Katoka

Katoka watched the girl as they neared the cave, after a moment she pointed up to where her name was. Ah, yes of course. She had actually saw her name when she joined the party but she wanted to try and make some small talk. "Right, Shirayuki. It's nice to meet you." the samurai laughed awkwardly. She hoped that she wasn't bothering the girl by talking too much.

Once they reached the entrance of the cave the blonde attempted to peer inside, "You really can't see anything past a few feet in there. This should be rather interesting huh?" she asked aloud knowing she wasn't going to get much of a response. Fighting in the darkness was going to be difficult, they could probably see a bit when the light of their sword skills were charged but besides that they would be fighting blind. Turning to face the girl she asked, "You ready to head in then?"

The steaming bowl of ramen in front of Katoka was making her mouth water. Taking the chopsticks next to her and separating them she thanked the cook and began to eat. The blonde let out a sound that would have gotten her arrested, the satisfaction she received from just one bite was like nothing she had experienced so far in Aincrad. After finishing hwat she had in her mouth she blushed and looked around her, the other man seemed unfazed, however the woman was glancing at her slightly but quickly went back to her meal. "Odd, she doesn't have a player cursor above her head." she thought to herself.

Katoka finished her meal but kept an eye on the woman for a bit, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to jump out at her. Just as she finished and paid the cook she saw the women get up to leave. She walked around the side of the building out of sight or no more than a few seconds, as Katoka peeked to see where she was headed she say that she was gone. "How... Strange?" she said out loud, "I'm sure it's nothing though."

It took a bit of searching but there was a place selling food after all. It took a bit of wandering but Katoka had managed to find a house that had a sort of stall built on the outside that a few people were eating at. She sat down and was handed a menu by a gentleman that was cooking already. It didn't take her long to find what she wanted, "I'll take the pork belly ramen sir." she said handing it back to him, her grunted in response. The man was bald, not balding but a clean shaven head, and in his mid thirties probably. He seemed like someone that was rough on the exterior, but actually very caring. She could tell by the soft look in his eyes that her was a good man.

There were two other individuals eating, a pot bellied man and a younger woman close to her own age wearing a headband around her head. The man was focused on his steak and the woman simply sipping her tea and reading a book. The samurai didn't take much notice past that as she watched the cook prepare her meal, "It still amazes me the detail in their actions. I swear sometimes I can't tell that these people aren't real." she thought to herself.

Katoka looked to her new companion and back to the distressed woman, "Of course we will help. We will bring your daughter back in no time ma'am." she smiled as sweet as she could, hoping her expression would calm her. She then remembered that this woman was of course not real and her personality and actions were just code in a system. The blonde cleared her throat a bit and accepted the quest in the window that had popped up in front of her.

Checking her map she led the white haired girl out of town and into the hills designated by the map. It thankfully wasn't as far a walk so if all went well they could probably have the young girl back to her mother before long. But, wouldn't she just reappear back in the caves later for the next person to complete the quest? How many times has this same girl been rescued and then just gets lost again? Katoka's head began to hurt with the loops she was putting herself into with npcs and their actions.

"So I realize you don't speak much, but what should I call you?" the samurai said, trying to get her mind off the topic her brain had sent her spiraling on.

Katoka enjoyed the thought of having Freyd along for the remainder of the dragon hunting quests. They were only going to get more difficult along the way after all and having a strong ally there for backup was the kind of insurance that she was comfortable with. Checking to be sure she got the item drop the blonde agreed to have lunch, nothing was better after a battle than filling your belly, especially if it was free.

Following the two back to town Katoka picked up her pace so she could walk alongside the green haired woman, "Hey Elora, have you met before this? I swear I've seen your fighting style before." the giggled a bit, "Wild spear throwing tactics and all." racking her brain the samurai tried to remember where she had seen another spear user other than Ruler. Holding her chin with her thumb and forefinger, her face scrunched in thought as they walked along the dirt road.

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

Katoka was happy Vie, no Jami-chan, had shared her name with her. It gave her a fluttering feeling in her stomach as they neared their destination, while distracted her guild mate had entered the cave ahead of her. The blonde snapped back to reality when she heard the grinding of the rocks as they formed the first cave guardian, rushing in she saw the golem as it was mid swing of it's fist. She saw the girls pleading eyes as she looked at Katoka.

With speed she didn't know she had the samurai seemingly blinked from one side of the cave to standing in front of Vie. The only indication that she had attacked was the shower of sparks when her sword had struck the incoming fist, which was now lying in a pile on the ground having been separated from the main body. "Are you ok Jami-chan?" she asked, her voice taking on a more serious tone, "Take a moment to gather yourself and then get those fists ready. I've taken a good amount from it's health for you."

Vie | HP 280/280 | EN 18/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 24 [8-10]
Katoka | HP 280/280 | EN 28/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 12 

Cave Guardian | HP 10/20 | DMG 50(1st)/5(after 1st)

Returning back to Horunka took less time than it had to get to the spawn location, thankfully when she had arrived back at the large house the woman she had run into previously wasn't hard to find. Katoka pulled the quest item from her inventory and offered it to the woman, she took it graciously. "Oh thank you so much!" she sobbed, "This is exactly what my child needs." she cried more and the samurai wanted to comfort her, but didn't wan't to set off the harassment code of the system.

A pop up window opened in front of her and declared the quest completed, with a sigh of relief she accepted the rewards and exited the house. "Now, there has to be some sort of food place around here right?" she said placing her hands on her hips, "Surely they don't expect me to travel all the way back to the Town of Beginnings for some grub."

Katoka smiled and opened her game menu to send the young woman a party invite. She seemed to be someone of few words so hopefully their interactions wouldn't too awkward. Once she was finished she closed the menu and looked back at the girl, she noticed the ferret around her neck and instantly was captivated. "Oooh! Look at the sweet baby." she cooed, "Such beautiful fur too!" she didn't attempt to pet the little one as she wasn't sure if it was alright or not.

"Well, should we head out then?" the blonde asked, "I believe the quest giver isn't too far from here." Gesturing for the girl the follow, Katoka began walking deeper into the town. She knew that she needed to find a distressed mother in order to trigger the event, as for where she was exactly she wasn't sure. The samurai passed on the information to her companion and told her who to keep a lookout for.

Katoka had only been on the second floor once before for a previous quest, one where she hadn't landed a single hit on an enemy. The blonde sighed and closed her eyes, pinching he bridge of her nose. "I... Kind of hate this floor." she said to herself. She had come back in search of a beginner quest that was supposed to give a decent col reward, she also wanted to knock it off the long list of quests that she wanted to at least experience once.

It was in this moment of reflection that she felt someone run into her. The samurai turned to see a girl dressed in assassin like garb laying on the ground, she apologized and began to stand. Katoka offered her a hand to help her up. "I'm sorry as well, I shouldn't have been standing right in the middle of the street like this." she smiled at the girl, noticing her gear looked a bit low in level, "My name's Katoka, are you here to do the cave quest as well? We could probably knock it out quicker together."

"Nice hit Elora!" the blonde called out as she saw her strike the dragon. Something about the way she fought jogged Katoka's memory, she had seen it before. Shaking her head the samurai readied her self and once again unleashed an attack on her enemy. This time she used a new art, her steps moving fluidly as if she was stepping on rocks crossing a river.

When she struck the dragon it was in circular motions that left light trails from the sword art being released, it was almost entrancing to watch. When her damage was dealt the girl stepped back once again out of the dragon's melee reach. She knew that the creature could hit from a distance, but she liked her chances being out of reach. "Alright Freyd, you're up!" she called to him. She had a feeling though that he was going to conk it over the head again, she didn't mind but she might not be about to hold in her laugh like she did last time.

[1] Elora | HP: 360/360 | EN: 15/36 | DMG:6 | ACC:2 | EVA:1 | KEEN:1 | LM:2
[2] Katoka | HP: 300/300 | EN: 21/30 | DMG:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:2 | LD:1 | BLD:12 | REC:2
[1] Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:960/960 | EN:94/94 | DMG:16 | MIT:54 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12

Katoka drew her katana as the enemies approached, the steady beat of their footsteps and shield bashing making the pace of her heart quicken. Taking a deep breath to calm herself she noticed the small raven haired girl nearby, "She's... So young." she said to herself. Her grip tightened on her weapon and she called to the girl, "Stay near me if you begin to feel overwhelmed. I'll help you the best I can!" @Asmura

Watching the scythe wielding woman as she attacked the group nearest to her, the samurai picked one enemy nearby to focus on. She knew her AoE attack was weak, so one at a time would be best for her. Katoka dug her feet into the ground and launched herself forward, releasing her queued up sword art on the enemy before her. She ducked under the creature's shield and sliced the beast to ribbons, finishing it off by cleaving it in two. It stood motionless for a moment before it burst into fractured polygons. The small blonde hopped back a bit so she could stay just out of range of the marching army.

Wa Shu >> Phalanx5 HP: 50/50 | DMG: 50 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 15 << HIT 
14 DMG x 5 = 70 - 15 MIT = 55 DMG

Katoka kept out of the reach of the creature's vine arms that were whipping around wildly, she shook her head and began to look at her surroundings. They had shifted positions near a large boulder, one that she could use to her advantage. A wolfish grin spread across her lips and the samurai darted to her left and up the side of the large stone, all the while charging her sword skill. Once she reached the apex of her climb she kicked off the surface and let the system guide her blade towards it's target.

There was a satisfying combo of up and down cuts followed by a final thrust, causing the mob's hp bar to drop extremely fast. The monsters exploded into polygons around her and Katoka returned her katana to it's home before doing a small victory dance. Remembering that she had to search for a particular item after killing the boss she began to look frantically for the dropped loot. Thankfully she managed to find the item and added it to her inventory, "That was almost too easy. Then again, the recommended level for this quest was only ten." she said aloud to herself as she made her way back to the town.

Katoka looked around at the others around her, most of them seemed to be around the same level as her judging by their gear. She turned to the girl that had spoken aloud to them, "Sadly all I can really do is deal damage at this point. I'm been focusing all my points into my Katana skills." she sighed, wishing she had something a bit more useful to add to the party. She was glad they had someone that could at least heal them a bit if they needed it.

The samurai felt afraid, but the fear inside was not overtaking her, instead she used it to bolster her courage. She turned to the others around her, by the looks of things they would probably be without a tank. This meant hitting hard and fast, which Katoka herself was good at, when she managed to hit that was. Looking out over the battlefield she attempted to catch a glace of their enemy, but sadly she couldn't make out much from the chaos of falling players and water raining from above.

Seeing her two companions ready their weapons caused Katoka to follow suit. She held her katana at the ready as Elora searched the area and get startled by the dragon racing down from the nearby tree. The blonde tried not to laugh when the woman launched her weapon into a tree in the distance. Readying herself, Katoka queued up her sword art and rushed in while Elora chased after her weapon.

"Time for me to take crack at the little guy!" she called out as she ran in. The samurai knew that Freyd would more than likely dispatch the small dragon with one hit, but she wanted to at least get some damage in herself. She slid to a stop next to her target kicking up dirt and proceeded to let the system finish her movements. With sweeping slashes of her weapon the samurai cut into the creature with ease, finishing off her skill with a downward slash and then scooting back from her enemy so she wouldn't be too close.

[0] Elora | HP: 360/360 | EN: 25/36 | DMG:6 | ACC:2 | EVA:1 | KEEN:1 | LM:2
[1] Katoka | HP: 300/300 | EN: 25/30 | DMG:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:2 | LD:1 | BLD:12 | REC:2
[0] Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:960/960 | EN:94/94 | DMG:16 | MIT:54 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12

Resuming her previous stance the blonde watched at a new Nepent spawned, this one however had a large red flower atop it's head. She took a deep breath again and exhaled, she still felt calm and collected. Katoka was still far enough from the boss that it hadn't noticed her yet, this gave her time to watch it's movements for anything that was different from the previous two. Nothing seemed out of place aside from it's flower, this set her at ease. With that she assumed a different stance and queued up a different skill before rushing in to meet her next foe.

The Nepent Variant quickly took notice of her and when she released her skill it managed to dodge wit ha speed she hadn't accounted for. Taken off guard the girl barely managed to dodge the plants tendril arms when it swung at her. "Damn!" she cursed as she tucked into a roll and jumped back up to her feet, sliding to a stop just out of reach. "Don't lose your nerve now Katsumi!" she chided herself.

Katoka | HP:340/340 | EN:28/34 | DMG:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:2 | LD:1 | BLD:12 | REC:2

Taking a deep breath the samurai drew her sword and assumed her fighting stance, she was still a ways away from the creatures aggro range but she wanted to have some time to collect herself and get into the right mindset. After clearing her mind she dashed forward and began to charge up her sword skill Tsumuji Guruma in order to aoe hit the two bulbous plants at once. Despite her training she was still a novice at using these skills and wished she had more luck in getting hits.

Sliding to a stop in between the two mobs she released her queued up skill and lashed out at the over grown weeds letting out a "Seyaaaaahhhh!" the monsters barely had the time to turn towards her before they were both cut deep and long by her blade. When they both shattered on the first hit Katoka was surprised at first. Normally it took her a few tried before she could really hit her opponents. She felt she would have done better in terms of her technique but overall she was pleased. But with that she knew that the boss was next, and it had a lot more health than the two small fries she just dispatched.

Katoka | HP:340/340 | EN:29/34 | DMG:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:2 | LD:1 | BLD:12 | REC:2

Arriving at the edge of a clearing Katoka surveyed the area, there were plenty of trees that circled the clearing making it easy to distinguish the spawning area of the creatures. Thankfully there were large rocks and fallen logs here or there that would provide necessary cover in case she needed to find a place to hide. After she felt she had taken the time to take in the area she stepped out of the trees and into the grassy area.

This seemed to cause a reaction in the system because in the distance two fairly large plant monsters to spawn, they were taller than the blonde, but then again most players were too, and they had large gaping mouths that flapped open and closed exposing their sharp teeth. Their vine arms wiggled and waved as they crawled around on their legs that grew from the stalks supporting them. The sight of them made Katoka cringe, "Disgusting." she muttered under her breath as she placed a hand on her sword hilt.

After saying her goodbyes, Katoka left the small town and ventured out into the woods. She checked her map of the area to make sure she was headed in the correct direction and double checked her gear; once she was satisfied she continued on the trail leading into the woods. While she walked the dirt path the little blonde's mind began to wonder, thinking of the road shed been on so far and how far she had climbed in level.

She felt like a different person, like the scared little anxious girl that she used to be was completely gone. Now when she was with Ruler she felt more confident, when she was with Hisa she felt a burning desire to compete, and with Vie she had felt the need to protect and watch over her, not that she needed it of course. Katoka giggled to herself at the thought of her friends scolding her for being to too overprotective of them and let her mind wander a bit further.

Katoka was in shock. One minute she was enjoying a candied apple, and the next she was falling high in the air. She looked down at her hand and flexed it, realizing that there was no longer a delicious treat in her grasp, she began to get angry. A split second later it dawned on her that she was falling from a such a height that was sure to deal her more than enough damage to kill her. As she was nearing the ground she felt herself slow down in speed and float safely to her feet. She looked around confused for a moment before she quickly equipped her battle ready equipment, she scanned the area to take in the sights of the other player around her and gathered up her will to call out to anyone nearby.

"Anyone not equipped to fight or confident enough in their level to do the same, evacuate the area!" she called out to the shivering people around her. She didn't know where this strange surge of command had come from but she wasn't about to let it go to waste, "Anyone else, check the people falling! If they are hurt take them somewhere safe until they can be tended to!" she then pulled a food item from her inventory. "Thanks for the meal Firm Anima." she said before eating the steak she had pulled from the vault not long ago.

Katoka consumes <<Well Done Steak (+2 base, -20 Mit): 163730>>

Katoka | HP:340/340 | EN:34/34 | DMG:14 | EVA:3 | ACC:4 | LD:1 | BLD:12 | REC:2
(DMG:8 + 3 event + 3 protein =14, EVA:1 + 2 event =3, ACC: 2 + 2 event =4, MIT:0 + 15 event - 15 protein =0 )

It didn't take long for Katoka to arrive at the two story house, it was a small village after all. She knocked on the door lightly and then opened it, peaking her head in. It was your fairly typical fantasy house with a bit more high end items here and there. "Hello?" she called out as she entered fully, "Anyone home? I came because I heard someone was in need of assistance." she closed the door behind her and stood in the entry way as she heard footsteps from a nearby staircase.

A striking woman in her mid to late 30's appeared, she was gorgeous but it was clear she had not slept well recently. "Ah yes, please miss. I am in desperate need of help." she said when she saw the small samurai. "My daughter is sick and is in need of medicine from a monster in the nearby woods. Please, help us." A prompt opened in front of Katsumi to accept the <<Secret Medicine Of The Forest>> quest, to which she accepted. The woman let out a sigh of relief and thanked her profusely, she told her of the location and of the creatures she would need to hunt. Plant monsters that were very dangerous. Katoka wasn't worried though, with her high level these creatures would be no issue.

Katoka giggled at the green haired girl, she liked how spunky she was while coming up with the plan to fight the dragon. "As much as this world and it's creatures are coded, it can be hard to tell them apart from actual living things. It might still be fairly amusing to stick something in the dragon's mouth and see what happens." she laughed covering her with one hand. Elora was very amusing, "It would be fun to go on more quests with her in the future." she thought to herself as they entered the forest.

The samurai began to search around the area for anything of interest that could lead them to the beast. "Hey Freyd, do you think it would spawn around here?" she asked with her head in a nearby bush. She pulled her head out and brushed some twigs and leaves from her hair, missing a few as she did so, "Or maybe we should look for signs a place where there's been a recent fire?" she shrugged and looked to her companions.

Taking her final steps over the threshold of Horunka Katoka was met with the familiar pop-up message of entering a safe zone, letting out a sign of relief she began to take in her surroundings. While she was over leveled for the area, the blonde still got the chills when outside of the safe zones by herself. The town she was in was fairly small, much smaller in comparison to the Town of Beginnings, and from what she heard of Tolbana it was smaller than that as well.

From the information she had gathered at the guild hall she would need to find the only two story house in this area to find the NPC to start the quest. Judging by the way the houses were laid out, it would most likely be in the center of town, also it wasn't hard to miss the only tall house in the area. The samurai placed her left hand on the hilt of her katana and followed the cobblestone street deeper into the settlement.

Katoka blushed, "I...hadn't planned on it. But knowing my luck I'll keep missing and just draw it's attention." she sighed hunching over in defeat. "I am interested to hear how you know so much about dragons though Elora." she said straightening up. The blonde felt there was a good story behind her descriptions of the creatures, plus it couldn't hurt to have a good story on the trip to the dragon's spawning area.

"From what I've read up on the quests at the guild hall I feel like you'll be able to one hit a majority of these baby dragons Freyd." Katoka said before she finished her coffee. "As for later down the line it will definitely be troublesome, especially the final bit. But by the time we get there I'm sure we'll be strong enough to handle things." the little samurai was beginning to ramble again about quest details and plans before she stopped herself, her face beginning to flush again. "W-we should probably head out soon. Before I start rambling again."

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

"Hmmmm, I'm not sure how she feels about compliments and such. Though most artists don't mind as much, they tend to hear compliments often I would think. Just don't tell her how to paint her piece and you should be fine." Katoka responded as they left the building, "We won't be spending much time with her though, once you two turn in the package you were given-" the blonde began to continue explaining the quest in detail, making sure to tell the two that once they reach the cave they will need to venture inside to find and touch the gem requested by the artist.

"Now the creature will form around the gem so don't get too startled. Also it's slow but hits hard so you'll need to get out fast, make sure you hit harder." she realized that she had been rambling again and began to blush. "I... I'm sorry. I went off again didn't I?" she covered her face in embarrassment.

Katoka nodded to Chase, "I've got one now but if I need anything I'll be sure to hit you up. I might hang on to them for a bit though in case I finally get started brewing up potions and such." she turned to her red headed friend and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry Vie, I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to fish in the future. If you're lucky maybe you'll get some really good stuff from it too." she smiled, the blonde wasn't sure if she was cheering her up or not, but she was making an attempt.

"Well, let's make our way back to town then." she began walking with the two and began talking with Vie about some of the restaurants she had visited recently. Even though there wasn't much in the way of danger during this quest it had still been fun. She learned more about a fellow player, and got to spend more time with Vie, that was a win in her book.

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