Calyx

RP COMPLETE

Loot:

Wasp: 1 mat

Queen/quest: 1 mat, shoulder pauldron (good item), 3 skill points, matriarch's stinger

Completed RP: 1 skill point

Seeming satisfied with his new home, Lockheed settled comfortably onto the pauldron and began to scan the field ahead for something interesting. The Wasp Queen had been vanquished, most of the lesser Wasps farmed, and Calyx decided it was probably a good idea to head back into town and rest his HP back up. He still had some extra skill points to allocate, even with the few he had spent on the extra inventory slot for Lockheed's pauldron, and he wanted to see if he could find an alternative to his shield. Reaching up and grabbing the one across his back was going to be awkward now with the pauldron in the way, but he had no intentions of saying a word about it in front of Lockheed, lest he feel bad. Calyx was happy to have been able to improve the dragon's conditions, even if it was just an AI, and he marched off to town in search of rest and a new adventure.

The dragon made an interesting point; Calyx wasn't really sure what would happen if he died... Lockheed was ultimately just an AI, so maybe the System would recycle him and put him back in the cave where Calyx found him; or maybe he'd be deleted entirely. There wasn't really any way to know, there was no one to ask, and Calyx hoped the two of them would never have to find out. That thought aside, what Lockheed had just said was probably the closest thing Calyx had ever gotten to a compliment from him, so he decided to take it as a sign that things were okay again.

Lockheed's suspicious gaze finally softened a bit. "Hm. Well I'm still not sure it's the wisest decision, but maybe the extra armor will keep you from getting beaten up so badly when you're fighting. After all, we wouldn't want anything too traumatic to happen to you. After all, I'm not sure what would happen to me..."

Lockheed looked at Calyx for a moment and then slowly and cautiously climbed up on his right shoulder, as if the pauldron might disappear out from under him at any moment. "Why would you trade power for this? It seems an unwise investment..." Calyx shrugged, which now comically caused Lockheed to rise into the air a few inches and lose his balance. "I know how much you miss Kaeseras, and I hate to see you clinging to my shield like that. Well. I can't actually see you when you're back there, but you know what I mean. Besides, I don't want them to be just my skill points; we're stuck together, remember?", Calyx said with an attempt at a smile.

"If I put some of my new skill points into Extended Weight Limit instead of damage, I can get an extra active inventory slot and do...." Calyx tapped around his menu screens furiously until Lockheed jumped as a large pauldron appeared out of thin air on Calyx's right shoulder. "This." He closed his inventory screen. "There, now you have enough room to sit up on my shoulder instead of having to hang onto my shield. I know it's not as high up as you would be on Kaeseras, but it's the best I can do without crippling myself in battle..."

Just then Calyx had an idea. "Hang on...", he said as he pulled up his stat page and began staring at the numbers. Lockheed remained clinging to the back of Calyx's shield, unfazed. Calyx was a bit of a stat nerd, so this was a common enough occurrence that the dragon thought nothing of it. In fact, when there had been a update to the SAO battle system recently, Calyx had spent the better part of a day pouring over all the numbers, trying to reevaluate the optimal build to make sure he stayed ahead of the curve. In fact, it was what had prompted him to abandon his beloved greatsword Kaeseras and switch to a sword and shield in the first place...

"Let's just go." Calyx knew Lockheed was even less likely to talk about feelings than he was, and the dragon certainly wasn't going to admit to the weakness of having had his hurt. Even if he had been willing to talk, combat was the only thing that had ever been able to redeem Calyx in Lockheed's eyes. Doing things was what mattered to the dragon, not what anyone's intentions were. He only responded to actions, not words.

Lockheed remained silent and made no eye contact with his bound partner. Calyx hated dealing with emotions and situations like these, but he knew he was in the wrong, and he hated the awkward tension he had created between himself and the dragon even more. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said what I did about you being scrawny. Kayaba knows I got enough of that myself in my old life, and I of all people should have known better than to pull that on you..."

Suddenly, Calyx heard a ding and saw a message appear in the air before him: [Quest Complete: <<Long Live the Queen>>]. "Huh. Gotta love freebie quests. I wonder if i got anything special..." Calyx pulled his inventory open and examined the new contents. "A mat, some armor... Hot dog! Three skill points!" Calyx looked back at Lockheed for acknowledgement, but his reptilian face remained the epitome of stoic disinterest. "And... <<The Matriarch's Stinger>>? Well that's ironic. Looks like a buff... But it only lasts for one battle. Meh. Not my style. I guess we can just sell it at the shop."

Calyx brought his sword down across the queen's backside and made contact. It wasn't a hearty blow, but it turned out to be enough. The queen slowed and drifted down and to her right, shattering just before she made hit the ground. Calyx sighed and lowered his weapon, hoping that nothing else was going to rise from the surrounding field. "About time.", Lockheed thought. "Oh, hush. Just come back and reclaim your perch.", Calyx said as he slung his shield over his back.

BD: 5 (+2), ID 3939

Calyx health: 16

Queen health: 1 -3 = 0

Calyx found his way to his feet on the other side of the queen, who now seemed very disoriented. She was still looking for her recent attacker in front of or below her, and it never seemed to occur to her that Calyx's slide had put him directly behind. Calyx knew that this was a prime opportunity to catch his enemy unawares, and he intended to make the most of it and finish this fight.

MB: 6 (-2), ID 3938

Calyx health: 16 -0 =16

Queen health: 1

Calyx staggered to his feet and felt the blood rush to his digital face in embarrassment. In an attempt to reclaim his dignity, he rushed straight at the queen, not bothering to put his shield up, and slid just before he got to her, slashing her vulnerable underbelly once again. The queen hadn't been expecting this, and swiped at the air where Calyx had just been, rather than where he went. Calyx's sword dragged a good distance along the underside of the queen, and he noticed it sealed up more slowly than after previous attacks. That could mean only one thing: the queen must be nearly finished...

BD: 8 (+2); ID 3937

Calyx health: 16

Queen health: 4 -3 =1

It turns out that the Cardinal's AI is pretty good, because the queen noticed that Calyx was distracted and immediately spun in to attack. Seizing the opportunity, she rushed toward Calyx as he slowly turned to face her again, and lunged at him with her stinger. Calyx hadn't seen her coming, and as such hadn't raised his shield. The queen's stinger drove straight into Calyx's chest; and although his armor kept the spike from piercing him entirely, the force did send him flying backwards until he landed on his rear about a meter away.

MD: 9 (-2), ID 3936

Calyx health: 17 -3 (+2) = 16

Queen health: 4

Calyx snapped out of his ever-wandering thoughts, and fixed his gaze back on the queen. He was determined to get this fight over as quickly as possible now, and he didn't want to give Lockheed another excuse to say something. He charged at the queen, this time with his shield raised, and made solid contact with her left side as she tried to dodge away. It felt like a hollow victory, however, as all Calyx was able to think about was how he already regretted insulting his friend...

BD: 9 (+2), ID 3934

Calyx health: 17

Queen health: 9 -5 =4

As he should have seen coming, the queen's nearby legs began swiping at Calyx, and one managed to get him in his right shoulder, just above his shield. Calyx yanked the sword out of the queen's underside and staggered backward, on guard against another attack. He rubbed his shoulder with his sword arm in an attempt to rally it back into functionality so he could use his shield again. "Quit dancing and get it over with. My wings are getting tired.", Lockheed complained. "It's not like I'm trying to get hit! I want to finish her off too...", Calyx retorted; but the dragon remained unconvinced. "Hm. Could've fooled me." "Yeah, well, maybe if your wings weren't so scrawny, you'd be able to stay up there for longer.", Calyx jabbed. That should have been his first retort; it was what shut the dragon up. But he never could come up with good quips very fast. And by the time he did, they just seemed mean and out of place, and he knew that was the case with Lockheed now. The dragon's diminutive size wasn't his own fault; if anything it was Calyx's. The creature had shrunken from intimidating beast down to adorable puppy size when Calyx had accidentally bonded with it and become a Beast Tamer a few weeks ago. Since then, Calyx had tried not to poke fun at the dragon's size, as it was clear that Lockheed missed being giant and intimidating; but sometimes he got a little big for his scaly orange britches.

MD: 8 (-2), ID 3933

Calyx health: 18 -2 (+1) = 17

Queen health: 9

Calyx coiled toward the ground in preparation for his next attack, and held his sword behind him and out to his left a bit, waiting for it to glow. As he heard the inspirational sound, the Cardinal took hold of his weapon and shot him toward the queen. She had flown up in to the air a bit after her last attack had bounced off his shield, and the System took full advantage and drove Calyx's sword straight into the queen's underside. The queen screamed in pain, but instead of freezing up like the other had always done, the buzzing of her wings just grew louder and more menacing....

BD: 10 (+2), ID 3931

Calyx health: 18

Queen health: 14 -5 = 9

The queen flew at Calyx, but with what seemed to him to be less force this time. Calyx decided to stand his ground and take the brunt of the queen's attack with his shield this time, rather than dodging away. The queen ran into the shield with all the force she had been able to muster, and bounced off heavily; however, Calyx was now left within easy striking distance for his next attack...

MB: 5 (-2), ID 3923

Calyx health: 18 -0 = 18

Queen health: 14

With admirable foolhardiness, Calyx rushed back at the queen, ignoring his shield entirely, and slashed at her head again. The parties' close proximity was making this a quick fight, because, as usual, the queen was in no position to dodge with so little notice. Calyx's sword struck true, and he made a sizable digital gash in the queen's side.

BD: 8 (+2), ID 3921

Calyx health: 18

Queen health: 17 -3 = 14

Calyx thought he would have a moment to recover after dealing such a heavy blow, but this wasp must have had a higher pain tolerance than its smaller counterparts; because rather than being stunned, the queen immediately slashed at Calyx with her legs. Since Calyx hadn't landed far form the queen after withdrawing form his last attack, the queen was able to reach him before he could even regain his footing to dodge, and she slashed her claws across his torso in several places. Fortunately, Calyx's armor was able to stop at least some of the damage, but this was certainly shaping up to be a more formidable foe than he was used to...

MD: 10 (-2), ID 3920

Calyx health: 19 -3 (+2) = 18

Queen health: 17

Calyx decided to play it smart this time; he had a moment after pushing the queen so far back. He flipped his sword backwards in his palm, and held it out behind his left side as he crouched low to the ground. The sword began to glow behind him, and he soon heard the familiar hum of a sword skill. As the System took over, he leapt heroically into the air toward the queen, involuntarily raising his sword above his head and holding it in both hands. He came down hard on the top of the bug's head, and the skill connected with the sound of cracking chitin. The sword had been driven into the top of the queen's head, and Calyx kicked off of her face to remove the sword before he staggered backwards across the ground as he landed.

BD: 10 (+2); ID 3918

Calyx health: 19

Queen health: 22 -5 = 17

The queen buzzed loudly in anger and began to fly around erratically to get Calyx off. From where he was, she couldn't hit him with a stinger again; and charging wasn't an option when there already wasn't any distance between the two. Slowly, the queen began to ascend into the air in an attempt to smash her attacker into the ground, but Calyx was wary of heights to begin with, so he quickly withdrew his sword and slid off to the ground before the two got so high that he would have been injured in the fall. He retreated a safe distance from the queen so that he would have appropriate time to respond if she charged him from the air, which she did, but the attempt was only half-hearted. The queen seemed to still be reeling a bit form the last attack, and returned to her place closer to the ground to regain her composure.

MD: 2 (-2), ID 3909

Calyx health: 19 -0 = 19

Queen health: 22

Calyx staggered back from the force of the impact and instinctively yanked the stinger out of his arm and threw it on the ground, where it quietly exploded. "Well that was unexpected... At least she won't be doing it again.", Calyx muttered in his mind. "That's... likely not true.", Lockheed replied. "What? But she just shot her only one!" "It would have been, were she not growing another as we speak." The dragon was currently flying behind the queen, and thus had the vantage point to confirm his report. "Crap. Well at least now we know? And knowing is half the battle!" "What? You've only struck it once, the battle isn't nearly over." "It's a reference to- oh, nevermind. Just let me know if it looks like she's about to do anything else sneaky." With a newfound cautiousness and his shield raised in front of him, Calyx charged the queen head-on. At the last moment, he leapt into the air toward the queen's head, and her slow attempts to dodge weren't enough; Calyx's sword drove into the side of the queen's face.

BD: 4 (+2), ID 3908

Calyx health: 19

Queen health: 25 -3 = 22

The queen had too much mass to make the aerial maneuvers the other wasps had, and it would take her a while to turn around and face Calyx again. He was about to use the opportunity to launch another attack, when the queen did something entirely unexpected: rather than attack him head-on again or use her stinger like a spear as the other wasps had, the queen glanced backward and thrust her stinger at Calyx, launching the large point at him with lightning-fast speed. The other wasps hadn't been able to shoot their stingers, so Calyx hadn't been expecting it, and the giant needle caught him in the middle of the shoulder and drove straight through his armor. Calyx staggered back from the shock, giving the queen time to round about and face her attacker again.

Mob dice: 10 (-2), ID 3903

The queen was large enough that Calyx had time to get his wits about him while the queen was still flying a few feet above. Deciding not to pass up an opportunity, Calyx found his sword nearby and stabbed it up into the underbelly of the bug as it flew past. For some reason, the chitin on the underside of the queen was softer than he was expecting, and the sword cut deeply into its insides. The queen few higher up, out of reach of the sword, and Calyx finally had the breathing room to get back up and assume a defensive stance. 

Battle dice: 9 (+2), ID 3902