Kataware

Kataware saw Kirbs take down the first Nepent easily, doing most of the work by herself and being able to do it relatively safely. However, Kataware was quickly learning from her mistakes as she was able to turn in time to face the second Nepent attacking her. It was another hard slam, however, she was was ready and expecting it. It didn't change how much damage it dealt to her though, seeing as how her armor seemed to be strong enough to survive most attacks that she would find at this low level. Kataware turned towards the second Nepent and took a stab near the bottom where its vine-like legs sprouted from. It seemed more effective, or at least relative to her other attacks, as she saw its health bar drop slightly more than it need be. “I guess we’re not going to have much problems with these guys anyways.”

ID: 109008; MD: 9; BD: 9

« Nepent 2 attacks Kataware (Minor Crit!) with 4 DMG. After reductions, Kataware is reduced from 59 HP to 58 HP. »

« Kataware attack Nepent 2 (Minor Crit!) with 2 DMG. After reductions, Nepent 2 is reduced from 7 HP to 5 HP. Nepent 2 Hate for Kataware is increased from 0 Hate to 2 Hate. » (( EDIT: Woops, forgot about heavy momentum ))

Battle Stats:

Kataware was walking around absentmindedly within her green parka, the hoodie up and her hair let down, seeing as this forest helped offset the wind that plagued her. Her amber eyes were mostly glazed over as she was spending time thinking about performing things that helped fill in her time, no matter how monotonous those activities may be. Her already pale skin was further paled by the cold and now made a nice contrast with the snow and her surroundings.

Kataware was going through her usual routine, practicing her sign language, reviewing professional conduct guidelines, and all of those things that she deemed necessary for her real-life work that seemed all too far away. However, she needed to keep it in her mind that she will be able to survive from the factors that have killed so many within the game. The matter was efficiency, the time limit set by their bodies in the real world.

Kataware hoped that the floors would speed by once she made it to the frontlines. She wanted to take lead of the frontliners, organize teams and make sure that people can do their job without interference. Her goal was to fix what was wrong with the frontliners, hearing so many stories about their past incidents with each other. From what she’s heard of so far, the players themselves are more deadly than the floor bosses.

Kataware heard a loud crunch followed by a thud and rushed over to the source of the sound. She found a guy wearing a hoodie simply staring up. ”Hey are you okay?” Kataware rushed over to his side, instinctively feeling his body for any broken bones before remembering that this was a video game. ”Sorry about that.” She backed away, keeping a distance from the player, not wanting to come off as overly touchy or aggressive. After all, the expression on his face told her way too well that either he is naturally just guarded or he is going through an episode right now. Kataware smiled, hoping to either lower his guard or cheer him up a little bit.

@Psychonier

Kataware saw Kirbs flash past her and as she tried to follow Kirb’s movement noticed that Kirbs was already back at her starting position and that the Nepent had lost even more of its health. Kataware looked at both of the Nepents weighing her options. As she was lost in thought, she felt a vine slam against her armor, causing her to stagger slightly. The other nepent had hit her and hit her hard, although it wasn't enough to make even a scratch. And yet, her own defenses from her Spiked Pauldrons did nothing either.

Kataware snapped herself back to the present, rather than focusing on the past. She looked at Kirbs, trying to figure out the best plan of attack with the two of them there. At this point, Kataware knew that it was just a matter of efficiency. How can we kill these Nepents quicker?

Kataware decided that it would be best to try to get second Nepent’s attention while Kirbs finishes up the first one. She charged towards the second Nepent, hoping to at least gain its attention, but ended up sailing past the creature. Kataware slowed herself down and turned around. She yelled to Kirbs, “Kill the one that we both hit.” Kataware readied herself to take advantage of the next opportunity.

ID: 108909; BD: 5

ID: 108970; MD: 10

« Nepent 2 attacks Kataware (Major Crit!) with 5 DMG. After reductions, Kataware is reduced from 60 HP to 59 HP. »

« Kataware misses an attack on Nepent 2. Kataware is reduced from 6 EN to 5 EN. »

Battle Stats:

Kataware and Kirbs were placed into the same party as they both accepted the quest and Kataware noticed Kirbs’ health bar pop at the top left corner of her vision, right below hers.

Kataware began to equip her armor and her dagger. The dagger was on her left-side ready for her to use it in a forward-handed grip. There was a bracer on each forearm and the Spiked Pauldrons (which she bought at a knock-off price from a merchant named Shield) enveloping the rest of her torso, and seeming a bit too big for the petite girl, ready to protect her at a moment’s notice.

Kataware exited the house and led Kirbs on the way to the forest where the Nepents were supposeduly located. She wasn’t too cautious about this quest as it was supposed to be one of the easier ones as the Nepents quickly become fodder past a certain level. However, this was to be her first time actually performing in combat, and she focused on her breathing to steady herself.

Kataware would lead Kirbs to an area of the forest where there were enough trees to possibly provide cover from the Nepents’ attacks while preventing it from hindering their own attacks. The sunny day began to have a bit of an overcast, causing the sky to be a mixture of blue and light grey. Kataware steeled her nerves before turning to face Kirbs. “If you start getting targeted, just remember to perform a « Switch » with me. I’m a tank so I’ll be able to take the hits.”

Kataware began to look around, seeking their first victim. However, she wasn’t able to find a single Nepent by themselves, only ones in groups of two or more. Motioning Kirbs to come with her, Kataware began to sneak up on the Nepent before jumping out of the brush to attack the mob. Sinking her knife into the nepent, it was mostly ineffective due to her lack of skill (in both senses) with the dagger. However, it did grab its attention.

ID: 108901 [ ] BD: 7

<< Kataware attacks Nepent 1 with 1 DMG. After reductions, Nepent 1 is reduced from 7 HP to 6 HP. >>

<< Nepent 1 is attacked by Kataware with a normal attack. Nepent 1 gains 1 Hate against Kataware. >>

Battle Stats:

Kataware's civil servant training kicked in once again, remembering the intrapersonal procedure she was given when she first started working in the prefectural office. Giving her best smile, she continued. "I think I might know what you're talking about. To my knowledge, there's really only one quest in this settlement. If you'll follow me, it will only take a couple minutes."

Kataware walked towards the two-story house, entering through the door. The interior smelled of disease, and remembering the name of the quest, it made sense. The <<Secret Medicine of the Forest>>. As she made her way through the building, she heard the coughing and sneezing and followed the noise, eventually happening upon a mother and her sick child. The mother turned around to face Kataware and Kirbs and said, "Please save my child. There's something called the <<Nepent's Ovule>> that you can obtain by killing the <<Nepent Variant>>."

As always, on cue, Kataware received a quest notification.

Kataware sat back into the chair, getting slightly frustrated at the issues that present themselves with her plans. Although feasible, it would take a lot more time and her plans of reaching the frontlines would be further delayed due to her slow progression. As it stood, she might not even be able to reach their level by the time Floor 100 is cleared due to the constantly growing gap.

Kataware stood up from the chair and swept her papers into a small bag. As she put the bag into her inventory, she took stock of her surroundings. The one thing that really grabbed her interest was a girl that has been visibly pacing. The girl had brown-reddish hair and amber-like eyes, frantically looking around with a frown on her face. Always the logical civil service worker, Kataware approached the girl and extended her hand out. "My name is Kataware, is there something I can help you with?"

@Kirbs

Inside the town of Horunka, surrounded by the surrounding forest's trees slightly swaying in the wind and the sun overhead without a cloud to contest it, Kataware was sitting inside the small town of Horunka on the First Floor, keeping herself busy with a few diagrams and notes as she deliberated over her plans. It was something that she had increasingly obssessed over without taking breaks. She became so obssessed on her notes because she believed the progress on the frontlines was slowing down, as always, and she believed that she would be the only thing to be able to get there quicker in order to actually take charge.

Although she could technically do so now, the issue becomes if anyone would trust this lower-leveled player with decisions that could cause life or death. When she tried to become a temporary civil service worker, she was already treated differently during her application due to her young age, teaching her the almost universal human truth that even if you can prove that you have the qualifications, if you don't give off of the impression that you are experienced, no one will trust you. In fact, she was glad that she had reached out to the head of the HR committee before submitting her application, otherwise she probably wouldn't have been accepted.

Battle Stats and Inventory:

@Kirbs

“Knock yourself out,” Kataware responded to the blunette. Even if the blunette wasn’t willing to give out her name, Kataware was still going to try to engage in conversation with her. At the very least, she could get to know the reason why this girl was so far from the Town of Beginnings. After all, most newer players didn’t venture out by themselves.

Kataware tried to make a point to at the very least get this rocky start go at least a bit smoother. “I’d just like to say names still matter. At the very least your handle does. Everyone’s going to know you by that name.” She didn’t want to ask the blunette her reasons why she was so far out from the Town of Beginnings, at least not yet. After all, having a stranger appear from behind a bush is pretty not at all normal. At least for most people.

@Mace

Kataware jumped slightly as the blunette yelled at her, although, she wasn’t really surprised by her reaction. As much as Kataware surprised her, she probably surprised the blunette as well. However, having things start off on the wrong foot wasn’t a good thing.

Kataware maneuvered through the bush making sure her palms were facing towards the blunette as a sign of peace. “No, I’m not lost and I wouldn’t bother checking for its tracks. It might have despawned by now and the mobs in this game don’t really leave visible ones unless you got the Tracking mod.” Kataware tried her best to inform the blunette. There weren’t many people who were still hunting boars on the first floor so she assumed that the blunette was a relatively newcomer, although Kataware wasn’t one to talk. She hasn’t even fought against a mob yet either.

Kataware looked into the direction that the boar ran off to and she squinted her eyes, trying to see if she could still spot the boar. “What’s your name?”

@Mace

Kataware was lounging in the forests of Floor 1 to the Southwest of the Town of Beginnings. However, she was a bit concerned about what was to come next. After all, for the past few weeks, she had started by lazing about and quickly got roped into something else. For once, she just wanted to relax without anything much happening around her. However, if something arose, she wouldn’t be the type of person to ignore it.

When she sat against the tree trunk, she made sure to keep an open ear for anyone approaching. Almost only a few moments later, she heard the rustling of leaves and other low-lying vegetation. She stood up from where she sat and went to investigate the source of the sound, trying to see if there was any substantial threat to her.

Peeking over a bush, Kataware saw a blunette with a shield and warhammer attempting to face off against a boar. However, the boar ran away and a sort of defeated look onto the girl’s face. Kataware made sure to check her inventory and equipped all of the essentials. The starting potions, the dagger, and the armor that she wore. After making sure she was properly equipped for a fight, if it came to it, she cleared her throat and introduced herself to the other player.

“Hey, there. My name’s Kataware.”

((Batle Stats:

))

@Mace

Kataware watched as the Neapolitan-colored girl obliterated the minotaur, the mob’s health bar disappearing quickly and its body disintegrating into multiple shards which quickly vanished. She gave a curt nod towards the girl and then looked at the rest of the party. “I’ve heard there were two. We can either move on forward into the maze, or kill the other minotaur. The latter ultimately unnecessary while the former is required for the quest.”

Although Kataware knew that the attack wasn’t particularly strong, she also felt as if it was take a bit of time to get to that level. Although, she also knew that she wouldn’t be doing attacks like those. She had her own playstyle in mind, which, hopefully, would help the frontliners clear the floors even quicker. “The clock is ticking,” she thought aloud. Every moment she was here, the more time was wasted. And in her opinion, two years was too much.

@Dustin

“I see,” Kataware had a matter-of-factly tone. She understood the feeling of wanting to separate work and personal life. Having had to strike a balance between the two, she understood that it was mostly just easier of keeping them separate while incorporating both of them into day-to-day activities.

However, Kataware became uncharacteristically self-conscious about her level in accordance with the mention of the other guild members. Although she didn’t really care much about where she stood, she realized that being at the bottom rung of the ladder was almost never a good thing. Possibly gain some more levels before I actually introduce myself? Kataware just knew that from now on, she’d have to work even harder than usual in order to catch up to everyone. That would have to start now.

“Thanks for the offer, but I have to go do some stuff right now. I’ll see you later.” Kataware said putting on her gloves and her parka once more before leaving Eatos behind. Hopefully, it wasn’t the last time she saw her in this world.

<< Topic Rewards and Transactions:

>>

Kataware started looking around the treeline, trying to find what spooked Artemis. However, she could see nothing. “Hear what?” Kataware stepped in front of Artemis to put something in between the little girl and what she had heard.

When the player showed himself, she had ended up recognizing the player. The male with the cat in a jar. As Kataware inspected the player, she noticed that the man was wearing nothing above his waist other than a jacket which prompted her to cover Artemis’ eyes as Kataware spoke up. “Hey, Zomekko’s owner. Long time no see. How are you doing tonight?”

Is this really the frontliner some people have been talking about? That nonchalant guy? Although, things began to click for Kataware. The fact that he wore no armor or any weapons to begin with and the fact that he had an air of indifference around him when they first met. It must have been like child’s play to him.

@Artemis

Kataware was unsure why Eatos was offering her hand for a handshake. A few possibilities came to mind. In Kataware’s mind, it was entirely possible that Eatos was simply going to part ways and this was her way of saying goodbye, or possibly to signify that Eatos will try her best to talk to her friends in the guild, or another option not already said. Thus, Kataware ended up taking Eatos’ hand.

However, Kataware wasn’t expecting the words that came out of Eatos’ mouth. Kataware couldn’t understand the blunette’s reasoning, however she decided to waive it as it seemed pointless to debate the reasons. It may have been the result of distrust and selective screening methods from her guild. However, there were dozens of other possible reasons why Eatos had done this, and all of them were just as likely.

When Eatos invited Kataware into the Guardians of the New Dawn, Kataware accepted it wholeheartedly. “I’d love to.”

Kataware’s opinion on Dustin was going further down and down. First of all, Dustin, the main organizer of this group was being wishy-washy as he kept droning on and actually contradicting his earlier statements. Secondly, she felt a bit personally attacked. Although she did offer being in either party, however, it seemed clear that after their little exchange, Dustin had planned to avoid her as much as possible. “Dustin, do you have a preference or not? Be clear.”

Rithe then suggested the party being split among the five of them. The trio was planned to be Zomekko’s owner, Rithe, and Katawaware while the duo would be Dustin and then the Neapolitan-themed girl. Kataware had no objections and decided to just Rithe’s judgement upon her decisions. “Good idea. It’ll be Zomekko’s owner, Rithe, and I in one party while Dustin and the Neapolitan-themed girl in the other party.” Kataware wasn’t sure if she should be the one who sent the party invite, after all, Rithe ended up being the one suggesting said party divisions. “Anyone object?”

@Dustin

Kataware decided to ignore Dustin’s flirt as he obviously singled her out for being compatible with him by ignoring the other two girls, the Neapolitan-colored player and Rithe, as well as the only other male in the group, who Kataware noticed had a cat in a bottle. She thought the exact opposite, they might as well be butting heads already. “I’m not too sure about that.”

As they were about to head out, Kataware was a bit disappointed at the lack of a party invite, not understanding how disorganized something like this could be. “Okay, since no one’s organizing this, I guess I am. We’ll need to break up into two parties since there is five of us here. Since I’m a tank, I’ll be willing to go with either party. However, you guys have to decide your own things or draw lots.” Kataware looked over the group, trying to gauge each member’s strength. Her main concern, other than the lack of coordination, would have been that this could have been an elaborate trap. Four random people end up joining, possibly in a pre-coordinated party while keeping the fifth member in the dark. A PK trap for any player simply looking for allies. Although, she did have to admit, at least they all had green cursors.

As the group settled that issue, Kataware went over to the cat that was on the unnamed boy’s shoulders and started trying to pet it. Kataware looked at the little familiar’s eyes, and noticed how they were pure white while it seemed as if the rest of the cat was made out of shadows. She put out a single finger, letting the scratch sniff it and pet itself with the appendage if it chose to.

@Dustin @Rithe @Pinball @Neopolitan

Kataware couldn’t understand the purpose of introducing one’s weapons, let alone Rithe forgetting her own dagger and the girl with a Neopolitan color scheme not talking at all. Her face remained indifferent, though and elected to only speak her name in response to Dustin’s question. “I’m Kataware.” The questions about whether or not she was capable of taking on the quest was a matter entirely different to claiming the name of your equipment. After all, the standard starting breastplate that she wore and then the Spiked Pauldrons that she had bought for a bargain price from Shield, didn’t have the flashy names that some people gave their weapons but still served the same purpose.

Kataware kept a level-head throughout the introductions, her brown eyes surveying the group of people in front of her. Although, the player with the cat familiar seemed to have no weapon on his person, Kataware knew to be careful since anyone could swap their equipment at any moment’s time. However, she noticed the noiret flash the Neopolitan color-schemed player a pained look, but did not mean to mention it. As long as it doesn’t affect what we’re going to do today, it should be fine.

@Dustin

Kataware met Eatos’ gaze and uttered only a single word, “Yes.” Kataware had already made up her mind a long time ago. Although she preferred to operate by herself as an individual, she grew up to be accustomed to being part of a team.

The gust of freezing air took the hood of her green parka off of Kataware’s head. Her usually ponytailed, brown hair was untidy as the billowing wind continued to blow its arctic air through Frostbite Lake. Her hair was let-down, and she touched the hood of her parka for a second, almost wondering if this would be a common occurence. Kataware, remembering that occurrence at the inn that, decided that she had enough of and removed her hand from the hood of her parka, moving it towards her hair. She grabbed the bulk of her hair in a bunch and began to fashion her hair into her signature ponytail. “Much better.”

When Artemis held out the kitten Ailuros, Kataware held her hand out and pet the familiar behind its ears, scratching its scalp lightly. “Well Artemis, I’m here because I wanted to meet the cook of the establishment.” Kataware chose to neglect mentioning her reasons behind trying to meet the player. After all, simply going to random shops in order to find a possibly new frontliner in the middle of the night could be seen as suspicious by anyone, regardless whether or not they were in a safezone at the moment. Plus, she kept in mind that the previous dozen shops also held no yield, despite the rumors that she had heard within the taverns.

“However, I know a few people live in their shops, plus this is a cottage. I wouldn’t be surprised if the player was asleep at this time of night, so I was just content with waiting out here.”

ID: 105419 [ ] LD: 3

Stealth Detection: 3 - 1 (Darkness) = 2

(( <<Failed to Detect Pinball’s stealth.>> ))

Despite the sun shining its brightest, the spiked pauldrons on top of Kataware’s shoulders and her breastplate covering most of her torso lacked a shine one would expect from metallic armor due to her unwillingness to dust it off. That day, Kataware was walking through town with her armor equipped, trying to get used to wearing the two sets of armor at once. Although it wasn’t much of a burden, she couldn’t help but feel stiff and almost as if moving would be a difficult task for her. Thus, her ultimately meaningless training began as she walked around Delilah, the main settlement of the Third Floor. That was when she saw some people begin gathering around a bench and decided for herself to take a look.

As she approached she called out to the trio, she couldn’t help but notice one of their color schemes. Pink, white, and brown. Almost like Neopolitan ice cream. Although, I’m more of a Rainbow Sherbert type of person. “So, what are we all talking about?”

@Dustin

Kataware thought of the guild name as ironic since it sort of resembled her given name, depending on the how literally someone took her name. Although she has been told that her given name literally means “East”, however her family interpreted it as “Dawn”, especially since her parents had found her as the sun was just starting to rise above the horizon. However, this was a back-of-the-mind thought, one that she understood was coincedental and held no deeper meaning.

Kataware would, at the very least, like to join any guild to start off with. There weren’t too many that weren’t private in the first place (often times just being a group of friends solidifying their pact together), so she didn’t really care much about climbing the ladder when it came to guild rankings. However, if joining the guild helped her, she’d do it in a heartbeat. “If it’s possible, I’d like to meet the friend of yours within the guild. At least, it’s not too much of a bother.”

Kataware looked upwards and saw a girl, only a few inches shorter than herself, with flowing white hair. Following her gaze, she turned her head towards the cottage, The Arcade. “Given the time of day - or rather, night - it probably is. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if the shopkeep is just asleep. After all, it is a cottage.”

Kataware offered the other player a handshake. “My name’s Kataware. What’s yours and why are you here?” She didn’t bother to mince her words, simply because you don’t get too many players wandering around at this hour. Kataware was fine with waiting, pulling off many an all-nighter for essays or other projects for college and she knew firsthand how her co-workers could take quite a long time to process clients. Although, that life seemed like a lifetime ago, she looked on those memories with a passing glance fondly. She shook her head a bit as if to awaken herself from the slight stupor of the past and gave another smile to the other player.

@Artemis @Pinball

“At least this isn’t a jungle,” were Kataware’s thoughts as she enjoyed the cool, humid air which reminded her of the cool air conditioning in the ward office she had worked at as a temporary civil service worker. She wished that she was back at her desk, however at this rate, she would be several years older and still stuck at the same step. After all, the progression has been a total of two years for twenty-three floors cleared. At this rate, she would at least by eight years older than she had first arrived and truth be told, she was worried what could happen within eight years.

Thus, Kataware decided to visit a shop on the Eight Floor, whose cook was apparently a frontliner, in hopes of gaining some information that would let her climb at a quicker pace. As she approached the cottage that was apparently the shop, she took notice of the various benches and the signs in front of the door. She couldn’t help but smile at the third and smallest sign which read: NOTE: This isn’t actually an arcade. I make food. However, she was disappointed to see that there were no lights in the cottage and she took a seat on one of the nearby benches. She was tempted to go try the door, but she thought that it may be more beneficial to wait for a short while.

@Artemis

“If the only thing needed to succeed was commitment, I doubt anyone would have died on the First Floor,” Kataware remarked absentmindedly as she rubbed her hands together in a futile attempt to warm them up. The air was refreshing, but the cold was biting. If it wasn’t for the former, she would have already put her gloves back on her hands.

“Which guild?”, Kataware asked almost instantaneously as Eatos mentioned that she knew of a few people in a guild. It was an interesting prospect, something that could benefit her progression, but she was still wary about joining any random guild. Although she was not adverse to Eatos’ personality, and aside from the usual conversation that they’ve had, Kataware didn’t completely trust the blunette or her judgement. She knew she had to take her steps carefully, or else she might just end up in a minefield. “And may I ask who?”

Kataware decided to visit Floor 16 for no other reason but to be near the ocean. Although she liked being near the ocean, feeling its cool breeze, and hearing the sound of the waves, she didn’t enjoy the beach. She found out that she didn’t like how the sand felt between her feet (especially when it came time to remove it), nor did she enjoy getting herself wet, so most of her visits to the beach resulted in her staying ashore while reading a book or doing some work.

There wasn’t much different about her demeanor, despite living in the virtual world (at least for the moment). Although there wasn’t any books that really caught her eye, she was able to bring along some of the plans that she had written down. In theory, her ideas should work, but in order to be optimal, it’s going to take a lot more work and a lot of luck. However, she was too absorbed in her mind that she had yet to realize the other occupants of the beach (or at least the occupants of the rock near the beach).

@Hazado @Froppy @Grimm