Vargas

1-24 for me

(OOC: Sorry, took me a bit to try to think of what to write.)

Vargas lead the way back out of the forest. He casually listened to the conversation the other two were having at the moment. Seemed tanking was hard. Especially, when going as a hybrid tank. Vargas considered what it was he wanted to go. He chose the one-handed sword just because it felt right in his hands. The balance wasn't perfect with his <<Anneal Blade>> but he figured that it'd be different when he got better weapons. "So are you a pure tank player or a hybrid tank yourself Jonathan?" Vargas when Jonathan stopped explaining Scout hybrids. He turned over his shoulder to look at him, but in doing so he tripped over a root that he'd missed in the fog. His eyes shot open in shock as he realized he was falling and tried to catch himself but couldn't, his arm was still missing. He twisted around as best he could and landed on his butt and rolled backwards to get to his knees. Feeling a little disoriented, he tried to get up but fell to his left and landed next to the tree from which the root seemed to originate.

Vargas agreed with the suggestion of leaving and turning in his quest. "Let's walk and talk then. It'll be a little while to cover the distance anyways." Vargas suggested to the other two. There wasn't much to worry about anyways in between the forest and town. Hearing Jonathan's question Vargas tried to think about how to explain. "I drew too much aggro without thinking about the reprecutions...plus, she didn't seem able to hit the broadside of a castle wall." Vargas said after considering the facts. After this, Vargas looked to Row to answer Jonathan's question. Was she going to be a tank? If so, she did have some ways to go before she reached that point. Thinking it over, getting the same howling ability Jonathan had would probably do the trick. Looking to Jonathan he considered that maybe the next time he needed a tank he'd ask him. Just for practicality, not to be mean.

 Vargas blushed st the sudden closeness to Row, but quickly returned to normal when he realized she was just saving face. He gave a slight nod to show that he understood. Using his arm to get up he pushed off from the ground, almost losing his footing as the balance wasn't quite right without his other arm. Either the debuff would eventually vanish or he'd have to wait till he got back to town. "We did the quest because of me. I wanted to complete it to earn the armor that is awarded. It's my fault things ended up as they are. The fault's not hers," Vargas said, answering his earlier question. When they guy carried on saying how they didn't know him he just nodded. The guy talked like he was a knight from romantic medieval times, the times people think- or wish- they were like. Has to be a larper. Like the dialogue the guy is saying screams larper, Vargas thought to himself. I wonder if people take offense to being called a larper or just accept it as a role?

After the now named Morgenstern, or Jonathan, finished telling of his guild Vargas just cocked his head to the side and shook it slightly, "Never heard of it, though I'm kind of low-level and don't pay attention to what you guys have been doing on the front lines since I joined."

"Six months? That's a long time to be lost. Did you get stuck in a dungeon or something?" Vargas asked, curios as to how the guy could've been lost for six months. He stopped though to answer Nix's question first. It took him a moment to think of anything recent he knew, "Well, I guess there's the 18th floor boss being found....or was it the 19th. Hmm," Vargas said unsure. He'd never been very far up the floors. Looking towards where the barkeep had given him another Firewhiskey and nursed it between his hands. He wasn't looking to do a lot of drinking,  it didn't have much else to do at the moment.

If you've felt like you've lost your drive just take some time. I know I've been there multiple times. It always comes back in one form or another. Wether you come back to this site or join another is what you choose. I hope whatever you find interest and passion for next will make everything else you've done on the way seem that much better for leading you there.

Hope to see around on the site sometime. Sad to see someone leave but always great to know that they're moving to something they enjoy. Have fun dude.

Turning to the one who addressed him, Vargas looked at Nix a little strangely. "Last I checked it was late November, the 27th." confused as to why the guy needed the month and day when he could've checked his HUD. Vargas turned back to the bar when his and Nix's drinks arrived. He thanked the NPC for no other reason than to be polite. It didn't matter that they wouldn't respond or care, habits are hard to break. Turning back to Nix, he caught sight of his smile and grinned as he downed the 3oz drink. "Well, I'm Vargas. Nice to meet you Nix," he said while placing his shot glass upside down on the table.

Vargas was somewhat dumbfounded to see Row crying over him. Sure, he'd come close to dying but she didn't know him. Worry was one thing, but out like crying and best thing the crap out of him was another.  Vargas just pat her head trying to calm her down. When she did she turned to the mob. He just watched as Row charged the mob once more screaming. The elf's attention was stuck to the kite shield user, leaving an easy opening for Row. Half expecting her to miss, again, he was actually glad to see her deal quite a bit of damage to it and leave a bleed effect. He gave a slight grin as she came skipping back.

The dark elf quickly turned to Row to retaliate but another howl from Morgenstern drew it's attention back. It attempted to move towards Morgenstern, but was unable to move due to it's paralysis status effect. It growled in feirce anger, unable to attack it's target and end it's miserable life.

Vargas yawned as he entered the starting city. It had been a long day of mob hunting for him. Even with his level and the availability to move to a higher floor and rent an inn, he still preferred to call this place home. It's not like it was out of his way anyways, what with the teleport platform being just down the alley from the inn he usually stayed at. He decided while he was at it he'd stop and grab a drink. Seeing a tavern close by he decided to enter. It wasn't really an instance change but the game still recognized the change in area, and with it altered the background music that accompanied the room. It was nice and a little festive, which made for good drinking sometimes. He grabbed a seat at the bar and waited for the bartender to move over to him. "I'll take a double of Firewhiskey if you've got it," he said as he laid his head down on the bar for a moment as he allowed his mind to relax and wander.

Name: Iron Spear

Merchant R2

Obtain: Starter Item

Item Type: 1-Handed Spear

Quality: Rare (Locked)

Enhancements: 1 DMG, 1 Paralyze

Description: A typical starter weapon made of iron

Quote

ID #71326

Craft: 9 (Retry)

 

ID #71328

Craft: 11 (Success)

Loot: 12 (+1 Paralyze) (Uncommon)

 

ID #71329

Craft: 8 (Retry)

 

ID #71330

Craft: 10 (Success)

Loot: 20 (+1 Damage) (Rare)

 

ID #71331

Craft: 1 (Locked)

------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Iron Breastplate

Merchant R2

Obtain: Starter Item

Item Type: Heavy Armor

Quality: Rare (Locked)

Enhancements: 18 Mitigation

Description: Typical starter armor made out of iron

Quote

ID #71337

Craft: 7 (Retry)

 

ID #71338

Craft: 12 (Success) (Uncommon)

Loot: 20 (1 Mitigation)

 

ID #71339

Craft: 10 (Success) (Rare)

Loot: 18 (1 Mitigation)

 

ID #71340

Craft: 9 (Retry)

 

ID #71341

Craft: 2 (Locked)

 

Vargas turned to see Row carrying a pile of gear in her arms as she kicked open the door. He wondered why did so when she could easily keep it in her inventory and pull it out later. She dumped the stuff all over his counter, which he then separated so as to see the items more clearly. Two one-handed spears, a shield, a breastplate (not that she really had any), and a rapier. "I should have enough mats, but if I need more I'll let you know." Vargas said while looking at the gear before looking up at her and seeing the money signs in her eyes. "I'll go ahead and get them done right now then."

Vargas started with the Iron Spear. He opened up the Appraisal window and hit accept. The system loaded with a retry prompt which he accepted.

Vargas then grabbed the <<Red Bowr's Tusk>>, thus beginning the system once more. Vargas wanted to hit something as the first attempt resulted in another lock. It already had 2 bleeds but it would've been nice to get something else on it.

Next was the <<Iron Shield>>. Vargas opened the appraisal window and was about to hit the confirm button before he hesitated. He looked at Row before praying to whatever dice gods she always referred to.

Vargas threw the shield at the wall in anger. When the shield hit the wall it prompted the <<Immortal Object>> prompt to appear. Turning away from the disappointment he was feeling he grabbed the rapier. He hoped that whatever gods there were within this system they would hopefully help him.

Vargas sighed in complete disappointment. This sucked for him. First time at appraising and he got success. Now, he got three locks right off the bat. He looked to the breastplate, contemplating wether it was worth it. Deciding there was no point in just giving up right now he grabbed it and went for the last chance he had.

Vargas sighed in relief at finally having another success. It might have locked but at least it was better than before.

Quote

Name: Iron Spear

Merchant R2

Obtain: Starter Item

Item Type: 1-Handed Spear

Quality: Rare (Locked)

Enhancements: 1 DMG, 1 Paralyze

Description: A typical starter weapon made of iron

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Name: Iron Breastplate

Merchant R2

Obtain: Starter Item

Item Type: Heavy Armor

Quality: Rare (Locked)

Enhancements: 18 Mitigation

Description: Typical starter armor made out of iron

+5 Exp (Locked)

+16 Exp (Retry)

+32 Exp (Success)

Rank 2 53/160

-13 Mats

Vargas felt everything slow down. What was it with near death experiences slowing down time? It just made the expectation of death so much longer and aggravating. He'd joined this game to escape reality. He got his wish by being stuck in here. Now he might end up taking it one step further. This might literally be his release from the pain he'd suffered for so long. Vargas felt like his body was just becoming drowsy. There was no point in fighting much longer. He couldn't do anything to stop it. His arm was gone, the elf was towering over him, and Row didn't seem able to help.

Vargas's squinted his eyes a bit as a glint of light flashed into them. It felt almost cliche to him that he'd be seeing a light, if it wasn't for the howling sound heard accompanying the light. Vargas shoved the elf off of him once more and rolled out of the way as it's attention was drawn away from it's earlier proxy. Looking to where the sound had come from he saw a guy with silver armor, along with a gold and silver kite shield.

You are done attacking. Back off a bit until I can get more control on this thing.

Vargas sheathed his blade and moved away from the newcomer. He quickly moved over to where Row was and helped her up with his good arm.

As Vargas moved away with Row the elf reworked it's aggro, now including the new player. The sudden increase in aggro and the distance applied from it's target having left, made Morgenstern more of a threat and thus its new target. It charged forward with it's blade streaking downwards on to Morgenstern. The attack easily hit but the sword and elf were sent back with no noticeable difference to Morngenstern's health.

(Energy +1)

Vargas held his sword at the ready to block the dark elf's next attack. He couldn't take any more than a couple attacks before he'd be screwed. Vargas watched as Row charged the elf with her spear. It dodged the attack easily, which seemed to piss off Row. She charged again but ended up sprawled on the ground once more.

Once again, the dark elf ignored Row's presence. She might've been closer, and thus a larger threat, but the continuos hits and aggro generated put Vargas at the top of it's list. The dark elf charged forward with an uppercut which Vargas was able to parry easily. He shoved it off before rolling to the side, trying to add more distance between them. However, the dark elf slashed down at him and caught his leg, dropping his current health even further, and dropping it into the yellow.

(Now realizing I screwd up dice, so I'll fix it starting from this post.)

Vargas had just stepped back to get out of the Dark Elfs aggro range, when Row charged forward yelling. Her shield was held forward, ready to pierce through the enemy, while her shield was brought up in preparation. The elf was looking at him still from the aggro draw, which helped leave a perfect opening for her. She had great stride and was covering distance quickly to deal what could've been assumed as large damage. However, it began to dawn on Vargas that Row might just be a klutz as she tripped over a pebble, once again. He was gonna have to talk to her about that later.

The dark elf still continued to stare at Vargas, not caring about the klutz. What did it care? It's not like she was meant to take notice of anything but the aggro that was made from the fighting. Vargas chose to charge forward with his sword drawn charging his <<Snake Bite>> once more. He was hoping to deal the most damage he possibly could with his three strike sword skill but so far he hadn't gotten lucky with any crits.

The attack landed excellently, dealing further damage to the mob. It staggered back once more, but this time charged it's own attack. Vargas was still stuck in his freeze frame from the attack and couldn't dodge. He tried moving out of the way at the last minute but wasn't fast enough. He was forced to suffer through the loss of his left arm as he moved to the side. "Damn it!" Vargas yelled as he jumped back from the dark elf. He saw in his HUD that he was stuck with the <<Dismemberment>> debuff.

(Energy +1)

It didn't take long after Row picked herself up before she tripped. Vargas charged forward as Row lost her balance to give her cover. He brought his sword in an uppercut swing parrying the dark elf attack from hitting Row. Bringing his sword back he initiated his <<Snake Bite>> sword skill releasing the tri-angular attack and sent the mob a couple steps backwards, giving Row and him some breathing room. He watched as the dark elf's hp dropped into the yellow. Turning a little so as to keep an eye on their proxy, Vargas offered a hand to Row for support.

"I got your back. You good?" Vargas asked while he check his hud for his teammates status. She didn't have any sort of debuts and her hp had remained the same. Once she'd gotten up he'd turned back to the dark elf and steadied his blade. "I'm gonna have to pull back out of its immediate range just in case since I'll have likely drawn it's aggro off of you."

General Store:

Custom Shop:

Row shot of the moment Vargas had finished his plan. Not even pausing or considering her surroundings, she just charged the dark elf. Vargas was a little concerned at her treasure frenzy that she was suddenly on. Suddenly, he considered what would have to Sinbad if he was a mob in this game. The image was amusing yet slightly horrifying. Once Row's attack connected Vargas started charging forward to attempt to block the dark elf's retaliation.

However, he came up just short and was unable to block the attack. The dark elf slashed through Row with a horizontal slash draining some of her health. Vargas brought his sword back for the system assist before unleashing his <<Snake Bite>> skill. Three angular slashes connected with the dark elf and caused a decent piece of health to drop. Vargas quickly looked at his HUD and saw that Row had already lost almost 25% of her health. This worried him as this proved she likely wasn't very high level or she didn't have high mitigation. He had to end this quickly before things went wrong.

Vargas looked at Row with dull look. Yep, he was pretty certain she was a god damn larper. At least that or she had some really bad case of eighth grade syndrome. He pushed forward a couple more steps before they came to a clearing. The lighting here changed from the clear sunny day outside, to being a dull light permeating through the cover. In the center sat a girl near a small fire. She had long white hair, dark skin, and dark green armor. When Vargas focused on her he saw that she had no cursor and pointed ears.
"The dark elf is right there. We aren't in her aggro range just yet so she hasn't taken notice of us. You should charge in first and gather hate and I'll follow behind and try to block her attack with a follow-up attack." Vargas suggested while taking note of anything else they could use. The dark elf was in the center of the clearing which meant they'd be out in the open. If there were any adds then they might have problems, but as it was a lower floor from the clearers it wasn't likely to be too difficult.

"I don't know about good treasure, but I do know I need it for the quest. As for strength, it shouldn't be too difficult. However, if it appears that we need to pull back and get out then do so. It's not worth your life to fight a monster we can just come back for later." Vargas said sternly, he didn't want to lose more people in his life. She might just be a temporary ally but that doesn't mean he wanted her death on his conscience. He ruffled her hair before returning the way they came so they could go straight to the forest.

After what took probably half an hour, they reached the outskirts of the Forest of Wavering Mists. Drawing his blade from it's sheath, Vargas pushed forward through the mist. It didn't appear to inhibit their vision but more or less created a white airy sheet across the ground. Each step he took caused the mist to spring up a little and break around his feet like the wake from a boat.

Vargas waited a little while for Row to teleport. It took her awhile and he was tempted to go back and see if she had walked off or something. The phasing blue graphic that appeared signaled that she had indeed crossed through. She looked a little surprised when she did though. He laughed at her bewilderment when it came to grass existing around them. Maybe she hadn't gotten the chance to see much of the floors, he definitely hadn't. Vargas had been too busy of late trying to get a couple levels first under his belt.

"Wow it's so... primitive, compared to the Town of Beginning."

"I'm guessing you don't get outside the Town of Beginnings much, do you?" Vargas inquired, curious as to how much of the game she'd seen.

Turning away, Vargas walked in the direction his map was indicating the quest was at. Following the cursor down the streets he eventually reached a blacksmith's shop and opened it. Inside he found, wouldn't you believe it, a blacksmith and what could more than likely be his wife. Walking up to the NPC blacksmith he inquired about the quest and allowed the debriefing to pass by quickly. In short, he wanted a piece of leather armour and so had to go get some from a dark elf in the Forest of Wavering Mists. This basically meant it was a bit of a fetch quest.

Sighing, Vargas accepted the quest and walked out the door. "Well, looks like it's time to go kill a dark elf so I can get through this quest," Vargas said as he stretched with his arms above his head.

"Yes yes, I am Row and don't worry about levels. What truly matters is your spirit for adventure and your ability to find treasure. Both of which I fulfill."

Vargas laughed at the energy Row seemed to exhume. She didn't seem to be letting their situation get her down. Vargas smiled at her as clapped and continued talking. 

"So leader, are you ready to be protected by the great treasure hunter!"

Vargas looked up at the clear blue sky as Row pointed up. It was another nice day for adventuring as Row would likely have said. Vargas nodded and accepted that this was just how it was gonna be.

 Vargas placed his hand on Row's shoulder as he passed by her. "Well then let's go, better start now before the day gets away." Vargas said. He continued down the road until he reached the teleportation platform. "Delilah Village," Vargas activated the platform, sending him to the third floor.

Vargas turned around to see a girl, about 5 feet tall walking up to him. She appeared to be wearing a black sailor outfit with blue outlines. The shirt was frilled in the front and the skirt had lace cloth on the ends. Her blue....eye looked nice though the other was covered by an eye patch with a golden rose design. "Cost? This is my actual hair color," Vargas replied slightly confused. "I'm guessing you're Row."

He looked her up and down once more before coming to one conclusion....this girl looked like she could either fight or just had some larping issues. He twisted around as she circled around him, like a vulture watching its prey die slowly. Hopefully, that wasn't going to be the case.

"So...not to be rude, but I was just wondering what level you were. Since you're tanking and all," Vargas inquired the girl.

Vargas awoke to the alarm he had set. The light filtered in to his room as he adjusted his eyes slowly. He relaxed into his bed as he waited while listening to the BGM In Your Past. Kayaba may have trapped ten thousand players in the game but he definitely was a great game producer. He turned off the alarm and got out of bed. He walked towards the mirror and looked at his attire. He still wore the same green shirt and black baggy cotton pants. His only equipment consisted of his Anneal Blade from the quest he'd recently accomplished not too long ago.

"Well I guess it's time for me to get some more equipment." Vargas said as he exited his room and descended the stairwell. Exiting the inn Vargas decided to stroll by the merchants' booths to see if he could find anything good. To his surprise he couldn't find anything that he could get, at least not without selling an arm, a leg, and his soul. Everything had high rates and he just didn't have the budget for anything like that yet. Vargas sighed as he walked out to the main square and looked at the notice board that was set up. Quickly scanning for a player willing to help him he finally found one.

Pulling out his menu he pulled up messages and sent one to the player named Row. Apparently he was offering his abilities to tank. Hopefully he was good if he could tank damage strong enough to do well.

I'll take this for the leather coat so I can some starting armour.

(Oh ok then I won't worry about rolling or anything and just make it a success that only completes the quest)

"No, it didn't. Guess I'll try again," Vargas said. He pulled up the menu and shifted through the options. Finding the appraisal button once more he pressed it and waited for the process to complete. After a couple seconds Vargas's menu popped up saying, 'SUCCESS: MERCHANT AQUIRED'. Vargas stood up grinning and placed his blade back in it's sheath. "Doesn't look like I got a new addition to my weapon but I did complete the quest now."