Pinball

This time, much like the last, he didn't allow much room for error. He waited patiently for the phoenix to reform, and then for a split second after, when his health bar went back up into the red from being empty. That was when he struck. Unceremoniouusly hurling a dagger at it, the beast had little time to react before a knife found itself buried in its beautiful red and gold plumage. If it had been a rare bird, or any less dangerous, Pinball would have thought killing it was quite a shame. Unfortunately, he cared about little, and the beauty of a Field Boss definitely did not make that list.

His Astral Blades reflected the light of the lava, sending bright reflections across the dark stone. Pinball paid no mind, however. The phoenix screeched, spreading its wings wide. From its extended wings, bolts of fire began rocketing towards him. Pinball closed the distance he had just put between them. If the phoenix decided to fight at range, he was going to be fighting a losing battle. His knives in hand, Pinball leapt into the air, and hurled both daggers at the phoenix. The blades landed flush, and he knew from the sound of the impact and the sickly red glow enveloping the weapons that

In a flash, he swapped his daggers. He'd been using Quick Change for a long time -- back when he used both a spear and a sword -- and it had quickly become an indespensible part of his build's toolkit. Though, watching the DoTs apply and deal its damage at so low a tier, he began to wonder if his general strategy wasn't as effective as it once was. He'd once wielded such a build with lethal effect. But things were different now. Perpetuate didn't double the length of DoTs anymore, and Incarcerate was unfortunately not a readily available enchantment. Holy and Fallen, on the other hand, seemed

Despite his increasing proximity, the phoenix hadn't spotted him. Good. Pinball retrieved his knives, aimed it with a deadly precision, and let it fly. The dagger soared through the air with a low whoosh, and landed perfectly square in the phoenix's breast. This time, he hadn't used the Shatter Sword Art -- he'd gone for the stun, instead. He'd figured it was probably best to open with it, as opposed to cutting its mitigation down from the start, just to be safe. He was playing in the phoenix's arena, and it had the definite home advantage. One slip up, and Pinball would be in for a very, very

Had he not learned to make use of Zomekko's shadow, it would have probably been difficult to find a place to hide. The phoenix rested on a slight overhang above him, several dozen yards away, overlooking a small river of lava that ran through the bottom of the ravine. The path was fairly open, with no real places to duck for cover. The walls of the ravine rose high on either high, steep and probably unscaleable without having great difficulty. Invisible to the naked eye, Pinball made notes of these things, and crept forward. The plan was the same as the last time. Sneak attack, swap to his kni

Almost there. Almost there. Almost there. The thought of it kept replaying in his mind, over and over and over. The heat was nearly unbearable as he descended the mountainside. If he didn't have the Survival skill, he had a feeling he might have been taking damage over time. Just what was a bird doing in the depths of a fiery ravine--? Nevermind. He had a feeling he knew what it was doing. It was probably basking in the heat, chilling (ha) in one of earth's open wounds. Though he slid down a rocky clifface, deep into the ravine's eerie depths, it didn't get any darker. The floor's sky seemed t

He was about halfway there now. The distance between them was shortening. Pinball could have probably picked up the pace and rushed over there, but he figured he might as well just take his time with it. The traveling was going to take up the most time, and he'd hate to get to the location before the boss spawned. They seemed to not spawn around people; generally, you had to go and seek them out. He worried that if he showed up at the Field Boss's spawn location before it spawned, it would consequently spawn somewhere else entirely, and he'd have to go chase after it in its new location.

Floor 9 was a completely different beast from the floors he normally roamed. As a general rule, Pinball preferred the colder climates over the more temperate ones. Beaches, volcanoes, and deserts? Yuck. Give him a land trapped in perpetual winter, a heavily wooded forest, or a quiet mountain range any day of the week over any one of those. He stepped over cool, jagged volcano rock. Nearly stumbled down a clifface. Cut himself on splintered stone. Pinball glowered. He hated it here. It was hot and bleak and miserable. And he was pretty damn familiar with bleak and miserable. But he needed the i

He retrieved from his inventory a spyglass. He'd apparently used a charge of it, meaning he'd used it once in the past -- though he couldn't for the life of him remember when or why he ever would have. Hell, he didn't really remember buying it, either. Maybe he had wanted to go dungeon hunting, once upon a time? It didn't matter now. He scoped in on the distance. Looked around a bit. He didn't remember how to use it, but he got a little buff or icon saying that it had been used, so he figured that it was fine. Hopefully he didn't have to whip it out and look around with it every once and a whi

As his attack landed, the bird collapsed, bursting into flame and turning to ash. Was that it? His answer was answered almost immediately. The pile of ashes began to swirl and burn again, though no wind carried it and no flame touched its remains. Swirling back into form was the Phoenix, born again. And this time with a fiery aura which had quite a bit more intensity behind it than it had previously. It didn't matter to him. Pinball could see its health bar -- though he was alone, and Tier Locked to 2, Pinball was ripping through its defenses. There really was a difference, and hi

He guessed it wasn't going to be throwing any more fireballs at him. Instead of staying at range, the Phoennix tilted towards him and dove. It flew down on him at a blistering speed, but Pinball was a little faster. Nimbly leaping from rock to rock, he was able to dodge the Phoenix's physical attack by just a hair. He felt his back get hotter as the phoenix flew past, and cooler as more distance was put between them. Not like it was any cooler by any significant means, though. Below him the lava still swirled and bubbled, threatening a painful death should he slip. Pinball briefly found himsel

<<THREAD SUMMARY>> <<Pinball>> Receives: [Word Count: 5072/10 = 507.2] * [True Tier: 8] * [Group Factor: 0.7] + 1,600 EXP [Yui's Grace] + 500 EXP [Quest Reward]= 3,340 *2 [recruitment drive] = 6,680 EXP 9,504 + 426 col (Laurel Wreath) = 9,930 Col and 7 Mats Nature’s Tablet <<Acanthus>> Receives: [Word Count: 5072/10 = 507.2] * [True Tier: 2] * [Group Factor: 0.7] + 500 EXP [Quest Reward] = 1,210 * 2 [recruitment drive] = 2,420 EXP 9,504 Col and 7 Mats Nature's Tablet And <<Acanthus>> gets all this stuff too:

The second pack of wolves went down much like the first. He had a knife for each of them, and he casually put the digital beasts out of their misery. He stowed his weapons and pulled his hood back over his head. They'd burned a nice couple of minutes, and maybe they'd come across more direwolves on their way to the first Keeper. But it was probably time to go. "You can have any of the drops. We'll split Col and mats down the middle." His fingers would fly across his menu's interface as he sent half the loot over to Acanthus. He'd then dismiss the menu and begin to walk. "Alright. Let's g

They fanned out around him. Pinball had eyes on each one -- even the ones he couldn't see. He wasn't stressed. He wanted Acanthus to see that, too. The last thing he wanted was for her to think that he'd pluck her out of her little shop just to put her life in danger. He didn't say it outwadly, but he wanted to help. Pinball had been in situations like these a countless number of times. Acanthus, should she stick to it, would too. It was better to get used to it sooner rather than later. Once again the knives flashed out. A blade was buried in the pelt of each direwolf, leaving them stun

The wolves were still stunned. They were only just beginning to recover, unsteadily trying to stand on legs they just couldn't quite get back under them. They'd stand, and then they would attack again, turning their claws and daggerlike fangs on the one who had wounded them. Pinball didn't even give them the chance to try. He walked calmly back to Acanthus, two knives held in each hand. He flung the knives downwards, and the blades each found a wolf to call their new homes. He flung upwards, and the last two did the same. Each direwolf exploded in a brilliant cloud of crystalline f

He was quick with it. The knives in hand were replaced with a new pair. A shinier pair. The phoenix rose into the air, a giant fire ball forming in front of its open beak. The fireball was launched wildly in his direction, and Pinball leapt away, soaring through the air and landing on another stone some fifteen feet away. As he landed, he hurled both knives at the phoenix again. Both knives landed flush. The phoenix fell backwards, descending some feet, before regaining its balance and beginning to soar once more. Pinball stood in place this time. He wasn't sure what other attacks it had up it

It didn't take him long to line up the perfect shot. But he also liked to take his time. His proximity with the phoenix confirmed his suspicions: its feathers were, in fact, glowing red hot. He realized that it was probably to be expected of a creature living on the 9th Floor, if not also a creature supposed to be the embodiment of fire. Flames seemed to spark the air around it, and Pinball felt that if he got any closer, he'd be burned. Well, it was a good thing that he wasn't planning on getting close. He retreated a few dozen feet or so, hopping from stepping stone to step

He gave Acanthus time to think. Pinball was thinking too. She seemed nervous around him. Well, that was pretty normal. Nervousness turned into hatred as their confidence grew. He'd seen it before. And that was okay. It was natural. He wouldn't judge her for that -- he wouldn't judge anyone for that. He only hoped that she stuck around for the rest of the questline. It was for her own good. She expressed interest in grinding a few mobs on the way to the first boss fight, and in watching him fight. He didn't think twice about it, until she started slapping her cheeks. His brow furrow

The phoenix (aptly named Phoenix) was roosting atop a flat stone in the middle of the lava lake. Its feathers seemed to glow in the light, brilliant reds and golds. It was a magnificent looking bird. Sucks he had to kill it. Pinball clicked his tongue twice, and Zomekko emerged, enveloping him in shadow. He vanished. There were stepping stones scattered about the lava lake. He was going to have to play hopscotch during the whole fight. If he had half a brain, he'd eliminate the unecessary danger and kite the bird onto more solid ground. The idea of getting blasted with flames and falling

It was done -- she'd cracked it. Pinball would straighten himself, happy that they'd made such good time, even if his face didn't show it. His icy expression remained the same, even when Acanthus reached over and grabbed him by she shoulders, excitedly exclaiming that she'd figured it out. He didn't smile, but he shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He remained standing in place as she returned to the podium beneath the tree. She worked quietly, decoding the message at a rapid pace. He joined her then, watching silently. Eventually she stood, stepping back, and the message seemed to shift b

[TIER LOCKED: TIER 2] <<Using x1 Yui's Grace>> The 9th floor was all fire and brimstone. Real intimidating stuff. Pinball sat perched on some warm rocks overlooking a burbling lake of lava. He was munching on cakes, liquor, a tofu burger (gross), and washed it all down with pilk (delicious). He was bird watching. Kind of. It was less of a bird, more of a giant flaming hawk of sorts. Pinball had never fought a Field Boss before, and he'd certainly never considered tier locking himself in any capacity (why would he willingly become weaker?), but to get the item, he

They stopped for water at a well. It was a wonder it hadn't dried out. Sweat beaded his face as he accepted the canister. He was faring a bit better than the other two, thanks to his Survival skill... but just because he wasn't going to collapse of dehydration or get ripped apart by sand didn't mean the heat didn't absolutely suck. He took a small sip from the canister for courtesy's sake before passing it back to Mishiro. Zamek, it seemed, had his own water, and drank it silently by himself. Mishiro told him he should take point. He nodded. "Right." They'd spotted plenty of mobs on thei

He sat and he studied in silence. Pinball was never a puzzle guy -- when it came to crosswords, riddles, and other things of that sort, he could take them or leave them. But his mind worked a bit differently than it used to. Sometimes it was slower. Sometimes it was faster. He was on the precipice of a revelation. It was also around this time that he realized that the tablet wasn't exactly a hard puzzle to crack at all. Probably because Cardinal didn't want players agonizing it for hours on end, or maybe because they lacked the ability to create enough unique, complex ciphers to players.

yoink

Skill(s) Being Dropped: none Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: Emergency Recovery SP Incurred Towards Limit: 6 SP Refunded: 6 Cost: 6,000 Col