Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #21 Share Posted September 9 (edited) The door to the easternmost tower of the castle loomed over the hallway. It had the distinct feeling of the entrance to a boss fight. Kagamine whimpered. Acanthus gave him a stoic look. “Same as last time. You wait outside.” Without waiting for his response, she threw the door open and strode through. The bandit captain leaned thoughtfully over a wooden table, studying maps and documents. She was shorter, dressed in furs and worn leather armor. A greataxe taller than the captain was strapped to her back. “So you’re the intruder that’s releasing all my ransoms?” She straightened up before crossing her arms with a smirk. “It’s time that you learned your lesson.” Ugh, this scripted garbage. Acanthus drew Meteor. “Let’s just get this over with.” The captain bared her yellow teeth. “My pleasure, little girlie.” And she lunged with a hiss. Acanthus barely got out of the way before the greataxe came crashing down, cracking the floor beneath her. She charged her sword art, and let fly at the captains back, knocking the wind out of her. Spoiler Acanthus | HP: 610/610 | EN: 52/68 | DMG: 14 | MIT:66 | ACC:5 | EVA:3 | BLD: 36 | PARA | LD:3 | PROSP:3 Bandit Captain | HP: 436/600 | DMG: 125 (150 on a 9-10) | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 Stun Imm. (0/3) Post Action: TECH-A -> Bandit Captain 230672 (I fat fingered again q.q) | BD 7 + 5 - 1 = 11. Hit! 14 * 16 = 224 - 60 = 164 damage. Stunned! Edited September 9 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #22 Share Posted September 9 (edited) Recovering quickly, the Bandit Captain grabbed Acanthus’ wrist and flung her over her shoulder. She crashed into a bookshelf, spilling scrolls and books all over the floor. “How’s this for a little payback!” The captain guffawed. “Seeing as what all you’ve done to my men.” She lept in the air, and her axe connected squarely with the still dazed Acanthus. The axe went deep into her shoulder, sending waves of buzzing all up her spine. Acanthus grinned. “I’d say you’re starting to pay back their deaths. But you’ll have to try harder than this.” The captain roared as she ripped the axe out of Acanthus’ shoulder. Acanthus jumped to her feet and brought Meteor in front of her, looking to gain some space. It won’t do me any good to parry her. I might as well try and stop an avalanche. The Captain was strong—she’d just felt that with the last blow. That one hit had done more damage to her than all the other bandits combined. Spoiler Acanthus | HP: 526/610 | EN: 39/68 | DMG: 14 | MIT:66 | ACC:5 | EVA:3 | BLD: 36 | PARA | LD:3 | PROSP:3 Bandit Captain | HP: 36/600 | DMG: 125 (150 on a 9-10) | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 Stun Imm. (2/3) +3 EN. Post Action: TECH-A -> Bandit Captain 230673 | BD 7 + 5 - 1 = 11. Hit! 14 * 16 = 224 - 60 = 164 damage. Captain bleeds for 36 damage. MD 10. Critical Hit! 150 - 66 = 84 damage. Edited September 9 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #23 Share Posted September 9 (edited) The Bandit Captain grinned. “I like a little attitude in my ransoms. It makes the conversation much more enjoyable.” “I’m not here to banter with ones and zeros,” Acanthus said flatly. The Bandit Captain frowned, but gave no response. “I don’t want to sit here exchanging pithy comments like we’re heroes in some novel. We’re not. I’m trapped in a game, and you’re just another pathetic quest boss in between me and the frontlines. So do me a favor and die quickly. The sooner you do, the sooner you can respawn for the next hapless hero." The Captain didn’t quite know what to make of Acanthus’ diatribe. She continued the assault without any comment. Acanthus stepped underneath a wide swing, and brought Meteor up underneath her arm, cutting a deep blow. The Captain cried out as digital red facsimile of blood dripped down her armor. “You’re bleeding,” Acanthus stated simply. “I don’t think there’s much time left for you.” Spoiler Acanthus | HP: 526/610 | EN: 26/68 | DMG: 14 | MIT:66 | ACC:5 | EVA:3 | BLD: 36 | PARA | LD:3 | PROSP:3 Bandit Captain | HP: 236/600 | DMG: 125 (150 on a 9-10) | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 Stun Imm. (1/3) +3 EN Post Action: TECH-A -> Bandit Captain 230673 | BD 8 + 5 - 1 = 12. Focus Critical! 14 * 16 = 224 - 60 = 164 damage. Bleed Applied! Captain bleeds for 36 damage. MD 3 - 3 + 1 = 1. Miss. Edited September 9 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #24 Share Posted September 9 (edited) Without Acanthus’ conversation, the Captain resorted to its scripted lines. “I’ll get you!” it screamed as the figure lept in the air. Acanthus met the axe with Meteor, maneuvering the blow to redirect the force into the wall. The strike rattled the captain, causing the boss to drop its axe. As the Bandit Captain reached down for the weapon, it left the perfect opportunity open to strike. If I were a hero, this is where I would same something fun or interesting as I dealt the final blow. Silently, she brought her sword down on the captain’s back. The boss landed on the floor with a sick thud, before dissolving into a fine mist. “That was… a good fight… Well done…” The Bandit Captain managed to utter as it passed away. As if. Aside from the single lucky hit, she basically didn’t do any damage to me. “Kagamine, it’s safe to come in.” Spoiler Acanthus | HP: 526/610 | EN: 13/68 | DMG: 14 | MIT:66 | ACC:5 | EVA:3 | BLD: 36 | PARA | LD:3 | PROSP:3 Bandit Captain | HP: 0/600 | DMG: 125 (150 on a 9-10) | MIT: 60 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 1 Post Action: TECH-A -> Bandit Captain 230675 | BD 9 + 5 - 1 = 12. Minor Critical! 15 * 16 = 240 - 60 = 180 damage. Bleed Applied! Captain bleeds for 36 damage. Looting Bandit Captain ID: 230676 | LD: 2+3=5 | CD:10+0=10 | Col:7200, Mats:0, Loot Totals +41 foraging EXP (20) materials 35,400 col T3 Perfect Weapon | 230668b T3 Perfect Armor/Shield | 230650a, 230651a, 230666a, 230667a, 230668a T3 Perfect Trinket | 230666b, 230667b T3 Perfect Consumable | 230650b, 230650c, 230651b, 230651c T3 Rare Armor/Shield | 230649a Edited September 9 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #25 Share Posted September 9 (edited) Acanthus and Kagamine walked back along the main road to Flora. Around this time, Acanthus remembered treasure chests. They usually spawned around the end of quests, although she hadn’t been lucky enough to find one yet. She decided to take a quick detour and try her luck again. “Miss Acanthus? Why are we going off the road?” “We’ll get right back on. I have to look for a treasure chest.” Kagamine looked like he was about to say something before biting his tongue. “As long as I can make it back home soon, I guess we can stop for a moment.” It’s not like your programming will let you leave. “It will be fine,” she said simply. Just off the dirt path, she began to search for the chest. Sometimes they were buried a little bit, but she had heard once that a player found a treasure chest lodged in a tree. The game made an effort to spawn them, but its ability to hide them varied. Even if she found one, there was no guarantee that she’d be able to open it. But luckily enough, a chest appeared. Acanthus celebrated. Spoiler Post Action: Searching for Treasure Chest 230677 | LD 17 + 3 = 20. Chest found! Edited September 9 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #26 Share Posted September 9 (edited) Acanthus looked over the treasure chest. It appeared intact. She rejoiced. Kagamine appeared over the hill, curious at what was taking her so long. “That looks like quite a haul!” He said. Acanthus nodded. “This is a lucky find. Let’s see what’s inside.” She dug out a set of lockpicks from her inventory. They weren’t any better than the basic ones the game offered—all they accomplished was giving her the chance to get the chest open. She had debated adding some additional skill points into lockpicking and dismantling, but the combat skills kept coming first. On one had, she regretted not having those options available to her. On the other hand, she enjoyed bringing all of her combat skills to bear in Faultwarren. Certainly a note for future Acanthus. For now, she fumbled with the lock using the means she had. And by either luck or talent, the chest popped open. After she breathed a sigh of relief, she remembered that some chests had the possibility of being a mimic. She looked at her health and energy sheepishly. One loot minimum mob likely wouldn’t have done her in, but it could have complicated things. Spoiler Post Action: Looting Treasure Chest 230678 | LD 13. 450 col (8) materials, T3 Perfect Armor/Shield 230678a, T3 Rare Consumable 230678b 230678c Loot Totals +41 foraging EXP (20) materials 35,400 col T3 Perfect Weapon | 230668b T3 Perfect Armor/Shield | 230650a, 230651a, 230666a, 230667a, 230668a, 230678a T3 Perfect Trinket | 230666b, 230667b T3 Perfect Consumable | 230650b, 230650c, 230651b, 230651c T3 Rare Armor/Shield | 230649a T3 Rare Consumable | 230678b 230678c Edited September 9 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #27 Share Posted September 9 Acanthus tuned out the mother’s tearful reunion with her son. She barely even remembered the mother’s name from a few hours ago. No sense getting emotionally involved in such a small quest. She hastily clicked through the quest rewards, and left in the middle of the NPC’s closing speech. If I can handle combat that well on the third floor, it’s time to take on some harder challenges. I’ll need to make a list of the available quests in the info broker’s guide, cross reference that with a list of skills offered by the quests. The sooner I start leaning into my DoT build, the sooner I can get out of this death game. Kagamine’s savior disappeared into the crowd without so much as an acknowledgement. He looked slightly hurt. “Mom, why’d she just walk off like that? Even after you offered to host a dinner for her?” Isella gave her son a quick, reassuring hug. “She’s an adventurer, baby. She just has a lot on her mind, I’m sure. Now let’s get you home and cleaned up. I’m so grateful you’re back.” Silence lingered in the air for a beat as the quest dialogue finished, mother and son joyfully reunited. But as they walked home, Kagamine faded away. And when he fully disappeared, Issela stopped, then followed Cardinal’s path back to the market. She began to plead with whoever would listen to save her darling son. Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted September 9 Author #28 Share Posted September 9 THREAD SUMMARY EXP: 500 (Quest) + 1,388 ((4628 words/10) * 1 * 3) * 2 (New Adventurer) = 3,776 EXP Loot Totals +41 foraging EXP (20) materials 35,900 col (Loot + 500 from quest) T3 Perfect Weapon | 230668b T3 Perfect Armor/Shield | 230650a, 230651a, 230666a, 230667a, 230668a, 230678a T3 Perfect Trinket | 230666b, 230667b T3 Perfect Consumable | 230650b, 230650c, 230651b, 230651c T3 Rare Armor/Shield | 230649a T3 Rare Consumable | 230678b 230678c Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts