[PP][F05] <<Dragon Hunter Anthology - Dragon Hunt 5: the Topaz Hatchling>> 5 little piggies

[Grimm Reaper 0]

The blinding blue flash of light that was customary of the teleport platforms on each floor had just dissipated. Ozwald and his companion both found themselves standing in the warm and dry fifth floor. It was time to slay the fifth dragon. Ozwald looked around, the last time he had been here was with Valentine not that long ago "I really need to get ahold of him" Ozwald thought to himself thinking about the man that he was falling in love with.

"Okay, four down, five to go. I haven't gone far on this floor. Do you think you know where we should go?" Ozwald asked his travelling companion, because he was the more knowledgeable of the pair. Ozwald wasn't sure of anything really the only floor he had actually put time and effort into exploring was the first, and that was a couple floors down where everything was dreadfully easy. Ozwald was kind of relying on Chase to show him where the dragon's were, though he had complete faith that Chase would lead them true.

Spoiler

Name: Grimm Reaper
Level: 20
HP: 400/400
EN: 40/40

Stats:
Damage: 11
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Soul Devourer(tier 1/Perfect/Hand Wraps)[DAM 3]
Armor: Death's Shroud(Tier 1/Perfect/Light Armor)[EVA 1][REC 2]
Misc: Damned Souls(Tier 1/perfect/trinket)[ACC 3]

Skills:
Martial Arts [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(+50 hp)*3
[T1]Health potions(rare)(+40 HP)*5
[T1]Damage potion(uncommon)(+1 DAM)*1

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.
 

@ChaseR

Edited October 30, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[ChaseR 0]

<<Dragon Hunter Anthology - Dragon Hunt 5: the Topaz Hatchling>>

And entering the floor, Chase looked around somewhat annoyed. He opened up his menu to reveal a vanity cape, letting it materialise in his hands and quickly donning it. He eyed Ozwald to the side, curious if he had brought some protective equipment too. It was best to move around the desert with a cape for the frequent sandstorms ripping through the barren wasteland.

"I'm not certain, but when looking around for the Traveler quest, I was certain that I ran into some odd building to the side. I ignored it though because we were on a different quest, plus I hadn't cleared the previous ones before so I wouldn't gain anything. I was probably around your level too.", he clarified with a slow nod and took a deep breath, sighing. He could already feel the annoyance at the sand crunching under his boots, walking towards the exit of the settlement. If only he had a vanity cape for Ozwald too, then he would help him trudge through the merciless sands too, but... Tough luck. 

 

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 74
HP: 1510/1510
EN: 148/148

Stats:
Damage: 19
Mitigation: 43
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 3
BH:75
VAMP DEF:75
PARA:1
HLY:12
HLY BLS:16
LD:5

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Fragmented Blade>> (T3/Perfect/2HSS): PARA I, HOLY II
Armor: <<Azure Overcoat>> (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): V.DEF I, HBS I, MIT I
Misc: <<Chained Bracelet>> (T2/Demonic/Trinket): EVA II, ACC II

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 4]
Charge [Rank 5]
Hiding [Rank 2]
Parry [Obtained]
Extended Mod Limit [Obtained]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival
Disguise
Meditation

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]
Precision
Athletics
Sprint & Acrobatics
Ferocity
Focused Howl



Battle Ready Inventory:
Insta-Life ++ (T2/Perfect/HP REC III)*1
Woodland Armor (T3/Perfect) MIT III (1/3)*1
Teleport Crystal [F21]*1
Imugi's Inspiration (Mass HP Recovery)*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:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring:

 

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald liked the heat of the floor that they were on, he had always done a lot better with the heat than he had with the cold and the change from the fourth to the fifth floor was a nice change. Ozwald's clothing was rather light, and didn't keep the heat in, so it was perfect for this kind of weather, although he had very little protection if a sandstorm blew in and caught him unawares.

"So, I guess we just need to start combing this floor in its entirety." Ozwald sighed, if they didn't have any ideas as to where to go than they would have to spend a lot longer looking for the dragon on this floor "Granted if it lives in a structure it should be easy to see." Ozwald said gesturing to the mostly flat plains of sand that laid before them, the only thing breaking the line of the horizon being craggy rocks coming out of the ground reaching up towards the sun.

[ChaseR 0]

Thankfully, it wasn't quite as Grimm said everything to be. Judging by his prior experience when it came to Terra Firma, the sand shark and the other crocodile or whatever the monster with its own arena was, he already had a good enough piece of land to avoid. That was their territory and no dragon had been sighted since. However, when he was moving for the Traveller quest with Shay and Yuki, he remembered very distinctly they had gone to the west side of the floor, in comparison to the settlement.

"No, thankfully not. It's west of the village. That's where we were walking straight for at least a day before we found the crate needed. So the structure or whatever it was, was that way. I'd never be able to walk through this hellhole in order to find a single monster. God damn.", he laughed with himself although rather nervously, shivering at the mere thought of having to walk through whatever waited in the sands. It couldn't be anything tougher than the sand shark that Terra Firma was, but of course he didn't want to deal with that pest either- despite its scale being useful as all hell to carry around, for occasions like the floor boss coming up soon enough.

[Grimm Reaper 0]

"West, okay so that narrows it down to a quarter of the map, that is a lot better." Ozwald said nodding along to Chase's statement turning to face what he believed to be west. "So this way?" Ozwald was not the greatest when it came to directions and he was definitely not facing west. Ozwald held his hands up to his eyes looking out onto the horizon in the "westerly" direction that he was facing. "there isn't much out there, You sure its this way?" Ozwald asked Chase turning to face back towards him. Ozwald was once again dissappointed by the height difference between the pair. In order to look Chase in the eyes Ozwald had to look almost directly up. Ozwald hated his height, it felt so awkward being a man who was shorter than most of the women that he met. Ozwald looked up at Chase again "Well I guess I will just follow you."

[ChaseR 0]

As off as it was, that's just how the floor worked. The entirety of it was covered in sand, dead bushes and more sand. Some hills here and there, a ravaging sandstorm going all around the map, thankfully out of range for most of the few players that even dared enter it, with them being usually lower levels, and lastly a lot of hungry monsters circling the settlement or marking their own territories separately from all the rest.

"I can't explain it but they all have hunting grounds. Uh, there's a lot of bosses here. One has its own arena, the other rushes around near the settlement and Terra Firma sticks far away, but it's deadlier than the rest. Way too much. We probably won't even have to move that far though.", he tried to reassure Ozwald who appeared less than certain in their decision to just power through whatever obstacle showed up until they got to the hatchling. For Pete's sake though, in a desert so dry, the muse to write became equally dry too. "... Do you talk a lot? Usually."

[Grimm Reaper 0]

"That makes sense, generally speaking multiple apex predators can't exist within the same ecosystem, one would have to improve the way that they hunted or else the producers in that ecosystem would run dry and the apex would die off like what happened to big predators of the late Jurassic." Ozwald stated surprisingly matter of factly for himself. "It really depends on who I am with. Someone who I am not comfortable around not really, otherwise I guess you could say I do yeah" Ozwald answered Chase's question not knowing whether to feel bad or not. He couldn't tell If Chase thought that he talked to much, or if he was just genuinely curious. Either way Ozwald was who he was and he liked to talk in order to lighten the mood of the situation everyone in SAO found themselves in. It didn't matter much though if Chase was put off by it, Ozwald would try his best to talk less.

[ChaseR 0]

What surprised Chase much more than the answer he got was the small dump of information regarding ecosystems and predators. He stayed in awe, with his jaw almost dropped as he squinted his eyes and looked down at the sands with little to say. And then his awkward mind conjured as much as possible before he looked over his shoulder and hit him with an awkward:

"W-Woah, so you studied biology a lot?". Smooth. On the other part though, he got what Ozwald meant. He himself was the same too, but more so because when he was comfortable with someone, there was no way to irk them regardless of how crassly he spoke on accident, unlike when he's first meeting someone and coming off as passive aggressive as all hell. "There's a whole lot of nothing out here...", the bluehead grunted and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, scanning left and right to see nothing but sand, sand and more sand... It was starting to get more draining than he thought it would be. For crying out loud.

[Grimm Reaper 0]

"I am a zoology major, or I guess I was." Ozwald stated smiling a bit, Animals were Ozwald's passion, and being stuck in a game that had nothing alive other than the player base was like Ozwald's own personal slice of hell. Looking around Ozwald completely agreed with Chase's remark about there being absolutely nothing out there "Look on the bright side, if there is nothing out there, it will make it even easier to notice when there is something." Ozwald was always an optimist, a glass half full kind of person. 

"Well there is no reason not to get started. Lead the way." Ozwald remarked at his friend by his side stepping out behind him into the blindingly hot sand that was the fifth floors environment. Ozwald was glad that his equipment was light and airy, he couldn't imagine what this floor would be like in heavy armor. Either way Ozwald followed along beside Chase, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that wasn't sand.

[ChaseR 0]

That was definitely a surprise. That meant Ozwald had either gotten into college much sooner than Chase had if they were the same age, or that he was older. Come think of it, he never stopped to even question anybody's age- Shay included, and she was his girlfriend for a time. Just how much did he really know everybody in there? Even if age played a small factor, it was... well, important enough, right?

"Yeah, trying to get to it.", he huffed out and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, travelling through the desert of endless yellow. In the air, on the ground, in their clothes, sand all over to ruin their fun and peace. Oh, what a joyful day this was going to be- if only there was a way to actually skip this floor, Chase would greatly appreciate it. It wasn't long before moving down the same path he'd taken alongside Yuki and Shay, they began to see trails in the sand before a sudden gust covered the tracks. It was clear they were on to something, and it clearly wasn't too long before whatever tailed creature had made its way through there. "... We might have to spend even less time than expected lurking around here."

[Grimm Reaper 0]

 It was really funny to Chase to see how much Chase and Valentine differed on this floor. Valentine loved this floor because it reminded him of his homeland, which Ozwald has yet to ask about. Whereas it seemed like Chase hated this floor with every fiber of his being. Ozwald too the middle approach, it was a little more hot than what Ozwald enjoyed, but at the same time it wasn't like it was too much so either.

Ozwald followed Chase glad to see that they had found some luck tracks soon after heading out from the village "Well then I guess we just follow these trails until we find something" Ozwald commented, it was fairly obvious that that was what they were going to do, but that was besides the point. Ozwald continued walking, he wasn't particularly bothered about the sand, other than the fact it was going to be a pain to wash out. Hopefully they would find and slay the fifth dragon soon.

[ChaseR 0]

And he was right on the spot with that one. Following right behind the trail, it wasn't long before the two found what seemed like more abandoned ruins. Made in much the same fashion as before, in the floor below, it was easy to see similarities with every structure that the two had found the dragons to be residing in. Getting ready for combat, Chase drew his own sword out and began to look about.

Although no trails were nearby to follow, he knew that the monster must be lurking somewhere around. Unlike before though, the ruins extended far and wide this time, with a small sandstorm seeming to be the only issue they had to face. Blowing and trying to hurl sand right at their faces, the cloak protected Chase well enough, and in combination with his searching ability, he was able to see all the same. Grimm on the other hand though... "... It must be somewhere around here. That's where the trails lead to, and if the previous dragons are anything to go by..."

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Spoiler

BD: 9(Crit) 9 | Crit | 12 * 15 = 180 - 55 = 125

ChaseR: HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 148/148 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 75 | V.(DEF): 75 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
Grimm Reaper | HP:400/400 | EN: 23/40 (-17) | DMG:11 | MIT:5 | EVA:1 | ACC:3 | REC:2
HP: 275/300 (-125) - MIT: 55 - ACC: 2 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 85

Ozwald and friend saw the ruins half buried in the sand at just about the same time, it was obviously the place that they were looking for. The sandstorm seemed to be getting stronger as they got closer to the ruins, almost as if they were causing it. Ozwald crouched lower speedily making his way to the ruins staying low. As Ozwald reached the broken rubble of what used to be a building in the sand, a screech could be heard ringing out farther and farther into the sandy wasteland.

The dragon had finally showed its head, and its body, slithering out from behind the ruins in order to strike at Ozwald, but he was faster activating his strongest sword art. Ozwald brought his right fist swinging into the side of the dragon hatchling's head sending it slamming into the broken wall. The sandstorm seemed strongest next to the dragon, and it was getting hard to see.

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[ChaseR 0]

With the fight breaking out, Chase was quick to start running right towards the dragon. Ozwald already managed to get a hit in, and now that the combat had been initiated, it was his time to chime in and wipe it out. However, before he could even close the distance enough to be within range even in case his holy effect procced, the sandstorm suddenly grew more violent and knocked him to the side slightly, making him lose his already weak footing.

In the meantime, it helped the dragon to pin Grimm down and slash at him with its claws, running away only to screech and sit atop a pillar, seeming to prepare some form of elemental breath attack to launch at the duo- mostly the brawler. After all, right now, he was the one it had its attention turned to, not Chase. That was a surprising but short lived (hopefully) change of pace of course.

Spoiler

ChaseR uses Galaxy Destroyer on Tabaluga! (BD: 4+2-1=5)
ATTACK MISSED

Tabaluga attacks Grimm Reaper! (MD: 6+2=8)
85 - 5 = 80

[1] ChaseR: HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 146/148 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 75 | V.(DEF): 75 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
[2] Grimm Reaper | HP: 320/400 | EN: 23/40 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 2 | REC: 2
Tabaluga: HP: 175/300 - MIT: 55 - ACC: 2 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 85

<<Summon Tiny Sandstorm>> : When you approach this dragon, he will summon up a sandstorm strong enough to give you a -1 to accuracy and evasion.

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by ChaseR

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Spoiler

BD: 2 + 2 - 1 = 3(Miss)

[1] ChaseR: HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 146/148 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 75 | V.(DEF): 75 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
[2] Grimm Reaper | HP: 320/400 | EN: 21/40 (-2) | DMG: 11 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 2 | REC: 2
Tabaluga: HP: 175/300 - MIT: 55 - ACC: 2 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 85

Ozwald was surprised at how strong the sandstorm was, being able to blow Chase away as if he was paper was no small feat. Ozwald was distracted, and being distracted in a world like this, especially in battle, was a dangerous thing to do. To prove this point, as Ozwald was looking over at Chase a dragon hatchling pounced on him raking its sharp claws down Ozwald's torso before jumping higher into the air and landing back onto the ruins that it called its home. Ozwald picked himself up from the hot sand, but the air was almost as sandy as the ground was, tiny shards of rocks buffeting anyone who stood near the dragon's domicile. Ozwald also went to attack the dragon, and much like Chase found himself stumbling due to the wind, not being able to get much closer to the dragon hatchling. Hopefully this fight wouldn't last much longer, so far it was by far the most annoying.

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[ChaseR 0]

Chase's and Grimm's minds were on the same page. They were both miffed by how agile this dragon was, and especially how horrid the sandstorm was on top of the already lame desert. With a quick dash, Chase jumped into the air to grab the monster's attention and slammed his sword right onto the pillar it was positioned in. To his surprise, the sword was still broken as ever rather than temporarily fixing itself for some more damage, but it still broke the pillar down to pieces.

And with that, the dragon was up on its ripped wings, raising its claw to attack the bluehead. It failed though as he turned to the side and planted a hand right in the side of its head, knocking it down a peg while he gracefully landed. For all this could be considered a hit, no damage had been taken. This fight was going to take until Chase managed to get it together and land another hit, or Ozwald got to land two, by the looks of it. "For crying out loud..!"

Spoiler

ChaseR uses Galaxy Destroyer on Tabaluga! (BD: 3+2-1=4)
ATTACK MISSED

Tabaluga attacks ChaseR! (MD: 1)
ATTACK MISSED

[2] ChaseR: HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 147/148 (+1, -1) | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 75 | V.(DEF): 75 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
[2] Grimm Reaper | HP: 320/400 | EN: 21/40 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 2 | REC: 2
Tabaluga: HP: 175/300 - MIT: 55 - ACC: 2 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 85

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by ChaseR

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Spoiler

BD: 8 + 2 - 1 = 9(Hit) 11 * 15 = 165 - 55 = 110

[2] ChaseR: HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 147/148 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 75 | V.(DEF): 75 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
[3] Grimm Reaper | HP: 320/400 | EN: 5/40 (+1, - 17) | DMG: 11 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 2 | REC: 2
Tabaluga: HP: 65/300 (-110) - MIT: 55 - ACC: 2 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 85

Ozwald thought that with the attack that Chase made that the dragon would be no more than just a shattering burst of blue particles, but that was not what happened. The only thing that Ozwald saw exploding was the pillar crumbling beneath the dragon hatchling. The rubble falling down into the sand causing more of it to rise up and into the sandstorm that was presumably being caused by the dragon that the pair were fighting.

After attacking Chase the dragon landed on the ground, its back turned away from Ozwald. Taking this opportunity Ozwald lined up behind the dragon, once again using his strongest sword art to slam his fist directly into the dragon. Screeching the dragon turned to face Ozwald, but he wasn't worried because he knew that Chase could take it on. Staring down the dragon the black haired man with red eyes prepared himself to dodge at any sign of attacks from the dragon.

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[ChaseR 0]

And with another hit landed, the dragon made the fatal mistake of turning its back to Chase. The boy quickly whipped his hand to the side to unwrap the chains from his left hand and sent them right at the dragon, hitting its back to leave it unable to move only for a second. He needed no more to close the gap and suddenly, with a single slash, a huge gash appeared on the dragon's back.

"And down you go, at last!", he groaned and spat on the ground to get some sand out of his mouth, hissing and shaking his head- and more sand came out of there too. Despite not showing any weakness in battle, as soon as battle was over, he was back to his usual self. Rather a more annoyed one than the usual, but give or take, the same thing. "And the jewel should be somewhere around here. That means we have less than half to go; and the next floors are much better too. Sorry for speaking so much, just... Nngh, finally it's fucking dead. I hate deserts.", he blurted out to vent all of his frustration with this stupid beach with no sea, hissing again and starting to sift through the sands.

Spoiler

ChaseR uses Galaxy Destroyer on Tabaluga! (BD: 8+2-1=9)
20 * 13 - 55 = 260 - 55 = 205

[4] ChaseR: HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 147/148 (+1, -10) | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 75 | V.(DEF): 75 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
[3] Grimm Reaper | HP: 320/400 | EN: 5/40 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 5 | ACC: 2 | REC: 2
Tabaluga: HP: 0/300 (-205) - MIT: 55 - ACC: 2 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 85

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by ChaseR

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald laughed before joining Chase in the sand to search for the jewel that the dragon had to be guarding, the fifth dragon was now dad, so they were beyond the halfway point only 4 more dragons would have to be slain before they could see what was inside of the mysterious castle on the tenth floor. Ozwald dug around in the sand, the sandstorm that was caused by the dragon seemed to dissipate completely and was now just a light breeze with some sand in it. Eventually Ozwald found what they were looking for a jewel held onto a golden chain that was presumably at one point around the neck of the dragon hatchling. Prying the gem out both players received notifications for finishing the quest as well as acquiring the gem. Ozwald stood up from the sandy floor and turned towards Chase "That makes five, four more to go."

Edited November 3, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[ChaseR 0]

And now that even the gem had been retrieved, they were relieved of all of their duties up- or rather down in the hellhole that was the fifth, free to dismiss themselves of this burden. Wasting almost no time, Chase was back up on his feet, dusting himself and making sure that the cloak was firmly wrapped around him as he began to head right towards the settlement once more.

"Shame that we have nothing else to do here. Off we go.", he nodded to himself as he gestured Grimm to follow right behind, taking out a crystal that had the same color as his hair, raising it into the sky and watching it quickly burst into a small rain of snowflakes. Finally, something to get rid of this horrible heat, even if Survival was making it easier on him- feeling like he was about to sweat was just disgusting, that sticky feeling... "Let's not waste any time. Not cause I'm in a rush but because fuck this floor. The heat is unbearable.", he nodded to himself slowly and let out another drawn out sigh, looking into the distance. Was it really that much more to walk all the way to the settlement..?

 

Spoiler

Thread Rewards:

• 4 SP (2 quest, 1 page, 1 event)
• 1150 Col (750 quest, 400 page); Grimm Reaper only