[F19 | PP] A Rocky Start | <<Scent of the Wild: The Colossal Shadow>>

[Acanthus 0]

Acanthus checked over her inventory one last time. Rope, pitons, climbing hooks. The boss fight today was going to be quite different that the others. Based on the information shared by players, it didn’t attack them directly. She’d have to climb the monster to attack its weak points. She thought back to her time climbing Mount Olympus, and how scared she had been of heights back then. No need to be scared of heights anymore; she’d conquered that fear. Along with many others.

It had been quite some time since she had seen Pinball. She wondered what he had been up to during their short break. Not that she would ask him, of course. They both kept to themselves—it was the sign of a good friendship. And she wasn’t keen to share any of her experience over the last few weeks anyways. Let’s just keep this mission quick and professional.

Whenever Pinball arrived, she would merely nod, signaling her readiness for the quest ahead.

Spoiler

 

Acanthus | Lvl 52 (33/19) HP: 760/760 | EN: 90/90 | DMG: 21 | MIT:54 | ACC:5 | BRN-IM  | VAMP-D: 42 | REC: 4 | BLD: 48  | PARA | LD:4                                                                                                                       

Equipped Gear:
Ajisai | A long cerulean blade. The pommel and hilt include subtle floral themes, evoking the remorse instilled by the sword’s name.
Enduring Thistle | This simple breastplate features delicate engravings and patterns of the eponymous wildflower, accentuated by soft hues of green and violet. It bestows the thistle’s qualities upon the wearer.
Vow of Return | I'll be home. Maybe not soon, but someday.

Combat Mastery:
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - TECH Shift

Skills:
  - Light Armor R5
  - Searching R4
  - Straight Sword R5

Extra Skills:
  - Assault Mode
  - Disguise
  - Forgotten King's Authority
  - Hiding R5
  - Parry
  - Photosynthesize
  - Survival

Addons:
  - Focus
  - Precision
  - Resolve

Mods:
  - Meticulous
  - Night Vision
  - Surpise Attack: Trickster
  - Tracking
  - Vengeful Riposte

Housing Buffs:
  - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
  - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
  - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
  - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
  - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.
  - Greenhouse: +2 Gathering EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to gathering attempts.
  - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Crafting Profession:
 - Performer[2638exp] R5
Gathering Profession:
 - Forager[779exp] R5"      

 

                                                                                                                     

[Pinball 1]

Try as he might to forget them, her words from the last time they'd spoken rang in his ear when he saw her. 

I don't think that makes you a terrible person. He approached her quietly, as was his wont, and nodded in response. He began to walk, leading the way to the Colossus. Something was bugging him. He wasn't sure what. Pinball pulled the hood of his cloak up. They hadn't been walking for very long before Pinball broke the silence. 

"When we first began this questline," he ventured, "I was the most worried about this fight. I don't think there's any reason to now, though." 

He could tell by her gear. By the way she carried herself. Acanthus had grown quick. Maybe too quick. Something was wrong. He didn't know what. 

But he kept that thought to himself, too. Did that make him a terrible person? "Not very far. Shouldn't be much of a problem." 

***

Pinball: 860/860 HP | 122/122 EN | DMG: 20 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 4 | BH: 37 | LD: 6

Spoiler

Level: 33 (Paragon Level 47)
Health: 860 | Energy: 122
DMG: 20  | ACC: 2  | EVA: 4  | BH: 37 | LD: 6 
Shift: Tech

Skills:

Combat Skills:
► Battle Healing [22/30]
► Energist [8/8]
► Combat Mastery: Damage [13/13]

Weapon Skills:
► Thrown Weapons [30/30] 
    Add Ons: 
►Focus 
►Precision 
►Stamina 

Utility Skills:
► Quick Change [8/8] 
► Searching: [22/30] -> (Skylight: R5) 

Extra Skills:
► Disguise
► Survival
► Forgotten King’s Authority 
► Hiding [30/30]

Familiar Skill: 
► Rending Familiar [10/10]

Armor Skills:
► Unhindered 

Modifiers:
► Sneak Attack: Trickster 
► Vanish 
► Tracking
► Untraceable

Miscellaneous: 
► +1 LD to Looting, Searching for/Opening Treasure Chests (Paragon) 
► Earn Col Equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in a thread (Paragon) 

Inventory:
»[Equipped] [Demonic] Hellfire: Burn, Blight, Static, Bleed
»[Equipped] [Perfect] Black Cloak: +3 EVA 
»[Equipped] [Perfect] black mamba.: +3 Sneaky

Battle Ready: 
» [Soundtrack] Sound of the Wild {Instant Incarcerate} 
» [Soundtrack] In memoriam miserae {Instant Perpetuate} 
» [2x] Lacrimosa - HP Recovery III Crystal {Instant}
» [Demonic TW] Cold Fervor: +2 Freeze, Phase
» [Demonic TW] Astral Blade: Holy, Fallen, Phase, Damage
» [Perfect Trinket] Warrior’s Focus: +3 ACC 
» [1x] Teleportation Crystal 

Housing Buffs: 
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
Relaxed: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Item Stash: +1 BR Slot 
Skylight (Searching): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt

 

Edited October 6 by Pinball

[Acanthus 0]

“No reason to worry at all,” she confirmed. Back when she started this quest with Pinball, the thought of scaling a mountainous monster and risking unavoidable damage—setting aside the fear of falling itself—might have driven her back inside for another year.

Acanthus did her best to avoid conversation. She could have sworn Pinball gave her an odd look while she wasn’t paying attention. Odd looks meant odd questions, or unwanted conversation, and she didn’t want to repeat her previous weird, mushy remarks. Even though part of her thought about Pinball as a good friend, she recognized that in reality he was nothing more than an ally of convenience. Little had transpired to indicate they were any more than professional contacts—her comments on the fishing trip had only succeeded in making him uncomfortable. She wouldn’t repeat that mistake.

You’re just projecting. Nothing has really changed since we went fishing. And yet… the silence they shared on the fishing trip felt calm, like watching a placid lake. This silence felt more like a stagnant puddle of rainwater.

All of these thoughts are just your anxiety talking. She tried to drown it out with aimless conversation. “The colossus shouldn’t be too hard to find.” Acanthus spoke idly as she observed the horizon. “It is a walking mountain, after all.”
 

Post Action: Locate Colossus
235068 | LD 3. Failure.

Edited October 8 by Acanthus

[Pinball 1]

"Right," he agreed. A giant, walking mountain. Pinball scanned the horizon. Was that it, in the distance? He couldn't tell. He certainly couldn't hear it yet; which was another thing to expect of something of its sheer size. It was kind of funny, and mostly annoying, that the most giant foe they'd have to face so far was also hidden, just like the others. "A walking mountain." 

He kept his thoughts to himself. There was a part of him that, surprisingly, felt like he needed to tell her about the things he'd done in the past. He wasn't sure why he felt this desire (there it was again, that weird feeling that something was wrong) but it ate at him. They kept walking. There was still no Colossus in sight. Maybe they just needed to get a little further into the wilds first. 

***

Locate Colossus: ID#235069 LD: 6+6= 12 (Failure)

Edited October 9 by Pinball

[Acanthus 0]

The pair continued their search without any luck. “It’s not even that big of a floor,” Acanthus complained. “Maybe the creature is smaller than the guide suggested?” It hadn’t been wrong before, but there was a first time for everything. “Or it still needs time to spawn in. Perhaps rendering a creature that big poses issues for Cardinal.” Not that she knew the first thing about computers; she was just filling the silence with something, anything that was shallow enough to ignore.

“Let me know if you have any big orders for my shop soon. I recently made it to maximum rank as a performer, and I have plenty of materials for crafting. I’ll actually be going on a trip to the thirteenth floor soon to… to kill some stuff. I should have plenty of materials for healing crystals. Or another soundtrack. Whatever you need from me.” She silently begged Cardinal to spawn in the monster sooner rather than later.
 

Post Action: Locate Colossus
235162 | LD 4 + 5. Failure.

Edited October 10 by Acanthus

[Pinball 1]

Pinball stayed quiet for a while as they walk. It was an uncomfortable silence. Thankfully Acanthus filled it. First she complained about Colossus; the supposedly massive mob was still nowhere to be seen. Were they even on the correct floor? 

And secondly she told him to let her know if he planned on punching through any big orders to her shop. He watched her as she spoke. He returned his eyes to the task at hand. He took a moment to respond. 

"Alright," he said, "if you're sure. Figured you'd be busy, still." There was more to it than that, sure. There was a reason he never talked to her, except for outside of the quests, and it wasn't because he didn't enjoy her company. It was more the opposite. And he had been ignoring the elephant in the room for too long. 

BOOM. 

"Hey. There it is." 

BOOM. The ground shook violently with every step it took. Ahead, giant and alone, walked the Colossus.

*** 

Post Action: Locate Colossus
235497 | LD: 11+6= 17 (Success!) 

Edited October 12 by Pinball

[Acanthus 0]

Oh thank Kayaba.

Acanthus dug through her inventory as she walked, looking for the rope and pitons. The game would probably assist her in freehanding it, but she liked the feeling of extra security, whether it actually made a difference or not. She’d been able to shake most of her strange little “real life” rituals, but something about heights made her act irrationally. She planned to stamp that out as soon as she could.

“I’ll take the left hand. That leaves the right hand, chest, and head. Your call on what to take next.” Looping the rope around some crags on the mountainous feet, she secured the knot and began scaling. “This thing looks pretty big. It may take a while to bring it down. And…”

C’mon, say something. You know it’s weird. He knows it’s weird. And he knows you know it’s weird. So just say something to let him know you’re still friends.

“Don’t die.”
-----

Post Action: Climb the Colossus (1/2)