[PP-F3] <<Worn Out Welcome>> The Dream Team (Adhaerere, Verus) COMPLETE

[Adhaerere 0]

 Adhaerere and Verus were at it again, adventuring through Aincrad to find more things to kill. It had been a while since they started their adventure on Floor 1, and they were both fairly high levels now. Adhae was 4, Verus was 6 now? She had no idea. He'd gone off with a newbie and leveled up without her while she went and got her new fancy piece of armour. As she thought about it, she brushed her hand over the cool metal of the white surface, looking down to admire the dull gleam. It would certainly protect her from any enemy they could face up here. They had gone to Floor 3, searching for some higher level mobs to fight. They had a need for more Col and materials now, and the Floor 1 mobs just weren't cutting it. Adhae was sure they would be fine, though. 

 Now, they had found themselves in Delilah village, the spawning town for Floor 3. It was a nice, large place, reminding Adhae of the pictures she'd seen of medieval villages of the past. There were lots of NPCs here, but she noticed a distinct difference in the amount of player characters on this floor. There were a lot fewer than the Town of Beginnings, which would make sense. She assumed a lot of the people in the game didn't want to risk their lives. She turned to Verus, and put forth this idea. "I know you didn't stay there, but why? What made you want to survive here?" 

Edited July 1, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

"Stay where exactly?" Verus walked alongside his party member, matching her speed. She seemed to walk at just a quicker pace than he did, which was strange because he always thought he walked sorta fast. The sound of her armor clanking was somewhat calming, and he was pretty at ease for being on a floor he was brand new to. The building designs of this floor were visually pleasing and he enjoyed it. He'd always been a big architecture buff back in the real world, and it was nice to see the quality made structures of this new town. 

He was almost jealous of his friend and her new piece; he'd wanted something similar himself. Maybe some light armor would fit him better though. He didn't really see himself as heavy armor wearer, rather more of a quick stabbing guy. The jump in and jump out style was what he thought of himself as, which was perfect because he was never really a big tank player in other games either. A light-footed damage dealer appealed to him the most, but he was still jealous of her just for the fact that it felt like she was a step ahead of him. Which was a ridiculous thing to believe since he had two levels on her, but it still floated around in his head. "How much did you spend on it again? A thousand Col right?" 

[Adhaerere 0]

 She turned to him, her cheeks tinged slightly pink. "Sorry, I got lost in my head. The Town of Beginnings. I saw a lot of people there, who I assume don't want to risk their lives." She had no idea of what he was thinking as they walked, and responded to his other question as he asked it. "One thousand five hundred. It woulda cost five hundred more if I hadn't gotten the discount from the nice shopkeeper." The memory brought a smile to her face; she had been met with a lot of kindness in that shop. 

 "Let's take a look around this village, I want to see what sort of shops are here." With that in mind, she set off at an even brisker pace, headed towards a shop that was closest to them. She pushed open the door and heard the familiar chiming noise that came when entering any shop, and she held the door open for Verus. She saw that it was a blacksmith's storefront after taking a few more steps inside. There was an NPC at the counter, and Adhae figured she should go up to it and say hello, maybe find out what it was selling. That would give her partner something to match her chestpiece, perhaps. As she stepped up to it, she spoke to the NPC. "Hello, what are you selling?" 

 "Hello, customer!" The man's voice was deep and rumbling, and coarse as a blacksmith who's spent their life inhaling smoke might sound. "My name is Armorsmith Griswold, and I've just opened up my shop. My wife and I take orders for NO price, but instead ask for Materials. If you want some armour, we can make it for you! But, you will need to traverse through the Forest of Wavering Mists, and slay the Dark Elf that inhabits it. Only it holds the appropriate materials. Will you accept this quest?" As he said this, a prompt appeared on Adhae's screen, asking if she would accept the quest. She frowned a little bit, seeing that she wouldn't need the armour, because she had her own. She declined the quest. "Come back to me if you change your mind!" Griswold said.

 She stepped back, and turned to Verus. "You take this quest, we can get you your own set of robes." She lightly punched his arm and smiled at him. 

 

Edited June 27, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

"Fifteen hundred eh? Not a bad price." Seemed like a solid price for some solid armor, well better than solid armor. It looked pretty damn amazing for a tier one item. Appearing as if it was built by what seemed to be a master blacksmith. He longed for something in the same nature as that, but understood that it would be quite a while before he focused on purely armor. He had an obligation to be able to put out as much damage as possible, and planned to live up to it. 

Verus nodded at her statement about exploring the town a little. It would be good to know the place now that they would be farming at a higher floor. It was strange not seeing the rolling plains and occasionally trees here and there. This floor felt more serious in a way, as if there was no playing around out in the endless grassy patches. The first floor really did cushion the weight of what was about to come, and Verus could see it in this floor. It seemed to be slightly darker and built up more to withstand just a bit more. He couldn't really describe it other than it just felt a little more serious.

He walked in slowly after Adhae did, stepping up slightly into the elevated shop. First looks made him guess the place was some sort of blacksmith store, and he quickly got confirmation from the booming voice of the NPC behind the counter. The air smelled of smoke and the room was built to sort of funnel the owners voice at his customers. It was a weird sensation if Verus was being honest with himself, but he felt sort of out of place. After listening to what the computer program had to say, his ears perked up a little bit. A quest for armor sounded perfect at the moment, and he wouldn't have to pay anything at all! He quickly shoved Adhae back after she lightly punched his arm and moved up to the NPC, prompting his scripted line again. 

"Yeah yeah I heard, show me the quest." Armorsmith Griswold stopped mid sentence and sent Verus a quest prompt, to which he quickly accepted. "Come back to me when you've gathered all of the necessary materials needed!" The shopkeepers voice seemed to boom even louder and he let out a hardy laugh afterwards. Verus turned slowly and grabbed Adhae by the arm, leading her outside and onwards. "Come come come come come."

[Adhaerere 0]

"Geez. I haven't seen you excited about something yet." She giggled, and followed him willingly, walking to stay at his side. She looked to him for directions. "The Forest of Wavering Mists, he said? Where might that be?" She took a look around the area, seeing nothing but flat, grassy plains around them... Oh wait, she saw it. That giant black forest must be it. She sighed a little, not looking forward to what was coming next. "Oh." She pointed it out to him, and then started walking towards it. 

 The walk was uneventful for the most part. However, when they were almost at the forest's edge, something suddenly appeared to the left of Adhae. She gasped in surprise, and took a few steps back out of fright. The monster had lunged at her, but her sudden action caused it to miss. She didn't have time to react, either.

ID: #62256
BD: 3
MD: 4

 She got to take a better look at the creature once it had stopped. It was very close to her at this point, having lunged forward with its small dirk to try to impale her. It was vaguely humanoid, with a sickly purple tinge to its skin. It had greasy black hair, and ripped, dirty clothing. What was most noticeable about it was its pointed ears; it was an elf. It seemed that this forest had more than the one Dark Elf that Griswold had spoken about. The thing began to growl at her, baring its yellow, fang-like teeth. 

[trenttrent20 0]

"Free armor is best armor. Anything free is the best thing. You should know this by now you're like a grandma!" Verus tugged on her arm as he lead her through the city and out the walls, only letting go after reaching the correct path. After what felt like a long walk, they had come across a dark, grim forest. It matched the shopkeepers description perfectly in every sense. He inhaled deeply through his voice, letting out a slight puff through his mouth, causing a few strands of his hair to fly upwards. It was at that moment that something tried to jump out at his partner, stabbing at her. Luckily the beast missed and it was now staring at the party of two. The action caused Verus to frown slightly, and he quickly unsheathed his sword. Ain't nothing messing with his tanky wall lady. 

ID# 62257

BD:6 

Verus: 24/24

     Energy: 3/6

Dark Elf: 6/12 (9dmg-3mitigation) = 6 total damage 

"Accel Stub!" Verus called out, lashing at the beast. The beast, who appeared to be some sort of elf, had angered Verus enough to a point for him to try out one of his new sword arts. His motion consisted of three quick stabs to the beast, all landing center mast. "Filthy thing back up. Get. Die." 

Edited June 27, 2016 by trenttrent20

[Adhaerere 0]

 It took Adhae a few seconds to recover from the shock of the appearing monster. She scrambled backwards and away from it, frightened by the teeth and the imminent threat of the creature. She quickly unslung her axe, gripping it tight in both hands and preparing to attack it. She only barely registered the protectiveness of Verus before she lashed out at it. 

ID: #62319
BD: 8
MD: 5

 She charged up her sword skill, the axe glowing bright red as she raised it to her left. She swung it down, towards the elf. She managed to get in a solid hit, granted that the beast wasn't facing her. Verus had been the only one to hit it, so he was the one who the elf would target. Now, her attack sent it spinning off-balance, though it did nothing in comparison to the damage she had been dealing to the mobs on the lower floors. It startled her a little bit, causing her to step back from the monster once it'd been hit. 

Used Skill "Whirlwind" - 2x1 - (2 Energy)

Damage Dealt / Received (Elf, Adhaerere, Verus)

        Elf: Health: 6/12 (-1[3MIT]) = 5/12

        Adhaerere: Health 16/16 (-0) = 16/16

        Verus: Health 24/24 (-0) = 24/24

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

Verus followed up on Adhae's disorienting attack with one of his own, jumping in right behind her to finish it off. "Accel Stub." His voice was calm as he struck the monster, his motions matching his voice. They were empowered by the sword art yes, but they struck at different pace than usual. His shoulder thrusting movement felt a little bit cleaner and steadier, giving a smooth look to his attack. He stood once he finished his third thrust, watching as the beast dropped to it's knees before disintegrating into itself. "Neat." He kept his guard up and slowly looked around the two of them, making sure they wouldn't get jumped again. He was out of energy and doubted that he could be able to take on another creature with the amount of armor that this one had. It had been able to withstand a good amount of Verus's potential damage, and it angered him slightly. He needed to be able to do more to protect his wall lady; he needed to get stronger.

Verus walked over to the spot where the Elf died and spotted something lying on the ground. He squatted down and grabbed it with his right hand, holding it up above his head once he stood. "I think this is what we're after, right? You heard the old guy better than I did." Verus paused for a moment, and brought his hand down to his face, realizing what it was. It was just a bag of Col. "Never....nevermind."

ID:62320

BD: 6

MD: 2

LD: 20

Verus: 24/24 HP Energy 0/6 (Accel Stub used) 

Elf: 0/12 HP (9dmg - 3mit = 6 dmg)

 

(+2 Materials, +60 COL) 

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by trenttrent20

[Adhaerere 0]

 Adhae laughed as he commented, and realized what he was holding wasn't what they were looking for. "Yep, I think we'll have to actually go into the forest to find this miniboss. Or whatever it is." She collected herself, and stood, brushing off her pants. "Let's do that." 

 As she took her first step into the Forest of Wavering Mists, she immediately knew something was different. Wrong. It took her a second to realize it, but the world had suddenly gone dark. There was no bright sky, no light at the end of the forest to guide her forwards. And it was silent. The mist that swirled around her seemed to dull out every noise. No crickets, bird calls, or anything of the like. It was just... Silent.

 With this new realization, she unconsciously started treading lighter, trying not to disturb the thick silence all around them. She checked around them more often, and was all the more aware of the noise that her armour made with every step she took. It really was a scary place, she thought. And then the screaming started. 

 It was sudden, and felt like it had come from right next to Adhae. She whirled around, her axe leaping into her hand almost of its own volition. She stared into the thick mist and trees, trying to figure out what happened. "Verus?" she whispered, though it seemed like a shout in this silence. "You heard that right?" 

[trenttrent20 0]

"Yes I'm right here" Verus whispered into her other ear, hoping to have scared her as he did before with the muffled screams he was making. He probably shouldn't have been doing them in the first place, but his instincts had told him to mess around with Adhae. Maybe it was his way of subconsciously trying to lighten the situation, because inside, Verus was scared shitless. The darkness had truly got to him in a matter of seconds; something that wouldn't have happened in the real world. It caused his feet to feel heavier, and they grew heavier with each step. He put his non-sword hand onto her left shoulder, feeling the cold armor beneath his fingers. "Sorry about that, but I'll be right behind you....hiding slightly. You got this girl." 

They took a few more steps forward before more screams were heard. These made Verus freeze up, the weight of his hand pushing down harder on Adhae's shoulder. He hadn't made those screams. Something made those screams. "Ad...ad..." His voice had tightened up, and it was apparent that he hadn't prepared enough for this. All he wanted to do was to get some armor, but he needed to see. He needed a light or something to function.

[Adhaerere 0]

 She was silent for a few minutes. "I hope it's just ambiance."

 They kept walking, Adhae pushing them forwards. She forced herself to believe that she had nothing to worry about; it was just a trick of the Gamemaker. Hopefully. The screams were few and far-between. They would happen exactly when Adhae would least expect it,  and it would startle the wits out of her. She was grateful for Verus' pressure on her shoulder, it kept her anchored. She held her axe in the other hand, trying to let it swing relaxedly and freely. But whenever she would hear a scream her grip would tighten on it and turn her knuckles white. But that's all she heard, all that happened. It was fine. Everything was fine.

 As they continued walking, she could feel something change about the forest. They were definitely walking deeper into its heart. That's where she would assume that their quest monster lay; it probably would be something big. They hadn't encountered another monster yet in here, and Adhae wasn't hoping to do so. 

Edited June 28, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

Verus followed along, behind her, watching as she somehow pushed on. He was essentially being drug behind by her now, his feet almost cementing him to the ground. His eyes had become fixed on the back of her shoulder, not wanting to have them wander around only to find the ever-looming dark surrounding them. "Ambience my ass." His voice came out in a whisper and he decided that now would probably be the best time to ask. "You know...we can always just head back and maybe buy like....a lamp or something." Something felt off about the forest as they descended deeper and deeper. His feet were transfixed by slowly moving forward, as if he were drawn to some distant light. It was a strange and utterly terrifying feeling all in one. (short post sorry)

[Adhaerere 0]

 "No, Verus. We'll continue. Stop wetting your pants and be brave, squirt." She tried to put a lighthearted emotion in her voice, but it wavered. Not helpful. She was too worried about finding a monster and getting scared again.

  Right as she thought about this, there was rustling to the right of the pair. It was so startling and so out of the ordinary in their silent surroundings, that she jumped and immediately faced towards it, both hands gripping her battleaxe at this point. She saw something glint in the low light, and then out rushed another elf. 

ID: #62367
BD: 5
MD: 9

 The creature came rushing at Adhae, seeing her dully gleaming armour as the biggest threat. Its body smashed into her, knocking her off balance, but her armour protected her from most of the elf's attacks. It scored one lucky hit with its dirk, however, and she winced as the pain spread through the tissue in the exposed part of her. It wasn't bad, but the surprise plus the injury was enough to prevent her from reacting. 

energy: 2/4
Damage Dealt / Received (Elf, Adhaerere, Verus)
        Elf: Health: 12/12 (-0) = 12/12
        Adhaerere: Health 16/16 (-1[21MIT]) = 15/16

Edited June 28, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

He nodded, unaware that she was unable to see it. All he needed was to be able to see or something. It would have been much easier for him to buy a cheap torch and just always keep it with him. However, this would be treated as a learning experience after he got his free armor. "Remind me to get night vision....or something after this. I'm pretty sure I saw a skill tree for it."
 

Verus gulped slightly at the rustling sound to the sight of him, and his immediate response was to draw his sword. If they had made it this far he had no intention of running. The elf took first move, using it's surprise to land a hit on Adhae, which seemingly bounced off her armor. She must have been pleased that her purchase was worth it's cost. It filled Verus with...determination. 

However the determination alone wasn't enough to hit the Elf. What was needed was light, as when he tried to thrust his rapier at it, it was far wide. The dark was something he'd never fought in before, so he'd have to get used to it.

ID:62375

BD: 5

Verus: 24/24 HP Energy 4/6 (Basic used) 

Elf: 12/12 HP (no damage)

Edited June 28, 2016 by trenttrent20

[Adhaerere 0]

 She barely saw Verus slash his sword at the beast before it was on top of her again, trying to get at the flesh underneath her heavy armour. 

ID: #62376
BD: 9
MD: 6

 It luckily found the same chink in her armour that it had before, sending a sting through Adhae's body as she tried to fend it off. With some surge of will, she pushed the beast up and off of her. It stumbled backwards, falling, which gave Adhae ample time to stand again. She put her axe in both hands and took a second to let her sword art warm up. It glowed red, and then the code carried her through the movement. The slight light offered by the sword art gave her much better aim than she had before, and so she landed a solid hit on the beast's torso. It certainly wasn't enough to kill it, but at least now she'd hit the damn thing. 

energy: 1/4
Damage Dealt / Received (Elf, Adhaerere)
        Elf: Health: 12/12 (-2[3MIT]) = 10/12
        Adhaerere: Health 15/16 (-1[21MIT]) = 14/16

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

Verus tried again to lash out at elf, only to just come short. The darkness had gotten to him in more ways than one. He wasn't quite thinking straight, as if something was messing with his mind. He needed to be spatially aware of his surroundings to function, and well all he had were outlines of two figures, one he knew that was evil. It was a very bas situation for him to be in. His hands were slightly trembling but he managed to get a hold of himself. He wouldn't miss this next attack, or so he hoped. 

ID:62377

BD: 2

Verus: 24/24 HP Energy 2/6 (Basic used) 

Elf: 10/12 HP (no damage)

"You alright Adhae? You're taking a few hits and I can take a few if you want me to." He began to walk towards the beast, trying to own up to his his two previous mistakes. He would need to land at least one hit this time, but understood that the darkness would make it difficult. 

[Adhaerere 0]

She looked at Verus as he attacked, watching both of them. She cringed a little as he missed, knowing it would just make him angry and cause him to miss more. Or else he'd get upset and stop trying altogether. She shook off the thought, because the mob was coming at her, yet again. 

ID: #62381
BD: 3
MD: 8

 She tried her best to fend off its attack, but failed miserably. She got pushed backwards, and was poked yet again by the elf's flashing dagger. It hurt, but not much, like all the past hits. Her armour was doing her well. She saw Verus try to move forward, and she quickly shook her head. "No, no. Nope. That's not even in the question. I'll be fine, I only take one damage per hit that it lands. I can take a lot more hits, and I'm sure you'll hit it at least once during that time. And if not, we'll run. Easy." She shook her head again, using her most forceful teacher voice to make him stay put. "I'm supposed to be taking the damage, not you." 

energy: 0/4
Damage Dealt / Received (Elf, Adhaerere)
        Elf: Health: 10/12 (-0) = 10/12
        Adhaerere: Health 14/16 (-1[21MIT]) = 13/16

Edited June 28, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

He watched as the elf stabbed at her once again, landing each low leveled blow after blow. Luckily for them she had obtained some damn good armor and would be able to block most of what it dished out. However, it did slightly trigger something inside of him. A mix of emotions from not being able to hit the beast and it landing each of his attacks pissed him off down to the core. "Accel Stub." With what energy he had left he attempted and landed his best sword art, watching as he pierced through the Elf's armor. It felt good to land his attacks for once, refilling his...determination.

ID:62383

BD: 7

Verus: 24/24 HP Energy 0/6 (Accel Stub used) 

Elf: 4/12 HP (6 dmg (9-3mit))

[Adhaerere 0]

Adhae glowed with pride as he hit the beast, feeling like he'd be better with doing more damage now. Maybe rage made him hit better. She didn't know him well enough yet, but she'd pay attention to things like this. Information about a person's personality was always good to store away; practice with this is what made Adhae such a likable person. Or, that's how she herself perceived it. 

 "Nice hit, squirt. Keep it up." She laughed softly to herself, knowing he was the only person who could actually do a good bit of damage to the monster. That in mind, she had figured out a little more about how the AI targeted people; it was based on how many hits they'd given. Also something to think about.

ID:  62385
BD: 2
MD: 5

She missed this time, but so did the mob.

energy: 0/4
Damage Dealt / Received (Elf, Adhaerere)
        Elf: Health: 4/12 (-0) = 4/12
        Adhaerere: Health 13/16 (-0) = 13/16

Edited June 29, 2016 by Adhaerere

[trenttrent20 0]

"I aint a squirt, i'm taller than you. Sorta. In my mind SHUSH." He put up a small grin and went in for another attack, bringing his sword crashing down into the elf's left shoulder. It let out a slight squeal but quickly pulled away, causing Verus's follow up power to bring his sword swinging downwards at the ground. "Huh?" His hit felt off, like it hadn't done much damage. It was something he hadn't felt before, and he didn't really quite like it. He wanted to be able to do more, to use more of his skills at will, but he felt off. Something about him was drained and he had started to pant in between each of his attacks. Verus didn't want to admit it but he was getting quite tired. 

ID:62383

BD: 7

Verus: 24/24 HP Energy 0/6 (Basic used) 

Elf: 3/12 HP