Cordelia

Day 19: 

+51 EXP

Cordelia leaned against him. "Yeah, I know," she mumbled quietly, sinking into her coat. She honestly couldn't explain her own behavior. . . it was just something she did unconsciously. She bit her lip. The feeling of being burden suddenly came to life in the pits of her stomach. 

She kicked around dirt with the tips of her boots, refusing to meet his gaze. "I don't know, Oscar." She heaved a sigh, covering her face in her hands. "I just-- I don't want to be the person who slows you down," she murmured. "I'm scared. This is the first time I've ever felt like this to anyone, and I don't want to lose it. Any day here could be our last and-- and. . ." she trailed off, uncovering her hands from her face. "What if one day, I-I screw up again like those other quests-- what if I screw up again and you're there?" She asked, looking up at him. "What if you're there and-- and I can't do anything when you. . ." she exhaled shakily, hugging herself as she shook her head. "I know you probably don't need my protection," she stammered, "but I just don't want to screw up everything I have. Being with you has been the happiest moments of my life and I don't know what I would do if it was my fault you're gone."

She gulped, shaking her head. "I don't know," she repeated. "I can't help but feel like a burden every time I screw up." She knew Oscar would disagree with this, and it just made it hurt even more. She couldn't stop feeling it. Even with all the reassurance he had been giving her, it still couldn't keep the thoughts away. She wasn't enough, not in her eyes at least. She wasn't sure if she was ever going to feel like she was. It was a feeling she cursed herself for.

Calrex, Calrex, Calrex-- Cordelia swore she had heard of it somewhere.

Cordelia nodded her head. "Well, should we start heading--"

She paused, watching as a somewhat familiar man stumbled into the room. Cordelia let out an awkward cough as she turned her head the other way. "Ah, yes. I think we've met briefly before," she mumbled, her hand traveling up to cover her eyes before she used to other to rub the back of her neck. 

Cordelia cleared her throat. "A-ah, well should we start exploring, then?" She asked. "I wouldn't want to have anyone I know come looking for me and have them stuck here too. The sooner we find a way out of here, the less people will come. . . although, I'm not sure how long this building will be here," she murmured, scratching her chin. "My shop is on this flor yet I've never seen this place before. . . it was like it showed up out of thin air."

"I guess all the stress from the past few quests got to me when I miss," she murmured, letting out a sigh. "I just didn't want to let you do all this work this time around."

Cordelia looked to the spot where the puma was slain one last time before she nodded her head. "Ah, right. That would be a wise idea." She followed after him, letting herself bask in the somewhat silence. There were closer to the end of this questline than she had realized. One more and they were done. It seemed reassuring. She wasn't sure how much longer she could spend collecting totems without being able to use them. 

She looked up at Oscar and gave him a crooked smile. "Thank you. . ." She mumbled softly, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "I hope one day I would be the one carrying you through a quest, though," she said abruptly. "I'm almost the same level as you, so it's going to happen soon, I swear!"

Day 18:

+54 EXP

As she watched the black cat slowly fade out of existence, Cordelia exhaled, her composure relaxing as she lowered her sword. It wasn't much but she had managed to do something this fight. It was still a huge step up from the other two quests that she had done with Oscar, thank God. 

"Thank God. Just one more to go!" She exclaimed tiredly, sheathing her katana as she gave Oscar a thumbs up. "I actually did something for once," she chuckled nervously, toying with her fingers. "So I wasn't totally useless this time around. Thanks for that, by the way." She flashed him a smile. She wasn't sure what would've happened if he wasn't here beside her during this fight. Maybe she would've gone on a total frenzy.

She honestly wasn't sure what she would do if she had done nothing again. Maybe go shove her katana down another puma's throat. She would be absolutely livid, that's for damn sure. 

Quote

To: @Mari
Yeah, we'll be there in a quick second, just preparing some stuffs!

Cordelia looked over to the two other players and bit her lip. "I-It's really no big deal," she mumbled, hating the feeling of being the one that needed protection. "I'm sure I'll be fine," Cordelia muttered hotly, running a hand down her hair as before she fiddled with her fingers. 

"You really don't have to waste one of your Safeguards on me, I swear," she blurted out, inhaling sharply. "You can't find those things anymore. I don't want to waste the few ones that you still have." She sighed. "I got a bunch of new enhancements on my old weapon, so I won't be entirely useless I think-- This thing is supposed to be real tanky or something, right? Oh-ho, I can't wait to phase right through it," she cackled silently, rubbing her hands together with a grin. 

Oh, boy, when she lands a crit she was going to make sure that damn king was going to feel it. She had yet to proc her holy and phase at the same time, which was unfortunate indeed. ..  but she hoped that it would at least happen once today. Just once!

"Mari, he's my boyfriend," she said nonchalantly, smiling to herself as she let out another laugh-- though, not a dying one. "I'll be sure to tell him about that when I get home," she beamed, looking over her shoulder to give the orange-haired girl a wink. 

"Oh, sure. No one ever really wants those but I've had a few in store," Cordelia exclaimed, reaching to her side to grab a jar of edamames. "Oh no, I feel like the labyrinth boss would've been too much for me to handle, but I've gotten new gear so I should be able to handle the actual raid boss," the chef said excitedly, dumping a portion of cooked noodles into two bowls from a strainer. "I just recently reached tier three, too. Changed a bunch of enhancements on my sword, all that fun stuff," she sniffed, placing a few squares of dried seaweed on top of the noodles before adding a few slices of the chashu.

Cordelia looked over her shoulder again as another player seemed to have entered. She` tilted her head before flashing the girl a grin. "Oh, come on in. You must be freezing out there," she said, raising her hand. "I'm Cordelia, and it's a noodle factory, Mari," she quipped whimsically. She turned her attention back to the young girl. Cordelia's eyes widened a fraction. "Ah, I suppose that's one way of saying you're cold," she murmured, laughing under her breath. 

"Pleasure to meet you Akaiko. Do you want something off the menu? It's over there if you want." Cordelia nodded her headed over to the small blackboard that sat on the wall of her shop. "Choose anything you'd like off of there."

Another player had seemed to enter the ring! Cordelia wasn't sure if there had ever been this many people in her shop before-- it honestly a bit overwhelming. 

"Pft-- it's fine. I'm always glad to have more people here," she said to the newcomer. "Is he your friend, Mari?" She asked, turning her attention back to the bowls of ramen she had been preparing.

"Give me a second with these two and I'll get to yours in a bit," Cordelia exclaimed nervously, not sure if he was actually joking about that whole 'first meal in a couple years' thing before she eventually stuck out her hand to give the man a thumbs-up. She unscrewed the cap off of the edamame jar. "Oh, I'm guilty of that, sorry. I promise that I don't usually laugh like that," the platinum-haired player said with a silly smile as she laid out a couple of the green beans on top of one of the ramen bowls.  

"I never knew my loud laughter could attract people to my shop. I guess that's just another redeeming quality about me, huh?" Cordelia mused, adding the last few things on the ramen bowls before she poured the broth on top of it. 

"Alright, two Shoyu ramens-- one with extra chashu and seaweed and one with no vegetables except edamames and extra chashu," she exhaled sharply, setting down the bowls of steaming ramen before she handed the two a pair of chopsticks and soup spoons.

"Enjoy!"

Day 17:

+55 EXP

Cordelia blinked almost dumbfoundedly as she looked over to Oscar. Right. Relax. Breath. That can't be too hard, right? She did it everyday, right? Not hard at all!

She felt herself shudder before she calmed herself. Alright. She was okay! Perfectly fine. She let out a long exhale before she dashed back into the battle. She was going to hit. She wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that. 

She prepared another stun attack. Don't miss. Her katana raised above her head. Don't miss. Using all the force she could muster, Cordelia plunged the blade of her katana deep into the side of the black feline's body. 

At first, she wasn't sure how to feel, but then-- slowly but surely-- realization hit her. "I hit it," she whispered. "I hit it!" She exclaimed louder, jumping away from the thing as she looked over to Oscar. "I hit it!" She repeated again, a toothy grin plastered on her face as she thanked whatever was out there. Also, screw you, whatever was out there. 

ID: 138698
BD: 9, [+7 DMG] [+BURN] [+STUN] [PHASE PROC] 19+7=26x11= 286-12= 274

[1]Oscar 1088/1090 [+43][+54] HP | 92/106 Energy | 22 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 151 MIT | SAVVY | 12 FLN | 36 BRN (BD8-10) | VMP - DEF
[2]Cordelia HP: 1060/1060 | EN: 127/140 | 19 DMG | 115 MIT | 5 ACC | 3 EVA | 6 HLY | 2 [36] BRN | FRST AURA -13

Suterusu 167/1000 HP | 250 DMG | 1 ACC | 3 EVA | 25 MIT [STUNNED] [BURN: -36 1/2] -274

"On it!"

Don't miss. Don't miss. Don't miss. You better not miss!

She darted towards the noire feline. Cordelia raised her katana above her head before she brought it back down. On air. On nothing. 

She cursed and cursed and cursed herself to [no-no word]-ing oblivion. This was supposed to be a good quest. There wasn't any weird mechanics. No leeching ghost. No, it was supposed to be normal to a degree. Why, why couldn't she do it?

Was it the questline that was just throwing her off? What was it? She had never done this badly on previous quests, why was this suddenly happening when she was doing one with Oscar? She looked over back to Suterusu, who was already charging after Oscar, and even managed to land on a blow on him. She bit her lip. What was she doing wrong?

Her hands gripped around her katana until she felt a small sting. Why was she just letting this happen?

ID: 138695
BD: 2+6-4=4, Miss hahahahHHAHAHAHAHHAHA. IM GOING TO KMS

ID: 138696
BD: 8-2=6, Hit

[1]Oscar 991/1090 HP | 106/106 Energy | 22 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 151 MIT | SAVVY | 12 FLN | 36 BRN (BD8-10) | VMP - DEF -99 DMG
[0]Cordelia HP: 1060/1060 | EN: 140/140 | 19 DMG | 115 MIT | 5 ACC | 3 EVA | 6 HLY | 2 [36] BRN | FRST AURA

[BURNING]Suterusu 513/1000 HP | 250 DMG | 1 ACC | 3 EVA | 25 MIT 

"It was supposed to be in some kind of temple place, right?" Cordelia looked around with a slight frown. It shouldn't be too far, right? "I'm sure we just have to looked around for a bit and then we'll definitely find it," she exclaimed. 

So she searched high, and then she searched low-- and she just basically searched everywhere. The whole terrain wasn't such a great place to be searching in general, really. Cordelia pursed her lips. Seriously, it was a temple. A temple. It must be pretty big, right? After looking around for a couple of minutes, Cordelia found a peculiar piece of stone that was definitely touch by the hands of a person, given its intricate carvings. "Oh," she looked over to Oscar and grinned. "I think I found something!" She exclaimed, following the stonework in a straight line. 

And there it was. The entrance to the 'temple'. Whatever was in there was beyond her. It was obviously worn down. Time and Mother Nature was not kind at all to this structure, and she can only imagine what the interior looked like. She sighed.

"Well, you ready?"

Cordelia scratched the side of her head with a slight sweat-drop. "Oh, have I never told you that?" She asked, giving both Oscar and Baldur a sheepish smile. She guessed that it had never come up in a conversation with Baldur before. Which would make sense, she was the type of person to openly express that they were in a relationship, especially out of the blue. 

"I find it a miracle how he can do all of that alone," Cordelia sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "That's why I created my own shop back up in Floor Four. It's much more lowkey than Oscar's though. I'm really just doing it to help him out." The last thing she wanted was for her boyfriend to overwork himself to death in a video game by cooking. Wow, she never thought that would be something she would be concerned with.

The Forgotten King? Probably one of the strongest quest mobs currently out? "Is that even a question?" Cordelia joked, cracking a grin. "Of course I am. . . and actually. . ." She trailed off, a sly smirk making its way onto her face as she opened up her menu. It was her turn to play cupid now!

Quote

To: @Mari
Hey, hey, hey. Wanna do a quest with me a couple of friends. We'll be on floor twenty-one soon!

"Oh." Cordelia's cheeks redden as she looked away in embarrassment. "Now I feel bad for not giving you things," she mumbled childishly, rubbing her elbows before she accepted the trade. "Thank you," she said softly, checking her inventory to take a look at the item. Armor? She supposed it was smart-- she had no mitigation other than the ones provided from her Light Armor Skill. . . so it was probably the right time to get some armor than can last her a while in a battle. Her eyes widened in surprise. It even had a unique enhancement? She looked up at Oscar and blinked. Where did he even get this? Was it identified by a merchant? She was about to argue on why she couldn't keep such a thing but knowing Oscar, he wasn't going to take it back, even if she got on her knees and begged.

Quickly equipping the armor, she gave Oscar a thumbs up. "I better be kicking its ass or I'm going to personally kill the maker of this questline myself," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Received: Lakshmi's Defiance: T3 Light Armor: FROST AURA, MIT
Equipped: Lakshmi's Defiance: T3 Light Armor: FROST AURA, MIT

LVL: 52 | HP: 1060/1060 | EN: 140/140 | 19 DMG | 115 MIT | 6 ACC | 3 EVA | 6 HLY | 2 [36] BRN | FRST AURA

"Out of all things, I can't believe I was expected to climb a giant rock mountain monster. I thought I've done it all. Fought a ghost, killed a witch. . ! But no. . ! Kayaba wants me to fight a giant mountain--" She paused, watching as a trade window pop up in front of her. Her eyes widened a fraction in surprise as she turned around at the sound of a familiar voice.

"I-- oh?" She blubbered, looking down back at the window again before she looked back up at him. She tilted her head curiously. "Er-- I hope I didn't miss anything. . . was today a special day?" She fretted, panic flowing into her face. "Did I forget to get you something?" She asked. I mean, it wasn't such a far off thought. It wouldn't be the first time she had forgotten something important.

She wracked through her brain for a possible answer. Valentine's Day? No, that was more than a month ago. Saint Patrick's Day? When is that? Do people give gifts on Saint Patrick's Day? What was even the date? 

Cordelia, still not over the fact that she had done jack [doo-doo] for two of the quests in this stupid questline, ran her hand over her hair with a frown. She was happy that Oscar was dealing damage but come on-- it's not like she was completely useless. It's not like she had a bad weapon, or bad gear, or bad stats-- heck, her weapon was great to her. . !

But this questline. This stupid questline was just screwing her over at this point.

She sighed. Her ego was hurt. She was supposed to be ready for the big bad boss raid. . ! But how was she going to be that if she was constantly screwing up like this? Oscar wasn't going to save her ass every time. What if she were to suddenly go do a quest solo and he wasn't there to protect her. Gah, this made her head hurt even more.

@Oscar

Cordelia dug Haunted Verdict into a large crevice. "Screw this. Screw this stupid mountain thing! Screw Kayaba! Screw this stupid climbing mechanic!" Never had she ever been so irritated by a quest mechanic before. What had she been doing this whole time? Climbing. Falling. Climbing. Falling. What the heck? What the heck? Isn't this game supposed to be about swords? Swords. Not. Climbing. 

It was like that Lich quest all over again-- except worse. She wasn't even missing. She quite literally could not even do anything! Except climb all over again! She dragged her hands down her face exhaustedly. Why. Why. 

Her ego was-- let's just say it fell faster than she had fallen the first two times. She looked at the corner of her vision. Oscar was still full health? Are you serious? No, no, she was of course happy for him, and in no way was she blaming him at all for this-- but seriously. 

What. The. Hell?

ID: 138686
LD: 15 [pls dont kill me]

Cordelia hid her face in her hands. Why. Why? The first time she goes into the yellow in like-- months is when she takes fall damage? Seriously? Fall damage is what's going to break her streak? Fall damage? Seriously, what the hell, Kayaba? She got that he was somewhat insane and all but why did he have to go and do this to the players? They were already suffering enough so just add a giant rock monster mountain thing that they have to climb up! What a brilliant, bloody genius.

She blew out a hot sigh. 

She hated this. She knew that wasn't the first time she had thought that since coming here but she was repeating herself again just to stay sane. She hated this! Who wouldn't hate this? Would you like to fall off a giant hundred foot rock monster? No, no you wouldn't! It was a miracle she hadn't gone crazy and scaled the whole thing in two seconds!

Cordelia HP: 447/920 | EN: 90/90 | 14 DMG | 12 MIT | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | 2 REC | 4 HLY +27

Cordelia sighed. She hated this with every fiber of her being. She wasn't sure if she could ever climb a damn thing again after this. She looked at her palms and groaned. 

It was hard enough finding a space to just stand at, so how the hell was she going to get all the way to a weak spot? She wasn't even sure what a weak spot even looked like. What was she supposed to do when she saw one? Poke it? Punch it? Do a sword art on it? How the hell was she going to do a sword art when she was hanging a on a literal living mountain? She could barely take out her katana without falling off as is!

Why would someone ever make this quest? It's-- it's not even that combat focused! Why-- why?! She wanted to know why someone would ever make something like this! 

ID: 138682
LD: 4 [screw u rng]

Cordelia cursed. Seriously. What. The. Hell?

This quest was probably one of the-- if not the most annoying ones she had taken on so far. She lifted herself up from the ground and patted off her lap. She honestly thought there would've been more. . . y'know, pain. Especially when she fell out of-- what was it-- a giant massive mountain. 

Well, it didn't matter. If she kept complaining, it was only going to delay her from climbing. She didn't see Oscar anywhere on the ground, though-- so that must've meant he was still on top of the damn thing somewhere. She hoped he had already started attacking. . . or else they were going to be on this thing for a long time. 

Cordelia grumbled under her breath, starting her journey up the thing again. She swore-- if she was going to get shaken off again, she was going to personally plunge her katana into wherever this thing's eye is.

Cordelia HP: 697/920 | EN: 90/90 | 14 DMG | 12 MIT | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | 2 REC | 4 HLY +27 HP

Cordelia poked her head out of the kitchen a few seconds after the chiming of the door brought Oscar out of the room. Her face went slightly blank as she registered who he was talking to.

Blue haori, long brown hair, a katana.

"Oh, hey Baldur!" She exclaimed out loud. Out of all places, this was probably one of the last places she would expect to find him, but then again, she guessed that all sorts of people came to Oscar's shop. She probably shouldn't be very surprised then. It was sometimes hard to remember that someone you live with has a whole monopoly in an important industry that probably saves peoples' lives, or maybe she was just dumb. It could really be either, you know.

"What brings you here. . ." she trailed off, her face going blank for a second. Did she ever talk about Oscar's shop to Baldur? She must have, right? They've been on countless journeys and it must have come up somewhere, right? ". . . I don't remember if I ever told you about this shop now that I think about it," she admitted, giving herself a mental facepalm.

-Using Mega Slime Farm in dis thread: +2 SP

@Mari

Cordelia shrugged her jacket on as she wandered outside of her shop. She exhaled silently. Even with the Survival Skill, it was a bit too chilly for her liking. 

She turned her head over to the snow covered forest. That's where she was. The kid she had met back on the first floor. Cordelia let out a tired sigh as she rolled her eyes. She just wanted to go home. . . but it would be nice to see what she had been up to. It had been a week or two since she had last seen her, and Cordelia wondered if she still wanted to learn from her. She wasn't a teacher, which is why she was so surprised she had been so keen to offer help. She was still sure that she was holding her katana wrong-- maybe she could refer the girl over to Baldur instead? He would be a much better teacher than she ever could be. 

Cordelia rested her hand on the hilt of Onimaru before shaking her head. She doubted that she would be above level fifteen, it would be best not to use Onimaru in this situation. 

"Alright, kid," she muttered, "let's see what you got." Cordelia looked up. This was going to be fun.

Taking a step back, Cordelia shook herself off before dashing into the line of trees. It took about a minute or two, give or take to arrive where the girl was. Her shop wasn't that far from the safe zone, so it made sense.