[PP|F2] Fun between friends <<DHA 2>>

[Dustin 0]

Spoiler

<<Dragon Hunter Anthology - Dragon Hunt 2: the Quartz Hatchling>>

This quest takes place on Floor 2.

This quest CANNOT be repeated.

You must defeat “Rhaegal the Emerald Hatchling” before attempting this quest.

=----=

 

Shortly after the first dragon hatchling slain, you receive a message from the same Information Broker on the location of the next Dragon Hatchling, it appeared on floor two, and despite the fact of how cute it is… it can be quite the prankster, this hatchling shouldn’t be underestimated especially if you are lower leveled.

 

=---=

=-=

 

 

Zylara - the Quartz Hatchling

HP: 175 - MIT: 35 - ACC: 1 - EVA: 0 - DMG: 65

 

Abilities:

<<Mend Mini-Twigs>> : On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

 

=---=

Recommended Level: 15

Post Limit: 1 Page (20+)

=---=

 

Rewards:

1 SP - 600 Col (Split between each player)

<Zylara’s Quartz> [Vanity Quest Item] : 1 of 9, collect all 9 and meet whom that waits before you, only then will you get the grand prize.

Dustin sat in his new bed and watched the sun pan across the ceiling for the past few days. Nothing was more boring than waiting for something exciting to happen, and he had waited a while. After what happened with Pinball attacking Jinx and Dustin and Stryder having to save their asses, the boy couldn’t get the motivation to move from the comfort of his room. The warmth of the bed beneath him kept him content in this state, but now he was just sitting there. It had grown all too familiar to him, and the way the sun moved he lost track of time ironically.

His hand waves down in the same fashion it aways did and his menu opened up. Going down the friends list he stopped on one of his favorite pals, the short girl with the purple hair. His finger picks the little chat bubble and he smiles as he types up a message.

Spoiler

Massage to: @Arabelle

Hey, wanna take down the next dragon? I heard some people talking and it doesn’t seem that difficult.

He presses send and smiles as he sits up and gets dressed, wiping the cookie crumbs off of his chest and bed.

Spoiler

STATS

LVL: 24

HP: 480

EN: 48

DMG: 11

MIT: 14

ACC: 1

EVA: 2

BH: 4

SKILLS

Rank 5 Martial Arts

Rank 1 Light Armor

Rank 1 Battle Healing

EQUIPMENT

[Equipped] Death's Reach: [Light Armor][1x Evasion, 1x Mitigation] Black leather shoulder pad with skull patterned stitchings on the trim.

[Equipped] Starlit Wave:[Hand Wraps][3x Damage] Handstiched leather gloves that go all the way to the elbow, sort of like long sleeve gloves. They are made out of an extremely light , midnight blue material, and were crafted while viewing the stars, the embedded stars and shapes matching the night sky perfectly. The gloves are soft on the inside and outside, but the gloves increase the wearers innate strength, allowing them to hit, and be stronger then normal. The gloves also emit a small, northern lights color out at all times, the stars seemingly lit up by the light.

[Equipped] Deus Tempus:[Trinket][1x Evasion, 1x Accuracy]  A silver pocket watch, with engravings of an ouroboros dragon on the front. The clock itself is moving faster than real time to make the user feel faster.

 

[Arabelle 0]

Quote

Claude: Oh, so it's just you and him then?
Claude: Have fun!
Arabelle: ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Claude: No, not that kind of fun.

Arabelle smiled to herself as she dismissed her PMs. She switched to another window on her menu - one which displayed a map of Floor 3 with a mark on Dustin's coordinates and a path from the teleport plaza to the marked down area which Claude had helpfully supplied.

She wasn't that hopeless with directions but it was a suitable excuse for the scout to take her by the wrist so he could draw the line on the virtual map for her~.

The small purple-haired girl allowed the semi-transparent windows to float in front of her as she walked. Dustin had invited her on the second quest in the Dragon Hunt series, and after the embarrassment of the first, she was all hyped to redeem herself. Five-something levels higher than the previous, better equipment, and The Other Girl wasn't around to ruin their victory. And to top it all off, she was hanging out with her second favorite guildmate. Today was going to be perfect!

Arriving at her destination, Arabelle paused. She idly adjusted her newest piece of equipment: a +3 ACC brooch in the shape of a black phoenix pinned to her chest. The small purple-haired girl looked the house up and down, then at her map.

He invited her to his house? How gutsy of him.

Kidding aside, part of her had assumed they would simply meet up at some random place he liked and head straight for the dragon. Maybe not. Arabelle smiled. She was here, might as well try to come in and explore! Unequipping her scythe (it seemed like overkill in a safe zone), she walked up to the door and knocked.

Spoiler

 BATTLE STATS

~STATS 
Level: 15 - 38 SP
300 HP
30 Energy
10 Damage
9 Mitigation
3 Accuracy
2 Evasion

~EQUIPPED

• [T1 - Perfect] Shikama Dōji, Remastered -- Enhancements: Damage, Damage, Damage
• [T1 - Perfect] Imperial Demon Army Uniform -- Enhancements: Mitigation, Evasion, Evasion
• [T1 - Perfect] Insignia of Retribution -- Enhancements: Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy

~BATTLE-READY INVENTORY

• 1 Starter Healing Potion (heals 50 HP)
• 1 Eggnog - A hearty drink that warms even the coldest soul, and seems to give a blanket of warmth to those who drink it. [Demonic Consumable] [+1 Safeguard, +1 MIT]

~SKILLS
Rank 4 - Two-Handed Battle Axe (+6 DMG, access to rank 4 sword arts)

E - 

~SWORD ARTS
Two-Handed Battle Axe
Rank 1
» [x2] Whirlwind (2 Energy) - A single sweeping attack so powerful that it sends forth a shock wave to hit again.
» [x2 AoE] Smash (2 Energy + 2 per target hit) - An uppercut aimed at opponents head to send them reeling.
Rank 2
» [x3 AoE] Lumberjack (3 Energy + 2 per target hit) - Three wide sweeping strokes aimed at multiple targets.
» [x3] Ultimate Breaker (3 Energy) - A pair of uppercuts that finish with a vertical slam to the target's head.
Rank 3
» [x5] Torque Wave (5 Energy) - A sweeping strike that tears into the opponent.
» [x6] Crimson Blood (6 Energy) - Three sweeping spinning slices keeping the same momentum.
» [x6 AoE] Trample Act (6 Energy +2 per target hit) - An attack that starts with a shoulder barge, then does two large sweeping attacks.
Rank 4
» [x7] Crescent Avalanche (7 Energy) - An advanced mixture of slices, hilt stabs and thrusts at an opponent.
» [x8 AoE] Ordinal Cleave (8 Energy +2 per target hit) - A flurry of eight vicious slashes that hits and targets multiple enemies.

 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Arabelle

[Dustin 0]

It wasn’t long before a knock on the door caught the boy’s attention, and he headed down to see who it was. Walking with a cookie in his mouth and his blue sweatshirt sitting atop his head, his hand wraps around the doorknob and he opens the door, peaking through the cracks and quickly shutting the door. Ah [censored], she can’t see my house like this. He turns and a mess fills his view.

Running through the house, he cleans up everything and if since Arabelle had knocked, she could hear all of it if she listened. Comically loud crashing and yelling echoed throughout the huge building as he wrestles the last mess into his closet and runs downstairs to open the door for Arabelle, taking another bit of his cookie and holding a plate of pancakes out towards the girl. “If you wanna come in you’re welcome to.” He says, pulling his sweatshirt over his head and onto his body, covering his embarrassing T-Shirt.

A white T-Shirt that has a unicorn on it was totally less embarrassing than the T-shirt with regular kitties he had on.

As he set the table, he placed down two places asking her to sit and he pours a glass of orange juice. “You want Orange juice or Milk?” He asks, setting a glass in front of her.

[Arabelle 0]

The door inched open and she was just about to step closer with a greeting, when it suddenly slammed back close, leaving the small purple-haired girl standing outside with her hand raised in a friendly wave.

As Claude would sometimes so elegantly put it - "Ehhh?" She looked at the other houses and then reopened her map in slight confusion. Arabelle was sure she had been following the directions. Did she knock at the wrong house or something? The rather comical crashes and yells originating from inside the house answered her question. Laughing to herself, she moved to lean on the building's outer wall as she waited for Dustin to finish his frantic last-minute cleaning.

Inviting her over only to end up totally unprepared when she came maybe a few minutes early. She thought it was typical of the boy who was taking a nap before an important guild outing when she first met him.

After some time, the door opened and Arabelle pushed off the wall. Dustin stepped out like nothing happened. And in the girliest unicorn sweatshirt she'd ever seen. But that didn't matter. Where she would have usually teased him - the girl zeroed in on the plate he was holding. Pancakes! The small purple-haired girl practically had stars in her eyes as she took the plate and followed him inside.

Dustin really was her second favorite guildmate!

"Mm? Orange juice is fine." She was not going to tolerate another round of teasing over the sight of a short girl drinking her milk. This was a game, it wouldn't have any effect anyway! Arabelle took a slice out of her pancake and gave a hum of approval. "This is good~. Almost as good as Shiro-chan's pancakes!" - Reminding her that the other girl had not yet reinstated her free dessert privileges. - "Hey, Dustin, you never told me you had a house. When did you get it?" And, giving him a teasing smile, she gave her observation, "It's kind of big for one person though. Someone else living here?"

[Dustin 0]

Dustin pours a glass of Orange Juice and getting ready to answer about when he moved in when she asks him if anyone else lives here, and how it’s a big house. “A life of opulence is a life of solitude.” He says quietly and almost shyly, like it hurt him to say that. “I’ve lived here about a week, haven’t told you guys cause I didn’t want y’all to see me in my natural state.” He says, fixing his hair in the reflection on a spoon before sitting down with a bowl of cereal and eating it. The room looked right out of a knight story, with a homey yet medieval feel to it. Dustin looked at home with the absence of real world luxury, like he had never gotten used to flipping light switches or turning on the AC.

Like force of habit, he gets up and grabs a log quarter and tosses it into the fire, walking back to his chair and sitting down.

As he eats, his eyes stay down in his bowl. He wasn’t used to eating with people, and this made his nerves settle tremendously as he did it. “So... you been getting stronger or am I gonna have to carry you again?” A quick glance up and down her body and he smiles, “To be honest, I could actually carry you to the spot, but that would be weird.” He looks back down into his bowl and his spoon chases the last few bits of food around the white liquid. “But seriously, I don’t wanna have to worry about you getting hurt, should I call someone up?” He asks, a worried look in his eyes which were still glued to the milk.

[Arabelle 0]

"A - uh, a life of what?"

Arabelle almost snorted around her orange juice, but she held it back for the sake of her second favorite guildmate. Was Dustin secretly an old hermit or something?! It sounded like something she would hear in her philosophy class, and while some might say that just reeks of self-enlightenment and wisdom, it did not fit into an ordinary conversation over pancakes. Especially when it was in response to a tease about his love life. Oh man, this guy was actually kind of depressing. 

"Hey, hey. You'll find someone~. Let's see... got someone you're interested in right now?" The small purple-haired girl leaned over the table, close enough to Dustin so he could hear her as she spoke in a quiet, conspiratorial tone. "Shiro-chan tickle your fancy? Lots of boys like that cold and composed type, you know? Oh, or is it someone else? Come on, kouhai-kun~. I won't tell..."

She leaned back on her chair and waved her fork dismissively in the air with a hum. "I think it's fine. Stryder says our guild's like a close family! So no one would mind if we see each other in our natural states from time to time. It's the normal thing for families to do, right?

"But... big as it is, I kind of like this place," she admitted as she spared another glance around the dining room before looking back at her quest partner. "It's, like, a fantasy house brought to life! What do they call it again? Old-fashioned...? Rustic...? Hey, you should do that thing where they hang a head bust of a deer on the wall above the fireplace. It's not a weird thing to say, right?" Arabelle turned her ashen gaze to the fireplace, with the logs stacked on each other and a fire poker at its side. "I try to make mine look as modern as possible on the inside, though I gave it the medieval house appearance on the outside to blend in. But, the full experience is also nice!"

Dustin's question only reminded her of the failure of the first dragon. And her short stature. Arabelle turned red and crossed her arms with a small huff. "I can deal lots of damage this time. Enough to make you forget about that last one!" She, very smartly, did not comment on his tease about her height. It would have been nice to tease him back and say something like: 'Bet,' but that would only prompt more teasing of her height, as she learned from experience. She finished another forkful of pancake as she considered his serious inquiry. If he was gonna call someone over... it would have to be someone tanky.

The Other Girl.

Big no!

"We'll be fine. We can probably kill it faster than it lands two hits on us," the small purple-haired girl said, in reference to his bragging during that Easter event. "And from what Claude told me, it doesn't have any special skills that would hurt as much as that Easter boss did. By the way, how did your run go?"

[Dustin 0]

At the mention of a crush and her question, Dustin blushes to the point of wanting to hide under the bed upstairs. He walks out of the kitchen into the living room and sits on the couch, crossing his leg and laying down pulling out a cookie. “Wake me up when you’re ready to go, and the doors locked to my room so no snooping.” He had hoped the lie would be enough to keep her from snooping around, but he didn’t have that much to find in there. He kept his journal in his dresser, but still.

Besides, it was mainly to keep her from talking about the picture of Dustin and Kadin from when the game first started. He hated when people outright asked him about Kadin because he could never explain Kadin just right. The small picture sat on the boy’s dresser and a necklace dangled from the corner, a blade that matches Kadins on the end of the chain.

Dustin wakes up and sits up, looking across the coffee table into the fire, completely forgetting there was a cute girl about his age somewhere in the building alone with him.

[Arabelle 0]

So he did like someone. The corners of her lips pulled up to a knowing smirk as he turned red, stood, and left the room whilst trying his best to keep his composure. He didn't even stay to acknowledge the rest of the things she said. Ruuude. But it gave her something interesting to think about. Who could it possibly be? She'd mentioned her best friend's name right after, but Arabelle meant it more as a joke and there was no way Dustin would end up liking someone so intensely after going on a total of one quest with them.

Anyways, Arabelle was kind of annoyed. And Dustin had specifically told her not to go to his room.

Snooping, it was.

The small purple-haired girl enjoyed the rest of her pancakes and quickly finished her orange juice. She stood up and slipped off her combat boots, tiptoeing into the living room. Dustin was at the couch, fast asleep like he was the only person in the house. It was kind of funny. She felt the strong urge to poke his cheek.

But, she had a mission!

"Hmm... wonder where he hides those things?" Arabelle wondered quietly as she stood at the hallway right outside what she could assume was Dustin's door. Those things weren't completely nonexistent in SAO. Artists still had pens and papers. The camera and photo printing function were still around. And the lonely needed something to quell their desires that was not as creepy as NPCs. "...just kidding."

She slid the door open and took a peek.

Blinking at the one thing that stood out in his room, she inched closer to his dresser. She recognized Dustin, but not the other guy. They were both smiling, and a necklace was hung on the edge of the frame.

Now she really felt like she was intruding.

Arabelle was out of the room in record time.

She quietly made her way back to the living room and found her quest partner stirring awake. An idea sprung in her mind, and she grinned. Keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible, she approached the boy from behind and only stopped when she was close enough to -

Grab his shoulders and lightly push him forward!

"Boo."

[Dustin 0]

As he sits and looks around, the room empty and bright, Dustin looks around for a moment. The room was unusually clean, but his old sword, Fury’s Hand, was still out leaning up against the table in front of the couch. He tries to figure out what’s going on before suddenly he feels a push against his back and a small “boo” pushes him over the table and he grabs the sword, spinning around and pointing the blade towards the, what he now realized was a small lady. “Damnit Belle, you can’t do that.” The black blade falls to the ground along with a sigh of relief as he lumbers over to her flicks her in the forehead. “Sorry for drawing my sword, but you can’t scare me like that.” He reaches the kitchen and sees Arabelle’s boots on the ground.

”That’s funny...” he grabs the plates from the table and walks to wash the dishes, scrubbing the pancakes plate til it shines. “Why’d you take your boots off if we’re gonna be leaving here soon?” He puts the plate up in the cabinet and begins washing the cups, placing them in the cabinet as well. He walks back upstairs for a moment and grabs the necklace, walking back to Arabelle and putting it on, “You ready to go?” He asks, walking towards the front door. “Or would you like the grand tour?” He asks, mostly jokingly.

[Arabelle 0]

Arabelle didn't flinch. The small purple-haired girl took a step back and held up both hands, palms open, with an innocent smile. "Sorry, sorry~. But you don't leave your guests alone in your house either," she retorted as she pushed the blade away with a finger. That wasn't to say she'd anticipated that reaction. He was a bit too tense, his combat instinct taking over a bit too early, and he seemed to have completely forgotten he was in a safe zone. Well! Everyone had their own burdens. Even she might say his reaction wasn't the most unusual now.

He walked up to her and flicked her forehead - payback.

"Ow." It was a sharp, but not really painful sensation. Arabelle took another step back and held her hands in front of her. Her cheeks reddened in slight embarrassment. She felt like she was being treated like a kid! "You don't do that with your senpais. Dummy." 

But she acknowledged his apology with a nod and followed him back to the kitchen.

"I saw you waking up and I just couldn't resist~," the small purple-haired girl giggled. She seated herself at the kitchen table once again - whoops, she just realized she'd forgotten to tidy up in the excitement of wanting to explore her guildmate's room - and she put her boots back on. She gave no indication of having done something out of place when he asked her about it. "Well, some advice, it's best to eliminate any possible source of sound when you're sneaking up on someone!"

Arabelle made no mention of the picture she saw in his room. 

When he went upstairs to prepare, she moved to the living room and re-equipped her scythe. The small purple-haired girl gave it a few practice swings, careful to not knock any of the furniture over, and turned around to see that her quest partner had returned. 

"Tempting, but we're already combat-ready. Mhm, it's best not to kill the momentum!" She had a feeling that if he gave her a tour now, they would end up fooling around for the rest of the day. As appealing that thought was, Arabelle wanted to show off. And possibly wipe all memory of that first dragon quest from her second favorite guildmate's mind. "We can come back here later. Make it something to look forward to~. Oh, and maybe we could get some takeout on the way and eat it here?"

She had only been in this house for half an hour flat and was as comfy as she could possibly get.

Typical Arabelle.

The small purple-haired girl smiled to herself as she followed Dustin out the door.

[Dustin 0]

Dustin smiles as he walks out of the building and steps onto the dirt in front of his house. He grabs a bale of hay and throws it over a fence to feed the pink, blue and green slimes, petting one. “The small one is Mr. Fluffy, the others bully him.” He says, scratching the creature and tossing him back into the enclosure. “Sorry ‘bout that, gotta keep ‘em fed or they’ll die.” He starts walking towards the destination, headed towards the teleporter in the main settlement of the fourth floor.

Once they had gotten to the second floor, Dustin would make sure Arabelle is following, smirk and toss a cookie back towards her. “Better fill up before we go to fight.” He chuckles and walks right out of the town into the field.

A rustle in the leaves grabs his attention, and Dustin perks up in excitement and anticipation. His fists begin to glow green and he runs through the brush, seeing a dragon and taking a big swing, missing narrowly and hitting a tree. A purple window pops up and reads “immortal object” and he withdraws quickly. “[censored], sorry, I missed.” He explains to Arabelle and prepares to attack again.

Spoiler

ID: 118409

BD: 3 + 1 = 4 (miss)

-2 EN

Dustin: 480/480 HP | 46/48 EN | 11 DMG | 14 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | BH: 4

Arabelle: (you can type that in yourself)

Zylara: 175/175 HP | 65 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC

Edited July 7, 2019 by Dustin

[Arabelle 0]

"Awww~."

Arabelle never thought she would find a slime cute. But here she was, paying avid attention as Dustin picked up the small slime he'd named Mr. Fluffy. The small purple-haired girl dismissed his apology with a wave, watching the slime bounce back into its enclosure. She wasn't bothered, rather she thought she felt more motivated to get this dragon quest done quick so she could come back and play with it.

It didn't take them long to reach the second floor, to which her quest partner tossed her a cookie. She already had pancakes, but who was she to turn down free sweets? "Much appreciated!" And trailing slightly behind him, she was focused on savoring her treat the rest of the way.

Arriving at the quest area, Arabelle spotted the dragon after a quick search of her surroundings. Its color allowed itself to blend into the bushes around it, and it was small by dragon standards. 

They were essentially murdering a young creature, denying it the chance to reach its prime. Lovely. 

"Dustin, the dragon's--" And the boy rushed past her with his fists ignited. So he already saw it. Smirking, Arabelle activated her scythe and followed, barely even hesitating as the Quartz Hatchling noticed the two players and reared to its full height with a loud warning cry.

Time to finally deal more than one damage impress!

"Shi-chan." Arabelle moved in, paying no heed to her teammate's apology. Her scythe was a black and green blur as she allowed the Sword Art to take over: slicing twice, spinning her weapon around to stab at the hatchling's side with the hilt, and rending one of its wing's apart with a final slash. 35 DMG. The small purple-haired girl smirked and prepared to withdraw, only to have the wounded dragon's claw come at her from the side. 

She lost her balance, stabbed her hilt against the ground and quickly regained her composure, then moved out of striking distance.

Spoiler

ID: 118410 | BD: 7 | MD: 7 - 1 = 6 | LD: 13

Crescent Avalanche: 10 * 7 = 70 - 35 = 35 DMG

Zylara: 65 - 9 = 56 DMG on Arabelle

[H:0] Dustin: 480/480 HP | 46/48 EN | 11 DMG | 14 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | BH: 4

[H:1] Arabelle: 244/300 HP | 23/30 EN | 10 DMG | 9 MIT | 3 ACC | 2 EVA

Zylara: 140/175 HP | 65 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC

Abilities:

<<Mend Mini-Twigs>> : On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Arabelle

[Dustin 0]

Dustin watches in admiration as his quest partner shreds into the enemy and dances with her weapon. Such grace was the right way to earn Dustin’s respect, and she had officially earned her place as Dustin’s second favorite. He smiles like a child and starts to charge his next attack, running in and going to hit the monster as it attacks Arabelle and hits her scythe. Good instincts, maybe she could go toe to toe with me. He smiles, it made him truly happy to see someone who could handle such a weapon, it took skill to swing a weapon accurately and it took even more to know when to let go and let the system take over.

Dustin sees the monster watching him and he slams his fist into the ground, launching him into the air and he lands, moving into the trees and running to the back of the monster. He had free reign now that the creature was focused on Arabelle. “Hey, I have healing potions to reimburse you for any you use here.” He says, but too quiet for her to hear, and he jumps through the woods, keeping a close eye on the dragon and the girl. She was kind of cute next to the spear, but he was interested in someone else.

At the thought of his favorite guildmate, his face turns red and he trips, falling and rolling back to his feet.

Spoiler

ID: 118412

BD: 2 + 1 = miss

-2 EN

[H:0] Dustin: 480/480 HP | 45/48 EN | 11 DMG | 14 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | BH: 4

[H:1] Arabelle: 244/300 HP | 23/30 EN | 10 DMG | 9 MIT | 3 ACC | 2 EVA

 Zylara: 140/175 HP | 65 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC

Abilities:

<<Mend Mini-Twigs>> : On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Dustin

[Arabelle 0]

"I'm fine!" she immediately reassured as soon as she recovered. God knows how much he needed it after he teamed up with The Other Girl in the last fight who promptly spent half of the battle panicking over every blow that came her way. Arabelle was different. Too different. She noticed him trip at the corner of her eye and she almost laughed. 

"Can't stand pretty sights, kouhai-kun?" The small purple-haired girl casually twirled her scythe, catching it in a firm grip with both hands. "I'd normally be flattered, but that's no good here~. Eyes on the mob..."

And she followed her own advice. The dragon lunged at her - she still held his Hate and she was the lower-leveled player, Dustin do your job - and its claws extended to strike her again. "No can do." She was ready. Igniting her weapon, the scythe-wielder bounded forward and met it head-on. The claw coming down on her was easily deflected with a swing and she took to the air, bringing the blunt end of her scythe down against its head.

A signature Arabelle move, but without its usual Paralyze! 

The dragon's head slammed against the ground and she scored a few more hits before jumping off and landing a safe distance away.

Spoiler

ID: 118456 | BD: 7 | MD: 3 + 1 = 4

Crescent Avalanche: 10 * 7 = 70 - 35 = 35 DMG

[H:0] Dustin: 480/480 HP | 45/48 EN | 11 DMG | 14 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | BH: 4
[H:2] Arabelle: 244/300 HP | 17/30 EN | 10 DMG | 9 MIT | 3 ACC | 2 EVA

Zylara: 105/175 HP | 65 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC

Abilities

• <<Mend Mini-Twigs>> : On a natural roll of 15+ in LD when this attacks, miniature sticks will form in front of your character in attempts to trip you, in result you will receive -1 ACC on your current attack.

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Arabelle

[Dustin 0]

Dustin smiles at Arabelle’s comments and pulls his fist up towards his chest as it begins to glow bright red. “Yeah sorry, your beauty distracted me for a moment.” He steps forward once slowly and then rockets in to the Dragon’s side and punches the monster right under its eye. The monster gets thrown across the field into a tree and explodes into a kaleidoscope of pixels and shards while Dustin simply stops next to Arabelle. “That was awesome, you did so much damage out there.” He smiles and holds his hand up for a high five, making sure not to make it too high for her to reach.

Dustin sits in the field as the window opens congratulating them for beating the second dragon and showing their rewards. The tone of a selection that had gotten so annoying to the boy at this point, rings out as he closes said window and looks up at Arabelle (if she wasn’t sitting with him) with a childish smile on his face. “You said something about takeout earlier?” He asks, his voice hopeful and his eyes full of life. The best way to get this boy’s attention was food and fighting, and right now Arabelle had both.

She had a sword to point at anybody she wanted.

Spoiler

ID: 118466

BD: 9

12 + 15 = 180 - 35 = 145 DMG

105 - 145 = 0 HP

[H:2] Dustin: 480/480 HP | 29/48 EN | 11 DMG | 14 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | BH: 4
[H:2] Arabelle: 244/300 HP | 17/30 EN | 10 DMG | 9 MIT | 3 ACC | 2 EVA

Zylara: 0/175 HP | 65 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC [DEAD]

Edited July 9, 2019 by Dustin

[Arabelle 0]

Arabelle prepped her scythe for another barrage, but before she could act, Dustin had already moved in for the kill. His fist smashed into the dragon hatchling's eye in a brutal sort of attack that made her internally go 'oof.' Thrown back by the force of his blow, Zylara slammed against a tree and its HP dropped to zero, leaving them with translucent data shards and rewards windows. 

Quest completed! 

The small purple-haired girl sheathed her side and went over to meet her second favorite guildmate's high-five. "Thanks. You did well, too!" - Despite the fact that he missed his first two hits and landed only one at the end and... wait. Zylara had more than half of its HP left with her last attack. He dealt that much.... in one... hit. She was satisfied with her performance today but the fact that her kouhai just outdamaged her by double her total... was super d e p r e s s i n g. Another leveling spree was in order! "That was a lotta damage though! Been leveling a lot in your free time?"

Sitting down casually, he mentioned takeout with an excited childish glint in his eyes. 

"We finished earlier than expected, but why not?" She already had a place in mind. Arabelle beckoned for him to follow her as they took the short trip back to the safe zone. "So aside from sweets, what do you like?" They stopped at a Japanese place where Arabelle quickly ordered a bento box. "Your order. Let's head back to your house when you're done."

[Dustin 0]

Dustin follows Arabelle to the shop and orders ramen with orange chicken and walks out. “I like noodles.” A simple reply and a simple order. It was basic and the boy was kind of embarrassed that he had no idea what to get. He usually got snacks and cooked his dinner himself. It was always crappy and burnt, but it saved him a little col. Either way, he was about to have an epic hangout with one of his best friends. Nothing could ruin this day, aside from a select few people showing up, but that was unlikely.

They finally made it back to Dustin’s place and Dustin opens the door to a house he still wasn’t entirely used to owning.

A small table sat in front of a regular couch, and a fireplace across the room. A chair is placed at the head of the table, angled towards the couch slightly to make it easier to talk to people. Both of which had never been used really. He plops on the couch and looks at Belle, “Make yourself at home.” He removes his sweatshirt revealing his unicorn shirt, but quickly changes that to his plain black shirt. A red blanket that looked handmade forms behind him and he holds it out towards Arabelle. “Anything you wanna talk about?” He asks, never really having a full blown conversation with Arabelle before this. With anyone before this really, except Jinx and Kadin.

It was nice to have a friend.

[Arabelle 0]

Home sweet home!

Arabelle almost said that out loud, but then she remembered they weren't that close yet. Either way! Any place to rest after fighting that dragon was as good as home. They didn't take long as she had prepared herself for, but dancing around with a scythe larger than her person was still taxing.

The small purple-haired girl leaned over the fence and tossed a treat to Mr. Fluffy.

Following her friend inside, she plopped her takeout on the living room table and casually seated herself beside him on the couch. Make herself at home? Arabelle took out her chopsticks and snapped them apart, smiling to herself as she knew she didn't really need that prompt. Lifting the disposable bento box's lid, she almost drooled - and not just from the food. Sure! Her lunch, recommended to her by Mish who was practically a Japanese food connoisseur, looked very appetizing today. Karaage with sides of omelet and broccoli dressed with sesame seeds, and a salad that looked like it had some... squash? 

But there was also the person beside her. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he quickly changed out of his girly unicorn shirt, giving the girl a front row seat to his foin topless form - no, really more like a glimpse.

Arabelle drank from her takeout soda.

She knew how to appreciate a sight when she saw one. 

"Oh, thanks," she replied nonchalantly. Arabelle placed her chopsticks down and accepted the blanket, throwing it over her shoulders. "Still though. Noodles? Ahahaha. You sound like a broke college kid. Wanna have some of mine? We can trade."

She wasn't sure if he was weeb acquainted with Japanese culture enough to actually know what was in her bento, but he could just take some of the chicken. It was the safest bet.

"...so how's it going with that girl? Or boy? Whoever you have a crush on. Come on, Dustin~. Your reaction from earlier was the perfect tell~."

[Dustin 0]

So she had figured it out... she wasn’t stupid, and Dustin was never a good liar, so he figured why not come clean? “Well... you could always ask her yourself, you know her.” He explains, but then he holds his hands out in front of himself, like he was claiming innocence. “But I don’t like like her.” He frowns, dropping back on the couch and lookin up towards the ceiling above them. “Besides, not like it matters, she’s not into me that way.” His voice was uncharacteristically void of life and quiet. He looks back at Arabelle, frowning softly. She offers a trade and Dustin looks at his bowl and tilts his head, his cheeks turning a faint pink. Isn’t that a little weird? He looks back at her, holding his bowl towards her. “You’re welcome to try mine, but I’ve had yours before.” He claims, another bad lie. Sharing food was a foreign concept to someone from his family. Your food was your food, no one else’s.

He turns and looks at Arabelle for a moment, and he squints. “You got a house or you in those crummy inns?” He slurps up some noodles, sauce flying onto his face and he ignores it as it disappears. “I never used inns, I slept in trees. Something about them felt unreal to me.” He explains, standing up and placing yet another log in the fire.

He plops back down next to the girl and chuckles. “Another question if you don’t mind. Is there anything you want to do in this world? Like... I wanna try all the desserts here. I still have never tasted Ice Cream, like real ice cream.” His conversation skills weren’t the best, but they tend to be at least active for a while.

[Arabelle 0]

"I... know her."

Arabelle thought. Real hard.

"Ahahaha. I see. Lovely," she murmured mostly to herself with a newfound interest dancing in her eyes. It was a girl. There could only be one person Dustin would most probably refer her to, tell her to ask her herself, and it was none other than... the girl she introduced to him herself just the other day - the girl she'd frequently declared to be one of her closest friends! "Hm, hm~. What to do, what to do." He had turned red and bailed on her at her wild guess from earlier. He avoided discussion of the Easter event. You could practically see the light bulb above Arabelle's head. "Sorry to say, but that's true. You've already got two contenders; one is pulling ahead despite doing absolutely nothing and I've vowed to give my personal assistance to the other. But! She hasn't decided on anything yet. It'll be a messy battle with one more, but personally, I think you're the best choice!"

She turned to him and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Yes, as her best friend, I am giving you permission to court Shiro-chan! You aren't completely beat yet! Do your best, Dustin!"

Arabelle wondered if her encouragement would fall on deaf ears. He was already a bit sad and seemed to have given up already. But, it was lonely. It was lonely, wanting to be around someone but not being able to. Yes, that was the worst kind of suffering in the world and her second favorite guildmate absolutely did not deserve it!

"Mm?" She was distracted from her internal tangent by Dustin's offer. He held out his bowl of takeout to her, but she shook her head and ate some more of her own. "Nah, I was only offering in case you wanted some of mine." Making a dismissive wave with her free hand, she leaned slightly back on the couch and continued to enjoy her takeout in relative silence. "I have my shop. It's this super narrow three-story building but as settlements go, I'm fine with it. I'm not really used to living in anything bigger. You should come over sometime!"

It might come as a surprise for someone who had the impression that Arabelle would like fancy rich kid things, but small settlements were simply more comfortable for her - who had spent the last few years of her pre-SAO life living in a dorm.

"What? Inns are somehow more unusual than sleeping on trees? I don't think I understand," she teased with a small laugh. But looking around at his interior design choice, it was pretty easy to figure out. "I guess you're more of the traditional outdoorsy-sort of guy? How about hotels IRL? They're practically the same with the only difference being that they're fancy and modern and stuff. Ever been to one?"

He stood up, giving her time to ponder on his question.

"Anything I want to do..." What did she want to do? She really just wanted to have fun... live a different life than her real one. That was the entire point of her coming here in the first place, and she thought she was already doing pretty well. "I want to go to a dungeon! I've never been to one of those. Oh! Or as a more long-term sort of goal, I kind of want to participate in a boss raid at least once. Just to see what all the fuss is about. I mean, players keep on talking about frontlines and frontliners and how to get there, and mostly everyone has it as their end goal. So I guess it's mine now, too. Not as much of an obsession as is the case with others, but more of a subject of interest."