[SP-F4] Here There Be Dragons

[Saix 0]

Vandal could see his breath steaming in the frost air with each labored pant. He had been walking for almost an hour, driving through the snow, even as the wind tore at his cloak and chilled him through his armor. He had wanted Ice Crystals, but he was beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea. Every step sunk almost to his knees in the deep snow, and he was pretty sure he couldn't feel his feet anymore. But the worst was almost passed. If he could get through the tundra and it's howling wind, he could rest in the caverns.

[Saix 0]

Damn, what he wouldn't give to have a nice comfy place to sit on his ass and rest. But everywhere he looked was snow, ice, and more damned snow. Sure, go hunt a few dragons, get some exotic smithing materials... It all seemed fine in hindsight, but the trek out here to this remove glacial hellhole had been a nightmare. Blinding snow flurries, bone chilling cold, and nothing but a bleak icy tundra as far as the eye could see. But at last he had arrived at the mouth of the massive ice canyons he could almost imagine had been carved out of the ice by glaciers millions of years ago. Well, if the landscape had been real anyway.

[Saix 0]

Spying a nearby ice covered rock, Vandal figured that he might as well take the time to sit for a few minutes and try to regain his stamina. He wasn't tired, since he wasn't really working his muscles; but mental fatigue was a strange thing here in SAO. It dulled the senses and slowed one's reactions, and since every movement made in this virtual prison was by thought, mental fatigue was a deadly condition. Stepping hurriedly towards the rock, Vandel halted quickly when the rock moved, stretching and coiling with a sibilant hiss. [censored].

[Saix 0]

As far as dragons went it was pretty puny, it didn't even really have wings, just a hard little knobby carapace of scales that was a dull grey, like stone. The coat of frost that dusted it only served to complete the camouflage. A big black eye the size of a base ball rolled open and fixed him with an unblinking black stare, as the horse sized creature stood and shook the snow off. [censored]. Well, looks like he was going to have to fight before he could take that well deserved rest. Reaching over his shoulder, his hand found the hilt of his overlong battered sword, and drew the huge weapon, propping it on his shoulder as he surveyed the horse sized dragon. "Well, lets get this over. I'm going to turn your ass into a pair of boots." He said, as he charged forward swinging that big sword down on his Ice Dragon foe's head.

Vandal: 13/13

Ice Dragon: 9/12

[Saix 0]

The enraged dragon responded with a quick tail whip that was deflected off Vandal's heavy iron armor. Time and time again he had merited the many reasons for going the Heavy Armor Tank route, and it seemed that the pride of his crafting career was definitely showing itself to be a wise investment now. That hit from the tail hadn't even chipped his HP. If he could keep up his good luck, the Dragon wouldn't have a prayer. "That all you got?" He sneered, taking his mighty sword in two hands and chopping down hard again, the thick blade sinking deep into the creature's flank.

Vandal: 13/13

Ice Dragon: 6/12

[Saix 0]

The dragon's claws scraped harmlessly off his fine armor, digging gouges in the armor that would only enhance the battle scarred armor's worn appearance. But Vandal didn't care, he wore the tears and damage to this armor like badges of honor. He would ensure it was always in top shape, but would never erase the trophies earned from battle, they were badges he would show with pride. Don't mess with me, bigger badasses have tried, and all that remains is the scratches in my armor. That was the message he was sending. And what a message it was, ripping his sword back out of the Dragon's torso, and knocked it back and off balance with a swift kick to the chest as he swept it out wide and backed in a heavy horizontal slash that opened a gash across the Dragon's chest.

Vandal: 13/13

Ice Dragon: 3/12

[Saix 0]

Oh yeah, now this is what he was talking about. His first fights in SAO had been awful, long ass battles that were just back and forth bullshit with miss after miss. But now that he had a few levels under his belt and had spent some time Forging some decent gear, he was owning this bitch of a dragon. Drawing his sword back he prepared to end his opponent. Kicking out hard with one heavy boot to force the Dragon off balance, before driving his blade through it's chest with both brawny arms. Giving the sword a few twists from side to side, he slid another foot of metal into the beast's chest cavity with a dark grin on his face, before the roaring monster exploded into fragments. "That's right, who's your daddy?" He asked, chuckling as the remnants of his opponent faded away.

Vandal: 13/13

Ice Dragon: 0/12

[Saix 0]

With the quick fight over, Vandal leaned back heavily against the ice wall that made up one of the canyon's soaring cliffs. He wasn't about to trust one of the 'rocks' in the area, no telling whether or not it was actually a rock. Relaying the battle in his head, he grinned to himself. He had torn his enemy apart, no hesitation, no danger. It was a far cry from his first battle in this world that had seemed to last forever with miss after miss. It looked like experience, and decent gear, made all the difference in this world.

[Saix 0]

Satisfied that his little rest had done him wonders, Vandal stood, the snow crunching under his feet as he looked at the whitewashed world around him with bleary eyes. The damn snow... It figured that the sonavabitch programmers would have not skimped on reality, and would have included something as awful as being snowblind into the game. After all, they had wanted it to be realistic... [censored], what he wouldn't have given for a pair of snow goggles. Reaching up to shake the ice off the handle of his massive sword, he gave a deep growl of a laugh. What he wouldn't have done for a Saw either, a trusty M240 with a few box magazines full of ammo would have made this whole death game that much easier.

[Saix 0]

Farming Dragons was going to be a far cry more difficult then fighting Kobolds, most of the stuff on the first floor had only been willing to fight you if you wandered in too close or attacked it first. But on the higher floors, monsters would attack the moment you got within their aggro range. If he screwed up with one of these dragons, he could end up drawing the aggro of several of the little bastards; which would prove fatal. That made the snow a major problem, because he had walked right up to his first kill, thinking it was just a rock. He was going to have to approach this whole thing real careful, because he couldn't afford to go up against more than 2 at a time, even his armor had limits.

[Saix 0]

A nearby cry of "Strip the flesh..." echoed off the cavernous ice walls, echoing this way and that. A few seconds later "Salt the wound!" was heard, as a large man wearing little more than a loincloth all but exploded out of a nearby sword drift clutching a huge two handed sword and boasting a tangled beard that would make Ted Nugent proud. Seriously, even the tangles had tangles. The nut in the fur diaper took one look at Vandal, stood still for a few more seconds, then charged him screaming, whooping, and possibly drooling. "Look at me when I scream at your soul! You loud sacks of filth and sour cream can hit me with your pain pinatas all day, but you'll never take the jellied fantasies of my wasted youth! My stomach is clear and my mind is full of bacon!" Just when it seemed the obviously deranged fellow was going to attack, he skidded to a stop and cocked his head. "Over here, my sweet meats, your prince of justice and genocide has something to say: Gone are the days of the tentacle and the age of the gods and mercy is far away... We are the fighters of the middle, the second act in the three-part MEAT play, AND I WILL WIN BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR! Defeat me, Meat Puppet, and a treasure you will find!" And with that a duel challenge popped up.

[Saix 0]

And just like that Vandal's brain hit the ebrake and decided to go to lunch. Seriously, wtf didn't even begin to cover the state of confusion he found himself in. He wanted to say something, anything, but all he could do was grit his teeth as though he were in pain. Finally he was able to get a strangled "Daaah?" out, which was a pretty good representation of his thoughts on the matter. Then came the duel challenge, which was pretty suspicious, as was the promise of treasure. What would old loincloth man have for treasure anyway? And more importantly, how the hell was he so old? Day in and day out, Vandal saw nothing but children all over the damn place, yet this obviously crazy guy in a fur diaper was sporting a bear straight out of Duck Dynasty. Intrigued, he accepted the duel challenge, deciding that even a mystery treasure is better than no treasure at all. "Alright then, nut, lets do this!" He said, as he gripped his sword and rushed in with a powerful backslash.

Dice: 6 + 2 = 8

Vandal: 15/15

Berserker: -3/??

[Saix 0]

"THERE'S NO FENCE ON THIS FENCE!!!" Screamed the fur diaper wearing madman as he reeled from the blow, spinning a quick circuit as he howled his strange message at the top of his lungs. Then, with a manical grin he turned and made a slash of his own with oversized sword in hand. The blow was so powerful that despite Vandal's armor, one of the best sets of armor in the game, it still managed to deal damage. "The sting of POWER!" he crowed with joy.

Vandal: 14/15

Berserker: 4/7

[Saix 0]

Everything this guy said just made Vandal that much more confused. When he had hit him, it looked like he had knocked off more than half the guy's health in one blow. And still he was screaming and attacking, what the hell gives man? Not only that, but the crazy old guy hit like a truck. Grabbing his sword in two hands he charged and struck again. Maybe he was angry, maybe he wasn't controlling his strength, but he hit the old dude way harder than he had planned... "Did I kill him?"

Dice: 10

Damage: 1 + 2 +2 = 5

Vandal: 14/15

Berserker: 0/7

[Saix 0]

Berserker lay still for a moment, before the telltale sound of shattering polygon's heralded his defeat. Or at least, they would have, had he not jumped back to his feet. "Don't make this weird!" He screamed as he shook his head like a dog getting out of the water. "Now to SCRAPE YOUR FACE FROM MY FINGERNAILS!" He raged, shaking his weapon and charging in with another strike. Again the heavy blade managed to strike through the swordsman's armor.

Vandal: 13/15

Berserker: 15/15

[Saix 0]

Vandal had been weirded out by all the strange screaming, but now he was all sorts of stunned. He had killed this guy, he hadn't meant too, but he had seen the HP zero out. So why was he back up with full health? Vandal was ready to walk away, but the duel wasn't over, and the guy was still attacking him. Not sure what to do, Vandal decided he had no choice but to fight for his life. So whipping his oversized sword around he tried to cut the man down quickly again, after all he didn't have much health.

Dice: 10

Damage: 1 + 2 +2 = 5

Vandal: 13/15

Berserker: 10/15

[Saix 0]

"The silence... Kill it! I'll find you! Quiet noises... and I'll STRANGLE the whispers out of you with a BONESAW!!" Berserker is working itself into a frenzy now, foam flecking it's tangled beard as it whips it's huge sword around again in a lazy one handed slash that can hit with enough force to rend armor. There is no reaction to Vandal's massive strike, no reaction to any pain real or imagined, there is just the unthinking madness.

Vandal: 12/15

Berserker: 10/15

[Saix 0]

This thing wasn't a man, it was a monster. Vandal was pretty sure of that now. He knew the Two-Handed Sword Skills, and this guy sure as hell wasn't using them. He was just flicking the sword at him, and was hitting with enough force that Vandal was taking damage even through his armor. This was... nuts. It might be slow, but this guy could very well kill him if he didn't take him out quick. Bringing his sword up overhead, Vandal gave a mighty downward slash, realizing that not only was the guy still alive after being killed, but he had way more HP now.

Dice: 10

Damage: 1 + 2 +2 = 5

Vandal: 12/15

Berserker: 5/15

[Saix 0]

"Somebody open me up and put out the fire in my belly... Put it out with knives and bullets and strangling, or I will eat your nephews!" Again Berserker shows no reaction whatsoever to the huge damage that the swordsman's massive sword does to it's HP bar. Another hit like that would finish it off, though it was no longer certain if that wouldn't just end with it getting right back up. Looking around as though confused, Berserker lets out a belly laugh and attacks again.

Vandal: 12/15

Berserker: 5/15

[Saix 0]

This time Vandal was able to anticipate and avoid the huge strike, but he was starting to get worried. He didn't want to kill this guy, or whatever he was. Vandal was pretty sure he wasn't a player, but something just felt wrong about up and killing a non monster NPC. But he wasn't exactly leaving him with much a choice, Vandal wasn't the type to be a bleeding heart and just let himself die out of sheer nobility after all. So he struck quick in a big horizontal arc, like he was trying to chop him down like a tree. As the blow struck, Vandal tried to reason with his opponent. "That's enough, I don't want to kill you!"

Vandal: 12/15

Berserker: 2/15