Brax

     Standing outside the Knight's of the Blood Oath planning hall, Brax wondered idly if he should attend the meeting for the next boss fight.  Having witnessed the chaos of the previous one, his first, the Stalwart Stoic was...not the least bit impressed by the actions of those who had gone before him.  The fight had been botched from the very beginning, starting with the blond headed 'Hero' who had offered nothing to anyone about a plan or general strategy, believing in his own hype enough to think that he alone knew what was best for all.  While he had proven himself strong, which none could deny, his capability to lead was...severely lacking.  However, given that this particular fight might be led by the cooler, calmer heads that helmed the KOB, specifically the Lady Opal and her mysterious guild leader known only to Brax by the name Heathcliff, perhaps a more sound plan would be enacted.  Thus, the heavily armored man opened the doors and stepped inside as quietly as he could so as to not interfere with the meeting if it had already started, which it seemed it had.

     Taking a spot in the back of the room, Brax overhead the end of a brunette's speech regarding the actual specifics of the boss itself, a spider and it's kin.  Having heard that it possibly possessed little in the way of armor, the man turned his thoughts inward a moment to contemplate what he may need in terms of supplies.  'If it is to be insects, then my first step will be antidotes.  Secondly, this time I will try to seek out some crystals of mitigation and damage, so as to add to my survival and attack capacities.  That means...an alchemist trip in the near future.'  As he contemplated the situation, Brax heard voices raised in anger spar across the planning table as an argument was made against the leaders of the last battle, as well as what was being referred to as 'weak' frontliners.  Having no ego to bruise, the man took no offense to the comments.  Not only that, but he was also of a minimum level to wield 2nd tier equipment, thus giving him a decent enough ability to both survive and assist in useful ways.  However, he found the bickering to be...unseemly, especially if one considered how many times this had already been done before.  Keeping his ears open, the stoic kept listening for anything else the meeting had to offer, specifically any formations that still needed to be hammered out, and where he might prove...most useful among them.

Rolling, rolling rolling...keep that Dice Roll going...Gonna hit that Bird with a nice attack...so Unknown can finish it off, maybe?  Then the battle is OVAH, we hope XP.  Add in a spicy post about adding some help to the battle, and we have a recipe for success.

ID 52255 BD 7 (-4 EVA +4 ACC)

<Rohk, the Predatory Avian>
HP: 306/1,200 [12 x 12 Dynamic Violence - 80 MIT] = 64 DMG
Mitigation: 80
Accuracy: 4
Evasion: 4
Immune to Stun and Paralysis.
Mitigates 50% of the damage from Critical Hits and Thorns (all variants)
 

Raptor Falcon:-0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85 
Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85 
Amber Egg: 0/300 | Mitigation: 100
Amber Egg: 0/300 | Mitigation: 100
Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85 
Amber Egg: 297/300 | Mitigation: 100 
Amber Egg: 297/300 | Mitigation: 100

     Bedlam. Chaos. Confusion and Fear. These words echoed like a loud scream in the empty cavernous spaces of Brax's thoughts. While other, more experienced front liners were conducting themselves well enough despite the unfortunate turns in the fight, his relatively unleveled crew was quickly falling to pieces. After having been dropped back into the mass of players, the stoic managed to regain his footing and traverse a path back to his formation, avoiding the grasping talons of Rohk high above as the beast attempted again to collect him for it's nest. Instead he watched as several other players were gathered up, stunned into submission by the action perpetrated by the Avian Adversary. His steel countenance soldiered on, intent clear in his gait and gaze: he needed to reform his formation, rejoin his assigned team, and perhaps end this fight before it continued it's deterioration. Just before he reached them, however, Rohk rose high into the sky and beat it's mighty wingspan, releasing a torrential storm of hurricane-force winds into the huddled mass of players. While his armor allowed the man to at least remain upright during the tempest, the girl Cora was less than capable, as she was swept up into the funnels created by the bastardly bird. Almost as quickly as the tornados appeared, however, they vanished and deposited their debris over the entirety of the battleground. But the female dagger wielder was not among them, for the sheer force of the air currents slicing about had rendered her Level 1 frame into pieces, a red crystal light shower her only remains that fell on the members of the last assault team. Brax had been close enough to Cora to have seen the look in her eyes, just a foot or so away from the girl, close enough to have viewed her in her final moments.

     It was not as if Brax, or rather Brandon, had not seen death before. Indeed, as a patient in a mental hospital one was accustomed to visits from the dark specter. Some of his fellow 'inmates' chose a more...permanent route to deal with their demons, the ones that plagued their thoughts and minds on a constant basis. But something about the look in the girl's eyes as she was dragged away by the swirling vortex triggered a memory that the man's brain had hidden away:

Flashback memory -

      It was the look of a girl that knew not what she had gotten into, one that did not understand the true meaning of death...one that might well haunt a man until his dying day.  The scene was so powerful...that even the man who had no emotion felt a single tear roll down his cheek, swept away by another hurricane that he barely felt in his distracted state.

     Words came back to him as he stood silent and still. Words like 'Run Hikoru, Baldur, Azide' and a quiet murmuring that could not be understood, yet these words roused the man from his standstill posture. Hearing the clinking of chains, Brax turned to behold a breathtaking sight: a pale woman that seemingly shone like a Rising Star, her white cape billowing behind her as the chain revealed itself to be connected to a sickle that rose like lightning to corral Rohk around it's neck. There was strength enough in the woman's arms to pull her up high into the air, higher even than the Avian, and allow some momentum to be placed in her attempted assault. The meteoric rise caused her face and cursor to become visible, and her arm reached out with a white gleaming rapier to strike at Rohk, but gravity caught up with the woman and left her with naught but a beak as the target of her strike as the bird twisted away. Brax could only watch in fascination as she fell to the ground nearby, landing lightly on her feet and taking up a position with his squad. Dazzled by the scene, the stoic almost forgot about the other words he had heard, mentioning Hikoru, Baldur and Azide as individuals that needed attention. Almost. Taking quick stock of the field of battle, and watching Rohk dance in the skies about, he determined his attack would be...less than ideal, especially given that could only provide minimal damage to the bird above. Shaking his head once to confirm his goal, the stalwart opened his at-ready inventory quickly and brought forth the Banner of Support he had managed to procure. Striking it on the floor, he saw the symbols on the flag light up and heal those who had most need of it, specifically the three previously mentioned and after consideration, Oikawa, who might not have survived another round of hurricane havoc.

     After depositing his banner into the inventory, Brax could not help but observe this newest addition to their assault. Pale as moonlight, the 'Unknown' woman possessed mysteries abounding, and the curious portion of Brax's inquisitive mind could not help but watch her in fascinated repose. Redrawing his weapon and bringing it to the ready so as to prepare for another round with Rohk, the stoic lowered it slightly to appear...non-threatening and chanced a moment to call out to the enigmatic female: "My thanks, mysterious maiden, for your assistance, unsuccessful though it may have been. If I may be so bold...who are you?"

<Rohk, the Predatory Avian>
HP: 288/1,200
Mitigation: 80
Accuracy: 4
Evasion: 4
Immune to Stun and Paralysis.
Mitigates 50% of the damage from Critical Hits and Thorns (all variants)

Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Raptor Falcon:-0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Raptor Falcon: -4/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4| Damage: 85 
Amber Egg: 64/300 | Mitigation: 100 [Stunned]
Amber Egg: 64/300 | Mitigation: 100 [Stunned]
Amber Egg: 90/300 | Mitigation: 100  [Stunned]
Amber Egg: 299/300 | Mitigation: 100 
Amber Egg: 299/300 | Mitigation: 100 
Amber Egg: 299/300 | Mitigation: 100

      Brax stood ready as the giant doors opened at Zelrius's touch, and brought up the rear of his group as they shuffled in.  Keeping his ever-watchful eyes peeled, the Stalwart Stoic observed everyone move and attack with varying levels of effectiveness.  He did see a concerning lack of coordination, especially in regards to battle formation and attack patterns, but this being his first appearance in a boss battle he kept his thoughts to himself, instead waiting for his chance to contribute.  Rohk danced in the air above, striking hard and rustling it's feathers to summon up a pair of Raptor minions, but the dedicated group dealt with them relatively effortlessly.  His chance to add his attack to theirs would not come, for just as he saw a heavily armored bluenette and some sleek Asian woman strike hard at one of the spawned Raptors and the surrounding Amber Eggs he saw the giant Avian take to the skies and dive into the huddled mass of players, hooked talons extended out in search of prey.  Though his logical brain knew that there was about a 1-2% chance that he could get scooped up, still the stoic shifted his center of gravity to avoid appropriation, and at first he managed to just barely miss being caught.  Instead, a dark-clad giant of a man with wild hair and a giant black sword was apprehended, as the bird circled back into the fray for another player to catch.  His heavy armor continued to carry Brax forward, and without the necessary training he could not arrest his momentum enough to avoid a second try by the Avian monstrosity, thus he was captured and lifted high from the team and summarily dropped into the nest at the rear of the battlefield.  Momentarily disoriented from the attack, Brax managed to recover enough to put his axe at the ready in defense of both himself and the giant beside him, ready to fend off the bird incase it tried something...unseemly towards the two captured players.

<Rohk, the Predatory Avian>
HP: 417/1,200 
Mitigation: 80
Accuracy: 4
Evasion: 4
Immune to Stun and Paralysis.
Mitigates 50% of the damage from Critical Hits and Thorns (all variants)
Emperor Precision- 6/10 Cooldown

Raptor Falcon: 0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Raptor Falcon:-0/300 | Mitigation: 0 | Evasion: 4 | Damage: 85
Amber Egg: 274/300 | Mitigation: 100 
Amber Egg: 274/300 | Mitigation: 100 
Amber Egg: 274/300 | Mitigation: 100 
Amber Egg: 274/300 | Mitigation: 100 
Amber Egg: 300/300 | Mitigation: 100
Amber Egg: 300/300 | Mitigation: 100
Amber Egg: 300/300 | Mitigation: 100
Amber Egg: 300/300 | Mitigation: 100

ID 49810

     Unfortunately for Brax that was not to be the end of his test of battle prowess, for just as the pixels of the monkey's began to vanish another mob chose to enter the fray, taking the form of another pack of Howler Monkeys.  The stoic was prepared for their assault, however, and as they screeched above his head to herald their approach, the heavily armored man deftly shifted his feet in concert with his armor, the weight carrying him out of reach of the simian's slamming attacks.  Landing on the balls of his metal clad feet, the often silent axe-man pushed off with impressive force and brought his weapon to bear, activating his Trample Act to slice the horde down to size.  His power carried him through the creatures' vanishing bodies and he came to rest just before a mighty tree trunk, frozen only for a moment which passed quite quickly.  Brax turned his loot searching eyes upon the remains of his battle, finding a decent amount of treasure dropped by the screeching simians which he gathered up hastily.

+8 materials

+1160 col

ID 49808

     Brushing aside the brush, Brax was thrown back a bit by the onslaught of a pack of Howler Monkeys emerging from their hiding place in the lush greenery.  Managing to shock the stoic, the monkeys landed a few hits as they scurried out of the way of his gauntleted hands.  Shaking his head to clear the surprise from it, Brax drew forth his axe to contend with the naughty simians quickly.  He looked about for them, and his eyes alighted on their furry forms flitting above from trunk to trunk in order to distract his aim from being as true as it could.  Thankfully, he had his Pactagon equipped to guide his hands, and with it's help he unleashed a potent Trample Act on the raucous monkeys that shook the trees to their cores, felling a few in the process.  His aim true, the force of his attack ended their lives in decent fashion, leaving naught behind but pixels and col to collect.

+4 materials

+1160 col

     Stepping out of the cave under the waterfall on Floor 6, Brax the stoic peered out onto the opposite shore with interest and intrigue in his gaze.  He had not gone beyond the river in any of his travels on the floor, and wondered idly if perhaps his treasure hunting skills might find better luck should he venture into the unknown terrain.  The dense tree cover hid much from him for the moment, but he knew that one day his Search and Detect skills would be acute enough to pierce the thick foliage and reveal to him all their secrets, whatever they may be.  With such thoughts echoing in his head and the...anticipation of the satisfaction to come, Brax hopped lightly from rock to rock in pursuit of the distant bank, finally coming to rest before the lush greenery.  Before embarking upon his next trek, though, the heavily armored man knew that he would need additional help from his many consumables, specifically one of the Chocolate Bars in his inventory.  Snacking quickly, his eyes lit up faintly with the power to expertly find hidden loot just as he stepped through the vegetative cover.

Consumed one Chocolate Bar (+2 LD for a thread)

     As he looked out on the dunes, the Stalwart Stoic took note of the Vice Commander's voice ringing out of the wind and sand whirling about around them.  It was...unclear as to what she was specifically stating, but the way she had changed her appearance and the direction she was pointing indicated...that perhaps she had found something of noteworthiness in the sands.  If it was indeed what they had been searching for...

     Brax turned his head to where she seemed to be moving, motioning to the others to follow their commanding officer into the whirlwind.  "Hey, guys!  I think the Lady Opal has found what we seek.  Come on!"  With that, and knowing that they would follow behind him, the heavily armored man trudged over in the same direction as Opal, in pursuit of what he knew the other's hoped, and maybe himself as well, was the caravan they sought.  She had been right: though it was partially covered and definitely had seen better days, the broken wooden cart buried beneath a thin lather of sand was location they had been questing for.  Working together in relative unison, the party members began to excavate the necessary items for their completion of the task, a smile branching across everyone's face...save for Brax.  Nevertheless, having gotten everything they needed, the party quickly made their way back to Armadillo and to the NPC that held their prize: the <<Survival>> skill.  Not even the harshness of the desert sands could eliminate the buoyed spirits of the party at the chance to finally be rid of the oppressive heat surrounding them.  After finishing up, Brax turned to the people who had accompanied him and spoke, the first words they had said after the long trek back: "I...thank you...everyone, for your help.  Though I might have been able to...go it alone...it was...more logical to attempt the task...with others.  My gratitude...at being available.  Should you require assistance in the future...do not hesitate to request my presence.  Here," he said, opening up his window and sending each a friend request, which they all accepted.  "My contact information, should you require it.  And with that, farewell."  Seeing little more to say and do, and rather intrigued at the opportunity to test out his new skill, Brax turned and left the group to their own devices, heading off to the teleport pad and his next hunting trip.

SUMMARY

Brax - +2 SP + 100 col

Teselmar - +2 SP + 100 col + 4 materials

Ishida - +2 SP + 100 col + 4 materials

Opal - +1 SP + 100 col

THREAD COMPLETE!

     As Brax strode up to the proposed point of meeting that had been posted by the assault team, he considered his situation: he had been...gone for a time, not long in comparison to some, but longer than others.  His hunting and questing had taken their toll, causing a weariness that...he had not expected.  Indeed, the stoic had not thought himself capable of such things, a tiredness of a soul that...he may not have even possessed.  Regardless, he had been listening and keeping track of the movements of the frontlines with rapt attention, specifically since he had been of a decent level to be on the last group and yet...had not felt ready, for some reason.  Now?  He still felt...inadequate, in both skill and preparation.  However, in a rare moment of...confidence?  bravado?  courage?  Brax chose to eschew logic this one time, and would use this battle as a test for himself.  Should he make a decent showing, or at the very least survive, perhaps he had more to offer than just a seemingly cold and calculated worldview.  Maybe there was more to him...than there was to him.  And maybe, just maybe, he could return and find his path once more, the path that led to his future.  Standing off to the side, Brax opened his inventory to consume a Vitamin A tab, believing that accuracy would be more important in this fight that pure damage, taking stock of his situation.  He recognized himself for what he was, at the moment: a man apart, willing to lend a hand, but not quite a comrade of the community displayed before him.

     As Brax teleported into Yomi, he felt a cold chill pass across his heart.  Due to his level and lack of certain abilities specific to his current and future build, he had purposely avoided hunting in the undead cavern of darkness.  However, eventually he would have to brave the place to better understand the natures of every floor possible, for in order to master his hunting capabilities Brax would need to have knowledge of every environment Aincrad had to offer.  Thus he found himself looking out into the inky blackness of the sky above, perpetually in darkness and impenetrable to all but the most acute of vision extraordinaires.  Turning away from the dark sky, he walked through the rough hewn streets slightly damaged due to disrepair, most likely thanks to the fact that the inhabitants...were undead, and largely incapable of regularly scheduled maintenance work.  The entirety of the decaying settlement was filled with undead, selling wares and hosting travelers who were brave enough to visit for longer than a few hours.  Brax observed them all, taking in the full scope of what Yomi was and trying to file it away for future reference if he ever decided to return.  He strode purposefully and quickly to the center of town to peruse the Quest Board there, in search of what tasks a person may be allowed to accomplish in the pervading blackness outside.  Not too much was available, thanks to a decidedly small player population that actually came to do business in the area, but there was one quest that caught his eye: an NPC woman wandered about just outside of town, and was offering a high reward to any that would hear he plea.  She asked that a player or a group of players hunt down a banshee that killed her husband in Tartarus, an abandoned prison structure nearby.  Reading the description, Brax was...slightly ill at ease at the nature of the endeavor.  With so high a prize at the end of the quest, there had to be more to the task than what was being said.  Regardless, a job was a job, and if he wanted to improve his skills he would need to take it on, suspicion notwithstanding.

     Interestingly enough, as he stood there at the Board, Brax happened to hear another player call out in a loud voice saying "I'm looking to put together a group for a quest in Tartarus!"  While the stoic was not one to party with those he had not encountered before and had...some sort of relationship with previous to the questing together, logically he knew that his skills may not be sufficient to completing the task alone.  He would, however, approach the situation cautiously.  Stepping away from the Quest Board, Brax strode over to a nearby NPC vendor and purchased a quick beverage and snack combo, taking a seat on a nearby bench to keep a close eye and ear on the man who was asking for help, the better to see...what sort of crew he might manage to pick up, and if their skills would be capable of completing the job.  Only then would the heavily armored man be willing to offer his skills to aid in their success.  Probably.

ID 48448

LD 18 +7

     As Brax finished up with the mob, he saw another motion from the corner of his eye: apparently, he had missed one of the Soldiers' during his Sword Art's activation.  The upright reptile was of a lesser level than the ones he had taken care of, more akin to a scout or watchman as opposed to a soldier.  Upon being spotted, the creature bolted back under the waterfall into the cave behind it.  Once the aftereffects of his attack had worn off, Brax rushed to follow, but only heard a loud 'CLICK!' echo from the dark cave.  A thorough search of the area confirmed the man's suspicions that the escaping guard must have barricaded the dungeon entrance he had spent his time searching for.  Frustrated by his bad luck, Brax struck the walls of the cave once which broke off a chunk of stone from the sides of the passageway.  Seeing it had not vanished, he picked it up and observed it for a moment, finding it suitable enough to pocket into his inventory.  Looking around once more, the Stalwart Stoic decided that this trip appeared to be a bust, and that he would have to go back to town and rest for a time before coming back.  'Unfortunate that I could not find a dungeon,' the man thought to himself, 'but no matter.  My next foray should be...much more rewarding.'  With that, the heavily armored man exited the cave and stepped back into the sun.

+1 material

SUMMARY

400 col + 1 SP + 4 Oatmeal Raisin Cookies + 3 Potions of Strength II (tier 2) + 39 materials + 12260 col

THREAD COMPLETE!

ID 48447

     Out of the inky blackness shot forth a quartet of creatures in defense of their position.  The odd looking monsters were akin to Crocodiles, save that they were upright and wielding relatively decent armor and weapons upon their scaly bodies.  Despite being momentarily stunned by the reptiles, Brax managed to avoid their surprise attack, leaping backwards out of reach of their shorter swords.  The stoic jumped from rock to rock behind him until his metal boots touched the shore, with the older looking Crocodile Soldier's in hot pursuit as he touched down.  Assuming the position, he launched forward from the balls of his feet and tackled the closest creature he could get his shoulders on and as he did so, the system took hold of his body and moved it seamlessly through his Trample Act.  Two sweeping motions later, all that was left of the creatures was a vanishing shower of light.

+4 materials

+1540 col

ID 48446

LD 20 +7 LD

     Coming closer to the waterfall, Brax kept a careful eye out for anything out of place; a rock, a tree, maybe even a misplaced drop of water could lend itself to the entrance of a dungeon.  Observing his surroundings in such a critical fashion, the stoic could not fail to find useful materials for future crafters.  His well trained eyes might not have picked up any decent clues as to a suitable dungeon entrance, but he supposed the material would have to suffice, for the moment.  A scraping sound caught his ear, and Brax peered through the falling liquid above to see what may have made the sound.

+1 material

     Brax's senses were intrigued: the chance to find yet another dungeon was precisely what the man needed to better train up his skills.  First, though, he would have to find the instance.  Checking once more to see if any crocodiles were laying in wait much like the last time, the stoic took a quick dip into the waters just to wash off the sweat stink enough that his enclosed armor wouldn't kill him before he managed to find a dungeon to complete.  After the bath, he re-equipped his gear and ventured forth upriver, towards the waterfall and the cave that appeared to be beneath it.

     The river was exactly where Brax remembered, and almost just as he left it.  The wide rushing water driving a path between two tree-lined shores was quite nice, and a good point to catch his bearings.  Looking up and down the waterway, Brax saw the river meander off into a small waterfall downstream, while further upstream he could see...yet another waterfall.  Interestingly enough, though, the upstream falls cascaded down what appeared to be several rocks that could conceivably hide a cave, such that might hold a dungeon to explore.

ID 48445

     Just as he finished off the last of the ocelots, Brax managed to look up into the trees right as another pack descended, landing on top of his metal clad body and bearing him to the ground.  Unable to move thanks to his frozen status, the stoic lay stiff on the ground as the cat's backup squad ripped into his skin, drawing bloody lines and summoning red pixels from his virtual frame.  Thankfully, his armor was sufficiently strong enough to mitigate most of the surprising damage, and once his immobile form was again able to move Brax threw the Ocelots off with an anger filled roar.  Using the action as a distraction, the stoic leapt back once to gain some distance between himself and the pack and sprinted forward to close that same distance, using the momentum to tackle the creatures and tear them apart with his Trample Act once more.  Surveying the battlefield afterwards, Brax collected his loot earnings and made his way...west, where he was almost certain to find that river he had bathed in previously.

+4 materials

+1540 col

ID 48444

     Just as he had complained on his earlier trip about the stifling humidity of the jungle, so too he grumbled now as the sweat began to pool inside his heavy armor.  Not even his newly acquired Survival skill could completely remove the discomfort the humid air provided to those that trekked in more substantial gear.  Thus, the telltale scent of sweat again attracted some...undesirable foes, in the form of a pack of Ocelots.  Brax had to exhale in what could be interpreted as a breathy laugh: he was almost step for step following the same path as before, not long after he had acquired his Grandmaster Sword Arts.  As the jungle cats leapt down from the trees above, the stoic game them no time to set up for an attack, initiating his own just as they landed.  His Trample Act made quick work of the spotted felines, a fast tackle and two hits of his axe consigning the pack to pixelated hell.

+4 materials

+4 Potions of Strength II (tier two) (+4 DMG for a thread)

+3080 col

     There was little Brax could do about it, though, other than to uselessly consider the ramifications of such happenings.  Specifically, that if Berringer's lacked the necessary money to care for his comatose body and still cared for him anyway, his strength in-game mattered not because his body would soon die.  Thus, to pontificate on probabilities that he had little to no control over...was useless and a waste of resources.  He filed away the thoughts to the back corners of his mind, finishing his rations and re-embarking on his dungeon diving.

     It brought to mind an interesting, if relatively useless, thought to Brax's mind: what was occurring to his body on the outside?  While he knew that the Doctors and Nurses at Berringer's cared about him, Brax wondered how much care they could actually give him.  The facility was not state-of-the-art, that much was certain, and as such funding was limited.  Would they have moved him to another more appropriate hospital, or were they stretching their funds to keep him there and alive?  Even as he nourished his virtual body, was his physical one wasting away due to lack of funds?  It was...an unnerving idea, to be sure, but one that the supremely logical man could not remove from his considerations.

     Carving up frog legs made Brax feel...slightly hungry.  Reaching into his pack, Brax rummaged around until he managed to find his bread and water rations, having not yet had time to restock his foodstuffs.  He would have to go visit his normal cook on Floor Three soon and procure some more...substantial goods; the amount of time he spent in the wilds hunting and training demanded much of him, both in skill and appetite.  As such, simple bread and water would no longer truly suffice.

ID 48441

     Just as the light show began to fade, however, the requested reserves hopped into the fray.  Brax was ready for their games, but found himself at the mercy of the after-effects of his Sword Art.  Thankfully the frogs stood in confusion: what could be happening with their prey?  Was it playing at weakness, in order to draw the creatures in to behead them?  Or maybe he was simply playing for time, charging up an attack to end the fight before it began?  Whatever the thoughts that ran through their minds, their hesitation was the cause of their downfall, for as the effects of his Sword Art faded Brax charged into their ranks and decimated the reinforcements with yet another Trample Act, his shoulderguard leading the way and a two wide sweeping strike follow-up that carved the amphibians into dinner specials.

+4 materials

+1540 col

ID 48440

     Tracing again his previous trip on the floor, Brax wanted to again take a look through the leafy jungle path in search of a dungeon to dive into.  He had seen some promising sites on his last hunt, and since he had only gotten stronger in the time that had passed he knew that now he was able to take on whatever dungeon instance may appear.  Barring that, he could still get some useful hunting out of the way in terms of both consumables and EXP.  The trail again led into the waiting arms, or perhaps legs, of a pack of Gargantuan Tree Frogs sitting in the branches above, long prehensile tongues flitting from large gaping maws meant for swallowing prey whole.  Two landed atop him as they leapt from the trees, squashing his metal frame flat and knocking the wind from his sails.  The remaining two croaked loudly for assistance, the cry echoing into the deep recesses of the jungle.  But unfortunately for these ones, the help would come too late, for even as the frogs that had hopped on Brax jumped to squish him again, the stoic rolled out of the way and came up swinging by initiating a tackle and sweeping through the fiends with his Trample Act, leaving naught but pixels behind as evidence of the battle.

+4 materials

     But, that lack of ability would not last overly long, for someday soon he would reach his next goal of becoming a Grandmaster in Search and Detect and would be...the greatest dungeon hunter in all of Aincrad.  Not only that, but treasure would be easily found amidst the remains of his hunted mobs.  True, the items found would only be rare and not perfect, but beggers could not be choosers, and Brax could get decent usefulness out of whatever consumables he acquired.  Finished with his current preparations, he stood from his resting log and began to trek again through the rain forest.

     As the orange energy faded, Brax considered his situation one last time and drew forth a final potion, one of strength, and drank it's contents quickly.  The blood red fire raced up and down his body, alighting itself mostly in his arms and legs for maximum power.  He knew, like always, that he could survive whatever came his way as long as he could end the battle swiftly enough.  Brax idly wondered if he was becoming addicted to the consumables, but shook his head against the idea, for all they were was a set of tools to be used and not a crutch for his lack of ability.

Consumed one Potion of Strength II (tier two) (+4 DMG for a thread)

     Fighting done for the moment, Brax sat on a fallen tree and thought about the other side of his vision skills, namely the ones that aided his hands in battle.  While he possessed markedly good abilities in searching for treasure and the like, his weapon accuracy was...slightly left behind because of it.  Therefore, Brax reached into his bag of tricks, so to speak, and pulled out another consumable in the form of a Vitamin A Tab, which after consumption flashed an orange color in his eyes that also traveled through him into his hands.

Consumed one Vitamin A Tab (+2 BD for a thread)