[PP-F2] The Bad Place <<Let there be Light>>

[Corvo 0]

Let there be Light

His arrival in Urbus was not the quiet event he hoped for. 

Before he had time to think about his next move, he saw a woman make a mad dash right toward him. With his hands out in front of him, he rebuffed her before she could come too close. "Slow the hell down," he waved her off. Over her head, the name Choshi indicated her as an NPC, but her erratic mannerisms drew his attention. Something was not right. "Pl-please," she begged, "I've been trying to find someone to help me all day. My child--" Tears streamed down her face as her composure broke. Corvo looked around for someone- anyone- else. Someone who could have calmed her frayed nerves, or... someone who wasn't short fused. Someone better than he was.

With a huff, the blonde ran his hand over his hair. He wanted nothing to do with this situation. Part of him screamed out that the right thing was to help her. That conflict was the only thing that rooted him where he stood.  "She-- she was playing in one of the caverns in the mountains with her friend." the woman continued to sob, and he grit his teeth. "I-I told her not to go but she didn't listen to me!"

"That sucks," he replied, not at all emphatic. In fact, he sounded distracted, almost bored. The NPC didn't seem to care how unaffected he was. "What do you want from me?"

"Her friend came back to me just this moment a-and said that they were attacked by monsters! T-the beast is still in there with her, please, I don't know how long my Koko can last in a place like that!"

It clicked in his head that she was imploring him for help. She wanted him to help her child. Corvo sighed, loudly. "You want me to help the kid," he voiced the thought. She shook her head wildly. He paused and glanced around. "I... look lady, I really don't have time for this..." he reached into his pocket and frowned. "...this is a quest, right?" he asked, quietly.

Spoiler

Corvo

Level 9

HP 180/180
EN 36/36

Base Damage: 8  Mitigation: 12 Accuracy: 3 Evasion: 0 Bleed: 12 Risky: 8 Recovery

 

Edited February 28, 2022 by Corvo

[Rebekah 0]

As Rebekah walked around the second floor, she was looking to revisit the cave from several years ago. She had heard there was a bat, and she wanted to explore it. Rebekah made her way over to the lady, but not before a blond guy got there first. As she was already headed there, she decided to join in on their conversation.

The lady, Choshi, was looking for her kid who was stuck in the caves. Rebekah saw the guy about the join the quest solo, and she called out to him. "Hello, Are you looking to take the quest?" Rebekah asked.

"I am looking to take the quest as well, so would you want to join a party with me? My name is Rebekah." She said. She waited for his reply before sending over the party and friend invite. Rebekah continued, "Hello, can you tell me more about how your child look like?"

Rebekah moved to accept the quest from the lady, and waited for her to describe her child. They were looking for a child with a bright yellow dress. It would make their life a lot easier given that she wasn't wearing black in the dark caves.

Spoiler

Rebekah
Level 32 | P 6 | HP 660/660 | EN 84/84 | DMG: 22 | MIT: 48 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 1 | LD: 4
BH 35 | Survival +10% | Anti-freeze | EN -2

Equipment:
Laevateinn II (T4 RAPIER) 3 [DMG]
 Silver Necklace (T4 Trinket) 3 [ACC]
Unbroken (T4 Shield) 2 [MIT] [Anti-freeze]

Skills:
Weapon Skill (R5) | 7 [DMG]
Battle Healing (R5) | 5% (32 HP)
Searching (R4) | 4 [LD] 4 [SD]

Combat Masteries:
Evasion (R1) | 1 [EVA]

Add-ons:
Ferocity | 2 [DMG]
Precision | 1 [ACC]
Stamina | 2 [EN]

Extra:
Survival
Disguise
Meditation

Profession:
Forager (R1)  - 9/49 EXP

Items:
N/A

Guild:
Trading Hall
Treasury | + 5% mobs + 10% treasure chest

Laurel Wreath - Earn 15% Bonus Col equivalent to Rebekah's EXP earned in Thread

 

[Corvo 0]

He was at a loss. Corvo immediately regretted that he had not simply walked away. Surely she would not have followed him outside the safe zone, and he could have had time to collect his thoughts-

Quote

Hello, Are you looking to take the quest?

The ruby gleam of his eyes darted toward the woman, who answered one of his many questions with one of her own. At least now he knew that the woman was a quest NPC, and this erratic behavior was the game's way of flagging him as able to accept it. "Yeah, I guess I don't have much choice," he managed to shrug as Choshi continued to plead with him. Her relief was measured, almost non-existent when the girl, who named herself as Rebekah, asked her about the child. 

"Y-yes of course! She's got my face, and her hair is brown, too," Choshi began, "you'd be hard pressed to think she wasn't mine. She was wearing a bright yellow dress today- that's a relief, since the caves are so dark."

"Yeah, great, hopefully the looks are all that's genetic," Corvo muttered. "Alright, sure, Rebekah right? I'm game. Maybe it'll pay off, maybe it won't, but I could use the extra experience and frankly I just want to get out of here."

 "R-really? Thank you! Thank you so much, you have no idea how grateful I am," Choshi looked like a burden had been lifted, as if all her problems had been solved the moment that the Players accepted her request. Corvo almost wondered if they would find the child, or if she would even be alive, given how dark of a game Sword Art Online had proven to be already. Still, good or bad, at least the woman would be calmer now.

"Yeah, yeah," Corvo drawled.

 "Your e-efforts won't go to waste, I swear! I'll have something for you when you get back, I-I promise!" 

"Now you're speaking my language," Corvo clicked his tongue as a location became marked on his map, indicating the checkpoint for where they could begin their search. "Should have started with that. Really." He turned to regard the other Player, who invited him to join her. "See? Payment. I knew this was going to be worth the hassle." He hadn't known. "Looks like the location's been marked on our maps. This'll be a cinch."

[Rebekah 0]

"Okay, let's go before she starts talking again." Rebekah said as she looked at her map as well. "The cave is not too far away from town, we should be able to get there quickly."

As they quickly departed away from the frantic NPC, Rebekah asked him politely. "Excuse me, but I do not think you introduced yourself yet?". She thought he was likely too focus on getting away from the NPC to notice he did not tell introduce himself yet. After all, she had already introduced herself. As they quickly got out of the town and into the surrounding wilderness, they began trekking towards the nearby mountain where the cave would be found.

As they left the town, she noticed the floor was full of monsters, from goblins to insects. However they did not dare to cross their paths. They were watching them but did not want to get in her way to be killed. Likewise, Rebekah saw no need to go after a bunch of monsters that were not stopping them from walking on the path towards the cave. She turned back to Corv, "Did you bring a torch or a light? I forgot to bring one to enter the cave."

She knew that it would be dark, and therefore it would be helpful if either of them had a light or a torch. Rebekah had lost her torch and will have to suffer the consequences of being blind by the dark. It was only a small temporary debuff but it was one that she could live with.

[Corvo 0]

He let out a grunt when the other Player suggested they get the lead out. There wasn't a sentiment he could possibly have agreed with more. "Yeah, you're right," Corvo muttered as he raised no objections, and they started on their way toward the indicated quest marker. Rebekah was right, which he noted immediately once he'd had the chance to really look over the map. This place wasn't far at all. It must have been her inability to act that made the mother's behavior so manic. Corvo flinched. His mother might have felt the same way once the situation in Sword Art Online was explained to her. Only unlike Koko, no one was coming to help him. No one could reassure his mother.

The two were not the same.

He let out a ragged breath just as she mentioned his lack of introduction. She was right about that- Corvo disliked pleasantries, and whenever possible, he failed to give his name. He failed to interact with anyone else at all. Intentionally.  It may have been rude, but in response to her question, he let out a drawn out sigh. Everyone seemed to care about manners lately. Everyone wanted to know everybody, and this world was suddenly becoming sunshine rainbow happy land for friends. He hated it. With every part of his being, he rejected the idea that people could come remotely close to accepting this experience as life.

Corvo, to his credit, managed to bite back the acerbic words that he wanted to say. "Corvo." It wasn't a fully functional greeting, but then, Corvo wasn't a fully functional human being. Not in the sense that most others were. He ran on spite and venom, and with a severe lack of caffeine in this place, he had no shortage of either. 

The path was fairly straightforward, but not rife with monsters the way he thought it would be. It made for poor sport, but if this beast the woman droned on about was worth its salt then it would make up for his boredom in spades. When Rebekah asked about a light, he blinked. "What?" he asked. "No, can't say I have anything like that. Wasn't aware that I could get one. You mean to say you think we're going to have trouble seeing?" he asked. He'd seen something about darkvision somewhere in the myriad abilities and skills a Player could unlock, but it felt like a far-off expenditure that wouldn't come into play as floor 2. 

He didn't think there was anything wrong with that design, though. It posed a challenge- something that the Players had to overcome before they had become strong enough to simply bulldoze through content. 

"Whatever," he shrugged. "As long as I get to kill something. I'm in a real foul mood today."

[Rebekah 0]

It had taken a bit of nudging, but she was finally able to ask him to introduce herself. Rebekah could have always assumed based on the name at the top left corner showing the health and status of party members, but you never know if a player had a different preferred name since they been stuck in the game for several years.

She was a bit surprised to hear that he was not expecting it to be dark. It was a cave, but the two of them will have to make due without the aid of a light. As they had walked to the cave, Corvo was not the most talkative person. She had tried talking to him but gotten tired of bland answers that she gotten back.

It had been a while since she had met someone so direct or cold. It was just different. In that case, Rebekah stopped asking questions since it would do nothing to speed up the quest, but it would have made it slightly more enjoyable journey.

Finally, they have walked to the entrance of the cave. Rebekah turned to Corvo, "You can go first. I will watch for whatever is coming from behind us."

[Corvo 0]

Was something going to come from behind them? Corvo stared blankly at the woman when she said that, one brow chocked. "Whatddya mean, 'whatever is coming from behind us'? You think something is going to flank us while we're advancing into the cave?" he asked, no small amount of skepticism in his voice. If that was her way of saying she'd take rear guard, it left him seriously unnerved. He patted down his torso and sought his pipe, which he found in short order and ignited. As he took a drag, he felt his hands jittering unbidden. What'd she have to go and say that, for?

He began the (relatively short) journey into the cave by summoning his greataxe and brandishing it in both hands. Smoke billowed from between his teeth like a train's smokestack as he trudged forward into the darkness, ready for anything. That was when the creature appeared before him, which he only managed to see once it swooped down at him. "Ack!" he called out. Rebekah had been right; if they wanted to see anything in this environment, they should have brought something to shed light. It seemed like they would be on the back foot, this time.

"Look alive, Pinky," he called, a sure reference to the woman's hair, "we've got company!"

Corvo hefted the mighty weapon over his shoulders and got his hips up underneath him as the creature narrowly missed smashing into him. Its teeth bared, he could vividly imagine what might happen if they punctured him. He was lucky that time- but if there were more of them, if they happened to run into a group of those things, he might not be as fortunate the next go around. "Something tells me the most danger is ahead of us, not behind," he muttered grimly as his axe spun round his body, and he threw his weight into a heavy swing.

The bat came around for another pass, but Corvo's weapon was on a collision course. The Sword Art he'd activated enhanced the power of the attack tenfold, and with a shrill cry, it hit the ground in two uneven halves. "I think we should find the girl and get out of here," he suggested, "sooner rather than later, preferably."

Giant Bat:
HP: 0/75 (-80) | DMG: 35
(Base = 8 x 10)

Corvo:
HP: 180/180 | EN 28/36 (-8) | Base Damage: 8 | Mitigation: 12 | Accuracy: 3 | Evasion: 0 | Bleed: 12 | Risky: 8 | Recovery
ID: 204402 | BD: 8 (-1) = 7 (+3) = 10 | MD: 1

Edited March 1, 2022 by Corvo

[Rebekah 0]

As soon as they walked into the cave, they had been immediately attacked by a bat. Luckily, Corvo was able to kill it with his giant battle axe before Rebekah could even respond. Rebekah had been wrong but she did not want to admit that she was wrong. She was more worried about what was behind them than what could potentially be in front of them.

She hated being called by the colour of her hair. "Do not call me Pinky!" Rebekah said as she pulled out her rapier. She was not going to attack him but she wanted him to remember this.

As the bat had died, Corvo made a very good point. They should hurry to get the girl out of here before any more bats show up. While both of them are strong enough to defeat the bat, they would just be a nuisance to them in the cave. It was already hard enough to see as she had forgotten to bring a light source. However, there was nothing she could do now.

"I think I hear something." Rebekah said, as she began leading the way. They walked forwards until they were faced with a decision. The path they were on from the entrance splits into two paths, one to the left and another to the right. Rebekah took a second to think and decided to take the left path. He looked back to check if Corvo was following her to ensure they did not split up to look for the girl. That would be more dangerous as either one of them could get lost.

Up ahead, she began to hear crying. As they walk closer, they could see the outline of the little girl with brown hair but the yellow dress sitting on a rock. Even with the darkness of the cave, yellow was a very distinct colour. She walked over to the girl, and gently said "Hello Koko. We are here to rescue you from the cave. Your mother is waiting for us in Urbus. Can you come with us?"

She looked up at her and nodded, it was finally time for them to start heading back into town. But Rebekah saw something move in the darkness right as Koko began to stand up and follow her.

ID: 204406
LD = 13 + 4 = 17
Found Koko!

Edited March 1, 2022 by Rebekah

[Corvo 0]

He looked around cautiously as the woman moved to join him in the cave and pulled her rapier. She'd protested the manner in which he called her, but if he heard her, he gave no indication. Instead, when she joined him and they were knees deep in the darkness of the cavern, she spoke up again. "Eh?" he asked. She said that she heard something, but 'something' in this situation didn't necessarily mean 'a good thing.' She started down one path when the road forked, and he briefly considered splitting the party- but if they got lost, would it really be as simple as doubling back and retracing their steps? In the dark, no less.

Despite his misgivings, Corvo flanked Rebekah as she pursued the sound. It manifested as they came closer, and he distinctly recognized it as a young girl brought to tears. They had found Koko. 

Quote

"Hello Koko. We are here to rescue you from the cave. Your mother is waiting for us in Urbus. Can you come with us?"

Corvo blinked. That was a surprisingly direct way to approach an irrational child. "You gonna offer her candy too? Where's the white van with no windows?" he asked incredulously as he took a step past her and knelt before the girl. "Hey, kid," his voice became a bit softer, "I know this is scary..."

Koko threw herself at Rebekah in hysterics before Corvo had time to try to diffuse the waterworks. He blinked and shook his head. "The Cardinal System clearly has no concept of stranger danger," he muttered sidelong as Koko wept into the threads of Rebekah's garments and took solace in her femininity. Clearly, she was reminded of her mother and it brought her comfort. "Stupid fu-" he barely had time to express his sentiment about the game before another sound, much less appealing than the last, flooded the cave.

"...well that's not great," he huffed as he managed to get to his feet. High pitched sounds blended with the flapping of wings, and he knew that the first friend he'd made in the cave had some extended family over for the holidays. "Get in front of the girl," he instructed, "I can't get a clear count, but there's a bunch of them."

The first bat came at him and raked viciously at him with claws. Corvo watched the attack coming and stood his ground, bringing his axe through behind him and working up the momentum to repay the damage in kind. Before the creature could evade, the massive weapon split it down the middle and sent it flying in disjointed strands of data. Likewise, three more creatures swept down and took chunks out of him, but given his lack of visibility, he did not get a better idea of how many there were. Corvo's health bar took a dent but just remained in the green; but more importantly, he felt something hot like rage welling up beneath his skin. He recognized the buff as "Risky," which came from his armor, but he hadn't realized it gave him this much of a rush.

"I could get used to this," he muttered, rolling out his shoulders as he prepared for another attack. The danger to his life only gave him a thrill, and even as he faced the possibility of death, Corvo could feel his body teeming with anticipation. This was the closest to alive he'd felt in Aincrad.

"Eyes up!" he called out. They were swooping madly, and he suspected that it had something to do with their home being disturbed. "They aren't bad alone, but the bunch of them- I gotta admit, it ain't great."

Giant Bat 1:
HP: 0/75 (-104)| DMG: 35 (DEAD)
(8x13)
Giant Bat 2:
HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35
Giant Bat 3:
HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35
Giant Bat 4:
HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35
 

Corvo:
HP: 92/180 (136-48)= 88 | EN 18/36 (+1) = 29 (-11) = 18  | Base Damage: 8 | Mitigation: 12 | Accuracy: 3 | Evasion: 0 | Bleed: 12 | Risky: 8 | Recovery
ID: 204413 | BD: 4 (-1) = 3 (+3) = 6 | MD: 8
Corvo took damage: Risky procs! +8 Damage next attack!

Edited March 1, 2022 by Corvo

[Rebekah 0]

It was the exact moment that four giant bats had shown up at the exact same time. Rebekah wanted to curse but decided not to with the girl in her arms. The bats had immediately attacked him, and he took four direct attacks by the bats. Corvo had quickly retaliated and struck down one of the four bats that were ready to impede their progress.

Rebekah told Koko, "Stay still. I will need to take out those bats. I will make sure they do not come to attack you." She knew that she needed to reassure her before she could leave her side. Koko was clinging onto her, but she reluctantly let go. Rebekah knew that she was having a hard time letting go of someone, so she knew she needed to finish this quickly.

Rebekah took her rapier out of her holder, and began to activate one of her sword skills. She knew she had one chance to take down all of these bats, so they can get out of here. Corvo had lost about half of his health, and with this darkness, Rebekah wanted to get out of here. It would be a lot safer once they get back outside.

Rebekah was able to strike two of the three bats in a single attack and both of them died instantly. There was only one bat left, and it tried to hit Rebekah but it misses.

Spoiler

Post Action: [x11] AOE-I (11 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.

Corvo HP: 92/180 | EN 18/36 | Base Damage: 8 | Mitigation: 12 | Accuracy: 3 | Evasion: 0 | Bleed: 12 | Risky: 8 | Recovery
Rebekah | HP 660/660 | EN 69/84 (-11-6+2) | DMG: 22 | MIT: 48 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 1 | LD: 4 | BH 35

ID: 204436 | BD = 10 - 1 + 4 = 13 (crit) | DMG = (22 + 2) x 11 = 264
ID: 204437 | BD = 1 (miss)
ID: 204438 | BD = 5 - 1 + 4 = 8 (hit) | DMG = 22 x 11 = 242

Giant Bat 2: HP 0/75 (-264) | DMG 35
Giant Bat 3: HP 75/75 | DMG 35
Giant Bat 4: HP 0/75 (-242) | DMG 35

Bat 3 strikes:
ID: 204437 | Mob = 1 (miss)

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by Rebekah

[Corvo 0]

Two more fell, and their remnant data illuminated the cavern just enough for Corvo to discern the nature of the threat. He counted only one more bat, but hardly wanted to risk waiting around to see if there would be more. "Gotta say," he hefted the greataxe over his shoulder again and began building up for the swing, "for a girl with pink hair and a glorified twig, you didn't do half bad."

Yeah, that sounded even funnier when he said it out loud. He barked out a laugh in spite of himself, bur Corvo snapped into motion before it abated. Like a grinning, smoking demon, he surged toward the final creature with murderous intent. The creature met him head on, lacerating his flesh with its claws and sinking fangs deep into him.

Unfortunately for the bat, it's best efforts were met with a force of pure rage. The massive swing that Corvo built toward was already set in motion, and not even it's body could halt the momentum. It tore through the creature like paper as he forced the bat back, pinned it to the floor, and ultimately sawed it in half with that same stroke.

His weapon embedded in the ground, deeply, and he reflexively tugged at it to pry it loose.

"Alls well that ends well," he proclaimed unenthusiastically as the weapon splinted rocks from the cavern floor as he dislodged it. With a dismissive wave, he returned the axe to his inventory. "We got the girl, we killed some bats, might as well get moving before we attract any more undesirables."

He didn't need to ask her opinion on that, after all. Right?

"Keep an eye on the kid. And you," he gestured vaguely toward Koko, removing the pipe from between his teeth and likewise dismissing it to his inventory. "Don't go making any more friends before you get back to your mom."

Corvo took a deep breath, then exhaled. 

What a ride.

Corvo HP: 67/180 (35+2=37-12=25) | EN 11/36 (+1, -8) | Base Damage: 8 | Mitigation: 12 | Accuracy: 3 | Evasion: 0 | Bleed: 12 | Risky: 8 | Recovery

ID: 204439 | BD: 5 (-1) = 4 (+3) = 7 | MD: 10

Rebekah | HP 660/660 | EN 69/84 (-11-6+2) | DMG: 22 | MIT: 48 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 1 | LD: 4 | BH 35

Giant Bat 3: HP 0/75 (-160) | DMG 35 (Dead)

(8+8= 16 × 10 = 160)

Edited March 2, 2022 by Corvo

[Rebekah 0]

Corvo easily finished off the last bat. He was right, it was time to leave before they attract anymore unwanted visitors to greet them. "Let's go Koko." Rebekah reached out to grab her hand so she would not get lost in the cave. As they continued to walk from where they came from, it did not take long for them to take the fork. Since they took the left path, the would take the right path leading out of the cave.

Finally, they were out of the cave. Rebekah had forgotten how bright it was outside after being stuck in the cave. They waited at the entrance for their eyes to readjust to the brightness since it had blinded them from being able to walk. She continued holding Koko's hand so Rebekah could ensure the little girl was not running off and chasing after another butterfly or animal. After all, it already took them a morning to find her, she was in no mood to lose her again.

As Koko saw something in the distance, she began to start running and pulling Rebekah with her. Rebekah did not want to let go of her hand, so she was being pulled along. "Slow down Koko." Rebekah said. Koko had saw a special flower up ahead. It was a beautiful flower, nothing special, but for the little girl, it was not something that she would see on a daily basis outside of the safety of the town. Rebekah tried collecting the flower, but it did not work. This flower was not able to be harvested.

Spoiler

Out of Combat 1/3

Rebekah | HP 660/660 | EN 70/84 (+1) | DMG: 22 | MIT: 48 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 1 | LD: 4 | BH 35

ID: 204440 | LD = 8
Foraging Rank 1: 12/49 (+3) EXP
(failed)

Edited March 2, 2022 by Rebekah