[SP - F1] <<Secret Medicine of the Forest>>

[Takao 0]

Takao's head worked in mysterious ways. He often did the opposite of what was expected of him, such as today. What was expected of him was to be preparing for the boss fight in some way or another, and in truth he was preparing, just not in the way he would've been expected to be. He was sure that some of the higher leveled players would have quite a few laughs at his expense if he told them he was doing some questing on the first floor, and the humour from the situation was justifiable. He should be questing on the higher floors, fighting stronger monsters, and generally getting himself ready for the fight of his life. But in his earlier haste to climb the level ladder, Takao had missed out on a few simple quests that would garner him some easy experience and skill points. One of those quests was the very one he was planning on completing today, although it involved him leaving the City of Beginnings and traveling to the nearby village of Horunka. With his gear and level, the trip there would be a short, safe, and uneventful one, so he passed through the city's gates and headed off with a bit of haste in his step.

[Takao 0]

Waiting for so long to actually complete this particular quest meant that information on the details was aplenty. He found the NPC right away after entering the village of Horunka and followed her to her home. He paid little mind to the simmering pot when the NPC claimed to be lacking in food and accepted the drink he was offered. When he heard the sleeping child cough from the next room over, he offered his help to the NPC who accepted it and told him the story in its entirety. When she had finished, Takao smiled and promised the woman the woman that he'd help her, then headed off, his destination was the forest west of the village.

[Takao 0]

"All I have to do is kill a certain «Little Nepent»? Huh... I should've taken this earlier." Takao mumbled to himself as he closed out of the menu. The forest that the quest required him to enter lay just meters before him now. He pulled the sword from his scabbard upon entering, and his green eyes carefully scanned the area for any of the monsters he was required to hunt. He typically avoided this section of the floor due to the disturbing monsters that lurked within, although he didn't have much of a choice now. It didn't take long before two monsters stood before him, both quickly identified as they had been come to be known as; "Misses", or the normal Little Nepents that were rumoured to increase the chance of the flower bearing monster to spawn.

[Takao 0]

Takao gave the blade in his right hand a quick twirl and spin in his hand to test the balance and felt a smile grow on his face. After having the item repaired, it felt much more durable than it had prior to the maintenance. His green eyes settled back onto the two monsters that stood before him, and a frown replaced the small smile that had grown. They were disturbing monsters, the large smiles they sported gave him the creeps and forced him to fight back the shiver that wanted to run up and down his spine. He lowered his stance and shifted his feet apart in preparation for combat. His blade came to rest across his shoulders, and upon completing the «Pre-Motion» for his sword skill, Lightbringer began to glow a brilliant green colour. He let the system take over from there, and after the flash of light that followed, one of the two monsters had fallen; reduced to nothing more than shimmering shards of data. The remaining Little Nepent swung a large leaf-headed vine at him that he evaded with ease.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Normal Little Nepent 1 » Normal Little Nepent 2

» ID : [[ 27056(BD+MD1+CD) | 27057(MD2) ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (10 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD 1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]
» MD 2 : [[ MISS (5 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 8 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]]

« Normal Little Nepent 1 »
[[ 0/10 HP ]] (8(DMG) + 2 critical = -10HP)
« Normal Little Nepent 2 »
[[ 10/10 HP ]]

Edited August 10, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Takao glanced behind him just after dodging the remaining Nepent's whipping vines and felt one of his eyebrows raise in confusion. "Oh, right. I'm only on floor one." He said, chuckling lightly to himself as he turned to the Nepent. "I almost forgot 'bout that 'cause you things are so creepy lookin'." The monster before him was menacing, and would likely terrify a lower level player. Standing at a meter and a half tall meant that they were a good foot shorter than Takao, or just about, though their gigantic unsettling smiles were more than enough to put him on edge. He watched as one of the limb like vines shot out toward him and wrapped itself around his left arm, although Takao didn't seem fazed in the slightest. He grabbed the vine and stared at the monster, who tried and failed to pull him closer.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Normal Little Nepent 1 » Normal Little Nepent 2

» ID : [[ 27060 ]]
» BD : [[ MISS (4 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD 1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]
» MD 2 : [[ MISS (5 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 11 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Normal Little Nepent 1 »
[[ * DEAD * ]]
« Normal Little Nepent 2 »
[[ 10/10 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

The more the Nepent pulled on the vine that Takao held firmly in his grasp, the closer it pulled itself toward him. He stood firmly, his stance rooted to the ground and not affording the monster any headway in its endeavours to pull him in. The felt the vine loosen around his forearm as the monster gave up and opted to change tactics, but his grip was unyielding. "What? Don't tell me you're already givin' up?" Takao said as he started to forcefully wrap the vine around his arm, slowly pulling the smaller monster toward him. 

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Normal Little Nepent 1 » Normal Little Nepent 2

» ID : [[ 27060 ]]
» BD : [[ MISS (1 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD 1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]
» MD 2 : [[ MISS (4 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 9 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]]

« Normal Little Nepent 1 »
[[ * DEAD * ]]
« Normal Little Nepent 2 »
[[ 10/10 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

Despite the fact that the monster he was pulling toward him had no eyes, he swore he could feel its gaze staring daggers at him. When the monster was pulled close enough, Takao swung his blade from the ground to the sky in an arcing motion, severing the vine that he had wrapped around his arm. The severed limb disappeared into nothingness as it broke apart and turned into the familiar fragments of data. With his sword still raised to the sky, Takao brought it down upon the monster in one swift motion. The blade tore through the monster's body and nearly severed it in two with the single strike, leaving the beast with just barely a sliver of health remaining.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Normal Little Nepent 1 » Normal Little Nepent 2

» ID : [[ 27064 ]]
» BD : [[ C.HIT (9 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD 1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]
» MD 2 : [[ MISS (4 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 11 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Normal Little Nepent 1 »
[[ * DEAD * ]]
« Normal Little Nepent 2 »
[[ 1/10 HP ]] (8(DMG) + 1 critical = -9HP)

[Takao 0]

His arm raised as his gaze stared down at the monster with disdain. One small strike, that's all it would take; he was sure even a scratch would've done the severely weakened monster in at this point. Takao's blade was poised and ready to end the fight when the monster suddenly lashed out at him. It bit down on his forearm and did its best to tear away his health points, though between his armour mitigating the damage and his <<Battle Healing>> skill chiming in to heal what little health was taken, the monster's efforts proved to be in vain.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Normal Little Nepent 1 » Normal Little Nepent 2

» ID : [[ 27071 ]]
» BD : [[ MISS (1 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD 1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]
» MD 2 : [[ C.HIT (10 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 12 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] (2(DMG) + 2 critical - 5(MIT) = -1HP) (2 HP Recovered)

« Normal Little Nepent 1 »
[[ * DEAD * ]]
« Normal Little Nepent 2 »
[[ 1/10 HP ]] (8(DMG) + 1 critical = -9HP)

[Takao 0]

"Lucky shot." Takao said aloud as he brought his sword down upon the monster that hadn't thought to back away after failing to inflict lasting damage. His blade pierced the monster and dealt a substantial amount of damage in comparison to the health that remained. The Nepent froze for a moment, then shattered into hundreds of floating fragments of data that slowly flickered away into nothingness. Takao rubbed his arm as the wound finished fading, then returned to walking forward into the forest.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Normal Little Nepent 1 » Normal Little Nepent 2

» ID : [[ 27074 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (6 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD 1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]
» MD 2 : [[ C.HIT (10 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 11 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] ( Damage negated by turn order. ) (2 HP Recovered) 

« Normal Little Nepent 1 »
[[ * DEAD * ]]
« Normal Little Nepent 2 »
[[ 0/10 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

[Takao 0]

The forest was oddly devoid of the sounds he was expecting. There were no birds, the trees barely rustled as there was no wind, and he expected to hear more monsters shuffling around but, oddly enough... there was nothing. It put him on edge, his eyes were much more anxious in addition to the caution they were already expressing. The forest itself wasn't very unsettling to him, it was just a normal forest. The lack of monsters could be explained too, it was a popular quest for lower level players to embark on. It wouldn't be entirely unlikely to assume that the players had hunted the forest dry, and the two he found earlier was just his good fortune shining upon him once again. He shrugged off the thoughts and continued on into the deep woods, still carefully looking for the monster he was searching for.

[Takao 0]

"Huh. Well, that was easier than I thought it'd be." Takao set his gaze upon the one and a half meter tall monster that looked identical to the two he had fought earlier, with one very telling difference. The large flower that bloomed atop its head meant that this was exactly the monster Takao was looking for, and it was alone to boot. He glanced around skeptically, not seeming to trust his own good fortune. Once he found the area to be devoid of any other life, save for himself and the monster, Takao approached it with his sword drawn and in hand. The monster turned to face him just in time to see the blade cut horizontally through its body, cleaving away a decent chunk of health and eliciting a shrill cry of pain from the digital being.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27083 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (6 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 9 ]] 

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] 

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 42/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

[Takao 0]

The cries of the monster died down very quickly as it lashed out in response to his strike. Takao was quick to evade the large vines that covered a great distance in very little time. He opted to dive and tuck into a tumble to evade the monster's advancing tendrils, and rolled his body into a somersault before effortlessly returning to his feet and regaining his balance a mere second later. He shifted his weight to one foot and pivoted on the other to face the monster, then immediately began to circle it while his attention stayed fixed. Takao's legs never once crossed in front of one another as he moved, each step taken carefully despite him putting little forethought into it; his footwork had become second nature.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27092 ]]
» BD : [[ MISS (3 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD : [[ MISS (7 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 1 ]] 

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] 

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 42/50 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

A grunt escaped from Takao's chest while evading the monster's barrage of vines that had descended upon him. The broad leaf-headed tendrils whipped at him from several different directions, which made evasion difficult. A successful one handed backward hand sprint had left him open the moment his boots touched the ground, and the razor edge of one of the leaves sliced deep into his cheek. He pulled his face back almost immediately and continued to advance toward the monster, knowing that it would be harder for it to maneuver the vines closer to its body.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27093 ]]
» BD : [[ MISS (2 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD : [[ C.HIT (10 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 7 ]] 

« Takao »
[[ 59/61 HP ]] (5(DMG) + 2 critical - 5(MIT) = -2HP)

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 42/50 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

 The Nepent was unrelenting in its assault on Takao, although vine that had hit him just a moment earlier had been the only one to land so far. He didn't dare to take his eyes off the monster that he slowly approached amidst the barrage of whipping vines, but he could tell his health was regenerating from his peripheral vision. A small smile grew on his face and he raised his sword to point skyward from the ground in a sudden swiping motion. One of the vines that had come close to him was severed with the smooth slice, and in the subsequent moment while the monster cried out in pain, Takao stepped forward and slashed it across its body. "Still got a bit more to go."

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27106 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (4 + 1(ACC) + 1(LMT)) ]]
» MD : [[ MISS (4 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 12 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 34/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

 

 

[Takao 0]

"Man, you're a pain." Takao mumbled just prior to diving off to the side as one of the whips came crashing down onto the ground where he once stood. He threw his weight onto his right shoulder as it hit the ground and tumbled back onto his feet in one smooth motion, immediately resuming his circular motion around the monster. He shifted his direction for a split second every so often to prompt the monster to attack in hopes of finding an opening, but the long vines that whipped at him afforded him no such opportunity.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27106 ]]
» BD : [[ MISS (4 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 1 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]]

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 34/50 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

With the manner of opponent that he was up against, Takao's only method of preventing himself from being damaged was evasion. The monster itself was slow, the countless roots at the base of its unsettling body were its only means of mobility, yet the prehensile vines it swung at him like whips provided plenty of offensive capabilities to make up for it. Swinging for the vines was mostly out of the question, for it would mean he opened himself up to be struck by the remaining tendrils. Getting close to the body was difficult as well when he was faced up against a barrage of swiping vines, so his only choices were to sustain damage as a trade off for dealing damage, or slowly work his way toward the body. He opted for the latter and made good use of his practiced Acrobatics skill, alternating between rolls, tumbles, and hand springs to get him closer. When he finally landed on his feet just barely a meter away from the monster, it lunged at him and clamped its jaws around his midsection. His eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed, only briefly watching his health drop a point before he plunged his blade down into the monster.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27118 ]]
» BD : [[ C.HIT (10 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD : [[ C.HIT (9 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 9 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 60/61 HP ]] (5(DMG) + 1 critical - 5(MIT) = -1HP)

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 24/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) + 2 critical = -10HP)

[Takao 0]

The monster's jaws loosened as soon as Takao's blade sank down to the hilt, which gave him sufficient mobility to raise his leg and both push the beast off him and pull his sword free. He stepped forward the instant he felt the tip leave the monster's body and placed his left hand upon the pommel, crossing it underneath his right arm. As his foot slammed onto the ground, his blade crashed into the monster, cleaving away another chunk of health almost immediately after his previous strike. It staggered backward just a meter or so before regaining its balance and slamming the vines down toward where Takao was once stood. Having anticipated the reaction, Takao had already dove and ducked into a tumble, circling around the monster for another attempt.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27195 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (4 + 1(ACC) + 1(Concentration)) ]]
» MD : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 12 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 16/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

[Takao 0]

Just as Takao's feet were planted firmly on the ground following his dive and tumble, his blade swung upward to his side. The force cut through the monster despite his disadvantageous position, and before the monster could even fully turn to try and enact its revenge upon him, Takao's legs had already tensed up and thrown him forward into another roll. The minute he regained his balance, he rolled a second consecutive time following his last successful hit, putting a fair amount of distance between himself and the flower bearing Nepent. "Just a bit left now." He glanced at the lack of health as the observation broke the quiet, calm silence that were his thoughts.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27198 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (8 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD : [[ MISS (1 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 4 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]]

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 8/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

[Takao 0]

The Nepent stood on its last metaphorical legs as it wobbled back and forth atop the masses of roots that collected beneath its body. In one last ditch effort to end the fight, it swung all three of its vines straight for Takao. They crashed down on the soil where he stood like a scorpion's tail, but when the debris had settled, Takao was nowhere to be found. The monster looked up, glaring at him with the eyes it didn't have, just in time to see him complete the mid-air rotation of his body. His arm swung in an arc and his blade snapped forward like a whip, his entire weight thrown into the slash that cleaved the beast's upper body in two. He landed with a thud and skid along the ground, his body low and left foot extended outward to provide balance as his momentum slowed to a complete stop. When everything had settled, only Takao and the results menu that contained the spoils of his battle remained.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Flower Bearing Nepent

» ID : [[ 27199 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (8 + 1(ACC)) ]]
» MD : [[ MISS (1 - 3(EVA)) ]]

» CD : [[ 4 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 61/61 HP ]]

« Flower Bearing Nepent »
[[ 0/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)

RESULTS
1 Material
250 col

[Takao 0]

The results menu informed him of his spoils, as it always did following the defeat of a monster. A crafting material unrelated to the quest, some col which he didn't have much of a use for, and the special drop for the quest. With no further reason to stay in the forest, Takao set out for the town of Horunka once again. His sword only found its way back into the scabbard on his back when the tall trees of the forest were a distant memory, and the gates of Horunka lay ahead. He passed through them and made haste for the woman's house. When he knocked, she answered, and he proceeded to give her the quest item. She thanked him and rewarded him with the well known sword, the «Anneal Blade». It wasn't anything particularly special in terms of statistics, and it would likely just end up rotting away in his inventory until he thought to give it away to somebody who could make better use of it. After all, the blade was only viable up to the third floor, and that was only after it had been fully enhanced. With the quest completed, Takao began to make the journey back to the City of Beginnings.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Takao