Vally

Vally jumped, just a little bit, at the pat on her back. She hadn't been expecting it, and the dark put her just a little bit more on edge. However, she quickly got back to normal, and gave an understanding nod. "R-Right. I'll keep that in mind as well, then. This shouldn't be a hard fight anyway, since I have the Safeguard. With the new Sword Arts I got access to, and my damage increasing, I might even be able to one-shot it", she mused, tapping her chin before shrugging. Well, it didn't matter if she could one-shot it just yet, she'd still be able to kill it quickly most likely.

Eventually, the two reached a cavern with a large, vaulted ceiling. "Well, if any place is the objective, this is it...", she muttered, mostly to herself, before taking a look around. She needed to find that gemstone. After a few moments of searching she did eventually find it, and plucked the stone from its spot. The ring would look good, that was for certain...but where was the golem?

A golem was it, huh? So less a case of many enemies like those boars, and just one big one. No doubt its damage and HP would be higher to compensate, but she wondered by just how much. Hopefully not enough for it to be dangerous. She scratched her chin in thought for a couple moments before shrugging. If there really was a danger of her dying, Mars would probably step in, but she doubted that'd be an issue. She felt confident she could handle anything on this floor. "I'll keep that in mind. Nullifying an attack is incredibly useful, if people have knowledge of what the big things are gonna be", she replied with a nod of her head, spear out and ready.

Once they stepped in, Vally looked around. It was painfully dark. She could hear some movement, certainly. Rocks grinding against the floor, but it didn't sound...heavy enough to be a boss. Maybe they'd encounter enemies on the way to whatever they needed to find. "Okayyyyy, so we have to find a gemstone for this ring, huh? Let's get looking then..." With that said, she set off through the cave to find what they needed to find.

Vally did indeed set offt the moment that Mars responded, cracking her not-technically-existent knuckles as she did. She couldn't wait to get the tutorial over and done with. Whatever happened certainly wasn't going to be a surprise for a veteran of MMOs like herself, so she wasn't too interested in the contents of them, nor even the NPCs, for that matter. That wasn't really a thing to think about for her though, so she just headed to the grove where Hannah apparently was, to continue this quest.

Once the two arrived, Vally found out that the contents of the package she'd been made to deliver was a golden band. Now, to absolutely nobody's surprise, they had to go get the rest of the parts for the ring from a cave. No doubt that would have monsters in it, so she moved to head off immediately, towards the cave. Once they arrived, Vally rested her spear on her shoulder, prepared to finish this entire thing quickly. "So, guessing there's enemies in here we have to fight? Shouldn't be too hard, if those piglets were anything to go by, but..." She cut herself off by pulling out the potion of safeguard and chugging it. "Got this for a reason, and better safe than sorry. Ready?"

[Used: Potion of Safeguard]

Vally rolled her shoulders as she stepped out of Lyle's Workshop. While that quest had taken an exceptionally long time, all the mob killing had helped her ding up to level 5. Compared to people like Mars, she was still low, but at low levels, each higher number was a rush. She even had a new weapon, which she'd made sure was mostly similar to her old one, and her damage had gone up appreciably. Especially since she'd unlocked new Sword Arts. Now her maximum damage had triple, and that was a really, really good thing for a DPS. The next thing on the list of tutorial quests was to pay a visit to an artisan woman with someone made by the old blacksmith that she had just helped.

Of course, the spearwoman was bringing her favoured companion along for this and the rest of the tutorial quests. He'd been invaluable so far, and no doubt he'd have even more wisdom to offer. Plus, y'know, insurance in case her luck got really bad in a fight. She felt confident, though. "Okay, next up is...Hannah. Gotta take a package to her, and I'm certain that when we arrive, we're gonna need to do some kinda fetch quest for her. Let's not waste any time, eh?", she replied, before heading off to the grove area she'd been directed to.

@Mars

Only level 5 rn, but I'll toss Vally in as a T1 for the half-health. Who knows, she might even manage to beat someone.

Vally: 2 SP, 400 Col

Quest Rewards:

- Tier One 2H Assault Spear (Damage)

-Safeguard potion that can only be used in Third Lesson

-2 SP

Mars: 2 SP, 400 Col

Of course Vally was going to start the third lesson immediately. She wanted to get this tutorial over and done with, after all. But first, they needed to take these tusks back to that blacksmith. Fortunately, she didn't have to hope that she wouldn't screw up making something out of them, because the objective was to simply bring them back. She'd definitely go insane if she had to collect any more of the damned things, and she didn't want to lose it from grinding in the tutorial. But, if what Mars had said was true, there were only a couple more quests that were this grindy. The Nepents, and the surprise quest on floor 3. After that...hopefully it would be smooth sailing, but she doubted it would be that easy.

"That sounds like a good idea. I don't want to miss out on anything, and level caps for quests make that difficult. What's the floor 2 quest?", the spearwoman questioned, tilting her head as she did so. Knocking that out once they were done with the tutorial would be a good idea. Once they got back, she'd head inside Lyle's shop to finish this off.

Vally spun her spear in her hands, flourishing it gracefully as the boar pup charged towards her. Even if she liked to be as effective as possible, she was still a little bit of a show-off when she could afford it, and this was one of those moments. The pup couldn't hurt her, after all, so really she could do whatever she wanted. She could let it wail on her for a good few hours and it would get nowhere. But, she wanted to get this quest done as soon as possible, so she prepared to finish it off. Her spear-tip sliced along the earth and crossed over the boar pup diagonally, creating a beautiful red gash that shattered it into pieces.

The spearwoman gave a pleased cheer as the last tusk dropped, and holstered her spear with a grin. "Finally! I thought we were gonna be here for hours. Got the last tusk. Let's head back, eh?", she stated, already walking. She wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

[Roll ID #108517 BD: 10]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 2/6 EN (-2 Heft)

>Heft: Crit! 4+2x2 = 12 DMG

Boar Pup: 0/5 HP (-5 HP)

[Roll ID #108518 LD: 14]

Vally was actually rather surprised at how eager Mars seemed to be to make that guild, but it didn't bother her in the slightest. She was somewhat eager too. Despite her generally cool demeanour, the spearwoman wasn't a real loner by any means. After all, she was born of the desire to communicate with others, in a sense. She quickly moved on to another boar, but once again, the tip of her spear caught on something, although the pup also completely careened past her without touching her. She twirled her spear in hand, and prepared for its next charge. She was too focused on the idea of the guild.

"If you say so, then I'll keep that in mind. This quest, nepents, and the quest on floor 3...I'll keep that in mind, yeah, and try not to lose my mind while grinding through those", she commented. She hoped she wouldn't miss again, that'd be a pain.

[Roll ID #108499 BD: 1 MD: 2]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 3/6 EN (-2 Heft)

>Heft: Miss!

Boar Pup: 5/5 HP

Vally gave a small hum of thought in response to Mars. Having a guild would make things far easier, plus...well, as she'd said, she quite liked helping make the place looked pretty. The other members, too. That had...certainly been an effort in patience, making them all look good for their first clears of raids and such. They'd nearly lost a spot at world first because of her worrying over them looking good enough. She bit her thumb while staring at Mars, trying to figure out what he'd look good in already, before shaking her head. "Um, sure. It sounds good to me, assuming you've got the cash to be able to make the guild. And of course, having a tank would be necessary for us to earn any good spots", she stated, before moving to engage another boar pup.

It only took a few moments and a single sweep of her weapon to send the pup flying, but unfortunately it still didn't drop a damn thing. "Of course, I'd need to get a good few levels to catch up to you and to actually be useful in anything that'd be a challenge to you."

[Roll ID #108494 BD: 8]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 4/6 EN (-2 Heft)

>Heft: 4x2 = 8 DMG

Boar Pup: 0/5 HP (-5)

[Roll ID#108495 LD: 6]

Vally listened to all of Mars' issues with the various guilds. He'd provide some insight to their problems, at the very least, and his bluntness would at least avoid any sugarcoating over them. Partner, though? Had Mars been in a relationship, or did he mean it more in a partner-player kind of relationship? She wasn't going to pry, for now at least, so she simply silently thought of it while he continued to explain his problems with all the others. The Knights definitely didn't sound like her thing, military was not her bag. Like Mars, she preferred to operate with freedom to do whatever she wanted, rather than being stuck to a strict hierarchy. The Holy Dragons only issue, apparently, was being selective, but maybe that also meant the martial artist simply hadn't been able to learn anything of them.

"Mm, people tend to disappear in guilds, but you don't want the entire thing to go nowhere. The Holy Dragons sound fine, at least, but perhaps making a guild that's more focused on being the absolute best at PvE would be the best option. Of course, finding those kinds of people might be difficult in the first place, but...a guild hall does sound nice. I always enjoyed making those look good", Vally commented, tapping her spear against her shoulder in thought.

Vally hung back for the moment as the others charged in. They had a tank, but he hadn't howled, and she wanted to make sure she wouldn't draw aggro herself, lest she ended up getting taken out early. After all, she was the lowest level, and there was uncertainty that she could even damage it at this point, thanks to the fact that it most likely had mitigation. But whatever, that wouldn't stop her. Levelling up from this quest would hopefully allow her to actually damage the next one, if she couldn't do it to this one. Black woke up the dragon in a way that could only be described as fitting for him, and Mutsu managed to land a good hit.

The spearwoman turned her head as she heard Shield call out, and raised her weapon to catch the orb that came flying at her, which bathed the red weapon in a deeper crimson glow. Maybe that would allow her to hurt it, but she still wasn't certain. A level one getting into a fight like this...ah, whatever. She could at least try to get a hit in. With that in mind she rushed forward and drew the tip of her spear around diagonally, but the hatchling evaded. "Ugh, damn thing...", she muttered, before hopping back to Black.

[Roll ID #108454 BD: 3]

[H: 2] Black - HP: 386/400 | EN: 40/40 
[H: 2] Mutsu - HP: 80/80 | EN: 6/8
[H: 0] Shield - HP: 1610/1610 | EN: 141/152
[H: 0] Vally - HP:60/60 | EN: 4/6  [+2 DMG] >Heft: Miss!

Emerald Hatchling: 105/125

Vally really, really was not looking forward to that escape quest. She could already tell it was going to be a massive pain to deal with, especially since it was apparently solo. She'd have to bring a lot of potions for that quest, indeed. She'd probably end up having to farm Col to get those potions too. Ugh. But whatever, she'd figure something out. "Yeah, I plan on it. I wanna make sure I'm fully ready for that quest, maybe even get my mitigation to a point that they can't hurt me. Do you remember how much damage they did?", she questioned, before looking over the area. She wanted to find boars as soon as she was ready to go again. Knowing her, she'd probably end up getting it on the first one, making the extra time waiting for her energy to recharge pointless.

"And yet somehow I managed to make friends with a grump like you before meeting her", the spearwoman replied sarcastically and with a teasing smirk. "You in any guilds? Seems like if you were in one they'd be very focused on being the best they can be. Hmm, maybe I should actually start a guild with that kind of focus...", she mused, placing a finger on her bottom lip in thought.

If she were to meet the killer of killers, it certainly wouldn't be to kill him. Rather, if someone like that could survive a crusade against Laughing Coffin at his level, then there would be a lot to learn from him. Tactics, build...many useful things that would help her survive indeed. She was worried about PKers, especially at her level, after all.

"The Holy Dragon Alliance sounds interesting. Tight knit groups are always the most fun, really. Plus, they have the smallest risk of backstabbing. I'll have to see about that, I guess. Getting into a guild would definitely be a good idea", Vally mused while examining her spear. "Are any of the other tutorial quests this bad for farming? I guess I'll just need to buy some LD food, and maybe a trinket too, just in case." Farming was always a pain, really. At least she wasn't going to have to spend all day on this quest even at the current rate. At least, she hoped. She'd rather not spend more than a day on the tutorial of all things.

Vally decided to finish off the bouncing boar pup so she could focus fully on the conversation. As it came rushing back in she simply twirled her spear and skewered it from above, letting its shards float off into the air. She hoped that this one would drop its tusk, but alas, it was not to be, and she let out a defeated and annoyed sigh. "These damned drops...anyway. That Aereth guy sounds pretty interesting. Hunting down other red players...it's a good goal, I guess. And doing it as sub tier-3, too...he might be good to ask for advice, if I ever meet him."

"Them just breaking up sucks. Know of any other guilds like them? I should think about joining one eventually, really. Running around on your own is boring, after all, and pooling resources together would just give a better chance of getting us all out of here alive. Hrm...anyway, time for another break, I think."

[Roll ID #108252 BD: 6]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 0/6 EN (+1 regen, -1 attack)

>Attack: 1x4 = 4

Boar Pup: 0/5 HP [-1 attack]

[Roll ID #108253 LD: 6]

Vally jabbed at the boar pup, her spear striking true this time. A long gash was left down its side as it charged, slamming right into her leg...and bouncing off. Mitigation was great, she decided. Once again, she was rather unphased by the boar, and she just casually looked to Mars while it continued to futilely charge and bounce off, over and over again. "I was talking about any known red players. I've heard of Laughing Coffin, but I was more thinking of names I should worry about if I hear they're nearby. Don't wanna get cut off before I can become a frontliner by some jackass who started playing properly earlier than me."

"Ascendants? Were they some PK guild like Laughing Coffin? And weren't Itzal and Morgenstern people you just said would be a good idea to ask about leftover items?", she questioned, before noticing the smirk. She mirrored it with one of her own. "Special, you say? Any idea of what kind of special? Some new tier of item? Someone found a new skill?"

[Roll ID #108246 BD: 7 MD: 6]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 0/6 EN (+1 regen, -1 attack)

>Attack: 1x4 = 4

Boar Pup: 1/5 HP [-4 attack]

>Attack: 3-18 = 0

"Yeah, I can do that one. I was thinking of combining heavy and light armour together to get maxed out mitigation and evasion. It'll help a lot with soloing, while in boss raids and other stuff like that, I can switch to a trinket or something. It's something that just came to me, although I'm not sure how well it'd go. It'd be a great build for tanking, at the very least!", she stated. "Information is expensive, huh? Sounds like humans I guess. We're at a point where we could all die without cooperating, and there's still people looking to make money, however fictional, from it." There was a hint of venom in her voice, and she shook her head. "I'll keep them in mind. Know any players I should avoid?"

With that question in the air, Vally twirled her spear and got back into it. Apparently, however, she was still off, and the swing went wide. The pup's charge went wide too, however, and they were left staring eachother down. "Great, out of energy. This is absolutely wonderful..."

[Roll ID #108213 BD: 3 MD: 3]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 0/6 EN (+1 regen, -2 Heft)

Boar Pup: 5/5 HP

Vally frowned at the boar and turned on her heel. She brought her spear around to her side to prepare for another Heft, before takng a step forward and raising her weapon to perform the Sword Art. It seemed she had a critical, because the pup was practically launched into the air from her strike. She supposed it made up for missing the last hit, but it was still annoying that her progress was being slowed even further by failing to hit them. However, this time, she gave a triumphant cry and raised a hand, clutching a tusk. "Got one! Now I only need one more!", she yelled, apparently very pleased with herself.

After placing the tusk inside her inventory, the spear-woman rolled her neck with a smirk. "Thorns would...actually be pretty useful, really. Although that does rely on them actually hitting me, but I guess killing them with my Sword Art also relies on me hitting them...maybe that would have been a good idea. Don't think I can swap it out, though, so I'm stuck with Mitigation for now. That does sound like a good idea too, but from what I know, the Gemini won't kill you anyway, so I'd rather practice against it than just roll through."

[Roll ID #108165 BD: 9]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 1/6 EN (+1 regen, -2 Heft)

>Heft (Critical) 5x2 = 10

Boar Pup: 0/5 HP (-5)

[Roll ID #108166 LD: 13]

Vally graciously accepted the materials and col with a small bow. It was only polite. "Thanks. The mats will come in handy for levelling my crafting when I get to that, and col is col. It's a shame these pups are too weak to drop loot, otherwise I might be getting...y'know, something, rather than having to deal with this ridiculous drop rate." The amusing thing is that the drop rate was actually around 45%, but her own luck was getting to her in the worst way. Low rolls abound.

"Anyway, back to boar farming...", she huffed, before turning around and heading for the next boar pup. With a flourish she raised her spear to kill it off, but fate really wasn't on her side. The pup's tusks caught her spearhead and knocked it wide, leaving her open. It took the moment to leap towards her, taking advantage of the opening, but Vally was completely unharmed, and she grabbed the creature by its tusk and threw it to the ground. "This is why I stacked mitigation on this armour...but would it hurt to die when I hit you?!"

[Roll ID #108150 BD: 1 MD: 9]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 2/6 EN (+1 regen, -2 Heft)

Boar Pup: 5/5 HP

> Attack: 3-18 = 0

Vally's attention was somewhat divided between Mars' advice and her fight with the boar, but it wasn't really dangerous. She knew it couldn't hurt her, so more of her attention was on the explanation, than on the fight. She just needed to finish it off. While Mars was working on unlocking the chest, Vally raised her spear diagonally, without catching it on anything this time. One more gridded, red slash appeared on its hide before it disappeared into shards. However, there was still no loot to be had, and she let out an annoyed huff. "Drop your damn tusks! Why is the drop rate for this so low?! This is a tutorial quest!", she raged, before shaking her head and stomping over to Mars.

"What'd you get from it? Whatever it is, it's better than what I got, which was nothing", she questioned with an annoyed hiss to her voice. She was going to be here forever...

[Roll ID #108126 BD: 7]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 3/6 EN (+1 regen, -2 Heft)

>Heft 2x4 = 8

Boar Pup: 0/5 HP (-5 HP)

[Roll ID #108127 LD: 2]

Vally listened carefully to what Mars said. All of that information would certainly come in handy for the future, when she could actually complete those quests. For now she was stuck with the tutorial, but whatever. That was how these games function, after all. A perfect damage potion would certainly be handy for big boss battles like in events and raids, and a permanent Mitigation buff sounded juicy indeed. "What's the name of the permanent Mitigation quest? I feel like that's practically required, especially for tanks, like getting a good familiar out of the familiar quest", she replied, before tilting her head. "A chest! Nice. You get that while I...y'know, handle the rest of this quest."

With that said, Vally rushed towards the next Boar Pup, spear ready to rise diagonally....which caught on a rock and sent her stumbling. The pup took the opportunity to charge her, but she regained her footing just in time to vault over it and land behind, ready to try again. "Seriously?!"

[Roll ID #108123 BD: 4 MD: 1]

Vally: 60/60 HP | 4/6 EN (-2 Heft)

Boar Pup: 5/5 HP

"Nature's Treasure, huh? I'll have to keep that one in mind. Know any other quests that give especially good rewards? Weapons, armour, consumables, materials...Anything like that would be helpful to learn now. Anyway, I guess I'll have to go farm that quest eventually. Maybe you can come with me", Vally suggested, hopping up from her spot on the ground. She found herself feeling quite lucky that she'd run into someone so knowledgeable so early on, before she could make any massive mistakes that gimped her build or worse, got her killed. Very lucky indeed.

"Ah? I see. That does make sense, since Battle Healing heals based off of a percentage of your HP. I'll get Charge after my armour skill then, and Battle Healing as late as I can. Thanks", she replied, scanning the area. Her energy had returned to full now, so now she needed to find more poor boar pups to prey on.

[EN: 2/6 > 6/6]

Vally didn't even pay heed to Black's antics. It would only have encouraged him, no doubt. Tsundere, though...ugh. The thought sent a chill down her spine. No thank you. She much preferred the idea of seeing what a dragon tasted like. It was probably quite tough really, considering all the muscle they'd have. Although maybe a hatchling would have a bit more fat to it...

However, the spear-woman was quite taken aback by Hydra's sudden outburst, and her eyes widened in surprise before she quickly returned to her usual stoic self. Yep, she definitely liked her. She was like a team mum if anything, keeping everyone in line. Of course, Vally herself didn't need that. She was just as much of a straight woman as Hydra herself. "I can handle Mutsu perfectly fine, don't worry."

Of course, Shield's phrase didn't elicit much of a response from her. But what did get a response was the possibility of being the first in the game to complete the quest line. Wonderful! Yes yes, she needed that. An accomplishement at low level to start her off on her path to becoming the best DPS around would be something wonderful indeed. "Right now, I'm low-level and not even sure I'll be able to bypass its mitigation, but I should level fast from this quest."

Vally had been ignoring Mutsu's...activities for the most part, intent on not encouraging her, but she had finally given in to the urge to fire back a snarky remark. "You're safe from a spanking, I think. You'd have to stand on a box for someone to reach", she declared off-handedly, before marching along with the rest on their way to the cave.

"Right, everybody ready? Black will need to start off so he can draw aggro, then the rest of us will attack. With someone at Black's level it should go down fast, and if things get dicey, then Shield can jump in and we'll have to get our levels up before moving on to the next one.", she questioned, ignoring Mutsu's antics once again.

@Mutsu@Black@Hydravion@Shield

Vally just sighed in annoyance, though she didn't show any objection to the pat on the back. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Just right now, I don't exactly have the col to burn, so I need to be careful with what I buy. Maybe once I'm done with these tutorial quests I can grab a few items, but for now, all my consumables are health regeneration. I have about 350HP worth of healing items in my inventory right now. At least I won't die any time soon", she replied with a forced chuckle.

"Only Searching applies to it, you say? Hmmm...if I'm recalling correctly, I wouldn't be getting Searching until at least level 40, when I get my 7th skill slot. Right now my planned order is my weapon, my armour, a damage familiar, battle healing, hiding, charge, searching, and survival. I'm not sure what to do with my last 4 slots, but that won't really be relevant for a long time. I don't get my 9th until level 60, so I have plenty of time to think it over. I don't like powerlevelling as my first time, since it means I don't learn over time, and inevitably I'll be thrust into things without an understanding of my abilities."

[EN: 1/6 > 2/6]

Vally sat stoicly on the edge of the fountain, hands resting on her knee with her eyes closed as she waited. This group was certainly a colourful lot. And jingly, counting Mutsu. At Black's question, she did open her eyes, and turned her head to him. "Well, I was thinking of going Tailor. Apparently there aren't any high-ranking Tailors around, and fashion is important. If I'm going to be a frontline DPS, I'm going to look damn good while doing it, too", she replied, while waiting for the others to do whatever they were going to do.

Hydra's response only cemented Vally's like for her, really. She liked the vaguely threatening tone, and how she really didn't let people push her like.  Her eyes followed the blonde woman as she sat beside Vally herself, a small smile on her face. "Thank you very much. I did put a lot of effort into my appearance in real life. Your own hair is certainly...interesting. I can't say I've ever seen a naturally blonde person IRL, let alone with...whatever that is", she stated, gesturing to the woman's multi-coloured highlights.

Most people probably would have called Shield a grump, but the plum-haired spear-wielder appreciated his seriousness. Someone who knew how to get things done was always a blessing. Although, she wasn't sure about questing with him alone. She felt as if holding a conversation with him would be rather difficult.

Of course, however, her attention was dragged from that to Mutsu's...boistrous speech. She wasn't so certain about all the things she was saying. Shield was a frontliner, so his damage was likely higher than all of them. Hydra was most certainly not a pacifier. While she wasn't so sure about Black being that stupid, she'd heard some suspect things about the Marines stationed near her city. And she wasn't too sure about herself being like a cat.

However, the so-called cat didn't have time to think over exactly why Mutsu had called her so, as she was tackled into the fountain with a cry. That was...a bad move. "I'm taller and more stacked than you, shorty!", she yelled back with a bonk to Mutsu's head, sitting up as she pulled the other two into the fountain as well. If she was going to play like that...

Vally grabbed Mutsu by the collar and pulled her back down with her, leaving her long, plum-coloured hair floating in the water while she herself was soaking wet. She made sure to pull her close, only a few inches away from her face, with surprisingly relaxed eyes and partially-parted lips. Her red eyes glanced down to Mutsu's own lips, before back up to her eyes, and then...she flipped, placing the jingly girl beneath herself while she quickly hopped up and placed her boot on the short girl's chest. She bent over at the waist, eyes cold and piercing, as she rested one hand on her hip and the other on her knee.

"I will never call you by a name that is not a reference to your height."

With that, she hopped out of the fountain and shook her head, trying to dry her hair at least some what on reflex. Of course that wouldn't work though, they were inside a video game. It was probably considered a status effect. So she just waited until the others had gotten out of the fountain, before accepting the party invite and heading off with the shorty.