[F12] De-worming the Swamps <<Lord of the Sea>> (Calrex + Ariel + Ssendom)

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom sat in the town of Lazaro, he really wanted something to do and kept hearing about a giant sea monster in the middle of the giant lake of swamp water that stood a few clicks away from the town. And the beast only happened to show during a massive storm. With intrigue finally getting the best of him, he hopped up and began to walk around trying to get more clues about this so called beast and if anyone had more information to give on it's whereabouts or anything else that they had possibly known.

Strolling around the town wearing his intimidating Ebony armor and his new unique stained glass dragon head shoulder plates, wasn't the best idea since everytime he approached someone with the intent to talk they seemed to walk away faster in more so of fear of him. The shoulders seemed to cause people to shy away from him more and more now, but this kinda brought a smile to Ssendom's face. "Since they fear me, lets get my information another way." He cackled for a second. Once he found his target he approached the man quickly and swiftly, grabbing him by his clothes around his chest area and bashed him into a wall. Staring deep into the frightened mans brown eyes with his own furious and evil looking red eyes he shouted, "Where is the Sea Monster and when can I fight it!?"

The man cringed and began spewing, "There is a storm that happens tonight in just an hour! It'll be at the center of that! Please don't hurt me!" He shouted in pure fear. After which Ssendom placed him down lightly and brushed off his shoulders.

"Sorry to do that, I needed the information. You have a good one." He patted the man on the shoulder and headed to the town entrance. Once he reached there he stopped and began sifting through his inventory for another Beer Blasted Steak Kabob. Chomping down he could feel slightly more empowered after consuming the meat and vegetables. Once he finished he tossed the stick to the side and reviewed over his shoulder plates further, thinking someone or two would be also be interested in killing the boss as well and would want to join him.

[Calrex 0]

"Hm? A message from Ssendom. Wow, and such a short time after we got Lowenthal out of PKer status..."

Calrex was wandering around on the lower floors when he got the message from the man bearing the title of Slayer of the Forsaken Crusader. It hasn't been long before that the two had worked together with Lowenthal, Master of Shadows, to return him back to green crystal status. Giving a small smirk he saw that the man was requested his assistance with the newly discovered quest on the twelfth floor. Quickly heading to the nearby teleportation circle he warped to the respective floor, emerging out into the settlement.

This time he was wearing his now constant armament of the Grand Dragoon, Grand Blade, Amethyst Charm, and Tide Pendant. As Roc appeared overhead in a flash of light he proceeded to make his way over to the brunette, whom was bearing his new raid level gear. Giving a friendly wave Calrex completed his trek over, "Hey, I'm guessing we're taking on the new field boss?"

He had previously faced a lesser version of the creature when he was on this floor grandmastering his sword skill, and now with the Redemption quest completed he had noticed a new skill unlocked, the secret Sword Art that was previously inaccessible without the respective level of Martial Arts.

Giving a smirk he gave a nod as he approved of the quest, "So who else will be joining us for this?"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"That would be me if you guys don't have any objections!" resounded a clear crystalline voice, as a cloaked figure entered their sight, she bore the familiar bluebird logo on the back. She gave a nod to Cal, as if they were 'old' friends then directed her attention towards the guy that intimidated a NPC not too long ago. "You know, treating NPCs like that doesn't sit to well in my book as a guardian. But seeing as nobody got hurt I'm not going to pass judgement:D" she said in a light tone, ending with a grin.

She didn't knew the armored guy by his name, first time she saw him was in the previous boss fight that got him the new item he was so proudly brandishing. 'Typical' she thought as she at least knew he was a part of the Brigade. "Kayla Ariel D'Sole, nice to meet ya, crusader slayer- kun" she stated, ending with a smile as her Japanese accent slipped out at the end.She didn't quite knew what she'd signed up for but had a hunch, it may as well be the same quest she was just returning from after taking it with Azide and Takao. This time as well, she was unaccompanied by her familiar, leaving the white lion home.

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom saw Calrex walk up after receiving a notice message that he was going to be doing this quest and was awaiting a party, he greeted Calrex as he had normally done in the past. "Indeed we are taking on the new field boss, I heard the giant beast needs a slight evisceration. So I thought to lay my blade deep into his side." He said cockily enough. But before he could say that he didn't know if anyone else is coming to join them he heard an unfamiliar voice, turning to see the blonde woman with a slightly familiar face. If he could recall she was in the boss fight but doesn't really remember if she did anything or if she was actually there, up until she called him Crusader Slayer.

He reached out his hand in a customarily way, "Pleased to meet you Ariel-san." He in turn stated letting his natural Japanese accent out. "And sometimes one needs to take a different approach when the polite route is being avoided by others. I am one of the five Commandant's of the Azure Brigade, Ssendom. But you may simply call me Dom to make things easier on you." He said in a polite tone, he dropped his inventory menu and set his helmet to visible, covering his head where the only seeable thing of his was the red eyes that peered through the slits in the helm. "Well I personally have no objections for you accompanying. Since you were at the Boss fight I can trust your combat expertise since Tristan didn't decline you. So lets move out." He stated and started going.

Edited October 13, 2015 by Ssendom

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, I'm aware of the creature you're talking about. I think I encountered a lesser version of it when I was up here a few days ago. Of course I heard that this particular one is actually capable of manipulating lightning to some level, similar to my Lightning Fall Sword Art."

Looking over Calrex gave a wave and a nod as Ariel joined him and Ssendom, forming a three-person party. With everyone together the brunette decided that it was time to get moving as the Ultramarine Knight gave a nod, following suite. Making sure all of his gear was set he gave a small calming breath as he put his hands into his jacket pockets, "From what I've also gathered this field boss hits particular hard, much harder than any of the other bosses so far. Heck I think it's damage is almost on par with a floor boss. Nonetheless, with both Dom and Ariel here we should be able to deal a significant amount of damage to it before it even gets a chance to score a hit. It might not be as fast as Redemption went, but hopefully fast enough we won't risk our lives in the process."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Ssendom....Ssendom....Dome?" she repeated in a,low tone several times, the name clicked... but with what? Not with the fact that he was a Commandant of Azure, she couldn't care less about that. Instead the name triggered a more personal reaction, as if attributed to someone important to her. Lightly massaging the bridge of her nose with her right hand's index and thumb, her brows couldn't stop knitting as she couldn't shake the familiarity of the name. After several second the blonde expression turned into a broad smile as it finally hit her. "DOM!!! Meo-chan's boyfriend!" she almost shouted. All the ill intent she'd been projecting once she heard he's part of Azure dissipated and was replaced by genuine happiness.

"So your the guy she's been talking about!" that's right, when they went in a 'bounding trip' as mentor and protegé, back when Absolute Pin was still active, Meokka had told Ariel of her 'special someone'. The smile started to fade as she remembered once again that Meo had disappeared on her a little while after AP's disbandment. She hadn't heard from the bluenette, self proclaimed 'bee' since then and was afraid that something happened to her kawaii protegé. The comment about Tristan apparently 'didn't decline' her participation in the boss fight did not even faze her. Cal's comment on the other side shook her enough to reply:

"Yeah, the thing has a chain lighting ability that can hit all party members." Next removing her Guardian Cloak, she looked at the two... something reminiscent of sorrow still remained in her eyes but her voice was strong and clear: "Shall we go then?"

Edited October 13, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom seemed un-phased by the mention of lightning skills utilized by the giant sea serpent, he was just focused on defeating the monster swift and soundly. He needed more strength in order to overcome certain things he had planned in the future that he would rather not speak of. And Ssendom was doing well to stay focused until Ariel mentioned Meokka's name and the union they once possessed. The memories he had hidden within his mind were immediately brought back to light when Ariel opened her mouth about it. The shudder of him caused his armor to shake a small but noticeable bit, but he didn't turn around or even comment on it.

The very air that surrounded Ssendom began to seem a little down-trodden, the aura he was giving off seemed rather depressing. He continued forward toward the storm that was brewing in the distance. His pace seemed to pick up a little bit, he trudged through the knee deep water as if he were walking on normal ground. His physical training in the real world and even in the game itself was showing itself with his powerful leg strength. He begun a loud whistle, which caused the sky to have the roar of a seemingly powerful bird. Then through the tree's descended a Purple Phoenix Whelp that landed upon his shoulder, it turned to the other two that were following Ssendom, and it politely bowed without being told to do so by it's master.

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex heard Ariel mention Meokka's name his eyes glanced over at Ssendom. Just before the raid he had run into him, with the man voicing what had occurred between the two of them. Making note of the brunette's slightly increased pace he sped up to keep up, although he made sure that the conversation didn't run to an awkward stop, "Yeah, let's not keep this supposed lord waiting, heh. We've got a powerful team here, so it's likely we might be able to fell it before the creature has the chance to even use that lightning ability."

"Dom said that this was something he had come to terms with, but it's not surprising that Meo's name might still have an effect on him. Still, better not let personal things hinder our ability to fight. This is the strongest field boss to date, so we can't lose focus now."

Activating his <<Reveal>> skill he began to scan around. It seemed like the weather was picking up, becoming more stormy, "This certainly seems to be the proper conditions for this boss to spawn."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

It seems that without wanting to, her words awoken some painful memories from Ssendom as well. At times like this she hates that particular 'treat' of hers, namely her straightforwardness and sincerity. She started to follow the guy up until the water front: "Guh not this again!" she complained as she entered the swamp water, having relatively no problems in keeping up as a she'd come with a excellent physical condition from the real world. Its feeling against her bare skin was as bad as the first time. "What an polite fella, I wish my Kimba was like that." she continued while looking at the phoenix. It was a rare sight indeed, to see such well behaved familiars. Hers wasn't the type..but lately she did notice a slight change in her lion's behavior. 

As Cal spoke, the girl nodded and after brushing a wild strand of her hair behind her ear she added: "Yeah, I say we nuke it with our most powerful attacks, quick and clean without too much trouble" she was a bit surprised to be using the term 'nuke'. But since Takao used it to describe the power of the team they were in while doing the <<Iron Guardian>> quest, she'd taken a liking to it.

 

Edited October 14, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom kept rather quiet the rest of their walk to the spawn location of their target, though Amethyst his phoenix didn't hesitate to get acquainted with it's soon to be partners. It flew off Ssendom's shoulder to go land on Ariel's since she had been nice and greeted the little whelp, it began to nudge it's face against her's in happiness and excitement over making a new friend. Ssendom turned his head ever so slightly to watch the bird fly off over to the blonde woman's shoulder. He smiled under his helmet which couldn't be seen, but the aura he was exuding seemed to lighten up a bit after that had happened. He turned his head back forward keeping track of the path they had taken.

After a little bit of trudging through the swampy murky water, they had reached the eye of the storm. They were standing on a solid surface at this point after having trudged a long distance through muddy ground and nasty water. Ssendom reached back and ripped his blade from it's scabbard, upon doing so the Purple Fire Phoenix Whelp knew that was the signal to get battle ready. It swiftly flew off Ariel's Shoulder and began to flap it's wings to stay place right next to it's master's side.

Suddenly a Massive Lightning Bolt struck the massive lake in front of them, then out from the water emerged in a ferocious manner. It noticed Ssendom first, it's eye's lighting red immediately targeting him for it's first attack. The massive Wyrm began to charge headlong at Ssendom, which he retorted with the same manner. And began charging at it with his blade glowing as his Sword art had been chosen already, "Let's do this!" He shouted in a blood curdling scream of insanity and excitement almost. His feet splashed into the murky water. But the power of his lower body strength ripped through it as if it were nothing, he didn't care about the hindrance of the water since he never chose to dodge attacks. Ssendom always fought everything headlong.

Ssendom's blade began to glow a evil red, instead of it's ominous black. He rushed forward as if the water didn't even phase him at all. The beast reared it's head back as it charged a massive lightning bolt in it's mouth. Once Ssendom felt as though he were close enough, he leapt out of the water rushing towards it's head quickly. The beast then blasted it's lightning forward, to which Ssendom placed his blade in the path way absorbing all the lightning into the center of the 3 part Greatsword. He flung his blade in away dispersing the energy away from him, then as he reached the beast's face he flurried 3 stabs inbetween 4 sweeping strikes shouting, "ASTRAL HELL!" Finishing his last attack knocking the beast down with his pure raw strength.

--------------------------

ID: 35109

BD: 9 + 3 = Crit

MD: 4 = Miss

Ssendom: 162/162 HP | 12 DMG | 21/28 Energy (Astral Hell Used -7)
Sea Wyvern: 209/300 -91 [(12 + 1 Crit) * 7] HP | 96 DMG

Edited October 15, 2015 by Ssendom

[Calrex 0]

ID: 35111
Battle Dice: 8 (Accuracy +3) = 11
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 32 Remaining)

As the bolt of lightning struck down in front of the group Calrex immediately went on alert as he ripped the Grand Blade from its sheath. Seeing the large field boss emerge from the depths he looked over as he heard Ssendom's battle cry, giving a small smirk as he saw the man's blood red two-handed sword smash down on the creature, knocking it back.

"Let's see how far I've come."

Giving a calming breath his eyes focused on the wyvern as his eyebrows slanted downwards. Activating his <<Meteor Break>> Sword Art his sword lit up with a sparkling golden aura as he rushed forward, letting the assisted system take over. Flying forward he raised his sword arm into an elbow strike as the momentum sent him into a tackle, slamming into the boss with overwhelming force. Immediately following it was a series of fierce slashes and stabs, carving away at the boss before he performed yet another tackle maneuver. Finishing the attack with a leaping vertical strike he leapt back, giving a nod to Ariel, "This thing's almost done! Let's take it down!"

HP List
Ssendom: 162/162
   Energy: 21/28
Calrex: 177/177
   Energy: 32/43
Ariel: Not Yet Acted

Enemies:
Sea Wyvern: 99/300 (10 DMG * 11 Art = 110 DMG)

Edited October 15, 2015 by Calrex

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

As the phoenix started rubbing against her cheek, the blonde couldn't help but let out a girly giggle. She liked familiars, unlike players, they stayed true to their nature.Her gaze was trailing the fire bird, when their target made its appearance in a extremely flashy manner. She instantly entered her trained mental state refered as 'Combat Mode' where hee purpose was the defeat of whatever her opponent was. Grabing the black sheath of her rapier with her left hand, slowly but ellegantly unsheathing her thorned themed rapier with her other hand. She first heard, then saw as Dom went and engaged the mob with a ear shattering scream. Taking the mob head on even when it attacked him, that thing alone earned him a few respect points in Ariel's book.

Next was Calrex who dealt a huge blow with a sword art she hasn't seen him use before. "Got a new skill I see" she muttered, as she started lowering her stance activating simultaneously a sword art and a sword skill. When her pre-move hit perfect parameters, she charged forward leaving behind her a golden blue streak, the ending that particular sword skill brought her in front of the massive mob and before it could notice her, she performed a trinity of slashes that left a triangle mark on the mob's chest area, the 3 sides appearing in the same time instead of consecutively as one would expect.  With that the mob let out a powerful roar before exploding in a almost equally flashy manner as it appeared. The remaining polygons showered the blonde as she was left with only a dark grin on her face. "still too weak," she said to herself before regaining her usual mood, sheathing the blade slowly until she heard a small 'clank' sound coming from the scabbard at her waist. "Well, that was a bit anti-climatic, I was half expected a thunder storm!" she said with a smirk.

ID# 35175  BD: 8 (6+3)  MD:1 (3-1)

HP List
Ssendom: 162/162
   Energy: 21/28
Calrex: 177/177
   Energy: 32/43
Ariel: 137/137  Sword Art: Delta Attack - 3x3
   Energy: 24/33

Enemies:
Sea Wyvern: -9/300 (10+2 DMG * 9 Art = 108 DMG)

Edited October 15, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom watched as the moster exploded into thousands of tiny particles, he landed on the ground just after Ariel's strike leaving him quite unamused. "I swear, our power leveling has reached an all time high. The monsters considered the biggest, baddest, and scariest in this world are about as easy to cut through like butter." His tone continued in a slight annoyance. He cleared his throat and set his helmet to invisible to show case his face. "Nonetheless, I appreciate all the help you two have done for me today. And I am quite sure this went far faster than the Oversized Walking Piece of Rock we dealt with together Calrex." He said with a chuckle that slowly turned to a full blown laugh. After a moment he stifled his laugh and turned his body to the blonde headed woman who managed to inflict the killing blow on the giant wyvern. "I am sorry I didn't have a chance to meet you truly before now Ariel." He said with a kind voice.

Amethyst flew back over to Ariel's shoulder, it seemed to enjoy the presence of the woman. The purple fiery bird loved to meet new people. It couldn't just stay perched upon the shoulder of the woman, it happened to fly over to Calrex's shoulder after wards and rub it's face against Calrexs'. The fire never seemed to burn them as it rubbed up against them demonstrating it's control and mastery over it's own flames.

[Calrex 0]

"Huh?"

Calrex looked over as the battle ended to see Ssendom's familiar, the phoenix rubbing its face against his as he gave a small smirk, "Heh, I'm sure Roc would be happy to meet you, although I have a feeling he's off nearby trying to dry off his feathers."

Sheathing the Grand Blade he gave a small sigh as he nodded to the Crusader Slayer, "Yeah, just goes to show how much time we've wasted on the lower floors. If the quets on the most recent floor are this easy with three people, then that can only mean we need to speed up our pace in clearing the levels."

Looking over his guess was realized as he saw his blue peregrine falcon, Roc, fly over, albeit at a much slower speed than the bird usually did. Seeing his familiar's feathers matted with raindrops gave him a small laugh before responding to Ssendom's comment, "No kidding. I swear all of us are setting records for fastest time eliminating field bosses. I can't imagine how quick the lower floor quests would be now."

Giving a nod to both of his teammates he put his hands in his pockets, "Well then, what shall we do now that the ferocious beast has been eliminated?"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"I think the new sword art update had more to do with that we give it credit" said Ariel as a small remark to Dom's affirmation. But she didn't dismissed the player's effort to constantly improve themselves. She too had recently achieved the in-game level tittle of rapier 'Grandmaster' not so long ago and is now capable of using the rapier without Cardinal's restraints like she did in the real world. Having no idea what he refer to she simply brushed it off like something the two of them did together and concluded that she didn't want to know more about it. 

"Don't let it bother you." she said with a smile while passing her hand through the phoenix's flaming feathers. "I didn't expect it to be so warm and gentle" she said, referring to that particular sensation against her skin. "You really are something aren't you?" she asked the fire bird as she went to Cal's side next. Already accustomed to talking to her own familiar like this, Ariel showed no sign of embarrassment or awkwardness in doing so. To her it was almost as natural as talking to NPCs and players alike. "And here's my other winged friend!" she said, raising her left arm in a horizontal position, motioning the falcon to land on her vambrace.

Turning her gaze towards Cal, who posed a natural inquire over their next course of action she simply shrug then replied: "I for one would look for something more thrilling... its too early to get back to the town. I haven't had my fill yet" she said with a vicious grin at the end. She would no longer try to hide her battle driven mentality, which she considered a bit twisted but managed to accept it a while ago. She knew Cal has already seen it emerging a couple of times and with Dom... she sensed that he may be a kindred spirit of sorts.

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom simply smiled as he watched his faithful bird get friendly with other people. It was almost a completely different personality between the man and his bird. Ssendom the ruthless and dark personality, where as Amethyst was bubbly and a bright personality. He shrugged at the mention of the new Sword Arts update, it was pretty true that the update empowered the players by almost two and a half times and most of the top end players were already rather over leveled for the mobs they were fighting. The release set Ssendom from being able to help in the boss fights, to being a big contributor to the cause.

Ariel began talking to Amethyst as if it were a person, Ssendom couldn't judge her and didn't since he often talked to his bird and asked it questions knowing it couldn't talk. But the little guy was rather intelligent, whenever Ariel would talk to it and say kind words, the bird would do an action signifying it agreed with her statement. After a moment he saw a blue falcon flying it's way toward the group, Ariel held out her vambrace for the larger bird to land upon. When Amethyst saw the other bird it got rather excited to meet yet another new friend.

When Ariel began to say that she wasn't yet done with fighting since the fight itself lasted but a mere three hits before the massive wyvern was slain. Deep down Ssendom agreed with her as well, he wanted more entertainment when it came to killing monsters. He turned to look at Calrex wondering what the Ultramarine Knight would think when it came to hunting some more trash mobs before ending their expedition out in the swamps. "I personally can do either. I have things to do, but I did set some time to end the lives of some monsters in the swamp lands to be completely truthful."

[Calrex 0]

Acknowledging Ariel's gesture Roc completed his trip over before gently landing on the blonde's vambrace. However, immediately after doing so he promptly began to shake his body rapidly left and right, no longer able to tolerate the weight of the water that had collected onto his wings. With each rotation the droplets flew off his body and went in each direction.

Calrex gave a shrug as Ssendom inquired if the three wanted to continue going after mobs on the floor, "Sure, I've got nothing important I need to get to today, so some more training is always good to do in my book. SHall we keep up the momentum then and take on some of the larger alligators on this floor?"

Finishing drying himself off to the best of his ability, Roc gave a quick bow with its head to Ariel before flapping his wings, moving high enough that he could hover above the group.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

As Roc landed, the blonde.... already soaked by the high humidity and previously messy area boss fight, still raised her hand to shield herself from the incoming new 'wave' of water released by the bird's shaking. 'I would've brought Kimba but she hates these type of places' she thought, imagining how her own familiar would react at the sight of a new playmate. Nodding and then giving the blue bird of prey a light push as it lift off her arm she returns her gaze towards the two: 

"You two don't seem so convinced." she said with a sigh then continued: "The alligator idea seems a pretty solid one, will give us a bit of practice for the incoming boss fight since were dealing with a winged alligator." she said, remembering the boss characteristics they found during their scouting party. Her gaze once again drifted towards the blue bird, funny enough her guild's logo was made in the form of bluebird wings. Adding the fact that she had a affinity towards the creature she liked to think that possessed a noble spirit, like a certain white furred king of the jungle she knew. "Lead the way!" she added, leaving the fact that either she was referring to Cal or Dom, unanswered.

 

[Ssendom 0]

(OOC: We'll Alligator Hunt in a new thread.)

Amethyst really liked the look of Roc, the purple flaming phoenix whelp then lifted off of Calrex's shoulder and began to run it's face against the blue falcon. As the bird shook the water off of itself, the water dropping instantly turned into vapor as they reached near the phoenix. While Amethyst was near Roc, it breathed a calming flame that caused no harm to it, but managed to dry it off completely. Once it felt happy to help, it flew right back over to Ssendom's Shoulder who was seriously considering Alligator hunting.

He looked up to Ariel, "Yeah, I suggest we go Alligator farming after we head to town and turn in the quest. I need to pick up something from a shop before we go about killing some alligators personally." He said unenthusiasticly, his face was showed some annoyance. He had expected to have the potions finished before the Boss Fight, but nonetheless he would be completely ready for the next boss fight. "I'll meet you guys at Lazaro after I get what I need from Zandra's potion shop. I'll see you soon." He waved to them with Amethyst bowing politely. Then he took his leave to town.

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Sounds good.

IC:

Roc looked confused for a second as Ssendom's phoenix familiar flew up towards him, his head looking at his body for a few seconds before he realized that his person was now dry. As the purple firebird returned back to his master's side the peregrine falcon looked towards it and gave a nod of thanks before returning back to his normal hovering pattern.

"Sure thing. Let's get moving back in that direction then. We'll rendevous back at the gates to do some more training before calling it a day. I'll be around the settlement in the meantime."

"Hopefully this gives a good sign. That we're still more that strong enough to start pushing a little bit harder on the floor raids, at least for a while. Now if only there was some way I could become even stronger..."

He continued to ponder this as he gave a nod to Ariel before making his way towards the settlement as well, "I'll see you back there."

"Two swords? Maybe a powerful armor? Those are only two things I've heard, but maybe if I could get a hold of at least one of them...I could pull it off."