[PP | F2] Tooth and Nail <<The Venomous Warg>>

[Katoka 0]

Katoka stood outside a pub in the town of Urbus on the second floor. She was leaning up against the stone wall looking at the rest of the cobblestone buildings surrounding her, resting a hand on the hilt of her new weapon she let out a sigh. She had sent a message to Ruler not long ago asking if she would join her on a quest and was anxiously waiting for a reply. It had been a while since they had joined up and even longer since they had fought together, though with her new gear she did feel a bit more at ease that she normally would. This would be her first fight involving mobs that inflicted status effects, so there was still that anxious pit in her stomach. She would definitely feel better in a fight with Alicia by her side. Katsumi swiped the air in front of her to open the game menu and checked the map of the town again to see f there was anything interesting nearby.

Spoiler

Name: Katoka
Level: 12
HP: 240/240
EN: 24/24

Stats:
Damage: 8
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 2
LD:1
BLD:12
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Mumyou Sandanzuki (T1/Perfect/Katana) | BLD 1, DMG 2
Armor: Shinsengumi Yukata (T1/Perfect/Light Armor) | REC 2, EVA 1
Misc: Rabbit's Foot (T1/Perfect/Trinket) | ACC 2, LD 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions*3
Sand Armor Potion - +27 MIT (no stacking)*1

Housing Buffs:

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:

@Ruler

Edited August 2, 2020 by Katoka

[Ruler 0]

After spending an agonizing night in the desert with her fellow guildmates, Ruler needed to relax a little. She went to the inn room that she had been staying in, took a healthy shower and slept for several more hours. Yet even that wasn't enough to fix her sore muscles. Unfortunately, that's just how sleeping on the ground in buried halfway under sand goes. At least it's over now and they could get back on track with what they were doing.

Katoka was simply waiting by the inn where the quest would begin. She didn't have much information on this quest as the last few, but it was supposed to be a low leveled quest meant for people just starting the game. It couldn't be that difficult. "Katsumi-chan. Good Morning." Alicia said as she approached the younger woman, towering over her with her heels like usual. "Ready for more questing I see. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

Spoiler

Name: Ruler
Level: 11
HP: 220/220+50
EN: 22/22

Stats:
Damage: 8+1
Mitigation: 18
Accuracy: 3
Evasion: 1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Flag of War[THAS/Rare/T1] DMG II
Armor: Maiden's Garb[Light Armor/Perfect/T1] MIT II; EVA I
Misc: Maiden's Forgiveness[Trinket/Perfect/T1] ACC III

Skills:
Two-Handed Assault Spear [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(50hp)*3
Ice Cream Mochi - LD III*3
Unc. DMG Potion*1 < Using
Special OH(50hp)*1 < Using
Rare Healing Potions(40hp)*5

Housing Buffs:

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:

 

[Katoka 0]

Katoka was relieved to see her friend again, she always managed to make the small blonde feel a bit more at ease than on her own. She smiled and gestured to her new gear, "I pack a bit more of a punch than I used to Alicia-chan, but your protection is appreciated nonetheless." she let out a sigh, "I haven't had the pleasure of dealing with status effect mobs yet so I am a bit anxious." she swiped open the game menu and sent her a party invite. "Well, shall we head in and accept the quest?"

She opened the door to the pub leading her tall companion inside, in the back she saw the npc that was described to her previously. Aproaching the bearded man he let out a cough and initiated the quest dialog, "You come for the bill I posted? I am Gatsly..." the man continued as king the two woman to kill some wolves that have been terrorizing his supply caravans. Katoka accepted the quest prompt when it opened in front of her, this triggered her map to open showing a marked area. Gatsly explained this was where the majority of the attacks happened and offered the two each an antidote to help stave off the poison of the mutated beast.

Edited August 3, 2020 by Katoka

[Ruler 0]

"Please, you both must help me. I am a traveling merchant, but it has been too dangerous to venture the roads because of a den of wolves that have halted my business. You look like capable warriors, I will pay you for your help somehow!" Ruler held a hand to the man and shook her head, halting his conversation. She smiled warmly to him and raised her own voice.

"Do not worry, we're here to assist you with that exact problem sir. Where can we find these den wolves?" She asked, looking down at the man sitting at a table in the inn.

"They are just outside the city. They are known to have very poisonous venom in their bite. Here, I can provide you with this for your help." He shuffles through a bag and gives the two girls a vial each. "These will keep the effects at bay."

"Thank you, we will return with good news soon." Ruler downed the potion as soon as she walked out of the inn. "Take that potion, it'll have the effect reduced when you first take the effect."

Spoiler

Ruler and Katoka gain Antidote I potions. Ruler drinks hers.

 

[Katoka 0]

Katoka downed the potion given to her by the man. "Well, I suppose we should head out huh?" she said checking her map location. "It doesn't seem to be that far outside of town, but it will be a bit of a walk." she checked her gear and nodded as she closed her game menu. Walking on the cobblestone path that leads out of town she turned to her fellow blonde, "So I don't know about you but I'm glad we aren't back in that desert. I feel like I keep finding sand in places even though I know it's not there."

As the two walked through the town Katoka admired the buildings that filled the area. While they looked like they were thrown together with random stones found in the area of varying sizes and shapes, they still managed to look like complete buildings. "I wonder how the player houses are on this floor." she thought to herself.

Spoiler

Katoka consumes Antidote

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Katoka

[Ruler 0]

Ruler took a slight lead on Katoka, just a pace ahead of her once they left the safe zone. If she had to jump in front of enemies for the smaller blonde, she would be ready for it. Her long, thin spear donned with it's glorious flag rested at her side in her hand. "I know how you feel. It is as if sand has merged with my skin or something. It feels so dry all the time now. I had to take what seemed like five showers."

Ruler commented quietly, keeping her eyes forward. Her attention was set on the scenery. They had yet to be on a floor higher than the fourth with the idea of combat. She had felt fine on the fifth floor with Kiluia and Haine with them. This time, the two of them were all alone to fight by themselves, and this quest wouldn't be the easiest they have done.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka smiled a bit as Ruler took the lead, she was very protective and it made her feel at ease. The small blonde kept a hand on her sword as they walked, she hadn't had the opportunity to actually fight anything other than on floor one. Even when they were in the desert with Freyd he had done all the work with the sand shark. "I'm not that strong yet, but I'm getting there." she thought to herself as they neared the location of the attacks. The sides of the road were lined with multiple overturned carriages in various states of decay, the most recent looked to have at least two wheels left.

"Do you want to head in first and I'll clean up whatever you don't one hit?" she asked as she matched her pace a bit, albeit with a bit of a jog since her legs were shorter than the taller blonde.

[Ruler 0]

"Just stay behind me and I will protect you. Do what you need to do to put in your damage" Ruler said with a happy smile. Soon the duo came into view of the group of wolves. They were standing around, waiting for the next group of people to walk by and ambush. Luckily, Ruler had the drop on them. She looked over to Katoka and nodded to her, as if saying she was going in and round the tree she was standing behind. 

A growl of ferocity escaped her lips as she charged into the canine predators. With a spin in step, she nailed all four of the wolves one after another. The three lower leveled enemies exploded into data right then and there and the pack leader took about a third of its health in damage. It growled angrily and started spewing a poison cloud from it's mouth. It covered the battlefield, even effecting Katoka. Both of their hp reduced. "K-Katsumi-chan! Are you alright?!"

---

Ruler | HP: 192/240 -(50-18)-10 | EN: 12/24 -(6+6) | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | [Poisoned! 1/3]
Katoka | HP: 190/240 -(50) | EN: 24/24 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 2 | LD: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2 | [Poisoned! 1/3]

Wolfs are dead
Venom Snapper: 96/150 -(6*9) | DMG: 35(50) | EVA: 1 | Poison: 10 (9-10)

[Katoka 0]

Katoka stayed back as she watched Ruler jump into the fray, she managed to dispatch the Snapper's minions with no problem. While the boss monster took damage from her attack it didn't immediately die like it's companions, instead it let out a growl and opened it's mouth to let poison fill the area. The samurai coughed and saw her HP drop a good chunk, "This is the most damage I've ever taken." she thought to herself , she felt her stomach churn as her anxiety began to take over.

"I-I'm fine!" she managed to call out between coughs. With a quick motion she drew her katana and charged in, her sword glowing as she readied her sword art. With the poison gas however it made it hard to see and she tripped on a nearby rock missing her attack. She did manage to tuck into a roll and pop back up onto her feet as the beast tried to attack the two of them, thankfully it missed. She turned back around, her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

Ruler | HP: 192/240 | EN: 12/24 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | [Poisoned! 1/3]
Katoka | HP: 170/240 (-10) | EN: 22/24 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 2 | LD: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2 | [Poisoned! 2/3]

Venom Snapper: 96/150 | DMG: 35(50) | EVA: 1 | Poison: 10 (9-10)

Edited August 5, 2020 by Katoka

[Ruler 0]

Ruler danced through the smog, keeping her eyes firmly planted on the beast who reciprocated the exact same feeling. Instead of freaking out and worrying about finding Katoka in the mist, if she just kept her eyes on the boss, it wouldn't attack Katoka. 

Gripping her spear in a new stance, the golden maiden let out another growl and stabbed at the beast, piercing her long pole arm into the ground at its paws, just barely missing her mark. It was faster than she expected, or the smog was slowing her down. The wolf came back at her, trying to clamp it's jaw down on her and her ally one after the other. It missed the both of them just barely as well.

"If your health drops too much, remember to use your potions. Don't take any chances." Alicia reminds the other girl, her eyes fixated on the boss monster.

---

Ruler | HP: 182/240 -(10) | EN: 11/24 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | [Poisoned! 1/3]
Katoka | HP: 170/240 | EN: 22/24 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 2 | LD: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2 | [Poisoned! 1/3]

Venom Snapper: 96/150 | DMG: 35(50) | EVA: 1 | Poison: 10 (9-10)

[Katoka 0]

Katoka watched as Ruler dance about the battlefield, she was graceful in a way that the small blonde felt she could never be. As the knight stabbed at creature it managed to avoid her thrust. Steadying herself and called back, "Got it, I'll be careful. Don't get hyper focused either, your HP is just as important." she charged in with another sword art. The beast managed to jump back causing her to miss her mark, it lunched forward in an attempt to bite her but the blonde managed to smoothly avoid the attack. Taking a few steps back she coughed at the poison cloud still surrounding her, "If I could just land a damn hit on this thing." she thought to herself as she watched the beast. Remembering her sensei's teaching she observed the battlefield in it's entirety in an attempt to find something, anything at all, to use to her advantage.

Ruler | HP: 182/240  | EN: 11/24 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | [Poisoned! 1/3]
Katoka | HP: 160/240 -(10) | EN: 20/24 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 2 | LD: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2 | [Poisoned! 1/3]

Venom Snapper: 96/150 | DMG: 35(50) | EVA: 1 | Poison: 10 (9-10)

Edited August 5, 2020 by Katoka

[Ruler 0]

Dancing around the battlefield felt like second nature to the maiden. In the short time that she had been leveling with Katoka, she had gained an amazing confidence to complete this game. She needed to figure out what had happened to her friend. Connor's name wasn't on the death slab that was on the first floor. If that was the case, did he somehow make it out of the game without dying that day? Was he still alive somewhere?

No time to be thinking about those sort of things though, just use it as fuel to drive her resolve. A glorious golden radiance engulfed her weapon, tearing through the smog the beast had created. With a spin of her weapon, she cleared the cloud around them all and screamed at the canine. "You are finished!" Before she rammed the spear straight into the thing's skull without hesitation. Even with such a devastating attack, it continued to live on. It would only take a hit from Katoka to finish off now.

---

Ruler | HP: 182/240  | EN: 12/24 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3
Katoka | HP: 160/240  | EN: 21/24 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 2 | LD: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2

Venom Snapper: 30/150 -(11*6) | DMG: 35(50) | EVA: 1 | Poison: 10 (9-10)

[Katoka 0]

Katoka watched Ruler impale the beast on her speak, she yanked the weapon from it's skull but it still somehow lived. Changing up her stance she rushed in with a different sword art charged and ready. Swinging at the creature, it managed to side step out of the way allowing her to strike at empty air. It once again tried to bite her with no avail, if she wasn't going to hit the wolf, there was no way she'd let it hit her back. She called out in a frustrated voice, "I can't hit the damn thing, just finish it off!"

Thankfully the poison cloud had dispersed so she could breath normally and see better, not that she was excelling at hitting the monster before her. "What is wrong with me? Why can't I land I hit?" the samurai was beginning to let her failures get the best of her. "If I had done this alone, I would have..."

 

Ruler | HP: 182/240  | EN: 12/24 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3
Katoka | HP: 160/240  | EN: 20/24 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 2 | LD: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2

Venom Snapper: 30/150 | DMG: 35(50) | EVA: 1 | Poison: 10 (9-10)

Edited August 5, 2020 by Katoka

[Ruler 0]

Another gracious spin of her thin spear, the maiden danced through the battlefield getting close in on the wolf and grabbing her spear closer to the weapon's sharp end. She had much more luck than her damager ally did hitting her target, but she had a fully decked accuracy kit, so it made some sense. The spear rammed into the wolves side just as he reached in to bite the tank player.

It faded into nothing but data and showered into the air, dissipating the polygon's until they were too small to see anymore. Ruler let out a sigh of relief and checked her inventory for the drop item that the Venom Snapper had given her. It looked somewhat useful. Then she turned her attention to Katoka and smiled softly. "Great job. We got through that without a problem." The girl said, placing her hand on Katoka's head and rubbing it gently.

---

Ruler | HP: 182/240  | EN: 12/24 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3
Katoka | HP: 160/240  | EN: 20/24 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 2 | LD: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2

Venom Snapper: 30/150 | DMG: 35(50) | EVA: 1 | Poison: 10 (9-10)

[Katoka 0]

Katoka returned her katana to it's habaki and pouted, her cheeks were flush as Ruler rubbed her head. "You did all the work, I basically flailed about the battlefield." she sighed, "But I suppose a battle with no deaths is successful nonetheless." Her pride was more hurt than her actual self, though she nearly dropped to half health. "It was scary, but I had a good handle on my fear." she looked down to her hands that were shaking and curled them into fists.

"You were really cool though, you killed all of them by yourself." she smiled and laughed, "I hope I was at least a good distraction. The boss was definitely after these succulent thighs, too bad I was too fast for it." she hopped around pretending to dodge enemies that weren't actually there. "I suppose we should head back to down and wrap this up? Unless you want to take a rest."

[Ruler 0]

Ruler gave the shorter blonde a slight conk on the head in response. "Hey, you did fine. You're still learning things. Blaming yourself for being inexperienced is hardly fair. I have maximized my build to ensure that I never miss attacks. Of course I'm going to hit more than often." Ruler gave her a soft smile and fixed the strands of hair that she messed up with her light bonk. She turned on her heel and started to make her way back to town. "Let's go ahead and make our way back to town. We've gotten all the beginner quests done now, so now we can go do other quests that don't restrict our experience gain!"

It didn't take them long to make it back to town, given that the wolves were set up just outside the safe zone. She ushered Katoka to the inn and beckoned her in. "Go ahead and tell the man that you single-handedly destroyed all those wolves." She smiled.

[Katoka 0]

Katoka pouted and rubbed her head after being bonked, after Ruler smoothed out her hair the smaller blonde felt her cheeks flush. "I suppose you're right, I just wanted to hit something at least once." she sighed and followed her companion into town. "I suppose now that we've finished all the starter quests it's all interesting stuff from here on out huh?" she thought out loud as they entered the tavern.

"W-Wait, you want me to what?! But I didn't do that at all!" she began to panic, "Can you lie to NPCs? Do they pick up on that sort of thing?" she thought as she looked back and forth from Ruler to the man in the tavern. Seeing her smile she sighed and approached the man, "Sir? The quest is complete and the wolves have been dealt with." she looked back at Ruler and gave her a smug smile. "I can't lie if I technically tell the truth." she thought to herself nodding.

[Ruler 0]

The merchant still had that worried look on his face, until he noticed Katoka coming up and explaining that the wolves had been dealt with. He bounced from his seat and gave the both of them a big smile. "Yes! You two have saved my business! I can't thank you both enough. I was worried that you wouldn't return and then I would have to deal with the death of two people on my conscious, along with my halted work. Here is some Col for you troubles. Thank you again."

The man then stepped out of his seat and walked out of the tavern. Ruler simply watched him leave, then took a seat at his table. She offered a seat to Katoka with a gesture. "Well, now that we are done, want something to eat?" She asked, elbows resting on the wood of the table. "Hey! Can we get a waiter over here?"

[Katoka 0]

Katoka gladly sat in the chair offered to her, she was getting hungry after all. When the waiter arrived with the menus though she was already certain of what she wanted, meat. She quickly skimmed the food listed until she found what she was looking for, "I'll have the steak please, with the potatoes. Medium, and with water to drink." she looked quickly to Ruler, "S-Sorry, I'm really hungry." she rubbed the back of her head nervously while blushing. Despite just being in a battle not too long ago the woman across from her her looked like she was royalty in an out of place setting. What queen would be in a musty old tavern anyways?

"I guess from here on out we're out of the tutorial huh? I wonder how they're doing on the front lines." the small blonde traced the wood grains on the table with her finger, her eyes lost in thought as she imagined the players of the front lines preparing to fight a monstrous creature so they could get home.

[Ruler 0]

Ruler sat down at the table and got comfortable, letting the other blonde order first before she spoke up. "I will take the same thing, that sound pretty good. Cook my steak medium well, though please." Ruler agreed and smiled to the other girl.

Leaning back in her seat, she relaxed quietly with a smile on her face. "This has felt good to do since I started leveling up. Everything was so quiet and boring just sitting around the Town of Beginnings, but now I feel like my life is much for meaningful."

Once they got their food, Ruler partook in the food given to them. It wasn't as good as a player run store, but she would be able to deal with it. It was steak and she loved steak. "The next quests that we do will be even tougher than this. I hope you are ready for that. It will only get harder and harder, but I will protect you, every step of the way."

Spoiler

Rewards:

SP: 1 quest; 1 page; 1 bonus
Col: 700 col per player and 4 T1 materials
Venom Vial goes to Katoka