[F01-PP] <<The Fourth Lesson, Is Actually Free>> Fish-murder therapy

[Freyd 0]

Freyd hadn't said a word since he and Sin-Chan had defeated the skunks and returned to Hannah to turn in their quest.  The NPC politely accepted their items and awarded them their due, before offering the next triggered stage.  

"Fish. Pete.  Got it."  That was the extent of his brief reply.  He walked with his head down and his tussled bangs draped over his eyes.  He picked up a bit once they left the grove.

"You seemed to be having a rough go of it in that last battle," he started.  His voice was back to neutral, and the strange glow that had emanated from his left eye had vanished.

"The damned RNG in this game can be a real [censored]."  He sounded like he'd had first hand experience.

"I was glad to see that you were able to shake free of its hold.  Looks like all you needed was a little distraction."  No mention was made of his... outburst.

@Assassin

Spoiler

General
Level: 14 | HP:  280/280 | Energy: 28/28

Stats
DMG: 6 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | REC 1 | KEEN 1 | HOLYDMG 1 | BLEED 1

Skills
2HSS – Rank 3
Light Armor – Rank 1

Mods
None

Extra Skills
Disguise

Housing Buffs
Advanced Training -- (+2 SP, 1/month)
Multipurpose -- (+1 LD/SR/SD/Prosp roll per thread)
Rested -- (-1 EN first two posts per combat)
Clean -- (-20% DOT dmg, first time per thread)
Filling -- (Increase one food item effect by +1 T1 slot)
Item Stash -- (+1 Battle Ready slot)
Col Stash -- (+5% col from monsters & chests)
Relaxed -- (+[5*Tier]hp regen per post, EN regen in 2 posts)

Equipment (In use)
Forgiven Disobedience (T1E3-2HSS) - ACC 1, HOLYDMG 1,  BLEED 1
Enduring Guile (T1 Light Armor) - MIT 1, REC 1, SAV 1
Justicar’s Vambraces (T1 Trinket) - ACC 1, KEEN 1

Ready Slots:
(3x)Starter Healing Potions(50HP)
(1x) T1 Damage Potion of Uncommon quality. (+1 Damage)
None
None
None
None
 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Assassin 0]

Assassin's mood had calmed for the most part, but she definitely didn't want to talk about it. When Freyd spoke up about her attitude outburst, she folded her arms up underneath her cloak and looked off to the side. That encounter had annoyed her beyond the ability to have a good time. She wanted to go home and rest at this point, but she also wanted to finish these quests so that she wouldn't have to come back to them later. Finish them now and forget about them so she can work on other quests.

As they approached the lake, the could see Fisherman Pete out in the water. He line was cast and he was looking for a big haul, but it snapped once he tried to pull it in. A disgruntled look was on his face as he made his way back to shore to talk to the two players. "You brought my pole did'ya? Good! It's about bloody time I get something that does snap in half after two wimpy casts."

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

Spoiler

General
Level: 15 | HP:  300/300 | Energy: 30/30

Stats
DMG: 8 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18

Skills
Dagger Rank IV

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

Equipment(Standby)
Antique Dagger(Tri): LD 3
Ryuketsu no(Dagger): BLD II; PARA I

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

 

[Freyd 0]

"Let's get out there and see your worth then, old-timer," Freyd replied with a slight grin curling his lips.  He genuinely seemed to enjoy interacting with the NPCs and treating them more like people than a lot of other players did.  It was an odd trait, given how silent and awkward he often seemed.  Maybe they were safe territory - predictable per programming.  It could also be that he'd picked up on Sin-Chan's distance after her performance issues during the last quest.  He'd been there.  It sucked.  Royally.

He made no mention of his own loss of control either.  Nothing like that had ever happened before.  The tiny part of him that sequestered his passions and emotions so rarely surfaced, that to have it explode in that manner had been most unsettling.  It was something to consider another time, though it left a shadow of doubt and dread in the back of his mind.

Climbing into Old Pete's rickety boat, Freyd paddled them out to the centre of the lake while the man berated them with endless fish tales, metaphors and puns.  Some designer had laid it on rather thick.  Freyd baited his line, listening to the ongoing one-sided banter, and checking on Sin-Chan from the corner of his eyes.  It was her call, if she didn't want to talk.  He wasn't about to push.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Assassin 0]

Assassin herself wasn't as eager to get into the rickety old boat as the other two were, but if she wanted to complete this quest, she would have to do it. First her luck being completely awful and now she had to take a motion sickness ride into the waves. Thankfully, puking wasn't a thing, but that didn't change her opinion about being on a bumpy ride like this.

After some quiet contemplation, the girl finally stepped into the boat doing her best to keep the nauseating feeling of motion sickness out of her mind. The other two spoke to each other a bit as they made their way out into the lake, but Assassin kept quiet. 

Silence fell between everyone on the boat as Pete cast his line out into the water. A moment of letting the bob sink into the water and a stagnant, quiet wait for something to bite. Then suddenly the boat rocked as Pete had landed something huge. If Assassin could upchuck anything from this digital body, it would have went into the floor of the boat just now.

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

Assassin: 300/300 |  30/30 | DMG: 8 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18
Freyd: 280/280 | 28/28 | DMG: 6 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | REC 1 | KEEN 1 | HOLYDMG 1 | BLEED 1

Swordfish: 35/35 | DMG: 50/5

[Freyd 0]

A giant lance-like snout pierced the surface of the water and went right through Freyd's left shoulder.  The damage would have been crippling, or even fatal, if he actually still had any bones or musculature.  Instead, those sections of his body on either side of the puncture radiated with the angry orange mesh-grid of his avatar's damaged digital skin.  Even with pain suppression, it wasn't an injury to be easily dismissed or ignored.

Somehow, in the instant that it had taken the swordfish to impale itself upon him, Freyd had likewise summoned Forgiven Disobedience to hand and driven it deep into its thrashing body.  If it was real, its weight would have pulled him overboard in an instant, like ending him into a horrible drowning death.  But stats dictated over Earthly physics in Aincrad, and here he could hold his own against a flailing nine-hundred pound fish while standing on a rocking boat in the middle of open, choppy water.

"Neat," was his entire vocal summary as he turned to face Sin-Chan.  "Would you mind?"  He nodded towards the fish.

Spoiler

[0] Assassin: 300/300 |  30/30 | DMG: 8 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18
[1] Freyd: 244/280 (-36) | 23/28 (-5) | DMG: 6 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | REC 1 | KEEN 1 | HOLYDMG 1 | BLEED 1

Swordfish: 5/35 (-30)| DMG: 50/5

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Assassin 0]

The Assassin was having a hard enough time seeing straight, let alone process the fight that was happening. She didn't like this. She wanted solid land again. Even as the swordfish smashed against Freyd's shoulder and gave the boat an insane rock that could have made her puke up the entirety of the contents in her stomach, if she had one, she tried to keep her hold on the boat and draw her weapon.

Nearly falling off the side as she made her way with her weapon drawn, the girl's dizziness was apparent. She held her weapon out, not even activating a sword art to kill it off quickly, and stabbed the fish with the best might she could muster. Once her dagger cut into it's body, it struggled only a moment longer and fell to the floor of the boat. Oddly enough, it hadn't turned back into data this time. Probably something quest specific for Pete. "Are we done? Can we go back to land now, please?"

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[0] Assassin: 300/300 |  30/30 | DMG: 8 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18
[1] Freyd: 244/280  | 23/28 | DMG: 6 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | REC 1 | KEEN 1 | HOLYDMG 1 | BLEED 1

Swordfish: -3/35 | DMG: 50/5

[Freyd 0]

Freyd grasped the gunnels and steadied the boat, sensing Sin-Chan's discomfort.  It gave her a chance to settle herself in the stern.  Pete's eyes were as wide as saucers at their catch and its near-instantaneous defeat.  

"Don't worry," he replied.  "We'll be back on shore in a few moments."  He rowed slowly and steady, steering the keel into the waves to minimize any side to side motion.  A see-saw motion was easier to manage than a cross-wise teeter.  Pete was occupied examining the swordfish and trying to lay bets on its weight.  Freyd spared himself a moment to wonder if it actually varied by spawn, then settled on the conclusion that he didn't really care.  

"Any plans on where you'll go next?"  he asked Sin-Chan.  The rowboat required him to face opposite the direction of travel.  Taking a chance, and in case she ran once they hit the shore, he paused for a moment and opened a friend request.

This should prove interesting.

[Assassin 0]

Attempting to sit her spot and just forget where she was for a moment, her quiet contemplation was interrupted with a message notification. A friend request from the one she had been traveling with up to this point. Without really taking much time to think about it, she accepted the friend request and closed her eyes again, trying to steady herself in her mind and forget about the rocking of the boat. Thankfully the slow motion of the boat had calmed enough to make her not feel so nauseated. 

"Any plans on where you'll go next?" Her companion asked as she checked to see how close the boat was to shore. A groan escaped her lips. "I wanna go to the inn and sleep. This is finally done and I want to forget it even happened." He could tell that she was still struggling with the motions of the boats and trying her best not to hock up any digital mess that she could if puking really was possible.

[Freyd 0]

Getting her to shore was the obvious priority.  They made it soon enough.  Pete got his trophy and they got their trivial rewards.  The skill points mattered most.  A quick scan of his progression plan informed him that he was near to passing the level max on a few quests, like this one.   Freyd always had a plan, or twelve, in the works at any given time.  Beyond those, he was also calculator odds and probabilities for various scenarios based on whatever was happening was happening around him.  He didn't do casual, or random, unless it was by design.

Sin-Chan's queasiness was just another problem - one he could most easily solve by helping her reach her destination.  Hopping out of the boat once they reached the shore, he pull it up onto the sandy beach and extended his hand to help her out.  Would she take it?  The math said that she most likely wouldn't.

[Assassin 0]

The nauseated child crawled out of the boat using the dock as a grip to get herself up. She hadn't even seen Freyd's hand reached out to help her. For a moment, she laid on the wooden pier, doing her best to fix her dizziness. Freyd had gone quiet after asking her that question. She wondered why he would ask her something like that. Was he just worried about her, or was there something more to it?

Either way, she couldn't think about much other than wanting to puke up something up. Hopefully that feeling would fade any time soon. "What about you?" She asked him, not really thinking before she asked. "What are you planning on doing now that we're done with this stupid line of dumb quests? I just wanna sleep at this point." Slowly she sat up after the nausea fades enough for her to stop complaining.

[Freyd 0]

"Venomous Wargs, apparently."  His arm dropped as if had simply been using it to steady the boat.  No offense was taken.  It was consistent with his expectations.  "It's the last starter quest with a level cap that I haven't done yet.  After that, the field is wide open."

They made their way to the nearest inn at the edge of town.  Casting a look at the innkeeper as they entered, he quickly transferred enough col for a room, but sat himself down at a table by the hearth.  He started punching fingers at the air in front of him, clearly opening various displays in his player interface.

"Go.  Rest.  I have things to figure out and might as well sit here awhile."  His eyes were already downcast - lost in his tables and charts.  It was a strange way to show consideration, but it seemed to be his.  

"We can talk later, if you feel like it."  He paused and turned towards he, his hands still in the air.

"Erm... have a good sleep."

[Assassin 0]

Too worn out to really put up much of an argument that she could pay for her own room. She watched him walk over to his seat at a table and look over his menu. Assassin herself would go and find the room with the matching key. All of this questing in one day was enough to make her pass out instantly. Upon entering the room, she noticed that, once again, there wasn't a single inn in this entire game that had two bed rooms. If they did it would always be taken for the night already. Sighing quietly, she wondered if Freyd would act the same way that Snow and Ariel had when she tried to sleep on the floor. He wasn't up in the room like they were. If he even planned to use the same room as her that was. 

Quickly, she changed out of her armor and into the large t-shirt she normally wore to sleep that covered her body like a long dress, passing further than her knees and almost scraping against the floor. She laid down on the soft rug that was over the inn floor and quickly fell into a deep slumber there.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd remained awake for hours after Sin-Chan had gone.  He valued his privacy above all else, and couldn't conceive of invading hers.  There was too much still to do - always something more.  Local shop and market rates needed to be reviewed and compared.  Gear optimization needed to be reviewed.  He'd been fortunate in his early finds, but there was definite room for improvement.  Sin-Chan's gear was better than his own, yet she'd been flustered by terrible fortune against a bunch of grey mobs during their last quest.  It could happen to anyone.

He replayed the battle in his mind, recounting the speed and sequence of her moves.  She had great technique.  Too bad the RNG could be so fickle.  At some point, he must have nodded off, still processing this life of dreams with dreams.  His menus timed out and closed automatically, and he sat still and silent - the priest in repose with his head propped up by his right fist and silhouetted against the firelight.

[Assassin 0]

The morning came more quickly than she had expected. At some point, she realized that Freyd wasn't coming to the room that she had, and she must have crawled into the bed half asleep to get more comfortable, though it was fuzzy. Assassin was a slow one to wake up. The sun peered through the curtains of the window that strained her vision for some time before she could find herself out of the bed. Once she finally did, she changed into her common clothes and went to go see if Freyd was still around. He probably went on with his own works. He did say he wanted to get that quest done that she had already finished herself with Nee-chan. Maybe he had gone to do that.

Well, she was wrong. He was sleeping at one of the tavern's tables. Just like Snow had when she forced her to sleep in the bed. The girl sighed. She was young, but she definitely didn't enjoy the feeling of being treated like a child. She went up to the bar and ordered something to eat for the both of them and sat down at the table across from him. Her head rested in her arms while she waited to be served.

[Freyd 0]

The clanking of ceramic on wood and jarring of his tabletop pillow woke Freyd with a start.  He blinked a few times, smacking his lips as if expecting dry mouth or a pool of drool to have formed, even though neither could occur in this world.  It took a moment for him to focus and realize that Sin-Chan was sitting opposite him, and that a plate of hot food had been served to them both.

Arching his eyebrows, as if it was required for the mental realizations to sink in, he noticed the return of daylight outside and bustle of morning traffic in the rest of the room.

"Thanks for the meal," he said, mildly slurring his words.  His brain didn't seem to think his mouth should work properly just yet.  "I must have passed out while going over my numbers last night."  He stretched, as if to relieve stiffness, even though there was none.  He stopped abruptly as recognition of it dawned on him, and reached for his plate.

"Did you manage to get some decent rest?"

[Assassin 0]

"The floor wasn't as comfortable as the bed. I laid there expecting you to come and use it, but I must have crawled into the bed sometime when I was half asleep." She explained, taking a bit of her breakfast. She seemed like she was in a much better mood opposed to how she was feeling yesterday. It was a wonder what sleep could do for someone's attitude, even in a digital video game where most basic functions were null.

"I've already done that quest that you said you were going to do and I know that you're pretty close to out leveling it, so once you've done that and finished it, I wouldn't mind meeting up to do more quests again. You're an interesting person to be around." Assassin didn't really mean for that sentence to come off as an insult. It came from more of the child like understanding that she had on some things.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd's expression eased.  It was so rare for him to relax, even if only for a moment.  He appreciated candor, and took no insult whatsoever from her comments.

"That would be great!  You're sharp, and straight to the point with your business.  A lot of people around here tend to go on and on without ever saying anything."  It was meant as a compliment.  He stopped so that he could shovel in another mouthful of food and swallow it, but also to avoid being lumped in with his own remarks.

"Have you met many other players yet?" he added, changing the topic slightly.  "I've only wandered to a few of the upper floors so far."

There were several dozen additional questions swirling around his mind, half of which would likely get him stabbed or drive her to get up and walk away.  Courtesies had to be obeyed.  She may look child-like, but Freyd had no illusions of her potential.  

'I wonder what her real story is', he wondered only to himself.

[Assassin 0]

"Um..." The girl had only just woken up, so her thought process was still coming back from it's fuzziness. "Well, first there's Nee-chan. She's one of the strongest people you can meet in the world. She helps clear the floors and stuff. Then there was tank-lady. She was a little bit higher level than me, though I think I'm catching up with her on that. I also met someone who kind of scared me when I first met them but then they protected me from a big mean bear." If there was anyone else, it wasn't so much that she had forgotten about them, it was more that she wasn't awake enough to remember to bring them up. Those three had some of the biggest impact on her since she started to level up in the game. "What about you? Has there been anyone who has helped you out since the game started?"

[Freyd 0]

"Yuki is the only other person I've really had any dealings with, other than you.  She's a tank - REALLY loves pink, like... all pink, all the time.  Tough as nails though.  We... well, she took down a frost golem on floor four back when I was just starting out."  He remembered their first encounter fondly.  He probably would have peed his pants, if he'd been able.

"I wasn't exactly helpful, having literally just sneaked my way up there without having yet been in a single battle.  I still only had my starting gear to work with."  Leaning back in his chair, having devoured his meal between comments, he looked a bit bashful. 

"I really haven't been out here that long, and yet time seems to be passing quickly.  Since Yuki and I parted ways, I've worked hard to get my head in the game and make up for lost time.  It's been a whirlwind of questing, trying to clear out all the basic content before I age out, so to speak."  He summoned Forgiven Disobedience, his two-handed straight sword.  It was a gaudy-looking thing with a bleached white blade and overly elaborate hilt and guard dressed up with reds and golds.  As odd as it looked, it was a formidable weapon for a starting player.

"At some, I'll need to figure out where this came from.  It literally appeared and fell out of the sky, landing in front of me."  He made an odd, boggled face, then just shrugged.

"People - complete strangers mostly - have been very kind, and generous."   He locked eyes with Sin-Chan, but his expression was soft and disarming.  "I mean to show my gratitude however I can."

[Assassin 0]

Assassin just shrugged. She hadn't done anything for him that merit him doing something in return for her. She had only quested with him to gain the experience, likely he was fine with the same. It was mutual gain for both parties and not really much more. Frankly, she liked it to stay that way with most people.

"You don't really owe me anything, if that's what you mean." She said biting into the food she still had. "We both got benefit out of fighting together, so I don't really think you should give me anything. I don't want people to think that they owe me debts or anything like that. It would be too stressful." The girl said looking up at him. The blade was interesting. It didn't look like anything she had ever seen. But she could feel that it was special like Nee-chan and Nee-sans' weapons. She wondered what it would be capable of.

Spoiler

Rewards

SP: 2 quest; 1 page; 1 event
Col: 400 to Freyd

Items: - 1 Fish with +1 ACC snack (+1 BD for one Thread)