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[PP|F10]«Leeching Nightmare»Darkness Incarnate


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Once the Kuma had been defeated, Shay and ChaseR made their way up the floors to the tenth. So far, this was one of the menacing looking floors yet. A tunnel system of eerie feeling. Here it almost seemed that demons and spirits were looking over your shoulder, ready to bite you when you weren't looking.

Shay stretched her arms out and yawned with her saya in her hand. She waited for Chase to come through the teleportation terminal before moving forward. "This is a pleasant and welcoming environment, hunh?" She mentioned, seeming somewhat unaffected by the dark feeling of the floor. In fact, she felt somewhat at home in a place like this. She was sure that Chase wouldn't really enjoy it as much as she did. Even Grace Eon's cocky demeanor was set back by the overall ambiance of the floor. "Well, let's go and kill this boss so we can leave this floor, then."

Spoiler

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

Stats:
Damage: 13
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2
BLD:36
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:

 

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Usually, Chase wasn't cowardly in the slightest. Such an eerie and ominous floor though had gotten under his skin. If the previous fight didn't give him a slight adrenaline rush at the mere sight of the monster, then just being here would be enough to get him going. "I-I really don't like this floor...", he mumbled under his breath, never having been really courageous or that up for scares and the like. "Grace or Blizz don't seem to really appreciate it either...", he commented, watching Blizz quickly run over to Grace and practically latch onto her as he trembled slightly too.

It would appear that both of their monster types didn't have too close a relationship with astral type monsters, just as humans didn't- at least the players. Astral monsters were the closest this game had to ghosts, and the floor was already spooky enough as is. The slightest creak would be enough to send shivers down the bluehead's spine, and any monster that jumped at them could lead to him following Blizz' example and jumping on Shay with ease.

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:

 

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"If that's the case, then lets get this quest finished with an move on. I can't say that even I have a fondness for the feeling of this floor. Quicker we get it done, the sooner we can leave." She says starting to lead the way into the tunnels of the 10th floor outside of the safe zone of the floor. It was far out of town for sure, the quest location so it would probably take a bit of walking to get to the quest location.

"We're going to a place called the Stygian River. It might take a while to get there, so let's hurry along and get this done so we can make our way back to town." Shay says in a serious tone. She had that normal feeling that Chase was used to on this floor. It was clear that she was completely on guard at least. Ready for anything that might come at them.

Spoiler

Travel Post [1/3]

 

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"Stygian River..? I've heard about that somewhere in mythology...", the boy thought to himself aloud, unsheathing his sword as soon as the two exited the safezone and holding it in front of him, keeping his guard up so nothing could get the jump on them. The monsters he could see by the sides were mostly skeletons and other undead entities, none too welcoming for this bizarre, eerie underground complex. It was very damp, and that alone was enough to start making Chase that much more paranoid.

As the two went on and on, the path really seemed to stretch out. The monster was probably at the end of it, and after a while, he began to remember more about that name. "Wait... Stygian... That's a river where... Sh-Shay, be careful. I don't like where this is going.", he quickly warned her, catching up and getting in front of her a bit too warily with his eyebrows furrowed, as if expecting an attack from something in the next few seconds.

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Shay didn't know about any legends surrounding something with the name of Stygian, but she was ready for a fight after handling the Kuma. With her new precision mod, she got an extra slot of accuracy making her even more likely to strike her targets. "I'm not scared of spook superstition." Shay mentioned, continuing to lead the two through the maze of tunnels. "Just do what we always do and keep a cool head and we'll get out of it no problem. Pink assured me that we could handle these monsters easy. This one specifically, she told me their mistake. One the first four mobs are dead, you can attack the boss freely, but you can't while they're still alive. You use your AoE to clear them, then I'll jump on the boss with my strong direct damage." Shay explained as the river came into view at the end of the tunnel.

Spoiler

Travel post [3/3] Arrived at Stygian River.

 

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"I-I don't believe in superstition either, but this river... It leads to the underworld. You realise just what's waiting for us, don't you?", he asked her before it came into sight. He wasn't sure whether he was expecting much worse or not, left with wide eyes and a shaky hold on his sword as he grit his teeth, shaking his own head. "I don't care how it looks... Shay will be in danger if I don't man up.", he tried to regain his composure, letting out a deep breath and taking a few steps in front of the duo. Blizz stayed onto Grace, and that was fine. He couldn't do much but help a tiny bit in the end.

"There's five monsters. The literal monstrosity has to be the boss... So I have to take out the small fries, hmph... Man the fuck up and do it already!", the swordsman tensed up, giving an incredibly intense look towards their direction and almost cracking the ground under him, burying his foot into it before he lunged right at them with his sword behind him. "Come on!", he shouted as his blade practically slashed from the ground upwards, slashing once but very powerfully with a blue glow trailing his blade's movement. By the time it disappeared, he jumped back to see three of the four having been hit, the other Stygian Warrior having barely dodged the attack and survived. It was incredibly obvious just how tense the bluehead was.

image.png.4b200b74cfc10ef42783661f8e968b0b.png

Shay:
ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 45/60 (-15) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

The Leech Lich: HP: 250/250 | DMG: 50 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2
Stygian Warrior 1: HP: 100/100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1
Stygian Warrior 2: HP: 0/100 (-163) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1
Stygian Warrior 3: HP: 0/100 (-163) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1

Stygian Warrior 4: HP: 0/100 (-163) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1

Edited by ChaseR
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Before the Lich was able to do it's sinister ritual of delicately eating it's minions. Shay jumped in with speed faster than the eye could track. With a quick slash of her sword, the Lich's minions were no more. Chase was able to finish of three of them, while Shay was able to follow up with an attack of her own to finish the remaining one. Before her sword art would end, however, she would rush down the Lich itself, slashing at the base of it's being and leaving a deep gash that nearly stole a third of it'd health with no problem.

It reached in, trying to eat her whole instead of the monsters that it normally chose to, but Shay was way too fast for it. She hopped out of the way behind Chase, allowing him to take control of the battlefield now that all that was left was the boss monster.


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Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 40/52 -(8+4) | DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 60/60 | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

The Leech Lich: HP: 181/250 -(104-25) | DMG: 50 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2
Stygian Warrior 1: HP: 100/100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1

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Some more Stygian Warriors appeared out of the side of the river, crawling next to the Lich once more. According to Shay though, that would just keep on happening. Having watched her dodge its attack, he knew that all they had to do was focus down the big bad and then everything else would be child's play. He tried to lunge heroically at it once more, letting out a shout, almost like a battle cry while he prepared to swing his sword with all of his strength at the Lich only. Every step sounded more and more powerfully, as he pulled his blade back the farthest he could.

His blade pierced it, and it only kept going deeper and deeper into it as he ran past it, eventually having circled it in full to draw his blade back and turn around, facing it with his sword raised and ready to block while he caught up with his breath.

image.png.9fdddd023e00e8fe23dca6f15d36f66c.png

Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 52/52 | DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 40/60 (-10, +5) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

The Leech Lich: HP: 24/250 (-157) | DMG: 50 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2
Stygian Warrior 5: HP: 100/100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1
Stygian Warrior 6: HP: 100/100 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1

Edited by ChaseR
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The rogue shifted her blade in her free hand, dazzling crimson eyes glowing in the darkness of the tenth floor tunnels. Her expression was fierce and determined as her blade took on a deep scarlet hue that matched her eye color with ferocity. A quiet growl escaped her lips as her native tongue took over once again. "Homiru."

A black blur of speed wizzed past Chase and when his eyes adjusted to what he was seeing, by that time the Lich was split in two pieces with a perfect horizontal slash. She didn't stop there though, there were still targets on the battlefield to deal with. Rushing over to greet their new faces, the rogue slashes each one straight across the chest each. Both of them dropping straight into the red and left dangling with a thread of health points remaining. The duo ganged on her, trying to pin her down, but she was smarter than that. By the time they tried, she had already moved back.


image.png

Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 29/52 -(8+6)+2| DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 40/60 | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

The Leech Lich: HP: 24/250 | DMG: 50 | MIT: 25 | ACC: 2
Stygian Warrior 5: HP: 1/100 -(104-5) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1
Stygian Warrior 6: HP: 1/100 -(104-5) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1

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Seeing his partner manage to take the Lich down was enough of a relief, as the most horrifying of these terrors had already been dealt with. The only monsters left were the small fries, which even if they scared him, they were too weak to do any real harm. Before Shay could get in harm's way any longer, the bluehead took a deep breath and rushed at them, spinning twice on is heel with two quick diagonal slashes so that he could take them both down from that final sliver of health.

Finishing the two off, he groaned and thrust his sword right into the ground, watching them disappear as he leaned onto it and held his head tightly in his right hand. "... I'm too timid. I'm sorry.", he uttered before looking at Shay with a defeated expression, despite their best efforts and how they just ended the fight with no damage taken whatsoever, due to their impeccable teamwork. "I've been trying, but...", he groaned, although it wasn't clear what he was referring to exactly.

image.png.ab26e48f49d076c1fcb605b6c2991469.png

Shay | HP: 520/520 | EN: 29/52 | DMG: 13 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR: HP: 600/600 | EN: 38/60 (-3, +1) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | BH: 5

Stygian Warrior 5: HP: 0/100 (-23)  | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1
Stygian Warrior 6: HP: 0/100 (-23) | DMG: 25 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 1

Edited by ChaseR
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The rouge replaced her blade to it's saya and let out a huff as Chase finished off the remaining group of mobs. She placed her hand on her up and moved her weapon to her inventory where it should be. Walking over to her partner, her crimson gaze returned his own as he spoke, looking somewhat defeated with the experience he was going through. Shay raised her hand and flicked him lightly on the forehead.

"Hey. We got through this no problem because of you. Without you, I wouldn't have beaten this boss so easily. If I didn't have you, I wouldn't be surviving the way I am. Stop doubting yourself so much and be proud that we got through that entire fight without a single scratch," Shay smiled, trying to make sure that her words weren't met with ill intent. Once everything was all cleared up, she would start to lead them back to town so they could get off this floor as soon as possible.

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The boy grunted lightly as soon as she flicked him, stepping back and rubbing his forehead. Taking a few seconds to let her words soothe him, he sighed and nodded, having successfully calmed down a bit. While they walked back to the teleporter, he spoke with puffed cheeks. "Y-You're right, sorry... Just... I didn't- I can't. I still get scared. I feel all this adrenaline at every fight, but I keep getting scared when I hold it back and keep control.", Chase admitted with a frown, looking at the ground before lifting his gaze to look at the rogue.

Maybe he was too much of a perfectionist, expecting to take these fights head on with no problem whatsoever, or maybe he was right. Hell if he knew, all he knew was that they were getting through the fights by what felt like sheer luck supporting him through and through. He was trying to get integrated into Aincrad's setting and laws of living, but comparisons to how useless he'd have been back in the real world kept hitting him hard again and again, no matter how far back in his mind he tried to push them.

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"Chase, the monster of this world should be terrified of you, not the other way around. You are much more powerful than anything this game could ever throw at you. That boss was annihilated before it could do anything simply because you were there and made it happen. I am telling you right now, that if you were not here to help me fight and I was still trying to play solo, I would have probably had to flee from this fight." Shay tried to explain without worrying him.

The tunnel system was quiet as they walked through it. Grace herself seemed to be in better spirits now that they had come and done what they needed to do. She walked close to her master still, to make sure the she wouldn't get attacked by anything out of the blue. Shay looked over to her partner, just to make sure that he was still doing alright.

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Shay was probably right. He was just underestimating himself, same as he used to do back when he thought he'd done a half-assed job for school or some errand. "... Thanks.", he told her without much else to add, looking over and giving her a smile as he tried to brighten his mood up a bit. Chase looked over to the side at the two familiars, Grace walking properly and Blizz still latched onto her timidly, shaking ever so slightly from the eerie surroundings they were going through.

If age was a factor, Blizz was definitely much closer to a child than the rogue's familiar seemed to be, or at least they acted that way. "So... How come the name? Grace Eon?", the swordsman asked in hopes of getting his mood back up, trying to start some small talk as he stuffed his pockets with his hands and continued to walk towards the town, upstream of the Stygian River, Styx.

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She was glad that he wouldn't take what she said without thinking it over. She wasn't trying to be mean to him, she was simply trying to imbue some semblance of confidence in the boy to help him deal with the stress of being in the game. It was a dangerous thing to be out here leveling up like this, but if you didn't have the confidence to be strong, you were only putting yourself and others in the way of danger.

Then Chase asked how she had gotten Grace's name. "It just sounded nice in my head. Why? Is it not a good name? I like it." Grace mewled to her master happily, as if she was agreeing on her point. The rogue offered a smile back at the familiar before looking back up to Chase. "Did you only name yours Blizz cause it sounds like Blizzard?" She asked.

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The question caught him off guard, but he gave her a nod and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I was trying to think of how to name him but... Yeah, Blizz sounds like Blitz and Blizzard, so... D-Don't mock it.", he added to the end with a light blush on his face, feeling like his childish side really showed with how creative he got when it came to naming items- speaking of which, she probably didn't even know the names of his equipment. Oh well, that was as much a curse as it was a boon.

"No, Grace sounds good. Grace... Eon. Grace Eon. It rolls off the tongue okay, I'm just not sure why you gave her a last name-. Wait. Is it a she?", he asked rather awkwardly, despite being more than just uncertain about Blizz himself. Yeah, he'd called him Blizz since he didn't look to be a female, but it's not like Chase had picked him up to see whether or not he really was a male. That felt much too awkward for him to do, even if nothing was there ultimately cause the game would probably not be that detailed.

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Shay merely shrugged at Chase's question. She honestly had no idea whether Grace was male or female, not that she really wanted to question it. She looked down to the familiar and stopped for a moment. The two stared at each other for a moment in quiet understanding, then she continued to walk again. "Whatever Grace is, she is my familiar. For now, I'll just refer to her as a she. She doesn't seem to have a problem with that."

A soft mewl and a smile from Grace confirmed that. On to his second question, "I named her Grace Eon cause I thought it sounded nice. Names don't really have to mean that much. Its a beautiful name for a beautiful and elegant familiar." Within the next few minutes, the duo was back in the safe zone where they could use the teleporter to reach the next quest, or simply go home to rest.

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Chase simply nodded, unsure what else to say. The only thing that reignited his drive to talk was the two having finally arrived at the safezone once more, which got a deep sigh of relief out of both him and his companion who quickly climbed onto the bluehead's shoulder and clinged tightly. "Well... Let's get off of the floor. I can't take this any longer, and I don't really want to either... Where should we head to now? I think we can fight through one more quest, but I don't know if you're too tired or if I'll be pushing myself too much.", he trailed off towards the end, starting to worry.

Maybe next time they saw a monster, it'd be safest if he did let loose and just slash everything in two, consciously or subconsciously. Then again, he was much more self conscious about it now that he had the title of 'boyfriend', especially in front of the girl more than anything. "... It's up to you, I don't know. Sorry.", he gave up, giving a small smile and waiting on her decision.

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Shay looked over to the teleporter for a moment, thinking about their options as is. They could either go home and rest or they could continue on. Chase seemed ready to take on a few more before they ended it for the day. If that was the case, then they were both ready for the next quest. "I'm definitely ready to take on the next quest as long as you are. If things get too overwhelming for you, just tell me and we'll end our questing for the day. We are going to the 16th floor next, just to warn you. It's not as bad as this one, but going higher can be dangerous. We'll be fine though, so don't worry." It was hard to be reassuring when she knew he would worry about getting up to higher floors. "I'm ready whenever you are Chase. Trust the me that trusts in you."

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It took a bit of thinking and the hesitation showed in his expression. He shook his head however, before giving a small grin and nodding at Shay. "Floor 16... We're together. Nothing bad can happen. I believe in you. Let's go right away then. If we're tired out by the time it's over, we'll just head home and relax, rest for the day before getting a move on tomorrow.", he laid out the plan, feeling nervous, just as she knew he would. He'd continue to feel just as nervous tomorrow and the day after though, there was no way to get stronger if they didn't risk it any.

Maybe that's what bothered him so much. With a quick nod, he moved on to step on the plaza and held his hand out for Shay to do so too, feeling his fingers shake just slightly out of how nervous he felt. Cold beads of sweat had begun to form on the back of his neck, but that was alright. He wasn't too used to fighting this many bosses all at once, but he'd have to adapt sooner or later. "Plus, if I'm with her... I can't let her get hurt any. I can't risk her, so I won't risk her."

Spoiler

Thread Rewards:

  • 4 SP (2 Quest, 1 Event, 1 Page)
  • 2900 Col (Chase)
  • 2500 Col (Shay)
  • Yamata no Orochi Statue

 

Edited by ChaseR
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