[PP:F7:NK:Complete] Continuation [Beat, Shield, Soredell]

[Anemone 0]

F7 Intermediate Dungeon Map

Anemone had looked to the others, smiles on their faces as it appeared that Beat had given the verbal go-ahead to clear the dungeon. The woman nodded, her job for the most part in finding the dungeon path had been done. She would now have to take a back seat on this one and let the others take care of business with the mobs while she would go and do her healing thing in the rear guard. The woman took a step out of the way of both Shield, Beat and Soredell.

"I think it would be better if you guys lead on now. I will only get in the way when it comes to the combat as I have no damage skills. But should you fall, I'll back up with healing. But I think we should prepare ourselves first before we go down this path. If there are any equipment changes that need to be made, or stat boosting items to consume, right now would be a good time to start. I know we have only all just met each other, but I'll do my darndest to heal you should you need it." 

The woman took a moment to look through her satchel to uncover any items that might be useful for them in this journey. The more they had to their advantage, the easier this will come out and everyone safe. 

@Shield @Beat @Soredell

Edited May 30, 2017 by Anemone

[Shield 0]

Shield nodded, but he and Beat knew their way around combat by this point. He checked his battle ready inventory, swapping in his axe and his shield for what undoubtedly lay ahead. Motioning for the others to follow, he forges on ahead into the entrance. Much like the motif of the floor so far, the inner workings of the dungeon consisted of rough rock formations and stalactites, like a natural cave.

Turning the first corner of the narrow passageway, they found themselves in a cavern filled with incandescent fungi, so numerous that it was lit up clearly enough to see without any need for artificial light. The center of the cavern was littered with boulders, as though part of the ceiling had caved in. However, as Shield squinted up at the roof of the cave, the rough ceiling above seemed to be in no worse repair than any other.

"Then where did those boulders come from?" he asked himself aloud.

Just as he did so, they moved. Stones rolled across and up one another until four tall, stony creatures took shape in front of them. Once assembled, the golems waster no time in charging the intruders.

Spoiler

ID# 79228 results:

Shield HP: 740/740 - 74 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing - Hate: 3
Combat Action: Howl

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 342/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 342/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 342/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 342/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
MOB: 7 + 3 = 10 - Hit! 111 dmg - 111 mit - 54 Regen = 0 dmg, Thorns - 28 dmg

Shield raised his axe, taking a deep draw of air before unleashing the contents of his lungs in a forceful bellow.

"That's it, you big piles of gravel! Come on over here and we'll pound you into sand!"

The wall of stone fists collided with Shield, but he did not budge from the spot. The negligible damage that managed to get through his defense was healed immediately bu his regeneration.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 79300: LD: 7 (4+3)

Tornado Kick - 1x6 - AOE - Dmg: 16 + 6 = 96

Beat [300/300] [48/60]

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 246/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 246/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 246/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 246/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3

"New acquaintances or not, our lives are all worth about the same. We'll keep you safe if you can ensure our survival should we need healing." He said as they walked through the threshold of the cave-like dungeon. 

Beat pulled a bottle of alcohol from his inventory, preparing the increase his damage to make the dungeon go as smoothly as possible; unfortunately, the golems had other plans and began to attack immediately, forcing him to stow his consumable and leap into action. He leaped into the air, grateful for the high ceiling of the cave, and gracefully landed on the shoulder of one of the golems before spinning rapidly, his foot crashing into the hard rock, no worse for wear. The golems stumbled backwards, but maintained their mountain-like stability. 

"Che! Knew I should have buffed beforehand." He said, taking his position behind the tank to ensure they remained focused on the right target. 

@Anemone

Edited March 16, 2017 by Beat

[Soredell 0]

<<Combat Stats>>

Spoiler

Battle-ready Consumables

• [5x] T1 Health Potion (+40HP)

Equipment

• [Weapon] <<Cruento Reaver>>: +1 Damage; 2 Bleed
• [Armour] <<Sicarius Vesti>>: +9 Damage Mitigation; 2 Evasion
• [Lucky Charm] <<Wanderer's Eyes>>: +2 LD

Skills Active

• One-Handed Curved Sword - Rank 1: Novice
• Katana - Rank 2: Journeyman

Sword Arts

Spoiler

One-Handed Curved Sword

Spoiler

RANK 1
Reaver - 1x1 - (1 Energy) - A basic sword art slashing vertically.
Fell Crescent - 1x1 - Stun - (4 Energy) - A charge-type sword art that delivers a downward blow and covers a distance of 4 meters in 0.4 seconds.
Rage Blow - 2x1 - (2 Energy) - A basic sword art slashing horizontally.

Katana

Spoiler

RANK 1
Tsumuji Guruma - 1x1 - AoE - (2 Energy) - A simple sword art that spins the user on their heel to slash in every direction.
Ukifune - 1x1 - Stun - (4 Energy) - Knocks the opponent high into the air.
Han'ei - 2x1 - (2 energy) - Two fast swings with the length of the katana blade.

Rank 2
Hi Ougi - 3x1 - (3 Energy) - Upward, downward, then thrusting combo.
Tsuji kaze - 1x4  (4 Energy) - A straight, long-ranged drawing strik

 

<<Final Stats>>

[Level: 11] || [HP: 220] || [Energy: 22] || [DMG: 5] || [ACC: 0] || [EVA: 2] || [MIT: 9] || [LD: +2]

==========

Soredell nodded to the others as they had decided on which path to take next. A dungeon. First one he's done, lets hope it won't be his last. He goes through his inventory, making sure everything he needs is equipped, getting his newer gear equipped if it isn't already. "Ok, lets do this." he says as they make their way into the cave.

It doesn't take too long until something pops up. After all, what fun would it be if there wasn't some kind of trial that the party had to deal with? The trial for today was 4 stone golems, programmed and ready to kill. Pulling out his new katana, he allows Shield and Beat to make their own moves against these foes, before charging in himself. He charges into the center of the golems, swinging himself and the blade in a circle on his heel, slashing at each target. Unfortunately for him, it seemed to do very little damage. But at least it was better than nothing. With that, he retreats back to where the others are, waiting for their next move.

Spoiler

ID: 79308
BD: 6 (Just hits)

Using Sword Skill: Tsumuji Guruma - 5*(1*1) = 5 damage

Soredell: [220/220 HP] [18/22 ENG] [Hate: 1]

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 241/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 241/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 241/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 241/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3

[Anemone 0]

Shield had taken the lead for the team and they had entered what appeared to be a dimly lit cave by all standards of what would appear as the sub dungeon entrance. Bright red eyes set forth on the players as each one stepped through the Rabbit Hole with Anemone coming up in the rear. She had followed close behind Soredell, her hands together playing with the edge of her satchel as she stepped through the now illuminated cave. "So pretty..." she said mostly to herself as she drew upon the beauty of the enchanted cave. There had been bioluminescent flora around the cave giving everything a beautiful green glow sheen to their surface. It was such a beautiful light from the plants that she had almost wanted to pick one for herself just to have. Perhaps when there was no imminent danger, she could persuade the company to allow her to pick a few for materials. Of course, she wondered if they would even be edible? At the very least she could show one off or perhaps even create her own garden in the back of her store with them.  

These thoughts surely made their way to her mind, but were easily subjected to change when her attention was brought upon a moving rock formation. Her eye brows furrowed and she took upon a defensive stance or lack thereof. She had watched the others make their run at these Golems? and pound their weapons into the heavily dense surface. It will take a while for them to crack through that surface, but she knew they were all very much prepared for the mobs in this dungeon. @Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 79399 results:

Shield HP: 740/740 - 74 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing - Hate: 3 (5 vs #1)
 Battle: 10 - Hit golem 1! 3 dmg + 2 = 5 dmg, Bleed rounds remaining: Golem 1 - 1

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 212/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 241/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 241/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 241/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
 MOB: 2 + 3 = 5 - Miss

A large, heavy fist came crashing down towards Shield from above, but the slow speed of the dense foes made avoiding the blow simple. he was even quick enough to catch the arm with the hook end of his axe and tear out a section of the stone arm. A patch of red wire frame pattern came into view, and matching pixels streamed out of the gap. Meanwhile, the offending fist crashed harmlessly into the ground.

"Gotta love bleed damage!" he grunted with a triumphant smile on his lips. "It's not much, but it always helps."

The other golems, caught offguard by the speedy counter, each missed with their own strikes, unfortunately failing to trigger Shield's secondary damaging effect, namely his thorns.

"Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to get out of the way," he mumbled to himself. "They've already proven that they can't put damage on me, I doubt even on a crit."

Edited March 14, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 79545: BD: 13 (10+3) 

Tornado Kick - 1x6 - AOE - Dmg: 16 + 6 = 96 +24 bleed/rnd for 2 rnds

Beat [600/600] [37/60] +1 EP | -12 EP

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 116/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3

Beat smiled as he leaped into the air and whipped his leg around, into each of the stone golems as the force whipped up a strong wind, which just added to the effect of his kick.

"I do love bleed damage, hope these guys do too!" He said, admiring the red wounds on each of the golems who were now leaking red pixels.

He returned to his post, dancing on the balls of his feet and look to @Anemone with a sort of pity in his eyes. He couldn't imagine not mixing things up and getting into the thick of battle. Tanking wasn't really his style, but he could do it if he needed to. Healing, however, was right out for him.

"So you don't have any sword arts? No damage at all? What if a monster attacks you when you're alone?" Beat asked, genuinely curious on top of simply wanting to get to know their newer acquaintances better. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by Beat

[Soredell 0]

Soredell watches as Beat and Shield make their own attacks against the golems, now it was his turn. He charged at the first golem, having taken more damage than the others. It would be better if he had helped in getting that one out of the way anyway. With one swift, drawing strike of <<Cruento Reaver>>, he was greeted with the familiar spray of red pixels coming out of where he left his slash. With a satisfied smirk, he retreated back to his comrades, so at least he was near them, and not surrounded by these murder golems. "Probably not the best time to be talking right now guys!" he calls out to both @Anemone and Beat, in the middle of a conversation. "Take down the golems first, then we can talk stats. Wouldn't want something to happen to us because we were distracted right?" he says to the group, getting into a defensive stance. Only then does he realize the irony in his actions. No matter, he had a job to do, and mobs to kill.

Spoiler

ID: 79552
BD: 9 (Crit: +1 DMG, Bleeding)

Using Sword Skill: Tsuji kaze - 6*(1*4) + 24 (Bleed reset) = 48 damage

Soredell: [220/220 HP] [15/22 ENG] [Hate: 1 (3 vs #1)]

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 68/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3

[Anemone 0]

Anemone had kept a defensive stance, or what she thought would appear to be defensive. The combined efforts between the dps and the tank were a solid unit to contend with. Each acting on their respective levels, the woman had only hoped they would be alright. Those golems had looked to be tough as nails as they cascaded blows against Shield, but as his name would appear to be, he took the pounding like a pro. Beat and Soredell also played their parts, taking massive amounts of hit points away from the mob pools that would soon end them. It was enough given they were all relatively safe as well, no one had their HP drop and even beat considered a small chat in the process. 

Anemone's eyes fell on Beat as they hid behind the defensive might of Shield, his question was not something she did not think ahead of for herself, "Umm, I suppose I would just run? I tend to stay very close to safe zone boundaries when I go on materials hunts by myself, otherwise I usually bring someone to help me to act as a guard. I know I am squishy being a Support Character, but there are the advantages of thi-" as she was about to continue, she was interrupted by Soredell who asked to cut the chatter. Her eyes looked down and she gave a forlorn look, "S-sorry..." 

Spoiler

@Shield  HP: 740/740 - 74 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing - Hate: 3 (5 vs #1)

Beat [600/600] [37/60] 

Soredell:  [220/220 HP] [15/22 ENG] [Hate: 1 (3 vs #1)]

Anemone: 640/640 || EN: 64/64

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 68/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 145/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 79646 results:

Shield HP: 740/740 - 74 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing - Hate: 3 (5 vs #1)
Action: Howl, Bleed rounds remaining: Golem 1 - 0

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 68/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 93/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 93/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 93/370 - 111 dmg - Acc: 3
 MOB: 6 + 3 = 12 - Hit! - 111 dmg - 111 mit - 54 regen = 0 dmg, Thorns - 28

Shield took another deep breath and boomed out with his voice.

"Come on!" he crowed, his voice bouncing through the cavern. "The only thing hard about this battle are your stone heads!"

At the conversation taking place behind him, his ears perked up.

"Hmm?" Shield said in response to Soredell's concern. "You think we need to keep the conversation to a minimum?"

He turned to the masked player, letting his axe and shield fall down to his sides as he turned his full back to the golems. Wasting no time, the stone adversaries rained down fists onto his back, none of which budged him or really even registered on his health bar.

"Beat, are we being too talkative?" he asked, hand on hip as he gave Beat a questioning look. "If being distracted in combat is such a risk, maybe I should pay closer attention."

A ham sized fist came crashing down on top of his head, ruffling his already untidy hair, but having little other effect other than to damage the attacker slightly. He was clearly teasing, which is something he never really went out of his way before he started adventuring with Beat, but he hoped that a little levity might ease Soredell's anxiety on the matter. Despite the apparent ferocity of the creatures, they were in no real danger as long as Shield was taking the hits, and the golems would die before they had time to switch their focus.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 79685: BD: 14 (10+3+1) 

Tornado Kick - 1x6 - AOE - Dmg: 16 + 6 = 96 +24 bleed/rnd for 2 rnds

Beat [600/600] [26/60] +1 EP | -12 EP

Stone Golem 1 - HP: 0/370 -  Dead
Stone Golem 2 - HP: 0/370 -  Dead
Stone Golem 3 - HP: 0/370 -  Dead
Stone Golem 4 - HP: 0/370 -  Dead

Loot: 

Loot Roll 1: ID#79685:  LD: 19 (15+4) CD: 1 = 7x bonus col (x10 total) = 3700 col

Loot Roll 2: ID#79688:  LD: 14 (10+4) CD: 11 = 2 T1 Materials + 1110 col

Loot Roll 3: ID#79689:  LD: 14 (10+4) CD: 6 = T1 Rare Armor + 1110 col

Loot Roll 4: ID#79690:  LD: 10 (6+4) CD: 1 = 1 T1 Materials + 1110 col

 

Total Loot:

[1x] T1 Rare Armor

3 T1 Materials 

7030 col

"Yeah man, we got this, no problem." Beat said, laughing at Shield's antics. It was good to see the normally serious man loosen up. Beat liked to think he had something to do with this slow change. 

He glanced over the health bars of each of the golems, smiling as he knew he would be going in for the kill. HIs left leg shined brightly as he rank forward, charging into the middle of the pack and spin wildly, this time kicking up a twister that eroded the golems into nothing as their health bars dropped to zero. 

"See? Nothing to worry about. Give me a boss fight and then maybe I'll take it seriously." He said to Soredell with a confident grin. 

Truly, the only time Beat really took a battle seriously was if Shield was actually taking lasting damage, which practically never happened, so he was normally very easy going in combat situations. It made thinking on the fly easier, even if he wasn't always taking the fight seriously. 

@Soredell

Edited March 17, 2017 by Beat

[Soredell 0]

As Soredell watched Shield turn, he saw behind him the 4 golems about to unleash hell on him. Before he could say anything, the golems begun their assult on Shield's back. But he didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't react. Instead he just answered his question as if they were in any normal conversation. "Uhhh...." was all Soredell could say as he stood there amazed at Shield's response. He knew he was a tank, and could take several hits, but he didn't think he would be THAT good of a tank. He blinked for only a moment, but by then, they had exploded into a shower of bright, light blue pixels, having being kicked to death by Beat. All Soredell could really do was roll his eyes and move up. He knew these guys were more than capable fighters, and they were carrying him, and their confidence, or perhaps cockiness was further proving their point. Still, it never hurt anyone to be careful, ESPECIALLY in a game like this. "Well, at least until the next mobs show up, you can talk stats now. Knock yourselves out, maybe then I might get last-hit bonus." he says to the group with a cocky grin of his own, simply intended as a bit of teasing of his own.

[Anemone 0]

Anemone swept hair from off her shoulder. The white of snow strands lifted and fell evenly as she turned her head to look at the others, she had yet to say any other words especially when Beat and Shield defended her from Soredell's perfectly reasonable explanation that they were in a dangerous situation, which turned out to be not so dangerous after all. "Well in any case, you guys are making my job a lot easier. Anyone hurt? I don't think so in this case, I suppose tanks can be very self dependent on lower floors. I'm glad everyone is alright." 

ID: 79921
LD: 14+8 = [+4 T1 Materials]

Happy eyes glanced off towards the side of the cave. The bioluminescent fungi was growing in small batches and Anemone had teased her bottom lip with a gnaw of her teeth as she sat on her knees and collected a few samples, "These might not taste very good, but maybe I can extract the source of light from them and make glowing food? Wouldn't that be neat?" The innocence that radiated from this girl was beyond normal levels for most people. She stood up and brushed off her knees and rejoined the group, standing behind Shield and Beat in the process. Thankfully she didn't fall over this time.

@Shield

Edited March 19, 2017 by Anemone

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

Swapping gear:
- Pain Drinker (-54 Regen), -1 Bloody Hell (-2 dmg, -24 bleed), + Finder's Keeper (+1 skill rank: search & detect), +Seeking Aura (+3 LD)

ID# 79940 results: Loot: 11 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 16 - +1 Material (1 total)

Shield swapped out his gear for his earring and wrist band, ready to join the others in their search for materials. Though some of the mushrooms were harvestable, many were only part of the ambiance of the cave without being actual items themselves.

"On the contrary," Shield said, picking up the nearest mushroom, which did indeed have an item tag, "although Beat tends to be a little more carefree, I have to be pretty careful of what goes on during a fight. For example..." 

He dusted himself off as he straightened up. Turning to Soredell, he gave his sentiment all of the credence it was due.

"Beat landed a solid hit in there and got himself a lot of attention," he observed, giving Beat a quick gesture with his thumb. "If I hadn't been paying attention to howl and draw the fire, we might have had more of a need to heal him. I do appreciate that you're concerned. I just don't want you feeling like death is around every single corner, even in the moments when it's not. That's no way to live."

@Beat

Edited March 20, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

Consuming Yummy Tummy Rummy (+1 Dmg/-1 Eva) & Tiger Rage Potion (+2 Dmg) 

"Well, the reason I can be so carefree is that I know I don't have to remind you about things like that. Haven't let me down yet!" Beat said to Shield happily as he opened up his menu and began going through his inventory. His hand danced in the air, interacting with the luminescent menu system for a few moments before he pulled out a potion vial and a small shot glass of what appeared to be rum. 

"My damage is a little lower than I think we need right now..." Beat said, trailing off as he looked up at his energy bar and scrunched his face for a moment before continuing, "Actually, a little bit of a rest would be good. I know we're not at the boss yet, but better to make things easier on us." 

Beat downed the shot glass of rum and the potion vial, the two containers fading into a small spray of pixels as their contents were consumed. Beat smacked his lips and shook his head as the flavors disagreed in his mouth. 

"Ooo that potion is horrible! Blech!" 

 

[Soredell 0]

Spoiler

ID: 79978
LD: 20 + 3 = 23 (Success)

+1 T1 Material (1 total)

Soredell looks around the area, making sure the area was clear before heading back to where everyone else is, taking a rest before moving on. On his way back, he fiddled with the ring on his finger <<Sin of Greed>>, and he noticed a useable material on the ground. He picks the rock up, with its own glowing blue moss before sending it to his inventory. "Interesting." he mutters to himself before returning to the group. He props himself up against a nearby wall and slides down into a sitting position, resting for a little bit. "This may be a game, but I personally wouldn't eat glowing food." he says, chuckling before pulling out the glowing moss-covered rock, inspecting it.

He only really half-listens to the conversation the others are having, before he himself puts his two cents in. "I've seen too many people fall because of overconfidence, and not just in SAO. Sometimes it's cost them everything, and I had to be there to watch them try and put their life back together, or even help pick up the pieces. Here, I hear stories of players getting to cocky in dungeons and dying. There isn't any second chances here. Screw up and its all over." he pauses, looking up towards the group. "Believe me when I say I admire your carefree attitude, considering the circumstances we're all in. I don't expect you to to be on your guard 24/7 like me, but just be careful. It never hurt anyone." he says.

@Anemone

Spoiler

Soredell: [220/220 HP] [19/22 ENG] (Recovered roughly 2/3 over the last two out-of-combat posts)

Edited March 20, 2017 by Soredell

[Anemone 0]

ID: 79986
LD: 19+ 8 = +4 [T1] Materials

Anemone buried her finger into her mouth as she looked between the three men and listened over the conversation. She was naturally defensive because she didn't have damage skills or any skills that helped with damage mitigation, so she always had to trust in the party leader not to lead them into a death trap or something. Soredell had brought up good points, it was good to be on guard. And Beat made some reasonable comments as well, as did Shield with not having to constantly look over your shoulder in terms of danger. 

"Well, I think we are quite a well rounded team." She finally said, "Good DPS and a Tank who can take the brunt of the attacks and not so much as a scratch on him. I feel safe there is no doubt about that, I am just glad we are able to do this without much trouble. More experience for all of us. I am sure you guys will have plenty of things to do with the Skill Points when we wrap this dungeon up." @Shield

Edited March 20, 2017 by Anemone

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 79987 results: Loot: 16 + 5 = 21 - +1 material (2 total)

Sifting through the many mushrooms that lined the wall, Shield managed to spot another item tag and plucked up the fungus in question. He chose his words delicately, because at the end of the day, Soredell was right to be cautious.

"Still," Shield said, hesitating slightly as he settled on the right words. "At some point you have to trust someone. I think what you see as being carefree is actually just the fruits of a long-standing rivalry where we now know the capabilities of our once-opponents. That's what it is for me, at least. Beat gamed professionally for years before he joined SAO. I was a statistician and could counter his tireless dedication with ruthless efficiency."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Beat down the shot, and he began to silently kick himself.

I spent all of this time talking up our capabilities, and now you're going to show them your greatest weakness: your inability to hold your liquor.

He shook off his concern. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen, and they would be prepared like always. Turning back towards the others, he squatted low to the ground, resting on his haunches.

"I've fought some dangerous things here, but my fiercest opponent that I've faced is on my side, and with no plausible reason to turn on me," he said with a note of confidence. "It's because of the very death game that we all fear and revere that we all have the rock solid alliances we depend on. If we didn't have those... Well, we've all heard stories of the players who have lost their minds. Count yourself lucky that you're not among them."

@Beat

Edited March 20, 2017 by Shield

[Beat 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80014: LD: no mats

Beat smiled as Shield explained the reason they worked so well together. Their skill level and experience in VRMMOs certainly did not hurt, but their teamwork was unparalleled by most other teams and made them an incredibly formidable foe for any situation or foe that failed to adapt faster than they did. On top of that, the teamwork they had come easily and quickly thanks their understanding of each other. With no guesswork to get in the way, the stress of battle that came from having to anticipate certain elements of combat, it was easy to see why Shield and Beat, particularly, were able to maintain their composure in combat.

“Yep, if it wasn’t for this guy, I would have been alone at the top of the game we came from. If I think about it, I couldn’t really ask for a better traveling partner.” He added, sincerely complimenting the man who he owed his life. He could always argue that the older player owed him his life too, but in a game where both of them were just trying to stay alive, it wasn’t really a competition.

 

@Soredell

Edited March 21, 2017 by Beat

[Soredell 0]

Spoiler

ID: 80233
LD: 18 + 3 = 21 (Success)

+1 T1 Material (2 total)

Soredell couldn't help but give a small smile at Shield as he talks about his and Beat's past. It was good to know that there were some who weren't alone here. "You two are lucky to have each other as a support. I got no one here. The friends I was living with didn't want to get a NerveGear until later. In hindsight that probably saved them, but I will admit, it gets a bit lonely, even though that's where I'm most comfortable. Sometimes its nice to go and talk to someone, know that there's someone there who has your back, someone you know. Its a miracle that even a real life introvert like myself has managed to stay sane this whole time, and not off myself." he says. As he looks around he notices yet another object that can be used as a material. Without any second thought or thorough looking, he picks up the item before it disappears, being sent to his inventory. He then gets back up and has a stretch. "How's everyone going for energy and health? If we're all good we should keep going. I'm sure there's more mobs that we need to deal with." he says to the group.

@Anemone

Spoiler

Soredell: [220/220 HP] [22/22 ENG]