[SP-F4] <<Avalanche>> Clearing the Back Yard (Complete!)

[Aetharan 0]

Rumors of a re-spawning boss mob on the very floor that he'd chosen for his home were all too tempting.  Oh, the fire-resist drop that it was supposed to have wasn't a bad thing, but single-use items were just that.  The experience of slaughtering a field boss for the first time?  That was something else entirely!  Thus it was that, half-pike in hand, he made his way out toward the tundra for an afternoon of killing.  Heck, that was the only way to grow stronger around here, right?  Just keep slaughtering stronger and stronger mobs until the only challenge left is a floor boss.

Just keep going until there's nothing left.  He wasn't at that point yet, or he wouldn't be after this ice elemental on floor four when the front-lines were floor eleven...  but this was going to be a stepping stone for him.  The rumors had said that those who found the boss were farming ice elementals, and so that's where he'd begin.  He kept walking until he found one, then readied his weapon with a big grin on his face.

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Our contestants:

Aetharan.  25/25 HP.  4 damage on a normal hit.  2 mitigation.

Ice Elemental A.  16/16 HP.  3 damage on a normal hit.  0 mitigation.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

The elemental wasn't the one he was after-- just a trash mob, if a stronger one than the most basic expectations of this floor.  It meant he was on the right track, at the very least.  Grinning, he decided to pull it the old-fashioned way, by charging in head-long and making it bleed.  Well, that was if anything in MMOs ever bled at all.  He'd make it suffer unexpected HP damage, then.  Would have to be good enough!  Half-pike leveled, he widened his stance and charged forward with a war cry, once again hearkening back to the days of yore, when RPGs were played on a screen instead of in virtual reality.  "Lok'Tar Ogar!"  It was enough to make his target aware of his presence, so it took a swing as he swooped in.

It was a pitiful opener, for both of them.  His spear struck nothing but air, and that pounding fist of ice hit only the ground.

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(ID# 29541 results: Battle: 2 Craft: 2 Loot: 8 MOB: 2)

(Exchange Results:  A whole lotta nothin'.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Well, that could have gone better, couldn't it?  At least it didn't hit him, either.  He looked at the elemental and chuckled, "So, Frosty, shall we call a mulligan on that first charge?  Yeah...  Come at me."  The elemental couldn't really do anything but comply, closing to take another swing at him.  Eyes were half-lidded as he awaited its approach into range, and when it was close enough, Aetharan took a second swing at his prey-- this time, aiming his weapon at its center of mass.  This wasn't like those bugs from yesterday.  He couldn't clip wings, or even trust in anything organic about its anatomy.  Just had to chip pieces off, and try not to let it break any of his bones!

Amusingly, they both slipped on the ice beneath their feet and the sounds of combat were momentarily replaced with the noise of two human-shaped creatures falling on their butts.

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(ID# 29544 results: Battle: 1 Craft: 7 Loot: 18 MOB: 1)

(Exchange Results:  Mutual crit-fail!)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

After a few moments of being stunned by what'd just happened, Aetharan got up and called to his opponent.  "You don't tell anybody that just happened, and I won't, alright?  We can just call it even."  Why was he talking to the creature as if it were an intelligent opponent?  It was because, since he'd started this mess of a death game, he hadn't had anybody sapient to converse with.  Just banter with the computer that was trying to kill him.  If it weren't for his time under the waterfall this morning, he'd suspect that he was going mad.  Thanks to that, he knew that he'd already done so.  Oh well.  "Killin' time."

Seemed that the false starts had given the enemy an early advantage.  This time it was ready for him as he lunged in.  Oh, that spear made vicious contact with its left arm, chipping off a noticeable chunk of it, but the right impacted him hard in the chest, throwing him back again.

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(ID# 29545 results: Battle: 6 Craft: 11 Loot: 8 MOB: 10)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan drops to 22/25 HP.  Total critical for (3+2-2=3) damage.  Ice Elemental A drops to 12/16 HP.  Normal hit for 4 damage.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Aetharan chuckled quietly as he steadied himself after that strike, then murmured.  "So, I don't outclass you by quite as much as I did the wasps, eh?  Not a big surprise.  Different floor, and all that.  Just means that slaughtering you is going to be slightly more of a challenge, and thus, that much more fun."  Weapon was lowered, this time aiming for a leg-lunge that, if he was truly lucky, might trip up his opponent.  It would be even better if he could give it a limb-loss status effect, even if they were purely cosmetic!  For its part, the dumb elemental just took another high swing.  Predictably, that swing went right over Aetharan's head, allowing him to lunge in and chip another large chunk off of the creature, this time around its right hip.  Not quite limb loss, but pretty nonetheless!

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(ID# 29547 results: Battle: 8 Craft: 10 Loot: 9 MOB: 3)

(Battle Healing proc for 2.  Aetharan improved to 24/25 HP.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan untouched.  Ice Elemental A drops to 8/16 HP.  Normal hit for 4 damage.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Nothing for it now, was there?  His victim was half-dead.  Couldn't just leave it like that, could he?  Gotta finish the job.  It wasn't even the elemental he was actually after, but now it was in his way.  He took a moment to figure out just where he wanted to strike next, and he decided on the enemy's left shoulder.  If he could sever that arm, that'd be one fewer way for the creature to deflect his blows, right?  Not that he expected it to last long enough to deflect too many as it was.  This mob was nothing to him.  Just an obstacle.  He could feel the last of the damage it had dealt to him vanishing from his flesh even as that half-pike bit deep exactly where he'd been aiming, and sure enough, a solid quarter of that elemental's mass broke off and vanished right before his eyes.

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(ID# 29550 results: Battle: 10 Craft: 12 Loot: 7 MOB: 1)

(Battle Healing proc for 2.  Aetharan improved to 25/25 HP.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan untouched.  Ice Elemental A drops to 2/16 HP.  Total critical for (4+2=6) damage.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Well, if regeneration counted, then he was on track for his first kill of the day to be a flawless victory, wasn't he?  That would be just beautiful!  It would be a hell of a change from the way his last combat had ended, at the very least.  He brought that half-pike up over his head, assuming the starting position of what was becoming his favored finishing-move-- that downward thrust that would, at least temporarily, nail his victim to the ground beneath it.  A growl escaped his throat as he brought his weapon down for the attempted kill, and his enemy desperately swept at his legs.  Unfortunately for both, neither one of them managed to make contact.  Aetharan slipped again, falling backward just as he was initiating that thrust, which pushed him out of the swinging enemy's way.

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(ID# 29551 results: Battle: 1 Craft: 9 Loot: 6 MOB: 4)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan remains untouched, but this time so does the enemy.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Well, that was disappointing, wasn't it?  He wasn't going to get anywhere in this world if he kept falling over on the ice!  Still, would teach him to choose his battlefield better next time, and watch his footing.  Even as he struggled to his feet, he took a desperate swipe in the hopes that the scratch would finish off this ice elemental before another one could close in and make this more trouble than it was worth.  The last thing that he wanted was the embarrassment of taking a clobbering from a mostly-dead enemy because he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings!

Unfortunately, the clobbering did happen no matter how much he wanted to avoid it, but it only caught him across the shoulder, with his armor absorbing much of the force of that hit.  In the same moment, however, his spear was ramming straight through the mob's head.  It didn't even have time to pull back from its punch before vanishing into a thousand shards of light.

Unfortunately for Aetharan, that wasn't going to be the end of it.  A second Ice Elemental was bearing down on him without delay.  Seemed this might dissolve into a longer day than he could have hoped for.

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(ID# 29553 results: Battle: 10 Craft: 4 Loot: 7 MOB: 8)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan drops to 24/25 HP.  Normal hit for (3-2=1) damage.  Ice Elemental A drops to -4/16 HP.  Total critical for (4+2=6) damage.)

(Kill drops 1 Material, nothing more.  New mob incoming: Ice Elemental B.  Same stats as the first.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

He could hear the second elemental's approach even as the first was raining down around him as fading motes, and now that he was back on his feet, he turned to face the direction from which it was coming.  A moment's thought, and he decided to jam that spike at the butt of his half-pike into the ground, setting it against a charge.  He'd wait for the enemy to rush him, and hopefully catch it with a hard thrust in exchange.  This was starting to remind him of how he'd always farmed mobs in the older MMOs.  Pull one at a time, and if you do things just right-- especially when he'd played a warlock back in WoW-- you wouldn't even have to wait between them.  As long as you didn't let numbers overwhelm you, you could keep going ad nauseum.

When it reached him, only the focus of having set for the charge allowed him to make a hit at all, and even that only came in exchange for accepting that his right arm had to take a strike in the process.  Once again, nothing was pretty about the exchange, but the combination of a superior weapon with better armor made sure he came out better with a one-for-one trade of attacks!

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(ID# 29555 results: Battle: 5 Craft: 7 Loot: 19 MOB: 7)

(Activating Concentration as a free action.  BD+1.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan drops to 23/25 HP.  Normal hit for (3-2=1) damage.  Ice Elemental B drops to 12/16 HP.  Normal hit for 4 damage.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me.  You think you're going to take me out with those weak little attacks?  Tsk.  You're going to have to swing a lot harder to take me down, pretty little snowman."  Of course, he was going to have to hit a lot more, and harder, if he was going to pull off a victory, too.  Well, maybe not harder.  If this one's health matched the last one's, another hit like he'd delivered last would drop it into the yellow.  Nothing to do but swing for it-- up from that readied pose, into a driving lunge while the enemy reared back for its own swing.  Neither could make contact, and Aetharan would once again find himself on his arse.

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(ID# 29560 results: Battle: 1 Craft: 7 Loot: 9 MOB: 5)

(Concentration cooldown 1/5.)

(Exchange Results:  Swing and a miss.)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Well, this was a bit of an embarrassment, wasn't it?  "Blood and bloody ashes, not again..."  He clamored to his feet again, only to throw another lunge at the ice elemental in front of him.  Combat was the only time he really felt all that alive right now as it was.  He wasn't about to let it become a time to feel shame because he didn't own any frellin' spiked boots!  Half-pike was thrust toward the enemy's center of mass, rather than trying something fancy again.  It seemed that every time he did, he'd just end up falling over.  Stick to the basics, Aeth!

All in all, that seemed to work best for him out here in the cold.  It wasn't anything amazing, but that weapon sank into his frosty opponent, and even though he took a strike to his torso in exchange, he considered it fair trade.

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(ID# 29571 results: Battle: 6 Craft: 3 Loot: 10 MOB: 9)

(Concentration cooldown 2/5.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan drops to 21/25 HP.  Critical hit for (3+1-2=2) damage.  Ice Elemental B drops to 8/16 HP.  Normal hit for 4 damage.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

There it was.  Target in the yellow.  Don't let it break your rhythm again, Aeth.  Just dance with it.  Step to the side, then jab again.  Chip off another chunk of that ice, and you can laugh when it's all done.  That's how this worked, right?  Just keep killing.  Just keep killing.  Stab your way through this mob, and the next, to this field boss, then the next floor boss, then the core systems of this worthless, hateful world itself...  then take a trip to Japan and stab the man who did this to them all.  Sounded like a plan, and a good one at that!

Unfortunately for him, the distraction of thinking about Kayaba, or whatever his name was, meant he missed out entirely on the opportunity to actually strike, and instead took a smack in the chest for his trouble.  Teach him to let himself be distracted, eh?

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(ID# 29574 results: Battle: 1 Craft: 11 Loot: 2 MOB: 8)

(Concentration cooldown 3/5.) (Battle Healing proc for 2.  Aetharan improves to 23/25 HP.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan drops to 22/25 HP.  Normal hit for (3-2=1) damage.  Ice Elemental B remains at 8/16 HP.  Critical Miss.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

"Okay, you son of a *****.  I'm going to break you into tiny little chunks to drop in somebody's bourbon, alright?  Do what you can, but you're not going to stop me!"  Just for gits and shiggles, he decided to switch to a right-handed stance for this next strike.  It wasn't like the game actually cared which hand he used to lead with, did it?  Nope.  Once he activated a sword art, it went the same either way, and he suspected that the programmers had done them all right-handed to begin with, just mirroring the movements to make a left-handed version where appropriate.

Thankfully, the art connected.  It was a pretty basic one, but once again, simple seemed to be what kept him on his feet and his enemy breaking down into smaller pieces!  This one looked like it was on its last legs.  A quarter health, when his weakest hits were doing just that much.  This fight would be over as soon as he could connect again.

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(ID# 29576 results: Battle: 7 Craft: 6 Loot: 9 MOB: 3)

(Concentration cooldown 4/5.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan remains at 22/25 HP.  Miss.  Ice Elemental B drops to 4/16 HP.  Normal hit for 4 damage.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

The beast that Aetharan was currently facing let out a sound that could only be a cry for help, meaning that he didn't have much longer left to finish this one before he'd have to deal with an add.  That was the last thing he wanted.  From what he'd experienced so far, he had pretty good odds one on one, even against things that outdid him in health.  Add a second mob to the mix, and he had trouble keeping up.  Nope...  So, what he really needed to do now was finish off this second elemental, and at high speed.  Time for a quick little thrust, right at its face.  Just tank that incoming left hook!

Thankfully, he didn't even have to worry about the punch that was being thrown at him.  His spear made contact first, thanks to the extra reach a pole-arm provides, and by the time that hand was reaching his face?  All that struck him was dissolving motes of light.  He couldn't help but grin.

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(ID# 29578 results: Battle: 9 Craft: 9 Loot: 15 MOB: 3)

(Concentration cooldown 5/5.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan remains at 22/25 HP.  Miss.  Ice Elemental B drops to -1/16 HP.  Critical hit for (4+1=5) damage.)

(Effective loot die 16.  Ice Elemental B drops 1 Material and 1 Good item.)

(New enemy, Avalanche, arrives in 3 turns.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Judging by the sound of that rumbling, it wasn't a normal elemental on its way to the little patch of ice he'd been fighting on.  It must be this Avalanche mob he'd come here for!  That was all the more reason for Aetharan to grin, and he was all too happy to take a few moments to prepare.  He couldn't exactly set up the most perfect ambush, but he could make sure that he was as ready as possible!  Eyes closed, and he focused his mind in this moment of peace.  He wanted to try out the skills that he'd picked up so far, and so took a deep breath as he focused.  Hey, Aaron?  You doing alright in that other world?  I hope so.  Just checking in.

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(Denying myself the usual out-of-combat recovery, on the grounds that an enemy has already been pulled.  It's just pathing slowly.  Instead, using Meditation skill and hoping for a Battle Healing proc.)

(ID# 29580 results: Craft: 9) (No Battle Healing proc this turn.  Meditation would remove one status effect, but doesn't heal either.)

(Avalanche arrives in 2 turns.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

A nice, deep breath.  Focus your mind, Aetharan.  Become the spear, and the enemy will fall.  He just had to keep himself calm.  No silly distractions, no unnecessary flourishes.  If he could keep himself calm, then it didn't matter how many HP he had to whittle through.  This enemy, from all the rumors he'd heard, couldn't possibly be strong enough to be a true worry.  He could hear the rumbling of its continued approach, and knew that it was getting close to time.  It's not going to be a problem, Aaron.  I'll beat this thing, and prove to myself just how much stronger I'm getting.  Nothing is going to stop me.  This world...  is going to break.

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(ID# 29583 results: Craft: 12) (Battle Healing proc for 2, and Meditation healing proc for 1.  Aetharan improves to 25/25 HP.)

(Avalanche arrives next post.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Aeth gripped his weapon more tightly, and he knew that his newest victim was coming around the corner.  Time to do what he'd come to do on this freakin' ice plain.  When the creature came around the rock that he was behind, he dove in with everything that he could.  This thing may not have his damage potential or mitigation, but it had twice his health pool.  He was pretty sure that he still had the advantage between the armor, higher weapon power, and passive regeneration, but he hadn't taken time to run the numbers fully in his head, so the only way to find out was to kill it.  The strike drove home quite nicely, but he was countered with one square in the gut that would have left him breathless for a few minutes if he'd taken such a punch in the real world!

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(ID# 29585 results: Battle: 10 Craft: 11 Loot: 1 MOB: 9)

(Exchange Results: Aetharan drops to 23/25 HP.  Critical hit for (3+1-2=2) damage.  Avalanche drops to 44/50 HP.  Total Critical for (4+2=6) damage.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

It had started well.  Despite taking on a bit of trash before the boss, he'd begun the fight at full power, and that first strike had been brilliant!  He just had to keep pressing the attack, and this would be over before he knew it.  "If you win, you live.  If you lose, you die...  the only way to win is to fight."  Amazing how much of the old anime from his collection kept sneaking back into his head at appropriate moments.  Gundam.  Attack on Titan.  He was absolutely certain that, at some point, he'd find a reasonable moment to quote Akira.  For the moment, his goal was to keep poking holes in Avalanche here until he got a Quest Complete notification.  That shouldn't be too hard, right?  Just stab and stab until the target stopped existing.

It seemed that this boss wasn't going to go easy, either.  Although that half-pike dug hard into its belly, it paid him back in the same breath with a swipe at his left leg that felt like it would have broken bone in that other world, if he'd taken such an impact.

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(ID# 29596 results: Battle: 10 Craft: 2 Loot: 7 MOB: 10)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan drops to 20/25 HP.  Total Critical for (3+2-2=3) damage.  Avalanche drops to 38/50 HP.  Total Critical for (4+2=6) damage.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

He had to keep going.  If the fight kept going at this level, then its victor would be decided by whether or not his regeneration procced.  He still didn't understand the mechanics behind that, but he knew that it seemed to go, at best, once every fourth attack or so.  Part of him wondered whether there was some way to increase its odds of firing.  He knew he could train to make it more powerful when it did fire, though, and that was important too.  Five ranks, and he had two.  There was no way to make himself immune to damage, so he had to do his best to ensure that he healed from it quickly, even in the middle of a fight and without potions.  Those were expensive, and he'd save that kind of deal for floor bosses if he could.

Against this thing?  Just keep stabbing and tank the pain.  He'd outlast it.  That jagged weapon of his dug into its left arm as it swung ineffectively, apparently distracted by the simulated pain it must feel from the back-to-back criticals he'd landed.

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(ID# 29601 results: Battle: 8 Craft: 11 Loot: 17 MOB: 4)

(Battle Healing proc for 2.  Aetharan improves to 22/25 HP.)

(Exchange Results:  Aetharan remains at 22/25 HP.  Miss.  Avalanche drops to 34/50 HP.  Normal hit for 4 damage.)

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan

[Aetharan 0]

Yeah, he had a distinct advantage over this foe.  He didn't know what he was going to do if he ever ran up against something that had battle healing, too.  It could turn out to be a hell of a long fight, especially if both sides were well matched.  He still needed to train with his weapon skill.  That required boosting, and fast.  The more damage he could output per swing, the better off he was.  It would be even better if he could also pull off some manner to raise his accuracy, without relying on weapon enhancements...  Goddess, so much to train and improve!  Blade and fist both flew, and both went wide.

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(ID# 29603 results: Battle: 3 Craft: 3 Loot: 3 MOB: 5)

(Exchange Results:  No progress for either side.)

 

Edited August 31, 2015 by Aetharan