[SP-F4] The Next Great Hunt - COMPLETE!!

[Mack 0]

Mack stood just outside his shop on the fourth floor as a gentle snow cascaded down around him. Slowly, he raised each of his arms and stretched them out and then he repeated the process with his legs before rolling his head around on his neck which produced an audible popping noise. That done, the hunter drew up the snow white cowl of Angelic Sheath and snapped the face mask of the armor into place. Given the environment and the color of the armor Mack knew that he would be nearly impossible to see for the mobs that he was going out to hunt. So much the better, as far as the massive axe-man was concerned. Taking up his bearded axe, Guillotine, Mack moved purposefully out of town and set about the hunt for frost giants, ice trolls, and any other poor unfortunate beasties that might hazard across his path.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

ID: 29900
LD: 19 - Mat Harvest
MD: 1
BD: 6 (4+1 Charm+1Concentration) - Begin Cooldown
Mack: 53/53
Ice Troll: 19/27 (-8 Dam)

Moving out into an evergreen forest filled with snow-capped trees Mack chose a wandering and meandering path that deviated greatly from the main trail that the designers of Sword Art Online had placed in the area to guide travelers and adventurers through the forest. Mack was in no hurry, he was out and about today specifically with the goal of gathering crafting materials. Selecting a nice big fir, the hulking blonde blacksmith trudged out through the snow and slung Guillotine down off of his back. After taking a few experimental swings with the axe, he buried it in the tree with a dull thunk. Wood chips sprayed over the pristine snow and the warrior was just about to stoop to collect the crafting material when there was a loud crash and the sound of branches being ripped free from the tree. Suddenly, less that three feet in front of him, an Ice Troll came crashing down out of the tree to land flat on its face in the snow. It was, by a wide margin, the least probable thing Mack had expected in the game so far. Still, he reacted with the speed and reflexes of a trained warrior, burying the steel head of his axe deep in the troll's fleshy back.

[Mack 0]

ID: 29902
BD: 2 (1+1) Cooldown: 4
MD: 1
Mack: 53/53
Troll: 19/27

With both hands wrenched around the leather wrapped mahogany haft of Guillotine, Mack tugged on the weapon. The troll twitched, but the weapon didn't pull free. Growling, the blacksmith jerked on the weapon again, yet it still remained stubbornly lodged in the troll's back. With an almighty pull, he tried for a third time and, though the weapon still remained firmly lodged in the beast, it did stir and rise to its feet, offering a magnificent roar as Mack gave up his attempt to extract the weapon from the beast for the time being and backed off in a hurry as the troll got to its feet with Guillotine's haft poking up above one shoulder.

[Mack 0]

ID: 29903
BD: 3 (2+1) Cooldown: 3
MD: 9
Mack: 52/53 (-1 Dam, Mit. 2)
Troll: 17/27 (-2 Thorns)

As the ice troll advanced towards him, Mack charged the beast and drew back his right hand. When he was in range, the burly blonde man threw the punch with everything behind it that he could muster. The troll didn't even flinch, let alone take any damage from the strike. Instead, the beast retaliated by backhanding the white clad warrior and sending him skidding along on the flat of his back through the snow. When Mack came to a stop he looked up and saw that the troll was shaking its hand in pain, obviously, it had been stung by the thorns damage that was imbued into the Angelic Sheath while Mack had, basically, taken no damage whatsoever from the blow.

[Mack 0]

ID: 29916
BD: 2 (1+1) Cooldown: 2
MD: 5
Mack: 52/53
Troll: 17/27

Picking himself up off of the ground, and rustling his snow white cowl to remove some of the excess snow from it that he had just picked up, Mack decided to just charge the troll. He really needed to retrieve Guillotine from where it was still protruding from the troll's back. As he charged in the troll wound up for a haymaker and when it went to swing Mack dropped to his knees and slid underneath the punch, popping back to his feet behind the troll. Leaping on the creature's back, he wrapped both hands around the haft of the weapon and tugged on it some more but still, the weapon remained stubbornly lodged in the frost troll's back, which bellowed in rage and displeasure at having picked up a new passenger.

[Mack 0]

ID: 29954
BD: 8 (7+1) Cooldown: 1
MD: 7
Mack: 51/53 (-1 Dam., 2 Mit.)
Troll: 7/27 (-8 Dam., -2 Thorns)

With both hands wrapped firmly around the haft of Guillotine, Mack giggled the haft of the weapon. It was finally starting to loosen, he might be able to extract it in just a second. Then two massive hands reached back and wrapped around his body. "Uh oh." With a bellow of rage and pain the troll ripped Mack from its back, though the blacksmith at least managed to keep his hands wrapped around the haft of Guillotine. As he sailed away through the air, his axe in his possession once more, Mack launched a wild backwards swing with the blade and was pleasantly surprised to feel it make solid contact with some part of the troll. Crashing down in the snow, again, the blonde man picked himself up and gazed at his enemy who was now in the red zone on his health.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30202
BD: 2 (1+1)
MD: 10
Mack: 49/53 (-2 Dam., Mit. 2)
Troll: 5/27 (-2 Thorns)

Deciding that it was time to put an end to the fight, if for no other reason than so he could move on to the next beast that was in need of being killed, Mack picked himself up out of the snow and charged straight towards the troll. It wasn't as if the blonde man felt any fear that the creature could kill him, after all its health bar was already into the red zone. Just as the axe-man was swinging Guillotine laterally across his body the troll's hand snapped out and caught Mack by the throat. It roared and lifted him bodily off of the ground before driving a fist into Mack's face and sending the blonde man rocketing backwards once again.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30213
MD: 6
BD: 8 (7+1)
LD: 7
Mack: 48/53 (-1 Dam., Mit. 2)
Troll: -5/27 (-8 Dam., -2 Thorns)

Mack charged once more across the distance separating him from the troll. Again, the beast snatched the massive blonde man by the neck and lifted him off of the ground. Exactly as Mack had wanted the creature to do. With a strangled bellowing war cry, he swung Guillotine into the top of the troll's skull with a vicious overhanded strike. The blade buried itself in the top of the creature's skull an instant before the beast shattered into pixelated nothingness, dropping Mack back into the snow where he scooped up his crafting material and added it to his inventory. Still plenty more hunting to get done. Standing up, he shouldered his axe and continued on his way.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30448
BD: 11 (10+1)
MD: 7
Mack: 54/55 (-1 Dam., Mit. 2)
Frost Troll: 16/28 (-2 Thorns, -10 Dam.)

Continuing on his way through the forests of the fourth floor, through a slightly, but steadily, increasing fall of snow Mack kept his grey eyes open and scanning around him for another enemy to dispatch. The last thing he expected, however, is for a troll to simply pop out of the snow from some kind of subterranean lair or pit in the snow and swing a punch at him. When the blow landed, Mack was thrown forward for a moment until he recovered his balanced and whirled to face the enemy. Twirling Guillotine in his hands, the bear of a blacksmith swung the blade laterally across his body like a baseball bat slamming the hardened steel head into the face of the troll with enough force to smack the creature's head around and leave it spitting a mixture of blood and teeth upon the ground.
 

[Mack 0]

ID: 30629
BD: 6 (4+1 Charm+1 Concentration)
MD: 10
Mack: 52/55 (-2 dam, mit. 2)
Frost Troll: 4/28 (-8 Dam, -2 Bleed, -2 Thorns)

Shifting his grip on Guillotine, Mack slid his right hand up the mahogany haft of the weapon so that his knuckles would be protected by the carbon steel bearded head of the blade head. Then Mack delivered a punishing right cross to the frost troll's chin which exacerbated the bleeding damage that Guillotine had already caused with the earlier strike. The troll responded by wrapping one hand in the loose mesh weave of the Angelic Sheath and lifting Mack bodily up off of the ground. Holding the blonde man in the air with its left hand, the troll reared back and delivered an unbelievably powerful punch with its right fist that rocketed Mack backwards.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30638
BD: 10 (9+1)
MD: 7
LD: 4
Mack: 51/55 (-1 Dam., Mit. 2)
Frost Troll: -9/28 (-9 Dam., -2 Bleed, -2 Thorns)

After a short flight, post being punched in the face by the frost troll, Mack came down in the snow in a shower of freshly fallen snow. As he picked himself up off of the ground he took a glance at the Frost Troll's health bar. As he had suspected, the massive creature was nearly dead with its health bar well down into the red zone. It wouldn't take too much more to finish the beast off and be done with it once and for all. Charging across the intervening distance between himself and the troll, Mack drew Guillotine back over his head. As he came into range, several things happened at once. The frost troll grabbed him and got stung by thorns, its face wound continued to bleed, and most significantly, Mack tomahawked the blade of Guillotine into the creature's skull which caused it to explode in a shower of pixels, producing a crafting material.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30643-47
LD: 9, 14, 3, 5, 16

After adding the troll's hide to his inventory, another crafting material of which Mack was in desperate need so he could continue making gear and tools for the Crimson Blades, the burly axe-man stood up and considered his options for a moment. With as fast as the Guild was growing, it was imperative to continue making items for them and stashing them in the guild bank. It would make leveling up for the lower-level players faster and easier. Which would, in turn, quickly bolster the number of members that the Guild could contribute to the front lines in Aincrad. At the same time, the Grandmaster was loathe to reduce the lower level players who had yet to choose a profession into people that simply farmed mats for the members of the Blades that could actually create things for the guild to use. In a perfect world, people would both farm and craft, and also donate to the Guild, which would quickly build up the supplies.

With those thoughts moving through his head, Mack moved to a stand of trees near where he had killed the troll and began chopping, producing another crafting material with a few minutes worth of work.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30638
BD: 9 (8+1)
MD: 10
Mack: 55/57 (-2 Dam., Mit. 2)
Frost Troll: 19/29 (-8 Dam., -2 Thorns)

Having collected some timber from one of the innumerable trees in the forest around him, Mack shouldered Guillotine and continued on his way. He doubted it would be too much longer before another frost troll made their appearance known. After all, this part of the fourth floor seemed to be completely overrun with the creatures. Sure enough, he hadn't moved even a hundred yards further down the frosted over path that he was following before on of the creatures dropped from a tree above him and landed an incredibly powerful haymaker that snapped the blonde man's head around and drove him to one knee. From his kneeling postion, Mack launched a lateral swipe with Guillotine that took out the troll's legs and sent it toppling to the ground in a shower of snow.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30932
BD: 4
MD: 2
Mack: 55/57 
Frost Troll: 19/29 

As Mack picked himself up out of the snow, the axe-man brushed the snow off of his armor and he backed off a few steps from the troll. Swinging Guillotine loosely in his hands, Mack watched as the troll rumbled a battle cry and exploded up from its own snowy bed, spraying bits of snow and small chunks of ice in all directions. Staring around with nasty, beady eyes looking around for its intended target and victim. Well, one of them was going to wind up the victim, but it wasn't all that likely to wind up being Mack. Slowly, the pair of combatants circled one another, each seeking an opening in the defenses of the other into which an assault could be launched.

[Mack 0]

ID: 30875
BD: 9 (8+1)
MD: 9
Mack: 54/57 (-1 Dam, Mit. 2)
Frost Troll: 9/29 (-8 Dam., -2 Thorns)

With a bellow, the frost troll lurched into motion across the intervening distance between it and the hefty man bearing a bearded axe. As the troll came lumbering in Mack swung Guillotine across his body, slamming the steel head of the axe into the troll's midsection with a wet squelching sound. As he tore the weapon free from its temporary trollish sheath the beast retaliated with a vicious uppercut to Mack's midsection that lifted the warrior off of his feet and several feet into the air before he tumbled down backwards into a snow drift and began the laborious task of extricating himself from it with an odd mix of grunting and cussing.

[Mack 0]

ID: 31017
BD: 10 (9+1)
MD: 7
Mack: 53/57 (-1 Dam., Mit. 2)
Frost Troll: -2/29 (-9 Dam., -2 Thorns)

As Mack pulled himself up out of the snowdrift the frost troll appeared, looming over him. The massive white fur covered beast brought one of its feet slamming down on Mack's chest, driving him deeper into the snow bank even as the creature itself was stung by the thorns that imbued Mack's armor. As he was being driven deeper into the snow bank, Mack swung Guillotine from a not exactly powerful position into the troll, the blade of the axe biting into the creature's chest since, at this range, even a blind monkey could hit the target. Abruptly, the stomping ceased as the troll evaporated in a shower of pixels, leaving behind a crafting material that Mack gathered up as he got to his feet.

[Mack 0]

ID: 31020
LD: 15
MD: 10
BD: 8 (7+1)
Mack: 51/57 (-2 Dam., Mit. 2)
Frost Troll: 19/29 (-2 Thorns, -8 Dam.)

Continuing to wander through the forested area that surrounded Snowfrost Town, Mack held Guillotine loose and easy in his hands. When he saw a nice looking tree that he liked the burly blacksmith swung the axe across his body and buried the bladed head of the weapon in the tree's trunk with a solid thunk. There was a spray of wood chips and a chunk of lumber that could be used for crafting was produced from the effort. Just as Mack was adding the material to his inventory yet another Frost Troll, most likely drawn by the noise of the material harvesting exploded out of the forest and tackled Mack, driving him into the ground before delivering a savage punch to the face. Luckily, the axe-man managed to hold on to his weapon as he received the pile driver and Mack was able to retaliate by shifting his grip on Guillotine and using the bearded head of the weapon to deliver a sharp right cross to the troll to knock it back off of him.

[Mack 0]

ID: 31022
MD: 5
BD: 9 (8+1)
Mack: 51/57 
Frost Troll: 11/29 (-8 Dam.)

Just as quickly as the troll had pounced on him as it had emerged from the forest, Mack was quick to return the favor. Still holding Guillotine in a grip that definitely favored punching, Mack scrambled forward and leaped upon the massive Frost Troll. Drawing his right hand back the burly blacksmith delivered a resounding right cross to the troll's cheek that snapped the creature's head harshly to one side. Quick as a flash, Mack rolled off of the beast before it could grab him, popping to his feet in the snow and moving off a few yards as the troll bellowed in rage and shoved itself back up to its feet, beady hateful eyes searching out its tormentor.

[Mack 0]

ID: 31022
MD: 4
BD: 6 (5+1)
Mack: 51/57 
Frost Troll: 3/29 (-8 Dam.)

Beating its fists together, the frost troll advanced on Mack. It had just about had enough of the puny creature, to its way of thinking, that was standing before it and it was ready to pulverize the axe-wielding man into bloody nothingness. Still, it wasn't counting on the power of the axe in Mack's hands. As the troll reached out its left arm to try and catch ahold of him Mack swung Guillotine in a flat straight arc around his body. The blade of the weapon neatly caught, and then severed, the offending limb that had been attached to the troll and it fell into the snow before dissolving in a shower of pixels. "Care for another," Mack snarled at the creature, moving a half step back from it.

[Mack 0]

ID: 31065
MD: 4
BD: 4 (3+1)
Mack: 51/57
Frost Troll: 3/29

The frost troll bellowed in rage as it rose to its feet from the snow bank where it had received so much punishment from the blonde axe-man. Making several vicious swipes with its claws, the beast made it abundantly clear through its action what the fondest desire of its nasty little heart was. Holding out a hand, Mack circled the beast and beckoned it forward. It would only take one more clean strike to down the creature. It was just a matter of finding the right opening in the beast's defenses to exploit. Of course, given the vast disparity between their health bars, Mack knew he could always rush the beast since he'd be able to land one blow before the troll could land enough to kill him.