[PP|F8]<<Scents of the Wild: Kuma>>The Bear Necessities

[Shay 0]

Shay woke up next to the boy she had accidentally fallen asleep next to. To her surprise, she was spooning him. Slowly she woke up, being roused awake by his attempts to get her to move. Once she realized where she was laying, the rogue jumped to a sitting position and backed up a little surprised.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to do that I just fell asleep back accident!" She said, standing up and nervously walking over to the ladder to her room. She climbed up it quickly, obviously embarrassed. Upstairs, Chase could hear her footsteps, though he couldn't really see her thanks to the angle that ceiling gave off. After some time, Shay would jump down from the hatch opening, wearing her normal clothes, a blush still a lit on her face. "M-Morning. You want to get back into leveling today? We need to keep up our leveling right? We just started getting stronger."

Spoiler

Name: Shay
Level: 26
HP: 520/520
EN: 52/52

Stats:
Damage: 13
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2
BLD: 12
REC: 2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: (Katana)Murasame α: BLD 2; DMG 1
Armor: Leather Overcoat: EVA 3
Misc: Deep Red Tie: Recovery 2; ACC 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 5]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter

Mods:
Precision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal*1
Incarceration*2
T1 Mass HP Rec. II*1
T1 HP Rec. I*2
T1 Instant HP Rec. I*2

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[ChaseR 0]

He did expect her to get that anxious, just... not that active from simply being embarrassed. Once she'd settled down somewhat and jumped back down, he groaned and threw his arms around her shoulders, taking her into a hug for a few seconds. As soon as she'd gone quiet, he pulled back and gave her a sleepy smile. "It's fine. We both fell asleep. I slept well, okay?", he yawned tiredly, putting his hand in front of his mouth and looking to the side before he muttered lowly. "... Might have been the best sleep I've had in... forever.". She'd probably be able to hear it, but that was sort of the intent.

Chase was just rather embarrassed to say that so openly that even the familiars would hear, as little as they understood. "Yeah, let's go for a quest or... something like that. I'm still asleep, sorry... Um... Give me a moment to change.", he told although it came off more like a question, waiting for her to move to the side slightly so he could get upstairs and to donning his armor and weapon.

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 30
HP: 600/600
EN: 60/60

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Gust Raiser>> (T2/Perfect/2HSS): DMG II, ACC I
Armor: <<Wind Dweller>> (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I, REC II
Misc: <<Chained Bracelet>> (T2/Perfect/Trinket): EVA II, ACC I

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival
Disguise

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]
Precision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
T1 Mochi (LD +3)*1
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*2
Spyglass (2/3)*1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Shay 0]

Taking a moment to try and ignore the embarrassed feelings, she lets Chase hug her and sighs, returning the hug herself. She was glad to see that he at least slept well because of her presence. She stepped out of the way of the hatch opening to let him head upstairs to change his clothes to get into his armor as well. She couldn't help but tell that her clothing smelled like he did when he was changed into a girl. Weird.

Trying to ignore that, she waited for him to come back down from upstairs and started to lead the way out of her shop. The two players and two familiars started making their way to the teleportation plaza in settlement of fourth floor. They would need to go up to the eighth floor for this boss, and it was probably the most dangerous one that they had fought up until this point.

[ChaseR 0]

Once he was ready, he jumped back down and gave her a nod, yawning once more. They kept on moving, exiting the shop and going all the way to the teleportation plaza before entering the foreign eighth floor. It took the boy a while to get used to his surroundings, as he looked all around and slowly stepped off of the plaza, keeping his eyebrows furrowed and his arms dropped. Just like every time he stepped into a new floor, he became very cautious and wary of everything around him, trying to take in the environments and overall feel for the areas around them.

"Well, this is... definitely a new floor to go to.", he mumbled on his own, scratching the back of his head and looking over to Shay as he asked. "What quest are we doing anyway..? I've never been up here so I don't know what to expect."

[Shay 0]

Shay continued to head through the safe zone barrier of the eight floor while Chase asked his questions. They would actually have to actively search for this enemy this time, so there wasn't much time to waste. She didn't want to spend forever tracking it. "We're doing a quest line called 'Scent of the Wilds'. I asked pink what quests were good to take at this level and she mentioned this one for the permanent items that they drop. Apparently we can't use them until we collect them all, but they can increase your mitigation and increase my damage, so we're definitely going to see if we can handle them. She ensured me that we should be able to handle the first four of these quests, but the last two might take us some time." Shay explained while keeping a look out for the Kumatetsu that they were searching for. And just like that, she actually found it with ease. "There's the boss! Get ready."

---

Kumatetsu found!

[ChaseR 0]

With his sword unsheathed, the boy groaned and furrowed his brows at the mere thought of 'pink'. He equipped his new gear, to Shay's surprise, as she hadn't seen it before and it felt more of the same, but a bit more buff due to the extra plates under it. The chain was a brand new addition, and seeing the boy without his earmuffs must have felt rather different. It was still an outfit that screamed 'Chase' alright though. "Of course it had to be her again...", he grumbled under his breath, about to start cursing before he saw something huge coming up ahead alongside Shay's warning.

"Behind me!", the bluehead shouted as he ran ahead of her, the chain flying right behind his arm while he lowered his blade to the ground, a green glow covering it in full. The bear raised its arm, preparing to swipe down at the tank powerfully enough to send him flying at least a fair distance back. That would interrupt his attack, but almost at the very last second, he turned his blade in his hand and slammed the pommel right into it, causing it to fall on its back with a loud cry from it. It didn't seem to have taken as much damage as it probably got caught off guard, with it getting stunned as a result.

Shay:
ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 55/60 (-7, +2) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

Kumatetsu: HP: 238/300 (-62) | DMG: 75 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 2 [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun)

Edited August 8, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay moved behind Chase to let him do his thing. He needed to learn how to tank. Already she saw that he was making good use of the stun effect to make sure that he didn't take any unnecessary damage. Although, he was the one who brought the constant stuns, she was the one who really dished out the punishment. Katana was undoubtedly the best weapon in the game for dealing direct damage.

With the Kumatetsu left vulnerable thanks to Chase's efforts Shay moved in, a blur across the battlefield too fast to track with the eyes. All the could be seen was the constant, high-intensity red of her sword arts buzzing through the air striking the over-grown bear. When it was finished, the cuts almost seemed to have no effect, until Shay stopped just behind Chase, only to hear the silent click of her Katana back into it's saya. The bears health vanished instantly. 

---

[1]Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 52/52 -(15) | DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
[1]ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 55/60 | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

Kumatetsu: HP: 93/300 -((13*15)-50) | DMG: 75 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 2 [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun)

[ChaseR 0]

Chase had never seen Shay use such a move before, especially with that form of effect, but that wasn't to say that he didn't appreciate it. More than anything, with the two finding newer ways to disguise their sword arts, they could work much more effectively against monsters, even if their effects realistically remained the same. All they had to do was adapt and find a way to flow their movements the exact way that suited them the best. Now that Shay was behind him again, he stomped the ground to throw himself just a bit higher into the air, gripping his sword tightly and raising it upwards.

Just as he was going to fall, he attempted to slice downwards at the beast, with intent to kill it and put an end to the fight. It was then that time felt almost like it came to a halt, as he realised that in between the attacks, the beast had bulked up quite a bit, probably losing some defense in exchange for offense in the process. It felt like his muscles froze, and as he missed his chance to attack, the beast rammed its paw into him, sending him flying off to the side and into a tree. Thankfully, he'd managed to quickly turn his blade's flat side to parry the strike, taking no damage from the attack. As he dropped onto the ground with no HP lost, to his surprise, the purple hexagon with the label 'Immortal Object' appeared where he'd struck, as he groaned. "F-Fuck..."

[1]Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 52/52 | DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
[1]ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 55/60 (-2, +1) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

Kumatetsu: HP: 93/300 | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | EVA: 2 [Stun CD; 2/3]

Edited August 8, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay recoiled when she say Chase hit that tree, the message of the tree's existence being completely eternal popping up just behind his back for a moment. She turned around to see the Kumatetsu still alive and well. If anything, it looked better now that had fallen below a certain health point threshold. She had expected Chase to be able to finish it off there but it must have caught him off guard. No matter, she would finish it here and now then.

Rushing forward, she drew her blade from the sheathe so fast that it caught the edge of her saya and fell to the ground at her feet. The energy being consumed for the sword art. She groaned in annoyance as the bear loomed over her. Quickly picking up Murasame from the ground and handspringing back away from the bear's reach, the girl looked back to make sure that her partner was doing fine. "You alright?"

---

[1]Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 46/52 -(2) | DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
[1]ChaseR: HP: 505/600 | EN: 55/60 | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

Kumatetsu: HP: 93/300 | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | EVA: 2 [Stun CD; 2/3]

[ChaseR 0]

The bluehead felt that his body was starting to get heavy just from the sheer impact of him being launched onto the tree, looking to the side and giving a simple nod to the rogue and pushing himself off the ground. As he picked his blade back up, he did his best to focus on weighing it properly so he would hit no matter what this time around. With a moment to concentrate, the boy launched himself right away at the boss, letting out a roar as he lunged right at it once more, aiming for its body for a clean, diagonal strike.

Just as the beast appeared to be ready to roar, the blade ripped right through its chest, finding itself on the other side than the one it entered from. A weak, fainting cry echoed before the beast shattered into crystals, and shortly after Chase dropped his sword, before his body fell to his knees with only his arms to keep him up, covered in cold sweat. "F-Fuck, I'm... D-Damn it... Why can't I just..?!", he grunted and sounded like he was cussing to himself, punching at the ground with a frown on his face only for the same stupid 'Immortal Object' label to appear once more.

[2]Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 46/52 | DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
[1]ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 50/60 (-10, +5) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

Kumatetsu: HP: 0/300 (-157) | DMG: 100 | MIT: 25 | EVA: 2 [Stun CD; 1/3]

Edited August 8, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Replacing her sword to its sheath the moment that the Kumatetsu died, Shay let out a sigh of relief that they got through this fight easier than they had with the White Tiger. That fight had gotten way too chaotic way too fast, so thank god they took another day to relax before continuing on their grinding sessions.

When the battle was over, Chase keeled over and started to pound the ground furiously. Shay walked over to him and knelt down next to his frame to hold him from behind. "Calm down, there's no reason to freak out." She said trying to get him to calm down the best she could. She wasn't very good at comforting people like this, that was for sure, but hopefully it would work for Chase at least.

She would stay like this, holding him closely until he came through and calmed down enough to stop shaking.

[ChaseR 0]

It had been a few minutes, but he eventually came back to his senses, keeping himself off the ground with both hands rather than with one and slamming the other on it. "I don't want to rely on my adrenaline to push me through these fights... And yet...", he responded, looking over his shoulders with an expression as if he was going to cry, his eyes slowly tearing up near their corners. "Whenever I try to hold it back I always get in danger... I'm not used to taking damage and when I do, I usually let loose and don't notice..."

This could be a valid explanation for all the adrenaline-fuelled moments that he's had in battles where his expression had become much more savage, wild and fierce, contrary to Chase's overall character. Then again, if he himself found it to be a problem, there was little that the explanation could help do. "I'm sorry for being a baby and acting like this. I should be stronger than that. I just need time to figure it out... I'm sure I will..."

[Shay 0]

"Take as much time as you need Chase. It's not easy to get used to. This isn't a normal every day thing." Shay said rising to her feet and giving the boy some air to breathe. She didn't want to be overwhelming him too much, but they still needed to work on getting stronger. As they continued to work together and complete quests, he would get more confident with his ability to tank. All that he needed was some personal experience and more skill points and he would be a great tank.

Since their battle was now done, Shay would begin to usher him to the safe zone again. They had gone out a little bit far, so it might take a while to get back to town, but that would give Chase enough time to calm down before they went to the next floor, at least. Shay offered him a smile as they walked.

[ChaseR 0]

Once again, Shay wasn't really in the wrong. The two remained quiet, but as they were approaching the safezone, a mumble was heard from Chase. He coughed to clear his throat and then repeated himself, except this time the rogue could hear it too, clearer and louder. "... Were you always like this?", he asked her with a light blush beginning to emerge on his cheeks, seeming rather embarrassed. "It feels like I'm... I don't know, safe and looked after. More than usual... I don't feel as lonely.", the bluehead continued, avoiding eye contact out of what seemed like embarrassment, going by his face and awkward pauses.

His companion croaked behind him, moving a bit faster to catch up with Grace Eon and walking next to her, trying to get her attention by waving his tiny arms and attempting to croak something through to her- little did any player know if the two could communicate in the first place, or what the pangolin was trying to relay over.

[Shay 0]

Shay blushed and turn her head to the side to make sure that he couldn't see her embarrassment. It was true that she herself felt the same way about him, though it felt weird just to think about. After a moment of quietness, she finally spoke up. "I feel the same way. We'll stay together and make sure that the both of us make it out of here alive. No matter what this stupid world throws at me- uh, us - We'll live. It won't conquer us." She wasn't trying to be inspiring or hopeful, she only wanted make him more confident with their situation.

Grace Eon eyed the smaller familiar for a moment, seeing that it was struggling to keep up with her. She lowered her tail and allowed the other familiar to step on to her back. From there, Blizz would be able to keep up with the masters and relax.

[ChaseR 0]

Blizz clapped his hands together like a child out of happiness before climbing onto her back, staying there and clinging down onto the feline, looking to the side at the two humans shyly interacting. The swordsman on the other hand was beginning to have some doubts about what she said. Even though he wouldn't let her die, and he wouldn't put anybody in danger, let alone himself or her, could they be sure that the game would continue to be fair all the way through? It'd already proven to use quite a few underhanded tactics during some of the solo quests he'd tackled, but...

"I'm being too negative. I should stop. I'm with Shay now. Nobody will die.", he attempted to calm himself down and clear his head, impulsively moving to the side behind her and hugging her, burying his head in hers and keeping her in his embrace. "... Thanks.", he repeated himself once more, in a somewhat happy yet somber tone. Shay knew the feeling hidden in it all too well though- loneliness.

[Shay 0]

The shy interaction was awkward enough. Shay heard the boy tell her thank you, even though she really hadn't done anything worth of thanking. She was only doing what she needed to as a good girlfriend... right?

The quiet silence fell between the both of them again. Shay's head was turned, trying to get random thoughts off her mind to think about everything that has been happening in the past few days. Chase and her were now a thing and just a few weeks ago she was intent on braving this harsh digital world by herself. Now she felt totally reliant on him. Being in a relationship was weird, she felt like she would never get the hang of it.

There wasn't much for her to say at this point. Even if Chase was her boyfriend now, that didn't change the fact that she was still awful with her words.

[ChaseR 0]

Needless to say, everything was true for the boy as well. He was just as bad with words, and even worse at describing these odd feelings that the relationship had caused to him. "I don't know what to say... I should maybe just not say anything. It's a nice moment...", he ended off his thoughts, continuing to hold her in his hug for a few more moments. It took around a minute or so of silence before he pulled back, stuffing both of his hands in his jacket's pocket and silently beginning to head back down the path. "... Let's go, we don't want to be slow. We can rest more if we finish with these early."

He laid out a plan, getting a shrug out of his little pangolin who tapped the side of Grace as if she were a horse, giving her the signal to move forwards and right behind them alongside a low croak. "... Sorry if I'm not very romantic. I just... don't know what to do. Exactly..? I guess...", he apologised after a bit of walking more, letting out a sigh.

[Shay 0]

"I don't know either, so don't ask me." Shay says quietly. "Romance stuff is weird."

Shay walked behind Chase and caught up with him shortly, making sure that the two familiars were following behind them. Grace Eon mewled to her master, showing that she was helping Blizz keep up with the group. She offered the both of them a smile turning back to the blue-headed boy.

"Well... we finished one out of six. Yeah, there's six of these quests and we'll be able to have some extra benefits once we finish all of them. I'll be able to have a little extra damage and you can get the same thing, or maybe more mitigation. The stronger we are the more likely we'll be able to survive. Harshing this world is the only way we can truly protect ourselves from the danger. It's much better than being really weak and fearing leaving the safe zone, even if we are risking ourselves."

[ChaseR 0]

With a drawn out groan, the boy nodded. He knew that they could only do so many before reaching their limit, since these quests appeared to drag on quite a bit. "I see... We'll have to probably take a break before moving on with the next, if the monsters from here on out just get stronger and stronger, they'll be more than we can handle before we even know it.", he told her with furrowed eyebrows, expecting to be able to do two, maybe three at best, before reaching their limits. He wasn't aware where the second one was for a reference in the first place however.

Now that they'd gone into the town, the boy let out a sigh and decided to lead the way to the teleport plaza. Their stay was short, and they didn't take more time than necessary staying on this high floor, thankfully for his nerves that were starting to calm down. If only he knew exactly what they were about to get into right now, however, he wouldn't be so lax and getting into this good of a mood. "Off to the next one."

Spoiler

Thread Rewards:

• 2000 Col each
• 400 Col (Chase)
• 4 SP (2 Quest, 1 Page, 1 Event)
• Kumatetsu Statue