Oscar

Oscar slowly made his way through the cave. He kept his hand on the wall for guidance and slowly shuffled his feet forward to check for any pitfalls. Thankfully, the ground beneath his feet didn't give way to any holes or crevices. It was a welcome change from the last cave he explored. In the darkness, he saw a glimmering spot on the wall. He pressed his hand to it and the gathering progress bar began to fill. After a few moments, it was completely filled and Oscar had gathered a crafting material. He pressed forward and, in the distance, began to hear the faint sobs of a little girl. He followed the sound and, eventually, the tunnel opened up into a large chamber. It was almost pitch black in here. "Psst," Oscar hissed, trying to get the child's attention quietly. "Are you okay? Follow my voice. I'm here to get you out of here." 

It didn't take an exceptionally long amount of time for Oscar to reach the cave marked on his map. He knew a young NPC girl would be inside of it. He also knew that there were probably bats and that he would take a penalty to his attacks due to the darkness. But Oscar entered anyway. This was a level 2 quest. What threat could it possibly pose to him. He was pretty sure his wounds would heal faster than they could make them. Well, not right now anyway. He still needed to invest in the Battle Healing skill to make that claim. In any case, Oscar pushed into the darkness, feeling his way through with his feet and hands instead of his eyes. The dim light made such an area dangerous. There could be pitfalls or falling rocks that he simply wouldn't be able to see. Despite this, Oscar would continue onward. Traps be darned, Oscar would save this little NPC girl.

Oscar made his way through the forest, careful to avoid any wolves or bears. His first obstacle was that the shortest path between him and the cave took him through the area where the Venom Snapper spawned. Even though he was stronger now, Oscar had no desire to tango with that thing or its minions again. So he had to make a large loop off course in order to avoid the area. Once he was safely through, Oscar happily strolled on along. The cave was still a fair distance away from him, but it was okay. Provided him plenty of time to regenerate his energy for the bats that totally weren't in the cave. Oscar whistled a tune as the made his way through the forest, pushing aside pushes and young trees alive as he carved his own path through the thick brush. He was a survivalist at heart, so this locale was right up his alley. He enjoyed hiking through the woods with an extreme passion.

Oscar stepped forward and delivered a simple Basic Attack to the remaining Nepent. Once it was defeated, yet another variant came scurrying out, summoned by the death of its kin. Oscar stepped back, allowing Cordelia to take to the lead. She definitely needed to actually hit something to catch up with the damage that Oscar was dishing out. Although his accuracy wasn't the best, it was a heap sight better than what Cordelia had. Maybe landing the killing blow on the Variant would raise her spirits? Either way, Oscar would focus on backing her up if she missed. They had a good rhythm going. They complimented one another well. Oscar readied his blade and dropped down into a low fighting stance, preparing to activate his Concentration skill if needs be. He really only had one more round in him so they had to end combat pretty quickly before he ran out of energy.

Oscar used his second Tsumuji Gurama for the quest. He spun around on his heels, striking in all directions. Two of the four Nepents died outright, but the other two were still alive and kicking. The first lashed out in an attempt to deal damage to the Azure Crusader. He was able to dip out of the way. This maneuver activated his Savvy Enhancement, which would make him more accurate on his next strike. The second, however, sank its teeth into Oscar's arm. It only dealt a pittance of damage, despite getting a critical hit on him. Oscar shook the Nepent free and stepped back to give Cordelia room to maneuver. Hopefully this would be her time. She would finally get a hit out on one of these creatures. "Hey Cordelia! I believe in you. You got this!" He shouted words of encouragement to her. Hopefully they would reach her through the frustration she must be feeling right now.

Oscar advanced again, delivering a second Haku Senpu to the golem. Between that and his bleed effect, the golem shattered into a thousand shards that were scattered to the wind. Oscar collected his loot - Col, some materials, and a trinket - and decided to head back down to floor 2 while his health and energy regenerated. He really needed to finish that quest at some point today. As much as he would have like to stay up here and drop a bunch of rocks like they were, well, a bunch of rocks, he had a job to do. So back to Deepedge he went. He wove through the streets until he reached the teleport platform. Just a quick laser light show later and he was back in Urbus. Invigorated by his fight, Oscar strode confidently towards the gate and - by extension - the quest tracker. That child would be rescued lickety-split. Then he could go back to farming Golems up on floor seven.

With his second target acquired, Oscar drew his blade and advanced. Bloody Howl began to glow with a deep purple light as Oscar made his way towards the Greater Golem. He delivered a powerful flurry of slices, each carving a nasty gash into the creature's hide. The wind shear generated by the attack buffeted the creature and forced it to step back a single pace. It raised a mighty fist and drove it hard into Oscar's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying backwards. Somehow, Oscar was able to correct himself in midair and landed lightly on his feet. He took a moment to catch the breath that had been forced out of his lungs. The two of them had exchanged critical blows, but Oscar was faring much better than the golem was. Another hit like that and the fight would be decided next turn. Oscar just had to pray the gods of the critical hits were on his side today.

It was time for his bread and butter. Ol' reliable. The sword art that had carried him through the lower levels. Han'ei. Two slashes spelled the end of the Greater Golem. It shattered into a thousand shards, leaving only the loot behind for Oscar to collect. He looted his kill, finding a decent chunk of Col, some crafting materials, and even some rare armor and a consumable. Happy with his haul, Oscar turned about and began looking for another enemy to defeat. He was riding high off of that particular fight. It was so nice to actually feel like he was doing some damage now. It had been slow progress, but he had finally made it to the point where he wasn't praying that something hit so he wouldn't have to worry about counterattacks. He had truly learned the five D's of Dodgeball now. Before long, Oscar found another Greater Golem to smack around with his sword. Today was going to be a good day.

Oscar danced around the golem for a bit, getting used to his newfound skill with the game. It wasn't too long ago that he struggled to fight a boar. Now he was going toe-to-toe with a massive golem and had yet to suffer any damage for it. He ran in, stopping just shy of the golem, and launched into a whirlwind of strokes that whipped up the wind around him into a maelstrom. It slammed into the creature, carving deep gashes into it. Stone and dirt exploded out in all directions from the impact. Oscar hopped back, just narrowly avoiding the golem's counterattack and bounced up and down a bit. He was toying with the monster. He could say with relative certainty now that he had come quite a long way. He still had much further to go, but the difference was night and day now. He smiled and rushed in again, getting ready to end this with one final stroke.

Oscar quickly encountered a Greater Golem to test his new Sword Arts on. What made it greater than a normal golem? Probably the size. It was exactly 20% larger than your ordinary golem. Which made for a 20% larger target to hit. Oscar rushed in and drew his sword. Oscar rushed in, his blade charging with indigo light. He struck with a wild flurry of strokes that kicked up a wild whirlwind around him. The sword wound up doing less damage than the wind. The wind carved deep gashes into the golem's form. The golem attempted to attack with one mighty fist. But Oscar was too elusive. He dipped out of the way, which activated his Savvy Enhancement. He whirled around and readied his blade for the second round. Next turn he would be much more accurate. He was very content with the damage he'd done so far. Haku Senpu was such a wonderful Sword Art. It was a hefty increase to his damage and he couldn't wait to see what the next one did.

Oscar rushed forward following Cordelia's whiff and struck. Two long slashes using the length of his blade were dealt to the Nepent Variant. The creature burst into a shower of shards. Unfortunately, it didn't drop the item they needed. As if on cue, another four Nepents came waddling out of the underbrush. Oscar leaped back, letting Cordelia take center stage. He didn't know if rapiers had any AOE arts, but they would be extremely useful at this point. It also offered her a chance to redeem herself from the previous misses. Hopefully she would be able to take all of these down in one fell swoop and then Oscar could swing into the Variant that would follow afterwards. He kept an eye on his energy bar. He'd only lost 8 points of energy through all of this. He could keep going strong for a bit longer, he surmised. By his math, he had three more rounds of Nepent slaying in him before he would need a break.

Yet another newbie quest that Oscar had completely overlooked. An NPC mother approached him in tears, crying about her daughter being missing. Even though it was merely an NPC, there was something about tears that had the tendency to turn Oscar into putty. So of course he accepted the quest. Oscar headed for the cave they mentioned, guided by his quest tracker. On his way, he decided to try and take something out for some extra loot. His pockets were kinda light after upgrading his slime farm. The sudden realization dawned on him and he headed back to town. The quest could wait. He needed money. So up he headed to the seventh floor to try and find himself some loot. After three or four kills, he would head back down to floor 2 and finish this quest up. He stepped out of Deepedge and began scanning the area for targets to put his new Sword Arts to work on. He consumed a Chili Dog with Chili Fries and a Steel-Infused Hot Dog from his inventory to boost his damage without losing any Mitigation.

Oscar charged forward, naught but a sapphire blur as he covered the distance between himself and the Nepent in the blink of an eye. His blade glinted in the sunlight as it carved through the final Nepent. It was, at last, put down. Now that they were out of the way, they could focus on the quest at hand without worrying about them missing. A Nepent Variant came waddling out from behind a bush. Summoned by the death of the four Nepents, this would serve as their objective. Kill the variant, loot an item, and be done. Hopefully, they would drop what Oscar and Cordelia needed this round. Otherwise it was back to the grind again. Oscar really didn't want that and judging from Cordelia's reaction, she very much wouldn't care for the opportunity to miss again. "Alright Cordelia! You go first! I'll take it out if you miss, okay?" He readied his blade, preparing to leap back into combat immediately.

Oscar, for his part, was busy attempting to track the beast under the ground. Eventually, the dorsal fin popped up out of the sand, coming straight for him. Oscar readied his blade and waited until it reared its ugly head out of the sand. Then, he struck. Quick as a flash, his blade traveled in a wide arc and cleaved straight through the shark's neck. The shark fell to the sand and floundered for a bit before finally shattering, its myriad fractal shards being scattered to the wind. Oscar exhaled slowly and sheathed his blade. Once his lungs were devoid of air, inhaled sharply and turned back to face Lessa. She was probably feeling embarrassed by her performance in that fight. But everything was A-ok. They'd killed the shark and neither of them had suffered a point of damage. That was a win in and of itself! "It's hot here. Let's go find somewhere cooler and celebrate our victory. Do you like hot dogs?"

Oscar turned his attention to the only surviving Nepent and attempted to dispatch it with a simple Basic Attack. He just barely missed it, distracted by Cordelia slightly. He didn't let the frustration show, mostly because he wasn't exactly frustrated. It would be one thing if these creatures were a threat. "Here's a chance to redeem yourself! Switch!" Oscar pushed off the ground with his feet, flying backwards in a straight line. Cordelia would be able to use this opportunity to run into striking distance from behind him and, hopefully, deal lethal damage to the Nepent. He landed on his feet and skidded backwards a few inches, bringing his sword around his back and getting into a fighting stance. If Cordelia missed again, Oscar would be ready. Concentration wasn't on cooldown, which would make it much more likely that he'd be able to dispatch this creature next turn if she failed.

Estate Name: Oscar-Meyer Mansion
Floor Location: Floor 7
Plot Size: Estate {Safe Zone}
Rooms: 11/15 | Yard: 3/3
Main House: Master Bedroom - Oscar  | Master Bathroom - Oscar | Living Room - Oscar & Cordelia  | Expanded Workshop - Chef's Kitchen - Oscar | Dining Room - Oscar & Cordelia | Basic Kitchen - Oscar | Expanded Workshop - Chef's Kitchen - Cordelia | Guest Room - Spooky Amenities - Oscar | Attic (Bedroom) - Oscar | Expanded Workshop - Pharmacy - Warren | Living Room - Warren
Yard: Mega Slime Farm - Oscar | Mega Slime Farm - Cordelia | Mega Slime Farm - Warren
Initial Application: Here R1 R2

New Upgrades

Slime Farm ---> Mega Slime Farm
15000 Col spent

Oscar awoke with a start to see Cordelia pacing in front of him. His sudden movement had awakened Leeroy & Jenkins as well, who began looking around the tavern to see what was amiss. Oscar gave the blonde-haired woman a smile and cocked his head to the side. "You ready to get this show on the road?" Oscar led her out to the forest where they soon encountered four Nepents. They scampered out from behind a tree, their bizarre forms making him simply want to destroy them as soon as possible. They were quite unnerving. Oscar drew his blade and spun on his heels, slicing in all directions. Tsumuji Gurama claimed the lives of 3 of the Nepents immediately. The surviving Nepent attacked Oscar, dealing critical damage. Well, one damage. It got the splash text for a critical hit, but even with the damage bonus could not bypass his mitigation. This was a quest intended for a level two player, after all. "Alright Cordelia! You're up! Bring that last one down!"

Thread Summary

Oscar
3 SP
500 Col
<<Rhaegal's Emerald>>
 

Bahr
2 SP
400 Col

Pinball
2 SP
400 Col

"Kirbs, huh..." There was no way it was the same Kirbs he was thinking about. "Short girl, fiery red hair? That Kirbs?" Now Oscar felt like a complete tool. He thought her melodrama was a result of her refusing to let herself be helped. But having met Pinball, he couldn't much blame her for her attitude. The dude was almost enough to drive a therapist insane. Suddenly Oscar felt instant regret for how he had spoken to Kirbs during their first meeting. He told her to jump off a cliff! He really hoped she didn't listen. He wished that she had accepted his friend request so he could check up on her location and see if she was still there. Alas, he'd made himself into enough of a jerk that she probably didn't want anything to do with him. In any case, Bahr and Oscar were in agreement. Something had to be done about Pinball. Not today, not next week, but eventually they'd need to put the rabid dog down. But before any of that could happen, the two of them needed to be stronger.

Oscar stumbled upon yet another quest he had failed to complete. With that in mind, he decided to shoot Cordelia a message. After the Traveler, he had found a new friend to do these low-level quests with, something he appreciated immensely. Oscar waited in the tavern in the heart of Urbus for Cordelia to arrive, watching as poor Gatsly desperately tried to find another person willing to take down the Venom Snapper attacking his caravans. Poor guy was probably destitute at this point. Leeroy and Jenkins curled around his foot, both of them slumbering peacefully. Since they were in a safe zone, Jenkins didn't feel the need to be completely on guard. It was good to see both heads of his familiar at ease and resting. It rarely happened, even in the safety of his own home. Oscar leaned back in his chair and started to doze off as he waited for Cordelia to arrive. There was nothing like a nice nap before a quest to really prepare you for it.

 

"I don't feel like it's as simple as that..."

Oscar rubbed his chin and leaned forward. "His hatred for the Frontliners is obvious. But I think it goes a little deeper." Oscar had a working theory that it wasn't the Frontliners he hated. It was these Frontliners. They were supposed to lead the charge and provide hope for the people that they might get out of this game at some point. Why then was almost everyone he met so devoid of hope? Why did it fall on people like Bahr and Oscar to make their lives just a little bit easier? Wasn't that supposed to be one of the jobs of the Frontliners. The more that he thought about it, the more he could almost sympathize with Pinball. Not the killing, of course. But the motivations behind it. The child was misguided and, perhaps, a bit of a psychopath. But maybe his heard was in the right place. Even though the man was trying to kill them, he didn't really strike Oscar as a man who killed for the sheer joy of it. Oscar scowled and shook his head. "There was a time when I got paid to analyze psychopaths. That time has passed, I think."

Oscar, for his part, would grab a handful of dogs from the pile and slap them on his plate. He then took copious amounts of the toppings and slathered it on the pile, rather than the individual dogs. With that done, he would consume his delicious meat cylinders with equal gusto as Bahr. As he inhaled the food, he looked down at his familiar. Leeroy & Jenkins were fighting over a particularly large piece of porterhouse. He wanted to laugh, but he feared he might choke if he did. So he stifled in and pushed through.

Once all of the food was consumed Oscar licked his fingers and wiped his mouth before melting contentedly into his seat. He couldn't remember the last time he'd indulged his gluttony, but it had been quite the enjoyable experience. Then Bahr addressed the elephant in the room. His eyes flicked up to Bahr's and nodded. "I just have two questions. Who was that guy and why was he trying to kill us?"

Oscar listened to Dustin's words. He let them soak in, trying not to laugh as the man scarfed down an entire cake as they walked. This floor did have a lot of fun quests placed in it. "The last time I was here, I did the <<Calming the Soul>> quest. The quest design in this game is amazing." He raised his hand politely at the offer of cake. He instead pulled out a hot dog with all the trimmings and began greedily scarfing it down. The only thing he liked to eat after a kill was meat. He was a hunter, after all. He chewed his food greedily and swallowed it before speaking, "I was going to kill a few mobs after taking care of the Byakko. I'm a broke noob, you see. With you here, we could take on some higher-leveled stuff and get better loot from it if you'd like." When he mentioned friends, that reminded him of something. Without a word, Oscar opened his menu and sent a friend request to Dustin. The man had helped him with a quest boss and they got along fairly well. Why wouldn't he send him a friend request?

The moment they entered his shop, Leeroy & Jenkins came bounding up to him. Oscar smiled wildly and squatted down, using both hands to pet the two-headed cerberus behind the ears. "You been watching the shop for me? Good job guys," he cooed. After a few moments of some serious head pats, Oscar headed into the kitchen and started whipping up dinner. One good thing about being in Aincrad was that it didn't take an hour or more to make food. A few moments later, Oscar came walking out with two platters. The smaller one had a small pile of steaks that he set on the ground for his familiar. The larger one was piled high with hot dogs. He placed that one on the table and then headed back into his kitchen. He returned with a third platter, this one carrying bowls of toppings. He set that one next to the hot dogs and then slid into the booth opposite Bahr. "Dig in. You've gotta be starving." Their talk could wait until they had some food in their bellies.