[SP-F1] «Earning a Living»

[HikariZX 0]

EDIT: (Disregard this thread, it is made of complete misunderstanding of the combat system, I will be making a new one later. Also, sorry for the cheap leveling, I really should have checked out some other threads first...)

The first thing that came to her mind was being a blacksmith; she had always had a fondness for weaponry, so this suited her perfectly. She turned her head to the leaflet that was handed out on the first day, it contained information on the first floor, including points of interest and monster fields. She figured the first thing a smith needed was either an anvil or a hammer, and both could be constructed of iron. She was reminded of the weapon shop in the City of Beginnings, which could make iron bars from just a few iron scraps. While traveling through the city and accepting the quest from an old NPC named only "The Forger", she stumbled upon some rumors that Kobolds near the edge of the map would drop some iron scraps when killed. Though just a rumor, it was the only chance she had. She equipped her blade, a normal, basic weapon, by no means great but that didn't matter, she planned on getting herself a new one as soon as she completed this quest; and also a Leather Coat, just a simple, black, medium-length coat which covered her top half, ending just above the waist. Again, this coat was simple, but it was the best she had and Light Iron Armor suited her best anyway, though she'd need to find a speed-type mat to create an item that she could integrate into her build. Alas, both equipped, Hikari headed out to the field.

[HikariZX 0]

The area around the city was just as Hikari had expected from reading her leaflet, a grassy field infested with boar and wolf-type monsters. She needed to level up quickly, as well as gain more Col so she could pay the shopkeeper to make her an anvil and hammer, so she decided to target a boar she found relatively far away from the group. The health meter below the red tag the monster sported read: "HP 3/3", Hikari knew these were the most basic of enemies, just a few basic attacks should kill it. She approached the monster and got into a stance; she learned through the tutorial system in the menu about "Sword Skills", so she mimicked what it said there and her blade shone a dark purple, a contrast to the previously white blade, and she unleashed the attack "Linear", the most basic of attacks, with a growl.

"Hyaa-aaaaaa!"

Boar- 3/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Dice- 10 -Crit! +2 damage

Hikari stood there in awe as she unleashed a skill that tore the boar in half with but one hit, immediately shattering it into little blue polygons. She was amazed at how her body knew the exact motion of what to do in using that skill, as that technique was never a favorite of hers. "W-wow... this power... it feels amazing..." Though she realized it was a system aid, made to help players execute their attacks. "Honestly, though... I kinda prefer my fighting style instead, just a thrust into the enemy is boring... Let's spice things up, shall we?" She picked out another boar from the group, again, making sure to stay relatively far away from the rest. As soon as she was ready, she grunted: "Show time." At that moment, she started swinging her weapon into the boar from seemingly random directions, hitting the boar on each slash.

Hikari - 5/5 HP

Boar 1 - 3/3 -3HP = 0/3

Boar 2 - 3/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Dice: 9 - Crit! +1 Damage

Loot dice: 18 - Good Quality Item

Her strikes had dealt quite a bit of damage on the monster, but it was not yet defeated. Disappointed a System aided simple skill would do more damage than her own style she was accustomed to, she prepared for the upcoming attack from the boar.

The monster charged up, it was a very simple attack to dodge, Hikari simply dashed aside and faced the boar yet again, her practice with her brother up until she started playing had done her well, as she could very easily predict and avoid such telegraphed attacks. She started getting into position again, charging up her "Linear" and thrusting it into the boar with a roar. "Wraaaaaaah!"

Hikari - 5/5

Boar 1 - 0/3

Boar 2 - 3/3 -2HP = 1/3

[HikariZX 0]

Battle Dice - 1 - Auto Fail! - 0 Damage

As soon as she tried thrusting the tip of her sword into the enemy, it simply dodged out of the way, avoiding damage. Hikari was visibly irritated as the monster was clearly taunting her, swinging it tusks up and down as if saying "Come at me!". Then suddenly, the boar started charging towards her again, though she knew she could handle this perfectly, she swiped around the boar and quickly struck it's back.

Hikari - 5/5

Boar 1 - 0/3

Boar 2 - 1/3

[HikariZX 0]

Battle dice - 7 - Success! - 1 Damage

Loot Dice - 11 - Item get! - Good quality

Hikari watched as the monster shattered into polygons again, inspecting the items she got from both. Two average looking pieces of equipment sat in her inventory, a shield and a dagger. Though she couldn't care less for the dagger, as it was just as powerful as a starter one, or even worse, the shield interested her greatly, as she was planning on using one in the first place. She equipped the shield, gaining a small boost in defense, though it had no special traits. The dagger she stashed away, hoping it could be sold for Col. Her inventory was getting full, she had three pieces of equipment on, so that gave her just three spaces to work with, the others being filled up by bread and water, as well as the Dagger she just acquired. She needed to save at least two spots, one for the iron scraps, which would be replaced later by bars and subsequently by either the anvil or the hammer. She could use one more, so she decided to just move for the Kobolds in the far east of the map.

Hikari - 5/5

Boar 1 - 0/3

Boar 2 - 1/3 -1HP = 0/3

[HikariZX 0]

As she journeyed to the east, Hikari came across a lake region, complete with a beach all around it, no doubt this the one she read about in the leaflet, that made her sure she was on the right way, though she'd need some training first. Around the area were some wolf-type enemies, seemed easy enough, they had as much health as the boars she previously encountered. She knew wolves traveled in packs, so finding one away from a group was quite exhausting. She found one after a good ten minutes of searching, appraising it and judging its power. Wolves tend to be faster and like to bite their prey, causing them to bleed profusely from the wound, she instantly knew this was a higher leveled enemy and that she had to be careful. While trying to be inconspicuous, Hikari approached the wolf very slowly while charging her "Linear", that was for naught though, as the wolf sensed her immediately and pounced on her. Surprised, Hikari fired "Linear" while quickly dodging to the side.

Hikari - 5/5

Wolf - 3/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Dice - 4 - Fail! - No damage.

The hastily fired move missed the wolf entirely, instead hitting the base of a tree, which shook, but did not drop any fruit. The wolf stood still where it landed while Hikari tried to pick herself up from the ground. "Alright... This time... no skill."

The wolf yet again attempted to pounce her, though this time she successfully dodged and initiated her trademark random slashes.

Hikari - 5/5

Wolf - 3/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Dice - 6 - Success! - 1 Damage

The moves hit the wolf, though they did not cause very much damage. Hikari, still disappointed, decided to try and fake out the enemy with a shield bash, to which the wolf replied with a bite on her shield's cold steel, reducing its durability. Fangs stuck deep in the shield, the wolf struggled to detach himself, Hikari saw the prime opportunity and charged and fired "Linear" in record speed.

Hikari - 5/5

Wolf - 3/3 -1HP = 2/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Dice - 6 - Success! - 1 Damage

Though the attack connected, it took only a slight bit of health from the monster, though what it did succeed in was dislodging it from the shield and giving it an opportunity to pounce again, though what it did was unexpected, it howled, meaning it summoned another wolf to fight alongside it, though it'd take a while to appear. Hikari decided to waste no time and promptly slashed the wolf's snout.

Hikari - 5/5

Wolf - 2/3 -1HP = 1/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Roll - 4 - Fail! - no damage

The move itself took health away from the monster, though it was almost none and could barely even be seen in its bar. Hikari knew that another wolf would be here any second, she collected herself and slashed the wolf's body multiple times before it even had time to react. The second wolf would arrive as soon as she was finished.

Hikari - 5/5

Wolf 1 - 1/3

Wolf 2 - 3/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Dice - 7 - Success! - 1 Damage

This move would make the wolf shatter into bits just like its monster brethren from before. Hikari noticed that this battle would get her to level 2, earning her 1 skill point. Though she hadn't time to waste, the summoned wolf was already attempting to pounce her, to which she responded with the same action from the first wolf, completely dodging to the side. As soon as she lands, Hikari quicksteps behind the enemy and slashes its back three times in a triangular shape, a move she had learned from her brother, to maximize damage and, when used from the front, give the enemy almost no time to react to it.

Hikari - 7/7

Wolf 1 - 1/3 -1HP = 0/3

Wolf 2 - 3/3

[HikariZX 0]

Combat dice - 10 - Crit! - 1+2 Damage

Loot dice - 8 - Fail! - no items (Wolf 1)

The move completely took away the wolf's entire health bar with a massive critical, leaving Hikari overjoyed that the move her brother taught her came in handy, she'd use this move a lot more, now. She checked her experience and Col, she currently was a a bit more than a third of the way to level 3 and as for Col... none, the enemies dropped items instead of Col and it seemed the first wolf she killed didn't drop anything at all. Hikari searched through the second wolf's drop, hoping to find materials.

Hikari - 7/7

Wolf 1 - 0/3

Wolf 2 - 3/3 -3HP = 0/3

[HikariZX 0]

Loot Dice - 8 - Fail! - no items (Wolf 2)

Disappointed both wolves didn't drop anything, Hikari started to head towards her destination, the mountains. A bit through the track there, she felt quite tired, she hadn't slept for quite a while... luckily for her, she stumbled upon a relatively safe zone, a small cave with no enemies around. While she was feeling quite sleepy, she didn't particularly like caves, though it was all she had for the night. Wandering around the cave, it was still pretty bright outside, so Hikari could see a bit, it was small, but big enough to be safe as no enemies spawned around here. She set up just a basic mat (OOC: not a material, an actual mat) to sleep on and lied down, thinking still where she would find kobolds in the mountains, and if they truly dropped iron scraps or not.

Hikari - 7/7

[HikariZX 0]

The next day, Hikari checked the in-game clock as soon she awoke, what had been habit for her to do in real life transferred to SAO. The clock read 11:55, it was pretty much noon, but she had no time for eating, SAO doesn't make the player aware of their hunger anyway. She rolled up the basic mat and dematerialized it, ready for when she needed to do it again. The first thing on her mind was heading to the mountains at the east edge of the map, and, while on the leaflet it says the monsters are much stronger, she could at least take care of them one by one. The mountains were still faraway and the path hidden, there were no monsters around so she'd be safe in here. To actually reach the mountains, you have to pass through the lake, which she did just the day before, taking shelter where she found a safe spot. Hikari could see the mountains by now, complete with some weird coyote-like, humanoid monsters, she assumed these were the Kobolds. By the look on their armor and the fact that each was carrying a pickax, presumably their weapon, Hikari assumed these were miners. "Jackpot." Miners would certainly have at least a few scraps of iron, if she was lucky, maybe even a bar or two. The materials she need for the quest would be a hammer and an anvil, both of which she'd be allowed to keep. The hammer she assumed would take two iron bars, while the anvil should take at least three, that meant she needed to collect fifteen iron scraps from the miners and, depending on her luck, that would take quite a few kills, at least eight. Hikari thought about challenging them two at a time, but that would simply be too dangerous, these monsters were even more dangerous than the wolves she previously fought. As soon as one was alone, after but a few seconds, Hikari immediately slashed its chest with her sword.

Hikari - 7/7

Kobold Miner - 4/4

[HikariZX 0]

Battle Dice - 3 - Fail! - no damage

Much to her surprise, it seems theses kobolds' defense was quite something, her slash did a minimal amount of damage and didn't faze the kobold at all, who attempted to strike her head with his pick, from above. The move, like most enemies' so far, was telegraphed to the point it was very easy to dodge, the kobold was very slow in its attacks, though Hikari assumed it more than made up for that with both its attack and defense. She moved behind the monster while dodging the swing from above, charging and releasing "Linear"

Hikari - 7/7

Kobold Miner - 4/4

[HikariZX 0]

Battle Dice - 10 - Crit! - 1+2 damage

The move took most of the monster's HP away, leaving it with about a fourth left. With no hesitation, the kobold swinged its ax in front of it, to which Hikari responded by back-stepping away from the, again, tremendously telegraphed attack. She knew if you looked at the monsters, you could gauge their abilities pretty well, though she knew not if that was true for the higher floors, as she was confined to an inn until just yesterday. Tired of this battle, Hikari slashed the kobold's entire body in succession, changing her target randomly after a slash.

Hikari - 7/7

Kobold - 4/4 -3HP = 1/4

[HikariZX 0]

Battle Dice - 8 - Success! - 1 Damage

Loot Dice - 18 - Success! - 1 mat

Hikari watched as the coyote man exploded into polygons like everything else. She searched through the items and there she found 1x "Iron Scrap". That was one out of fifteen total, this would take a while... Closing the HUD with a slight smile on her face, Hikari returned to hiding to wait for the next kobold. The waiting process would take quite a while but during it, she noticed the last battle raised her to level three. "These things should be no problem now." Opening up her character menu, she noticed the blinking light saying "Unused skill points available", Hikari clicked on it immediately, finding two unused points, one for each level, she presumed. Scrolling through the list she found the skill "Extended Weight Limit" and she knew that's where the points should go, she spent the two points, giving her two extra slots in her inventory, leaving her with eight total and four left, which meant she could still fill it up with two more items. While she was thinking, Hikari noticed another Kobold in front of her, separated from the group. Without even a second thought, Hikari Rushed in and attempted to slash the Kobold in two. "Hraaaaaa!"

Hikari - 9/9

Kobold Miner 1 - 1/4 -1HP = 0/4

Kobold Miner 2 - 4/4

[HikariZX 0]

Battle Dice - 1 -Epic Fail! - no damage

The kobold immediately turned around and blocked Hikari's sword with his pickax, negating all damage. Hikari jumped back, waiting for the kobold to attack, but what she saw was it raising its ax up high, where it started glowing a pale red light. Hikari was astounded, she never knew enemies could use Sword Skills. The kobold immediately jumped to Hikari and released the skill "Skull Cracker". Though this was a sword skill, the speed of the kobold is very slow, making Hikari able to roll away to the side, dodging the attack and unleashing her own Sword Skill, "Linear".

Hikari - 9/9

Kobold Miner 1 - 0/4

Kobold Miner 2 - 4/4

[HikariZX 0]

Combat Dice - 5 - Fail!- no damage

She was starting to get frustrated, the kobold dodged her most powerful attack simply by ducking underneath. Thankfully for her, its pick was still stuck on the ground so she couldn't have been attacked, though the kobold dislodged it shortly after and began charging "Skull Cracker" again. This time, Hikari was prepared, she quickly dashed behind the enemy and executed her own original skill, which she dubbed "Triangle Slash", that she used in the fight against the wolves beforehand.

Hikari - 7/7

Kobold Miner 1 - 0/4

Kobold Miner 2 - 4/4