[PP-03] <<Dragon Hunter Anthology: The Opal Hatchling>> w/ Oscar

[Cordelia 0]

Dragon Hunter Anthology.

Cordelia whistled. It had been quite a while since she had done that one. . . and if she recalled correctly, it had actually been one of the first quests she had ever done with Oscar-- or series of quests, really. She mentally face-palmed herself. She had just finished one quest chain and now she was already set out to finish another one. Lord, she just hoped that this one won't be as terrible as the Scents of the Wild. Those quests left her permanently scarred, good God.

Well, at least the dragon quests would be easy. . . for now anyway. Which one was she even on? The third one? Or was it the fourth? There were about nine in total, right? That was certainly more than scents of the wild, be she assumed that this line won't be as difficult as that one.

"Hey, Oscar. Remember that quest chain with the baby dragons and whatnot that we did way back when ago?"
@Oscar

Spoiler

[STATS:]

LVL: 54 | HP: 1110/1110 | EN: 180/180 | 19 DMG | 25 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF]| 6 HLY | 2 [36] BRN

[INVENTORY:]

☆ T3 Katana | Onimaru: PHSE, 6 HLY, 2 [36] BRN
☆ T1 Light Armor | Bastille’s Resistance: +2 EVA, +1 PARA VNM
☆ T2 Jewelry | Empress' Kanzashi: +3 ACC

[BATTLE READY:]

☆ [5] Standard Healing Potions [Heals 50 HP]

[CONSUMED:]

[SKILLS:]

Non-combat:

Passive:

☆ R3 Fighter Familiar Skill: +9 DMG
☆ R3 Hiding Skills: +3 Stealth Rating
☆ R5 Light Armor Skill: 25 MIT
  > Athletics: +1 Base DMG, +20 HP
☆ Disguise: [Gain +1 EVA until the start of your next turn]
☆ Survival: [Increases out of combat health regeneration to (15 * Tier) per post. Grants immunity to most damage dealing environmental
attacks/effects.]

Combat:

☆ R3 Battle Healing

Weapon Skills:
☆ R1 Curved Sword Skill 
☆ R5 Katana Skill [+7 DMG/+1 BASE]
  > Ferocity: +1 DMG
  > Precision: +1 ACC
  > R3 Finesse: -3 EN to all SAs

[BUFFS:]

☆ RELAXED: Increases HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts
☆ ADVANCED TRAINING: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month.
☆ TASTY: Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast.
☆ HARD-WORKING: +2 EXP per crafting attempt, +1 crafting attempt

 

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar - Lvl 56
1150 HP
112 Energy
1 Accuracy (+1 Precision)
1 Evasion
19 Base Damage - (1 Base +7 Skill +1 Ferocity +9 Familiar +1 Athletics)
106 Mitigation 
12 Fallen
2 Burn
Vampiric (Defensive)
2 Rec

Equipment
Tesseleth’s Fury [Tier 3 Demonic Two-Handed Battleaxe] | Fallen, Fallen, Burn, Burn
Tactical Outfitting Mk.III [Tier 3 Demonic Light Armor] | Vampiric (Defensive), EVA, Rec, Rec
Mythril Greaves [Tier 3 Perfect Heavy Armor] |  +81 MIT
Gloves of Caerus [Tier 1 Perfect Light Armor] | +3 Loot Die

Familiar
Leeroy & Jenkins - Familiar | +3*Tier DMG

Battle Ready Inventory
Teleportation Crystal
Empty Inventory Slot |
Empty Inventory Slot |
Empty Inventory Slot |
Empty Inventory Slot |
Empty Inventory Slot |

Buffs
Well-Rested | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat.
Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 slot.
Relaxed | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash | 5% Bonus Col from Monster kills and Chests
Squeaky Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25%

Skills
2HBA | Rank 5: +8 Damage
Light Armor | Rank 5: +25 Damage Mitigation
Battle Healing | Rank 5: Recover 5% of Max HP every round while in combat
Concentration | +1 to your BD (3 turn cooldown)
Survival | Heal 15*Tier HP when out of battle
Parry | 2-turn CD, 5 EN Half damage of next attack and remove Stun/Paralysis effects
Fishing | Gain materials/encounter enemies based on CD result.

Skill Mods
Ferocity                   | Increases Base Damage by 1
Athletics                  | Increases Base Damage by 1, Max HP by 10*tier
Precision                 | Increases Accuracy by 1
Justified Riposte      | Successful Parries Stun Opponent, 3 Turn CD

Having just come off the heels of Scents of the Wild, Oscar wasn't really excited about the prospect of taking on yet another quest chain. But the universe has a way of completely torpedoing your plans with absolutely no regard for what you want to do. Oscar was sitting at the table in the domicile he had created within his mansion, eating his breakfast without a care in the world. Cordelia was sitting opposite him. Suddenly, the air became heavy. Oscar could almost sense what she was about to ask before she asked it. Time seemed to slow as Cordelia spoke, her voice low and distorted.

 "Hey, Oscar. Remember that quest chain with the baby dragons and whatnot that we did way back when ago?"

And that was all she wrote. With that single utterance the two of them were off to the races yet again. He did his best to show a joyful expression as he placed his spoon down in his bowl of cereal and looked up into her eyes. "Yep. We boutta wreck it now?"

[Cordelia 0]

"Are you up for it? Scents of the Wild really did a number on us," she chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as she started to count her extraordinary misses during that questline. "I just don't want to rush it. It's perfectly fine if you don't want to," Cordelia exclaimed seriously, looking at him dead in the eyes. She wouldn't be too surprised if he would say no since he basically carried her on his back the whole time they did that quest-- figuratively of course, but it might as well have been literal. It probably wouldn't have changed a single thing. . . but knowing him, he would probably say yes. He might want to say no, though. 

"It's been a while since we've done those quests, though," she murmured out loud, resting her chin on her palm with a far off look. It had been months since they have done it, really. Wasn't the last one with Bahr? She wondered if he had already gone through the whole questline. Or maybe he was in a pickle similar to theirs. 

[Oscar 0]

"Are you up for it?"

It wasn't really a question of whether or not he was up for it. It was more a question of whether or not he was willing to go through another quest chain again. He mulled it over for a moment, looking off to the side as he carefully considered his options. On the one hand, it would be nice to finally get those quests checked off sooner or later. But on the other hand, it was a much longer quest chain than Scents of the Wild and even that had been a killer. The clincher was that he really didn't want to let Cordelia down. Besides, he'd already said yes. And it wasn't like he was going to go back on his word now. "It really has been a minute since we did the last quest. I don't even think we were tier 2 back then. Crazy times." He returned to his breakfast, this time wolfing it down. The sooner they got this done, the sooner they got this done.

@Cordelia

[Cordelia 0]

"Ah, you're right. . ." Cordelia tapped the side of her chin before laughing. "Times really were crazy back then." All of the drama had seemed to die down the more she had leveled up, save for a few exceptions. It wasn't really something to be missed but she would kill to do something exciting again. She scratched her cheek as she lifted her head, her eyes fixated on the ceiling as she started to ponder out loud. "Oh gosh, you were still using a katana back then. That's so weird to think about," she exclaimed incredulously. "It's so hard to imagine you without your big ol' battle axe now! Hey, did you know I still have Bloody Howl in my inventory?" She asked, her body heaving back forward, ratting the chair as she grinned at him. "It's been sitting there for a while but I could never find myself selling it or giving it to another person." The ivory-haired player chuckled, curling her hands around the edgy of the chair like a child. "It holds some great memories too. Like that time you beat my ass," she remarked, laughing under her breath. 

"Anyway, that's enough small talk!" Her chair skid away from her as she stood up, pressing one palm against the table while the other gave him a thumbs up. "Let's go beat up another baby dragon!"

[Oscar 0]

"It holds some great memories too. Like that time you beat my ass."

Yeah, Oscar hadn't been in a great place back then. Even so, it was all water under the bridge now. It wasn't like he went out of his way to fight her. She needed to learn how to use a Katana and how better to learn that to literally drill the lesson into her? It was touching that she'd kept his old weapon for so long, though. He gave her a slight smile and a kiss on the forehead. "This little dragon won't know what hit it," he said. Together, they headed out of the house and back to town. The downhill journey didn't take long, but it did give them time to simply enjoy the cool Floor Seven morning together. It was a great start to the day. Yeah, they were going to grind their faces against another quest chain, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the journey. A short while later, the two of them stepped into town and headed for the Teleporation Platform. In an instant, they winked out of existence and manifested yet again on Floor 3.

"Not too far now," Oscar said with a grin.

Transition to Floor 3

[Cordelia 0]

"Does it ever seem strange that we're killing a bunch of baby dragons for no apparent reason?" she pondered out loud as the two started to head out. It kind of felt like she was killing an innocent puppy for a wad of cash. Yeah, she gets it- it's a quest but like, they're just babies. Did this quest developer have a bone to pick with baby dragons? Did they hate babies? Truly a question without an answer. 

[Dans le palier trois- honhonhon]

"Not far at all," Cordelia confirmed, matching his grin with a one of her own. 

It was hard to ignore the 'natural' beauty of Aincrad's Third Floor sometimes. It was never something that she particularly payed attention to, at least, not until now. Until a few months ago, it felt like she was just in autopilot mode, which was maybe why her years here so far seemed like a blur. Her mind was only set on gaining more levels and experience and nothing else. Now that her three year long goal had been completed, she wanted to focus on other things like I don't know... a social life? Something kind of hard to achieve when you're basically a vegetable with a sword. 

"Hey Oscar," she exclaimed abruptly. "Let's take this questline a little slower, okay? I mean, what's the rush?" she asked, tilting her head towards him with a crooked grin. 

[Oscar 0]

"Hey Oscar. Let's take this questline a little slower, okay? I mean, what's the rush?"

After their Scents of the Wild blitz, Oscar couldn't have possibly agreed more. Time was something they had in abundance when you considered their current predicament. There was't any sense in breaking their backs trying to get a quest chain done as quickly as possible. Oscar nodded in agreement, returning her grin with a smile of his own. "I'm cool with that up until we get to the ones on Floor Five and Floor Nine. Then, I wanna get those done as quickly as we can. I hate the heat." Of course, so did Cordelia. That would most likely be an acceptable compromise. Though they were almost the where the dragon hatchling awaited them, Oscar veered off to take the long way around. If they're going to take their time, they should go out of their way to see just what Floor Three had to offer. 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia stifled a loud laugh at Oscar's remark about heat, instead giving him a goofy smile. 

"You and me both. Even with the «Survival» skill, I feel like I've being roasted alive in an oven," she exclaimed dramatically before blowing a sigh. The Japan she was used to typically wasn't a very... hot place, at least not as scorching as floors like five and nine. It was only natural she would have such an extreme reaction like this, right? Right? 

Right.

"Isn't it funny that we met on floor five then?" she asked out loud, the sudden thought suddenly appearing in her head and out her mouth. "Kind of ironic since we both hate the heat, huh?" As much as she'd like to say that she could remember the day clearly, she couldn't. It was somewhat of a blur, but there were definitely key aspects that she could name right away. Two of them huddled in some random cave in the dunes, coffee - thank God she got over that addiction -  and friendly chatter. Gosh, that felt like a lifetime ago. She was still blonde and using a rapier! Now she felt like a totally different person, both mentally and physically. She was just going to assume she was a better person as well, because damn, things were rough back then. 

[Oscar 0]

"I kinda figure that it was the universe's way of making the heat a little less intense. Or more, depending on how you look at it," Oscar said with a grin. "Either way, it's the one time I can say the heat did anything good for me." Oscar and Cordelia continued on, hand-in-hand. By his reckoning, the two of them were just barely skirting the edge of the dragon's spawn area. They were right there at the finish line but Oscar didn't find himself in any rush to get it done. Their lives had become so busy that it was nice to just have some time to themselves for once. He didn't want to sully that with combat just yet. As they walked, Oscar took in the scenery. Felt the breeze on his neck. The warmth of her hand in his. Moments of pure bliss don't come very often, but when they do it would be foolish to not savor them. He closed his eye, the myriad peaceful stimuli bringing an air of tranquility upon him. "I must confess though. When we did that quest, I didn't quite expect this," Oscar said, gesturing down to their entwined hands with his eyes. "You won't find me complaining. Just a testament about how life can be surprising."

[Cordelia 0]

Though it wasn't very exciting, it was moments like this she cherished the most. Moments of pure peace like this. The specs of sunlight that made it past the canopy, the cool but soft wind, the smell of the forest, and not to mention the most special person in her life beside her... the feeling felt almost addictive. 

Cordelia hummed in agreement, nodding her head along with his words. "Agreed," she murmured, giving his hand a small squeeze as she smiled happily at him. "I never thought I would find something as special as this in all honesty." Cordelia looked down at their entwined hands and laughed softly. "A surprise indeed," she uttered quietly, taking note of how her hand fit in his own before averting her eyes.

She looked up at him, as if taking a picture of him before she laughed again. "You certainly are a special man, Oscar Lugos," she exclaimed in amusement, a wide, exuberant grin on her face. 

[Oscar 0]

"And you're certainly a special woman," Oscar responded, redirecting the compliment back to Cordelia. He gingerly placed his lips on her forehead, hugging her close in the process. After a brief moment the two parted. "Let's get this hatchling out of the way so we can enjoy the rest of our evening, eh?" Having been lingering on the fringes of the Hatchling's territory, Oscar took three steps into the area and was almost immediately confronted with not only the hatchling but two tall, willowy figures clad in deep purple robes. Tesseleth's Fury flew into his hand as he stepped forward and fired off an Explode Catapult. The Hatchling, being the more nimble of the trio (as well as the one with wings) was able to handily dodge his attack. The two robed figures were not so fortunate. The obsidian edge of his axe carved through the cultists, immediately dropping their HP to zero in a burst of black flame. Now, all that remained was the Hatchling itself. A prime target for Cordelia to exterminate with extreme prejudice. "You're up honey! Make it spicy!"

Spoiler

Oscar HP: 1136/1550 | EN: 95/112 | 19 DMG | 1 ACC | 1 EVA | 106 MIT | 12 FLN | 36 BRN [BD8-10] | VAMP-DEF | 2 REC
Cordelia HP: 1110/1110 | EN: 108/108 | 19 DMG | 25 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF]| 6 HLY | 2 [36] BRN

Ghidorah - The Opal Hatchling HP: 215/215 | 70 DMG | 1 ACC | 1 EVA | 40 MIT | 14 THORNS | ID: 164050 | BD: 2+1-1, Miss
Elven Dragon Cultist 1 HP 0/50 | 35 DMG | 25 MIT | 14 THORNS | ID: 164052 | BD: 8+1, Elven Dragon Cultist 1 is Defeated - Deal 14 Thorns Damage to Oscar
Elven Dragon Cultist 2 HP 0/50 | 35 DMG | 25 MIT | 14 THORNS | ID: 165053 | BD: 10, Elven Dragon Cultist 2 is Defeated

 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia laughed softly, pressing a hand against her flushed cheeks as he hugged her close. A few seconds ticked by before they eventually parted, a little too short for her liking, but this was a quest after all, not a date. "I couldn't have said it better." she chuckled, trailing after him as the both of them edged closer and closer to the spawn point of the hatchling. 

As soon as they arrived, two tall figures adorned in a thick dark robe appeared before them. Of course, Oscar had no trouble cutting through the two with Tesseleth's Fury, and Cordelia was quick to follow with her own attack directed towards The Opal Hatchling. "I'm on it!" she replied back, quickly drawing out Onimaru from its sheath before delivering a spinning <<San Ge>> attack right at the baby dragon's face. It's health was quickly reduced to nothing, leaving its body lingering still for a fraction of a second before it eventually burst into dozens and dozens of colored polygons. 

"Well!" she pipped, withdrawing Onimaru before dusting her hands off. "That went pretty much as expected."

---

ID: 164054
BD: 7, Hit | 19x15=285=245 215-245=-30

Oscar HP: 1136/1550 | EN: 95/112 | 19 DMG | 1 ACC | 1 EVA | 106 MIT | 12 FLN | 36 BRN [BD8-10] | VAMP-DEF | 2 REC
Cordelia HP: 1096/1110 | EN: 97/108 | 19 DMG | 25 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF]| 6 HLY | 2 [36] BRN -11 -14

Ghidorah - The Opal Hatchling HP: 0/215 | 70 DMG | 1 ACC | 1 EVA | 40 MIT | 14 THORNS -215
Elven Dragon Cultist 1 HP 0/50 | 35 DMG | 25 MIT | 14 THORNS 
Elven Dragon Cultist 2 HP 0/50 | 35 DMG | 25 MIT | 14 THORNS

Edited October 12, 2020 by Cordelia