[F14 - PP] Blood and Water <<Cull of the Dead>>

[Koga 0]

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: take 2! Koga, Lvl 32/54 | HP: 880 | EN: 122 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96 equipped battle-ready inventory T4 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [ CRSD // BRN I // BLT I // FALN I ] T4 Demonic Light Armor <<Shuku-ro Coat>> [ EVA II // VAMP-D II ] T1 Demonic Trinket <<lupine.>> [ ACC III // EVA I ] <<Apple Pie>> [+3 LD] (1) skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 0/49 EXP  Searching III | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | 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 | 13 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 Charge | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +5 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP Cooldown: 3 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 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. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Frozen Hide | As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 4 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<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. <<Practiced Angler>> | +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.

Floor 14, Stonewall, 5:37pm

Floor 14 was something straight out of a nightmare. Or just a Castlevania lover's wet dream. Koga personally enjoyed the creepy gothic aesthetic, but it wasn't a nice enough place to live in. Too gloomy, and he wasn't that depressed yet. Of course, the perpetual melancholy and general sense of anxiety didn't matter too much to the residents of the floor. They couldn't leave like the players could.

Flashes of blue contrasted sharply against the permanent red hue of the Floor's palette, drawing the eye involuntarily with each new arrival of a player. It was hard to miss it, even from just outside the walls where Koga stood, watching a scripted battle play out. The man jabbed a fork into a tray of apple pie as he watched the lackluster entertainment play out. A pale-skinned woman was thrashing a group guards. It wasn't much of a contest, even with the guard's number advantage. Honestly, it was kinda pitiful, but you couldn't expect much more from the poor sods. They lived with the sole purpose of dying. Koga sighed and glanced over his shoulder towards the teleporter as it once again flashed with a bright blue light.

"NIGHT sure is taking her sweet time getting here," the man muttered to his familiar as he took another bite of pie, sitting with uncharacteristic patience beside him. Okami yawned in response, before laying down, his forepaws crossed beneath his chin. "Yeah, me too bud."

 

---

Koga eats an <<Apple Pie>> gaining 3 LD |

Spoiler

Koga, Lvl 32/54 | HP: 880 | EN: 122 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 6 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

<<Cull of the Dead>>

No reason in being late. Merely new garments, collected from one store or another, based on some article's recommendation. NIGHT never knew what the appeal behind the short cape was, and neither did she feel at home with the uniform, and yet it gave her a better silhouette in the contrasted light of the floor.

She winced, pacing from the teleporter, hoping she'd get to change out of the equipment soon.

The player remembered being present on the floor. Remembered the punch she threw -- hoped no one in the immediate vicinity would remember. And likely, given that this was a floor most often missed by the general public, her reputation there wouldn't precede her, it never hurt to take precaution.

Now, on the other hand: there had been talk about the captain with an axe too great taking out one vampire or another. An uncommunicative sort, who'd only react upon the proper query -- nothing the brokers couldn't resolve. It was in taking a seat at Koga's table that NIGHT found herself quiet and uneasy, eyes mostly set on the gratuitous violence taking place only a few feet ahead of them. She was hoping the fight to end by the time she got there. No luck, it seemed.

Different as she might've looked, she propped her chin up with an elbow on the table, a frown on her face. When would the skirmish be over...?

| NIGHT  | Lv. 118 >> P. 86, Lv. 32  | Status: tmw scarlet.  Notes:  //

Spoiler NIGHT | HP: 1000/1000 | EN: 138/138 | DMG: 28 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55 | Stealth Rating: 6 equipped oathkeeper. FLN II, HLY II (16) Tracksuit of Unfathomable Fashionability MIT (24), LM II Silver Crescent Necklace ACC II, EVA II battle-ready inventory Jack's Executioner BLIGHT (32, -20MIT), BLEED (48), FROSTBITE (40, -1ACC), STATIC (40, 24 SPLASH) [T1E3] Imugi's Inspiration (5) | Instant | MASS HP RECOVERY [+30*Tier HP] [T1E3] Teleport Crystal (3) | Instant | TELEPORT [T1E2] [ref] Le Gibet (1) | Instant | LULLABY II [T1E2] [ref] Der Flohwalzer (1) | Instant | HYPNOSIS II skills Spoiler mod count: 5/5 2HSS | RANK 5/5 focus, stamina, precision shift: aoe CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 4+1/5 reveal BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 EXTENDED MOD LIMIT ENERGIST FAMILIAR: PROFESSION QUICK CHANGE extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING blindside, untraceable, vanish, surprise attack-t buffs Spoiler statue KUMATETSU | +1 DMG consumables  Crème Brûlée | ACCURACY II  Breakfast Fry | PROTEIN III*  Liquor of Light | DAMAGE III  Smores | EVASION II | [175599] paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. sword arts Spoiler en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x15 -> x18 TECH-A | x12 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x12 | DELAY TECH-D | x12 | SHATTER TECH-G | x12 | BURN misc. Spoiler housing Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests. gathering Greenhouse | +2 G.EXP, +1 CD&LD to gathering attempts. Familiar: Profession | +2 G.EXP Demeter's Cornucopia | +1 CD to gathering attempts.

 

[Koga 0]

"Yo," Koga would greet the woman absently as he idly took another bit of pie, eyes fixed on the fight going on before them. He didn't so much as bother a glance at her though, almost entirely zoned out. From boredom? Tiredness? Who knew at this point, but if Koga had looked over at NIGHT for even an instant, he might've deduced the answer to his query. "What took ya so long?" After all, it wasn't like NIGHT to take any more time than necessary to do almost anything. At least, not as far as Koga knew.

The vampire lady cackled, the noise faint due to the space between them all, but even still the players would surely be able to note the joyous tone. That happy sound, however, is cut off quickly as one of the red cloaked guard slammed his axe into the woman's side. "Oof," Koga winced sympathetically, as he watched the scene play out. It was a wonder she didn't just get cleaved in half.

[NIGHT 0]

"If I said I got lost, would you've believed me?"

A rhetorical question. NIGHT was more fixated on the senseless violence from yonder over -- though the more interesting aspect was in wondering why Koga seemed so interested in the fight. Scripted as it was, and as much of a show the commander put on, it was almost begging the players to wander over to put a stop to it, the mark entirely a punching bag for the man of arms in stupor. Another blow to the faux succubus and all the woman wanted to do was avoid thinking about it.

Her gaze went to the pie her friend was feasting on instead, curious about his meal for the day. After all, against a gothic backdrop, the treat seemed a disparity, and just as equal was the thought she'd taken so long for her party to decide to skip out on preparations to grab a snack. Her chin was pointed its way as she queried. "Where'd you get that from?"

[Koga 0]

"If I said I got lost, would you've believed me?"

"Not a bit," Koga answered back as he sliced off another bite sized piece of pie. "You never get lost. And you're never late. Took a detour?"

The battle seemed to be coming to a close slowly in the distance as the Red Cloak's numbers dwindled to only one. If Koga recalled correctly, that last one was the one they were supposed to talk to, but only after he dealt a 'devastating' blow to the lady he was fighting. Or something like that, he didn't really pay attention to the quest brief too much.

Koga glanced down at his lunch (dessert would imply he ate something else beforehand) and simply shrugged. "Can't remember. It's been in my inventory forever. Bless video games and their perpetually fresh food. Want any?" he offered,  pushing the tin pan a little closer to NIGHT.

Just as Koga finished speaking, the last of the Red Cloaks dealt another heavy cleaving strike against the woman, who began to shout vehemently before the woman dissolved into a cloud of red, what Koga presumed to be blood, and drifted away, towards some distant structure, monolithic, even at this distance. Rather macabre.

"I think that's our cue," the man then said, standing up.

[NIGHT 0]

night squinted, eyes to the reddened skies. as odd as the point did sound -- the player was only human after all, despite her tendency for being meticulous -- "sure. you could call it that." and as distracted as koga was, so too was the woman at his push of his meal. her gaze was down at the pie dish, now partially filled with crumbs. "ew. no thanks. sometimes, i swear i can taste the staleness on them if they hadn't been touched for that long."

"plus, why would i want your leftovers, anyway...?"

the yell was enough to obscure the last of her complaints, and night's gaze shot up to the spot of ruby in her periphery. oh, finally. the skirmish had stopped. her friend may have been first to rise, but so too was night bent on making pace with their quest -- she shoved the dish his way, skipping ahead to the commander before koga was able to make the first move. "finish your food. it's bad manners otherwise." and it didn't matter what conversation would lead up to the man speaking to night, because all that mattered was a single topic, the moment the player strode up to his side.

"captain... uh, harkens. what's just happened?"

a simple query, and it was enough to get the system spilling details unnecessary for the kill. harken's gaze only bounced to the woman once he'd sheathed his weapon, before shifting towards his men and finally the castle in the distance.

night merely folded her arms and tilted her head at the prompt for sending adventurers to their doom. "can't handle it alone, huh...?"

she turned to koga once the interaction was over. well, neither could she complain about their lack of solo responsibility; the players were going in as a party of two, after all. "well, we got our destination. are you done with your pie yet, or...?"

[Koga 0]

NIGHT's disgusted remark earned her a short derisive look as the man dusted off his clothing. "'Cause good pie is good pie?" the man stated in a matter-of-fact tone. What kind of question even was that, he wondered. The nerve of some people.

Picking up the tin again at NIGHT's behest, the man quite literally shoved the remaining pie into his mouth whole, chewed once, twice, and then swallowed in a terrifying display of gluttony that left even him looking slightly pained. "Who the hell do you think I am?" Koga coughed, beating his chest once or twice. Maybe that wasn't the best idea.

Following his companion, the man let her do all the talking as he tried to dislodge whatever chunk of food was caught in his throat, only managing to clear it after she turned and asked him if he was done. "Yeah," he said, coughing once more and finding himself a little less labored to breathe. "Yeah, I'm done. So Ashen Keep. I assume its that lovely looking building in the distance?" Koga said, pointing to yet another foreboding looking castle in the distance. One of only two in this near-barren red wasteland.

[NIGHT 0]

"well, you didn't have to finish it that fast," was night's only comment with regards to his quick eating. if it were her, she would've taken her time devouring the meal in the time her companion handled the conversation instead. small bites than a huge gulp. koga was only lucky cardinal hadn't allowed for death by asphyxiation on meals. or did it? the player wasn't about to investigate, that was for sure.

with a wave and a nod, she gestured for him to follow -- though she was already certain her friend should've been the one more interested in where they were going. after all, he was the one who'd issued the message. her short-cloak billowed as she dropped her hand, a dry breeze running across barren earth. when koga fell to her side, she looked to him with folded arms. "so tell me, how much do you know about where we're going? all i got was that we were going vampire hunting, and that was the end of it from harkens."

[Koga 0]

Koga kept pace with NIGHT, walking at her side as they followed the worn path towards the distant structure. Dull red tufts of grass, or more likely weeds, sprouted every once in a while along the road's edge, small testaments to what little life actually existed on this floor.

"Mostly bits and pieces," Koga admitted to his companion as they went. "I know that this vamp lady is supposed to be practically immune to anything but a holy weapon, although I'm not actually sure if they mean Holy like the enchantment, or holy like, blessed by in-game God or something. Possibly both. Anyways, that's what were looking to get right now, if I'm not mistaken. Get the superweapon, nuke vamp lady with said superweapon, and then the quest should be done and dusted." As far as quests went, this one was fairly straight forward. The slight detour to obtain an effective weapon wasn't really too far outside of the norm, and so far seemed to be only slightly better than your standard fetch quest. "Have you not done this quest yet?" Koga then asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Woulda thought you cleared out this whole floor at least once by now."

[NIGHT 0]

red grass? almost macabre, as though highlighting the idea that blood could've been spilled upon the soil. given the gothic nature of the landscape, it shouldn't have been surprising, but the odd eye-catching marks as they walked continued to pull her attention -- and her surprise.

"as far as i'd heard it," night explained, "the quest was new to one of cardinal's updates. so, no." a corner of her lips was pulled as she considered the thought. "and contrary to your belief, i don't actually like being on this floor, either. it's a little much on the dark and dreary side. looks like your kind of habitat, though."

and the keep was growing in view the closer they got to it. the player took the time to mull over the details issued by her friend; holy? a blessing? vampires? "like castlevania," she muttered, before tilting her head. "uh, perhaps...?" not that she was familiar with the series, but likewise was she at a loss for who was responsible for the thematic underlining of the floor. then another thought came to mind, night hesitantly shifting over to koga. "hey, do you think the vampires could turn players into one of them, too?"

[Koga 0]

Hmm, so this was a newer quest...Koga wondered what exactly it had been that possessed Cardinal to so suddenly push out such a massive content update. Coupled with a revamp and rebalance of systems. It had been a lot for the players to relearn at the same time. Chances were, some had died as a result. Although, Cardinal might've decided they were progressing too slowly, and simply marked those down as acceptable losses. Or, they were moving too quickly. Who knew what the intended timeline was...

"First of all," Koga said, lifting his index finger into the air, "I never assumed you actually liked this floor, I just though you would have cleared it. Two," his middle finger went up to accompany his index, "you'll have to see my room one day. I think you'd be surprised." Lots of plants and art, really. Some books on shelves or his desk. The man actually had a decent sense for décor, and despite what his friend apparently thought, it was neither dark, nor gloomy.

Koga paused a moment, trying to conjure up what little knowledge he had of the franchise NIGHT had mentioned. Which was painfully little, especially so many years. Sadly, there was little the man could recall about the series, aside from its gothic theme and it being a renowned platformer.

"I'd...be surprised," the man answered back to NIGHT, not noticing the shift in her demeanor. "I mean, getting pseudo-immortality via magical infection kinda defeats the whole purpose of this place being perma-death, right?" Well, unless it just killed them, and then took over their bodies, but that was a little too morbid, even for him. "I'm not exactly keen to find out though..."

[NIGHT 0]

and night folded her arms, grinning. "well, if i'd liked this floor, maybe i would've cleared it out." the lean towards the side away from koga was in accordance to his other point. "i had meant you fit in with the floor in appearance," she offered, gesturing with a hand down his coat. the player knew she herself was keen on wearing dark outfits, but nothing she was aware of in her wardrobe fit her the way her friend's attire spoke the motto of 'if there was a black darker than black, i'd wear it'.

in the quiet, she gauged their distance towards the keep. the gates were in view. her eyes were to the steel awning overhead that would greet them once they walked through it and stepped onto its grounds. "well, no one said anything about the immortality bit. it's not like we're going to die of old age in here, are we?" night glanced to her companion, now walking backwards once they'd crossed the threshold, feet stepping onto gravel finer than the rocks of the road before. "besides, that just means -- what -- a different way for us to die? wooden stake through the heart and everything? -- but really, i'm more talking about the fangs and the bloodshot eyes."

the woman whirled around, attempting to find the entrance to the hold they were supposed to venture into. "like... there've been reports about changing your appearance vanity wise, right? some quests or something do that. not the rumors about the potions with the cat ears -- i'm just worried about the conditions you'd face for being a vampire is all."

[Koga 0]

Koga glanced down at his outfit as NIGHT corrected him before looking back up at her. "Ya know what, I can't even argue with you on that one, valid point." Black, drab, kind of looked like he was a vampire hunter. Yeah, Koga fit right in with this floor, he supposed.

The the question of old age, Koga shrugged. "I mean, I guess we could, eventually," he admitted. "Not like our real bodies are gonna stop aging." That grim reality again. Fact was that one day, life support would run dry. They'd be unplugged if they didn't get out quickly enough. It would be sudden, and come without warning to those inside. No matter how Koga still felt about the real world, he didn't wanna die like that. He at least wanted a fighting chance.

"Fangs and bloodshot eyes...I mean, I dunno, but as long as I don't sparkling in the sunlight, I could care less about the other two. My eyes are already bloodshot as it is," he replied as NIGHT span back around to face forward again. "That really would be the biggest concern though, right? Like, vampires burn in sunlight, so if there was a condition in-game for that...guess you're doomed to be nocturnal or something."

Looking around as they entered the Ashen Keep, the remains of what Koga would've guessed was an ancient battle laid scattered across the courtyard. Unmoving bones, armor, red cloth and weapons scattered about. "The red shirts are really good at getting their asses handed to them, huh?" Koga commented, putting his hands on his hips as he looked around. "So uh, where do you think we'll find a holy sword in this place?" Koga asked as he started to walk around the area, kicking around the rusted weapons. "Better question, how will we know its holy?"

[NIGHT 0]

night motioned with her hands, glancing to koga's coat. "do you think the game's really picky about what it considers 'in the sunlight'? your hood for example -- would it count if you just drew it over your head to keep you out of the sun?" not that the player was keen on finding out, either, but the thought of its novelty seemed intriguing enough for that temporary discussion. besides, even if the condition did seem to exist, she could think of one person who'd be genuinely delighted to know (bistro).

the sight of an ancient battle laid bare before them. at least, it seemed ancient, from the way the keep had appeared untouched for centuries despite the apparent fact the guards were likely present to be slain just moments ago. almost perplexing, had they not been in a game. and night couldn't help but nod to the red cloaks' incompetence.

"So uh, where do you think we'll find a holy sword in this place?"

she'd turned to look at koga when she heard the dull clattering, his feet moving the undead. the woman frowned, amused one moment before scowling the next. "hey, don't do that." waking the eternal restful just seemed disrespectful -- granted, it wasn't as though the dead could've found themselves objecting. "i'm sure what we're looking for would seem that way if it's in a dusty bone-field such as this," the player remarked, following along, waving her hand. her eyes scanned the sides of the hall as she wondered upon the quest. given the gothic feel of the floor...

"anything biblical in nature," she concluded, pride almost growing on her face as she decided upon her answer with the snap of her fingers, "that's got to be it. crosses, stained windows, large marble statues-- it should be somewhere in here with something along those lines, right?"

never mind the possibility that their locale was unlikely to show anything more than an armory or weapon cache for anything related towards their holy answer to completing the quest. what was even more disappointing was the spot of that shining blade amidst the rusted equipment in a pile of bodies underneath a skylight, the white of its metal almost calling out for them to approach it. and when night noticed the quest indicator over its form, she knew, grin falling, before pointing.

"never mind. it's probably that."

bony fingers held it by the blade tip, weapon sunk into the gaps between ribcages, stood upright. a sword-in-the-stone moment -- night waved to koga to continue his walk. "well, go on, king arthur."

[Koga 0]

Koga couldn't help but roll his eyes at NIGHT's chiding. Wasn't like he was trying to kick the bones themselves. But he didn't exactly know if tetanus was an illness in game, and he wasn't exactly eager to find out. All the same, he abided by her wishes, and simply knelt down to examine the weapons as he went along. Rusted, rusted, rusted, oh is that a mace?

"anything biblical in nature,"

Biblical? Koga questioned for a moment what exactly qualified as biblical in a gothic setting, where creepy stained glass windows were everywhere, and crosses were used on just about everything. Also...marble statues? The man refrained from casting her a skeptical look, but narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows at the thought. That wasn't very 'biblical'. Greek or Roman maybe, but not biblical.

"never mind. it's probably that."

Oh...well that was easy...

The man rose from his crouched posture and looked in direction that NIGHT indicated, and it was easy to see why she'd made the reference she had with little more than a glance. A much more macabre version of the Sword in the Stone, perhaps, but that was pretty much part for the course on this floor.

"Keep saying stuff like that and I'll grow an ego," the man joked as he approached the weapon.

The sounds of creaking bones stopped Koga mid step and his eyes flicked back and forth the courtyard. "Uh, NIGHT? You heard that right?"

Before the woman could answer, the ground beneath Koga's feet rumbled and burst. The man leapt back, drawing his sword as he did lashing out at whatever was crawling from the ground.

Arms. Skeletal arms, skin and rotten loosely hanging from bones. The things that crawled up from their graves could only be called human in shape. But unlike humans, they gave no care for when their arms were chopped clean off, or set alight with black flame. "...Screw vampires, what do you think about zombie viruses?"

---

Spoiler

[1, 2, 1] Koga | HP: 880/880 | EN: 106/122 (122 -16) | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96
[Well Rested, 1/3]
[0, 0, 0, ] NIGHT | HP: 1000/1000 | EN: 138/138 | DMG: 28 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55 | Stealth Rating: 6

Red Cloaked Revenant 1 | HP: 734/1000 (1000 -266) | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity
Red Cloaked Revenant 2 | HP: 800/1000 (1000 -200) | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 55 | Paralytic Immunity
[BRN 56, 0/2] [BLT 32/-20, 0/2]
Red Cloaked Revenant 3 | HP: 734/1000 (1000 -266) | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity
Undead | The Holy enhancement is twice as effective against this mob. Vampiric (Offensive and Defensive) enhancements are only half as effective in combat with this mob.
Activate! | This mob will passively seek to engage the <<Ancient Mechanical Constructs>>. When a Red Cloaked Revenant attacks, use the CD value from that roll to determine how much to increase the activation score of an Ancient Mechanical Construct. CD:1-6: +5 Activation Score, CD:7-12: +10 Activation Score.  When the total activation score reaches 30, one of the Ancient Mechanical Constructs enters the fray.  Additional constructs will activate at each multiple of 30 until all Red Cloaked Revenants are dead.
Unrelenting Swarm | Red Cloaked Revenants will replace their fallen allies immediately after they are defeated. This will continue until all of them have been dispatched. 

---

Koga uses AOE-I
  | 208959, BD nat6, DMG ((23 +8) * 11) -75
  | 208960, BD nat10, DMG ((23 +2) * 11) -75
  | 208961, BD nat6, DMG ((23 +8) * 11) -75
Red Cloaked Revenant 1 takes 266 Fallen damage
Red Cloaked Revenant 2 takes 200 crit damage!
Red Cloaked Revenant 2 is Burned and Blighted
Red Cloaked Revenant 3 takes 266 Fallen damage

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

"less likely," night responded, pulling oathkeeper from the air with a wave of her hand. she'd jumped back moments before in preparation for what strange noise -- and emergence -- had appeared beneath koga's feet. and though the scene had been striking, so too was the player's attention on the question more so than the gore of the quarry ahead. "sorry to the red cloaks, but not only are we different, if there were signs of a zombie virus amongst the player population, we'd be told off about it by now."

she gave a glance to koga, tilting her head. "and how many floors past this one has it been? it would've been more than enough time for the news to spread." her glide into the fray was immediate afterwards -- two swings, oathkeeper appearing to glance off each of the closest revenants' forms, leaving only a smear of white in its trail. the bell tolled as the marks were culled, night pulling her stance back upwards once her art had completed.

"last one's all yours."

Spoiler

> POST ACTION: AOE-I

ID209108 | bd1 | -> Revenant #1
ID209109 | bd9 | -> Revenant #1
ID2091010 | bd10 | -> Revenant #1

15 + (2*2) -2 = 17 EN

(28+2+32) * 15 = 930 DMG
930 - 55 = 875 DMG

(28+3+32) * 15 = 945 DMG
945 - 75 = 870 DMG

---

ID209111 | md10 | cd6 | -> Koga

(150 + 2) - 30 = 122 DMG 

---

[1] Koga | HP: 758/880 | EN: 106/122 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96
[Well Rested, 1/3]
[0] NIGHT | HP: 1000/1000 | EN: 121/138 | DMG: 28 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55

Red Cloaked Revenant 1 | HP: 734/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 2 | HP: -75/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 55 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2 | [BRN 56, 0/2] [BLT 32/-20, 0/2]
Red Cloaked Revenant 3 | HP: -136/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2

Activate! | This mob will passively seek to engage the <<Ancient Mechanical Constructs>>. When a Red Cloaked Revenant attacks, use the CD value from that roll to determine how much to increase the activation score of an Ancient Mechanical Construct. When the total activation score reaches 30, one Ancient Mechanical Constructs enters the fray. Additional constructs will activate at each multiple of 30 until all Red Cloaked Revenants are dead.

Current Score: 5/30
CD:1-6: +5 Activation Score
CD:7-12: +10 Activation Score. 

Unrelenting Swarm | Red Cloaked Revenants will replace their fallen allies immediately after they are defeated. This will continue until all of them have been dispatched. 

 

[Koga 0]

"What about that Halloween event from ages ago?" Koga asked as rushed in towards the last mob. Raising his sword, the blade glowed crimson before the man brought it down on the Revenant taking out another chunk of it's health, grunting as steel met bone. "There were zombies everywhere, remember? Whatever happ-" He hadn't been paying enough attention, the Revenants blade leaving a red mark across the man's abdomen as he leapt back with a hiss. "Okay, not cool."

The ground erupted once more, two more Revenants crawling from the earth, brandishing rusted weapons and immediately lashing out at the two players without hesitation, forcing them back. "Even less cool," Koga muttered. "How many of these things are there?" the man asked, a hint of aggravation in his voice. Weren't these guys supposed to be the cannon fodder or something? The man glanced down at the wound in his stomach, then up at his status bar. "Well, no zombie virus." For some reason, Koga was actually a little disappointed by that.

---

Spoiler

[2, 0, 0] Koga | HP: 854/880 (758 +96) | EN: 96/122 (106 +1 -11) | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96
[Well Rested, 1/3]
[0, 0, 0] NIGHT | HP: 1000/1000 | EN: 121/138 | DMG: 28 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55

Red Cloaked Revenant 1 | HP: 437/1000 (734 -297) | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 4 | HP: 1000/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 5 | HP: 1000/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2

Activate! | This mob will passively seek to engage the <<Ancient Mechanical Constructs>>. When a Red Cloaked Revenant attacks, use the CD value from that roll to determine how much to increase the activation score of an Ancient Mechanical Construct. When the total activation score reaches 30, one Ancient Mechanical Constructs enters the fray. Additional constructs will activate at each multiple of 30 until all Red Cloaked Revenants are dead.

Current Score: 5/30
CD:1-6: +5 Activation Score
CD:7-12: +10 Activation Score. 

Unrelenting Swarm | Red Cloaked Revenants will replace their fallen allies immediately after they are defeated. This will continue until all of them have been dispatched.

---

Two more Red Cloaked Revenants join the fray!

| 209142, CD nat1

Koga uses ST-I against Red Cloaked Revenant 1
  | 209143, BD nat6, DMG ((23 +8) * 12) -75
Red Cloaked Revenant 1 takes 297 Fallen damage

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

despite the fact that, as rotting corpses, their ability to retaliate against able-bodied living creatures should've been worse off, the fallen red cloaks had seemed to maintain gumption in their assault, leaping out towards the players at a threatening speed. with two slashes, night tore down one of the revenants, the second target with but a sliver of health still present. she recoiled, noticing her apparent misjudgement -- and oathkeeper's rings were but dulled out with each strike against their corrupted bodies. two clawed strikes back meant night was down to half health.

not that it swayed her emotions any from being that much closer to death. her mind raced as she backtracked the conversation she had with koga -- how exactly did she forget about the halloween event from back then? "they didn't have an infection gimmick back then, either," she reminded him, noticing his gaze down towards his abdomen. "and i don't know, but surely there's got to be an end to these guys at some point."

Spoiler

> POST ACTION: AOE-II

ID209150 | bd8 | -> Revenant #1
ID209151 | bd1 | -> Revenant #4
ID209152 | bd6 | -> Revenant #5

18 + (2*2) -2-4 = 16 EN

(28+2+16) * 18 = 828 DMG
828 - 55 = 753 DMG

---

ID209153 | md10 | cd5 | -> NIGHT
ID209154 | md9 | cd2 | -> NIGHT

---

[2, 0, 0] Koga | HP: 854/880 (758 +96) | EN: 96/122 (106 +1 -11) | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96
[Well Rested, 1/3]
[0, 0, 1] NIGHT | HP: 697/1000 | EN: 105/138 | DMG: 28 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55

Red Cloaked Revenant 1 | HP: -316/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 4 | HP: 1000/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 5 | HP: 247/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2

Activate! | This mob will passively seek to engage the <<Ancient Mechanical Constructs>>. When a Red Cloaked Revenant attacks, use the CD value from that roll to determine how much to increase the activation score of an Ancient Mechanical Construct. When the total activation score reaches 30, one Ancient Mechanical Constructs enters the fray. Additional constructs will activate at each multiple of 30 until all Red Cloaked Revenants are dead.

Current Score: 15/30
CD:1-6: +5 Activation Score
CD:7-12: +10 Activation Score. 

Unrelenting Swarm | Red Cloaked Revenants will replace their fallen allies immediately after they are defeated. This will continue until all of them have been dispatched. 

[Koga 0]

"Well I hope they stop popping up soon, 'cause I'm getting really sick of them," Koga grunted as his blade glowed with a sinister black light for a moment, cleaving another of the Revenants cleanly in two. The man leapt backwards, expecting another group of zombies to emerge from the ground to take their (re)felled friend's place. But this time, no clawing arms or flailing weapons burst from the earth. Koga didn't say anything though, not wanting to jinx the fight by opening his big mouth.

"Also, did it not?" Koga asked, trying to think way back to when he was still a level one newb. The man would've sworn that they had, but really all he could remember was running or slicing up the zombies. He couldn't actually remember anyone being turned by the undead. Had his mind just filled in that blank with an assumption. It was likely. "Well, I guess that's good news for us," the man said. "Want me to tank some of that damage for a second?" He then asked, noting that NIGHT's health bar was getting close to dipping into the yellow. Not that that was much of a concern, but it might help relieve some of the pressure for a moment.

Spoiler

[0, 0] Koga | HP: 880/880 (854 +48) | EN: 83/122 (96 +1 -14) | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96
[Well Rested, 0/3]
[0, 0] NIGHT | HP: 697/1000 | EN: 105/138 | DMG: 28 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55

Red Cloaked Revenant 4 | HP: 1000/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 5 | HP: 0/1000 (247 -408) | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 6 | HP: 1000/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Activate! | This mob will passively seek to engage the <<Ancient Mechanical Constructs>>. When a Red Cloaked Revenant attacks, use the CD value from that roll to determine how much to increase the activation score of an Ancient Mechanical Construct. When the total activation score reaches 30, one Ancient Mechanical Constructs enters the fray. Additional constructs will activate at each multiple of 30 until all Red Cloaked Revenants are dead.

Current Score: 15/30
CD:1-6: +5 Activation Score
CD:7-12: +10 Activation Score. 

Unrelenting Swarm | Red Cloaked Revenants will replace their fallen allies immediately after they are defeated. This will continue until all of them have been dispatched.

---

Koga uses ST-II vs Red Cloaked Revenant 5
  | 209185, BD nat6, DMG ((23 +8) * (15 +3)) -150
Red Cloaked Revenant 5 takes 408 Fallen damage!
Red Cloaked Revenant 5 dies!

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

"i'm pretty sure it didn't."

one lunge forth, and she'd batted the two revenants without fail; one completely by accident, and yet was caught by the tail end of her swipe. another chime of the bell in her hands, and the player jumped back, in time and tempo to the flow of battle she was so familiar from cardinal's puppeteering. orange? her health hadn't even reached fifty percent.

her gaze was fixed on the red cloak with the lowest health. for that moment, she responded to koga, "if you can take aggro from me, sure." though she only raised it after a beat. hadn't she brushed past an unintended target, earlier? where in the world was it?

out of her vision, the undead had fled to one of the nearby statues -- it only caught her attention as she looked around for it crashed against it with a harsh clattery bang. and though it slumped to the floor in time, almost struggling to get up using the armor as an aid for doing so, what was unprecedented was the quiet whirring, so familiar it had the player in pause, almost bringing tears to her eyes.

she'd forgotten how a computer's cooling fan had sounded like. it used to be so ambient, a constant tether to their real world --

-- and the lights in the armor suddenly flickered to life, as the mechanical suit stepped off its podium and ran over the red cloak that had sought its power out of the blue.

night blinked twice, before gesturing their new threat koga's way. "uh. please tell me you see that, too."

Spoiler

> POST ACTION: AOE-I

ID209329 | bd3 + 5 = 8 | -> Revenant #4
ID209330 | bd9 | -> Revenant #6 

15 + (2*2) -2-4 = 13 EN

28 * 15 = 420 DMG
420 - 75 = 345 DMG

(28+2+32) * 15 = 930 DMG
930 - 75 = 855 DMG

---

ID209331 | md3 - 5 = -2 | cd8 | -> NIGHT
ID209332 | md3 - 5 = -2 | cd12 | -> NIGHT

> activation score: 35/30. ancient mechanical construct appears.

---

[0, 0, 0] Koga | HP: 880/880 | EN: 83/122 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96
[1, 2, 0] NIGHT | HP: 752/1000 | EN: 92/138 | DMG: 28 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55

Red Cloaked Revenant 4 | HP: 655/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Red Cloaked Revenant 6 | HP: 145/1000 | DMG: 150 | MIT: 75 | Paralytic Immunity | HOLY x2, VAMP-O /2
Ancient Mechanical Construct | HP: 1250/1250 | DMG: 300 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: -3 | Status Effect Immunity

Activate! | This mob will passively seek to engage the <<Ancient Mechanical Constructs>>. When a Red Cloaked Revenant attacks, use the CD value from that roll to determine how much to increase the activation score of an Ancient Mechanical Construct. When the total activation score reaches 30, one Ancient Mechanical Constructs enters the fray. Additional constructs will activate at each multiple of 30 until all Red Cloaked Revenants are dead.

Current Score: 5/30
CD:1-6: +5 Activation Score
CD:7-12: +10 Activation Score. 

Unrelenting Swarm | Red Cloaked Revenants will replace their fallen allies immediately after they are defeated. This will continue until all of them have been dispatched.