[PP-F6] Deforestation

[Mack 0]

OOC: When we reach 20 posts, we will be rolling for a mini dungeon as well. Maximize our SP potential in these threads, Knights.

Word had filtered down to the players, recently, of a number of new quests suddenly going active on the lower levels of the Aincrad Tower. Naturally, these challenges fairly begged to be exploited and conquered by the player base within the world of Sword Art Online. That was why Mack found himself waiting for a few of his now loyal Knights of the Blood Oath to show up as he stood in the Portal Plaza of one of his least favorite places that had, so far, been discovered in Aincrad.

The Amazonian town of Amazon on the sixth floor of the tower.

While it was true that the NPC scenery was certainly far from objectionable, the Amazons themselves were still NPC's and hardly worth wasting time on. The floor itself was not only hot, but miserably humid. Still, this was an official Knights of the Blood Oath operation and so guild cloaks were going to be a requirement and that was why the Vice Commander was waiting for the first two knights to show up while wearing his snow white, with crimson trim, hooded guild cloak. The message had gone out to all of the Knights that Mack would take the first two who showed up on this quest, so everyone knew that if they showed up and he wasn't there waiting in the Portal Plaza that the group had already left.

[Lawfer 0]

Raising his right hand, the spearman looked across the plaza of Amazon to notice Mack still waiting for some of his comrades to meet up. "Yo Mack!" Lafwer yelled trying to catch the mans attention. Walking towards him, he used the raised hand to enter his inventory. Equipping his armor and cloak, he was encased in scarlet and white. "Looks like I'm the first to arrive." He continued as he patted the red haired mountain on the shoulder. "So looks like its gonna be us and one more lucky soul to traverse the thick rain forest." He stated as he looked out at all the large NPC beauties. "Now if only women like this were real..." he muttered under his breath.

[Hirru 0]

"Try having my point of view, then."

The hunter was under his own cloak as he approached the two major figures of the Knights of the Blood Oath.  As things were turning out, the guild was growing quite well.  Not only in number, but in strength as many of the members were pushing through their individual levels.  The hunter, however, was stuck with babysitting for most of time, and didn't have much time for questing or leveling himself.  He grumbled to himself about trying to move Iggy's restaurant to another floor, but he knew she wouldn't do that.  She doesn't even keep her shop in order, let alone be able to move to another location.

"Try not to let the other side claim your thoughts, we have a job to do here."

[Mack 0]

OOC: I'll tank. Hirru, roll for the Dungeon on post 15. Battle order will be the same as posting order: Mack, Lawfer, Hirru. Unless you guys have somethin' else in mind :)

"Women like this are real, you just have to know where and how to look, Lawfer," Mack replied, shrugging his broad shoulders from beneath his hooded cloak as Hirru joined the group and put in his two cents for the conversation. Reaching over his left shoulder, Mack wrapped his fingers around the leather wrapped haft of his bearded axe, Invictus, drawing the weapon and planting the steel butt cap in the ground before leaning on the weapon. "You hear something Lawfer? I could have sworn I heard something, but I don't see any one else clad in our guild colors. Looks like we're still waiting on one more Knight to join us," the Vice Commander drawled in a round about way of remarking that Hirru wasn't properly attired.

[Lawfer 0]

"I've been to places like that Mack, but none of them had all the women taller than me." He jested back as he turned his head and identified the final companion of the group. "Oh come on now Mack, just because it isn't as clean as your cloak you cant give him the short finger." He jested once more as he raised his hand and waived at the Jade hunter. "Welcome Hirru!" He paused for a moment as he raised his right hand and created the party, sending invites to his companions. "Thoughts are what set us apart from the beasts Hirru. But I agree, I say we get this show on the road unless there are any objections." He finished as he began walking towards the outskirts of town. "Hirru, do you know where we are heading?"

[Hirru 0]

Looking between the two, the hunter had no idea what Mack was talking about.  He had his cloak on, as ordained by the Blades themselves.  It wasn't until he noticed that the cloak was not the right one.  This one was the mat-tan cloak that he used while hunting on the fifth floor, the only one that he could really accomplish anything on, and had forgotten to take it off.

"Well, I guess my thoughts are still elsewhere then.. heh."

He said as he switched out the tan colored cloak to the Blood red cloak for the Crimson Blades before looking to the other two, as they commented on about the task at hand.  When questioned about the current destination, the hunter wasn't too knowledgeable on the subject.

"I've heard news that some quests have been 'unlocked', as some say.  I'm guessing that we are going to hunt down one of them?"

( @Mack )

[Mack 0]

"Well, look at that," Mack rumbled, clapping Lawfer on the back with rather more force than was necessary. "Here's Hirru, I guess I should have listened when you said he was coming," the Vice Commander continued, making a show of pretending to notice the other member of the guild only after he had removed his guild cloak. "Yes, the rumors of new quests being found are true. So, we're here to farm them and if we happen to find a dungeon along the way to clear out then, so much the better," the axe man concluded, clapping his hands briskly as they got down to business. Reaching over his shoulder, he wrapped his fingers around the two-handed axe of the Fallen and drew the weapon that had been a quest reward for slaying Tagas. "Time's wasting, we have a full party for this quest now, so let's get moving."

[Lawfer 0]

As the dragoon felt the hand thwack against his back, he couldn't help but laugh it off. "Sounds good to me. Lets clear this quick then try to find a subdungeon." He commented as he began to walk towards the main gate of the town. "How have you been Hirru?" the blonde spearman asked as he pulled down his helms half visor. Raising his right hand, he selected his Highwind. As it materialized on his shoulder he grasped the shaft of the spear, readying himself for the upcoming battle. "Mack, do you know where this new field boss is supposed to be or do we have to use our wits to figure it out?"

[Hirru 0]

Nodding to the venture of starting this expedition, the hunter could not think about anything other than anticipation for the hunt ahead.  A new quest meant new monsters to hunt down and destroy, which gave more treasure to be held.  The hunter was beginning to learn the joy of gathering surplus of treasure and materials for the road ahead.  Many quest mobs dropped plentiful items, but the wait time for them to reappear was the only downside.  Thankfully, there were many quests to go through, especially now, with the rumors of three additional quests having been unlocked some time ago.

"I would be doing better, if I wasn't the only one with Reveal.  I've had to become the dungeon hunter for the entire guild, while helping out lower leveled players, as well."

The hunter sighed after his response to Lawfer.  With Opal gone, the only one that had advantages towards sub-dungeon expeditions, was the hunter.  He couldn't get a break, as everyone would want to search for a dungeon to level faster, while he had to hunt down materials for low level shops.  It was getting to the point that he would have to go out at night to hunt, which was killing his performance.

[Mack 0]

OOC: Let's slaughter this thing and get to the Mini Dungeon.

ID: 60068
BD: 2 (1+1)
MD: 8
CD: 9 (+54 Regen)
[H:1] Mack: 219/219 [44/46] (48-84=1 DMG) (+54 Regen)
Lawfer: 136/136 [34/34]
Hirru: 112/112 [28/28]
Byakko: 150/150 [40 Mit, 48 DMG (on MD 9-10 take half DMG regardless of Mit)

"I know exactly where we're going since I have the quest active in my quest log," Mack rumbled, still moving towards the gates of the town of Amazon, brushing past the occasional non-player warrior woman. Swiping a finger in the air as he walked, Mack scrolled through menus until he found the map and double checked. Satisfied that he knew where they were going, he moved through the gates and out into the jungle proper. Within about thirty minutes the trio entered an area of the forest that, quite clearly, had been reduced to smoldering ash with the smell of smoke still lingering in the air.

A loud roar signaled the arrival of the boss as it seemingly appeared out of nowhere. In a flash it lashed out with one flaming paw and batted at the group. Mack moved swiftly to intercept the blow as the tiger's paw slammed into his midsection. "Well, don't just stand there... kill it!"

[Lawfer 0]

As the howl sounded, the scarlet Dragoon ripped his Highwind from his shoulder and watched as the massive flame feline crashed its large paw into the vice commander. Pulling back his spear, he began the premotion for his assualt. Lowering his stance, he activated <Charge> then the laksidazical spearman found himself within striking range of the beast. Lunging his Highwind into the beast, Lawfer engaged <Concentration> as <Southern Imperial Cross> burst forward in a flurry of scarlet, the tip of the spear pieced the Byakko four times followed by a final thrust that stunned the beast. Circling back he looked over to Hirru. "Finish this thing off while we have the chance Hirru!" He commented as he looked over to the fearless Commander. "You all good big guy?" He asked as he watched the minimal damage that was received disappear from Mack's health bar.

ID: 60088
BD: 6 (2+3+1Con)
SA Used: Imperial Southern Cross -13EN = 12+3 = 15*10=150-40=90 DMG + Stun

[H:1] Mack: 219/219 [44/46] (48-84=1 DMG) (+54 Regen)
[H:1] Lawfer: 136/136 [21/34] -13EN/+1EN
Hirru: 112/112 [28/28]
Byakko: 60/150 [40 Mit, 48 DMG (on MD 9-10 take half DMG regardless of Mit) [Stunned]

Edited May 31, 2016 by Lawfer

[Hirru 0]

They came across the beast not too long into their venture when it rushed at Mack, but thankfully the Vice Commander had enough enhancements in Regeneration and Mitigation to negate the damage received.  Then, the Scarlet Dragoon performed a solid hit on the tiger before shouting out to the hunter to finish off the boss.  Taking his stance, the hunter pushed forward with his sword aglow.  Five consecutive thrusts into the Byakko's flesh before three slashes pushed the tiger back, but the damage was insignificant.

"It's not enough!"

ID: 60348
BD: 7 (5+2)
SA Used: Howling Octave -8EN = 8 Base = 8*8=64-40=24 DMG

[H:1] Mack: 219/219 [44/46]
[H:1] Lawfer: 136/136 [21/34] 
[H:1] Hirru: 112/112 [20/28] (-8 en)
Byakko: 36/150 [40 Mit, 48 DMG (on MD 9-10 take half DMG regardless of Mit) [Stunned]

( @Mack )

Edited June 3, 2016 by Hirru

[Mack 0]

@Hirru, you're up. Roll for Dungeon.

ID: 60639
BD: 6 (4+1+1 Concentration)
MD: 10
Mack: -1 DMG out of a really big Health Pool, 38 EN left.
Byakko is SUPER DEAD. Crescent Avalanche (7x1x11=77, 77>76 (HP + Mit) so Byakko is dead before desert.)

"Alright, let the Vice Commander show you how this is done," Mack rumbled, brushing past Lawfer and Hirru once they had had their fun with Byakko. Holding his axe free and easy in his hands, the Vice Commander allowed the flaming tiger to bite him. The truth of the matter was that the amount of damage Byakko could do to him was irrelevant. That's why he was the one tanking the so-called boss creature. With a roar, the hulking axe man hauled his weapon back and whipped it around his body. The deadly blade scythed through the air and slammed into Byakko's neck, neatly removing his feline head from his feline neck. The head bounced once before it and the rest of Byakko dissolved into pixels. "Now, Hirru, about finding us a dungeon..."

[Hirru 0]

(Miss calculated the posts, I can't do anything yet.  @Lawfer Go ahead.  I'll post after.)

The hunter watched as the large tiger tried to take a chunk out of Mack, but he took the creatures head, instead.  It was quite the amazing sight, but the sense of danger was still nearby.  Something wasn't clicking, and it wasn't the defeat of the boss.  The quest had ended, for now, but that didn't mean that some parameters could still kick in.  The hunter believed that he heard people call these occurrences, 'flags' or 'triggers'.

The Vice Commander seemed to be giving the hunter a hint about a possible dungeon, but that would only appear if he was near enough.  Reveal could see through objects, but it had a relatively short range.

"I can't see anything right now.  However, my hunting instincts say that Byakko's lair may be near.  Lawfer, what do you think?" 

[ID: 60645]
[Why did I roll, when there is nothing to roll for....]

Edited June 5, 2016 by Hirru

[Lawfer 0]

Watching as the newly appointed vice-commander felled the beast, Lawfer raised his half visor and locked it into place. "We should probably try and head to the west a bit." Lawfer stated with a slight smirk on his face as he placed the strap of his Highwind on his right shoulder. The dragoon had spent quite a bit of time on this floor when he was out on his sabbatical in the wilds, and up until the new patch update, he had reason to suspect an area to the west to house some secrets. "But that's just going on a gut feeling. If we wanna push more into the burned area to the east, I imagine that would be where the Byakko would have its lair." Pausing for a moment, he looked back and forth. "You're the hunter, I'm the healer." He finished with a light chuckle as he pushed back some of the fair that drifted over his shoulder.

[Hirru 0]

"The most likely would be the where the Byakko's lair would be.  Bosses are known to hide entrances to sub-dungeons within their domain."

This was speaking from experience as a hunter, and from many different excursions into the wilderness.  Taking an interest into the dangerous creatures of this world, he had found too many instances that could have been a dungeon, but the trigger was never found for it.  Most of the time, it was because the creature wasn't killed in a certain way, or a particular item was not in the parties possession.  

Thankfully, this was neither of those, as the hunter inspected the area where the Byakko had scorched the land, a familiar ping came up in his field of view.  Taking a closer look, there seemed to be a small den or cave that seemed to be smoldering, with smoke billowing from it.  From within, some small sounds could be heard, but nothing denoting anything large.

"It looks like we found it.  Take precautions, and let's deal with its guardians first."

[ID: 60776]
[LD: 21 (16+5)] Intermediate Sub-Dungeon found
[0 / 10 Mobs slain]

Edited June 6, 2016 by Hirru

[Mack 0]

OOC: @Lawfer

ID: 60833
BD: 6 (5+1)
Mack: 219/219 27/46 (Trample Act [12 EN]: 3x2x15=90)
Elephant 1: 0/60 (Mit. 30)
Elephant 2: 0/60
Elephant 3: 0/60
Elephant 4: 0/60

"There may not be anything in the den, but they don't look all that happy to see us," Mack rumbled, nodding his head in the direction of a slowly encroaching heard of elephants that had just emerged from the treeline. "Watch you Vice Commander, gentlemen," the gigantic man continued. Without another word Mack charged across the distance that separated him from the elephant herd, drawing back the axe he had received from having slain Tagas. With a roar, Mack slammed into the first of the creatures like a human pinball, shattering it into pixels before sweeping his weapon through three more.

[Lawfer 0]

OOC: @Hirru

Lawfer smiled as he watched the jolly red giant dispatch the 4 bigger mammals with minimum effort. The thundering sounds of masive footsteps echoed across the jungle. "Well I guess its my turn to shine again." The dragoon stated as he closed his half visor once more, the red glass of the eyeshields  caused his vision to turn to a shade of scarlet. Wrenching his Highwind from his shoulder, he drew it back in once motion as he lowered his level. <Charge> activated as he pushed off his back foot and he seamlessly weaved past his vice commander and through the tree line, stopping in front of the charging elephants. <Trip Expand> activated and with one swing, he spun 360 degrees cleaving the four mobs in half, shattering them into blue pixels that evaporated before him. 

ID: 60844
BD: 7 (4+3)
Lawfer: 136/136 (-12/+1) (Trip Expand [12 EN]: 6x1x(12+3)=90)
Elephant 5: 0/60 (Mit. 30)
Elephant 6: 0/60
Elephant 7: 0/60
Elephant 8: 0/60

Edited June 7, 2016 by Lawfer

[Mack 0]

OOC: +1 EN, out of Combat, Can't resist... @Hirru

Mack blinked as Lawfer shot past him and proceeded to dispatch four the the elephants with nearly the same amount of ease that the Vice Commander had, himself, just shown in dealing with the creatures. When had the spear man gotten to be such a strong combatant? Mack couldn't recall Lawfer ever having displayed that kind of combat power before and he made a mental note to speak to him about taking a more active role on the front lines in the near future. While still standing and waiting for the cool down timer from his most recent move to wear off the ginger man called in a nonchalant tone. "Five Thousnad col says Hirru can't take down the last two without help... you want to take that bet, Lawfer?"

[Hirru 0]

Elephants!

The hunter wasn't particularly keen on these creatures, as they lumbered upon them with large ivory tusks waiting to gore them through.  The size of them were mostly around the size of regular boss monsters, but to see a large herd of them was not something that the hunter liked.  Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long until the heard was cut down to size.  Vice Commander, Mack, and Scarlet Dragoon, Lawfer decimated the majority of the large creatures before them.  Before Lawfer's sword art could finish Mack made a proposal towards the dragoon about whether or not the hunter could defeat the next two alone.  The hunter grinned.

"Alright, but no helping me then."

Immediately, the hunter ran towards the last two elephants with Solace emblazon with the emerald glow of a sword art.  Howling Octave struck through the first elephants foreleg, to which it grabbed the hunter with its long trunk.  He could feel a strong pressure along his body before being thrown towards the second elephant.  The second grabbed him out of the air, and slammed the hunter into the nearest tree trunk.  Throughout all of that, they were taking damage from Fury's armor ability, thorns.

"I got this.."

Spoiler

ID: 60977
BD: 7(+2) Hit
MD: 10 Crit +2
[8 / 10 Mobs slain]
Hirru: 98/112 HP (32-25= 7x2= -14 hp) // 13/28 EN (+1 en , -8 en) [Sword Art: Howling Octave = 8x8 = 64-30 = 34 dmg]
Elephant 9: 12/60 (Mit. 30) [Thorns -14 hp]
Elephant 10: 46/60 [Thorns - 14 hp]

( @Lawfer Since Mack took a post )

Edited June 8, 2016 by Hirru