ChaseR

Now that Chase had taken care of Blizz, the frostscale pangolin he ended up taming and making his familiar just earlier, he decided it'd be a good idea to train him. And out of all the places to train him, no better floor than the one he'd found him in. He'd certainly be used to moving around in an environment like this, and that was going to do him much better if the boy wanted his companion to learn how to help him dish out damage even better. As small as it was, game logic prevailed and allowed it to boost the bluehead's numbers. Whatever, nothing he had a problem with.

Ready to find a spot the two could train at, they exited the town with the pangolin resting on the boy's shoulders, although something got in their way just a bit further away from the safezone- who would have thought another wolf would have the audacity to show up and practically challenge the boy to a fight. "I doubt that they have a sense of 'family', the game's just trying to get to my nerves...", he grunted as he took his blade out, gesturing for his friend to hold on tight.

Chase was a bit surprised with her abrupt stop, lifting his head to look at her only to be met with her eyes once more, his own weary and teary look sinking right in. "... Yeah. I promise, I won't leave. I'm having fun too, but... I won't leave.", he mumbled lowly in response, managing a small smile. It was more to know about her now that she'd explained it, but he didn't care for it as much as he did for not weighing her down constantly and keeping her further behind. Although with them both being at the same level, it was hard to even say he could keep her behind, but his innate pessimism made up for that little obstacle.

He just wanted to somehow always know he's not keeping her from going all out, being a burden and worsening their case. There wasn't anything he could do to foolproof that though. All he could do, was just have his faith in himself and her, and hope for the best. "Sorry for pushing you like this. To talk about it.", he apologised, feeling guilt for getting a punch out of her of all reactions he could have drawn out.

Although he'd normally be surprised with her performance, he really didn't have much he wanted to say or felt like saying. Being as rough with his wording as she was, if not worse, he didn't want to speak any and worsen the situation further. He silently sheathed his blade once more, looking at the monster disappear and turning around to see Shay already leaving. If the punch he got to the face didn't hurt, this certainly did. "I-It's cause we both suck at speaking, it's alright... H-Hopefully... Probably not...", he began to mop around, feeling free to start berating himself now that nobody was in danger.

On their way back, her silence spoke incredibly much for Chase's pessimistic thoughts to get going. He almost limped behind her, dragging his feet along the sand with a wide frown on his face, his eyes almost completely covered by his bangs that had now fallen to hide them. "Nice... You did it again, fucking idiot..."

Seeing the Shark swimming in circles around the two only made the boy worry more about his partner. He didn't want to feel as if he was weighing her down further, and by the looks of it, the monster was contemplating attacking his friend. Just as it jumped out of the sand, he tightened his grip on the sword and ran right towards her, his blade starting to glow a bright orange as he approached closer and closer. He quickly attempted to slash at the monster with another chain of attacks, weaving a few thrusts between the three sweeps of his blade. "D-Did it connect?!"

What he didn't notice was that he'd slipped on the sand, causing him to miss his attack. Just then he realized the shark was focused on him all along, trying to bite him but getting met with the flat of his blade. As a result, the monster slid onto his blade, the two parrying one another like so before it sunk back into the sand. "D-Damn it! The sand's making it hard to hit properly..!"

Shay | HP: 380/380 | EN: 35/38 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR | HP: 380/380 | EN: 32/38 (-2, +3) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2

Sand Shark | 65/125 | 50 DMG | [Stun CD: 2/3]

Seeing just how quickly the two were progressing, Chase got very little room for feeling down and trying to catch with everything up himself. Shay had already jumped right into the fray and began to fight with the shark, and that left him no choice but to support her. "That's not true... I won't always have you by my side to give me help with anything I can't figure out by myself, damn it.", his thoughts continued even if he knew he shouldn't think about it too much, torturing him while he unsheathed his sword and hopped on right behind her.

When the Sand Shark was still roaming around the sand, he quickly saw it jump out and tried to react in time to slash it down, leaving it open for an attack from his partner at the very least. He managed to let loose a barrage of slashes its way, holding it in the air for a bit longer, just enough for Shay to attempt getting a hit in while it's still stunned and unable to react too much. "Now!"

Shay | HP: 380/380 | EN: 38/38 | DMG: 8 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR | HP: 380/380 | EN: 31/38 (-9, +2) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2

Sand Shark | 65/125 (-60) | 50 DMG (STUNNED)
Cooldowns: Stun (3 posts)

With a muffled cry, Chase got knocked back slightly and stumbled, trying to regain his balance but ending up falling on the ground flat on his rear. Regardless of whether his health bar had been damaged or not, he was left speechless for a moment. He got up again, rubbing his cheek silently and looking at her as he gulped dryly once more. "Th-That's not what I'm saying though..!", he attempted to argue back, although with much hesitation. Where as he usually didn't stutter without reason, her scary reaction was enough reason to fret any further responses.

"I believe in myself and I know we can clear the game, but your knowledge has carried me all the way. This is my first game, I would struggle to pick up what's only natural for you. It's not a matter of the system, it's that I'm not used to games like this.", the bluehead stubbornly continued, although his tone lowered more and more until when he finished his sentence, his voice had completely drowned out and his eyes began to close just slightly in anticipation of a second jab coming his way.

He followed right behind her, frowning and clenching his fists. If this were the real world, he'd certainly be digging his nails into them. With an ache in his chest, he remained silent for a moment. It didn't take more than a few steps out of the town before he said with a shaky voice, feeling like it was his fault for making her feel this way. "Sorry for dragging you down like this... You're not barely good enough.", he tried to encourage her, looking at her with a frown just as saddened as when they'd first met back out on the fields in front of the Town of Beginnings.

"You can do much better than I can. I wouldn't be out of the inn for any longer than the past few months if we hadn't met. You're strong.", the boy finished, not wanting her to feel like she was 'barely good enough'. Without her knowledge, he wouldn't have managed to do anything, and knowing that but still treating her this way, even if by accident... It hurt him. It made him want to disappear for a moment and just cry, like every single day back in the inn, locked up in his room and eating while waiting for someone to save him. "I've just been holding her back from getting stronger... Maybe that's why I caught up, someone else was doing the same before..."

Familiar Name: Blizz
Description: A pangolin with unusually white and light blue scales. They're made to look like ice stuck onto it, as it was found on the 4th Floor, where the temperature is much lower than usual and the only season is Winter. Its overall appearance hints to it being much more used to low temperatures. It has a long tongue it can use to grab objects or whip at enemies, as well as sharp claws to assist it in attacking. When curled up, it's as big as a softball.
Familiar Mastery Skill: N/a
Thread Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19858-spf4-befriending/

With a deep sigh of relief when everything disappeared, he got a somewhat disappointed look from his familiar and frowned. "We can buy more food with that. You can eat that food, you know.", the boy said as he sheathed his sword once more and took the little pangolin into his hands, beginning to head towards the town. He couldn't think of anything else he wanted to do with his newfound friend before they eventually got to start training, so off to finish the quest they went.

The rest of the trip was quiet. The pangolin looked around in awe, even more so when it managed to enter the town for the first time. It was excited, but preferred the safety of his new friend's hands. Once Chase found the gypsy woman again, he handed back the food and got congratulated on managing to tame a 'beast' himself, as much of a beast as he could call the scaled creature on his palms. "Now we have to train you somehow, hm~?", he asked the little familiar, with a grin on his face.

At least he wished it was that easy to open up a chest like that. With a sigh, he realized the lock was keeping him from getting to its contents that easily, knowing fully well he didn't have a skill that allowed him to pick it any easier, and he himself never picked a lock in the real world. Hell, he barely knew how to turn a lock with a key inside it for Pete's sake. "How do I open it up the-", he stopped, as an idea came to mind. He took out his sword, holding its hilt towards the lock with a grin as he slammed it right onto the lockpad in hopes of breaking it.

As its contents came into sight, a wide smile crossed his face. He quickly looked to the pal on his shoulder, showing him the insides. All it could tell, at least the way he saw it, was that there was stuff inside it could probably eat. Chase swiftly stashed it away before its tongue could reach it, laughing awkwardly. "I-I'll feed you when we get back, don't eat the loot!"

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 3 T1 Perfect Consumables, 2 T1 Rare Consumables, 1 T1 Rare Trinket, 9 T1 Materials, 2300 Col

And like so, he decided to focus on it. He tried to clear his mind and kept an open eye while looking as best as he could, in hopes that he'd find some abandoned chest under all the piles of snow. Perhaps it'd be next to him and he just wouldn't have noticed, or maybe it'd be sitting at the base of a tree, forgotten and waiting to be opened. Only luck would tell however, as not knowing what he was looking for in the first place didn't make his job any easier. "L-Let's see... A chest, eh? So it'd look like..."

And then he saw it. In the distance, a chest waited for him under a few trees and behind some bushes even. If it weren't for the metal lock on it reflecting some of the light that fell on it, he wouldn't have noticed it. "Like that!", he cried out and got the attention of his familiar as he ran towards it, crouching and opening it up to see what was inside.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 3 T1 Perfect Consumables, 1 T1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Materials, 2000 Col

With a sigh and a shrug from the boy, the familiar decided to try climbing onto his armor with its claws, making its way onto his shoulder and settling itself there. It wasn't the most comfortable spot, but given its dimensions and firm grip around his shoulder with its claws, it did the job properly. Now that it had found a spot to sit on and rest for the time being, the swordsman got a chance to do his favorite task when travelling and looking for nothing in particular- searching for materials!

Of course, he didn't find anything, but he was just wandering about the outskirts of a fairly dense forest. There was more light now, but when it came to a faintly glowing object, it was probably going to be hard to spot them anyways. That aside... He should try to find a treasure chest by now. It was nice, stocking up on supplies for more crafts of his, but he didn't want to miss the chance for better treasure now.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 22/40 (+1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 3 T1 Perfect Consumables, 1 T1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Materials, 2000 Col

With the idea about the treasure chest in mind, he decided that they should linger around the forest's outskirts for a while longer. Maybe like that, they'll find something, even though he didn't know what one looked like, so chances of spotting it in this snowy mess were slim as is. The lighting coming from the sky was dim due to all the clouds after all, so he didn't expect much to come out of it- even so, it had been a great attempt, and success, at finding a familiar. "We'll steer clear of any more monsters, so don't worry. You can stay on my shoulder if you'd like."

He told his familiar, watching it blink a few times before deciding to stretch. As much as he wanted it to help him in battle somehow, he was more so immersed in its ordinary behavior. It was a wild monster until he fed it and tamed it, but now it was acting more like a household pet in his eyes. And an unusual one at that, too. "How can it even help me in the first place..? Unless uh... Game logic. Maybe?"

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 21/40 (+1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 3 T1 Perfect Consumables, 1 T1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Materials, 2000 Col

Of course the familiar wouldn't understand. Maybe it got a few words here and there, but especially seeing as it was a wild monster up to a few minutes ago, it'd probably take a fair bit of effort getting it to learn to communicate with him in very basic ways. It would still have some ways of getting a message across, but... Chase didn't really know anything similar. "C-Come think of it, I barely know what the species is called... I wonder how I'll get to teaching it how to help me out or understand anything I say. It's a game though, so there has to be a way, right?"

He began to wonder if he could do some quest to talk to it or learn how to teach it tricks, considering 'game logic' applied everywhere but here. With a shake of his head, he closed the loot window and sheathed his sword, albeit keeping a hand on its hilt to have it at the ready. 

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 20/40 (+1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 3 T1 Perfect Consumables, 1 T1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Materials, 2000 Col

In order to practice his strongest move, he decided it was time to use it once more. With all the momentum, he quickly shifted his grip once more on his heavy blade and raised it to the air, giving it an angle with all his force going back up into his arms as he planted his legs a few inches deep in the snow. With a heave, the boy slashed downwards at the wolf in hopes that this combo of his would work perfectly, just as it'd worked last time- given he did miss the first attempt at stunning the wolf.

Saying it worked was an understatement. The attack landed just fine, tearing through the monster which shattered into pieces just moments after Chase pulled his blade out of the other side, grinning while the loot window appeared. He let go of his weapon with a single hand, picking the pangolin up slowly from his head and looking at it. "Are you okay, little fellow? Not too shook, are you?", he joked with a smile, watching it simply tilt its head in confusion once more.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 19/40 (-13, +1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6
White Wolf: HP: 0/200 (-112) | DMG: 60

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 3 T1 Perfect Consumables, 1 T1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Materials, 2000 Col

This time, he kept his sword's blade almost behind him, taking a charging stance and not taking long before rushing right at the monster. Sure, the snow slowed him down, but he had too much momentum to take long to get there. Once he was there, he shifted his grip so that the pommel was headed right for the monster, specifically its head in order to slam it right in and give the stun a much stronger effect. The damage might be lower, but the stun should work just as well all the same.

The wolf got struck right between the eyes, letting out a confused howl and jumping back, although losing its balance and not getting too far away. This gave the bluehead the perfect opportunity to finish what he started, although his movements were much calmer than usual so that the familiar wouldn't get knocked off of him and placed in harm's way.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 30/40 (-10) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6
White Wolf: HP: 112/200 (-88) | DMG: 60 (STUNNED)

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 4 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

Before he had too much time to think about the possibilities, he was near the outskirts of the forest and could see a pair of red eyes staring him down just like before. Probably another snow wolf like the last. He had his doubts about letting the pangolin out of his sight though, deciding to make this somewhat harder on himself to ensure its safety. He placed it on the top of his head, watching it latch on with a grin on his face. "I know you can't understand me, but... I'll take care of this. Just hold on and don't worry, okay?"

Once he'd assured his friend of its safety, he averted his gaze to the wolf once more, gripping his sword with both hands. This time he'd use Tempest, but in a different way than every other time. Probably one that would bring him closer to the monster, but it'd put him in a much better position to use his next move right away, in order to chain them together and go for a swift kill.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6
White Wolf: HP: 200/200 | DMG: 60

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 4 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

"Say... I heard some rumors while doing the quests around the second and third floor about 'treasure' around any densely populated parts, at least with monsters. Maybe I could find one to make this moment an even better memory, hm?", the swordsman grinned, looking down at the little pangolin which he'd eventually have to name. It looked back up in confusion, its scales shining just slightly when met with a very faint light through all the foliage. "I've an idea for us two before we head back."

He proclaimed, starting to head where he knew some monsters would lurk, but that was alright. He wasn't planning on putting the new friend he just made in any danger, he'd let it stay behind him and take cover while he took care of them. And maybe then, he'd hopefully find a chest with even more goodies than before to commemorate this meeting of him and the new familiar he just acquired.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 4 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

As the little monster completely calmed down, Chase took it up on his hands and quietly looked at it, only for it to lick at his cheek in return. It wasn't big enough to be considered a threat, and it was just small enough that he could pick it up with ease, carry it around and even let it rest on his shoulder if it could get a good enough grip and balance itself there. "Hey little buddy. We're going to head back to the town for now, okay?", he told it, although he certainly had his doubts about whether or not it could even understand what he was saying- probably not, but that made no difference to him really. 

With that, he kept it in one of his hand, stashing the familiar food back into his inventory with the other and gripping his sword tightly once more, starting to backtrack his way out of the forest as he hummed lowly. "It's almost blue too... Kinda like me, huh? A fitting partner then~.", the boy's happy thoughts continued, as he swung his head left and right a bit while exiting the forest.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 4 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

The boy looked at the little fellow, which seemed to have burrowed under one of the patches beforehand, resting. Of course, that was all until he came here and ruined everything for the pangolin- he wasn't planning on doing that for long though. He wanted to get close to it, tame it and make it his partner. "I don't want to harm you. Look.", he said as he took out some of the food from the small pouch the woman had given him, holding it out on his palm for the bewildered animal to see.

At first, his offer went by with silence. Not even a growl, a hiss, or whatever noise this monster could make. After an intense stare-down however, it began to approach and extended its tongue from its mouth to lick at the food, calming down as it took all of it. The childish excitement returned to Chase, seeing the familiar accept his gift as taming it worked right off the bat, even if he didn't expect it to.

ChaseR: HP: 400/400 | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 4 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

Taming: Success!

Delving further and further into the dense forest with the tracks' assistance, the boy began to see what seemed like a clearing just a few ways ahead. Like so, he kept on going quietly, taking a deep breath as he approached it more and more and making sure to keep his steps as silent as possible. He peeked into the clearing, although that wasn't really enough. Bracing himself, he stepped into it and hoped for the best, that some familiar would happen to be there waiting for him- although probably not with open arms.

It was at that moment that he scanned the ground, seeing various patches of snow here and there. Out of one though, a little pangolin with white and blue scales came out, looking up at him almost in a battle-ready stance. "That's a familiar, I found one! Now to tame it... It's going to be aggressive, so like the gypsy said, try to calm it down with the food..."

ChaseR: HP: 390/400 (+10) | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 4 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

"W-Wait, animal tracks... I just said some of them are monsters though, uh...", he began an internal monologue on how he was right and wrong at the same time, which ultimately ended in him feeling happy. Happy that he was in such a state, this was the biggest of his worries- whether his wording was right or wrong. Albeit a rocky start with getting himself going in the game, he was getting to experience quite a lot of fun at this point, feeling especially peppy now that he'd had a great fight just earlier and was now on his way to make a new, special friend.

While he kept following the tracks, he kept his eyes out for any materials he could find by the side, although he didn't pay too much attention. His main focus was on finding that pesky little animal, or monster, with the small paws, judging by the marks left in the snow. "I wonder what it will look like... Thinking about it, what can it look like? It can be anything as long as it's not a full on monster, or anybody would have huge dragons or other monsters with them, right..? Maybe... Er..."

ChaseR: HP: 380/400 (+10) | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 4 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

Seeing as it wasn't that lucky of a day even with the stat boosts though, he laughed awkwardly and shrugged it off. It's not like it was going to be a bad day just because he didn't find anything the first few minutes of looking- bad luck was to be expected after all. "It's not like no stock is that bad either...", he joked about it mentally, taking a quick look around, although this time it was for materials as much as it was for any signs of wildlife.

The monsters were active, always interacting with the environment regardless of whether he or another player was there or not. That means they must leave traces behind, for sure. And traces it was that he found- along with a material right next to them, too. "Bingo, animal tracks!", the swordsman chirped as he picked up the material, stashing it away in his inventory and beginning to do his best to quietly follow the tracks.

ChaseR: HP: 370/400 (+10) | EN: 40/40 | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 3 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

"I wish there was a list of all the monsters in each floor... Maybe they're randomly generated though, so that would mean a list is impossible, right? It probably is that way... Say, a lot of the 'monsters' here are actually animals instead, with some extra features. Like the swordfish I fought the other day, the wolf just now, the spiders back in the Hoya quest...". The boy had gotten his gears going and that certainly just made him think with excitement about this world. If he had trouble getting immersed into the experience, he didn't have any right now of all times.

He just recently maxed out his mastery of the two handed straight sword weapon type, and that was only one of the reasons he'd gotten so excited for. Sure, a familiar wasn't a substitute for Shay, Lily or any of his worries, but... It'd make the journey much more fun. NPCs could be more than convincing, if that worried mother on the second floor was something to go by from before. With a quick glance at the ground, he made another check for materials. "More stock never hurts~."

ChaseR: HP: 360/400 (+10) | EN: 19/40 (+1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 2 T1 Materials, 1000 Col

Knowing his limits however, once the battle was over, he decided it'd be best to not go looking for more monsters to test his new sword arts on, but rather to focus on the task at hand and actually look for a familiar. Although he had no clue what type of creatures inhabited this snowy floor, he was certain he could find something fitting enough for him. It was all a matter of knowing where to look, and that... That he did in fact not know too well. 

"Maybe deeper inside of the forest..? I wonder if monsters in this game can travel from one floor to another actually... Can they?", he began to ponder, scratching the back of his head with one hand as he slowly moved through the snow, holding his sword near the white ground with the other. Now that he wasn't into battle though, he kept an eye out for materials around the area nonetheless.

ChaseR: HP: 350/400 (+10) | EN: 18/40 (+1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6

Loot: 1 T1 Perfect Armor/Shield, 2 T1 Perfect Consumables, 2 T1 Materials, 1000 Col