[PP-F3] Rivals² <<Elvish Rivalries>>

[Birdie 0]

She couldn't steel herself enough to prevent the slightest smile. The day's plan was to reconvene with @Aereth, whom she held something of a rivalry with prior to her disappearance. They'd mutually decided upon a quest in which they would both benefit from, using it as a means of catching up with one another; <<Elvish Rivalries>>, wherein the Elven race sought a violent conclusion to their age-long conflict with the Treants. Depending on which side the player aligned with, they would be tasked with one of two Rivalry quests- in their case, the aid the Elves- and do battle against the enemy's forces, thinning their numbers considerably. The coincidental theme of rivalries brought amusement, though it would likely have little bearing on the day's events.

Such a quest could be imagined as an epic war waged against two opposing armies, with the player leading an entire battalion of allied soldiers which they would lead into ceremonious victory - in reality, it was a single party of players against no less than 8 Treants, whose levels were locked no higher than 8 or 9. She sighed, I wonder if such a quest even exists higher up. A war between two armies on a grand scale..."

As was a usual occurrence for the Level 33 Scout, she allowed her thoughts to run amok in periods of inactivity. She'd taken to a bench just North of the quest bearer's Elven camp- if memory served right, Aereth had appeared orange in their last encounter. That was as far back as the dungeon raid, the very same day she'd fallen from the face of Aincrad... she grimaced at the likelihood of him inquiring about it. Of course, she was prepared for the possibility he still bore those colours and- despite any feelings of unrest- had taken to a spot outside of the safe zone. All that was left was to wait for him to show up, and as seconds blended into minutes, a spout of restlessness summoned Birdie's messaging window.

"Hey,

Just wanted to see how you are. We still on for today?"

"Beauty in simplicity..." she murmured, grazing the Send button and dismissing the menu with a swipe of her left index finger. 

[Aereth 1]

After all the things that happened recently to him, with the weeks he spent in imprisonment, his rescue by the hands of Domarus and Hidden, the girl he found himself training in the material arts, and the encounter with the leader of the Laughing Coffin Aereth was more than surprised to see a message from his former scouting rival and ex guild member Birdie. She had been missing in action ever since that one day the Celestials went to that dungeon some months back. Nobody seemed to know what happened to the girl, and all the messages he sent weren't answered. The blue haired scout had sent him a message asking to do a quest with some catching up on each other. Of course he would accept the offer to meet his old rival again, and thus he currently was on his way through the third floor to make it to the meeting spot. 

Due to his still orange cursor however, he had to use a crappy teleport crystal from the many he had bought in order to travel more easily, and that crystals usually dropped him in a random location on the floor he desired to teleport to. Then the sound of an incoming message caught his attention. Stopping and reading through it, Aereth typed a quick response and began hurrying once more.

Spoiler

To: @Birdie
Subject:...
Text: On my way. Should be there in a few minutes.

About five minutes later, he finally reached the destined spot and was able to finally see his scouting partner once again. He was already in his battle ready attire, due to Birdie mentioning a quest. Pulling down his hood when approaching her, and revealing his messy brunette hair, he simply rose his hand and greeted. "Hey there. Long time no see..." he paused a moment before continuing. "But I'm glad to see you're fine."

[Birdie 0]

A voice tore Birdie from her thoughts, and she leapt from the bench with a start.

Upon first sight, she barely recognised the player. His gold plated armour, the facial mask... neither affected her quite as much as the orange cursor floating above his head. Despite mentally preparing for such a thing, to see it with her own eyes... she gently shook her head. Today wasn't about that- he would have reasons for what he's done, just as she had hers. It wouldn't be right to dwell on the demons of their pasts.

"Likewise. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show-" A flashing icon grabbed her attention, the symbol for an unread message in her inbox. "Ah, m-my mistake..." As with her meetings with Itzal and Beatbox, a pungent sense of familiarity brought with it a sea of old memories- the hours spent training together, friendly competitions to decipher whose scouting prowess was superior. It almost seemed elementary now. That same dishevelled regret she'd felt with the others started to seep its way through, though a steep inhale would set her in the right frame of mind.

She sauntered toward her ex-guild mate and extended an arm, "Looking sharp, as always." A second would pass before the bluenettes eyes fell. "Allow me to apologise for my absence. Your messages came through loud and clear, I just... I was going through a lot at the time. I hope you understand."

@Aereth

Edited July 17, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

Chuckling at the woman when she started to talk but got interrupted by a message, Aereth removed the rest of his face guard to talk more freely with the woman. He wasn't expecting to do his usual work in the shadows, so he might as well put all that shady equipment away. "Sorry it took so long. These stupid teleport crystals tend to drop you randomly on the floor so I had to rush over here, and that took some time." 

Then Bridie walked over to him and extender her arm, apologizing for her absence and the not answering of his messages. Aereth looked at the extended arm for a few moments, memories from their previous adventures, training sessions and even all the important items he had bought from his friend in the past flashing through his mind before he also extended his arm to meet hers. The two hands met in the middle between them and Aereth for once in a long time was able to put a genuine smile on his face. Not a smirk, or a forced smile, a real and honest smile. "Don't worry about it. You had your reasons for what you did. I can understand that better than probably anybody else in here, but nonetheless I was still worried. After I got no replies from any of  them messages I sent out to you, Lessa and Arc for that Rovian Wars quest I was really worried. Even to that point where I wanted to start looking for you, if it weren't for Itzal telling me that you would be fine and that you needed  your time." He then chuckled. "But in hindsight it was better all of you didn't show up to that quest. Turned out to be a big clusterf*ck, and some players, me included, almost died in that boss fight... Even had to pull out one guy on my own or otherwise he would have become a turtle snack..." 

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

She waved her free hand dismissively, "It isn't your fault, that does seem like an incredible inconvenience." Their palms touched like they had many times before, however, this occasion was unique from the rest. It wasn't to seal the deal on terms of a bet or a friendly gesture to proceed a sparring match, nor did it settle any score. Instead, it signified two old friends coming together once more, despite their shortcomings and having grown so much as individuals. For that simple fact, Birdie knew the comradery between them would be stronger than ever before, and an equally boisterous smile blessed her lips.

The Rovian Wars event... Up until that moment, all traces of the water-based quest line escaped her memory. She'd disappeared at a crucial time, just as players set about preparing their ships to tackle the boss; As @Aereth informed her, however, things hadn't quite been smooth sailing for the raid party. She didn't hide her look of concern as he described how many lives were thrust into the deep end, including that of a man he'd managed to pull from the depths. Regretfully, she contemplated her own fate had she been present - whether or not their ship would've held up or if she'd have been another measly turtle snack...

"I am... very sorry to hear that, it must have been stressful for everyone involved... at least you made it out in one piece." She offered what little solace there was to be given. Rather than dwell on it for too much longer, she gazed South past a school of trees, peering into the Elven camp. It didn't appear to have guards posted around, though a number of them were likely to appear should Aereth make his approach. "Shall we form a party? The quest bearer is a short round trip, I shouldn't be gone more than a minute or two."

[Aereth 1]

It felt good to finally know that a good friend you've been spending quite some time with in the past, but unfortunately lost contact for a long time was back and safe. "Just know that Itzal and me will always have an open ear for your problems." Aereth said before letting go of the hand of the blue haired player, and also flashing a bright smile. He wouldn't press any further on the reason of her absence, since if she would want to tell him she would do so without him sticking his nose into things that shouldn't concern him.

"Haha, don't think anymore of it. Everybody got out at least alive, and even the bluebird survived, since Jon took over as a captain and brought her home." he then smiled and sent over a party invitation to Birdie when she asked if they should form a party. "Surely. Just get the quest and I'll wait over here until you're back."

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

"Jonathon, huh? I'll have to bring it up next time I see him." With a simple tap, the party invite window disappeared and their names appeared together in the corner of their display. "Got it," she nodded, "don't go wandering off!" Twisting on the balls of her feet, she sped off.

Minutes later and Birdie emerged from the camp, a blatant look of irritation plastered on her face. She slowed up reaching the meeting point, accompanied by a map window with numerous red circles dotting its display. "Some NPCs are obnoxiously chatty, the Elven Commander not withstanding... A-anyway, here are the quest details." Although Aereth could easily have read them, she thought it best to openly discuss. "We're up against a few Treants, a King and his Commander, all around Level 10 from what I gather. That ain't the hard part," she moved the Map around to let Aereth see, revealing the red circles she'd hastily mapped out. "The hard part is finding the Treant's base- it's never in the same spot as the last quest taker. There's a few possible spawn locations, always with a waterfall in the centre apparently." She motioned to the red circles on her map, indicating they were all the waterfalls in the forest. "The Commander gave us a few random hints, nothing too tangible. We'll be scouting the location out ourselves for the most part." She sighed, dispersing the menu with a flick of her finger. "Ready to do this?"

Edited July 20, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

Aereth chuckled. "Yeah, he even got a special item from the quest NPC because he brought the Bluebird back in one piece." Even though he saw Selina handing the item over to Jonathan, Aereth had no idea but it most definitely had to mean something. After accepting the party invitation, Birdie told the brunette not to wander off too far to which Aereth simply nodded. "Don't worry about that, I'll just wait here."

With that he leaned against a tree and dropped to the floor opening up his inventory, to think about the newest addition to his arsenal. In front of him hovered the description of the <<Dimensional Shift>>. His own unique phase weapon. The only problem with that was: Only one enhancement slot. And he would miss out on a bunch of his accuracy every time he used it. "Essence of Steel..." he mumbled, while opening up the old quest description of the Avalance quest. 

Hearing the female voice of his partner finally snapped him back to reality, and he replied with a chuckle. "Sounds like we could even take them on all at once, if we wanted." Level 10 Monsters were waaaaay weaker than the things he was dealing with on a regular basis. Sh*theads of Laughing Coffin, and working down the Hit List he had received. He then rose to his feet and walked over behind Birdie, and leaned in a little bit so he could get a better look at the map. His chest was touching Birdies shoulder lightly, but he didn't mind that contact. "Hmmmm." Splitting up, and searching on their own would for sure be much faster, but also much more boring. "I mean, we could always split up and search separately, but that would be kinda boring. How about we just walk from waterfall to waterfall and see where we end up finding those Treants?" he suggested, and created some more distance between them while waiting for @Birdie's response.

[Birdie 0]

As Aereth suggested they check each location, she nodded agreeably and made one last sweeping glance of the area before heading after him. Seconds later, she matched his pace and called up the menu once more, activating the Search skill within. "Let's do that. Besides, how can we catch up if we're split up?" Her voice held a positive inflexion as she gazed over at him, before laying her eyes on the lush forest ahead.

ID# 86965 - LD: 10+7 | Found 4 <<Faux Mahogany>> [T1 Mats]

The thick canopy of leaves obscured most of the light, casting a dim shadow on the ground below. This would have made it difficult to observe much of anything without the use of a visual aid, and luckily, Birdie had just that- within seconds of switching on Search and Detect, she caught a glimpse of a glowing white spot not so far in the distance. The duo's trajectory would allow her to retrieve them in a few dozen seconds so she wouldn't rush ahead, and when the materials did come within arm's reach, they would be identified as a quadrant of Faux Mahogany planks; Fragments from a nearby fallen tree.

"It's really been too long, hasn't it?" she reckoned, stashing away her most recent finds. Months of separation would have been less impactful in the real world - perhaps even considered normal - but in the game world, just two weeks could be enough for drastic changes. "It's crazy to think about. A little scary, even, God knows how much has changed since then..." Birdie shook her head lightly, putting on a smile as she turned to Aereth. "So, what's new with you? Are you an Itzal still training together?"

@Aereth

Edited July 20, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

"That's right. Can't be going around writing messages all the time when we just can talk to each other." Aereth joked and also activated his searching skill as they walked towards the first marked location on Birdie's map. Brown eyes flicked for a short moment, before Aereth found a perfect set of four shiny ores that he immediately stored away into his inventory.

Aereth only nodded at Birdie, when she mentioned that it really has been too long. "You wouldn't even believe how much changed since we last saw each other. But I think you already saw me with my orange cursor, right?" he cautiously asked, and slightly shook his head when she asked if he was still training with Itzal. "Currently I'm rocking more or less solo. When I was ready to become Sentinel, around level 35, I decided to leave the Celestials. And after that my build focus changed heavily. Who am I kidding. Pretty much EVERYTHING changed since back then." he sighed and started to rub the back of his head with his left arm, while putting on a 'happy go lucky smile'. "Currently I'd say that I'm a pretty heavy hitting single target DPS, and two more or less big PKing guilds want to see me dead." 

ID# 86998 results:
Loot: 18+5

Materials: 4

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

Birdie offered a nod at Aereth's inquiry. "Y-yeah, way back in that dungeon raid with Morg and the others. I meant to ask you about it after things finished up there... guess I never got the chance." Hoping to avoid any awkwardness between them, she argued against posing the question of why he'd turned orange in the first place.

Swapping roles wasn't so hard to imagine. Most scouts seemed to only train Search for a little while before branching elsewhere, carrying the valuable luck bonuses with them. However, out of all the possible outcomes, Aereth leaving the Celestial Ascendants wasn't one Birdie had envisioned. Usurping Itzal's spot as Paladin had even been higher on the list, albeit occupying one of the lowest spots, and she grew instantly curious for the reason of his departure. Before any question could come of it, however, she found herself dumbstruck as he admitted to being on the radar of numerous PK'ing guilds. "... you're not kidding are you?" She looked hard into his eyes, perhaps reading his expression with <<Search>> to find any trace of sick humour in his tongue, yet nothing of the sort arose. A confounded puff of air escaped her mouth before she followed up. "Jesus Christ, Aereth... who'd you p*ss off to get in a mess like that?"

@Aereth

 

Edited July 21, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

"You ever heard about guilds called Black Adder, and...." he paused since she moste definitely would know the second name he was about to say. "Laughing Coffin?" He then would wait for a potential shock to settle down again, before continuing. "I'd love to tell you that I am just joking. But unfortunately that is not the case... You see, it all started like this..." he said and took a deep breath before starting to recall all the events that had led to his current situation. "Some months back, I more or less witnessed that two guys tried to lure out two girls in order to... Yeah, lets just say, they had nothing good in mind. When they then started to attack them I stepped in and killed them both. That's the story about my cursor change. Turned out that they are a part of that Black Adder guild, so I started investigating and systematically routing them. Long story short, after some time the found me, and captured me. After that I spent a couple of weeks in a shabby cell, before two comrades rescued me..." he sighed and paused again for some moments, just long enough to spot another four materials.

"Well after I got out of there again, sh*t really started hitting the fan... Seems like the Laughing Coffin had me on their radar for quite some time. Their leader even wanted to personally speak to me..."

@Birdie

ID# 87000 results:
Loot: 10+5

Materials: 4+4 = 8

[Birdie 0]

"Shut up..." A mix of fear and unease settled over Birdie as Aereth named the most destructive force in Aincrad, Laughing Coffin. Black Adder was news to her, but if they were on the same wavelength as the bigger guild then they were nothing short of monsters. Hesitantly, she listened to him explain the horrific scenario, having caught two Black Adders following two unassuming players. He went on to mention his heroic acts, subsequently tracking both guilds' activities and his eventual capture, where a duo of allies came to aid his escape. "Christ, you weren't kidding."

To even think about them- player killers- made her blood boil. It wasn't her ambition to hunt them down; Matter of fact, Birdie was too much a coward for anything of the sort. But to know that they could have such monstrous intentions with two innocent players... it nearly pushed her over the edge. "I-I don't quite know what to say... the last time we saw each other, we were both learning how to be scouts, and now you're on the sh*tlist of every brainsick devotee in Aincrad... it's a lot, you know?" Her eyes fell on the road, a pause halting her speech. "S-still, what you did was incredibly brave, saving those two girls. It takes a lot of guts to intervene a PK in action... especially if you become one in the process."

ID# 87008 - LD: 11+7 | Found 4 <<Faux Mahogany>> [T1 Mats]

A few materials spawned about five feet from the path, and Birdie didn't make a sound as she retrieved them. "W-wait, the leader wanted to speak with you personally? D-did you ever find out why?" All she knew of the guild's commanding officer was that their level was over sixty some months ago, and would have easily gotten higher since. The strongest players in the whole of SAO would struggle in a confrontation; It's reasonable to assume the leader was among that statistic themselves.

-----

Loot:

• 8 Faux Mahogany [T1 Mats]

@Aereth

Edited July 21, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

Aereth flinched slightly as Birdie told him to shut up, and started to study the expressions of his blue haired partner. Many different emotions he had never seen on the face of his usually happy person. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you everything I saw since my first PK. It really changed me a lot, as you can see... Aincrad is a cruel place..." he paused a few moments thinking about what he saw when he got imprisoned, before shaking his head. "Maybe it's better if I don't tell you. I'm by no means brave or something like a hero. More the opposite. Yeah it's only been a couple of months since we started our training... And now I'm hunting down PKers for a living tripping from one f*cked up mess into the other."

After that they reached the first spot with a waterfall, but obviously there were no Treants around so the just started walking to the next nearest spot. "Yeah, Sensui told me what he wanted. He wanted me to take out the heads of a few rivaling PK guilds. They seem to have trouble re-establishing dominance ever since they went dormant. Rumors say that they got close to eradicated by just one single player. They threatened to kill everybody I knew and throw me into a hole where I really wouldn't come out again if I laid hand on their members or didn't finish the task." he then let out a bitter chuckle. "You know what the irony with that whole mess is? Way back in the day, even before we met, I lost a very precious person to the Laughing Coffin, and now I'm piratically working for them...." he then turned around and locked eyes with Birdie, since he somewhat had taken the lead since they came to that waterfall. "For now I need to follow their orders, but believe me. I'm gonna rip them apart. Maybe not now, and maybe not in the near future, but one day I will. And I will do so with a big bang." A grin crept over his face while saying these things. He was actually looking forward to that big showdown. Maybe it would be his end, but he didn't care. Was he slowly turning crazy? Perhaps, but who knows what he had been through would fully understand why. However, the grin then started to vanish again and he gave out in a much more serious and caring manner. "Just promise me to take extra care from now on. I almost thought that you had been lost once. You need to survive this mess."

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

Her eyebrows pulled together as Aereth hid the gritty details. "M-mm..." she muttered lowly, the fierce insistence in her eyes slowly subsiding.  "If you think it's for the best, I won't pry you for this information today." A second passed before she looked away, "Y-you did what you needed to do. We've all got our demons..." It was almost certain that Birdie would learn of the things he'd seen and done, one way or the other; Be it word of mouth from an ally or at the end of an enemy's blade. If past experiences were to be used as a weapon against the woman's trust, she would know that whatever the man might have done in the past, he did it for the greater good. Much like another vigilante... much like Beatbox.

ID# 87021 - LD: 20+7 | Found 4 <<Faux Mahogany>> [T1 Mats]

Upon arrival, the stark lack of enemies became immediately apparent. All she could salvage from the failed first attempt was another set of materials, and they swiftly ventured onwards to the next waterfall.

Birdie's complexion turned pale. Words had failed her, and the only reaction she thought to give was an endless stare in the man's direction. From the way he spoke, it almost sounded like Laughing Coffin wanted to employ him... as an Assasin against the opposition, no less. Visually, Birdie didn't stir as Aereth went into further detail, but her eyes did lock with him as they faced one another. Conflicted emotions stirred within: He was colluding with the one enemy and conspiring against another, having been given the choice between certain death for those he loved or helping Laughing Coffin achieve dominance. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

"I-I see..." Birdie had slowly looked away, trying to erase the vision of Aereth's grin. Even if he'd lost someone at the hands of the enemy, deriving pleasure from taking out the murderers made him no less sadistic than the ones he slew. She knew she should have said something right then and there but alas, Birdie's lack of courage proceeded her. "You don't need to worry about me, I can take care of myself now- and I mean it. I'm... w-well, I'm more concerned about you, Aereth. I wouldn't dare doubt your strength nor those who stand beside you, but... you need to make sure you don't lose yourself." The woman's voice trembled towards the end, unable to find the courage to face him. Her knuckles clenched, she spoke. "If this all goes down, whatever 'this' is, you all need to survive it. If even one player on the good side falls, Laughing Coffin will still get what they want; Spilled blood."

-----

Loot:

• 12 Faux Mahogany [T1 Mats]

@Aereth

Edited July 21, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

"Laughing Coffin always gets what they want..." He thought, but didn't dare to say. "Hey, don't worry about me. I've been through worse..." A lie. "Weed does not pass. And I'll think about a way to screw them without risking the lives of my precious people." Aereth then noticed how the knuckles of the blue haired scout turned white from clenching them. Seeing this made the smile on his face vanish. She shouldn't be this worried about him. Everything was going to be fine. Eventually... He shook his head and softly grabbed the trembling fists of his former guild mate and partner. "Hey hey. It will be fine. You don't need to worry this much about me. Believe me, I'm not loosing myself." His eyes were almost empty as he said this. He was attempting to, but with every punch he received from life, he felt the control over his sanity slip away bit by bit. "I still have people I care about, and as long as I can protect them, I will strive to protect them at all costs." As soon as her hands would un-tense, Aereth would let go and focus back on finding those damned quest NPC's

@Birdie Sorry for that late response, but I was out of country for 5 days and had a busy weekend which endend with starting my new job yesterday. xD But now I'm back again. And sorry for Aereth being wired. xD

[Birdie 0]

Her squinting eyes moved to Aereth in a blink as he took hold of her trembling hands. The shaking gradually eased, ceasing seconds into the embrace, and her fingers fell loose in defeat. "I believe you..." I really want to.  She'd already watched one person descend into madness, albeit a different kind of madness and from an entirely different set of circumstances. Everything he said, she believed, and she believed in his intentions to eradicate the scourge that was Laughing Coffin. Selfishly, she wished he didn't need to set aside his sanity to achieve that goal, but deeper in the depths of her brain where her reason and logic dare not tread, she realised that to even conceive such a plan was insane in itself.

"Halt..."

A deep voice bellowed in the distance, following the ruffling of leaves ahead. "Who dare disturbs- ahk!"

In a burst of light, the blue-clad fencer's rapier struck the Treant Commander fourteen times over, delivering an array of thrusts and jabs until the second-in-command's health bar fell to zero. "Shut up..." Out of nowhere, three <<Treant Soldiers>> converged onto the pair of players in an ambush, though their commander's fall squandered whatever plan their limited-capacity AI had proposed.

ID# 87434
BD: 10, Hit! (+2 base damage)
MD: - 

Birdie - HP: 680/680 - NRG: 56/68

• Sword Art Used: Over Radiation [Damage: 14*14=196]

Aereth - HP: ???/??? - NRG: ??/??

Treant Commander - HP: -41/100 - DEAD

@Aereth

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

"I refuse to let them take another person away from me. And if I'm not attempting to stop them, who will?" the brunette said to his blue haried partner with a sad looking smile on his face. Sure he had been working alone until he got captured some weeks ago, but after that he actively started looking for other players that might have the cuourage and determination to make this place at leas a little bit safer. But he found... Nothing... 
Suddenly the voice of the Treant Commander, shortly followed by the sound of Birdie's rapier interruped his thoughts. Now wasn't the time to talk. They needed to get this quest done. "Let's do this." he said and unsheathed his blade, which immediately started to shine in a dark blue color. "I'll take care off the cannon fodder, so if you're confident enough you can start looking for the quest boss. But remember our combat lessons with Itzal. No emotions." With that he sped towards the NPC's that were stupid enough to try and ambus them. Everytime his blade made contact with the bodies of the Treants one of them scattered. "One... Two.. Three... Four..." After Aereth was done with his sword art, only two soldiers remained. Kids play...
ID# 87444
Battle: 6+3 HIT

Aereth - HP: 860/860 - NRG: 69/86 [-18+1]
Sword Art used: Shadow Explosion [Damage: 12*9-35 = 108-35 = 73]

Treant Soldier x4 - HP: 0/60 DEAD

@Birdie sorry no fancy editing, mobile post. xD

[Birdie 0]

His words echoed in her mind, "I refuse to let them take another person from me." It was a noble, brave and just to thing to say; So why did it sit badly with her? Had she willed ill upon those who've already fallen? Or was she so cowardly that even the slightest hint of a courageous cause had her quivering in fear?

As Birdie pulled back her extended weapon, she returned to a neutral stance and shifted on her feet to glance over at Aereth. No emotions... The fencer took a moment to compose herself, gazing off into the man's direction as he unleashed an expert Shadow Explosion upon a quartet of Treants. Although raging emotions would have no solid bearing on the fight, he was right; Bad practices wouldn't know the difference between an easy encounter and a life-threatening combatant.

"R-right, I'll go ahead and search for the Boss- he might only appear when all the grunts are dead." Birdie offhandedly gestured towards the final two Treant Soldiers which lumbered behind Aereth. If only I had an AoE attack... she silently pleaded, turning tail with a look of resignation to ensure she would catch the last enemy as it spawned.

@Aereth

Edited August 2, 2017 by Birdie

[Aereth 1]

 "Good, I'll be done here in a minute and catch up with you afterwards. Stay safe." After his last sword art and the post motion delay died down, Aereth placed his blade into a backhand position and started to continue his assault. He wouldn't even need to activate his unique enhancements in that encounter. After that he lowered his center of gravity and started dodging attacks of the Treants. They were slow and bulky, so Aereth had no probles avoiding all the hits they were throwing at him. While the brunette danced through the swipes he finally found an opening and immediately started to charge up another Shadow Explosion. The energy consumption was pretty rough, but still manageable. Again the blade scattered the remaining two mobs without any problems.
Aereth sheathed his blade and checked his health and energy stats. "More than enough for the next encounter." he thought and started to follow the path Birdie took to find the last mob. 
As soon as he caught up with the bluette, he asked: "Did you already find something, or is that field boss harder to find than expected?" 

 ID# 87446 results:
 Battle: 10, critical hit

Aereth - HP: 860/860 - NRG: 69/86 [-18+1]
Sword Art used: Shadow Explosion [Damage: (12+2)*9-35 = More than enough]

Treant Soldier x2 - HP: 0/60 DEAD

@Birdie