[PP-F4] Close Call <<Avalanche>>

[Telrenya 0]

Spoiler

Telrenya's Stats:

• Level: 20
• HP: 400
• EN: 40
• DMG: 7
• ACC: 2
• EVA: 1

Skills:

• [Rank 4] Rapier
• Howl
• [Extra] Survival

Equipment:

• [Rare] [Rapier] Radiant Dawn +2 DMG
• [Perfect] [Lucky Charm] Erin's Favor +2 ACC / +1 EVA

Battle Ready:

• [Perfect] [Shield] Fear Eater +14 Thorns / +9 MIT
• (5) T1 Health Potion [+40 HP]
• (1) T1 Damage Potion [+1 DMG]
• (1) T1 Overhealth Potion [+50 Temp HP]
• [Quest Item] <<Cerberus Soul>> +2 Burn DMG

The new battle attire that Telrenya sported was a much better fit for the fourth floor. With the memories of her escapades on the desert floor just above still fresh in her mind, she was grateful for the cloth and leather pieces that covered the entirety of her body. While her boots dragged through the high levels of snowfall, Telrenya's arm instinctively raised to block some of the harsh winds of the blizzard that raged around her. She had been trudging through the wilderness far outside of Snowfrost in hopes of tackling a bounty that sat in her quest log under the name 'Avalanche'.

Despite the protection of her armor, the icy winds still cut through the clothing and bit against her skin, causing the woman's body to lightly shiver every few minutes. With no sign of the creature in sight, Telrenya let out a sigh. "How much more lost do I have to get...?" She grumbled under her breath.

After a few more minutes walking with only the sound of the occasional howling winds, the heel of Telrenya's boot clicked against what sounded like ice buried beneath the snow. Behind her silver mask, the woman cocked an eyebrow and hesitated a moment before cautiously continuing to move forward. She had gone no more than two steps farther, however, when the ground beneath her began to rumble. Her eyes widened and her arms moved out from her sides to try and keep her balance. Her knees buckled when she felt herself being raised into the air, and her heartbeat quickened while an alarmed cry caught in her throat. Beneath her, the ice beast named Avalanche began to wake. It rose up from its slumber buried beneath the snowfall, causing the woman atop its shoulders to slip against the uneven surface as it straightened up. Telrenya didn't have the time to work out the situation before she felt the pressure of an icy grip wrapping itself around her arms and torso. Avalanche had reached up to pluck the player from her perch, quickly lifting her higher before tossing her frame aside. This time a short scream had worked itself up through her chest before the woman's shoulder met the ground below and she tumbled several feet away. "Urgh..." A groan escaped her as she tried to fight against the fuzziness that clung to her brain. Pushing against the ground littered with fresh powder, the ground beneath her left foot gave way, and another surge of shock ran through her. Unbeknownst to the lone adventurer, Avalanche had been so kind as to toss her dangerously close to the end of a high cliff.

Her foot had already managed to find the edge, and the misplaced weight from her attempt to stand caused the woman to slip farther, only barely managing to catch a handhold before her body would have been lost to the terrain far below. Telrenya's breaths were short and ragged as her panic began to consume her. Desperately trying to keep her hold on the cliff's edge, she felt the ground gently trembling with each of Avalanche's footsteps that signaled the field boss' presence.

@Calrex

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

HP: 1685 | EN: 164 | DMG: 18 | MIT: 89 | ACC: 3 |  EVA: 2

Equipped Gear:

x1 Grand Gauntlets III: +9 Unarmed Damage

Grand Chariot III: +54 Mitigation

x1 Tide Pendant: +2 Evasion / +1 Loot Dice

Battle Ready:

x5 Safeguard Potion: 1 Attack negated

Grand Blade III: +9 Damage

Grand Guard III: +28 Thorns & +3 Heavy Momentum

x1 Amethyst Charm: +2 Accuracy / +Evasion

x1 Basic Teleportation Crystal: Upon use, teleport to the nearest town next turn

x1 Monkey Agility: +1 Evasion for one thread

x1 Woodland Armor (1 charge): +30 Mitigation

Skills & Mods:

One-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]: Quick Change Mod

Heavy Armor [Rank 5]: Athletics Mod

Charge [Rank 5]: Bull Rush Mod

Battle Healing [Rank 4]

Block [Rank 5]: Rampart Mod

Howl

Parry

Familiar Master: Accurate [Rank 2]

Martial Arts [Rank 5]: Precision Mod

Survival

Disguise

Meditation

Achilles [Rank 5]

Snowfall battered against the dark navy blue colored metal plates of the Grand Chariot III as Calrex made his way across the snowy fields outside the safe zone, each icy particle in the air echoing a soft metallic clink against his armor. The only indicator of a face on his helmet was the light blue slits to show where his eyes were, with frosty breath condensing in front of his mouthpiece. It had been some time since he was last on the fourth floor, and each time he returned brought back fond memories from before he joined the frontlines. Those memories of when his wife's shop had been set in the town, a warm haven from the cold wintry setting of the floor.

However, at the same time, he kept reminding himself of his current situation, and Teayre's as well. The Amethyst Boutique was no longer there, instead being now on the thirteenth floor outside of the safe zone. Giving a small sigh the bluenette continued to make his way across, "You getting a better view of things now Roc?"

His familiar didn't give a auditory response, but his sharpened vision even without wearing the Amethyst Charm was a clear indicator that upgrading his familiar's accuracy was in effect, "Now I'm trying to remember what I was trying to find out..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Calrex heard the faint sound of a scream, something that he had not expected to hear out in the field zones of the lower floors, "Not a good sign. Better find out what's going on."

He opened and clenched his fists for a short moment before taking off into a light run, each footstep sinking into the snow as he made his way across the snowy plains. After a few seconds of movement the snow began to clear as the Ultramarine Knight came across a sight that immediately forced him into action. He saw the familiar quest boss, Avalanche, stomping nearby, but what he also spotted was what appeared to be a hand desperately holding onto the edge of a nearby cliff. Using his lightened weight due to his increased Evasion the Ultramarine Knight sprinted over before entering into a slide, kicking up snow in front of him before reaching out with his right gauntlet to grab the person's forearm, a more secure spot than relying on the weaker fingers of the hand. His left hand formed into a claw as he slammed it into the ground for a better holding, "Just hold on I've got you!"

With one pull using all of his body's strength and rotational force, he pulled in the direction up and away from the edge, hoping that his force was enough to help them up and over the edge of the cliff so that their weight no longer worked against them. He took a quick glance back, but too short a period of time to make 100% sure the person was safe, but he had other things to worry about.

"Even if they fell, I haven't heard of anyone dying from fall damage other than if they decided to take a permanent jump off of Aincrad. That means the bigger threat for them would be Avalanche itself."

Turning around to confirm where the boss was he gave a calm breath before preparing himself for potential combat.

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya's left leg swung forward so the toe of her boot could search for a stable hold against the rocky cliffside. No sooner than she had pushed down with a fraction of her weight, the piece of earth broke apart and left her dangling over the edge once more. Her eyes squeezed shut, feelings of helplessness and fear beginning to overwhelm her just as a new sensation quite literally grabbed hold of her. The voice of a stanger reached her ears over the harsh winds, and Telrenya's eyes flew back open just as the unknown figure moved to pull her to safety.

Her upper body had been lifted past the edge, allowing her other forearm to plant itself onto the ground in front of her. Fighting past the fears that gripped her just as tightly as the armored man, Telrenya was able to pull her leg to the side and dig her knee into the snowy mountain to hoist herself the rest of the way to safety. The woman's body gave half a roll as she cleared the edge of the cliff, her breathing shaky while she pushed herself up on her hands and knees.

Before she had the chance to recover, the woman's chin tilted upwards to spot the player who had saved her taking on an aggressive stance. But his body was no longer turned towards her. Reminding Telrenya of its presence, Avalanche let out a rumbling roar that snapped her to attention. Staring the two players down with translucent blue 'eyes', the field boss raised the hunk of ice that formed its arm above its head. Bringing the limb down upon them, Telrenya was able to push herself from the ground and jump backwards out of the way before it crashed into the mountain's edge. 'C'mon Estelle, c'mon, hold it together...' She urged herself, heart racing while her right hand reached for the hilt of the rapier at her hip. She hurriedly pulled the blade from its scabbard, gripping it tightly as she took in the sight of the foe that stood before them, finally able to get a proper look at the quest objective labeled 'Avalanche'.

@Calrex

Combat Results:

Spoiler

ID#: 90648 | MD: 5 (-1 EVA) = 4 - Miss!

Telrenya takes no action (Recovers / Evades)

• Telrenya: 400/400 HP | 40/40 EN
• Calrex: 1685/1685 HP | 164/164 EN
• <<Avalanche>>: 100/100 HP | 40 DMG

 

[Calrex 0]

Hearing the drawing of a sword behind him, Calrex felt like he wanted to breath a sigh of relief. But, at the same time he also hoped that the sound wouldn't soon be followed by a drop in his health from a backstab. The recent turn of events certainly left the opening for him to be struck by an ambush set up by a PKer. However, this was not the time to worry about that. There was a large monster standing in front of them, one that he had fought many times in the past. With a smirk beneath his helmet the bluenette muttered to himself, "At least it's not the revamped version of this guy."

"Still, I need to make sure whoever this person is, they're not going to be targeted by the creature. Last thing I'd want to happen is to save this player, only to have them immediately be killed by the field boss..."

Sacrificing his initial opening to attack the bluenette squared his stance as both of his forearms began to swirl with energy. Slamming them together Calrex unleashed <<Howl>>, the energy slamming against each other as his fists met, unleashing a monstrous roar from the sound of his fists slamming together. As if to confirm the success of his technique, the massive ice construct's head turned to face him. Glancing back at the other player for a second he gave a nod, "I've got it's attention. Feel free to let loose with your attack."

Lowering himself into his Martial Arts combat stance the Ultramarine Knight prepared to follow up with his own attack should the person's attempt fail. He could tell from it's health bar he could probably easily knock it it down in one to two strikes, but that didn't mean there wasn't the chance that things could go horribly wrong.

Spoiler

Calrex uses Howl (10 Energy)

• Telrenya: 400/400 HP | 40/40 EN
• Calrex: 1685/1685 HP | 154/164 EN | Hate: 3
• <<Avalanche>>: 100/100 HP | 40 DMG

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

Suddenly Avalanche's icy gaze pulled away from the woman, and its glacier of a head turned to face the other player. Immediately afterwards, she heard the same voice calling out to her again, encouraging her to attack. Telrenya hesitated a moment, but soon gave a nod of her head paired with an affirmative call in return. "Right!"

She filled her lungs with a single deep breath, using every second she had to try and steady herself. The crisp, cold air bit at her nose and throat as she inhaled, holding onto it for a moment before it condensed into a thick fog in front of her face. She lowered her body, taking in the massive monster and looking it over for an angle of attack, her eyes quickly falling upon the creature's arm still half-buried in the snow not far from her. After making up her mind, Telrenya's bottom lip stiffened and she willed her legs to carry her forward. She ran up to the boss' icy appendage, jumping up onto the slick surface. She crouched down to keep her balance, placing the fingertips of her free hand upon the surface in front of her before pushing herself forward once again.

Running up the length of the creature's arm, Telrenya's blade began to glow a soft white before she pushed it forward in a series of quick thrusts. She landed several strikes along the length of Avalanche's arm until she felt the surface beneath her tremble. The monster pulled back, its frozen body creaking as its opposite hand reached up to try and pluck the girl from atop it once again. Before it had the chance to catch Telrenya in its crushing grip, she pushed off to jump back to the ground below. As the soles of her boots made contact with the snow-covered floor, the woman tried to dissipate the force of her landing by tucking her shoulder while she leaned forward, but the roll that resulted was rather clumsy and she carried too much momentum when trying to regain her footing afterwards. The woman stumbled forward, crashing into the packed snow once more before hurrying to pick herself back up to her feet.

@Calrex

Combat Results:

Spoiler

ID#: 90652 | BD: 6 (+2 ACC) = 8 - Hit! | MD: 1 - Miss!

Telrenya attacks using Penetrate (x8):
(7 Base) x (8 Sword Art) = 56 DMG

• Telrenya: 400/400 HP | 32/40 EN
• Calrex: 1685/1685 HP | 154/164 EN
• <<Avalanche>>: 44/100 HP | 40 DMG

 

[Calrex 0]

With a series of acrobatic maneuvers Calrex watched as the unknown player made her way up, a thin sword glinting off of the light as she reached the top, "Huh a rapier user. Definitely haven't seen many of those these days. I still remember back when almost everyone carried one, even Oikawa and Ariel."

The flurry of piercing strikes rained down on Avalanche before the Sword Art ended, where the player promptly leapt off and landed back on the ground, albeit not with the most graceful of landings, but she was able to collect herself fast enough to not be put into danger. The bluenette gave a nod as he turned back to face the creature, now already almost dead from the opening attack, "Geezes maybe I didn't need to step in after all. With that much damage the only thing that was a threat in this situation was that fall."

Dropping his arms low to his swords Calrex's gauntlet-clad forearms began to glow with light blue energy, immediately followed by his lower legs, activating <<Delayed Sword>>. Rushing forward he felt his body guided by the assisted system as he leapt up to the face of the ice construct before unleashing a series of three sweeping kicks that batted its head left and right before coming down with a fierce chop. The four strikes appeared to be enough to eliminate the rest of its health bar as the creature burst into crystals.

Landing on the ground directly beneath the bluenette gave a small sigh of relief before lowering his arms. Now that the fight was over, the threat seemed to have passed, at least for now. Turning around to face the other player he gave a nod, "Nice work there. You alright?"

Spoiler

ID: 90665
Battle Dice: 6 (Accuracy +3) = 9
Sword Art <<Delayed Sword>> Activated: 4 Energy Used

18 * 4 = 72 Damage

• Telrenya: 400/400 HP | 32/40 EN
• Calrex: 1685/1685 HP | 154/164 EN
• <<Avalanche>>: 0/100 HP | 40 DMG

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya's eyes watched carefully as the armored man followed up with his own attack on the glacial boss that promptly drained the remainder of its hit points. A sigh of relief escaped her lungs and the woman allowed herself to straighten her spine while she slid the tip of her rapier along the scabbard at her hip to guide the weapon back into its sheath. As if she hadn't expected the stranger to acknowledge her presence after the creature had fallen, Telrenya felt her shoulders stiffen as he presented her with a short praise and a simple question.

The danger she'd found herself in quickly resurfaced in her memory, and as if on instinct her hands placed themselves flat against the front of her thighs and she torso bent forward in a deep bow. "Y-yes, I'm fine! Thank you!" She held her position for a few long seconds before raising up slightly and bringing her right hand to the nape of her neck. Her lips pursed lightly behind her mask as she tried to correct her timid nature. "Sorry for troubling you. You really saved me there." She admitted. Suddenly a memory resurfaced of the last time she had tried to tackle one of these bounty quests on her own. It almost felt as though her role had been reversed, and she had to stop herself from letting out a bashful chuckle at the realization. Instead, Telrenya perked up a bit at the notification of the quest's completion, and a thoughtful smile crawled across her face as she dismissed the window. She pulled up her menus and summoned the item she had received with a few quick taps. After walking a few paces to shorten the distance between the two players, she held out the glass vial to the bluenette. "Here, you can have this. I was only in it for the experience, and you deserve something for helping me out like that."

[Calrex 0]

As the player bowed in apology Calrex a bead of sweat form on the side of his head at the perceived awkwardness of the situation. However, as he could recall it didn't seem like the person in front of him was in any peril other than the fall, like he had previously figured. As he heard the player speak a feminine voice came through the mask, allowing the bluenette to put together a bit more of the person behind the armor. She seemed on the more quiet side, but not socially inadept to be completely crippled in terms of responding to someone.

His thoughts were disrupted when he heard the sound of a menu being navigated through before seeing a glass vial being presented to him, seeming as thanks for the assistance in the battle. Calmly raising a hand he shook his open hand left and right to politely turn down the offer, "I do appreciate the gesture, but I believe you'll likely make better use of that than me. I've done this quest more than enough times to have a good batch of them."

Looking upwards Roc descended back down before settling on the Ultramarine Knight's shoulder, partially opening his wings a few times to help settle properly. Calrex looked over with a smirk beneath his expressionless helm, "Got a good stretch of the wings? Seems like the accuracy boost was working well enough."

With that he returned his gaze back to the young woman in front of him, "...and of course I've forgotten introductions once again. I'm Calrex, nice to meet you, although I guess more normal circumstances would have been a bit better, heh."

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya felt her bottom lip lightly purse when Calrex declined her offer for the quest's reward item. She seemed to hesitate a moment, but eventually pulled her arm back and deposited the item away back to her inventory. If he claimed to already have several copies of the potion, she couldn't well argue that it would be useful to the man. Just as she dismissed her user interface again, a sudden motion caught her attention and her eyes snapped back to the man opposite her just as the falcon familiar perched himself on the taller player's shoulder. She felt her body instinctively tense up until the avian settled comfortably upon his owner's frame. With all of the familiars she had seen as of late--the majority of which were some type of large bird--Telrenya began to wonder just how many players didn't have a pet of some sort.

His words drew her from her thoughts, and the woman perked up at his introduction. "Oh! Right, sorry," She realized her own lacking manners, something that seemed to escape her as she wasn't quite as eager to make friends under her current circumstances. She pulled her right hand over her heart and offered Calrex a shorter bow in polite greeting. "Please, call me Erin." She said, escaping the nagging guilt with her choice of words. "Nice to meet you, too." She had thought about inquiring a greeting to the falcon on his shoulder, but quickly shied away from the thought of the unwanted attention the familiar might show her.

She felt a sense of uncertainty creep over her. With Calrex's aid, she had completed the task she had trudged through the frozen wasteland for in the first place. She once again recalled the similar situation she had found herself in on the floor above, and yet she held her tongue from asking the man if they would share a path back to town. Her role was reversed, and she suddenly felt as though she simply didn't want to be a bother to the acquaintance. Her hand once again found the back of her neck and grazed over the fabric of the back of her hood. "W-well, uhm, thanks again. I was only out here on my own for that field boss, so I'll probably be heading back to town..."

[Calrex 0]

"Erin, got it."

Hearing the player's name Calrex gave a nod with a small bow to return the young woman's own. The movement caught Roc by surprise for a quick moment as the peregrine falcon flapped its wings once to help stay perched on the bluenette's shoulder. Straightening back up he gave a small laugh beneath his expressionless helm, "You don't have to stay perched, go ahead and get flying again."

Looking over he listened as Erin said that since her main objective was defeating Avalanche, that meant her reason for being out here was completed, and was now making her way back to the settlement of Snowfrost Town. The Ultramarine Knight gave a nod as he crossed his arms for a moment, "The more I think about it...I can't really recall what the heck I decided to come out here for other than a leisurely stroll. I guess the moment for that has long passed now, and I guess my trip down nostalgia lane is far done."

Lowering his arms once again he looked over at his fellow player, "To be honest I think I've pretty much accomplished what I came down to the fourth floor to do as well, so I guess I'm going to be heading that way as well. If you'd like I can accompany you at least to the gates. I haven't heard of any high level monsters spawning around here as of late, so the likelihood of us encountering any trouble is near zero, but having two people in a fight is always better than one."

Putting a hand behind his head Calrex tilted his head slightly downwards, "Of course that is if it is of no trouble to you. If you'd prefer to head back on your own I can tell you've already got enough combat experience to probably handle whatever spawns on this floor."

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

An odd mixture of relief and flattery filled her in reaction to Calrex's kind words. She lifted her hands in front of her chest after he gave her the option to decline his company back to town. "Oh no, of course not." She hurried to say. "No trouble at all, I appreciate it actually." She had forgotten that the mask resting in front of her face hid away the wide smile that she wore, but her voice easily carried her earnesty. Her gloved fingers laced loosely together as her hands lowered, and when the two players began the trek through the snow-covered land sparsely populated by trees Telrenya tried to think of new words to fill the silence.

"I've seen a few players now with a type of bird for their familiar." She commented. She found the familiar system fascinating, but still doubted if she would be able to take advantage of what it had to offer. Perhaps some research to find what the exact rules were when it came to befriending one of the virtual creatures was in order. "I kind of wonder what it's like to have one. I haven't gotten around to picking the quest up myself." She admitted with a half-chuckle.

[Calrex 0]

"Whew, good to hear. I apologize if I'm imposing at all."

Calrex gave a nod before following along the masked young woman as they began to make their way towards Snowfrost Town. A secondary perk that he always seemed to forget was that his high level allowed him to act in some ways like a ward against the roaming monsters that spawn in the field zones. Their AI behavior would make them hesitate to engage a player in combat unless they were close to the same level of difficulty, or there was a large enough pack to potentially swarm them. With two players together both situations were fairly mitigated. "Play cautiously early on and you can get yourself into a position that's a little more comfortable."

Swiping on his menu the bluenette figured that he would not need the Grand Chariot III for the rest of their trip, but decided in the end to keep it on. With Roc's new increase in Accuracy, it meant he could no longer make efficient use of the Amethyst Charm, which used to be his main source of the enhancement in the past. Combined with the Tide Pendant and a set of common rarity armor meant he could boost majority of his hard stats to a significant level. Now it seemed that even his original equipment might need to be redone.

Listening as Erin spoke about the familiar quest Calrex acknowledged her query, "I know of a few players off hand that decided to also go with avians as their familiars, although most people seem to tend more towards grounded creatures. There was someone I knew that for a while had a snapping turtle that he carried around in a backpack before shifting to a different creature."

Recalling the bit of hilarity that Shield seemed to bring whenever the two tank-build players went on excursions was a small highlight to the bluenette, and something he hoped to continue to see in the fellow defender. With the thought passing through his mind he continued, "As for the quest itself I do believe it has changed from when I first took it on. I believe a lot of it comes down to how high your luck is, but I do know there are a couple of enhancements specifically designed for the quest to increase your chances. I think one actually is made by people who have taken up the bard profession."

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

"A snapping turtle?" She couldn't stop the echoed words from leaving her mouth, and Telrenya gave a small laugh both in reaction to the image that had entered her head with Calrex's description and the response that she had blurted out. "Interesting." She commented with a hint of amusement at the lingering thought.

She listened carefully and patiently as Calrex continued to offer a bit of explanation on obtaining a familiar, going so far as to mention the existence of specific buffs for exactly that task. She was thoughtful for a few moments, having mulled over the idea of trying to obtain her own familiar for some time now. With the incredible variety of creatures that Aincrad seemed to host, Telrenya was almost certain that there would be at least a few types of monsters that could be tamed that wouldn't set off the same nervous reaction in her that the other, more realistic animals seemed to effortlessly do. Surely she could warm up to a pet of some sort--she had even started growing more comfortable in close proximity to Adere as of late--but the more she considered it, the more she thought a creature befitting the fantasy genre would better suit her. Still, entertaining the idea caused her to worry over what kind of trouble that might cause. If she had any kind of recognizable companion, her friends would be sure to realize what she was up to.

When her traveling companion made mention of a specific profession he believed to provide such buffs to one's luck, Telrenya's mind immediately jumped to the one player she knew very well to have taken that profession. Asking Jomei for an item like that was completely out of the question, and so she decided that if she ever did follow through with that quest she might have to consider seeking out another Performer player.

"Hmm, alright..." She filled the silence with a word of contemplation before her mind shifted gears. "Actually, you don't happen to know of many other quests on this floor, do you?" She inquired. "I'm sure there's a ton I haven't even heard of, and I'm trying to get as many out of the way in the same areas as I can." She briefly explained.

[Calrex 0]

"Hm...on this floor...actually..."

"Let's see, there's a handful I can recall off hand for this floor. I mean, most of the quests I've repeated the most actually are here, so I guess it's no surprise. I wonder if part of the reason was that it allowed me to stay close to Teayre's shop when it was still here."

Crossing his arms for a moment Calrex put together the ones that existed here in his head before lowering his arms again while responding, "Actually, there's a few that occur here. Avalanche is certainly one of them, as well as a revamped and upgraded version of his quest, one that I highly suggest taking as a party. If you decide to fight it solo don't be surprised if you end up being frozen multiple times over."

The bluenette could still recall the time he took the quest on. For some reason once the upgraded field boss landed an attack, it was frozen for a long period of time. It was almost as bad as going up against Oikawa in the old S&Z tournament, where he had spent most of the battle paralyzed, "In addition to that, there's one that you fight a yeti-like beast for an item that allows you to improve the quality of a piece of your equipment by one rarity level. Other than that...I believe there's also a second field boss that spawns further away that you have to fight a few minions before being able to reach him known as the Night's King."

Thinking once again to make sure he had not missed anything the Ultramarine Knight gave a nod, "I believe those are the ones here, at least from what I can remember. There's probably at least a couple more that I haven't heard of from the info brokers just yet that might have recently appeared. Clearing higher floors sometimes tends to yield new quests on the lower ones."

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

After an initial thankfulness that Calrex was knowledgeable of more quest objectives on the frozen floor--more knowledgeable than her, at the very least--Telrenya listened attentively and gave nod or two as he summarized the details he had to give her.

Finding a group wasn't going to be easy. She had tried to avoid partying with other players since she had been getting in the habit of going by a name that differed from her username when she would encounter other players outside of the cities. It was something that could be easily explained away, but even so she felt as though she needed to focus on being a bit more self-reliant before looking at tackling a party quest.

A gloved hand moved up to the bottom of her face, her thumb pressing against the bottom of her chin while her knuckle rested against the surface of her mask. She took a moment to think before giving a nod. "Perfect, thank you." Normally, she would have invited the player to complete one of the objectives together, or at least ask if he needed to do any of the quests himself. She had even considered doing so before she stopped the thought from reaching her vocal cords. Instead, her mind began to fill with other things, namely wondering how these other quests compared in difficulty to Avalanche, and how she would be able to tackle them on her own.

[Calrex 0]

After the bluenette had finished giving his comrade the information she had asked for, Calrex gave a simple nod to respond to Erin's short reply. "Hm...I guess going from that either she's not really interested in them at the moment, or maybe she's just keeping that information for a later time when she's stronger."

Since he had not done so before, the Ultramarine Kniht gave a quick scan with his eyes over the rapier wielder's equipment, since his helmet allowed him to do so with betraying anything beneath it's expressionless helm. He had seen many other players' gear in the past, and with his long career outside of the Starting City such players tended to orient themselves towards a specific build, at least starting out. Some seemed to orient themselves more towards protection and defense, reflected by their more bulky armor and shield. Others focused on attacking, deciding to sport light or even no armor but had their weapon and potentially some accessory to aid their maneuverability. Calrex himself had started out the same way, deciding to try and focus on attacking and evasiveness before opting to switch to a more tank-like build due to his friends picking a more offensive style of combat.

Erin seemed to also be the same way. While she was wearing some form of armor, it didn't seem to be designed for protection and more for appearance, which could have meant that she had strengthened her armor skill in order to be able to do so with some mitigation. However, she definitely possessed a weapon and trinket, which likely meant evasion and accuracy in some way to boost her survivability.

Crossing his arms for a moment the bluenette picked his words carefully, "Sorry if this is too prying, but out of curiosity do you happen to possess any form of mitigation? You definitely strike hard, going from the battle earlier, so my initial guess was that you're more of a striker-type of fighter, meaning you tend to survive by taking down the enemy before they get a chance to hit you. I've seen a lot of people tend to build that way, but I've only seen one other person as of late that's used a rapier as their main weapon."

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

She silence that took over after her short reply soon caused Telrenya to regret not pairing it with another statement, or perhaps drawing out the topic further. She was left to her thoughts for a minute, but shortly thereafter the slight movement of Calrex's arms folding in front of his taller frame caught her attention. He presented her with a question that caused her shoulders to stiffen, followed by a short explanation. 

"Ahh... Actually, no," She started, a bit embarrassed to admit her lack of defensive equipment. She was well aware that she didn't possess the most knowledge when it came to games, character building, and stat optimization, but she was smart enough to know that in this kind of situation, running around without much in the way of defending yourself was practically asking for trouble. "I'm waiting for a better set that has more defensive stats, but this is just plain." She explained, referring to the light armor that clad her avatar. She let out a small chuckle as he mentioned another player that chose to wield a rapier, growing a bit curious. "Really? That's a little surprising, I thought it would be a more popular weapon type." She said with a tone of voice that expressed a sort of half-disappointment.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave an apologetic nod at the young woman's initial hesitant answer, "Sorry about that, I figured as much you were likely going to pick some up at some point. There's only a very select flew players that choose to not take any form of mitigation at all, at sometimes I can't tell if they're brave or have a death wish. I guess having heard of too many overambitious early levels getting killed by the boars of the first floor must have made me overly concerned. I guess my one tip if you do decide to try any of the other quests is that only the yeti one is of similar level to Avalanche. The others were discovered after the higher floors were unlocked, which means they're a lot tougher. I'm sure your damage if up to par with them, but they certainly hit hard, and this game has its ways of screwing players over, even with the best preparations."

"Yeah, usually you somehow become the guinea pig of those cheap tricks this game throws at you, or at least you were when you were taking on quests before anyone else had."

Listening to Erin's comment to his words about her weapon the bluenette gave a nod, "Well, it wasn't always that way. Back when I was first adventuring around everyone and their mother seemed to wield it like it was going out of style. I thought they all drew inspiration from Errol Flynn or the Dead Pirate Roberts because of it. Nowadays people seem to do the typical min-maxing of other traditional types of gaming, so the trend is more maximizing damage nowadays, like some sort of one-trick pony. I think the only other person I know of that wields a rapier goes by the username Jomei...come to think of it he's also a bard, so he might be able to help you out if you decide to take on looking for a familiar."

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

"Mmhm" A mumble paired with a nod expressed her understanding in why he had asked about her defensive stats. It was a fair concern, especially after hearing the words he chose for his reason. "No, I get it." She assured before their topic of conversation shifted.

A hidden smile pulled up at the corners of her lips, amused by his recollection of how players' weapons of choice seemed to change with the times. From a gaming perspective, she felt as though she couldn't blame them. The 'min-maxing' that Calrex described didn't necessarily sound like a bad thing, at least not given their circumstances. "To be honest, I chose rapier based on looks. And I just kind of thought it fit me best." She chuckled bashfully. "I'm still learning, but trying to wrap my head around that side of video games just gives me a headache." Her tone was a bit sour. She never liked games where stats and builds were everything, and the fact that that was more or less what SAO had become in order to have the best chances at survival was frustrating for her.

She shouldn't have been surprised when she heard Calrex mention the name 'Jomei'. "Oh, really?" She feigned ignorance when he explained that the man was capable of creating the musical buff for attracting a familiar. "Thank you, I'll keep it in mind." She had warmed up and grown a bit more open to conversation as their trek continued, but felt the need to remind herself to be careful when it came to personal topics.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as Erin responded, speaking about her personal decision to select the rapier as her weapon, "I understand. Back when I first chose the straight sword as my starting weapon I picked it because I felt it suited me best. Even after the changes I said before, I decided to stick with it in spite of the fact there's a handful of other weapons that outclass it. I wouldn't sweat the stat-building details of it so far. You seem to be on the right track. Once a person's level gets high enough they tend to either try and continue specializing or branching out. Plus I've heard the info brokers recently discovered a way to gain back used skill points, so you're not locked into whatever you decide to choose if you don't wish to."

Stretching his arms in front of him to help relax his shoulders the bluenette gave a small sigh as he continued to look around their general area. It was still endless white-topped hills and trees that looked like they would fall over from all of the snow that piled up on their branches. However, he did have a slight sense of direction from all of the times he was wandering the floor, to the point where he could at times navigate without needing to pull up the floor map.

"Shouldn't be too far from the safe zone now. It looks like the field monsters are still staying back for now, so we shouldn't have any encounters, at least as long as it didn't become night all of a sudden without us knowing."

@Telrenya