[PP-PT-F10] Ghosts and Ghouls | <<SotW: The Leech Lich>>

[Morningstar 0]

Morningstar was positive they could take out another quest boss before days end. According to his notes, part three was located on Floor 10. Admittedly, he had never made it this far. Everything from there on was new to him.

In Yomi, he checked his map. The Stygian River was a bit of a walk, but they would have to manage; Floor 10 was notorious for having no modes of transportation besides foot travel. They were trackers, though. Walking was part of the job.

"I don't come here much," Morningstar eyed the twin dragons that towered over the front gates. "It's very... grim. I like the sunny floors most."

"This feels like the type of place you might see a ghost. Do you believe in ghosts?" Star asked. He had never heard rumors of a ghost on Floor 10 (besides the Banshee, of course), but he reckoned if he looked hard enough, he might find one hiding about.

Hide contents Morningstar | Lv. 81 | P. 47 | True Tier: 9 HP: 880/880 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 34 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 5 | LD: 6 | REC: 8 | HLY: 16 | AA | FRZ notes: // equipped Yellow Dragon, Red Tiger HLY 2, AA, FRZ Inner Focus EVA 2, REC 2 Sapphire ACC 3, EVA battle-ready inventory Magdalyn's Cuckoo Teleport Crystal Bear Trap x2 skills   Hide contents MARTIAL ARTS | RANK 5/5 precision, stamina, ferocity shift: aoe COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 UNHINDERED ENERGIST CHARGE extra (active) SURVIVAL FORGOTTEN KING'S AUTHORITY LADY LUCK DISGUISE specializations BITING | RANK 6 data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==   Hide contents consumables # # paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==   data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

♦ms.

[Pollux 0]

Yue Hua skipped out of the portal, her tail reappearing behind her. She glanced around, unused to and a little unnerved by the silence, and hurried along after Morningstar as he made straight for the edge of town.

Yomi's spirits continued on their lonely course. The two trackers steered clear of them, but Yue Hua couldn't resist squinting at one from a distance. Its head drooped, incognizant of its surroundings. She stuck an arm out and waved; it need only look up at the clearly moving figure, but she didn't get a response -- only a foreign sadness gathering like a rain cloud at the edge of her consciousness.

She shook herself out of it and moved on. She didn't like these dead floors.

"This and Floor 13," Yue Hua agreed. "Actually, I'd always thought whoever designed these floors switched around 10 and 4's numbers." She pointed at Yomi's Japanese-styled buildings. "The number '4' is inauspicious in Japan and some parts of China. It has to do with how its pronunciation sounds similar to how we say 'death'. The same way '13' has something to do with doomsday in the West, right?"

They passed Yomi's gates and Morningstar mentioned ghosts. It was clear he didn't mean Cardinal's constructs. Yue Hua thought for a moment.

"I do. I've seen a few back in reality."

---

-> TRAVELING: 2/3.

厌倦你浪潮般涨落地爱我 当作莫名靠岸惶惑地来过 再说了从未幻想过你爱我 天马行空都埋没

Spoiler LEVEL 30: HP: 600/600 | EN: 78/78 | DMG: 19+4 | MIT: 54 | ACC: 4 | AA | EVA: 3 SKILLS Spoiler  | skills mod count: 3/5 STRAIGHT SWORD | RANK 5/5 [BASE: Proficiency] +7 DMG [ADDON: Ferocity] +2 DMG [ADDON: Precision] +1 ACC [ADDON: Stamina] Reduce EN of all attacks by 2. [SHIFT: TECH Specialist] For TECH Sword Arts, +4 to multipliers, +3 to EN cost. COMBAT MASTERY: DAMAGE | RANK 3/3 [BASE: Proficiency] +9 DMG CHARGE [BASE: Proficiency] [PA, 2*Tier EN, 3 CD] For 1 Turn: +3 DMG, -1 ACC, remove autohit. QUICK CHANGE [BASE: Proficiency] [SKL FA, 3 CD] Instantly swap equipment from battle-ready. | extra skills [2] FIRST AID | RANK 5/5 [BASE: Proficiency] [PA, 15 EN] Single target heal: 20% of target max HP. [MOD: Purify] [PA, 3 EN, 1 CD] Single target cleanse: Can target the user. [MOD: Energize] [PA, 10 EN] Single target restoration: +8 EN. [MOD: Barrier] [PA, 15 EN, 2 CD] AoE buff: Reduce final damage from all sources by 15% for one turn. [ADDON: Field Medic] [PA, 15 EN, 3 CD] AoE heal: 25% of target(s) max HP. [1] ASSAULT MODE [BASE: Proficiency] [SKL FA, 5 EN, 4 CD] Switch ACC and EVA until the start of the user's next turn. | expenditure Spoiler Total SP: 150 (+40) | Spent: 132 (+40) | Unspent: 18 SKILL: Straight Sword (30) ADDON: Stamina (4) ADDON: Precision (2) ADDON: Ferocity (4) SHIFT: TECH Specialist (10) SKILL: Combat Mastery: Damage (13) EXTRA SKILL: First Aid (30) MOD: Purify (4) MOD: Energize (5) MOD: Barrier (6) ADDON: Field Medic (6) SKILL: Quick Change (8) SKILL: Charge (10) [PT] SPECIALIZATION: Biting 2 (20*2)   EQUIPMENT Spoiler Silver Sword ABSOLUTE ACCURACY, ACCURACY III TIER 3 DEMONIC STRAIGHT SWORD Exorcist's silver for the vanquishment of monsters. The sword is one-handed, deep blue in color with white edges and triangular gold detailing beneath the crossguard. It strikes true and pure regardless of the troubles of the souls that may come to wield it. Mountains and Rivers MITIGATION III TIER 3 PERFECT HEAVY ARMOR A bell-shaped spread of yellow-green and dark-blue mithril plates. Seafoam EVADE III TIER 1 PERFECT TRINKET A small glass bottle filled with sea water, miniature sea shells, and prop organisms. INVENTORY Spoiler | ... (1) Teleport Crystal Use a post action to activate a teleport crystal. Teleports the player to the town or designated teleportation area they specify.   Nature's Tablet A stone with a message directing the player to defeat six tough enemies. It is an <<Immortal Object>> and cannot be broken by any other means than clearing the SotW questline. SWORD ARTS Spoiler | ST [x12] ST-I (10 EN) | A single-target sword art. [x15] ST-II (13 EN) | A powerful single-target sword art. Only available for use when ST-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if ST-II had been used and had missed the previous turn. [x20] ST-B (18 EN) | A devastating single-target sword art. Can only be used if the sword art used the previous turn is not ST-B and had rolled a natural CD9+. When performing an AoE attack, use only the first roll. | AOE [x11] AOE-I (9 + [2 * targets] EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. [x14] AOE-II (12 + [2 * targets] EN) | AOE | A powerful sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. Only available for use when AOE-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if AOE-II had been used and had missed all intended targets the previous turn. | TECH [x16] TECH-A (14 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy. [x16] TECH-B (13 EN) | DELAY | A single-target sword art that, on a successful strike, applies [Delay] on the enemy. [Delay] is a debuff that reduces the enemy’s ACC by 1 for one turn.

[Morningstar 0]

"It's an old superstition. I don't know if I put much weight in it. I think it's biblical, but who knows really," Morningstar shared. "I mean, western buildings tend to renumber the thirteenth floor, but the floor still physically exists. I think it's just become another way for companies to cater to the consumer," he rolled his eyes. Everything was marketing.

A bright wisp danced in the corner of his eye. The floor's spirits weren't exactly what he meant, but it appeared Yue Hua understood this. "Really? I can't say I've been so lucky. I think I've seen ghosts in the game--players who should be dead, I mean. But it's hard to tell what's real and what's Cardinal playing tricks."

The Stygian River was meant to be uncrossable for all but the ferryman. At the cost of an obol, a coin not to be confused with col, he would guide players across the river. It was all rooted in mythology that Morningstar wasn't entirely familiar with. He always meant to try crossing, but he couldn't find an obol for the life of him.

At the edge of the river, they found the lich.

---

-> TRAVELING: 3/3.

[Pollux 0]

"We skip numbering fourth floors, too. Otherwise, no one would want to be in them. I agree that it's only in the nominal sense though. I think to completely eliminate the problem we should stop building floors above three entirely."

'Luck' wasn't what she would call it. Ghosts stuck around because they had regrets. In the hospitals she had stayed in back in reality, the hallway outside her room was bright 24/7 and there was always a nurse just around the corner when she called. She'd thought that was enough to deter them from appearing, but she would still occasionally find a strange shape in the shadows and feel herself turn cold. Mostly, they lingered, insistent that they should have had more time. 

Yue Hua was determined to like Morningstar, so she would prefer not to think of his fascination as the type that was lacking in respect. Everyone talks about them but you have never seen one yourself. Do they or do they not exist?

"Hehe. Do you think I could be a ghost? They are not always incorporeal, nor malicious..."

The Leech Lich resided on the shores of the Stygian River and it had a little army of hooded ghouls with big swords. As before, Yue Hua and Morningstar assessed their enemies from a distance.

"Do you also see that sheen? Is that a barrier?" Yue Hua squinted at the Lich. She hadn't peeked at the file this time, if it already had the info, too distracted by their chat. "Mm, so -- the smaller mobs' cursors look light to me. I may be able to bring down half of them with a single AoE. Leader, I suggest we wipe them all out first and see what happens to the boss."

She'd leave it to him to figure out how to draw the Lich's attacks. Morningstar was loud when he wanted to be.

 

 

Shortly after they had signaled their readiness to each other, Yue Hua charged in and took down her targets.

---

-> POST ACTION: AOE-I vs Stygian Warriors 1-4.

Spoiler

POST ACTION: AOE-I vs Stygian Warriors 1-4 [9 + (2 * 4) = -17 EN]
245608: BD 10: [(19+4) + 2] * 11 = 275 - 35 = 240 DMG -> Stygian Warrior 1
245609: BD 3 + 4 + 1 = 8: (19+4) * 11 = 253 - 35 = 218 DMG -> Stygian Warrior 2
245610: BD 6 + 4 + 1 = 11: (19+4) * 11 = 253 - 35 = 218 DMG -> Stygian Warrior 3
245611: BD 3 + 4 + 1 = 8: (19+4) * 11 = 253 - 35 = 218 DMG -> Stygian Warrior 4

Pollux | HP: 600/600 | EN: 61/78 | DMG: 19+4 | MIT: 54 | ACC: 4 | AA | EVA: 3 
Morningstar | HP: 880/880 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 34 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 5 | LD: 6 | REC: 8 | HLY: 16 | AA | FRZ

Stygian Warrior 1 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 
Stygian Warrior 2 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 
Stygian Warrior 3 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 
Stygian Warrior 4 | HP: 0/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Pollux