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[F01- PP] Teach a Man to Fish... <<The Fourth Lesson, Is Actually Free>> w/ Katagawa


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Log Entry Thirteen?

Katagawa and I go fishing old man of the sea style. Man I hated reading that book back in high school. Still, I finish all the starting quests with this one.

—————————

Cosi shot a message over to Katagawa. It was time to get these starting quests done and to complete the last one. He told her how he had Hannah’s package for Ol’ Pete the fisherman and he would wait for outside of the Town of Beginning’s twin gates for her. And so Cosi did. The blonde warrior with the shield slung over his back waited right outside the massive gates. He smiled and waved to everyone entering and exiting the town as he waited for his companion, the girl with the great sword. Not only did Cosi want to finish this last starter quest but he had been meaning to talk to her about his... I guess I would say episode. Because that was what it had been. He had been thinking of home and then it had turned into a waking nightmare. 

@Katagawa

Edited by Cosi
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Hokori was making her way around the first floor helping out the various people she saw in need of it while still getting a fair amount of experience herself when she got a message from one of the first friends that she had made in this death game. Cosi mentioned that the two of them had yet to finish the initial series of quests themselves. It was quite the memory lapse for her to forget something like that. Though she did still want to go out and do it, it would be sad to miss someone else needing help for the moment. In the end, she realized she would need to get stronger if she wanted to help others achieve their goals as well. Sending a message back towards Cosi, she quickly made her way to the front gates. Her sword was strapped horizontally across her back. There was little other way to carry it in such a manner that she could retrieve it in a slight hurry and hindered her way through narrow passages. In the end, it was the best option she had figured out so far. There was the museums that showed the storage of these weapons, but history had never really interested her. She was always preoccupied with the future and didn't wish to look back at the low status that was her past. Arriving at the gates, she greeted Cosi cheerfully, hoping to get the quest moving relatively quickly.

@Cosi

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Cosi greeted Katagawa with an upraised hand, smiling slightly. Then once she got closer, he extended his hand in greeting, "Hey Kata, how are you doing? ready to get this quest done?" Cosi tried to grin but it felt forced. There was just too much on his mind. I wonder if I should just tell Katagawa now. Cosi shook his head and started moving, "The lake we're supposed to g to is close by the furthest mountains so we have a lot of walking to do. Let's get going." He waited half a second for the blonde great sword user and then kept going. Cosi was done waiting- not with Katagawa- but with this game. The front liners moved at a snail's place and everyone else just waited, complacent or terrified. Cosi was done with that. They were all seventy- seven floors away from home. And if no one wanted to step up and change that then Cosi would just do it himself.

@Katagawa

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Hokori accepted the handshake, shaking it firmly though not roughly. "Let's" She made her way in the direction of the lake with him, walking side by side with him. It was a little difficult with her sword, so she ended up a little bit behind him. It was fine by her though, the two of them could still chat on their long walk. Seeing the look of concern on Cosi's face, Hokori decided to amek a little bit of small talk. They still had a ways to go, but there was no sense in running all the way there. "You seem concerned about something. I don't wish to press, but what would that concern be?" She had a feeling it was about his seizure and didn't want to make him talk about it so she threw out a random guess. "Is it about the lack of significant progress we've made so far?" It was honestly going rather slowly, but it was understandable. It may not be the most efficient way to make it to the top, but it was the safest. Hokori thought that there would be more death though if they waited. If there weren't so many people out there who were willing to kill for fun, then she felt that slow would work more. As it stood, there would be more death from PvP if they didn't sacrifice a few lives on the front lines.

@Cosi

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Cosi breathed in deeply, started to say something, then let it go and stayed silent. She asked I might as well tell her. Cosi steeled his nerves and began. "There was a quest I did that showed me my deepest fears. It was clarifying. Or it is now."  Cosi's pace slowed a little. "I started having visions of my home and of the real world. That's what my episode was. I saw my sister. but I was kept from reaching her. From helping her." Cosi clenched his fists, his gauntlets creaking. "I realized then that we've all been here for years and how far how the front liners come? They've reached floor 23. Not even a fourth of the way up the tower." Cosi glowered, "They're slow, as if they didn't care to get back to the real world. But I'm done with this place Katagawa. I want be home with my family. This world is virtual but designed to kill us. Hardly anything we do in here has any real importance. The only thing that matters is when we kill that last boss and return to the real world." Cosi stops at this point and turns to Katagawa "I plan on being the one who does that even if I have to leave everyone behind. Everyone." Cosi fixes the blonde girl with a hard stare and he seems to loom over her. Gone is the mirth and joy in Cosi's eyes. There's only determination there now. "I'm done with the easy safe path and I'm heading straight for the top Katagawa. Are you with me?" Cosi doesn't wait for her answer. He just continues walking to the lake. 

@Katagawa

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Hokori listened closely as Cosi told her about his quest and episode earlier. It mad sense to her, and understood his frustration. The issue was that this blind determination was apt to get him killed one day. She did agree with him, though wanted to talk a little bit of restraint into him. "Though the people on the front lines have been moving quite slow, there is some reason to it. I do know that many there wish for there to be as many people that make it out alive as they can. To do this, they are being slow in progress so that there is minimal death. Of course, with the amount of PKers that the people still on the lower levels are dying as fast as we would if we pushed forward quickly. We need to pick up the pace, but one person won't make the difference. We need to help others get to the front. If we show the current front liners that there is a steady supply of people, they'll be able to risk their lives without risking a halt in progress." Hokori took another breath in. "And though I will join you, I ask that you don't stick your neck out purely for the chance to get to the top faster. There will still be plenty of time before the game is over, and I don't want someone to die purely because they wished to reach the end ahead of everyone else."

@Cosi

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Cosi takes a clarifying breath, losing some of the heat and frustration, then turns to Katagawa. "Thanks Kata. I needed that. I should't be stupid and get myself killed trying to get home. i just need to get home. Still I can't stand how slow this is all going." Cosi continues hiking, putting one foot in foot of the other. Time passed by quickly with their conversation and the duo is now at the foot of the mountains, not too far from the lake where the NPC should be. The pair still has a good climb ahead of them. As Cosi's gaze travels up the pass they will need to surmount, a craggy, gravel covered hill, Cosi voices this, "I see why this fisherman doesn't leave the lake. That's going to be many times harder coming down." Then without further ado, Cosi beings to climb. He looks back to see if Katagawa's doing alright. Cosi has done a lot of climbing in his life and it can't be too much different in the game, but he doesn't know about Katagawa.

@Katagawa

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Hokori was glad that Cosi understood that he shouldn't be so brazen with his approach to taking on the game. At least now she knew that she could push with him at a reasonable pace and make it to the front without needing to look over their own shoulders often. The path in front of them became much harder to traverse. "Depending on how this game does fall damage, it actually might be quite easier to come down. It's possible you could just tumble downwards and not actually take a hit." Though Hokori had never gotten any experience with climbing, she did know how to get creative with her solutions. She quickly drew her sword and began to plunge it into the loos gravel repeatedly. The gravel was loose enough that she wouldn't damage the blade by doing this but would still give her something to hold on to. Once She had it stuck in the ground, she could easily pull herself to it and move the blade up the hill. It was going much slower than Cosi's actual climbing skills, but she was at least able to make her way up without any assistance.

@Cosi

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“I wouldn’t want to test that hypothesis though.” Cosi said back to Katagawa as he picked his way up among the rocks and gravel sometimes scrambling over boulders on all fours. Cosi looked back at Katagawa who had begun using her sword as a hiking pole. She seemed to be doing fine climbing up the hill. The pace up to the pass was slow but steady. This fisherman is probably really antisocial if he lives up here. I wonder how annoying his AI will be. Most of the NPCs in this game hadn’t been too transparent but there were always some that might as well be broken records that always repeated the same string of phrases over and over again. Cosi hated those NPCs and seriously hoped this wouldn’t be one. Cosi made it to the top of the pass by pulling himself up out in what was practically a fingertip pull up. Cosi knelt down and extended a hand to Katagawa so he could help her up this last bit. 

@Katagawa

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Hokori remained silent for the rest of the climb, focusing instead on making her way up. It was rather precarious for her at times and she nearly fell. Though she certainly didn't wish to test her idea, it seemed she might have to if her grip failed her at the wrong time. By the time she had reached the top, Cosi was already reaching a hand out to her. She accepted it even though she had always hated being the damsel in distress. The hand that life had dealt her certainly didn't help with that though. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Hokori sheathed her large blade. It would likely have dulled significantly if it were real. Thankfully, this game didn't account for mundane issues like a dull blade. It would remain just as sharp as when it was crafted. Once she caught her breath, she felt it would be best to move forward. "Let's go find where this old man is, shall we?"

@Cosi

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"Let's definitely do that." Cosi agreed whole heartedly. He stood up from his kneeling position, dusted off his sabatons and greaves and then headed for the lake. There was hardly any vegetation around the lake. Just boulders, rock, and gravel. The lake itself seemed to have been made when snow melt from the higher peaks above collected in a sort of crater. So it was a very natural lake. Cosi just couldn't see how any fish lived in it. Cosi moved closer to the edge of the lake. There he saw on the other end of the lake a small shack and dock of sorts. He pointed it out to Katagawa, "That must be our fisherman over there." Cosi started heading over, "Let's go pay him a visit shall we, Kata?" Cosi began making his way over to the shack, moving past boulders and over smaller rocks trying to find the straightest path there.

@Katagawa

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Hokori followed Cosi towards the lake. It was not the largest of lakes, but certainly not small. She had never been the best at gauging distances, so she didn't even venture a guess at its size. The dock ccame into sight, and with it a shack of some sorts. If the old man lived here, he didn't seem to be out on the water right now. "After you Cosi." She was relaxed, not fearing any conflict right now. The game had so far been relatively kind when treating its new players. As many deaths ass she had seen on the monument of life dealing with boars, they seemed to be because of the stupidity of players rather than the game actually being that difficult. Perhaps it was her skill with games, or maybe the players wwere suiciding into the boars to end things quickly. Unsure, she gave it no further thought. Her sword remained equipped though, she was not going to take it off unless she was in a safe zone. Andd even then, if she got one that was worth displaying, she may leave it equipped so she could show her own progress.

@Cosi

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  • 4 weeks later...

Cosi entered the fisherman's shack just as a loud cacophony of sound rang out from inside. Inside the blonde haired tank saw a pile of kettles, jars, plates, and other kitchen ware with a leg sticking out. A ruff voice echoed from beneath all the items. "Confound and blast these shelves! Can't 'ey keep 'eir contents on 'em for seven seconds!" The pile of broken pans, chipped cups, and cracked mugs fairly exploded as the man buried under them pushed them off of him. The fisher man, Ol' Pete, was a short man with hair crazier than Einstein's and a beard longer than Rip Van Winkle's. The sun tanned man stared at the two players that had entered his abode, "And who in the blazes are you two!" Ol' Pete quickly stood up, dusted himself off, and grabbed the nearest weapon: a heavy pewter mug. "Don't come any closer! I'm armed!" He glanced over Katagawa's and Cosi's weapons and faltered for a split second before raising the mug again. Cosi tried to defuse the situation and raised his hands, "Calm down old man! We've got a package for you from... the artisan in town." Coksi pulled out the wrapped package and handed it to the fisherman who took it gingerly as if it would explode. Then Ol' Pete set down the mug and torn off the brown paper revealing a fishing pole. "Bless that lass! She finally got me a new pole!" He turned to Cosi like he hadn't just threatened him with a cup, "And just in time to. I was about to die from only eating preserved foods- Damn pickles and eggs- but now I can fish again!" The fisherman hugged the pole like it was his long lost son or something. Cosi turned to Katagawa and shrugged.

@Katagawa

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As the two went in, they were quickly greeted with hostilities from the old man reesiding in the place. Hokori had quickly gone and reached for her weapon, thought her hand came off of it as Cosi expertly avoided the nassty situation. It seemed that the old man was a bit of a fisherman and the two of them had just delivered a fishing pole to him. It was a nicce gift, but she was curious as to why the quest had brought them here. What lesson did this old man have in store for them. She kept an eye on the quest dialogue, but it seemed the action hadn't quite finished yet. She whispered over to Cosi, "What do you think we're going to do here?" There was no indicator of the objective they had in front of them. Though it may not be, she presumed that it would likely be some form of combat against something in the lake. It was all just guesswork right now of course.

@Cosi

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Cosi leaned over to Katagawa and whispered to her, “I haven’t the slightest idea.” He stood up straight again and looked to the fisherman. The blonde tank was about to talk to the fisherman when he spun towards him and pointed the pole at Cosi’s face, nearly smacking the player in the face. “Say you two bedazzled looking slack faces,” he pointed the pole at Katagawa next, “mind helping me with some fishing?” He waited about a millisecond before pushing past the duo, kicking aside pots and pans, and exiting the shack. “Come on you slow pokes. We’re burning daylight and that doesn’t smell good.” Cosi was shocked. This was one of the most  lively, human, and well thought out. It was surprising, shocking even. Cosi looked at Katagawa wide eyed. “That is the weirdest and most complex NPC I’ve ever seen.” Cosi was cut off when Ol’ Pete stuck his head in through the window behind Cosi. “Stop chatting, you tree stumps and get a move on! I wanna catch me some fish.” Then just as fast the fisherman disappeared back out side. 

@Katagawa

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The old man, who had a rather complex AI, was still yelling at the two of them as he explained what they were probably supposed to do next. It seemed that they were supposed to learn how to fish in this game. Once the old man was out of the place, she responded to Cosi. "I'm not all that surprised, many games want to put their best foot forward in the opening moments of the game. Though this game in general is rather impressive, I would figure they'd follow the same idea. I'm guessing higher floors have less NPCs and more beasts to cover up the lack of effort there. I wouldn't know though, still need to go above floor 2." SShe really did need to fix that. Following the path of the old man, she waited for Cosi before triggering any further dialogue. The next part would liekly take them onto the water so she didn't want to leave Cosi behind.

@Cosi

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Cosi nodded and headed outside, following the fisher man, Ol' Pete, to the small jetty where a somewhat large, and fairly dinged up row boat was secured. The old man was already tossing a whole lot fishing gear into the boat. At the players approach he would shout, while still gathering random supplies, “Hurry it up we’ve got to catch us a sword fish.” Ol’ Pete rushed up to each of the players shoving a fishing pole into each of their hands, “They’re the tastiest. And you’ll need one of these.” At that the man would usher Katagawa and Cosi into the row boat and begin rowing them out into the lake. “Alright start fishing you rust buckets.” Ol’ Pete grabbed a harpoon as long as he was tall and held it threatening over the side of the water. “I can already taste ‘em” Cosi quickly cast our hos line not wanting to even be accidentally stuck with the harpoon Ol’ Pete was wielding. 

@Katagawa

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It wasn't long before the two of them were both on the water with the old man. Hokori cast in her line and was already feeling a tug on it. It didn't take long before she reeled up a swordfish ready to take a bite out of the people on the boat. "Looks like we've got a live one." She drew her blade after placing down the given fishing pole. She tried her best to get some footing while on the boat, but the small space and wake coming from the fish was making it hard. She had no idea how she was going to be able to do one of her sword arts without causing some friendly fire. Hopefully she would have enough damage that she could take the thing out with her attack and end up in the water without fear of retaliation. If she didn't have the damage, she just hoped that Cosi would be able to follow up with a killing blow.

Spoiler

Spawned Sword-fish: HP: 35 | Dmg: 50 (on first successful hit only)/ 5(Does not gain bonus damage from crits)

@Cosi

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After setting off from the jetty it wasn't long before Katagawa landed a fairly large swordfish. The thing thrashed and jumped trying to get off the hook and back into the water, sending waves splashing onto the deck. Cosi dropped his fishing pole and pulled out his sword and shield. Ol' Pete shouted to them as he struggled with the oars, "I'll keep the boat steady! You two take care of that fish!" Cosi nodded, activated a sword art, and lay into the fish with his blade. He cut into the sword fish three times revealing red code and pixels, causing it to thrash more and send out waves. The flapping tail nearly knocking the tank over, forcing him backwards. Cosi hadn't done too much damage but it was still enough to take out a third of the mob's health. "Kata! Finish it off!" Cosi shouted to the blonde warrior. 

Spoiler

Combat: Snake Bite

Cosi- Hp: 260/260- ENG: 26/26- DMG: 4- MIT: 39- THN: 18 Action: ID# 106767- BD: 5+1= 6- Hit: 4*3= 12 dmg

Katagawa- ???

Swordfish- Hp: 23/35- Dmg: 50 (on first successful hit only)/ 5(Does not gain bonus damage from crits)

@Katagawa

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Cosi had gotten a decent hit in against the fish while she was still drawing her weapon. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to grab it. She was able to quickly charge up her sword art, which launched her into a vertical spin over the fish, repeatedly slicing it. As the fish shattered into pixels, Hokori found herself falling into the water. WIthout so much as the chance to brace she was sunk into it. THankfully, she was able to tread water even with the heavy armor. She spat out a bit of water and hoisted herself into the boat. Once back at the hut, the old man thanked the two of them and they were given the quest complete propmpt. It seemed that there was no more quests in this line. HOkori offered her hand for a shake. "Glad we could work together. I hope to see you around some more soon."

Spoiler

Roll ID: #106774 - BD: 4 + 1 =5 + 1 = 6 - hit (7 * 4 = 28 DMG; concentration used)

@Cosi- Hp: 260/260- ENG: 26/26- DMG: 4- MIT: 39- THN: 18 

Katagawa- Katagawa: 200/200 HP | 16/20 EN (-4 sword art) | 7 DMG | 18 THN | 17 MIT | 1 ACC | 9-10 PARA

Swordfish- Hp: 0/35- Dmg: 50 (on first successful hit only)/ 5(Does not gain bonus damage from crits)

 

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