[F22 - SP] Let's Jam <<Shocking Stallion>>

[Bahr 0]

Spoiler

STATS
LEVEL - 67
HP - 1370
EN - 134
DMG - 19
MIT - 79
ACC - 3
EVA - 4
FALLEN - 12
HOLY - 6
LD - 4
STEALTH DETECTION - 4
HOLY BLESSING - 24
BATTLE HEALING - 64
PHASE

HOME BUFFS
» WELL RESTED
     ➥ -1 EN FOR THE FIRST THREE TURNS OF COMBAT
» RELAXED
     ➥ +15 TO OUT OF COMBAT HP REGENERATION
     ➥ FULL ENERGY REGENERATION AFTER TWO POSTS OUT OF COMBAT
» SQUEAKY CLEAN
     ➥ REDUCE INCOMING DOT DAMAGE BY 25% FOR FIRST INCOMING DOT INFLICTED IN THREAD
» FILLING
     ➥ INCREASE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SINGLE CONSUMED FOOD ITEM IN A THREAD BY +1 T1 SLOT
» ITEM STASH
     ➥ +1 BATTLE-READY INVENTORY SLOT
» DELICIOUS
     ➥ COMBINE 3 IDENTICAL FOOD ITEMS INTO A FEAST ONCE PER THREAD
» SKYLIGHT EXTENDED MOD LIMIT
     ➥ EXTENDED MOD LIMIT EXPERTISE INCREASED BY 1
» ANGLER
     ➥ +1 MATERIAL GAINED WHILE FISHING
» MULTIPURPOSE
     ➥ GAIN +1 TO LD, STEALTH RATING, STEALTH DETECTION, OR PROSPERITY TO ONE POST IN A THREAD
     ➥ CAN BE APPLIED AFTER THE ROLL
» DECOR: <<SPOOKY AMENITY>>
     ➥ REDUCE INCOMING DOT DAMAGE BY 5% FOR FIRST INCOMING DOT INFLICTED IN THREAD

SKILLS

NON-COMBAT SKILLS
» EXTENDED MOD LIMIT R2 >>> R3 WITH SKYLIGHT BUFF
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ ALLOWS FOR THE USE OF ONE 2 >>> 3 ADDITIONAL MODS
» SEARCHING R4
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +4 LD
     ➥ +4 STEALTH DETECTION

COMBAT SKILLS
» PARRY
     ➥ POST ACTION
     ➥ REDUCE FINAL DAMAGE OF NEXT ATTACK AGAINST YOU BY 50% (ROUNDED DOWN) AND NEGATES STUN/PARALYSIS EFFECT OF THAT ATTACK
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 2 TURNS
» BATTLE HEALING R5
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ WHILE IN COMBAT, USER HEALS FOR 5% (68 HP) OF THEIRMAX HP EACH TURN
» ENERGIZE
     ➥ POST ACTION
     ➥ RESTORE 8 ENERGY TO TARGET PARTY MEMBER. CANNOT TARGET USER.

EXTRA SKILLS
» DISGUISE
     ➥ FREE ACTION
     ➥ +1 EVA UNTIL START OF YOUR NEXT TURN
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 3 TURNS
» MEDITATION
     ➥ POST ACTION
     ➥ RECOVER AN ADDITIONAL 15 ENERGY - GETTING HIT BY AN ATTACK BEFORE YOUR NEXT TURN REDUCES ADDITIONAL ENERGY RECOVERY TO 9
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 3 TURNS

WEAPON SKILLS
» TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD R5
     ➥ +7 DMG WHEN TWO-HANDED WEAPON IS EQUIPPED

ARMOR SKILLS
» LIGHT ARMOR R5
     ➥ +25 MIT

MODS
» LIGHT ARMOR MOD: ATHLETICS
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 DMG WHEN WEARING LIGHT ARMOR
     ➥ +30 HP WHEN WEARING LIGHT ARMOR
» LIGHT ARMOR MOD: SPRINT & ACROBATICS
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 EVA WHEN WEARING LIGHT ARMOR
» PARRY MOD: JUSTIFIED RIPOSTE
     ➥ POST ACTION: COMBINE WITH PARRY
     ➥ SUCCESSFUL PARRY STUNS OPPONENT
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 3 TURNS
» WEAPON MOD: PRECISION
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 ACC
» WEAPON MOD: TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD FEROCITY
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 DMG WHEN USING 2HSS SWORD ARTS
» WEAPON MOD: TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD FINESSE R3
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ REDUCES THE EN COST OF TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD SWORD ARTS BY 3
» BATTLE HEALING MOD: EMERGENCY RECOVERY
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ WHEN PLAYER WOULD SUFFER NON-LETHAL DAMAGE THAT PUTS THEM BELOW 25% HP, HEAL 10% HP AFTER THE ATTACK RESOLVES
     ➥ CAN ONLY OCCUR ONCE PER THREAD
» HYPERACTIVE
     ➥ POST ACTION
     ➥ INCREASE PASSIVE ENERGY RECOVERY OF PARTY MEMBER BY 3 FOR 3 TURNS. CAN TARGET USER.

EQUIPMENT

WEAPON
» [EQUIPPED] "DAWN'S DEMISE" - TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD (T3 - DEMONIC)
     ➥ FALLEN 2
          ➥ +12 TO BASE DAMAGE ON NATURAL ROLLS OF 6-8
     ➥ HOLY
          ➥ +6 TO BASE DAMAGE ON NATURAL ROLLS OF 9 OR HIGHER
     ➥ PHASE
          ➥ IGNORES 50% OF MIT ON NATURAL ROLLS OF 9 OR HIGHER

ARMOR
» [EQUIPPED] "BLOODSTAINED COAT" - LIGHT ARMOR (T3 - DEMONIC)
     ➥ +54 MIT
     ➥ +1 EVA
     ➥ HOLY BLESSING
          ➥ AFTER TAKING DAMAGE, USER HEALS 24 HP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FOLLOWING TURN

TRINKET
» [EQUIPPED] "EAGLE'S EYE" - TRINKET (T1 - DEMONIC)
     ➥ +2 EVA
     ➥ +2 ACC

FAMILIAR
» [EQUIPPED] SWINE BAJESUS R3
     ➥ +9 DMG

BATTLE-READY INVENTORY

» Teleport Crystal (1)

FOCUSED DOG CONSUMED (+2 ACC >>> +3 ACC with "Filling" House Buff)
EVASION DOG CONSUMED (+2 EVA)
TITAN'S STRENGTH CONSUMED (+3 DMG)
WELL-DONE STEAK CONSUMED (+2 DMG | -30 MIT)
POTION OF OBSIDIAN FLESH COMPOUND CONSUMED (+45 MIT)
BIGGEST BOY DOG CONSUMED (+135 OVERHEALTH)

Five down. Only the last remained. It was time that Bahr ended this putrid quest line and finished his collection of (seemingly) useless trinkets. Even if the statues didn't have any apparent use so far, the experience gain that he'd accrued throughout his travels had more than made up for the lack of adequate loot. Once he was done with this one, he would have an opportunity to move on to bigger and better things. Like getting his island ready for his new home, or finally figuring out how to craft that perfect mac and cheese dish that Mina had given him the recipe to. 

But in order to do that, he would first need to find a lake. Why was there an electric horse at a lake? Don't ask me, man. I don't make the rules. I'm just here to get the SP and dip. That's really all there is to it.
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1505/1505 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 94 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 75 | HB: 24 | LD: 4

 

[Bahr 0]

It wasn't long before Bahr came upon a trail of fire and devastation. Or, at least, it looked to be something like that. How else would one describe a hole burned through a forest? Fire? Electricity? Come to think of it, definitely electricity. There wasn't really anything else that made sense, considering he was indeed chasing an electrical horse. Seriously, who came up with stuff? He could swear it was written by some goofball like, say, Hikoru. But that was just silly. Players couldn't write quests. 

Bahr surmised that if he followed the trail left behind by whatever had created it, it would lead him straight to the thing. The, you know, electric horse. Because that's the sort of thing you run into in Aincrad. It could have just been a goblin with Terry Crews' face on it, or perhaps a crown-sporting amphibian wearing shades while puffing on a blunt that attacked exclusively with a Beretta or similar nine mil handgun. The possibilities were endless. But Cardinal had decided to go with electric horse. Mind boggling.

[Bahr 0]

Though, Bahr wasn't a fool. He understood that he needed to go into this fight expecting to give it everything he had. After all, it was an electric mother fucking horse he was talking about here. Maybe if it had been a fire horse, or even a unicorn, he wouldn't be so apprehensive. But this horse was electric. Like the gun from Painkiller that shoots shurikens and lightning. What I mean to say is, they share a comparable degree of ridiculousness.

What's that? You've never heard of a video game called Painkiller? Well, that just means you're not cultured enough to be reading the posts in this thread. Seriously, go look up the Yahtzee review on it or something. It's gold.

Anyways, Bahr, in the spirit of being fully prepared, activated Parry so he'd take half the final damage from at least one of the attacks this damned thing leveled at him. It wouldn't be long now before he reached the water's edge, and when he did, he didn't want to have to burn time prepping.
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 129/134 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 94 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 75 | HB: 24 | LD: 4
PARRY ACTIVE

 

[Bahr 0]

Hey, look. There it was. An electric fucking horse. Just standing there, drinking from the lake as though it actually belonged in an environment like this. Pitiful. Bahr knew that he needed to destroy this abomination before it continued to leak its hazardous, tone-destroying influence into the soil any more than it already had done. I mean, christ, probably the only thing worse than a mob like this would be the gun toting fish person he was thinking about earlier. But this thing was close in terms of how it broke a bit of the immersion.

Electric horse. My god.

Anyways, Bahr's blade ignited in a bad ass mixture of red and black as he lunged toward his unaware target, striking it before it had an opportunity to really figure out what was going on. It neighed in protest - squealed, really. Was it part boar? Depending on what it dropped, Bahr might just find out.
 

Spoiler

Grounded: Stuns and Paralysis cannot effect «Taneuma»

Lightning Strike: When a player rolls a natural attack roll of 9-10, «Taneuma» will send out an electric shock, causing paralysis to the player

Conductive: If «Taneuma» rolls a natural attack roll of 9-10 and rolls a 6+ on the CD, «Taneuma» will knock the player with the highest hate into water, then cause a shock to go throughout the water, dealing 300 Unmitigatable damage.

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 121/134 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 94 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 75 | HB: 24 | LD: 4
PARRY ACTIVE

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -9 EN ("Well Rested" House Buff reduces EN expenditure by 1.)

Taneuma: HP: 1107/1500 | DMG: 275 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | ID: 155248 | BD: 8, Hit for 36x13=468-75=393 DMG
Taneuma roll: 155250 | MD: 6, Miss

 

[Bahr 0]

Despite the creature's apparent chagrin, it didn't actually seem too keen on fighting back. Was it scared? Timid? Or was this a case of the monster actually realizing that Bahr had a trap in store for it? I mean, no other mob had ever realized when he had Parry active in the past. What made this one different? Was he to believe that an electric horse was among the smartest mobs in all of Aincrad?

No. There was no way that could be true.

Just to illustrate this point, Bahr charged up yet another Galaxy Destroyer and let it fly. And fly it did, tearing straight into the hide of the beast that stood before him. Once again, it neigh-squealed, reared up on its hind legs, kicked the air in front of it with its front legs, then snapped back into a standing position as though nothing had happened. Was the thing's aggro compiler busted?
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 113/134 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 94 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 75 | HB: 24 | LD: 4
PARRY ACTIVE

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -9 EN ("Well Rested" House Buff reduces EN expenditure by 1.)

Taneuma: HP: 870/1500 | DMG: 275 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | ID: 155252 | BD: 3, Hit for 24x13=312-75=237 DMG
Taneuma roll: 155253 | MD: 6, Miss

 

[Bahr 0]

Certainly wouldn't be the weirdest thing that Bahr had ever seen in Aincrad. Still, it was a tad disappointing that after everything he'd gone through with this quest line, the thing appeared to just be... glitched. Standing there, taking abuse without dishing anything back. Bahr could swear that it- holy shit, it actually just leaned down and took a drink of the water just then. Like, right in the middle of this internal monologue. Seriously, take a look. It's drinking right now.

What the hell, man.

Frustrated, Bahr took another swipe at it with yet another Galaxy Destroyer. This was what he'd taken so much time to prepare for? This was what he'd dumped all of these consumables into? This was what he'd fought five other sub par mobs to get to? And all for a bunch of worthless statues that didn't have any value beyond serving as paperweights in his house.
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 104/134 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 94 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 75 | HB: 24 | LD: 4
PARRY ACTIVE

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -9 EN ("Well Rested" House Buff reduces EN expenditure by 1.)

Taneuma: HP: 633/1500 | DMG: 275 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | ID: 155254 | BD: 4, Hit for 24x13=312-75=237 DMG
Taneuma roll: 155256 | MD: 4, Miss

 

[Bahr 0]

What an absurd, colossal waste of time. The longer it went on, the more furious Bahr became. It didn't matter how many times he struck it, it would be stuck in this loop. Get hit, damage animation, then back to drinking as though nothing happened. In his rage, Bahr poured an exorbitant quantity of energy into a single strike, his crimson blade once again becoming enveloped within tendrils of darkness. He thwacked it with all of his might, and once again its health plummeted.

Wow. It was probably only one hit away from dead by now. One more good sprinkle of damage, and it would all be over. Without it ever actually breaking out of this mundane loop of not giving a fuck, apparently. What a final boss. Having been the first full "quest chain" that Bahr had actually seen through to the end, he couldn't say that he was impressed. Good job, Kayaba. You made a turd.
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 95/134 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 94 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 75 | HB: 24 | LD: 4
PARRY ACTIVE

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -10 EN

Taneuma: HP: 240/1500 | DMG: 275 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | ID: 155257 | BD: 7, Hit for 36x13=468-75=393 DMG
Taneuma roll: 155258 | MD: 3, Miss

 

[Bahr 0]

And then, with one more mighty swing, the creature found itself forever severed from the mortal coil. Except it wasn't because it would respawn eventually. Wreak havoc across the land, then probably get stuck in the same animation loop as before.

Jesus. What a piss poor boss. Bahr'd had nightmares that fought harder than this. Hell, Swine Bajesus fought harder than this. A level one boar right outside the front gates of the Town of Beginnings, ripe for the picking for whatever level one noob happened to stroll through the plains that day, fought harder than this. A wet paper back and a kitten collectively fought harder than this.

The last blade of grass in a valley of rock, stubbornly clinging to life as it emerged through the cracks in its thirst for sunlight, fought harder than this.

The molecules that came together to form the first strands of DNA that possessed eukaryotes fought harder than this.

Hell, even Michael Jackson's career fought harder than this.
 

Spoiler

Bahr: HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 86/134 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 94 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | PHASE | BH: 75 | HB: 24 | LD: 4
PARRY ACTIVE

Bahr used [x13] Galaxy Destroyer, -10 EN

Taneuma: HP: 0/1500 | DMG: 275 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | ID: 155259 | BD: 8, Hit for 36x13=468-75=393 DMG | Taneuma defeated

 

[Bahr 0]

But, for some reason, Bahr got the feeling that his day was not yet done. As though he had to arbitrarily fill a space of some sort just to get credit for having actually defeated the boss. But what was he to do? Go back to his island and write- er, play out? chopping down a bunch of plants again? Please. That's a dead horse that you can beat once, max.

No, he'd have to find something else to do. Something interesting. Like skydiving, or wrestling crocodiles. Punting porcupines. Drinking exorbitant quantities of coffee before writing a shitty short story about, oh, I don't know, killing a fucking electric horse???

No. None of that sounded particularly entertaining. But he felt that, if he truly wanted it, and really put his mind to it, he could find something to do. Something to fill the time, until he felt the prying eyes of some distant Discord server leave him alone so that he could enjoy his evening in peace and tranquility.

[Bahr 0]

For now, he figured he would head to the White Rabbit. Nothing like a steak and a pint of ice cold beer after a day out killing unresponsive super mobs. Even if he hadn't worked hard, Bahr still felt as though he deserved some sort of reward. He'd done it. Solo'd the entire questline, if that actually meant anything. Maybe it would have, had the last mob not stood there and took it like an over used blow up doll.

So he slowly, and I mean very slowly, started making his way back to town. Taking his time with each and every step. Sometimes doing long, goofy steps. Sometimes not. Sometimes doing the electric slide. Sometimes doing the moon walk. It was a really good thing that nobody was watching him, or reading some sort of story about what he was doing, because he probably looked really silly right about now. But this was his private time. He could do stupid shit without being judged for it. Right?

[Bahr 0]

At some point, in the distant future, after some measure of boogeying, he finally made it to a town. Which town, you ask? How should I know? You think I have the towns of this floor memorize? Hah, you give me too much credit. I can hardly remember what I ate for breakfast this morning, much less the names of towns in a fictional floating castle. Get out of here with that nonsense. 

Anyways, back to Bahr. He, uh, I guess, stepped up into the teleport gate. Yeah. Then he said something like, "TeLePoRt, SnOwPoInT!" But then, the portal didn't actually do anything. For you see, Snowpoint is a city in the Pokemon universe. Not Sword Art Online. After a small moment of reflection, he remembered the name that he was supposed to be calling out. "Teleport, Snowfrost!" he declared triumphantly. Good job, Bahr. Good job. You did it. Nice.

[Bahr 0]

But then, he kinda wished that he hadn't. Because as soon as he stepped off from the teleportation plaza in Snowfrost, he remembered why he hadn't been back in awhile. It was the freaking cold, man. There wasn't another place on heaven, earth, the real world or virtual, that pierced through his layers quite like the wind of the fourth floor. He had no diea how people with heavy armor managed in parts like this. Wouldn't the metal get, like, cold? It had to, right?

He slowly made his way through the city streets, steam billowing from his mouth erratically through chattering teeth as he rubbed his arms in a vain attempt to return some semblance of warmth to them. This was, of course, kinda dumb, because what was rubbing one's arms actually supposed to do? You think friction is going to be able to contend with sub-freezing temperatures? Not with your freaking hands, you goober.

[Bahr 0]

Finally, he'd made it to the White Rabbit. Or, at least, he was really close. He could see it, at least, and that was what mattered. So long as he could make it somewhere between ten and fifteen feet further, he wouldn't be able to curl up next to the fireplace in that treasured pub and-

"Oi! You there?" a voice called out, but Bahr ignored it at first.

"Yeah, you! I'm talking to you!" he ignored it for a second time, hoping that they would take a hint and leave him the hell alone. All he truly cared about was getting inside so that he could-

"Are you even listening to me, you son of a bitch?" the voice called out once again, its source now materializing in front of him. It was a man he didn't recognize. Short in stature, with long ears. In fact, Bahr was pretty sure he was staring at a rabbit. Bahr leaned down to inspect the creature, and sure enough... Pure rabbit.

[Bahr 0]

But the strange thing about this rabbit was that it wore a full suit, a long top hat, a monocle, and carried a stopwatch around. What in the hell? Had Bahr stepped into Alice and Wonderland?

"I'm going to be late!" the rabbit bellowed in a most exasperated tone. 

"The hell do I care?" Bahr retorted curtly. "Get the hell out of my way, furball." He then tried to take another step forward, but the creature blocked him again.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation," the rabbit insisted. "If I'm late, all of Flajangulin will be cursed for all eternity!"

"Flajanguwhat? Wait, wait, don't tell me." The rabbit opened its lips, as though to speak again. "No, seriously, don't tell me. I seriously don't want to know. Like, I literally don't have the words to express to you how little I care about this little side quest. I just want to get in there and get a pint and wait until the storm blows over."

[Bahr 0]

"But sir, I implore you! All of Flajangulin relies on me being on time! If I don't make it on time, they'll all be cursed! All of them! Because I wasn't on time? Have I mentioned that if I'm not on time, absolutely everyone in Flajangulin will be cursed?" Jesus. The pile of fluff really didn't know when to quit.

"Yeah. You've only mentioned it, like, a dozen times," Bahr muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting loose a sigh he'd been holding back. He was shivering, disappointed, and miserable. And of all the things that could have been holding him up, it was a damn talking rabbit. Though, not particularly more peculiar that an electric fucking horse.

"Good! Then you understand! If I'm not on time, all of Flajangulin will be doomed to cursedom! Cursedom, I tell you! Because I wasn't on time!" Bahr was fairly certain that if he heard the phrase 'not on time' one more time, it would cease to sound real at all. Either that, or he'd strangle this little twerp to get it out of the way.

[Bahr 0]

"Look. I don't care. I don't care about you, or Flajangulin, or any of the rest of it. I'm done. I have no more patience to tolerate this degeneracy. You think I like this? Being held up by a talking rabbit? And how can you even talk, anyways? And where the hell is Flajaguli- Wait, no, I already told you not to tell me. I'm not getting sucked into this. Please step aside, or I'm going to make you wish you had." Seething at this point, Bahr took another step forward, only to find himself yet again cut off by the ball of white.

"But sir! All of Flajangulin will be cursed if I'm not on t-"

The rabbit was cut off mid sentence as its bucked tooth grill came into contact with Bahr's high velocity boot, which punted it off of the main path and into a nearby snow bank. Bahr wasn't the type to abuse animals, but this was one that really deserved it. Whatever quest it was peddling, he didn't want. All he wanted was warmth, beer, and a nice medium rare steak.

[Bahr 0]

When he finally made his way into the pub, he almost didn't feel its heat at first. Cold air from behind him was schlorped into the structure due to the shift in atmospheric pressure, and once he was actually on the other side of the threshold, he found that it was a bit of a struggle to get the door closed. But, eventually, he did manage it, and everything settled. Then, the blanket of warmth cascaded over his body like... well, a blanket. That was warm. You get the gist.

"Having the usual, Bahr?" Alexander called out.

"Yep," came Bahr's short, curt reply.

"Rough day out there today?" Alexander inquired.

"Yep," Bahr replied, though a bit more softly this time. Alexander didn't deserve any attitude in his own bar.

"See you at your usual spot by the fireplace, then?" came Alexander's final inquiry.

"Yep." And then he tapped his boots to shake off the snow before traversing the cabin.

[Bahr 0]

There was something to be said about a man who knew you well enough to know your needs. Alexander was one such man. Bahr used to be more abusive to NPCs, but Lessa had convinced him that there may have been some sort of merit to treating them more politely. She'd boiled the issue down to a moral quandary, and Bahr still wasn't quite sure that he fully agreed with her. But one thing was certain - being more polite to the NPCs definitely came with perks.

Alexander had memorized all of Bahr's behavioral patterns. All of his varying tones of voice. The NPC could tell when he was happy, sad, frustrated, flustered, embarrassed, or anywhere in between. It was actually masterful how a program like Alexander could so acutely understand the complexity of human emotion. And he didn't do it just for Bahr, either. He'd learned to do it with Lessa as well, and who knew how many countless others.

[Bahr 0]

How was it that something as advanced as Alexander, who had mastered the complexity of human emotion and learned to read, translate, and even emulate it, could exist within the same world as the electric horse that Bahr had slain earlier without shedding so much as a single bead of sweat? Alexander, one of the most advanced AIs that Bahr had ever encountered in his entire life, sharing the same host system and plain of existence as a horse that couldn't register that it was being struck for any longer than a few seconds at a time. The difference in their complexity baffled Bahr, and yes, it did break the immersion a bit.

Not that the fact that he was fighting an electric fucking horse hadn't already done that, but I digress.

It wasn't long before the NPC had made his way back to Bahr with a perfectly cooked medium rare steak and an ice cold beer. "Enjoy, sir," the man said with a bow.

[Bahr 0]

"Thank you, Alexander," Bahr responded in the most pleasant voice that he could possibly imagine. 

"It's absolutely no problem, sir. And this one's on the house today."

"Oh. Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Alexander, but I know that you and your family need to eat. I'd much rather pay, if it's all the same to you," Bahr replied. Alexander raised his hand to protest the Crimson Marauder's rebuttal. 

"No need. We're way beyond our usual goal for the day. It might look a little dead right now, but you should have seen it earlier," the NPC informed Bahr cheerfully. "Seriously, just enjoy this gift. You've given us enough business to pay for this meal several times over. It's the least that I can do."

And then, before Bahr could argue further, Alexander turned and walked away. Sly bastard, Bahr thought to himself as he leaned over the table and cut off a piece of the steak, shoving it into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully before finally realizing that his day, and this thread, was over.

____________________________________________________

Quest Completed

Thread net gains:
6400 col
6 SP
Bialas Statue