[Event - F1 - PP] Sometimes It's Better To Go Unarmed (Baldur)

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

HP: 1760 | EN: 176 | DMG: 17 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 4 |  EVA: -1 | ACH: 0.5 (See Achilles in Skills/Mods for details)

Equipped Gear:

Grand Gauntlets III: +9 Unarmed Damage

Battle Ready:

x1 Grand Chariot III: +81 Mitigation

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

x5 Spider Cider: Heal 90 HP

x3 Diet Soda: Heal 150 HP

x5 Spider Cider: Heal 90 HP

Skills & Mods:

Two-Handed Battle Axe [Rank 5]

One-Handed Assault Spear [Rank 5]

Heavy Armor [Rank 5]:
- Athletics Mod
- Stonewall Mod 

Charge [Rank 5]: Bull Rush Mod

Battle Healing [Rank 5]

Block [Rank 5]: Rampart Mod

Howl: Focused Howl Mod

Parry: Vengeful Riposte Mod

Extended Mod Limit [Rank 3]

Familiar Master: Accurate [Rank 3]

Martial Arts [Rank 5]: Precision Mod

Quick Change

Survival

Disguise

Meditation

Achilles [Rank 5]:
- 50% Damage Reduction (All Incoming Damage after MIT and Rampart/Parry reduction multiplied by 0.5 (Ex. [150 DMG - 50 MIT] /2 ACH = 50)
- Counter and DoT damage is exempt and doubled (Stonewall reduces DoT effects by 25% rounded down)
- Status effects that removes player action last twice as long

Consumed

Funnel Cake (+3 Damage)

"Let's hope this works."

Stepping out once more onto the battlefield Calrex looked outwards at the zombie horde, giving a small sigh as he kept his hands in his jacket pockets. In some ways it felt weird that he was going into battle not fully geared up, but granted the last few battles he had participated in were all floor raids: If he wasn't bringing his best it would most likely be a death wish. This almost seemed like a trifle by comparison, especially since the foes they were facing did not exploit any of the detriments he had discovered related to Achilles. That fact was made more then prominent in the Leivathan battle where he spent a significant amount of time frozen.

"If I can get rid of at least some of these new weaknesses it might help. However this is really going to come down to luck at best. If I can get a hold of one of those stickers...well we'll see..."

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Howl (+2 to Zombies 1-4)

<<Howl>> Activate (8 Energy Used / 168 Remaining)

ID:128574-128577
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 7 (Evasion -1) = 8 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 2: 5 (Evasion -1) = 6 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 3: 6 (Evasion -1) = 7 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 4: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss

Slamming his fists together the light blue swirling aura of his <<Howl>> skill quickly echoed across the dark landscape as immediately four of the more powerful zombies rushed forward. His opening action complete Calrex looked outwards, the creatures closing in as he gave a small sigh. In a way this reminded him of his action during the last Halloween fight he could remember, when his teammates were all being held in the opening of the battle, seemingly saved from potential death from the bluenette's own act of using his tank skill to draw the mobs to him. However, he hadn't expected the mobs to shred through his defenses and his health so quickly back then. At that point Tristan was the main tank and wielder of Achilles, and his "unique ability", if it could be that, was his significant level difference. If it weren't for his massive health pool, he would have likely been dead far sooner than now.

Now, with Tristan's departure and him becoming the second bearer of Achilles, this felt significantly different. Even without any armor he could tell he would most likely survive this opening onslaught, and it was part of his plan, "Alright then, bring it on."

Three of the zombies managed to strike his unmoving form, although one had nearly missed. The fourth somehow managed to miss, stumbling to the ground past him as Calrex kept a stoic face, glancing at his health bar as it dropped. He already knew that his Battle Healing would be kicking in fairly soon, but that wouldn't be what he was after. "I need to consume items and heal up, that's the requirements. Let's see if I can knock this out with one mob..."

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1360/1760 HP | 168/176 EN | 17 DMG | 0 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur had been fighting his own group of zombies on a different area of the first floor when he saw his kouhei run by and engage a different group. WIth a flourishing slash with one of Baldur's lesser sword arts, he ran towards Cal, weaving through zombies until another group sprouted from the ground and blocked his way, forcing the Samurai to deal with them.

"Kobanwa, Cal-kun!"

The samurai ducked under a clumsy grab attempt by a zombie and then spun around behind it before unleashing his next sword art, always leaving just that tiny sliver of annoying HP left.

"I thought I'd see you at the event! Normally you show up for these sorts of things... or at least you seem to when I show up."

The gaijin gave the bluenette a playful smile as he finished off the zombie with a cheap and easy sword art he rarely used. The crimson bands of light following the blade that Calrex's wife, Teayre had given to Baldur for safekeeping and judicious use. The cursed blade had been entrusted to Baldur, as the only one with the character required to use the katana and not be corrupted by its influence.

"How's the wife?"

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Spider Cider Consumed (+90 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 169 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:128834-128837
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss
Zombie 2: 7 (Evasion -1) = 8 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 3: 8 (Evasion -1) = 9 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 4: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss

The familiar voice of his mentor filled his ears for a moment, snapping Calrex out of the focus he was having on the current fight. He glanced over just in time to see Baldur knock away another zombie, one that from the looks of it was not finished off, likely due to their special ability which seemingly keeps them alive even at a single sliver of health, "Nice seeing you too! I don't really come out to the event as much as of late, but I happened to pass an announcement board after doing some training and figured I'd check it out. It's probably more surprising that you're out here."

He put a single arm into his jacket pocket as he pulled a bottle of the event healing cider from his inventory, seemingly not even phased by the two zombies that had swiped at his back while it was turned towards them. The other two that tried to do so narrowly missed, their decayed fingers swiping and only moving some of the ends of his jacket around before stumbling to the ground. Tilting his head back the bluenette quickly downed the carbonated beverage, his health climbing back up to a few points higher than it was a brief moment ago.

"Teayre's been doing alright, but she's kind of been a recluse as of late. I guess she's trying to keep her public presence to a minimum, especially after we found out she has lost Battojutsu. Looks like you're still putting her blade to good use through. How's things been with you?"

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1338/1760 HP | 169/176 EN | 17 DMG | 0 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 1/13
Healing in Thread: 178/360
Healing to Self: 178/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

"I feel bad that I missed the last floor boss fight after everything that happened at the meeting..." Baldur slapped aside the clawing attack of another zombie as he reposted with a small times four sword art that finished off the zombie he had left behind after his last attack, immediately whirling around to shove the blade of his katana in the jaws of another who tried to bite him, dealing no damage but stopping the attack until Baldur could get out of reach..

"But after what Hestia did... everything we had worked for just fell apart. There was so much hopelessness and worthless division, I couldn't muster the will to fight in a mindset like that. So I've taken some time to try and regroup."

He didn't take his eyes away from the fight at hand.

"I still don't know what I plan to do, but since I don't plan to be away forever, I wanted to make sure I didn't fall further and further behind."

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Diet Soda Consumed (+150 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 170 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:128847-128850
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 9 (Evasion -1) = 10 // 250 / 2 = 125 Damage
Zombie 2: 5 (Evasion -1) = 6 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 3: 5 (Evasion -1) = 6 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 4: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss

The zombies seemingly got back into formation, lunging at Calrex once again. This time appeared to be an exception compared to the two previous attempts. One of the zombie actually managed to grab onto Calrex's arm, simulating a bite as the bluenette glanced down, shoving the creature off with a kick to the torso. At the same time two more scratched at him from behind, while the final zombie missed once again. It stumbled past the unarmored player as he reached down and pulled out a diet soda, popping the cap off and guzzling it down, "Ugh...if it weren't for the carbonation this would have been a nasty thing to drink. The artificial sugar flavor was certainly on point with it..."

Tossing the spent glass bottle to the side it vanished into particles as the Ultramarine Knight glanced at his health bar. It was certainly a noticeable chunk that had vanished and was not fully replenished by his combined healing and passive recovery efforts, at least this time around, "If need be I can always don my armor. The massive mitigation boost should shrug off their blows, and Achilles will only help to aid in that."

"Don't feel too bad about missing the last fight. It would have been a rather difficult one regardless of your presence there. I'm sure others have probably already given you new of what happened, but the only remaining players that were present at the end were all of tier three, and even so it felt like there was the chance of losing if the battle pressed on any further. Plus I...well...unfortunately discovered something new that I guess the Cardinal system decided to patch into Achilles in that fight. In fact...I guess you could say that might be part of the reason I'm actually out here, heh."

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1251/1760 HP | 170/176 EN | 17 DMG | 0 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 2/13
Healing in Thread: 416/360
Healing to Self: 416/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur fought off another zombie, seeming to give very little heed to the undead NPC. While the gaijin samurai couldn't be careless, his life was never in any particular danger around these unless he really dropped his guard. He could not be as careless as Calrex, but as long as Baldur was conscious and equipped, then he would not be taken down by these creatures.

"I actually haven't spoken with anyone about how the last boss fight went. I saw that the floor was cleared... I actually was pretty concerned with how long the fight lasted. I wasn't in a position where I could come and help either, though."

The Samurai spun and and attacked as a whirl of orange and blue and crimson light as his form blurred behind the superhuman speed of the sword arts he was using.

"So, how DID the fight go? If you're here grinding for enhancements, I take it that it didn't go well."

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Diet Soda Consumed (+150 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 171 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:128940-128943
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss
Zombie 2: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss
Zombie 3: 6 (Evasion -1) = 7 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 4: 1 (Evasion -1) = 2 // Miss

"Really? Huh, I guess in some ways that makes sense. It's wasn't exactly a high or even middle point for the frontlines, even though we were successful with unlocking the new floor."

As the zombies moved forward once again Calrex gave a small sigh, stepping to the side right as the creatures were about to strike. Since they approached from all sides he intentionally move towards one of the four, catching it by surprise while taking a normal strength blow. The other three stumbled into each other as one was thrown back by the impact, being thrown to the ground. Spinning around to move away from the one undead he had shoved into, the bluenette produced yet another diet soda, his eyes wincing as he quickly downed the fizzy substance within the glass bottle "Ugh...still nasty..."

"There was a lot happening in the fight, but the Leviathan itself had some mechanics that were problematic when things didn't go in our favor. The first itself was that we couldn't attack the actual main body of the creature until one of its three segments was temporarily destroyed. When that happened we had a few moments where the head was targetable until it moved back out of range once again. The segment itself would regenerate and become temporarily incapable of being damaged until the newly spawned mobs were eliminated. Since there were three parties, there were three segments, which ideally should have worked in our favor."

Weaving to the side again as a zombie charged forward Calrex continued, "Unfortunately there were more things to manage and deal with. During most of the fight the environment itself also worked against us, dealing increasingly more damage up to a point while also reducing our accuracy and evasion. At the same time, the boss would regularly fire one of two attacks across the field, one unleashing scalding hot sea water that inflicted Burn and another freezing blast that inflicted Freeze. All of this over time eventually forced the tier two team to escape. Al well some tier three players were also forcefully ejected from the battle, forcing the originally three team raid group down to a slightly larger single party. To add to that..."

He felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head as he continued, "I discovered that apparently at some point between my last training and the boss battle, Cardinal had decided to add a weakness to Achilles that Leviathan's two status infliction attacks could exploit. I think at least half of the time I was frozen was refreshed due to the Freeze effect wearing off right as the boss unleashed the attack again. It felt like it had listened in on all of Mack's old talk of paralocking and applied it."

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1389/1760 HP | 171/176 EN | 17 DMG | 0 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 3/13
Healing in Thread: 654/360
Healing to Self: 654/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur listened to Cal-kun as he relayed to the gaijin samurai the outcome of the previous floor boss battle. Zombies were all around them, but the two of them were talking as if they were grocery shopping. The dissonance between what they were doing and what they were saying was almost comical. WIth another crimson arc of light, Baldur struck out with his blade, impaling and slicing several zombies as he moved deftly among them, avoid their blows as if they moved in slow motion.

"How did everyone perform? I felt like we had almost achieved something good with teamwork on the Dark Elf Council fight, until people started trying to save the enemy. I was hoping to build on that when we had our council meeting... and unfortunately... we know how that ended up."

The loss of Shield, Beat, Hirru, and Anemone were wounds that would take the front line a long time to recover from. If they could recover from them. Anemone and Kataware were people Baldur had scouted out to advance the front line.Where were they at now.

"How do you think this 25th floor will go?"

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Diet Soda Consumed (+150 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 172 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:129309-129312
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 6 (Evasion -1) = 7 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 2: 3 (Evasion -1) = 4 // Miss
Zombie 3: 6 (Evasion -1) = 7 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 4: 2 (Evasion -1) = 3 // Miss

"In terms of performance..."

As Calrex was about to speak he felt two more blows come down on him, the zombies managing to lay another set of attacks into his back as he gave a small sigh, "Last one of these sodas as least."

Producing the last of the diet sodas he had purchased from the concession stand he popped off the cap and quickly down it, seeing his health climb back up from the healing effects of the item working in tandem with his Battle Healing. He already knew he had healed more than enough for the requirement, leaving the only remaining task to be burning through all of the remaining ciders in his battle ready inventory. After that it was cleanup of this mob and returning back to the tent, "Only problem is that these things don't exactly go down when they're supposed to. That enough was clear from when I was working with Zandra and Morg on another group."

"Oddly enough it wasn't the performance of the players this time around that seemed to be the issue, but more preparedness. I don't remember the details given for the Leviathan fight, but the mechanics that were in play I don't recall being given any form of hint for. Burn and Freeze effects on a water-type boss didn't exactly seem common looking back on it, and those two things on top of the constant damage  quickly wore down the teams, forcing retreats. If this were any other fight I believe we should have been done at much safer point, but the length of the battle made things more dire with each passing moment. A lot of the main damage dealers were also getting constantly getting frozen, for some points in the fight we weren't dealing nearly as much to the most important part of the Leviathan as we could have."

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1427/1760 HP | 172/176 EN | 17 DMG | 0 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 4/13
Healing in Thread: 892/360
Healing to Self: 892/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur frowned at Calrex's words, describing the boss fight and its mechanics as being much more intricate than other boss fights, and that players were showing up unprepared for the boss fight. Two things that Shield and he had hoped to over-come in the floor fights going forward. They would need to work together again to gain any sort of momentum, but since Shield, Beat, Hirru, Anemnone, and he had been chased off after the stunt Hestia pulled, that would be tough to bring back together. The front line carried wounds for a long time.The grudges very rarely healed until the players who held them perished.

They were writing out their own story, and it would be up to them if it would have a happy ending or not.

Baldur batted aside a few zombie strikes, not even bothering to counter attack at this point.

"What are your plans going forward on floor 50?"

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Equipped Grand Chariot III

Stat Change:
MIT: 0 > 126
DMG: 17 > 18
HP: 1760 > 1850

(1 Energy Recovered / 173 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:129779-129782
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 7 (Evasion -1) = 8 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 2: 2 (Evasion -1) = 3 // Miss
Zombie 3: 6 (Evasion -1) = 7 // 200 / 2 = 100 Damage
Zombie 4: 9 (Evasion -1) = 10 // 250 / 2 = 125 Damage

A series of heavy blows hit their mark as Calrex watched his health drop once again, further than the combination of items and Battle Healing would be able to compensate for, "Still not too bad, but I'd better start playing it safe now."

Spreading his arms apart to his sides his avatar flashed white for a moment before the familiar dark blue armor of the Grand Chariot III encapsulated his form, his raid level armor now hiding whatever was previously visible beneath. Seeing almost all of his stats rocket up to their usual levels the bluenette gave a small sigh before looking onwards at the four zombies still engaged with striking at him, all the meanwhile listening for when Baldur spoke. This time the western samurai gave only one question, once that gave the Ultramarine Knight pause for a moment. "Floor 50? Geeze looking at it now that's a really long time, heh..."

"Forward on? Guess that's kind of tough to say. I'm not exactly a contributor in the frontlines meetings, as I'm sure you're probably already aware. That's definitely dwindled since I first started participating in the floor raids. With the number of floors we've been through, I guess I've kind of just slipped into a kind of routine. Outside of the battles I'm usually just relaxing at the Amethyst Boutique, occasionally stepping out so I don't go stir-crazy."

"Thinking about it now it might be the only real reason I'm still regularly showing up to the raids is because there's no one else that can bear so much tanking damage as I can, or at least be the most flexible for unexpected situations. Shield and Hestia certainly are ones that can handle dedicated tank roles, but even they don't have a scaling level of defense like Achilles does for me. From what I know there haven't even been any rumors of other skills showing up again. No mention of Dual Blades, Berserker, Battojutsu or even the Darkness Blade. The only people possessing the skills are Hik and I, and should either of us lose ours those things are probably going to remain undiscoverable for quite some time."

"I guess I haven't really given it much thought. I mostly figure that I'll have to be at the raids regardless, so the most I can really do is keep myself prepared for whatever gets thrown at us. What about you?"

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1102/1850 HP | 173/176 EN | 18 DMG | 126 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 4/13
Healing in Thread: 980/360
Healing to Self: 980/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

"Sorry, I miss spoke. I meant this floor. Floor 25. I haven't heard much from the front... Not that I've been listening for much need other than checking the Wall of Life. But I've heard something about the entire floor being a maze."

Baldur struck down a group of zombies with a charged up Area of effect attack, Amatsu no Himura, and then looked over at his Kouhei, the highest level player in Sword Art Online, the strongest player, the Ultramarine knight, Cal-kun.

"Have you been up there yet? Are they still searching?"

Baldur had to admit he was curious, but he wasn't sure he was ready to reemerge yet. The gaijin samurai still had a lot on his mind, and he would need to reforge bonds first. Before he could trust anyone on the front but Cal.

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Spider Cider Consumed (+90 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 173 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:129788-129791
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 1 (Evasion -1) = 2 // Miss
Zombie 2: 9 (Evasion -1) = 10 // 250 - 126 / 2 = 62 Damage
Zombie 3: 3 (Evasion -1) = 4 // Miss
Zombie 4: 2 (Evasion -1) = 3 // Miss

"From what I know, the search for the next floor boss room is still ongoing. I'm not exactly sure who's running the search this time, but I guess that's not too unusual, given what I've been up to as of late. From what I remember of the past searches though, I wouldn't be too surprised if it'll be discovered shortly. Once that happens, it'll be business as usual up into the actual fight."

With his now armor-clad body, the zombies were no longer able to inflict as serious a series of blows as before. Unusually they might have also hesitated this time around, as three clear missed their marks. One was able to land a critical hit, but with the dark blue chestplate now protecting him alongside the Achilles unique skill the attack dealt even less damage than before. Consuming a cider from his battle-ready pouches, the bluenette could see his health now starting to beat out the damage and climb up further, his expanded health bar giving the amount he still had to go to become fully healed.

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1218/1850 HP | 173/176 EN | 18 DMG | 126 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 5/13
Healing in Thread: 1158/360
Healing to Self: 1158/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

"It seems to me that we still have the problem we spoke of before at the meeting. A lack of organization, and people coming unprepared to the floor boss strategy meeting. At this point, I have given up trying to corral that circus... "

The gaijin samurai gave a world weary, heavy sigh as he watched zombies attempt to maul his apprentice.

"I just don't know who is left to try and build anything with. The only people I have faith in on the front are you and Jomei. I don't know that there is anyone else who is reliable enough to attempt to build a strategy of organization around. The guild Shield and I were building was really the last hope."

Baldur whipped his katana around and sheathed it before crossing his arms, deep in thought while zombies chasing NPC villages and attacking other players as part of the event surrounded them.

"What do you think of the other raiders? Any newbies?"

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Spider Cider Consumed (+90 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 174 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:129822-129825
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss
Zombie 2: 5 (Evasion -1) = 6 // 200 - 126 / 2 = 37 Damage
Zombie 3: 2 (Evasion -1) = 3 // Miss
Zombie 4: 7 (Evasion -1) = 8 // 200 - 126 / 2 = 37 Damage

"Newbies...hm...none that I don't believe you're already aware of. The participants of the last fight were people that showed up to the planning meeting, if not regular returning veterans. Interestingly enough Ariel made an appearance at the fight, but for some reason she didn't take any actions after the first few rotations and was ejected from the fight. A few other veterans had the same issue, with Zandra also having the same done to her."

Two minor blows made contact with his form as Calrex consumed another spider cider, his combined healing now far outpacing the incoming damage. His health climbed once again, "Grand Chariot appears to be handling the potential critical hits these creatures are scoring, but normal blows are being reduced to minimal. Hopefully I won't heal all the way back up and be unable to burn through my healing items."

"After all the battle we've been through, I think the main consensus I've always seen has remained the same. I'm sure you've probably heard me say it before as well: The people that participate in these floor raids are doing it for various reasons, as reasonable or as vain as they can be. Even the military spends months to years in training solely on team cohesion, so a handful of us trying to accomplish the same is...well...difficult to put it lightly. Plus with the history of guilds, especially raid-level guilds, being the way they have been in the past, I'm sure some are still averse to the idea. The wiser ones of us will do what we can, trying to keep the others safe, but I think I'm also with you at this point. It's pointless trying to keep speaking to people that don't want to listen, even if it might put their lives in danger."

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1322/1850 HP | 174/176 EN | 18 DMG | 126 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 6/13
Healing in Thread: 1336/360
Healing to Self: 1336/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur can only nod his head in agreement with his kouhei's observation. It had been part of a length conversation Baldur had had with Shield, and another one with his counsel of tanks. They had had such auspicious goals. Fully funding a raid so that people came into the battles prepared for what was to come... a life and death battle.

"It is still a major blow to my motivation what happened at the last floor boss strategy meeting. I really don't see a way to move forward from that." The frown grew on Baldurs face. He was never a defeatist. He always had a plan and a hope for the future, but now... now what would they do?

This could be the floor boss that ended them. That broke the back of the frontline from which it could never recover.

"I really hope that doesn't happen..." Baldur lamented accidentally out loud.

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Spider Cider Consumed (+90 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 175 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:129838-129841
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 8 (Evasion -1) = 9 // 200 - 126 / 2 = 37 Damage
Zombie 2: 2 (Evasion -1) = 3 // Miss
Zombie 3: 4 (Evasion -1) = 5 // Miss
Zombie 4: 5 (Evasion -1) = 6 // 200 - 126 / 2 = 37 Damage

Calrex remained silent out of respect as Baldur voiced his own concerns and frustrations as of the recent events. Even though he had only been the Western samurai's student for a fairly short period of time, they had been comrades and friends for long enough the bluenette could tell an obvious thing: The older man was invested in his efforts and genuinely cared about the people that were voluntary participating in the frontlines. Many experiences to some level had hardened him to the erratic decisions of the other participants, made very apparent during the Dark Elf Council battle. While he had decided to still respect Hirru's wish to protect the youngest of the floor boss group, the Ultramarine Knight nonetheless still pressed the advance on the other remaining enemies. In some ways it was similar to the embodiment of the deep-sea colors he was known for: If you drop a rock into the sea, the waters will flow around it. Just because an obstacle appears didn't mean that one had to stop.

Two more light blows tapped against his armor as the bluenette consumed yet another spider cider, tossing the bottle to the side, "Moving forward is inevitable, no matter what either of us say. As much as we want to keep everyone that participates safe, there is just as strong a desire to move through the floors, no matter what potential risk. Ever since the Azure Brigade was the main raid planners, there's always been the idea that no matter what preparations we make, whatever AI is running this game will eventually find something that will blindside us. We were having it easy in the past with so many unique skill users being in the raids, and we were set back before. From my perspective this is no different."

With a small sigh he crossed his arms, glancing to his sides as the two zombies that missed this round stumbled past him, "If the past is any indicator of what will happen in the future, then for sure we'll regain our pace again. It may take some time, but it is inevitable as long as we have enough of a desire to escape this game. I don't know what others will do, but I do know what I intend to do for sure. I'll keep showing up to take the next step forward, and try to lead by example with my actions more than any words that I say. After all, even a faint beacon in the fog is more welcome than none, right?"

"Maybe in the end, my main motivation has never been some lofty goal. It's been tackling the challenge in front of me each time, facing them head on and pushing past. If that happens to inspire others to follow in stride, then great, but it wasn't the goal, just a side-effect."

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1426/1850 HP | 175/176 EN | 18 DMG | 126 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 7/13
Healing in Thread: 1514/360
Healing to Self: 1514/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur listened to his kouheis words, and they were wise. No one in the entire front line had been to as many boss battles as Calrex had. He had been a tank for many of them, and had bled more than anyone else had without making the ultimate sacrifice. Cal had seen more ups and downs of the fights than anyone else, and still he always showed up to the fight. Baldur could not say as much.

"You have the truth of it Cal, but if the line up has not changed, then we still have a numbers problem. Perhaps if we had an elite team fulled equipped we might be able to have the energy to take on a boss, but we barely had enough for 3 teams, and struggled for 2 good ones. We need people, and I'm afraid that the front lines just aren't being refreshed at a rate that we can keep up with the attrition that front lines has on our spirit."

[Calrex 0]

Spoiler

Allied Actions:
Spider Cider Consumed (+90 HP)

(1 Energy Recovered / 175 Remaining)
+88 Battle Healing

ID:129967-129970
Enemy Attacks (Using MD):
Zombie 1: 6 (Evasion -1) = 7 // 200 - 126 / 2 = 37 Damage
Zombie 2: 3 (Evasion -1) = 4 // Miss
Zombie 3: 7 (Evasion -1) = 8 // 200 - 126 / 2 = 37 Damage
Zombie 4: 2 (Evasion -1) = 2 // Miss

"Yeah, you wouldn't be wrong on that point. There's been more people leaving the frontlines than there have been people remaining or joining. That can be a sign for good or bad reasons, depending on how you decide to spin it. It may be that no one has been as of yet considered ready to safely participate, and being aware of that they are only focusing on growing stronger. The people that do stay are of high enough level and equipment, or for a rare few it may be out of foolishness, but that's about all I can guess."

With a casual sidestep Calrex avoided two zombies while another two scratched their cracked nails against his armor, a brief metallic screech piercing the battlefield. The bluenette pulled out and consumed yet another spider cider, checking what remained in his battle-ready inventory, "Only five left, maybe if I get lucky I can just walk away from this without needing to actually defeat the zombies..."

"At this point, I'd say we're better off playing the waiting game for a while. After all the player base really only has two options: Show up to the raids and help get through the floors, or start making comfy with the fact they'll remain in the game until someone pulls the plug. Not sure how many people have already chosen the latter, but I've got a hunch that there's still more than enough people that still desire to escape this game, and it's those people we can hedge our bets on."

Spoiler

Allies:
Calrex: 1530/1850 HP | 176/176 EN | 18 DMG | 126 MIT | 4 ACC | -1 EVA | 0.5 ACH | 88 BH

Enemies:
(H: 2) Zombie 1: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 2: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 3: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow
(H: 2) Zombie 4: 400/400 HP | 200/250 DMG | 75 MIT | Requires 15 LD for final blow

Spoiler

Awards Tracking:

Items Consumed: 8/13
Healing in Thread: 1692/360
Healing to Self: 1692/450

@Baldur

[Baldur 0]

"There is definitely something to be said for being deliberate with our progress. Gather resources, craft supplies, strategize, and progress in a measured fashion. It's the only way. But right now, we also need to look backwards at those who are racing to catch up with the frontline."

Baldur thought back to the two he had tried to help, Kataware and Haz, two rising tanks, and Anemone a healer that they had corralled into joining them. But they had lost Shield, and Beat, and Hirru and himself, and the four of them could not so easily be replaced. Especially the tag team of Shield and Beat. Not just their combat presence, but Shield's capacity as a supplymaster. That was neither a role Baldur could, nor wanted, to fill.

"I still want to try and help the up coming players somehow, but I don't have the resources or the mental energy. It takes a village to raise a frontliner."