[PP-F9 - QUEST] Who the heck are you?! {Mina & Freyd} (The Iron Guardian)

[tricolor_mina 0]

<<Note: This thread begins on Floor 22 due to narrative purposes>>

Violet blinked in confusion as the other two players that had been with her and Freyd vanished into thin air. As if there was just a gust of wind carrying the pair away. It was a strange thing to witness, that was for sure. Though certainly not the wierdest thing she'd ever seen. She glanced over at Freyd, frowning slightly. It was only the two of them now, and she still wasn't sure what his intentions were. He seemed relatively friendly, if a bit stiff personality-wise. Her familiar curled around her neck, eyeing the other player with a gleam in her eyes, twin tails wagging with excitement. Akame shared absolutely none of her master's worries, and was simply wondering if the guy in front of them was a good play buddy.

Violet tilted her head slightly when Freyd asked her name, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm Tricolor_Mina, but call me mina instead." She stated wryly, a ghost of a smile on her face. "It's weird when people use the whole thing, makes me feel more than a little uneasy." She walked over to him, pacing around him in a slow circle, a bemused look on her face. The cowl that Freyd was wearing made it almost impossible to actually see his face, which was only slightly annoying. The other thing was that it made it hard to properly tell if she should be worried or not, since she couldn't get a good read on someone without seeing their face. She stopped at his side, leaning in front of him with a baffled look on her face as he removed the cowl that covered him up.

"Woah, someone looks kinda pissed off." she said carefully, her brows furrowing. His expression made him look somewhat older, the steely gaze almost unnerving. And those piercing blue eyes made her feel even more on edge, it was almost like Freyd was staring through her. Despite all of that, his voice had an edge of kindness to it, leading her to believe that he was just a stoic guy. "... that, or you have a serious case of resting bitchface, one of the two. Probably the other one since you were so calm earlier." she quipped, A shit-eating grin on her face. Akame Chirped in greeting, climbing on top of Violet's head, and sitting there, gazing right into Freyd's eyes, her tails wagging madly. "Hyuuuu!" "Oh! almost forgot, this lil' lady is Akame. She's my buddy when I'm out this far on the floors, keeps me company when I'm all by myself"

@Freyd

Stats

Spoiler

Stats + Equipment

Stats

• Level 29
• 610 HP
• 91 EN
• 17 DMG 
• 30 MIT 
• 1 Slot Blight
• 1 Slot Burn
• 4 ACC
• 0 EVA

Equipment

 Armor - N/A

 Accessory -  Mask of rose (Perfect T2 Jewelry (3 slots Acc))

 Weapon - Jack's Burned Lament (T2 Perfect weapon(Blight/Burn/Cursed)

Active Skills

• Weapon skill: Rapier - R5 (Weapon shift - AoE specialist)
• Energist
• Charge
• Light Armor R5 

Extra Skills

• First Aid R5

Mods

• Meticulous
• Resolve

House Buffs

• Relaxed (Morning Rose Manor (Morg's house))

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by tricolor_mina

[Freyd 0]

One eyebrow arched higher than the other at her assessment of his demeanor, ending with a snort-like exhalation and a wide, wry grin. 

"You're actually not far off, on both counts.  It's an occupational hazard, I suppose.  Sorry about the ninja twins, back there.  Mari's gemini is not one to be taken lightly, and posed a very real threat.  We may not know each other, but it was me who put you in the position in the first place.  I'm sorry for that.  Playing a trump card seemed prudent and appropriate.  I'm glad it paid off."  

Freyd's bearing softened as they spoke.  His edge melting away to reveal a person within, albeit one more accustomed to guarded isolation.  An air of perpetual pragmatism hung over him and dampened the raucous fun and frivolity that came with most of Aincrad's younger players.  This one was an old soul carrying burdens beyond the ability of most to fathom.  The weight of responsibility pressed down upon him, but he bore it well.

"You need better armor, or...err.. any kind of armor, actually.  Let me help you with that, to make amends.  Firm Anima has many fine craftsmen at its disposal, including the finest smith I've ever met.  Just promise me you won't try to hit on one of his daughters.  He's even edgier than I am, when it comes to them."

Reaching out an arm with palm upright and open for Akame to sniff and gauge, he gave her time to make her choice.  Even as he did, a small, inky figure, shaped loosely like a ferret or weasel, emerged from his sleeve and crawled out to perch herself on his fingertip.  Twin slotted azure eyes tilted along with her head as she studied the dragonet.

"Persi, play nice please."  The shadowy familiar turned at the sound of his voice, as if assessing his request.  When she turned back towards Mina and her pet, the fluid blue-black cloud that was her body glowed as constellations spread across her form, reminiscent of the very sky above their heads, in the glory of the Tanabata Festival.  She sniffed, then sneezed and ran off playfully after the small reptile.

"I owe that shopkeep some cleanup after the mess I made of her kitchen.  Why don't we start there?"

Spoiler

***

Freyd | HP: 960/960 | EN: 130/130 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 6 | BH: 52 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

Full Stats:

Spoiler

Freyd, Firm Anima O&I Captain
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 75
HP: 960/960
EN: 130/130

Stats:
Damage: 24
Mitigation: 78
Accuracy: 6
Battle Healing: 52
Loot Dice: 5
FLN: 16
HLY: 16
PARA IMMUNE
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride (T4 Hammer | Holy 2 | Fallen 2)
Armor: Fallen Angel Garb (T4 LA | Mit 2 | Rec 2)
Misc: The Shadowed Rose (T3 Trinket - ACC 3 | Para Imm)

Custom Skill:
n/a

Skills:
Hammer R5
Light Armor R5
Searching R4
Battle Healing R5
Energist
Charge

Active Mods:
Night Vision
Tracking
Meticulous
Untraceable

Inactive Mods:
n/a

Addons:
Stamina
Ferocity
Precision
Resolve
Reveal

Active Extra Skills:
Disguise
Survival
Meditation
Forgotten King’s Authority

Inactive Extra Skills:
Hiding R3
Brawler
Photosynthesize

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+30*T HP) x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+30*T HP) x7
Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable) x1
Rhino's Horn (Reusable) x1
T3 Probiotics 3 x2
The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 Demonic WH, AA, Blight, Static, Para.Ven (Off)) x1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +10% Exp 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
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring:
n/a

 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet grinned when she saw Freyd's expression change to a grin, a snort of laughter escaping his throat at her comment over his facial expression. "Ayy, I made you laugh!" she cheered, a shit-eating grin on her face. "Don't sweat it, you aren't the first person I've met that has that kind of face. My old guildmate, Shield, immediately comes to mind when I think about it... Except I don't think even he looked that stern!" She straightened up a bit, before moving properly so that she could face him without having to lean over.

She almost immediately adopted a deadpan look on her face when she heard him apologize about the pair that had come in, absolutely thrashed the Gemini, and then just bailed on the both of them after completing what they had been called for. His trump card was almost too effective, it seemed. "More like overkill, heesh..  They're definitely effective, thats for sure." she muttered, shaking her head. "Threat or not, them coming out of nowhere to fuck up that... entity, was a little Jarring, Y'know? I almost booked it because I wasn't sure what the hell was goin' on."

Violet folded her arms over her chest when Freyd mentioned that she needed to go get some armor, and that he knew someone who could hook her up... and then the comment about daughters. "Dude, hey, woah." she said, holding up her hands as she shook her head vehemently, a frown on her face. "Not a chance in hell, I don't play like that... Not to mention I'd Rather not fuck up my relationship with Jon for anything in the world." Violet nearly panicked when Akame suddenly darted off, only to realize that she was playing with what seemed to be Freyd's familiar. "Huh... neat familiar." she mumbled, a baffled look on her face. How the hell does one manage to tame a shadow, exactly?

As freyd said he'd lead the way, she bowed to him, a cheeky grin on her face. "Well? Lead the way Maestro~!"

@Freyd

[Freyd 0]

"You know Shield?  We've run together a few times, mostly dungeons.  Both of us were at the last floor boss raid together.  Can't say that I know him particularly well, but he seems a decent sort.  Good head on his shoulders, and all that.  I'll have to let him know that I can out-glare him, next time I see him.  He'll probably glare at me, if I do."  Mina's choice of words ha caught his attention. 

"You referred to him as you 'old guildmate.'  Does that mean that one or both of you left your guild?  I thought he was with Jacob's Ladder."

Walking back towards Coral proved to be far less life-threatening than their previous exit, and considerably less dramatic.  The Forest of Memories could be like that sometimes, muting its draw upon the pasts of those traveling within its bounds for the sake of allowing new experiences to be forged.  Freyd sometimes referred to them as the Fickle Woods, though the expression make Shiina titter every time he said it aloud, which was every chance he got when she was around.

"You were one bad bit of luck away from an unhappy ending back there, Mina.  Overkill was precisely what was required.  I'm personally rather pleased that they've both become so effective."  Tilting his head, he considered he reaction as they continued their walk.  Freyd's hands stuffed themselves casually into a pair of unobtrusive pockets, until they were needed.  "You could have booked it, but you didn't.  That says a lot about you.  Speaking of which: what's the deal with the no armor thing, and who the heck is Jon?"

 

Vanity Tag: @Shiina

[tricolor_mina 0]

"Yup! Shield and I belonged to a guild known as the Celestial Ascendants." Violet replied, a sad smile on her face. "Those were nice times... Simpler, nicer. But they just had to get thrown out the window because of that stupid war." Violet was still angry over the horrible war that had torn apart her former guild, many of their members either vanishing entirely, joining different guilds, or turning up on that damned monument. It practically ate her up inside when she saw just how many names from her old guild were on there. "It was rough for all of us... there was alot of people that died from what I remember. Pretty much everyone who survived went their separate ways.. I'm glad shields still doing well, though."

Violet sighed when Freyd commented on how close she had just come to death. Old habits really did seem to die hard, didn't they. "Yeah... It's less out of bravery, and more that I'm just not afraid of dying. A habit from the real world that unfortunately carried over to this one." She said bitterly, folding her arms across her chest. "Being afraid of dying makes mistakes pop up more often, and easier than normal. It's easier to just... Act when you don't have to worry that lil voice in your head, telling you to be scared outta your wits, y'know?"

She tilted her head in confusion, a frown on her face as Freyd asked who Jon was. "Morgenstern..? He's a Frontliner that participated in the floor 25 Raid. Blonde hair, uses a katana. Tells everyone to either call him Jonathan or Morg?" She said carefully, a baffled look on her face. "He's also one of my former guildmates, and is my soon-to-be Fiancee. You can ask shield about him, and he'll say he knows him too. Baldur-san can probably corroborate that as well, since he knew him before the guild disbanded, along with our founder."

@Freyd

[Freyd 0]

"The Celestial Ascendants?  Huh.  I wonder if they were around during the same days as The Madrigal.  The timing seems about right.  Both predate my active days.  I spent most of my early time in  the game touring the Town of Beginnings - by which I mean the first few years.  You must have been active for quite some time."  Internally, Freyd was trying to process how Mina could have been around since those days, and yet still be so completely incapable of harming their enemy during the recent fight.

"What level are you?"  He just blurted it out, rather than being subtle or slaving himself out to etiquette.  Neither of them had the time.  

"I remember someone named Morgenstern from the raid.  He got beat up pretty bad, as I recall.  That group struggled quite a bit.  That doesn't quite answer why you can't or won't wear armor.  Is it a choice, or is he a blacksmith that just really tied up with back orders?"  The few facts available didn't compute.  

"Relationships, am I right?"  Freyd's locked eyes on Rosa's shop, slowly coming into view up ahead.  The concept of marriage in SAO was still beyond Freyd's ability to grasp, so he favoured avoiding the discussion altogether.  It also made it far less likely that he'd step in a pile of sensitivity, for which he had no appetite.

"Fearlessness in the face of death doesn't mean that you have to invite it.  I make seemingly foolhardy choices all the time.  Each is a calculated risk, where I am prepared to accept the potential outcomes, even death."  The implication was his own, but there was a definite potential for alternate interpretation in the tone of his voice.  "It's never a bad thing to be as prepared as possible.  If you won't let me provide you with armor, is there something else I could offer instead?  I prefer to repay my debts."

[tricolor_mina 0]

"Pretty old honestly. The CA was around way back when the KOB was still a Major guild." She said softly, tilting her head in thought. "We weren't as active as most guilds, but there were a bunch of our members that decided to take to the Frontlines and become Clearers. Jon, Shield, and Beat are the only three that still do that, and Jon told me he wasn't participating in this raid after that fiasco involving his team. The other three that were Frontline quality, Itzal, Sey, and Hikoru, all fell off face of Aincrad, and I haven't spoken with or seen them in ages. I'm not even entirely sure they're alive anymore."

She blinked in confusion when he brought up the concern over her levels. "uhm, last I saw, I was only level 21...?!" A stream of pop-up messages suddenly blared to life in front of her face, the rapid-fire chiming making her jump in shock. "Wha-wait wait woah, wHAT THE HELL?! WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!?!!" After Violet cleared away her notifications, she checked her stats, noticing a rather extreme uptick in her damage, Health, and Energy, denoting that she had somehow, for some reason, managed to level up about nine times in a row. In the span of only a few minutes.

She twitched slightly, her jaw agape with surprise. Her eye as wide as a dinner plate. "What kind of stuff was that Gemini made of..?!?! That was nine fucking levels in the span of about four minutes.". She said weakly, turning to face Freyd with a nervous look on her face. "Uhm, let's go visit that friend of yours, I'd appreciate having armor after whatever the hell just happened here. Kami-sama have mercy on me..!"

@Freyd

[Freyd 0]

A smile suppressed, Freyd had recognized the dungeon's pattern, but Mina's reaction sealed the deal.  They must have been pulled into its bounds from the moment they left the edge of Coral's safe zone.  Nine levels, though, that was rather remarkable and out of keeping with his own experiences.

"Aincrad is always changing," he admitted.  "We need to change with it.  For what it's worth, I think you're making the right call and that Jon will understand."

Rosa's shop had largely been restored by the time they arrived.  A half-dozen apologies, and promise to buy out all of her stock, finally put Freyd back into the woman's good graces.  Cookies were distributed liberally to every player and NPC they encountered on their way to the teleportation portal in the main square.

"I'm glad to see that this place recovered after the devastation that followed Tanabata.  I just wished I could have brought my warning just a little bit sooner.  Many might have been spared."  Sincere regret was hard to hide, even for a master of subterfuge.  That, or he simply chose not to hide it.  Freyd had been under the impression that the Sundered Spire's attack on Coral would come from the labyrinth passage from the floor below.  He'd been collecting clues from all over the floating castle, and was even racing towards Coral when it struck, but his information was incomplete. Only a single prong of their assault had been discovered, from the surface.  He'd been able to block their vanguard with the help of Mari and Cord, but was completely oblivious to Skalaugh's forces  breaching the floor's barrier below the Lake of Reflection.

"Yogan Village." 

Touching the portal as he spoke the words, Freyd cast away his memories along with the rest of the fading landscape, to be swallowed by the smoke and searing heat that dominated Floor Nine.

***

“Are you the one that accepted the quest to kill the Guardian?”

Blinking and slow to recognize the info broker NPC who was peddling his wares right in their faces the moment they emerged, it took him a minute to get his bearings.

"Bit on the nose, no?" Freyd swatted the man away like a nuisance fly before pausing to reconsider.  "Actually... I think I know you.  Come here for a sec."  His tone had definitely changed for the darker.  Grabbing the diminutive broker by the ear, Freyd dragged him off to the edge of the plaza, where words were clearly being exchanged as the NPC's pallor grew greener by the moment.  Whatever they were talking about was increasing the man's stress levels and agitation by at least an order of magnitude, causing him to shrink into himself by the end.

"Come on," Freyd added as he returned, a satisfied grin stuck to his lips.  "Griswold's place isn't far and we can earn a favor with that broker along the way.  Just be ready for an ambush, m'kay?"

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet was still lost as they wandered through the settlement of coral, not even noticing really where Freyd was leading her at this point. Nine levels. Nine. Whole. Levels. More EXP than she earned in a week was earned in the span of a few minutes. Something that she had failed to do in so long was actually upon her, and she was completely unprepared for it. Her weapon had signified the change in her stats, the metal glowing even hotter in her hands, the deep red glow of the gem in its pommel growing ever stronger. It was as though the Cardinal was telling her to actually get off her ass, and get moving so that she could fight back and help out.

She was not going to waste the chance she had been given.

As Violet finally drifted out of her thoughts, she realized that they were in the middle of town, and in the portal. The words "Yogan Village." had reached her ears, making her blink in surprise. "We're going to... Yogan Village..?" she murmured, a surprised look on her face as they moved past the area with a pulse of brilliant blue swallowing them both whole. The smell of something burning entered her nose, nearly making her cough. Floor nine always smelled of saltpeter and burning wood, not an unpleasant smell, but a rather powerful one.

She watched in utter confusion as Freyd pulled aside an info broker, seemingly threatening him about something. the sight caused a shiver to run down Violet's back. The scene that had played out in front of her reminded her of the few times she'd seen Rosa straight up threaten someone's safety for one reason or another. Most people kind of ran away screaming after that kind of thing, the fact that that guy didn't spoke volumes. Though he was still rather green around the gills as he wandered off.

"Well this isn't what I expected, why are we here..? Aside from visiting this Griswold guy, anyhow?"

[Freyd 0]

"To get you some better gear.  You've tiered up, which means new options are open to you."  He led the way from the small cluster of hovels that were nestled as close to the portal as they could.  

"You still haven't really answered why you wouldn't wear armor, or why Jon would be upset if you did.  Forgive my persistence, but this seems rather important towards figuring out your odds of survival.  What's the deal?"  You don't get to be the captain of a guild's spy branch without being persistent about crucial information.  Freyd wanted a why, and wasn't about to let up.  He was also well-versed in the art of deflection and could easily sense when it was applied back at him, deliberately or not.  He resisted the urge to speculate.  That would only grant her a convenient list of reasons or lies to choose from, if she had a reason to avoid the question.

"We're going to see Griswold because he's the best in the business.  No one forges gear quite like he does, and you definitely need new gear.  His shop is down in a nearby valley, up ahead.  It's not far from Yogan, behind some big boulder.  I just figured we'd pick up a side quest in the process and get you setup for the front lines, if you're interested."  A glance gauged Mina's reaction as he continued.  "And, if we play this right, you might hit the level cap before we even get there."

Pointing ahead, Freyd indicated a pair of heavily armored knights blocking their path.  They hadn't quite spotted the players yet, giving them the advantage. 

"Go ahead,"  he offered, gesturing for her to lead.  "Try out your new perks."

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet looked baffled when he asked why she didn't wear armor. Specifically why Jon  didn't want her wearing armor. "I'm gonna go ahead and stop you there, Freyd." she said shaking her head vehemently, holding up a hand as she did so. "Two things. One, Jon would be having a shit fit if he found out I was on floor 22 without any sort of Armor. He worries about me enough as it is. Two, The no-armor wearing BS is because, usually, I don't head outside of safe zones. At all. Unless I'm tracking a Ragout rabbit or some other Rare Mob. Then I throw on a set that boosts my offensive stats, and pray I don't catch aggro from something lethal. Something that worked pretty well til' I almost got thrown INTO something like that from the stunt you pulled earlier!!"

When he mentioned something about getting her a new set of armor, and then something about hitting the Level cap, she stopped dead in her tracks, turning slowly to face him. "I hope that wasn't your reason for what happened earlier. That's piss-poor ettiquet when trying to help someone thats a lower level get up there in the ranks." she growled, before shaking her head. "Ugh, either way, I can't really complain given how quick that boosted me up. And the fact that you're getting me Armor, apparently?" She folded her hands behind her head, a bored look on her face.

"Try out my... skills..?" Violet murmured, a confused look on her face. Violet realized that they were going to walk into a pair of hostile mobs if they weren't careful. She drew her rapier, her confusion changing to excitement. The thrum of power coursing through her arms didn't lie to her as she charged forward, skewering one of the knights, before hurling the other into its ally, a loud metallic screeching hitting her ears as they exploded violently into shards of polygons. Violet let out a soft hiss as her health ticked down slightly from the innate thorns the Mobs must have possessed.

She clipped Her rapier back to her waist, before turning around to face Freyd. "I don't think I'm even allowed to really be mad at you any more, am I?"

@Freyd

Stats

Spoiler

Post Action: Attacking W/ AoE I

ID: 200422 | BD: 3 (+3 = 6! HIT! 15*17 = 255 - 0 = 255 DMG Dealt!)

ID: 200423 | BD: 6 (+3 = 9! HIT! 15*17 = 255 - 0 = 255 DMG Dealt!)

48 DMG to Mina Via Thorns, -17 EN

Tricolor_Mina | HP: 560/610 | EN: 74/91 | DMG: 17 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 3 | BLT: 24 | BRN: 42

Freyd | HP: 960/960 | EN: 130/130 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 6 | BH: 52 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

Iron Knight A HP: 0/250 | DMG: 100 | THORNS 24 | BLEED 24

Iron Knight B HP: 0/250 | DMG: 100 | THORNS 24 | BLEED 24

Edited November 3, 2021 by tricolor_mina

[Freyd 0]

Freyd grinned with such mischief that the Cheshire cat himself would be jealous.

"I have no idea why you would take such a risk, given that safe zones are never truly that.  They just give the false impression for comfort's sake.  It's not my place to judge, even though I probably will anyway.  You're a grown woman and can make your own choices." 

"That said," he pointed to the fading clouds of shard from the mobs she'd just devastated slowly drifted down upon the ashen landscape.  

"You are a player, Mina.  In here, that grants you the potential of a god that would make Hercules, Athena, or any other maladjusted member of the ancient pantheons look like extras on a second rate sitcom by comparison.  Playing it safe also means that you deny that power to every other player in here that is fighting to help get us out."

As if lured by the promise of his words, a tremor shook the slopes of Mount Kazan immense suit of armor rose from a nearby lava flow.  The titan of heat-infused metal drew upon the power of liquid fire to infuse its form, growing even larger as it pulled itself onto the same basalt shelf where the two players were standing.  Rivulets of red streamed down every carved and chiseled facet of its form, tracing gleaming arcane runes likely tied to whatever backstory generated this monster in the first place.  It roared, sounding like a seismic fog horn that shook the ground for a mile around and threatened to burst ear drums by sheer din of decibels.

Freyd launched himself towards the colossus without a breath's hesitation, somehow dancing in a twisting line with his shadow as he ran.  The two became indiscernible from each other as they moved.  It was like watching twin corkscrews twisting together into a whole, blurring until neither existed as a separate form.  Then came the screeching as the sliver-like void he wielded peeled back the paltry barrier of light that separate the void contained within from reality.  Raw, endless hunger unleashed and drove straight through the enemy's searing chest plate, carving a hole and bursting out the back with a blast and splatter of magma.  The giant's helm titled down to look at the gaping wound inflicted upon it by something that wasn't even there.  Unable to maintain its integrity after such catastrophic damage, the helm just kept tipping and fell forward off its own shoulders.  The rest of the titan crumpled behind it.

Emerging from behind her, Freyd seemed to have taken but a single step and traveled through the silhouette of darkness she cast on the ground by her standing presence.  His cowl was back in place, obscuring everything above his eyes and nose, and even they just lingered visibly at the edge of shadow.

"And no.  You really can't."

Spoiler

Post Action | AoE-I (x15 AoE, 11 EN, +2 AoE Shift, +2/hit,): 15 EN - (Rested 1/2; Stamina) = 12 EN.  Charge (CD 0/3) (8 EN)
Free Action | None

ID #200428 | BD: 6+6=12 (hit, Fallen +16).  DMG (15*40=600)

Freyd suffers 24 thorns damage.

Tricolor_Mina | HP: 560/610 | EN: 74/91 | DMG: 17 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 3 | BLT: 24 | BRN: 42
Freyd | HP: 936/960 (960-24) | EN: 110/130 (130-12-8) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 6 | BH: 52 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

Iron Guardian | HP: 0/600 | DMG: 150 | THORNS 24 | BLEED 24 (600-600)

 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet folded her arms across her chest, a bemused look on her face. "Those 'Gods' don't have anything on us while we're in here, the only god of this place is the Cardinal." she replied dryly, shaking her head. "And I'd rather roll the dice for the most part, and pray I don't get mowed down trying to live my life the way I want, y'know?" She patted her shoulder, and Whistled loudly. A few moments later, Akame fluttered over, landing on her Arm, before scampering up and curling around her neck, Chirping in delight as she snuggled against her master. "Good girl, Akame." she said softly, stroking the small dragon, a faint smile on her face.

When Freyd walked over to her once again, the cowl he had been wearing earlier back in place, a low sigh escaped her throat. She reached backwards, grasping the hood of her coat firmly with one hand, pulling it over her head. She pulled her mask across her face, leaving only her eye visible. "I'll hide my face too, then." she said simply, walking towards him. "I'm gonna go ahead and assume that was some sort of quest you just tricked me into taking? Something that involved that broker you talked to earlier?"

@Freyd

[Freyd 0]

"Tricked?"  Feigned injury could ooze, apparently, if you tried hard enough.  "I would choose a more generous and beneficial term, but if that's how you feel, why don't you just ask him." 

Freyd pointed at the small hunched figure huddled hiding behind a nearby outcrop of rock and compressed ash. 

"And Cardinal is Hephaestus in this particular drama. The lame god is just another tool, wielded by us and against us.  You can choose to 'live' however you wish.  I spent a long time choosing not to choose, myself.  It was a mistake.  I hope your 'chooses' go differently for you, and hopefully with a refreshed perspective."

Freyd fished a large yellow gem from his pocket, looking like some sort of quarts or agate.  Mina would have seen it inlaid to the pommel of the sword wielded by the giant they'd just felled, if she was paying attention.

"He's gonna try to stab me for this, by the way.  Would you mind not letting him?"

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet growled in frustration at Freyd as he feigned being hurt by her words. "Oh ha, ha. I know you did it on purpose now, smartass." she growled, her eye glowing brightly under her mask. "And the Cardinal decides whether or not we end up getting ganked by a random mob coming out of left field and beating the shit out of us, so I'm pretty sure that its more than good ol Hephaestus in this world." She cracked her knuckles, a sigh escaping her throat.

She blinked in confusion as he pointed out something, or someone that was somewhat further up along the road. Violet felt a chill suddenly strike her hard, as though someone had dipped her in ice-water. A blur suddenly shot past her, striking Freyd hard in the chest, and the figure coming to a dead halt with its weapon stuck halfway inside of him. It was the broker from earlier, and they seemed off balance and nervous for some reason. Which was logical as she realized the chill she had felt before was coming from Freyd.

But Violet didn't care about that right now. What mattered was that Freyd had been attacked out of the blue, and she wasn't going to have any of that. Her feet glinted a bright pink, before she rushed forward and closed the gap within the blink of an eye, grabbing the person by the back of their cloak and throwing them to the ground, before stabbing her Rapier through their chest. The Figure let out a cry of pain, their eyes going wide with sheer terror as bright red pixels spurted from the injury. It wasn't a pretty sight to behold, that was for sure. The only thing that you could see of Violets Face was her eye, and it was glinting a menacing red. She turned to face Freyd, the glint in her eye dying down somewhat. "Attack him, but don't kill." she said simply, shaking her head slightly.

Spoiler

Post Action: Attacking Mysterious Broker, Charge CD 0/3

Roll ID: 200432, BD 6 (+3 -1 (Charge)= 8! HIT! 15*22= 330 DMG Dealt to Mysterious Broker! )

Broker Attacks!

Roll ID: 200431, BD: 9! Minor CRIT! 151 - 78 = 73 DMG to Freyd!

-21 EN

Tricolor_Mina | HP: 560/610 | EN: 74/91 | DMG: 17 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 3 | BLT: 24 | BRN: 42
Freyd | HP: 936/960 | EN: 110/130 (130-12-8) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 6 | BH: 52 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

H: 1 | H: 0 Mysterious Broker | HP: 120/450 | DMG: 150 | PARALYZE I

Abilities:

• Battle Healing | On a CD of 10+, the <<Mysterious Broker>> heals himself for 100 HP.
• First Strike | The <<Mysterious Broker>> has the element of surprise, and will strike first in every rotation.  Its first attack of the battle will automatically hit.

Edited November 3, 2021 by tricolor_mina

[Freyd 0]

A black-gloved hand gripped the dagger sticking out of his chest, flashbacks recalling the time when another player had done the same deed.  He'd nearly killed her for it, her life having been spared by the fear and desperation in her eyes and a prior commitment of friendship.  Clattering loudly as it hit a nearby outcrop of stone and skipped into the lava beyond, Freyd raised his staff, pointing the tip menacingly at the mob's face.  The containment seal on his weapon sizzled and crackled, struggling to hold against the hunger within, reinforced by its wielder's own impulses.  

The sound of shattering glass accompanied its failure, the screeching void within unleashed.  Air and ash rushed in from every direction, small stones trembling and starting to roll towards the nothingness in Freyd's hands.  Teeth clenched and breath sucked in as his palms gripped the open nothingness directly.  Usually the seal only recoiled at the tips of the shaft, offering him protection from exposure.  Not this time.  

Don't kill.  A taller order than Mina realized, especially against these instincts.  The staff stabbed downward, eating its way through the mob's digital flesh, and consuming it as effectively as it might have been disintegrating it.  Jerking the staff back with a stoic application of will, he managed to exhale, rage expended without fatality.  Most of the broker's shoulder was gone, but his health bar lingered a fraction of a sliver above zero.  It could have been his face instead.  This was a mercy.

"As you wish," was all the Whisper said, stepping back and resuming his course towards Griswold's demesne.

Spoiler

Freyd regains +4 EN
Freyd regains 52 HP from BH
CD 2 (No REC proc) ID #200648

Post Action | TECH-A (x12, 13 EN, Stun): 13 EN - (Rested 1/2; Stamina) = 10 EN. 
Free Action | None

ID #200649 | BD: 8+6=14 (hit, Fallen +16).  DMG (12*40=480)

Tricolor_Mina | HP: 560/610 | EN: 74/91 | DMG: 17 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 3 | BLT: 24 | BRN: 42
Freyd | HP: 936/960 (936+52) | EN: 101/130 (110+4-13) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 6 | BH: 52 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

[H: 1,0] Mysterious Broker | HP: 1/450 | DMG: 150 | PARALYZE I (120-480)  *SPARED*

Abilities:

• Battle Healing | On a CD of 10+, the <<Mysterious Broker>> heals himself for 100 HP.
• First Strike | The <<Mysterious Broker>> has the element of surprise, and will strike first in every rotation.  Its first attack of the battle will automatically hit.

 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet calmly brushed a hand against the kids face, pulling her mask aside with her free hand. Her face was filled with sadness at the situation. the Broker NPC looked like a mere child, in the early years of being a teenager. The sheer terror on their face made her genuinely wonder how Aincrad was able to mimick human emotions to such a degree, that she was actually questioning whether or not the character was really just a living person instead of an AI created solely by the system to resemble a real person. She could honestly see how that kind of confusion happened often here, and it hurt to think about it. For a split second she saw blood on the ground, on her cloak, and she Recoiled violently, a sharp gasp escaping her throat.

She thought back to the times she'd spent with Rosa in the real world, of how there would be children filing in every day, and Rosa feeding them, prioritizing them over customers. The ragged, weary children, their all too thin bodies that seemed to waste away just by being looked at. The scarred up and dirty faces that came from living on the streets. That weary existence was not something that she would wish on anyone, let alone someone as young as this boy. She quietly stood up, a solemn look on her face as her hand fingered the scars on her arm. For a brief moment she had seen someone else in the spot of that child, and she didn't want to think about it further than that. If Freyd were to look behind him, he would see Violet lagging behind by several feet, a slightly dazed look on her face as she followed him.

"Th... Thanks for not killing him..." she whispered hoarsely, her frame shaking slightly as she walked forward.

[Freyd 0]

It was her tone that caught his attention.  Few realized how sensitive Freyd was to sound - his Whisper moniker being no quirk of choice.  Watching as she slowly caught up, his eyes caught those of the broken broker behind her.  Pre-programmed angst tore through his features.  A phial sailed through the air and the boy caught it with his one good arm, wondering at the contents and intent.

"It will heal your wounds, but fair warning: it tastes like undead ass."  The hard edges softened.  "I know you can't help it, but try not to do that again."  His gift and declaration met with confusion, Freyd moved back to Mina side as he watched her finger her arm.  A moment's silence was given to gird her composure.  

"What happened to you?  There's something gnawing underneath your skin.  You were probably right to ask what you did, but I'd like to know why it mattered to you."

Dismissing his weapon, a sigh of relief at their back at the NPC's wounds healed.  He caught a hesitant nod of thanks from the boy's hood before he vanished, waiting for the quest to reset.  Raising his hands, Freyd found that the palms had been completely chewed off from holding the unsealed void.  Both were a glaring vermillion orange, slowly working to repair themselves.  The bottom half of his fingers had also been eaten away, leaving him with long, spider-like digits.  The image of metallic hand bone structures from the Terminator movies rushed to mind.  He flexed them involuntarily, in awe that they still worked and waiting for an answer.

Yes, Freyd, she probably thinks you're a monster.  Look at what you've done since you met her.

His brow furrowed.

Why is it always the same?

[tricolor_mina 0]

Violet was still shaking slightly, though the majority of her tremors had calmed down for the most part. It wasn't his fault, or anyone else's. It was just phantom pain, phantom memories that left a sharp ache throughout her body. Though the cardinal dulled it after a few moments, it kept coming back in waves. She finally managed to steel herself enough to actually calm down, and she shook her head at Freyd's question as to what happened. "It was an accident in the real world, not something you did." she said tiredly, tugging her sleeves down to hide the scarring that overtook her arm. "It... wasn't very pretty, and I was hurt. hurt real bad." a hand traced her face, brushing at her skin, and removing a slight amount of the salve she had started to apply to her face.

How Rosa and Glenn had come up with the idea of making a salve set that could be used as a concealer, she wouldn't ever understand, but they'd figured it out for her sake. The sharp, patchy scars on her face stood out like a beacon on her pale skin, the angry pink and reds marring the skin that had been made visible from underneath the salve. "It was... really weird, when I first used NervGear... It was so strange to see with both eyes again." she mumbled, shaking her head slightly. "I'd completely forgotten what it was like.. but I still feel much more comfortable with my eye covered, its too weird sometimes.. and sometimes it brings back... bad thoughts.. really, really bad thoughts..."

[Freyd 0]

Another broken soul.  This place had so many; too many.  Yet also another candle capable of being lit with hope.

"Goddamn it, Raidou."  The words actually managed to slip out.  She wouldn't understand the significance, or relevance of the promise made. Images of a prancing monochromatic 'hope' fairy danced across his eyes and he groaned.  

Nisa called you her messenger.  Did Raidou convince you to label yourself in the same vein, but a more focused purpose?

Freyd's hand found his brown and pressed against his temples to keep his head from peeling open like an overripe banana.

You wanted this, Freyd; to be able to choose to be human.  This is where that choice leads.  So, fucking choose, already.

A mental glare at his own shadow came out as clearing his throat.

"If you've endured that in the other world, and carried yourself with the guts you've already shown me here, then you have my respect, Mina.  It's not something I grant frivolously.  And if you were still willing to spare that broker's life, in spite of it all, well..."  A smirk, a nod, and a flippant two-fingered salute that meant more than most people would ever realize.

Up ahead, a giant, spherical stone stood on the lowest slopes of Mount Kazan.  The path they followed was worn clear around its periphery, where scattered gravel and ashes failed to accumulate.  

"Come on," he added, leaning into the road ahead.  "Destiny leads this way."

***

Thread Summary:

The Broker was spared.

6407 words / 30 = 213*5= 1065*Tier
6407 / 300 = 21 seeds

Mina receives:

4195 EXP (Word Count [1065*3] + 1000 [quest]+ 15% from event)
520 col (400 [1 page] + 30% from event)

21 Seeds (Event)
0 tags (none) ID: 200916 (CD 7); 200917 (CD 8); 200918 (CD 2)

• Crystal of Support (Unique consumable, 3/3 charges)
  • A mass healing crystal that heals the user and each party member for (50 * Target's Tier) HP. Requires a Post Action to use.

Freyd receives:

13472 EXP (Word Count [1065*11] + 15% from event)
2626 col (2020 [Laurel, +15% of EXP as col] + 30% from event)

21 Seeds (Event)
0 tags (none) ID: 200919 (CD 5); 200920 (CD 4); 200921 (CD 3)

• Crystal of Support (Unique consumable, 3/3 charges)
  • A mass healing crystal that heals the user and each party member for (50 * Target's Tier) HP. Requires a Post Action to use.