[F02 - SP] Forgotten Quest <<The Dragon Hunter Anthology: The Quartz Hatchling>>

[Koga 0]

Spoiler

Koga
Level: 30
Health: 600
Energy: 60
DMG: 13 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 36 // ACC: 4
BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

Skills
>> [Rank 1] Curved Sword
>> [Rank 5] Katana
     // Ferocity
     // Precision
>> [Rank 0] Martial Arts
>> [Rank 2] Familiar Mastery: Fighter
>> [Rank 0] Survival

Equipment
>> T2 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [Burn // Blight // Cursed // Fallen]
>> T2 Demonic Light Armor <<Wrathful Bracers>>  [Cursed // Mitigation // Mitigation // Regen]
>> T1 Perfect Necklace <<White Owl Necklace>> [Accuracy // Accuracy // Accuracy]

Battle-Ready Inventory
>> T2 Blank Dungeon Map
>> [50 HP] Healing Potions (2)
>> [40 HP] Healing Potion (5)
>> [DMG +1] Damage Potion (1)

Koga stood at the counter of his shop, waiting for someone to walk in, probably look around for a bit, and then not buy anything. Such is life. And poor players who wouldn't know their own butts from a hot rock, let alone a good weapon or piece of armor. Part of Koga wanted to close down shop again, but he'd just opened an hour or two ago. It wouldn't do to close down so early. He had a reputation to rebuild anyways.

The man started scrolling through his menus out of boredom. He'd fallen that low. He started with the settings, just to see what was there. [Profanity Filter: Off] Just as it should be. Other boring things about system specs and all that. Onto the quest journal. Much to Koga's surprise, there was one quest in his log he'd completely forgotten about. <<Dragon Hunter Anthology>>. Right. Something about slaying baby dragons and getting great rewards...A little morbid if you thought about it too much. Koga did for a moment.

"Ah, screw it. C'mon Okami, we're gonna go murder some baby dragons."

It looked like The Ring and Sword was closing early today after all.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Koga

[Koga 0]

It wasn't long before Koga had his gear donned, and headed out the door with Okami beside him. It was a struggle to get through the market with the white wolf attempting to hound the various food vendors, but with a lot of stiff commands, the pair made it to the teleport pad and were on their way on their next quest.

"Teleport, Urbus!"

The bright blue light engulfed Koga's vision for a moment, and then vanished, revealing the medieval style buildings of Floor Two's main settlement. The pair wasted no time in heading out from the town, and out towards the waypoint. The forest provided cooling shade and a refreshing breeze as they walked in silence between the trees. Koga thought back to the first Dragon hunter quest he'd taken. When Noct was still around...when  she was still...No one was around now, right? It was okay to take the mask off?

[Koga 0]

Koga stopped moving for a moment, Okami coming to a halt beside him. The man stood still and listened to the forest around him. Nothing but the rustle of leaves. Koga's hand balled themselves into tight fists, his finger nails digging into the flesh of his palm as he felt hot tears began to trace trails down his face.

"Why the hell..." Koga said quietly to the world, his hands shaking, "would you give me everything...just to take it all away!" As Koga shouted, he drew his sword, lashing out at the nearest tree, Tsuki suddenly bursting into black flames and cutting through the wood almost effortlessly. The wood creaked and ever so slowly began to tilt backwards. As the tree reached the tipping point, the forest echoed with loud snaps, as whatever wood had not been sever cracked in half, and the tree crashed to the forest floor with a great boom.

[Koga 0]

Koga's chest heaved with his every breath, his knuckles white as his finger wrapped around his katana's hilt. The sound of quiet whining was the only thing that jarred Koga from his thoughts. The man turned around and looked at the source of the noise. Okami sat there, pressing his body against the round as he quietly whimpered at Koga's display. Quite suddenly, Koga found it difficult to hang onto his weapon. He sheathed his weapon, and walked towards the wolf, kneeling down before it, gently petting the wolf's head. "I'm sorry boy...I didn't mean to scare you..." Koga apologized quietly. Okami pressed his head gently into Koga's head, as if to say that it was ok. The wolf licked Koga's tear-stained face, earning himself a small smile from his master. "Alright, alright. C'mon boy, let's get goin." The swordsman stood up and began to walk once more, slower than before. He felt weary. Oh so weary.

[Koga 0]

The swordsman and the wolf continued their journey, slower than before. For whatever reason, that single strike had taken a lot of the man. He hoped he'd still have the energy to fight the hatchling...okay, who was he kidding, this was the second floor. He could one shot anything on this floor with a love tap, but still. It wasn't like him to lash out like that. Even Okami was a little shaken, and that wolf was hardly afraid of anything. But then again, it wasn't often that people lost their lover and their sister on the same day. Koga had just thought he'd gotten past the anger part of his grief after a year. He'd thought wrong apparently.

The swordsman let out a long and tired sigh. "What the hell are we gonna do, Okami?" he asked his familiar, who looked up at him with curious eyes. "It's not like we can avoid people forever. Especially not on the frontlines. People, friends, are gonna die there. But we can't sit back and do nothing either...we have to beat this. For them." It was quite the dilemma.

[Koga 0]

The white wolf stared back at Koga with icy blue eyes. He didn't know of course. He was a wolf. Koga sighed once more. "Yeah, I don't know either buddy...Is it wrong? To be this afraid?" This time Koga looked over to the wolf, "You always seem calm and collected. I don't know how you do it. Especially considering how many dumb situations I get us into." The wolf huffed at that one. "Yeah, yeah...I know...stop being stupid...dumb wolf..." The two walked in silence for a bit longer before, once again, Koga spoke. "I just don't know how much more of this I can take bud. Once was hard. Twice? I don't know why I'm still here...if I lose anyone else. What happens then? What am I even supposed to do now?" Neither knew the answer to that one.

[Koga 0]

Well, he made a promise. This time to NIGHT. He intended to keep it. Just like he had every time prior. He supposed he'd made a liar out of himself yet again. He was getting real good at that. It wasn't something he tried to do. Or like he choose to break his promises. But that made it a little bit worse, didn't it. To do things reflexively, without thought, that was the truest version of one's self. That meant Koga was a coward, at best.

What would Noct and Tala think of him now? Well, Tala, for one, would probably chastise him and tell him to get his ass in gear. Noctua on the other hand, he wasn't as certain about. Part of him knew she'd sympathize, like she had when he'd told her about Tsuki and Hikaru. Another part was afraid that she'd hate him for breaking his word. We wasn't sure how much of that was true. He never would.

[Koga 0]

That was the thing about losing someone. As much as you wanted to hear their voice again, you never would. Even if it was for something as silly as telling you to stop being an idiot. That was one of the things Koga missed most. The way Tala's face would scrunch up every time before she started yelling at her brother. Or the sound of Noctua's laughter when he did something famously stupid. Hikaru's stupid puns. Tsuki getting excited over the smallest of things. They always said it was the little things you'd miss the most. You never believed it until happened, but at the end of the day, they were always right.

Okami barked, forcing Koga back into the present. The swordsman looked at his familiar, who was excitedly looking at something in distance. Koga looked in the same direction, his gaze falling upon a small glittering form in the distance. Zylara, the Dragon Hatchling.

[Koga 0]

This dragon looked just like the first, aside from the coloration. Small, infantile, and that was exactly what Koga was going to kill. To be honest, he actually felt pretty bad about that. He wasn't a completely heartless bastard...completely...at the end of the day, he was still killing a practically helpless dragon hatchling. That thing probably couldn't even do chip damage to him. Oh well, not much could be done about it now.

Well...Koga supposed he could always walk away...

Ah, who was he kidding. The damned thing was probably gonna respawn in an hour or two anyways. No reason to feel bad about slicing up a bunch of ones and zeros.

"Alright Okami, you ready for this bud?" The wolf pawed at the ground excitedly. The thrill of the hunt was just out of reach, and the wolf couldn't wait to reach out and take it. "Perfect. Let's do this then."

[Koga 0]

The two hunters approached hatchling cautiously.  Their prey posed little danger to them, but there was no reason to alert it to their presence any sooner than necessary. It's back was turned to them, and the white flame-spitter had yet to notice them, despite their rapidly closing distance.

With less than five meters to go, Koga gave Okami the signal, and Okami sprinted forward. The hatchling turned and squawked in terror as the wolf leaped at it, sinking it's teeth deep into it's hind leg, keeping it there, and giving Koga a clean shot. The dragon wasn't going anywhere.

With no need to rush, Koga walked calmly up the great beast and drew his sword. It wasn't until the blade sang that the dragon notice the player's presence and turned to look at him. Koga's sword burst into black flames as the dragon looked on. "Sorry buddy. You never stood a chance."

Spoiler

Koga
HP: 600/600 // EN: 45/60 (60 -15) // DMG: 13 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 36 // ACC: 4
BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

 

Zylara, The Quartz Hatchling >>DEAD<<
HP: 0/175 (175 -190) // MIT: 35 // ACC: 1 // EVA: 0 // DMG: 65
<<Mend Mini-Twigs>> : On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

 

ID: 173454
BD: 14 (10 +4) >>Crit +2<< <<Burn>> <<Blight>>
DMG: (13 +2) *15 = 225 -35 = 190

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Koga

[Koga 0]

The large chunk of quartz glimmered in Koga's hands. It was remarkably clear for a typically opaque gem. Well, I guess being from a dragon had something to do with that. "You did a good job today, Okami," Koga said to his furry companion, "How about some good ol' meat for dinner tonight?" The wolf barked excitedly in agreement. Koga smiled down at the snow-white wolf. At least he still had Okami.

'This is going to be a long walk back,' the swordsman thought to himself as the quartz disappeared into his inventory. "You know, I wonder...I wonder if we'll ever see Yukiro again," Koga mused to the wolf. "I...we share our pain. Or at least we should. Disappearing like we did...we should have stuck together." That was probably another one of Koga's great regrets. The two players had shared a sort of bond, through Tala, and their own friendship. How quick they were to forget though.

[Koga 0]

As Koga began to think about it more, he groaned out loud. "But at the same time, it's not like it's just my fault! He disappeared too!" he almost shouted. "He went off into the wilderness, didn't tell anyone, and if it wasn't for the goddamned friends list, I woulda thought he was dead." Okami huffed an agreement. Not an affirmative bark, but a reasonable huff.

"The guy could at least bother to respond to me..." Koga said, crossing his arms as if to reinforce his final point to an invisible audience. The two wolves walked along in silence for a moment before Koga sighed. "But I guess if I were him, I wouldn't talk to me either...Do you think he blames me?" Doubt was creeping in now, like creeping tendrils of shadow threatening to ensnare Koga's heart. "I...I couldn't protect them. My family. I let them all down, I just...I wasn't strong enough..."

[Koga 0]

Koga shook his head. He shouldn't think like that. It didn't matter what happened. It was more important that they all got out alive now. But...that seemed like quite a ways off still. Once upon a time, Koga had wanted to get to the frontlines. Now though, it wasn't something he was as sure about. Not because he was afraid of dying, he'd given that fear up a long time ago. Besides, it wasn't like there was a lot in his life left to live for. No, it was the idea of watching people he knew he'd inevitably come to care about in some capacity dying that bothered him. He'd seen so much death since this game started, he had hoped he would be numb to it, but so far, no luck in that area. But he couldn't just sit around and wait for others to do it for him either. What a dilemma.

[Koga 0]

Okami began to whine at Koga, noticing the man getting too far into his own headspace again. "Eh? Oh, sorry bud." The man stopped and knelt down to pet his friend. "What do you think, Okami?" Koga asked, "What do we do now? We're done with hiding after all." The white wolf opened his mouth and licked his chops. "That eager to get back into the fight, huh?"

Koga sighed as he stood to his full height again. "Yeah. You're right, I guess." The two began to walk once more. "The only thing we're really any good at is fighting anyways. Not like I can forge a sword worth shit." Okami huffed what passed for a laugh in agreement. To be fair, Koga wasn't sure if that was due to his lack of skill, or due to his lack of luck. But still. "So what then, though. Don't talk to anyone? NIGHT's there. Not like we can avoid her." Okami visibly perked up at the sound of NIGHT's name, his ears shooting skyward. "Sorry bud, she's into ladies."

[Koga 0]

"Goddamn it," Koga complained, "Why the hell did this have to happen me anyways?" Why did this have to happen to anyone, really? They'd been stuck in this game for how long now...three years? It wasn't a lifetime, but it was enough for Koga to hardly remember what the outside was really like. What it was like to not have to fight for survival everyday. Sure, he could have stayed in the Town of Beginnings, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for someone to do it for him, but that wasn't quite Masato's thing. Besides, he'd always wanted to be a hero. But a hero's story was always full of tragedy, he'd known that. It just wasn't the thing that really struck anyone until it happened.

"We're gonna lose people no matter what," Koga admitted finally, "Fighting with everyone else, I'm gonna get sucked in again, and it'll just be a vicious cycle. So...I gotta kill that part me. The part that won't let go..." The swordsman said it to himself. That just didn't seem possible though.

Spoiler

ID: 177434
LD: 5 >>Fail<<

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Koga

[Koga 0]

Masato had never been good at letting go of things. He had always been stubborn. He and Tala both, and that had caused quite a few fights between the two siblings when they'd been younger. Honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if people had thought they'd hated each other back then. That couldn't have been further from the truth, but of course, not everyone understood that.

It had always been up for debate who, between the two of them, had been the most stubborn. It was a competition. Aki always trying to one up him, Mas trying to one up Aki. Masato remembered one time he'd accidentally spilled some coffee on one a scrap sheet of paper with some of her math equations on it. She'd hated math, never even kept those dumb scrap sheets, but she was angry with Masato for a month after that. Even though Masato would never have admitted it, she probably knew, she always beat him. At everything, really.

[Koga 0]

It wasn't that Masato had been jealous of his sister. Well, maybe a little, but that couldn't be helped. It was more like they'd always been just a couple steps apart from each other. Never quite on rhythm. Their parent's just had different expectations of them. Him, the oldest, the next male head of the family, he had to be the one with the respectable job as an engineer or a doctor or a CEO, the smartest, the one who always did everything right. But that's a lot to ask of anyone. Let alone someone who wanted none of that. Aki, the youngest, had far fewer expectations of her. Their parent's hadn't cared that she chose not go to college. If Masato had told them that, they would've fought for days. Even still, everything that Akiara had cared enough about to put effort into, she did it almost flawlessly. Even if that was giving her older brother a hard time. Gaming, the occasional subject at school she was interested, whatever. She had always been exceptional at the saxophone. She never let anyone hear her play except for him though. In fact, she never let anyone else know that she played to begin with.

[Koga 0]

Masato could almost remember the day he'd walked in on her practicing like it had been no more than a few days ago. They'd still been in high school at the time. Masato was old enough to drive by then, and usually he and Aki would go home together. That day though, Aki was running late, something she'd told Masato ahead of time. Originally, he'd been planning on just heading home right away, since his sister had said she'd get a ride with a friend, but he wound up getting stuck helping out the robotics club fix one of their printers. For a bunch of super smart kids, they couldn't fix something if their lives depended on it. As he'd been leaving he could hear someone playing some sort of brass instrument. Normally, Masato would've ignored it. It wasn't exactly uncommon to hear that kind of stuff echo through the brick halls of the school, but for some reason or another, Masato had ventured out in search of the sound. It didn't take long before the young man had found the room and peered inside. Much to his confusion, it was his sister who'd played. Mind you it wasn't especially good yet, and Masato had zero clue where she had gotten the saxophone from, but it was, without a doubt, her. Koga couldn't help but chuckle to himself a little as he thought about how she'd reacted when he walked into the room.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Koga

[Koga 0]

She'd thrown a desk at him. A full. Freaking. Desk. There had been few times that Masato has been legitimately afraid for his life, and that was one of them...They all seem to involve Aki for some reason...But yes, she'd thrown a desk at him before shouting at him for not knocking. Once again, they'd argued, like it was their favorite past time. Not that it really did anything, Masato had still learned his sister's biggest secret, though he never did figure out just why she tried to hide her passion from...well everyone. But that was also like Akiara.

Akiara kept a lot of things secret. Sometimes there was a good reason, like when she would try to mess with Masato's occasional relationship, but most of the time it was for no good goddamn reason at all. Least of all from him.

That's how it was sometimes Koga supposed. You kept secrets from those closest to you, even if there was no point to it.

[Koga 0]

The two hunters were almost back to the town by now. Koga sighed and tried to push aside the memories of his past, but to no avail.  The past would haunt him. Today, tomorrow, the day after, perhaps to the end of time. What was the point of it all then. Tala would've said to just get off his sorry ass and get moving, the rest would sort itself out. No plan. No idea of what the future held. Just go and don't look back.

Were it so easy.

Even though he'd started putting one foot in front of the other, it felt like he was wading through a swamp thick with mud, and his feet were tied to cinder blocks weighing him down.

How was he supposed to do this without them?

"Tsk." Up ahead, it looked like some lower level players needed a bit of help with some boars. "C'mon Okami," Koga said with a weary voice, "Let's make sure the newbies don't die in the most demeaning way possible..."

---

Thread Summary

Spoiler

Thread Rewards
>> 3 SP [1 Thread, 1 Quest, 1 2.6 Bonus]
>> 1000 Col [400 Thread, 600 Quest]
>> <Zylara’s Quartz> [Vanity Quest Item] : 1 of 9, collect all 9 and meet whom that waits before you, only then will you get the grand prize.

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Koga