[PP|F12] <<Lord of the Seas>> Fish or Wyvern?

[ChaseR 0]

<<Lord of the Seas>>

Chase nodded. She was right with her sentiment, for certain. He just didn't want to go on expeditions with her quite yet- he didn't feel he could protect her even if he wanted to, not because he was too weak or unable to, but because he wasn't just as strong as he'd like to be. Taking damage still felt very offputting and scary, so he wanted to be able to take more hits and deliver much more of a strong punch as well. "You're right... I'll see to getting around with her more once I settle into the third tier. She's taking it much easier than we did the first two days though. I reached the second tier faster than her and she hasn't wanted to stress me much since, but..."

"I've been going at it all the same. I don't want to jeopardize her safety.", he clarified as the two stepped onto the teleporter, having reached the very back of the sand village. "Anyways... Off to hunt the sea serpent in the twelfth? We can do the monkey in the eighth afterwards, if you feel like it. Sorry if I'm dragging you around for a bucketlist, I just want to be as strong as you before I look towards Calrex' levels. I'll need whatever help I can get if I want to overcome him and whatever he has up his sleeve.", he trailed off towards the end, almost losing himself in thought as he tried not to blank out.

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 41
HP: 820/820
EN: 82/82

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 25
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 4
REC:2
PARA:1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Star Splitter>> (T2/Perfect/2HSS): ACC II, PAR 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 5]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]

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:
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.
Skylight (-): +1 Rank to the - skill.
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[NIGHT 0]

"Don't worry, I'm used to it." After her excursions with Yuki and Crow, NIGHT was more than comfortable with gunning through the bosses around Aincrad, drifting along from floor to floor to get some meek amount of experience points. It was easier with a companion by her side, felt less aimless in her attempts to ride the experience bar. More important however was their determination to scale the levels themselves; as much as NIGHT hated the term 'front-liner', she could at least appreciate another's efforts on getting past the floor bosses impeding their way home.

That was the last phrase she'd gotten in before they'd repositioned themselves in the settlement of the twelfth. Still dark and dreary as ever, the player noted, head turning up towards the darkened clouds above her sights, hood cloaking the edges of her peripheries. "Are you planning on challenging him though? This... 'Calrex' person." The name was barely familiar to her, NIGHT knowing ChaseR had at least dropped it once before. "What, do you have beef with them or something?"

	NIGHT   | HP: 1430/1430 | EN: 155/155   | ACC: 4 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 72 | BH: 71   | KEEN: 1 | PRLYZ: 1 | ABS. ACC | LD: 4   | Stealth Detection: 4 | Stealth Rating: 7   | Dungeon Search: 2
- - -
[Examine] [Equipment] Dragon's Gaze -- [ Keen | After a successful attack, gain +1 BD until your next successful attack, at which point this bonus is removed. Another successful attack will reactivate this enhancement. ] -- [ Paralyze I | Natural successful attack rolls of 9-10 remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties. ] -- [ Absolute Accuracy | +1 ACC. Attack rolls of 1 no longer automatically miss. ] Reinforced Black Tracksuit -- [ Mitigation I | +54 MIT. ] -- [ Evasion I | +1 EVA. ] Silver Crescent Necklace -- [ Accuracy II | +2 ACC ] -- [ Evasion II | +2 EVA ] [Battle-Ready Inventory] - - - - - - - - - Skills Skills Mod Count: 8/8 Two-Handed Straight Sword | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Ferocity, Precision, Finesse Light Armor | Passive | RANK 4/5  > Athletics Searching | Passive | RANK 4/5 > Reveal Hiding | Passive | RANK 4+1/5 > Blindside, Vanish, Surprise Attack: Trickster Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3/3  Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 5/5 Energist | Passive [Extra] Survival | Passive  Concentration | Active -- CD: 3 Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3 Consumed Buffs  Spoiler Kumatetsu Statue | +1 DMG - - - - - - Misc. Buffs Spoiler Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Hiding | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests.

[ChaseR 0]

Although somewhat hesitant, he was determined. He turned to look at her and gave a nod, his eyebrows furrowed and his expression completely serious. He seemed almost like a different person with how tense his face was. "I'm not counting on them to tell me what their Unique Skill does. So I'll learn on my own if that's the case. I'm making a small database of skills and whatnot in my home at the basement, which serves more or less like a library. If I learn every skill in the game and compile all the information, I can examine any battles I throw down with him in."

"I can find out what Achilles does that way. Whether he's an NPC or not is a whole other matter, but going by our findings... It's possible.", he said, referring back to DAY. If one could do it, there was certainly room for another. And as discussed before, it's not a skill if it's an NPC's or a monster's ability to do something. "Regardless... No, no beef with them. I'm just interested in holding all the knowledge there is to hold about this world. By the time I get to him, I must have a proper understanding of the inner workings of Aincrad and everything us players can do. Otherwise, I won't be able to find out.", Chase finished his small monologue with a smile. "The stronger I get, the more I'll learn from the frontlines, too. And I'll be able to find out whatever other Unique Skill exists, as well. It's just... If we're stronger than them, without Unique Skills, that means we can push through this. That's the theory I want to prove the most."

[NIGHT 0]

"Whether he's an NPC or not is a whole other matter, but going by our findings... It's possible."

"Don't mention it."

"Regardless... No, no beef with them. I'm just interested in holding all the knowledge there is to hold about this world. By the time I get to him, I must have a proper understanding of the inner workings of Aincrad and everything us players can do. Otherwise, I won't be able to find out."

Yet another aspiring info broker, from the looks and sounds of it. Only this time, ChaseR's approach was more on the vanguards of the field, rather than the distributors like Bistro herself. It was respectable, his drive, though the mention of his database was curious to NIGHT. Couldn't one examine their skills from their own interface--?

Maybe it was more of a methodical approach to the issue. 'If I wrote it down, I'll recall it better'; something along those lines, she'd reasoned. The player nodded at his explanation, eye-rolled at the mention of the frontier fighters, then guided the two in the direction of their next mark. NIGHT was hell-bent on getting revenge against it this turn.

"I've still no clue on what these Unique Skills are on about," she'd continued. "That being said, any information we can get on bettering ourselves as players is certainly going to help us with our advances in the future. Maybe there're more of them out there, too?"

[ChaseR 0]

"There probably are. Given, Achilles is a unique skill in the first place and Calrex is a player. You don't know anybody that's more familiar with him, do you?", he asked, unsure whether he had inquired the last time the two were on this topic. "That aside... If Ariel's information was right, he can tank much better- the best in Aincrad- because of it. So it must be affecting either the damage he receives, the damage enemies deal, or his mitigation. That much I can already conclude.", he put his first chip on the table, wanting to see whether his bet would work out.

They had quite some time until then though. For now, they had to worry about venturing out into the swamp and getting a hold of the Wyvern they were to take down. He didn't quite remember whether its name was Sea Serpent or not, which begged the question... "Anyways... This boss... Is it a fish or what? It's a swamp, so... Is it like an eel?", he asked, curious that the SP reward appeared to be this high. Theoretically, the rain wouldn't make it impossible for it to be a lungfish, but... The word 'Serpent' he remembered for sure. "Something about a serpent, isn't it? Or am I remembering wrong?"

[NIGHT 0]

"He was at the floor boss meeting, actually." She didn't know the man personally, but she did hear him give his few cents away about a past boss fight. "But that's as far as I'm acquainted with him. I barely even know Ariel as it stands." It was her and her guild she was much closer with, NIGHT concluded, the pack of them less suited with experience against a floor boss but had the will and the gall to back up their challenges. "I'd like to see him perform in battle, though. I'll believe the strength of his bulwark when I see it."

Surely he couldn't be as thorny as Yuki was.

"The mark..." Her voice trailed off, before she scowled, ending her terseness with a grunt. "It's like a lochness monster," she tried to elaborate. "Long neck, fins for arms; imagine a turtle without its shell, then extrude its head outwards. Like a dinosaur of sorts, I suppose."

"But it's really weak. And..." Another snarl, NIGHT remembering how she'd faltered to it on complete accident nearly twice. "The landscape is the much bigger issue, if you'd asked me."

[ChaseR 0]

The little information NIGHT had on him might prove to be useful. Of course, he'd still find out at a later time, for now he'd better focus on the boss they were about to engage in combat with. As the two approached a sort of 'clearing' not too far away from the settlement, the bog seemed to just go deeper and deeper. He could certainly agree with the last portion of her tips. "I can see that... It's just weird, imagining a serpent that's not like a snake... If it has arms, it's not really a serpent, is it?", he grumbled, sticking to the details a fair bit.

Then again, even though she'd never seen him act this way, that's what always went on inside his head. He broke everything down to words and analyzed them, and he still couldn't get a good grip on how to speak kindly or with restraint himself. Maybe that's why, he just overthinks everything to the point of throwing words out raw. His word filter is just... broken. "Yeah, a dinosaur is... definitely not a serpent...", he grumbled with a sigh and simply shrugged, taking his sword off of its sheathe and keeping his guard up. "If the landscape is the issue... we must be getting close, right?"

[NIGHT 0]

The fussing over its label was what perplexed the woman, the duo closing in on their destination. Did everything have to be named as such; was it not enough to hold true to such a concept and not worry about what others called things? "Maybe serpent-line would be more adequate," NIGHT dryly added to his spoken contemplation, knowing just how much video games liked to abuse the thesaurus to put a unique spin onto their creatures. "Whatever it is, I'd make it sushi and call it a day."

She didn't remember having to wade through the environment like this; maybe it was her disdain for that memory that she pushed it out of her mind. "Close indeed." Doubtless the beast would make its appearance sometime soon, she reasoned, and pulled out Dragon's Gaze from the rift just so she could counter it if it ever got close to her.

Of course, it wouldn't get the chance to strike at them, if the woman had her way with slaying it where it stood.

[ChaseR 0]

Whatever the case, he definitely agreed with her sentiment once more. "Sushi it is.", he joked with a clap of his hands and looked ahead as they slowly stepped deeper and deeper in the marsh. "So then... We can get close, but since it's so deep, it's hard to move away... Then again, the monster won't be able to swim through this and attack us all the same, either. So it shouldn't be a hard encounter overall... If need be, I'll tank hits just fine, too. Although it wouldn't hurt for NIGHT to keep me safe, I have to hold my own weight in the end.".

And then, he could hear it. Something big was approaching. A head popped up out of the mud and with it followed its massive body. No way that was a sea-anything, that was a fucking wyvern if he'd seen one. "Holy shit talk about big.", he commented mentally, not letting himself falter and trying to make as quick an advance towards it as he could before attempting to slam its long neck with the flat side of his blade. If he could get the hit to land, he'd knock it off balance just enough for NIGHT to get a sneaky hit in as well. The hit landed mighty fine, getting the wyvern before them to falter just as it showed up. What a quick battle this really would be.

ChaseR: HP: 820/820 | EN: 79/82 (+4, -7) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 (-2) | ACC: 4 | REC: 2 | MIT: 25 | BH: 8 | PAR: 1
NIGHT:

Sea Wyvern: HP: 172/300 (-128) | DMG: 300 (MD 9-10: AoE) [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun)

Edited August 28, 2020 by ChaseR

[NIGHT 0]

It was the heavy wave from its emergence that nearly toppled her over. But NIGHT held fast to the muck on the floor, hoping to block most of the splashes as she'd dipped her head downwards, her cloak catching most of the liquid. Their hulking beast towered over them, scales and spines tattered all across its form, and the woman took a moment to finally study the creature, eyes narrowed at their unfortunate victim.

She wouldn't be the first to move. ChaseR rushed in with a Tempest. Now all NIGHT had to do was land a strike -- Dragon's Gaze was perfect for this, the glow of its jewel mirroring the flash of heat from her eyes. Maneuvering through the water was a danger enough for the woman to miss; her action instead was to charge her weapon's length, soaking it completely in light.

A swing would send a shock wave, powerful enough to tear what was left of its health into shreds. With a howl, a falter, it exploded, leaving nothing but starry shrapnel in its wake.

Spoiler

Using [Concentration]. (+1 ACC) to the following:

ID: 166607 | BD: 12 (7, +4+1)
<<Galaxy Destroyer>> vs Sea Wyvern. (-260 HP)

Ending [Concentration].
[Keen] activated. (+1 ACC) to subsequent rolls.

ChaseR | HP: 820/820 | EN: 79/82 | DMG: 14 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 4 | REC: 2 | MIT: 25 | BH: 8 | PAR: 1
NIGHT | HP: 1430/1430 | EN: 146/155 (-9) | ACC: 4 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 1 (-2) | MIT: 72 | BH: 71 | KEEN: 1 | PRLYZ: 1 | ABS. ACC | LD: 4

Sea Wyvern: HP: -88/300 (-260) | DMG: 300 (MD 9-10: AoE) [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun)

[ChaseR 0]

With the monster disappearing into thin air, Chase sighed and sheathed his blade once more, feeling slimy enough to be in the swamp in the first place, especially this deeply submerged. "Alright... O-Off to leave we go, I can't take a minute more in this disgusting, vile, putrid...", his insults continued, although his voice was drowned out by groans and grunts the more he pushed himself to walk out of it. It didn't take too long before he could walk properly again, seeing his clothes all filthy and dripping with this horrible mixture of mud and water.

"Talk about all bark, no bite... T-Tch, where the hell is it...", he trailed off as he almost frantically opened his menu, sorting through his inventory to take out what seemed like two orange crystals. He passed one over to NIGHT, holding it near himself and with a blue spark, he was back to being clean. "I'm not normally that squeamish, but being that deep in a bog for more than's necessary... No thank you. Still, the monster was... Hmph. Why make it so big if it gets stunned all the same..? Just to scare players?", he continued dissing the game design at play lowly, shaking his own head in disapproval.

[NIGHT 0]

The crystal was... unusual. With a heavy, soaking cover, she'd taken it without complaint, tilting her head slightly after a quick examination of the item.

What exactly was this item?

When it popped in ChaseR's hands, the sight was all it needed to convince NIGHT that it was the best item in the game ever. She'd shattered it in her hands, a warm orange glow enveloping her form, and within seconds her appearance was back to normal, DAY's cloak practically as clean as the moment it was forged.

"Alchemist crafts?" The player wondered aloud, watching the man mutter to himself complaints about the game. In the few seconds she'd lent to him to muse on his own, she'd pulled open her inbox, tapping out a quick message over to Bistro for verification.

NIGHT: can you make portable laundromat crystals?????
NIGHT: is that a thing you can do
NIGHT: where are you hiding your tide pods

[ChaseR 0]

"... Aah?", Chase responded loudly with confusion as he turned over to her side, cocking an eyebrow and crossing his arms before looking up towards the sky. "Alchemist..? No, I don't know any. Hell if I know who made that, I bought it from some gramps in the sixth. The stuff you can find, and it's all vanity too... You want to see?", he asked with a small grin, opening his inventory to tease her. There was plenty that he had kept for himself, some having thankfully gone unused in a fair while since that little incident with Shay. Like the gender-swapping one or the lowkey muscle relaxant he'd gotten the samples for.

"There's that one shop that gave me a few samples, but I bought it from a stall a bit further ahead. The price was uh... honestly negligible. Identifying an item goes for higher, actually. Although I haven't done that a lot... Just once.", he nodded to himself and looked over at her with the same excited grin. Carrying all forms of junk like that around proved useful from time to time, but the real problem with Chase was that he's used to keeping a clean inventory. The same way that the incident with Shay occurred, whenever it's too cluttered, he might make a mistake if he's rushing, leading to him using the wrong type of item. Thus, the rogue had laid eyes on the bluehead's female form in a beautiful accident.

[NIGHT 0]

"Anything else to keep clean like that," she replied, intrigued, still surprised at how polished her appearance had become. But once it occurred to NIGHT that she had little use for having her doppel's cloak on her anymore, a few clicks registered it in her inventory, the item's name coming up empty in her list. A glance over towards ChaseR's own interface told her just how much was packed in their virtual duffelbag, and it bothered the player to no end seeing the load of stuff stowed away, only finding use in very specific scenarios.

NIGHT had her own sorted out in different categories. Minimalism was something she enjoyed exercising and living by.

"How exactly do you..." Her eyes skimmed over a few of the tags; she couldn't come up with situations where she would use any of them in the near future, but the prospect of that crystal was the key exception to his solutions. "--I just hope you're able to find what you're looking for in there," she added. "You've been on a grinding spree yourself too?"

[ChaseR 0]

He laughed awkwardly at the last question, furrowing his brows upwards and blushing slightly. "Well, I can still get stronger, so why not go kill some things on an empty day, make me some money and get a potential Unique item~. I usually sift through everything better whenever I'm resting and try some out. Like, there's this one potion that helps relax your muscles I really like- but uh... They're actually all named similarly too, so they're hard to tell apart... A-Anyways, the unidentifieds, yeah?", he asked her, showing her a huge list of Uncommons, Rares and Perfects.

Sadly, as many Perfect Weapons, Armors and Trinkets as he had, he had the same number of consumables. "It's a bother to have so many consumables when they're not even going to be what I want... I just want me some unique gear, but looks like the way things currently are, my Armor is the closest contender for something like that- and I doubt I can get a good defensive armor like that, with how random indentifications are. Er... About keeping clean though, no, I don't think...", he grumbled and looked through his inventory again, coming up short. "I just bought two, one for me and one for Shay. We haven't gotten dirty ever though, so didn't have to use it. Best not let you drench in whatever the hell that mud is.". Surprisingly enough, Chase was incredibly talkative in a good mood like now. It's... a surprise, for sure. He didn't seem to notice- which he really didn't-, either.

[NIGHT 0]

"Ah," she returned, expression kept straight in idle acknowledgement. "I guess that makes sense if you're still looking for Tier 2 items. I wouldn't be of much help in that regard, but..."

A few flicks, and she'd gotten to her own stash of unidentifieds. They never seemed to be enough for the woman, her own stock of weapons having recently been identified out and handed off for further distribution. But her collection of armors was still healthy, a sight she bet her tank friend would delightfully drool at the sight at.

--Not really. But with all the auras and thorns Yuki had been collecting, it made sense to bulk up further on those enhancements, NIGHT figured.

"You can have some of them if you want," the player offered her companion, after letting the man take a look over it. "Like I said, it's common for weapon type users to look after their own. They're for Tier 3's of course, so they're nothing usable just yet. But you're getting there anyway, so why not, right?"

[ChaseR 0]

Chase was speechless at the offer. On one hand he wanted to turn it down, on the other he wasn't that stubborn... "T-Tier 3's... L-Look, I don't wanna leech off of you, but um... Gran said that if I give her 26 unidentifieds, she can do them all, s-so if I get 26 total Perfects that means I have a shot at getting a unique, so I'll be even stronger... But I don't want any free handouts at your expense, f-for real!". He was quick to try and make it seem like he wasn't getting greedy. Part of him was, and another really wasn't.

He wanted to capitalize off of the offer but he didn't want to make it seem like he'd just nab it without any appreciation. It's just that the idea of having a unique made him feel much stronger, let alone actually having one and using it, like she and probably many other higher tier players did. "I don't need you to finish up my 26 set, but... How many do you have even? I'm at um... Let me count...", he asked with a scratch of the back of his head before starting to look at his own inventory, looking back up at her. "I'm sitting at 9 so far. So that leaves... 17 more to get. I'm planning on a trip to the 22nd to finish off my batch, soon, but..."

[NIGHT 0]

"The twenty-second? I've been meaning to pay it a visit, anyway," NIGHT revealed. Every inch closer towards a level further up the ladder meant her strategies had to be recalculated, just to fit the creatures that would fall under her loot minimum. Even if she wasn't planning on heading out to hunt, making sure Yuki was doing alright and grabbing some snacks out from her kitchen would save her time searching for it whenever she was out exploring the castle.

The player folded her arms, shifting her weight onto one foot. "Take as many as you'd like. See if you find anything that fits your build. I'm on the lookout for weapons most of the time, anyway. I'm not too upset over the matter of defense, mind you." A quick trade request was sent to ChaseR, the woman piling on a number of these armors to her companion. "Good luck with the gachapon."

[ChaseR 0]

And just as he was about to accept the request with a stupid smile on his face, excited as ever that he'd find a Unique item among the batch of armors she'd sent him, she striked him with a word that sent him fully off balance. He gave her a confused look, having stopped his finger over the confirmation button and frowning. "The fuck is a gatchapawn?", he muttered in question, scratching the back of his head. Putting aside his horrible pronunciation, Mr. Worldwide didn't do too well with gaming or other languages' vocabulary all around.

While waiting for an answer, he took a moment or two before recollecting his focus and looking back down at the trade request, the smile returning to his face- albeit smaller- and accepting the request. And then, he was showered with seventeen unidentified armors for one tier higher, but potential candidates for what would be his characteristic final outfit. Of course, if he were to pick and stick to only a single one- he'd probably try to go for various different builds and adapt to each situation, though, keeping an open mind when he hands in the batch to gran back to her shop.

[NIGHT 0]

"The-- the rolling," NIGHT quickly added, just to correct ChaseR's potentially growing ideas of the word's meaning in his head. Sure, the man did mention he wasn't incredibly well versed in games to begin with but she hadn't been expecting him to be this disconnected from their terminology, especially after the years of being in Aincrad. "Or, what I meant is, good luck with the identifications, I guess? It-- It's like those gacha games on the phone back in real life, with the cute anime girls and the different units--"

"--Ugh, never mind." The player shook her head, continuing to list the armors onto the trade window at her own prerogative. "I've had the most success with two merchants, just in case you'd want to test your luck with them so far. There's Simmone from Firm Anima; fair warning though, she smokes." A sharp frown passed her face before NIGHT hit confirm on the trade, continuing on with her recollection. "Then there's Andromeda; she's incredibly patient with my offers." And she wasn't just saying that out of a strange pang of obligation, of course not.

"They're both down by Floor 1. I'm sure you could find them without problems, or I could just escort you there, if you're up for the trip."