[SP-F3] Third Floor Hunting (COMPLETE!!)

[Mack 0]

Mack was moving easily through the waist high grasses of the prairie land that made up the predominant landscape of the third floor of Aincrad. The rolling hills and grasses were very reminiscent of the first floor, though there were considerably fewer trees up here on the third floor and that, in turn, had an effect on the types of creatures to hunt that one was likely to find all the way up here. Keeping his eyes focused all around him, Mack pushed through the grasses and traipsed over the hills in search for game that he could kill which, in turn, would give him crafting materials which could then be turned into usable goods which would not only level up his skill as a blacksmith but which he could also then use to acquire other items that he couldn't make for himself.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

ID: 27966
BD: 10 (9+1 Charm)
Mack: 38/38
Buffalo: 11/19 (-8 Dam.)

As he moved through the prairie Mack considered his options. He would have thought there would be more animals around to slaughter for crafting materials, experience points, and potentially items. So far, the only creatures he'd spotted weren't exactly all that capable of hiding. Because they were buffalo. Enormous mounds of fur and flesh, small mountains really that were easily five or six of the giant axe-man. Seeing no other options, Mack selected a nice bison and began making his way towards the animal. Of course, something that size really wasn't all that concerned with Mack. Even though he was swinging Guillotine back and forth between each of his hands. The massive mound of brown fur continued right on not caring until Mack buried the blade of Guillotine deep in the buffalo's right rear flank. Suddenly, the enormous creature cared a great deal, as it wheeled around to fix its tormentor with bloodshot eyes.

"I'm sorry," the warrior half growled, half squeaked, hurriedly backing away and readying himself for what looked like it would be a real fight.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28011
MD: 3
Mack: 38/38
Buffalo: 9/19 (-2 Bleed)

The buffalo wasted no time in targeting its tormentor. The brutish bulk of brown brawn knew it was considerably larger than the pesky fly that was assailing it. Snorting in a manner that, had it been able to breathe fire would surely have caused steam to issue, the buffalo pawed the ground and charged. Mack wasted no time in getting clear of the attack. As the bison bared down on him in an effort to either gore, or trample, the hulking warrior Mack dove headlong to one side, somersaulting back to his feet as the enormous animal missed him by mere inches. The buffalo continued on its course straight on passed Mack, thankfully something that large couldn't exactly turn on a dime.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28030
BD: 7 (6+1)
Mack: 38/38
Buffalo: 1/19 (-6 Dam, -2 Bleed)

As the buffalo went roaring past Mack with a gust of wind like a runaway freight train the big blonde warrior took two lunging steps after the beast and swung Guillotine in another attack. The shining steel blade of the axe scythed through the air and, with his arms at the absolute maximum distance that they could reach Mack just managed to sink the axe head into the hindquarters of the beast. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to put enough force behind the blow to be able to land a critical hit. However, given the size of his massive opponent, Mack was perfectly prepared to take just a basic hit as even that, when combined with the bleed damage, was enough to push the bison into the red zone on its health bar.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28033
BD: 6 (5+1)
MD: 5
Mack: 38/38
Buffalo: -5/19 (-6 Dam.)

As the buffalo continued on its path and began to turn slightly so it could face Mack again the big axe-man continued to give chase to the beast. He was aware of the fact that, if anyone was watching him, he probably looked a little like a starved maniac chasing down his next meal. As the bison began to turn to face the warrior again Mack swung Guillotine towards the brown mass' head as the monster came around to start at him again. The steel blade of the axe bit deep into the creature's skull, directly between its eyes. Mack watched with satisfaction as the creature evaporated into nothingness, leaving behind a craftin material and ninety-five col.

REWARDS:

95 Col
1 Crafting Mat.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28042
LD: 15

Continuing on his way through the plains, Mack crested a small hill which looked out over an equally small valley. Somehow, some way, in the middle of the valley there was a massive oak tree. How the seed had gotten there in the first place to be planted and germinate when there were no other trees around for miles was anyone's guess. The blacksmith considered the tree for a moment and then shrugged. Why not? Moving down into the small valley, Mack stepped up to the tree and swung Guillotine into it. He didn't really expect it to give him anything but, to his surprise, there was a spray of wood chips and a piece of lumber flew off of the tree. Mack scooped it up and added it to his inventory.

REWARDS:

95 Col
2 Crafting Mats.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28062
LD: 18

Feeling good after having sunk the blade of Guillotine into the tree once in search of crafting materials and succeeding, Mack pulled the blade back out of the tree and raised it again. It would be worthwhile to continue farming the tree until it stopped yielding up its material bounty. After all, if the game was going to favor him for a few minutes with profitable random numbers for farming, then it was wise to take full advantage of it. Swinging the weapon down off of his shoulder again, Mack watched as the bearded axe bit into the tree for a second time. Again, there was a spray of wood chips and, again, a chunk of lumber suitable for crafting was separated from the tree.

REWARDS:

95 Col
3 Crafting Mats. (2 Spent already)

[Mack 0]

ID: 28072
BD: 10 (9+1)
MD: 1
Mack: 38/38
Bison: 11/19 (-8 dam.)

Just as Mack was raising Guillotine to lodge the blade of the weapon in the tree for a third time there was an angry snort from behind him followed by the sound of thundering hooves approaching at a very rapid pace. The blonde behemoth wheeled around and dove out of the way just in time to avoid being run down and gored by another bison. Instead, the creature slammed in to the loan tree and got its horns stuck in the tree's trunk. That was certainly a lucky break. Mack scrambled back to his feet and quickly raised Guillotine before burying the blade of the axe deep in the back of the mountain-like creature's neck which began to bleed freely as a result.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28078
MD: 3
Mack: 38/38
Bison: 9/19 (-2 Bleed)

The bison grunted and groaned as it set its feet and yanked backwards with all its strength. The massive creature was good and stuck and it was quite desirous to get itself good and unstuck. With a bellow like a wounded hippo, the bison jerked back with all of its strength in one massive ripping tug and it succeeded in extricating itself from the tree before wheeling about to face the blonde warrior it had attacked as the wound in its neck continued to weep copious amounts of blood onto the ground. Mack, meanwhile, took a couple of steps back and swung Guillotine easily in his hands, waiting for another opening to strike at the bison. With any luck, this one would prove just as easy to dispatch as the first had.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28084
BD: 6 (5+1)
Mack: 38/38
Bison: 1/19 (-6 Dam., -1 Bleed)

Mack wasn't a fool. He knew that the easiest way to tackle this bison would be to keep circling around the tree, keeping the wooden barrier between himself and the bison while, on occasion, popping around the side of the oak to launch an attack with Guillotine. That would help to prevent the bison from being able to get a good running start for a charging attack and would significantly cut down on the danger posed the the enormous animal. Seizing an opportunity to put his plan into action, Mack leaped around the side and swung Guillotine across his body. The blade of the heavy bearded axe collided with the side of the bison's head and then Mack quickly hopped back around the side of the tree to keep it between himself and the creature that was the size of a small truck.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28170
LD: 17
MD: 6
BD: 8 (7+1)

Popping around the side of the tree again, planning to launch another attack and finish off the bison Mack's grey eyes widened as he realized he had misjudged where the bison was. How on earth could someone lose track of a creature the size of a bison? With a rumbling roar the bison took a step forward and headbutted Mack in the chest, driving the blonde man back several feet. For his part, the white armored warrior flailed out with a wild strike from Guillotine that just managed to catch enough of the animal for the game engine to classify the blow, such as it was, as a hit. The bison exploded in a shower of pixels and Mack's blade continued on through its flight path and it slammed into the tree again. There was a shower of wood chips and another chunk of lumber splintered off from the tree to land next to the crafting material that the bison had dropped.

"Oh, surely not," the smith said disbelievingly, adding both of the crafting materials to his inventory.

REWARDS:

95 Col
5 Crafting Mats. (2 Spent already)

[Mack 0]

ID: 28224
BD: 9 (8+1)
MD: 2
Mack: 39/40
Bison: 13/20 (-7 Dam., no bleed b/c not a Nat. 9)

Throwing back the white hood on the Angelic Sheath, Mack wiped his brow with the back of his hand and then held his hand up to shade his grey eyes as he scanned his surroundings. Not too far off, he could see another buffalo standing at the crest of a nearby hill with its head down, munching contentedly on the prairie grasses that were growing up there. The animal did not seem to be overly concerned with what was going on around it, it didn't even bother to look up as Mack marched up the hill towards the animal. It remained supremely unconcerned right up the point that Mack buried the hardened carbon steel blade of Guillotine deep in the brown mound of flesh's side, then it turned about and tried to gore Mack though he jumped back out of the way of the counter-attack.
 

[Mack 0]

ID: 28266
BD: 7 (6+1)
MD: 7
Mack: 38/40 (-1 Dam., 2 DM)
Bison: 5/20 (-6 Dam., -2 Bleed)

The bison snorted angrily, its brown and now bloodshot eyes following Mack's movements as the warrior leaped clear of the massive animal's first attempt to gore it. Wasting no time, the beast charged. With no time to gather himself for a dive to safety, Mack clutched Guillotine tightly in both of his hands and leaped straight up into the air. The horns of the buffalo caught his snow white armored body and got him up high enough into the air that the smith came down on the bison's broad back. He then wasted no time in burying the glittering blade of Guillotine deep into the bison's back to use the weapon as an impromptu set of reins as the bison charged down the hill one direction with Mack facing up the hill in the direction from whence the beast had charged.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28270
BD: 10 (9+1)
MD: 3
LD: 19
Mack: 38/40
Bison: -5/20

As the bison went charging down the hill, back towards the solitary tree, Mack spun on his perch so he was facing forward again. As he did so he was careful to keep his left hand wrapped around the haft of Guillotine. Drawing his right fist back, Mack punched the bison in the head as hard as he could. Abruptly, the animal disintegrated into pixels. Of course, Mack was still going forward at the speed of a charging bison, even though the bison was no longer present. Zooming forward, no longer seated on anything, Mack raised his axe high in the air and slammed it into the tree a second before he also had a close encounter with the immovable and unkillable adversary that was the tree. Wood chips sprayed in all directions and a crafting material separated itself off from the tree's trunk. After a few moments the fog in the blonde soldier's head cleared and he got to his feet, collecting the two crafting items.

REWARDS:

95 Col
7 Crafting Mats. (7 Spent already)

[Mack 0]

ID: 28317
LD: 5

Now that the bison were gone, for the time being, Mack thought he might be left alone to farm the magical tree in peace. Walking over to the tree, which still had Guillotine stuck in it, Mack pulled on the axe's handle for a few seconds and, with a little bit of effort, succeeded in dislodging the axe from the tree. That done, he lay the weapon down on the ground and slowly swung his shoulders and arms around a bit to loosen everything up. Again. Satisfied that he was ready to go to work chopping, Mack took up his finely crafted weapon once more and swung the weapon into the tree with a dull thunk. Sadly, this time, nothing happened.

[Mack 0]

ID: 23824
LD: 5

Grunting, Mack extracted Guillotine from the tree and considered both the tree and his blade for a moment. It could be that the tree was starting to dry up and he'd have to move on elsewhere and look for another one. Or some more bison, they hadn't proven all that difficult to eliminate after all. Still, the blonde haired warrior wasn't quite ready to give up quite yet on obtaining a little bit more in the way of resources from the tree. Bringing Guillotine back in preparation for another chop, Mack whipped the blade around and slammed it into the tree once more. Sadly, no crafting materials were forthcoming and nothing appeared for Mack to collect and add to his inventory.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28334
LD: 11

Growling, Mack ripped the blade of his bearded axe, Guillotine, from the solitary tree in the middle of the prairie. For two consecutive strikes, the tree had failed to provide him any new crafting materials. Snarling, Mack hauled the heavy steel head of Guillotine back for another time and brought it whistling horizontally through the air. There was a satisfying thunk as the blade bit into the tree, but it again failed to produce a crafting material for him to collect. Leaving the blade of the axe embedded in the tree the blonde blacksmith began to rail at the tree, even though no one was around to hear him swearing and cursing at the tree. Pulling back his right fist, Mack rammed it into the tree's trunk, imagining that he was punching the uncooperative three dimensional object in its nonexistent face.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28684
BD: 9 (8+1)
MD: 4
Mack: 42/42
Bison: 14/21 (-7 Dam.)

Give the tree up as a bad job, or just being farmed out for the time being, Mack shouldered Guillotine and began stumping his way up to the crest of the nearest hill. Reaching the top of the hill, Mack threw back the hood on the Angelic Sheath and held his right hand up to his eyes to scan the prairie around him. There were some more bison that were easily visible above the golden waves of grass. Beyond that, though, there wasn't much else to really be seen for what looked like miles of digital landscape. Grumbling dark imprecations to himself about the third floor, Mack began heading in the direction of the nearest of the buffalo, which ignored him right up to the point what Guillotine was slammed into its side.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28710
BD: 2
MD: 5
Mack: 42/42
Bison: 14/21

The bison looked up clearly perturbed, to put it mildly, with the interruption that it had just suffered to its calm and peaceful grazing out on the rolling hills of the prairie. With an angry snort, the massive beast took two steps and tried to headbutt the blonde warrior that had so rudely interrupted its mealtime. Acting on instinct, Mack lunged to the left and rolled forward over his weapon, popping to his feet and launching a backwards swinging attack with Guillotine in one fluid motion. If the bison hadn't continued moving after its initial attempt to headbutt him, the attack made by the blonde man might even have found its mark. But, as the bison had already begun moving off to prepare for a proper charge, Mack's swing missed by a wide margin.

[Mack 0]

ID: 28713
BD: 3 (2+1)
MD: 9
Mack: 40/42 (-2 Dam, Mit. 2)
Bison: 14/21

"Alright, scruffy, let's do this," Mack growled. So far none of the bison he had fought had proven to be all that much of a challenge. They were big, lumbering, and a bit on the stupid side. As the bison pawed at the ground, preparing to charge, Mack swung the haft of Guillotine across his body and gripped the weapon in both hands. The blonde man had no intention of dodging, after all it wasn't as if there was anything to be worried about from the bison. It was a big, dumb, lumbering oaf of an animal. As the buffalo charged, Mack stood his ground... right up to the point where he was no longer standing at all because the bison had hit him and sent him tumbling head over heels back down the hill towards the tree.