ChaseR

Having waited a moment for the identification, the two NPCs eventually returned to the bluehead with a broadsword in their hands. "Th-That's the unidentified weapon I handed her..? It seems... perfect...", he got lost in awe, looking at it silently before deciding to inspect its values. Seeing the enchantments on it, only made him smile with genuine excitement as he thanked the two girls with a dip of his head. "Give the merchant my thanks.". And with that, he took it into his inventory and began to leave the high floor to go back to the territory he knew better.

With a powerful sword now in his side other than his main one, he already knew exactly what he was going to do once he got a familiar. Given that he'd take Shay's advice to make sure he doesn't mess anything up though, obviously.

Accepted: Sky Slasher (T1/Perfect/2HSS)

His stance exerted pure confidence, as a terrifying look on his face took over. It was filled with bloodlust, but then again... It was hard for him to convey emotion properly. What was excitement for him was much too terrifying in this case, as he knew this would be the final hurdle he'd need to overcome pushing on through all by himself. After this, he'd have a strong, reliable partner to lean on for every single one of his needs. And the start to that chapter, was none other than a finishing blow with his strongest of moves to add to his arsenal.

Shifting all his weight into his legs, the bluehead heaved and let his instinct take over for a moment, slashing at an angle with all of his might. Some of the snow got blown by the side from the force, as the wolf got split in half before disappearing, the loot window appearing in front of the panting male. "I've grown way too strong... Imagine with my familiar, too.", he mumbled to himself as he began to calm down, smiling out of happiness and childish, giddy excitement.

ChaseR: HP: 340/400 | EN: 17/40 (-13, +1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6
White Wolf: HP: 112/200 (-112) | DMG: 60

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

With even more motivation to succeed in this battle, he could already feel the rush get to his head. A savage smirk had crossed his face as he itched to hit back twice- no, thrice as hard as before. "This is one of the last battles I'll ever do truly alone too... Then, I'll always have someone reliable with me, even if it's not Shay!", he finished his thoughts with his teeth almost grinding against one another as he attempted to use the same move, except this time it was a downward smash with the flat of his blade on the wolf. Much harder to hit, but if it did...

It would cause the wolf to yelp in shock and get completely stopped under his blade, giving him time to recover and switch up his stance for what would be the finishing blow. And that's exactly what happened. Seeing his chance come up, he grinned even wider, focusing all of his strength on his hands as he raised his sword high into the air.

ChaseR: HP: 340/400 | EN: 29/40 (-10, +1) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6
White Wolf: HP: 112/200 (-88) | DMG: 60

Unlike every other encounter, even if it was just as strong as Chase, he was just as strong as it, too. With a confident smile on his face, feeling the adrenaline pump right through his virtual body, he took a deep breath before deciding to try out one of his new moves. Another fearsome tool to use for encounters like this, in terms of damage and effectiveness. "It doesn't stun though... Tch, no matter, first I'll use Tempest and then we'll try the new move out!", he proclaimed, turning his blade to the side and charging right in to slam the flat of his blade onto the wolf.

To his surprise, fighting without his normal armor was actually fairly different. His attack missed all the same, but he didn't feel as mobile with his warm, albeit heavier starter gear, failing to jump back in time and taking a hit right to the dome as the wolf clawed at him. The hit was clean, but it didn't hurt. It only motivated Chase to hit harder next time.

ChaseR: HP: 340/400 (-60) | EN: 38/40 (-2) | DMG: 11 | ACC: 3 | LD: 6
White Wolf: HP: 200/200 | DMG: 60

With his sword tightly held in his hand, he stepped out into the unknown territory. It was cold, like he'd remembered from visiting the rogue's shop, but that's alright. His clothes were warm enough to keep him at a good temperature, plus, he never really had that much of a problem with the cold to begin with. The heat though, that was a whole other issue. While traversing through the snow and looking around farther away from the town of the fourth floor, his eyes met with a red pair from a few meters ahead.

It was at that moment that he realised a monster had set its eyes upon him, so with no other choice, he engaged into battle. He'd just mastered his weapon, so even without his conventional armor he was certain he could do a good enough job. "With all these luck buffs, I can do it myself too, I know it!", he grinned, almost quickly getting a battle rush as he prepared his sword to face the wolf that was now in front of him, growling and ready to pounce at any given moment.

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

After lots of preparations and running around shops, Chase's time to get himself a familiar had come. He wasn't even aware of the perks, but... "I-It's like a pet with some stat boosts too, right? It's not like I'll have a human constantly with me, plus... The little fellow I pick up might be my way out of this game for good, too. I should do my best to use that to my advantage, for sure. I can't let this opportunity slip away and go to waste.", he encouraged himself once he'd teleported to the fourth floor, looking around him.

"The quest giver was rumored to be around here now lately...", he thought, not getting enough time to finish before he saw a gypsy by the side with the quest-unique exclamation mark on the top of her head. Talking to her gave him the quest, as well as the food to tame a familiar. With a grin, he looked to the exit of the small town and began to head on over, opening up his inventory and taking a look at all the items he'd packed together. "Let's see... So..."

[ChaseR used a T1 Sakura Dunbu Mochi! (+3 LD)]
[ChaseR used a Familiar Song! (+2LD when looking for a familiar)]
[ChaseR used Pheromones! (+1CD when taming a familiar)]
[ChaseR used a Spyglass charge (2/3)! (Post cooldown for searching for a familiar reduced to 10)]

Entering the shop, Chase scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Aha... So just to get a familiar, I've had to enter a shop, buy a spyglass, pheromones, some song that's supposed to help and now get some good food to increase my stats... Wh-Why does the game have to do me like this...", he rid his head of such thoughts and silently walked up to the counter, giving a somewhat intense stare before he, as per usual, awkwardly blurted out. "A perfect mochi. That's what it's called."

Maybe asking for something would work better if it didn't sound like he'd just remembered what he was here for. Regardless, he opened up the trade menu and sent Col her way, giving the same blank look. "T-Take my money and let me leave... I hate shops, damn it..."

Purchases: 1 T1 Perfect Mochi (+3 LD)
Cost: -550 Col

Hearing what Kiluia had to say, the boy gave a small nod. He kind of understood where they were coming from. Being stuck in here, especially having been active for much more than the two days he'd picked his sword up for... "They live in this world, while I'm still getting used to it. Probably have been for a while now, judging by how integrated they seem to the whole system... As much as I hate to find new company to keep around, they'd certainly do be a handful getting information and some good training..."

The bluenette awkwardly remained silent for a bit, lost in deep thought before he snapped out of it, shaking his head slightly. "Worn Out Welcome. Some weak dark elf.", he replied before turning to look at Haine who just now spoke up to him. "If I don't get into danger, I won't learn myself.", he turned down her offer, although with a serious expression. As risky as it sounded, he was well aware the quest was nothing to be scared of, and he wanted some combat experience for himself as well. Being shielded by others constantly wouldn't do him much good after all.

Day 12

2 Salvage (LD 11/18), 3 Rare

+24 EXP (+2EXP per Salvage, +5EXP per Rare, +5EXP due to ambition)

3 T1 Materials lost.

With a grin, the bluehead simply nodded and looked at the rewards. He closed the window, before opening his mouth to speak up. "It was an experience, for sure. I feel stronger already. I'll have to get used to fights though.", he noted, his smile beginning to fade away as he realised that'd probably be as much as she was willing to help. Her selflessness would only go that far, so it would only make sense that she'd probably head off to help one of the players that actually agreed to be her student.

"So... That's it, huh?", he quickly shifted tones and asked in a more moody voice, giving her an almost blank look to accompany his frown. Chase was resting one of his hands on the hilt of his sword by his waist, almost ready to draw his blade out of pure habit from whenever he exited the safezones. 

With a quick nod, the boy smiled at Simonne and even relaxed slightly. She already knew exactly what he was here for, and he'd take as much help as he could on his way to finding a familiar. He was quick to drag open his menu, sending her a trade request with the amount of Col she'd priced the items for. "Yeah, I'll take the offer. Thank you.", he gave a somewhat bright smile whilst he waited, beginning to think what sort of a familiar he'd need to get.

Before that though, there was something more of importance. Getting his inventory all sorted out once he was done with getting all the supplies. "W-Way to go with that, almost forgot... Let's see..."

Purchased: 
Familiar Song: 156705
Pheromone: 148317

Total Price: -1950 Col

Chase was actually taken back much more than she was, at least on the looks, based on what she just told him. "S-Same level as Shay..? She was almost my level when we started, and now we're on the same exact level after a single day... Wh-What?". He froze for a moment. He didn't want to sound rude whatsoever, but she was so knowledgeable, yet weak in her stats. Sure, the game was certainly not revolving around the numbers in full, but... As they stopped on the teleporter, he gave her a somewhat doubtful look. He didn't want to, but he was a bit taken aback.

Too much so to even pay attention to his expressions. "S-Say, what were you doing so long..? You were level sixteen when we met, weren't you?", he asked her with a frown, beginning to feel more stressed out by how horrible he was with words. He didn't want to come off as rude, but there was no other way of going about it or doing so with much more integrity.

Although he didn't have a cloak or any other protective clothing for such environments, he was sure he'd find something laying around for some reasonable price. At least for future endeavors in such floors. "My clothes should be okay, but... I'll get a cloak later.", he reassured her, unzipping his jacket to reveal a black t-shirt under. Yeah, he'd get sand on all of his clothes, but preferred that to being so hot he'd just sweat endlessly.

"I prefer the cold too.", he added to her comment as the two reached the teleporter, looking to the side at her with an eyebrow raised. "Ah, well...". The boy slid his fingers downwards in front of him to open up the menu, seeing his level and telling her with a slightly puffed up chest and smile on his face. "Level nineteen. You?". He wasn't actually aware they were quite literally on the same amount of skill points, so he felt curious to know- he was assuming for some reason that she'd be around level twenty one or so by now.

"... I don't need any of their help and I don't want to look weak... But I could do with learning how to cope with others... I can't keep with Shay for the rest of my stay here and help finish the game like that.", the boy gave it a bit of thought. After a moment of silence, hearing what they were talking about by the side, he took a deep breath before offering an even more forced smile and tense stare. "Sure. I'll take you two with me."

Although he did awkwardly accept their assistance, more so to get used to talking much better, he furrowed his eyebrows and just slightly more comfortably offered. "I can make them probably. I'm an Artisan.", he added from out of nowhere, feeling indebted to at least offer since he'd be bothering them with such an easy quest. It honestly felt kind of embarrassing all in all, but he'd just suck it up and deal with it.

The bluehead's mumbling came to a halt as he turned to look at Kiluia, opening his mouth as if to speak before seeing Haine pop up as well. He began to sweat a bit, starting to feel nervous and taking a step back, closing his menu. He almost instinctively reached for his sword, resting his left hand on its hilt while keeping it sheathed and at the ready on his waist, giving an awkward and incredibly forced smile. "S-Something like that. Yeah."

Although he doubted it, he didn't have much else to say, and in an attempt to make everything much less awkward, he blurted out, as stupid as it was. "You too?". He wasn't fond of people creeping up on him, or sets of eyes on him in general all that much. Last time that'd happened, he wasn't even aware he was in a safezone and almost attacked the player out of surprise. His eyes were quickly scanning both of them, noticing just how well equipped they appeared to be. "They're probably stronger than me... Much stronger, yeah.", he thought to himself with a small frown before giving a piercing gaze at the male once more.

Having heard rumors of an easy quest about some armor, Chase's interest was piqued and he'd decided to investigate for himself. As he entered the third floor, he asked around for the exact location of the NPC with the quest flag- he already knew it existed because of Shay having mentioned it once before, too. She'd also stated just how easy that would be, with the dark elf taking little effort to take care of at his level now. Regardless, he eventually found the blacksmith's shop and when asked to pick what armor he wanted, he stated heavy armor. He already had some perfect light armor, so why not settle for more.

He wasn't sure of the quality of the armor, but just in case it was just as good, he could switch into it- although knowing the quests and their rewards, it'd probably be rather disappointing of a reward in the end. The boy was just done receiving the list of materials the Dark Elf he was meant to chase would drop, exiting the shop and opening his menu up to look at them on the quest log. "Hm... These must be unique to the quest then. I see. No biggie, I'll get it done and get my skill points all the same."

@Kiluia Seiko @Haine

The boy pondered the two choices that Shay had given him. He could either go for the elf, which would prove too easy, leaving them with more time to waste, or he could try to sharpen his skills just a little bit more with the shark. No matter its power, if it could swim in sand, it certainly was quite a feat to take it down, even if in a single strike. It was all about managing to land a hit on it, after all. "Let's do the shark. The elf can wait. As for the skill to get health back faster... Let's do that next."

He finished, making a small bucketlist inside of his head and trying to put everything in order. He knew that this wouldn't prove to be too much of an issue, but he wanted this to be done in a way that his unlocked skills helped him go at his own pace, while not slacking off all the same. Slower health regeneration meant more slacking off, and still having his sense of urgency, he didn't want to be a sitting duck for too long. "What floor is the shark in? I haven't seen any sand yet."

Chase silently looked at the shop's entrance, feeling the floor was dangerously high. Then again, finding a player merchant based on what he'd heard other players say was hard, quite hard indeed... With a deep breath, he shook his head and entered the shop, looking at the two helpers by the door and offering a blank stare before he headed deeper inside, to the counter. He gave a very tense stare to the other two, unsure if they were just NPCs or the actual shopkeepers. "... I want to sell some trinkets, buy a spyglass and get something identified.", he awkwardly blurted out, his stare just as tense as his face and body.

It didn't take a lot to figure out how rough he was on the words, really. "I've some Col on me.", he reassured, his eyes switching between the two as he began to grow more and more nervous at the initial silence.

Junk Sell: 7 T1 Uncommon Trinkets (5 Uneval, 2 Azure Earrings), 1 T1 Uncommon Light Armor, 4 T1 Rare Trinkets (4 Uneval) [1600*(90/100) = +1440 Col)

Buy: 1 Spyglass (-1050 Col)

Identification: 1 T1 Perfect Weapon (-640 Col)

Total Cost: 1260-1050-640 = 250 Col

Day 11

2 Fail, 3 Rare

+22 EXP (+5EXP per Rare, +1EXP per fail, +5EXP due to ambition)

5 T1 Materials lost.

Hearing her words was fairly endearing to him as he quietly listened, giving her a warm look. "... She's right. I'm still here after all.", he smiled a bit, giving her a nod and accepting the experience and skill points they were rewarded for the quest. Once he opened his inventory to look at his level, he grinned a little and gave her a simple shrug. "Is there any quest you've got in mind? We can take it slower, but I still want to get stronger."

The boy stated, stuffing his hands into his jackets' pockets and giving it some thought. It's not like he lost much health, but waiting for the natural regen was quite bothersome to put it simply. "Is there anything we can do to regenerate health faster? Other than stock up on potions.", he asked her with an eyebrow raised, although he didn't expect much of a positive answer.

Stepping closer to the shadow's previous position once he'd recovered, the boy left his blade behind stuck in the floor as he approached the window to see the loot he'd gotten from killing the enemy. He couldn't care any less, however. He silently pressed the confirmation button, sliding the window away and moving back to his blade, silently gripping the hilt with both hands and leaning on it for but a moment. He closed his eyes, feeling them heavy and took a deep breath, as he mumbled lowly. "That was... T-Tch..."

By the time he'd opened his eyes once more, he was back in front of the waterfall, cross legged. An empty look quickly crossed his face, as he leaned back on the rocky wall behind him and looked down at the stream of water. The more he stared, the more he felt at ease again, but what he'd just gone through felt like an eternity. All these thoughts, inside of his own head yet unknown to him... It was a real eye opener, this quest. But most of all, it didn't make him understand himself better than ever before- it made him want to complete the game that much more. "Just you wait, Kayaba... This is unforgivable."

The disgruntled boy simply lifted his palm, watching it with a small frown on his face overtaking its previously blank expression. "How you're reading into all of us and using us for your entertainment... You won't get out of this unharmed.", he growled and almost got fully angry. If it weren't for the waterfall, he'd be growling by now and clenching his hand tight enough for it to bleed, were this the real world. But thankfully, it wasn't. He silently waited there, deciding he'd take off back to the first floor... Once he was fully rested and he'd taken everything in, that is.

Thread Rewards: 

• 4 T1 Materials, 1120 Col
• Unlocked Extra Skill <<Meditation>>
• 4 SP (2 Quest, 1 Page, 1 Event)

"Just... Just stop it damn it!", he shouted even louder at it, quickly rushing in despite his weak footing and body, attempting to use Astral Hell one more time, to finish the job and do the damn system in. It was making him truly livid, much more than he let on. A savage look was on his face, his teeth showing like a growling dog while he slashed mercilessly, sweat flying around with every swing of his blade and every shift of his body's weight. 

The attacks landed one after the other, but the shadow seemed completely unfazed. It was almost like its job was done, it had already planted the seed of worry in Chase's head, but it could no longer continue to do so as its HP kept getting lower and lower. Eventually, it hit zero and its HP bar disappeared before the monster did too. As the shadows dissipated, a window appeared in front of it. Chase was too far to read it, trying to catch up to his breath weakly as he dropped his blade on the floor.

Chase: HP: 320/320 | EN: 14/32 (-7, +3) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Final Inner Demon: HP: 0/240 (-61) | DMG: 60 | MIT: 7

Loot: 4 T1 Materials, 720 Col

All of it, every single one of these factors was making Chase begin to worry more and more, giving him all the more tougher of a time overcoming this challenge and understanding this fear of his. What was it? Was it his intent to get back in the real world that made him feel guilty about having possibly met Lily in here unknowingly? Or was it that he wanted to keep her out of harm? Paranoid thoughts kept running through his head, distracting him from the task at hand. 

Due to all the momentum from dodging Shay's attack, he ended up making a full turn, but that worked to his advantage. At least, he wanted to spin around and strike back using his Back Rush, attempting to do so and managing to land his hit in successfully, slashing at the shadow. Once the slash had landed, it began to change shape again, this time coming out quite similar to Ariel. "S-Stop it...", the bluehead commanded, panting weakly from the exhaustion and jumping back to avoid being slammed by the shadow's shield, looking at the katana in its other hand and groaning weakly.

Chase: HP: 320/320 | EN: 18/32 (-5, +3) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Final Inner Demon: HP: 61/240 (-43) | DMG: 60 | MIT: 7
Final Inner Demon Cooldowns; Stun: 1 post

The bluehead quickly attempted to lunge forwards and follow it up with another repeat of his newly learned Astral Hell, wanting to give it his all. Just as he began to launch his attack though, the shadow's form began to shift, taking on that of Shay's, all the way from the look to the stance and gaze, as well as the eye color. Much more aggressive and closer to a glare, the imitation of his partner was as on point as possible, much more so than he could ever imagine. "Lily isn't Shay, Lily is back in the real world... I know that damn it!"

Just as he finished his sword art, the shadow's form shifted to a battle ready stance, gripping its weapon that had changed into a katana to fit the form it'd taken much better, slashing at his way just as Shay would if he were a monster they were facing. Thankfully, he managed to jump back in time, but it was hard to say he wasn't drenched in sweat by now. His anxiety, the irrational fear of not knowing if Lily is here and who she is, the tension...

Chase: HP: 320/320 | EN: 20/32 (-7, +3) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Final Inner Demon: HP: 104/240 (-63) | DMG: 60 | MIT: 7
Final Inner Demon Cooldowns; Stun: 2 posts

With a deep breath and a loud exhale, the boy ran at the shadow that had taken on his best friend's figure, shouting as cold sweat flew alongside his blade, its flat side attempting to hit the demon. He was scared, and livid. Maybe it was his survival instinct, or the fact that the system took on his friend's form and exploited this fear of his, taking it to an irrational extent. But he hadn't even seen the worst of it quite yet.

Thankfully, his attack landed and the girl seemed to waver, stumbling to the side and giving a somewhat pained look at Chase. "S-Stop it! Quit staring like that! That's not Lily, don't get tensed up more, damn it!", he began to panic as his heartrate increased, breathing faster and faster as his eyes widened, the cold sweat continuing to stream down his temples while the two stared one another.

Chase: HP: 320/320 | EN: 24/32 (-10, +2) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
Final Inner Demon: HP: 167/240 (-73) | DMG: 60 | MIT: 7 (STUNNED)
Final Inner Demon Cooldowns; Stun: 3 posts