[PP-F9] <<Guardian of Fire>> (Calrex)

[Shizuka 0]

It was only the second time that she was here in the ninth floor where volcanic activity was often and the heat was even hotter than the most extreme temperature of the fifth floor. Indeed, Shizuka did not like this but this might be the only quest remaining for her that would provide her with skill points more than just one like the other quests. Indeed, the reward was the only thing that was allowing Shizuka to willingly seek out this quest in this hot, metal land. Of course, Shizuka had already been intensely bothered by the heat even with her loose clothing plus cloak, she wasn't sure whether Calrex would be bothered by this. Of course, Calrex was possibly the main person that she would go to for this quest. Indeed, he was high leveled and friendly, unlike several other players that she'd met, not saying any names publically. With a smile, she opened up her instant menu before clicking on a few virtual buttons and sending out the quick PM requesting Calrex of his assistance.

Come to think of it... Last time I was on this floor, I had done a quest with Calrex as well... I think it was the bandits one. Shizuka thought. Indeed, it has been quite a while since she became an active player in this game and well, to her, she had become quite a good healer. Indeed, she was only one rank away from being the grandmaster of the First Aid skill and she was already level 21 in such a short period of time. Needless to say, she was rather proud of her progress even though she owes this amazing leveling streak to the many players that had helped her along the way such as Calrex, Zelrius, Jomei, and lots and lots more players. With a smile, she looked around, decided that she might as well go on to accept the quest instead of waiting for Calrex to approach. However, after searching a long time for the quest giver, she was still unable to find the him/her and soon, she decided to give up with the heat. I'll just ask Calrex to assist me in finding it with his <<Reveal>> skill.

[Calrex 0]

It wasn't long before Calrex materialized on the ninth floor as he gave a calming breath as he put his sword hand into his jacket pocket. Swiping on his menu he masked his tired face with the emotionless expression of the Grand Chariot: Legacy, the full-body deep-sea blue armor completely encapsulating his avatar as he activated his <<Reveal>> skill, scanning the area as he turned on his friend tracker, setting it on Shizuka's location. The young player had messaged him for help once again on another quest, this time being <<Guardian of Fire>>. The last time he had participated in the quest was with Opal and Kalesh, and before that undertaking the mission on his own. The memory still made him shudder, thinking that is someone was watching him the would have been in for a show.

Giving a calming breath he looked to see his teammate as he gave a friendly wave, "Hey Shizuka, been a while. So this time it's Guardian of Fire. Just as a heads up it's going to be a bit of a trek. The cave that the field boss spawns in is about a two days trip away."

Adjusting his gear he gave a nod, "In any case, when you're ready I'm all set to go."

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka smiled when she saw the majestic warrior come across her sight. Indeed, villagers from all around the place were keeping their eyes gazed upon this warrior as he was rather out of place. Indeed, he had on a full, blue body suit armor, almost capable of blocking every shot from a normal, low-leveled mob... Something that Shizuka would dream to be able to do. Even so, she would probably end up not doing anything to improve her mitigation and, as a result, would be taking a bit chunk of damage during boss fights unless the tanks do a good job. Mitigation would be a good thing to invest in after I've got my support skills done and completed. Shizuka thought before standing up, thinking that it was the most polite thing to do.

Of course, having spent much time with the Azure Brigade members and most of it with Zelrius did impact the way that Shizuka talked. Sure, she wasn't arrogant or at least she hoped she was, she could still talk in a fancy, old English method which most modern teenagers don't use. She thought that it was fancy and adds a certain amount of "fun" to her speech as well. "Greetings, Mister Calrex. It saddens me that the quest is two days away.... I was hoping for an easy set of skill points, but I guess I will just have to continue on then... If we are ready, let's begin... I shall allow you to lead the way given that you are the more experienced player and probably the highest leveled player in the entirety of Aincrad. Thanks for your help." That last part, she had decided to add in order to not sound like a cocky, arrogant member of the Brigade unlike the rest of them. With a sigh, she prepared to follow the blue armored man. 

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod, taking note of the more formal sounding sentences Shizuka had fired out of her mouth, "Huh, I guess Azure really has been starting to influence her. Whelp, guess it really can't be helped."

With a nod and calming breath he motioned towards the gates leading out of Vulcan Village, "Yeah, this quest and the Iron Guardian, both quests on this floor, are the only ones to my memory that are actually a long journey before even reaching where you need to be. Nonetheless, I'll be sure to keep you safe. I can only guess that if any harm comes to you both the Azure Brigade and Greg will be coming after me, which would lead into a vicious cycle. I'd prefer to avoid that if I can, heh."

He spoke with a lighter hearted tone before continuing their trek, "It's likely going to start getting dark soon, but if my last time I did this serves any credit, there should be a rock structure coming up soon that we can use as shelter. I'll stand guard during the night. Luckily enough there should be another one once we get to the entrance to the Inferno Cavern."

Adjusting his armor as the two walked the ambient heat of the area began to get warmer as they continued along in the field zones. Luckily enough the Ultramarine Knight had grown accustomed to the heat, as he continued along in the full-body armor without any lost effort. The adaptation to the heat combined with his <<Survival>> skill made the trek easy to perform. However, he wasn't sure if Shizuka possessed the same skill, checking in, "Everything alright. It only gets hotter the closer we get to the cavern, so let me know if at any point we need to stop and take a breather. Heat exhaustion won't kill you in this game, but it does leave you open to ambushes."

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka almost jumped up in surprise when the blue armored man mentioned her lover's name: Greg. Indeed, she was rather sure that she hadn't made the relationship public yet and well, she was sure that Greg would be reliable enough not to spread the word without her permission. Soon, she decided to ask Calrex of how he knew of their relationship and that was when she realized that Greg and she had been dancing together all night in the wedding of Tristan and his lover. With a smile, she refreshed her memory of that night... It was a truly beautiful night... Lots of emotions, food, and well-decorated areas. Indeed, she loved the place and even though it wasn't in the safe zone and a player killer was there, it made no difference... Somehow, she had known that she would be safe among the strongest players of Aincrad... Or maybe it was the pure fact that she was engulfed in Greg's warm love and his safe hands. With a smile, she blushed before shaking her head and bring her back to reality. Let's settle the current situation shall we? She asked and persuaded herself.

"Greg? I'm sure Greg would possess no trouble to you, but I'm sure that the Brigade would be rather pissed at you for putting me in harm." Shizuka said, purely in humor and she made sure to pose a sarcastic tone to it in order to not offend Calrex. Indeed, she was one hundred percent sure that Calrex would be able to protect her with no problem. With this, though, she had actually become rather ashamed. Indeed, she was a SUPPORT, someone that helps others and supports them by healing them during combat. However, she had actually been the one that had been carried by more experienced, powerful players in the past few weeks and months and she wasn't very happy at that thought. Indeed, she didn't like the feeling of uselessness and this was the feeling that she had been getting all since she had become an active player. With yet another sigh, she continued to walk behind Calrex before asking him a question,  "Mister Calrex? I have a question... Have you ever felt that you are useless before?" Indeed, it was a simple question, but one that has lots of emotions and meanings hidden underneath. However, she nodded when Calrex told her of their destination and how they were going to get hotter. "I hope it doesn't affect my character status... But I'm sure I'll be safe with you protecting me." She said as she continued to follow the highest leveled player in the entirety of Aincrad.

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, no kidding. I'm aware of the Brigade's reputation for being a bit on the cocky and prideful side, but they do take care of their own. I would not want to have Zelrius and Tristan after me. The idea would make me shudder."

He spoke in a lighter-hearted tone to match Shizuka's, but what he said was to him truthful. There was a term that had been going around, called "Azure Pride" which signified the almost excessive confidence that would on more than one occasion exude from members of the Azure Brigade. Even Tristan, the normally friendly level-headed tank himself wasn't immune to it, as he recalled from their duel in the S&Z series so many months ago.

As the two continued along Calrex continued to make note of the increasing temperature as he looked around. At this point there were small spouts of steam escaping occasionally from cracks in the landscape, making it seems more like they were in the time of the dinosaurs than a volcanic region. Nonetheless, they had to continue onwards if they were to make it to the Inferno Cavern.

Continuing forward he listened to Shizuka's question, which was one that did resonate with him, "To be honest Shizuka, I wonder that of myself every single day, even moreso recently than in the past. I'm constantly questioning myself, thinking if I am still useful to the frontliners. With the way the eleventh floor boss fight went, that one was pretty harsh, as I didn't even get a chance to act before the boss fell. It's probably attributable to the fact that we're been stuck on the first ten floors for quite a long time, and now we're overleveled in comparison. Nontheless, I do question myself on these things. It might be also why I'm constantly training recently, rarely stopping to recuperate. With the release of the unique skills, it feels like I need to be that much further ahead in levels in order to just keep pace."

Looking over he gave a sigh as he shook his head, "Sorry about that, to keep it simple yes, but unfortunately none of us will know how useful we actually are until it's put to the test."

 

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka smiled. The answer that Calrex had offered was a rather pleasant one. For someone as powerful and strong as him to think that he is useless was truly an astonishing thing. With yet another sigh, Shizuka moved on forwards with haste, trying to get to their destination before the night falls upon them. Soon, as time progressed, the two were able to reach the rock structure and just before night time as well. Of course, Shizuka thought that it would be best if they were to start up a campfire in order to have some heat and some light but there didn't seem to be any branches nearby. Not the ideal situation or shelter. Shizuka groaned before sitting down on the ground, leaning against the inside of the three rocks that formed a square.

Soon, it was silent... The only things were crickets that were singing in the depths of the night and well, she truly was unable to sleep like this so she decided that it would be best if she were to start off a conversation with Calrex who was standing guard. "Hey, you mentioned something about unique skills... I'm not sure if I've heard of them before..." Shizuka said, trailing off as she saw the tiredness of the face belonging to the blue ultramarine knight. With a worried look, Shizuka immediately offered to switch places with Calrex so she can keep guard instead of him. Sure, she wouldn't be able to do anything when an enemy does come along but surely she would be able to call Calrex away when/if an enemy or hostile mob approaches them. The night was full of noises, noises that haunted Shizuka when she would sleep so she would rather not... Groans and boar noises haunted Shizuka's mind and sleeping in the outside was pretty much unacceptable, but she figured that she would have to in order to complete this quest and obtain the skill points that she need so very much.

[Calrex 0]

As the night continued on Calrex gave a small sigh. After the two had found the shelter he had stayed in many months ago. However, only a short time through the night suddenly he looked to see that Shizuka had come up to ask him a question about unique skills before suddenly offering to switch shifts with him, "Oh don't worry about me. Trust me I'm perfectly fine."

Moving to the side to give her room to sit the bluenette gave a nod before answering her question, "Unique skills are something that just recently became unveiled in SAO, even more recent that Sword Arts. They're abilities which gives the wielder a special skill that makes them stand out in combat. Since you're in the Azure Brigade, I'm sure you're already familiar with Zelrius and his Dual Blades skill. That is one of a handful of abilities that are considered the unique skills. Honestly I was after them myself, but at this point I highly doubt I'll be able to get one."

With a small sigh he continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if a decent handful of the frontliners kind of feel the same way. If all of the supposed ten unique users were in a fight I don't think there would be a need for anyone else."

Shaking his head he came back to his senses, "In any case, to my knowledge there's only a few of them left, and the scouting broker has yet to find rumors about them. I'm going to keep trying, because maybe eventually I might find one, but if you want to go after them you might have better luck than I have, heh."

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka had much more questions that she had in mind to ask the bluenette, but she decided that it was best to hold out. The night was deep and the songs of the crickets were the only thing causing a disturbance to the peace of the night. The wind created an eerie feeling as it made some pebbles move around forcefully and if Shizuka didn't know better, she would've thought that it was a storm. Needless to say, Shizuka was rather creeped out and she would've liked to ask Calrex more question even though it was very, very late in the night. However, she decided against it, knowing that the answers will probably be coming to her in the foreseeable future. Soon, Shizuka's eyes grew weary and she closed her heavy eyelids before falling to sleep into a world of dreams.

"Huh?" Shizuka said in a tired way as she heard a distant noise. It seems like she had fallen asleep without thinking that she would and, well, she was rather relieved that she had done so or she might be a pretty worn out girl today. With a sigh, Shizuka just sat there, admiring the morning scenery that was enhanced by the different volcanic ranges in the distance. Sure this place might not be as great as the first floor where trees were abundant and might not be as a great as the fourth where snow clothed every flaw, but there is still good in this place as well. Shizuka thought and with another yawn, she stood up, looked around to see that Calrex had indeed already awoken. "I've got some ramen with me... Would you like to have some?" Shizuka asked kindly.

[Calrex 0]

As the night had progressed Calrex had continued to keep watch, but as he did suddenly he had fallen asleep against his will. The many nights he had spent with negligent to no sleep had finally snuck up on him as he had passed out for the past three hours. As he had awoke he could see the morning light as he gave a yawn and a small sigh. It wasn't enough to be considered sufficient, but the short rest had restored some of his energy as he got to his feet. Not long after he saw that Shizuka had also awoken, offering him some ramen, "Well, it would be impolite to refuse the gesture. Besides some food might be good in the long run. I still haven't eaten all of the bread that's given to you as a starting player."

"Sure, some ramen would be a good idea. We can refresh ourselves in here before we start heading out. it should be another day's worth to the Inferno Cavern, and from there things should go quickly."

"Speaking of which Teayre said that once we get out of here she would treat me to some of her own ramen. I'm definitely looking forward to that."

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka smiled when the bluenette had decided to take her offer on the ramen. Indeed, Shizuka had taken quite a liking to the man as he was one of the few that had completed many quests with her. In all honesty, Shizuka thought of Calrex as her second best friend even though she was sure that that was completely one-sided as the man was a lot higher leveled than her and probably is well-known throughout the entirety of Aincrad from his amount of power and level. She didn't mind. Coming into this game, she hadn't truly met someone that she could rely on and trust completely except for, of course, Greg Baxen but he was an exception. Calrex was probably the second most trusted person she knows while the rest were pretty down there. I should get to know others more often.

Shizuka soon opened up her bowl of instant noodles and indeed, she could just smell the deliciousness of the pre-made noodles and within a few seconds, she started to eat the with one-time chopsticks and fork that was attached to the lid of the noodles and within a few moments, she had finished the noodles and the good tastes that were within her bowl of spicy, chicken ramen and with a satisfied Ahhh, Shizuka said as she watched the plastic bowl disappear into thousands and thousands of blue plus green shards. With a sigh, Shizuka stood up, prepared to head out into the wilderness once again after quite a good sleep once she had fallen asleep somehow. With a smile, Shizuka looked at Calrex. "I'm ready when you are... Lead the way, Calrex." 

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as he quickly finished his ramen as well, getting to his feet, "Alright then, we should keep moving. Better gain as much ground as we can before the temperature begins to rise again."

Exiting out of the structure the bluenette felt the ambient heat of the floor once again as he gave a calming breath, "Alright, we shouldn't have far to go to reach the Inferno Cavern."

Activating his <<Reveal>> skill he continued forward. The area seemed to start to become less vibrant as the forested areas began to give way to an even more volcanic looking region, one that was devoid of any foliage. The only thing in the area was the cracked landscape, with rivers of magma in the distance, "This area we'll need to be careful. I haven't touched the lava before but I can only guess that if we fall in it's an instant death, much like leaping off the edge of Aincrad. There shouldn't be anything in our path, but I don't know how much this area has changed from when I was last here."

"The very first time I can here I ended up having to leap over from one edge to another, but since this is a volcanic region-themed floor there is the chance the they designed it to move like it was fixed to tectonic plates. Better to be safe than sorry."

[Shizuka 0]

And indeed, after quite a bit of walking and two days of journey, they were able to arrive at the place that she had indeed come to the ninth floor for. Ever since she went on that gigantic skill point grinding run, she had managed to level up quite high in a short period of time and well, nowadays, she found that levelling was a lot more challenging than it used to be. She had actually gathered up quite a bit of information when she had accepted the quest and somehow, just like magic, she actually remembered a lot of the details during the two days of timespan. She knew that once they were inside the <<Inferno Cavern>>, they would have to fight Hell Hounds that were actually quite weak. However, they do have quite a number especially when there is more than one person attempting to complete the quest at once. With a sigh, Shizuka allowed Calrex to walk in front of her as she knew that he was going to have to do a lot of work while she stood behind him, watching out for ambushes and many other different types of dangers but at the same time, she would have to keep an eye out for Calrex's gigantic amount of health to heal him if needed. Seems like a good plan. Shizuka thought as she informed Calrex of the details and while she knew that Calrex probably remembered this quest, she decided that it would be polite if she went ahead and did so.

As she stood at the entrance of the Cavern, she could already feel the heat rising to her face. Indeed, she disliked extreme conditions and this was definitely one of the most hazardous places that she's ever visited since her time in Aincrad. "Feels really, really hot," Shizuka said to Calrex who was standing next to her. "I hope this doesn't affect me too much. Well, after you sir."  Shizuka said in a worried manner as she truly was worried about what the conditions can do to her personally and more importantly, what it could do to her health.

[Calrex 0]

ID: 40771
Battle Dice: 9 (Accuracy +3) = 12 (+1 Damage)
Craft Dice: 8 (Immune Due to Survival Skill)
Mob Dice: 1 (Evasion +4) = -3
Loot Dice: 1 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 4
Sword Art <<Vertical Square>> Activated (8 Energy Used / 43 Remaining)

"Yeah, I'll try and speed up this encounter to make sure we don't spend too much time inside. If you don't have the Survival skill the heat in the cavern actually can remove a small bit of HP."

Stepping inside he felt the high temperatures try to bombard him with the environmental damage, but with his conditioning and the previously mentioned <<Survival>> skill it seemed to keep the effects at bay. With a calming breath he activated his <<Reveal>> skill, seeing three of the hellhounds spawn and immediately try to attack him. However, his high evasion quickly gave him the reflexes needed to quickly avoid the blow. Leaping upwards there was just enough room for him to execute <<Vertical Square>>. Bringing his body low he brought his free hand to rest on top of the Grand Blade as it lit up with a light blue aura. Rushing forward he performed an uppercut slash on the first hound before coming down on the second, performing a horizontal slash on the last as his three attacks traced a square in the air before the creatures dissipated into crystals.

"Alright, that's three down. Just need to take down three more I believe and Cerberus should spawn."

HP List
Calrex: 209/209
   Energy: 43/51 (-8)
Shizuka: 84/84
   Energy: 21/21

Enemies:
Hellhound 1: -10/30 (10 DMG * 4 Art = 40 DMG)
Hellhound 2: -10/30 (10 DMG * 4 Art = 40 DMG)
Hellhound 3: -10/30 (10 DMG * 4 Art = 40 DMG)

Edited December 1, 2015 by Calrex

[Shizuka 0]

ID: 40820
Crafting Dice: 7 (No Damage)

Shizuka could feel the heat. It was extremely hot and well, she really couldn't do anything about it. Indeed, Calrex had mentioned that well being inside the cave, it was going to be very hot and she would have to be completely exposed to taking damage from the heat as well and of course, she would have to just deal with the damage as she did not have the skill that Calrex had which helped him take no damage from the natural conditions. With a sigh, Shizuka followed the man into the cavern to complete the quest as quickly as possible and she was, of course, able to feel the heat immediately. No matter, as they walked, they were able to soon confront three Hellhound dogs that had just randomly appeared in front of them. With a smirk, Shizuka watched as Calrex managed to defeat them without breaking a sweat and without being inflicted any damage at all. Awesome. Shizuka thought.

"Awesome. Seems like we are going to be able to finish this quest quite soon." Shizuka said as she continued to follow Calrex deeper into the cavern and as she felt hotter and hotter, she was quite surprised that her health wasn't falling at all. Not the slightest. Shizuka thought even though she was sweating like a dog. That was when three more hellhounds jumped up in front of the quest takers and with a growl, prepared to enter combat. Of course, like always and like usual, Shizuka backed up a few bit, preparing to heal if Calrex needed to and well, the blue ultramarine knight probably didn't even need the healing.

HP List
Calrex: 209/209
   Energy: 43/51
Shizuka: 88/88
   Energy: 22/22

(Sorry, sig wasn't updated)

Edited December 1, 2015 by Shizuka

[Calrex 0]

OOC: No worries XD

IC:

ID: 40831
Battle Dice: 6 (Accuracy +3) = 9
Craft Dice: 12 (No Effect / Disregarded Due to Survival Skill)
Mob Dice: 3 (Evasion +4) = -1
Loot Dice: 19 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 22 (Materials Found)
Sword Art <<Vertical Square>> Activated (8 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 66 Remaining)

As the two continued further into the cavern Calrex gave a calming breath as he scanned around the area once again with his <<Reveal>> skill, "Looks like things are quiet for now, at least until we descend another level."

Glancing back he looked to check on his teammate. Even without the <<Survival>> skill it appeared that Shizuka was holding up alright against the heat of the cavern.

Descending to the next level down Calrex looked to see the three remaining hellhounds all gathered together. Immediately reactivating <<Vertical Square>> he rushed forward and quickly dispatched the creatures with another set of four strikes, tracing yet another square in the air as he gave a sigh of relief, "This is going much quicker than the time I did this alone."

"Alright the last three are down, so..."

As if on cue the loud bellow of the field boss below swept through the Inferno Cavern, "...Cerberus should have spawned. Alright, he's on the bottom floor. Let's get rid of him and get out of here."

Loot List:
3 Materials

HP List
Calrex: 209/209
   Energy: 36/51 (-8+1)
Shizuka: 84/84
   Energy: 21/21

Enemies:
Hellhound 4: -10/30 (10 DMG * 4 Art = 40 DMG)
Hellhound 5: -10/30 (10 DMG * 4 Art = 40 DMG)
Hellhound 6: -10/30 (10 DMG * 4 Art = 40 DMG)

Edited December 2, 2015 by Calrex

[Shizuka 0]

ID: 40880
Crafting Dice: 2 (-1 HP)

Shizuka gasped. Indeed, the heat was truly getting to her and she disliked the feeling. She watched as indeed, just like Calrex had predicted, her health had decreased by one. Yes, her health was not very impacted with the damage as it truly wasn't that much and soon, they should be able to escape the tavern as Calrex would no doubt be able to one-shot the floor boss with a powerful attack. Shizuka whipped off the flood of sweat that had formed from below her forehead. Indeed, she was bothered by the heat but she felt no pain as this was just a virtual MMO no matter how realistic it seems to the players who devote their life to this. If only Kayaba wasn't a freaking idiot. Shizuka thought with anger but soon calmed down as she knew that anger was not a good mix with heat. 

The heat was getting to her and well, she needed out. The air was suffocating from the ash and this caused her to walk faster and faster while following behind Calrex. Soon, they were able to reach the bottom level. At first, there was nothing... Silence. However, that was when she realized that indeed there was a low, growling sound and of course, that was when Shizuka saw it. The three-headed Cerberus. It was intimidating to say the least and Shizuka had no doubt that it was extremely powerful and deadly to players who are not able to defend themselves.  "Alright, Calrex... Let's do this." Shizuka said with a stare of confidence as she heard combat music in the background. "Either you one-shot it.... Or this combat might get intense." She finished, almost shivering with the intimidation from the boss.

HP List
Calrex: 209/209
   Energy: 36/51
Shizuka: 87/88 (-1)
   Energy: 22/22

Enemies:
Cerberus Head 1: 75/75
Cerberus Head 2: 75/75
Cerberus Head 3: 75/75
   Damage: 24
      Special Effect: 6 Burn Damage Turn After Damage; Each head attacks individually.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Shizuka

[Calrex 0]

ID: 40980
Battle Dice: 1 (Accuracy +3) = 4 (Disregarded Due to Howl)
Mob Dice: 6 (Evasion +4) = 2
<<Howl>> Activated (+3 Hate to all enemies / 1 Energy Recovered / 37 Remaining)

Calrex gave a nod as the two entered into the field boss' area, seeing the three-headed dog for what he believed to be the third or fourth time, "Sure thing, I'll try to take this thing out as fast as possi..."

Before he even had time to ready a Sword Art the dog was already leaping at him, aiming to strike and chomp on his armor. However, as it landed the Ultramarine Knight was already far out of harms range as he gave a calming breath, "Alright, if that's the way it's going to be. Shizuka I'll have this thing finished in a second."

Raising his sword high he readied <<Howl>> as his armor and sword radiated the light blue aura of his skill. Quickly bringing his sword down he pierced the ground in front of him as the energy exploded, producing a monstrous roar that got the creature's attention as it turned to face him.

"Alright, only thing left to do is finish this thing off..."

HP List
Calrex: 209/209
   Energy: 36/51 (+1)
Shizuka: 87/88
   Energy: 22/22

Enemies:
Cerberus Head 1: 75/75
Cerberus Head 2: 75/75
Cerberus Head 3: 75/75
   Damage: 24
      Special Effect: 6 Burn Damage Turn After Damage; Each head attacks individually.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Calrex

[Shizuka 0]

ID: 41007
Crafting Dice: 10 (No Damage)

Shizuka did not need to attack. Indeed, Calrex was more than powerful enough to finish off the three heads in one go. Plus, all three of them missed the blue ultramarine knight so she decided that the man had the situation under control and there is no point in her inflicting a useless stun upon them as they would probably just be one shot the next turn. "It's not necessary for me to attack so I won't. Attacking might make me vulnerable to counter attacks." Shizuka said as she carefully stared at the beast. Then, it was the beast that first attacked. Yes, it managed to miss but just barely. Shizuka nodded then as Calrex offered her a word of comfort, saying that he would have the thing dead within seconds. Of course, she believed the man due to the fact that he had been the one that has escorted her through most of her quests during the game. Her amber red eyes watched dully before Calrex decided to use <<Howl>>, a skill that makes all enemies concentrate on him and him alone. Phfft. Are you serious? He has like 200 some crap health. Shizuka thought humorously, Plus the mitigation. No mobs can even touch him! Shizuka had found Calrex to be an incredible player, someone who can defeat bosses all on his own... maybe not floor bosses but definitely weak bosses like the Avalanche one and the other quest bosses. He had proven that by one-shotting pretty much everything that they had confronted and she truly expected Calrex to do the same here with his powerful straight sword while all Shizuka could do was stand here and try not to mind the heat too much.

HP List
Calrex: 209/209
   Energy: 36/51
Shizuka: 87/88
   Energy: 22/22

Enemies:
Cerberus Head 1: 75/75
Cerberus Head 2: 75/75
Cerberus Head 3: 75/75
   Damage: 24
      Special Effect: 6 Burn Damage Turn After Damage; Each head attacks individually.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Shizuka

[Calrex 0]

ID: 41033
Battle Dice: 8 (Accuracy +3) = 11
Craft Dice: 10 (Success / Disregarded Due to Survival)
Mob Dice: 8 (Evasion +4) = 4
Loot Dice: 10 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 13 (No Materials Found)
Sword Art <<Lightning Fall>> Activated / <<Charge>> Activated (14 Energy Used / 1 Recovered / 23 Remaining)

Calrex gave a nod as he heard Shizuka's reply. Quickly evading another barrage of bites and slashes he quickly leapt upwards as he gave a calming breath. The Grand Blade lit up with electrical light blue energy as his <<Lightning Fall>> Sword Art. As he began to descend back to the ground he also triggered his <<Charge>> skill, suddenly accelerating in mid air.

Piercing the ground with his sword the violent energy shot out and immediately targeted the three heads, each bolt of lightning piercing each before the field boss froze and dissipated into crystals. Extracting his weapon he looked and saw the quest item appear in front of him. With a few swipes of his hand he passed the loot over to Shizuka as he gave a nod, "Whelp, we're done here. Let's get out of here before any other dogs start spawning."

HP List
Calrex: 209/209
   Energy: 23/51 (-14+1)
Shizuka: 87/88
   Energy: 22/22

Enemies:
Cerberus Head 1: -16/75 (10+3 DMG * 7 Art = 91 DMG)
Cerberus Head 2: -16/75 (AOE)
Cerberus Head 3: -16/75 (AOE)
   Damage: 24
      Special Effect: 6 Burn Damage Turn After Damage; Each head attacks individually.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Calrex