figured for now it was a pointless attempt. Beat had an idea in his head, and he would likely not be turned off of it by a warning. At the very least, they knew the area was at least somewhat clear. He continued to keep his eyes on his party member as he charged on ahead, nudging the occasional stone to see if anything interesting was below it.

As Beat called out his findings, it was Shield's turn to kick on the afterburners, closing the distance in a matter of seconds to inspect the entrance. Immediately, he pulled up his HUD and began tracing an overlay, making notes of the location of the town, the edges of the crater, and the location of the dungeon in relation to each.

"Excellent find, Beat!" he exclaimed, giving the young man a thump on the shoulder. "We're in no state to try it right now, but I bet you anything that someone else will want in!"

Spoiler

[+ Crater Dungeon Map - FL 8 - Int]

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75936: LD: 7 = no mats (2 Total)

Beat watched excitedly as Shield traced the map, dancing in place in an expression of self-congratulations. This would be the second dungeon he had found and he felt a sense of pride in being adept at finding them. As he waited for the trace to finish he turned to Shield. 

"So! Do we sell it or hold onto it until we can take it ourselves?"

Either option sounded good, assuming exploring it with Ariel was out of the question. His preference would be to hold onto it until they were strong enough to tackle it themselves, but he also had no idea how much money something like that was worth. 

"I guess we'll need to find out how much it's worth on the market. We don't want to get ripped off or-" His mood dropped some as he remembered to take heed of Shield's advice, "-get killed if someone finds out we have something like this." 

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75938 results: Loot: 6 - No materials (1 total)

Shield saved the progress into a document and closed out of his menus to address the question properly. There were advantages to both, but until they had a grasp on the actual market value, it was impossible to properly weigh their options.

"If we're waiting until we're strong enough, then then we have time to do some research on the market value," he pondered aloud. "I'll tell you what. When I set up shop, I'll go ahead and list it under my wares as a 'best offer' item. You'll get half if it sells, and I'll consult you before making any deals."

He tried to think of a way to estimate a value, but the only things that he had heard about people buying maps was hearsay, so even if he had heard prices, there would be no way to verify them.

"If nothing else, it will serve as a test to see what people ask for such items. Who knows? Maybe we could make a business out of this."

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75946: LD: 19 (17+2) = 1 T1 mat found (3 Total) 

Beat shrugged as he knelt down to pick up another chunk of ore that sat just outside of the dungeon entrance, careful to not cross the threshold. He did not have a teleportation crystal and he would have had to wait for Shield to run back to town and bring him one. There was no telling what would happen to him in that time, though he had some grim guesses. He straightened up and added the valuable rock to his inventory, the item disappearing into a database somewhere. Beat's face scrunched up a bit as he had a conflicted feeling about something.  

"That sounds fine...but-" He cleared his throat, knowing a debate was coming, "do you really think it's okay to not tell Ariel about our find? I mean, she is the only reason we beat the monkey king." 

He had managed to keep his tone and rhythm even, but he felt uneasy reopening the subject for debate when it had been more or less settled. 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75951 results: Loot: 12 - No materials (1 total)

At the mention of Ariel, Shield frowned a little. He crossed his arms over his chest as he weighed the situation.

"Here's the problem," he began, taking his time with his wording. "No, I don't feel good about leaving Ariel out of the loop. Here's the thing though... I do not feel comfortable being trapped underground with her. You know how dungeons here work. If things go south, your escape options are limited."

Shield reached up and pushed his hair back, giving his forehead a little more contact with the cool air to try to clear his mind. They owed Ariel a debt of gratitude, but he was not about to let gratitude put him in a situation that he didn't feel comfortable risking.

"If she knew, she would insist on going. I just don't like it, Beat. Either way I won't feel right, but one option is a hell of a lot safer than others."

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75953: LD: 11 (9+2) = no mats (3 Total)

Beat's brow remained furrowed as he folded his own in front of his chest. He knew Shield was right, of course. Taking a risk like that was beyond reasonable when the consequences meant your life. It ruined part of the game for Beat for sure, but he knew that if Ariel turned on them, they wouldn't get the chance to escape, period. He sighed in defeat as he gestured for them to head back into town, unhappy, but satisfied knowing that they were making the right choice. 

"Man, this game sucks sometimes. You can't pvp, which is tons of fun, and if someone else tries to kill you, you're literally fighting for your life." 

He looked to Shield as he gave up the search for materials, at least for the moment. 

"We need to carry teleportation crystals. Those will get us out of dungeons that we can't leave by traditional means. They will also save our skin if we run into someone as strong as Ariel who isn't as nice." 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75955 results: Loot: 14 - No materials (1 total)

As was his typical gesture of agreement, Shield nodded. It was hard for him to come up with words to reassure his partner because he did not feel any better about their decision than Beat did.

What's worst about it is that aside from being a bit of a loose canon, we have no specific reason to think that she would actually turn on us.

He ran his fingers of both hands back through his hair, pressing his palms against his closed eyelids before following after Beat.

"That is the right decision, right?" he asked, more than a little uncertainty in his voice. "I mean, we owe her, but we don't owe her the honor of trapping ourselves with her underground, especially after seeing what she's capable of, both power wise and.... well, otherwise."

It was so hard for him to quantify his reservations, and yet there they were. It felt wrong to assume the worst of someone that had helped them just for safety's sake, but this was a grey area, and when his life was on the line, grey was not an appealing color.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75971: LD: 12 = no mats (3 total)

Beat's gait stuttered for a moment as he was tempted to stop and have the conversation without having to worry about walking, but his fruitless search for materials distracted him enough to keep his feet moving as he spoke. 

"I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do, but it is the safe choice. We trusted Rain, but he seemed even keel, not that a killer couldn't hide their true nature." 

Beat was silent for a minute and then he spoke again, looking up into the evening sky. 

"I mean, what would Ariel have to gain from killing us? You don't get loot by killing people outside of a 'to the death' duel, so why would she hurt us?"

Beat was truly having issues accepting that someone would just kill other people for the fun of it. His fists clenched tightly and his teeth mashed together as he struggled to understand how someone could fine taking another real life could be fun to someone. 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75974 results: Loot: 10 - No materials (1 total)

"That's a good question. Here's another one," Shield said, stopping and turning to face Beat. "What did she get out of one-shotting the Monkey King like that? It was clearly far below her level. Not even a challenge. Child's play."

There was a dark shadow over Shield's eyes as his brow furrowed over them. He held Beat steadily in his gaze, letting the previous statements ring in his ears for a moment before completing the thought.

"And yet she relished it."

The memory of her transformation, both physical and mental, while engaging the boss was haunting. Even as he spoke to Beat, it replayed in his mind over and over again. Despite how it's possible to just have satisfaction in a job well done or performing a feat that one feel as if one has mastery over, it did not add up.

She should not have gotten that much satisfaction out of it...

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75975: LD :11 (9+2) = no mats (3 Total) 

Beat followed Shield lead and stopped, looking into the intensity of Shield's eyes. He clearly saw something that Beat did not, or perhaps he saw something and interpreted it differently. His forehead wrinkled as he considered it for a moment. Shield was saying that Ariel had gotten for too much pleasure from a kill that was nothing to her. It took no effort, there was no danger and yet, she thoroughly enjoyed it. He stared back into Shield's eyes, returning a similar look of intensity. 

"So, you're saying that she would kill us for the thrill? What if that thrill is tempered by morality though? The Monkey King was nothing but a collection of pixels governed by an AI, we're human beings." He paused as he considered something he hadn't thought of until just now, "Her cursor was green, which means she hasn't killed another player. Surely she has had hundreds of opportunities if she is as strong as she is. Doesn't that earn her a little credit?"

Beat continued to return Shield's gaze, though he would never match the sternness of the older gentleman's gaze. 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75976 results: Loot: 11 - No materials (1 total)

"It means she hasn't killed recently," Shield corrected. "An orange cursor goes back after a certain amount of time, as long as you haven't had too many infractions. I'm not saying she has done anything... But I've met quite a few people in my time who were addicts."

His mind drifted back to the work place. There were people there who he found out much later in his time with them that they struggled with alcoholism or in some cases even just over-working. There were, however, far more sinister addictions than those.

"If you're addicted, truly addicted to something, you never really get over it. You just get better at living with it."

Shield shaded his eyes, looking up into the canopy of the trees that they were beginning to pass by once again. The tranquil scenery made their conversation feel surreal, like they were debating some foreign conflict or the events of a distant tragedy. He had to remind himself that this was a person that they had directly interacted with mere minutes ago.

"However, there's a very real possibility that what we saw back there was someone getting their fix. Maybe even getting the taste back in their mouth."

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75978: LD: 17 (15+2) = 1 t1 Mat found (4 Total)

For a moment, Beat looked surprised to find out that the orange cursor would eventually go away, effectively allowing someone to kill without worry of being spotted as a player killer as long as they were patient and careful. He stared at the ground as he continued to contemplate the situation. It certainly seemed like Shield was implying a lot about Ariel, even though Beat knew he was only playing the safest option he knew. 

"Well, I know you're playing the odds as safely as you can, but even if it's our lives on the line, we're going to have to gamble sometimes if we want to get anywhere fast." He looked back to Shield, no hint of a smile on his face, "You're in a hurry to get home, so let's make sure we don't squander opportunities to shorten our journey by cutting ourselves off of too many opportunities." 

Beat thought for another moment as he began to walk again, stopping as he got right beside the older player, speaking as he bent down to pick up another piece of ore.

"I'm okay with our decision today, but I think we owe it to her to allow her to prove herself, one way or the other. I'm sure a player like her has a reputation, we might be able to find something out if we dig in the right places."

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75977 results: Loot: 3 - No materials (1 total)

"Agreed," Shield replied. "She will have chances to prove herself in the future. For now, however, I think you're right. This is the right choice to make. As we get stronger, we'll have more opportunities to take the right risks."

Up ahead through the trees, Shield could see the underside of the settlement where their interesting little journey had begun. It was a relief having a safe zone in sight. All of the talk of player death was beginning to make him feel very uneasy.

"It's hardly a work of classical philosophy, but there was a show I used to watch. There was a fictional philosopher that characters referred to who supposedly said, 'Live with a man 40 years, share his house, his meals, speak on every subject. Then tie him up and hold him over the volcano's edge, and on that day, you will finally meet the man.'"

He gave a little laugh as he considered their situation.

"I don't think either of us are in any position to hold Ariel over the edge of any volcanoes."

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75979: LD: 7 (5+2) = no mats (4 total)

Beat could feel the weight of the unpleasant topic lifting as they approached the village. He was beginning to learn that conversations like that were inevitable if you spent enough time with someone, something he had practically never done throughout his entire life. IT was a lesson that was certainly overdue for the youngman and the significance was surprisingly not lost on him this time. He thought about the philosophical lesson Shield had just given, actually understanding that most people were not showing all of their cards until they were forced into certain situations. He began to wonder what kind of person he truly was and what circumstance would bring out his true self. He brightened his mood by laughing at Shield's joke, despite feeling rather contemplative. 

I wonder what I'm really like...

"Up on the higher floors, I imagine we would be in that position a lot. It's a little daunting to be honest!" 

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 75980 results: Loot: 19 - +1 Material (2 total)

"You're right," Shield agreed, imagining the upper floors almost like trenches in a world war I era battlefield. "I also think it's a little irresponsible to say that's 'who a person is' though. A person is more than just a snapshot. Still, it's good to know what that snapshot it before you get too far in with someone."

In the back of Shield's mind, a few other words floated at the edge of his consciousness as an afterthought to his own words.

Before it's too late.

He glanced and Beat before turning his eyes back to the town up in the treetop. They made their way around the base until they found the entrance to the climbing, spiral stairs.

"It's been a good and worthwhile trip. Whether or not we decide we can trust Ariel, it was good that we met her. There are a lot of difficult things we need to sort through if we're going to make a hard push. Up until this point, we've really only thought about dangers from monsters. There are a lot more dangers than that on the horizon."

With that, Shield began the long climb back up to the top to claim their rewards.

 

[Quest Rewards]

Each - 5 SP (3 quest SP, 2 thread length)

Each - Monkey Agility (+1 evasion for 1 thread)

Beat & Shield - 400 col (2 pages = 800/2 after Ariel forfeits her share)

Beat - 4 T1 mats

Shield - 2 T1 mats

Edited January 30, 2017 by Shield