Grave

I grasped the glass bottle tightly and nodded to the girl. "Do not worry, I do not plan to let my health get any lower... or yours, for that matter." I reassured the girl, standing back up and slipping the vial into my pocket, just in case I needed it. I slowly approached the minotaur goat, and it scratched its hoof across the grass in a challenging manner. "I am your opponent, buddy." I growled, but he did not seem to hear me; instead of charging me, it charged towards Aster, likely to retrieve its weapon to attempt to take her life once more. "No you do not!" I growled, wrenching my eyes shut and willing <<Disguise>> to activate.

My body began to warp and grow in size; my face elongated, my feet became hoofed and a second head began to grow from my collar. My body transformed to match that of my enemy. "I SAID I AM YOUR OPPONENT!" I bellowed, my shout like a roar across the landscape. I brought my bestial arms back, glowing a furious crimson, and slung them around the enormous goat, before squeezing, crushing his back against my muscled chest. I sent my weight backwards and slammed the monster's skulls against the earth, before rolling backwards with him so his chest faced the earth. Finally I brought my arms into the air and sent them crashing into the monster's spine, causing both his heads to roar in anguish.

I stood back up and backpedaled clumsily, my form becoming smaller and more human-like, until finally I was Grave once more. I panted heavily, standing by Aster as I watched the monster struggle to pull itself back up. "Remember; I am your opponent." I growled at the giant, a fire flickering in my eyes.

Regen +1 NRG

<<Disguise>> Activated - 12 Post CD

ID: 61682 | BD: 6 (5 + 1) | MD: 5 (6 - 1) | CD: 12

+4 Battle Healing HP

Sword Art Used: Snapping Twig - (12 x 5 x 2) - 15 = 105 DMG to Greater Ram (10 - 2 Finesse = 8 NRG)

Party:
[H: 1] Grave: 87/104 HP | NRG: 18/26 | D: 12 | M: 9 | E: 1 | Thorns: 1 | Rec: 2 | Combat Craft: 1
[H: 1] Aster: 35/36 HP | NRG: 9/9 | D: 1 | M: 27 | L: 2 | Combat Craft: 3

Enemies:
Greater Ram: 74/180 HP | D: 28 | M: 15 | Earthshatter: On an MD of 9 or 10, Greater Ram will slam his axe into the earth, shattering it in a line, dealing damage and stunning all players with Hate accumulated.

Pretty pleeeeease?~

Finally pacifying the crazy creature and getting her to sit on one of the stools, I tapped through my inventory and unequipped my coat and shirt, leaving my bare flesh exposed. I swept across the room and fingered the lock of the door into place, before turning and heading back behind the counter, Hikari bouncing up and across, onto my shoulder. Shutting my eyes and sighing, I turned at the foot of my mattress and fell back, Hikari whirling onto my chest as I plummeted back onto my bed. The fiery weasel curled up on my chest as I laid my arm across my eyes, and our breathing slowed as the night dwindled off into sleep.

---

Thread Completion Rewards

Grave: +400 Col, +2 SP, +1 Anneal Blade

I stepped off the platform and traveled down the stairs towards my shop, the familiar old-England style buildings passing by, an all too familiar sight by now. I was sure Hikari must have destroyed half the shop already, she would have been that worried about me. Really, she had a right to be; I was out for way longer than I meant to, as I expected the quest to be over in no time. "Hikari, I am home!" I called as I creaked the door to my shop open, and the hyperactive fuzzball launched itself at my face, grabbing on to me like some furry mask. "Mff, mf mf mff mff..."

Translation: I missed you too.

I sighed gently on the long walk back to the Town of Beginnings, thinking about what to do with the blade I had been given; everyone I knew who used a one handed sword had the top equipment available to them. Then again, the only person I thought of when 'one handed straight sword' came to mind was Hirru...

"Oh!" I exclaimed, thumping my fist into my open palm as an epiphany came to me. I could palm it off to the Jade Hunter as XP fuel, see if he could enchant it up to Perfect and hand it off to Mack to sell to a low level player. I had no other use for the weapon, so I did not see why not. However, the Merchant would be both asleep and extremely hard to find at this time of night; it was best to wait for tomorrow.

Without realizing it I strode through the Town on autopilot and onto the teleporter platform. "Teleport: Delilah." I muttered into the mystical alcove.

"You are a godsend! You have just retrieved the cure to an illness that dozens of people are suffering!" The NPC thanked me, and I nodded my head modestly. "It was the least I could do, sir." I responded kindly, watching him take the bead and crack it open on the edge of a wooden bowl, the creamy white contents spilling out like the yolk of an egg. Taking a small, stubby stick, he began mixing the liquid until it became a more yellowish colour and he left it to sit. "Please, take this as thanks." He said, retrieving a long, black object from under his desk; it was a one handed longsword, useless to me but a kind gesture nonetheless.

I grasped the weapon's ebony scabbard gently with a nod. "Thanks." I muttered, holding the scabbard with my right hand and drawing the straight blade out with my left; the crossguard had two humps on the arms and one on the blade, and the blade itself had a sharp outwards curve near the guard. I gave the weapon a few gentle swings, and could already feel how flimsy it was. However, I still proceeded to sheath the sword and transfer it to my inventory, nodding to the NPC doctor. "Please, if you ever need me, call again." I told him, before leaving the small dwelling.

-1 Nepent's Ovule
+1 Anneal Blade (Uncommon One Handed Straight Sword: +1 Damage)

My thoughts obviously kept me occupied on the trip to the village, because the orange glare of an open fire met me once I pulled my head out of the clouds; the villagers were still awake at this hour. "Where is the doc?" I asked the group of villagers, and a couple of them pointed to a small hut, where candlelight flickered gently. Smiling and nodding at the sickly-looking NPCs, I entered the small hut with a knock, and the scruffy medic peered at me through cracked spectacles. I pulled the red bead from my pocket and set it on the doctor's table, who proceeded to shine a huge, scarce-toothed grin.

ID: 61616 | LD: 5 = Nothing

I watched the bright and brilliant Starting City drift on by as I waltzed across the moonlit field. How long had it been since I had left that town to discover the world around me? If I remembered correctly... almost eight months. It took me quite some time to realise I could actually make a change to this world we had been thrown in. In that time I had helped create a guild, become the first Martial Arts Grandmaster, completed many quests, gotten my first girlfriend and joined the top guild in the game. Man, time flies...

ID: 61615 | LD: 11 = Nothing

My foot became bathed in moonlight as it peeked out of the dark, shrouded forest and into the open field of Floor One. Bringing my body into full view, I pushed my palms into the middle of my back and stretched, yawning up at the full moon above. A funny thought entered my head, and I curled my lips into an 'O', before howling into the night sky like a wolf, releasing all the pressure that had built up inside me from bouncing around everywhere. "That felt amazing." I groaned as I stopped stretching and headed off parallel to the Starting City, towards the ill village.

ID: 61614 | LD: 13 = Nothing

I raised my hand as a visor to the glaring desert sun above, staring out across the vast, sandy expanse that was the desert of Floor Five. I had recently caught word of a very low level quest in the desert, and felt quite disappointed I had not completed it earlier. After finding out as much as possible about the quest, I contacted Lawfer to help me take down the 'Sand Shark' that roamed the 'golden sea', as I liked to call it. Of course, I could take it out myself, but both the trip and the fight would be over much quicker with the help of a friend. I constantly flicked a look over my shoulder to see if the Dragoon had arrived yet, wanting to get this quest done already.

"Nope."

"Try again."

"I am over here!"

I continued to taunt the stumbling mass of green muscle as the Ogre swung the huge, tree-like club at me, trying so hard to knock my block off. However, the creature's movements were extremely slow and clumsy, so predicting them was no challenge. "Grah!" The monster growled, swinging wide, landing the blow into the earth to my left. With the monster's body open, I raised my hands like knives within my spherical gauntlets behind me, the steel balls glowing golden. They struck out, smashing into the monster like a pair of wrecking balls, to the Ogre's shoulder, inside of his elbow, right hip, knee and the middle of his back, causing his body to become rigid as the blows locked his muscles and stunned him. "This should be easy now." I muttered confidently. I had momentarily taken away his ability to retaliate, leaving me with an opening.

ID: 61610 | BD: 7 | MD: 3

Sword Art Used: Five Swords - (14 x 5 x 1) - 25 = 70 - 25 = 45 DMG to Ogre + Stun (8 NRG)

Party:
[H: 1] Grave: 560/560 HP | NRG: 48/56 | D: 14 | M: 36 | Rec: 2 | Combat Craft: 1 | Regen: 18

Enemies:
Ogre: 155/200 HP | D: 70 | M: 25 | STUNNED

Boosh.

Boosh.

BOOSH.

I opened my eyes to look around and seek out the source of the sound, like a cannonball blasting the snow hills, and my eyes met a sight similar to the sound; a large, furry mass of muscle was destroying the mounds of snow near the isolated tavern, and my eyes widened in astonishment; the bear was demolishing the landscape! I stood up to greet the large cub, hoping he might skid to a stop... but I was wrong. The familiar launched himself at me like some kind of flying fox and gripped my coat tight, pushing his face right near mine and gesturing down his maw. "O-oh, hey, Chewie!" I stuttered, placing my crimson palms against the cub's rump to ensure he did not fall off. "Sorry buddy, I do not have anything on me at the moment, I did not think you would be coming!" I disappointed the bear, tilting my head to peer around the animal and at his owner. I removed one hand from Chewie to wave at Mack. "Heyo! It did not take you long at all to get here!" 

Name: Cherry Shot
Profession: Cook
Rank: 6
ID: 61604
Roll: 11
Quality: Rare
Type: Beverage (Snack)
Tier: 1
Enhancements: Alcoholic x2 (+2 DMG -2 EVA/1 thread)
Description: A small glass of a crimson alcoholic liquid that is at first quite powerful, before leading into a tangy cherry aftertaste.

(@Mack) Finally I had completed my first order, and wiped my forehead dry, packaging Mack's three items nicely and placing them on the counter. "Here you go, Sir, that will be 1350 Col, please." I requested of the Vice Commander, a satisfied smile on my lips. I had just enough mats to smash out another group of crafts; I undoubtedly would need to go hunting at some point soon.

ID: 61603
Roll: 1 = Critical Failure
XP: 1

ID: 61604 
Roll: 10 + 1 = 11 = Rare
XP: 5

ID: 61605
Roll: 1 = Critical Failure
XP: 1

ID: 61606
Roll: 8 + 1 = 9 = Uncommon
XP: 3

ID: 61607
Roll: 6 + 1 = 7 = Good
XP: 2

ID: 61608
Roll: 4 + 1 = 5 = Good
XP: 2

ID: 61609
Roll: 4 + 1 = 5 = Good
XP: 2

Crafts Left for June 14th: 0
XP Earned: 16
Total XP: 700 

The vines sprouting from the plant's body flailed uselessly at me, slapping the ground beside and in front of me, 'growling' desperately as I just sidestepped the vines all too easily, slowly approaching the plant monster. "Three, two..." I counted down, bringing my right fist back, glowing sapphire before smashing it into the jaw of the creature. "... one." I finished, my left fist following in a crimson flash, shattering the plant monster into thousands of tiny blue shards. "And done." I sighed, satisfied. My eyes caught the little red orb that had dropped, and I picked it up, a white box appearing before me. "Nepent's Ovule... the quest item I needed." I chuckled, stowing the orb away and whistling as I left the forest.

Regen +1 NRG

ID: 61550 | BD: 12 (10 + 2) | MD: 1 (3 - 2)

Sword Art Used: Aggressive Twins - 8 + 2 x 2 - 5 = 10 x 2 - 5 = 15 DMG to Nepent V (2 NRG)

Party
Grave: 75/76 HP | 16/19 NRG | D: 8 | M: 9 | T: 7 | A: 2 | E: 2

Enemies
Nepent Variant: -3/15 HP | D: 2 | M: 5 | Ignores MIT on Nat. 10

LD: 19 = Nepent's Ovule

The creature very quickly noticed me, and I sighed quietly as the monster lashed one of its vine-like tendrils at me. Raising my arm, I deflected the attack with the sleeve of my coat, the creature recoiling as the Thorns damage shot through the plant's body. "I advise you not to attack me. It will be much more painful for you than me." I warned it, although it likely could not process a single word I had said. "Now, let me kill you and this will not have to be painful for you." I commanded, but it simply flailed about mindlessly. Right, seemed like it wanted to do things the hard way.

ID: 61549 | BD: 4 (2 + 2) | MD: 7 (9 - 2)

2 + 1 - 9 = Min. 1 Damage to Grave + 7 Thorns to Nepent V

Party
Grave: 75/76 HP | 17/19 NRG | D: 8 | M: 9 | T: 7 | A: 2 | E: 2

Enemies
Nepent Variant: 8/15 HP | D: 2 | M: 5 | Ignores MIT on Nat. 10

The sound of a body tearing through the earth nearby caught my attention, and I smirked. "Here he comes, I guess." I muttered, backing up against a tree in the direction of the sound. I peered around to see a plant creature, almost exactly the same as the others, except with a flower on top of its head. "Wow, so the big guy looks no different to the minions? Very imaginative, Kayaba." I jested, popping out from behind the tree and readying my fists.

NRG Regenerated

76/76 HP, 19/19 NRG

Party
Grave: 76/76 HP | 19/19 NRG | D: 8 | M: 9 | T: 7 | A: 2 | E: 2

Enemies
Nepent Variant: 15/15 HP | D: 2 | M: 5 | Ignores MIT on Nat. 10

I slipped my hands into the pockets of my coat and whistled as I wandered the forest alone, watching the trees to make sure no more mischievous nuts decided to attempt assault on me. My eyes locked onto the shadowy canopy above every time the leaves rustled, and at one point I put my hand out just in time to catch a large, armadillo-like bug, which I quickly transferred to a tree before walking in the other direction. When was this bastard going to show up? I was getting tired of doing nothing...

Regen +6 HP, +1 NRG

76/76 HP, 7/19 NRG

ID: 61547 | LD: 3 = Nothing 

My eyes drifted to the ginger girl beside me, and I wrenched my eyes shut; she was panicking, unsure of what to do. I had been stunned and paralyzed on multiple occasions, so I knew how she felt. Breathing out slowly, I broke into a run, heading towards the ram, a plan of attack already mapped out in my mind. It was so perfect, there was no way the ram could dodge or block it...

Unless it drew my attention with something else, the creature brought its weapon up, as if to break the earth again, and I prepared to jump. However, my eyes flew wide open when the monster let go of its axe, hurling it towards the healer girl. I skidded to a stop and kicked off the other way. "Aster!" I cried out, pumping my legs to try and keep up with the airborne weapon. My hands reached out for it, trying to grasp the handle as it soared through the air as a dart. Finally my hands clasped the steel cap, and I pulled...

Only a second to late. As I yanked the weapon towards me, I felt it hit something solid and I growled, pulling the weapon away and laying it on the grass. Aster laid on the ground, the stun close to wearing off, panic evident in her eyes from being pummeled by the axe head. "Hey, it is alright, you will be fine. Give it a moment and the stun will wear off." I reassured the girl, kneeling next to her. I was relieved that her armour could take the brunt of the damage, but I was worried about her nonetheless.

Regen +1 NRG

ID: 61537 | BD: 5 (ONE OFF!) | MD: 7 | CD: 7

+2 Recovery NRG

28 - 27 = 1 DMG to Aster

Party:
Grave: 83/104 HP | NRG: 25/26 | D: 12 | M: 9 | E: 1 | Thorns: 1 | Rec: 2 | Combat Craft: 1
[H: 1] Aster: 25/36 HP | NRG: 8/9 | D: 1 | M: 27 | L: 2 | Combat Craft: 3 | STUNNED

Enemies:
Greater Ram: 179/180 HP | D: 28 | M: 15 | Earthshatter: On an MD of 9 or 10, Greater Ram will slam his axe into the earth, shattering it in a line, dealing damage and stunning all players with Hate accumulated.

52 minutes ago, Asteria said:

Note: I guess that's just a little disappointing for what I wanted to do with my equipment. I prefer to stick with only light armor, and hand wraps that are made of cloth or other light material was what I wanted. So it would only make sense to get that from a Tailor, but the Weapon enhancements I want (Paralyze) can only be gotten from a blacksmith.

Yes, this is something I find a little unfair, again putting Heavy Armour users on a higher pedestal than Light Armour users; handwraps can only get damage and no other enhancement, as well as whips. Would be cool if these two weapons would be able to use weapon enhancements that Blacksmiths use.

(@Hydra) "I do aim to please; just cheap enough to please my customers, but just expensive enough to give me a decent income." I responded, nodding to the boy's offer. "Yes, will do. May swing by soon to get another item to replace my armour when I am out in the field." I told him, saluting as he left.

+830 Col

Another player came in, and I barely refrained from bashing my head against the wall, and the urge became harder and harder to hold back when he listed off what he wanted; eighteen items, when I already had a bunch on my list. "I... will see to it..." I muttered, screaming inside as I turned around to get to work.

ID: 61539
Roll: 4 + 1 = 5 = Good
XP: 2

ID: 61540
Roll: 9 + 1 = 10 = Rare (Zandra)
XP: 5

ID: 61541
Roll: 2 + 1 = 3 = Bad
LD: 13 = Salvage Fail
XP: 1

ID: 61542
Roll: 9 + 1 = 10 = Rare
XP: 5

ID: 61543
Roll: 12 = PERFECT! (Mack)
XP: 8

ID: 61544
Roll: 11 + 1 = 12 = ANOTHER PERFECT! (Seul)
XP: 8

ID: 61545
Roll: 9 + 1 = 10 = Rare
XP: 5

Crafts Left for June 13th: 0
XP Earned: 34
Total XP: 684 

Name: Heartrock Salad
Profession: Cook
Rank: 6
ID: 58109, 
Roll: 11
Quality: Rare
Type: Meal
Enhancements: Vitamins x2 (+2 LD/1 thread)
Tier: Nil
Description: A small, average salad with the fragments of a Mountain Golem's heart scattered throughout.

Name: Drake Cut x6
Profession: Cook
Rank: 6
ID: 61187, 61199, 61201, 61202, 61237, 61540
Roll: 11, 11, 10, 11, 10, 10
Quality: Rare
Type: Meal
Enhancements: Herbs (+1 BD/1 thread)
Tier: Nil
Description:  A large, juicy cut of meat from an Ice Drake, seasoned with various spices and herbs.

Name: Aincrad's Largest Steak
Profession: Cook
Rank: 6
ID: 61240
Roll: 12
Quality: Perfect
Type: Meal
Tier: 2
Enhancements: Well-Fed (+40 Max HP/1 thread)
Description: An enormous steak that proves to be extremely filling, but somehow able to be entirely eaten by one person. The tenderness allows the steak to be consumed in no time at all, despite the size of it.

Name: Ultra-Thick Steak x2
Profession: Cook
Rank: 6
ID: 61543, 61544
Roll: 12, 12
Quality: Perfect
Type: Meal
Tier: 2
Enhancements: Fiber x3 (+54 MIT/1 thread)
Description: A small steak that is extremely tough to chew through, more so than the Tough Steak, but once it has finally been consumed, the consumer is gains the tough trait of the meal itself.

I nodded in agreement when Mack appointed Seul the leader of the forward Knights; he was the highest level of us new Frontliners, so it was only ideal that he be in charge. I smirked slightly when we were given the green light to take down Leonidas if we had the chance. Mack appointed me as the support for the forward Knights attacking Leonidas, and I nodded, giving him a thumbs up. "You got it. Also, assuming he is not immune, my stuns may come in very handy." I added, making sure my dual use was noted. "Knights before randoms, got it." I responded with a chuckle. However, when Mack mentioned giving no help to Opal, I clenched my fist tightly. I wanted to retort, say that we should help her, that I knew the old Opal was somewhere inside her... but I would only be lying to both myself and the Knights. "As you wish..." I sighed, accepting that the woman I had once been friends with - no, thought I had been friends with was destroyed, and there was no hope of getting her back.

"Lower the bloody sword." I growled, eyes hatefully trained on her blade. "And I am also very busy; busy trying to get on the front lines to help people out when their two top players are not around." I hissed, my tone uncharacteristically venomous. "Now, I am sure I am certainly not the first and will never be the last to ask this; why?" I asked, peeling my shoulders from the wall to better look upon the killer. "You took out one of the players striving to beat this game, and with one of the highest chances to as well, while you puppeted another player into murdering the hero of the people. Yes, his plan got people killed, and yes, one of them was of high importance, but two wrongs do not make a right, especially when you take away the person who gives the terrified people in this game hope. With the recent player killings, now these people are scared and losing hope, some offing themselves because they cannot deal with their fear." I elaborated, crossing my arms defensively. "Do you think Azide would have wanted you to avenge him like this? No, you know him well enough to know that is not what he would have wanted. You know just as well enough as I do how painful it is for someone to lose a friend..." I sighed, looking away. "Lindow would frown upon what you have done." I muttered, barely loud enough for Opal to hear.

I watched my health bar grow green as the girl healed me, and a tingling feeling washed through my body as I felt my Battle Healing activate. "Nice job on the healing, back on full health." I complimented the girl as she dashed back to her 'safe zone', away from the mini-boss. "Alright, big fella, shall we dance?" I asked, and the two-headed beast snorted in return, raising its enormous axe, glowing orange once more. "Oh no..." I squeaked, ducking under the monster's legs to escape, but escape I did not. At the last moment the monster spun around, slamming the axe into the earth behind it, barely missing me, but it quickly whipped the weapon upwards, upending the earth and knocking me away towards Aster.

Aster.

I could only imagine what the attack might do to Aster, who had now aggravated the creature. As I skidded to a stop on the grass, managing to barely land on my feet this time, I looked to the crouching girl. She did not seem to have taken any more damage than usual... but a circle of stars danced around her head, signifying the attack had stunned her. "Damnit!" I growled, slamming my fist into the grass as I picked myself back up to my full height. I began to rush forwards, before biting my lip suddenly; the sharp tingling brought me to my senses. Rage alone would not take down this thing. Taking a deep breath, I sat back in a low stance, hands out in front of me, body relaxed. I slowly breathed in and out, eyes tracking the creature's every movement.

No way would I miss this.

Regen +1 NRG

ID: 61531 | BD: 2 | MD: 10 | CD: 12

+2 Recovery NRG, +4 Battle Healing HP

28 + 2 - 9 = 21 Earthshatter Damage to Grave (No Hate = No Stun)
28 + 2 - 27 = 3 Earthshatter Damage to Aster + Stun

Party:
Grave: 83/104 HP | NRG: 24/26 | D: 12 | M: 9 | E: 1 | Thorns: 1 | Rec: 2 | Combat Craft: 1
[H: 1] Aster: 26/36 HP | NRG: 8/9 | D: 1 | M: 27 | L: 2 | Combat Craft: 3 | STUNNED

Enemies:
Greater Ram: 179/180 HP | D: 28 | M: 15 | Earthshatter: On an MD of 9 or 10, Greater Ram will slam his axe into the earth, shattering it in a line, dealing damage and stunning all players with Hate accumulated.