[F03 - PP] Searching Squad <<Search for the Hoya>>

[Theo 0]

"How have I never been here before?!" Theo's vision of the floor was the first sense that came to him when entering this floor. Aryut's landscape stretched out beyond Theo and the archer couldn't help but smile as they took it all in. Their first instinct was to traverse the vines and branches of the floor but thought better of it when Theo remembered how terrible their hand-eye coordination truly was. Maybe later, when I've been here for more than like two minutes. Theodore quickly stepped off the main teleportation platform and began to explore this floor that they, surprisingly, had not been to before.

The player slowly approached a large entrance into the city proper, guarded by rabbit-individual with daggers and bows. Theodore waved to them happily, but they seemed to ignore him beyond giving a slight nod as they passed into the city itself. They're very good at their job. They smiled and entered Aryut proper!

Before Theo could begin taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and the most important TASTE, a strange individual caught their gaze. "I'll go chat with this person and then get a drink!" Their boots stepped across the cobblestone-dirt road as their figure approached this individual.

Larbrook, the individual in question, did not waste any time unloading their expositional information on to Theo. The archer was regaled with the tales of Hoya, a mythical hero known for slaying minotaurs in the area. Theo was very excited to meet a MYSTICAL HERO?! He already had 1,001 questions for this minotaur-slaying paragon, but this thought process quickly stopped when they learned that, in fact, some minotaurs were still in the area.

An <<ACCEPT QUEST <Y> <N> >> screen appeared before the boy. While he instinctually was going to put down <N> and be done with it, he paused. Could I... Help this hero?! Would I be helping a legendary hero on their journey?!?! I COULD MEET THEM?!

Theo quickly hit <Y>.

After accepting such a quest, another worry entered their body. "Who... Who is going to help me with this..." The level 1 player moved to the community bulletin board for any/all requests a player could have. Theo, having done this a plethora of times, quickly typed up a message to be posted on said board.

 

<<Hi All!

I'm trying to complete "Search for the Hoya" but I believe I'm a tad bit under-leveled for it. Anyone willing to help?

Thanks!
<3 Theo>>

Edited July 29 by Theo

[Astra 0]

For the first time in a long time, Astra found himself with some free time to spare. Lately he'd been dividing his time between consistent training with his mentor, Wulfrin, or entertaining the children at the orphanage. Today however, his schedule was completely free - and for once he was pretty lost as to what he wanted to do. Eventually, after some time pacing around and eating the assorted food scattered around the house, Astra decided that he wanted to get out and be proactive. Pulling up his menu interface, he navigated his way to the community bulletin board. Most of the requests that he was sifting through seemed to be for those who were higher in level, or taking on more dangerous quests. However, after scrolling for some time, one quest began to stand out: 

Quote

<<Hi All!

I'm trying to complete "Search for the Hoya" but I believe I'm a tad bit under-leveled for it. Anyone willing to help?

Thanks!
<3 Theo>>

Search for the Hoya? Hm, haven't tried that yet. This works! 

Reinvigorated with a new sense of purpose, and excited to make his way back to Floor 3 and the settlement of Aryut, Astra donned his traveling attire and left Ciela's home, heading towards the nearest teleport gate. Astra found himself stepping off of the teleport gate, now in Aryut. It was a beautiful settlement, built within a dense and lush forest. Astra was also personally a fan of the inhabitants of this floor, the rabbit-eared Faune. He stopped for a moment to take in the natural beauty of the floor, while other players had made their way past him and deeper into the settlement. 

Astra had only been to Aryut a handful of times, so he was navigating his way through the buildings and greenery with his map. Making his way downtown, walking fast, Faune faces passed, and he's Hoya-bound. Eventually he came up upon the marked spot where the <<Searching for the Hoya>> quest could be accepted, and saw a player talking with an NPC who was built like a brick shithouse. Oh yeah, that has to be Larbrook. He's huge! Hoping not to startle the player, Astra approached with a soft smile and a light wave. 

"Excuse me, are you Theo? I saw your request on the bulletin board. I'd like to tag along and help you with the quest, if that's okay." Astra said with a nod. 

"My name's Astra, nice to meet you!" 

***

Astra | HP: 400/400 | EN: 56/56 | DMG: 13 | MIT: 54 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 2 | REC: 2 | BLD: 24

Spoiler

 

Name: Astra
True Tier: 2
Level: 19
Paragon Level: 1
HP: 400/400
EN: 56/56

Stats:
Damage: 13
Mitigation: 54
Accuracy: 7
Evasion: 2
Recovery: 2
Bleed: 24

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket:
  - Seeker's Blade | T2 Perfect Straight Sword | DMG 2 | BLD 1 
Armor/Trinket:
  - Seeker's Attire | T2 Perfect Light Armor | MIT 2 | REC 1
Shield/Armor/Trinket:
  - Initiates Draw | T1 Perfect Trinket | ACC 3

Combat Mastery:
  - N/A

Combat Shift:
  - TECH

Familiar Skill:
  - N/A

Custom Skill:
  - N/A

Skills:
  - Straight Sword R5
  - Light Armor R5

Extra Skills:
- Concentration 
Action: Free Action
Cooldown: 5 Turns
Effect: As a free action, gain Absolute Accuracy on your next attack. In the case Absolute Accuracy is already present, increase your Accuracy by 1 instead. Effect lasts until the start of next turn.

Inactive Extra Skills:

Sword Arts:

• [x12] ST-I (12 EN) | A single-target sword art.
• [x15] ST-II (15 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 (20 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.
• [x11] AOE-I (11 + [2 * targets] EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
• [x14] AOE-II (14 + [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.
• [x12] TECH-A (13 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.
• [x12] TECH-B (12 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.

Addons:
  - Stamina | Reduces EN of all attacks by 2
  - Focus | Decreases minor critical threshold by 1. Also reduces DoT thresholds by 1.
  - Precision | +1 ACC
  - Resolve | +1 ACC and * 10 Tier HP

Mods:
  - Meticulous | +1 Base DMG

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - Starter Healing Potions (Restores 50HP) x2

Housing Buffs:
-Bedroom | "Rested" | -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
-Dining Hall | "Delicious" | Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.
-Living Room | "Relaxed" | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

Crafting Profession:
-

Gathering Profession:
-   Fishing                            

 

 

Edited July 29 by Astra

[Acanthus 0]

She had bent over backwards for months to avoid Floor 3. It was an irrational avoidance, and one she was looking to put to rest quickly. After missing her third wandering mob chose to spend the entirety of its life in the Forest of Wavering Mist, she realized the petty desire to stay far away from the entire floor was impacting her ability to farm some of the harder to find crystals needed for Masterpiece songs.

Small doses of exposure seemed to be the best solution. I’ll just wander through Aruyt and look for any important quests I might’ve missed. But it was doubtful. to Acanthus, “important” meant nothing to do with lore, or world-building, or fun little quest rewards. Importance was measured by the simple ratio of time to experience.

“Navigating an entire labyrinth and slaying two monsters for 500 experience? You could get that in about 30 minutes on the upper floors.”

Acanthus’ messages chimed as his voice crept through her thoughts, and she froze. Maybe this time—?

It was not. She had forgotten about the notifications she had set up. Bulletin Boards would ping her, so long as she was on the same floor. It’s probably time I mute that. I don’t ever follow through anyways, it’s just pure nosiness.”

<<...I'm trying to complete “Search for the Hoya” but I believe I'm a tad bit under-leveled for it. Anyone willing to help?>>>

Maybe I can afford to be a little nosier.

Acanthus stared blankly ahead, making her way (making a way) through the crowd. Eventually, the crowd parted, revealed a pair of players that appeared to be chatting. Without meaning to pry, she overheard:

Quote

“Excuse me, are you Theo? I saw your request on the bulletin board. I'd like to tag along and help you with the quest, if that's okay.”

“Ah, it looks like you’ve already found someone to help you out.” She paused for a moment to think. The quest isn’t terribly hard, but neither one of them looked very well-equipped. Then again, that was the whole point of the post, wasn't it?

“If you two don’t mind, I’d like to join as well. I won’t bother either of you along the way if you prefer. I’d just like to see the quest through a second time."

Acanthus | HP: 940/940| EN: 126/126 | DMG: 5 | MIT:135 | ACC:3 | AA | F-SPIRIT | FL.AURA: 16 | THORNS:408 | BH:59 | HB:48

 

Spoiler

Equipment and Consumables

Spoiler

All enhancements reflected in the stat block unless otherwise specified.

Weapon. botan | AA | ACC 3
Armor. Corpse Flower's Kiss | Mitigation 2 | Thorns 2
Shield. Fractured Heart | Fl. Aura 2 | Holy Blessing 2

Consumables
None Taken

Abilities (Skills, Shifts, Masteries, Add-ons, and Mods)

Spoiler

Combat Mastery and Shift
No Shift or Mastery Taken

Skills

• Straight Sword R1 (4 SP)
• Heavy Armor R5 (30 SP)
  • Impetus (4 SP)
  • Iron Skin (6 SP)
• Battle Hearing R5 (30 SP)
• Energist (8 SP)
• Fighting Spirit (10 SP)

Extra Skills

• Survival
• Forgotten King's Authority
• Photosynthesize
• Assault Mode

Inactive Extra Skills

Addons

• Impetus

Mods

• Iron Skin

92 SP Spent before specializations.

Specializations
Reflective x12 (120 SP)

212 SP total.

Battle Ready Inventory (7 Slots)
Dimensional Backpack + Item Stash

Spoiler

1. Lama Sabachthani | 236687 | Consumable - Soundtrack | Hypnosis 2 | Lullaby 2 (Instant)
2. Pain deeper than words, engraved by a hand that does not know its own heart.
3. Edict's Threnody | 236686 | Consumable - Soundtrack | Perpetuate (Instant)
   If my suffering will not end, then neither will yours.
4. Bear Trap | Set enemy EVA to 0 for one turn.
5. Teleport Crystal
6. [Empty]
7. [Empty]
8. [Empty]

Housing

Spoiler

House Name: Villa of Coruscating Flowers (The Villa)
Location: Floor 24 - Paradise Islands
Description: See above
Plot Size: Estate - PK Accessible
Rooms: Listed below. All rooms are assigned to Acanthus.

• Master Bedroom
  • Well Rested | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat.
• Greenhouse
  • Green Thumb | +2 Gathering EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to gathering attempts.
• Extended Workshop: Recording Studio (25,000 col)
  • Hard Working | +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day.
• Mega Slime Farm
  • Advanced Training | +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.
• Living Room:
  • Relaxed | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
• Attic (Bedroom)
  • Skylight (Searching) | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill (Searching). Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
• Basement:
  • Multipurpose | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.
• Storage Closet: (10,000 col)
  • Item Stash | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
• Master Bathroom: (25,000 col)
  • Squeaky Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
• Basic Kitchen (15,000 col)
  • Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.

Crafting and Gathering

Spoiler

Performer | Rank 5
Apollo’s Metronome | Crafting Tool | Meticulous: +1 CD when crafting in one’s workshop.

Forager | Rank 5
Demeter's Cornucopia | Gathering Tool | Bountiful: +1 CD to gathering attempts.

 

 

Edited July 31 by Acanthus

[Theo 0]

Theodore began to wait for whomever may come to assist the archer in this quest. Their eyes fell upon a bench and their body moved to sit down. No sooner had Theo's body touched the wooden seat had a player approached him, greeting him softly.

"O-oh Yeah! Sorry, that was a lot faster than I expected!" Theo scrambled up to their feet and stuck a handout to the player. "I'm Theo, nice to meet you Astra!" Theo would shake Astra's hand enthusiastically if accepted.

"Thank you for being so willing to jump in and assist me! I haven't really done.... much. And I'd really like to not die. You know?" They laughed a little.

Theodore's attention is then brought to a second individual, apparently also responding to their bulletin board post. Theo's smile widen at the idea of gaining TWO friends, and the added protection of two different players. "No! The more the merrier! I'm Theo, nice to meet you." Theo would also shake their hand enthusiastically. "And who are you? If you don't mind me asking that is."

Theo, after having greeted the two individuals, would look between the three players. "Oh, stats! As a warning I am.... level 1 still. BUT I'm happy to help in any way that I can! I use a bow and arrow, and I enjoy gathering things! I don't have the gathering profession or anything like that just yet, but I still enjoy finding things!"

 

Combat Stats (Apologies, forgot to post these in my first post)

Spoiler

Theo - HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 1 | LD: 1 | SD: 1
Housing: N/A
Equipment: N/A
Battle Ready Inventory: (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)
Skills
- Searching R1 [+1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank.]

 

[Astra 0]

Quote

"O-oh Yeah! Sorry, that was a lot faster than I expected!" Theo scrambled up to their feet and stuck a handout to the player. "I'm Theo, nice to meet you Astra!" Theo would shake Astra's hand enthusiastically if accepted.

"Ah, sorry to make you stand up again!" Astra apologized as he shook Theo's hand. In his head, Astra was giving a huge sigh of relief that Theo was so friendly. This would be one of the first times where Astra would be accompanying a lower-level player on a quest. Recently when he'd be questing it would be under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, Wulfrin. Now, Astra was going to be in a similar role, offering support to the best of his ability. Having good company, like Theo, would just make it easier. 

"Thank you for being so willing to jump in and assist me! I haven't really done.... much. And I'd really like to not die. You know?"

"Of course, happy to help! This quest is new to me too, but I'll try my best to make sure we don't die." Not long into their chat, another player had walked up to the two. It didn't take long for Astra to notice that this player had a decorum about them, and they were a higher level. Not only were they well equipped, but the way they carried themself had more confidence than say someone like Astra. Help from an experienced player was always much appreciated, so Astra nodded along as Theo welcomed them to join the party. 

"Since you've done the quest before, that would be a big help. I think the three of us could get through this fairly well!" To share his mediocre stats with the rest of the group, he sent out a party invite to the other two players. From there they could keep track of each others health bars, which was an added bonus. 

"So...This is about minotaur hunting, right?"