[F3-PP] <<Search for the Hoya>> | Follow The Left-Hand Wall!

[Astreya 0]

Astreya gave a small breath as she lifted a hand in a wave to the others as they finished with their Quest.  She, Ivory, Blueberry and Freyd had gone on a hunt for the Hoya, and while it had been a little silly at times (mostly with Freyd missing just about every shot he took) things had finally wrapped up nice and well, leaving the group to separate a bit.

She hummed to herself a bit as she made her way through the town to one of the food vendors, working on getting herself a rather large slice of cake to celebrate a job well done.  Having paid and all, she made her way to a seat and took a seat at a small table.  

"Hmm.  It feels weird to be having a glass of milk after beating up a giant cow person.  Hoya or whatever it was," she murmured out loud- a bad habit she'd picked up due to many of her solo adventures.

Spoiler

 

--Level 14
--HP: 280
--NRG: 46

--Base Damage: 8
--Mitigation: 37
--Regeneration: 2% (Currently 4)
--Accuracy: 1
--Thorns: 18
--Taunt: 2
--Recovery: 2 (On CD Rolls of 7+)

Skills:
Battle Healing: Journeyman
Fighting Spirit
Howl
|-> Focused Howl

2H Straight Sword: Journeyman

Heavy Armor: Expert
|-> Impetus

Concentration

Gear:
»Silver Frost [2H Straight Sword] | Rare T2
[Damage] - Gain +2 base damage per slot.
[Accuracy] - Add 1 onto your BD rolls (Cannot cause crits)

»Battle Dress | Rare T2 Heavy Armor
[Mitigation] - Prevent 12 damage from successful attacks against you.
[Thorns] - Successful non-critical attacks against you deal 18 unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Only activates on damage dealing, melee attacks.

»Dodgeball | Rare T1 Trinket
[Accuracy II] - Add 2 onto your BD rolls (Cannot cause crits)

»Spotlight | Rare T2 Trinket
[Taunt] - Adds 1 Hate generated from successful attacks, Howl and Furious Howl.
[Recovery] - Regain 2 additional energy on natural CD rolls of 7+. 

Consumables:
»Starter Healer Potions | Heals 50 HP
[3 Total]
»Tier One Damage Potion of Uncommon quality. (+1 Damage)
[1 Total]
»Tier One Health Potions of Rare quality. (+10% HP)
[3 Total]
»Tier One Immolation Potion (+10 Thorns Damage)
[1 Total]
»Fixer Upper (Salve) | Antidote I
[1 Total]

 

 

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero suddenly wakes up in a cold sweat. He looks around his room and breathes a sigh of relief while stroking the silver streaks in his beard.  He had that dream again but he just needed to continue reminding himself that that day had passed and he needed to get a move on.  The recent events had reminded him that he needed to start putting one foot in front of the other if he ever hoped to get out of this game.  Rubbing his face as he rises, he gets out of bed and selects his vanity clothing "The Seeker's Clothing" and equips it, covering himself in his black pants, black and gold shirt and signature long red coat with matching bandana that was almost entirely hidden by his silver hair.  He selected his equipment and decided to head out and meet the day after getting something to eat.

 

He thought about what he would eat the whole way there and tried to ignore the whispers that he heard in town.  For some time now, people that he had never met would look at him strangely, while pointing and whispering.  As a solo player mostly, he didn't really bother to find out what this was all about and choose to ignore it most of the time.  As he enters the restaurant, he sees that most of the tables are already full, he may just got something quick and easy to eat and leave rather than stay today.  However, as he was moving through to place his order, he couldn't help but over hear a player talking themselves.

 

"Hmm.  It feels weird to be having a glass of milk after beating up a giant cow person.  Hoya or whatever it was,"

 

His ears perk up at the mention of the "Hoya".  From what he could remember, that was the name of lower level quest.  He needed to start doing more in this game to get his strength up so maybe that would be a good quest to take on.

 

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt you and I will be more than happy to leave you alone, but did I hear you mention the "Hoya" quest?  I was thinking about taking that quest on myself and I was wondering if you had any advice that you could give me before I take it."  Zero steps up to the player and lowers his head respectfully as he speaks.  He didn't expect to get too much, but any information that he could gather from someone who has already done the quest could help save him time and allow him to formulate good battle plans.

 

 

Level 5

HP 100

EN 10

1 Rank Two Handed Straight Sword

1 Rank Heavy Armor

Base Damage - 6

Mit - 26

RGN - 2 HP

 

Gear

Two Handed Straight Sword of the Fallen - +2 DMG, +1 ACC

Obsidian Guard - +2 Mit, +1 RGN

Gentleman's Cufflinks - +1 ACC

5 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40 HP)

Edited April 22, 2021 by zero_lost04

[Astreya 0]

Fortunately for Zero, Astreya was not at all aware of the doppleganger that was floating around elsewhere in Aincrad.  So when the fellow popped in next to her, the young woman merely blinked in mild surprise at being addressed.  Her hands moved up over her mouth for a moment, having realized that she'd been speaking aloud.  The habit was starting to become stronger, it seemed like, but thankfully this fellow didn't particularly seem like he was upset or anything about her speaking aloud- and in fact had seemed somewhat interested.  She lowered her hands then from her mouth, and instead turned a wide grin onto him.

"Yeah!" Astreya cheered in response.  "I actually just helped a few other people clear it out!" she responded with some excitement in her tone.  "If you're looking to take it on, I can help you out, y'know!  I'm, like, totally not fully geared out yet, but I'm a training to be a tank for the front lines," the girl spoke, turning down the brightness on her grin a bit as she leaned back a little in her chair before scooting herself backward and standing up.  "I'm Astreya," she offered to him, extending her hand, showing her being Western, rather than Eastern.

"That is, if you'd like help.  If you just wanna take it solo and want some tips, have a seat and we can go over that instead," she offered.  "I'm able to help out with whatever ya need!" she cheered.

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero couldn’t help but notice her shock at first, apparently she had not realized that she was speaking out loud to herself. He noticed that tended to be a trait players who did a lot solo seemed to share as he was more than guilty of that himself. She quickly regained her composure and started talking about how she had actually just finished it up not to long ago. He was actually quite surprised to hear her say that she was willing to run the quest again to help or he was welcome to just pull up a chair if he wanted to do it himself.  
 

“Well I don’t know if you were expecting this answer but perhaps it could be both?  I would never impose upon another player in this world with the way things currently stand but I will always accept help when it is offered. Plus, knowing more about your enemy increases the likelihood of victory”. Zero smiles and bows his head respectfully as he pulls up a chair to the table and takes his Two Handed Straight Sword of the Fallen of his back and leans it against the chair that he sits in. 
 

“Oh, my apologies, I have not properly introduced myself. My handle in this world is zero_lost04, but feel free to refer to me as Zero or Lost for brevity. I haven’t settled on my role in the game just yet. I’ve taken a rank in my weapon and a rank in heavy armor, so I guess my path will either be tank or dps. Considering recent events though, the time for half measures may be gone if I hope to be of any use on the frontlines myself. Please, don’t allow me to interrupt your meal but I’d love to get as much knowledge about the quest as possible before we set out. That is whenever you are ready of course, no rush.”  Zero tries to continue the conversation and tries to focus on what was before him at the time. One step at a time, one quest at a time. 

[Astreya 0]

The girl nodded at his own words.  "Sure!  Have a seat and I'll let you know everything that I remember," the girl offered, giving him a small nod.  As he took a seat, she nodded at him.  "Yeah.  Fortune, like, totally favors the prepared and all that," the girl spoke, waving a hand in the air as if the saying wasn't a relatively well-known one amongst intelligent generals and tacticians.  

The young woman grinned at his username.  "Well, you might be a little bit lost, but not enough to call you that.  Zero works for me if it works for you," the girl responded, nodding to the man at the introduction of his name.  "I don't know- I think I've heard some of the higher level players mention that tanky DPS is in this season?" she asked, giving a slight shrug before she began to cut into the large cake with her fork, pressing it into her mouth.  "I am so glad I don't have to watch what I eat in here," the girl commented with a small grin at him.

But as he requested information, she nodded, swallowing her bite.  "So apparently there's two different minotaur in there, but we just took down one.  The one that we went after totally has a big two-handed weapon and he's a bit more evasive.  The other one is a bit more accurate with his swings.  From what the quest guy was telling us, they're about the same strength- just one's quicker and the other's more accurate," in between bites of her cake.

"But if you can do some damage, I can totally keep all the Hate on me.  I can be, like, a proper tank, y'know?" she asked, grinning.

[zero_lost04 0]

“I like to try to give the option with my username, over the years I’ve come to learn to Zero is a pretty common handle so I don’t want to confuse anyone.”  Zero responds in a pretty nonchalant manner about the name. Time in this place had definitely started to do a number on his psyche and many other players here. He lost himself in thought for but a moment, wondering if any players had fully forgotten themselves and embraced their new identities. He shrugs at the mention of the tanky dps being in this season. “I picked two handed straight sword at a time when not a lot of other players were using it and heavy armor seemed to be a natural fit, especially since I have this bad habit of wandering off alone in MMOs, being able to hit and take a hit seemed pretty important”.  He kinda chuckles to himself as he responded, never really realizing how he had fallen into what he had currently taken. 
 

Zero smiles as the girl takes a big bite of her cake and mentions that she is grateful that she doesn’t have to watch what she eats here. He gives a respectful nod and continues the smile, all while thinking about the fact that he hadn’t really indulged in anything like that since all this started,  not that it hadn’t crossed his mind, he just never got around to it. His attention becomes undivided when she begins to speak about the minotaurs in the maze. Two of equivalent strength, but with one favoring speed and one favoring accuracy. He had some thoughts on what that could mean for their fighting styles but he decided against losing himself in thought down that rabbit hole. 
 

“That is definitely some interesting information to have going into the quest, depending on which one we go after, or if we go after both then the order we try to defeat them in could change the strategy. Still with the enhancements I have on my equipment, I should be able to do a decent bit of damage and, in a worse case scenario I should be able to take a few hits myself. This sounds like it should be pretty manageable. I hope that you enjoy your cake Astreya, don’t rush on my account, we can head out whenever you are ready. I planned to get some questing in today anyway, so I’m already geared up and ready to go.”  Zero muses to himself slightly, talking to both himself and Astreya while rubbing his beard. After finishing his comments, he ruffles his hair just slightly as he adjusts the nearly hidden bandana around his forehead. An adventure the line of Theseus on Crete was something he never thought he would have but it was definitely an exciting proposition. 

[Astreya 0]

She paused, cake still on her fork as he mentioned that 'Zero' was a fairly common username, and a thoughtful noise came from her, before she pointed her fork at the man.  "Y'know, that's true.  I've never thought about it before, but, like, I've seen a few of them wandering around back at the Town of Beginnings.  Huh," she noted, mostly just interested more than anything else before she popped the bite of cake into her mouth out of little more than curiosity as she chewed, curious on to why that particular name happened to be so popular amongst people- maybe because it was some sorta like... absence of something?  She wasn't sure.

"Yeah I think we could probably take on both.  It wasn't all that scary when we fought it.  I know this guy named Freyd who's like, level capped and has a million damage or something and so we went in with him just to see if he could clear the way... but he was having a real bad off day and couldn't hit anything, but we still managed okay.  I think I did most of the damage on it, so like, if you can do a bit too, we shouldn't have any problems!" the girl cheered, just happy to be talking with someone.

She was, quite obviously, quite the social butterfly and having to do so many of her quests solo up until this point had been kind of a bummer.  So whenever someone was looking for a partner or ally, she was more than willing to step in and up, no matter how difficult the quest might be.  "I've got a similar setup too!  Two-handed sword and heavy armor!  We'll be the best party!" she spoke, shoving the rest of her cake in her mouth as she stood up.  "Leffs ghho!"

[zero_lost04 0]

“This “Freyd” person sounds interesting, maybe one day I’ll have the chance to party with them as well. I’d love to get strong enough to party with a player named Macradon to one day. He’s actually the one who gave me this sword that I’m using now.”  Zero tried to keep the conversation light, he was so used to playing alone he didn’t want to go off on a tangent. On top of that, he had become acutely aware of late that he was good a bit older than many of the other players in the game that we’re trying to clear Aincrad. Astreya was very clearly a very social person so he just smiled as she talked and chuckled a little bit as she shoveled the remaining cake in her mouth and blurted out for them to go. 
 

“Sounds like a good plan to me, shall she form a party and then go accept the quest. Lead the way!”  Zero arches his shoulders slightly, allowing them to pop quietly as he grabs his blade and affixes it to his back again as he gets up from his chair to follow his new teammate. 

[Astreya 0]

Astreya nodded, remembering that they'd had to talk with the big hulking musclebound stud of a fellow that had been hunting the Minotaur themselves.  She didn't waste a whole lot of time in finding the fellow and letting the party be formed, technically with Zero as the head of it, given the fact that she'd already done the quest and she didn't think it'd trigger again for her.  She let Zero decide whether or not to bring Larbrook with them- he didn't attack the minotaur anyway so it was whatever, in her book.

Once things had been decided, she guided him to the entrance of the labyrinth and made a wide gesture with her hands.  "Okay so this is the Labyrinth, and the two Hoya are inside.  I figure if we go along the left hand wall, we'll reach the Western one, which is the one that we fought before.  If we go right, there'll be the Eastern one.  I'll back you up, so feel free to choose a direction!" she cheered, the girl grinning.

[zero_lost04 0]

Astreya was very helpful in getting to the quest giver, a very imposing figure named “Larbrook”. From what Astreya had told him, the NPC could accompany them and could fight, but the way the quest was set up he couldn’t do any actual damage and the Minotaurs wouldn’t attack him. That, unfortunately, meant he already had a decision to make. Taking the NPC would make it essentially an escort quest, which told him that the reward was likely better but the original drops were supposed to be really good, especially for early game tanks and dps players. After giving it some good though, he decided against it. It was likely that a quest with a choice like this was likely repeatable, drops probably wouldn’t proc but the escort reward could probably be picked up later. Since he already had a guide and teammate, he decided to pass on it for now. 
 

Once they arrived at the entrance to labyrinth, Astreya broke it down for him about which direction they would need to head through in general terms. 
 

“I don’t know if this is still a thing, but when I was a younger man, we had a saying. ‘Good adventures always go left’, so I say we follow the left hand wall first and see how it goes.”  Zero says with a bit of a grin on his face. It had been a while since he had done a quest and it was always worth trying to remember that even though they were trapped here, it was still a game so you may as well try to make it fun. 

[Astreya 0]

Astreya nodded. "Yeah!  The left hand wall always leads to your destination!" the girl spoke, not really knowing if that was true or not, but she figured she might as well go with it.  She was curious what led an older fellow to play this game, but by the same token, that would probably be pretty rude to ask, and beyond that, what did it matter?  He could handle himself and even if he was a bit, he was still wise enough to ask for help.

If it had been her dad, he would've stubbornly refused to ask for help and just keep on it until he figured it out.  "So what brings you into Sword Art: Online?" she asked, glancing at the fellow over her shoulder with a small grin.  "There's so many people here that all come from different backgrounds and stuff.  It's really cool to get to see how everyone ended up here... even if not everyone wants to be here," she admitted, losing a little pep as she continued.

[Labyrinth Search 1/5]

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero couldn’t help but smile at the young girl’s excitement. Whether she meant it or not, her exuberance was contagious. Still as they proceeded through the maze, he could tell that there was something on her mind, that she wanted to say but wasn’t sure about.  She finally looked back to him over her shoulder and got her question out. What was it that had brought him to sword art online. He couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. 
 

“I have to admit, that may be the nicest way someone has asked me that question since we all got trapped here. I’ll give you the short version for now. I grew up playing games when I could. Thanks to the career path I choose and the work I did, I was able to retire pretty early and took a new job that allowed me to come to Japan for a while. I hadn’t bought a new console in a long time, so I thought I’d get a nerve gear and play for a little bit, plus it would give me something to do while I was in a new town. Definitely got the new town part I suppose.”  Zero had see a lot of people got turned into knots when talking about life before sao and he wanted to try to keep things as light as he could.  It was, mostly, the truth and he kept a smile on his face as he asked a question in turn of his new friend. “Would you mind if I asked the same of you, what brings such a polite, young lady as yourself to Sword Art Online.”

 

[Labyrinth Search 2/5]

Edited April 25, 2021 by zero_lost04

[Astreya 0]

Astreya had turned, walking backwards as her right hand extended out, keeping it on the wall as she walked, just so she'd know if the tunnel turned to allow her to keep in conversation with this fellow, even if they were going deeper and deeper into this maze.  He gave a story that Astreya had heard a bunch so far, that he had been a gamer and had gotten into it because it was something new and different.  Obviously, there were a lot more caveats to his story and the fact that he'd already had a job, worked it, and retired was something new that she hadn't really heard from anyone else yet.  But he was still a gamer at heart.

As expected, he turned the question around back at her, and she gave a small grin.  "A friend of mine wanted me to try it out.  I'd never really played games before this.  Like, a few here and there or like... an afternoon at an arcade, or whatever.  But Dad always said games would rot my brain so I was always, like, more into sports and stuff.  But a couple weeks after we got that, uhm, announcement, about how this game actually works... it was just me," she spoke, forcing a smile.  "Took me awhile to get up the guts to step out of the Town of Beginnings, but here I am now, ready for action!" she cheered, bouncing back almost immediately.

[Labyrinth Search: 3/5]

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero smiled when the girl began to give the brief version of events that led her to this point.  He had heard those comments about gaming from some of the more seasoned members of his own family, but as he got older he also knew that sometimes the older generation just doesn't get what the new generation is into and that doesn't make it necessarily bad, but that it just needed to be judged on merits.  However, his mirth stopped and his heart nearly broke as she briefly went over the events that happened when she had been trapped here with a friend.  Sadly, that type of story was far to common.  He could tell that she was almost forcing herself when she said she was here now and ready to go, but deep down he knew better.  He had many scars himself, both physical and mental, and he knew that those feelings would soften over time, but would never go away.  The thought would cross his mind from time to time, about the what it was going to be like for these children when they finally managed to escape this place.

 

"While it is hard to imagine right now, one day, when we have all managed to leave this place behind, there will be things about this world that we will remember fondly.  It is those memories that give me the strength to go on.  When you get out of here, you will still have most of your life ahead of and there will be many lessons that you will have learned here that will be a great benefit to you.  When I leave, what time I have left will be even more precious and wonderous to me because of what I've experienced here.  Whether here or in the real world, life is what we make it, it can be beautiful or we can choose to only see the shadows." Zero had no idea why he felt the need to say all that to Astreya.  Maybe he thought about his own youth and what he was doing when he was her age.  Still, he could tell that she was strong, that she was a fighter and the desire to survive this game and excel was strong in her.  It was also at that moment that Zero realized that he could no longer take a back seat in this game.  This kids were going through a lot, he could share the burden with them.  After all, what was one more nightmare?

 

[Labyrinth search 4/5]

[Astreya 0]

Thankfully, at least for Astreya, she had come to terms with the loss of the one she'd come in with.  It had been two years (and change- she had honestly started to lose count lately) since he'd passed.  But her father had always been very good about helping her to be self-aware, and to understand the root cause of what was making her upset.  Was she sad that he'd died?  Of course- but it went deeper than that.  She was angry at him for suggesting to 'try this game' with him, only to have her life stolen away.  She was depressed that he had left her alone.  There were so many emotions wrapped up in it... but over time and the ability to discuss things with some of the other players with similar stories, she had come to terms with it.  She was still remiss and it ached somewhat, but she had been able to cope, and it didn't weigh on her negatively.  It was now yet another brick in the wall of her resolve to clear the game.

Zero then began to speak, offering some of his own insight into the matter, and the young woman nodded.  "Oh no, I totally agree with that.  Like, just think that you and I would have never met if we hadn't gotten trapped in this game.  Or I never would have had a chance to meet up with Freyd or Melissa or Ivory or..." Astreya went on, ticking people on her fingers as she recounted all of the people that she'd had a chance to party up with.  "Like, sure the whole world feels kind of bleak, but that's only if you look at it that way, y'know?  There's so many cool things here that I never woulda gotten to see out in the 'real world'," she continued, bringing up her fingers to air quote.

She paused slightly in her steps, glancing around.  "This looks like the right spot, though.  We'll have to keep talking after the Hoya," she spoke with a slight grin, reaching her hand back to her weapon.

[Labyrinth Search: 5/5]

[zero_lost04 0]

Her attitude was actually somewhat astonishing.  Being trapped in a game, watching people you care for die and being told that their death was in the real world as well, that could break well adjusted adults.  He didn’t know what she had gone through to get to that point, but he was glad to see that she had take that pain and he put that motivation towards something positive.  After a while of walking and talking, they arrived at something that was a bit different.  According to Astreya, they had likely arrived.  With a smile on his face, Zero draws his two handed straight sword of the fallen and enters the area.

 

Entering what was likely the combat area, about half way away from them he spotted the western Hoya, sitting in patience contemplation.  When he noticed the two arrive and enter, he rose to his feet and picked up his massive axe.  It was an interesting dichotomy.  The axe was what you would normally associate with a berserker type enemy, but the stance and demeanor suggested a more measured opponent.  Zero knew that he needed to make his first strike count, with some of his new sword arts, he thought he had the perfect idea.  Breaking off into a sprint, with his blade behind him as he ran, he quickly closed the gap between himself and Govarron the western Hoya minotaur.  Once he is almost within striking distance, he pivots to the side before leaping at the Minotaur, hoping to strike him with a sudden flanking maneuver and stun him with his skill.  The gambit appears to have paid off as the strikes tear through the Minotaur and Zero takes a step back to bit a small amount of space between himself and the monsters massive weapon.

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 191060

BD: 7+2-1 = 8 Success

8 DMG * 11 (Fight Blade) = 88 DMG, Hoya is stunned

Corrected Stats for Zero

HP:100

EN:28

Base Damage: 8

Mit: 24

Rgn:2

Acc+3

3 Ranks 2HSS

2 Ranks Heavy Armor

4 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40 HP)

 

All other equipment remains the same  

Zero
HP 100/100 | Energy 17/28 | Damage 8 | MIT 20 | ACC 2 | RGN 1

Cooldowns: Fight Blade 3/2

Astreya | HP: 280/280 | EN: 46/46 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 37 | BH: 4 | ACC: 1 | THORNS 18 | TAUNT: 2 | REC: 2

Govarron, the Western Hoya Minotaur HP: 62/150 | DMG: 45 | EVA: 1 - Stunned

Edited April 27, 2021 by zero_lost04

[Astreya 0]

Post Action- SA: Astral Hell vs Govarron
ID#: 191099
BD: 7+1-1 = 7 (Hit!  12*8 = 96 Damage!)
MD: 9 (Dead Boss.  Also he was still stunned)

Astreya noted that Zero had pulled his weapon off of his back as soon as she'd stated that they were here and ready for combat.  She shifted, her hand moving to where the handle of her own came out over her right shoulder, and pulled it down and off as well, the young woman well used to the weapon's weight.  "All right.  So once we get in there, I'll go ahead and draw out his Hate, so that way he stays focused on me," she spoke, and she didn't get much of a chance to go over the rest of the plan as Zero began to charge forward upon seeing the target.

"Zero!" she hissed, but shook her head as she began to follow along with him as the fellow unleashed an attack against the minotaur, not only striking it with a vengeance, but she could also see that it was stunned as well.  "Well that'll work for me!  C'mon you overgrown black angus piece of beef!" she roared out as she followed along with him, ready to try out one of her new sword arts.  

The girl's blade flashed, aided by several quick thrusting strikes as the two users of the two-handed straight swords put down the minotaur before he could even garner up a defense.  "Man.  I almost feel kinda bad," Astreya murmured as she reached down, poking the thing's body with her sword as it began to face away, leaving its reward behind.

Zero | HP 100/100 | Energy 17/28 | Damage 8 | MIT 20 | ACC 2 | RGN 1
Cooldowns: Fight Blade 0/2

Astreya | HP: 280/280 | EN: 36/46 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 37 | BH: 4 | ACC: 1 | THORNS 18 | TAUNT: 2 | REC: 2
Cooldowns: 0/2

[1,3] Govarron | HP: 0/150 | DMG: 45 | EVA: 1 [Stunned]

Edited April 29, 2021 by Astreya

[zero_lost04 0]

Astreya and followed Zero’s lead and rushed in behind him, though he could hear call out to him in a bit of frustration. He had kind of rushed in and started the fight instead of letting the tank take point. Still, she launched into a flurry of attacks as well, easily striking the Hoya while it was stunned. As quickly as the fight had begun, it was all over, the western Hoya minotaur had fallen and was defeated. He sheathed his blade and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he turned to face her. 
 

“Sorry about that, rushing into a fight like that usually isn’t like me, but I guess I had gotten caught up in the moment. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a quest and this I’d actually the first time I’ve really gotten a chance to try out this sword, so I got a little carried away. As an apology, why don’t you take that drop.”  Zero lowered his head as he apologized, such recklessness was definitely not like him and he would definitely have to think about why he choose to rush in like that once they were out of the maze and he could relax and contemplate for a moment. Still, he was definitely quite pleased with the new sword arts he had access to, with a strong friend like a Astreya, they could probably make short work of a lot of the beginner quests with relative ease. 

[Astreya 0]

With the minotaur down, Astreya couldn't help but to give a small little laugh over at Zero as the man began to try to justify his actions.  "Look, I'm not all that mad about it.  I was just, like, trying to come up with a plan, y'know?  Just going in and doing our thing seemed to turn out pretty well, over all," she noted as she gestured to the remains that were left behind by the creature.

As he offered to let her have the drop, the young woman sheathed her sword, lifting her hands up. "No way.  I already got one from him anyway, and you could probably use it?  I dunno it's a pretty cool little trinket," the woman spoke as she gestured toward it.  "So what do you think, though?  You want to call it a day or you want to see what the other Hoya has to offer?" she asked with a slight grin.  She didn't really mind either way- getting the quest done would be good for him, but if he wanted to keep hunting the minotaur, that was just fine.

[zero_lost04 0]

“Yeah, I know, guess old MMO habits die hard, at least I didn’t shout out Leroy Jenkins before I charged in.  Normally, I’d be all about a plan of attack, but I got a little carried away.”  Zero chuckled to himself, as he apologized once more. Despite being offered the trinket, Astreya turned it down, said she already had one and that she thought he could use it. He takes the drop and puts it into his inventory, he could check out the specs on it later. Astreya then asks if he wanted to call it a day or go after the other one as well. 
 

“Not gonna lie, considering how well that went, I’d kinda like to see how we far against the other one. Another drop is always nice, plus maybe this one will be a bit tougher?  I promise not to rush in like a crazy person this time.”  It had been a much easier fight than had been expected, but considering that he had gotten in a hard hit and stunned it, the first minotaur wound up not being too much of a challenge for them. Going after the other would mean a more complete quest too and he was fun on this quest and getting to know Astreya, so another good round of combat would be a lot of fun. He begins to make his way out of the combat area and back into the maze so that they continue there way through the twisting maze to find the other Hoya. 
 

[Labyrinth Search 1/5]