[SP F1]<<Earning a Living>> [Complete]

[Gestein 0]

"Oh please sir, you have to help me!" The NPC cried out, overacting its part with gusto. "Those wolves out there and all of their howling keep me up all night! Surely a warrior such as yourself can dispatch them. If you do, I'll reward you with an instrument of your choice!"

Gestein shrugged non-chalantly as he accepted the quest. It was very reminiscent of the sorts of beginner quests you would find in any other game - kill X whatever, get XP and loot. No real zeitgeist, rime, or reason. But, if it meant that Gestein could have some music in his life once again, it was worth it. In the old days, raids and level grinding would have been accompanied by days long playlists of music carefully selected to fit the tone of his adventures, so going without good music for so long was actually a little bit heartbreaking.

The dangerous thing was avoiding aggroing too many of the wolves at a time. If he could keep maybe one or two of them occupied, the fight should be relatively safe. But, if he came across a pack that was too large for him to handle...

"I won't let that happen." He said to himself in an attempt to bolster his confidence after thinking of the potential consequences of his failure. "You can do this - it's just a starter quest, after all. You've done thousands of these!"

As he moved into the meadow, he caught sight of two wolves eating at a piece of carrion. Careful to avoid detection, he crouched and moved as silently as he could, trying his best to angle his approach so that he would only aggro one of the wolves. Finding a stone on the floor beside him, he activated a sword art that propelled the stone right onto the rear end of one of the wolves, aggroed it, and backed off as it approached him. As luck would have it, the other wolf went right on munching away.

Gestein: 7/7

Wolf: 4/4

Battle: Begin!

[Gestein 0]

Having successfully suckered one of the wolves into attacking him, Gestien took the initiative for the battle. With his war hammer equipped, He stood up and took as best of a defensive stance as he could without a shield or armor available to him. Like a boxer in his prime, the stout man bobbed on the balls of his feet and prepared for the attack. As the wolf leapt towards his he let loose with a heavy blow towards the charging wolf's cranium...

The wolf nimbly dodged the attack. Growling to himself as the wolf eyed him, he prepared himself for the animal's rebuttal.

It's OK. You're doing fine. Nothing to worry about... yet

[Gestein 0]

Spittle frothed at the edge of the wolf's mouth. Having been interrupted from its meal, the beast was enraged. It lashed out at the large human, barking and gnashing its teeth as it attacked.

Gestein was prepared. As the wolf attacked, he positioned his war hammer into a block, keeping the beast's teeth and claws at bay. With a thrust of his legs, he gut-checked the wolf with his shoulder, knocking it back. The beast was off guard, and the man was poised to strike.

[Gestein 0]

Heh, that's more like it. Keep it off guard. Bash it to bits. It's just a level 2 encounter. You've got this. There was little time to celebrate, however. The beast may have been thrown off, but it wasn't out of the fight yet. Staying light on his toes, Gestein maneuvered into position as the wolf got back up off the floor, hoping that a flanking maneuver would serve him well.

The warrior could feel the power of the dark-green light that emanated from his war hammer and knew that he had successfully activated his sword art. As he rotated his hammer into place, he shot forward and jacked the wolf in the jaw with a beautiful uppercut. A quarter of the beast's HP bar was now depleted. The beast yelped in pain as the hammer connected, and Gestein smirked in satisfaction before switching back to his defensive stance.

Gestein: 7/7

Wolf: 3/4

[Gestein 0]

The wounded wolf licked its jaw, tasting its own blood. A deep, guttural growl emanated from its throat as it circled around the human who had dared to wound him, looking for an opening. The man replied in kind, turning slowly on the balls of his feet, waiting for his opponent to strike. Though the warrior gave him no opening, the wolf lashed out once again.

Once again, Gestein intercepted the blow, although he could not get a good enough positioning to repel the beast. Instead, his outstretched arm caught the beast below the neck as it clawed and gnashed at the warrior.

[Gestein 0]

With the wolf trying desperately to tear into his flesh and only barely keeping the beast at bay, Gestein launched another attack towards the beast's head. With no room to launch a proper sword art, he instead swung the hammer as a basic attack, hoping that his weapon would do the damage. The blow connected, and threw the beast off the attack long enough to give the warrior a chance to kick it off of his arm.

The wolf looked staggered. After having taken two hits directly to the head, it was not the ferocious attacker that it once was. Instead of attacking, the wolf tried its best to get its bearings for a turn and backed off slightly, giving Gestein another opportunity to swing into the beast.

[Gestein 0]

The pace of the battle shifted. With the wolf on the defensive, Gestein knew not to let his advantage slip. He pressed the attack, not giving the wolf a chance to catch a breather. The warrior tensed his muscles into position and once again felt the power of the called upon sword art coarse though his veins and into his weapon. His voice rang out as the art activated, and he charged the staggered wolf with all of his might.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The hammer connected with a critical strike, and with a whimper, the beast was sundered and exploded into light. The power in his body dissipated, replaced instead with the inner glow of having gained a level.

Gestein could not contain his excitement. "Wooo! Time to play the gaaaaaaaaaame!" He yelled out triumphantly in a gravelly, heavy metel-esque sing songy sort of voice. He pumped his fist into the air and watched in awe as the wolf's body gave way to his first bits of loot: 20 Col and one +1 Met in the form of a recording crystal. For this being his first solo outing, and having been utterly victorious in the fight no less, the big man was ecstatic.

Unfortunately, his boastful yell had attracted the attention of the other wolf...

Gestein: 9/9

Wolf: 4/4

[Gestein 0]

As Gestein flexed his muscles into various excited victory poses, a second wolf came charging at him with teeth bared. Barking as it charged, the man barely had time to react to the attack as he was caught flat-footed. Nevertheless, Gestein somehow managed to dodge the blow.

"Guess I should have known you would have friends, whelp." He grumbled in the general direction of the since expired corpse of his kill. Though he still tingled with excitement, the experienced gamer was not about to slip up again. He took his fighting stance and observed the new threat that circled around him.

[Gestein 0]

Back on the balls of his feet, Gestein was ready to strike. As the new wolf circled around him in search of an opening, the warrior continued to give the wolf no opportunity as he turned to match the wolf's pacing. When the wolf stopped to growl at him, he seized the opening. This time, as he took a new stance, free arm outstretched and hammer tensely held behind his back, he felt the sword art's power coursing through his arm once again. Unlike his first attack, a straight on charge, this new attack allowed him to turn all of the coiled up power in his waist into a staggering side-blow. He inched forward, keeping the pose as he put the wolf into striking range, and before the wolf could attack him, the twisting sword art slammed the war hammer into the wolf's haunch.

The wolf yelped in pain as several of its ribs were now broken. Gestein could see the HP bar above the beast drain halfway through. Cocky with his recent string of success, the warrior beckoned the wolf with his hands with a gesture that universally meant "Just bring it" no matter what language you spoke.

Gestein: 9/9

Wolf: 2/4

[Gestein 0]

Though the wolf was clearly in pain, a few broken ribs would not stop him from pursuing an attack. With rage from the pain boiling over in its body, it leapt towards Gestein as he cockily beckoned the fanged beast. Caught off guard, Gestein could barely put his guard up before the wolf sunk its teeth into his forearm. The wolf's jaw locked tightly and refused to let go as it continued to gnash away at its enemy.

Gestein: 8/9

Wolf: 2/4

[Gestein 0]

Huh... Gestein thought to himself as he stared at the ferocious wolf currently clamped down upon his arm. For all intents and purposes, he should have been in pain. Where was the pain? Did the game not give you any feedback other than the original attack? Weird.

As he contemplated this revelation, he halfheartedly swung his arm around to see if the wolf would come loose. No matter how hard he shook, the beast wouldn't budge. Shrugging, he raised his right arm in a showy fashion and called upon the power of a sword art. "I'd let go if I were you..." He said, looking the wolf square in the eye as he brought the hammer down.

Realizing that taking another direct hit was probably not in its best interest, the wolf released its grip and the attack went sailing past.

For all of his fighting spirit earlier, the revelation that there was no lasting pain in an enemy's attack sort of took the wind out of Gestein's sails. If not for the fact that you could die if your HP went to low, there would almost be no point in ever getting armor. Maybe the bigger creatures hurt more? After all, the attack only did 1hp of damage...

[Gestein 0]

The sudden change in his enemy's attitude did nothing to sway the wolf's ferocious onslaught. While Gestein took a moment to fiddle with his character sheet, the wolf charged in with fangs bared, hoping to gnash another chunk out of the robust man.

Its attack was a failure. The mountain of a man simply pushed the beast out of the way like a wayward pup as he continued to look over his skills page. The wolf growled, no longer a growl of warning, but more like a dog whose master was ignoring it.

"Hey. Guess what?" Gestein said as he closed his skill window. The wolf was intrigued. It sat down and cocked its head as it stared into the eyes of the man that stood before him. With a wiggle of its ears, it almost appeared to be addressing the man he it previously been fighting's question.

"As it turns out... I forgot to invest my starting points. Weird, huh? I could have been hitting you for two points a turn instead of one." The man calmly stated as he took a stance and activated another sword art.

[Gestein 0]

Pow.

The hammer connected with the beast before it could contemplate what the man was saying. With his skills now actually in place, the blow dealt the remaining two damage necessary to kill the creature. Gestein felt a slight sense of regret as he holstered his weapon, a side-order to the slight embarrassment he felt at having made his first battle much more difficult than it should have really been.

The beast no longer dropped any col, but the loot system saw fit to reward him with another +Mat, at least. The big man pocketed the item with an accepting nod.

With night beginning to fall, the quest still had not been labeled as complete in Gestein's journal. A stroll around the area did not reveal any more wolves; what was he missing?

Gestein's skin crawled as a guttural howl suddenly echoed around the meadow. Through the dusky din of evening, he could see the culprit - A big, snarling hulk of a wolf as black as the night itself. The dire wolf's howl was an entire magnitude louder than those of the small fries the warrior had just dispatched.

This must be the quest trigger. No, I'm sure of it. I've got a feeling this isn't going to be easy...

Dire wolf - +1 damage to bite: 7/7 HP

Gestein: 8/9

BATTLE START

[Gestein 0]

Despite his earlier musings, the sense of danger from the scenario at hand had returned. That wolf can do some serious damage. Gotta take it out. Fast.

As the power of the successfully activated sword art once again coursed through his hands and into his weapon, Gestein charged the black beast with all of his might and caught the dire wolf mid howl with a blow to its haunches. The beast whirled to face the human that dared attack it, baring its fangs as it suddenly pressed forwards, snapping its jaws madly as Gestein backed slowly away to re-align his positioning.

Dire Wolf: 4/7

Gestein: 8/9

[Gestein 0]

There was a method to the madness that was the Dire Wolf's attack pattern. Each growl, lunge, and snap elicited the exact reaction in the human that the beast was looking for, driving it further and further away from the beaten trail and towards the edge of the forest, where its allies lay in wait. With a mighty howl, the dire wolf charged the man with a mighty leap, aiming its jaws at the throat of its enemy.

Using the own beast's momentum against it, Gestein twisted to his side and launched the wolf into a Judo-esque throw to dodge the blow. The beast landed quickly on its feet, but with the momentary distraction, the warrior leapt into action.

[Gestein 0]

Gestein was not about to let the dire wolf get its bearings after having tossed it like a rag doll. Before the beast could get its footing, he charged forward and attempted to smash his hammer into the creature's skull. Unfortunately the dire wolf recovered quickly and skittered out of the way of his attack. Without a sword art to guide it, the hammer missed its mark.

"Damn it..." muttered the man as his enemy once again bared its teeth. A howl in the distance confirmed that the dire wolf would soon be receiving support. He had to end this quickly, before the creature's pack could surround him.

[Gestein 0]

Hearing the howls of its pack members in the distance, the dire wolf once again began its tactic of biting and lunging, keeping the human off balance in order to create an opening for the beast to exploit, as well as maneuver its prey even closer towards his pack. When the hammer wielding man realized what was going on and held his ground, the wolf took the opportunity to strike. It lunged at Gestein's tree-trunk like legs and opened a gash across the big man's unarmored thigh.

Gestein: 6/9

Dire Wolf: 4/7

[Gestein 0]

The man stumbled back due to the pain of the bite. This time, the feedback system allowed for a slightly more robust reaction. If the pain escalates the more damage you take, I'd hate to get hit in a boss fight... After a quick glance at his health bar, Gestein re-positioned himself and backed away from his opponent ever so slightly, trying to lead it back towards the path as he kept the beast occupied with feint attacks of his own.

When the dire wolf turned its attention away for a split second, Gestein attempted to plow his hammer into the creature's skull. Unfortunately, the beast sensed the attack, and with a fraction of a second to spare managed to dodge the blow enough that the hammer merely grazed its skin.

[Gestein 0]

It was now the beast's turn to press the attack. Though the human was no longer going in the ideal direction, the dire wolf was cocksure in the fact that it was only a matter of time before its pack arrived and they decimated this human. It salivated as it thought of the tasty morsels of human flesh that it would soon taste.

With a mighty leap, the beast shot towards its prey's neck and aimed a bite at Gestein's jugular, and it roared in pain as fang and claw rent at flesh. The man threw the wolf to the ground in rage, and the animal lost its footing.

Gestein: 3/9

Dire Wolf: 4/7

[Gestein 0]

Gestein eyed his HP meter. Another hit like that and... he would die. There would be no respawn. There would be no last second chance to go big or go home. Game. Over. The realization dawned on the man, and fear crept into his mind at the thought of being killed by a quest.

Rather than stare death right in the face, Gestein ran. He ran as fast as he could, with the dire wolf hot on his heels. If not for the fact that he had excellent stamina, he may not have been able to make it out alive. But somehow, against all odds, he gained enough distance to lose the aggro that the beast had on him.

Tonight was not his night, but there were others yet to come. A good night's rest would heal him of his wounds. He would just have to complete the quest another day. For now, he huddled wearily in his bed, barely able to sleep as his near death experience replayed itself in his mind.