[SP-F1] Making A New Friend <<Feeding Your Enemy>>

[Itzal 0]

Itzal crawled into the area, not taking much effort due to his skill, and positioned himself over the chest. He pulled out his lockpicking tools and got to work. He started by testing the difficulty, then where it was most loose, and finally picked the lock. Unfortunately it was a junk find. Just fifty col, two materials and two uncommon consumables. The col he expected to be low. It was multiplied by the floor number after all. But two materials? Just two? And two uncommon quality consumables? That was a cheap shot from the system. He accepted the loot however and crawled back out of the opening. He supposed it could just be for beginners to find but... Could it be that the system was punishing him for not using it? For so long? That sounded absurd but it was a possibility. It did seem like the system had a sense of humor sometimes, and Ulises was an AI after all.

ID# 154569  LD: 2+5=7
50 col, 2 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables

10 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

His thoughts going back to the process of skills, mods and equipment there were several aspects he was going to need, and several he wanted to make his build complete. The skill he needed of course, were the one handed straight sword skill, along with the martial arts skill (that made two skills). Then the light armor skill, the charge skill, the hide skill, and all of their mods were going to be needed to maximize his damage to the fullest (that made five skills). He'd need the battle healing skill to stay alive easier, and the exceed mod limit so that he could utilize multiple mods at once (that made seven skills). He'd need quick change in order to make the best of his equipment, and use tactics that maximized the devastation of his attacks, and deep pockets so that he HAD the equipment to use (that made nine skills). Searching skill was important for his player killing hunting profession, and finally, he'd need the parry skill. It would require timing, but it was extremely useful for fighting bosses. He reached for another two materials before continuing his thought process.

ID# 154574  CD: 3  LD: 9+8=17  +2 MAT

12 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

Quick Change. Extended Weight Limit. Parry. These three skills were rarely purchased, rarely utilized, and very very rarely even thought of. Itzal however, knew that these three were going to be the skills he needed to master in order to truly make a difference on the front lines. He wouldn't be a jack of all trades, but he would very much have the ability to adjust to most situations very quickly and easily. Even Itzal didn't think he'd actually get them. Of course he could easily switch two of his skills out the second he has the col, while he needed to get the skill points required to unlock the final skill. He'd run the calculations later, but there was no question he had quite a way to go before he maxed out all the skills and purchased every mod he needed. He could even imagine the general tactics he'd likely use for most combat situations. He scanned the area for any materials, but didn't find any. Well.. If he was having some bad luck, he'd rather have it when he looked for materials or picking chests than when he looked for his familiar.

ID# 154576  LD: 3+8=11  NO Materials

12 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

The basics of this strategy were going to be vital, but at the same time somewhat limited due to the cooldown system, and as such they would vary based on his enemy and their attack patterns. The two mods this strategy would hinge on were the surprise attack mod assassin, and the quick change skill. The concept was rather simple. He'd launch a raw damage attack using the surprise attack mod, all the while using a DoT weapon due to his familiar having a damage enhancement. After his initial burst damage attack, he would use a stun sword art on his opponent, or switch to his paralyze weapon if the boss was still on stun recovery. Of course, this is why strategizing before a raid would be vital. Afterwards he'd switch to his DoT weapon and attack with that two more times. He looked around but only found one material this time. Well it was better than nothing. And at least all his bad luck was draining out on his gathering.

ID# 154692  CD:  1  LD: 9+7=16  +1 MAT

[Itzal 0]

So then. First he used surprise attack. Then he stunned. Then he attempted twice to land a DoT, using vanish on the second DoT attack and returning to stealth. After this he'll use surprise again, and start the cycle all over again. Of course depending on the boss and it's stats and/or abilities, he'd need to alternate his strategy, but this would be the main goal. It's why he'd be needing quick change, so that he could try and land the DoTs, or even paralyze. Of course, there was a step he was going to need to take in order to increase his damage outcome: He was going to need to get far more stronger gear. He needed to get phase, or fallen or holy for his weapon to increase raw damage, unique DoTs for that particular sword, and if he could get one with the freeze and paralyze enhancements he could use that for his stun attack.

ID#  154694  CD: 10  LD: 10+8=18  +4 MAT

17 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

Post Countdown: 4

Unique enhancements... He doubted he'd get everything he needed, but his ideal build would probably be the following: His armor would be three evasion like usual, his trinket would have three accuracy, but he would have a second set of armor which would have two mitigation slots, and paralytic venom Or even better, two mitigation and two paralytic venom enhancements. Of course if he got himself a demonic with evasion, he'd prefer three evasion and one paralytic immunity... That would be his favorite piece of gear ever. His weapons however, would preferably be one phase, two holy and two fallen for his burst attack. That way he'd ignore most of their damage, and deal a huge chunk in return. For his DoT, two burn and two blight for maximum DoT damage. And finally there would be a two paralyze, two freeze enhancement for his stun charge. He spotted four more materials, and worried about his luck again...

ID# 154702  CD: 10  LD: 7+15  +4 MAT

17 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

Post Countdown:  3

He likely would never get the perfect setup for this build, but still. If he could, he wanted to obtain items as close to this build as he possibly could. That meant he needed to grind against monsters as many times as he could to get the drops he needed. Hundreds of drops to identify and hopefully get something even remotely close to what he could use. If there was a boss drop that ended up in the hands of a player who already had one he would negotiate with them. Of course, he had Zandra on his side now, which meant that the two of them could help him get drops that were useful for him, while also trading demonics that neither of them needed to other players, in the hopes that they could get the gear that they needed. Zandra's damage output was after all an incredible advantage for the two of them. His burst damage and DoT effects, and her massive raw damage. The two of them together were an incredible dps team. Once again he spotted another four materials and added them to the collection. He really hoped this luck stuck around for his familiar. Both in finding it and taming it...

154704  CD: 10  LD: 17  +4 MAT

25 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

Post Countdown:  2

Of course, demonics and uniques weren't everything. And he wasn't going to be the kind of player who hoarded all of them. He needed specific enhancements for his build. If it couldn't help him there, he was going to give it to someone else. Specifically someone who could not only be trusted, but who had need of the enhancement. For example, he wasn't going to give anything to a player named Pinball, who from what he heard had committed three additional murders since their last encounter. That made a grand total of four murders. If there was anyone Itzal didn't trust, it would be Pinball. He hoped the player could get his life together at some point, he looked so broken and... Honestly like he was losing his mind the last time the two saw each other. He just couldn't trust him right now. He eventually found another material, but it was only one this time. Maybe it was time to head back, and try to find his familiar again.

ID# 154707  CD: 1  LD: 14  +1 MAT

[Itzal 0]

Post Countdown:  1

He'd better not fail to find his familiar this time around. He didn't have time to walk around this floor forever. What he needed was to find his familiar, tame it, train it, and get to the frontlines as quickly as he possibly could. The materials were always needed of course, but he could get them at a far more increased rate by doing the nature's treasure's quest. Not only did it increase the bonus materials but it also increased it's bonus in chests when you found them. It was extremely useful and helpful. Yeah, he wasn't worried about a lack of materials at all. He was worried about never finding his familiar... If he couldn't find it today, he'd have to try another day. This time, with a few buffs and the spyglass to help him out. Him, not being able to find a familiar. With the potency of his LD, he had no doubt it was the system's doing, not a matter of luck. So the question was: How long was the system going to be out to get him? He wasn't sure but he didn't have the time to worry about that either. If he failed again, he was out for today.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal started heading back for town, but while he did so he kept his eyes peeled for a familiar. Scanning the forest and trees he wasn't seeing or sensing anything at first... But he did have a funny feeling that if he went back to the town he wouldn't be seeing his potential familiar today. Maybe, they COULDN'T be found in the settlements? If that were the case, then players would always take some form of risk to find the familiar. Of course, that could just be it, there had to be a challenge or danger to earn a powerful familiar. Itzal made his way through the forest as he looked for a potential familiar and then stopped. Narrowing his eyes he 'zoomed in' his vision, and honed in on the perfect one. It was a raven with black feathers, but with a blueish green sheen that shined in the moonlight. It's eyes almost glowed blue, and he had a feeling that it would under certain conditions... He was perfect.

Spoiler

ID# 154709  LD: 20  Familiar Found!

[Itzal 0]

Itzal locked eyes with the raven, and the raven in turn locked eyes with him. This was it, he wasn't going to get a better familiar than this. And he knew it was a familiar too, it had the pink cursor over it's head. In other words, it was a monster he needed to tame rather than an npc. He slowly, very slowly, reached into his pouch for the food for the raven. As he did so, the raven never let it's eyes wander, focusing on him completely. Good, it knew the value of waiting and watching, as well as keeping it's focus on everything rather than narrowing into tunnel vision. Itzal pulled out the food and slowly crouched down to the point where he was low enough to softly pour the seeds into a large pile in front of him on the forest floor. He then lowered himself and sat cross legged in front of the pile of food. Neither side moved a muscle as they waited for the other to make their move. Of course, Itzal had already made his first move. At this point it was all up to his potential familiar now, the black raven. All Itzal needed to do was wait and come up with a name.

ID# 154709  CD: 2

[Itzal 0]

The two sat staring at each other, neither one blinking. Neither one moving. Itzal couldn't really tell whether or not monsters could see past the shadow over his hood or not. It was designed to block visual unless the player was on the whitelist, so he assumed it couldn't. But he didn't exactly have any method of confirming that. It's not like that would do much anyway. The familiar was going to know what he looked like since it was to be his companion for life in this world. Of course, he wouldn't be more important to him than Zandra, but still. It was like his best friend. Itzal cracked a smile as he thought about the wedding the two were going to have, and imagined his familiar acting as his best man. Hah! That would be hilarious. The raven still didn't make a move though, so that only meant he needed to wait just a little bit longer. That was fine, he had no qualms with that. As long as he left tonight with his familiar, he had no problem with waiting at all. And besides, he still needed to come up with a good name.

ID# 154710  CD: 8

[Itzal 0]

For a moment, Itzal's thoughts wandered to Velnia and her high spirits. Her crazy personality and her wild nature. He almost chuckled as he thought of the time she grabbed random items and even the bartender in a tavern and juggled them over and under a chandelier. That was hilarious for sure. He wondered what happened to his friends... Her crazy nature tended to defy the very nature of the world (aka the system, server and every AI she's encountered). She'd gotten into so many pranks and anticts. He remembered when she joined another familiar in riding the back of a tortoise during a ballroom event. Everyone loved the sight and found it hilarious, but also felt bad for the poor tortoise. Then there was her habit of running all over someone if she liked them as her greeting to them. It was really cute and hilarious, and despite him being embarrassed about it, it was funny to see their reactions.

And now... He would be making new memories with a new familiar...

ID# 154711  CD: 2

[Itzal 0]

Eventually, the raven did exactly that. Diving down, it landed gracefully and circled the food, pecking at it but not eating it, to see if it was the real deal. All the while it continued to cast glances at Itzal, keeping it's eye on him. Eventually it positioned itself opposite from him, and slowly went down to eat some. It scooped a beak full of it and flew off to the branch above. It swallowed while watching him and cocked it's head when it noticed that this time his gaze was following it. It flew down a second time, and with hesitance, took another beak full and jumped back. Once it had confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Itzal was not going to hurt it, the familiar continued to eat the rest of the food. Only after it had finished all it could eat, did Itzal move. Slowly moving his arm, he held it out like a branch for the raven to hop onto. The raven cocked it's head curiously, but since he'd fed it, the creature obliged him and jumped on. Itzal smiled under the hood.

ID# 154712  CD: 9 SUCCESS!!!

[Itzal 0]

Itzal stood up, making sure to keep his movements relatively slow so that he didn't startle his new familiar, nor shake enough to knock him down. The raven however, seemed to adjust itself to the movement with relative ease, which of course pleased Itzal greatly. Now that he was standing up he lifted his left arm and brought it over to the Raven, stroking it which it seemed to like. Itzal smiled as he pet the mob's soft feathers. Now that he was looking at it closer, it's feathers 'bluish green sheen' was far more beautiful to the eye than he had first believed. Not only that, but he could have sworn that the last row of it's tail and wing feathers shimmered with a legitimate glow... Or did it? He couldn't tell. But either way, he was a magnificent bird, and was very very happy to have found and tamed him. For it was pretty evident to him that he had successfully tamed the creature.

[Itzal 0]

The scout, or as his build was slowly becoming: rogue, scratched the raven under it's chin and it's wings expanded, flapping a bit as it seemed to be just the spot that did the trick for it. Itzal laughed as he watched his reaction. Every familiar had it's 'spot' where it really loved to be scratched. Similar to how dogs would kick their feet, every animal had some form of reaction. Evidently his raven would flap his wings as his reaction. Itzal didn't mind that at all. Made his new companion more lively and less cold and calculating. Eventually he slowed down and stopped and the raven fluffed it's feathers before he started grooming himself. When he looked back up Itzal's hood was off and he smiled. "I'd like to give you a name. Would that be ok?" The raven gave a single caw and he chuckled. "Right, I won't know what's yes or no yet will I? We haven't spent nearly enough time getting to know one another after all... Well, I'll tell you the name, and you can peck me if you don't like it ok?" The Raven gave another caw, and he was really hoping that one caw meant yes.

[Itzal 0]

"Well if you're ok with it, I would like to name you Aldion. Are you ok with the name Aldion?" The raven didn't respond other than tilting it's head a bit, but since it wasn't pecking him he assumed that meant yes. Nodding he held his arm up to his shoulder and Aldion hopped onto it. "Alright then Aldion. I take it you're ok with being my familiar yes? We've got a lot to learn from one another. I look forward to our time together." The raven gave another three caws and this time Itzal was just puzzled as to what that even meant. Each familiar had it's own particular pattern, so eventually he'd pick up on what each pattern meant, but for now he was left clueless. Aldion watched as Itzal started looking around for some materials he could pick up on his way back to town. Unfortunately he wasn't exactly successful. He was distracted further when Aldion gave his hair a bit of a tug and he looked to his new familiar. "Ah, ok you have my attention Aldion. What is it?"

ID# 154828  LD:  5+8=13

26 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

The raven made no sound or movement at first, causing Itzal to do nothing but look at Aldion curiously. Eventually it hopped off his shoulder and glided a ways away before picking up a rock and bringing it back. Now he understood. Aldion was trying to figure out what he was looking for. He shook his head and opened his menu, navigating it to his deep storage. He pulled one of the materials out and showed them to Aldion. "I'm looking for materials. Items I can use to craft song buffs and debuffs with. Mainly for combat purposes." Aldion crawled closer to the material, so Itzal held it closer so she could investigate it further. After pecking at it a few times, Aldion's head bobbed a few times before it turned around and dived back into the forest. When he flew back, he had several materials in his claws, dropping them in Itzal's hands before landing on his shoulder. "Dang Aldion. You acted really fast, and with accuracy. I'm impressed. But just remember, I want us to work together. You're not my slave, we're partners. Ok?" Aldion cawed once and at this point Itzal was close to assuming that meant yes.

ID# 154829  CD: 9  LD: 17  +3 MAT

29 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

Unfortunately their teamwork still needed quite a bit of work. The two were clumsy at best, resulting in no materials being found this time around. Still, that was to be expected. He'd reviewed the familiar quests, but as he looked over them now as he ate some bread, sharing it with his new familiar, he learned that the familiar by default wouldn't be skilled in any particular area. For example, it would be rather pathetic at combat, searching, etc. They had to be trained for that. Meaning that when it discovered several materials based on pure luck, and likely wouldn't be happening a second time around. That was fine however, he wasn't here for materials anyway. And it at least gave him something to teach Aldion when the time came. Observation and scouting, combat analysis, hit and run tactics, ambush tactics, luring tactics, etc. He'd need to teach his familiar all of them from scratch.

ID# 154830  LD: 4+8=12

29 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col

[Itzal 0]

He was getting close to the town by now. If he recalled correctly, there should be a- Wait. He didn't need to think his thoughts silently anymore. He had a familiar again. "We'll be reaching the town soon. I can use the teleporter to bring us home, or. For you, your new home. But first I want to find a chest." Aldion turned it's head as he listened carefully, though he doubted it understood anything he was saying... Yet. The more he talked to Velnia, the more she began to understand him. He was hoping he could do the same with Aldion. "If I remember correctly, there should be a small ruin nearby where chests tend to spawn... Actually there it is now:" He pointed to the ruined stone floor, pillars and walls littered with rubble. "This here is a sort of ruin. Got it?" The raven made no reaction, just focused on what he pointed at. Itzal smiled then. "And that right there, is a chest. Inside will be items, hopefully, that are useful for me to use. And if I can get some good equipment, it means a better life for the two of us." At least, he hoped he'd get something better this time around...

ID# 154831  LD: 10+8=18  Chest Found!

29 MAT, 2 Uncommon Consumables, 50 Col