[PP-F3] Pendants, Minotaurs, and a Maze (Elise and Reus) [Hoya]

[Crozeph 0]

The forest stood eerie in front of Crozeph, faint cries of dying animals, little animals, or not animals are emanating. Standing just outside the forest path, Crozeph opened his skill list hoping to use something useful in battle. "Would've been nice if some players stumble upon here" he thought. According to info he heard, there's a maze ahead of him which traps the players who aren't alert enough or end up as Minotaur work-out material "if the maze wasn't there I'll pound that guy's face like curry paste" he said, an annoyed looked on his eyes seen. Crozeph hesitated going in for a moment, he needs some people who can at least walk with him inside and help each other with directions but none could be seen at the moment.

 

Crozeph looked around him, hoping to see a few players and invite them to party up and finish a quest with him. "I hope someone gets lost and finds me here, or maybe not get lost..." Crozeph smirked ".. just find me here" he thought and then shivered again as he heard a squeal and then a crunch "dangerous forest is dangerous" he said calmly as if he's just mentioning a park.

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Sword...check."

"Cape...check."

"Healing Potion...check."

"The fact I really need to get more gear...obvious."

 

"Speaking of obvious, I know it's ten past nine-thirty already.. Where is Elise? I thought we were meeting just outside town, so we could venture to the forest together."

 

Standing in the fields, Reu took a good look around at the scenery, that of a prairie. Temperate grasslands as far as the eye could see. I'm sure she was just held up a few minutes, let's just be patient. She is a really good partner after-all.

 

Reu turned back toward Delilah Village, shielding his gaze from the morning sun, he scanned the field looking for his missing adventurer.

[Elise 0]

Elise was enjoying the view of the city from her room's windows. She liked Delilah Village in Floor 3 because of its calm atmosphere, though not as much as Urbus. Speaking about Floor 3, she got here yesterday because of a reason. But what? There's no way she came all the way here just for the view. She couldn't recall anything, so she spent her time with staring through the window. She was looking at grassland far beyond when she saw a figure standing. It was Reu, what was he-

Elise facepalmed. She totally forgot about their assembly outside the village. She wanted to go to the maze inside the forest, which was rumored having traps, mobs, and some players claimed they've seen a Minotaur inside. Not sure if that was just a baloney, because they were still alive after such encounter. Or was the Minotaur weak? Either way it piqued her interest. So yesterday Elise invited Reu to go inside the forest. Today it turned out Elise was the one who forgot about her own plan.

Elise closed the door behind her and ran to the outskirts to meet her companion for the adventure. When she got close, she walked and controlled her short breath. "So..." she stopped and looked at him "I'm late."

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph still stood in front of the forest, thinking of what to bring inside if he ever enters it alone. Crozeph thought hard for a second because one he enters the forest he'll be facing a maze, and mazes were never his best of friends "mazes kill anyone who gets lost in there" he thought, trying to kill the idea of getting killed. Crozeph then just sat at the forest entrance and tried coming up with a plan much better than just killing a minotaur and finding some kind of pendant that he doesn't even know what it looks like. Crozeph heard crunching and squealing sounds again from the forest, mist covering the inside leaving only shadows to see.

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Being late's no big deal Elise, but next time send me a pm will ya? I've been standing out here for like twenty minutes now. I thought for a minute I was going to have to check out the forest alone. Like I said, it's no big deal. Let's just get to the forest and find this maze. I really don't want to be stuck in a place like that at night." Reu turned and headed off into the forest.

 

...

 

...*HACK*...

 

...*SLASH*...

 

"Oh man, all these vines. I wish we had a machete, my sword wasn't made to cut this! My poor sword-edge!" Reu complained loudly. Taking his sword, he swung it against a tree, leaving a deep gash in the bark. Finally, seeing a clearing he made his way towards that. Let's just get these cobwebs off me. Overhead, the sky darkened despite it being only around ten-thirty in the morning. His eyes glanced up, noticing how it was getting darker...Peculiar...

 

Stepping into the clearing, Reu took note of what lay in front of him. Trees lined the edges, while the ground itself was a mixture of grass, and hard, well-worn dirt. Tall, stone walls stood at the far end of the clearing looking imposing, and dangerous. Ok, so that's an entrance to the maze...Oh, who's that?

 

Reu looked at the figure sitting near the edge of the maze, it looked like he was sorting through his menu's. Probably checking his map, we're pretty far out now. Turning to Elise, Reu calmly asked..."You're better at these things then I am, do you want to talk to him? He could be lost with us being this far out."

[Elise 0]

"No objection with that. Let's." she equipped her rapier. The forest seemed ominous. But if some mobs were to jump on their way, she's ready to turn them back to pieces of data. Reu walked to the forest, followed by Elise.

......

"We're lucky there aren't any monsters around" she swung her rapier and cut a dangling vine. "But the track is almost equally annoying." Reu was right. Their swords would be worn out in no time. Come to think of it, Elise needed a new sword. The Starter Rapier was fine, but it's efficiency decreases as she goes to higher floors. Elise glanced at Reu's sword. It's different than the one he used in their journey to Horunka Village. If she got the time to, she would ask him where did he get it. Elise cut the last vines that separated them from the maze.

"Huh? Someone's also here to enter the maze?" Elise brushed the vines that was blocking her sight. The stranger was standing near the maze's entrance. Maybe he was considering his options whether to get in or not? In places such as a maze a mythical monster running around isn't the biggest problem. It's the direction. One wrong turn, and you're lost. Elise didn't want to camp-out in a maze where a half-bull creature lived in. Perhaps they could team up with the stranger. They could guard each other's back even if they were to camp after the sun goes down. Better if that didn't happen though. "I'll try." She walked to the stranger to invite him. But wait a minute.. Elise looked at the stranger thoroughly. "Crow Soup? What are you doing here?" Turns out it was somebody she knew.

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph remained at the same spot for a long time he almost lost track of his own time "I hate inconveniences inside this kind of places" he thought. There was no way he could get killed by everything inside but Crozeph is pretty sure that fighting mobs inside the maze until he gets out is not part of his option "even if I fight them all, I also get tired every now and then" he said. Crozeph kept on thinking a dilemma running around inside his head. Luckily Oikawa seemed to have finished his sword and will be trying it out soon so the only question that remains "go or no go?" he said.

 

Crozeph heard faint footsteps from afar but the mist is already a disadvantage to him. Crozeph closed his eyes and listened "heavy, firm footsteps..." he thought "...a man and the other" Crozeph kept on listening "light footsteps, almost like a cat" he thought. "There's no doubt about it a gir..." Crozeph then heard a voice calling him Crow Soup "no way" Crozeph opened his eyes and saw Elise with another player and from the looks of it, they're heading for the maze. Crozeph stood up and blew the leaf that is clinging on his bangs "your highness, planning on entering the maze?" he asked her. He seemed to have gotten used to calling her as if she's some kind of princess, after all Crozeph has a weird level of instinct "and the other one..." Crozeph looked at the guy and tried remembering of he has seen him somewhere. He was well built as if he was from the military, even at a glance it is clearly seen him as a complete opposite of Crozeph, in terms of appearance and maybe in battling mobs also.

[Elise 0]

"No, I'm heading to the lake. Of course I'm going to enter the maze." she said sarcastically. "Or to be more specific, I'm interested in the Minotaur inside. People said it protects some kind of pendant.. I'm curious what it looks like. But my priority is still the bulls-man." she said blatantly. So Crozeph wanted to go in too? That would be a great help for their conquest in the maze. "Hmm.. Wait a minute I'll try to make the party this time." She stopped halfway. She nearly forgot something.

Elise looked from Crozeph to Reu. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot" she smirked "Crow Soup, Reu. And vice versa. Reu, Crow Soup. Get along well, boys." she said as if she's a kindergarten teacher. She waited for their response before sending the party invitation.

OOC : (Sorry for rushed post. Was busy with schoolwork. I'm gomen)

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Crow Soup?" Reu raised an eyebrow in Crow Soup's direction. "That sounds very...unappealing." he said, making a slightly disgusted face. The more he thought about the taste of it, the more he felt like gagging. Reu wondered, with abhorrence, how you would possibly cook a crow so it would taste anything other than...rubbery. At the thought, Reu again felt a gagging in his throat.

 

Reu gave this Crow Soup a once-over. Dressed in black, hair long, soft, and...fluffy, sporting an interesting katana  He didn't look like someone Reu would usually partner with, his appearance was more in line with a ne'er-do-well or more accurately, a ruffian; but if Elise wanted him to join, then Reu wouldn't complain. "I've heard this place can be very dangerous, but I don't know any more specifics then that. I really came on this quest as a favor for Elise, I didn't have time to gather any proper intelligence unfortunately. I think if we are going to tackle this maze, we should do some pre-planning amongst ourselves first. After all, I don't think any of us want to die here."

 

Reu didn't need to say that by here he meant in the virtual world, rather then simply meaning die here 'on this quest'; the looming, and permanent, death-sentence accompanying this game was constantly on everyone's mind.

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph scratched his head at Elise's reply "well it was obvious" he said. Crozeph then opened his inventory and switched his black curved sword to a white one. It was a long katana that it almost stood at Crozeph's side. At first it looked like a swords made out of paper but as he unsheathes it, the blood red sharp edge glimmered as if it was drenched in blood. Crozeph strapped it on his back, it was too long to be tied on his side "well then I'd be glad to join you two" he said smiling. 

 

Elise introduced the two to each other and Crozeph heard his name as Reu but the player seemed to be a little trouble with Elise's mention of Crow Soup "don't worry, there's no such thing as crow soup" he told him "and don't worry about my look, this is for night purposes since I don't sleep inside towns anymore..." Crozeph moved his arm "...helps keep me hidden from mobs" he added. Crozeph stretched out his hand for a handshake, his calm eyes and faint smile always worn. He then turned his eyes to Elise "don't worry, I may not be much of a team player but I'll try not to be a nuisance to anyone" he said. Crozeph then listened as Reu mentioned the danger of the maze and Elise interested about the Minotaur "yep this place is dangerous and the maze will tire us out if we're not careful" he said "as for the minotaur..." Crozeph eyed the path ahead "the three of us is enough to handle something like that" he told them.

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Still, I can't help but think we should remain...cautious. Speaking of cautious, I couldn't help but notice you needed a bit of a firepower boost Elise. You're starting rapier is fine but you're already moving past that. I had time to do the Blade of Dreams quest in the Starting City and picked up my Ragnarok Enduring from that, but you still haven't upgraded your weapon. So I did a bit of shopping and to that end..." *Reu pauses, typing and searching through his menu* "...to that end, I want you to take this, as a gift."

 

A prompt appears in front of Elise, offering 'The Thorny Rose' as a gift. It's details are below.

 

 

Item: Thorny Rose

Item type : Rapier
Quality: Rare
Enhancement: +1 DMG and +1 Acc
Shop: Catfish Sundries

Description : The twin sister of the Thorny Nightmare, but this blade has a little more offensive power

Approval: Re-Eval

Source

[Elise 0]

Elise was trying not to laugh. Did Reu take her words too seriously? "I was kidding. Let me introduce you for a second time. Crozeph, Reu. Reu, Crozeph" She noted Crozeph's approval. "Welcome to the team!" she invited them both in a party as they've made acquaintance with each other. Elise looked at the party's list. Crozeph's level was high, and so did Reu's. She didn't expect him to overtake her. 'Well, Adriane. That's what you get if you slack off' she scolded herself. Having someone whose level's higher was reassuring. Maybe Crozeph was right. The three of them should be able to take the hybrid bull out of the maze and retrieve any treasure it protects.

"Then let's move out before the sun goes down" she pointed at the afternoon sun with her rapier. If the night falls it will be almost impossible to navigate the maze. She didn't have Crozeph's attire for camouflage. If she sleeps inside the maze a random monster will take the chance to attack her?

Elise was going to walk into the maze when Reu mentioned about her lack of equipment. She looked at her Starter Rapier, "My weapon? Yes, I thought so too. I was going to ask you where did you get that sword so I can get one for myself. I don't know there was such quest as " she glanced at the sword. "Ragnarok Enduring huh?" Is the risk worth it for her to take the quest? Suddenly a message popped before her. 

Reusririasuir has offered Thorny Rose as trade. Accept/Decline?

Elise gazed at Reu hesitantly. "You don't have to. I'm okay with..." she looked at the new rapier's stats. Increased damage and accuracy? "... my Starting Rapier" she finished. Then without thinking she chose Accept button.

Acquired Thorny Rose

Elise opened her HUD and unequipped her Starter Rapier. She hovered her fingers above her new weapon, Thorny Rose. She chose Equip button with a quick tap. In the air a whirling wind of black, red, and brown binary flowed and encircled shaping a long rectangular object. The next second the Thorny Rose started to took shape of long sword- a rapier? Just perfect for her skills. After the brown particles of data condensed into thorns, she gripped its hilt. She admired the weapon. It's graceful.

"Thanks. I'll return the Col you used to buy this, just not for now. How much does this-" she looked at the weapon's name "-Thorny Rose worth?" She had little money to pay him with. Someday, when she gets stronger and has the money she'll return the favor for sure. In order to do that she must not get killed by such mob as a Minotaur.

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph then nodded in approval to Reu giving Elise a rapier "considering that there's a 50% chance we'll get lost..." Crozeph then set his eyes at the entrance of the maze "...we'll have to be vigilant and careful with every turn we make" he said. Crozeph then took a step inside the maze the echoes of animals and winds blowing could be heard "I'll take the front guard, Elise will be in the middle for directions and back-up purposes, and lastly..." Crozeph turned his eyes on Reu "you'll be the rear guard" he told him "or we could switch places if you want to, since I'm terrible at directions" he added.

 

Crozeph walked a few steps forward then stopped, there was already 3 paths ahead of him and it annoyed him quick enough "yep this is why I hesitated on entering the maze earlier" he said "I'll waste a lot of time thinking where should I go first" he added. Crozeph then pointed his finger on the first path "which one..." he then pointed on the second "this one..." then he turned his eyes on the third "maybe this one" he said. Crozeph then turned back at them "so any suggestions? like switching the rear guard and front guard?" he said giving them a nervous smile.

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Elise it's really no problem, first I used materials instead of col for the purchase. Second, I used the materials I had gathered while doing some hunting, so it's really no problem. I had simply gone hunting to get stronger, and surprisingly ended up walking across half the damn entirety of the 2nd floor. The materials were a nice bonus, but I really had no need for them. If you really want to pay me back, then buy something to keep a future low-level party member from dying. Or I've heard they are starting a charity for the children trapped in the Starting City; to buy them food and comforts, and the like...you could always donate to them. I just don't like party members dying, and besides a weapon like that isn't so great, all you can do is prick and poke, while my sword will cleave our enemies!"

 

Watching Crozeph take the lead, Reu felt more then comfortable covering the rear of the formation. It allowed him to see everything in front of him, and also let him keep an eye on the way they came. Reu wasn't sure, but he was seriously doubting this was going to be an straight-forward journey through the maze, lots of twists and turns in a place like this...lot's of opportunities for enemies to strike from behind too.

 

Almost as if by direction, Crow Soup walked into the maze, facing the first decision to be made. Three independent paths stood before them. Reu eyed each of them in turn, but the three paths all looked the same from here. Looking at their party's scout, Crozeph certainly looked hesitant at making a decision. He voiced the possibility of switching again, but this time almost sounded nervous. Reu responded with what he hoped would be a happy medium, their was, no reason they couldn't share the role. Being the lead of a party was exhausting after all. "Crozeph, if you want I will take the lead; but I'd rather wait a bit for right now. When you feel you need a rest, mentally or physically, let me know and I'll be happy to switch to the front."

 

"Just use your best judgement for now, and we'll see where we end up. If we have to turn around, or kill a few monsters along the way; it won't be a big deal. We've got some serious firepower for such a small squad. I'm confident we can handle anything in this maze."

[Elise 0]

Crozeph stepped first into the maze, followed by Elise then Reu. As a backup and the party's compass, Elise have to remember the path they've walked in case they get lost. She must stay focus on incoming dangers and their tracks so they can go out of this maze intact. She has taken a few steps before the party's spearhead stopped. "Soup? What's wrong?" Elise peeked behind him. In front of them- three paths already? Crozeph seemed hesitant to make his move. No wonder. He decisions determine whether they will go astray or not. Bearing that kind of responsibility is not an easy thing.

Elise looked at the three paths then to Crozeph. "I'll let you take the decision. 

Don't worry. Eventually we will make it to the exit. As Reu stated we are more than capable of killing every creature behind these walls. And we won't starve to death. I still have a lot of my starting supplies to survive for days so don't worry tackling these corners" she knocked her knuckles on the maze wall. "I hope my supplies won't be depleted before we find the Minotaur and exit. Or else I will have to cook you into Crow Soup for real" she grinned trying to make Crozeph less tense. Being a leader was burdening. As merely a member she hoped that she could support the party not only with extra damages, but with morale support as well. "And I am in charge of tracking our previous steps, don't you believe in me?" she smirked to ensure him

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph took their advice well, even for a player who goes on doing quest all by himself. Crozeph then began thinking of a way to choose one "if the Minotaur is on the other side we'll just have to take the direct route, but then a dead end will surely appear anytime soon" he thought "taking the other two will only lead us to some turns that might take us away from the minotaur" he added. Crozeph didn't like how there are three paths already, it's like there's another answer to a yes and no question. Crozeph then stood still for a moment, thinking how Elise would cook him if the ever get lost or meet a dead end "I wonder about that, I think Reu doesn't like the sound of cooking a crow" he thought. Crozeph then heard rustling sounds to the left path "mobs, if there ever are mobs in that one it can only mean..." Crozeph pulled out his katana from his back and decided to make way to the path to their left.

 

"Tell me if I make sense, if there are signs of movements in this path, it has a high chance of being one of the right paths toward that minotaur?" Crozeph told them as he takes a careful step then stopped at a corner and peeked at the another two path "and also that's where most mobs will hang out" he said as he sees a giant mantis from afar. It was bigger than him by a few feet and making a vibrating and chirping sound that annoys him "want to take a look?" he said as he signals them also with his hand "and try not to make a loud gasp your highness" he told Elise then he turned to Reu "you think we can sneak past it?" he asked him.

 

[Reusririasuir 0]

"I think we can certainly try." Peering down the way Reu looked more closely at the mantis. It stood on it's two hindlegs, was very large, very green, and had a hard exoskeleton. It also was sporting some very sharp scythe blades along its' forearms. Reu was more nervous now, that exoskeleton didn't look like it would be easy to cleave through, the scythe blades would also give the mantis a wide attack pattern, meaning flanking would be more difficult. Actually, looking around, Reu noticed flanking or moving around behind the beast during combat would be very difficult in these tight spaces. After pointing his observations out to the others, he took a second to think. He quickly made up and spoke what was on his mind.

 

"I still think we can try to get past it. It will be easier to get around it if we aren't fighting it. I don't have any sneak skill, kind of wishing I did have some right now, but if everything in life was perfect, well none of us would be stuck in this game now would we? So my vote is to try and sneak past it."

[Elise 0]

Elise also had heard the sound of movement from the left path. "More mobs on track most likely means we're on the right path to the treasure the maze's guarding- like knights on castles protecting the king, so do monsters on dungeons protecting their treasure" she sharpened her hearing sense and caught.. chirping noises? "Thus leading us to our target. Where the treasure resides be where the Minotaur guards" She had a bad feeling and Crozeph's warning only made it worse. "Don't say anything else. I won't grasp, I swear-" her voice trailed off as she peeked from the corner. And there it was, a Giant Mantis. It looks so grotesque with body that big. They were supposed to go past that? Luckily in this world anything that dies disappear in form of data shards. She couldn't imagine slicing the intestines out of the mantis. The insect's appearance was enough to make her want to take another route, if she didn't believe in her assumption of this path being the right one. If she couldn't kill a single Mantis how would she kill the Minotaur? Elise gulped her fears and turned to her party members asking in silence what to do.

Reu answered that they could try going around the mantis. "It's true that avoiding battle sounds like the best way, but we'll be forced to fight if that mutant insect ever get on our path" The mob wasn't exactly on their path but sneaking on it would be quite hard. She came up with a brilliant resolution from her reckless attitude. "If we can't get past it, then get it out of the way" the killer princess unsheathed Thorny Rose. If they're to fight the Giant Mantis she should be prepared "Ladies first?" she asked for their permission to engage, or their decision to sneak around the creature. Elise's fingers delicately stroked the wide part of the rapier. It will be their first battle. This sword better live up to its stat gains. 

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph set his hand on the blade of Elise's rapier "calm down your highness, we can avoid it" he said. Crozeph looked at the mantis again, a few feet away from them and looking left and right to the path before it "you and Reu can go first, if this huge nope charges in..." he raised his katana resting it on his shoulder "I can buy you some time and catch up" he said calmly, trying not to make sudden noises. Crozeph took a step forward to it while using his right hand to signal for them to take the other path "a few more" he thought. The mantis stopped moving its head, its antennae moving around. Crozeph gripped the hilt of his katana tight, his eyes on it "that'll be the last turn you'll make" he said.

 

The mantis' legs began moving uneasily and Crozeph kept his eyes on it. He can't turn his eyes or he'll be caught off guard. He could only hope that someone would tap him on the shoulder once they've safely sneaked past it.

 

 

(ooc: think of this as a maze runner scene dan dan dun!!!!)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Reu took a deep breath and went next. Crozeph was slight forward and off to the left waving them around to the right. Carefully, and very slowly, Reu moved in that direction. He couldn't have been more nervous. Here he was, a few feet away from a creature who could turn and use one of those very long, very sharp scythe arms to slice Reu into pieces. Oh Maaannnn!! I wonder if this mantis will cut me in half at the waist, or just cut my head off! Reu frowned. Continuing to make small steps, it dawned on him that the Mantis wouldn't be likely to get a clean decapitatioin either. His frown deepened, he really didn't want to become a virtual Nearly Headless Nick!

 

Reu kept his eyes on the mantis. He really wanted to look and see how far Elise was behind him, but if this thing was going to lob off his head, he'd at-least try and see it coming. The mantis twitched, doing whatever it was mantis's do. The long, insect legs covered in that nasty exoskeleton, moved back and forth as the creature slowly moved in place. Reu was about half-way past the creature now. He could look up and see the gross body, the giant bug-eyes which were looking in the other direction, and the big, nasty, antennae which were floating around. Looking at these, Reu slowed his breathing even more, he didn't want to make any unnecessary vibrations.

 

Slowly, patiently, Reu continued making small steps forward.