tr1ck

chibi nat!!

As his newfound companion agreed to join him, Nat shuffled over (as if there wasn't enough space) and nodded as a gesture for him to sit. Surely if he met more people, and maybe got them to come on his ill-fated adventures with him, they'd all have a much easier time. Safety in numbers, as the saying goes. "I know how this looks," he said, glancing between the flower chain in his hands and Prostatis, then laughing to himself. "Ridiculous, for one. But what can I say, I'm not quite up for getting my ass handed to me again just yet." His hands continued working as he spoke, discarding flowers he'd accidentally ruined and plucking new ones to add. "I get restless, you know?" It wasn't certain whether Nat expected a response, but he left a space for one as he looked back town towards his handiwork. A few moments passed, then he spoke again. "I'm Trick, but mostly I just go by Nat. After all, the game's revealed my appearance, why should I hide my name?"

The sun was high in the virtual sky, the weather was beautiful as always, and Nat was basking in the early afternoon warmth - a slight breeze stirring his bright white hair. He sat cross-legged on the outskirts of Delilah Village, figuring he'd take a break from adventuring for the day. Whilst protected by the safe zone, he still managed to enjoy the village's lovely surroundings. In his hands he delicately held a chain of dandelions he'd managed to join together - he'd never been very good at making flower chains in real life, but the rule apparently didn't apply to SAO.

He looked up when a figure above him blocked his sunlight. "Hello," he begun, his tone light and friendly and finished with a warm smile. He realised he must look quite childish, quite silly - a grown man hunched over a chain of flowers - but he didn't really mind. "Wanna join me?"

ID: 20804

ID: 20805

ID: 20793

BD: 5 (Miss)

MD #1: (6-1) = 5 (Miss)

ID: 20794

MD #2: (3-1) = 2 (Miss)

Looking up, he realised that it wasn't a landslide, but two black blurs barreling down the almost-vertical mountain side. With a rumbling he could feel in his chest, and in the ground at his feet. It took him a moment to realise these blurs were coming towards him - and with a shocked yelp, he threw himself to the side, hitting the ground just as the attack passed through thin air where he'd been standing.

As he drew himself up to his feet, he had a chance to look at his attackers.

These are definitely goats. He thought, but he'd never seen a goat anything like those. Pitch black and with eyes like smoldering coal, they were beefy to an almost unnatural degree. Their fur was wild; curled and overgrown, with the faint green signs of moss growing in patches and immeasurable amounts of chunks of dirt and rocks tangled in there. They had two pairs of horns each, one arching backwards, the other downwards, reminding him of some Baphomet imagery he'd seen.

He didn't feel like laughing anymore.

HP:

Nat: 15/15

Bully Goat #1: 5/5

Bully Goat #2: 5/5 

Still stifling his laughter, Nat wondered for only a moment before he accepted the quest - apparently, he would be going adventuring after all.

Passing through narrow sidestreets and down cobbled avenues, he got the feeling of well-to-do, relaxed life. Most of the NPCs were bustling with activity, most tending to chores of some kind, shopkeepers wiping down counters during their downtime. Some were even engaged in friendly chit-chat with one another, though he supposed that both the AI and scripting in SAO were seamless. He was greeted politely as he continued his walk and was just starting to relax, when... a distressed-looking NPC approached him. Before he even had a chance to interject, the worried man began to speak.

With a bright flash of light, he was transported to floor two's main city of Urbus, breathtaking in its beauty and grandeur. The level design was immaculate in SAO, that much was clear - he supposed it was the least the designers could do to make it a bit more bearable for the people who would be stuck there for however-long. There was a bounce in his step as he hopped down from the teleport pad and made his way into the city proper, having decided that wandering its streets was the first thing on his list of (easy) things to do for the day.

Nat tentatively felt his stomach as he begun his walk back to town. He wasn't bleeding profusely and his innards weren't out, so... all was good? That didn't stop him from shaking with adrenaline and fear - he didn't even know that something like that was possible, never mind imagining it happening to him. Earlier he thought he'd be excited to try out his new coat, but... after the last fight he decided to take a break from adventuring for a little bit. He'd gotten his taste of it. 

It wasn't long before he returned to floor 3 and handed in the leathers - he was fairly certain Hanna said something nice and that grumpy husband of hers grumbled something about adventurers being much tougher in his day.. but he was too shell-shocked to listen. Managing to thank her politely with a tired smile, he claimed his reward and completed the quest.

Rewards

2 SP

(1 completed thread + 1 completed quest)

Buckskin Jacket

(Light armor, +1 Evasion)

400 COL

(1 Page completed)

(and so ends this absolute train wreck of a first quest... please tell me i can forget all about it now)

ID: 20405

BD: 9 (Crit. Success)

MD: 3 (Miss)

LD: 10

>> +1 Deer Leather

Losing an eye affected the beast more than he'd hoped - it continued baying in anguish even as he struggled to get back on his feet, desperately hoofing at the ground as if it would bring its eye back. Completely and utterly distracted, it didn't see Nat approach until he was too close, though it tried to buck away all the same. Without giving it the chance to, Nat grabbed it by one of its horns and yanked in the same instant as he stabbed his dagger through the beast's other eye. It continued to cry out as it burst into pixels, and Nat wished he'd felt even a little bit bad.

With a deep exhale, he pressed 'accept' as the loot notification popped up. It was done.

HP:

Nat: 6/13

Dire Stag: 0/9 (-3)

ID: 20403

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 10 (Crit. Success)

It happened in an instant - one moment he was waiting for the right moment to dodge, the next he was pierced through with those awful horns and lifted straight up off his feet. He felt frozen for an instant, screaming as he stared down at the horns disappearing into his body, his HP bar slowly trickling down. Then, he lifted his dagger with a weak, shaking hand and proceeded to stab it down into one of the beast's eyes. It was so enraged it barely even noticed, but roared and threw him to the ground either way.

HP:

Nat: 6/13 (-4)

Dire Stag: 3/9 (-2)

ID: 20401

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 5 (Miss)

It caught up to him while he was still on the ground - Nat could feel its thundering hooves vibrating through the ground as he lay on it. Wide eyed with fear, he barely managed to roll out of the way and once again, it was luck which brought a slash of his dagger across one of the stag's hind legs. Without even noticing the red line signifying damage he scrambled to his feet and spun around to face his enemy just in time for it to come charging again.

HP:

Nat: 10/13

Dire Stag: 5/9 (-2)

ID: 20400

BD: 7 (Hit)

MD: 9 (Crit. Success)

Though similar to the attack patterns of the normal deer, the stag was more sophisticated, more intelligent, and much faster - it would take Nat a moment to adjust and he hoped he'd manage to adjust before it adjusted his health bar to its liking. When it moved, it weaved and stopped and started and it made Nat's head spin trying to keep track of it. He was sure that a creature that size shouldn't be so quick, a conviction that was cemented in his mind when the beast caught him off guard and landed a savage hit straight to his midsection. By chance, his flailing arms managed to strike the animal but it barely even noticed, and continued its advance.

HP:

Nat: 10/13 (-3)

Dire Stag: 7/9 (-2)

ID: 20399

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 3 (Miss)

It was easy to get distracted when in high spirits (although not the alcoholic kind which, after all that adventuring business, he would have vastly preferred) and when the weather was so nice. While Nat was staring off into the distance counting the boars and wolves which dotted the fields, he didn't notice the approaching mob until its shadow fell over him and blocked his sunlight.

"Hey, do you mi-... Oh." His voice trailed off into a whisper, eyes widening at the mob towering over him.

If the deer he faced before were impressive, this one was something else entirely. Its nametag read <<Dire Stag>> - it was bigger, bulkier and altogether meaner-looking than its smaller counterparts. Sharp, jagged spines protruded from its back and long, vicious fangs stretched from its mouth. Its antlers were the biggest yet, each tip of each offshoot sharpened to a fine point. Its thick, black coat was matted and stained with blood. Clearly the leader of the herd, and clearly seeking revenge.

It didn't waste a moment before it reared back and charged forward, horns-first, but Nat was used to the maneuver and sidestepped away. He hastily prepared his dagger while his enemy circled around.

HP:

Nat: 13/13

Dire Stag: 9/9 

With only one more leather to collect, a few more levels under his belt, a safety catch in the form of a healing crystal and his HP slowly making its way back up to full, Nat was feeling fairly confident. Not overly so, after all - he'd almost died twice attempting to complete a low level quest. It really made room for some heavy introspection and consideration of his ability as a 'warrior'. Not that he felt the title suited him, he'd always been more prone to playing rogues in RPG games and tank-iness was never really his thing. More backstabbing and obfuscation and sneaking around throwing rocks to distract NPCs with poor AI. 

With that said, however, he was almost done. So there was no reason to mope.

ID: 20394

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 1 (Crit. Fail)

LD: 15

>> +1 Deer Leather, +1 Healing Crystal

Whether it was exhaustion, poor luck, or the game taking pity on him, the deer made a mistake first. It's lightning-quick movements became sluggish for a brief moment - time enough for Nat to throw one arm around its neck and pull it down as he stabbed his dagger up through its heart. Closing his eyes against the bright spray of pixels which signaled the mob's death, he took a few steps back and accepted his loot with a smile. He was three quarters of the way there - three quarters of the way towards completing his first quest!

On that cheerful note, he continued his journey with a bounce in his step.

HP:

Nat: 9/13

Dire Deer: 0/7 (-2)

ID: 20392

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 4 (Miss)

And with that, they were dancing around each other - the animal was full of reckless fury while Nat was beginning to act more cautiously, and their speed and inaccuracy amounted to a whole lot of nothing. Clouds of dust were raised up around them by stomping hooves and quick feet, as the deer twisted and turned its massive body, as Nat ducked and dodged and his dagger moved in flashes but never connected.

HP:

Nat: 9/13

Dire Deer: 2/7

ID: 20030

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 8 (Hit)

After his attack Nat decided to back off before charging at his enemy again - but apparently it read his mind. Turning on a dime, the deer swung its head, horns connecting with Nat's chest just as he tried to jump backwards and sending the shocked man to the floor. He swore under his breath as he jumped to his feet, narrowly dodging away from another charge. 

HP:

Nat: 9/13 (-1)

Dire Deer: 2/7  

ID: 20028

BD: 9 (Crit. Success)

MD: 2 (Miss)

So, he managed to roll away and duck when the enraged animal pursued him. But things were looking much, much better than they had the day prior - so much so that Nat didn't particularly mind boasting, or taunting the deer further. After all, he wasn't even in the yellow zone yet! "What the hell are you waiting for, huh? Is this all you've got?" While he wasn't sure whether the deer could understand what was being said, he could see that the tone of his voice was doing everything he wanted it to do. Puffs of smoke erupted from the deer's flared nostrils with every breath, foam was collecting around its mouth. When it tried to gore him with all its might behind the blow, Nat effortlessly spun to the side - grinning as he used the momentum of his action to slice the deer's flank.

HP:

Nat: 10/13

Dire Deer: 2/7 (-3)

ID: 20026

BD: 1 (Crit. Fail)

MD: 10 (Crit. Success)

When it had fully realized what had happened, the deer was not happy. At all. It seemed Nat had managed to enrage it more than any of its cervidae brethren thus far. It galloped towards Nat and crossed the distance before he even had a chance to react - before he fully realized what was happening, it slammed its massive horns straight into his chest, knocking him to the ground. But it wasn't done. Following him relentlessly, it brought those horns down once again for even more damage - only when it reared up to prepare an even harder-hitting attack, a disoriented Nat had the chance to escape. What a lesson in humility. He thought to himself, swearing to never swear at a deer again in his life.

All these deer-related promises would become hard to keep track of soon.

HP:

Nat: 10/13 (-3)

Dire Deer: 5/7