[SP-F2] A Time To Hunt - Bagging up those Wintery Flakes pt. 4 redux

[Brax 0]

     As tedious as it was becoming, Brax continued his hunting runs in the wilds of floor two.  Soon enough, he would be able to move up in floors, most likely to floor 3.  But unfortunately, for now, his armor and health potion supply, even after being boosted by several rather fortuitous loot drops, was nowhere near enough to survive a straightforward run through of the enemies there.  He wondered if the elves on floor three would provide more of a challenge to his budding skills in combat, since he seemed to be well on his way to mastering the Level 2 Battle-Axe Sword Arts.  He easily cleaved many of his hunted foes in twain and was rewarded with a constant sense of satisfaction.  He would almost describe it as...feeling good...but not quite.  He would have to be 'satisfied' by his satisfaction alone.  Turning his attention back to his task, Brax took a moment to consume another strength potion, and feeling the power course warmly through his veins, focused his hunting trip on the caves at the base of the mountains just shy of the fields he had previously hunted.

Consumed one Potion of Strength (+1 damage for a thread)

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 45418

Spoiler

BD 9 +3 ACC LD 15 MoBD 8 -1 EVA

Brax  28/32 [6 -5 MIT] x 4 = 4 DMG EN 3/8

Troll 1 -1/16 DEAD [7 x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 17 DMG

Troll 2 -1/16 DEAD [7 x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 17 DMG

Troll 3 -1/16 DEAD [7 x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 17 DMG

Troll 4 -1/16 DEAD [7 x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 17 DMG

     Diving into the first cave he found, Brax began to realize a disconcerting fact: when it came to cave exploration, he was ill prepared without illumination.  Having no source of light to guide him, he would unfortunately be at the mercy of any creatures inhabiting such a place.  He turned back in order to rectify the mistake, but was ambushed before he could take another step.  A shuffling in the dark was the only warning he had before being struck hard by a wooden club, which hurled him out of the cave roughly.  Landing outside the mouth of the darkened crevasse, Brax lifted his gaze to behold a quartet of troll exiting the shelter, each one hefting a makeshift weapon be it of stone, wood, or even crudely forged iron.  He quickly recovered, and charged from his seated position, a greenish glow surrounding his axe-head as he prepared the Lumberjack for battle.  The trolls raised their tools in defense, but their crude weapons were no match for his well honed blade, which destroyed their bludgeons in the first swipe.  Brax's second slash of his axe sliced the two on the right, biting into their rocky hides with deadly purpose, while his final blow took the ones on the left rather by surprise, simply because they underestimated his skill's ferocity. 

+4 materials

+4 snowflakes

+320 col

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 44706

LD 5

     Brax chided himself at the mistake: how could he have not foreseen the need for lighting?  It was an error that could have cost him his life, easily.  What if there had been something tougher than trolls in that cave?  It was unlike him not to have calculated the need for such things, and for a brief moment he felt a twinge of...worry, perhaps?  The sensation left him stunned for a time, not long but...long enough for concern.  His eyes roamed aimlessly over the ground, seeing everything yet nothing all at once.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 44707

LD 4

     Brax retreated almost violently from the concern his mistake had generated.  He continued to look over his surroundings, his eyes automatically engaged in a materials hunt while his mind shifted away from his obsessive tendencies, trademarks of an unwell psyche.  He could ill afford making another mistake getting lost inside his head, much like he might have gotten lost inside the cave.  When next he returned to town, he would rectify his mistake.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

     He purposefully left the area, tracking alongside the rocky mountain facing for another cave.  Brax would not make the same mistake twice; instead, he would have to draw out the inhabitants somehow, and strike at them in the waning hours of the day.  If he could not see them moving in the night, he would draw their bodies into the light.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 45419

Spoiler

BD 2 +3 ACC LD 4 MoBD 1 -1 EVA

Brax 31/32 EN 7/8

Alpha Troll 20/20

     The next cave Brax found he approached with caution.  He searched around the outskirts for something that he could use to investigate the cave without risking his head.  Finding a good sized rock, he gave it a good hard toss into the dark abyss and waited for the results.  Brax did not have to wait very long, because from deep within the darkness arrived a hulking Alpha Troll, not incredibly large by most objective standards, but larger than the ones he had seen thus far.  It was irregularly armored, patchwork metal stolen from slain adventurers strung up on it's body, and it bore a giant rusted blade in it's meaty hands.  It stepped out of the caved to face the intruder, annoyed at being disturbed from it's nap, and with a loud roar raise it's sword to attack.  The beast was slow, though, and Brax managed to sidestep the blow, the greatsword whizzing past his head and hitting the ground instead.  Brax tried to uppercut the troll, but unfortunately the blow went wide despite his enhancements, and he cursed silently in his head at his ineptitude.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 45420

Spoiler

BD 6 +3 ACC LD 5 MoBD 1 -1 EVA

Brax 31/32 EN 5/8

Troll Leader -1/16 DEAD [7 x 3 Ultimate Breaker - 4 MIT] = 17 DMG

     The leader's greatsword got stuck after it struck the ground, the Troll using all of it's strength to try and pull it out.  Brax found the opening he needed to end the fight quickly, and he pulled back just enough to be at range to use his Ultimate Breaker effectively.  The three move combo rang true as the two uppercuts knocked the large creature backwards away from it's weapon, while the slam from overhead sent it's pixels flying outwards after it's demise.

+1 materials

+1 snowflakes

Edited January 16, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 45421

Spoiler

BD 9 +3 ACC LD 5 MoBD 8 -1 EVA

Brax 28/32 [6 - 5 MIT] x 4 = 4 DMG EN 0/8

Troll 1 -4/16 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 20 DMG

Troll 2 -4/16 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 20 DMG

Troll 3 -4/16 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 20 DMG

Troll 4 -4/16 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 20 DMG

     As the leader's pixels rose up into the sky, several more roars emanated from the cave produced by four regular trolls as they came out to avenge their captain.  These four were chumps compared to the Alpha, though, and Brax dodged their attacks with ease, letting those that he could not bounce off of his shoulderguards harmlessly.  He swiped his axe to the left and let the system take hold once more, his Lumberjack attack engaging quickly as it swept out two more times, left to right and right to left again.  The trolls fell like wheat in the fields, cut in half like grain separated from the chaff, and from the dissipating pixels he gathered up his loot.

+4 materials

+4 snowflakes

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 44780

LD 4

     Heading off to the west, Brax continued to spend his downtime on the hunt for anything useful, monster, mat or otherwise.  The weight of his armor was nothing compared to the weight on his soul, that is, if Brax or rather Brandon, could in fact feel the crushing mass of his feelings bearing down on him.  He had pushed many thoughts to the side, boxing them up for a latter day, but his boxes were beginning to crack open despite his desires.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 44782

LD 13

     It did not bode well for his mental health for those thoughts to surface unintentionally.  His thoughts turned to Greg, or was it Steve, one of his former 'friends' from IRL, before he shut it away quickly.  The name escaped Brax as he chose not to think about it, instead turning his mind back to the task of material hunting.  But, just as before, his well meaning gaze was unsuccessful at finding even a hint of worthiness in anything out there.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

     He quickly searched inside the front part of a nearby cave, making sure not to go too far inside where the darkness was too deep.  He did not find anything of note, loot or material wise, so he left in search of other locations which may yield better results.  The beginnings of the setting sun glinted dully off his armor giving it an orange glow.  His hard eyes searched for a direction to go, his hand shading his face from the sharp edge of the sunset's gleam.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 45422

Spoiler

BD 9 +3 ACC LD 14 MoBD 6 -1 EVA

Brax 32/32 EN 3/8

Deer 1 0/19 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 19 DMG

Deer 2 0/19 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 19 DMG

Deer 3 0/19 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 19 DMG

Deer 4 0/19 DEAD [7 + 1crit x 3 Lumberjack - 4 MIT] = 19 DMG

     Brax did manage to find another mob to hunt.  A herd of deer was passing in the far distance and moving quickly, probably trying to escape an enemy of some sort, whether adventurer or monster.  He would need to move fast if he was to catch and kill them.  He chased after the herd, maintaining a discreet distance so as to avoid being seen, for he knew that the skittish creatures would outdistance him clad in his heavy armor if he were to be spotted.  They came to a clearing and rested a moment, so sure that they had outran their foes.  But, Brax was would not be denied his prize.  He performed the same trick as before, tossing a rock opposite his direction to confuse the deer, and with their heads turned thusly, he unleashed his Lumberjack upon them, the defenseless beasts no match for his bloody weapon.

+4 materials

+4 snowflakes

+380 col

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

     Mobs were plentiful here in the second floor, you almost couldn't throw a rock without hitting one.  Unfortunately, with the myriad of people who hunted the floor alongside Brax, the spawning rates were not high enough to compensate at times.  This included any resource points of interest littered about the floor, for even as the day grew dim they failed to yield any viable results.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

     Brax contemplated turning in for the night, for when he looked over the horizon and the fading light he could not see any mobs worth his time.  That is, until he saw another herd of deer enter his current location.  The sight of the heavily armed warrior frightened them off, and they ran away opposite the sun, leaving Brax alone to ponder the unfortunateness of the situation.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

     Wiping his axe head clean, since he had not done so following his last battle, Brax performed another ritual examination of the area in search of anything else of value.  The monsters and other travelers in the area did not idly drop anything, save the basic necessities, and further still, the area was entirely devoid of materials of note.  Brushing his hands through his dark mane, he sheathed his weapon behind him and soldiered on, intent on killing a few more mobs before turning in for the night.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 45423

LD 19

     After the battle, Brax began to track the herd of deer after gathering up the spoils of the fight.  He was not very good at it, given that he had never engaged in such things before, but the retreating beast had left a pretty obvious trail, the likes of which even the most clueless of trackers could follow.  While going after them, Brax continued to keep an eye out for materials, and since he was obsessively focused on the tracking aspect, he managed to find in the midst of their tracks a material worthy of crafting.

+1 material

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

ID 45424

Spoiler

BD 10 +3 ACC LD 11 MoBD 7 -1 EVA

Brax 28/32 [6 - 5 MIT] x 4 = 4 DMG EN 3/8

Wolf 1 -1/20 DEAD [7 + 2crit x 3 Lumberjack - 5 MIT] = 22 DMG

Wolf 2 -1/20 DEAD [7 + 2crit x 3 Lumberjack - 5 MIT] = 22 DMG

Wolf 3 -1/20 DEAD [7 + 2crit x 3 Lumberjack - 5 MIT] = 22 DMG

Wolf 4 -1/20 DEAD [7 + 2crit x 3 Lumberjack - 5 MIT] = 22 DMG

     He happened upon another hunting party after the dear, though, a pack of wolves crested the ridge from whence they had come.  They had been hunting the herd for a while, and instead found Brax onto which they focused their attention.  Despite being surprised, he managed to deflect the bulk of their attacks away from the more vulnerable parts of his anatomy.  After their assault Brax began his own, setting his Lumberjack attack into position, his axe's greenish glow lighting up his enemies as he cleaved them apart.  The pack soon dissipated into pixels, leaving behind a sizable loot gain to be scooped up.

+4 materials

+4 snowflakes

+400 col

Edited January 14, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

     After the battle, Brax took a moment again to sit and rest.  The tracking down of the herd was difficult, the wolf pack afterwards even more so.  They had been larger and stronger than most, and he felt every one of their blows through his armor, though being the man he was allowed him to shrug each one off as if they were nothing.  He just did not process pain like other people, given his alexithymia.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

Roaming the fields, Brax kept up his quest for more loot, though with his lack of specific gear and skills he was subjected to the whims of Cardinal's RNG odds, which were relatively slim. Nevertheless, he persisted in his task, keeping his nose to the proverbial grindstone. Even as he searched for materials, Brax also let his eyes look for an enemy or four to hunt. These places were rife with potential prey,.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Brax

[Brax 0]

 

     As he roamed, he happened upon an interesting sight: Brax's skills at tracking failed to notice another animal in the vicinity; part of the herd that had been grazing just a few short feet away, it's ears perking up at the armored man's intrusion.  It immediately bolted, trying to escape the fate of it's kin, but Brax would have none of it.  Picking up a rock, he threw it with an unmatched accuracy, shocking even himself with the perceived skill of his toss.  The rock caught the fleeing creature dead on, stunning it enough to allow Brax to catch up.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Brax