Kioshi

ID: 105595

Kioshi: HP 213/220 -- Energy: 14/22

Moss Man: HP 51/110 -- Hate: 1 to Kioshi, 2 to Slayer

BD: 3

MD: 4

"Stay...still...!" Kioshi yells in his helmet as the more he keeps swinging his Zweihander, the lesser the chance to hit the moss man since it keeps dodging and blocking with its tough club. Dark elf's nowhere to be seen, probably cowering in the shadows while witnessing this fight. He is probably eyeing on the girl too, a grin spread across his face as he has numerous dirty thoughts of her.

The moss man is about to do its slam jump again, but Kioshi's constant swinging prevents itself from launching the attack. The swinging shows no sign of stopping, all due to his rage at the fact that he almost sees his companion die in front of his eyes, something that he isn't willing to bear unless the person is a an orange player, which in that case he would gladly see them suffer if possible. The swinging finally stops as the moss man now speedily climbs up a tree until Kioshi is out of its reach, preparing to jump and slam against the ground again.

@Slayer

ID: 105464

Kioshi: HP 213/220 -- Energy: 15/22

Moss Man: HP 51/110 -- Hate: 1 to Kioshi, 2 to Slayer

Slayer: HP 15/60

BD: 3

MD: 9 - 2 (Slayer's EVA) = 7

The moss man suddenly does something unpredictable to Kioshi and the female. It jumps and lands with a harsh stomp against the dirt, all in one second, unleashing a small tremor that catches him off guard and falling onto his rear. Seeing that the nuisance is temporarily halted, the moss man lets out a raspy laugh as it makes one leap towards the female and immediately strikes her head and her abdomen with its crudely spiked club, taking away dozens of her health.

Kioshi regains his footing and senses, glancing at the moss man beating down his partner like a policeman beating a student rioting in a protest. In a fit of rage, Kioshi lets out a rare, loud scream within his helmet, rushing towards the moss man and takes an overhead swing towards its head.

The moss man somehow manages to block the attack with its club, and soon both of them are engage in combat, exchanging blows against each other's weapons. Kioshi huffs and grunts as he keeps swinging. And swinging. And swinging. Never bother to stop striking in an attempt to tire the moss man before himself.

@Slayer

ID: 105433

Kioshi: HP 214/220 -- Energy: 16/22

Moss Man: HP 57/110 (Stunned)

BD: 2

With the moss man finally stunned by the girl's attack, Kioshi grins in his helmet, preparing to take a lethal swing and unleashing another Sword Art at the same time. His sword is about to glow when suddenly rapid footsteps are closing in towards Kioshi's proximity. He has a gut feeling that he should jump away as quickly and far as he can, so he does so, only to see a brance shaped like a lance zip past him and the moss man. Holding the makeshift weapon is the dark elf, running away and never stopping until it is out of his sight.

Kioshi grits his teeth in anger, annoyed by this stupid distraction that buys time for the creature to stop being paralyzed and move again. It lets out a short, inhuman laugh as it takes its mace and hits the tree like a maniac, letting out another whale-like moan.

@Slayer

Kioshi moves on, albeit slowly as his ears catch the sounds of footsteps and his eyes probably sees a faint, medium humanoid figure running into the fog. Must be the elf himself, though he is sure that he is luring himself and the female to danger. Regardless he just follows where the elf might be running too, sword drawn and fully armored at the head and body. The walk feels like days or weeks as nobody could determine the passage of time within this sunless place. 

Kioshi suddenly stops. In front of him is the elf himself, pathetically trying to blend himself onto a tree bark even though its long flowing hair stands out. As Kioshi takes two steps forward to the elf, the latter quickly moves away from the tree and shouts in a cowardly voice, "Y..you aren't going to get your ore back! Help me! HEEELP!"

Out of nowhere, a larger humanoid drops down from the branches it was perching onto a few minutes earlier, watching over its owner under the danger of an 'elderly' fighter and a female redhead. The moss man, armed with an improvised mace made out of a small tree trunk adorned with thorns at the head, is entirely in unrecognizable, moss-esque vegetation. It lets out a loud groan similar to some whale as it charges speedily towards Kioshi.

ID: 105421

Kioshi: HP 214/220 -- DMG 9 -- MIT 39 -- Energy: 17/22 (Used Back Rush! (x5) )

Moss Man: HP 60/110 -- DMG 45 -- MIT 0 -- Hate: 1 to Kioshi, 0 to Slayer

BD: 9

MD: 6

The Zweihander glows green in color as Kioshi takes a wild swing towards the moss man, who does the same to him. The result is more or less a tie, as the sword cuts deeply into its body, blood squirting out of the large wound as some small intestines also spill out onto the grass. Meanwhile, the mace manages to hit Kioshi on his helmet, causing himself to back away while spinning dizzily after attacking the humanoid. It bellows in pain as it holds its guts from spilling any further.

@Slayer

ID: 105399 -- CD: 2 (It tastes like s*it! Lose 1 material. Gained 1 EXP)

ID: 105400 -- CD: 7 -- LD: 7 + 2 = 9 (Fail to salvage. Lose 1 material. Gained 2 EXP)

Broken doughs. Sticky doughs. Burnt meat. Unhealthy animal organs. Too much ingredients. The failures keep on piling up, much to Kioshi's dismay as he gradually questions his take on this profession. Can't cook for s*it. Not even a rank up would compensate that. That is right. A window pops up in front of Kioshi's face, telling him that through the little experience points he had gained all along, he somehow managed to rank up to rank 2. And this is mostly thanks to his failures, and rarely, his successes. He shakes his head. This is some kind of sick joke.

He sits on the stool in front of the fireplace, looking forlorn but retaining his blank, old expression. He lets out a quiet sigh, staring at the fire. For the rest of the day without breaks.

ID: 105302 -- CD: 8 -- LD: 8 + 2 = 10 (Fail to salvage material. Lose 1 material. Gained 2 EXP)

ID: 105303 -- CD: 5 (It tastes like s*it! Gained 1 EXP)

Kioshi is in the midst of cooking, only to fail as the biscuits' dough ended up becoming too fragile to handle. He sighs, accepting the failure while learning from his mistakes as best as he can. At least the system thankfully grants EXP even if he fails, and the chance of failure would decreases as he climbs up the ranks of being a cook.

He hears the bell ringing at the entrance of his shop, and comes out of the kitchen to see a female player browsing the shop for a while before asking him for biltong. He gives one pack to her. She pays him full price even though she is under level 12, much to her insistence. He accepts it regardless. COL's COL. As he watches the female player leaving the store, he stares at the payment with a small smile on his lips. Guess fate decides to compensate for his constant failures today.

"...Kioshi..." he answers in response to her question regarding his name.

"...no..." is all he mutters when beig asked about the quest's furher details. So far, he only knows that a certain dark elf holds materials, and that he is really weak for players around at least level 4 at best. Or 3 to be more generous. He never knew that it has a guardian until the smith told him. He doesn't wish to make his head spin by wondering how strong it would be. It is up to him to find that out himself.

This female player, in his eyes, seem to be eager about killing the elf, yet she looks crudely equipped. Only a katana and a military trenchcoat. Useful if she turns out to be agile and skillful with her blade, but Kioshi partially wishes that she would at least protect her head or body with a helmet or a breastplate respectively. Who knows the elf's guardian might turn out to be a hulking brute with a ridiculous amount of health and damage for low level players like this girl also seems to be here.

@Slayer

Though the way the red haired girl speaks is somehow considered rude to ordinary people, Kioshi pays no heed to that, seeing that it is nothing but a waste of time to react to her remarks or whatnot. Upon hearing her question, he simply nods, adjusting the helmet briefly before nodding at the blacksmith who reacts with another nod.

"Careful," the smith says, munching on a strip of smoked meat as he glances at both fighters. "From what I heard, elf's having a bodyguard stronger than himself so he could have his ass completely safe, or that is what he presumes. If you see him first, just kill him and run."

"...not to worry," Kioshi responds with a soft, yet gruff voice. He thinks that the bodyguard is something that can be easily fought and killed. After all, level 3 is nothing but another cakewalk to him. Kioshi walks to the girl and gives her a small nod before moving on to the gates of the city. His hand holds the handle of his Zweihander.

@Slayer

ID: 105284

LD: 4 + 3 (Picking) = 7

Obtained 150 COL, 2 materials and 2 uncommon consumables!

With his ability to skillfully pick the lock, Kioshi opens the treasure chest to find decent loot in it. Just a mere 150 COL, two ingredients and two uncommon food. Perhaps these foods can be sold for monetary gain. At least that would compensate a bit of his troubles of opening a mediocre chest. Keeping these items into his inventory, he looks at his own chest two realize that he has been wearing two necklaces so far: the Wanderer's Eye that allows him to find things more easily, and the Hoya, a necklace of friendship and love that instead turns into a lonely, personal object to himself.

As he hears Ennakai taking their leave, he simply nods, leaving them be so they would do their own business without any hindrance. He also leaves the temple's vicinity, unequipping his armor and keeping his helmet back into his inventory space. To cut it short, he arrives safely in the third floor's settlement and sits in an inn alone, fiddling and staring blankly at the Hoya as he now considers itself as the only thing worth protecting in his life in Aincrad.

My precious, his mind utters. 

-- QUEST COMPLETE --

Kioshi: Obtained 350 COL (200 Thread + 150 Loot), 2 Materials, 2 Uncommon Foods, The Hoya and 3 SP (1 Thread + 2 Quest)

@Ennakai: Obtained 200 COL and 3 SP (1 Thread + 2 Quest)

ID: 105264

LD: 18 + 2 = 20 (Found a treasure chest!)

Removing his full helmet, Kioshi just stands still with the Hoya hanging around his neck, listsning to Ennakai's role as an info breaker and how he can ask for specific information from them. A window pops up inviting Kioshi to have himself added to their contacts. Quite a first to Kioshi for someone to request for his contact, but he thinks that it would be a long time before he can see Ennakai again. If he did, it would be probably by pure chance or in awkward circumstances.

Regardless, he presses the green button, accepting the contact invite while thinking what exactly he would ask from Ennakai, staring at the temple blankly. There isn't much that he wants to know now. All he cares is getting stronger to overcome foes and the sometimes unforgiving difficulty levels. 

He turns his head away from the temple, and notices something familiar among some nearby bushes. Something brown and square. He has a gut feeling that this might be a treasure chest. It only takes a walk to the object and closer inspection to confirm that it really is one.

@Ennakai

ID: 105249

LD: 7 + 2 = 9 (No chest found...)

Kioshi stops as he notices the male player finally taking the advantage of the shark leaping out only to bellow in pain. He sees a hint of blue on the male's sword, followed by a swift arc slashing its belly, disemboweling it with its guts spill out onto the sand. Before it can even dive back underground upon landing, the shark immediately explodes into polygons, decisively ending the fight. 

Kioshi calmly walks to the player, sheathing his sword and soon lie down onto the sand, feeling content that both guys won the fight. Overall, it was a good one, and not a difficulty especially to Kioshi. A window pops up in front of his face that is staring up the sky, informing him that he, along with the player, is rewarded with a salve from the sand shark. A sand armor potion, effective in one use. This particular salve provides further protection to the user's armor. Unlike other rewards from other field bosses that he had killed, Kioshi accepts this one, finding this one useful in case he has to face a tougher monster or a human foe.

At some point he listened to the male's thanks and his remarks about his own smithy. Kioshi simply nods, though he has no need for any other weapon and armor for now. That can wait until he has grown even stronger. His lips curl into a small smile in his helmet. It has been long since he feels that way. Maybe because he is feeling like his own true age again.

-- QUEST COMPLETE --

Kioshi: Obtained 200 COL, Sand Armor Potion and 4 SP (3 Quest + 1 Thread)

@Dustin: Obtained 200 COL, Sand Armor Potion and 4 SP (3 Quest + 1 Thread)

ID: 105247

Kioshi: HP 140/140 -- Energy: 2/14 (Used Cyclone!)

Sand Shark: HP 17/125 -- Hate: 3 to Kioshi, 1 to Dustin

BD: 6

MD: 4

Cyclone vs drill, who will win? Kioshi sets to find this out as his Zweihander glows to its usual Sword Art color, noticing the shark's tail sink into the sand, preparing to launch another drill attack towards himself. He is ready, and so does the fish out of water.

Holding his sword with the blade pointing backwards, Kioshi remains static to listen for any subtle rumbles or sudden bursts, not planning to let his Sword Art go unreleased until he can at least slash the shark to fillets if that is even possible. His eyes are closed within his full helmet, his breathing slow and quiet.

Only three minutes have passed and he slowly opens his eyes, a loud burst suddenly becomes audible to his left. Immediately he turns into a human cyclone, not moving from his position at all. The shark is unlucky, as launching a drill attack is a waste since it not only misses its target, but the sword's length have horizontally slash its right side, cutting deep into its flesh. The shark dives down again, only to jump up briefly to roar out of pain, blood spraying in the air.

Kioshi stops spinning and immediately rushes towards the shark, having a hunch that the end of the battle is close.

@Dustin

ID: 105246

Kioshi: HP 140/140 -- Energy: 5/14

Sand Shark: HP 49/125 

BD: 2

MD: 5

This sand shark looks like it is ignoring the male player throughout most of the fight, as if it finds fighting the 'old' man more entertaining than a wimpy barely armored kid. Kioshi doesn't want to risk taking off his helmet to hear better, thinking that his head will be obviously vulnerable to the shark's teeth. All of a sudden, everything turns awfully quiet, save for the sounds of breezes through the desert.

Kioshi feels uneasy, though calm, knowing that the shark is going to ambush him or the male player at any time. At least it buys him time to think of his next move, unless it is just retreating to recover and come back a few hours later. Kioshi doesn't want this, shaking his head as he thinks of the possibility for such a thing to happen.

Then out of nowhere, the shark bursts out of the underground, spinning like a goddamn drill in an alarmingly speedy motion. Kioshi's first instinct is to quickly jump away from its attack, his left spaulder is barely scratched by one its fins as the shark lands and dives back into the sand, circling its prey.

@Dustin

Kioshi listens to Ennakai and their offer to give him something useful once both him and them are out of this temple. Looking away from the Hoya and glancing forward, he feels the urge to leave right away, seeing that the other minotaur isn't worth fighting since he is way stronger than itself. Basically he wouldn't obtain any worthy loot at all from the monster.

Holding on to the Hoya tightly, Kioshi turns around and walks past them, giving them a small, split second nudge on their shoulders to let them know that he is leaving now. Using the large green moss at the ceiling, he manages to trace it all the way to the exit, where the sun is still shining in the sky.

Outside, he dons the Hoya around his neck. It is now his personal necklace. Itself as a gift is useless to Kioshi. He begins to get attracted to this marvelous jewellery.

@Ennakai

ID: 105223

Kioshi: HP 140/140 -- Energy 6/14 (Used Cyclone!)

Sand Shark: HP 49/125 -- Hate: 2 to Kioshi, 1 to Dustin

BD: 7

MD: 5

The shark now leaps in and out like a dolphin, scattering sand dusts all over in an attempt to make itself less visible to Kioshi and the male player. The sounds of bursting sand are now the more reliable source for him to locate the monster. His sword glows green again, but this time, he simply waits, closing his eyes with his hands hold the sword pointing sideways. Like the boom of a bass, the shark's impact against the sand vibrates the ground as it gets louder. His legs spread open.

In an instant, the shark leaps out to Kioshi's proximity and roars loudly with its jaws gaping wide, baring its razor sharp teeth only to suddenly fly off to a distance, blood spraying out the corners of its mouth, which are now slightly split open from Kioshi's spinning sword, activated at the moment the shark leaped out of the sand.

Kioshi speedily advances towards its position, prompting itself to quickly burrow back into the sand and drift away, fin still visible but moving at a speedy rate like a race car.

@Dustin

Obtained the Hoya!

"...one more must die..." Kioshi mutters as he still feels like this place is nothing but a hellhole unless that one last minotaur is dead. Gripping his sword tightly, he starts taking only one step forward when a window suddenly pops up at his face, announcing that he has obtained the Hoya Amulet. He looks down to see the thing shining on the floor, and picks it up without hesitation.

The Hoya. Very valuable according to players both old and new. The reason? It is the equivalent to a wedding ring. A gift of friendship. A sign of great trust. Overall, it is a symbolic chain linking friends and lovers together into strong bonds.

The appearance varies to the holder. It could be a minotaur's head. It could be a falcon. It could be a simple circle. In Kioshi's case, it is a round transparent sphere with a gold ring in its middle. Glass in texture. In the sphere itself sits three triangles united into one big, single triangle. This symbol represents the Hojo clan in feudal Japan. At least to Kioshi's eyes.

He develops a second thought about engaging the final minotaur. Maybe that isn't worth it, since it looks like he has reached the finish line of this quest. As he still holds his sword in one hand and the Hoya in the other, he gazes blankly at the triangles like a robot, realizing that this is nothing more than a mere jewel to him. After all, it has already lost its purpose to him from the start. He has no one to give or propose his love too. Not even one person. The only person to gift to is himself, and himself only.

@Ennakai

ID: 105204

Kioshi: HP 140/140 -- Energy: 9/14

Dustin: HP 75/120

Sand Shark: HP 81/125 -- Hate: 1 to Kioshi, 1 to Dustin (last attacker)

BD: 5

MD: 6

"...don't worry about me..." he mutters audibly while waiting for the fin to come here so he could strike him at the moment the shark jumps out of the sand, sword gripped tightly as he has no fear in engaging this monster alone even with the male's presence. His body and head are protected with crude plate armor, and his sword big and long enough to kill foes in merely minutes at best. He is confident in his own abilities as a warrior. He is ready to feel the pain. 

Too bad that didn't happen, as the shark suddenly speeds up drastically for a second, too fast for Kioshi's naked eyes to catch. The fin zips past his partner's unarmored leg, slashing both of them and drifts away. The slashing, thankfully, doesn't manage to severe or impede the movement of his legs, but damn did it hurt. He lets out a 'tch.' Silently. This guy better have potions, otherwise Kioshi can just give one or two healing salves to him.

@Dustin

ID: 105203

Kioshi: HP 139/140 -- Energy 6/14 (Used Cyclone!)

BD: 7

Feeling somewhat pitiful to Enna's failed attempt to attack the minotaur, he takes another risk to attack it in such a narrow passage. Not too narrow of course, but its space are still limited enough for him to not be able to take full swings against the target. Kioshi goes berserk as he rains down more strikes towards the minotaur without stopping, the latter now jumps away backwards, landing on a certain part of the passage with the walls now spread a few meters away from the path.

Seeing this convenience, Kioshi immediately sprints while preparing to unleash his Sword Art, then in an instant, he becomes the deadly cyclone again, speedily moving forward and slashing its legs off. The minotaur bellows in pain, dropping its axe by reflex. Kioshi stops spinning with his back facing it, quickly utilizing a full swing towards the minotaur's neck, decapitating it. The head flies off its stump of a neck before both itself and the body explodes into polygons.

One down, one more to go.

@Ennakai

"...seven.." he answers in response to the male's question, walking a few more meters ahead of him with the HUD map at his face. He suddenly stops as he notices that the objective marker disappears for no reason. A glitch? Not now, especially at this time. Maybe it will come...

Kioshi's ears pick up the sound of rumbling, particles of sand bursting and falling back onto the pile. The sound is heard westwards. He turns his head around and notices something similar to a rabbit scurrying underground with a moving snake like mound visible on the surface. He draws out his Zweihander and slowly lifts up his blade. It is getting closer...and closer...

And suddenly the burst of an underground explosion blasts right in front of Kioshi's face, his arms automatically swings the sword forward.

ID: 105161

Kioshi: HP 140/140 -- DMG 8 -- MIT 35 -- Energy: 10/14 (Used Cyclone!)

Sand Shark: HP 93/125 -- DMG 50 -- MIT 0 -- Hate: 1 to Kioshi, 0 to Dustin

BD: 8

MD: 4

The moment when he feels his sword hitting some form of flesh, Kioshi instantly engages his Sword Art, spinning like a cyclone of a hurricane as the sword repetitively slashes that same material, followed by the sounds of a loud raspy roar, emotions only consist of pain and anger. Kioshi stops spinning just in time to see a massive shark-like creature diving down into the sand, its fin exposed at the surface as it swims around frantically, trying to find a proper opening to attack the tin man.

@Dustin

ID: 105160

Kioshi: HP 139/140 -- Energy 9/14 (Used Cyclone!)

Minotaur: HP 13/45

BD: 6

MD: 7

With a sadistic expression on his face within his helmet, Kioshi's sword suddenly glows green in color, illuminating this part of the passage. His body spins at an unnatural speed like a fan set to the highest speed, quickly advancing to the minotaur that wasn't expecting such an attack. Before it can even attempt to block it with its axe, it feels its stomach being cut open several times, roaring in pain as intestines spill out of the exposed cavity. Kioshi stops spinning and end the attack with an overhead strike, cutting off one of its arms.

He steps back quickly as the Minotaur drops its axe and scrapes the stone floor with its hooves, snorting aggressively like a bull ready to charge to a red velvet. The minotaur lets out a roar as it charges forward, its horns pointing directly towards its target. Kioshi hurriedly lifts up his sword as a response, preparing to strike at the moment it is close to the finish line.

@Ennakai

ID: 105146 -- CD: 3 (It tastes like s*it! Lose 1 material. Gained 1 EXP)

ID: 105147 -- CD: 5 (It tastes like s*it! Lose 1 material. Gained 1 EXP)

Kioshi happens to have a few bananas lying around in his kitchen, and decides to try to make banana chips. Taking one which is not ripe, he peels off its entire skin and slices it to circular pieces. In a frying pan filled with a bit of oil, Kioshi places the sliced bananas into the pan and attempts to fry it.

Much to his dismay, he realizes that the oil's quantity isn't enough to fry all of the pieces. As a result, several of them are left uncooked. He stops and disposes all of them, then keeps the pan in its respective place before sitting down on the chair, feeling bummed at his mistake.

ID: 105145

Kioshi: HP 140/140 -- DMG 8 -- MIT 35 -- Energy: 12/14

Minotaur: HP 45/45 -- DMG 30 -- MIT 0

BD: 3

MD: 2

Then out of nowhere one of the minotaurs rushes in, letting out a loud, demonic 'moo' as its the stomps of its large hooves practically shakes this passage of the temple. Kioshi immediately throws an overhead swing a little too early to the bull-man, which manages to jump away from the strike and draws out a large one handed, fragile and bloody axe. The weapon has seen better days. A fight commences as both Kioshi and the minotaur exchanges harsh blows against each other's weapons, neither of them show any sign of progress in this battle sequence.

After possibly a few minutes of weapons clanging, grunting and roaring, Kioshi picks up the pace by repetitively swings overhead again, this time without any signs of stopping as the minotaur is forced to back up while blocking his strikes with the handle of its axe. The clanging sounds resonate throughout this passage, no doubt the other minotaur would hear this and go to the battle site. Unless it has other plans to dispose both players here.

@Ennakai

"...Kioshi.." he mutters, and that is all he can answer as he keeps walking deeper into the depths of the underworld, his sword drawn moments ago, preparing for the imminent battles. His footsteps are silent at best as he is walking in either his toes or his soles to remain quiet. The clanging of the Kelly armor doesnt help much though, even if he is moving slowly.

He comes across a T junction. Simply put, it branches to left and right. Kioshi tries to hear any odd sounds, his head remaining still like a statue.

A single growl at the left. He takes it, looking behind him to ensure the absence of danger before moving on. The silence, for some reason, feels like some form of safety to Kioshi's psychological mind. If the silence ever breaks, the Minos are definitely close. And he is potentially f**ked.

...Kioshi stops as he hears a loud roar, then the scraping of rusty metal against the concrete walls, coming closer...and closer...

@Ennakai

ID: 105120 -- CD: 11 -- LD: 18 (Cooked Rare food along with one copy! Gained 5 EXP)

ID: 105121 -- CD: 3 (It tastes like s*it! Lose 1 material. Gained 1 EXP)

Kioshi has found a new and efficient way to dry meat probably. First, he preheats the oven in his kitchen, and while waiting for the thing to heat up, he marinades strips of deer meat with a few spices fitting for biltong. These strips are then put into the oven with the device's door slightly open to let out moist air, and with only a slightly high temperature, they are left to dry for only four hours. Throughout these four hours, Kioshi is asleep. For a short while.

When the oven goes 'ding', he immediately wakes up and carefully removes the now dried biltong, and he feels delightful that this is his first successful product that he cooked without any help. He puts the strips of biltong onto the sale shelves, visible enough for a few people to look at upon close inspection.