[PP-F10] «Leeching Nightmare» Hey, I've seen you before.

[Life 0]

Life had already taken the liberty to start re-familiarizing himself with the lower floors after his isolation, however after discovering that since then the front liners had cleared the way up to floor 24.. there was a lot that he was missing out on. Life figured that part of the reason that he hadn't ventured further up until this point was because he was unable to move on from the battle that took the life of Alkor and Rue paving the way to this very floor. The two heads he had slain of the hydra mirrored by the two friends that died for him to be standing where he was right now, at the entrance of the tenth floor. Though, that was had Mari not told him that Alkor was actually alive after all this time. Maybe he would have shied away still under the assumption that he was gone, but not anymore. Life took a deep breath, and entered with his right foot forward. 

Floor ten was unlike anything that he had seen before in his life. He was so used to the rich forests, jungles, deserts, and snows, all natural environments for him. However this was quite literally out of his world; Life could already make out from the distances several different networks of caverns and he wasn't enjoying the thought of trying to traverse between any of them. There were large crystals to his left, and ginormous glowing mushrooms to his right, and there was no path laid out before him that told him which was the fastest route towards the nearest city. In fact he wasn't even sure if he could consider the damp squishy surface he stood on as land. Life needed to be careful here, or he may end up lost, or worse.

Ok Eric... stay focused here. We came here with a purpose. He reassured himself, of course he had a reason to be up here. It was the next quest he was given after slaying <<Kumatetsu>> on floor eight, and also a big step toward advancing and growing, not just as a player, but as a person. 

He had limited information on the floor itself, but at least he knew what he was looking for. Supposedly some kind of river filled with the blood of his enemies or something of the like. "So I just listen for the sound a river. Seems simple enough." 

hours later

Life found himself standing at the edge of a ravine, waterfalls crashing beneath it. He had followed the wrong sound of water, and he was now completely lost. Life looked around himself, there was little indication as to where he was, no notable landmarks, just more crystals, and more mushrooms. Life threw up his hands in frustration and put his fingers through his hair to massage his skull "It's official. This is where I die."

Player statistics:
 

Spoiler

 

Level: 50 | HP: 500 | Energy: 50 | Damage: 14 | Eva: 2 | LM: 2 | ACC: +2 | 8 mitigation

Equipped:
1. Battle Kimono (+1 Evasion +2 Light momentum)
2. Blessing of the Goddess (+2 Accuracy +1 Evasion)
3. Lunar Eclipse - Fate (+6 Damage)

Inventory 1. Kami armguards (+3LD)
2. Knightmare Cloak (+36 Mit +1 Evasion)
3. Health Potions x8
4. Fates calling (+3 Damage)

 

@Lessa

Edited March 7, 2020 by Life

[Lessa 1]

Spoiler

Housing
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down).
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests.
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.

Inventory
- Teleport Crystal

"This floor kinda sucks." Lessa loosed a shrug, then glanced at her surroundings without slowing her pace. "Pretty, yes." And Bahr's house was on the tenth floor, a thought which always gave her a little thrill. "But it still sucks." She ticked each point off on a finger as she continued, "It's dark, and it's underground, and it's really easy to get lost. Makes a person really miss the sun, y'know?"

Though Riker couldn't easily vocalize his agreement, considering he was a wolf, she swore he nodded his head in agreement. That was all the affirmation the swordswoman needed. "Right?" she encouraged. "It sucks." Silence fell between the pair, broken only by their footfalls on the stone path. Their way was lit by vibrant crystals and mysterious Mario-sized mushrooms, the pale greens and blues bathing the area in sickly light. It was both eerie and beautiful at the same time, a fascinating mixture if there ever was one. But the spaces the light did not reach remained shrouded in darkness, long shadows that seemed to close in like a ghostly fist.

"Yup," Lessa drawled, hooking her thumbs in her criss-crossed belts while she walked. "Sucks." So why did the pair continue their trek, shifting from shadow to shadow in an unfamiliar place? A quest, of course. Lessa had made a commitment to train more, and grow stronger, to keep up with Bahr. Well, that last bit was still something she was turning over in her head. She definitely hadn't admitted that to him yet, but at her core, that was a large motivator. On the second day she'd known him, he'd stood in front of her, willing to take blows that would have ended her life. But she was tired of hiding behind him. She would need to be his equal, to walk beside him, if this relationship had any hope of working. And boy, did she hope it would. 

So Lessa would work for it. She'd spend her afternoons grinding, and take those quests she had avoided for years. It was work, yes, but it was oddly comforting as well. She enjoyed having a purpose again. She-

"It's official. This is where I die."

She blinked, then her blue eyes flew open as the words registered. Die? Was someone in danger? Even as her mind whirred, her legs moved her into action, carrying the blonde around a massive cropping of glowing green gems. Riker loped beside her. "Uh, hey," she called ahead. "You alright?"

[Life 0]

Life was going through a list of things to send off to his loved ones in the game before he kicked the bucket. I'll send my gear to Maiyuri, my Col to Mari.... And then he stopped, because that's all he really had to his name. But then he heard a familiar voice echoing behind him, a soft and comforting voice, asking him if he was ok. Life turned to face the noise, hands still in his hair. "Oh!" He threw out his hands before awkwardly placing them back on his hips. "Long time no see Lessa. Great timing, I have to say. I am completely lost, this is my first time on this floor ever and I'm trying to do this quest and I'm just straight up not having a good time." He huffed with exasperation, and an overwhelming mixture of emotions. 

Life was still dealing with the fact that this was his battle against his past, trying to move forward from the wake of the beast which killed him that day. But he did not die physically. Then there was his motivation to become stronger, to become someone people could rely on again, to ensure everyone went back home to their families and loved ones. And lastly, the frustration of not being able to find a stupid river because this floor was built like some maze out of harry potter.

Life paused to take in a deep breath and calm himself down and recenter before raising his eyebrows with his next question. "You wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of a river filled with the blood of my enemies would you? I'm trying to do this scents of the wild quest line... hopefully you know of it?" Life stood at 6"2, wearing an armoured Yukata which appeared pure black in this dark environment. His katana was modest as all the craftsmanship was in the blade hidden within his scabbard, the symbol of fate was inscribed at the bottom which was in homage of his first katana. 

Life had met Lessa on numerous occasions, once in a bar with Alkor, once at a dinner party under the stars, once in the crossing fields when he was in a dark place, when they fought frosty the warlord, when Mari had her breakdown in public on floor three, and then again at the Molten Hydra battle. They weren't frequent run-ins, but it was enough for Life to be able to remember her. How would someone be able to forget someone like her anyway? Hopefully she remembered him too, or at least not negatively like some others had. 

@Lessa

Edited March 13, 2020 by Life

[Lessa 1]

"Oh, Life." The word came on a startled exhale, surprise and initial unease evident in every line and curve of her body. Sensing his companion's discomfort, Riker's hackles rose, and a deep growl rolled from his throat. A second passed, and then another, but Lessa finally placed a hand on between the wolf's shaggy ears. "It's fine," she muttered to her familiar. "He's, uh - I know him." What was he to her? Surely not friends. Acquaintances? When was the last time she had even thought about the tall boy with the long black hair? More than a year, easily. He reminded her of a time she was content to not remember.

Still, she offered Life a small, tight-lipped smile. "Yeah, it's definitely been a while. Glad to see you're doing alright." As he aired his frustrations with the floor, the woman's expression softened just a little. That was something she could relate to. After months and words spent apart, a little common ground went a long way. "I know what you mean," she told him. "This floor drives me nuts. I end up lost pretty much any time I leave the beaten path. And sometimes I even get lost on the beaten path." With a short, self-deprecating laugh, she brought her hand from Riker's head and planted it on her hip. 

"Oddly enough, it sounds like we're looking for the same river. The Stygian River, from what I was able to gather through the rumor mill. I even have a rough idea of where it is, but that hasn't actually helped me find it." She dragged her bottom lip between her teeth as she glanced around, keen on finding some recognizable landmark. She found none. "You know," she mused aloud, "these glowing crystals and giant mushrooms all start to blend together after a while. And that's a sentence I wouldn't have said in the real world unless I was heavily drugged." 

With a quick nod of her blonde head, she motioned to the trial. "If you're up for it, we could look together? So even if we're lost, at least we're not alone. And I can loan you a teleport crystal if we decide to go the Escape Rope route."

[Life 0]

Life looked beside Lessa, just now noticing the furry canine which accompanied her, he thought it was a rather cute familiar, but it didn't seem to be too fond of him. Well, to be expected, it was the first time the wolf had seen him. He wanted to pet its fur but he thought that probably wasn't a good idea. She mentioned it was good to see him again, though the expression on her face said I completely forgot I once invited you to my guild. It was fine, It was two years ago, and it wasn't as though they had formed a friendship. 

Life smirked at her statement, sharing in the disdain for the perilous winding void that was floor ten. "Stygian river huh? Well at least I got a name for it now. Not like there's exactly anyone to go asking around for it though. And yeah, once you pass the first giant mushroom and glowing crystal the rest become pretty unremarkable. I was just trying to follow the sounds of flowing water and I ended up here." Life said as he gestured towards the gaping ravine behind him with his thumb, waters crashing to the depths below. "I'll take you up on that offer, I was pretty much ready to kick the bucket out of my wits with how lost I felt down here. Tell you what when I'm done I don't think I'll be returning, you'd have to be some kind of weirdo to want to frequent this place." Life quipped, it wasn't like she liked the floor so he figured she wouldn't take offence. 

Life backed away from the edge of the ravine, walking past Lessa and her familiar, trying to get his bearings on where exactly the next move was. "Whats the cute fluff balls name by the way?" Life mused as he took a glance back at the wolf behind him. Life had been meaning to do the familiar quest, but he didn't exactly know what kind of companion he'd want to go looking for. From what he could tell there was a path off towards more mushrooms, a path leading into a cave filled with glowing crystals, and a path leading into a dark cave. None of them seemed to particularly scream 'Stygian river this way'. "Hmm.. What do you rekon?"

@Lessa