Hydra

Hydra slowly entered Twilight Dreams, creaking the door open. A few trinkets shimmered as they caught the light, and the statue remained the centre piece of the room. Moth took off casually flying over before landing on the structures head. It reminded him a lot of Twilight, for her sake he would not change the stores name. At the very least he had some form of memory of her. 

Hydra moved to rest his spear lightly against the wall and then clambered up the stairs. Everything was a little dusty although he had never really abandoned it, the store had just been closed for a while. He himself had forged another item here not so long ago. "Hmm so what is up next..." With a familiar he would need to reconsider how he did things, a trip to a Blacksmiths might be in order. Unfortunately coming by such stores was a little more than difficult. As most the players were beginning to spread out amongst the floors. 

- Quest Complete - 
. 1 SP (21+ posts)
.  Title <<Giant Moth>> Tamer
. Moth Familiar
. 1600 col (1200mob + 400 post)
. 2 T1 Materials
. 2  Unidentified Uncommon consumables 

The group seemed relaxed enough and Eatos offered him the chance to adventure... with whatever it is they were doing. Some sort of quest, Hydra took note as Eatos equipped a Katana, He hadn't seen any of them for a long time so he was no longer sure how he compared in level or skill, though he trusted in there judgement, and as Stryder said it would offer a good opportunity for him to catch up with the group. "I'll try not to be a burden..." Hydra gave a light laugh, "Still thank you for inviting me, it would be great honour to fight by your sides." The last sentence left him in the mood to cringe, he wasn't a noble or a knight yet that was the sentence that came out. No matter, he was sure the others wouldn't think much of it. As Hei asked the other pair what the quest was about Hydra quickly nodded in contempt. "There are a few quests I've still yet to do on this floor so perhaps this is one of them?" He loosely twirled his spear in his hand, the tip catching a glimpse of the harsh sunlight. 

Hydra dispelled the thoughts that were entering his mind. "Try to focus on the here and now..." He mumbled meekly, he knew the words carried little to no weight. At the very least they served as temporary distractions for his attention. The trip back came and went rather quickly, he passed the pine forest into a more deciduous area. By now the spearman recognised the exact layout of the terrain, the small shimmering lake the running river and the scattered rocks. Whilst there was no direct path to his store, in his mind he could take any route he wished. Though the more scenic the more ideal. Moth seemed to take a liking to the area also, finally waking up from it's nap it lifted off and began buzzing about in the air. Hydra gave a quirk smile, tilting his head to one side and watching as it went about it's business. I wonder how the others will react to you. He thought about the guild and some of the old allies he had reunited with. To be honest most might not even bat an eyelid. "Guess we will find out."

"We're nearly back now." Hydra was wise not to go the route he originally came, he didn't wish to encoutner another MOB and it was likely that pine forest would be a spawning ground for those giant wasps. Plus he didn't want to get Moth killed, "I guess I will take you back to my store and work out how this will all work from there." Moth continued purring, nestled soundly on his head. Hydra wasn't really sure why he kept speaking to it, then again he suppose his words were all just a form of private speech. To stop one from going insane and lonely. He let out a slight amount of laughter, he had always been lonely and a little weird. Twice in his life he had fallen in love and twice he had confessed his feelings. Only for the most part they were to complete strangers, that he had formed illusions of. The thought made him cringe and bite his lower lip, he wasn't a man, player or jock. He was more like a helpless romantic with a highly naive nature. He wished he would find his soulmate though at this point in his life he was beggining to doubt that even that would happen.

The words meant a lot to Hydra, he who had been alone for some time felt as though he had regained some of his humanity. He found himself sniffling, a few tears welling beneath his eyes. He wasn't a man, not  in the sense he was strong, or tried to act tough, or command others around him. He was frail, but kind-hearted and understanding. Words and emotions went a long way for a dreamer. "T-thank you... it means a lot to me." He inhaled deeply, the feeling of the cool water was beginning to seep in now, though his mind was entirely focused in on the moment. "You've done a lot for me as well, your the first person to accept me with this marking I just wanted you to know that..."

When Jinx bought up the topic of destiny, Hydra understood. He was the type with his head in the clouds all the time and considered himself superstitious, he was too naive in some senses, although he was constantly hoping and dreaming for moments like this. Moments of purity which would illuminate the darkness, though he had always been in fear that nothing would also get better, and constantly cursed life for it. "It could be this was meant to be, it could be pure chance. Yet your right, all that matters is that we found each other. For that, I am grateful to life." 

"How about... Mono?" Hydra quirked up, the Moth had a few dark spots on it so the name wasn't too bad. It still didn't quite roll off the tongue as Hydra had hoped. "Maybe i'll just call you moth." The spearman let out a sigh, although smiled slightly at the thought. It might be beneficial in the long run and it was simple. Not to mention that no one else had a moth so it would be unlikely to cause any problems. "Alright, Moth is is..." The creature fluttered down so it was perched on his head, Hydra could feel its warm and fuzzy body. He took it as a sign that it was contempt with the name he had given it. "Well I guess it's time to head back..." Hydra let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he wouldn't need to spend the night in the forest. As he began walking Moth remained complacent refusing to give up its spot on his head. Due to its size it was quite heavy for the spearman to navigate, the weight of it threw him off balance a few times though he imagined he would need to get use to it. 

"What do I need to do now... that's right." Hydra whispered a jumbled string of sentences and his mind worked out it's kinks. He needed to give this moth a name, it was his new partner in crime after all. "In fact thinking about it, what abilities do you have?" He supposed there was no way of telling that just now. The brunette summoned his attention back to the virtual world and stared blankly at the creature. "Snowball?... no, too generic." He sighed slightly, the animal was distinctively white for the most part. Although he wasn't such a fan of giving it a pet's name. "I don't even know your gender?" Hydra got no response from the moth that now fluttered sluggishly around his head in a random pattern. "How about fluffy... no..." Was coming up with a name seriously going to be more challenging than finding this thing was. Hydra ran his hand through his hair.

Hydra was still taken aback by the whole ordeal, usually finding a familiar was suppose to be extremely difficult. Especially an enhanced one. He looked between the palm of his hands where the food had been a moment ago and then back towards the moth. It let out a loud purr. Hydra was not sure if that was normal for a moth but he didn't question it. "What happens now then?" He mumbled folding his arms continuing to look at the strange animal. He took a stride back to confirm it and the moth quickly followed suit, flying upwards and fluttering towards him at a rather humble pace. Hydra couldn't help but smile at the animal, it lacked the majesty of a wolf, the ferociousness of a bear or the quirkiness of a fox. He hadn't seen anyone else with a large white and fluffy moth either, this was certainly unique. "I wonder if this is a standard MOB for the second floor then." He scratched his cheek, losing himself to his thoughts. 

Hydra still wasn't use to receiving messages, so when his interface notified him it came as a pleasant surprise. It seemed Styder was gathering any active members of the guild to come and fight the second dragon, of the anthology quest line. He himself and recently finished the first and currently had nothing to do. Being one of the new initiates into the Guardians meant this also gave him a chance to prove his worth. "Seems he has sent the details of his location." Hydra mumbled. He was already on the second floor as this was where his store was located, meaning it wouldn't take too long to arrive at Stryders destination. 

As he walked Hydra slowly scrolled through his inventory, selecting his usual combat set. His heavy armor, shield and spear. With a flash the pieces appeared on his person and in his left-hand the spear, which he held rather lazily. Finally after sometime of walking he arrived at the meeting point. It appeared Stryder and Hei were already here. along with a third guild member Hydra had still not met. He didn't want to interrupt the conversation so gave a quick wave and bowed his head. The usual friendly smile on his face, then stood to one side waiting to see if any other guild members would show up.

@Eatos
@Saphira
@Embers

Hydra slowly made his way into the forest spear firmly in his hand. With each step the fluttering of wings grew slightly louder, until finally he rounded a corner and saw for the first time a MOB which he had never laid eyes upon. To put it lightly, it was a moth, only a little different to the ones at home. With its wings full spread it looked giant, a little smaller than a dog perhaps. On top of that it was white and furry? Even Hydra who was daydreaming half the time was now paying fall attention to the creature, it seemed to notice his presence and turned to face him. Two big obsidian coloured eyes looked directly at his person, he felt as though it were piercing its soul. It was both incredibly ugly and cute.

The creature stopped flying and perched itself on a fallen branch, tilting its head slightly to look at him. Hydra tilted his own head back, a look of confusement still painted on his face. Aside from being white it had a few dotted dark spots on the underside of each wing. Without really thinking Hydra opened up his inventory and pulled out withdrew a small amount of food. Then slowly edging forward held it out to the being. It didn't move the whole time, continuing to stare at him until finally what he offered was within reach, it lashed out consuming what was there in an instance. "What the?!" Hydra staggered backwards at both the moths sudden movement and the sound of the quest completing itself. He had done it... he had tamed... an oversized moth.

ID 98462:

Loot: 18+3 (Success. Enhanced Familiar Found)

Acquired title: <<Moth Tamer>>

Enhanced Familiar Found (Accuracy):

The sound of fluttering caused Hydra to suddenly open his eyes. "Another wasp?" He though jolting up looking towards the forest, the sound was not quite the same as from the one earlier. It was more muffled and a little quieter. Hydra frowned staring deep into the forest. "Can I not get a moment's rest..." He sighed standing up trying to get a better angle. It seemed nothing was coming for him although whatever it was remained there. The spearman glanced once more at his interface, his health was not full although it was in the green. His energy by now had completely replenished also. "I guess I can go an investigate." If there was a chance of finding a familiar it was certainly worth the risk, if it was anything else then he supposed he would just have to kill it as quickly as possible and move on. For a moment he paused, considering switching out his tiara for his armour, however quickly changed his mind remembering that it was suppose to provide him with more luck than the standard item.

Hydra finally reached the edge of the forest. "I think it is time for a short break." He mumbled. Glancing around he sighted a rocky outcrop with a few large and scalable boulders. The span of the forest and a mountain stretched out behind it. Hydra briskly headed over clambering up and taking a seat, allowing his legs to dangle loosely from the edge as he let out a large yawn and stretched his body outwards, before collapsing in somewhat of a heap on top of it. A few birds circled the sky, although whilst it was pretty he doubted it would be anything like home. This game could only generate a certain number of entities and the graphics whilst amazing for what they were still did not compare to base reality. The smell of pollen in the wind, fireflies dancing in the air as the sun slowly set. It was things like this Hydra truly missed the most. Even the feel of the rock was flat, where as normally it should be rought and uneven. Making finding that perfect position all the more difficult.

The forest slowly grew more sparse and the sunlight began to filter in more. "I might have to sleep outside today..." Hydra suddenly realized, it would really depend on how long this quest would take. Although he wasn't looking forward to camping out in the cold, he had done enough of that when he had owned the symbol of the player killer. Even though one could not take damage from not eating, drinking or sleeping they could still feel the effects of the fatigue which in turn could always effect there combat prowess. "Guess I will just have to hurry up then..." The spearman groaned a little biting his lower lip. Up ahead in the distance he could begin to make out the mountainous region. "Wolves and bears... huh." He thought of Silver, Stryder's familiar. It was truly a majestic animal though he wasn't sure about having the same familiar. Then of course there was Chewy, the mischievous bear of that red-headed giant. Hydra certainly couldn't forget Mack, he had dueled with him, fought behind him and accepted gifts from him. Out of everyone in Sword Art Online there was none he respected more.

Hydra made his way through the forest slowly watching his health and energy begin to replenish. It was relaxing in a sense, though there would be a lot more combat to come before he found this familiar. Well unless for once he was actually lucky, although somehow he doubted that would be the case. He breathed in a large breath of air allowing the rush of energy in his body to calm a little. Being in insect territory made it more than likely that whatever he found would be something similar, the spearman began to ponder whether he would actually like an insect and if so what sort of abilities it might grant him. It was true that some familiar's in this world had the abilities to grant there owners special effects, some did damage whilst others offered the ability to heal. Twilight had not been special in that sense, this time Hydra would try and make sure that whatever he did find would grant him such a thing. As much as he hated the concept of just using something for power, in a world where one could die in the blink of an eye, every small benefit mattered and at some point even the frontliners wouldn't be able to carry on in a fight.

There was a slight delay before the wasp finally charged. Hydra was ready for it, though it seemed he still needed to work on his defensive strategies as the stinger caught his vulnerable right arm. At the very least the wasp had been left vulnerable and he seized the oppurtunity. One strike, two strike, three strike, four strike, five strike, six strike, seven strike, eight strike, nine strike, 10 strike, 11 strike, 12 strike... He counted as his spear arm plunged into the creatures body over and over, bringing its total health pool down to a critical level. Hydra bit his lower lip at the site that it hadn't been enough. Still he could reserve his energy a little better now, the creature was in killing range of one of his weaker sword arts. He got up from his crouched position and this time prepared a <maiming blow> attack, considerably weaker although it would be enough. Well should he hit.

ID 98448:

Battle: 6 (hit)

<Merciless Flurry>
14x12 = 168 Damage

MOB: 6 (hit)

120 - 54 MIT = 66 DMG

--

Giant Wasp - 30/400 Health | 120 Damage (meets loot minimum)

Hydra - 632/830 Health | 14 Damage  (6 weapon, 6 Base, 1 Athletics, 1 Ferocity) | 53/80 Energy | 54 MIT (Shield)

The two once again surged forward only this time the stinger of the wasp clashed with Hydra's spear. They parried each other blow for blow, neither making contact until finally they backed off and prepared again for combat. Hydra flicked his eyes to his interface checking his health and levels. His energy was still well over half as was his health. It was only landing the hit now which was the issue. This MOB was proving more of a challenge than he would have thought it to be. "Perhaps another tactic?" He thought to himself, this time he wouldn't charge in. He bought his shield close to his body and backed up so he was resting against the trunk of the tree. Sometimes it was better to take a more defensive route and he needed the practice in this case. He was considering changing up his kit to a more defense based style of fighting. Although he wasn't completely sure at this point in time.

ID 98447:

 Battle: 4 (miss)

0 Damage

MOB: 2 (miss)

0 Damage

--

Giant Wasp - 198/400 Health | 120 Damage (meets loot minimum)

Hydra - 698/830 Health | 14 Damage  (6 weapon, 6 Base, 1 Athletics, 1 Ferocity) | 65/80 Energy | 54 MIT (Shield)

The two charged each other again, unfortunately for Hydra he caught his foot under a root causing himself to stagger slightly and sending his spear veering off target, to the left. The Giant Wasp on the other hand was poised and ready, once again skewering it's sharpened stringer straight through his shield and piercing his avatar. Hydra growled in reaction as he felt some pain.  He staggered back cursing his misfortune. Had he been wearing the Water Serpent's armor both his heavy momentum and regeneration perks would have been activated right now, which would essentially mean shattering this MOB into the thousands of crystal fragments with his next attack. The Ancient-Black dragon's tiara only provided him with more luck in searching for materials and no more. "Still..." He took in a deep breath and tried to refocus his thoughts. Once again he activated the <Merciless Flurry> sword art, appropriately named for the amount of attacks it gave, Hydra slid his foot backwards and waited for the Wasps next move.

ID 98446:

Battle: 3 (miss)

0 Damage

MOB: 10 (crit +2)

122 - 54 MIT = 68 Damage

__

Giant Wasp - 198/400 Health | 120 Damage (meets loot minimum)

Hydra - 698/830 Health | 14 Damage  (6 weapon, 6 Base, 1 Athletics, 1 Ferocity) | 66/80 Energy | 54 MIT (Shield)

Hydra lost track of the buzzing and for a moment thought the MOB might have just flown away. Of course that was illusion was shattered as suddenly the creature burst from the shrubbery, stinger pointed at him, like it was a jousting tournament. He barely had time to react, twisting his body around and triggering his charge he surged forward clashing with the wasp. It's stinger buried deep into him, passing through his shield and piercing the centre of his avatar. His own weapon however did similarly and with the added effect of charge it was clear the wasp was left badly injured. Another one or two hits would hopefully finish it off. The brunette started to circle waiting for its next move, he wasn't in his full combat get up and was lacking in mitigation. However it wasn't a deadly fight, well at least for now. Were he to find anymore of these creatures it might be a different tale depending on the number count. 

ID 98445:

Battle: 6 (hit)

<Merciless Flurry>
Charge (+3) = 17x12 = 204 Damage

MOB: 10 (hit ) (Crit +2 DMG)

122 - 54 MIT = 68 Damage

__

Giant Wasp - 198/400 Health | 120 Damage (meets loot minimum)

Hydra - 766/830 Health | 14 Damage  (6 weapon, 6 Base, 1 Athletics, 1 Ferocity) | 67/80 Energy | 54 MIT (Shield)

Hydra continued traversing the second floor for sometime, it was rather pretty although not the largest in size compared to the first floor. Rivers ran through and the forests were thick however so it was easy enough to shut off the outside world. As Hydra began to walk through the forest he soon heard the sound of buzzing coming from above. "A hive?" He thought, holding the spear tightly in his left-hand he scrambled over towards a tree and looked upwards. Keeping his position behind the trunk. It was hard to see due to the filtering of the light however he caught a flash of a yellow and black abdomen. "No hive, yet a giant wasp." Hydra growled slightly under his breath. He was at least grateful it was just the one though his being there had spawned it in. "Guess its time to do battle then." Hydra walked out preparing a merciless flurry.

Giant Wasp - 400 Health | 120 Damage (meets loot minimum)

Hydra - 830 Health | 14 Damage  (6 weapon, 6 Base, 1 Athletics, 1 Ferocity) | 80 Energy | 54 MIT (Shield)

Hydra started to mull over in his mind what sort of beasts where on this floor. Honestly it was one of the lesser exciting ones in terms of the designs. Wolves, Bears and Elk. Although there was a limit to what size of familiar a player could actually own, meaning it would more than likely be a cub or a doe. Should that be the creature he happened to stumble across. However there were a few other things, more noteworthy were the giant insects that swarmed some of the fields and forests of the floor. The spearman shuddered at the thought of befriending a large wasp, they weren't exactly the most pleasant of creatures. Of course there could potentially be a bumble bee's though he somehow doubted he would end up with one of them. "I guess i'll get what I get..." He mumbled in a rather melancholy tone thinking once again back to Twilight. 

Alongside his Tiara, Hydra also had equipped his shield and spear. A complimentary mixture of shadow and light. Then brushing himself off he stood up and started heading towards the more mountainous regions of the second floor. "I'm not really sure what type of familiar I am actually after?" It was true, the spearman hadn't know last time either, he had simply found Twilight crying on a rock and had taken her in. Familiar's in the game seemed to be diverse, Hydra had seen other players owning bears, wolves he believed one even had a red panda. His own had been a little on the more unusual side, though apparently it bared some resemblance to the creature from the <<Case of Wurms>> quest. That was something he still had to take on.  "Now I think about it, I don't really know what floor it is best to take this on... argh, no matter I will continue on this one."

It was that time, the time to say farewell to the memories of his previous familiar and move on. Hydra heaved a sigh as he looked up to the blue horizon above. The spearman was currently sat idle on the second floor tossing the Ancient Black-Dragon Circlet between is hands, seemingly deep in thought. Twilight had dissapeared some time ago and he was unsuccessful in finding her. What was more was the title he had earned from the previous quest had vanished. It was hard to accept the reality but she had died and was gone. A few days earlier the Gypsy Woman had approached him offering another attempt at the questline to obtain a familiar. "Alright, guess I should start it sometime then." He stood up, opened his interface and started scrolled through his inventory until reaching his armor, he unequipped it. Quickly replacing it with the Black-Dragon Circlet. The item in his hand vanished, reappearing on his head. "Alright, that should help me in finding something." 

"Atzo?" Hydra remembered the player who had set up the Emerald Harbigner's although like most others he knew he had lost contact with him after going incognito. "How is he, did something happen?" Hydra asked in a curious tone of voice, he wondered why Stryder wanted to be stronger than him. Perhaps the two had been in a conflict with one another. Hydra wasn't one to press for questions though it seemed in the time he had been absent a lot of different things had happened. As the pair continued walking the spearman kept an eye out, some old woman was suppose to promise a large amount of col although he guessed it would only spawn her in after they found Tartarus, and they seemingly had no luck. The spearman let out a slight sigh allowing the luminescent glow of the mushrooms to light there path. Had there not been any mushrooms in the first place they would be in pitch darkness right now. Of course that accompanied by a mad person screaming would not be a nice experience. 

@Stryder

ID 98444:

 LD 4 (unsuccessful)