[SP-F5] Fisherman vs Fish - Blood in the Sand [Complete!]

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh groaned to himself as he walked through the desert "What am I doing..." He mumbles to himself while the heat and strong winds of the desert battered against him. He had heard there was a giant rare fish hidden out in the desert, so he had made it his mission to see it for himself, and catch it to boot! Naturally it was easier said than done. He had a general direction but nothing beyond that. He had his fishing rod slung over his shoulder as he walked. Anyone who saw him in town, or even on the way into the desert, would have probably thought him many, many levels of insane. Fishing on the desert floor? It was madness! Even if he knew of an oasis, what were the odds there'd be any fish of note there? All the same, Kalesh trekked forward with resolve in his heart. He'd find the mysterious sand fish and then dine on it with a sense of satisfaction! That said his motivation shrunk a bit more with each step that he realized his stupidity for believing such a foolish rumor.

At this point in his journey he was miles away from any of the local settlements, it would be a pain to walk back to the teleporter, he'd probably end up needing to have a few rests on the way, but that was a concern for later. There was still plenty of daylight to comb the desert with. "...This fish better be freaking delicious." He chuckled softly while trying to think how a desert fish would taste. It would probably be very juicy he figured. Needing to contain moisture efficiently despite the heat.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

He hummed a tune softly to himself while moving through the desert, his eyes scanning the horizon as if expecting to see something he hadn't seen before. As suspected however, the only thing he saw was sand and the omnipresent labyrinth tower that was never out of sight. While staring up at the tower he grinned and said confidently "One day..." He held his clawed hand towards the top and made a crushing motion before shaking his head and laughing at his own stupidity. "Well, not any time soon. I'd sooner explode on contact than prove truly useful against a boss..." He was confident his power could be of some help, but had to accept that his durability was the true issue. One wrong swipe and many field bosses could destroy him, never mind something with the power of a floor boss!

[ID# 36328][LD: 5]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

While going through the pros and cons and the risks involved of participating in a floor boss, something started to get his attention. The sands around him were very... flat. He looked around and soon came to the conclusion that there were no hills of sand around him, instead the area ahead was almost entirely flat leading to the horizon. "Hm..." He had a bad feeling, it felt almost like walking into an arena where there was nowhere to hide or run to. He even noted a total lack of vegetation, including cacti! He saw no signs of monsters or the like but he didn't count himself as being safe just yet. Letting ones guard down was the first step to one's demise in this kind of world. That was his general attitude at least, regardless of if he actually adhered to it or not.

[ID# 36329][LD: 10]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh took a deep breath as he tried to come to terms mentally with what he was about to attempt. He moved the rod off of his shoulder and reached down when he saw a small critter-sized scorpion. He snagged it up by the tail and stuck it through the abdomen with his fishing hook. With a sigh Kalesh threw the line out into the middle of the sandy desert. To his surprise the scorpion had enough energy left inside it for the bug to try and retreat, burrowing into the sand and taking the line with it. "HA!" he manages to get out at the thought that it might actually work if such fish existed, if the bait's instinct was to burrow. Still seemed pretty ridiculous though!

[ID# 36330][LD: 11]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh stood there for a while, just watching his line as if thinking something would happen. The line had stopped being drawn in, perhaps the scorpion died? Either way he had his hands tight on the rod, as if thinking it could be yanked from his hands at any moment. Naturally he didn't think such a thing would happen, but one should still keep their hopes high. Rare stuff is rare because it's hard to find or has a ridiculous method. If his method worked, then he'd consider himself a pretty successful fisherman. If not he'd consider as usual and consider himself a blind idiot who actually thought that he could catch a fish, let alone a huge fish, in the middle of a desert. He'd be more likely to find water than something that could be called a fish!

[ID# 36331][LD: 14]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh had been standing there pointlessly for several minutes, coming to the slow and eventual realization that he was a fool. He groaned and was about to start reeling in when he felt a sudden pull! "WHOA!" He shouted in surprise at the strength he was feeling, being dragged forward through the sand as in front of him a fin started to surface. "Wait reall- AH!" He shouted as he was suddenly on his chest, holding the rod desperatly as he was being dragged against the sand by the massive creature which he had apparently managed to hook! He didn't know what madness was leading this to work but he didn't think he should look a gift horse in the mouth and just accept it, but he wasn't going to catch this fish on his belly. He grit his teeth while getting himself ready to pull before the line or his rod broke!

[ID# 36332][LD: 19..... HOOKED!]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh inhaled deeply and suddenly pushed his feet under him, digging the heels of his feet into the sand as the shark pulled him along, soon they were starting to slow, the line doing admirably as his rod bent hard! Kalesh turned his body and pulled with all of his virtual might, tugging as he turned his body away from the direction of the monster, feeling his muscles strain against the sheer size of the monster! With a loud yell punctuating his efforts a sudden cloud of sand appeared before him as the shark was forced to the surface, Kalesh not only pulling the beast from the sand by force, but sending it sailing over Kalesh to slam harshly into the sand on the other side of the player! Concluding that his rod was no longer of use to him, he swiftly removes it before charging towards the beached shark-like creature! Sharp claws tore across the creatures sturdy hide, meant to stave off the rough sand from harming it, yet cut after cut sliced through like butter! As this happened it stayed still, either out of shock or from the impact, but either way, Kalesh was mauling it to death while thoughts of how it might taste flooded his mind!

[ID# 36333][BD: 6(4+2)][CD: 3][MD: -1(2-3)]

Kalesh 80/80 (15 Mit, 8 Damage)
Energy: 12/20
Sword Art: Shadow Dance (8x4x2=64)

Sand Shark 61/125 (30 Damage)

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh didn't let up or skip a beat, spinning on his heel as he tore the monster apart as it remained there harmless and defenseless! He didn't know if Kayaba never suspected someone would or could fish it from the sand, but he wasn't about to ask! The monster's body was painted with red scars by the time its health finally reached zero, causing the monster to spasm before finally shattering apart and leaving him with a happy little jingle to indicate he had just killed a field boss! "Oooh~" cooed Kalesh as he checks the results. A decent number of Col along with a material. He would certainly need a chef to prepare this for him, not even thinking for one moment it was something he would just cook over a fire. This needed to be put to a proper use by an actual chef before being consumed!

[ID# 36334][BD: 6(3+2+1)][CD: 12][LD: 18][MD: 1(4-3)]

Kalesh 80/80 (15 Mit, 8 Damage)
Energy: 6/20 -8 +2
Sword Art: Shadow Dance (8x4x2=64)

Sand Shark Dead/125

+1 Material
+625 Col

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

It wasn't long before he hit the reward accept menu and blinked when there was a second one waiting behind it. It seemed that there was a salve of some sort and a decent experience boost for killing the shark the first time! He was happy to accept them as well, very certain he could put them to good use provided he remembered to use the potion, the experience would take care of itself however. It was at this point Kalesh decided he would begin the trip back towards Armadillo. He had reached his objective, and now he had to find a decent enough chef to prepare his meal for him! He was dedicated to the thought of eating like a king. It would take a quite a bit to stop him from this objective, and he knew this floor had nothing that could stop him at this point. He just singlehandedly killed a field boss after just thinking it was a rare fishing reward!

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh let out a long sigh despite his proud demeanor, he realized how deep into the desert he was, and now he had to backtrack all the way to the town again, and there was a decent amount of desert to cover to get there. He looked up at the sky before confirming it would probably take him all the way until night time to get there. "There goes my afternoon nap..." He mutters while moving through the desert heat. He was fairly thankful for the survival skill at his disposal, or he would worry about a status effect ruining his day entirely. The last thing he wanted was a heat stroke or some other condition making him pass out or weaken him before he made it back. If he was going to be sick it was going to be in a comfy bed with preferably a cute lady nursing him back to health. "I can dream..."

[ID# 36335][LD: 11]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh wandered along through the desert while eyeing around for anything that could be seen. For the moment though he only caught sight of the seemingly endless sands all around. This was not the most interesting floor in the world, he had to admit. It was hot, sandy, and full of those two things! Aside from the occasional sandstorm to spice things up he didn't feel particularly stimulated by his surroundings except for now and then when he saw a weird cactus that was in a funny shape he could laugh at and appreciate. There were hardly any clouds, thought it did occasionally rain in deserts he was not confident this virtual desert had ever seen a downpour in its entire existence.

[ID# 36336][LD: 4]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh soon came to the conclusion he was wearing the wrong accessory for combing the desert. This entire time he had been so focused on his personal safety and preparedness he hadn't even considered the possibility of treasure or the need of luck enhancements! He groaned as he removed his usual mask and in its place equipped his Tricking Clover which would give him that little boost to his luck. It might take a second for the effect to trigger but that was fine with him. It wasn't as if the desert was about to spew forth a pile of gold for him to dig up and use for himself, such things would be heavily defended at best and non-existent at worst. Whatever the case he lost nothing for looking.

[ID# 36337][LD: 12]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh blinked when finally after what felt like an eternity he saw something noteworthy that was no sand. A cactus. It was on the way and not diverging his path, so he figured he would walk up to it curiously. After spending a little time staring he realized it had a fruit growing out of it! Eager but careful, Kalesh picks the fruit up off the top of the plant and inventories it with a happy smile stuck to his face. "Lovely. I am sure I can find a use for you!" He says to himself while leaving the rest of the cactus alone, not feeling any deep down desire to destroy it. It had given him fruit in offering, so it got to keep its life was the long and short of it.

[ID# 36339][LD: 17(15+2)]

+1 Material (2 Total)

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh idly cracked his knuckles as he walked, wondering if any other enemies of that shark's caliber ever existed on this floor. Was it the apex predator, or just a mini-boss of sorts? It would certainly be amusing if there was a stronger enemy somewhere deeper in the desert. Whether or not it would be easy to find however was an entirely different matter. He was pretty sure tracking down such a monster would either be super easy due to size or location, or extremely difficult for the very same reasons. He was still pretty disappointed that he had seen no signs of any true dragons out and about. There were tons of magical and large lizards, but no actual dragons for him to sink his teeth into. Somewhat so to speak, but he did also want to know what dragon meat tasted like.

[ID# 36340][LD: 10(8+2)]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

While fantasizing about dragons, he failed to realize a defiant but tiny scorpion had wandered into his foot's path. A loud crunch was heard as Kalesh stepped down before quickly lifting his foot in time to see the shattering of pixels and a notice saying he had gained a material. "Huh." He says softly to himself before continuing along. Some pests should probably learn to step away from the giants stomping through the sand. That was just his personal opinion though, they could do what they wanted, they'd just have a decently low rate of survival if they did what their friend had just done and try to fight a foot bigger than itself.

[ID# 36341][LD: 21(19+2)]

+1 Material (3 Total)

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Whilst walking through the desert and considering the finer points of natural selection, he noticed another cactus in the general direction he was walking through. One further inspection however, it was confirmed his cactus did not have and fruits or flowers growing on it. With a sigh Kalesh says to the poor plant "Sorry, but you must be sacrificed for the good of all." He grins and rolls his eyes a bit as he slashes across the plant, liquid flowing across the 'wound' before the plant shattered and a material found its way into his inventory to go along with his fruit. All considered though he wasn't sure what else he would want from a cactus. He had the plant and the fruit. Would he even need the needles for something? He doubted it.

[ID# 36342][LD: 22(20+2)]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh smiled, the sun was about to set but he could see Armadillo on the horizon! He figured it would only take him a little while longer to reach the town and then he could get the rest he so rightly deserved!... In his mind. Whether or not he actually deserved a rest was irrelevant, what mattered was that he thought he deserved one. A thousand philosophers who have been passionately debating the definition of need for twenty years couldn't even scratch his desire to rest when he felt the need to rest. Such was the power of his nearly unending sense of sloth when it came to taking naps whenever the chance arose.

[ID# 36346][LD: 8(6+2)]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh idly hummed a tune to himself as he considered himself one third of the way to the town. Each step brought him closer was what he tried to focus on, and so he hummed a tune to keep himself on beat. He loved music, not enough to make a job of it, and so he loved to put his mind to work remembering songs from the previous world that he enjoyed. He wasn't going to forget them, that was for sure. Even if he somehow ended up permanently inside the game as some kind of ghost or NPC he was decently sure he wouldn't forget about the wonderful tunes of the real world. Most of them were in Japanese. All too readily he remembered the fact that he was and always will be a big ol' nerd. He blinked and said softly to himself "I wonder if any players have started to draw manga..."

[ID# 36348][LD: 6(4+2)]

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

While thinking over the possibility that some artist somewhere was drawing manga, he only barely was able to notice from the corner of his eye that something was shining in the sand. He approached the source and tugged out what appeared to be... a hunk of glass? It wasn't that hot out so how was there glass? He didn't question it for long, just accepting the solid from destiny and putting the item into his inventory to go along with his other little discoveries on this fine day! He idly wondered to himself if anyone else had 'battled' the sand shark like he had or if they relief on brute strength alone rather than using a fish's natural enemy. A fishing hook. He was still pretty surprised he had gotten it to work and that his rod didn't explode!

[ID# 36350][LD: 17(15+2)]

+1 Material (4 Total)

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh smiled as he crossed the border into the fifth floor's capital, able to finally let his guard down as he let out a long breath, enjoying the feeling of not keeping his muscles tensed at the ready to counter an unseen foe sprouting forth from the sand. It had happened before, it could happen again! That was no longer a danger however and so he made his way towards the inn he frequented on this floor. He wasn't going to have them prepare his new meat but he was going to get a quick sandwich made which he took up to his room. Once the sandwich was deliciously consumed like he hadn't eaten in weeks, he sighed happily and removed all his gear for a nice night's sleep. By this point the sun had set and the desert began to cool. He was still wondering how shark meat would taste, even in his dreams.

[ID# 36351][LD: (3+2)]

Summary!
+4 SP(1 Completion 3 Quest)
+4 Materials
+1025 Col (400 Completion 625 Dropped)
+1 Sand Armor Potion

Edited October 26, 2015 by Kalesh