F2/PP) Getting Honey (Long Live the Queen)

[Stryder 0]

Spoiler

<<Long Live The Queen>>

This quest takes place on Floor 2
This quest is repeatable

Word from the Information Brokers speaks of a hidden respawning Field Boss on Floor 2. A small party reported having farmed the <<Wind Wasps>> found throughout the fields awakened a hidden Field Boss. This monster, identified as <<Wind Wasp Queen>>, proved to be a dangerous opponent for the relatively low leveled party, and dropped a powerful Alchemical Potion.

Requirements:

-At least two [2] Pages (21 or more posts)

-Maximum Party Size of 3

-The Wasp Queen must be defeated 

-Repeat completions will only yield <<The Matriarch's Stinger>>

Wasp Queen Information

<The Wasp Queen> is a respawning Field Boss and has the following statistics:

HP: 50
Damage per Attack: 20

Rewards:

1. <<The Matriarch's Stinger>> This incredibly potent venom can be applied to a weapon to provide an additional +1 damage for the duration of one battle. (Awarded to each player)
2. 3 Skill Points

 

Parties or Groups of low level players are advised.
Recommended Level: 8

(This quest has been updated for the September Update)

Edited February 21 by Jomei (see edit history) 

Sky groaned, it was day five. Day five of the girl who had been stealing his bed, the fifth night he had been stuck sleeping on the couch. It was only a day after he had taught Jinx how to tank, with the help from hestia... That had been eventful. He didn't really know.... if he could trust her again.... Ever. He just... didn't know if he could... He had found it hard to trust people in general, but when he had... Had Katherine, he felt like he had a safety net, and he could trust others. Now, he had lost that... And now, he just didn't know if he could ever get there. While Alisea was around, he felt a little safer... But he knew that he wasn't ever going to get to where he was. All he could do was project his issues... But he wasn't dragging her down.

He sat up, taking in the air as he looked for his familiar, before remembering Silver had gone off and slept with Alisea for the night.

You traitor... Guess girls stick together

 

[Jinx 0]

Alisea Darieem had had one of the best sleeps in her life, and the reason was somewhat simple. She’d spent a good hour before going to sleep playing with Silver! The Wolfess had joined her early into the night, and had brought her joy in playing hide-and-seek in the covers, and general wresting. The bed looked like an utter mess, and yet, Alisea couldn’t have been happier!

Waking up, the girl felt a warm presense next to her and smiled. Silver had spent the entire night at her side, and the girl cuddled up to the wolfess even more, even as it slept. She’d never had a pet back home, and part of her now wanted nothing more than to have one. But she knew a familiar was important, and more than just having a pet…A familiar helped make a play style, your build path…and she didn’t want to make a commitment.

“You know Silver…Sometimes being dull…are the greatest”

[Stryder 0]

He opened his menu, going through the quest list he had near him. He should test her.... See what she remembered. She had been sharp throughout all of the lesson, so hopefully.... She would know it all. He didn't know what to take her own... Maybe go do the queen quest, kill off that thing again. It was easier... Well, easier than what he and Hestia had taught her with. That was a... eventful fight between the two of them... One day, that might be for real. And he knows that at this moment, he would lose hands down. From that fight... It seemed Hestia.... Relied on the system to much. It was a flaw, a flaw that could potentially be used as a weakness... 

What am i doing... WHy am i thinking of ways to beat a player! Damn it.... Katherine, why did you leave me on my own....

He tries to smile, attempting to get his mind off the fact he was thinking about taking someone out, though it only turned into a frown, tears slowly streaming down his face. She had meant so much to him... and now she was gone. It felt like losing a part of his own soul... It wasn't something he enjoyed... he really didn't know how to handle this... He simply curled himself into a ball. For the last few days, he hadn't even had a moment on his own.... Though Alisea was in the bed next door, this might be his only chance to let some of this out...

[Jinx 0]

The girl continued to pet Silver while in her Guild-Leaders bed. Her sharpened mind would start to ask the question of if, maybe, she should let him sleep in his own bed. However, instead of that, she curled up among the blankets and wrapped her arms around Silver tightly. There was just something to comforting to be in bed and hugging the Wolf, although the girl didn’t understand why.

“You know Silver…I wish I knew more about them…Hestia and Stryder” She said to the wolf “Sometimes people hide everything, and even smart like I am…I can never work them out. Stryder seems to be in so much pain, and i…I can’t help him…I’m a burden on him, and everyone…”

The girl lowered her head as a thought crossed her mind. Maybe, she should just leave her friend on his own. Maybe he would be better off without her? Without worrying about her dying. She frowned, was that really…a good idea?

[Stryder 0]

Sky opened his menu up, looking through his settings. He stared at one, auto translate. He... felt like he needed to turn it on. But then, he would know everything she was saying. He didn't know if that was a good, or a bad thing. Part of her charm was the fact she randomly split into multiple languages, it was... rather cute. And it made him forget... He needed that right now. He was useless to everyone... in his current state. He had no idea...  The tears at this point were splashing onto the floor, his hands unable to actually hide them as he simply mentally drowned himself. 

I can't let anyone else die.... I can't let anyone else die.... I c...i...

"I CAN'T LET ANYONE ELSE DIE!" He yells, his hands grabbing his own hair as he viciously pulls on it. Due to the game, he was unable to actually pull his hair out, thankfully, butit didn't stop the phantom pain. A realization was slowly arising in his heart. Although only one person had actually died on him, he had lost a lot of friends. Fae... had vanished into thin air. Atzo, someone who... who he had considered a mentor, had vanished on him, disappearing from sight... And he was so worried more were to come. He simply sat there, letting all the tears he had held in over the last week pour out, his mind flashing back to the goal Atzo had set for him.

"An opportunity to be someone you aren't... I'v always been to weak... In the real world, i watched my friend... i couldn't help him... The same happened her. I couldn't help Atzo... not when he went mental... I almost killed Kyoto... I cou...c....." He couldn't keep talking, instead dropping onto the floor with a loud thud. 

"I...f..f...failed you... Atzo.... I let someone die.... i... i could have helped them... bu..but i let them die!" He started saying, repeating it as h e punched the floor of his house,  not caring about the constant 'immortal object' block that came up every time.

-

Silver simply pushed herself into the girls arms, happily snuggling with the new addition to the guild. Out of everyone, this girl was who she felt safest around. There was no intent coming from her, nothing. She was a blank state, and the wolf could sense that, it was a safe feeling. Listening to the girl ask questions, Silver simply licked her face. She couldn't speak, but when she said that she was a burden, Silver simply whined, trying to shake her head, though the wolf had no idea if the girl had understood or not. Then, she heard the yelling of her master, and she wimpered into the girls arms, scared. Not of Sky, but for him. When she heard the thud of him falling, she simply looked at the closed door, ears down. 

[Jinx 0]

Alisea had no idea how the familiar thought, honestly in those moments when she was just awake…her mind wasn’t up to anything. Even the wolfs best attempts to communicate with the girl fell on deft ears…well, eye. The girl cuddled up tightly as another thought crossed her mind.

“Maybe…it’s just humans being, well..people. I usually avoided people back home, maybe this was why” She couldn’t remember why, or when, but at some point her first instinct was to avoid interacting with people. Something about…sticking to your own? Was that what she’d been…!

Her mind cut itself off. Even dulled, lacking her earmuffs meant she could hear the noise coming from the other side of the door. She even flinched, hearing something being hit. Alisea noticed, even Silver seemed to react. “I…He’s in pain, and I don’t know if I can help him. He hides it so well…” Alisea felt something wet on her face, and found a tear had snuck there when she hadn’t been focusing. She let out a sad laugh to the wolf as she realized…she was a lot sharper than she wanted to be right now…because…

“Empathy and sympathy, to feel and experience someones pain as if it is your own…It’s a curse” She said wiping away the tears that her sharp, her caring mind, had forced upon her. After all, even if she didn’t know the specifics, she could hear his suffering as if it was a painting before her. A beautiful painting of pain. Part of her wanted to go to the door, to comfort him and let him know it would all be ok…But the real quest lingered in her mind. Would it be ok? Or was that yet another lie she told herself?  

[Stryder 0]

It was over.... The tears had already Stained his face, though he was no longer yelling, tearing his hair out, and beating himself up, or more so, his house up. He looked up at the roof of his house, leaning back into the couch as more tears flowed down his face to no end. He severely wished... wished he could have been taken instead of her... Instead of anyone... He wished he could have saved her... His mind flashed back to Atzo, he wished.... wished he was here right now. Despite how long it had been, that man... would know what to say to help him.... would know how, to help him... 

"I can't die yet.... Can i Katherine.... You told me, i can't..." He weakly let out, opening his menu up and going tinto his saved messages. He had saved it... It was the last thing he had been given from her before she had died... her last words. He reread it, the tears still pumping out, just the same as when he had first read it, none stop, no stopping. She knew him... way to much. He was blaming himself...

Spoiler

Stryder. You’re receiving this message from me, because i am dead. Today, i opted to jump from the balcony of the first floor.

I know you, i’ve known you for what feels like forever. And i know you will be blaming yourself for my death, for not seeing it coming. For not being able to save me. And i want you to know that you did everything you could for me. I do not want my death on your hands.

I told you, many months ago, that i was involved in a murder. I killed 32 people with my own hands, and i’ve never been the same since. His voice was always in my head, and i’ve never been able to outrun, or escape it. It’s too much of a burden...of a sin for me to bear. I fear falling asleep because i see him, and i fear being awake, for i hear him.

I can’t handle it, so i’m ending it on my own terms. I’ve put all my store to the guild, and i’ve sent you all my remaining col. There is nothing more i can give, except a hope. A hope that my death doesn’t ruin you. A hope that you stand strong, because the guild will need you to when i die.

Please, don’t let yourself fall because of me. This is not your fault. This is my choice, and the only one who can shoulder this burden is myself.

I never knew your name, it was never my place to ask. But i’ve always wondered what it was. To whatever it was, i hope that you survive. I’ve long known that Sword Art Online is a home for you, so i know deep down, part of you will regret leaving here. But for the sake of everyone else, in the guild...hell, in the whole game. Get to the front lines, and lead the charge. They need you…

For many months, i’ve been unable to sleep, the nightmares of Adam are always in my head. Now, with this, maybe, i’ll get some sleep. I’ll be able to sleep. Its a sleep, a release, i welcome happily.

Oh, and if you see Angel walking around, take care of her. I released her back on the 4th floor, but...i just hope she forgives me.

"How can i not blame mys...my.self... I knew... i knew about y..what you had done.... I... co...could have helped...." He said to himself, but also to Katherine. She wasn't here... but... he still was hoping, deep down, that somehow she would hear it... He stood up after that, not really bothering to wipe off the tears, he didn't have any reason to, he knew that the moment he did... they would just flow back down.... She wanted him to look after Angel... He made a note to go find her sometime.... He shook his head, he had something to do today... take the girl.. the young girl who he... was using as a way to make himself feel... not so bad.... Someone he had placed under his own care...

"I will not let this one die... I will die... before i let that happen..." He said quietly, making a vow to himself. He.... couldn't. He knew that he couldn't let anyone else die.... He took a deep breath, put on a small smile as he walked towards his bedroom door, knocking on it before opening it up. Before Alisea at the door stood Sky with all his normal clothes on, the only difference was that he didn't have food in his hand like the last few days. 

"Hey Alisea, want t...to go out on a quest today?" He said to her, the tear stains apparent, though a warm smile was also apparent on his face.

 

[Jinx 0]

The girl looked up the moment the door opened, and part of her knew she should try and hide the few tears that were on her face.But the suddenness from it shocked her, and she sat there in the bed, the wolf in her lap and tears staining her cheeks. Even from this distance, even in her dulled state…She could smell the pain he was in. It was almost like a smell, and Alisea had a very good nose when it came to this. Part of her wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug him, even if it wouldn’t help what was causing the pain…

Hearing his offer, Alisea frowned. A quest, given his current state…would that even be a good idea? She let out a huffed laugh as she remembered something…Distractions are always welcome.  

“Of course!” She says happily to him, trying to ignore the wet tears that were on her face. She gestured for Silver to join Stryder “I’ll get up now…” She shifted her weight, despite her internal protests to say in the bed. She climbed out of the bed, wearing the same clothes as always. A white shirt and black pants, loosely hugging her body. She reached onto the bed-side table, and put on her eyepatch and earmuffs “I..is there any quest you wanna do?”

[Stryder 0]

Tears.... they were on her face... She had been awake the whole time, she had heard all of it... Probably. he had really been hoping she was out cold, and wouldn't have heard any of that. He... didn't really know what to say. He didn't know if she hated him, or what she thought of him right now. He wished he could fix it, but, then he heard her laugh. She mustn't be that mad at him... She seemed, happy to get up and go for a quest. She jumped up, and with a gesure from the girl Silver walked to Skys side. He was suprised that she listened to her, but, he didn't mind. It was nice to see his familiar getting along with others. She was in her normal clothes. He walked over to her, and put his hand on her cheek, wiping away the tear that was wet and slowly sliding down her features.

"Were in no rush.... I was thinking about one down on the first floor, Long like the Queen...' He says to her, smiling. He didn't like this look, on either of them... Tears, they weren't, befitting, just... they weren't something she would have wanted to see....

[Jinx 0]

Alisea felt a wave of…shame pass over her. She knew everyone used to tell her to grow up, to not cry for others. Yet it always seemed to happen at the worst times, like now. Stryder could see the tears on her face as clear as day.

“The…queen one? With the bee?” She asks, the quests coming to her mind quickly. She had memorised…most of the quests early on, partly because she had been lying in her ‘bed’ while sharpened…What else was she meant to do? “That’ll be fun” She tried to pass over the tears, and smiled warmly at the boy but made no move to wipe his tears up.

She slowly walked past him and looked at the kitchen, and felt a wave of hunger run through her as it did every single morning. She glanced over her shoulder at him with a single eye “W-whats your breakfast?” A simple question sure, but it did have an extra point. It would…hopefully, distract the boy with her from his tears.

[Stryder 0]

She was asking about which one it was, saying the one with the queen bee. She was always the scholar, and he had assumed she had done her research at some point, though he was rather unexpecting her dull state to be able to bring up the information like that, though it was a good surprise. It would be fun... It would get his mind over this whole mess, for a time. She gave him a warm smile... It was something that he missed, it simply made him melt for a moment, all his worries leaving him for a moment. He snapped back in when he heard her say 'whats your breakfast?', which simply made him laugh a little, before chuckling out loud and falling off the bed from laughing, these emotions having just burst out with his current lack of control.

"I can buy us something on the second floor to eat" He said, sitting up and wiping the tears off his face, a warm, bright smile replacing them.

[Jinx 0]

Alisea hadn't heard the joke, and yet...Stryder had just fallen off of the bed from laughter. She frowned a little before finding a smirk on her lips, after all, it had been kind of amusing to watch the boy fall off the bed. Wasn't that the saying at least? She couldn't remember if she was honest with herself. At the offer of the food, she felt partly split. She enjoyed Stryders cooking, and privately hoped he would continue to cook for her. But then again, she hadn't paid for anything and he had been nice to her...

"Maybe i should learn how to cook for myself..." She muttered as she fidgeted with her hair a little "I wouldn't mind repaying this...Oh...D-do you want your bed back at some point?" She knew the thought had been there, but it had slipped out. She felt a wave of guilt, after all, someone she knew once told her she 'abused' people with how she was. Abused the fact she was 'unwell'. She knelt down a little and reached out to pick up Silver, she felt...something with the familiar. She had no idea what, but she enjoyed spending time with the wolfess. 

[Stryder 0]

He noticed a little gleam fall out of her eye when he said that he could buy them something, well, he thought he did. But he honestly had no idea if that was her sharpness dulling down, or something else. Then he heard her muttering about learning to cook for herself, then she mentioned giving his bed back. He simply looked at it. It was so... comforting, calling to him to just fall onto it, flop down and pass out. He wanted to say 'Yes, bed, please', but honestly, he felt a little better each day knowing she was comfortable. He simply shook his head to her, giving her a warm smile as she picked up Silver, which surprised him quite a bit. She was a lot stronger than she looked, picking up a full grown wolfess. Though, Silver seemed to move with her, allowing her to do it, so who knew. 

"Don't worry about my bed, it looks like you have made it how ya like it, so i won't take that from ya" He says with a smile, before looking back at his kitchen. He wished he knew how to cook a little more than he did, but then again, he wished that about a lot of things.

"Learning to cook isn't to hard, and since this is a game a lot of it is quite easy. Though i honestly like to forgo the system and do it myself, it makes it a little... to easy to do it that way" He says to her as he turns his attention  from his little kitchen back to her.

 

[Jinx 0]

The girl had a guilty look on her face, she did indeed love Stryders bed. It was everything she ever wanted in the world, it was warm, comfy and she found Silver curling up with her a lot of the time. It reminded her of home so much, how could she not love it? But...she was stealing the boys bed, but then, if he said that it was ok then...Surely he was being honest? 

"W-well, if you're certain that i can keep it then...I'd like to. I feel a little bad you're on the couch, but...it's so warm..." The guilt melted away as she thought about how much she enjoyed the bed, and opted to go silent for a bit, following the boy out of the room into the heart of his store. The house she'd been 'living' in since he'd taken her under his roof, and she'd...well, never left. She looked at the door with a weak smile "W-well, lets get going! I'm gunna investigate cooking..it looks like an interesting skill to own...P-plus, if it is easier like you said...Maybe i won't, light the kitchen on fire like i did last time" It had been a bad time. Her dad tried to teach her how to boil spaghetti, and she'd accidentaly dropped some of it on the open flame, and in a panic, dropped the entire package onto the stove. It had been a very bad day for Alisea, her parents hated her being unsupervised after that. 

"2nd floor you said right?" She asked, taking a step towards the door. A step closer to the quest...and a step closer for Stryder getting her food. 

[Stryder 0]

She felt a little bad about him being on the couch? He found it a little sweet, that she was caring about him, but in all honesty he was happier with her on it. He was alright out here, he only wished Silver wouldn't keep leaving him to curl up with the girl. She followed him into the heart of his store, which was honestly... pretty bare still. He needed to finish cleaning up, and actually get stock moved into noticeable areas. She seemed anxious to get going, though... He noticed a sort of,  weak smile on her face, though he didn't really know what to make of that.

"You don't really need to do a quest to cook in this game, or a skill, however to make a shop out of it, you do need to do the Earning a Living Quest... and don't worry about it, i doubt you will light a kitchen on fire!" He said to her encourgingly, coming up next to her and giving her a loving smile. "And if you do, i'l come and save ya".

Something about her... he didn't know. He just knew he needed to keep her safe. He just.... he had to. He couldn't lose anyone else he cared about... And he didn't want to keep pushing others out. Like he always had done when soemthing got hard...

"Y..yyeah, secnd floor" He said, opening the door and looking out into the hills and the beautiful forest that was right next to his shop, the breeze causing his hood to fall down.

[Jinx 0]

The more the boy encouraged her, the more she felt the desire to learn how to cook in this game. After all, he had said it was easier do to in the real world, and if that's the case, then...she had nothing to lose and everything to learn. She made a mental note, that this 'Earning a Living' quest was one she wanted to do in order to get the skills she wanted to be able to cook. The girls warm smiled beamed at the boy as she nodded her head "That sounds...good to me, but i'll try  not to...burn anything down" She said softly before nodding her head. 

Following the boy out of his house, she took a deep breath in the mountains. The air seemed, clearer up here and easier to breath although...she couldn't explain it. It was just nicer to breath in than other air. The girl looked around before realizing something..she had no idea, how to get to the teleporter. She turned to the boy with a sheepish grin "...I've forgotten how to get to the teleporter.." This was the same 'question' that Stryder would have heard every single day with her staying at his.  

[Stryder 0]

She was so cute... She was so quiet and soft, worrying about not burning anything down. Something about this girl set him at ease, just like it did Silver. He didn't know if she was just... filling the void that was left from when he lost Katherine... Maybe it was him trying to fill it, maybe he wasn't threatened by her due to how she was, as right now.... Everyone was a threat. He saw everyone as someone he potentially had to look out for. Even... Even those in his guild, though they weren't threats to him in the sense of a danger, they were potentially people he could lose... 

Then came the question he had heard every day for the last week. It wasn't getting old, and honestly it was a little entertaining.

"We just gotta head five minutes up the hill, which we can see the shop, plus the spot i want to put the guild hall and the lake that boarders them both, then theres a path which takes up into town." He says to her, giving her a genunie warm smile. She... she was his redemption. If he could get her out of this game... Maybe he could... make her proud.

 

[Jinx 0]

The directions that Stryder gave her sounded familiar...had she asked this question before? Why did the directions, sounds so familiar? She shrugged a little, before smiling at him softly as she leaned forwards to pet the wolf "Well, l-lets get going! Those extra quests, we...I wanna help with the guild and, this is step one" She shifted a little in place, excited to get going! In her excitement, the girl latched her hand onto his and pulled! While she didn't possess a lot of strength, she was able to pull the boy out of his store and out onto the mountain ranges.

After closing the door, the girl let out a slow breath. The area looked really, peaceful. She paused, smiling weakly before glancing around at the boy who was coming with her. "How many times have you reminded me that's the path we need to take? I feel like its...most of them" She looked over her shoulder, before shaking her head. Did that even matter... "The solution would be...no, adjusting it for me is selfish" Her last comment was in German, and the girl was completely unaware that she was swapping between her languages...again. 

[Stryder 0]

She was so energetic. She wanted to get going, doing these extra quests, and be able to help the guild more than she already was. She didn't realize how she was helping already, just by being the only one who could calm him down... So far... he broke down so often. She latched onto his hand, and pulled him, and while she wasn't that strong he went with her, closing the door behind them as they walked out into the peaceful area. He loved this area. She smiled at him weakly, asking him how many times she had asked him about the path,  and he didn't really want to answer her, and luckily she shook her head, and then spoke in german. He hadn't turned on the auto trasnlate yet, he kept forgetting to do that.

"I'v reminded you only a few times, though its okay, we are out in the middle of no where, it gets confusing" He said to her with a bright smile.

[Jinx 0]

He had reminded her a few times? She searched through her memories, but the only things she could see were flashes of his face, not the words being said. That seemed...well, a little weird if she was honest. Why wouldn't learn the words, but rather, memorising her Leaders face? Why would she be doing that? Weird. However, she shrugged and smiled at Stryder.

"I suppose so, i mean...the path up here is sorta hidden most of the time..." She said, before starting to walk forwards, but hesitantly as if expected Stryder to tell her she was walking in the wrong direction. As they walked, the girl looked at the boy and figured to ask him a question that was burning on her mind. "Hey Stryder, i've been meaning to ask this....Why don't you use the auto translate function? You're the only person who seemed to get confused when i talk"

It was something that had...well, not bothered but confused her. Her shifting in languages was something she knew she couldn't stop, it just sorta...happened. And yet, everyone in the guild had the auto-translate online...except him. Why?