(F22-PP) <<King of Lakes>> (Hakai, Sey, Shield, Hestia)

[Hakai 0]

Hakai had posted a message asking for volunteers to help her with one of the latest quests. From the information she had it seemed like it would be a long one, and a dangerous one to do solo. Generally she avoided parties of players and long quests, but since she was trying to get stronger making new connections while earning skill points seemed like a pretty good deal to her. She had managed to find three other interested players and had set up to meet them all on the twenty-second floor. 

It was a beautiful day out. It seemed as though the twenty second floor was always beautiful, although she certainly hadn't had enough time on the floor to make a judgement like that. She had one of her replacement katana's at her side and a white leather vanity coat on, a piece of light armor that she had recently acquired. The town of Coral was strangely small for being the main settlement of the floor, but seeing as it was the main settlement it seemed like the best place to arange a meet up. As far as she could remember all three of her future party members were strangers, something that made her a little bit uneasy. It would remain to be seen if that unease was justified.

@Shield @Hestia @Sey

[Hestia 0]

I grin as i found the little help wanted add for the King of Lakes quest upon this floor as i had accepted it without any hesitation and sent a message towards her to say that i am wiling to help. When it came time to try and get towards meeting i make my way over there with a grin on my face as i look around the area with my blue colored eyes, and my black hair waving slightly within the wind. Wearing my combat gear of heavy armor, shield, and sword ready to defend myself upon this floor. Having seen some of the creatures upon it during my travels, and being careful to not get overwhelmed by then if they manage to be to difficult for myself to handle. At my side being a lion the size of a very large dog with fur as pure as the snow and wings as black as the night. With the creature having green colored eyes. When i arrive at the area i see some girl as i give a way to the person. Evening you the person that asked for some help in this quest right? i ask curiously.

[Shield 0]

There were a number of new quests to be had with some of the more recent apparent software updates to Sword Art Online. Since Shield had all but exhausted the info brokers on the quests that they knew about, with this sudden discovery of so much new content, he had been scanning listings for quest carries twenty four, seven. It wasn't long before he found a request on one of the new quests, though most of the players who seemed to be going were essentially strangers to him. Hestia he had briefly met at the most recent boss raid meeting, and for that matter, he felt as if he had heard other players mention Hakai before, but it had been so long that he was having trouble remembering if they had actually met before. Sey of course he knew as a fellow Sentinel of the Celestial Ascendants, though it had been some time since Shield had spent and significant amount of time with him. It had been at least two floors ago, searching through the labyrinth, and since then, it was very sparse contact.

Regardless, he made his way up to the twenty second floor for the first time since scouting for the boss room. He was able to slow down a little this time, no longer racing to make discoveries now. It was certainly something to look at. He had a soft spot for lakes and natural landscapes from his past life, though he rarely got to enjoy them with his work. Now, it seemed like he was robbing the other players of SAO of precious minutes of freedom by slowing down his march to the top of Aincrad to enjoy some scenery.

Even in here, I'm starting to turn into a workaholic.

He set aside the lakes and the trees, quickening his gait to the meeting spot. Upon arrival, he raised a hand in greeting. "Hestia, good to see you again," he said, giving the familiar player a nod before turning to Hakai. "And well met to you as well, Hakai. Have we had word from Sey?" he asked, turning to glance over his shoulder from the direction of the main settlement in case Sey had come from that same direction and begun to catch up.

Quote

Crafting in Kitchen and consuming:

Perfect T1 LD food               [-5 T1 Mats]
Perfect T1 Prosperity food [-5 T1 Mats]
Perfect T3 Mitigation food [-5 T3 Mats]

Consuming:
Immolation Potion +2 [+30 THN]

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Shield

[Sey 0]

Claiming day! The day where he claims rewards, simple as that. So perhaps any day could be considered as such, but this one in particular came with the benefit of working with a party. So a skip and a hop and he'd find himself up on the current highest floor possible to all the players to meet up with the party. Most of them have been met with in one way or another, so there was much he could do to squeeze a col piece or two from. But the quest promised skill points, and that's where he stepped in.

Sey arrived at the last moment, spear handle firmly wrapped in his left palm and a white snow wolf on his right shoulder. Only the very lasy question reached earshot for him as he proceeded to walk down the settlement. "Nope. He should be here very soon, though." Sey explained as he stepped up to find the three of them. Goldilocks, two tanks and a kid with white complex, this surely must be an interesting party to say the least.

Of course, he knew Hestia a little bit more than the other two, not missing a moment to give her but a brief nod before speaking his peace. "Sorry I'm late." He explained, though not really too sorry. "Anyways, we are here to talk quests, right?"

[Shield 0]

Quote

Quest Objectives:

1. Minimum 3 posts to reach mountain [1/3]
2. Find the Red Salamander [LD 13]
3. Catch the Red Salamander [CD 6]
4. Fish up the King of Lakes [LD 15]
5. Defeat the King of Lakes

Shield gave Sey a nod and tapped him lightly on the shoulder with his fist. "It's good to see you again. In any case, we're already settled on the King of Lakes quest. We have to hunt down a Red Salamander. The brokers have suggested that it's the only bait that will draw out the King, and it's only found in the mountains of this floor, so we've got some walking to do. I suggest we get started. Whatever we need to talk about, we can talk about on the way."

He motioned for the others to follow and started out at a brisk pace in the same direction he and the Ascendants had run to search for the nonexistent floor labyrinth. Shield was not an unpleasant person, but he was not the type to mince words, especially when there was work and questing to be done. As he walked, he turned to face Sey. "It's been a while since we've done much more than attend meetings together. How have you been? Have you been keeping up in your shop these days?"

At the cuff of his sleeve, a colorful serpent poked her head out into the open. Lilith flicked her tongue to taste the air before slithering out into Shield's empty palm. He held out his hand for her, spreading his fingers to allow her to weave back and forth between them, lacing her lithe body through his digits. He turned his hand over absentmindedly, steering her course as she wove to and fro.

Quote

ID# 97151 results: Loot: 14+10=24, +1 T3 Material!

[1 Total]

In the glassy eye of his familiar, he saw a pinprick of light reflected. At first, he assumed it to be sun glare, but soon he realized that his earring was lit with its golden glow. He searched the ground around them for whatever item it had detected and spotted a tuft of odd grass. He bent low, tapping the base of a stem and seeing an item tag for an alchemic reagent. With another tap, he collected the item and stored it away.

Edited February 25, 2018 by Shield

[Hestia 0]

I look towards Shield with a smile and waves. yeah nice to meet you again Shield, and also you to Sey. I say kindly towards the two Celestials. Being rather happy at doing another quest with Sey since he has been a rather relaxed individual to hang around with, and furthermore a interesting person to deal with in the terms of business. Speaking of that i turn to Sey. by the way Sey this doesn't count as extra bonus to you helping me out with quests. I say jokingly towards the white haired male about there deal that they have going on.  Once we are being told to basically get moving and make our way through the quest objective i just nod my head fine with that as i quickly follow after Shield ready to help out in anyway that is going to be necessary and doing this quest. Myself staying silent to just listen towards teh Ascendants curious to see what they will talk about. I do glance towards hakai and gives a kind wave. So then want to get to know one another? I ask the girl curiously deciding there is no harm in trying to befriend a stranger. Since it could always lead to interesting times, and further team ups in the future.

[Hakai 0]

Hakai nodded and smiled to the other woman who had approached asking if she was the one looking for help with the quest. "Yes. Thanks for coming. This quest seems a little too big for one person." She explained, a little sheepishly. She watched as yet another man showed up. She recognized him vaguely, but she didn't dwell on it too much. It had been quite a while since sh had been around frontliners and she was sure that there were plenty of poeple that she would only remember vaguely. Before long the fourth party member showed up, and they got on their way.

She followed along behind them, trusting their sense of directin better than hers. She honestly hadn't spent much time on this floor and it was nice that at least one of them seemed to know where they were going. She only had a vague idea. She turned to face the other woman, having noticed her waving. It was a bit odd to wave to someone that was that close to you, but it wasn't as though Hakai was the best at social conventions either. "Not particularly, but there is a bit of distance ahead. People in this game have a nasty habit of killing each other, so i tend to keep my distance." She explained, not bothering to mention the fact that she was planning to kill someone and that was the whole reason behind her coming back to the frontlines. "I'm Hakai, former and returning frontliner. I'm a damage dealer specializing in damage over time, although i regret to inform you that im currently missing my main weapon, so there wont be too much of that. What about you?" She asked, interested despite her earlier statement that she wasn't in the slightest.

[Shield 0]

Quote

Quest Objectives:

1. Minimum 3 posts to reach mountain [3/3]
2. Find the Red Salamander [LD 13]
3. Catch the Red Salamander [CD 6]
4. Fish up the King of Lakes [LD 15]
5. Defeat the King of Lakes

As they arrived at the foot of the mountains, Shield began picking out a route for them to follow up the slopes. "Everyone keep a lookout," he said, lowering his voice slightly. "That Red Salamander is supposedly a pretty elusive little bugger, so the more eyes we have out the better our odds." His footfalls were light. He wasn't worried about an ambush by monsters. After all, the worst he had seen so far on the floor were a group of Dire Were Rabbits, and even if there were tougher monsters lurking about, there were two tanks in the group, one of which was also a healer.

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ID# 97160 results: Loot: 5+10=15 - Red Salamander found!

As they made their way along, Shield kept his hand up just in his peripheral vision, watching to catch the glow of his earring. It was a trinket that Hydra had made at his request to detect anything of interest. He picked a path for them up the slopes, trying to use a shallow, diagonal ascent rather than a direct line straight up the mountain. After all, they wanted a lizard, not to summit the peak. After cresting a particularly troublesome hill, Shield noticed a dim light cast against his palm. The further they walked, the brighter it became. He turned his eyes ahead to the trail, then swept from side to side. A flash of red caught his eye disappearing beneath a rock. He held out his hand to halt the party and padded his way over to it, curling his fingers under one edge of the stone.

With his free hand, he pointed to the stone and counted to three before reaching down and ripping it out of the ground. There was a flash of red and the salamander skittered out towards the party, fleeing from the large form of Shield who came charging after it.

"Someone grab it!"

Edited February 25, 2018 by Shield

[Hakai 0]

 ID# 97164 results:

 Craft: 3 (Missed)

Hakai sighed as they reached the foot of the mountains. Time for the fun part. Now they needed to actually search for the bait which was a task that likely fell to RNG. It was entirely possible that they would never find it, let alone catch it. She didn't really bother trying to sneak around, but as a rather light sort of person her footfalls tended to be rather graceful, making very little noise.They walked for quite a while until eventually Shield held his hand up and moved to grip the edge of a rock.

So far he seemed to be pretty reliable when it came to navigating and finding things, and it hadn't escaped her notice earlier when he had found a material. She widened her stance and prepared to catch the salamander as it would inevietably sprint out once it's shelter was pulled out from over it. Sheild made his move and the flash of red shot out towards the rest of the party. She managed to loop a hand around its center, but it's body was slippery and it managed to squirm out of her hand before she could cement her grip, jumping out and running towards the other two members of the group. She hoped one of them could get a better handle on it than her.

Edited February 26, 2018 by Hakai

[Hestia 0]

I follow Shield along the way as i look towards Hakai as she speaks. For myself i am a tank player who can also function as a support from the fact that i have first aid which i can use to heal up people. I say towards her with a nod of my head as i look at her. When asked to try and capture the elusive red salamander when it is spotted i whistle towards my familiar who is much faster then myself as my familiar tries to chase after the creature bounding around after it trying to bite and grab the creature to function as grabbing it. However, each time Kuro tries to grab the red salamander it just slips out of the way at the last second and the lion getting frustrated as it then quickly tries to get in front of it to make it turn around towards the group.

#97165  CD:2

[Shield 0]

Quote

Quest Objectives:

1. Minimum 3 posts to reach mountain [3/3]
2. Find the Red Salamander [LD 13]
3. Catch the Red Salamander [CD 6]
4. Fish up the King of Lakes [LD 15]
5. Defeat the King of Lakes

As the flash of red streaked through legs and hands alike, Shield saw their chances slipping away from them. However, Hestia had landed on a solution Shield hadn't thought of. He was too far away at this point, and the salamander was incredibly fast.

"Lilith, you're on!" he growled, reaching up his sleeve and taking hold of his snake familiar as gently as he could quickly do. She tensed at his sudden grip, but there was no time to worry about that. He pulled her free, cocking back his arm, and hurling his little bush viper as close to the path of the salamander as he could manage. "Grab it!"

The tumbling mass of multicolored coils hit the streaking red animal dead on, and in a flash, she had wrapped him up and coiled her body around it. Her jaw unhinged and she began trying to fit its head into her mouth. "Lilith," Shield scolded. "I'll get you a mouse later. That's not food for you." The dead eyes of his serpent familiar pierced through him as she stared up from the ground. Shield reached down to pick up the salamander. He tapped it and selected the option to store it in his inventory. Lilith's coils closed on air, and she flicked her tongue at him disapprovingly. "Oh, your life is so hard," he griped right back at her, picking her up and guiding her head back into his sleeve. She disappeared with a flick of her tail.

"We probably won't see her for a while," he sighed. "Shall we head back, or do we need a break?"

Quote

ID# 97166 results: Craft: 6 - Red Salamander caught!

 

Edited February 26, 2018 by Shield

[Hakai 0]

Hakai's own familiar slithered its head out from her sleeve, its dolgen scales glittering in the sunlight. It's tongue slipped out of its mouth, tasting the air before it retreated, becomng perfectly still once again, like an exotic golden bracelet. She supposed the snake had somehow sensed the presence of another of it's kind. She wasn't sure it the snake spent most of its time sleeping or if it was always awake and alert. Either way it looked the same until it came time for it to strike. Cold, still, metal, and unfeeling. She smiled at Sheild. "Good idea. It seems like your doing everything so far, im glad you showed up." She said. She was honestly just relieved that she didn't have to lead everyone.

She stared at the red salamander. Supoosedly they had to use it for bait to draw out the big boss they were supposed to fight. She didn't know how to fish. She wondered if any of the other party members did. That might be a problem. They had made such quick progress, sh hadn't even considered that the hardest part might actually just be the finding of the boss. "Sooooo... Do any of you know how to fish? Cause I dont."

[Hestia 0]

Nope i don't know how to fish at all. I say being honest with a small shrug of my shoulders as i look at the other players wondering exactly how this is going to go. Also i'm fine with heading back right away Shield. Their is a mob that needs to be killed and i am all for taking it down as fast as possible to make sure we can make the most out of this opportunity. Afterall time is money, and in this case time is also levels i could be used to make sure i am prepared for this boss on this floor. I say in a serious tone with a grin on my face as my familiar walks back over towards me as i gently pet his head to let him know that i think he did a good enough job in attempting to catch the Salamander. Smiling rather happily as he nuzzles up against me as i hug my familiar as i wait to see what the others do. If we start heading back right away i would get up and quickly follow behind them.

[Shield 0]

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Searching for Materials:

ID# 97272 results: Loot: 13+10=23: +1 T3 Material

[2 Total]

Shield waved away the concern in the air regarding fishing. "I picked up the fishing skill to farm chests down on the last floor," he explained. "I had planned on doing that portion of the quest as it was. It couldn't be any worse than any of the other fishing quests out there." He frowned a little as he remembered the repetition and grind of some of the other quests. Compared to those, this one was likely to be a cake walk.

Shield did his best to retrace their steps to the foot of the mountain, though it was not the exact spot where they had begun their ascent. As he worked to try to pick up their trail, he did notice a slight glow from his earring out of the corner of his eye. They were in the middle of a dense stand of trees, and as they walked near to one, Shield spotted some fruit hanging from its lower branches. He picked one, inspecting it closely and seeing that it did indeed have an item tag. He tapped the item once and selected the option to store it away.

"There certainly is plenty to look at up here," he thought aloud, glancing around them, and even allowing himself a backward glance to admire the mountains behind them.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Shield

[Hestia 0]

I continue to walk alongside shield as the group makes there way towards wherever the quest is meant to start at. Not really minding the walk as it does give time to try and truly appreciate the floor for the beauty of it. I smile as i look towards the mountains within the distance, and then looking around the forest listening to the peaceful sounds of nature of the birds chirping rather happily from the sounds of it. I look towards my familiar who is calmly walking by my side looking rather content about the whole situation as i pet him for a short while. SO then Shield. What do you think we should expect from this quest? I don't know much about it at all honestly. I ask the tank player. Wondering what he would know if anything about the quest after the short while it has been out, or at least short in comparison to how long the other quests have been out and about.

[Shield 0]

Quote

ID# 97460 results: Loot: 11+10=21 - +1 T3 Material

[3 Total]

Shield snagged another piece of fruit from a nearby limb before addressing Hestia's question. "It's hard to say for certain," he replied, storing the fruit with the other items he had found along the way. "The brokers made it sound like the fish is no slouch, but with the exception of some of the stronger advanced dungeon bosses and actual floor bosses, I doubt it will be able to threaten me too badly." The forest slowly gave way to actual trails, meaning they had found at least the semblance of civilization. Shield followed the one that led back towards the lake where they had begun.

"I doubt you'll need to step in as tank. The worst I've heard is that the boss has been known to drag players underwater, but it doesn't seem to be eating them," he added with a little half-shrug. "Most likely, it's a stall tactic, but since I'm not attacking, the worst it does to our formation is slow my ability to energize the DPS."

As they crested a small hill, he shaded his eyes, trying to judge the distance to the lake. At the moment, it was still too far off to tell.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Shield

[Hakai 0]

Hakai nodded, listening to Hestia and Shield talk about the boss. "Honestly the worst part might be the energy. Usually parties for this sort of thing have 3 damage dealers and one tank. It might be a fairly long fight. How good are you two at energizing?" She asked curiously. Shield made it seem like he could do absolutely everything. He was picking up materials everywhere, catching the bait, and giving them information about the quest. She was both impressed and worried. The amount of work he must have put in to get that many skills was kind of crazy.

She patted her katana at her side. "On top of that, I'm missing my main weapon, so that'll make things a little bit slower too." She explained. The quest was a long one, and she hoped that the fight would be the shortest part, although she doubted it. She still needed to meet up with Beat afterwards. He had mentioned something about doing a quest together.

[Hestia 0]

I can't energize at all yet Hakai. I'm still working on being able to heal anyone that can get hurt. That being where i focused my points into rather then being able to help out during a fight of attrition. So it seems like Shield is basically doing everything for us. I say with a small chuckle of nervousness. Feeling a bit guilty making this man do everything for the group. How this man seems to be everything in one, and the only thing that he hasn't shown potential for yet is being a DPS. However, there has been aspects of a scout in his ability to find things, support with his energize, and just being a tank in general. Makes the gap between me and the frontlines still rather clear. Showing me that i will still need to do my best to take up more quests to just try and match this man. Well either way i know that the fight couldn't be that bad with who we have with us. Although i am curious. How did you lose your main weapon Hakai? I ask the girl curiously.

[Shield 0]

Quote

 ID# 97466 results: Loot: 6+10=16 - +1 T3 Material

[4 Total]

"Energy was a major issue in the last floor boss battle," Shield answered, trying to recall the actual details. "I think only one player had to opt for weaker sword arts, and that was because of bad timing. I can pump out 8 energy every round that I'm not howling. If anyone needs to escape for a moment to refresh, they may do so without worrying." He gave a firm nod. "It's not the first field boss where it's had to happen, and it likely won't be the last."

As they came over the top of the next hill, Shield finally caught a glimpse of the lake over the tops of the trees. They were definitely getting close, and the red salamander in his inventory was itching to be used. "Looks like we'll be there in less than ten minutes if we keep up a good pace." Before he had taken five steps, his earring began to cast its faint golden glow on his hand and shoulder, and looking down, he spotted a tuft of the same odd looking grass that he had picked before. He knelt down and tapped the base of the grass, bringing up the item's menu and selecting the option to harvest and store it. Straightening back up, he returned to the trail and continued down towards the lake.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Shield

[Hestia 0]

Well even if energy was a issue Shield. It might be a bit to late for me at the moment to pick up energize in time for the floor boss. Unless i really push myself in terms of questing to get as much as possible. I say with a smile. Speaking in a more relaxed manner as i continue following the tank player rather curious what will this boss even look like, and furthermore why it wold even need some kind of special bait to try and catch it. Lots of mystery for certain in trying to figure out what this quest is requiring of the players in terms of just fishing up the boss to then go ahead and kill it with swords and such. I look over towards the direction of where the lake is with a grin getting more excited as i can be in terms of getting to see a new enemy, and add another quest onto my list of completed. Plus this would also be one of the first quests i have completed upon a tier 3 floor which would is nice.