[SP - F5] «Feeding the Enemy» [COMPLETE]

[Takao 0]

Even though it had only been a few days since he'd helped out a low level player with acquiring a familiar, the thought of getting his own continued to linger. Throughout his day, even while slaying monsters on his daily morning hunts, he considered each monster he encountered and weighed the potential pros and cons of seeking them out as a familiar. None of them had sparked any notable interest in him, until he'd gone hunting on the fifth floor in search of a specific drop from a monster. While there, he'd encountered a small imp-like beast that he'd learned soon after was called a "Dune Rat". Despite the fact that the small beast had tried to kill him almost immediately upon seeing him, it had still sparked the interest in him that the other monsters had not. After his morning rituals that consisted of grinding for a few hours and returning to his Cafe for a quick meal and short rest, Takao ventured out of his third floor building and made his way to the teleport gate.

Edited August 9, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

The first floor was as busy as it always was, bustling with both low level players who preferred not to leave the safety of the city as well as the NPCs that constantly inhabited it. Takao's interests were set on one inhabitant in particular, a strangely dressed woman that he knew to wander around the first floor, offering up a quest to players that bothered to accept. Beast Taming wasn't terribly popular, it seemed to him like most players glanced over the quest. He attributed it to them not wanting the extra responsibility of taking care of the very monsters that strived to kill them, though Takao was always an oddity. He missed the responsibility of a pet, and with so many interesting monsters to choose from, the idea of acquiring one for himself was too good to pass up.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

« Hello, player! Would you happen to be interested in monster taming? »

"Ah, there she is." Takao said as his eyes set on the Gypsy NPC that handed out the quest. He offered her a polite smile, despite knowing fully well how little the gesture mattered to the materialized compilation of ones and zeroes. His green eyes set upon the prompt that appeared in front of him, and he quickly read over the information it provided. It was the same quest he'd taken with Glory, with the same premise, same details, and same requirements. He wordlessly pressed a button on the menu and accepted the quest, eager to head off to the higher floor he loathed on account of the heat, all in search for one monster in particular.

« Excellent! Well, all you need to do is feed one, and it might just become your ally! Good luck! »

[Takao 0]

Takao approached the first floor's teleport gate and stepped up onto the platform. He uttered the command to teleport him to the city of Armadillo on the fifth floor. He didn't linger around in the city, instead proceeding straight out into the dune riddled wilderness in search for the specific monster that he had in mind for his familiar. His criteria for the familiar was simple, he wanted that specific beast, and he also wanted one that could provide him with a certain buff. Those were simple enough conditions, weren't they?

[Takao 0]

A wild Sand Mite appears!

 

"Well... That's not exactly what I was looking for..." Takao stared on at the small beast that had dug itself out of a sand dune to oppose him. Having finished scratching the back of his head in both confusion and disappointment, he reached for the nearby handle of his sword and pulled it free of the scabbard. He held the blade away from his body in his right hand as the small monster scurried toward him, and he knew that he'd have to kill the thing before he progressed, lest it follow him around and harass him further. Takao's first swing missed and hit the sand, though he was a bit too preoccupied with avoiding the monster's swipes at his ankles to think to care.

 

- -

 

« Battle Sequence »

Takao »  Sand Mite

 

 

» ID : [[ 26321 ]]

» BD : [[ 3 ]]

» MD : [[ *8* - 3(EVA) = 5 ]]

 

» CD : [[ 9 ]]

 

« Takao »

[[ 55/55 HP ]]

 

« Sand Mite »

[[ 22/22 HP ]]

Edited August 4, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

 The small, knee-height monster continued to scurry around Takao's legs in a rather annoying fashion, taking weak swipes at the limbs that Takao was quick to evade. He was certain they wouldn't inflict considerable damage, but he wasn't exactly interested in losing health to such a piteous looking thing either. He twisted his arm and swung his sword upward in an arc, catching the small monster in the side and sending it into the air, only to drop onto the ground a few meters away. Takao mused that the cry of pain it made from sustaining the damage was about as annoying as he'd been expecting it to be.

- -

 

« Battle Sequence »

Takao »  Sand Mite

 

 

» ID : [[ 26336 ]]

» BD : [[ 6 + 1 = 7 ]]

» MD : [[ *5* - 3(EVA) = 2 ]]

 

» CD : [[ 9 ]]

 

« Takao »

[[ 55/55 HP ]]

 

« Sand Mite »

[[ 14/22 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

Edited August 4, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

The Sand Mite rapidly approached Takao again after recovering from its earlier sustaining of damage and minor blunder that sent it tumbling across the dune. It was, unfortunately for the Sand Mite, greeted with the edge of Takao's sword a second time. A slight grimace set on Takao's face as he listened to the monster's shrill cries of pain and watched it land in the sand again, then struggle to scurry back onto its feet. It felt inhumane to him, despite the fact that he knew it was just a program scripted to attack him. It wasn't actually feeling pain, but he had to give the developers credit. It sure did seem like it did.

 

- -

 

« Battle Sequence »

Takao »  Sand Mite

 

 

» ID : [[ 26354 ]]

» BD : [[ 9 ]] (+1 critical damage)

» MD : [[ *9* - 3(EVA) = 6 ]] (+1 critical damage)

 

» CD : [[ 11 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

 

« Takao »

[[ 55/55 HP ]] (3(DMG) + 1 critical - 5(MIT) = -1 HP) (2 HP Recovered)

 

« Sand Mite »

[[ 5/22 HP ]] (8(DMG) + 1 critical = -9HP)

Edited August 4, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Takao's peripheral vision kept him informed on his health situation, which was pristine at the moment even after sustaining a minor hit from the Sand Mite a moment ago. A brief glance at the curved health gauge floating beside the monster's head kept him informed of its health as well, and judging from the orange colour, it was already standing on its last legs. Perhaps if the "beast" had been more menacing or intimidating, this wouldn't have been so bad, but it was so small and, in its own odd way, adorable.

 

- -

 

« Battle Sequence »

Takao »  Sand Mite

 

 

» ID : [[ 26356 ]]

» BD : [[ 2 ]]

» MD : [[ *1* - 3(EVA) = -2 ]]

 

» CD : [[ 11 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

 

« Takao »

[[ 55/55 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)

 

« Sand Mite »

[[ 5/22 HP ]]

Edited August 5, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

 The Sand Mite made one last ditch effort to try and inflict damage onto Takao. Watching its small body fling itself at him brought a frown to his face, and he hesitated to raise his sword. The Sand Mite effectively skewered itself onto his sword, and the shrill cries of pain died out with it when the monster burst into shards of data. He huffed out a breath and slid his sword back into the scabbard on his back, and wordlessly continued on his search for the one specific monster he had in mind.

- -

 

« Battle Sequence »

Takao »  Sand Mite

 

 

» ID : [[ 26356 ]]

» BD : [[ 8 ]]

» MD : [[ *9* - 3(EVA) = 6 ]] (+1 critical damage)

 

» CD : [[ 6 ]]

 

« Takao »

[[ 55/55 HP ]] (Damage negated by turn order)

 

« Sand Mite »

[[ 0/22 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

Edited August 5, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

The desert that laid before him was expansive and seemingly endless. In any one direction he looked, he could only see distant mountains surrounding the massive dunes and countless years worth of sand that flowed endlessly into the distance. Since his minor encounter with the vermin that emerged from the dunes, Takao had opted to circle around the town of Armadillo in search of the monster he was looking for. The warm cloak that he'd been wearing had been unequipped, as well as some of the heavier parts of his armour. The vest and undershirt were still work, though he had opted out of wearing the bulky metal plates and whatnot. It did little to help with the heat physically, but he felt much better mentally without them on.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

The difficulty of the task before him hadn't gone completely unnoticed, though he had been holding himself to Glory's standards. She had managed to get her familiar on the first try, whether by her innate aptitude or sheer luck was irrelevant. The thought of failure had crossed his mind, and although he usually didn't think much into the worst case scenario, he was really hoping to get lucky on the first shot. He really didn't want to have to kill something unnecessarily, especially if he'd just managed to tame it.

[Takao 0]

"Heeere lil' Dune Rat." Takao clicked his tongue a few times as his voice rang out into the distance. The desert seemed entirely ... well, deserted. His intentional evasiveness when it came to monsters he had no intention of fighting, coupled with the lack of players wandering around in the blistering heat, meant that he truly felt alone in the desert, perhaps spurring on the idle calling of the monster that was very unlikely to answer to its own name. Solitude often did weird things to Takao, though calling out for a monster like it was his pet was rather tame.

[Takao 0]

No players, no monsters, no... nothing. Nothing but miles and miles of sand underneath a deceptively nice, blue sky. The scenery was picturesque and he could definitely appreciate the fifth floor's beauty, but the heat was just so unbearable. Extreme whether on either end of the spectrum just didn't sit well for Takao. He never liked the warm weather simply because he didn't fare well in it, and cold weather wasn't far off. At least now, thanks to Sword Art Online, he had somebody to cuddle up to on the cold and frigid nights he'd spend on the floor. "One of those little dudes has to be around here somewhere. I swear I fought off a hundred of them when I wasn't lookin' for 'em."

[Takao 0]

A wild Dune Rat appears!

Takao's green eyes opened wide as they set upon the small red, imp-like monster wandering around. He thrust his hands into the air with excitement, unintentionally garnering the attention of the naturally aggressive beast. "Yes, finally!" He watched as it approached him as other members of the same species did, with the intent to attack. He navigated to his menu and opened his inventory, scrolling through the list until he came upon one of the lesser quality food items he'd created himself over the past few days.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Although the food item was only a small snack, and not even a particularly good item in terms of numerical values, Takao forced himself to maintain some confidence in his ability to sway the impish monster into his favour. He dropped down to one knee and held out the food with a broad smile plastered on his face; it was uncertain whether or not it was from joy or nervousness. "Hey lil' dude!" Takao said in a chipper tone of voice, which clearly seemed to agitate the monster. "How 'bout we team up for a bit? I bet we'd make an awesome duo!"

The monster leaned forward and sniffed the spicy snack, one that Takao had specifically picked while under the notion that monsters in a scorching hot desert would enjoy a similar theme when it came to food. Instead, the monster simply smacked the food out of his hand. Takao frowned as it fell to the ground and broke into shards of data. "Well... That wasn't very ni-oof!" His monotone complaint was interrupted by the monster headbutting him in the stomach. He toppled over, hands held over his stomach, green eyes watching the monster scurry off. "Wait! Let me love you!"

- -

» ID : [[ 26384 ]]
» LD : [[ 5 ]]

Edited August 5, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Takao huffed out a disappointed breath and slowly climbed back up to his feet. He brushed the grains of sand from his clothing and stared down at the foot prints that the monster had left up the dune. Feeling as persistent as usual, Takao decided to follow the foot prints in an attempt to try and get the monster to reconsider his simple offer. There wasn't much else Takao could think to offer the beast that would turn it in his favour, so he resolved to using some good old fashioned stubbornness instead.

[Takao 0]

Takao peeked his head over the crest of the dune that the foot prints had gone up, and set his eyes on the red imp monster that was wandering off in the opposite direction. He huffed out another breath, blowing away the sand in front of his face. A small icon below his health gauge informed him that he had a certain cool down period before he could attempt to tame the monster again, which he'd noticed would end up being quite a while, so he decided to simply follow the monster around instead.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

An interesting thought had crossed Takao's mind while he followed the small monster from afar. He kept enough distance between them to prevent the Dune Rat from seeing him and potentially becoming aggressive while the cool down timer still ticked away, which would prevent him from taming it. Something about this monster in particular had sparked Takao's stubborn persistence, and he was sure that it had to be the monster to become his familiar. "What do monsters even do all day? Do they really just wander around for hours?" Takao quietly muttered to himself as he watched the beast saunter through the desert.

[Takao 0]

Takao's mouth pursed and his eyebrows furrowed as he watched the Dune Rat approach a much larger, much more intimidating monster. It was quadrupedal, with one large horn protruding from its long face and several other spikes littered across its sturdy looking body. The large tail also had spikes on it, adding to the menacing appearance. His eyebrows furrowed with worry as the two monsters seemed to enter some kind of dispute, with the Dune Rat making various gestures and "speaking", or what Takao could only imagine was the closest thing to communication that the monster was programmed to perform, to the clearly irritated monster.

[Takao 0]

"Nnnghh... Okay, I can't let that thing kill that other thing." Takao said as his hand reached back for the handle of his sword. He grasped the leather wrapped handle and pulled it free as he rose to stand. He jumped over the crest of the dune and slid down the sand, his movements catching the eye of both monsters. The Dune Rat was quick to scurry off, but the other monster wasn't as frightened by Takao's sudden presence. In fact, it seemed positively enraged that Takao was there! The large foot smashed down into the sand as it prepared to charge, glowing red eyes staring menacingly at Takao.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Takao