[PP|F6]<<Deforestation>>The White Tiger

[Shay 0]

Finally the two had time to relax on their break. The event on the twenty-second floor was just what the two of them needed, so she hoped that Chase was feeling better now that he wasn't so pressured. She would go much easier on him now.

"So, we're back to the grind then. I'm glad we got the time to take a break and calm down. I think we both needed the rest." She mentioned to the boy, getting her gear ready to leave her house. They had moved a mattress into her shop and placed it on the wooden floor. It wasn't the nicest place to sleep, but hopefully he enjoyed it more than a noisy inn. "How's sleeping here been for you, by the way? I'm sure it's a lot better than the inn. It's probably pretty warm thanks to the hot springs. Is the mattress good enough?"

Spoiler

Name: Shay
Level: 22
HP: 440/440
EN: 44/44

Stats:
Damage: 9
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 1
BLD:12
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: (Katana)Murasame α: BLD 2; DMG 1
Armor: Leather Overcoat: EVA 3
Misc: Deep Red Tie: Recovery 2; ACC 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 5]

Extra Skills:
Survival

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleportation Crystal*1
T1 Mass HP Rec. II*1
T1 HP Rec. I*2
T1 Instant HP Rec. I*2
Incarceration*2

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[ChaseR 0]

It was much easier to see just in how high spirits he was now compared to the grindier of days. He had almost no trouble sleeping, just collapsing onto the mattress and shutting down for a few hours, waking up just fine if not a bit groggy from oversleeping- at least in comparison to the previous nights. "Hm? Of course, it was great. Honestly... Thank you. Oh, before we go... Can you wait here? I have something I wanted to show you. I was doing some work on my own in between our meetings the past few days and I want to bring something from my workshop."

The boy hadn't gotten to show her his new friend, and the sword that he'd gotten to go along with the stats he provided the swordsman with. Together, it'd probably be much better than being just alone with Shay, given he could easily soften blows for the two in the worst case scenario, and help end fights much faster in the best of cases. "And once I'm back, I've another surprise too. W-Well, two or three maybe? Depends how you see it."

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 26
HP: 520/520
EN: 52/52

Stats:
Damage: 12
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
REC:2
PARA:1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Sky Slasher>> (T1/Perfect/2HSS): DMG II; PAR I
Armor: <<Sky Blue Apparel>> (T1/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I; REC II
Misc: <<Warm Earmuffs>> (T1/Perfect/Trinket): ACC III

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
T1 Mochi (LD +3)*1
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*2
Spyglass (2/3)*1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Shay 0]

Shay was ready to head out on the quest, but Chase was already insisting on having her wait a little longer. Apparently he had something that he wanted to show her. She didn't want to be mean to him anymore, so she simply sighed and nodded. "Alright. Show me what it is. I'll be waiting right here." Then he expressed that he had even more surprises for her. What, did she become his girlfriend or something? Why was he so keen on giving her so many presents at once?

"Well, okay. I want to get this quest done today though. We can't just break forever, so we gotta finish a quest or two a week, alright?" She said, crossing her arms and trying to keep her tone less callous than usual. While she waited for him to return to the room, she took a seat at her piano and started to play a few notes freestyle.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase smiled warmly at her agreeing, quickly giving a nod and running out of the house as he began to head on towards the town. Once he got there, he entered the teleporter and took a few minutes on the first floor. It took about ten or so minutes before he returned, gasping for air from all the running. He opened the door, giving a small grin as a creature came inside from between the door and the frame- a pangolin with icy white and blue scales, fitting the floor's snowy theme. "That's Blizz... Huff... My familiar."

Once he said that, he tried to hurry to not leave her waiting any, seeing as she seemed bothered, sending her a trade request without waiting too long. Although he didn't give her anything just yet, he showed her his stash of Col and T2 Materials, holding a thumbs up. "I've invested in some more skills to let me endure more hits, hit the second tier and farmed for our equipment. Blizz helped me out and my health never dropped to half or even sixty percent."

[Shay 0]

The moment a creature walked into her home, she hit some off tone keys and jumped to her feet, getting ready to pull her sword on it before Chase explained that it was his familiar. A pangolin. She had never seen anything like this before. It looked a like an armadillo wearing armor. The tensity in her muscles loosened afterwards she calmed down. "Sorry, force of habit." She apologized, though this was a mental note that she needed to work on getting her own familiar.

After seeing all of his hard, Shay could see why he was so worn out now. He had been doing a lot without her, which was fine. She didn't mind him being a higher level than her, that being said, she would need to catch up with him a little before she fell behind. "That's great," She smiled. "Really does look like you've been working hard."

[ChaseR 0]

Chase gave her a smile, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "I don't want you or me to stay behind. And I want to get enough money to buy a house. We can live together and sleep properly rather than in a hammock and a mattress instead, and you can have your own rooms. I've been doing everything I can to keep us two leveling up, so... I might be to blame for the burn out. At least partially.", he monologued for a bit, as Blizz approached the girl and croaked at her, tapping her boots with his claws lightly to get her attention.

"Oh, he tries to eat. A lot. If there's anything around, pick it up or he's going to try and chew it down.", the boy warned with an awkward laugh, realising just how much he'd done on his own only now. "Say, it... It kind of is a lot, isn't it..?", he muttered lowly, feeling a bit amazed and at the same time down, for putting himself in such a predicament in the first place. "Hey, about before... Sorry if I lashed out too much with pink. I just... Sorry."

[Shay 0]

"Don't worry about that." Shay stopped him there. They didn't need to dwell on that at all. She opened up her menu and offer the little creature some bread pieces that she had, It was just vanity food that she carried for rations, she could always get more later. She knelt down and gave it to the creature before standing back up and heading over to her front door.

She did gloss over the fact that he was offering to buy them a house to live together in. It really did make it sound like he was trying to get on her good side now. She hid her face a little embarrassed that he would think of her so deeply when he is trying to get stronger and collect nice things. Not that buying her things would really win her heart over. She was born into a wealthy family. It was hard to flatter someone with money when they were already rich to begin with.

"Shall we get this quest over with then? I'm sure we'll finish it off in seconds so we might as well just go and get it finished."

[ChaseR 0]

While Shay could be seeing this as Chase trying to get on her good side, he was only looking out for the ally he was certain to have by his side, other than Blizz. She was the one that picked him up and grew him through the baby steps on Aincrad, and he wasn't planning to let it be that way. At least if she were to keep on teaching him, he'd do his darndest to return the favor with hard effort and a more care-free lifestyle, if he could provide. Granted, he never knew the hardships of that from the real world, but he would only have to do his absolute hardest and push through regardless given this was his real world now.

"Of course. Sorry for holding you back.", he quickly apologized and left the house along with her, Blizz coming back with his tongue tightly wrapped around the pieces of bread that Shay had offered him. It was quite long and covered in a sticky mix, keeping the food in its grasp just fine. Chase crouched to pick him up and carried him towards the town, allowing the little guy to enjoy the food she'd offered him just fine in a cozy, child-like hug from the bluehead. "Don't spoil him too much or he'll try to eat my materials if I kill a monster. He's tried it already."

[Shay 0]

"It was slightly stale bread. Just a welcoming gift." The girl said starting to lead the way to the teleporter of the floor. The two of them would be heading to the highest combat floor that she had been on since she had started grinding. They had gone up to floor 22 for the event, but they didn't see any combat up there. Based on the information that she obtained from the information broker that she normally went to, the quest was rather easy for two players of their level. Either of them could easily just one shot this boss by themselves. She figured that it would be the easiest way to nudge them back into the grinding ring.

Although she wanted to get her mind off it, the though of Chase trying to get closer to her was still on her mind. The idea seemed so foreign to her, as she had never felt feelings for anyone before, but was that just because she didn't have very many friends her age? That being said, she wasn't sure if she exactly felt that way about him, at least not yet.

[ChaseR 0]

It had been a few trips out into the wilds since they were last together for combat purposes, which got Chase thinking, even if it had been a day. "Say... Have you done any quests on your own? Like the one where you fight-... Well... You meditate?", he wasn't sure how to explain it, and he was certainly going to get some form of PTSD just thinking about how shit he felt when he finished the Inner Demons quest. As for any feelings towards the katana wielder, the thought hadn't crossed his mind quite yet. All this negativity drove him back to the little chat he had with Yuki, where she'd called him his girlfriend.

When the two reached the teleporter and eventually stood on it, he crossed his arms as a light blush took over his face and raised an eyebrow at her once he'd coughed dryly to clear his throat. "... Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?", he blurted out of nowhere, in a voice filled with confusion and awkwardness. "That's what the chef said back in the desert. So..."

[Shay 0]

Shay stopped in her tracks. She was about to answer his question on the whole quest subject before he went and blurted out something like that. Did he read her mind or something, what the fuck. She stood there silently looking at the ground contemplating on just how she should answer that question. It was honestly something that she couldn't even fathom, and she was too afraid to say anything to him in the fear that she might hurt his feelings way too much. Not necessarily because she was going to say no, which she wasn't, but because she just didn't know how to say things without sounding like a total asshole.

At any rate, she felt completely awkward just standing at the teleportation terminal, thinking while he was waiting on her answer. She sighed and turned to meet his eyes. "I don't deny that you are one of the few people I can tolerate, but it's come to a point that I can say that toleration is a bad word to describe my relation ship with you. As far as I had seen it up until now, we were just friends... however, I think I feel signs that it could go further at this point. To answer your question more concisely: I'm not sure, though, I'm leaning on yes."

[ChaseR 0]

Chase began to sweat a little at the answer, freezing himself even though he'd brought it up- he expected it to be more of a thing they'd just shrug off rather than something she'd seriously answer, especially considering it came out of Yuki's mouth back then. "D-Did she just say yes then..? Wait, how do I feel about this? She's the only person I trust here, especially with my own life, but... Fucking hell, why did I even ask...", the boy began to stammer and completely clutter up as his brain practically shut off trying to find some logic to this whole ordeal.

Just how flustered and embarrassed he himself had gotten showed in the total confusion that took over his face, as he slowly raised his hands to hold his head. Trying to process it all was proving to be too taxing for him, as he tried to play it cool ultimately and failed. "R-Right, I was just thinking that if Yuki said, you know, that you were my girlfriend and I was your boyfriend maybe she would- Could have, you know, heard like, s-", he eventually stopped speaking gibberish, groaning and returning the look in the eyes more timidly, with a small awkward smile. "S-Sorry, just uh... Processing this, heh... heh... heh..."

[Shay 0]

The girl was quiet as the boy stammered over his own words. It was clear that reaction she had given to him wasn't the expected one. Maybe he had expected her to punch him again. Nah, she was past all that annoyed shit. She had terrorized him enough with her attitude. He continued to just fall over everything he was saying, clear that he was embarrassed and down right confused. How was she supposed to react to this? He was the one that had kind of confessed to her. If anything, she was the one who should be feeling completely awkward here.

After a moment of pondering, the girl slowly walked up him and gave him a short embrace. She wasn't sure why that had come to mind, but her arms seemed to move on their own. "Don't worry about it. Let's get this quest done and we can talk about it at my place. Maybe relax in the hot springs." She says, letting go of the man and stepping up to the teleportation plaza. She beckoned him along.

[ChaseR 0]

He was stuck making noises in an awkward attempt to recollect himself until he stopped with her hug. He silently returned it, smiling slightly and letting out a shaky, deep sigh. "Y-You're right, sorry... I just lost my cool.", he admitted with his eyebrows furrowed, proceeding to follow her to the teleportation plaza and shouting out the instructions before the two teleported to the sixth floor. He'd been here before, but not for pleasant memories for sure. "... What quest are we doing again?", the bluehead continued, trying his best to move past this, at least for the time being.

Trying to push it on the back of his mind wasn't doing him any favors, but at least the environment kept him busy enough from thinking at it full throttle. They had to pay close attention to stay within the confines of the small village in the jungle, after all. "The quest I talked about was... er, here. Towards a waterfall that way.", he instructed and pointed, letting out another sigh afterwards.

[Shay 0]

Shay followed the bluehead to the same floor, taking note of the quest details one more time before they continued through the forest. Her mind was still fixated on the idea of actually having a boyfriend. It was honestly something that she never fathomed before now. But when he asked about it, everything seemed right to say yes. She couldn’t really bring herself to tell him no.

“The quest we’re doing is really easy. I didn’t want to throw you into anything difficult after a break. Both of use could probably one shot this boss if we tried. Though it won’t last against both of us. Ill start us off then you can follow up and finish it off if it doesn’t die. Then we can go back to my place and talk more about this... situation.” The burning forest started to come into view, along with the reveal of their mark. Shay removed her blade from its saya and smirked at Chase. "I'm going in, cover me."

Charging into the fight, she wasn't expecting the Byakko to be as fast as it was. Her blade came just short of connecting with the beast. "Shit.."

---

Shay | HP: 440/440 | EN: 44/44 -(2)+2 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR |

Byakko | 150/150 | DMG: 60 | MIT: 40 | Full Phase: 9-10

[ChaseR 0]

Just thinking about the situation was enough to get him all flustered up all over again- that was, until she looked to the side at the forest, which got his attention. It all went away at that moment as his brain almost entered an adrenaline rush mode. "This must be a scripted event, right?! If it's a quest, then nobody is really in danger... right?!", he panicked just slightly, running in behind Shay and giving her a quick nod. What sent him into a frenzy almost was seeing her miss, just at the prospect that she was in danger. His look quickly sharpened as he dashed in front of the rogue, a light blue trailing behind him.

With swift movements, Chase did his best to ram the flat of his blade right into the beast, heaving and being sure that it'd land. Regardless though, Byakko proved much too quick even now that it should have been exhausted from dodging one attack at that speed, jumping right over blue's head and swiping down at him. He quickly pulled his blade back and tried to guard with its flat, only for the monster's attack to phase right through and hit him in full, causing him to gasp out of surprise. "What the hell was that?!"

Shay | HP: 440/440 | EN: 44/44 -(2)+2 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR | HP: 460/520 (-60) | EN: 52/52 (-2, +2) | DMG: 12 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | PAR: 1 (9-10) | BH: 5

Byakko | 150/150 | DMG: 60 | MIT: 40 | Full Phase: 9-10

Edited August 5, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay sped through the battlefield, staying on the move just in case the tiger got the idea to focus her. Luckily it didn't, but she was never one to be caught off guard.  Katana in hand, the girl circled the battlefield, trying to find the perfect moment to strike. The heat of the fire that the Byakko was letting off burned the forest alive just by standing near the trees. Once it landed after attacking Chase, she jumped in to take advantage of it's weakness. Just as she did, a flaming branch landed in front of her. She skid to a halt, trying not to get caught in the flames.

"Holy shit!" She screamed, as it nearly fell on her. She backed up a few feet from the impact and focused back on the battle at hand. She hadn't expected them to miss this many times. It was supposed to be a non-stressful quest that would be done in seconds.

---

Shay | HP: 440/440 | EN: 44/44 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR | HP: 460/520 | EN: 52/52 (-2, +2) | DMG: 12 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | PAR: 1 (9-10) | BH: 5

Byakko | 150/150 | DMG: 60 | MIT: 40 | Full Phase: 9-10

[ChaseR 0]

When Chase looked behind himself to see the flaming branch about to land on Shay, his heart skipped a beat and he crouched forwards just slightly, starting to sweat both from the heat and how nervous he was. The fight had been described to him as easy, but it only got harder and more deadly by the minute. In hopes that she wouldn't get hit any during the fight and he'd manage to do his job as a tank properly, he decided to try grabbing its attention instead of stunning it, as its attacks appeared to go through his weapon.

This meant the only way to avoid taking damage was by taking it out right away. "Hooo!", the boy heaved and tried to attack the beast once more with a red glow surrounding his blade. A burning branch was about to fall on him as well, and the beast jumped back while the boy redirected his attack just above him, managing to cut it in half. Just when a few burning chips of wood were about to befall him, thankfully the pangolin breathed cold ice all over them, causing the flames to snuff out and looking at Chase filled with panic. "What the hell is up with this monster?!"

Shay | HP: 440/440 | EN: 44/44 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR | HP: 465/520 (+5) | EN: 52/52 (-2, +2) | DMG: 12 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | PAR: 1 (9-10) | BH: 5

Byakko | 150/150 | DMG: 60 | MIT: 40 | Full Phase: 9-10

Edited August 5, 2020 by ChaseR

[Shay 0]

Shay was continuing to have problems with this battle. The fire around them was only getting worse as they continued. The heat coming from the giant flaming tiger was too much for the gentle forest to bear. Fiery branches crashed around her, and while she felt somewhat worried about the situation, she calmed her breathing and weaved through the fire. She met back up with Chase to make sure he didn't start freaking out.

"I'm alright! Don't worry! We'll be okay, just keep breathing and focus on the fight and we'll make it out of here. I'm sorry that this was a lot worse than I expected!" She told him as the Byakko charged in after them. It swiped at the both of them, Shay able to move out of the way before getting hit. Chase would likely be able to parry or move out of the way. Gripping her katana in her main hand she readies another sword art, but yet still misses. She would really need to invest in buying some Accuracy foods.

---

Shay | HP: 440/440 | EN: 44/44 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR | HP: 465/520 | EN: 52/52 (-2, +2) | DMG: 12 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | PAR: 1 (9-10) | BH: 5

Byakko | 150/150 | DMG: 60 | MIT: 40 | Full Phase: 9-10

[ChaseR 0]

Chase turned to the side and looked at Shay, giving her a quick nod only to be interrupted before he even began speaking by the beast's relentless assault. The expression on his face was very close to the primitive one she'd seen during his tantrum in the Traveller quest, his teeth gritted tightly before he ran right in with his blade glowing a very bright red once more. It felt like time was slowing down as the only things he could hear were his heartbeat and the burning forest around them.

He parried the blade, while Blizz breathed ice onto the blade's flat side, making a very thin layer form around it. Just once the beast's claws slid off, he sliced the blade right through it, leaving a deep wound but not deep enough to fall it on his own as it jumped back and howled their way, ready for the next attack. "We just need one more hit..! I can't keep it in place so I'll try to take it down...", he panted and told Shay, looking to the side with a weak grin as he sweat more and more.

Shay | HP: 440/440 | EN: 44/44 | DMG: 9 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 1 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2
ChaseR | HP: 470/520 (+5) | EN: 45/52 (-10, +3) | DMG: 12 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 5 | PAR: 1 (9-10) | BH: 5

Byakko | 36/150 (-114) | DMG: 60 | MIT: 40 | Full Phase: 9-10

Edited August 6, 2020 by ChaseR