[PP|F16] <<Fighting Fish>> A Big Catch

[ChaseR 0]

The two left the tenth floor and instead headed for the sixteenth, which was definitely a new high. Even for Chase, who'd gone to the eleventh floor's courtyard and garden numerous times on trips to get materials and unidentified goodies, he'd never once stepped this high up other than for the festival. As per usual, he stepped off the teleporter and looked around, filled with confusion before looking back at Shay. "Hey, what kind of a floor is this..? What's the boss we're even fighting this time again? I think something to do with water? Is it a fish?"

His flood of questions, pun not intended, was as overwhelming as ever, although that was nothing new. He seemed to be relaxing more by the minute now that they were away from the underworld-based river, and in a more bright environment. Even though looking around didn't help him lots, he knew one thing and one thing alone; there was water. Lots of it. They'd probably need a rowboat or some other small vessel to move around, unless they were tasked with something in the safezone which he found... rather unlikely, to say the least.

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 31
HP: 620/620
EN: 62/62

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Gust Raiser>> (T2/Perfect/2HSS): DMG II, ACC I
Armor: <<Wind Dweller>> (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I, REC II
Misc: <<Chained Bracelet>> (T2/Perfect/Trinket): EVA II, ACC I

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival
Disguise

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]
Precision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
Spyglass (2/3)*1
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*2
Woodland Armor (T2/Perfect) MIT III (2/3)*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:

 

[Shay 0]

Shay came off the teleporter behind her boyfriend, sighing as she saw the watery floor. She just knew that she was going to be ankle deep in water at some point. The thought of wet socks was unpleasant. Grace Eon didn't seem to like the temperature of the floor either. It was a warm humid here.

"Beats me. I haven't been higher than floor ten. Whatever is passed there, besides floor twenty-two, I have never seen before." She said nonchalantly with her arms folded across her chest. The crimson pupils examined everything around them. "Pink ensured me that her and her duo partner could easily massacre this boss when they were at our levels. I have no doubt that both of us can easily do it if she can." Shay explained, taking the lead towards the quest marker. She knew Chase was probably getting worn out by now, so she would try to make it quick.

Spoiler

Name: Shay
Level: 28
HP: 560/560
EN: 56/56

Stats:
Damage: 13
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 4
BLD: 24
REC: 2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: (Katana)Murasame α: ACC 2; BLD 1
Armor: Leather Overcoat: EVA 3
Misc: Deep Red Tie: Recovery 2; ACC 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 5]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter II

Mods:
Precision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal*1
Incarceration*2
T1 Mass HP Rec. II*1
T1 HP Rec. I*2
T1 Instant HP Rec. I*2

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:

 

[ChaseR 0]

With a low groan, Chase muttered something on his own, although if Shay didn't pay attention she'd probably miss it. "To hell with the know-it-all-do-it-all pinkheaded fucking cook...". He coughed to clear his throat, following right behind to see Blizz still clinging onto Grace from before, appearing to have made himself mighty comfortable being carried around. Not like Chase couldn't get behind it, but it's not something he'd really do to Shay. Then again, it's not like he could in the first place.

As the two approached what seemed to be a dock of sorts, he grunted and got flash backs of that tutorial quest where they had to pull a swordfish out of the lake. "Ah, so it's that type of a quest... Are you going to fish or will I..? Or are we not fishing, do we just wait for the monster to show up?", his questions hinted some slight agitation, although seeing as Yuki was mentioned, it wasn't all that odd.

[Shay 0]

The rogue shrugged as she walked on to the dock. She didn't care much about the paladin, but she gave good information at the least. Since she had done nearly all the quests in the game, she knew how all of them went down and could gauge their difficulty.

More fishing was involved. That was pretty annoying. She knew sooner or later they would pull the thing out of the water, but sitting around trying to get it to spawn was kind of annoying. "We have to fish it up, unfortunately." She summoned two fishing poles to her hands and offered one to Chase. "Here, we can both do it at the same to time to increase our chances of finding it." With that, she fished the line into the water, and nearly instantly the line snapped in half. The rogue looked annoyed at the flowing line and groaned. "I hate fishing."

---

CD: 1; failure

[ChaseR 0]

Chase watched Shay's attempt end up nowhere and silently, took a deep breath. They were in the middle of nowhere, judging by the lake's looks, which wasn't very endearing. Regardless, he pulled his own fishing pole back and then whipped it back in front of him, letting the bob sit on the water's surface quietly. He waited around a minute or two, until he saw it bobbing up and down momentarily, thinking he might have gotten a catch out of it. 

As he pulled it back, he saw a material hanging by the hook's edge, grinning widely and reaching over to grab it. Just at the last second though, it ended up slipping right back into the water, getting a discouraged "Wh- No!" out of the bluehead. With a deep sigh, he looked at Shay and nodded. "I hate this too... I could have grabbed that material and turned it into something if I even got to see what it was..."

CD: 5; failure

Edited August 19, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay sighed as she fixed the line of the fishing rod that had snapped, while Chase dealt with having lost a free material to the slip of a finger. These type of luck mechanic quests were insanely annoying because the developers knew that they would do them. They just wanted cheap ways to annoy them and take up more of their time of something stupid like that.

With her line finally fixed, the rogue would cast the line back into the water, sure that she would only get the same result as her last attempt. Though, to her surprise, the line didn't snap at all. It just sat quietly in the water.

Grace Eon found herself nestling in the girl's cross-legged lap. She rested a hand on the feline creature and sighed quietly, waiting for anything to happen. The water was too quiet and she was sure that there was nothing actually in there. But somehow, a boss-fish was? Bullshit.

---

[ChaseR 0]

Chase could tell that this was starting to chip away at Shay's patience for such menial tasks, and he wasn't sure what he could do to help other than hope for the best and get the damn fish out of the lake already. He slowly threw his fishing rod forwards again and waited to see whether anything would bite the bob or not. "... It's too silent. At least I'm with Shay.", he thought and looked to the side, getting his attention off of the task at hand but smiling slightly. 

With the bob not moving any, he completely forgot he'd even cast his line into the lake as he scuttled just slightly closer to her, stopping just before the two's shoulders bumped into one another. "... At least we're together. Right?", he simply said, looking her in the eyes and giving a toothy smile with his eyes closed. He couldn't really ask for much more, especially while held hostage in this odd world.

CD: 4; failure

Edited August 21, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay was looking slightly annoyed, until Chase moved over to her and was nearly leaning on her. The feeling of her shoulder against his was enough to get her to lean against him and relax a little bit. She took a deep breath and calmed down enough to not get angry at something so simple.

"Right, I'm glad I'm here with you and not alone, doing it by myself. I would have lost my mind if I hadn't met you." Shay said quietly, watching the bobber bounce around the ripples in the water. Slowly, the ripples were turning into waves and soon, Shay's bobber sank into the water. She quickly ripped up the pole upward to lock the hook in it's jaw. Grace cried in surprise and jumped into Chase's lap.

With a hard tug, the fish came up to shore. "Just when we were having a good fucking moment!"

---

Moretsuna Spawned!

[ChaseR 0]

Before he could even respond to her, he opened his eyes to see her looking elsewhere, following her gaze until it reached the bob. With raised eyebrows, he leaned in slightly only to see the small shadow that initially surfaced begin growing bigger and bigger, eventually getting an enormous fish to show up. With a groan of annoyance, he simply nodded at Shay and took his sword out, throwing the fishing pole by the side. "Let's just take care of this and pick it up back home.", he agreed with her, tightening his grip on his blade and taking a deep breath.

Just as the fish splashed out of the water, he quickly jumped up and raised his sword in the air, slashing downwards at the monster a few times before landing back on his feet, hoping his attacks dealt enough damage to grab its attention over Shay. By the looks of it, not only did he succeed greatly, but he also appeared to have left it in a daze with his flurry of attacks.

ChaseR: HP: 620/620 | EN: 59/62 (+4, -7) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 6
Shay:

Moretsuna: HP: 413/500 (-87) | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun)

Edited August 21, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

The rogue stood to her feet, finally finding the time to unsheathe her sword and get ready for combat. ChaseR was a bit faster to get in the action since she was busy fiddling with the fishing pole and pulling the stupid thing out of the water, but it was time to do what she does best: Mindlessly throwing herself in to the enemy and slicing them down with nothing but a few simple slices.

The blood red katana, fueled by the light of the sword art, waved an eerie aura of blackened fire. It was clear this weapon was new from her last, albeit the same physical make up as her last one, but the power radiating off of it was something else. With a burst of speed, Shay was upon the monster. Slashes from every single direction were difficult to track for anyone who wasn't keeping their full attention on her. The stun made these burst of speed much more capable since it was laying motionless.

Once her attack was done, the aura of black fire dispersed from her weapon. She turned to ChaseR and gave him a quick smile and a nod.

---

ChaseR: HP: 620/620 | EN: 59/62 | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 6
Shay | HP: 580/580 | EN:43/58 (-15) | DMG: 12 | MIT: 8 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BLD: 24 | REC:2

Moretsuna: HP: 258/500 (-180-25) | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun)

[ChaseR 0]

As Chase jumped back up now that he'd received confirmation it was his turn to attack, he tried to slash down at the fish and knock it right back into the water. However, it appeared to snap out of the stun shortly after and instead helped fall right down, jumping back out only when the bluenette missed his chance mid-air to try dragging him down into the water along with itself. Before he could get dragged down without a fight, he gripped himself from the edge of the dock and growled, trying to kick at its head with his free foot.

The other one was trapped in his mouth, getting pulled lower and lower as Chase tried his darndest to keep himself out of the water and put up as much resistance as he could. "A-Are you fucking joking with me?! Let go you stupid..!", he verbally assaulted it, as his sword slipped up onto the dock further away. For now, he was just fighting for his life against its hook-like mouth.

[Hate 4] ChaseR: HP: 620/620 | EN: 62/62 (+5, -2) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 6
[Hate 1] Shay | HP: 580/580 | EN:43/58 | DMG: 12 | MIT: 8 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BLD: 24 | REC:2

Moretsuna: HP: 258/500 | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 [Stun CD; 2/3]

Edited August 25, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay watched her significant other rush into the fight once more to serve his blade to the fish. He had been a lot more ballsy lately, so hopefully he was getting better with all of this. He was still working on perfecting his tank play, but at least he was getting better with taking things head on.

Though, her heart nearly skipped a beat when he nearly got swallowed by the lake. She wasn't going to let this giant fish bull him. Jumping onto the back of the fish, her blade flashed with a bright red, making tons of cuts through the creatures back. "Better pay more attention, or I'll turn you into sushi!" She yelled, digging her blade one more time into the creature's back, deep as it can go. If her attacks were good enough, maybe Chase could shake free from the Moretsuna and reposition himself to finish it off.

---

[Hate 4] ChaseR: HP: 620/620 | EN: 62/62  | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 6
[Hate 2] Shay | HP: 580/580 | EN: 29/58 -(15)+1 | DMG: 12 | MIT: 8 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BLD: 24 | REC:2

Moretsuna: HP: 103/500 -(180-25) | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 [Stun CD; 2/3]

[ChaseR 0]

Thankfully, with the combined efforts of both Shay and Chase, he managed to break free with a kick. As soon as he got away from the fish, he quickly rushed towards his blade and picked it up, getting himself in a stance appropriate to attack. He then quickly turned back to face the boss, taking a deep breath and trying to finish it off with a strong Galaxy Destroyer- however, his attack failed spectacularly.

It wasn't because he missed- rather, he slipped on some water that'd splashed onto the docks and before he could hit the ground, the fish had jumped out of the water and slammed its tail right onto his side, knocking him to the side of the dock once more. This brutal beatdown was beginning to become quite a bother for the boy, who grabbed onto the very edge before he dropped into the water, pulling himself back out with a groan. "F-Fuck sake, the water's making this unbearable..!"

[Hate 4] ChaseR: HP: 525/620 (-95) | EN: 62/62 (-2, +5)  | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 6
[Hate 2] Shay | HP: 580/580 | EN: 29/58 | DMG: 12 | MIT: 8 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BLD: 24 | REC:2

Moretsuna: HP: 103/500 | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 [Stun CD; 1/3]

Edited August 30, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

It looks like things were getting much more difficult. It was fine though, Chase had the health points to take on the Moretsuna, but it was best to help him as quickly as possible. Tightening the grip on her blade, still embedded into the skin of the beast, Shay twisted the katana in it's body. A blood red hue emitted from the wound where her sword glowed with power. Sliding onto her back, she tore the blade down the side of the beast. It's health points went down to zero and it's head split from it's body.

Shay splashed in the water just as the fish exploded into a pixelated mess. After taking a moment to make sure that Chase could make it out of the water, she swam up to shore with him and let out a few deep breaths. "You doing alright? That was pretty rough. I'd say we could head back home now and rest."

---

[Hate 4] ChaseR: HP: 525/620 | EN: 62/62  | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 6
[Hate 3] Shay | HP: 580/580 | EN: 15/58 -(15)+1 | DMG: 12 | MIT: 8 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BLD: 24 | REC:2

Moretsuna: HP: 103/500 -(180-25) | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 [Stun CD; 1/3]

[ChaseR 0]

With the fight quickly ending and the two returning back to land, no longer in the danger of the deep waters, he let out a deep sigh and walked over to his sword to slide it in his back. "I'm fine, just... got turned into a ragdoll.", he mumbled and rubbed his right upper arm, furrowing his brows. "It feels so weird, getting beaten up like that but not feeling any pain whatsoever...", he commented inside of his head and then looked back up at Shay, smiling just slightly. "... Yeah, let's go back. The fish can't interrupt us there, anyways. We should...", Chase began to make a suggestion, although he knew he wouldn't quite follow it as loyally as the rogue probably would.

"Well, I think it'd be for the best if we took the next days off... Just for a bit. I-I've got some work on the first and stuff, so I'll be going around from time to time, but let's give it a rest... We've rushed lots since the start of the week to get me caught up.", he admitted. Of course, his intent was to no longer keep putting Shay in so much danger. He wanted to go storm out a few questions on his own and get strong enough to let no harm befall his friend in any case. "What do you think?"

[Shay 0]

"We just came back from resting. I'm glad that we have time to relax but I don't want to get too complacent. We can take a few days rest, but lets get back to it soon." Shay responded, pulling herself to her feet and looking around for wherever Grace Eon and Blizz went. They were waiting a little bit away from the docks to ensure that that they wouldn't get caught up in the fighting and pulled under the water.

Shay began to lead the way back to the safe zone where they could teleport back to the fourth floor where home awaited. Normally she would have done more in a day of grinding, but she didn't want Chase to get overwhelmed with it all again. She worried about his mental state, cause even if the body feels no pain, that doesn't mean you were numb to everything else around you.

[ChaseR 0]

"Well, we just took a single day easy, I don't think that's 'rest'... We were kind of going full throttle for two days before, that's uh... Burn out, that's how it works, right?", he tried to convince her to rest for just a while longer, hoping that she wouldn't ask to go questing within a short period of time. Maybe five or so days would be enough for him to get as strong as he needs to in order to protect herself and himself. With the help of... Well, he'd scour his friends list to find out later, probably some frontliner would fit the bill best though.

"Like, if you get tired to the point of mental breakdown or physical exhaustion, then... a day of rest won't cut it. Your mind and body need a break for much more than just that, or else you'll just break down easier and faster next time. And... I don't want that for you or me.", the bluehead continued before silently approaching her and moving his hand in the warmth of hers, looking over at the familiars who silently approached the duo. As always, Blizz was still sitting on top of Grace, letting her do the carrying around. Felt more comfortable and easy that way, moving around.

[Shay 0]

"I'm just fine right now. Sitting around doing nothing isn't only boring but it leaves me weak. Being weak isn't a problem; staying weak is. I won't let this world conquer me... But if you insist that we must stop then fine." She looked off to the side and wrapped her fingers around his. Her eyes moved down at Grace Eon, who seemed to smile at her.

Things were complicated this way. She didn't want to wait around, but she knew that she would have to because of Chase. He obviously wasn't as well suited for the grind as she was. Maybe she could find time to do a quest solo. There were a few that she needed to accomplish since they couldn't be undertaken in a group. Chase would probably be fine with that. "Let's just go home and talk more about it there." She said as they passed into the safe zone.

[ChaseR 0]

He nodded. "Looks like I managed to get her to hold back. For a second there, I lost my cool and almost... Tch. I did it either way. So we're good, for now.", he finished his thoughts and silently began heading for the teleporter, stepping onto it and looking at the small family they had- himself, Chase, Grace and Blizz. Honestly, he could do with a little more group activity like that. The two familiars seemed to have gotten everything in order, and there was nothing bad about it. Hell, it was much better than the feline bullying the poor pangolin all the time.

Although, that's how it went with Chase and Shay as well. She didn't 'bully' him, but she definitely kept the leadership of the group for most of the time. She knew a lot more about the quests, and led them from floor to floor as if she had a bucketlist of her own. All Chase knew was that he wanted to keep her safe and get stronger to help the frontlines clear the game, be it through crafts or joining the frontlines himself. They'd get there when they got there though. For now, the four teleported back to the fourth and Chase looked to the side, smiling just a bit wider. "I'm missing a small sum of Col overall... I think if you lend me the quest's rewards, it's enough to get... You know, a normal house. And then we can move there to be more comfortable, what do you think?"

[Shay 0]

Shay was quiet for most of the way back home. She didn't really have much to say. There was still so much going on in her mind that overwhelmed her. Too many feelings and concerns to be dealt with all at once piling up on top of her. If she couldn't let out her frustration in combat, what the hell else could she do?

Back on the fourth floor, the fresh smell of snow was a the welcome home. She took the lead with Chaser like she usually did, making their way back to her shop. When he brought up needing the money to make them a house, she simply shrugged to him and transferred the money over to him without much of a problem.

When they got inside the shop, she would lie down on the mat that she had brought in for him and close her eyes to rest awhile. Maybe try to get these needlessly worrisome thoughts off her mind.

Spoiler

Rewards:

SP: 2 quest; 1 page; 1 Event
Col: Chaser - 6400
Moretsuna Statue