Beat

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Action: D.Stampede + Charge vs Hrym | -11 EP [Well Rested 2/3]

ID# 170510: BD: 9 + 8 - 1 = 16 = Minor Crit! | DMG: (34 + 1 + 4) x 15 = 585 - 75 = 515 + Blight [24 per rnd/2 rnds] + Bleed [24 per rnd/2 rnds] + Envenom [12 dmg per rnd/4 rnds]

[H:0] Mari
[H:2] Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 109/120   | MIT: 3      | DMG 26(29)  | Absolute ACC: 8 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3) Sharpness [2/3]
[H:0] ChaseR
[H:0] Freyd
[H:0] Macradon
[H:0] Shield - HP: 1850/1850 | EN: 164/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2 | EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4

Hrym - HP: 1485/2000 | DMG: 300 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 75 - Blight [24 - 2/2] Bleed [24 - 2/2] Env [12 - 4/4]

Beat's fingers traced along the odd, chitinous walls of the ship as they explored the hold. Upon hearing the heavy thuds of footsteps, Beat felt the small tingle of Shield's buff enter his body. The sharpness buff always made him feel like he had consumed too many energy drinks and he was feeling the buzz as he turned towards the source of the footsteps. 

“Welcome, mortals! To the Naglfar!” a loud booming voice said as a large, bearded giant made his way down the stairs towards them, a disapproving sneer shooting towards the group. "Oh nice! A giant!" Beat shouted excitedly as he readied his spear, a red aura surrounding him as his charge skill activated. "Sorry man, we have to take you out!"

The giant chuckled loudly at Beat's words, "A mortal like you cannot-" Before the giant could finish, Beat was in the air, in front of the mythological man's face. 

"Maybe don't laugh at the guy kicking your ass!" Beat shouted as a shower of strikes rained from his blurred form, each one thundering into the right side of Hrym's face. As the final blow struck, Beat's spear shimmered brightly and triggered all of the additional effects he had. The player landed next to Shield and was please to see that over a fourth of the giant's health was gone in addition to draining HP from multiple status effects. 
 

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Passive: +1 EP 

Active: D. Stampede + Charge and Concentration vs Sebastian. | -11 EP [2/3 Well Rested Remaining]

ID# 170509: BD: 5 + 8 -1 = 12 = Hit | 28 x 15 = 420 - 75 = 345 DMG

[H:0] Seul     - HP: 1150/1150 | EN: 47/106   | MIT: 126  | DMG: 18 | EVA: -1 |   ACC: 2 | BH: 57 | V (D): 115 | HB: 24 | Conc: 3/3 - [Left the party until further notice]
[H:0] Baldur - HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 75/136    | MIT: 79    | DMG: 26 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 2 | BH: 75 | Conc (0/3) | Parry (0/2) | QChange (0/3) [Muramasa Equipped]
[H:1]  Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 52/120   | MIT: 3      | DMG 23  | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:0]  Shield - HP: 1849/1850 | EN: 130/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2    |  EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4

Sebastian - HP: 1635/2000 | DMG: 350 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 75 | D-D-Drop the Egg [3/3]
Ability: D-D-Drop the Egg - Drops a massive egg (Egg - HP: 500/500 | MIT: 150 | DMG: AoE 250 [Unmitigated], Funk - Lose next turn)

Beat listened to the ridiculous looking man as he rapped, the player covering his mouth in an attempt not to laugh too loudly. Event creatures were normally unique, but this was by far one of the more ridiculous creations the devs had come up with. "No man," Beat started between fits of laughter, "This thing can't live, sorry. As funny as it is." 

Beat's charge skill activated and a red aura surrounded him before, in the blink of an eye, he covered the distance between them and leaped towards the two story tall bunny, "Nice shades!" Beat shouted before letting his strongest sword art go. His form became many as a flurry of spear strikes rained down into the glasses of the blinged out bunny. One of the lenses cracked as Beat's art finished and the player smirked as he landed and surveyed his work, "Not bad, but I can do better."

Beat: 
 

Beat's armored boots grinded against the sand as he approached the gathering of players. A echoing screech filled the air and his familiar falcon swooped down, landing on Beat's now out stretched arm. Horus's sharp talons wrapped harmlessly around the young player's arm and the large falcon took a moment to eye each of the players before clicking his beak at his owner. 

"Alright, you got it. Everything clear then?" Another click from Horus indicated the affirmative as Beat's fingers danced in the air for a moment befire a small fish appeared in his hand. He tossed it towards Horus, who happily snatched it up as Beat approached the group, a light bounce in his step.

"Man, they'll let anyone do a dungeon in this game huh?" He said to no one in particular with a chuckle. He gave Mari a wink and Horus seemed to stare for a moment before finishing his treat.

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Passive [+1 EN] Out of combat 1/3 

Action: none

[H:3] Seul     - HP: 1150/1150 | EN: 39/106   | MIT: 126  | DMG: 18 | EVA: -1 |   ACC: 2 | BH: 57 | V (D): 115 | HB: 24 | Conc: 3/3
[H:3] Baldur - HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 74/136    | MIT: 79    | DMG: 26 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 2 | BH: 75 | Conc (0/3) | Parry (0/2) | QChange (1/3) [Muramasa Equipped]
[H:3]  Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 61/120   | MIT: 3      | DMG 23  | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:7]  Shield - HP: 1849/1850 | EN: 142/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2    |  EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4 

The Giant Peep - HP: 0/2000 | DMG: 30 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 150 | Chubby Bunny [1/3 turns]
Players roll CD. They may use up to that many peeps to gain one of the following: 1-3 [Phase] 4-6 [Burn BD8+] 7-9 [Holy next crit] 10-12 [Fallen 2 next hit]

Loot Roll - ID# 169533 - LD -13 = The Big Peep - Demonic Consumable: Overhealth, Overhealth, Overhealth, Overhealth

Beat chuckled as he walked up to a very sticky version of his friend and stared at him for a moment, "Looks like someone has a bit of a sweettooth!" he said, stooping down and retrieving a very large peep that was marked as an item. He held it in both hands as he looked at it in disgust, "The idea of eating this before would have displeased me, but now," He looked at himself, sneering at the marshmallowly mess that was covering him, "Now I don't know that I can"  

He stowed his "Prize", shook off a large chunk of marshmallow, and took a more earnest look at Shield glancing back towards Baldur as he offered Shield a hand, "Not sure I can get him unstuck alone, care to help?" He spoke, struggling to stifle a laugh. He hated peeps, but this mess was comical in its own way. 

Beat eyed the increasingly more grotesque peep that now looked like it had been found by a few rodents and left in a car. He sneered as he brandished his spear, which was noticeably heavier due to the marshmallow coating the large blade. 

"Okay, let's end this as soon as we can, this thing is literally gunking up our weapons. The worst part is that I doubt this crap is edible." He said, shaking a large glob of candy from his weapon. 

With his weapon somewhat more usable, Beat charged forward once more, unleashing his sword art and grunting as the sticky nature of his target made each subsequent strike harder than the last. With the final squish of his strikes, Beat leaped back and once again proceed to shake yet more marshmallow from his weapon. 

"Ugh, I'm really surprised this stuff doesn't have any sort of effect on our weapons. Not that I want this fight to be harder, but it does seem like a missed opportunity."

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Passive: +1 EN 

Action: D. Stampede vs Giant Peep | -11 EN [0/3 well rested]

ID# 168682: BD: 8 + 7 = 15 = Hit! | 23 x 15 = 345 - 150 =195

[H:3] Seul     - HP: 1150/1150 | EN: 23/106   | MIT: 126  | DMG: 18 | EVA: -1 |   ACC: 2 | BH: 57 | V (D): 115 | HB: 24 | Conc: 3/3
[H:2] Baldur - HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 85/136 | MIT: 79    | DMG: 26 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 2 | BH: 75 | Conc (0/3) | Parry (0/2) | QChange (2/3) [Muramasa Equipped]
[H:3]  Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 61/120   | MIT: 3      | DMG 23  | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:7]  Shield - HP: 1850/1850 | EN: 161/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2    |  EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4 

The Giant Peep - HP: 419/2000 | DMG: 30 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 150 | Chubby Bunny [2/3 turns]
Players roll CD. They may use up to that many peeps to gain one of the following: 1-3 [Phase] 4-6 [Burn BD8+] 7-9 [Holy next crit] 10-12 [Fallen 2 next hit]

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Passive [+1 EN]

Action: Weeping Moon vs hooro 1-4 | -11 EN [Well Rested 1/3]

[H:] Beat | HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 109/120 | MIT: 3 | DMG 26 | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (2/3)
[H:] Shield: HP: 1697/1850 | EN: 164/176 | DMG: 2 | EVA: -1 | MIT: 181 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 15

Horror of Chattur'gha 1: HP: 207/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 
Horror of Chattur'gha 2: HP: 222/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0
Horror of Chattur'gha 3: HP: 222/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0
Horror of Chattur'gha 4: HP: 93/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 [24 - 2/2] BLT [24 - 2/2] ENV [12 - 4/4] - 

ID#158860: BD: 4 + 7 = 11 = hit | 26 x 9 = 234
ID#158861: BD: 2 + 7 = 9 = hit | 26 x 9 = 234
ID#158862: BD: 1 + 7 = 8 = hit | 26 x 9 = 234
ID#158863: BD: 3 + 7 = 10 = hit | 26 x 9 = 234

Beat grinned as he charged another sword art into his spear, "Oh yeah, sucks for them." He said, sarcasm dripping from his words, "Heads up!" Beat leaped out from under the cover of his partner's shield and spun, releasing the pale yellow wave of energy that caught each of the creatures in the midsection while passing harmlessly through Shield. The creatures were forced to end their assault on Beat's partner, being pushed back by the attack until it finally dissipated, roaring in defiance as they began to walk back towards their prey. 

"They take a hit well, I have to say." Beat remarked, noting the health of the three that had not been subjected to his DOTs. "Well, one more like that should do it." Beat said, with a layer of boredom in his voice, "What else can we expect to see in this place? Any guess as to what a final boss could look like?"

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Action: Weeping Moon + Charge vs Horror of Chattur'gha 1-4 | -11 EN [Well rested 2/3]

[H:] Beat | HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 109/120 | MIT: 3 | DMG 26 | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (2/3)
[H:] Shield: HP: 1697/1850 | EN: 164/176 | DMG: 2 | EVA: -1 | MIT: 181 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 15

Horror of Chattur'gha 1: HP: 456/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 
Horror of Chattur'gha 2: HP: 456/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0
Horror of Chattur'gha 3: HP: 456/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0
Horror of Chattur'gha 4: HP: 402/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 [24 - 2/2] BLT [24 - 2/2] ENV [12 - 4/4] - 

ID#158848: BD: 3 + 7 - 1 = 9 = hit | 31 x 9 = 279
ID#158849: BD: 1 + 7 - 1 = 7 = hit | 31 x 9 = 279
ID#158850: BD: 4 + 7 - 1 = 11 = hit | 31 x 9 = 279
ID#158851: BD: 10 + 7 - 1 = 16 = major crit | 37 x 9 = 333 BLD [24 - 2/2] BLT [24 - 2/2] ENV [12 - 4/4] - 

Beat knew a moderate  amount of Lovecraft lore, so he was paying more attention to Shield's words than his surroundings, by the time he recognized the sound of the trapper, they were being bathed in red light, "Ahh what the hell!?" His eyes quickly readjusted to the new environment they were in, flinching at the roar of the horrors Shield described, "Nasty little buggers," He started as he snatched the red orb out of the air, "I suppose if you don't conisder whisking us away into an alternate dimentions with monsters in it harm, I guess they do no harm." 

Now to follow those roars. 

Given their size, the horrors were not hard to track down and Beat needed only to leap across several platforms before finally reaching a much larger platform where four giant, three headed monstrosities stood, glaring at him, "oooh you're so mean! Come get some!" His charge skill activated, making him a red streak as he appeared in between them instantly, releasing his signature area of effect swordart, "Weeping Moon!" 

The attack cut into each of the giants, though their sheer mass prevented them from being pushed back more than the couple of steps they took backwards in surprise. Beat's Pendant shimmered again and one of the horrors took a knee as it's health bar turned a sickly purple, it's health beginning to drain away. 

Beat giggled as he imagined how something like that would work in a setting like Sword Art Online, "Can you imagine a game like that now? In VR? I think it would have to come with a safety warning of some kind." He shivered as his imagination got a little closer than he wanted to painting a realistic picture in his mind, "I wonder if they could even allow people to play without toning it down. That seems to cross the realm of distorting reality to the point that your brain changes." 

I wonder what we'll be like once we get out of here. It will certainly be an adjustment for sure. 

Beat continue to listen intently, barely acknowledging the report on what Shield had found in the chest, recognizing some of the elements Shield described from things he had heard of before. "So, is this sort of like or related to the Cthulu mythos?" He stood up slowly, giving his energy bar a glance as it reached maximum once again, "Cuz that stuff is trippy like this Eternal Darkness thing sounds to be."

Beat glanced at his energy bar, noting that it would likely be a good idea to to rest as he went though the ever growing list of loot they had built up so far. With only one fight in the dungeon down, they were looking at considerably more loot before they were finished. He slowly followed Shield and examined the giant statue as the tank described what he assumed was lore from the game, "Hmm well, I can see why. I take it sanity was a resource just like health points?" he said, somewhat genuinely interested as he leaned against the statue, watch Shield look around. 

"Ooo nice find!" He said excitedly as Shield found another treasure chest, "This is going to be a very lucrative trip I think!" He slid down the leg of the giant statue and scanned the room with his eyes, enjoying the small rest, "What did you use mana for in this game? Obviously magic, but I could see this sort of game maybe being like hack and slash." As he spoke, he opened his menu again and swapped back to his noxious pendant, giving it a tap to restore its potent effect on his weapon, the blade of his spear turning multiple shades of sickly purple and green before returning to normal. 

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Passive [+1 EN]

Action: Weeping Moon vs Bone Thief 2 & 3 | -8 EN

[H:2/3/3/3] Beat | HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 55/120 | MIT: 3 | DMG 26 | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (2/3)
[H:4/4/4/4] Shield: HP: 1562/1850 | EN: 130/176 | DMG: 2 | EVA: -1 | MIT: 181 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 15

Bone Thief 1: HP: 0/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0
Bone Thief 2: HP: 0/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID#158730: BD: 8 + 7 = 15 = hit | 26 x 9 = 234
Bone Thief 3: HP: 0/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID#158731: BD: 8 + 7 = 15 = hit | 26 x 9 = 234
Bone Thief 4: HP: 0/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0

Loot Total:
Col: 18,990
Materials: 8
Perfect Armor/Shields: [150778a]
Rare Armor/Shields: [151392]
Perfect Weapons: [151390]
Rare Trinket [151391b]
Perfect Consumables: [151391a]
Rare Consumables: [150778b] [150778c]
Intermediate Dungeon Map: [151393]

With only two very weakened creatures left, Beat felt like setting his kill up just a bit. He snatched the yellow ball of energy out of the air, watching his energy bar go up as he charged towards one of reeling Bone thieves giving it a swift kick to the jaw, sending it hurtling towards its companion. The two creatures collided and crashed to the ground as Beat followed up, now directly next to them. 

"Good night moon." He said as he carved the familiar pale yellow arc in front of himself, the ring cutting into the creatures before it had even expanded. He looked to Shield as he held the swordart against the bone thieves, "This was an old console game? Sounds trippy as hell." His gaze retuned to his victims with a smirk, "Bye." He released the swordart, the energy slowly cutting through each creature, turning them both into data. 

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Passive [+1 EN] 

Using Quick Change: Swapping Noxious Pendant for Watchful Sentry [LD + 3] 

Action: Weeping Moon vs Bone Thief 1-4 | -11 EN [Well rested: 0/3] 

[H:2/2/2/3] Beat | HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 54/120 | MIT: 3 | DMG 26 | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (3/3)
[H:4/4/4/4] Shield: HP: 1570/1850 | EN: 130/176 | DMG: 2 | EVA: -1 | MIT: 181 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 15

Bone Thief 1: HP: 0/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 158715: BD: 10 + 7 = Major Crit | 32 x 9 = 288
Bone Thief 2: HP: 42/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 158716: BD: 5 + 7 = Major Crit | 26 x 9 = 234
Bone Thief 3: HP: 27/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 158717: BD: 8 + 7 = Major Crit | 26 x 9 = 234
Bone Thief 4: HP: 0/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 158718: BD: 8 + 7 = Major Crit | 26 x 9 = 234

"Yeah, this thing isn't for sale...definitely gives me some ideas though..." He said, considering some possibilities for skill point reallocation as his partner easily peeled the creatures off of him. He felt the familiar rush of the sharpness buff as his hud lit up and showed the small square with a white sword in the middle. Beat's hands danced in the air to bring up his quick change menu, allowing him to swap to his loot finding earring quickly. Before the creatures could regain their footing, Beat charged forward, leaping into the air and spinning with his outstretched spear tracing a yellow ring of energy. 

"Well, boys, it's been fun!" He shouted before allowing the ring to expand rapidly, the attack cleaving two of the creatures in twain, one of them nearly surviving until it was pinned to the wall and pressed in half as well. The other two were blown away, tumbling across the floor as their health bars dropped into the deep red.  

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Passive [+1 EN] 

Action: Weeping Moon vs Bone Thief 1-4 |  -11 EN

[H:1/1/1/1] Beat | HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 64/120 | MIT: 3 | DMG 23 | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:4/4/4/4] Shield: HP: 1570/1850 | EN: 140/176 | DMG: 2 | EVA: -1 | MIT: 181 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 15

Bone Thief 1: HP: 276/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 157905 results: BD: 3 + 7 = 10 | 23 x 9 = 207
Bone Thief 2: HP: 276/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 157906 results: BD: 3 + 7 = 10 | 23 x 9 = 207
Bone Thief 3: HP: 276/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 157907 results: BD: 3 + 7 = 10 | 23 x 9 = 207
Bone Thief 4: HP: 222/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 - ID# 157908 results: BD: 3 + 7 = 10 | 29 x 9 = 261 + 24 Bleed & 24 Blight/rnd 2/2 12 envenom/rnd 4/4 

Beat's brow rose as he heard Shield's word, "Wait. Hijack your body? How would that work in this game?" he said, getting himself in position next to Shield as he readied his next attack. He would easily disappeared from sight for just a moment as he held out his spear and traced the familiar, pal yellow ring of energy while quickly making a lap around his partner. "Been trying to come up more way to use this art. Turns out you have a lot more time to release it than a lot of others." He said grinning as the creatures leaped back towards Shield. 

"Not this time!" Beat shouted, releasing the hovering ring which quickly expanded, catching each of the creatures in the mid section. The wave tossed the creatures away, one of them crashing into a nearby wall, cratering it slightly as Beat's pendant shimmered. Three status affects adored the health bar on the unfortunate creature's heal bad as it began to steadily lose health. 

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Passive: + 1 EN
Action: Weeping Moon + charge vs Bone Thief 1-4 |  -11 EN

[H:0/0/0/0] Beat | HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 74/120 | MIT: 3 | DMG 23 | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:0/0/0/0] Shield: HP: 1549/1850 | EN: 149/176 | DMG: 2 | EVA: -1 | MIT: 181 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 15

Bone Thief 1: HP: 483/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | ID: 157797: BD: 2 + 7 - 1 = 8 | 28 x 9 = 252
Bone Thief 2: HP: 483/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | ID: 157800: BD: 1 + 7 - 1 = 7 | 28 x 9 = 252
Bone Thief 3: HP: 483/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | ID: 157802: BD: 1 + 7 - 1 = 7 | 28 x 9 = 252
Bone Thief 4: HP: 483/735 | DMG: 252 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 | ID: 157804: BD: 2 + 7 - 1 = 8 | 28 x 9 = 252

Beat's eyes scanned the area for anything unusual, turning up very little. The dungeons they had been to on lower floors had always attempted to intimidate them and had certainly done well at making the air feel more dangerous, but this area was different. The decor and sounds echoing through the place seemed to targeting more than just their fear, but Beat was unsure what it could be. 

They certainly turned up the dungeon atmosphere on this floor, that's for sure. 

He flinched and snapped his gaze to the men as they screamed and transformed into the most bizarre creatures he had seem in Sword Art Online so far. His spear flew to his hand as he did what came naturally, His Red Aura flaring as he appeared in between all of them in an instant. 

"Nope! This is a whole lotta nope!"  He yelled as his lunar sword art flew forth, 

"The sooner we end the this the better. I feel like my spear is never going to be clean again." Beat muttered as he examined the blade of his spear, which was still caked with marshmallow from his previous assault. Still, there didn't seem to be any detrimental effects from the substance, which Beat felt was a missed opportunity on the development side of things. 

"Alright, let's get sticky!" Beat shouted as he charged forward, his for distorting at high speed, but only for a moment as he slowed with each strike. He grimaced and his muscles protested as he struggled to continue the assault as his swordart finally finished. He hopped backwards as the peep turned towards him. He glared at the monstrosity as he shook a large chunk of sticky marshmallow from his weapon. "Let's end this quickly, I don't think I'll be able to lift my weapon after this fight."

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Passive: +1 EN 

Action: D. Stampede vs Giant Peep | -11 EN [1/3 well rested]

ID# 157685: BD: 1 + 7 = 8 = hit | 23 x 15 = 345 - 150 =195

[H:2] Seul     - HP: 1150/1150 | EN: 35/106   | MIT: 126  | DMG: 18 | EVA: -1 |   ACC: 2 | BH: 57 | V (D): 115 | HB: 24 | Conc: 3/3
[H:3] Baldur - HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 85/136 | MIT: 79    | DMG: 26 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 2 | BH: 75 | Conc (0/3) | Parry (0/2) | QChange (2/3) [Muramasa Equipped]
[H:3]  Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 71/120   | MIT: 3      | DMG 23  | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:7]  Shield - HP: 1710/1850 | EN: 171/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2    |  EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4 

The Giant Peep - HP: 698/2000 | DMG: 30 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 150 | Chubby Bunny [1/3 turns]
Players roll CD. They may use up to that many peeps to gain one of the following: 1-3 [Phase] 4-6 [Burn BD8+] 7-9 [Holy next crit] 10-12 [Fallen 2 next hit]

@Shield

Beat lifted his spear from his shoulder and gripped the shaft in both hands as he eyed the large bird creature with disgust. He had never understood how seemingly everyone else enjoyed these confections and he did not enjoy the thought of plunging his weapon into what he assumed would be pure marshmallow. 

"Ugh, here we go!" He said with a moment of hesitation before the familiar red aura of his charge skill enveloped him and propelled him at lightning fast speed towards his target. "ORAAAAA!" 

Beat let out a loud war cry as he released his swords art, though something was certainly different this time. With each strike, the multitude of nearly simultaneous strikes began to slow, Beat's form still glowing, but far from difficult to follow. His final strike plunged deeply into the creature, becoming stuck as Beat attempted to free his weapon. 

"Ugh, let...go you disgusting creature!"

Quote

Action: D.Stampede + Charge vs The Giant Peep | -11 EN [2/3 Well rested]

ID# 154553: BD: 6 + 7 - 1 = 13 = Hit | 28 x 15 = 420 - 150 = 270

[H:1] Seul     - HP: 1150/1150 | EN: 47/106   | MIT: 126  | DMG: 18 | EVA: -1 |   ACC: 2 | BH: 57 | V (D): 115 | HB: 24 | Conc: 3/3
[H:2] Baldur - HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 96/136 | MIT: 79    | DMG: 23 | Absolute ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | BH: 75 | Conc (0/3) | Parry (0/2) | QChange (3/3)
[H:0]  Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 81/120   | MIT: 3      | DMG 23  | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:0]  Shield - HP: 1710/1850 | EN: 176/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2    |  EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4 

The Giant Peep - HP: 1316/2000 | DMG: 30 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 150 | Chubby Bunny [0/3 turns]
Players roll CD. They may use up to that many peeps to gain one of the following: 1-3 [Phase] 4-6 [Burn BD8+] 7-9 [Holy next crit] 10-12 [Fallen 2 next hit]

Beat's face lit up with a smile as his hands tingled with the force of his strike being returned to him. He wasn't entirely surprised and his focus unwaveringly caught the sudden shift to offense as Shield pressed against his spear. Beat hopped backwards with the force, maintaining contact against the shield to maintain his reach advantage. As Shield's sword came over the top of his Shield, Beat made his move.

I'm not ready for you to get close just yet. You stay right there. 

With a final hop backwards, matching Shield's forward momentum, Beat's spear shimmered once again as his back foot dug into the ground, kicking off to the side to force the charging fortress to change with him if he wanted to keep up. 

Let's see your stonewall skill work while you're not grounded. Imperial Southern Cross! 

Beat's spear flew forward, six nearly simultaneous strikes probing Shield for openings as they moved at high speed around the garden. A final central thrust finished the sword art, Beat's feet staying mobile as his gaze intensified. They were playing for the last few points and one mistake would easily be the end for either of them. 

Beat's face lit up as soon Shield mentioned the danger of the trap dungeon. There were several areas of the game he had seen that seemed to lay the more difficult dungeons and encounters as a sort of trap. You had to stumble into them or actively search them out to find them, but it was always worth the effort. The experience a loot drops gained from dungeons was how he and Shield had gotten as strong as they had so quickly in the beginning. 

"Well, you know I love a decent challenge and the loot is a nice incentive for sure. Trap dungeon is my vote." He said, figuring he knew that Shield, despite his practical and cautious nature, would choose the same. The older player was certainly not ignorant of how tough he truly was and with a solid dps like Beat, the time to complete the dungeon would be no issue. 

"I figured. What do I have to loose?" 

 "At best - maybe I activate some sort of secret quest or dungeon, at worst - I see my daughter again."

Those words rang through Beat and he felt his body temperature rise as his brow furrowed, "You have your life to lose! Which, if you haven't noticed, is still something you have. If you don't like it, then make it something you do like." He said, realizing that he was being a little unreasonable. It was easy to say those sorts of things, but in reality, it was much harder to realize those words and make them happen. He sighed as he features softened again, "I know that's easier said than done, but...if I die before we get out, I would rather it happen while protecting something I cared about...maybe that's just me...I don't know." He trailed off and he gave her a nod in response to her request to leave.

"Of course, let's go to my place this time." He smiled as he stood up, offering her a hand, "Your place is a little cold." He would wait for her to stand and then begin making his way towards the settlement, checking his status to make sure whatever was affecting Mari hadn't crept up on him without him realizing. 

His steps stopped as a thought occurred to him, "So," he started as he turned to look at her with a curious expression, "How do orange players get around Aincrad? You can't teleport to settlements without guards chasing you right?" The idea of running from the town guards was not an unpleasant idea to Beat, but if Mari was feeling unwell, he would favor the idea that involved the least amount of action. 

Beat took a bite of his dessert confection as he listened to Shield explain what the guild was looking for. He was no stranger to training players of various roles. A tank in training would need a smart dps poking and prodding for holes in their defense, teaching them where their weaknesses were. A healer was a little more straight forward, but it was still a matter of pressuring them either by attacking their healing target or them, forcing them to prioritize properly. He gave a determined smile to Shield as he took another bite. 

Sounds like this guild will actually be able to put my skills to use. 

Beat took another bite and blinked as she talked about him. He felt his face become just a little warmer as gave her a grateful smile, "You know, I think I like the contrast between you two. Mari gives me a more visual, emotional reaction to the food while Shield is very analytical, which is also useful." He said lightly before returning his gaze to his partner, "I'm happy to go anywhere you need me, as long as I will be useful. Training a new wave of tanks and healers sounds like a good purpose to me. How many new recruits do we have?"

@Mari

@Shield

Beat's eyes gave the group of now three soldiers a quick scan. One of the soldiers was just inside his kill range, by his estimate, but the others would have no chance to survive, they had made their time, "Oh yeah, they're donezo. It''ll be over in a flash!" Beat's spear glowed menacingly as the stone soldiers took a step back, afraid of what they knew was coming. Beat spun again, releasing the lunar wave of energy that cleaved clean through the remaining three monsters with ease. Each one fell and burst into a shower of red pixels as the reward screen came up. 

"Well, not a bad first haul. Got another map, which is never a bad thing." He remarked, stashing the loot into their party bag to be divided up later. IT felt good to be getting real loot for defeating mobs again. "Alright mister tank, let's see if we can find our own dungeon around here. I think I have a map of one not too far from here if we don't have any luck."

He blinked as she commented on the color of his eyes. He had not considered that his eye color was anything remarkable, but somehow, Mari's comment caused the chill in his cheeks to fade instantly as he found himself unsure how to respond. He simply stared into her eyes in return, noting how they mimicked the sky and how lucky she was to have eyes like hers. I like yours too...

He leaned back, her hand making him aware of how close he was to her. He nodded as she recounted her experience in the void. It was not unlike his own though the voice he had heard was certainly familiar. He felt a small pang of anger as she mentioned her promise. She couldn't have known what would happen to her. They had both rolled the dice on their lives and, while Beat was unsure why he had done so, he had a feeling it had something to do with Mari.

"A sense of dread?" He checked his own status display, seeing no debuffs or damage, he shook his head, "I don't think it did anything to me, but Mari," He placed a hand on her shoulder as his brow furrowed and he pierced her with his gaze, "That jump...we didn't know it would just spit us back out. In a game, it makes sense that there would be places where you can fall to your doom only to respawn at the settlement." His hand squeezed a little firmer, "You don't respawn here..."

He removed his hand a leaned back a little more as he looked down at the ground,  "I didn't know I was jumping after you until I was already in the air. It doesn't make sense to me why I did that...I guess the stone should have worked, I don't know...but the one thing I do know Mari," his gaze rose back to hers as his voice found its conviction again, "You're not alone, you have the guild...and you have me..." His face began to crack into a wide grin, "a stupid stranger who jumps after you when you jump into the void!" He found himself laughing at the ridiculousness of what he had done, each laugh shaking off any remaining cold from their experience in the void. 

Beat heard the irritation in Shield's voice at his clarification and he could see why, but they had defined the points as clean hits, so Beat figured it was a striking match more than anything. As they walked back to the garden, he spoke while going over their last exchange in his head, "Well, we defined points as partial and clean hits, not weapon strikes. Unarmed strikes normally don't do much damage, but they do offer advantages when landed and they take skill to use well. I was counting your flame aura with that shield hit, don't worry. It's fair game for sure." Beat was unusually fair when it came to tests of skill or combat and the last thing he wanted was any hard feelings one way or the other. 

It's not as interesting, but I can play keep away a little more if I need to and I do have a trump card I don't think he'll be expecting.

He met Shield's "touch of the gloves" and moved back to just outside of his own range. With the points so close, he saw no reason to conserve energy. It would be over one way or another in no time.

Vent Forth...

His spear shimmered as he took a quick step forward, making a quick, low sweep. Immediately, the spin would reverse and make a second sweep attack at Shield's mid section before coming back around for a third, this time at his head before Beat launched a thrust into Shield's mid section. 

Beat smiled as he prepared his lunar sword art once again, "Well, the moon is quite a force to be reckoned with. I would want to deal with it." The pale yellow light from his spear outshone the now dimming torches in the cavern, giving the soldier's pause as Beat wound up for his attack, "Oh, by all means, defend yourself, but we all know how well that's been working for ya."

"Weeping Moon!" 

With a spin of his spear, the ring of energy materialized and expanded to the walls of the cave, crashing into the soldiers once again. This time cleaving half of the torso off of the weakest soldier while taking the sword arm off of another. With where their health was, this would be over with Beat's next attack. "Alright Shield, I think that one is going to drop before he can attack," He said, pointing to the soldier who was attempting to figure out how to walk with half of his body missing, "and the rest are done in one more attack."

Crafting rolls: 
 

     ID        CD     LD                                            Result
174694    12     18   Crafting T3 Dessert      
174693    1        7    Crafting T3 Dessert
174692    1        5    Crafting T3 Dessert
174691    1        5    Crafting T3 Dessert
174690    8        9    Crafting T3 Dessert
174689    2        20  Crafting T3 Dessert
174688    7        8    Crafting T3 Dessert
174687    6        9    Crafting T3 Dessert
174695    11      5    Crafting T3 Dessert

Exp gained: 58
New crafting exp total: 1088

Beat blinked as her hands clasped his face, the uncertainty of their fate becoming less of a concern as they continued to fall. The knot in his stomach grew tighter as he struggled to find words to reply to her as she yelled at him. He didn't have an answer, but somehow the contact on his face justified how stupid he had been. He just shook his head and strained his eyes against the ever growing darkness, a smile on his face.

I really am stupid. 

A few moments past and the darkness seemed to swallow them completely, Mari disappearing from his sight, but still warm in his arms. That security helped ease the sense of dread that began to wash over him as everything went dark. He squeezed the woman in his arms tightly as the cold around them began to intensify. Guess this is it. So stupid... Beat felt like he was drifting off to sleep as he shivered, the howling winds around them becoming audible again, though this time as voices. Indistinct and too numerous to make out until he felt his consciousness slipping away.

I love you Daigo! Have fun with your friends! 

W-who-

Beat was startled awake by the only voice he had been able to make out. It was familiar and it felt like it had touched his heart and restarted it. Before he could place the voice that he had heard, they were back. The dim light returned and the coldness of the hard ground underneath them was back. The cold from the void was slowly dissipating and the warmth between them seemed to be helping much more than before. He had the urge to continue to rest his head against her and truly fall asleep, but he knew that he needed to be sure the void had not done anything to them. He lifted his head from hers and gave her face a look over as she spoke faintly, seemingly in distress. Is she in pain?! Her words worried him and he quickly sat her up, holding her up by her shoulders, unaware of how close his face still was to hers, "Are you okay? I'm sorry, that was probably really stupid, but I really did think the crystal would work. I just didn't want you to-" His throat caught and he was forced to clear it before looking at her again. Maybe the void did do something. He pushed the hair out of her face so that he could get a good look into her eyes, "Why did you jump alone? What if you didn't come back?"   

@Mari