[PP-NK-F17] Sun, Sand, and Materials

[Kooh 0]

'I really need to expand my wardrobe.'Kooh tugged at the black-and-white hood that had rested against her blonde hair. The fabric fell to her back while the girl pulled her hair up into a ponytail. The rest of her outfit was more-or-less acceptable beach attire, though she could really use a pair of sunglasses about now. Squinting against the sun's rays, she looked out over the ocean and gave a small nod. "Yep, I can get used to this." The area around her was surprisingly devoid of players, NPCs, and monsters alike, not that she minded in the slightest. Finally, she had found a place of refuge away from the first floor. As much as she liked the luxury of a bed and the occasional free meal, she was beginning to wonder if her white-haired roommate was worth the arrangement. Sey wasn't a terrible person; just the opposite, in fact. He was a bit too clever for her liking, however, and she dared not push her luck around him.

The blonde lowered herself to the ground, sitting against the warm sand and leaning back using her outstretched arms to support her. The beach wasn't a foreign concept to her, but she had only enjoyed it on a couple of occasions in the real world. Stretching her bare legs out in front of her, Kooh had half a mind to consider the area her new vacation spot.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

As much as he hated to admit it, Aereth was in need of some special materials for his shop. He was targeting the special Greece Cotton Flowers that were only to be found on the freaking 17th floor. "Thank god I was able to do a quest on my way up here..." he thought while he stepped out of the labyrinth that led to his desired floor. He had slept in a shabby inn at the 14th floor yesterday, because he had decided not to use a teleport crystal in order to get up here.

After a couple minutes of walking, Aereth reached a rather separated beach with no monsters no NPC's and only one single player who was seemingly enjoying the sun and the beach. Opening up his map, he noticed that he had somehow lost his way, and was now wandering through an area he hadn't yet mapped out. With a sigh he walked over to the blonde player, pulling back the hood of his long dark cloak and asked the female. "Excuse me, it seems like I have lost my way, so do you possibly know where I have to go in order to find the Nimean Plain? Or the nearest settlement perhaps?"

OOC: Sorry, I suck at meeting players for the first time. xD

ID# 82767 results:
Loot: 3+5

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

"Mm?" Kooh mumbled at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. The girl had closed her eyes against the bright sun, but now had to hold up a hand to shield her vision as she looked over her shoulder to spot the brunette that had approached her. His question nearly caused a frown to pull down at the corners of her mouth, but Kooh kept her expression neutral. "Oh... I don't know that place, I'm sorry." She answered politely with embarrassment in her voice. She wasn't necessarily lying; she had no idea what a 'Nimean Plain' was, but if the snowy-haired player was present he would have been incredibly suspicious of her innocent tone.

"I kind of found this place on accident..." Not exactly a lie. "So I figured I would rest here a bit." More of a half-truth. "If I remember right, there was a path maybe...ten minutes away from the beach here? I think that led back to a town." Now she was just making things up. While she spoke, Kooh's garnet eyes were caught by the cursor hovering above the man's head. 'It's a different color?' She thought curiously, but made no mention of the fact.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Kooh

[Aereth 1]

The girl shyly answered Aereth's question, and unfortunately she had now clue how to get to the Nimean Plain. A small sigh escaped Aereth's lips before he replied. "No problem, it's my fault that I got lost, so you don't need to be sorry." Then however, she mentioned that there was path that led to a town, most probably the path and town she came from, and Aereth opened up his map once again. His cursor was still surrounded by mere nothingness, and so he simply dismissed it with another heavy sigh. It didn't went unnoticed by him how the girl was fixing his orange cursor with her eyes while she was speaking, so he decided to pull up his hood again and answered. "Well then I have to say thank you for your help. Now I at least know roughly where to go. Not knowing where you are can easily get you killed up here on the higher floors." After that he bowed slightly in thanks, and noticed something strange in the sand. Crouching down in order to inspect what would be hidden underneath the sand, Aereth discovered a set of four perfect pearls. He grinned, picked them up and tossed one of the pearls over to the girl. "A small thank you for the help." 

ID# 82879 results:
Loot: 10+5

Materials: 4-1(Given to @Kooh) = 3

[Kooh 0]

'Whoops, he noticed.' Kooh's eyes briefly met Aereth's when her gaze shifted down from the cursor hovering in the air. Though the blonde was unaware of what the symbol stood for, the brunette didn't seem to care for it drawing her attention. She frowned slightly once his eyes were no longer on her, but gave a mental shrug. Just as she was beginning to wonder if she should find a new place to laze around in the event the man couldn't find any paths leading to the city, his motion caught her attention. She caught the pearl just before it hit the sand, inspecting the item once it was resting in her hand. She mentally shrugged off the brief moment of confusion as to why he would give her anything and instead allowed the item to vanish into her inventory.

"Oh--" Feeling obliged to offer him a small thanks in return for the item, Kooh's voice was cut short. From the ocean before them, a massive figure raised up, the roar of the water shooting upwards along with it caused the girl's head to snap forward with a startled expression. As the ocean water fell back to the earth and rolled down the creature's shell, a monstrous crab towered before them. Whether the players had disturbed it in some way, or they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, the giant crab wasted no time in trying to crush the two.

"Woah!" The blonde quickly got to her feet, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at the intimidating creature. Forgetting about her shy introduction, Kooh cast Aereth a sideways glance, calling over to the man as she took a couple of hesitant steps backwards. "I don't suppose you know how to fight?"

<<Mega Crab>> - 350/350 HP | 105 DMG

Kooh - 300/300 HP | 15/15 Energy | 7 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA
Aereth - 700/700 HP | 35/35 Energy | ??

Edited April 20, 2017 by Kooh

[Aereth 1]

Just after Kooh caught the pearl, a huge crab started to emerge from the ocean. Kooh took a couple of steps back, and asked Aereth if he knew how to fight. "No need to worry about me..." Aereth said while removing the cloak of his and drawing his sword out of its sheath. "How about you? You don't really look ready for a fight." he said, referring to the beach attire she was wearing. "But if you are confident you can hold your ground in the fight, I won't hold you back. Otherwise I'd suggest to stay out of combat." Even though he noticed the somehow sudden change from shy and embarrassed  to direct and calculative, he decided to ignore it for now. 

Before the blonde could give a reply he sped towards the Mega Crab, readied the material arts skill and combined material arts elements with his one handed sword skill as soon as he was in range for an attack. Chaining together swipe after swipe with the help of strong tackles, Aereth did some decent damage to the mob before retreating back to safety.

@Kooh

ID# 83442 results:
Battle: 4+3, HIT
Damage: 12*11=132DMG

Aereth: 700/700 HP | 60/70 EN (-11 Meteor Break + 1) | 12 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 54 MIT | 1 Flame Aura
Kooh - 300/300 HP |  30/30 Energy | 7 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA

<<Mega Crab>> - 218/350 HP | 105 DMG

[Kooh 0]

Another sideways glance cast between cautiously watching the monster's movements showed Aereth would waste no time in preparing to fight. The blonde held back a sigh. As much as she wished she could duck out and have nothing to do with the fight, that wouldn't be brave of her. And in this world--much like the real one--people didn't tend to respect laziness or cowardice. 'A shame, really. Then being popular would be easy.' She amused herself with the thought.

The brunette rushed towards the sea creature, dealing over a third of its health in a single empowered attack. 'Yeaahh, he's got this.'Kooh thought. Once the man landed his attack, the crab's heavy claw would come crashing down against the sand in an attempt to squash the player under its weight. Its movements were slow and easy to avoid, however, and Aereth had easily back away from its reach before a small wave of sand was kicked up.

Kooh brought up an arm to shield herself from the debris of the attack, squinting against the sand particles in the air and the bright sun in the sky. The blonde let out a sigh, quietly enough that the brunette wouldn't have picked it up over the sound of the waves, and acted as though she was steeling herself to face the enemy. Though her clothing was casual, she still had her greaves equipped--an unusual choice of weapon, but hers nonetheless. The girl dashed towards the crab, closing the distance for an attack before lowering her body. She brought her left leg around in a sweeping motion, aiming to strike its front leg with the metal plate of her greaves. Before it could connect, however, the crab's claw swung to the side and slammed into the girl's torso to knock her aside. As the crab lifted its claw back into the air above its head, Kooh had been shoved away a few paces and was in the process of getting back to her feet.

@Aereth

ID# 83562 results:
Battle: 3+2, FAIL

Mod: 8-3, FAIL

Aereth: 700/700 HP | 60/70 EN | 12 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 54 MIT | 1 Flame Aura
Kooh: 300/300 HP |  28/30 Energy | 7 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA

<<Mega Crab>> - 218/350 HP | 105 DMG

Edited May 1, 2017 by Kooh

[Aereth 1]

"Too slow..." The crab tired hard to retaliate, but Aereth was much to quick for it to actually land a hit on the brunette. Swiftly dodging the futile attempts, Aereth jumped back in order to let Kooh get a hit in as well. "Let's see how capable that girl is..." he thought while watching. 

Unfortunately the stupid crab knocked her back quite forcefully, but not hard enough to do actual damage. Using the moment where the crab was distracted, a malicious grin flashed on Aereth's face, as he closed the distance between him and the mob once again. "Hey, don't forget about me, stupid mob." He exclaimed in a grim tone as he crashed into the crab once more, now pushing the rather big mob itself back some paces. Raising his blade shortly afterwards, followed by another barrage of swipes and strikes, Aereth knocked the Crab into the red health area with a hyper critical hit. "Your turn, sweetie." Aereth said to Kooh, still wearing that malicious grin of his. He really was enjoying this battle...

ID# 83625 results:
Battle: 10, Critical Hit (+2 Base DMG)
Damage: (12+2)*11=154DMG

Aereth: 700/700 HP | 50/70 EN | 12 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 54 MIT | 1 Flame Aura
@Kooh: 300/300 HP |  28/30 Energy | 7 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA

<<Mega Crab>> - 64/350 HP | 105 DMG

[Kooh 0]

"Ugh," The blonde grumbled under her breath as she picked herself up from the sandy floor. Though her health bar hadn't been affected, the force of the monster's massive claw knocking her aside was none too pleasant. She shook her head, attempting to rid her tied-back hair of the sand particles that now clung to her skin and clothes. "Great." She muttered, disgust washing over her as she stood up and brushed herself off. She turned back to the monster just as Aereth finished his next attack. A quick glance to the brunette had her questioning the grin plastered on his face.

She resisted a smirk and a playful response at his comment, recalling her original demeanor. "R-right!" She called back, her voice wavering with slight hesitation. It probably wasn't too late to shift to a more laid-back and sarcastic tone, but it had been a while since she played the typical shy girl--might as well keep it up and have some fun. As the crab's legs crashed into the sand to steady itself from toppling over after Aereth's last attack, Kooh tried to take advantage of its loss of balance. She ran up to the creature again, lowering her stance much like her first attempt to attack, and brought her leg around in a wide sweep. The metal of her greaves made contact with the creature's leg, rewarding her with a loud crack sound. A red, glowing patch was left on the crab's leg from the impact, several lines running a few feet in length along the limb as the surrounding shell looked cracked. The blonde quickly backed off before the crab could take another swing at her, only having done a fraction of the damage from Aereth's attacks.

ID# 83634 results:
Battle: 6+2, Hit
Damage: 7*4=28 DMG

Mob: 6-3, Fail

@Aereth: 700/700 HP | 50/70 EN | 12 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 54 MIT | 1 Flame Aura
Kooh: 300/300 HP |  25/30 Energy | 7 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA

<<Mega Crab>> - 36/350 HP | 105 DMG

Edited May 2, 2017 by Kooh

[Aereth 1]

Using the time @Kooh bought for him, Aereth quickly changed up his equipment. Gone was the Dexterous Intent and sword, and it only got replaced by his Discovery Ring. Hearing the cracking sound that came from the mob, Aereth turned to see how Kooh, landed a good hit on the mob. "One more hit and it's gone..." Aereth mumbled, before he got back onto attacking the huge crab. "Maybe I'll try something new...."

Now using his maximal speed, Aereth dashed past Kooh, and quickly closed the distance between him and the mob. When Aereth got in range, the big crab tried to hit him with its cracked claw. A big mistake. Aereth ducked under the swipe, and with a jumping enzuigiri kick the already racked claw was severed cleanly from the mobs body. Not stopping there, Aereth put all the strength he had into his virtual legs and jumped into the air, and with another kick he came crashing down on the mob again, now ending the creature's life for good. He was slightly panting from this little stunt, but a grin was still planted on his face.

Pleased with the outcome of the battle, and his first effective use of the material arts skill, Aereth wiped the grin out of his face and walked back to Kooh. "You ok? I don't want to sound rude, but may I ask which level you currently are?" he asked the girl curiously.

Battle Roll:

ID# 83646 results:
Battle: 8, Hit
Damage: 14*4=56DMG

Aereth: 700/700 HP | 47/70 EN | 12 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 54 MIT | 1 Flame Aura
Kooh: 300/300 HP |  25/30 Energy | 7 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA

<<Mega Crab>> - 0/350 HP

Loot Roll:

ID# 83647 results:
Craft: 2
Loot: 15+5=20
Drop: x7 Bonus Col

Every Player gets:
(3+7)*350/2 = 1750 Col

 

[Kooh 0]

With Aereth rushing past her, Kooh relaxed her stance a bit. The monster was nearly dead, and she knew the brunette was more than capable of reducing it to zero. The man did just that, surprisingly without the use of his sword, and the giant crab burst into shards of light as a result. A few moments later, Kooh shifted her weight and stood with her hands halfway in her pockets  when the swordsman approached her. "Oh, u-uhh," She mumbled shyly at his question. "Only fifteen..." Truthfully, Kooh had little desire to increase her level, and therefore didn't much care whether she or anyone else was level one or one hundred. The words left her with a hint of shame, however, as if she was embarrassed to admit her level was so low. At least, she assumed Aereth was far beyond her current stats. She only hoped the man wouldn't begin scolding her for being on a floor she shouldn't be at her level, but she mentally prepared herself for it anyway. Perhaps being around the white-haired spearman had gotten her used to getting chewed out.

"Um, thank you though." Her shoulders raised slightly as her hands pushed down into the pockets of her shorts.

[Aereth 1]

Letting out a sigh, when hearing that the petite girl was only level 15 and already up on this high floor, he answered. "You do know that it's freaking dangerous up here, if you aren't at the appropriate level, right? That crab could have easily crushed you without problems. Hell, even I don't come up here that often." Closing his eyes and and taking a breath, Aereth put a grin on his face and continued. "But f*ck that. Your fighting was pretty impressing. I have to say you got some fighting spirit in you." Turning around and picking up his cloak again, Aereth added. "The name's Aereth. If you want you can tag along with me. I can keep you safe, while I'm gathering materials for my shop if you like." After that the brunette dusted off his cloak, put it on again. "I quite like the power of the material arts skill. Just some more levels and I'll GM it..." he thought while waiting for @Kooh's answer.

[Kooh 0]

Kooh had to hold her tongue from lashing back out at the man at his scolding. Restraining herself to her thoughts, the blonde wished she could tell him to mind his own business. She restrained herself, wearing a blank expression as Aereth's attitude seemed to take a drastic shift. 'Huh?' Kooh had difficulty determining if the man was being condescending or if he was just trying not to be so harsh after his initial comments. Kooh caught herself from letting out a scoff at his invitation for her to join him. 'I don't need babysitting.' She wished she had spoken the words aloud.

"O-oh, uhh..." She stuttered again. "I'm actually waiting for someone." She cast a nervous glance back to the area she had been sitting before turning back to Aereth and bowing to the man. "I'm sorry! Thanks for all of your help."

[Aereth 1]

"Are you sure?" Aereth would ask the girl, before looking around to see if some monsters were still around them. "Like you just saw, it could get quite dangerous here. But if you insist I will take my leave... And no need to thank me, milady." Aereth said before bowing himself and leaving into the general direction Kooh told him before the fight started. 

As soon as he was out of sight for Kooh, Aereth activated his searching skill in order to find some materials. And indeed, he was graced with a perfect set of four materials that hid just under some dead flowers. "I may as well stay around her until that other player meets up with her... Somehow I don't completely trust her..." he thought before turning around and and hiding himself, so that Kooh wouldn't notice him. "I can always look for materials around here as well..."

@Kooh

ID# 83962 results:
Loot: 12+5

Materials: 7

[Kooh 0]

Kooh kept a smile on her face until the man turned and walked away. The blonde made her way back to her previous spot on the beach, letting out a sigh of relief once Aereth was out of earshot. The girl sat down on the sand, stretching her legs out in front of her while she propped her arms up behind her.

About ten minutes had passed, and Kooh let out a yawn. The sun felt warm against her skin, and she was grateful it wouldn't burn her as it normally would have in the real world. After winding down from the events of earlier, she could almost fall asleep here.

"Yo girlie!" A masculine voice called out, cutting through the sound of the waves. Kooh's brow furrowed in irritation as her head swiveled to see two figures making their way towards her. By the time they approached she had softened her expression, but didn't offer them any pleasantries. The pair--two male players--didn't seem to mind. As they stopped beside her, the one that had called out to her shifted his weight with a friendly-looking grin on his face. He had short, black hair, and the only piece of eye-catching gear he wore was an ornate dagger sheathed at his hip. Beside him, a blonde-haired player stood with a neutral expression, as if he had resigned the other player to be the one that did all the talking. "Hey, we're looking for more players to join our guild." The raven-haired player cut right to the chase. He looked to be about the same age as Kooh, maybe a little older, while the blonde stranger was clearly younger. "We could help you get experience and some really good gear. Wanna check it out?" Kooh cocked an eyebrow as the man placed his hands on his hips, awaiting her answer. She glanced between the two players before turning her attention back to the leader and speaking up. "Uhh, sorry. I'm not really interested in joining a guild. Thanks anyway." She answered a bit dismissively. As much as she had just wanted to tell the two players to leave her alone, she kept just the minimum level of politeness.

Clearly, her declination wasn't going to be taken easily. "C'mon, it's basically free stuff! You don't even want to see our guild hall?" The man still had a smile on his face, but impatience was threatening to wipe it away. Kooh frowned slightly, turning to face the ocean as she came back with a firm, "Sorry, no thanks."

"Man, why do pretty girls have to be such b-tches?" The black-haired player's tone had clearly changed now, a scowl taking over his features. Kooh's attention turned back to them, glaring as she pulled her legs closer to her. The blonde stood up, keeping her eyes focused on them. "Back off." Her tone darkened just as quickly. "Wow, guess this one's a bust." He smirked, turning his head slightly in the direction of his friend. "I wonder how mad they'll get if I came back orange? They couldn't use me as a lure anymore after that!" The two players snickered between each other as Kooh's gaze shifted between them. She didn't have much time to piece together the meaning of their comments before the leader's head swiveled back to her. "I doubt a b-tch like you has any friends who'll miss--" The end of the man's sentence was replaced with the sound of Kooh's fist making contact with his jaw. Clearly not expecting the blow, the man stumbled back in a daze, his hand reaching up to touch the glowing red mark left on his cheek. Kooh silently held her ground as the blonde boy hesitantly reached for a two-handed sword at his back. His partner regained his balance, hand hovering over the dagger at his waist. "Now you've asked for it, girlie." He let out the words in a menacing growl.

[Aereth 1]

About ten minutes have passed since Kooh and Aereth have parted ways. Well technically they didn't but Kooh was oblivious to that fact. In that time he was even able to find another four materials he needed for supplying himself with enough potions for upcoming events.

Just as he picked up the last material, Aereth heard multiple voices from where Kooh was sunbathing. "Well seems like the guys she's been waiting for are finally here..." he thought, and was just about to head away, before turning back due to the urge to check one more time on the well being of the female player. Hiding himself as good as possible, Aereth listened to the conversation of the three players.

"Just some random guys recruiting members for their guild..." Aereth thought and let out a small sigh. "Looks like I'm staying a little bit longer..." But then things turned sour really quickly. Kooh's behaviour changed rather quickly, similar to back when they were fighting the mob together. And then Aereth's jaw dropped. "D-Did she really hit that scumbag?" he thought. "I knew it. There was something strange about her sweet behaviour from before." Then however they started to draw their weapons.

Immediately Aereth sped towards Kooh, who he pushed back in order to place him between her  and the other three players. His sword was held tightly in his left and  the blade was placed at the throat of the man with the dagger. "No no no. That wouldn't be a good idea. At least if you want you head to stay where it is right now..." Aereth said in a cold voice, looking deep into the man's eyes and radiating a oppressive aura filled with killing intent. "How about we all calm down again, and you start talking about that guild of yours. You know, the guild you're working as 'lure' for."

@Kooh

ID# 83991 results:
Loot: 16+5

Materials: 11

[Kooh 0]

Just as Kooh was deciding if the heel of her boot should be the next thing to collide with the man's jaw, the motion of something swiftly approaching them from the edge of the forest caught her attention. As much as she didn't want to take her eyes off of the raven-haired player, she gave a quick sideways glance. It hadn't much helped, and before she knew what was happening she stumbled backwards half a step when a forceful hand pushed against her. The blonde blinked in surprise, staring at the back of the brunette's head a moment before she finally recognized the man. 'What?' She thought in disbelief; she hadn't expected to see Aereth again, certainly not like this. Meanwhile, the dark-haired man with the dagger stood frozen, eyes flickering between Kooh and Aereth with a scowl on his face.

"Oh look, girlie has a boyfriend." She man growled before the sword at his neck prompted him to stop speaking. The blonde boy beside him had already drawn his weapon before Aereth's arrival, but held it unsteadily in front of him. "J-Jax..." For the first time he spoke up, addressing the raven-haired player in a panicked whisper. "C'mon, let's get outta here." He urged, glancing nervously between other blonde and brunette. "Th-this guy's orange..." He added on under his breath, looking to the cursor above Aereth's head before the expression on the swordsman's face practically caused a shiver to run down his spine. While the younger player was struck with fear, the dagger-wielder referred to as Jax was more foolishly stubborn.

"Why, you interested in joining?" He asked with a malicious grin. Despite his otherwise taunting demeanor, a hint of seriousness came through with his question. "Too bad. You and blondie are pretty fiesty." He would continue pushing Aereth's patience despite the threatening blade at his throat and the urging whispers of his partner. Kooh stayed silent, glaring daggers at the man while Aereth held him in place. As the brunette wasn't backing down, the grin faded from Jax's face and his expression twisted into a scowl. "You wanna know about my guild?" He sneered."We just help out lowlies, y'know?" His tone was just as condescending as his choice of words. "We just show 'em how dangerous this world really is. AFter that, it depends. If they're smart, they'll join us." The corners of his mouth turned up again. "But if they're as disobedient as this b-tch..." He let the sentence hang as his grey eyes shifted past Aereth, staring at Kooh with a sinister smile.

[Aereth 1]

Ignoring the stupid taunts of the raven haired player, Aereth's stance didn't change the slightest. He didn't even break eye contact as the other player started to tell the man that this was quite a dangerous situation. "He isn't taking me serious... Then let's show him how serious I can get...." As the man let his sentence hang, Aereth quickly removed his blade from his throat, gathered momentum from a single spin, released a slash at the man's abdominal region, and came back to his starting position, with the blade pressing against his throat. Immediately, red damage markers apeared where Aereth's sword made contact with the other man's body. "I think you aren't taking this situation serious enough. You friend over here, seems to be the smarter one of the two of you, so you should listen to him. There are two ways we can handle this matter. Way one will most probably end in death. On way two, both of you will be able to get your asses out of here safely. But before I'll let you go I want to hear the guild name. So no f*cking around anymore." he said in a calm tone, but also with some serious blood-lust in it. Slowly but surely the blade of Aereth started to make contact with the flesh of the man, creating shiny red damage markers on the man's throat.

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

Jax's grin quickly vanished as the player let out a shocked "Urgh!" at the strike across his body. The man reactively took a step back after the straight sword had slashed along his leather armor, regaining his balance just before Aereth held him in place once more. The man had winced--despite the lack of pain receptors, being slashed across the torso with a sword wasn't necessarily a fun experience. The blonde youth tensed up at the strike, his own blade trembling in his weak grip. Clearly, the two were of very different mindsets.

"Tch..." Jax scoffed under his breath, seemingly more to himself than at Aereth. His eyes flickered upward and to the side for a moment as he read his own health gauge. The man frowned, as if he didn't care for the number that was shown, before his eyes met Aereth's with a mild annoyance. Fear was not yet visible in his eyes, leaving Kooh to wonder whether the man was at all concerned for his avatar's well-being. The raven-haired player cast a sidelong glance at the boy beside him before letting out a sigh. "Alright, alright, you win." Jax brought his hands up beside his torso to concede. "They're called The Specter Council. Their base is outside of the settlement on floor ten, to the west. They usually change locations every couple of weeks or so, though."

While the exchange was taking place, Kooh stood a few paces behind Aereth. Her expression had changed from seething anger to mild confusion and growing disinterest. While Jax was giving up his guild's name and location, the blonde girl was weighing her options. She could try to leave--if she ran into the forest she doubted that Aereth would leave the two men unattended just to chase after her. Still, that was a gamble, and she wasn't confident that she could find her way back to town before he could catch up with her. If she stayed, she assumed the brunette would confront her in some way once the exchange with the other players was finished. And she would have a hell of a time getting him to leave after all this. The blonde mentally sighed. This whole situation was just getting more and more annoying.

And so, despite it being perhaps the most irresponsible course of action, Kooh took a couple of small, slow steps backwards. For a few seconds, the girl likely wouldn't have drawn any attention. Not until she began running across the beach towards the forest. Where the sand met the grass and the roots of the trees, Kooh slipped past the foliage. She pulled her hair down, yanking the hood at her shoulders up in a hurry with a glance over her shoulder while the beach faded from view.

[Hiding! Stealth rating: 10]

[Aereth 1]

It seemed like the little decision-making aid from Aereth turned out to be pretty successful. And Aereth was a man of his word. He would let the two players go, but not before giving them a warning on their way. "Smart boy." Aereth praised the blonde player, with a malicious grin. "It seems that you have indeed chosen the easy way out of this situation." With that he slowly started to lower his blade, before speaking once more. "I am a man of my word, so you two can now leave, but let me tell you one more thing. If I were you, I'd stay away from that guild of yours, since we'll be coming for each and every one of them. And when that time comes, I most probably won't be so willing to talk. And for f*cks sake, don't ever try and f*ck around with lower leveled players. Understood?" After a brief moment of silence to let that sink in, Aereth simply dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Now leave!" he said in a harsh tone and waited for them to leave.

Now finally noticing that Kooh also started to run, Aereth simply sighed and mumbled under his breath. "Does everybody have to so annoying today?" before sheathing his blade and quickly following the footsteps she left back in the sand. Said footsteps lead to the forest. He still had a sh*tton of questions for the blonde before he would leave her alone. Quickly changing his equipment, Aereth removed his battle gear, and activated all of his searching items. "Thankfully I have invested a couple of SP into the Searching skill.." he thought before activating said skill. His eyes glowed for a split second and he started to look around for any possible hits of where the girl could have gone. 

After a couple minutes of searching he finally discovered the blonde girl deeper into the forest. "Two can play this game..." he thought before also entering stealth and following her in the shadows...

ID# 84180 results:
Loot: 13+5=18 Kooh found.

Entered stealth. LD of 10+ required to find Aereth.

@Kooh