Steel

"I wonder why I haven't been going to these Valentine's events." Steel said as he walked over to the castle where it was being held. He was currently wearing a black suit and tie as well as a Japanese styled fox mask. He wanted to have some sort of Japanese aesthetic and he couldn't find a yukata so he settled for this mask though he felt ridiculous in it. He remembered reading that samurai wore masks to instill fear into their foes but this just felt kinda silly. Especially since there was a kinda mismatch between the mask and the suit. "It's not like anybody remembers me so the mask wouldn't really have much of a purpose." Yeah, it was a masquerade ball but he had nothing to really masquerade.

Eventually, he was walking through the castle which was almost hard on the eyes with all the pink. I get that they're trying to go with the theme but I think this is really overdoing it... Steel couldn't help but think to himself. It wasn't long before he had reached where most of the crowd was. Everyone seemed to already form groups, find their friends and some seemed to be forming couples. As expected of the day for normies. Steel couldn't recognize anyone save for that Benjamin fellow he just met recently and that made him feel isolated. He knew this would happen as he had lost track of all of those he knew and he felt almost alone in the world. It was difficult to make friends in the first place, having neither the social skills nor the charisma to do so. Little did he know that he would make a rather big splash regardless of his lack of either.

"Ah, you're finally here! Just on time, the performance is about to start!" A voice called out to him, catching him off guard and leaving Steel confused. He didn't recognize that voice yet he was being dragged off to the side. "You remember the song you're supposed to sing right? Well, just get up there and wait for the music to start. 

Wait, what's going on!?! Steel couldn't help but scream in his mind as he was shoved onto a stage. Thankfully, he managed to keep his head cool and didn't say anything lest ruin the party by causing a scene. Well, at least I can sing. Please let it be a song I know. He thought this to himself in desperation. If it was, he'd be able to play it off. If not, he'd just look like a fool in front of everybody. Thankfully, the stage was still dark and people didn't notice him yet. It seemed that he looked nervous so the stranger from earlier came back and whispered in his ear, reminding him of the song which was one he thankfully knew before going off to start the song...however that worked in this virtual world. On his signal, Steel started singing as the lights around the room started fading a little and the stage was being lit up and he let his instincts as a performer take over as he sung a catchy song suited for a good dance.

After he had sung that song as well as another two, Steel bowed and got of the stage as quickly as he could out of embarrassment as his switch turned back off. Awaiting him was the stranger from earlier along with a guy wearing his own fox mask. "So yeah...looks like there was a misunderstanding and I got you two mixed up." The stranger said with a sheepish smile. "Either way that was great! I'm glad you went along with it!"

"No problem.." Steel said feeling a little tired. Afterwards, he decided to just walk around the area and see what was up. Who knows, maybe that could have gotten him a date or at least a dance.

((OOC: Well, I was told to start with a bang so here's that bang I hope XD))

Rewards:

Steel and Reinka both gain

- 1 skill point for one page of rp
- 200 col

"But still, wouldn't wearing heavy gear be bad for a pirate since they sail the seas?" Steel said in response, steering Reinka to what he was intending which was that heavy armor wouldn't really fit the pirate aesthetic. Well, it wasn't like aesthetic mattered as much to him but he felt the need to point it out.

"So you're an American eh? I remember going there like once or twice in the past. It was nice." Steel said in response. "Though I haven't heard of Argus ever doing anything outside of Japan. Doesn't this make it an international incident then? And indeed, quite the vacation. We get to take a break from our normal lives to be able to fight for our lives." He said rather whimsically despite the dark tone. "Where did you learn Japanese anyway?"

"Yeah, all of the tiers of materials can be bought. Not that it makes sense in the context of an rpg but whatever." Steel said wondering why they did it this way for such a standard rpg setting rather than having them find some high tier materials exclusively in the field.

"Don't worry, I'll be right there to protect you. I can definitely take the hit. Besides, after the 50 point attack, it only hits with 5 points of damage which is nothing to me." Steel said with confidence.

"We'll see what we can get." Steel said in response to her requests to spears. "Let's have a meal together next time we meet then. The food actually does have taste don't worry. They took great care for that bit."

"I'll be counting on you then Sub Leader." Steel said in response.

"Hahaha! I've never heard of a fully armored pirate. Hope you're not wishing to drown out there sailor." Steel said with a small laugh as he had the thought. "Haven't seen many katana wielding pirates either outside of One Piece. Well, I'll trust in whatever decision you end up with on your gear." Reinka then started rambling on about her interests which included Japanese culture and even the Yakuza. She then seemed to realize that she had gone on for a bit and she shut her mouth. "Don't worry about it, I don't mind listening to you talk on and on. So you can feel comfortable doing it at least with me." He said in reassurance. Steel then remembered another thing Reinka mentioned which involved her being a weeaboo, a person from outside Japan. "Now that you mention it, you did seem to be a foreigner from your looks. What brought you all the way over here? Not to mention getting caught up in all this. Your Japanese is pretty good though."

"As cool as that sounds, a treasure hunter store the way you're describing it isn't exactly needed...." Steel said with a nervous smile. "Players can buy materials around town rather easily so they wouldn't need to buy them from someone else. But going around searching for treasure chests sounds pretty cool."

"Yeah, and it deals 50 damage on the first hit." Steel said with a small laugh. "That'd definitely hurt me." She then seemed to get nervous about being able to manage on her own. "Well, I'm sure you can deal with them on your own eventually but let me give you a leg up until then at least. That's what friends are for right?"

"Well, I'm still unsure of what to pick for my job but if I end up being a blacksmith, I'll make you your weapon. If it's a two handed weapon then how about a spear? For some reason, I had wanted to make or have somebody make the spear Gae Bolg so maybe that could be a cool goal." Steel said with a grin. "And again, don't worry about you talking too much. I don't mind." He reassured her again.

Reinka seemed to light up when Steel showed interest in video games as well which he thought was good. It seemed to open her up more to him. She then changed the topic to what the guild would be. As per her tastes, she suggested ships. "Where are on earth would I get a ship anyway? I haven't seen a single water mass large enough in town to put a ship on anyway. Haven't seen any skills related to it either. But then again, having a place shaped like a ship would be cool too. As for the castle, I don't think I'm gonna reach the ranks of the KoB in terms of size so I don't think I'd go that far. Honestly, I just want to make a place for others to feel that they can come home to. Maybe a medium to large sized house at most?" He said with a satisfied smile. "Well, since you're member number 2, you're currently the vice leader so work hard to earn our future members' respect!" He said this half jokingly but at the same time, he was half serious. "On a side note, I've been at least thinking to give some form of theme to the group, either using Chess pieces or Arcana. For Chess, I'd be the King and for the Arcana, I'd be The Fool. Something like that."

"Those are pretty good jobs to go with. Alchemists are definitely going to be needed for potions and all that. Being a cook would let you open a restaurant and meet all sorts of people. I'm sure you'd end up being able to make some great stuff either way. I'll be looking forward to it." Steel said in response. "Though I think you look mighty fine in the dress you're in already, if you want armor, I'd recommend going with light armor rather than heavy unless you wanted to be a tank. Later on, it'll get you some evasion bonuses which might be more helpful. And you could make it look like a princess dress or a pirate dress if you wished." Steel said that last part in a joking tone but in the back of his mind thought it'd look good. "You can get that stuff made by Tailors."

"Hmm, I've already done the first beginner's quest and that one's just gathering but if you want, we can do the second through fourth beginner's quests together after you've finished that one. Since those will involve fighting and some field bosses." Steel suggested, having heard of the details of the quests. She then asked for a demonstration of the skills for martial arts. "Sure although it's not much." He got up and readied himself. "The first one is what I did earlier and it's simply this." His hand got coated in the glow of a skill as he did a fast knife strike attack. "The other one is just a basic one-two combo" He then unleashed a left and right jab at a speed that was almost a blur. This was from the assistance from the system as well as his own martial arts prowess as being able to move with the skills made it even faster. "That good enough for ya?" He said as he sat back down.

"I didn't mean your personality was flat..." Steel said, lightly panicking. "I meant that you don't seem as tomboyish and ready to fire me from a cannon. Rather than that, you appear more like a refined lady. Well, it would be an interesting idea, having the beautiful refined princess be as boisterous as a loud pirate." He said in an amused tone. Reinka continued to talk about video games before teasing that she would try to escape his heroics. So he decided to quote from video games in turn. "Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back." He said with his own teasing smile.

"Well, I don't really have any specific plan on who I invite to join. I was mainly planning to just invite people I ended up befriending or needed a place to belong. Or something like that." Steel said with a sheepish smile on his face. "Well, at least I got one member already." He said with a somewhat carefree smile.

"Don't worry, as a tank, it's my job to keep others safe. I won't think of it as a burden at all." Steel said with a grin. "As for my profession, I have no idea at the moment. At the moment, I'm between Blacksmith, Cook and Performer. Blacksmith so I could make myself and others better gear, Cook for the same reasons for food, and Performer because I'm a singer. How about you?"

"Even if you didn't want me to, I'd still be helping you if I could. Besides, at least on this floor and maybe the next floor, nothing short of field bosses can really damage me." Steel said explaining how strong he was. "Besides, it'd kinda go against my code of honor to just leave you like that. But indeed, that'd be an odd combination, a knight and a pirate princess. Isn't that like the Wind Waker Zelda game? Though in my opinion your looks and persona are more leaning towards Zelda rather than Tetra." She had made her love for the franchise obvious so he decided to use that as comparison. "Anyway, you can definitely count on me to protect you."

"I have teamed up with other people but it was usually on only a temporary basis. That's the usual case as a solo player. Though I have made some friends through the process." Steel said in response. "As for how many people one would need for a guild, I think you'd need at least 5-6 people at the start? I honestly forgot." He said with a sheepish smile. "Well, it can be found out later on."

Steel couldn't help but give a small smirk in response to Reinka winking and going along with the general thing "Perhaps that is the case."

"I'm a loner usually myself. It was always hard to interact with other people. But...it was way harder for me to ignore something bad happening right in front of me." Steel said in response. "And it's not like I chose to train because I got beat up. I honestly didn't care so much. It was only when my little sister got involved, getting held hostage by some of the school bullies that I felt the need to get stronger so I could make sure it wouldn't happen in the first place. I think you only need to have somebody or something you want to specifically protect to gain such conviction so I don't think you need to rush. It'll come in time."

"By 'us', I was meaning the two of us and by emotionless machine, I was referring to when I was in the middle of battle."Steel said with a nervous chuckle as Reinka seemed rather confident about her answer. "I didn't consider the earlier scuffle as a fight either since we're in a safe zone. However, I thank you for the sentiment all the same. It does make me feel a little better."

"As for a guild, I'm not currently in one. I'm usually just a solo player. I might want to start one later on though. I had planned to make one a while back but the plan fell apart one way or another. I forgot why."

"Well, I could come along on your treasure hunts as your knight in shining armor if you want. I have some confidence in my skills. I can take down some of the lower leveled field bosses on my own after all." Steel said with a grin. "Besides it'd be more fun to travel with companions. Well, I guess that can wait until after you've done the quest."

"I'm sure we'll all get out the moment the final boss is beaten." Steel said in an assuring tone. "I have no reason why Kayaba did all this but he did say it'd all be over once we had beaten the game." Steel definitely couldn't forget that day. When it looked like the sky was bleeding and the man himself had told them the grave news. He then noticed how Reinka was feeling down about feeling scared on their first day so he decided to tell a little story. "Once upon a time, there was a brave general and a cowardly general. One day, the cowardly general asked the brave general this. 'How can I avoid being afraid of battle?' The brave general decided to answer in turn with his own question. 'How can I stay sane in that hell like you?'  You've recognized and even seem irritated at your mental state. I think your heart is strong enough already and in a way, you've retained your humanity more so than those who've been showing no fear. Keep that in mind." 

"Oh? You like Pirates? I guess that'd make you a Pirate Princess then." He said with a small smirk, continuing off his princess remark from earlier. "Now that I think about it seriously, that could be pretty cool actually. Maybe you could be a pirate type character here. Though I do advise not actually attacking other players. I'd rather you not be branded an orange player. But acting as boisterous as one and maybe dressing like it might be cool."

"I can't figure out for the life of me why they'd make fun of hair like yours. As I said earlier, it looks nice on you." Steel said in response. "As for me, I never really got made fun of for my hair. And when things were said about my hair, I just stopped caring. Though I did get made fun of at first for something else. Which would be jumping in to save somebody despite being the weakest in class physically. Whether it be a kitten or a classmate being picked on by bullies, I'd always jump in....only to get beaten up in the next minute." Steel said this with a sheepish smile as he remembered what it was like. "That did stop though once I won a tournament in middle school."

"Well, if I fight under self defense, it doesn't feel that bad. But as the amount of fights I got into accumulated, it started blurring to me and I just started fighting like an emotionless machine." Steel explained his reasoning. "I guess it's more me trying not to succumb to that feeling. And now that the situation is all the more serious, I have to continue to fight it. Even if somebody treats us like trash, we shouldn't do the same or something like that."

"The quest will be on floor 2 and it shouldn't be too hard to reach where you do it. You don't need to fight monsters, you just need to do one thing. Break a stupidly big rock with your bare hands." Steel gave her the short run down.

"Man, this is really annoying!" Steel said as he continued to try and slash at the bee to no avail. "And what's with my luck today? This was way easier when I fought this thing last time!" He was beginning to lose his cool as the only time he managed to land a blow was that lucky hit. Of all things, for RPG mechanics to also be based on luck....it's annoying! He shouted in the back of his mind as he regained his cool so that it'd be less likely to screw up from his emotions running rampant. He did keep thinking about improving accuracy though. Unfortunately, the Queen Bee herself had managed to land herself a lucky hit, knocking down 1/3 of Simba's health. "Keep your cool, one more hit and we can end this! Give it all you got!" He said, raising a battle cry as he charged in once more. 

ID: 95390 | BD: 02 | MD: 9

PARTY INFO:
Simba:
[104/120 HP] [08/12 EN] [03 EVA] [05 MIT]
Steel:
[173/180 HP] [10/18 EN] [17 MIT]
Benjamin Bookworm
[160/160 HP] [10/16 EN]

ENEMY INFO:
The Wasp Queen:
[04/50 HP] [20 DMG]

HATE:
Simba: 05
Steel: 02
Benjamin Bookworm: 00

((OOC: Seriously though....what's with this luck?))

@Benjamin Bookworm @Simba

"Trying to get into action huh? That might be a good area to use any of your martial arts skills in."  Steel said in response. "And I wouldn't worry about the fame too much. If I had to guess, the government would be trying to keep this situation on the down low as much as possible so even if they did somehow get the info on what we were doing or how high ranked we were, they'd probably only say such information to our family members." He said this in an analytical tone but at the same time, he voice carried some assurance.

"Claude-Michel Schonbert huh? That name rings a bell. I think that's the guy who made Les Miserables? I liked that one" Steel said in response.

"Hahaha, I now feel a sort of kinship between us even if it wasn't from the same condition." Steel said about their hair being white. "I think having the white hair would have looked good on you. It would have given you a graceful snow princess feel. The fire princess look you have now though also looks pretty nice." He said this, complimenting her looks while trying to raise her confidence in her natural hair like he did. Although in his case, he honestly just stopped caring and didn't bother to dye it.

"Yeah, being able to hit somebody without flinching takes some time to get used to. In a way, I felt a bit less human when I managed to take down some delinquents as if it were normal. In a way, it's a good thing you managed to keep that level of humanity intact." Steel said as he tried to remember when he began acting callously towards the issue. Reinka then asked how he managed to leave the safe zone. "To be honest, it wasn't easy but my body kinda moved on its own. I didn't want to let the game beat me, I didn't want to rot away curled up in a room at the inn. These sort of thoughts kept going through my head and I just tried to become stronger. I guess my Hero of Justice side was also a part of it, trying to get me to become stronger so I can protect somebody." He said this with a sheepish smile.

Steel ordered some water and some ale just to try it before sitting right across from Reinka. He noticed the girl eyeing his hair, something he was used to but he hadn't come across such looks very often since he was stuck in this world. "Curious about my hair color? First off, yes it's real. Well, sort of. I think it's called Marie Antoinette syndrome or something like that. It's basically where my hair just starts going white even at a young age, it's genetic. In the real world, I still had some black hair so I guess the game reflected that by combining the two colors giving my hair a silverish color."

"I practically grew up with martial arts, mainly sticking with karate and kendo. Though rather than self defense, my grandpa only started teaching me so that I wouldn't get beaten up the next time I saved a cat or classmate from bullies..." He said with a rather sheepish expression on his face as he remembered how reckless he was back then. Okay, he was still reckless but not as bad as back then. "I managed to get to a pretty high rank and won some tournaments but like you, I wasn't interested in the tournaments themselves all that much. I just wanted to get stronger in order to protect those around me. Though I will admit it was also partially so I could find stronger opponents to clash against." 

"A theater eh? You planning to be an actor? Who's your favorite playwright?" He asked.

"That's good, I'm glad you're okay." Steel said with another smile. "And not saying that you were crying, I was just meaning that anybody doing that sort of thing was unmanly. A true man must show respect to ladies like yourself." He said this, hiding his slight panic from possibly offending her with his crying comment behind a resolution of what a man should be, one who displays honor and respect.

"Nice to meet you Reinka, my name is Steel." Steel said as he extended his hand out for a handshake.

"Well, it's actually a skill. There's actually martial arts skills in this world filled with swords, spears, and the like. You can only get it from a quest though. I did martial arts in the real world so I thought it'd be a good idea for me to get the skill once I saw the quest." Steel answered in response to her question about 'fist powers'. 

"Well then, want to have a drink together to go along with the conversation? Must be awkward for us to just be standing like this the whole time." He suggested with his usual smile.

"Man, how long has it been since we've all been trapped here?" Steel couldn't help but ask himself as he reentered back into town after a day of hunting. Though he didn't mean to, he had already gotten accustomed to life here in this virtual prison. Even on the first day, he didn't let himself hole up in a room and fought against the despair. Thinking of all that as normal almost scared him, almost made him feel inhuman. Grandpa, I think you've trained me a little too much... He said with a small smile as he remembered all the mental training his grandfather put him through. 

He ended up choosing to go into a bar to end the day. It was places like this where he could make new acquaintances and gather information so he considered it a valuable spot despite it not being a place where one could get drunk enough to forget their worries. Not that he drank in the real world anyway. What awaited him inside however was a rather unpleasant sight. A small group of men of varying ages seemed to be harassing a young woman who seemed rather tall but still shorter than himself. While the contents of said harassment were lost within the sounds of the other bar attendants who had decided to ignore the girl's plight but it was clear that she was disturbed by all this. As a (self proclaimed) Samurai, he couldn't let this slide.

"What you're doing there is rather distasteful. A real man shouldn't be trying to make a lady cry." He said in a half gentleman, half serious voice.

"Huh? I think I heard a mosquito in my ear, I think I should squash it!" The leader of the men said, acting as if Steel was just a minor annoyance and attempted to knock him away with a punch which would then just be turned to knockback by the safe zone system. In response, Steel moved to the side as he did a sweep at his feet and a push at his face, easily knocking the man down.

"You had enough?" Steel said as he got back into a stance.

"Damn you!" The man shouted as he got back up and charged at him once more. Steel merely activated the Martial Arts Skill <<Embracer>>, making his hand glow as he hit the man with full force and knocking him way back, almost to the door. With a scowl, the leader and his men decided to leave lest invoke his wrath once more.

"Well, that's finally over, you okay?" He said to the girl he had just saved with a comforting grin. "They didn't do anything to you did they?"

"I am really wishing I had gotten that Howling skill or more accuracy boosts now." Steel said as he once again missed his target since it continued to chase after Simba, making the poor lad do something that half looked liked dancing and half panicking as he dodged each attack from its stinger. "He must have good evasion stats." Steel noted to himself, surprisingly calm about all of this despite the life and death situation with the queen threatening to skewer Simba. "At this rate and with our current luck, this'll take a while. So what do you want to do Ben?" He asked the other person the bee wasn't chasing. "Keep our current strategy and redirect the hate or have Simba be an evasive tank and let him continue attacking? Either way, I'll do my best to keep you two from kicking the bucket." He raised his sword once more, ready for combat.

ID: 95217 | BD: 3 | MD: 7 (-3 Simba's evasion)

PARTY INFO:
Simba:
[120/120 HP] [10/12 EN] [03 EVA] [05 MIT]
Steel:
[173/180 HP] [12/18 EN] [17 MIT]
Benjamin Bookworm
[160/160 HP] [12/16 EN]

ENEMY INFO:
The Wasp Queen:
[19/50 HP] [20 DMG]

HATE:
Simba: 03
Steel: 02
Benjamin Bookworm: 00

@Benjamin Bookworm @Simba

((OOC: Sorry for taking a while. Got a fever high enough that I couldn't leave bed))

Steel had been ready to land another blow to the queen in order to further increase the aggro towards him but then SImba had decided to not follow orders and continued to attack, landing a critical hit no less. This in turn made him miss his attack since the Queen turned around to  face Simba. That idiot! I told him to temporarily back off! Steel couldn't help but admonish the young man in his mind. The queen had begun stabbing at Simba, her stinger getting dangerously close to Simba's midsection. I'll scold him later. He compromised in his mind before giving out another set of orders. Though by orders, he was mainly telling Simba to not attack for the time being."Simba, retreat a short distance and don't attack her till she stops focusing on you! If you don't want to get skewered, you might want to listen this time! Ben, you and me are going to have to deal some damage to redirect her highness's attention!" Things were getting stressful because of Simba's little mishap but Steel was standing strong and he hoped Simba would listen this time.

ID: 95146 | BD: 2 | MD: 7 (-3 from SImba's evasion so miss)

PARTY INFO:
Simba:
[120/120 HP] [09/12 EN] [03 EVA] [05 MIT]
Steel:
[173/180 HP] [13/18 EN] [17 MIT]
Benjamin Bookworm
[160/160 HP] [13/16 EN]

ENEMY INFO:
The Wasp Queen:
[19/50 HP] [20 DMG]

HATE:
Simba: 03
Steel: 02
Benjamin Bookworm: 00

@Benjamin Bookworm @Simba

((OOC: Gosh darn it Simba XD))

Things certainly weren't going in their favor. Both of their initial attacks fell flat and the only one that did manage to hit the queen was their weakest member Simba. In response to Simba's hit, the queen began to turn towards Simba, appearing quite ready to impale the poor boy with its stinger. Steel had to strike and get back the monster's attention. It was his job as the tank."Your majesty, I believe I said your opponent was me." He said with a smile as he readied a sword skill. Along with it came a feeling of pressure emanating from him. It had nothing to do with data or anything game related but rather it came from his real life experience with the sword, creating the chilling feeling of killing intent. "Snake Bite." He said softly before letting loose three strong and quick slashes towards the Queen's back, just before it had reached Simba. The Queen shrilled in pain as it received critical damage from the attack and refocused itself onto Steel striking back with it's own attack which Steel took with ease. "There we go, that's more like it." Steel said with a grin having taken out about 25% of the monster's health in one go and keeping its attention on him.

"With that, we're nearing the half way point." Steel said, getting back into leader mode. "Ben, try and get a hit in. Simba, fall back for a bit. I may have its attention now but if you land another hit on it, it'll go back to you. I'll try to further keep its focus on me! Now then your majesty, bring it on!"

D: 95112 | BD: 9 | MD: 6

PARTY INFO:
Simba:
[120/120 HP] [12/12 EN] [03 EVA] [05 MIT]
Steel:
[173/180 HP] [14/18 EN] [17 MIT]
Benjamin Bookworm
[160/160 HP] [14/16 EN]

ENEMY INFO:
The Wasp Queen:
[34/50 HP] [20 DMG]

HATE:
Simba: 01
Steel: 02
Benjamin Bookworm: 00

@Benjamin Bookworm @Simba

Steel walked right out into the open, seemingly uncaring of the fact that the Queen Bee was right there. Once he was in her sights, he acted as those he hadn't done it on purpose. And now he was going to begin his performance. "Why hello there your majesty. My apologies, I didn't see you there." He said this with almost mocking bow. "I'm sure you don't recall but I have fought and bested you before and now I shall do the same today." From his bow, he suddenly moved forward, making sure his opponent was focused on him and not his newly acquired teammates. He slashed his sword at the monster, only for it to miss. In response, the Queen struck back. Thankfully, because of his armor, the damage was minimal, taking only 4 damage. "Not bad." Steel said with a shrug, not having budged an inch nor did he show any shock, acting as if he were a battle hardened warrior. He was determined to block her field of vision for his teammates.

"Unfortunately for you, I have teammates this time. Ben, go left! Simba, go right! Attack from behind when you feel you're ready!" He was going back to leader mode. He did try and start a guild some time ago, not that he could remember what happened that halted that plan but the idea was started so he had some confidence in his leading abilities

[Steel's Turn]

ID: 95070

BD: 3 (Steel misses)

MD: 9 (Queen Bee hits Steel) 

~Combat~ 

In Combat

- Enemies - 

Queen Bee 50/50

- Players - 

Benjamin: 160/160 HP / 16/16 EN / 1 ACC /  3 DMG

Steel: 176/180 HP / 16/18 EN / 17 MIT /  4 DMG

Simba: 120/120 HP / 12/12 EN / 3 EVA /  4 DMG / 1 ACC /  5 MIT

- Tracking Hate - 

Steel: 

Benjamin Bookworm: 

Simba:

((OOC: Sorry, guys, messed up on the first dice roll))
@Benjamin Bookworm @Simba

"Now then, where is that smithy?" Steel said to himself as he looked around town. Along the way, he had gotten something to eat as it took longer than expected to find all of those potion materials. He was now using his map to navigate through the town towards where the quest guided him. Eventually, he was right in front of the smithy in question. Steel decided against entering without permission and opted to just knock and announce his arrival. "Excuse me, is Mister Lyle Tealeaf in? I have a package from Mr. Zackariah to deliver to him." He thought it was silly since he was talking to an NPC who probably stayed in there at all times but it was just his way of doing things. Eventually, the door opened, revealing another aged man. 

"So that Zackriah sent a young lad to do his errands? Why can't he do these things on his own? Ah well, I thank ye lad." The man named Lyle said with a gruff yet kind smile. "Though I will say you have perfect timing, I could use your help."

"Sure thing, but could it wait until tomorrow? The sun's about to set." Steel said. Looks like I'm not done quite yet.

----------------------------------

Thread Complete

Steel gains

- 5 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40HP)
- 1 Tier One Damage Potion. (+1 Damage)
-1 Tier One Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP)
- 3 Skill Points (2 from quest, 1 from 1 page of RP)
- 400 col

Just as Steel was about to jump for joy, at least mentally, Zackariah decided to request of him to do something. Steel had been expecting this to happen.

"One more thing before you go, could you take this package to a blacksmith named Lyle Tealeaf?" Zackariah asked as he had grabbed said package and held it out for Steel to carry. "He's still in this town and he's not too far away. His smithy should now be on your map." Right as he said that, the said point had popped up.

I guess this would be the final part of this quest and the start of the second. Steel thought to himself. "Lyle Tealeaf right? No prob, just leave it to me!" He said with a grin. With one more bow, he exited the house with package in hand. He then heard his stomach growl. Maybe I should get some dinner first... He said with a bit of a laugh.

Steel let out a battle cry as he tried his hardest on this one batch. Call it intuition or an idiot's optimism but he just had the feeling that he could do it this time. And he was going to hold onto that feeling and let that fuel him. And when he had finished, Zackariah gave a light clap. "You've done it my boy, albeit barely, but you have still passed!" He said with a smile. Steel had managed to successfully make the potion. Sure, the potion still almost looked like crap but it was still a usable potion. If Steel had to be honest though, he was afraid of trying and tasting it for himself. He had expected potions to not taste like anything but they actually had some flavor. So Steel was scared of whether or not the quality was reflected in the taste.

"Thank you again for the lesson!" Steel said with a smile and bow.

ID 95039

CD 4

Steel gave making a potion another go and once again, he had produced yet another failure. "I think I'm just getting worse over time..." Steel said as this batch seemed even worse than his last two tries. Steel even thought there was a strange smell coming from it. And perhaps it was a little on the burnt side. He didn't know how he managed to do that. It's not like he was bad at cooking in the real world. At least, he was never this bad. I really don't want to become an alchemist when I go and select my profession skill. He couldn't help but think to himself as he felt that this wasn't suited for him. "Alright, one more go!" Though he didn't want to do it later, he had to do it now. He was determined to do this and complete the quest so he could get a little stronger.

ID 95038

CD 1

Steel tried to get himself fired up again as he started the process once more, keeping in mind what Zackarias had told him during the lecture. It should have been such a simple procedure but for some reason, he ended up screwing up again. "Looks like my luck in potion making is the same as my luck in finding potion ingredients. It's all E rank luck." Steel said as he failed once again to his dismay. But once more, Zackariah provided the materials for another try as he offered advice. "Let's try again!" He shouted, trying to raise his battle spirit, regardless of whether or not doing such a thing would be useful to him in the first place. He was just doing what came naturally due to martial arts. A part of him was still the idiot who thought battle spirit could get you through anything. What he really needed was some luck.

ID 95037

CD: 3

I fricken knew it.. 

Steel couldn't help but have that thought as he started to make the potion. It wasn't as easy as they made it out to be in normal rpgs. In a normal video game, you just put two things together and then poof. Sometimes, potions were just things you could buy easily without needing to make a single one. While the process was not extremely complicated, Steel still managed to screw up on the first try. "Darn, it looks like I'm not gonna get it on the first try..." Steel said with a sigh as he failed his first attempt at making a potion after listening to the lecture.

"Don't worry, everyone moves at their own pace. Let's just try again." The kindly old man said with a smile. He went into the back room and brought back multiple sets of potion materials. Looks like this will take a while as well... Steel thought to himself with a sigh.

ID 95036

CD: 3

"Zackariah-san, I've returned." Steel said after having knocked first out of common courtesy and reentered the old man's work place. "I've brought all of the materials you have requested." He held back any sarcastic comments he would have normally made about how long it took as he'd rather finish this as fast as possible.

"Splendid my boy! Now come over here and I shall show you how to make a potion." Zackariah said with a grand smile on his face. Steel knew that this was scripted but the smile still gave him a sense of accomplishment.

"Yes sir, I thank you in advance for the lesson." Steel said politely with a bow as he listened to Zackariah's lecture on potions. Steel got the basic idea the first time around and thought that it would be relatively easy. He then stopped that line of thought as his inner self reminded him of his E rank luck.