Creius

Nathan picked himself up just in time to hear the golem's fists whistling through the air. There was a loud noise, concussive to Nathan, and the poor player was sent flying into the air, his blade left on the ground. Nathan's vision dimmed a bit as he tried to make sense of what happened. There was a loud grunt from one of the golems as the thorns dealt its damage, and immediately after there was another strong force, this one from above. Nathan was sent crashing into the ground again, dizzy and watching his health drop significantly. Nathan picked himself up, feeling a bit six from the two powerful blows but somehow retrieved his weapon and ran, albeit a little drunkenly, to the golem whose health was lowest. Jumping up into the air once more, Bloodletter glowed its crimson red right before Rip Ravine was unleashed upon the beast, finishing off the monster's health. Nathan hit the ground just as the beast began to dissolve into pixels. The victory window popped up but Nathan discarded it, a much bigger problem coming his way.

The two lumbering beasts marched towards Nathan, raising their hands high. Nathan, much more nimble than the two, ran forwards and in between them. The two beasts arms fell and collided with the earth, creating a massive quake that knocked Nathan off balance. The force of their blows sent Nathan crashing into the ground and into a daze as they kept moving, each step seeming to move the earth too. Realizing he could not stay prone or risk by getting hit by one of those blows, Nathan picked himself up and readied himself for the next attack, resolving himself not to be dazed by the next attack.

Nathan delved farther into the frozen wastes in search of more mobs to fight. After a few minutes walk from where he had fought the wolf he came across a cave. As he stepped towards the gate he felt the ice move beneath him and looked above the cave entrance to see two large bodies of ice moving towards him. They came crashing to the ground in front of him and swung out with their massive arms in turn. Nathan dodged the two attacks easily, their size resulting in the attacks to be slow. Nathan focused on one of the brutes, charging forward with Bloodletter glowing a brilliant colour. Nathan unleashed the sword art system as he jumped up into the air and Bloodletter flew forward and struck five times in the massive guardian's center. The golem's health bar dropped incredibly, the fragile body not too resilient to the piercing damage of the strike. Nathan backed away and watched for the next lumbering attack from the beasts.

Too late did Nathan realize that the breathing was far too close to dodge or attack. There was a sharp pain in his back as the wolf dug its claws into the foe who was trying to stand up. Shortly after the attack there was another whine, surprised this time, as thorns took effect and finished off the wolf's health and it shattered into a million pixels. A small window popped up in front of Nathan, indicating the small victory, and Nathan hit accept. That was the first material he had collected and it felt like he had been in this frozen wasteland for hours already. Begrudgingly, Nathan continued on in search of more monsters to fight.

The wolf picked itself up off the ground, terribly wounded at this point of the fight. It turned and snarled once more and charged. Nathan readied Bloodletter, preparing himself for another attack, but the wolf had put on an extra burst of speed for it closed the distance a lot faster than Nathan had been anticipating. The wolf tackled Nathan and sent them both sprawling to the ground. The wolf whined softly as it hit the ground, snarling as it picked itself up, while Nathan hit the ground with a loud thump and groan, Bloodletter knocked out of his hand. Nathan picked himself up and scrambled about, picking up Bloodletter as he heard the loud breath and quiet footsteps coming down upon him once more.

The ice wolf continued its snarl until with a loud bark it jumped forward again, its massive snout wide open and ready to clamp down on Nathan. The wolf's enraged attack made for an easy dodge once again, Nathan able to easily side step the incoming bite. As the wolf passed by, Nathan accessed the sword art system once more and used the sword art Rip Ravine. As last time, Nathan's blade adopted a brilliant hue and then slashed out, but this time was only twice in the shape of a V. The wolf landed on the ground once more, having taken even more damage upon itself without having dealt any to its foe.

As Nathan transversed the ice he scanned for more enemies. There was a loud howl somewhere near him and suddenly there was a large wolf upon him, bounding its way across the landscape. Within a few seconds, it had closed the hundreds of metres that spaced them and leapt forwards to his throat. Nathan stepped to the side and into safety then accessed the sword art system and Crucifixion unleashed upon the wolf's body. In the brilliant display of red, Bloodletter pierced the body of the wolf six times and dropped its health bar well past the half way point. The wolf landed with a small whine and turned snarling, approaching Nathan again.

Nathan watched as the four puffs jumped towards him once more, their health bars still dropping from the bleed effect. One puff made it farther than all the others and was actually within striking distance. As all the other puffs exploded into pixels this one leaped forwards and would have landed on Creius if Bloodletter had not intercepted the beast. The blade passed through the puff easily and quickly, causing the beast's health bar to disappear and seconds later for the beast to explode into pixels. No drop window popped up so Nathan went on his merry way, looking for the next fight.

Nathan shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the doubt. He had been struggling to land blows recently and that was just not acceptable. After a deep breath, Nathan charged forward and accessed the Sword Art system. This time, Nathan went for the more powerful AoE, Sweep, and struck out at the small beasts. Bloodletter exploded in a crimson shade of light as it made contact with all four enemies in two clean slashes. The health bars of the small beasts plummeted towards zero and they jumped towards him furiously. Nathan dodged all of the attacks narrowly, some passing mere millimetres from his body, and stepped away to disengage the combat for a second.

Nathan took a few steps backwards, placing some distance between him and the small monsters. After taking a breath he looked over at his foes. They were not dangerous but they should not be taken lightly anyways. He charged forward and slashed out with Streak, trying to hit all four at once with the AoE attack. The sword art missed, though, and the blade passed cleanly through the cold air. The four puffs jumped towards him again, intending to crush the player under their weight. Nathan backstepped again, dodging the jumps and hearing the loud thumps as the heavy bodies hit the frozen ground.

Nathan wandered through the ice lands, wondering just what he should fight first. As he walked across the icy wastes he encountered a small group of small creatures. He approached out of curiosity and was shocked to watch them begin to storm him. All four of the small mobs rushed Nathan at once, leaving Nathan at a struggle to draw out Bloodletter. Nathan's attack on draw missed all four of the mobs and all four of the mobs hit Nathan, slamming the greatly compact and heavy bodies against his chest and sending him reeling without breath.

Nathan teleported into the fourth floor with a single intent, to farm every single mob that he could find for materials and Col. Anything else he might get would be a nice bonus but there was nothing he really wanted besides those two things. Farming was a tiresome action but he wanted to get back to his shop and actually be able to run it without the constant worry of running out of materials. This was what had made him decide that a few days set aside for farming and farming alone might possibly be worth it, even if it did leave him tired of the task in the end. Nathan walked through Snowfrost Town, watching as the frozen streets gave way to the ice lands of the floor. At the gate of the town he now gathered his resolve and set himself to the task. He entered into the cold and barren wastes in search of his first prey that would fall victim to his thirsting blade.

Nathan walked up to the wagon, having searched for it for a few hours and finally having stumbled upon it. The mysterious alchemist whom twice now Nathan had seen being charitable with his wares. It was about time that Nathan come pay him a visit and, hopefully, leave with a slightly lighter wallet and heavier inventory. Nathan looked around the shop, noting what was in stock, and headed to the counter, looking at the shopkeeper. "Good day. If you would not be troubled by this request, I desire two Greater Health Potions of the first tier and I heard that the alchemists are holding something that might help me in the coming fight. I would like one of those, Scourge of Nerius I believe they are called." After making his order Nathan cast a quick glance at the pricing of said items and accessed his menus and opened up a Col transfer. He entered 1800 Col and sent the offer, realizing it was over the asking price for his request. "I know it is over, the remainder is a tip for how much you have done for me and others with your generosity." With that said, Nathan waited patiently for his order to be filled.

(-1800 Col to @Rain)

Nathan watched as the serpents came towards him, his eyes glancing between them as he tried to figure out which one he should attack. Maybe he could land an AoE attack, that was if he could land an attack if any. Right as he was about to charge forwards and into the mobs he heard a shout from above him. Without looking, Nathan hit the ground and saw a flash of blue light. Picking himself up he saw another player and a brilliant display of pixels that represented where the snakes had been just moments before. Nathan looked over the newcomer, noting the katana held at ready in their hands and just how easily they had taken out the serpents. They were stronger than him, much stronger. He only could hope that was not an issue. "Thanks for that, they caught me a bit off-guard." Nathan looked up and around the branches which they had come from and shrugged. This was his first time coming to the floor, he was not entirely sure what he was really up against but it could not be that bad. He brought his eyes to the player who had taken care of his little problem. "You can go along now, I am sure I can handle these beasts on my own." Nathan took two steps forward and slipped on the side of the branch, almost toppling over but catching himself before he did fall. Already this floor was proving to be one of his least favourites. With a sigh he stood up straight and headed up the branch, where it was a bit wider, and took a small breath. He was uncertain how much he liked these heights on such uncertain ground but he would have to muscle through it. There was a quick glance up at the tree, curious how many more snakes there might be, and then Nathan hit the base of the tree with as much force as he could muster, causing the leaves above to shake a bit. It was not much but it was enough to answer their question. There were loud hisses from the branches above and the sound of scales scrapping across the wood of the tree. Not too long after, four new serpents, all of similar sizes to the previous ones, fell down and landed on the branch with a thud. "Well, I guess that answers our question. Must be a nest up there." After that, Nathan focused on the enemies and played with his grip on Bloodletter, getting ready to make an attack.

Nathan charged forward, still slightly worried about his footing. The branch might have been a bit thicker but that sharp drop still worried him. This extreme caution and worry worked against him because he worked against the sword art system, the bloodred hue that Bloodletter had adopted fizzling out as the sword art was abandoned, which resulted in a weak attack that merely swung through the middle of the beasts instead of releasing the AoE attack that Nathan had intended. Awkwardly, Nathan stood in the middle of the beasts then dove out of the group into safety just as they all slithered rapidly to where he had been standing. They fangs dripped with venom as they hissed at him, slithering forwards to him.

Nathan could not help but laugh a bit when Jonathan jested at how it was about time that Nathan did something. That was probably one of the most least dramatic fights he had been a part of. Thankfully he did not have some accuracy ratio that he had just ruined otherwise he would have felt ridiculous. When Jonathan went on to describe a future where they helped all the low levels with a guild they made. He smiled softly, the look pretty much plastered to his face for a bit as he feigned interest. He just was not sure how much he would enjoy that. He would help Jonathan, sure. They had started their journey together. Others, though, he was sure that would just feel like a waste of his time. If he had been able to get to this point by himself, anyone could. He shoved the thoughts from his head and nodded slightly. "Yeah, sure. That sounds like a good goal to head towards..." Maybe his homage to Jonathan's dream would be getting him to the point where he could do that. Jonathan's dream was honourable and there was no reason why it should not be realized, the least Nathan could do was help. "In the mean time, though, we both have to get stronger. You let me know if and when you need any more help, I will be right there." Nathan turned then and started heading back towards Urbus, looking over his shoulder and raising a hand in parting. "See you soon, Jonathan."

((Overkill? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely))

Nathan heard Jonathan's yell and realized the validity of it. He slowed to a stop briefly, listening as Jonathan confronted the beast then blocked out everything. With his eyes closed he drew in every ounce of his resolve and focused it on landing one single, powerful blow that would wipe this pest off the face of Aincrad. All of his focus now pinpointed on driving Bloodletter through that wasp, Nathan's eyes snapped open. He charged forward, his blade glowing blood-red, and he jumped up into the air. Bloodletter flew forward and in a second had pierced the body of the wasp queen six times. The queen wasps' health dropped to zero, and probably well past it. Nathan landed on the ground just as the boss began to dissolve into pixels and a victory window popped up in front of him. With a grin, Nathan closed it then accessed his own menus and sent a trade request to his partner without a word.

Quote

Creius:
2 Materials
1 Matriarch's Stinger

Morgenstern:
Empty

"Well, that was rather annoying. That final attack felt good, though. I enjoyed working with you again, we should do it often now that you have reappeared. Maybe we can reach the frontlines together."

((I FEEL LIKE FREAKING SCREAMING RIGHT NOW!!!! OMFG THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS. Sorry for the caps, had to get that out. Seriously though, three fours in a row... It's supposed to be a 50/50 hit ;~; I am so cunfuddled))

Nathan darted forwards, charging the wasp as quickly as he could, not wanting the bug to escape his attack again. The problem this time, though, was that he went too fast. Bloodletter was thrust forward and passed cleanly through thin air, the queen not having reached where he had expected it to be just yet. No, instead it reached where he was after Nathan had. The large wasp slammed its body into Nathan, not dealing damage but sending him flying and crashing into the ground. A loud groan escaped his lips and he looked over to his partner. "I do not even know what I am doing anymore. I just am not able to hit the thing." Nathan picked himself up off the ground and dusted off, picking Bloodletter up again. "Jeez, I think I had an easier time killing it when I was a lower level. This is just getting aggravating." He rushed towards the wasp once again, wanting to land the single blow that would kill it.

((Why would you set me up like that? ;~;))

Watching as the wasp flew forwards and slammed into Jonathan, Nathan began to feel a small anger at his constant missing. He had never had this many issues with hitting something. This fight should honestly have been over after mere seconds, it had already begun to drag on too long. Nathan ran forwards and jumped up into the air. Much to his misfortune, the wasp decided it was done picking on Jonathan for the time being and it flew to the side just as Nathan came sailing over. With a sudden start and a crash, Nathan had to pull his sword back to avoid impaling not only himself but Jonathan who lay on the ground as well which gave him no time to prepare for the fall. He hit the ground and all the wind was knocked out of him so he lay there for a bit, dazed. When his vision came back more solidly he saw the wasp once more heading towards Jonathan. With a grunt, Nathan picked himself up off the ground.

((Just a warning xD I've been missing a lot recently for some reason. The BD: 2 is loving me right now. I hope you like what I did with the mob, thought it was interesting. Keep in mind, I added three after the first attack, thought it would be more dramatic that way ^.~ Hope that I can actually can do that o.o And that the stats look right to you, should be lootable.))

After a momentary lack of sight, Nathan teleported into the town of Florenthia. The entire town reminded him a bit of a bird's nest, nestled into the branches of a high trees with a massive drop below. Cautiously at first and then with more resolve, he stepped deeper into the town and looked around. He had come to the floor because he had not visited it yet and he needed something to do so, like he often did, he came to see if he could farm some materials here to show the tailor NPC his progress in his profession. It killed two birds with one stone, a seemingly unsettling metaphor when perched high in a tree as a bird. On one hand, it killed his boredom; and on the other, it helped him progress a bit. It was tiresome work, though. Not because it was difficult; rather, because it was tedious and sometimes more boring than being bored. He did not have much of an option, though. Instead of sitting there and continually whining about it he began walking through the town, looking for some way to get to the marshy depths below.

Finally, Nathan made his way out of Florenthia, reaching the outskirts of the tree not too long after he had arrived on the floor. As he transversed the large branches and long suspension bridges, he searched for a mob which he could fight. He felt like he was a misstep from death and that constant thought kept his awareness rather high. Every sign of movement was noticed and every step thought out to avoid falling into the dark waters below that held unknown horrors. While he was transversing a rather thick branch he heard a loud rustling from the branches above him and looked up to see a dark shape falling from the leaves to the branch that he sat on. A large serpent-like creature resided on the branch in front of him, looking at him squarely while it hissed.

Nathan felt fear start to wash over him as he looked into the serpent's yellow eyes and his body began to go cold. It took all his strength to tear his eyes away and almost immediately warmth washed over him. He felt like he had not been able to breathe and all the air in the world had just reentered his lungs. Before he was able to recuperate completely he heard a loud hiss and looked back at his enemy, making sure to avoid eye contact this time, and saw it was slithering towards him at a quick pace. Caught off-balance by the sudden and rapid attack, Nathan took a few steps back then remembered the steep drop beneath him and cast a quick glance behind him. He was safe from the fall but not from the attack. There was a sharp pressure in his arm, a short cry of pain from his lips, and a quick glance at the serpent which had just attached itself to his left forearm. A burning pain began to build up in his arm and Nathan realized that the serpent had to be venomous. Quickly, Nathan did all he could to dislodge the serpent. At first, Nathan swung Bloodletter at the snake but missed the writhing body of the serpent. After that he shook his arms about and, finally, launched the snake off his arm. The burning pain persisted as the poison reached his bloodstream, his health bar dropping still.

The serpent landed with a thud on the branch and hissed loudly at the player, slithering forwards slowly. There were more noises from the branches above and three more of the same serpents landed on the branch, hissing loudly as the siblings ganged up on the player whom had entered their domain. Nathan looked between the four enemies, wondering just what kind of mess he had gotten himself into.

((ffs v.v The level six is carrying me through the fight I could have one shot, seriously Dice gods... If you were in any danger I would be livid with myself xD))

Nathan watched as, once again, Jonathan landed another blow and dodged the queen's stinger. Jonathan jumped away from the boss, leaving the large wasp wide open for an attack. Nathan darted forwards and thrust Bloodletter towards the queen's abdomen but the queen would not have it. The droning of the queen's wings got louder as they worked harder and the queen's large body flew up and over Nathan's sword and Nathan entirely, placing the large wasp between Nathan and Jonathan once more. The queen, with its wings in overdrive, headed towards the boy whom had caused so much damage to it.

((You need to put your roll information into your post by the way. I am idiot? I don't know how I missed it. As for my rolls <.< Sorry. At least my CD is good, means I'm not losing all my energy...))

Nathan charged forward, Bloodletter in hand and beginning to glow its red hue, and put on a final burst of sprint as he came upon the beast. The creature was already wounded and he could have easily ended its life there, but he somehow missed. Bloodletter passed slowly through the air, missing the Queen Wasp's body by centimetres. Quickly, after recovering himself from the missed attack, Nathan rolled away from the large field boss and picked himself up. He watched as the queen went forwards to Jonathan, since he held all the aggro after landing a hit. Nathan began running towards the two, wanting to finish the fight before Jonathan took too much damage.

Nathan charged after the wasps and Jonathan, wanting to make sure his partner did not get hurt. They did still have a floor boss to beat, even if it should not be a problem. As Jonathan jumped between the wasps and struck out with a burst of the sword art energy, Nathan jumped forward and placed himself in the middle of the wasps. With Bloodletter glowing a brilliant crimson, Nathan pivoted on his foot and used Streak to attack all four wasps at once. The small mobs' health bars depleted completely and they shattered into pixels, leaving nothing behind but a small window that indicated the drop of materials from them. Sending the window away, Nathan looked around for the boss that would be arriving shortly. Sure enough, just as the last pixels of the Wind Wasps flittered away, the Queen Wasp spawned into the fields not too far from them. "Well, not much more to do but go kill the queen. Let us finish this quickly." Nathan cast a quick glance at Jonathan then darted towards the queen, closing the distance so she aggroed on her adversaries.

((Welp... That's embarrassing. Since you said you got hit, that means 11-20 is you and 1-10 is me for who they hit w/o hate. Keep that in mind if they hit again xD I changed how you set up the wasps. We both have AoE so no point splitting it if we hit all four at once. Also gave them stats o.o))

Nathan watched as four wasps surrounded Jonathan and proceeded to sting him. His partner's attacks had just barely missed the wasps, leaving him wide open for the attacks. Quickly, Nathan drew Bloodletter and darted forwards into the fight and slashed out at the wasps who had quickly retreated, leaving Nathan swiping at nothing but thin air. He looked at the HUD and saw that Jonathan had not sustained any serious damage for receiving four attacks but it would still be wise to not let that happen again. "You okay?" he asked succinctly, keeping his eyes on the foes.

Nathan had been walking through the Town of Beginnings when he saw a small crowd in the centre. Heading over to see what the fuss was all about, Nathan noticed the giveaway of potions. They might prove useful in his quest to advance so he headed towards the group and noticed it was a man whom he had seen just recently in the big fight everyone had gotten hyped up for but turned out to be nothing. The same man had even given him the teleport crystal which he still had which surprised him quite a bit. This man must be quite generous if he just gave up so many supplies so often. Waiting in line behind everyone he waited patiently for the alchemist to deal with the group and then stepped up. After quickly reading the sign that gave the rules and looking over the inventory he had, Nathan said, "Good day, I see you are giving away some of your wares. If you would not mind, I would greatly appreciate it if I could have a Greater Elixer, a Greater Damage Potion I, and a Minor Mitigation Potion I." After making his request, Nathan waited paitently for his order to be tended to, not wanting to just reach forward and take itmes without asking.

((Sorry for the slow reply, got caught up in some issues. As for the wasps, make them however strong you want. They could be floor 1 stats since they are supposed to be weak, just don't go for lootable, they would kill you possibly and be stronger than the boss xD Spawn four, that's just kinda standard. AoE should be enough if one of us lands a hit))

Nathan nodded slightly at his partner's level, the boss would not be terrible then since Jonathan should be able to take the damage, especially with the armour he was wearing. He had been able to solo it at a lower level so he was sure this would go smoothly. Looking forward at his partner when the question was directed at him he replied, "Oh, I'm level nineteen now and on my way to level twenty. I expect to break twenty-five in a month, thirty after that. I plan on being a front-line fighter then and beating this game so we can all get out. Maybe it is ambitious, but that is how I play." With the brief pause that came after his reply, Nathan took the chance to study the terrain around them, recognizing the wasp fields. Soon they would run into the smaller minions that would summon the queen with their defeat. "My shop? I am a tailor, I thought that it would be good to supply myself with armour more so than have a healthy business, though the surplus of Col helps. Alchemist sounds good, they are always helpful. I considered it myself but did not think it really fit me in the end. I am pretty sure I will visit your shop often, though. Especially once I reach my goal of the frontlines and need someone to help me out with crystals." Any pauses were now beginning to be filled with a slight hum, the beating of wings at hundreds of times a second. Jonathan's question came about the pre-boss mobs and the actual monsters themselves came into view. Nathan nodded slightly as he began approaching the group of wasps. "Yeah, they are weak, though. I am sure a level three could solo them with any armour, it is the boss that requires some worry for the lower levels. We should be perfectly fine, though." As he said this, the small Wind Wasps began approaching the pair.