Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 #1 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Wearing his brand new shiny Katana on his hip, he made his way towards where the quest marker had guided him, which led him back to the <TOWN OF BEGINNINGS>. Within the town, as he followed his map, he nearly bumped into the NPC he was actually looking for, as the marker seemed to be rushing towards him... Standing up after unceremoniously knocking himself to the floor, he dusted himself off and looked at the NPC. Just like Macradon said, it was a Gypsy. "Uhh... hello. I picked up a quest called <<Feeding The Enemy>> and-" At the mention of the quest name, the NPC began to speak. "Ohhh! You wish to learn how to tame a beast to travel with? Very well! I shall teach you! It is quite simple... the monsters here, they love this food. It's a delicacy to them." The Gypsy shoved some food into Sotarou's hands, confusing poor Sotarou. "You must find the creature you wish to partner with... and with that, you will attempt to tame it. It is a powerful bond you must forge, and it will not be easy. Prepare for your journey." And with that, the Gypsy left. The quest marker was now replaced with a circle indicated in the mapped area outside of the Town. Lovely... one of these quests... well, nothing to do but give it a go. Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #2 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Sotarou's initial foray out into the Wilderness when he first got back into the habit after... that... was scary. But he had strength now, and this time it'd be different. He'd survive this time. He'd thrive. As it is, he gave it his all for this run. He figured it was at least a good idea to break in his new Katana, get some practice in as well as get some loot out of it. Floor 1 was filled with weaker mobs than floor 2... but at least they didn't have some sort of poison with them... so, he decided to just get started. Right out the gate, he spotted what looked to be a Boar. A lone Boar with no others around. Easy enough for a starting player. He picked up a rock, and hucked it at the beast. This caused the Boar to take notice... and head right for Sotarou! Sotarou drew his Katana and immediately set about starting the fight with a normal strike, just to get a feel for the blade. (( ID 117637: Battle: 2; MOB: 6; Both Miss )) The blade was still new to Sotarou, so he wasn't able to make a decisive cut. He was more used to the heavier blades in the real world. But thankfully, because he was lighter with the blade, he could avoid the oncoming hit from the Boar in the meantime. - Health List - [0] <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 6/8 NRG <Katana Strike> <Boar> 40/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 23, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #3 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) The Boar came back around for another pass and this time, Sotarou was ready. He figured... might as well get some ACTUAL damage into this beast! Charging one of his Sword Skills, Han'ei, he made to make two swings against the creature as it rushed for him! (( ID 117639 - Battle: 7; MOB: 5; Sotarou hits, Boar misses )) Sotarou had seen these Boars attack all the time when he was with J before... and knowing how they move was the key to avoiding them, which he did easily as he made two quick strikes in succession against the creature, dealing it some serious damage! That's what Sword Skills can do, he guessed. - Health List - [0] <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 5/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 23, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #4 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) That Boar really had a one-track mind... it just wanted to charge and bash Sotarou over and over again. Well... lower level mobs. They didn't really have all that incredible AI. And Sotarou was very glad for it. Even if it did hit, it wouldn't hurt as much, thankfully. Not like he could deal it damage! It was time to strike while the iron was hot! He had to strike again! And so, he made another Han'ei strike against the oncoming Boar! (( ID 117640 - Battle: 3; MOB: 2; Both Miss )) Once again, Sotarou overestimated his sword's swing and was just shy of hitting it. The Boar was much the same way, missing Sotarou. Though the Boar missed by a wider margin. - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 4/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 23, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #5 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) It seemed this battle wouldn't end, with both sides just missing each other constantly! It was infuriating! But Sotarou would not be dissuaded! He would continue to fight and he would beat this beast! His stance ready, his breathing calm... focused... he locked eyes with the Boar and readied another Han'ei as the Boar came at him again! (( ID 117641 - Battle: 1; MOB: 1; Both Crit Miss )) The Boar tripped and tumbled forward towards Sotarou, which threw off Sotarou's own sword swing and caused his attack to miss spectacularly! This was not what he was going for when entering his stance! Well, that and... it had been a while since he'd actually practiced these stances, so he was rather still trying to get back into the 'swing' of things, as it were... Oh well. Nothing to do but to reset his stance and try again! - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 3/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) His stance! That was it! He was forgetting his footing for the stance! Shifting his foot and posture, he took up his Kendo stance once again... he hadn't been in this stance for a few years... but it was like riding a bike, right? A very... sharp... bike that could cut a man hard if he weren't careful... but he couldn't think about his stance more as that Boar came back for another hit, and Sotarou readied his Han'ei in response! (( ID 117642 - Battle: 1; MOB: 6; Both Miss )) Guess it WASN'T like riding a bike after all, as he nearly impaled himself with the Katana as the Boar came barreling towards him... though luckily, the Boar missed by a hair! Luck was on his side... or maybe... J was helping him out... FLASHBACK "No no no! Not like that! Less force! More finesse! It doesn't matter if you can hurt it if you can't even hit it... work on it... you'll get there. I know you will..." END FLASHBACK J was right... he just had to focus... just like he was taught all those years ago in his Kendo classes... - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 2/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #7 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) He was running low on energy. Sotarou had to be careful or he'd tire himself out on a miss with a normal attack... and so from this point, he took time and- ah, screw it! He gave up trying to get into his stance and let his body just do what it wanted to do... and as he did so, he aimed another Han'ei to the Boar as it came charging again! (( ID 117643 - Battle: 6; MOB: 9. +2 Accuracy means Sotarou Hits, Boar Crits on Natural 9, +1 Dmg for 13 raw -9 MIT, 4 damage )) The strike hits finally, dealing the Boar some damage... but the Boar gets in a solid strike itself, dealing a little extra damage to Sotarou! Ouch! That's gonna sting later... but the Armor Sotarou wore mitigated a nice chunk of that damage, thankfully. But the takeaway was that... Sotarou did more damage! And he wasn't using some fancy stance to do so! A simple swing for a simple attack! When he got up to using the higher tier moves, he'd get that... but for now, he'd just focus on letting his body do what it wanted to do! "This game's starting to get really annoying..." - Health List - <Sotarou> 76/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 1/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 20/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) It was time to continue the offensive. He was getting better, of course... but now, Sotarou really was low on energy... he had to make this next Han'ei count... then his natural sword strikes could help finish the creature off. Getting ready and setting up his attack, he readied himself against the Boar as, renewed by its finally hitting the human in front of it, it charged once again to strike hard against Sotarou! (( ID 117644 - Battle: 6; MOB: 5. +2 Accuracy, Sotarou Hits. Boar misses )) The attack hits solidly... but that was the end of Sotarou's energy pool... he didn't have enough to use Han'ei again if he wanted to end this fight quickly enough. And so, he'd have to deal with using his normal Katana strikes... man, this sucks. He needed more Energy or better Energy recovery. Again, that'd be helped with gear, but he wasn't about to go back this early. So he just had to suck it up. This was an MMO still... the early levels are always a slog. Looking back at how Macradon was just so easily able to slaughter those Wolves... he definitely had a long way to go, but Sotarou hoped to be that good one day. - Health List - <Sotarou> 76/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 0/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 10/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #9 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) With his energy pool dipped so low, Sotarou had to be careful... he had to fight smart. And to fight smart, he had to fight with his head instead of his muscles. That Boar didn't have such thinking and just continued charging Sotarou in hopes of killing him. Though it wasn't likely to happen. The Boar couldn't do much damage to Sotarou, and Sotarou's damage output was enough such that he could end this in two more hits... if only he had the energy to use Han'ei again... but ah well. Life's not fair. Sotarou saw the Boar charging again, and made a normal strike against it as it approached. (( ID 117647 - Battle: 6; MOB: 6; +2 Accuracy, Sotarou Hits. 1 EVA, Boar Misses )) The Boar took another hit from Sotarou's Katana. And at this rate, the Boar wasn't long for this world. It would fall soon... and soon it shall be, as the Boar missed once again. It wasn't looking too hot, either... - Health List - <Sotarou> 76/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 0/8 NRG (+1) <Katana Strike> <Boar> 5/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 23, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) This was it... the final blow... or... Sotarou hoped it'd be the final blow... he didn't want this fight to drag on for too long... he wanted to find that Wolf again... ah well. He figured it'd be around somewhere. Even if it wasn't, it was a quest. And it didn't have a timer on it, so he had as long as he needed. If he didn't get it this time around, there was always tomorrow. In the meantime, today was the day. And today was dealing with this Boar being the priority. He made a strike against the Boar as it charged once again, hoping the strike would end this fight! (( ID 117649 - Battle: 3; MOB: 5; Both Miss )) The hits weren't meant to be, as the strike against each other missed horribly. Sotarou cursed his accuracy... he noticed he was trying to go back into stance again... something his body was trying to do... this time though, he let it. He just let his body do what it wanted to do. And if it wanted to stance up into Kendo again, that's what he'd let it do. He just hoped it would be enough in the end... - Health List - <Sotarou> 76/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 0/8 NRG (+1) <Katana Strike> <Boar> 5/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #11 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) With his body knowing how it wanted to move again... this was it... again... the final blow... or Sotarou hoped. He REALLY hoped this time. It was annoying that his attacks kept missing. He was better than this! He knew he was! He just had to prove it to himself! And to J! And so once again, he made his strike against the Boar as it made its charge against Sotarou. (( ID 117650 - Battle: 6; MOB: 4; +2 Accuracy, Sotarou hits, Boar misses )) Sotarou's blade... it hit home... and struck the Boar, cleaving it in two! The Boar pixellated and dropped its bounty... which... was quite a bit of a bounty! Sotarou collapsed to a knee as he felled the beast. It was that he was injured... just tired. Energy levels weren't exactly his forte. Maybe this Boar would drop something to help with that! (( Loot from killed Boar: ID 117651 - CD: 9; LD: 18; +2 LD for 20 )) Sotarou found 360 Col, 2 T1 Materials and 1 <<Unidentified T1 Perfect Weapon>> Sotarou sighed... just another Katana, some materials and some more Col... he'd need a ton of Col after some time, but for now... he stashed the unidentified Katana and continued his trek. He figured might as well also get some more materials while he was out, so he got to looking for some nearby Material nodes. - Health List - <Sotarou> 76/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 1/8 NRG (+1) <Katana Strike> <Boar> 0/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #12 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) After that battle, Sotarou needed to recuperate his energy. His health wasn't much of an issue. He didn't lose all that much, so it would recover on its own. Nearby was a cave that he knew were some Material nodes in... So... he pulled out his Pick and headed into the cave to begin working on gathering materials for himself. (( ID 117656 - LOOT: 4. No Materials gathered )) The first strike yielded nothing in the way of mats. Oh well. Not every node would. As he struck the node, it disappeared, the same as usual. Not like he had much else to do but keep trying, though. His energy was starting to recover, but he didn't wanna go into another battle until he could be 100% sure he had recovered his energy. He was curious why mining didn't seem to tire him out, though... actually, he was glad that wasn't the case. Otherwise, he'd NEVER be able to gather materials at all. So with that thought, he just moved on to the next node in the chain. This cave had a few nodes to work. Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #13 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Sotarou continued moving. He was keeping an eye out for that Wolf, though. Caves provided an ideal lookout for creatures running to shelter in order to recuperate. I mean, look at him. He was in this cave, recuperating his energy... though he had an ulterior motive: he was gathering materials so he could craft more items in his shop. But he definitely was still on the lookout for that wolf... He was hoping to find it and earn its trust... Macradon's Wolf was helpful, so he wanted one too! But for now, he was content with just farming materials. (( ID 117657 - LOOT: 12; No Materials )) Sotarou once again struck out on gathering Materials... and so, on to the next material node as he was almost back to full energy. His health had recuperated to full already by this point. Still no sign of the Wolf... maybe it wasn't here after all... no. He had to remain positive. The Wolf WAS here! He had to believe it was! Otherwise, the trip in this cave would have been pointless at this rate... his luck with these nodes certainly wasn't helping matters... Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #14 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Sotarou continued to the next node, thinking to himself Third time's the charm... c'mon... you can do this... He normally wasn't a believer of that sort of thing... but with how much his luck had been wishy-washy today, he hoped for all the luck he could get... he rubbed the bracelet he wore for good luck... the pearl in it shone from a nearby light source in the cave... some glowing moss or something... he wasn't any sort of botanist or alchemist, so he couldn't exactly do much with that... he just hoped he could get this material piece and at least have SOME victory in this cave... (( ID 117659 - LOOT: 20; Gained 1 T1 Mat )) The Node actually spit out a message now, indicating that Sotarou had gained 1 Material! Sweet! One more than he had before! What a day! At least, if he didn't find the Wolf, it wasn't a complete waste in here... he'd finally gotten a material. However... as he tried the other nodes in the cave, they were all empty as well... that sucked. RNG definitely had it out for him in this instance... but, nothing to do but move on. Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #15 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Okay. Energy recuperated, he got a success in finding a material... it was time to look for that wolf... being in this cave, he'd been looking around more for the nodes than he had been for the wolf... well... he might as well have been looking in the area he was in now. As good a spot as any... he focused on his good luck charm now, his Lucky Straights bracelet... and wished on it that he'd find the Wolf nearby... C'mon, J... I know you're lookin' out for me... help me out this one more time... (( ID 117660 - LOOT: 5; Did not find Familiar )) It was as if J was literally going "I'm not gonna make it that easy for you... you gotta work to get better at it! So... work hard, Sota!" Sotarou had searched the nearby area... but found nothing... lovely... guess it was gonna be one of those days... ah well. It was still early in the day. Plenty of time to search. And fight. And mine. And all that stuff! So Sotarou left the cave he had been exploring... he had searched everywhere in there, with no sign of the Wolf in there. Such was life. Geez... Floor 1 was really big, though... that Wolf could be anywhere here...! Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #16 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Well, with his energy recharged and his looking for that Wolf a bust here, time to move on to another part of the zone. It didn't take him long to move to the next zone, and by the time he did, he'd found... another Boar. Alone once again. It was still near the Town, so it was to be expected. He repeated the process of picking up a rock and hucking it at the Boar to get its attention. Once done that, the battle began again! Sotarou let his body move how it wanted to again... it was tough, though. He was still used to trying to force a movement... but that's not what he should be doing. There was no time to think however, as he wasted no time in offense, using his Han'ei to strike while the iron was hot and the Boar was charging! (( ID 117661 - Battle: 4; MOB: 4; Both miss )) And once again, both of the attacks miss their intended targets... geez, Sotarou couldn't get a break! First he couldn't find the Wolf, then he couldn't hit this Boar... "C'mon, Sotarou... focus! Or... relax! One or the other! You can't have it both ways! So... relax! And fight! Let your instincts fight..." - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 6/8 NRG <Han'ei> <Boar> 40/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #17 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Let your instincts fight... Yeah... easy to say, harder to do... Welp... nothing to do but try again... again... he felt like he was saying that a lot lately... but it was true. If you fail at something, never just give up. Keep at it. Never stop! And that's what Sotarou was doing: never stopping! He'd come at the Boar again with another Han'ei to try and take down this beast! (( ID 117663 - Battle: 8; MOB: 7; 1 EVA, Mob misses; Sotarou hits )) The blade hits home, dealing its damage twice in quick succession! Sotarou felt better about himself now with that! He actually relaxed and let his instincts take hold! He was fighting less like a focused Samurai... and more like an MMO character! And that's something he'd have to get into the mindset of doing... all those long hours of learning how to swordfight, and the Cardinal System is supposed to take those skills and augment them within the system... but they're not doing it...! Instead, he's just... angling elsewise! Oh well... regardless of how he felt about the system, it wasn't like he could find Kayaba and tell him to fix it... hell, that's probably not the first thing he'd do anyway... shout in his face and tell him to log him out... well... maybe everyone else too... but mostly him! - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 5/8 NRG <Han'ei> <Boar> 30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 23, 2019 Author #18 Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) Repetitive... It may have been repetitive, but that's what farming was: repetitive actions towards a single goal. In this case, it was experience and loot. They were the backbone of any MMO. If you wanted to get better gear, you needed money. Or for the enemy to drop said gear. Who knows! Maybe he could find some Accuracy gear! With that thought in his mind... Sotarou continued to fight this Boar. And he'd continue to fight these Boars as long as he couldn't find that Wolf, to get Col, to get gear, to get Materials, to get stronger! (( ID 117664 - Battle: 2; MOB: 5; Both miss )) Aaaaaaaaand of course, Sotarou and the Boar both miss their attacks... once again... geez, this was gonna take a while... lovely... well, at least the scenery was pretty. That's about all he could focus on at this point in order to not go stir-crazy! Though... maybe he WAS just going stir-crazy. Maybe all of this was a fever dream! No... he'd been hit a few times before this, and felt the pain. This wasn't a dream... no matter how much he wished it were, it was not. - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 4/8 NRG <Han'ei> <Boar> 30/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 24, 2019 Author #19 Share Posted May 24, 2019 (edited) It may have been repetitive, but that's what farming was: repetitive actions towards a single goal. In this case, it was experience and loot. So... Sotarou continued to fight this Boar. And he'd continue to fight these Boars as long as he couldn't find that Wolf. Wait... that felt like Deja'vu... has he been in this place before...? No, no. Dead memes. Don't indulge them... for now, he just focused on the battle. Another Han'ei for another strike against the Wolf. He just needed to relax... and let his body be his guide! (( ID 117694 - Battle: 5; MOB: 1; +2 Acc, Sotarou hits, Boar misses )) Sotarou's strike is good this time, and his hit actually throws the Boar off its stride as it seemed to fumble over before getting back to its feet and running around for another strike. He was getting the hang of this now. He was learning to let his body do what it wanted. The body knows what he wanted. So why fight it? Let it ride and let it slide! ... okay, never saying that again... that was utterly garbage! - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 4/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 20/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
Sotarou 0 Posted May 24, 2019 Author #20 Share Posted May 24, 2019 (edited) And Sotarou continued his onslaught! He felt a little better about this fight, at least. He kept up his relaxing 'stance' and continued to just let the game do what it wanted to do! He continued using it to activate Han'ei properly, focusing on a point where the boar would be once more... This relaxation thing seemed to be working, at least. Why mess with a good thing? The Boar, of course, maintained its course and continued to charge forward. (( ID 117695 - Battle: 9; MOB: 2; Sotarou Crits +1, Boar misses )) Sotarou's strike hit true, actually stabbing the creature in the nose and causing a nasty cut! It didn't bleed, but it didn't need to! That was the beauty of it! The blade's second strike crossed along a previously made cut, causing a little more damage as well! This was gonna be easier than the last boar, now that he had his groove! Relax, let loose! And just swing the sword! The Cardinal System would do the rest! - Health List - <Sotarou> 80/80 HP || 9 MIT || 5 DMG || 2 ACC || 1 EVA || 3/8 NRG (+1) <Han'ei> <Boar> 8/40 HP || 0 MIT || 12 DMG <Boar Charge> Edited May 27, 2019 by Sotarou Link to post Share on other sites
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