[PP - F01] Hello Dark Cave My New Friend <<The Third Lesson, Is Just As Free>>

[Katagawa 0]

Once Hokori exited the Blazing Typhoon, she remembered that she had a package to deal with. Though she didn't see Cosi around, she definitely would enjoy doing the next quest with him. Remembering that she had had him in a party recently, she checked to see if she could message him. After navigating through the horrid menu, she found the recently partied with tab and was able to send a message off to him. She knew that he would be coming by the Blazing Typhoon soon to pick up his own order, so she decided to wait just a little bit outside there. If he didn't respond soon, she would just go off and do the quest on her own. Efficiency would be the key for her here.

Quote

 

@Cosi

    Remembered we got that package from when we did the second beginner quest together. I'm just outside the Blazing Typhoon if you want to take on the next one together. I'll wait for a bit, but don't take too long.

 

 

[Cosi 0]

When Cosi got Katagawa's message he turned back around and quickly went back to the Blazing Typhoon. He did remember now that they had a follow up quest with that artisan lady NPC. Cosi shrugged and kept going, moving through the streets back to Macradon's blacksmith shop. Cosi was so glad he had gotten the armor and weapon from Mac. Both pieces were amazing. They were durable, strong, and beautiful; masterpieces in their own right. Once he got there he saw the shorter blonde waiting outside the smith's shop. Cosi waved to her, "Kata! Hey! I got your message!" He moved to stand by her, "Shall we begin this next quest?" Cosi would wait for her to respond then beginning heading out of the Town of Beginnings. Then he would turn back around and go back to Katagawa. "Where are we going again?" The platinum blonde haired warrior would ask somewhat sheepishly. 

@Katagawa

Edited August 18, 2018 by Cosi

[Katagawa 0]

Thankfully, Hokori was right about Cosi still being close by and didn't have to wait that long. "Hey back, " she greeted him, "Supposedly there's a grove in this town where an artisan is. Don't know exactly where to look, but I doubt it would be far from the central plaza. I'm ready when you are, I'll be equipping my new gear once we start talking to the NPC. I don't know about you, but I've never liked listening to monologues. I'm a much faster reader." She stopped leaning against the wall of the shop and prepared to head out. Though she knew that she could probably equip her new armor in seconds, she felt that it was prudent to keep moving forward for now. And if she did miss something in the NPC's dialogue, than she hoped that Cosi would catch it. Regardless, she did unequip what she already had on while she waited for Cosi's response. Her simple dress flowed a little without the armor there to weigh it down. It felt a bit freeing, though she knew she would be much safer if there was something to protect her.

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Cosi clanked his two gauntlets together and with a crooked grin on his face he said,”Sweet! Let’s get going then shall we? And yeah I’m not much for the NPCs and their chatter but let’s go listen to what this artisan has to say. I’m itching for a new quest to do.” And without any other nonsense or small talk Cosi started to make his way to the central plaza of the Town of Beginnings and hopefully find the grove where the quest giver would be. Cosi was excited. He had his new armor and weapon and practically felt invincible. He’d done a couple other quests and had leveled up a couple more times so he really felt like he was ready for anything. Plus with Katagawa and her two handed skills- now also with new armor and a great sword- Cosi felt even more assured that they could handle whatever Aincrad threw at them. 

@Katagawa

Edited August 18, 2018 by Cosi

[Katagawa 0]

As the two navigated their way through the Town of Beginnings, Hokori did her best to figure out the menu system some more. Though she didn't like it, she doubted this game would be getting updates while they were stuck in it. She looked around and found out what she could from the settings, and sent a party invite to Cosi while she was rooting around. She debated about going through the in-menu market to try and get some new vanity items, but decided it would be better to conserve her Col. Perhaps when she was further along and had things to spare she could worry more about her looks. For now she needed to save every bit she could to get the gear she needed rather than just wanted. She eventually stumbled across the map, and with it found the quest marker. "That took longer than it should have, NPC is this way Cosi." She directed him towards where the quest was guiding them, hoping that the two of them could finish it quickly.

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

“Lead the way Kata,” Cosi motioned for her to continue on. As the tall blonde followed her he accepted her party request. This quest should be fun. All quests were quite fun. Then Cosi realized something: he was level nine, nearly ten, and he had not finished the four starting quests. He had only done two of them: one by himself and one with Katagawa. This felt odd to him. In most games you had to finish all of the tutorial before doing anything else but not in Aincrad. In Aincrad you could go at your own pace, which was very good- especially for Cosi. Cosi kept following Katagawa to the small grove and garden where the NPC artisan was. It was quite easy to find. Partly because the grove of foliage and trees was a verdant green in contrast to the brick red and tan stone that the rest of the town was colored. And party because it was centrally locates in the main plaza. 

@Katagawa

[Katagawa 0]

Once the two of them had arrived in the grove, Katagawa went to find the artisan. She couldn't quite remember the name of them, but was pretty sure it was Hannah. She eventually found them, the one character just lazing about in the grove. Once the dialogue was started, she immediately tuned it out and began to put on her armor. She navigated through the menu and eventually found the inventory section again. Though she guessed it made sense for a game that would've eventually gone international to involve mostly symbols for their menuing, it was incredibly frustrating to navigate and remember all of these symbols. With the inventory opened, Hokori quickly went and equipped her gear. She felt the now familiar weight of the armor cover her, stiffening her movements slightly though not much. It was well fitted, which was surprising considering that the blacksmith never had to take any measurements.

One of the many benefits of the game I guess.

As the NPC began to finish their drone, Hokori hoped that Cosi paid attention to some of the details, as she had completely missed it. There should still be some markers or other listed objectives though if neither of them had paid any attention.

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Once they reached the grove and found the artisan lady- her name was Hannah- They stopped to talk to her. Katagawa started putting on her new armor- Cosi had already done that since equipping was simple and easy- so Cosi listened as best he could to the chattering NPC talk. Something about a headband and a jewel. Okay. A dark cave that would reduce their combat abilities. Whatever. Something about fighting the guardians. No biggie. And then there were off. Cosi relayed the information to Katagawa, "Okay, so she wants a fancy jewel for her not so fancy headband thing. The jewel is in a spooky dark cave guarded by slightly spooky cave guardians that may or may not be rocks. The caves are outside to the... south east and then I stopped listening. Sound good Kata?" Cosi flexed his mailed fists and rolled out his shoulders as he walked, not really waiting for an answer.

@Katagawa

[Katagawa 0]

"Sounds like a plan." Hokori followed Cosi towards the edge of the town. She wasn't in much of a rush, especially while wearing a set of armor. She did want to get this quest done quickly though. SHe had learned while in college that efficiency was always the key. You didn't need to rely on speed, but you should always be efficient in what you do.  That was how you would get results that were both meaningful and get them quickly. If you went too fast, your results would be worthless. Too expensive, and it wasn't worth the reults you did get. What mattered was doing it well. And that was how she planned on tackling this game. She didn't care if she came close to death, she wanted to make this thing go well. The players of this game would need to band together to make sure that they could escape with as few deaths as possible.

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

The duo easily made it to the southeastern caves, trekking over the green hills and over burbling brooks. The pair didn't encounter any monsters but that would not have been a problem if they had. Cosi felt confident they could take on any threat on the first floor. The mobs aren't even hard on this floor. I should really start doing quests on the second floor. Cosi thought to himself as they walked. Once they reached the dark mouth of the cave Cosi realized something. He turned to Katagawa, "Hey I'm supposed to be a tank- and I guess I am- so I'll go first but cover me since you are the one with the massive zweihander, Okay?" Once Cosi got a confirming nod from Katagawa he hefted his shield, pulled out his sword, moved into the dark tunnel of the cave. It was nearly completely dark in the cave. Cosi wasn't sure if he would be able to hit anything that attacked them.

@Katagawa

Edited August 20, 2018 by Cosi

[Katagawa 0]

Quote

Consumed Safeguard Potion as it's only good for this quest

"It's not really a zweihander, but I can see the resemblance." Hokori followed Cosi into the cave, letting him take the lead. She felt that she was pretty tanky herself, though Cosi seemed to be a bit more focused on full tank rather than her who was going for a more bruiser style of play. She quickly chugged down the potion that they had gotten from the last quest, as it seemed that it would be expiring soon. It lfet a rather sweet taste in her mouth, and she was left feeling rather safe. It was odd to have such a feeling put on her, but she supposed that it had something to do with the potion's effect. Though the place was starting to get a little dark, Hokori wasn't too worried about missing. It was totally possible for her to do so, though in these close of quarters, it would be quite unlikely. She was more afraid of accidentally hitting Cosi.

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Quote

Consumed Safeguard Potion

"Well its either a zweihander or a claymore and it looks like a zweihander. So that's what I'm calling it." Cosi cautiously walked down the rocky tunnel, his eyes peering into the darkness. It was really dark down here but Cosi's eyes began to adjust so it shouldn't actually be too hard to actually fight. Cosi heard a bottle being uncorked behind him and then remembered his own safeguard potion. He switched his sword to his other hand, fished the potion out of his belt pouch, then uncorked and drank it. It tasted like sugar but felt like molasses going down. Cosi nearly gagged but swallowed the tincture anyways. "God that stuff is horrible!" Cosi wished he had some water to wash down the taste. Cosi kept walking through the dark cramped tunnel. Cosi could only hope that where ever the jewel crystal thing was would be more spacious than this. Or else Katagawa was going to cut him in half with her sword.

@Katagawa

Edited September 2, 2018 by Cosi

[Katagawa 0]

Walking further down into the cave, Hokori's eyes did their best to adjust to the darkness. She could see the silhouette of Cosi in front of her, though that was about it. She could make out some sort of faint glow coming from an opening nearby. Hopefully that would be where the crystal was located. If not, it seemed that this cave was full of little things that were able to glow in here. She wished that this was real, as she would probably try and study iot to see how it worked. Granted, it may still be worth studying if the game allowed it. Many of the ideas that people had came from the heads of fiction writers and were implemented by engineers and the like. She doubted that anything here would be firmly rooted in science though. Making sure that she had her sword at the ready, Hokori decided to do some strategizing before the two of them reached the crystal. "Before you try to draw their attention, get out of the way so that I can get a clean swing at whatever pops up. I don't want to hit you with this, though I'm pretty sure that you'll be fine even if I do."

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Cosi saw a faint orange glow ahead and decided to move towards it. It could only be one thing: the crystal the pair was after. At least Cosi hoped it was the jewel. Imagine if this cave has evil cave angler fish except they're actually amphibious angler frogs. Cosi shuddered at the thought but kept moving. Even if there were angler frogs with Katagawa's help he was sure he could take them. Cosi nodded his head then realized Katagawa probably couldn't see that so he said, "Will do. And yeah Mac's armor is great. I don't think much could pierce it, though I have yet to test that on higher floors." Cosi grinned even though Katagawa definitely could not see that. He moved ahead, then turned a corner into another slightly more spacious room. It was filled with a brighter faint glow- which actually did not help Cosi's dark vision- that came from a good sized orange jewel that was in the center of the room. Cosi stopped, "Okay there's the crystal. But where are the guardians?"

@Katagawa

[Katagawa 0]

As the two came closer to the crystal, Hokori grew wary of the fact they hadn't encountered any monsters while in the cave. She figured that there would be something they would need to face. She decided to take the lead, going for the crystals. Upon closer inspection, there was actually two crystals. "Seeing as there haven't been any mobs, I'm guessing there is a few possibilities here." She decided it would be best to give her theories before grabbing the crystals, as most of them had something happening after they were grabbed. "There may be nothing guarding it, in which case we take these and leave. There may be something that spawns behind us, in which case you'll be able to tank it. There could be something that spawns in front of us, in which case I can easily strike before they have the chance to and can probably take a returning hit if needed. The last possibility is one behind and one in front. If that is the case, we'll need to watch out for the flank. Let me know when you're ready and I'll grab the crystals. My guess is that whatever it is it will spawn soon after we grab them. As soon as I grab them I'll toss one to you before they bind to my inventory as the quest item." With that, Hokori got herself ready to grab the crystals in wait for Cosi's signal.

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Cosi readied himself for when Katagawa would grab the crystals but then something stirred behind him. Cosi felt it more than he heard it: a subsonic rumble, a tremor that cascaded through the cave and into Cosi’s bones. Cosi slowly turned around and drew his sword. Walking out of the stone walls of the caverns as if they had just sprang from the rock we’re two massive creatures. They were about eight feet tall and looked like a cross between a boar, a lizard, and a troll. They had pudgy faces with beady eyes that shone a fiery orange, oily red tufts of hair, and  large jaws to account for the two razor sharp tusks that sprouted from their lower one. Their skin was a greyish green, like slate or some other stone, and it was covered in scales like a komondo dragon’s. Their hands were taloned but each held a massive club that looked like it had been a stalagmite broken off from the cave rock. They grunted deep in their throats and advanced on the two players. Cosi took a couple steps back and tugged on Katagawa’s sleeve. “Kata we’ve got company... big, unfriendly company.”

Spoiler

Cave Troll Primus- Hp: 20- DMG: 5 (50 on the first successful attack)

Cave Troll Secundus- Hp: 20- DMG: 5 (50 on the first successful attack)

@Katagawa

[Katagawa 0]

Hokori looked up to see the two lurking figures in the darkness in front of her. There wasn't much for her to see besides their massive forms. With a gulp coming from her throat, she quickly swiped the gems. Tossing one to Cosi and pocketing the other, she pulled out her sword and gave two massive swings of it as fast as she could. She wasn't sure if she would be able to pull it off as well as she did, but it ended up being just enough to swing through the enemies. They seemed quite hurt, but they weren't down yet. "They shouldn't be up for much longer. Hit one and the other should die to recoil. Just don't get hit in the head by those clubs, doubt it would be good for your brain capacity." They may seem to be staggering from her initial blows, but she still worried about just how hard they would be able to hit her if she didn't have her safeguard up.

Spoiler

ID: #105127 -- BD: 8 - 1 = 7 - hit
ID: #105128 -- BD: 6 - = 5 (+1 concentration) = 6 - hit

[H: 1/1] Katagawa: 140/140 HP | 6/10 EN | 6 DMG | 18 THN | 17 MIT [safeguard]
[H: 0/0] Cosi: ???

Cave Guardian 1: 8/20 HP | 5 DMG
Cave Guardian 2: 8/20 HP | 5 DMG

@Cosi

[Cosi 0]

Cosi charged one of the hulking figures, trying to quickly follow up Katagawa’s Aoe attack to keep the cave trolls off balance. He kept his shield up, protecting his head from attacks- he really needed to get a helmet- and struck out with his sword. As he activated his sword art he felt the surge of power and could just see the turquoise light like a nimbus around his sword. Cosi’s blade felt lighter than air allowing each strike to flow into the other and they all hit with devastating force. The cave troll infront of Cosi stumbled and felt, breaking into particles of light. Cosi turned to the next troll to see it attack Katagawa, swinging its giant club at her. Thankfully it was very inaccurate and all Katagawa had to do was duck slightly to avoid it. The club slammed into the rock wall shaking the entire cavern and bringing down some smaller rocks as well. These things hit hard. 

Spoiler

Combat- Snake Bite 

ID# 105129- BD: 5 - 1 vis + 1 acc + 1 (using concentration) = 6- hit

4 * 3 sword art = 12 damage

ID# 105130- MD: 2- miss

H: 1/1] Katagawa: 140/140 HP | 6/10 EN | 6 DMG | 18 THN | 17 MIT [safeguard]
[H: 1/0] Cosi: Hp: 140/140- ENG: 11/14- DMG: 4-  MIT: 39- THN: 18 [safeguard]

Cave Guardian Primus: Hp: 0/20- 5 DMG
Cave Guardian Secundus: Hp: 8/20- 5 DMG

@Katagawa

Edited August 24, 2018 by Cosi

[Katagawa 0]

Still recovering from ducking away from the creature's heavy blow. Hokori tried to return in kind. She hadn't quite gotten her balance back though and ended up swinging short as she over-corrected it. She managed to stay on her feet, but the beast was still standing. It seemed that not all blows were that easy to hit, even against such a large target. Maybe it was just the game itself giving her an arbitrary miss or perhaps skill did actually factor into the mix, but it certainly didn't change the outcome regardless of what it was. She tried to put herself between the monster and Cosi, willing to take the hit before he made his attack. She knew that she still had the safeguard effect, but hadn't seen if Cosi was hit before he struck down the other one. Being so busy getting out of the way of a speeding club would do that to a person, but she made a mental note to be more aware in a fight so she could keep track of these things.

Spoiler

ID: #105164

BD: 5 - 1 = 4 - miss

H: 1/1] @Katagawa: 140/140 HP | 9/14 EN (+1 regen; -2 miss; correction of incorrect stats) | 6 DMG | 18 THN | 17 MIT [safeguard]
[H: 1/0] @Cosi: Hp: 140/140 | ENG: 11/14 | DMG: 4 | MIT: 39 | THN: 18 [safeguard]

Cave Guardian Primus: Hp: 0/20- 5 DMG
Cave Guardian Secundus: Hp: 8/20- 5 DMG

 

[Cosi 0]

Cosi turned from the disappearing particles of killed cave troll and rushed towards the last one standing. Katagawa had tried to attack but to no avail. The darkness made combat much more difficult. Cosi charged the cave troll while it’s attention was focused on Katagawa, and activated a sword art. Turquoise pixels sparked as Cosi lay into the monster’s back. He slashed into its hard stone like scales again and again till the thing crumbled and fell. The cave troll stumbled, dropped its club, and toppled lifeless to the ground. The monster hit the cave floor with a rumble, kicking up dust, and then began to dissapate, turning into red particles of light. Cosi breathed outand sheathed his sword. He turned to Katagawa and smiled crookedly, “Those guys weren’t too hard to kill now were they?” The quest was done now. They had collected their crystals and now Cosi and Katagawa just had to get back to the NPC artisan lady. No sweat. 

Spoiler

Combat- Snake Bite

ID# 105186- BD: 6 - 1 vis + 1 acc = 6- hit

4 base * 3 sword art = 12 damage

H: 1/1] Katagawa: 140/140 HP | 9/14 EN | 6 DMG | 18 THN | 17 MIT [safeguard]
[H: 1/1] Cosi: Hp: 140/140- ENG: 9/14- DMG: 4- MIT: 39- THN: 18 [safeguard]

Cave Guardian Primus: Hp: 0/20- 5 DMG
Cave Guardian Secundus: Hp: 0/20- 5 DMG

@Katagawa

Edited August 27, 2018 by Cosi