Jump to content

[EV-F1] An Unexpected Affair


Recommended Posts

"Whoop--" And of course, the last one was heading right for her. Arabelle's scythe flashed a bright green and she swiftly dispatched of it with an uppercut before it could get any closer. No concern about her HP or anything, she just didn't want the thing anywhere near her. That thing looked gross.

As the last data shard dissipated, the small purple-haired girl took a step closer to Gambit. She scanned their immediate surroundings and smiled cheerfully. "That should be all of them... and they ran out right when I used up my energy, too! Awfully convenient, huh?" 

But now that his pursuers were gone, that now meant he was supposed to go straight for the concession stand where the weaker players had taken refuge. Or she could teleport him out entirely.

"Come on, let's head back while the horde's still thin." 

Still, it would be lonely without a teammate.

...whatever.

Arabelle nodded to the safer area and took the lead.

Spoiler

ID: 128833 | BD: 5 + 4 = 9 | LD: 1 | Torque Wave: 14 * 5 = 70 - 10 = 60 DMG to Zombie 21

[H:] Arabelle: 459/460 HP | 1/46 EN | 14 DMG | 9 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA
[H:] Gambit: 20/20 HP | 1/2 EN | 45 MIT | 9 Thorns | 10 Regen 

Zombie 21: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT

Special:

Deals 20 DMG on a 9 or 10
If the Zombie would be killed by a weapon or defensive ability, and the LD is equal to or higher than 15, the Zombie is instead reduced to 1HP. This ability is ignored if the attack that reduced it 0 was a critical hit or the weapon/armor used has the holy or holy blessing enhancement.

~~BINGO BOOK

Spoiler

AP: 0

In Progress

Critical Failures OR Critical Evasions: 18/25 OR 1/15

 

Edited by Arabelle
Link to post
Share on other sites

"Almost too convenient," Gambit admitted, his sheepish smile betraying his play-it-cool act he'd been working on maintaining. He was not at all used to talking to people, let alone being alone with them. However, Gambit had a general air of kindness around him that was easy to mistake for extroversion. Shy and outspoken; a healthy mixture of two parallels. 

Gambit rushed forward, reaching for the girl's shoulder. But he stopped, pulling back his hand like he was flinching. Then he pushed forward again, only to stop once more. "You've, uh. Got zombie giblets. On your shoulder." He wasn't too sure how the moldy flesh had remained after the host was destroyed. Maybe it was a special type of item!

"Do you mind if I take it-?" He hesitated. "Unless you want it, or something. You killed all of them, after all. I-"

Gambit stopped himself. He was rambling. 

"You're really strong," he said.

Link to post
Share on other sites

"It's always like that."

And she left it at that. Arabelle heard his rushed steps behind her as he (probably?) ran to catch up and she didn't really mind it that much until the sound of his steps stopped. "What is it?" Blinking in confusion, she looked over her shoulder as she addressed him--

"Eeeeeep!"

She flung off the wet... moldy... thing that made her voice rise to the pitch of a typical shoujo protagonist's and it landed with a soft squelch against Gambit's chest. Arabelle turned red. She quickly spun around so he couldn't see her expression and wiped off her shoulder and her gloves with a strip of black cloth from her inventory. "W-well, there you have it. I threw it right at you, so don't bother giving it back. Be grateful."

They walked for a little bit more.

"No, these things are just really weak compared to the mobs that would scale up to my level," Arabelle hummed with a dismissive wave of her hand. The hint of pride that crept into her voice implied that she was definitely soaking up the praise though. "It's just a matter of grinding levels."

Spoiler

[1/3 full energy regen]

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Schlap. 

The gooey bit of zombie flesh landed on his chest with a slight thwapping sound, where it stuck to his armor, slowly sliding down the metal plates. Gambit seemed, at first, confused by Arabelle's reaction and also completely enamored by the squishy chunk of rotten flesh. He peeled the item off his torso, pinching it between two fingers. The meat seemed to drip some sort of unidentifiable liquid... and it smelled absolutely horrible, like rotten eggs and fish.

Gambit brought his hand to his chin, squinting, deep in thought. He turned the flesh around to give it a good look over. And then... slowly, he brought it towards his mouth. Like he was considering eating it. Only, he stopped just before he did. 

He grinned widely, glancing at Arabelle to see if he'd gotten some sort of reaction from the girl who'd been so freaked out by the piece's appearance. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

She wasn't turning around. No, it was definitely not good for her. But Arabelle couldn't ignore the nagging curiosity at what got him so interested in it. She steeled herself and chanced a quick peek over her shoulder.

And she could only watch, horrified, as her teammate lifted what was practically a rotting internal organ to his mouth.

What a disappointment this turned out to be.

He was not cute. Not cute at all. 

Arabelle will remember that.

She turned right around, her face burning. They made the rest of the quick walk back to the concession stand. "Here we are. You should be pretty safe here. Just don't go running around again." Arabelle hovered over the option to leave the party, but then ultimately dismissed it. "Oh, if you were here early, they're giving away some freebies at the concession stands..."

Arabelle shifted her feet.

"I'm going back out there in a bit."

Spoiler

[2/3 full energy regen]

 

Edited by Arabelle
Link to post
Share on other sites

Gambit could hardly contain his laughter after seeing the look on Arabelle's face. For all his investigatory work, he couldn't figure out why this item was still here, or what its use was. So it was useless. Palming the creamy giblet in one hand, Gambit hurled the succulent rot over his shoulder, where it probably exploded into a smear or something behind him. 

Sooner than he'd expected, the two would arrive at the concession stand. In the midst of all the fighting, Gambit had half-forgotten it had even existed. He frowned as he looked it over. Unfortunately for him, Gambit hadn't bought his ticket on time - which meant no freebies for him. It looked like if he would want anything decent, he was going to have to fight for it. 

Only thing was, Gambit really couldn't fight for himself. 

"Well, actually, I kinda wanna go back out too," he admitted, "I want that healing item." 

Gambit walked up to stand beside her. "I can't really fight or anything, and I don't have the Energy to heal right now, so I'm sort of useless. But that item could help me help people, you know?" The boy said it with honest sincerity; there was no hint of greed in his voice, nothing there to imply he was in it for personal gain. He was being truthful, wholly and completely. He wanted to help people. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh, he didn't have the gross thing in his hand anymore. That was good. Arabelle felt more at ease with that thing out of her sight. She followed him as he drew a bit closer to the concession stand and hovered beside him as he looked over the items.

He couldn't get the freebies?

"So you were already outside..." Arabelle began, incredulous. "But you went inside where all the chaos was coming from." Noob antics. She remembered a certain silver-haired player at level 1 running right up to her and Mishiro earlier, convinced that she would be of significant help. 

As she moved to separate herself from the two-man team, he spoke up again.

"A healing..." Her ashen eyes strayed to the catalog, where said item was listed. Two slots of a unique enhancement and recovery, plus the Cursed enhancement that seemed to be common among the rewards in this event. She looked back at him. A healer? Well, if he was better at running than fighting, that was the next best thing he could be. "You remind me of someone," she murmured with a small smile. "Fine then. Tag along, but make sure to keep out of trouble."

Spoiler

[3/3 full energy regen]

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

"Th-thank you! I'll stand behind you!" A normal person might have been embarrased by so easily accepting protection from a girl who was way smaller than him. But Gambit was by no means a normal person, and these were by no means normal cirumcstances. To top it off, he didn't really understand the whole man-woman dynamic thing. Everyone was pretty much the same to Gambit, as far as gender went. People were people. 

It was good that he was making progress, even if he had to rely on other people to help. He was going his own way - and, step by step, he was getting closer and closer to achieving his goal. He needed to know; he needed to help, and he needed to figure out how to get everyone out of the mess that was SAO. They'd been trapped inside this game for too long, and their progress was coming undone much too quickly. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

She smiled faintly at the aspiring healer who'd chosen to follow after her eagerly. Already, she was bringing up the numbers in her head. With his level... going for the 'HP Regenerated' was out of the question. They needed to remove all MIT buffs for a more efficient run and doing that would just turn him into an instant one shot. So for now... all she was concerned with at the moment was the total kill count achievement. They needed a hundred. How many had she killed in their first runs? 

This was going to be a bit tedious.

And Arabelle was no altruist.

An received hers for free because she had already been there right from the start, and Arabelle needed the kills for her own achievements. Gambit though - she had absolutely no reason to push herself more than she would have if he weren't with her. 

"Ah, but you do know there's going to be a price for this, yes?" Arabelle spoke, nonchalantly. She tossed a glance over her shoulder. "Not something you would be paying now, but more of something you'll owe me. I don't do interest." Her lips curled into a small smile. "And I'm not interested in col and items either. I could easily grind those myself. Consider yourself fortunate in that sense, I suppose. But I'm leaving it to you to think of something."

She hadn't allowed them to stray too far from the concession stand, just in case. As their first group approached, she didn't pay him too much concern and rocketed forward with her scythe bursting into green flame.

Spoiler

ID: 128953 | BD: 1
ID: 128954 | BD: 10 | Trample Act: (14 + 2) * 6 = 96 - 10 = 86 DMG on Zombie 23
ID:
 128955 | BD: 1
ID: 128956 | BD: 3 + 4 = 7 | LD: 13 | Trample Act: 14 * 6 = 84 - 10 = 74 DMG on Zombie 25

6 + (2 * 2) = 10 EN

[H:0/0] Arabelle: 460/460 HP | 36/46 EN | 14 DMG | 9 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA
[H:0/0] Gambit: 20/20 HP | 2/2 EN | 45 MIT | 9 Thorns | 10 Regen 

Zombie 22: 50/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 23: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT [DEAD]
Zombie 24: 50/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 25: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT [DEAD]

Special:

Deals 20 DMG on a 9 or 10
If the Zombie would be killed by a weapon or defensive ability, and the LD is equal to or higher than 15, the Zombie is instead reduced to 1HP. This ability is ignored if the attack that reduced it 0 was a critical hit or the weapon/armor used has the holy or holy blessing enhancement.

~~BINGO BOOK

Spoiler

AP: 0

In Progress

Critical Failures OR Critical Evasions: 20/25 OR 1/15

 

Edited by Arabelle
Link to post
Share on other sites

It did come as a bit of a surprise when Arabelle told him that she would not be getting him that trinket for free. 

"A price?" Gambit asked. He wasn't really used to seeing pricetags on anything, even though the currency of the game probably wasn't equivalent to yen in Japan. Still, his wallet was empty, and if Arabelle wanted money then she was going to be sore out of luck. A part of him told him to keep his mouth shut about it, but that felt too much like he'd be cheating her out of her expectations. So instead, he was honest. 

Until she went on to say that she wasn't interested in col or items. She told him that she could easily grind those things herself - something that, seeing her fight, Gambit believed - and that she would leave it up to him to decide what to give her. 

He fell silent, thinking. 

                                                                                                                                                             

Action Taken: None 
Zombie 22: ID#129149 MD: 6-2= 4 (Miss!)  
Zombie 24: ID#129150 MDl 3-2= 1 (Miss!) 

[H:0/0] Arabelle: 460/460 HP | 36/46 EN | 14 DMG | 9 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA
[H:0/0] Gambit: 20/20 HP | 2/2 EN | 45 MIT | 9 Thorns | 10 Regen 

Zombie 22: 50/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 23: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT [DEAD]
Zombie 24: 50/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 25: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT [DEAD]

Edited by Gambit
Link to post
Share on other sites

--But really, she had absolutely no idea what she wanted him to do. All that mattered to her was that she wasn't doing this completely for free and she was at least getting something from having to slog through another hundred or so kills for a low-level she barely knew. Maybe his sincerity had just gotten to her earlier or maybe she just didn't want to go about this completely alone, even though she was going with unfamiliar company.

"Come on, come on, step up!" Arabelle hopped from one foot to the other excitedly as two more moved to fill in the ranks. She had apparently missed half of the first group and she didn't have much of an idea what she did wrong because she worded her attack so vaguely the last time, so she was hyper-focused on the two who had survived. No way in hell she was letting the results of her mistake live any longer. With the group completed, she burst forward once again, cleaving her way through the mobs like they were butter.

...there was one too far back that she didn't hit.

...whoops?

Spoiler

ID: 129174 | BD: 2 + 4 = 6 | LD: 8 | Trample Act: 14 * 6 = 84 - 10 = 74 DMG on Zombie 22
ID: 129175 | BD: 9 | Trample Act: (14 + 1) * 6 = 90 - 10 = 80 DMG on Zombie 24
ID:
 129176 | BD: 7 | LD: 5 | Trample Act: 14 * 6 = 84 - 10 = 74 DMG on Zombie 26
ID: 129177 | BD: 1

6 + (2 * 3) = 12 EN

[H:0] Arabelle: 460/460 HP | 25/46 EN | 14 DMG | 9 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA
[H:0] Gambit: 20/20 HP | 2/2 EN | 45 MIT | 9 Thorns | 10 Regen 

Zombie 22: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 24: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 26: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT

Zombie 27: 50/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT

Special:

Deals 20 DMG on a 9 or 10
If the Zombie would be killed by a weapon or defensive ability, and the LD is equal to or higher than 15, the Zombie is instead reduced to 1HP. This ability is ignored if the attack that reduced it 0 was a critical hit or the weapon/armor used has the holy or holy blessing enhancement.

~~BINGO BOOK

Spoiler

AP: 0

In Progress

Critical Failures OR Critical Evasions: 21/25 OR 1/15

 

Edited by Arabelle
Link to post
Share on other sites

And then he stopped thinking, because his intense smolder had attracted the attention of the shambling circus freak. Before Gambit could come to terms with just what he was willing to trade for this elusive trinket (he was supposed to be saving that for someone special), a lazy swipe from the hash slinging slasher brought him back to his sense. 

"AH!" Practically cartwheeling away from it as if gymnastics would save him, Gambit would retreat to his safe space behind the purple-haired warrior. As long as he was behind the big ass scythe she liked to swing around like the most lethal pool noodle, he was sure he would be fine. After all, if he couldn't count on that much, what could he? Again, the boy was reminded that joining an event so combat-oriented might not have been the brightest idea he'd had in awhile. Putting on a sudden burst of speed, the undead creature managed to slink past her defenses and get a good hit in, fortunately to little effect. 

                                                                                                                       

Action Taken: None 
Zombie 27: ID#150332 MD: 10 (Crit+2) ~ 15+2= 17-9= 8 DMG

[H:0] Arabelle: 452/460 HP | 25/46 EN | 14 DMG | 9 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA
[H:0] Gambit: 20/20 HP | 2/2 EN | 45 MIT | 9 Thorns | 10 Regen 

Zombie 22: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 24: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT
Zombie 26: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT

Zombie 27: 50/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 7 months later...

She’d tell him to step back a little further so she can swing her killer pool noodle without having to think about accidentally beheading him in the process, but that would only send him careening into another wave of filthy undead. And let her tell you– Arabelle didn’t want the player she’d protected for the past hour or so within their slapping distance. There was nothing more unpleasant than one’s efforts going to complete waste.

So she took the hit for him. Heroic. Like every mob she had encountered so far, it only dealt eight damage, but the greater sacrifice was her clothes.

Arabelle didn’t know where the goop clinging to her sleeve had been. But it was a noticeable taint, and when next she looked up at the final shambling horror, her ashen eyes were completely soulless as she evaporated it with a pure, focused blast of [Explode Catapult].

The small purple-haired girl was all smiles when she turned back to her weaker teammate with another fifteen energy drinks piled on her hands. How she managed to achieve that feat, I don’t know, but she was also the same girl who drank almost fifteen of them in one sitting. Stupid anime logic. 

“Well, shall we go for another round?”

~~~

Arabelle

  • 2 SP
  • 200 col

Gambit

  • 2 SP
  • 200 col

//...and the marks on the Bingo Book. but it's a little too late for that now, isn't it?

Spoiler

Explode Catapult (16 EN)
ID: 154650 | BD: 4 + 4 = 8 | LD: 1 | 14 * 14 = 196 - 10 = 186 DMG -> Zombie 27

Arabelle: 452/460 HP | 10/46 EN | 14 DMG | 9 MIT | 4 ACC | 2 EVA
Gambit: 20/20 HP | 2/2 EN | 45 MIT | 9 Thorns | 10 Regen 

Zombie 27: 0/50 HP | 15 DMG | 10 MIT

Special:

  • Deals 20 DMG on a 9 or 10
  • If the Zombie would be killed by a weapon or defensive ability, and the LD is equal to or higher than 15, the Zombie is instead reduced to 1HP. This ability is ignored if the attack that reduced it 0 was a critical hit or the weapon/armor used has the holy or holy blessing enhancement.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...