[F14;PP] It Doesn't Sparkle...

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

"Netball?" Nari paused in her movement, a single second passing before she suddenly broke down laughing. It was far from the response she had been expecting, and even in the heat of the moment, she couldn't control the laughter that erupted from her. "Netball...netball...I needed that, thanks."

She shook off the laughter in an attempt to return herself to the fight they were still struggling through, deciding that the best thing was just to accept the answer. "I'm proving to be pretty useless in this fight, hey? I don't think I've even hit her once...makes me happy that you're here to help, otherwise this would just be a dance of slowly dying through bleeding out...which is definitely not how I want to go - in this world of the real one. Although, I guess dying fighting would be a nice way...still, living is preferable."

She took another swing at the vampiress as it came within her reach. Her hands slid along the unfamiliar scythe's shaft. The weapon felt familiar enough in her hands, and yet somehow entirely out of place, all things considered. Just another reminder of how out of the fight she truly was.

---

Combat
NIGHT | HP: 1242/1242 | EN: 98/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH+HB: 122 | FLN/HLY: 16 | DOTE (3/3) | PRB: -18 DoT
Nari-Lanreth | HP: 856/860 | EN: 93/100 | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | B.Healing [+47] | L.Momentum: 1 | LD: 5 | Holy [+8] | Burn [56] | +4 EN +47 HP -2 EN -48 HP
[9,3]Lilith the Undying | HP: 1,113/3,500 | DMG: 350 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | Bloodclot | +48 HP
Abilities:
Boss Room Effect | All players immediately regain full HP and EN at the beginning of this battle. Active cooldowns are unaffected.
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.
Vampire | Suffers triple damage from Burn, Flame Aura, and Flame Thorns.
Blood Frenzy | All foes in combat against Lilith, the Undying suffer a constant Bleed effect corresponding to their tier.
Bloodbath | On MD rolls of 9-10, Lilith's attack becomes an AoE that automatically strikes all players, dealing 125 unmitigable damage and preventings Battle Healing from activating for two turns. This replaces her normal attack and is considered a bleed effect that triggers the benefits of Restorative Strike.
Crazed | Immune to disabling effects of Stun, Paralyze, and Freeze. Lilith the Undying's EVA will reduce by 2 for 2 turns for every Disabling effect that hits her, to a minimum of 0.
Undying | Cannot be reduced below 1 HP, except by a blow dealt using the <<Sanctified Sword>>. 
Restorative Strike | Whenever any player suffers Bleed damage from Lilith's attacks and abilities, Lilith regains an equal number of HP. 

ID220671 | BD: 3+2+1-4 = 2 | <<Tech-G vs. Lilith the Undying>> | Miss [-2 EN] | Light Momentum [+1 BD]
ID220672 | MOB: 7+3-6 = 4 | <<Lilith the Undying vs. NIGHT>> | Miss.

 

[NIGHT 0]

was there a second part to her sentence? night only heard the first bit, and wasn't sure why nari started laughing, standing in place. then again, it wasn't as though night had the headspace to come up with a response -- but it wasn't as though she knew what to add onto that, either.

"er, you know... like the sport...?" she weakly added, watching lilith slither and circle the arena. when the figure lunged towards the players, night rolled and went into a counter hit with an uppercut swing. she listened to nari then, watching the boss try to get up without stumbling, especially in its decrepit state.

"it's no problem," night returned, almost in a whisper. the player had her doubts about the quest right then -- between lilith's inability to strike hard and fast despite the blessings from earlier and the mystery of the quest-given sword. surely, she wondered, there had to be a catch that they were both missing.

and speaking of catches, she wasn't going to forget --

"living is definitely preferrable."

Spoiler

> POST ACTION | AoE-I

ID220678 | bd4+7-4 = 7 | -> Lilith

15+2-2-4 = 13 EN

27 x 15 = 405 DMG
405 - 100 = 305 DMG

Taking BLEED Damage. (-30 HP) / (Lilith: +30 HP)

---

[11,3] Lilith the Undying | HP: 838/3,500 | DMG: 350 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | Bloodclot

Undead | x2 DMG from Holy, x0.5 effectiveness from Vampiric enhancements
Vampire | x3 DMG from Burn, Flame Aura, and Flame Thorns.
Blood Frenzy | Permanent T4 Bleed.
Bloodbath | MD9+: 125 DMG AoE, [Battle Healing Disabled] (2). Restorative Strike proc.
Crazed | Stun, Paralysis, Freeze immune; they instead reduce Lilith's EVA by 2 for 2 turns, down to 0. 
Undying | Cannot be reduced below 1 HP, except by a blow dealt using the <<Sanctified Sword>>. 
Restorative Strike | Whenever any player suffers Bleed damage from Lilith's attacks and abilities, Lilith regains an equal number of HP. 

NIGHT | HP: 1212/1242 | EN: 85/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH: 68 | HB: 54 | FLN/HLY: 16 | PRB: -18 DoT | [BLEED: 48 DMG]
Nari-Lanreth | HP: 812/860 | EN: 91/100 | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | B.Healing [+47] | L.Momentum: 1 | LD: 5 | Holy [+8] | Burn [56] | +4 EN -13 EN | Counter [-25% DMG] | [BLEED: 48 DMG]

 

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

It felt, to Nari at least, as though the agreement came out forcibly and fast. Her eyes hovered over NIGHT as Lilith danced away from another pointless strike from Nari's scythe, her attempts almost pathetic at this point in the fight. She was certain that there was going to be no immediate completion to this chaos, and she found herself becoming more and more frustrated as the moments passed further onwards.

"Well, we may not have been able to always agree on everything, but at least we can agree on that." There was no poking or prodding in her voice as she spoke, a serious tone having taken over her as she considered their relationship up to this point. She wondered how others would label it, if they had been watching it from the outside. Not that she truly wanted to know - a variety of harsh terms coming to mind almost immediately, before she could press it all down and ignore it in earnest. "Living is preferable."

Determined to remain living, she squared herself up to meet Lilith in another bout of blade and dancing, not quite ready to give up on the fight. "If I don't managed to hit her, I'm going to force her over towards you - whether she wants it or not!"

---

Combat
NIGHT | HP: 1242/1242 | EN: 85/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH+HB: 122 | FLN/HLY: 16 | DOTE (3/3) | PRB: -18 DoT
Nari-Lanreth | HP: 855/860 | EN: 97/100 | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | B.Healing [+47] | L.Momentum: 1 | LD: 5 | Holy [+8] | Burn [56] | +4 EN +47 HP -2 EN -48 HP
[9,3]Lilith the Undying | HP: 886/3,500 | DMG: 350 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | Bloodclot | +48 HP
Abilities:
Boss Room Effect | All players immediately regain full HP and EN at the beginning of this battle. Active cooldowns are unaffected.
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.
Vampire | Suffers triple damage from Burn, Flame Aura, and Flame Thorns.
Blood Frenzy | All foes in combat against Lilith, the Undying suffer a constant Bleed effect corresponding to their tier.
Bloodbath | On MD rolls of 9-10, Lilith's attack becomes an AoE that automatically strikes all players, dealing 125 unmitigable damage and preventings Battle Healing from activating for two turns. This replaces her normal attack and is considered a bleed effect that triggers the benefits of Restorative Strike.
Crazed | Immune to disabling effects of Stun, Paralyze, and Freeze. Lilith the Undying's EVA will reduce by 2 for 2 turns for every Disabling effect that hits her, to a minimum of 0.
Undying | Cannot be reduced below 1 HP, except by a blow dealt using the <<Sanctified Sword>>. 
Restorative Strike | Whenever any player suffers Bleed damage from Lilith's attacks and abilities, Lilith regains an equal number of HP. 

ID221122 | BD: 3+2+1-4 = 2 | <<Tech-G vs. Lilith the Undying>> | Miss [-2 EN] | Light Momentum [+1 BD]
ID221123 | MOB: 6+3-6 = 4 | <<Lilith the Undying vs. NIGHT>> | Miss.

 

[NIGHT 0]

"huh? wingmanning--?!"

another jest from night; she'd dropped her guard in receiving lilith then, as she focused on the dancing of the boss' health bar within her periphery. up and down again. night couldn't quite help but figure they were both forgetting something crucial regarding the death of the vampire.

just as the beast was shoved in her direction, night swiveled around lilith's open maw curving into a sharp bite, and cut a gash into its side. a classic move to avoid being front-and-center food for the enemy. she slid away, allowing their target to spin around and face them in a lost frenzy as night bounced over to nari's side.

what was it again? the weapon?

"hey," she started, pointing towards the scythe in her team mate's hand while trying to keep her cool. "i know you haven't been able to hit her. but also, do you think that artefact you're holding is... somehow related to lilith's death or something...? no pressure but..."

Spoiler

> POST ACTION | AoE-II

ID222485 | bd5+7-4 = 8 | -> Lilith

18+2-2-4 = 14 EN

27 x 18 = 486 DMG
486 - 100 = 386 DMG

Taking BLEED Damage. (-30 HP) / (Lilith: +30 HP)

[13,3] Lilith the Undying | HP: 530/3,500 | DMG: 350 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | Bloodclot

Undead | x2 DMG from Holy, x0.5 effectiveness from Vampiric enhancements
Vampire | x3 DMG from Burn, Flame Aura, and Flame Thorns.
Blood Frenzy | Permanent T4 Bleed.
Bloodbath | MD9+: 125 DMG AoE, [Battle Healing Disabled] (2). Restorative Strike proc.
Crazed | Stun, Paralysis, Freeze immune; they instead reduce Lilith's EVA by 2 for 2 turns, down to 0. 
Undying | Cannot be reduced below 1 HP, except by a blow dealt using the <<Sanctified Sword>>. 
Restorative Strike | Whenever any player suffers Bleed damage from Lilith's attacks and abilities, Lilith regains an equal number of HP. 

NIGHT | HP: 1212/1242 | EN: 71/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH: 68 | HB: 54 | FLN/HLY: 16 | PRB: -18 DoT | [BLEED: 48 DMG]
Nari-Lanreth | HP: 855/860 | EN: 97/100 | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | B.Healing [+47] | L.Momentum: 1 | LD: 5 | Holy [+8] | Burn [56] | +4 EN +47 HP -2 EN -48 HP

 

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

"Oh, no, no pressure at all. Also yeah, I'm like, ninety-nine percent sure that it is, in fact, somehow directly related to her death. These vampire stories always have only one way to kill the vampire right? With our luck, it's this freaking...useless...piece of...garbage...scythe!" The weapon slashed out time and time again, attempting to land a strike on the vampire without success - and the frustration in Nari's voice became more apparent with every swing. "Aaaaggghhhh! Stupid. Freaking. Scythe!"

She would've thrown the weapon to the side and donned her normal piece, if not for the fact that she was positive that she needed it to bring Lilith down. Which meant she had no option other than to continue swinging wildly at the vampire, until such time as she managed a miraculous strike against the vampiress. Even so, she found herself growling even as she pressed her attack, giving way of anything but pure fury in the moment. "If it weren't for this piece of junk I might actually have been able to help you on this! Especially considering I requested your help! This is! So! Stupid!"

---

Combat

NIGHT | HP: 1212/1242 | EN: 71/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH+HB: 122 | FLN/HLY: 16 | DOTE (3/3) | PRB: -18 DoT
Nari-Lanreth | HP: 854/860 | EN: 98/100 | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | B.Healing [+47] | L.Momentum: 1 | LD: 5 | Holy [+8] | Burn [56] | +4 EN +47 HP -2 EN -48 HP
[13,3]Lilith the Undying | HP: 530/3,500 | DMG: 350 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | Bloodclot | +48 HP
Abilities:
Boss Room Effect | All players immediately regain full HP and EN at the beginning of this battle. Active cooldowns are unaffected.
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.
Vampire | Suffers triple damage from Burn, Flame Aura, and Flame Thorns.
Blood Frenzy | All foes in combat against Lilith, the Undying suffer a constant Bleed effect corresponding to their tier.
Bloodbath | On MD rolls of 9-10, Lilith's attack becomes an AoE that automatically strikes all players, dealing 125 unmitigable damage and preventings Battle Healing from activating for two turns. This replaces her normal attack and is considered a bleed effect that triggers the benefits of Restorative Strike.
Crazed | Immune to disabling effects of Stun, Paralyze, and Freeze. Lilith the Undying's EVA will reduce by 2 for 2 turns for every Disabling effect that hits her, to a minimum of 0.
Undying | Cannot be reduced below 1 HP, except by a blow dealt using the <<Sanctified Sword>>. 
Restorative Strike | Whenever any player suffers Bleed damage from Lilith's attacks and abilities, Lilith regains an equal number of HP. 

ID222543 | BD: 5+2+1-4 = 4 | <<Tech-G vs. Lilith the Undying>> | Miss [-2 EN] | Light Momentum [+1 BD]
ID222544 | MOB: 3+3-6 = 0 | <<Lilith the Undying vs. NIGHT>> | Miss.

[NIGHT 0]

night breathed, slow, watching nari chase after lilith and watching the vampiress back off on instinct. was it all in the weapon? given how many times she'd changed her own, she figured she knew better by now. so the constant foiled attempts, night thought, were either an equipment mismatch or...

"--stop."

she, too, chose to dive in once nari had swung to her fill. a scythe wasn't the best weapon for reach, but it did have more than most, to the detriment of its curvature. straight edges weren't the best due to the need for accuracy, but perhaps that was the exact type of precision that her companion lacked in that moment.

so she put her blade to the test. in the same way she came to her epiphany, whole-hearted or otherwise, so too did her promise ring in tone, drawing a holy light from above to smite lilith where it stood. at a pulsing, bleeding red, bar empty save for the last, the boss was brought to its knees.

night stepped back, hesitant. a mixture of annoyance and surprise swelled within. she turned to nari in that moment of rest, holding up two fingers.

"here's how we'll do this. either you strike its weak point to land a critical..." she lowered her middle. "... or i tag it with a stun before you hit it hard afterwards."

Spoiler

> POST ACTION | AoE-I

ID222582 | bd10 | -> Lilith

15+2-2-4 = 11 EN

(27+(16x2)) x 15 = 885 DMG
885 - 100 = 785 DMG

Taking BLEED Damage. (-30 HP) / (Lilith: +30 HP)

[16,3] Lilith the Undying | HP: 31/3,500 | DMG: 350 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | Bloodclot

Undead | x2 DMG from Holy, x0.5 effectiveness from Vampiric enhancements
Vampire | x3 DMG from Burn, Flame Aura, and Flame Thorns.
Blood Frenzy | Permanent T4 Bleed.
Bloodbath | MD9+: 125 DMG AoE, [Battle Healing Disabled] (2). Restorative Strike proc.
Crazed | Stun, Paralysis, Freeze immune; they instead reduce Lilith's EVA by 2 for 2 turns, down to 0. 
Undying | Cannot be reduced below 1 HP, except by a blow dealt using the <<Sanctified Sword>>. 
Restorative Strike | Whenever any player suffers Bleed damage from Lilith's attacks and abilities, Lilith regains an equal number of HP. 

NIGHT | HP: 1212/1242 | EN: 60/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH: 68 | HB: 54 | FLN/HLY: 16 | PRB: -18 DoT | [BLEED: 48 DMG]
Nari-Lanreth | HP: 855/860 | EN: 97/100 | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | B.Healing [+47] | L.Momentum: 1 | LD: 5 | Holy [+8] | Burn [56] | +4 EN +47 HP -2 EN -48 HP

 

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

She'd stopped at the sudden soft word from NIGHT, coming to an immediate halt in place as she turned to look at the other player. There was no concern regarding her own safety - Lilith paid no heed to her at all, at this point. She was certain the vampiress, if it could've had any sort of thoughts of it's own, considered Nari as little more than an annoying fly buzzing around her head.

She watched as NIGHT strode forward, strucking the vampiress with a movement of ease, and then turned on Nari and began directing her into their plan of action. It was simple, really - land a critical strike against a weak point, or stun the evil thing. She snarled in response, not to NIGHT's words, but to the fact that she was entirely useless in the position she was in.

"Fine. I'll give it one more try. If I still miss...which, let's be honest, I'm going to - why did I ever give up tanking? - then stun it and I'll see if she can't somehow completely avoid me still." Tired of the dance, she gave a heavy sigh before picking up her scythe and moving towards the vampiress, hoping that maybe by moving slowly and in a more controlled manner she could somehow land the final blow. She whispered under her breath as she went, hoping NIGHT wouldn't hear her. "Really great way to appear super amazing and self-sufficient and appealing...well done Nari, well done."

Combat

NIGHT | HP: 1212/1242 | EN: 60/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH+HB: 122 | FLN/HLY: 16 | DOTE (3/3) | PRB: -18 DoT
Nari-Lanreth | HP: 853/860 | EN: 100/100 | ACC: 2 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | B.Healing [+47] | L.Momentum: 1 | LD: 5 | Holy [+8] | Burn [56] | +4 EN +47 HP -2 EN -48 HP
[16,3]Lilith the Undying | HP: 0/3,500 | DMG: 350 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | Bloodclot | +48 HP
Abilities:
Boss Room Effect | All players immediately regain full HP and EN at the beginning of this battle. Active cooldowns are unaffected.
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.
Vampire | Suffers triple damage from Burn, Flame Aura, and Flame Thorns.
Blood Frenzy | All foes in combat against Lilith, the Undying suffer a constant Bleed effect corresponding to their tier.
Bloodbath | On MD rolls of 9-10, Lilith's attack becomes an AoE that automatically strikes all players, dealing 125 unmitigable damage and preventings Battle Healing from activating for two turns. This replaces her normal attack and is considered a bleed effect that triggers the benefits of Restorative Strike.
Crazed | Immune to disabling effects of Stun, Paralyze, and Freeze. Lilith the Undying's EVA will reduce by 2 for 2 turns for every Disabling effect that hits her, to a minimum of 0.
Undying | Cannot be reduced below 1 HP, except by a blow dealt using the <<Sanctified Sword>>. 
Restorative Strike | Whenever any player suffers Bleed damage from Lilith's attacks and abilities, Lilith regains an equal number of HP. 

ID222688 | BD: 7+2+1-4 = 6 | <<Tech-G vs. Lilith the Undying>> | Hit: [20x16+168-100] = 388 damage | Lilith is destroyed, finally.

[NIGHT 0]

 with a shudder, what persistent shadow that once fell over the room gave way to an ambient, monotone grey, lilith at the heart of it all, falling apart into pieces. 

night let out a sigh she hadn't noticed she'd been holding in. not that she didn't have faith in nari – it was more likely they were rushing into things to notice the best way of navigating around their combatant, or the fight. finally able to put away her weapon, she set a hand to her side, gesturing to the already dissipating corpse of their enemy. "see? never say never... or something like that."

what minute peace they had was broken by the haunting murmurs of the figure at the corner of the room. the creepy old guy but grinned once, before snapping his fingers and disappearing, flames blanketing his form and eating at the ground where he once stood. all the player could do was narrow her eyes, turning to nari. "did you hear what he said? ... what was all of that about, even...? it's as weird as ever for that guy to be sending us his discord kittens to fight his own battles. you agree, right?"

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

The vampiress disappeared in a shatter of shards and sparkles onto the air, leaving NIGHT and Nari to listen to joyous, albeit somewhat creepy voice of the man who had continued to hover at the edges of the conflict. Nari barely listened to him, sighing in relief only as the scythe in her hands had disappeared into shards alongside Lilith. Turning towards NIGHT, she gave a small shake of her head before trying to answer the girl's questions.

"Honestly? I barely heard what he said...the man is so grating on the ears. But...yeah, weirdo. Not even a cute discord kitten." She paused for a second before laughing aloud, shaking her head at the oddity of the entire situation. "Discord kitten. Now there's a term I haven't heard in a while. How old are you?"

There was no malice or insult to her tone, and the smile that spread across her face seemed odd for a second as she glanced around the room once more. Softly, as if speaking to herself, she spoke once more before leaving the room behind. "Maybe I'm getting too old for all of this...maybe it's time to give up on it all."

The walk back was easy enough, and although the captain was not to be found at his original locations, a brief search led the two to him without any further hindrances or issues. A fact that Nari was greatful for, as the exhaustion of it all began to creep up on her. She barely listened as the captain thanked them for everything they did, and monologued about the dangers still to be faced. In truth, she really didn't care - she was just happy they had survived another day.

Turning away from the captain and smiling at NIGHT, Nari held out a hand in thanks, smiling once more before saying her final piece. She had no plans for the rest of the day, but as she finished speaking, she knew she'd head home and just relax; leave the world behind for a time while she recovered and processed everything. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks again for all your help. You really came through...as you always do. I appreciate it, a lot...and I don't know if I ever really say that. So thanks. For everything."

---

Thread Summary
Word Count: 11,968

Nari-Lanreth
EXP: 11,968/10x8x0.7 = 6,697 [Thread] + 2,250 [Quest] = 8,947 EXP
<<Restorative Strike | Tech-E>> Unlocked

NIGHT
EXP: 11,968/10x14x0.7 = 11,720 [Thread] + 2,250 [Quest] = 13,970 EXP
col: 800 col [Thread]
<<Restorative Strike | Tech-E>> Unlocked