Hirru

"Huh?"

The hunter was speechless.  This was really the first time that someone didn't understand what was going on, but that seemed to dawn on the hunter too.  His betrayal wasn't fully going out.  Could it be that Hikki boi was suppressing the information, was it all just the front liners of that day that knew of the events of that day.

"Oh.. I.."

The hunter pulled out a teleportation crystal from his battle ready pack.  He waved it around a bit, as Hirru remembered what happened.

"In the Council fight, one of the five members was a small boy called Durares.  He was essentially the healer and prophet? for the group.  He could use this deck of cards to apply buffs and debuffs while healing select council members.  We had already killed two of the most dangerous ones, and it was beginning to look like we would be able to resolve the battle rather peacefully after killing the main leader, Isaxi.  Unfortunately, Durares had painted himself as a more desirable target as the squishy healer, and no one else would listen to what I or any of the other two were asking to spare him and kill Isaxi."

Hirru held his arms out wide, making himself look bigger than he really was. 

"There was another of the Council, Evahira.  She seemed to be protecting Durares, but not from obligation, more from kinship.  Like a brother-sister, or something along those lines.  So, I put my body on the line.  I chose to be a second shield, and gave them my only teleportation crystal to leave.  It was given to the boy, whom was able to use it.  In the meantime; I was shoved aside, stabbed, and ridiculed for being a f*cking dumbass for betraying my words and betraying everyone there."

The hunter lowered his arms while putting the crystal back.  He didn't have time to be trading tales right now.  Ugzeke was his target now, not Durares.

"So that's my crime.  I have my reasons for what I did, but I hope you sort of understand.  An A.I. that can nearly replicate a proper being, especially a child haunts me."

Hirru said while running up to the bum bum of a mob and sank Shelob's Fang into his achilles tendon once more, stunning him in place.  

"Heh, Oikawa wasn't one of us.  He was apart of another guild, but still got roped into the assassination of Zelrius.  No, the third vice-commander was our good old Mack himself.  The boisterous man self promoted himself the moment Opal killed Ssendom.  At least he kept the ball rolling for a while, and we kept plowing through each hurdle.  Until he disappeared, that is.  He's didn't turn mad, or at least we don't think he did, but anyone would with little Chewie destroying your food stock."

The hunter began to smile a bit more.

"After some time, we got another player by the name of Lowenthal to take the mantle.  He was once an orange player, for reasons he did not want to explain.  However, he was one of the first to show me that the book isn't judged by it's cover, or so that saying goes.  After some time though, I found out from an old friend of both Lowenthal and myself that Lowe had passed away; taken from us by another player.  I've been told that he grew mad, and threw himself into their spear.  He had had enough of this twisted world."

His eyes fell now to his partner and newly found friend.

"And you guessed right..  I guess I'm too easy to read, huh.  That's right."

He would stop to meet Freyd up front.

"I was the last Vice-Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, and traitor to everyone that lived and died here in Aincrad.  I went against my word to free everyone to let a little boy go free."

His hands tightened.  He didn't care about revealing that he was a traitor, that he had betrayed everyone because a digitally created child feared for their life.

"Was it sentimentality?  Pretty sure if was..  Can you blame me for being sentimental?  Of course you can!  You understand that this world is fake!"

Full energy regen

"I don't know who that was.  He could have been a subordinate of the old Council, or he could have been part of something new.  All I know was that he knew something about the last boss of the 23rd boss raid."

The hunter sighed normally now, as the talking was getting him to calm down a little more.  Though, the information within would put him on edge.

"You're right that some of us got sentimental.  One tried talking to them, which kind of worked, but only to get some information out of them.  Another would try enticing the bosses to stop fighting, it never really did well either.  Then there was the third one.  He chose a more direct approach.  At some point, that man went mad, and used his own body to protect one of the bosses, a young dark elf boy named Durares.  This was all after making an oath to protect the people of Aincrad and ensure their future.  What a sham.."

He was beating himself up now.

"He was the last Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, and now the Traitor to all players, for giving the boy a chance to escape.. to live."

Pulling the sword out of the ground, and returned it to his scabbard.  There would be a short trek to the Underdark, but enough time to continue on.

"Let's go.. I'll tell you more before we hit Ugzeke."

2/3 energy regen
3/3 Charge recharge

Hirru's rage didn't seem to subside as the form of the man was destroyed, being weaved into the mass that was Freyd's weapon.  The only thing he could see from the Hassan was the mask revealing a grave smile and a small mouthing of words.

'Good luck'

"GAAAHH!!"

The hunter pierced the ground with his sword.  Another one died before giving him any information about the whereabout of Durares.  He would have to get in contact with Baldur to head into another den.  They were the only dungeons that seemed to give him any sort of closure.  Still slightly pissed, the hunter sighed to relieve some pressure, but all that came out was a low growl.  Freyd seemed to be asking more questions, and the hunter would oblige.

"Yeah, I was.  It was a shit show in the making.  We were doing fine, and were mostly prepared for anything that the Council would throw at us."

He picked himself up with Shelob's Fang still stuck in the ground.

"We didn't account for one of our own to try and stop us."

1/3 Energy Regen
2/3 Charge

The figure couched from the strain to his old body, but it was nothing compared to the efforts of his predecessors.  He grunted before holding his ribs, there wasn't much time left in his life to waste it on this.  The dark haired one had asked him a question, and he could only cackle through the rasping coughs.  A dark shriveled hand appeared from under the robes pointing towards the hunter.

"I would like to say the same to him, but it is easily seen where his allegiance lies.  I wonder.  How is the boy?"

At the mention of 'the boy', the hunter instantly knew where this was going.  His breathing started to haggard before his teeth clenched and it became a growl.  Springing forward, the hunter immediately re-engaged with the masked figure.  His Fang sank into the cloaked figure square in the chest, the venom that coated the blade seeping into the orange digital gashes.

"Where is he!"

The hunter bellowed out before ripping the blade out of the grand assassin.

"Huh..?  Oh.. yeah.  Life does indeed suck at times, and it's been doing it quite a bit lately."

The hunter found himself realizing that he was going off on one of his tangents.  If he could, Hirru would talk all day and night about the exploits and antics of the Blades / Knights.  They were all hilarious and precious memories for him.  The hunter's eyes seemed to downcast a little before bouncing back up.  They may have been his past, but all of those memories were what made him what he was now.  Who knew what he would be if he hadn't have met Xion at that faithful fountain in the Town of Beginnings.  Would his mind have gone towards a darker path, pursuing vanity?  He shuddered under the thought.

Soon after Freyd had settled their business with the other two, a different ping would ring out, one right behind him.  An emergency AOE would rip through his surrounding to keep the mob from hitting him from behind.  A figure in a cloak seemed to have caught in his AOE, which seemed to shred a bit of its cloak's hood.  Underneath it was a weird mask, he didn't know what it was about, but it seemed purposeful.

"That was a little too close for comfort."

"Oikawa has since redeemed himself, and has been an active member in the front lines.  He may also be taking a break from the stress the front gives, though."

He chuckled a bit before noticing two more mobs lying in wait far from the caravan itself.

"Opal, however, claimed herself a member of a player killer guild named, Laughing Coffin.  She still came to the front lines to help, but it seemed that she had ulterior motives.  In the end, she died too."

The hunter would never tell that Opal fought against Laughing Coffin from the inside and died trying.  It was all in a final message she had sent to him with coordinates for the hideouts of the player killer guild.  They were all empty now, as many high end players hunted them down.

"Don't know much about a Mari, though."

There was only so much one can learn.  The only info about a Mari comes from the mythical '1st year'.  A time in Aincrad history where few players roamed and they were legendary beings.  One could not believe that a single man could solo a floor boss, but that was the myth of the seventh floor boss.  No one can fully say if the tales were real, except those that were there.

Hirru flashed in from around the hill and surprised one, but the other noticed his presence and jumped away.

"Got two more here!"

Realizing that he may have overstepped a bound that he shouldn't have taken.  After acknowledging the answer to her question, the hunter noticed that the lady before him straightened up and her eyes were actually paying him far too much attention than what he called for.  He would hold his hands up, palms out in a show of no harm, though she didn't seem care about that.  She introduced herself as YenaZoul, but prefered Yen for short, it seemed.  The hunter would oblige the introduction with his own.  He was also impressed by her acknowledgement of him not being a full resident of the first floor.  Nothing gets by the residents of the Town of Beginnings, they're always observant.

"Well, hello Yen.  My name is Jade Hunter, Hirru.  You can just call me Hirru, though.  I'm a hunter of treasure and loot, and the jade is.. well."

He pointed to his hair that she seemed to understand well was quite weird.

"It's meant for luck, not that that has helped much.  I was heading towards a new dungeon that opened up on the first floor recently.  How about you?  Just planning on writing your.. novel, is that it?"

Hirru liked to ramble, but that's what happens when someone with so much information has time to himself.  Since he had lost most of his memories from before Sword Art Online, Hirru had only read a few books in game, but they were the 'information in the middle of the book' deal that only required a page or two of reading to get what he needed.  There weren't that many books out there that could be seen as actually player made, except for some player guides made by beta testers back in the early days.  The hunter always wondered where those B.T's went.

@YenaZoul

While switching out his bangle for the armor more suited for combat, the hunter would continue recalling his past.

"I've done a bit of research into it, and it stands to reason that anyone that took the Vice-Commander role within the Knights of the Blood Oath would find themselves going mad, die or go missing.  Each of the five Vice-Commanders we had seemed to have one of the three things happen, if not a combination of them all.  I don't know why some of them did what they did, or why.  I'm still wonder if one of them will truly come back, and I'm just looking at the Monument of Life for a false sense of hope that they're name doesn't get slashed through."

The hunter slowed down a bit, squeezing his eyelids together to not let anything out.  This wasn't the time for tears to blind him.

"There was a former vice commander before any of us had joined.  He didn't seem maddened, but the conditions did lead into the situation with the next Vice Commander.  She was Opal; a fine leader, and an excellent katana user.  Whenever our Commander wasn't leading us, she would be there, cutting through quests and dungeons that we would venture through to level everyone up.  She did have a slightly warped sense of humor, and would try seducing anyone she could." 

"It was when I joined and very short lived that she was with us.  The former vice, Azide had died on the fourteenth floor raid due to miscalculation and rushed planning due to the leader of another guild, Zelrius of Azure Brigade.  He and another called Ssendom were two players that held the Unique Skills 'Dual Blades' and ' Berserker' respectively.  They were meant to be heroes that would help us burn through the castle Aincrad..."

"They brought sorrow and ruin instead.  Both of them had been known to kill players that were just coming out of the first floor, for no good reason except they talked to them wrong.  Their guild would hoard the demonic rewards they claimed, as they were always the ones to fight and finish the bosses back then.  They rushed through without thinking, and it caused inexcusable deaths.  They deserved to be rotting in the Black Palace, but they didn't deserve to die like that."

"I guess that was why she took the opportunity to do so.  Before the 15th floor boss raid, outside the very gates of the boss room; Vice Commander Opal and one other, by the name of Oikawa, staged an assassination against the two most powerful players in the game..."

His voice seemed to crack as the last part came out.

"..and they succeeded."

Favor of the Gold Dragon replaced with Bulwark  (3LD -> 107 MIT)

Hirru |  HP:806/806 | EN:110/110 (Full Regen)| DMG: 26 | Mit: 167 | TRN: 30 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 3 | LD: 8 | PAR: 1 | ENVENOM: 32/4

"Oh don't worry.  If I'm fully lucked out, the amount of dungeons that are seen are incredibly stupid.  As long as they are within my range of sight, then I will always find one.  It's just a matter of which one to pick from."

The hunter would boast while slightly trying to imitate a certain two handed axe wielder.  It made him laugh a little before returning his accent back to normal.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to boast like that.  Just recalling those guys gets me back into my old spirits.  I'm sure they're all still out there somewhere."

He would continue on from where he left off.  As they walked through the main tunnel towards the surface, they would pass the old ruin that was the last dungeon, which had a bright red indicator around it, meaning it was already used and entry was barred.  This could be seen quite a bit on floors that were hunted and grinded on.  Probably half of these were from Freyd's handiwork.

"To understand what happened on the 15th floor and onward, I have to tell you about the 'Curse of the Vice Commander', or so I've affectionately named it."

Hirru would say while pointing towards a broken down and heavily rotted wagon.  Behind it, he could see a few dark elf assassins sitting in waiting.

"Just behind that wagon will be our next dungeon, it seems."

Dungeon Found! [ID: 197581 ] [LD: 1+14= 15 (11+2 (Reveal) + 1 (Detect))]

Hirru |  HP:806/806 | EN:110/110 (Full Regen)| DMG: 26 | Mit: 60 | TRN: 30 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 3 | LD: 11 | PAR: 1 | ENVENOM: 32/4

"The Knights of the Blood Oath, huh?"

The hunter took the two potions and stared drinking them one at a time.

"Well, we were one of the top three guilds to rush through the Frontline.  Before I started to help around the eighteenth floor raid, I believe we've officially been around since the 13th floor boss raid.  At that point in time, we were actually a merger between the KoB, and the Crimson Blades, a little guild of boisterous idiots that couldn't do no wrong.  That is where I joined in."

A huge smile ran across the jade hunter's face.  The memories of Mack, Xion, and Beoreson going through the first labyrinth, even though it was already cleared.  A landmark for the four of them, and a story he would love to recall some time, but it was not this day.  It was the ground work for Mack to create the Crimson Blades with the three and four others.  However, Hirru did not see it well enough to join them, and parted ways, only to be seen as their 'solo ambassador' of sorts.  Hirru regretted not joining them then.

"If you count Crimson's attendance, they were there for the eleventh and twelfth.  All through a heavy duty leader named Mack.  He was the start of our rise to fame, you could say.  Charismatic and boisterous as all hell.  He could talk your ear off and fling you at a boss fully buffed before you knew it."

"We were doing well with the largest guild numbers, at the time."

Hirru sighed before his face grew stern yet his eyes bore a sadness to them.

"Until the 15th floor raid.."

The hunter looked up, realizing that they had not teleported to a new floor.  

"Wait, where are we going?  This is still the seventh floor?"

"Thank you."

He would say before sitting down opposite to her.  She really didn't seem to mind, or was it that she didn't care?  The hunter could not tell.  Though, the sound of her voice trailing a bit was concerning.  It had been a little over two years since everyone got stuck in this game.  It could take a heavy toll on those that decided to keep safe in the Town of Beginnings.  He wanted to say something or ask, but that was poor form.  Everyone was there at some point, or another.  In facts, Hirru himself..

Instead, he would take an order from one of the NPC waiters that frequently roam the tavern.  The soup of the day seemed to be good, so he ordered one of those and waited for it to be done.  He would look out the window to catch the suns rays before noticing that the woman before him was now eating her sandwich while still writing.  It was intriguing that she was using paper rather than using the notes system within the communications menu.  Curiosity would get the better of him when she sort of spoke aloud that she needed a villain.  Was she writing a book?  The hunter could barely tell from the other side of the table.  He sighed before taking his gaze towards the pages themselves.  All he could make out something about a battle and a heroine coming over to help.

"A villian, huh?  Maybe try betrayal?"

He shrugged before sitting back in his seat.

@YenaZoul

After seeing to it that the quest was fully closed, the hunter sighed heavily.  Looking upon the effort of this quest compared to the reward, it felt only slightly good.  The defensive version of his envenom enhancement would do well to keep a good amount of damage on the enemy, but the loss of mitigation would make the constant need to be hit much worse.  Between the activation of the both of them, Hirru felt quite a bit better with Shelob's venom than this armor's version.  Setting that aside for now, the hunter looked on to his cohort in crime.

"Well, we still got quite a bit of daylight left.  Up for another dungeon and maybe hunt down Ugzeke, or another field boss entirely.  I'm sure you're sick and tired of dealing with him, although his loot drop is quite effective."

The hunter would say before pulling his armor off once more, and putting Favor on for a near instant sighting boost.  It felt good to be guaranteed a dungeon found through high luck percentage, and it was worth it for the hunter.

Changing Bulwark -107 mit -> Favor of the Golden Dragon +3 LD (11 LD / 14 LD on Dungeon)

The hunter would nod in response as he readied his blade towards the sorcerer.  Morgiana would follow with Hirru, as the damage that Freyd seemed to be doing was much too destructive for the both of them to get in the middle of.  At least they got rid of the last bandit mercenary before getting to their boss.  Spreading his feet once more, the hunter burst out towards the enemy sorcerer.  Rushing in, the two hit combo would rip through the sorcerer, while also seeming to hit a small flaming tether that linked the two together, harming the flaming creature.  The flames turned slightly green as if the tether had been hit by Shelob's venom.

"Morgiana!  Kill her before she can do anything!"

"Just get out of the way!"

She shouted before ripping through the sorcerer with her two blades, one art activating after another from both swords, effectively defeating any cooldown procedure that would hinder her.  It was impressive, but would cost too much energy if he even tried something like that.  Soon after the final slash, the sorcerer seemed to be rooted to the ground, as if they too were paralyzed.  She tried to remove a stopper on bottle, but her blood leaked into it which caused a small explosion.  The scorcherer was no more, and all that was left was a summoned fire creature that was trying to drain the last bit of life out of its summoner, but to no avail.

It had been some time since the jade hunter had to venture into the first floor, but it usually wasn't for any fault of his own.  He had heard of a new dungeon type that had appeared recently and was about to head into the Black Iron Palace, where this new venture would take place.  Suddenly, his stomach started to rumble and it felt like he could go for something to eat.  The hunter would have taken a bite out of some of his consumables that he got recently, but those were starting to taste really bad, even if they didn't expire just yet.  No, he wanted to have real food; well, as real as it could get here.  Not that he would know too much about that.

"Where was the nearest tavern here.."

He mostly said to himself as he ventured around, looking here and there before realizing that he was in his full plate mail.  It would be bad form to look like a front liner while on the first floor.  Instead, he took his armor off revealing his more comfortable sleeveless mock turtleneck.  On his wrists, he carried the twin bangles of silver and gold, Spirit and Favor.  He could never come to take Spirit off, and it always felt weird not to have Favor on, if his armor wasn't there.  Of course, his sword would still be on his person.  Can't be too careless around the first floor.

Finding a tavern, the hunter walked into a rush hour deal.  Many tables were already taken by quite a few people, and the bar was too full to accommodate one more.  The hunter's stomach grumbled once more as he looked around.  There seemed to be a table near a far window with a lone occupant.  It wouldn't hurt to ask to see if he could sit down there.  The worst they could do was say no.

As the hunter came closer, he noticed that the occupant was a lone woman of fair pink hair.

He shook his head before walking over.  It seemed she was busy with something so he tried to wave within her peripheral view to get her attention.  Although, if anything, the most attention bringing thing about the hunter was his jade green hair that was kept up by a red headband.  A silver crecent emblem seemed to be pinned on the headband itself.

"Hello miss?  Do you mind, if I sit here?  The tavern is getting busy, and there are no more open tables around."

Hirru Stats:

@YenaZoul

More and more bandits were coming out of the wood works, or more the alcoholic distillery.  It was as if their entire force was here to defend someone, or something that seemed to be very important to them.  As they fought, the hunter could see that the sigils around them were starting to ignite.  Something was happening, and it wasn't good that they were in a place like this.  Wasn't spirits a type of flammable material?  Wouldn't this whole place go up in flames if they all get set off at once?, the hunter would think before looking over to Morgiana.

"Did that alchemist give you any more of those fire extinguishing potions?  We could probably use it."

The hunter said before rolling into another two bandits, and slashing through them.  They didn't even have time to call for reinforcements as they followed behind Freyd.  

"I've got one more left!"

"Use it when we get to the main chamber, I'm beginning to think that this whole situation will probably blow this entire neighborhood to pieces if you don't."

As they all enter the next area, it seems that a large sigil was placed in the middle and it was nearly finished.  Another bandit seemed to be doing some kind of gestures nearby, as if they were the ones that were causing all of this.  Hirru sent the signal to Morgiana, whom threw her last fire extinguishing potion towards the large sigil.  It seemed down to the wire, but the potion broke upon the ground and exploded into the thick white fog that extinguished the other fire.  This one, however, was much stronger than the other.

"AHAHAHA!!  You think you can stop an efreet's summoning with a dingy little smoke bomb?  You have another thing... wha?"

The summoner seemed to cackle before noticing that the large flame that centered the whole sigil was slightly smaller than normal.  Soon, the sigil was finished and the flame erupted before conforming together into an odd form.  It looked gangly and malnourished, as if the summoning was incomplete.

"What have you done?!  The efreet is incomplete, but it will still kill you all!"

Looting Arabian Merc 8 [ID: 197413] [LD: 9+8=17] [CD: 11]

• Odd x2: 4 Mats
• 400*6= 2400 Col
• T1 Rare Trinket [197413]

Looting Arabian Merc 9 [ID: 197414] [LD: 8+8=16] [CD: 2]

• Even x2: 400*7= 2800 Col
• T1 Rare Weapon [197414a]
• T1 Rare Consumable [197414b]

The hunter was not pleased to see the older brother of Ali there, and Freyd was just as concerned.  However, instead of focusing on what Freyd was doing, he was keeping an eye on Cassim at all times.  Making sure that the infamous thief didn't try anything stupid, again.  It seemed like the man was hurrying along quite well, maybe it was Morgiana, or that Hirru and Freyd had treated him rather badly beforehand.  Either way, it worked out in the end, and they got a clue to where they needed to go to.

"Let's go!"

"I'll join you.  I may not look it, but I'm well suited to cut a rat or two."

"Let's hope you can do more than just that."

The hunter snickered before Morgiana unsheathed both of the blades she was carrying.  She was wielding both.. Hirru had only seen this once before.  A dual wielder that had caused massive damage to a floor boss.  The hunter didn't remember his name, but he could remember the power two blades wielded.  He nodded in approval as they walked over to the distillery.  It didn't take them long before looking inside to notice that it was heavily guarded by bandits.  For some reason or other, the runes seemed to surround some areas around the building.

"I'll go in first.  If you're helping fight, then hit any stragglers as I plow through."

Looting Arabian Merc 1 [ID: 197401] [LD: 12] [CD: 1]

• Even: 400*5= 2000 Col
• T1 Rare Trinket [197401]

Looting Arabian Merc 2 [ID: 197402] [LD: 13] [CD: 12]

• Even: 400*7= 2800 Col
• T1 Rare Armor/Shield [197402]

Looting Arabian Merc 3 [ID: 197395] [LD: 7+8=15] [CD: 12]

• Even: 400*7= 2800 Col
• T1 Rare Armor/Shield [197395]

Looting Arabian Merc 4 [ID: 197403] [LD: 14] [CD: 11]

• Even: 400*7= 2800 Col
• T1 Rare Armor/Shield [197403]

Morgiana looked at the odd bits and pieces that the two of them brought over and back to them.  He couldn't tell from the way the mask obscured her face, but he could tell that the woman was judging them quite harshly.  Hirru had a hard time with it too.  How was basalt and oil going to do anything against a sigil that creates fire?  Was the rune going to set fire to the place, or was it explosive?  Though, what if..

"Morgiana, do you have some some sort of alchemy background?"

"No, I was going to go to one of Ali's customers that owes him a small favor, and cash it in."

"How about we just do what Freyd said.  I don't know about chemical reactions, but I'm sure oil burns so this basalt must burn pretty bad too."

"Well, you can experiment with that while I get a potion made.  Just don't fully set it off.  If it starts to burn the entire sigil, then it's too late."

Morgiana said before disappearing around a corner.

"Welp, let's try your method then."

The hunter walked over to the sigil, which immediately sputtered to life and started tracing the sigil in flames.  Hirru would act quickly to place some of the basalt in place while working to pour oil along some of the engravings so that the fire could reach the basalt lines.

Soon the fire reached the oil and ignited high into the basalt chips that were placed along the way.  The line made would intersect follow and cover the lines themselves.  As they burned something seemed to make the flame sputter and wane again as the fire seemed to not be connecting where the basalt and oil was placed.  It seemed like the sigil was defeated, but the fire wasn't putting itself out.  Instead, it was starting to get slightly worse.

Before long, Morgiana had come around the corner and threw, what looked to be a bottle, towards the burning sigil.  Upon impact, the entire thing seemed to be encased in a thick white smoke.  The central flame was immediately reduced to nothing when it came into contact with the stuff.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, but the alchemist did say that it was some kind of fire deterrent.  Could be used to extinguish fires if it is released over a fire, which it seems like it works."

"All from basalt and oil?"

"Under enough pressure, apparently."

"Huh.."

They would watch as the rest of the fire was snuffed out by the clouds of white smoke that seemed to roll over the wall, heavier than the fire's own black smoke.  Morgiana was the first to pipe up.

"Now that that is over, I need you to set up some security measures around the area.  A few wards would do fine to keep this troublemaker at bay."

"Wha..?"

Trap Dismantled- Step 1 Complete

Following through to his words, the hunter started to scavenge through the room.  For a while, it was mostly inspecting any books and documents that were spread around, but none seemed to have anything that he could easily decipher.  Everything was in a runic language that the hunter didn't understand at all, as if the game didn't want to give him the answers he was looking for.  Though, that did not mean that he couldn't learn.

"If I had a cypher or something.."

When Hirru heard Baldur talk about the council again, the hunter realized something.  Each one seemed to mirror the players: Leader, DPS, Status, Tank, Support.  This base was obviously the one that belonged to Rori, the DPS of the group.  A heavy hitter that didn't think about much, but was clever enough to slice where it counted.  Who was the one that had the most knowledge?  The status user.. what was his name again..?  He seemed to know a bit, but the leader was also knowledgeable.

It was there that the samurai expressed his gratitude for fighting with the hunter once more.  This made Hirru stop for a couple seconds.  They had known each other for nearly an unknown amount of time, but it was certain that they had burned through quite a few floors together, and survived the most impossible fights.  He may have missed this last one, but he'll be there for the twenty sixth.

"You too.  I could use some tuning up, but it's good to be back in the game."

The hunter would turn his attention to the desk that Baldur had pointed out.  It seemed like this entire cabinet was some sort of treasure chest, as trying to unlock it normally would cause the system to send a screeching ping into his ear.

"Well, I'm pretty sure there is something important in here, but I don't have any keys, or the lockpicking skills to do so.  Do you have any?"

Chest?
[ID: 197293] [LD: 20+8=28]
Chest

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Sadly, while the hunter was looking through the pile of rugs, vase, and barrels; he could not find anything of value here.  Checking the next area over, this one was just a dead end.  Scratching his head, he was starting to think that he should have equipped Favor to begin with.  If he had known there was going to be a fetching goal inside this quest.  He sighed before looking over to Freyd, whom still seemed to be head first into another barrel.  Sometimes, oh.. what was it called again.. Ar En Geezus, the hunter thought that was the phrase that players say quite a bit.  Ar En Geezus was quite the fickle being apparently, as one could have some of the strongest luck around, and they could still find nothing.

Starting to climb some crates up, Hirru's armor would get in the way a bit, causing him to nearly fall sometimes before he could get on top of any roofs.

"I'll try up here, then."

"Hmm.. If you have a better idea, I'll follow it."

The hunter said before watching the Whisper do his work at using prior knowledge to fuel current expeditions.  If it was a black stone, it could really be anything from coal to obsidian, as the man suggested.  Trying to find something like that without tracking would be an issue, and the hunter didn't want to waste time with putting on Favor.  Instead, Hirru followed the direction that Freyd had pointed out.  A little alleyway that cut out from between two buildings.  There was a fence wall blocking the path, but around it stood several barrels, rugs, and vases.  Walking over to a few of them, the hunter used his searching abilities to see if anything stood out from the rest.  Among the vases stood a small urn that could be mistaken for a bottle.  Inside, there seemed to be several large chunks of, what seemed to be, black stones.  Trying to get them out, only a few small chunks would fit back through the small opening.  How the rest got in there, the hunter would never know.

"I found some more of these stones.  How about you?!"

He would call back down the alleyway.

When Freyd finally joined them, the hunter would greet his new friend while taking a bit from the odd looking dish placed before him.  It certainly wasn't the creme brulee as before, but it kind of was.  Hirru didn't know what to think of it, but would take it all the same.  As he chewed, the individual would step forward, seemingly triggered by the approach of both parties in the last venture.  Seemingly looking to both of them, the figure only known as 'Mgrmanana' by Freyd, though he could have been eating still, beckoned them to follow and nothing more was said.  The hunter looked from her to Freyd and shrugged his shoulders.

"Not much of the talkative type, is she?"

Walking with her into the alleyways and some distance after, she stops them at a spot within the alley.  The most distinguishing thing in this area was a weird little symbol, or was it a rune, upon the wall.  Whatever it was, it didn't like when anyone got closer, as the one before them seemingly demonstrated.  As soon as they stopped, she waved a hand quickly towards the sigil and back to her side.  The runic sigil seemed to react violently as a flame flickered to life, but just as quickly sputtered out again.

"Just to let you know beforehand that any funny business may cause us all severe harm.  Ali may trust you, but your actions have placed him in some hot water.  My name is Morgiana, and it's gonna take a bit more to prove your worth that saving a street rat like Cassim."

She pointed towards the sigil without moving her arm closer to it.

"If you can find a way to get rid of this sigil before it destroys Ali's home; we can talk further."

"How would we do that?  Do you have anything in mind?"

The hunter thought about it and he didn't know what to do about the sigil itself.

"It's etched into the stone, if you get an acidic potion or get me the materials, I'll make something."

"Why didn't you do this yourself?"

"Who else is going to safeguard Ali.  I don't exactly trust that you or someone else won't set this off when I'm gone."

Hirru looked to Freyd, with an eyebrow cocked up.

"I'm sure we could find the materials, but what do you think?  Maybe an alchemist has something that would work all the same."

Consume: Gungnir Shard (ACC II Feast)

[H:0]<<Hirru>>  HP:806/806 | EN:110/110 | DMG: 23 | Mit: 167 | TRN: 30 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 1 | LD: 8 | PAR: 1 | ENVENOM: 32/4

Never Had A Friend Like Me
<<Arabian Nights 2: Unfinished Business>>

Following the business from the previous day, the hunter got a message from the young quest giver himself, Ali.  This was rather strange as quest givers never directly contact the player, unless they themselves talk to the NPC quest giver.  This time was different, though.  Ali was having some trouble and would like to enlist their help once more.  By their help, the hunter figured that Freyd was going to be contacted too about this venture.  He figured that there shouldn't be too much issue, since the last was quite easy, and the dungeon and Ugzeke were much tougher, though not by much.  The hunter would give a friendly message to let the busy man know.

Quote

To: @Freyd

From: Hirru

Hey, Freyd!  Hope that last fight didn't wear you out too hard.

Ali is starting the second part of the quest, if you're still in it for the long haul, could use another round of bashing brains.  You in?

"Nimbus, huh.  Thought we would be in the desert again.."

While walking towards the destination, the hunter noticed something strange.  The one that was there wasn't Ali, nor Cassim.  It looked to be a woman of unknown origin.  If it wasn't for the quest marker over her, Hirru would have called it a missed goal somewhere, but no.. This was the one.

Consumed

Hirru Stats

Quest Info

Charging up the next art, the hunter waited until Nemo was near a tree and ran towards it.  Using the tree to jump up at the dragon, the hunter used a four hit sword art that would rip through his wings and torso.  Each hit would cause him to be inflicted with the venom that would coat Shelob's Fang, and become heavily paralyzed from the effort too.  Before he could even hit the ground, the dragon had returned to his previous state.  Hitting the ground with a thud, it seemed that the hunter had won.  The boss's health seemed to fade, but didn't shatter, as if it was still technically alive.  Hirru walked over to the man on the ground.

"So, you're the guardian of the grove?"

"Ye..*cough* yes.  Sorry to attack you, but you've besmirched this grove and took of its treasure."

"I'm pretty sure that that pond is bottomless."

"Are you going to leave now?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I did this."

"Will you come back?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I wouldn't mind the company."

AOE-II (-16 EN)
[ID: 197223] [BD: 9] Crit +2 (Focus) 23+2=25*18= 450-100= 350 Dmg + Paralysis + 32 EVM

<<Hirru>>  HP:783/806 | EN:81/110 (+4, -16)| DMG: 23 | Mit: 167 | TRN: 30 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 1 | LD: 8 | PAR: 1 | ENVENOM: 32/4

<<Nemo, the Wind of Gaia>>  HP: 10/500 | DMG: 190 | MIT: 100 | EVA 2 (Ability Active: Gaia's Protection)
Abilities:

• Twin Fangs | On a natural BD of 9 with a CD of 8+, the boss tears into the player with razor sharp fangs, inflicting 35*Tier unmitigatable damage.
• Nature’s Roar | On a natural BD of 10, Nemo unleashes a gust of wind on the player, inflicting 65*Tier mitigatable damage.
• Gaia’s Protection | Nemo cannot be reduced below 10 HP, and the fight ends once the player reduces his health to this level.

Summary

824 EXP
(800+24[3%])

Fishing EXP: 51 [Rank 2 Unlocked]

Mats: 47

Col: 26346
(25864+400+82[10%])

Loot:
T3 Perfect Weapon UnID [197188]
T3 Rare Weapon UnID [197199]
T3 Perfect Weapon UnID [197204a]
T3 Perfect Weapon UnID [197204b]
T3 Perfect Consumable UnID [197204c]
T3 Perfect Weapon UnID [197206]
T3 Rare Weapon UnID [197212a]
T3 Rare Consumable UnID [197212b]
T3 F22 Dungeon Map [197216] https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21017-sp-pt-f22-what-do-you-call-paradise/?do=findComment&comment=642800
T3 F22 Dungeon Map [197220] https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21017-sp-pt-f22-what-do-you-call-paradise/?do=findComment&comment=642802

3 Mon
(1 Thread + 2 3.0 quest thread completed)

Lunging out, the hunter charged out at the snout of the jade dragon boss, which the dragon did not liken in the least.  Slashing out twice once more to cause as much damage as possible, Nemo was pushed back up into the air from the force of the hit, however that wouldn't keep the boss from doing anything against its pirating foe.  The feather winged dragon would launch down and claw a large amount out of the hunter, however, his armor would mitigate most of it.  Nemo was surprised by the lack of damage that would come across the hunter's form.

"What manner of sorcery is this?"

He would ask out in a more regal voice.  The hunter just shouted back.

"Fish!"

The hunter would then back up a bit to allow for another attack to pass by, but he wanted to try something else next time.  If there was a next time.

AOE-I Charge (-21 EN)
[ID: 197221] [BD: 5+7-2=10] 23+5=28*15= 420-100= 320 DMg to Nemo

Nemo Attacks
[ID: 197222] [BD: 7] 190-167= 23 Dmg to Hirru -> 30 Thorns to Nemo

<<Hirru>>  HP:783/806 | EN:89/110 | DMG: 23 | Mit: 167 | TRN: 30 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 1 | LD: 8 | PAR: 1 | ENVENOM: 32/4

<<Nemo, the Wind of Gaia>>  HP: 150/500 | DMG: 190 | MIT: 100 | EVA 2
Abilities:

• Twin Fangs | On a natural BD of 9 with a CD of 8+, the boss tears into the player with razor sharp fangs, inflicting 35*Tier unmitigatable damage.
• Nature’s Roar | On a natural BD of 10, Nemo unleashes a gust of wind on the player, inflicting 65*Tier mitigatable damage.
• Gaia’s Protection | Nemo cannot be reduced below 10 HP, and the fight ends once the player reduces his health to this level.