[PP-F1] <Dragon Hunt #1> The Dragon of Spring

[Baldur 0]

Floor: 1 
Town of Beginnings
Lunchtime

 

Baldur had not spent a lot of time on the first floor lately. Not since he and Tyger had closed up shop. He still went by from time to time to help gather supplies, though his stocks were dwindling due to his inactivity. And so, in his absence, the gaijin, wanna-be samurai had forgotten just how much more active the first floor was.

Players who were not Frontliners did leave the first floor and populate the other floors, but the settlements on the floors above tended to be... small, and not have the accommodations for the sheer number of people the way the first floor did. Therefore, without his shop, Baldur never really had a need to go back and visit the lower levels... however, he had realized in his meeting with the Illuminati that this had caused problems, severing the ties of the players of the frontline and those who were trying to join them on the front.

Now, Baldur had realized that he needed to try and reestablish that connection, but didn't know where to start. So he retraced his steps, and went to places he did not frequent.

Chief among those was the first floor.

Standing there, in the square where many of the quest givers tended to be, the gaijin stood out in his frontline gear. It wasn't so much that it was particularly fancy, but rather, that it was all custom. The montsuki haori hung around his shoulders and down to his mid thigh, held closed like a jacket with a burnished orange string connecting at the lapel. It was the color of the sky, but along the him at the bottom and along the sleeves were white flames that seemed to flicker when he moved. On each breast of the haori and larger on the back, was the symbol the Samurai had taken for his own, a heron wading in the rushes. Around his neck hung another item he had claimed almost as a symbol, as he had had it recreated over and over again. It was an emerald matagama, modeled after one of the divine regalia, and an artifact of Amaterasu. At his hip were two blades, and both looked... mismatched with the otherwise pleasant looking samurai. <<Shukketsu>> hung at his hip in its long black saya, with another heron on the tsuba, and the handle wrapped in red silk with a gold menuki; next to it was the legendary <<Muramasa>> the sword which broke the laws of the game. The demonic weapon was entirely responsible for Baldur being able to stand out on the frontlines the way he did, and compete with players who were out of his league. The cursed weapon had been given to him for safekeeping, because only he could be trusted to wield it. The dark, but relatively plain saya and silk hand wraps belied that something about the weapon which made it unpleasant to linger on.

The smile and disposition of the man who bore them completely drove off any ominous aura of the sword. He appeared to be American, though with a more anime inspired long hair held back by the bits of orange armor that he bore covering his chest and forearms. His dark hair was somehow both unkempt and yet staying just where he wanted it to, and though his white-ness did stand out among the traditional japanese clothing, he also towered over the crowd of mostly children and asian players. Standing at a full six foot when barefoot, with his armor and hair, he was significantly taller in fact, and he wore his height and frontliner status proudly, which made him seem even taller than he was. A small gap was made around Baldur, people giving him space, but not so much space that it made them seem like they were avoiding him. It was the space you gave someone who seemed they were going somewhere in a purpose. It was the space you gave to someone who seemed about to move at any moment.

And so here the Samurai stood, watching the players come and go, accepting quests, making parties, asking questions. At one point in time, he would been in there with them, answering questions, helping out, but for now, the samurai listened, and watched the crowd, looking for something to stand out to him. Someone to stand out to him. Perhaps, within this group of humanity, was diamond in the rough.

Spoiler

<<Dragon Hunter Anthology - Dragon Hunt 1: the Emerald Hatchling>>

This quest takes place on Floor 1.

This quest CANNOT be repeated.

You must complete this boss before fighting any further dragons in the DHA Series.

=----=

 

After a while in being in SAO more bosses we’re only going to be discovered in a amount of time… however, recently a group of information brokers hired some explorers to check out a mysterious castle that had appeared on floor 10, on arrival they couldn’t get in no matter how hard they tried… not even Aincrad’s best Scout could get in. And on the door there are 9 crystal slots, which presumably you needed 9 specific gems to get in, then miraculously they had found a dragon protecting an emerald in the plains of floor 1, it was said that the dragon hatched not too long ago and no matter what they tried they couldn’t get the Emerald from the dragon. They ask of you for help, maybe collecting all 9 will meet in grand fortune?

 

=---=

=-=

 

 

Rhaegal - the Emerald Hatchling

HP: 125 - MIT: 25 - ACC: 0 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 50

 

Abilities:

<<Screech>> On a LD roll of 17+ when this boss attacks, this boss will let out a piercing wail that somehow freezes the player in place, removes all evasion properties.

 

=---=

Recommended Level: 10

Post Limit: 1 Page (20+)

=---=

 

Rewards:

1 SP - 500 Col (Split between each player)

<Rhaegal’s Emerald> [Vanity Quest Item] : 1 of 9, collect all 9 and meet whom that waits before you, only then will you get the grand prize.

 

Edited January 30, 2019 by Baldur

[Katagawa 0]

Hokori had been walking about in the Town of Beginnings for quite some time now. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy going to the higher floors, nor was she afraid of them. There just wasn't much of use to be done there. She knew thaat at her current level it was still decently effective to help others thrugh the beginning quests whille farming some on the side. A lot of those players have either made their way higher without her or seemed to jusst have fallen back into their own sorrows It was strange really, not being able to catch up with those players. But in the end, it was still useful. Even if only one or two of the players she taught ended up making their way past her, it would be worth it. It was all an investment of time, and she just shoped it would pay off in the end.

She fond herself once moree in the central plaza. There wasn't mch for her to do here, but it would hopoefully lead her to seeing other players to help out. The sight she did end up seeing was quite strange though. There seemed to be someone standing tall above most of the crowd. Not only standing tall, but also standing out. Their gear looked both polished and battle-worn at the same time. Likely a front liner by the way they were standing. A front liner or someone who overestimated their skills by somme large margin. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to try and make some new allies, HOkori decided it was besst to make her way towards them.

Her close-cropped, silver hair bobbed behind her as she approache. Though the leather of her new armor was stilll unfamiliar, she wore it comfortably. It was still a very low leveled piece of gear, but there seemed to be something about it that sapped the life out of the air and towards her. Her large sword was strapped horizontally across her back, forcing many players to weave around it much as they were the tall player. It was useful when she needed to split a crowd, though the weight was still quite uncomfortable to her. As she approached the player, she realized she was almost a foot shorter than him. Looking up, she could feel the chain of her feather necklace to brush up againsst her skin. The charm seemed to be granting her some strange grace, as if she would be able to react quickly to anything that did come towards her.

"You seem as though you're quite the person of power?" She was a bit bolder with her statement than she normally would be. Even though this game forced people to show their true bodies, their was still enough anonymity granted by their usernames for her to not fear much in terms of retaliation. The question in and of itself was rather innocent, but did carry thhe slight undertone of figruing ouot if this was simply an air being put on, or that they weren't trying to overreach their power. Regardless of that result though, the aura emanating from one of his weapons was enough to tell Hokori that she would not be able to win a fight against this person without a heavy ammount of luck.

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur had been so vigilant scanning the crowd of humanity swirling around him, that he hadn't noticed someone walk right up to him until they spoke. When the voice of a young woman spoke up, he looked almost startled by her presence, and it took his mind a moment to catch up to what she had said to him. Asked him? The wanna-be samurai's steel blue eyes looked down at the girl and her silver hair. She appeared dressed in silver armor, with a large sword strapped across her back. It was a formidable look for a woman a foot shorter than he was and much more... slight... than his bulky build.

"Person of power?" Baldur repeated her question to help jog his mind back into motion.

"Me?  I suppose you're not wrong, though I've never thought about it that way before. More than some, less than others."

Suddenly, the gaijin had the presence of mind to be embarrassed about what he said.

"Gomen, My name is Baldur." He gave her, not a customary Japanese bow, but rather a more european nod of his head; deep enough to convey respect, but not enough to make it a more formal gesture.

"What is your name?"

[Katagawa 0]

As Hokori waited for the response from the man, she could tell he was sizing her up as well. Until he spoke, she wasn't certain if it was a statement of his disliking her or an honest evaluation. She knew she didn't have much of an air about her, as she was still quite the low level. But that didn't mean she couldn't try to put an arrogant fool in their place. As they gave their response though, she began to relax. Even if it was just a backpedal of a power act, they at least weren't just trying to boast to all the players on this floor who were clearly a lower level than him.

"Katagawa, pleasure to meet you Baldur." He had bowed in such a way that made him seem a little bit uncomfortable being in a place so dominated by Japanese players. Instead of bowing in return, she just extended a hand. It would probably be better to set him at comfort with his own standards of greeting than try to enforce her own. Not to mention she hadn't been bowing to people since she started university in Germany. She would probably mess something up and be the one even more embarrassed from it. "What causes someone so clearly at a higher level to be waiting about the plaza on the first floor?"

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur looked at the offered hand with a bit of chagrin, but then he took it and gave it a warm, firm shake. The irony was not lost on the samurai. The younger woman seemed to have a little spark of fire inside of her, but Baldur couldn't quite put his finger on why he thought that about her. She had been the only one to approach him since he had been here for a while, everyone else had given him a wide berth, or had just run up to look at him and then left without saying anything. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Katagawa-chan."

She wanted to know what he was doing lingering down there, and Baldur didn't quite know how to answer that. The others had said they wanted to keep up the illusion that the frontline was in need of players, rather than being some invincible myth that had supposedly maintained, but the gaijin samurai wasn't sure he agreed with that, however, that was not his decision to make, nor would saying that to every Tim, Dick, and Harry help their situation at all. He was here looking for people that he could help mentor and foster and grow into the frontline. 

"That is a great question. I came down to the first floor to try and find some people to help mentor. I am a member of the frontline, and realized that I didn't know many players outside of that circle, so I'm trying to find people that want to help contribute, but aren't quite there yet, and then help those people push forward."

[Katagawa 0]

It definitely seemed more and more that Baldur was here for something besides showing off, and her suspicions were confirmed when he finally spoke of his motive. She stood for a moment to think about it. An opportunity to climb quickly to the front linnes would be nice, though she wasn't sure what this person's standing their might be. They seemed like the type that would be a godo mentor at the very least. Even if there was some tension between him and the others it should be solvable. To prevent the tension from grwoing too large, Hokori broke the silence. "Well, I'm not that powerful currently, though I have been working on it bit by bit. Was recently lucky enough to get some unique gear as well, or at least so I've been told. If you're willing to give me a ladder to the front lines though, I will climb it." She was hoping her more casual tone was carrying across, in some attempt to set the gaijin at ease. But she had a feeling he would be quite stubbornly sticking to the formalities he learned about their own culture.

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

This woman, Katagawa, said that she was willing to climb to the front to help. That was the first step, and Baldur tried not to let his experience with others burning out keep from discouraging his excitement. This was what he was here for. Even if she did end up stopping before she got there, he expected that to happen from time to time, but here he had already found a volunteer.

"I'm not the expert at power-leveling that some are, but I do look after my friends and apprentices. If you're willing to put yourself in my hands, then I will do what I can to help you get there, even if you change your mind later on."

He once more reappraised the woman, hoping that he didn't look like he was checking her out, but she did have an air about her that said she knew how to stand and how to carry herself.

"Before we make any commitments, we should take on a quest together. Get to know one another. I had been prepared to take on a low level quest called... <<The Dragon Hunter Anthology>>. If you haven't done that one yet, then I think it would be a good one for us. It can grow with you as we level you up."

Baldur gave her a warm, friendly smile, and once again extended his hand, this time to seal the deal.

"What do you say, willing to give it a go?"

[Katagawa 0]

As Baldur was talking about the possibility of mentoring her further, she could tell he was analyzing her own ability. There wasn't much there, but she knew that she had the potential to make it to the front. She just needed a little bit more work on her build and she should have something put together.

"I've heard of the quest, but been avoiding it as I know it is part of a line of quests. Wasn't sure if that would make it abnormally difficult for the first floor or not. But with a party member, I see no harm in trying it."

Seeing the extended hand, Hokori took it and shook on the deal. "I do hope I can live up to your expectations."

Even if they weren't going to be able to power level her, she knew that having someone to teach her would be an effective strategy in moving forward towards the front lines. She wanted to stay down here to help others for the time being, butbettering herself would also be an effective, and likely more sustainable and controllable, way to finish clearing this castle.

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

"Well then, let's get started. Do you need anything before we go? I don't imagine we'll need much of supplies. I will try not to one shot the first couple of dragons, but the fights won't take long." Baldur patted the katanas at his side.

"It would probably be good, after the first couple of fights, to pick up some healing potions. I don't normally miss, but I also don't know if any of these things have AoE attacks. And there's one thing you'll learn about fighting from me, and that's to enter every fight prepared."

Baldur swiped at his menu, and made a small black book appear in his hands. It was one of Argo the Rats Info Broker books, that listed out all the commonly known information on floors and quests. Baldur found it irreplaceable. Especially now that there were so many floors, and so many quests he couldn't keep track of them all. Back when they were on floor nine, it had been much easier to just memorize everything.

"Now let's see here. It says to go out into the plains of the first floor and find a green dragon protecting an emerald. It's damage is high for the first floor, but extremely low over all. Ah, that reminds me. What level are you, Katagawa-chan? What are your skills and build goals?"

Baldur gestured her to follow as they would walk and talk on the way towards the main gates of <<The Town of Beginnings>>.

"Obviously, I'm a katana grandmaster, and I'm a DPS role, though I'm more of a bruiser. I used to run with a tank, but when she... retired from the frontline, I was on my own. I've seen too many friends die, so I don't rely on evasion or mitigation. I rely on both. You won't find a DPS player on the frontline with better defense than me, or running at a higher factor of safety than I do. I come into every boss fight prepared, I play for the team, and we come out alive."

[Katagawa 0]

((Start combat whenever you're ready))

"We're still low enough and I don't think I'll be of much use in these first few fights even if I took every buff under this virtual sun, so I'm good to go. And if you're taking them out in one hit I don't mind." She listeened to the conversation going back and forth for a bit.

"I still have the healing potions from the beginning equipment packages so those should last me for a bit. If worse comes to worst I'll sit in a corner of the fight and drink as quickly as possible."

Katagawa noted that Baldur had some sort of boko with him, likely some compilation of information that had been found in the game. She knew that she would want to get one of her own soon enough, but that didn't matter as much while she was still pretty bound to the loewr floors. Once they were making their way out, Hokori drew her blade once out of the boundaries of the Town of Beginnings.

"I'm still figuring out my own build. I recently switched myself over to light armor and it feels much mroe comfortable. I'm thinking of trying to find a way that lets me take a monsters aggro while reducing the attacks I take. Currently thinking of high evasion with a mid-level of mitigation. As for my weapon, I still need to find something that works for me. My two-handed sword is nice, but I don't think it quite works. I would really like it if I could find something that was a bit more stun oriented."

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur walked alongside Katagawa, his guard slowly lowering the more they were around one another and speaking with a good rapport. His comments on her build came with earnest interest in finding out what she wanted to do, and how best she could accomplish what she was after. His steel blue eyes were friendly, though the steel in them was not just for the color. She could tell that he had a determination in him that had been long weathered, and while his eyes were engaged, whenever movement came around them, his eyes were quick to dart to them for signs of a threat. Even on the first floor, he was wary.

"The problem with building around stun is how unreliable it is. I don't think I've ever seen someone go with a warhammer, though it sounds like you're going with a build similar to mine. If you're gonna go with a two-hand weapon, then 2 hand straight sword is really the best, so that you can use the AoE Stun. It's a good weapon, with lots of hand-me-downs available for sale from frontliners. That'll make gearing you up easier than, say for me, I would need a special item to change the weapon type."

They had a fair ways to go, but the time passed quickly in pleasant conversation.

"So you're wanting to pull aggro, but not go full tank build? I'll admit, it's a very useful build, though it is more solo focused than group oriented, which will hurt you in the long run. I can't dissuade you too much, however, since it's my own build philosophy. I'm not willing to sacrifice survivability for damage. I've had people around me die because of it. Because I went damage and gave up survivability, and because they did. When circumstances shift, you have only yourself and how prepared you were to survive."

It was then that Baldur spotted the small green dragon roaming around a nest.

"Ah, excellent, right where it should be."

Baldur slowly unsheathed his blade known as <<Raijinto>> a unique weapon, that he had yet to improve upon. He would need to do the <<Essence of Steel>> quest in order to improve it's quality, but as an absolute accuracy weapon, it meant that he would not be able to miss while he was running with Katagawa, and it would decrease his damage substantially which was perfect for these types of quest.

"Just so you know, I'm not just going to walk you through these. I wanna see what you have in you to. So I'll lead in, and you follow up with your strongest attack. It doesn't matter how much damage you do, I just want to see what you're capable of. Don't worry though, I won't let the fight go sideways."

Once Baldur had judged that they were just outside of its aggro radius, he focused his eyes on the patrolling drake, which caused the red cursor to pop up above its head. Crouching down with his sword, Baldur entered the horse stance like position that activated his <<charge>> skill, and then moved into a rarely used form of <<Ra Setsu>> and suddenly he shot off in a streak of blue and orange light, as the system took over and closed the distance with his attack.

There was a trail of gold and white light as Baldur's blade cut through the air and the drake alike, before the Samurai whirled around, backhanding the small dragon, and then followed up with another attack. This left the drake in the <<stunned> state, making it easier to hit and unable to counter-attack against them.

"Alright! Hit it with everything you've got!"

---

Baldur's Combat Stats:

Spoiler

» Base Stats

• Base HP: 1190
• Base EN: 116
• Base MIT: 79
• Base ACC: 4 (2 trinket +1 absolute accuracy +1 precision)
• Base DMG: 13 
• Muramasa DMG: 22 (No bonus from familiar)
• Base EVA: 3
• Battle Heal: 47 HP
• Search: +0

» Items Equipped:

• Raijinto - 1 Absolute Accuracy
• Montsuki haori - 54 DMG MIT/+1 EVASION
• Emerald Teardrop - +2 ACC/+1 EVASION
• Hammerspace Backpack +1 BR item (allows stacks up to 7)

» Battle-Ready Inventory:

• Medium T2 Damage Potion ^x1 | Rare T2 Item | +2 Damage
• Basic Teleportation Crystal ^x1 | Good Item | Teleports player to the Town of Beginnings
• Max Mass HP Recovery Crystal ^x7 | Perfect T2 Item | +30*Target Tier (30/60/90)
• Max T2 HP Recovery Crystal II ^x5 | Perfect T2 Item | +180 HP
• Safeguard Potion ^x3 | Perfect Tier 1 | Safeguard
• DB: Medium Vitality Snack ^x6 | Rare Tier 2 | Grants +8 Energy
• EWL: Shukketsu - +6 Damage/36 Bleed for 2 turns (on 9-10)
• EWL:
• EWL:
   

» Skills:

• Searching | Rank 0/5 | +0 Bonus to LD, +0 to Stealth Detect
• Battle Healing| 4 Rank | While in combat, recover 1% per rank (45HP) at the beginning of your turn
• Charge | 5 ranks | +1 base damage per rank (+5 damage) once per opponent per combat
• One Handed Curved Sword | Rank 1/5 | Novice
• Katana | Rank 5/5 | Grand Master
• Light Armor | 5 Rank | +25 Mitigation
• Concentration | No Ranks | Gain +1 BD for a single attack | 5 Turn Cooldown
• Familiar Mastery: Fighter|  1 Rank | +3 base damage (Does not stack with equipment)
• Survival | Purchased |  Increases out of combat health regen to (15xTier) 45 per post
• Extended Weight Limit | Purchased | Increases Battle Ready Inventory by 3

» Mods:

• Athletics: +1 DMG +30 HP
•  Katana Precision: +1 to Accuracy
•  Katana Ferocity: +1 damage on katana sword arts
•  Sprint & Acrobatics: +1 Evasion
• N/A

ID#112345 BD: 3 +4 +1 -0 = (hit) Ra Setsu: 13 (base) +5 (Charge) = 18 x 6 = 108 (raw) -25 (mit) = 83 DMG Dealt + Stun

[H1] Baldur - the Azure Samurai HP: 1190/1190 EN: 116/116 MIT: 79 ACC: 4 EVA: 3 DMG: 13 BH: 47
[H0] @Katagawa - The Aincrad Trading Post HP: ???/??? EN: ??/?? MIT: ?? ACC: ?? EVA: ?? DMG: ??
[Stunned 0/1] Rhaegal - the Emerald Hatchling  HP: 42/125 - MIT: 25 - ACC: 0 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 50

Edited February 5, 2019 by Baldur

[Katagawa 0]

The two were walking along, and the air between them seemed to get a bit more relaxed. Honestly, it was nice just to have another person to be around that she could enjoy the company of.

"I'm not planning on sacrificing survivability for damage. If anything, I want to sacrifice damage for survivability. As I said I want to take the monster's attention, but I find it better to not get hit and instead of just reducing the damage that I take. As for a solo versus a group build, I'm trying to make it work for a group build, but I haven't worked out all of the kinks yet. I think the enchantment on my armor currently will help, though it hasn't gotten a field test yet."

The two of them came up to where the dragon was waiting for their fight. It wasn't long before Baldur had already made his way to stun up the creature. Though she understood the sentiment of seeing where she was at, she was a little miffed at the low efficiency of the fight. With the dragon hatchling stunned, Hokori quickly made her way over and released a spinning attack. It didn't seem to do anything, but as she pulled back, a line of red seemed to draw from the creature over to her. It didn't do anything, but that was the cue for when she would've regained some health.

"Was hoping that would activate a little bit later, but I guess it means this armor is working."

Katagawa's Stats:

Spoiler

Equipped:

• Leibensdrainage (T1 Uncommon Light Armor with Vampiric (Defensive) 1)
• Surestrike Blade (T1 Perfect 2H Straight Sword with Para 1, DMG 2)
• Charm of Momentumm (+3 EVA)
• Battle Ready Inventory:
  • 5 Starter Healing potions (Heals 50 HP)
  • 5 Uncommon healing potions (Heals 40 HP)
  • empty
  • empty
  • empty

Weapon Skills:

• 2H Straight Sword: Journeyman (13 SP invested) - +4 Base Damage; access to rank 2 sword arts

Armor Sills:

• Light Armor: Journeyman (13 SP invested) - 8 MIT while wearing light armor

Combat Skills:

• Battle Healing: Novice (5 SP invested) - 1% max health healed each turn in combat

Extra Skills:

• Disguise: +1 EVA until start of your next turn (3 turn CD)

Roll ID: #112346
BD: 7 - hit (7 * 4 = 28 - 25 = 3 damage; -4 EN)
CD: 11 - Vampiric Proc (Regain 48 health)

[H1] @Baldur - the Azure Samurai HP: 1190/1190 EN: 116/116 MIT: 79 ACC: 4 EVA: 3 DMG: 13 BH: 47
[H1] Katagawa - The Aincrad Trading Post HP: 240/240 EN: 20/24 MIT: 8 ACC: 0 EVA: 3 DMG: 6 Vampiric: 48 BH: 2
[Stunned 0/1] Rhaegal - the Emerald Hatchling  HP: 39/125 - MIT: 25 - ACC: 0 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 50

((The dragon will be going for me because I hit it last))

[Baldur 0]

"That is an impressive piece of armor. I'm sure it will come in handy!"

Baldur watched, noticing that Katagawa was still at the point where she couldn't damage a quest mob of this level, but then Baldur hadn't paid attention to the level of the quest either. Still, he had wanted to see what she could do, and where she was at. This told him everything he needed to know for now. Eventually, they would need to put her into a fight where she could contribute, but that would be much later, and probably not part of this quest chain. Still, the idea was for him to mentor her, and to help her rise quickly... or faster... to the frontline.

"That was a good solid hit. Thank you for humoring me."

Baldur turned to face the stunned dragon and slashed <<Raijinto>> at the air, the gold and white light from his sword art continued beyond the edge of his blade, wobbling through the air to strike the dragonling just as it had woken up from its stun status. The attack was enough to expose the red wire-mesh frame of its model, and cause it to shatter into thousands of shards of glowing polygons.

With a flourish, Baldur whirled the blade around in a circled and slid it cleanly into the says without so much as looking at it. With something of a ritual, Baldur released the hand of the blade and straightened his posture, standing completely upright.

With another swipe of his hand, he called up the menu and then materialized the Emerald Key into his hand.

"Apparently this is the key to a tower somewhere. We get all of the keys, and then we fight whatever is inside. I'll have to ask around to see if anyone has completed this quest yet or not."

He looked up from the emerald key to Katagawa.

"So what do you think, are you up continuing along on this little escapade with me a little while longer?"

---

ID#112383 BD: 7+4=11 MD: (Rhaegal is stunned)
Gen Getsu: 13x6=78-25=53 DMG dealt

[H1] Baldur- the Azure Samurai HP: 1190/1190 EN: 104/116 MIT: 79 ACC: 4 EVA: 3 DMG: 13 BH: 47
[H1] @Katagawa - The Aincrad Trading Post HP: 240/240 EN: 20/24 MIT: 8 ACC: 0 EVA: 3 DMG: 6 Vampiric: 48 BH: 2
Rhaegal - the Emerald Hatchling  HP: 42/125 - MIT: 25 - ACC: 0 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 50

Edited February 5, 2019 by Baldur

[Katagawa 0]

After doing barely anything to the creature, Hokori was ready for Baldur to take the lead. Thankfully he quickly struck the beast and finished it off. With the done, she brought up her menu to also claim the key from the quest. "I'm not sure how far up I'll be able to go, but at least this is a start."

After viewing Baldur finish his little ritual of putting his gear away, she also sheathed her sword back across her back. It was bulky, and she didn't particularly like it, but it was still something to have to fight off monsters on this floor and a couple ones higher. Sadly, it seemed that it was going to be quite some time before she was able to switch the weapon of choice she wanted. For now, she needed to focus more on shoring up her defenses and making sure she could lead for a fight rather than have to stay behind like she waas right now.

"Sounds like that would be a good idea. I won't be of much help, but perhaps I can be a bit of a lookout for anything else that might come our way. I should be able to avoid attacks while you finish off any threats. If you're fine to continue on, so am I."

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur smiled as the young woman agreed to continue on with him. He couldn't quite a get a feel for her yet, but she was willing to push on, and that counted for something in his book. Turning back to face the way they had come, Baldur surveyed the field before them, the <<Town of Beginnings>> still visible off in the distance. The first floor, and largest floor, was only 10km in diameter. That was about twice as far as you could see in the real world, if everything were flat, but this floor also had rolling hills, small mountains, and the fascinating and unworldly platforms with their strange crescent moon portals on top and waterfalls from nowhere. 

It really was a beautiful floor, though navigation could be a bit haphazard if you ever tried to make it up top to one of the... mesas.

"Well, let's head back to town and turn this quest in to get the next part. I'm not sure what floor its on just yet, but I don't think the first few of these scale very quickly."

Baldur started to walk back towards the town, but it was clear he wasn't in any hurry.

"So tell me some more about yourself, Katagawa. What have you been doing on the first floor to keep yourself busy? Why start working towards the front now?"

[Katagawa 0]

There was little left for the two of them to doo here. To be honest, she was still a little surprised Baldur had yet to do something he was able to take out so easily. Unless he was lying, which didn't seem likely, he would've been able to handily take that dragon out in one hit. "If it isn't scaling that much, I wouldn't be surprised if the next one is on the second floor."

Before they had reached the Town of Beginnings, Baldur seemed to be quite curious about her story. She didn't mind saying what she had been doing here in the game, but was hoping he didn't try to dig into her life in the real world. As much as they were all in common ground of being trapped, she still wanted to keep that wall of anonymity being in an online game allowed. "I've mostly just been helping out other players while I can. Still be getting some reasonabl experience from the mobs on this floor. Sadly, I think I recently leveled out of that so I actually need to get going. I spent the last few years though trying to find some exploit to get through the game quicker or maybe even instantaneously. Seems the devs were a little too good with their code though. So now that I've effectively wasted 2 years of effort, I'm finally making my way up. Lucked out with the unique armor as I said and have the chance to be getting there a little bit faster. Hopefully I'm going to be able to find myself some players aroudn my level and be able to fight sooner than later. Last news I heard was clearing to the 24th floor, so I'm hoping to get up before we hit 30. I don't know how fast the front liners clear, so no telling how accurate my estimate is."

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur smiled when Katagawa said she had mostly been spending her time helping out the lower leveled players. It made his mind wander back to when he and Tyger had bumped into Lessa for the first time. He listened attentively to the young woman's words, and felt a pang of compassion when she felt like she wasted 2 years of her life making an effort to try and glitch the system. He had spent quite a bit of his own early time assuming someone else on the outside would come up with a fix.

"That's very good of you. I was helped by someone similar to yourself when I was just starting out. The hard work you've been doing with helping players take their first steps can pay off in unexpected ways."

Lessa had pointed a sword at Baldur, and had been high enough level should have ended both he and Tyger with a single swing of her sword. Hopefully Baldur's introduction to Katagawa, and her to other lower leveled players would be a bit less memorable in that way.

"Our clearing rate is... uneven. Sometimes it's fast, sometimes it's slow. The more people we have on the front, the faster it goes though, especially when we have the essential roles filled. Tank and healer." He turned his face to her and smiled as they continued to walk back towards the Town of Beginnings. "Currently we're in a bit of a lull as the newest floor has proved challenging, and there are some roles that need to be worked out. Unfortunately, the main guilds of the past seem to be in a period of inactivity or rest and recovery. There can be a lot to being on the frontline, and unfortunately, burnout is common."

The samurai blushed slightly, "Even I am guilty of that."

He turned and started walking backwards so he could face the silver haired woman.

"Have you met any of the frontliners, or worked with any of the guilds?" Then another thought occurred to Baldur, "Do you know of any other players like yourself who are pushing to try and join the Front?"

[Katagawa 0]

"I had a feeling there was issues with burning out. If there was no burnout though, then I'd be suspicious if others were actually human. I know a lot of people up at the front would be your hardcore gamers, but even they had to take a break when gaming was their living. Nowadays there's no rest for the weary it seems."

Katagawa pondered a bit after Baldur asked his own question. She hadn't really stuck with any particular group. She had received a seemingly random invite from someone else though and felt that it would probably be nice to have a guild. She had also noticed it came with a few buffs along with that guild. "I don't know too many. The couple that I have met that seemed to want to get to the front have gone rather quiet recently. If you track them down their names are Black and Cosi. Black I think was going for some form of tanking, and I'm not sure where Cosi was going with his build. As for other front liners I've met, Zandra picked me up in a guild she made. Probably because they knew I wasn't an evil player and needed some more people to fill it out to found it in the first place. Probably just trying to get that guild hall if you ask me. Would be nice to have an actual group, though I would want to be a bit more presentable before I did that. And for the players I've tutored? I don't hear much of anything from them once I do a quest or two with them. Either vanish off my friends list or are just making their own path. None of them are crossed off the monument of life, but still I worry."

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur nodded along with Katagawa as she told her story, paying close attention to whom she had interacted with, and also to her feeling of the state of things. It was indicative of a larger issue that was going on. At one point in time, there was a regular trickle of players moving up to join the frontline, but it seemed that after the recent catastrophe that was the boss battle, those newcomers were instead backing out, not wishing to be a part of such a rag tag band of dysfunctional misfits. 

"I believe I met Black and Cosi after an event on the 11th floor. From what I hear, they both did very well, though I'm afraid I only know of them, not them personally. Though I have heard that after the very difficult special event, they have taken a bit of a hiatus. Not that I can blame them. When your life comes that close to the cusp, it can be a traumatic experience that you need to take some time to parse."

As Baldur and Katagawa wandered back into the city, Baldur began to almost steer himself through the crowds with his katana, making sure that the saya did not bump into or trip anyone as they wove through the sea of people which was the town of beginnings.

"Alright, let's turn this thing in and move on to the next part. Do you need to get anything before we head out?"

[Katagawa 0]

There was little for them to talkabout it seemed, mostly just a discussion of events that were happening. But it was nice to have someone to talk to for once. There was a few that she had been able to casually talk with, but it never felt like she could just be herself around them. There was always that pressure to either be the girly girl or have to basically be a man. She couldn't just be herself around most people. Always expectations.

"I heard about that event, but figured I was going to be too low of a level in order to actually do well in it. Besides, I didn't have any of my better gear at the moment. Thought it was best to leave it to those who were higher leveled. And I'm glad to hear that they're still out there. At least it means they might not be gone for good."

Hearing that Baldur was already ready to head up to the next part of the quest, Hokori decided it would be best if she just let there be nothing to stop them from moving on. "Nope, I'm good to get going whenevvver you are."

Thread Summary:

Spoiler

1 Page completed: 1 SP and 200 COl to each
DHA 1 completed:  1 SP and 250 col to each player, Rhaegal Emerald to each palyer

Total: 2 SP, 450 COl, and Rhaegal Emerald to each  player

@Baldur