pp [PP-F11] Scouting the 11th floor (Takao)

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal left his shop on the beaches of the eleventh floor. Being a player killer, he wasn't allowed in safe zones anymore so he was forced to move his shop. He would miss the old place, but a beach house was a nice substitute. How long had it been since the eleventh floor had been opened? He had heard that Mari, had found the boss room. But she had recently disappeared without a trace, along with Oikawa and Ssendom. Who had also discovered the room. Lowenthal sighed, and gave a small thought. If no one else was gonna look for it, he might as well. Lowenthal packed up his combat gear and headed to the 11th floor dungeon, being careful to avoid mobs along the way.

On his way, Lowenthal noticed someone walking the same way he was walking. Being long legged, he caught up easily. "Hey, you're Taco. Right?" Lowenthal asked, remembering the man from a conversation a long while ago. "No, not Taco." Lowenthal said, knowing he got the name wrong, but it had been a good long while since he had chatted with the man.

[Takao 0]

Takao found himself on the much higher floors very seldom, and even more so nowadays. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually given the floor a thorough exploration, or even if he had ever done so in the first place. There hadn't seemed to be any progress with the boss room either, and although Takao was far from being a regular authority on locating floor labyrinths, let alone boss fights in general, he couldn't find any harm in giving it a shot. With his usual gear in tow, sword and shoulder-mounted draconic familiar included, the brunet had set off from the urban settlement of Taft that he'd teleported to and delved into the floor's wilderness. He was careful with picking his fights, and with so many monsters he was unfamiliar with, he opted to go uninterrupted in his stride for as long as he could. However, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps from behind had quickly caught his attention.

"Taco?" He asked as he turned about face, his head tilted to the side and one eyebrow raised slightly. When he saw the vaguely familiar face, a bright smile grew and his head moved back to its previous upright position. "Hey! Uh- uhh.." Takao stared at Lowenthal for a moment as he tried his hardest to put a name to the face, and when he had miraculously succeeded, he snapped and pointed. "Lowenthal! Hey man, it's been a while!"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal rubbed the back of his head. "Uhm, TAKAO!" He said, loudly now remembering the name. "Jeez, sorry about that man. It has been a while hasn't it?" Lowenthal said, with a chuckle. He looked at Takao, studying him. "Man, you've sure grown strong from the last time I saw you." Even without looking at Takao's stats, Lowenthal could tell that he had been training a good while. "Man, how long has it been?" Lowenthal asked himself quietly. "Anyway, what bring you here to the eleventh floor?" The orange player asked.

[Takao 0]

Takao chuckled and slightly shrugged his shoulders to dismiss his momentarily forgotten name. "It's all good." He said, his words accompanied by the smile he practically always wore. When his progression was brought up, he mimicked Lowenthal and rubbed the back of his own head. "Aha, y'think so? It must just be the armour and stuff, I still feel like I'm way behind." His gaze settled on the small orange cursor that rotated above Lowenthal's head, and although what he was looking at would likely be clear, neither his expression nor his tone of voice appeared to be influenced by it when he spoke again. "Well... I figured that since the boss raid information didn't get out, and things were progressing slowly, I'd give searching for the boss room a shot. What about you?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal couldn't help but laugh. "That's exactly what I'm doing." He said, controlling his laughter once again. "How about we go together? Make the journey less boring." Lowenthal said, raising his hands behind his head and started walking. "So, how's Mari's guild treating ya'?" Lowenthal asked Takao. "Y'Know, I was thinking about joining her guild at one time. But for some reason I joined Absolute Pin. Jeez I wonder how everyone's doing." Lowenthal said, asking himself. "But after I left Absolute Pin, rumors of Mari still kept me away. I kinda regret it a little bit, but hey. Velvet Room is up and strong. Hell, I bet we'll rival all of the guilds someday." Lowenthal said, bombarding Takao with conversation.

[Takao 0]

Takao began to follow alongside Lowenthal after he started walking, and offered up a smile and nod in response. "Sounds good to me! I'm kinda tired of hunting alone." He said as he turned his gaze forward and glanced about. He was unsure of what exactly a Boss's labyrinth was expected to look like, or whether or not it changed between floors and took on a new appearance each time. Given his experience with the efforts, or the apparent lack thereof, he was probably not the best person to pick for the job - at least on paper. The brunet's glove-clad hand moved up to rub the back of his neck when the conversation of Mari's guild arose, which was a topic he hadn't spoken about for quite some time now. "Well... I left it a while ago, actually. Looking back on it now makes me think it probably wasn't the best choice, but I couldn't help it. Just didn't feel like the right place for me, y'know?" He said, adding in a shrug and gesturing to the guild icon hovering by his floating health gauge. "I joined up with the Guardians a little while after and I've been with them since. But they've gotten kinda... inactive, I guess? I hardly see or hear about any of them doing much." Yet another shrug of his shoulders was accompanied by a sigh this time, and his hands defeatedly dropped to his sides. "It's good to hear your guild is going well though."