[SP-F1]The Old Man and The Sea <Earning A Living>

[zero_lost04 0]

The swordfish was just minding its own business, swimming along it's pre-programmed route in the river.  There wasn't much more that it was programmed to do, it was meant to just swim in this lake until the fisherman cast his line into the river.  As the swordfish was swimming around in the river, a shiny sparkle in the water caught its eye.  It's programming kicked in and it swam up to the shiny item and followed through on its basic programming like a real fish and bit into the hook.  Suddenly there was a tug on its body and the swordfish fought hard to stay in the water as it was being dragged to the surface.  Soon, it breached the water and saw the fisherman pulling on the line.  Just as it was about to attack the old man and attempt to free itself, a large blade slashed into the fish and diverted its attention.  A man wearing black pants and armor and holding the blade was now its new target.

 

Pushing with all its might and flinging itself through the air, the swordfish struck a mighty blow against the man who had attacked it.  The fish's attention was now fully focused on this player and it would fight to the very end to defeat him.  After landing the attack, the swordfish manages to fight his way back into the water but he was still hooked on the rod and couldn't get but so far.  Waiting for another big tug, the swordfish waited so that it could attack again once it was pulled up out of the water.

 

Roll ID - 84150

Mob Dice - 9

15 (base) + 1 (crit) = 16 - 21 (Mit) = 1 (minimum damage)

Zero - 99/100 HP | 8/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG (Regan Activated +9 at start of next turn)

Swordfish - 36/50 HP | 15 DMG

Edited May 8, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero winced as the swordfish caught him with an attack, noting the "Critical" symbol that appeared, signifying that the attack would do more damage than normal.  He looks over to his life bar to examine it and see the damage that was done and was shocked to see that the damage was a single point of damage.  Looking up to the sky, he lets out a hearty laugh, he had almost forgotten that he had upgraded his equipment and was a good bit stronger now, the damage the the swordfish was capable of doing to him wasn't enough to get through his Mitigation abilities now.  His laughter roars up once again as his Obsidian Guard glows and the single point of damage that he had taken earlier was recovered.  He had to make sure to thank Teion for the armor the next time he saw her, it had made it so that even if this mob hit him, it was literally impossible for it to kill him.

 

Zero waited patiently for a few moments until the fisherman tugged on the line again and pulled the swordfish to the surface.  He knew that when the fish came to the surface, it would target him again since he had generated the hate on the mob.  With any luck, he might be able to spin out of the the way and force the creature to stay on land which should make it a lot easier for him to attack it.  His plan seemed to be successful, though only about half as much as he would have liked.  When the fish surfaced and flopped over towards him, Zero's attack missed, but with his footwork he managed to get between the fish and the river, making it unlikely that the fish would be able to get back to the water with any ease.

Roll ID - 84159

BD - 3 + 2 = 5 (Miss)

Zero - 100/100 HP | 8/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG 

Swordfish - 36/50 HP | 15 DMG

Edited May 8, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

The swordfish followed its programming, tugging on the line trying to get free until the fisherman pulls hard on the line and pulls him up on to the surface so that they could attack.  The player that the fish was focusing on took a large swing against the fish and spun around him, missing the fish with his strike but moving between himself and the water.  As the player was spinning around, the fish lashed out with it's tail, slamming into the shoulder of the player and delivering another strong blow to the player.  The fish wasn't programmed to be smart enough to notice the glowing, shimmering effect the the shoulder guards were exhibiting every time he struck the player, all the swordfish was focused on was attacking and getting free from its hook and returning to the river to swim.  The swim flops on the ground, unable to move much on land.  It was attempting to move back to the water so that it could follow its programmed pattern, but this time the player stood in his way.

 

Roll ID - 84161

Mob Dice - 9 (+1 Crit)

Zero - 99/100 HP | 8/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG (Regan activated on next turn)

Swordfish - 36/50 HP | 15 DMG

Edited May 8, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero barely paid any attention to the blow that the Swordfish dealt to him this time.  Just like before, his mitigation had made it so that nothing more than a single point of damage was done to him, even with how solid the blow had actually been.  After a few seconds, the healing ability of his armor kicked in again, healing up the damage that had been done to him once again.  Ultimately, Zero knew now that this was nothing more than a war of attrition, if he took his time and picked his attacks carefully, there was no way that the fish could survive this fight with him.  It was literally only a matter of time before he was finally able to kill the fish and finish up the quest.

 

Zero readied his blade almost like a baseball bat, focusing his attention on the fish and even bobbing his head up and down in time with the swordfish as he flopped around on the ground and tried to get back into the water and away from the player for a moment.  Watching carefully and focusing on his timing, he activates his Straight Sword Art ability and swings the blade exactly like a baseball bat and catches the swordfish with a powerful blow the knocks the fish back slightly as it was trying to return to the water.

 

Roll ID - 84162

BD - 9 (+1 Crit)

6 (base) + 1 (Crit) = 7 x 2 - 14

Zero - 100/100 HP | 7/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG

Swordfish - 22/50 HP | 15 DMG

Edited May 8, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

The swordfish's programming wasn't sure what to do as it flopped around on the ground, attempting to get back to the water and away from the person that was attacking it.  The player scored another powerful hit on the fish and knocked it backwards while it was flopping in the air.  When the player's blow connected however, the fish lashed out its large tail and smacked the player right in the face, causing the player to stumble back a few steps himself.  There was no pleasure or happiness in this strike for the swordfish, it wasn't programmed for anything like that.  It was merely doing what it needed to do to complete its programming; defeat the player, break the line, return to the water and start swimming.  Pulling on the hook in it's mouth, the fish continued to fight back towards the water, pulling on the line with all its might while it tried to get away from the fisherman and go right through the player if need be to return to the water.

 

Roll ID - 84163

MD - 7 (Hit)

Zero - 99/100 HP | 7/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG (Regan activated on next turn)

Swordfish - 22/50 HP | 15 DMG

Edited May 11, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero was visibly stunned and taken aback from having a fish smack him in the face with its tail.  While he had never fought a fish with a sword in real life, all the times he had gone fishing he had never had one smack him in the face with its tail.  It was a bizarre feeling to experience and he wasn't exactly sure how to react.  It was because of that that he just stared at the fish dumbfounded for a few moments.  After a few moments, he shakes his head pretty hard and gets his mind back focused on the task at hand, the sooner he could finish this up, the quicker he would be finished with the quest and he could finally start doing some fishing on his own.

 

The fish was fighting and pulling against the fisherman, but with it still being on dry land it made it's movements fairly predictable.  It would flop around while trying to move its body back in the direction of the water so that it could get free.  Zero readied his Straight Sword skill once again kept his eyes trained on the fish, waiting for just the right moment.  When the fish bounced up a little bit higher than usual, he quickly lashed out and swung his blade hard, once again delivering a solid attack to the fish and doing a good amount of damage to it.  The attack once again pushed the fish backwards and away from himself and the flowing river.  From what he could tell from the fish's life bar, it appeared that it was on it's last legs and wouldn't last much longer.

 

Spoiler

Roll ID - 84300

BD - 6 + 2 = 8 (Hit)

Straight Sword Skill Activated - 6 x 2 = 12 Dmg

Zero - 100/100 HP | 6/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG

Swordfish - 10/50 HP | 15 DMG

 

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

The swordfish was once again rebuffed from its progress and wasn't able to return to the river, forced back once again by the blow from the player.  Still, even with its HP now dangerously low, the fish's programming didn't change, it was still only programmed with the most basic of survival instincts and it had been running on that this whole time.  There was little more that the fish could do other than attack and try to pull away from the fisherman and hopefully break the line so it could return to its life in the river.  As it came flopping back towards the player once again, this time the swordfish turned its head and jutted out the sword like protrusion on its face like a rapier and in a flash scoring a critical hit to the player.  The fish was "aware" that the hit had ultimately only done the minimum amount of damage possible to the player, but it wasn't programmed to recognize that fact in any way.  Instead, when the fish scored the blow and the player was knocked back by the attack, the swordfish would try to pull as hard as it could to get away from the dry land and return to the water.

 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID - 84303

MD - 9 (+1 Crit) = 16 - 21 = 1 min DMG

Zero - 100/100 HP | 6/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG (RGN activated on next turn)

Swordfish - 10/50 HP | 15 DMG

 

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

Zero tried to keep his focus on the flailing fish, ready to take it out and hopefully score the final, decisive blow and finish the swordfish off once and for all.  He had been having some good luck so far in keeping time with the fish's movements, bobbing his head along in rhythm with the swordfish, watching for what felt like the perfect moment to strike.  He held to this so far tried and true method of wait, attack, hit, repeat and kept his eye's focused on his target.  However, his focus was broken when the fish suddenly lunged at him with its sword like mouth, jabbing at him with lightning fast speed like a rapier.  It was sudden, abrupt and powerful, causing Zero to stumble backwards slightly and as he did, his attack swung harmlessly over the swordfish and missed the creature completely.  Silently cursing himself, he tried to move after the swordfish, but it had already managed to land back in the water and away from his blade.  He looked over to the old man and saw that he was still fighting the fish, so he readies his stance and prepares to attack once the fish comes out of the water once more.

 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID - 84308

BD - 3 + 2 = 5 (Miss)

Zero - 100/100 HP | 7/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG 

Swordfish - 10/50 HP | 15 DMG

 

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

The swordfish managed to make it back into the water, but it had yet to free itself from the shiny hook that had embedded itself in it's mouth.  So still the fish struggled and fought, trying to get away from the fisherman with all its might while the old man did his best to pull the fish up out of the water.  It was a battle of attrition, neither the old man nor the fish were seemingly gaining or giving any ground, the only thing shifting the contest was the Player that stood on the shoreline.  He was the true target of the fish when it broke the water for it was only due to his interference that the contest was still going on between the old man and himself.  There was another powerful tug and this time the fish swam with the pull, breaching with water and soaring fairly high into the air.  As it went into the air, the Player was close enough that it body checked the player, scoring yet another solid hit as the fish went up into the air, having pushed off the player in such a way that the fish would fall back to earth in such as way that it would land in the water once again.

 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID - 84309

MD - 8 (Hit) : 15 - 21 = 1 Min Damage

Zero - 99/100 HP | 7/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG (RGN Activated on next turn)

Swordfish - 10/50 HP | 15 DMG

 

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

The fish leaped out of the water and high into the air, knocking into Zero as he stood on the shoreline.  It did the same amount of damage that had been done all along to him but this time the fish continued up into the air from his leap.  He smiled as he watched the fish and readied his blade, there was nowhere for the fish to go and all he had to do was time his attack just right and it would all be over.  As the fish begins falling towards the ground, Zero takes a careful step forward before putting all of his weight behind his next strike, swinging and uses his "Straight" Sword Art one last time and slashing deeply into the fish.  The red scar was there for but a moment before the swordfish exploded into a mass of particle effects.  With a deep sigh and shouting out the word "Finally", Zero falls to the ground on his back and stares up at the sky.  The old man doesn't respond right away, a new quest trigger was waiting for Zero once he accepted the loot from defeating the fish, but for right now, he was going to take a minute and relax.  Who would have ever thought that battling a fish would be so exhausting!

 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID - 84310

BD - 8 + 2 = 10 (Hit)

Straight Sword Skill Activated

Zero - 100/100 HP | 7/10 EP | 21 MIT | 2 ACC | 9 RGN | 6 DMG (RGN Activated on next turn)

Swordfish - 0/50 HP | 15 DMG

Swordfish meets Loot Requirements

Roll ID - 84311

LD - 19 / CD - 9 - 4 Crafting Materials

 

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by zero_lost04

[zero_lost04 0]

After lying on the shoreline for several minutes, Zero finally moved his focus to the battle results screen.  He was actually pleasantly surprised to see the results from the battle, including the loot that he received included 4 additional materials that he could use for his fishing work.  A part of him wondered if this was nothing but a coincidence or if there was something programmed into this quest that would allow him to gather up some more materials.  Either way, Zero wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and accepted the results of the battle, placing the materials into his inventory before standing up and heading over to the old man.  When he gets over there and begins the conversation with the old man, the swordfish spawns in his arms and he talks about how happy he was to finally have caught the swordfish of the river.  On cue as well, the old man then begins to give Zero the specifics on how the fishing crafting mechanics worked and how you could fish.  He pays very close attention to everything the old man says keep track of it with his own notes while also looking through the menu as more information becomes available for the profession.  When he finished, Zero was a bit distraught to see that he hadn't completed the quest yet.

 

"One last thing, and this may be the most important.  Before you can start fishing, you need a fishing rod.  I've got an extra one that you can have out in my home.  If you head out of the city gates, it is on the edge of the forest.  Here, I will mark it one your map, you can't miss it.  Once you've got yourself a fishing rod, you will be able to go fishing anywhere there is enough water and some good fish to catch.  Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy catching your own fish."  The old man gives Zero the last bit of the quest.  He can't help but let out a sigh as he thought he would finally be done with this quest.  Still, with a little bit more to go, it wouldn't be that bad and he would finally be able to catch fish.  Plus, he didn't like the fact that he only had 9 materials, an odd number like that actually bothered him a little bit.  Heading out into the forest would give him some time to get a few more things and hopefully round it out nicely.