Kura

"I now know what I'm working with. A mechanical bird who still wishes to fly, that mimics the process yet unable to achieve flight due to their nature itself."

After that metaphor about Kura's rigidness impacting his singing, Apollo would step forward and continue to observe Kura with that same impassive gaze. Internally however, Apollo's passion as a teacher had been lit, and he looked forward to making sure that this bird would soar under his guidance.

"We will not waste time with fundamentals, at the rate that your progressing in your studies, you will have a strong foundation to build your masterpieces upon. And yes, I know about your efforts in your inn room, I am a god after all. Anyways, we will instead be focusing on this."

Then, Apollo would place a finger upon Kura's heart. Kura would tilt his head at this action, though not for the reason you would think.

"I already do breathing exercises."

Remembering the reason why he was here in the first place, Kura snapped out of his daze and replied to the greek god.

"Yes, specifically for some sort of challenge."

"Perfect. Well come now, allow me to hear your melody.

Being put on the spot, Kura immediately began singing without hesitation. Giving it his best shot, his song of choice was the one that allowed him to pass the "Earning a Living" quest. And this time it was much more refined, with Kura having practiced the fundamentals every day after gaining his profession. It was by no means perfect, however it was leagues better than his earlier attempts.

Ending on a soft note, Kura would look to Apollo for his reaction. While he was mulling over what to say, the greek god still looked as indifferent like earlier. As moments passed, Kura wondered whether or not he failed. That was when Apollo began to speak.

As Kura made his way through the building, the faint playing of a violin rung throughout the sanctified halls of Olympus. It called to Kura in a way that he could not describe, and unconsciously he began to make his way towards the source. Beautiful was a understatement when trying to find words to describe of the melody, one could even describe the skill being displayed as god like.

Before Kura himself realized it, he found himself in front of the musician who was creating such beautiful notes. Apollo was his name, and Kura refused to interrupt his recital, for once not doggedly pursuing his objective. It was just that mesmerizing that Kura forgot himself for a few moments.

However, like all good things, the song came to an end. Kura's clapping would immediately fill the silence. With a bow, Apollo would receive the applause with a polite demeanor. He did not smile however, and turned to regard Kura.

"Are you the one who Zeus sent for?"

Quietly, the satyr and player would travel on the road to Olympus together. There was no conversation between the two, with Kura happy for it to stay silent, and the satyr guard simply viewing this as another escort mission. Idly, Kura noted the broken shields and spears as he walked passed. Wondering whether it would be a wise idea to search for a farming spot on this floor, the satyr would clear their throat.

"We are here player. Up these steps you will find the challenge you seek."

And with that, the satyr guard would begin to head off. Kura would thank the guard for escorting him, then begin to climb the steps of the ornate building. Even more awe inspiring than the buildings in Athenaia, this placed looked fitting for the realm of gods, a literal heaven on earth. Kura once more didn't care, as he continued up the steps, eyes only focused on completing the objective he set out to do.

Making his way through the city, Kura planned to walk through the whole entire floor until he stumbled into Olympus. Luckily for both Kura and the god that was waiting for his arrival, a satyr guard would intercept Kura before he meandered too far off course. Raising a hand, the satyr guard would grab Kura's attention.

"Hail player. I am here to escort you to Olympus. If you would, follow me."

With Cardinal perhaps getting used to Kura's antics, the satyr guard was to the point as possible as to lessen the chance of Kura going off randomly. And for once, Kura didn't walk off while the NPC was talking, and dutifully followed. One would hope this was due to a desire to not run into a situation with a half cocked plan, but no, he would absolutely do so if given the chance once more. Instead the reason why he listened this time was because his plan was to go with the first lead that popped up and follow it all the way through.

It was early in the morning when Kura stepped onto floor seventeen for the first time. He was here due to an invitation by someone named "Zeus" for a challenge regarding his profession, performer. Interested in the reward, that being an item that would assist his crafting, Kura would walk through the streets of Athenaia. It was a beautiful city with architectural wonders based off greek culture, awe inspiring on how they were able to translate such a place into a game.

Kura however, sadly cared little. Like with everything he does, he tends to only focus on the goal he's set out for. And while that objective can change depending on the circumstances, it would always take priority over something like beauty or relaxation. While useful in a game of monsters and battle, crafting wise it strangled his progression in his craft.

Changing that would be Apollo's, god of medicine and music, next pet project.

QUEST ACCEPTED

(Player Stats)

It was silent as Kura looked around the battlefield. The wasp hive lay empty, and the defenders were either dead or routed. Hefting his hammer onto his shoulder, he looked to the setting sun in the distance. It was beautiful, in sharp contrast to how much blood that had been shed earlier. A breeze gently rolled off him as he quietly made his way down from the mountain. His objective was complete, and he looked forward to returning home.

Meanwhile, the remnants of the wasp hive were beginning work on a hive far away from the Urbus settlement. It was tedious work, however they were under the guidance of a new queen. Even while physically immature, she still held the wisdom necessary to command her subjects, as well as the fervor necessary from a leader to inspire others. She truly believed that they would rebuild, reclaim their former glory, and ensure that none could ever do such a thing to her people again. 

The Third Wasp Queen swore to achieve this, or die trying.

(Thread Summary)

The Second Wasp Queen knew her time was running thin, as exhaustion began to wrack her body. This player refused to stop fighting, and she could only keep attacking in hopes vengeance for the fallen. She knew this was a suicidal move, but she had no other options besides running out of energy and dying helplessly.

She flew as high as she could, then let herself fall. Dive bombing towards her target, she placed all of her rage and energy into this one final strike. The Second Wasp Queen saw the hammer rushing towards her, but she didn't care so long as she died fighting. And so she crashed against Kura's weapon, her momentum reflected back against her.

With her final sliver of strength, she maintained her flight as her healed slowly dwindled away. As she began to shatter into pixels mid air, her final thoughts were of how she looked forward to seeing her sister once more. 

(Combat)

(Looting)

Suddenly and without warning, the Second Wasp Queen backed up a few feet. Without hesitation, he pressed forward trying to keep her within reach of his hammer. But it was the same trick that Kura used against her at the beginning of the fight, with her avoiding the blow and going for her own.

Barely dodging her counter attack, Kura would be once more put on the defensive with the Second Wasp Queen giving little time for respite against her. There was no time for him to attack back as she never let up the pressure against him, mirroring the first Wasp Queen's tactics, and with double of the amounts of both rage and skill being used.

While Kura suffered no sufficient blows to be dealt damage, his energy was beginning to run thin despite the consumable he consumed earlier. Today was the first time he fought a boss, and now in the same day he would be fighting his second. He was running on fumes.

Kura didn't care, as he continued to search for an opening.

(Combat)

While Kura himself would never falter, his body began too. Consuming his "Chocolate Truffles" once more, he shoved down the exhaustion of fighting so many mobs in such a short amount of time down. He could not rest until the deed was done, and so he relied on his adrenaline to fuel him through the rest of this fight.

Once more, an opening was made, with Kura being forced to use a consumable. Blitzing forward, the Second Wasp Queen threw her whole entire arsenal of moves at Kura, trying to see what would stick. It was no longer just merely faints, as she zipped around him for back stabs, low blows and every other dirty move she could think of. None of them landed upon Kura, but he was hard pressed to counter attack with the initiative being given to the opponent. Dodging another possibly lethal blow, he focused and waited for an opportunity to strike.

(Combat)

Her health went down but not her determination. Feeling her life drain, she tried to be more tricky with her attacks. Feinting worked wonders against Kura, who without hesitation would ready a block or dodge for a sting that he thought would come, only to scramble out of the way from her mandibles. This back and forth continued for awhile as Kura struggled to read his opponents movements.

If the first Wasp Queen battle was a savage dance, this was a graceful, bloodlust filled ballet. The agility of the Second Wasp Queen was paired with precise technical skill that resulted in a beautiful style of combat. With her abilities, she looked to wear down Kura slowly, then finish him off with a flurry of blows.

Kura however, would never falter.

He remained fleet footed throughout her barrage of blows, and rather wait for a mistake that would never come, he pressed into her guard, and slammed his hammer into her once more. While pushed back a few feet, she angled herself once more towards him to continue the combat.

(Combat)

As soon as the final worker flew into the horizon, they both dashed forward, each intent on slaughtering the other. The Second Wasp Queen, even though she was thankful for the lives of her workers being spared, still wished to avenge her fallen brethren. As for Kura, he knew that if this Wasp Queen were to live, she would exact vengeance upon the town of Urbus, he had to cripple them as much as possible.

They met in a blur of stinger and hammer. The Second Wasp Queen was more meticulous than her sister in combat, though no less ferocious. Each parry was met with a second stab, and as he dodged her stinger her mandibles would lash out. Struggling to dodge through it all, he disengaged for a moment. Thinking he had him on the run, the Second Wasp Queen lunged forward to land a decisive blow.

Only for a hammer to smash into her head.

(Field Boss Spawn)

(Combat)

The only reason why the Second Wasp Queen wasn't immediately charging him was that she was protecting the workers while they retreated. Oh, she absolutely wanted to rip the limbs off of Kura and make him pay for what he had done, however, the hive always came first. And so she acted as a sentinel, ready to halt him in his tracks.

Quietly, Kura noted that the direction that the workers were moving was away from Urbus. Weighing his options, Kura decided to hold his ground as well until the evacuation was complete. He was doing this for the defense of Urbus, and so if they decided to move away from it he would not pursue them.

The Second Wasp Queen, realizing that Kura was going to allow for the workers to escape, had her rage abate somewhat. Don't get it wrong, she is furious for him killing her soldiers and sister. But at the very least she was glad that the non combatants would remain safe. And so they both stared at each other silently, waiting for the last worker to leave.

(Out of Combat Regeneration)

Before going any further, Kura organized his inventory, swapping the "Platinum Shard" for his normal "Gold Rings". Against the hive itself, he would need agility over sheer luck. Marching towards his next fight, he would spot the hive, a gargantuan structure for an insect fit to house hundreds of those wasps. Knowing he's found the location he began to move towards it.

Then he saw the Second Wasp Queen, regarding him from above.

While not the most expressive of creatures, even Kura could tell that it was angry beyond all belief. But unlike her brethren, she held back, much to Kura's surprise. Surprise that lasted until he looked at the hive once more.

He saw larva and eggs being carted off by worker wasps, flying to a destination unknown. Among them, he even saw a smaller version of the wasp queen before him being escorted by a few warrior wasps. Kura slowly realized that they were evacuating because of his presence.

(Item Switch)

(Out of Combat Regeneration)

Evacuations were going slower than the Second Wasp Queen would have liked. It was not easy transporting her whole brood with little to no preparation, but they had little choice in the matter. Then, one of the lookouts came barreling inside the hive, telling her that the threat was already here.

She eyed her remaining warriors, deciding whether or not to send them against the foe, but decided against it. They would be needed as escorts for the evacuating hive. Instead she began to make her way outside of her home, looking to intercept this new threat personally.

Their were two reasons for this, one was that she was the most powerful combatant in the hive. The Second Wasp Queen would not fall as easily as the warriors and could absolutely buy enough time for the rest of her hive's escape. Her second reason was of a more selfish nature.

She wanted to make this player bleed like he had done to her sister, then feed him to the larvae.

(Out of Combat Regeneration)

The one wasp that was acting as the flanker was momentarily stunned at how quickly their comrades fell. That shock however, turned into rage. Foregoing any sense of tactical nuance, it charged in with the only plan of ripping this player asunder with their mandibles.

Racing towards Kura, who just finished killing the four, the wasp unleashed a barrage of attacks, the number of which rivaled even the Wasp Queen's, albeit lacking the same stopping power as her's. The wasp's anger was at its peak, watching not one but two squads fall to this random intruder in their lands. They simply wanted to kill Kura as he had done to their comrades.

It was not meant to be however.

Overextending, Kura's hammer would find its mark on the final wasp. It crashed into it's body, and with a sickening crunch it would fall to the floor. The rage would seep out of its eyes, and when it's body shattered into pixels, it's final thoughts were of looking forward to seeing their fellow fallen warriors.

[15/15 Turns Before Field Boss Cool Down Refreshes. Can Now Spawn a Field Boss]

(Combat)

(Looting)

There were five wasps on this mission, each one with grim determination in their eyes as they engaged Kura. With rudimentary tactical prowess, the wasps conducted a hammer and anvil maneuver, with one of the wasps breaking off from the group and circling around to hit at Kura's back, and the other four acting as the anvil. The only down side is that it would take the one wasp acting as the hammer a few moments to get into position, and during that time was separated from the group.

Moments that the wasps did not have.

Kura dashed into the four remaining wasp's and crashed into them. Their formation immediately shattered as the wasps tried to organize a semblance of a counter attack, however Kura was simply killing them too quickly for them to give a chance of forming a meaningful resistance. That does not mean they didn't try however, suicidally dashing into Kura's reach in order to bypass his guard, all fear smothered by a blanket of rage. But Kura's strikes all struck true, and soon the four wasps fell to his hammer.

[14/15 Turns Before Field Boss Cool Down Refreshes]

(Combat)

(Looting)

Mid sip, he would hear the sniffing sound behind him as Blueberry smelled his beverage. The odd gesture would probably cause at least an eyebrow range to a normal person. Kura wasn't normal. Turning to face the pink haired girl, he would give her a straight answer as if he were asked the time of day.

"I like the taste of it, which is why I'm drinking it despite the time. Nice to meet you Blue, my name is Kura, no nickname."

Believing it to be a greeting of some sort, he would then return the peace sign with his empty hand. That was when he heard Nian speak up, with Kura wheeling his attention towards her now. Mulling over her words for a moment, he began to speak.

"Nice to meet you as well Nian. As for a midsummer's night ball, never heard of such a thing, but I would be interested in attending one."

Wondering what her difficult errand exactly was, Kura would continue to slowly drink his cup of coffee. He guessed it was something to do with the ball that she just spoke of, but in reality it could have been anything. Regardless, he made it his objective of today to find out about this ball, it sounded interesting and finding such things was his goal for today.

Buzzing quietly rang in Kura's ears. The noise was from far away, however he could tell it wasn't just a mere squadron of wasps in the distance. No, what Kura was hearing was the hive itself evacuating their home. Knowing that he had to be close, he picked up the pace. That's when he heard another source of buzzing, this time much closer. 

The two parties noticed each other around the same time. There was no hesitation from either side as both sides began to close the gap between each other as fast as possible. All of them looked to kill the other for their own reasons. For Kura, it was no longer for simple monetary gain, instead it was for the safety of Urbus and all of the NPC's there. And for the wasps, it was for the defense of their homeland as well as retribution for their fallen allies.

Either way, there will be blood.

[13/15 Turns Before Field Boss Cool Down Refreshes]

(Out of Combat Regeneration)

Kura meanwhile was getting closer and closer to the hive. He moved slowly, knowing that the wasp that got away will almost assuredly bring reinforcements. An ambush was probably the most likely scenario, and running headlong into one would absolutely mean his death, no matter how well he was able to deal with his opponents from before. And he refused to die before completing his objective.

As Kura marched onwards, the delaying squad of wasps followed the wasp who told them of the threat, who joined them to get their revenge. All of them in fact had vengeance blazing in their eyes. Too many have died to this singular player, from their queen to their fellow warriors. It was sickening to them that all of this was wrought by a player no less. While they had orders to simply delay Kura, they all doubted that if they were able to slay him the Second Wasp Queen would have any complaints. And so slay they will do.

[12/15 Turns Before Field Boss Cool Down Refreshes]

(Out of Combat Regeneration)

As Kura finished the fight with the last wasp, the one that fled had reached the hive. Rushing inside, it immediately it spewed out the information to the second Wasp Queen. She contemplated for a moment, and deduced that both her sister's as well as the other wasp warriors' disappearances were most likely due to this player intruding into their lands. And they were getting ever closer.

There was the passing thought of standing and fighting to the last, however if even if her sister could not deal with this player...

Calling to her workers and few remaining soldiers, she began the process of evacuating the hive. While she would love nothing more than to gather her remaining forces and smash this threat into a fine paste to avenge the fallen, the hive's future came first and foremost. Assigning the majority of her forces in escorting the larvae and immature queens to new lands, she hardened her heart and assigned another squad to act as a delaying force. The one's picked knew that the future of the hive was at stake, and so they sped off into what was essentially a suicide mission.

[11/15 Turns Before Field Boss Cool Down Refreshes]

(Out of Combat Regeneration)

Sipping his cup of coffee, Kura would be meandering through the village of Aruyt, carefully navigating the walk ways as to avoid falling into the forest below. He wasn't here for money to fund his ever growing expenses, no he was here to scout out more grinding areas. While his financial security was fine for now, that didn't mean it would always be like that. 

And so Kura was ready to simply wander around the floor for any points of interest. It felt odd to him to put off grinding for a day, but he viewed it as having the chance to find more efficient areas to gather more resources. Perhaps even finding something that'll help him with his performer craft, but those were just whimsical thoughts.

Breathing in the forest air, Kura felt great. With his favorite beverage in hand and a day of searching ahead of him, he felt good about today. 

"Its just a little scouting, what's the worst that can happen?"

(Stats)

Kura was becoming a regular at this rate, going towards the Cintamani at the end of the day to restock on supplies. Looking through his inventory, he did some rudimentary math and found that he didn't have enough to purchase to get a coffee alongside his crafting supplies. His priority was his performer profession currently so of course he would sacrifice the drink, however that didn't stop him longing for some caffeine.

Making it to the cafe cum potion shop, he would enter into the store and immediately head towards the shelf that contained the "Dragon's Breath". Then he would go through the motions of purchasing as per normal minus the coffee, its aroma tempting him to forego the "Dragon's Breath" entirely and just buy coffee with his Col. But he shoved that thought aside, and bought only the potion. Quietly, he made the goal of getting a steady enough income to purchase coffee everyday alongside his materials. But for now, just the "Dragon's Breath" would do.

Purchasing 1x "Dragon's Breath" from @Bistro for 1000 Col

Then, later on in the day, Kura would walk right back in. Already burning through his stock of "Dragon's Breath", he would trade the materials given to him by his sponsor for more consumables that would assist his craft. 

Kura already knew that a profession was an expensive thing to begin, but he didn't realize that he would practically empty his pockets every single time in order to remain efficient during the process. So he was glad for the infusion of materials, even if he didn't believe he necessarily deserved it. However, he knew that he would try his best to repay it in kind, and that meant more crafting. 

He would purchase another set of bottles and continue back to his inn room, ready to record his next attempts at singing.

Purchasing 3x "Dragon's Breath" from @Bistro for 9 Materials 

5/29/2021 Rank 1

+ 1x T1 Support Song Uncommon [Masterpiece, Instant]
+ 11 EXP
- 4 Materials 
 

These were not normal wasps, a good two feet tall and inch long stingers, they were the picture of an entomophobic's worst nightmare. Said nightmare was ripping into Kura, trying to kill him in as gruesome possible manner. Trying to wrestle the creature off him, it tried it's very best to bite into Kura's flesh. But due to his food from earlier, the effects we're minimal at most.

Eventually getting a good grip on the bug, he flung it to the side. The leader wasp spun in the air for a moment, trying then and succeeding in righting itself midair. It was ready to dash in once more to try its luck once more.

But in the time frame the wasp was stabilizing itself, Kura had already raised his hammer once more.

Smashing into the unexpecting insect, it crumpled underneath the concussive force of Kura's blow. In its final moments, it wondered if it had bought enough time for their fellow warrior. The wasp then shattered into light, rejoining their fallen comrades. 

[10/15 Turns Before Field Boss Cool Down Refreshes]

(Combat)

(Looting)