[PP/F4] Finding an Upgrade <<Essence of Steel>>

[Alec 0]

 

 

Spoiler

 

Floor 4
<<The Essence of Steel>>
Recommended Level: 20
Repeatable only to acquire the Essence of Steel item drop

Rewards:

• 1 SP
• Last Hit Item: <<Essence of Steel>> [Unique Item]*: Use to enhance one weapon, armor, or accessory and increase its rarity by one level. [ex. An Uncommon Weapon becomes a Rare Weapon]. Only one Essence of Steel is dropped in a thread.

Requirements:

• At least 1 page of RP (20+ posts)
• Defeat the <<Frost Beast>>

Summary:

In the vast frozen wastelands of Floor Four there lies the skull of what once must have been a huge beast. Reaching four feet from the ground, with pale ivory coated in a thin blanket of powdery snow, the bone is thick with a huge square jaw that shows off lengthy rows of serrated teeth on each side. Its jaw hangs slack,  Only a few bones have been left scattered around its base, just inviting curious adventurers to investigate. Is this just a piece of the environment, meant to remind players of the dangers and harsh blizzards that sweep through the landscape? Or is it something more?

Outline:

If the giant skull is struck by one of the bones, the <<Frost Beast>> is awakened! It will typically target the person who hit the skull, but players are free to initiate combat (the <<Frost Beast>> does not automatically attack first). Only one <<Frost Beast>> may be spawned/fought in a thread while taking the quest.

The <<Frost Beast>> is a respawning field boss with the following statistics.

HP: 250
DMG: 160
MIT: 0
ACC: 0
EVA: 0
Ability: [Partial Phase]: <<Frost Beast>>'s attacks always deal a minimum of 24 DMG instead of a minimum of 1 DMG when calculating Mitigation. 

*To use an <<Essence of Steel>>, post the item to enhance in your Evaluation topic along with its enhancements before and after the upgrade. Players may choose any standard enhancements that are legal to the type of item they are upgrading when they submit the upgrade for approval.

 

 

Spoiler

 

Alec - Lvl: 36

HP: 750/750 | EN:  72/72 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 104 | ACC: 0 | EVA: -1 (SW) | BH: 7 | THN: 56 | Stonewall: - 25% DoT

HOUSING BENEFITS:

Relaxed: Increases HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30

Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests

Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)

 

ATP:

Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

 

EQUIPPED ITEMS:

Vanquisher Shoulder Armor

Mirror's Embrace

Forearm Axe

 

BATTLE REDAY ITEMS:

Luck Stone

 

Consumables Used:

Immolation Potion +1

 

 

Alec had finished crafting the two hand assault spear he planned on giving to Kirbs as a special present before her debut as The Flower Girl at Sey’s wedding. The young woman seemed so excited about her role that Alec couldn’t help feeling fatherly towards her and what did fathers do when their little girls were going to the center of attention? They got them something nice, that’s what. Well the spear Alec had made was nearly perfect but not exactly perfect so he had heard of a quest which would drop and item that would help him finish his gift and the thought of her gift made him think of her so he sent a message to her.

 

Spoiler

 

Kirbs,

I was going to do a quest on the Fourth Floor for a little project I’m working on want to come along and show off those sweet gravity defying attack spins of yours?

Alec

 

 

He really hoped she’d show up. He liked the young lady and plus she was a heck of a damage dealer to boot. Win win thought Alec as he made his way to the Fourth Floor to see if she’d respond or not. He’d give her an hour or so before setting off on his own if she didn’t respond. Besides Alec wasn’t a fool. Most young people hated hanging out with old foggies and that’s what he was here and old man running around among a lot of kids but here he was take it or leave it.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

Spoiler

LVL: 24 | HP: 480 | EN: 48 | 10 DMG | 14 MIT | 3 ACC | 2 PAR | 1 Bleed | 2 REC

Skills:

> T1 Light Armor Skill: 5 MIT

> T2 Fighter Familiar Skill: 2 DMG

> Survival Skill: Increases out of combat health regeneration to [15xTier] per post. Grants immunity to most damage dealing with environmental attacks/effects

> R5 2H Assault Spear Skill: 7 DMG

Equipped:

> T1- Aftershock: 1 Bleed, 2 PAR

> T1- Coat of Eulogies: 2 Recovery, 9 MIT

> T1- Sure Shot: 3 ACC

Inventory:

> 5 Starter Healing Potions: Heals 50 HP

Spoiler

To: @Alec

Okay.

Kirbs didn't really feel like writing any more than that. That should be enough, right?

The redhead had been a quite depressive mood ever since she had battled her clone. Gods, was the bastard a jerk. She fell into another mood where she just stayed in her shop for days... maybe a week? She wasn't sure how much time had passed since she had gone toe to toe with her double. 

She got off the teleport gate and looked around for a familiar father figure. She smiled softly when she saw a large man with a bald head. Ah, her camping buddy. She walked soundlessly over to him and nodded. "Hey, Alec. It's good to see you," she said, and she meant it. She could really use a father figure back in her life. Well, she was in no means ready to reveal everything, but just his company was enough to make her feel just a little bit better.

[Alec 0]

Alec stood waiting on the Fourth Floor in the town of Snowfrost to see if he would get a message from the young lady he had fought the Hell Hounds and...well he'd watched here completely destroy the quest boss Cerberus single handedly in one attack no less. The young red head was no joke Alec thought to himself as he jumped startled by the ping sound he heard in his ear. Was that a message? What where was his inbox? Alec swooped down with his index finger and opened his inventory and began scrolling through it. Dang it!! No messages there. Sheesh!! Sending it had been easy he'd merely tapped on the little picture next to her name and the email looking box had popped up. But for the life of him he couldn't find where his inbox was. The large man let out a low deep growl as he swiped and poked and prodded trying in vain to find where his message was. The large man was startled again some time later by soft feminine voice behind him. Alec spun towards the sounds looking around and not seeing anyone before his gaze dropped and as he laid sight on the young lady his fierce scowl of consternation instantly softened and spread into a wide grin. "Hey there kiddo!!" The large man exclaimed happily. "It's good to see you again." "I wasn't sure if I'd see you as.....well....I'm having a little trouble finding where my inbox is." The large man exclaimed sheepishly as a slight color rise into his cheeks. "Don't suppose you could help an old guy out could you?" Alec asked as he smiled down at Kirb's.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

It made her smile briefly when she saw how excited Alec was to see her. She was genuinely excited it see the old man again, but then all of her problems came crashing down on her again. "It's good to see you too, old man," she chuckled. His question made her almost laugh. Almost.

Nodding her head with a small smile, she opened her own menu and pointed towards a certain button. "It's this one, right here," she said, looking up at Alec one last time before closing her menu with a swipe. Kirbs looked towards the horizon and blinked. Floor four, huh? It was a peaceful floor. Aside from all of the freezing cold she used to have to endure, it was one of her favorite floors. Bell would've liked it here. She never knew if he had ever left the first floor. She hoped he did, though. He would've like seeing all of the nice scenery Aincrad had to offer.

[Alec 0]

Alec watched intently as the young woman opened her interface. Alec did exactly as the young woman did following her moves step by step. Finally when she pointed to the button Alec tapped it (unconsciously poking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on following Kirbs's actions). When he tapped the button her message opened and Alec read the one word response. "Okay." The large man read aloud. "Not much of a chatter are you?" The large man offered jokingly as he closed his interface. Alec took a deep lungful of the cold crisp air if the Fourth Floor and smiled as he exhaled a large puff of thick steam. "I really love this floor." Alec announced aloud to no one in general. "It's why I built a house here." He continued to announce to no one in general as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at his younger companion worrying internally about her new darker demeanor. "Maybe when we're done with this quest I can show it to you. Have a cup of hot cocoa?" The large offered a tiny glimmer of a smile poking through his perpetual scowl. "I've got the little marshmallows too." He offered his voice lifting at the end to convey excitement. As he waited to see if he could lighten the young girls mood? I mean really who can turn down hot cocoa he thought to himself.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs yawned and shook her head drowsily-- a result from her many, many late nights up and whacked up sleep schedule. It's been a while since she's left the shop. Was it a good thing-- possibly?

 "Sorry, I'm not really a big fan of hot coco." She never really liked hot drinks. Bell liked them, though. He loved tea, to the point where it made her barf. She smiled sadly to herself as she dazed off again. As much as she wanted the thought of him out of her head, she couldn't help but cling on to him. She felt like he was her only driving force anymore. Dead or alive, she fought for him. Fought to get rid of the people who stripped away friends from friends and family from family. She didn't have any other driving factor but that one. She was getting stronger to make sure to rid of people like Pinball.

Pinball.

Oh, how she loathed that very name. It once sounded so innocent before. She once thought that he was just a misunderstood kid like her-- but no, he was far worse. He was a bloody monster who killed for no reason. That must be it right? Bell would have never done anything to harm anyone, so who would kill him?

[Alec 0]

The young woman looked deep in plus Alec was a little shocked to begin with. What kid didn't like hit chocolate? With a shake of his head to clear it Alec glanced across the small settlement towards the main gate and the snow covered landscape beyond. "So I heard about this quest a while ago but never really had any need for the item you get but I could use it now. If you're interested?" Alec asked as he glanced down at the young red head beside him. "There's a large skull not too far from where I built my cabin and they say if you smash it with a bone laying nearby it'll summon a snow beast or something like that. Maybe like a snow Bigfoot or something the large man offered. I'm not sure the skuttle butt I heard was pretty vague. If you're willing to help me kill it I'll give you the item drop. How's that sound?" The large man asked as he glanced away from the young red head to once again scan the snow covered landscape beyond.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs yawned again and nodded her head on instinct. "Yeah, yeah. Sounds good," she mumbled, blinking away the condensation in her eyes. "Lead away, buckeroo," the redhead said. She turned her head towards the snow covered floor and sighed. Memories, both weird and fun, were held on this very floor. She met Sey and Leru here, and that was a big step up for her. She fought the Avalanche with Bahr here, as well as that damned giant pine cone creature. The girl smiled softly as she intertwined her hands together. She wished... she could just stay there just a little bit longer. 

Scarfy loosely lifted his head up from the crook of her neck and flicked his tongue in and out drowsily. Ah, of course. He was tired, too. She had probably kept him up all night with the furious sound of pen against paper. Poor Scarfy. He didn't seem to mind, at least. Well, at least that's what it seemed like to her. 

[Alec 0]

With a nod of assent from the young red head Alec set off into the deep powdery snow of the Fourth Floor. Where as his cabin was in the far corner of the floor the skull he had heard about was more in the top center so Alec set a rough course maneuvering the snow covered floor more by instinct than anything else. This floor was Alec's home and he knew the wild area by heart. Humphrey per his usual fun loving self began bounding happily through the deep soft snow crashing into and through the high drifts of snow and flopping down and rolling around happily in the more shallow areas the whole while his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he made happy growls and roars as he attacked snow drifts and burst free from their opposite sides. The sight of his familiar Humphrey being his usual happy go lucky caused the big man to let out a chuckle as he shook his head at the bear cubs antics. "You go get em Humphrey." The large man said with a chuckle as the bear cub roared and growled back in his own attempt at ferocity.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs nuzzled further into Scarfy and, well-- her scarf as she followed after Alec. She couldn't help but give another yawn. Damn, she really needed to catch up on more z's when she got home. She shook her body as she tried to get rid of the drowsiness and looked around aimlessly. Living here must've been nice. Perhaps she could move here if she ever has the chance to buy a house. Though, she would miss the scene she would wake up to every morning at her shop. 

Turning her head back to Alec and Humphrey, the girl gave a light laugh as she watched the bear cub attack the snow. "Still a wild one, I see," she commented, smiling at the cub fondly. He looked so carefree. Boy, what she would do to get that feeling back. The feeling of waking up and knowing that nothing was wrong. The feeling of being safe.

[Alec 0]

"You know he is." Alec replied with another chuckle as he continued to watch his friend and companion plowing through the snow. The American black bear cub dove into one pile larger than most but failed to come out the other side for some time. As the large man and small red head continued their forward travel the bear cub burst through the snow nearest them it's paws raised over its head as it let out another growl in an attempt to be ferocious. Alec just smiled and nodded to his familiar obviously used to this maneuver. "Fierce as he may be." Alec offered in his deep baritone rumble. "If it weren't for Humphrey's healing ability I know for a fact I wouldn't be here talking with you today." He informed the young red head. "Humphrey's saved my life a few times now." Alec stated solemnly with a smile directed at the bear cub as thumped heavily into the young red heads side smashing his big head into her leg.

@Kirbs

Edited July 31, 2019 by Alec

[Kirbs 0]

“Mhm,” she murmured, hold her hands together in front of her. She wondered what it would be like if Scarfy was a support familiar. How would he even help her in battle at that point? It also amazed her how the bear healed Alec. She’s never really seen Humphrey do whatever he does but she sure as hell wanted to find out.

Kirbs jolted awake as she felt the bear cub run in her leg. She nearly toppled to the ground but her other leg caught her just in time. “Watch it,” the redhead mumbled, regaining her stance again. The player sighed again before saying a quick apology, “sorry. I’m just... tired.” She didn’t give a specific reason why she was the way she was, but figured he would just think that she was being a typical teenage girl and staying up doing whatever teenage girls do. Whatever that was, anyway.

[Alec 0]

"If you're tired you should try and get more sleep." The large stated with a touch of concern entering his voice. "Sleep is key to being in your best performance. If you're tired your reaction speed is slowed and your movements are lethargic which can lead to you missing more and possibly dodging less." Alec stated by way of an explanation. "Try not to stay too late doing whatever teenage girls do instead of sleeping." He said in his deep baritone rumble. "You sure you're just tired?" The older man with more concern entering his voice. "You seem more melancholy than last time we did a quest and that time you seemed more down than the first time I met you. Are you ok? Seriously. You can talk to me if you'd like I'm a good listener and maybe I can help." The large man asked as he looked down to the young red head as they walked through the snowy landscape.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

"I know," she mumbled, hugging her arms. She felt guilty for partially lying to Alec. "Yeah," she stiffened at the quest. Was it really that noticeable. "Just tired," she said, just to solidify the lie. "Nothing's wrong," she sniffed, stifling another yawn. She wished she could to herself. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't escape the truth. 

She wished nothing was wrong. She wished everything was fine and dandy with her life. It felt like everything wrong she had been keeping in the closet had finally spilled out. Now everything was wrong. There was never anything right. Just wrong.

She didn't think that Alec could help her, either. What could he really do? Just make all of her sorrows and pain vanish? She shook her head and sighed. The world doesn't work like that. Maybe he would make her feel better for a slight second, and then all the wrong things would come crashing down again.

[Alec 0]

Alec nodded at the young red heads feeble attempt at a lie. Why did kids always think that they were such good liars when they were actually so transparent Alec thought to himself. "Sure, sure. You're fine. I'm fine. We're all fine. Whatever kid. It'll help to talk about but you won't believe me so we'll just put a pin in it for now." The large man said as they walked up to the giant skull. Alec glanced around and found a large club like bone that appeared to be from a huge leg and gave it a twirl as a batter would limbering up and getting the feel for his bat. "One day you'll figure out that talking helps and if you feel like it I'll be here." The large man said as he swing the giant bone around ringing off the huge bone skull emitting a deep low gong sound that reverberated around them as Alec turned around there stood the Snow Beast growling and snarling at the pair. "Would you care to take the first swing young lady? I'm mean after all ladies first." The large man offered with a sweep of his hand.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs looked down at her feet with a guilty look and sighed. If only if it were that easy. Talking made her feel worse. It made her feel weak. She's done enough talking. She needed to take action. 

The sound echoed through the silent forest breezily. Then rumbling disturbed it. Kirbs equipped her weapon and back a few steps. Come on. Don't be shy, she thought, both her hands gripping down on her spear tighter as Scarfy slithered down her arm, tightening around it till it was painful. 

In a blink of an eye, a giant beast emerged from the snowy ground, letting out a loud and petrifying roar. Sparing no time to waste, Kirbs activated one of her more newer sword arts. The redhead leaped up until the air, drawing her spear back with both hands. She paused midair for a second to look at the beast straight in the face just before she sent four quick stabs down its body. She landed on the ground for a quick second before propelling herself up once more, landing a final attack from the beast with a kick.

Spoiler

 

ID: 120408

BD: 7, Success

CD: 10, +2 EN

15x10= 150 DMG

Kirbs: HP: 480/480 | EN: 36/48

Frost Beast: HP: 100/250 | 160 DMG 

 

 

[Alec 0]

Alec watched as the young red head leapt into the air pausing for a split second at the peak before plummeting down and stabbing repeatedly into the beast nearly too fast for the eye to track before she landed softly and gracefully on the ground. Alec let out a long low whistle if appreciation. "Someone picked up a new trick I see." The large man stated with admiration.as he stepped forward raising his shield up before himself to defend against the beast. As Alec began walking forward his tie caught on a buried bone causing him to stumble and miss his chance to attack the snow creature. Alec's stumble also open up his defenses and the Snow Beast charged forward snapping it's jaws down on Alec's midsection as it tore out a chunk his his digital flesh. Well that hadn't worked out quite like he'd hoped it would the large man thought to himself as he regained his footing and prepared to defend agsin.

@Kirbs

ID: 120409

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 9 (Critical +1) 160+1=161-104=57 DMG

 

[2] Alec - HP: 700/750 | EN:  72/72 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 104 | ACC: 0 | EVA: -1 (SW) | BH: 7 | THN: 56 | Stonewall: - 25% DoT

[1] Kirbs: HP: 480/480 | EN: 36/48

Frost Beast: HP: 100/250 | 160 DMG 

 

Edited August 1, 2019 by Alec

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs sighed in relief when she saw that Alec was okay. Why wouldn't he be, right? He was a tank!

You could never be too careful. You thought Bell was safe, too. That damn voice in the back of her head told her otherwise, though. 

She shrugged her shoulders coolly as she struggled to bite out any words. The knot in her throat felt impossible to get down, so she just dashed forward for another attack instead. 

Wanting to test out another one of her new sword arts, she activated her second most lethal one. The redhead leaped into the air once again and delivered six rapid stabs this time. Her eyes trailed over the beast's health bar. Almost there. She drew back her spear one last time and with a quick burst of energy, dug it straight into the chest of the beast, silencing it.

It burst into a cloud of red, leaving the girl to land on the ground softly as she stared at the leaving shards of red. "We're done," she commented, gripping her spear in her right hand.

Spoiler

 

ID: 120410

BD: 4+3=7, Success

10x14= 140

[2] Alec - HP: 700/750 | EN:  72/72 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 104 | ACC: 0 | EVA: -1 (SW) | BH: 7 | THN: 56 | Stonewall: - 25% DoT

[1] Kirbs: HP: 480/480 | EN: 21/48

Frost Beast: HP: 0/250 | 160 DMG 

 

 

 

[Alec 0]

"Nicely done young one." Alec said in his deep baritone rumble as a smile spread across his face. "You are definitely a sight to behold when you flip the switch and enter attack mode." The large man said with a smile as he walked up to the young woman and rested a strong gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're not alone here you know." The large man began gently. "You're strong, I know that." Alec continued. "But no one needs to walk their road alone, no one can. We all need others to help shoulder our burdens. I'll help if you'll let me. Just remember it shows more strength to ask for help than to keep silent." The large man finished as he removed his hand and stepped forward picking up the quest drop from the snow and turned around handing the item to Kirbs. "This is for you." Alec said as he held out the Essence of Steel to Kirbs with a reassuring smile on his stern features as he looked down to the young red head.

@Kirbs

[Kirbs 0]

"I am, aren't I?" She chuckled, resting the butt of her spear against the ground as she stared at the distant overgrowth of trees. She felt like a free person when she was fighting. It was kind of like her drug to such a [doo doo]-y world; it was the only thing keeping her from going insane at this point. 

Kirbs felt tears prickling in her eyes as she listened. She didn't want any more people she knew getting hurt-- or worse, dead. She lost her best friend already, she couldn't lose anyone else, even if it meant she was going to do it alone. She gulped the heavy lump in her throat as she took the Essence of Steel from Alec. She looked up at the man and felt her lower lip tremble. "You can't help me," she whispered, both of her fists clutching until she was sure her nails were digging through her skin. "No one can help me anymore," she muttered almost inaudibly one last time before walking off silently.