[PP-F1] Noontide Greetings (Itzal)

[Evander 0]

Evander stepped back, sword held up in a defensive position. He turned to glance at Itzal, to see what his fellow player would do next. Itzal grinned at him. Evander grinned back. "Hey, man, thanks for the compliment. There's not really much you can do in here except practice swordfighting, so I guess I'm fairly proficient with the blade. It's probably not as good or clean as some other people, since I had to basically teach myself how to fight so that I could stay alive." Evander turned his focus back on the lizard man. It seemed Itzal wasn't going to be attacking it. Huh, that was curious. He wondered why. Maybe Itzal was testing his skill for some reason? Well, whatever the case, the lizard man was getting back up, so he needed to be attacking pretty soon to knock off its guard again. Evander spun the sword in his hand, and charged back towards the mob. Before the monster could raise up its shield, he let off another Star Quint Prominence. Another red pixelated star was carved into the mob's chest. The mob turned to him now, eyes full of hate. Well, now the mob's ire was focused on him, but he was pretty sure he had more mitigation than Itzal with his own cloak, so it would be fine. If the mob's damage turned out to be the same as the others' on this floor, it would be doing the minimum damage possible to him.

Combat

[H:1] Itzal: HP: 780/780  Energy: 71/78  MIT: 3  Base DMG: 8

[H:2] Evander: HP: 260/260 Energy: 15/26 MIT: 12 Base DMG: 5

Lizard Man: HP: 268/400 DMG: 10

ID# 70212 results:

 Battle: 7+1(ACC)= 8

Sword Art Activated: Star Quint Prominence

Total DMG: 5x(3x2)= 30 DMG

Edited November 2, 2016 by Evander

[Itzal 0]

OOC- Since I just found out sword arts were updated, I'll be using them from now on XD

Itzal listened to Evander as he talked about sword fighting being all there was to do and Itzal grinned.  "Well there's actually much much more in this world besides that but let's save that kind of talk for after we finish off this monster eh?"  With that Itzal watched Evander rush in and land a strike on the monster.  At first he was surprised that it wasn't stunning the monster but then he recalled the menu message he had received during the boss fight not too long ago with his friends Jonathan and Beatbox.  That's right, sword arts have been updated by the cardinal.  Knowing this he prepared to land an actual stun art.  He shot forward and the lizard tried to lift it's blade and shield to protect it's vital areas.  Itzal however wasn't aiming for those yet.  He shot his blade across the lizard's cheek, ruining it's focus and creating an opening.  Itzal charged and released Nova Ascension, releasing several slashes and thrusts until he finished off with a powerful strike with his hilt against the opponent's forehead.  The creature fell down from the blow and didn't move, the paralysis sign against it's health bar.  At the same time the bleed effect kicked in, tiny red pixels spewing out from the wounds.

ID#  70220  BD:  9  CD:  6  MD:  2

Itzal:  780/780  <>  59/78

Evander:  260/260  <>  15/26

Lizard Man:  187/400  <>  Bleeding added:  24 dmg per mob's turn  2/2 turns left

@Evander

Edited November 2, 2016 by Itzal

[Evander 0]

Itzal made some off-hand comment about how there really was much more to this world than just fighting monsters. Hmm. Evander scratched his head. There was? He supposed someone could just lay back and relax or something here in SAO, but they all needed to train so that they could get out of Aincrad faster, right? Their primary objective should be clearing the floors of Aincrad, so that they could get back to the real world. Well, he supposed this train of thought would have to wait until after this fight was over. Itzal leaped forward and let off a flurry of blows that paralyzed the monster. That was quite obviously a very high-end sword art- maybe he would get it when he mastered the OHSS skill. It also seemed that Itzal had affected it with another status effect, in addition to the paralysis- bleeding. Inflicting two status effects with just one sword art? Wow, that was pretty impressive! Evander held up his own sword, ready to step back into the fray. His attacks weren't nearly as strong as Itzal's, but at least they were something. Evander rushed forward, as Itzal stepped back, ready to capitalize on the monster's paralysis. Evander lunged forward with his blade, but his sword missed its mark, as it flew past the monster. Shoot! Well, that was embarrassing- he couldn't even hit a stationary target! That was a poor showing. Evander grimaced, as he stepped back to allow Itzal to make another hit on the monster.

Combat

[H:3] Itzal: HP: 780/780  Energy: 59/78  MIT: 3  Base DMG: 8

[H:2] Evander: HP: 260/260 Energy: 14/26 MIT: 12 Base DMG: 5

Lizard Man: HP: 187/400 DMG: 10

 ID# 70243 results:

 Battle: 2+1(ACC)= 3 (fail)

Edited November 3, 2016 by Evander

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched as Evander lashed at the lizard man once again and nodded.  It was ok he missed, that was expected from time to time.  When Evander turned to Itzal he motioned for him not to worry about it.  He adjusted Ascendant's Rosario in his hand.  He wanted this battle to get over with so that the two could talk.  It was time to practice with Soul Barrage again.  As the lizard man began to get up Itzal charged, his sword art not yet charged.  That wasn't how Soul Barrage worked.  The monster was fast enough to block the first attack but that wouldn't help in the slightest.  Itzal's speed and strength knocked the sword away on first strike, and in the blink of an eye he let go of the sword, grabbed it with his left hand using momentum, and with that momentum struck instantly afterward, knocking the monster back.  Normally Soul Barrage had nearly thousands of strikes done in a minute, but this monster wasn't worth it.  So instead of continuing the process he simply released Nova Ascension, landing a critical hit and dealing massive damage, as well as stunning it again.  Itzal leaped back and turned to Evander.  "Let me finish it off unless you feel we'll get good loot!"

ID#  70251  BD:  10  CD:  3  MD:  3

Itzal:  780/780  <>  47/78

Evander:  260/260  <>  14/26

Lizard Man:  73/400

@Evander

Edited November 3, 2016 by Itzal

[Evander 0]

Evander nodded. That sounded like a good plan. His luck was pretty shoddy, and Itzal had some LD enhancements, so logically, Itzal should get the last hit, unless he didn't want them to get good loot or something. Evander relaxed his stance. He glanced at the mob's HP bar, and down at his own blade. Well... Even his best hit wouldn't be able to kill it right now, and more damage done to the monster would only make it easier for Itzal to kill. And, he was really itching for another shot at hitting this humanoid lizard monster thing, after his embarrassing miss. Might as well take this one last chance. Evander tensed up again, and held his sword out. One last hit. Better make it count. Evander gripped his sword tightly, and charged forward. Hmm. He wouldn't use a sword art this time, no. He wanted it to be purely skill. And, also, he didn't want to risk somehow killing the monster. Evander swung his blade as he rushed by the monster. His blade went completely off and embedded itself in a tree. Shoot! Holy cow, this performance was pitiful. A second shot at this, with a better sword, and he still couldn't hit the lizard man. For shame. He shook his head. Where had all of his training gone? Perhaps it was just shoddy luck. He didn't normally miss twice in a row. That didn't excuse his performance, however. He yanked his sword out of the tree, and stepped back. At least he had tried, he supposed. Well, the soon to be coming loot would probably lighten up his spirit, at least. Evander nodded at Itzal. "Go for it, man."

Combat

[H:5] Itzal: HP: 780/780  Energy: 47/78  MIT: 3  Base DMG: 8

[H:2] Evander: HP: 260/260 Energy: 13/26 MIT: 12 Base DMG: 5

Lizard Man: HP: 73/400 DMG: 10

ID# 70269 results:

 Battle: 3+1(ACC)= 4 (fail)

Edited November 4, 2016 by Evander

[Itzal 0]

Foregoing Action

Itzal nodded to Evander when he told him to go for it.  He walked up a little bit and gestured for the monster to bring it.  The lizard man roared in pain and rage from the low health it possessed and charged him.  The monster swung it's blade at Itzal repeatedly but the player simply used his blade to parry and deflect his opponent.  He knew that if he killed it they might get some decent loot but the lizard wasn't exactly providing the opening he needed to perform a decent sword art.  It was quite frustrating actually.  Seeing as how he wouldn't be able to get past it' defenses he stayed on the defensive, conserving his energy as best he could since Evander mentioned he wanted to fight a few other monsters as well.  He took this moment to glance at Evander with a reassuring nod, reminding him that there's nothing wrong or shameful in missing.  The game tended to influence things sometimes.

@Evander

ID#  70319  CD:  11  LD:  13+8  MD:  4

Itzal:  780/780  <>  49/78

Evander:  260/260  <>  13/26

Lizard Man:  73/400

Edited November 6, 2016 by Itzal

[Evander 0]

Itzal held off on attacking the monster. He was probably conserving his energy. That was actually a pretty smart idea. If they used up all of their energy now, they wouldn't be able to do much else. But, well, it wouldn't do much good for both of them to do nothing. And, plus, he had the last two misses to make up for, and redeem himself. Evander held up his sword again, and took a deep breath. Alright, this time, he was feeling something special about this next attack. Whether it would be the most spectacular failure he ever did, or whether it would be his best strike, remained to be determined. Evander rolled his shoulders a bit, loosening them up, and charged at the lizard man, ready to let off another sword art. Time seemed to slow down, as he analyzed their positions. The lizard man was holding up his shield. He was probably going to have to knock it aside, then let loose with another sword art. This, however, would require careful precision. He just hoped he could pull it off. Time sped back up. Evander just let his instincts take over, and hoped for the best. His sword lashed out, knocking aside the shield, and in one fluid motion, he activated the sword art. Another star was traced into the monster's chest, and it fell back. Wow. Pretty impressive. Evander still loved the thrill he got from fighting monsters like this. It felt like he was in a movie or something. Evander stepped back, nodding at Itzal. Now was his fellow player's time to end it.

Combat

[H:5] Itzal: HP: 780/780  Energy: 49/78  MIT: 3  Base DMG: 8

[H:3] Evander: HP: 260/260 Energy: 8/26 MIT: 12 Base DMG: 5

Lizard Man: HP: 43/400 DMG: 10

 ID# 70404 results:

 Battle: 8+1(ACC)=9 (effective 8)

Sword Art Activated: Star Quint Prominence

Total DMG: 5x(3x2)=30 DMG done

Edited November 9, 2016 by Evander

[Itzal 0]

Foregoing Action

Itzal watched as Evander charged the monster.  He decided it was time to finish it and rushed in from behind.  After Evander made an impressive strike against the monster he had moved out of the way so Itzal could strike it.  He was about to stab at the monster when he noticed something:  Somehow the lizard man had seen Itzal coming from behind and held it's shield and sword in a way to protect itself just as it was getting paralysis effects.  His attack was going to bounce off the shield and he would lose energy...  Unless he did nothing.  Itzal leaped over the monster instead of striking and landed, then rolled, on the other side, sliding across the ground a little bit.  As he landed the lizard man was beginning to stir again.  This creature would not give up easily and yet it would be easy to kill...  If only the timing was right and he could get an actual hit on it that is.

@Evander

ID#  70411  CD:  9  LD:  13+8  MD:  4

Itzal:  780/780  <>  50/78

Evander:  260/260  <>  8/26

Lizard Man:  43/400

Edited November 8, 2016 by Itzal

[Evander 0]

Evander stepped back and glanced at Itzal, waiting for him to make his move. However, he seemed rather hesitant to attack. Interesting. Oh, wait, he could see why now, he wasn't in the optimal position to strike. His own attack, though it did create an opening, wasn't able to be used from behind, because of the positioning of the monster's shield. Ah. Evander grimaced. Well, wasn't that unlucky. Evander stepped back and held up his blade. Well, he could go for another attack, but that would be rather unwise, as one of his blows could kill it, especially if he got a critical strike against it or something. Since he didn't want to have to forfeit up any chance of any good loot at all, he would probably just sit out the rest of the battle, and wait for Itzal to make his strike. He cleaned his blade on his shirt, and sheathed it. The battle was pretty much over, anyway. If one of his hits could kill the monster, then for certain, one of Itzal's would. He leaned back against the tree, watching Itzal. "Hey, man, I don't want to risk accidentally killing the monster, so I think I'll hold off on attacking. Don't want us to get some horrible loot just because I landed the last hit on the thing. The battle's pretty much over, anyway. You can probably kill it in one hit. Go ahead and make the attack whenever you can."

Combat

[H:5] Itzal: HP: 780/780  Energy: 50/78  MIT: 3  Base DMG: 8

[H:3] Evander: HP: 260/260 Energy: 9/26 MIT: 12 Base DMG: 5

Lizard Man: HP: 43/400 DMG: 10

[Itzal 0]

Itzal nodded to Evander and charged the target.  The Lizard man shook of the paralysis effect right before Itzal's blade charged and glowed blue as he rushed over and leaped over it, dodging it's swinging sword, and thrust the energy into the monster, causing it to flinch and even shatter.  As he landed he saw the loot pop up and grinned.  He sent half of it to Evander:  1 material and two thousand col as well.  "Nice fight.  You got some good skills on you.  Don't sweat about those misses.  Happens to the best of us you know.  Let's take a break before taking on any more mobs k?"  Itzal sat down on a rock and thrust Ascendant's Rosario into the ground beside him.  He gestured for the player to sit down.  "So you do anything besides fight and train?  Anything you like to do for fun?"

ID#  70465  BD:  5+2  CD:  5  LD:  19+5  MD:  4

Lizard man:  Deceased

Both players receive 2,000 col and 1 mat

@Evander

Edited November 10, 2016 by Itzal

[Evander 0]

Itzal jumped over the monster, dealing the killing blow in some fancy display of acrobatics and skill. Impressive, and fitting of such a high leveled player. Oh, shoot, 2000 col and a mat from the monster? That was some intense loot there. Wow. And to think, that was only half of it. He had better start looking into some LD enhancements, because this was some serious loot. He would eat like a king every day if he got this kind of loot from every monster he fought. "Hey, man, thanks for the loot, and thanks again for letting me use your sword. You were great at fighting too. Better than anything I've seen, in any case, though I haven't seen many styles of fighting. A break sounds pretty good right now, though." Evander sat down, back resting against the tree. This was relaxing. Huh, what did he do for fun? He never really thought about it. Basically all he did every day was just explore, kill monsters, practice swinging a sword around some, eat, and get a good night's rest. Fun didn't really... have a place, in his schedule. It sounded pretty absurd to not have fun in a game, but that was the truth. "Uhh, for fun? I never really considered having fun or anything. I guess, now that I think about it, all I really do is fight monsters, train, and explore. What else are you really supposed to do?"

Evander: HP: 260/260  Energy: 10/26 (1/3)

[Itzal 0]

When Evander sat down and thanked Itzal for the loot he waved a dismissive hand with a grin.  "No problem man, and thanks.  I'm actually pretty pitiful at it with anything but normal mobs.  Bosses, sub bosses, anything with MIT I suck at fighting against.  See, I have no MIT and my damage won't raise any time without potions.  So yeah."  He opened up his menu and pulled out two burrito's he had bought earlier that were still fresh and offered Evander one.  "You hungry?  I've only tried them yesterday and they're pretty good.  Kasier's had me trying out all sorts of different types of food other than Japanese and pizza."  He chuckled before taking a bite and listening to his friend's response.  "Well, when I'm not out fighting or training, or training my apprentices, I like to sit in my shop and play music, spend some down time with my friends, go for a walk, stargaze, or visit one of three of my favorite spots.  I could take you to one of them sometime if you need another break from all the fighting if you want."

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Huh. That was interesting. Itzal wasn't very good at fighting armored enemies. Evander guessed he was more of a scout, or an explorer, than a straight up combat oriented role. Alright. Evander turned to Itzal. "Oh, a burrito? Sure, I'll take one, I'm pretty hungry. Thanks, man." Evander took the proffered burrito, and took a bite. As promised, it was delicious. He chewed, then swallowed. He cocked his head, as he listened to Itzal. Huh, he did quite a few things in his spare time. Stargazing, walks, talking with friends, even playing music. When was the last time he had heard some good music? Too long ago. It sounded like Itzal had a whole lot of fun, actually, even though they were all trapped in here. It was almost as if even though this was quite possibly the worst thing to ever happen to them, instead of letting that get him down, Itzal instead lived his life to the fullest in the game. That was a good mentality to have. Evander smiled. "Sure, man, I'd love to see one of your favorite spots." Evander got to his feet, scarfing down the rest of his burrito. "I'm ready when you are. Lead the way."

[Itzal 0]

When Evander mentioned that he was hungry Itzal gave him the burrito.  As his friend mentioned that he would love to see one of the spots Itzal smiled.  Then he shoved the rest of the food down and stood up, saying that he was ready to go.  Itzal blinked in surprise at the statement.  "Wait now?  Uh yeah, wait, are you wanting to go fight another monster now or go see one of the spots."  He wasn't sure which one he wanted but he went ahead and stood up and took another bite of his food before putting it in storage.  Never rush food or eating was his experience.  As he put the food in his inventory he got to thinking. What if Evander was willing to join the guild?  While the front lines did need tanks, they also needed all the players they could get their hands on.  Evander would be very much welcomed either way. 

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Oh, shoot, he had gotten ahead of himself. He had been far too eager to get going to one of the spots. Evander scratched his head. Well, he didn't want to make Itzal stop eating, but seeing as his fellow player was already standing up, ready to go, it would be kind of awkward if he just sat back down or something. Well, that was great. Evander smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry, man, didn't want to force you to stop eating. I just wanted to see one of these spots. I guess I got a bit too excited, heh. Uh, if you want, we can sit back down and finish taking our break, or we can go to one of the spots and finish up the break there. Your choice, man. Sorry again." Evander leaned back against the tree. An orange leaf fluttered down to the ground in front of him. Well, it was certainly a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, a nice breeze blew through. It almost made him feel as if he were back home again.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened to his friends words and shook his head.  "Nah, don't sweat it, I'm up for anything man.  I just didn't know if you wanted to fight more mobs or go to one of those spots.  Hmm...  Ok, I know a good spot.  You see that hill in the forest, the one where you barely see the top?  It's the hill behind that.  Come on I'll show you."  The hill he was referring to was a hill he often visited.  Or, once a week now since he was so busy.  It was a flower covered hill and the cliffside looked off to the distance, a perfect place to watch the sunset.  In the center of the field was a purple verbana patch that he would stand in front of whenever he visited and just stared at it, giving a silent prayer with each visit.  The flowers were his adopted sister's favorite flower and he would return to pick one flower as a reminder of his own personal reason for escaping this game.  His sister as well as his new girlfriend Kasier.  It was a very beautiful spot and it held much comfort for Itzal.

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Hmm, oh, that hill? Huh, he never really checked there. He was too busy finding the other villages on this floor, like Horunka. Figures he would have missed out on a nice view by doing that. "Will do. I'll be right behind you." Evander pushed off of the tree, and began following Itzal. Leaves crackled underfoot. Good ol' autumn. His favorite season. He wondered what this spot was. Perhaps it was some sort of ruin, or monument? Perhaps it was a patch of flowers? Perhaps it was a really cool tree? He supposed he would find out when he got there. He ducked under a branch. Hmm, what sort of stuff could they talk about on the way? He could ask whether or not he had any relatives in the game, but that would probably seem pretty creepy. Oh, wait, he was in a guild or something, right? He was training some players. He could ask about that. "So, uh, you're part of a guild, right? So, what kind of guild is it, if you don't mind my asking? Is it more of a group of friends, or more high-leveled people for clearing, or more of a helping out lower players guild?"

[Itzal 0]

When Evander asked if Itzal was part of a guild and what it was about.  Itzal smiled to his friend.  "All of the above actually, or, will be hopefully.  We try to be like a family, the main goal of the guild is to help lower leveled players get stronger and higher, and when players get strong enough we try helping the front lines in any way we can.  I have two apprentices right now actually.  It's called Celestial Ascendant's.  I'm the scout paladin and there's three others:  DPS, tank, and healer.  Together we make up a council.  No one person is in charge."  This was when they reached the area.  Itzal noticed that the flowers were fully bloomed and he smiled as they walked into the peaceful setting.  He gestured at the area.  "Well, here we are.  I like to sit at the cliffside when the sun is setting.  Then lie down and watch the stars when they come out.  It's very peaceful here...."

@Evander

[Evander 0]

Celestial Ascendants, huh? Interesting name, and spoke to high aspirations. And, wow, the guild certainly did have high aspirations. It was a tight-knit group that tried to act as a family to all of its members, tried to help train its lower-level players, and sent the higher-leveled players to help with the frontlines, and tackling the bosses. The guild did practically everything a guild could do here in Aincrad. It was altruistic, and its goals were certainly what most guilds aimed for. There was also an interesting power structure in the guild- a council of four, who each represented the four main builds you could follow in SAO. These paladins probably trained the lower-level players they accepted and taught them according to the build they chose. "Huh, that's an interesting guild you have there. I hope you all succeed in your pretty lofty goals." Then, the two of them stepped out of the trees, and found themselves on a hilltop, covered in purple flowers, with a breath-taking view of their surroundings. Evander had a feeling it would be even better at sunset. Itzal's words confirmed his suspicions. "Wow. This seems like something out of a postcard or something. I can definitely see why it'd be your favorite spot. How'd you find it? Were you just exploring around the area or something?"

[Itzal 0]

Itzal gave a soft smile upon hearing that their goals were lofty.  He sighed.  "Yeah, I guess they are.  I didn't think helping other players level up would be difficult.  However I think we're getting close to establishing a system that will get us on our feet and going.  For now however."  He sat down on a nice spot and gave out a sigh.  He nodded.  "I was always scouting out the floors, even before I was a scout.  This was where I found the first verbana flowers in the game...  My sister loved them.  They served as a reminder as to one of the reasons I need to get out of this game.  That and the other players who can't fight for themselves, and therefore are hopeless.  We need to get them out too."  He wondered what Evander's motives were.  What his goals were.  Itzal stared off into the horizon as he thought.  "Hey, if you ever want to do something other than swordplay, or if you want a friendly spar, just let me know ok?  I'd love to hang out with you."

@Evander