{PP-F4} Meeting a New Healer... And Snow Man. <Itzal and Aster> <<Essence of Steel>>

[Itzal 0]

Itzal was walking along the frozen floor.  So there was another quest on this floor eh?  The last quest he did was to clear out a giant snow man who was way under Itzal's level.  Oh well, he might as well get the quest done and get the experience.  Hopefully there wouldn't be any avalanches this time.  That last quest literally ended with him sliding down an avalanche trying to grab flying materials.  If he recalled he was also grabbing wood for the Rovian Wars quest.  He wondered if there would be a way to repair any damage, or even improve on the ship.  Regardless, he was here now with his Twilight cloak on, his ruby ring and his obsidian sword all equipped.  According to his map the boss was somewhere in a cave nearby.  If he lured it out somehow then he could attack it from above, catching it off guard and landing a killing blow.  No doubt it would be easy to kill seeing as how he was so much higher a level than the quest itself.  Not to mention he now had meteor break as well as charge rank one.  This would be cake.  Velnia seemed to agree, flying off to see if there were any rabbits she could catch.

@Aster

[Aster 0]

While certainly not a rabbit, a curious, playful fox may serve to catch the attention of an equally curious lightning drake. Reginald seemed to be having a wonderful time jumping in the numerous piles of snow outside of the fourth floor's main city. With their peaks piled high above the solid ground, the fox could jump and burrow into the powdery mounds to his virtual heart's content. Meanwhile, a pair of amber eyes watched over the rambunctious familiar from afar. Aster, with bright orange hair to match that of the fox's, walked slowly across the snowy field with her hands hiding away in the pockets of a white jacket. She occasionally pulled one out to push up the glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, but would quickly return it to the little warmth that her clothes provided. Without the Survival skill, the girl felt the intensity of the floor's weather without the system intervening. While this left her prone to the dangers of getting caught in an ice storm, she was eager to locate a few specific materials for her alchemy shop.

Material Gathering:

Spoiler

• ID#: 82523
  • LD: 2 - Fail!

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by Aster

[Itzal 0]

Velnia swooped over and under branches, round and round trees before landing on one and crawling like a squirrel, zooming all over it looking for any rabbit's to chase.  She was hungry and Itzal wouldn't be giving her any more extra food for today.  Something about her eating too much.  Regardless she would find one soon.  She shared Itzal's keen eyesi-  She stopped thinking as her eyes fell on a little fox.  It was so cute.  And then she spotted the player watching it carefully.  It was obvious that the fox was a familiar.  She watched as the fox was jumping in and out of snow piles.  She waited until the fox was inside another before diving into the snow and hiding in the next nearest one to the fox.  She was so excited, she'd just poke her head out as the fox approach and grin.  Meanwhile Itzal was wondering where she had went.  "Hey!  Velnia!"  With no response he sighed.  He'd need her for the extra damage so he'd have to go find her.  He really hated this part.

@Aster

[Aster 0]

Reginald seemed to be enjoying himself, so Aster had let him be while the fox hopped around and kicked up plenty of white powder as he went. The girl was having no luck finding the materials she needed, giving a frown as she wondered just how long she'd have to search to find them. "Hm?" Aster's head turned sharply as she heard a faint voice calling out. The girl froze up for a moment, unsure of the direction it had come from. She gave a quick look around her, but didn't see anyone approaching. Instantly on edge, Aster's eyes scanned the area once more as they made their way back to where she had last seen her fox companion.

Meanwhile, the familiar in question had just run into a creature that could rival his own curiosity. Reginald was just about to burrow into another large hill of snow when something emerged from it. The fox hopped backwards in reaction to the grinning dragon before him, his head shortly tilting to the side. Just as the fox was about to see if the dragon head was willing to play with him, he was quickly lifted into the air. Aster's arms had slipped under the fox's chest as the girl scooped him up and took a couple of cautious steps back, away from the dragon.

Material Gathering:

Spoiler

• ID#: 82524
  • LD: 1 - Fail!

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by Aster

[Itzal 0]

Velnia watched as the player picked up the possible play mate and she frowned, clearly sad that the fox was being removed.  However she supposed it was time to meet the player owning the fox anyways.  She shot into the air and hovered in front of Aster, staring at her in the eyes.  This was her typical way to greet people.  She felt she could get a good read on people if she looked deep into their eyes.  When she looked at this player?  She liked the woman!  And there was only one thing she did once she decided she liked someone.  She landed on Aster and crawled all over her at lightning speed, covering everywhere before she landed on the woman's shoulder and licked her cheek.  After that she looked at the fox in a way that, Itzal at least, could tell she wanted to spend time with it.  Meanwhile Itzal was calling out for Velnia a second time.  She looked in his general direction and gave a 'pfft' ish sound...  The closest that a dragon could make to it at least, before rubbing her head against Aster.  She wouldn't be torn away from possible playmates.  While looking Itzal had spotted some song crystals that he inserted into his inventory.  For crying out loud where was that dragon?

ID#  82539  LD:  9+8  4 MAT total    @Aster

Edited April 17, 2017 by Itzal

[Aster 0]

Aster's eyebrows were tilted slightly downward, watching the little dragon carefully as she took another cautious step backward. Reginald didn't struggle in her arms, though this was nothing new--the fox familiar was always surprisingly calm if the ginger ever picked him up. The ginger nearly jumped when the dragonling emerged from the pile of snow it had been hiding in, her shoulders tensing up as it hovered in front of her, merely staring her down. Fear was evident in the girl's eyes, followed closely by Aster's most disliked emotion--confusion. She didn't see a red cursor over the dragon's head, nor was a health bar floating beside it. This creature was single-handedly breaking Aster's fragile understanding of the game's mechanics, and her confusion was quickly brewing frustration.

Before her mind had a chance to run through all the possible explanations, as it would have done undisturbed, the dragon moved once more with incredible speed. She quickly lost sight of the creature, but as soon as it disappeared from her vision, the orange-haired alchemist felt Velnia's tiny claws making their way across her body. Aster let out a scream, stumbling backwards and losing her balance. Just as she felt the dragon's tongue brushing against her cheek, she fell backwards into the snow and the fox was released from her grasp. Reginald hopped to the side, tilting his head to the side as he watched his distress master.

[Itzal 0]

Velnia remained in the air after Aster had fallen and looked at the cute little foxy.  She shrugged before landing on the woman's shoulder and nuzzled her nose against the woman's cheek, licking it again to see if she was ok.  While Velnia had reacted calmly to all of this, Itzal heard the scream and sighed.  "For crying out loud...  VELNIA!!!"  He activated reveal and detect and looked in the direction of the scream.  He could see a ginger haired woman on the ground with a fox and Velnia on her shoulder looking in his direction.  "VELNIA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD STOP DOING THAT TO PEOPLE!!!  ESPECIALLY WITHOUT ME THERE!"  He was barely heard over the distance but he could see her give an embarrassed grin.  Sighing he shot towards the direction of the group, using the charge skill to give him a starting boost.  Despite his being small he was a very fast sprinter.  Soon enough he reached the area the three were and slowed down, breathing normally within a few seconds.  He walked over to the woman and waved at Velnia, signalling for her to give the player some room.  He offered to help her up.  "I am so sorry about that.  Velnia tends to wander and when she does, well...  I've never seen a more hyperactive thing in my entire life." 

@Aster

[Aster 0]

The initial shock had subsided, but Aster continued to stare back at the dragon with a look of puzzlement on her face. The creature hadn't attacked her...rather, it had licked her? "What are you...?" She breathed out. The girl gave a squirm in startled protest when Velnia landed on her shoulder once more, but the two familiars seemed to perk up in attention when a faint voice was heard in the distance. "Huh?"If the little dragon hadn't still been resting on Aster's shoulder, the girl would've propper herself up on her elbows to look for the source of the voice. It didn't take long for the player to make himself visible as he approached them and apologize to her. The dragonling seemed to obey him as he instructed her to move away from the ginger, and it was as if the gears in Aster's head had clicked into place.

"It's a familiar?!" She exclaimed in both surprise and understanding. The alchemist accepted the man's hand to help pull her back to her feet and took a moment to brush the excess snow from her clothes. The relief from her confusion had Aster smiling at the player and his dragon familiar. "I had no idea familiars could be anything other than forest creatures and the like!" Her British accent was slight but noticeable as a small chuckle escaped her. "Well, now that I know your friend isn't a monster, I suppose it's nice to meet her, too." She paused a moment before pushing up her glasses and giving the raven-haired player a nod. "Aster, by the way. I think Reginald here was trying to make friends with Velnia."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal waited for her to brush her snow off, however she seemed far less stressed out than when he found her.  She even smiled as she looked at him.  Upon her comment on familiars Itzal nodded.  "Yup.  The quest allows you to tame any monster as long as it's small enough.  Though I could never imagine Velnia as a monster, even when I was trying to tame her.  She's such a silly little thing."  He had noticed her British accent which intrigued him.  He was meeting all sorts of new people.  While he was born in America he was raised in Japan.  And for some reason never cared about researching America.  He was only learning about it in the recent months, and so far it was just the topic of foods.  Nothing more really.  He wondered if he should change that.  "Oh really?  Velnia, looks like you might have found a playmate."  Velnia was doing loop the loops through the air and landed beside Reginald with her hind quarters in the air like a dog and her tail twitching like a cat's.  Itzal chuckled.  "Alright for a bit, but then we need to clear this quest.  We've got a lot of levels to grind after all."

@Aster

[Aster 0]

"I'd never thought of that..." Aster mumbled with a thoughtful tap of her chin. She regarded the small dragon with intrigue as it tried to play with the fox, wondering for a moment if this is what it felt like to be a parent when your child wanted to play with the other kids.

Meanwhile, Reginald stared at the dragon curiously as it circled around in the air. His head made small circles itself, similar to how a dog or cat would watch a toy being dangled above them. When the little dragon landed, Reginald's bushy tail would twitch as well, and he instantly began hopping around his new playmate. The fox soon darted away, inciting Velnia to give chase before burrowing into another large pile of snow.

Aster watched the small animals, giving a light shake of her head at the fox's childlike nature. "Well, sorry for the distraction." She couldn't help but feel a  bit embarrassed at her familiar's immaturity. "If you don't mind me asking, which quest are you after?"

[Itzal 0]

Velnia yelped with excitement when the fox began bouncing around her and she followed it until it started bouncing away and into the snow.  Grinning she took flight, staying close to the ground and diving into the snow.  Itzal could see her movements from above the snow.  Most likely they'd be seeing two snow mounds chasing, searching and running into each other for a good while.  Still it was good for her to meet someone she could play around with.  Itzal nodded at Aster's remark.  "Yeah not many do.  People tend to focus on what they're used to or what they like.  For example, there could be a player who might tame a slime, though the percentage chance for that is extremely low.  And to be honest, you're fox is doing me a favor.  I love Velnia to death but sometimes I need a break.  As for the quest it's called Essence of steel, and according to the information I received about it, the boss has two hundred and fifty health points and one sixty damage.  I'll be able to two shot it though.  I don't recall what the drop is.  I'm mainly just doing this for the experience.  Oh I'm such an idiot."  He held his hand out to shake hers, a natural smile on his face.  "My name's Itzal.  Nice to meet  you Aster!"

@Aster

Edited April 19, 2017 by Itzal

[Aster 0]

The ginger girl watched the two familiars for a few seconds, giving a light shake of her head before returning her attention to the other player. Aster couldn't recall if she'd seen Reginald actually play with another familiar; it was rare that she encountered another player with a creature that matched her fox's rambunctious personality.

Aster listened to the man's explanation patiently, resisting the urge to react with a grimace to his summary of the quest monster he was going after. 'That thing could two-shot me...' She thought in contrast to his last statement. The girl shifted her weight, glancing back to the two familiars chasing after each other as a thought festered in her mind. If the girl was going to get any experience, she needed to do quests such as that one. But in order to do quests, she needed other players who were willing to deal the damage while she took on a support role. And in situations where her healing wasn't required, she would naturally become more of a burden than an asset. 'Augh, why can't I just study to gain experience?' Aster was pulled from her frustrated thoughts when Itzal held out a hand to her. "Ah, right." The girl obliged with a handshake and a small smile. "Same to you."

A few moments of silence passed after her hand returned to her side. The girl mulled over a few more thoughts before speaking up again. "If you happen to know..." She addressed Itzal with hesitant curiosity, "Are there any difficult quests in this area? One that might require a party with a healer?"

[Itzal 0]

Itzal shook hands with Aster and smiled.  After that however she began to ask him if there were any high level quests in the area.  Particularly ones that needed a healer.  He thought for a moment.  "Hmm..  Well if you mean this floor, there are two quests that I know of.  This one, essence of steel, and Avalanche.  However I was able to clear avalanche out months ago.  He was easy to beat.  Although I did hear a rumor that a snow monster came back as a second quest, stronger than before.  Not sure what it's stats are I'll have to get back to you on that.  Oh wait you're saying you're a healer aren't you?"  If she was indeed a healer then she might be asking for players willing to complete quests with her as the supporter.  He knew this much because Kasier, his girlfriend, was a healer and soon wished to be a tank as well.  And neither of those builds were able to handle quests on their own.  "I'd be willing to do quests with you if you'd like.  And I know most of my guild would happily assist you as well.  Just ask one of us and we'll schedule it."

Velnia was an expert at finding things, mainly because Itzal taught her.  She was able to navigate her way through the snow until she reached the fox, leaping into the air in a pounce.  She wondered how fast her new playmate was.

@Aster

[Aster 0]

The name Avalanche sounded familiar. Aster vaguely remembered a trip to the fourth floor, probably several months ago. There was another player that helped her complete that quest. All she really recalled from it was the terrible blizzard surrounding the monster and the stillness that fell over the snowy floor once it had been defeated.

The ginger perked up at his inquiry about her build. "Ah, really?" She felt the need to question his offer. Realizing she hadn't confirmed his suspicion, Aster gave another nod. "Right, I only have support skills, so I can't really do damage to monsters." The girl wanted to accept his offer, feeling just a little less rude about the idea of inviting herself along on the quest he was taking, but something else he mentioned caught her attention. "Guild? Kind of like a cartel? Although I suppose an actual cartel wouldn't prove very useful the way this game is designed, so maybe not. Then do you all have different professions to help regulate trade?" The bookworm was quickly off on a tangent, half speaking and theorizing to herself and half asking Itzal for confirmation of said theories. Once again, the girl was trying to apply her real-world knowledge to the mechanics of Sword Art Online and, once again, failed to hit the mark.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal nodded when she had confirmed it for him.  "Alright then.  If the boss hits me you can heal me.  If there's a boss I plan to fight who's a bit dangerous I'll call you.  Deal?"  After she took a rather...  Inaccurate guess as to what he meant by guild he looked at her for a moment.  "You haven't.  Played many video games have you?"  After either silence or an answer he'd explain.  "Weeellll a guild in video games is a clan or group of players who form together when playing mmorpgs.  Most games tend to have guild commands, allowing you to message all players in a guild with one message, teleporting the guild, putting the entire guild into a party.  However Sword art online lacks a lot of those commands.  So essentially guilds in here are players who gather up together with a particular goal in mind.  We mainly have front liner guilds and supporter guilds.  And, no, there's no such thing as a cartel in this game.  Yes I know what it means, there's just none of them here."  He chuckled showing he didn't mind her lack of info on the game.  If she had talked about info from real life he probably would be lost......  Shows just how screwed he was :p

@Aster

[Aster 0]

A smile grew across Aster's face at his proposal. She was a bit inwardly confused as to why he offered he a deal so heavily in her favor; the girl didn't understand what he stood to gain from taking her along on quests where she wasn't necessarily needed. Still, Itzal seemed like a friendly person, so she wasn't going to insult him by questioning it. When he continued on to explain how guilds worked in the game, Aster's eyebrows furrowed slightly first in comprehension and then in confusion. "So...people just get together and say they're a guild? I guess that can be useful..." She mumbled with a couple of light taps on her chin. The healer pushed up on the frame of her glasses before dismissing her thoughts. "Well, I've already kept you for a while, if you want to get going,"

She turned her head to search for the two familiars, not having to look for long before she spotted the small dragon looping around in the air. The pair had moved on from chasing to entertaining themselves with tricks, it seemed. Reginald was intent on jumping high enough to make it through one of the 'circles' Velnia made in the air. "And if you're really okay with us tagging along." She added on after a small chuckle escaped her.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal laughed lightly when Aster mumbled about how it might be useful to join a guild.  "It has a little use but it's mainly to forge stronger relationships with others I feel.  For an example.  My guild strives to be a family:  Players who look out for each other and work together.  While we haven't achieved complete unity just yet, I'd say we're close to it.  I think the closest word outside of gaming terms you could use to describe guilds would be a club.  It took a while for me to find out that making friendships is more important than anything else.  Life's no fun when you're alone."  He sighed and stretched his arms thinking about the friends he had found along the way.  Aster mentioned how she'd kept him a while and if he'd like to get going.  "Eh, I didn't really have much else to do today other than level grinding.  I was actually thinking of lying down on a hill somewhere for a bit...  Not on this floor though.  And yeah I'm fine with you coming along.  Company makes the day shine brighter."  He smiled to her when he said this and gestured for her to join him.  "Hey Velnia!  We're going to go ahead and go check out the boss.  If you want to play with Reginald some more or come and join us it's your decision ok?"  Velnia perked her ears up and looked at him while maintaining the loop and her tongue came out with a grin, showing she'd stay a bit.  He chuckled and nodded.  "Well alright then.  That answers that." 

@Aster

[Aster 0]

'Interesting.' Aster was intrigued with the man's personality. His explanation of a guild as a club made more sense, though she thought it a bit silly that the game would implement such a function with limited features. From the limited information she had about guild mechanics, it sounded rather lackluster, though she pushed the thought aside after making a mental note to look more into it later. Itzal's mention of a guild functioning as a family was a bit odd and uncomfortable. The girl didn't have a strong sense of family as it was; non-existent in Aincrad and more of obligation and expectations in the real world. Her experience with friendships was typically based off of a need or mutual benefit rather than just desire. Still, the ginger didn't want to let herself get too cynical.

She felt odd leaving Reginald, but tried to keep herself from worrying over it as she and Itzal began to walk.

[Itzal 0]

Reginald would be fine.  Other than burning out his energy with Velnia who was making up a list of games they could do together, there wasn't any real danger.  Itzal walked along with Aster keeping his eyes peeled for their destination.  "From what I heard the boss is inside of a cave in that mountain over there.  As you can already tell we're almost there."  As they got closer to the cave he activated reveal and detect, seeing through the walls until he spotted the monster.  He was essentially the abominable snowman.  Itzal drew Dragon's Soul and nodded to Aster.  "No doubt if you're partied with me then you'll get the experience as well," he said as he sent her a party invite.  After she accepted or declined it he'd nod.  "Ok then.  This won't take long."  He entered the cave and saw the eyes of the boss flashing.  Before it started it's roar Itzal activated the charge skill and shot forward, releasing Meteor strike and dealing one hundred and forty three damage total, catching it by surprise.  Yeah, this wouldn't take long.

ID#  82999  BD:  5+3  MD:  4

Itzal:  1,140/1,140  <>  103/114
@Aster:  ???/???  <>  ??/??

Snow Beast:  107/250

Edited April 23, 2017 by Itzal

[Aster 0]

The girl gave a nod at Itzal's explanation of the quest's objective. From what she knew so far, quests seemed to be very straightforward, many of them requiring the players to slay one or more creatures and simply collect their reward afterwards. Not that Aster would complain about the simplicity, but it did certainly pose an inconvenience for her build in particular.

They reached their destination just as Aster saw the party invitation appear before her. The girl pressed the button to accept, giving the raven-haired player another small nod as he prepared for combat. The ginger pushed up the sleeves of her white coat to her elbows, revealing the entirety of her white and orange handwraps. Aster watched carefully as Itzal unleashed his attack, lowering her stance slightly as she prepared to follow-up. The scout's attack left the creature in the yellow, under half it's total HP. His next attack may very well finish it off, but the girl still felt the need to contribute regardless. Dashing up to the snow beast, Aster felt the surge of orange-tinted lightning as it began to dance around her arms and wrists. The girl gave the monster a single blow, connecting with a closed fist while the electricity jumped from her weapon to the creature itself. Its health bar only took a measly two points of damage, but two status effects appeared below the display.

• ID# 83079
  • BD: 9 - Critical Success!
    • (1 Base) + (1 Critical) = 2 DMG
    • Paralyze Activated - Enemy's Next Turn
    • Bleed Activated - 12 DMG / 2 Turns

 

@Itzal:  1,140/1,140  <>  103/114
Aster:  300/300  <>  29/30

Snow Beast:  105/250 - Paralyzed (1), Bleeding (2)

Edited April 26, 2017 by Aster