[PP|F1]<<Secret Medicine>>Smelly Plants

[Megitsune 0]

On floor one, the Megitsune carried her scythe over her shoulder through the safe zone and towards the quest marker. There was a relatively easy quest that she could do solo with area of effects and sword arts. She could use a basic attack and destroy all the enemies in the beginning and wouldn't take much to kill the big one. Two hits or so and it would be out. The new scythe she obtained was much heavier than her vanity one, but that only made it more deadly. The kimono she ordered was silkier and nicer than her last one, and the new mask fit perfectly.

Walking through the city, she noticed a familiar red jacket. The man from floor two; a tank could be useful for this quest. The girl approached him slowly and looked up to him, being the tiny little girl she was.

"Kon," The familiar clarion voice called out to him. "Would you care to quest with me again?"

@Raidou

Spoiler

General
Level: 4 | HP:  80/80 | Energy: 8/8

Stats
DMG: 7 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 3 | Rec: 2

Skills
THBA Rank I

Equipment(In use)
Obsidian Scythe: DMG III
Kitsu-mono: EVA I; Rec: II
Kitsune Mask: ACC III

Equipment(Standby)
Fox Totem: LD III

Consumables:
(3x)Starter Potions

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Megitsune

[Raidou 1]

A moment's pause upon the quest board adorning the front of Floor 1's tavern as he transcribed the names and descriptions into a small black leather-bound book in his hands. He was finding a bit of comfort in the early morning to which most of the frequent traffic was absent allowing him free passage. A voice in familiarity with a reverberated reply as if an echo "Kon"

Jumping a bit from the sudden word the nomad turns with pen in hand to see the girl from before, still glancing about in the darkness in some new equipment. Fitting that she would broaden her gear due to the reward, Raidou was glad it served her better than him. His pen scratches about feverishly after a raised hand in a wave, not entirely sure on the ground he stood with Megitsune and with it a struggled response. Without warning in a sentence that he had not expected a question:

"Would you care to quest with me again?"

Clamping the book shut in his hands, softly shifting it to his pocket Raidou was glad to help despite the silence. "What would you have me do?" as his current plans enter the back burner as this was a more pressing matter and the resources would still be present when he was finished.

Spoiler

Raidou, The Red Wanderer:

Level: 40

HP: 800/800

En: 80/80

Weapon: Auric Sol  [1HSS] (T2/Perfect): +6 Base Damage

Armor: Swordsman's Gauntlet [Heavy] (T2/Perfect): +54 Damage Mitigation

Misc: Onyx Spectacles [Trinket] (T1/Perfect): +3 Loot Dice

Skills:

1 Handed Straight Sword: Rank 3

Parry: Obtained

Howl: Obtained

Gatherer: Obtained

Searching: Rank 5 (GM)

Concentration [Extra]: +1 Accuracy on next attack, 3 turn cooldown

Battle Ready Inventory:

4*Golem Strength Potion (+2 Base Damage)

The Black Star - Genesis [1HSS] (T1/Perfect): Paralyze 1 (9-10), Taunt (+1 Hatred from Attacks/Howls, +2 on Focused), Vampiric [Offensive] 1 (Recover 10% of Total HP on 9-10)

Self-Heal Recovery Potion*4

Teleport Crystal*2

Red Wanderer's Robe [Light] (T1/Perfect): +3 Evasion

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Raidou

[Megitsune 0]

The girl didn't say much after that question. Instead, her hand swiped upon the opaque menu and traveled down to the invite function. Soon, a chime opened a prompt in front of the Red Wanderer, asking him to join her group. Once it was accepted, she activated the quest sharing option and sent him that request as well.

Megitsune would like to share a quest with you: Secret Medicine of the Forest. Do you Accept?

The prompt asked him. Without waiting on him to even pick a reply, she began to make her way out of the Tavern and towards the exiting safe zone. She didn't want to waste too much time, it all mattered when you were leveling up in an MMO. When they were out in the field, she found the Nepents and readied her Scythe. It seemed like she wasn't going to use her stealth tactics anymore.

A glimmer of red shined through the slits in her mask as she raced through the battlefield. Her scythe tore through three of her enemies. Only one left remaining. She looked at her energy reserves... Empty.

@Raidou

Megitsune: 80/80 | 0/8 | DMG: 7 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 3 | Rec: 2
Raidou:

Nepent 1: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 2: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 3: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 4: 7/7 | DMG: 3

Edited May 8, 2020 by Megitsune

[Raidou 1]

Raidou would not need to tell the girl that he had already completed this quest a vast amount of time ago, as the prompt on his HUD simply read back quest share ineligible. Accepting the group invite drew her blue circle on his mini-map and with only his memory to guide him he decided upon simply following the girl in tow. She manages in a break of the denser thicket of the forest to find the creatures in question: A thick mass of plant matter with tendrils of dark green, living venus fly trap looking monsters that she easily destroys with one feral swing of this new weapon upon her back.

ID# 147075 results: Battle: 4, Missed vs. Nepent 4!

Her growth was apparent, the move was new as was the sickle. A simple fact made good as she was doing more than just surviving in this iron cage. Raidou began to reach for his back with the intention of starting the culling with a decision to the lighter Auric Sol. The creature seems flustered and chooses to attack at random not sure who to lash out against. It had been a year since he had done this, he was much stronger now then he was then. A cord of vine wraps around his right wrist as he reaches for his sword. Raidou looks to the beast with a glare, as if his body language was purveying: really?

ID# 147077 results: Craft: 12 [Raidou], MOB: 5, Missed! vs. Raidou!

Megitsune: 80/80 | 0/8 | DMG: 7 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Raidou: 800/800 | 78/80 | DMG: 10 | MITI: 54 | LD:+3

Nepent 1: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 2: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 3: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 4: 7/7 | DMG: 3

Edited May 8, 2020 by Raidou

[Megitsune 0]

Even though the monster was set on attacking Raidou, no one had claimed hate on it just yet so it was still just cycling it's attention between the both of them. After a moment of silent pondering holding Raidou's hand, the Fox, took her scythe and sliced it free. The vine fell to the ground, but the plant didn't disappear. It looks like its vines weren't linked to it HP bar.

After that unfortunate that event, the plant decided that the tiny girl with the scythe was more of a threat than the man in red. It's vine slid around her ankle and launched her up into the air. This is where having a tiny frame sucked. She weighed so light that it could easily wave her around like a ragdoll. Her scythe fell to the earth. One hand holding her dress in place and the other attempting to tear the vine in half the girl angrily screamed at the mob. "Hanashite! Zettai ni yurusenai!"

@Raidou

Megitsune: 80/80 | 0/8 | DMG: 7 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Raidou: 800/800 | 78/80 | DMG: 10 | MITI: 54 | LD:+3

Nepent 1: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 2: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 3: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 4: 7/7 | DMG: 3

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Megitsune

[Raidou 1]

The tendril falls to the floor squirming for a moment before it bursts to blue shards, and its attentions shift to the girl with another clung appendage to her ankle. Raidou covers his face out of respect as it tears her airborne, adjusting the glasses on his face with a softened cough into a balled-up fist. Raidou reaches for his blade with his hand over his eyes, grasping around his back trying to find the handle. It is much harder to do in this compromised position, as Raidou keeps tapping around on his back unable to locate the hilt of his sword. Raidou for the first time in a while was at a loss for what to do.

ID# 147089 results: Battle: 3, Missed!

The creature tries to constrict but due to her aggression, it cannot seem to find an ample hold to do so. the attack as harmless as it was embarrassing for everyone involved.

ID# 147090 results: Craft: 6 [Megitsune],  MOB: 2-1=1 Missed! vs Megitsune

Megitsune: 80/80 | 0/8 | DMG: 7 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Raidou: 800/800 | 77/80 | DMG: 10 | MITI: 54 | LD:+3

Nepent 1: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 2: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 3: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 4: 7/7 | DMG: 3

Edited May 8, 2020 by Raidou

[Megitsune 0]

A soft growl muffled from behind the Megitsune's mask. Her strength ripped the appendage free of her ankle, ungracefully landing on her back into the grass. She quickly got to her feet and looked over at Raidou. She clasped her hand around her lost weapon, the clarion voice reaching to him.

"What the hell are you doing? Pull out your weapon!" She barked at him, taking her own up and digging the hefty scythe into the venus flytrap-looking plant and it dissolved into blue shards instantly. She sighed in relief now that she was free and ensured that the skirt and kimono weren't revealing anything. Nope, they were both good now.

Once the group of Nepents were completely dealt with, the ring leader of the group spawned, looking even more ugly than the lesser versions. The Fox readied her weapon for the next attack. "Go ahead and draw it's attention, I'll finish it off if you miss."

Megitsune: 80/80 | 0/8 | DMG: 7 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Raidou: 800/800 | 77/80 | DMG: 10 | MITI: 54 | LD:+3

Nepent 1: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 2: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 3: 0/7 | DMG: 3
Nepent 4: 0/7 | DMG: 3

Edited May 8, 2020 by Megitsune

[Raidou 1]

A call to Raidou while he was still struggling in a state of uncomfortability, not sure how to act in this obtuse situation. Audible destruction with a pressing wind met with the sounds of a shifting skirt, Raidou peaks through his fingers and a deep exhale as a sense of normalcy returns. "s-sorry." Raidou's facade was still astray, adjusting the glasses on his face that he had done a fair job of screwing up with his hand.

The variant shuffles out of disturbed soil, like a growth it uproots and a human-like mouth opens upon its bulbed shape. Vibrant colors of rich reds and yellow designate it as a leader of sorts, and this affair was a bit too off kilter for Raidou, wanting to finish this craziness. Forcing his attention to shift as a bluish glow overtakes his frame, Raidou rips free the blade of concentrated sunlight and tears forward. A burning line is drawn with each pass, creating a webbed trail of blackish burns upon the ground. It breaks into data with a quick and easy finish. At first glance, it seems nothing had fallen, but his magnifying glasses and keen eyes set upon the ovule that fell just into the surrounding brush.

ID# 147114 results: Battle: 5+1, Hit! dealing 60-5=55 damage to Nepent Variant!

ID# 147115 results: Loot: 5+[5/3]=13, Success! [1*Nepent's Ovule Obtained]

Megitsune: 80/80 | 0/8 | DMG: 7 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Raidou: 800/800 | 72/80 | DMG: 10 | MITI: 54 | LD:+3 [CONC 0/3]

Nepent Variant: -40/15 | DMG: 10 (Phase Crit) |  MITI: 5
 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Raidou

[Megitsune 0]

The Fox saw the item box explode from the Nepent and land into the bush. Before the Red Wanderer even got the chance to see where it was, she was already walking over to pick the drop up. She clasped it in her hand and moved it into her inventory. This had worked out rather well for her so far, so she turned to Raidou this time and walked over to him.

"Nee, thank you for the help. I could have done it on my own, but this made it much more painless." She didn't need to practice combat or anything, she was already familiar with these virtual reality games. As long as she got experience and leveled up at the end, she wasn't going to complain about the methods that for her there. "Sorry you had to see something so indecent. I guess I made myself a target for it by deciding on skirt rather than wearing pants." The girl folded her arms against her chest.

@Raidou

[Raidou 1]

With the battles fruition and the girl finding the box as it drops free, the quest was more than finished. An open of his HUD and map gave him an active moniker of his position as he premeditated his next course of action. It is halted with a pause of his moving appendage as Megitsune begins to speak. It shutters to a close with a swipe of his hand, the words punching through his skin in the absence of solidity.

"Y-Yeah." Raidou spoke but a single word as an answer to the entire response, a struggled one in a situation he had often found himself in. Combat was much more manageable than these small interactions, he could predict and avoid perceive and strike but in these conversations with others in earnest peer to a peer, he was completely lost. The girl being risen was not indecent but Raidou would not be the lecherous sort to not pay the lady some respect in such circumstances.

[Megitsune 0]

Fuyuko could tell there was a bit of awkward air to the current conversation, so maybe she could deflect the topic to something much more casual. She rested the scythe's pole against her shoulder, it seemed like it could weigh more than the girl herself with how big it was compared to her.

"You may call me Fox, Megitsune can be difficult for some people to pronounce, but that's what it means. Your user name is Raidou. Nice to meet you. You handled the wolves that we fought last night so well, I thought it would be great to invite you for another quest. Thank you for coming along." The girl said somewhat quietly adjusting the porcelain mask on her face to get more comfortable in it. Even though she was making casual talk, she was still wondering what quest she should partake in next. Grinding never stopped in an MMO.

@Raidou

[Raidou 1]

Solidifying the ground he stood on with a fire in his belly, the demon on his back with claws into his mind trying to break his spoken words to pieces with insecurity. "i-It is m-my name." with clinched jaw forcing his phrase to a whole, using a fit of rather hidden anger to quarrel the beast. "Me~gi~tsu~ne, or Fox whichever you prefer... it was no problem." Raidou finds his center with a facade donned making it clear his origin was japanese as well, as his persona of a guild leader latched to his being. Without falter, like a disguise that he had not yet perfected, it was coming along as an anthem of spoken words tore through his head as a mental check of what to do and what not to. Like a computer faking human, Raidou was walking on eggshells with his determined algorithm, not wanting to screw this up another time.

[Megitsune 0]

The Megitsune wondered what was wrong with the boy. He was acting as though he was terrified of her existence, like she was going to murder him or something? Oh no, he's probably awkward with words? She couldn't really fault him for that, as she too was pretty bad with parlay in her own right, but not because she was nervous to the situation. Most the reason she decided to stay quiet was because it just wasn't necessary most of the time. Keeping quiet was better 90% of the time, but that didn't mean it was totally unnecesary.

"You're pretty good at the game, I can tell. What level are you? I just recently hit level seven and I imagine that I'll be in the double digits with the blink of an eye." The girl said, still refusing to remove the white mask from her face. So far she had only shown one person her face and she was determine to keep that number as low as possible.

@Raidou

[Raidou 1]

A few more actively selected words in premeditated phrasing, as he didn't need some poetic or lyrical bullsh*t retooling his intended to something in English as the female voice from the past was guiding him. "Raidou Kuzunoha, most call me the red wanderer because I don't stay in one place for too long." 

"You're pretty good at the game, I can tell. What level are you?" Fox asked of him, the words rang as a time prior to another but before it was unanswered. You look experienced enough to be at a decent level "40, I am 40 now." Raidou remarked with a glancing stair to his HUD, reading it from the corner with an attempt to answer her questions without turning to moosh. Your issues aren't invalid. The nomad just had to get it off his chest, he was surely a sight with the anguish on his chest. "This, I don't do this. I am trying but it does not come easy for me, and I am trying my best."

[Megitsune 0]

The piercing crimson eyes turned back to him, looking through the skin, almost like she was staring directly into his heart. The kitsune was known to see into other's intentions making it impossible to deceive them no matter how hard they tried. Unfortunately, Megitsune didn't have that magical yokai power, though, she could offer him her own thoughts on the subject matter.

"Who gives a [censored]." Her rough, harsh tone could be felt through the white mask. "Say whatever you want. If someone doesn't agree with you, forget them. It's their opinion to disagree and they aren't worth your time. If you can't be outward with yourself, people will walk on you either because it's easy to do so, or because it's just funny to watch you suffer. Don't let others walk on you."

Her words sounded like they were coming from pursuits of experience. Middle school is a rough time for a kid who gets bullied.

@Raidou

[Raidou 1]

A debt unpaid, There is no debt.

     A promise unfulfilled, Just live each day

          A life lost with no name, Looks like things just got interesting

Don't let others walk on you 

          No one can even stand me as an image of his own Gemini tore through his head in honest truth from over a year ago, something he had repressed without knowing. A solid stance building into his frame, perhaps the girl was right. A liberating notion to be sure, he was trying way too hard trying to prove himself to people and be normal for the sake of being normal. "Impossible to forget, but nothing says I have to agree with them either. All that glisters is not gold, after all, let grief convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it and it shall set me free." A pulse of howl on his back, like a form of armor as he could feel the brooding energy about his frame. A smile he pays the girl as the red smoke fades "Thank you for your insight, I may have been overzealous in my conformity if a man's verses are not understood, and good wit is seconded with a child understanding, it strikes a man more dead then a great reckoning in a little room. I'll speak in plain english if I damn well please."

Raidou wished another try at this, and if the girl denied him so be it for the lesson she imparted would do her justice long after. "Let's try this again, with a name I had stricken long ago from the fabric of history: I am Raidou Kuzunoha of Firm Anima: Vanguard Divison. Trained by Nikki Styx on the sea of glass, slayer of the burning dragon of floor 9, and phoenix of floor 6."

[Megitsune 0]

An unseen grin graced her tin lips behind the visage of white. Now he was making sense, his heart was opening. Intentions hide better in plain sight.

"A name and title to be proud of, I'm sure. I am The White Yokai, Megitsune. My trials are few, but my legend will be known. Raidou Kuzunoha. You are a man worthy of respect, and you have earned mine. The girl opened her menu, scrolling to her party and clicking on his name and sending him a friend request. The prompt showed up on his end. "If you continue down a path of accepting judgement, you'll do nothing but wallow in fear and anxiety. Cast aside your worries and believe in the person you are, not the person others want to be."

This adventure had become much more interesting than she initially planned it to be. Now she has a tank friend on deck to help her if she ever needs it.

@Raidou

[Raidou 1]

Raidou could not help but hang on a prior statement "Level 7 huh." As the smaller information trickled between the pieces from before "Megitsune it is, you'll find I have no issue pronouncing it as Fox seems so plain. The Kitsune mask seems to suit you." As a flip of his wrist shifted his HUD open like a conductor allowing him to easily accept the request. "If you ever need me to call, I may just be in earshot and a level is no more than a number if you are smart enough as you have proven in the quest from last night." as the memory like a memorial plays through his skull.

"I was trying too hard to fit in, conform to those around me. this may have been just the push I needed." Raidou removed the demon of insecurity as it metaphorically turns to ash in the sunlight, for he had nothing to prove and nothing to fear if he didn't care what the other party thought.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Raidou

[Megitsune 0]

In world where a single sleep could mean sudden death, ones intentions had to be true. They had to fight with a resolve that made them willing to continue. The aimless clutter that had filled Raidou was holding him back from being something more. A kick in the ass was all she needed to give him to clear that clutter.

"Conform to no one's standards but your own. This is a world that will eat you alive you allow your heart to lead astray, take it from a yokai." She wasn't actually a yokai. If she was, she would have taken advantage of the man's weak heart while it was served. However, this was a mutual benefit and she wouldn't miss the opportunity to have a tank in her pocket. Plus, he didn't seem like that bad of a guy. "I'll continue to get stronger, if I am in need of a tank, you will find me again."

With that last sentence, the girl left the party and dashed into a sprint to the safe zone. There were more quests that needed doing.

[Raidou 1]

A service is done with a head clear of voices that had plagued it for quite some time, causing a second guess of every action he took when around another. What a fitting reward to a task he had undertaken eons ago as if entering this forest again and mimicking such a past would evolve him back into the man he once was. A look to where the girl had headed she was surely off to supply the medicine to the child as he had done. A look to the sky in a vibrant blue shade "The wheel has come full circle, my doubt a traitor and losing the good I might win by fearing to attempt." As he tore his robe tighter to his neck, as a cure that no potion could produce had been administered by a girl in a porcelain mask of the kitsune.

To lead a wanderer astray

    ...or to serve as a messenger