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[ChaseR 0]

Chase had been looking for quests that he could do on his own, asking around for people to learn how easy they were based on the numbers. After all, numbers seemed to be all in a game like this, in this virtual deathscape. According to the NPCs he'd asked before getting the quest flag- no, maybe even after... Regardless, based on what they had to say, its HP should be fairly low for him to be able to take it down in a few hits. Maybe a sword art or two, or a few basic attacks in between and he could do it. He wasn't quite certain what the quest needed him to do however.

"Let's see... I have to go to the forest alright... Let's start with that part. It's said that deep within, I should find a maze or something around those lines, and I have to defeat a Minotaur in it or whatever... Those greek beasts anyways. History came in handy after all.", the boy's inner monologue finished as he parted from the new town of the third floor, beginning to head outside of the safezone to the ancient forest with his sword at the ready for any encounter he were to face. He didn't want to be caught off guard, and especially wounded before he even got to what everybody referred to as the 'boss' fight.

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 13
HP: 260/260
EN: 26/26

Stats:
Damage: 9
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Cloud Cutter>> (T1/Perfect/2HSS): DMG III
Armor: <<Sky Blue Apparel>> (T1/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I; REC II
Misc: <<Warm Earmuffs>> (T1/Perfect/Trinket): ACC III

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*5
Field Rations*1
Immolation Potion*1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

As he'd entered deep inside the forest, enough that the entrance became hard to distinguish from any paths going further inside, he kept his guard up more than he'd ever had before. Most monsters around him were either watching carefully or ignoring him, deeming him too strong or careful to be ambushed successfully. Although he made sure not to trip anywhere and not to take his attention off of glaring at the enemies all around him too often, he did occasionally look down at the ground and let his eyes quickly scan for any materials that could be nearby.

Nothing was to be found so far, but that should come as no surprise. He was in a forest where he couldn't even spend enough time looking around to see if anything was worth of note in the first place. It was silent, the only noises around him being his own breathing, steps and the leaves of bushes and trees dropped on the path rustling.

No materials found.

Edited July 10, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"I'll never manage to get used to this teleportation system to travel in between floors... It's so weird and feels so outlandish after having gotten used to the first floor for so long... Worst of all, you can't even tell you've moved until you open your eyes or notice the bright flash is over. I'll get used to it sooner or later, but... It's kind of nice, really. Having something new like this around, especially considering how much longer I'll be stuck here. It's been god knows how long and we're still on the twenty fourth floor, eh..? Long ways to go...", the bluehead rambled on inside his head, all the while keeping an eye out for any materials and picking them up if needed- if he found any in the first place.

"I'm definitely making it to help with the floor climbing though. That's for certain. Just gotta hang in there and get on with the groove of things. Until that's been done, let's focus on that alone.", he reassured himself, seeing the forest only grow denser with every step and the monsters start appearing less and less. Then again, maybe he just couldn't see them as much through the thick leafage.

No materials found.

Edited July 10, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

It really didn't take too much longer of wandering about the forest, following the path and hoping for the best before it began to come into sight. The ancient ruins that he was told to look for the monsters in, they were finally appearing before him. It didn't seem to be the front entrance though, more so one of the many entrances a maze should have. Although with slight hesitation, he gripped his sword tighter and began to head on inside. He kept an eye on the ground for materials as always, but mostly kept his ears perked in hopes of listening to any approaching intruders.

"Yeah, they're weak compared to me. But combat is still something I'm not fully familiar with. It's hard to say I don't get agitated any or I don't go into fight or flight at the slightest hint of battle. Everything is going to go this way from here on out though, isn't it?", he pondered and kept a sharp glare on his face, making sure to be on his toes for the slightest indicator of a boss approaching him.

No materials found.

Edited July 10, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Just after a few minutes of guiding himself through the maze, he could already feel almost like he had been lost. "Just hug the left wall and keep going, you'll end up at the center like that. Easy trick to pick up, efficient as slow as it is. It's not like getting trapped out here would be an issue, the monsters should be too weak compared to me, so I could fend them off and make my way back out. If need be always.", the boy attempted to shrug this problem off, not really seeing it as that much of a problem in the first place. Before his mind got more time to keep wandering off like that, he could already feel light thudding at the pace of someone walking from further up ahead.

He knew that he was but a few turns from encountering what sounded like a heavy monster guarding something. According to the NPCs, that should mean it's guarding the entrance to the tomb he was meant to head for. "I'm close. I best keep my guard up and prepare to strike quick and hard."

[ChaseR 0]

As he took the final turn obscuring the monster from his line of sight, he quickly took a battle ready stance and inspected its appearance. It was large, muscular and had a towering figure over him. However, others had faced it and informed him about how deceiving looks could be. "It's a game, not real life. Size means nothing, it all boils down to the numbers. And mine are higher.", the boy did his best to keep his composure, taking a deep breath and sliding one of his feet further behind as he gritted his teeth, preparing to attack.

The minotaur itself seemed just as battle ready as the rookie swordsman, preparing to dash right at him with its sword tightly gripped in one hand and its shield held firmly in its other to guard it. Perhaps the minotaur wouldn't even get a shot at him, or maybe it would... All that mattered though was that Chase was in little danger as is, unlike the guardian right before him.

[ChaseR 0]

With a deep breath, he blocked every other sound out of his mind and tried to focus on having full and total control of his body and blade. As he exhaled, his blade began to glow a bright red and he ran right at his enemy, beginning to use his combo. He slashed at the minotaur, weaving in overcuts, undercuts and some horizontal slashes all the same to deal devastating amounts of damage. When he'd finished his combo, he could see the minotaur raise its hand into the air begin a downwards movement, ready to slash at Chase with all it had.

As the boy jumped back though, when the blade struck where he would have been, the monster and its equipment shattered into pieces, leaving nothing behind. That got a grin out of the bluehead, who sheathed his sword once the loot confirmation window had appeared, stretching and looking behind where the giant stood. "The necklace should be here."

Chase: HP: 260/260 | EN: 19/26 (-9, +2) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Hoya Minotaur: HP: 0/45 (-45) | DMG: 30

Cooldowns: Stun; 2 posts

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

As he walked into the tomb that the minotaur seemed to be protecting, the boy looked left and right, searching for the necklace. He knew it was there, not where or how it'd be. That being said, he looked around the ground for anything that glowed, similar to a material, in hopes that he'd see it somewhere among the mossy bricks he was stepping on, now in the tomb of the king that'd been buried here. "That didn't really happen though, so... It's just game 'lore', isn't it?", he skeptically wondered, frowning a bit.

Looking at the ground had no results however, other than looking like a fool to thankfully, just himself. He quickly noticed as he went deeper and deeper into the tomb that an altar stood there, with a small window opened up above it. He approached it, noticing how it was very similar to a loot window asking if he wanted to pick up the necklace or not. "Of course. There it is."

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

As the bluehead began to exit the tomb and head back to the entrance of the maze he'd gone down, he realised just how little time had passed. He expected it to take much longer, and the boss fight to prove at least a little bit more challenging. It was fine however, it's not like getting the job done just as well but faster bothered him. "Still though, I've got some time to burn... I wonder if I should try fighting one of the monsters on my way out of the forest, just for the experience. More fights never hurt anyways, do they?", he thought to himself biting his lower lip slightly.

He quickly checked his battle ready inventory, seeing how he still had enough consumables, potions, rations and the like that would help keep him out of harm's way in the worst case scenario. He was going to be fighting near the entrance of the forest anyways, so escaping shouldn't prove to be too hard if things start to go south. And he was planning to fight one or two monsters at best anyways. 

[ChaseR 0]

It had been a few minutes since the battle with the minotaur was over, and now he felt his energy having fully recovered. His health was already back to max, and he was carefully stepping back out of the maze with his sword in his hands at the ready. If he was itching for a fight with the monsters around him, there was no need to reassure him that they were doing just the same. Waiting for the perfect moment to attack and catch him off guard, probably. "Even if nothing's happening, it feels so tense..."

He eventually began to get into a clearer and less dense part of the forest, which was reassuring to say the least. He began to head back to the town pretty quickly, eventually arriving to just outside the forest and opening his map to check where that was. While he was at it, he gave a quick look around the ground for materials and picked up any he found- if he did, always. "I can always remember this spot so as not to get lost."

Materials found: 1

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Once he'd noted down where he was, at least mentally, he closed his menu and stepped just slightly into the forest. Trying to look for monsters for once felt quite weird. Some cursors stuck out of the bushes like sore thumbs, but it wasn't him looking for a fight that got him one- rather, another monster had the same mentality as him, by the looks of it. A spider with thick legs appeared right before him, getting a hiss out of the boy as he held his sword in front of him and gulped dryly. "A-A spider of all things... It looks even freakier than in the real world...", he shivered and tried to shrug it off, maintaining his composure.

A bright red glow appeared from his blade as he dashed right at it, letting out a shout and trying to perform the same combo he used on the minotaur in order to stun the spider and deal a fair chunk of damage too. If the armor-like hide on its legs and body didn't speak for itself though, it was tough to say the least. Much tougher than anything he'd faced up to now, for certain. An enemy of his own level. As his attack landed, it proved to have worked much too well against it, dealing more damage than it normally would. That got him to smile, seeing his own progress as the spider dropped onto the ground, weakened.

Chase: HP: 260/260 | EN: 19/26 (-9, +2) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 64/130 (-66) | DMG: 39 (STUNNED)

Cooldowns: Stun; 3 posts

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Seeing his enemy so weak by a single attack, with almost half of its health wiped was good enough. Its health bar was still green, but it was almost half depleted, that was easy to tell. Without leaving much room for it to counter attack, he jumped back to where he was with his back turned, before leaping at it again and spinning mid air, slashing at it once more to deal some damage.

His acrobatics seemed to get him only this far though, as he'd miscalculated the distance between the two and missed his attack. When he saw the spider trying to attack him, although with unsteady footing, he managed to jump back and evade its own attack as well, panting and trying to keep himself calm. He wasn't in any danger, it was just a battle. It had already gotten him riled up all the same regardless though. "Come on, focus damn it..."

Chase: HP: 260/260 | EN: 17/26 (-5, +3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 64/130 | DMG: 39 

Cooldowns: Stun; 2 posts

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"Let's try to attack it again... Just keep your focus this time, you shouldn't miss. Leaving too many openings for your opponent is bad. Shay isn't here to keep your back this time, so do it yourself damn it...", he punched himself mentally over and over, trying to drill into his head that more mistakes wouldn't do him any good. That much was obvious. He wanted to get familiarized with the system already, so he could start getting to doing everything half as well as the frontliners if anything.

As he charged at the enemy once more, he quickly put all his weight on the back of his heel, gripping his blade tightly and beginning to spin in hopes that he'd slash at the enemy multiple times in quick succession, dealing a hefty amount of damage. Of course, he managed to hit it just fine, but before he could jump back, the spider managed to land a hit on him, getting his shoulder with its sharp leg and dealing quite the damage itself. "T-Tch!"

Chase: HP: 219/260 (-41) | EN: 14/26 (-4, +1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 28/130 (-36) | DMG: 39 

Cooldowns: Stun; 1 post

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Getting his footing once more as he jumped back, he began to breathe heavily. The attack didn't hurt, like everything else in this world, but the feeling that danger was closer and closer at every single strike that landed on him... Let alone, this being one of the few strikes that had successfully hit him in his stay on this world... "I won't lose to this measly spider... Let's finish this!", he bolstered himself mentally, charging in once more to use the same move as he repeated the same actions as beforehand.

He pulled all his weight onto his heel, beginning to spin wildly using the weight of his sword for what would hopefully be the finishing blows on the spider, marking his first monster killed. He felt the hit connect, taking its HP down to zero as the blip from the health bar disappearing was heard. It didn't take long before the spider completely disappeared, turning into blue crystals. For the first time after killing a non-specific quest monster, a loot window appeared before him and got him to smile. "What did we get..?"

Chase: HP: 219/260 | EN: 11/26 (-4, +1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 0/130 (-28) | DMG: 39

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 5 T1 Material

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

Satisfied with the results of the battle, the bluehead grinned and decided to take a break. He pierced his sword into the ground right next to him, before plopping right next to it and stretching. He kept his guard up, as always, ready to pull the blade out of the ground and use it to slash anything that approached down, but he could rest easy knowing most monsters around would probably be scared of him based on his performance against what seemed like a strong enough monster on its own, that being the spider he just killed.

He didn't even take that much damage, now that he could calmly take a look at his health bar and energy. Sure, he was somewhat spent on the battle but he could probably sustain a few monsters like this, given he'd rest a bit in between the battles. As he sat back up, Chase looked around to look for any materials, humming lowly to himself as he decided to rest momentarily, before killing a final monster to end this run off and head back into the safety of the town.

Chase: HP: 229/260 (+10) | EN: 14/26 (+3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

"It takes long to regenerate all of my energy... There has to be some way to do it faster. I should ask around after I'm done with this and learn how. It can't be as simple as stand around and wait.", the boy pondered to himself, deciding to give himself a bit more of a break to recover. Another monster wouldn't hurt, especially if he wanted to have as much familiarity with combat and experience as possible. He'd easily be able to manipulate all of the knowledge he'd gathered for each and every quest, and accumulate even more for the ones right after.

"I shouldn't overdo it with the monsters though. I'll fight just one more, then I'm calling it quits for now. I should look for any methods to recover energy faster.", he repeated the plan inside of his head, giving quick peeks around for any other materials that would happen to have spawned near the resting swordsman.

Chase: HP: 239/260 (+10) | EN: 17/26 (+3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

With a final, quick glance around the place for materials, the boy picked himself up off the ground and took hold of his sword, pulling it out of the earth and looking at the flat of his blade momentarily before exhaling deeply. "As said, just a final one. No more, regardless of how good I might do.", he finished inside his head and took a look back at the forest, smiling confidently. He took a few steps back towards the forest's path that started right from the entrance, making sure to keep himself near the town where he could flee at any given point in time, just in case things really began to go south.

It wasn't long before waiting proved to be fruitful after all, getting his energy back in full and letting out a sigh of relief. "Alright... Hopefully the next monster to show up won't be a spider this time around.", he grunted and hoped for the best as he began to take a few, small steps back into the forest, just enough so that he could see a monster peeking out of the bushes.

Chase: HP: 249/260 (+10) | EN: 18/26 (+1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

As the monster crept out of the bushes and revealed its form, much to Chase's displeasure, it appeared to be another spider with what seemed like a skull pattern painted on its back, getting him to shiver even more than before. For as much of a bother as they already were, as disgusting and vile as they looked and as detailed as this world allowed them to be... "A-Akihiko was especially cruel... Tell me this is the theme for just this forest and not the entire floor... Why not a minotaur or something around those lines..?!", he monologued inside of his head, calmly taking a deep breath and regaining his composure.

Having completely recollected his focus, he moved to repeat the same move he already had twice now, for a third time. As a bright red glow appeared around his sword, he practiced the same combo on the enemy once more before it had a chance to strike right at him.

Chase: HP: 249/260 | EN: 19/26 (-9, +2) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Venomous Spider: HP: 76/130 (-54) | DMG: 39 (STUNNED)

Cooldowns: Stun; 3 posts

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

The spider faltered at the strike, much like the previous one had. "It definitely isn't because of all the damage I'm dealing. This skill must have some effect that causes everything it hits to get dazed for so long, I've used skills that deal just as much damage in the past and they never have an effect like this unless they're the finishing blow. Regardless, I'll capitalize on that advantage and come out on top!", he convinced himself and while turned to the stunned spider, he quickly spun on his heels and used Cyclone to throw a flurry of slashes its way, in order to chip its health down just a bit more than he already had.

Just when the spider was going to attack him, the bluehead landed a fair bit back, barely missing the spider's vicious bite that was sent his way and grinning. With his back turned, it was the perfect time for him to use his Back Rush as a finishing blow.

Chase: HP: 249/260 | EN: 16/26 (-4, +1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Venomous Spider: HP: 40/130 (-36) | DMG: 39

Cooldowns: Stun; 2 posts

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR

[ChaseR 0]

With this plan in mind, he braced himself and dug his feet almost into the ground, quickly turning in an attempt to slash at the spider's face and take it out at once. As his sword slashed sideways, he wasn't certain whether he'd hit it or not, holding his breath and even sweating just slightly as a drop or two flew right off to the side from his head. "Was that it? Did I manage to flawlessly beat a monster at my level?!". Before he could see for himself, he could already hear the familiar to him blip of the monster's HP dropping to zero before it shattered.

The loot confirmation window appeared once more, only to be met with a wide smile of victory from the boy who sheathed his blade once more, although this time it was staying in its scabbard. "Great, that's much better than before. Let's head home then.", he agreed with himself and accepted the drops before turning around, leaving the forest and heading all the way back to the town. He'd felt satisfied with the results of the quest, honestly.

Chase: HP: 249/260 | EN: 14/26 (-5, +3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Venomous Spider: HP: 0/130 (-40) | DMG: 39

Loot: 1420 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 1 Perfect Weapon, 10 T1 Material

Edited July 11, 2020 by ChaseR