[PP-NK-F2] Learn from the Grandmaster <<Breaking The Unbreakable>> (Grave)

[Dominion 0]

Dominion woke up several days after having fallen asleep. He wore a dirty white shirt oer his leather armor plating. His body was still very much recovering. He looked up at the rock, which now had full health. Dominion could only see this with tunnel vision. He could not lift his head any further up with his lack of energy. He set his head on the cold ground, for it was early, early morning. He was beginning to fall back asleep when he though he saw a black figure of a person moving. For Dominion it wasn't bright enough to tell who it was, but a thought that he could die anytime sunk into his mind. He decided there was no problem with asking for help, but he did not have the strength to speak. Dominion lay there without a weapon, wearing his light armor which was now very dirty. Dominion was in very bad shape.

Edited December 24, 2016 by Dominion

[Grave 0]

I strode up the mountainside with my hands in my coat pockets, swaying my vision side to side to check for monsters. Of course, on the second floor I had little chance to aggro the mobs across the rocks and plains, but it was a habit I had developed from roaming the higher floors. I decided to check out the boulder; there were players taking the quest left and right recently, and you never knew if one would need some assistance.

A smile crept across my face as I noticed a familiar head of blond hair, laying flat on the earth in front of the rock, completely spent from trying  to break the unbreakable. "Ah, Dominion, taking my quest are you?" I asked him as I stood at his head, peering down at the player. "This quest is my, uh... 'dominion', so to speak." I chuckled in a sour manner, having hurt myself from making such a horrible pun. "Get the hell up and start punching that rock again, I will help out." I assured him, beckoning for him to rise from the dead.

[Dominion 0]

Dominion recognized from the ground the familiar voice of Grave, the Vanishing Dragon. Dominion lifted his head from the ground and placed his arms underneath his body for support. Slowly, Dominion stood up from the place where he lay. He grinned at Grave's way with words. He finally stood up, putting his arm on the rock for support. He body ached, an entire day and a half just striking a rock put great strain on his shoulders. He leaned his body weight on the rock and smiled at Grave, "No problem, I can punch this rock until I die." Dominion pivoted his upper body and threw a punch down onto the rocks surface, not giving much room between himself and the rock. Disappointingly, Dominion's punch did not have enough force to damage the rock at all. He pulled back his arm and took a step back. He put his legs evenly apart to support his upper body.

 

ID# 75785 BD:3 (miss)

The Unbreakable Rock: 50/50 HP

Edited January 28, 2017 by Dominion

[Grave 0]

I chuckled at Dominion's statement as he peeled himself from the earth to have another shot at the rock. "Thankfully, you will not have to punch it until you die. I did say hopefully I could run you through this quest once before, did I not?" I told him as his punch did little more than tickle the giant boulder. I swept through my inventory and equipped my Titan's Grasp for the extra damage: would not need bleed damage against a boulder. I approached the rock after Domionion reeled away and leaned against it. I raised a fist above the rock, almost casually, before bringing it down against the boulder as hard as possible, shouting as my giant gauntlet hit the stone. I almost lost by balance as the rock flashed from the critical hit, and my fist plowed through the side of the rock, basically shearing the entire right third of the boulder off. I stumbled for a couple steps, before catching my balance and exhaling. "Was not expecting a critical hit there." I admitted with a chuckle and rolled my shoulders.

Spoiler

ID: 76458 | BD: 10 (Perfect Critical)

Basic Attack: 14 + 2 = 16 Damage to Boulder (-1 EN)

Grave: 59/60 EN | D: 14
Dominion: ?/? EM | D: ?

The Unbreakable Rock: 34/50 HP

 

Edited February 7, 2017 by Grave

[Dominion 0]

Dominion turned his head to see the Vanishing Dragon equip something and move to strike the rock. However, the sound from the rock made Dominion watch. Dominion's eyes widened. He did not believe what he just saw. A flash occurred within the rock as it split an entire third. "Woah", Dominion said rather loud as he took a step back, falling off balance and stumbling onto the ground backwards. "That was amazing", Dominion said with a rather solid voice. He was completely caught off guard with that attack. Dominion looked above the rock, the health bar already a fifth of the way depleted. Dominion was utterly speechless. He began to stand up again, this time getting up a bit slower. He did not wish to get hit by a punch like that on accident, especially one of such force. Dominion was standing back up again around the time Grave would make another strike.

Spoiler

ID: 76536 | BD: 2 (miss)

Grave: 59/60 EN | D: 16
Dominion: 30/30 EM | D: 2

The Unbreakable Rock: 34/50 HP

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by Dominion

[Grave 0]

Dominion was gaping in awe at the fatal blow I had delivered against our stubborn opponent. "That is the power of Grandmaster Martial Arts and a good pair of gauntlets." I explained, motioning to the enormous chunk I had ripped from the boulder. Obviously too put off to strike at the rock himself, he was backing up for me to make another strike. "Jeez, making me do all the dirty work. Fine, guess I can rip into it again." I sighed and approached the rock once more, dragging one gauntlet across the grass. I broke into a steady jog, before a run, building up momentum, before stopping short of the rock and swinging my oversized fist in a wide arc, the boulder flashing again as I cleaved the top off of the once spherical object. The shattered pieces shimmered and dispersed into sapphire glass, and I turned back around to Dominion. "Your turn, my friend." I offered, backing away from the rock which had barely over a third of its mass left.

Spoiler

ID: 76828 | BD: 9 (Critical) 

+2 EN

Basic Attack: 14 + 1 = 15 DMG to Boulder (-1 EN)

Grave: 59/60 EN | D: 14
Dominion: 28/30 EN | D: 2

The Unbreakable Rock: 19/50 HP

 

Edited February 7, 2017 by Grave

[Dominion 0]

Dominion about lost his mind. Grave stepped several feet back and then charged at the rock. He smashed his over sized gauntlet into the rock and another third was spilt from the mass. Dominion lifted his own arms to make a strike, as Grave was giving him another chance. Not only did Dominion miss the rock entirely, but his momentum caused him to stumble over the remaining part of the rock and fall onto the hard ground beyond. Dominion felt terrible. "How is this possible? I swear I was doing a better job when I was alone, but now I am completely out of it" Dominion rolled over to look up at the sky. He then lifted his arm to get a good look at all the bruising from the days before. I really need to get my act together, especially before grave makes this bolder gravel at his feet...

Spoiler

ID: 76967 | BD: 1 (Critical Fail) 

-2 EN

Grave: 59/60 EN | D: 14
Dominion: 27/30 EN | D: 2

The Unbreakable Rock: 19/50 HP

 

Edited February 9, 2017 by Dominion

[Grave 0]

I had to bite back a snicker when Dominion attempted some sort of overhead hammer strike with little grace, his interlocked fists swinging way past the pieces of the boulder that were left, and the momentum from his all-too-powerful strike sending him off balance, and ass-over-heels over the rubble left over from the boulder. "You are striking without purpose." I explained to him philosophically. "You are only aiming to damage it. That is not a good enough purpose. You need to decide; what part am I trying to damage? The epicenter? The side? The bottom?" I asked, before locking my eyes onto the very center of what was left of the boulder.

I swung my right foot back behind me, lowering my fist down towards the ground, before lunging forward with a powerful cross punch, my colossal fist piercing the air like a bulbous drill, and the steel crashed against the rock, a sound like a grenade explosion echoing in the dungeon beyond. The rock did not shatter, but a series of cracks spread out to all corners of the boulder from the center like a broken pane of glass. "Strike with purpose, not reckless abandon."

(Grave sounds like some old Chinese philosopher here >.<)

Spoiler

ID: 78309 | BD: 7 (These rolls though XD)  

+1 EN

Basic Attack: 14 DMG to Boulder (-1 EN)

Grave: 59/60 EN | D: 14
Dominion: 27/30 EN | D: 2

The Unbreakable Rock: 5/50 HP

Edited February 27, 2017 by Grave

[Dominion 0]

Dominion lifted his head slightly from the ground to hear what Grave had to say. He just grinned and laid his head back down on the ground. You aren't wrong. If anything, I lack the concentration needed to hit the rock. Not to mention, I didn't get anything that would boost my accuracy, if that even exists in this game. Dominion looked up at the sky, his mind flourishing with ideas. He pulled his knees closer to his abdomen and violently contracted, launching his upper body back into the air. His next attempt would be using his Eagle imitation kung fu. It wasn't as though that style would hurt to try. He leaned back on one leg and launched a more accurate but less aggressive strike using his fingers like talons. However, that didn't change anything, as it also missed the rock. 

Spoiler

 

ID: 78351 | BD: 5 (These rolls though XD) (miss) 

Grave: 59/60 EN | D: 14
Dominion: 26/30 EN | D: 2

The Unbreakable Rock: 5/50 HP

 

 

Edited February 27, 2017 by Dominion

[Grave 0]

I stood back and watched as Dominion got to his feet and fell back into a practiced stance, finally focusing on his technique instead of attempting to wildly beat the rock. I was ready to sit down, hoping he would crush the rock with this decisive blow, and yet he still missed, his fingers raking nothing but air as he swung at the boulder. "H-how...?" I asked in a pained whisper, halting my fall to the ground and standing up straight.

With a sigh, I made my way to the rock and made a very simple overhead strike, my steel fist crashing to the earth like an immense hammer, crushing the last of the debris into azure crystal, the shards floating off into the game's system as it started the countdown to restore the quest object. "It should get better with time, now that you have the skill." I told Dominion, turning to him and opening my menu from within the enormous gauntlet. The steel bells shimmered, flashed then disappeared into my inventory, and I extended a hand out to the blond player. "What now?" I asked, tilting my head.

Spoiler

ID: 78376 | BD: 10 (WHY CAN I NOT HIT THESE ROLLS IN THE OTHER QUEST?!)

+1 EN

Basic Attack: 14 + 2 = 16 DMG to Boulder (1 EN)

Grave: 59/60 EN | D: 14
Dominion: 26/30 EN | D: 2

The Unbreakable Rock: -11/50 HP

LD: 4

Edited February 28, 2017 by Grave

[Dominion 0]

Dominion moved out of the way and held his hand. He honestly couldn't believe this was happening. He turned to look around and saw that Grave had completely destroyed the rock. Dominion stood absolutely still, almost completely in a daze. Then Dominion began to laugh, but it was pretty clear that his body couldn't handle even that. "You managed to destroy that rock without my assistance and in only about 10 minutes. I was out here for two or three straight days, and I only was able to cut the health total in half." Dominion thought for a second before he continued speaking. "Would you mind explaining a thing or two about how sword arts work? This is the first time I have ever gotten a sword art that isn't passive, and it just happens to be a pretty good one at that. However, as you saw here, my abilities seem to be lowered to below average proficiency." Dominion moved to sit down, noticing the martial arts skill pop up in the corner with the notifications.

Edited February 28, 2017 by Dominion

[Grave 0]

I nodded and smiled widely at the Martial Arts enthusiast. "Well, I AM a Grandmaster. I have been at this a long time." I explained and scratched the back of my neck. "Although three straight days is above the average." I added with a sheepish chuckle. "Hm? You have never used a Sword Art? Did you not pick up a weapon skill as your first skill?" I asked and tilted my head. "I mean, neither did I but that was way back when Sword Arts were not even a thing." I cleared my throat and made my tone more gravelly and old. "Back in my day, we did not have Sword Arts. We had to beat the crap out of everything with pure skill." I imitated, before coughing and snickering. "Well, Sword Arts work by taking up a pre-determined 'pre-motion', which is a position that the system reads as the start of a Sword Art." I brought one fist up to my face and the other just behind the peripheral vision of my right eye. "And when  the system reads the pre-motion, it will carry you through a programmed attack combination like a puppet." I cocked my right fist back just a little further and both my fists glowed a furious crimson. Aggressive Twins activated and my fists flew forward, right then left in a one-two combination, and waves of force cascaded from the strikes, almost slamming into Dominion. I was momentarily stuck in my post-motion, before my body relaxed and I stood straight, turning to Dominion. "Aggressive Twins, a rank one Martial Arts area-of-effect Sword Art." I demonstrated with a smile, fists against my hips.

[Dominion 0]

Dominion listened to Grave intently. He would need to collect all the information from someone as skilled as Grave in order to remember it for further practice. Dominion suddenly raised an eyebrow. Was it not common for someone of his build not to get a weapon sword art skill when the game began? He didn't because he messed up. His first day, he somehow got the battle healing skill. Dominion wouldn't say that choosing that was a big mistake, but more of a precautionary measure. Then, he was told that when he started, there was originally no sword arts. That made some sense, seen as Dominion didn't start adventuring into the first floor until several floors had already been cleared. He then said something about pre-pre stuff. Dominion's head couldn't get around the idea until Grave actually made the motion. Dominion was stunned as the force almost made it's way to Dominion. "Woah", Dominion said, taking a step back. "that's incredible. Do you somehow choose the posture that activates it, or is pre-determined before that?", Dominion was trying to piece Grave's words together as good as he could.

[Grave 0]

I shook my head in denial at Dominion's question. "Nope, every Sword Art has a predetermined position," I explained, before swiping two fingers downwards in the space before me, pulling open my menu. I navigated to my skills tab, then my Martial Arts skill to browse my Sword Arts. I pressed on Flash Blow, bringing up the details of the skill such as damage, energy usage, extra effects, summary, post-motion time and an image of the pre-motion. I tapped the visibility icon at the top corner of my menu and flicked it around to Dominion for him to read. "This is the basic Martial Arts Sword Art, Flash Blow. You can see all the information there, as well as the post-motion, which is the start of a right hook, with your elbow out to the side. It is different to Aggressive Twins, which is simply your right fist reared back and your left close to your face," I explained, before taking my menu back, pressing the visibility button again and closing it. "Each Sword Art also has a post-motion, which is a short time where you will be essentially paralyzed and unable to do anything. The stronger the Sword Art, the longer the post-motion," I warned grimly. "If you miss your strongest Sword Art, better hope you have someone to back you up."

[Dominion 0]

Dominion had taken in as much as he could handle before questions were arising within him. Suddenly, his curiosity blew up. "So, does that mean that I can activate a sword art for martial arts now? And why did I have to break a rock in order to get this specific sword art unlocked? Is there a perk to having this sword art over another sword art? And if the sword art requires a long post motion thing, wouldn't that leave you extremely vulnerable to attacks? Why would someone put themselves at that much risk in a game like this, where it is apparent that would, at least in theory, die when you die in this game? Would it not be smarter to just use your weaker sword arts or just you hands instead, so that the post motion would be shorter? that would leave you much less vulnerable... I think, which in turn would assist in your survival while in combat..." Dominion was now just trying to put things together again, to decide what would be best for himself. These questions might seem stupid, but he had legitimate concern for others, and would therefore not want to lead them to their death.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Dominion

[Grave 0]

I nodded and sighed. He was very correct in his assumptions, but I realized I had more explaining to do. "You need to put points into the skill first, you cannot get Sword Arts without at least one rank in the skill, like any other weapon skill... well, of course, you would not know that, you started off without a weapon skill." I explained to him and shrugged. "Martial Arts is an incredibly powerful single target damage and stun Sword Art, so when you need to deal high damage to a single target as opposed to groups, Martial Arts is a good choice, especially with the variety of stun arts at your disposal. And while that is true, if you land a powerful attack, say, All Might, the strongest Martial Arts Sword Art... your opponent is likely going to be dead before they can capitalize on your post-motion, or at least reeling from the attack. While using only lower Sword Arts will help you survive with their shorter post-motions, you won't get very far with them when you face off against enemies whose mitigation is through the roof and lowers the damage of most of your Sword Arts to a measly one damage per attack." I clarified to him and scratched my chin thoughtfully. "While using a high level Sword Art costs a lot of in-game energy, fighting a long, drawn-out fight with light attacks exhausts you mentally and physically, and the sharpest weapons at a player's disposal are their body and mind."