[PP-F3] On the Hunt <<Feeding Your Enemy>> (Koga)

[Oji 0]

It was a brisk morning on the Third floor of Aincrad. Even though it seemed to be a giant forest, almost jungle-like floor there was a chill as Oji was up bright and early to try and get another thing off of his checklist. He had been studying possible familiars and he found one that he really wanted, and the thought of it being by his side filled his heart with child-like dream scenarios and it excited him. But he knew that he needed protection for something like this. Leaving a safe area at any level below the cap was dangerous alone. He had learned that groups are almost mandatory until you hit that cap, but even then having nearby backup is safe. He scrolled through his sparse friends list, and most of them were not the kind that he wanted to spend time with in this capacity.

But one name sparked his interest: Koga. He was the young man that hosted the Christmas Party that he enjoyed, and he had an interest in the youngster. He wanted to get to know him, and maybe this would be how he did it. Heck maybe the kid could give him some tips on how to make it on the frontlines, he didn't know. He opened up the message option and typed a quick little blurb of text

Quote

To: Koga

From: Oji

Subject: Hi! Quest Help?

Text: Hi there! This is Oji, the older gentlemen from your Christmas Party. I was hoping you could help me with a quest if you would be so kind, Im on Floor 3 right next to the teleporter! I hope to see you then!

-Oji

After he sent the message, he quickly went to where the quest told him to, running into the Travelling Gypsy. He gave her the Col that she asked for and he received the Familiar Food. He put the sack into his inventory and jogged over to the teleporter, to wait for the young man to hopefully arrive to assist him with the acquisition of a Familiar. "And now, we wait."

Quest:

Spoiler

Any Floor
<<Feeding Your Enemy>>
Party Limit: 2 | 20+ Posts
Repeatable if you no longer have a Familiar, or to accompany someone else while they attempt to tame one.

Quest Rewards:

• 300 Experience Points
• A Familiar of your choice (within guidelines).
• Unlocks the <<Training Your Friend>> Quest

Requirements:

• Talk to the Traveling Gypsy and obtain the Familiar Food from her.
• Successfully tame a Familiar.
• Return the remaining Familiar Food to the Traveling Gypsy.
• Submit your familiar's description for evaluation, including the link to your thread summary.

Summary:

Legend tells of an old beast tamer who roams the floating castle Aincrad, unattached to any particular floor or location. Should a player find themselves fortunate enough to stumble upon her, they may ask to borrow the <<Familiar Food>> she uses to tame the beasts of the land. She will typically oblige, though players have reported getting an eerie feeling while accepting the <<Familiar Food>> she offers. As though they are now indebted to her in the form of a favor, and have no way of knowing how or when she will cash in.

Outline: 

Every 15th post (post #15, post #30, post #45, etc), the party leader may roll to search for a familiar as a post action. On a roll of LD 15+ (modifiers apply), the player will successfully locate a potential familiar. Because the player will gradually become accustomed to tracking potential familiars with each attempt, for every failed attempt to locate a potential familiar, the LD requirement is reduced by 3. The <<Tracking>> mod will also allow a player to bypass this step after they have encountered a potential familiar and failed to tame it.

Once a potential Familiar is found, the party leader has 4 attempts to tame it using the <<Familiar Food>>. Taming is a post action that is successful on a CD roll of 9+. If the party leader fails all 4 attempts, the potential familiar will flee, and the player will need to wait until the next corresponding available post (post #30, post #45, post #60, etc) to search again.

If the requirements for the tame roll are met, the player has successfully tamed the familiar. Return the <<Familiar Food>> to the <<Traveling Gypsy>> to complete the quest. Only one Familiar may be tamed per thread.

---

NPCs:

<<Traveling Gypsy>>
The <<Traveling Gypsy>> is a legendary NPC that is capable of traversing the floors of Aincrad, untethered to any particular location. There is no telling where one might find her - but for those who do, an opportunity to tame a familiar presents itself.

With a natural affinity for the wildlife of Aincrad, the <<Traveling Gypsy>> is warm, gentle, and kind. Though she will speak softly and avoid sharp language, many who have encountered her had reported a strange feeling on unease that lingers far after she has gone. Though she will never claim as much, many swear that she keeps track of the players she has helped over the years, and aims to collect on the debt they owe her at an unknown time in the future. Many dismiss this as folklore, but some are so convinced that they will go out of their way to avoid the mysterious NPC and never accept favors from her, however small.

Stats:

Spoiler

Oji, The Uncle of Aincrad
Level: 7
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 140/140
EN: 32/32

Stats:
Damage: 1
Loot Dice: 3

Equipped Gear:
Weapon:
Armor:
Misc:

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Searching R3

Active Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Addons:

Active Extra Skills:

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Koga 0]

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes:   Koga lv.31 / 24 | HP: 700/700 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | REGN 13 | B.HEALING: 38/77 (SURV)   equipped battle-ready inventory T4 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [ CRSED // BRN I // BLT I // FALN I ] T4 Perfect Light Armor <<Shadow Chance Coat>> [ EVA II // REGN I ] T1 Perfect Trinket <<Kashira Cable - Wolf>> [ ACC III ] none   skills Spoiler | COMBAT Shift: ST Specialist | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 15 SP Battle Healing V | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP EN Cost: 10 Energist | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Howl | Gain +2 Hate against up to 4 targets | 10 SP EN Cost: 2 EN Cooldown: 2 Posts Focused Howl | Gain +4 Hate against a single target | 5 SP EN Cost: 4 EN Cooldown: 4 Posts | WEAPON Curved Sword I | +1 DMG when equipped with a Curved Sword | 4 SP Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor | 30 SP Meticulous | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10SP Cooldown: 5 Posts Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. buffs Spoiler Laurel Wreath | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread <<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). <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.

Another day at the shop. Another day day of the small wooden building being filled to the brim with people trying to buy his wares. Weapons, armor, shield, Koga was hardly able to keep up with all the customers. It was gonna be one hell of a payday.

Ha. He wished.

No, the store was empty, as usual. Naught but the occasional passerby glancing into the store with a passing curiosity, before going about there day. Call it a bore.

Relief came to the man by way of an unexpected message. The message's sender was a player named 'Oji'. Vaguely familiar, but Koga struggled to put a face to the name. It wasn't until the Wolf opened it and began to read that he was finally able to recognize the sender. 'Oh, right, the guy who came as a Christmas gigolo or something,' he thought to himself as he read the remaining contents of the message. Help with a quest on Floor 3. Easy enough.

Spoiler

Sender: Koga

Recipient: Oji

Be right there

The simple message was sent, and Koga got up from his chair, donning his gear as he headed to the town's teleporter.

It wasn't more than perhaps twenty minutes later that the Floor 3 teleporter shone with it's bright blue light, materializing Koga and Okami at his side. A quick scan of the area, and Koga quickly found the man he was here to assist. Far better dressed than before, to boot.

A small wave as Koga approached the gentleman. "Hey," he greeted him, "howsit goin'? What'd ya need help with?"

Edited January 27, 2022 by Koga

[Oji 0]

Oji received the short message a few moments after receiving his Familiar Food. He picked up the pace and made his way back to the teleporter, where he saw the young man pixelating before him. He let out a huge sigh and did his best to not look like he just ran a marathon. The young man seemed pretty energetic to get started, and he was happy to have the company.

"Hey there." He spoke through heavy breaths. "Just... Just wanted to get a.... a familiar." he leaned over and put his hands on his knees. "Man... I'm outta breath." he sputtered. He took a minute to recuperate, then stood up. "I know going outside of a safe zone is dangerous, so I was looking for company. I know it's not a "super risk" quest but still, better to come prepared then be caught without preparation." He chuckled. "And besides, you seemed like a nice person and I wanted to get to know you, if you don't mind that is." He pulled out his stopwatch, the one he had made from his quest, and his eyes widened. "And we're starting to lose some good time. Don't wanna be stuck out here after dark." he looked around and saw the nearest exit and pointed. "Guess we start out this way, unless you know someplace better."

[Koga 0]

Koga suppressed his chuckle as the older man struggled to catch his breath. It was respectful to laugh in a moment like this. He gave the man a moment to recuperate before responding to him. "Yeah I don't mind giving you a hand with that. You shouldn't really run into too many mobs on the way, but I could use a stroll and some fresh air anyways." Okami at his side began to excitedly scratch his ear. "Looks like he's down too," the swordsman relayed.

"I dunno what you're trying to grab, so I'll follow you wherever. Consider me your body guard for the evening," Koga answered before following the man out of the nearby exit. "So what are you looking for as a familiar anyways?" Koga inquired as they exited. There were plenty of mobs in Aincrad and no small number of them qualified as familiars. Hell, there were probably more familiar-worthy mobs out there than there were not. Koga had simply gone with the wolf because they'd always been his favorite animal, the unique coloration aside.

[Oji 0]

Oji heard a stifled laugh, but he chose to ignore it since he knew that this was quite the comedic situation, The old man was out of shape and he was sure that maybe Koga had started out similar to him, but he didn't know just yet. He stood and Koga agreed to be his bodyguard for the evening. A calm smile appeared on his face and he nodded, noticing the familiar by his feet. It was a pretty big wolf from what he saw, and it seemed pretty cute, but he knew his familiar would be way better.

After a few moments of walking, Koga broke the silence with a question. A simple one but he was tempted to keep it a surprise. It was a little bit childish though, and he knew that keeping a sense of mystery about it was benign to do. "It's a creature that I had heard about in my youth and always wanted to own. It's called a Sable. It's quite adorable and I'm hoping to find it." He said, a look of delight in his eyes. He had been saving up for a new place that would allow him to own a Sable, if it was legal. He hadn't entirely looked up any information law-wise about owning one in Tokyo, but he had high hopes there wasn't anything illegal about it. "So that's what my hopes for it are. I've got a few ranks into Search so I hope it's a tad easier for me to do."

[Koga 0]

"A sable?" Koga repeated. "Like the color? I've never heard of it before, what's it like?" Whatever it was, it better be black like its name sake. Were they even in the game though? That was the better question. Koga remembered the many, many times he had accompanied his sister out on expeditions just like this to find her familiar. They had been...painful, to say the least. Although, to hear that the man had some skills in Searching was a blessing.

"Hopefully it'll go smoothly," Koga said. "Last time I did this, was...well, a really long time ago, but it was with my sister," Koga began, figuring a story of some kind would help fill the time (and also help me reach my word count). "We had to come out...more times than I really care to admit. We searched for ages, I swear we spent days out here looking for a wolf for her. When we did find it, it usually ran away." Koga let out a sigh. "At first it was funny, but by the second day, it was getting pretty old."

[Oji 0]

Oji thought for a moment about what Koga asked. Obviously, a sable was a bit of a weird animal to explain. He had only learned about it thanks to watching a bunch of random documentaries when he was in his thirties, and that's where his interest was peaked. He thought for a moment, scratching his chin. "It's like.... um... it's... it's a tree bear, almost." He said, trying to find the right words. "It's a slender creature but really furry, pretty cute." he attempted to try and make a shape of it with his hands, but it probably looked more like an obese snake.

He heard the young man talk about his younger sister, and he heard almost a twinge of sadness, or he was reading too hard into it. He chuckled. "Days? Yeesh you didn't prep for it by trying to get items or something?" He pulled up the food. "I have this and a few ranks into Search like I said, I'm hoping having a bit above average luck will help me." he chuckled, bringing the bag back down to his side. "So, a sister eh? I'm assuming younger by how you attempted to help her and not yourself." He asked, a bit curious. "Did you guys finally get the familiar on the second day or was it longer than that?"

[Koga 0]

Koga didn't really know much, or really anything, about bears which is probably why his next question seemed so stupid. "Aren't all bears tree-bears?" he said, "Or do you mean they hang out in trees?" As far as he knew pretty much all bears hung out around trees. Except polar bears. And pandas, but that was only because they were around bamboo, and that was a grass.

"Oh, we did," the Wolf clarified as they walked past down the dirt path, well trodden at this point. "It didn't help. I swear to God, my sister is just cursed or something. Or maybe it was karma, I dunno." Probably karma knowing her.

"Yeah, she's a couple years younger than me," the man answered. "Unfortunately, we didn't find her familiar the second day. Or the third. She finally managed to nab the guy on her own though, on, like, the fourth day? Something like that. Maybe I was a bad luck charm or something."

[Oji 0]

Oji shook his head "No no, they don't spend time in the trees, they mostly live under trees, in little holes. But they look like a slender bear, almost like a Bear and Ferret combo." he explained, doing his best to try and describe the weird creature. "I figured our best bet would to be finding a river with trees along it, so that's where I'm trying to get us." he spoke, opening his HUD and making sure they were going in the right direction. Koga continued to tell him about the story of his sister's familiar quest, and he just let a small chuckle out as he continued to walk

"Well, if it ends up you being the problem then I might as you to stand a few feet back while I'm tracking." He jested, turning to the left as they approached a fork in the road, the faint sound of running water started to emanate from the trees around them, and he nodded, closing the HUD. "There, we should be heading the right way now."

[Koga 0]

"Ferret-Bears..." Koga repeated, trying to imagine the creature in his head. It sounded like something straight out of a cartoon he used to watch as a child. Was it large? With the body of bear, and the head of a ferret? Or maybe the opposite, with a long, stretched out body like a ferret's but many times large, and with a heavy head, with powerful, crushing jaws. Well, if it was to be a familiar, it probably wasn't too large, but what strange combination of features did it have, the man wondered. With any luck, the man would find out sooner, rather than later.

"I'll try to stick close to you," Koga said, perhaps taking his job as Oji's self-proclaimed bodyguard a little too seriously. The two began to walk towards the nearby river, the quiet rushing whispers quickly becoming a roaring chatter, constant, but calming. Koga stopped at the edge, the toes of his boots dipping into the cool water as he put his hands in his pockets, gazing up and down the waters. "Always liked places like this," the man commented. "I grew up in the desert, so 'green' and 'water' were pretty much myths to me growing up," he joked. "You got anything like this where you're from?"

[Oji 0]

He heard Koga mutter about Ferret-bears, and he saw a wave of confusion slowly grow on his head as his mind tried to make sense of the creature he described. He agreed it was definitely a weird one, but he had always wanted one and he was excited for the chance to get it. The surrounding area was beautiful, and they walked in silence for awhile as they enjoyed the view. The sun shining through the tree limbs, a slight breeze causing the leaves above to slightly sway, and the soothing sound of the running river next to them. This reminded him of his time as a child, playing in the fields while his parents farmed the land.

"Always liked places like this," he heard Koga say, and he looked over at the younger player, a light nod and a small smile. "I agree, it's always been a calming place." Koga then asked if he had any places like this where he lived, and he nodded. "In my home town there were a few places like this, but not as much when I moved to Tokyo, it's a lot more busy than this. But, I could always go home if I wanted something like this." he motioned to the river. "What's it like to live in a desert? Must be boring I presume."

[Koga 0]

"Hot," Koga replied with a wry chuckle, "really fucking hot." The man had once baked cookies in his car by just putting the baking sheet in his trunk and leaving the car out in the sun. It was ridiculous sometimes, and Koga had questioned everyday why he didn't try to go to college out of state. The answer had been the better price of living. And the fact that Aki would have probably tried to kill him if he tried moving away.

"It's not really all that boring though, if you're in the right place," the man began to answer. "Lots of hiking to do, if you head up north it gets a lot cooler, and there's more forest that direction. Plus there's always mountain biking, or if you drive out to one of the lakes you can fish or swim, or paddle board. That kinda stuff. Honestly its the same as anywhere else, it just take way longer to get to the places you can actually do them at." The desert wasn't the worst place in the world. But it was pretty close.

"Tell me about Tokyo," Koga said, "I've always wanted to go, but I've never had the pleasure."

[Oji 0]

"Loud." He simply said, copying the young man. "Really, Really Loud." He remembered the amount of times that he was awoken in the middle of the night by the cars and people talking when he first moved. "And very busy, the place never slowed down." He chuckled "If you go to the right part of town, it's just as busy as it is in the morning. Its a place that rarely sleeps." The older gentlemen thought fondly of the large City, even though it was loud, crowded and busy, he loved it compared to his small little home. He preferred a city over a quiet place. 

"Definitely sounds nice where you came from though. Hiking and all that. There were a few nice nature places in and around Tokyo, but I never really spent a lot of time there, I would travel home enough to not need to." He did feel a tinge of regret not going to visit his family much, as he would usually go home without telling them and just go to some places he kept secret from his family. But he enjoyed those spots, and wanted to see them himself as an adult, not a man who needs to stay at his parents home whenever he visited.

[Koga 0]

"Sounds like a nice place to visit," Koga replied. He had never been big on huge cities. He enjoyed the liveliness, and the atmosphere, but only in small doses. He was, at heart, an introvert, and the peace and quiet of the suburban lifestyle suited him. Just enough interaction with others to not go crazy, but not so much as to feel stifled.

The man left his place at the river to rejoin his companion once more. "So, we're at the river," he said, stating the obvious, "where do we start looking now? Does it swim?" That would make sense. There were weirder creatures in existence than swimming ferret-bears. Like platypuses. Seriously, what freakish genetic mutations had spawned those things? They made no sense to the man, and didn't seem like they should exist in the realm that was reality. And yet they existed. The world was a strange place indeed.

[Oji 0]

Oji nodded "It is nice, I miss it sometimes, but I can always go to the Town of Beginnings to get that buzz of excitement again." He chuckled. He enjoyed going home every once in awhile and running into some old friends, seeing what they were up to and how things were headed down with the younger players. He did miss the simpler times, but ever since he opened up his shop and started to explore outwards, he realized how much he had been missing.

"Uh, what?" He asked, being drawn back into reality. He realized Koga was asking about where to find the familiar. He looked around at the trees, and scratched his chin. After a few minutes he noticed that there were no sightings of any borrow holes nor any riled up dirt around them. "No, none here, might need to keep going down river." He spoke, a bit worried that he might have been wrong of where their habitat was.

ID: 203101 LD: 4+3=7

Edited March 2, 2022 by Oji
3 words under word count, made a fix.

[Koga 0]

"Alright then, after you, old man," Koga said in a humorous tone, gesturing for the player to lead the way. Koga walked along the water's edge as they went, enjoying the unfamiliar landscape as they went. Between the soft breeze, rustling the tree's branches, and them the leaves, and the chatter of the river, Koga was quite content to walk along for however long this took.

"So what're your plans once you get your sable?" Koga asked. Familiars provided a lot of utility in a gameplay sense. They served as great companions, obviously, but most players also tried their hand at training their little friends to help them do some job or another. Koga had trained Okami to help him in fights, as was want by someone who had strived for the Frontlines, but others always had other motivations. Each were equally valid. Oji, for his part, didn't come off as the sort of man interested in fighting. He seemed far too gentle a gentleman for that.

[Oji 0]

Oji just chuckled as he was called old man. The words could not ring truer. In his time in this game, he hadn't really found anyone at his age. A few in their 30's, but he still had almost 2 decades on most of those people. He didn't feel right to call them "children" per say, but he definitely didn't feel that he was in their same mindset. He had been trapped here just as they had, however he wasn't in such a hurry to leave for a long while, and he had stayed on the first floor content with what he had been doing at the time. But now, he wasn't heavy on the combat aspect, but he was supporting them as any Oji would to people younger than him. Making items, giving advice, this is the role he was almost stuck playing, but he didn't mind it. It gave him a sense of purpose again, something he hadn't realized he missed.

"My plans?" He asked, a bit puzzled. Why, he hadn't thought that far. "What, do they give some sort of benefits? I just wanted a cute animal to have by my side when I'm exploring on my own."

[Koga 0]

"You're kidding, right?" Koga asked with a quizzical look. It only took half a glance to realize that the man was, in fact, not joking. Koga rubbed his temple and mentally reminded himself that the older gentleman was most likely not as well acquainted with RPGs, or MMOs as Koga was.

The Wolf then sighed and gave Oji a dry look. "Alrighty, so, familiars grant you special buffs, or help you do certain things," Koga began to explain. "For example, Okami here helps me out in battle. Goes straight for the throat or whatever he can sink his teeth into and deals a bit of damage to help gimme an edge." The wolf barked happily, accepting Koga's explanation as praise. "Some people train them to help out with their crafts, level up faster, a whole bunch of different things." Done with his explanation, Koga let out another large exhalation of breath. "So, if you wanna do a lotta fighting, I suggest training your familiar in some kind of specialty involving combat. If you're not, something with more utility would be good."

[Oji 0]

Oji scratched his head in confusion. Buffs? Like working out? He was still trying to get used to all the fancy words that had to do with the game and he had not learned that one yet. It must have been something good, from what he could tell from common sense. Maybe it made you stronger? Maybe that was it, it sounded right. He nodded and thought for a moment, kicking a rock into the stream. "Well, knowing me, probably not going to do anything with fighting. Maybe something cute like passing me tools while I'm working. That'd be pretty helpful." He chuckled.

He went to the edge of the river and sat down, and patted the ground next to him. "Here, lets take a break." He said, a small smile as he opened his HUD. He hovered over two options in his inventory. "Coffee, or Tea?" He asked the young man, a small pitcher of whatever he chose appearing in his hand. It was still warm from this morning, and he pulled off the top and filled it up, and passed him the drink. "I only have sugar for it, so I hope that's enough." He spoke as he also grabbed a small bag with a small spoon. He then grabbed the coffee and filled it halfway, adding a few scoops of sugar and stirring it. He took a sip and a happy sigh emerged from his stained lips. "Nothing like a good drink with a friend next to a river." He joked.

[Koga 0]

That made sense for a man like Oji. A familiar that could help him during crafting honestly seemed right up the gentleman's alley. "That makes sense, plus you'll raise your craftsman rank even quicker with a crafting familiar," the man commented.

Following his senior to the water's edge, Koga sat down beside him, resting his arm on a propped up knee. "Tea, please. No sugar," he said, before gratefully taking the cup of warm liquid with a nod of appreciation. Koga took a sip of the golden liquid and let out a small sigh of appreciation. He chuckled alongside Oji at the man's jest. "Can't argue with that one," he agreed.

They sat in silence for a little while before Koga thought to ask another question. "So how'd you end up in SAO?" He asked. "I don't really know many men your age who are into games. What drew you in?"