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

[Takao 0]

* Familiar Attempt *

By sheer luck, Takao stumbled upon one of the monsters he had attempted to tame the day prior; at least, it was a monster of the same species anyways. However, his luck seems to have had run out at simply finding the monster, for upon offering it some of the food he'd bought at an NPC's store earlier in the day just before leaving the settlement of Armadillo, the monster simply smacked it out of his hand and scurried off.

- -

» ID : [[ 26875 ]]
» LD : [[ 16 + 2(Vitamins) = 18 ]]

Edited August 8, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Takao opted to wander around the desert for a while until the cool down period on his next taming attempt was finished and through. Although the vast expanse of sand was a rather beautiful sight to behold, it was remarkably barren, and had little to offer in the way of entertainment if you were to exclude killing monsters. He didn't have much of a desire to jump right back into doing such, as he didn't seem keen on the idea that the monsters he fought were getting stronger.

[Takao 0]

Before him laid a large, flat expanse of solid ground. He mused that it looked like a miniature Bonneville Salt Flats, one of the few American landmarks that he could recall offhand. An idea had slowly worked its way into his head. Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps it was his boredom, or perhaps it was a mixture of the two, but with nothing better to do than kill time, he figured it was as good a method as any. Takao had taken the sword and scabbard off his back and laid it on the flat ground, He turned his back to the flat expanse and prepared himself.

[Takao 0]

Takao swung his arms back and bent his knees, then swung them forward while flexing his legs. He jumped straight up into the air and tightened his abdominal and leg muscles, then tucked his body and rotated it in the air with his hips. His entire body had left the ground as he flipped in the air, and as his boots landed on the ground with a thud, he immediately transitioned from a single back flip into backward hand springs. He managed a single well-performed hand spring before he made a mistake and tumbled across the ground, though a smile stayed on his face regardless as he climbed back up to his feet.

[Takao 0]

To  an  onlooker,  Takao  would  have  likely  looked  like  a  madman.  He  had  abandoned  his  weapon  in  the  middle  of  the  wilderness,  any  player  killer  or  monster  would  have  had  the  perfect  opportunity  to  attack  him  if  they  chose  to.  But,  instead,  he  was  using  the  large  expanse  of  flat  ground  to  practice  his  acrobatics.  Despite  all  his  work  he  only  managed  to  do  one  backward  hand  spring  at  a  time,  though  it  was  becoming  apparent  that  he  was  slowly  getting  better.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

On his seventh or eight attempt at performing a series of backward hand springs, Takao finally managed to perform a second subsequent flip after his first. His boots hit the ground with a hard thud, but remained on the hot desert ground for only a short amount of time before he'd already pushed himself back up into the air. Upon landing after his second hand spring, he lost his footing and stumbled backward until he laid supine, glancing up at the blue desert sky, panting and grinning at his own minor success.

[Takao 0]

"I must look like a maniac out here." Takao said through heavy breaths. Only about fifteen minutes had passed since he'd started practicing his acrobatics, but from the fatigue he was feeling, he was sure it must have been longer than an hour. Two seemed to be his limit at present, any time he went further his legs would give out or he would lose his footing. The acrobatics skill provided him with some level of augmented skill, but it was nothing in comparison to real life practice.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Takao plopped down with a thud beside his sword and laid down on his back. He closed his eyes and held his arm over his eyes to shield them from the bright sunlight while he caught his breath. Thirty minutes of near constant acrobatic practice he had endured, although "subjected himself to" would be a more accurate statement. His breathing slowly steadied and returned to its normal rate, though he had no particular desire to jump right back into his prior activities.

[Takao 0]

"Alright... Enough screwin' around." Takao said to himself as he forced himself to sit up. His hand moved to the scabbard that laid beside him and grasped it, then slung the strap over his shoulder and secured it to his torso as he stood. He stretched and yawned, eyes glancing around for anything out of the ordinary, but the desert seemed rather calm and tame. He couldn't hear anything that might bring him discomfort, primarily in the form of monsters pummeling him, so he decided to go out and look for some himself instead.

[Takao 0]

"Ohh, y'know what! I bet that's why this place drives me crazy!" Takao said as he pounded his fist into an open hand, exclaiming his sudden revelation to nobody in particular. "There's no cars! I can't hear any traffic or anything." He glanced around the empty desert and let his voice die down, replaced by the subtle sounds of gentle winds blowing and the occasional natural sounding bird in the distance. Growing up in the city of Osaka meant he was exposed to the city life for the entirety of his childhood. It was going to be hard adjusting back to the noise when he did finally get out of the game.

[Takao 0]

"I guess I could look for materials for a bit. Couldn't hurt at least, I've got about thirty minutes before my next go." Takao closed out of his menu and sighed. He wiped his forehead of the little bit of sweat that had accumulated along his brow, and glanced down at the lack of perspiration on his hand with a confused expression. "Huh... That survival skill really works wonders. I'd probably be laid dead on the ground without it." He said to himself, chuckling lightly at the morbid thought as he moved along.

[Takao 0]

The city of Armadillo was little more than a speck in the distance now, though this hardly worried Takao. He had taken the field boss on by his lonesome and returned victorious, and had even just defeated monsters on par with said field boss without taking damage. Cockiness and arrogance weren't words he would use to describe himself, but it was hard to deny well earned confidence. He was sure he could handle anything the desert had to offer.

- -

» ID : [[ 26885 ]]
» LD : [[ 7 + 2(Vitamins) = 9 ]]

[Takao 0]

"This place really is barren. Huh." Takao had entered a small field of rocky outcropping in hopes of finding useful crafting materials, though he had no such luck. It was just as desolate and barren as the rest of the desert, even despite his optimism. He shrugged it off and moved on without so much as a second thought, knowing fully well that lingering around increased the likelihood of a monster stumbling upon him.

- -

» ID : [[ 26886 ]]
» LD : [[ 3 + 2(Vitamins) = 6 ]]

[Takao 0]

"Oh, sweet!" He shouted out in excitement as he noticed something in the distance that he hadn't seen in a very long time. A resource node! He approached the small rock that was teeming to the brim with metallic protrusions. From what he could tell at first glance, it was an iron resource. He didn't know much about weapons and the materials they required, but he figured that a certain blacksmith in particular could make use of it. He placed his hand upon the surface and collected the material, then moved on.

- -

» ID : [[ 26887 ]]
» LD : [[ 15 + 2(Vitamins) = 17 ]]

+1 Material

[Takao 0]

"Hah! Must be my lucky day!" Takao grinned widely as another resource node of similar size and shape appeared in the distance. Takao jogged up to it and examined it like he had the last one, a bit wary of haphazardly collecting materials when he'd been tricked by lookalikes and mimics in the past. When he'd determined that it was just a normal collection of ore, he gathered it quickly and moved on.

- -

» ID : [[ 26888 ]]
» LD : [[ 15 + 2(Vitamins) = 17 ]]

+1 Material

[Takao 0]

* Familiar Attempt *

By this point, Takao had become jaded to his failed attempts. He wasn't anticipating failure in the slightest, for his optimistic nature kept him hoping for the best, yet when failure did come around it wasn't unexpected. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at the small data shards that were once the food item he'd offered the monster that scurried off. Takao slowly rose to stand and shrugged before moving on to find something to occupy his time while he waited for his next attempt.

- -

» ID : [[ 26897 ]]
» LD : [[ 13 + 2(Vitamins) = 15 ]]

Edited August 9, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

The tallest sand dune in the desert - or at the very least, the tallest sand dune Takao could climb at the moment - provided him with an excellent view of his surroundings. The smaller mounds of loose sediment all bowed to the sheer size of the mountain he stood atop, one arm draped over his bent knee and the other above his eyes, shielding them from the bright sun as he scanned the area. Monsters of varying size and shape spawned in the distance, though one reddish quadruped caught his eye. It was the closest, making it the easiest to get to, which then made it a prime target for his hunt.

[Takao 0]

The fiery canid that stood before him was only at about waist level, although its snarling fangs and menacing face that twisted and contorted into an intimidating expression did wonders to make up for its size. Takao had slid down the side of the sand dune and approached the monster with his sword drawn, fully intending to end it rightly with a spot of gentlemanly combat. Takao immediately lowered himself into a proper, practiced fighting stance with his sword held in both hands, right arm crossing over his left hand which loosely held the pommel for additional leverage.

[Takao 0]

The wolf was the first to charge between the two of them, four large and powerful legs pounding the ground to close the distance between it and Takao. Its speed was scary and just as intimidating as its face, although Takao only managed a small grin as he waited for it to close in. Just as the monster entered his reach and raised its left forepaw to swipe at him, Takao's boot met the wolf's face and pushed it to the ground. He released his left hand's grip on the pommel and swung the sword around while pressing the writhing monster to the ground, then plunged the blade into its side. His grin had quickly disappeared upon performing the brutal and efficient act, his mouth instead making a thin line of displeasure.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Cinder Wolf

» ID : [[ 26915 ]]
» BD : [[ 10 ]] (+2 critical damage)
» MD  : [[ *3* - 3(EVA) = 0 ]]

» CD : [[ 6 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]]

« Cinder Wolf »
[[ 42/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) + 2 critical = -10HP)

Cinder Wolf stats for reference:
Damage : 4

[Takao 0]

The wolf thrashed around as it howled and writhed in pain beneath his boot. Eventually its movement grew to be too much for Takao to handle and he was forced to release his hold on the canid. He stumbled back as the enraged wolf quickly returned to its feet and charged at him again. It swiped once for his his face, which he evaded while also contracting the muscles in his legs to lower himself into a crouch. His legs tensed, then extended, and he sprung backward to perform a single-handed flip, putting a reasonable amount of distance between himself and the wolf.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Cinder Wolf

» ID : [[ 26917 ]]
» BD : [[ 3 ]]
» MD  : [[ *8* - 3(EVA) = 5 ]]

» CD : [[ 6 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]]

« Cinder Wolf »
[[ 42/50 HP ]]