[PP - F1] The Beginning of Many <<DHA: 1>>

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had found himself once more on the first floor, and for a good reason too, recently the information brokers had been exploding with rumors of baby dragons spotted roaming around... and even a castle that had appeared out of no where with the doors locked with 9 gem-like key holes empty. Beatbox had smirked, if he didn't have a fox familiar, he would be after a dragon hatching himself. Beatbox of course was interested in this quest line, he thought it was going to be a great opportunity to get the skill points that he needs to collect to fully upgrade his Light Armor skills. He stepped down from the floor teleporter and looked around the floor, he was trying to find someone that he knew to help tag along this quest. He had worn his KoB alternate outfit to his "Blastia's Core" outfit, and most players had been kind of ignoring him for whatever bizarre reasoning, he had looked down with a frown "I never knew Opal's name would have affected Knights of the Blood's name like this..." he sighed as he placed the palm of his boot onto one of the walls in the city and looked up to the sky. "Today... begins one of many, the last fight will be hard... but its a risk I have to take." he whispered to himself as he crossed his arms and looked down upon the ground.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion wondered if she had enough time for new quests. The violet-haired blacksmith was outside of her shop, a rare sight, wandering through the vast Town of Beginnings as the sun hung high above the capital. The woman frowned; she felt like she was no longer familiar with the layout of the sprawling city, and finding a bulletin board that contained details on the first quest in the new chain was proving more difficult than she'd expected.

Stopping in front of an announcement board, Teion scanned over the entries and skimmed for the text she wanted to read. Just as she was about to pull herself away, her eyes flickered to a figure across the plaza. A blonde player stood alone, possibly mulling something over as he kept his gaze low. The scene on its own was nothing out of the ordinary, but Teion stared at the boy with little to no expression. Inside of her mind, gears turned slowly as she tried her best to remember his face. Beatbox seemed familiar, but nothing was clicking.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had thought into the abyss of his mind, the clouds of questions... the little hope that he had left with the players around here, they were acting... more strange recently. Beatbox had placed a hand onto his chin looking downwards, trying to figure out how this whole drama situation could all be fixed, he didn't know where to start nor where to finish... however, the best he figured he could do is to get himself stronger, kind of why he was on this floor to begin with. Out of the corner of his eye he had saw a player staring before him with little expression... it was the same blacksmith he got a couple of orders from... she had a... interesting hair color choice... heck he almost liked the hair color she had going on. "May I help you?" Beatbox had exclaimed outwards with a smile "Are you looking for something, someone?" he asked genuinely wanting to know if she was lost or was looking for anything in the specific.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

The blacksmith flinched when their eyes met, as if she hadn't realized she had been staring the boy down. After he called out, Teion tilted her head, taking a moment to process his words. "Oh." She broke her gaze away to glance back at the announcement board she was previously examining. "Uhh, the new quests. The dragons." She stated simply and vaguely, speaking up just loudly enough for him to hear. She was still distracted, trying to recall where and when her memory of the blonde lay. At this point she just figured he was a 'customer' of hers at one point, but she always hated the awkward feeling of being around someone after she'd crafted their gear. She never remembered the player better than the piece of equipment, and most people didn't seem to care much for that. She only hoped he understood the pieces she'd given him and could piece together what it was she was after.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had chuckled at the females attempt on collecting her words together, was he a Christmas tree upon this crowd? Either way, he was used to players staring him down back when he had used to be a literal popstar and a orange player at one point. He had listened to her speak, she had simply stated about the dragons simply and bluntly, he had chuckled once more... was she shy about something? He looked over to the purple haired player and said with a smile "Looking for something to take you along with you on the quests?" he chuckled once more and looked forward then faded to a grin as he took a deep breath as he looked down "I am too, however this KoB look is a curse. Damned past." he then said shaking his head before looking back to Teion with a genuine smile "If you are looking for someone to help you out with them, I would be more than happy to." he walked over and extended his hand outwards to her "I don't believe we have fully introduced each other miss, I am Beatbox member of the Knights of the Blood Oath, previous member of the Celestial Ascendants. Its a wonderful day to be before you." he then placed a hand over his heart and bowed before her showing an act of kindness.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

'KoB...?' The woman thought, puzzled. It wasn't until he introduced himself that the abbreviation made sense as the name of his guild. She more closely recognized his former guild name, and for a moment was curious as to why he was a former member. Still, she wasn't the type to pry, and she would be lying if she said she had a genuine interest to know. His formality was more than she expected, however, and she settled for a small nod in return. "Just Teion." She felt a bit unsure of how to properly greet him after his knightly bow.

"Oh, uhm." She mumbled at his offer to help her with the quests. She had planned on going through them solo, if possible, but she knew nothing about the quests themselves. For all she knew, they were far too high level for her. It was only a guess that the chain starting on the first floor meant it would be easy. Then again, if they were too high level for her... She noted Beatbox's gear, and while she couldn't discern its stats or level from its appearance, he seemed to know what he was doing. With how long she had holed herself up in her shop, she assumed the better half of the playerbase was a higher level than her by now. Still, she didn't want to be dead weight while someone else ripped through quest objectives like paper. "Sure." She eventually gave another nod. Unless she wanted to refuse his help and continue wandering around the floor looking for clues as to the quest's whereabouts, she didn't have the time to be too proud for help.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had grinned, the way she had said "Sure" didn't seem like she was appreciative to have him help her out or anything, nor did she honestly want to say no, he had simply placed a hand on his chin and gave her a smile "You sure...? The way you said Sure sounded like I was an annoyance if anything." he chuckled then turned around, his cape caught wind as he moved quickly but didn't hit anything and fluttered downwards "I'm just messin' with ya, come with me, I already got the coordinates of the boss from a Information Broker." he opened his menu's and sent a party request to Teion, that was an interesting name... he had never heard a name like that before, her name hasn't honestly fluttered around the attention of many which he supposed was a good thing. He simply smile and began to walk forward, his little fox familiar ocarina had finally woke up from inside his cape and looked outwards looking from right to left eventually looking up to Beatbox as it climbed upwards onto Beatbox's shoulder.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

"Oh, uhh--" Teion stuttered a moment. His comment about her lack of sincerity caught her off guard, and she wasn't sure how to react before he turned and spoke again as if he was teasing her. The blacksmith simply frowned in confusion with the blonde's back to her. 'Maybe it really has been too long...' She gave a mental sigh before tapping 'Accept' on the party invitation he had sent her. She wasn't sure whether to think she just wasn't used to human interaction anymore, or if she was ever really good at it in the first place. You didn't have to hold a conversation for more than a couple of minutes when someone was placing an order for equipment. Still, this game was quick to take its toll on her and her optimistic smile.

The blacksmith followed after Beatbox, and it wasn't long until her eyes darted to one of his arms as a small orange creature made its way up to his shoulder. Teion stared at the fox in awe, only realizing the type of animal it was when its pointed ears and fluffy tail made themselves fully visible atop its perch.

[Beatbox 0]

His familiar had looked around to see the purple haired player and then climbed down then approached the player looking upwards wagging it's tail, Beatbox looked over and gave her a warm smile "I see my familiar likes you." he chuckled then said before looking forward once more "His name is Ocarina. He likes about anyone, but if ya got a bad scent he wont like you. It seems you have a good scent then." he chuckled once more. It didn't take long before they had walked down the path toward a river with a dragon egg perched on top of a pedestal, he pointed up towards the dragon egg and looked over to Teion "There it is Teion, I hope you weren't looking for anything special." he chuckled then looked forward to see that the egg had eventually shook and cracked, until the dragon hatchling's head and perched outward looking toward the two with a spark of red eyes, he looked over to Teion and with a smile said out to her "You want to take down the boss or shall I one shot it?" he smiled warmly towards her direction.

@Teion

-----

Rhaegal: 125/125 - MIT: 25 - DMG: 50

[Teion 0]

Teion had stopped in her tracks for a moment when the tiny fox approached her. The woman continued staring at the creature as if she'd never seen a familiar before, only breaking her gaze when the animal turned and scurried back to its master. Beatbox spoke up, mentioning that the familiar must like her, and a soft smile tugged at the corners of her mouth in response.

As the violet-haired girl followed Beatbox down the straight-forward path to the river, she spotted the emerald-colored egg. The shell itself practically resembled the gemstone, and just as she tilted her head in curiosity the object shook intensely. Her hand instinctively reached behind her to grab the handle of the axe, but she hesitated a moment. Just after cracks began forming, a head emerged from the crown of the egg, followed quickly by a small dragon body. The creature crawled out of its egg and stared at them inquisitively. Teion simply stared back into its ruby eyes, frozen in place until Beatbox's voice pulled her back to reality. She tore her gaze away and looked over to the blonde, considering his question before taking a hold of her weapon. 'One shot... So he is a higher level than me.'

The blacksmith pulled her weapon closely in front of her, turning back to the dragon hatchling. "I'll go ahead." She gripped the smooth handle of Lucent Reaver in both hands, and without wasting any time she dashed forward to close the gap between herself and the dragonkin. She pulled her weapon to the side before bringing it across her body with a wide horizontal swing centered on Rhaegal's body. The hatchling reacted much faster than she would have imagined, lowering its body slightly before jumping in the air to clear the swing of her axe. Teion narrowed her eyes at the creature's evasion as she pulled her weapon back in front of her body.

@Beatbox

Combat Results

Spoiler

• ID#: 76368
  • BD: 3 + (2 Equipment) = 5 - Miss!
     
• Teion:
  • HP: 380/380
  • Energy: 36/38
  • DMG: 10 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 3
• Beatbox:
  • HP: 1015/1015
  • Energy: 100/100
  • DMG: 14 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 66
• <<Rhaegal>>l:
  • HP: 125/125
  • MIT: 25 | DMG: 50

 

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had watched before Teion as she had tried to attack the dragon hatchling, and with a great bit of speed... yet just barely the dragon had gotten away of her strike. Beatbox had smirked with a little chuckle as he took a few steps forward unsheathing his sword bringing it outward pointing to the ground as he looked at the dragon hatchling with an angered look, Dragon Hatchling had swooped up and was prepared to strike Teion, however Beatbox had used his Charge skill and dashed forward swinging his sword in a downward motion as he then struck it upwards, then to the left, then to the right, then ending with a kick and a punch. The Dragon Hatchling didn't stand a chance against Beatbox... he had smirked, as the boss had exploded into crystals that faded to the center of its body forming into a perfect emerald, Beatbox had reached his hand upward and grabbed the gemstone and looked down upon it "So this is one of the keys for the door on floor 10? Interesting... almost too beautiful for me to even get rid of it for a simple quest." he chuckled and placed it into his inventory and then sheathed his sword as he turned back to Teion "Now that is done, you wanna grab a bite to eat? It's on me."

@Teion

-----

ID: 76387 - BD: 5+4=9 - MD: 2-3=-1 / LD: 1

Sword Art Used: Meteor Break (DMG: 14+5=19*11=209-25=184)

Rhaegal: 0/125 - MIT: 25 - DMG: 50 [-184]

Loot: Rhaegal's Emerald

[Teion 0]

After the blonde dashed forward and unleashed his sword art upon the hatchling, quickly dropping its health bar to zero, Teion relaxed her stance slightly and sheathed her axe behind her. The woman frowned at the impressive display. She was getting carried. Her eyes followed the emerald until it disappeared into Beatbox's inventory, now only curious as to why he wanted her along. He could likely solo the entire quest chain, or at least most of it, and at the point where it would be too difficult on his own she would just be even more dead weight. They might as well part ways now if he wanted to get through the remaining objectives at a decent pace.

Just before the woman could open her mouth to suggest such a thing, the blonde turned to her with an offer of going somewhere to eat. The blacksmith blinked, taken aback by the request, but quickly shifted her gaze to the side. "Oh, err..." She wasn't sure how to respond now. Would it be very rude of her to decline? She absent-mindedly brought a hand up to her collarbone and fidgeted with a lock of violet hair, twisting it around a few times. Finally she spoke up again, though her expression remained neutral and she kept her gaze averted. "Mm, sure."

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had chuckled, it had seemed that she hadn't been asked politely to offer her something to eat... it wasn't like this was a date or anything, he was just showing an act of kindness. After a brief moment of silence, she had finally agreed after playing around with her hair for a bit, he chuckled and grew a tiny smile "Then follow me, I know a good place." then walked forward, he looked over his shoulder towards Teion and asked her a question "So Teion... if you don't mind me getting to know you a little better, why'd you become a blacksmith? I think it was a good profession choice since most of the current blacksmiths are in Knights of the Blood Oath." he chuckled in the middle of his statement as he came off as friendly and calm. Trying to have her be a little open on talking since she had looked and appeared to be rather reclusive. He looked forward, he was going to treat her with a really good meal due to the extra amount of funds that he has due to all the col grinding and a sale that he had made not that long ago.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion continued following after the blonde, still feeling a bit off with how quickly their combat with the dragonkin had ended. It had been a while since she'd been back to the Town of Beginnings, let alone out in the field of the first floor. She took a moment to calm the swirling thoughts in her head and focused on the scenery, gazing out at the trees and rolling hills in the distance. With the city visible in the distance ahead of them, Teion turned her head back to face Beatbox when he spoke to her again.

She mulled over his question of why she became a blacksmith. She'd asked herself the same thing many times since she first opened her shop's doors, but always moved on to the next task at hand before formulating a full answer. She turned her head slightly again to look back out over the virtual landscape as they walked, taking her time to think it over before answering him. "The first person who helped me, he had a blacksmith shop. He gave me a weapon of his and even helped me with the quest to become a blacksmith myself." A bittersweet smile appeared. "Sounds like I just wanted to make myself his apprentice when I hear myself explain it like that."

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had looked over his shoulder, he listened to her words and looked back forward with a smile... it kind of reminded of himself a while back when he had became a cook despite not really wanting to be one at the moment, he had been essentially trained by a player named Golden, and was essentially was a apprentice in many words, he chuckled and looked back over his shoulder were a smile can be visible "I am roughly the same way..." his smile dimmed then lead to a frown "however I am never going to see him again no matter how hard I will look." he looked back forward as they had re-entered the town of beginnings where they had eventually had walked into a cafe where he had heard was a little on the pricey end, but it was for S class type food, enough for Beatbox to easily afford. The waitress looked up them and said "What can I do for you two tonight?" Beatbox smiled and placed a hand over his heart and slightly bowed "Table for two if you will be so kind ma'am." the waitress giggled and said "Alright follow me." as she had walked towards a table that had been open, Beatbox had looked back to Teion with a smile, this was the least he could do for her coming along with him to fight the dragon.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion absorbed his words as his tone changed and grew more solemn. She could only draw the conclusion that this 'mentor' player no longer existed in the game. The small smile she wore faded, and she allowed them to continue walking back to town in silence. When she'd followed him to a cafe in the middle of the sprawling town, Teion glanced around the building nervously. He showed the waitress that approached them a similar formality with a knightly bow, and the blacksmith followed in continued silence as the two of them took a seat across from each other at a table. Teion felt more than a bit out of place; on the desert floor she would make a regular trip to Armadillo and bring some basic items back to her shop to serve as meals. Most days she just snacked on apples and bread throughout the day while in her to stave off the feeling of hunger.

Teion shifted slightly in her seat, glancing around at the inside of the cafe. Besides the atmosphere of the cafe itself, she wasn't used to being around the same person for a long period of time. Should she try to make conversation? Maybe she wouldn't feel so restless if she had someone else's words to focus on. "Do you have a profession?" She finally addressed him with a quiet voice.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had leaned back in his seat and had gotten comfortable since he was here, its not everyday he gets the chance to meet someone and share a good bite with, although his old guild members had been at the top of his mind lately... he was wondering where they had all gone to begin with... he sighed at the thought of them being gone forever... he knew he needed to take a trip to the monument of life to find out... but he worried for the worst. His thoughts were broke when Teion had asked him if he had a profession, Beatbox chuckled and looked forward with a smile "I do, but... I don't really like doing it in all fair honesty. I'm a cook, but the mentor I used to have just up and left and I never got to see him again." he looked over to the side and took a deep breath as he had placed a hand on his cheek as he looked to the side, then to the other when the waitress had came with the menu's asking "I'll be back, just figure out what you two want!" Beatbox had looked up to the waitress and with a smile said to her "We will, thank you." he gave her a warm smile then looked down upon the menu, mostly all the foods consisted in the thousands range to the expensive five thousands, this sure was pricey S class food. He looked up to Teion and said "Have you ever thought about joining a Guild Teion?"

@Teion

[Teion 0]

"Hmm..." Teion mumbled lightly when Beatbox explained his dislike of cooking. She hadn't tried if before committing to the blacksmithing profession, and as the game only allowed for one she supposed she never would. She couldn't see herself closing down her forge for any reason. Still, it took a vast majority of her time, so she could see why some players would opt out of running a shop.

She was handed a menu, giving the waitress a small nod of thanks before tentatively looking it over. Another pang of hesitation hit her as she realized how expensive this place was. She would've been opposed to spending so much on herself alone for a meal. 'Is he really okay with it...?' She wondered for a moment. Before she had mulled over the thought of raising her concern for too long, Beatbox addressed her with another question. She hadn't given the concept of guilds a second thought in quite some time. "Mm..." She mused, pursing her lips in thought for a moment. "I almost did once, a long time ago."

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had heard that she had once a long time ago, he was vaguely interested and then spotted what he wanted to eat as he leaned forward upon the table crossing his arms in front of him "Oh? Which guild by chance if you remember?" he took a moment to think about the guild that he was in at the moment... he thought that they were acting and were built around being a family figure to everyone... but he was terribly wrong, he hated this guild he was in almost and was half tempted to just be a solo player from then on, but he was worried that he wouldn't have anyone by his side... just in case if things were to go bad, he shook his head as he knew that things were not just going his way and rather confused on what to do honestly. The waitress had finally arrived and asked what they wanted to eat, Beatbox had looked up and said to her "Give us just a sec, we'll have an order ready." the waitress had gave an okay and dealt with the people next to them, Beatbox had looked forward to Teion and said to her with a warm smile  "Don't worry about the prices here, money isn't an issue to me. You deserve it."

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion brought a curled hand up to her chin in thought. "Mmm..." She mumbled lightly again. The name of the guild was eluding her. After a few moments she gave a small shake of her head in defeat. "The person I mentioned," She started again, hoping that the little information she could provide would help. "Really tall, a blacksmith." She tried listing off as many defining features as she could. "He also used two-handed axes." She tapped a finger to her chin. If they weren't in the middle of a cafe, she would pull out Midnight Eclipse on the off-chance that Beatbox would recognize it. "Oh, there was a mercenary, too. He knew that man, the guild leader." Although she vaguely recalled her encounter with the Jade Hunter, his name and face was even farther off. Teion shifted slightly. "Sorry, I don't have the best memory." She admitted softly.

Their waitress has come back around, and Teion realized she hadn't even been making a decision on what to eat. She was a bit relieved when Beatbox asked her for another moment, but shifted her gaze to the side when he told her not to worry about the cost. His last words caught her off guard, and the girl wasn't sure how to react to them. 'What's that supposed to mean...?' She nearly gave a mental pout and resisted the urge to question him.