[SP-F3] Fire Water Burn {COMPLETE}

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96542

BD: 10

MD: 8

Zicko: HP 58/60 -- DMG 5 -- Energy 3/6 (Used Snake Bite!) -- MIT 9

Mantis: HP 20/30 -- DMG 11 -- MIT 0

Getting pounced by a giant mantis isn't a very pleasant thing to experience, especially when it tries to bites people's faces off. For Zicko however, he isn't flinched by its freaky appearance and instead unleashes his sword art against the bug, brutally slashing its body and spilling its green gooish blood. The mantis shrieks as it tries to slash his face with its tibial spines. First attempt was parried by Zicko's sword, but the second manages to claw his forehead before he quickly scurries back and points the sharp, slender blade towards it.

Zicko now lowers his eyebrows in an angry, serious fashion, gripping his weapon tight while the mantis slowly approaches him. Its front legs 'clap' against each other as it lets out a hiss of some sort. A slow, menacing hiss. He takes two steps forward and moves around the mantis in a circular motion, which it follows suit.

Zicko then takes one big leap and suddenly swings his sword towards its bottom half, much to its surprise.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96543

BD: 7

MD: 2

Zicko: HP 58/60 -- Energy 0/6 (Used Snake Bite!)

Mantis: HP 12/30

Unleashing yet another similar sword art as his blade glows green in color, Zicko slashes the mantis' belly in three quick successions, each attacking angle different than the last. The third slash cuts deep into its flesh, possibly severing some of its organic digestion systems. Maybe it is its stomach. Or its intestines. 

The mantis shrieks before it is being roundhouse kicked by Zicko in the face, causing itself to stumble and violently hits its head against a nearby tree's bark. He takes a deep breath as his energy to unleash more sword arts is diminished. No matter. His sword is still physically strong in its normal state. 

Caressing the diamond at the tip of the sword's handle with his thumb, Zicko remains still as he waits for the mantis to recover from its headache, not wanting to finish the fight without facing any retaliation from the bug. 

The mantis takes one glare at Zicko before it bares its sharp teeth and zips straight towards him with its green wings.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96545

BD: 5

MD: 3

Zicko: HP 58/60

Mantis: HP 12/30

Zicko immediately jumps to the side, taking cover behind a tree as the mantis zips past him just after the dodge. Clearly pissed, it makes a U-turn and flies back to that same tree as Zicko comes out of his cover, the blade pointing backwards as he is ready to take another swing when the time is right. 

The mantis hisses as it and him face each other, surrounding each other. They don't want to risk launching another attack, most likely anticipating some sort of unexpected mortal technique. 

Zicko's gaze is still unbroken as usual, his lips sealed shut as he never lets out any single grunt or word throughout the entire fight. In fact, he doesn't even say any monologue in every fight in Aincrad so far. Because he is smart enough to know that monologuing is the equivalent to exposing yourself to an incoming truck on the open road.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96546

BD: 5

MD: 3

Zicko: HP 58/60

Mantis: HP 12/30

Zicko gets what he is waiting for: a spar with the mantis. Both of them exchange blows against their respective weapons, sounds of clanging and rustling grass resonate around their arena. As this fight reminds Zicko of some samurai films that he had seen in his childhood, his blood boils as he swings harder and faster. The mantis does the same.

As no more than ten minutes have passed, they are still clashing against each other, and still not delivering even a single scratch. However, Zicko finally ceases this part of the fight by suddenly shoving the mantis against a tree. As its back hits said tree, it swings its front leg towards Zicko's head, but he dodges and steps back quickly. The mantis regains composure and hisses as it charges towards him and now relies on the speed of its head, cocking it forward multiple times as it tries to bite off his nose.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96547

BD: 8

MD: 3

Zicko: HP 58/60

Mantis: HP 7/30

At one point, the mantis manages to catch the incoming blade between its jaws, and grasps it firmly with its teeth as Zicko, with widened eyes, tries to pull his weapon free. His eyes give one look at the wound on his guts for a split second, and Zicko immediately takes action.

He kicks the wound with his foot numerous times, increasing its pain as the mantis shrieks while trying to slash Zicko's body with its tibial spines. Unfortunately, the spines do not do much to penetrate the chainmail surface of his hauberk. The jaws soon loosen its grip on his sword, and Zicko quickly pulls it free easily and slashes its mouth.

The mantis lets out another shriek of pain as it now has an injury dubbed the 'Glasgow smile' across its cheeks. Zicko attempts to behead it, but it still has the energy to duck down and tries to scurry away with its legs.

Zicko gives chase.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96548

BD: 9

MD: 4

Zicko: HP 58/60

Mantis: HP 1/30

The chase goes on and on as Zicko sprints like a cheetah, almost catching up the mantis on a few occasions. But every time he does so, the mantis would move away so trees will be in front of Zicko, which he also avoids. 

Soon the mantis notices what seems to be a clear opening. One of the exits of the forest. It lets out a desperate shriek, trying to run faster as it plans to use its wings at the field to fly the hell away from its hunter.

However, luck decides to leave the mantis and go home to have tea and biscuits, as the plan never comes to fruition. Instead, it feels an immense pain on its chest, as well as hearing a loud sound that is comparable to the cutting of flesh.

It slowly stops as it is weakened, and glances down to see Zicko's blade sticking out of its green flesh from behind. He had done a crazy thing which shouldn't be practical in most battle situations: lobbing a sword like a knife to an opponent.

As it falls onto the grass, close to the clearing, Zicko stops running and just walks towards the dying mantis.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96549

BD: 1

MD: 5

Zicko: HP 58/60

Mantis: HP 1/30

As Zicko's feet is just near the mantis's rear, he reaches his hand to the sword's handle, gripping it and slowly pulling the blade out of the mantis's new mortal wound. It seemingly pants...or imitate a sound similar to that, and rolls over to see its opponent staring at its eyes menacingly.

For a moment, it pathetically tries to crawl away from Zicko, who is now calmly walking towards it to put an end to this fight. Its fear instincts kick into its brain, and suddenly, it flaps its wings open and fly backwards for only a few meters. This looks more like hopping than a real flight. Regardless, the mantis sticks to this maneuver, all while he keeps walking towards it and rotating his sword with his sword hand. 

The breeze in this field becomes harsher as the mantis gradually loses a lot of its blood, color drained from its face.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96550

BD: 3

MD: 1

Zicko: HP 58/60

Mantis: HP 1/30

Suddenly, heavy rain starts to pour down onto the open field, and Zicko looks up as his face is the first to get drenched by fresh rainwater. His eyes closed as he momentarily enjoys his favorite weather, opening his mouth to drink some of the rain to quench his thirst, though not much because he isn't drinking water with a large volume altogether.

Thanks to this distraction, the mantis 'hops' away as swiftly as it can, before it practically disappears in the rain. Zicko, upon opening his eyes and looking forward, realizes this and moves on to search for the mantis. He wonders if it has any loot at all, and since it is only at death's door, it is worth finding out.

His eyes scan around while he walks, looking hard for the bug. Meanwhile, it remains still, only moving when it catches even a single glimpse at Zicko's slim figure.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96551

BD: 4

MD: 6

Zicko: HP 56/60

Mantis: HP 1/30

One of the mantis's legs feel a rock, just small and light enough to be picked up easily and thrown. The mantis, eyeing at the horizon, slowly scoots its side towards the rock. It takes the rock with both of its front legs with its remaining strength, and just waits for Zicko to come into view to throw at him as a last resort.

Zicko moves forward as he keeps looking hard, the rain pouring down in a faster rate as everything around him becomes sort of misty. Soon, he slowly stops as he thinks that he sees a hint of green. Not grass green. But light green.

He tip toes towards the color, sword at his front as he looks on harder, hoping that this is the mantis and not some random object or miscolored grass. It only takes a few steps for him to feel something hard and rocky hit against his unarmored knee.

He covers it with his hand, feeling a bit of pain there as his health slightly decreases. Otherwise, it isn't serious, and he had perceived where the rock was thrown.

He goes full sprint.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

ID: 96552

BD: 7

Zicko: HP 56/60

Mantis: HP 0/30

The mantis has no time to neither react nor uses its wings as Zicko violently stomps his foot against the chest wound repetitively, causing it to shriek like a banshee before its head is cleanly chopped off and flown far into the misty background. Zicko pants through his nostrils as the mantis dies at the spot, glancing at it to see if it drops any loot.

ID: 96553

LD: 11 -- CD: 4

Obtained 90 COL as standard loot.

Obtained 2 metal ores

Two metal ores. Most likely steel. Good for him. And also 90 COL. that is also good enough as a reward for defeating a bug. Sighing heavily, Zicko sheathes his sword and removes his armor, then he looks up while enjoying the cold, fresh rain. He lies down on the grass, intending to rest from fighting for today. It is almost sunset too, maybe a campfire sounds nice to sleep near. He knows of the Forest Of Wavering Mist, and reminds himself to not sleep in that.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

The rain ceases after half an hour, and Zicko opens his eyes, noticing that the sky is getting dark. Getting up from the drenched grass, he quickly walks around the still misty field, not shivering from the cold as he can withstand such weather. The wind blows through his body as he perceives one of the trials that leads back and forth between this level's main settlement and the next level. Might as well try to walk onto it.

On the way towards the north, as he looks at the dense forests at his right, he suddenly notices what seems to look like smoke rising out of the trees. And it is nearby too. But it isn't seem to be coming from something large like a forest fire.

Curious and gaining the need for warmth, Zicko steps off the trial and slowly walks towards where the smoke is, keeping his walking path straight in an attempt to not get lost when he enter the woods.

[Zicko 0]

The smells of what feels like a campfire's becomes stronger as Zicko presses on deeper into the woods, now relying on his nose to bring himself closer to his target. As nighttime is approaching, so does the darkness of the forest. Zicko grips the handle of his sword, ready to unsheathe it immediately at a moment's notice.

Suddenly, he sees a light source faintly glowing on a few of the trees' trunks, and he slowly follows where the glow is coming from. The light becomes brighter until he reaches a small clearing in the woods, surprised to see a campfire and someone sitting in front of it, the back facing him. 

Because he couldn't see neither indicator nor name tag on top of the person's head, he determines him to be an NPC of some sort. As if he is anticipating his arrival, the NPC asks out of nowhere, "Care to share my fire and food? All free. Hell you can even sleep here for the night."

[Zicko 0]

Well, what's the harm of accepting an NPC's offer for tonight? After all, a man's gotta eat and sleep well to keep himself fit for fighting. Zicko, without even nodding, walks round the campfire and sits down at the NPC's right.

The NPC is a man in a cloak. Hooded. The entire thing covering his entire body. His face couldn't be seen easily too, but does that really matter now?

At least his voice ain't an unpleasant thing to hear. He sounds a bit gruff, but still soft.

Over the campfire is a roasting venison, secured by a stick. More raw venison are just beside the man as he intends to have deer for dinner tonight.

"Venison, a tasty meal," he says as he looks at Zicko, who is glaring at the meat with his usual gaze. The man lets out a bit of a chuckle as he grabs another stick and pierces one of the big pieces of venison with it.

"Here, make yourself useful," he says as he hands the stick to Zicko, who takes it and starts roasting the meat.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Zicko

[Zicko 0]

The venison slowly changes color and texture as it sizzles under the fire nicely, soon emitting the smell of cooking flesh. Zicko glares at the meat like a hawk, sitting still as he would occasionally turn the meat over so all of its sides are fairly roasted. He doesn't notice the hooded man staring at him throughout the cooking process, and as his own piece is fully cooked, he withdraws the meat away from the flames and gently puts it onto a brown wrapper, waiting for it to cool down.

"You look like you have seen enough. I can tell just by looking at your eyes," says the NPC. "Tell me your story, if you don't mind."

Zicko doesn't respond as he keeps looking at his venison. What story he can tell? His childhood? His time in the Marines? The nature of war? All of these aren't really wrong to be explained, but he isn't in the mood to be the narrator.

"Silent hero. I see," the man says as he nods understandably. 

[Zicko 0]

"I was a hunter, you see. Not just any hunter," the man narrates. Zicko glances at the fire, but he slightly turns his head to the man, who smiles at his willingness to hear his story. The meat is soon cooked and Zicko begins eating his share, enjoying its taste. Well done, no pink.

"There used to be a number of trading companies in Aincrad, particularly when it comes to fur," the man continues. "Or pelts. They usually valued game animals like deer, bears, boars and the like. Even small game like beavers, though those are uncommon. However, they were also crazy about monster pelts, scales or whatever that warriors would slay for glory, wealth or whatnot. I ain't surprise if there were confirmations that they wanted a goddamn dragon scale.

So anyway, I was part of one of them companies, and as hunters we were to spend some sweet time in the wilderness. Camping here and there in various terrains, hunt for food and skins, drink stream water, fish, you get the picture. Our equipment were just...adequate enough for hunting. Crossbows, swords, a bit of magic..."

He looks at the fire as he keeps eating his meal. Zicko munches on.

[Zicko 0]

"Equipment that are more badass and powerful are for special hunters. Yeah, special as in they were the real deal for hunting monster skins. You got mercenaries, knights, a few heroes, basically the fighting experts. Unlike us, they only served the companies for a set period of time. Pay was as big as a mountain. Maybe they got a couple of chicks, wine or some s**t too. What the hell.

I'm getting off track here. So, I made a living as a hunter. I was...well let's just say I wasn't too bad. I could handle a few large animals like bears and moose. They were a pain in the ass to take down, but overall, they were easy to fight if you weren't so reckless and knew what you were dealing with."

The NPC munches a big chunk of the meat, which Zicko does the same as he now glares at the man with his gaze, remaining silent while eating.

"Mm, tasty. So, everything was okay so far. I give them good skins, and they pay me good money. Everybody got their share in the end. 

It was in the final year of the booming fur trade before it was gradually diminished thanks to an increase of better, more beautiful materials like silk and wool. I was assigned to a party, a total of seven guys including myself. There was this new place where people started to migrate to. It was damn nice, in fact so nice that in the wilderness over there, the amount of game increased. Maybe the animal families moved in like us. Maybe the males got to find new pretty females to mate with. A few of the fur companies also built some new forts there, and one of em was where we were headed to."

[Zicko 0]

"There were long but safe routes you can travel on, but all of them pass the frozen wasteland, which was said to be harbor some of the most difficult terrains to travel onto if you aren't prepared. Regardless, there weren't any accidents, save for minor mishaps. We had guides and signs that lead people to the new place safely.

The day before our trip, one of the party members got some notes from this person named Don, who was promoting his new route, claiming that it was faster than other available routes and would take no more than three days. Most of us were stoked until we found out where the route exactly was. Me and one of the boys were concerned as it passed a very steep mountain and a barren, frozen wasteland too despite the presence of signs...or so Don claimed.

The rest wouldn't change their mind. Even our boss told us to use that route, all for the sake of going to paradise for a short amount of time."

Zicko keeps glancing at the man, having a gut feeling that this story will not end well.

[Zicko 0]

The man sighs heavily, noticing that the flames of the campfire start to shrink a little. Nevertheless, he moves on.

"Long story short...we used the route...but there were several mishaps that we encountered. Two of the seven of us died frozen in their sleeps. We had to take shelter in an open cave due to a blizzard. There wasn't any other option than that. Then we arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned cabin near a small lake. Just...at least two more days of walking and we would be close to our destination. But no.

Blizzard struck again, and it won't completely stop for days. We were getting hungry until three of them had gone mad. They were attacking each other and...crikey...I couldn't bear to describe what happened in the cabin...

You know the term "you are what you eat, right?" Well, that phrase was applied to that certain situation...in a literal sense. Me and the last member of the party busted ourselves out of here. Ironically the blizzard was almost over by the time the three tried to kill each other."

[Zicko 0]

"....did you finish the trip?" Zicko asks as his eyes are kept locked towards the man, who looks back at him and just smiles, albeit in a forlorn manner.

"Yeah..we did it...survived on berries and luckily...a calf reindeer..." he answered. "When we reached the place and one of the forts, we told the guy in charge what happened, and he was pretty shocked. He tried to contact our boss so he could give an explanation of why he sent us to that damn route. As far as I knew, he came a few days later, and soon he was demoted and punished for sending us to death despite the given warnings....

And that is it. Story ends here. Fur trade was later gone, and now the animals ain't gonna worry about being hunted by us anymore.

...yay I guess."

The NPC lies onto his back as he looks at the starts, and asks, "So, I'm glad you listened. At least I have somebody to talk to tonight. Thank you."

"...you are welcome," is Zicko's reply as he finishes what is left of the meat in his hand and lies down, closing his eyes. As both men remain silent for a few minutes, Zicko finally speaks again.

"...I was in the military....seen dozens of s**t there....lost count how many people I killed.."

"I see," says the hooded man.

[Zicko 0]

As the fire slowly dies down, both men slowly closes their eyes and fall into a deep, restful sleep. The cold breeze blows through for a good amount of time before rain starts to fall. Again. 

But they weren't awaken throughout the rain, as they were busy minding their own business in their respective dream worlds. As morning finally arrives with the rising morning sun, the NPC was the first to wake up. Still remembering his companion, he looks at Zicko briefly before smiling and getting up to take his leave.

Two more hours passed since the man left, and Zicko is finally back to reality. Opening his eyes wide, he gets up and slowly looks around to find the campfire long extinguished, and himself being alone once more. He lets out a sigh through his nostrils. At least he managed to sleep through the night without any disturbance.

Standing up, he is about to leave when he notices something hiding behind the tree...or is it not? He slowly creeps up to the unknown object.

ID: 96631 -- LD: 20 (Found a treasure chest!)

Perhaps the night was so dark that he didn't even notice a treasure chest casually sitting just beside a large, old tree and a few meters away from the campsite. Surprised by this newfound discovery, he quickly attempts to open it.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Zicko