Randal

As though he had not heard a single thing that the player named Hirru had said, Dwayne looked at the ground pensively, the only thing he was considering was whether or not they could leave right at this moment.

All players were able to notice that on his visage was the feelings of fear and apprehension before it was overcome with a smile.

“Alright, let’s not waste any time, Dwayne, Uncle, you will be coming with us right?

“B-b-but of course, quickly then, let’s go!”

Randal looked at his equipment and decided that even if there were some dangers on this floor, it was the first time that he would be exploring it with a full party and the last time he was here, he was hailed as a hero that slayed the Minotaurs.

“Surely, the rest of the floor would not be much more difficult than that.”  He could not stop himself from thinking that he had just activated some sort of death flag.

In only took a moment for him and the rest of the party to settle their immediate needs like restocking and settling their battle-ready equipment.

The moon was just rising about the Settlement of Aruyt and there was something more menacing g about the Forest as they paced through it. Dwayne was silent throughout most of the trip, his body visibly shaking, probably out of fear.

Conversations would have been sparse but Randal continued to ask for more information about the situation from Dwayne.

“What was your guild name?” Maybe he had heard of them before.

“Oh erm..we did not have a guild…we were on our way to investigate the Mist because we were going to go on an expedition there.” Dwayne seemed almost a little hesitant to say anything more and Randal chose not to push, the environment and monster may be virtual but the threat to all of their lives were real.

Almost like the threads of fate had finally decided to spin for Dwayne, his call was finally answered, and good things came in spades, with three other players all deciding that they were interested in his call to arms.

Randal openly waved and reciprocated the lady’s enthusiasm, which seemed to brim even though the situation might have been a little more grim than she knew.

The green haired player was much more interesting that anyone else that he had ever come across, green hair was an incredible rare trait to have among people in the real world so for someone like that to exist in the game, Randal was unable to contain his question.

“Is your hair real?”

Almost as though to cover up Randal’s weird question, Dwayne piped up and thanked all three players for their gracious kindness. He looked to see that none of the other players or NPCs were likely to joun them on their quest and begun to relay the details of the situation.

“My party and I were escorting a faune male into the forest when a dark mist unlike anything we have ever seen before swept us up, I watched as party members that were right next to me were taken in an instant.”

“This Faune here was someone who shared my concerns when I returned to the village, his daughter was taken too and is willing to come with us. We were taken near the Forest of Wavering Mists and the Cavern of Faeries, and neither of us knows exactly where the menace is from. Please come with me to the inn and rest, we will leave at dawn.”

“Hey, has the system ever prompted you to pick up any skills related to drawing, I really expected more of the game.”

“look here,” Randal said as he went to his inventory and pressed on the button that could turn objects that were in his inventory into real objects and showed Nakata the book. Inside was a listing of different plants and animals that could be found around the various floors. “…don’t worry about it, we are all a little funny in our own ways.”

Randal looked up at the hill that Nakata pointed out and compared it to the map and realised that the destination of the other player was extremely near to his quest location. It was important to get a good vantage point of the village so that Randal could carefully mark out the locations that the bandit could escape to as well as the places that Randal could enter by. So, Randal, filled with a modicum hurried up the path a little faster than Nakata.

When Nakata and Randal finally reached the top, they did not exchange any words and went to look around for their personal needs. Randal facing the village knelt down on one knee and formed his hand into the shape of binoculars. Randal was the first to reconvene with Nakata and asked, “So did you find a familiar that met your criteria?”

Randal was not oblivious to Nakata’s icy gaze nor his solitary attitude but found it to be among the more unusual of reactions that happened when Randal introduced himself. Most players had been able to quickly form groups or rely on each other to improve their chances of survival, usual they were more of a cautious flavour, but Nakata was not cautious, he was, uncertain, not of Randal per say but of himself and whether he knew how to carry a conversation.

“Do you perhaps sketch everything and everyone that you come across?” Randal asked while matching Nakata’s pace. The player’s actions were interesting, there were no professional artists in the game as yet, but the Cardinal System was wide and varied and that meant that almost anything that someone did could constitute a skill if done often and well enough.

“So, what are you looking for? I’m moving towards Taran, I have a quest over there, are you possibly headed in the same direction?” Randal asked Nakata, bracing himself for the possibility that he would be graced with a curt response. There were numerous other players that Randal had interacted with but only a lonesome few responded the way that Nakata did. Those that lost a lot during the first two months after Kayaba announced the death game, or those that never had very much to begin with.

Randal was returning from the Forest of Wavering Mists; his body still damp from the water vapour that continued to cling to his body. As he ventured deeper into the centre of the Aruyt. Glancing above himself at the gigantic trees that mottled the landscape upon which the Faune built their accommodations, he appreciated the serenity in the air and pushed his way forward.

Tranquillity was always the prelude to chaos, the town centre located at the base of one of the bigger trees was the home to the warp crystal and many inns made for players. Randal had not noticed before, but the words could not escape his ears.

“…help me find my daughter...” The Faune said, yelling louder than the other player beside him who was holding up a player made sign that listed the details of the request.

“Exploration into the Cavern of Faeries for missing Faune` Girl and Player Companion” The sign touted high in the air. Its wielder was a red-headed boy, his hair straight and spiky while around his waist was a dagger and shield.

Randal approached the duo at first to find out more. “Hi there, will you tell me more about the request?” Randal asked to the Faune, figuring that the NPC would be more forthcoming than a player.

“My daughter has b-b-been taken! It is dangerous b-b-but I have nothing more to offer, please help me find her.”

“Are you interested in joining the expedition, one of my teammates were lured in by the Fae and I need to rescue her, it would be a great help if you were to join us.” Randal squinted to see that the player details of the boy were not set to private, “Dwayne” was his name.

“All you other players, please hear out my request, we need to save the Faune and the Players who have been taken by the Fae, if not us then who?!” Dwayne said, loud enough to make the town centre turn to face him even if it was just for a moment, all before returning to its usual bustle.

Beyond the fact that other NPC’s had their own things to do and were uninterested in something that did not concern them.

“Alright, I’m sorry for sounding a little rough with ya, too much can happen to people who are unprepared. Personal experience agrees.”

“It would make me feel better to accompany you, but maybe not for too long, I saw something interesting dashing away earlier. It was red in color and dashing really quickly so let me know if you see anything like it will ya?

Randal had been on his way to Taran Village because of a quest that he received at The Rusty Dagger, the local inn at Urbus. While he was there, a bounty had generated on one of the boards for a Bandit that had been acting as a highway man between Marome Village and the main settlement of Urbus.

The Bandit had apparently robbed over 5 NPCs according to the quest description and had been sighted returning to Taran and sneaking in. There wasn’t anymore information available but Randal knew that the direction he and the other player was heading towards was in the same direction as Taran, so there was no conflict on interest there.

“Name’s Randal by the way, would prefer if you address me by name, what about you?”

Day 37 (55 exp)

Randal used attempted 9 crafts and failed 3 times. (27 exp from ATP and CAT)
He managed to salvage 2 of the failures, using up 7 materials in total. (5 exp)
He made 9 Meals.

10 T3E1 Meal (15 exp)
0 T3E2 Meal (0 exp)
3 T3E3 Meal (8 exp)

“Please, it was a lucky hit.” Randal said wryly, even if it were the truth, Randal knew that not a single person would believe him after seeing what happened. Physics is one thing, but stats are another. While the distance that Randal flew was a cause of concern, the astronomical statistical difference between Randal and the ox was over 24 levels apart.

 The other player quickly dodged away from the rampaging ox and left Randal to deal with the beast himself. The battle was quickly completed, and a purple notification popped up for Randal to overlook the loot and exp that he had received. Randal looked around and quickly found the quiet boy spectating. The sun was getting angrier by the minute and the heat was quickly rising. The jet-black hair of the other player complemented the emerald, green eyes. After the situation with Kayaba left all players with an appearance that reflected their true selves, it was unusual to see a player with cosmetic eye colours.

“If you cannot take on something as simple as that guy, what are you doing here so far from the safe zone? Shouldn’t you practice a little more before risking your life?” Randal said with a little concern in his voice. He had his fair share of close encounters with death and could not bear to let a new player mindlessly risk his life.

Mr. Pebbles rose from Randal’s shoulders and blinked at the other player before returning to its stationary position as Randal’s capeguard. Truly a stalwart example of a mascot. The geothermal tock creature vibrated in pleasure when Randal placed a rock that he randomly picked up along the way into the gaping maw that was located on the right shoulder.

Overhealth x2

Mitigation x3

Accuracy x3

The evening breeze could not lighten the heat that the sweltering virtual sun was beating down on Randal. The trees tried to branch overhead and cover the poor man but was not able to do so adequately enough as he slashed a wild ox that was lumbering gently across the field.

Behind him virtual trees were decimated as Randal bull-wrestled the beast in submission. This was not an unusual occurrence when fighting larger beasts on the higher floors but it would not take very long for the Cardinal system to register the damage and to quickly repair it, bring all the trees and debris back to their rightful place.

From the corner of his eye, Randal spotted a red figure dashing through the bushes of the forest but had his attention immediately brought back when he did not avoid the bull in time was slammed away by its charge.

Randal flew back because of the force and zoomed past a player.  The ox was not nearly strong enough to cause Randal any distress, but he was a little fatigued from the constant battle.

Placeholder

Quest Info

Listening the Aru and Melissa talk about how they all had experience or another with martial arts from outside the game made some modicum of sense when thinking about it. At this stage of the game, it was almost certain the those that remained alive were mentally and physically stronger than the rest, having been able to outlast other players who could not bear their circumstance and opted to use death to escape and others who were not able to deal with the monsters well enough.

“What are your plans once we are done with this? I had heard that after they advance party cleared one of the higher floors there was a new dungeon type entrance that players were unable to decode so I might head on there next. Do you guys have any quests lined up once you are accomplished with this one?” Randal said, dripping virtual perspiration because of the strenuous task that was set before them.  Punching a rock should not be this physically exhausting but when put into perspective that the rock was much bigger than anyone who was here, it suddenly made a lot more sense.

Randal Hits Boulder for 10 DMG
BD 2+3+2= 7 Hit

Stats without Weapon skill rank or mods (+3 From hand wraps | +6 from quest training)

[0 Hate] Randal: 440/440 HP | 61/62 EN | 1+3+6 DMG | 3 ACC
[0 Hate] Melissa:  40/40 | 20/22 EN | 1+4 DMG | 2 ACC
[0 Hate] Aru: 760/760 HP | 86/88 EN | 1+1+6 DMG | 1 ACC

Boulder: 42/75 HP | -2 EVA

Randal and Nemo soon parted ways and Randal watched as Nemo closed the wooden doors and left Randal to his own devices, while this was not considered a home, Randal was given permission to make any adjustment he wished as long as it did not harm the integrity of the room. He specifically mentioned not to try to break down any of the walls. Randal put down his items and laid down on the bed to face the ceiling and was soon fast asleep.

The comfort that an actual bed brought Randal was far higher than that of the sleeping bag he used in the stables outside the castle and as such could not resist the nagging urge to fall asleep.

In his dreams, Randal was killing Snapdragons and being chased down by the Snapdragon queen and was tossing and turning, but despite the disturbance in his sleep, Randal would wake up well-rested.

Before the bed was a ornately carved wooden chest where Randal could store his inventory if he so wished to do so, thought with the weightlessness of the player’s inventory, he probably would not find any need to use this one.

Randal turned to face Nemo and thanked him. This caused Nemo’s face to light up with appreciation for Randal who was showing great courtesy towards a room that by Nemo’s standards was too bare. Of course, this was the standards of a former dragon so it was hard to normalise the idea that this was sufficient for a human.

Nemo explained once more that this room now belongs to Randal. The player that used to own this room has stopped comings and while Nemo did not say that he presumed the player to be dead, it was implied. Of course, he did preface it by saying that even if another player were to show up and claim the room as his, Randal would not be expected to move out and that Nemo would sort it out for him.

The castle was like a conical shape where the centre of the castle was higher in altitude compared to the rest of the Castle, and Nemo brought Randal to one of the middle floors of the castle and opened a oakwood door with metal bracing around the areas, the iron hinges which were studded with nails were not rusty at all, owing to the lack of humidity around that area, it was the kind of door you would expect to see in a typical medieval castle.

Inside, Randal was greeted with oakwood floorings, and cobblestone walls, the grey colour accentuated the dark woody brown of the floor. The room was scarcely decorated, as if cleansed for use by guests. In the middle hung a chandelier that helped to illuminate even the darkest corners of the room. The bed in the middle was a single one, but the wood poles of the bedframe extended to the ceiling and a brown curtain was neatly tied to one side, waiting to be unfurled.

Day 36 (64 exp)

Randal used attempted 9 crafts and failed 2 times. (27 exp from ATP and CAT)
He managed to salvage 0 of the failures, using up 9 materials in total. (2 exp)
He made 9 Meals.

3 T1E1 Meal (9 exp)
3 T1E2 Meal (10 exp)
2 T1E3 Meal (16 exp)

Nemo was a little flustered but quickly calming down now that Randal was assuring him that he absolutely did not do anything to harm the Queen Snapdragon. Feeling calmer and more assured by Randal, Nemo stood up and thanked Randal for the work that he had done that day. He was happy that the population of Snapdragons was lowered, and that Randal had not accidentally or purposefully killed a marked monster. Nemo could not say the same for some of the other adventurers that he had chosen to trust with upholding the sanctity of the Garden.

Nemo the invited Randal to follow him into the cobblestone castle and led Randal around the narrow corridors that lined the interior of the building. Having a guide to show him around beat both instances where Randal was given an opportunity to explore the castle because in the first instance he was being attacked by Nemo and in the second he was exploring without someone else’s help which made it far harder.

Randal uses Blink Crit | -8 EN | 20+1=21 | 21*12=252
Snapdragon dies
Loot Snapdragon | 3,000 col, 3 Mats and T3E1 Consumable

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 20/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [0/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [2/2] | Blink [3/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [0/2] | Viper's Sting [1/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 0/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

Nemo looked at Randal pensively before he finally said that the creatures marked with red spots were not at the same level as himself, meaning that they were not nearly as strong as Nemo, but they were all marked by the owner of the Garden of Eden because they were sources of power that fuelled that prosperity that was present in this location. Each of the sources of were Kings and Queens of their kind and the reason there were so many of them in abundance around the Garden. The Queens would repopulate the area while the kings would commandeer them and take control of the situation.

If the marked creatures were slain, it would not be the end of the Garden, but Nemo would have to find and nominate a new king and/or queen which he explained was a huge hassle because if the selection went awry, the king or queen would fight for control over the garden and Nemo would likely sustain some injuries, though he would still win.

Randal uses Shredder | BD 3+3=6 | -10 EN | 20*14=280
Snapdragon Misses | MD 7-4=3 

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 25/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [1/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [3/2] | Blink [1/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [0/2] | Viper's Sting [2/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 220/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

Randal explained what happened before the Queen Snapdragon appeared, specifically claiming that he had killed enough Snapdragons to ensure that the populations would be low for the next few rounds. Although he wasn’t certain when thought back about the swarm of Snapdragons that were summoned when the Queen Snapdragons appeared and sent them after him.

Randal then explained that he was minding his own business about to leave when the Queen Snapdragon appeared. Nemo’s face changed upon hearing about what had happened and asked urgently if Randal had attacked the Queen Snapdragon, his face only relaxing upon hearing that Randal did not do anything bad to the Snapdragon. Nemo reminded Randal of the fact that there exists within the Garden a select few beasts that are marked with a red spot below the neck. The Queen Snapdragon was one of them. Nemo was extremely glad that Randal had not attacked the Snapdragon Queen.

Randal uses Viper's Sting | BD 3+3=6 | -10 EN | 20*13=260
Snapdragon dies
Loot Snapdragon | 3,000 col, 3 Mats, T3E2 Weapon and T3E1 Consumable

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 32/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [2/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [0/2] | Blink [2/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [0/2] | Viper's Sting [3/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 0/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

Even more fortunately was the fact that the monsters were limited in how far away from the pond they were able to go and as such were only able to pursue Randal up until the point where he crossed the boundary that separated the pond and the rest of the Garden of Eden. Randal patted himself down and ensured that he had not left anything behind before walking towards the castle to report back to Nemo.

He found Nemo not in the castle but while he was walking as he turned and noticed that the young man/dragon was once again having tea under the pavilion. Randal came up, politely knocked against the wooden post that held up one side of the shelter and drew Nemo’s attention to himself before plopping down into one of the empty chairs that surrounded the table. Randal and nemo shared a few glances between each other as if communicating silently before Nemo asked him about his mission.

Randal uses Blink | -8 EN | 20*12=240
Snapdragon Misses

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 39/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [3/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [0/2] | Blink [3/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [0/2] | Viper's Sting [1/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 260/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

Randal could not be sure of either decision, all the was expected of him to do was to curb the rising population of Snapdragons. He was not hired to take on the reason for the rising populations. He was not ready to lose his life because of a stupid encounter that he could do nothing about, he was also not the kind to run with his tail between his legs. Fortunately, for the reason that this was not what he was hired to do, he was satisfied with just leaving the Snapdragon to its own devices.

Almost as if to sense his desire not to fight, the Snapdragon Queen roared, and a series of Snapdragons began to chase down Randal. A chase ensued between the two groups of entities on one hand was Randal fleeing for safety and on the other was a swarm of Snapdragons. Fortunately, Randal still managed to be somewhat faster that the horde of monster that were chasing him.

Randal Misses | -2 EN | 
Snapdragon Misses | MD 7-4=3

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 44/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [4/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [0/2] | Blink [1/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [0/2] | Viper's Sting [2/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 500/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

In the wake of their destruction was ta bright coloured scale that emerged from beneath all the rocks, slowly but surely, an image began to appear before Randal, under it’s rocky and muddy exterior was the mother of all Snapdragon hidden underneath. Randal figured that this was probably the boss of the lake area and if it wasn’t it must be the Cardinal system creating a special event for he who defeated a large number of Snapdragons.

The Snapdragon Queen that emerged had numerous health bars and almost appeared to be as strong as a fabled field boss, though that was something that Randal had yet to see for himself. Randal heard boss music playing in the background and new that his suspicions were in fact true. He had two options ahead of him, there was nothing that stopped him running away and he could also strive to take on the challenge and risk his life to take down the beast.

Randal uses Viper's Sting Major Crit | -10 EN | 20+2=22 | 22*13 = 286 DMG
Snapdragon Dies
Loot Snapdragon | 4,500 col, 5 Mats and 1 T3E3 Trinket

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 43/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [1/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [0/2] | Blink [2/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [1/2] | Viper's Sting [3/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 0/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

While he was preparing to leave, a stirring began to happen out the corner of his eye, the Snapdragons that were peacefully relaxing and imitating flowers around the pond all started to fly around the pond. This was an unusual sight that Randal had not seen happen before.

From the lake, a piece of rock started to move, the two holes in the rock appeared to be pushing the water around it away, as if there was air coming out of the holes. Randal thought to himself that there was no way that a random rock would be breathing, not even Mr. Pebbles, a Lava Golem nor his close associates in the family of Rock Golems were known to possess the need to breathe. From behind the rock, more rocks appeared, there were connected together, the other snapdragons began to attack the rock that arose and using their strong jaw, began to pull the rock apart.

Randal uses Blink Crit | -8 EN | 20*12 = 240 DMG
Snapdragon Misses

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 50/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [2/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [0/2] | Blink [3/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [2/2] | Viper's Sting [0/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 260/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

The Snapdragon’s would vaporise upon being killed and in their wake, there would only be a blue notification panel floating in mid-air to inform Randal that he had earned something from fighting them. Randal had seen these panels for so long now that he had gotten used to all of it.

Checking the col that he had earned, the items that had dropped and collecting any material that decided to show up on the death of the Snapdragon, Randal realised that he raked in quite a large number of things. More than he had earned in awhile because he had been focusing on gathering materials out of fear of fighting monsters and perishing. Randal had taken up Nemo’s challenge because he finally felt like it was finally time for him to come out and try to pit himself against monsters once again. Soon enough, Randal wrapped up the battles around the pond. It was getting late now and Randal began to pack up.

Randal uses Crouching Lotus | -4 EN | 20*7= 140 DMG
Snapdragon Misses
Loot Snapdragon | 3,000 col, 3 Mats, T3E3 Armor and T3E3 Trinket

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 55/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [3/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [0/2] | Blink [0/2] | Severance [0/2] | Crouching Louts [3/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 0/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch

At the end of the story, Randal was unable to catch wind of the vice-leader and the constant stream of mercenaries who came to find him was too much to bear and so he left his investigation aside. His anger was not quelled and there was not outlet for him to release it. He had no choice though, at the time, he was not strong enough to take on an entire guild and he had to retreat. Randal continues to hold a grudge against the vice leader and swore to one day find and avenge his friend’s death, but until that day came, there was nothing that he was able to do.

Just like that, Randal came to the end of his daydream and was brought back to the mundane murdering of Snapdragons. There was not many left now and once he was done; he would be able to return to Nemo to report the success of his assault.

Randal uses Dance Macabre Major Crit| -12 EN | 20+2=22 | 22*17= 374 DMG
Snapdragon Misses

Lvl 25 Randal Info
HP 500/500 | Energy 56/68 | Damage 18 (+2 SA) | MIT 20 | ACC 3 | EVA 4 | LD 6 |
Cooldowns: Dance Macabre [4/3] | Wild Dance [0/2] | Shredder [0/2] | Blink [0/2] | Severance [0/2]

<Snapdragon>>
HP 126/500 | Damage 150 | Piercing Crunch