PP-F1 Diverging Streams Flow Into One [Kanaoki]

[Hirru 0]

Diverging Streams Flow Into One

The fight to keep everyone's hope alive still rages on overhead, upon the newly founded floor twenty seven.  A tireless assault that tests even the strongest of individuals.  Everyone's lives that have been trapped inside the floating castle, Aincrad, hold these players in high regard, even if none know their names.  These men and women, children and adults, are all there to complete the every growing challenge.  These are the front liners, the hope of this world.

However, hope can falter and fade, and so has the determination of many of the once strong front liners.  At this moment, only a handful of the elite have planned to push through this new floor.  They are still holding on to what little value they see in the progress, as is.  The rest have decided to rest and train.  The last floor boss was far too much of a shock for many of those that had joined in.  Not just the boss fight itself and the moral implications that arose from it, but the escalation of events that took place after.

One such player was now sitting upon a riverbank near a prominent merchant town, on the first floor.  He had had enough of the constant grind to further better himself, to no avail.  He was no longer the fighter and hunter that he used to be.  No, his strengths lay in the arts of healing and protection.  That was not a skill for one to go hunting alone, anymore.  This required him to venture out with other players to get any training and experience.  Unfortunately, the ever declining urge to risk dungeoneering has brought a bit of his training to a crashing halt. 

There was thought into joining the rest of the front liners that were pushing forward, but they seemed to have everything handled.  Although, he had trained a bit to learn the layout of the twenty seventh floor, the Jade Hunter was nowhere near ready to have anyone else join him in a search of that caliber again.  It seemed things were starting to get a bit more serious, in these searches, at least.  If the hunter was going to be some some worth, he would have to find ways to be both a fighter and a healer. 

That training was going nowhere.

Up and down.  Up and down.  The bobber lay upon the water's surface.  A fine line would find its way leading towards the rod the hunter had cast out.  The motion of the current situation was starting to be one of the hunter's go to calming methods now.  Up and down.  Up and down.  Another day of wasting the day away.  The jade haired individual had taken his armor off and was only wearing his old black sleeveless turtleneck, slacks and boots.  He didn't need any of his armor for anything on this floor.  Maybe there was a floor boss or two that could complicate things, but everything else was far too low level for him to be worried that much.  Instead, the hunter reeled a bit to move the bobber.  Up and down.  Up and down.

Player Stats

Spoiler

Hirru | HP: 920/920 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 1 | MIT: 122 | BH: 46 | HLY BLS: 36 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | THRNS: 36

Hirru Lvl 32 (PL 58)

920 HP (+220 PL)
104 Energy (+22 PL)
1 Base Damage
5% Battle Healing
8 Recovery
122 Mitigation
32 Thorns
4% Holy Blessing
20% Life Mend

Equipment

Paladin's Oath ..................... // +4% Holy Blessing / +20% Life Mending
Light's Embrace .................... // +8 Recovery / 32 Thorns
Bulwark ............................ // +72 Mitigation
Blades Cloak ....................... // Vanity
Lun'Rael's Insignia ................ // Unique Vanity |
Fates Armament (Shield) ............ // Unique Vanity | 
Dimensional Backpack ............... // +1 B.R.I Slot

Battle Ready Inventory

<Teleportation Crystal> x5 ......... // Teleport to a town / out of a dungeon [Uses 2 posts: 1 for use, next to teleport]
<Favor of the Golden Dragon> ....... // +3 Loot Die
<Betrayal of the Fallen Knight> .... // +12 Damage
<Mass HP Recovery Crystal> x5 ...... // +10% AOE Heal
<Empty>
<Empty>

Skills

Heavy Armor ........................ // Rank 5: +35 MIT
Battle Healing ..................... // Rank 5: +5% HP each turn
Search ............................. // Rank 5: +5 Loot Die / +5 Stealth Detection

Extra Skills (Max 4)

First Aid .......................... // Rank 5: +20% ST-H / -15 EN
Leadership ......................... // Rank 5: Command the Front w/ Buffs

Skill Mods / Addons (Max 5 Mods)

Iron Skin (Add on) ................. // +15 Mit / +60 HP
Field Medic (Add on) ............... // +25% AOE-H / -15 EN / 3 turn Cooldown
Hyperactive (Add on) ............... // +3 EN Regen for 3 turns / -5 EN / 3 turn Cooldown
Reveal (Add on)..................... // +2 to Dungeon, Labyrinth searches / Post 10 searches / 3 turn Labyrinth Cooldown

Barrier ............................ // -15% Dmg shield AOE / -15 EN / 2 turn Cooldown
Energize ........................... // +8 EN ST / -10 EN
Rally .............................. // +1 ACC AOE, -1 ACC self / -6 EN / 3 turn Cooldown
Press The Attack ................... // +(Target Tier) Dmg, -(Cumulative)Dmg / -10 En / 5 turn Cooldown
Detect ............................. // +1 to Labyrinth searches | +2 Stealth Detect

Housing Buffs

Rested ............................. // -1 EN for 2 uses
Relaxed ............................ // OOC HP regen 5*tier Rec EN after 2 turns
Filling ............................ // Increase food by +1 T1 slot
Multipurpose ....................... // +1 LD, Stealth, Dection, or Prosperity to 1 post
Practiced Angler ................... // +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

 

[Kanaoki 0]

Since he had started adventuring about two weeks ago, Kana had started to get into the daily routine of leaving the town of beginnings as early as possible and stroll around the fields, enjoying the sight of the fog illuminating to a glowing orange that looked a little, like the plains were on fire. After watching this spectacle, he would stroll around, looking for some solitary boars to slay, or material spawns to gather. To him it was strange, how quick it had become natural to fight, when he had been scared to leave town just a few weeks, but he assumed this was how it went, once one realized how powerful the game really made them.

Sure, he was wearing heavy armor to protect himself, but even more so, he had the feeling of having power. An armor like his would have been heavy, most probably to heavy for his real world self to wear it and still run around, but here, it was nothing but a piece of equipment, that merely was able to slow him down. Thinking about that, he moved his arms and looked at the new, dark silver looking armor he had gained from his first adventure and marveled at the way, the orange light of the morning sun was reflecting of it. He nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, the he opened them again and started marching away from the town.

His walk lead him to one of the other towns of floor one, situated closer to the mountains than he had ever wandered, and he was curious to see, what kind of landscape and environment would wait for him to explore. So he started wandering around, having a closer look at some of the local plants, when his path crossed a river that was to broad to cross right there, so instead he started following it and soon after, he notices a figure sitting close to the river holding something. The moment he is close enough to make it out, he facepalmed himself, or at least he thought about it. Obviously, it was a fishing rod the player was holding, what else should it be. 
As he had gotten the fishery profession, when he had completed the first quest he ever did, he was looking forwards to talking about it with whom ever it was sitting there, and once he noticed the jade green hair, he had the strange realization, that he had met the man that was sitting there before, but it took a few more seconds for him to remember where this had happened. Once it clicked, and he recognized the man as the appraiser, that had identified the armor he was wearing just then, he walked over to him and greeted him "Hello Hirru, nice meeting you again. What are you doing out here?"

Wordcount: 476

Player Stats

Spoiler

Kanaoki| Lv. 2 | HP: 40/40 | EN: 22/22 | DMG: 7 | ACC: 1 | MIT: 18 | LD +3

Equipped Items:

• Monarch | Tier 1 Perfect Two-Handed Straight Sword | DAMAGE II | ACC I
• Guardians Hold | Tier 1 Perfect Heavy Armor | MIT III
• Crystal | Tier 1 Perfect Trinket | LD +3

Battle-Ready Inventory:

• (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

Skills:

• Straight Sword | RANK 2/5

 

[Hirru 0]

The waters surface seemed to tremble as a disturbance comes about from around the bend.  The sound of clanking metal on metal of the heavy armor classes; the hunter would know them quite well.  It would seem that someone was walking towards him, although with how many still lived on the first floor, it could be anyone.  With a slight turn of the head so that he could still see the bobber in his peripherals, he eyed up the individual that would be coming so close to a lone individual.  Long black hair and armor that seemed to be familiar.  It was only then that the hunter would recognize the individual.

"Ah, hello there!  Kana, was it?  I apologize if the name is off.  Don't have much of a memory for all the faces."

Hirru would snicker before looking back at the bobber, which was now underwater.  He immediately flicked his rod back and began to reel a bit to see if anything snagged.  Instead, the bobber would come back up, as if the fish were scared away.  The hunter would sigh at the lack of fish so far.  Reeling the line back in fully, he would find that the bait had been taken, possibly while he was distracted.

"So far, I'm having no luck in fishing anything up.  What brings you around here?"

Fishing Stats & Roll

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 112

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 209928] [CD: 4+1=5] [LD: 3+1=]  | Miss 3+2=  Exp

New Exp Total:  EXP 117

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Hirru

[Kanaoki 0]

A smile crept onto Kanas face, when he saw the recognition in Hirrus face as he came closer, and when the jade haired man asked him if he was right with the name, he nodded and smiled even more. "You're right, Kana's the name, so no need to apologize." he said, and moved closer to sit down next to Hirru. He had just sit down, when Hirru reeled in the line, noting that nothing had bitten and the bait had been taken, he answered his question. "Well, I went out to do some training with the new equipment I got, maybe fighting some of the boars, but now that I see you fishing, I would love to join, if it's not a problem for you?" 

Not really waiting for a response, he opened his inventory and quickly pulled out the fishing rod he had been given when he had finished his first quest. It wasn't anything special, and he was thinking about getting a better one made, but for now it was all he needed. Quickly he prepared some bait and cast the line and watched the float hit the water and stabilizing after the initial impact. Ready to wait he turned to Hirru, but before he could ask him anything, he noticed a jerk on the rod and quickly pulled it up, or at least he tried to. What ever it was, it was strong, and he had his problems reeling in the line.

He had managed to pull it close to the rivers edge, when it bulled again, and he stumbled into the water with a scream of surprise. Once in the water, he realized it wasn't even knee high where he had landed and he quickly stood back up, grabbing what he had caught, just to once again be surprised. What he held in Hand wasn't a fish, but some kind of chest that had lodged itself against some of the rivers stones. Pulling and turning it, he finally got it free and raised it from the water, "Look at that, I think I found treasure." he excitedly told Hirru while climbing back onto dry land.
Still panting from the weight, and the cold water he had fallen into, he dropped to the ground and had a closer look at the chest he had just found. Then he realized that it seemed to not be locked, and quickly opened it to be greeted with a loot popup, telling him he had found two rare weapons and two rare consumable, all four of them not identified. With a smile on his face, he turned to Hirru and stated "Seems I got a new Job for you, once we're done fishing."

Fishing Stats & Roll

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 0

Rank 1 - Novice Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 8+. Critical catch a treasure chest on LD 12+

[ID:209929] [CD:10] [LD:12+3] | critical catch --> +8 Exp

[ID:209930] [LD:5] | Unidentified Rare Weapons (2), Unidentified Rare Consumables (2)

New Exp Total: 8

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Kanaoki

[Hirru 0]

Hirru let out a slight chuckle and nodded to the company.  The one going by the name Kana pulled out a fishing rod, intending to join the hunter.  By the look of the rod, it would seem that he had only just started his fishing venture.  It was a small time hobby, but something that was suppose to yield one of the most treasured unique items, a gleaming scale.  These scales that could be gathered from Rainbow Fish, were incredibly rare, all due to the fact that you had to catch a rainbow fish to begin with.  He remembered the quest giver telling him as such, but looking at his own inventory, he had much more from hunting mobs than anything else.

"That's good to hear.  Soon you'll be up there, fighting the good fight."

He said as he pointed towards the ceiling, but the gesture was obviously meant to talk about the higher floors.  Most people he knew were fighting to survive, but a fine few fight to join the front.  He wondered what this ones goal was.

"Just gotta train hard, but take care to not exhaust yourselves."

The secondary thing that one could get out of this profession though, as Kana excitedly pulled up a small chest from the water, was the amount of unidentified treasure one could fish up.  Hirru would smile at the business deal coming up.

"That's one of the reasons why I picked up fishing myself.  As a merchant, it's a good idea to have many items to choose from.  This way, I can have as many items as people could ask for."

He cast his line back into the water, allowing the line to slacken a bit before continuing on.  The bobber would cast ripples upon the water once more.  Up and down.

"That way those of us that are working their way up, have a way to get their equipment fast and easy.  They might not be the best equipment, but the runes are finicky."

Just then, the bobber would go down once more and stay there.  Quickly reeling in, the weight of it seemed like more than just a simple fish.  Standing up, the hunter would reel in more while stepping slowly inbetween each pull.  As Hirru could see the little waterlogged box, he pulled it out of the water to reveal the little chest.  Though, as wood would do, it disintegrated as the box was pulled out, with the contents spilling out.

"Just about as finicky as my luck, apparently."

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 117

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 209932] [CD: 10+1=11] [LD: 11+1=12]  | Critical Catch 8+2=  10 Exp

[ID: 209933] [LD: 3+1=4]  | UnID Rare Armor/Shield [209933a, 209933b] UnID Rare Consumable [209933c]

New Exp Total:  EXP 127

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Hirru

[Kanaoki 0]

Kana had been to excited to try out the newly gained fishing skill, so hadn't answered right away, but now that he was sitting there again, all wet from wading into the river, he turned his head to look up at the ceiling and then slowly nodded. It was strange to see the upper floors above instead of the sky, but by now he had accepted that this was how it would be until they managed to leave the game. "Do you know what's up there? I've never left this floor, but I guess you have been travelling the floors before." Kana asked, his mind wandering through what he imagined the upper floors would look like. In front of his inner eye he saw tall mountains, searing deserts and he imagined a floor that was covered in water like an ocean, only allowing players to stay on islands that were connected by floating bridges.

This daydreaming took multiple minutes and in the end, he was really excited to become stronger and travel to the places he had imagined by himself, not knowing if this actually was what would await him, he once again turned to the jade haired player "I sure will train to see them with my own eyes, the upper floors I mean. And I will try not to exhaust myself." 

Before he could dwell in some more daydreaming, Hirru caught up his own treasure chest, even though it disintegrated the moment he reeled it in, and the contents spilled around them. "Seems you got some treasure yourself, so whats with your luck being finicky?" he asked, then casting out his own line to see if his luck was consistent with the first attempt, or if it just had been beginner's luck. The float hadn't even been able to stabilize after hitting the water, when it disappeared below the surface and Kana had to quickly reel in the line, fighting against what had been caught on the hook. Just a few moments later, he pulled out a trout from the water, catching it with the second hand and accepting the option to place it in his inventory.

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 8

Rank 1 - Novice Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 8+. Critical catch a treasure chest on LD 12+

[ID: 209934] [CD: 9] [LD: 2 +3 = 5] | +1 Mat | +5 Exp

New Exp Total: 13

Total Loot:

- Mats: 1

- T1 Perfect: 

- T1 Rare: Weapon [209930a][209930b] | Consumable [209930c][209930d]

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Kanaoki

[Hirru 0]

"Believe me when I say that this is only a sign that my next hunt will end with not but col."

He shook his head as the items disappeared into his inventory.  The chest, having dissolved, also took the bait with it.  The bleeding scoundrel could've left a bit of it for the fishes, but not so much of a morsel was left.  The hunter wrestled with another bit of bait from in his inventory, and cast it back out into the calm flowing water.  After making sure it wouldn't catch something in the next couple of seconds, Hirru would continue on.

"I guess you're testing the waters, or so they say.  Nothing wrong with that.  Gotta explore your surroundings before you can brave the unknown."

The hunter reeled in a bit to make sure nothing was nibbling away at the bait.

"There are currently 27 floors unlocked, as of now.  There are a few different places, lots of caverns.  A few places with large masses of water for fishing."

Hirru remembered his time on the first floor.  Although he couldn't remember all of it, there were plenty of things that happened that shaped his very being now.  From meeting Xion, going through the completed first floor dungeon with the original members of the, soon to be, Crimson Blades.  He could only give a small grin to those days.

"Whenever you feel ready, there are plenty of opportunities to get stronger the higher you go.  Not too many quests are down here, so your only option is to go up.  My personal favorite is the fifth one, but that's more for the treasure hunting that I used to frequent around."

He would then look at the rod, but nothing seemed to be biting.

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 127

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 209936] [CD: 3+1=] [LD: 15+1=]  | Miss 3+2= 5 Exp

New Exp Total:  EXP 132

Total Loot:

Mats - 0
T4 Perfect - 
T4 Rare - Armor/Shield [209933a, 209933b] / Consumable [209933c]

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Hirru

[Kanaoki 0]

Kana was listening what Hirru had to say, and with every word about the vast area of floors for him to discover, his eyes seemed to light up a little. He knew those upper floors would be dangerous, and that there still was much to do to complete the game, with them being at floor 27 right now, but it seemed so exciting. So when Hirru metntioned him testing the waters, he nodded and replied "That's about right. I need to become stronger before I leave this floor. I wouldn't want to move up, just to get killed by whatever. So I will complete the few quests there are down here, and then I'll move up the floors."

With this statement, he took the rod and placed another bit of bait, before casting out the rod and watching the float drifting across the water, imagining what type of floor this fifth floor could be, that there were treasure hunts going on. Maybe it was covered in ancient ruins he thought, but just as he was about to ask Hirru, the float dove under water. Quickly he pulled and reeled in the string, but the float did not appear again, instead his rod began bending, and soon Kana feared it would break, so he let go of the string, and with a bow like sound, the rod became straight again. The hook had to be stuck under some rocks or something the thought and with a sigh he cut the string. "Seems my Luck is just as miserable as yours" he said, then added "But I don't really care for that at the moment. Tell me what the fifth floor is about. Why were you doing treasure hunts there?"

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 13

Rank 1 - Novice Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 8+. Critical catch a treasure chest on LD 12+

[ID: 209950] [CD: 7] nothing, +3 Exp

New Exp Total: 16

Total Loot:

- Mats: 1

- T1 Perfect: 

- T1 Rare: Weapon [209930a][209930b] | Consumable [209930c][209930d]

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Kanaoki

[Hirru 0]

"Ah, it's a pretty dangerous place, but it starts with some of the most useful skill from throughout Aincrad."

Hirru would start out as he recounted the layout of the fifth floor, also known as, the desert floor.  Although many things changed after the twenty fifth floor incident, it still mostly kept the same motif.  Hirru would talk about the main town, Fortaleza, being a minor stronghold before, was now just a fair sized town.  The desert, which took over all of the floor, seemed to have worn away some areas, giving vision towards a large chasm that wasn't there before.  The multitude of mobs that would ambush anyone that crossed the stone slabs that barely marked the 'known' paths.  Hirru could still feel the paralysis in those stingers.  The shifting sands were known to reveal quite a bit more than just missing chasms.  There are several hundreds of old ruins that could be found underneath the sand.

Going off of that, the hunter would continue..

"Those old ruins are also the first instances of dungeons, in Aincrad.  Smaller labyrinths that pit you against ever aggressive waves of enemies as you delve deeper in them.  Those are where my treasure hunts always took me.  One can find some of the strongest gear, that you can't get from floor bosses, that is."

The entire time, Hirru kept watch over his line.  He would adjust it slightly while continuing the talk.

"Of course, you gotta find the bloody dungeons first, which requires massive amounts of luck, or a map.  Though, it won't do you any good, if you can't survive the desert's environmental damage."

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 132

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 209965] [CD: 1+1=2] [LD: 20+1=21]  | Miss 3+2= 5 Exp

New Exp Total:  EXP 137

Total Loot:

Mats - 0
T4 Perfect - 
T4 Rare - Armor/Shield [209933a, 209933b] / Consumable [209933c]

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Hirru

[Kanaoki 0]

He was all ears, when Hirru told him about the desert floor and the ruins that lay scattered around the place, waiting for adventurers to delve into them and find what ancient weapons and equipment there would be. In his mind, he imagined a desert, as he had seen in TV with meter high dunes and sand as far as he could see, only disrupted by what could have been the steeple of some ancient temple. "This floor sounds like quite the adventure and might be worth me looking into it. I have never been to a desert and it wouldn't be top priority in the real world, but here it sounds like a solid choice" But he was sure, there would be some more training to get through, before he could take on anything on that floor.

When Hirru mentioned that one needed luck to find a dungeon, and it didn't even matter, if one died to the environmental damage, Kana looked at him a little quizzed, as he had not seen any environmental damage effects by then. "What do you mean by surviving the desert's environmental damage? Is there something like a thirst effect one has to drink against, or did I miss understand you?" he asked, and was so excited to hear, what the veteran adventurer had to tell him about the challenges for him to face, that he missed how the float disappeared and reappeared half a minute later with the bait stolen.

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 16

Rank 1 - Novice Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 8+. Critical catch a treasure chest on LD 12+

[ID: 209974] [CD: 5] nothing, +3 Exp

New Exp Total: 19

Total Loot:

- Mats: 1

- T1 Perfect: 

- T1 Rare: Weapon [209930a][209930b] | Consumable [209930c][209930d]

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Kanaoki

[Hirru 0]

"I'll let you know that the heat is unbearable without taking proper precautions.  It gets to the point where you are boiling in your armor."

Hirru would continue on the information that he still had of his old hunting grounds.  There was so much to talk about that there probably wasn't enough time in the day to talk about it all.  Where to go and what to do were all things that he had to figure out on his own, mostly.  Although, he had to figure out everything anyway..

"Your health starts to drop, if you don't seek shade or shelter when the effect is upon you.  It's not something you can 'drink water' to get rid of.  You have to endure a quest."

The information for the quest was his own recollection, which was unfortunately very dated at this point.  The recent recreation of the world seemed to slightly change the layout of some floors and their quests, so the quest itself may be different from what he knew.  All he knew was that he couldn't do anything about that.  You can't go through the same quest for the first time again.  Doesn't quite work out.  A tug at his line would give him some time to figure out what to say about it.

Spoiler

Fishing Exp: 137

Rank 2 - Journeyman Angler: Successfully fish up a material on a CD 7+. Critical catch a treasure chest on a LD 11+

Practiced Angler: +2 EXP & +1 LD & CD to attempts

[ID: 210117] [CD: 8+1=9] [LD: 6+1=21]  | Success (+1 Mat) 5+2= 7 Exp

New Exp Total:  EXP 144

Total Loot:

Mats - 1
T4 Perfect - 
T4 Rare - Armor/Shield [209933a, 209933b] / Consumable [209933c]

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by Hirru