Dederick

QUEST COMPLETE

Thread net gains:
Dederick
4 SP
400 col
(5) T1 Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (Replenishes 40 HP)
(1) T1 Damage Potion of Uncommon Quality (+1 DMG)
(1) T1 Over-Health Potion (+50 HP)

Joanne
4 SP
400 col
(5) T1 Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (Replenishes 40 HP)
(1) T1 Damage Potion of Uncommon Quality (+1 DMG)
(1) T1 Over-Health Potion (+50 HP)

Dederick's expression softened as he felt the gentle touch of Joanne's fingers lightly working their way across his. The warmth was comforting.

"Yeah, you're right. Worrying about that seems silly while we're still trapped in here. We should focus on getting out. But still, I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying our time together, either," he said as he cast a warm smile her way. Yes, that seemed to be the only right way of going about it.

He took a few more spoonfuls of the stew, relishing in its rich flavor. He then took a piece of bread and dipped it into the broth, allowing it to soak some of it up before taking a bite. It was absolutely delightful.

"I think this needs to be our new spot," Dederick admitted on a satisfied exhaled after gulping down the bread. "I didn't know what I was missing out on. Hot dogs don't even come close."

As Regen was procced again, Dederick watched his health climb ever closer to full. Meanwhile, Koga's health depleted further and further with each failure to issue a good hit. Dederick shifted his shield to account for each of the man's frenzied attacks, eyes coolly following each strike with calmness and precision. When the opportunity seemed right, Dederick thrusted his shield forward to throw Koga off balance and moved in with an attack of his own. But his opponent was too nimble and managed to avoid taking any damage easily.

Dederick scowled at his failure to deliver any raw damage, but nonetheless raised his shield for the next inevitable onslaught. In the end, the Lantern of Justice needed not to use his weapon, but only keep his defensive posture strong enough to either run out the clock or force Koga to eliminate himself from the duel.
 

This infernal skill that Koga kept using was really beginning to get on Dederick's nerves. It wasn't that it particularly hurt, and this much was evident when Dederick landed on his feet and skidded back instead of becoming a heap on the ground. It was the fact that he was now yet again too far away and too much time had been wasted to retaliate. Which was a shame, because Dederick had a good feeling about his next swing. Now he would never know.

All he could really do was raise his shield and wait for the man's next attack. Given his increasingly frenzied nature, Dederick was certain that Koga had come to the same realization that he had. He was fighting a losing battle, and the more he attacked without a crit, the worse the situation got for him. But this only seemed to make his fighting style more loose and ferocious. A man with nothing to lose was a fearsome foe, indeed. 
 

"Yes, let's," Dederick mused, holding up his sword once more. He felt like it was time to go back on the offensive, but something was wrong. His sword refused to jump into action. It appeared as though he did not have enough energy to adequately activate the Sword Art he had planned on using. Instead, his sword simply numbly vibrated in his hand to signify its refusal to cooperate. If only he had been a higher level, this wouldn't have been such an issue. Or, perhaps, it was an error in his judgement when choosing his Enhancements.

No matter. His way to win the duel was by sitting still and waiting instead. When he had the energy to attack again, he would. Until then, he would continue to rely on the Thorns to carry him through the fight. It was the only shot in hell he had at winning this putrid duel. 

Go try it? How would I even do that?

The reality of the situation struck Dederick like a freight train. How would he even ever go to see her in the real world, if things were to develop that way? She lived an entire ocean away. His face soured as he rolled around another spoonful of the beef stew in his mouth. Eventually, he finally swallowed and looked back into her eyes. 

"Yeah... I'll have to try it. It sounds delicious."

He tried to hide the despair in his voice, but it was difficult to prevent it from seeping through. It seemed like such an impossible feat. Back in the real world, he was nothing more than a wandering vagrant. How could he ever hope to make it across the ocean to see her?

If it was something that needed to happen, he would find a way. That was the idea he finally settled on. He would swim across the ocean if he needed to. Though, this deep train of thought probably had him making all sorts of strange scrunchy faces at Joanne that he wasn't even realizing. All at once, he snapped back to a neutral expression, taking another spoonful of the stew and plopping it into his mouth.

As she grasped his hand and led him through the winding city streets, Dederick couldn't help but feel her warmth against his palm. It was a peculiar sensation, like the tender touch of an orchid. He paid attention to this warmth and nothing else, until suddenly he found himself sat in a booth with a young waitress smiling at him.

"And for you, young sir?"

Where were they? Had Joanne already ordered? Yes, he was sure he had heard her say something about stew.

"I'll have what she's having," he managed through his blush, and the waitress jotting the order and taking a bow before departing. "I really like this place," he started, cobalt eyes flickering to meet with Joanne's. "I figured you would know what was best when it came to something like this. Now we can enjoy the same thing." His small talk was horrible. He could still feel the residual heat of her grip against his palm. It seemed to be all he was capable of focusing on. 

The waitress returned with their orders much sooner than he was expecting. As they were placed in front of the pair, the waitress bowed once more and let them be. Dederick took a spoonful of the stew and put it in his mouth, and immediately he was in heaven. He carefully chewed before gulping it down, then looked to Joanne with enthusiasm brimming in his eyes. "This... is so good..."

As Koga came in for the feint, Dederick retained his rigid stance and adjusted the pitch of his shield to block. But then the man backed away. The edges of Dederick's lips curled upward.

"You might give me guff for talking too much, but if all you've got on the menu is feints, there's not much else I can do. Afraid to feel the sting of my Thorns again?" His taunt wasn't without purpose. If he could get Koga to take damage from the Thorns at least one more time, he would cement the lead and need only avoid getting Blighted again. Surely this was doable.

Even as it stood now, Dederick had the advantage. Though they shared the same Regen Enhancement, Dederick seemed to be a lower level than Koga, and his health bar was filling more with each rotation of healing than Koga's was. Without another Blight, Dederick had this in the bag.
 

Dederick couldn't help but stifle a laugh as Joanne's stomach groaned at her. "Yes, absolutely. Let's get this quest cleared, then I'll take you wherever you would like to go."

It didn't take long to reach Lyle's workshop and deposit the package. There was a quest that the man would give them, but they were far to preoccupied with what to get for lunch. Once they had departed from the workshop, Dederick's glance met with Joanne's azure eyes. "Any idea what we should eat? There are a ton of great restaurants here on the first floor. I chose last time, so it seemed to make sense that you would get to pick this time. Anywhere you want, my treat."

The warmth in his voice and his smile surprised even himself. It had been a long time since he had felt such genuine joy from being around someone else. In fact, he wasn't sure if he ever had. It was refreshing, and only made him yearn for more.

While Dederick's orders continue to pile higher and higher, he continued to struggle with fulfilling them. Still stuck on the first order, desperation filled him as he sat down and got to work. He managed to make a few more healing rubs, but nothing that would satisfy the demands of his customers. Finally, he completed it - a double craft with some of the items that had been ordered. Unfortunately, he still had not managed to fill even the first order on the stack that now sat before him. He rested his head against his desk, contemplating why he had ever even gotten into this profession in the first place. Perhaps if he kept at it long enough, the veil of difficulty would begin to be lifted.

+ 40 EXP
- 5 T1 Materials
 

Name: Jack's Chaotic Arbiter
Item Type: One-Handed Straight Sword
Tier: N/A
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Burn | Blight | Cursed
Description: "To bring chaos to order, one must apply a chaos of their own."
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18213-event-f1halloween-event-19-something-wicked-this-way-comes/?do=findComment&comment=587284

"Buttermilk pie," he responded very matter-of-factly. "It's easily the best thing to ever grace my palette. But I'm a big fan of beef stew, as well."

He looked around, not seeing anything else within their immediate area that looked like a good candidate for a material. Not that they needed anymore, anyways.

"I think we got what we came for. Would you like to head back to Zachariah and get this quest wrapped up, then?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Location: Town of Beginnings - Zachariah's Lab]
[Time: 13:02]
[Weather: Sunny, Partly Cloudy]
[Party: Dederick, Joanne]

"We're back," Dederick announced proudly as the pair strode through the door and into Zachariah's filthy lab. The old man's eyes lit up as he saw them, and his scripted dialogue began. Dederick wasn't listening, of course. He had already seated himself at the brewing station and gotten to work. After a few moments, a Perfect quality Healing Potion had been produced, and he handed it off to the NPC. "I've, uh... Got a little experience in this field," he explained, rubbing the back of his head. "Guess it's your turn."
 

Quote

Come back to Jack's to get your rewards!

Dederick had nearly forgotten all about that ghastly charade. The entire thing had seemed like an allegory for Aincrad itself - the abysmal circus of perpetual torment that they called Sword Art Online. Still, he would be a fool to not follow up and see what free goodies he could get his hands on. 

A sword, light armor, or heavy armor. Dederick had no interest in light armor whatsoever, so that was out. The heavy armor seemed tempting, but he wouldn't need that extra slot of mitigation with how he planned on building his set. With the other two options not seeming particularly appealing, he was left with only the sword as a real option. It wasn't the sort of weapon that Dederick had ever really seen himself using, but there was probably one way or another he could make it work.

And what's this? A "Ghost Treat?" From what the info panel had to say about it, this would be perfect for getting himself the familiar he so desperately needed. Having collected everything he came for, Dederick left the tent once more.

Jack's Chaotic Arbiter (1HSS - Burn | Blight | Cursed) acquired.
Ghost Treat acquired.

He thought about it for a moment when she offered to tell him anything he wanted to know. What was there to ask her, really? She had already told him a bit about her upbringing. She already revealed to him that she had never been with a man before, or even felt the way about anyone that she felt about him even after so little time together. So what else could he really ask?

He had time to think about it as his hands slipped from hers and he collected a golden leaf that was fluttering through the air. The entirety of the expanse was lush and green, so the amber colored leaf seemed out of place. As soon as he plucked it from the air, it translated into item data and a panel populated in front of him.
 

Quote

Completed: Collect 5 Materials. Return to Zacharaiah.

"What's your favorite food?" he finally inquired as he looked at her again. The day was still young and they probably had time to go mob slaying, but Dederick hadn't yet put his armor back on. And frankly, he didn't want to. He was enjoying how casual they could be around each other.
 

When she embraced him, his hands naturally gravitated toward her waist and wrapped around her. There was no nervousness now, only peace and calm. "I've never felt this way about someone else before... But I find myself wanting to give my all to you," she said as she pulled away and grabbed his hands once more. There were tears in her eyes, and Dederick didn't understand. He had only ever seen someone cry when they were sad or desperate. No, that wasn't true. He had caught his mentor crying once while praying. He had assumed that his mentor was simply emotional during a confession, but perhaps he had been so awestruck by the grace of God that he was moved to tears. Was something similar happening here?

"I'm sorry that I'm getting so emotional. This doesn't happen too often." 

He only smiled warmly in response. "You have no reason to apologize. It makes me happy to see you happy. I'd hope you never hold anything back around me."

As Koga swooped in, Dederick shifted his shield and deflected what would have been yet another direct hit. The katana glanced harmlessly off of his breastplate and chipped a minuscule amount of HP away from his health bar, but Regen instantly replenished what was lost and more. As Koga's attack concluded, Dederick's shield illuminated with an azure glow, which then transferred from the sheet of metal and into Koga's body, sapping away his HP. From the looks of their health bars, they were now at a virtually identical - roughly three fourths filled. A grin returned to Dederick's lips as he recognized that he still had a shot in this, so long as he didn't take any more direct hits.

He shoved his shield forcefully against Koga's blade and forced the man back, putting distance between them as he assumed his defensive stance once more. If he was going to lose this, it would be because he was bested - not because he was careless.
 

"Joanne..." he started, lacing his fingers with hers and taking up her other hand and doing the same, "You will never be a burden to me. Ever." The expression he wore while saying this was absolutely serious, but the tenderness of his fingers idly massaging the backs of her hands belied this. "I don't know the way of the knight, but I know they value honor, loyalty, duty, and respect. All of these, I offer to you. It is upon my own accord that I do this. You never need to worry about whether or not I want to."

It was strange how quickly he found himself attached to her. Probably because nobody in his past had shown such interest, he wagered. It wasn't that he didn't truly feel for her and respect her, because he did. But the fact that she didn't go running for the hills immediately as so many others had... It made him feel like he needed to keep her in his life for as long as possible.
 

"What about you, Dederick? What is your main goal?"

"Truth be told, I wouldn't have had any idea how to answer that question. Before now, anyways," he admitted, looking back into her eyes. "Looks like I'm here to make sure you don't die," he told her very matter-of-factly. "Losing a life like yours is unacceptable. Losing you is unacceptable. I won't have it." He gave her hand a squeeze.

As though to break the tension, a butterfly descended between them, landing on Dederick's shoulder. When he extended his finger for it to climb onto, it immediately turned into item data. Another material, it seemed. One more and he would be caught up.

"Though, I doubt either of us can do much protecting until we get stronger. Which means we'll need to be spending a lot of time together to get there. A shame, isn't it?" A smile played across his lips as he concluded the thought, a very knowing look cast Joanne's way.
 

"Damn it," he muttered as the material dissolved into nothingness and the salve lost all potency for the third time in a row. It seemed that his hopes and dreams of becoming a master alchemist were nothing more than that. Delusions of grandeur, the idea that he would be anything other than an average player in a game full of people that needed to be - and often were - far beyond average.

Tomorrow was a new day. He kept telling himself that. Hopefully this next time, there would be some truth to it. He wasn't sure how long he could keep up the facade of confidence.

+ 22 EXP
- 4 T1 Materials

He felt like he was about to melt into a puddle.

After all the years of being taunted, hated on, not being wanted, being thought of in the wrong light. He'd felt like he was being haunted by demons. He'd try to leave them behind, but it was like swimming through epoxy. He'd try to keep his head above it, but recently the waves were choppier than ever. Even though he had recently decided to venture beyond the walls of the Town of Beginnings, he didn't know why he had. He simply drifted from combat to combat, testing his mettle and wits against mobs that didn't know any better than to hit themselves to death.

And here this woman had entered his life, out of the blue. And the river of sludge was calming. And he felt as though he could breathe for the first time in his life.

He tucked away the mushroom he had plucked before standing - a twin to the other. Despite her having distracted herself with something in the tree, her hand still held his. And rather than feel embarrassed, he was relieved. Now he never wanted to let go.

"What are your plans in this game, Joanne?"
 

His hand simply mingled with her hair for a moment, enjoying the softness of her cheek as it played across his hand. He hardly even noticed the flower that she plucked from betwixt the strands of hair atop his head - his eyes were too focused on hers. The aspect about them that drew him nearer, closer and closer to the edge of sin and lust.

He had to look away.

A mushroom under the tree. It was the perfect distraction. Violet in coloration and standing at least four inches tall, with a two inch wide cap. It seemed like it would be the perfect sort of material for brewing a unique potion. It was a shame he would need to give it to Zachariah instead of using it for his own shop. He slowly left Joanne's side and retrieved the funny fungus, tenderly plucking it from the soil and stashing it away in his inventory.

"I don't know what it is about being around you. But you drive me crazy."

Dederick was getting better at predicting his opponent. He managed to catch the katana with his shield at the last moment before being thrown into the air, a light glow wrapping around the sheet of metal and transferring into the attacker to sap away at his health. A graceful back flip later, and he caught the ground with the heels of his boots and slid backward, the same readied stance with shield raised that he had had before. All Koga had managed to do was put more distance between the two once more - an advantageous position for Dederick.

He didn't bother with petty taunts or other such pleasantries, and simply kept his steely gaze focused on his attacker. Another few successful blocks like that could turn the tables of the duel. He just needed to keep his wits about him and remain patient.
 

She was so close. Again. Close enough that the sweet scent that wafted from her slim frame filled his nostrils and sent unfamiliar surges of euphoria through his body. But strangely, this time Dederick didn't feel resistant to it. In fact, he felt drawn to her. He felt his body slowly moving closer to hers, but at the last minute, he reeled himself in. To give into lust was the folly of the sinful.

But when it felt this natural, was it really a sin?

"I'm... glad to hear that," he managed, the response a bit more breathy than he had intended. Out of the corner of his eye, something vibrant and colorful stood out. A tangerine flower, sticking out from the collar of her blouse. She must have picked it up during their roll in the grass. He leaned in closer to her once again, not even bothering to keep a safe distance this time, and gingerly plucked the flower from her clothing. This wasn't an excuse to get close to her again. Oh no. He was simply helping out a friend, that's all.

"This looks exactly like the one I gave you last time," he remarked, lifting it above her cheek and tucking it behind her ear. "I liked the way you wore it before."
 

Name: Healing Rub
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 3
ID: 129308A
Roll: CD: 11 | LD: 20
Item Type: Salve
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: HP Recovery 2 (+40 HP)
Description: "A basic ointment crafted from a rare flower. It is tangerine in coloration."
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18400-f01-r3-alchemist-ded-wrath-beyond/?do=findComment&comment=586963

Name: Healing Rub
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 3
ID: 129308B
Roll: CD: 11 | LD: 20
Item Type: Salve
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: HP Recovery 2 (+40 HP)
Description: "A basic ointment crafted from a rare flower. It is tangerine in coloration."
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18400-f01-r3-alchemist-ded-wrath-beyond/?do=findComment&comment=586963

Dederick hates that his life has been reduced to soup references. But he isn't complaining about the free stuff.