[SP-F1] A Whole New World (Complete)

[Evander 0]

Evander stood amongst the trees, listening to the wind as it roared past the branches and ruffled his grimy clothes. Evander drew his blade in a single, easy, fluid motion, borne from days of practice at mastering the blade. Today was the day. Today, he would mark new lands on his map, today he would push beyond the boundaries of his familiar, explored lands. Today, he would venture into the unknown. It was a fine day, though extremely windy, and Evander felt ready. The sun peeked out for a bit from behind the clouds, bathing the earth in its warm light, before it was covered again by cloud. Evander closed his eyes, taking in the sounds of the world around him. With a final farewell to familiarity, he waved adieu to the Town of Beginnings. Tonight, he would either find a new settlement and sleep in relative safety, or he would be forced to stay and camp in the woods, ravenous monsters all around him. There was no turning back. There would be no panicked flight back to the Town of Beginnings- its era was over. Every day, people cleared more and more of Aincrad, and what was he doing? Staying in comfort around familiarity and home. No! No more! Today, everything would change. Evander walked deeper into the dark forest.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander pulled out his map. He had marked circles at possible locations for the village deep in the forest. There had been rumors of such a village, at least from what he heard from NPCs, and today, he was going to find it. It was all entirely possible that other players had already been to the village (Horunka, he believed it was called?), but he was determined to find it on his own. It was going to be deep in the forest, most likely surrounded by monsters, but he knew that he could defend himself. He had unceasingly practiced the art of the sword over the past few days, and he was ready to venture deeper. His only regret at leaving the Town of Beginnings behind was that he would no longer be able to pay tribute to the fallen souls at the Monument of Life, but he knew he had to move on if he was ever going to accomplish anything. As he warily walked along the path in the forest, he heard a growl from the brush. He had made the same careless mistake before, and he wasn’t going to let it happen again. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. He whipped around and settled into a defensive stance. A Dire Wolf loped out from the brush, its fangs bared and its eyes focused on one thing only- Evander.

Begin Combat

Evander: HP: 12/12 Energy: 3/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Dire Wolf: HP: 6/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

Edited February 25, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander considered himself fairly skilled at fighting monsters and predicting their movesets- just the other day, he went through a whole day of fighting monsters with nary a scratch left behind. Of course, that still didn't change his horrible luck. He still hadn't gotten any drops from the monsters besides for useless pelts, no col dropped, no items, no meat, no anything that was edible or could be exchanged easily for food. He was just the master at bad luck. Well, he hoped this monster would be different- it was slightly stronger than the other beasts, so perhaps it would drop something good. So far, his strategy of just opening with Snake Bite and trying to kill it as quickly as he could had proved fairly effective, but he was beginning to experiment with trying out other sword arts, though he still didn't have the energy required to perform them. Evander looked into the eyes of the wolf. It was bigger than its brethren, but it likely had the same attacks, and therefore, the same strategy would likely work on it. Evander lunged forth, screaming out "Snake Bite". He hit his mark perfectly, landing two quick strikes on the side of the wolf, but this wolf was wily. It leaped at Evander, biting into his arm. Evander grit his teeth. At least the wolf had only disabled his left, and he could still fight with his right, but he was very wounded. Another hit or two like that, and he could die. Oh, he really hoped he wouldn't die. He really needed armor.

Combat

Evander: HP: 7/12 Energy: 1/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Dire Wolf: HP: 3/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

ID# 49199 results:

 Battle: 8

 MOB: 10 (Critical +2)

Total DMG: 2*(2*1)= 4 - 1(MIT)= 3 DMG done

Mob DMG: 3+2=5 DMG done

Edited February 25, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

The good news was that Evander had been working on training up his stamina, so he could pull off Snake Bite two times in a row now. The bad news was, he was pretty seriously injured, his left arm almost useless now. The wind blowing leaves into his eyes didn't help much either. Well, if he landed this next hit, the wolf should be dead. The bad news was that the wolf seemed to see this too, and was ready to give as much damage as it could, with no care for its life. Evander looked into its eyes, its gleaming yellow eyes, and saw a ferocity that would make this foe extremely difficult to put down. Evander gulped. He really could die if he messed up. He hoped it didn't have to come to that. Evander steadied himself, and held the blade in front of him with one arm. No reason to let fear hold him back. Evander charged forward, activating Snake Bite. He lashed out at the wolf again, and- oh geez, it got his right arm, he dropped his sword, it was on him, it was going for the neck, it was going for the neck! He was going to die here, alone, having made no contribution at all towards helping the people trapped in Aincrad. Evander shut his eyes, just willing for it to be over quickly. His life flashed by him. He remembered, bitterly, the promise he made for the lost souls at the Monument of Life. All of that was for naught. Everything he had done, all of the training he had done, all useless in the very end to defend against death. A tear dripped down Evander's face. "I'm sorry... I failed." Evander waited. And waited. What was the wolf doing? Why was it prolonging his suffering like this? He cracked open an eye. Oh. It was dead. Well, now he just felt stupid.

Combat

Evander: HP: 2/12 Energy: 0/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Dire Wolf: HP: 0/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

ID# 49200 results:

 Battle: 7

 Craft: 12

 Loot: 7

 MOB: 10 (Critical +2)

Total DMG: 2*(2*1)= 4 - 1(MIT)= 3 DMG done

Mob DMG: 3+2=5 DMG done

Edited February 25, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander just lay there for a while, on the ground, staring up into the branches. He had lived. It was a miracle, but he had lived. If he had just missed one attack, he would be a bunch of floating particles right now. Evander took a deep breath in, then let it out. He let his sweat cool on his body, he let his adrenaline die down. That was far too close for comfort. He could feel the wolf on him right now, the way it slavered at his ear, the hopeless feeling he had in his body, and- stop. Breathe. Calm yourself, Evander repeated in his mind. What had happened had happened. It was over now. Just breathe- in, and out. In, and out. Follow the comforting rhythm. In, and out. Evander stilled. He was calm now. Of course, his arms were still useless, so he couldn't get up, but the out of combat healing should be starting right around now. Evander relaxed back on the grass. At least he got a chance to rest before getting up. The wind blew in eddies among the branches of the trees above him. It had been close, but he was alive.

Evander: HP: 5/12 Energy: 1/3

[Evander 0]

Evander sat up, stretched, and reached for his sword. He wiped the blade with a cloth, then sheathed it. It was time to see what this wolf had dropped. He stood up shakily, then steadied himself on a nearby tree. He slowly shuffled forward to the spot where the wolf had died, his whole body aching horribly. Evander chuckled. Guess near-death experiences leave you drained, he pondered. Well, he better get used to it- there were sure to be even more dangerous enemies deeper into the forest. He stopped, and looked down. It was another wolf pelt. How wonderful. His sole reward for almost dying to a more difficult enemy was a single lousy wolf pelt. There wasn't even a single col. Wonderful. Sighing, Evander stooped down and put the pelt in his inventory. Every single day, the only drops he ever got from monsters were its pelts. No, not even something edible, but an untanned pelt which was useless to him. He straightened, then stretched again. The first monster of the day, and he had almost died. That boded well for the rest of the expedition.

+1 mat from wolf

Evander: HP: 8/12 Energy: 2/3

Edited February 25, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander walked into the woods, slowly at first, but gradually returning to his normal speed as he got used to moving again. He glanced warily around him- good, no monsters here. The wind continued to howl above him, but in the shelter of the forest, it did not affect him much. Evander pulled out his map again, and- just a few more steps, and... he had just passed into the unknown. He stopped and put away his map- he would add to it later. Evander stepped forth- sploosh, right into a small stream. He stopped again, and stooped down. He stared into his reflection. He looked haggard and gaunt, almost unrecognizable now. He sighed, and knelt. He began to wash his face with the cool water, all of the encased dirt and grime beginning to wash off. To do any more, he needed a bar of soap. He stood, dried his face on his shirt, and began heading off in the direction he had before, journeying deeper into the woods.

Evander: HP: 11/12 Energy: 3/3

Edited February 26, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Trees, trees, and more trees. What had started off as a fun little adventure quickly degenerated into boring tedium. Hours had already passed, and he had seen nothing, not even a paltry monster. His shoulders slumped, and he dredged forward through the forest. He was parched. He probably should have gotten some water from the stream earlier. Ah, hindsight. It was a wonderful thing. A gray boulder loomed ahead on the path- Evander sat by the boulder and cleared his mind. Actually, now would be as good a time as any to update his map. Let's see here, his normal walking speed was about three miles an hours, and he had been walking for a few hours... wow, he had actually gone further than he thought. Well, he would have to cross out a few of the predicted spots for the village- he had already passed them and there was definitely nothing there. So, if he angled his path up this way, then-snap! Some strange plant creature walked out from behind the tree. It had a large mouth, had two leafy sort of arm things, and walked on tree roots. Man, that thing was downright creepy. Now, what was its name? Evander peered above it. It was known as a Little Nepent. Well, maybe it was friendly? Yeah, no, probably not. Evander sighed, then got up, drawing his sword. Right when he was getting comfortable too!

Begin Combat

Evander: HP: 12/12 Energy: 3/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 6/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

Edited February 27, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander looked into its- wait, it didn't have eyes. Well, the creepiness factor just went up quite a bit. Eh, whatever, its just some monster that's been programmed into the system, Evander thought. Welp, here we go again. Probably just going to open up with Snake Bite, just like the other fifty times I've done this. Evander stepped forth, holding his blade in front of him. He slapped himself with his free hand. What was he doing? Why was he underestimating an enemy? It could have poison barbs, or breathe out noxious fumes, or anything. He could not let his guard down. Evander focused and allowed his instincts to take over. He jumped forth towards the slow moving enemy, activating Snake Bite. He struck twice, then- whoa, the thing was actually pretty fast! An arm vine lashed out and hit him backwards. This little creature thing was actually fairly tough, though not as tough as the wolf. However, it was still much, much more creepy than the wolf. At least the wolf had eyes, whereas this thing just had a large mouth for its whole face. Evander shuddered.

Combat

Evander: HP: 9/12 Energy: 1/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 3/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

 ID# 49306 results:

 Battle: 7

 MOB: 6

Total DMG: 2*(2*1)= 4 - 1(MIT)= 3 DMG done

Mob DMG: 3 DMG done

Edited February 27, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Well, it was time to end this horrible abomination. Blegh. It looked pretty disgusting. When he had cut it, instead of blood, which Evander could pretty much handle, it oozed out a slimy green ooze. Yeah, he wasn't going to clean this blade with his cloth this time. Evander very sincerely hoped that this would be the last time he ever saw this creature, though he had a sinking feeling in his gut that he was going to be fighting a lot more before he got out of the forest. How did it even move without visionary organs? Did it operate by stench, or hearing, or some other sense? Wait, no what, what are you doing, focus Evander, focus, Evander thought to himself. This was still a monster, and it could still very well kill him. He had no idea why he was letting his guard down around it. Maybe it was so revolting that he lost all common sense around it? Who knew? Good thing was, it didn't seem particularly inclined to attack quickly. Evander ran forward, activating Snake Bite again. It was like the blade responded to his revulsion, and he quickly chopped it apart, though with its dying breath it managed to slap him with its arm again, knocking him back to the ground. Well, all in all, it was pretty much just your average monster. Evander hoped he got something good out of this.

Combat

Evander: HP: 6/12 Energy: 0/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 0/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

ID# 49308 results:

 Battle: 10 (Critical +2)

 Craft: 9

 Loot: 5

 MOB: 6

Total DMG: (2+2)*(2*1)=8 - 1(MIT)= 7 DMG done

Mob DMG: 3 DMG done

Edited February 27, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

The Little Nepent burst into tiny green particles. Evander cleaned his blade by wiping it with the grass, careful not to touch it. That was the closest he ever wanted to get to any ooze that came from that thing. Evander really, really hoped he would get something he could spend to get food, or maybe even... Nah, he wasn't desperate enough to eat a Nepent steak, and he didn't think he ever would be. Evander stepped forth in anticipation- sure, he had never gotten anything other than a pelt before from a monster kill, but this thing didn't have fur, was a new monster he had beaten so hopefully something lucky came from that, and this was around his twenty-first monster kill, and twenty-first times the charm, right? Man, he was getting desperate. He looked down, and- what even was that thing? A chunk of its arm? Evander looked a bit closer, maybe the col was hidden somewhere around the leafy part of the arm, or perhaps its base. Nope. Evander sighed. Great. Now he had part of a Little Nepent arm. How useful. He put it into his inventory and moved on, disappointed. Whatever. Maybe someone actually wanted it for a quest or something.

+1 mat from Little Nepent

Evander: HP: 9/12 Energy: 1/3

Edited February 27, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander looked around, then sheathed his sword. He didn't think there were any more of those things around. Evander finally got the chance to update his map, then moved onward. He looked up- by now, he couldn't even tell what time of day it was, the canopy was so thick. Maybe he would find the village soon? Evander felt very weary, though he didn't know why. He had only fought two monsters and trudged around all day, why was he so lethargic? He felt as if the whole world weighed down upon him. Suddenly, Evander had a flash of inspiration. This was really the first day he had in a long while where he didn't do much of anything asides from exploring. Before, he had been too busy trying to get better that he hadn't really felt the weight of all the work he had done- it appeared to have caught up to him now. Well, Evander thought, if I get to the village, I can relax there for a day or so, maybe just do a bit of scouting then just lay back. This isn't a sprint, this sort of thing is a marathon. I have to pace myself, and give breaks when required to operate at maximum effectiveness. Evander slogged on through the forest, ducking under branches.

Evander: HP: 12/12 Energy: 2/3

Edited February 26, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

This deep into the forest, no birds chirped, no rushing water could be heard, all was silent. Evander took step after step deeper into the forest, in complete solitude, with only his thoughts to accompany him. Evander squinted to see; it was fairly dark in the forest now. Evander stepped forward, then tripped over a root, stumbling over into a tree that he could have sworn wasn't there before. Scratch out fairly dark- it was really, really dark. He could barely even see his own hands in front of his face. What time was it? Without the sun, Evander couldn't tell. It was almost as if the forest itself was timeless. Evander peered ahead- was that a light? He stumbled quicker towards it, then tripped over yet another root and fell forward, onto his face. Ouch. Grumbling, he got up again and continued to move towards the growing light. It was a clearing, and, looking up, he could finally see the sky. The clouds had gone away sometime while he was in the forest, and Evander could see the light blue sky above. It was obviously still day, but he couldn't see the sun, most likely meaning that it was afternoon. Wow, less time had passed than he had thought. He would've guessed that it was at least evening by now. Guess not.

Evander: HP: 12/12 Energy: 3/3

Edited February 26, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander sat down in the clearing. Ahh, it felt fairly comfortable here. Evander lay back, his hands behind his head, and watched the blue sky far above. I guess a little time spent relaxing couldn't hurt, Evander reassured himself. His thoughts began to flit around randomly, as he let his mind drift. Slowly, his eyes began to close. He was exhausted. He began to slowly... drift off... to sleep... Evander started. He thought he had heard a noise. He looked up- the sky was now orange. It was evening. He had slept for far too long. Well, time to get moving- crick. He jumped to his feet and drew his sword. It seemed he hadn't just been hearing things. He looked around, and- great, another Little Nepent. Blech. Yet again he had to fight these unnerving creatures. Evander sighed, then held his sword in front of him in a defensive stance.

Begin Combat

Evander: HP: 12/12 Energy: 3/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 6/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

[Evander 0]

Evander tried to clear his mind and focus on the situation at hand. This was actually worrying- he definitely could not camp out here at night, with all of these creatures and monsters around. If the wood was already this dark under the canopy at day, it was sure to be much, much worse at night. He needed to end this quickly and get to the safety of the village fast, before he died out here. Perhaps if he were stronger, he could survive a night in the woods, but at this low level, there was little to no chance. Evander looked straight at the Little Nepent. He still had no idea where the weak points of this creature were. If they had resembled anything from real life, he could've determined their weak points from comparison, but these seemed to have no visionary organs, no olfactory organs, and the only facial (if it could be called a face) feature it had was a large ravenous mouth. Evander hated not knowing something, but he would have to deal with it for now. Evander lunged forth, performing the same opening move he had practiced many, many times. His Snake Bite art hit perfectly, almost managing to kill it in one hit, but the Nepent managed to bite onto his left arm, impairing it. Great. His left arm was rendered useless again.

Combat

Evander: HP: 8/12 Energy: 1/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 1/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

ID# 49408 results:

 Battle: 9 (Critical +1)

 MOB: 9 (Critical +1)

Total DMG: (2+1)*(2*1)= 6 - 1(MIT)= 5 DMG done

Mob DMG: 3+1= 4 DMG done

Edited February 26, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Well, let's just get this over with, Evander grumbled in his mind. He didn't want to look at this thing any longer than he had to, and he needed to get moving if he was going to find the village before nightfall. The sky above was turning an even darker shade of orange- he had an hour, at best. Again, thank goodness I don't need two arms to fight effectively, Evander thought. He looked at the Little Nepent. It was dying, its arms beginning to shrivel up, and the creature itself seemed to know this as well. It bared its teeth, and began to growl like a cornered animal. It was set on trying to kill the one who had just about killed it. Evander cleared his mind, and let his practiced skills take over. Evander rushed forward, blade held in front of him, while the Little Nepent snapped out at him. And- shoot, he missed! Man, his nerves must have been rattled, or some other reason. He had never missed an attack before at a monster. He was really not in peak condition. The only solace was that the monster had missed as well, likely only because of his own flailing around to recover himself.

Combat

Evander: HP: 8/12 Energy: 0/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 1/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

 ID# 49410 results:

 Battle: 2 (fail)

 MOB: 5 (fail)

Edited February 27, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Evander steadied himself on a nearby tree and turned around to face the monster. This time for sure, it was going down. He needed to get this show on the road. Nightfall was approaching quickly. The Little Nepent turned around to face him, its vines snapping in the air. The monster would probably only need to take one more hit before it was going down. Evander raised his sword in front of him. The Little Nepent began shuffling towards him. Finally, a monster was going to attack first and he could stay on defense. Staying on defense was much better than charging forward- it allowed one to observe the battle style of their opponent. However, this monster was really slow. Really, really slow. Evander sighed, then charged forward. Waiting on defense could happen on a day where he wasn't on a time crunch. Evander pointed his sword in front of him, then- what in the world? That tree branch had not been there a moment before. Agh, he had to quickly get up before the monster killed- the Little Nepent was flailing around on the ground as well. It seems it had tripped over its own tendril. This was stupid. Why couldn't he just end it already? Was fate conspiring against him for some obscure reason?

Combat

Evander: HP: 8/12 Energy: 0/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 1/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

ID# 49412 results:

 Battle: 1 (critical fail)

 MOB: 1 (critical fail)

Edited February 26, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

Alright, no more philosophical musings or analysis of the creature- let's just end this already! Evander grew frustrated, then took a deep breath. Things like this happened some times. The fact that it happened while he was on an immense time crunch was just a coincidence. Getting angry wouldn't help anything. At least this time, he was near enough to the monster that there was an almost impossible chance of him tripping over something. The only bad thing was that the Little Nepent's range was far greater than his own, and it could probably attack him from this distance. Whatever, at least he could kill it if it got close and finally end this thing. Seriously, a fight against such a weak monster taking much longer than a few minutes? It may have been impressive his first day of killing monsters, but now, this was downright embarrassing. The Little Nepent growled, and Evander charged forth before it had a chance to attack, and promptly tripped over yet another root. Seriously, was the whole world conspiring against him? The only good thing was that the Little Nepent also missed, primarily because he fell. The Little Nepent growled- it seemed it was annoyed with this turn of events as well.

Combat

Evander: HP: 8/12 Energy: 0/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 1/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

ID# 49414 results:

 Battle: 1 (Critical failure)

 MOB: 4 (failure)

Edited February 26, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

"Why must you torment me so, oh cruel earth?" Evander knelt and screamed for the earth and sky to hear. He tried to calm himself, but all he could feel right now was an immense anger. He stood up, held the blade in front of him, and began to run at the beast, all decorum gone and screaming like a wild banshee. He had missed, then tripped twice, over quite possibly the same exact root! Enough was enough. This monster is going to die right now, and it better drop something other than a part of its vine-like arm to make up for all the time it wasted! Evander ran like a madman, determined to not let anything stop him in his path. The Little Nepent seemed taken aback for a moment, then began moving forward as well, quite possibly as eager as he was for this to be over with. However, it seemed the whims of fate had not yet finished with the Little Nepent. It tripped over itself, right onto Evander's sword. Well, that was one way to end a battle.

Combat

Evander: HP: 8/12 Energy: 0/3 MIT: 0 Base DMG: 2

Little Nepent: HP: 0/6 MIT: 1 DMG: 3

 ID# 49420 results:

 Battle: 6

 Craft: 12

 Loot: 8

 MOB: 1 (critical fail)

Total DMG: 2 - 1(MIT)= 1 DMG done

Edited February 27, 2016 by Evander

[Evander 0]

The Little Nepent burst into millions of tiny green particles. It was over. It was finally over. Evander sighed and slumped in relief. He really hoped that he didn't have to go through anything like that ever again. Well, time to go see what the monster dropped. It better be good, Evander thought bitterly, though knowing my luck, probably not. He shuffled over dejectedly to where the Little Nepent had fallen, and whoop-de-doo, it was yet another Little Nepent arm-thing. Another mat for the pile. Yippee. Every single time he killed a monster, it would never drop anything, not even col, other than something inedible and useless to him. Truly, Evander was the master of getting loot. He put the arm chunk into his inventory, and looked up. The sky was beginning to turn dark blue. That wasn't good- that meant that night was coming, and considering his current capabilities, he was not going to survive the night. He needed to find the village, and fast. He would probably have to run through the dark forest now. Evander cleaned his sword, sheathed it ,and ran into the dark forest in a direction in which he hoped there was safety.

+1 mat from Little Nepent

Evander: HP: 11/12 Energy: 1/3