[SP-F3] Labyrinth <<Search for the Hoya>> .:COMPLETED:.

[Creius 0]

There was the usual flash of light and then the beautiful Delilah Village sprawled out before him from the teleport crystal plaza. He took in a deep breath and headed through the village. There was no time for relaxing or sightseeing; there was a mission to be done that day. Quickly, Nathan left the village of Delilah and it fell behind him as he headed towards the Forest of Wavering Mist. He was familiar with the forest, remembering it from the <<Worn Out Welcome>> quest that he had taken a while ago. It had been a dark and thickly wooded forest where vision was heavily hampered. He had no recollection of the maze itself but he had encountered minotaurs while in the forest so if he followed the basic variety of the beast he was bound to find the quest location. Then it would only be a matter of delving through said maze until he found the field boss, make short work of said field boss, collect his reward, and go. Should be a simple in and out quest with absolutely no worries at all.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

While Nathan was walking across the fields he took in all the beauty that surrounded him. Out of all the floors that he had visited, there was just something about the third floor that he loved. It was bright and full of nature; it was neither too hot nor too cold; it was peaceful and kind to the soul. It just seemed so perfect. He closed his eyes, eating the ground with long strides, and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Today was going to be a good day. He was taking an easy quest on his favorite floor, there was little that he could see to ruin his day at this point. Nathan's eyes opened and he looked around the prarie, the rolling fields of grass and small hills providing a source of tranquility in such a sick and twisted world. There were few places in the real world that he could think of that provided such peace in mind and this location truly made him appreciate Kayaba's masterpiece. There were definitely issues being stuck in this world but the world they were stuck in could be a lot worse. Every floor could have been a dungeon, dark and wet and entirely miserable. Instead, Kayaba had granted them peaceful pastures where the players could stroll along and take a deep breath to forget all that had happened in the world, even if only for a moment.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

The peace of mind had to end eventually, though, and utility would take over. Nathan's mind went from the beauty and nature of his surroundings to the potential of resources in the land. In mere moments, Nathan's eyes went from seeing the beauty of the world to seeing the resources residing within and so the hunt for materials began. His eyes quickly passed over the terrain, searching for any plants that might be of worth to him as a tailor. Almost immediately his eyes fell upon a group of plants which would be useful so he headed towards the bunch and harvested them. Just another reason he enjoyed this floor. Not only was it beautiful and calm but it was also practical and held utility to him.

ID#64738   LD:20

Edited July 25, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan looked over the surrounding terrain once more, in search of any more materials that could be gathered. There were a lot of plants to be seen in the area but they were not as useful to Nathan as he would like. He could see plants that might be useful to an alchemist but for a tailor there seemed to not be much. A bit here and there but no where near enough to qualify as a full material. With a shrug, Nathan moved on and walked down the road for a few minutes more so that he was in a different area and his odds of finding plants might increase.

ID#64739   LD:10

Edited July 25, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

As Nathan walked down the road, he kept his eyes moving so that he might notice any plants that were in the area. The forest was quickly approaching so Nathan was more hoping that something would catch his eye rather than searching. When his mind began to turn to the quest and finding these Hoyas his eyes finally spotted something, bringing his attention back to the scanning. Looking over what he had found he went forward and harvested the bundle of plants, adding another material to his inventory. That would be all he had the time for unless he wanted to waste time with a continued search when he could be doing the quest. Nathan accepted the material and turned to the Forest of Wavering Mist, the dark and mysterious place looming before him now. The air was just as tainted as he remembered it, a sense of dread and despair emanating from it. Nathan drew Bloodletter and slowly walked under the canopy of the dark forest, the mist and fauna blocking his view of the outside world. The forest consumed him and had left him in a place that would be hard to notice was a part of the third floor.

ID#65032   LD:19

Edited July 29, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

The darkness was omnipresent and seemed to be the god of this region. It played tricks on Nathan's eyes, casting moving shadows that made his sword arm a little twitchy. Far off in the distance, the roars of beasts unknown reached his ears, setting the hairs on his neck at end. The cool comfort of his blade kept Nathan in check, though, serving as a ground to drive off the chilling effect of the forest's evil presence. It all felt so alive and ready to devour him but Nathan fought back, choosing not to be consumed. The trees passed by quickly and the path all but disappeared, leaving Nathan lost in the seemingly endless forest of shadows. The tomb could not be that much farther which meant his fight with the minotaurs should be imminent and he was ready for it. He could feel the adrenaline starting to course through his veins as he pressed onwards into the dark.

[Creius 0]

A slight pressure was beginning to build in the back of Nathan's head as the adrenaline took effect. His grip on Bloodletter strengthened and relaxed as he held the familiar blade. The trees began to thin and Nathan found himself in a small clearing. He felt a bit sick and woozy which was strange since he had felt fine just a few minutes ago. How long had he been in the forest? Nathan realized he did not know the answer to that. In all honesty, he could not even tell where he actually was. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths before opening them. He just had to finish the quest he was on and get out of this forest, it was not a good place for any sane human. With a quick glance around the clearing, Nathan noticed a small shrine next to a massive tree that was obviously aged. Nathan approached the shrine slowly, looking around the clearing to make sure there would be no threat coming at him suddenly as he examined the shrine. When he reached the tree he cast his eyes down to see what the shrine really was.

[Creius 0]

The first thing Nathan took note of was the dozens of flowers cast in front of the little shrine. There were many flowers at the shrine, as though the place were frequented and restocked with its floral stock. Next Nathan saw the inscription and a small shiver went down his spine. There was a sparse warning, telling all those that sought the tomb of Minos to turn back while there was still life in them then a number was placed under it. The number was in the hundreds and only one meaning came to Nathan when he saw it. Nathan was stronger than all those others and there were plenty of people that had completed the quest prior to his attempt. Nathan adjusted the grip of his sword and turned to the small parting of trees. Off in the distance, between the trees, Nathan could make out the faint flickering of torchlight. That was bound to be his destination.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:  HP: 380/380    ENG: 33/38    DMG: 6    MIT: 25  (ID: 71208   BD:9   Neutron ((6+1Crit)*5 = 35 DMG to Hoya 1. Bleed Applied to Hoya 1)

Hoya Minotaur (1):    HP:   10/45    DMG: 30  ((Bleed))

Hoya Minotaur (2):    HP: 45/45    DMG: 30

Nathan pushed through the thin brush and came out in an opening. Immediately there was a roar from the torchlight but all Nathan could make out was a looming shadow standing in front of the light so his target was not immediately identifiable. After the might roar came earth shaking steps that almost threw Nathan off balance. Quickly Nathan decided that this had to be the field boss so he raised Bloodletter and watched the approaching giant. Nathan threw himself up into the air, tapping into the sword art system, and felt Bloodletter begin vibrating slightly as it adopted its crimson glow. The blade flew towards the minotaur and before the minotaur could reach Nathan the blade had sunk its length into the minotaur's chest five times. The minotaur let loose a bellow of pain and reeled backwards, clutching at the red lines in its chest where it had been pierced. A second roar answered its brother and Nathan heard a loud thumping and his earth shook once more as he heard the second minotaur coming at him.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:  HP: 380/380    ENG: 33/38    DMG: 6    MIT: 25

Hoya Minotaur (1):    HP:  -2/45    DMG: 30  ((Bleed))     (ID: 71209   MD:1  Miss)     (LD: 13    1 Minotaur Hide + 225 Col)

Hoya Minotaur (2):    HP: 45/45    DMG: 30                      (ID: 71209    MD: 1 Miss)

Nathan turned towards the second minotaur and saw a massive, hairy fist flying towards him. With a started gasp, Nathan dove to the side and felt the air move as the fist passed through where he had been standing just a moment before. The second minotaur yelled out in anger as it stumbled past Nathan, almost falling to the ground as it imbalanced itself. Nathan rose Bloodletter up, intending to strike the minotaur while it was off-balance, but sensed a movement behind him. Nathan turned and dived as he heard an explosive roar behind his back and heard a huge crashing noise. Nathan hit the ground and looked over to where the noise had come from to see that the first minotaur, the one whose health was rapidly depleting, had charged at Nathan and ran into a tree. The minotaur froze as it struggled with the tree then promptly shattered into a million pixels, its health bar having hit zero.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:  HP: 380/380    ENG: 30/38    DMG: 6    MIT: 25  (ID: 71210   BD:6 Crucifixion (6*6 = 36 DMG to Hoya 2)  CD:12 (+2 ENG))

Hoya Minotaur (1):    HP:  -2/45    DMG: 30

Hoya Minotaur (2):    HP:  9/45    DMG: 30

Nathan walked to the minotaur, which was picking itself up off the ground, and rose Bloodletter once again. The minotaur let loose a loud snort as Bloodletter began to glow once again, raising its own fist to retaliate. Bloodletter flew forward first, though, and the minotaur bellowed out as it brother had. Bloodletter pierced the minotaur's skin quickly in the shape of cross and immediately the minotaur's health took a hit, plummeting quickly. The health bar dropped down well past a third and into the red, indicating the nearing end of the rather short fight. With the bellow, the minotaur picked itself up off the ground and stood up tall, showing that it would fight until the bitter end and do its best to rid the world of Aincrad of scum like Nathan. The minotaur brought its hands together, creating one giant ball of hairy fist, and raised its hands high over head. Then the fist fell rapidly, coming down quickly over Nathan's head, creating little time for the young fighter to react.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:  HP: 380/380    ENG: 33/38    DMG: 6    MIT: 25

Hoya Minotaur (1):    HP:  -2/45    DMG: 30

Hoya Minotaur (2):    HP:  9/45    DMG: 30                      (ID: 71212    MD: 4  Miss)

Nathan looked up at the looming beast standing well over his own head and realized just how painful it would be if he let that fist come down on his head and crack it open. When the minotaur's hands began falling down frighteningly fast, Nathan turned around and dove down onto the ground, hitting it roughly. There was a loud crash as the minotaur's hands made contact with the ground. Nathan had not really planned out the dive and hit the ground harder than he had been anticipating, resulting in Bloodletter being jarred out of his grip. The blade went skittering off into the grass, hidden from Nathan's view, while Nathan tried to recollect himself from the hard landing. Nathan picked himself up off the ground with a groan and turned to see the minotaur was now charging at him, seemingly unfazed by its punching the ground. Nathan casts his eyes around, looking for his sword frantically.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:  HP: 380/380    ENG: 29/38    DMG: 6    MIT: 25  (ID: 71214    BD: 3  Miss)

Hoya Minotaur (1):    HP:  -2/45    DMG: 30

Hoya Minotaur (2):    HP:  9/45    DMG: 30

 

Nathan saw a faint glitter in the tall grass and ran over to it. All the while, he could feel the earth-shaking footsteps of the giant bull-man getting ever closer to his position. Nathan saw the edge of his sword in the grass and leaned down to pick it up, now able to hear the heavy breathing of the minotaur right behind him. Nathan grabbed Bloodletter by the hilt and gripped it tightly, pivoting on the ball of his right foot while extending his arm out. Bloodletter sang through the air, cutting through empty space. Nathan's eyes opened widely as he realized he had made a misjudgment and had attacked a fraction of a second too early. The blade had narrowly missed the beast and now the large minotaur was bearing down on him, too close and moving too quickly which left very little time for Nathan to react and get out of the way.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:  HP: 380/380    ENG: 33/38    DMG: 6    MIT: 25

Hoya Minotaur (1):    HP:  -2/45    DMG: 30

Hoya Minotaur (2):    HP:  9/45    DMG: 30                      (ID: 71236    MD: 3  Miss)

The minotaur stretched its arms out widely, as though intending to hug Nathan between its massive arms, and closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Nathan, with a startled grunt, hit the ground quickly and heard the large beast blow over his head, the feeling probably similar to a train passing inches over your head. Nathan got trampled a little, the minotaur's massive feet kicking at his prone body, and rolled a few feet away from the minotaur after it took a couple of bounding steps over his prone body. Nathan picked himself off, breathing heavily even though the exhaustion was all in his head. He had not been seriously harmed by the trampling, not enough to hurt his HP at least. The minotaur came to a slow stop and looked down at its empty arms and turned around yelling at the player which had escaped its grasp once more. Nathan brought Bloodletter up, pointing it directly at the minotaur's chest, waiting for the beast to charge once again.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:  HP: 380/380    ENG: 27/38    DMG: 6    MIT: 25  (ID: 71238   BD: 8  Rip Ravine (6*2=12 DMG to Hoya 2)  LD:14  (+1 Mat +225 Col))

Hoya Minotaur (1):    HP:  -2/45    DMG: 30

Hoya Minotaur (2):    HP:  -3/45    DMG: 30

The minotaur let loose a might bellow of rage and ran towards Nathan, its feet pounding into the earth and tearing it up. Nathan brought his blade to his side and ran towards the massive beast, Bloodletter already humming with power as it adopted its crimson hue. With two quick strikes and a marked V on its chest, the minotaur yelled out in pain and dissolved into a million pixels. Nathan landed nimbly on the ground and watched as a small window popped up, congratulating him on his victory over the minotaurs and giving him his materials and Col that he was due as loot drops. Nathan accepted the items, sending them to his inventory, and turned towards the tomb of Minos, peering into the dark door that lead down into Kayaba knows what. With an almost silent hiss, Bloodletter was returned to his letter home and Nathan took quiet steps into the threshold of the silent crypt.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

While Nathan was standing at the door to the tomb he immediately noted how chilly it was inside and he had yet to even pass through the entrance. With a tug of his coat and a sigh, Nathan headed deeper into the tomb in search of his prize. His footsteps resounded off the stone walls, much louder than he would have preferred. There was no walking stealthily in such a confined space. As he walked deeper and deeper into the tomb, the air became more chilly which caused his hairs to stand on end. It was rather easy to tell that this was some dead man's home, or at least that was what the game was trying to project. The stairs took him down deep into the ground, quite a few metres at least, but they eventually levelled out into a room. Nathan had to squint his eyes as he looked around, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the sudden change of lighting since there were torches in the room.

[Creius 0]

Slowly, but surely, Nathan's vision adjusted to the brighter room and Nathan took in the scene around him. The room was rather sparse in regards to decorations, nothing really on the walls besides the torches that seemed to just burn without end. There were ancient treasures, however, lying along a path but with a cursory glance across them, Nathan realized they were all ceremonial and would be worthless, hence why they were still there. The path the divided the treasures led to the back of the room where a massive stone container lay, foreboding and somewhat chilling to look at. The room definitely fit what he was looking for. If there were some dead king buried anywhere on the floating land of Aincrad, it would be in this dark room deep underground. Nathan walked into the room, glancing over all the shiny treasures as he approached what he presumed to be Minos' sarcophagus.

[Creius 0]

As Nathan slowly approached the sarcophagus, he felt the room get colder, as though the stone coffin were the source of it all. The fire from the torches seemed to provide no meaningful warmth compared to the bone-chilling cold that emanated from the coffin. By the time Nathan reached the sarcophagus, his breath was visible in front of him, showing as a white mist. Nathan reached out towards the coffin and placed his hand on its smooth surface. His hand immediately snapped back as the cold bit his skin, causing him to actually wince. Nathan placed his hand back onto the lid and looked at the engravings on its surface, noticing how they all seemed to depict various parts of his life, even his brutal end where he was scalded in the tub by Daedalus. It was chilling to see how much detail had been put into all of this and Nathan was about ready to leave and get away from the chill. He placed both hands on the lid and got ready to push the heavy weight.

[Creius 0]

With a grunt and might push, Nathan shoved his weight against the lid of the sarcophagus. The lid slid smoothly, but slowly, across the top of the coffin and let loose a blast of cold air that made Nathan's teeth chatter inside of his mouth. Nathan peered over the side of the coffin at its contents. Inside he saw the remains of what he assumed was King Minos, all wrapped up in linen. On his chest lay a beautiful pendant which Nathan slowly picked up. The pendant had a volcano, made of jet or possibly even obsidian, that was inlaid on a golden base. Turning the pendant over Nathan saw an engraving of a crown and under it a phrase written in some script that he could not read, presumably Ancient Greek. After Nathan took the pendant into his inventory a window popped up in front of him, congratulating Nathan on the completion of <<Search for the Hoya>> and listed his rewards, one of which was the pendant he had collected. Nathan closed the window and turned, drawing his coat tighter around him and headed for the stairs, ready to get out of the crypt.

[Creius 0]

Nathan rapidly headed up the stone steps of the tomb, the air warming up as he got farther and farther away from the sarcophagus. His footsteps rang loudly against the stone but at least it was not enough to wake the dead. Soon enough, Nathan reached the top of the stairs and headed out into the light, his eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness, even though the trees blocked most of the incoming light. Nathan squinted around and rubbed his hands together, trying to warm himself back up after that expedition. After he felt more comfortable Nathan headed towards the clearing where he had encountered the shrine and began his speedy trek out of the forest and back to the main village of the third floor. He was in desperate need of a warm drink and meal after that adventure, he was just too used to the deserts of his homeland.