Grave

Zandra mentioned getting an outfit that possibly showed more skin and I tilted my head. "Mm, careful with that, might get more attention than you would like if you do that. Jomei may not like that." I warned her with a chuckle. Zandra's interest seemed to have piqued when I mentioned the drinks at the tavern, and she challenged me to a competition of sorts. "Oh, you're on. I have developed quite the high tolerance to the alcohol simulation in this game from the many times I have had to drown my sorrows in booze." I countered and folded my arms as I led us towards the bustling tavern, with customers even spilling out onto the street. "Drinks are on me." I offered with a wink and held the door open for the woman. It was bustling - the walls shook with the drone of motonous chattering and the off-key singing of sea shanties.

I winced as Domarus's abdomen was skewered by the wasp's scarily large stinger, the steely point sinking into his body and glinting out the other end. I stepped up to try and help the player, but he reacted to the brutal attack from the wasp with a low-level Sword Art that chipped away at the last of the queen's health. The field boss shattered into crystals and I sighed, upset that the fight was already over, but relieved that I made the choice not to play with such a boring, low-level creature. The 'Congratulations' text box appeared in my view with my rewards; a heavy amount of SP and <<The Matriarch's Stinger>>. I materialized it and held it up to the sun; venomous liquid seeped out of the top, and I assumed it was to be applied to a weapon. Domarus received his own one, and I waved mine at him to show I did not require one. I stuffed it back into my inventory and looked back to Domarus. "Well, usually after a victory I go and have a couple drinks at whatever local tavern there is... but this just does not feel worth even half a pint. What do you do to celebrate your victories?" I asked the player, hoping he had a better idea; I did not feel like drinking after the anticlimactic end to that battle.

-Received Matriarch's Stinger

I chuckled at Dominion's statement as he peeled himself from the earth to have another shot at the rock. "Thankfully, you will not have to punch it until you die. I did say hopefully I could run you through this quest once before, did I not?" I told him as his punch did little more than tickle the giant boulder. I swept through my inventory and equipped my Titan's Grasp for the extra damage: would not need bleed damage against a boulder. I approached the rock after Domionion reeled away and leaned against it. I raised a fist above the rock, almost casually, before bringing it down against the boulder as hard as possible, shouting as my giant gauntlet hit the stone. I almost lost by balance as the rock flashed from the critical hit, and my fist plowed through the side of the rock, basically shearing the entire right third of the boulder off. I stumbled for a couple steps, before catching my balance and exhaling. "Was not expecting a critical hit there." I admitted with a chuckle and rolled my shoulders.

Whoops. We had made the bastard angry. As my feet shifted in my sand to leap away from the attack, my foot sank into the ground, and I could not pull away in time. The two heads struck in two different directions, and one sank its teeth into my abdomen, and I coughed as I felt my chest being pumped full of some searing liquid. Pain did not exist in the game, but the fear of knowing what had been leaked into my body really was painful; the red checkered marks where the snake had punctured my armour, began to glow green, and I peered up at my health bar; a green Poison indicator sat next to the bar. "Crap... poison." I growled and stumbled back while holding my abdomen, watching my health slowly tick down. We had to kill it fast, before its poison could do much more damage. My battle healing would hold it off, but after a few more attacks, coupled with the poison, it might not be enough.

Itzal posed an interesting, although random question, in response to my pirate accent. "Hmm... true. I do not think there is any evidence that they did speak like that. From what I remember it was adapted as a stereotype from a famous character in a very old pirate movie." I explained, scratching my chin. "And from then on it just became the 'pirate' accent, although he was the only pirate in the movie to speak in such a fashion." I admitted, and peered around. I had to keep focused on my surroundings, to see what I could find. We entered the 'beast's lair', pitch black and laden with the bones of men and other creatures. He handed me an amethyst-coloured crystal that heavily illuminated our surroundings, reaching out towards the darkest corners. He asked about Jevi and I smiled. "It is going okay. She has been busy, so I have not had much of a chance to spend time with her, but I hope she can crawl out of her own hole to join me soon." I explained with a chuckle before nudging Itzal. "How about you? Got yourself a woman yet?" I asked with a crooked eyebrow.

ID: 76444 | LD: 7

I watched as Zandra followed suit, her armour disappearing and being replaced with a more casual black and red outfit, something she said she had been wearing since possibly level five. She extended her arms out for me to evaluate her wear. "I think it is very cute and still looks nice, no matter how long you have had it. You do not grow in the game, so there is little point to changing it. I changed my casual coat once or twice, but underneath-" I peeled back my gothic coat to reveal the tunic and trousers beneath. "Been wearing the exact same outfit underneath basically since I started here." I explained with a chuckle, closing the coat back up and buttoning it again. I pointed at a bustling tavern nearby. "There. That place serves some very fiery ale." I told her with a wide grin. "Hope you have a high tolerance."

(Yeah, that's fine, I usually just use the stats at the time of the first instance of combat, unless it's a level-limited thing like an RGQ)

As we walked on, there was the familiar ringing of a body materializing from the depths of the game system, flashing into life from a blue-white flame. A two headed snake ripped itself from the earth, and I sighed. "Yep, that is the bastard." I sighed, lowering one hand and swiping open my menu, tapping the grey bars, materializing my ivory dragon armour over my body. I flexed my fingers in the highly malleable metal gauntlets, before balling my taloned hand into a fist. "Yeah, guess I could take some hate. I do not have any hate skills, so you better hope I hit the thing." I turned to Dominion, my voice echoing like a divine creature's, before looking back at the snake. "Round two buddy. You ready?" I spoke directly to the monster, knowing it had no real conscience.

The snake started to 'slither' through the air towards us, beating its wings furiously as only one of the heads stared us down, the other head lagging behind and hissing in discomfort. I dropped into a firm stance, fist behind me. My gauntlet glowed blue as I prepared a Sword Art and swung wide at the creature, but it backed off sharply as my fist slashed the air before me, causing the second head to hiss in fury at its twin. "Jeez, they are like real siblings..." I grumbled and sighed.

From where I stood, I could see Itzal's tactical mind whirring its gears, clicking all aspects of the fight into a plan within his mind, and I sighed; wish I could be tactical like that. But all I did was beat the crap out of things with my fists and yell at them if they did not die. I would make a great tank if I had howl, I am sure. Within a few seconds after my failure, Itzal had shot across the sand like some desert snake and unleashed a Sword Art that cleaved the serpent into flickering blue shards of glass. "Good job." I sighed, grasping my helmet and yanking it off, letting my silver locks stand up straight. "Yeah, who knows what we could find here? There be booty to be plundered." I made the second statement in my best impression of a pirate accent, and it worked surprisingly better than I had expected. "Come on, let us snoop around."

I 'wandered' into The Wandering Soul, shivering as the last of the cold was swept from my body and back out into the wilderness. I was due to tackle a couple quests with the Knights within a few days, and I would REALLY need some potions for once. I noticed a familiar head of white hair, one I had not seen in a long time, and approached him. "Well well, long time no see, my friend." I greeted Rain with a wide smile. "Sorry to bother you but... I have a bit of a big order to place. I would like three or four Mass Health potions and a Safeguard or two. Think you could whip those up for me?" I asked the alabaster haired samurai. "I have over ten thousand col, I should be able to pay a hefty amount for the goods."

I nodded to the girl as she began to sort out the material gathering and skill point strategies. I had to give it to her, she would definitely find it hard to fail a quest; she seemed to be prepared for anything, able to set her priorities way before a quest even began. She might be pushy and jump to conclusions, but at least she'd be easy to work with. Hakai mentioned she was a damage dealer and I smiled; even better. "I am a sort of monk, I guess. I tank, I heal, I do damage. Pick your poison, hun." I explained with a soft smile, not wanting any aggression between us; I got a bit too hotheated beforehand, when she challenged my 'romantic trustworthiness'.

"Oh wow, your story is more fascinating than my own." I told the player with a smile, feeling I could relate to this man. "Well, let us hope we cross paths again in the future so I can run you through the quest." I suggested with a chuckle. "I am one of the best people in Aincrad to run through the quest with." I explained with a smug grin, my arms folded confidently. "Hmm, seems we intend to run very similar builds, although with our priorities in different stats." I noted, scratching my chin. "Ah, no... I gave myself this title because I often disappear for a long time, letting everyone leave me in the dust. So I decided to put it to use with my armour style to give myself a name. I am actually a cook, but a somewhat tardy one at that. My priority is adventuring and levelling, and less so in crafting." I explained with a sigh, placing my hands on the back of my head and looking down in shame.

The snake was starting to become agitated, furious and, most of all, hungry. It wanted dinner ASAP, preferably served on a silver platter. And with the rate we were going, it could as well have us for dinner. We could hardly hit it, the sand kept sucking at our feet like some starving symbiote. "Damn it... it is too hard to move in this sand." I grunted and attempted to heave my sinking feet from the sand, barely managing to drag them through the shifting golden grains.

The flying snake took a bite at me, and I swung my fist in an arc in an attempt to catch the bastard on the way, but it recoiled from its failed attack before my fist could make contact with its scaly face. "Stop it and just die you bastard!" I growled, becoming agitated from the sand at my feet. I watched the monster's health bar continue to drop from my successful bleed attack, before abruptly stopping, the effect finally wearing off.

(We moved from 5th to 4th by the way, not 3rd to 4th XD)

The chill bite of the fourth floor was a welcome sensation. I was cooking out in the desert, and now I was safely warm in my coat as we stepped out into Snowfrost, and headed through the town into the wilderness. Rain had his weapon at the ready, prepared to unsheathe it at a moment's notice. I simply had my fists to worry about. "Yeah, I am ready. Come to think of it, we should be finding much easier mobs here, but we might be able to find something worth farming further in. I think there are a couple frost caverns with tougher mobs in them, if you would like to explore those." I explained with a shrug, pointing out across the ivory expanse of the fourth floor. "We might find a frost troll or something. That would make for an amusing fight."

I groaned and closed my eyes in agitation as the bear used hand signals to get his message across; a four course meal? He had to be kidding... but alas, if I wanted the bear to be a good little child, I would have to acquiesce to his request. And who knows what he would do if I did not hold up my end of the deal? Finally the bear released his death grip on my coat, and I patted myself down of bear fur, although animals never actually seemed to shed in this game. The creature snowballed back to Mack and I balled my hands into fists against my hips. "He is a bit of a problem child. Even Hikari's not as needy as the fluffball."

"I have done it once before." I nodded in response, remembering when we teamed up with Hirru and Xion to take it out the first time. "Yes, with our damage output, the creature really should not pose much of a problem." I agreed, sliding my hands into my coat pockets to stop them from freezing off. I turned and beckoned to Mack as I trudged off through the snowy hills, seeking out the skull that would summon the abominable snowman we were to slay.

I leaned back against the strangely flat trunk of a nearby tree, sighing and shutting my eyes as I felt the energy slowly returning to my avatar. "Well, this quest is quite a few levels below my level range, either of us could probably easily take it on solo, but it is just that much quicker and safer with the two of us bearing the load." I responded, cracking my left eye open to look at Jonathan. "Sorry we have to stop so long, that AOE attack I used is one of my least energy effective Sword Arts I have. Low damage for a high cost." I grumbled, shutting my eye again and running a hand through the silver locks upon my head. "We may as well start chasing after them, by the time we catch up my energy should be back."

+1 EN (37/56)

I strode up the mountainside with my hands in my coat pockets, swaying my vision side to side to check for monsters. Of course, on the second floor I had little chance to aggro the mobs across the rocks and plains, but it was a habit I had developed from roaming the higher floors. I decided to check out the boulder; there were players taking the quest left and right recently, and you never knew if one would need some assistance.

A smile crept across my face as I noticed a familiar head of blond hair, laying flat on the earth in front of the rock, completely spent from trying  to break the unbreakable. "Ah, Dominion, taking my quest are you?" I asked him as I stood at his head, peering down at the player. "This quest is my, uh... 'dominion', so to speak." I chuckled in a sour manner, having hurt myself from making such a horrible pun. "Get the hell up and start punching that rock again, I will help out." I assured him, beckoning for him to rise from the dead.

Domarus seemed... hesitant about attacking. Was it what I said? Did he not want to have a bit of fun with the creature? I shrugged and sighed to myself. Perhaps he was not as 'up and and at 'em' as I was, as friendly as he seemed. Maybe combat just did not give him that kick that I got every time I landed a blow into the digital flesh of some monster. I guess I could give him his peace, and let him finish the wasp personally.

I approached the wasp queen as Domarus's strike missed its target, the boss now more aware of the damage we could do. I charged up Embracer to attempt to stun the monster for Domarus, but again she was too quick and narrowly evaded the golden spear-handed strike towards her abdomen. "Go ahead and finish her if you like, she actually does not seem that fun to play with." I shrugged at Domarus, stepping back to let him take center stage.

I grinned and rolled my eyes at Magda's somewhat rebellious response to my criticism, backing off to let her focus. She seemed much more prepared and calculating about her situation than wild and hotheaded now, standing there with her shield up, peering over the rim at her opponent. Her weapon glowed a furious crimson as she rushed again, this time with more purpose to her assault. The system carried her through a pair of overhead arcs, slamming her deadly mace into the skull of the helpless animal. It was obviously a simple test attack; only a small amount of the verdant bar around the bear's head was chipped off by the attack, but it was damage nonetheless.

"Nice job!" I called to her, clapping my hands. Of course, I had seen much more... spectacular sights in my time, but as she was somewhat new to combat, it was still worth paying respects to what she'd accomplished. I sat down with my legs crossed and let her fight her own battle. It would be rude of me to swing in and cleave the poor animal in two, leaving nothing for Magda to salvage from the skirmish.

I threw a fleeting glance to the armoured gauntlet clamped on my shoulder, before turning my head back to Zandra and simpering. "You are right. And I intend to be standing in the vanguard, with the rest of the Knights." I told her confidently and gripped her black pauldron like she had to mine. "You are all an inspiration to me. Heroes. But I do not want to be a simple spectator much longer. I want to be a hero too." I raised my chin boldly and retracted my taloned palm from her armour.

"Well, yes, I guess you are right," I agreed with a somewhat embarrassed chuckle, "but we can still talk like normal human beings that are not stuck in some deathtrap made by a genius game designer, right?" I jested and shrugged with a wry smirk. I headed down the track towards town and beckoned for Zandra to come with, subconsciously flicking open my menu as I did so. My armour disappeared in spiralling flashes of ivory light, soon replaced by a gothic black trench coat with a red and white dragon embroidered onto the back and greyed trousers. "Get changed. I think a pair of hulking dragons walking through town might scare a few players."

Aww, you two are so cute together, @Tristan Delaney!

I watched Itzal unleash a flashy Sword Art upon both heads at once, dealing only a small amount of damage, but leaving a golden stun icon next to the boss's health bar. "Nice! Should make for an easy fight now!" I yipped and approached as well, barely keeping my footing in the constantly shifting sand.

As one head attempted to lift itself off the ground in its fatigued state, I approached it and sighed. "Sorry buddy." I apologized, and reared a fist back, orange light consuming it and a flame-like aura bursting to life. I launched my fist forward and, mid-flight, my hand burst open, scratching the serpent in the side of the face with the talons of the gauntlet, triggering the bleed effect on the monster. "Alright!" I cried and shook my hand, fanning the fiery aura away.

"Aww, that sucks! I wish I could have seen that, it would have been so funny!" I whined, running my hands through my wolfish hair, careful not to slice my scalp with the taloned gauntlets. "I... really wish I could have joined. I got my new gauntlets from a blacksmith and headed to the labyrinth as fast as I could, but the doors were shut by the time I got there..." I sighed, looking down in a deflated manner. "I took part in the planning and everything." I complained more to myself than Zandra or the system.

I nodded in agreement with Zandra. "Well, I have not seen the two handed spear in action yet, but I can confirm that Martial Arts has high solo target damage, although AOE Sword Arts are slightly more abundant in the skill now." I explained, remembering my eyes widening when I noticed some of my Sword Arts had become AOE. "But enough about combat... what do you say we grab a drink or something, like old times?"

"Hey, I never intended to!" I exclaimed as I raised my hands in surrender, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment at the notion that I went on 'vacation'. "I had my doubts when I came back... but I'm sure I can get up there. And even if I cannot, I know my food from my diner will help those on the frontier." I explained with a sigh. Domarus took note of the suspicious field of wasps also, nimbly navigating his menus to equip a black, intimidating armour, that gave off the aura of a dragon's rage.

Funny that.

I followed suit and clicked my fingers on the transparent grey and gold GUI, equipping my own armour, styled like that of a shining white dragon, with red gems inset into the chest and shoulders. "Seems like our outfits are quite similar." I mused with an echoing chuckle, watching Domarus scare off a group of wasps and drawing the queen out. "What do you say we play with our food a bit? I do not feel like insta-killing the thing. I need some fun." I asked of the draconic player, sending one taloned fist crashing into the palm of my other hand, cracking the knuckles within the gauntlets.

As Domarus faced off against the wasp, I took the moment of stillness and rushed towards the Queen, my fist glowing blue as I prepared a simple <<Flash Blow>>. My fist screamed through the air and caught the Queen in the site of the head, just beside her mandibles; for such a low-level Sword Art, it still did a number on the wasp, taking her health down almost half way. "Your turn!" I called to Domarus as I backed away from the Wasp Queen, not fancying the idea of becoming a kebab on that long skewer of hers.

"It would be taking a whole lot less time if I could get my bloody arm out of Rocky here." I grunted with a sigh, resorting to trying to yank my arm from the boulder, as Khry headed around the side to try from another angle. "Not sure that is going to help, buddy..." I groaned, not wanting him to collapse the rock any further on my arm.

I watched him belt the rock with his foot, and recoiled in pain, forcing me to cock my head in confusion. "You should not feel the pain... the system replaces pain with a numbing sensation. You are probably tricking yourself into thinking it hurts out of habit." I explained with a sheepish smile, remembering how long it took for me to realise that pain actually did not register as it should. "Hmm... let me see." I sighed and began tugging again. With an irritated growl, I lifted my free fist like a hammer and furiously brought it down to the Boulder beside my trapped arm, smashing trough the rubble and even further through the rock, almost cleaving it clean in half as I tore my arm free. "Got the bastard!" I shouted victoriously, raising my arms in a cheer.

Magda was quick to spot a lonely bear seated away from its brethren, staring off towards the edge of the disc of rock and steel with a dumbstruck, outcast gaze. Of course, the poor thing made for a perfect target, but I could not help feeling a small amount of pity for the AI controlled animal. I looked on as Magda rushed forward to tackle her foe, with me simply traipsing in tow, in no rush to take her glory. I passed the bears rather close by, gathering no aggro due to my significantly higher level, and bit my lip to put a leash on the snicker that threatened to burst out when Magda missed her Sword Art, and the bear swiped her in return. I slowly approached her and placed a hand around her shoulders to steady her from the blow. "Calm down Firestarter, you cannot just lash out wildly. Focus on the target more and do not drop your guard just because the target seems distracted." I told her and backed up, folding my arms in preparation for her next attack.