[PP-05] <<Butcher of the Sands>>

[Cordelia 0]

Butcher of the Sands, huh? What's with all of these damn quests that have sands in it? I mean, she sort of got it. Sand and desert, nice mix, yada-yada. But seriously? She was pretty sure more than half of the quests on this floor had sand in its name or had something that rhymed with sand.

She sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingers. All this talk about sand was already giving her PTSD. God, if she was going to die because of her damn headache then she's calling BS.

Cordelia hopped off of the teleport pad and almost immediately regretted it. She forgot how much she absolutely hated this floor. The constant sand in her shoes, and stupid heat. She hated it all. This should be illegal. Well, it kind of is illegal but it should be more illegal!

If that made sense.

She was pretty sure it made sense.

Spoiler

LVL: 32 | HP: 640/640 | EN: 64/64 | 13 DMG | 5 MIT | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | 2 KEEN | 4 HLY

INVENTORY: 

☆ T2 Katana | Haunted Verdict: [Cursed] 4 HLY, 4 DMG
☆ T1 Light Armor | Bastille’s Resistance: +2 EVA, +1 PARA VNM
☆ T1 Jewelry | Aura Sensors: +1 EVA, +2 KEEN

BATTLE READY:

[5] Standard Healing Potions [Heals 50 HP]

CONSUMED:
N/A

SKILLS:

☆ R3 Accuracy Familiar Mastery: 3 ACC
☆ Disguise: [Gain +1 EVA until the start of your next turn]
☆ Survival: [Increases out of combat health regeneration to (15 * Tier) per post. Grants immunity to most damage dealing environmental
attacks/effects.]
☆ R1 Curved Sword Skill 
☆ R5 Katana Skill [+7 DMG/+1 BASE]
> FEROCITY MOD: +1 DMG
☆ R1 Hiding Skill: +1 Stealth Rating
☆ R1 Light Armor Skill: 5 MIT

 

[Pinball 1]

The desert was a place that Pinball wasn't especially fond of. With its golden-red sands and scorching sun, the environment was the polar opposite of the floor he most identified with. And the layout of it was a farcry as well. There were no mountains, only hills - tall, warm dunes of sand and towering pillars of rock that cast cool shadows over the surrounding area. Sometimes. 

Pinball hadn't gone the extra mile to disguise himself as Kobold. Just the name was enough, for now. It wasn't very often that people got it in their heads to visit the 5th floor, what with its... unsavory environment. It didn't matter. He could hide easily enough in a place like this. Easily, Pinball could drop to the floor, burying himself in the sand like a rat. But for now, he took to wandering, aimlessly, or looking for something. 

Something, or maybe nothing at all. 

Player Stats: 

Spoiler

Level: 60
Health: 1200 | Energy: 120
DMG: 15 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | BH: 48
 
Skills:
 
Combat skills:
►<<Battle Healing>> [35/50]: Rank 4 - Master
 
Weapon skills:
►<<2H Assault Spear>> [50/50]: Rank 5 - Grandmaster
►<<1H Straight Sword>> [50/50]: Rank 5 - Grandmaster
 
Armor skills:
►N/A
 
Extra skills:
►<<Familiar Mastery: Fighter>> [18/18]: Rank 3 - Grandmaster
►<<Martial Arts>> [0/50]: N/A
►<<Survival>> ~ Active
 
Utility Skills:
►<<Hiding>> [50/50]: Rank 5 - Grandmaster
►<<Extended Mod Limit>> [2/10]: Rank 1 - Novice 
 
Modifiers:
►[Active] <<2H Assault Spear: Ferocity>>: +1 Base DMG
►[Active] <<2H Assault Spear: Finesse>> ~ Rank 3 
►[Active] <<Sneak Attack: Trickster>>
►[Active] <<Hiding: Vanish>> 
►[Active] <<Hiding: Untraceable>> 
►[Active] <<Hiding: Blindside>>
 
Inventory
»[Equipped] [Demonic] Jack’s Hellfire: Burn, Blight, Bleed, Cursed 
»[Equipped] [Perfect] Dragon’s Skin: +3 EVA
»[Equipped] [Perfect] Warrior’s Focus: +3 ACC
 
Battle Ready: 
» [3x] Teleportation Crystal 
» [2x] Greater Curative Potion: +120 HP 
» [5x] Spinach-Artichoke Dip: +2 EVA  
» [5x] Hummus Dip: +2 Acc
» [Demonic 2HAS] Cold Fervor: +2 Freeze, Phase, Cursed

House Buffs:

Spoiler

Housing Buffs: 
“Well Rested”:  -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
“Squeaky Clean”: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
“Filling”: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30
“Relaxed”: Increases HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
“Item Stash”: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot 

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Pinball

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia squinted.

And then she squinted even harder.

Hey. . . She knew that face! 

“So no sitting a boulder this time?” She mused, walking up to the white haired player with a grin. “Look! We’re matching, too!” She beamed, holding up a strand of her own white hair. 

She sighed and slapped her cheeks. “Lord, it’s been forever since I’ve last saw you. . . I was— what level was I again? Whatever, I was low leveled!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air.

”You still got that same depressed face,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “What does it take for you to smile again,” she asked, deadpanning as she held her chin in her palm.

This man clearly needs a girlfriend. He looks like he could just strangle somebody right now. He probably could— but like, still. She wore he looked even more depressed than the last time she saw him.

[Pinball 1]

And his eyes came to rest on something he both had and hadn't wanted to see. It's funny what you get when you just look, isn't it? Very funny. He shook his head as she approached and lowered his gaze slowly. 

"I thought you were blonde," he said blankly. She looked a lot more like a prissy white girl than she did before, and that was saying something. Maybe he'd just forgotten. Maybe he hadn't cared to remember. Whatever the case, she was here now - and that meant something, surely. Did it? 

"I never really asked your level, either, but..." Pinball shrugged. For as stoic as he tried to seem, there was a certain hint of eagerness in his voice that betrayed how glad he was to see another person. There were times when he went days without contact with people - and, though probably for the best, it wasn't easy. But sometimes he went weeks. A month. 

And it hurt. It hurt very, very deeply, on a level Pinball couldn't quite understand. 

What would it take for him to smile again? 

He exhaled sharply and shrugged. 

[Cordelia 0]

“Were is a key word, my friend. I decided to spice up life a little bit. I don’t know though,” she murmured, holding up a strand of her hair in her hand with a small sigh. “I might dye it back to blonde again. . . we’ll see, though.” She wasn’t really sure if she had actually missed her blonde hair, but she felt like white hair juter made her. . . stand out too much?

Maybe unnatural hair colors weren’t her thing.

”I don’t even remember my level last time I saw you. . . but I’m pretty sure I was still tier one. . . pretty sure.”

She looked at him closely. He really hadn’t changed that much from the last time she had seen him, at least from wha she remembered. Y’know, looking at his face right now kinda of reminded her of grumpy cat.

”Anyway, are you here to do another quest? Well, if you aren’t, then you’re helping me with mine, and if you are, you’re still helping me with mine.”

[Pinball 1]

Blonde to a platinum color wasn't that much of a change in the first place - but Pinball wasn't about to openly say that. He wasn't sure how much change she wanted in her life if her idea of "change" could be considered similar to coloring your nails purple instead of its usual red. 

Pinball shook his head, for the third or fourth time. At least it wasn't another shrug. "I'm not doing anything here, really," he said - only to be cut off by the blonde - er, platinum - haired girl. Apparently, he was going to have to carry her through another quest. 

So he sighed, nodded, and put his hands in his pockets, pulling his satchel behind his waist to make room. "Alright. Lead the way." With a typical blandness and a look of regret crossing over him, Pinball would resign himself to his fate. One that, secretly, maybe he enjoyed. 

[Cordelia 0]

“Great, all the more better!” She said excitedly. She was pretty sure he was looking for some kind of boulder to sit in and freak out some passerby.

”Were you trying to find a giant ass rock to sit on again?” She blurted, giving him a childish smile before she shrugged it off. “Well, whatever. It doesn’t really matter anymore. You’re coming with me now!”

“Alright!” She cheered, “Let’s go while we still have time!” She said with a broad smile, pointing to the vast desert.

”Apparently there’s some kinda of arena that we have to find. My sources also told me that I had to bring a person with me or I’ll get kicked out, whatever the hell that means, anyway,” she explained, sniffing as she led him into the vast expanse. “So it must be some miracle that I ran into you, huh?” She asked, laughing to herself.

[Pinball 1]

He listened briefly as she explained what they had to do. But he already understood the task. It was a fighting ring - something that was supposed to be difficult. And truthfully, it probably was difficult - for people under Level 30. Pinball hadn't been under Level 30 for a very long time. 

"I know," he finally admitted, "it shouldn't be far."

It felt like ages ago since he'd done this quest. His heart dropped a bit when he remembered who'd accompanied him. She'd been so confused. Angry. And she was thinking about doing something really stupid - but he hadn't handled it well. He'd threatened her. Threatened to kill her. Told her if she ever saw her name on that monument under anothers' that he'd hunt her down. 

Why, in his sleep-deprived state, had he thought that was going to do anything? There had to have been a more delicate way to convince her. 

Pinball was stupid. So... very... stupid. 

"It's up ahead," the teenager said, tilting his chin in the direction of the ring.  

[Cordelia 0]

She nodded her head. "Alright, this shouldn't be too hard at all then," she sniffed, gesturing over to ring with a small smile.

She unsheathed her katana and stepped in to the ring quietly, looking over her shoulder to see if Kobold was still following her. Her head quickly snapped back in front of her when the ground began to shake violently. "What the fu-" She started, only to be cut off when a massive alligator looking thingie burst from the dry ground, blowing sand in her face. 

Cordelia spit out the sand with a frown and gripped her katana in front of her. "Alright, prepare to die you. . . thing!" She declared, pointing at the mob before she dashed in for an attack. 

Her katana slashed through the thick plated mob's skin almost too easily, and by the time she had finished with her attack, it had already been brought down to half of its original HP. Well, that was a bit too easy.

Spoiler

 

ID: 134648
BD: 5+3=8, Hit
13x15= 195-20= 175 350-175=175

Cordelia: HP: 640/640 | EN: 50/64 | 13 DMG | 5 MIT | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | 2 KEEN | 4 HLY
Kobold: HP: 1200/1200 | EN: 120/120

Sando Satsu: 175/350 | 20 MIT 30 MIT | 100 DMG 150 DMG

 

 

[Pinball 1]

As they got there, Pinball thought to let her know about the way the creature fought. It would come up from the ground suddenly, spinning around like the Tasmanian Devil with something that looked more like a meat cleaver than any respectable sword. 

But he kept his mouth shut. She was probably strong enough to handle herself. Maybe it'd be funnier. 

Funnier? 

When was the last time he'd thought something was funny-? 

He felt a rumble at his feet, and he knew what was coming. Cordelia spared a quick glance at him, and that was probably her first mistake. Turning back to get sprayed by sand was likely her second. Pinball would get dirt in his face too, but he'd also be gifted what would have been a quick cut across the chest, had he not taken a lazy step back. 

The swordsman spared a quick sigh before drawing his sword, launching an arc of crimson energy towards the creature. 

                                                                                                                                          

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Shadow Explosion] [-7 EN/+1 EN] {Well Rested} 
Combat: ID#134649 BD: 3+3= 6 (Hit!) MD: 1 (Crit.Miss) ~ 15*9= 135-30= 105 DMG 

Cordelia: HP: 640/640 | EN: 50/64 | 13 DMG | 5 MIT | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | 2 KEEN | 4 HLY
Kobold: HP: 1200/1200 | EN: 114/120 | 15 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | Burn/Bleed/Blight [9-10/36*2] | 48 BH 

Sando Satsu: 70/350 | 20 MIT 30 MIT | 100 DMG 150 DMG

Edited January 20, 2020 by Pinball

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia frowned, spitting out more sand before she chased after the Sando Satsu again, activating another San Ge from her katana. 

Well, that was pretty easy. The crocodile creature dropped dead on the ground before it eventually fell to the fate that all other things in this world get when their HP gets down to zero. 

"Alright, well that was fun!" Cordelia exclaimed, looking back at Kobold, giving him a thumbs up and a grin. "Though, it was a lot easier than I expected it to be," she mumbled, scratching her chin. "The recommended level is higher than my own. . . but that might be because I brought you with me, huh,"  she uttered quietly before shrugging her shoulders. Whatever, it didn't really matter. She still got a butt ton of EXP from this quest so that's good! She laughed to herself. Soon! Soon she'll catch up with everyone else, they'll see!

Spoiler

 

ID: 134657
BD: 8, Hit

Cordelia: HP: 640/640 | EN: 36/64 | 13 DMG | 5 MIT | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | 2 KEEN | 4 HLY
Kobold: HP: 1200/1200 | EN: 114/120 | 15 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | Burn/Bleed/Blight [9-10/36*2] | 48 BH 

Sando Satsu: 0/350 | 20 MIT 30 MIT | 100 DMG 150 DMG

 

 

[Pinball 1]

Pinball leaned back, steadying the grip he had on his sword. He expected a fight. It was often, really, that he went along with people on quests like these - carried people on quests they weren't totally ready for. It was on his shoulders to ensure their safety - to successfully beat the big bad, and to get them back to safety. It was usually something he did when he held a mutual interest with someone in completing said quest, as seldom as that tended to be. 

So it came as a shock, then, when he wasn't needed to defeat the teenage-mutant-cleaver-lizard. 

A look of mild surprise would register on his face as he stowed his weaopn, tilting his head to the side as Cordelia celebrated. She'd gotten stronger. It shouldn't have been such a startling realization, considering how scarce Pinball had made himself. But here she was, laughing away. 

And all he could do was... watch. 

"You are... mind numbingly optimistic."

[Cordelia 0]

"You are... mind numbingly optimistic."

"Maybe you're just mind numblingly pessimistic," she retorted back, pursing her lips at him before she sighed. "I'm just happy that I'm finally able to catch up with the rest of my friends," she mumbled, shaking her head before she laughed again.

Oscar, Bahr, Lessa. . . she was going to catch up with all of them! None of them even carried her through a quest this time, heck yeah! This was definitely improvement.

She looked back at Kobold and grinned. "Hell, maybe I'll even catch up to you soon!" She exclaimed, metaphorical stars glimmering her eyes as she bounded over to him with a broad smile.  "You never know."

"Anyway!" She chirped abruptly, "it's still pretty brought out, huh?" She muttered, placing her hands on her hips as she looked up at the agonizingly bright sun. Man, she could her retinas being burned away! "What are you going to do now?" She asked, blinking her watery eyes before she turned to Kobold. "Gonna go find another rock to sit on or something?"

[Pinball 1]

"Maybe you're just mind numblingly pessimistic," she'd retort, pursing her lips. Well. Maybe there was some truth to that, Pinball let himself admit, shifting his weight uncomfortably. She'd sigh, adding something about catching up with her friends in level. He'd feel the briefest spark of rage before he smothered it, totally and completely. Without a second thought. 

"Hell, maybe I'll even catch up to you soon!"

Pinball nodded, twisting his lips in what might represent a sort of smile. "You probably will," he said truthfully, "leveling up hasn't really... uh. You know. Been a thing for me lately." 

He'd let that awkward moment hang for a moment, letting her stare into the sun - for some reason - before righting himself with a sharp breath. He'd roll his shoulders, then open his mouth to speak... but would say nothing. Pinball had almost let himself fall onto a dangerous path. Trying to unpack her logic would only make him question his own, and God knew that he had enough to question already. 

"I think I'm going to go somewhere cold, again. Back to the Fourth Floor." 

[Cordelia 0]

"That sucks," she commented bluntly before shrugging her shoulders. 

Cordelia leaned in, seeing that he was about to speak before she frowned. A weird child, this one. She let out a small sigh before she leaned back and crossed her arms. 

"People these days really need to stop being so depressed," she muttered, shaking her head. "Next thing you're going to say is 'oh, I'll go to the tenth floor because it's as dark as my soul,'" she grumbled, her voice probably rising an octave higher than it usually is. "Lighten up a little bit," she pouted, squinting her eyes at him.

"I swear all the depressed kids live on the fourth floor or something. Seriously, what is so special about that floor? I get that it's cold and all but there's plenty of other places that are as equally depressing!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exaggeration. 

"Or maybe that floor holds some kind of importance to you?" She asked, leaning in once more with a childish smile. "What? Did you kill someone there or something?"

[Pinball 1]

Truth be told, he'd never met someone quite as attracted to the Fourth Floor as him. Maybe he'd been hanging out with the wrong people. Or maybe more people had decided to come out of hiding while he was absent. Whatever the case, this was news to him. Either way, her constantly calling him depressed was starting to get annoying. Warranted, but annoying.

He tried his best to take it in stride. 

And then she asked him if he'd killed someone on that floor. Jokingly, of course, but immediately Pinball tensed up. He turned his head to meet hers with a serious look in his eyes, his expression blank and unreadable. 

Pinball said it firmly. The strongest and most confident his voice had ever been when talking to her. He wouldn't lie. And he wouldn't dance around it. His hand found the grip of his sword. Clenched tightly around it. 

"More than one." 

Maybe the orange cursor hovering above his head would carry a bit more weight now. Whatever. He was done talking. 

[Cordelia 0]

Her face held a bit of surprise as he said those words but she would be lying if she said that she didn't expect it. "I see," she murmured, sighing to herself as she rubbed the back of her neck with an unreadable expression. 

Maybe it was just her, but the PKers she's met so far weren't really that bad. First Mari, who admitted she had killed more than one person and now this dude. Course, there were some other PKers she were hesitant about. A cold shiver went down her spine as she remembered the time she had visited the Monument of Life with Bahr and Oscar, and let's just say that day didn't end on a happy note.

Pinball.

She wondered if she would ever meet him. The player who had killed so many people on that wall. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. She couldn't forget the devastation drawn on Bahr's face when he found out about that girl's name crossed out.

She paused, her brows furrowing. "How come I've never seen your name on the Monument of Life then? I've never seen any players murdered by someone called Kobold," She asked, her voice a tad bit lower than it usually was.

Unless. . .

[Pinball 1]

"How come I've never seen your name on the Monument of Life then? I've never seen any players murdered by someone called Kobold."

No, you wouldn't have, Pinball wanted to say, because I haven't been completely honest with you. He frowned. His back had been turned to Cordelia, but now he twisted around to face her. Took a few steps closer, saying nothing. He opened his menu. 

They'd been forced into the same party when they took the quest together, and now Pinball was on a screen listing their usernames. Kobold was listed in bold letters, right below the Party Leader, Cordelia. He tapped that name. It would come up with two options. The first would have a keyboard drawn up, where Pinball could erase and rewrite his name as he pleased. The second was the opposite. Next to his username, there was a red "X," dark and tempting. 

He pressed the "X". 

And his true name was revealed. On Cordelia's screen, his name would appear under hers, currently enlisted in her party, his health and status displayed like anyone else's - except he knew his in particular would have some weight with it. He could see it in her eyes, as if pleading with him, dreading the possibility. 

Standing in front of her was Pinball, the Player Killer. 

[Cordelia 0]

"Pinball!" 

Her eyes widened. 

"Come fight me you coward!"

"We're going to get him. We're going to bring him to justice."

"Hey, listen, we're going to catch the bastard who killed that. . . girl, okay?" 

This was him. The infamous Pinball. The same player who had murdered Kirbs, Bellamy, Roulette-- all of those people. She had a hunch that. . . Kobold, wasn't really who he said he was, but. . . but, she never expected it to be Pinball of all people.

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. She never knew any of his victims personally, but judging by Oscar and Bahr's reactions to Kirbs, she could tell that he had murdered some good people. Possibly innocent people. 

Her expression grew cold as she straightened up. "Bahr and Oscar are looking for you, you know," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm sure a lot of other people are looking for you too. I'm not sure what your motive is," she murmured, her face darkening, "your motive for killing those people or your motive for having to hide yourself to players like me. . ."

She paused. What was she supposed to do? Try to beat the guy who was twice her level? The possible battle between her and whoever the hell this dude was might be inevitable but it definitely wasn't going to be now.

"Just know," she paused, "just know that once I'm stronger, I'll be looking for you. We're going to be looking for you," she muttered, giving him a cold hard glare before walking off in the opposite direction. 

"You're god damn right we are, Cordelia. We've let that hound run free for too long. It's time we put him down."

[Pinball 1]

What had he been expecting? Forgiveness? That was stupid. No, this realization of hers was something he'd seen coming from a mile away. Whether he'd been prepared for the coldness she'd treat him with was another matter entirely. Bahr and Oscar - two names he remembered, one more than the other. 

God, he'd been so stupid. 

And stupid didn't really sum it up, did it? This wasn't just a silly string of mistakes that could be solved with an apology or a promise to get better. He'd played with peoples' lives. Lives he'd snuffed out like candles, and just as easily. All to try and get a point across - to get a point across, as convoluted as it was, in the worst way possible, in the worst state he'd been in since the start of the game. It wasn't like he was all good now, either. He had his moments, still. Where he lost it. He was trying. But that wasn't enough. And it never would be. 

Something had to be done.

Pinball lowered his gaze, but his eyes followed her carefully as she went on her way. 

"I'll be waiting." 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Pinball