[PP|02]Dragon Hunter Yuki! pt. 2 <<DHA2: Quartz Hatchling>> ft. Life

[Zajcica 0]

The Quartz Hatchling

From the Town of Beginnings to the town of Urbus nigh instantly. Yuki blinked a couple times to fix her vision and looked around for Life. It took him a few seconds longer to appear than it did for her, but when he did, Yuki gave him her signature smile and a thumbs up.

"Yoshi. Time to fight another dragon!" She said, much more cheery than she was just moments ago. "I'll try not to be dumb and get smashed by this one."

The pink paladin scratched the back of her head and chuckled awkwardly. Her mind was still on the feeling she got earlier, when she was smashed by the dragon an Life saved her. She could have gotten out of that predicament on her own, but the relief she felt when someone saved her that way was explainable. A slight blush was painted across her face as she thought about it in her head again.

@Life

Spoiler

General
Level: 9 | HP:  180 | Energy: 18 Hate: 1/3/4(M/H/C)

Stats
DMG: 1 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 27 | ACC: 0 | Thorns: 18 | Regen: 5

Skills
Fighting Spirit

Equipment(In use)
Regal Cuirass(Heavy Armor): 1MIT, 2 Thorns
Aegis(Shield): 2MIT, 1 Regen
White Spear - Lux(OHAS): 2 Bleed, 1 Taunt

Equipment(Standby)
Silver Serpent Ring: +2 LD
Covetous Gold Serpent Ring: +1 LD

Consumables
3) Starter Healing Potions(50HP)

 

[Life 0]

As Life materialized from the teleporter her took note to gather his surroundings. He was afterall still readjusting to the game and this would be his first time on floor two in two years. He remembered liking this floor though it wasn't anything remarkable and pretty comparable to the other nine that he was accustomed to. Life looked beside him to notice his new companion was still close by, still as determined as before to prove herself as a capable fighter. 

Life smirked "I'm sure you'll done fine this time around. Maybe you're just a little rusty. My first battle after two years I found myself on my back dodging for dear life. I almost got my ass kicked and considered running with my tail between my legs a few times. Though luckily I got my wits together and remembered a couple tricks to pull off that saved me in the end. I really didn't have much of a consideration as to how powerful that boss was I could have died.. though I suppose if I did I wouldn't really have any right to be where I am right now. So that has to count for something I suppose." 

 

Spoiler

Stats
Level: 27 Health: 540 Energy: 54 Damage: 14 Evasion: 3 Accuracy: 3 Mitigation: 12

Equipped: Lunar Eclipse - Fate (+6 Damage) Unmei No Uragiri (Accuracy +3) Yami Tenno Yukata (+3 Evasion)
All equips from: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19029-equipment-for-life/?tab=comments#comment-599050

Inventory:
8 Healing Potions (+50HP)

Skills: 

• Rank 1 Curved Sword
• Rank 5 katana
• Rank 3 Light Armour
• Survival

@Zajcica

Edited March 12, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki rubbed her arm a bit nervously as Life brought up him nearly dying to a boss. It was weird to think about. He was so much stronger than she was. If he had trouble with bosses at his level, how long would she last? She was still pretty weak, compared to her friends. 

"That sounds pretty harsh. Maybe one day I'll experience something like that, but I have dreams of being one of the toughest players in the game." She giggles a bit to herself. "It's kind of funny that someone as small as me would want to be so tanky I guess. Maybe my small size combined with heavy armor will make me hard to hit and take hard hits easily." She laughed at her own joke. Really the reason she had chosen to become a tank over support was because she was scared of dying. The best way to survive would be to become a tank, right? Even if you're the focus of damage, you can just absorb it all and sustain.

"Would you like to take the lead this time and tell me what I need to do so I don't run into battle like a headstrong idiot and get myself killed?"

@Life

Edited March 12, 2020 by Zajcica

[Life 0]

As they walked Life rested his left arm on the hilt of his blade, taking a more relaxed demeanor. "Being hard to hit and hard to kill definitely does sound like an annoying combination I'll give you that. Maybe I'll take some inspiration from that." Life smiled politely, currently he just wen't with a loose cannon style of fighting, kill or be killed. There was no harm in maybe considering more protection if he needed, right? After all, if they went to higher floors there was no saying if his style of fighting would be sustainable, some attacks were unavoidable. 

"Hey, don't get too discouraged after one little thing goes bad. Keep your chin up." Life poked at under her chin to flick her gaze back up to the road ahead before returning his elbow back onto his katana. "I was once the same level as you, you know. Just gotta work your way up one floor at a time." Their path converged onto the main cobble stone roads leading towards Taran village. Hopefully they'd be able to gather more information there. 

@Zajcica

Edited March 12, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki quietly smiled to herself. It felt odd to give inspiration to someone else like that, after all that's what she had always hoped to do for others. Being a symbol of hope and inspiration to encourage everyone around you to do better. Her heart skipped a beat when he pulled her chin up from looking at her feet. A slight blush formed around her cheeks that she quickly hid from him.

"Nn." She nods in agreement. "I am always scared that things will go wrong, but I do realize that no matter what, bad things will happen sometimes. I do my best to always look at the positives though."

Bringing up things that could go wrong: How much stronger would this dragon be than the last? Its not like it would be weaker, or have the exact same stats. Hopefully she would be alright to tank it. The first time she had taken more damage than one came from that dragon. That scared her. It was really just that matter of how much stronger the next one was compared to the emerald one.

@Life

[Life 0]

Life could tell that she was still a little shaken up. Hmm."I think that's a good outlook on life to have." Life paused before turning his gaze towards her. "Sometimes the world will weigh a tonne of crap on your shoulders. And you'll have no idea what to do with it all except lay down and let it crush you. But If you look at it closely you'll notice its just a pile of feathers, waiting for you to pluck out one at a time. When you look at it that way a large sum of issues become individual tasks that are much easier to accomplish." Life gestured with his hands stretching them out and then putting them back together as if it accentuated the difference in size of the issues. He thought maybe the idea was a little childish, but he knew looking at it that way helped him a lot. "I guess when It comes to the art of battle in this game though, nothing beats a good amount of practice. Of course there's always the chance for something to go wrong. But you can lower that chance significantly in the long run with the effort." 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki laughed as he tried to describe his own opinions on how stress can affect people. It was a nice way to explain it all, to be fair, she just wasn't expecting that kind of comparison.

"That's a funny analogy." Her giggle continued as she spoke. "I like it though. It really shows how we can take control of our own stress and pull it off our backs. Bit by little bit, we rid ourselves of the weight on our shoulders so we can help others do the same, er, something like that I guess." Yuki finally stopped her laughing and took a deep breath. Life was very charming for things like that. She wondered who he had that was special to him in his life.

"I don't mean to be rude, Life-chan, but do you have anyone special that is waiting for you outside? Or is there anyone special to you here in SAO?" It was an insanely intrusive question and she only just realized that her attempt to ask something more broadly probably looked like she was asking if he had a girlfriend. That's pretty embarrassing..

@Life

Edited March 12, 2020 by Zajcica

[Life 0]

As they walked and talked they entered the of Taran, it was modest with stone pillars surrounding it as if it were to bring them protection. Life thought on what Yuki said, wondering why she'd ask something like that. "Well..." Life paused, thinking about the answer. It had been two years since he'd seen Maiyuri. It was hard to say what was going on between them now. "I have someone special sure. We loved each other and stayed together a lot. But... I wasn't in a good place. When I left for my two year isolation I told her not to look for me, and I haven't seen her since. I wouldn't put it past her to still be looking for me... but I don't know if I could face her again." Life spoke with great shame and regret. Knowing full well had hurt her deeply and would be responsible for whatever had happened to her. The village was entirely made of stone, and he made his way into the tavern, the place which he usually found quest information. "While we're here do you want a drink?"

@Zajcica

Edited March 12, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

Why did she ask such a stupid question? It was probably because whenever she was feeling depressed or stressed, she thought about her family to fuel her resolve. Though now it just felt like it brought up bad memories for him. 

"I-... I didn't mean to bring up such a sensitive topic like that." She shrank a bit into her armor. "I only wanted to say that we should be thinking about the people we cared about most. For me that's my parents and my younger sister. They've seen me through so many hard times the last three years of my life before entering this game were probably some of the most difficult years of my life. Even these last two years in the game have been better."

Drink? Did he mean like alcohol? Yuki was pretty adamant about abstaining from drugs or alcohol. Even if they couldn't get intoxicated from it here. "Some water or something wouldn't be bad." She said walking through the tavern door when Life opened it for her.

@Life

[Life 0]

Life slid onto a bar stool. "Just two cups of water please." Something about that sentence made him laugh for a second. It wasn't like he drank alcohol himself, it just seemed like the start to a bad joke where to people walk into a bar and drank water. "Sure.." The bartender said with a confused look. 

The tavern was mostly quiet, it was a small town after all. Only a couple other players just keeping to themselves and talking about leveling stuff, which always mildly intrigued Life to listen into but most of the time it was useless or redundant information. Life knew very well by now what he was doing and how to do it. It was just a matter of actually doing it. The bartender plopped the two cups of water in front of the two and shook his head as he walked off mumbling something about how he didn't get paid enough to be serving water to some wet behind the ears. Life raised an eyebrow at the man but simply ignored it and turned his attention back to Yuki. 

"It sounds like you have a really loving and supportive family, I'm happy for you. I'm sure they're looking forward to your eventual return. Just gotta get through this with the rest of us. Personally I only have my father, I worry about him sometimes because without me he has to manage the farm on his own... I know hes capable enough but still, It must be getting harder for him with each day..." Life drifted, thinking about how if he really was on Life support, how his father must be struggling to pay for it. But judging by how everyone didn't have their plugs pulled yet made him believe that it may be government funded, or at the expense of the company responsible for the nerve gear. Either way it was a disturbing topic to think about. "Sorry, I spaced out for a moment, did you say something?" 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki thought about initiating the conversation by repeating what she just said, but it was probably not the best idea. She quietly sipped her water and sighed.

"I-It's nothing. Just personal stuff I haven't let go of yet is all." She mumbled. Was it even worth trying to come out and say she was actually a guy? She had come out to Mari about it really quickly, but she wasn't so sure why she had told her. Mari had a nice attitude towards it and Life and her were friends from what she understood. She took another gulp of her water and sat there quietly stuck in thought. How would she even bring it up? As weird as it sounded, she actually liked this guy, at least that's what she thought was the feelings she was getting from him.

The tension and confusion could read on her face. She wasn't very good at hiding at it.

@Life

[Life 0]

Life poked at Yukis forehead as she drifted away in thought. "You don't have to tell me about it if it makes you uncomfortable. But we're party members now so I've got your back if you need help." Life smirked and gulped down half of his water in one go, not particularly trying to, it was just how much felt natural for him to consume in one go. He looked around for any signs of players and the leaned in to whisper something into her ear. "You wanna know a secret? This is the video game I've ever played." Life backed away and raised an eyebrow her, thinking making a secret out of something so trivial would lighten the mood and maybe make her smile. 

Life gestured to the bartender to come over to him before asking. "Would you happen to know the location of the quartz hatchling? Me and my friend here are looking for it." The bartender rolled his eyes. "Yeah thats a common one to get asked. It's just east of here about a ten minute walk once you're in the forest." Life nodded "Thanks friend." Life downed the rest of his water before turning his attention back to Yuki. "Wanna get going?"

@Zajcica

Edited March 13, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki jumped slightly as his finger tapped against her forehead. She was so deep in thought that she almost forgot Life was actually sitting right next to her. A shiver went down her spine as his warm breath met her ear. She remained somewhat quiet as her and Life made their way out of the tavern and into the forest. Once they were out in the field, she finally spoke up.

”This is your first ever video game? I can’t say that myself, but I will say that this is my first VRMMO experience ever. I’ve never played an MMO either...” She rubbed her arm awkwardly. ”Nee, Life? If I told you something insanely out-there about myself, would you think badly of me, or do you have an open mind to other people’s choices?”

She had thought that he meant to cheer her up by telling her that he was a complete noob to video games, but she didn’t feel the mood lighten at all. She didn’t know what to say. It had already killed several of her friendships to reveal her transition to others and she definitely didn’t want to ruin it with Life.

@Life

[Life 0]

Life watched her concerned expression as she asked him a rather weird question. Would he be open minded to other peoples choices? That's an interesting way to pose a question. He thought to himself. Life twirled his finger through his fringe that rested on the edge of his jawline. "I don't really judge." He sighed and rested his back on his side, preparing himself for what was to come next. Maybe she killed someone in the past? Or maybe she stole for a living in order to help her parents? He wasn't sure what kind of question was coming next so he kep himself neutral. "As long as it's not something you'll regret telling me, I say go for it." He shot her a solemn look, he didn't want a potential new friend to begin to distance themselves because of something that they regretted telling him, or ended up hurting them from. 

Though It could be something completely non serious and they'd both be overreacting. 

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

The quiet gaze on Yuki’s face became somewhat dismissive at first like she was deciding not to tell him, but then she stopped just before the boss spawn area. Her pink tail hanging from her head flowed against the wind. The pink paladin took a deep breath before continuing.

”I-If you say so.” She muttered quietly just loud enough for Life to hear her speak. ”Life-san, I-I am-“

A piercing screech howled in the distance, loud enough to force Yuki to cover her tiny ears. The dragon had noticed them standing there and didn’t care if there was some tense moment going on. Yuki grabbed her white and gold spear.

”I-I’ll tell you afterwards!” She moved between life and the dragon raising her shield at it. Internally she was a bit relieved to get a moment to think about it, but at the same time she wondered if it was really smart to tell him right now.

@Life

[Life 0]

Life watched intently as the small girl nervously mustered enough courage to spill out the truth... until they were interrupted. A high pitched squealing could be heard nearby, no doubt it was the dragon they were looking for. This one seemed a lot more flighty than the one before, but it was on a higher floor so it was to be expected. Life didn't waste anytime, if he wanted to go back to their conversation he'd have to wrap up the fight quickly. Life grabbed hold of his Katana and dashed forward, unleashing his San Ge and cutting into its scaly hide. The hatchling jumped back, flying up into the air as its health dropped into the red, letting out cries of pain. "Aaaahh you're a tough lil guy aren't ya." Life said with a smirk as he watched it hover above him, out of reach. 

Party
1 Life: HP: 540/540 EN: 30/54 -14
2 Yuki - HP: 180/180 EN: 18/18

Life ID: 137672 BD: 5+3= 8 Success.
14*15=210 damage

3 Zylara - the Quartz Hatchling
HP: 30/175 (210-65=145 Damage)
MIT: 35 - ACC: 1 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 65
On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

@Zajcica

Edited March 13, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki jumped forward to aid her companion after seeing that he couldn't finish it in a single blow. Her spear shined past Life's eyes towards the dragon but he saw it simply fall to the ground with her. Roots had sprouted up around her feet and brought her onto her back. She slid in front of the Quartz Hatchling pretty much free meet to it's next attack. She let go of Lux next to her to grab her shield with two hands as the dragon attempted to crush her like the first one did.

That [censored] was not happening to her again. How could it happen to her again, in front of Life twice now. Her shield clanged loudly against the scaly beast's talons, she struggled a bit helplessly to keep it from piercing her person. She struggle to get some words out and she knew that if she stayed underneath this claw for too long she would get smashed into the dirt for real. The sentence escaped her struggling breath, barely audible.

D-Dasukette.." The strain was visible on her face.

@Life

Party
1 Life: HP: 540/540 EN: 30/54 
2 Yuki - HP: 180/180 EN: 16/18 -2

Yuki and the dragon both missed. Yuki suffered -1 ACC from the bosses special ability.

3 Zylara - the Quartz Hatchling
HP: 30/175 (210-65=145 Damage)
MIT: 35 - ACC: 1 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 65
On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Zajcica

[Life 0]

Life watched as the little dragon whimsied out some magic causing Yuki to fall and leave her helpless against the dragons aggression. Life grimaced at the scene, figuring the dragon would go after the smaller target. "Alright you hold it still." Life said as he casually walked over toward the dragon, ready to put it out of its misery until another player would come walking by to kill it when they accepted the quest line. 

Life walked up to its tiny body wrestling with Yuki's tiny body and activated one of his lower tiered sword arts, not seeing the need to waste the energy on anything big for no reason. Life brought his blade up slightly allowing it glow, then simply dragged the blade along its body as if he were swatting away a fly. Its body dragged off of Yuki's as Life's katana lifted it off and it exploded into data at the tip of his blade. "Well that's quite enough of that. You ok, Yuki?" 

 

Party
1 Life: HP: 540/540 EN: 24/54 -7+1
2 Yuki - HP: 180/180 EN: 16/18 

Life ID: 137677 BD: 6+3=9 Success
Zekkai 14*7=98

3 Zylara - the Quartz Hatchling Dead
HP: -3/175 (98-65=33)
MIT: 35 - ACC: 1 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 65
On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

@Zajcica

Edited March 13, 2020 by Life

[Zajcica 0]

The pink paladin rested on the ground for a moment as the pressure on her arms was relieved. Her face got red again as she realized that this was the second time he had to save her, and almost in the exact same way. The embarrassment washed her expression  as she thought about how she had said 'dasukette' like she was some helpless little girl. Her reached his hand out to help her up, this time she took it and sat up in the grass.

"N.. Nn.." She nodded quietly. "G-Gomen.. You had to save me again..."

Yuki fought the urge to cry. She knew that other tanks in the game at her level were probably more effective than her. "I'm so bad at this and I can't use the excuse that I'm inexperienced anymore... I could never join the front line as the klutzy little girl that I am!" A tear streamed down her cheek. "I should just go back to the Town of Beginnings and be useless where no one else can get hurt around me!"

@Life

[Life 0]

Life sighed, he figured a reaction like this would follow another embarrassing moment for her. It wasn't exactly fair though, that dragon was targeting her because she looked vulnerable, and it had an ability that neither of them knew. "Well it's not like someone could prepare to fight a target they've never fought before." He though for a moment, trying to think of a way to make her feel better about herself. "I think you're just having a bad stroke of luck. Maybe somethings bothering you and taking your attention elsewhere. Could be a number of things. None of which really can define you as unworthy of anything, ok?" Life squatted down to match her eye level since she decided to stay on the grass. "Just remember when you're on the front lines one day tanking blows that would totally murder another player, I believed in you." Life gave her a cheesy smile before standing back up. It was true, he did believe in her. All that was needed to be on the front lines was the attitude and passion to drive forward and become stronger. 

The next event in the quest chain popped up on his hud, this time it was floor three. Well no surprise there. He wondered how far it would go. Maybe up to floor five or floor ten at most he assured himself. "Yukō?"