Brax

ID 48439

     The battle was not yet over, however, for just as Brax rid himself of the first wave of snakes, a second one bubbled up from the leafy ground beneath his metal clad boots.  The ambushing Serpents nipped at his heels, attempting to coil around his armored feet and legs to immobilize his frame and leaving him defenseless against any sort of...trickery...they had in mind.  But the Stalwart Stoic would not be taken so easily, and as they tried to squeeze him he leapt high into the air with all the power he could muster, twisting slightly in mid-jump to land on the lead snake with his paldron and activating his Trample Act once more, spinning from the force of his twisted body and slicing the offending Serpents into nothing more than a crystalline shower that decorated the field with their remains.

+4 materials

+1140 col

ID 48438

     Interestingly enough, Brax found himself following the trail of his previous scouting/hunting trip on the floor, and running into many of the same enemies he had encountered then.  Thankfully, as he had increased dramatically in skill and EXP, so too had the monsters scaled to his level.  This was most readily apparent by the thicker hides and sharper looking fangs of the Amazonian Serpents that fell once more from the foliage above, 'snaking' their way to attack the stoic where he searched.  He took several hits, but while they had increased in size the serpent's strength was...decidedly the same, their larger bulk not adding much to their overall strength.  Unleashing a Trample Act upon them was simple enough, the first tackle managing to disrupt their formations while the following sweeping strikes cut them into pieces that left behind...some considerably decent loot.

+4 materials

+4 Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (+36 MIT for a thread)

+2280 col

ID 48437

LD 13 +7 LD

     Using his Battle-Axe to clear away brush that blocked his path, Brax trekked further into the rain forest with his yellow flashing gaze leading the way.  Taking note of every tree, every vine, every nook and cranny that was highlighted by his piercing vision skills was an arduous task, but one that he had begun to...actually find a great deal of satisfaction in, especially when it was rewarded with a new discovery.  For instance, as he parted a common looking leafy curtain, Brax found a rather decent flower of alchemical properties hidden away in the shadow of a nearby tree, pocketing the prize quickly before scanning the rest of the area and moving on.

+1 material

     (High ranking S&D guy discovers Ariel's level 0_0!) If you want someone capable of slaying multiple foes quickly, this ole' axe-wielder's got AOEs in spades, and at 25 with a variable 21 to 57 MIT depending on the equips I'm not so far away from yall to cause problems on HP.  Plus...I have a good dungeon hunting build going on, so if you need a decent pair of eyes I could be your man, so to speak ;)

     Continuing in the same vein of his treasure hunting skills, Brax reached into his pack once more and ate a chocolate bar as part of his hunting ritual he had recently developed.  With the added bonuses to his eyesight, an adequate dungeon would be...fairly easy to spot, even amidst the leafy cover that was the jungle environment.  Perhaps there was some sort of reservation in the heart of the jungle, some ancient home to creatures never before seen, that his sharp hunter's gaze might discover whilst on his current trip.

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

     The first opponents Brax normally faced when roaming around a floor would usually experience the unerring accuracy of his Pactagon accessory; however once he had actually entered the wilds themselves, the stoic would shift his skills in a different direction.  Namely, the use of his Ring of Thror, so as to help in the seeking of more...unique treasures to add to his consumable materials.  Thus, as he found no more panthers lying in wait to ambush his heavily armored frame anymore, he switched his accessories and began a thorough search for a suitable challenge to test his skills against.

Equip The Ring of Thror in place of The Pactagon (+2 LD, -2 ACC)

ID 48436

     As Brax finished up with the pesky beasts, his well-trained senses, or rather the senses he had spent quite a few points on improving, took note of a small but noticeable snapping of a twig up in the high trees from whence the previous panther pack came.  Looking up, the man had barely enough time to leap out of the way of the bulk of another ambush attempt by a second backup party of panthers.  A few scratches caught him as he jumped out of the way, but nothing that could not be ultimately healed by his newly activated <<Survival>> skill.  Once more landing on the balls of his feet, Brax charged the pack and hit the lead cat with his pauldron, leading his metal frame through yet another Trample Act and cleaving the second team in two swiftly.  Collecting his won loot, Brax trained his finely tuned senses outward in search of anything else...that may have laid in wait for the battle to end.

+4 materials

ID 48435

     Amazon stood before Brax as he materialized in it's Teleport Plaza after his adventure on Floor Twelve hunting down the wyvern for a quest.  The female dominated village was the next step in his training regimen, a place to both continue his testing of both his new equipment and try his hand at another dungeon run like in the deserts of the fifth floor.  As he meandered through the tribal feel of the structures littering the town on his way out, the stoic idly wondered what kind of dungeon he might find on his trip, if in fact he could find one.  While his skills were fairly good at the task, he knew that luck was also involved in the undertaking and such things made the man...more than a little uncomfortable.  It was his normal routine to know precisely where he was going, what he was to do once he got there, and to be fully prepared for most contingencies that would arise.  To go out and simply search randomly for a dungeon...was a disturbing notion to the well mannered and structured individual.  Thus, he would be training his skills, and if Brax so happened to find a dungeon then so be it.

     Equipped with his usual starting fare of the Pactagon necklace, his energetic Greaves and the Sir Rated Axe, Brax left the village and was promptly assaulted by much the same creatures he had faced on his first trip out of Amazon, a pack of pernicious Panthers eager for a meal.  Unfortunately, this time they managed to ambush the man and knock his heavy frame to the jungle floor where they proceeded to tear into him like a Christmas ham.  Brax's new armor was sufficient enough to handle the surprising blows, however, and with a bit of finagling the stoic managed to roll out from under the mob and come up swinging, landing a solid hit with his shoulderguard and initiating his Trample Act Sword Art, mopping the floor with the powerless creatures in no time flat.

+4 materials

+1140 col

ID 48443

LD 15 +6 LD

     Given that the creature he had just killed was the source of the raging downpour, it came as no surprise that the rain began to lessen and the lightning that previously flashed dangerously across the cloud-filled sky had disappeared entirely.  Nor was the 'QUEST COMPLETED!' window that appeared in the air a shocking experience, either, and as the reward screen popped up Brax accepted his prizes.  Sheathing his weapon and keeling near the death place of the Lord of the Seas, Brax searched about for anything else the monster may have dropped and found some hardened lightning remaining behind.  Placing the final prize in his pack, the Stalwart Stoic took stock of himself and found...a rather disturbing smell emanating from beneath his armor.  Covered in grime and filth, he concluded...that a shower was in order, and made his way back to Lazaro.  'A good test of my equipment,' he thought as he left the battlefield, 'and I am only at level 25.  How promising...the future appears to be.'

+1 material

Placeholder

Summary

400 col + 4 SP + Lightning Rod (Grants a weapon a one turn paralysis effect on a critical hit. Lasts for one thread) + 35 materials + 6760 col

THREAD COMPLETE!

ID 48432

     The wyvern twisted and turned in agony and confusion as Brax dragged himself out of the fetid water frothing in the storm.  His bone-crushing Screw Dimension had leveled more than half of the creature's HP gauge and left it disorientated and in enormous pain.  The stoic watched it thrash about while he trudged through the muck intending to end the battle now, before it had a chance to recover.  Lightning flashed from the Lord of the Sea's mouth as it tried to retaliate in it's addled condition, arching across it's body from a stilted attack never to be realized.  Avoiding the wyvern's writhing mass, Brax got close enough to leap from the waters and assail it with a final Dynamic Violence, four attacks from his mighty axe cutting deep into the regal aquatic worm and causing it to jerk about one last time before exploding wildly into a shower of pixels that combined with the storm now beginning to taper off.

+1 material

ID 48431

     Brax was...truly a stoic statue, trapped in the waters churned up by the raging storm.  It was at this moment that the tempest parted, revealing the source of the squall as the inimitable wyvern he had come to slay, the feared and powerful so-called Lord of the Seas.  It truly appeared as an electricity filled alligator dragon, flanked not by leathery wings but scaly arms that were bound to it's body by strong membranes used to enhance it's amphibious nature.  An ear-splitting roar echoed through the surrounding wetlands, drowning out the crashing of the rain and electric bolts shooting across the black canvas above.  Brax's MIT consumables shielded him from the bulk of the powerful cry, but still the stoic could not help but cringe slightly in tense preparation of the battle to come.  Turning it's gaze slowly to regard the coastline, the wyvern's eyes alighted on Brax's armored frame and moved almost faster than he could see, picking up the adventurer in it's teeth and chewing on him like a Sunday snack.  Thankfully, while disconcerting to be manhandled in such a fashion, the man had enough MIT to avoid the bulk of the serious amount of damage the creature was inflicting.  The wyvern tossed him into the air intending to swallow the metal clad man whole, but Brax managed to prepare his Screw Dimension Sword Art in midair as he fell, hitting the beast with three power-filled blows that disoriented it enough to allow Brax to land face first in the muddy waters below with a loud, wet smack.

     The storm reached it's peak right as Brax came upon the main shoreline where a quick look at his map data indicated the dreaded Lord of the Seas normally made landfall.  The torrid pattering of rain was split only by the fierce crack of lightning illuminating the blackened skies of Floor Twelve.  The swampy waters and deleterious muck rose to increasingly higher levels that made the muddy trek here look like a walk in the park on a sunny day.  Standing with weapon at the ready, the stoic could only observe as the mud rose up to grip his boots in their dirty embrace, preventing him from moving overly well.

     The wind began to pick up speed just as Brax was nearing exhaustion from his hard running in plate armor.  While he was in...decent physical conditioning...from his cardiovascular exercises at Berringer's, the added weight of his armor did affect his weight distribution and subsequent air consumption during such extended marathon sessions as what he was currently doing.  Unfortunately, that would mean he might not be able to avoid the dragonesque creature's attacks, though that only meant he would get good use out of his mitigation consumables.

     The watery grass squished loudly beneath his metallic boots as Brax hurried to reach his intended destination before the wyvern appeared.  Rain began to pour down from the black curtain that had been pulled back from across the sky, revealing a powerful storm ready to stir up all sorts of trouble for anyone foolish enough to be out and about in it.  As his armor clanked loudly from his quick moving gait, Brax could only think on the fact...that he needed to reach a decent place so as not to be caught off-guard by the Lord of the Seas.

ID 48417

     But for the moment, preparation was...unnecessary, for a regular mob needed no special consideration.  Brax was to experience the first opportunity to engage a very odd creature, the Zambie, called thus due to the nature of it's existence as...a Deer Zombie.  Such undead ghouls would not normally cause any sort of fear or loathing from a person due to the fact that it was...a Deer Zombie.  'What...was the point...in creating such a thing?' wondered the stoic as he saw them charge toward him on the little patch of solid ground they were luck enough to find out here in the marshlands.  Nevertheless, with little fanfare and even less delay, Brax prepared and let loose with an Explode Catapult just to make sure that whatever they had planned would not come to fruition, and as his rumbling attack subsided he stepped onto the high ground, so to speak, and made a hasty exit towards his final encounter for the trip even as the storm began to advance in full.

+4 materials

+2280 col

     Preparation was always the key for a confrontation.  To logically map out the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, to prepare oneself with a myriad of necessary enhancements to counter the previous observations, and ultimately to execute your plan of attack with all the force you could muster.  That was how one succeeded in both battle and, by extension, life itself.  The adherence to a task, a job to accomplish, that was how one survived and kept on surviving, by setting up a goal, achieving it, and then setting up more goals until you reach the last one, either your life's goal or death, whichever came first.

     'Hmm, quite the polite response,' thought Brax as the merchant concluded their transaction.  Needing nothing more, the stoic shook his head once and responded with, "No, not at this time.  My thanks, merchant."  Brax turned to leave, but as he was walking away he paused.  Turning his head, the heavily armored man called back to the young boy with a final statement.  "Actually, I might have a business proposition for you, should you intend to remain in operation by the time I have finalized my skills.  Your name...is Hikoru, correct?  Once I have smoothed out my means of production, I will send you a PM, that is if you are interested.  If not, then forget I mentioned anything.  Farewell."  With that, the Stalwart Stoic exited the shop and made his way to the Teleport Plaza, intent clear in his gait: time for more hunting.

     Brax had heard of merchants during his time here in Aincrad, but as of yet had not gone to visit one due to the lack of any to choose from.  As such, while roaming around Delilah Village he spotted the humble looking shop and stepped inside to peruse the wares that were on display.  The trophy wall was nothing special, at least to Brax due to the simple nature of boars and wolves as monsters, and the weapon Back-Biter in it's glass display case like some sort of grandiose achievement wasn't that impressive to the stone-hearted man.  Nevertheless, he was not here to observe the shop; no, he was here to make a purchase, if the owner was willing to part with their goods.  Stepping up to the counter, Brax placed his armor gauntlets down and gave a decent greeting and a request: "Hello.  I heard that merchants carry some...more useful wares involving extra inventory space.  I am in the market for such a thing, and I believe I have the col to purchase it, whatever the cost.  Can you help me, or am I mistaken?"  With that, the stoic drew forth a large amount of col from his stores and dropped it unceremonially on the counter.

--15,000 col

+1 Dimensional Backpack

     The muck he walked through was not...overly distracting, though he did logically conclude that the storm approaching would make the water whip around in such a fashion as to make him...less capable of avoiding attacks.  As such, Brax had already taken the precautions of the MIT potion in his inventory.  What good was an open shot, if your attacks did little enough damage to worry about before you ended it's life?  With little to worry about from the so-called Lord of the Seas, the stoic felt almost...well, that he might be unsatisfied...by the battle itself, despite the EXP and rewards he would earn.

     The annoying bugs dealt with, Brax re-sheathed his axe and drove on in the mild stormy weather making landfall soon.  Off in the far distance he could see the black raging clouds creep ever closer to the shore, and picked up his pace so as to be waiting at the spawn point for when the wyvern would appear.  Granted, he could have gotten a boat to traverse the muddy waterways, but half the...satisfaction one got from a journey was in the actual trip itself, and Brax was not one to take the easier road.

ID 48397

     But, just as he finished with the deranged dragonflies he was accosted by a swarm of Water Striders, disturbed by the whipping winds and sloshing liquids nipping at his boots.  They danced around the stoic, annoying the heck out of him and trying to get him to trip up and fall.  Brax would not be distracted by the ever-present bugs, however and as soon as his after-attack frozen status had alleviated itself, he charged up yet another Trample Act and took the distracting creatures to task, cleaving the hardy bugs in half and collecting any prizes dropped by their pixelated remains.

+4 materials

ID 48396

     As the clouds darkened overhead and the winds began to move faster across the swamplands, they began to disturb the local wildlife into migratory actions, sending them running, swimming and flying to safety wherever they could find it.  Like the Giant Dragonflies rising from the murky waters churning and frothing with storm-laced energy, who turned their angry buzzing gaze onto the man who chose to step into their habitat blindly.  Moving zig-zag across the baleful sky, they zoomed in for powerful tackles that, fortunately for Brax, were all bark and no bite.  Only barely feeling the attacks, the heavily armored man struck out himself with a Trample Act and tore the incensed insects asunder with his axe's sweeping motions.

+8 materials

+1520 col

     The vigor from the strength potion pulsed in his veins, giving the Stalwart Stoic the energy to go on...and on...and on.  He made decent time to the lake in question, and from a quick look at his map data he saw that he was only...an hour or so away.  The morning sky and pervading mist steaming up from the waters below began to give way to hotter temperatures, signaling the onset of afternoon.  Furthermore, the sky began to darken a little and the wind began to pick up somewhat, sure indications that a storm was to arrive soon, most likely by the time he reached the lake in question.

     As the orange glow raced through his body, from his eyes to his hands, Brax readied another potion, one of strength this time, in order to better aid his powers against the Lord of the Sea when it appeared.  No matter how hearty the beast may be, if Brax were sufficiently strong he could cleave the wyvern clean in half before the battle became too much.  The fire from the Potion of Strength II raced up and down his frame, centering in his arms and legs to power his attacks, and as it burned away he felt renewed vigor deep inside.

Consumed one Potion of Strength II (tier 2) (+4 DMG for a thread)

     Brax trudged over the battlefield once more, the swampy lake where the Lord of the Seas would spawn firmly before his eyes as a final destination.  He was beginning to become irritated by this floor and all the trappings that proved...less than compatible with his new gear.  This was not a floor for a heavily armored warrior to visit very often, at least not without company, and since Brax did much of his work solo...he concluded that he would not be visiting that often.  Stumbling once due to an unseen stone beneath the dank waters, the stoic in frustration opened his pack once more to consume a Vitamin A Tab, the better to see what may stand in his way.

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