[F3|PP]<<Worn Out Welcome>>Useless Armor

[Assassin 0]

Another easy quest, more free skill points to make her stronger. Being stronger than a normal person wasn't enough, had to be stronger get stronger and make herself difficult to kill. She needed to survive somehow. The gear she had was the first step to that, but she had to kill more things to get stronger. Big mean monsters and things like that. No more needed to kill innocent people. That accident was still weighing on her mind too heavily. The face the person made before they died... That would be etched into her mind for the rest of eternity.

The couple made no comment about her being a child and offered to make her armor. It was unnecessary but it was free experience for the quest. She only had to kill a meany elf and bring back the materials that he has on him to make the new armor. Then she could just sell it.

The Assassin made her way out of the safe zone and towards the spawn location of the dark elf.

@Hidden

Spoiler

General
Level: 1 | HP:  20/20 | Energy: 2/2

Stats
DMG: 5 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 9 | ACC: 2 | MIT: 18

Skills
Dagger Rank I

Equipment(In use)
Dark Cloak(LA): MIT II; EVA I
Fastening Belts(Tri): ACC II; EVA I
Kami Sori(Dagger): DMG III

Consumables
(5x)Starting Healing Potion[50 HP]

 

[Hidden 1]

As an orange player... receiving quests were a bit more difficult. NPC's typically didn't let you confront them in the normal means. If you tried to get it in the town, they would avoid you. You had to wait for the NPC to exit the town and move on. The other option was to party with a player who had already accepted the quest. She was clad in her favorite black cloak, the hood covering her facial features. An orange cursor spun over her head, and the guard standing at the gate to Delilah was most surely uneasy with her leaning on the wall at the entrance. She had sat here for an hour or so looking for a suitable player. She hated herself for skipping the Worn out Welcome Quest. She hadn't wanted to come back here. 

Her eyes fell on a young white-haired girl wearing what seemed to be low-leveled equipment. 'Perfect. I can pretend to be interested in helping her, party up and accept her quest. I bet she's got it. She seems to be heading in that direction' Pushing off the wall, she forced herself to speak in the most kind voice she could. "Hey! Little girl! Are you going out all by yourself?" She tried her hardest to ensure the voice didn't sound forced. 'I feel like A kidnapper. Mari wouldn't approve.' she thought to herself. 

Spoiler

Stats

Hidden
Level 46
[0] Hidden | 940/940 HP | 92/92 EN | 13 DMG | 61 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA | 8 Holy | 94 Vamp (Off.)
940 HP
92 Energy
4 Accuracy
2 Evasion
13 Base Damage
61 Mitigation
+3 Stealth Rating
8 Holy (9-10)
10% Vampiric (9-10)

Gear
<<Nato's Might>>         // + 8 Holy DMG, +1 ACC, + 1 Vamp (OFF)
<<Shadow of Dusk>> // +36 Mit, +1 EVA
<<Shadow's Light>> // +3 ACC
              <<Umbra>> // +6 DMG

Buffs

Battle Ready Inventory
 

Skills

Dagger | Rank 5: +5 DMG
Hide | Rank 3: +3 Stealth Rating
Light Armor | Rank 5: +18 Mitigation                               
E Familiar - DMG | Rank 3 +6 DMG
E Survival | No Ranks: Immunity to Environmental Effects
E Disguise | +1 EVA til next turn - 5 Turn Cooldown

Skill Mods

Athletics ~ +20 HP, +1 DMG
Precision ~ +1 ACC

Acrobatics ~ +1 EVA



 

[Assassin 0]

Assassin was caught up in her own thoughts when the woman's voice called out to her. Nearly missing the question she asked, the young girl turned to meet her eyes. A woman cloaked in complete black, almost the same as herself with her face almost completely hidden. The cursor floating above her head made her feel uneasy but even still she gave the woman an innocent, although fake, smile. The scars on her face made even more prominent with her cheeks puffed up happily.

"I'm going to go quest so I can get stronger! Don't worry I can handle myself!" The other cloaked figure radiated the same feel that Assassin gave off herself. She could feel that the smile she was giving her was fake, that her tone was somewhat forced even if she somehow got it out. Who would break first, or call out the other one first? "I might be little but that doesn't mean I'm defenseless. I'll beat up any means that try to bully me."

@Hidden

Edited May 20, 2020 by Assassin

[Hidden 1]

It seemed that speaking to the girl actually worked out. It surprised her, perhaps trying to be friends people had payed off in the end? The little girl scrambled up to her with a happy smile. Hidden's own smile faded as she noticed the long scars that marked the sides of the girl's face. 'Scars came from the real world...' she thought. 

"I'm going to go quest so I can get stronger! Don't worry I can handle myself!" The girl's voice was as bubbly as her smile but something about her demeanor put her off. The atmosphere that surrounded the girl was very different than what lie in the center. The air around her was cold and threatening, a pressure that only her pride held her from trying to escape it. "I might be little but that doesn't mean I'm defenseless. I'll beat up any means that try to bully me." Hidden reforced her smile and replied, "Oh is that so?" She turned away briefly. 'All I need from her is to party up even if only for a second.... But how!' 

"I don't know... the third floor is pretty high up? Are you sure you won't get scared or anything?" Something was dangerously off about this girl but she needed to get that quest. 'What has she gone through to make her act like I would? Has she seen the same hardships?' 

@Assassin

[Assassin 0]

"Oh is that so?" The girl nodded at her with her smile over taking her expression. "Mhm! I've already killed a big mean hornet, and another meanie wolf that bit me" The girl's smile didn't even fade when she spoke about murdering monsters.

"I don't know... the third floor is pretty high up? Are you sure you won't get scared or anything?" Assassin folded her arms under her dark cloak while Hidden asked her questions. This was wasting time. She needed to go and kill the elf so she could level up more and talking wasn't going to get it done. "Are you saying that you want to come along and protect me? You don't look like one of the players that takes damage like Tank-lady. Why would you want to help a complete stranger like me anyway? Tell me what you really want from me Shadow-lady."

It was obvious that Assassin could see through Hidden's intentions. There was something she wanted from her and she wasn't going to let her have it unless she told her the real reason she was bugging her. Although, at this point, Assassin herself wasn't doing much to hide her own intentions. "Do you need me for something?" Her bubbly smile turned into a crooked grin.

@Hidden

[Hidden 1]

'A big hornet? Perhaps the Wind-Wasp Queen. The big wolf might be the venomous warg.' Her eyes focused on the girl. The air surrounding the girl crept in closer to its core. "Are you saying that you want to come along and protect me? You don't look like one of the players that takes damage like Tank-lady. Why would you want to help a complete stranger like me anyway? Tell me what you really want from me Shadow-lady." Hidden's smile entirely faded. 'Yep I've decided. This girl is different from her appearance.' 

Hidden's eyes squinted, her chest tightening. 'She's attempting to deceive me. The nerve of her.' "Do you need me for something?" Her smile became broken and crooked. Hidden's eyes darkened as anger pushed through to her exterior. "I think that's enough, kid. I don't care what you have to say, if you're going to try to deceive someone like me, you better do a damn good job." She stated coldly. She was aware that she had also tried to manipulate the girl for her own uses, but she hated those that tried to deceive her. They were just like Domarus, bringing her and leaving her as the most hated player in Aincrad. 

"What I need is to use you to get a quest. Though, you better change the attitude before you find yourself at the end of my blade" She stated. Her anger was a cold and dark one. "What do you think is going to come to you by pretending to be something you aren't?" 

[Assassin 0]

The girl shrank into her dark cloak, he face changed as the woman seemed to go from 0-100 extremely quick. Her orange cursor was likely am indication that she wasn't only strong enough but willing to kill others for getting on her bad side. Although she tried her best to not let her facade down, the girl broke a few tears. She was just having a little fun and now she was being threatened for her life. It wasn't like she was trying to steal all the other player's money or her items or anything.

"I-I-I was only trying to have a little bit of fun! I-I'm sorry you can join me for the quest, please don't hurt me!" While she cried the girl opened up her menu and invited the other player to a party in her group. Once that was done, she huddled down into a crouched position clutching her head with her hands like she was trying to hide and protect herself. The reaction was almost too natural, like she had needed to protect herself in this manner before. Th-There, see? I-I invited you to the group, don't hurt me, I'm sorry!"

@Hidden

[Hidden 1]

Much to Hidden's surprise there was little resistance. The girl shrank back, the menacing aura behind the girl faded entirely and her eyes were placed by actual terror. For some reason, it actually made her feel bad. Typically, she didn't care about scaring anyone to get what she wanted. However, there wasn't any way she could break down and be nice to the girl now. As long as some amount of fear was in her, the girl wouldn't be trying to play any games.

"Do I really look like the person that is here to have fun?" She watched as the girl sent her the party invite, and Hidden quickly accepted it and began to take the quest as an additional party member. shed get the experience, but not any items. That was fine with her. 

"Good. I won't be hurting you. I just really dislike people who try to play me like a card game. I won't be a piece to anyone's game." she stated firmly. Slowly, she reached up and rubbed the shorter girl on the top of the head as if she was her older sister. "Now! Let's go finish you a quest!" she said with a slightly more cheerful tone. She removed her hand and took a step away. However, she turned back around and warned, "Try to play me though... I won't guarantee your safety" Her voice was ominous and dangerous. 

[Assassin 0]

Assassin's eyes went from her crafty trickery, to sheer terror, the shock in a span of ten seconds. What feeling was this girl wanting to instill in her? She had gone through so many attitude shifts in such a short time. What was wrong with her?

Did she just... try to console me?

Once her hand was removed from the hue-less strands on Assassin's head, she put her own hand in the same spot, attempting to imitate the feeling. "Try to play me though... I won't guarantee your safety" The young girl shot up instantly in fear.

"I-I'm not! I'm sorry, I won't do anything funny I promise! We can do the quest right now so we don't waste any of your time! I-I don't want to die.." Assassin seemed panicked, trying to remember what she even needed to do in the first place. The interaction she was having with this woman was scattering her brain. She was doing everything she could just to try an secure her safety. "H-Hidden? That's your name right? She reached up pointing to the indicator that only she could see on her HUD. "I-I'm Kay- uh, Assassin."

@Hidden

[Hidden 1]

The girl's eyes displayed her visible shock. 'Oops... maybe I went a bit far for this? Eh, I doubt she would be willing to try anything again for a while. I better keep an eye on her for now though' Her warning was met with additional fear and promises that she wouldn't try anything. "Good. For your information, I don't kill others for fun. Only those that try to come after me, get in my way... and thats about it. I don't like to be messed with. Anyone can agree honestly." She said in an attempt to make the mood even the slightest bit lighter. 

As the girl noted her name, Hidden would nod. "Yep that's me. Though, I wouldn't go around and use it lightly. You might be targeted if you go around mentioning that you were traveling around with Aincrad's most wanted. Lotsa people are after me for a reason manipulated by some Frontliner known as Hestia. Guy named Itzal was in on it too."

She sighed. She didn't need to tell all this to a little girl regardless.  "Assassin, yeah I see that. If you don't mind me asking, what's a troublemaker girl going around pretending to be innocent for in the first place? The name itself sounds like it belongs to a player in a murder guild. You are like, 10 right?" 

Her eyes glossed over the surroundings. It was an easy quest, perhaps she would have Assassin do it all on her own and see what she was made out of. She didn't like carrying players anyway. They had to be worth something for that. 

 

[Assassin 0]

Seeing as how Hidden was done threatening her, the girl seemed to be coming around again. This time, less on the coy side. "Yeah, I don't like being messed with either. I guess that's why I jabbed at you like that. I play dumb like that so people don't bully me, but other kids still bully me a lot in the orphanage. Adults are more likely to give me what I want and not be mean to me if I act innocent. And... You won't believe me, but I wasn't the owner of the helmet thingie back in the orphanage. The name was already set like that and I couldn't change it."

Kaya didn't really understand the second part of what the woman had said, so she elected to ignore most of it. "Well, since it's best I shouldn't know you by your name, can I call you by something else? Shadow-lady?" Assassin's mood was improving the more she talked. The fear was still a little present, but she wasn't absolutely terrified like before. "Hey...um, why did you pat my head?" It was a weird feeling, and she was still trying to figure out why Hidden had dug her words so deep and then just pet her like she  was trying to console scared puppy.

@Hidden

[Hidden 1]

Assassin's words upset Hidden. She was from an orphanage and they forced the helmet onto her. 'Not going to lie, that sounds kind of rough. I was older and just wanted to escape my life. I guess we are a bit different after all.' However, the fact that the girl was an orphan struck a deep chord within her body. With having lost her mother, she knew all too well what it was like. 'I really hope the scars on her face aren't just signs of physical abuse' That would definitely put her in the same boat as Hidden if that was the case. Her father had taken out his drunken anger on her many times. 

"Shadow-lady? Bit odd, but sure, knock yourself out." she replied to the girls odd question. It seemed she was a bit too young to fully understand the drama that she just unleashed on the girl. The girl spoke again, drawing Hidden's attention back to her. 

"Hey...um, why did you pat my head?"

"I am sorry. Do you not like that? If not, I won't do it again" she replied, hiding the reason why. She faintly remembered her mother doing that when she was way younger. It was one of the few memories she had left of her mother. Other than her wedding and the day of the crash, nothing else was really burned into her mind about her mother. She figured maybe head rubbing was a sign of deep affection that soothed the other person. She truly didn't know. 

"Anyways, Assassin. That's a long name by the way. I'll find something better. You are going to be the one hunting the elf today. Its really better if you figure out the game on your own. And you said you already took out the bee right? You go this." She promised. she pointed down the path where one could faintly see the outline of a human-like figure. 

[Assassin 0]

"No! It wasn't that I didn't like it, it was just... I wasn't ready for it in that moment. No one has really..." She figured that it wasn't best to bring her problems onto someone who had tons of them, or probably had. She does notice the girl looking at her face for some reason. Instinctively, she touched her face. "What? Is there something stuck to my face? After a moment of crossing her fingers of over her cheeks, she remembers that she has scars. "O-Oh. They're hard to miss, so I don't even try to hide them anymore. I really don't know why they're there. They wont go away. The care taker at the orphanage told me that the people who gave me these marks were bad people. I had to be taken away from them."

When Assassin saw her target, the mood changed. A serious demeanor over took her sad story was washed under the mat. The quiet grinding of steel came from underneath her cloak like she was pulling out a weapon from it's sheathe. She was quick, like any other dagger user, instead of opting for jumping directly into combat, she takes advantage of an outcropping of bushes. The darkness conceals her approach on her target, completely unaware of her pressence.

Successfully entered stealth within range of Dark Elf.

Assassin: 20/20 | 2/2 | DMG: 5 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 2 | [Stealth: LD check 9+ to detect]

Dark Elf: 12/12 | DMG: 9

Edited May 20, 2020 by Assassin

[Hidden 1]

"Weren't ready, huh? Well if there is a next time I'll let you know ahead of time I guess." she mentioned casually. It seems to her that Assassin had in some way enjoyed the physical attention. It would have been something she herself would have wanted a while back. As the girl mentioned about having the scars she realized they must have happened so long ago that she didn't even remember getting them. 'Yikes', she thought. 'Sad story is sad.' 

As she told the girl about the enemy, the girl's dangerous demeanor returned. This time however, Hidden wasn't nervous at all by it. More curious. The curiousity scared her more than the girl. Was this the same curiosity Domarus had in her? Some part of this girl almost seemed born to fight... born to kill. At this point, she almost seemed to have the power to either kindle that ability, or push her away from it in the hopes that this girl wouldn't end up like her. She was young and hadn't done anything. If she stayed on the right path all would be good. This world would eat up a little girl like her. 'For now I guess lets just see how it goes. Just because she has the attitude and aura of someone that kills, doesn't mean she has any talent in it. Who knows, maybe she sucks at fighting in general.'

"Okay, go get him. If you need anything, I will be right here. Try not to take too long, I did have other things planned to be gotten to today." 

 

[Assassin 0]

From the shadows emerged the crimson red light that enveloped the tiny blade befitting the tiny user. A pair of emerald eyes peered through the darkness as well, stalking it's prey from the shadows. She had the jump on her target, and she would make full use of the advantage. Her body was light and quick. Almost impossible to track easily if it hadn't been for the streak of light she was emitting from her weapon.

Footsteps caught the elf's pointy ears. Looking behind him, there was nothing there. The visage of a shadowed figure appeared behind him, her blade sinking into his back twice quickly before he even had time to react. Making some distance on his target, the elf drew his short sword and tried cut her head clean off her shoulders. The Assassin dipped down between his legs, grabbing his ankle and pulling it out from under him. The leather armored elf crashed into the dirt quickly rolling over to guard himself. The girl stood over him, dagger taken underhanded by it's handle. Her cold, serious gaze instilled fear as badly in him as Hidden had done to her. "Can't keep up with a kid?"

@Hidden

Assassin: 20/20 | 0/2 | DMG: 5 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 2 | [Stealth: Detected!]

Dark Elf: 2/12 (-10) | DMG: 9

Edited May 20, 2020 by Assassin

[Hidden 1]

(RP Fluff Stealth entered. Too tired to make a roll)

Hidden watched as the little girl entered stealth and began to move in. She herself was beginning to master the Sneak skill and was actually over half way to her goal. 'Guess ill activate my skill to get a closer look here. Maybe see how she fights a little bit' Crouching down, she activated her sneak skill. Shadows bent around her, concealing here from view. She moved around the sight to get a view from the side. Moving as fast as possible in stealth, she reached the side of the battlefield and waiting for the chaos to ensue.

It all happened so quickly she was not exactly sure what to do. Within seconds, she had attacked her opponent from behind, and flipped it over onto its back. Of course as a weak monster, this wasn't at all to impressive. 'However... she's got the talent I feared she did. She would actually be good at hunting real people. Her glare that shes staring down at her foe... its as intense as my own. Its the face of a hunter who relishes in the capture of its prey. Should I really allow this to happen? If Mari were here she would tell me to do something about it... but what?' 

She stood, exiting stealth and walking up to the field. "Finish it quickly. At this point, you are also prone to being knocked down by a swift kick to the leg. Ensure that your opponent is going to stay down before letting down any bit of your guard." 

Her eyes widened. 'Did I just give her a tip?!' 

[Assassin 0]

Hidden's words brought the elf back to reality. He needed to something or die! The elf reached his off hand for the little girls ankles attempting to grab her and pull her down. His hand was crushed by her foot. After a scream of pain, his sword tried to cut her across the chest. The child parried it away from her with her weapon, taking the dagger in an underhanded grip once more she reached down and dug the knife into the mobs face. He struggled momentarily before going completely limp and exploding to nothing but a mist of data.

The Assassin stood there quietly, looking at the grass until the blue polygons went away. Once they were gone, the girl popped back up into a happy attitude and looked at Hidden. "All done! That was easy. Silly meanies can't beat me up!" She held up the ore that was to be the quest item for them. Once she turned it in, they would both get the experience for the quest

Edited May 21, 2020 by Assassin

[Hidden 1]

She watched as the girl mercilessly took down the quest monster without any problem at all. The girl's dagger sunk into the Elf's head and it pixelated into polygons. "Congratulations. You managed to take down the easiest quest monster in the game. Cardinal skipped him in that one patch that increased the health of everything." She stated simply. The little girl held up the quest item to her to show and she nodded. 'Judging by her reaction... I feel like there is still a little kid inside her too. The murderous side of her is perhaps an alternate personality formed by abuse. Or maybe the little girl is who she wants to be and the killer is who she really is. Maybe vice versa to that...' Escaping her thoughts, Hidden turned her back on the little girl. "We should get back to that city. I have to get in there to use the teleport pad anyway. You made this easy" She told her.

This girl's future was so hazy, clouded by many uncertainties. She could find herself down a darker path than even Hidden was. 'Should I let her walk it on her own and see where it takes her? Or should I try to be the one that makes her choose the right one?' Hidden shook her head at her own thoughts. 'What am I even thinking. If she goes down the dark path she could become strong and be a very crucial ally....' 

Hidden's face reddened. 'Why is this so hard? That seems like the obvious choice! Why am I trying to second guess myself?' Mari and Yuki poisoned her. They made her want to take the time to help people choose the right thing instead of manipulating them to benefit her. 

In silent anger, Hidden turned back to Assassin. "Let's get going. You got more 'meanies' to beat up." 

[Assassin 0]

"Yeah!" The Assassin said happily bouncing into a skip back towards town. "We should do more quests so I can get stronger! If I don't get stronger, bigger meanies could do more damage to me and really hurt. I don't want that to happen cause they're all bullies."

The child made her way back to town with Hidden just behind her. The girl had initially scared her to begin with, but she wasn't all bad so far. They just seemed like they might have gotten off on the wrong foot. She started off like she wanted to kill Assassin but then suddenly she was alright with her. It probably had to do with the crying fit.

"So, you want to do more quests with me? Where should I meet you when you teleport? Or, should I add you as a friend? The guards won't like you a lot since you have that orange colored crystal so you'll have to hurry to the teleporter or they'll bully you." The Assassin talked like they were in a school yard and not a death game. Though even still, she understood what it was down to the core.

Upon heading into the city, Assassin watched the other rogue bound through the streets and through the teleporter. When she made it back to the blacksmith, she had the armor made, but she would probably just sell it to a merchant at some point. This was all for the experience anyway.

[Hidden 1]

The girl seemed to bounce excitedly as she requested to do even more quests with Hidden. "Are you sure you want to be doing quests with me? I am not really the ebst person for you to hang around" Hidden would state gingerly. If she hung around this girl... would they start to hunt her down to? Would the APD go that far? Laughing Coffin surely would. It was a fear she bore for every player she spoke with. 

The girl seemed to almost ignore her question and quickly asked where to meet her next. "Umm... I suppose you can meet me on the eighth floor then if you are so bold" Hidden replied with a smug attitude. "You can return the quest, I'll meet you outside the town on the eighth floor after you have accepted the next thread." 

Before Hidden would leave the girl, she would offer the girl a smile and say, "Don't get taken or anything. I'm really not in the mood to have to kill someone today" 

---

Thread Rewards
Both players
4SP 

@Assassin
Armor stuff

(I did a great job down here)