(SP-F1) The Ugly and The Beast <Toil and Trouble> [COMPLETE]

[Yuji 0]

It's been a while since the riddle event. I wait for the result of the event. When it comes to something that requires your brain to think out of context, some people shine, others not. I fall in the latter category. Joining a fun event once in a while won't hurt.

 

Or that was I thought at first.

 

I read the translucent message in red font that appeared in front of me. It seems to be a system message, but in red font? Now that's new. Usually it is black font letters. I read the content:

 

[ You answered 1 riddles correctly out of 3. Congratulations ]

 

"Not bad. I'm not that bad went it comes to riddles after all."

 

The message doesn't end there though. I read the last part....and my eyes went wide.

 

[ However, you failed to answer the other riddles correctly. Therefore you will be cursed ]

 

"Curse? What curse? At least tell me what kind of curse will I get!"

 

I close the message and check the green line on upper left of my view. The line shows how much HP does a player have. Right now it's full. I look next to the line. Any status ailment inflicted by monster on a player will be shown there.

 

"Nothing there..weird. I don't think the system would send a message like that to player."

[Yuji 0]

I shrug my shoulders and begin walking. Nothing seems to happen, so I ignore the message. The street in Floor 1 are full of noises and activities. Since this is the biggest city in <Aincrad>, there are many people gather here for many reasons. Usually the reasons are buying and selling items or rumor information exchange. 

 

Roaming the streets can be fun. I can see a lot of people and their behavior. This situation felt surreal, like I'm living in the real world. Despite that, we, players and everything else in this games are just datas. Even our actions and behavior can be regarded as data. The term <Full Dive> really meets up to everyone's expectation.

 

"While I'm here, I better buy some fruits."

[Yuji 0]

I approach on of the stall run by a player I didn't know. It's a stall that sells ingredients for cooking. The apples on the shop attracted me with their bright red color.

 

"Morning, can I have 2 apples please?"

 

The player took his time to respond to my call. He was busy doing something as he look down. After he finished whatever business he have there, he lift his face. He looks to young to be in this game. 

 

"Good morning mister, how can I....huarghhhhhg!"

 

Surprised by his sudden act of screaming, I ask him what happen. People begin to turn their attention to us. The feeling of being watched is something I didn't enjoy. People begin to scream however when turn this way, some even faint.

 

"Go away from here, you monster! Someone kill this monster!"

 

Monster? Where? I look around to search for said 'monster' and didn't see anything of that sort. Something solid suddenly hits my head and the pain kicks in. I rub the place where the thing hits me. Without warning, the people around me begin to throw stones. Their target? Me..

 

"Stop throwing..I'm not your enemy. Why everyone start throwing stones at me?!"

 

"Go away monster! How can you enter the safe zone?! Go away!"

 

Staying around won't do me any good. I run away from the place, pushing away people that blocks my way.

[Yuji 0]

I close my eyes and ears with my hands, blocking every sound and sights as I run. I let my leg carry me to somewhere else. I didn't care where I will end up, as long as I escape from the brutal treatment. 

 

I stop myself from running after a few minutes. I open my eyes and remove my hands from my ears. I look around to see where I end up; the green plain greet my view with wild boars roam the plain.

 

"How did I end up here....Whatever,as long as I get away..."

 

It's a miracle I didn't run into anyone during the moment I run. I can hear people screaming everywhere even while my ears are closed during that moment.

 

"-Sigh..why did they scream when they see me?"

 

I call the menu with my two finger in the air pulling downwards. I equip my armor and my sword. Both materialize, the armor cover my whole body and the sword with the scabbard on my back. I draw the sword and lift it in front of my face.

 

"What the...?!"

 

Now I know why they scream when they see me.

 

The curse must have turn my face into this ugly form. I hold myself from puking when I look into my new face when for a long time. I lower the sword and and curse the witch.

 

"Alright, how to remove this curse. I can't go anywhere like this!"

[Yuji 0]

I send a message to my information broker. She usually knows what to do in case of something strange happen. 

 

" [i have been cursed by a witch. Do you know how to break the curse?] Alright,send. Now let's wait for her to reply."

 

I look around the plains, there are no players in the vicinity which is a relieve. The last thing I wanted is to be chase again while rock fly from my behind. I tap my left foot while cross my arm, waiting for her to reply.

[Yuji 0]

I wait for five minutes before I hear the sound of ringing. On my upper right screen the system notify me that I receive a message. I call forth the menu and check my mail. My message have been reply. I open it without any wait for every second I spent with this face is a second worth of leveling. 

 

" [so you have been cursed, huh. Sucks to be you XD.] "

 

"When I meet you somewhere in the city, I'll make sure I'll give you a good beating..."

 

" [ Somewhere in the forest near the Tolbana Village on F1, there's a monster that said to be able to cure the curse given by the witch. Many players that have been cursed fight it and receive a chemical solution (read potion) that cured them out of their misery. Why don't you go there and see it for yourself? ]

 

I send a reply, saying my thanks to her. A sense of relieve comes over after I read the message. Without further delay, I begin walking to said forest.

[Yuji 0]

I memorize the map of Floor 1 on the back of my head. I'm not exaggerating when I said that I can walk to the village with my eyes closed. Of course I won't be doing that because there are monster everywhere on the plain. Not to mention there are bandits and PKer everywhere, waiting for their preys.

 

I reach the village after walking for 10 minutes. I don't have the time to enjoy the scenery as I will usually do during my journey. I just want to get this over with and go back to sleep. I steer away from the village to avoid any players inside there. 

 

I finally reach the entrance of the forest. I open the menu and look at the map of the forest. The forest is as big as plain. Getting lost inside will be deadly. I close the map and decided to travel to center of the forest.

[Yuji 0]

The forest feels the same, no matter what the season is. This month is the season of fall judging from the drying leaves outside the city. There are no leaves like that in this forest though. In spring there are no flowers inside the forest while in summer the forest are cool as usual. 

 

"This is one of the boring dungeon type I always fund in RPG.. Endure it..for the sake of myself.."

 

i stop walking and place my right hand on the hilt. I draw my sword out from the scabbard as I feel the hostility towards me. It's not a skill, this kind of sensing are honed through sheer training. I look around, trying to detect the enemy that are currently hiding.

 

"Show yourself! You won't like it if I look for you!"

[Yuji 0]

I shout those words and wait for any reactions. The forest is too quiet than usual, which worries me. From my experiences, this kind of situation usually happens when someone strong appears. I hold my breath and focus on my surrounding.

 

"This hostility...where did it come from...Focus, Yuji..."

 

The sound of rustling from nearby bush surprise me. I raise my sword and hold it proportional to the center of my ody. I lower my pose and open my legs; my usual combat stance. I breath slowly,trying to calm down my fear inside.

 

Then it jumps out.

 

The half humanoid, half beast with the same height as mine come out from its hiding. It show its big fang to me as it leap down towards me. Not wanting to be devoured by the beast, I step forward and close in to the beast. I am directly under it and its chest area are full of openings.

[Yuji 0]

ID 2837  BD: 4  MD: 6-3

 

Seeing it up close, I can see the whole body covered in fur. It smells like sweat too; I hold my breath so that I won't faint from the smell. I thrust upward from the right, confident I can make the first strike. The beast pull its right leg upwards and shield himself from the attack. My sword rebound when the sword make contact with the leg. The beast jumps over me and land on the ground. 

 

He doesn't end it there though. With his two hand, it swipes left and right in fury. I block the attacks with my sword but I got pushed backward. The strength of this beast can't be made a joke.

 

Yuji: 36/36

 

The Beast: 40/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 2839  BD: 1  MD: 8-3

 

I tried to push forward to regain my position. Being pushed to a tree can be fatal. My sword went left and right, blocking all the attacks. I was too busy concentrating on blocking I didn't watch my footstep. I slip on a rock and fall down. The monster leap to me and thrust its long and sharp claw, aiming for my head.

 

I tilt my head to the left just in time to dodge the claw; I could see the ground crack a bit from the attack. I swing my sword from right to left to chase away the monster that is now on top of my body so that I can stand up.

 

Yuji: 36/36

 

The Beast: 40/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 2918  BD: 3  MD: 9-3

 

I fail to scare the beast away. It pin me to the ground and lets out a huge howl. I cross both my hand and protect myself from the its barrages of claw with my arm. Although my defense is high, the fact that he landed a critical hit and the surreal feeling of pain is more than enough for me to handle. I push the beast away and escape from its lock. I jump back as far as I can.

 

Yuji: 35/36

 

The Beast: 40/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 2921  BD: 1  MD: 4-3

 

The beast recover quickly from its fall. I still need some time to plan the next action but its quick reaction force me to go on defense the whole time. With a howl, it charge forward at me I stood firm on the ground and put the sword straight in front of me. The head of the beast meets with the blade, and the battle of power begin. We both push forward, determined to make the other party succumb to their power.

 

Yuji: 35/36

 

The Beast: 40/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 2923  BD: 5  MD: 2

 

We didn't budge from our spot. Both of us are equal in terms of power. I want to test it stamina, but judging from how the beast doesn't seem to be faze even by a little a bit, I know I will lose in that battle.

 

Avoiding the direction of the battle to go there, I pull the sword away and sidestep to the left. The beast stumble forwards for a few metre due to my sudden action.

[Yuji 0]

ID 2925  BD: 7  MD: 10-3

 

"Toryaaahh!"

 

"Roooaaar!"

 

I spin hundred and eighty degrees backward, facing the wolf with my sword high in the air and swing it down in an arc. The beast thrust its right claw forward towards me.

 

-Swoosh-

 

We both pass each other. I look down and see the red gush in my chest area. Red polygon can be seen, replacing bloods and wounds. I hold the gush with my left hand and turn backwards. The beast receive the same wound except that it is in its left cheek.

 

"This is where the fun begins, right?"

 

Yuji: 33/36

 

The Beast: 33/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 2926  BD: 10  MD: 5-3

 

"Let's do this!"

 

Excitement build up inside. It's been a while since I found a strong enemy. I inhale and exhale deeply while the beast in front of me howl as loud as it can. The birds inside the forest fly away, scared by the howl. I didn't let its little action affect me. I shoulder my sword and lower my pose.  I activate the Concentration skill as I readjust my focus to one thing and one thing only, the monster in front of me.

 

"Eat this!"

 

My sword glows blue. I close in at the beast and slash the chest diagonally from top left to bottom middle. The chain didn't stop there though. Before the sword could touch the ground, I readjust my grip on the sword and slash diagonally again, this time from bottom middle to top right. Red gush appear in its chest in the shape of "V".

 

"One Hand Sword Skill: Vertical Arc!"

 

Yuji: 33/36

 

The Beast: 23/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 2932  BD: 10  MD: 7-3

 

"I'm not done yet!"

 

Adrenaline rush in my blood. Everything seems to move at slow pace. The cooling period for my previous skill end just in time. The beast jump up and somersault in the air before diving down. It swing its arms randomly. Red trajectory follow the claws as it scratches the air; the claw barrage attack it use that gives me limited space to evade.

 

However, the beast are too slow. I just stood there and watch as it gets closer. I lower the sword parallel to my right leg and the sword begin to glow red. I adjust my grip on the sword and swing upward.

 

"Too slow! <Uppercut>!"

 

I swing the sword up like an uppercut. The blade went through the barrages of claw with ease and hit the beast in the center. The beast thrown away from the impact and crash on the tree.

 

Yuji: 33/36

 

The Beast: 14/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 3072  BD: 9  MD: 3

 

Th beast fly and hits the tree. The impact is so strong the word <Immortal Object> appear in black font and purple window on the tree, implying that the hit is strong enough for the tree to break. I lower my body and bent my body forward, my sword in the back. Just before the beast fall to the ground, I charge forward with my sword glows blue.

 

"Hyaaah! <Rage Spike>!"

 

I swing the sword down and bring it to my right. I manage to close in to the monster just before it hits the ground. I thrust my sword forward and aim for the neck. Blue trajectory follow the sword in straight line as it travel through. The sword pierce the neck and hit the tree. <Immortal Object> appear again on the tree.

 

Yuji: 33/36

 

The Beast: 6/40

[Yuji 0]

ID 3076  BD: 3  MD: 1

 

I pull out the sword and spin it around. I jump back to gain myself some space. The usage of the three skills in row tired me, any attack the beast throw at me will surely hit me. 

 

I watch the beast fall to the ground. It's all beat up from the attack just now. I laugh at myself, it really took everything I had to make this beast fall to this state. Its HP is now in the red zone. One or two attacks should finish this fight. I still need to find the cure for the witch's curse.

 

I readjust my pose and enter back my stance when the beast stand up.

 

"Time for the finale."

[Yuji 0]

ID 3077  BD: 2  MD: 1

 

We glare at each other. If we can melt each other with our eyes, then that'll probably happen. That's how intense our gaze are, full of hatred. My hatred towards it because it must have claim some of the player's life. Its hatred towards me for putting it in terrible state. 

 

I lower my body forward and step forward. I swing my sword downward, the beast move to the left and charge at me. Again with its claws, it slash randomly again. I use my sword and block the scratches while avoiding some of it.

 

Yuji: 33/36

 

The Beast: 6/40