Hirru

Not only was he missing, but the beast can even heal in the sunlight?  Oh boi, they had the their hands full with this one.  If this was an abomination that Tanos had spawned, what else could be out there?  Were there others like this one, that had extra abilities than what they had before?  Of course there were, the hunter had just killed one, not too long ago.  So there must be hundreds of new skills out there, then.  At least, some that he hoped to look into himself.  In the meantime, he had a flower lion to hit.

Seeing as his only plan was to flash in a stunning hit next, the hunter realized that wouldn't be a good idea.  The next turn was probably another heal, but he couldn't say for certain.  Could it heal past a stun?  With the sun around, it probably could.  So, instead of dealing with the stun, he would switch it into the last sword art that he would call into his rotation, and leave Tempest for the end.  This time, the creature would not escape his blade, as the sweeping strikes combo into each other with each and every stab that the Astral Hell sword art would allow.  However, that was not before the first hit burst open the creatures chest with the <<Shatter>> ability that he had gained.  It seemed to only slightly help, but that would come up better when the time was right.

"I think I got it now!"

[ID: 190154] [BD: 8+2-2=8] Hit {Shatter Activated -15 Mit per 3 turn / -5 EN}
[Astral Hell -8 EN] 23x12=276-(125-15)=166 DMG

Combat stats

[H:1]<<Hirru>>  HP:806/806 | EN:87/110 | Mit: 107 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | SA CLDWN: {G.D.: 3/4 | C.D.: 3/3 | }
[H:10]<<Hestia>> HP:813/1008 EN:94/102 | Mit:163[FA:16] Thorns:110[FA:8]  BH:45  emergency:90 when 225 hp or lower  Recovery: +4 eng CD: 7+

Daytime Stats
HP: 714/1000 | DMG: 200 | MIT: 110 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 2 | Shatter active 3/3
This boss uses its own BD roll when attacking.

Abilities:

• Tail Swipe | If BD 9-10 and MD 1-5 is rolled simultaneously, <<Ki’Raion>> unleashes a powerful tail swipe that can strike a whole party. Deals 150 AoE damage to all party members as well as normal damage to the player with the most hate.
• Venus Fly Trap | If BD of 9-10 and MD of 6-10 is rolled simultaneously, <<Ki’Raion>> lunges at the player with the most hate and encases them in its floral mane. They experience 150 additional damage and will take 100 additional damage for each following turn that they're trapped. They are freed when at least 200 HP damage has been dealt to "Ki’Raion" or another player achieves greater hate. A trapped player may still attack.
• Photosynthesize | Absorbing the Sun’s energy, every second attack <<Ki’Raion>> makes will be damage boosted by 150. On turns when this damage boost is not active, <<Ki'Raion>> will heal 100 HP. This heal can exceed its typical health maximum.  This ability is only available to <<Ki'Raion>> if fought during the day.

Having missed the first time, the hunter was already aggravated by his foolish actions.  Not only did his failed attempt cost him the damage buff that charge gave, but the skill seemed to be pulling him back from successful hits.  Was this something new, he wondered as he pulled his chipped blade back to his side, readying another sword art.  This was getting trickier as things went on.  Hirru had to plan around all these new skills and features that he had no proper knowledge on.  It was like he was a level 1 player, all over again.  Not seeming to like that he was reverting to what he was, the hunter got angry and went in for another attack.  This one, he figured would hit and activate the <<Shatter>> skill he had just gotten, not too long ago.

Running in for the attack, however, it seemed his anger was getting the best of him.  He swung too early, and the sword art didn't activate as it should have.  All that was hit was the ground, which flourished flower petals into the air from the hit.  He was starting to get disgusted with himself already.  This wasn't what he had in mind when he wanted to help out.

[ID: 190152] [BD: 2+2-2=2] Miss -2 EN

He shrugged, as he didn't know about any of those legends and myths from the other side.  They could possibly be in this world, as he had seen some players talk about some weird civilizations and floors that may have been related to something from their side.  It was mostly why Hirru spent all of his time looking from floor to floor.  He wanted to find something, anything, that could spark his memories of the other world.  Unfortunately, nothing ever did.  It was like, something was blocking it all, something inbetween.

"If that sword was, I would love to use it.  Though, I don't want to face Tanos again.  I anything, I would rather get back to the front, and help out, as I used to.  With the update, we may have an upsurge of new blood coming in.  I'm sure you noticed, but your level dropped, didn't it.  I was forced back to level 31, but I feel that I'm just as strong as we were before.  Maybe even more."

He said while pulling his stats up.  His stats back when he was a level 57 were still there, but now he had less skill points.  However, his skills seemed to cost less, so he build had not changed much.  He could get more now, if he wanted.

"If this had happened to everyone, as it should have; then the frontlines are going to be filled with people that have not been in a raid tier battle before.  They probably only worked with one or two people at a time, but suddenly having to work with several teams of six?  Would we have entire teams of new bloods that wouldn't know what to do?  Do we even have the tanks to keep everyone from harm?  Enough food and potions to buff them all?  There are too many 'what if' scenarios now."

He turned to Hestia with a serious face.

"And I don't like that.  I don't like the uncertainty of our future now."

Following the direction that the light had shown, the two of them had seemed to find a large field, covered in flowers.  The brilliant light of the sun shone down on all of them, and in the middle of them all, a giant flower seemed to rise awkwardly among them, but it wasn't as it seemed.  The flower seemed to flutter and move, before the entire thing turned to look at the two of them.  A large lion with the mane of a giant flower, the Ki'raion.

"Hestia!  I'm going in!"

Hirru shouted as he ran in, blade at the ready.  <<Charge>> activated as he burst forward and just barely got to the creature in time, but it was faster than the hunter.  Slipping from his grasp, the lion seemed to snarl at him.

--Combat Start--

@Hestia

[ID: 190150] [BD: 6+2-2-1(Charge)= 5] Miss -10 EN

[H:0]<<Hirru>>  HP:806/806 | EN:100/110 | Mit: 107 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 
[H:0]<<Hestia>> HP:1008/1008 EN:102/102 | Mit:163[FA:16] Thorns:110[FA:8]  BH:45  emergency:90 when 225 hp or lower  Recovery: +4 eng CD: 7+

Daytime Stats
HP: 1000/1000 | DMG: 200 | MIT: 125 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 2
This boss uses its own BD roll when attacking.

Abilities:

• Tail Swipe | If BD 9-10 and MD 1-5 is rolled simultaneously, <<Ki’Raion>> unleashes a powerful tail swipe that can strike a whole party. Deals 150 AoE damage to all party members as well as normal damage to the player with the most hate.
• Venus Fly Trap | If BD of 9-10 and MD of 6-10 is rolled simultaneously, <<Ki’Raion>> lunges at the player with the most hate and encases them in its floral mane. They experience 150 additional damage and will take 100 additional damage for each following turn that they're trapped. They are freed when at least 200 HP damage has been dealt to "Ki’Raion" or another player achieves greater hate. A trapped player may still attack.
• Photosynthesize | Absorbing the Sun’s energy, every second attack <<Ki’Raion>> makes will be damage boosted by 150. On turns when this damage boost is not active, <<Ki'Raion>> will heal 100 HP. This heal can exceed its typical health maximum.  This ability is only available to <<Ki'Raion>> if fought during the day.

Seeing the statues all along this gigantic hallway, the hunter could only think about that kind of foreshadowing this would have made.  Instead of the previous instance of floor 19, what if this was what players first saw of this Forbidden Land?  Would they know that they were going to walk into a land that larger than life creatures would wander and thrive?  Each one of the statues seemed to have some slight differences to each other, but most of it was lost to time, or maybe they never had any to begin with.  Trying to understand all of this made the hunter want to quickly leave and find creatures to fight.  Get his mind off of the lies that these floors entitle.  

"Tanos was a huge pile of mitigation, which was a problem when one forgot to bring Damage potions, which was me.  I hated that I could only make calls and not do anything about it myself.  If there are fifteen more out there like it, then we're going to have the next year full just prepping and dealing with them."

He sighed.  It had been some time since he had went into a raid and stood as the proper strategist against the bosses.  He missed it, and now was only a DPS that was probably forgotten or worse, not trusted anymore.  He needed to talk to Macradon.  He needed to apologize for his discretions, and hopefully set things right.  That would be a long ways away.  Hirru doubted that one of the few people that was closest to him would trust him after that.

Walking up to the open windowed area, one could see the many plains, mountains, and ruins that dotted the landscape.  In the distance, a rather large colossus seemed to roam, it's body partially covered by the mountains around it.

"Alright, so not over there then."

Setting his Search parameters, he would look out as far as his skill could.  There seemed to be quite a few large walking behemoths that dotted the area, but there was a particular scene before him.  Before them, there was an altar that sat at the end of the hallway, before the windowed openings.  He had passed by it before, but there was a sword that lay there.  Not a very sharp sword, so probably nothing of good value, but that could be said for his own sword.  It wasn't apparent before, but the light that passed through the openings seemed to flash upon the sword, but only for a second.  Hirru started to see a pattern come up.  Each time the light touched it, the sword would reflect the light, but not in a normal sense.  It was reflecting it at an odd angles each time.  A couple times, the light even reflected towards the colossus in the mountains.

"Hey, Hestia!  Check this out!"

He said while attempting to grab the sword, but it seemed to be stuck upon the altar itself.  No matter of force that the hunter could manage would make it pry from its rest.  It wasn't even stuck into the altar, just laying atop it, so why was it so hard to pick up?  The thought came to his mind, maybe it isn't meant to move.  He watched as the light shone on it a couple times, but this time, the light kept reflecting in a specific direction.

"South by south-east?  Is this sword a quest marker?  It's guiding us towards the Ki'raeon?"

He understood what she meant.  When Hirru didn't understand the world around him, he would walk around and the world would speak for itself.  Everyone and everything seemed to speak to him, in a way.  A story would hold his attention; people were interesting to deal with.  Even mobs had their spots in the whole narrative.  Though, when Hestia talked about the fourth floor..

Everything about the Crimson Blades/Knights of the Blood Oath came back to him:  Lindow's death, Opal's betrayal, Mack's disappearance, Lowenthal's sudden death, the Jade Hunter's betrayal.  Everything started when Mack made his guild on the 4th floor.  Ever since he betrayed everyone on the 23rd floor, he couldn't step foot on the 4th.  It didn't seem right anymore.  Trying to keep his mind off of things, he tried to talk about his own experience.

"I kinda do the same.  I spent a long time filtering through the sands of the 5th floor, just because I got a lead on something great."

He remembered all of the ventures he had out in those sandy dunes.  Taking the survival quest to keep himself from dying from weird environmental damages has been one of his greatest saving graces, especially during his first boss raid.  Even finding the merchant in the desert was a fortunate event for him, even if Hirru doesn't profit off of him, he still can't part with his travelling partner.  He scratched his head showing a sign of embarrassment.

"I was only able to find sub-dungeons and lots of scorpions.."

His face distorted into a discontent.  A whisper came from his lips.  He had forgotten that detail until now.

"..lots of paralysis.."

He shook his head, coming back to reality as they came near the stairs.  They looked to be heavily steep and small.  It seemed like they would have to climb up single file.  He breathed a heavy sigh and started the climb before Hestia.  After some slow climbing up the rather dangerously crafted stairs, they came to the opening to the Bastion Wall Shrine.

@Hestia

"Is that what he was talking about?"

He stretched his arms from side to side, ready to actually get some exploring done.  Once they reached the bridge, it seemed quite a bit longer than he would have thought.  The entire gorge or Tear, as the people called it, looked like it was gouged out of the earth by something huge.  Probably Tanos in all of its wrath.  Which really comes into question, who built this bridge and wall?  Was it always here, or did generations of people..  The hunter shook his head.  He was starting to let his thoughts wander again.  Everything wasn't real; everything was created outside of his understanding.  He needed to get over that fact, or else be lost to his mind again.

While walking over the bridge though, the hunter looked over the sides and a sudden shiver went down his spine.  It was as if the infinite void below them was wanting to come back up to him.  His eyes widened by the spectacle while beginning to quicken his step.  He didn't want to be swallowed up again.  In reality, he discovered his fear of heights.

"Hey, Hestia.  You seem like you take in a lot of knowledge from everything around you.  Are you trying to learn more about this place too?"

He tried to strike up conversation to keep his mind off of the great void below them.  It wouldn't take much to distract him, but it was a genuine question he wanted to ask.  She was inquisitive and seemed to seek different methods for each problem he had seen her interact with.

"I've ventured with quite a few people and no one was really interested in the stories and lore around the floors, quests, and what not."

The Owl Elder listened hard at the soft words spoken to him.  It seemed that they may have had some affect on him, as his tense facial features seemed to relax.  That was only for a moment, though.  The mask had been pulled back down now, to remove Hirru's sight upon the man's features.

"I know not these tales you speak of, child.  Though, your words do not meet deaf ears.  The Unshakeable could not have been defeated by the meer likes of man, but it's abominations are another story.  We have many tales of creatures slain, to protect Haven.  However, I can not permit you to enter the forbidden lands, were they lie.  Though, I can not stop you, if you wish to throw your lives away.

The old man turned to grab, what seemed to be a walking Stick, but was instead a sword encased in its scabbard.  Instead of putting it on a belt, the elder was using it a a cane.  He began to walk towards the east..  Around then, Hirru heard what Hestia had to say.

"Sounds like any good reward will come from fighting it in the sunlight, then."

As he began to walk towards the eastern border to Home, the Owl Elder would stop before it and point towards a large stone wall in the distance.

"Over yonder, is the Bastion Wall, that separates our Haven to the Forbidden Lands.  If you would cross the long stone bridge that crosses the Tear, then you will come wall.  Up the stairs to the Bastion Wall Shrine.  If you value all that peace and life you speak of, then you will not venture into its light.  That is your final warning."

As he gave them his final words, the old man stumbled back the way he came.  Hirru scratched his head from all of that.

"So, that's great and all, but where is the Ki'raeon in the Forbidden Lands?"

His question fell on deaf ears.

Everyone stopped and turned to look at the two warriors.  Decorated in rather shiny armor and weaponry, the people seemed unimpressed.  As if they've seen thousands of us before, and watched every single one fall or never come back.  The elder would beckon the both of them forward, but not before a hush came to all of them.  At the word of 'Tanos', whispers fell here and there.  Most were related to the 'Forbidden Ones' and the 'Forbidden Land'.  The elder would give a quick, but low question.

"Child, how do you know of the Unshakable?  The terror that sends his towering minions to destroy our towns, and breeds abominations to cull our livestock and people.  Why do you speak it's name so callously?"

He shakes his head before signaling for all to disperse from his tent, which was just as moth ridden and tattered as the rest.  The crowd would disperse before the elder would come closer.  He lifted his mask to show a man of seemingly quite old, but Hirru couldn't give a good estimate.  It seemed that this was the oldest man here, but there were probably others just as old.  Looking to Hestia, then to Hirru, the Owl Elder groaned.

"It is sad to see such youth, in their prime, seek glory instead of seeking a peaceful life.  There is not here that would give you what you seek.  Only death, if you continue down your path."

Owl Elder would shake his head as it soon looked towards the outer area of 'Haven'.

"The Forbidden Land, where our forefathers and foremothers called home, was once a verdant paradise.  Some say, it still is.  However, the Forbidden Ones, spawn of the Unshakable, came down from nowhere and destroyed all that lived there.  It is now a holy land, as well as a reminder of the might of the Forbidden Ones."

He looked back to the two.

"A few days ago, a group of youths like you went out into the Forbidden Lands, against our constant warnings."

He closed his eyes in solemn sadness.

"Only one returned, speaking of an abomination the likes of a lion, but with the mane of a flower.  It reminded me of a tale from when I was but a child."

Hirru was slowly starting to fall asleep.

"Now, how did it go again?  ...Ki'raion, my wayward son?  No, no!"

The Owl Elder scratched his head before his eyes widened, like most quest NPC's would before, but this seemed more natural.

"In the fields, where not a colossi cross, a lone lion lay.  It's proud mane fluttering in the light, nearly glistening from its ray.  By Sola's briliance, it thrives.  By Luna's shimmer, it strives.  Let it lie; let it lie."

A window would pop up, which woke Hirru from his near slumber.  It looked like that was the ticket to set up the quest for them.

Quest Start <<Keep Calm and Ki-Raion>>

Hirru was astounded and ashamed by the response given.  He had not heard Hestia this angry before, although there wasn't much to compare to.  He didn't really know much about Hestia, other than her ability to keep everyone alive through tanking and healing capabilities.  From just one quest, he couldn't tell much else about her.  She seemed to want to know more about everyone and everything, at least, that's what he thought.

Laying witness to the npc that would give them some kind of direction, it was apparent that something was amiss.  That information was incomplete.  He never told them who the elder was!  How could they tell who it was.  Everyone either was broken and insignificant, or had weird masks about them.  Looking towards where the man went, the hunter considered just looking around.  The eldest was usually some old man, so stature would be apparent.  Possibly even finding people coming to someone else for help would work too.

"Well, that was much information, at all.  Let's try to find this Elder.  Shouldn't be too hard."

He shrugged before starting to look around using his full <<Search>> skills.  It wouldn't take long before a few npcs would act strangely.  

"Hestia, over here!"

He called out to her when he noticed a few npcs gathered around another.  This one was wearing a mask that resembled a beaked creature with large eyes, called an owl.  Learning all these different animals has proved somewhat helpful.  Apparently, an owl was sign of wisdom in some floor's cultures.  Though, so was the wolf, now that he remembered.  Floor 6 was weird back then.

Walking over to crowd, one could hear the owl masked individual speak.

"Our many ancestors have passed down their tales; from father to son, mother to daughter, old to young.  These tales are the only knowledge that keeps us alive.  The fields are tilled and seeded, so that we may grow our future.  Water them with care, and they will see us prosper.  In these words, we see our truth.  Lest we be brought down to the 'below'."

"That's probably him."

"This world is artificial, is it not?"

The hunter would as in a quizzical tone.  Hesitant was beginning to sound like the old him.  Before he found out that everything was a lie, and that everyone here wasn't really suffering.  They were made to be that way by someone, or something.  They could end the main issue, but wouldn't it come back?  Or, was the issue something that the players could not control?  This Kayaba that Baldur spoke of, wasn't he the main creator of this castle?  Could one man be able to do all this?

So many questions that Hirru wanted answered, but hardly any would come to him.  There were none that could give him the answers he wanted, except maybe the man himself.  Though, how would one contact someone like that?  The hunter had looked for many ways to look into the other side, but none really came to fruition leaving the hunter empty.

Looking upon Hestia's face, he figure it was best not to push it.

"Sorry.. Artificial or not, I don't think we can do anything here.  Let's find who we have to talk to.  If I remember Tanos right, there are some creatures on this floor that we don't want to run into, especially if they have all changed into the colossal beings that it was."

Some of the solemn faces looked at them, and Hirru could swear for a moment, that there was truly something there.  He slapped both of his hands to his face to wake himself from getting entranced.  He didn't want to go back to what he was before.  If he was going to find himself, he had to shed this shell called 'Jade Hunter'.

"We should get moving."

@Hestia

Following right behind Hestia, they came to the teleportation gate that still seemed so threatening.  There was a time were Hirru did not like using the teleporter, and actually ran through the old labyrinths that were cleared before.  That had a stop after doing so became a chore in of itself.  It wasn't so bad when he stayed around the fifth floor, but after joining the front lines, he had to teleport in order to stay with the groups.  Coming up to the terminal, the blue hue forming from people coming and going was still present.  Hestia called out the name of the floor, which sounded weird to him.  Who names their village 'Home'?

It became apparant as soon as he opened his eyes to the new floor 19.  He remembered only a little bit of the floor as he was only there for a little bit.  For the fight against <<Tanos, the Unshakable>>.  However, this floor had become a desolate and unfortunate thing.  Everything was ranshackle and broken.  The people/NPCs were downtrodden and worrysome.  Nothing like the small glimpses of green that he remembered from that fight.

Thinking back on that fight, he really wasn't doing much except throwing orders around.  It helped, but Commander Heathcliff was a bigger help.  Whatever happened to him.

"What happened here?  Did the update do this, or was this from after we beat Tanos?  I don't remember."

He said while taking a bite from his field rations, while offering another one and a Immolation potion T3 to Hestia.  You never knew what would be out there, and this Ki'rean will be no push over.

Field Ration used +86 HP | Offered: 1 Field Ration +12% Max HP & 1 Immolation Potion T3 +30 Thorns

@Hestia

Combat Stats

Summary
Quest Complete (again)
400 Col
1950 Col & 2 Mats (Looted)
Monkey Agility (Uncommon Consumable [potion])
A strange potion that boosts the user's Evasion by 1. Lasts for one thread.
Extra Skill: <<Shatter>>

Hestia
(Word count = 4751) 3*4=12*(4750/50) = 1140
Exp Gain x3% = 1140x.03 = 34.4
EXP = 1140+34= 1174 Exp
Col Gain equal to 10% Exp Earned (1174x.1=117 Col}
Col = 200+975+117 = 1292 Col
Mat = 1

Hirru
Standard Exp = 200x4= 800
Exp Gain x3% = 800x.03= 24
Exp = 800+24= 824 Exp
Col Gain equal to 10% Exp Earned (800*.1= 80)
Col = 200+975+80 = 1255 Col
Mat = 1

Wayward wandering [Hestia Word count].txt

Interested in this armor breaking technique, the hunter would attempt to open his menu screen before stopping in his motion.  Who taught him this?  It was so ingrained in him to this point, that he forgot that there should have been someone or something that would have taught him how to open this important tablet.  Sliding his fingers down, the very familiar bubbles opened up before him.  Tapping on Inventory/Equipment, he followed the bubbles that led to his skills.  There he looked at all of his skills that he had reset.  Frankly, they were all the same as he had before the update, except now he had limited slots for extra skills instead of regular skills.  How odd for that to change with everything else.

"Well, I'm going to be investigating every floor anyway.  I'm sure there are other quests on this floor.  Subdungeons to find, and chests too."

Hirru said while holstering his longsword to his hip scabbard.  Shrugging his shoulders, he gave a small grin.  

"Though, I could use a little more of a test of this skill.  What are you suggesting?"

He would have taken a look around here for a subdungeon, but that would defeat the purpose of trying to get better.  This floor was still Tier 1, or was it Tier 2 now?  The <<Update>> made things so much more confusing.  He wished he could look for a chest too, but everything would be well lower than what he could use.  Better to go to a higher floor to do such a thing.

@Hestia

With Hestia taking over the attention of the <<Monkey King>>, Hirru could more than easily say that they were way too powerful for this quest.  Even with their stats dropped down from this <<System Update>>, they were still doing higher damages than they used to around the same level.  Though, at this point, he thinks that they're actually much stronger now.  Was it the two handed sword?  I could have been, but it may be due to the new tier unlocked for all of them.  Even with the hard set cooldown sword arts, there wasn't much that could go wrong.  Except, maybe missing.

"We have the beast on its last legs!"

Another shout from the Captain came, but this time it seemed like he was going for the attack.  Hirru joined in kind.  Ready to take the creature out, and earn them their rewards.

Sewallus dug in deep with his axe, which seemed to envoke some sort of extra power, as his hit seemed to make a large hole in the creatures natural armor.  Hirru took advantage of that opening and plunged several strikes into the heart of the beast.  It roared one last time, before shattering into millions of pieces.  After the battle concluded, the hunter turned to the elf.

"That was a useful ability.  Wish I could use it."

Sewallus comes over and gives a surprising smile.

"Thank you for helping Florenthia and her people.  Take this scroll, and it will reveal my technique." 

He would then bring up shoulder his ax as a quest window comes up for both Hestia and Hirru.  It was the quest rewards, but since Hirru and Hestia had already completed this quest there were only the small amount that they gained from killing the Monkey King.  However, something new came up.

Extra Skill Unlocked: <<Shatter>>

@Hestia

[ID: 188318] [BD: 8] Hit! -- Sewallus does 15 dmg (Shatter Active: -15 Mit / 3 turns)
[ID: 188317] [BD: 10] Crit +2!
[Calamitious Disaster x15 | -10 EN] -- (23+2)x15= 375-60= 315 Crit Dmg
[CD: 3] Odd loot = 2 Mats & 1950 Col

[ID: 188320] [LD: 1] Nothing Looted :O

[H:1]<<Hirru>>  HP:720/720 | EN:59/80 | Mit: 107 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1
[H:6]<<Hestia>> HP:863/900 | EN:98/102 | Mit:163[FA:16] | Thorns:80[FA:8] | BH:45  emergency:90 when 225 hp or lower | Recovery: +4 eng CD: 7+
[H:5]<<Sewallus>> HP: 400/400 | DMG: 75 (100 on crit) | MIT: 50 | EVA: -1

<<Monkey King>> HP: 0/650 | DMG: 200 | MIT: 60 | ACC: 2

Sewallus nodded in agreement.  It seemed he was going to leave the two of them to it, as he walked back into the hut.  Hirru shrugged.  Hestia was right that they would be alright dealing with the issue without the Captain of the Guard.  The hunter turned to his comrade before noticing a third health bar pop up with them, under the name <<Sewallus, Captain of the Guard>>.

"Wait.. wha?"

Turning back, Captain Sewallus had came out with a rather large two handed axe carried over his shoulder.

"I will fight.  I will show you where we were last attacked."

He stated calmly before leading them out of the town gate and into the wilds.  Following his lead, Hirru would look back to make sure Hestia was keeping up.  This was quite a bit of difference from the old quest that he could remember.  Now they had a companion with them, which was heavily odd for the hunter.  He had heard of the quests on some of the lower floors that had NPC's joining with them, but had not had time to start them.  Since everything had changed, he wondered if they would be any harder than what he heard about.

Looking back to Hestia, he was slowly thinking that he should trust her more.  He let three people know, so far, but three people wasn't enough to say that he was trusted anymore.  Though, did anyone really remember that event other than those that it heavily affected?  Hestia seemed to remember, and she seemed to agree with him, in some way.

Before he could say anything about it, Sewallus stopped us.  Before them lay a land of desolated forestry; the trees were torn from their rooted earth and thrown, the earth was broken and cracked.  In several areas, one could see the footsteps and handprints of a large being smashing the ground.

"This was where we were last attacked.  The creature will come for us soon."

No sooner does he say this than the cracking of bark and shreding of foliage could be heard from the other side of the desolated crater.  A large howl came forth from the woods before a giant ape, <<Monkey King>>, appeared within its territory.

--Combat Start--

Almost immediately, Hirru heard a loud warcry come out of Sewallus, and a red aura appear around him.  Looking to his status bare, it seemed that he had an ability like Hestia and Shield.  <<Howl>>, the ability to gain the attention, or hate, of an enemy.  With that, the hunter pulled out his newly changed two handed blade, and charged.  Just as he was doing so, the Monkey King would also do the same.  The hunter hit hard, which made the Monkey King fail its attack on Sewallus.

"This won't take long!  Stay with us, Captain!"

[ID:188289] [BD: 6+2=8] [Hit]
[Sword Art: Galaxy Destroyer -12 EN] [Charge Activated] = (23+5)x17= 476-75 Mit= 401 Dmg

@Hestia

Following Hestia out of the hut, he began to rack his brain around what used to be part of the quest.  This Remington was not apart of the last quest, nor was Sewallus.  Whatever happened must have reset quite a few things to a more nature feel.  Was that something that could happen?  Could a game be made to become something more than it already was.  This <<VRMMORPG>> must be something else, if it can build entire civilizations and cultures artificially.  Hirru could only fathem the amount of rational information that he could find in just a single quest, but none of it helps him anymore.  The entire castle could fall apart, and the hunter would still be stuck where he was.  Alone in his thoughts, and lost to his memories.

"We'll see what he has to say, but I don't think there is much that probably changed.  It looks like this quest got quite a bit of information added to it.  So much that was filled in, instead of going and bashing a giant creature."

Hestia brought up that these people were finding peace.  How could one see them as people anymore?  Were they not NPC's?  Hirru was being confused on two fronts now.  He was sure that Baldur and Shield said that every being in this world, that wasn't a player, was artificial.  Yet, here she is; talking about how lively and peaceful artificial beings were.

As they approached the hut, the two of them could see a tall elf in rather unusual armor.  Could be elven in nature, but it seems very earthy and natural looking.  Though, it does show him in the light of a Captain.  He looked formidable.

"Captain Sewallus, I presume?"

"Yes, I am."

"Could you tell us about Monkey Corekuaysir?"

Hirru butchered the heck out of the elven language, and it showed on the guards visible frown.  

"Remington has told you enough about the Monkey King.  There is not much else I can say."

Not taking no as a no, Hirru pressed further.  This man was not one for words, it seemed.

"Is there any information on any abilities or how you guys survived.  Remington did say that the Monkey King was powerful, and destructive.  How did you two live?"

"Not by much more than a miracle.  The Monkey King was distracted, by what, I don't know?

The man known as Remington sat on a wooden chair of unusual craftsman ship.  Not exactly crude, but most of his furniture was roughly made, as if they were all hastily made some time ago.  Shuffling around his chair from his desk that held many different documents, probably about his job.. 

'What does a zoologist even do?'

The thought came to his mind before having a puff of smoke nearly sufficate him.  He only knew of a couple NPC's on other floors that would smoke, but always outside.  This placed reeked to high heaven!  Though, it felt.. it felt..

"So you are here to take care of the King, huh?  Seem capable enough to not die out here, so I guess you'll have to do.  I'm Remington, the town's zoologist.  I keep records of the forest's creatures, including behavior, habits, and distinguishing patterns."

He pulls some documents off the table, and hands one of them to Hestia, since she took the inititive to introduce herself.  Looking over at it, it seems to be written in an odd language.  Hirru didn't understand any of it, probably the elvish written language.  However, it seemed to have some different descriptions and sketches of the Monkey King, at least, that's what the hunter could take from it.

"Uh.. I don't think we can read that?  Could you just tell us what the creature was like?  If there was anyone else there that could also recall what happened?"

"How have you survived without learning our.. never mind."

He grumbled before taking the document back.

"The primate in question, Monkey Cor'Quessir, or as you commoners call it, Monkey King, had been a rather peaceful guardian of the woods.  However, ever since the Great Separation, it had become enraged and attacked any that entered its territory.  It didn't become a problem until the current war started, and we started leaving that blasted environment for a peaceful land.  Unfortunately, Florenthia was founded and built next to its territory.  If we don't take care of it, it will destroy the entire population in minutes.  Elves and treants, trees and homes.  Our lone river will become a lake from it's devastation."

He stamps his cigarette into a stone basin, the smoke seemed to grow before being snuffed out.

"Captain of the Guard, Sewallus, was with me when we went to check on the creature.  I still don't know how we got away with our lives, but I can't be keeping you long.  You have a creature of madness to take care of, and I'm sure the Captain could help you more than I could.  He should be stationed at the first hut before the town's gate.  Now leave me to my work!"

Coming to the hut of Remington, the zoologist, Hirru was asked by the curious girl beside him.  He had forgot that she was just like him, a seeker of knowledge in any corner of the world.  Was she like this in the other world too?  It seemed from what she said earlier that she was having hard times remembering things from the other side too.

"Oh that.  I've just been having trouble with some of those details, as well.  Terminology and slang that everyone keeps using.  At first, I was mostly rolling with it, as sometimes it didn't all matter.  Though, as time went on and I got stronger, everything kept getting more serious."

Gesturing to everything again, before 

"To become part of the front lines, I had to join parties and guilds to keep alive and keep getting stronger.  I had to keep track of not only my own stats, but everyone elses.  It felt like I had to keep all this information to heart, or else become consumed by something more."

He sighed before coming to the entrance to the hut.  

"I got consumed by that knowledge after too long, because I thought it would give me what I wanted.  Instead, I only found pain."

From inside the hut, you can hear someone rummaging through some papers before they could hear a man's voice come from inside.

"Took you long enough!  I heard you were the adventuring type, not the time wasting one.  Come in!"

His grin fell straight to what was being told to him.  Baldur had not told him any of what happened after the 24th Labyrinth Guardian.  It seemed like there was some heavy complications and consequences for his own actions.  There wasn't much that could be now, but he needed to hear from the grand samurai.

"Listen.. I.."

"Are you strong adventurers?!  Please help us, against the ever encrouching Monkey King!"

A young elf had shouted out behind Hirru to his dismay.  It was a matter of time before the next NPC would come up, but it was for the better.  They were both here on a mission, and it was here awaiting them.

"We'll have to talk about that later.  These guys have been barking at me to start this quest for a couple hours now.  Also, don't worry about DPS?  Is that the right term?  Anyway, I took a page from Mac, and upgraded to Two Handed Straight Sword."

He sighed while sending Hestia a party invite, before looking back towards the elf.

"Yes, we are.  Is there someone we can talk to?"

The elf NPC's eyes shone in understanding, but could it really be such.  Too much has to be questioned about what is alive and what is not.  The elf pointed them to a little hut near the edge of town.

"Please, see our zoologist, <<Remington>>.  He and Captain Sewallus were the last ones to see it."

It was definitely her.  Although they had only really met once or twice, Hirru could still say that Hestia was one of the few frontliners that he could probably trust.  That is to say, if Baldur could trust her, then so could he.  The first time he truly met her, he was introduced through Baldur, before the hunter collapsed from exhaustion.  Other than that, he mostly knew her from all of their raid battles on the front lines.  An excellent tank, and proper leader when the going got rough.  It was mostly her that tried to talk the 23rd bosses down, until he..

"I've been.. not so good."

He chuckled weakly, before exhaling heavily through his nostrils, letting his shoulder sink into a heavy sigh.  Could he really tell someone that barely knows him, that he barely knows himself?  Could he really say, 'I don't remember the other side.'  to someone other than Baldur, Shield, and Beat?  Those were the only ones he could slightly trust anymore.  He had failed all of the front lines, by not truly understanding.

"Let's just say, since.. that day.  I've been trying to figure some things out."

He then gestured slightly to his right.  Though, it could be more of a gesture to everything around.

"That is, until all this happened before I could understand anything, but I'm about to go off on a rant.  Yeah, I'm more looking into the differences that are occuring in each and every floor.  This quest was one of them, but I would rather not go it alone, so I've been waiting for other players to join.  Though, I don't know how well information has spread about that day..  I don't think people will join a tra.."

<<Traitor>>

Sinking back into his slightly old routine, the gave a slightly brighter smile.  A quick thump of his fist to his chest, mirroring a more boasterous man.

"So, how have you been?"

Information gathered seemed to tell that the NPC that gives this quest is some researcher.  He will talk to those that answer the call of help from some of the towns people.  That was what fascinated Hirru now.  From his old knowledge, he could just go out and find the Monkey King on his own.  There was no need to talk to anyone, or anything.  Now, the world has become quite louder than usual.  Voices and conversations could be heard here and there, and NPCs would run to you, out of nowhere, and request aid.  Although, they used to do that before, now they seem to have more lively issues about them.

His mind was buzzing with questions, and there were barely any answers that could avail it.  All of these beings were not alive.  They were not people, but things called A.I., Artificial Intelligence.  They could talk, but only to a point.  Hirru could still tell that some of the overheard conversations were beginning to repeat themselves.  Every so often, the same three elves would run by, notice Hirru as an outsider, and ask for aid.  He would turn down every one, and with that, the quest would never start.

It wasn't that he didn't want to do it.  He just wanted to wait for another.  He had not made any arrangements, but he wanted to wait and see if any other players would come by.  If he could possible find one that had not heard of his betrayal; or, at least, someone he could gain trust with.  His list of trusted individuals plummeted down to two; or was it, that they were raised to two?  Could he let them 

As he thought, Hirru saw irregular movement from the entrance to Florenthia.  It would seem that another player had entered.  Immediately, Hirru sharpened his gaze with all Search skills and modification that allowed his sight to be amplified.  Although they were not magnified, his sight could still tell a familiar face when he saw it.

Bolting down a stairwell that hugged a tree trunk, he would race past several onlooking elves and treants, his signiture green hair flailing in the aftermath.  He would stop feet away from someone that he had not seen in the disaster.

"Hestia?!"

A great change had taken hold over the floating castle, Aincrad.  After the Catastrophe, many floors geography and mapping have changed, or mixed together from other floors.  This would be the case in, what used to be, the jungle floor.  It has now become a verdant tapestry of elvish fauna and flora.  Sprawling towns, once simple tree houses interconnected by wooden bridges, have now become ripe with unusual architecture.  Elves, and Treants, now populate this floor, where they once resided together only around the 3rd floor. 

Was everything thrown back together in haste?  Was this something that happened a lot in 'video games'?  How could this have happened?

Hirru had not had time to regroup with his trusted friends: Baldur, and Shield.  With the chaos that erupted from the 'update,' that forced everyone into a new way of life, to onslaughts of new areas and quests having different rewards.  There wasn't much time to think things through any more.  There was no time to hesitate.  He needed to find people he could build trust with.

Leaning over the gated fencing that covered most of Florenthia, about the only town that seemed to keep its old architecture.  Even if most of it is on the ground level now.  Looking down into the undergrowth, where the Monkey King once called home, the green haired Jade Hunter could only the little huts that dotted the area.

"This place has changed too.."

He sighed, drooping his head to the fencing, allowing a silver crescent moon symbol to dangle slightly out of his armor.

Combat Stats @Hestia

Current Level: 57
Current SP: 259
Link to SP Tracking: [Journal] (Note: Heavily Outdated)
                                   [SP Record] (Up to date)
Item Upgrades:

• Character Name: Hirru
• Character Description:  
  • Age: 25
  • Gender: Male
  • Hair: Green
  • Eye: Green
  • Reference: Dart Feld - Legend of Dragoon (Minus the green hair)
• Character Journal: [link]

Hirru didn't even know that this place even existed.  Sure, Shield was another merchant, like himself, but the man had turned his business into an enterprise, or so it would seem.  The entire building was worth more than his entire cart five times over.  In terms of Merchants, he was already at the top.  Entering the lavish estate, the hunter would behold the splendors that Shield had accumulated over his seasoned ventures.  In the many amounts of quests that they had been on, he figured that it would all come to this.

Searching around, the hunter found some particular weapons and armor.  Though the price tag was something to cringe at, it was all for the better.  He needed to change himself.  Going over to the counter, Hirru would wave to his friend.

"Hey, Shield!  Got a minute?  I need to make quite a few changes to myself.   I wanna grab some of those unique spears from ya, and a full mitigation armor."

Purchasing:

Total: 21500 Col