F24/SP <<Raging Rhino>>

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar - Lvl 44
900 HP
88 Energy
4 Accuracy (+1 Weapon +1 Precision +2 Food)
5 Evasion (+2 Food)
21 Base Damage - (1 Base +7 Skill +1 Ferocity +6 Familiar +1 Athletics +3 Potion +2 Food)
64 Mitigation - ( +1 Mit Slot Terra Firma Scale + 27 MIT Sand Armor Potion) 

Items
Chaos Eater ............ // Bleed, Bleed, ACC
Librarium Overcoat ................. // +3 EVA
Plated Azure Tights ............... // +36 MIT, +3 Recovery

Leeroy & Jenkins - Familiar ............. // +3*Tier DMG

Battle Ready Inventory
Teleportation Crystal .............. // 
3 Healing Potions   ............ // +30 HP Recovery
3 Healing Potion of Healing Healingness ............ // T2 HP Recovery
Empty Inventory Slot ............. // 
Empty inventory slot ............ //
Empty inventory slot ............ //

Buffs
Rested ........................... // -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat.
Filling .......................... // Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed .......................... // Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

Skills
2HBA                      | Rank 5: +8 Damage
Light Armor                | Rank 3: +12 Damage Mitigation
Concentration                   | +1 to your BD (3 turn cooldown)
Survival                   | Heal 15*Tier HP when out of battle
Parry                        | 2-turn CD, 5 EN Half damage of next attack and remove Stun/Paralysis effects

Skill Mods
Ferocity                   | Increases Base Damage by 1
Athletics                  | Increases Base Damage by 1, Max HP by 10*tier
Precision                 | Increases Accuracy by 1
Justified Riposte      | Successful Parries Stun Opponent

The last one.

This was it. The last boss he would challenge on his own. Or, rather, the last boss that had a chance of killing him that he would fight on his own. Oscar had something to prove today. Not that he could kill the creature. But that he could keep himself under control. He'd found recently that there were other ways of finding what he was missing other than the thrill of combat. That being said, he wasn't about to go face this creature without any buffs. In fact, he wasn't going to do it without a full compliment of buffs. He rather hated how Protein bit into his Mitigation stat, but he evened that out with the Sand Armor Potion that he had been saving from when he fought the Sand Shark. He then consumed the Terra Firma scale that he had gained from defeating... well... Terra Firma. On top of those, he consumed hot dogs of assorted buffs and solidness. These would be a godsend during the fight with the Rhino. Before he headed out, Oscar trained at his Mega Slime Farm. Assuming he didn't die, he would appreciate the small bump of SP that came from exterminating the slimes.

LIQUID CHILI DOG CONSUMED [+3 DMG]
IMAGINE IF AZRAEL WAS A HOT DOG CONSUMED [+2 DMG - 20 MIT]
TERRA FIRMA SCALE CONSUMED [+1 MIT SLOT]
SAND ARMOR POTION [+27 MIT]
FOCUSED DOG CONSUMED [+2 ACC]
EVASION DOG CONSUMED [+2 EVA]
MEGA SLIME FARM USED +2 SP TO THREAD NEXT USE 2/8/2020

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 630/900 HP | 75/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

Screw Dimension [x13] to Piasuhōn ID: 133984 BD7+4-2 Deal 223 DMG

Piasuhōn 877/1100 HP | 300 DMG | 50 MIT | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | ID: 133986 MD10 Deal 270 DMG

Oscar had an ulterior motive for taking on this quest. Outside of the arena, those that had successfully slain the creature within were recorded on a small plaque at the entrance. It was the only way he could think of for putting a feeler out for finding Tyson. Wherever the kid was, he hoped he was well. More than that, he hoped that if Tyson ever made his way here that he would see Oscar's name and would attempt to seek him out. He stopped just in front of the coliseum and gazed up at the plaque. Perhaps Tyson had also slain the creature? But a quick scan of the plaque told him otherwise. A small hope, but it hurt to have it dashed nonetheless. He let out a heavy sigh and stepped over the threshold.

"Yo! You here to fight Piasuhōn?"

Oscar's attention was pulled to a grizzled man standing behind the counter. The NPC was adorned with myriad scars from previous battles. He had an eye patch resting atop a long, jagged scar underneath. Getting your eye cut out. Damn. That has to suck. Oscar nodded in the affirmative to the NPC's question. At that response, Oscar was pointed to a dark tunnel. He made a prompt right face and strode forward, throwing his left hand out in a polite wave to the NPC. At the end of the tunnel there was the glimmer of light. This must have been the way for challengers to enter the arena. Oscar continued on the path until the light was all that filled his vision. As his eyes adjusted, he looked out over the empty expanse. High above him NPCs were cheering at the presence of a new challenger. Directly opposite him was a set of wrought-iron bars that kept whatever was inside sealed in.

Oscar stepped forward and, as he did, the creature came roaring out of the gate. Its mighty horn dashed the iron bars to bits. Indeed, that which was meant to keep the creature sealed in did little to stop the Rhino's rampage. Quick as a flash, Chaos Eater was off of Oscar back and in his hands. Clearly there wouldn't be any quarter given to him now. Oscar waited for Piasuhōn to get closer. When it came to charging, somehow Oscar figured that he wouldn't be able to beat two tons of bone and muscle. He'd need to be wily, use his evasion to his benefit. At the last moment, Oscar sidestepped Piasuhōn. Chaos Eater hooked over its horn, pulling Oscar along for the ride. 

Using the sudden lurch of momentum, Oscar spun around the Rhino's horn and landed on the creature's back as if it were nothing more than a very angry horse. Oscar's presence upon it sent Piasuhōn into a frenzy and it tried to violently buck him from its back. Oscar held on just long enough to deliver a powerful Screw Dimension to the back of the creature's head. At the same moment, Oscar was flung backwards where he was caught by a kick from Piasuhōn's hind legs. His health bar tanked but he managed to land on his feet. Round one had been interesting to say the least. It was time to see what Round Two was made of.

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 630/900 HP | 62/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

Screw Dimension [x13] to Piasuhōn ID: 133987 BD6+4-2 Deal 223 DMG

Piasuhōn 654/1100 HP | 300 DMG | 50 MIT | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | ID: 133988 MD4+2-5 Miss

Recovering from the nasty kick he received, Oscar saw that Piasuhōn had its back turned to him. A perfect opportunity to land some free damage. But Oscar didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those kicks again. So he rushed forward, timing his trajectory to place him at the Rhino's flank is it turned around. A second Screw Dimension found its mark. Chaos Eater carved through the beast's flank, taking another healthy chunk out of its health bar. Piasuhōn did not respond favorably to being attacked and tried to throw its head back in an effort to gore Oscar with its horn. But Oscar was able to hop back, well out of the way of the creature's horn. The crowd gasped at his maneuver. Even though Piasuhōn was a beast, a beast doesn't live this long in an arena without having some cunning. Perhaps they were accustomed to people falling for that trap and thus meeting their end at the tip of its horn. Ultimately, it didn't matter. Oscar had no intention of taking any further hits from the creature, no matter how smart it was.

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 630/900 HP | 60/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

Screw Dimension [x13] to Piasuhōn ID: 133989 BD3+4-2 Miss

Piasuhōn 654/1100 HP | 300 DMG | 50 MIT | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | ID: 133990 MD7+2-5 Miss

Piasuhōn wheeled around and Oscar dashed in the opposite direction. The exact wrong place to be during the fight was right in front of the creature with a massive horn. As he danced around the Rhino, he attempted to deliver another Screw Dimension to the creature. Unfortunately, given that they were both moving around, struggling to get a clear shot on one another, Oscar missed. Thankfully, so did Piasuhōn. Oscar didn't think he could withstand more than one more hit before he was too close to getting himself killed. The entire point of taking on this quest without help was to prove to himself that he could enjoy the game without necessarily needing to chase the high that came with almost getting killed. So far, he was right. He was actually having fun trying to outmaneuver and outwit the beast in front of him. If only it wasn't such a damage sponge.

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 630/900 HP | 47/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

Screw Dimension [x13] to Piasuhōn ID: 133991 BD5+4-2 Deal 224 DMG

Piasuhōn 430/1100 HP | 400 DMG | 50 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | ID: 133992 MD4+1-5 Miss

Oscar managed to land a clean hit on Piasuhōn as the creature whiffed its previous attack. He took a hefty chunk out of the creature's health bar. But in so doing, he seemed to have triggered something in Piasuhōn. The Rhino's eyes flashed with rage and it lashed out at Oscar violently. Where it was holding itself back, trying to get a clean hit on Oscar, it had thrown all of that to the side. It rushed at Oscar, missed and then wheeled around. Then it charged again. Piasuhōn was in an absolute frenzy. Oscar had to be on his toes. One misstep and the enraged rhino would be goring him against a well. He wondered if this was why the quest was called <<Raging Rhino>>. Would have been nice to know this thing would suddenly take a bump of coke and absolutely lose its crap. But, then again, it probably wouldn't have changed much of anything. He'd still be here either way.

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 630/900 HP | 45/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

Screw Dimension [x13] to Piasuhōn ID: 133993 BD3+4-2 Miss

Piasuhōn 430/1100 HP | 400 DMG | 50 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | ID: 133994 MD4+1-5 Miss

With Piasuhōn raging as hard as it was, Oscar couldn't really get a clear hit on the creature. Thus, when he tried to score a hit with Screw Dimension, he completely whiffed his attack. He swore under his breath as he spun out of the way of the Rhino. The crowd above was losing their minds. It was a treat for them to see Piasuhōn so hard-pressed. And as hard-pressed as the Rhino was, Oscar had it even harder. If he wasn't dodging, he was getting ready to. The beast was moving so quickly that he was having trouble keeping it in his line of sight. He knew that if he lost the creature that such a misstep would be promptly met by a giant Rhino horn in the gut. He was beginning to wonder whether he should use Concentration to give him a bit more of an edge at least for one round. He'd keep that in his back pocket for the time being. If he could beat the creature without using the skill, he would feel much more satisfied by the fight.

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 630/900 HP | 32/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

Screw Dimension [x13] to Piasuhōn ID: 133995 BD4+4-2 Deal 224 DMG

Piasuhōn 206/1100 HP | 400 DMG | 50 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | ID: 133996 MD3+1-5 Miss

Oscar kept Piasuhōn at bay. He felt like a matador. Dipping and dodging. Spinning first to the right, then to the left. He had found his tempo and was dancing along to the beat with Piasuhōn. He wasn't having so much trouble keeping track of the deceptively swift hulking beast. And because he was in the groove, he was able to feel the opening coming up. One charge dodged. Then two. Then three. Then Piasuhōn stumbled for just a second, delaying the fourth charge for the briefest of moments. Just the opening Oscar was waiting for. Chaos Eater bit into the creature's hide, dealing a hefty chunk of damage. Piasuhōn roared in rage and tried in vain to gore its attacker. But just like the other attacks, Oscar was well away when it wheeled its horn around in an effort to penetrate Oscar's body. It charged again, but Oscar didn't miss a beat. He dodged quickly and easily. He would decide this fight with his next hit.

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 630/900 HP | 32/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

Screw Dimension [x13] to Piasuhōn ID: 133995 BD7+4-2 Deal 224 DMG

Piasuhōn 0/1100 HP | 400 DMG | 50 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA |

With one blow left to deliver, Oscar decided to get just a little greedy. He waited for Piasuhōn to charge past him and then did a repeat of his first attack. Chaos Eater hooked itself to the Rhino's horn. Oscar was lifted off of his feet as the Rhino charged past him. He landed on the creature's back and before it could begin to buck him off, drove the blade of his axe squarely into the back of Piasuhōn's skull. The beast fell prone to the ground, cracks spiderwebbing across its form. As Oscar hopped off and wrenched is axe from the Rhino's body, Piasuhōn shattered like glass. Oscar was victorious. He placed his hands on his knees, gasping for air. He didn't expect this fight to take as much out of him as it did. Slowly, his breath returned. He rose to his full height and looked back to where Piasuhōn had lain defeated. Then, he faced the crowd and raised Chaos Eater high into the air, letting out a cry of victory.

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar 680/900 HP | 33/88 EN | 21 DMG | 64 MIT | 4 ACC | 5 EVA | 24 BLD

The crowd sat in stunned silence for a moment. After all, not many people took on the Rhino one-on-one. And even fewer players were successful in defeating it. He was beginning to wonder whether or not he had earned the ire of the grizzled arena spectators. That thought was immediately dashed as the crowd roared to life, cheers raining down upon him from on high. Oscar looked around, the cheers of the crowd causing his chest to swell with pride. After a beat, Oscar turned on his heels and left through the tunnel he'd come in from. In the darkness of the tunnel, with the cheers fading in the background, Oscar had the opportunity to look inward. His health bar was over half full. The Rhino hadn't even put him in danger. Despite that, Oscar had enjoyed himself immensely. Progress. He didn't have to be knocking on death's door to actually enjoy a fight. It just needed to engage him. Only a handful of bosses he'd fought had been so engaging.

[Oscar 0]

As he left, Oscar waved to the man at the front desk. The man looked at him in stunned silence, completely gobsmacked that a single combatant had lain the Raging Rhino low. As he left, his eyes flicked over to the plaque above the door. There, at the end, was Oscar's name. He smiled. Everything was falling into place. But given that his goal for the day had been met, Oscar wondered how he should spend the rest of it. Perhaps down on Floor One? He had errands to run there. He hadn't stopped by the orphanage in quite some time, nor had he even darkened the doorstep of his shop. He felt a little guilty that he hadn't been around for quite some time. But there was no time like the present to try and fix that. So off Oscar went, heading for the Teleportation Platform. Without even realizing it, as he walked, Oscar found himself whistling a tune to himself as he walked.

[Oscar 0]

Oscar stepped onto the Platform and disappeared from Floor 24 in a flash of white light. He reappeared on Floor One. He was greeted by many familiar faces. For some reason, people looked absolutely terrified that he was there. After all, he almost single-handedly fed most of the people who resided on this floor. It was strange, but Oscar didn't think much of it. As he headed for his shop, he couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him. He took a longer route through the winding streets. Because of this, he was able to clock a pair tailing him. They were just far enough back to not arouse too much suspicion. But the fact they they wouldn't get any closer or father away did become suspect. So, instead of heading straight for his shop, he made a pit stop by the Crusty Bahrnacle. Oscar wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on, but 2 on 1 weren't exactly good odds.

"Hey Bahr, you here?"

[Oscar 0]

He almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bahr at the front counter instead of working in the back for a change. He approached the counter and leaned against it. As he did, he saw the shadows shift as the two guys tailing him stepped in front of the shop. He didn't dare turn around. Right now, they didn't know he had made them. He wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.

"Hey Oscar. Where you been?"

"Oh you know. Around. Been busy moving Cordelia into my place. We finally got together." As he spoke, Oscar's hand wandered to one of the order forms. He placed the form in front of him, positioning it so the people outside the shop couldn't see it for his back being in the way. He picked up a pen and started writing.

"Hey congratulations man. I'm happy for you. What brings you here today?"

"Well I'm almost Tier 3, so I figured it was about time I came and got some new gear from you. Here you go."

[Oscar 0]

Quote

Two guys have been tailing me since I arrived on the floor. They're right outside the shop. It's kinda weird.

Bahr looked down at the words hastily scrawled on the form. His brow furrowed and he looked up, giving Oscar a thousand-yard stare. He saw the pair leaning against his shop, flanking the large window at the front. His focus then shifted to Oscar and he nodded. "I got you covered. But you owe me lunch. Let's head next door and grab a bite and then I'll get to work."

Oscar nodded and together the two of them headed out onto the street. Oscar took point and stepped out first. No sooner than he had cleared the door, the pair of men seized him, each one of them restraining one of his arms. Oscar struggled in vain for a moment. But in the next instant, Bahr had decked one of them across the jaw, forcing the man to release Oscar as he staggered backward. This freed up Oscar's right arm, which he immediately used to catch the man still clinging to him in the temple with a a right cross. Stunned, the man dropped Oscar and stumbled backwards. Clearly, they hadn't been expecting Oscar to have backup.

Bahr cracked his knuckles and stepped up to Oscar's side. "I got the one on the left."

[Oscar 0]

Oscar took a step towards the man on the right. He was still a bit dazed from the hit to the temple Oscar had given him earlier. Both men wore dark cloaks with hoods that covered their faces. They had no really striking features. Except for one. Both of them had Orange Cursors. Noticing this gave Oscar pause. What had he done to piss off a pair of Player-Killers? There was that group that he'd crossed paths with a couple months ago, but that had mostly handled itself. As far as he could tell, the group that had been killed didn't have any further connections beyond themselves. He one Bahr had struck pointed directly at Oscar.

"We got a message from the boss for you! He says he's going to make you suffer. He's gonna make you watch him destroy everything and everyone you care about."

And like that, the pair disappeared. Oscar ran forward and scanned the area. He couldn't find a trace. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Stealth. [censored]."

[Oscar 0]

"So why am I going to be destroyed Oscar?"

Oscar turned back to Bahr, who at this point was leaning against the doorframe to his shop with both arms crossed. Oscar's eyes went wide as he shook his head and shrugged. "I have no clue man. I'm not even sure that these guys have the right guy." That being said, Oscar was the only "Oscar" in the entirety of Aincrad. Screen names were unique to the character. So someone he'd never even met clearly had a hate boner for him for reasons he was currently ignorant of. He sighed heavily. He had more important things to worry about than some mysterious stranger with a vendetta. Everything and everyone he cared about was a wide net. "I never did respond to threats well though. I still owe you lunch." Bahr nodded and headed for the door to Oscar's shop. When he opened the door, his eyes went wide with surprise. He took a step back and turned to Oscar.

"I'm pretty sure they have the right guy. You might want to look at this."

[Oscar 0]

So his shop was trashed. Trashed might actually be a light term for it. All of his equipment was destroyed. His tables were pulverized. His chairs had been dashed against the wall. This must have happened when Bahr was away because he couldn't possibly imagine that the Bloodedge's attention wouldn't have been earned from the sheer amount of noise such destruction must have taken. His walls and floors were scrawled with obscene phrases and body parts. Whoever had trashed his shop hadn't been looking for anything. They just wanted to wreck up the place. Oscar's anger had reached a point where he physically could not express it. He just wordlessly began picking up the shards of glass and splintered wood. "I think we're gonna have to take a rain check on lunch until I can clean this up." His voice was low and monotone. Completely devoid of emotion. Bahr didn't say anything in response. He merely bent down and started helping Oscar pick up the pieces.

[Oscar 0]

They worked without a word for most of the evening. In fact, they weren't done scraping the last of the graffiti from the walls until the sun had come back up in the morning. With no small amount of vanity crafting, Oscar was able to get his shop up and running again. He place the last chair next to a table and finally sat down. His rage had subsided somewhat thanks to the manual labor. But it didn't change the fact that he just didn't know what was going on. Who could he possibly have angered to such a degree. Bahr sat down opposite him and kicked his feet up on the table while leaning back slightly in his chair.

"Any ideas yet?"

Oscar shook his head. He had nothing. Bahr tossed an object on the table. It clattered onto the wooden surface and came to a rest. Oscar looked down at it, and shook his head. "You have got to be kidding me."

[Oscar 0]

The object Bahr had placed on the table was a small sculpture of a building. It wouldn't mean much of anything to anyone else. Except Oscar. It was, in fact, the building that he worked out of for most of his career. The building where he did most of his social work. "What is that kid doing hanging out with Player-Killers?"

"What kid?" Bahr asked.

Oscar picked up the sculpture and pointed to one of the windows at the front of the building. "That was my office in the real world. This building is the Department of Social Services in Boston, Massachusetts. There's only one person in this game who would know that. Tyson."

"Tyson? The kid you thought you got killed? Are you serious?" 

"Yep," Oscar replied flatly. 

[Oscar 0]

"Back it up for me, Oscar. You're telling me that this kid you thought died two years ago has some sort of grudge against you? Why?"

Oscar shrugged. He had his suspicions, but he wasn't about to psychoanalyze the kid. He'd never imagined that Tyson could be capable of something like this. Wait. Yes, yes he did. The kid was absolutely brilliant. Frighteningly intelligent and infinitely vindictive. He was certainly capable, but had never been willing to cross that line. At least as far as Oscar could tell. He'd had certain facets of sociopathy floating around, but he was a teen. Teens were basically tiny sociopaths. "If I had to take a stab at it, I'd probably go out on a limb that he feels betrayed that I didn't look for him. I honestly have no clue. I can't read someone who I haven't seen in two years. I hate to say it, but this is just the beginning. It's gonna start out small like this and then he's going to go for the jugular."

Bahr took one look at the massive pile of broken wood, glass, and mangled metal in the corner and then looked back at Oscar. "You call this small?"

[Oscar 0]

"Unfortunately, yes. Tyson has no sense of proportion. He once got one of the jocks in his old school jumped by some dealers for knocking over his water bottle accidentally. Went up to the dealer and said the kid was going to dime him out to the cops. No one could prove anything but everyone knew. Kid got so messed up the doctors said he'd be lucky to walk again." This was a situation in which knowing his enemy didn't provide him any sort of advantage. Tyson clearly had the means to reach him without ever revealing himself. And now that Bahr had gotten involved, that painted a target on his back too. "Listen man, if I'd known what was going on before you threw that punch, I wouldn't have let you get involved."

"Like I would have definitely let some assholes kidnap you when I'm right next door right? I'd have been involved one way or another. So what should I be looking out for?"

"That's the thing Bahr. Whatever he has planned next... We won't see it coming."