PP - F8 Training Days Part 1 (Takneil) (Mentor and Protege Series) (Completed)

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a small sigh as he rubbed his eyes after materializing on the eighth floor in the settlement of Florenthia Village. Even though he was getting accustomed to the fact his wife wasn't by his side in the safe zones, the thought still put him temporarily into a slightly depressed mood, "I really shouldn't be doing this right now, since I don't look in the best state. Nonetheless I promised this to Takneil a while back. I'm going to help him out."

Swiping on his menu he put together his message, sending it to the boy.

Quote

To: Takeneil
From: Calrex:
Subject: Time Has Come

Hey Tak, if you have the time I'd like to get started on your training. Meet me at the gates of Florenthia Village on the 8th floor. I'll be there wearing my armor.

With the message sent he gave a small sigh as he swiped on his menu, swapping the Grand Dragoon for the Grand Chariot: Legacy. Heading in the direction of the gates he looked up at the trees above with a small smile. Even with his tired eyes, the hyper-realism of SAO was still beautiful. "It's still not as beautiful as her. I'm going to keep doing everything I can to keep her safe."

Spoiler

Conditional Effects for Thread:
Extreme Exhaustion: Calrex's multiple sleepless nights may not affect his stats, but they do hinder his ability to fight. For ever roll that he takes he must use the CD. On a roll of 1-4 his exhaustion overtakes his willpower, preventing him from taking an action for the turn. On rolls of 5-8 he is able to act, but his attacks are weaker, only doing half their damage. On rolls of 9-12 nothing happens.

 

Edited December 6, 2015 by Calrex

[Takneil 0]

Whistling a catchy tune the boy strolled though the gates of floor 1, now that he was little bit stronger he felt safer venturing out of the safe zone granted it wasn't exactly free of risk it still felt like he could grind without significant worry. taking a moment to relax he sat by a familiar fountain and sighed happily. "it's nice to have a day to relax" 'you call cutting up Wolfs and Pigs relaxing?, weirdo' "Well yeah considering it makes me stronger and adept at fighting against them" 'Well I don't care it's still weird Takkun, either way I'm tired' rolling his eyes at the comment a notification caught his attention, swiping open his menu he tapped open the message. unable to restrain his smile he chuckled at the feeling. "So we can start now?" stretching as he stood up the boy made his way for the teleporter. 'good now I don't have to babysit you' "Who said I wanted you to in the first place?" 

groaning at the nausea swirling around his head Takneil scratched the back of his head nervously as he approached the man. "So what's up?" he asked casually.

[Calrex 0]

Looking over Calrex saw the familiar face of Takneil as he gave a smile, although it was concealed by the Grand Chariot: Legacy's helmet. Giving a nod he turned to face the young boy as he felt a smirk creep across his face, "Good to see you Tak, and thanks for being able to make it. I figured now would be a good time as any to start that training I promised you back when I was still in Absolute Pin. If you still wish to be, I'm still willing to take you under my wing and show you what I know about this game and how to survive."

With that he cleared his throat before continuing, "I won't always be able to guarantee your safety, but I will give my best to make sure you learn all of the skills I have gained so far. To be honest, my character stat development isn't a perfect system, but it's what works for me. I'll see if we can play to your strengths so that you shine as well."

[Takneil 0]

'Absolute pin...that's something I haven't thought about in a long time' remembering the guild he had almost been able to join, it had fallen apart for no apparent reason...just like Leviathan. letting out a sigh "of course I'm still willing, it's not like I'm gonna stumble across another high level player willing to be my teacher,friend, and not want to kill me for being weaker" he offered a small smile. "I understand that you're not invincible, no one is but it'll be nice to further my experience under someone who can point out flaws." 

rolling his shoulders he turned towards the man."so what's the plan?" 

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as he turned, motioning towards the gates as he began walking, "I'm glad you understand. I'm sure there's a lot of individuals who assume that pairing up with a much higher level means that they will be completely shielded from harm. I tend to think that's a flawed way of thinking, relying on someone else to keep you safe. If you can't function well on your own, you will only become a deficit in the long run when it comes to team tactics, because everyone needs to pull their weight."

"Nonetheless, that's what we're here to make sure of. First of all, it's been a while since I've seen you. What's your current stats? With that, I'm not sure if you're familiar with build types within games, but do you have an idea what you want to work towards. My build is focused towards balance, while others tend to aim for dealing as much damage as possible, sacrificing defenses to do so. Others side to go with as much defense as possible in order to protect those they work with. The multitude of variations are endless, but what do you feel you want to strive towards?"

[Takneil 0]

"Well at the moment the only thing I can say is that I have boosted damage and speed, as well as accuracy though I'm aiming for something a little closer to either avoiding damage or being able to take more." walking through the gates the boy thought about his previous combat experiences, back in the cave when he had faced the bat. Groaning he placed on hand on his forehead. "And I need to up my accuracy, I can never seem to hit anything"

letting the hand fall he thought about a type of build he would mesh well with. "Well I use a curved sword skill rather than a straight sword so I would be more adept with more speed, tying that in with accuracy I'm unsure if I could really be fast with taking minimal damage..." 

[Calrex 0]

"I see. So right now you're focusing on hitting more consistently, followed by your ability to sustain or evade blows. That makes sense. Both can be solved with the right equipment and skills. If you're really concerned with landing a hit, taking the Precision skill and obtaining a trinket which gives you more accuracy will be the way to go. If you want to take it one step further you can even find a familiar which benefits accuracy."

Exiting out of Florenthia Village Calrex instinctively activated his <<Reveal>> skill, making sure no monsters were in the immediate area, "Especially with what happened during his initiation I'm not surprised that Tak is focused on accuracy. I remember how battles were dragged out when I was first starting out because of that."

"As for the evasion of mitigation, it would really depend on you. Do you prefer to get out of the way of an attack, of stand fast and bear it. The reason I ask is because there's a few ways you can progress. If you want to go more towards evasion you'd likely be closer to me in what's referred to as a blink tank, one that specializes in not getting hit while keeping the enemy's attention on him. If you want to focus on mitigation, you'll be more like the absolute tank of Aincrad, Tristan, with mitigation high enough that you don't have to worry about a blow hitting you, as it will be reduced to dismissible damage unless the creature is capable of using defense-bypassing strikes."

As he continued scanning around Calrex continued speaking, "I would suggest you think about that deeply, because it's easy to go back if you go my route, because all it takes is a quick change of equipment. The absolute tank method requires the skill Block, which has you use a shield which essentially renders you incapable of dodging. However, like I said, that inability to dodge comes with an enormous boost in your defensive ability."

[Takneil 0]

What kind of monsters would they encounter up here?, musing in his head of the possibilities he followed Calrex out of the village keeping pace with him as not to put too much space between the two. "yeah, I do know I will have multiple items capable of aiding the situations but Damage Mitigation is something I want to have though Evasion with Accuracy will most likely be my priority at the moment, though I'll keep thinking on it." 

'Shield huh?, should I let him know I have one...though I kinda wanted it to be a surprise when we entered combat' deciding against it he nodded. "so where are we heading to?"

[Calrex 0]

"Sure thing. That's going to be the big step first of all, but other than that most of the things are up to you. If you want to increase your survivability Battle Healing is another one you can look into. If you combine it with Meditation you can want and not have to worry about healing."

As the two continued further Calrex saw a cluster of enemies getting closer, "We're heading to an area where we can see your combat skills. With the release of Sword Arts I want to see what you can do with that curved blade of yours. Of all the people I've seen you're the only other person other than Zelrius that uses a one-handed curved blade over a katana. Don't worry, this won't be like the Absolute Pin evaluation. I'll be making sure the monsters don't get a shot at attacking you."

[Takneil 0]

"Yeah, I've been combining skills in my head and seeing if there would be a certain set that would suit me well. Battle Healing, as far as I know is going to be a definite." it would be nice to max out Mitigation but he wanted to be able to work well with being fast, it's a tough decision though for now he should focus on what would be best for him.

Noticing the enemies he smirked, it looks as if he could show off his new equipment to his mentor after all. "I don't really know about the Katana skill, nor do I know how I would get it." Swiping open his menu he moved through many screens before stopping, with a small tap suddenly his left arm became covered in a black bracer. With the enemies getting closer the mirror like metal extended to it's full length, segmenting into the shape of a wing. Closing the menu he revealed the shield to the man. "But what I do know is that I like shields"

[Calrex 0]

Seeing his protege produce the shield on his free hand he gave a nod, "A shield is definitely something useful if you decide to keep it. However, if you decide to stick with one we'll need to put any thought of obtaining the katana skill on hold. I believe right now with your current rank in your curved sword skill you should be able to take katana next, but for now let's focus on increasing your survivability first."

"I think Tak's going to be the first shield user that uses a curved sword alongside it. Tristan to my knowledge, other than Oikawa, have opted to use them, with only the former actually deciding to forego his evasion entirely. I wonder of a two-mode configuration for Takneil might be a good idea. If he wants to use the katana it doesn't take up a normal skill slot, meaning that he could have two tactics in battle. One where he is on the defensive and good at sweeping attacks, and another where he forgoes the mitigation, but makes up for it in stronger Sword Arts."

With a nod Calrex continued forward, "If you decide to go the way you're thinking I believe you'll have a fairly unique build to work with. Let's see what we can do to cultivate that."

[Takneil 0]

Giving Calrex a nod Takneil drew <<Stinger Edge>> and faced the oncoming enemies. "I agree, it would do me good if I were to focus on boosting my current skills." with that he fell into a battle stance, if he were to get stronger he needed to test his new skill and learn how to properly operate his Sword Arts. If he obtained the Katana skill he would be able to add another roster of abilities to his Player, though he would need to switch out the shield when doing so maybe he could focus on Evasion rather than Mitigation?. Focusing on the nearing foes he gave a glance to his Mentor. "So Cal, are you gonna use <<Howl>>? or do I get to see if my Shield can do it's job?" he asked curious on how the battle was going to go. If Calrex was going to use his skill it would allow the boy to beat down on the enemies, but if he didn't it would balance out the battle. 

[NOTE:Since Tak does not have <<Eternal Melody>> equipped mitigation will be reduced to 6]

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as Takneil inquired about their strategy for the next fight, "Well, since you're going to be following in my footsteps, so to speak, I'd like you to take the opening move in the fight to come. Even though I work with a lot of players, most of my growth in stats was actually on my own. I guess in a way it's one of the strengths of my build, being capable of holding your own in most fights. So in this case, I want to see how you fare in this battle without my assistance."

Looking over he noticed that a trio of creatures had appeared, ones that had emerged from the waters below. They seemed like a cross between fish and frog. With a nod he directed Takneil towards the creatures, "These should make some fine opponents, so go ahead and face them. I'll observe your combat skills, but right now the main thing I want to see is your capability with wielding that shield of yours."

HP List
Takneil: 41/41
   Energy: 9/9

Enemies:
Frish 1: 16/16
Frish 2: 16/16
Frish 3: 16/16
Frish Traits: 8 DMG

 

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Calrex

[Takneil 0]

ID# 41195 results: Battle: 7+1=8(Success!) Craft: 1 Loot: 16 MOB: 3

Smirking the boy faced the weird creatures once again. "so I'm alone in this one huh?" Letting the shield collapse in on itself for later use he began building his strategy, they seemed they could pose a serious degree of risk if he didn't watch himself. studying their movements he made one of his own. "That's fine with me" he stated confidently unaware of what his movement brought about. feeling as if his body was now controlling itself his eye widened in surprise.'What's going on?' looking for the source Takneil's mind raced, what was happening to him? where the mobs doing this to him. trying to force his body to move a familiar bright white light  from <<Stinger Edge>> caught his eye, letting out a relieved breath he let himself succumb to the weapons wishes. 

Kicking off of the ground he leaned into the movement. Stepping in the middle of the enemies he performed a quick movement spinning himself in a circle slashing through his targets with ease, watching as their health dropped to near dead he swiftly held out his arm allowing the shield to open. readjusting his position he lowered the blade preparing for his next strike.

HP List
Takneil: 40/40 (DMit:6) [HP Altered due to Mod Update]
   Energy: 3/9(Farrant Full Moon Activated, -6. 4x[3x1]=12)

Enemies:

Frish 1: 4/16 (-12)
Frish 2: 4/16 (-12)
Frish 3: 4/16 (-12)

Edited December 6, 2015 by Takneil

[Calrex 0]

"Just as I suspected, Tak and Zel certainly have taken on one of the area of effect weapons. However that fighting style certainly isn't cost effective on energy at all. It's no wonder they need to constantly take on multiple enemies. However, if Tak goes the way I'm thinking, he'll likely be a much more durable curved sword user than the Hero of Aincrad."

Watching his protege unleash his attack, the glowing white attack cutting through the enemies Calrex gave a nod, "White? That's certainly new. I think these enemies might be too easy for him. Next battle we'll have to see if he can handle some tougher enemies."

"Nice work Tak. Finish them off. These enemies will go down on your next area of effect attack."

[Takneil 0]

ID# 41199 results: Battle: 6+1=7 Craft: 6 Loot: 7 MOB: 8

giving a quick glance to his mentor he nodded, looking back to the enemies he yelped as he saw one of them leap at him. Swiftly raising his shield he braced himself for the impact, one after another the mobs attacked him. His arm shuddered at each blocked attack, but he held his ground. <<Heavenly Arm>> collapsing Takneil raised his blade once more mimicking the bright white light as before, this skill he was familiar with and by now could probably do it on his own. In a flash of light he cut through the Frish causing them to shatter into nothingness, letting out a relieved breath he approached his Mentor.

"Sorry about that, I didn't get to perform much with my shield. That first attack wasn't really in my plan, it just kinda sneaked up on me" rolling his shoulder he winced. "though those things sure didn't go without a fight" he chuckled. unsure of whether to sheathe his sword yet he lowered it and smiled. "What's up next?"

HP List
Takneil: 34/40 (DMit:6)
   Energy: 1/9(Fell Crescent Activated, -2. 4x[1x1]=4)

Enemies:

Frish 1: 0/16 (-4)
Frish 2: 0/16 (-4)
Frish 3: 0/16 (-4)

Edited December 6, 2015 by Takneil

[Calrex 0]

Calrex shook his head as he saw his protege eliminate his foes with another area of effect Sword Art, "Not a problem. Remember there's two things that are important in combat: attacking and dealing damage to take down the enemy, and preserving your own life and those around you. So if you manage to take them down while avoiding having anything deal much damage to you, I still consider it a success."

With a nod he looked further down, "Let's head towards Koko Village. There should be a good amount of distance where we can encounter more enemies on the way that can test your skills. For now just focus on recovering your energy. One of the things I always do when I'm out in the field zones is wait and replenish my energy between battles that use a taxing amount of them. A lack of energy drags out a fight, and increases your changes of taking a lot of damage."

[Takneil 0]

Not familiar with the floor itself Takneil nodded. "Sounds good, of course I've never been on this floor so I absolutely have no idea where I'm going" he chuckled. Sheathing <<Stinger Edge>> he sighed in relief as he took a short breather, he hadn't lost much HP but his Energy was practically empty. Fighting an enemy at this point in time would be frightening considering he wouldn't be able to do much, though with Calrex by his side it was obvious nothing bad was going to happen. "I know one thing, definitely need to get higher Energy" he claimed. Getting higher energy would mean leveling up, it would take a while to get into a comfortable position with his consumption but with him working on Mitigation he shouldn't have to worry that much about being defenseless without it. "Lead the way"

+3 Hp gained

+1 Energy recovered

Takneil:37/40

Energy:2/9

Edited December 6, 2015 by Takneil

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as Takenil spoke, beginning to walk in the direction of Koko Village. The last time he visited the sub-settlement was when he had first encountered Clarence, whom he had not seen in quite some time, "I wonder how he's doing. Last I saw him was at Lowenthal's party, but now he's kind of disappeared. I wonder if he went into sudden isolation like Oikawa did."

Scanning the immediate area he gave a sigh of relief as he saw no other monsters were currently in the area, "It shouldn't be long before your energy replenishes back to full, but definitely I believe you should look into finding ways to make your attacks use less of it, or gaining more overall by gaining levels. I believe there's even gear that replenishes your energy when you take a hit, which is great if you're going to go with high mitigation."

[Takneil 0]

Following Calrex the boy sighed as he watched the gauge slowly fill up, it was like watching paint dry. if he was in this kind of situation when out doing his own thing he was sure depending on the situation he would die. "I definitely plan on grinding to obtain higher levels anyway, despite the fact my HP is decent as it is I'd prefer to have it you know be quadruple what it is" he chuckled. "Which is kind of part of the reason I'm heavily focused on Damage Mitigation right now, I noticed that enemies. at least the ones in the quests get strong really fast." he stated as they walked. "like <<Avalanche>> that thing could have killed me in two hits, and it's on the 4th floor! I know this is a death game but that's something I would expect to see maybe on floor 14." waving his hand to side he took a deep breath, there was noting they could do about it. Remembering a name the man had mentioned Takneil tilted his head. "Who's Clarence?" of course he would have asked who Oikawa was but he had met him already. 

+3 Hp gained

+1 Energy recovered

Takneil:40/40

Energy:3/9