[F06-PP] Fire Fire Fire Fire Catsss! <<Deforestation>> [completed]

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

<<Deforestation>>

This quest takes place on Floor 6
This quest is repeatable
This quest courtesy of Tristan Delaney

This RP will not count in the benchmark

Image Created by Deviant Art User Sandara (Link Here)

The Amazons are proud of their forests, being the pride of their floor with the vast spanning jungles that house a large variety of species. However a lone tiger of flame threatens the sanctity of the forest Amazon's Folly, for it burns down anything in their path, razing their pathway with a baptism of fire. The Amazons request that you take down the tiger to ensure their forest is not left as mere ash.

Requirements:

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

Byakko Information:

<<Byakko>> is a respawning Field Boss and has the following statistics:
HP: 150

MIT: 40

Damage per Attack: 60
On MD rolls of 9 or 10, half the damage dealt is instead dealt as burn damage, which ignores mitigation as a status. This has no DoT.

Rewards:

1. <<Tiger Rage>> A potion which grants +2 damage. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.
2. 3 Skill Points

 

(Updated due to September Update)

"Floor 6!" 

The town of beginnings faded from view as the lush, green amazonian city of Krycim appeared before him. He had only been here once before, his cheerful demeanor fading slightly as he was reminded of the encounter with Hextal. He had yet to mention the events of that day to anyone, including Shield, but he figured he probably needed to at some point since it was possible that Hextal's plot could come to some fruition and affect the older player. His dark musings were derailed by a group of the tallest women he had ever seen, even amongst the amazonians. He figured that they were probably the guardians of the city that would be giving them their quest. He took a seat on a fountain that had a clear view of the teleportation pad and he flipped through his menus as he made sure he had everything he needed. 

How did I beat him here?

Edited February 22, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

It wasn't long after his partner's arrival that Shield materialized on the arrival pad, his tall frame decked in similar but definitely new gear. His shaggy head was still open and exposed, but the rings of his maille were no longer barbed as if made from barbed wire, but instead were each sporting jagged, sharpened blades, as if stitched together from razor wire. The style of shield on his arm remained the same, but the plain mirrored surface had been replaced with one that, while still reflective, had scrawling grooves following the sweeping curves of the heater style design.

@Beat, he waved, approaching his comrade in arms with steady strides. It may have been just a trick of the light or the craftsmanship of the armor itself, but he almost seemed to be standing taller than he once had. With a few waves and taps of his fingers, he banished the shield to swap out for a trinket.

"Hey, Beat," he said in a resonant voice, speaking up to be heard over the calls and crows of the jungle. "Hope you haven't been waiting long. It's been an interesting time in the aftermath of everything, that's for sure."

Spoiler

Unequip Pain Drinker

Equip Finder's Keeper - Skill Rank (S&D)

 

Edited February 16, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77418: not high enough, of course.

Beat continued to watch the group of beefy women walk around a corner before looking to Shield with a grin, immediately noticing the new armor the tank was sporting. He resisted the temptation to actually tough the armor as he had when it was merely thorns and simply gave an exaggerated look over. 

"Very nice. Tier two gear is no joke!" 

Beat himself was often preoccupied with his cafe, making sure other player had plenty to eat and buffs to survive their adventures, leaving him with less time to quest. There was also the issue of surviving as a dps alone. It presented its own challenges to be sure, but he resolved himself to remain motivated to reach the top, even if he was falling behind. He gestured for Shield to follow as he made his way around the corner the large amazons had rounded.

"There, I think those are the quest givers."

The women were a ways farther down the road, but they certainly stood out as they left the settlement and cut their way to what appeared to be a small scout camp that overlooked a burning region of the forest. One of the amazons was clearly the leader of the group while the others seemed slightly less ornately dressed and equipped. 

"Guessing we just need to talk to her."

 

Edited February 16, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77420 results: Loot: 20 + 3 equipped + 1 skill + 1 skill rank equipped = 25 - +1 Material (1 total)

Shield nodded, giving his armor a quick tap with his gauntlet clad hand as they followed the amazons. He was quite fond of the new gear himself, though he was sure it would only be a matter of time before he found new and better sets. As they wandered out from the safe zone, Shield spotted a large mushroom on the ground which he promptly plucked up and stored in his inventory.

"Don't you worry," he assured Beat. "I've got a few pieces waiting for you as soon as you hit that point. They're nothing unbelievable, but they'll outdo your current gear at least."

As the group of substantial women ahead of them came to a stop, Shield strode cautiously forward, making sure the supposed quest givers were not going to turn hostile now that they had left the safe zones. They did not have red cursors though, so Shield took that as a good sign before proceeding.

"Are you the ones who we should speak to regarding the fires ahead?" he asked, his eyebrows cocked at a stern angle. "We have come to offer our abilities to protect the forest."

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77421: LD: 15 (11+4) = 1 mat found  (1 Total)

Beat's face lit up at the sound of second tier equipment waiting for him once he had gained four more levels. He resisted the temptation to being flipping through his menus as he was immediately distracted by the glint of a fist sized chunk of amber resting inside a nearby tree trunk, he retrieved the material as he listened to the amazon leader's reply to Shield. The tall woman was at least eight feet tall and stared down at Shield as she measured him up. She eventually gave the heavily armored man the faintest of smiles, likely the biggest one the surly giantess was capable of giving, given the somber circumstances. 

"You're quite brave, for a man. You wish to slay Byakko?" She gestured towards the area of forest that had been turned into a burning wasteland, "Follow the trail of destruction and you'll find him. We love out forest and mother nature, so please stop the demon of a creature." 

The quest acceptance screen appeared for the two of them and Beat quickly pressed accept as he continued to survey the damage, somewhat angered by whoever was responsible for such destruction. He looked to Shield once he had accepted the quest himself. 

"Let's kick this thing's ass!" 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77425 results: Loot: 16 + 3 equipped + 1 skill + 1 skill point equipped = 21 - +1 Material (2 total)

With a nod to the amazon and to @Beat in response to his call to arms, Shield set off through the forest with his battle companion. On his back, Norbert was occupied with the task of trying to swim away, despite there being no water and being strapped in at all times. The forest thickened as they made their way, and as they passed, Shield stopped to collect some moss from a nearby tree, storing it with the mushroom from before.

As they broke through the tree line, they did not find a natural clearing, but rather smoldering field of tree stumps, and although everything here was still burning lazily, end of the swath of destruction was burning with far more intensity than the other. Taking off at a quickened pace, Shield picked his way swiftly through the smoldering remnants of the ancient trees.

"I'll need to regear myself once we're in attack range, so don't go charging in right away, alright?" Shield mumbled to Beat, keeping his voice down as much as he could while still being audible over the dull roar of distant and not so distant flames.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77439: BD-6 (3+3) MD: 1

Acupuncture - 3x3 - Dmg- 10 * 9 = 90 - 40 = 50  |  -10 EP

Beat: [420/420] [32/42]

Byakko [100/150]: Crit miss

Beat nodded, as he and Shield gradually gained on the source of the flames that shot into the sky periodically accompanied by a beastial roar that they had been able to hear since arriving on floor six. The temperature had been growing steadily as they continued to gain on their target. A steady sweat had quickly come over Beat and he frozen as they came over a hill to see their target standing majestically on a large tree trunk, everything thirty feet around the beast seared and burning on the ground. He spoke to Shield as he opened his own menu. 

"Okay, gear up!" 

Beat's excited had gotten the better of him and, though he could barely hear himself over the roar of the surrounding flames, the creature had clearly heard them. The flame lion leaped from the stump over fifty feet away and soared towards them as Horus screeched from above. 

"See? Now you messed up!"

Beat saw an opening and failed to resist the urge to take it as he leaped into the air on an intercept course, the temperature nearly unbearable as he neared the beast. The Byakko seemed surprised and took a desperate swipe at Beat, who parried it as he came inside the target's defenses, his hands glowing.

"HARI!!!" 

Screaming the name of his attack in his native language, Beat's arms became a blur as he assaulted the creature's underbelly and continuing his arc back to the ground, satisfied with his successful counter attack. The Byakko winced in pain as it landed right in front of Shield, looking back towards its new rival as it released a fiery roar that seemed to raise the surrounding temperature even more.  

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

[Action: Swap out Gear]

[-Finder's Keeper, -Seeking Aura, +Pain Drinker, + Bleeder]

"Beat," Shield growled, flipping through his menus to equip his protective equipment, banishing his material gathering gear to his inventory as his axe and shield materialized in his hands.

He did his best, clanging the axe hard against his shield to try to draw the flaming beast's focus, but without the time to prepare his howl, he knew that his efforts would be worthless for at least a few more seconds. Beat was going to have to soak a little damage before he would be able to take over properly.

"Stay sharp!" he called out to his partner. "He's gonna swing! This is why we need to stick to a real game plan! I can't tank for you if I don't get a chance to get its attention!"

It felt as if waves of fire were pulsing out from the great cat, and although pain was not part of the programming of SAO, he could still feel his lungs instinctively try to close themselves off to protect their sensitive inner tissues from the heat.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77463: BD-8 (5+3) MD- 6

Acupuncture - 3x3 - Dmg- 10 * 9 = 90 - 40 = 50  |  -10 EP

Beat: [350/420] [23/42] +1 EP

Byakko [50/150]: 60 dmg to Beat

Beat threw his hands up and yelled at Shield, a large grin on his face as the rush of combat made it hard for him to be angry at anyone. 

"I didn't jump in, HE did!"

He laughed as he charged the mythical creature, sweat pouring from his body at this point from the waves of heat coming from the flame cat. His hands glowed once again as he flanked the animal with Shield. His arms flew forward, sinking knife hands into the creature's side with force that would surely crack a few ribs if the combat system allowed for it.

"Ora ora ora oraaaaa!"

Beat's vigor pushed him through the heat as the beast roared angrily before turning its head and opening its mouth wide as a steady stream of fire shot from its mouth, blasting Beat back and  throwing him into the side of the stump the creature had once stood on. The heat was by far the worst part, as the drop in hit points was not a large concern.

"Ugh, bad kitty..."

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

It took a good deal of discipline on the part of his eye muscles for them to resist the urge to roll in response to Beat's retort. Instead, they glared between they great cat-like legs to fix the younger man with such a look of 'you know what I meant' that Shield was sure his mother would have been proud of him.

Distracting himself from the difficulty that was Beat, he turned his focus back onto the fiery foe before him, taking a deep, gasping breath, despite the heat that still threatened to choke him.

[Combat Action: Howl]

"Here, kitty kitty kitty!" he taunted, giving his shield another clang with the heavy head of his axe. "There's a nice tasty morsel right here behind you!"

The long, dancing mane of the flaming feline crackled as its owner's head whipped about to glare at the audacious, shouting snack before it. Its paws, wreathed in flames of their own, padded heavily across the scorched earth, and the feline tail twitched behind it as it sized up this new target.

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77463: BD-1 MD- 7

Miss: -2 EP

Beat: [350/420] [22/42]

Byakko [22/150]: 0 Dmg to Shield after mit and regen

Chuckled as Shield used his famous taunting ability to direct its attention to him, leaving the creature wide open to Beat's finishing assault. Be pulled on his limbs, attempting to free himself from the tree stump with no success. 

"Oh come on! Seriously? So lucky!" 

Shield's taunting had succeeded and the Byakko roared as it hesitantly turned away from the one who had taken two-thirds of its health away. The flames running across its body glowed hotter until they had gone from yellow to a bright fiery white. With its left paw it stomped the ground before rising again and taking a massive swipe at the human tank. The beast roared in pain as the blades of Shield's armor cut into its paw as Shield's health bar refused to drop. Beat watched as he continued to try to free himself from his wooden prison.

"Man I can't WAIT to hit tier two!" 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

"I can't say I hate it," Shield called out to his ally on the other side of the great beast. "Now what to you think, pussycat? You got what it takes to stand up to some punishment from this side?"

Pulling back his arm, Shield charged in, trailing his axe hand behind him. Byakko swiped defensively, but even as it did so, all it did was provide its paw as a stepping stone for the charging tank. The older, sterner warrior leaped up, jumping off of the joint of the paw that had lashed out at him and propelled himself upwards towards the creature's head.

Spoiler

ID# 77471 results: Battle: 10 - Hit! 2 dmg + 2 - 40mit = 1 dmg, Bleed - 12 dmg, next two rounds

His blade clearly did next to nothing to the monster's health. Its damage was insignificant compared to the potency of his companion's fists. Still, with the barb that protruded from the striking edge of the axe, he left a wide gash across the feline's face, out of which poured myriad red, glowing particles.

"There you go! Drew you an extra whisker!"

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77475: BD: another 1, GG MD: 8

Miss: -2 EP

Beat: [350/420] [21/42]

Byakko [0/150]: [dead] 28 thorns dmg ftl

Beat continued to struggle to free himself, the seared wood from the remains of a once mighty tree unrelenting. Beat only hoped that he hadn't somehow glitched into the stump object since he couldn't simply log out and correct the issue. He decided to hope for the best and smiled as the fight between the fire cat and Shield was going well. 

"Mess him up!" 

The fire cat made a final desperate attack only to once again shred its paw on the razor sharp armor Shield had recently acquired. The damage left a gash of red particles on the creature's paw that slowly traveled up its leg and across it body until it finally erupted into a large shower of red particles.  Beat wiggled as much as he could as he cheered his companion's first final hit. IT was just too bad that this boss had not last hit bonus. 

"Nice job buddy!" 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77477 results: Loot: 7 - No materials (2 total)

Shield landed lightly on his feet, the particles dancing around him and disappearing as he took a deep breath. He straightened back up to his full height and glanced around, not seeing anything left over that could be used as a crafting material. As he did so, the flames, now cut off from their progenitor, slowly began to die down.

"It looks like the fire is only a factor of the boss," he said, his eyes tracing the remaining wreckage. "Without it, the area looks like it resets itself. I wonder if the trees are actually destroyed or if it always looks like this and the fire just turns off and on when the boss spawns."

He motioned for Beat to follow him and started off towards the trees.

"Come on. Let's see if there's anything else of interest around here. This was hardly a challenge, and there's got to be more profit to be had somewhere around here."

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77478: LD-24 (20+4) = 1 T1 Mat found (2 Total)

Rest- 1/3

"Yep! Be right there! Hrgh!" 

With a great heave, Beat finally managed to free his right arm. From there he simply beat on the surrounding area of the stump until he was free. Picking splinters out of his clothing he looked back at the stump only to see what had been sticking inside his back. A piece of amber that the tree had obviously grown around. it was awfully deep inside to seem possible, but Beat wasn't going to question the opportunity to acquire more materials. He reached into the Beat shaped crater that had been made and, with a small amount of effort dislodged the chunk of valuable material. 

"Finders keepers!" 

He stashed the items and ran to catch up to Shield, relieved that the heat had gone as quickly as the flames had. He looked at his energy bar, happy to see that it was just over half depleted. 

"Not much of a challenge indeed. I barely used half of my energy."

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

Equipment swap - reverse of last swap
ID# 77479 results: Loot: 12 + 3 equipped + 1 skill + 1 skill point equipped = 17 - +1 Material (3 total)

As they made their way into the beginnings of the tree line, life returned almost immediately to the jungle. Vines draped down across their path, and Shield had to lift them out of the way with the back of his hand to walk below them. Along the way, he spotted another mushroom, this one concave and a bright, iridescent blue. He plucked it up and stored it with the other items.

"That's hardly the first boss I've felled," Shield observed, ducking under more of the thick greenery. "However, it does feel odd to get the kill with you on the battlefield. I can't even blame it on having better weapons. That axe is the same Tier One piece I got from the big gentleman, Mack. He was the one who won the duel at the dance."

He stepped over what appeared to be a large pitcher plant, trying to keep his eyes open for more materials and monsters as they penetrated further into the thick jungle.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77487: LD: 5 (1+4)

Rest- 2/3

Beat scratched his chin as Shield mentioned the player with red hair. For being such a large, imposing figure, Beat rarely saw the man around. He figured this was due largely in part to the fact that Mack was likely a frontliners, routinely questing and clearing content that was more than ten floors above anywhere he and Shield had dared to venture. This line of thinking eventually brought him to another question regarding Shield’s tier two status. He stared up through the thick trees to make sure Horus was still keeping watch.

“So, how much damage can you soak comfortably now? I know once I hit the next tier and master my martial arts skill, enemies like that boar will drop in one hit.”

Beat had been forced to deal with the fact that, in this game, a math in advance was helpful. In Crossreign, there were ways or resetting your allocated skills points so that mistakes during the learning process wouldn’t be a punishment later on, but Sword Art Online was less forgiving and once a skill point was assigned, that was it.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77492 results: Loot: 16 +3 equipped + 1 skill + 1 skill point equipped = 21 - +1 Material (4 total)

As Beat posed his question, Shield continued to scan the area for useful materials, keeping his eye especially focused on the ground. Luckily, a particularly moss laden vine decided now would be an ideal time to rest exactly at his eye level, which he missed until he had stumbled part-way into it. It was an odd sensation to be jabbed in the eye without pain, but he was not complaining as he blinked the plant-matter away. His real eye could not be damaged this way, so reflexive pain would serve no purpose. He wiped the last of the the moss out of his eye before realizing it was the same moss he had collected earlier and scraped the rest off of the vine for storage.

"Including regeneration, I can soak one hundred and thirty-eight damage," Shield answered. "Between all of my enhancements' multipliers being increased and the last few skill points being invested in another rank of Block, it more than doubled my defensive capabilities."

Ahead, through the dense jungle, something caught Shield's ear. Although noise in the jungle was to be expected, there seemed to be a handful of sounds of movement that stood out while the other sounds were dying away. It was as if the makers of the background noise were being spooked away by whatever noise was in the foreground.

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 77510: LD: 11 (7+4) = nothing

Rest: 3/3 EP Full!

Beat smiled as his energy bar made the familiar 'ding' sound that indicated that he was again at full capacity. He whistled as Shield reported his numbers, which seemed to measure up to what was likely on the higher floors. He opened his menus and began projecting the numbers, not unlike how Shield likely did on a regular basis. Using both hands, he doubled his efficiency and quickly came up with his numbers, reporting them after he double checked his math. 

"Lessee...Once I get Horus's training finished and I master my weapon skill...I should be able to deal...two-hundred and ten damage without critting or any sort of temporary buffs. MInd you, if I were to hit you without critting, I would eat some of that and honestly, I couldn't keep that up for long enough to win the fight. Tanking is really powerful, jeez."

Beat finished just as he too began to hear the noises. He slowed his pace as Horus cried through the sky, warning him of danger. He kept his voice low as he spoke again. 

"Horus says there is something ahead of us, probably just random spawns, but we should be cautious regardless."

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Beat

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

Dungeon Search: 

ID# 77518 results: Loot: 4 + 3 equipped + 1 skill + 1 skill point equipped = 9 - No dungeon

Shield nodded, casting about in front of him for signs of the threat. He navigated his menus using his peripherals, unequipping his loot gear and returning his shield and axe to his hands.

One step after another, he crept through the jungle growth, careful to roll his foot from heel to toe to avoid tromping audibly against the ground. Ahead of him between two trees, long, broad leaves blocked his view. Using his axe, he parted the leaves of the mysterious jungle vegetation a couple of inches only to see a shadow dart past the gap. He froze, peering into the dense forest ahead to see what was there.

A big part of him wished that he could turn to ask Beat if he had seen the same thing, but whispering carried more than most people realize when they attempt to do so. Raising children taught him that much.

A person is never quite as sneaky as they estimate themselves to be...

Edited February 17, 2017 by Shield