ChaseR

The boy shortly stepped onto one of the wide rocks near the waterfall, crossing his legs once he took a seat and trying to relax. He placed both of his hands on his legs, and by the time he'd felt something was off and opened his eyes, he wasn't there anymore. Instead, he appeared to be in a completely dark room. It quickly lit up with a moody blue light, four doors ahead of him as a shadow around his size pointed him to what would probably be the first. "Wh-What is this? I didn't see any teleportation flash or prompt... This has to be an event quest, or an exception for sure..."

How featureless it was, how much it resembled a human while at the same time certainly not being even close to an NPC... It crept him out. But he felt oddly familiar around it. Looking at the door, he could see a figure carved into it, like a human but balled up, crying with their head buried in their legs. "... They remind me of... me. Up until a few days ago... That's not who I am anymore though."

Chase silently teleported into the sixth floor, taking a deep breath. Once he was done retrieving the Hoya of Minos, he'd gone to look for ways to boost his regenerative abilities, at least with his energy, and he came to the conclusion he'd have to step into unfamiliar territory again, this once in the form of the sixth floor. "The waterfall... I wonder where it is.", he thought as he looked around the town he'd just entered, completely silent. "If I ask around, the NPCs should be able to guide me... Better not fall from these platforms though.", he thought and scratched the back of his head, moving on and beginning to ask for instructions.

And instructions he received. Following them down to a tee, the bluehead was quickly met with the sight of a waterfall in front of him, which was rather far away from town. No monsters seemed to lurk nearby however. Just being around the waterfall made him feel tranquillity. Everybody told him that this quest was about fighting four bosses, one after the other, but... Nobody had ever said the same thing. The task appeared to be different for each, and that's the case he thought to be for him too. With a deep breath, he stood next to it and firmly gripped the hilt of his sword, deciding to trust the guidance he'd been given so far.

Having watched the wolf just dodge another hit from Shay, Chase seemed relatively unfazed by the hit he'd taken and quickly ran towards it to close the gap that had grown between the two, putting all his weight onto the back of his heel and letting out another battle cry as a glow appeared around his sword before he began to spin wildly, cutting anything around him and hopefully, the wolf as well.

It finally appeared to have gotten hit by one of the attacks, and shortly after, three more spins and subsequent attacks followed, going off of his momentum. When he was done, he planted his feet into the ground to stop himself, keeping his sword stretched to the side and gasping for air as his energy had began to run low. It was the first time he'd used Tempest, and it most certainly got a lot out of him. It only made sense though, given how strong an attack it was. As the wolf disappeared into shards and they exited combat, he turned to look at Shay with a sharp glare. "A-Are you alright?", he asked calmly, trying to catch up to his breath. It was obvious he'd gotten an adrenaline rush, and it had gotten him to look much more savage than he normally would.

Shay | HP: 360/360 | EN: 26/36 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2 | Antidote: 1
ChaseR | HP: 273/300 | EN: 11/30 (+1, -4) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | Antidote: 1

Wolf 1: 0/40 | 25 DMG
Wolf 2: 0/40 (-40) | 25 DMG
Wolf 3: 0/40 | 25 DMG
Venom Snapper: 0/150 | DMG: 35 (9-10: 50) | EVA: 1

Loot: Venom Vial (T1, Uncommon Potion)

Although they weren't even going that fast, Chase had gone through enough today alone to get a little lost in thought on their way there. He'd barely realised just how much time had passed before they'd arrived, and it wasn't long that they'd engaged into battle either. Shay was already gone by the time he'd taken his weapon out of his sheathe, and before he knew it, he was being asked to deliver the final strike to take them all out. Although uncertain whether he'd manage to do it or not, he took a deep breath and turned his blade to the side, almost mimicking Shay's posture when wielding her katana.

Taking a deep breath, he dug his hind leg into the ground and kicked off, running right at them and turning his blade to its flat before it met with the first of the monsters. "Hoooo!", the bluehead heaved and slammed the flat of his blade onto two of the wolves, as well as the Venom Snapper, finishing the job that Shay had started. Before he could pull back though, the second wolf of the initial three had jumped above his blade and managed to land a scratch on the boy's chest, knocking him back and dealing some light damage, getting a groan out of him. It was the first time his HP had dropped any in front of Shay.

Shay | HP: 360/360 | EN: 28/36 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2 | Antidote: 1
ChaseR | HP: 273/300 (-27) | EN: 14/30 (-16) | DMG: 10 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | Antidote: 1

Wolf 1: 0/40 (-40) | 25 DMG
Wolf 2: 40/40 | 25 DMG
Wolf 3: 0/40 (-40) | 25 DMG
Venom Snapper: 0/150 (-50) | DMG: 35 (9-10: 50) | EVA: 1

Loot: Venom Vial (T1, Uncommon Potion)

Chase hadn't previously consumed a potion like this, only the mochi that she had offered him before going looking for the tutorial quests' materials. With a short nod, he popped the antidote open and chugged it down, making no comment on the texture and processing its taste for a moment. Honestly, thinking about it was more effort than would be worth it. No point in getting even more tired before the fight were to begin. With the buff appearing right under his health bar too, he looked over at Shay and nodded again.

"Let's go then. Where is our objective?", he asked her, still relatively unfamiliar with guiding himself around the quests and their target objectives, monsters, whatever they had to do in order to finish a quest. He was still new to the GUI and navigating the world overall, but at least he could use the teleporters and crystals, if he really had to. As they exited the inn, the boy looked left and right, hoping that he'd find some indicator as to where to go.

"I managed to defeat the quest's boss, get the necklace back and also defeat two monsters of my own level. That's great progress.", he nodded to himself, entering the town and beginning to head on over to the teleporter. He'd gotten a real work out for all his worth in the same time most people took to alegedly just finish the quest, at least based on the NPCs he'd asked. It was a tough one, but it was still rather easy for him. Maybe that was because the craftsman he'd trusted to get his gear from did a stellar job, or it could be because he was too fast and efficient at adapting to this sytem.

Whatever the case, he stepped on to the teleporter to head back on the second floor. He had to ask around if anybody knew how to get energy back faster. Not physical energy, but rather the stat. He was certain that if the game had ways to assist you in combat, it had to include ways that could help you out of it, in order to prepare better, too. With that hunch in his mind, he shouted as he stepped onto the teleporter before disappearing from the floor. "Floor two: Urbus!"

Rewards: 

• 1820 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 1 Perfect Weapon, 10 T1 Material
• 4 SP (2 Quest, 1 Page, 1 Event)
• <<Hoya of Minos>> Vanity Jewel

With this plan in mind, he braced himself and dug his feet almost into the ground, quickly turning in an attempt to slash at the spider's face and take it out at once. As his sword slashed sideways, he wasn't certain whether he'd hit it or not, holding his breath and even sweating just slightly as a drop or two flew right off to the side from his head. "Was that it? Did I manage to flawlessly beat a monster at my level?!". Before he could see for himself, he could already hear the familiar to him blip of the monster's HP dropping to zero before it shattered.

The loot confirmation window appeared once more, only to be met with a wide smile of victory from the boy who sheathed his blade once more, although this time it was staying in its scabbard. "Great, that's much better than before. Let's head home then.", he agreed with himself and accepted the drops before turning around, leaving the forest and heading all the way back to the town. He'd felt satisfied with the results of the quest, honestly.

Chase: HP: 249/260 | EN: 14/26 (-5, +3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Venomous Spider: HP: 0/130 (-40) | DMG: 39

Loot: 1420 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 1 Perfect Weapon, 10 T1 Material

The spider faltered at the strike, much like the previous one had. "It definitely isn't because of all the damage I'm dealing. This skill must have some effect that causes everything it hits to get dazed for so long, I've used skills that deal just as much damage in the past and they never have an effect like this unless they're the finishing blow. Regardless, I'll capitalize on that advantage and come out on top!", he convinced himself and while turned to the stunned spider, he quickly spun on his heels and used Cyclone to throw a flurry of slashes its way, in order to chip its health down just a bit more than he already had.

Just when the spider was going to attack him, the bluehead landed a fair bit back, barely missing the spider's vicious bite that was sent his way and grinning. With his back turned, it was the perfect time for him to use his Back Rush as a finishing blow.

Chase: HP: 249/260 | EN: 16/26 (-4, +1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Venomous Spider: HP: 40/130 (-36) | DMG: 39

Cooldowns: Stun; 2 posts

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

As the monster crept out of the bushes and revealed its form, much to Chase's displeasure, it appeared to be another spider with what seemed like a skull pattern painted on its back, getting him to shiver even more than before. For as much of a bother as they already were, as disgusting and vile as they looked and as detailed as this world allowed them to be... "A-Akihiko was especially cruel... Tell me this is the theme for just this forest and not the entire floor... Why not a minotaur or something around those lines..?!", he monologued inside of his head, calmly taking a deep breath and regaining his composure.

Having completely recollected his focus, he moved to repeat the same move he already had twice now, for a third time. As a bright red glow appeared around his sword, he practiced the same combo on the enemy once more before it had a chance to strike right at him.

Chase: HP: 249/260 | EN: 19/26 (-9, +2) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Venomous Spider: HP: 76/130 (-54) | DMG: 39 (STUNNED)

Cooldowns: Stun; 3 posts

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

With a final, quick glance around the place for materials, the boy picked himself up off the ground and took hold of his sword, pulling it out of the earth and looking at the flat of his blade momentarily before exhaling deeply. "As said, just a final one. No more, regardless of how good I might do.", he finished inside his head and took a look back at the forest, smiling confidently. He took a few steps back towards the forest's path that started right from the entrance, making sure to keep himself near the town where he could flee at any given point in time, just in case things really began to go south.

It wasn't long before waiting proved to be fruitful after all, getting his energy back in full and letting out a sigh of relief. "Alright... Hopefully the next monster to show up won't be a spider this time around.", he grunted and hoped for the best as he began to take a few, small steps back into the forest, just enough so that he could see a monster peeking out of the bushes.

Chase: HP: 249/260 (+10) | EN: 18/26 (+1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

"It takes long to regenerate all of my energy... There has to be some way to do it faster. I should ask around after I'm done with this and learn how. It can't be as simple as stand around and wait.", the boy pondered to himself, deciding to give himself a bit more of a break to recover. Another monster wouldn't hurt, especially if he wanted to have as much familiarity with combat and experience as possible. He'd easily be able to manipulate all of the knowledge he'd gathered for each and every quest, and accumulate even more for the ones right after.

"I shouldn't overdo it with the monsters though. I'll fight just one more, then I'm calling it quits for now. I should look for any methods to recover energy faster.", he repeated the plan inside of his head, giving quick peeks around for any other materials that would happen to have spawned near the resting swordsman.

Chase: HP: 239/260 (+10) | EN: 17/26 (+3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

Satisfied with the results of the battle, the bluehead grinned and decided to take a break. He pierced his sword into the ground right next to him, before plopping right next to it and stretching. He kept his guard up, as always, ready to pull the blade out of the ground and use it to slash anything that approached down, but he could rest easy knowing most monsters around would probably be scared of him based on his performance against what seemed like a strong enough monster on its own, that being the spider he just killed.

He didn't even take that much damage, now that he could calmly take a look at his health bar and energy. Sure, he was somewhat spent on the battle but he could probably sustain a few monsters like this, given he'd rest a bit in between the battles. As he sat back up, Chase looked around to look for any materials, humming lowly to himself as he decided to rest momentarily, before killing a final monster to end this run off and head back into the safety of the town.

Chase: HP: 229/260 (+10) | EN: 14/26 (+3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 6 T1 Material

Getting his footing once more as he jumped back, he began to breathe heavily. The attack didn't hurt, like everything else in this world, but the feeling that danger was closer and closer at every single strike that landed on him... Let alone, this being one of the few strikes that had successfully hit him in his stay on this world... "I won't lose to this measly spider... Let's finish this!", he bolstered himself mentally, charging in once more to use the same move as he repeated the same actions as beforehand.

He pulled all his weight onto his heel, beginning to spin wildly using the weight of his sword for what would hopefully be the finishing blows on the spider, marking his first monster killed. He felt the hit connect, taking its HP down to zero as the blip from the health bar disappearing was heard. It didn't take long before the spider completely disappeared, turning into blue crystals. For the first time after killing a non-specific quest monster, a loot window appeared before him and got him to smile. "What did we get..?"

Chase: HP: 219/260 | EN: 11/26 (-4, +1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 0/130 (-28) | DMG: 39

Loot: 520 Col, 1 Rare Trinket, 5 T1 Material

"Let's try to attack it again... Just keep your focus this time, you shouldn't miss. Leaving too many openings for your opponent is bad. Shay isn't here to keep your back this time, so do it yourself damn it...", he punched himself mentally over and over, trying to drill into his head that more mistakes wouldn't do him any good. That much was obvious. He wanted to get familiarized with the system already, so he could start getting to doing everything half as well as the frontliners if anything.

As he charged at the enemy once more, he quickly put all his weight on the back of his heel, gripping his blade tightly and beginning to spin in hopes that he'd slash at the enemy multiple times in quick succession, dealing a hefty amount of damage. Of course, he managed to hit it just fine, but before he could jump back, the spider managed to land a hit on him, getting his shoulder with its sharp leg and dealing quite the damage itself. "T-Tch!"

Chase: HP: 219/260 (-41) | EN: 14/26 (-4, +1) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 28/130 (-36) | DMG: 39 

Cooldowns: Stun; 1 post

Seeing his enemy so weak by a single attack, with almost half of its health wiped was good enough. Its health bar was still green, but it was almost half depleted, that was easy to tell. Without leaving much room for it to counter attack, he jumped back to where he was with his back turned, before leaping at it again and spinning mid air, slashing at it once more to deal some damage.

His acrobatics seemed to get him only this far though, as he'd miscalculated the distance between the two and missed his attack. When he saw the spider trying to attack him, although with unsteady footing, he managed to jump back and evade its own attack as well, panting and trying to keep himself calm. He wasn't in any danger, it was just a battle. It had already gotten him riled up all the same regardless though. "Come on, focus damn it..."

Chase: HP: 260/260 | EN: 17/26 (-5, +3) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 64/130 | DMG: 39 

Cooldowns: Stun; 2 posts

Once he'd noted down where he was, at least mentally, he closed his menu and stepped just slightly into the forest. Trying to look for monsters for once felt quite weird. Some cursors stuck out of the bushes like sore thumbs, but it wasn't him looking for a fight that got him one- rather, another monster had the same mentality as him, by the looks of it. A spider with thick legs appeared right before him, getting a hiss out of the boy as he held his sword in front of him and gulped dryly. "A-A spider of all things... It looks even freakier than in the real world...", he shivered and tried to shrug it off, maintaining his composure.

A bright red glow appeared from his blade as he dashed right at it, letting out a shout and trying to perform the same combo he used on the minotaur in order to stun the spider and deal a fair chunk of damage too. If the armor-like hide on its legs and body didn't speak for itself though, it was tough to say the least. Much tougher than anything he'd faced up to now, for certain. An enemy of his own level. As his attack landed, it proved to have worked much too well against it, dealing more damage than it normally would. That got him to smile, seeing his own progress as the spider dropped onto the ground, weakened.

Chase: HP: 260/260 | EN: 19/26 (-9, +2) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2
Armored Spider: HP: 64/130 (-66) | DMG: 39 (STUNNED)

Cooldowns: Stun; 3 posts

It had been a few minutes since the battle with the minotaur was over, and now he felt his energy having fully recovered. His health was already back to max, and he was carefully stepping back out of the maze with his sword in his hands at the ready. If he was itching for a fight with the monsters around him, there was no need to reassure him that they were doing just the same. Waiting for the perfect moment to attack and catch him off guard, probably. "Even if nothing's happening, it feels so tense..."

He eventually began to get into a clearer and less dense part of the forest, which was reassuring to say the least. He began to head back to the town pretty quickly, eventually arriving to just outside the forest and opening his map to check where that was. While he was at it, he gave a quick look around the ground for materials and picked up any he found- if he did, always. "I can always remember this spot so as not to get lost."

Materials found: 1

As the bluehead began to exit the tomb and head back to the entrance of the maze he'd gone down, he realised just how little time had passed. He expected it to take much longer, and the boss fight to prove at least a little bit more challenging. It was fine however, it's not like getting the job done just as well but faster bothered him. "Still though, I've got some time to burn... I wonder if I should try fighting one of the monsters on my way out of the forest, just for the experience. More fights never hurt anyways, do they?", he thought to himself biting his lower lip slightly.

He quickly checked his battle ready inventory, seeing how he still had enough consumables, potions, rations and the like that would help keep him out of harm's way in the worst case scenario. He was going to be fighting near the entrance of the forest anyways, so escaping shouldn't prove to be too hard if things start to go south. And he was planning to fight one or two monsters at best anyways. 

As he walked into the tomb that the minotaur seemed to be protecting, the boy looked left and right, searching for the necklace. He knew it was there, not where or how it'd be. That being said, he looked around the ground for anything that glowed, similar to a material, in hopes that he'd see it somewhere among the mossy bricks he was stepping on, now in the tomb of the king that'd been buried here. "That didn't really happen though, so... It's just game 'lore', isn't it?", he skeptically wondered, frowning a bit.

Looking at the ground had no results however, other than looking like a fool to thankfully, just himself. He quickly noticed as he went deeper and deeper into the tomb that an altar stood there, with a small window opened up above it. He approached it, noticing how it was very similar to a loot window asking if he wanted to pick up the necklace or not. "Of course. There it is."

With a deep breath, he blocked every other sound out of his mind and tried to focus on having full and total control of his body and blade. As he exhaled, his blade began to glow a bright red and he ran right at his enemy, beginning to use his combo. He slashed at the minotaur, weaving in overcuts, undercuts and some horizontal slashes all the same to deal devastating amounts of damage. When he'd finished his combo, he could see the minotaur raise its hand into the air begin a downwards movement, ready to slash at Chase with all it had.

As the boy jumped back though, when the blade struck where he would have been, the monster and its equipment shattered into pieces, leaving nothing behind. That got a grin out of the bluehead, who sheathed his sword once the loot confirmation window had appeared, stretching and looking behind where the giant stood. "The necklace should be here."

Chase: HP: 260/260 | EN: 19/26 (-9, +2) | DMG: 9 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | REC: 2

Hoya Minotaur: HP: 0/45 (-45) | DMG: 30

Cooldowns: Stun; 2 posts

As he took the final turn obscuring the monster from his line of sight, he quickly took a battle ready stance and inspected its appearance. It was large, muscular and had a towering figure over him. However, others had faced it and informed him about how deceiving looks could be. "It's a game, not real life. Size means nothing, it all boils down to the numbers. And mine are higher.", the boy did his best to keep his composure, taking a deep breath and sliding one of his feet further behind as he gritted his teeth, preparing to attack.

The minotaur itself seemed just as battle ready as the rookie swordsman, preparing to dash right at him with its sword tightly gripped in one hand and its shield held firmly in its other to guard it. Perhaps the minotaur wouldn't even get a shot at him, or maybe it would... All that mattered though was that Chase was in little danger as is, unlike the guardian right before him.

"If we can defeat it in a single attack, it's not strong. Let's do it.", the bluehead replied with a confident voice and a faint hint of trust in her words. Sure, he trusted her but he couldn't really leave his life all up to Shay at any given point. He was beginning to open up to her due to her superior knowledge of the game, her larger amount of experience, literally and stat-wise and all the help she'd given him thus far. "Don't die, that's the plan.", he gave a small smile with that, shrugging and looking down at his sword quietly.

It hadn't been too long since he began to use it, barely a day or so, but he was already growing more and more used of it, keen of the blade and the stance he'd have to take when wielding it. A big part of the familiarity was because he saw just how strong he could be when using it, be it because of his own strength or the system assist, but... It was certainly nothing to be scoffed at. It made him feel safer, though. Safer than he'd ever felt back in the Town of Beginnings all this time.

It was a neat change of pace to see her in a more cheerful mood than usual. With how serious and stern her expression usually looked, he thought she looked much more friendly when she was relaxed and happy like this. "Yup, she definitely didn't even care. Doesn't make me feel any less guilty, but... It is what it is.", he finished his own train of thought before giving her a nod with a growing smile, realising that he was beginning to catch up fairly fast. Then again, that kind of brought him back to why he'd apologised so much beforehand. 

"Right, I just... I got caught up in some trouble. With quests and everything, sorry for doing a few alone. I didn't put myself in any real danger though.", he attempted to reassure her, although the boy was probably making a much bigger deal out of it than she would or could, really. That's mostly cause he took the promises he made quite seriously, and it was a promise to go out into the fields with her most of the time if not always. Well, definitely not always given how things had gone up to now. Getting back on track though, he gave a dry cough and tried to relax. "Well, more fighting experience is always good."

Just after a few minutes of guiding himself through the maze, he could already feel almost like he had been lost. "Just hug the left wall and keep going, you'll end up at the center like that. Easy trick to pick up, efficient as slow as it is. It's not like getting trapped out here would be an issue, the monsters should be too weak compared to me, so I could fend them off and make my way back out. If need be always.", the boy attempted to shrug this problem off, not really seeing it as that much of a problem in the first place. Before his mind got more time to keep wandering off like that, he could already feel light thudding at the pace of someone walking from further up ahead.

He knew that he was but a few turns from encountering what sounded like a heavy monster guarding something. According to the NPCs, that should mean it's guarding the entrance to the tomb he was meant to head for. "I'm close. I best keep my guard up and prepare to strike quick and hard."

Albeit having gotten tired yesterday, Chase had awoken much more energised than before today. Hell, he couldn't get any sleep after waking up rather early in the morning, so he got caught up in mischief throughout the morning, and... Well, he was rather worried about the reaction that would get out of his partner. Whatever the case, he was alive and that's what mattered hopefully. For the most part. Having just finished with some quests he got admittedly, dragged into by his own stupidity, in the second floor, he sent @Shay a message to come meet him, although riddled with a few awkward apologies here and there.

"Let's hope she doesn't kill me herself.", he thought as he waited in front of the teleporter in Urbus, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently and keeping his arms crossed while nervously checking his menu every so often. It was more so because he didn't want to look like a fool while waiting rather than because he expected a reply or something like a stat of his to change.