{SP-F22} New Rules, Same Murderer

[Pinball 1]

Using Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP 

                                                                                              

The conversion had, at first, been a jarring experience. 

It was as if his whole world had been pulled out from under him only to be returned one that felt completely different. And in truth, that was quite literally what had happened. This game was their reality, dark and twisted implications and all. 

But after a morning of careful deliberation, he'd finally made up his mind as to how he was going to redistribute his stats.  

He dropped Sneak Attack, and so many other Hiding mods with it. He was tired of fighting like a killer. Honestly, he was tired of fighting at all. But he had to. So he took what SP he could out of those mods and put it towards things that would help him survive above all else. Zomekko no longer damaged to the touch; instead, he was to hold an opponent down. His spear had turned into a sword, he'd become more ferocious with it, and could turn an enemy's attack back on them with a little bit of preparation. He still didn't wear armor, but he had his own forms of mitigation, mostly in the forms of damage reduction and stuns. 

Pinball wanted to put it to the test. 

"New rules," he sighed, "same murderer." 

                                                                                              

CONSUMING: 
- [x1] Water Canister 
- [x1] Spyglass (1 Charge) 
- [x1] T3 Field Rations {Filling} -> +210 HP 
- [x1] T3 Immolation Potion 
- [x1] Spinach-Aritchoke Dip: +2 EVA 
- [x1] Hummus Dip: +2 ACC 

Player Stats (After Consumables): 

Spoiler

Level: 31 (Paragon Level 36)
Health: 970 | Energy: 114
DMG: 20  | ACC: 5  | EVA: 5 | IMMO: 30 
 
Skills:
 
Combat Skills:
►Combat Mastery - Damage [13/13]: Rank 3 
►Energist [8 SP] 
 
Weapon Skills:
►One-Handed Straight Sword [30/30]: Rank 5 
►Martial Arts [8/30]: Rank 2 
 
Utility Skills:
►Searching [30/30]: Rank 5 
►Extended Mod Limit [10 SP] 
 
Extra Skills:
►Hiding [30/30 SP] ~ Rank 5 
►Parry [10 SP] 
►N/A
►N/A
 
Familiar Skill: 
►Grappling Familiar [10 SP] 
 
Armor Skills:
►N/A
 
Modifiers:
►Vanish 
►Justified Riposte 
►Night Vision 
►Detect
►Tracking 
►Reveal 
►1HSS Ferocity 
 
Inventory
»[Equipped] [Demonic] Cold Fervor: +2 Freeze, Phase, Cursed 
»[Equipped] [Perfect] Dragon’s Skin: +3 EVA
»[Equipped] [Perfect] Warrior’s Focus: +3 ACC
 
Battle Ready: 
» [3x] Teleportation Crystal 
» [4x] Spinach-Artichoke Dip: +2 EVA  
» [4x] Hummus Dip: +2 Acc
» [Demonic 1HSS] Jack’s Hellfire: Burn, Bleed, Blight, Cursed
» [Demonic 1HSS] Astral Blade: Holy, Fallen, +2 Damage

Housing Buffs: 

Spoiler

“Well Rested”:  -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
“Squeaky Clean”: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
“Filling”: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30
“Relaxed”: Increases HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
“Item Stash”: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot 

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

A new system meant that there were new opportunities. 

One such opportunity he was more than eager to capitalize on was the addition of the General Market. Its addition meant that he didn't have to struggle through the awkward exchange that was usually had over the counters of some random Player's shop. Players talked. NPCs at their stalls were programmed to be reticent but cordial, and few would deviate from that programming outside of the extreme circumstances that demanded it. 

Extreme circumstances he would never push upon an NPC, because doing so would compromise the shop's ease and efficiency. 

After grabbing a couple of things to hopefully slightly increase his chances of survival, Pinball made his way to the 22nd Floor. 

He wanted a quiet, safe environment to check out his new skills, and he could think of no safer than Floor 22. Consuming those items that needed to be consumed and hooking one of the spyglasses to his belt, Pinball would quickly rush past guards and mingling NPCs alike to access the teleporter. 

[Pinball 1]

Warm and sunny. Friendly and welcoming. 

The first thing to hit him was the soft sensation of bright sun on his skin. And while he was quick to the shadows, leaping of the pedestal and ducking behind and between crates and houses and anything else big enough to serve as a shield as he crept to the safe zone's edge, the quiet whistle of wind through the trees and the soft rushing of water somewhere nearby only attributed to the vast tranquility the floor held in store for him. 

But things were different now. 

It was almost as if the floor had... expanded? Pinball took to wandering for the course of the next few hours, seeing what he could dig up in terms of pretty sights, and he found no shortage of them. A mill and farmer's market, a friendly old blacksmith within the shady depths of a forest, the large, ominous presence of a kind yet dilapidated guardian in the Reclaimed Sentinel. 

[Pinball 1]

It was beautiful. 

And when that thought hit him it evoked a physical reaction. Since when had he found anything beautiful in this horrible death game they were trapped in? Pinball shook it off and left the sentinel behind him, a dark and gloomy speck juxtaposed across bright verdant fields. Hands in his jacket pockets. Sword on his waist, compass and Zomekko's jar dangling opposite to it, and a blank dungeon map tucked into his belt at his back like a scroll. 

Wind blew across his hair and the grass below him, and looking off into the distance Pinball saw a small group of players making their way into the Forest of Memories, from where he'd recently emerged. Without even thinking, he ducked his head and hurried his pace, before stopping himself. Turning to face them again. Watching them go, disappear behind dense foliage and wooded vales. 

There was no cause for concern. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

After a bit more walking, the spyglass at his waist audibly chipped. 

"Here, then." Pinball came to a stop in a clearing within a wood, and took a deep breath. 

With a blink, his eyes began to glow a bright yellow, and his vision shout out like a pulse on a radar. He saw the world differently then; the landscape turned to nothing more than 3D meshes, polygonal outlines, and the birds in the trees and the squirrels in the bushes seemed so painfully obvious to him when previously they hadn't been. 

But there was no dungeon hidden amongst the trees or beneath the earth that he could see. A brow twitched, but he shrugged it off as the glows dulled and faded from his vision. It was useful, and he didn't regret taking the skill -- but he should have been smarter about it before so eagerly jumping into his search. His skills increased the odds, yes, but there were still ways yet to improve the chance of success. With a resigned sigh, he swiped open his inventory and went on his way. 

                                                                           

Searching for Dungeon: ID#187513 
LD: 5+8= 13 LD (Failure) 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

As he walked, Pinball unequipped his jacket. 

The coat dissipated in a cloud of misty blue crystals, fading away entirely as the wind carried it elsewhere. A second later, and he'd equipped his Cloak of the Harbingers. 

"Talk about a relic." The old uniform of a guild long since past into nothingness, Pinball couldn't help but give a nostalgic glance down at the insignia it bore on its front, the runic symbols of the Harbingers' guild inciting memories in him of what felt like years and years passed. "Atzo." 

That was his name: Atzo. Pinball wondered often what had happened to the red-haired man. He'd been the first to approach him when Pinball had crawled his way out of the dirt that was the Town of Beginnings, and had been the only reason that he'd been able to join up with the Guardians of the New Dawn so shortly after. It was where he'd met Stryder, Eatos, Paglikha. Two of which people were dead, the last of which who might as well be in his eyes. But neither Stryder nor Atzo had been seen in a long time. 

They weren't dead, though. He wondered briefly what happened to them both and what they were up to now, before dismissively shaking his head and chuckling grimly to himself. 

"You're a dying breed, aren't you?"

                                                                                                  

Unequipping Dragon's Skin (+3 EVA) 
Equipping Cloak of the Harbingers (+3 LD) 

[Pinball 1]

"A dying breed..." 

Most of the time, Pinball felt as though he weren't even alive in the first place. 

For what seemed like an eternity now, Pinball's life felt like a cycle of endless wandering, evasion, and guilty nights devoid of rest. When did he stop? Could he ever? Suicide had been on his mind a lot. But stubbornly he persisted. Not because he viewed life as something special anymore, or because he had a reason to keep going, but because he felt as though death was the easy way out of it all, and he didn't deserve to sleep so easily. 

"Ah, but you're not being honest with yourself, asshole," he coldly laughed, balancing his way across gnarled tree roots. His voice was tired and full of bitter emotion. 

There was another thing. Among the names on the Monument of Life he frequently looked at, there was one in particular that stood out more than any of the countless others. One that mattered more to him than his own life did. Someone that was on his mind more often than they weren't, and who he desperately wanted to make amends with, and soon, because the things he'd said to them and done were horrible, but for the life of him, no matter how much or how hard he rehearsed for the day, the words just wouldn't come to him. 

[Pinball 1]

He was headed for the mountains now. 

Pinball had heard tell of some sort of underground network of caves and passages that spread throughout the entirety of the floor now, and he was of the inclination to find out for himself if that was true or just baseless rumor. Up ahead, the trees began to thin, and the rocky cliffs began to reach higher, and higher, and higher, becoming more imposing and humbling Pinball with every step he took. There was a rocky path up its base, and so that's where he made his path, through the woods further, until he eventually broke the tree line and he began carefully ambling his way up the mountainside. 

Although he wasn't quite sure how dangerous that the trek could be on such a "safe haven" floor as this one, Pinball held due caution regardless. The last thing he wanted or needed was for his weight to fall on loose rock and have a deadly tumble down jagged crevices. You couldn't break your neck in the same sense that you could outside of the game, but falling from such a height would be a death sentence all the same. 

[Pinball 1]

At the crest of his journey, he discovered another new location for himself. 

Natalie's Reprieve. 

Against all odds all sorts of flora flourished there. Moss, flowers, mushrooms, and a single oak tree seemingly stood together in harmony to overlook the entirety of Floor 22. There were remnants of a camp as well: a chair, a fire with only embers faintly glowing, and a cloth lean-to with bedroll smuggled comfortably under it. But none of those things were what drew his attention. 

His eyes were watching God. Or at least the emulation of it - the sheer vastness of the countryside was breathtaking, and that feeling of newness was only accentuated by him seeing it an an angle that he otherwise never would have been able to. For a while he stood there, before eventually he turned and pulled his hood over his face, steadily retreating down the mountain opposite of the way he had came, only to stop as it opened up like a mouth into a cave. His first hidden alcove. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

Deeper into the cave he wandered until he hit what seemed like a dead-end. 

But he had a feeling. 

His eyes lit up and he sent his senses outwards again, and this time, he found something. Quickly glancing over to the point of interest, Pinball saw through what had to be a false wall. He hurried over and pressed his hand against the smooth stone. Through it, he saw a professionally cut staircase that descended into nothingness, deeper into the depths of the mountain itself. With a breath, he pushed harder against the stone and it gave, and fell. 

Backwards, onto itself, and then slid down the stairs. He heard the rhythmic thum-thum-thum of the cobbled sheet bouncing down the case for what felt like thirty seconds before the echo of the crash reverberated up the tunnel and into the cave he was in. Then came the weaselly screams from some sorts of creatures below. 

Pinball had officially found his first dungeon. 

                                                                       

Searching for Dungeon: ID#187514
LD: 18+11= 29 LD (Success) 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

And down the smooth-cut stone steps he went. 

He'd been in dungeons before, but never by himself, and never on the 22nd Floor. Would it even be worth fighting the creatures he found here? The majority of creatures that lived here were fish and bugs and animals like deer, squirrels, and birds. Outside of the few standard bug-based monsters and even fewer fish-based ones, Floor 22 seemed to be built more for vacationing than it was hunting. But here he was, dungeon-diving, guided by the dim candle light indentations in the walls allowed. Below him was an inky blackness, and shrieks and wails and clicks of all types could be heard running up the walls and echoing past him. 

His Cloak of the Harbingers disappeared and allowed for his more comfortable Dragon's Skin to adorn his avatar. "Zomekko."

Shadowy wisps curled comfortably around him as he drew Cold Fervor, and the monsters were revealed to him. 

                                                                                             

Unequipping Cloak of the Harbingers (+3 LD) 
Equipping Dragon's Skin (+3 EVA) 

[Pinball 1]

Snickering and green, a flurry of giant Praying Mantises descended onto him. They emerged from the shadow, their menacing laughter stopping as their beady eyes became hyper-fixated on their intruding guest, clicking as they scuttled towards him and reached to cut into him with their scythe-like appendages. 

Pinball saw this, and began charging a Sword Art he was fairly certain would do the job - but the bugs were faster than he had initially expected, and so he cancelled it earlier in favor of dodging a swipe directly for his neck. Then he was dancing between each of the four creatures as, in turn, they all swiped, jabbed, and spat at him. One after another, Pinball weaved his way through their attacks, but a part of him knew that he was not going to be able to keep up that level of maneuverability for very long. With a frustrated grunt, he repositioned himself. 

                                                                                

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Star Quint Prominence][-1 EN] {Well Rested} 
Enemy: ID#187515 BD: 1 (Lmao) MD: 5 (NOPE)  
Mantis 2: ID#187516 MD: 5 
Mantis 3: ID#187517 MD: 2 
Mantis 4: ID#187518 MD: 5 

Pinball: 970/970 HP | 113/114 EN | 20 DMG | 5 ACC | 5 EVA | 8-10/FRZ | Phase  

Mantis 1: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 2: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 3: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 4: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

Pinball tried to set up Star Quint Prominence again, but found that Cold Fervor's icy edge remained dormant - and that's when he remembered. One part of the system changes would have his weapons remain on cooldown for a specified amount of time after its use. Not good for him. It meant he had to put more energy into the fight than he really cared for. And all at once they rushed again. Pinball ducked under the first one that came, just barely evading another swipe as he countered by quickly charging up and unleashing a sword art into the shell-like armor of one with Deadly Sins. It took the full brunt of that damage, and was then completely obliterated. 

But this left him open. The thud of a blade fighting its way into his back was promptly followed by a drop in HP. He stumbled forward and whirled around, dodging two more of the natural weapons that were going for his throat. They inched closer, and Pinball backed up in response. 

                                                                                

Action Taken: Sword Art - Deadly Sins [-9 EN/+1 EN] {Well Rested} 
Mantis 1: ID#187519 BD: 6 (Hit) MD: 8-5= 3 (Miss) ~ 20*10= 200 DMG 
Mantis 2: ID#187520 MD: 7 (Miss) 
Mantis 3: ID#187521 MD: 9 (Crit+1) ~ 121 DMG to Pinball 
Mantis 4: ID#187522 MD: 5 (Miss) 

Pinball: 849/970 HP | 105/114 EN | 20 DMG | 5 ACC | 5 EVA | 8-10/FRZ | Phase  

Mantis 1: 0/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 2: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 3: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 4: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

He was outnumbered, three to one. 

And even though they were monsters he could kill in one hit, they weren't creatures that he could just do away with with one AoE - because, racking his brain as he might, he couldn't think of a single AoE Sword Art that the One-Handed Straight Sword had post conversion. In hindsight, maybe he should have paid more attention to what he was picking. 

But there was no room to change now. One after another, Pinball's vision descended into an ocean of buggy appendages that slashed, stabbed, and tore at him. He swam to the surface as best he could, dodging one, but that success was short lived as two attacks, one from each of the remaining two mobs, landed. His health dropped substantially. Pinball was already getting low. And this dungeon was a tier below him-? He grimaced and pulled away from the swarm, hopping backwards and putting a good amount of distance between them. 

                                                                                             

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Star Quint Prominence][-1 EN/+1 EN] {Well Rested} 
Mantis 2: ID#187523 BD: 1 (wow) MD: 9 (double wow) ~ 121 DMG to Pinball 
Mantis 3: ID#187524 MD: 5 (no) 
Mantis 4: ID#187525 MD: 9 (okay) ~ 121 DMG to Pinball 

Pinball: 607/970 HP | 105/114 EN | 20 DMG | 5 ACC | 5 EVA | 8-10/FRZ | Phase  

Mantis 2: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 3: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 4: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

"Whatever," he breathed, "just roll with it and get it over with. And quickly." 

He eyed the approaching group, carefully picking out which one to go for first - and settled on one that was in the back, lagging well behind the group. Putting a surprising burst of speed into his steps, Pinball would completely zoom past the other two monsters, leaving them quite literally in the dust, and tore into it viciously with a ferocious Deadly Sins Sword Art. It exploded into polygonal fragments, and Pinball whirled around to face the others. 

But he wouldn't have to look very far. A slash caught him dead in the chest, and his health dropped even lower. Maybe turning your back to a group of mobs was a bad idea. Who knew? Pinball grit his teeth and rested Cold Fervor across his shoulders as he dashed to the side. It didn't matter. It was worth the sacrifice. 

Pinball was used to taking heavy hits and dancing with death. 

                                                                                             

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Deadly Sins][-10 EN/+1 EN] 
Mantis 2: ID#187526 BD: 9 (crit+1) ~ 20*10= 200 DMG 
Mantis 3: ID#187527 MD: 10 (Crit+2) ~ 122 DMG to Pinball 
Mantis 4: ID#187528 MD: 4 (miss) 

Pinball: 485/970 HP | 96/114 EN | 20 DMG | 5 ACC | 5 EVA | 8-10/FRZ | Phase  

Mantis 2: 0/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 3: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 4: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

Only two of them were left. 

He just needed to hit two more of them. The fact that combat was so rocky just starting out didn't bode well in his mind for the rest of the dungeon. If these monsters were hitting like this, what did that mean for the others? The HP Pools on the first round of mobs were always weaker in a dungeon, and they were usually wiped out in a couple of AoE attacks. But Pinball didn't have any AoE capabilities, and he didn't have anyone to take for him. It was just him, the monsters, his wits, and the thin layer of clothes that separated his HP from the business end of a monstrous attack. 

Just as he was about to unleash Star Quint Prominence, the attacks came rushing in, and Pinball again abandoned it in favor of skittishly evading the strikes. 

It was better if he didn't risk it at all at this point. 

                                                                                             

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Star Quint Prominence][-2/+1 EN] 
Mantis 3: ID#187529 BD: 1 MD: 1 
Mantis 4: ID#187529 MD: 6 (Miss) 

Pinball: 485/970 HP | 96/114 EN | 20 DMG | 5 ACC | 5 EVA | 8-10/FRZ | Phase  

Mantis 3: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 4: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

Pinball ripped into one of the last two creatures. Its body swelled up like a balloon from the collective impacts before exploding outward in a shower of light, illuminating the murky interior of the room they were fighting in. Pinball's eyes turned to stare down the one last remaining creature, his eyes glowing bright yellow like a cat's. Even in the dark, he could see them perfectly. But it moved abnormally, snaking towards him at weird angles, and Pinball grit his teeth as the scythe-like appendage tore into his arm. 

But now there was only one of them left, and, even though his HP was in a dire place, Pinball knew that just one of them was something he could easily handle. With a gasp and a shudder at the sudden chill temperature in the room, Pinball leveled his sword and prepared himself for what would hopefully be the last attack of the encounter. 

                                                                                             

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Deadly Sins][-10 EN/+1 EN] 
Mantis 3: ID#187531 BD: 8 (Hit) ~ 20*10= 200 DMG 
Mantis 4: ID#187532 MD: 9 (Crit+1) ~ 121 DMG to Pinball 

Pinball: 364/970 HP | 87/114 EN | 20 DMG | 5 ACC | 5 EVA | 8-10/FRZ | Phase  

Mantis 3: 0/150 HP | 120 DMG 
Mantis 4: 150/150 HP | 120 DMG 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

Star Quint Prominence had failed him every single time he'd tried to use it. 

However. This was primarily due to his own wariness causing him to abandon ship before he'd even attempted a strike. This time, though, there was only target, and there were no other variables to give him cause for concern. It was just him and a target right in front of him. And it was getting closer, and closer, and closer... 

And Pinball unleashed it then. One, two, three, four, five quick stabs to its torso, ripping and shredding through its body's natural armor and completely bisecting one of its arms. Pinball grit his teeth, pulled back, and with a vicious slicing uppercut, completely cut the creature in two from the bottom up. It briefly split apart into its two segments, peeling apart, before it, too, exploded into a colorful display of light and vague polygonal shards, leaving Pinball alone in the empty room. 

Finally alone. 

                                                                                             

Action Taken: Sword Art - [Star Quint Prominence][-8 EN/+1 EN] 
Mantis 4: ID#187533 BD: 4+5= 9 (Hit) ~ 20*8= 160 DMG 

Pinball: 364/970 HP | 80/114 EN | 20 DMG | 5 ACC | 5 EVA | 8-10/FRZ | Phase  

Mantis 4: 0/150 HP | 120 DMG

Edited April 3, 2021 by Pinball

[Pinball 1]

The sound of stone scraping against stone caused Pinball to glance over at one section of the room that was in the process of shifting as he dropped to his ass. 

It was a sliding door, opened by him completely this section of the dungeon. That was a pretty simple mechanic, and so Pinball surmised that it was going to be a fairly straightforward dungeon. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to worry about dealing with any mind-numbing puzzles to progress to the next stage. But for now, he was in no state to continue. Taking a leap of faith in the assumption that the monsters beyond that barrier wouldn't find it appropriate to come and pay him a premature visit, Pinball opted to instead sit and count his blessings in the meantime. 

With the consumables he'd ingested prior to this raid, his Out of Combat Recovery was much better than normal, but it still wasn't good enough. As much as he wanted to believe he wouldn't get ambushed, he couldn't bring himself to do it fully. Skepticism and caution were what had kept him alive longer than most, and it was what would continue to. Pinball brought a finger down across the open air and opened his inventory, the quiet jingle of bells softly filling the empty space for a moment. 

                                                                                         

Out of Combat Recovery: 

HP: 364+80= 444/970 HP 
EN Recovery: 1/2 

[Pinball 1]

His finger hovered over an item for a moment. Pinball winced. Was he really about to-? 

With a sigh, he clicked it, and a small crystal materialized in the palm of his hand. 

"You're a bastard, Arabelle." His grip tightened on the crystal and he crushed it. As he did, musical notes briefly filled the air, the green shards that had remained in his palms floating up with the crescendo and swirling around him. His HP jumped significantly, and Pinball was feeling much better about getting a move on. He shook his head, still flipping through his menu. 

"But I don't know what I would do without your supply." 

Practiced hands edited his current loadout. Replacing the ACC foods taking up slots in his Battle Ready were five identical such HP Recovery crystals, the last of which he owned. He had the feeling that he would need them in the battle ahead, especially if he was going with a third of his health still missing. Dismissing the menus with a wave, Pinball got back to his feet, sheathing his sword, and looked towards the path ahead. 

                                                                                         

Out of Combat Recovery: 

HP: 444+80= 520/970 HP 
Using x1 Lacrimosa - HP Recovery III {Instant} 
520+145= 665/970 HP 
  EN Recovery: 2/2 {FILLED}