[F9 - SP] Mettle Against Metal <<The Iron Guardian>> [Completed]

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 587/720

ID# 80202 results: Loot: 4 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 9 - No Material (1 total)

By the time that he had found his way back to the main thoroughfare of the lava plains, which was gilding the lily to say the least, he was exhausted. That was not to say that he was physically tired. After all, he was not expending any energy being inside of the game. However, the mental fatigue of having to pick his way so meticulously was off the charts.

The first thing that he did once his marker on the map finally overlapped the dotted line of the quest's 'path' was to find a strip of land wide enough for him to collapse. Despite the artificial nature of the game, his body still felt the things around him. The heat pressed in around him. His rib cage fought against the hardness of the ground as he drew in air and expanded his chest. Gravity pulled his arms into the hot, hard ground.

"What an odd situation I've found myself in," he thought aloud.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 607/720

ID# 80217 results: Loot: 4 + 5 = 9 - No materials (1 total)

Shield knew that every person had moments of 'how did I get here' from time to time, but from what he could figure, this was among the stranger ones in human history.

"Here I am," he went on, talking to the air, but more so just himself. "I'm a divorcee in his mid thirties, desperately fighting for a chance to see his children again, trapped inside of a video game which promises death as an actual consequence of failure, forcing me to fight turtles, mythical three-headed dogs, dragons, any number of minotaurs, different aspects of my own subconscious, brigands, bandits, thieves, and then play a giant game of 'The Floor is Lava' within a game of 'Capture the Flag.'"

He sighed to himself, staring up at the lazily drifting sheet of clouds above him. Normally, he wasn't one for crude gestures, having been very careful while raising his daughters not to corrupt them any more than the rest of the world already was going to do. Here by himself though, he raised two prominent fingers towards the sky.

"See that, Kayaba?" he called out to no one. "Get an eyeful, buddy!"

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 627/720

ID# 80219 results: Loot: 15 + 5 = 20 - +1 Material! (2 total)

As he lowered his hands, he noticed a slight halo on his left palm, which likely meant that his earring had been trying to indicate to him that something was nearby.

"I should have invested in a trinket that I could wear more directly in my field of vision," he said to himself, shaking his head as he sat up.

His eyes searched along the scorched earth where he lay, not immediately seeing anything out of the ordinary. Running his hand across the ground, he saw an item tag spring up as he brushed across a patch of dust. Looking more closely, he soon realized it was the dust itself that was registering.

"Volcanic ash, perhaps?" he thought aloud. "I know that it's incredibly nutrient packed, which is why the greenery is so lush after volcanic eruptions. Apparently it has some alchemic use."

It felt odd to tap the ground in order to summon the menu, but sure enough, the item selection menu popped right up as soon as he did. With a few more taps, a little divot formed in the ground as the ash was stored.

 

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 647/720

ID# 80260 results: Loot: 18 + 5 = 23 - +1 Material (3 total)

With that, he drifted off into a light doze, his fatigued mind sinking down through the ground like a stone through water. His dreams were not always memorable, and most of the time he was not always sure that he did dream, but he dreamed this time. The information broker stood over him as he sat at the base of the spire.

"It's mine," said the gritty, malicious tone of the merchant. "Give it to me."

"Excuse me?" Shield found himself saying.

Without stopping to answer his confusion, the hooded man drew out a knife and dove for Shield's throat. He had almost forgotten what pain was since his experiences in SAO began, but he felt it in his dream. It was like fire inside of his skin, and he awoke gasping and flailing his limbs. As his body came to a rest, he realized that the patch of ground beside his ear was glowing.

He pressed his hands against his eyelids before checking the divot from before. As he had suspected, the ash had respawned. Tapping the soft ground with a puff of fine dust, he stored the material and stood up. It wasn't that he was no longer tired, but he no longer felt like sleeping.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 667/720

ID# 80261 results: Loot: 10 + 5 = 15 - +1 Material (4 total)

Shield struck out for civilization once again, trying his best to keep up the pace. His mind was still tired and would wander from time to time, but his feet were awake enough to keep him from stumbling into any lava. He made his way around a particularly wide pool of lava that he did not remember from before. Although his path home was taking a similar trajectory, it was clearly not identical. Either that, or the terrain was constantly shifting. He did not like the thought of that.

As he made his way around the edge, he found what seemed to be the remains of a tree that had been burned down to the stump. Still, there was a good section of the scorched trunk still in tact, roughly the size of his hand, both in length and width.

"Naturally occurring charcoal?" he speculated.

Bending down he picked up the blackened wood and stashed it with his other materials.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 687/720

ID# 80266 results: Loot: 12 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 17 - +1 Material! (5 total)

Finally reaching the other side of the large lava lake, Shield began to see signs of civilization on the horizon. It wasn't much of a settlement, because honestly, who would make their home or even their shop in such a gloomy, dismal place? Still, it was a welcome sight. As he drew nearer to the wall on the edge of Vulcan, he thought he saw a figure by the gate.

The information broker? No, it couldn't be. We were supposed to meet back in the town of beginnings.

Still, the closer he got, the more that the figure's features aligned with his memory of the broker. There was his hood, and the slight hunch to his posture. It had to be him. Perhaps he got worried.

"Just how long was I asleep?" he wondered to himself, bending down to pick up a piece of porous volcanic stone.

As he drew level with the figure, Shield thought he saw a divisive sneer under the hood.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 687/720

ID# 80267 results: Loot: 5 + 5 = 10 - No Materials (5 total)

"You're late," hissed the unmistakable voice of the broker. "What happened?"

Shield shrugged in response to the question.

"I stopped for a rest after the fight," he said apologetically. "I must have dozed longer than I thought."

"Sleep," scoffed the broker. "Right. So I'm just supposed to believe that a mid level player like you couldn't hack it on a fight like that and barely walked away with his life? You gonna try to tell me you didn't get the item?"

Something was off in the back of Shield's mind. This was not how a business person did business. He hadn't said a word about the item yet, and the broker was already making accusations.

"Now hold on a second," Shield said firmly, holding up his hand. "I never said that. I got the banner just fine. It takes a little more effort soloing as a tank, so yeah, I was probably a little slow."

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 707/720

ID# 80268 results: Loot: 5  + 5 = 10 - No Materials (5 total)

"Slow?" replied the broker, his sneer widening. "No, I don't think so. In fact, I'd say it's quite the opposite. I'd say you were trying to pull a fast one on me."

Shield raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't know where the merchant was trying to go with this. In the conversation so far, he hadn't even really been allowed to offer to pay up his part of the deal, and yet he was being treated like he was already guilty of something.

"What are you talking about? I have the banner right he-"

"Now, you listen to me, sonny," said the broker, jabbing his finger towards Shield's face. "I've been burned by three players so far who have decided to just keep the banner for themselves, and you're not going to do the same to me."

"But I'm not trying to-"

"Don't even try it!" spat the broker. "You're just being defensive because I caught you in your lie!"

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

HP: 720/720

ID# 80270 results: Loot: 18 + 5 = 23 - +1 Material! (6 total)

Shield spotted a chunk of obsidian glass on the ground at the broker's feet. He bent down to pick it up, storing it in his inventory, but as he did so, the broker leaped back, drawing out a dagger.

"What do you think you're doing?" shouted the man who was clearly on edge. "You trying to kill me over an item?"

"Kill you?" Shield said, leaning forward in incredulity. "What are you talking about? I'm trying to-"

"Don't lie to me, you thief!" the merchant screamed, brandishing his dagger.

He jabbed threatening with the tip, his motions becoming increasingly more violent. Shield didn't want to draw his weapons, but if this man attacked him, he didn't want to be unarmed. Shaking his head, he opened his menu and swapped his items out for combat.

"See!? howled the broker, loudly enough that in the real world, he likely would have been spraying saliva. "I knew it!"

Edited March 23, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80272 results:

Action: Parry

MOB: 3 + 3 - Hit! -  Hit! 200 dmg - 111 = 89 dmg / 2 = 44 dmg, Thorns - 28 dmg

Shield HP: 676/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 122/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10+

The small curved dagger flashed in the dim light, and Shield just managed to bring up his axe in time to swat away most of the force, but it still grazed him, dealing a good deal more damage than he had expected. The broker rubbed his hand, the back of which glowed red with the gashes Shield's thorns had torn, falling back and dancing just out of Shield's attack range.

"Stop this," Shield growled at him. "I don't want to hurt you, but you're not leaving me any choice."

Cackling a wheezy little laugh, the broker rolled to the side, coming up in a standing position several feet to the left of his original position.

"Don't try to play innocent," crowed the wan little hooded man. "You drew your weapon on me!"

"Yes, AFTER you drew your weapon on ME," Shield rebutted, rolling his eyes. "Stop this before you get hurt!"

"I think it's you that you should worry about, son!" the other man retorted, passing his blade from hand to hand. "You messed with the wrong player today, my friend!"

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80273 results:

Action: Parry

MOB: 7 + 3 = 10 - Hit! - 200 dmg - 111 = 89 dmg / 2 = 44 dmg, Thorns - 28 dmg

Shield HP: 676/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 94/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10+

Again, with unrelenting fury, the broker came at Shield, slashing at every inch of him that the blade could conceivably reach. Shield retreated with each blow, managing to counter the strikes with his own weapon. It was just enough to keep his health dancing around the same line, but this broker was a serious brawler.

How is it he's a broker and not a front-liner himself?

He kept a close eye on the man's health, and with each scrape of his thorns, the broker's health dropped closer to yellow. This answered Shield's question for him.

I see. My damage isn't significant, but anything that he encountered on the front lines would make short work of him. Still. He could have easily handled the guardians on his own, couldn't he?

His thoughts were beginning to distract him. His speed was lagging behind, and one well aimed strike almost struck him in the face.

I'll ask him why if I get the chance.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80274 results:

Action: Parry

MOB: 1 + 4 - Miss.

Craft: 12 - +50 HP

Shield HP: 720/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 144/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10

With the third wave of the broker's enraged, potentially maddened attacks, Shield gained the upper hand, dodging behind the potent striker and shoving his shield into the man's back. He stumbled, turning to face Shield, the man's health down about a third of the way.

This won't take long.

Even as he thought the words though, the broker took a deep breath, and his health rebounded, nearly to its fullest point.

"What!?" Shield blurted out, his mouth hanging open.

It was as if nothing had happened. Although his health was not considerable, he was ideally suited to battle a player like Shield.

Perhaps this is his game. He lures in players to do his dirty work, particularly tanks and low-levels, and then he just outlasts them. Either that or the game has driven him mad with paranoia.

He grit his teeth and glared at the broker, brandishing his axe in a slow circle.

Either way, defense isn't going to win me this fight.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80275 results:

 Battle: 9 - Hit! 3 dmg + 1 + 3 alcoholic = 7 dmg

 MOB: 2 + 3 = 5 - Miss

Shield HP: 720/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 119/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10+ -24 bleed, 1/2 remaining

Shield stepped forward, baiting the broker by stopping just outside of his arm's reach. Fortunately, rage seemed to be clouding the man's judgment, because he took the bait. The curved dagger flashed and Shield sidestepped, catching the offending hand against his side with his upper arm. With nowhere to run, the broker was a sitting duck for Shield's counter, and he swept his axe in a wide arc to collide with his target's head.

Momentarily blinded by the burst of red pixels, Shield stepped back, letting the man reel from the impact and clutch at his face. Although it was nowhere near a fatal blow, keeping up his bleed might counteract whatever second-wind ability the broker had. It was risky, since it meant taking more damage as a trade off, but if this was to boil down to a war of attrition, he would not be on the winning side of it.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80276 results:

 Battle: 7 - Hit! 3 dmg + 3 alcoholic = 6 dmg

 MOB: 3 + 3 = 6 - Hit! 200 dmg - 111 mit = 89 dmg

 Craft: 4

Shield HP: 631/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 89/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10+ -24 bleed, 0/2 remaining

Bleed would not win the fight for Shield , though, and he knew it. He pressed his advantage, darting to the side and rushing in for a second attack. This one landed on the man's leg, though it missed any arteries or other vulnerable spots. Still, even his paltry damage as a tank registered for once. 

That's probably thanks to the booze, but that's still a good sign, so I'll take it.

Not happy to be bested, the broker grunted, forcing himself forward, knife point in front, catching Shield just along the side of his rib cage. Even for such low health, the attack was able to do some real damage, dropping Shield a noticeable margin in his health gauge. Granted, it was nowhere near as low as the broker, whose health was now even nearer to half than it had been before.

"Think you're pretty clever, don't you?" panted the broker.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80277 results:

 Battle: 10 - Hit! 3 dmg + 2 + 3 alcoholic = 8 dmg - Bleed!

 MOB: 10 + 3 = 13 - Hit! 200 dmg + 2 - 111 mit = 91 dmg - Paralyze!

 Craft: 10 - +50 HP

Shield HP: 604/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 107/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10+ -24 bleed, 1/2 remaining

Shield watched as the man took another deep breath.

"No you don't," he growled, launching himself forward and swinging his axe downward like a club.

The blow struck the top of the player's head and sank in as far as the haft. Bloody pixels burst from the wound just as the first was beginning to close. Shield's face tried to smile, but for some reason it didn't. For that matter, the rest of him failed to move either. The only things he could move were his eyes. Glancing down at his side, he saw the broker's knife lodged in up to the cross guard.

"No," simpered the hooded man with a sickeningly sweet quality to his voice. "No YOU don't."

In Shield's HUD, he could make out the symbol for paralysis, cursing inside of his head as he watched the man's health regenerate to nearly the two thirds mark.

A second wind AND a stun?

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80278 results:

Paralyzed

MOB: 10 + 3 = 13 - Hit! 200 dmg + 2 - 111 mit = 91 dmg - Paralyze!

Craft: 8

Shield HP: 577/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 83/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10+ -24 bleed, 0/2 remaining

Shield tried with all of his might to move, but even as he did so he knew that it would be pointless. Still, he had nothing else to do until the effect wore off. All he could do was to watch as the broker proceeded to dig the knife blade into his stomach. He took his time, avoiding the prick of Shield's armor, sliding the blade in slowly. The whole time, he grinned into Shield's eyes.

To Shield's dismay, the second wound, while being deep and more severe than most of the blows he had suffered in his time in SAO, had also refreshed the paralysis.

He's stun locking me. I can't move if he keeps this up!

There was still his battle healing and regeneration to make up for the damage that made it through his defenses, but even that wasn't enough to keep him alive forever. Things were looking grim.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80279 results:

Paralyzed

MOB: 3 + 3 = 6 - Hit! - 200 dmg - 111 = 89 dmg, Thorns - 28

Craft: 9

Shield HP: 552/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 55/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10

"Poor little thief," crooned the information broker, pacing in a slow circle around the frozen warrior. "Someone bit off more than he can chew. You certainly have a lot of health, but I think we can whittle that away, don't you?"

With a thud, Shield felt the blade stab into his back. However, even as he felt it, he could see the paralysis icon begin to flicker in his peripheral vision. The hooded man had hit, but he had failed to trigger the paralysis with his strike.

Just a matter of time. I don't think he's going to have time to fix this! I need to act fast!

If Shield could move, his leg would have been shaking with anticipation as he waited for his chance to retaliate. All he could to was to watch his health continue to drop little by little from the attack, and to wait for the little yellow icon to disappear.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80280 results:

Battle: 3 - Miss

MOB: 10 + 3 = 13 - Hit! 200 dmg + 2 - 111 mit = 91 dmg - Paralyze!

Craft: 8

Shield HP: 525/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 55/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10

When the flickering icon vanished, Shield spun around. With triumph, he saw that his thorns had managed to take the cruel madman down not only into the yellow, but nearly into the red as well. He lifted his axe to strike, but even as he did, he froze once again. And once again, he had to watch as the man drew the blade of his dagger out of his stomach once again.

"Now now," scolded the broker. "I'm not finished yet. You need not rush so quickly into your death. Let's take our time, shall we?"

For the first time since he fought Cerberus, he began to feel real fear of his own death. If he couldn't move to protect himself, he was going to have to watch as little by little, the information peddler stole his life away. He struggled, but not only did he fail to attack, his muscles did not even twitch.

Move, for god's sake! Move!

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80282 results:

Paralyzed

MOB: 10 + 3 = 13 - Hit! 200 dmg + 2 - 111 mit = 91 dmg - Paralyze!

Craft: 12 - +50 HP

Shield HP: 498/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 105/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10

As Shield watched, the broker smirked and took a deep breath. His heart sank. With one breath, the broker managed to undo over half of the damage that Shield had managed to deal to him, taking him into the green once again.

"You'll find that being calculated has its perks," said the broker, sliding his knife carefully between Shield's ribs and paralyzing him all over again. "While the occasional player will catch me off guard and take advantage of my trust, in the right moment I can finally reap my karma and get exactly what I'm looking for."

The muscles in Shield's face wanted badly to scowl, but they were unable to do anything, much less make such an extreme show of spite. He also couldn't help but notice that he no longer had a health advantage over his adversary who had overtaken him and then some. He was forced to wait once again, hoping against hope for another window.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 80283 results:

Paralyzed

 MOB: 2 + 3 = 5 - Miss

 Craft: 7

Shield HP: 562/720 - 72 Energy - 3 Dmg - 24 Bleed (BD 8+) - 111 Mitigation - 54 Regen - 28 Thorns - 10 Battle Healing

<<Mysterious Broker>> HP: 105/150, Dmg: 200 Paralyze, MD of 9+, Battle Healing 50 - CD of 10

From beside him, Shield heard a thud, and out of the corner of his eye, he could just barely strain far enough to see the broker bend down. He had dropped his knife. With a thrill, Shield saw the yellow of the paralysis symbol begin to flash slowly once again. He couldn't believe his luck. He was going to be free again. Not only that, but there probably wouldn't be enough time for the broker to get in another stab, at least not a precise one.

With every fiber of his being, he willed the icon to disappear more quickly. Of course he knew it wouldn't help, but with his body suspended as it was, there was nothing more he could do. The icon flickered more quickly.

Come on... come on... almost...

He could see the broker begin to straighten up, but even as cocky as he was, even he had to be aware of how narrow of  margin there would be in which to stun Shield.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Shield