Hirru

Summary

Thread Reward
800 EXP + 400 Col
Quest Reward
300 EXP + 1 Gleaming Scale
<<Fishing Profession>>
Looted Rewards
250 Col
4 Mats
[194532] T1 Uncommon Consumable <<Unidentified>>
[194532] T1 Uncommon Consumable <<Unidentified>>
Bonus Rewards
3% EXP= 33 EXP
10% EXP into Col = 113 Col

Total Rewards
1133 EXP
763 Col
4 Mats
1 Gleaming Scale
<<Fishing Profession>>
[194532] T1 Uncommon Consumable <<Unidentified>>
[194532] T1 Uncommon Consumable <<Unidentified>>

195142: LD16

It was a very small chest, but nothing that the hunter would just pass up.  Even on the first tiered dungeons, a T1 trinket would last you forever, if it had the right stats.  Although he got both of his trinkets created with the enhancements that they have, he still considered them some of the most essential parts of his gear and have never changed them for anything else in this world.  About the only things that had never changed in his entire repertoire of equipment, either.

"Well, let's see what you got in there."

He looked at the locking mechanism and kind of grumbled a little.  He should have taken some points into lockpicking or bought some keys for his own usage.  Without them, he had to deal with beating the chest with his sword a couple times until the lock was destroyed.  Unfortunately, this method was bound to cause the treasure to always be less than what he could gain otherwise.  Sure enough, as the lock broke, Hirru saw the spoils of war:  a small amount of Col, a couple mats and a couple unidentifiable items.  He took all into his inventory and made his way back to Fortaleza.

"I should go visit Baldur.  He said he had a place for me."

3/3 energy regen

Chest opening= ID:194532  LD: 3
5*50=250 Col
2 Mats
[194532] T1 Uncommon Consumable <<Unidentified>>
[194532] T1 Uncommon Consumable <<Unidentified>>

As some time passed, the Jade Hunter found himself coming close to a weird cliffside that was giving off the same pings that the Sand Shark was giving off.  When he got closer, it was evident that something had lived here for a while.  Most of the surfaces were heavily scratched or gnawed on by rough scales and sharp teeth respectively.  Taking his time to search carefully, the hunter found a large alcove carved into the rockface.  Inside, it seemed like this was the spawning ground for the Sand Shark, as the sand seemed to be pushed around quite a bit, and several upheaved tunnel openings that seemed to be partially filled in with sand.  In one of the tunnels, Hirru spotted something.  It's shape was easily distinguished from the rest of the sand and stone around the area, and Hirru didn't take long to dig it out. 

"Well, I guess I earned something more from this than just a small potion.  I found myself a little chest."

2/3 energy regen

Chest Search = ID: 194531  LD: 17+8=25 <<Chest found>>

After the battle was concluded, the hunter could see that his abilities and stats were all back to normal.  This stat changing ability may come into play later on down the line, so the hunter decided to take it into consideration to investigate further down the line.  First, he needed to get off this floor and find a place to sleep.  He would also want to look into finding that things lair, or anything else within the area.  Going back into search and investigation mode, Hirru took off his armor and replaced his Favor of the Golden Dragon to up his search radius and luck.  The silver bangle would glint from the golden dragon eye that lay in the center.  It had been so long now, that the hunter could not remember the one that created this trinket for him, but it has gain quite a bit of usage since he gained it.  Though, not as much as Spirit of the Jade Dragon, his main trinket that has kept him alive for so long.

1/3 energy regen

Equipment change: Bulwark -72 MIT -> Favor of the Golden Dragon +3 LD

Keeping the momentum going, the hunter did not wait for the Sand Shark to dig into the sand, after the onslaught from Calamitous Disaster would claim from the creatures health.  The last hit from that sword art would send the creature flying out of the sand, and in line for another attack.  Hirru looked up while pointing the end of Betrayal across his shoulder, and just as the shark would reach the ground, he would let loose.  A sharp thrust into the gills of the shark would push it way from diving straight in.  Alternating from arcing slashes into thrusts would continue until the last thrust would cause the creature's health to finally drop to nothing.  It gave a final groan before flopping once on the sandy surface and exploding into thousands of light particles.  The hunter would sigh heavily before rubbing his forehead with his forearm, of course there wasn't any sweat, but it sure felt like it to him.

"Alright, I think that's about it.  Should maybe find it's lair for more gear though."

[194530] [BD: 7+3-2=8] Hit
[Astral Hell -8 EN] 14x12= 168-35= 133 DMG
[MD: 3]

Hirru: 674/720 HP | 48/95 EN | 14 DMG | 53 MIT | 3 ACC | 1 EVA | 1 PARA | 8/4 ENVM {SA Cool: Tempest 1/2 | C.D. 3/3 | Shatter 1/2 | A.H. 0/2 | F.B. 0/2}

Sand Shark: 0/555 HP | 50 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | 12/2 BLD |
Sand Armor Potion obtained

"I'm not letting you have another bite out of my flesh!  You can taste the end of my blade instead!"

Shouting that aloud, the hunter gathered his strength together to pull himself out of the sand dunes and found himself tumbling down the other side.  While rolling down, he was able to see the waves that the creature was leaving behind as it swam through the grit.  Taking that into consideration when he got to the bottom of the dune, Hirru found that the Sand Shark was on it's way, by the upheaval of the sand.  Taking that as a sign to go off on, he took a step inward while waiting for Betrayal, his sword, to start to glow.  Right as the field boss ripped its way to the surface, jaw agape to take a bite out of the hunter; Hirru took that moment to let loose a Calamitous Disaster sword art.  The flurry of arcing swings would collide with the jagged teeth, each time shredding layers of teeth out of the jaw of the marine creature, not giving it a moment to reach Hirru.

[194529] [BD: 7+3-2=8] Hit
[Calamitous Disaster -10] 14x15= 210-35= 175 Dmg
[MD: 4+1-1=4] Miss

Hirru: 674/720 HP | 55/95 EN | 14 DMG | 53 MIT | 3 ACC | 1 EVA | 1 PARA | 8/4 ENVM {SA Cool: Tempest 2/2 | C.D. 4/3 | Shatter 2/2 | A.H. 0/2 | F.B. 1/2}

Sand Shark: 56/555 HP | 50 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | 12/2 BLD |

Skills:

• <<Bad Footing>>: Missing an attack against the Sand Shark causes the Player to get bogged down by the sandy environment, making the next attack against them deal 15 DMG more.
• <<Sharp Jaws>>: On an MD 9-10, the Shark will reduce the MIT of its target by 10 for <<Sand Shark’s>> next attack, which will automatically target the same Player regardless of Hate values.
• <<Weapon Lock>>: Only Sword Arts of Rank 4 or lower may be used against this boss.
• <<Tier Lock>>: For the duration of the fight, all of the participants’ stats that scale with Tier are calculated as though they’re Tier 1. [DMG/MIT/BLEED enhancements etc.]

"How do you like that one, ya over grown rock fish!  I'll have you for dinner, with a side of sand!  Cause it's everywhere now.."

Hirru yelled out at the swimming abomination of a creature.  It was definitely a shark, but the hide of it was very rough and rocky.  It's fins seemed more for pushing itself through the sand, while it's had was more of a wedge shape.  It seemed like the head was more likely 'slicing' through the sand and the tail and fins were just to make it snake through the desert faster instead of actually swimming.  Fascinating stuff, but nothing that he really needed to look into at the moment.  Instead, he figured he could get a free hit in while the creature was still stunned, but the thing awoke from its stunned state, and dug into the sand once more, while slapping Hirru with its razor sharp tail.  It didn't help that the hunter's feet were being covered again, so he had to take another chunk of damage from the Sand Shark's ability.

[194528] [BD: 3+3-2=4] Miss -2 EN {Shatter missed -5 EN}  (Bad Footing active)
[MD: 7+1-1=7] Hit 65-53= 12 DMG

Hirru: 674/720 HP | 64/95 EN | 14 DMG | 53 MIT | 3 ACC | 1 EVA | 1 PARA | 8/4 ENVM {SA Cool: Tempest 3/2 | C.D. 1/3 | Shatter 3/2 | A.H. 1/2 | F.B. 2/2}

Sand Shark: 231/555 HP | 50 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | 12/2 BLD | Shatter 0/3

Skills:

• <<Bad Footing>>: Missing an attack against the Sand Shark causes the Player to get bogged down by the sandy environment, making the next attack against them deal 15 DMG more.
• <<Sharp Jaws>>: On an MD 9-10, the Shark will reduce the MIT of its target by 10 for <<Sand Shark’s>> next attack, which will automatically target the same Player regardless of Hate values.
• <<Weapon Lock>>: Only Sword Arts of Rank 4 or lower may be used against this boss.
• <<Tier Lock>>: For the duration of the fight, all of the participants’ stats that scale with Tier are calculated as though they’re Tier 1. [DMG/MIT/BLEED enhancements etc.]

As the Sand Shark sand below the waves once more, the hunter tried to think of something that could really work against the field boss.  With it being an underground ambush predator, Hirru had witnessed quite a few of these creatures in his line of duty, in Aincrad.  Most of them had some sort of way to see you, whether it being some sort of sensory gland that could pick up vibrations, or they had heightened senses that could hear or see a creature from within a specific range.  If the Sand Shark was like any other shark on the 22nd floor, then they would be sight and smell, though the smell part was questionable.  Though, this being a game, the hunter's mind kind of defaulted back to wait to hit.  As it sprung from the very sands it called home, the hunter pulled from his rank 3 sword arts to slap it with a Fight Blade to stun it.  Upon the final strike of the sword art, the big rock fish was flopping on top of the sand dunes.

[194527] [BD:7+3-2=8] Hit
[Fight Blade -8 EN] 14x11= 154-20= 134 Stun
[MD: 2+1-1=2] Stunned

Hirru: 686/720 HP | 69/95 EN | 14 DMG | 53 MIT | 3 ACC | 1 EVA | 1 PARA | 8/4 ENVM {SA Cool: Tempest 0/2 | C.D. 2/3 | Shatter 1/2 | A.H. 2/2 | F.B. 3/2}

Sand Shark: 231/555 HP | 50 DMG | 20 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | 12/2 BLD | Shatter 1/3

Skills:

• <<Bad Footing>>: Missing an attack against the Sand Shark causes the Player to get bogged down by the sandy environment, making the next attack against them deal 15 DMG more.
• <<Sharp Jaws>>: On an MD 9-10, the Shark will reduce the MIT of its target by 10 for <<Sand Shark’s>> next attack, which will automatically target the same Player regardless of Hate values.
• <<Weapon Lock>>: Only Sword Arts of Rank 4 or lower may be used against this boss.
• <<Tier Lock>>: For the duration of the fight, all of the participants’ stats that scale with Tier are calculated as though they’re Tier 1. [DMG/MIT/BLEED enhancements etc.]

With the death of the final enemy within that room, the hunter could relax a little bit.  Throughout the room, there didn't seem to be anything in particular that required investigation.  Just a mostly empty room with a few tables and chairs here and there.  There were some things hanging on the wall, but the hunter didn't know if they were really important or not.  If they were, they were in a dialect that he couldn't read just yet.  Over time, and a little luck, he may be able to learn it all.

Turning back to Baldur, he shrugged while holding the envenomed blade.

"I have one more sword art before I turn to the third ranked arts.  Could use some time for Galaxy and Tempest to come off this heavier cooldown system."

He said while walking over to the next door.  He took a chair and wedged it under the handles, just in case the next creature in this dungeon decided to roll up to their slumber party.

"I still need work on these two handed sword arts, too.  I'm mostly only going by my small glimpses from Macradon's moves.  Other than that, some of the sword arts were written down and recorded for other players.  So, I'm slowly relearning how to plant my foot down, instead of the faster movements of the one handed straight sword.  There could be another AOE in my skill set that I haven't tried yet."

HP regen +44 / Energy regen 1/3 {SA Count: G.A.: 3/4 | TP: 2/2}

After dealing damage to the sand shark, the shatter skill had dealt a large crack into it's hard hide.  It was visible for only a few seconds, but it was beginning to bury itself back into the sand.  Taking this opportunity, Hirru dug himself out of the sand to rush at the Sand Shark, before it could return to below the loose sand bed.  However, the hunter was not fast enough.  The shark sank beneath the sand, which prompted Hirru to bury his sword in the built up dune which came from the burrowing.  The sand crept around his boots again, making him just as susceptible to the heavy damage that it did before.  Sure enough, the sand shark had erupted out of the sand to take a bite out of the hunter.  It wasn't much damage, but it was still enough to take a blip out of his health bar.

[194038] [BD: 2+3-2=3] Miss (Bad Footing)
[MD: 7] Hit 65 - 53= 12 DMG

Hirru: 686/720 HP | 76/95 EN | 14 DMG | 53 MIT | 3 ACC | 1 EVA | 1 PARA | 8/4 ENVM {SA Cool: Tempest 1/2 | C.D. 3/3 | Shatter 2/2 | A.H. 3/2}

Sand Shark: 365/555 HP | 50 DMG | 20 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | 12/2 BLD | Shatter 2/3

Skills:

• <<Bad Footing>>: Missing an attack against the Sand Shark causes the Player to get bogged down by the sandy environment, making the next attack against them deal 15 DMG more.
• <<Sharp Jaws>>: On an MD 9-10, the Shark will reduce the MIT of its target by 10 for <<Sand Shark’s>> next attack, which will automatically target the same Player regardless of Hate values.
• <<Weapon Lock>>: Only Sword Arts of Rank 4 or lower may be used against this boss.
• <<Tier Lock>>: For the duration of the fight, all of the participants’ stats that scale with Tier are calculated as though they’re Tier 1. [DMG/MIT/BLEED enhancements etc.]

While keeping his search skills sharpened, the hunter could only hope to hit the swimming land fish, as it seemed to be much faster than he was in the sand.  The last attack also kicked up quite a bit of the small grained earth particles that it started to cover his feet much more.  Sensing that the creature would use this to it's advantage, the hunter could only pause and wait for the Sand Shark to reveal itself.  If he knew these ambush predators, Hirru figured the only time to hit it was when it was attacking.  When the opportunity presented itself, Hirru plunged his Calamitous Disaster sword art into the hide of the creature, but he was hit fairly hard for a creature of this floor.  It was negligible damage, and didn't seem to have any particular added problems either.  Weird, as it is.

"Come on, sharky!  I've faced things much more harmful on this floor than you!"

[194034] [BD:5+3-2=6] Hit [Shatter Activate -5 EN]
[Calamitous Disaster -10 EN] 14*15= 210-(35-15)= 190 Dmg
[MD: 8+1-1=8] Hit 50+15 (B.F)= 65-53 MIT= 12 DMG

Hirru: 708/720 HP | 77/95 EN | 14 DMG | 53 MIT | 3 ACC | 1 EVA | 1 PARA | 8/4 ENVM {SA Cool: Tempest 2/2 | C.D. 4/3 | Shatter 3/2}

Sand Shark: 365/555 HP | 50 DMG | 20 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | 12/2 BLD | Shatter 3/3

Skills:

• <<Bad Footing>>: Missing an attack against the Sand Shark causes the Player to get bogged down by the sandy environment, making the next attack against them deal 15 DMG more.
• <<Sharp Jaws>>: On an MD 9-10, the Shark will reduce the MIT of its target by 10 for <<Sand Shark’s>> next attack, which will automatically target the same Player regardless of Hate values.
• <<Weapon Lock>>: Only Sword Arts of Rank 4 or lower may be used against this boss.
• <<Tier Lock>>: For the duration of the fight, all of the participants’ stats that scale with Tier are calculated as though they’re Tier 1. [DMG/MIT/BLEED enhancements etc.]

As the shifting sands seemed to roll around him, he seemed to find himself being circled by something big.  Search skill could only show highlights and pings of where something may be, but all of its pings were coming from under the sand in different areas.  It wasn't until the creature burst out of the sands that the hunter could see what it was.  He thought he had fought something like this before, but couldn't remember.  This was a land shark, but not just any land shark.  It was the new field boss of the area: The Sand Shark.

"Finally, some good meat around here!"

Hirru smirked before readying his weapon.  Though, he noticed a huge problem already.  Fang seemed to be less weighty as it used to be.  In fact, his armor felt the same too, and his energy seemed to drop the moment the Sand Shark popped up.  Was this something that would happen with all field bosses?  He checked his stats quickly, and sure enough, there were significant drops in damage, mitigation, and energy.

Getting started, he would try for a Galaxy Destroyer, but it wouldn't come up.  It was like the sword art was no longer available to him.  It wasn't quite clear, but there were quite a few restrictions here.  Instead, the hunter proceeded to charge in with a Tempest, but the shark was ahead of him by diving once more into the sand.  

Stats dropped to T1
Combat Master DMG:  12 -> 3
Shelob's Fang Envenom: 32 -> 8
Bulwarks Mitigation: 72 -> 18
Energist Max Energy: 20 -> 5
Charge energy usage: 8 -> 2

[194028] [BD:3+3-3=3] Miss -2 EN (Charge -2 EN)  <<Bad Footing>> Procced
[MD: 2+1-1=2] Miss

Hirru: 720/720 HP | 91/95 EN | 14 DMG | 53 MIT | 3 ACC | 1 EVA | 1 PARA | 8/4 ENVM {SA Cool: Tempest 3/2}

Sand Shark: 555/555 HP | 50 DMG | 35 MIT | 1 ACC | 2 EVA | 12/2 BLD

Skills:

• <<Bad Footing>>: Missing an attack against the Sand Shark causes the Player to get bogged down by the sandy environment, making the next attack against them deal 15 DMG more.
• <<Sharp Jaws>>: On an MD 9-10, the Shark will reduce the MIT of its target by 10 for <<Sand Shark’s>> next attack, which will automatically target the same Player regardless of Hate values.
• <<Weapon Lock>>: Only Sword Arts of Rank 4 or lower may be used against this boss.
• <<Tier Lock>>: For the duration of the fight, all of the participants’ stats that scale with Tier are calculated as though they’re Tier 1. [DMG/MIT/BLEED enhancements etc.]

Since the hunter couldn't find the dungeon that he 'oh so wanted', Hirru had to resign himself to finding his way back.  Turning around, it seemed that the path that he took was covered in sand once more.  Not that he needed the trail.  Although it wouldn't be too hard, he wanted to still explore and see what else was new around the area.  There seemed to be canyons near the main settlement that held some sort of significance.  Maybe he could find something there that could help out, or maybe fight something that wasn't locked to a mediocre sum of health and power.  He was itching for something better than what he had dealt with before, but with him being alone, there weren't that many options.  With that in mind, the hunter switched from his gathering gear to his combat gear.  It would do him well in the encounters to come.

Favor of the Golden Dragon -> Bulwark

-3 LD | +72 MIT

[Reveal= Dungeon search on post 10] [All search mods and LD enhancements = +11 LD]

Activating his search skill, the hunter would set out to look for this 'flower in the sand'.  He had not heard of nor seen such a thing before, but he was determined to find it.  He wanted to get something done today, other than fishing up a singular fish.  Though, that fish was rather pretty.  Remembering what Anthony Gill said about the rainbow fish reminded him that they were incredibly rare for a reason, and that he should be kind to nature.  If he ever got to that point in his fishing career, then he would gladly send the beautiful fish back to their merry way.  Until then though, the hunter would have to level it through, just like his merchant profession.

Venturing through the sands, the hunter seemed to come up to something, but all it was was just a false alarm.  What looked like a flower, was just a rock with twigs.  It would have been something around it, but there was nothing around the area.  The hunter sighed.

"I guess that there isn't anything around."

[193683] [LD: 3+11= 14] Really.. one off..

He was nearing the most recent place that he had found some ruins before, but there was a slight problem.  Since the terrain had heavily changed, there was something new here.  A few obelisks that Hirru could remember from another area of the desert entirely.  Was he in the wrong space?  He wondered before checking his map.  It was weird, but he had nearly all of his map data from before, but there were a few grayed out area now.  Especially where the old labyrinth was.  It seemed odd, but not as much when he remembered that every floor was like this.  He wasn't going to get anywhere from questioning this matter.

Investigating the obelisks, he noticed that there were some weird runes on them.  Some seemed to be heavily rubbed off from years of erosion, but there were a couple that could be seen.  The hunter remembered somewhat what these meant from translations by NPC's that were around.  'Sand', 'Flower', and 'Luck' is what they seemed to roughly translate to.  It was rather crude, but the NPC's would speculate from there, and the player had to riddle it out from there.

"So, in the sand, look for a flower, with a little luck?  Just sounds like a fetch quest to me."

The hunter couldn't handle it anymore, as the mist seemed to have some sort of narcoleptic properties to it.  His eyes drew heavy, and before he knew it, he was asle..

"Wha!"

He awoke with a start after having been splashed with something wet.  His face was wet and so was most of his body, though the water physics of the game would have it fall off in a few minutes.  His eyes didn't need to adjust to any bright light or anything, as he found himself in a dimly lit cavern.  Here and there, small torches would flicker and flare around, showing more and more of the area.  With more detail, the hunter's eyes widened:  he was surrounded on all sides by metal bars. 

In fact, there were cages and cells all around the area.  Some were empty, but others seemed to carry some sort of life within them.  Each one had a different amount of movement and sounds to them, but it wasn't until the hunter activated his search skill and all modifiers that he saw the bigger picture.  Of the occupied ones Hirru could see; 6 yellow crystals that denoted NPC's, 3 green crystals that denoted players, and...

"This can't be right.."

There were one hundred red crystals spread out over ten different cells, meaning there were mobs locked away. 

Although, for Hirru, they were more pink denoting incredibly weak mobs; but, to someone that was more appropriate for this floor, they were all red to dark red.  The only reason they were dark red, was because the hunter was here.  His presence was causing all the mobs to try and meet his level, but the floor maximum cap wouldn't allow them to reach any further.  Thankfully, they were all weak to him, but it would be a difficult time for anyone else.  If anything, he could be glad they were all behind bars, as he didn't want to waste his energy fighting all one hundred.  Though, what disturbed him most was that he couldn't tell their descriptions except for the glowing red eyes that would sometimes pierce the darkness, if the torchlight flickered just right.

With that though, there were also several red/pink crystal creatures roaming around the cells too.  These ones seemed to only count in the single digits, about four to five of them.  These seemed to be like the elven creature from before, the Fae.  There was one that had positioned themselves each of the four cages that seemed to contain players.  There was another that seemed to be keeping a few of the rabbit eared Faune in a tight precession.  This was sickening to the hunter, but there were further matters to handle.

Opening his menu, the hunter could see that his initial set of gear was gone, but everything in his battle ready equipment was still there.  Although, they seemed to leave his bracelet behind.  Seems about right, they took what was readily on his body, but not stuff that was hidden in his inventory.  While the watch was doing it's thing, the hunter would switch into his readied blade, Betrayal of the Lone Knight, and await the next rotation, or if the others try to make a move.

[Main inventory weapons and armor are locked away until cages are broken.  You can still use your main trinket and switch into and use Battle Ready Inventory items.  The doors have 50 HP, the cage itself has 200 HP | 10 MIT.  Any damage will alert the guards, adding them to the mob pool.  If less than 2 Fae are left alive, it will unlock one of the ten cells releasing ten Twisted Ones.  Parties can only attack 4 mobs at a time.]

Equipped Betrayal of the Lone Knight (+12 DMG) from BRI 

[Modified Stats until cage is broken]
Hirru | HP 720/720 | EN 110/110 | DMG 23 | 1 ACC (dim light) | 1 EVA

The dull pressure that would come about from the crooked dagger seemed to fade just as quickly as it came.  The dark elf extremist that had attacked him had reeled back while spouting some nonsense about killing all of us interlopers, until he saw the small symbol of royalty upon Hirru's headband.  His eyes would widen before squinting sharply, as if to say: 'there is no way'.

"How do you, an outsider and intruder to our home, carry the symbol of the royal family?!"

The hunter took this as a small sign that the item was good for something, but not much anywhere except the 23rd floor.  The hunter gave a sharp look towards the extremist before responding to Baldur.

"Unfortunately, it seems like two handed straight swords got.. what was it?  Nerfed?  Anyway, there are some sword arts that I learned, while watching Mac, that don't seem to do what they used to."

He would pull his sword across his shoulder before the sword art's activation light would ring out.  The sword art would rocket him forward before slashing twice into the creature and following the whole thing with a final smash of the pommel.

"To let you know, I've betrayed my people, just like you did."

The hunter would whisper into the ear of the extremist before it keeled over and shattered into thousands of light shards, for their lunar mother to reclaim.  He would look to Baldur before the sword art would freeze him in place.

"As far as I remember, Tempest used to be able to hit multiple opponents at one time, but now.. it's just a stun attack.  I don't have any strong AOE, other than Galaxy Destroyer."

[193498] [BD:4+3=7] Hit
[Tempest -10 EN] 23*14=322-90= 232 Dmg

[H:2] Baldur | HP 820/820 | EN 74/96 | DMG 25 | ACC 5 | EVA 2 | BH 41 | REC +4 | MIT 78
[H:1] Hirru | HP 602/720 | EN 96/110 | DMG 23 | ACC 3 | EVA 1 | ENV 32 | MIT 107 {SA Count: G.A.: 4/4 | TP: 3/2}
Dark Elf Extremist 1 | HP 120/450 | DMG 225 | MIT: 90 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0 | FROZEN  | BURNING (1/2) 56 DMG
Dark Elf Extremist 2 | HP 0/450 | DMG 225 | MIT: 90 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 0

The hunter sighed as they ventured closer to the runic structure.  A small amount of mist was crawling out of the wood work as Randal investigated the monolith, which the hunter soon had issue with.  They were nowhere near the Forest of Wavering Mist for that to happen, and it was not morning, where the morning dew would could be seen as light fog as it hung in the atmosphere.  Neither conditions were met, so something else was the issue now.  His search skill immediately kicked in to alert him to a new danger.  Snapping his head over to where Dwayne once stood, there was now something different.  An elegant looking individual that seemed almost ethereal.  Other than its skin slightly changing from a human's to that of wood, before coming to a darker motif, the creature seemed to embody a sense of esteem and grace that would rival some of the elves on higher floors.

This was a Fae.  Below its feet, lay the remains of the Faune that accompanied them.

"Sh*t.. Everyo...! ?"

Before he could warn anyone, he felt that his senses were being heavily dulled down.  He dropped to one knee, while using most of his strength to keep himself conscious.  What was this all of a sudden?  The hunter had not heard of something like this happening before.  Was this part of that rumor?  Was this how the Fae captured their prey?  The hunter would have to study this more.

It would take some time to find the lost ruins that made up quite a bit of the deserts lower array.  From his old knowledge, there used to be a thriving civilization that once made these lands their home.  Not much is known, except that they existed long before the desert even existed.  Apparently, there was evidence to show that grass, flowers, and other foliage used to exist in some of the lower ruins.  It was quite weird to hear, but after visiting quite a few sub-dungeons in his time on this floating castle, the hunter could tell that something that could have been plants were there.  Though, all of them were either fossilized remains, or really dead dried out greens.

This didn't mean that there were no flora in the desert, as cacti and other brush that could be found near oasis' still existed in this eroded floor.  The hunter would walk over to one such prickly boi, and hack at it a bit to hopefully gain something from it.

[192923] [LD: 13+8=21] +1 Mat

[Enacting darkness debuff: -1 ACC unless Night Vision or Glowstone used]

It was dark by the time the group was ready to go.  Short words were given, but by the time they had set out, there wasn't much that would help them now.  It would take some time to get to the Forest of Wavering Mist from where they were.  Going south from Aryut, the party would roll through the small town of Flora.  A beautiful place in of itself, but one could feel eyes upon them.  Faune and Fae alike live in this village, which gave some concern to the hunter as he wasn't getting any nasty pings out of his search skills, but the feeling of being watched was ever present.

While passing through, the hunter would keep a close eye on everyone.  Since they were now partied up to keep everyone's health and energy gauged, the hunter was able to find the other two's names.  The battle maiden was called Astreya, and the tall nimble one was Randal.  It was great to associate names to faces, since neither had introduced themselves just yet.  Including Dwayne, their party would be full, which was something that most players don't normally get.  With that though, it would bring a new danger.  Hirru was probably a higher level than any of them here, which would lead to bad business if they come into combat.  He figured they may be able to hold their own, but it would be better if the hunter was alone.  Nothing he could do about that now.

Reaching the edge of Flora, which led towards the Forest of Wavering Mist, the hunter turned back to Dwayne.

"You said that they disappeared around the forest, correct?  Did you see anything strange other than the mist, or anything to determine that they could be elsewhere?"

Walking the sands seemed like a nostalgia trip, as trying to pass the dunes without crossing between certain 'safety nets' would bring about mobs to come about and attack anyone that came near.  Especially antlions that would trap people in quicksand and eat them as they came down, or the ever present scorpions that would paralyze their prey before ripping them apart with their pincers.  Incredible creatures, but extremely dangerous at low levels.  For the Jade Hunter though, they were nothing but a shot in the wind.  Whenever there was one, the hunter had enough knowledge to cut off any potential of harm.  These things were no longer any threat to the hunter, and it showed.  He didn't need to be constantly on guard anymore, at least, as long as he could hit everything.  There wasn't much else here, so the hunter continued to follow the path laid before him using the guide stones that dot the area.  He missed when these were not a prevalent, and only a few spots could be found.

[192557] [LD: 13+8=21] +1 Mat

The Jade Hunter was taken aback by the sudden question.  There weren't that many that really questioned it, and most just said it was odd.  This was the first time that he was properly questioned about it.  He had to turn it around.

"Is any of our hair real?"

Taking a more philosophical approach, but he couldn't hold his smile back before waving his hand out to the taller man.  While grabbing a tuft of hair, Hirru replied.

"Ha!  No, this is dyed.  You could get some from an alchemist, if they still care to make them anymore.  My hair was supposed to be green like a clover, for luck.  It's become pretty iconic for me."

He would explain while smiling over the small amount of memories that gave him that information.  It wasn't too long ago that he could remember it, but it gave meaning to something so important to his life here.

"Sorry, should introduce myself."

The hunter was about to beat his breastplate with his unarmored hand, but immediately stopped.  He didn't need to do that anymore.  He was no longer apart of the Knights of the Blood Oath; he didn't have to salute to anyone anymore.  Instead, he touched the emblem on his head with two fingers before taking them off in a quick wave.

"I'm Jade Hunter, Hirru.  Nice to meet you all."

When Dwayne explained his lot, and said that they were going to wait until morning to find their targets.  The hunter shook his head.  This person's partner was missing and he was going to wait more?  He has excellent firepower here, but chooses to wait.  That won't work for the front lines.  Waiting at the wrong moment will get you killed.

"The longer we wait, the worse it can get.  We should head out, as soon as possible.  If anything, the battle maiden here and I, can look into it.  Though, I think we can have a higher chance if we all went together now."

The hunter couldn't help but hear shouts for some people around the area.  It seemed that a player had just been taken captive by the Fae, as well as, another of the bunny race.  The red headed male was trying to find some people to help him in getting their friend back.  It seemed to get the attention of two separate players; one that seemed to be built for speed, that much can be seen from the brunette man's choice in armor.  The other seemed to be a girl of dark long hair.  This one seemed to be sporting a heavier build than the other one, while still being a dress at the same time.  Rather odd party, but the hunter had seen worse.  Hirru chuckled to himself while looking upon, what he could only think were, lower tiered players.  He couldn't say for certain, but there could be plenty of players that were his level and above now.

Seeing an opportunity to seek out more upon this rumor and investigate further, the hunter scratched his head, shuffling his green colored hair which was held up by a red headband.  Upon the headband was a unique emblem from a victory long past.  Hirru moved over to the three adventurers and raised his non-armored right arm slightly in front of him, in a gesture to give his attention towards another.

"Mind if I join in with you lot?  I may not have Tracking, but I can help in searching out different things."

Hirru would speak in a deep solemn voice.  

The fifth floor of burning suns and scorching sands.  How the hunter had missed this place, although it wasn't much to miss.  It seemed the update did do a number on the environment, but all in all, it was mostly the same.  Some places seemed to be more cavernous, with cliffs and canyons, but the desert was still the most predominant part of the entire floor.  He hated it, but in a familiar way.  The sand was coarse and harsh.  Sandstorms would kill even the most stout of players, unless they found the Survival extra skill somewhere along the way.  He was fortunate to find much more than that skill, but a trade to deal in.  Sub-dungeons were plentiful on this floor, as the desert was full of ruins under the scorching sands.  It was this luck that got him to become a proper scouting force on the front lines.

Cracking his neck, the hunter trudged out of Fortencia, and into the great desert.

Never Make A Deal With A Fae

Among the Faune, humanoid creatures that sport quite large rabbit like ears, there have been word of disappearances of late.  Many can be attributed to the other denizens of the third floor, the Fae.  Whimsical creatures of their own right, they show an air of excellence and elitism, none so higher than some elves on higher floors.  These Fae are known to be quite hospitable and homely, but that is just a light ruse.  Their guise is two fold.  They can not outright lie, but their ways of spreading out the truth is quite remarkable.  It is easy for one such creature to insight intrigue and curiosity from their words, and it rings true for both Faune and players alike.  However, word around the main town of Aryut say:

Faune and Foreigners alike are being captured by the Fae.  Unspeakable dark acts are being acted upon them in the Cavern of the Faeries.  If only we could enter the Faerie and rescue them, but how?

It is up to you, to find out!

*********************************

The third floor had changed quite a bit, just as every other floor the hunter had visited so far.  He wasn't here for loot nor the hunt for foes.  The Jade Hunter was there for answers, to a very odd rumor.  Hearing about the oddity, he had teleported to the main town of Aryut, a large sprawling network of huts and homes that settle along the roots and branches of the large trees that call this forest home.  It was odd to see this place, after so long.  Stepping away from the warp station, Hirru made his way to the notice board; looking for a particular notice or rumored tale.  It wasn't long before the hunter saw a very familiar poster, one that he made so long ago.  Hunter for Hire.  A poster looking for people to hire the Jade Hunter to complete difficult tasks for them.

"How long has it been, since I last saw this floor?

Combat Stats

Hirru | HP 720/720 | EN 110/110 | DMG 23 | ACC 3 | EVA 1 | PARA 1 | ENV 32 | MIT 107