[F3-PP] <Feeding the Enemy> What is, will be

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben stood at the gates to the city of Deliah.  He had come to the third floor once again, determined to find himself a familiar today.  The Forest of Wavering Mists was here, and had been very dangerous the last time that he visited it.  Inside that forest, however, was a lot of different kinds of insects.  Hopefully, it also had the kind that he wanted- a caterpillar.  A cute extra-large one to carry around on his shoulder, be adorable, and help out with his crafting.  From what he had heard, they could give some really amazing buffs to crafters.  He just had to go out there and catch one.  So, he checked his items once again, making sure he had everything that would be needed on this floor, and hopefully would have the luck not to run into any giant spiders on the way through the forest.  That could make this trip a lot more dangerous if it happened. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

And so, Ben was on his way.  The road to the forest would be an easy route- this floor was low enough that he wouldn't have anything too large for him to take, and there would only be lower leveled enemies until he got near the forest.  Actually, it might be a good time to see if he could grab a few bits of materials on the way here... but that would slow things down, and he wanted to get himself back to his crafting table as soon as he could.  Other players would be counting on his crafts pretty soon, and he wanted to get them made as soon as he was able.  He just... needed to start the trip to the spooky forest of doom, sneak his way through without getting ambushed by giant spiders, and befriend himself a new insect friend to help him out.  Oh, and get out alive too. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

As he had predicted, the route to the forest was clear of any bad guys watching it.  And he soon found himself on the edge of the misty forest once more.  The last time he was in here, he had followed the quest marker off the path, and entered the forest from a side path, which was much more clear than the main path would be.  Of course, that would also mean he wouldn't get to see as many opportunities for finding a familiar if he did that.  So, up the main path he went.  His HUD didn't show him the path ahead, and from what he had seen before wouldn't show him much of anything until he walked there himself, which would make getting lost in this place a lot easier than he would like to think about.  And it would make getting ambushed a whole lot more likely if he was in the wrong place in the wrong time. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben slowly made his way down the path, being careful to look ahead as he did so, just in case anything was just ahead in the mists.  He could barely see more than a few feet in front of him, and anything could be out there.  He thought back to how this whole thing had started...

Back in town, he had been approached by a weird NPC woman, asking if he would like to be able to tame some of the monsters he had fought out in the wild.  Of course, he did.  Having a familiar was one of the goals he had when he first logged into this game- he wanted a caterpillar for himself.  A big one, to sit on shoulder and be cute.  Of course, he hadn't gotten to do the quest right away, since he hadn't budgeted a spare skill slot for it.  Which was why it took him so long to actually get to doing this quest. 

And it was why he was inching along through this dense fog, hoping something wasn't about to jump out and ambush him. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

The first thing that was noticeable among the trees were the giant spider webs.  So many of them.  Ben was a little weirded out by all of the ones that were here, and how large the spiders that sat in them would be.  More so the spider thing- after all, if one of them would happen to show up, he was the one that would have to fight it.  Those kinds of thoughts were what made him regret going at this quest alone, but he just couldn't find anyone to come along with him into the misty woods.  Most were not fans of having a trip that most likely ended in a fight, or ended in getting lost as the second most likely outcome.  Everyone else was just busy- there were quests to do, items to farm, and monsters to fight for experience.  Everyone had a goal they were pursuing, including himself. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Still, the sticky strands of fiber draping themselves across the trunks of the trees, glistening softly in the misty light, were enough to unnerve him a bit.  Ben gave the webbing a rather large clearance as he tracked his way around the woods.  He had decided to go off the main trail fairly quickly, and had hoped to walk through some side paths that would lead him where he needed to go.  It was pretty sound reasoning, after all, that insects liked small, dark places, and that the smaller, densely brushed side trails would have plenty of dark spots to check for insects.  Most of the spiders were busy building their webs, so they would need large, wide open spots of land to do it on.  He might actually be a bit safer if he went this way, provided none of the insects were angry on sight and just straight up tried to ambush him, but that was a risk he would have to take. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben carefully made his way past some of the larger trees in the forest, seeking out the dark and sheltered places he would have to search.  In true, they were the kinds of places he wanted to search- very few people go there, and he loved being the first one to see such areas.  Especially if he was the only one looking.  It made him feel a bit special, quite frankly.  He actually had been visiting this part of the woods a lot- maybe he would make it his mission to start to map it out better.  After all, there might be some secrets that nobody else knew of in the back corners of the misty trees. 

Yea, that sounded good.  After all, his HUD didn't show much about the area unless he actually walked there himself.  He would have to devote some of his down time to that kind of work. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

The dark parts of the forest were actually pretty empty when he started looking.  He guessed that all the mist must mean that the whole forest is so dark all over, that he had to find the most shady areas to get anything good.  Of course, with him not being able to see very far in front of his face, that was easier said than done.  So, he tried moving back and forth in a search pattern, making sure to keep extra clear of any stray webs that were strewn among the low bushes in the area.  Sure, there were plenty of smaller, regular sized bugs that hide among these areas, but he didn't really want a familiar he could accidentally step on.  Plus he wasn't actually sure if they could be tamed, even if he wanted one, but that was what you get for playing a game without a good FAQ, whether it was willingly or not. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben stopped, getting as still as he could be.  There was something moving up ahead- he could hear it moving.  And it wasn't an insect of some sort.  Ben looked around really fast, and ducked into some of the nearby bushes to hide.  He didn't know what was coming, but wanted to avoid whatever it was.  Crouching down behind the cover, he squinted hard to see through the mists.  Where the sounds had come from here a couple of bipedal figures walking along- it looked like a couple of dark elves- the same types that he had fought the last time he was doing a quest in this area of the game.  Actually, if they were the same spawns from that quest, they would be weaker than the rest of the monsters in the forest.  Though they would also not drop any loot, being quest monsters and all.  So give and take. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben decided that he would stay in the bushes, crouched down behind the foliage and keeping himself out of sight.  The dark elves wouldn't give him any benefit if he fought them, and they would waste a lot of his time and energy if he jumped into that kind of fight.  He thought that he would just wait it out, let them keep going on their patrols, and continue on his quest.  He had seen from the last encounter he had with them that they would eventually move on, maybe even split up or go find some others to group with.  He had not seen exactly what they did with their pathing AI, and finding out wasn't on his to do list today.  He just... had to wait.  These guys sure took their time with it though, he thought as he settled himself in deeper for the wait, however long it would take. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben could feel some of the bugs crawling around his legs as he waited.  The dark elves were slow to walk away, and kept on stopping and talking with each other along the way and his legs were starting to ache from waiting in place.  He was wasting time just waiting here.  Finally, the elves just kept on moving along until they passed on by out of sight.  He sorely wanted to get up and keep going right then... but with the fog obscuring his vision, he decided to count out another two minutes before he moved along, just in case they had a longer aggro range than he could see. 

At last, he was able to keep going (after shaking the numerous little bugs off his legs first- why they had to simulate those for any reason at all was a complete mystery to him.  Probably because they were insane). 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

This time, Ben tried to move in a bit straighter line in an attempt to find someplace better to look.  Plus he could put a little distance between him and the dark elves, just in case their AI decided to go around in a circle or something.  He forged his way through the misty woods, hoping to get lucky with this next stop.  And lucky he did- well, sort of lucky in a way.  The next big clearing he stumbled across did look like there was a bunch of insects around- but it was also full of lots of huge spider webs as well, and a few cocoons sitting on the forest floor.  Which meant that there was plenty of places to look for more friends... but it was for sure a lot of danger in poking around.  Well, there was no sense in taking it too safe- just get in and out quick, and he'll be OK. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Creeping into the clearing, Ben checked the areas around the bigger webbing areas, trying to see if there was anything around there that was stuck.  It would be a lot easier to try and tame an animal that couldn't run off, or run up to his face and try to bite it off.  Plus, the bigger webs meant that there were plenty of nests around here.  Or at least that was his assumption coming into here- there wouldn't be any way to find out if he was right or not until he looked.  He poked his way through a couple of the areas, taking a look at what was in each of the webs, but they were empty.  He checked the areas for anything that could look like insect nests, and they were there- but abandoned.  He should have seen that coming.  Now the question was, which way would they have gone? 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

With all the fog around here, it was hard for him to get an idea of what exactly laid each direction, and which one would look most attractive to run (squirm?) off to.  He would have a lot of trouble if he just started picking directions and hoping that he got lucky- no, he would need to find some sort of idea of where to go.  Since the most likely place they would go to would have lots of cover... hmmm. 

He stood really still where he was, trying to feel for which way the wind was blowing in from.  Since there wasn't many other indicators, he figured the thickest crops of trees wouldn't let the wind come through, so he should go the direction opposite of the wind.  It might not be correct, but it would at least take away some of the choices that were for sure wrong.  And that was a start. 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben crept through the mists, looking forward to running into something good.  He saw that there were plenty of trees up ahead- a perfect spot for finding any insects to tame.  With a bit of joy to his step, he pressed forward.  They wavey branches of the patch of trees came into view more and more clearly as he inched forward, and finally he could take a look around the edges, poking his head in to see what he could find. 

It was nothing.  There was a nest here before, but now there wasn't.  His entire trip so far had been nothing but a waste of time, and now he had to start from scratch.  He let out a sigh as he kicked a few stones over the edge to no reaction.  Well, at least he was in the forest already.  No sense in wasting an opportunity- he might as well keep his search up until he got home with a familiar in his hands. 

Spoiler

Roll ID 98304
Loot die 4 + 3(item) + 1(skill) = 8  Failure!!

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by Benjamin Bookworm

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Actually, as he peered into the old insect den, he thought for a second that he might have found something in there, and jumped in to take a closer look.  Again, it was nothing.  Just trash that shone in the weirdly lit forest that he was wandering around inside of.  this was getting to be a huge pain in the butt. 

Unfortunately for him, the reason that the insect den became clear appeared once Ben had jumped down into the hole.  It was one of the spiders from the forest, and it looked really hungry!  Ben quickly backed up, but being in a hole in the ground offered some disadvantages, such as not being able to quickly exit a fight.  He readied his daggers, determined to take this thing out.  He wouldn't be having anything show up if a spider was scaring all the prey away.  Bugs were shy like that. 

Spoiler

Roll to find chest - ID 98305
Loot die 9+4=13, nothing

Battle Stats:

Spoiler

Level - 12           HP - 240 / 240             ENG - 24 / 24
DMG (Dagger) - 3 (1 base + 1 skills + 1 equipment)
MIT - 0                      ACC - +1                    EVA - +3

Equipment -
[EQ] [T1 Rare Dagger] Emerald Shiv - ACC 1, DMG 1
[EQ] [T1 Perfect Trinket] Evasion 3
[EQ] [T1 Perfect Charm] Finder's Feather - Loot Die (3)

Battle ready items:
(5) Tier 1 health potions (20 HP)
(1) Teleport Crystal

 

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Benjamin dashed forward, aiming to take down the spider before it could make too much noise.  He was way too high of a level for something like this to cause him worry, but he didn't want to be fighting monsters all day if he could help it.  His first blow struck home, and he spun about to land several large slashes along the spider's flank.  A smile came to his face as he saw a chunk of the enemy's health bar drop- even he could deal some good damage on low level enemies like this.  The spider tried to bite at him in retaliation, but Ben had a few new items since the last time he fought monsters, and the evasion that they granted him allowed him to dodge and weave out of the way of the spider's counter attacks.  He was going to enjoy taking his frustrations out on this low level baddie. 

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Roll ID 98306

BD - 7 + 1 = 8

Benjamin Hits, deals 3*2=6 DMG
-2 EN

MOB - 7 - 3 = 4

Spider MISSES

Trapdoor Spider - HP 24 / 30   DMG - 9, 2 turn DOT on crit

Benjamin Bookworm - HP 240 / 240    EN 22 / 24   DMG 3 / EVA 3 / ACC 1

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

As the spider tried to spin around to target him again, Ben kept on running, keeping himself facing the enemy's side or rear as much as he could.  Most of the quests that he had been doing lately had been inside of caves, or ravines, or other enclosed areas.  He was becoming quite the expert on dealing with monsters in small areas with limited mobility.  He added another couple of large slashes against the enemy's flanks, dropping it's health even more (but not down to half health yet).  He really needed to get some bigger sword arts at this rate, as he could still only do such small amounts of damage.  But at least he was able to evade out of the way of the spider's blows with even more ease than before.  Not getting hit was the best thing he had going for him so far on this stupid quest. 

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Roll ID 98307

BD - 5 + 1 = 6

+1 EN at start of turn
Benjamin Hits, deals 3*2=6 DMG
-2 EN

MOB - 4 - 3 = 1

Spider MISSES

Trapdoor Spider - HP 18 / 30   DMG - 9, 2 turn DOT on crit

Benjamin Bookworm - HP 240 / 240    EN 21 / 24   DMG 3 / EVA 3 / ACC 1

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Benjamin had the spider on the ropes, adn wasn't going to be letting up any time soon.  He kept the quick pace of his movements up as he avoided even letting the enemy get a good look at him.  Hah!  How do you like these moves, you digital reject?  I'm going to slice you to ribbons! he yelled at the spider, who unsurprisingly chose to respond with an angry hissing sound in Ben's general direction.  These monsters weren't known for their witty banter in the face of danger.  Mostly just hissing and poisons, and some webs too.  His next set of blows  managed to land in the spider's back, dealing even more damage than he usually would.  He was on a roll so far, and it looked like it wouldn't stop until this thing was sliced up into digital bits.  Or at least he hoped that would be the case. 

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Roll ID 9830

BD - 9 + 1 = 10 (Crit, +1 dmg)

+1 EN at start of turn
Benjamin Hits, deals 4*2=8 DMG (Round Accel Sword Art)
-2 EN

MOB - 2 - 3 = 0

Spider MISSES

Trapdoor Spider - HP 10 / 30   DMG - 9, 2 turn DOT on crit

Benjamin Bookworm - HP 240 / 240    EN 20 / 24   DMG 3 / EVA 3 / ACC 1

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

Ben slashed a few more times into the spider's back, repeatedly knocking one chunk after another off of the enemy.  The trapdoor spider was still trying to spin around to bite at him, but it's moves were slowing down as it tired.  There was only a few small slivers of health left on it's health bar, He continued his circling as he attacked, starting to have trouble catching his breath now.  His energy bar was still quite small, even with him using weapons that took almost no energy at all.  Ben would have to grab himself some skills that would make that bar bigger before he picked out some of his more energy intensive skills, like healing.  Otherwise he would be out of energy every time he tried to do something.  For now though, with his cheap sword arts from his dagger skill, he was going to have a while to go before he ran out of energy.

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Roll ID 98504

BD - 5 + 1 = 6 (Hit)

+1 EN at start of turn
Benjamin Hits, deals 3*2=8 DMG (Round Accel Sword Art)
-2 EN

MOB - 4 - 3 = 1

Spider MISSES

Trapdoor Spider - HP 4 / 30   DMG - 9, 2 turn DOT on crit

Benjamin Bookworm - HP 240 / 240    EN 19 / 24   DMG 3 / EVA 3 / ACC 1