[PP - F2] Time to Clear My Mind (Symphony)

[Jomei 0]

Jomei shot a playful glare up at Symphony who claimed Jomei was not too light on his feet. Normally, being quick and light was what his build was built on... but when fighting something that he knew held no real threat to him, he was a bit lacking in his motions. Now a bit clearer of mud than before, Jomei took Symphony's hand as she went to help him up, only to notice the Boa turning around and making another quick move on the girl. "Look out!" he shouted, giving the player enough time to turn and strike to snake with a stunning blow. "Nice one," he added with a smirk as she helped him up the rest of the way. Jomei pulled his boots from the mud and gripped the handle of Oathkeeper a bit tighter. The blade ignited in a bright, golden light as he stepped forward with a single thrust, the brilliant energy trailing behind as the tip of the blade plunged deep into the Boa Constrictor's body. With one final hiss, the serpent shattered into hundreds of red fragments that rained into the mud at their feet. "Well, that deals with that." 

@Symphony

ID 116497 | BD 7(+4) Neutron vs Giant Boa Constrictor 
14 x 5 = 70 Dmg

[0]Jomei: 1430/1430 HP | 151/153 EN | 17 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 52 MIT | 2 Savvy | 72 B. Healing

[3]Symphony: 240/240 HP | 20/24 EN | 6 DMG | 14 MIT | +1 ACC | 9-10 PLYZ | +5 REGEN

vs. 

Giant Boa Constrictor: 0/120 HP | 36 DMG

Edited May 9, 2019 by Jomei

[Symphony 0]

Symphony's eyes widened as she watched Jomei finish the beast off. So that's the type of damage a frontliner can do, she thought. She hoped she could become as powerful as that one day. "Awe, you didn't save any for me," she teased, laughing. "Maybe we can find some more harder enemies, huh?" She started walking again, making the way through the mud slowly. "If only this stuff wasn't so thick or something." She kept falling deeper into the slush. Ugh, my boots and jeans are gonna be ruined by this stuff.

She decided to make some conversation while they trudged through the swamp. "So, how long did it take you to reach a high enough level to become a frontliner?" She was curious how long it would take her. She wanted to be up there paving the way for other players so that they could all be free from this hell. 

@Jomei

Spoiler

Roll ID#: 116552
LD: 10 (fail)

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Symphony

[Jomei 0]

Jomei scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed that he had taken out the monster with a bit of a stronger sword art, rather than letting Symhpony get a few more hits. "S-Sorry about that. I'm all for hunting larger monsters as long as you be careful of your own limits." the man said with a chuckle. Allowing the woman to take the lead once again, Jomei followed. The two trudged through the thick, swampy waters and mud. His tall, brown boots were completely drenched, his nose crinkling slightly with each slosh as he moved his feet. "I had no idea that this floor was so tough to traverse.." The ginger looked up to see the sky was slowly becoming a darker gray, almost as if a storm was beginning to stir off in the distance. 

The man turned his attention back to Symphony, he asked about how long it took him to become a front liner. "For the first few months, I did not do much and stayed within the walls of the First Floor.. After that.. maybe it took me another few months.. maybe a year to get to where I could fight on the front lines?" Jomei was not entirely sure, it had been a long time since he thought about it. "Ever since then, I just made sure my level was up to par with whatever we were facing on the next floor. I would just do as many quests that I could, and make a bunch of friends who could help me get there." 

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony noticed the sky changing above them and took note of it. She whistled for Cloak to keep a look out and stay close in case they suddenly became trapped in a storm. Then she turned and listened to Jomei. She nodded as he spoke, her expression thoughtful. If I keep doing quests and fighting, she thought to herself, then maybe I can read the front lines in about a year. She knew she would need to work very hard if she ever wanted to catch up to Jomei's level as well. One day. 

"Hm, maybe I'll be able to fight with you guys one day in a year," Symphony said to the man, teasingly sticking her tongue out after she said so. "Though, if I could get some shots in, then maybe I could have a better chance at leveling..." She laughed and stepped over to Jomei to pat him on the back. "I kid, don't worry. We'll just need to find more enemies to balance things out." She looked around them and wondered where a good spot for a small mob would be. 

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

The ginger smirked at Symphony's teasing, "Well then, I look forward to it. And don't worry, next monster we find, I'll let you take lead and I'll watch your back for anything else." Allowing Symphony to take the lead, Jomei followed closely behind, keeping his eyes peeled for any other beasts that may have been lurking in the tall grass or murky water. Only inches before them, the ginger noticed a few bubbles rising to the surface of the swamp water in front of what he thought to be a few stones poking out from the waters surface before a bit of shrubbery. His olive eyes went wide as the jaw of a fairly large crocodile opened wide and lunged forward at Symphony. Lucky for her, the beast's rows of razor sharp teeth clamped down on nothing as it missed. "Look out!" Jomei shouted as he took a step forward and running his blade through the top of the swamp creature's snout. 

From the side of Jomei, he heard another splash of water as another crocodile revealed itself, shooting out from the water and rushing towards the ginger who had attacked its hunting partner. "[censored]." Jomei cursed under his breath before pulling his blade from his first target and stepping out of the way of the second. "Looks like you got what you wanted." Jomei said with a small chuckle, looking over his shoulder at Symphony, "I'll keep the first one off of you if you think you can handle its friend." 

@Symphony
 

Spoiler

((Croc 1: LD 1-10 Attacks Jomei / 11-20 Attacks Symphony))
ID 117561 | MD 2 Miss | LD 15 Attacks Symphony
ID 117562 | BD 9 Small Crit | MD 3(-5) Miss
Rip Ravine: 2 x 14(+1) = 30 Dmg to Crocodile 1 

[ 2 | 0 ]Jomei: 1430/1430 HP | 152/153 EN | 17 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 52 MIT | 2 Savvy | 72 B. Healing

[ 0 | 0 ]Symphony: 240/240 HP | 24/24 EN | 6 DMG | 14 MIT | +1 ACC | 9-10 PLYZ | +5 REGEN

Crocodile 1: 130/160 36 DMG
Crocodile 2: 160/160 36 DMG

Edited May 22, 2019 by Jomei

[Symphony 0]

 

Symphony smiled and concentrated, her face growing a little bit serious. Then she charged at the second crocodile. As she approached the beast, it reared up and spread its jaws, trying to attack. But Symphony was much too quick for the beast. She dodged the attack and struck the beast four times along its right back side. Rearing away from the swift woman, the crocodile hissed and hid half of its body in the water, letting the coolness of the liquid help numb the pain of its wounds. Its eyes grew cautious, and the beast went on the defensive. It would try not to be too brash and make the same mistake again. 

Meanwhile, Symphony backed a safe distance away from the angry animal and turned to face Jomei. She smiled and said, "Took care of him a little for ya." She knew she didn't do too much damage as a lower level player, but she had managed to take a couple points of health off of the crocodile without getting attacked. 

Spoiler

Roll ID#: 122348

BD: 6 + 1 = 7
Fad Edge: 6 * 4 = 24 DMG against crocodile 2

[ 2 | 0 ]Jomei: 1430/1430 HP | 152/153 EN | 17 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 52 MIT | 2 Savvy | 72 B. Healing

[ 0 | 1 ]Symphony: 240/240 HP | 20/24 EN | 6 DMG | 14 MIT | +1 ACC | 9-10 PLYZ | +5 REGEN

Crocodile 1: 130/160 36 DMG
Crocodile 2: 136/160 36 DMG

@Jomei

Edited August 22, 2019 by Symphony

[Jomei 0]

After their attacks, the reptiles went on the defensive. Lowering themselves into the water, only the top halves of the crocodiles were visible as they slowly made their way around the players while in the water. Jomei followed the first of the crocodiles that he attacked, being cautious with every step as he followed the path their enemy took with his eyes. He was not expecting to have to fight two of these at once, mainly for Symphony's sake. One wrong move and it could take quite a chunk of health out of the girl. It would be best for him to rid of one so they could focus on the second together. "One moment." Jomei said as he twirled his rapier in his hand and trudged forward through the swampy waters. The crocodile that Jomei approached retaliated, springing up from the water and attempting to bring its teeth down on Jomei's shoulder. The ginger, however, was ready for the attack, the redirected the biting attack with his own blade, throwing the croc onto its side. Jomei then turned towards the enemy and unleashed eleven thrusts in rapid succession, almost simultaneously. Each hit caused water to bounce up like heavy rocks being dropped into the murky pool. After the single rain of attacks, the crocodile shattered into hundreds of white fragments of data. 

Croc 1: ID 122874 | MD 4(-4) = 1  vs Jomei
Jomei and Croc 2: ID 122875 | BD 5(+2)(+4) vs Croc 1 | MD 1 vs Symphony
11 x 17 = 187 187 Dmg vs Crocodile 1
 

[ 2 | 0 ]Jomei: 1430/1430 HP | 145/153 EN | 17 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 52 MIT | 2 Savvy | 72 B. Healing

[ 0 | 1 ]Symphony: 240/240 HP | 20/24 EN | 6 DMG | 14 MIT | +1 ACC | 9-10 PLYZ | +5 REGEN

Crocodile 1: 0/160 36 DMG
Crocodile 2: 136/160 36 DMG

Edited August 29, 2019 by Jomei

[Symphony 0]

Symphony watched, eyes wide as apples, as Jomei absolutely decimated the crocodile. She looked back and forth from where the crocodile used to be and back to Jomei. She was absolutely speechless. Even Cloak fluffed his feathers in surprise as he glided above the two. "Uh. You... you really uh got that one," Symphony said, still stunned. She looked over at her crocodile, which looked more timid and fearful. It still hissed at her though. 

Symphony tried to focus her energy into her sword as she prepped her sword art. At the last minute, when she began her charge, the crocodile dived back into the deep, murky water. Symphony had to stop on a dime and nearly fell into the dangerous water. "Ahh!" she yelled as fell back onto her butt and quickly scooted away from the water. "Bad oversized lizard! Bad!"

@Jomei

Spoiler

Fad edge vs. Crocodile 2
Roll ID#: 122889
BD: 2 + 1 = 3 (fail)

[ 2 | 0 ]Jomei: 1430/1430 HP | 145/153 EN | 17 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 52 MIT | 2 Savvy | 72 B. Healing

[ 0 | 1 ]Symphony: 240/240 HP | 16/24 EN | 6 DMG | 14 MIT | +1 ACC | 9-10 PLYZ | +5 REGEN

Crocodile 1: 0/160 36 DMG
Crocodile 2: 136/160 36 DMG

Rank 1

• [x2 Stun] Side Bite (5 Energy) - Stab your opponent in both sides, pincing nerves, stunning opponent.
• [x2] Round Accel (2 Energy) - Dash around target at high speeds, delivering two slash/stabs into target.

Rank 2

• [x3] Tri Pierce (3 Energy) - Stab target three times, slashing diagonally to cause a triangle effect on each one
• [x4] Fad Edge (4 Energy) - The user swiftly strikes the opponent with four thrusts in brisk succession.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Symphony

[Jomei 0]

After vanquishing his own opponent, he turned over his shoulder to see Symphony still struggling with the one that attacked her. Its health was still close to max, and his companion was currently sitting in the dark sludge that of the swamp. Quickly turning, Jomei placed a hand under the girl's arm to help her up out of the swampy waters, "Are you alright?" he asked in a concerned voice, moving her back slightly so Jomei stood between her and the crocodile. As he moved Symphony out of the way, the crocodile sprung into action yet again, opening its maw and shooting forward to bite down on the unsuspecting player. Jomei quickly intervened, thrusting his blade forward and making contact with the underbelly of the large reptile. Three more rapid stabs to the crocodile's body and the monster was no more, just as its predecessor. 

Once the battle was over, Jomei let out a small sigh and returned his blade to its scabbard on his hip. "Sorry, it seemed like those monsters may have been a bit tougher than the giant snake from before." 

ID 123053 | BD 6(+6) = 12 | MD 8
8 x 17 = 136 Dmg

[ 0 ]Jomei: 1430/1430 HP | 146/153 EN | 17 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 52 MIT | 2 Savvy | 72 B. Healing

[ 1 ]Symphony: 240/240 HP | 16/24 EN | 6 DMG | 14 MIT | +1 ACC | 9-10 PLYZ | +5 REGEN

Crocodile 1: 0/160 36 DMG
Crocodile 2: 0/160 36 DMG

Edited August 29, 2019 by Jomei

[Symphony 0]

Symphony let out a sigh of relief as Jomei killed the beast in front of them. "Thank you, Jomei," she said as she got up and dusted herself off. After checking herself for any wounds and finding none, she looked back up at the man. 

"Uh, do you think we could head back and get some food now?" she asked, laughing lightly. All this fighting had worn her out. She needed a good meal and then a nice nap or long rest. "These enemies are getting a bit too aggressive and powerful for my liking. And besides," she continued, her stomach growling, "I'm getting a little hungry after all this fighting." She blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of her head with her hand. 

She took the free moment that they had to stretch and bend forward, nearly bending her body in half. Still flexible as always, she thought happily. She sighed as she stretched backwards and touched the ground with her hands. Upon rising back up, she smiled back over at Jomei. "Much better!" she exclaimed. Her body felt much looser and less stressed now. It always tended to tighten up when fighting. 

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

The ginger offered a friendly smile and nod when Symphony offered him thanks for finishing off each of the monsters. He could not help but chuckle a bit when she asked if they could return to town to get something to eat, for the two had eaten maybe only an hour or two before. Despite, the man nodded again, "Yeah sure. I'm sure we can find a place in town." Not a moment after Jomei suggested heading back, he heard the low rumble of thunder as it boomed in the distance..and with thunder, came the rain. Slow, scattered drops at first, one landing atop the back of his hand that rested on the pommel of Oathkeeper, another on the bridge of his nose as he looked up to the darkening sky. "Come on, lets get back to town quick before we get caught in a downpour."  He noted, lifting the hood of his green coat up over his head. 

The rain had picked up by the time the two players had made it back to Lazaro, the planks that allowed players to move up onto the level of the buildings built on stilts was mostly underwater from the rising tide. The roofs of most of these buildings extended out into awnings, which provided a bit of shelter from the downpour that grew a bit with intensity. "I've seen snow storms on Floor Four.. but never rain storms" the man said, looking out at the rain in a bit of awe. "It looks like there's a small cafe across the way. I'm sure they have some food we can get you." 

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Even though she couldn't feel the cold, Symphony shuddered out of habit. She still remembered how cold rain felt in the real world as well as the sting of it when the wind blew hard enough. Sometimes, it would even feel like you were being pricked by sharp needles. Huddling next to Jomei, she joined him and ventured off to the cafe. Once inside, she removed her cloak and sighed happily. "Warm and dry. My two favorite things," she said before plopping into a seat by the fire. "Oh, besides food!" she followed, giggling. She motioned for Jomei to join her and then let Cloak jump from her shoulder onto a window sill near them. Outside, the rain was starting to pour even harder, flooding the village even more. 

She motioned the NPC waitress over and gave an order of a mint mocha and a small croissant sandwich. While waiting for their order, she said, "Sorry for being so hungry so soon, but that fighting really took it out of me. Even if I can't truly feel the hunger in game, I still feel the phantom pain." She laughed. "Guess it's been a while since I've gotten a good work out as well." 

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

Jomei followed Symphony across the way, removing his hood once they were well under the roof of the small eatery. The older, wooden building, with an extra small set of stairs that managed to keep the cafe even farther away from the slowly rising tide, had large, half-oval shaped windows, that allowed a perfect view of the storm outside. The inside was just as rustic and rural as the outside of the cafe looked, with scattered wooden chairs and tables, as well as a bar where players ordered their food and drinks. In the far corner, built into the buildings single, smaller angular wall, was a stone fireplace that warmed the interior. Symphony immediately took to sitting in one of the chairs closest to the fire, removing her cloak. Jomei smiled and did the same, placing the wet green cloak into his inventory and taking the seat across from her. 

At the arrival of the waitress, Jomei merely ordered a tea, feeling the fighting they had done had not worked up too much of an appetite in him yet. "No need to apologize. I'm happy we got out of there when we did, or we'd end up caught out in that storm." Jomei replied with a bit of relief in his voice, turning his head to look out the window. From the back of his chair, the small, brown owl made its way to the same windowsill that Cloak rested at, her head turning between the fellow bird and the falling rain. 

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony nodded her head in agreement with what Jomei said. She looked out the window, wondering how long this storm would last. "I never knew the floor would have this much rainfall," she said. "Though, I haven't ever been in a biome like this in the real world either." She had been used to larger cities or mountainous regions, not anything like swamps or bogs. 

As the two players talked to each other, Cloak took the moment to begin grooming the small owl next to him. He was careful not to hurt them or break any feathers. Symphony looked over and commented on the display. "Awe, look at them, Jomei! Aren't they just the cutest?" A smile spread across her lips and she laughed. "Who would have guessed that Cloak would make another bird friend! He actually hasn't met a lot of other familiars now that I think about it." 

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

Jomei nodded in agreement, "Back where I grew up in the real world, we didn't get rain this heavy.. or floods." he said while looking out the window at the rain. He turned his head back to Symphony to continue, "But I guess that's just something that makes this floor unique." he added with a smile. With a small sigh of relief, he leaned forward towards the fire, enjoying its warmth and allowing any negative thoughts that plagued his mind to burn away in the heat of the flame. "That's one thing I enjoy about this world. All of the floors of Aincrad all offer something different. Places I never thought I would ever be able to explore in the real world. Sure, there's more of a risk of dying, and fighting bosses and monsters is not exactly my ideal life." He sat back in his chair, his olive eyes still fixated on the fire. 

Jomei followed Symphony's gaze to the window where their familiars sat, the darker bird grooming the feathers of the larger, tawny owl. Jomei smiled, "That's a nice sight. Adere has always been friendly with other familiars.. never really met one she did not like. Glad to see Cloak is taking kindly to her."

@Symphony