[PP|F2] <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> Good thing it can't fight back

[Hisa 0]

Having finished her first quest, Hisa was ready for the next challenge. She read something about breaking a boulder to unlock the martial arts skill, so she decided that this was the task she should do next, how hard could it be?

Selecting the quest in her available quests list, led her up the the second floor. Upon arriving, the questmarker moved to a mountain peak. "Oh, great, gotta climb again." she sighed before venturing southward. During the walk along the trail to her destination, she realized that the zone is slightly different to the first floor. The terrain was rough and barren, instead of trees the landscape was filled with rocks and boulders. Yet, there were no enemies in sight. "Maybe they really only spawn at night , at least on the lower floors" she thought before finding herself facing a steep incline as the road stopped. 

With the quest marker straight ahead she had no choice but the hike and climb her way up. It was a fairly long ascent but she was sure that at the top, something amazing had to wait for her. It was the quest to unlock martial arts afterall, maybe a monastery of monks. Her imagination went wild as the final edge was just an armslength away.

As she grabbed it and pulled herself up, her disappointment was visible. It wasn't a monastery, nor a training ground filled with fighters, but a single, small hut.

Still, this quest in was marked as 'Very Hard' for her level. She wondered if the path to the boulder would be filled with enemies, or that there might be a bossfight in that building. Unsure of what to do next, the quest objective only stating 'Knock on the door of the hut'  and with the danger of dying being ever-present, she decided to ask for help.

Thankfully, her friend Katoka convinced her guild leader to invite Hisa back when the game started out. Having mostly been inactive and spending time in the city, she never actually talked to any of the members. Reluctantly, she typed a message in guild chat, asking for anyone to help her with this quest as she was unsure of what she would confront her if she opened the door.

 

Spoiler

Name: Hisa
Level: 4
HP: 80/80
EN: 8/8

Stats:
Damage: 1
Mitigation: 0
Evasion: 0
Accuracy: 0
BLD:0
REC:0

 

Edited July 25, 2020 by Hisa

[Kiluia Seiko 0]

Ping. A message from the guild popped up on his screen. Breaking the Boulder request! He rubbed the back of his head as he looked over at Haine. She had to of gotten the message for the boulder break down as well since they were both captains. “Its not too far. We are already here on the second floor so might as well accept.” HUD opened and a message was given to the new girl, Hisa.

Quote

Hello. 
Captain Kiluia and Haine on the way to assist you. Please take care til we arrive.

Kiluia

The message was sent as fast as he typed it out. He knew the pain of getting the boulder done. One of the most tedious quests was a lower level quest that annoyed everyone higher and lower levels alike. Amber eyes would look toward the exit of the mountain before scooping Haine’s hand into his. He would take the lead for the day. Buzzing people walked by as their destination was up to the mountain side for the member in question. Familiars tagged along close behind them trying to keep up with their masters. The penguin waddling booted the cub to catch up to them causing it to whine. The penguin would get to do these things since they were lagging behind.

“Knock it off.” His voice warned the penguin. How did her master know?! It whined back in defeat and its beady eyes stared the cub down. I will annoy you later was the look it gave it.

Spoiler

Name: Kiluia
Level: 39
HP: 780/780
EN: 78/78

Stats:
Damage: 15
Mitigation: 41
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 2
BLD:24
REC:1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Ra's Wrappings (T2/Perfect/Handwrap): Damage 2, Bleed 1
Armor: Rose Prism (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): Mitigation 2, Evasion 1
Misc: Eye of Rain (T2/Perfect/Trinket): Accuracy 2, Recovery 1

Skills:
Martial Arts [Rank 5]
Picking [Obtained]
Searching [Rank 3]
Light Armor [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Familiar -Fighter

Mods:
Dismantling
Finesse Rank 3
Ferocity

Battle Ready Inventory:
Primrose Cross (T1/Perfect/Trinket): Loot Dice 3
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:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Basic Training: +1 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 25, 2020 by Kiluia Seiko

[Haine 0]

Breaking the Boulder?

"Eeeeeh, this one?" Haine scrunched her nose. She'd recalled the last time she helped her love on the quest. The fiesty powerhouse had been reduced to nothing as she swung at the mighty boulder with her tiny fist. As much as she tried, the thing could hardly budge and her efforts felt futile. But it was the thought that counted... right? A woman piecing together a fierce charade and beating the shit out of a rock to impress her boyfriend. Then there came Kasumi, a trained martial artist with a fist sturdier than the boulder and a stance as fluid as the wind. She wondered how the personification of a warrior princess could be reality, the woman must have trained hard to get such prowess. Nonetheless, Haine pushed aside the embarrassing memory.

If a guild member was in need of their assistance, especially for a quest as daunting as this one, she would be there to help. She knew as much as the next person that that boulder was made of some foreign titan-like matter, indiscriminately a pain in the ass for all unskilled quest takers. "...Sure I guess." She swiped away the HUD, not too enthused about the idea of the quest. She laced her fingers with Kiluia's and set off for the destination, ignoring the two familiars and their typical bantering.

 

Spoiler

Name: Haine
Level: 57
HP: 1170/1170
EN: 114/114

Stats:
Damage: 19
Mitigation: 66
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 4
BLD:36

Equipped Gear:
Divine Piercer - Aqua [Weapon]: Damage 2, Bleed 1
Heart's Container - Aquilia [Light Armor]: Mitigation 2, Evasion 1
Osiris's Grips [Trinket]: Accuracy 3

Skills:
Two Handed Assault Spear [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 3]
Fishing [Obtained]
Searching [Rank 1]
First Aid [Rank 5]

Extra Skills:
Familiar -Fighter

Mods:
Finesse Rank 3
Ferocity
Precision
Athletics
Purify

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter HP Potions (+50 HP)*3

Housing Buffs:

Bedroom ( Rested ) -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat

Basic Workshop ( Working ) -  +2 EXP per crafting attempt

Slime farm ( Basic training ) +1 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Fishing Pond ( Angler ) +1 material gained when fishing

Guild Hall Buffs:

Trading hall

Every member of Firm Anima receives an additional +2 EXP for each craft. +5 to salvage recovery LD's. (10+ for alchemy crystals, 6+ for others). If you are rank 9 you also get +1 crafting attempt/day. If you are rank 10 you get +2 crafting attempts/day.

Treasury

+5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Storage Vault

Allows a guild to create a Storage Vault in their Guild Page. Members can use this thread to store and withdraw items. Any items that have trading restrictions cannot be moved to a Storage Vault.

Guild Bank

Allows the Guild Owner to promote one member (or themselves) to 'Treasurer'. This unlocks access to a Guild Bank spending account.

Basic Kitchen

Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30

Living Room

Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

Scents of the Wild:

Kumatetsu 

Yamata no Orochi

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by Haine

[Hisa 0]

As the guild message jingle sounded, she opened her menu. Reading Kiluia's message made Hisa slightly nervous. She had never met these people before, she didn't know anything about them and they didn't know anything about her and yet they were so willing to help.
"Katoka always had a knack for finding friendly and helpfull players, I envy her a little." she uttered. 

While waiting for the two to arrive, she sat down, doing the only thing that calmed her down when she was nervous, eat. After she grabbed a sandwich out of her inventory and ate it, with what could only be described as inhumanly big bites, she figured that she should probably warm herself up.
Standing in front of the hut she began to stretch, run in circles and shadowbox. Wether or not this actually prepared her for the upcoming fight she suspected to happen did not concern her, it was more of a ritual to get her into the right mindset.

[Kiluia Seiko 0]

The walk was never too long when you had company. There were times that they didn’t need to speak to enjoy the time spent together. They had passed through the gate of the town and headed to the mountain side that had the incline. Despite it being steep, it mattered not since the road was the last two times, he had traveled this way. “What do you think the new recruit is like?” He glanced over at Haine. “I think they’ll be good for our guild.” He was making baseless assumptions since he was optimistic. Anyone who joined the guild had to either be good or eccentric. Or both? It mattered not to him as he would welcome them with both arms. It was what they had to do as a form of leadership.

The view of the summit came into view as their walk was near its end. Many footprints were displayed around the surroundings showing them how many people had done this particular quest. A slight smile came back to him as he remembered the first day he had done this quest with Haine and Kasumi. That seemed like a distant memory but it was still clear as day to him. He glanced around and spotted a tiny figure. It was Hisa who was munching away at her food. “Hello!” He waved at the summit entrance with Haine.

[Haine 0]

Haine pondered. It was apparent that most of the guild was comprised of... women. She didn't mind it one bit, but she could tell that it stuck out as a sore thumb. When the boys were out, it seemed like a solely female guild, an armada of warrior princesses in her head. She kinda liked the image, she wouldn't mind another lass, but she knew that would suck for the guys. They'd never catch up! She cackled in her head at the thought. "Hmm, wanna bet it'll be another girl?" She jested. She had no details on the guild mate, she had yet to meet Hisa but she was excited to welcome the new member. Firm Anima was like her family away from home, she went out of her way to make everyone feel comfortable.

She knew they were nearing the rendezvous point as the town scape transitioned into a peaceful mountain pass, the road inclining as the walk became more strenuous. She could feel her calves stretching in a weird sensation. She could not feel pain in this world, so in place of it was a strange pressure. Once they'd reached the meeting point, Haine noticed a petite figure munching away at a sandwich. Lucky. She wanted a sandwich too.

Haine decided it would be rude and kinda creepy to stand there eyeballing that sandwich instead of greeting the new guild member. She cleared her throat and pulled away from Kiluia, clasping her hands together. "Hi, yes, hello! Are you... Hisa?" She skimmed the lady's cursor and nodded. "Haine, captain of assault ready to assist! But the star of the show is Kiluia, he can pack a good punch." She winked and put a hand on her love's shoulder. "Oof, wait, I'll let you introduce yourself. Ididitagain."

Edited July 25, 2020 by Haine

[Hisa 0]

Surprised at the sudden greetings, she wanted to reply but choked a little on the sandwich in the process. "I" she started, before she forced the rest of the snack down her throat. "Sorry about that. Yes, I'm Hisa, thank you for replying to my message and joining me on this quest." 

She stood up, patting herself down to clean sandwich crumbles off of her clothing. "So, I'm guessing you've done this a million times probably and I'm sorry for asking for your time. I'm just not sure what waits for me in this hut and quite frankly, I just don't wanna die." she said smiling, a little unsure on how she should behave. "I know that this quest is about breaking a boulder but with this game, you never know what might wait for you on the way to said boulder and, uhm, well, you obviously know but I don't so uh." pausing for a moment  "I'm sorry, I've just never been much of a talker, I tend to just stick to myself so I might need some time to get used to having company I guess." Hisa explained while somewhat nervously rocking back and forth, heel to toe.

[Kiluia Seiko 0]

“Glad to meet you. No worries about the quest.” He simply walked to the girl and the boulder. “We meet again rocky.” He laughed at his own terrible joke. This thing should have been named something. He simply looked over at Hisa. “There is no trick to this quest. No monster will jump out. Even if it did though, Haine would probably tangle up with it and I’d do the cleanup.” He looked over at Haine. “As she said, I’m Kiluia, Captain of the Ops and Intel. I hope we work well together.”

He looked at the familiars being fickle and childlike climbing up the rocky terrain. They annoyed him like kids would and he wouldn’t admit that to Haine. “Did you study any type of formal martial arts in the real world, Hisa?” He wanted to see her style if she had learned anything in the realitly. “It’s pretty useful here when you have learned some sort of art in the real world. It works out pretty much the same way.” He offered a light smile.

[Haine 0]

The lass was... adorable. Haine couldn't help but gush over her puffy cheeks devouring the sandwich earlier. The other stood up, her short stature even cuter. Gods don't do it again Haine! Don't. She put a hand to her lips and ogled silently, disregarding whatever conversation had transpired. The two looked to her at and she trailed off. "Uhhhhhh." The terrible pun Kiluia made did not escape her attention. "Kil, I love you, but no." She put a finger to his lips and shook her head. She stepped closer to the magenta haired lady and beamed. "No frills or catches! All you gotta do is beat the crap outta that rock over there." She pointed to the side to a gargantuan boulder, happy-go-lucky despite the intimidating size of that thing. It was all a charade, she was crying inside as she assumed Hisa was too. She clapped her hands in a jubilant fashion, disregarding her two 'children' working away at the rock. They were trying to help and she found it kind of sweet when she wasn't annoyed up the wazoo with them.

"Deep breaths now! We've got you covered."

[Hisa 0]

"Yeah, I actually have some experience in martial arts, my parents stuck me in a couple of classes to make me go out more. Good to know that nothing's gonna jump out and surprise us. That thing looks pretty huge but hey I'm sure we can break it. I'll go knock on the door and start the quest then." Hisa replied, looking at the couple before she walked to the hut and knocked.

An old man opened the door, greeting her "Hello little girl.". "Goddamnit" she uttered. "I'm assuming you came her to test your strength?" the npc asked. Hisa, a little annoyed by the fact that he called her short replied "Yes, I have come to train martial arts."
"Very well, to see if you are worthy of walking the path of a martial artist, you need to break this boulder." as he pointed at the rock Kiluia and Haine stood in front of "It is okay if your friends help you out, but I feel like you need a little additional motivation.". 

As the npc vanished into the house, Hisa turned around, looking at Haine "So, what does he mean with" raising her arms to make airquotes "additional motivation".

Before Haine could reply two hands grabbed Hisas shoulders, spinning her around a full 180 degrees. As she stopped spinning she felt a brush with paint gliding along her face. "Alright, all done. This paint won't go away until you break the boulder, good luck" was the last thing she heard before the door was slammed shut in front of her.

A little bewildered, she approached Haine, standing in front of her, tilting her head back to look at her as Hisa's guildmate was quite a bit taller than her "Uhm, what did the old guy just draw on my face?".

Edited July 25, 2020 by Hisa

[Kiluia Seiko 0]

Hisa was adorable. He leaned over and looked closer at the and smiled. “We all go through it. Its basically whiskers on the face that don’t disappear.” He leaned back up before looking over at Haine. “I was so determined to beat the boulder, I didn’t even notice that he placed them on his face. Guys just don’t look cute. Girls look cute with whiskers.” He remembered as he thought of Vie and how she looked good with it. He looked crappy with whiskers.  “Don’t worry. We can get through this”

He slowly walked back up to the boulder and took a deep breath. His body lowered into balanced stance with both legs spread about slightly. One arm was bent above his head while the left hand was placed against the boulder. He breathed slightly and took one more second before his right arm swung in a wide motion to the boulder with a palm open. It was an open handed palm strike that shook the boulder.

He moved his palm away from the strike point and displayed an actual hand print against the boulder. This would be their starting point. 

Spoiler

Kiluia| 780/780 HP | EN:78/78 | DMG: 17 | MIT:41 | EVA: 1 | ACC:4 | BLD:24 | REC:1
 

Boulder| HP 35/50 HP | -2 EVA

Edited July 25, 2020 by Kiluia Seiko

[Haine 0]

ID: #161417

BD: 6 [ HIT ]

DMG: 1 : ))))

Haine recognized that old man in the hut before. For an NPC he was pretty damn perceptive, staring into her soul when she stepped up to the plate to assist Kiluia on his boulder quest. It was intimidating enough doing moot for damage, but she was determined to give off a good impression in light of the old geezer's silent judgment. That'd show him! She bored holes into the old man's gaze, however he didn't recognize her anymore. Key that you're dealing with a common NPC? Short term amnesia. She cocked a brow and folded her arms over her puffed chest in mock authority.

Seeing Hisa with those whiskers melted her heart, it was... adorable.

Seeing Kiluia strike the border with a stance mimicking a boulder himself was a sight to behold. It was even more comical once the bluenette attempted her best martial arts stance, waving her arms about in some flashy flourish to warm up. "H-YAH!" She pushed her fist forward and collided it with the rock, one whopping damage ticking off the counter. She frowned and stepped back. She could feel a dull tingle radiating off her knuckles from the impact.

"Ow?"

Edited July 26, 2020 by Haine

[Hisa 0]

Watching her party members approaching the boulder to strike it made her extremely nervous. What if they hit for a lot of damage and then watched her do 1. What if she hit it and did no damage at all? All these thoughts crossed her mind as she watched Kiluia reel back. 
A hit that made the ground tremble, the damage number that popped up was 15, almost a third of the boulders total health. 
Her heart sank. "They're going to be extremely disappointed with me, oh no" she thought after witnessing this attack.
When Haine stepped up, Hisa could barely bring herself to watch it as to not get even more demoralized. Kiluia's wife got in position, took a deep breath and punched. 1. "Huh." Hisa thought, a lot of pressure being relieved in that moment, "seems like I'm not the only one struggling". 

It  was her turn, she approached the rock, aimed at the imprint Kiluia left on it and with a twist of her waist she unleashed the mightiest kick she could muster. 3. 

"Three! Max damage!" she burst into laughter "I was afraid that I'd do no damage at all."

 

Boulder 31/50

Edited July 26, 2020 by Hisa

[Kiluia Seiko 0]

Watching Haine do her one damage, all he could do was smile. Perhaps she would take martial arts one day just to say she did it. Hisa, the next contender, used her experience in this next attack. Her kick was in good form as he clapped. “Nicely done.” He walked over and looked at the crack she did against the boulder. That was a pretty good kick. He thought as he stood in front of the boulder. Kiluia lifted his left leg straight up and down over his head. To say he was flexible was an understatement. He would match Hisa’s strike with his own heel kick that came crashing down upon the boulder. Crack!

He watched once again as the boulder shuddered against the impact. Maybe one more slew of attacks would demolish the boulder next. He looked at Haine and smiled. “Yer up, love.” He stepped away from the boulder waiting for her to strike.

Spoiler

Boulder 16/50

Edited July 26, 2020 by Kiluia Seiko

[Haine 0]

Haine blanched as she witnessed Kiluia in his element. He moved as sturdy as a rock, his muscles bulging oh lord. Now was not the time to be that way. She averted her gaze and bopped herself. She watched the cute woman deliver a devastating punch to the boulder despite her inhibitions. She seemed accomplished and Haine clapped. "Yes, Hisa! Let's kick some rocky ass!" She pumped her fist and waved her arms in an exaggerated mock karate stance. She boxed the air to warm up while she shifted from foot to foot, waiting for her turn to strike.

"Aight, step aside guys! It's gon' get real ugly."

She charged up to the boulder and swung her weight forward, colliding her fist with the mass. It shook, some loose debris flying their way. "Eep!" She shielded her eyes from the assault and backed away. Two whopping damage, but she'd take it.

 

ID: #161653

BD: 9 [ CRIT 1 ]

DMG: 2

Boulder: 14/50

Edited July 26, 2020 by Haine

[Hisa 0]

Watching Kiluia delivering another devistating blow to the rock, Hisas imagination went wild. "I'm gonna be able to do this someday as well, awesome!" she thought, visibly exited. Haine managed to hit for slightly more than last time. With the boulder already being in the red, it was Hisa's turn. 
She got in position again, aimed at the second imprint Kiluia left and reeled back. This was going to be for her friends who help her out and for the people waiting in the real world. She put her weight and force into the kick again. After a spin, she slightly missed the spot she was aiming for.

1 Damage. "Oh my god." she sighed, disappointed that she couldn't match her damage numbers from before. "I guess it will take a lot of practice until I am able to hold my own in a fight with something that can actually hit me back" she figured while keeping a smile on her face, as to not show her worries to the others. She was grateful for their help and could really get used to questing in a group.

 

Boulder 13/50

Edited July 26, 2020 by Hisa

[Kiluia Seiko 0]

He watched the two women strike at the boulder. A smile crossed his face as he enjoyed watching people work hard and get their rewards. In this case, Haine would get a lava brownie or something similar. He patted the boulder slightly and looked at Hisa. “I’m glad you’ll be taking the martial arts way. It’ll define our hard work and show our improvements. You will get better. I promise you.”

He lowered his frame spreading his weight and lowering his center of gravity to the boulder. He pulled back his fist straight back and paused looking at the boulder. Hand was tight into a ball before he eased it forward then back again. With that moment, he closed his and let go full throttle against the boulder. The fragments of rock splintered and went in several directions. The quest was complete and he turned to look over at the young lady. The whiskers faded and he pointed at the Hut. “Go get your reward.”

Spoiler

Boulder 0/50 HP -2 EVA

Edited July 26, 2020 by Kiluia Seiko

[Haine 0]

The boulder broke into a million fragments, signifying their triumph over it. Haine boxed the air and hollered. "Heck yeah! We did it!" Haine ran up to Hisa and clasped her hands over hers. "Now we can get rid of these lil' swirlies. Good job." The team moved in the direction of the hut where the man was. Once the door had swung open, she exchanged a challenging expression with the oblivious NPC. 'Y' wanna go bro? I'm tuff! I did it again!' The amnesia riddled geezer shot her a polite nod and she scrunched her nose in annoyance. There was no context to her actions as far as her love knew, but she had a feeling he could pick up her competitive streak.

She clasped her hands behind her back and let her mind wander. Haine looked at the sky, it was blue. Wait, why was she thinking that the sky was blue? Wasn't it always... blue? 

[Hisa 0]

"Alright old man, we did as you told us, the boulder is broken. Get that paint off of my face and give me the skill please." "You should be more respectful to your elders little girl but there you go." the npc said as he pointed at Hisas face, removing the paint and granting her the skill "now go an practice your newly learned craft." Before she could respond, the npc slammed the door shut again. "I'll show you little you bastard. First you draw weird stuff on my face and then you call me short. Come out here and face me!" she shouted at the door while she reeled back for a kick that, on impact, was answered by the very familiar 'Immortal Object' system prompt.

As Hisa snapped back, she realized that she just freaked out in front of her guildmates. With a bright red face she turned around and adressed them "Uuuuuuuh, sorry about that, please uh. I... You know I just sometimes loose control a little when people call me short. Please forgive me.". She bowed deeply, before straightening her back again, trying her hardest to smile innocently in the hopes of not coming off as weird. "Thank you again for helping me on this quest, I really appreciate it a lot!"

Edited July 26, 2020 by Hisa

[Kiluia Seiko 0]

A little fiery attitude was always good to have once and awhile. He stifled a snicker as the immortal object message popped up. Good thing he didn’t remember those whiskers or else he would have been kicking the door down despite knowing it was an immortal object. “Height won’t be a problem for you when doing martial arts anyway. Despite being short, you can adjust your center of gravity to make yourself extremely problematic for those who fight against you” He stated as he walked over with Haine. “Just don’t let it define who you are.” He clapped now for Hisa. “Welcome to the guild and congrats on getting the skill!” 

His slender figure walked toward the path that led down the mountain. “You are more than welcome to come along with Haine and I. I can make you a victory meal for being patient.” He flashed a smile at his beloved and back to Hisa. “That is if you want to.”
 

Edited July 27, 2020 by Kiluia Seiko